The thoughts, memories, and consequences circled like a Mandibuzz over her prey down below. Every step N had taken with Crystal, just a day or two ago, hurt like a stab to his chest. Walking past the Nimbasa City Amusement Park brought bitter sweet emotions back up to the surface; the trust he had felt from Crystal, the trust he had meant to reciprocate.Â
     The trust he had broken.
     He continued onto Route 16, and the small clearing of Lostlorn Forest. The edges of the clearing had tightly twisted and grown trees; but N knew better. He made sure no one was around, and then stepped through the treeline barrier. This small portion was only an illusion, after all, to protect the deeper, Dream Forest. As he walked, a Zorua joined him silently, matching his pace. N smiled down at him; but he had to get to the Entree. I can't stop right now.
     This time, though, he saw something else. He saw a Liepard, and then, in a moment of horror, he saw a person materialize.Â
     "I'll play right into their hands if I do fight back," a sourceless voice said.
     Nothing he had ever seen in the trees was more than wisps of smoke, colored and shaped into their normal forms. The Trainer's smoke â he was sure it was a Trainer, now â shifted form and color â a cream, flowing fur and piercing red eyes, nine tails lashing in anger.
     "I'll break sooner if I don't fight back."Â
     N recognized the voice this time. Crystal?
     He watched her pummel the Liepard with her nine tails, turning silver with the attack, wincing every time Crystal landed a hit. He wanted to scream, tell her to stop it, but he knew she didnât know he was there, watching. She wasnât really in the Dream Forest.
    She stopped attacking just before the Liepard fainted.
     N ran to the Entree. âWhat does it mean?!â he desperately asked it.
     Zorua nudged his leg in concern. âWhatâd you see?â
     âSomething I caused, someone I am bringing harm to.â N reached out to the Entree. âSomeone I meant to protect. Please, where is she?â
     He heard more of Crystalâs thoughts, this time stemming directly from the Entree. âI canât become their tool. Whatever the cost.â Images of Crystal's party appeared in the trees again, this time surrounding her, with happy expressions on their faces. âExcept you.â She reached out to them. âI couldnât be free without leaving you. I was lost, we lost, they won. Better you keep your freedom. I would have lost mine either way, and the torture of knowing everyone else could have gotten away... I never would have forgiven myself.â She pulled her arm away. They all vanished.
     Crystal reappeared, in her normal form, with a hulking, massive golem staring her down. With a dread and horror that had no end, that kept growing inside of him with each mist vision shown, N recognized that hulking golem. They continued the Genesect Project. She was preparing a powerful move of some kind. âSo this is Charizard's reward,â he heard. âIf I lose control of this and it turns into Self-Destruct, it wonât matter what I do after that.â Another, final image formed in the dense trees: a small building on a small island. A familiar building and island. Crystal exploded, and so did the building and island.
    N grew cold as he recognized the building and island, too. âThe P2 Lab,â he said absently. How did this happen? How did I allow this to happen? âI have to get to the P2 Lab.â
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     An urge wormed its way into her â an urge to use Transform. As if to remind her that the nostalgia was an illusion and no longer true. The urge grew, and something about it startled her â This isnât right. Alarm shot through her as the pain followed, and this time she didnât summon it â some other will other than her own started changing her body. And it terrified her.
â  ⊠ â§
â  ⊠ â§
Crystalâs body shifted, horribly, incompletely, unnaturally. She just had to keep this to herself, figure out what to doâ
     She locked eyes with something. No, someone. A human. This late at night?
     He froze. Then he started approaching, slowly. âAre you okay?â he asked softly. He held no fear in his eyes. Just concern.Â
     His bushy, light-colored hair was long, and some fell over his shoulder. It mightâve been in a Ponyta-tail. He wore some kind of baseball cap, and nondescript clothing that could have had more color than just white and grey, but her current grey-scale night-vision couldnât pick it out.
     Crystal noticed, as she bared her teeth at him, that she made the threat with a small snout â a Vulpixâs snout, she realized. She didnât growl, not yet, her fangs were the first warning. He stopped. The concern never wavered.
     âI want to help you,â he said. âCan I help you?â
     She let out a quiet growl, just for a moment. No. Go away. I canât be more clear.
     He took another step forward. âPlease, I know someone who might be able to help. Who did this to you?â
     Who did this? I did this to myself. I donât need your help.Â
And, for nearly an hour, he talked to Crystal. He poured his heart out, he stayed where he was, as Crystal listened intently. During this time, she reached out with her psychic sense â and she found that he meant what he said. His intentions, his history.
     His stories helped her calm down from her initial alarm of her ability malfunctioning, of him finding her in such a state. Maybe that person he said could help might be a good idea. If I can return to human, and find them myself. I have to stay hidden, secret. Itâs dangerous that he even sees me. But he doesnât suspect that I'm human...
     The sharp snap of twigs made her whirl around, fire at the ready. The Wisps, which had faded while the guy had talked, whooshed to life as she searched for the source of the sound.
     This human was clearly an adult. His hair was nearly shaved right to his head, and had light-colored hair, aside from a darker swish of hair that went around his head, resisting gravity, like it was one of Saturnâs rings.
     âGo on, Beheeyem,â the man said softly, not addressing Crystal or the other guy.
     âStop it,â she barked in alarm, stepping back. The presence pushed further, steadily and unhindered. âGet back!â Her fur bristled again, trying to put up a resistance â but this wasnât like anything she had encountered before. The Wisps surrounded her, but she knew they wouldn't do much.
     âIt talks?â the man asked.
     âIt understood me,â the other guy said, âbut never responded.â
     âThatâs not a Unovan accent.â
     âItâs a Vulpix, itâs probably from Kanto.â
     Come along, a thought said. It pushed its way into Crystalâs mind.
     No! She took another step backward.
     Come along, it repeated. Its hands started lighting up, off-white flashes.
     What is that? she wondered, warily.
     Come along.
     It wasnât hurting her. It wasnât even attacking. In fact, it wasnât moving, at all, aside from the lights on its hands. Just watching her, as she watched it, the lights flickering. She took a hesitant step forward. She didnât want to, yet she very much wanted to.
     Come along. The thought had become a mantra inside Crystal's mind. Come along. She couldnât define where it came from â the presence, or herself. It didn't matter to her to figure that out, either. Come along.
     A gentle hand touched her back, flattening the bristled fur around her neck. The hand was warm to the touch. âWeâll help you and get you back home.â
     Arceus, no, please, no. She felt the adrenaline rush, in that moment, but it was only a matter of time until that couldnât help her, she knew. Her panic would only hurry the sedative through her veins. Can I use Teleport to get far enough away before it takes effect?
     Fear overwrote her concentration - too many what-if scenarios flew through her mind, pressing against her skull. Her pulse hammered in her head, in her heart, as she stood frozen in place, time ticking by. Stop it. Use your power to get away. Then the sedative wonât matter.
     The incorporeal grip vanished as she used Teleport â but it was only a handful of feet away. Without Psychic to hold her up, her legs nearly buckled beneath her as she landed on the ground. So much energy wasted on a few feet! She took a step, but vertigo pulled her to the forest floor.
     She heard the humansâ exclamations of surprise, but her exhaustion turned her focus inward â her body was slowing down as whatever sedative they gave her took hold.  I have to go, she frantically, sluggishly, thought.
     âIâll take it to my lab for observation,â the man said. âThis isnât a normal Vulpix.â
     âLet me know if you need help with it.â The guy looked over at Crystal, pity in his eyes. âPoor thing. I can help transport it home, if that ever becomes possible.â
     âI will. Thank you, N.â
     Crystal tried to pull herself forward; she could sense Lucario dimly. Heâs awake. Lucario, help! A hand scooped her up, and she hung limply in the manâs hands. She had enough awareness to wonder about her abnormally long tails, and that there were only three of them, instead of a Vulpixâs usual six.
     âI wonder how you got this way? Letâs go and see what you're made of.â
Crystal woke up in a strange place. The blurry surroundings gave way to strange, off-white walls and tile floors. Did I mess up so badly that Iâm in Professor Juniperâs lab? She pushed herself up, saw her Vulpix-like paws, and remembered what had happened. Pinwheel Forest. The humans. The dread, accompanied by, I lost control of my body.
     Panic filled her chest, she could feel herself shaking and the adrenaline that followed the realization that she had always feared this.
     Teleport, Teleport, Teleport! she urged herself, shutting her eyes tight and forcing the energy through her terror. She pictured the clearing, pictured Charizard curled up, Luxray and Persian sleeping back-to-back, Serperior draped over Venusaur as they both seem to root themselves in place; and then imagined Lucario, frantically searching for her aura, everyone starting from their peaceful sleep at his urgency.
     Teleport.
     She opened her eyes to the same white walls. She finally noticed the strange, translucent tube around her, and the adrenaline only made everything worse.
     Crystal instinctively curled her three tails around herself. What do I do? What can I do?
     Carrying a clipboard, the man from the forest strolled into the room â the main room of whatever lab she was trapped in.
     His demeanor hadnât really changed much from that when the other, younger guy was present â but it did change. Crystal couldnât read him or his intentions, but she had the instinct that he was less concerned, and more curious, than he had acted with the other guy with his genuine feelings on his sleeve.
     â My friend said that you seemed to understand human speech. You can speak, there isnât any reason to hide that, now, so how about we have a conversation?" the man said. "How about we get you back to your original form, hm?"
     Let me go, Crystal telepathically demanded, growling.
     âTelepathy,â the man said, smiling and writing something down. âWhy donât you want to return to your original form?â
     Put me back, she hissed into his mind, baring her fangs. Where am I?
     âOpelucid City,â the man said. âIn a lab that I run.â
     I donât like labs.
     âHave you been in multiple?â
     Crystal didn't answer. She just glared at him.
     âDo you have a name?â
     Crystal thought for a moment, wondering to herself, What is your end-game here? But she found herself answering, âYes,â aloud. She had to hold back her name â she almost let it slip.
     âAh, you found your voice. Good. What were you, originally?â
     Crystal held the answer, even as it eagerly sat on her tongue. Doesnât matter to you, she spat mentally instead.
     âIt does if you want help getting back to your original form.â
     I donât need your help. I did this to myself. I can undo it on my own.
     âI can do it just as easily myself,â the man said, his finger hovering over a button.
     Crystal's eyed widened in alarm. âDon't you dare,â she hissed out.
     Crystal looked away, staring at her three tails. I donât know. I noticed my three tails instead of a Vulpixâs typical six. She turned her head sharply to glare at him again, and growled, continuing, Right before your sedative took full effect.
     âThen letâs find out, shall we?â
     Crystal jumped in surprise as he started powering up the tube that she was in, a whir building in the air around her. âWhat are you doing?â she demanded.
     âIâm finding the answer to what you currently are. Arenât you curious?â
     âNo! Iâm not!â She couldnât do anything about it. She watched, helplessly, as the machine kept whirring, as the man, hunched over, watched the monitors and computers with an intense, maybe even obsessive, focus. Occasionally, he wrote something down.
     She waited for something to happen. Something to change in the tube.
     Nothing.
     He stood up and straightened his glasses. He regarded her in awe. âIt says that your other half... registers as Mew, even though itâs not very certain about that. There is precious little Mew DNA available for study, especially after what happened with the Mewtwo Project in Kanto. But Iâm sure youâre plenty familiar with that, arenât you?â
     âIâm notâ what? Donât tell me you think Iâm a Mew.â Arceus, why?
     âMew is the ancestor of all life in those legends!â Crystal pointed out. âI know those legends, I wasââ she cut herself off. If he suspects Iâm human, heâll be even more curious. Instead, she continued, âMew canât speak human languages!â
     âThen how are you, a random Vulpix, speaking with both telepathy and vocally? It seems there are some significant Mew influences in you, and I would like to see a Mew in person, if you wouldnât mind,â he said eagerly, ignoring her protests. âThis is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!â
     She ran up to the side of the tube. âIâm not a Mew!â Crystal insisted.
     The man shrugged. âYouâre certainly not a Vulpix. I can just make you revert to your original form, and we can have the answer.â
     âI have never seen a Mew, as much as I looked!â Crystal said, desperately. âIâm not a Mew, I promise! Just let me go. Let me go. Please!â
     âOh, donât worry, I plan to,â the man said. "But I want to see a Mew first, or whatever you were, and get some valuable data.â
     âPlease, I'm not a Mew!â
     The man just turned back to his computers, and started hitting buttons, like before. The machine started up again. âYouâre just as interesting as a Mew, even if you arenât one. But Iâd still like the data.â
     I canât let him know! Crystal, in her panic, tried to start Self-Destruct â anything to stop anyone from knowing â but it wouldnât hold. The energy she put into it dissipated immediately, and faster than she could replenish it.
     âIâm about to do something drastic, alright,â Crystal promised darkly.
     âYou can try.â
     Her next attempt was Earthquake â but that dissolved as well. Can I overload whatever is draining my energy?
     She wracked her brain for a powerful move â All those Legendary encounters, and I canât think of anything!
     Then her body started to change. The bones started shifting, her tendons stretching, her muscles adjusting. Her tails vanishing, the bone cells finding new purposes elsewhere.
     âStop!â she grunted, unprepared for the sudden pain of Transform. But she knew, even if he somehow stopped the devices, her body would have completed it, anyway. âNo!â
     The pain stopped, faster than she expected, leaving its burning absence in the wake of Transform. She laid on the floor of her tube, thankful that it was over quickly.
     âHm, not what I expected. That seemed quite painful.â
     âI told you, Iâm not a Mew!â Crystal hissed, trying to breathe through the pain, seeing her human hands. She slowly pushed herself up as her strength returned. âAnd of course itâs painful. Imagine every bone in your body breaking, deconstructing, every tendon and muscle overstretching. All at once.â
     âEvidently. My mistake, Miss. But donât worry, I have a way to fix everything.â The man made a gesture toward a strange statue, sitting off to the side.
     âYou,â Crystal growled out, glaring at the man. âGet it away from me.â
     âNow, now, this is my Beheeyem.â Than man walked over to stand near it. âHeâs going to fix this whole mess right up.â
     âHow can he possibly do that?â she asked, suspicious.
     âBeheeyem, erase her memories then prepare Teleport back to Pinwheel Forest. Weâre dropping her back off where we found her.â
     Before Crystal could say anything, the Beheeyem arrested her mind, and the memories of the last couple of hours started dissolving like those in a dream.
     âI hope we meet again,â the strange man said.
     One thing, however, stuck with her: her body began shifting again.
Without warning, he swiped at me, his claws glowing purple. Dragon Claw, I recognized. I only just got out of the way in time, but the follow-up Dragon Tail caught me off-guard, and it slammed hard into my side â knocking the air out of me, but I wasn't sure if that was all, or if my ribsâ Can't think about that now, I thought, pushing the thought aside. Pain is an indicator. Nothing more. I hastily breathed a Flamethrower in the Krookodile's direction on instinct.
I thought of Ninetales, thanks to Hex, and their ability to curse â the legends I heard as I grew up. Will-O-Wisp, I thought, conjuring the cursed purple tongues of flame and sending them toward the Krookodile.Â
Belatedly, I remembered that the Krookdile was a ground-type. I need water!
The Krookodile struck before I could adapt. I had enough time to recognize the attack, and try and defend against it â Crunch, against my raised arm. Luxray used this often enough for me to know it well. I didn't have time, I couldn't do anything so fast â crunch, right on my arm.
The pain was similar to the pain of using Transform, but it wasn't resolving into anything. I heard myself scream in pain â the Krookodile's jaws must have broken my arm.
In the haze, my yell turned into a roar, and the rest of my body started to burn. Ninetales, I had the brief clarity to think. Mid-Transform, I used Iron Tail as I gained the nine tails, slamming each tail down sequentially onto the Krookodile. I landed hard, unable to use one of my front legs â even though Transform, it stayed broken. With my whole body hurting, I forced out a Hydro Pump directly at the stunned Krookodile. He finally fainted, to my relief.
I struggled to my feet, holding up my broken leg. I didn't want to Transform. I don't have enough energy to use it again, especially not with this leg. Can I heal it with my ability?
Sebastian approached the door, and I snarled at him, fire licking at my teeth. His sickeningly satisfied expression only fueled my fury.
"What a lovely performance," he mocked. "I think we're starting to make good progress. I did note that you tried halting your transformation. Everything will be faithfully recorded."
As futile as I knew it would be, I blasted the door with Flamethrower. I did get the satisfaction of Sebastian flinching back, though I did little or even no damage otherwise.
"Do you want to use my Krookodile for something else, or may I take him back?"
As if you need my permission. If you wanted him, you'd find a way to take him. I just continued baring my fangs.
"You'll lose this battle, girl," Sebastion promised me. "You'll become what you were always mean to be: a weapon. You made that choice. It's not our fault you did â but it's our goal to make sure you're useful in the process of Team Plasma taking over Unova."