Acceptance
By Chibi Pika
Rating: G
Genre: Angst

I knew my fate was sealed the second I saw them coming. There was no resisting, and yet I tried anyway. I thought maybe for a second that I could escape their plans for me…that I could escape the inevitable. Such hope was a foolish thought, and yet even now, I wish I still had it.

I close my eyes slowly, trying to block out my surroundings, for I always have and always will hate the virtual reality programmed into the inside of Poké balls. The second I was recalled into it, there was nothing left for me, and now matters are worse with the arrival of that cursed false happiness in the pit of the ball.

It does not last long, though.

I spiral out onto the cold metal floor as the ball is opened and the real world fills my senses once more. My sharp eyesight immediately adjusts to the darkness of the room, and right after that, my eyes fall on the machinery. Cold, twisted technology invented by man for our exploitation. It was what we were created for, I and the other experiments. They engineered us for combat, but our true deadly potential could not be realized so long as we were in control of our will. They had to be able to control our every thought and move if we were to be truly useful.

Two large, hulking beasts grab me by the arms while I am in my state of fearful awe. Their piercing eyes show no remorse beneath ridges of yellow bone atop their heads, but only comeplete indifference to my fate. I do not bother to attempt to wrench my scythe arms away from their grasp, for their muscles easily overwhelm mine as they slam my body against the slanted metal bench and snap my segmented arms and legs into the shackles, now completely preventing any movement.

I glare at the small group of humans in front of me: some sneering, others bearing cold, stern looks plastered upon their stiff faces. One of them turns to the others, and they nod. Then, he steps forward to the control panel, a blinking mass of buttons and dials along a steely gray frame. Tangled masses of wires run from it into the bench I am on, and though I stir slightly by reflex, I make no movement.

The others…is this what they went through? There were others like me. Born with powers and abilities they weren’t supposed to have. Intentionally mutated for the scientists’ twisted purposes before being trained to perfection by the handlers. All the others had already been in this room, and all of them came out with the same blank, emotionless look upon their faces that represented what was within.

I feel no fear as one of the blue-gray, muscled, humanoid beasts straps the helmet over the bony ridges of my head. I close my eyes slowly, anticipating what comes next. The scientist turns back and rapidly pushes the glowing keys, turning several dials and flips a large, metallic switch on the top.

I feel no change, no charge of electricity, no pulse of energy through the helmet. Is this what the others went through? Is this what it feels like to lose all mental grasp of reality? Complete silence echoes back my thoughts, but even as I contemplate the past, I feel my thoughts dimming. I open my eyes, yet I do not see, nor do any sounds reach my ears. I struggle to remember something, anything, yet I feel as though my mind has been separated from my body and brain.

I accept the circumstances as I feel my emotions disappear. All mental images and memories fade completely. I feel a flicker deep within my being, although my rapidly dying mind fails to comprehend it. It rises like a flame in my soul, but my last ties on reality vanish.

A glimmer of hope sputters and dies.