Chapter #16:

  As he sat in the center of a parallel plane of existence, Hiroki sighed softly to
himself. Frankly he was board and could think of a lot of places he could be and
things he'd rather be doing then sitting around in his little 'room'.

  The place he now occupied was in reality a small section of a server belonging to the Ranger
facility's main computer network. In this obscure world the laws of physics, as most people knew
them, didn't really apply. One good example that he knew of concerning that subject was that pieces
of raw data could be physically manipulated like common objects could be in the real world.

The other spirited mirage, Selena, had similar living quarters
and was known to be slavish in her pursuit of knowledge.

  Hiroki fought back a snarl as he recalled the tongue lashing he'd received from both her and
that deplorable Espeon, Rukia, for the dining hall incident. Granted that things hadn't gone quite
the way he'd planned, no one got seriously injured so he couldn't figure out what the big deal was.

Never the less, he now found himself confined to this digital prison because of it.

  Glancing to his right, Hiroki spotted a pile of conveniently placed data 'packets' and rolled
his eyes. The packets resembled thin, translucent flash drives which were multicolored and
most likely contained encrypted files. A dull grey one however, caught his eye.

  Snatching the grey packet Hiroki quickly opened it and verified that it was a note, since paper
didn't exist in this dismal dimension composed of binary. The note listed in great detail what he
was supposed to be looking for within the other data packets. All of which contained encrypted
files as he'd suspected.

  With a growl, he threw the note aside. He had no interest in becoming Selena's errand boy.
Since he wouldn't be going anywhere for quite some time Hiroki decided he'd find other ways
to keep himself occupied. The wench could do her own research.

  With the wave of a paw, he brought up a screen and quickly began to search through a vast
library of films he'd collected for something interesting to watch. Although some people might
find his collection disturbing he considered the films to be educational, if not highly stimulating.

Maybe he'd watch the one involving the Latias and the Buneary twins; that was always a good
one. Within moments he'd located the file but was surprised when an error message appeared.

“What do you mean file not found?” he shouted.

  He spent the next fifteen minutes browsing his other video files, only to get
the same result. Slamming a paw in frustration, Hiroki swore aloud. He felt
violated that his private collection had been raided.

  Taking a moment to compose himself, Hiroki closed the video file page and began a web query.
Although it might take some time, Hiroki felt confident that he could recover his collection since
he knew where to look. If he was lucky he might even find some new material.

“This is so not fair!” he wailed moments later as a message appeared informing him that access to the internet was denied.

  Closing the screen, Hiroki fought the urge to throw a tantrum and punch something. In an attempt to calm down
he shut his eyes and focused on his breathing. After a few minutes of this he slowly opened his eyes and activated
his stereo program. He was certain he'd heard somewhere that music soothed the savage beast.

  Hiroki allowed a slow smirk to cross his face as a peppy, metal tune started playing. Casting a glance at the pile
of data packets, he groaned. Considering the fact that he no longer had a choice in the matter, Hiroki opened another
viewer program and began to load the packets into it. He then created several file folders in order to filter out and
store the important information from the junk.

  According to the screen, there were at least four dozen files for him to sort through.
Sighing to himself, Hiroki turned down the volume on the stereo program and opened the first
file. The file was a drab introduction in which the speaker identified himself as Samuel Banner
and explained the importance of the files to come.

“Gee doc, that's very illuminating.” Hiroki muttered, rolling his
eyes as he ejected the packet and tossed it in the discard folder.

  He then opened the next file on the list. All he found were an assortment of tables and charts.
The data he was viewing dealt with chemistry, or biochemistry to be more precise. Hiroki groaned
as he ejected the packet and tossed it in the save folder. He knew these were the kinds of files
that Selena enjoyed puzzling over so he would leave it for her.

The next two dozen files were the same type of material or files he couldn't access. They quickly joined the
other protected files as he opened the next file on the list. Fortunately this one contained more interesting material.

“July 15, 1998. A meteor was discovered in the Hoenn region. The recovered fragments
 were found to contain unusual properties and as a result were named shadow stones.
 And that was the genesis of the Jenova project.” Banner's voice boomed.

“Upon closer examination, it was discovered that these shadow stones were in fact the crystallized
 form of a powerful virus. As a result it should be noted that this virus is capable of inducing incredible
 mutations within living organisms exposed to it.” Banner's voice droned on.

A link to another file appeared. Hiroki quickly clicked on the file and the good doctor continued speaking.

“What was most fascinating was that the virus' unique properties were first
 discovered by accident when it was injected into a living specimen by mistake.”

A video file appeared showing a Buizel being injected with something.
The date displayed for the event was October 17, 1998.

“During this discovery, it was noted that the specimen received an increase in its overall stamina
 and power as well as enhancements to its other natural abilities at the cost of its heart.” Banner stated.

Another video file appeared showing the Buizel becoming highly aggressive.
Hiroki cocked an eyebrow. Things were definitely starting to become interesting.

  Opening yet another file, Hiroki saw another video in which a Riolu was injected by an unknown substance.
He could only gape as the pokémon began to transform over the course of three minutes. The creature still
resembled a Riolu but was now completely charcoal colored with long fangs, wolf-like claws, and piercing red eyes.

  Throughout the entire transformation process, Banner explained that the pokémon was turning into
something he called a wraith and that it was becoming a byproduct of the virus' unique properties.
He then explained that it had only been four days since the Buizel had been infected.

“I cannot express enough that these creatures also received an increase in overall stamina and power
 much like shadow pokémon. However, these enhancements lead to psychotic breakdowns so violent
 as to make the creature's completely uncontrollable.” Banner stated.

“That's creepy.” Hiroki muttered, shaking his head as another video began to play.

  In this video, the mutant Riolu was lead into what appeared to be a makeshift arena. In the arena were
several other pokémon. The Riolu promptly butchered them all along with a few of the humans that got
too close. It was finally stopped with a well placed dart to the back and dragged away.

“Although I've been overruled on the subject it is of my personal opinion
 that the wraith should all be destroyed.” Banner concluded solemnly.

  As he ejected and filed the packets, Hiroki could do little more than shake his head.
He found it difficult to understand how anyone could do such things to another living
creature. Not that he had a right to complain considering his own origin.

  Hiroki was very much aware that some people considered him an enigma because he was an artificial life form
and yet he'd developed a consciousness similar to those possessed by living creatures. Most mirage pokémon had
no real personality to speak of and blindly followed whatever orders they were given. The best way he knew to
describe them was what human's called Zombies.

  Being a creature of habit, Hiroki had seen a fair number of late-night horror flicks
and had learned what the word meant. As a result, he smirked at the mental image
of Selena as a zombie, considering her inane devotion to the pursuit of knowledge.

  He and Selena however, were the exceptions to that particular rule. Each of them had distinct views about what
was right and wrong and knew what they did and didn't like. Although that was highly subjective. Sometimes, Hiroki
had to wonder how much of his personality had been influenced by his counterpart, Jovi. With a sigh, he let the thought
go and focused on the task at hand.

Opening the next file, Hiroki was hardly surprised when he heard Banner's voice.

“An interesting development to the Jenova project is that during the recovery of genetic material
 crucial to its continuation, our spies were able to steal a sample of genetic material from something
 the Rocket scientists called Prodigy Fifty-One.”

Hiroki cocked his head at the statement, curious about what the
doctor meant. Did this have something to do with his little sister?

“We were able to clone the Prodigy along with the other crucial pokémon
 and were able learn a great deal about how the virus affects its host.”

“I would like to note that despite its very young age, the prodigy has extraordinary abilities.
 In addition to the enhancements brought on by the virus, the specimen is extremely intelligent
 and could pass for a normal reptilian starter pokémon.” Banner continued.

“That would be helpful if I knew what this prodigy was!” Hiroki snapped.

He could think of quite a few starter pokémon types that were
reptiles. This prodigy could be a member of any of those species.

As if on cue, a chart appeared on the screen showing the genetic profile of a Totodile.

“Although it hasn't been verified, the prodigy is most likely stronger than normal
 and will have a keen intellect for combat in addition to mental acuity.” Banner stated after a pause.

  Hiroki stared skeptically at the screen. There was only one Totodile he'd come in contact with recently
and that individual hadn't come across as extraordinary. If anything, the guy was more than a little eccentric.
Not to mention the fact that said Totodile didn't look like he was capable of fighting off a Wurmple without
needing emergency care.

Hiroki highly doubted that this was the same pokémon mentioned in the report.

“One curious note concerning the prodigy is that it seems to be immune to the virus'
 psychosis inducing effects. More research must be done in this area.” Banner stated after a pause.

“This brings me to the main feature of this report.” he concluded.

  A link to another file appeared. Hiroki quickly clicked on it and another video file appeared showing the discovery of a fossil.
This was followed by a montage of sorts as another scientist took up narrating events. Banner meanwhile, was adding his own
commentary to the events that were occurring on screen and how they related to his research.

  In one screen shot, Hiroki saw a pokémon that had a great deal in common with his precious little sister,
at least physically. According to Banner, it was the first in the line to be produced. As he watched the creature
destroy the lab it was in, Hiroki could tell that it was very powerful; and had destructive tendencies to boot.

He certainly wouldn't want to meet the creature in an alley after dark.

  This was followed by another assortment of tables and charts that pertained directly to Banner's research.
As he skimmed through the material, Hiroki learned that the Rocket scientists were working on re-creating
another clone in addition to the pair that the Cipher scientists had labored on. All of whom had a human base.

  Shutting off the stereo program, he couldn't help feeling somewhat disturbed by the revelation that at one time
he'd had a brother. A point that was further enhanced when a side by side comparison of the clones and their
donor information appeared on the screen. The names ‘Drew’ and ‘Cheryl’ had a particular significance, although
for the life of him Hiroki couldn't understand why.

  As Banner explained about the male clone being infected and how it was reacting to the virus,
Hiroki felt numb. He was certain that Jovi knew nothing more about the second clone or what
was done to it beyond what she'd told him regarding the day they'd liberated sis from the Cipher lab.

  If memory served, something had destroyed the lab just after they escaped. Hiroki felt a shiver race
up his spine as he understood the significance of what had happened that day. His unease only grew as
a video file appeared showing the clone performing some sort of kata which was quickly followed by a
bloody rampage when the Cipher training staff arrived.

  The images reminded him of the Riolu video he'd seen earlier. As Banner's report concluded, Hiroki solemnly
filed the data away and stared at the now blank screen as if in a daze. His mind feverishly working to digest the
information he'd just witnessed. What could possibly motivate anyone to conduct such research?

  His thoughts suddenly turned to Aerithtwo. From what little interaction he'd had with her,
Hiroki knew she was very outgoing but had taken the news concerning her origin quite hard.
Fortunately that boy, Jaden, had been there to comfort her.

Hiroki rather liked the guy and knew the kid would take good care of his sister.

  As he continued to make sense of what he'd just learned, Hiroki felt conflicted.
This was because his sister had a right to know the truth about everything; yet he
was worried that the news would destroy her and he didn't want to see her hurt.

It was a very long time before he turned the stereo program back on.