Whee!
Zafar is the Spanish verb ‘to wriggle out of’
Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me!
Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks
Dedicated to Shadow Darkness Dragon to encourage more
fanfic
Summary: What if the Elite Four were controlled by another force?
Timeline: Post Book 7 of Pokemon Special
Warnings: Shonen-ai championshipping, but in a mild way (Red x Lance)
Chapter 1
The rescuers picked their way across the rocky island, before a gasp was heard. “Here’s one of them!”
“That’s the leader,” The Captain said. “He looks like he’s been through a blender, doesn’t he?”
“Mm. What should we do?”
“I suppose we’ll have to fix him up a bit before we can get a confession out of him. Put him on the boat.”
“Yes, sir…”
“Merciful Mew, what is this?” The nurse gasped. Metallic implants crawled down the trainer’s back and arms, sometimes a flash from exposed wire…
“Don’t touch it. It looks bad.” Another nurse said. “Wait… dear lord, he’s not the only one with them!”
“What?”
“The two women patients – they’ve got them too!”
The Captain came in to investigate, hearing the high voices. “What is it?”
“What are – these?”
Falkner sucked in a breath. “Those are…!” Illegal implants, banned twenty years ago – used to control rowdy pokemon or induce breeding…
But how could they work on humans? Unless the Elite Four weren’t human…
Dragon. Ice. Ghost. Lance could use the dragon’s natural abilities in battle. Lorelei could use ice to make voodoo dolls. Agatha could go incorporeal and manage most ghost attacks…
Did that mean they were pokemon? No, the technicians were analyzing their DNA right now and it rang human, true enough…
It took a team of computer experts two months to remove the implants, and only then did the Elite wake. Lugia knows how long they’d been controlled…
Was recovery possible?
“I’m fine.”
“You just recovered from the final surgery – it’s barely been four days. You can’t leave the hospital until we’re entirely sure that you’re completely recovered.”
“Can I have visitors then?”
“Certainly…” * although I highly doubt anyone would *want* to visit… *
The next morning, Red arrived.
“I-I never hated you.”
“You should.” He didn’t look up from the pale green coverlet; the hospital blankets were such flimsy things…. “After all, I hurt your friend. Yellow, I believe her name was?”
“She’s not my friend! How could she be after nearly – after she nearly killed you?” Red’s black-gloved hands clenched and unclenched. “She…!”
“I nearly killed her…”
“But she’s not lying here in a hospital bed – she’s not – and she hasn’t lost everything like you have, Lance!”
“I haven’t lost everything, Red…”
“Lance, don’t lie to me please…”
Golden eyes slowly rose to meet crimson. “Red…they took me apart. They may harp about the surgery being a success, but-!”
“Your… Lance, what happened?”
“I was fine with the implants! I’d be fine if they were still there! But now that they’re gone, I feel incomplete…”
Red sighed. “I don’t blame you.”
“Lorelei and Agatha hurt you…”
“But it’s not your fault! Besides, it wasn’t that bad – I was only frozen for a few days – I’m fine!”
Lance closed his eyes. “I can’t feel anything anymore… they did a hack job, no matter what they claim. They’ve damaged my nerves – they just yanked the metal out after they disabled the self-destruct mechanism. And now I can’t feel anything…”
Even if we were controlled, they still have some kind of perverse pleasure in ‘punishing’ us…
Red slowly traced a line along Lance’s cheek. “You don’t feel this?”
“Nothing.” The Dragon Master laughed. “No temperature, no pressure… that sounds like a physics test, doesn’t it?”
“Will… will it get better?”
Lance shrugged. “Perhaps, with time…. But what kind of trainer would I be now that I can’t feel anything?”
“Oh! I er…
um… Professor Oak told me to give this to you…”
Lance looked at the small red
pokedex with surprise. “What?”
“He… um, well, he thinks that it wasn’t your fault – Agatha and Lorelei already recovered – they had less than you, I think, but they passed all the tests so they’re clear, and so by association, you are too…”
“I’m not guilty…?”
“Lance, don’t you understand? They don’t blame you for what happened at Cerise, and neither do I!”
Lance pulled Red into a hug as he sighed mentally. * But I wanted to kill all the humans…. We all did… so my dear associates manage to lie past it. Then I suppose I can play the part as well, and we’ll wait… *
It would be another year before they could attempt summoning Lugia again…
“Thank you, Red… this means a lot to me…”
“I know.” Red smiled. “But I missed you. I do have a question though.”
“Ask away.”
“Um… when did you get those?”
Lance frowned. “I think I’ve had them since I was five or six, why?”
“No reason…” A sudden blush covered the Pallet Trainer’s face, as he recalled stolen moments in Viridian Forest, just two children, nothing special, just games…
Then… was your friendship for me also part of your controls?
I hope not.
“Red, are you all right?”
Red blushed as Lance finally let go of him. “Y-yes! I’m fine!” * what’s happening to me? Why am I feeling so touchy? *
Perhaps I’m just worried… but I’m glad he’s all right now, mostly…
Ah… this could be interesting! The Dragon Master smiled as he pocketed his new pokedex. Perhaps this would be interesting…
End Chapter
Completed 6/22/05
Phantomness: ^^
Lance: Least you got a Plotbunny…
Phantomness: Yep!