Ah lie, ah!

Chapter 1
A tall, ominous gate was looming over a dark parking lot of a rather important looking building at around midnight. Everything seemed quiet enough, but the job wasn't done. Being a Security guard and all, Josh had pretty much all day to think about philosophy. Not that he was a philosopher, but he definitely thought about certain things. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something stirring toward his most prized place within the area: the gate.

As morning rose, so did I. I really didn't like my natural body clock, but there's no escaping reality. It was around 5AM, meaning I had plenty of time to get my daily coffee then drive off to work at a local bank. People ask me why I always have coffee in the morning, but, honestly, if they saw me without it, they wouldn't ever ask that again. While starting the black coffee maker (which smelled like burnt toast most of the time), the phone rang.
"Hello, may I speak to Aaliyah, please?" I instantly recognized this voice. Not that it was a mystery to me at all, what with being in trouble every few days.
"May I help you, sir?" I take a pause for a sip from my coffee, then I added: "You are still a man, right? Not that you've shown some.. different activity. Unless you have? Because you know, you'd be great with my father." This seemed to draw the line.
"You just don't get it, do you Aaliyah? This is a reoccurring problem for you. You always have to say something polite, then twist it with the weirdest of images. Some colleagues and I just couldn't stand you anymore... So we decided it was time for you to go." As he was telling me this, I just froze. Another angry boss. Just fantastic. They say I have an attitude? Well, no use arguing with him now.
"Okay, sir, just be reminded that without me, your company could go bankrupt. Not to mention that new person still doesn't know how to work half of her programs yet. She could barely click a computer mouse last I checked." And with that, I hung up the phone with a great, big, sigh.
Watching carefully, Josh kept staring at the gate. If this is who Josh thought he was, he was going to let him have it. But instead of them asking to be buzzed in like a civilized person, this figure just decided to skillfully jump over the fence. This was rather unusual, considering the fact the fence was 22m high, electrified and barbed rather generously.
The figure seemed to have decided to just take his chance and bolt toward the nearest building. He stared at his map of the property. That meant it was at the water purification plant. Looking back at the screen, Josh saw nothing. Every location given in the cameras were completely blank. How did this person get past the steel door? He had just had a iron floor built in there, too...
Well, I had to do something. Looking for a job wasn't easy at this time of year, and websites weren't exactly my kind of thing. Granted, I used to work at a bank, but they didn't really have use of the internet yet. I still had my search engine running on my phone, just in case.
After a while, I started to use my phone to find locations, as well as staring at every sign I could possibly see. The phone blinked twice, as it always did due to low battery, and gave out one single location: the office building right next door to the town's most raving night club, the Utopian Nightmare (not that the name told anyone it would be a place of happiness, I blame all those freaky people).
I went to this office building, and stared at a receptionist. She was just standing there, assuming I'd speak first? To think desk people were supposed to be polite to others, but I usually wait for them to start talking rather then begin as the speaker.
"May I help you?" "Of course, like that isn't your job." I wanted to say, but all I said was "I'm looking for an application, do you have any?" She gave a frantic wave at who I assumed was her boss, by the look on his face.
"Mr. Cook, sir, this woman claims to be looking for an application." She said it in a rather matter-of-fact tone, as if I weren't unique in any way. I shot a glare at the receptionist. Did she really intend to speak of me like that forever? Not if I could help it.
"Oh, why would a lady such as yourself, Aaliyah, be looking for a job? You weren't fired again, were you?" Wow, he really had me there. What would I say? You're correct.? Absolutely not. "You see, they had some overflow, and since I didn't have the experience they wanted, they decided not to keep me." I was a good liar, I hope.
"Well then, that changes everything. Let's see here.." Mr. Cook stared through a nearby cabinet in the receptionist's desk.
"Ah, here it is. Aaliyah. Age 24. These aren't many things to go by. Oh, wait! Here's another piece of paper in here. Lets' see what it says." I really didn't like this guy. But I really hoped he didn't see me flinch at him finding that report.
I found a way to continue without losing my mind! This is great! ^-^

Chapter 2
He really had to get in this building, to fulfil his mission here. Being in this community of humans made him feel really uncomfortable. Of course, this was his first mission.
"Don't worry, their security isn't that good," the voice had said. Is this why it was so hard just get to this building? This tiny, one-roomed building was his objective, and it was entirely made of some sort of metal. He looked around.. Nobody to be seen. All he had to do was dig, since his objective was going to be underground.

"Sorry, your records are far too horrid for me to accept you here." I gaped at him. "You seemed like a nice man, up until that very last statement. Could you make an exception?" I was really pushing my luck, I know. But when you've gone through what I have, it'd be no surprise to try anything to be employed.
"Who said you'd have to be employed as a human?"
Okay, now that I couldn't get a job, the heat must have gotten to my head. I'm told I'm hot-headed, but I always thought they were joking or at least using a figure of speech. This was seriously freaking me out. I staggered a bit, realizing I was thinking too hard somehow, and just fell. I could only tell I was falling because of the ground hitting me hard on the head. "Aaliyah? Don't you dare..." I couldn't make out the last part of what he said. I felt too exhausted to do anything. I needed to rest.

As he dug, he dodged quite a bit of debris. It was a long way down, but eventually he reached a large row of perfectly carved wooden planks. Apparently this part of their building wasn't very protected.
As I woke up, I felt dizzy. It was probably from the fall and hitting my head. I assumed I hit my head, because I woke up in a completely different place. The ceiling had disappeared! I turned to my side to assess the situation, because you don't move in your sleep on your own unless you sleepwalk and I never was much of a sleepwalker.
As I turned to my side, I noticed I was in some sort of giant floating bubble. I couldn't move very well, so I just decided to stare. I could see through the bubble as if it were invisible, but I knew it was there. I could feel it. This was making me slightly on edge. Why would I be put in a bubble? Who made the bubble? Where was I?
"You are the next person chosen to test a new theory."
Not only did that voice really scare me, but what it said made it worse. A theory? I just couldn't understand.
He hit a conclusion that these are probably what held up the dirt. So he just cut a small circle using small spikes coming out of his hands, and hopped inside. There were gigantic tubs, filled with water. They were being filled and emptied with some sort of chemical (supposedly cleaning it, judging from the signs all over the place).
"Pour the contents of the vial into one of those machines."
So he looked for the nearest container. It was pretty high up, but with his wings it wasn't much of a problem. He flew up and read the label: "Water cleaner." Well, that was obvious. Unless all the others weren't cleaning the water.
He popped a vial from his boot, and poured a pure black liquid into the cleaning device. He watched as it completely overrode the chemical and only the black liquid remained. Now he could go home. Finally.

As I woke up, I felt as if my whole body were in-cased in a big tub of gelatin. Looking around, I noticed something. I was in a bubble. The bubble was almost completely invisible but at the same time it blurred my vision. I had no idea where I was.
A red-haired man was looking at me. He was among the few things I could see through the bubble. The only noticeable thing he has was his bright, red hair. It was going down to his knees! His right arm was indicating a tall, slim man who had red claws that looked like they were sharp enough to cut, yet gentle enough to manoeuvre practically anything with utmost care. Then I noticed his eyes. They were pitch-black, blacker than my coffee maker back home. If those two things weren't weird enough, coming out of his back were what I would call two thin and translucent wings. I didn't want to mess with him.
"I would like you to meet Scy. He is going to be your brother and instructor, and will help introduce you to your new life." Of course, I had no idea what that voice was talking about. Not that I had enough time to contemplate anything at the moment, because my bubble has popped. I fell into what seems to look like a gigantic pool filled with black liquid. I instantly felt it seep into my brain as water would a sponge. It flowed through my nose and ears at first, then I felt it course through my whole body. I began to feel disoriented and decided to black out again. I sure loved doing that.

"Don't worry, Scy. She won't be harmed. She's only going to be a bit disoriented and probably lose a bit of her balance for the next few days. It's nothing to worry about." Why did he not believe him? He remembered when this happened to him; he probably acted the same way if he wasn't freaking out tenfold. Just watching her suffocate as he has, it made him regret listening to that voice. Not that he had a choice anyway.
I woke up again. I really didn't want to, but I couldn't exactly sleep when I wanted to, did I? At this rate, I was going to have to be completely nocturnal. I was in a room that looked a lot like the inside of a tent. I could hear voices outside, so I decided not to move.
"So, when do you think she's going to wake up?" It a voice coming out of who was designated to me as Scy, who tried to drown me in what I assumed could only be some kind of drug. Oddly enough, though, I wasn't afraid or mad at him.
"I don't know, but when she does you'll probably have to teach her how to fight and carry out missions like you. If she slows you down, well, that won't necessarily be a good thing." Now, that was the voice I didn't like. The voice of the oddly haired person.
"They're wondering when you're going to wake up. You should probably walk outside and tell them you're awake." As if that voice was my mother. I'm not listening to anything that might kill me.
It realized I wasn't moving, so it added: "Okay, how about this. You go outside, and tell them you're up. You won't die, I promise." This stabbed my curiosity with an arrow aimed at dead centre. I didn't know why, but somehow I felt I could trust this voice.
I went outside (quietly) and hid behind a tree, which was somehow placed directly in front of the tent door. They obviously didn't go camping very often. I took a peek to the side of the tree to find Scy looking straight at me.
Chapter 3
I wondered what time it was. My watch had fallen off my wrist while I was sleeping. This was pretty normal lately. I needed to get a new strap. First thing on my to-do list. I went back in and looked at the watch. 4:53 am. So, I had slept for quite a while. It's amazing what can happen when you fall unconscious every two hours.
"Are you going to come out not? I really want to meet you." It was Scy's voice. He sounded pretty angry, giving the opposite effect he probably intended. The voice told me to go outside, so I probably should. I had no idea what it was capable of. Who knows what they gave me in my sleep?
I slowly walked up to him. My body seemed to have forgotten how to, but it soon remembered. He waited for me to come to him, rather than come and meet me in the middle. He definitely wanted me to suffer. I stopped almost right on his foot.
"So, Aaliyah, How do you find day one of your new life?" He looked at me with what I could decipher as pity. I still didn't know what he was talking about, either. After he noticed I wasn't talking to him, he added: "You do know you're supposed to answer questions, right?" Wow, that seriously started bugging me.
(Of course I do! I'm not an idiot you know!) He looked at me with a little pain in his eyes, but quickly blinked them away. So I was talking to him! This was rather different, and I'd have to get use to it.
"Why would you say such hurtful words, Aaliyah? You know that's not supposed to be in your programming." He really looked worried now. I had to comfort him somehow, so I just replied in a calm, soothing voice.
(What do you mean by programming? I'll try to follow this 'code' you keep talking about, just explain it to me.) He nodded, and motioned for me to follow him. He led me to a small cliff overlooking a rather big lake.

The red-haired man was back at the lab. Sitting at his computer, he reviewed the data collected by the pool, and made up his mind that her DNA wasn't good enough. It had to be changed. A screen popped on his computer, showing the string of Aaliyah's biological data.
Using his rather large set of buttons, he cut off certain pieces of this string and opened a folder containing documents he had saved from earlier studies, due to their stealthy potential. He opened a document, and replaced certain pieces of Aaliyah's DNA with it. He turned off his computer, sending the signal to one of his agents in the nearby area.

(Scy, was it? Do you know why I can't speak at the moment?) I went straightforward this time, seeking an appropriate answer. All I got back was:
"He's deciding which pokémon's data to merge with yours. It shouldn't take long, just a few more minutes. As for your speech problem, it's highly peculiar." The funny thing is, if this were any other day, I would've completely ignored him.
(All I can do is wait and see what happens.) I just didn't know how long it would be.
Chapter 4
The next think I know is it's the next day. I woke up inside the tent, so it clearly wasn't a dream. I take a look around. Everything was clearer, the ten's walls, the ground, my paws...
Wait, what? Since when did I have paws? (This isn't real!)
"What is it?" I turn around and sure enough, Scy was still there. Just wonderful. "Why did you scream? I don't see anything wrong.. Oh, wow. I like it, it fits you just right." He smiled at me, as if realizing what happened wasn't a bad thing.
(You like this, don't you? Because I don't. Don't try to make up my mind. It's staying as it is.) I crawled out of our tent and walked back to the cliff Scy had shown me. I looked down at the lake. The water was calm, so ti wasn't hard to find my reflection.
The first thing I noticed was that I didn't have my body anymore. My head had turned black and had large, black and pointed ears with yellow rings on their sides sticking out of it. My nose muzzled out a bit. My paws were still there, so I hadn't hallucinated. The paws I now had were also black in colour with more yellow rings on my upper arms and retractable claws. I should remember that the next time I meet Scy. My upper and lower body were also covered in black fur, but nothing was particularly special about them. My legs were the same as usual (leaving out the fact they were black furry paws!).
After a while, Scy showed up. I was about to attack him, but as an after-thought I realized he probably went through the same thing.
"Are you okay, Aaliyah?" He asked. He seemed to have a sincere tone, but I was still weary.
(And if I wasn't?) I asked, still a little shocked about the transformation.
"If you weren't, then I'd try to comfort you. Not that I think it would help, but it's worth a try." Hearing this made me feel bad. He truly wanted me to stop freaking out. I tried to calm myself, and I felt a little better. The yellow rings started fading.
(Thanks, Scy. Now I know how the rings work.) I looked at him. Just yesterday, his scizor-like features would have gotten me scared. Now, though, it felt sort of normal.
"You're starting to accept this transformation. Good. Now, you need to go back to the lab." That voice again! I looked at Scy. He seems to have heard it too.
"I guess we have to go," He said. "He'll be expecting us." I didn't know why, but nothing could be as odd as this.

As he completed the replacement of Aaliyah's features, he also added something in her mind to ensure she didn't try to run. The time to test this was coming soon. In the meantime though, he had to get ready. The last transformation had been successful, but this didn't mean Aaliyah's would be good as well. She might have picked up aggressive traits or something.
He closed the floor where the pool was. He didn't want to see her fall into it and have the entire thing happen again. That black fluid was far too hard to produce to waste.

As we went back to the lab – home, now that I didn't have anywhere to go – Scy wanted to learn more about me.
"So, what were you doing before you got... introduced to me?"
(Well, I was floating in a giant bubble.) He laughed a bit.
"You know that's not what I mean." He was trying to keep his good mood, but in his expression I could tell he felt sorry for me for some reason.
(I was trying to get a new job when I was taken. I had just lost my old one.) He smiled and nodded.
"So it was the perfect time. If it had been just a little bit later you'd have been considered asleep on the job."
(No, I had already been rejected.) I was starting to get annoyed.
We arrived at the lab. On the outside, it looked like a small shack with a low roof and one door. But I knew what was in there. Some of my worst nightmares had happened here.
Scy went in the door, and I hesitated. That would happen once I went in? Would I be captured or tested? What was this person like? Was there even a person in there with Scy? I just couldn't tell.
After a while, Scy came back out with someone else. Then I realized who it was. He's the man with the red hair! Unbelievable. I just wanted to run away, but somehow I just couldn't.
"Aaliyah, it's safe. He won't hurt you." Yeah, nice try Scy. What else will you tell me? That the world is a happy place for me right now?
(I'm not going in there. Too many memories.) In fact, I only had one real memory of the place. (Not that it was pleasant) and it wasn't even remotely comforting enough to return to it.
"You'll be fine. I'll be here the entire time. You can trust me." Scy was trying as hard as possible to convince me it's safe. I was as sure as – wait, I wasn't really sure of anything anymore. So I sighed and walked in with them at my sides. Noticing their formation, I was most likely in trouble.
Walking in, the first thing I looked at was the pool. It was gone! I could feel my ears perk up as I heard the red-haired man turn to face me, now that he'd measured his distance. I looked at him. He was grinning right at me. I shuddered and my yellow rings reappeared again. Good to know that I couldn't hide my stress anymore.
"Well, you look a better than you did before!" He opened his arms up as if to hug me, but he kept his distance. "Isn't this wonderful? I've blessed you with the one of the best lives you could possibly imagine." I looked at Scy, who noticed my anticipation and nodded, as if to say he had my back. The red-haired man spoke again.
"Anyway, I have a very special surprise for you." He picked something up off a nearby table, and handed it to me. It looked like a necklace strung with that looked like shards of a Dread plate. As I took it from him, I instantly felt what one would call pure power coursing through me. The feeling was completely different than the black pool from a few days ago and was much, much less painful.
Scy looked anxious. He really wanted to say something. I could tell. I ignored him and put on the necklace to find it melt into my body.
"Good girl," the man said. "Now, let me tell you about yourself, since you seem to be misled." Was it just me, or did that sound weird? I didn't have amnesia. Oddly enough, I believed him too! This just wasn't supposed to happen.
"Firstly, you need to forget about your human life. You will never go back to it. Lose your connections to all humans you know." As if on command, my mind instantly felt empty. The only information I could think of was Scy and the red-haired man. No matter how hard I tried to think of something else, it always fell to them.
"Let me introduce you to your family. This person standing next to me," My eyes darted to Scy, who was (surely enough) still standing there. "is your brother. He may be of different origin, but he is your biological brother. I, myself, am your father. My name is Reynard, while yours shall be Nila."
This was a lot of information to take in. I don't know how I managed to follow all of it, but I remembered it all clearly. Scy looked really sad now. I couldn't tell why.
As Father left the room, Scy came to talk to me. He looked like he really needed to say something.
"Aaliyah, are you okay? I couldn't help but witness what Reynard has done to you." I looked up at him. He looked concerned. I felt I could only tell the truth.
(He did something to me? I don't feel any different. My name is Nila, by the way, not Aaliyah.) Seriously, how many other Umbreon pokemorphs could he know? He was probably just exhausted. (You sound like you could use some sleep.) Hopefully, he'd listen to me and sleep away his confusion.

I was approaching a rather large house. It had doors that were plated in gold, and a chimney made out of various evolution stones. I looked up. Arceus was standing on its roof, and whispered: "This is the only time you'll ever see me again. I'm just here to say that I've received the memories you oh so happily donated. Enjoy your new life." That was weird. My new life? What did he mean? I didn't remember giving him any memories...

I opened my eyes. I was curled up on my black carpet. It was rather soft with a nice twinkle to it. I got up and went to get some food. I wondered why I was extremely hungry. then I remembered I hadn't eaten in at least three days. What did I do that made me forget to eat?
At the table were Scy and Father. They were discussing something very excitedly. When Scy stopped to look at me, so did Father. Why were they looking at me? They were probably talking about me.
"Good morning Aali – err, Nila!" He smiled at me again. I've never seen him so happy before. He had nearly called me that other person's name again, though. "Are you feeling better now?"
(I was fine yesterday, and this morning I'm still feel fine.) That was the truth. I didn't feel good or bad. I felt completely neutral.
"Well, if you say so." Why didn't he believe me? How strange. I've never lied before, or at least I didn't remember lying.
"Nila, sit down and have some breakfast with us." I never have turned down anything to Father, so I sat down in between him and Scy, who hugged me and shed a tear. I've never seen him cry before, either. He walked up to some berry plants we keep just outside. He came back in with a couple of berries. As he sat back down, I saw that they were persim berries.
(I thought the persim berries were only meant for confusion,) I wondered, (so why would you bring them out? Is someone sick?) I suddenly felt worried for Father, but he looked like he was okay enough. In fact, he even looked a little annoyed at Scy.
"Yes, Nila. Someone here is sick, and they must eat their persim berries. I'm not sure if it's going to work though." My rings faded into view again. I really didn't like how they acted when I was feeling stressed, but you can't stop reality.
(Who are you going to give them to? You seem healthy enough and Father looks like he's more than healthy.) I wasn't sick either. I felt normal, other than my yellow rings indicating my unease. What's worse is that Father had noticed them. Scy probably has, but he was preoccupied.
"Scy, why would you take out persim berries without needing them? Clearly she's healthy enough without them. Look how nervous you're making her!" Father was right as always. Scy had no right to use medicine without warning.
"Reynard, why would you stop me? She clearly could use one. She is acting confused enough for me to be worried. I feel like I need to try something." Father sighed.
"Okay, just don't overdose it." Scy handed me the two persim berries. I bit into them. I didn't feel any better. Actually, the only thing I felt now was drowsy.
"Look! See, Reynard? Her rings are disappearing!" As if to respond to that statement, I had to eat one of the chesto berries stashed in the cooler.
(That didn't seem to work. Now do you believe me when I say I'm not sick?) I was starting to get annoyed. Scy went to the door and motioned for me to follow him. I followed him outside and sat down on a nearby rock. He faced me, all serious looking.
"Nila, tomorrow I have to go infiltrate a lab that operates near here. Raynard wants you to go too, but I don't think you should, being your first day and all." That's when I realized Scy had been crying the entire morning.