Ever since Lillie and Gladion had arrived at Kukuis lab, everyone there had been discussing what had happened to Elio and where he could have went. Hau and Lillie were remaining hopeful that he would someday come back to them, they were optimists you could say. Gladion and Kukui were more realistic about it though, even if Kukui didn't show it. Believe me, he wanted Elio to come home safe and sound, but with how long he had been gone, he highly doubted it. Even if he was alive, he probably wouldn't be able to come home.
Gladion however, seemed to have taken his disappearance the worst. More than Hau even. He had blamed himself for Elio being kidnapped. He said he would stay close by, keep an eye on him, since the area he was in was dangerous. All it took was only looking away for a moment, and all he heard was Elio yelp, and nothing more. All that he had found was Elios opened bag. He didn't really say this much, only person he really said this too was Lillie.
She said she didn't blame him for their friend vanishing, yet it didn't help to calm his nerves.
This evening, he would be sitting on the porch, contemplating what had happened, just watching the waves.
"Why wasn't I there for him?" He said to himself, pulling out a cigarette.
"I should have went with him... at least should have kept a constant eye on him. Why did I have to get distracted??"
Lillie then came out, having heard Gladion talking to himself.
"Brother?"
"What do you want Lillie?"
"I thought I heard you crying. You usually don't do that. What's wrong?"
"What do you think?"
"Its about Elio, isn't it?"
Gladion didn't say anything, and Lillie sat beside him.
"Gladie, you know you can't blame yourself for what happened."
He didn't say anything.
"It wasn't your fault, you need to take that in..."
"I promised, I'd watch over him... all it was one little slip up on my end, and poof! He vanished with a yelp! Who could not blame themselves for that??"
"I understand why you feel that way, but you can't blame yourself. I don't blame you, Hau doesn't blame you, neither does Kukui. If it's anyone's fault, its those who took him." Nebby then jumped out of her bag, and jumped onto Gladions lap. It was tapping his arm with its gaseous limps chirping, seemingly trying to get Gladions attention. Lillie chuckled slightly at the sight.
"Nebby doesn't seem to blame you."
"It probably doesn't even know whats going on..."
"You never know, it might be sentient!"
"Aren't most beings sentient?"
"Erm, I think I meant sapient. Nebby could be sapient like us."
"So it might have human intelligence?"
"Yeah, its a possibility."
Hau opened the door, and gave a slight smile at Nebby when he saw it.
"You two hungry? Kukui is grilling Barbecue wings and potatoes tonight, and wanted me to ask you if you wanted any."
"I could go for some wings." Gladion said.
"Maybe, I'm not sure."
"Great! You two come in then, Kukui had them ready and wanted me to come and get you!" Lillie followed Hau, yet they both noticed Gladion didn't get up.
"Aren't you coming Gladion?" Lillie asked.
"I will, just need to think about some things." After Lillie realized she didn't grab Nebby and went back in, Gladion pulled his pack of cigarettes back out.
"Grey Torkoal" was the brand it came from. Sams brand Gladion had used ever since he fled from Lusamine almost two years earlier. Tried not to smoke much, for the sanctity of his lungs, but sometimes he couldn't help it. Would be a larger issue if there weren't bigger fish he had to fry.
"Elio... I hope you're still alive out there somewhere. You're too stubborn to let anything beat you, let alone kill you. But if we're being realistic, you probably died a long time ago..." He said as he took a puff.
Meanwhile, Elio had been brought to a room in the depths of Aether Paradise, being forced into a straight jacket by Xerosic and Faba, all the while Lusamine watched in the background.
"We can talk about this don't you see!? I can stay here! We can be a family, even with my mind intact!!" Elio yelled, trying to convince the two not to go through with the procedure.
"I'm afraid it's too late for that boy! The president gave that a chance, and you soiled that chance!!"
He had been trying to resist for a long time, and they were all yelling at eachother, yet Xerosic and Faba succeeded in placing the straight jacket on Elio.
"By Xerneas, does this kid ever shut up??" Xerosic asked.
"Hold on, I know how to keep him quiet."
Xerosic went and grabbed a role of duct tape, and approached Elio.
"GET AWAY FRO-" his voice went muffled as Xerosic placed the tape over his lips.
"There. Peace and quiet."
Elio was still squirming a bit, but it wouldn't be enough to get him off the table.
"God this kid is annoying."
"Wait until you meet his brother."
Xerosic, Faba, and Lusamine had worked together to create a sideshow of images from his past. The photo the Rotomdex had taken and printed at Akala, which Elio managed to post on social Media, and sites of the Island challenge from Alolan Vacation sites. Images of Iki-town, even Hala. Lusamine knew it was perfect to use, and she had given the signal to use the helmet.
"Right." Faba said. He grabbed a remote to have the needles retract into the helmet so it could be placed on Elios head.
"How long will it take?" Lusamine asked.
"Less than twenty minutes."
"So are we ready to finally wipe his mind?" Xerosic asked.
"Yes, why else would we be doing this?" Faba snapped back.
"Every little thing was considered, we know everything Elio won't need. All he'll need is the bare essentials."
Elio had been getting more frantic in his squirming, trying to break free of his straight jacket. He almost seemed to be screaming for help, yet it couldn't be understood what he was saying.
"Scream all you want boy, but I don't see the point. Noone will hear you screaming, so why even bother?" Faba asked, picking up the helmet, why Xerosic handled some kind of harness. He handed it to Faba, and Faba put it on the hole at the bottom of the mask. Elio realized it was supposed to keep the mask on his face, by it locking onto his neck. He kept squirming, yet deep in his mind he knew this would be his end. The end of who he was now to be precise. he didn't know if he would be in the backseat in his mind, or if it would just be like amnesia. He didn't want to think of it, and kept trying to get away.
As Faba tried to place the helmet on his head, he just kept trying to play Keep away. Trying to stretch out his last moments for as long as possible.
"Goddamn it! Hold him still!" Faba yelled, and Xerosic grabbed his head, keeping it steady, whole an employee grabbed his torso to keep him from squirming. The harness then closed onto Elios neck, and the helmet was now stuck on his head.
It was pitch black, and Elio could smell and taste rust, which for a moment he thought it was odd, as the outside looked as if it was made of stainless steel. A blinding light then pierced his eyes, which he soon became accustomed to. Was this some kind of Virtual-reality headset? That's what it reminded him of at least.
"Now!" He then heard a click, a slight whirring noise, and the needles pierced his skull and went into his brain. His entire head exploded into burning agony, and Xerosic found his squirming became more frantic than before, as Faba went to manage the sideshow.
His screams had become much louder, and the tape didn't seem to do anything, as it bounced around the helmet and went back into his ears. It put Elio on the edge of going into a sensory overload, as the helmet continued to whir, and the screen infront of his eyes went green. Steam seemed to he pouring out of some of the small holes in the helmet like a tea kettle, and the pain throughout his head stopped. Elio was breathing heavily, scared and confused. What did they just do? Was that all? He didn't feel any different.
Images of different cities and towns in Kanto were then displayed on the screen. Viridian, Celadon, Saffron, Pallet, he didn't recognize any of them. But the last one, he did recognize. Fuschia. One of the great coastal cities of Kanto, a rainbow of neon lights in the evenings. That's where his extended family came from. He could remember a family reunion he was brought to with his sister taking place there. Meeting his father, uncles, many of his family members. But then he could hear the whir of the gears inside the helmet, then the pain was reignited. He could hear buzzing inside his own head, seemingly searching for something. Then an alien feeling, maggots eating away at his brain, no his memories, and the memory was cut abruptly. He didn't recognize the city, that his family lived in it, nothing. His only experience of his ancestral homeland, gone, like dust to the wind.
Then was an image of Hala, and Iki-town. So many memories came to the surface there. The Grand Trial against him to leave MeleMele, getting his starter pokémon of the island challenge, first arriving many years earlier, almost countless memories. But then, like a blacksmith sharpening his blade against a grindstone, they were vanished as well. Vanishing into brain fog, like assasins into smoke after making their kill.
Elio knew what was happening at that moment. They were trying to wipe his mind, yet the realization had been fading as he realized it. He was trying to keep his mind blank, yet he couldn't focus on that, as more images were displayed. Verdant Cavern, Brooklet Hill, the Volcano Park, gone to the needles prodding his brain. Just about everyone he had known was forgotten. An image would be displayed, a memory would play out in Elios mind, severe burning pain, then the memory is gone. Then, he had an idea that he acted on quickly.
As he saw an image of Hau be displayed, he shut his eyes, trying to think of other things. Unimportant memories, such as the tastes of food, the smell of the sea, the feeling of sunlight on his skin, all those memories turned to ash. Elio felt as if his very being was being torn apart, as memory after memory was ereased. One by one, a piece of him fell into the abyss, yet he managed to cling to what he thought was essential.
Hau, Lillie, Gladion, his Pokémon, his very identity. Almost everything was gone, except for those and memories of the experiments. The tools, the vats, Faba, images of them weren't shown. The memories of Lusamine were gone too. Her waking him up, almost slitting his throat... her trying to kiss him moments earlier, all gone.
Were they done? That's what Elio thought. Every part of him had felt wrong, almost every part of him was gone. He didn't know what he was anymore, almost every part of his being was erased.
They then continued again, seemingly trying to get whatever was left of him.
They showed him an image of himself. No, the picture of him, Lillie, and Hau at the restaurant at Akala. They were trying to kill two, no, possibly three birds with one stone. The needles began their work, but then, the readings on his brain went dark.
His brain seemingly shut down for a moment, Elio had blacked out, seemingly being defended from any more of who he was being destroyed. Then, he woke up, not remembering anything of which he defended. His memories seemed to have just vanished? Faba couldn't tell what had happened, all he could tell was that Elios memories had just vanished. Perhaps he managed to suppress that somehow?
No, no. That was impossible, no man or woman, especially a mere child could suppress their memories all willy nilly.
Elio was breathing heavily, with great fear in his heart and mind, scared at the fact that he didn't know where he was, or who he was. With what Faba had seen, the old Elio had been erased, with the last of what made Elio who he was just vanishing, as if someone or something just switched off the lights, and he was gone.
He would then feel the needles exit his brain, with the puncture wounds healing over with more puffs of steam. He could then feel a small prick on his neck, and the echoes he heard from his breathing faded. He could feel a cool substance flowing through his bloodstream, then every fiber in his body relaxed. His fight or flight response from basically being lobotomized faded, and he felt as if he was floating. A wide, calm yet delirious smile spread across his face, as the drugs Faba said he would use worked their magic.
He felt safe, not caring who or what he was. He was happy, the flickering screen keeping him entertained in his intoxicated state. Over 20 mg of morphine were pumped into his system, as well as Ketamine, all of them just below overdose levels for safety. Yet Faba knew even if he did more, Elio would probably survive it. He had been basking in a feeling that some folks might say was the high of a lifetime, yet he didn't even know what was going on. He couldn't tell the passage of time, so he was like that for who knows how long, hours, days or minutes of pleasure from the morphine, with his mouth hanging open blankly.
The helmet played recordings of a voice, one that was unfamiliar to Elio, as he didn't remember anyone.
Sometimes, he understood the words, yet didn't know what it meant. The voice had been feminine, at least he thought it was after listening for what felt like hours. He could hear her, talking to him, beckoning him. Then, more images, no, a recording played on the display. It was a tall woman, who looked similar to him. Pale skin, platinum blond hair, and emerald green eyes.
She was holding out her hand, calling out his name. His name, what was it? Was it his own, or did she come up with it?
Elio tried to reply, but all that came out was a gagged mumble, and he seemed to try and move, follow the hand into the light. Yet the serene and light headed feelings were beginning to fade, and one more image was displayed. A golden trident, with the middle prong being a golden diamond, separated from the main symbol.
His mind faded to black, as the recordings continued to play.
They all seemed to know the deed was done, and Xerosic removed the helmet, revealing an Elio who had dots of blood all over his head, even in his hair. Small wisps of steam seemed to be emitted from some of them as well.
Lusamine was clapping her hands with childlike excitement, giddy that what Faba had predicted turned out to be true, other than the slight hiccup.
"Is it true?? He's finished?"
Faba had mumbled to himself for a moment, yet soon Lusamine could understand.
"Yes... he is. I theorize he will awake soon, perhaps in a day or few hours, but he is indeed yours. There is no need to worry about that."
Faba stepped in to help Xerosic with getting Elio out of the straight jacket, and checking for any damage that the helmet may have received.
He stared at the needles, they were seemingly dulled to an extent, due to Elios healing abilities.
"Fascinating... the bone might have been regenerating around the wounds, that could be why they aren't that sharp anymore."
Xerosic took a wash cloth, seemingly wiping away all the blood on Elios face and head. Faba took the equipment along with Xerosic, placed the helmet and IV drips filled with the mind altering drugs on a cart, and went to leave the room.
"He is all yours now." Faba said, as the scientist duo left the room, with the employee not far behind. Lusamine was all alone with Elio, and went to pick him up. She picked him up with ease, and noticed a tiny smile on his face, nothing like the delirious one when the helmet was on.
Lusamine was all too happy to see him appear so peaceful. Even under the Anesthesia, he always looked distressed. A smile spread across her face as well. For once she actually looked sane.
"Elio... I've done so much, and after all my work... You're perfect."
Arcs end.
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