Time is but a Gentle Stream, the Past Still at its Murky Depths

Dark was completely covered in metal, almost as if he was in armor, and he was taking the operators to Shade's operation. He opened the door, letting them in before he left, starting to return to the director.

"Tell me what you're doing RIGHT NOW!" Shade wasn't struggling, but wasn't stopping until she got an answer

"We're improving you," one of the operators said in a flat and bored tone. It was the only answer they would give.

Before Dark could reach the Director, a figure stepped in front of him. They looked as if to be a guard, but had bright, scarlet and hypnotic eyes. "You don't want to go in there...You want to be yourself again," they said, using a sort of mind control to break the Director's command.

Dark looked at the guard. "Away from me," he said to the guard, pushing past. His aura was clearly being coursed by the technology to keep him in control, it preventing hypnosis for him as he walked into the room. "I have escorted the guards," he said to the director, looking at Evangeline having been helped back into the bed. "What do you wish of me next?"

"Improving...I like the sound of that..." Shade smiled and didn't struggle at all, letting them do whatever to her.

"Find some useable bodies," the Director replied. "I need an army, and quickly."

The operators finally finished with Shade, and all but one left the room. The last one turned, smirked, and said, "Go to the Director," before leaving. The new technology forced Shade to obey.

Evangeline suddenly noticed a strange and keen sense that something was enveloping her. Noticing a lone figure beckoning her to leave, she convienant looked at the Director, who suddenly seemed angry. It seems the mysterious guard had created the illusion that Evangeline had gotten up and was trying to force open a window, causing all of the guards and the Director to make a move to stop her. Using the distraction, she slipped out of the room, invisible to all but the stranger.

"Quickly," the stranger said, "they'll discover it's an illusion soon." The two sped down to a broom closet and hid inside, aware of the searching guards running where they had been moments ago.

Dark walked outside of the room just before he heard Evangeline escape. "Primary objective changed," he said, using his aura to sense for Evangeline. He knew what hers was like, considering he had been around her for a while. He walked to the closet, pulling the door open and looking at her through the metal covering his head, though it wasn't like she could see him. "Evangeline located..."

"Right." Shade went to the director. "You wanted me, director?"

Suddenly, the stranger stood up and placed one hand on the center of the machenery on Dark's chest. It began to melt away, and different wires started to fizzle and pop as they broke. "They're dumb enough to put the main componants right on the chest," they said, smirking at Evangeline. "Unless they wised up, which is very unlikely, this should break their control on your friend." Evangeline looked to Dark to see what happened. Curiosity of the stranger also built up, but she didn't voice it at the moment. There were other times for that.

"Ah, it was a success then." the Director observed. "Go help Dark with whatever he's doing. His command is showing that it changed, so he may need assistance."

Dark looked at the stranger, the machinery on his face falling off. "Quit, quit," he yelled at the stranger, pushing her hand away before he fell to his knees holding his chest. "Are you tryint to kill my heart!" He cringed, the remaining machinery sending a warning to Shade to capture him for remodification.

Suddenly, another Shade walked into the room. "Hey, director...Wait...Who's that???"

(Zorua'd)

The director looked at the Shade without modifications. "Which of you is the real Shade," he asked, pulling out a gun. "I demand an answer!"

They both gave an answer of a simple "I am."

The director loaded the weapon with ammunition. "You, with modifications. Go check on Dark." The modifications made him obey, the director pointing the gun at the other Shade. "You, step forward."

The modified Shade stepped out, but stayed listening.

The other stepped forward. "What is it?"

The director aimed the gun, firing it multiple times at the other Shade [without modification]

She dodged bdfore a single shot was fired. "Trying to kill your own superweapon?"

A Zorua covered in metal walked in. "Still not getting it?"

The director looked at the small pokemon covered in metal. "You tricked me?!"

Dark looked at Evangeline, him trying to pull the metal off but finding it was melded pretty tightly.

"And during it all, I got Shadow out of here...Now then...Got a reason for me to stay?"

The Zorua laughed. "And your tech doesn't affect pure Pokemon like me..."

The director looked at Shade and his/her pokemon. "Intelligent. I like that. However, I don't think I'll let you stay, unless your caged," he said, pushing a button on a desk and putting the two into a cage. "Now, if you'd excuse me. I have to check on my subject." He made sure they couldn't use mumbo-jumbo to get out of the cage as he got guards in the room and left to check on Dark and Evangeline.

"Here," the stranger said, "I can help with that." They then carefully used one finger to melt and seperate the majority of the technology off of Dark's body. "The name's Tails, by the way, your fellow experiment."

Evangeline nodded toward Tails, then gave Dark a concerned look. "You okay now, no weird mind control?"

The Zorua chuckled and smashed through a bar, making an illusion to make it look normal. "I bet you couldn't beat us in a fight!"

Dark looked at Evangeline. "I know this is probably the wrong time," he said to Evangeline. He had thought a bit whilst in mind control. "But I want you to know if something goes wrong." He moved to Evangeline, hugging her and kissing her cheek. "Thanks for saving me so much."

The director didn't speak to the zorua or Shade. He just walked from the room, prepared to sedate Dark and Evangeline should the need arise.

Evangeline blushed, and her eyes turned downcast. "Nothing's going to go wrong...and your welcome," she replied. "Now let's get out of here." Just then, a loud bang sounded above them, and Nev appeared through a new hole in a celling pannel. He jumped onto Evangeline's head, and didn't seem to notice the stranger.

"You have no idea what I've been theough!" he said, before going limp and passing out from exhaustion.

"We're now under the cover of an illusion," Tails said, "It won't last long, but if we hurry, we should be able to just walk right on out of there."

Dark smiled at Evangeline before the director opened the door. 'They aren't here,' he said angrily, noticing Dark's armor/machinery on the floor. 'He as helped...' Dark helped Evangeline sneak from the room, keeping her hand and rushing dkwn the halls with her and Nev in her other arm.