Wait, what…? I felt my knees shaking, conquered by fear. 'Step back,' my mind commanded, but I was paralyzed.

The sight of my Samurott, lying unconscious on the floor, stunned me. It took all the willpower I had left to take a step forward instead, to my dear Pokemon. Another step. And another.

It felt like I was stepping on my own heart. The more steps, the closer I got to Samurott, the more my trampled heart broke.

His laugh, echoing within the walled prison, wasn't helping.

"Samurott…!" I screamed as I hugged the poor thing. It seemed like for a moment, the only sound in the room was my weeps.

Did I fail…?

"Did you actually think you could win? Hah! You're just a little child. Your little fantasies, the bond you have with your Pokemon, will stay fantasies," Ghetsis' words stayed in my head. But it didn't affect me. I didn't react.

I can't react.

I was just numb, drowning myself to oblivion.

"T-touko…" With that, I looked up to see the source of the voice. Blue pools clashed with green ones. It felt like forever, getting lost in his eyes. Everything but his eyes was darkness. His pair of eyes was the only thing I saw at that moment.

Reality returned as soon as it disappeared. The next thing I knew, three shadows were around Samurott and I. It was the Shadow Triad, or as I liked to call it, Ghetsis' Puppets.

"Take her to her new room," Ghetsis commanded. Then, he turned his attention to me, smirking. "We have a place specially reserved for you, child. I hope you'll learn to like it, your length of stay there is still being debated."

I held to Samurott more tightly, subconsciously shaking as I glared at the three figures looming over me. One yanked my arm from Samurott's neck, but seeing that I wouldn't budge, another Puppet hit my temple.

"Samurott… N…" I took one last look at the said person, and the last thing I saw was a pair of viridian eyes, full of hurt and sympathy.

Black.


It was just all too much. Too much to handle in twenty minutes.

Ghetsis' revelation struck me like lightning. All those years, I've been so ignorant. He manipulated me. All my beliefs, my pure intentions, were so… one-sided. What I thought was the purpose of my life… All it nourished was the greed of a lecherous man I've always looked up to.

"And for the finale, Hydregion, Focus Blast!"

'Huh…? What's happening?'

I was so drowned in my thoughts that I've completely forgotten the situation I was in. I saw Ghetsis first, then his Hydreigon. Oh. Right, he's supposedly battling with Tou-

My thoughts were cut by a loud cry.

A cry of a Pokemon.

My reflexes made me turn immediately to the source of the cry. I saw Samurott, Touko's friend, get attacked by Hydreigon. It happened all so slow, and right before my eyes. The impact of the move had Samurott fall to the ground. It was unconscious, I knew right away. I've had a lot of abused Pokemon knocked out in front of me anyway.

The battle was over, and I was in shock. Touko, who I believed was the strongest trainer in this whole region, got defeated by Ghetsis.

I looked at Touko, to see if she was okay. Unsurprisingly, she wasn't. Heck, she wasn't anywhere near being okay. Her whole body was shaking, and it was the first time I've seen her like that.

It's the first time I've seen her so vulnerable.

She slowly walked to her fainted Pokemon. It was unbearable for me to see her so broken. A part of me just wanted to hold her in my arms, and comfort her. And I didn't even know why.

I stayed on my place, though. I've sensed the Shadow Triad near, surrounding her. My eyebrows furrowed; Ghetsis is planning something.

"Did you actually think you could win? Hah! You're just a little child. Your little fantasies, the bond you have with your Pokemon, will stay fantasies," I heard Ghetsis spat out.

I wanted to say something. Anything at all. Just to let Touko know I'm still here, that I am on her side. There were so much words coming together in my head, but all I choked out was, "T-touko…"

And damn, I can't even say it properly.

She noticed me though, and we just stared at each other for the longest time. What was really a few seconds seemed like years to me. The sparkle in her beautiful eyes was gone, and instead I saw tears.

Just through her eyes, I can see her heart breaking.

The triad finally showed themselves. "Take her to her new room," he said to them, and then to her, "We have a place specially reserved for you, child. I hope you'll learn to like it, your length of stay there is still being debated."

My eyes shifted to Ghetsis' direction. He noticed and all he gave was this smug smirk of triumph. Damn him.

"What do you mean by that?" I demanded, soft enough that only he could hear me.

"I mean what I mean. We'll discuss this later," was all his reply.

I didn't want to let it go that easily, but a soft whisper got my absolute attention.

"… N…" she said, looking at me. I felt like such a bad person with that. I got her into this unwanted situation. I'm sorry.

All in a timespan of twenty minutes.


A/N: Written 101911. Finished 102111. Review please, it's gonna be sooo much appreciated! By the way, I forgot to mention that in this ~*alternate universe*~, Touko is twelve, while N is fifteen.