I used to live in the darkness

Dress in black, act so heartless, but now
I see that colors are everything
Got kaleidoscopes in my hairdo
Got back the stars in my eyes, too, yeah now
I see the magic inside of me

-Rainbow; by Kesha

Irina remembered darkness. That was her first legitimate memory. Darkness, then something else. An unfamiliar sound. What was that? She'd never heard anything like it before; though she'd never been conscious before. It sounded like it was trying to say something. Was that it? Was it trying to tell Irina something? That had to be it! She was being contacted! By what or whom, she had no idea. Was she supposed to be scared? Irina was confused, maybe a little frightened. Was that normal? What was going on, anyway? Irina tried to open her eyes, to understand what was happening, but she couldn't. Her eyes refused to open. Then she slipped back, her consciousness disappearing.

The second thing Irina remembered were her eyes opening. Was that natural? She could open her eyes, so it had to be. But everything was blurry and distorted. She couldn't make heads or tails on what was happening. It didn't make sense. Was Irina in some kind of unnatural world? A place that didn't make sense? She had to be. God, what was going on?! Irina's consciousness was starting to pick up on other things now. Her body. . . .it didn't feel natural. Something about it felt off. How could that possibly be? Her eyes cast downward she saw her body curled – a fetal position? Then there was a tube. Irina felt her brows furrow at that. The tube started near her face and went downward, further than her eyes could go.* Suddenly, Irina felt her body twitch and convulse, as if it were waking up. It was a strange feeling, and it left her wondering what kind of experiences she'd have. Who would be waiting for her? Would that weird sound be there? Irina really hoped she'd get to meet whoever made those sounds. It'd be amazing, for sure.

After what felt like a lifetime, Irina sensed her body descending – down what, she didn't know, but it was definitely an odd sensation. Not long after, she felt her body being pressed up against something soft; almost as if her body were molding together with it. Whatever had initially been around Irina's face quickly removed itself as she made her way out; her body being forcefully shoved through an opening. Once her head and shoulders were out, the young girl instantly felt cold. As the rest of her body slid out, Irina finally took her first breath, the chilled air filling her lungs almost painfully. Her body instantly curled into a ball, trying to warm itself. She was covered in some kind of liquid, and the cold air did nothing but make her uncomfortable. When she looked at the ground she was laying on, it looked as if it were made out of concrete, but wet from where she had come out.

Irina's breathing became more labored, quick and short. Her eyes blinked away and remaining blurriness, taking in the surrounding area. There were weird machines, blinking lights, and what looked like a big steel door. Was this what everything was like? This was the kind of world she would be brought into? What kind of purpose did Irina have? Her brain was overloading with questions and worries. She had no idea what to expect.

"So you're awake." A voice snapped Irina out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw a man in a sharp black suit. He was looking down at her condescendingly, and it made chills run up Irina's spine. She could see he was holding some kind of cloth in one hand, and he threw it down in a haphazard attempt to cover her. "You're premature," he responded. "Though you're not at all what I expected."

Irina opened her mouth to try and say something, but nothing came out. Not even the smallest of sounds made their way out of her mouth.

With a sneer, he let out an arrogant huff. "Blasted. . . .," he trailed off, muttering under his breath. It was too low for Irina to here. "Get yourself cleaned up. I suppose you'll have to do. You're the only one who survived anyway."

And with that, he left.

-Rainbow-

What was it about humans and their need for companionship? Was there something about it that Dusty just wasn't understanding? It seemed wherever she went, someone was always craving the attention of others. Whether it be romantic or platonic, the company of others seemed to fill humans with joy. And for Dusty, she never really had that kind of urge. At least, she didn't think so. Her travels showed her a lot of different things, helped her experience a lot of different emotions, but the need for other human company just didn't seem to reveal itself to her. Loneliness, solidarity – those were feelings Dusty seemed to enjoy. She could think when she was alone, not have herself bothered with the loudness of others. By herself, the fourteen year old could accomplish anything. That's what mattered most, right? Being able to accomplish as many things as possible? That seemed to be another thing humans aim for.

Letting out a sigh, the young girl leaned back in her seat, her eyes lazily scanning over the crowds of families and kids gathered at their tables. Dusty couldn't comprehend how any of them could live so normally. In a way, she envied them. They had the lives she wished she'd been given. Instead, she had to live in constant fear, wondering if she'd even make it to the next day. She didn't have a very happy beginning, and she was desperately trying to determine what to do with herself. What was it about Dusty that made her who she was? She'd lived her entire life on survival mode, and suddenly she's out in the world, running from enemies and trying to live as under the radar as possible. Dusty wasn't going to risk her safety to being sent back to him, though it didn't seem to matter. No matter what she did, his goons always seemed to find her. Dusty could have been doing everything in her power to live as quietly as possible, moving around as discreetly as she could, yet she'd always be discovered. His goonies were very good at their jobs – or, some of them were. Others were easily taken down, which resulted in amplifying the number of bad guys after her. Sadly, it wasn't like Dusty could really tell anyone what she was going through, no one would believe her. And if, somehow, she managed to convince someone of her situation, they'd call authorities and those were the last people Dusty wanted involved. That was why everything was kept to herself.

Dusty had learned early on that only she was capable of handling her problems. Any other involvement would only escalate things and make them more complicated. In a way, she did believe that. There were a few instances, after her departure, where she managed to snag a place to stay with a few people. They managed to find out about a few issues and tried to get themselves into it; Dusty made sure to leave not long after. She wasn't about to waste her time and energy on someone who couldn't keep their nose out of her business. Were they really trying to help her? Maybe. Did Dusty need assistance in her situation? Probably. Life as a teenage runaway wasn't easy, there were a lot of risks, and Dusty made sure to stay as safe as possible. She didn't want too much attention drawn to herself. However, she could see a few people glancing her way – particularly the fast food joint's employees. Dusty had managed to find herself at a city called Amity Park. Nothing big, but there were enough people to make a difference. One of the popular hang outs was a fast food joint called Nasty Burger. Dusty could tell that it was a very common gathering place for other teens, and she appreciated the opportunity to observe other kids her age. She'd be able to understand them, see how they operated in big groups. Some were loud and dramatic, others were quieter and more reserved. It was interesting. Again, however, she had to wonder if she should tell them that, one day, all their happiness and joy would soon be gone. At some point in their lives, they'll experience pain, they'll know the feeling of absolute worthlessness, feeling out of place and unnecessary. How would they handle news like that? Poorly, Dusty assumed. Regular people didn't take news like that well.

Still, in a way, being able to observe humans in a natural state brought Dusty a sense of comfort. They seemed so at ease, so unaware of the world's problems. Unaware there were people who probably suffered more than them. Dusty made sure to keep that in mind. She'd let them enjoy their happiness, their blissful unawareness. They deserved that much, right?

(A/N):

This chapter was probably confusing, but I'll try to – hopefully – have future updates that will better explain what's going on. If you've got constructive criticism, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? I'm all for that. If I don't know what I'm doing wrong, I won't know what to improve on. So there's that.

I own nothing in the DP universe. All I own are my OCs and the subplots I put in. If you've got ideas for OCs/subplots, PM me or leave a review.

If you were having trouble imagining what Irina was contained in at the beginning of the chapter, I guess the easiest way for me to explain it would be what Mewtwo was contained in at the beginning of the first Pokémon movie. I'm sure there'll be pictures of it on Google or videos of it on YouTube. I don't know. I'm probably gonna make a few changes to this chapter later on.

On that note, have an amazing day, my friends.

Chi August