Prologue: Introductions
Serena woke with a start. The early morning sun was peeking through the cave she slept in, casting a gentle glow over her body and throwing shadows on the walls and floor. She could hear the nearby stream gurgling against the rocks. She waited for her racing heart to slow; last night's dream had frightened her for sure, but she couldn't remember a thing about it.
She stood and stretched, spreading her front legs and arching her neck, shaking her head while being careful that her antlers didn't knock at the cave walls. As she slowly awoke and became more active, her blue antlers began to shimmer and change colors. The light struck them and cast rainbow reflections on the rocks. She blinked and yawned, dipping her head down to rub her face against her foreleg. She'd been in her Pokemon form for a long time now, almost a week. She stepped out of the cave, feet clicking on the stone and eyes blinking in the sunlight, and took in her surroundings. She was in a small valley, surrounded by rocks that stretched well over her head. There was a long field of lush green grass dotted with wildflowers that stopped at a grove of trees. A stream ran from the mountains into a nearby pond. Serena approached the pond and took a long drink from the cool, clear water. When she had first arrived at this place, it had been nothing but a rocky pit with a muddy water-hole and some dead trees. Now, thanks to her presence, it was bursting with beauty and life.
But only plant life.
Serena lifted her head and scanned her little valley. She flicked her blue ears forward and listened. Aside from the faint sounds of the stream and some rustling leaves and grass, the place was silent. It had been many years now, but the silence still gave her chills. There were no chirping Fletchling, no buzzing Beedrill, no splashing Buizel. At one point in her life, you couldn't go anywhere without seeing a Pokemon. Her heart ached. She missed the Pokemon. She missed her Pokemon. She missed her mom and her friends. Hell, she even missed Team Rocket… but they were all gone.
Well, not all gone. Some friends remained.
Though for how long, one had to wonder. The world was falling apart without the Pokemon, and soon everything would be gone.
Serena sighed. Bending her knees, she lowered herself to the ground and laid her head in the grass. She closed her eyes and waited to fall asleep; the colored pieces on her antlers folded in and all gold turned to light blue as her body began reverting to her Neutral form. This was all she ever did these days. Sleeping passed the time, made her forget the world around her. And in some small part of her mind she hoped to one day wake up and find it had all been one long, terrible nightmare. She laughed at herself.
Look at you. A Xerneas, the great giver of life, curled up alone in a meadow, wishing for miracles that won't come. Pathetic, as Paul would say…
The others were probably worried about her, but she found it was too much effort to care. Her head hurt and all she wanted to do was sleep…
...
Serena woke to the sound of sobbing. She lifted her head and looked around, but saw nothing. She thought maybe she'd imagined it, and considered \ going back to sleep, until she heard it again through the trees.
What in the world? She wondered, climbing to her feet. No one else should be here.
She stepped cautiously through the trees, moving in that silent, graceful way Xerneas was famous for, following the cries.
That almost sounds like… a child?
Serena approached one of the many cliffs that surrounded the valley. She saw a form huddled on the ground, but she kept her distance, hiding in the trees. Her eyes widened as she realized what she was seeing: A little girl was lying in the dirt at the base of a cliff, sobbing, as if in pain. Serena looked more closely and realized the girl's leg was bent, but not where it should be. Ouch.
Poor thing. Serena thought as she stepped out of the trees.
The little girl heard her coming and lifted her head, only to freeze when she saw Serena. There was a look of astonishment and disbelief on her face. At first Serena was confused, but then she realized what this must look like. A Pokemon emerging from the forest to save her, and not just any Pokemon, but Xerneas, a Legendary. All the Pokemon were gone, after all. This girl was so young, had she even been around long enough to meet a Pokemon?
Sorry, kid, Serena thought to herself, with a sharp and bitter pang of sadness in her heart, I'm not even a real one…
The girl continued to stare as Serena came closer.
Serena hesitated, then, projecting her thoughts, asked the first thing that came to mind.
Are you alright?
The girl flinched at Serena's voice, but tearfully shook her head. Serena mentally kicked herself.
Of course not, let's fix that leg, shall we?
Serena focused her energy. She knew this was going to hurt, but not nearly as much as it was currently hurting this girl. Serena's antlers began to glow, all the colors of the rainbow glittering against the cliff face. A blue light shown from Serena and enveloped the small girl before her. The light turned green where the girl was injured, then after a brief pause turned red. The red light traveled back to Serena, enveloping her this time, and Serena felt a sharp, intense pain in her left hind leg. It was as if someone had snapped it in half. She gasped, startling the girl; but after a moment, the light went out, and Serena felt the pain ebb away. She looked at the girl, who was open-mouthed in astonishment.
You're still injured, so don't walk on it just yet. It should be less serious and not as painful now. How do you feel?
The girl flinched again, only to realize that her leg wasn't cracked in half any more. She carefully got to her feet, and stared at her almost completely healed leg as she cautiously put weight on it. She looked back at Serena, eyes wide.
"Thank you," she said, carefully sitting back down, "Umm… I… What are you?"
Serena laughed. It felt strange, she hadn't laughed in a long time.
I'm… I'm Xerneas. She replied.
The girl's eyes widened. "I thought so. I had a story book with a picture of you in it… Where have you been all this time? Are there more Pokemon out there? Why are you here by yourself? How did you survive the sickness? Why haven't you let anyone know you're still alive?"
Serena hesitated, not sure where to start. She was troubled by the girl's questions, and didn't really want to, well, pretend to be Xerneas… It felt strangely sacrilegious, like she was mocking the real one.
I'm not really Xerneas… well, not the Xerneas anyway… but I am a Xerneas, if that makes any sense…
The girl frowned. "No, not really."
It's kind of a long story… Serena said, unsure if she should tell this girl.
"I'm not going anywhere," the girl said, pointing at her leg.
Serena paused. She couldn't really think of a reason to not tell her story… besides, it was nice to have someone to talk to.
What's your name?
"Kayla."
Well, Kayla, Serena began, settling down in the grass near the girl. I guess it all started with the outbreak of the plague. It actually began with a completely normal day, but by the end of that week I was never the same again; none of us were...