Remember when I wrote Dark Life, my dark pokeshipping story. I feel in love with the environment that the characters lived in, but I could never focus on properly establishing how the world worked because the focus was on the main story. So how about I make an AU of that story, where Misty got away a lot sooner before some of the harsher stuff happened so I can focus on writing the story as more slice of life. No, this isn't really a rewrite of Dark Life...but I don't mind if people consider it to be. Its simply an alternate take, containing some of the darker tones of the original...but it's overall lighter and more comfortable to write. Misty won't be in character fully, but how can you expect her...but she'll be closer then her portrayal in Dark Life.
Snow filtered down from the sky, delicate snowflakes trickling down. Darken roofs were lightened by snow and frost, as lights glimmered in and out. Darkness arose, leaving a lightly lit street of snow and ice. Few cars and people past through, leaving little sounds of life to be heard. Snow painted the roofs white, fog whitened the windows and left imagination as the only clue for the interior of the buildings It was so serene, silent and chilled. Until, a gasp of pain and sorrow filled the air from a nearby alleyway. The chill was strong, air blasting through without mercy. The injured soul struggled to walk forward as a soft whimper left her throat as her short tangerine orange hair remained limp at the side of her head. "A-arceus, it hurts so m-much..." she stuttered, chilled to the bone and in desperation for help. Bundled in her arms was, protected from the frigid weather, was a tiny egg-like creature and a brown, furry creature that resembled a fox.
Blood trickled down her legs, staining as it went and coated her socks. Seeping through her thin clothes, blood clotted and escaped from her injured side. Cold merged into the wound, freezing it and applying to the pain. All this blood weakened the girl, as it drained from her essence and splattered upon the thick snow below her. "T-there's n-nothing I can do..." she whispered, leaning against the wall by a nearby bin with her arms curled in a last desperate effort to save her beloved friends from the cold. "Someone...help..." she let the cry of agony, misery and desperation escape her throat as a weak wheeze on the wind. Her fingers were froze stiff, blue at the tips. Similar to this was her nose and ears, her toes were spared this torture a little by the rotten shoes that she was wearing. Finally, blood lost and the cold got to her and she stumbled back with spots coating her vision, landing next to the bin with a jarring crack in her left ankle.
It wouldn't be long.
Mere seconds later, her eyes started to fade in and out as her breathing slowed. Curling herself, she attempted in vain to keep the creatures warm even if she wasn't going to make it. Footsteps filled her ears, and a wistful fear filled her. Had the thing she escaped from...had it found her? Even though her eyes, glossed over and sore, she desperately looked into the flurry of snow and prepared herself. She wasn't going down without a fight, her heart pounded in her chest. Fear. Anger. Worry. Horrid feelings plagued her mind. But, the sight of a smaller...more innocent figure relaxed her system and she finally went unconscious to the cold as a cry of worry filled her ears in the last millisecond.
As her senses returned, she was exposed straight to the agonizing pain of a migraine. Pound after pound, refusing to give any mercy. Her second sense told her the temperature, she was warmer and her fingers were flexible. Stiffness didn't occur, as she managed to curl her fingers with some pain from the broken bones. One by one, she began to smell and feel. Sensations of a smooth and soft quilt above her reached her first, instinctively causing her to nuzzle a bit more. Never had she felt such luxuries, though the scent of hospital bleach wrecked her nose and almost caused her to puke out whatever remained in her stomach. Tasting the bile was the next thing that hit her, nearly sending her into a gasping coughing fit as she struggled to maintain her breathing.
After a while of laying still, sounds were picked up by her delicate ears. One by one, voices spoke around her. 4 distinct, each of different vocal range. Guessing, she worked out each voice as they spoke. "But, dad. What can we do, she's so injured!" came the rugged, boyish tones of a child. Characterized by a sense of rebellious nature as well as childish wonder. It almost brought a sad smile to her face, though tears did sparkle in the corners of her still heavy eyes. For a second, she wondered if the innocent figure that she remembered was this little boy.
"Max is right," came another voice, feminine this time. Too young to be full grown, but definitely the sounds of a pubescent girl. Soft sounds of a meowing could be heard after she talked, a cat-like Pokemon perhaps. "We can't just leave her here, she's obviously been through a lot. Y-you can't tell me that her injuries weren't from an attack of some kind, she could be traumatized and you're suggesting that we put her into a fostering program with people that she won't know until she gets there?"
A sigh could be heard, but no male voice continued. Instead a womanly voice, potentially Max's and the other girl's mother, spoke instead. "Now Norman, the kids are right. We have more than enough space for her, we have that spare room that you could complaining never gets used as May's friends always sleep over in her bedroom. She could do with support from people that she has meet quite quickly after awakening. Plus, Max said that she actually looked at him before collapsing with a small whisper of 'help'."
Groggily, she managed to finally force her eyes to flicker open. Light burst into her retinas, burning her vision for a second as she coughed out. This certainly got the attention of the family in the room, which she tried to focus on. Seconds later, soft and calming hands held her arm in comfort. "Are you alright," it was the younger female voice, which resorted in the tangerine haired girl attempting to focus her dull viridian eyes on the person holding her. In her spotted vision, she could see a brown haired girl wearing a bandanna. The girl's blue eyes were full of worry and concern.
Straining her weakened, hoarse voice, she managed to force out. "N-no...w-water..." she asked, her mouth suddenly dry from her rugged attempt at speaking. This prompted a dark green-black haired boy to hand her a glass of water that had been resting on the bedside table, clearly placed for this very request. Holding it, she felt so weak as she struggled to keep her grip. But she held it firm enough as she gently pushed it upward and drank it away. Afterwards, she did proceed to wipe her lips of the water as she looked around the room with fearful eyes. Fiddling with her hands, she remained in a undisturbed silence of fear and awkwardness.
Eventually, someone spoke. It wasn't the tangerine haired girl, but rather the mother of the family in the room. "So, dearie. Are you feeling any better, you've been asleep for a few days after my son found you in the snow...freezing and bleeding to death."
Instead of responding to the question, something snapped in the girl as she gasped out. "W-where's Togepi and Eev-" she was cut off by a choking fit, sending her curling up into herself as her throat tried to get out whatever had got stuck.
The brown haired girl gently rubbed the injured girl's back in comfort, after her mother had given the poor girl a bucket. The smell of revolting, bile had rose in the girl's throat and left within seconds. Her nose almost couldn't take it, but she held back in attempt to help the girl. "Don't speak too much, you're too weak. As for your friends, they're quite alright. The Pokemon center in currently looking after them, they were very protective over you. Even the little Togepi was trying it's hardest to protect you, even from us and we were trying to get you to safety."
Tears began to escape out of the girl's eyes at the thought of her beloved Pokemon. 'Eevee...Togepi...thank you...' she thought as she felt a wave of happiness rush over her for a second, only to fade when she remembered they weren't around her. A faint whisper escaped her lips, full of confusion and worry. "W-who...a-are you a-anyway...?" it was simple, but full of fear. She didn't trust the older man that was around, wisps of memories filled her head and nearly caused her to cry and scream on the spot but she held back.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, dearie," the older woman said, her brown hair bobbing downstairs as she bowed in apologies. "My name is Caroline Maple," after saying this, she pointed towards the older man that hadn't said a word and was simply watching the tangerine haired girl with weariness on his face. She honestly couldn't blame him. "This is my husband, Norman," then she looked over at the teenage girl and the young boy. "And that's my daughter, May, and Son, Max. Max was the one, who found you after he picked up on your cry for help. If he hadn't heard you, then...the result would have been death for you," there was sadness in the woman's eyes, such that surprised the tangerine haired girl a little. "New, sweetie, what's your name. We should know."
Blinking back her tears, the girl thought long and hard. She doesn't trust these people one bit, but...it was only respectful if she responded to them? Right? "I-I'm M-Misty W-Waterflower...12 years old."
Alright, that's our start up. Definitely different to the original story as you can tell. That's why I don't consider it a rewrite as much as it's a AU. If the quality slipped towards the end, then it's because I got the flu...but I wanted to finish up and release it so I could find out what people thought.