The room was a cage. The door was closed, Human shadows danced under the door. I heard the sound of hushed voices echoed in the hallway outside. A human came in. He called himself Ghetsis. He walked toward me, a grim smile on his face. I backpedaled, scurrying toward the wall farthest from the door. He chuckled, sitting on a chair I had dubbed 'The Boss Chair'. He had another pokeball in his hand. It felt like fear. He always had pokeballs with him, and so he always carried the smell of fear on him. He had many Pokeballs, and was constantly showing me the prisoners who were inside them. I hated the contraptions. The pokemon that were kept in there were always in pain, so much pain! Ghetsis kept the pokemon in the prisons he carried, showing me, and telling me how humans had hurt them.

He had once shown me what lay beyond my little room. room, upon room felt like fear, and pokemon's cries seemed to echo in them, long after they had left it. Pokemon fought each other in these places. I stayed where I was, slightly hunched over, waiting, watching. Ghetsis beckoned me forward with his hand. He murmured something, I couldn't understand. I never understood what they said, Their mind-voices were so jumbled and confusing. Humans weren't like pokemon, not at all. They used big words, and always were commanding, and hurting those around them.

Ghetsis motioned again, beckoning and smiling. His smile was cold, I never trusted his smile. I took a step forward, shuddering, and refusing to look him in the eyes. Around him, I was prey. I knew I wasn't prey, but around him, it was just like I was helpless. I was to him, and like all prey, my predator terrified me. He was the boss, and all of the other humans bowed their heads like Deerling to their Sawsbuck or scattered like Patrat from a Braviary. I continued to inch my way closer until I stopped, just out of arm's reach. There was no way I was going to let a predator get close enough to grab me.

His voice was louder, firm this time. Need. Pain. MuchPain . Evil. Human. Many . Evil. Critical. Need. HurtHurtHurt. His words didn't make sense, but I knew that he wanted something, I knew he wanted something from me. I stared as he opened the pokeball, freeing the prisoner from its confinement. My eyes widened as I saw a Purrloin. She was bruised and bloody, and I could feel her fear of Ghetsis rolling off of her in waves. I eyed Ghetsis, torn between comforting the hurt pokemon and staying out of arm's reach. FaultFault. Obey. Human. TrainerTrainerTrainer. Destroy. Pain. HurtHurt. Purrloin. Pain. He said with his mind-voice, his mouth still speaking in his sharp speech.

I couldn't focus. His voice just became noise. I could feel pain and rage building in my mind, white-hot and rioting. WhyPAINsomuchWHYWHY! My thoughts spiraled. I reached out instinctively, wanting to comfort her.

My hands were trembling, my rage was just below the surface, waiting to spill out. I felt the Purrloin's terror increased ten-fold. Don't hurt me, please! I'll do it. Just tell me what to do! Please! Just don't hurt me! I flinched as if I had been burned. Pokemon always knew, they knew I'd never hurt them, not like the other humans did. But then why was she afraid of me? My vision blurred, and I looked at Ghetsis. He was still smiling. His satisfaction was almost a physical presence in the room. He spoke again, this time, clearer. He spoke slowly, trying to get me to understand. I strained, trying to make out what his meaning was from the foreign sound of his speech.

"-did this. She... ...Hurt... We fix her, make her better... Human's fault. They hurt Purrloin." The words sounded so foreign, the sounds had meaning, I remembered. I remembered a mat, like the one in the far corner, with the coves. A bed... I could just remember a human, a female one... And a male one two. They spoke like Ghetsis did, with their voices and not with their minds.

"Yyyou... Hurt... P-p-purr... P-p-purrr... -rrrloin?" I asked, my voice high and tinged with fear. He didn't visibly react to my voice, not even a little bit. His mind-voice was also silent.

I glared as hard as I could, trying to summon up the courage to challenge him. He terrified me. He was human, he was dangerous, he was a predator. Suddenly, Ghetsis smiled. He chuckled again, making the Purrloin hiss in fear. She tensed, trying to ignore the pain she felt in her body. She too, saw the Human as a threat. Seeing her like that made me abandon all caution. I scooped the feline into my arms.

You are safe. I protect you like you're my kit. I protect you from hurt. Relax, the predator is sated, he is not hunting for us. I made crooning sounds, trying to soothe the Purrloin. Letting my mind become unfocused, I let her hear my thoughts. SorrySorry! Heal. RageRage. WhyWhyWhy! Save you. NoPain. NoMore. Safe. The Purrloin turned its head to stare at my face. She flinched as a stray tear dropped onto her fur.

Safe? Promise? Kit. Am I safe? I smiled, as tears coursed down my face.

"S-s-safe..." I whispered.

TBC