A/N: So, if you're one of those select few that I messaged about this story's editing: I'm sorry it's been so long! I'm been bouncing between my three stories (this one, Fifths, and Tensei II, which is co-authored with a friend) and have only just felt the need to start this (again). For those who are not:

Welcome to the first chapter of Renegade Reality! I have big plans for this, so buckle down, dearest of readers, for this is going to be an epic ride! Changes from the first version include: better characters and personalities! a re-vamp of Astrid herself (I had something planned for her, and decided to expand on that to actually include Astrid)! and (hopefully) this is written better. I hope. So enough of me! You want to read, so I'll let you read!

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Falling. It always, always started with falling. Maybe it was just a great place to start? An abrupt change—it was a great start for storytelling and entrancing the crowd. It grows suspense. It makes you wonder: What could they be falling towards? What will happen? Falling was classic. So, in that way, it makes sense that Astrid's story started here.

It started with her falling. Down, down, down she went. Flailing and screaming, she sobbed as the winds tore at the gaping wound in her shoulder. Then, the falling slammed to stillness—a bone-shattering abruptness that stole the beat from her heart. She sunk. Nothing more than a corpse, life tried to flee through the bubbles of her remaining breath.

However, something must have stirred; something pulled her soul back. An ancient force changed her. Bones grated one another as they shifted and shrunk; previously black hair was swept away with the currents as red replaced it; a fire of blue flame turning in her gut. No longer was she a corpse, but something altogether different.

Finally, eyes—so unlike those of this time—opened with not a shred of any previous memory. That is to say, all except for a single, gut-deep knowing.

Astrid.

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Consciousness bled into two oddly colored eyes. They blinked, lazily, and slowly came to focus on a face hovering inches from them. She did not flinch, she was too tired. The face pulled back, grinning and babbling about one thing or other, unheard. She blinked again, slightly faster then the last, and ears twitched from their flopped resting. They swiveled back and forth, the first sound in what seemed to be eons filtering through the den of silence. It… was unfamiliar to her. A crashing, and if she was stupid enough, she'd have thought that the whooshing crash was what she imagined 'waves' to sound like. Her head turned, eyes widening. Waves. Honest to goodness—moving—waves. The vulpine yet unnamed stood. Delicate paws carried her forward to the edge of the surf—the pointed things sliding effortlessly into the milky sands—until water lapped around all four paws. Words finally, slipped passed numbed lips.

"…Where am I?"

Her words were barely a whisper above the soothing crashes, and yet, somehow, the blue amphibian heard.

"Huh? Oh, you're on Tidepool Beach." This time, she did start, whirling around faster than a blink and finally registering the other's presence.

Before her stood a mudkip of a relatively young age (twelve, if she had to guess) with a dark blue sash around its (his?) neck.

Her eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" The growl held the whispered quality of a dry throat. She fought down a cough.

"I… just told you, actually," they stated with a confused glint in their dark eyes and tilt of their aquatic head.

It was her turn to be confused. Had they really been talking? "I heard nothing," she said, eyes pinching with confusion, but otherwise did not relax her stance.

"Oh, well, my name is Matt." The mudkip—Matt—sat back before he continued with the question: "What's your name?"

She gave him an once-over, searched his eyes for deception, and saw nothing but innocence. Relaxing somewhat (at the last second, she realized she was ankle-deep in water, else she would have sat), she turned over his question in her head. A name? A whisper pulled free from void—Sage—but no. Not a name, her name. This came easily. "Astrid."

"Astrid, huh?" Matt grinned. "Nice to meet you! Um, since you didn't hear my earlier, why were you passed out on the beach?"

Passed out on the… Frowning, she shook her head. "I… can not say."

"You mean you don't remember?" He frowned too, thinking. A light went off in his eye, and he asked: "What… do you remember."

Memory. Astrid searched and searched—scouring her mind for an answer—any answer!—and only found the void left behind. She shook her head again, too shocked to speak.

"Nothing? Not even where you're from?"

She could only manage a, "No."

"Oh."

A dinning a silence almost to thick to break, if only one were brave enough to break it. Neither did. The only sounds came from the tumbling crash of the surf and the breath of one another. Eventually, Astrid sighed and moved from the salt-filled water of the sea, turned her back to the other to walk the path she had spotted earlier. Matt turned with her, slightly shocked.

"Wh-where are you going?" he asked, shocked into jogging beside the red vulpine.

She only looked back once, the blue in her lame eye growing stronger. "Did you expect me to remain there until one of us talked? No, it was obvious that neither of us would."

"B-but do you have anyplace to go? Do you even know where you're going?" Only one word could answer that. Astrid stopped, the word ringing around her head.

No.

Sighing, she turned back to Matt, saying: "Are you offering? Do you even live somewhere big enough to house a human?"

The confusion that laced his eyes made her wary. "Human…? But… you look like a vulpix to me. At least, I think you do…? You don't look like any vulpix I've heard of…"

A… The honesty of that statement slapped her. Reality. Hurt. As Astrid looked down with eyes non-native to this land, or any land known about, she came to realize how true those two words were. An ache became known in her chest as two nimble paws (too small, too thin for a naturally born vulpix) became known, as she looked back, and saw six tails waving back with almost sickly cheerfulness behind her. A tale rose from behind the memory-lock, the voice of (who?) spinning a tale of what was once looked on in awe.

A Shaymin once died at the hand of a human—oh, don't look at me like that! It get's better! Anyway, that human, feeling remorse for their actions, went to the shrine of the god Arceus, pleading through prayer to give the little Shaymin another chance, for it had been but a child and had not lived the life given to it. After many remorseful prayers, Arceus gave back the shaymin's soul, warning that a body given back a soul would change. And change it did. The body twisted upon itself, the soul changing what was once a grass to ghost and flying to dragon. Soon, the human stood not before the pure form of a shaymin, but the god-like twisting that soon became known as Giratina. The beast thanked the human profusely, gifting it the same blessing bestowed upon it to them and their line…

It was a terrible thing, knowing…

"I am dead…" She muttered, almost too soft for the innocent before the spectral parody of a vulpix.

"P-Pardon?!" Matt gaped, and Astrid suddenly remembered the other. "You… But how?"

The walls slammed into place, and she stood tall and masked. "Genetics," was her cryptic answer, and her narrow-and-wide look dared him to question her. He didn't, so she continued. "I think, in light of my predicament, I should take you up on your offer. That is, if you were indeed asking? I know that, from what I recall, it seems a tad odd to offer your home to a stranger you just met, but then again, that could just be me…"

Matt stood, stunned by her sudden change and breakdown of what may be an offer. That he wasn't even sure he was offering. Then he grinned and said: "Sure! I mean—yeah it's a bit weird, but you seem to have amnesia, on top of being… uh… but you don't seem to be a bad pokémon-person, and we can totally get to know each other on the way!"

Astrid smirked a bit, not too surprised at the mudkip's fast rebound. The kid was smart, she'd give him that, but he was also too innocent, which she felt was in too little supply. She hummed, thinking over his offer. "Deal. Lead the way, kid."

He grinned wider (if that was possible), jumping up with energy more custom for a chimchar then a mudkip to lead the way. Astrid smiled, following the kid at her own, more sedated pace. He chattered back at her, giving her tidbits and other things she need to know almost seamlessly as he chattered about almost nothing and everything.

Anyone without any silver in their head could have easily passed him off for air-headed, Astrid thought. Good thing I'm platinum.

She talked back with just as much silk, knowing by now that if he was smart enough to talk about seemingly nothing and everything, but really told of himself, he could understand the same treatment. Anyone who'd seen them would have pitied the kid, for they surely thought that she was going to rob the foreigner boy. Luckily, she was planning to do the exact opposite.

Astrid learned that Matt lived by himself after leaving the orphanage in Pokémon Square to become an explorer at Wigglytuff's Guild ("…to the north of the crossroads! Oh, it's simply magnificent with its…"), that his favorite color was the color of light running through water (hers was purple, though when asked what kind she replied: "I honestly am not familiar with too many colors."), and that he absolutely adored spicy foods (she replied that he could have any tomato berry that passed to her plate). She learned of his yearning of adventure and love of history (something that they continued to talk about for ages after) and that the sash around his neck held his personal treasure: a rock with odd patterns on it that looked like nothing just junk to the untrained eye.

"It looks rather like a key," Astrid said as they came to a stop in front of a bush.

"I thought so too, which is why I picked it up! I know that it looks like junk, but I think that it could be the key to a treasure or, or a hidden land!" His eyes (which in the light of the setting sun were the deepest green she had ever witnessed) positively glowed. Astrid couldn't help but grin. "How amazing would that be? All the treasure we could find…"

Astrid cocked her head and widened her eyed to baby-level cuteness. "Are… you implying that you want me to… join… you on your awesome adventures?"

Matt's tirade stuttered to a halt, and a blush bloomed on his face. Astrid fought down a grin and continued.

"I mean… we did only just meet, but somehow… it feels as if I have known you forever… Strange, huh?" This time she did grin. "Think on my offer, kid, and in the meantime, why don't you show me where you live, hm?"

Matt only stared at her, and stared, and stared. Finally, her words registered and the smile that split his face made her laugh. "Alright! Here! If you move over this bush…"

Her heart warmed. There were far too many innocent things in this world, that was true. They needed to be protected. Guarded. And Astrid felt that if she left this kid to fend for himself in this cruel, cruel world, then that pure flower would be stomped on, and the seeds incinerated. Besides, she couldn't trust a job she could very much do herself to just anyone, could she?

Looking at him now, as he bounced around the cavern of Sharpedo Bluff, she knew the answer.

No. No she couldn't.

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A/N: For those of you who have read the previous version: do you like the changes? What could have been done better? I like to hear you guys' thoughts, honestly! Also, to avoid confusion, I think that 'memory' and 'knowledge' are two different things, hence the 'memory of a babe' at the beginning. I also hope you like Astrid's 'Slytherin' personality, without all of the negative connotation to boot, and Matt's naive brilliance. I decided to kick out Team Skull's involvement (for now) and made sure to set up the whole 'let's be a team!' thing better. I hope you all liked it so far, and let's never forget that hearing your guys' thoughts always inspires me to write!

See ya next time!

/M_L