I got this feeling inside my bones,

It goes electric, wavy when I turn it on,

And if you want it, inside your soul,

Just open up your heart, let music take control

-Can't Stop The Feeling; from the film Trolls (2016)

Genesis felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest, hammering painfully against her ribs. Her eyes, brimming with unshed tears, followed the blurry silhouettes of each person who came into her field of vision. Those silhouettes were running, sprinting, moving as fast as physically possible from one direction to the next. They were gathering personal items, saying goodbyes to old comrades. They were looking for a way to save themselves. Letting out a trembling sigh, Genesis tried her best to wipe the tears from her eyes, but it didn't really make much of a difference. Every time she did, more tears would come. It felt endless.

"Princess!" That voice. . .it sounded far away, in Genesis's mind. There were so many things happening at once, the young teen was having issues processing it all. Her brain was having some kind of delay when it came to everything. Noises that would — and should — be close to her sounded far away; despite her best efforts, she couldn't control her rapid, shallow breathing; her heart seemed to be in permanent overdrive with its quickness; her stomach ached and hurt with the tidal waves of emotion she felt — Genesis was a mess, to say the least. "Princess!" A pair of hands on her shoulders jolted the young teen out of her little bubble, reminding her that she was just as apparent to the other figures as they were to her. And so, standing in front of Genesis was her maid, Helena, stood in front of her, panicked and pale.*

"Helena?" Genesis stammered, her voice thick with emotion.

"What are you still doing here?" Helena's hands tightened on Genesis's shoulders. "Your parents are looking everywhere for you; they're worried sick."

"Worried sick". Certainly they've got other things to worry about. Genesis swallowed thickly and nodded. She hadn't the slightest clue on what was going on, but she wasn't going to waste her time arguing or asking questions. Everyone in the castle was in a panic and the most important thing was to get out.

"I-I was uhm. . .," Genesis sputtered. "I was going to get some supplies for my Pokémon, but. . ."

Grabbing her hand, Helena rushed the Princess from where she stood — awkwardly standing in the middle of the hallway — and to the room where her parents were. In a way, Helena could understand Genesis's desire to provide for her Pokémon, but under the current circumstances, there was no time to worry about such trivial things.

"Your main focus should be getting out of here," Helena exclaimed. "Your parents have all your things ready, they're just waiting on you."

"But I don't understand what's going on!" Genesis cried. "Everyone's panicking and freaking out, but. . ."

"That is enough!" The sharpness in Helena's voice caused a sharp chill to run up the young Princess's spine. She rarely ever heard the maid speak in such a manner, which only added to the emotions wrecking havoc within her. If the always-even-minded Helena was speaking sharply and behaving in a panicked manner, then the situation truly was bad. Turning her head slightly to look back at her, Helena continued speaking; "There is no time to explain, do you understand? Your life and your parents' lives are the most important thing right now. I don't want to hear any complaining and I definitely don't want to hear that you've wandered off again. You're lucky I found you. Your parents would have been forced to leave without you."

Genesis's eyes widened a bit.

"Now hurry up. We don't have much time."

-0-0-0-0-

The Vega region is a fairly new, fairly small, region. It gained popularity in recent years for a number of reasons, the main being the exotic plant life, the other being the slim possibility of seeing certain Legendary Pokémon. The people of Vega found great pride in that, knowing that such powerful creatures might find refuge in such a small portion of land; the royal family even more so. It had been during Vega's early days, during a period of endless war, where Legendary Pokémon had interfered, putting an end to the damage and destruction. For over a hundred years, there was peace. Or, an illusion of peace. Apparently not everyone was happy with the way things were.

Genesis spent her whole life in the Vega region. Being the Princess, it was her duty to be there for her people.* Her parents instilled that into her head. But, they also taught her to be proud of her homeland, to be proud of herself and her people. The Vega region started out in bloodshed, but had over a hundred years of peace and prosperity under their belts. But from what Genesis was seeing, just inside the castle, the peace her parents spoke so proudly of had never been there. The young Princess could see the fear written on her servents' faces. She could hear their cries and exclamations, their footfalls as they ran and sprinted to retrieve what they could and leave. Even outside the castle walls there was a lot of noise. Rumbles and explosions, muffled voices and shouts. Genesis couldn't understand what was happening, why things were going so wrong so fast. She could remember, just the day before, how things were so normal. There was no hint of anything possibly going wrong.

You obviously don't know this region as well as you thought, a small voice whispered. It came from the recesses of Genesis's mind, cold and vicious as it spoke. Neither do your parents. Vega was made in bloodshed; what's stopping it from ending in bloodshed?

A question like that made Genesis's skin break out into goosebumps. How unfortunate would it be for the Vega region to end the way it started? But then again, there's no telling what the reasoning is for the sudden change. Giving her head a sharp shake, Genesis let out a huff as she struggled to keep up with Helena. The older maid kept a firm grip on the young girl's wrist, moving her in the direction of where her parents would be. The Princess could only hope they were still waiting for her. Genesis would be scared out of her mind, being left in the castle, alone, as everything descended into madness.

Once I'm with my parents, Genesis thought, I'll be able to leave. I just wish I could've packed some things for Eevee and Vulpix.

After making a sharp turn, Helena shoved the young Princess towards a nearby door along the hallway. There was a look on the maid's face that Genesis couldn't pinpoint, and that made another chill run up her spine.

"Your parents are in there, Princess," Helena exclaimed. "Don't separate yourselves, I beg of you. I pray you get out of here alive."

Helena was gone before Genesis could even open her mouth. But those final words hung in the young girl's mind like a rain cloud. Just how bad was it outside the castle? Bad enough, presumably, if Helena was wishing the royal family luck in staying alive. Quickly going to the door, Genesis opened it and saw her parents, the King Viktor and the Queen Jaycee, with their much needed handbags and backpacks. And laying on a nearby bed, untouched by her parents, was an already-filled backpack with Eevee and Vulpix curled around it.

"Where in the world did you go?!" Jaycee cried. Her voice was high, sharp, and shrouded in fear. "We have to evacuate the castle, and you run off!"

"I just. . .," Genesis stammered.

"Look, we don't have time to deal with this," Viktor snapped. "We need to go now."

Hurrying over to the bed, Genesis picked up her backpack and motioned her two Pokémon into her arms. Her Vulpix, a shiny, jumped into her arms while her Eevee climbed onto her shoulder.

"Are you ready?" Viktor exclaimed.

"Yes." Genesis nodded.

Jaycee nodded, as well.

"Then let's go."

(A/N):

Sorry for the wait on this chapter. I got a bit sidetracked, so this got pushed to the side. But, it is done, and I'd like to know what you guys think. Give constructive criticism where you think it's due. What am I doing well in? What could use some improvement? Stuff like that, ya know?

Nothing in this fandom belongs to me. All I own are my OCs, my subplots, and the socks on my feet. If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, be sure to PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as soon as possible.

Also, how many of you have seen that Into the Spiderverse movie? I saw it recently and I really enjoyed it. I didn't think it'd be a good movie, but low and behold I was pleasantly surprised.

With that, I'm hoping you guys had a nice Christmas. I also hope you guys have a splendid New Year. 2018 has been crazy, but here's hoping 2019 isn't too bad.

For those of you who want to, leave a review on your favorite part of 2018.

Thank you all so, so much.

Angelika Mahon