The heat of the day did little to quell the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. Walking through the foliage of the tropical island, a young trainer of fifteen kept her gaze down at her feet. She watched as her sandals pressed against the pebbles of the stream, feeling the water bubble over her feet.

A sigh escaped her, brushing her hands through her short cut white hair. Finally giving herself a moment to look up, she saw trees rising above her. Vines tangled along the branches, emerald moss covered the base of the trees and rocks. Emerald light streamed through the rainforest, yet she felt a very peculiar sensation in her.

Heart sinking, she took a minute to look around. The stream flowed down from the steady incline she had been walking along. How long had she been following it now? She didn't quite realize how long it had been, nor did she fully remember how she came across it to begin with. One of her hands were placed on her hip, feeling the capsules brush up against her fingers.

Now that she had thought about it, an unusual thing that she didn't quite realize until now had been that Pokemon didn't seem to cross her path. A yawn escaped her, her other hand rising up to cover her mouth. How long had it been since she left Castelia? A week, a month? Time escaped her, especially with how lost she had been in her thoughts each day.

For now, she shook her head. What was the point in fretting when she came here for a purpose. Something that she had been tasked to do. Yet that too had started to escape her. Was there any purpose in this journey? In traveling to this island? One moment she had been in Castelia, and the next she was here, seemingly with a long gap in between. Even walking amongst the shallows, camping on dry spots, and then continuing on seemed to be such a blur.

Yet the reality had been that she was here. Deep in this large, sprawling island. Traversing the sheer elevations that rose and fell with no sense. Walking over fallen trees and sometimes bringing out her Pokemon when she felt threatened.

But here she was, standing by the stream, feeling the water bubble over the sandals and in between her feet. Her chocolate-brown eyes gazed down at the stream, seeing how wide it had been, flowing over the pebbles and getting deeper, the current picking up the more it went down the hill.

That had been when Kairi noticed something down below, just several dozen feet in front of her. The trees had parted, foliage partially covered the stone wall that stood before her. It must have been a dome rock structure, as the entrance to a cave had been large and gaping, carved out from many years of erosion.

"Huh, that's new." Surely the cave had always been there, yet it was the first time that Kairi caught sight of it. Did she miss it before? Looking over her shoulder, she wondered if she had been going in circles this whole time. It could be possible, particularly with how clouded her mind had been.

She kept her hands close to the Pokeballs upon her belt, walking down the hill with a carefulness that she reserved for special situations. Stopping by the cave, she pressed her side against the wall beside the entrance, leaning over to take a look in.

The encroaching darkness that she had expected was instead met with light streaming in from cracks in the ceiling above. She saw how the stream wound along the bottom, continuing on with no intention of stopping. Faintly, she saw what appeared to be a water surface further down, where a beam of light shone down.

"An underground lake?" The caution that she had been having was thrown out the moment she saw how still everything looked. She wondered if anything lived in here, or whether it was a sort of resting spot for weary Pokemon. Did the lake lead anywhere else? These were the kind of questions floating through her mind.

Sliding into the cave, she felt that a quick peek wouldn't hurt. It would keep her mind off of whatever had been hanging over her. Maybe she could even sleep here for the night, finally get a good night's sleep instead of how her eyes wanted to shut and never open up again. Maybe it could finally get rid of this nauseous feeling she had constantly crawling back around her throat.

Taking in a deep breath, thinking that she would take a shot in the dark, she called out in a light tone.

"Hello? Anyone in here?"

The voice echoed along the walls of the cavern, and she let off a sigh. What was she thinking? Of course no other person was going to be here. Not after what happened. A groan escaped her, and she leaned against the cavern's wall. This headache was only getting worse, she felt. Hand clutching her head, she wondered just how far into the island she was.

Several minutes passed, with the girl massaging her temples. Everything in the cave fell silent, save for the drip of water from the stalactites. What else was there to do? Find something here, go back… Go back.

Then, the drops stopped.

Pausing, she opened her eyes after feeling herself slide down the cave's walls, resting with her legs sprawled out in the water. Perhaps she will return back. Maybe she won't. A long, low exhale made her eyes widen.

Her breath had turned into a fine mist. Whirling up into the air and dissipating. Slower. And slower. And slower. The air grew more chilled, with ice covering the stalactites, the water's flow slowing, and even when she looked out, the plants outside of the cave had icicles forming on them.

She tried to move, and as she got back up onto her feet, her eyes quickly darted back to the lake. Her heart galloped in her chest, seeing the water break as a pair of eyes glimmered in the darkness. She would have swiftly ran, if it hadn't been for her legs giving out on her. Falling back down onto her knees, she saw a glimpse of what had arose from the light that caught its prismatic scales. Almost as soon as the panic welled up in her, it seemed to dissipate when the Pokemon had made their presence known.

When the creature approached her, their body levitating over the ground, her breath had been taken away. Milotic? Of all the Pokemon that she had encountered over the past couple of days, most of which ran away, this one had literally shocked her in a way that she hadn't anticipated.

The Milotic stopped in front of the human girl, seeing her dark skin and eyes staring back at her. Her fins brushed up against the cave's walls, the length of the Pokemon much larger than an average one of her species. For a moment, silence fell between them, before the large water serpent spoke up with telepathy, causing the girl to hold her head as the headache got worse.

"Who are you, and why are you here, human? Your kind is not welcomed here."

"My name's Kairi." Struggling to get back on her feet, Kairi gave off a groan, feeling the nausea come back in full. What could she say to this Milotic? She already gave off a bad vibe, on top of already stating that she wasn't welcome here. Should she release her Pokemon? Make a feint and then run for it. That sounded like a good idea at first, but the numbness in her legs from the cold might prove to be her undoing.

Then again, what was the point.

Sitting upright as best as she could, Kairi tried to put on a sort of fake smile, the likes of which she found herself doing many other times when she got in trouble. "I got lost. I found this place looking for a place to sleep tonight. If I'm not welcome here, then could you direct me to a spot that I can sleep at?"

What an unusual reply. The Milotic blinked those big, reddish-brown eyes of hers, staring back at Kairi with a sense of disbelief. How does one get lost on this island? There's only one way in. However, despite these thoughts, the Milotic felt as if she could just push Kairi out of the cave and let her be on her way. She didn't appear to pose a threat-

That had been when she saw something that made her heart flare up. A rage swelled up in her body, seeing Kairi's belt with two Pokeballs on her. Those dreaded capsules, the likes of which she had seen numerous times before. "Do you really think I am unable to tell? I can see them around the strap you wear!" An angered look spread across the serpent's face in an instant, her fins pointing towards the belt that Kairi wore. "You intend to capture Pokemon! Steal them from their homes!"

"W-What?" Kairi looked dumbfounded by this. Her hand had steadily gone away from the Pokeballs, dipping into the cool stream water. What was this one's problem? Her eyes shifted down to the ground, thinking of what to say. A part of her wanted to keep up the lie, to keep stating that she was simply lost and then go on her merry way.

Yet there had been something inside of her, screaming to just do it. In this minute of silence, it grew louder, telling Kairi to disregard everything else. The Milotic loomed over her, with an expression that had been akin to bloodlust, and Kairi simply had to think to herself.

What was there to lose?

"You know what, yeah. I'm looking for Pokemon. Catch 'em, train 'em. Maybe put them in-"

Kairi's headache intensified into a migraine as the Milotic let off a shrill, high-pitched noise in her mind. Her hands were quick to clutch her head, feeling like she had been about to burst. Not even a second later, she found herself wrapped up in the prismatic scales, being constricted tightly as her body felt pressure rise from the squeeze. Her feet dangled, and her eyes were forced to look at the Milotic head on, who leaned in towards her.

"How dare you act so arrogant towards me. You have no idea what I am capable of… Do you want to die?"

Tears streamed down Kairi's face, but not because she had been terrified. Her head hurt so much, almost rendering her unable to speak. Her chest ached, trying to get a breath in. "C-Can't…" she started, before taking in a breath of fresh air as the coils loosened up on her.

Sometimes the Milotic hated despising the thought of crushing things in her grip. If she had just killed Kairi right then and there, it would be a mess to clean up. Shutting her eyes, she thought. What to do? If she let Kairi go, she could attract the attention of other humans. Humans that would capture Pokemon and train them to fight each other. Humans that would harm the island in their battles.

How about freezing Kairi as a warning? It could be an effective deterrence. Place her near the entrance of the island, scare off trainers that see her.

No, that's too much.

Then, an idea struck her. Yes, that could work. It's a clever idea, she felt. A small sort of chuckle escaped her, thinking about what the idea consisted of. There would be one flaw with it, though. One major flaw that could make things complicated. Yet it was better than trusting the human to not come back.

"S-So, what's gonna happen now?"

The Milotic opened her eyes, gazing at Kairi with an icy glare. She had the impulse to slap Kairi for that statement, as it came off as snarky to her ears. Whereas most of her species had been pacifying and gentle, she was never one of them. As it was, she had a zero tolerance for trainers or Pokemon that were under their trainers' command.

"If you feel the need to steal Pokemon from this place and take their freedom, then your freedom shall be forfeit!"

Her eyes glowed, an ability that she had learned long ago beginning to already work its effects on Kairi. The Milotic saw how Kairi had her eyes widen, and in an instant seemed to glaze over as her hypnosis started to wind around Kairi's mind. How unusual, she thought. Normally humans would last longer in resistance, yet that didn't deter the Milotic from speaking further.

"I will make you a slave! Just like those who you have stolen from nature, and you will never harm any of us again!"

Kairi felt an intense pain in her head at that moment. Her body started to writhe, trying to escape the pain, the coils tightening around her as she flailed her legs. It almost felt like a knife had been steadily carving her into her head, the hypnosis rendering her unable to think. She tensed up, shaking her head before it had been kept still from the Milotic's fins pushing it towards her.

Blood-curdling screams escaped Kairi, the likes of which the Milotic even felt remorse. Humans were always so weak when it came to their minds. The heartstrings in her icy heart were plucked as she tuned her out, sensing Kairi's mind steadily growing more empty. For years, she had been honing her ability, hypnosis, to do more than put Pokemon to sleep. Now, it had been the ultimate test: to lock away those troublesome memories of Kairi's.

Minutes passed, and Kairi had been knocked unconscious from the trauma. The Milotic let her slide out of the coils, falling onto the ground, her limp body sprawled out. The chilled air that the Milotic had produced steadily went away, the drops of water starting to come back. The stream started to flow without interruption again, and the icicles outside quickly melted in the tropical sun.

Feeling guilty over letting Kairi just fall onto the ground, the Milotic gently scooped Kairi up, laying her on her scales. She laid her body out so Kairi didn't have any danger of rolling off, instead resting on a bed of damp coils. Now, she waited; thinking all the while.

What was she to do with a human? This island had seen humans time and time again come here to capture them, and she, the Graceful One, had been known to despise humans. What would she do if they found out about this? Nonsense, no one would dare to speak up to her of all Pokemon. Perhaps she should teach Kairi how much pain Pokemon feel in their capsules.

Shuddering, the thought quickly went away. There would be no excuse for torture. Even if she hated humans with every ounce of her being, she knew that would be inexcusable. She would never be caught doing that in her lifetime.

After several hours, mulling over her thoughts, staring at Kairi as she laid on her scales, she finally had a course of action come to fruition. She would enslave this human, but treat her with compassion while stripping her of any freedoms. This would mean that she would have to teach the human what she wanted her to know, perhaps she could tell Kairi about what happened. As long as Kairi felt that she had been safe with her, that's all that mattered… right?

Finally, as the afternoon steadily crawled on, the Milotic felt that enough time had passed that Kairi's mind had probably settled with that emptiness. She spoke to Kairi, her voice loud enough to cause her to wake up.

"Human… Open your eyes."

Her eyes twitched, and Kairi slowly opened them, her vision blurred. The first thing she had seen was the cavern's ceiling, with the light streaming down through the crack. Taking in a deep breath, the second thing Kairi noticed had been her head hurting. Her eyes had nearly closed, wanting to go back to sleep, to return to that state of mind.

Kairi's head swiveled over, and in her blurred vision she noticed what it was that she had been laying on. A gasp escaped her, and quickly she shot up. Heart galloping in her chest, she gazed up towards the Milotic's head, seeing the creature staring back at her with a calmed expression. Immediately, Kairi shifted, falling off the scales and into the stream. The water shocked her, and she laid on the ground for a moment as her eyes gazed up at the ceiling.

An expected reaction out of the human. The Milotic let off a passive aura to calm Kairi. "You're finally awake."

Blinking, rubbing her head, Kairi got back up on her feet after a moment of struggling. "Awake?" She rubbed her eyes, feeling overwhelmed by everything. The cave, this thing standing in front of her. Her eyes looked around, seeing everything around her. The length of the Milotic seemed to fill up the cavern in front of her, and she took in deep breaths.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Kairi immediately asked, thinking about backing up, but standing her ground so she can hear what this creature says to her. "You're not trying to kill me, are you?"

A gentle smile formed on the Milotic's face, and she shifted her body so everything flowed behind her. Seeing Kairi awake, without any form of memories to call her own, had been a very different experience. She shouldn't have any sort of reason to doubt her, an opportunity to put her plans into motion.

"You need not be afraid, human. I am not trying to kill you. Quite the opposite actually." She offered her fin to Kairi, thinking constantly to herself. "I am your mistress, and you are my loyal servant, human."

A baffled look crossed Kairi. She heard these words, noticed how they had an interesting ring to them. Mistress and servant. Her mind had been clear, and this was the first concept that she had heard of.

"So you're my mistress? And I am your servant?"