There was only silence. A thick, loud, unbearable silence that not even the wind dared to disturb. The sky was darkening- only a few bold rays of light continued to shine as the sun faded over the horizon. The forest seemed empty- the only Pokemon in sight was a lone, female, Absol. An Absol with fur stained red and a body bearing scars of past events- and yet not even her footsteps could be heard, there were no sounds brave enough to break the silence. Every movement she made was painstakingly slow and clumsy- she was exhausted and without a place to rest. She was without a home. Yet despite her worn down state, and her need for proper shelter, she continued down her path without complaint. She did not pause to check for company, did not stop to lie down. She just continued down her lonesome path, silently and without question or care for whoever, or whatever, may be around. This, was her way of life. Endless hours of travel that only led to her collapsing and lying exhausted and defenseless for days on end. Eating only when her hunger drove her to silent tears, and drinking only when her thirst rendered her throat dry and her voice mute. She fought whenever confronted and never bothered to lick her wounds come battles end- every fight ended in her victory and in the crippling of the Pokemon who challenged her. This was her life, or what had become of it over the years.

Now, worn down and tired, she continues along the forest path- ignoring the many eyes that watch her from the darkness. Yes, there are many eyes on her- the eyes of Pokemon to frightened by her presence to stay out in the open. Oh, how she envied them- she envied their peaceful lifestyle, their behavior. The way they ate whenever they wanted, and slept at their own leisure. The tight knit families and everything that went along with their social lives. The love, the drama, the anger- everything that made them normal. She longed for all of it- because they were things she didn't have. She is drawn out of her thoughts when she unexpectedly steps in something wet- she nearly walked into a river. She must've unintentionally wandered off the path while she was lost in her thoughts. Silently, she lifts her paw out of the water, and peers down at her own reflection. First, her eyes wander to damaged horn, staring blankly at the crack that runs from its tip down to its center. If she was to smash her horn against a rock, would it break? She closed her eyes for a moment and spread her jaws, before opening her eyes. She could see her damaged fang- the left fang that had broken when she snapped at the iron bars of the man made cage she had been held in. Every now and again the tooth would throb with an agonizing pain- but she rarely paid it any mind.

Blinking, she closed her mouth and cast her gaze to the remainder of her reflection- namely her fur. Her bloodstained white fur. How many years had she spent trying to wash the stains away? How many times had she torn the hair away hoping for it to grow back without stain, only to have it grow back again sporting that same crimson flaw? She couldn't even remember anymore. As if hoping to find a better view of herself, she steps backwards and turns to the side for a moment to examine the length of her body- but she only finds what troubles her. Her body is small- just over half the size of an adult Absol. She made up for her small size by having longer legs, but she didn't care much for her legs either- mainly because of her back paw. Her right paw was missing a claw, the middle claw to make things worse- so her foot looked like something that needed to be on a bird. Growling slightly, she turned back to face the water properly and she glared down at her face reflecting in the water. She was a poorly shaped, deformed, poor excuse for an Absol! Growling again, louder this time, she lifts a paw and slams it down on the waters surface in a vain attempt at fixing her self-image. All she manages to do is get herself wet.

"Something troubling you?" An odd voice suddenly sounded off, drawing the young Absol from her thoughts. In an instant, her eyes went from her reflection to some place upriver. Much to her surprise, she spotted a Magicarp- he was taking refuge in a currently spot between two rocks near the riverbank. Glaring, the turned to face the fish, but she made no move to approach him.

"What do you care?!" She said coldly, her voice more feminine than her physical appearance would lead one to believe. Upon hearing the question, the Magicarp moved closer to the riverbank, and set his body atop the mud for support.

"Well, forgive an old fish for prying, but you seem troubled to me. Care to talk about it?" The Magicarp said calmly. The Absol scoffed, and threw her head to the side- she had no intention of discussing her personal matters with a fish. A fish that couldn't even swim against the current no less.
"Then would you care to hear out a tired old Magicarp's story?" The fish said shortly after seeing the Absol refuse his offer to hear her tale. With a sigh, the Absol took a few well placed steps forward so that she could sit beside the Magicarp. Seeing as the fish probably didn't intend on leaving her alone, she might as well listen- this was the closest she'd had to a real conversation in a years.

"Make it quick..." She said with a sigh, before lying down and resting her head on her paws to better hear the Magicarp when he spoke. In doing so, she unintentionally took some time to get some much needed rest.

"Thank you..." The Magicarp said, before pausing for a moment to her get comfortable.
"Well, my name is Czar, and as you can see, I seem to be in a bit of a dilemma. You see, I've been trapped her by the bank for about three days now, and I can't seem to get out." Czar, the Magicarp, said calmly- at least now the Absol knew why his voice sounded so strained. The poor guy probably hadn't had any food since he got stranded.

"Then why don't you jump over the rocks and follow the current?" The Absol said tiredly, her eyes somewhat closed. If she lied down to much longer, she'd fall asleep- but she didn't seem to realize how close she was to entering dreamland.

"Well, thats an even bigger issue miss. I live upriver, I need to go against the current to get back home. Now, I've already tried jumping the rocks and leaping against the current, but its just to strong for me! My last attempt sent me rushing downriver so quickly that I never managed to make more than a few jumps before tiring out, and if I hadn't spotted these rocks and jumped over them I'd of been washed all the way to the ocean by now..." Czar said sadly.
"I haven't tried to fight the current since then for fear of never being able to see my family again..." He said in a more lonesome tone, earning the Absol's unbridled attention.

"How long have you been away from home?" She asked gently, startling herself in the process- how long had it been since she'd used a soft tone?

"Nine days..." Czar said solemnly.
"And I've been having such a hard time. I haven't eaten since I was washed downstream, and I've tried asking for help, but everyone just ignores me..." He said quietly, his tone low and heartbroken.
"Please miss, wont you help me get home? I don't have much to give you in return, but I promise I'll repay you somehow...I just...Please..." The Magicarp pleaded, splashing his fins in the water as he backed off of the mud, half expecting the Absol to turn and walk off like everyone else he had spoken to. So, naturally he was surprised when he was scooped out of the water by a paw and lifted into the air instead. The Absol had taken pity on the tired old fish, and so she was going to take him home.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Czar exclaimed happily, flailing his fins on impulse.
"I live a few miles upriver, in a little lake with crystal clear water! You'll know it right away!" The Magicarp said happily, his spirits uplifted by sheer joy. After being away from home for so long, and having so many Pokemon leave him alone to die, he was overjoyed to have someone help him out of his dilemma. He remained fairly silent for the trip after his last statement- save the the occasional joyous "Thank you!".

All in all, the journey to Czar's home was uneventful. The pair didn't encounter any other Pokemon, save to the remains of a Stantler- the poor thing had probably been devoured by a pack of Houndoom. Other than that, they saw nothing. They passed quite a few trees, the occasional boulder or pile of rocks; the Absol found a small blue stone that she found interesting. She stuck it between her toes to keep from loosing it. Sometimes she wished that she'd snatched a bag when the fled the human settlements...Moving on, she expected to come across the Magicarp's lake any moment now- she'd already been walking for well over an hour, and now it was pitch black outside. If it wasn't for her nocturnal vision she'd probably be in deep shit right about now. Just as that thought crossed her mind, the sound of running water died down drastically- she still heard water, but it sounded less violent. Shifting her gaze, she picked up her pace a bit and headed towards the quieting water. The further upriver she went, the harder it became to hear the river- until at last she reached the lake that Czar had told her about. The lake was located uphill, and the edge of it was placed just at the falling point of the slope. That was probably how the Magicarp and wound up being swept downriver- his species couldn't swim against a slight current.

As soon as she reached the calmest part of the water, the lent her head over the bank, loosened her jaws, and dropped Czar into the water with a "Plop". An instant later, the fish poked his head out of the water to converse with the Absol for a moment.

"I can't thank you enough for this! I was afraid that I'd die back there, all alone and with everyone ignoring me. But you, you save my life today, and I doubt I'll ever be able to repay you for that..." Czar said happily, his body bobbing slightly in the water.
"I have something I'd like to give to you, but, would you be so kind as to wait here for a little while? I haven't eaten in days..." He added after a short pause- his eyes were wide and pleading. After a moment, the Absol offered something akin to a smile.

"Alright, I'll humor you for a while...But, is there somewhere a little more, comfortable for me to lie down?" She said in a quiet voice, startling herself for the second time that day. What was it about the Magicarp that had mellowed her out so much? Maybe she could blame it on hunger, and, and thirst. She hadn't noticed it much earlier, but now that she was staying still, she realized how dry her throat actually felt. When had she last stopped to get a real drink of water? In all honesty, she couldn't remember. She'd been getting by by licking dew off of grass and leaves for at least three weeks- this had been the first time she'd come across a real source of water in a long time. Without another thought on the matter, she knelt down and dipped her mouth into the waters surface. A split second later, she felt the semi-familiar sensation of cold water pooling in the depths of her stomach. The feeling was one she hadn't felt for a long time- it was the feeling of re-hydration. This was the reason that she put off eating and drinking for only dire situations- the feeling of stating ones desires after waiting for such a long period of time brought her a sense of satisfaction that she could find nowhere else. By the time she finished drinking, she realized that she'd been so lost in her task that she hadn't been paying any attention to Czar, who had been speaking to her while she drank. Catching her careless mistake, she tilts her head up to look at the Magicarp, a few stray drops of water dripping off her chin.
"Come again?" She asked calmly, succeeding in hiding her embarrassment.

"I said, you sure were thirsty. I've never seen anyone drink that much..." Czar said with an amused tone, before flicking his tail in an attempt to keep his head above water for a moment longer.
"As for your other issue, I've noticed a patch of flowers a little further up at the far end of the lake, I spot it every other time I jump. There are even a few berry bushes growing near the flowers, so you can eat if your hungry..." He added, before suddenly disappearing beneath the surface of the water. That must have been his way of saying "Alright, I'm gonna go stuff my face now.". Shortly after, the Absol lifted her face away from the water, and she turned around to head further up the lake in search of the flower patch that Czar had told her about. As she walked, the peered down into the water out of curiosity- there were a lot of fish. Feebas, Goldeen, Magicarp, there were even a few Milotic. So many fish in such a small lake- it couldn't have been more than a couple hundred feet across in both directions. She was honestly surprised that there was enough food available to feed all of them. Her thoughts were cut short when she reached the flower patch, and sure enough, not far away from it were a small number of berry bushes. She fell still for a moment and contemplated her options.

Her first option was to simply plop down and take a nap for the next few hours. Her second was to go over to the bushes and eat until Czar called her back over to him. Her third option was to go and scarf down a few berries, and then take a short nap, and her last option was to do neither. The last option was thrown out the window as soon as it crossed her mind- and she was a little iffy on her first pair of choices- it didn't take long for her to go with option number three. So, she strode over to the berry bushes and proceeded to take her pick of what was available. There were only three types of berries growing; Oran, Pinap, and Sitrus. She was a Pokemon that preferred the taste of Sitrus berries, so she ate all of the ripe ones she could find- but what she managed to eat was not enough to satisfy her hunger. So she turned her attention to the other available berries- it didn't even take her half an hour to eat every ripe berry off of every bush. While the amount of food she had eaten still wasn't enough to fully satisfy her, it was enough to get her by for another five or six days. Then she'd be ready to hunt, and eat her fill of whatever prey she managed to sink her teeth into. The idea of if was enough to make her lick her lips with anticipation- blame her nature as a carnivorous beast for making her enjoy the taste of blood. With all of the available food eaten and done with, she turned and strode back to the flower patch.

There was a particularly nice spot full of sweet smelling white flowers in full bloom- this was where she opted to lie down for her nap. The sweet smell of the flowers, paired with the soft texture, was more than enough to lull her into a deep slumber...

She was in a cold dark room, lying on a hard metal floor- a floor made sticky by a pool of steadily drying blood. The sickening smell of death and decay lingered in the room, making the air unbearably thick and hard to breath. She was bound from head to toe by heavy chains and leather straps. She was muzzled, and her legs were chained together. The blood drying on the floor was hers- it was soaking into her porcelain fur and making her feel more ill than she already was. One of her eyes was stuck closed from infection- she wouldn't be surprised if someone came in to scoop it right out of her skull. She'd already seem them do the same to her parents. Her parents were dead now. They were lying in the same room as her, slowly decaying and sitting in a pile of their own excrement. The blood beneath their bodies had long since thickened, and become a disgusting pool of red and black sludge that smelt worse than anything else in the room. Their horns were gone; the humans had sawed them off not long before they died. Most of their teeth were missing, and they were both missing their eyes. Even their tongues were gone. A stray tear of sorrow crept down her bruised cheeks to soak into the bloodied hair that clung to her face. She missed her parents terribly- she wanted them to be there with her. She wanted them there to whisper gentle words of reassurance, to tell her that everything was going to be alright.

Yet part of her was glad that they had passed- glad because their pain had ended, because the living have no means of harming the dead. Part of her hoped that she would die soon, because she wanted to be by their sides again. But, another part of her wanted to live, and to escape the hellish prison she had been taken to- because if she was to live, if she was to escape, then her parents would not have died in vain. More tears fell from her eyes as her conflicting emotions battled over the right to her mind. She wanted to live, she wanted to die. She wanted her parents, and yet she was relieved that they were dead. She failed at repressing a heavy sob as the agony of her given state wracked her damaged body, and like a fool she pressed her face against the bloody floor beneath her in an attempt to stabilize her trembling body. Her eye hurt, her legs hurt. The holes in her sides stung from the approaching infection taking hold of her body. Her horn was killing her- the humans had damaged it when the captured her, and they hadn't bothered to cut it off after they discovered that it had lost its value. How cruel they were, the humans. How cruel they were for leaving her in this state when they had the means of putting her out of her misery. They didn't even have to kill her, they just had to bring in a syringe filled with whatever they had used on her when the captured her. They only had to give her whatever it was they'd used to make her go to sleep that first time.

She spent hours on end lying alone in that room being tormented by her own thoughts; lying in agony because of her injuries. Then, the people in white coats came in to toy with her for a while. They poked and prodded at her with metal sticks that shocked her at the press of a button. Sometimes they grabbed her by her horn and forced her onto her feet so that they could push steel into the holes they put in her sides. Every now and again they'd kick her in the ribs on in the legs so that she'd scream- they laughed loudly whenever they managed to get a pained sound out of her. Then, when they tired of their senseless routine, they pulled her chains out of the ground and dragged her out of the room. By then she'd lost the will to try and fight them- she already knew what would happen once they reached the black door at the end of the hallway...

She woke with a start when she felt something wet come into contact with her face, and she jumped up to scan her surrounding on impulse. She was panting heavily, and her legs were shaking- the dream she'd been having had been enough to make her forget where she was. However, her memories quickly returned upon spotting a Magicarp jumping out of the water repeatedly. Czar had splashed her with some water to get her to wake up- he seamed eager to get her attention. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down, she slowly walked over to the waters edge and sat down- she could feel her heart racing.

"Good, your awake..." Czar said calmly, though he had a look in his eye that suggested that he was curious about her shaken state- the Absol was glad that he overlooked her current behavior.
"Now that your up, I have something I'd like to give you. Wait her for a moment while my friends and I get it." He said before suddenly disappearing beneath the waters surface- a dozen or so other Pokemon swam after him as he dove to the bottom of the lake. Not long after, the Magicarp, accompanied by a Milotic, resurfaced with a wooden chest. The Milotic helped the Absol pull the chest ashore, before taking her leave- apparently the beautiful Pokemon had only been there for assistance.
"Inside that chest are some items you might useful, I want you to take all of them." The Magicarp said calmly, before falling completely silent. Then, he watched and waited as the Absol pried open the chest, and pulled its held items out one by one. There were three items in total; a Prism Scale, a Moon Stone, and a vest- a Pokemon vest. The vest had a number of Pockets and was specifically designed to be worn by Pokemon of her body type- it was an incredibly rare find in the current world. Vests like these stopped being produced over three hundred and fifty years ago, when Arceus divided the world into two halves separated by a ring of molten lava. So, how had Czar managed to get a hold of such a valuable item?

"Where did you get this?!" The Absol asked in a shocked tone as she continued to examine the vest- somehow it was the ideal size for her, it would be a perfect fit. For a split second her expression softened; maybe miracles did happen after all.

"It was a family heirloom, but considering what you've done for me, I think its better off with you." Czar said with a smile, flicking his fins in the water to stay afloat.

"Are you sure?" She asked while she pressed her paw against the fabric of the vest- it was soft, like a Silcoon's thread. If it was anything like the threads of bug-type Pokemon then that meant it'd be strong enough to act as armor in a battle.

"Yes, I'm sure. Besides, you have more use for it than I do. I certainly can't wear it." Czar said with a small smile, before he fell silent and watched as the Absol slipped into her new attire. She couldn't slip it over her head because of her horn, and she couldn't slide it up her rear because she wouldn't be able to get her legs into it. The Magicarp had to admit, it was pretty amusing watching the Absol try to figure out how to get the vest on. When she couldn't slip the vest on as it was, the Absol took to trying to figure out how to unzip the vest so that she could put it on the old fashioned way. That took a while considering that she didn't have opposable thumbs- her next best method of pulling the zipper was to stand on it and latch onto the pull with her teeth. Even that took some time. When she finally managed to unzip the vest, she had to figure out how to put the damn thing on without flipping it inside out- and then she'd have to figure out how to re-zip it. For a second or so she was at a complete loss, and then she remembered one of the little side effects that came with her time in the human settlements. She'd gained psychic powers, among a few other abilities- she'd forgotten about her unnatural talents due to her lack of putting them to use. Once she'd remembered her psychic powers, she activated them, and used them lift the vest off of the ground so that she could slip into it one leg at a time.

Then, she zipped up the vest, and adjusted it somewhat so it fit her more appropriately, before she moved to stand in front of the water. This time when she examined her reflection in the water, she wasn't looking at her face or at the other physical oddities of her body, she was looking at how well the vest fit her fame. In all honesty, it looked nice, and the fact that it hid a large portion of her bloodstained fur from view was a huge bonus.

"Lovely..." She said with a small smile as she continued to look herself over- yes, she could put this vest to good use. One of those uses being storage of needed items- namely the small blue stone she had found on the way to the lake. So, naturally the next thing she did was take the stone out from between her toes, and she put it in a vest pocket along with the Prism Scale and the Moon Stone. Then, she turned her attention back to Czar.
"Thank you for the gifts, they'll be of good use..." She said happily.
"But, you've given me three rewards for only one task. The vest is more than enough thanks for saving your life, is there anything else I could do for you in return for the Prism Scale and the Moon Stone?" She asked gently, her eyes leaving the Magicarp's frame to stare at the edge of the lake. There was a good four feet stream running out of the lake and into the river- that was the only place where Czar could have been swept downstream. There was a long period of silence before the Magicarp spoke up.

"Well, if you insist on doing more, then I guess I can have you do something..." Czar said hesitantly, his body bobbing slightly in the water. All he received in response was a curt nod from the Absol.
"I saw you looking at the stream earlier, and I know that you know that thats how I got swept into the river. So, I want you to line that area with some rocks. That way, none of the fish in the lake can ever be swept away again..." He said calmly, before falling silent for a moment.
"After you've done that, I'll tell you what else I'd like you to do." He said, before suddenly diving under the water- that must've been his cue for her to get to work. So, without so much as a thought on the matter, the Absol turned away from the lake and set out in search of stones. She found a number of them- big and small, thin and wide; there were hundreds of them scattered throughout the forest. By the time she'd collected enough of them and moved them by the lake, the sun had already decided to grace the dark sky with its subtle rays of light. The sun had already lit the horizon by the time she'd moved all the rocks into the lake- she covered the entire stream edge and then some just to make sure none of the fish Pokemon could ever be swept away again.

Then, after everything was over and done with, Czar poked his head out of the water and splashed loudly to gain the Absol's attention. She walked over to where he floated and waited silently for him to give her her next task.

"You did an excellent job, thank you..." Czar said calmly, earning a small bow of acknowledgment from the Absol.
"Now, I suppose your wondering what else I'd like you to do..." He said before falling silent for a moment to wait and see if the Pokemon he was speaking to had anything to say. When he was given no response, he continued.
"Well, I'd like you to try and change your outlook on the world. Now, I don't know what had you so upset when I spotted you yesterday, but I'm positive that it has something to do whatever changed your appearance...And your abilities..." He said hesitantly, pausing for a moment to let his words sink in. As expected, the Absol was giving him a look of fear, confusion, and anger.
"Listen, I don't know what happened to you, but I know that its left you frightened, and angry, and alone...Your a sweet child- barely even old enough to take a go a becoming a mother. However, there is something that I do know. You shouldn't spend the rest of you life letting the past rule your future. Laugh, cry, find some friends, start a family. Live your life to the fullest and put your talents to better use. Don't wander aimlessly in the dark of your sorrows..." He said gently- small tears were starting to form in the Absol's eyes. Seems what he had said had had some effect on her mindset.
"Thats all I wanted to say..." He added, before disappearing under the surface of the water, leaving the Absol with her thoughts.

She needed some time to process everything he had told her. In fact, she needed a lot of time. She spent hours lying in the patch of flowers thinking over what Czar had said to her. She was sad. She was angry. She felt abandoned and misunderstood- yet at the same time she felt relived. She felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted of her shoulders, and that bothered her- it bothered her because she didn't understand why. Was it because for the first time in years, she actually felt accepted? Was it because Czar had taken the time to give her the pep-talk she'd needed since her escape from the human settlements? There were so many questions running through her mind that she couldn't process all of them. When she finally decided to take the first step needed to follow Czar's advise, she still hadn't processed all of her emotions- but what she was feeling now would take days, maybe even weeks to properly come to terms with.

"Are you alright?" Czar asked gently as he swam beside the Absol, who had started to head downriver- she had decided to leave. He wanted to at least give her a proper send off.

"I...I don't know..." The Absol said slowly, her voice low and mournful.
"But...I've thought about what you said, and, I've come to realize that I can't put your advise to use unless I set out in search of happiness. So...I think I'll be alright, eventually." She said glumly, halting her movements for a moment to give the Magicarp a good, long, look. Then, she cast him a hesitant smile and she picked up her pace to set out on her journey. However, just before she could disappear over the edge of the slope, the sound of a loud splash made her pause and look back towards the lake. Czar was jumping up and down in an attempt to catch her attention.

"Hey, I never got you name!" Czar shouted excitedly while he jumped, his actions provoking a somewhat relieved expression from the Absol.

"Its Xela!" She shouted after a moment, before turning back down the slope and disappearing. Czar had heard her, she was sure of that...

Alright, this is the first official chapter. Also, I'd like to point out that I am now accepting character offers. Just check the previous page for detail on that if your one of the people that decided to skip out on reading it.

Reviews? I could kinds use some.