"Come on! Come fly with me." Sarah ran upwards ahead of me on a grassy hill, happily twirling around in circles with arms spread apart. I gave chase, trying to see where she was going with the sun in my eyes. Then she stopped suddenly, inches from a cliff's edge, back turned to me as she gazed towards the sky. The moment I was within reaching distance, Sarah turned to face me fully, spread her arms once more, and smiled before she let herself fall backwards and out of sight. I didn't know what to think, so I panicked and rushed to the edge in hope that she was safe, tumbling along the way. Once I found the courage to peek over the edge, Sarah appeared out from nowhere, nearly hitting my beak, and flew up until she floated in place, making me fall back in surprise. She stayed silent for a few moments, taking deep breaths, before extending her arm out for me as a sign of invitation. "Fly with me Nylus," Sarah called soothingly.

I gazed up wondrously at her. Was it really so simple? Effortless? "How? How do you fly?" I asked, noticing the way she was floating without any movements; it reminded me how I did the same when I was home.

"Spread your wings Nylus, spread them to free yourself!"

I did want to be free; free high above everything else and feel the wind like I felt the water. So with high anticipation, without fear, I backed up and took a running start as fast as my legs would carry me. And just before the cliff's edge, I spread my wings far and wide, and performed a final leap forward. I was groundless. Sarah's warm smile remained, holding her arms out for me to grasp. I glanced down quickly and saw thunderous waves crashing into the land's rocks with a constant beat. I was flying!

When I looked back up to tell Sarah how happy I was, she was missing, nowhere to be found. That was when fear struck me. It came as a wave that completely devoured my heart and instantly brought panic. I began falling, faster and faster towards the sharp rocks right below me, feeling the intense sensation of falling. I twirled, flipped, and spun in terror until my sight was filled with nothing but a mixture of large rocks and water. Bracing the inevitable, I shut my eyes tight and brought my body closer...

I screamed out in intense pain when I felt a surge of energy throughout my entire body, causing every limb to shake uncontrollably. It felt like every part of my body was being constantly crushed by boulders. It was all too agonizingly painful and I made it known as best I could to those around me. Pain blinded most of my senses as I struggled to control my body. And in the mere heartbeats I did, forcing myself to try escape was my one and only choice.

"Hold him down!"

Pain was all I knew at that moment. I NEEDED to get away. In desperation, I yelled out again for someone to save me, roaring out as loud as I could. Partial numbing from the energy passed but that made the constant, agonizingly painful aches increase drastically. Surely I knew my legs and arms shifted around but something wasn't letting me go. I was trapped while being forced to feel like my every muscle was ripped apart.

"Watch his legs and tail! Hold them down!"

LET ME GO!

"Quickly, Hypnosis!"

Screaming out my pain was all I could do. I couldn't stop shaking vigorously from that shock of energy. I barely managed to open an eye but that was immediately rewarded with a sharp sting from a bright light. The excruciating pain was too much. Stop it! STOP IT N-

...

((((()))))

Consciousness slowly began working my being by stirring my head awake, leading up to the automatic attempt at opening my eyes. Was...I still alive? Where am I? Questions started building in my head but no answers came.

Blurriness was all I could see; a blur of black and white as a soft coo escaped my throat at the slight move of my head. Breathing wasn't a problem and I think I could feel my whole body. Painless, which was a extreme relief. Opening my eyes half way, a clear vision soon followed after blinking to clear them. In front of me, various unnatural objects reminded me of James' cabin. But this wasn't his cabin and I did not recognize anything he owned. I seemed to be lying belly first on a soft, flat surface that was higher than the ground. Without moving, I eyed to my left; more shiny objects and another wall, but I partially noticed the bright outside world. I was definitely inside a human structure, but where? Shifting my eyes to my right, a cloth of some sort blocked another one of those small, see-through walls. No other occupied the space around me.

The surroundings gave me no clue of my whereabouts, but one thing was for sure, I needed to find Vinelle...or return to the Whirl Islands.

I still felt weak but I found the strength to shift my body, only to find I couldn't. When I turned my head to see why, I saw something soft yet tight holding my wings in place; even my tail where the same material couldn't go past my tail spikes in the same manner. After struggling, it was clear I couldn't go anywhere, not in my condition. Having no choice, I relaxed my body and rested my head back down on the soft material, feeling slightly scared.

I started remembering what happened before I fell asleep. All the pain I felt; it sent a cold shiver down my spine at the thought alone. Was it all a dream? No, it was more than just a dream.

Suddenly, a door opened and a couple people revealed themselves, both females wearing bright colours. One had red hair and the other, blue. My heart started beating faster as they got closer. Were they the ones causing me so much pain? I tried moving back but the material on my wings wouldn't allow me.

The one with red hair quickly lowered down in front of me as I shut my eyes, readying myself for more suffering.

"Don't be scared little lugia," she said softly. "We're here to help you."

I slowly reopened my eyes because of her kind voice and noticed her eye level with me, smiling brightly. "Feeling better?" After a quick look at both of them, I hesitantly relaxed and let out a soft coo that almost said 'yes'.

She pointed to herself, "my name is Joy," before pointing to her companion. "And this is Jenny. I'm a nurse who heals Pokémon and she is a police officer who protects people. Do you understand me Lugia?" Once she heard my affirmation in a form of another soft coo from me, she stood up fully and then proceeded to my left wing where she pressured a joint within using a couple fingers, checking for something by the looks of it.

...Lugia...they too know my species name?

The other person, named Jenny, walked forward and knelt down just as Joy did. However, she didn't say a word, simply held out her hand in my reach. I was confused, examining the palm of her hand before eyeing her, then back down again. Was there actually something in her hand? If I couldn't see it, perhaps I could smell what she has. So I shifted my beak forward very slowly and stopped; anymore further and I was touching her hand. I couldn't smell anything though. Was this a trick? After looking back up at her, all she did was give me a warm smile and stood up straight again.

This one was too confusing.

"Here," Joy called out from my left side, offering something to the other female. "Try giving him this."

Jenny took the small object from the other. "Is he cleared to eat yet?"

"Oh yes. Definitely," Joy answered kindly.

Once she mentioned 'eating', my stomach began grumbling as I tried to remember the last time I ate. Jenny knelt down in front of me like she did before and fiddled the object Joy gave her in her hands. I leaned forward in hunger-filled anticipation to find out what kind of food she had for me. In the end, she held out her palm near my beak again, rested on the soft fabric, watched and waited. But this time, I found a small, square block in the middle of her palm; it was coloured a bright shade of purple. Leaning in closer, the block had a slight sweet scent to it. So, I extended a little further and slowly picked up the block with the side of my beak by angling my head sideways, all the while watching her in case she decided to quickly attack. Turned out she didn't though.

I popped the cube in my mouth and took the first and only bite. The small piece of food was easy to chew as it was soft and the taste was not too sweet, but enjoyable. I ate it so fast that I checked Jenny's palm again for another but she stood up already and produced a guilty smile at me. "Sorry, that's all I have," she softly said, showing me her hands again for clarification. I groaned a little in annoyance and rested my head down again, disappointed while still hungry.

"His vitals are normal," Joy spoke up where I couldn't see. "And the injuries are almost healed. A few more days of rest is all he needs." I made a soft coo again. I felt fine but I was still really hungry...

Immediately, I felt a hand petting my neck comfortingly.

"Ok, I'll go ready the release papers and talk with his trainer," Jenny answered, leaving where she came in from.

Once she was out of sight, Joy sighed before lowering herself down beside my left eye, hand still petting my neck tenderly. I didn't understand why she looked sad as she gazed into my eye. "...Please," Joy spoke with a barely audible voice. "Take care of yourself."

When I began to establish a telepathic connection between us, I sharp sting rushed through my head, forcing me to halt and shut my eyes in reaction. I groaned until it stopped which was a moment later when I released the weak psychic connection.

Joy noticed and gasped. "What's wrong?" After the pain left, I reopened my eyes again and kept my sight straight, only producing a lengthy inward coo that was the equivalent of 'I'm not sure'. She brought a hand to my forehead for another check but took it away when Jenny walked through the door, followed by another person.

The person I last saw before I was taken.

I began feeling scared seeing him again and struggled in vain to move backwards but it was pointless; I remained stuck in place. My heart began beating faster as I decided to shut my eyes and try at a desperate attempt to hide myself; at least my head in the cover of my wing. The sight of him instantly reminded me of the pain I endured after the separation with Vinelle.

"He's afraid of you," Jenny said in an intimidating tone. "Why is that?"

"Dunno'," the boy answered. "Couldn't tell ya' but wasn't like that before."

Silence followed before Jenny made a slight sound of disgust. "Chris, keep in mind the legal agreements you just signed. If at any act of mistreatment, abuse, and the likes, your trainer card will be revoked and your Pokémon will be released...that includes Lugia."

"Yeah yeah, all that stuff," he quickly talked back.

Jenny's comments made me on edge. Did...that mean I was forced to go with him? The thought made me shake; I didn't want to.

When I found a little courage, I slowly opened my eyes in order to examine 'Chris' in more detail. By the looks of it, he was shorter than Jenny but about as tall as Sarah. He mostly wore dark colours and kept something on his head...I couldn't describe the rest because it was all so new and puzzling. Whatever people wore, I didn't understand the concept of why they covered themselves with it at all times; it didn't make any sense. Pokémon I've seen don't have that habit.

Chris frowned, seemingly at me to which I started shaking again and hid. "Why do you guys have him strapped up like that? Isn't that abuse?"

I could feel the tension rising in both females. The responses he made certainly made them angry even though it didn't sound that way initially.

I peeked and notice Joy walking around me, toward my wing. "We have to follow safety standards. One moment, I'll release the holds."

"And try avoid the media," Jenny suggested.

Chris however, didn't bother to listen. Instead, he answered Joy. "Don't bother. I have his Pokéball." At the mention of the device, I began remembering Vinelle's Pokéball I found. Did they all look the same? When my curiosity got the better of me, all I saw forward was a bright red light that made my heart skip a beat. In my natural reaction, I prepared myself for the worst, instantly shutting my eyes before I started feeling a numbness across my entire body until I lost control. Of everything.

All my senses were stolen from me. It felt like I was in a dark, empty void...but, it felt...comfortable, like home. Moments later, my body reconnected with my mind in such a strange way and I received my senses again. It...was home at first sight, but didn't feel like home simultaneously. I didn't understand. How did I quickly end up here? Jenny...and Joy...gone. I was alone again.

I curled my body up in my own warmth, feeling lost. Perhaps this is what I needed...to be alone, until I'm ready again.