Hope is a strange concept. To have hope, you must have blind faith that in something that will probably never happen. In addition, to have hope, you must first have no hope to begin with. You cannot build hope upon hope, only manifest it when all is lost and when you have nothing to lose. And if you don't create hope when you are only in the depths of despair, it's meaningless and fleeting, fated to disappoint. But, despite all of this, hope is one of the strongest forces the human beings have created. Perhaps that's because hope is the easy way out.

Angela and I made our way out, heading towards the exit of the silent metropolis, when my Pokewatch began buzzing. I tapped it twice and Jane's voice exclaimed out of it. "Spider? Spider, are you there?"

I smiled as I replied. "Yes, Jane, loud and clear." She then asked what my status was, if I was in Jubilife City yet, and I took on a more somber tone as I answered. "Yeah, I have, Professor. It's...not a pretty sight. The place is completely deserted, save for the deceased corpses all around. Oh, and Angela."

I could hear the confusion in the lady's voice. "Angela? Who's Angela?" She then gasped. "Does that mean you found a survivor?" The joy entering her was apparent and it made me glad. That's when the receptionist herself answered.

"H-hello. This is Angela. Angela S-Simmons. I'm a receptionist, well, f-former receptionist at the TV Station..." Her constant worry was ever in her voice and I doubted, even in her more confident state, that it would ever go away. I even wondered if she had been a stutterer before the world went to hell. Either way, it would be a long time before she would ever feel safe, if that even came to be.

Jane Twinneedle's voice told me that she was simply elated. "Oh, Angela, great to meet you, dear! I hope you haven't been through too awful of an experience, honey. Jacob, send her back to my lab, and I'll keep her safe. Besides, it would be nice to have some company." Maybe she was just lonely, but I had the feeling that Jane was ecstatic to have another "pure soul" around. Unfortunately for her, I had to Rain on her parade.

"There's a small problem with that, Prof. Angela's leg is injured. I'm not sure exactly what it is, it might even be broken. Either I need to somehow fix her up, although I'm not sure with what supplies, or I have to accompany her back to you..." I trailed off, unsure of what to do. Luckily, the former Professor's voice had an answer.

"Oh, nonono, Spider; your journey is far too important to stop and backtrack. Just go to the Pokemon Center and treat her leg There should be ample medical supplies, and it should be easy enough to make a stint, at least. Then she can walk back, as it's not that far. Trust me, Jacob, she'll be fine; I'll make sure of it." Her voice sounded so sure, but maybe that was just so I would go along with her. Either way, I fell for it and agreed. We concluded our talk, saying goodbye to each other, and I hung up my Pokewatch.

Lucky for us, we happened to be right next to the short street that led to the Center, so me and Angela made our way there. However, when we got closer, I slowed and Angela copied my movement. There was no telling what was in there, considering I had skipped it earlier. After bringing out a Pokeball (and calming Angela after she flinched at the sight of it), I stepped to the door. It didn't move.

Normally, all Centers had automatic doors that would open for anyone who stood in front of it, so this immediately put me on edge...yet gave me hope. Maybe Nurse Joy was in there. Or other survivors! Maybe the Pokémon hadn't attacked the Center. In fact, as I studied it, it didn't even looked damaged. The only eerie thing about it was that the lights were off, so I couldn't see inside. However, I rationalized in my young brain that maybe anyone inside was just hiding, not wanting to divert attention to themselves. With this thought in mind, and with Angela's help, we pulled one of the doors open.

You ever go somewhere where it's always crowded and then you go for some reason when it's not and it just feels...weird? Almost unnatural? Yeah, that's how this felt. There was not a sign of life in that Center. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound, and there was no one, living or dead, in sight. My mind flashed for a moment to the Nurse Joy who I had seen on the road, but then quickly dismissed. Surely, the sisters hadn't all suffered the same fate. There were dozens of them, from what I had heard, anyway. Even if I hadn't seen one yet, I was certain for some reason that I would meet at least one of them soon.

Anyway, I'm getting off track. Point is, no one was there. Me and my new companion made our way through the Center, heading to the back. I expected someone, or even something, to pop up at any second, but by the time we had made it to the supply closet, it was clear we were all alone.

At this point, perhaps from fright and perhaps from exhaustion, the chocolate skinned woman fell onto a bed and let out a sigh. "I h-hope we're safe." She said simply. I didn't say anything, but I silently hoped that we were too.

Since Angela was already lying down, I took it upon myself to look for supplies. I wasn't exactly sure how to make a stint at ten, but I figured it wasn't that difficult. After grabbing some bandages, a towel, a clipboard, and a band aid for myself. What followed was an...aggravating 10 minutes of me and my short term partner working together to make workable stint that wouldn't fall apart. Eventually, we had fashioned a makeshift one, using the clipboard as the base and wrapping the towel around it, using the long bandage for extra support. When we had finally finished, Angela could walk without limping.

I looked at the rest of her leg, noticing the welts she had mentioned. Thinking quickly, I looked for some Burn Heal, and applied it to her. After getting over her momentary confusion, Angela gave me a look of thankfulness. I tried not to blush as I looked away and focused on my injury. I pulled off the sleeve I had put on my scratch earlier, seeing it had bloomed a brownish-red color. I applied my band-aid to my cut, and couldn't help but notice Angela staring with a mix of concern and terror. I flashed her a smile, my eyes telling her to not worry about it. She seemed to get the message and looked away, getting up to test her leg. She wobbled for a second, but was able to steady herself.

A few silent and slightly awkward moments later, one of us spoke: "S-so, Jacob...I guess this is where we say goodbye?" I didn't really have a response, just standing there. I had only known the woman for less than an hour, and yet I didn't want to see her go yet. It was nice having a partner. So, like any ten-year-old who doesn't wasn't something to end, I made an excuse for it to last longer.

"At least let me walk you to the entrance of town..." I said, trying to smile. Whether she could see that I was hesitant to see her leave and my poor excuse to hold on to her, or she also wanted to stay with me too, I'm not entirely sure. Regardless, a sad smile touched her lips as she nodded. Without wasting another moment, I began walking, passing her, when she locked her right arm with my left. Taking it in stride, and interlocking, we walked almost peacefully through the Center.

If anyone were there to see us, I'm sure we would have looked like we were a young couple or brother and sister strolling though a park on a Sunny Day. I can't explain why we felt so comfortable in each other's presence as we were about to split apart that day, but maybe it was just that power of friendship I had heard so much about...On the other hand, we could have just been desperate with no better options on the horizon for buddies. Either way, I can honestly say that that short walk from the Pokémon Center to the outskirts of the silent city was one, and still is, one of the fondest memories I would have for a while.

Our blissful journey ended when we came to the sign leading back into the metropolis. After a few silent moments, we let go of each other...only to come together again, this time in a hug. It could have been hours, it could have been seconds, but that hug felt as if it could last forever. It didn't, though, as Angela pulled away. She bit her lip and averted her gaze, interested much more in the ground as she spoke.

"J-Jacob...I want to thank you...for all you've done for me. If I hadn't met you...I think I would have just waited to d-d-die in that lobby..." The twenty something looked up, removing her glasses as she rubbed her eye. "I-i hope that we'll m-meet again...it's nice to know that someone like you is out there in this w-world...caring enough to take the t-t-time to help me when I was...not even strong enough to move..." She put her glasses back and now her brown eyes met my green ones. Clearly, she was expecting some sort of response.

I held her hand, gave an overly confident grin, and said "I know we'll meet again, Ms. Simmons. You're not going that far, Y'know. Heck, if I had time I'd race ya!" I winked as I made her giggle, glad to see her face brighten with my humor. With that, she let go of my hand, turned, looked once more over her shoulder, both at me and what she was leaving behind, and walked off in the direction of Jane's lab.

Hey, peepz, it's Drew. Yes, I know it's been a while, and yes, I know this chapter is short, but I promise that I have good reasons and future plans. Without boring you, basically, a mix of writer's block, school, and working on my other fic (which if you've read, and you know how slow I write, you can see why it would take me so long to write those WAY too lengthy chapters Lmao) has kept me busy. However, every review, every good word, every follow, every favorite, heck every view keeps me going. So, please, keep going. You guys are why I write, after all! :D

Anywho, I will make my chaps longer again, but I REALLY wanted you to know this ISN'T cancelled, not by a long shot. I made a commitment to this fic and I'm sticking with it! Anywho, now that the serious stuff is outta the way, couple things.

First, I only put one reference in this short chap (unless you want to count the move names I used for certain weather elements :P) and it's very obviously Danganronpa. I mean, if you don't know what it is, then you don't know Danganronpa, which is sad, but I can relate, since my obsession is recent (but also REALLLLLLLLLY HUGE).

Secondly, I must address an issue that somehow has slipped through the cracks which I noticed while making this chap during the latest edit; namely (quite literally) Jane. Now, in my first chapter, I referred to her as Professor Pineneedle, of course as a play off on the usual name theme of Professor's. However, it seems that I have also, and more frequently, been calling her "Twinneedle". Again, I have no idea HOW I missed this, and I'm actually surprised no one pointed it out. Anyway, to clear up any further confusion, her name will stay Twinneedle. For some reason, it's catchier, and I'd rather mess up her name in one chapter than all of them XD

And, finally, if you recall, I whined about my poll when I last talked to you guys. And, well, it's still up, so if you "want" to vote, you can, however, I do have a winner. I'll save who it is for when the time comes, but I will say it was a close match between 3 in particular, only a vote separating them. But, I DO want to say thanks for those of you who took enough time to do so and lead me to this conclusion.

Okay, I don't want this note to be longer than the actual chapter, so I'll stop here. Again, thank you to all of you who read this, I love you all, and, as always: Follow and Favorite, and, a new and improved request, rather than "Read and Review", I'll start saying "Refer and Review". And, as always, I'm ALWAYS up for any kind of advice or constructive criticism. So, don't hold back, the reason I write is for you guys. Anywho, that's all for now my peepz. Cya! *fades out*