Kuro

I'm not sure how long it's been since I regained consciousness. I was certainly awake though, evident by the burning all over, though decidedly less scalding then it was prior. I assumed my body really was just getting far more used to the sensation of extreme heat then it ever should. My eyes were glued shut at this point, I didn't feel as if I could open them even if I tried. It was odd, I didn't feel like there was a pile of dirt under me anymore, it felt almost stringy, like a lot of small and thin pieces making up a surface. It was almost comfortable, that is, for whatever I could feel. Whatever parts of me that weren't burning had nothing at all, just numb. It was totally foreign to me, how my extreme state of distress and discomfort morphed into whatever I was feeling now in the span of time I was out. I even partially went insane… but hopefully that's worn off.

Disregarding whatever illusions my mind decided to create for me before I ended up losing consciousness, none of this seemed normal at all. I wasn't in an amount of pain that caused me to constantly twitch and quite literally lose it, so that was a plus. I think? I was still stuck to my knowledge, though where my restraints were locked to my body, I felt not the same pressure as before, but a dull ache, like a bruise that's been there for weeks, and you can only feel when pressing down on it. They didn't feel as tightly wrapped around my legs as prior, which was, again, odd. My breathing felt even, and almost calm, which baffled me more than anything else right now. Under no circumstance should I have been calm, I was still stuck and unable to do a thing. Yet, I sure felt it, unnaturally so.

Something felt off, many things felt off. My current, calm demeanor, that was unnatural. Whatever the texture under my body is, it wasn't dirt, it couldn't have been. The recessing heat all around me, that didn't make sense. My ability to breathe, it was stable, as opposed to the lack of oxygen I was experiencing before. The lack of senses in parts of my body didn't feel like it came from the intense flames, but rather, felt like it was artificially applied to me. My confusion was slowly growing as I contemplated all of this, and there was one good way to figure out whatever was up.

With a lot of effort, I felt my eyelids slowly open, and immediately shut them upon a centimeter of light. It burned badly, and felt like something had been stuck into my eye, despite nothing being there. Through the millisecond of my eye being opened, I saw nothing but a blurry mess of colors, before reflexes caused my eyes to shut again. Something was certainly different though, I saw different colors, vivid colors, not darkness like before. My sight wasn't used to the colors, so my instincts made it impossible for me to further observe anything in my surroundings. However, the fact that I saw colors, actual, bright colors, baffled me. There was no way out of that room, that is, unless I was carried out of it by a Void member, in which case, I would assume I wouldn't be anywhere safe still, just another dark room in the Void. I would have it all figured out already, but simply the fact that I saw colors, it contradicted everything I knew about this place so far. To be more specific, the room I've always been didn't have enough light to pierce my eyes upon opening, and considering the experience I had a few seconds ago, I had to have been moved. Hopefully not for more torture… That last part was terrible…

The last act against me since I passed out was from the delphox scientist, she blasted flames into my retinas. There was no warning the first time fire was launched passed my eyelids, but every subsequent time, she would prompt me to expose my pupils, increasing their vulnerability to heat. The fire itself wasn't very powerful, there was almost no force behind it, but it had the most basic property of fire within, that being intense warmth. I told myself that I had, for the most part, adapted to extreme temperatures, based on my initial living situation, and the previous days I spent locked within the Void. I've lived through the hottest days with little to no shelter, and bore the ever increasing intensity of the chamber I was contained in. Needless to say, I was used to it, and yet, once those flames focused on my irises, it felt like I had never been hot in my life. I couldn't hold back my screams with even the first stream, and each following one just felt worse and worse. After a while, one of my eyes became numb though, not just to the heat, but to everything. I couldn't even feel air hit my right eye, granted it's not like I've been able to try and embrace these feelings while stuck in a single place devoid of much air, but it just felt… different. That was the only way I could really put it into words, unusual.

My chest slowly rose and lowered as I took in oxygen, not feeling thin. I gulped, my legs and paws trembling, and very slowly lifted my eyelids once more. A single crack of light made my shaking intensify, bringing a sore, still heated sensation, intensifying by the second. I grit my teeth and blinked, making sure not to keep my eyes closed for any longer than that, just a blink. I repeated this, coming to terms with the blur of beige and brown coloring, abstract from the past dark room. All I could see was that blur, not able to make out a shape of any sort. My vision continued cutting in and out with each moment spent behind my eyelids, from darkness to the blur once more. After consistently performing this action for another small bit of time, I was able to keep the blur in my sight for much longer, my mannerisms calming down.

I still couldn't make out what I would call exact shapes, but it looked as if there was a roof of sorts above me, a circular one, connected with thinly cut pieces of wood. I think anyway, there were no angles for me to analyze absent of a blurred mess. I would call it an estimate that I was inside of a very small structure, based on how low the ceiling was. Without really thinking, I lifted a forepaw and rubbed one of my eyes, not feeling anything, just like before. Along with the blurriness though, something else was off. My sight felt more… narrow, almost as if some of it had been cut off, like I couldn't see at the same angle I did before, almost like my peripherals covered less space than usual. Not to mention, the numbness of my right eye, that wasn't natural I'm sure. Wait…

Through my blurred vision, I noticed a new portion in the very corner, a dark, black blur, with a small bit of yellow. My head took a few seconds to catch up, but my realization was no less impactful. I… I'm not restrained..? I decided to lift, drag, and move all four of my legs around, feeling each of their motions against what still felt like a thin collection of something stringy. Either way though, I was able to move them, which was most definitely not possible before. If I'm not restrained, does that mean I'm not with the Void? But if that's true, where could I possibly be? And how in the hell could I have possibly made it out..?

My head was fuzzy, granted, passing out didn't exactly leave you with the best ability to recall past events. Although, it felt like part of my very recent memory was… taken out. Like something happened, but I can't put my paw on what exactly, or how for that matter. I was unconscious… right? If I was out of commission, I shouldn't have what felt like a section of blank thoughts, I should be able to recall before I passed out, and those should be my last memories, my hallucinations. Instead, something felt… gone. Like I lived through something and couldn't grasp what it was exactly. Maybe I'm just… actually going crazy…

My ears twitched to what sounded like planks sliding against one another, wooden planks. Instinctively, I wanted to get up, now that I was unrestrained, but lifting any of my legs more than an inch in the air caused strain, walking and less, running away would probably knock me out again. My watered out sightline followed the sound, landing on a tall, thin figure, with a combination of colors, most prominently purple and brown. I'm still in possession of them… there's no way it would be that simple…

"You're awake!?" A loud, admittedly ear piercing female shout invaded my ears, a voice that I most certainly hadn't ever heard before. "Wait, no, act professional." She cleared her throat and moved herself closer to me, causing me anxiety and fear. I wasn't prepared to deal with anyone else dangerous, it was likely I was still within the Void somewhere, even if it wasn't in the same room. "How are you feeling?" I was asked gently.

My blank eyes laid on the blur, confused. Was I just… asked with concern? There was no way I wasn't still in the Void, nothing could have happened that resulted in me getting away, nothing that I can think of at least. Nobody knew where I was, nor was that place unprotected, it had the some of the highest ranking Void members, it's nearly impossible that anyone could even take one of them, let alone multiple, and get someone else out from under their grip. That's just… not possible.

I was cautious, not falling into the guise that I was safe. That being said, I needed to go along with this for now, and get a better idea of where I was, if anywhere different. I opened my mouth, ready to talk, but released nothing but a hoarse cough, causing my already sore throat to increase in heat. I laid my head back, breathing heavily. Still can't talk well…

"Maybe you need more treatment before you can answer that…" The blur moved from its position close to me, and a second later, returned, an even more thin line poking out from behind whatever pokemon this was. I couldn't make out what was happening, my sight was too impaired, but my mind was still in a panicked state. Like before though, I didn't resist, worried that would do nothing but make any punishments I receive that much worse. The nearly invisible portion of the blur in front of me extended outward more, approaching me, until lightly connecting to my body. I shivered, almost not recognizing the prick into my skin under my fur. I grit my teeth, partially out of fear, worried I was just injected with poison or something else harmful.

Slow minutes passed, and I was waiting to pass out again, or to start feeling pain, but instead, the artificial numb feeling I had all over slowly spread, taking away even more of the scalding heat I had been feeling for who knows how long now. It was never fully deleted, but definitely less than previously. "Now, as I was asking, how are you feeling?"

The blur talking to me was still indecipherable, I couldn't even vaguely tell what the species was. The way she spoke though, it implied that I would have an easier time talking after… whatever I was just given? Like before, I opened my mouth, ready to attempt working my vocal chords, though not to answer her question right away.

"W-Who are… y-you..?" I forced out in a nearly inaudible, hoarse voice. I even shocked myself as to how it sounded, way worse than what I had envisioned. Have I ever spoken a word since the first time I woke up in the Void..? Or after Luna met with me initially..? I had small flashbacks to each of the days I spent in that room, namely the times Luna came there, and shuddered, suddenly feeling lightheaded again.

"Right, you're probably very confused." She cleared her throat. "My name is Tsu, I took you in after you arrived here to make sure you didn't die on us." Her voice was laced with concern, but that was hardly what I should have been thinking about.

"W-What do you… m-mean, arrived… h-here?" I coughed after speaking, combining the heat in my throat with numbness, creating a very uncomfortable sensation.

"I mean when you made it here from… wherever you came from." The blur leaned closer to me, causing more intimidation. "You must have arrived from somewhere dangerous, the entirety of your body has practically been incinerated, and your interior muscles are damaged."

This doesn't make any sense…

"W-Who took… m-me here..?" I choked out. I was grateful that I could talk, though not so much for how difficult it was.

"Who? You took yourself here as far as I could tell." She responded, freezing me. Before I could question anything, she continued. "That's not important right now, you probably can't see too well, so why don't we fix that as best we can?" I'm so lost… What do you mean I came here by myself..?

From out of the mess of colors my gaze could pick up, another thin line approached my body, this time right above my head. I couldn't even tell what color this one was, just that it was thin, and reflective. "Keep your eyes open for me real quick." Not knowing what else to do, I submitted to the command given to me, still on edge as to where I was an why I was here. A quick drop of liquid tapped one of my open eyes, leading to an unavoidable responsive blink, and five more to follow. My head unorthodoxly twitched, sensing the droplet fall onto my eye and slowly running down under the lids covering it, washing down its entirety. I shivered, feeling a frosty wave, contrasting to the extreme heat I was so used to. It was only for a second, and that sensation petered out, right back to the sweat-inducing temperature.

After one final open and close of my eye, my vision was practically replaced. Instead of the lack of clarity I had before, I was able to make out a collection of light brown branches, connecting with one another to make a veiling, rounded edges increasing in height as the center approached. Around me were walls, same material, but in a different direction, stretching vertically as opposed to horizontally. There were no windows in sight, but on the east end, a clearly closed door was present, and the west end, a shelf with small items, some of which looking like tools. To my right, in front of the door, a dragalge floated, initially confusing me. Aren't they aquatic? What is a pokemon like that doing- Why am I thinking about this right now?

"A little better?" Tsu backed up an inch or two. "Though, it looks like that's the best I can do, I couldn't really fix everything, but better than nothing." What does she mean? While my sight was monumentally better than before, I still had the same issue. My area of vision seemed smaller, and a little ajar from what I was used to. "You sounded pretty clueless about your own situation earlier, do you want to.. Er, take a look at yourself?"

I froze, just as I did before. What… kind of condition am I really in..? It was in the back of my mind through all of my experiences, what my body looked like after the copious amounts of physical torture placed upon me. I never placed too much focus on it though, honestly assuming that the rest of my life would be spent within the confines of that room, until they went too far and straight up killed me. Now that I was seemingly elsewhere, I could actually see what I look like following what was done to me. As much as the notion scared me, it made me equally as curious. For better or for worse, I wanted to see what I looked like, or rather, how bad everything was. "S-Sure…" I answered, shaky voice still present.

I was met with a nod, as two, narrow branch-like appendages extended from Tsu's back, reaching over me to the aforementioned shelf, lifting a large, reflective surface above me slowly, revealing my own image to me for the first time since I was captured.

You would think, with black fur, that seared marks and burnt flesh wouldn't be visible. This was not the case. All over my body, from the ends of my hind paws to the tips of my ears, were sporadic and scattered burn marks. Portions of my fur were singed, other parts of it no longer existed, replaced by an equally dark color of skin. With a single glimpse at my Raven symbol, I was able to see it was untouched, not a single evident burn on it. No way that wasn't intentional on the Void's part. For what reason, I wasn't sure, but regardless, my entire body was covered in burns, almost looking permanent. Even all that though, wasn't my main point of focus. The burns scared me, showed me how bad of a condition I was in, sure. That didn't compare to my right eye, no longer blood or ruby red. Ghost white. That's what my right eye looked like.

Automatically, one of my forepaws met the discolored eye, making contact. I didn't feel it, not a thing.

I was locked onto it for a long while, unable to re-focus on anything else. My mentality of fear, while still evident, died down a bit, making room for intrigue. From one place to another, my head theorized what caused such an odd and drastic change. It should have been obvious, there really aren't many possibilities in the first place after all, and considering what I already did realize about my condition, those possibilities were narrow. I couldn't determine exactly what the problem was, only because my mind was still catching up with… everything.

I observed the entirety of my body one final time, before testing something. I placed one of my forepaws over my newly colored eye, no sensation of any kind. I came to an understanding of why it looked the way it did, breaking from the blood red standard. Typically, when you close one eye, or cover it with anything, you can perceive a small difference before and after, that shows which eye you're seeing out of, or rather, shows a difference from what you can take in with both eyes. It made sense, because you were cutting off a decent portion of your sightline. After covering my bleached eye, I didn't notice anything whatsoever, no change at all. That was red flag number one.

After hesitating more than I was willing to admit, I moved the same forepaw to my other eye, slowly and completely covering it. My other eye was open, and yet, I saw nothing. Blank, dark space.

My right eye… is totally blind, isn't it?

"I'm guessing I don't need to tell you about that?" Tsu said, sounding as if she was still in the same exact spot.

"I knew it was b-bad… wasn't sure of it being t-this much though…" I responded raspily. I guess that clears up why it seems like I've been looking at everything through an angle… I'm actually blind in one eye… I took a deep breath, stabilizing myself.

"Well, it could have been worse, actually, you may want to consider yourself lucky." I tilted my head, removing my paw from my eye.

"L-Lucky..?" I questioned.

Tsu made an 'Mhm' sound. "If you didn't waltz over here when you did, it's more than likely your other eye would have ended up the same way over time, and you would be fully blind, if not dead." Nice…

I had many questions, and they needed to be asked, no matter how crappy I was feeling at the moment. "W-What do you mean I… w-waltzed over here? W-When did I arrive..?" I needed to clear up what happened, and how I got here. A huge part of me just assumed I was still within the Void and this was nothing but a new scheme to get me to talk, but there was always that smaller bit, the one telling me I somehow made my way out of there.

"Well, it's hard to explain. Or rather, I don't really know." Tsu glided through the air, placing the mirror-like object back onto the shelf with her branch-like appendages. "I wasn't the one to find you, it was a child here. They told me a story, but seeing as they have quite the… overactive imagination, I wouldn't take it at face value." She took in a breath. "Allegedly, you found your way here by yourself, completely blind at the time. Not only that, but you walked into our small area with pink glowing rings, and a distorted, dusk-like aura surrounding you. Both of your eyes were shut, and as soon as you made it about ten feet away from the one who found you, the glow around your body slowly died down, and you passed out on the ground, your rings reverting to their normal golden coloring." ...What…? "I wouldn't take that at face value… The kid wants to be an explorer, so he thinks up a lot of crazy stories. However, I can confirm that you were alone when others showed up to give you medical attention."

So… I somehow got away from the Void, made my way to… wherever this is, and proceeded to pass out, all while burned severely enough to scar, in extreme pain, and completely blind. I paused. Is that physically possible for anyone? That's one of the most absurd things to ever cross my mind…

I let out an audible sigh. "H-How long ago was this..?" I decided not to harp on it too much at the moment, I needed to clear more than just that up anyway. That's definitely impossible…

"Less than a day, maybe fifteen hours ago? You've been out cold until just now. You were taken here by the child and a few others, where I was barely able to recover your vision, well, half of it, and help your burns a little bit. They're still pretty bad, as you can see, but they should be much more mellowed out now, as long as you don't overdo it." I nodded towards Tsu. I need to find whoever brought me here and thank them…

"W-Where exactly… am I-I..?" That was the next important question on my mind.

"We're a group of nomads, and this is our home base of sorts. We didn't always have one, but a group of five went missing a while back, and have yet to come back, so we decided to get more organized to prevent any more events like that in the future." A group of nomads? That's interesting. "We do have a map of everywhere we've been in the past, so maybe you can get an idea of where exactly you are if you take a look at that, but one thing at a time. You're not exactly in a good condition after all." Right… but I can't just wait…

What Tsu said was fact. I was obviously in a very bad condition, physically, and while she didn't know it, I haven't exactly recovered mentally from the experiences in the Void, more specifically, whenever Luna involved herself. I knew all of this, and yet, I wanted to jump away from where I was laying, and look at that map. I wanted to move, to figure out where I was, and find a way back to the Nest as soon as possible. It wasn't practical, but that didn't stop me from wanting it badly. If I really wasn't within the Void anymore, I wanted to get back to everyone else as soon as physically possible. The question is… How exactly am I going to do that? Walking there with bad injuries will be harmful… but I don't want to wait ages to heal up…

"Mind if I ask you something?" My head snapped out of my running thoughts, interrupted by Tsu's voice. "How exactly did you get… all burned and bruised?"

I took a second before answering. "I-I was taken by… a-a nasty group. T-They did some bad things t-to me." In my head, Luna appeared briefly, getting me to shiver, but I shook it off. "I-I have no idea how I'm not t-there anymore… H-How I got away…" Nothing seems possible… nothing that ended with me freed from the Void…

"I see… I'm sorry to hear that." Tsu bowed her head, endowing me with a bit of guilt.

"D-Don't be, as far as I know, y-you and your group of nomads saved my l-life. Or at least, m-my sight, what's left of i-it." I attempted to assure. The child that presumably notified everyone else of my presence and Tsu, who fixed me up, certainly made my life miles easier, they had nothing to be sorry about, making me usurp some unpleasant memories didn't need to be apologized for.

"Well, regardless, you seem to be in a hurry, you're unnaturally fidgety." Tsu said with what looked like a smirk. It's noticeable..?

"I-I have some pokemon I need to g-get back to…" I answered in a quiet voice. "S-Sooner much better than later…" The threat that who I now know as Nekro made to me right after I was captured, telling me he was going after Naru… even though it was more than likely that Naru would mop the floor with him, increased strength or not, I was still worried.

"I understand. Being separated from others you care about sucks. Ever since those five went AWOL, I know the feeling all too well…" Tsu sighed, before wrapping an appendage around something small, resting on the same shelf as earlier. It looked like an injection, a small one at that. "It's not exactly safe to move all around in your condition, but if you have somewhere to be, I won't stop you from trying your best to get there. Plus, as nomads, we're not used to outsiders, it's probably better you leave as soon as you can." Well isn't that great…

Tsu bright the injection to my neck, and pushed it in without warning, prompting a flinch. I felt something flow into me, a thick liquid, contrary to what I usually feel from a shot. My body began to feel a little shaky, and the numbness all over my body petered out.

"I just gave you the equivalent of an adrenaline shot. It'll last a long time, but not forever. Your injuries aren't severe to the point where you have to be bedridden, so they'll heal over time as you move, albeit slower. To be honest, your burns look a lot worse than they actually are, they sting, but they aren't actually harmful to your body other than that. They'll improve as long as you stay away from open flames." I nodded through every one of Tsu's words.

"T-Thank you…" I turned onto my stomach, promoting a wince. Below me was a makeshift bed made of ropes, tightly knotted to be both comfortable but firm at the same time. After a deep breath, I pushed off of the surface, hopping down to the grounds, my paws meeting grass and dirt. My body still felt heavy, but I was able to stand, with at the very least, a small bit of energy in my body, thanks to that shot. I'll improve over time… just need to bear with it for now…

"Avoid any fighting if you can too, irritating your current wounds will just make the healing process that much harder, especially if you plan on moving." I nodded once more and took a breath.

"Thank you again… Y-You may as well have saved my life…" I bowed appreciatively. I still had no idea how I got into this situation, but I would figure it out eventually. That wasn't the important thing in my head right now, I only had one thing on my mind. Getting back to the Nest, back to everyone there. Back to you…

"Quit thanking me, it feels… strange." Tsu stared at me awkwardly. "Usually pokemon just come in, get healed, and leave. You're in a rush, I gave you a shot that's slowly wearing off, go find where you need to go, and get there."

I gave a wordless nod, heading to the exit of the small shelter.

I pushed it open, using my head, right under a huge letter 'N' carved into it.

Hello Readers!

Sort of short chapter today, I had a bit of a hard time focusing on writing about halfway through, but it's up and ready now! So yay for that!

Quick thing I want to say to everyone who reads this: If any of you *X amount of people* who see this are having a hard time in life or anything similar, I am open to talk to, vent to, and help in any way I can. I've noticed a pattern in a lot of different setting recently, and that's how common certain mental problems are in the general public. Depression, suicidal thoughts, I knew they were indeed common, but not as much as I've noticed recently. I'm not a professional or anything, but having someone to talk or vent to, helps a lot more than you may think, I know from experience. So I'm open to help anyone who may need it! Just wanted to let all of you know!

I want to thank everyone who sends in Pms, reviews, all of that. I love all of it, so keep them coming! Thank you to my beta reader for cleaning up all of my chapters! (EightBitUmbreon)

See You Next Chapter!