She opened her eyes, only to close them again immediately. White light surrounded her. Blinding white light that seemed to burn her eyes.
Unsure of what to make of it, she hesitantly and slowly opened her eyes again. Though blinding, the light was comforting and reassuring. Much better than the blanket of darkness that had covered her before. Not to mention,
The light felt warm. It felt…. Safe.
"Hello."
Jumping in surprise, she held back a scream. A voice addressing her was coming from behind her. She turned around. Fully turned around, she realized, with no chains holding her or stopping her. Eyes watering, she looked down at herself. She blinked.
No chains and no cuffs. None whatsoever. In fact, nothing on her body except what looked like a white dress, as white as the space around her.
"What in the world-?" she wondered out loud, unsure of what to make of the white space she was occupying and the dress she was clothed in. Through her blurry vision she looked around, searching for the voice that had been talking (presumably) to her.
"Um…hello?" She called out, her voice shaking slightly.
"Hee hee. Hello again."
That voice. The same voice from before addressed her again. The voice that she had heard in the darkness. No. The voice that had saved her from the darkness. Closing her eyes again, she opened them fully. Though her head spun at the sudden brightness of her surroundings, she forced herself to keep her eyes open.
What she saw in front of her though made her rub her eyes in disbelief.
What looked like…. a star was in front of her.
Shocked, she could only stare, the disorientation in her head diminishing as her eyes grew accustomed to the light.
It really was a star in front of her. Or at least, what looked like a star.
The star gave her a smile. A warm, bright smile that seemed to be playful yet reassuring. It then rose and flew around her.
It flew around her.
"I'm glad you're okay." The star said. "I was afraid that I had come too late."
Shocked, she could only watch the star fly and speak to her.
"Too….late…?" Was all that she found herself asking. The star nodded.
"Yes. But I luckily made it in time Lyra."
She blinked.
Lyra? Was that a name? From the way the star was looking at her, she could only assume it was addressing her. In fact, she thought thinking back on it, hadn't the star refer to her as "Lyra" when it saved her?
Hesitantly, she asked, "Am I Lyra?"
A confused look came over the star's face. She continued.
"You were calling me that…in the darkness right? Lyra…Is that-? Aaah!"
She screamed a loud, piercing cry.
Pain was attacking her. But unlike previous times in the darkness where the pain had only attacked her body, the pain assaulted on her very mind. The one place she refused to let pain enter. To let that darkness enter.
Doubling over and crouching, she let out another scream. Her head felt like it was splitting. It felt like it was breaking. This was a different pain than what she had felt in the darkness,
This was-
X
"Oh, hello there Lyra!"
"Um..Hi Professor Elm."
"I heard you recently got a call from Professor Oak, correct?"
"Yes. He just asked some personal questions then told me to come see you."
"Oh? Ah I see. He didn't want to spoil the surprise."
"Surprise?"
"Lyra, today you are getting a Pokemon."
"….W-what?"
"Heh. Today you are getting a Pokemon."
"R-Really?!"
"Yes."
"Really and truly?"
"Of course Lyra. Ethan has his Marill and now you too will have a- Lyra?"
"…"
"Lyra? Are you-?"
"Thank you…Thank you so much Professor Elm! Thank you!"
X
A memory.
Her memory.
A memory that wasn't that of the dark abyss. That wasn't filled with a cruel voice. That didn't make her feel hopeless.
No, this memory made her feel filled with hope. This was-
A memory of joy.
"Lyra…I'm Lyra…" She said, breathing heavily. She clutched her head with her left hand before suddenly gasping in realization.
She had forgotten her own name. The very thing that defined her, she had forgotten until,
Until now.
"Lyra! Lyra! Are you okay?" The star asked, worry flooding into its voice.
Lyra blinked, realizing that she was lying on the white colored ground. The star flew above her, nervously asking questions of concern.
Slowly she sat up and began to stand. Blood rushed to her head, causing her to see spots and she stumbled a little.
"Careful!" The star said, flying towards her. It pulled on her left arm with its two smaller ones, helping her as best as it could.
"Thanks." Lyra said. The star looked at her, concerned.
"Are you okay?" The star asked again. Lyra nodded. Though her head throbbed, the sudden pain that had assaulted her had more or less vanished.
"I-I'm….fine…" she breathed.
The worried look on the star's face relaxed.
"What a relief! I was worried that you were in so much pain and…. and…you wouldn't get up and…. and-!"
Seeing the panic beginning to rise in the star's cute face, Lyra couldn't help but feel a small happiness bubble inside of her. Just knowing that the star cared, that the star cared for her, made her feel…happy.
"Don't worry, I'm stronger than that." Lyra said, trying to reassure the star.
To her surprise, the opposite happened.
The star's smile vanished after she said that, as if she had wiped it off its face. Lyra's eyes widened. The star whimpered and dropped its head.
"H-hey…?" she asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"
The star, still looking down, muttered in a teary voice said, "I'm so sorry Lyra."
Lyra watched as tears began to pour down the star's face. She watched as the tears dripped to the ground.
"H-hey! Don't cry! Don't-!"
Sniffing, the star continued.
"I'm so sorry. I should've…. should've….Waah!" It flew into Lyra's chest, giving her (as best as it could) a hug. Surprised again, Lyra could only stand frozen. The warmth the creature was emanating onto her chest was…comforting and so…very different from what she was used to. The feeling of a beating chest against hers was….was….indescribable. The emotions the star was feeling for her made her feel…. whole again.
Unsure of what to do, she patted the star on its head with her left hand. When it nuzzled further into her chest, Lyra's pats changed to a stroking. Then, slowly and awkwardly, she wrapped her one of her arms around the creature.
"I'm okay now." She said. "Please don't cry little one. I'm okay now." She said, trying to comfort the star. She raised her right hand to stroke its soft head.
"Argh!"
She yelped, pulling back. Her broken right wrist was throbbing. Gasping, she cradled it in her left hand. She looked up and noticed that the concerned expression on the star's face had returned, replacing its previous tears. Letting out a dry laugh she said,
"I forgot I broke my wrist."
Wincing, she tried to find a comfortable position for it, but to no avail. The pain that had not been registering until now flowed back into her. Biting back another cry, she tried (in vain) to put on a strong expression.
The star looked at her broken wrist, its head slightly tilted. Slowly, it floated towards it and examined it more closely. The star then looked up.
"I can fix it."
Lyra blinked.
"W-what-?" she began. "W-what do you-?"
Before Lyra could even get her full question out, the star leaned down and gently kissed her wrist with its small lips.
In an instant, the pain was gone. Lyra watched in amazement as her wrist glowed, straightening itself. She could feel her bones mending themselves, could see her fingers regain their sense of movement, could see the angle of depression her wrist was in become a healthy looking arc. When the glow vanished, there was her wrist, all fixed.
"Wow." Was all she could say. Hesitantly, she bent it. Gasping in shock, she shook her wrist out.
"It's…. It's…all better." She breathed. Even more than that. The bruises that had been on her right wrist were gone and the scars that she had gotten on it had disappeared too. In contrast to what it had just been, her right wrist now looked…. Normal. She looked at the star in amazement. The star smiled and gave her bashful looking expression.
Lyra chocked back a sob of relief.
"Th-thank you!" She cried out. She bowed deeply to the star. "Thank you!"
The star shook its head.
"It was nothing Lyra. Please, you do not have to be so kind. Plus you're making me feel embarrassed." It said, a tinge of pink coloring its cheeks.
Lyra though, repeated in her bowing.
"Thank you….thank you so much. I don't know how I can repay you! You saved me and you fixed me you-!"
"Hee hee. Really Lyra, you're embarrassing me."
Lyra looked up and smiled. It was a small and stiff smile but a smile nonetheless.
Her first smile in what felt like a long time.
"Thank you!" She said, her small smile glowing on her face.
The star froze.
It hovered in place, staring at Lyra, mesmerized by her smile as if it was lost in a trance. Its soft eyes looking deep into Lyra's eyes.
They stood there in that white space for what felt like a long time.
Finally, the star shook its head.
"I only fixed what has been broken." It said sadly. "As for the rest of your body…."
The scars, bruises, and cuts were still plastered all over Lyra's body. Only her right wrist was free of any painful memories. Lyra though, shook her head.
"You made the pain go away and you….You granted my wish." Lyra said.
It was as if something had changed in the star after she said the word "wish." The star looked at her, shocked by what she had just said. It stared down at her with unreadable expression. Then, in a more serious tone, a tone that slightly surprised Lyra, it said,
"No I didn't…. I still need to grant your wish."
Lyra blinked.
"W-what do you mean?" she asked, confused. The star cast its eyes downward. Taking a breath, the star rose, flying until it was level with Lyra's head, before it began speaking.
"I do not know how to tell you this but…I am known in your tongue as Jirachi and as you have already witnessed and experienced," The star said, gesturing to her wrist. "I can grant wishes."
The serious tone in Jirachi's voice differed from the playful light tone it had used when first greeting her. Lyra could only nod, as if agreeing with what it said. Jirachi, seeing that she had accepted its words, continued.
"I heard your voice, your wish, in my sleep. It pierced through my dreams and woke me up."
Lyra titled her head to the side, confused.
"Woke you up? My…. wish?" She asked. Jirachi nodded.
"It was the wish you were making from deep inside of yourself, hidden from the eyes of your captor." Jirachi said, looking at her with an expression that was as serious as its tone. "It was your wish to return to the world. The world that you knew deep in your heart that you belonged to. You wanted to return to where you had experienced those emotions that you had clung so dearly to. You wanted to remember. Remember all those feelings. You wanted to remember your-"
"Memories." Lyra finished, realization flooding into her. The Jirachi nodded.
"Your wish is a simple yet difficult one to grant though." Jirachi said sadly. Lyra nodded again. She felt like she understood why.
"I….I lost my memories haven't I?' she asked, her tone sad.
"Not exactly 'lost' them. Rather you have 'forgotten' them." Jirachi said. "But even though you cannot remember anything, you still have those memories inside you. Those memories and emotions, they are in you, hiding."
"Hiding?" Lyra asked. "Why are they hiding…?" Jirachi gave her a sad smile.
"It seems your memories were hiding from your captor and it seems, you were the one who hid them. Hid them deep inside you."
"I….did?" Lyra asked shocked. Jirachi nodded.
"W-why?"
"That is something only you can answer Lyra." Jirachi said. It paused before continuing on.
"Though it will take time, I believe with the correct exposure your memories will return."
"R-really?" Lyra asked hopeful.
"Yes. Most definitely your memories will return."
Lyra smiled relief rushing through her. A frown though quickly replaced it.
"What do you mean by exposure?"
Jirachi only smiled at her.
Then,
"Aah!"
It was as if the room had exploded. The brightness intensified, burning Lyra's eyes again. Out of nowhere, a strong wind blew whipping her hair back.
"Jirachi?!" She yelled. Before she could hear a response though, a gust a wind hit her in her chest, forcing her back.
"Aah!" Lyra screamed again. "Jirachi!"
She could hardly make out the little star anymore as she felt the wind pushing her further and further away. She screamed again when she felt the wind pick her up, raising her higher and higher and higher until,
BOOM!
…
..
.
And in Lyra's fading conscience, she could've sworn she heard Jirachi whisper in her ear,
"Good luck Lyra. And….I love you."
X
"Yes? Hello?"
"Oak!"
"Elm? Is that you?"
"Yes! Did you just see-?"
"I have."
"That bright light-! What was it?"
"I do not know Elm."
"I received a message from both Rowan and Birch. It seemed that the light could be seen from Sinnoh and Hoenn as well."
"Interesting."
"Well what do you suppose-!?"
"I do not know Elm."
Professor Elm ran a hand through his hair, stress evident in his face.
"In any case," he continued. "That island where the light came from, do you think it could've been a…a Pokemon?"
There was a pause before he heard Oak's response. The response the Kanto professor gave though only made Elm even more nervous than before.
"I guess there's only one way to find out." Elm gasped.
"Surely…you don't mean-?"
"I am sure Kanto's and Johto's Dexholders will be looking forward to this excursion. Since he witnessed the light too, call Rowan and see if you can get him to send over Sinnoh's Dexholders to Johto. I'll call Birch and ask him to send-."
"Are you serious about this Oak?" Elm asked, panic rising in his voice.
A small chuckle from the opposite line then,
"Yes Elm, I am serious." Was all Professor Oak said before hanging up on the poor Johto Professor.
Em stood there, phone in hand, listening to the dead line of what used to be Oak.
"Oh…. no…." Was all the Professor said.
XXXXXX
Well here's chapter 2! Next chapter you know who's are coming! I realized that I was listening to "A Tale of Six Trillion Years and a Night" by IA when an idea for a fic like this came up. Yay J-Pop!
Review please~!
XXXXXX
"Jirachi….where are you?"
"This place….where is it?"
"Huh?"
"Voices…I hear voices…."
"Where am I?"