"Where…..am I?"

That one question floated through Lyra's mind even before she opened her eyes. Where was she? Where had that wind taken her? Could what had really happened just...happened?

When she opened her eyes, would there be nothing but darkness around her again? Would she still be in the cold, unforgiving, chained space that she'd always been in? Had everything just been a dream? Was her meeting with Jirachi, her fixed wrist, and her wish just...a dream?

A soft wind brushed past her face, bringing with it a nostalgic scent. Something that she remembered smelling.

Lyra stiffened.

Was this...real? It felt real. Eyes still shut, she reached her hand out,

No chains.

Her extended hand brushed over something soft and delicate causing the nostalgic scent to rise up again. Lyra inhaled softly. This was...?

Another breeze brushed across her face, lightly kissing her skin. Lyra took a deep breath,

And opened her eyes.

Blue. Above her was a light blue, dotted with white. Lyra's eyes widened.

"The sky." She muttered to herself. She sat up, her eyes growing bigger and bigger.

Around her….was color. Shades of colors she had forgotten and could only imagine were all around her. They painted the sky, the ground, and everything in between. Bright greens, blues, reds, pinks, yellows, every color seemed to be around Lyra. She blinked and moved her gaze towards her outstretched hand.

A flower. Her hand had been touching a bright, white flower. All around her was flowers. Lyra looked at them all, amazed. Her hand brushed over the flower's delicate petals, as if to assure that it was real.

Flowers. She had been smelling flowers. The scent. The sweet, nostalgic scent had been flowers. She looked down.

Her white dress fluttered in the breeze, her exposed arms were bathing in the sunlight, her hands were touching the flower petals.

She was here and,

It was real. She looked around at her surroundings again, trying to take in every detail. It was all real.

A small tear trickled down her face. A tear of happiness.

She was free.

XXXXX

"Are we there yet?!"

This question was immediately answered with an annoyed and loud "No!" from the nine other Dexholders who had just about reached their limit.

The one holder who had asked that Mew-forsaken question covered his ears and let out a soft whistle.

"Yeesh, you don't have to blow my eardrums out." Gold said. "I was just asking a question."

A collective sigh arose from everyone else. Yes, Gold had just been asking a question,

The same exact question that he had been loudly asking for the last hour.

With the exception of the Sinnoh trio (who were unable to reach Johto in time), the Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn holders had some how all managed to be gathered and were now traveling on a boat to what Profesor Elm was dubbing, "Hikari Island" (because Red's idea of "Hyper Beam Island" and Ruby's idea of "Spotlight Island" was immediately shot down by the other Dexholders, Professor Elm, and even Professor Oak.)

"I swear Gold, if you ask that question one more time…." Crystal muttered under her breath. Having to put up with Gold's antics even before they had met up with the other holders, the poor girl had had it worse out of the ten gathered. Sure, she knew he was just excited and impatient to get to the island but,

Gold would always be Gold.

Right next to her, the other Johto holder wasn't faring much better.

"You should've knocked him out with Sleep Powder before we got on this boat." Silver grumbled as he watched Gold begin to (again) bother Emerald. Crystal let out an annoyed sigh.

"I honestly don't know why I didn't." She answered. Silver gave her a side glance before sighing a little. The two were standing by the ship rail (away from Gold) and had been looking at their approaching destination before the dark haired Johto holder had spoken out again. Though he didn't speak of it, Crystal could tell that Silver was just as excited and anxious as Gold to reach the island (noting the spark of excitement that seemed to dance in his eyes.)

"We can still knock him out you know." Green suddenly said, breaking the silent between the two. His look of annoyance had only been increasing with each "Are we there yet?" and the Kanto holder was just about ready to call out his Charizard on the backwards cap wearing Johto holder.

When she saw the look of consideration on Silver's face, Crystal quickly shook her head. Sure, she was annoyed too but having Green attack Gold just didn't sit well for her.

"No, we really are almost there so we might as well wait it out." She said, turning around and fixing her gaze on the ocean again. She watched as the coastline of Hikari Island gradually got closer. She smiled.

Naturally, Crystal was excited and anxious. The researcher in her craved to find out about the mystery surrounding the island. About the beam of light that had suddenly hit it. She couldn't wait to see what there was to be discovered. Maybe it was a new breed of Pokemon? Or a new evolution? Whatever it was, she thought as the sea breeze kissed her face, she was ready. And even though Gold could be annoying, she felt that somewhere inside of him, he was just acting like this because he too was-

"Are we there yet?!"

A collective groan was let out by the other holders as Gold once again asked that question.

"That's IT!" Sapphire suddenly screamed, causing everyone to jump. The Hoenn holder, having just reached her limit, put her hand in her bag and pulled out a Pokeball. Throwing it up she yelled,

"Fly us to the island Troppy! Before I kill this guy!"

With a roar, her Tropius emerged, beating its wings and extending its neck. Quickly grabbing Ruby and Emerald she pulled them to her Pokemon.

"We'll meet you guys on the island 'kay? I can't stand another second on this boat!" She said, still yelling as she reached up and began climbing onto her Pokemon.

Ruby and Emerald looked at Sapphire, then at each other, then at the other holders,

Then at Gold.

"..."

Five minutes later the three Hoenn holders were a dot in the sky.

XXXXX

Standing...was a lot harder than she had thought Lyra realized as she attempted (again) to stand up on her two legs. Like all the other times though, her legs wobbled horribly and she fell onto the flowers before even having taken a step.

Brushing herself off, Lyra began again….only to land face first into the flowers this time. She let out a groan.

How was she going to move if her legs couldn't even support her?

Pulling herself up, she began again. Rising slowly to a crouching position, she lurched herself up. Legs shaking horribly, she took two steps before falling down on to the flowers,

Or what she thought was flowers.

"Reep!"

Lyra pulled back. She had landed on something softer than the flowers. She stared, shocked, at the…cloud that was in front of her. A cloud with a blue face and black and yellow stripped ears and tail. Lyra blinked.

"Reep!" The "cloud" said again, looking at her with small innocent eyes. Lyra blinked again before giving out a small gasp.

"I-I'm so sorry!" She said, bowing her head a little. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" She asked, eyes growing big with worry. The "cloud" returned her gaze before shaking its head, as if saying "no" and letting out another "Reep!"

Lyra breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness you're okay Mareep-"

She froze right after the words left her mouth. The Mareep looked at her curiously before baaing again. Lyra slowly lifted her hand to her mouth, as if she could touch the words that had just left it.

"Mareep…..that's what you're called right? How did I….?" Her voice trailed off as she gazed at the Pokemon in front of her.

"Reep?" the wild Mareep said, tilting its head as if asking if she was okay.

It's cute expression almost made Lyra's heart melt.

"I'm fine….please don't worry." She said, giving a small smile. The Mareep let out an energetic "Reep!" before getting up and running circles around her.

Lyra let out the smallest of chuckles.

It was strange, smiling and sitting down in a place like this when she only recently was surrounded by darkness. She breathed in the fresh air and looked around again. The sky, the flowers around her, the cute Mareep bumping its head against her hand, asking to be petted, it seemed too good to be true. Tentatively, she ran her fingers through the Mareep's fluffy wool and let out a content sigh.

Never. She was never going back there, to the darkness. She was never going to be chained again. Never. She wanted to stay here, bathing in the refreshing sunlight, breathing in the scent of the flowers, and listening to the whispers of the wind.

She smiled.

Under her breath she whispered,

"Thank you Jirachi...Thanks for bringing me here. Thank you... for letting me live. Thank you for-"

"TROPH!"

Lyra almost screamed at the sudden sound. Looking up her eyes widened in fear. The sun was being blocked off by a giant, flying monster.

A giant monster flying right towards her.

XXXXX

By the time the rest of the Dexholders had made it to Hikari Island, all had pretty much had had it with Gold. When the boat finally docked, the Kanto and the Johto holders had separated into groups and had begun exploring the island (With one of Green's goals being to get as far away from Gold as possible.)

Even this though, did not stop Gold.

Crystal let out a sigh. "Please Gold, will you at least try to stick together?" She said for what felt like the hundredth time since they set foot on the island. Gold had disappeared (again) causing Crystal to panic (again) before he showed up (again) and teased her,

(Again.)

The poor Catcher just wished to observe and research the island at a slower pace but,

Gold just gave her smirk.

"Aw c'mon Super Serious Girl, I just wanna see what's up ahead that's all."

Crystal gave out a groan. "For the last time Gold…..Please stop calling me that!" She practically yelled. Her patience was basically gone and she just wanted to explore the island a little slower, even if it meant forcibly tying Gold to Megaree to make sure he didn't run away.

Silver just watched the two, hanging back slightly, knowing better than to break up their argument. Although he too had had it with Gold, just being off the boat and back on solid ground had calmed his nerves. He moved his gaze away from his two companions and took note of the forest around them, trying to distinguish anything that seemed out of the ordinary. So far though the island seemed...

Like a deserted island.

Still, the cause of the mysterious beam of light was on this island and Silver was curious to find out what it was.

Even if it meant separating from the group.

XXXX

Lyra ran. Her previously wobbly legs seemed to spring back to life the second she saw the Tropius come flying towards her. Picking up the Mareep, she ran as fast as she could into the surrounding forest.

"Hey!" A voice suddenly cried out.

Lyra turned her head around to look behind her. To her horror, she saw figures getting off the Pokemon's back and begin to chase after her.

She ran harder.

"Hey! Wait please!" Someone yelled out to her again. This time, she didn't turn back to look at them.

In fear, Lyra heard herself shout, "Leave me alone!" in a strained voice.

She didn't know why she was running but something in her mind screamed "danger" when she had saw them. As if they would drag her back to the darkness if they caught her. Afraid to stop, she continued on but,

The footsteps behind her were getting closer now. Although she was running as fast as she could, it didn't make up for the fact that her weakened legs weren't carrying her as fast as she wished them to.

Clutching the Mareep tight against her, Lyra swiftly turned to the right and ran past even more trees. Her breath became ragged, unused to ever moving like this. She panicked as she felt herself stumble over roots and trip over stones. Her feet ached but she kept on running. By now, she realized, the steps were basically right behind her. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Would she be captured? Made a prisoner? Would they chain her up again? She chocked back a worried gasp.

Then,

It was as if something hit her. A realization. Her eyes snapped open. Turning around she yelled out,

"Mareep! Cotton Spore! Now!"

"Reep!"

Jumping out of her arms, the Mareep began to shake itself sending a flurry of spores onto their pursuer.

"Argh-!"

Lyra watched as the person in front of her began shaking herself, trying to get the spores off her body. She couldn't help but stare.

It was the first time she'd ever seen another...person before. Even though she had been running away from her, the girl in front her didn't look...

Scary...

"Sapph!"

Lyra's eyes snapped up from her pursuer. There, running towards her came the other two figures.

"Ruby! Emerald! Get this stuff off of me!" The girl in front of her yelled. Lyra, who had been frozen on the spot, just staring at the three was suddenly brought back to her senses by a small electric shock.

"Huh-!?" She said, jumping a little. She looked down to see the Mareep nudging her foot, as if telling her to run. The Mareep looked up at her, determination in its eyes, before turning around and releasing more spores, this time hitting the two other boys.

The two boys yelled, trying to protect themselves from the onslaught of spores attacking their faces.

This time, Lyra didn't stick around to observe them. She ran off, yelling over her shoulder a quick thanks to the Mareep.

XXXX

"Well, I don't see anything that out of the ordinary, do you Red?"

"No. It seems kind of...quiet. Hey Yellow!"

"Y-yes?"

"How 'bout you? Do you sense... anything or something?"

"I...guess not... It's like what Blue said. Nothing seems out of the ordinary here."

"That so?"

"Yeah. I guess we'll just have to-"

"Wait. Everyone be quiet."

"Green? What's up?"

"Shut up and look over there."

The three other Kanto holders looked at where Green was pointing to. There, in the distance,

Someone was running.

"...Is that...Crystal?" Red asked, confused.

"No...Crystal wasn't wearing all white today..." Blue answered, her eyes following the figure's every step.

"Then-?" Yellow said.

Green glanced over at Red. "I don't know who that is, but Professor Elm said this was a deserted island right?"

Red nodded, understanding what Green was implying.

"Everyone come on! We're going after that person."

The three other Kanto holders looked at each other, than at Red.

"Right." They all said.

XXXX

Crashing through the forest, Lyra pushed leaves and branches aside. Gasping for breath, she kept running, afraid of what would happen if she stopped. She ran and ran, deeper and deeper into the forest until,

"Aah-?"

Her foot caught on a root, causing her to fall over and tumble down hill. She crashed into the dirt, darkening her already sore bruises and reopening some of her cuts.

"Kya!" She yelled, trying to grab hold of something to stop her fall. She tried, but only found herself continuing to roll down hill. Lyra braced herself, the pain spreading through her body fast.

"Is this...how it ends?"

The question floated through her mind as her fall seemed to accelerate.

Was she really going to come all the way to the real world only to let a fall be her undoing?

Before she could even answer her own question, Lyra felt her tumbling body crash into something, hard, taking it down with her.

"Oof-!"

She and whatever she crashed began to both tumble, but the force in which Lyra had crashed into the object managed to slow down her own fall. They rolled for a bit before coming to a complete stop.

Breathing heavily, Lyra couldn't help but relax. Her body ached horribly, but at least the dizzying fall she had taken had ended. She rested her head on the ground, her heart still beating fast.

"Ow..." Someone suddenly moaned.

Lyra stiffened, and held in a gasp.

It wasn't her heart that was beating fast she realized. The heartbeat was coming from beneath her.

Slowly lifting herself up, Lyra looked down on what she had landed on. She blinked.

"W-what...?" She asked, shocked. Instead of the ground, right beneath (actually right under her) was...

A boy. Lyra blinked again.

His eyes were closed and he was wincing in pain but looked to be okay. Lyra though, could only stare at him.

Red hair. Red hair seemed to frame his face, covering one of his eyes slightly. And his face was...he looked...he was...

Lyra couldn't describe it. His features made something in her feel...different. Nervous even. And he looked...he looked...

Familiar.

Lyra clutched her head, a throbbing that wasn't from the fall beginning to attack her mind.

Up, she had to get up and off this boy before he opened his eyes she had to.

But,

Something seemed to stop her. A curiosity that was small but made her stay.

She wanted to see his eyes.

And she did.

The boy's eyes suddenly snapped open and met Lyra's.

"W-what?" He asked, confused. Lyra froze.

That's when it felt like her mind exploded.

XXXX

"Professor Elm! Ethan! I know who did it! I saw him!"

"What! Who!?"

"That boy! That boy who stole the Totodile!"

"What?! How?! When!?"

"Just now! I just had a battle with him and he ran off towards-!"

"What does he look like? What's his name?!"

"Red hair! He has red hair and-!"

"What else? Did you manage to catch his name Lyra?"

"Yeah his name is-!"

XXXX

The memory cut off, stopping abruptly and leaving Lyra breathless, her mind feeling broken. Opening her eyes, she let out a few short pants as she tried to relax her beating heart and ease her aching head.

"I...I..." She mumbled under her breath. Shakily, she slowly rose into a sitting position and looked around,

Only to be met with the stares of a dark haired boy and a pig tailed girl.

"...Huh?" Lyra mumbled again, her mind still groggy.

The dark haired boy whistled.

"How long are gonna keep sitting on top of Silver like that?"

It took Lyra a second to register that the boy had been addressing her. She blinked.

"W-what?" She asked. The boy just grinned at her.

"Unless," He said, winking at her. "You want me and Crys to leave you two alone for a little bit?"

Lyra tilted her head, confused. She looked down,

Only to be met with the stare of the red haired boy. She blinked again before gasping, her face turning red.

"Kyaa!"

XXXXX

Aah. That felt nice to write. Hee hee, I made the chapter end with Lyra still on top of Silver. I'm the worst.

I only skim-read the manga so...here's hoping everybody's personality is okay! Review please~!

XXXXX

"What do you want?"

"Don't-! Don't touch me!"

"Wait...you...Do I know-?"

"...Huh?!"

"I-I'm...I'm not a pervert!"