"So stand in the rain

Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
Stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day, what's lost can be found..."

~Superchick, "Stand in the Rain"

Part 6: Beyond Recognition

My home, my family, my way of life... Burned down, with no knowledge of who did it. I barely escaped from the burning destruction. I cried myself to sleep in the police precinct. Hearing claims that it was my fault that I had played with matches. They had a right to say something like that. I was only ten years old.

I lived in the country, just outside of this exact city. I was adopted and began living in the city, but it was harsh. No matter where I went, people gave me these looks, like I didn't belong here. Those children's parents let them watch the news, I guess. They saw only me, and the burning house. Some of the school children gave me nicknames. One of the most popular ones was "Flint" for obvious reasons.

That night, and some nights after that, I had a terrible nightmare. A nightmare where, no matter how long or how fast I ran, I couldn't escape the burning house. Hallways stretched on for miles, and stairways never ended. Before the entire house collapsed, a door would finally open. To my dismay, the door would shut just as I reached it. I would wake up just as the house began to fall.

The last of the nightmares was when I turned twelve. I finally woke up, freed from the nightmare. I had no friends to invite. Most of the kids at school stayed away from me. They feared that, if they stood to close to me, their heads would burst into flames. The house was decorated only slightly, with some stringers in my favorite color, which was black.

I don't know why my favorite color is black... I guess it was just how my feelings towards the world became after a while. I wished nothing more than for my life to return to the way it was. My life just became nothing more than wishes.

I walked out of the apartment they lived in without them noticing. That day it was raining heavily. Looking up, I saw only a cloudy sky, masking the sun. I burst out crying, and couldn't stop. My foster parents picked me up, and took me back to the apartment. I cried myself to sleep again, hoping the dreams would cheer me up.

The dreams never came. I had no idea what to dream about. However, something else did for me. In the dream, I was surrounded in an aura; it never stopped changing colors for the entire dream. A spirit appeared before me, staring at me. "How much can you take? How much until the pain is too much to endure? You'll find out in time, Katherine. You won't endure the pain alone." I wouldn't see that dream again until I turned 16.

My sixteenth birthday was the most memorable one of them all. The night before my birthday arrived, I got that dream again. However, it made more sense. The spirit took form, it was an Espeon. "Happy birthday. I hope you endured enough to understand everything." I looked at the Espeon. "I understand everything, but I need to know one thing. Why?" The Espeon wondered, "What do you mean?"

"Why do I have these dreams? What's so important about them?" I saw something, a small window with many visions showing inside it. My entire childhood flashed before my eyes. Everything that happened, being seen from another person's perspective. It was all of the dark moments of my life. After everything flashed through, the aura surrounding me changed color. It became a very dark purple.

"This is the reason." The Espeon finally spoke. "That color will be important, you'll see." I became more confused, "What do you mean-" The Espeon cut in, "When your companion needs you most...is when the badge is at its brightest."

"A...companion?" I stood in utter curiosity. Espeon threw a badge, which I caught in my hands. I then noticed that my hands were black paws. A quick inspection showed that I was an Umbreon. "That badge... You'll need it when your companion gets their own."

The Espeon then disappeared. I woke up, and it was morning. I got out of bed, when I heard a sound of something hitting the floor. I looked down, and there was the badge from the dream. I never understood how it got there. I kept it in a small yellow box all this time.

I didn't have much for my birthday. It didn't matter for me, my birthdays were always small. I got two gifts that day. One was an Eevee, so small and innocent. I named it Cloe, and was always kind to her. I went to the park almost every day.

The second was a necklace. It was an opaque gold, with a dark purple gem in the middle. The chain was small and thin, but was also an opaque gold.

I remembered the dream. I was turned into an Umbreon, and the area around me was a dark purple. I decided to put the necklace in the same box. I knew that those two items were important, so I kept them.

Now I'm nineteen, I live alone, and Cloe seems to have found an occupation to do freely. I've decided to try the form for the first time. I was given a "translator" and was now speaking my entire story to two Pokemon that had many questions. One was an Eevee, quiet and brave. The other was a Vulpix, curious and happy. They both went together well. Cloe gave me a scarf, similar to theirs, and I took the badge out of the box and put it on.

For the first time in nine years, I can trust someone. I am now a member of Team Summer Heat.