I refused to look at either of them and so faced the ground until I heard Tor arrive. My mind was filled with the past experiences I had had with humans before. Most, as they were beginners, had ordinary poke balls but there was one before with a master ball. They had obviously intended to catch a pretty rare Pokémon. That was within the first year of my arrival here. He had not been after me, but, either out of duty or curiosity, I had to follow him. He found what he had been looking for within a matter of hours. Tor. He was by no means as strong as a legendary, but he was one of the main rumours surrounding this place. Tor had had no hesitation in what he did next, once he caught sight of them. He forced the trainer back, the boy already regretting his decision, but it was too late. I watched it all from afar as he turned the boy into a poochyena.

He never allowed people who had seen him to escape, yet the word of this powerful, fox Pokémon spread. I never knew if he had known I was there, but I was so scared of what he'd do if I told him. Had he done such things before? He showed no remorse, no regret. He seemed so heartless that I kept my distance from him from then on.

Until now.

By the images I had shown him before, he had known what to expect. I would have punishment, I knew this. The murder (this is what I had accepted I had done) of a human would not go without consequences. Tor emerged from the path and walked over to the treeko, and with the slightest brush of his paw put him to sleep, the body slumped. He had already decided what he was going to do. I looked round at him as he whispered some words at the treeko. He looked up at me and I knew what he had done. Erased his memory, eased the pain. At least here he could start anew. Still, to clear months, years of experience, this treeko would never be given the answers he would ask for.

'But now. What do we do with you espeon?'

His voice made me cringe, the way it was so loud in this silent clearing. The stench of human was so strong now that any other Pokémon within three miles would stay away.

'Is she...?'

I was wishing terribly that she was still alive but Tor gave me a look which dashed all hopes and caused me to give out a gasp. I had obviously thought there was still a chance.

'She's close enough. She wouldn't survive out here.' He then looked away from me and to the girls peaceful face 'Not in that form anyway.'

I looked at him in surprise; there were always rumours of his power, so many you could believe, so many you didn't want to.

'What are you-'

'All in good time. I have decided your punishment first off though.'

I bowed my head in shame, expecting the worst. I knew first hand of how he dealt with humans, he would bear no exceptions to Pokémon.

'You are sorry for what you've done. And you have paid loyal service to this wood. Yet, I want you to go back to her family and tell them what happened.'

I looked at him, sizing up this punishment in my head. It seemed fair, if not lenient. Yet, as I hardly wanted to anger him further, I nodded in acceptance. There would be the one matter of actually explaining what had happened but I was sure I could do something.

'And there will be a few extra effects to this punishment...'

He looked me straight in the eye, his red eyes gleaming with... was that him being smug? A reason to punish me, he had always wanted one. Maybe he had known...

'... You will become human.'

My eyes widened but, before I had a chance to ask when and why, it happened. My body, my muscles, my insides, my bones, growing and reshaping themselves, gave off a constant noise of clicks and snaps. My back feet grew long, stretching out, forcing me to collapse on the ground, my breaths getting harder and harder to suck in. My front paws also grew, with long spindly bones forcing themselves out of my skin, but I couldn't feel it. Either out of out Tor's mercy or a numb sensation from everything breaking and setting at once, I could not feel the slightest pain.

My tail shrank away from me and my whole body bulged into its new form. The fur fell in a flurry, except for on my head where it grew in long, lilac locks. I grew blind whilst my eyes reshaped themselves, making my pupils black and wide in this new experience. Then the gem on my forehead loosened itself and simply hung on my neck with a golden chain. Soon my body was almost completely finished. I felt my ears grow small but by the time my skull was settling into its new position, I had passed out.

***

The moon shone dimly when I eventually woke. My eyes could hardly adjust to this light but that was the least of my issues. My mind was foggy and confused but I knew who... what I was. An espeon turned human. An example to others.

After recalling all the events, the murder and the turning, I leapt to my feet, quite amazed I could keep balanced, and examined myself. I was tall, comparing this to my former self, and slim but I felt cold. The lilac fur I had once had grown into long curls, straying into my view every few moments. I was still in the same spot, but there was no longer the girl there and on the rocks there were some pieces of material left draped over them. Clothing. I had seen humans wear them before, yet these were all my own. Slipping them on, they fit well, the chill of the night had a weaker effect. It was a simple outfit of a grey shirt, black jacket and jeans, with some seemingly worn trainers. I was happy though, as happy as I could be in this situation.

'Enjoying yourself?'

Tor stepped out of the trees, no doubt where he had been waiting for me to wake up. Beside him was a boy, late teens, with short, curly red hair and a habit of glancing nervously down at Tor. A trainer? No, he had no poke balls. Noticing my look, Tor smiled.

'This is Aiden. Your guide. Also a turnee.'

As if it were my natural reaction, my hands rested on my hips and I gave Tor an annoyed gaze. Did he like to make a mess of nature? It seemed to be a little thing of his. Besides, I did not need a guide.

'I-'

Hearing my voice caused me to stop, it was higher than I expected but it was like I was whispering. So gentle, bearing no confidence, maybe it's because I had none. Snapping myself out of my train of thoughts, I focused my attention on the two.

'I don't need a guide.'

'You do.' Tor argued 'Besides, he will come in handy later on. There is a final thing I need to tell you about your punishment. You still have to tell the family what happened but, if you do not succeed it in time, you will remain as what you are. Human, with the mind to match. This is repayment for what I had to do to the treeko. You took away a loved one from them and forced my hand to steal the memories also. If you do not complete this punishment, then you will become fully human. You see the reason now why you need a guide.'

I was stunned, I was planning on tracking the family down in my own time, on my own, but now, there was much more at stake. Tor was showing much more... vengeance than I had expected him to. Which begged the question, how much time did I have? Sensing my question (or just reading my mind) Tor replied.

'It depends on the Pokémon, but you, I'd say you had three weeks, give or take a few days.'

So that was it. He seemed so calm, giving me my sentence, his emotionless face staring at me, causing me to want to rip each tail of his out one by one, but I hardly think that would win me any favours. Looking to Aiden, who hadn't seemed to have been informed of this information, had his eyes wide. It was easy to see what he had been before, a vulpix, maybe a relation of Tor's. He still bore the traits of a child, but his wide shoulders and height showed me that he was quite the adult.

'If I were to lose all my memories. What would happen to me?'

I didn't want to ask this, but I needed to know what would happen if I didn't succeed. I couldn't allow myself to believe that everything would be alright without his word. Tor himself seemed surprised by this, but he had an answer ready.

'I will create memories for you. A new life. I will sort it out. Don't worry.'

If there was ever an understatement, that was it. I was going to lose my mind, literally. But, in my sudden acceptance of this, my feet started moving and I grabbed Aiden, who was shocked himself of my actions. We were leaving. Now.

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I have to say, thank you for all of you who have reviewed this so far. I have no goals to reach for this except to test out this fanfic site. If you like it, I'll keep writing, if not I'll end it in a quick, simple, way. Anyway, thank you!

MoonLynx