The ebbing of the tide filled my ears. I groaned, slowly stirring into consciousness, while the sound of the waves beckoned me to sink back into the comfortable warmth of the darkness. Every part of my body ached and creaked, complaining about the electricity that had entered my system. But when I shifted my right arm to get up, pain shot down my elbow, gathering at my wrist. Almost biting through my tongue in an effort not to scream, I rested for a bit, finding the courage to open my eyes.

The sight that I was met with made close my eyes again and lower myself back to the ground, woozy. The skin around my wrist had had burned off in a perfect circular ring and I could see the red ropes of muscle shifting, revealing a gleam of white bone here and there. I shuddered, trying not to throw up on the worn hardwood floor.

Suddenly, I heard a rush of wings and saw Skyra's form outlined by the doorway.

"She's over here!" Torrent came running, pulling a man by the hand, "Please help her!" In one smooth motion, the man opened his bag, pulled out a red spray bottle, and pinned my arm to the ground.

"Both of you, hold her." Torrent sat on my legs and Skyra pinned my other arm. It was a good call, too, because the minute the spray hit my open wound, I screamed and thrashed at the burning of the medication. But, when the pain had subsided somewhat, I looked through my tears to see skin closing over the wound. Soon, the only thing that was left was an ugly, snaking scar, still raw, that ran around my wrist like a bracelet.

"You're lucky your Piece pulled off that thing when she did. The ring fused to your skin, and you got away with your hand still attached to your body." I couldn't quite speak yet; the pain was making me grind my teeth. "Hyper Potions aren't made for humans, but these are one of the times when I'm glad of the similarities between..." When our eyes met, he trailed off. I couldn't see the expression on his face, but his eyes were the color of jade, of celadon. I quickly closed my eyes again as another wave of pain sizzled from my wrist. "She'll be alright." And before I could say anything, he stood up and strode outside.

"Alex? Are you okay?" Skyra asked sometime later, her feathers brushing my face.

"I'm good," I said thickly, struggling to a sitting position. "Who was that?"

"I don't know," Torrent answered. "I showed him your trainer card and told him that you weren't from around here and that you were in trouble and he followed me. Oh, and," he stepped sideways, "we found her sleeping next to you. She's a Poochyena." Standing behind him was a five-year-old girl with her thumb in her mouth. She had shaggy black hair with a grey shirt and black shorts.

Her big, black eyes stared back at me, distracting me from the pain.

"Oh, hello." She took one step towards me, one hand clutched on Torrent's shirt.

"She's a little careful about everything." Torrent disengaged her fingers from his shirt. "Go on, Eris."

"Is Eris your name?" She smiled and nodded, her fangs and eyes sparkling. "Do you want to come with us?" She nodded again.

"I don't think she has a mommy or daddy," Torrent said. "She must have been kinda cold. That's why she snuggled up to you."

"Welcome to the team, Eris." I held out my arms. Cautiously, stepped into my arms and licked my face. Then, avoiding my bad wrist, which she also gently licked, she helped me stand up. On my feet, I shook out the kinks in my body, making sure not to move my wrist too much. "By the way, where am I?"

"Route 104. We're in somebody's cottage. It was open, so we dragged you in."

"Okay." Reaching for Torrent and Skyra, I pulled them both into a hug. "You two saved my life."

Torrent simply smiled.

"I would have died if you did," he said, nuzzling my neck.

"And we couldn't have you dying too soon," said Skyra, scowling.

No, we couldn't have that.

I cocked my head. "Did any of you hear that?" I heard a slightly buzzing.

"Hear what?" Eris asked, her voice rough in her throat and warm. We were silent, listening.

"The electricity probably affected my brain." Scooping up my bag, I took Eris's and Torrent's hand and started the walk to Petalburg Woods.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep." Skyra landed beside me with a thump as we made our way through the dappled green light of the woods. "But I have promises to keep." The tall grass rustled as we walked. "And miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep."

"Hey you!"

I whirled around to face the voice, which came from a boy who looked eight years old. "Let's battle!"

"Six Wurmples, I assume?" My first battle had been hours ago and by now, the novelty had worn off. The trainers were too easy, and the sight of the blank faces of the Pieces controlled by the PALs made me sick.

"One Wurmple! I need to train! I'm going to become famous!"

I sighed and whistled with my fingers.

"Go ahead, Skyra." Within seconds, she was airborne.

"Eat her up, Wurmple." A spike of nausea hit me when I saw the boy with red, spiked up hair, a shirt with a red back and cream-colored front, and cream-colored shorts. There was no emotion on his face and his eyes were completely black, with no distinguishable irises. He shook both his hands sharply, and a ruby bracelet twined around his wrist, palm, middle, and ring finger on both hands.

"Skyra, Peck!" She corkscrewed in the air, diving towards the Wurmple with her daggers, but missed by an inch. The slipstream of her flight made the Wurmple spin, and I saw narrow, cream-colored triangles on the back of his shirt.

"String Shot!" He aimed his middle and ring finger at Skyra and shot a thick rope of web from the bracelet. Skyra looped away, and this time, her Peck hit. Soon, I was walking away from the infuriated boy, who started off towards the Piece Center with his Wurmple in his PAL.

We stopped to rest on a log.

"We're getting our next team mate here, right?" Torrent asked, pulling on my sleeve.

"Hm, maybe." I massaged my head. I would have been in a better mood, but all the empty stares of the Pieces, the aching in my bones, the excruciating headaches, and the source-less murmurs of voices I kept hearing made by day terrible. "Do you think we'll get another Taillow?"

"I'm the only Taillow on this team," Skyra snarled.

I chuckled.

"I thought birds only sang and chirped prettily, but you can bark like Eris, too, huh?" I teased, grinning. Eris looked up when she heard her name and when she determined it wasn't anything important, looked down and continued to play with the grass.

Skyra rolled her eyes and made a soft cooing sound.

"She said a bad word!" Torrent erupted in a fit of laughter. Before I could ask what the cooing had meant, Eris jumped up and barked. The grass rustled and a boy that looked thirteen, or so parted the grass and frowned at me. He wore a peach cap, a peach shirt with several green spots on it, and green shorts. On his feet were green canvas shoes. When his frown deepened, I couldn't help thinking it looked very familiar. From inside my pocket, my Icon dinged.

"Shroomish," it recited, "the Mushroom Piece. It loves to eat damp, composted soil in forests. If you enter a forest after a long rain, you can see many SHROOMISH feasting on composted soil."

Quietly, I took out a PEN. Eris growled, diverting the Shroomish's attention and I whipped the ball at him. After a couple of tense seconds, it stopped rocking.

The teenager's frown grew even worse when he was released from his PEN.

"Let me go."

I shut my mouth, my friendly words dying away.

"Er, my name is Alex-"

"I said," he hissed, "let me go. I'm not going with you!" He started to walk away.

"But it'll be fun," Torrent said.

"Dying is not fun!"

"Coward," Skyra muttered. The Shroomish turned to her.

"What did you say?"

Skyra raised her wings, the sunlight highlighting the blue edging around them and lighting up the white middle. Her knees bent, prepared to defend her position.

"You heard me. Coward." In a moment, they were tumbling on the ground, trying to get the upper hand. Torrent jumped in gleefully but was immediately knocked back by a wall of wind. He rolled away, giggling. Skyra beat her wings, jerking herself away, and landed on the Shroomish's back, pointing a dagger to his neck and twisting his arm back. "I have the type advantage." Slowly her wings lowered, and she extricated herself, leaving the Shroomish breathing hard. With one hand, he wiped the blood off his mouth. "But, I was wrong." The Shroomish looked at her. "You are not a coward."

"Name?"

"Skyra. Yours?"

"Briar." Briar's face was almost smiling. Almost. "You seem fun. I'll come along."

"Good-o! Welcome to the team!" Torrent cried, leaping on him.

I heard a desperate shout.

"Trouble!" Eris barked, twisting out of my arms. There was a silence, and she was still, tense, in a half-crouched position. We heard the shout again, echoing with a note of pain that had not been there before. She barked again and bolted towards the sound. Briar dropped Torrent and we all leapt after her, zigzagging through the tall grass.

In a clearing in the trees, there were two men, one on the ground and one in a tree, cornered by a Poochyena. The man on the ground was wearing a white shirt with blue stripes, black pants, and a bandanna, with what looked like a modification of the Jolly Roger symbol. He was going through a briefcase with intense concentration, while the man above him looked on helplessly.

"Please! Give it back to me! I'll give you all my money!" screamed the man in the tree, who was wearing casual business attire. "There are important things in there!"

"I'll give it back as soon as I find the Goods!"

"Hey! Stop it!" Both of the men looked at me, but the Poochyena continued to stare at the man in the suit.

"Mind your own business, kid." He went back to ruffling through the briefcase.

"Hey! You filthy pirate!" For the second time, he looked up. The expression on his face was shocked.

"That was a nasty thing to say."

The man in the tree nodded.

"I agree. That was excruciatingly insensitive. Just because he has a bandana doesn't mean he's a pirate."

"Furthermore, I shower everyday, not to mention I brush my teeth three times a day."

"See, little girl? You should never fall prey to stereotypes."

"They just hurt people. Together, we can build a better world." My eye had started to twitch. They continued smoothly, like a comedy skit. "What if I called you a dirty pirate?"

"And imagine getting called that everyday!" the business man exclaimed.

The pirate wiped away a tear.

"People call me that a lot."

"Are you serious? I'm so sorry. I'm sure you are a person of wonderful character."

"But he's... robbing you..." I said. The atmosphere suddenly exuded an awkward tinge. "By brother was right," I mumbled, "men are weird. Torrent, Water Gun! Eris, you take the Poochyena!" A stream of water knocked down the pirate at the same time Eris tackled the Poochyena, who was about her size. Skyra darted in and grabbed the briefcase.

"Gah! I'll remember this!" the pirate screeched, shaking the water out of his eyes. "Long live the sea!" With that, he pulled his fainted Poochyena into his PAL and ran off into the deeper part of the woods.

The man in the tree slowly slid down, yelping every once in a while, and finally landed on the ground. Brushing off the dirt from his suit, he nervously turned to face me.

"Thank you so much! I thought I was going to die back there!"

"Die by agreeing with the pirate that stereotypes are dangerous?"

"He wasn't a pirate," the man scolded, then his frown smoothed into a genuine smile, "Thank you for saving me. My name is Stephan."

"Okay, Stephan. Nice to meet you." I held out my hand and he shook it. "My name is Alexandra."

"Alexandra, I owe you a big one. I had some important stuff inside this briefcase." He patted the side of the worn wood. "How about I give you a reward?"

"Oh, it really isn't necessary, I-"

"Nonsense. As a trainer, you'll be excited to have it! It's the top of the line model for a PAL! We call it, the Great PAL. Pretty catchy, huh?"

"Ah... I don't really use..." But at the look on his eager, happy face, I couldn't say 'no'. I gingerly drew it out of his hand. "Thanks, Stephan."

"No, thank you, Alexandra! I think we will meet again! Goodbye!" Dusting himself off one more time, he strode along the path. Soon, he had disappeared from sight.

I stared at the machine of terror in my hand. Stephan seemed like such an enthusiastic and kind person and yet, he didn't know he was selling such cruel death traps. I placed it on the ground, like the other PALs I had found on my journey so far.

"You know what to do." With an almost invisible speed, Skyra lashed out, shattering the glass-like sphere and cutting the metal ring in half.

We all stood in silence in front of Rustboro. Torrent tugged on my sleeve, still staring at the huge buildings.

"Is this a city?"

I nodded. Even though I had seen London, New York, Paris, and other big cities, I couldn't shake off the sense of awe I felt. Apparently, neither could the rest of the team.

"Why are we just staring?" Briar and Skyra said, in flat tones.

Well, the entire team except those two.

I readjusted my backpack straps.

"Well, guys, this town holds our first gym. Let's head over to the Piece Center to rest, and we can challenge the gym in the morning."

The Piece Center was an exact replica of the one in Oldale, except bigger. The nurse also looked similar, but her pink hair was in a ponytail instead of two pigtails.

"Wow, it's really crowded," Briar said, looking around. I couldn't speak; the feeling of wanting to vomit was too strong. I wondered if I would ever get used to the vacant eyes of the once lively Pieces. On the wall, I saw a huge poster that said, in big letters, "PALaces and PEN Holders. PALaces and PEN Holders are healing sites for Pieces in PALs and PENs, respectively," I read to myself. "PEN Holders do not heal permanently. This is one of their weakest points. They fix any broken bones, blood vessels, and organs through electromagnetic, nano-biotic repositioning, where tiny nano-bots gently guide and hold injured places so they can heal. The nano-bots are then passed out of the blood system through carbon excretion. The Pieces are also given a dose of general antibiotics and non-harmful steroidal substitutes. True bed rest cannot replace PEN Holders. However, PEN Holders are quickly becoming obsolete, due to their inefficiency in healing. For PALaces, the healing is permanent. In a complex system of adding telomeres to the end of DNA strands, using electrostatic friction healing broken bones, organs, and blood vessels, and giving another electrotherapy shock to ensure that the neuro-sensory death receptors of the brain are blocked, your Piece is made to be as good as new and can be used to fight immediately! The perks..." There was nothing in the article about the scream of pain that come out of the Ralts's mouth. Nothing describing the Vigoroth's dull kiss. Nothing describing the still throbbing pain around my wrist. Nothing on the emotionless gazes and soundless movements of the Pieces.

At this point, I stopped reading. It wasn't worth it.

I approached the nurse at the counter, who was busy texting on her phone and chewing bubblegum as pink as her hair.

"Ummm... excuse me..."

"It's after 8PM." She pointed at some machines to the side of the room, not looking up from her phone. "The emergency PALaces are open for use. Have a nice day."

"Actually, I have PENs."

She looked up, her eyebrow arching.

"Seriously?" When I nodded, she sighed heavily. "Fine. My name is Jamie. I'll be your nurse today. Please put your Pieces back in your PENs and give them to me." There was a blinding flash of red light when everybody returned to his or her ball. "This might take a while. I have to get out the instruction manual." She disappeared into the back and I faintly heard her say, "Another retard." At this point, I was too tired to care. I sat on a plush couch and dozed in midst of the bustle of trainers coming in to expose happily their Pieces to electrotherapy. In about an hour's time, Briar reached me first, carrying the sleeping Torrent in his arms, and was quickly followed by Skyra. Eris leaped after them on all fours, landing on the couch next to me, wagging a tail I never knew she had.

"You had a tail?" I passed my hand over the soft fur, as black as her hair, and mine.

"Yes. I tucked it into my shorts." Under my petting, her tail made a quirky question mark.

"Do most Pieces have tails?"

Eris shrugged and yawned soon after.

"Come on," I said, standing up and taking Torrent from Briar, "Let's go find a room in the back."

Soon, we were all settled in two beds. All of my Pieces fell asleep immediately, but I was left with the irritating insomnia that I had recently developed. Knowing I would go to sleep sooner or later, I let my mind wander, trying to block out the whisperings that I kept hearing.

Alex, you can't ignore me forever.

It was such a familiar voice, but I couldn't place it. All of a sudden, I realized I had heard it when I had been choosing my starter Piece. But it was something beyond that. I groaned softly, making Eris whimper.

So you remember.

I sighed and shifted onto my stomach. My mind was really active this evening.

July 17, two years ago.

And now my subconscious was bringing up dates I didn't want to remember. I cuddled closer to Torrent and fell asleep.

"Bienvenido, challenger! Welcome! Cómo estás? My name is Alma." The first Gym Leader looked like a college student. Her hair was arranged into buns and pigtails, all tied together by a bright pink ribbon that matched her leggings. She also had a pink tie, which complimented her blue dress. "What's your name?"

"Hello, you speak Spanish! That's pretty cool!" I replied, wondering if that languages in both worlds were the same. "I'm good. A little nervous."

"Bien! Bien! Being nervous keeps you on your toes." She took the first of her PALs. "I became a Gym Leader so that I may apply what I learned at the Piece Trainer's School in battle. Would you kindly demonstrate how you battle, and with which Piece?" When she threw her PAL, a small child tumbled out. At first, I couldn't tell if it was a girl or boy, since the child's brown hair was cropped so short. He or she was wearing a plain brown shirt and beige shorts. To my surprise, rock pieces from the ground immediately started to gather together directly on skin, creating an armor-like structure.

"Geodude," my Icon interrupted, "the Rock Piece. It climbs mountain paths using only the power of its arms. Because they can make themselves look like boulders lining paths, hikers may step on them without noticing." I bit my tongue at the female symbol at the side of the name.

"Huh. Who would've thought..." Shrugging my shoulders, I threw my PEN, flinging Briar out, who flipped gracefully and landed in front of the Geodude.

"A PEN?" Alma shook her head in disapproval. "Outdated technology isn't good for la educación."

"Better than brainwashing the Pieces. Briar, Bullet Seed!" Briar pulled out a slingshot, and pelted the Geodude with seeds, aiming for the nose and mouth. The Geodude accidently swallowed one, and in a matter of seconds, a sharp plant had sprouted from her navel, golden blood pouring from the hole. She collapsed in a dead faint, and Alma withdrew her into her PAL.

"Brainwash? Are you really falling for that? You are still a child! Una niña!" She threw her second PAL, releasing another girl who looked similar to the first Geodude. "Harden!" More rock pieces flew up to the Geodude's skin, strengthening the armor.

"Forcing Pieces to do whatever you want them to. I would call that brainwash. Briar, drain her!" When Briar drew back his slingshot, golden blood exploded out of the Geodude's eyes, nose, and mouth, and oozed from her pores. Some of it turned into a mist and swirled around Briar, slowly disappearing, while the Geodude slowly collapsed.

I had to hold Torrent to keep from throwing up. He smiled up at me and rubbed my hand.

Even with all the blood loss, the machine would fix the Geodude. Again and again, constantly jerked between the lines of death and life. Anybody would go insane.

"That's not brainwash, it's just a way to communicate. My Nosepass agrees!" She sent out her last Piece. For the first time, the Piece did not look like a child or a teenager, but a woman, who looked like she was in her early twenties. She had a light blue cape with a hood, held together by an red-orange brooch. Underneath, she was wearing shorts and a t-shirt that were both light blue. On her face was a bright red-orange surgical mask that covered her mouth and nose. She tapped the front of her dark blue boot on the ground. "I'm right, Nosepass, no?" Nosepass nodded. Always blankly. "Romb Tomb!" Huge boulders crashed around Briar.

"Briar!" I screamed.

A boulder wobbled and crashed to the ground, revealing a sweating Briar.

"I'm fine."

"No you're not! Let Torrent switch in!"

"I'd rather not." He leapt forward and pulled back his slingshot. Once again, blood flooded from every orifice and pore that Nosepass had. The golden mist swirled around Briar again, and he stood up straighter, cuts visibly healing. Alma started clapping, putting the Nosepass back into her ball.

"Well done! It seems that I still have much more to learn. The Piece Keepers' rules state that Trainers are to be given this if they defeat a Gym Leader. Please accept the official Piece Keeper Stone Sticker."

Briar took it with a dirty hand.

"...I beat you... and I get a sticker?"

"At first, we used actual items. A badge of some sort. But so much rattling! So now, we just have a sticker to put on your trainer's card."

"I somehow feel a little disapoin-!" Briar grunted when Skyra tackled him.

"You're ridiculously lucky you got the first gym!" she said, laughing for the first time. Her eyes were burning with an inner fervor. "I would have taken them on, but letting you do it was the second best choice!"

Briar rubbed the back of his head.

"You're so noisy. I just have a type advantage, that's all," he replied. Skyra simply grinned.

"You are not a coward," she said spiritedly. Briar's constant frown softened for a moment and he gently tugged on her bandana. But his frown returned almost immediately.

"Well, you would have gotten completely destroyed by this gym, since-" He was interrupted by a punch to the face. Torrent yelped, grabbed a Potion out of my bag, and ran to Briar, who sat, dazed, on the ground, holding his nose. Eris sat down nearby and patted Briar's hair.

"I still have a type advantage, dirt-eater!"

As Torrent frantically sprayed Briar in the face, I looked up from this interaction to see Alma looking almost longingly at my team.

"You could always change back to PENs," I said, gently.

Alma looked at me with eyes that seemed to stretch into years of sadness.

"When you lose your first Piece," she said, softly, "You will understand why I chose a PAL."