"Hi! How are you?" A boy's voice called out. I lifted my heavy head to see a boy who l did not know, smiling at me. He looked around eighteen years old, with a cap and long, green hair, pulled into a ponytail. I groaned.
"I'm feeling awful. You kidnapped me and beat the living daylight out of my partner. Oh, and by the way, I hate you," I sharply responded, as my numbed body woke up. I tried to stretch my arms, only to find that a course rope bound them. I looked down to see my legs bound as well. I growled in frustration.
"You're like us though, right? You fight for Pokémon freedom," He had a glimmer of innocent joy in his eyes. I rolled my eyes.
"No. I was going to find someone," I tried to be vague. No need to let him know I who I was trying to find. He walked closer to me.
"Who were you trying to find? They might-" He was cut off by the door being busted open.
"N! YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE! SHE'S JUST A GIRL YOU PERV!" It was the boy who had freed me from my fate as an npc. A girl stood beside him.
"N. No kidnapping people honey. It's very mean, and I am very disappointed by you!" The girl stated on the verge of yelling. 'N' shrunk back to the back of the room.
"Geez, sorry Lucy. My boyfriend can be a pain sometimes," She gently untied me while sending daggers at N. The boy stalked up to N and looked him in the eye.
"Don't do this again, N. That boy nearly died trying to reach our town," He murmured darkly to N. N gulped and nodded.
I blushed. I didn't exactly hear what he said, but N looked like he was about to pee his pants in fright.
"Hey," The boy walked up to me, "Did he hurt you?" I shook my head.
"I'm fine," The girl had finally untied me. I stood and stretched to loosen my muscles. She helped me up and smiled.
"Well, hello. Sorry. Again. My name is Touko, and this is Reed, my little brother. I have a twin, Touka, but he's on a vacation to Sinnoh right now to see his friend, Ash," She gestured to Reed and spoke quickly and vigorously. Reed stepped forward.
"You look familiar, um… Lucy? Like a girl I battled not to long ago," He squinted his eyes.
"Um… Oh! Well… Yes, I… Think you might look like someone I might have battled as well…" I stuttered. He nodded and squinted his eyes.
"You're not the only one who's been defeated by me. So don't wallow in your defeat or anything?" He muttered. I felt flustered. But why..?
"Um. Yeah," I tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear, "We should go back to town, I need to see Ryan," I breathed out a sigh of relief as he started to walk to the door leading out of here. Or, the door frame, at least.
"Well, come on, Lucy!" Touko skipped over the door, "You too N, you are now our escort to Nuvema town!" N jumped to help us, completely different from when I met him. He seemed less… Creepy? Dark? No, that's not it… What's that word..?
"Um… Lucy… Sorry about kidnapping you and stuff…" N mumbled. I ignored him. Mad? No. Hm… Crazy?
"Lucy, do you forgive me?" N asked. I stopped.
"No… You were insane!" I stated in realization. Oh, whoops. Did I say that out loud? I turned to N.
"Oh. Y-Yeah! I forgive you! Sorry, lost in thought there, Heh, geez, I… Um…" My cheeks flushed in embarrassment. N whimpered and he gave me 'The sad puppy' look.
I don't know who you are, who what you are like, but if you've ever seen anyone pull the 'sad puppy' look off, you know it's depressing. You just want to end their misery, so you never have to feel that guilt again. I flinched.
"Oh, N, Cut it out! You just kidnapped her! She has right to think you're crazy!" Touko bonked him on the back of his head, interrupting his look. I sighed in relief.
"Hey, sis! We're almost there!" Reed yelled from way in front of us. That kind of made me realize just how much we had lagged behind.
"You know, we should catch up to Reed," I commented. Touko nodded and grabbed N, dragging him up the road. I started to jog a little to keep up with her. She was pretty fast.
I looked up to find Reed, hoping to see the town as well. Reed was standing there, waiting for us, in front of some tall grass. Touko ran right past him into the tall grass, carting N along with her and ignoring Reed's calls for her to come back.
"TOUKO!" He yelled in frustration, "Ugh. Fine! Do this your way! See you in Nuvema town!" He turned to face me. I felt warmth just brush against my cheeks. Yet again, why was this happening?
"Well… Guess we're pairing up then. You can't go into tall grass without Pokémon, it's too dangerous," He held out his hand. I laid my hand in his and he pulled me into the tall grass.
It's odd to finally be here, in the tall grass. Not to mention the fact that I'm here with a player.
I stood behind him as he battled off wild Pokémon. That's when I noticed something. He only batted the Pokémon aside. Most trainers just kill the wild Pokémon, but he was just soundly defeating them. It was kind and heart-warming to see.
After my time spent as a controlled npc, it was refreshing to see mercy among strong faces. You could just tell he was a strong trainer. The way he held himself, how he looked at other people, the way he walked, he just looked like a winner. A person you could trust.
I stared at the back of his head as he had a skirmish with a wild Patrat. Hm… It felt less chaotic when I was around him. Everything seemed smaller, less urgent. Time speeded up, as if to rush the time spent together.
"Lucy. Lucy!" He waved his hand in front of my face, "We're here!" I snapped back to reality and started to rush forward. Then it came to me… I had no idea where I was going. I turned back to Reed.
"So… Where is Ryan again?" I asked. He smiled and pointed to the biggest building in the town, with an orange roof. I thanked him and sprinted down to that building.
I remember all too clearly watching Ryan try to defend me, only to be beaten, while I was dragged away to who-knows-where. I couldn't stand thinking about it. I had to see Ryan.
I flung the door open when I reached the building. A very startled lady who looked about in her twenties jumped in surprise. When she processed who I most likely was, she sighed.
"Lucy, was it? Welcome! Ryan is in the other room, he's better now, and but- "she started to say.
I didn't let her finish her sentence. Instead, I rushed to the other room. Ryan was sitting down on the window ledge his back to me. He was wrapped in a blanket, shivering on his perch. I felt a pain strike me as a studied him. He looked different.
"Ryan…" I called out uncertainly. He slowly turned to me.
"L… Lucy?" He asked and turned around. I gasped at the damage. He was the same Ryan as ever, except… His eyes. They had been wrapped in a bandage. He reached out to the empty air. I walked closer to him and gently grasped his hand from the air.
"Oh, Ryan…" I felt another new emotion and my eyes started to fill with water,
"What have I done? Why did you have too go and protect me? If you hadn't… You would still..." I felt a tear drop to the ground, and then another. Soon they flowed from my eyes freely, watering the ground with grief and regret.
I knew it wasn't really my fault that he was like this. But, when you feel this sad, you need someone to blame. And that person… Was me.
"Lucy, are you… Crying?" He asked. I nodded, and then realized he couldn't see that. This only increased my tears. He held my hand and traced from my arm to my face.
"Y-Yeah," I tried to say through my tears. He felt my cheek softly and wiped away a droplet of pained feelings that was intercepting the ground. He smiled.
"Don't cry. It only makes me feel worse," He comforted me. I hugged him with all my might and sobbed into his shoulder.
"I was afraid that Team Plasma was hurting you," He whispered into my ear.
"I was afraid they had killed you," I hugged him tighter. He was the only companion I had ever known. So what if I had never truly known him, or that he had never truly known me? We had both been together, right?
"Well then, I suppose things turned out better than expected for both of us," He pulled away from me and found my shoulders with his hands.
"Juniper already changed me. You need to go and get switched too, all right?" He grinned and let go of my shoulders. I sighed to collect myself.
"Yes, I'll be leaving then," I backed away. He nodded and turned around again to face the window. I stumbled out of the room to Juniper's lab.
"Are you Ok?" She asked. I took a shaky breath and then nodded. She held out her hand. I grabbed it and we shook.
"Nice to meet you, Lucy! Today, we're changing you into a player. I will also give you the choice of taking a starter or catching one, once we come to that. But anyway, are you ready?" She waited for my response. I looked up into her eyes.
"Yes. I'm ready," I answered. She nodded. I closed my eyes and waited. Nothing.
"You need to have your eyes open, Lucy," She stated. I blushed a little and opened my eyes. Juniper stood in front of me, the same woman who had stood in front me earlier, except… She was kind of… Glowing.
Her whole body radiated a soft light, just barely kissing my face with warmth. Then, it intensified. It shone in on my heart, warming it to the point that it hurt. I yelped. It was burning part of me away.
And then, out of the white light, two blue specks emerged. Before I could identify what they really were, they shot forward and entered through my eyes. It hurt even more now. They flew through my body, as if cleansing me of my npc past.
All the sudden, they stopped at my heart, and stayed there. I collapsed onto the floor, panting. Juniper looked at me and helped me up after a little.
"What-" I panted, "-Was that? And if you need your eyes for it… How did it work with Ryan?" I gasped for air, then flinched at my words. The world was tipping to the side. Why had it hurt?
"It was a cleansing. You are now a player, congrats! And how it worked with Ryan… He can still open his eyes. He only has scars now. In his eyes, and he can't see. The wounds were so fresh, he was crying blood for a little, but after we finished the process, I fixed him up with a few bandages, and now he's fine!" She explained.
I felt sick. I could barely hear what she was saying. The world was fading… I fell over onto the floor and fainted