A/N: Sorry about the delay between the last chapter and this one. School and all. Anyway, I don't own Poke'mon, but please enjpy this fanfiction anyway. Warning: slight gore in the italicized section.


Everything was hidden beneath a film of darkness. Everything was blurred, as if a thick fog had settled. Fog had a different consistency than this darkness. It could almost be felt on one's shoulders, pushing down, as if trying to collapse your body upon itself until you were to suffocate to death.

It was unpleasant, to say the least, and Alice found herself shivering. It was more a mental thing than anything else; here, Alice was not Alice. She did not know who she was, or even if she was anything. There was little substance here to compare herself to, and what existed was so utterly obscured that it was useless to her. She shivered again. This 'place' was cold, albeit not in the literal sense. She felt almost queasy.

"Get up!" The harsh command rang out, cutting through the dark film like a knife. Alice could see it tearing before her, the world briefly beginning to come into a vague focus, before it gave up again and relapsed into blurry grays. With the voice also came the revelation that she was lying down, on the hard ground. How had she not noticed that before? She had been doubting her substance previous to this. And yet this was still not Alice as she knew herself to be. This was not her body that lay dying on the ground, not her body that screamed in protest as she rose unsteadily to her feet, almost falling back down because of how off-balance she was. Something was wrong with this body, horribly wrong…she smelled the blood dripping down her side before she felt it, feeling a sense of panic. She fell back down, stunned and weakened by what she could not dare to comprehend.

"What kind of feeble attempt was that? GET UP." The voice cut through the dark again. Though still loud, it sounded more like an echo, getting far away as the darkness closed in again. She felt a pain in her side as something whipped in and out of her vision. "What kind of an opponent are you? Pathetic!" More pain, more pain. As the whip collided with the open wound where her arm had been, Alice let out a scream-

…and awoke to the hospital room. She was sweating, panting, face a pale white. Her mouth was slightly agape, and she couldn't tell if she had actually let out that awful scream. Looking had Kadabra, she saw that he looked mildly concerned, meaning she probably hadn't actually screamed. That was confirmed with a quick mental exchange.

Calming down a bit, Alice sank back into the bed from the upright position she had assumed. Her pulse still raced, but she could think a bit clearer now…it had been a dream, of course…a very macabre dream, very dark and unlike her…the thought of it still made her shiver, at which Kadabra would send warm thoughts her way, and she would smile weakly at him. It was only a dream, after all. But for all the filmy darkness and far-off voices, it had been vivid. It was contradictory for it to be so, but that was how it had been. The pain was especially vivid, that final snap of the whip on her missing arm. Alice had thought that you couldn't feel pain in dreams, that you would wake up at the slightest hint of it. She had woken up, but that had come after the worst of the pain. It intrigued her, yet at the same time repulsed her very being. That pain…

"That was…frightening…" Alice whispered, meeting eyes with Kadabra. His thoughts around hers were a blanket of security, one that she had used before. She was certain that it was only with the help of Kadabra's psychic abilities that she had managed to calm her pulse and sink into a more tranquil state, putting the dream out of her mind.

Alice was lucky to have calmed down when she did, as Nurse Joy would not have tolerated her patient to be in such a state without explaining why. Alice made certain to smile and brightly respond, "Yes! I slept well" when asked by the Nurse if she was feeling better and well-rested. Nurse Joy was satisfied with this answer.

"So long as you're feeling well-rested, Officer Jenny will be here to hear your account of what happened." Nurse Joy responded, tone becoming a bit more serious, losing its normal spark. Alice nodded numbly in response, dream almost entirely forgotten as she recalled the reason why she was in the hospital to begin with. Police here in Ecruteak, because of her…ack!

"I'll go get Officer Jenny. Chansey's here if you need anything." Nurse Joy replied, smiling reassuringly. Alice nodded again as the Nurse left the room and a Chansey took her place. Chansey promptly engaged Kadabra in small talk, which Kadabra didn't bother to translate for Alice. She was too busy reviewing the events on her head, wondering how best to phrase everything so as to say only the completely objective truth.

The ceasing of Chansey and Kadabra's chatter alerted Alice to the arrival of the police officer. She was relieved to see that Officer Jenny was smiling, relaxed, not as strict looking as Alice would have expected. Alice had never seen a police officer, only knew what they were supposed to do. Enforcing the law was not exactly the most gentle job…

"Alright, Alice. Feeling better?" Officer Jenny asked, sitting down in a chair by the bed. Kadabra watched on. Though he wasn't suspicious of Officer Jenny, he always kept a close watch on strangers. He was very protective of Alice, who found that fact very sweet, although that always embarrassed the psychic type.

"Oh, yes. Just a little bruised here and there…" Alice replied, smiling weakly. Jenny smiled back, though it didn't seem entirely sincere.

"Nurse Joy told me that a 'Bryan' had his Poke'mon attack you. I need you to tell me exactly what happened."

Alice nodded, explaining the story with as much detail as she remembered. Officer Jenny listened carefully, taking notes and asking the occasional question. When Alice was finished she looked expectantly at Officer Jenny, habitually chewing her lip with a bit of worry.

"Well, although Bryan shouldn't have set all his Poke'mon against your Kadabra, but it was your fault for jumping in front. Technically, he hasn't done anything to warrant an arrest or punishment." Officer Jenny stated simply, nodding to herself as she reviewed her notes. "However, that doesn't mean I can't scare him a bit." Alice couldn't help but grin and Officer Jenny's smirk. "He doesn't sound like a particularly nice kid."

"He isn't." Nurse Joy interjected, rolling her eyes. Alice chuckled, even Kadabra looking partially amused. "Thanks for coming down here, Officer-"

"Oh my goodness our little darling!" The loud shout was punctuated with small sobs, as Alice turned to stare at the people who had entered, and were now wrapping their arms around her. Her parents…? But they were supposed to be on-

"W-wait, Mom and Dad…you're supposed to be on vacation!" Alice was very distressed about this fact, as well as the fact that they were crushing her bruises.

Her parents pulled back, smiling fondly at her, wiping away tears. She noticed with a hint from Kadabra that Jenny and Joy had left. "We came back as soon as we heard from Nurse Joy that you were injured." Her father replied.

"You're far more important to us than a silly vacation, honey." Her mother added, sniffling. "We're so glad you're okay!"

"It also means that we get to give you your gift that much earlier." Her dad added happily.

"G-gift?" Alice asked, surprised. "B-but-"

"Now now, dear, we knew you'd object. We felt awful for not taking you with us. And your father, well…he won big at the Celadon Game Corner!" Her mother finished, squealing with joy. Her dad blushed with pleasure. Alice closed her jaw.

"That's amazing, Dad!" Alice grinned. "And then…you spent the money…on a gift for me…" Her smile dropped as realization hit.

"Yup! Every last penny of it." Her mom replied proudly, causing Alice to sink further into the bed. They had spent all of it on her? She felt awful. They could've spent that money on themselves! They weren't nearly as selfish as they should be…

"And here is the fruit of our labor!" Her father continued, holding out a shiny luxury ball. "Just for you!"

Alice gently took the luxury ball, feeling her eyes well up. There was a Poke'mon in here, worth…how much, she didn't know, but it was money her parents had earned just for her…she released the Poke'mon, which formed next to her hospital bed.

"Eevee?" It cooed cutely, looking up at her with large eyes. Alice stared back at it in awe, as it leapt onto her bed and curled up on her lap, nudging one of her hands. She began to pet it, smiling as it made a purring noise.

"Thank you so much…I love you two…" Alice muttered, feeling herself tear up.

Watching on as the family hugged, both Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny were glad that someone as sweet as Alice had not suffered too severe an injury, and that she would be leaving the hospital that very evening.


A/N: Fairly boring chapter, apologies for that. Things will start happening next chapter, I promise. And it will probably be longer as well. Please review! ^^