Night had fallen by the time Zinnia began to stir. I had stayed by her the enire time, concerned for her well-being. Even with Mr. Newman's new special healing powers, I couldn't help but be worried for my friend. I sat near her on the couch, feeling incredibly anxious.
So when she stirred and began to wake up, I couldn't help but feel overjoyed. I cheered quite loudly as Zinnia's eyes opened, which had the result of completely startling her and caused the poor Dragonair to jump.
"Oops! Sorry!", I apologized, "I'm just glad you're going to be okay!"
Zinnia gave a pained moan. "Oof...I feel like I was hit by a truck..."
Then she blinked and realized I was a Roselia.
"Holy - you're a flower!", she exclaimed.
I gave a little nod and a twirl, showering her with petals. Zinnia sneezed on one, summoning a gust of wind that blew me right off the couch. Thankfully I landed on a nice comfy pillow, but now it was my turn to be astonished.
"How'd you do that!?", I exclaimed, "Even I'm not that light to get blown around by a sneeze!"
Zinnia frowned. "I'm sorry...my new powers are kinda strong..."
She looked somewhat depressed, and I felt worried for her. I wondered what had happened before she'd managed to get to the house. Judging by her wounds, it had not been good.
But she managed to hold back whatever emotions she was feeling, and pulled herself up gingerly. I ducked as her long tail swooped over my head, then asked, "How are you feeling?"
Zinnia sighed. "Sore. But surprisingly that's it. What did you guys do?"
I answered, "Ryan's dad managed to use Life Dew somehow. It healed the majority of your injuries in record time. It was pretty impressive!"
Zinnia smiled softly. "It sounds like it must have been. Where is everybody now?"
There was a loud thump, and Molly stood up nearby, knocking over a chair with a curse. She flicked her mane and recovered her composure, before saying, "Almost everyone's gotten here, save Sammy who we still haven't heard from yet. And unfortunately...everyone except Ryan and Jackson's dad that we know of have turned into Pokemon like us."
"It's that bad!?", cried Zinnia, "Oh god, those two must be freaking out! And so must everyone else!"
She tried to move, but ended up falling off the couch instead with a heavy thud.
"Hey, hey, you need to rest. Everybody's doing fine right now.", I said reassuringly, "I think so at least. Besides it's night time now."
"WHAT!?", Zinnia cried, "You're telling me I've been asleep for almost the whole day!?"
"To be fair, you WERE badly injured.", Molly stated.
Zinnia sighed and pressed her tail to her face, since she didn't have any hands to do so with. "Thanks for the reminder.", she muttered.
"What's all the shouting in here from?", came Mr. Newman's voice, and I turned to see him striding into the room. His face brightened when he realized Zinnia was awake.
"You're awake at last!", he cheered, "Thank goodness. Are you feeling alright?"
Zinnia nodded. "Yeah...thanks to you guys."
She slithered off the couch, looming above me. She was quite massive, especially since I was now such a small Pokemon. It was weird, but my day had been so weird already I hardly noticed another thing added on top of it.
"So, um, what's been going on so far?", she asked nervously.
I sighed. "Well, right now all of us transformed have been basically put under house arrest."
"WHAT!?", cried Zinnia, "Really?"
Mr. Newman nodded. "Unfortunately yes. The government has also deployed troops into the city to try to maintain order and subdue some rebellious Pokemon. So far though, they don't seem to be having the desired effect."
"It worries me how many innocent people are suffering because of this.", Molly said sadly, "While we're doing alright, there are probably thousands, no, millions of people who are not. It doesn't help that according to some reports that all the West Coast was far, far more heavily affected than most of the rest of the world. I'm talking a 90 percent transformation rate."
"Wow...that IS bad.", Zinnia replied, "No wonder there's so many of us transformed here. What are we gonna do?"
"Right now? We sit back and do what the government requests.", Mr. Newman said, "We'll just have to wait and see how the situation plays out. We have plenty of supplies so we should be able to hold out for at least a month if necessary. By then we'll probably have a more permanent plan of action."
Zinnia nodded. "Yeah...let's hope so."
She sighed and curled up, and I heard thunder shake the windowpanes. I'll admit it startled me. I watched as rain poured down the glass, and frowned.
"Anyone else find it weird that this storm only showed up after the transformation?", I asked, "It was, like, suddenly poof, there."
Molly nodded. "Yeah, it is kinda weird...huh."
Zinnia looked rather worried. In fact, she looked somewhat...panicked?
But I didn't want to try and pry. Since we were best friends, I knew she'd probably confide in me if she had a problem. It's what I would do if I were in her shoes.
Or at least, I hoped she would.
At that moment, there was a tapping at the door, and Mr. Newman frowned. "Huh...who would be here at this hour?"
He walked over and opened it, revealing a soaked Espeon with a camera bag. He looked terrified, and was breathing heavily.
"Can I come in!?", he said rapidly, in a familiar voice.
"Um, sure, of course you can.", replied Mr. Newman.
"Thanks!", replied the Espeon, dashing inside. Mr. Newman closed the door, and sighed.
"Sammy?", asked Zinnia, looking at the Espeon as he threw himself onto the towels she'd been resting on, unaware of the blood that was in them. He sighed in relief and shook the water out of his fur, proceeding to look embarrassed to have done so.
Then he answered, "Yeah. Yeah, that's me." His eyes widened as he took in Zinnia's form. "Whoa. Zinnia!? You're massive!"
Zinnia sighed. "Yeah, I know."
He looked around, frowning. "Jeez. How many of us were transformed?"
"Everyone except Mr. Jeffrys and Ryan.", I answered, "So a lot."
"Is Amanda here?", he asked nervously.
"Yes." Amanda appeared out of nowhere, and I almost screamed.
Okay fine. I did scream. But it was very short.
Sammy looked alarmed. "Amanda!? Are you alright!?"
Amanda nodded. "Yes...I think so. Just cold. What about you? Your, um, fur's a mess."
Sammy rested his face in his paws. "No...no I'm not. I should probably tell you everything."
He explained, "So after I was transformed, my boss forced me into an interview, I got to watch a lot of depressing footage, and even worse, saw my dad get taken prisoner by this one group of rebel Pokemon! Not to mention the man who came into the news station after that..he was some sort of preacher named Gareth. He's friends with Mr. Philly too. He demanded all the 'demons' to be kicked out of the building, and started preaching to the camera about humans needing to 'rise up' and fight against the coming of the apocalypse, which means fighting all who transformed."
Sammy sniffled, barely restraining tears. "So today I lost my humanity, my dad, and my job. It's...it's been awful."
Amanda drifted over and placed a hand reassuringly on his side. "Hey, it's okay. We're still here. I'm still your girlfriend."
Sammy looked happier. "Really? I was worried that, you know, the transformation would change things..."
Amanda scoffed. "Of course! I don't care what you look like, you're still the same Sammy I fell in love with. And I'm the same Amanda you fell for. This wouldn't change anything...or at least, I'd hope not."
Sammy smiled. "You have no need to worry about that."
The two snuggled, and I sighed wistfully. I looked around and spotted Ryan, and gave him a flirty wink. Of course, all it did was puzzle him.
Stupid handsome boys and their thick skulls.
"So, you said your father was taken prisoner, NOT killed, right?", asked Molly..
Sammy nodded sadly. "Yeah...not that that's any better..."
"Oh, but it is!", I declared, jumping onto the coffee table, "Because we can launch a rescue mission!"
"What!?", cried Zinnia, "I mean, it's not like I'm against it, but how on earth are we going to do it!? I nearly died just fighting ONE Pokemon!"
She looked depressed as she remembered it. The rain outside grew stronger. I was definitely beginning to suspect it wasn't just a coincidence.
Molly said, "We need to try. There's no way we're letting anyone lose a parent to this. It will take some planning, though. Sammy, do you know where these rebels are situated?"
"They've taken over Chinatown as their base of operations.", explained Sammy, "They seem to be led by a Charizard, a big scary one. They managed to hold off an wntire assault by state troopers, so there's no way we're brute-forcing it. However, they seem to not mind seeing any other Pokemon in the vicinity - they're looking for recruits right now."
Molly nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm...I think I can work with this."
"What are you guys talking about?", asked Ryan sadly, "I can't understand a single word..."
Mr. Newman grabbed a notebook and scribbled down a rough summary of everything that had been discussed. Ryan's eyes widened as he read it.
"Wow. Um. Okay. Guess I'll get my ninja stuff ready.", he replied, hurrying off.
I looked towards Molly, starry-eyed. "He has ninja stuff."
Molly snorted. "You're hopeless."
Mr. Newman looked towards Zinnia. "I know you just woke up and all, not to mention the fact that you were just shot, but perhaps you'd like to check on Jackson? Maybe fill him in on what's going on."
She nodded. "Sure!", she replied, before hovering into the air, "Where is he?"
"Upstairs bathroom.", answered Mr. Newman.
"Thanks!", she chirped, flying up the stairs a little too fast. She smacked her head on the ceiling with a pained yelp.
Little did I know that everything would change when she came back down...(-o-)
Zinnia Wilder
Am I always going to write the sad parts? This is miserable...
But I was the witness to this, so I'm the one who gets to tell you about it.
When I flew up the stairs, I was looking forward to chatting with another of my friends. I was not aware of how Jackson was reacting to his transformation, nor did I know what it meant for him. Perhaps I should have. But it's too late for that now...
At the top of the stairs, I noticed Mr. Jeffrys fast asleep in his chair, a book sitting open on his lap. I quietly flew past him and entered the bathroom, and I was startled by what I saw.
There was Jackson the Dewgong, dangling halfway out the window. He was looking forlornly at the ground, contemplating the long way down.
"Jackson!", I cried, "What are you doing!?"
He looked towards me mournfully, his eyes sunken with depression and resignation. "Zinnia.", he sighed.
"Get away from the window!", I cried, "You'll fall!"
"That's the idea.", he replied sadly, "I can't live like this, Zinnia. I can't spend my life in a tub, fat and useless. I had plans you know. For my future. For college and a job and a family. That's gone now. Everything's gone."
I felt a deep chill. "Jackson. Please don't talk like that. You're scaring me. Get down from there."
He sighed again. "I'm sorry. But there's nothing left for me now. Goodbye."
"Wait!", I cried, but it was too late.
Jackson tipped himself out the window, falling to the ground. There was a loud, nauseating crunching and squishing sound, and I nearly threw up.
I couldn't believe it.
Jackson had just killed himself. And I had failed to stop him.
"NOOOOOOO!", I wailed, sinking to the floor and sobbing. The storm flared to ten times its original strength, but I didn't notice, didn't care.
I stayed there crying for ages, barely even noticing when the others gathered to see what was going on. My thoughts were solely on what had just happened.
So ended the first day of the transformation... (-o-)