My head is pounding, that wormhole was…dizzying. I think I've had enough of wormhole-travel to last a lifetime. It spat me out on the lab floor, and I'm vaguely aware of lying on something…
It's Serperior. Oops.
I think he's protesting, but something is off. The problem is I…can't understand him. I scramble off, onto the cold tiled flooring. I have no fur…two legs…two hands…I-I'm…
Human
I'm also naked.
The other scientists are a flurry of activity. "Dr. Laurel!" "Gwen?" "Get them something to wear!" "Call a doctor!" They're running around, panicking.
All I can do is sit there like an idiot, looking dumbly between my own hands and the faces of my team. I don't even have the presence of mind to feel embarrassed about my current state of undress.
They're a flurry of activity too; all the pokemon appear to be talking to each other, but I, of course, can't understand any of it.
That's…going to take time to get used to. I must say, I'm not a fan. I know I never understood them before all this, but…well without my memories, before seems irrelevant.
The next few hours are a blur. Dr. Laurel and I are brought to a hospital, the doctors decide to keep us in for observation, my family is called, we're asked once, twice, 100 times what happened. I'm aware reporters are hovering around—there were some following us to the hospital, several badgering us on the way in, and a few just beyond my room, but the medical staff seems to be trying to keep them away. I guess that's something I'll eventually have to deal with—it's not everyday people travel between dimensions and live to tell the tale.
I'll just have to think of a version that inspires the general public to forsake all such research. My end of the bargain, after all.
Dr. Laurel has been remarkably quiet. So far he's mostly been sitting around with a haunted look on his face, and when asked about our experiences, he can only manage something along the lines of "horrible, awful," etc.
I know Giratina said they'd wipe his memory…but I get the feeling they put a little extra something in there, as a treat. An extra incentive for him to terminate the project.
I owe them one.
My friends and family came to visit, a collection of faces I was ashamed to say I couldn't remember. There was a lot of crying and hugging, several questions, and a conversation between my parents and the doctor about the state of my memory when they thought they were out of earshot. The embarrassment and guilt of losing my memory washes over me again, but if I regained memories of my team, I'm sure the rest will come back to me in time.
I hope so, anyway. Being back here…the full implications of a total memory wipe are slowly setting in. I…I really don't remember anything, beyond the few facts about my team. And, if I'm being honest, they're still mostly strangers to me too. And how will I ever know if I remember it all? Would my friends and family tell me? Will we ever be able to connect the same way again? All these questions…even though I'm surrounded by loved ones, I feel so alone.
After the tearful reunion, everyone eventually returns home, leaving me to sit in the hospital room with Serperior. After the pokemon were examined, I was asked to keep them in their pokeballs during my own stay (it's still a human hospital, after all). Rotom and Dragalge, exhausted from everything, seemed happy to oblige, but Serperior wouldn't have it. "Miss, this is a medical facility! I must insist you keep him contained!" The nurse reiterated with annoyance when she came to check on me and saw him curled up at the foot of my bed. But after I had to help pry him off of her neck, she never made a fuss again.
In fact, I think she requested not to work with me anymore—that was the last I ever saw of her.
"You…" I poke him, "you're going to get me in trouble, pulling stunts like that." He smiles sweetly, looking like the picture of innocence. Yeah, right.
I turn to look out the window. "I hope Skitty's alright…I know she's strong, but…but this was all, so much…" I sigh.
He gives me a look that makes it clear he thinks she'll be fine and I should be more concerned about the world being safe from her.
I throw him a look of my own, "you know what I mean," I say, gently pushing him and letting out a weak laugh. "It's just…I know this is my life, but…it's…it feels so foreign now…I…don't remember any of it. It's going to take…time to get used to…" he looks at me and nods sadly. "I-argh! I've only just left and already miss her so much! I-I hate that I'll-" my throat tightens, "that I'll never see her again! That I'll never be able to talk to any of you ever again! I just-it's-" I try to slow my breathing as he wraps around me. His expression gentle but resolute; we'll be ok. I'll be ok.
To save Skitty's world, there was no other choice.
—
After Gwen stepped through, the portal shimmered, then disappeared, as though it knew everyone who needed to go had gone.
Deal fulfilled. World saved.
Gwen gone.
I couldn't help it, when I saw our last connection severed, I broke down. Master Lurantis tried to offer comfort, telling me it would be ok, but I could barely hear her. Before we left, she had Tinkaton destroy the structure. Seeing it crumble under the force of her hammer, I started bawling. I noticed Master Lurantis pocketed a large piece of the debris, no doubt to bring back to the Center's Artifacts Wing.
The Artifacts Wing, the dorms, the whole Exploration Center. From now on, everything is going to have the ghost of her; every time I walk those paths, see those sights, it will be with her memory.
I know she did it to save our world…that she had to make a bargain with a real life legendary to do it, but it still isn't fair.
It will never be fair.
I don't remember leaving Permafrost Mountain, going through the Frosty Woods, all the way back to the Center. I don't remember putting one foot in front of the other for the long journey, or anything Master Lurantis was going on about legends and legacies.
I don't remember any of it. I just remember her.
I'll always remember her.
That night I'm checked by Dr. Drampa and brought to my room by Flittle. Clobbopus comes later with my dinner, but I'm too broken to think about food. None of them know yet, about what happened. But, at Lurantis' discretion, they at least seemed to realize I'm not a traitor to the Center. I'm sure she'll eagerly tell everyone the epic story, maybe she'll even ask me about some of the details.
But probably not.
So I lay down on Gwen's bed, staring at the ceiling.
I don't know where I'll go from now. I feel like my whole family's just…gone. I know they're out there, in Gwen's world, but…but it's not the same. It will never be the same.
Maybe I'll never be the same.
I don't know anything anymore. But all I can do is take it one step at a time.
Right now, there's no other choice.
