April 13th, First Year
Static fizzled at the back of her head as Jaku woke up. She blinked, noticing the severe pain in her back and neck. She felt fuzzy, like her body and head had been stuffed with cotton and downy feathers. It was almost pitch black in the tent she sat in and as she came to, she vigorously shook herself out.
The hairs along her arms and neck stood straight up as she clumsily got out of her cot, wincing at the feeling of cold damp cloth on her feet. Every other cot around hers was empty. Sheets were thrown haphazardly over blank pages, tucked neatly behind draped privacy curtains. Glass bottles and waterskins lay forlorn here and there. It was almost as if people within had been erased from existence.
Jaku shook her head. "I must still be a little delirious from sleep."
She reached toward where her stylus should be, swallowing when she realized it wasn't there… What was a stylus, anyway? What was I looking for again? She reached for her pokéball belt, feeling nothing. "Wait. I don't even have a pokéball belt," she mused, trying to straighten up. She chuckled weakly. "What am I even doing? I should be sitting back down."
She tried to think back to the last thing she could remember. She was wandering through Deertrack Heights, talking to a few people from camp… then there was that tall man dressed in white in that place with all the noise and metal, and now… this. What happened in the middle?
A sharp stinging hiss like water on a hot pan sliced through her muddled thoughts. "You Do Not Need To Know That."
"Who-" Jaku whipped around, finding only her own abandoned cot stretched out behind her. She turned again, trying to find the speaker. "Hello?" She opened her mouth to speak again but paused to realize that she couldn't. She couldn't speak.
Her legs began to move on their own as, with only the little protection her bare tunic provided her, she moved slowly through the tent and out into the open. One after the other, her bare feet slid across the frozen dirt and grass against her will. The static that had been lingering in the back of her head only grew louder and louder as her feet turned to guide her toward a section of the back wall of the encampment.
Was this somebody playing a prank on her? She glanced around in the dark, finding nothing but twisting shadows and quiet dark tents. She tried to call out for help but failed, her body refusing to listen as she was steered further and further away from safety. She inwardly flinched when she stepped into a puddle, expecting to feel the cold sting any second… and panicking when she realized that she couldn't feel her legs at all.
When she felt herself come to a complete stop, she stared. She was standing at the very edge of the encampment where the wooden pikes of the walls nearly met the woods. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Maybe this was all a- wait. No, she had certainly felt stiff when she woke up. This wasn't a dream.
Something moved from just behind the camp wall. The foliage crinkled and twigs snapped. A deep growl reverberated through the air and up until that point, Jaku was sure that this was just a prank by some Galaxy Scout. Even though she knew that didn't make sense and even though she knew how unlikely that would be, she didn't want to think about what was actually happening. She closed her eyes.
Static crackled in the air. Wood creaked and grass tore as loud, squelching steps echoed a few paces in front of her. A heavy pressure settled onto her shoulders. She still couldn't move. The static had grown so loud that if she could, she would cover her ears. The growl lowered to a rolling huff, throaty but quiet as it approached so close that Jaku could possibly reach out and touch the source.
She risked taking a peek: scarlet and golden eyes stared curiously back at her from before her. The Luxray from before had returned, recognizing the familiar nick in one of its ears. Fear flashed through her as she struggled furiously against whatever was holding her. If this was a prank, this wasn't funny at all!
And to her surprise, she moved. The static vanished like mist in sunlight. The once-leaden weight in her arms and legs finally let up and to her horror, she stumbled forward into the large beast.
She fully expected the creature to let loose a Thunder Wave like it did last time and paused when no such move came. She carefully removed herself from the pokémon, letting her hands slide out of its shaggy black mane as she took a few paces back.
The Luxray stood its ground, its eyes glowing as it watched her make sense of herself. It tilted its head, its tail wagging back and forth as though it were happy to see her.
Just like Sand used to do.
A flash of two beady black eyes glaring down at her from a long red snout and suddenly, the memory was gone. Am I actually awake or was this just a dream hyped up on sleep medications?
She held her breath, hands sliding towards the sheath of her machete. Right. She wasn't carrying anything on her. She could nearly smack herself from her idiocy.
The Luxray padded over to the edge of the encampment having made a v-shaped gap in the wall. It glanced back at her and then waited, its tail held high; it meant 'follow me'. How she knew, she wasn't all too sure of. More remnants from my past. Jaku would have to fix that gap in the wall before she took off.
And she could finally move! She flexed her arms and gave a quick twist to check to make sure that she wasn't being jerked around anymore. And then she glanced back at the Luxray. Should she call for help?
This Luxray did attack her- but then she was the first to charge. Not to mention, there was no way a Luxray could do that much damage to a corpse. Not that cleanly, anyway…She would follow for the time being. After all, it's not like anybody would notice her missing when the whole camp was gone anyhow.
The Luxray nudged at her again, forcing her away and up to the wall. It led the way around the camp wall heading toward the river and occasionally found its way back to her side, always staying on her right side and always staring straight ahead. Maybe this was another case of it finding one of Warden Ingo's pokémon? How it'd known to seek her out the first time, she hadn't the faintest clue.
The stab wound from her machete was still there, crusted over and very much inflamed looking. I wonder why it hasn't attacked me yet. Maybe it's just trying to get me somewhere more private where it can. Jaku couldn't help but feel like her thoughts were wrong. She trusted the pokémon but she didn't know why. She would have to repay its kindness by healing up the wound later.
Soon, they had emerged out of the woods and onto the moor- the Horseshoe Plains- she remembered, noticing the many ponds and small streams that dotted the hillside. Moonlight turned the snowy hills to a glowing silver and the wind calmed to a peaceful breeze. It was as though the hills were sleeping. Jaku couldn't even see the telltale glow of a certain Rapidash's mane.
The Luxray guided her further down the slope until they were following along at the base of the river. Here, the once frozen riverbed turned to a wide flood bank of waving cattails and river grass. Snow melt dripped from the trees, overturning floating leaves in the ponds. She could see Buizels floating along the current, rubbing their bellies as they traveled downstream.
"I don't get it," she murmured after a while. "Why bring me here? What's so special about-"
That's when she noticed them: the pieces. Beneath the gentle waves, they shone white like glittering gems: destroyed wooden boats full of belongings bumping against river-washed rocks. Clothes and pots and silverware and toys caught along detached rusted stair railings. Windchimes and crudely made banners billowing in the slow current, their once-radiant colors muted with river muck.
She glanced upstream, watching as a muddy doll slipped over the edge of the sloping riverbed, passing her by before being dragged to the murky bottom. Had somebody crashed nearby?
She felt a little comforted by the Luxray's presence as she trudged through the swampy wetlands, finally feeling the chill of the ice-cold river as she scanned the horizon. Was that why the Luxray had dragged her out here? Had something happened to everybody at camp? But why would they leave her behind then?
Thunder crackled overhead. She stumbled back a pace only to find Luxray frozen, staring balefully at something above them.
She followed the pokémon's gaze, surprised to see cracks. What she had thought to be moonlight was the ethereal, almost eerie light of a distortion that was steadily growing bigger and wider. It almost encompassed the hills, its fractal edges swirling in beautiful miasmas of changing colors.
Lightning crackled. A purple and yellow tendril flickered in the corner of her eye, wrapped carefully around her wrist. It gave her the smallest of tugs, a quiet hum filling the air: a Drifloon. A ghost-type pokémon. She was practically surrounded by them.
They floated along the melted river to surround her, their tiny ribbon-like feelers taking hold of anything they could reach: her clothes, her hair, her fingers. They hummed incessantly, their tiny eyes catching the light of the distortion as they pulled every which way at her.
Some carried bits of pieces of the same rubble caught in the river. The bigger ones- Drifblims- carried torn clothes or bowls. Some of the Drifloons carried small flowers or handfuls of leaves.
A particular trio, two Drifblims and a Drifloon, were holding steadfastly onto one another as though afraid that if they let go, they would all separate on the changing breeze.
"You're not gonna pull me anywhere like that," Jaku commented, not sure why the image of the three ghost-type pokémon unsettled her so much.
The Drifloons and Drifblims didn't attempt to pick her up and drag her away like she'd thought they would. They merely trailed along with her as she traveled along the river, its cold chill settling into her skin.
As they traveled further, the Luxray started to look a little uncomfortable. Its eyes darted every which way as they moved deeper into the wetlands, the large cat hissing as it leaped out of the river. It batted at a shiny piece of cutlery as it bumped into the pokémon before floating off downstream. Scaredy-cat.
New pokémon started to pop up. A trio of Ursaring stared as she passed by, their eyes glowing a milky white as slowly, they got up and began to trail after her. An Eevee walked out of a patch of grass and chirped at her, the same sinister glow in its eyes but like the Ursarings, it just seemed content to follow her without so much as a peep.
The Drifloons increased their pulls as the bridge connecting Aspiration Hill to Deertrack Heights came into view. One by one, the ghost-type pokémon pulled her to stand on the bridge. Luxray curled itself around her legs and huffed. Clearly, it wasn't comfortable with what was going on.
"You Have Finally Arrived."
Jaku quickly shut her eyes. This was quickly starting to become a headache. How many times are strange things going to speak to me in my mind, she thought angrily.
"Open Your Eyes. My Visage Will Not Harm You."
"Sounds like something I'd hear before opening my eyes and being ripped apart," Jaku retorted.
A cool sensation, like being dipped in a river on a hot day, overcame her. Her limbs, now fuzzy and heavy like stone pillars, dropped to her sides and slowly, her eyes were forced open.
A large Gengar was standing only a pace away from her, its golden eyes blank and almost malicious as it grew to tower over her. "Rejoice," the pokémon hissed, "For I Know Your Fate. You Came Willingly To Me, But What Is It That You Are Searching For?" It did not wait for her to respond. It circled her and paused, its form wavering as though threatening to drop its physical form.
"I… what?"
"Is It Your Will To Remember That Which You Have Lost?" the Gengar questioned, its smile disappearing. "Is It Your Desire To Be Remembered?" it urged. It stopped floating, its smile disappearing into its face as its sharp eyes rounded out. "Is It Your Wish To Know Your Origins? To Know Who Came To Bring You Here?"
The Gengar's shape began to blur and scratch itself out before taking the form of someone else. Something else. The being, unthinkable but all-encompassing, shed its disguise.
A hot leaden pain dripped over her face and neck, forcing her to cover her eyes with her shaking hands. Any coherent thought turned to sludge as her mind became an endless wave of static and nothingness. No matter how tight she shut her eyes, a brilliant white glow would force its way though as if trying to imprint the presence of what exactly was talking to her.
"I See Who You Are. Your Faults. Your Strengths… Your Endeavors. Share Them With Me." The being enveloped its form around her.
Memories began to pour through her mind in droves. In one, she was sitting at a desk piled with books, the pages before her cordoned with lakes of bright yellows and hills of sticky notes. In another, she was standing firm in front of a pair of double doors, her hands balled into fists. In yet another, she saw a manilla folder tucked under the slats of her bed dripping with photos and scribbled notes and names. Her fingers ghosting along the pages of an old book-
The being hummed and finally, the memories ceased. Jaku was left trembling, half collapsing onto the ground as something soft wrapped itself around her. Her teeth chattered. Her eyes were still shut tight. She felt the creature swoop around her and something soft slipped over her neck, squeezing her like a vice as it forced her to face it.
"You Are Tenacious." the being whispered. "A Tool For Forging The Way Forward. Death Follows You Like Flies Do Decay." It tightened its grip on her throat. A warm cloth was suddenly draped over her back. The white noise disappeared to make room only for the voice that spoke to her. "Go. There Is Much For You To Do."
….
….
….
Jaku blinked. Static fizzled at the back of her head as she woke up on the bridge. She blinked, noticing the severe pain in her back and neck. She felt fuzzy, like her body and head had been stuffed with cotton and downy feathers. As she came to, she vigorously shook herself out. Why does this feel familiar, she asked herself as she stared at her trembling hands. How did I get here?
The hairs along her arms and neck stood straight up as she clumsily got to her feet, wincing at the feeling of cold damp wood on her feet. She stood alone, wet, cold, and exhausted in the middle of the bridge connecting Aspiration Hill to Deertrack Heights, swaddled in a dark tattered cloak. When did I put this on? Is this even mine?
Jaku shook her head. "I must still be a little delirious from sleep."
She moved to step forward, flinching as her foot struck something hard and hollow. A small spherical shape rolled across the bridge and onto the opposite side, its shiny red casing calling out to her as she went to retrieve it.
She picked it up, turning it this way and that. It was a pokéball, completely unlike the ones she had first seen but uncannily familiar to the one Chandelure was in. A searing heat spread from the latch to the palms of her hands. It made her skin itch. What was inside?
When she glanced upwards, she found herself staring at the thick dark woods surrounding Deertrack Heights. The forest was deathly quiet all except the ripple of the water as she trudged through the wetlands to stand before the tree line. There, at the very top of the highest hill, she saw it.
A pokémon. Its broken antlers jutted upwards into the sky like hands in prayer and its body glowed with a sickly golden hue. Just looking at the creature made her skin crawl and her eyes burn. There, at the highest hill closest to the epicenter of the distortion, it stood surrounded by the unearthly light.
It pawed at the ground, throwing its head back with a horrifying wail. The Drifloons and Drifblims scattered, hurrying to disappear as the cracks in the distortion widened. Was the pokémon doing that? And just as she was about to look closer, the strange pokémon turned and fled into the woods becoming nothing more than a silver smudge in the sea of pine needles and birch leaves.
Jaku swallowed. New voices, soft and loud, eager and patient, cheerful and mournful, filtered through the black and white trees, their calls egging her onwards. They begged for her to follow the great pokémon. They pleaded for her to stay away from the great beast. They prayed for her safety and cried for her naiveté.
She turned, sighting the masses of Drifloons and Drifblims on the opposite bank still watching her. As she moved, so too did the perimeter of the distortion and Jaku watched with eminent horror as the pokémon's shadows took the form of people, still clutching onto what was once their belongings. They continued to stare.
