Chapter One: Awakening

Helios City, Torren Region
One Year Ago...

"Ladies and gentlemen," began the man on the stage, as he looked over the crowd that had gathered. "As you all know, we are suffering from grave loss. That of our Augur." He paused, and saw the faces of pain and grieving on the people. They had just lost the person that they regarded to be their only hope for peace in the Torren Region.

The man had blonde hair and a pony tail, and was dressed in white clothes. He clasped his hands behind his back and continued his speech. "Our Augur was a great man. He was a hero, he protected our families, he destroyed the five cults. He was perhaps the greatest man the Torren Region has ever seen."

Murmurs of agreement came from the crowd, despite their distraught demeanor. Husbands were comforting their wives, some of them holding them up to stop them from falling if they fainted. It was quite a distressing time for the people of Torren. Even children who were usually rowdy during speeches stood quietly next to their parents. The man on the stage observed this. They were a people in a region of terror and strife, and they had no one to lead them. However, the man had someone in mind.

"As you all know," he went on, walking from end of the stage to the other, "our region, the Torren region, is the home to several cults. These cults are made up of thieves, and murderers, and worse. They killed people with little thought or provocation. They threatened the very existence of law and order in Torren. And our Augur defeated them. That's what made him the hero that he was. We owe our lives to him."

"One week ago, the Augur went looking for one of the cults that still remained," said the man, walking back to the middle of the stage. He looked out into the crowd, and made eye contact with as many people as he could. "...he has not returned...nor has he been seen since."

A wave of stiffed cries and wails washed over the crowd, some people in the back shouted curses at the cults, while others just stared straight ahead, their minds worried with same thoughts as the rest. Was the Augur actually dead? No, he couldn't be, could he?

"People of Torren," the man went on, "I do not believe the Augur is dead. And I assure you, I will work with out end until our beloved Augur is found." Newer murmurs flitted about the crowd, as people slowly began to realize that maybe there was hope after all.

"Who will lead us until then?" called a voice from the crowd.

The man on stage sighed, lowering his head. "With a heavy heart, I will accept the responsibility of becoming the Augur until he is found. However," he quickly added, before the crowd could have any form of reaction, "I can never be as great as he was. I will be the Second Augur until the First Augur is found. I will use ever resource at my disposal and I will find him."

A small cheer erupted from some of the people in the back. It eventually caught on to other people, and the man on stage had to motion for silence before continuing.

"These cults have taken everything away from us. Our family, our friends, our homes, our Augur. We will not live this down. We cannot, we will not, let these cultists, these terrorists, these insurgents, tear apart our families and destroy the place we call home. We will stand up to them, and we will win!"

The entire crowd cheered this time, especially the children who now had a reason to be loud.

"Long live the Torren Region!"

"Long live the Torren Region!" the crowd shouted in reply.

"We will remain strong!"

Cult of Darkrai Base
Present Day

It was dark, just as it always was. There was nothing here but darkness and the echoing silence. I knew I wasn't awake, but I wasn't sure if I was asleep. Maybe I was dead. Just floating here in an endless void for all eternity. Occasionally, something would appear in the darkness, but I could hardly remember what it was. I couldn't remember much since the last time I saw it.

Can you hear me?

What was that? Was it that thing? Who, or what, was it? What does it want with me? Who is me? Who am I?

Please, you need to hear me...

There it was again. Maybe I'm not going crazy. Maybe I did hear a voice. Maybe it's that thing that I can't remember. Maybe I should try replying... "I...I hear you," I called out into the darkness, hoping that whatever it was could hear me.

There was a sigh of relief from the voice. Oh thank heavens, you're not completely gone. You need to listen to me. Any minute, that thing will be back. Stay focused. Remember all that you can. It will take your memories, you can't stop that. But the more you focus, the longer you can delay it.

That thing he was talking about...was it the same thing that I kept seeing? The same thing that I could hardly remember? He said it takes my memories...maybe that's why I can't remember it that well.

Suddenly, there was a shrill cry from within the darkness. It sounded far off, but it was hard to judge when all there was was black and no depth perception.

It's coming, said the voice, we'll have to be quick. Do you remember you name? You have to remember your name.

My name? What was my name? I think I could remember letters in an order...something that I used to know like the back of my hand. Think. Think. You know this. It's somewhere deep inside, but you...I remember...an A, an L, a Y...

"Alyssa," I finally said, my brain aching from trying to remember. "I think my name is Alyssa."

I see. It's good that you remembered that. What else about yourself can you remember? Can you remember whether you were a boy or a girl?

Of course, that was easy...um...I think. "Girl?" I asked/replied. I wasn't totally sure, but Alyssa doesn't sound like a boy name. I had a fifty-fifty shot either way.

Very good...you remember that as well. It might not be as bad as I thought.

The shrill cry rang out again, and I saw a pair of glowing red eyes pierce the darkness. A mouth was beneath it, contorted into an evil grin. After a few seconds, it disappeared.

Alyssa, you need to wake up now. It's back. The thing appeared out of the darkness. It was a purple creature, a little shorter than myself, with short arms and legs. Alyssa please, before it's too late, you need to wake up.

The creature cried out again, and then faded into the background. Alyssa, I've sent someone to fend it off and to help you escape. You need to wake up!

I gathered what strength I had, and tried to force my eyes open. "Come on, come on, open dammit!" I muttered, before a bright white light suddenly hit my face...

The two cultists stood outside the door to the room. They both had on the traditional robes of the Cult of Darkrai, which was literally a robe fashioned to look like Darkrai with hoods to conceal their faces. One of them stood at a computer, monitoring information as it came in. The other was looking into the room as the Gengar stood next to the bed containing the prisoner.

The cultist checked the door, and then nodded to the Gengar inside, who nodded in reply. "Alright," said the first cultist to the second. "The door is sealed. Gengar is about to use its Dream Eater move and feed off the prisoners dreams and memories."

The second cultist just tilted his head in agreement. "She doesn't need them, anyway. She won't be waking up anytime soon. And even if she does, she can't defend herself against Gengar. He'll tear her to pieces before she realizes what's going on."

"Well?" asked a new voice, as a woman in similar clothing walked up. Her outfit was different in the fact that her face was revealed and it was more of a suit rather than a robe. "How are the memories of our youngest guest?"

"Ah, miss Persephone," said the second cultist, looking up from his computer. "According to my calculations, her memories will be gone within the hour." He motioned to a number on the screen with great pride.

"Excellent," Persephone replied, ignoring the computer. "Once they're completely gone, we'll have upheld our end of the bargain. Good work, both of you. We'll be starting the ritual upstairs soon. I trust that both of you will be there? Or do you need to monitor the computer?"

The second cultist shook his head, slightly disappointed that the boss had made acknowledgment of his work. "No ma'am. I wrote the program myself. It'll perfectly fine without any supervision." He pushed a few more buttons on the keyboard before looking back over to Persephone. "Well be at the ritual, ma'am."

"Very good. I'll see you then.

"Wait, ma'am! I have a question."

Persephone stopped, and slowly turned around to face her subordinates. "And what would that be?"

"Well, after her memories are gone, what do you want us to do with the prisoner?" he asked, nodding his head toward the window overlooking the prisoner. "I mean, we're not just going to keep her here, are we?"

The boss lady smiled and walked off. "Once her memories are gone, kill her."

As soon as she was out of earshot, the two cultists looked at each other, thinking the exact same thought. "Why bother to wipe her memories if we're just going to kill her anyway? Why not just kill her to begin with and be done with it?"

"Maybe there's something special about her memories. Anyway, thanks for not asking that in front of the boss. You know how she gets sometimes, especially when there's a ritual." The second cultist typed a few commands into the computer, and stepped away from it. "There. That takes care of that. It's running on its own. Now, we should head upstairs. It's always fun to watch the rituals." His voice was dripping with sarcasm at the end.

The first cultist cast one more look into the prisoner's room, and then shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just go. I'm just glad that it's not us she chose for the ritual. Did you hear what happened to that last gal? It was brutal."

The light burned my eyes. I had become so accustomed to the dark and dreary life that I had been living that I my eyes could hardly stay open once I woke. "Son of a..." I muttered, throwing my hands over my eyes to save them. As I spoke, I noticed that my throat felt dry and my voice scratchy, as if I hadn't used it in a while. How long had I been out?

It took a few seconds, but I finally began to uncover my eyes and face the bright white light. Several blinks later, I could tolerate the light, and took in my surroundings. To my left was an empty, gray wall with nothing of interest. To my right was...

"Hell!" I swore, rolling out of the bed that I didn't know I was in as the purple creature slashed its claws at me, narrowly missing my head and leaving tears in the pillow. Then it jumped up on the bed, and glared down at me with its evil red eyes.

I tried to move, but my limbs were weak. I could hardly push myself to my knees, let alone get up and run away. I rolled onto my back to face the creature. I knew it from somewhere, but I didn't remember where. It's name was escaping me...Ghastly? No, wait, Gengar. That was it. It was a Gengar.

"Gengar!" it roared; an equivalent to the swear I had used. For some reason, it was mad at me and apparently had its mind set to kill me. Gengar held its hands forward, and a large blob of shadows began forming between them.

That's Shadow Ball, I realized. And he's aiming it right at me.

Grinning his evil, toothy grin, Gengar fired the Shadow Ball. I rolled over and tried to move, but my attempt to crawl out of the way failed when my arms gave out under me. "Shit." Squeezing my eyes shut, I braced myself for the impact, but it never came.

"Mew."

What was that?

I used the very last bit of my strength to sit up, and I saw a second creature in the room. "Mew," I said aloud, recognizing it. And, again, I didn't know how I knew it. But it was here to help me, right? I mean, Mew is nice, right?

The Shadow Ball was suspended in mid-air, the darkness inside of it still churning and distorted. Around it was a gentle pink aura that pulsed lightly, and then flashed brightly, completely destroying the Shadow Ball.

Gengar's eyes widened, realizing just how much trouble he was in. He knew he had no chance against Mew, so it went with its best option. It jumped off the bed, and got the hell out of there. It was a Ghost-Type, so he didn't even have to bother using the door. It just jumped through the wall.

Mew turned to me, and held out its hand. "What are you doing?" I asked, as my body was suddenly engulfed in the same pink aura as the Shadow Ball. It actually felt kinda nice; soothing and warm. I felt something flowing down my arms and legs, and all the weakness was gone. Mew was giving me my strength back.

When the aura faded, I slowly stood up. My legs actually could support me this time, rather than giving out like they had before. My arms could actually move around easily, and didn't feel so heavy and tired. "Thanks, Mew," I said, giving the pink Pokemon a warm smile of gratitude.

"Mew," Mew replied, holding out its hand to me. There was a small, brown piece of paper in its little pink fingers.

"What's this?" I took the note, and unfolded it.

I sent Mew to help you escape. Mew will protect you as you get out of that hellhole. Perhaps someday, we'll meet again.

-Your benefactor

Though I said nothing as I refolded it and tucked it into my jacket pocket, there was a single question in my mind. Who was my benefactor? They would have to be someone with pretty powerful connections to send Mew to my rescue. Few people have even seen Mew, let alone give it orders. Maybe my benefactor isn't human. Maybe they're-

"Mew?" Mew tilted its head at me, looking slightly confused.

"What? Oh, right," I replied. There was something that I was forgetting. "We're escaping...I don't know from where, but we're escaping. I'll probably need you to guide me," I told the pink Pokemon, "I'm still trying to remember some things."

Some things? Ha, I laughed at myself. Try, like, everything.

I looked around my room, for the first time really taking in all the details. It wasn't really all that impressive. The room was a small, dull gray cell with a single bed in the middle, and two random cardboard boxes sitting toward the door. "Hm, I don't really seem to remember this room..."

Out of curiosity, I went over to the boxes, and checked them. The first was empty, while the second held an empty backpack. "This might come in handy," I muttered to myself, and slung the purple bag over my shoulder. "Okay, Mew. Lead the way."

"Mew."

"Oh, you want me to lead, don't you?"

Mew gave a solitary nod.

I shrugged. "Okay, fine. I'll do my best." The door wasn't locked. In fact, all I had to do was press the little blue button on the side next to it and the door slid to the side letting me out. That's not a good sign, I thought. Either they didn't think I was a threat, or they weren't expecting me to wake up.

The hallway outside of my prison looked pretty much the same. Dull gray. There was a computer by the cell door, but I wasn't going to stick around to find out. At any minute someone could come running to lock me up again. That Gengar was probably on its way to tell its owner what was going on.

"Come on, Mew, let's get out of this hellhole."

One of the first things that I noticed was the lack of security. There was absolutely no one walking around, no one guarding the cells, and no one at the staircases. "Where has everyone gone?" I asked Mew, as I climbed down the stairs.

"Mew," Mew replied.

"Oh, that makes sense," I told it. "You're probably right. I have no idea what you just said, but you said it with such confidence that I can only assume that you're correct."

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, the room that awaited me wasn't something I was expecting. At the far wall, there were two giant, golden statues of a Pokemon that I knew to be familiar, but whose name escaped me. Dark-something. Oh, Darkrai. Now I remember.

"Is...is that blood?" I asked, noticing the patches of dried red liquid in the area between the statues. Please don't be blood, I silently prayed as I went toward the crimson stains. That's the last thing that I needed to see right now. Please don't be blood, please don't be...

Damn, I think it is blood. Scratching several small flakes off the steel floor, I held them out to Mew. "Can you tell if this is blood, Mew?" I figured that the pink Pokemon at my side was by best chance at telling what it was. "And if it is, is it human or Pokemon?"

"Mew!" Mew took the small flake, and in its other hand, another note appeared in a flash of pink.

It may aid your escape knowing that Mew has the rare ability to transform into anything, or anyone, that it has come in contact with. It can also change other people and Pokemon as well,but to do this it will need the DNA to complete the transformation. If you find any form of DNA, blood, hair, etc., Mew can use that to transform you, to disguise you from your enemies.

Good luck,

-Your benefactor

"Huh, that's very interesting," I muttered, folding the note and sticking it in my jacket pocket. Then I noticed Mew staring at me with the tiny flake of what was presumed to be blood. Then it struck me that blood contained DNA. "Wait, you want to turn me into...whatever that came from, don't you?"

"Mew!"

I rolled my eyes. "I figured." Now, as much as I didn't want to get transformed into something that I had no idea what it was, I also wanted to get out of this strange place alive. Even if that meant I had to become something else for a little while. "Is it going to hurt?"

Mew just titled its head, and held out its free hand where a small ball of pink aura began forming. The pink Pokemon floated over to me, and placed its hand on my forehead. I felt the energy flowing into me, coursing into my veins and my bones.

And it hurt like hell.

I clamped my hand over my mouth so I wouldn't scream and collasped to my knees. Oh God, it hurt so bad. I can feel my body growing larger, my bones stretching out, my hair growing longer, my eyes aching in the sockets. When the pain finally subsided, I sat on my knees, breathing heavily, trying to get a hold of myself. I wanted to throw up.

When I finally regained composure, I looked up at Mew, and if looks could kill. "You pink little bastard. You knew that was going to hurt."

Mew just seemed to giggle and motioned to one of the statues. I slowly got to my feet, which were a lot larger than I remembered. "Wow..." The reflection staring out of the shiny golden Darkrai statue was freakin' hot! I wasn't a teenager anymore, but now a woman in her early twenties. My blonde hair had been replaced with auburn hair, calm blue eyes instead of my green ones, and I was taller. Much taller. The gray and orange jumpsuit I was wearing was tighter on me, but still wearable. I looked down at how high the legs of the pants went above my ankles when the sickening thought him me.

I'm in another person's body.

This person was once alive. They once had feelings. They once had hopes and dreams. They once lived and they once loved. That had a family and that had friends. But now they're dead. And I'm in their body.

"Mew, you can change me back, right?" I asked, willing myself not to vomit. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in someone else's body. "As soon as we get out of here, I want to go back to being me, okay?"

Mew nodded, and pointed toward something hanging off one of the Darkrai's hands.

"Huh, it's a Darkrai robe." I pulled the think dark cloth from golden shiny hand of the statue. "I guess this what these people wear here. Hopefully it'll make me blend in more." I pulled the robe over my shoulders, and pulled the hood over my head. "Mew, you'll need to get out of sight. Here;" I held open one side of the robe. Mew went inside, and I covered it up. No one could tell that I was packing a Legendary Pokemon just by looking at me. "Alright, let's get the hell outta here."

Unfortunately, there was still a little ways to go before we got the hell outta there. There were several locked doors barring our way, could only be opened by fingerprint scanners.

That's where this new body came in handy. The woman's fingerprint was in the system, so all I had to do was press any of her ten fingers onto it and ta-da! The door was open. Another good thing was that the halls were still pretty empty. Turn after turn there was no one anywhere. It was as if the place was abandoned.

"Hey! You!"

Okay, I stand corrected. The room that I had just entered had a staircase leading up to a metal door-the exit? But here, there was a guard. He was also wearing a Darkrai robe. "Um, hi?" I said, awkwardly, trying to sound normal as if nothing was wrong. "I was just passing through on the way out of here. That is the exit, right?"

The man tilted his head. "Yeah, that's the exit. But Miss Persephone wants everyone in the main chamber for the ritual. No one is allowed outside until the ritual is complete."

Well, time to try my luck here. "She wants everyone there?"

"Um, yeah, that's what I said."

"...even you?"

The guard shook his head. "I'm under special orders to make sure that none of the other cultists try to leave while the ritual is taking place." That was some useful information. These people are cultists. Why does that sound familiar? "To be honest, I'm really kinda glad about that. Those rituals scare the crap out of me."

"I see." Putting my thoughts of the cultists aside, I weighed my options. I could keep trying to get past him, which would be difficult. I could sneak past him, which would probably not work. Or, I could go to the ritual, and then simply walk out in plain sight and no one would care. "Well, then, which way to the main chamber?"

"Down the hall and up the stairs," the guard answered, with a grunt. Apparently, this was something that he answered a lot. "Just follow the hall that has the big-ass "Main Chamber" sign in front of it. Really, you can't miss it."

"Okay, thanks!" I turned around and headed for the hallway. He was right, there was a large, hard to miss sign hanging above the hall. I guess people were getting lost in here pretty often. Anyway, when I reached the stairs at the end, I hesitated.

What was this ritual that they kept talking about? The guard said that it scared the crap out of him. That can't be good, can it? I slowly climbed up the stairs, one at a time, while my mind sorted through all the horrors that might await me. Thoughts of death, pain, and mutilation ran through my head, fueled by something that I couldn't remember. It made me positive that the cults, which I think there are more than one, are pretty evil and quite cruel.

Most of my fears were confirmed the minute I saw the main chamber. It looked exactly like the room where I had found the blood stains. Two large Darkrai statues stood on either side of a raised platform with a circle on it, where another one of the cults sat on his knees. His hands and feet were bound with rope, preventing him from escaping.

Many other cultists stood around the platform, calmly staring on. It wasn't anything they hadn't seen before. They were just glad that it wasn't them up there.

"This is just too freakin' messed up," I said to myself. "I'm getting out of here." But, as I turned to leave, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Damn, I think I'm busted. Alright, prepare yourself, Alyssa, prepare yourself. If worst comes to worst, Mew can kick ass, right?

However, the situation did not take a turn for the worst. When I looked back, I saw an older cultist. His face had several creases near his mouth, and a few wrinkles in his forehead. His eyes seemed to be cold and his gaze detached.

"I wouldn't leave. Persephone gets pretty upset, and kill-happy, when people who are supposed to be present at rituals aren't."

I hugged the side of my robe tighter, keeping Mew concealed. I could feel the pink Pokemon shifting around in there, slightly nervous. That scared me. If a Legendary was nervous about something, then something bad was about to happen. "Um...why?"

The older cultist stared at me, his eyes peering into my soul. "I don't really know. Persephone says that the more cultists that are here, the more likely Darkrai is to stay. Says it flatters the dark bastard. I don't really believe it, but everyone else does."

"Um...do I have to stay here? Maybe I can watch from the back?"

His eyes softened. "It's alright, kid," he said, somehow in a warm and comforting voice that would normally freak me out coming from a guy like him. "I guess this is your first ritual, then?"

"Well, yeah."

He smiled. "Don't worry about it. It's a little rough for you to watch something like this, but look on the bright side; it's not you up there." Removing his hand from my shoulder, he motioned for me to follow him. "Come on, it's about to start."

Perfect. All I want to do is get out of here, but now I'm forced into watching the ritual. And I can't even leave, or this old man would probably notice I was gone. So I followed him and stood next to him amidst a legion of kooks in Darkrai robes.

"My name's Jerome. You?"

"Me? My name's Al...Alice."

"Nice to meet you. You gonna be around long?"

"Um...I doubt it."

"Shame."

A lady in a similar robe walked forward, and climbed onto the raised platform. "And so we begin."

"M-miss Persephone!" the cultist in the circle pleaded. "You can't do this! I've served you loyally for so long!"

The woman, Persephone, nodded slowly. "Indeed you have. And now, you will continue to do so. When you joined this cult, you swore an oath to give your life for it if you had to. And now, you have to. I am claiming what you promised."

"B-but...please!"

"Activate the ritual circle," she said, motioning to two other cultists standing near computers. "Activate the ritual circle." With a loud whirring, the green circle on the floor suddenly turned fire-red. "Oh Darkrai, lord and master of darkness..."

Oh, this wasn't looking good. "You can close your eyes if you want," Jerome said. "I won't tell anyone." And I wanted to. But I couldn't. Some sick fascination kept my eyes glued to the scene.

"...I call upon you, on this evil night, to enter our world!" Persephone went on, raising her arms up to the heavens. "In return, I offer the soul of this loyal servant to be bound to your realm of darkness and nightmares forever!"

The cultist struggled against his ropes, desperately trying to get free. I guess being bound to a realm of darkness and nightmares didn't sound unappealing to just me.

"Voco virtutem umbrarum dominum!" Persephone shouted.

Suddenly all the lights in the room went out. There were a few muttered whispers but then silence. "This is normal," Jerome whispered.

Then, there was one bloodcurdling scream. It didn't take a genius to tell that it came from the cultist being sacrificed. Mew flinched in my robe. It wanted to help but couldn't.

The lights came back on, but they were much more dim than before. I could hardly see the - "Holy crap, what is that?"

"That," Jerome answered, "is Darkrai."

The dark Pokemon sat in place of the cultist, who was now completely gone. Darkrai gazed at Persephone. She gazed back. They were locked in a battle of will.

"Darkrai, lord of nightmares," said Persephone, her voice was no longer that of a dark and ominous cult leader, but now the of a humble servant, containing a decent amount of respect, "it has been over a year since I last saw you. We summoned you in a chamber not that far from here."

Yeah, I think I found that.

"Of course," the cult leader went on, keeping her eyes drilled into Darkrai. "You remember what happened then. We accomplished a great feat on that day. And now, now I summon you again. Darkrai, why will you not join me? Why don't you seek me out like my sister? What does she have that I don't?" Persephone knelt in front of the lord of nightmares. "Please, Darkrai, I beg you, join us. Join the cult that has worshiped you for so long. With my guidence, and your powers, the world would be ours!"

Darkrai remained silent. And then he faded into the Darkness and was gone.

The lights returned to normal. A crushed Persephone sat on her knees, staring at the spot Darkrai had been. "Again, he completely ignores my offer and leaves. No doubt he's headed to Selene City to see my sister." She rose to her feet. "No one say a word."

The two cultists at the computer stepped forward. "Um, Miss?"

"What do you two want?"

"We think we could trap Darkrai here if we had another try," said one. "I'm not sure what went wrong this time, but if we tried again..."

"Get the hell out of my way."

The two cultists looked at each other. "Please, Miss," said the second. "Just one more try. That's all we'll need. We'll get Darkrai, I'm sure of it."

"I said, get out of my way!" Persephone screeched, her hand flying to her belt. Within a second, a large, black Pokemon appeared from the Pokeball she grabbed. "Houndoom, get rid of these disobedient, incapable grunts! Fire Blast!"

Houndoom fired off five balls of fire at the grunts. The cultists tried to flee, but the fireballs joined together and created a huge star of fire, completely consuming them both. There was no screaming. There was no pain. They were killed on impact.

I almost did scream. My hand flew to my mouth, smothering any sound before it came out. What was wrong with this woman? Did she even have a heart? She just killed three of her own people without a second thought!

Jerome saw my reaction. He put his hand on my shoulder. It helped. A little. But the smell of seared flesh that filled the room didn't.

Everyone was staring at the smoking corpses in the room. Persephone walked right over them, Houndoom at her heels. "Anyone else feel like dying today? No? Good. I'm going to check on the prisoner."

The prisoner? That's me! Oh, I need to get out of here right now!

The cultists began to return to their mundane tasks, and I headed for the stairway. I needed out of this place right now. Before there were more lives lost.

"Alice, wait." Jerome caught up to me. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Um...well, Persephone seemed kinda mad. I was going to leave the base until she cooled down," I answered, proud of myself for thinking that one up so fast. "I don't want to be victim number four today."

"Wise move. Can I come with?"

"I was going to go alone. Have some time to myself. I need to gather my thoughts after seeing all of that death."

"Oh...alright. Maybe next time."

Geez, what's with that guy? What was it about me that made me so interesting to him? Oh wait, I forgot. I was in a smoking hot woman's body. That might explain that.

"Come on, Mew," I whispered into my robe. "We're leaving."

Freedom. Freedom. I was free. I stood at the entrance to the cave that lead to the base, and just looked around. Nothing was familiar. Dense forests, tall grass, the night sky. It was beautiful. I had been stuck asleep in that base for so long, I forgot what it was to be alive.

It all came rushing back. The gentle wind in my hair, the cries and sounds of wild Pokemon in my ear, the cool night air on my skin. It was perfect...except that it wasn't my skin. Or my ears or my hair.

Mew floated next to me, over the discarded robe. "Hey, Mew? Can I go back to me again?" I expected it to hurt as much as transforming into this body, and braced myself when Mew raises its hands.

However, there was nearly no pain. The feeling was just plain weird. Try to imagine what it feels like to be a tall woman, and then shrink back down into a teenage girl. Your extra muscles melting away, your bones shrinking, your organs becoming smaller...

It's not a pleasant experience.

When it was over I wanted to puke, just like I had when I had transformed. But, I didn't.

"Mew." Once again, Mew had a folded note in its hand. Seriously, where is it getting all the notes from?

"Thanks." I took the note and read it.

If Mew has given you this note, then that means that you have escaped. Very good, I knew that you could do it. Along with this note is a Quartz Flute, which will allow you to call upon Mew and its abilities when you need them. You can change yourself into someone else or Mew into another Pokemon.

Good luck,

-Your benefactor.

Mew held a small flute forward. I took it and stuck it in my bag. "Well, with all due respect. I'm never changing myself into anyone else every again. That was just too much. But thanks for the help. I don't suppose you'll be sticking around any longer?"

"Mew." Mew vanished, leaving me alone in the forest.

I sighed. "Great. Now what?"

"Hey you! Yeah you! Did you see Mew around here?" A boy younger than myself ran up to me. He had on brown pants and a light green shirt. His was was silver. "Well, did you see Mew? I swear I saw Mew around here!"

"Um...no?"

The kid cocked his head. "But I know I saw it. It was floating really close to you. It was a bright pink Pokemon. You couldn't have missed it." He looked around some more, and began to doubt himself. "I thought I saw it..."

"I guess not."

The boy sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess not. I was afraid that I was going to mess that up, just like I did." He held one hand forward. "Hi, I'm Damian. And I'm an aspiring Pokemon Trainer!"

Of course he was. What young boy isn't? "I'm Alyssa." I shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Well, I would be a Trainer, but I don't have a Pokemon..." He pulled his hand free from mine. "Anyway, today's a really important day! The Augur is coming to town! I mean, you know who the Augur is, right?"

Augur...Augur...that was also familiar. After my quick search of what few memories I had turned up nothing, I just nodded. "I know who he is." It wasn't a total lie. I knew he was a person. A really important person.

"Of course you do," Damian said, smile spreading across his face in anticipation. "Who wouldn't? He's only the strongest Trainer in the world. And he's coming here! To Telnor TownThe mayor and the townsfolk have been preparing all day long for him! I was just out on an errand when I thought I saw Mew. You can help out if you want. We're assigning jobs in the City Hall."

"I guess I could help." It would give me something to do until I decided my next move. And the Augur seemed familiar to me. He could possibly know who I am.

"Alright, let's go!" Damian grabbed my hand and began pulling me toward Telnor Town.

And thus, my journey began by me getting pulled behind a little kid. I'm off to a great start.

A/N: This story is based off of the popular fan-made game; Pokemon Insurgence. You can find it here:

r/PokemonInsurgence/comments/2s9nf8/patch_pokemon_insurgence_1012/

It really is an awesome game.

I've been really excited to write for this, and I hope it helps break the writer's block that I've been having for a long while. I'm going to jump back into my other stories pretty soon. Well, two of them at least.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Criticism is accepted, as long as it's constructive, not flaming.

Peace out!