When Cyrus opened his eyes again, he found himself in a wide, low-ceiling concrete room. A familiar sight; it seemed teleportation had been successful.
The air had stopped vibrating, and the purple light that had covered their bodies had disappeared. His fingers still tightly gripped Inyssa's wrist; she stood next to him with an aghast look, too shocked to react. He took in the sight around him rather casually, as if the situation he was in were nothing unusual. The only things in the room beside the two of them were the three Galactic grunts standing close, their shoulders stiffened as if they were Deerling caught in the headlights of a car.
"What are you waiting for?" asked Cyrus, letting go of the girl's wrist. "Subdue her."
Their confusion lasted only a second, until they remembered the reason they'd been stationed there. Orion was the first to move; his imposing figure towered over the weakened girl as he threw himself at her, one hand closing around her left arm and the other grabbing her by the scruff of the neck. Next were Auriga and Pyxis; the first got hold of her remaining arm and pushed her shoulder down, while the second positioned herself behind her and attempted to force her to her knees.
Inyssa did not go down without a fight, however. Cyrus saw pain flare up in those obnoxious green eyes of her, anger and realization coming only a moment after.
"A-agh! Let... LET GO!" She twisted her body back with the last remains of her strength, teeth gnashed and face distorted into a mask of rage. "GET THE HELL OFF ME!"
She thrashed around like a beast, with strength and determination that should've left her long ago. Then again, Cyrus was well aware of the kind of feats one was capable of when pushed to the brink. Cynthia had demonstrated it to him more times than he could count.
"Stop playing around," he spoke, his voice filling the basement like icy wind. "Orion, the girl weighs at least half what you do, it shouldn't be hard to immobilize her. Pyxis, would you kindly gag her so she stops screaming?"
It took a lot more effort than it should have, but Inyssa at last fell to her knees. The sudden impact made her gasp in pain, an opportunity which Pyxis used to slip a thick piece of fabric inside her mouth, wrapping it tightly behind her head.
She continued to struggle for almost a minute, but once Orion and Auriga pulled both her arms behind her and placed their feet against her back, it was over. The adrenaline inside her body slowly dissipated, leaving behind an empty, gasping husk. Cyrus could see the way she tried to raise her head or move her hands, but there was no more strength left in her. She must've realized this, judging by the way her eyes began to well up with tears. Cyrus stared at the young, broken girl without even batting an eye. He looked at her as if she were a particularly dull piece of the wall.
Orion let out a sigh of relief. "Fucking… wow. The hell do they feed kids nowadays? She had me actually struggling there for a second."
"Says the muscle head," whispered Pyxis, nose scrunched up. "Seriously though, she was thrashing about like a damn Tauros, and with that burn mark on her back on top of it. Guess I should've expected it from you, eh Inyssa?
"I didn't give you this assignment so you could settle a grudge, Pyxis."
Pyxis rolled her eyes and pouted like a kid scolded by her parents. Her rosy cheeks were tinted red as she struggled to keep Inyssa from spitting out the piece of fabric in her mouth.
"Wait... yeah, I know her!" Auriga spoke up, a terrible smile stretching across her hawk-like face. "She's the one you told me about, isn't it? The one who tried to stop us in Eterna! Because of her..." Her eyes narrowed, lower lip trembling with anger. "What do you say boss, should I pull harder? I could break her arm easily; it's the least this little bitch deserves for what she did to us."
The girl's smile was forced, a deep pain hidden within her cheerful voice. Auriga... if Cyrus remembered correctly, her closest friend had been inside the Eterna building when it collapsed. It was no wonder she was reacting this way.
He silently chastised himself for forgetting such a detail and raised one hand to stop her.
"I forbid you from harming her any further," he commanded. "That is not why I brought her here. Simply hold her in place and wait, if you know what's good for you."
She hushed an apology and lowered her head, though the bitterness in her expression hadn't left. He'd take care of that later. Now it was time to put his plan into action.
Cyrus' hand went behind his back, grabbing a hidden ball on his belt. He held it in front of him for a moment, as he would've done for any other, but did not open it. Instead his gaze went from Inyssa to her three grunts, all of whom stared at the device with disbelief and, most importantly, recognition.
"Holy shit," Pyxis whispered, eyes wide like plates. "Is that…?"
Indeed, the ball Cyrus held was no ordinary one. Its top half was a radiant purple, with two red circles at the side and an imposing, white painted M above the button. Any trainer worth their salt would've recognized it from a mile away, not only its distinctive appearance but the loaded history behind it.
The Master Ball, rumored to be able to catch even legendary Pokemon without fail. Only a handful of them existed in the world, and the one resting on Cyrus' palm happened to be one of the three he possessed.
"Listen to me." His tone brought all eyes to him. "What is about to happen here must not leave this room. If I find out you've talked about it to anyone, you will regret it, do you understand?"
Nods were the only response, as the three grunts were too unnerved by the chill of his voice to properly reply. Under them, Inyssa whimpered and struggled pathetically, the last of her strength having left her already.
"Good."
Despite its fame and rarity, the Master Ball opened like any other of its type, an explosion of light pooling out of the crack between the two halves. It hung in the air for a moment, slowly expanding inwards as it formed the shape of the creature residing inside it. The silhouette was no bigger than a human head, its arms and legs short and stubby. Two long, ribbon-like tails grew from its back, each ending in the shape of a leaf. Something akin to a helmet grew from the sides of its round head, combing back towards its nape.
The light left its body in pale wisps, revealing what was beneath. There was a moment of silence, and then the faces of all three grunts went pale. Under them Inyssa's eyes shot open, recognition flashing across them.
Pyxis' voice came out strained, "N-no way…"
It didn't move an inch, eyes closed and arms hanging lifelessly at its sides. Despite how unassuming the creature looked, everyone could feel the overwhelming presence it exerted all around them, as if the air had grown denser, filled with static.
Uxie, oldest of the Lake Trio, raised its head ever so slightly as it spoke.
"What have you summoned me for, Cyrus?"
It didn't open its mouth, and yet its voice echoed all throughout the room. It was slow and deliberate, so much so that one could barely pick up the hints of disdain and anger in it.
Cyrus –unfazed as usual– folded his arms behind his back and gave his order:
"I need you to erase this girl's memory," he said. "Not all of it. Specific parts."
There was a short pause. The atmosphere of the room grew denser, and Uxie did not move.
"Cyrus… this is a child." Uxie's voice wavered, a small crack of disbelief filtering through its calmness. "You can't expect me to…"
"I do, as a matter of fact," he interrupted. "Considering your talents I certainly hope you haven't forgotten… that which I have in my possession, what I could so easily destroy. You do not have the luxury of opposing me."
When Uxie spoke again, all signs of stoicism were absent from its voice. Its tone was still modulated and deliberate, but under it could be felt a terrible storm.
"…Very well. I will comply to your demands for now. But…" Its head turned, and even though its eyes were closed Cyrus could still feel its gaze on him. "…once all of this ends, I will make sure you get your just retribution. And even the worst fate you could imagine won't compare to what I will do to you."
Cyrus raised one hand to scratch his nose, looking as if he were about to yawn. "I'll look forward to it. Are you done?"
"…Yes. Which memories should I erase from this girl's mind?"
"Only two things. Firstly; please erase the name of Team Galactic and all memories associated with it," Cyrus said, his voice toneless. "It won't be permanent, but at least it'll momentarily stop her from coming after us. And secondly…"
He and Inyssa exchanged looks, and despite not being able to feel satisfaction Cyrus still noticed the lingering ghost of such an emotion inside him.
"...the name Shadi, and all memories associated with it."
The reaction was immediate. Inyssa's expression went dark. She moved again, shooting upwards with a strength which could only be born from a terrible panic, and desperately tried to free herself one last time.
Unfortunately for her, it wasn't enough. Orion pulled on her arm while he stepped on her back, forcing her down once more. Inyssa's chin met the ground, but this time she didn't stop, shaking her head wildly as her whimpers and screams were muffled by the piece of cloth in her mouth. All the anger and defiance she'd previously shown had vanished, replaced with a palpable terror.
"You know…" Cyrus spoke, turning all gazes toward him. "…it was your sister's idea that I find a way to keep you out of trouble. She even threatened me over it." Even though he felt no desire to do so, he formed a tight lipped smile. "She wants you to be safe, does she not? Considering what a dangerous woman she is, what choice do I have but to make her little sister forget everything about her? Whether she thanks me for this or not, it doesn't matter. This is what both of you deserve."
He took a step back, crossing his arms as he waited for Uxie to act. Inyssa never stopped struggling as the legendary Pokemon slowly floated towards her, until they were at eye level.
"Pyxis, hold her head still and force her eyes open; it won't work otherwise," Cyrus ordered. "All of you close yours, while you're at it."
The girl did as she was told, grabbing the sides of Inyssa's face with both hands and stretching her eyelids open. Everyone else closed their eyes, and waited. The room held its breath for what felt like a minute, until Uxie spoke.
"I am so sorry, child. I can only hope that someday you'll forgive me."
Time seemed to slow as Uxie's eyelids parted and a bright light filtered through them, briefly illuminating Inyssa's face. Their eyes met, gold clashing against green, and the last thing both of them heard was the crackle of lightning, before the world went white.
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When Uxie awoke moments after, it felt itself weightless and free of the bounds of flesh. Its spirit drifted in place, a bright golden light which weakly projected an imitation of its body outwardly.
Despite having no physical eyes in such a form, Uxie proceeded to look around nonetheless, its soul reaching outwards like a sonar. The room it was in seemed to stretch endlessly in all directions but down, though it was hard to tell with the fog and white lights covering everything.
No, that wasn't right. Looking more carefully, they didn't seem to be lights.
They were mirrors.
Hundreds of them, floating all around as if suspended by invisible strings. What Uxie had previously mistaken as a distant glow was simply its own spirit reflected on them. They slowly spun in concentric circles, sometimes disappearing into the distance before re-materializing on the other side.
Strangely enough, a few of them seemed to be severely cracked or missing big chunks. As they slid through the air like the others, their unnatural sharpness cut through the fog, leaving pale scars which –for some reason– didn't seem to mend no matter how long a time passed. Uxie could see dozens of those silver streaks all around it, like invisible wounds forever burnt into the girl's mind.
"…Interesting."
All minds were different. Uxie knew this better than anyone, and still it couldn't help but find such a sight fascinating. Long ago –when it still had the habit of bonding with humans– it found pleasure in getting to learn the ins and outs of another person's thoughts and memories. It was like a game, like a puzzle. Fun, if that word could ever be attributed to a being as old as it.
And yet, despite the peculiar nature of the mind Uxie found itself in, there was no enthusiasm to be found. Learning who this girl was wouldn't help in erasing her memories, in fact it would only make the process more painful. The least it could do was allow the poor girl some privacy in her own mind before a substantial piece of it was taken from her.
"I better get this over with."
Finding the girl's memories was anything but difficult, even if Uxie hoped otherwise. Its spirit drifted like a ball of glowing smoke, dispersing the fog as floated toward them in a straight line. After what felt like only a minute, what it was looking for appeared in the distance; a small circle of polished white stone circling a puddle of water. Light bounced off it in a similar way as the mirrors above, though in this case it didn't reflect outwardly, but inwardly.
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Uxie approached, slowly peeking over the edge of the stones and into the puddle. The water was dark and unstable. Its ebb and flow was slow, but persistent. A streak of white shone on the middle, as if a sliver of moonlight were falling on it
Its sight penetrated through the darkness of those waters, and what it saw surprised it. It seemed the girl's mind was not the only thing damaged; her memories were similarly jumbled, like a puzzle whose pieces didn't stick together quite right. A few of them were torn apart, resting at the very bottom as they slowly dissipated into nothing.
How very interesting indeed. The girl's mind was like a thick, dusty book in which each turn of the page took one to a completely random one. If only the circumstances were different…
No, there's no time to think about that, Uxie thought as it lowered itself to the pond, one arm hovering just above the surface of the water. The more time I spend in this place, the worse I'll feel about this.
All that had to be done was erase all memories of Team Galactic and… a woman named Shadi, who appeared to be the girl's sister. The first wouldn't pose much of a problem, but the second… there was simply no telling the amount of psychological damage it would cause her. Depending on how close the two were, how dearly she held her in her heart…
Stop. Just… just do it. Stalling is useless here.
A simple flick and it would all be over. With a deep sigh, Uxie lowered its hand into the pond, now a hair's width from the surface of the water.
"I am truly sorry," it said to no one. "In other circumstances, we could've been-"
The air shook, and the world darkened. There was a moment of silence in which Uxie stood paralyzed, and then it happened.
A pale hand broke through the surface of the water. Its fingers closed around Uxie's arm with an iron grip, and the legendary Pokemon felt as if its entire being had frozen. It desperately tried to move back and free itself, but all that accomplished was aiding whatever was attached to that hand in getting out. First came the rest of the arm, and then another rose from the waves, hand landing on the edge of the pond. Slowly it began to rise…
"Wh- how…!?" Uxie's voice echoed in the darkness around him, full of shock and fear. "L-let go of me! What are you…!?"
Its voice died as soon as the head emerged, and a most powerful gaze broke through the darkness. Much like the almost marble-like paleness of her skin, the woman's eyes contrasted violently with the ashen curtain of wet hair falling over her face. They were the same color as those of the girl, only slightly duller and colder, like a wilting leaf.
The woman's lips parted into a forced smile, and her grip tightened.
"I won't… let you." Her voice was weak and strained, barely above a whisper. "Not to my sister…"
Uxie could do little but stare, utterly baffled, as the woman pulled it closer and closer towards the pond. Her strength was tremendous, but what was happening couldn't be real, could it? There was no way a simple memory…
Its thoughts were interrupted once more, as the woman spoke:
"I'll be borrowing your power for a bit," she whispered, her eyes flashing for a moment. "I hope you won't mind."
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Cyrus stood, firm as a statue, and waited. His gaze did not move from the unconscious girl, nor Uxie's empty body, as the seconds and then minutes passed by.
In the furthest part of his mind, he could sense that something was amiss. But… no, that couldn't be. He'd sworn never to listen to his meddlesome intuition again; that created no end of trouble. Everything would go according to his calculations. There was nothing more to it.
"Uh…" Orion's voice broke through the thick silence of the room. "Is this… supposed to take long? I'm getting kinda tired of holding her arms."
Cyrus sneered. "No, it should be over already. Still, this is nothing to worry ab–"
The air changed, and he felt a powerful chill running through his entire body. The room fell into silence. For a single moment, everything seemed to stop, and Cyrus could've sworn he heard the crackle of lightning in the back of his mind.
"AAGHH!"
The screams boomed like thunder. In a second, all three grunts holding Inyssa were repelled back, as if tugged by an invisible force. As they fell back –their expressions full of pain–, Cyrus heard that strange sound once more. It was closer, and seemed to be coming out of…
Just as the thought formed on his mind, Inyssa moved.
Slowly she placed one hand against the concrete floor and pushed herself to her knees, face hidden by a curtain of ashen hair. Ignoring the immense pain she should've been in, she rose to her feet and simply stood there, shoulders slouched and chest moving delicately with the rhythm of her breathing.
The air around her seemed to solidify, wisps of golden light rising from her skin like steam. Gently she began to move the bangs of hair covering her face to the side, looking up at Cyrus. Her eyelids parted slowly, and the bright green he was expected was replaced by a yellow so intense it made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
The air crackled again, and her eyes flashed maliciously. Almost too shocked to react, Cyrus looked down towards where Uxie's body was. Still immobile. Still empty. As realization flooded him, something like panic finally forced him to move.
"Seize her!" He swatted the air with his arm as he yelled, his voice bouncing off the walls. "Quick, before she–"
Inyssa moved her hand like she wanted to swat a fly. Cyrus' vision went white, and a moment after he heard a sound like a shotgun being fired. He found himself falling backwards, eyes wide in shock and an indescribable pain flaring through his chest.
He didn't know for how long he lost consciousness, but it couldn't have been more than a few seconds. The first thing he saw as he opened his eyes was the thin line of smoke coming out of his chest, the fabric of his uniform charred in a small circle below his sternum.
W-what…?
The sound of screams brought him back to reality. As the world came into focus he saw his three grunts with their backs against a wall. Orion was covering his face with one arm, while Pyxis grabbed onto his other one and buried her face on the fabric of his shirt, shoulders shaking as she let out choked out sobs of terror.
Next to them, Auriga sat slouched against a wall. Smoke rose from her arms, legs and chest. Her lifeless eyes stared up at something on the air.
Cyrus pushed himself to one knee, his entire body shaking from the effort, and let his gaze fall on Inyssa. She hung in the middle of the air as if suspended by strings, the outline of her body covered in a bright golden glow. Her red jacket had fallen to the ground –torn and covered in dust–, and the sleeves on her grey sweater had been burnt away entirely.
A multitude of scars ran through the surface of her bare arms; pale, red lines which broke off into smaller ones as they went on, ending on her fingertips. As if bolts of lightning had been carved onto her skin. As if her arms were covered in bloody vines.
She raised one arm slightly and a white, cackling energy began to rise out of her scars, spinning around them slowly as they built up power. It was a strange gesture, as if she weren't entirely conscious of what she was doing. Contrasting the storm on her eyes, her expression was completely blank.
Still, Cyrus did not wait to see what would happen. As fast as his shaking body allowed him he brought his Pokétch to his mouth and pressed a button on the side, speaking into it.
"S-seal the exits, now! Close all means of escape and make sure to…!"
Inyssa brought her arm down, and the air vibrated for a moment before the whole room shook. A sound like the boom of a cannon echoed all throughout the building. The lights on the ceiling flickered for a moment, then died.
A panicked voice came out of Cyrus' Pokétch:
"T-thunder fell on the top floor! The barrier's broken and there's fire everywhere!"
His eyes went wide. If the barrier was down then that meant…
Confirming his worst fears, the purple glow around Inyssa's body intensified. Her outline blurred, as if reality itself was out of focus, and the air began to vibrate intensely around her.
"Stop her!"
His orders went ignored as her body dissipated into thin air, leaving the room in complete darkness.
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The first thing Inyssa thought as she regained consciousness was 'Shit, this hurts'. Next –a few seconds after as her brain was still on the process of booting up– was 'Oh fuck me, this really hurts'. The third was something along the lines of 'Hold on, why does the inside of my mouth taste like dirt?'.
Lifting herself up a few inches proved to be immensely difficult, as every muscle in her body screamed in agony and the inside of her head swam as if it were made of jello. The pain was much worse on her arms and back; stinging, burning, it made her eyes well up with tears as she struggled to rise to her feet.
With a weak cough she spat the dirt out of her mouth, the dryness of her throat making her wince painfully. She wiped off the remaining dust with the back of her hand, feeling it incredibly cold. Either she'd been lying on the ground for a long time or the skin of her face was feverishly hot; it was hard to tell. Her eyes wouldn't focus, and the world around her continued being little more than blurs of green, brown and blue stretching endlessly in all directions. Almost instinctively she reached for her Pokeballs, but her hand found nothing. Her belt had probably fallen at some point, back in Celestic.
Back in Celestic…
The memories rushed through her eyes, hitting her like a hammer. The festival, that mechanical creature, Cynthia's terrifying Pokemon, Cyrus' cold expression and that familiar pair of golden eyes…
Then… the crack of thunder, a familiar voice, and nothing.
She stood frozen for god knows how long, eyes wide open and gaze lost in the distance. She'd… she'd escaped, somehow. Her memories hadn't been erased. And strangest of all, just before everything went black she could've sworn… she could've sworn she heard her voice.
She heard Shadi's voice.
But… no, there was something else. She could feel it just at the edge of her conscious mind. A pair of eyes set on her, as if she were being stared at from a distance. Slowly she turned her head left and right –her sight slowly coming into focus– but found nothing more than cold dirt and endless rows of identical trees extending infinitely in all directions.
There was no one there. But then why…?
"Hello."
She gasped so hard she began coughing, and it took her a few seconds to regain her composure. As she blinked the tears of pain away, her sight slowly focused on something small and bright that had appeared out of nowhere in front of her. It was some sort of creature, with a yellow head and an oval body, two ribbon-like tails floating behind…
The word came out of her mouth half formed, her voice throaty. "U-Uxie?"
The legendary Pokemon didn't move, but on the back of her mind she could've sworn she felt an unfamiliar sense of recognition. She could imagine it nodding, even though its pale form was immobile.
"I didn't want to call attention to myself before you got your bearings." Its voice was calm and thin, the sound of it sending a relaxing feeling all throughout Inyssa's body. "However, I also wanted to avoid waiting too long, lest your body collapses and you die."
There was a long, odd silence as Inyssa simply stared at Uxie, mouth slightly agape.
"…Of course. I understand this is a very strange situation and you're wounded and scared, but if you let me explain and try not to freak out…"
"You… bonded with me?"
Despite how expressionless Uxie's face was –even more so than Mesprit's, since its eyes were always closed– Inyssa could feel a foreign tinge of surprise coming from it.
"Oh… then, you know. That makes it a lot easier," it said. "Yes, that seems to be the case."
"How?" Inyssa asked, her eyebrows forming a bridge over her nose. "I was… weren't you supposed to erase my memory or something? How did you bond with me? How… did we get out?" She placed a hand against the side of her head, wincing as the world blurred around her. "Agh… I don't… remember anything."
"Neither do I, to be honest."
Inyssa squinted at Uxie, her expression perfectly spelling out.: Are you for real right now?
"You don't remember anything," she repeated, disbelief clear in her voice. "Uxie. The one who's all about remembering stuff. The living embodiment of Memory, yadda yadda."
"I am ashamed, and I assure you that it is a wholly unfamiliar feeling to me, but that is the unfortunate truth. I don't seem to remember anything after I entered your mind."
It was painful, but she managed to form a lopsided smile. "Man, if I hadn't seen Mesprit do some cool stuff I'd think you're all a bunch of posers. Legendary Pokemon my a–"
"H-hold on! What did you say!?"
The sudden force and volume on its voice made her jump, which in turn sent a shockwave of pain throughout her muscles. Biting on her lower lip, she held her breath until it subsided.
"I said you're all a bunch of posers," she repeated.
"N-no, the other thing! You know Mesprit!?"
"Oh… yeah. Long story," she said. "Mesprit… bonded with my friend to escape Team Galactic. We've been hanging out for a few days." There was a short pause, and she added: "It misses you, I think."
Another silence stretched through the patch of forest they were in, though thankfully not as long nor as awkward as the one before.
"Oh my stars…" Uxie's voice was little more than a whisper. "Mesprit is safe… I can't believe it."
Despite her curiosity regarding the Lake Trio's –rather messy and convoluted– family history, Inyssa decided to leave the matter for a later time. Maybe when she weren't about to drop dead from pain, exhaustion, trauma and possibly a fever.
She cleared her throat before speaking. "So… you think you could take me to them? You can help me teleport to where they are, right?"
"I… suppose that's a possibility," Uxie said. "However, in your current state that might be too dangerous. I mean no offense by this, but your body is severely wounded and the exhaustion caused by such a long-scale teleportation might finish you off for good."
She furrowed her brow. "I'm tough. I can handle it."
Wanting to prove her point, she crossed her arms and smiled as if nothing were wrong. Of course on the inside she was struggling not to tear up from the pain as the muscles on her back stung immensely, but Uxie didn't need to know that.
"Child; I feel everything you feel. The only reason you're still conscious is because I'm pumping your body full of adrenaline."
"Then it shouldn't be a problem," she said. "Come on, the longer we wait the worse the trip will be. Besides, there's no way something as dumb as that is gonna kill me."
Despite Uxie having its eyes closed, Inyssa could feel its judging glare on her. It felt uncomfortably familiar, like the look a parent might give an unruly child. Luckily, after a long silence the feeling evaporated and she heard a sigh on the back of her mind.
"Very well. I suppose there is no other choice."
She nodded with difficulty, standing up straight.
"Great. Lead us off, then."
She waited for ten seconds, but nothing happened. When Uxie spoke, its tone was almost shy.
"I was hoping… we could maybe introduce ourselves first?" it asked. "Considering our current situation, and since we might not get the chance to later."
She blinked a few times. "Oh… right. I'm Inyssa Dawn; I'm seventeen and the person who's gonna be the Champion one day. There, nice to meet you."
"I see…" There was a certain edge to Uxie's voice, as if the situation were wholly unfamiliar to it. "I was thinking of something slightly more… significant, perhaps. Back in my day the crowning of a hero involved feasts, balls and month-long celebrations. Besides, I haven't even introduced myself, so…"
"You're Uxie, oldest of the Lake Trio," she cut it off. "Living embodiment of wisdom, knowledge and memory. Your home is the cave in the middle of Lake Acuity on the outskirts of Snowpoint City. Stories say that if you ever open your eyes, everyone you look at will lose their memories, though other than that you're a pretty stand up… guy? Girl? Neither, I guess."
She took a deep breath, her heart beating fast after her rushed explanation.
"There, is that enough?" she asked, looking up at Uxie. "Can we get a move on?"
Her first guess as to what would happen was that Uxie might yell at her, or be so offended that it'd leave her there to die. However, after a short silence she felt laughter bubbling inside her, coming from none other than the legendary Pokemon itself.
"You… are a most unusual child, aren't you?" Uxie said, and she could feel the smile in its voice. "It indeed is a pleasure to meet you, Inyssa Dawn. I look forward to our time working together."
Before she could reply, that familiar feeling of something pulling at the depths of her chest came back. The air vibrated intensely around her, the outline of her body covered in a purple glow, and she felt her body dissipating into nothing.
They both disappeared, leaving the forest in silence once more.
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When she opened her eyes again, she found herself on the dark hallways of some poorly illuminated building. The walls were a mix of white and pastel green, and the air was pestered with the smell of antiseptics.
A hospital? She thought.
She tried to move, but her legs gave out. She threw herself against a nearby wall to avoid falling, her vision blurring and an unbearable pain flooding her entire body. Her skin was hot, unbelievably so, and she could barely keep herself conscious. Still, she couldn't collapse yet. She had to find Barry, had to…
"Don't... Don't fuck with me!"
The yell startled her. It was a familiar voice, slightly muffled by the distance and the walls between Inyssa and its owner. Almost unconsciously she began walking towards it, each step feeling as if she were about to pass out.
"Sarah, please calm down. I promise you; they decided to fight that thing on their own…"
Another familiar voice. More subdued this time, full of regret. She could see the room it was coming from, only a few feet from her. The door was closed, but if she could get to it…
"Shut up! Don't think you'll get out of this just because you're the Champion! If you don't find her… I swear to god I will…!"
She was interrupted, as at that moment the door opened. Inyssa slipped through it with difficulty, breathing heavily and barely able to see. Still, as soon as she entered she could feel two pair of eyes on her.
Sarah was on one extreme of the room, one hand closed strongly around Cynthia's collar. The latter was pinned against the wall, a bead of sweat falling down her forehead and her lips tightly pursed. At the other side of the room she saw Barry, laying on a hospital bed and covered in sheets. His eyes were closed; the slow breathing and the IV connected to his arm signifying that he was either asleep or sedated.
"O-oh my god."
She turned to look at Sarah, and the expression on her face was so priceless she could barely keep herself from laughing. Cynthia wasn't much better; her skin had gone even paler than usual and her eyes were so wide open she looked like a Hoot-Hoot.
Inyssa tried her best to form a soothing smile, and raised one arm to greet them.
"H-hey th…ere…"
Her body went limp, and she fell. The last thing she felt was a sharp pain as she landed on her knees, and then nothing.