Tournament Of Champions

[Shinkagehadou]

Ian rested his head on the door when he felt a cold hand grab his arm and twisted it.

"Ah, ah hey I was waiting for a friend, honest!" Ian turned his head and saw that it was Claire, "Oh, it's you..."

She released her hold on him, "Thanks, now let's discuss our situa-" but before Ian could finish Claire told him to stay outside and closed the door.

'I really, really hate her...' Ian thought.

"Hey! I'm going in the lobby see you when you're finished, doing what is whatever you were doing..." Ian took the elevator where he encountered a strange man, He clothes were that of a magician, he had a long pointy nose and had a long mustache. Ian stared at him in utter disgust.

"Oh ho ho my young one, what hateful eyes you have!" Taunted the magician.

"What do you know old man?"

"I know that you've have mutliple stories behind those eyes, yes many many stories contained inside those eyes of yours, care to share?"

"Not really...."

"Well we got time boy, come on spin me a yarn."

"Ugh, if you'll leave me alone.."

 

[treespyro]

Claire got out of the shower drying herself with a towel. She looked around "Nobody here" she thought as she walked out with a towel around her body. Claire changed into a black-grey top with a pink skirt. "Just plain today" she thought as she walked out with her wet light brown hair, "Where is that twerp" she said locking the door as she walked down the stairs to the bar.

Claire reached the bar, "Hello" she remarked as she looked at the Saxophone "May I play" she asked the musicians who sighed and nodded. Claire picked up the instrument and started to play, she played like she has been playing for long, "Where is that twerp" she thought as she continued to play waiting for Ian, "I might order a drink soon" she thought as the other band members played in sync with her. "I am enjoying this" she thought as she continued to blow in the saxophone. After the song finished, Claire bowed and walked to the bartender, "One Lemon-Passionfruit Martini" she asked as she waited for Ian to come, "Thank you" she replied as her drink came to her.

Claire drank as she waited looking at the time, "I might as well play some Tennis" she thought as she got up and paid for her drink as she walked to the tennis courts, "I am in the right attire" she thought as she spotted someone very familiar, "Hello Gibson" she said as she picked up a racquet, "Hello Hollywood" he said in the same tone, "Ready for the Tournament" he asked, "Not really but hey I guess I am, Training?" she asked rallying with Gibson, "After dinner, Hollywood" he replied, "But no Dessert" Claire remarked as she continued to rally with Gibson.

 

[Son_of_Shadows]

"Is it... dead?" he asked. He couldn't believe they'd won.

I do not feel his presence. It is over... for now at least.

Joshua breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God... "Slasher, Torrent, could you give me a bit of a hand?"Joshua recalled Milotic and Snowstorm, and the three males lifted the unconscious Rose. He needed their help. It wasn't that she was heavy, more that Joshua was weak, and exhausted. "Roserade, congratulations on your evolution, and thanks for your help. I'd be thanking you more, but I'm bloody shattered. Let's go back to the Pokemon Centre..." He gently stroked her white hair, and they moved on. It was hard for him to believe Roselia had changed so much. She was a good bit taller, and the blade of grass she wore across her eyes made her look almost like a ninja. Her bouquets also had a sweeter aroma than Roselia's old flowers.

How are you feeling? asked Milotic.

I think I'm starting to calm down. I'm sorry if I scared you.

It's not me you need to apologise to. Your Drapion.

Oh... "Slasher," he said, turning his head around to him, "I'm sorry if I scared you earlier, with my temper. I just wanted Dusknoir away from her as soon as possible. I was... scared."

"Dra, drapio," he said reassuringly. He probably meant, "I understand, master." Joshua nodded. They had a long walk back to the Centre.

 

[storymasterb]

Rose wandered the darkness of her mind. She was still haunted by Dusknoir, what it had done to her.

<Please be okay, Joshua,> she thought <you can't suffer. Not any more.>

She just wanted him and her to be okay, so they could finally be together in peace. But she didn't even know her own state, what had happened to her.

She sat with Joshua next to a slow, calm river. The sun was just setting and Rose had her head on Joshua's shoulder. They sat in silence, watching the beautiful sunset.

"I love you," Rose whispered. The water in front of them began to ripple slightly and something became visible beneath the water, flashes of cream yellow scales, a blue and red tail, amber eyes...

Milotic broke the surface, seeming to smile at the couple. The Tenderness Pokemon gazed at them with joy, perhaps happy to be near such love.

Rose's eyelids twitched slightly as she started to wake up.

"Joshua," she muttered.

 

[Son_of_Shadows]

"You're awake? Please, Rose, try to get some sleep." He was almost begging her. Pathetic.

"Dra."

"Plu."

"See, they agree with me... I think." He could see red marks on her neck from where Dusknoir had grabbed her, similar to his own. The two of them had had a rough night, all things considered. After about half an hour's walk, they had entered Celadon City once more. The bright lights hit Joshua like a ton of bricks. His eyes had become used to the darkness of the forest. He rubbed them, and was fine.

You have saved your beloved from her darkness, for now, but what of your own? asked Milotic.

I don't know how to deal with my darkness yet. I know what it is though... My father. he answered.

I have searched your heart, and I see that is not the only thing which troubles you. You feel inferior to the rest of your group, but you showed tremendous courage, and love, when you rescued Rose. Your skills have improved since you started travelling also.

Yeah, I know. But I'm still not as strong as them.

You mustn't compare yourself to your friends, if makes you feel so inferior. You're a good man, and you shouldn't be so hard on yourself.

You're right, Milotic. I won't do that anymore. Y'know, I like you a lot better than the other voice in my head. Joshua felt like a great weight was lifted off him. Part of his inner darkness had been lifted. The other part would be dealt with soon. He knew that. And he bet that the mysterious man he'd seen while travelling through Sinnoh, on his first day, and then on the mountains had something to do with it.

Milotic chuckled. I'm very fond of you as well. Despite the temper. Please, you must control that too. It terrifies those around you.

Again, you're right. Thank you, Milotic. I'll speak with you in the morning.

---

OOC: I've been playing a lot of Kingdom Hearts recently.

 

[taxfreesobuyme]

Hunter and Chimchar walked down the alley ways of the city. Hunter stared at the ground and was dragging his feet. "Whats going on lately with everybody?" Hunter clenched his fists. "First Isaac completely vanishes, I havent seen Nina since she went to the game corner and I bet Rose and Josh aren't even out of bed yet." Hunter slammed his fist against the side of the building. "I needed this tournament! I have to prove to him that I have what it takes!"

***FLASH BACK***

fourteen year old Hunter stood over the pit of lava on the battle field of the Cinnibar gym. "Go Charmander!" He threw the pokeball up in the air and in a burst of light Charmander appeared. Blaine was standing at the other side with his Pokemon, Magmar. "You have the first move." Blaine said with a confident tone. "Charmander flamethrower!" Charmander opened his mouth and spat out a line of fire directly at Magmar. Magmar did not try to dodge but simply stopped the attack with his right arm. "Pathetic!" Blaine shouted in disapointment. "Magmar lets end this." Magmar ran up to Charmander with blinding speed and knocked him in the air with fire punch. "Now use Iron tail!" Magmar turned around and knocked Charmander onto the ground with its iron tail attack knocking Charmander out. "Charmander is unable to battle, Blaine is the winner!" The ref announced.

Hunter returned Charmander to his Pokeball. "Thanks for taking it easy on me!" Hunter shouted. "And what would you have learned if I had let you won?" Blaine asked knowing he would get no response. "With that kind of attitude and battling skills you will never take over my gym!" Hunter remained silent as he stared at his feet. "In a real battle the other trainer isn't going to "Take it easy on you". You need to show me you have what it take if you ever wish to become a gym leader!"

***END***

Hunter looked over and noticed a tennis court behind the building he was at. "A good work out should help me chill out." He thought as he approached the gate. Hunter walked through the gate and over to grabe a racket when he noticed a woman at the court next to his. She had long brown hair and piercing blue eyes and she was talking to another man. Hunter was staring but didn't realize it until Chimchar started pulling on his hair. "Ouch! What was that for?" Hunter looked up at his Pokemon. "Chimchar!" Chimchar replied as if telling Hunter he was doing something wrong.

 

[storymasterb]

Rose tried to get some rest, but couldn't. Her neck was burning with pain and her mind was still in a bad state, with visions of Dusknoir appering every few seconds. Rose really needed someone to try and help her.

"Joshua," she groaned "help... me." She found his hand and held it tightly, feeling more reassured from the simple touch.

<Please, help me,> she thought.

Dusknoir followed behind the ground. That accursed boy had found a counter to its power and Rose had fought back. It was almsot dead, a shadow of its former majesty.

It was less than flesh, but more than ghost. It was weak, weaker than even the weakest human, but it was... alive.

And it had a mind full of bitterness and hate. It wanted vengeance. And it had the perfect Pokemon to unleash.

Spiritomb.

 

[CaptainCombusken]

Proby was completely knocked out by another of Dusknoir's shadow balls. That was the last thing he remembered as he woke up, groaning in pain. He tried to think of what had happened just then. Blaze. Blaze had been hit by the third Shadow ball. Proby looked around Nervously. Where are they?, he thought, thinking of Joshua, Blaze, Blade and Stryk. He slowly tried to get up, and found it was very easy. Proby remembered being in Blaze's mind before both Shadow ball struck. He quickly ran over the water, feeling thirsty. He looked upon the reflection, and recoiled in shock. Not horror, he was quite happy really. For there in front of him was clearly a reflection of Blaze. Proby spoke, in Blaziken, but he could understand it. "Stryk, Blade!" he called out. He sat there waiting, and thought hard about what he had been. He sighed in resolute, and felt a bizzare jolt running through his skin. He jumped in shock as his body changed, the bones re-arranging himself, which REALLY hurt. As soon as the pain was over, his skin changed colour, he shrank slighty, and felt less heavy and his hair grew back. Curiously, he had his clothes on still. He sighed, happy. He turned to the forest, and out jumped Blade. Stryk came down from the sky above. They looked at Proby right in the eyes, curiously. He thought by the strength of their gaze that there was something wrong with his eyes, he looked at his reflection, confused. There was him, normal, but then his eyes widened as he saw what was wrong with them. They were orange. Bright, fiery ortange. Proby also realized he felt more fiery, more peppy, but he was sure that wouldn't change him too much. he smiled. Proby, probably the first ever human to be one with a pokemon. He smiled, very happily.
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Live looked up to the sky. Draichu and Slither were out of their pokeballs, as well as a Dark Garchomp and a normal tyranitar. He smiled wickedly at the sky. His expression changed as he saw his dusknoir, hurt and injured. It was coming back, with another pokemon.

Dusknoir landed. The other pokemon was a spiritomb.
"I_Have_Failed_you." said dusknoir, clearly hurt.
"No Dusk, no, you haven't. On the contrary, you have but made my job easier. I have to destroy that Proby, at all costs. And now he is part blaziken. That's good. I'll simply get Chops here to use a poweful Hydro pump on him. Then he will suffer. And that Rose, and that Joshua too. They are part of this npow, so they will have to be eliminated as well" Live purred in his leather-like voice. He looked up into the distance, evil on his face.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proby was running towards Joshua and Rose. As a blaziken. He found them, and raced into a headlond sprint towards them. He humped, thinking hard about himself. Stryk and Blade were following closely behind. Proby phased back, turning into a human mid flight. He landed on all fours, right in front of Joshua. Blade and Stryk also stopped abruptly. He got up, smiled at Joshua and said "Hi Josh, Hi Rose."
_______________________________________________________________________
OOC: Ok, Proby can't see the future anymore, but he can still read minds. I'm sorry, I'm obsessed with powers, in particular shapeshifting. Proby will be a little bit worse tempered, but other than that and the small appearance change, he's still the same.

 

[Shinkagehadou]

"OK, I'm orginally from the Johto region but I came here to participate in the tournament of champions, I arrived only to find that the team I was suppose to be in is full but luckily I met some woman who seems to be able to get me in." Ian pauses for a second.

He grabs his face an yells "AH! I FORGOT ABOUT HER!" Hepaces as the elevator finally reaches the ground floor. He runs out but he doesn't realize that the Magician quickly swiped his ticket out of Ian's back pocket. He slips the ticket into his jacket and smiles as he sees Ian run off with out noticing.

Ian runs across the lobby looking for another available elevator to get back into Claire's room. Unfortunetly, he finds no such luck, so he heads out to the back of the hotel. There he sees a man and a woman engaging in a tennis match. The sport never really interested him, but he saw that the two were very talented and decided to get a closer look.

 

[treespyro]

"This is quite fun Gibson, What is the score, 6-4, 5-7, So what else is on the agenda" asked Claire as she tied her hair into a lonf pony tail, "Well Hollywood, Just for now, we will go on first name bases, Ok Claire" Claire stared at him, "Ok Dick....I mean Richard" she remarked slyly, "Ok we know that a Major crime syndicate will be present to rig some matches, I will be known as Paul Johansson and You Claire" he explained quietly giving her documents "Are a British Rich Girl, Melaine Lucas but can you get an accent", Claire smiled "Well Lets play, Luv" in a cockney British Accent, "That is such a horrid accent, I will work" sighed Richard.

Claire looked around and saw a crowd building up, "We are popular" she thought as she tied up her shoelaces and fixed her strings, "Ever thought about going on Tour" she asked Richard, "Well why not, after you know what...you should as well" he answered as Claire blushed, "Yeah after the mission" she replied back as she served the ball, "Fault" shouted a man on the sideline, "Yeah, Yeah" she thought as she served it again starting a rally.

Claire was trailing 4-3 after 20 minutes and spotted a bigger crowd, "Hey this is quite fun" she thought as she looked around at the people, "Adults, Children, No Cute Men, Man with Chimchar pulling his hair, Boy and girls" Claire rolled her eyes as she waited for Richard to serve. After Game finished Richard walked up to her with his hand out, "Victory for me but I nearly got beaten, Dinner tonight" he asked as Claire shook his hand "Sure later though, I would like a swim after this workout" she replied

Claire walked around the courts accidently bumping into the person with the Chimchar, Claire got into a fighting stance and dropped it as she looked at the ground, "Sorry about that" she remarked taking out the rubber band of her ponytail, "Are you ok" she asked until she looked at time, "Might as well hit the pool" she said in her European Accent as she walked casually towards swimming pool, "I might catch you there" she winked as she walked away towards the pool. Claire headed to the changing room to change into her light blue bikini revealing her long smooth legs as she jumped into the pool and started to swim laps.

 

[Shinkagehadou]

Ian was mesmerized by Claire's game, he'd never seen such speed, which is probably what her pokemon are like. The game soon ended and the crowd thinned out, Ian tried to catch up to Claire but it was no use. He saw her enter the pool but decided not to follow her since people might get the wrong idea.


Ian was now bored, he knew the only way for him to entertain himself now was to engage someone in a battle and with a crowd of peopple, we was sure to get one. Ian raised his net ball that Pinsir was contained it and yelled, "Attention, Trainers! You are in the midst of a future champion, courious to see how you would fair? come and engage me in a battle for the ages!"

The crowd looked at Ian as if he was crazy, some mearly laughed at his announcement and turned towards inside the hotel.

"Hey wait , uh come back! There is a prize for the winner! A-A-A ticket for the Tournament of Champions tomorrow! Right here!" Ian pulled out a folded piece of paper, unknowing to him that there was nothing inside. Those that heard raised their hands for a shot at Ian, then ran up to him and demanded at battle.

Ian's first opponent, or opponents were two bikers who couldn't wait so they decided to team together, both with the intentions of beating each other up after defeating Ian for the ticket.

"Go Weezing!"

"Go Aggron!"

'Tch, a Earthquake strategy? Well this should be easy.."

"Ok! Mudkipz and Hercule, time to win!"

"Pinsir!"

"Swamp!"

The four pokemon stood parrallel to each other on the tennis court, their eye meeting and in a offensive position ready to jump at the trainers first word.

 

[Son_of_Shadows]

Joshua turned around to see a Blaziken talking to them. Figuring it was a hallucination of his exhausted mind, he headed for the hospital.There were 2 reasons for this: He really needed to get his ribs checked out, and Rose seemed to be in a really bad way. She was asking for help. Unfortunately, Joshua had no medical training at all. The hospital was their best (and only) bet.

"Change of plan, guys, we're going to the hospital." The group turned to their right, and headed off for the hospital, where Proby's arm had been treated earlier that evening. How long ago was that. 5 hours? 6? 8? More? He couldn't remember... He'd lost all track of time. He rubbed the sleep from his eye. Rose was groaning."Pick up the pace, boys," he said. Time was running out, and the sun was beginning to rise. So much for a good night's sleep before the Tournament...

 

[treespyro]

Claire continued to swim laps as she completed her 26th lap, "At least this is much more relax then military School", Claire floated around remembering her past

Flashback

"Lets go Girls, you can't be athletes without this training" shouted a man while a younger Claire swam "But sir this is very cold", The man looked at Claire, "Ms.Hollywood, you will not question my methods, Another 10 kilometers for you" he shouted as Claire swam in the freezing cold lake "This couldn't get worse" she thought as she swam

End Flashback

"Well I guess if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here" she smiled at that thought as she bumped into a group of men, "Well we have ourselves a beautiful young girl" One of them said grabbing Claire arm, "I have seen your face before...It is you" he shouted. "Agent Hollywood, The girl who stopped my drug traffiking, Thank you but you cost me so much money" he said laughing while clicking his fingers, "What do you want Hanz" she asked in her bikini, "Well I have changed my ways, I am working for your agency now but I give you warning" he said with his German-Italian accent, "Watch out, Hollywood, I am here to give you a makeover, They are on to you but I will need a cost" Claire smiled "Of Course, I will put it in your Viridian Account" she walked off, "Lets go" she said.

Claire walked into the room with a bunch of females and males present, "Miss Hollywood, ready" Claire sighed "Sure, Lets do it". The fashion experts started to trim her hair and coloured it darker, "Dark Brown, It does suit you Melanie" Hanz replied, "Yeah it does but I don't like that name" She replied, "Don't worry Claire" said Richard appearing from the door, "How about something more exotic, Just wait" he said as the fashion experts added contacts to her eyes, "Brown Colour eyes and here is your closet" they replied revealing a wardrobe "Wow" she said in shock as she tried the clothes

"I got a name" said Richard "Anastasia Zvonareva, Tennis and Pokemon star" he said with a smile, "I will be James Henman " he replied "Your Coach of course" he said as Claire dressed up in a grey tie-dye skirt and a white tank top with brown heels as she walked out, "Thanks guys and gals" she said as she walked on to the tennis courts and sat on the bench looking at her racquet

 

[Son_of_Shadows]

"Well, nothing's broken, but your ribs are quite bruised," said the doctor.

"That's good news, I guess. How's Rose?" Joshua asked. She was being treated in another room.

"How should I know, I've been with you the whole time."

"Right. Sorry, it's just been a really rough night."

"Yes, well, perhaps you should get some sleep."

"I can't. I'm in the big tournament in Saffron today. And so is Rose."

"Hmm..."

"Can I go? There's nothing wrong with me."

"Very well, but please be careful. Another impact like that to your ribs, you could shatter them. Not just break; shatter."

Joshua gulped. That sounded unpleasant. He entered the room Rose was being treated. She was lying unconscious on a bed, mumbling and grumbling. "How is she?" he asked the doctor in charge of her.

"She's stable. She just needs a little rest; but we're concerned about the marks on her neck... Wait, you have the same ones."

"Yeah, it's a long story. Suffice it to say we were both strangled by a maniac. Fortunately, he was fought off."

"Hmm. Well, she should be fine, once she wakes up. Physically, at least. Mentally..."

"I'll look after her."

A warm feeling slowly entered him from his pocket. Milotic. She seemed to be saying "Good choice." Joshua pulled a chair over to Rose's bed, and sat down next to her. He took her hand, and relaxed a little. Man, he was exhausted...

 

[taxfreesobuyme]

Swing after swing Hunter slammed the tennis ball against the wall with his racket every time it bounced back. "The Tournament is only hours away and I still havent heard from anyone.." He hit his tennis ball against the wall and glanced over at Chimchar who was relaxing on a bench near the fence. Thats when he saw the dark haired woman from before. Hunter couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

The tennis ball slammed against the wall and bounced back hitting the side of Hunters face and knocking him on the ground. "Chimchar!" Chimchar rushed over to his master who was more humiliated than hurt. Hunter quickly got up hoping nobody had noticed. "Real smooth." He whispered under his breath as he rubbed the left side of his face. "Char!" Chimchar laughed pointing at Hunter. "Thanks a lot pal." Hunter groaned. "I wonder what the others are up to right now?"

 

[storymasterb]

Rose was somewhere between dreams and the real world. Occasionally she would mutter something, but mostly she was completely silent and still.

"Dusk... noir," she muttered. In her mind she saw the terrible Pokemon strangling her, launching Shadow Balls at Joshua, strangling Joshua. Then she saw Joshua, risking himself to get it away from her.

<Why did I leave him behind?> she wondered <he can keep me safe from anything. Not that I need protecting, of course.>

 

[CaptainCombusken]

OOC: Erm, son of shadows, "PHASING" means changing into the other form, and so Proby was a normal human when he spoke to you.
and taxfree, remember that Proby's... different now. You cannot not notice the orange eyes. If you're still confused, read my last post.
__________________________________________________________________________
Proby was now human again, and so he decided to follow Josh and Rose back to the hospital. He sat in the waiting room, his orange eyes blazing. He got bored, and stepped up, running towards the indoor leisure centre, he was bored and needed something to do. Sighing slightly, he went to the centre, and opened the door. He smiled slighty as he went hrough the changing rooms, right into the centre. It was an outdoor centre, and as he collected his racket and ball, he saw hunter on the floor, having just fell from his position on the fence. Proby laughed lightly, and his as hunter looked up nervously to see if anyone had noticed. Proby would save his embarassment, for now at least. as hunter got up, and whispered something, rubbing his face "Char!" Hunter's Chimchar laughed pointing at its trainer. "Thanks a lot pal." Hunter then groaned. "I wonder what the others are up to right now?" he asked his pokemon, but Proby knew he was just talking to himself. He stepped into view, fully human.
"I'm right here, Hunter. Josh and Rose are in the hospital, Rose got hurt recently but It's cleared up for the moment, don't worry. And I don't know where anyone else is." Proby looked at him with his blazing eyes, seeing Hunter's own eyes widen in shock.

 

[treespyro]

Claire giggled as she watched the male get hit, "Ah people these days" she thought as she watched the Chimchar laugh at its master, "Poor guy, Maybe I should give him some pointers and he can be of useful infomation" she thought as she got up. Claire noticed a boy with orange eyes from her view, "This is not right" she thought as she got her mobile out, "Richard, I have an interesting speciman" she said, "What, Really...it better not be a fashion crisis" he remarked in a dull manner, "No seriously" she said as she took a photo of Proby, "Inspection and thank you, So are we still up for dinner" she smiled, "Of Course Anastasia but I will have to study this photo and person at HQ, bye" said Richard as he hung up.

"I might have a look" she thought as she got up and walked towards the children, "Why hello there" Claire said as she released one of her pokemon "C'mon Grazioso" she called out as a Glameow came out looking at the Chimchar and sighed. Claire leaned down and spoke to her in a foreign language, "Podívejte, jen hra s ním jako I shromáždit některých informacích*" she told her pokemon, "Sorry, She only understands my first language" Claire said as she wore a white top and grey skirt and as her Glameow started to look at the Chimchar and scoffed. Claire asked "Does anyone like to play tennis, I forget to introduce myself, I am Anastasia, Tennis Professional and well pokemon trainer" she said getting a racquet out of her bag, "Made to specifications, You" she said to Hunter, "You need coaching, Not a very good player, but I could teach you" she remarked as she leaned over with her back towards them to stretch.


(OOC: Tennis Pro/Spy...Random isn't it)
*Look, Just play with him as I gather some infomation

 

[Son_of_Shadows]

When Rose spoke Dusknoir's name, he felt his hand become tense, and he flinched. The thing had left its mark on him... literally. He sighed. Why is it that not a single one of us carries a cell phone...? He stood up, and left Rose. She seemed fine, and he'd only be gone a minute.

The hospital's payphone was located in the lobby. Joshua picked it up, inserted a few Poke, and dialled the Pokemon Centre. Nurse Joy picked up.

"Hello?"

"Good morning. Are Hunter, Proby, Isaac or Nina there?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Damn. Thank you." He hung up. Where the hell is everyone? It occurred to him that Hunter was probably out looking for Rose, unless Proby had gone to find him. Nina... He was pretty sure he'd heard her voice in the Game Corner, but, in the chaos, he had had no hope of finding her. And Isaac... God knows. Could he have... abandoned us? No. He wouldn't do that... would he? He sighed again, and returned to Rose's bedside.

 

[storymasterb]

Rose's eyes slowly opened. She stared at an unfamiliar ceiling, a surface coated in hideous mauve paint. Quite frankly, it would have looked better if someone had squashed a Spinarak and dumped the result over the hideous paint.

<Where... am I?> she wondered, turning her head slightly. All she saw was a light blue tiled floor and a wall covered in yet more hideous mauve. She turned her head the other way and saw Joshua. He was sitting next to her bed. Now that she thought about it, she seemed to be in some kind of hospital.

<What happened to me?> she asked herself. Slowly the memories came back, Dusknoir, Roserade, Milotic. She sat up and looked around a bit more. On a table next to her was a metal bowl, for some reason. She picked it up and looked at her face.

She looked terrible. Her neck was marked with furious red bruises from where Dusknoir had strangled her and her face was bruised as well. Her legs were cut and her eyes had a haunted look, as if something was still following her.

<This is what that thing did to me,> she realised, looking at herself with something akin to horror. This sort of appearence was something she usually saw on hunted criminals.

She had never expected herself to look the same way. She shuddered and took Joshua's hand. She needed as much support as possible.