Ch. 12

We arrived at the center a little before day break. Just like all the other Pokemon centers we had been to, this one was in the heart of the city and was like a half domed building with a big P on the upper half of it. The lights were off, which meant that either they were either just opening or everyone was still asleep. I tried the doors only to find them locked. So I pounded on the doors for a little while, then a single light turned on and I could see something moving close to the light. A few moments later a shadow drew closer to the door. I saw that they were heading for this door.

I stepped back and waited. I heard the jingle of keys and then a click as the doors were unlocked. One of the doors opened a little and women around the age of 20 but I could be wrong; I was never a very good judge of age, opened the door.

"Why in the name of the Mew are you waking me up at this hour?" She looked down and saw the little guy that I was carrying.

"I know that it's late and I apologize for waking you, but I need to get this Riolu some help." The lady looked at the Riolu for a minute then I guess her eyes finally adjusted to the dark because.

"What in the world did you do to this Pokemon!?" She said in a rushed and harsh tone.

"Nothing I swear. I came upon a trainer who was beating this Riolu pretty badly. He kicked or threw it into the middle of the street and I happened by. I tried to patch up as best I could but I think it would be better if a professional were to look at these wounds."

"Wait a minute. You say that a trainer did this to his own Pokemon. And you just happened by at just the right time to help it. I don't believe you." She placed both her hands on her hips and gave me a harsh look.

"Well, if you believe me or not doesn't matter right now! The only thing that matters is this Pokemon and it's wounds. So could we lay off the blame and help this Riolu!?" She was a little taken back by my words, but after a while she relented and stepped aside. So we walked into the center and I saw that she had gone to a desk and was speaking into a microphone. A little later the nurse and the Chancy took the Riolu that was laying on the stretcher through some double doors and the syringe sign over the doors light up.

I found a chair near the doors and placed my pack down in the chair next to me. I sat down and when I did, Jenavee slid down and sat in my lap. It was about five minutes later when the light over the doors turned off and a yawning nurse walked through the doors. She finished yawning she looked over at me.

"Well I would have to say, you really know what your doing." I gave her a questioning look. "With bandaging that Pokemon's wounds. Did you have training in the healing arts?" I smiled.

"Actually I did have a little training in medicine, but that was a while ago." Jenavee looked up to me then lightly tugged on my shirt. I looked down at her and she looked up at me with a smirk. "Alright, I do have a little knowledge in the medical arts of Pokemon."

"Well either way, the Riolu that you brought in will be just fine after a good nights rest. You can go and rest in one of the open rooms up stairs, and in the morning you can pick her up and go." She finished the last part of what she said in a little bit of a rush. I guess she was still upset about being woken up this early. I nodded and she pointed to a set of stairs that were in the back of the building. "The trainer rooms are up those stairs, now some of us need our sleep. SO...GOOD...NIGHT!"

I didn't wait to hear if she had anything else to say to me so I picked up Jenavee and returned her to my shoulder and picked up my pack and went off to the trainer rooms to get some sleep. Once there I looked to see if I could find a room that was open. I saw that most of the doors had signs on them saying occupied but, at the end of the hallway I found one that said vacant. So I opened the door to a room that looked like a motel room. Two nightstands on either side of a queen bed, a chair just under the window, and a table with a chair. I set Jenavee down and she walked into the room and right over to the bed. With a graceful leap she landed on the bed then turned and faced me.

"Well I do not know about you but I am very tired and I am going back to bed. So goodnight master." She knew that I didn't want her to call me master but I knew that she was just tired and wanted to get back to sleep, so I nodded.

"Go right ahead. I'm going down to the ER to check on the Riolu then I will be back up here to join you." Jenavee nodded then slipped under the covers and closed her eyes. I smiled while closing the door and walked down to the ER.

Most of the way to the ER was dark as the nurse had probably turned off most of the lights, but their were a few lights that were still on, casting deep shadows around the area. I eventually found my way after taking a few wrong turns and bumping into a few walls. Their laying in a room covered in a small sheet was the Riolu fast asleep. I smiled and walked into the room and sat down in a chair on the far side of the room. I watched the Riolu breathing softly and wondering why had that trainer thrown away such a young Pokemon? Just then the Riolu started to whimper and kick it's legs. I guess it was having a nightmare, but thankfully she stopped a little later and relaxed.

I don't know how long I sat there just watching the Riolu sleep but eventually my eyes started to get heavy and I drifted off to sleep.

I drift off into a dream filled sleep. I'm in a open field surrounded by grassy plains and in one direction I can see the ocean and in the other a calm forest with its branches gently swaying in a warm breeze. I turn around to see a single tree with its branches spreading wide, inviting me to take a seat under its canopy. I can then feel the warmth of the sun on my back. I slowly make my way over to the tree and sat down under its wide branches. I look up and see the sun shinning through the shifting leaves. I close my eyes and smile, thinking I must have died and gone to heaven.

This place is so peaceful, so calm, so quiet. It reminds me of something long ago. Something that I had forgotten. I put that thought out of my mind and just enjoyed the moment. Then for some reason the thought comes back. A little more pressing this time. I guess my mind wishes to remember what I'd forgotten. My thoughts race. They jump from the first time I saw Jenavee and all the way up to when I saved the Riolu. But my mind pushes backwards. It wants to remember the village that I came from, my past.

So I push these thought out of my mind to try and enjoy this peaceful moment, but something is preventing me. Then a distant voice says for me to remember the village. The voice seems to come from somewhere far off, but the voice reaches me. I open my eyes and look around for the voice. Then the voice becomes a little insistent. This voice wants to know my past, my real past. Like it can read my mind.

I reply to the voice and say that this is my past. That is where I come from. The voice tells me to stop lying and reveal to it where I truly come from. The voice goes on to say that that village is only made up and it wants the truth. All of a sudden the landscape dies. In a flash the tree overhead withers in a blink of an eye, the grass turns brown, the forest changes to a long since dead forest, the sky becomes cloudy, and the air reeks of death and decay. The voice comes louder this time and says only two words. TELL ME!

I jerk my head up and my eyes snap open. I am back in the Pokemon center sitting next to the bed that the Riolu is sleeping in. The voice is still ringing in my ears. TELL ME, TELL ME, TELL ME, TELL ME. It slowly fades away as I become more awake. I look to the night stand next to the bed and realize that I had been asleep for about an hour. 'I should probably go to bed,' I think to myself. So I get up from the chair and kiss the Riolu goodnight and head back up stairs to my room. Man what a horrible nightmare, and it started off so nice too.

I still can't get the voice out of my head. A shiver runs up my spine. I just hope that when I go to sleep again that the dream wont come back.Chapter End Notes:Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended