4 Awakening

[Where am I?], a thought emerged within the vast nothingness, it sounded confused and insecure, and as quite as a whisper.

"I would love to have a Pikachu when I become a trainer hihihi!", vague voices and visions appeared in the dark surroundings, creating a feeling of familiarity.

[What has happened ...], the disembodied voice wondered to itself.

"Atiqo, please be more diligent in your studies, the company needs you!"

[Atiqo ...], that name, it felt important ... but why?

"Son, cough, when I am gone, promise you will be there for them. You will be the man of the family then!"

[No ....], a sudden pain ran through its mind, pain and sorrow, but where did it come from?

"Who bullied you? You will definitely become a Pokemon Trainer Brendon! I will make it possible, I promise!"

[Brendon ... I promised you, I-I have to ...], it felt like he remembered something, grasped something, but it was a feeling without substance. Just a touch of a memory.

"Is he a walking corpse?! Is this the walking dead?!"

[He, who is he ... there was a watch ... ]

"Huh, huh, the Viridian Forest is bigger than I thought. I hope I will find the Pikachu sooner than later. I promised you Brendon! I will make it possible ... at least for you!"

[What is going on?]

"The Pokemon World, huh, so it's real!"

[Who is this?!]

"I am sorry dad. I failed you, I failed them all!"

[WHO AM I ??!!]

"Auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!"

[AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!]

............................

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!", a scream resounded throughout the room and was heard even far beyond the hallway.

Within that room a boy had awoken, his body soaked in hot sweat and a white clinical gown stuck to his skin like sticky honey.

In the beginning the boy didn't really understand where he was. He couldn't even see clearly, his eyes hadn't adjusted to the light yet. Black and White, that's what his brain told him his environment looked like. He rubbed his eyes with his hands a little. Then Gray came into play as well, more shapes were visible now, objects with depth appeared suddenly.

After a while a big body clashed into him. Two smaller bodies joined the bigger one as well. He couldn't hear them clearly. He only felt a very warm and tight hug. Droplets of water ran down his cheeks. He wondered where they were coming from.

And then in the next moment his face abruptly turned to the right. A burning sensation filled his face and a force like a 'slap' must have hit him. But right after the feeling of a warm hug embraced him again.

His hearing got better gradually and he could sense a couple of distinct but muffled voices:

After the warm feeling left him, his consciousness drifted again into his head and entered his dreams.

.....

"Bzzz ... Lad, can you hear me?", an unknown voice that brought a familiar feeling sounded out in his head, "Hey, haha, it seems like ... bzzz ... energy was barely enough ... Bzzz ... we had to do an emergency landing ... what is important is ... bzzz ... energy crystals ... bzzz ... the watch will help you so don't worry! ... you have to remember ... become stronger! Stay alive! ... bzzz ... I have to hibernate, so that the watch can keep working ... Whatever it is that you will face, I am sure that you will be able to handle it Atiqo!"

The name made him feel a certain resonance and remembrance, but it also sounded distant and unknown.

.....

He woke up again. The colours were now more distinct. And he had a better grasp of his surroundings now. He was sitting, no, lying on a bed. Some machines and tubes were connected to his body, but he felt quite good already. His whole body was bandaged, and some places were also casted with plasters.

Before him he could see two young children, a boy and a girl sleeping with their heads on his legs. He felt something warm flowing through his body when he saw them. Outside, the sky was blue and the sun shone through the window. A creature flew from the distance and arrived near his window. It had a small body and different feathers of brown colour on its body. It looked like a ...

"Pidgey!", he exclaimed out loud.

If he could, he would have run straight to the window and opened it up to take a closer look at this Pokemon. It felt unnatural for him to see a Pokemon up close, almost like a dream, yet it was right there.

"Klannnnnng", the sound of something hard falling on the ground could be heard to his left. He changed his line of sight and looked at the door. A brown haired middle-aged woman stood there. She must have let the tablet drop down accidentally. Her teary eyes were clearly visible and judging by her pale and tired look, it seemed she didn't take enough rest.

She walked out a couple of steps and raised her hand to hit him. Again.

He braced himself for the incoming impact ... but it didn't come.

She just lightly patted his head and cried silently her tears out.

"I am sorry Arthur. It was all my fault. I didn't pay enough attention to you all. Since your father's death, I had to keep working for the family but I didn't realize that I abandoned you instead. I am so sorry."

Arthur felt a stinging pain in his heart when he saw her weeping:

"No mum, it's my fault. I shouldn't have gone to the forest. It was stupid, and it was totally my mistake!", he regretted his decision. It had been immature and reckless now that he thought more about it. The world was even more dangerous than he assumed it would be.

"Why did you even go out that far? What stupid idea could make you walk into a death trap?! Seriously Arthur, going into a forest full of wild Pokemon?! Alone?! Without any emergency kit whatsoever?! This is a whole new level of recklessness!", his mother voiced out her opinion with an infuriating tone.

Suddenly, one of the two children lying on his side started moving and cried out loudly:

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"Boohoo! Boohoo! It was my fault! He did it because of me! I said I wanted to have a Pikachu, boohoo!"

Arthur was barely able to understand him under all that sobbing and crying.

He hit him lightly on the back of his head and scolded him for a moment:

"Shut up Brendon! You're a man! And men don't cry! Ok? Besides, I didn't do it because of you, I did it for you! Someone in our family has to become a Pokemon Trainer, so you have to be strong and make us proud, ok?"

After that he embraced that small boy in his arms. Again a warm feeling flowed through his veins and body. It felt good.

Yet, Brendon didn't stop crying at all, instead he got even louder. Next to him, the small girl also awoke from her slumber and when she realized the situation she also joined him in his actions. Arthur had to make way now for two small bodies. They clung unto him and didn't let go no matter what, as if they were afraid he would leave them again if they did so.

The strength in his body gradually left him again, and his sight faded more and more. His mother sensed it and told the children off:

"Stop now, your brother is obviously hurt and has to rest. Leave him for now, you can talk to him later."

Arthur felt grateful as his body slipped back into the bed and his mind wandered off.

....

The next time he awoke, he was back again in that same room. This time there was nobody else besides him. It was dark outside, but the moonlight shone through the windows and brightened the room inside. The machines weren't connected to him anymore and the tubes and needles were gone as well.

He felt healthy and strong. Strong enough to stand up. He walked around and stepped up to the mirror on the other wall. It looked normal and minimalistic, standard hospital equipment. But what actually perplexed Arthur was his mirror image.

A young man stood there with crossed arms, at least two heads taller than him. He had bright looking eyes and a mysterious smile on his face. His black hair fitted well to his brown tanned skin. He seemed familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before. They looked at each other for some time. Then suddenly the young man chuckled lightly and mumbled faintly but clearly:

"What the hell have I gotten myself into, hahaha ...."

The image changed and now there was a middle-aged man standing in front of him, with silver long hair and bright blue eyes staring at him. He didn't say anything. He just looked at him as if he was trying to solve a puzzle or a riddle, yet he failed to grasp the truth.

Then the image faded into dust. The mirror faded into dust. And the whole room faded as well. Arthur plunged down into nothingness, he screamed out his lungs but no sound came out. His body was pushed back and forth, in one direction then in another.

Different forces pulled on his body, and he felt like he was thrown into a rapid stream that didn't let him rest for even a moment. His vision warped from what it was used to. His hands started to lose colour and became one with the dark. Then his legs and arms followed as well. In the end there was nothing left of him, yet he was still there in this endless chaos.

His mind was in shambles and in this endless ocean of dark he was the only light left. No, next to him, he realised, was another smaller light. It flickered fast and erratically. A robotic voice sounded out in his mind:

[Bzzz, system announcement, energy reserves running low, host in critical condition, initiate psionic barrier around host's soul, request host to permit emergency landing to the closest stable location, bzzz!]

A roaring voice responded:

"Permission granted, go% damn! Get us the fu#€ out of here!!!"

[Permission received, locking onto the nearest and most stable coordinates]

[Coordinates found and locked unto, host prepare for landing in 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 ...]

Then he felt another huge force taking control of the rest of what was left of him, it pulled him into some unknown location and his surroundings brightened up gradually till he saw the endless blue sky before him. It was an amazing feeling, he felt like a bird, free in the whole world up above.

And then he fell. Rapidly to the ground.