"... ven... St... ven... Steven? Steven?"

   My return to conciousness was not a pleasant one. The voice I heard sounded like nails on a chalkboard and it added another stab of pain to my already aching head. As my senses returned to me, numerous aches and pains throughout my body began making their presence known, and it almost made me wish I were still unconscious.

"Steven?"

While irritating, the voice sounded so familiar. Along with it, I heard a droning, rhythmic beeping. Wait, where am I? I slowly opened my eyes, wincing at the light that stung them, and struggled to sit up. I could tell by how the sound echoed that I must have been indoors.

"He's awake!" the voice squealed joyfully. It was horribly grating and I clutched my head in my hands, feeling like it was about to break apart at any second from the intense pain. I didn't remember hitting my head, why did it hurt so much? I felt a slight tug in my left wrist when I had moved my arm, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw an IV stuck deep into my skin.

   "C-could you please not do that?" I asked in a pain-filled tone, gritting my teeth in an attempt to not cry out. What's going on? Where is this? Why am I here? The questions filled my mind and only seemed to increase in number the more I became more aware of my surroundings.

   "I'm sorry!" the person responded. Who the voice belonged to then registered with me and I recognized it within an instant.

   "It's fine, Winona. I know you didn't mean to do it," I said. I lifted my head and tried to smile at the bright eyed twelve year-old standing next to me. A look of relief crossed her face and she returned my smile.

   Like I had thought, I was indoors in what looked like a hospital room. I was laying in the room's only bed and other than the standard furniture and equipment that a hospital room normally contained, there was nothing else.

   "It's good to see you're back with us again." I looked away from Winona to see Wallace standing on the other side of the room. He was leaning against the wall and when I met his gaze, he gave me an easy smile. "You were out for quite a while," he said.

   "Um, where is this exactly?" I asked.

   "We're in Dewford's Pokémon Center," Wallace responded. "If you're worried about your father being called, I said you wouldn't have wanted him to be contacted. Luckily, the nurse seemed to buy it. I'll be back in a second, I'm going to tell her you're awake." He stepped away from the wall and left the room.

"Thank you," I said. I was more than thankful knowing that Wallace acknowledged the fact that I didn't want dad to know where I was. I then realized that it was only Winona and I in the room. "Where's Meteor?" I asked, alarmed.

   "I dunno. The nurse took all of your stuff and stored it someplace," Winona said with a shrug. "I know she wouldn't hurt him, so you don't have to worry!"

   "You don't understand, I always have to have Meteor with me," I said. I called out to him with my mind and upon not getting a response, another stab of panic struck me. The beeping coming from the heart monitor sped up in time with my pulse. I could still sense his presence, so that meant he was in my general area. That knowledge didn't help much, though. It wasn't the same as him being physically with me, Poké Ball or not.

   "Then you can ask the nurse when she comes back with Wallace," Winona said, clearly not understanding my situation.

   There was no use in making Winona concerned about me so I gave up and tried to calm myself down. I clenched my eyes shut and focused on steadying my breathing as I knew I was on the brink of hyperventilating.

Calm down, calm down! Panicking won't make things better, it won't solve anything, just calm down! It took all the strength I had to not let Winona know something was wrong.

   After what felt like centuries, Wallace came back with the nurse. By then I had somehow managed to get my heart rate partially under control and it didn't immediately look like I was on the verge of a panic attack. The nurse's greeting might as well have been muted because I didn't hear it. "Where are my Pokémon?" I asked as calmly as I could, the haste in which I delivered my words negating whatever tranquility I forced into them.

   "They're in safekeeping along with the other belongings you had when you were brought in," the nurse reassured me. "You didn't seem to have your Trainer ID with you, so you'll have to go back to Littleroot Town and get a replacement from Professor Birch."

   "S-sure, sure," I stuttered. I hardly understood what she had said, the only thing I could think about was my partner. "Can I please have my Metang?" I couldn't hide my panic. I needed Meteor, I needed him now.

   "Pokémon are not allowed in the Trainer's Ward, it's against the rules."

   "I need him to be with me!" I argued. Why doesn't she get it? Why can't she break the rules this one time?

   The nurse gave me a sympathetic smile. "Rules are rules, I can't break them. I'm sorry, young man," she said, trying to reason with me. Obviously enough, her words went unnoticed by me.

   "No, you don't understand. I can't be separated from him, I can't!" I was practically hysterical at this point and completely unaware of how insanely desperate I sounded when I asked for Meteor. My hands were clenched so tightly that my nails dug deep into my palms, creating painful indents, and my eyes were wide with panic. The nurse seemed to get that I was seconds away from breaking down because she said she would get my Pokémon and hurriedly left the room.

   The few minutes I had to wait were pure and utter hell. With every second that passed, I felt worse. It felt as if a vital part of me were missing and that I would die without it, or him in this case. Wallace and Winona tried their best to keep me calm, but their efforts were akin to trying to quell a raging fire with a simple cup of water. I knew this was more than childish. Acting like this would solve nothing, but I couldn't help it.

   Finally, finally, the nurse returned. I was briefly snapped out of my self-induced misery when I saw the two minimized Poké Balls on the small tray she was holding. One was Meteor's while the other, a red and blue striped Great Ball, must've held Silvette. The nurse placed the tray on the side table next to the bed and bowed slightly.

I thanked her and madly scrambled to grab Meteor's Poké Ball. I wasted no time in enlarging it and letting him out. The bright flash the device produced lasted only a moment and I was overjoyed to see my precious Pokémon once it faded.

   "Meteor!" I cried my partner's name joyfully. Without a second thought I flung myself at him and wrapped my arms around one of his, nearly falling out of bed as I did so. It was like hugging a rock but I didn't care. He was here with me and that was all that mattered. Wave after wave of relief washed over me and for a few seconds I allowed myself to drown in bliss. I was dimly aware of the nurse saying that she would be back in a little bit before leaving the room.

   Oh my Arceus, you have no idea how worried I was! Meteor gasped.

   "Well, I'm fine now. Aren't you glad?" I responded, letting go of him.

Yeah, of course I am, but maybe this wouldn't have happened if you told me you weren't feeling okay! Meteor said, half-fuming.

   "I didn't want you to worry," I said, shocked at his anger.

How could I not? After everything that happened, you expected me to think you were fine? You're such an idiot! I thought you were dead! And if you were... I don't know what I would have done! His voice abruptly took on a somber tone. I can't imagine life without you...

   I froze up, not sure of what to say to that. I never knew Meteor cared for me that much. Up until now, I thought he cared about me because Pokémon were supposed to watch out for their Trainers. I only clung to him the way I did because he was the one friend I ever really had. I didn't think he felt the same about me. A feeling of shame came over me and I did the only thing I could think to do in this situation. "I'm sorry, Meteor," I apologized.

   Meteor sighed, It's alright. As long as you start being truthful with me.

   I tried to take Meteor's advice as often as I could, it gave me some odd sense of reassurance. And even though I didn't want to this time, it would only make him disappointed if I didn't. I couldn't stand the thought of that happening. I didn't want to disappoint anyone ever again. I'll... I'll try to, I said, purposefully responding through telepathy. If I had tried to say the words aloud, I couldn't have done it.

   "I knew you were attached to your Metang, just not that much," Wallace remarked. I had forgotten that he and Winona were here, and I felt guilty for ignoring them.

   "He's my best friend, he was my inspiration for becoming a Trainer," I said. It then occurred to me how strange this situation was right now. I didn't think anyone knew where I was in Granite Cave, and neither Meteor nor Silvette could have fit through the crack in the passage wall. How could anyone have found me? "Wallace... how did I get here exactly?"

   "A girl named Arietta found you on one of the north beaches and brought you in," he replied.

   "Arietta?" I gasped when I heard the name of the girl who had rescued me and Meteor from Valerie.

   "Do you know her?" Wallace asked.

   "Somewhat. I met her on Route 104 a week ago. It was right before I met you and Winona."

   "A week? It's been a while since we met you, more than a week."

   "How? We arrived in Dewford yesterday or something, and I couldn't have been missing for too long."

   Wallace's eyes widened. "You... " He stopped himself, hesitating before talking again. I became concerned with his reaction. I wasn't gone for that long, right? I looked at Meteor and he shrugged in response. Wallace seemed to find his words and said something that shocked me. "You were missing for a full day, and you were brought here yesterday," he said slowly.

   "What..?" I wasn't sure if I heard him correctly. Two days? That couldn't be right. I had no memory of ever waking up between when I first passed out and when I woke up here, meaning that I was unconscious the entire time. And if I was, how did I end up on the north beach? My mind could hardly process this new information and I was beginning to feel light-headed. Wallace noticed I was unstable and put his hand on my shoulder to steady me.

   "Do you need to lay back down? You're trembling," he said.

   "I'm fine, really. I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed," I replied, shaking my head.

   "Hello?"

   We all looked over at the door and I was shocked at who I saw. It was Arietta. She stood in the doorway with an uncertain look on her pale face. Once she saw who we were, the uncertainty turned to relief. "Okay, this is the right room," she sighed.

   "Arietta? What are you doing here?" I asked.

   "I wanted to say hello and ask how you were doing. It wouldn't exactly be polite if I didn't," she replied.

You're the nice girl that helped us! Meteor said. Thank you so much, I don't know what could've happened if you didn't.

   Arietta smiled, not at all surprised to hear a Pokémon speaking to her telepathically. "You're welcome, Meteor. Though next time, I think you and your Trainer owe me a favor." She winked, smiling mischievously. She turned her attention to Wallace and Winona. "I don't believe we've met before," she said.

   "I'm Wallace, and this is my sister Winona. It's nice to meet you, Arietta."

   "You're really pretty, Miss Arietta!" Winona commented.

   Arietta's eyes widened in surprise. "Thank you, I don't usually hear anyone tell me that," she said, blushing. Winona giggled and struck up a conversation with the teen. I was surprised at how Arietta was acting. When I had first met her, she had a no-nonsense attitude and was outright threatening people. But now she was the calmest I had ever seen someone be. It was like she was a completely different person.

She's quite the social Beautifly, huh? Meteor said.

You're right, I replied.

   Why not get in on the conversation? It's obvious you want to talk to her.

   Now that Meteor was with me, my anxiety had subsided and I was back to putting up with his quips. I wasn't saying that I missed it... but I had missed it. He wasn't wrong, I did want to talk to her if only to ask her a question or two. I rolled my eyes and ignored Meteor's last comment, trying to change the subject. How did we get out of Granite Cave? I'm pretty sure you couldn't squeeze back through the passage entrance.

Well, I thought you had screwed us over at first. My Bullet Punches couldn't put a dent in those walls, and don't worry, I didn't touch any of the symbols or that painting. So I decided to wait for you to wake up. Problem was, you didn't. The only thing you did was talk in your sleep about how hot you felt and that the world was burning. I then got the idea to widen the hole in the ceiling. It worked and we got out that way. We ended up on some beach and Arietta found us a few minutes later.

   Of course, I had no memory of this either. I may have just not remembered whatever dream Meteor was talking about, but it was unsettling all the same. It was reminiscent of the vision I had in the cave. I can't thank Arietta enough, I sighed internally.

   "What do you think, Steven?" Wallace's voice snapped me out of my conversation with Meteor and I stuttered out a startled, "Pardon?"

   "I want to go battle Justine," he said simply.

   Talk about being abrupt. And while I was surprised to hear him be so blunt, I wasn't one to tell others what they could or couldn't do. "Oh, okay. Good luck then," I said with a shrug.

   "Thanks, I'll be sure to tell Justine that you're okay," Wallace promised.

   "Do I have to go too?" Winona asked, her tone edging on a whine.

   "You don't have to come with me. I thought you would want to practice-battle or something. Try to train with Combusken more." Wallace shrugged. Winona's eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically.

   "Okay! She'll practice her Fire moves, and we won't have to worry about setting any trees on fire. I'll see ya later!" Winona waved to me before she ran out of the room.

   "Oh dear, I'd better catch her before she does something crazy," Wallace muttered. "I'll see you later." He ran after Winona, shouting at her to wait for him.

   "Your friends are quite amusing," Arietta giggled. "It makes me wish I were still on my own journey."

   "Aren't you going to leave too?" I asked.

   "Do you want me to? We never finished our conversation from last time and I thought we could get to know each other better," Arietta said.

   While shocked, I wasn't going to make her leave if she didn't want. Though the thought of having this mostly-unfamiliar girl in here with me did make me feel antsy and I hoped that I wouldn't make things awkward. I wasn't really one for starting conversations with strangers. Other than that, I guess the strangeness of a girl at least a year older than me being alone with me didn't really faze me. After all, I was used to being around adults. "I guess you could stay. As long as it doesn't interrupt your plans or something," I said.

Wow, you didn't ask for my input, Meteor said, sounding impressed. Old habits die hard, huh?

   I don't know what you're talking about, I replied, returning him to his Poké Ball. He thankfully didn't object to me doing this.

   Arietta gave me a kind smile and sat down in one of the chairs the room provided. She sat there with her hands clasped in her lap, not saying a thing. She seemed to be waiting for me to talk. It felt like I was standing under a spotlight, the eager crowd awaiting my performance. I panicked and instead of asking a normal icebreaker question, I asked something concerning the only real subject I was comfortable talking about, business. "So where do you work?" I asked.

   "Out of all the things you could've asked first, you pick that?" Arietta arched an eyebrow. "This is going to be interesting, I can tell. If you really want to know, I work at a locally-run battling company in Lilycove where I live. I also have a home both there and in Slateport. Well, the one in Slateport is technically still owned by my father, but it'll be mine later on."

   "You own a house? That's rather impressive," I commented, pushing to the back of my mind that my family had owned quite a few homes at the same time themselves, including vacation homes. But I was in no position to flaunt my family's wealth.

   "It's like they tell you, you need to work hard if you want to have a good life," Arietta said. "Ugh, now I sound like a life coach!" She laughed to herself for a second. "But back to what you asked before, where I work is like a place for Trainers to practice their skills. Like if they can't find anyone to battle, they can pay a fee for different amounts of battles, or "Rounds" as they call them. I'm one of the people that can be battled."

   So she was essentially a professional battler? I had a feeling that Gym Leaders and such weren't the only types of people that battled as their actual jobs. That was perhaps something I could do for a living... Who was I kidding, Dad wouldn't allow that.

   "Since you started off with a random question, I guess I'll return the favor," Arietta said. "Are you from Rustboro? You seem like you're a city person."

   "You could say that. Technically, I'm from Mossdeep. My family moved to Rustboro when I was seven because my dad had his job relocated."

   Arietta raised her eyebrows, clearly interested. "Really? Well, I guess this links back to your first question. Where does your dad work?"

   I paused before answering. I couldn't tell Arietta that Dad was the president of Devon. Unlike Wallace and Winona, I hadn't known Arietta for too long. I didn't like the idea of lying to her but I didn't want to risk revealing anything that could lead to dad finding out where I was. "He's a manager at Devon," I finally said. It wasn't a complete lie, and it was the first thing that came to mind.

   "Oh wow, he's a pretty important person then! Is he always busy?"

   "Pretty much. While I was still at home, I only ever saw him at night or early in the morning."

   "Do you miss him at all?"

   The smile I'd been trying to hold fell when she said that, a look of contemplation and slight discomfort taking its place. Did I miss Dad? Back when Meteor asked me if I missed my parents, I had said that I only missed Mom, and at the time it was true. What Dad had said about taking away Meteor had hurt me so deeply that I didn't even consider him as someone I could miss. And even now... I felt the same way. It may have sounded heartless for me to think of my own father in such a way, but I still did nonetheless.

"No, I don't miss him," I said with a firm shake of my head. "Besides, it's not like I can really talk to him now. I... wasn't exactly on good terms with him when I left home."

   "Oh..." Arietta trailed off and we both fell silent. Once again, I had gone and made a conversation awkward. I knew I shouldn't have talked about Dad or brought him up in the first place. I actually wanted to make a good impression and I screwed it up! Why was talking with people so difficult? What did I have to do just to have a normal exchange with someone?

   Desperate to break the silence, I asked Arietta the question I'd been wanting to ask for a while. "Um, Arietta? How did you see me and my Pokémon on the beach? I questioned Wallace and Meteor but they couldn't give me a full answer."

   Arietta's face brightened. "Oh, that's a story in of itself! I was skydiving when I saw Meteor," she said nonchalantly.

   My eyes widened. "Skydiving?" I didn't bother hiding my surprise. Arietta didn't seem like the kind of person who would do anything crazy, let alone skydiving.

   "I was flying over Dewford on my Altaria on my way to Petalburg, and I thought I'd try some on-the-fly skydiving!" She laughed slightly at her attempt at a joke. "I told my Altaria to catch me and I jumped off her. Then before I fell too far, she caught me. It was great, I felt like I was actually flying on my own! I have no idea why I hadn't thought of trying it before."

   "Okay, that explains one thing..." I muttered, still surprised at what Arietta had said.

   "It was during one of these jumps when I saw what looked like a Metang on one of the beaches near Granite cave. I flew down to investigate, and I saw you and an Aron not too far away. I knew it was you the moment I saw you. Ice-blue isn't exactly a common hair color," she giggled.

   "What's wrong with my hair?" I asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

   "Nothing, I was joking with you!" she laughed. "Anyways, I found you and I figured that your Beldum had evolved into the Metang I saw. He introduced himself and gave me a quick run-down of what happened. I knew that I had to get you help as soon as I could. I couldn't find a Poké Ball for your Aron so I caught her. After that I flew you and your Pokémon over here, and everything resolved itself," Arietta finished.

   Finally, I had the whole story. It only took three separate people/Pokémon to explain it but I had it... and I was more confused than I had been in the past few days. Not wanting to pressure her for answers she obviously didn't know, I thanked Arietta for her help and changed the subject.

   We talked about random things concerning Pokémon and other similar topics. I also found out that she really liked collecting seashells, which was something I could relate considering my obsession with rocks. By now I was used to Arietta and she was a very easy person to talk to. It was almost like I was talking with a friend I hadn't seen in years.

   An undeterminable amount of time passed and Wallace and Winona came back. Wallace's jacket sported a glittering Knuckle Badge and Winona was holding a small paper bag. Winona held the bag out to me, smiling cutely.

   "I thought you'd be hungry so I bought you this," she said proudly.

   "She insisted on paying for it too," Wallace added as he admired his second badge.

   At the mention of food my stomach growled fiercely, and it then dawned on me that I hadn't eaten a thing in literally two days. I gratefully accepted the bag from Winona and placed it on the side table. And while I was tempted to, I didn't want to be rude and start eating in front of everyone.

   "I think I'll get going," Arietta said, standing up from her chair. "I'll be staying in Dewford tonight and that means we might see each other again before I leave. I need to get back to Slateport."

   "That's where we're going tomorrow. Maybe you'd like to catch the ride over with us?" I blurted out, genuinely not wanting to say goodbye just yet.

   "That'd be nice. I haven't been on a boat in so long, it'll be nice to experience that ride again. I guess I'll see you tomorrow!" She winked and left the room, closing the door behind her.

   "What was that about? You don't even know if the nurse would allow you to be released tomorrow, and you ask Arietta to come with us?" Wallace asked.

   I shrugged, not too sure of how to explain it. "She's a nice person and I'd like to talk to her some more. What's wrong with that? And besides, who says I couldn't be released? I feel perfectly fine now." I couldn't ignore my hunger any longer and tore open the bag, pleasantly surprised to find a small container of ramen noodles. I had always preferred simple meals over anything fancy. "Is it okay if I..." I trailed off, eying the still-warm container.

   "Sure, go ahead," Wallace said dismissively, waving his hand in an "I don't care," manner. "Politeness isn't always needed, you know?" he said.

   "I can't really help it," I said. "My dad taught me that politeness always comes before necessity."

   Dad knows best. The thought popped into my mind and I instantly became irritated. Why did I even bother thinking of that anymore? You know what? Screw it! I then proceeded to scarf down the food like a ravenous Poochyena. What was stopping me? Dad wasn't here to tell me not to, and on top of that, it filled me with a smug sense of odd satisfaction.

   Right after I had finished, I felt horribly embarrassed for doing that in front of my friends. I could momentarily overcome one or two of my social issues and not regret it, but manners were definitely out of the question for me. "Sorry about that," I said sheepishly, gingerly placing the now-empty container and fork on the side table.

   "No problem," Wallace said. "Though it was kind of startling to see you do something like that."

   "It was more funny to me!" Winona quipped. I felt my face heat up and I wholeheartedly regretted every decision I'd made in the last five minutes.

As if by some stoke of dignity-saving luck, the nurse showed up and said I needed to get some sleep along with ushering Wallace and Winona out of the room.

   "I guess we'll see you tomorrow," Wallace said, turning to leave. Winona said good night and followed her brother out, leaving my Pokémon and I in the room. The nurse flicked the light switch and the room was plunged into darkness.

   I laid back and stared at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep. The building was eerily quiet and it made it harder for me to doze off. I hope you sleep well Meteor, I thought, hoping he would answer. He hadn't said a thing in hours and it worried me. I got nothing more then a quick, 'Night from him before he went silent again. I dismissed it as him being tired.

With the darkness and my numerous thoughts to keep me company, I couldn't fall asleep. My mind began to wander, eventually bringing me to what had gotten me here in the first place, the vision. It stuck in my mind like a cobweb and I couldn't stop thinking about it. The screams, the fire, the creature... I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep at all if I didn't get my mind off it. It took my exhaustion and any peaceful thoughts I could think of to relax me completely, and I somehow managed to drift off.