Whispers in the Dark「Pokemon Fanfiction」

Nɪɴᴇᴛᴇᴇɴ • Tᴀɢ Aʟᴏɴɢ

Chapter Nineteen: Tag Along

They were back in the portal.

It was ironic—the first time they'd been trapped in this space, floating, falling, unable to do anything, she'd been downright terrified. Now, however, she was more than glad to see the fiendish rip in space that Celebi had managed to conjure.

She remembered the last words that the carrot-haired girl had spoken—"she did it." That meant success. Whatever it meant, she was almost certain that they were on their way back.

No one else was in sight—she couldn't see any trace of Ryou or the mysterious child around. Then again, it could have been a trick that the void was playing on her—maybe her friends were here, just veiled from her sight.

Still, the dizzying vastness of the expanse scared her—it mirrored the black void that her replica had trapped her in, except that large streaks of white were painted over the dark canvas—seeming to reassure her that this portal wasn't bad in any way.

The feeling of pure, hollow emptiness remained, though—her heart provided the one source of sound with a dull, monotonous thunk, and she could feel the panic bristling at the back of her mind as she fell.

For now, it stayed obedient, Celeana having kept it in check and pushing it to a room of her brain that she hardly accessed, but it wouldn't stay that way forever.

She could feel it like a pair of scales that balanced out the two ends—two "halves—of her emotions. If she wasn't careful, the general happiness in her heart would disappear, anxiety all too eager to devour her soul. If she fought too hard to dispel the negativity, it wouldn't result in anything pretty—thus, she and her panic maintained a level of grudging acceptance.

That acceptance, however, wasn't easy to maintain, and all it needed was a small push to send it over the edge. And she could tell that right then, the scales were tipping ever so slightly in the other's favour.

Calm down, she ordered herself. We're safe—all I have to do is wait and we'll be back in Sapphire's house. It's OK. It's alright...

Her eyelids drooped, and despite what common sense spat at her—awake equals alive, awake equals alive—she felt an inexplainable urge to close her eyes and take a quick nap. Perhaps it was the hypnotic, rolling motions of her surroundings, or the heaviness that her body had acknowledged from all the timelines—she didn't quite know; and she didn't bother to know as she slipped into the blissful world of sleep once more.

• • •

Celeana awoke with a start.

The sudden jump back into reality, no matter how welcome it seemed, was a little too jarring for her mind to process, and she startled as she was met with the familiar sight of cream walls that was accented with a bold touch of dark ruby and sapphire.

Her limbs ached, and her brain was muted—it took the girl a few long moments for her to register that she was in the room that she'd found the comatose child in.

Still, her head throbbed with a dull ache, still spinning from the minutes—hours?—that she had spent in purgatory—at least, that was what the portal had felt like. It was far more refreshing, though, than the black space she'd unwillingly remembered—at least this world wasn't going to melt away.

Where are the others?

As if on cue, a mumbled noise sounded out above her, and the coordinator pulled herself into a sitting position—albeit with much reluctance—and stared at the carrot-haired girl peering back down at her.