Tainted Innocence

  "A…world where Pokémon are liberated? Are you certain…?"

  The white creature nodded once, expression never changing since the first time he saw it. Yes. A world where humans and Pokémon are separated like black and white. A world where no human owns a Pokémon. A world where Pokémon roam free to their liking. Its tail swayed left and right, blank red eyes staring into the hopeful pair of greens.

  The perfect world. And all will come true in just a blink of an eye. It saw the hope in the boy's gaze. It saw the dreams the boy once dreamt. The playroom was empty as usual, with them being the two beings present. N stood in silence, mouth slightly parted to hear such an opportunity.

  And all you have to do, It slowly tilted its head as its gaze drilled into innocence's eyes, is make a contract with me!

---

  The world was perfect.

  N stood in complete pride. The Pokémon were seen frolicking and running about in the woods. Pidoves were chirping. Nidorans were napping. Truly the more he looked, he happier he felt. He stood on a thick branch, distance miles away from the Pokémon's habitat.

  His wish was fulfilled. His life was perfect.

  The humans stayed a clear distance from the Pokémon. They had not known of their existence. Even if one had put his foot in the enchanted forest, they would be magically transferred to another place in a blink of an eye. Their thoughts will be immediately rid of any information pertaining Pokémon. Only he was allowed to enter.

  His smile only grew wider. Yes. All was perfect. He had saved the Pokémon. He had given them the liberty they deserved.

  Nothing could ever go wrong.

---

  The witch roared manically. Its many arms stretched from behind, each were thick red as blood. It body was small and puny, body coated with deep shades of foul blood. Only a mouth was seen, positioned on top of its head. The bloody creature swished and swayed frantically as it slammed its arms on the ground.

  Standing a few feet away was a boy, ready and eager to end the vile creature's life. His body was clad green knightly armour, however one that suited to his liking. A green undershirt was worn, sleeves up to his wrists and the attire's length draping below his waist. Steel metal pads were placed on his shoulders, three sharp tiny thorns perching on each pad. A single piece of metal – one coloured like one of a Rubik's cube – was strapped on his left shoulder, covering a quarter of his left chest with the other strap flowing and ending on his right waist. Both his hands were covered with gloves, its ends being tied by yellow dangling bracelets.

  His pants were green as well, long to his ankles. A piece of light green clothing draped below his stomach. A yellow belt was strapped to his hips. A pair of dark green boots were worn, heels slightly thick and an inch tall. And finally, as one gazed up the boy's face, one could see a golden crown on top of his head. A bright peridot gem sparkled in the middle of the crown, shining brightly and elegantly as ever.

  "I'll end your life right here right now." N spoke coldly, lips twitching a hint of smirk. His cape swished majestically as he stretched his right arm, revealing an intimidating medieval-like sword. The witch continued to bellow and shriek, a thousand arms flailing about.

  Even though the sight was scary and dangerous, N didn't feel scared at all.

  In fact, he felt braver than ever.

---

  "Who are you?!" N froze as he saw an unfamiliar stranger patting a Blitzle. His feet were stuck to the ground, bewildered to realize that a human had succeeded in entering the enchanted forest.

  She looked by her side, quite surprised herself that she wasn't the only human present. "O hey! Nice to meet you!"

  His emerald eyes only grew wider. "Nice to what- You are violating this sacred place! I demand that you leave at once." His voice was stern and sharp, icy and cold as he commanded the female intruder.

  Her aqua eyes were wide to hear such a rude exclamation. "Don't tell me what to do!" White shouted back, one hand on her hip and lips pulling an annoyed frown.

  The more she fought back, the more he began to feel infuriated. "Humans are not allowed to be here. They are only allowed to exist outside of his barrier, never to set their foot in this paradise. Now leave." His right hand tightly gripped his Soul Gem, more than ready if things got a bit bloody.

  His heart froze as the brunette chuckled and added, "You're human too, even if you're a magical child."

  Realization soon hit N in the face. The girl standing before him knew what he was. Unwarily, his eyes wandered to her right eye, which held an odd symbol in her iris. A cocky grin painted her lips. The sight brought another wave of intimidation to N, thus toying with his perfect patience. "I am special! Now leave!"

---

  "How…" He asked over and over, eyes staring at the bloody carcass in stricken fear. The Snubbull's eyes were wide as they could be, her right eyeball almost popping out of its socket. Her jaw was horrifyingly ripped open until the lower part was nowhere to be seen. Blood covered the Pokémon's pink body. Her arm was twisted backwards. Her left leg was ripped off and was seen dangling on a branch nearby. Some of her fur was missing, revealing nothing but pink gooey flesh and rotten cracked bones.

  "Why…" N mouthed pathetically, heavy tears streaming down his face. It dripped on the disgusting corpse. Feeling weak, he finally fell to his knees, earning him a thick 'splash'. Blood was everywhere. Flesh was splattered. Bones were chipped. His body wouldn't stop trembling, shaking hands moving up to his hair. "Why…"

  "N…" He heard her voice. However, he gave no sudden movement, eyes only on the unfortunate. "I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't know witches can enter the forest. I swear to Arceus if I did, I would have… We would have…" White stopped, mouth hanging and forming a sullen frown. She heard a heartbroken sob, which then turned into broken wails in matter of minutes.  

  "N…" Her heart broke to see such a devastating scene. Her arms shook into fists. The Pokémon in the forest hid in the shadows, all feared the heinous monster and grieved over the loss of their friend. Slowly White moved one hand toward him, wanting to give his shoulder a comforting squeeze. However, she stopped and froze as she heard another cry, one that easily shattered what's left of her pride.

  "N, we'll find that witch. I promise you." Her tears began to form, circling around her eyes. "We will find that witch and avenge the poor Pokémon."

  But no matter how loud White was speaking; no matter how much she assured the greenette, N didn't hear a peep. All he could hear was the sound of his cries. All he could see was the blood of his friend. All he could smell was the stench of death.

  All he could feel was complete guilt.

---

  I did this… I did this to my friend… I killed her, not the witch. If it weren't for me…If it weren't for me making that wish, my friend should be alive by now. She should have been protected by everyone; Pokémon and humans. She should have been safe from the wrath of the witch. She should have been smiling and laughing alongside the Pokémon she loved.

  But now, she's dead and lifeless. She's gone forever. Her death was cruel and painful, even traumatizing my other friends.

  She's dead.

  And it's all my fault.

  It's…all…my…fault…

---

  "No…" White froze in horror as she stood inside the barrier. It was a child's playroom. Toys were seen everywhere, even floating about without destination. A gigantic toy train was seen by her left side, moving forward and backward for Arceus knows how many times. Weird creatures were seen running and laughing about. Squinting her eyes, White soon realized that the odd beings looked like Pokémon, some even shaped into a Snubbull.

  "Oh Arceus…" She gasped with one hand cupping her mouth. The floor was colourful as the rainbow, though tiles were shattered and broken as if someone had punched the ground. Suddenly, an eerie sound echoed from a distance. The sound held a shattered tune, crackling and even hinting a voice of a child's lost prayer.

  Her hands moved to her ears, covering them from the frightful tune. "Stop that!" She screamed, though knowing that it was pointless. The sound only got louder and louder, getting slower and slower in the process. "Dammit!"

  She heard a cry, and she immediately knew who it was.

  Quickly White snapped her eyes open and looked forward. There, sitting a few feet away was a small, green-haired child. His back was facing her. His head was down, staring at nothing in particular.

  "N…" She murmured softly, trying to ignore the song from the air. "N wake up!" she shouted as she ran toward him, hands tightly gripping her katana blades. "N wake- What the…" A few steps away from the kid, White halted immediately as the boy twisted his head around, his body not even moving an inch.

  What she saw next both horrified and saddened her.

  The child's eyes were gone, showing empty black sockets. His mouth posed a painfully tight line. Blood drooled from the empty sockets, dripping and dropping to the smiling tiles.

  Her legs acting out of reflex, she took a few steps backwards. "N no…" Her body began to shiver, heart breaking into a million pieces. The child's gaze was hollow, showing no expression whatsoever. "Oh Arceus. N please wake the fuck up-"

  "HahahahehehEHUHUHAHAHAHHHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

  The child laughed manically, mouth ripped open as if it had been sewed. The brunette felt her skin prickle up to the back of her spine. Suddenly, without warning, his neck stretched and swirled like rope. His head grew wider and bigger. His small fragile body exploded like fireworks, revealing a giant gold and black Rubik's cube with a sword-like crank on its side. His neck bounced and sprung like a spring, the other end connected to the huge cube. His sockets remained empty. Only his mouth had changed, now forming the widest, scariest smile she had ever seen.

  "AHAHAHHHEEEHAHAHAHHAAAAA!!!"

  She heard him cackle madly. The spooky child had transformed into one of Jack-in-the-box. It laughed and screamed and chortled and chuckled. The head frantically swayed around, dead hollow eyes glaring at its prey.

  White only stood in dumbstricken shock. "Oh my-" Her eyes widened as she saw hundreds of swords floating from the witch's behind. Tilting its head once, the swords plunged toward her, each tip impending to her doom.

  Luckily, she was able to hop back to reality and jump away. The swords crashed to the tiled floor, even hitting a few toys and dropping into a dark pit. White landed gracefully, legs bent to meet her balance. She quickly looked at the witch. It continued to laugh and giggle, head swaying crazily and mouth gaping dreadfully.

  "N…" His name flowed from her gasp. She stood properly, body shaking to see what grief had turned him. "Oh Arceus I'm so sorry," she apologized breathily, a single tear streaming down her face. "You shouldn't go through this. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be human." Her fingers tightly gripped her blades. Her teeth gritted as she held back a sob.

  "You're not a warped monster…" Her breathing hitched as she saw it cackled into the ceiling, only intensifying the gruesome melody's volume.

  Eyes closing, she slowly took one breath and exhaled through her mouth. Her breathing quivered. Her heart pounded in her chest. "I'll help you. Don't worry." She muttered sadly, mouth forcing an assured smile. "You won't have to feel sad again. I got your back." Opening her beautiful aqua eyes, White looked at the witch.

  Legs ready to sprint and blades ready to attack, White focused her eyes on the one person whose innocence had been robbed. "I'm always here for you, N…"

END.