National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help

CXXX: Goodnight Little Girl

"Hello Angela" Robin said. My meta-physic mouth hung open. Despite my lack of a heart, I could hear it pounding in my ears.

Creation had changed, from a blank white into a field. Completely flat, I could see for miles nothing but grass and rocks. Warm sun gently washed over me, and a small breeze caressed my skin.

Robin was dressed in a white pants suit. It was glowing, sun light didn't reflect off of it, light came from it. Her hair was washed and styled, her skin tanned. The thing that stood out most was her eyes. Robin's eyes had always looked empty to me, but today they laughed with joy, sparkled with tears.

"Robin, w-why are you here?" I asked, "H-how are you here?" I moved foreword, my feet treading lightly on grass. The grass bent but never broke, and it was softer then silk. I couldn't feel dirt, or rocks, just a life force underneath me.

"I brought her here" Not Meowth said. He stood behind me, his voice soothed me.

"At my request" Robin said. "I came to make you an offer Angela, one that I'm certain that you will except" She paused for a moment, "Sit Angela"

"Where?" Suddenly, a pair of armchairs emerged from the ground. They were over stuffed, but looked so comfortable, I just had to sit down.

They were comfortable, more so then anything I'd ever sat on when I was alive. I felt like I was floating on air, and in a way I suppose I was. I stretched my legs out, and a footstool appeared before I set them down again.

"I could sit here for ever" Robin giggled, "This place is amazing. I especially like this. Day" She clapped her hands, and suddenly the light vanished. Now a cold moon hung in the sky, standing out among a sea of stars. "Night. I could make it rain, I could...be happy"

"I know, it is amazing" I said, now smiling myself. "It, it's temporary though. It's like a crossroads, between earth, and the two unknowns"

"Three three three" Robin mumbled under her breath.

"What's that?"
"Nothing" Robin replied. "Angela, do you know what my life is going to be now? When the dust settles, and the drama stops, do you know where I'll be headed?"

"Well, no I guess not. Funny, I'm in this place where time is a solid, and I haven't bothered to look and see how my friends lives turn" Robin burst out crying. "What? What did I say?"

"You-You called me a friend" Robin whispered, turning to me. Her tears shimmered as they rolled down her face. They never hit the ground, they just stopped in mid-air. "I never thought I'd hear it, and I thank you. I curse you also Angela, damn it, because this makes what I have to say next so much harder" Robin returned her gaze to the skyline.

"Angela, I don't have a life back in the world. What skills do I have? None, I have absolutely no marketable skills. I'm good at pokemon battles, but only good. Michael and you were both better. I've already peaked there. I wont go back to school, I was never any good there. I love Michael, but he'll always love you more then me. My pokemon despise me, Celest tolerates me, and I have no family to return to"

"Robin, what are you saying?" Now all of my attention was on her. Robin though almost seemed bored with me.

"I'm going to do one good thing Angela, one absolutely good thing before I die. An absolutely selfless deed, a sacrifice can save a life, do you remember?"

"Yeah, of course I do!" I cried, "Robin, you can't"

"You saved Michael's life with your sacrifice Angela" Robin said, turning to me with a smile, "Now it's time for me to save you"

"Robin, you can't do this!"

"I asked him about it" Robin said, gesturing to the Not Pokemon.

"And you agreed with this!" I screamed at Not Meowth. Before he could say something, Robin held a hand up.

"Don't blame him" Robin said, "It was my idea entirely. I've worked out the details, and it will work like this"

"I will change history" Not Meowth said, "So that, you didn't commit suicide"

"But if she doesn't, Michael will die!"

"No he won't" Not Meowth continued. "Your reality exists as one where one person died on that day. Everything will play out if Robin died, and you lived. You would have traveled with Michael's group, Donny would not have died, but your friends would have. Tagger's actions would remain the same, as would his death"

"But, so many things would be different with me human!" I said.

"Don't worry about them Angela" Not Meowth said, "And not as much would change as you assume. When you return, you will be given a blank slate. You will return to three hours after you died in the warehouse. All of Robin's pokemon will be returned to where Robin found them, never captured. You will only have one pokemon"

"T-the Treecko?" I whispered. "What about the battle against Michael?"

"All records of that will be wiped by me" Not Meowth said, "If people try to think about that battle, their memories will be dim, and eventually they'll forget all together. All human memories will be wiped. The only people who will remember your reality are you, Michael, and your pokemon. No one else"

"You have to agree Angela" Robin said, "Michael needs you" Robin stood up, me standing up beside her. By now I was crying, my tears were warm. I was so sad, but ecstatic at the same time.

"I-Thank you so much Robin"

"Just promise me two things" Robin said, "Promise me, you'll live your life, and you'll take care of my Treecko. Give it the love I couldn't, that you needed"

"I will Robin, I swear" Robin grabbed me in a strong embrace, hugging me for a minute. Finally, she let go, and turned to Not Meowth.

"I'm ready" With out another word, Not Meowth nodded. Suddenly, a doorway of pure light appeared in front of us. It was so bright, I couldn't see the other side. Robin stepped foreword, and looked in. She then turned and smiled. "It's beautiful. I'll be waiting for you guys"

"Good-bye Robin" I whispered. Robin stepped foreword, and out of my life forever. I watched, as the doorway slowly closed tight. I sat down on the dark grass, staring at nothing. Not Meowth came over, and sat down beside me. "Robin, she gave up her life"

"Robin didn't have much life" Not Meowth said. "It isn't nice, but she spent her entire life justifying her existence through others. Maybe now she'll find some peace"

"I suppose so...Antony" I said. Not Meowth smiled softly.

"When did you figure it out?" Antony Gabriel Luccelli asked me.

"I had wondered why you picked me for a long time" I said, "When I saw Shu though, I just knew. I knew who you were, I remembered Michael mentioning his brother. You protected me, because you were helping me. For that, I thank you" I sighed. "So, what now?"

"Now this" Antony said. He tackled me, and knocked me over. I fell, through the ground, through creation, into...

The hospital! I jerked awake, gasping for breath. Ice fingers were in my chest, wrapped around my lungs, grasping them. I coughed, bent over, head between my legs. It took me a minute to realize I had legs.

Slowly, I straightened my back out. I had knees, in blue jeans, honest to goodness knees. With feet, in crappy tennis shoes. I clenched, and unclenched my toes. They worked. I straightened my arms out in front of me. My arms were tanned, and had little to no fat on them. I made a fist, then straightened my fingers.

The sight of my fingers, my ten fingers, almost made me weep. It was a beautiful sigh. I held them in front of my face, fighting not to cry. Each finger was a work of art, even if they were missing some defensive claws.

I then got a look at my body. My much better body. When traveling with Michael, his body had gone from stringy to muscular. Fourteen months worth of walking had done that to him. For me, it had made me thinner. A lot thinner. Their was still fat pockets in my sides, my boobs, my thighs, but otherwise most of the fat had been sucked out.

My clothing was so loose it was barely hanging on. My pants were the only thing holding on, pants I'd never seen before today. I must have bought them on my long, long journey. My hair was dirty, and my skin was sooty. My shirt was torn, maybe burned a little. I didn't care though.

"Thank you Robin" I whispered, "Thank you so much" I looked around, trying desperately to get my surroundings. I was in a waiting room, a hospital waiting room. Their were people all around me, most of them asleep, some awake and waiting. In front of me was a desk with a nurse behind it.

I pushed myself up and took one step. I stumbled, and went down to my knees, not falling over though. Damn it, two unsteady legs, no tail for balance, how did I ever get around like this?

One step at a time. I put one foot in front of the other, barely bending my knees, doing a sort of robot walk. No one noticed me, not even the nurse, as I stumbled to the front desk. The nurse sighed, and looked up.

"Ms. Duncan, if you want to see Mr. Luccelli, go ahead. Don't keep bugging us and asking if he's awake. Go see for yourself"

"M-Mr. Luccelli?" I asked. "What room is he in?" Now the nurse stared at me.

"Ms. Duncan, are you sure you don't need to see a doctor?"

"Please! Just tell me!" The nurse shrugged.

"342" She said. "But I wouldn't" That was all I heard, because I had taken off towards the elevator. When I stopped in front of the elevators, I realized I had been running. Though mostly because I hadn't been thinking about it. Thinking about it made me over think, and fowl things up.

"Good to know, from now on don't think" I said to myself. The elevator came, and I went up to the third floor.

I sat with my back pressed against the elevator. What would I say in this situation? What could I possibly say?

The doors binged open, and I took off like a shot. This wing of the hospital wasn't nearly as busy as the emergency room had been. My shoes smacked against the tile of the empty hall, as I passed door after door, coming to 342.

"Michael!" I cried, bursting in. "Michael?" The room was empty. Empty, except for on the bed was a shoe box. I walked over, to see what was in the large box.

An Umbreon body. Oh God, my body. Gingerly, I touched the burned fur, my fingers ran along where the wood had pierced my flesh. Except, it wasn't my flesh. It was Robin's flesh. Not Meowth had changed history, so Robin had taken my place.

"T-thank you Robin" I whispered, crying again. "T-Thank you so much" I broke down finally, every emotional barrier smashing, releasing it all at once. I was so caught up, I didn't hear a toilet flush. I did however, hear the door open.

"Angela?" I looked up, at Michael. He looked queasy, like he'd been throwing up, but also confused. Confused as to why I was here, why I wasn't dead.

"Hi Michael" I said. Michael slowly approached me, and I him.

"Where, where did you come from?" He asked.

"Does it matter?" I replied. "Michael, I'm sorry. Sorry for everything that's happened, sorry for what I've done. Can you forgive me"

"Angela I-you can't leave me! Never again!"

"I swear"

"Oh thank God" We embraced each other, our lips touching for the first real time. Electricity shot through us as we held each other, kissing each other, not a word said.

55 Years Later

Time had not been kind to Angela Duncan. Her hair was all white her left eye was almost blinded by cataracts, her teeth were false. If you asked her though, it was worth it to live the life she had.

"I loved him" Angela said, relating the story to her dear listener. "Michael was your grandfather, and I love him now as much as I did then. Even if he is no longer with us, I love him" A fire crackled as she talked, heating the small apartment Angela called her own.

"Was that story true grandma?" Ariel Fisk asked. Ariel Fisk, grand daughter of Angela Duncan, and the spitting image of her at ten years old. Sure her hair was cut short, and she was thinner, but her eyes were blue. The same blue of Anna, and Angela.

"Of course it's true my dear listener" Angela said. "I lived through death not once, but twice in that fourteen months. It was one of the happiest times of my life" Slowly, her gaze turned towards the mantle of her fire place.

Above it stood pictures of her and her pokemon. Her and her friends. A police captains badge stood there, encased in glass. A single pokeball in a small stand stood there. A lifetime of memories, each bringing a smile to her face.

"Mom says your full of shit though grandma" Ariel said, getting a laugh out of her grandmother.

"Your mother says that because she doesn't want to admit it" Angela said, "She believes also. She always has, though she'll deny it to her last breath. She's stubborn, a common trait with women in our family"

The door leading into the apartment opened, breaking the silence and getting the attention of Angela and Ariel.

"We're here" Alice Duncan-Fisk said.

"Sorry we're late" Her dick-weed (In Angela's mind) husband Phil said, "Traffic was a beast today" Since school started, the bus had dropped Ariel off at her grandmothers every afternoon, since her house wasn't on the route. Usually only Alice picked her up, but Phil had had some kind of problem, and today both of them picked her up late.

Ariel stood up, followed by Angela now leaning on a cane. Her legs barely held up her shrunken figure, but that was no excuse to quit trying.

"Sorry we're late ma" Alice said, "I hope she wasn't to much trouble"

"She was fine" Angela whispered, "You being late allowed me to finish my story I've been trying to finish telling"

"Oh really" Alice said with a fake smile. "Phil, take Ariel down to the car" The moron didn't need to be told twice, quickly sweeping his daughter out of the room. The door pulled shut, leaving the two alone. "I suppose now that you've finished the first story, you'll tell her the second"

"I wasn't actually" Angela said, "I was going to ask your permission" Alice sighed, and leaned against a wall.

"I do like that story. It's just, inappropriate for a young girl"

"And the first isn't?" Alice laughed.

"Alright Ma, you've got my permission. Tell her, tell her about the Tabernacle of the Sun, and Virgil, and Desiree. Be careful when telling it Ma, can you?"

"Of course I can" Angela said with a small smile. The mother and daughter embraced each other. "School starts back in January, I'll see her then I assume?"

"You'll see her at Christmas Ma, you know that" Alice headed over to the door, "I love you"

"I love you also Alice" Alice sighed, smiled, and walked out. Angela made her way over to the window, looking down. After a moment, the car holding her family pulled away from the building, and she was alone again.

"You would be happy Michael" Angela whispered. Eventually, death would take her also, as it had taken her friends. Not soon, but eventually. Until then, she had a story to tell.

Angela went back over to her chair by the fire and sat down. As she did, she could swear she almost felt a hand caress her cheek, and a voice whisper in her ear.

"Good-night, little girl"