This is all your fault Cirrus! If you had been a better daughter, more like your older brother, maybe the divorce wouldn't have happened at all!

But Mom..it wasn't my fault, it was the other girl..

*smack*

Don't insult my intelligence, young lady! The principal told me what happened at school. If you would've simply listened to me, done what I'd asked you to do....Get out of my sight. Just...go.

Sound like a bad movie? More like I wish it had been a bad dream. But it was real and it happened last night. My name is Cirrus Blaine and I'm 16 and a senior in high school. I can't blame my older brother Matt, he's 17 and I love him, he's the best brother a sister could ask for and I know he would've stuck up for me like he normally does, but he lives with my dad now.

My mom hit me, slapped me across my face. I couldn't believe it when it happened, but it did. She was drunk too, but I wouldn't fight back, I couldn't. I got into a little fight with a girl at school. She started a rumor about why my parents got divorced, something totally sick and I stuck up for myself. It wasn't my fault she lost her balance and fell into my fist. Several times.

And now I'm suspended for a week. I think the thing that pissed my mom off the most is that school ends in two weeks. I don't know what to do about mom. But I woke up early the next morning and decided to go jogging to clear up my thoughts.

Quietly, I dressed in my jogging gear; a white tank top, dark navy running shorts and my fave Nikes. After fixing my long blond hair into a silky ponytail, I grabbed my green Oakleys and walked out the front door, closing it softly so I wouldn't wake my mom out of her drunken sleep.

She'll be more pissed to find me out jogging, but I know I can take whatever she throws out at me. I warmed up by walking to the large city park, about a mile from my house. I don't know how big the park is, but it's big enough that two joggers got lost in it! They were found and all, a little dehydrated, but who'd be that dumb?

I stopped at a convenience store just outside the parks main entrance and bought a bottled water, then ran across the empty street and into the park. I jogged into the cool, shady park, huge trees arcing above me, their leafy canopy almost blocking the sun shining brightly above. It would be about an hour before it got unbearably hot and muggy.

I jogged down the dirt and gravel path, listening to the birds and a few early crickets. I passed a few people, some jogged, walked or biked along the path. Some had dogs, you know, the norm.

I jogged to what I had previously found to be a comfortable stopping point and sat on a huge bolder, getting my breath and taking a sip of water. I felt the blood pound in my viens and felt a cool breeze play over my slightly sweaty arms and back.

I paused there for a while more, feeling happier despite what I knew was waiting at home for me. I had been on the path for nearly an hour and it was getting humid out, so I decided to head back.

With no one around, I stretched my arms as I ran, feeling the tip of my ponytail tickling the middle of my back. I saw a couple of elderly women walking a sedate pace ahead of me and I slowed behind them to a light jog and then a walk. I wanted to pass them, but there were six bicyclists in pairs coming at them and I'd have to wait for the bikers to go by.

I was about to pass the elderly women when from out of nowhere, this big muscular guy runs from behind me, bumping into me and sending my water bottle flying. His burly muscles prevented him from feeling our collison and I stopped to get my water bottle. Wherever it was.

He ran on, the two old ladies walked on and the bicyclists were long gone.

I hate this rude city, I thought sourly as I took off my sunglasses and pocketed them. I started looking around for my water bottle. Facing the direction the two old ladies and rude jogger went, here's what my surroundings are like: Big downwards sloping hill to my right, it's got trees and shrubs. To my left is a hill sloping up and I'm on the dirt and gravel path. Basically, the city cut a path through this hill and stuff, the part of the path that I'm on now is horseshoe shaped and I can see that there's no one around now.

I sighed and looked down the hill and saw my water bottle balanced against the base of a small tree, midway down the hill. I sighed again and began carefully making my way down to it. Hey, it cost me a buck sixty-nine, that's expensive water!

I slipped and slid to it and picked it up, trying unsuccessfully to brush off the dirt and debris that clung to the condensation on the bottle. I was dreading the way back up; it was steeper from down here than it had looked from up top.

That's when I heard the voices, two of them, both male. I peered around the shrub at the tree's base and saw two teenagers, in ratty-looking clothes. They were on a path I'd never seen, barely wide enough for two people walking side-by-side, about twenty feet below me.

They hadn't seen me and talked loudly in reedy voices.

"We did it Frank, we made a temporal transdimensional transporter and we're going to be sooo rich!" The blond one said.

"I don't know, Joe. We haven't tested it yet. It could just fry us!"

"Yeah, or it could take us anywhere we could ever imagine! Think of it," Joe said. "You could visit any place that's ever been imagined by anyone." Pause. "You go first."

"Why me?"

"Because you're my assistant. Now, just think of anywhere you want to be and step through."

"But what if I don't make it back?" Frank whined. "What if I'm stuck there? My parents would be so mad."

Joe just smiled, shoved up his glasses, and knelt next to a box and hit a button. Suddenly, a lilac colored beam of light created a door shaped portal a few feet from Joe and Frank.

Directly below me.

I got up carefully, intending on quietly getting up the hill and home. But crouching just after jogging had cramped me up and I lost my balance, tumbling head over heels, sliding straight towards the portal.

"NO!" Yelled Frank and Joe.

I clawed at the hillside trying to stop and failing. "NO!" I cried out as I fell through the portal.

Ice cold air hit me and I couldn't think. All I could see was the lilac light, then blurred images and suddenly I was dumped onto hard pavement.

"Ow!" I cried out, when my head banged off of something hard. I just lay there for a moment, eyes closed, getting my breath back.

"Are you alright?" A male voice asked, disinterestedly.

"Perrr."

Uh, a cat...purring?

Ugh, what happened?

I squeezed open one eye and saw a tawny, feline face inches from mine. I was frozen for a moment before I sat up and screamed as I backed up into someone's legs. I looked up into the face of a powerful looking, middle-aged man. A man dressed in a red suit, a gold signet ring on his right pinkie finger.

Quickly, I stood up, fighting a sudden dizziness. I stood nearly as tall as he and I looked around. I was in some sort of town square; a large circular fountain behind me. A breeze blew cold droplets on my back. I shivered and said, "Where am I?"

The man hesitated and said, "You are in Viridian City."

"I..In..Viridian City?" I looked around again, this time seeing....things. Familiar things.

A Pidgey, ratatta, nidoran, butterfree, raichu...a persian.

They really did it. They.. "I'm in Viridian City." I breathed out.

"Yes," an impatient voce interupted me. "You are in Viridian City. Did you hit your head too hard? Do you need medical attention?"

I turned back to him, "No, thank you. Hey, is this your Persian? It's so cute and sleek!" I let it sniff my hand and it purred.

"Perr..." it said as I scratched it behind its ears.

"Hmph." The man said. "Persian! With me!" Immediately, it walked to the man's side. "You don't have any Pokémon, do you?"

I put on my sunglasses. "Uh, no."

"Really? You look around sixteen or so. You should have quite a collection of strong Pokémon."

I shook my head, "No."

He looked at me. "Come with me. I won't harm you." He looked familiar to me, but I couldn't place him. People walked past us as if we weren't even there and I felt a little pressured.

"I..okay," I'm all alone in the Pokémon world. What do I have to loose?