Forever a Nightmare: Forever a Nightmare: Aftermath(Part 2!)

Help...please...somebody? I wake up. I feel soft freshly prepared bed sheets under my body, that came with a fluffy pillow tucked underneath my head, along with a comfy blanket swaddling me. I try to move, but my body refuses to do so. Everything looks so...weird and blurry, I can't really make out what's what. But I hear something...It sounds like people yelling, but it sounds muffled. But then my eyes start to feel weighted What? N-n-no...I don't want to go back to sleep... Everything starts to sink into darkness. I struggle to stay awake, but everything just gets darker and darker, it soon starts to envelop me, I desperately cry out for help, but I can't tell if I've really made any noise or not. But then, I feel something brush against my face, I...hear something- no, it's someone. I hear them bawling, "I-...s-....My poor-..." I hear random spurts of words, but the rest is hard to make out. I strain to open my eyes, but all I see is a blurry blob of what I'm guessing is a person? I try to move more of my muscles, but they fail to do so. So I just lay there, listening to this stranger sob. "I'm so sorry...My poor baby..." the words start to describe themselves to me, I can actually understand what they're saying. Wait, is that...? "M-mom?" my voice sounded low and gravelly. "Isabelle!" she quickly wraps her arms around me, but I wasn't focused on her Why...does my voice sound different? I felt panic wash over me. "M-mom why does my voice sound different?" my gravelly voice quivers. She looks at me and pauses, it looks like she's planning to say something, but can't. "Mom, tell me why!-" I sit up, revealing something that made my stomach drop. I saw a body, dark as the night. I stop to examine it, I see a dress like tail and two long delicate legs, that weren't meant for walking. I start to trail upward to see a ring like hip, squeezed into it's sides, then I stop to see something wavering to the side of me. It was its shoulders, continuously flowing like a rapid river, I reach out to it, only to see its monstrous claws extending out. They recoil back as if they were caught doing something wrong, then I notice the spike like daggers surrounding my head. Then, I make a traumatic realization This...this is MY body my heart beats rapidly, I'm overwhelmed by fear and panic, "W-wheeze!" I'm suddenly out of breath. "I-I don't!-Why-" my claws are trembling, my mom tries to calm me down, but all of her words just sound blurry to me. In fact, everything starts to go blurry. I have so many questions, but they all sputter our of my mouth, sounding like gibberish. "I DON'T!-WHY!?-" I dig my claws into my scalp, feeling the hair on my head slip between my claws. Then I hear lots of yelling, I look over to see the room filled with doctors it looks like they're trying to calm me down, but my anxiety rises even more. I desperately claw away from my bed, falling over. Everyone starts to surround me, I vigorously back away from them, until I'm stuck in a corner. They're still all around me, but then I notice something in one of their hands, it's a red and white sphere. They click on a button, permitting a pokemon to come out. The pokemon comes closer, the doctors yell some sort of gibberish at me? Or is it the pokemon? But my thought is soon interrupted when my mom runs over to the doctors and yells at them, it...looks like she's begging? But the doctor speaks more gibberish, but it's in a more commanding tone. The pokemon floats closer to me, out of panic I desperately try to back away, but there's no where to back to. It keeps gets closer and closer, "st-stop it..." it keeps coming closer "Stop it" it doesn't stop, I see it's eye's glow purple "st-STOP IT!" a ball of energy form in my palm as I bash it against the pokemon's skull. I hear screams of panic and terror, the pokemon was knocked out cold. I feel my heart pulse throughout my body, a sudden rush of energy flows inside me. I still hear the people around me speaking gibberish, then I see my mom Mom... I feel the terror and panic start to melt away, but is soon replaced by sadness "Hic...M-mom" I feel warm tears drizzle down my face, I move an inch closer to her, but she steps back..."m-mom?" she has the look fear imprinted on her face, but was slightly covered since she partly concealed her mouth with her hand. "M-mom?..." my heart starts to sink, I feel so cold inside. I reach out for her, extending my long knife like claws, "GAHHH!" I howl in pain feeling a burning sensation in my arm. There's a Houndoom piercing its fangs into my extended arm. I quickly throw it off, I feel my arm still burning. The doctor pulls out another pokeball, but he aims it at me. Is he trying to catch me?! The pokeball comes flying at me, I instinctively dodge it. Then I barrel through the crowd of doctors making my escape, I try to figure out which way to go, but my vision is blurred by the newly formed tears. I speed through the hallways and eventually make my way outside, but I'm soon blinded by the sunlight. "NNGH!" I quickly cover my eyes, but then I hear yelling accompanied by foot steps trail behind me. I blindly rush forward covering my eyes from the light, but soon stopped by some sort of wall. I force myself to open my eyes, only to realize that I bumped into a person. Then I soon notice that a circle has formed around me, it looks like a group of people, mumbling and gossiping about something. They just get louder and LOUDER. I cup my claws over my head, attempting to cover my ears, but I can still hear them. My head feels dizzy, losing my balance I fall to the hard concrete, still trying to block all the noise. I try to fight back thrashing and clawing at the air, as if it were to make them cease, but instead it made them even LOUDER. "H-hic! wheeze...Hic!" I just sit there, crying, unable to do anything I want to go home...I want to be back to normal...I just want the noise to go away... I sat there, feeling useless. All I can do is listen and watch my tears drip onto the concrete. Then something holds me, its my mom. "Mom!" I quickly hold her tight, not letting her go " M-mom! The noise wont stop a-and everyone is trying to attack me a-and...hic...hic hic!" I keep trying to explain to her how I feel, but my body doesn't let me. She's bawling her eyes out "Isabelle, I'm so sorry, I promise everything is going to be okay" I feel a weight lifted from my shoulders. I just keep hugging her, letting all my tears soak her shirt. I finally start to calm down, she asks "Are you okay now?" I reply to mom with a little nod. Then she holds my claw and stands up, I turn my head around realizing that people are still watching us. I start to cry again until my mom shoves my face into her shoulder, shielding me from everyone. Then she guides me to the car, still shielding me from everyone, then we finally go home.

I lay down in bed, feeling exhausted. I look at the bandages that coddle my wound, remembering what happened only a half hour ago. I feel additional pressure sinking into the side of my bed, I look over to see my mom sitting there. Then she examines my arm, making sure the bandages are properly in place. Her face scrunches up a bit, portraying a worried expression. But that thought won't leave my head..."Hey?...Mom?" she averts her eyes onto me, asking "Yes, Sweetie?" she looks concerned. "Do..." I pause, trying to squeeze this sentence out "Do...you think I'm a monster?" she looks shocked "Of course not!" she quickly reassures me. I feel somewhat relieved, but...She backed away from me... my face feels warm She looked so scared... I feel warm tears race down to where my mouth should be. Then she immediately tries to comfort me, asking what's wrong. I feel my throat tighten, trying to answer her question "Then why...why did you back away from me?" she looked stunned. "I...I..." she stutters " I was scared for you, I didn't know what was going on, and I panicked" she tearfully continues " But how I reacted was just...horrible" she hugs me " I'm so sorry..." I return the hug, begging " Please stop crying..." we both just sit there crying.

Sniveling, she wipes her tears from her face and kisses me "Goodnight" even though it was evening. She walks over to shut the blinds, darkening the room, and then leaves. I lay in bed, making myself comfy. But I can't sleep, it just feels too awkward to sleep; My arms are lengthy and big, making it hard to place them in a comfortable position, and it feels weird laying on my tail, the weird dress doesn't make it any better, since its so pointy, it keeps getting caught in the blanket, and my legs just "Vanished" but I really don't want to think about that. So I just lay there, trying to figure out why this happened to me, and how. The necklace... I vividly remember that horrible nightmare, where my necklace was digging into my flesh. I place my hand-or claw, where the necklace was fused in place. I let out a deep sigh, my voice still sounded creepy and ominous, but I couldn't help that at this point. Why did the necklace turn me into...? at this point, I never really thought of what EXACTLY I turned into, everything was craziness before I actually was calm enough to collect myself and think. So I get up, and float over to my bedroom mirror, trying to ignore the fact that I have to float now. Then I position myself in front of the mirror, getting a good look at myself. It was weird being in front of a mirror, since it was still hard to believe that was my reflection staring back at me. I look basically the same as I did a half hour ago (except more tired), but even with a better look at myself, I still can't figure out what pokemon I am, or even if I am a pokemon. Maybe I'm a ghost type pokemon? I try to figure out at least what type I am. I make a conclusion that I'm at least part ghost type from what I can gather, since I have the ghostly eyes and the flowing hair. Wait! I rush over to my book collection, then I quickly snag the book "Pokemon Collection" I flip through the pages, searching for any resemblance to me. But then I start to notice something strange happening, the words on the pages just seem kinda...weird? I try to read them, but it's like the more I look at them, the harder it is to make them out What?... I keep scanning the pages, attempting to make sense of them. Then I accidentally stumble onto pokemon that looks like me, but I can't read what it is, my stomach feels heavy. I try to read the bigger words, but they just look jumbled up, stressed, I slam the book shut and then I shove it back into the shelf. Maybe I just need sleep... my body collapses on the bed, tired, I don't even bother pulling up the sheets. I let out a big yawn, as my mind slips into the world of dreams.

I wake up to the fresh smell of bacon. I sluggishly drag myself out of bed, I float downstairs into the kitchen, only to see my mom making breakfast. She doesn't seem to notice until I ask "What time is it?" she jumps. "Isabelle, you startled me..." she sighs in relief, then she tells me "It's one in the afternoon, you slept all day!" I let out another big yawn, still feeling tired. "Aw, my poor baby" she kisses me on the forehead while setting the plate down, the eggs are sunny side up and the bacon is cooked nicely, but the toast is a little burnt. Mom starts cleaning the kitchen while I snag the fork, but then I realize how awkward it feels holding one, letting alone using it. My six fingered claws are too big to hold the fork properly, so I just sit there for five minutes trying to use it. Until I eventually give up, so I just use my claws to pick up the slab of bacon, but then another problem arises. I try to squeeze the bacon between the red spikes, but my claws are too big; so I have to take the bacon, hang it over my head, then dip it down to my face so that I can actually eat it. The bacon slides on my face, then I realize I don't have a mouth... "Sigh..." I put the bacon back on the plate, realizing I got bacon grease all over myself. "I'm sorry, Sweetie" my mom wipes the bacon grease off my face with a wet rag, I glumly reply "It's okay, at least it smelled good" KNOCK!-KNOCK!-KNOCK! I nearly jumped out of my seat. My mom quickly speeds over, she looks through the window "Theo, is here!" she gestures that I leave the room, so I halfway float up the stairs until she opens the door. "U-um! Hello Mrs. Lucy!" I never heard Theo so nervous, he's usually calm and collected, unlike me. Mom replies "Yes, Theo?" I slide down closer to the bottom of the stairs, being careful to not make any noise. "Well, I was wondering..." he pauses "Is, Isabelle okay?" I was stunned He...Was worried about me? "It's just that, a few days ago we got into a fight, and I heard she got sick or hurt...I just wanted to make sure that we weren't going to leave it like that..." It sounded like he was crying Theo, please don't cry... "Hey, don't cry..." my mom soon interrupts the moment. Then she continues in a caring tone "Theo, I think it's sweet that you care for my daughter so much...but...she's a little sick right now, okay?" then Theo asks "Then, when will she get better?" ...mom doesn't reply "Mrs. Lucy, why aren't you answering the question?" she's still quiet "Mrs. Lucy! Please! I have to know when Isabelle will get better!" silence. Then I hear Theo start to cry again "Please..." he's begging at this point "When will she get bette-" Hic! I didn't even notice I was crying until now "Hic...hic" I try to stop myself, but the tears keep coming. "Isabelle?" I hear footsteps come forward until they are suddenly interrupted "Theo, I think you should go home now" she sounds serious "What?! No!" I can hear him struggling, trying to get past my mom "I need to make sure she's okay!" I hear a rush of footsteps coming towards me. My mom calls out "Theo, wait!" then I see his face, going from worried, to horrified.

"U-uhh..." my voice trembles, I can feel the tears drip off my chin, and onto my spike. He's just laying there, too scared to move, trying to figure out what I am. Then mom intervenes, she stands in front of me, shielding me from him. "I-I...I..." my voice is shaking, I feel like I just want to hide from the world, then mom turn around trying to calm me down. But I can't look away from him, he looks horrified of me, just like mom did. "Wheeze...Wheeze!" I start to lose my breath, I can hear my mom trying to calm me down, but it just sounds like fuzzy. It feels like everything is starting to cave in, the world around me looks and feels so fuzzy, my body feels numb. I place my claws over my head, trying to block all the noise out, I try to dig them deeper and deeper into my head hoping it would muffle the noise at least a little bit. Then I hear yelling, she's tugging at my claws trying to make the noise worse. Why won't she stop?... Then, Theo leaps forward, reaching out to me. "S-STOP IT!" I feel a wave of energy burst out of my body. I open my eyes, only to reveal what I've done. They're both on the floor, the noise gets louder, "N-no...Stop it..." everything is the noise. "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!" I desperately cry out in pain, feeling my claws dig deeper and deeper into my skull. I desperately flee, trying to escape the noise, I feel my body wavering as I fuse with the shadows below me. I keep fleeing until the noise settles down, then I emerge from the shadows. Landing on my newly formed knees, I catch myself from falling face down into the earth's soil. My coal-like arms hold my body while I face the ground, something red drips from my face, its blood. I regrettably turn my claws over, showing blood slowly dripping onto the cool green grass. I was hurting myself...That's why mom tried to... I can't help but cry at this point, since it's the only thing I'm good at. I let my body collapse onto the grass, burying my face into my arms, trying to hide from the world around me.

I just keep sobbing, mixing my blood with salty tears. Until I hear a ominous voice ask "Isabelle?" I whip my head around, only to see a large dark figure float over me, making its presence known. "GAH!" shocked, I tumble backward landing on my bottom. Shaken by this surprise guest, I muster the courage to ask "U-uhh...How...How do you know my name?" the dark figure looks at me surprised "It really is you..." I look at it confused. I tilt my head to the side, trying to figure out how this thing knows me. The figure soon embraces me, dumbfounded, I try to ask the figure why it's hugging me but then they interrupt by backing away and inspecting my face. They squeeze my face asking me so many questions at once " What happened to you?! Why are you bleeding?! Why are you all the way out here, the woods are off limits for children who don't yet have a pokemon!" I still stare at it, bewildered. Then I finally notice that it has red spikes surrounding its head, its skin dark as the night, and a light blue eye with a ghostly white iris. It looks exactly like me... "Wait!" I swiftly shove it off of me, it stares at me with a concerned look on its face. Then I continue to question it "Why do you look like me, and why do you know my name?!" it looks at me for a few moments, trying to collect its thoughts. Then a little bit of blood pools down my cheeks, then the thing scoops me up, almost like its refusing to answer my question. "What the- HEY!" I try to shove it off "Isabelle, stop squirming, we need to take you to the hospital!" my heart dropped "What, no!" I frantically try to escape this thing's grasp. "Isabelle, stop!" the thing yells as I try to pry myself from its grasp "I won't go back to the hospital!" I felt my face get warmer as tears started to take shape. The thing still holds me refusing to let go "Why don't you want to go to the hospital?!" frustrated, I scream "JUST LET GO OF ME!" I quickly kick the thing's face, releasing me from its grasp. I land on the grass erratically backing myself up against a tree, "Isabelle, just let me help you!-" then it pauses to look at me. I place my quivering claws over my bleeding scalp, trying to shield myself, I desperately try to stop crying but the tears don't stop, I feel like the whole world is falling apart... "Isabelle..." the thing has a calmer tone now, it slowly inches closer to me. "H-hey! It's okay! I'm not yelling anymore, we just need a quick trip to the hospital..." it slowly removes my claws from my scalp, giving away that my claws have been piercing my skin allowing the blood to escape my scalp. "Isabelle, have you been hurting yourself?..." the thing gently wraps its arms around me, it surprisingly feels cozy. "Hic...hic..." I just keep crying, giving up the will to fight back. " Hey...its okay..." the thing still holds me, supporting my weight. Then it slowly picks me up, and carries me like I was a toddler. The tears slowly stop, I feel much calmer now, but rather tired from all the stress I've taken in today. But I feel something else...For some reason I feel nostalgic being held like this. I gaze up at the figure, inspecting its face attempting to decipher who this person is to me, then it hits me "...Dad?"