Sage's P.O.V.

Why is she here? I thought she was in a mental hospital! She shouldn't be here! She...she killed my parents! She should be in jail. Everyone should hate her... Well they do, but still!

"We've met before, haven't we?" I turn to look at who said that. It was the short one with the dark brown, no black (that's definitely black) hair. He's frowning but doesn't look angry. He has a hat on, but I can see that his hair is choppy and shorter on one side. There's a scar on the shorter side with what looks like some stitches, but most of it's covered up. His eyes are really dark brown and he's kinda just starting at me, bored and waiting for an answer.

"Uh..." He frowns harder.

"Well?" I nod. He does look very familiar. He is familiar.

"Do I know you from where?" I nod, but he doesn't look like he believes me. He shouldn't; I actually don't know.

"It was in Snowpoint City," he says. "Two years ago I think." His voice is kinda rough for someone his age, which looks about five. I'm not sure if a three year old would remember something like that. "Remember? You were walking in that snowstorm." ...Oh yeah. I kinda remember being helped to get to town. I'm still not sure though.

"Yeah, I remember." He looks at me sideways. I keep talking. "How do you remember me?"

"Because," he says, "you still got that same stupid kicked Shinx look on your face."

"I remember you. For real this time." He smiled slightly, very slightly, before turning to the ruddy faced blond kid.

"Meet Sage." The blond kid looks at me and smiles.

"I'm Peridot," he says. "But most people call me Perry."

"I like Peridot better." He nods, still smiling. Does he always smile this much?

"I hope you mean the name," the brown haired one mutters. What was his name? Uhh, Jasper I think. Yeah, that's it. I remember I would call him Jasmine.

Peridot laughs; I kinda do. I just don't really laugh much. Jasper looks at me strangely. I'm positive we didn't meet when he was three. I'm not that much older than him, I don't think.

"How old are you," I ask mostly Jasper but I guess Peridot too.

"We're both eight," Jasper answers. "Well, I'm almost nine." I stop walking.

"What?! You're eight? You look about four! Jasper I mean." He frowns and Peridot laughs again.

"I do not!"

"Hmm... Maybe you're just a little short." Jasper's frown hardens. Peridot stops laughing. He's still kinda smiling though, so I couldn't have said something too bad.

Jasper clenches his fist. "I'm not that short," he practically growls. "And if anything, I look older than I really am." I study his face again. I can see what he means. His face is more angular and less round, his eyes are small and sharp. Mixed with his frown he does look older. Probably my age. No, older. Maybe thirteen. Actually, not quite that old, but older than eight.

"How old are you," he grumbles. "You gotta be like ten now, right?" He rolls his eyes as I nod.

"Do I look it?"

"Yeah, pretty much. You're a little tall but you still got a baby face." Oh. You know, I can't really think of anything else to say. I guess they can't either cuz we've fallen into a pretty awkward silence.

Why are we not at the woods yet? It doesn't usually take me this long to get there. I guess we are walking pretty slow. But why's that? I look at Jasper and notice what he's wearing: a jacket, and a light one at that.

"Aren't you cold," I ask. He glances at me and smiles real lightly.

"Was I cold when we met, Shinx?" Did he just... He's laughing, well snickering, and Peridot's looking confused so I guess...

"Hey, don't call me that...Jasmine." Jasper stops laughing, while Peridot starts, and glares at me. It was half-hearted though.

"I don't get it," he says. "Jasper and Jasmine sounds nothing alike."

"But you muttered it," I say in defense.

"What boy do you know is named Jasmine?"

"My name is Sage."

"Yeah. I'm aware of that." I frown and look at him, then over to Peridot. He's still kinda smiling.

"When did you two meet," Peridot asks.

"About two years ago," Jasper answers. He looks to me. "Right?" I nod.

"Yeah. That's right." I remember that day now.

"Find your own way," Grandad said. "It's just a little snow. I didn't raise you to be weak."

"Yes sir," I said. He walked away and got in the snowmobile. I waited until I couldn't see him anymore before I started walking. At first I thought that it was easy. It wasn't snowing hard and the wind wasn't even blowing. That changed a few minutes later. It turned into an all-out blizzard.

I could barely see in front of me. I couldn't see in front of me. It was just white. It never snowed that hard in Kalos. Not even on Mamoswine Road. I could only hope it was a straight path to that town. Snowpoint.

I had been walking for hours. It was starting to get dark. I couldn't feel any part of my body. Hands, feet, face. I was tired, I was hungry, and dare I say it, I was cold.

I didn't even notice when Jasper walked up to me. He tapped my chest. I jumped so hard I fell down.

"Hey dude," he yelled. Somehow I could hear him above the wind, clearly too. "Get your ass up. Why the hell are you even walking in this blizzard at night?" He held out his hand and helped me to his feet. He still held onto my hand as we walked, albeit in a different direction than I was going. It took all of ten minutes with his help.

When we got to town, only a little snow was falling. He led me to the dock and finally let go of my hand. He glared at me.

"What the hell were you doing our there," he asked me. I could only stare at him. For some reason I couldn't talk. I guess I was too cold.

We just looked at each for long time. I think he was sizing me up. At least, that what it looked like. I was studying his appearance. He looked like somebody you'd find on the street. He had very disheveled black hair that reached his chin. There were a few cuts and scratches on his face; one that stuck out to me was across the bridge of his nose. His clothes weren't dirty, but they were torn in a few places.

"Well," he said after a while. "You gonna stand there like a kicked Shinx or are you gonna answer me?"

"W-what's a k-k-kicked Shinx," I asked after a few seconds, my teeth chattering. That's the only thing I could think of. I guess I was a little intimidated by me. He looked real angry and irritated and just not pleasant.

He looked at me like I was a idiot. "A Shinx. That got kicked."

"W-what's a Shinx?" He stared at me like I was an even bigger idiot.

"A Pokémon. Don't tell me you don't know what a Pokémon is."

"I-I do! I do! I just d-don't know what a Sh-Shinx is." He rolled his eyes.

"Anyway Shinx, I bet you're cold." I nodded and he rolled his eyes again. "Yeah. Come with me. Unless you got somewhere to go." I was about to tell him I have to go to the gym but I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to go. I was still shivering and unable to feel most parts of my body. Grandad wouldn't be very happy if I went in like that.

"I-I'll come w-with you," I said. He nodded and motioned for me to follow.

"Where a-are we going," I asked.

"Where do you think? My house. Just...don't say anything about it." I didn't know what he meant until we got there. The house was pretty messy and looked close to abandoned. It wasn't much warmer inside than outside either, but I was still grateful he helped me.

"Hey, Sage," Peridot says. It looks like we're just about to the woods. Hm, guess I didn't notice. "Are you and Sienna related?"

Oh wait! I'm supposed to be finding out what they know about Sienna. I almost forgot. "Yeah. She's my sister. I haven't seen her in a long time though."

"How long?"

"Like five years." Both of the boys give me a weird look. Almost an accusing look.

Jasper decides to say something. "You haven't seen her in five years? You didn't seem to excited to see her again."

"Yeah...we left on a really bad note."

"What happened?"

"Well..."

I was only five at the time. Sienna, maybe ten or eleven. She was already scaring me that day. She didn't have her normal (fake) smile. She just looked dead, completely absent and expressionless. I knew Sienna was sad, her Eevee Inouï had run away just the week before, but she looked more than sad. It was very unsettling.

We were walking home from the gym. I was talking with Mommy. Well, she was telling me how I could improve my performance or something. I didn't really understand what she was saying but I pretended like I did.

Mommy was a very pretty lady and while I don't exactly favor Sienna, I can say Mommy's where she got her looks from. Sienna and Mommy don't look alike, but they're both rather pretty. Her eyes were like mine, gray with a greenish tint in some lighting, just a darker shade. Mommy had dark brown hair she kept pulled back in a short ponytail but there were always a few strands hanging loose, contrasting greatly with her ashen skin.

Sienna was walking by dad's side. He was a very strong looking man but always seemed hostile. I can't really say what he looked like in the face. I never really looked at him; I was always too afraid. His hair may have have been dark blonde or light brown; I'm not sure. I just know he was a powerful looking man with an aura of belligerence and antagonism.

When we got home, I went to my room while everyone else went to the kitchen. I was changing out of my training clothes when I heard yelling. I was scared then because the house was usually silent so to hear yelling, especially from Sienna who was very soft spoken, was pretty jarring.

I crept out of my room, down the hallway, and peered into the kitchen from across the living room. Sienna had her back against the where the sink was. Her hands where at her eyes and she was shaking he head frantically, chanting "I can't! I can't!" like a mantra.

Dad grabbed her arm and yanked it from her face. "Sienna Alezan Glaçon!" He bent down to her level and pulled her close to him. "You are to calm down and shut up now. You have-" Sienna yanked her arm away and started edging her way from him.

"I can't," she kept saying. "I can't! I can't do this!"

Mommy spoke this time. "Sienna, please just calm down. It'll be worth it. You should be happy." Mommy was talking about training. Sienna was third in line to inherit Grandad's gym. I guess I was next because after... everything that happened I moved up to first.

Training was always really tough. Sometimes a little dangerous, even scary at times but it was well worth it. You see, Kalos doesn't exactly have a 'government'. In most regions, the champion handles things like that, with a few exceptions. For example, in Unova all of the gym leaders, the Elite Four, and the champion are government officials. In Kalos, the entire region is run by Grandad. He's the one who keeps the region in order through careful calculations and planning. I'm gonna have to do that when I take over.

That's what the harsh training was, is, for. To make sure Kalos stays a beautiful, safe region. Why Sienna couldn't do it... I haven't the slightest idea.

Anyway, Sienna had stopped chanting. "It's not worth it. I can't do it." She muttered something after that but I couldn't hear her that well. Mommy and Dad both let out an exasperated sigh and began walking out of the kitchen.

"Sage, come here," Dad commanded. I stepped from the door frame and began walking to meet them.

The next thing I remember... Sienna yelled "I won't let you!" and Dad screamed and fell to the ground. Sienna didn't miss a beat; she stabbed Mommy in the side, then the stomach. She kept stabbing her in the chest and yelling "I won't let you! I won't let you!" Mommy was... dead but Sienna kept yelling at her.

I was frozen and completely terrified. I could feel tears running down my face but that's all I could feel besides fear. "Dad," I whimpered. "Dad, please help Mommy." I know for a fact he didn't here me, but I heard him start calling for Sienna. I remember wondering why he didn't get up but I found out later he was stabbed at the base of the spine.

Dad pushed himself up and grabbed Sienna's leg. When she turned she... she swung the knife wildly and somehow managed to slit his throat. Blood sputtered over her face and the floor. Dad went limp and fell to the floor again, but Sienna didn't stop... She kept stabbing him, eyes feral and murderous. She didn't stop even as I called for help, even as the people started running in, even as they pulled her away.

"...we just got into an argument."

"That's all," Jasper says. "That doesn't seem like much."

You don't even know... "Yeah, well it was pretty bad." Suddenly, I don't really want to talk much. I know I should be asking them about Sienna but honestly, I couldn't care. Besides, he only wanted me to come tell him if they knew anything about Sienna, which I'm sure they don't. I don't want anything to do with Sienna. I hate her, plain and simple. She took away my mother and father from me and destroyed my life. I don't want to be a gym leader. I want to be just a regular old Pokémon trainer who goes around challenging gyms. If it wasn't for her going off the deep end, I'd be able to do that.

"Hey Sage," Jasper says to me. "Why're you still walking? We're here." I look up and sure enough there's the giant moss-covered boulder. Jasper's holding a Pokéball in his hands. "Don't tell me you're as spacey as Perry."

"Hey," said boy exclaims. "I don't space out as much as you think."

Jasper rolls his eyes and smirks. "Yeah yeah. Aye, Sage. Wanna help evolve Altura?" I assume he means Peridot's Eevee. I walk over to him.

"How?"

"Got a Revive on ya?" I nod. "Good." He talks a little quieter. "You can revive Altura since Peridot doesn't know how to battle." I smile kinda. He keeps talking. "Plus you can be referee. That alright?" I nod and gives me a soft smile.

"Alright," Jasper continues. "Timo, I choose you!" He throws up his Pokéball and an Eevee evolution, Umbreon, I think, pops out. That's kinda fitting of him. Across from us, Peridot sends out his Eevee, Aluminum or something. I must admit, I cringe a little. I've had...not so good experience with Eevee.

"Okay ref," Jasper says to me. "Wanna start it?"

I look at him. Yeah, I'm sure he knows nothing about Sienna. I don't exactly want him to. Besides, maybe I'll have a little fun for once in my life.

"Hellooo! Perry Number Two! Can we start?" I look at him one last time and smile.

"Yeah. Let this match begin!"

looooong!