My Name is Loto [Pokémon Fanfiction]

15| I Thought this was the Truth

I was drifting, suspended in a void that felt quite familiar. Words and sensations passed by me like ascending bubbles in a black lake. I shrunk back from them, though I didn't know why. Something told me I should stay away.

Then one seemed to reach out for me. I couldn't avoid it, even though I tried to. With its phantom touch, horrible pain rushed through me, and I was wrenched back into consciousness.

Pounding, relentless pounding in my skull, striking with each beat of my heart. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been in so much pain. I groaned and tried to clutch my head, but it was like my limbs wouldn't obey. Finally I opened my eyes, only to be met with a small, mostly dark room. The faint glow from an oil lamp provided the only light, illuminating the wooden walls, floor, and ceiling. I was laying on my side on a bed, the mattress bare.

There was hardly any feeling in my arms, probably because I was laying on them strangely. Well, at least one of them. What I could feel was a tightness around my wrists. Confused, I twisted them, attempting to pull them apart, only for them to be met by resistance and the scratchiness of fibers digging into my skin. My heart dropped at the realization that I was bound. Looking down, I could see the ropes that also tied my ankles together.

Panic started to set in, chilling my blood. How the hell did I get here? Why was I tied up? I tried to think back, but there was nothing. In fact, the longer I thought, there wasn't anything there at all.

Wait... who was I?

Fear fractured through me, churning my insides and adding to the nausea already caused by the pain in my head. No, this couldn't be happening! Why couldn't I remember anything? I bit my tongue and forcibly calmed my breathing. But I couldn't stop my racing heart. There had to be something, right? Then ever-so slowly, things started coming to me.

My name is Lotario Ainalani Ne'igalomeatiga. I'm an Ice magician, born and raised in Iris Village on Verelum. I was separated from my family during a bandit attack after shipwrecking on Tranquelum, and I suffered amnesia. I was eventually taken in by the Nosek family, and I adopted the name Loto Nosek. Kari Noma was my best friend, Dew is my partner, Cyryl Nosek is like a sibling to me...

I took a deep, shuddering breath. It was all still there, it'd just taken a moment to come back to me. Still, I couldn't remember how I'd gotten here. All I could remember was Rangi. But what about him? I gritted my teeth as I tried to think. No, there simply wasn't anything there. I just couldn't remember!

A creak then sounded from the door as it opened. I craned my neck to look at the door, a feeling of relief hitting me when Rangi ducked inside. He was barely able to stand upright in the room when he straightened up.

"So you did awake," he said with a sigh. "Do you recognize this place? You should. It turns out when you save up enough incos, you can have any ship repaired, no matter how wrecked it is. It's a relief that only the bow was damaged, hm?"