she did it.

it isn't like in the movies; he doesn't miraculously wake up to gasp for air only to feel okay moments after. he's not okay. things aren't okay. and they might never be but the thing that matters the most is that he's alive. by some miracle he's here: lying on stone surrounded by green and grey in a place unknown.

he awakens long before his eyes open. he listens to the array of sounds around him: the chirping of birds, the crinkling of grass, and for a while it feels like he's trapped in a wonderful dream. a dream he does not deserve.

but then his eyes open and as they do, bitter reality sets in. he remembers it all: remembers being burned to ash and falling from great heights. but he doesn't remember the impact. it's like he's still falling and as he looks around he's met with the realization that he's all alone. no one can stop his fall. but maybe she can catch him.

"cait--" panic and a sense of urgency soon sets in. he reaches for her, grasping at her shoulder only to pull her close. "what...what happened? the people, are they--" dead. he doesn't say it but his eyes convey his message: pleading, as if scared of her response.

he wants to sit up. wants to jump to his feet and start sprinting back home to sootopolis. but again, it isn't like in the movies. his skin is healthy but his body is not. the pressure it went through has taken a toll and he realizes it as he even struggles to sit upright. it's then that he notices how weak he is; and how his hands shake.

"i remember burning. i remember falling. i remember dying. i'm not supposed to be here. why am i here?"

cait alfric

NIKOLAI PETROV

fell asleep. he would laugh if it didn't hurt so much. instead he narrows his eyes and shakes his head once in disbelief, clicking his tongue as he slowly lies back down. "and you woke me up." a statement more so for himself than her as he searches for comfort through any means.

but it doesn't come. he looks to his left, then his right, and he feels nothing but an absence. it's as if he's lost and all alone despite the woman with her hands on his face. he doesn't even notice her hands until he looks back at her.

"why did you do it?" 

why did you save me? he was content with dying; he practically accepted it as he fell. to have that ripped away from him makes him feel like he's been denied in some weird and twisted way. perhaps death is something he once longed for. but does he still?

he looks into her eyes, pleading. "you didn't answer me, darling." a hint of his old persona returns and glimmers for a moment. he reaches for her hand, grasping as he holds on. 

"did they all die?"

cait alfric

NIKOLAI PETROV

he chuckles once in obvious disbelief. a part of him refuses to believe her words because they seem too good to be true. "lovely." the only one to have died. he shakes his head and does the slightest of eye rolls but soon meets her gaze again.

"what if i don't want to be here?" 

his words are damning. he has more to say but he holds his tongue, remembering that she essentially brought him back from the dead. she defied the gods and did it. for him. for him. it is still difficult to wrap his head around that realization and he doubts he ever will.

he feels a sudden but temporary increase in pressure on his body. it's only then does he see how weak she looks; she almost nearly slumps over and it's clear now that it's because of him. to mean that much to someone; to be needed in that regard; it makes him reconsider his stance.

it makes him compromise.

"you did it." slowly rising to sit upright once more, he reaches a hand to her face and wipes stray tears that have escaped. "i'm sorry for what i said. thank you for doing what you did, cait. i might not fully understand why but still, thank you." 

cait alfric

NIKOLAI PETROV

it's okay. two words are enough to fill him with a sense of relief, no longer regretting his choice of words. he sighs and allows his hands to fall off her face, too weak to keep them up for longer.

"until i'm healed and don't smell like a burned corpse. no, i don't mind." 

groaning, he shifts on his ass as he remains sitting. only now does he take a moment to gauge his surroundings and more specifically at the various pokemon that surround him.

he looks to cait. "you've grown a lot since the last time we spoke. i'm guessing they're yours." he gestures to the myriad of grass-pokemon around them. then he asks another question that has been on his mind; one of many.

"where are you hiding me, darling? this doesn't look like your home. nor does it look like sootopolis. so where am i?" 

a favor. he purses his lips and nods, listening. her words are true. "i doubt the universe is happy with it. you've defied nature, defied death and brought me back. i do appreciate it but like you said, i'm not sure if people will." 

he takes a moment to think before speaking again.

"which is why no one must know."

cait alfric

NIKOLAI PETROV

inklings of tears start to build in his eyes at her words. to hear that she had come this far, to be assigned as mauville's protector, it makes him emotional and makes him feel something he hasn't felt in a long time.

proud.

"you've really grown, cait." no darlings, no sweet talk. she's brought him back from the dead and now he bares himself to her: genuine.

at her words, his eyes turn to the sea of pokemon, watching in anticipation. at the sight of the metang, his eyes widen, and he slowly shifts on the ground, first planting one foot on the ground as the other knee supports his weight.

"metang." 

he extends a hand out and twists so his palm faces up, gesturing for the steel-type to approach. and it does, slowly, hovering until its cold surface brushes against nikolai's fingers. it makes a buzzing sound as its red eyes glow slightly brighter.

"we're partners now. i have your back and you have mine. i swear by the gods i will do right by you." 

metang nods, then shifts even closer to gently nudge against nikolai's body. he exhales a chuckle and allows his arm to fall against the metang. he turns to cait.

"thank you, cait. for everything."

cait alfric