Changes - Janus and Mackesy

Mackesy blinked and struggled to take in the massive sight before her. She had been expecting a few things to be different after winding up in a strange time – the war in her land had been interrupted at one point by a terrifyingly powerful dragon called Dialga, said to be a master of time, and she had been caught in an incident when it had attacked Icirrus City. Somehow, she had been transported several hundred years into the future.
She had been found by a Pokemon trainer who called himself Janus. He didn’t look like he had been involved in many wars, but he was certainly a skilled trainer if his team was anything to go by – it was led by an Alakazam called Merlin, who at first had panicked Mackesy as she mistook him, in her foggy state, for her father’s Kadabra, Nihri. Merlin was much nicer though, even if he did sound like ‘he swallowed a dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopaedia set’.
Merlin was accompanied by a jovial Aggron called Steeler, a seemingly spacy but quite observant Ferrothorn called Tourian, an enigmatic Starmie called Shuri, a Gengar called Shade who could switch between calm and snarky in a flash, and a shy Chandelure called Teresa. They were an eccentric lot, but had been equally as dedicated to helping her out as their trainer. None of them had any idea about the events of the war she had mentioned, making her feel even more out of place.
And now, the sight in front of her had simply startled her beyond words. Her own team – Ludo the Linoone, Bea the Nidoran (female), Nat the Mightyena, Kara the Venomoth, Cinn the Feraligatr and Mael the Lopunny – looked ahead with wonder.
“Is that...” Bea began.
“Castelia City, yes” Tourian replied. “Quite a startling sight for you, I would assume”.
“Well... We have seen it before. It was just... very different, let’s say” Ludo admitted as the group walked through the gate leading to the city.
If Mackesy was startled before, walking into Castelia and seeing the vast metropolis before her shocked her beyond comprehension. She froze on the spot, desperately trying to take everything in.
“So... it’s not a dream...” she said, sorrow crossing her face. “This... I am out of my time...” She walked towards the Pokemon Centre with a slow, unsteady gait as she tried to take it all in. “The cities I know are all so different... and my friends... they’re...” She walked on to Cruise Dock, the pier near the Pokemon Centre and stood on her own for a while, her back to Janus.
“Mackesy...” Kara looked at her, worried. For a while, Kara had been quite ill; however, she had recovered swiftly thanks to medicine from Janus’s time. Unfortunately, she tended to make herself worry about her trainer quite a bit, which didn’t really help her condition.
“It’s fine, Kara. I’ll be all right”.
“With due respect, Mackesy, it is quite evident to any observer that you are not all right; in fact, you have undergone symptoms of significant psychological shock” Merlin insisted. “You really ought to place yourself in the hands of medical or psychiatric professionals in order to assist your immediate recovery and rehabilitation”. Shade groaned.
“Say it in as few words as possible, would you? Not everyone has your vocabulary, Merlin. I doubt the mutt would get a word you said”. His usual grin returned as he looked at Nat, with whom he enjoyed verbally sparring. Nat’s rude and snarky personality made him a prime target for Shade’s mischief, although he gave as good as he got.
“You’re sucking around for a sharp bite, gas-ball” Nat snapped back. “Didn’t you just admit you didn’t understand him?”
“Nat, don’t rise to the bait...” Bea nuzzled Nat, trying to keep her mate focused. “Mackesy’s the one we need to worry about right now. She’s just as confused as all of us, maybe even more so...” She looked over at her trainer, concern in her eyes. Janus walked over to Mackesy and tried to look her in the eyes as she leaned on a railing.
“Mackesy, I know it’s tough, but...”
“I told you, I’m fine”. Mackesy didn’t look all right; she was starting to tear up, and her beautiful deep-red hair seemed to have lost some of its lustre. “I’ve fought through my life, I’ve done it tough... I can take this. I’m strong. I’ll be fine.
I know she is trying to convince herself as much as the rest of us, but I really have no idea what to say right now... how should I make it all right? More to the point, can I make it all right? Janus could only think to place a comforting hand on her shoulder as she struggled to take everything in.
“It’s... this is... how...” Mackesy could only get out a few desperate words as she struggled to choke back tears from the shock of it all. “So... all different...”
“I know it’s not easy... this time is very different to yours, and there’s nothing I can do to prepare you for that...” Janus looked a little lost himself, feeling rather guilty for what he perceived as his ineptitude.
“So clear off and leave her alone” growled Nat.
“Oh, Nat, please don’t be standoffish...” Teresa said.
“Yeah, come on. It’s for Mackesy. I mean, he wants to help, so he must be all right” Cinn insisted. “Plus, he has cool Pokemon!”
“It’ll be fine. Like I said, I’m strong” Mackesy insisted. Janus shook his head.
“I know you’re in a time far removed from everything and everyone you know, but you have help in me, my team and your own Pokemon. You don’t have to fight any more. No more scrounging to survive. No more cynical toughness. You can let it all out, because someone is here for you at last. Just let it go, and let me help you”. Mackesy turned to face him, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at him. For the first time in many a year, she didn’t see someone who was cynical, struggling to survive, expressing hatred towards her or suffering in some way; Janus’s expression was warm, friendly and welcoming. Everything welled up at once and she broke down in tears, collapsing into his arms as the shock and sadness rushed out all at once. Janus held her close, ignoring a few smart-aleck comments from Nat and wolf whistles which appeared to be coming from Steeler.
“It’s okay... you’ll be all right. We’ll help you get through this” he said. Mackesy managed to reply “Thank you...” in between sobs, trying to keep herself from crying in spite of the urge to let all her emotions out. However, realising she finally had met someone who genuinely wanted to help her, and who she didn’t have to be so tough around, made her feel better.

“So, where are we going next?” Mael looked around the streets of Castelia as the two trainers and their teams prepared for their journey. After a couple of days giving Mackesy basic orientation to his time, Janus was preparing to take her around the region to sharpen her training skills and get used to the era even more.
“Well, I think we’ll head for Nimbasa City next. You can take in a few more sights there, but it’s on the way to what should be our main destination – Mistralton City”.
“Why there?” Mackesy asked.
“We can catch an aeroplane flight to Sinnoh from there” Janus explained. “If we go there, then we can track down Dialga and request its help in returning you to your own time”. Mackesy paused to think on the matter for a while.
I’d love to see my friends again and be back in familiar places... but then again, my time is full of conflict, and there is my father to deal with. Plus, that dragon, Dialga... it was nightmarishly powerful...
“Janus? Can I stay in this time a while longer? We don’t have to go to Sinnoh just yet”.
“All right then”. Janus grinned and gestured to the gateway leading to Unova’s Route 4 in an excessively dramatic fashion. “The road of adventure is ahead of us! Let us take our first footsteps into a new adventure together!”
“Show-off” Nat grumbled.
“I hope we’ll be all right...” Kara said.
“Well, whatever happens, as long as they stay nice to us” Mael insisted.
“I’m sure they will” Ludo smiled. “What do you think, Mac?” Mackesy smiled and looked as Janus’s team moved towards the gate, the gigantic Steeler leading the way in what was surprisingly quick movement for such a bulky and armour-clad Pokemon. Each and every one of his team looked to be enjoying themselves, although Shuri paused to look at them (or at least, she appeared to be).
“Are you joining us on this trip?” Shuri’s feminine voice rang out surprisingly clearly; she was capable of seeing, speaking and feeling despite lacking any notable features indicating she could. Mackesy smiled and gestured towards the gate.
“We could be in many a worse spot. Come on, let’s get going...” she paused, then smiled and finished her sentence, “with our new friends”.