PROLOGUE: REACHING OUT

Mikasa Ackerman awoke with a gasp, drenched in sweat. She shot up onto her knees, nearly hitting her head on the bunkbed, the one that she no longer had anyone to share with. Mikasa wasn't quite sure where she was at first and looked around in a panicky way. It took her a moment before she calmed down a bit when she realized she was just in her room.

A white night gown flowed around her feet, its soft fabric brushing comfortably against her skin. Her black hair softly brushed against her cheeks, the obsidian locks sticking to her face. The nineteen-year-old placed a hand to her forehead, her head pounding as memories ran through her brain, tearing her up within, making her feel like nothing more than the helpless, lost, shattered nine-year-old she used to be.

She heard Greninja awake, softly placing a hand on her shoulder. She never put him in a Pokeball when she slept; it was far too comforting to know that he was sleeping right by her side, sheltering her from the horrors that she had been through.

She still remembered when he was only a Froakie, and was small enough to fit in her arms, the same way a child would hold a stuffed toy. After a moment of consideration, she realized that she was only a child when he was a Froakie, and that's exactly what he was like to her; a comforter. Someone to ease the cold, lonely nights she spent, curled under her blanket in the room she shared at the Jaeger's, too frightened and traumatized to even think of getting out of bed during those sleepless nights, because she was afraid; afraid that she would go downstairs, only to find that she had lost her new family too.

She hadn't been too wrong about that; eventually, she did lose Auntie Carla and Uncle Grisha…just like how she had lost her parents.

Mikasa curled into herself further, gripping her extremely short black locks as she suffered from a severe headache, that was getting even worse the more she remembered of her past.

Greninja softly embraced her, it's light red eyes softening. Mikasa softly wrapped her arms around it shakily, feeling sort of pathetic.

"I'm an adult, and I can't even bear a nightmare on my own. That's why I wasn't able to save…to save…"

Tears streamed down her cheeks, and Greninja spoke, softly saying the only thing it could, although Mikasa knew exactly what every word meant.

"Greninja, Greninja, Greninja, Gre?"

"Another nightmare, Mikasa?"

She nodded softly. She felt a small hand softly tap her back, and heard a small voice speak up.

"Cubo, cu!"

"Mikasa!"

She softly turned. Sitting there, was a small Pokémon that Mikasa softly reached out to, gently touching her cheek. It was wearing a skull on it's head, although it's light brown eyes were shining very obviously even in the dark room. It's light, caramel brown fur covered it's body, except for it's stomach, which was a milky color. It had a short, stubby tail, and small spikes on it's back, although they weren't sharp to the touch. It stood upright, like a person, and looked up at Mikasa, straight in the eyes.

It's small paws held a bone in the right hand and a large, long, worn down, maroon scarf, which had many stitches on it, showing that it was falling apart. The large scarf it was holding, resembled a very similar, tiny, stitched up scarf that was wrapped around it's neck, rather delicately.

"Thank you," Mikasa said, softly taking the large scarf and throwing it around her own shoulders, sighing as it touched the skin of her neck.

"Cubone!" exclaimed the small creature, his eyes locking with Mikasa's.

"No problem!"

Mikasa tensed when there was a knock on the door, feeling uneasy at the sound. Greninja held her from behind, while she gripped Cubone, making sure he was safe in her embrace.

"Mikasa? Are you alright? Can I come in?"

Mikasa calmed when she heard the sound of her childhood friend at the door.

"Come in!" Mikasa called back. As the door creaked open, she glanced back at her two best friends, Greninja and Cubone, and remembered the days she had spent with them. The good and bad…the peaceful and the dangerous…and she felt thankful to have them by her side.

She still remembered when her whole world was ruined…when her whole world was changed…and when her best friends reached out and took her heart for themselves.

Hey everybody...um, I'm really sorry that I haven't updated or posted in a long time. I'm letting you all know that I will be updating and posting very normally now. Expect chapter updates on my stories REAL soon. Love you guys. Thank you for sticking with me for so long!