(*Tick*...*Tick*...*Tick*...*Tick*)

The only noise being made in the otherwise silent waiting room of the Pokémon Center was the ticking of the old wall clock near the front desk. Brennan and Luna sat in silence just like they had been doing for close to three hours now. Brennan sat staring down at the white tiled floors, his red eyes showing signs of him crying himself out. He still didn't know what to make of what had happened. Luna was worried. She had discretely glanced over at Brennan several times already, wanting to say something to him. But she didn't. She didn't know what to say. She knew there was nothing she could say to make anything better.

It didn't take long for police, fire trucks, and ambulances to show up after the collapse of Team Scavenge's hideout. No one was quite sure how they were able to get there so quickly, or how they even found out what had happened, but they did. Regardless, they were lucky they got there when they did. Gardevoir had been trying to be some sort of comfort to Brennan when she collapsed into the dirt. She ended up falling unconscious, which is the main reason they were even at the Pokémon Center right now. The police wanted to question them about what happened, but Lane had managed to convince the officers to let he and Frankie go with them so Brennan and Luna could go to the Pokémon Center. They agreed, but they're still going to have to answer the officers questions eventually, but that was something neither one of them were even remotely concerned about at the moment.

The ambulance ride to the Pokémon Center was a hard one. Luna had to sit and watch, helplessly, as the man who had been like a brother to her fell apart in front of her. Losing Blaziken, and now Gardevoir is in the state she's in after everything he went through to get her back. And all of this was Team Scavenge's fault.

Brennan had been staring down at the floor since the minute he sat down. The events of what had happened just a mere few hours ago kept repeating themselves over and over again in his head. It all happened so quickly. It was still hard to even process everything. He didn't know how to. He had honestly never felt so broken—so defeated before. They were sitting there waiting for someone to come out there and let them know anything about Gardevoir. They were told when they brought her in that she looked to be in really bad shape. Hearing that put Brennan even further on the edge than he already was.

"Mr. Fischer?" A soft voice spoke, finally breaking the silence that had previously taken over the room. Brennan's head shot up as his attention was finally shifted from the tiled floor, to the nurse that had approached them.

"Gardevoir... is she okay?" Brennan asked, speaking for the first time in hours, as he hopped to his feet, clutching his ribs as he did. His voice was a bit scratchy from the crying and continued silence, but he didn't even notice. The nurse's soft expression turned somewhat somber with his question.

"We were able to remove the collar from around her neck. After having a local professor dissect it, he was able to determine that Gardevoir was taking in shocks the equivalent to being electrocuted by four Pikachu's at once. And after the numerous amounts of shocks she sustained, she shouldn't even be here right now." She explained. Brennan felt like his already broken heart just sank into the bottom of his stomach. "However, she is a fighter," that made him slightly relax. "She is in comatose state right now, and if she wakes up, she may not be able to battle again. But I would still take that as a victory. It would be a victory in itself." As she finished, Brennan looked down towards the floor as more tears started to fight their way out of his eyes. 'A comatose state...?', that wasn't good. He closed his eyes tight and slowly began to shake his head as the fear of her never waking up forced its way into his head.

"Brennan..." Luna spoke softly as she placed a comforting hand on his back.

"C-can I... can I see her?" Brennan asked quietly, looking back up at the nurse. Luna could hear how choked up he was. He was trying to keep himself from breaking down again is what it boiled down to. The nurse gave him a single nod.

"Of course." She replied softly, and sympathetically. She motioned Brennan and Luna to follow her as she led them to Gardevoir's room. They made their way through the large dark blue doors to the patient rooms. They followed the nurse down the hallway, only stopping once they reached the door that led to Gardevoir's room. The nurse stepped out of the way, deciding not to say anything as she did. Brennan stared down at the silver handle for several seconds, before finally turning it. He slowly pushed the door open, peaking into the room as he did. Gardevoir lay motionless on the bed in the middle of the small room. Brennan's lip began to tremble as he felt himself ready to break down again. Seeing Gardevoir laying there like that with an IV in her arm and the beeping of a heart monitor being the only noise in the otherwise silent room broke him even more than he already was.

"G-Gardevoir...?" He muttered sadly, as he slowly crept towards the bed. Luna stayed in the doorway watching. A few tears of her own escaped as she watched the pained Brennan make his way to the motionless Gardevoir. It hurt her even more seeing where they were now compared to where they were and how happy everyone was just a few days ago.

Brennan finally reached the side of the bed, after having to pause for a few seconds to regain himself. Gardevoir still lay unmoving. He opened his mouth to speak again, but no words came out. At least not at first. "G-Gardevoir, I-I... I'm sorry." His apology was almost a whisper it was so soft.

Luna gave Brennan a few seconds before joining him at the bed. She stared down at Gardevoir in silence. Seeing her like that brought more tears to her eyes. She eventually moved her hand up to Brennan's back and slowly began rubbing it. "She's going to make it. Don't worry." She spoke softly. Brennan didn't remove his eyes from Gardevoir, nor did he respond.

"Um... I'm sorry to interrupt, but Ms. Lovings, Delphox is awake if you'd like to see her." The same nurse spoke softly as she approached the pair. Luna was happy her Pokémon was awake, but at the same time, a somber feeling quickly hit her realizing she had to be the one to tell her about Blaziken.

"T-thank you. I'm going to stay with him a few more-" Luna began, before being interrupted before she could finish.

"-No. It's okay. Go. She's probably confused to what's going on. Go be with her so she's not alone." Brennan said. Luna stared over at him for several seconds before finally agreeing.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Luna said. Brennan gave her a single nod.

"Yeah..." he muttered, still not removing his eyes from Gardevoir. Luna gave him another soft pat on the back before finally following the nurse back out of the room, knowing that she was about to have to break her poor Delphox's heart with the news about Blaziken. The loud click of the door closing interrupted the beeping for a moment, but just a moment. The beeping returned as Brennan was left alone with Gardevoir. The longer he stared at her the more it broke his heart.

His eyes remained locked on her face for several more seconds before he closed them. Another tear managing to escape before he did. He stood there eyes closed for he didn't know how long. The loud cry of an upset Pokémon eventually made him reopen them. He already knew who the Pokémon was. Hearing her cry made his lips begin to quiver, as his own sobs once again pick back up. He placed his hands on the railing on the side of the bed to keep himself on his feet as he closed his eyes back and once again began crying.

He felt defeated. He tried so hard to accomplish one thing, but ended up failing another. If he would have just stayed in bed that day none of this would have happened. Because of him everyone else was suffering. Lane and Frankie we're currently being questioned by the police, Luna was having to tear her already beaten Delphox's heart in half, Gardevoir was in a coma, and Blaziken... Blaziken sacrificed himself to get everyone out of the mess Brennan got them all in. Then the realization hit Brennan that he was going to have to break the news to the rest of his Pokémon...

This whole situation was the worst thing that Brennan had ever been involved in.

He breathed out a heavy, pain-filled sigh before reopening his eyes. He shook his head before turning and grabbing the green padded chair that rested up against the wall not too far from Gardevoir's bed. He pulled it closer to the bed— his wobbly legs and pain-filled ribs forcing him to sit down in it once it was close enough. If he would have waited any longer to grab it he would have been sitting in the floor at that moment.

He sat there, still. Full of pain, anguish, and sadness, just watching Gardevoir. Hoping for even the slightest bit of movement. But... nothing. She remained unmoving.

Brennan fully believed that she would wake up. She had to. She is strong. She's a fighter. She wouldn't let this keep her down. She couldn't. He also knew that when she did wake up, he was going to be there. No matter how long it took, he wasn't leaving her side. He was going to be there for her like she would him if the roles were reversed. A week, a month, a year— it didn't matter. He would wait for her. Knowing that seeing her open her big beautiful eyes and flash him his favorite smile in the world once again would be well worth the wait.

He couldn't wait to see them again.

•••

•••

•••

It was black. So black she couldn't see anything. Her eyes slowly began to open, slightly flickering as they did. She didn't know where she was at. She pushed herself into a sitting position as she looked around in the dark.

"Gardevoir!" She cried out as she quickly climbed to a standing position. Nothing. It was silent. So, so silent. She would have been able to hear a pin drop.

"No one can hear you." A deep, unfamiliar voice spoke. She frantically looked around for the owner but continued to see nothing but the blackness. "It is just you and I in here Gardevoir. No one else." This got the Pokémon's search to grow even more frantic. But again, she saw nothing.

"Gardevoir!" She yelled before rushing off into a random direction, trying to get away from the loud, mysterious voice. She glided away as fast as she could. But no matter how fast she was going, or how far she thought she had gone, it didn't seem like she was making any progress. Everything that surrounded her was a seemingly never ending black void. A black void that she didn't know if she was going to be able to escape from. Once that realization hit her, she stopped. Stopped and looked around once more. Everything had remained the same. She dropped back down to her knees staring down at the blackness of the ground below her.

"As I said, it is just you and I in here Gardevoir." The mysterious voice spoke once again. Gardevoir remained staring at the ground, doing her best to just ignore it. But she couldn't. She knew with whatever emptiness she was currently in, she wouldn't be able to ignore it.

"Gardevoir?" She asked in an almost inaudible tone. She wanted to know where she was. She didn't know if the owner of the voice would understand her, but-

"We're inside your head." It responded. This caused Gardevoir to quickly look up. She was pretty surprised that the voice even understood her. "Your energy, it was drained by the color. You're in a coma." Gardevoir shook her head as tears swelled in her eyes. She had heard of being in "a coma" before from a tv Show she had watched with Brennan.

Brennan...

She NEEDED to get out of there. She quickly jumped back up once again in a panic.

"Gardevoir! Gardevoir! Gard-e-voir!" She exclaimed.

"I'm sorry Gardevoir, but there is only a very slim chance that you'll wake from your coma. Brennan may just have to move on." The voice spoke. Gardevoir shook her head again, refusing to take that as an answer.

"VOIR!" She yelled angrily. She wasn't about to give up. To lose everything she had waited so long to get. To... not see Brennan again. She refused. "Gardevoir. Gardevoir?!" Her question rang into the abyss for several seconds before the voice spoke once again.

"You're weak. Beaten. Lacking energy. Your body... it's suffered—taken more damage than it should have. Determination. That's what you need. Determination to wake up. To see your friends again. I feel your want... but I don't think you can." This response, it gave Gardevoir hope. It's what she needed to hear. Regardless of what this mysterious voice said, she was determined. She was going to fight her way out of this coma she was in. She was going to see Brennan again.

She stood still. Eyes closed, focusing. Focusing on seeing Brennan again. Focusing on being in his arms. Focusing on being with him. Focusing on the future they could have together. She needed it. She needed him.

"Try, try, try all you want. You will fail." The voice spoke, sounding less supportive than it already did. Gardevoir once again ignored it as she tried to focus harder. No matter what the voice said she wasn't going to give up.

*BEEP*

A faint beep slightly startled the Pokémon. She didn't know what it was, or where it had come from, but she knew it must have been a good thing to hear.

*BEEP*

Another beep was heard. Still faint; but louder than the last. She threw all of her determination into ignoring the nothingness around her. Focusing on what she wanted: a future with Brennan in it.

*BEEP* *BEEP*

The beeps were becoming more constant and loud now. But she still didn't know what they were.

"G-*inaudible*-ir." Her eyes almost shot open as she heard the very soft, and very faint voice. It wasn't the voice that she had been talking to. No. This one was... different. "I-I'm *inaudible*-rry." The voice was still faint. But it was more clear now. And it was a voice she recognized.

It was... Brennan.

Another tear formed in her eye as she heard his voice again. She was doing it. She was actually doing it! She couldn't believe it.

"Impressive. Now it's time to see if you can actually go all the way with it. Are you strong enough?" The voice asked.

"VOIR!" Gardevoir yelled out, trying to keep herself focused as she did.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

"I can't *inaudible* -ose you t-*inaudible*." It was Brennan again. His voice was clearer than before, but she still wasn't getting everything he was saying.

And then she felt her hand being grabbed even though she knew no one was there to grab it. But it felt so real.

Her mind was focused. She was almost there. She could feel it. She was about to be with Brennan again, and she wasn't going to stop until she was.

•••

•••

•••

Brennan had now been sitting in Gardevoir's room for several hours. He had refused to leave her side for any reason. Luna had taken Delphox home awhile ago. She had accepted Brennan's refuse to leave Gardevoir, but didn't want him to starve. After her heartbroken Pokémon fell back asleep, she wanted to try and get away from the pain for a few minutes, so she invited him to come get something to eat with her. He declined. She did end up bringing him something back though. But the food had remained sitting in the white plastic bag on the tray Luna had sat it on. Brennan had been too sick over everything to even think about food. Sure his stomach had shown signs of resistance, but he ignored it.

He lightly shuffled forward in his seat, still not taking his eyes off of Gardevoir. "Gardevoir..." he finally spoke for the first time since Luna left hours before. His voice was quiet. "Gardevoir I'm—I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let this happen to you." Tears once again started swelling in his eyes as he looked towards the floor, shaking his head. "I-I'm so sorry that I got you into this. B-but I need you to please wake up. I-I can't lose—lose both of you in the same day. I just... can't." Tears we're streaming down his cheeks at this point. He couldn't lose both Gardevoir and Blaziken in the same day. He honestly wasn't sure of what he would do if he did.

He gently grabbed ahold of Gardevoir's right hand that had previously been lying on the bed. He gave it a very light squeeze before softly kissing the back of it. "I-I'm sorry." He cried as he rested his forehead against it. Tears dripped off of his face, and down onto it. He had thought he had already cried himself dry, but he was wrong.

He kept his head resting on her hand, not noticing what was happening just above him. Gardevoir's eyes slowly began to open. Very, very slowly. She didn't know where she was, or what was going on. But she did feel her hand being held. She weakly squeezed the other hand back. This caused Brennan's head to lift up off of it. He was confused at first, before finally hearing a low, groan coming from someone that wasn't him. He looked up towards Gardevoir's face and saw her struggling to open her eyes.

He stared at her for several seconds in shock, until their eyes met. That's when he began sobbing again. But this time out wasn't out of sadness; it was out of relief.

"G-Gar-de..." Gardevoir managed to say. Brennan shot up from the chair and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him, whilst also trying to be carful. Brennan's happy sobs continued as he once again held the live Pokémon in his arms. It was weak, but Gardevoir did her best to hug him back. She closed her eyes again taking in the fact that she was once again in his arms.

Almost a minute passed before Brennan pulled away just enough to see her face. A small smile forced its way onto it as their eyes met. As Brennan's tears slowed, his smile grew. He gently rested his forehead against Gardevoir's. They were staring at each other like it was the first time they had seen each other in years.

"I'm never going to let you go again. I promise." Brennan spoke softly before kissing her forehead.

"G-Gardevoir." She replied just as softly. "Please Don't" was her response, and she meant it. Her and Brennan embraced once more, just holding each other. Holding each other as if they let each other go, they'd lose the other. Neither of them ever wanted that again.

They had each other back. And just for a moment, Brennan finally had something to make him happy. He had something to clear his mind of all of the hurt he had already suffered today. But that was just for a moment. A moment that wouldn't last. But for now, he and Gardevoir had each other. That's what they both needed.