Though Ōpūnui's anger and harsh words still whirled around in my mind, along with the painful realization of my own awful actions towards the Pidgeot of my late husband's, I still tried vainly to sound happy as I called out to my battle partner. I stopped my sentence short though when I saw the condition Burnet was in.

The woman's normally tanned skin was nearly as pale as her white hair. As I rushed closer, I was shocked to notice dark circles under her eyes, indicating the sleeplessness of the Professor too. Her breath came in short rasps as she worked to pull air into her tired lungs.

How could you have missed this? I questioned myself.

"What is this?" My voice sounded almost incredulous as I drew near. The young Professor had had a similar attack like this before, when we were sprinting to my sister's house on the day Sashi was kidnapped. Though she had recovered from it quickly then, she had not told me what was going on then or since, but clearly, this time, it was something more serious.

"Sit down, Miku," Ōpūnui said, all emotions from earlier swept away as he expertly moved on to his long-time profession as a medical doctor. He looked her up and down carefully, scanning her clothing for something, then asked "Where's your medicine?"

"It's in the house," Mel answered after a very brief pause that I recognized as a flash of her using her Psychic powers to probe the mind of the ailing woman. I could tell she was mentally ready to run towards the house, but the close proximity of two of her Pokémon also told me that she was frozen from her own exhaustion.

"Mel, tell me where it is." I snapped at the taller woman, but another shout from the direction of the house stopped me in place.

"Mommy!" My daughter was yelling.

Now I froze, horror seizing my body, making my feet feel as though cemented to the ground. She sounded terrified.

Was that how Kai sounded as his ship went down? The sudden question dawned, further rooting me to the ground. Were people unable to react then too? Terror freezing them to the spot as their doom swallowed them?

I closed my eyes tightly, trying to push down the panic rising in me. No! I told myself. Don't go there right now. That isn't pertinent to the situation

An uncommon curse slipping from Ōpūnui's mouth took me by surprise as he exclaimed, "Doctor Māhoe, get to the house, take him with you." He threw out a PokeBall and released his Meganium from earlier, telling it swiftly what to do. "He can battle without commands." He added.

The flash of light from it didn't pull my mind from my terror, but it did force my body into action. I sprinted off in the direction of the home, fear for my daughter pushing me forward.

"Anya, wait," a sudden command from Mel came. Just as I was about to crest the top of the rocky slope, something unseen but powerful seized onto mine and the large green Pokémon's body, forcing us down.

She's pulled me off my feet with that accursed ability of her's! Why in the name of Darkrai would she do that at a time like this?

I didn't have time to think about it for more than a heartbeat before a flash of cloven hooves pounded the rocks where my head would have been and one of Mel's Pokémon came galloping towards the other humans, clearing the wall in a single bound and taking no notice of my downed form. I tried scrambling to my feet in vain but continued to be held still Psychically as a flurry of Mel's other Pokémon came rushing down to the beach as well.

My heart pounded in my chest, the sound of rushing fluid filled my head, and a thousand emotions, thoughts, and memories engulfed my mind as I watched the scene before me helplessly.

I can't move! My daughter is in danger and I'm stuck to the ground by a Psychic! This is just like when I was a child! I couldn't do anything then either! I struggled more desperately against the force, straining my muscles and squirming anxiously, in complete uselessness.

Finally the feeling of pressure released from my body, I jumped to my feet and stole a swift glance at the gathering crowd, only to pause. There were three children on the beach now. They were the kids from the house.

I dashed towards them, now unhindered by anything, and scooped my daughter off of the yellow and brown Pokémon she had been riding on, skidding to a halt in bewildered trepidation. Mel reached her hand to me and Himiko, but I lifted onto one leg and kicked it away furiously, screaming, "Don't touch her." I was running on pure instinct and adrenaline now, fully lacking any control over the fear rushing over my mind.

"Snap out of it. We don't have time for you to have a meltdown," Ōpūnui said with a commanding tone. "Let Doctor Gomez see Himiko."

"Silence Ori! You aren't doing anything to help by yelling at her." I felt her power rush past me as she quieted his protest. Then she turned to me, "I'm not going to hurt her." Mel soothed, sounding far kinder than her old mentor had, her voice flipping instantly to gentility. The switch in their attitudes stood out in stark contrast, further fueling my confusion. The female doctor held up both her hands, indicating their emptiness with a flick of her head, then said "Look, I won't even touch her. I just need to have that medicine."

I shifted my eyes to the three-year-old tucked stiffly in my arms and saw a tiny pill bottle in her hand. The child reached out without being told and dropped it into Mel's outstretched palm, the Psychic moving cautiously closer to catch it. The green-eyed woman then silently turned back to the group and handed the bottle over to the male doctor.

My legs shook underneath me and I sank to the ground. I watched in wide-eyed silence as Ōpūnui administered the medicine and Mel went around checking Faline and Lei for injuries.

Even as she moved, and the form of my daughter struggled uncomfortably in my arms, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the crying child of Burnet's. Lei had calmed down from a baby's wail to just a few whimpers as his small gray eyes watched his two family members, mother and grandfather, before him. He was held securely by the Psychic fox Pokemon of Mel's. The child was far too young to know what was going on. All he knew to do was yell and allow his emotions to be made known by the sound of his cries.

I was useless just now. I'm supposed to be a Doctor, and I knew I had to do something. Arceus, I even knew what had to be done. There's something wrong with Burnet's heart. How could I have missed this? It's obvious she's not been getting adequate sleep. I saw that plainly when she met me on the beach. And yet I allowed myself to ignore this fact. If Burnet dies, it would be all my fault. I could have prevented this! I could be the reason Lei becomes an orphan.

"Anya. Listen to my voice. Come back to me," Mel said, a careful Psychic touch on my mind. "We're heading back to the house. Doctor Ōpūnui needs to run to the hospital and Burnet has to rest." My eyes focused on her calm green ones as she continued, her voice taking on a soothing quality, almost sounding like a cadence. "I think you should get a bit more sleep too. Come on. This way. Watch yourself on that step there. Very good. Just keep following me." She went on, careful to not physically touch me or my daughter this time.

When my mind finally returned fully, we were already in the house. I was seated on the couch, a blanket set carefully over my shoulders. Faline and Himiko sat on the other side of the seat next to each other, silent and unmoving, still too shocked by the sudden events to want to play. The soothing voice of Mel had slid away and instead, I heard the much deeper voice of my old mentor.

"It doesn't appear to be broken. I believe it may be just a sprain. I'll have to borrow my colleagues Luxray and imaging computer to be certain. Though, I may just call the hospital and see if she can bring them down. I don't really feel comfortable leaving at the moment."

"Doctor, I'll be just fine. I don't believe there's much damage either." The voice of Mel said respectfully. "I bet you the bruise will look far worse than the actually injury." Shuffling from the kitchen sounded, but I couldn't bring myself to move, so I merely listened to the wisened Doctors speaking softly to each other. "Here we are. I knew they would have ice." The older woman said with attempted optimism.

There was a long pause as more shuffling came, a few more cupboards opening as Doctor Gomez searched quietly for something else.

Probably a compression wrap. My mind spoke with shame. I didn't exactly hold back when I kicked her hand. Honestly, I'm shocked it's not broken and it will most certainly be painful.

"It's been a couple of years since she's had an episode that bad." Ōpūnui said, his voice shaking with the force of his sigh, sounding terribly worried and distraught. "And I know I wasn't much help in the situation."

"What else could you have done?" Mel asked softly, the sound of a chair moving gently over the hardwood floor indicating the woman sitting down.

"I shouldn't have lost my temper for starters. I know that can exasperate her condition."

"What happened isn't your fault. Everyone makes mistakes. And with with everything's that's been happening, it's no wonder tensions are high."

"You don't understand. I should have known something like this was going to happen. I know her well enough. She's practically like a daughter to me."

"You can't beat yourself up for not predicting the future." The Psychic answered soothingly.

Ōpūnui let out a small huff. "I'm surprised it took so long honestly. What with what happened to her husband and all."

"She's got more control over herself than you realize. I don't think you give her quite enough credit for how far she's come." The woman defended.

"Yes, and I know that usually comes with age, but I still worry she'll get hurt one of these days."

Now Mel let out a sigh. "I can understand why. But there are some things she needs to learn on her own."

"This would all be so much easier if Kai were here to help calm her-" His words cut off suddenly and a small pause followed.

"Anya, I know you can hear us," Mel said gently.

A scooting of a chair and quickly approaching feet followed, then Ōpūnui was in front of me, kneeling on the ground. "How do you feel?"

There was a small chirp by my ear, and I realized with a jolt that the old Doctor's Comfey was by my head, and his Meganium was laying next to the couch, letting off a sweet, soothing scent from its petals.

Had they been talking about me?

"Where's Burnet?" I finally forced myself to say.

"She's resting in her room. She'll be alright." He said.

"But her heart-"

"It wasn't a bad instance. She's just not had enough sleep lately. Besides, her medicine works quickly and very well. She was even able to walk most of the way back to the house."

"But she-" I stumbled, trying to find my words, "And you! Don't you need to get to the hospital?" I switched, recalling the conversation and thinking with a pit of shame about Mel's injured hand. "You need-"

He cut me off once more, not realizing that I'd been listening in for so long. "Anya, she's fine and the hospital can wait. It's you I'm worried about. May I give you a quick exam, please?" He nearly begged. "I want to be certain you aren't injured."

"I-" again I stumbled on my words, but this time, he allowed me to continue. "There's only a couple of scrapes and bruises. I can tend to them myself." My voice sounded hollow.

"Are you sure? It'd be no trouble for me. Or Doctor Gomez could look you over too, if you'd prefer." He paused and looked at me, worry burning in his gray eyes. A silence stretched out between us as minutes ticked by, the realization of his words about me striking me in shock.

He thinks of me more as family than just another colleague or old student. I have done nothing to deserve this.

Finally, I choked out, "I'm sorry, Ori. I had been doing so well. I truly haven't had any breakdowns like this for such a long time. Even after Kai-" but I couldn't finish my sentence.

Ōpūnui placed a comforting hand on my knee but did not interrupt as I looked for more words.

Finally, my thoughts broke and I allowed my questions to spill out. "How do you continue moving forward as if your wife was still here? And you Mel, what about Mahon? I just can't understand how you two keep going. It's already been a year. Why does it still hurt so bad? Then Sashi and Kabir-" I broke off. "And I thought Himiko was-"

"Alright. That's enough. You don't have to say anything more." He quieted, a look of pained understanding flashing in his eyes, as he pulled me in for a hug that felt like it came from my own father. His voice broke as he whispered, "I know."