Arizona's POV

I was so relieved when I heard him call the nurse in the woods. I was thinking 'how nice of him, he wants me safe!'

But I guess he changed his mind.

He called to her again that I was okay.

Nothing's okay!

My eyes are certified to be free of their sockets and he lied to the nurse about my horrible conditions.

My eyes hurt so much.

It was only a few seconds ago that he called the nurse, and now?

Now he's leaving me alone.

My eyes watched him as he strode into some bushes, his figure sleek and smooth. He looked red and blurry. The blood is clouding my vision. And now I'm seeing double. I feel lightheaded…

What else wold I do but run? I ran out of the woods, trying to see well again. The grass was tinted red. Trees seemed to form a cage around me as I hobbled through the doubles.

Finally, I got into the clearing.

I squinted at the burning sun as it lowered to the horizon. It was surely 6 o' clock already.

I pulled some grass out of the dirt and then I pulled some more out. I sat down and continued pulling grass out of the ground.

It was hypnotizing, and in a way, kind of soothing. I tried to wait out the pain, wait for it to go down. When the pain was almost gone, I stood up and looked around me. The grass I pulled made a pile all around a big circle of dirt.

I shrugged to myself and walked toward my house. It was almost nighttime and my dad was probably worried sick.

Dean's POV

I'm a Persian, so what? I have a loving wife and a beautiful daughter. The whole thing about evil Persians happened so many years ago. I would never help a human poach Pokemon.

I love my daughter. She was such a graceful Eevee 15 years ago, but she's grown up. She evolved into an Espeon. I always thought it fit her.

But she's behind all the other girls in her grade.

She's never dated anyone. I know because, well, I know what it's like to have a crush.

That's entirely how I ended up with my wife, Nicole.

She realized I had a crush on her and asked me out when we were in 8th grade.

Been together ever since.

That's how Arizona… ahem… came to be.

And when you've created a beautiful Espeon like Arizona, it sure is a shock when she comes home from a walk late with a bloodied, bruised, scratched up, swollen face.

My poor daughter! She came home smiling. Smiling.

She's never that brave. She must've stopped to pull grass out of the ground. It helps her calm down. I never understood why, but that doesn't matter.

Nicole was in our room, working on something for her job. I yelled for her to get in here. Luckily her job is as a nurse.

She screamed and had a panic attack when she got into the room.

Nicole's POV

Arizona's face! It's so horrible… my poor little thing… Dean told me she went for a walk. She always walks right next to the woods, right? The dark types… They did this to her! I'll kill all of them! But first I have to tend to Arizona.

I ran into the bathroom and got a washcloth. I got it wet with water and brought it to Dean. He wiped her fur while I ran into my bedroom and had another panic attack.

I crawled under the covers and hugged a pillow. "Poor, poor, girl..." I said quietly.

Next thing I know, Dean's hugging me. I'm out of the bed, standing up, and Dean's hugging me. "It's okay, Nikki, she's okay…" he whispered. Hearing him say this made me cry more. I've gone through stuff like this. It's difficult to see your offspring with a face like that. And hearing Dean whisper my nickname (or as he calls it, Nikki name) was sadder.

He's called me Nikki since we first met. He still uses my real name, Nicole, a lot, but he's known me as Nikki since 8th grade.

Life was so much easier in 8th grade.

Arizona's POV

My dad wiped my face. It made my eye hurt again. The water was being rubbed into my open wounds, and honestly, it was more annoying than harmful.

I asked my dad to give me a mirror so I could see my face. "Um..." he paused. "Not yet." I wondered what he meant, but he got some bandages from the medicine cabinet in the kitchen.

It was the wrapping bandages, and he wrapped up right around half my head. The right side. Guess I won't be able to… see right anymore! Haha… I actually giggled out loud. That was embarrassing.

Dad handed me a mirror after he wrapped me up and my face looked worse than it felt. There was dried blood stuck in my fur, and my right eye was still bleeding through the bandage. My left eye was black, and when I noticed cuts on my neck, I remembered the entire scene in full detail. As if I was watching it happen, I know every movement.

Arizona's Flashback

…...He'll think I'm a stalker… I thought. Next thing I know, I'm colliding face first into a tall, sharp tree. I tripped and fell down and scratched my face even more on the sharp wood. Clumps of fur were pulled off my face and stuck to the tree. Feeling this, I stumbled backward and ran into another tree, which caught me so off guard, I looked up suddenly and stepped forward.

Onto a rock.

I tripped again and fell on my face, into some more rocks. I stumbled up and tried to deny the pain. Immediately, I wanted to leave. I whipped my face around.

Into another tree…

My face wasn't scratched, but my neck got cut. Not cut open, but cut. I wobbled forward and stopped to try recollecting the events, but nothing came to my banged up mind. But next think I know, I hear rustling and Pierce emerged from the bushes. I forgot all about the pain and stared at his worried face…..

End of Arizona's Flashback