Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or anything else.

Belle finally felt like she was back in the swing of things. White's wounds were healing, and Black was finally coming to terms with what happened. He couldn't change who he was, but he could change what he did. He even allowed Wally to drag him to the coffee chop when White was working again.

So, naturally, it was back to mystery solving.

Belle was making her way to the coffee shop to meet the others on that particular, peculiar day. The sky was unusually clear, and Belle felt the wind pushing her along, guiding her towards her destination. Things were okay. Everything was fine.

Until.

The ambushers sprung out from every corner, every possible place. Some jumped out of bushes, from behind signs, from inside buildings, bearing gleaming swords and spitting rifles. Some had even been in disguise as townsfolk she'd passed only moments before. The entire attack whirled through the streets, causing havoc like a tornado sweeping up the city streets. Belle managed to catch a glimpse of the ambushers' uniforms beneath their black coverings; they were that of Kanto.

Her own people were here, in the capital of Unova, attacking innocents.

Her own people were here, in the capital of Unova, attacking her.

Belle wanted to shout that she was from Kanto, just like them, but who would believe her? All she could do was hold out her hands and plead for mercy.

"Please," she begged of the invader who had cornered her, "do not do this. This cannot be taken back. Please, find your humanity. This is not the way to honour your kingdom!"

It did not stop the soldier from slicing her leg open.

She fell, hitting the cobblestones so hard that the wind was knocked out of her. Tears violently sprang to her eyes and trailed down her face. From the blood spilling onto the ground, she was not long for the world. Still, she rolled beneath a bench and tried as best as she could to keep pressure on the wound as she sniveled and sobbed. Her sister had been the one to teach her what to do if she was bleeding, but nothing could prepare her for such an injury.

Her sister. Yellow. How Belle wished that she was there.

Medics scrambled by, trying to tend to the hurt, but the invaders showed no compassion even to them. Belle averted her eyes from the carnage. The massacre.

Please, she prayed to whoever was listening. Please help. Help her or the other citizens, she didn't know. She just knew the word "help".

She wished someone could find her, or save her. The medics stood little chance and who else was there? She did not want to wish any of her friends out in this mess. She hoped they were safe at least.

In the white-hot pain of the gash, in the dizziness that came with losing so much blood, names flashed before her: Yellow, Emerald, Pearl, Black, White, Wally, Gold, Cheren…Her friends. Her family. The names kept going, rolling by one by one in a sickening cycle.

Yellow, Emerald, Pearl, Black, White, Wally, Gold, Cheren…

Poppy was summoned to Drayden's office once again.

She knew exactly the reason from the start. Still, she padded along the winding corridors of the manor, hoping that she was wrong. Her heart was down to her boots, being pounded on by her feet. The doors swung open with creaking majesty. And she stood under the sharp gaze of her adoptive father.

"Poppy," he began in his gruff voice. There was no need to sugarcoat anything. Not with her. "You've heard the news?"

She nodded. "Kanto soldiers ambushed our capital city today."

He folded his hands. "And do you know what this means?"

"That the Kanto soldiers have been here this entire time, right beneath our noses. That they could have forces elsewhere. That they could be planning other attacks to win this war before the real fighting starts. If not, then that means the fighting is about to start."

"You're quite perceptive." This compliment was coupled with the real reason she was here. "And so you must know why I've called you today?"

Poppy stared at her feet. "Because of my mission."

"Indeed. Times like these are urgent. You must understand that you're running out of time." Drayden's voice was ice. "The tensions between kingdoms are escalating so fast that before we know it, we'll be on the front lines, fighting for our nations. It's extremely vital that the prince is killed now, before things get any worse. That way, there is no risk of the democracy being overthrown. Would you like me to assign someone else to this job?" He knew exactly what to say to get her to do as he asked.

"No," she answered. "No, I will do this. I will. Before you know it, the prince of Unova will be dead at my feet." Drayden believed it. Poppy believed it.

Black loathed that he had to make two trips to the local hospital in such a short amount of time.

He had been with White and Wally within the surprisingly sound barriers of the coffee shop when the ambush—no, massacre—occurred. White and her coworkers had leapt into action, making sure all of the entrances and exits were close and protecting anyone within the building. Black and his two friends had managed to get out after it was finished without so much as a scrape.

Belle had not been so lucky.

She'd been on her way to meet them, a fawn frolicking in her own habitat, when the Kanto huntsmen came. And they were quite the huntsmen; they showed no mercy to even the weakest of animals, the lamest of humans. They showed no mercy to a young blonde girl—who was a stranger to them, but a sister and a valued friend and so much more than they could ever imagine.

In truth, every life wasted that day was important. The soldiers just hadn't seen it that way (or maybe they had and their sense of duty was simply too great, though Black hardly though that was the case.)

Belle was unconscious when they reached her hospital room. There was no family waiting outside for her; they were in Kanto, the kingdom whose soldiers had broken her. It was a cruel and harsh irony.

Nellie told a nurse that she was Belle's cousin to get closer. She brought the information she'd collected back to Black and Wally treating it as if it were precious knowledge, for it was to them. It was their link to their fainted friend.

"The medics confirmed that Belle will be okay," White relayed. "Her condition was poor at first, and it looked as though she would not make it for the blood loss, but she pulled through. By the birds…she's pulling through." White collapsed into a chair, breathing out in relief.

Black noticed only then the rings around her eyes. And the way that Wally's hands were bright red from being anxiously wrung. Black himself showed concern in the form and greatly-tousled hair. He pushed a hand through his locks again, drifting to White's side. Together, the three of them stayed there, waiting, worrying, for a long while.

A/N: LOOK. IT'S A SHORT AND HORRIBLE CHAPTER.
Ugh school. We're almost done. We're almost done...I've just gotta get through finals...
More next week, I promise.
Rant over. Thank you for reading + sticking with me.
-Silvia