It was almost like last time, she pondered as she woke up in a hospital gown, slightly disoriented and with one eye glued shut. The sky was still dark outside the window and a nurse was fiddling with her IV when she noticed that Yun was coming to. She started speaking to her in a soft, gentle tone.

"Awake already? How are you feeling?"

There were too many questions of her own fighting their way to her tongue to be able to answer the young woman. So she settled for the one that covered most of them at once.

"What happened?"

It made the nurse frown slightly but her tone wasn't unkind. "That's what we like to know as well. Your friend called the emergency line but wasn't exactly in a clear state of mind..." She shook her head. "A ranger will want to take your statement but don't worry, I won't let him in as long as you're not up to it."

Yun pursed her lips, she only wanted to know what happened after she passed out, the rest she could recall just fine. She shrugged it off and remembered something more pressing just then.

"My Pokémon? Are they..." Getting anxious without them in sight, she trailed off, letting the unspoken question hang in the air.

Luckily she wasn't kept in suspense too long as the young woman pointed towards the nightstand next to her bed, her belt was on it with three Pokéballs as was her flashlight, now looking worse for wear. Shaking her head, the nurse muttered to herself. "Trainers... you're all the same."

Then she seemed to remember Yun was there and smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, they're all fine. Nothing was wrong with your Aron and Skorupi aside from exhaustion. The Fletchinder had some minor injuries that we took care of. He also sprained his leg but don't worry, it will heal with a little more rest. You on the other hand..."

Taking a deep breath, the nurse seemed to steel herself to deliver bad news. "That wound near your eye will probably scar. It's not that deep but the skin there is incredibly thin and fragile so there was only so much we could do. The other cuts won't be such a problem but there are ever so many of them... We're going to put you on antibiotics to prevent infection."

"Oh." She said dumbly as she touched her face, fingers ghosting over the adhesive strips keeping the wound closed. It felt swollen, which would explain why she couldn't open her eye. Not sure how she felt about a lifelong reminder of last night she decided to focus on other things.

"The other girl who was with me? How... is she?"

The nurse grimaced before moving to the other side of her bed. "Not... well...see for yourself." She answered quietly before pushing aside a curtain that had been dividing the room in two.

The blue track suit had been replaced for a clean white t-shirt and a pair of jeans but that was the only improvement to her appearance. Her face was a pale as a ghost and littered liberally with scratches, unseeing, bloodshot eyes focused in the distant as she sat ramrod straight in the middle of her bed. Her arms were equally marred and some of the exposed skin was already starting to form colorful bruising.

The Buneary was gone and Yun had trouble swallowing as she realized that it had probably been one of Akane's Pokémon. When the nurse lightly patted her shoulder before she left the room, she hardly noticed.

While the girl had taunted and insulted her regularly for the past year or so, that was also the only thing that she had done. This wasn't something she would have wished on her worst enemy, the girl hadn't deserved to lose her Pokémon like that.

"I-" Her voice broke the silence in the room. "I'm sorry."

Yun had to blink away tears when her former classmate turned to her with lifeless eyes. Her dry, cracked lips tore open when she formed her words, a small drop of blood slowly running down her chin. "Me too." The raw, guttural sound that escaped her abused throat reminded Yun of the Mismagius' chanting, making her shiver.

They descended back into a long heavy silence and Yun fought to urge to release one of her Pokémon to comfort herself, thinking it would be pretty inconsiderate to do so.

After a while the nurse returned with a tattered pink bag in hand an orange furred Pokémon, covered in bandages, walking behind her. It immediately dashed through the room towards it's trainer and Yun was relieved to recognize Akane's starter. A light returned in the other girl's eyes as the Pokémon hopped on the bed to lay on it's trainers lap, she gently wrapped her arms around it and started sobbing lightly.

"Here he is, as promised." The nurse offered a careful smile, not that Akane took any notice, and placed the bag beside her.

The door swung open abruptly, nearly making Yun and her former classmate jump in their seat, and a man in ranger uniform stalked in. His face was marred with deep lines, making it hard to guess his age.

"Ranger-san, you can't be he-"

"Nonsense," He barked, making both her and Akane flinch. "two kids were attacked on league regulated grounds. Other's may be in danger as we speak. I need to know what happened and it can't wait."

The nurse shook her head. "You told me your colleagues were patrolling the area. So surely-"

"As we were tonight and these kids still got hurt. They're birds, they could be anywhere."

Yun didn't exactly like the harsh tone the man used against the kind nurse but reminded herself that it wasn't necessarily a bad things that he took his job seriously. So she intervened readily, if not a bit nervously.

"I-I don't think you need to worry about that anymore. The Honchkrow was their leader and Tenno took care of it, uhm," She hesitated. "permanently."

The ranger's intense gaze landed on her and the lines in his face softened for a moment before they returned with a frown as he sat next to her bed. "I need you to start from the beginning, kid. Tenno is one of yours I'm guessing?"

She nodded. "My Fletchinder."

The nurse hovered near them uncertainly for a second before quietly sitting down on the other available chair.

With a deep breath, Yun continued. "I heard screaming in the distance... I-I didn't make anything of it at first. I've been bothered by Misdreavus before."

"Little pests." The ranger muttered darkly but gestured for Yun to continue.

She did. With all the details she could remember, she told him about the Mismagius and how it had stolen her belt. How she ran and ran, barely able to keep track of the ghost, to find her belt abandoned in a small clearing. Then she stumbled with her words a bit as she attempted to describe what she saw next.

Mid-sentence Akane's hoarse voice interrupted her. "It was just a little Murkrow, it was following me."

They all turned to look at her as she stared in the distance with round, haunted eyes. "It only appeared at dusk, always happy, always playful and always just out of reach. I wanted to capture it... but I didn't want to roam around in the dark. That evening I decided to give in and follow it. Jet and Fuwa were already out of their balls, r-ready to help."

Her face scrunched up then, trying but failing to keep the tears at bay. "I-I... it let me straight to it's leader. Fuwa was... Fuwa wa-s... and Jet... I left their Pokéballs in my tent so I couldn't recall them. Fuwa wouldn't have... I could have saved her if I-I hadn't been so stupid!" She was all but shouting at the end and everybody else was silent except for her Buizel. The water type had risen at the noise and was now holding his good paw to her face, tying to wipe away the tears while murmuring something softly.

It seemed to help somewhat as Akane calmed down but then she hunched in on herself, done talking.

There was a moment where no one said anything and Yun felt terrible for starting to speak again, reliving the memory which must have been so much worse for the other girl.

"I arrived to the scene," She suppressed the urge to whisper but her voice still sounded small, "and we fought. My Fletchinder singled out a Honchkrow that had been observing us from a distance while the rest of us battled the Murkrow. I'm not sure but, I could have sworn I saw the Mismagius from before... it was almost as if she led me there on purpose but... she was, I think, also fighting against them."

Akane looked up briefly then, her mouth forming a small o but no sound came out.

"And then Tenno, uhm, k-killed the other bird... and then it was over. Just like that, all the Murkrow fled."

Relieved to be done with her explanation she looked expectantly at the ranger, figuring he would know what to do with it. He nodded and stood up abruptly then bowed his head stiffly. "Thank you both for your co-operation, we will do everything in our power to prevent something like in the future."

It looked like he wanted to leave but he paused as he looked at the other girl, still drawn into herself. With notable hesitation he placed a hand on her shoulder and when Akane looked up he gave her a clearly unpracticed smile, the kind that told Yun he wasn't used to dealing with emotions. "This was not your fault, okay kid. Don't let me catch you blaming yourself again."

It sounded almost threatening with the serious tone he used and Akane nodded with wide eyes.

"Ranger-san." The nurse intervened and he turned to her gruffly, having dropped his smile.

"Yes, yes I'll be out of your hair now."

"The girl's Pokéball is still out there, as is her tent. If you could spare a moment to look for th-"

"My bag!" Yun called out, realizing with growing trepidation that all of her belongings were still in Eterna forest. All of her rations, her money, her clothes and not to forget her Pokédex, all waiting out there for a stranger to stumble across. She didn't even have her badge case nor trainer ID anymore.

The ranger sighed. "Do either of you remember where you left your stuff?"

Yun blanched and the look on their faces apparently told the ranger everything he needed to know because he pinched the bridge of his nose while muttering "Alright then..."

"It can't be that far from where we were found." She offered carefully.

"I'll have someone look for it." He sounded less than enthusiastic as he swiftly left the room.

"Well," Clapping her hands together the nurse spoke up, "now that that's out the way, let's move you kids to a proper room. You missed breakfast but I'll be sure to arrange something for lunch." Which was all good and well because Yun was not in possession of any money right now.

She was swift about removing Yun's IV and borrowed her an outfit from the lost and found, her tattered pj's having been thrown away. It was a black track suit with a white stylized Pokéball logo on it that was a tad too large for her and might as well have belonged to a boy. It really drove home that all her belongings might be gone forever, including the expensive jacket her parents had gotten her.

She had to blink away tears as she strapped on her belt, reminding herself that everything that mattered was with her while her fingers briefly caressed her Pokéballs. It was stupid to feel so sad about material things that could eventually all be replaced... but still, she wasn't sure how she would explain this to her parents. Her brand new gloves...

She shook her head and mutely followed the nurse to a large double room. It seemed she was adamant about keeping Akane and her together but Yun secretly wished for a moment to herself. However, looking at the other girl's vacant expression, she kind of understood why. The nurse was probably hoping they would console each other, not aware that they weren't really friends at all.

They both sat down on the beds placed opposite of each other, not saying a word. Occasionally, Yun rested a hand on one of her Pokéballs, trying to comfort herself with their presence. The silence was interrupted when their lunch arrived and while neither was hungry, Yun made an effort to tackle her meal, not sure when she would be able to afford the next one. Akane didn't bother and pushed the tray towards Jet, letting him pick out what he wanted. Yun stole a longing glance towards her belt.

"You can let them out, I don't mind." Akane's voice was still raspy as she looked at Yun, her starter to her side. "You probably think that... that it would upset me. But I'm glad they are okay. I-I would have never forgiven myself if anything happened to your team." She didn't cry anymore but their was a glassy quality to her eyes still.

"Oh." Was all Yun managed to say, while she put away her tray.

After some internal debate, she released Twinkle first, the bed creaking under the sudden increase in weight. She was the calmest member of her team and so it would be easiest to introduce her with minimal ruckus.

She appeared with her large blue eyes blinking in the light before spotting Yun as she hopped closer. Yun held out her hand and the small steel type gently bumped her head into her palm.

"Arooo." She whined softly.

"This is Twinkle, my newest member."

She was rewarded with a small unexpected smile from her former classmate. "Twinkle huh? What a funny name for a- uh, it suits her."

Yun wanted to laugh but restricted herself to a grin. "I'm going to confuse the hell out of people when she's evolved. They'll never see it coming."

The other girl did nodded sagely. "I can see it, people are going to think you're sending in a Jigglypuff or something but it turns out to be a bad ass Aggron."

Encouraged by Akane's response she released Reign next but the girl immediately flinched when her eyes landed on the bug and she looked... guilty. Then she remembered her former classmates insults and the fact that she had the choice between her Buizel and the Skorupi and hadn't chosen him. Looking back on that day, Yun was grateful for the other girl's choice. While she hadn't been thrilled at first, now she was more than glad that Reign had ended up on her team. She could not and did not want to imagine it any other way.

Her started didn't have eyes for anybody else in that moment as he cried out when he noticed his trainer.

"Sko! Skorupi!" And he scuttled up her arm while waving his claws. Yun ran her hand over his back comfortingly and murmured. "It's okay, I'm alright." That seemed to calm him down somewhat as he settled on her shoulder and finally looked across the room towards the other girl.

Yun simply said. "You've met Reign."

"Hi, Reign." Akane said meekly.

He was still for a moment, appraising her former classmate but then he seemed to shrug and waved one of his claws in greeting. "Sko." He replied and Yun felt nothing but pride.

"Now, don't be startled." She said while holding up her last Pokéball. "Tenno is my most fiery Pokémon."

The moment the white light cleared, she was rewarded with a mouth full of feathers as her bird squawked loudly while trying to get close to his trainer. He stood unevenly on one leg and beat his wings to try and keep his balance as he attempted to settle on her lap. Twinkle too, received a few wing-beats to her face but seemed undeterred by it.

Yun cradled him close, like she had done before when he had felt down, and that made him settle as he rested his head on her free shoulder.

A sad chuckle sounded from the other side of the room. "Fuwa was like this too. I couldn't believe a Buneary could have that much spunk until I met her. She got me in trouble all the time."

Yun held her breath as the other girl stopped in her tracks to pet her Buizel, then she looked her in the eye. "Can I tell you about my team?"

"Of course." Yun hurried to reassure her.

The words came out like a flood as she told Yun funny anecdotes about her departed Pokémon's megalomania, seeming almost relieved to be able to share those moments with somebody. Eventually it got Yun tentatively comparing it to stories of her own journey so far, the Starlies chasing her back to Sandgem town made the other girl laugh in earnest. It was no longer mean or derogatory, just an honest if not slightly subdued laugh.

"I'm sorry." Akane then mentioned out of the blue.

"Huh?" Yun cocked her head wondering where that came from.

The other girl looked away. "Before you started raising you grades, my best friend held the seventh spot for years in a row. We were going to go on our trainer journey together, we were so excited about it too. And you know... you never acted like you cared before so I though, I stupidly thought, you were doing it on purpose. So I acted out against you and I'm sorry."

Oh, that made sense. Yun never did have ambition to spare, she was fine being perfectly average. She had barely bothered with school and had still managed to get passable grades. But then the last year started and her parents started getting fidgety about it, trying to save up for Yun's starter. She had vague memories of her older brother starting out when she was six, how her birthday gifts had been silly knick-knacks after that and how her parents reminded her that money was tight whenever she asked for anything. This went on for at least two years after he left.

And while Yun wasn't ambitious or particularly motivated, she was a dutiful daughter and knew she could do better.

"My parents couldn't really afford a good starter." She admitted bluntly, refusing to be ashamed of the fact. "So, I thought I could at least try to take away that burden for them."

Akane looked surprised and then guilty. "I'm sorry." She repeated.

Yun shrugged. "It's okay."

Then she turned away, noticing a clock hanging from the wall, and remembered something. "I guess, I'm going to miss my appointment with Gardenia today."

She remembered booking it because she wanted to catch up to Akane.

It all seemed so irrelevant right now.

AN: longest chapter I've written for Reign as of yet. And we've reached 40k words, who knew I would get this far xD