Chapter 9: Return

Marco had no idea why his sister was so insistent on getting help from that random human and her band, but thankfully he at least managed to make her agree to thoroughly wiping their memories after they were done. On one hand, he could understand some of it- sure, the human in their village might have been an injured child and he knew almost as well as she did how much that fact did tug at their heartstrings, but on the other hand, they were still a human whose days in the village were heavily limited by the rate at which their body recovered, the village didn't need yet another pile of human stuff to take care of in the meantime. Sure, be nice to them until they get better, but afterwards they're out without any memory of said kindness, and there were extremely few things that could've conceivably changed that outcome.

Though, he had to admit that said number wasn't zero, even despite the fact that the human in their midst had something to do with Ember.

And it was that involvement in particular that confused the knight the most as he sprinted his way back into their village, how wildly disjointed the fox's version of the events and the one offered by both the elderly human, and apparently the child themselves if Aria was to be believed, was. They couldn't both be true, and if not for him physically being there and psychically reaching into that woman's memories together with his sister, he wouldn't have given the human version of the events even a single moment of consideration... but he was, and he did see it all, raw, genuine and untampered.

Something wasn't adding up and even if Aria's attempt to reconcile the two versions of the events failed, he would give it a stab of his own. The real question was how was he going to bring the subject up- the last thing he wanted to do was to give the fox a panic attack, and her mother would certainly not take kindly to the choice of topic either. He'd have to be more diplomatic about it, but how to go about that was the big question here-

"Outta the way!"

The shrill, rough shout coming from nearby made the Gallade reflexively dash back a couple paces, just in time to evade a large, reddish blur that then tried to come to a stop, attempting to accomplish that task through the means of Ori's leg stabbing the snowy ground to act as impromptu brakes, the contraption coming to a stop the hard way not too long afterwards. Namely, by breaking, the corroded metal parts holding the front wheel giving up and snapping, the whole metal assembly braking even faster as the front part of the frame plowed into the ground, the passenger on the Scizor's shoulder getting launched forward head first into a tree, the whole plant shaking as the Mawile bounced off and dove into snow.

Once all present were done processing the events that had just transpired and Ori had disembarked the now broken metal contraption, head spinning lightly, Marco finally had enough clarity of mind to speak up, a mix of concern and annoyance in his voice-

"Mikiri, are you alright?"

"Ya, ya, ya, I've been through worse, this is nothing. Wonder what broke there, ugh."

The Mawile proceeded to demonstrate her perseverance by wading through the snow that was almost as tall as she herself was, stepping out of the worst of it seemingly fine- though the small gash on her forehead did serve as evidence to the contrary, a couple drops of rust-colored blood flowing down her face.

"Ah, it was this bit. Annoying, I think I have enough scrap to make a replacement... oh, Ori, you alright?"

"Affirmative. You should probably try to test the integrity of it more next time before asking me to help."

"This was the integrity test."

"Didn't Aria ask you to not touch any of the girl's items?"

Marco's tone was now firmly on the side of annoyance, in equal part at the two's antics, at the Mawile seemingly going against what had been asked of her, and at his coworker slacking off while acting as a test dummy.

"I'm not! This one's not hers- hers just let me figure out how it all fits and I made this one out of all the broken parts I scavenged!"

The Gallade could only sigh deeply as he buried his face into his palm, shaking his head as the tinkerer in front of him got right back to trying to analyze the failure mode she'd just been on the receiving end of, couple fingers feeling along the freshly snapped rusted piece while Ori pointed out the obvious-

"Mikiri, you're bleeding."

"What?"

A light pat of Mawile's own forehead had her wince a bit and groan at seeing the rusty blood, less so because of the pain and mostly because it was just another distraction from her actual object of interest in the moment.

"I'll be fine, I'll be fine. Now now, could I reinforce it some more somehow... welding a thicker piece here could work, though I'd have to balance it somehow or the steering would get worse-"

"Mikiri."

"Ughhhh... fine, fine, I'll go get it checked. Can you move all this back to my workshop in the meantime?"

"Someone has to."

"Alright, alright, see you once I'm patched up Ori, I'll need your input with some changes I have in mind- fine fine I'm going I'm going!"

Thankfully, Ori didn't even have to speak up again for the Mawile to finally get a move on in the direction of the clinic, the layer of snow growing thinner and thinner as she marched on.

"What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be scouting?"

"I can ask you the exact same question Marco."

"I'm trying to figure out what's going on with that human kid and Ember."

"Are you? Because presently you seem to just be idly watching."

Marco rolled his eyes as he was called out- not undeservedly so, grumbling quietly as he turned to continue his trek further into the village while the Scizor picked up the pieces, starting to withdraw back into his own thoughts once more before overhearing Mikiri grumble again-

"Yes yes, I know, I'm going to the clinic."

A glance up revealed her words to have stopped the Wigglytuff in his tracks before he could speak up about the somewhat unnerving sight, his attention wandering over towards Marco instead, the fairy's wave getting quickly returned as he walked and bounced over.

"Hello Marco~. How's your day?"

"It's... going, Jovan."

"Something on your mind?"

"A lot, and I like none of it."

The Gallade tried to mull through what he was going to say as the Wigglytuff accompanied him, the latter growing a bit concerned at the unenthusiastic response, looking up at the scout with his green eyes-

"Something to do with the human I assume~?"

"Yeah."

"I see, I see. All that mess does sound like a big ol' pickle. Even the kiddos are starting to ask about them, hah. Holly has had some run-ins with humans in the past so I tried to recount them and try to get some morals in, but truthfully I'm mostly just stringing words along, any more specific questions and I have to change the subject, heh. Bell asked me what color are humans and just couldn't figure out what to tell him- was thinking you could help me answer some of the questions about them if you don't mind."

"You'd have to ask Aria, she's spent a lot more time with them."

"But surely you have to know something yourself~?"

"Picked up a couple things but that's about it, it's nothing big."

"Well, even if it's little I'd love to discuss it over a cup of something nice and warm, someplace comfy- how's that sound, maybe later today~?"

Jovan's point flew right over its recipient's pointed crest, the Gallade briefly considering the idea before shaking it off- he likely wouldn't have the time for a detour as big as that, especially if he wouldn't be able to provide much in the way of actually helpful knowledge.

"I'm afraid not. Again, Aria's the one to ask about them, I don't know much and truthfully I hope that won't change."

The brief blip of unamusement and dissatisfaction inside the Wigglytuff's mind was acknowledged and simply ascribed to him not being able to get the information he wanted, the Gallade proceeding to march on without giving the subject more thought.

"I see. Well, why not~? They are just a child from what I've heard."

"A human child. And... sigh, there's some unknowns surrounding them that I'll be trying to figure out, some of them definitely on the unsavory side."

"Oh dear. Unsavory...?"

"Very much so."

Jovan didn't need any further explanation to get Marco's rough gist- or at least to figure something out that did feel like it'd fit inside this messy puzzle- obviously nobody would want to talk a lot about a human like that if they had actually just been a young ""trainer"", treating them all as objects. It made sense, and it made the fairy feel that bit worse for even asking in the first place, quiet nods affirming Marco's words.

"I see. Well... I'll be off grabbing a drink at Viv's if you have a change of heart. Hopefully your search proves successful~."

"I hope so too, would be nice to be able to finally figure something concrete out."

"See you around Marco~."

"See you."

Even as the lavender Wigglytuff changed course, the green and white knight marched on, getting close to the foxes' den, still unsure how he was gonna bring the subject up beyond the vague outline. Between all the possible options, it'd probably be the best idea to have the chat with Ember one on one, but he was doubtful of how much the lil' fox was going to trust him on this- she was fond of his sister yes, but any interactions between them two directly in the past have been sparse at best.

Being able to sense emotions as well as his sister would've been very welcome here as well...

Marco shook that thought off as he mentally reset at the sound of flames from around the corner and two presences that accompanied it, one dignified and steadfast, and the other wobbly and uncertain. The sights that accompanied their practice largely matched up along these lines- Cinder's fireballs struck true every time, with enough force to leave the stone glowing dimly lit where they struck, where as Ember's had a tendency to miss and fizzle out in the snow thanks to the younger fox's shaky grip- and even when they did hit, the only looked about big enough to burn someone's eyebrows off and not much more.

Much the same was true of the Psybeams that followed, the multicolored light that filled Cinder's eyes before it blasted from the tip of her stick wand was bright and vivid, with enough power to it to leave a visible burn mark on a nearby tree. Ember had a hard time executing the move at all, mind too gripped by nerves and anxiety to attain the focus necessary for it, with the umpteenth attempt to calm herself down by concentrating on the flickering flame at the tip of her own wand accomplishing little, the brief moment of calmness breaking apart moments later as her thoughts inevitably steered back to the human in their midst.

Even Cinder had to eventually admit this was going nowhere, trying to quell her own disappointment in both herself and the rest of the village before walking over to her daughter, the lil' fox shaking in her shawl and pulling her mom into a hug the moment she could.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I-"

"Shhhh, it's alright sweetie, it's okay. They'll be gone soon, don't worry-"

Before the Delphox could continue her reassurances, her gaze narrowed at seeing the Gallade approach, any warmth evaporating from her tone as she spoke up towards him-

"What is it, Marco? Shouldn't you be out and helping to resolve this... whole human situation? Because if you scouts want to, I can help solve it quickly and very effectively."

The threat in the vixen's words had Marco narrow his eyes in return as the Braixen clung to her mom even closer, feeling cold even with her typing and the off-white shawl she wore covering most of her body. As much as he wanted to snap back with something to the effect of "what do you think I'm doing", Marco knew all too well that if anything it'd have the vulpine mother blow up at him for implying there was some connection between her little one and the intruder in the medical tent, possibly not even just figuratively at that.

"I only want to ask Ember about a couple things."

"Such as?"

The lil' fox that was being discussed about perked up at the Gallade's words, ears lying flat for the most part- she wanted to help as much as she could, in general, but had no idea what would someone as important as a scout want to ask her about, internally asking Marco the same thing as her mom, though without Cinder's hostile tone. Marco in return could only sigh deeply and chew through the words one last time, keeping his cards close to herself and trying to tease out the truth one detail at a time.

"Well, I've been told there's an old friend that had recently turned up here in our village, and they've been looking for you."

Cinder thankfully didn't get the implication right away, some of the hostility in her expression waning as her daughter tried to think through that idea- most of the friends she'd made at that bright place were still here in the village, and others had just ran off for good when they all broke out... m-maybe one of them ended up wandering over here anyway? T-that'd be nice, though not really realistic, it'd been over a year since then... Someone else? Was there even anyone else? They'd have to be from before then, and...

The Delphox grew much more consternated as she took a look at her daughter's thought process once the very unpleasant territory it had reached started to reflect on Braixen's emotional state, holding her that much closer and trying to lightly distract her from the horrors of her past with gentle pets on her sides and head, Ember appreciating the gesture even if the misdirection it attempted to perform was unsuccessful. Everything prior to the bright place was hell, but... but... but... there was-

"Shhhh, it's okay sweetie. As you can see Marco, it doesn't ring any bells for her. Mind leaving us alone now?"

Marco was almost of a mind to do that even, only pausing by the hesitation in the fox's thoughts he could sense, ignoring her mother's response and providing another hint in its stead-

"An old friend named Anne."

Even if the clarification didn't help the Braixen any in the moment, the little vixen's attempts to probe her memories for that name not having the desired results, it resulted in an immediate change in the atmosphere on Cinder's end, the air surrounding the taller vixen going from frosty to a step above uncomfortably warm in an instant. With that impromptu Heat Wave came painful, sharp prickling in Marco's mind, the kind that could only come from a very, very angry psychic, his own psychics unsuccessful at fully nullifying the subconscious assault.

"How dare you bring that thing up like that, how DARE you claim any of those monsters as anyone's friends, especially one of her friends like that!? It being let live is already injustice enough, but you DARE bring it to our doorstep, bring her more suffering!?"

Before Marco could respond, he was telekinetically shoved backwards, the unrelenting warmth painfully burning him even as he tried to Safeguard himself against it, the Gallade only barely remaining standing.

"Don't you, or any other scout dare speak of this again. If you, your pitiable sister, or anyone else are too maddened to see what must be done with that vile thing, I will eagerly demonstrate. Begone."

Marco only caught a brief glimpse of Ember's expression as she was ushered back to her dwelling, the young vixen somewhere between mortified at what her mother was doing and deeply confused about something, wanting to speak up before being cut off with another light push, Cinder not letting her get in a word edgewise as she was forcibly guided back to her den, the door getting psychically slammed shut behind them.

The Gallade needed a good few moments to come to after that sudden outburst, the end result ending up being worse than the worst case scenario he had envisioned, somehow. As covert as he wanted to be about it, Cinder still somehow figured out what it was that he was actually here for, and Ember herself sure seemed to have no idea what was up with the whole human mess... he had one task and he somehow fumbled it completely, the disappointing reality managing to be even more painful than the light burns on his front.

Guess... a drink wouldn't hurt right about now.

Much as he tried to maintain his usual poise, the moderate if constant pain barraging his front didn't make that any easier, an attempt to Meditate the burning aching away for the most part only resulting in him losing his balance, the winter cold unfortunately not offsetting the burns either. Guess he did only have himself to blame in the end- probably should've either waited for a better moment, or just given up on this whole undertaking, toss the shared human delusion aside and just let Ember rest while they work on moving the human trouble back to their own rotten world.

There was no point in dwelling much about what he'd seen, he knew that all too well... but at the same time, a failure like that still stung a fair bit, especially when compared with Aria's apparent success at calming the human in question down and getting some knowledge out of them, and even at getting some use out of the other one that came looking. If there was any silver lining he could think of, it was that even if Aria was the one talking to the foxes, it all would've ended just as badly- hell, possibly even more so.

Not much of a reprieve really...

The remainder of his slow march over to the makeshift cafe was spent either mulling over the few facts he had about the whole case, lack of any substantial input from the foxes not making that task any easier, or by trying to stave off the feelings of his own inadequacy, the latter task somehow ending up even less successfully than the former. The rich, herbal aroma that flowed from the large, makeshift looking structure was thankfully effective at dulling the unpleasant thoughts, Jovan perking up from his own thoughts the moment the Gallade did step in, his obviously sorry state making the Wigglytuff a bit alarmed-

"M-Marco? What happened, a-are these burns?"

The high pitched, alarmed words made the dragon behind the counter look over in concern as well, enough for them to step out of the warmth of their makeshift stove, the winter frost particularly bitter this year, even in a near full body, fluffy looking outfit, looking almost human in how much of the Goodra's body it covered.

"Oh my, Marco?"

"I'm- I'll be fine. Yeah, j-just light burns I think, I'm gonna be alright."

"You don't just get this many light burns, not all over your front like that! Marco hun, what happened!?"

As the Wigglytuff attempted to get some answers, the Goodra took it upon themselves to help comfort the scout a bit, a raised purple hand wordlessly asking for permission before reaching over and beginning to touch up on the reddened spots along the Gallade's arms, their natural slime bringing aloe vera-like relief, even if it felt ickier to the touch.

"Just... I had a good hunch that Ember could possibly have an idea about what's going on, maybe recognize the human, and Cinder... didn't take it well."

The answer startled both of them as they listened for a bit before the dragon got back to helping, their slimy touch bringing relief.

"That does sound like Cinder. I doubt that asking Ember about all this was a particularly good idea to begin with..."

"It's more complicated than that Vivian, but yeah, in the end it was just a bad idea I think."

The bespoke Goodra nodded uncertainly as they wrapped up the first aid, scrambling back behind the counter to pour their guest a couple cups of a sweet, herbal tea- and a few more for themselves, the pot of water getting immediately refilled and set back over the fire- in cold as bitter as this, there was never any downtime when it came to the need for something warm to drink and warm oneself with.

"More complicated~?"

The Gallade just sighed, clearly unenthused about the idea of dredging all the worthless "details" he and his sister have gleaned so far, Jovan ending up just relenting at that with a disappointed nod, looking down at the ground as Vivian passed a cup of tea over to the scout.

"Would you fancy something warmer to sit on than these chairs? Got a spare pillow in here and you look and sound like you could use it."

"I-... I suppose."

"It's really no problem Marco."

"I-I know, I know, just... sigh, thanks Viv."

"Anytime."

Goodra's light smile wasn't returned, much to their chagrin, the defeated knight collapsing down on the large pillow behind the counter as he sipped on his cup, passing Jovan a thankful nod at deciding to join him, though only interpreting that as the Wigglytuff's near universal friendliness. The mellowness of the cafe came back in full swing not long afterwards once Marco was done with his cup, trying to more firmly shake everything else that had happened so far off, clear his head with a bit of meditation, and get back into his usual duties- this place wouldn't protect itself after all.

As he gradually cleared his thoughts, the soft purplish fairy next to him having dozed off and starting to lean on him in the meantime, the Goodra a couple feet away from her, busy alternating between warming themselves up with more tea and knitting another layer for themselves to brave the cold with, saw someone peek into the cafe, their identity taking them aback-

"Ember? Are you okay sweetie?"

The Braixen was very evidently not okay, her expression somewhere between uncertain and terrified, her whole body shaking- and yet, nonetheless, she was here, a cup of tea the draconic brewer hadn't gone around to drinking yet getting offered towards her right away.

"I-I- did Marco c-come here earlier?"

Before Vivian could clarify the situation and explain that the Gallade was still here, the unpleasant situation the knight had experienced not too long ago gave the Goodra a pause, making them respond with their own question instead, not wanting to expose their friend to possibly even more of Cinder's wrath-

"What makes you look for him sweetie?"

Ember shook some more at the direct question, the stick in her tail looking about ready to fall out as she huddled up, making Vivian nudge the cup of tea again, the gift getting thankfully accepted this time, even if the scaredy fox did spill some of its contents in her shaking.

"He c-came over to us earlier, a-and asked about something, and my m-mom got really angry at him and I don't know why and-... and I've been th-thinking, and there's something weird g-going on, it's hard to explain. I wanna help him, m-maybe he can help me with that weird thing, I-I don't want my mom t-to know..."

That was all the reassurance the dragon needed, walking over to the other end of the counter and leaning down, one arm reaching over to shake the Gallade out of his trance- not without startling him a bit, but the aura he sensed afterwards helped in pulling his focus away from that-

"Ember?"

The Braixen was briefly confused before he stood up, emerging from behind the counter that had been obscuring him, the foxie growing equal parts reassured that he was alright, and apologetic about what had happened earlier, trying to stammer an apology out-

"I-I'm really sorry Mr. M-Marco, I don't know why m-my mom-"

"It's okay Ember, it's okay."

As much as Marco passively envied his sister's form at all times, he would've really appreciated having as good of a grasp on others emotions as she did right now, his own emotional intelligence enough to tell the foxie was clearly sad and panicky, but not enough to have a good idea of what should he do to help. Suppose that there was always the option of imitation, Marco pushing on as he tried to mirror what his sister did when Cadence got really sad, kneeling down in front of the Braixen and opening his arms wide for a hug.

His offer was thankfully accepted, the shaky warmth aggravating his burns a little bit through the shawl but the comfort it brought to both mons involved more than made up for it. Both ends tried to get a better grasp on their emotions for a while afterwards, the Gallade relieved to feel his gesture working and Ember's anxiety waning, even if only partially. Guess even if he didn't have the body he wanted after their parents forced him into this one to act as the family's "protector", he could still help out like his sister, the reassurance of that patently obvious fact bringing him well needed reassurance.

"Did you want to talk to me about something Ember?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Take your time, we're not rushing."

The Braixen nodded quietly as she mulled through her thoughts, taking small sips of her tea here and there, Vivian watching over them both all the while, keeping a steady supply of the soothing drink coming.

"Mhm. It's... when you m-mentioned a friend with that name, I-I tried to think back and see i-if I remembered, and I-I didn't, but... it's like, it's- it's like- like there's something w-weird, something I-I can't remember in a we-weird way for some reason."

Ember's words didn't immediately clarify anything, or even provide much of a hint towards their ongoing mystery, but they caught Marco's attention regardless- even if he failed at his original task, he could still try to help here, nodding intently as he responded-

"Do you think it could have something to do with that friend I had mentioned?"

The fox was less certain on that front- though if thinking about a friend like that had led her towards figuring out there was something wrong with her memory to begin with, there could have very well been a connection there.

"M-maybe, yeah..."

Marco took a deep sigh at that- as much as he genuinely wanted to help, there was an obvious limit to how much he would likely be able to considering the actual identity of that "friend", the Gallade unsure how to break the news over to the fox, trying once more to gather some nice words to soften the blow- and ultimately arriving nowhere.

"There's... something you have to know first though."

"Oh, what is it M-Mr. Marco?"

"That friend I mentioned, the one named Anne... that's the human in the clinic."

Predictably, Ember's immediate reaction at the news was a frightful freeze, Marco torn between not wanting to make her potentially feel entrapped by holding her closer and wishing he could comfort her some more, a slight frown breaking through his usual mask-like expression letting the fox know that they were both on the same team when it came to their reactions at the unpleasant fact. Just as he began to think that he would only end up failing everyone again and Ember would run off in fear at the very mention of their "guest" though, the Braixen slowly began to compose herself some more, her thoughts rapid, uncertain and still really afraid- but not as panicky anymore, holding strong as she gave the fact, and her own memories, some more thought.

"I-I see..."

She had no memories of "an old human friend named Anne", and nothing could ever possibly fill it- in hindsight, it wasn't even like her mom was all that wrong in reacting to it like she did, even joking about something like that was a bit messed up. However, besides the memories of the horrible humans that hurt her, the two big ones and the several smaller ones, all with their fists and kicks and screaming, so much screaming, there was something else. Something else had been harrowing her thought process as she ran over here, ever since Marco had initially brought it up, making her feel like a light had been acutely shone on a wound in her mind that had been there all along.

Less like a memory, but more so like an absence of one, like so much of her older memories had an imprint left on them by someone that didn't exist, someone she didn't recall, someone, to the best of her ability to piece together, that wasn't evil towards her, someone she seemed to have memories of enjoying interacting with, even if any details about just who exactly she had fun with were completely blank. Even that nice not-person wasn't perfectly nice, distant half memories making her shiver as she recounted the bits of them she could piece together- being confined to small, dark, sometimes shaking places for long amounts of time, being moved from a warm and nice place to the hell where her abuse on the hands of the humans had taken place, being- being abandoned...

Marco's concern only grew as he tried to listen in to the fox's thought process, his relief at her not freaking out even harder being offset right afterwards at the weird, disturbing half memories she dredged up from the depths of their mind, the knight having no idea what might've caused them. Before he could offer advice or ask some more about them, he heard Ember speak up again, shaky voice unusually determined for her, even if still dripping with fear-

"I-I... can I s-see that human?"

There was no chance that this was it, that nice not-person couldn't have been a human, but if a mere mention of the girl that was currently at the clinic had made her so much more aware of this gash in her recollection, then maybe seeing her in person would help clear it up even further- who knows, maybe she just was one of the nasty small humans that tormented her and the nice person. Maybe even remembering the abuse the Braixen had experienced on her hands in better detail would help reveal more about that missing piece of her memory. Ember had no idea- all she knew was that she had to try, she couldn't just live with this awareness of her own mind feeling so broken, she had to do something, even if it meant possibly seeing that human.

Ideally, without getting seen herself.

"A-and make sure sh-she won't see me?"

The Gallade and Goodra alike were too dumbfounded at hearing the Braixen's initial request to respond before she ended up clarifying, Marco nodding eagerly in response- he would do whatever he could to help, especially now that the vixen had somehow managed to push through her crippling fear like this, letting him actually answer the mystery he tried to solve in the first place.

"Absolutely. You don't have to do this Ember-"

"I-I want to! I want to help, I want to know w-what- what's wrong w-with my head..."

Marco nodded with a tighter hug before getting up, Vivian only able to stare in shock at them both before offering them some more tea, muttering in disbelief afterwards-

"That's not something I ever expected to hear from you Ember, that is for certain..."

Despite the stress that underlined the situation, and the terrifying reality of having to come so close to that human to have her questions be answered, Ember still managed to chuckle that tiny bit, the bit of levity helping a bit even if the fear it represented followed it shortly after.

"I-I know, it's just-"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me sweetie, it's okay."

The scaredy fox appreciated that sentiment greatly, nodding intently before taking a brief detour to give the Goodra a hug of their own, carefully evading the snoozing Wigglytuff in their way, her warmth, figurative and literal alike, appreciated greatly by Vivian.

"T-thank you..."

With a hug done, Ember could face the scout once more, her resolve holding as she walked from behind the counter and grabbed the Gallade's hand- no matter how it would all end, she was ready to get to the bottom of all this.

"L-let's go..."

__________________________________________

Every step closer to the clinic had the vixen shake harder and harder, the creeping reality of what she was about to do steadily thrashing against knowing that she had to do this, there was no other way of resolving the underlying mess in her head-

But gods, did that fact not make any of this any less scary.

Ember clung closer to Marco as they stepped into the large tent, the sight of this particular vixen here in these particular circumstances giving most onlookers a pause, their confusion thankfully not lasting too long each time, but certainly making the Braixen even more self conscious about what she would have to do.

"^She's in the final room over there.^"

Gathering enough focus to even respond to the telepathic comment in kind was hard, Ember only persevering after a few long, drawn out breaths, silent to any outlookers and especially to the object of her fearful interest as they walked over closer to the entrance to the human's room-

"^I-is that Holly's voice?^"

Marco might have been initially too focused on everything else to notice that right away, but once the Braixen had brought attention to that fact it was unavoidable, the Gallade's eyebrow twitching at their cook so blatantly deciding to ignore their attempts to keep as much knowledge about this place away from the human as they could. The last thing Aria needed was for wiping the girl's memories to be even more difficult once the time would come for that.

"^Ugh, it is. She shouldn't be there, why is she-^"

Before the knight could continue the strand of thought, he saw the Azumarill begin turning around towards the entrance of the human's room- and them right behind it, her overzealous greeting getting shushed right afterwards, Marco's haphazard Safeguard trying to keep any more of Holly's sounds hidden from the human.

"Hey-"

"^Holly, what are you doing here!?^"

"Bringing the girl something to eat, that's what!"

"^She's not supposed to know any of us are here?^"

All the Azumarill could react to that with was lifting her hand and making a speaking gesture with her paw, mouth matching it with a string of incoherent squeaks, the closest thing the aqua rabbit could manage to 'blah blah blah'.

"You're all so silly paranoid over her, she's just a child! What's she gonna- Ember!? What are you doing here sweetie?"

The Braixen was at a loss of words, the whole situation too much of a mess to even attempt to summarize in any clear way at this point, Marco eventually excusing her-

"^It's complicated Holly.^"

"I've gathered that much!"

"^Just- leave us alone for this, we don't have time to explain this.^"

"Fine, fine, fine! Goodness you scouts are all the same scaredy, paranoid bunch it feels like at times."

As much as Marco didn't appreciate Holly's Parting Shot, his own focus was focused much more squarely on the fox beside him, more and more fear creeping into her thoughts, making him once more kneel down and give the Braixen as big of a hug as he could manage.

"^I'm here Ember, I'm here.^"

"^M-m-mhm...^"

"^Take your time.^"

While Ember gathered courage for these few final steps, the Gallade kept a close watch over everything that was going on in the other room, grumbling internally at sensing Blossom there, and not having one iota of an idea as to why Autumn was there either- but those explanations could all wait, he could sense the whole group having turned over and focused on something away from the door, this was opportunity they needed.

"^They're looking at the window, this is our chance.^"

Before Marco could come up with some motivation to help the fox push through in the end, she ended up taking the first, terrified, determined step, walking out of his embrace and through the makeshift door frame, the scout right behind her as they both leaned into the room.

"^N-no...^"

The Gallade didn't spare more than an instant of his attention at what the trio in the room were staring at- the column of black smoke in the distance might have been a worrisome sight in its own right, but his heart and mind were much more focused on the fox beside him, her whole thought process seeming to have come to a screeching halt at the sight of the human sitting up on the bed. It wasn't fear, it wasn't just fear, the memories that were stirred by the sight of the human in front of her being the same half erased ones she was so scared about earlier.

The stimuli, the physical sensation of seeing that human, she remembered it, she remembered so many tiny individual threads that seemed to have something to do with that human but which lead nowhere, all the broken memories that the sight of the girl on the bed brought to the forefront of Ember's mind combining to make the hole in her memories much more well defined. The more she looked, the sharper it became, its outline shaped exactly like the human in the room, its edges becoming so sharp to the mental touch at that clarification that it felt like that human had been cut out of them with a scalpel.

As grimly revealing as that act was, it didn't provide answers in its own right, the memory hole at the core of Ember's being clear to see, but still present all the same, leaving the Braixen herself paralyzed even as the whole room was shook by a distant rumble, making Blossom chirp out in panic. Marco couldn't risk the human herself interfering, not when they were so close to seemingly finally cracking the mystery, his mental reach freezing Anne's focus in place, the action unfortunately noticed shortly afterwards as the girl attempted to look over at Autumn, only to find herself not able to.

The Indeedee could sense what had happened, gasping as she looked over at her son and family friend, having no idea why Marco was doing something like that, taken aback before hearing his voice-

"^I'll explain later Autumn, I'm sorry, this is really important- it seems like Ember used to remember Anne but something happened to her memories, I'm not sure what to do-^"

"~M-Mrs. Autumn what's g-going on, I-I can't m-move my head or eyes or-~"

"What do you mean-"

Blossom's confused exclamation was interrupted by Marco forcibly severing the mental link between the owl and the Indeedee, the scene quickly growing too intense to manage for everyone involved, the fear that seeped from Ember and Anne alike saturating Autumn's senses. The elderly psychic attempted to push through regardless, trying to make heads or tails of the scene, coming up with an off the cuff idea moments later-

"^Maybe a strong memory from Anne will help fix it, I-I don't know-^"

"^We have to try mom.^"

Autumn got enough of a grasp on herself to shakily nod in response and speak towards the human girl again, her voice somber and apologetic-

"^Anne, I'm sorry for all this, b-but this is important. I need you to... think back, back to the closest memory of Ember you have, and focus on it. C-can you do that for me?^"

She wasted no time actively reaching into the girl's mind immediately afterwards as her son in law did the same with the Braixen to his side, vivid memories getting coaxed from the human's recollection and passed over from one mental hand to the other, one after the other, both of the adults anxious to see how would Ember react to them. An instant later, they had their answer, the vixen's mind getting a glimpse of something it had been missing for what felt like ages, and it wanted more, it demanded more, it needed more- and more was provided to it. Voluntarily at first, but it wasn't long before the sheer burning need that emanated from Ember's very being ended up overwhelming the strained psyches of Anne, Marco and Autumn like, the resulting torrential flood of moments, images, sounds, experiences, scenes and thoughts too much for anyone to handle, vixen's own mind replaying it all to herself, everything, every single recollection Anne had of them together, the Braixen's own versions of the events being forcibly excavated from underneath the mental spell that bound them hidden.

Everything, from the beginning...

__________________________________________

"~Annie, Annie, come here!~"

The loud whisper yanked the attention of the almost six year old away from the scribbles she was working on, the yellow crayon getting dropped onto the wood panel floor as she quickly pulled herself up before running out into the main corridor of the house, only to see her granny holding a small, towel-wrapped bundle in her arms, looking unusually alert.

"~Could you grab a cup of water from the kitchen and bring it here darling?~"

Just as quickly as the tyke had ran over, she was gone again, helping herself reach up to the sink with a stool, only a small bit of the glass cup's contents getting spilled as she urgently brought it over to her grandma, the sight that awaited her in the living room making her pause.

A tiny red and yellow shape was curled up on top of the towel now laid out on her grandma's lap, their fur disheveled and stained with soot, whole body wriggling slightly as the old woman held them closer, gesturing over to her granddaughter to pass the cup over to her free hand. She tried to concentrate as much as possible to keep the limb's shaking down as she brought the cup over to the little one's snout, her other hand very gently lifting their head up a bit to help them drink.

"~Drink baby, drink, you've been through so much already, goodness...~"

In the meantime, Annie slowly sat down next to her gran, intently observing the furry bundle in silence, watching them slowly calm down as they drank a bit, the little fox relaxing some more before their delirious exhaustion gave way to rest.

"~Is-is that a Fennekin?~"

Anne's words were no more than tiny whispers as she spoke, her grandma nodding lightly as a tired smile bloomed on her equally tired face, cup getting placed on the table as she resumed rocking the now asleep fox.

"~Sure is. Poor, poor thing... the whole building caught fire, awful, awful fire...~"

The old woman shook her head a bit, trying to get rid of the mental image of the situation the firefighters had described to her before continuing to comfort the lil' one, the roughed up Fennekin's breathing steadily growing calmer and calmer.

"~We're gonna be looking after her for a while until she grows up some. Hoping you'll help me out with her a bit Annie, heh.~"

Anne nodded rapidly in return without even looking back up at her grandmother, the tiny fox taking up the entirety of her attention in the moment. The old woman laughed quietly at the sight before carefully lifting the whole bundle up and offering it to her granddaughter, Anne's eyes going wider before finally looking up for approval, granted with a slight nod right after.

The girl was afraid to even breathe too hard lest she'd stir the little Fennekin awake, pulling her legs up onto the couch to nestle the bundle between her knees and front, her whole body slightly rocking to the sides as her hand cautiously reached in, a couple fingers beginning to ever so gently stroke the soft fur behind the fox's large ears.

"~What's her name?~"

"~Well... we don't know, sadly. Probably will have to give her one soon.~"

Anne was utterly transfixed by the fox in her arms as she continued to gently rock her, her grandma sighing in relief at her little one getting into the swing of things before getting up, patting Annie a couple more times and getting to work on a mental list of her own. They'd have to take a trip to the town and grab some food for the little one, hopefully she was old enough for berry pulp in the meantime, they'd have to get her some bedding, bowls for her to eat out of, a bunch of other things, and of course get her checked up at the vet, ask that same vet about so many things...

Time flew by as one child comforted the other, the girl eventually sinking into a peaceful rhythm, nervous hand carefully petting the tiny Fennekin every once in a while, their breaths eventually synchronizing as the fox continued her rest- rest that would end in not too long afterwards.

The little one's body ached a bit as she slowly came to, the softness and caring warmth that surrounded her making her feel safe even if her last memories were full of fearful chaos, screams and crashes and-

"~Oh? Are you waking up?~"

The Fennekin's expression scrunched a bit as she listened to a voice she didn't recognize at all, soft, hushed, and from very close by, its closeness making the achy fox try to slowly turn towards its source and pry her eyes open just a bit. The odd voice let out a quiet gasp in response before she felt herself held just that bit firmer, the one eye she could see out of focusing on the human holding her close, especially their wide, hazel eyes hidden behind two thick, glass circles.

"~Hiiiii. I'm Anne.~"

She saw the human smile wider before feeling a pleasant, scritching touch on the back of her head, murring quietly at the sensation as her head wriggled a bit.

"W-who are you..."

"~No no, everything is alright now, don't worry lil' Fennekin, you're safe here.~"

As the two talked past each other for a bit, the tiny fox saw the human's expression turn to worry, resulting in her being held even closer.

"~Oh no, w-what's wrong with your eye?~"

Was something wrong?

A few steps could be heard coming over, the little fox nestling in closer in response before noticing a second, bigger human in her peripheral vision, the resulting incomprehensible humanspeech putting her on a bit of an edge.

"~Oh, she woke up already?~"

"~Yeah. Her eye l-looks really bad though...~"

Before she could get any more worried at the other human's presence, the comforting touch on the back of her head continued, releasing some of her tension, the sensation combining with feeling a heartbeat from close up to put her at more of an ease as her eye was examined.

"~Oh dear, I see. Hopefully it's not some infection, we'll have to make sure at the vet tomorrow.~"

Some more pets on her head, the gentle, loving touch calming in this unknown place, making the fox murr some more as she pressed her head into the human girl's petting hand, Anne smiling softly in response.

"~Poor dearie. It almost looks like a little ember, hopefully it's not painful for her...~"

The little human pulled her in closer, her rocking resuming shortly afterwards, the exhausted little fox giving into the comfort as she closed her eyes again.

"~Ember... i-is that a nice name grandma?~"

"~Hahah. It is Annie, though hopefully she won't mind its origin.~"

"~C-can she stay with us for good?~"

There was a longer pause, the grandma's expression thoughtful as she chewed through the question, the fox continuing to relax under her granddaughter's touch, under her calm heartbeat, under the warm aura of the room, her surroundings, unknown as they were, feeling deeply safe.

"~I'll... I'll think about it sweetie. I don't know if a village like this is gonna be the best place for a fire-type like her though... deep sigh ...but we'll see. It's a very big commitment Anne, looking after someone like that. Taking care of their needs, protecting them if need be...~"

"~I-I can do that, I promise! I-I won't let anything happen to her!~"

"~Shhhh, I think she's trying to sleep some more. I don't doubt you will do your best sweetie, but... sigh. Heh. She'll be lucky to have someone like you.~"

"~I won't let a-anything happen to you Ember, I promise...~"

I promise...

__________________________________________

...through their greatest loss...

__________________________________________

"~P-please pick up...~"

The sound of Anne's distressed voice made Ember shudder, ears twitching as her nap was cut short, the Fennekin stretching a bit before scrambling out of her cot and walking over towards her best friend- only for the scene that awaited her to send a chill running down her tiny body. The girl's grandma was sprawled out on the floor face down, not moving, Anne shaking on the spot as she held the large, C-shaped end of the ringing contraption, tears flowing down her cheeks as she looked down at her guardian.

She gasped shortly afterwards, focusing more intently on the speaky object in her hand, the bits of muffled human speech Ember could overhear much too quiet to make anything out of.

"~M-my grandma fell d-down and I'm n-not sure if she's breathing, p-please help...~"

As the girl listened in and nodded long, Ember slowly made her way over closer, wanting to help their grandma after the obvious accident she had, the realization of her being unconscious finally hitting her not long afterwards.

"~M-main Street twelve, w-we live in Hilltop, near Mistralton, p-please come soon... no, I d-don't know the postcode... It's just her a-and me and our F-Fennekin, Ember...~"

Soon afterwards, the person on the other end of the speaky talky device finally advised the girl what to do, the curly cord getting stretched a fair bit as the eight year old knelt down next to her unconscious grandma, shaky hands reaching over to try and flip her over onto her back. Thankfully, Ember got the intent right away, helping in that goal as much as she could, snout trying to lift their grandma's side, trying to make it all just that bit easier for her best friend.

With a loud, strained whine, they managed to accomplish their task, the girl trying to give her furry friend a reassuring smile before her focus was yanked away by the instructions continuing, the end of the device attempting to be held between her cheek and shoulder to free her hands, the simple procedure made that much more harrowing by the horror of the situation.

"~In the center of the chest, b-both hands together... shoulders a-above, okay, I-I think I have it.~"

The series of repetitive, fast paced presses on her grandma's front that followed didn't look like they were accomplishing much, their pace growing steadily irregular as first the exhaustion, and then despair began to sink in, tears continuing to flow down her cheeks as she tried her hardest to do something, anything, only for it all to have no effect. Ember herself could only curl up next to her human, try to comfort her at least that way at the increasingly dire situation, the sheer impact of it all not having the time to sink for her yet.

Eventually, Anne was snapped out of the futile trance by the person on the other end saying something, making the girl scramble back onto her feet and almost trip over Ember as she dropped the phone and dashed out of the kitchen, the heavy lock on the front of their home clicking before the front door was opened- just in time for distant sirens to get closer and closer, both girls just getting out of the way and huddling in a corner as they listened in.

Listened in to the paramedics disembarking the ambulance, the two humans and an Indeedee, all wearing dark green outfits with yellow, shiny decals, carrying a stretcher as they briskly stepped into their home. Listened in to their alarmed words as they examined her grandma, their audible exertion as they lifted her up onto the stretcher before moving in to carry her out. Listened in to another set of sirens starting to approach from a distance, combining into an overwhelming cacophony, leaving Anne only capable of shaking in place as she stared at the floor in front of herself, even as more adults began to show up.

Ember tried to help as much as she could, climbing up in between Anne's legs and front as they've done so many times in the past, nuzzling her front and cheeks in an attempt to comfort her, trying to do something, anything to help her friend, most of it for naught. Eventually, shock gave way into grief, Anne's stunned expression breaking down into pained, terrified sobs, arms holding Ember as close as she could manage at the realization that her grandma was gone.

"I'm here Anne, I'm here, I don't know w-what happened but I w-want to make it b-better..."

As much closer as her human held her in response to her woofs though, her tears only kept flowing, flowing until she had no more left to shed, the fear of what would happen to them now filling her mind to the brim.

No matter what though, Ember would be there for her, the fact providing the light of hope Anne had left in this world...

__________________________________________

...through their darkest hours...

__________________________________________

"~You ate it didn't you!? We fucking told you not to!~"

"~I-I was hungry, I-~"

"~Shut up! Just fucking wait until your father hears of this-~"

"~No no p-please not I-~"

The pained shriek of her human as she was struck coming from the ground floor made Ember let out a quiet whine, curling up even closer to the girl's bed, the lil' fox shaking in a mix of fear, grief, and her own pain, one side hurting with every breath after having been kicked earlier that evening.

"~If you're gonna eat whatever the fuck's in the kitchen like a fucking dog then go and fucking join it!~"

"~I-I'm sorry I d-didn't mean to!~"

"~SHUT UP!~"

With a loud bang, the back door of their house was flung open before Anne was forcibly shoved through it in nothing more than her pajamas, tripping on the rough concrete stairs resulting in her falling down onto the cold, autumn mud, her resulting whine of pain barely audible above the sounds of the door getting slammed closed again.

"~Where the FUCK is that thing...~"

The voice of the girl's father made Ember panic, the desire to try and comfort her best and only friend mixing in with the fear of further punishment from her family making her leap up onto Anne's bed and then the window sill, body hurting at even that slight exertion. Thankfully, she'd managed to scramble out of the room and start making her way down the house's exterior the moment before the door to Anne's room was forcibly flung open, a couple angry grunts leaving Anne's father before he slammed the door shut again afterwards, the voices of their tormentors mixing in from inside the house as Ember tried to make her over to where her friend ended up at.

"~WHERE IS IT!?~"

"~I don't fucking know!~"

"~I FUCKING told you not to use that TONE with me you BITCH!~"

Ember didn't listen to any more shouts and screams that followed, her small body eventually making its way down onto the patchy grass and then the backyard, just barely catching a glimpse of Anne making her way inside the crooked shed up against the fence, visibly limping and wincing at every motion. A colder gust of wind only hastened the fox on as she broke into a sprint, desperately wanting her human to feel better, to bring her some reprieve from this constant hell they've spent the last year in.

Anne's audible squeal of pain as Ember inched the shed's door open with her paw and snout felt like it stabbed the fox's heart- though it was made up for moments later as she scrambled in further, underneath the plastic tarp that Anne was using as a blanket, getting to nuzzle the girl's front as soon as possible.

"~E-Ember, no, you d-don't have to-~"

An unfortunate motion as she tried to get more comfortable only aggravated one of the freshly formed bruises on the girl's arm, Anne's drawn out whine only giving her best friend more fuel for her fire, Ember determined to help however she could as she'd done so many other times in the past, even if all she could really do was provide comfort. Comfort that was nonetheless appreciated more greatly than the foxie had any way of knowing, Anne's resolve to keep going burning brighter as her less painful arm wrapped around the Fennekin, body curling up around Ember as she shed bitter tears, feebly trying to maintain some semblance of composure.

"~D-did they hurt you a-any more?~"

Even as she was being comforted herself, Anne's hand reached in and started to carefully stroke Ember's back, scritchy motions loving as always even if much shakier and slower from all the pain, both girls' suffering growing that bit dimmer as they tried to be each other's reprieve from all the pain.

"Shhhhh, shhhhh... I-I'm here, I'm here, I love you A-Anne..."

Ember's murrs and quiet whines may not have been understood, but the comforting intent behind them was acknowledged all the same, Anne holding her friend that much closer in response as she tried to deepen her breathing, one aching inhale at a time.

"~You d-don't deserve to have to s-suffer like this E-Ember, I'm sorry...~"

"Shhhhhhh..."

The shared pain and grief inside the shed slowly gave way to exhaustion and strained rest as the two girls held each other closer, Anne's worries about how she was going to hide all this in time for tomorrow's P.E. class and from Mrs. Graham clouding her mind for a few minutes longer before they too relented under the steady outpouring of warm love from the lil' Fennekin.

Today was hell, tomorrow was also likely going to be hell, but here, now... they had each other, and that was all that mattered.

__________________________________________

...to the very end.

__________________________________________

*breath*

*breath*

The sounds of heavy strained breathing mixing with arrhythmic scraping of limping legs against the gravel that surrounded the asphalt road were only occasionally interrupted by a loud rumble of a passing car, their headlights blinding in the darkness that shrouded the country road. Each time they did, Ember only bundled up closer in Anne's arms, the anxiety of the unsettling surroundings only adding to the physical pain from earlier that day, making her whimper quietly.

Even looking up at the girl's ordinarily reassuring face did no good now, even when she could make her out in the dark. A couple big bruises on the side of her head, left eye almost swollen shut behind the glasses, mostly dried bloody streaks between her nostrils and mouth, various cuts and scrapes all over- but it wasn't these that made the lil' Fennekin shiver in fear that much more, she was sadly much too used to seeing these by now. It was Anne's expression- not scared, Ember had seen her scared many, many times, and been there to try to comfort her best she could every time, it was something else, something much more unnerving, the detached expression looking utterly hopeless.

"You've been walking for so long now... A-Anne, what's going on? Why aren't y-you going back to your room?"

The quiet ruffs and barks got Anne to look down at her friend and give her a couple more pets as she pushed on, one limping leg playing catchup with the other as the girl whispered out-

"~I'm sorry.~"

Ember had no idea about the actual meaning of those words- but she'd heard the sound that underlaid them enough times to be able to associate it with Anne being apologetic, making the fox only try harder to reach her friend.

"Are we going somewhere safe now? A-Anne, I'm scared, p-please... it's so dark and cold and you're looking so unlike yourself, please just go back to your house Anne..."

Anne paused for a moment, vacant expression staring forward for a few more moments before she shook painfully, whole posture curling up a bit more as she held her friend just that bit closer, a couple stinging tears forming in the corners of her eyes, the taller of the two girls sniffling before pushing on.

"~W-we're almost there now... Just a bit more, and then y-you're finally gonna be safe Ember...~"

"A-Anne, you're hurting bad, I'm hurting, why are we out here like that..."

There was no response to that, Anne just pushing ahead through the side of the barely lit road, her destination finally coming into view in the distance as she cleared the final corner. The building looked spartan and unwelcoming, white walls having grown dirty over time, the couple bright, cold lights that lit up its front facade giving it an even more intimidating appearance than it already would've had.

HELPING HAND POKEMON SHELTER

"~I'm sorry...~"

Anne finally coming down to a stop next to that scary building didn't calm down Ember any, the kit bundling in closer as the human child looked around, stumbling towards a trash container in an unlit corner and scanning through what she could make out of it, eventually grabbing a slightly damp cardboard box off the top of it, holding her best friend close with one hurting arm.

"W-what's that for? What are you doing Anne?"

Ember's woofy speech made Anne recoil as she set the box down, the taller girl wincing and giving the fox one final hug before carefully laying her down inside the box, the Fennekin looking at her human in alarm as Anne reached into her school backpack, the leaky pen's ink staining her hand as she wrote "EMBER" on the side of the box.

"Anne, I'm scared, what is this for, I-I wanna get out-"

The kit tried scrambling out of the slightly too tall box, back into the safety of Anne's arms, but the human could only stare back at her, painful regret slowly beginning to fill up the previously blank expression.

"~I-I know it's scary Ember, but... it has to be done. Nobody will hurt you here. Y-you- you'll finally be safe.~"

Anne lingered for a couple more moments before painfully standing back up and taking a step back away from the box, away from the light of the shelter's lamps, Ember's unrest blooming into a full-blown panic attack.

"Nonononono, I-I'm sorry Anne, I'm sorry, p-please don't leave me here, I-I'll hide better next time, please, PLEASE!"

The human girl could only wince at the clear fear in Fennekin's squeaks, her own tears continuing to flow as she tried to persevere through what had to be done.

"~I-I don't want this either Ember, b-but you saw what happened earlier. I-I did everything I could a-and...~"

She stared down at Ember, the fox's injuries on the hands of the derelicts that cornered them on the schoolyard earlier today less noticeable at a glance, but just as if not worse than hers to a more experienced eye, each wince in the little one's motions making the human girl's heart bleed.

"~I-I couldn't protect you. I... I never could. It's- it's all my fault. You deserve better Ember, you d-deserve to be safe.~"

The kit just continued to panic, reaching up and trying to bite her way through the sodden cardboard, making her friend crouch again and reach in, trying to calm her companion down one last time, Ember looking back up at her with pleading, terrified eyes.

"P-please, don't leave m-me here, I-I'll do better, i-it's so scary here, please!""

"~Please don't look at me like that. I-I don't want to do this Ember... b-but if there's a chance that you'll finally be safe, and have a family t-that loves you, a-and have someone who can actually p-protect you...~"

Anne was all but weeping by now, softly stroking Ember's head, at this point to calm both of them, trying to hold her plan together at the very end.

"~I-I love you Ember. I'm sorry. F-for everything.~"

"I-it's scary here Anne, p-please pick me back up..."

Anne didn't immediately respond, just continuing to lightly pet her light of hope in this world, hand shaking as she attempted to compose herself one last time.

"~I... o-one day. One day things will be better, a-and I'll find you again Ember, and... and then we'll be safe. I-I promise. I promise I'll find you again one day, I-I'll never forget you-~"

The sudden creak of the shelter's front door opening startled them both, Anne freezing for a moment before leaping up to her feet and dashing away, limping legs almost making her trip as she ran away into the darkness, leaving Ember behind, the kit screeching in despair at seeing her run away and leaving her alone, the paralyzing fear that gripped her at the sight persisting long after she was picked out of the box and laid down in her cot, safe at last...

__________________________________________

And then... Ember remembered everything, fainting at the overstimulation of it all together with most others in the room, Blossom left chirping in panic at suddenly seeing four people faint all at once.

"H-Help!"

__________________________________________

Ember hurt so much- her body ached at the sudden collapse, her mind was screaming in pain at experiencing a lifetime of experiences in a span of moments- but her soul fought against that pain, now that she knew just who exactly the human in the room was, helping her push faster back towards consciousness, even if it was accompanied by a reverberating migraine.

"Ember sweetie, what are you doing here, come-"

Esther's comment was ignored as the Braixen pushed herself to her feet, body shaking as it slowly attempted to lift itself from the cold floor of the clinic, the unconscious Gallade in the corner of her vision not even registering to her exhausted mind. There was exactly one being she cared about in the moment, one that she'd been missing, knowingly or not, for the past year and change, one that had been her constant, enduring hope all her life-

And now, Anne was here, with them, safe...

The medics could only stare in shock as Ember slowly shambled over towards the bed, almost losing balance a couple times, each step making her whimper in pain as she sobbed at it all, at what her and Anne had been through, at her having somehow forgotten her human, at her human being so hurt, at her almost missing her only chance in life to be together with her again-

But in the moment, none of that mattered, none of that could matter, could even come close to the importance of the human on the clinic bed. With slow, painful motions, Ember climbed on top of the bed, swiping any items that laid to Anne's side off of it before laying down on the only right place in the world for her to be, beside Anne, beside her human, beside someone she loved so wholly and utterly, her shaking arms wrapping around Anne's front as she nuzzled in, sobbed woofs repeating one more time-

"I-I'm here Anne, I'm here, I-I love you..."

And then, holding her human that much tighter at the realization that followed, Ember's expression twisting in equal parts longing, relief, joy, and past pain-

"Y-you're safe... we're finally safe..."