Chapter 23: Trauma

The silence filling the clinic room lingered for a while as everyone either processed, or tried to process the implications of Anne's realization. Autumn's eyes went wide after just a moment as it all clicked for her, but others were much less successful.

And that included Sage.

"~Huh?~"

As astonished as this human was at something, the Phantump couldn't quite piece together what it was exactly. She recognized the last word the girl had said from somewhere, but not what it meant, leading her to tilt her head a bit.

"~Wh-what do you mean?~"

Anne didn't expect that reaction in the slightest. It made her doubt her own observation for a moment before she shook it aside. Regardless of whether they understood her, they still clearly spoke Unovan, and almost certainly used to be a human.

Used to.

Maybe they just didn't remember what 'Unovan' meant? Not a word most use often in their daily lives, very few people spoke anything other than it, outside of large cities, at least. Ultimately, though, none of that truly mattered. What mattered is that Anne felt both concerned and sorry for the ghost child in front of her, and wanted to help them somehow.

And that required them to meet each other first.

"~Umm... nevermind. Hi, m-my name is Anne! What's yours?~"

Thankfully, the human's meeting had the desired result. Her understandable voice, unknowingly made even more so with Autumn's help, was friendly and warm, something Sage couldn't get enough of. After shaking some of her previous shock, she hovered over closer and spoke up again, her words much more upbeat this time.

"~I'm Sage! Nice to meet you, Anne!~"

The ghost's greeting clarified two things in Anne's mind, one much more harrowing than the other. They were obviously a girl, and clearly a young one at that, younger than even her. The slight distortion when Sage spoke made it difficult to estimate exactly how old she sounded, but she couldn't have been older than seven or eight years old.

"Hello, Sage!"

Ember's woofed greeting took the hauntling aback, but she got over her own surprise quickly. In no time, she had hovered over to the firefox and introduced herself to her too—and then, the rest of the room. Each of her greetings were warmer and more energetic, all the pleasant interactions only making her more eager towards having more and more of them. She was rather skittish when talking to Grace in particular, though, which Anne... couldn't blame her for.

A nice—if slightly blunt—Zangoose was still a Zangoose after all, and even the older girl would need a lot more exposure before she could finish reclassifying the sight from 'run away NOW' to 'person'. She knew full well that broad categorizations like that helped nobody, but they lingered in her mind, whether she liked that fact or not.

Might as well take them head-on and work through them instead of pretending they aren't a thing.

Autumn ended up being the last person to meet the ghostie, still rather stunned. Enough so to make Sage speak up and ask if there was something wrong, making the Indeedee lightly shake her head and offer the lil' one a hug. One gladly taken—surprisingly so, considering Sage's previous skittishness.

The most welcome kind of 'surprisingly'.

As the situation in the room calmed down enough for the visiting kids to gradually drift back chattering among themselves and for Anne to come to terms with this Phantump some two feet away from her being a dead girl, the human heard a familiar voice in her head. It was clearly Autumn's, but... slightly muffled, its contents quickly clarifying why that was.

"^Anne, do you... have any ideas about how we could help Sage? Oh—just focus on words in your mind and I'll pick them up, no need to speak out loud.^"

It was an excellent question, to which Anne had barely any idea how to answer.

She half-heartedly nodded as she tried to really think through the implications of her revelation, their combined tragedy soon boring a pit in her stomach. This was just a little girl, someone's child, and now she's dead and presumably very, very far from home. The underlying surprise of a Phantump being a former human was there, but it was hardly important enough to merit anything more than an off-handed acknowledgement.

The past few days have made it very clear that mons weren't anywhere near as different from pe—humans as everything in Anne's life had tried to teach her. Why would they and humans be any different when it came to coming back as ghosts?

Why would humanity be spared from that horror?

As Anne kept thinking, further unpleasant realizations followed, with some of them aimed at nobody but herself. She was right, Sage was just a little girl, someone's child, and so far away from her family. And all that would've been just as true even if she'd been a Pidove, or a Patrat, or any other species in her past life, too.

She had enough grip on herself in that moment to not let herself be dragged into the pit of self-loathing, not this time, but the self-awareness still stung.

"^How could we help her? I'm... I'm not sure. I suppose knowing what had happened to her would be helpful, but I can't imagine that being comfortable for her to think about, and I don't know if our curiosity will do her any good.^"

Autumn acknowledged Anne's words with a light nod as she blankly stared into the nearby wall, her paws thoughtlessly petting Sage's wooden shell. The Indeedee was too distracted by her own thoughts to notice the unpleasantness swirling around Anne's mind, but Ember didn't have that obstacle. No matter what exactly had soured her best friend's mind, she still wanted to swat it out.

And there were few better antidotes to Anne's gloom than the firefox's soft warmth filling her lap and pressing itself into her front.

"^I think it could help a lot, though. Even if there's only so much we could do with that knowledge, we might find out how to comfort her more, or whether there's some dangerous predator nearby some of our scouts could deal with. Of course, all that only if Sage wants to talk about it; I'd loathe to put her through even more pain than she'd already been through.^"

The Indeedee's response had Anne shudder slightly as she petted Ember's back with her one functional hand; the thought of the younger girl having been hunted down deeply terrifying. Unsurprising—this was the wilderness after all, and every single human kid has had it drilled into them that venturing into the woods was very dangerous—but still terrifying. 

Suppose this rationalization made sense, especially if it could lead to the village becoming safer overall. This was all miserable, and her eyes were rather damp even just from thinking about it, but they could figure something out for the lil' ghostie.

They had to.

A further downturn in the mood earned Anne even more warm affection from the Braixen, slowly melting through the worst of her worries. Ember wasn't entirely sure about the specifics of what Anne and Autumn were talking about, but she agreed with their drive wholeheartedly.

"M-mhm!"

Ember's affirmation had Sage look over at her confused, much to the fox's amusement. Unsure how to respond verbally, she recalled a cute human gesture Anne used to show to her, trying her hardest to curl her fingers into a rough shape of a heart. Scuffed as her attempt at conveying the symbol was, it was nonetheless understood by the recipient, lighting up the Phantump's expression and prompting her to try returning it.

To no success, but fortunately, that didn't demotivate her too much.

Especially with someone else stepping up in curiosity.

"Th-that's a cool name, Sage!"

Blossom's greeting wasn't the most well thought out in the world, but it succeeded at catching the girl's attention all the same. And then, startling her at the realization that the Dartrix was standing some four inches away from her and had flown over entirely silently. Which then startled the owlet, not expecting such a drastic reaction; the two left unsure how to respond.

Zephyr caught just enough of the exchange to break into chittering giggling, almost making Blossom speak up at him in a mix of slight fluster and equally mild annoyance—

But then, someone else stepped into the room.

"Alright everyone, you'll have to get out for a moment to give the human some space. It's time to change their bandages."

The unfamiliar voice, simultaneously a brief burst of buzzing with several clicking noises interspersed in it and a middle-aged lady mustering out all the patience she had available, made Anne perk up. She had seen the Leavanny that had just walked in a couple more times by now, but never heard her speak with a provided translation.

And as important as having her bandages and cast changed was, the thought that everyone would have to get out of the room because of her was an unpleasant one. Then again, forcing them to sit through what almost certainly was a gory sight didn't sit right with her, either. Maybe the nurse could just lower the curtain around the bed again and shield them from having to see it that way?

"~U-um—no no, you don't have to leave.~"

Anne's words stunned the Leavanny, both because of being translated for the first time, and for defying her guidance in such a blatant way. Before the bushbug's surprise could turn to annoyance—or worse, anger—Anne continued, hoping to clarify.

"~W-would it be possible for the curtains to get lowered again s-so that those who want to stay can j-just hop on the bed?~"

Now that was a much more understandable idea, if still rather silly. Though, if the patient was comfortable with it, then the Leavanny supposed she could let it slide.

"Sure. Alright everyone, you best get over there or get ready to see some blood. And you... u-um..."

"~'A-Anne'?~"

"Yes, Anne. Sorry. Lay down here. You'll have to move, Autumn."

The room erupted into a fair bit of chaos as the mantis medic got ready and prepared everything needed to reapply a fresh cast. Anne's still-aching body appreciated getting to lie down again; most shifted further away from Anne's injured arm to avoid the gruesome sight—but surprisingly, not everyone. Of her guests, only Blossom did, leaving the other three behind to watch what was underneath all the thick bandages in a mix of morbid curiosity and... regular curiosity.

"First, I'll need to numb the arm again. Can you—"

Anne was familiar enough to know what to do now, pulling back what remained of her sleeve to expose as much of her shoulder as she could, and stuck it out for better access. The eagerness of the gesture took the Leavanny aback, but not for long, especially as the surprise turned into appreciation for cooperating.

"Thank you, Anne. This will sting a bit. Hopefully, it hasn't been too painful for you in the past."

"~No, not at all!~"

Even despite her knowing exactly what would happen, the touch of the medic's leafy limbs on her bare skin took Anne aback. She didn't have the time to react further before it was followed by a quick, barely noticeable sting, and then... blissful nothingness. The muted aching in her left arm wasn't bad enough to leave Anne agonized, but having it be suddenly removed still brought a wave of immense relief.

"~Ohhh... th-thank you, umm... nurse.~"

"Name's Maple. And... you're very welcome, dear. I'm really glad you've been cooperative."

Whatever hesitation there might've been once Anne had first spoken up was now entirely gone. Maple's words were as confident as they got, and that extended to her actions. Bit by bit, she peeled the cast off, making the girl shudder despite the lack of any associated pain. Nothing but a slight cold chill, and the unpleasant, wet sounds every once in a while.

She was so, so glad she didn't have to see all the gory details—something the ones that elected to stay behind the curtain couldn't say.

"...ohh, ewww. Wh-why's there so much blood..."

Anne didn't like the implications of these words one bit.

"Pfffft, most of us are full of blood, Mint. It's really only us Grasses, Steel-types, and Ghosts that are the exception to that—and some rocks, too, I suppose. In almost everyone else, there's a lot of this stuff when taken together."

The medic's answer was helpful in explaining the Gloom's surface-level confusion, but did little to help with the underlying disgust. As Maple continued to take the cast apart, the Poison-type's obvious discomfort got louder and louder, culminating in a dry heave, soft steps toward the room's entrance, and the rustle of the canvas flap being violently pulled aside.

"Gnarly."

The Zangoose's observation sounded more bored than the human would've ever suspected anyone to react to the presumed sight. A few moments later, Grace continued, genuine surprise filling her voice for the first time today—

"Wait, where'd he—Mint! Where'd you go?"

—followed by the noises of her leaving the room.

Over on the other side of the curtain, Anne was managing rather well. Ember had snuggled up to her almost immediately after she laid down. Fortunately for everyone involved, Sage didn't try looking through the flimsy barrier separating her from a sight nobody her age should ever witness. Instead, she slowly gathered the courage to join the very comfy Braixen, before Zephyr's voice made her jump a bit.

"Wow, I... I'm really glad I don't have to see this in the wild."

Everyone in the room aside from the pair of (once)-humans agreed strongly with that observation, even without seeing the bloody mess being referenced. The Phantump didn't quite figure out what they meant, but Anne did, shuddering at the thought of anyone present here having to hunt other living beings for survival.

Only the most natural thing in the world, only absolutely horrific.

"Indeed, Zephyr, indeed. So... Anne. I think I remember you using your arms a lot."

Words addressed to her snapped the human out of any growing warmth-induced drowsiness, first making her nod, and then clarify once she remembered that Maple couldn't see her.

"~Y-yes, I use them a-all the time.~"

"It's gonna be a long while until your arm is all well again, sadly. We can Heal Pulse all we want, but grave injuries like this still take a while to mend. And then I'm unsure how much you'll be able to use it even after it's done recovering. I think I remember seeing some nerves being damaged too..."

The thought of her injury being potentially permanent sent a pang of fear through Anne's body. It stirred Autumn out of her thoughtful mood enough to scramble along to the human and try to join in on the comfort.

"~I-I see. Th-thankfully my other hand is the d-dominant one, I'll live...~"

"'Dominant'?"

The confusion in Maple's voice took Anne aback—and behind the human's line of sight, Autumn, too. She supposed it was just a human thing, one she'd be glad to explain in that case.

"~It's uh, it's when you're much b-better at using one hand than the other. L-like, I can draw and write with my right hand, but have no idea how I would do it with the other one.~"

"^Really? I would've thought these sorts of skills would work with both arms.^"

"~No, they don't, n-not for me at least.~"

"I can't imagine b-being better at using one wing than the other, heheh..."

Blossom's giggling comment was amusing, but it also got Anne thinking. That made sense, with birds having one wing be stronger than the other would make it impossible for them to fly straight, and much the same was probably true for quadrupeds. Which left bipeds—and even then, only some of them, judging by Autumn's confusion.

"Is that a human thing?"

"~I-I think so, Mrs. Maple.~"

"No, it's not!"

Ember speaking up took everyone else aback, especially about something that sounded so human.

"I h-have that too! I only use my left hand for my wand."

"~Are you left-handed?~"

Sage's quiet question had the Braixen first pause as she double checked whether that word meant what she thought it did, before eagerly agreeing.

"~Ooooo, that's cool! I'm right-handed.~"

The Phantump waved both her arms for emphasis, without a visible difference in how well she could move them. Could be that 'dominant' hand thing didn't show up when waving, could be that she just wasn't 'right-handed' anymore. A neat, and somehow-not-entirely-human fact in either case.

"Well, at least I'm glad that this won't impact you as much as it would if it was the other arm. There's something else I've been curious about, if you don't mind."

"~S-sure.~"

Anne felt her shoulder getting lightly pulled all around and exactly nothing below it, but the steadily decreasing coldness implied that Maple was applying the new cast. It wasn't anything uncomfortable, but the sooner she could move freely again, the better.

"When you first got here, I saw a few of these small, round burn scars on your arms and had no idea what to make of them. All I could figure out was that they must've been here even before your accident. What had caused them?"

Well-meaning as the question was, it immediately sent a shudder through the girl's body and the minds of the two nearby psychics. The answer was straightforward and horrible in equal measure, and exactly nobody wanted Anne to have to push herself through putting words to a disgusting, horrifying truth. Still, the girl tried.

"~I-it's f-from... f-from—~"

"^Her human parents inflicted these onto her, and it won't happen again.^"

Autumn's voice was steadfast, not permitting even the slightest consideration of pursuing this topic any further. It was rather unlike her, taking the Leavanny aback, but she wasn't about to argue with something this clearly unpleasant.

"I see. I'm... very sorry to hear, Anne. Alright, I think I'm done here. I will pull up the curtain now."

The mix of Braixen warmth and a gentle psychic hug embracing much of her body helped Anne brace herself for the sight that awaited her—a thankfully tame sight. Her arms were wrapped in layers upon layers of reinforced silk, some of it still fresh enough to glisten. No blood on either her shoulder or on the couple fingertips that stuck out of the cast, but... the scene wasn't without its gory parts, with Maple taking her time before carrying what remained on the previous cast out.

So, so red on the inside...

It was nauseating, and not just for Anne.

"S-sorry Anne I have to go-*umph*—"

Before the girl could even finish turning her head, Blossom was gone through the magically safeguarded window, leaving everyone still present hoping Dartrix hadn't gotten too sick. Ember fared better, and Sage was thankfully too distracted by staring at the stick in the fox's tail to notice, needing a long while to realize that both the owlet and the mantis were now gone.

Wanting to drag herself away from all that unpleasantness, Anne wasted no time before sitting back up and turning towards Sage. Anything to get her own condition out of her mind, and there was no better way to do that than to contribute to something genuinely helpful.

"~Hey, Sage?~"

The hauntling's 'hmm?' had her looking all around the room, confusion creeping onto her wooden face at the surroundings yet again having shifted. So much more change here than in the uniform mix of white snow and black trees outside...

"~S-so... me and Autumn were curious about where you came from, a-and if you remember it.~"

Contrary to the worst of Anne's fears, Sage didn't immediately break into tears. In fact, she took the request very calmly; one spectral hand gently patted the bottom of her shell as she tried to think back.

Which sadly didn't mean her introspective efforts would amount to much, however.

"~I... d-don't remember. I've only been walking through the forest with Mr. Yaksha and sometimes sleeping.~"

The unfamiliar name caught everyone's attention, Anne continuing shortly.

"~'Mr. Yaksha'? Who is he?~"

"~He's a friend! He found me when I was all alone and has been protecting me! He's a bit angry sometimes, but really nice!~"

As glad as everyone gathered was to hear that the little one didn't have to brave the wilderness alone, the latter remark caught the attention of Anne and Autumn in particular, neither of them liking it.

"~Did he ever... d-do anything to you?~"

"~Nooooo! I said he's nice, he's just... uh... often not happy and talks little and sometimes gets angry, but never at me!~"

"^Hmm... 'rough'?^"

"~Y-yeah! He's my friend, and I wish he was happy.~"

"~I hope h-he will be too when he sees you having fun with us! What species is he?~"

"~Oh?~"

Once more, a term Sage was unfamiliar with, forcing Anne to restate her question.

"~Wh-what does he look like?~"

"~He's this big, and gray all around, and has these silly teeth that open.~"

The mental image of 'teeth that open' brought varying levels of discomfort to everyone gathered, but the human had a hunch about what it meant.

"~Do they open f-from the side and are golden?~"

"~Golden?~"

"~Yellow.~"

"~Yeah!~"

"~So he's a Banette?~"

While Autumn realized she'd seen one of these earlier right beside Sage, the Phantump herself got... a bit confused. She didn't remember knowing that word, but the more she thought about it, the more something came back to her recollection, eventually culminating in a shaky nod.

"~Y-yeah, I think so.~"

The confirmation left Anne uneasy, in turn. All she'd ever heard associated with that species was immense cruelty and pure hatred, and to hear of one that had been apparently looking after this little ghost girl was... unexpected. Still, clearly yet another bigoted human myth, she was well aware—

"^Wouldn't have thought one of them would ever make for a protector.^"

...or not just human this time.

Anne chuckled to herself, relieving some of the steadily building tension. As casual as their chat had been so far, Anne was almost certain it wouldn't remain so for much longer. One deep breath, another, time to continue.

"~I'm glad to hear he's been looking a-after you. Do you remember what happened... before that?~"

As predicted, Sage's body language grew more uncomfortable almost immediately. Anne didn't know what to do, but Ember's wordless affection was eagerly accepted and appreciated. It was the most pleasant thing the Phantump had ever experienced, making her only bury herself further into the fluff. It didn't look like she'd be giving an answer to this particular question. Anne and Autumn alike mulled through where to take this chat next—

But then, Sage clumsily turned around, and responded.

"~I... I d-don't remember much. I know I-I used t-to be something e-else, b-but... I don't know what. All I remember is laughter and my head hurting so, so much and it always makes me scared and I want to know what happened and—~"

Anne's hug wasn't anywhere near as comforting as that of the Braixen, but it was just as well received, especially with the human pulling in both the ghostie and the fox she was snuggling into in one fell swoop. Autumn wasn't far behind either, focusing more on the situation around her now that they've both figured out a lead, and made sure that the lil' ghost was interested in being helped.

As the part Grass-type slowly calmed down, others listened in to the commotion happening beside them. Stunky weren't particularly well suited to climbing anything even close to vertical, but that didn't mean Zephyr wouldn't give it his best effort. Eventually, he'd made enough holes in the bedding to pull himself up onto it, and approached the cuddle pile.

"I-I'm sorry it happened to you, but I'll protect you, Sage! I won't let it happen again!"

The Dark-type's posturing was silly at best, but that didn't make the gesture any less heartfelt, bringing smiles to the room.

Aside from Sage.

"~B-but Mr. Yaksha is already protecting me.~"

The clarification brought on a few moments of awkward silence during which nobody really knew what to say, the Stunky most of all. Thankfully, Autumn was familiar enough with kid-induced uneasiness to think of a way out, audibly clearing her throat before telepathically chiming in.

"^That's still a great gesture Zephyr, thank you. Now, Sage... would you want me to help you remember what happened?^"

Focus being brought back over onto the Indeedee made the Phantump's expression light up once more. She wasted no time before huddling closer to Autumn's front and firmly nodding; her sheer affection towards the psychic was no less confusing than it was earlier.

"^Alrighty, we can try to figure it out together! Now, Anne? Would you mind coming along with us to help me make sense of any human things I might see?^"

The human had absolutely zero idea what 'coming along' could've meant there, but it didn't matter. As long as she could help the undead girl out, she was down.

"~Yeah!~"

"^Are you sure? I can't imagine it'll be anything... pretty.^"

"~I'm—I'm used to not pretty things. I'll be alright.~"

To Autumn's utmost regret, Anne was very right about that.

"^Okay. Ember, could you give us space? Sage, could you sit on Anne's lap for this?^"

The hauntling took her time letting go of the chubby psychic, but ultimately did as asked, and so did the Braixen. Anne's one-armed hug wasn't anything warm like Ember's or padded like Autumn's, but it felt... nice in a more familiar way, at least.

"^Thank you both! Now...^"

The Indeedee took the deepest breath of her life before sitting down beside the human and the once-human, laying a paw on Anne's forearm and grabbing Sage's hand with the other one. She felt immense dread fill her as she prepared to descend in a much more controlled way than a couple of days ago. No matter how nervous it made her, Sage deserved to know what had happened.

And both she and Anne wanted to help with all their hearts.

"^...let's do this.^"

A wave of static rushed through Anne's brain as her body suddenly grew weak, slumping forward together with the other two. In just a few seconds, all three of them were completely out, somewhere between asleep and fainted, as Autumn reached into Sage's memories.

To the very beginning.

To her very end.

*crunch*

*crunch*

Slow, careful steps filled the small clearing.

The point of view the three were forced into was almost entirely focused on the surrounding forest floor. The occasional glances up at the nearby trees showed off the beautiful fall colors filling the scene, be they still feebly holding onto the branches or laying dried on the ground. It was the latter that Sage was specifically interested in, though, their colorful sneakers constantly looking around in search of the biggest pile of leaves to crunch through.

They liked that sound.

Despite the focused point of view, most of Sage's outfit was visible. A bright yellow, puffy jacket, sneakers spanning half the rainbow, a loose pair of stretchy jeans. And, on top of the latter, a clearly oversized skirt, one dark-skinned hand constantly having to hold it in place around their waist.

It felt nice to wear. How it looked and especially how it moved when they tried to twirl. It was so, so pretty, just like when their older sister wore it.

Sage hoped she wouldn't notice it missing for a moment. They didn't remember her wearing this one in a while, and if they just put it back like it was before, it would be fine, right? Their sister would probably be so angry about them taking it without her knowledge, and looking weird in it, if she ever found out. A part of them knew they weren't supposed to be wearing it. After all, skirts were for girls, and not for—

"~Guys, look! Sage's wearing a dress!~"

Suddenly, the focus snapped over onto the small hill surrounding the clearing. On top of it, a trio of older boys.

Faces distorted beyond comprehension.

Sage could only stand there in panic as they watched them approach, one arm still clutching their sister's skirt to their side. The boys' cruel laughter grew with every step, especially as they continued to mock them in their low voices.

"~Guess he's really just a sissy, ahahaha!~"

"~No kidding! What, were you too fed up with just being a crybaby, Sage, and just had to grab a dress to go along with it~!?~"

The point of view shifted slightly backwards as Sage tried to hold them back with a raised hand. Eventually, a boyish, shaky voice responded, right as the three walked up to them.

Sage's voice.

"~L-l-leave me alone—~"

"~Or what? You're gonna cry harder?~"

The three's roaring laughter reduced Sage to shaking again as they were surrounded. Each of the boys had a solid foot on them, the sheer distortion around their heads only conveying a cruel smile.

And then, the first shove came.

The world turned into a blur as Sue tried to remain standing, forced to let go of the skirt to regain their balance. It was of little help though, especially as they then tripped on it, sending them down onto their knees, to the trio's monstrous amusement. They were too afraid to leave the skirt behind, grabbing it again before trying to run--

"~Oh man, everyone's gonna love this!~"

As scared as Sage already was, it was nothing compared to the sheer terror that the taunt stirred in them, bringing them to tears.

"~P-p-please don't tell—~"

"~Or what, huh~? What are you gonna do, you fucking crybaby, piss your pants!?~"

Yet more laughter, paralyzing Sage further. The world turned into a blur as they were shoved again and again, stumbling over their feet with every painful push.

"~Figures you dressed up like a girl with how whiny you are!~"

"~A fucking baby is what he is, a little baby girl that needs his bottle badly!~"

Sage closed their eyes as they tried to endure it all. Their inner ear screamed at being constantly shoved around, their body cried at the shoves turning into punches, into kicks, into more and more painful bruises.

"~And don't you even fucking try telling anyone about this—~"

The whirlwind of pain abruptly stopped as they got grabbed by their shoulders with a grip strong enough to send them screaming if they had any voice left.

"~—'cuz if you do, we'll tell everyone what a fucking FAGGOT you are!~"

An instant later, the most forceful shove yet, sending Sage falling backwards. They pried their eyes open, looking up at the sky, at the beautiful fall around them, at the trio of popular, well-off bullies, at their smug, self-satisfied grins. Their laughter burned itself into their mind as they fell, fell, fell—

And then, darkness and unimaginable pain from the back of their head.

They tried to move; they tried to do anything, but their body wouldn't listen. There was only burning, radiating suffering that intensified by the moment, and freezing numbness enveloping them from all around. Sage felt their warmth be drained through the back of their head, felt something wet there, and could do nothing but lay there.

And listen.

Laughter.

Shouts.

Screams.

Steps racing away from her, crunching through the fallen leaves.

And eventually, nothing more.

For an eternity.

Freezing cold, oppressive darkness, suffocating silence. Without reprieve, without end, without mercy.

Untold infinities later, a blink back to the recollection.

A silent, unmoving gaze staring down at a lifeless body. Dark-skinned, bloated, covered in dirt and debris, with a few parts already taken by wildlife. Around its head, a brown, dried-out blot. Surrounded by decomposing leaves and almost entirely barren trees.

Alone.

The scene continued in perfect stillness for an unknown amount of time. Not a single thought, not a single motion, only the oppressive, unending sight of a carcass that used to be a person.

And then, a distant voice. Followed by another, and another still. One of them low, very low, just like she'd heard before—

Before—

She had to run.

At last, Sage turned and levitated away as fast as she could, the most distant voices suddenly eclipsed by her own panicking breathing. Everything shook, the world was once more a blur of white and brown and gray and black—

In the distance, a heartbroken shriek behind her. A wail of a family shattered, of a child lost, of an unspeakable tragedy.

Further and further away.

Soon enough, it was gone, as was everything else. There were only the trees around her, the frost and decomposing leaves underneath her, and the silver, clouded skies above her.

A cruel world in all its vastness.

All the trio knew was that they'd been crying for hours.

They remained motionless even as they returned to awareness, only capable of shaking as tears continued to flow.

Anne kept the little girl close and held her tight, so very tight. She was afraid to let go of her even for a moment, afraid of unthinkable horrors happening to her again, of her being hurt so cruelly again. Autumn's angle didn't let her do much physically, but she more than made up for that with her psychics, keeping Sage in as warm of an embrace as she could manage, as if to protect her from the deathly cold.

Sage hurt more than words could describe.

The Indeedee felt everything going on around her. Felt their grief, their loss, their pain, Sage's overwhelming fear. She wanted to do something, anything, to help in the moment, but there was nothing any of them could do. Nothing that could make up for what the Phantump had gone through.

All they could do was be there for her, no matter what.

As Autumn regained her bearings, she tried to push herself to at least check up on her surroundings. Ember held Anne as tight as she could, terrified at what was going on and feeling unable to stop it. Zephyr kept anxiously standing guard, constantly glancing over at them with uncertainty. The tiniest bit of relief filled his expression as he noticed his teacher beginning to come to again, but he didn't dare speak up about it.

On the ground beside the bed, a wrapped bundle of a now-cold pastry, left behind by presumably Holly. Nobody else around them.

Bit by bit, she began calming down, pushing through the trauma of what she'd just seen. No matter how much she needed comfort in the moment, the two girls beside her needed it more, and she had to be there for them both.

Even as she tried to get rid of the last of them, tears kept coming in the most annoying way.

Once Autumn felt confident about not immediately breaking down again should anything happen, she finally dared move. One paw stroking Anne's arm, the other Sage's hand. She couldn't do much, but she could do that—

And then, the Phantump recoiled slightly, withdrawing partially into her shell as she tried to press herself into Anne even further.

"~I-I-I wanna go home...~"

The Indeedee wanted to weep, but persevered.

"^Shhhhh... shhhhhh....^"

Quiet as they were, the shushes still helped. Just a gentle reminder of Autumn's soothing presence, gradually seeping into the two traumatized girls' minds and helping pull them out from the worst of it. Another attempt at physically comforting Sage went much better. The Phantump clutched her soft paw tight, clinging to it with all her strength, the little of it she had left after everything she just had to go through again.

Autumn knew she couldn't say much beyond that, for there was nothing she could say. Nothing but the most banal response to a tragedy like that, the most obvious one. And yet, the Indeedee still said it, because it needed to be said.

Because Sage needed to hear it.

"^I'm so sorry, sweetie. We're here for you, no matter what.^"

Pained as she still was, the words had reached the lil' Phantump, making her slightly loosen her grip on the psychic's paw.

They helped, even if they couldn't fully mend it all, even if they couldn't answer the most harrowing of questions at the root of it all.

"~Wh-why d-did they do that to m-me...~"

The Indeedee continued her affection as she wondered how to respond to a question like that. There wasn't much directly in the terrible vision that would explain why these specific humans had set their abusive sights on specifically Sage, but it didn't matter.

Because ultimately, the answer was the same.

"^Some people are awful, and want to hurt others no matter what, Sage. We could debate for days about why that is, but... in the end, that's just how things are.^"

The Indeedee's response was as satisfying as an answer to that entire moral conundrum would ever get—which was to say, not in the slightest. Still, there was one more thing she realized she hadn't clarified, something easy to overlook, and yet, the most important sentence she could say. A philosophical answer wasn't the point, wasn't ever the point.

"^It's not your fault, Sage. I promise.^"

What mattered was reassurance.

However trite it was, it too helped, especially when accompanied by all the time in the world for Sage to calm down. Minutes upon minutes of silence, of gentle touch, physical and psychic alike, of the chubby psychic's warm, ever comforting presence. The most important message repeated over and over again when needed, anything to help it all hurt less.

Anne took even longer to come to after everything she'd witnessed. As harrowing as the recollection was for Autumn, it seemed to have hit Anne particularly hard, to the point where the Indeedee had to pry the Phantump out of the human's embrace just to let her move freely again. With time, she too regained her bearings, especially once everyone around had joined in to comfort her.

Including Sage.

Because as much as she hurt, Anne hurt too and was a friend. Why wouldn't she help her?

"~Th-thank you all...~"

With the whispered words signaling the return of the final member of the memory-diving trio, Ember immediately set upon vocalizing her concerns.

"A-Anne! What happened!? You all were crying s-so much, and even afterwards, and you were s-so sad, and..."

The human didn't know how to answer. Ember deserved so much better than to have something as cruel as what they had all just seen be meticulously explained to her, insult by insult and strike by strike.

Especially with Sage able to understand her as well.

"~J-just something really sad, Ember. I-I'm okay now, I think.~"

It was a lie, but one that couldn't be avoided unless they all wished to spend the rest of the day wallowing in the misery of it all. It wouldn't have even been a wholly unthinkable thing to do, not with how terrifying it all was, but they all had to move on. Sage didn't want to keep hurting by thinking about it, Autumn wanted to focus on actually helping the two girls out, and Anne...

Had to make sure of something first.

The human doubted whether Autumn had grasped all the implications of the scene now burned into her memories forever. Hell, she suspected she hadn't done so either, but there was one detail that stood out clear to her, something she knew existed but never really got to interact with before. Not consciously, at least. And she wanted to help, however little she could do. Help this lost child, this little girl feel safe, be her friend, and—if what she'd noticed was right...

Help her be a girl, too.

"~Sage?~"

Everyone sat so close together that the matter of sliding over from Autumn's affection to Anne's was a matter of hovering just a couple of inches over.

"~Y-yes, Anne?~"

"~Could I ask you something... p-personal?~"

Autumn looked at the human uncertainly. She wasn't sure where all this was going, but a part of her doubted it would do anything but bring more tears. Still, Anne clearly had a plan of sorts; she was doing this for a reason, and the psychic let her keep going for now.

"~L-like what?"~

Anne took a deep breath as she tried to mull through the 'right' words for this. She wished so, so much she was more familiar with any sort of proper terminology for this, anything that would let her avoid potentially insulting this hurt child beside her, but... she didn't. All she could do was ask what she had on her mind as earnestly as possible, and hope it wouldn't be taken the wrong way.

"~You're a girl, right?~"

Everyone else was rather confused at hearing such an odd question, be it because of how from the left it was, or—in Autumn's case—by having no idea what did that matter for what they had all just seen. To Zephyr in particular, it came off almost like a setup for an exceptionally ill-timed joke, but no laughs came. Just an expecting human, and an uncertain hauntling, suddenly plunged into deep thought.

It wasn't a topic Sage spent a lot of time reflecting on, especially after ending up like this. Being a girl felt natural to her, but after what she'd just seen, she couldn't help but wonder whether she hadn't accidentally done something wrong. Maybe she shouldn't have been thinking that. Maybe it was bad of her to do so.

She didn't know, and the more she tried to mull it through, the more worried she became. It was only after Anne's fingers brushed against her wooden shell did Sage snap back to awareness, stuttering out the best answer she could think of.

Hoping it would be the right one.

"~I-I think so... I'm a girl, right?~"

An instant later, as close of a hug as Anne's one arm could provide.

"~Yes, of course you are!~"

Anne's audible determination, appearing to have come entirely out of nowhere, was perhaps even more surprising than the pointless question that came before it. Not unwelcome in the slightest, though, lifting everyone's spirits, especially when paired with her slightly teary, but resolute, smile. Sage didn't expect an answer like that, but what surprised her the most, was… her own reaction, in turn.

Just how nice it felt to hear that. She didn't even know why, but it just did.

Sadly, it wasn't the only question Anne had on her mind. She was well aware of just how much more unpleasant this second one could be, how many awful memories it could dredge up, but she had to know. They all had to know, so that they wouldn't inadvertently bring more pain upon her.

"~I also wanted to ask... would your parents have been angry if they knew?~"

Despite how dumbfounding her question was for everyone else, Sage knew exactly what she meant by it. She might've taken her time gathering her thoughts for this previous one, but this time it was she who answered with all the confidence her tiny body could muster out.

"~No! They w-wouldn't, they never did anything bad to me, they would never hurt me!~"

Neither the tone nor the response Anne expected, but they were both reassuring in their own right. And resulted in an immediate follow-up, one that would likely sting even more.

"~Did you tell them?~"

Unfortunately, Anne's hunch was right.

Sage's tiny body shook as she recalled her own thoughts about doing that, from an eternity ago. All the doubts she had, all the times she took her sister's clothing just for a moment to feel nice, all the times she felt like she didn't fit with the boys at all. Dozens of chances to speak up and talk to her parents about this, ask if she was doing something wrong.

All of them squandered.

"~N-no... I d-didn't know what was going on, a-and it was so scary and I didn't want to make them scared a-and—~"

Time time, everyone scrambled in.

Even if only Anne truly knew what they all just discussed, Sage's distress was clear to see, and they all wanted to provide whichever attention they could. Touch, psychics, warmth, even just soft fur. All of them were noted, all of them helped.

Anne felt guilty about pushing the conversation on like this, especially about something she neither had experience with nor didn't strictly need to know. After everything she'd been through, she just wanted to be as sure as possible that this current hell wasn't indirectly caused by Sage's parents being similarly abusive or otherwise not accepting of her, but... it didn't seem to be. Which, if anything, only made it even more tragic.

Because it all could've been avoided, and wasn't.

It stung and hurt, especially with the ghost's sadness soaking through her flimsy t-shirt. Anne wanted to help make up for all this. Make up, however ineffectually, for everything Sage had been through, but wasn't sure how.

Was there anything she could do?

While the human churned through that question, Autumn was torn between concern for Sage because of the sudden emotional downturn, and alert at sensing something, someone, behind her. Pink, glowing eyes, golden zipper for a mouth, peeking in through the nearby wall.

Staring at them all in anger.

The Indeedee had no idea how to respond, focusing on putting up a Protect if needed while continuing to act as if she hadn't spotted them. If this really was the 'Yaksha' that Sage had mentioned, then they shouldn't have been a threat to them, but... their fury made Autumn think otherwise. Why would they be so angry if they really were the Phantump's guardian?

Who were they really—

As if in response to Autumn's thoughts, she felt the ghost's emotions behind her shift. As intense as their anger was, it quickly gave way to first reassurance and relief, and then, even more worryingly, to distress and shame. It left the Indeedee stunned as she sensed Yaksha withdraw from their room—and then seemingly from the entire clinic, too.

Something was off about all this, and she needed to find out what.

"^Anne?^"

Autumn's calm, but no-nonsense tone perked the human right away. Her worries about her behavior getting called out were erased soon after, thankfully.

"~Yes, M-Mrs. Autumn?~"

"^I... need to leave for a moment. Are you gonna be okay with just the others here until I'm back?^"

The thought made Anne shudder a bit, at least initially. She didn't feel in danger here even with her future being uncertain, and between Sage understanding her and Ember knowing enough telepathy to talk to her, Autumn's assistance wasn't strictly needed, but... she still made the girl feel safer. Cared for.

Then again, Autumn definitely wouldn't have asked that without a good reason, so...

"~S-sure. Are you g-gonna be back soon, Mrs. Autumn?~"

"^I hope so! Alright everyone, I need to take care of something and won't be gone for long. Please take care of each other in my absence, okay?^"

Autumn's question got the predictable chorus of reassurances, bringing a weak smile to her face as she slid off the bed and headed out. She expected nothing else, but it still brought well-needed confidence.

Once she'd left, the Stunky wasted no time before jumping off the bed and... coming to a stop beside the door. Anne expected him to eventually move or at least vocalize something, but he just stood there, completely still.

As if… standing guard.

"~Thank you, Zephyr.~"

He didn't even react, and not like Anne could blame him. Especially since her words were likely little more than gibberish to him—

...

...

She figured it out.

Without wasting another moment, Anne immediately slid over to the edge of the bed that all the bags laid beside, and dug in. Several items she needed to get, a few more she hoped to find—assuming that Mrs. Graham had taken what Anne thought she had—and the last few would just make the entire process easier.

Ember helped a bit, though mostly in the task of pulling everything needed up onto the bed with her psychics. At some point throughout the process, an array of noises that came from the direction of the door snagged the Braixen's attention. Squeaks, woofs, mewls and oinks, some familiar but many not. A part of Anne's mind begged for her to look over her shoulder and see what in the world was going on, but it was just this one thing left; she could get it done first—

Yes, there it was!

Pulling a plain, all-black, and very well-worn t-shirt from underneath a dozen pounds of cargo turned out to be harder than expected, especially with Anne's ability to get leverage being... limited. Still, she managed it, tossing it onto the small pile beside herself before assessing her spoils.

Freshly dragged out shirt, the knife she took from her house, a smaller pencil case with a few assorted items. Some glue, some needles, rusty scissors. Beside all these, a few markers and a mess of dark fabric that used to be a pair of trousers some three years and five sizes ago.

She had everything she needed.

With the supplies taken stock of, Anne finally turned around to find out who had joined them all in the meantime. Bell was an appreciated presence—something Sage could attest to right away—Reya looked cute as she chatted with Ember, the Shinx roughhousing with Zephyr was charming, and the Grumpig watching over them all... was there, too.

"~Sage?~"

The well-familiar voice both redirected the lil' Ralts over to Anne's location, and caught the Phantump's attention once more.

"~Did you ever want to have long hair?~"