The Regeneration Effect {Pokémon Black 2 Fanfiction]

Chapter Twenty-Three

The winter sun had yet to rise when Rosa stirred awake. Something icy stung her cheeks and numbed her nose and ears, but her limbs felt as heavy as concrete, and she was unwilling to open her eyes. Everything hurt. Was it possible to die from pain? Because if so, she was teetering on the edge. Her body begged her to curl into a ball and sleep for another millennium, to wait out the mind-numbing ache. But the biting chill seeping into her arms was impossible to ignore.

With a reluctant sigh, she fluttered her eyelids open, letting the faint light filter in. The first thing she noticed was the darkness—a timid moon hung above, casting soft light across the outline of trees and foliage. Snow reflected the moon's glow, making the landscape visible in a cold, muted hue.

As Rosa pushed herself into a sitting position, she realized she was covered in snow. Her legs and waist were nearly buried in the stuff, and panic surged when she moved and couldn't feel them.

Where was she?

Something warm slipped from her shoulders, and she instinctively snatched at the thin fabric, pulling it tightly around herself. The texture was rough but comforting against her frozen skin. Blinking through the haze clouding her mind, she realized she was in a forest. Vegetation surrounded her, the trees thick enough to provide some shelter from the biting wind. The breeze howled through the treetops, its chill leaving small bumps across her arms.

Where had Braviary dropped her?

Braviary. Colress.

Rosa's fingers traced the coat's fabric, the memory suddenly flooding back. Colress. He'd done it.

He'd always played the part of the sketchy scientist—not a knight in shining armor—and yet, he'd come for her.

She hunched forward, wrapping her arms around her knees. They moved so easily now. No restraints. No cutting metal biting into her skin. The movement made her ankles throb as though they were on fire, but even that pain felt miraculous.

How had he done it? And more importantly, why?

Her Pokémon!

Colress had promised they were safe. Heart leaping, Rosa flung off the strap around her midsection and tore into her travel bag. Most of her belongings seemed intact—her medicines, TMs, berries, and key items—but when her fingers brushed the familiar leather of her brown belt, her chest tightened with overwhelming relief.

Four Pokéballs. Four precious, contracted Pokéballs resting in a row.

She yanked the belt from the bag, her fingers trembling as she fumbled to pull the Pokéballs free from their pockets. Fear gnawed at her as she hesitated. What if Team Plasma had harmed them? What if they never wanted to see her again?

Even so, she had to know. She had to see them.

One by one, she tossed the Pokéballs into the air. They expanded with a soft click before breaking open, piercing the frigid night with streams of scarlet-colored light. Rosa's breath hitched as the familiar forms of her Pokémon began to materialize before her.

Their brilliant eyes cut through the darkness—glowing crimson, charcoal, aqua, and gold.

Except, their eyes weren't warm and inviting like she remembered.

Each pair was tight, their irises burning with barely controlled fury. Lips twisted into feral snarls, pulled back over clenched teeth like wild animals. A low, savage growl rumbled from every chest, daring her to come closer. Waiting. Rosa froze, her breath caught in her throat. She had never heard such horrible, primal sounds from her team before.

The blood drained from her already pale face, leaving her grim and ghostly. This had to be a nightmare. It had to be. Because the faces staring back at her weren't the ones she remembered.