Once In A New Moon

Chapter Twelve

I glanced around, both stunned and relieved we were back at the house, Lunar Wing in hand. Paul didn't hesitate and ran ahead of me, jumping the fence and dashing inside the building. Startled, I followed, giving his Pokemon a quick wave before I ducked into the house, eagerly awaiting the brothers' reunion. As I entered, Paul was already kneeled down next to the couch where his brother was still resting, while Emile and Nurse Joy gave him a worried, though relieved look. Emile turned to me and smiled

"You're back!" he exclaimed. "And not a moment too soon... He stopped thrashing about a few minutes ago. Joy and I got worried..."

"We're here now," I stated. I turned to Paul and nodded. He knew what to do: slowly, he took the Lunar Wing he had in his hand and held it by his brother. Slowly, a faint glow emerged from the feather, making it sparkle all colours of the rainbow. The same tune the wind whispered and sung at the island began to slowly rise in the air, mesmerising us all. We all looked at Reggie eagerly, waiting for him to awaken once more. However, all of a sudden...

It stopped

The feather's glow faded, the song soon drowned into the breeze's usual sound. Everyone blinked for a moment

"... It stopped," I muttered. "Why did it stop?" Paul checked his brother. He shook him lightly

"Reggie?" he asked him. No response. He shook him again, this time a little rougher "Reggie?!" he asked once more, raising his voice. A worried look swept across his face as he began to shake his brother violently. "Reggie, wake up!" he shouted

"Let me check him," Nurse Joy spoke, rushing up to him. Paul shifted to the side slightly, letting Nurse Joy kneel down with her Chansey as they began to examine Reggie, checking for his pulse and heartbeat. Seeing the panicked look on Paul's face, I knelt down next to him, followed by Emile

"Hey, it'll be OK," Emile said to Paul. He gave him a small smile, however Paul didn't reply back. He only kept a watchful eye on his brother. The panic and concern swirling within him was clear for all to see. He began to shake slightly as he slowly grew anxious as Nurse Joy checked-up on his brother. We had only just returned, and the Lunar Wing didn't work immediately... I cautiously looked over to Reggie, who looked almost content, at peace in some way. He wasn't thrashing about, sweating or mumbling in his sleep whatsoever, in fact, the state he was in now looked like he was merely asleep! However, the worried looks now plastered onto Nurse Joy and Chansey's faces begged to differ. As Nurse Joy began asking both her Chansey and Emile to grab her certain things, I slowly put my hand on Paul's shoulder and squeezed it lightly. He moved his good arm and placed his hand on mine, however he didn't turn and face me. He only kept his eye on his dear brother, hoping and praying to Arceus that he would awaken...

Nurse Joy began looking over him once more, assisted by both her Chansey and Emile this time, along with some equipment she had brought with her from the Pokemon Centre. I had no idea what she was doing or what the equipment was even for, however her expression only seemed to tense up as she continued to ask her two assistances for certain equipment, and fast. I could see Paul himself tense up a bit as he began to shake more, squeezing my hand tightly. I moved his hand and mine down from his shoulder and squeezed it back to comfort him. I scooted closer to him, almost rubbing myself up against him, making him look at me. Tears were visible in his eyes, dangerously close to falling. I bit my lip but tried to give him a reassuring smile. He only looked down, flustered. We were silent for a moment, the only noise being Nurse Joy's commands, before he spoke to me:

"... We were too late..." he spoke in a soft, sad whisper. "We were too late..." he repeated, his voice now shaky. I carefully held his chin and gently turned his head towards me, seeing the distraught and absolute crushed look in his eyes. I wanted to say something, I wanted to reassure him that Reggie could still be saved, that we could still see him, but the utter broken look in his eyes, combined with the tense and worried shouts Nurse Joy was aiming at her assistances, I couldn't. I was silent. Paul was right: