Just like when the moon shone through the window when they went to sleep, a glimpse of the sun shone through as the morning came. Ezekiel hadn't set any of his usual alarms to wake him up for the sake of letting the Buizel sleep, so he was hoping that at least the sun would wake him. Fortunately, he was able to rise from his sleep just as the sun edged over the horizon.
Marcus and the Buizel were still both asleep. Marcus had rolled a bit in his sleep, tossing the blanket off of him, but other than that, he slept soundly. The Buizel, too, looked like she slept well that night. She shouldn't need to sleep for much longer before she'd wake up. Ezekiel knew that the minute she'd wake up, Marcus would explain where she was and what exactly happened. He knew he'd do a better job of it than he ever could.
There was something else he needed to get done that day, though. His shirt wasn't able to be saved from the bloodstain on it, so he'd have to go and buy a new spare shirt… something he wasn't looking forward to that much. He always despised shopping.
He quietly got himself dressed and grabbed his backpack. Before leaving, he walked over to Marcus to wake him and let him know where he'd be going for a bit. "Hey, Politoed, wake up," he said as he prodded the Frog Pokemon's side.
"Poli? Politoed," Marcus responded, rubbing his eyes free of sand. He noticed Ezekiel already dressed and ready to go, but he wondered where. "Hey, where're you going?" he asked, with Ezekiel only hearing, "Poli, poli politoed?"
"Watch over Buizel for an hour or so. I've gotta go buy a new shirt; the one I used for her wasn't able to be cleaned," Ezekiel explained quietly. "Just let Nurse Joy know if anything happens."
Marcus instantly woke up and nodded his head. He'd watch for any signs of either improvement or deterioration in her condition, though he really doubted she'd become weaker at this point. Ezekiel returned the nod and started towards the door but stopped just shy of it. "Forgot one thing." He reached into his backpack and pulled out some food, dishes, and one of the bottles of milk from the farm. He set them on the table in the room. "Just in case either of you are hungry." He shot a smile towards Marcus and proceeded to leave the room.
With Ezekiel gone, Marcus turned his attention towards the Buizel. She'd been asleep for almost a full day, so it wouldn't be long before she woke up. Every minute she remained asleep tormented him, however. All he wanted was for her to wake. There were a few questions he wanted to ask, mainly why she got attacked yesterday, but he also thought that maybe her waking would also yield the answer as to why he cared so much for her. He could only hope.
But as fifteen minutes passed by, the Buizel still remained asleep. Marcus was driven near crazy with the quiet. Ezekiel didn't release any of the others, so it was just him and the sleeping Buizel in the way-too-quiet room. With his morning already started, there was one detail missing: breakfast. He looked over at the food and drink Ezekiel had left on the table. There was enough there for him to have a small breakfast and still be enough for her as well.
He got himself a dish and poured out a bit of the food. There were still a large amount of the small, brown pellets in the bag, plenty enough for her once she woke up. He started eating his breakfast, the crunch of the food being some noise to him at least. Normally, there were plastic cups in the bathrooms of these rooms, and he thought that he'd better pour himself a glass of the milk instead of drinking out of the bottle itself. He got up from chair at the table and walked into the bathroom, returning with one of the plastic cups in there. He took one quick look over to see if the Buizel had woken up yet, but she still had her eyes closed.
He sighed and walked back to the table. He thought the only sound he'd hear next would be the sound of the milk pouring into his glass, but another sound-a completely different sound-was audible in his ears. It was a sound of creaking metal and wood coming from behind him. As quickly as he could, he turned around to see what he'd wanted to see for so long now, the Pokemon shifting around before slowly opening her eyes.
Marcus jumped off the chair he was at and ran over to the Buizel. She attempted to sit up, but a sharp pain along her side prevented that. Her vision was still blurry, but she eventually made out that she was no longer outside. Instead, she was in a barely lit room. Where this room was, though, she had no clue.
As she looked around, she eventually took notice to the food and drink on the table. Without thought, she attempted to sit up again and go for the food. It'd been so long since she had a decent meal, and she was gonna get it one way or another. However, she failed to see the bright green figure that was standing next to her right away. She was only focused on that food.
"Hey, can you hear me?" Marcus asked, trying to get the Buizel's attention.
He definitely got her attention, alright, because she nearly jumped straight out of her fur! She turned around to see that same Pokemon she saw back in the field. Unfortunately, she didn't know exactly what happened and all that Marcus and Ezekiel did for her, because she didn't take too well to him… "Get away from me!" She grabbed the pillow next to her and tossed it at Marcus.
He deflected the pillow with ease because-well-it's a pillow. "Hey, hey, calm down. You don't need to be afraid anymore," Marcus said, trying to calm the Buizel down.
It didn't really work, though. "I said stay away from me!" She started backing away from Marcus, but she failed to realize that the edge of the bed was a few inches behind her. As she continued to walk backwards, the next step she took eventually ended up into mid-air, causing her to lose her balance.
Marcus, however, quickly reacted and jumped and caught onto her before she hit the ground. She struggled in his arms as he tried to set her back on the ground. "Listen, just calm down for a second, please."
She didn't calm down, though. Her first instinct was to run to the door, but she wasn't able to unlock or open it. There was another door next to her, but it just led to a dead end. The window also looked promising, but she couldn't tell how high they were up from the ground.
Marcus figured the best way to calm her down would be with what she saw when she first woke up, the food. He grabbed the bag, poured another bowl of the food, and set it down on the ground. He then backed away from it. "Here, eat. I could tell you were hungry when you first woke up."
She was holding onto her side again, feeling a bit of pain from it, but slowly walked towards the food. She stopped halfway there, though. "No. No, no! You've probably poisoned it! I'm not going to fall for that again!" she shouted.
'Poisoned? Again? Who would poison a Pokemon's food?' Marcus thought to himself. This Buizel's past trainer probably didn't just misplace her and she happened to be attacked. Either he purposely abandoned her… or the thought that those two were also his Pokemon crossed his mind, and that he ordered them to attack her. "Listen, it's not poisoned or tampered with in any way. Here, I'll show you." He walked over to the bag, pulled out a single bit of food, and popped it into his mouth. "See? Nothing to worry about," he said, chewing it up.
"No, that has to be a fluke… it has to be…" she said quietly.
"Hey, whatever happened to you before is over. You're safe now. Now, please, eat something. You still need to recover your strength."
So far, nothing has happened like she'd seen before. She finally started to calm down. She slowly walked over to the bowl of food, picked up one of the bits, and took a small bite out of it. A taste she had almost forgotten, the taste of Oran Berries, suddenly flooded her taste buds. She quickly devoured the rest of the bit she had and proceeded to eat directly from the bowl.
Marcus jumped up onto the table and grabbed the glass of milk he poured for himself. He slowly approached the Buizel stuffing her face with food. "Hey, want something to drink with that? It's MooMoo Milk." He held the cup out so it was within her reach.
She brought herself up from the bowl of food she'd just half devoured. "Is… Is it poisoned?"
Marcus just stood, jaw slightly dropped. 'What happened to this Buizel?' A question for later. "No, it's not. Just like the food, it's fresh." He set the cup next to the food and backed away again.
She didn't reject it this time. Just like he said, nothing bad had happened to the food offered by this Pokemon, plus he also kept her from falling onto the floor. She finally realized that this Pokemon wasn't a threat to her. She slowly took the cup into both of her paws and took a sip. Just like with the food, she experienced another amazing taste, though this one was made all the better because she'd never had anything like it before. She set the cup down on the ground and went back to the food.
"There's plenty more if you're still hungry," Marcus told her. He went back over to his own dish of food and continued his breakfast. His mind was screaming with questions, but they didn't need to be answered now. For right now, it was breakfast.
After finishing off another bowl of the food, nearly draining the bag completely; and another few cups of the milk, the Buizel was finally satiated-food-wise at least. Something she had noticed since she woke up was how uncomfortable her fur felt. Examining herself more closely, she noticed most of her body was wrapped in white cloth. What fur she did see was all mangled and covered in dirt and dried blood. She didn't believe she'd be able to clean off in a river, because she didn't even know where the nearest one was, but there was the helpful Pokemon with her. Maybe he knew a way to help her.
"Umm, excuse me," she started sheepishly. She'd lost that initial anger she had before, but it was now replaced with timidity. "Do you know where I can clean myself up?"
Marcus was finishing off a glass of milk when she asked this. "Well, I do, but I don't know if you can take those bandages off yet. You were pretty beat up when we brought you in. I don't know if you've healed fully yet," he replied.
"Oh…" she said, slightly discouraged. Another spark of pain shot through her side when she crossed her arm over. The memories from the past day refilled her mind. The two Pokemon attacking her, this Pokemon and the human, how she bit that human… "You were the ones who saved me, weren't you?"
Marcus was caught a little off guard from the sudden change of thought. "Yea, we brought you to the Pokemon Center in a town called Ecruteak. I was the one that saw you just before that one Pokemon took a bite out of you."
She cringed up a little. Her eyes were closed for practically that entire ordeal. She had no idea she was that close to dying… "That human… who was he?" she asked.
"His name's Ezekiel. He's been my best buddy for as long as I can remember. He was the one who carried you here. He wrapped you in a shirt from his bag, but it got stained from your blood, so he had to go get a new one. Don't worry about him, though. Whatever it was like with your old trainer is all over."
Her mind drifted to that trainer… that horrible trainer. She started trembling at every thought of that human.
Marcus was quick to notice her trembling. "Hey, it's ok now. You're safe. There's nothing you need to worry about now," he explained to her. Her old trainer was apparently a sore subject, so he decided he wouldn't ask anything about that yet, not until she trusted him more.
"Who are you?" she asked, again changing the subject fairly quickly.
"Me?" He was again caught off a bit from the subject change. "My name's Marcus. There are three others you'll meet soon, too. They're all fairly nice. They won't be as-err-helpful… as I am, but they won't harm you either. So, what's your name?"
"Uh, m-my name?" It's been so long… so long since someone last used her name, she couldn't remember it… all she could remember was the torture she endured under that trainer's hand. "I… I can't remember it… No one's used it in so long; I've forgotten it…"
"You've forgotten your name?" Marcus asked, completely dumbstruck. 'Wow… she must've gone through something really bad if she can't remember her name…' he thought. He couldn't believe that someone would experience something that caused them to forget their name. He now wanted to help her remember her name. Help her have faith that she would no longer be tormented by anything. Help her… by giving her a name. "Hey, do you mind if I give you one?"
"Huh? Give me a name?" Was this Pokemon for real? He barely knew her and he was willing to give her a name when she couldn't remember hers. "What did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking… Faith. It's something you need to have more of," he said with a smile.
"Faith…" Such a simple name, but to her it felt like it truly was her real name. She felt all the more at ease when he gave her a name. It finally felt to her that she was free of her past, that she was free to look forward to the future now. "Thank you, Marcus."
"Hey, don't mention it," he replied. "It's the least I could do." Marcus felt every bit at ease as Faith did. She was finally letting go of her past so she could look forward to the future, which reminded him… "Hey, I have one thing to tell you. When you were still asleep, it was decided that you'd come with Ezekiel and I. Are you alright with that?"
"As his Pokemon?" she asked. Her mind started to fill with the thoughts of what'd be expected of her and how she probably wouldn't be able to meet this Ezekiel's expectations. She'd just get cast aside again or-worse-used as target practice again…
Marcus quickly spoke up before she thought anything else. "Not exactly. You'd be coming with us, but you wouldn't have to participate in any battles or do anything else. We'd just be taking care of you for a bit."
Her mind quickly snapped off her thoughts. "Really? He wouldn't make me?" she asked.
"Of course not. I wouldn't let him, either," he added on. Faith seemed a bit surprised at that second part. This Pokemon who she barely knew-and he barely knew her, too-cared very much about her… She wondered about this Pokemon, but another detail that was abandoned needed to be brought back.
"So… about these bandages…" she mentioned, scratching her side lightly.
"Oh, right. Sorry. Well, I can't be the one to decide if you can take those off or not, but I do know who can." He picked up the empty food bowl and cup and set them on the table. He then moved the chair over to the door and opened it up. "There we go. C'mon, let's go," he said as he hopped off the chair and scooted it aside.
Faith slowly walked towards the open door. Even though Marcus told her where she was, she hadn't a clue as to where that actually was. She was still a little afraid. Her demeanor had changed completely from the time when she woke up. Every ounce of that anger has been replaced with a noticeable timidity.
"Hey, are you alright?" Marcus asked. He'd noticed her moving a little slowly but couldn't figure out why exactly.
"Is… is it safe? Out there?" she quietly asked.
"Safe? Of course!" Marcus was still a bit dumbstruck. She was just at ease a little while ago, but here she is, worrying herself over again. Her physical wounds are healing, but her mental ones still need attention. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Faith. Just remember your name."
'My name…' she said in her mind. 'Faith…' She remembered what Marcus said when he gave her that name. 'It's what I need to have more of…' She knew it was true. She needed to believe what Marcus was saying, have faith that nothing would happen. She took a deep breath before finally responding. "Alright. I trust you."
"That's the spirit! Now, let's go talk to Nurse Joy. She'll be able to tell you if you can take those off or not." Marcus started through the door, and, with renewed confidence, Faith followed at the exact same pace.
The hallway was relatively clear at the time. It was pretty late in the morning, so most of the other trainers were most likely in the lobby for breakfast or already gone. If there were others in the lobby, Marcus hoped that Faith wouldn't get frightened at all. But she was making progress in getting her confidence up. As long as he was also there to help her along, she'd be fine.
They two walked down the stairs and pushed apart the doors leading to the lobby. As Marcus expected, there were quite a few trainers there, some of which seemed quite confused as to why two Pokemon just came through the doors with no trainer.
However, Nurse Joy, who was unoccupied at the time, also noticed the two. She got up from behind the counter and walked to greet the two Water types. "Hello, Politoed." Marcus nodded in reply. She then turned to Faith. "It's good to see you awake, Buizel."
This human's voice sounded so light, so cheery. Not threatening in the least bit. "Is this the human who can help me, Marcus?"
Marcus nodded again. "Yea, this is Nurse Joy. She's the one who mended your injuries. Were it not for her…" Marcus didn't finish that sentence. He didn't even want to think about it.
Faith caught on to what he was about to say though. Were it not for Nurse Joy, she'd be dead. "Bui bui," Faith said, bowing as well. It was the only way she could think of to thank Nurse Joy for helping her.
Nurse Joy somehow understood what Faith was saying. "You're quite welcome, Buizel," she said, rubbing the top of Faith's head. That simple feeling… something rubbing against her head felt so foreign but also so… nice. She arced back her neck in enjoyment and let out a few light coos.
"It's good to see you happy, Buizel," Nurse Joy said. She stopped her hand and noticed that it was a covered in a bit of dirt. The rest of the Buizel was also a complete mess. "How about we get you cleaned up a bit?"
Faith, who was initially disappointed at not having her head stroked anymore, quickly banished that thought for another: getting cleaned up. They didn't even have to explain anything. Faith nodded her head excitedly, adding in a quick, happy "Bui!"
Nurse Joy laughed a little. "It seems like that's what you two came down here for, isn't it?" Marcus nodded his head. He pointed to all the bandages covering Faith hoping she caught on to why they needed her. "You didn't know if you could take the bandages off?" Marcus again nodded. He was pretty surprised she knew what he meant, but she's Nurse Joy-she's supposed to be able to know this stuff.
"Well, we'll see. Just one second." She reached around the front desk to grab a sign saying she was away from the desk for a while. If there were any emergencies, though, her Chansey would let her know. "Alright, come with me."
She led the two Pokemon through the same doors that Faith disappeared behind the day before and Marcus was unable to pass until they told their story to Nurse Joy. They went down a completely different path than before, though.
"In here," she beckoned the two. They followed her into a room with a large, elevated tub-table that had a showerhead over it. It was most likely a grooming room or something like that. "Well, don't be shy, come on over!" Nurse Joy exclaimed with a smile.
Faith instantly took off towards the tub. However, she had to stop just shy of it due to another sharp pain across her side. Her body reacted by reeling over and having her arm cross over to grab the area in pain. That cut down her side was definitely the worse injury she sustained.
And Nurse Joy knew it. "I had a feeling that wouldn't be completely healed," she said. "We might be able to just wash the rest of you, but that spot might have to be skipped."
Faith got back on her feet with the help of Marcus. She gave a quick nod to Nurse Joy. It didn't matter how much of her got cleaned; she just wanted to be cleaned.
Nurse Joy walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a quick med-kit. She pulled out a roll of fresh bandages, a roll of tape, and a pair of scissors. She set the items on the table part of the tub and walked back over to Faith. "Let's get some of these bandages off so we can see how you're doing."
Faith recovered some of her pep and tried to jump up onto the table. It was a bit too high, though, and only her top half cleared the height of the table. Hanging from the table caused her side to flare up again, and she almost fell back down to the floor, but Marcus was there to keep her up there. He stood under her and pushed the rest of her up. Once she was on the table, she again grabbed at her side. That probably wasn't the best idea…
"I would've given you a stool or something to use, Buizel," Nurse Joy said. "It doesn't matter now, though. Let's get some of these wraps off." She reached to a little side table that she moved the equipment she got out earlier to and grabbed the scissors.
As anyone should've predicted, the approaching of an unknown, sharp-looking object started to slightly scare Faith, but she did her best not to show it. "Just relax; this won't hurt," Nurse Joy assured her. Faith started to get her breathing, which had recently gotten a little shallow, back under control.
The scissors slipped under a section of the bandages on her side and cut them away. With them now cut, the rest of the bandages just fell off her body. Only certain areas-her right side where her injury was-still held onto the bandages. Nurse Joy worked around that area, cutting off more and more bandages until there was just that little bit left on her side. "Alright, that's most of them. From what I can see now, most of those small cuts on you have healed nicely, and even though it's still not fully healed, your side is getting better," Nurse Joy noted. "We still won't try and spray down your side, though. I'll get a waterproof wrapping on that before we turn the water on."
Faith stretched out a bit. She didn't realize it, but having all of those bandages on really seemed to restrict her movement. Nurse Joy cut out lengths of the new bandages and taped them together, creating a patch of sorts that'd fit over Faith's side. Nurse Joy then trimmed up the piece still stuck to Faith. She tried to pull it off but stopped when she saw that it was pulling Faith's skin as well. Hopefully that piece'd fall off when it healed some more.
"Alright, I just gotta put this and some plastic over it on, and we can get you cleaned up. How's that sound, Buizel?" Nurse Joy asked. Faith replied with a nod and a smile. She'd started to remember how it felt to be in the water. It had been a long time since she even had a chance to touch water.
All this time, Marcus was just sitting a few feet away, silent. He wasn't needed, and Faith was happy and safe. That's all he cared about. He was starting to wonder if the two forgot he was even there. He just watched as Nurse Joy placed the new patch over Faith's side and cover it with plastic to attempt to waterproof it temporarily. His mind drifted away from where he was again. He started wondering where Ezekiel was now.
Ezekiel was right; he did fail at shopping. Time's already been on the better half of the hour now, and he still hasn't come back yet. How hard was it to go to any of the random stores around this town and buy a simple shirt? He didn't even need to like the shirt; it just needed to work as a spare.
Marcus just silently laughed to himself. 'He's probably lost in a dressing room…' Even when he and Ezekiel weren't on their journey, when they both still lived with Ezekiel's folks back in Kanto, Ezekiel always found some way to make simple shopping difficult.
He remembered this one time way back then, Ezekiel managed to get one of his best shirts ripped to shreds. When he, Ezekiel, and his mom went to get him a new one, Ezekiel managed to try on every shirt that was the wrong size. His mom tried to get him to wear the right size, but he always shot them down saying, "They weren't cool looking to wear." It wasn't a casual shirt he tore up, but he treated all of his clothes the same way, recklessly.
The same thing might be happening now. He's probably trying on every shirt he finds cool-looking but don't even remotely fit. Ah well. He'll find his way back eventually…
The sound of water splashing against the metal tub brought his mind back to the Pokemon Center. Faith was just staring in amazement at the shower. Marcus wasn't too surprised at that, though. This was probably the first time she's even ever seen a shower. Steam could be seen rising from the heated water. Marcus watched as Faith stuck a paw out to test the water, almost immediately recoiling back due to the heat of the water.
"Little too warm?" Marcus called out from the sides. Faith had turned around to see him with a large grin planted on his face. The sight caused Faith to start laughing at how ridiculous he was being. Marcus also joined in the laughter.
After Nurse Joy turned the water temperature down a little, Faith gave it another test. It wasn't as hot as it was before, but it also wasn't cold as she's remembered that water could be. It was somewhere in between, and it felt good. "Bui?"
"Yes, you can get in. Just be careful of your side. That plastic won't hold forever," Nurse Joy explained. "Politoed, could you watch over her for a minute? I need to go check on something now. It won't take long."
"Poli," Marcus simply replied, also giving a thumbs-up.
"Thank you. I'll be back to check on you soon," she said as she left the room. A cold draft of air wafted into the room as she opened the door but quickly left after it closed.
Faith didn't even feel the draft, though. She was way too immersed in the amazing feeling of the water. It was also doing its intended job, too, coming off of her body tinged slightly brown and red. The plastic wrapping on her side started to sag a little. Because her fur was so dirty, it lost all of the water-repellant oils it naturally produces, so all of the water was being absorbed into her fur and getting under the tape holding the plastic and the patch to her.
She didn't feel any discomfort, though. If anything, getting that patch off might be a good idea. She didn't want anyone mad at her, though, so she kept it on. It didn't fully want to stay on, however… A minute into her experience, the corner of the tape failed and peeled away. The force of water coming down on it weakened it even further, and eventually the whole deal just fell off completely.
Faith picked the mass of plastic and cloth off the floor of the tub and placed it on the table part. The water was now free to splash against her side, but it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would've. She didn't think any more of it and just continued washing all the grime off her body.
"Hey, you sure that's alright?" Marcus called out. He had noticed her place the mess on the table and worried for her.
"Yea, it's fine. It doesn't hurt that much, really," she replied.
"If you say so…" Marcus now wondered what Nurse Joy was gonna say when she saw the patch on the table.
Right at that moment, Nurse Joy returned to the room. She instantly took notice that Faith didn't have the patch on and was about to say something, but she stopped herself when she saw that Faith didn't look any bit negatively affected by not having it on. In fact, it might be even easier to get rid of that last little bit of bandage stuck to her now.
That wasn't the only thing she noticed, though. She definitely looked a lot better than before. No bandages were on her and her fur was much cleaner than before. She actually started looking like a Buizel again.
Faith washed under the stream of water for a few more minutes before Nurse Joy spoke up again. "Alright, I think that's all we're getting out of this cleaning, Buizel," she told Faith. "I'm going to shut the water off now." And right after she said that, the water flow ceased from the showerhead.
Faith was, of course, disappointed. She was a Water type who primarily lived close to the water. That was the first time in a very long time since she's been in contact with water, but she knew she'd have to stay dry for a bit so her fur could get its water-repelling oils back. After that, every other time in the water would be many times better than this.
She shook her body around, shaking off as much water as she could. She actually felt slightly lighter afterwards. Just as she was thinking before, she needed her water-repellant fur back. She was weighed down with all the water her fur absorbed. She climbed back onto the table part of the tub and waited for Nurse Joy, who was bringing over a towel.
Before she gave it to her, she took a quick look at her side. Now that most of the blood and grime was washed away, she realized that the injury actually didn't look as bad as she initially thought. Faith was one fast healer, that's for sure.
Satisfied, Nurse Joy started drying Faith off with the towel. Faith had already gotten most of the water out of her fur, so the towel didn't have much left to pick up. All it took was a few strokes to mop up the last of the water.
Once Nurse Joy took the towel away, Faith stretched out her arms again. Not having been moving for about a day really stiffened her up. But now, she was free and healthy again. Her life was really turning around.
"Just one last thing before we're done, Buizel," Nurse Joy said while setting the towel on the counter. Faith just stared questioningly. What else could there be to do? "We just need to comb your fur down now."
Faith looked down at her stomach and arms and saw that her fur was-while clean-a complete tangled mess. She flattened out a few spots herself, but the only way to get them all streamlined again was with a comb.
Which is exactly is what Nurse Joy pulled out next, a simple plastic comb. It was sufficient to straighten Faith's fur out. She started running it down Faith's wild fur, causing her to smile in delight. She'd gotten her fur cleaned in the shower; now she's getting it straightened out. Nurse Joy groomed Faith's fur as best she could, which was still a pretty good job with the cheap comb. There weren't any snags that she had to pull through. It wasn't as good of a job as a professional groomer, but Faith didn't mind. She just smiled as the comb made her fur more comfortable.
The combing also managed to free Faith of the last trace of bandages she previously had on. The water did manage to weaken the little piece of cloth that still stuck to her, and the combing managed to free it without harming Faith at all.
It took only a short minute, but Faith's fur was finally all but one step from returning to that of a Buizel's. All that was left was its shine, and once she got her water-repellant coating back, that shine would return.
"There we are, Buizel. How's that feel?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Bui bui!" Faith replied, smiling directly at Nurse Joy.
Marcus hopped off the chair he had sat idle on this entire time and came up alongside Faith. "You look much better now," he commented. Faith just turned a bit from Marcus' unexpected-though not unwelcome-complement.
Nurse Joy started cleaning up the grooming room a bit, starting with throwing away the failed mass of bandages. "You two are free to return to your room. I'll handle the clean-up here." Nurse Joy threw the towel into the hamper on the side of the wall. "I'll also tell Ezekiel he's free to leave whenever he likes. Enjoy the rest of your day, you two."
Marcus gave an affirmative nod. He knew it'd still be a while before he returned, though.
Faith stretched her arms out one more time before letting out a large yawn. She was becoming more like her old self every minute that passed. She crawled over the side of the table and dropped to the floor. A short lance of pain ran through her side, but it wasn't as bad as the times before and she didn't even show any feeling of pain at all. The wound was definitely healing.
"So, let's get back up to the room while we wait for Ezekiel," Marcus said while coming up alongside Faith. "If I know that kid, he's still not gonna be back for a while."
To be expected, Faith was a bit confused as to how Marcus knew that Ezekiel wasn't even back yet. "How can you tell?" she asked
"Him and clothe shopping do not match. That's the basic gist of it," Marcus replied. "But don't worry; he'll be back soon enough."
"If you say so…"
"C'mon, then, let's get back upstairs." Marcus said and started off towards the door.
Faith started following, but stopped to face Nurse Joy once more. She bowed down again, thanking Nurse Joy for all she's done for her. "Ibui."
Nurse Joy was just wiping down the table when Faith offered her thanks. "You're very welcome, Buizel," she replied, again knowing what Faith was saying. "Take care."
Faith lifted her head up and nodded. She then turned around and walked over to Marcus, who was holding the door open for the two of them to pass through. They backtracked to the lobby, received a few more questioning looks from random trainers, went back up the stairs, and back into Ezekiel's room.
The door was left unlocked, so Marcus just had to jump and pull on the handle to open the door. The inside of the room was brightly lit from the sun shining through the window. Faith slowly walked in, shielding her eyes from the light. Marcus also covered his eyes a bit when he entered. He pushed the door shut behind them, and now all that was left was to wait for Ezekiel to return.
It was eerily quiet in the room. Had Ezekiel been in there, he'd have gone completely crazy from the silence. Truth be told, Marcus didn't like the silence that much, either, but not to the extent Ezekiel didn't. There was a small TV in the room, perfect for a little white noise.
"Hey, I'm gonna turn the TV on, just so it's not so quiet in here," Marcus told Faith.
"TV? What is that?" Faith asked.
Marcus' jaw started to drop, but he caught it, figuring that she most likely didn't know what a TV was. "It's that black box on the stand over there," he said and pointed. "It's just a nice way to pass time. Here, I'll show you." He walked to the nightstand and picked the remote control off from it. He then pointed it at the TV and hit the Power button.
The TV hummed with electricity as the set powered up. Soon enough, a picture of a woman appeared on screen, with a weather report behind her. "Hmm, just the news channel. Well, it's better than nothing," Marcus commented.
Faith, meanwhile, just stared in awe. She'd never seen anything like it before. There was a human on the box, but it was way too small to fit the human in it. She put her paw against the screen of the TV and felt the small, yet harmless, static shocks through her paw. "Wow, that's amazing."
"Is it? It gets to be just another everyday thing after a while," Marcus said. He looked over at the weather report for the next week. Sunny the next few days followed by some rain. Not that bad of weather. Marcus jumped onto one of the beds and just laid there, seeming to want to fall back asleep or something.
Faith marveled at the TV for another minute before feeling her feet start to get a bit tired. She sat at the foot of the bed Marcus was laying on, letting thoughts flow through her head.
None of those thoughts were about her past, though-like all her previous memories. No, this time they were all about her future, her future with this extremely kind Pokemon and his trainer.
She arced her head back to look at the Politoed half-asleep on the bed. "Hey, Marcus, what's your trainer like?" she asked.
Marcus opened one of his eyes and looked back at Faith. "Huh? What he's like?" he stuttered out. Faith caught him a little off-guard again with her question. "Well, he's a very kind person. Ezekiel won't make you do anything you don't want to," Marcus replied.
"But what's he to you? How'd you become his Pokemon in the first place?" she focused her question.
"How…" Marcus opened both his eyes and sat up. He slid off the bed and sat right next to Faith on the ground, startling her a little bit. He waited a moment before responding. "He saved my life, much like how he helped save yours," he said.
"He… saved you? Like he did with me? What happened?"
"It was very long ago, almost five years. A large storm hit where we lived in Kanto. I was still just a Poliwag. I had only been born for no more than a couple months. The storm brought with it immense rain that flooded the pond me and my family lived in. The pond managed to connect with the river close to it. After that, we tried to move to higher ground, but I got sucked into the raging rapids of the river. I still don't know if my parents made an effort to come after me…" Marcus started getting a little choked up. Talking about his family had always been hard for him.
"What happened next?" Faith asked, very much into Marcus' story, mainly because… well, she could relate.
"I was tossed around in those rapids. My body slammed hard against every rock on the riverbed. I still don't know how I survived that part… or how far I drifted from my home… from my family. Eventually the rapids dissipated, but I was just left floating on the water, slowly drifting downstream. When the river turned, I continued floating to the shore. There was no energy left in my body, only cuts and bruises. I really didn't know what would happen to me after that. I'd only been a couple months old and already I was away from my parents.
"Ezekiel was just out for a walk, waiting for time to pass. He saw me laying on the riverbank, almost completely unconscious. He took me to the Pokemon Center in his town and stayed with me until I was better. When I was, we just became the best of friends and the best partners. I ended up being his first Pokemon when he started his journey. I've had a great time with him, but I still wish I could know about my family… All I remember about them is the name they gave me."
Faith was listening to every word Marcus was saying. She felt like she was hearing a warped version of her past. Marcus had been through a hell just like she has… "Have you ever tried looking for them?" she asked.
He hesitated a moment. "Yea, a few times. Whenever we were in that area, I always looked around for any sign of my family… but I never saw them." Marcus just looked up at the ceiling. "I'd give almost anything to know more about them…"
Faith now turned her mind to her past, back as far as Marcus was going, to where she was born and raised. "Did you still have your dad?"
"I think so. I think it was him who gave me my name. Why?"
"I don't have any memories of my dad. I never even got to meet him. He left before I was even born, I think… All that I grew up with was my mom and older sister. We lived near a large lake nearly untouched by humans. Back then I didn't even know they existed. All I knew were my mom and sis… until one day, almost two years after I was born, someone came…" Faith started to curl up. This wasn't the best of memories for her… "A human came to my home. My mom hid me and my sis near the trees. He seemed to be looking for something, but we didn't know what. He sent up two small red and white objects into the air and out came two viscous Pokemon… You've met them…"
Her shaking was now transferring over to Marcus. He could feel her body trembling as she told this story. She said she met these two viscous Pokemon… "The Houndoom and Mightyena, right?"
Faith slowly nodded her head. "The two of them flushed us out from the trees. He seemed only interested in me and my sis, not my mom. I wasn't any good at fighting, so my mom and sis did most of that, but they weren't able to win. He pulled out another one of those red and white objects and threw it at my sister. I don't know why, but I threw myself in front of it. I saved my sister but doomed myself…
"When he discovered I wasn't any good at fighting, he made my life completely miserable. He abused me, used me as target practice for his Pokemon, everything unimaginable…" Faith's voice quivered as she told her past to Marcus. "Before long, I was in a place I barely knew. I couldn't take any more of the torture he put me through, so the second he let me out, I just ran. I ran as fast as I could away from him, but he sent his Pokemon out after me. They quickly caught up to me in that field. They toyed with me for a bit until I just closed my eyes, hoping it would all go away. In a way, it did." She remembered how hostile she acted towards Marcus and Ezekiel when they were only trying to help. She looked down at the ground in regret.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"I… I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"Sorry? What do you have to be sorry for?"
"For how I acted against you and Ezekiel in that field. I bit him…"
"You don't have to be sorry for that. You did nothing wrong." Marcus put his arm around Faith and held her close to him, comforting her mind with a simple hug. "You don't have to worry about any of that again. It's all over."
The finality of her not having to suffer anymore struck her once again but she reacted much differently than before. Being held by Marcus just caused a strange well of emotions in her. Her eyes started to water up. She just couldn't believe she'd been given a second chance. "Thank you, Marcus," she said through her tears.
"Don't worry about it, but why are you crying?"
"I'm happy," she replied. "I'm happy that I don't have to live with that trainer on my back anymore."
Marcus just smiled and held the Buizel closer. They've both been through so much… maybe that's why Marcus cared so much for her. Whatever the reason, he was just happy that she was happy.
As the two shared their pasts and feelings, someone long thought lost finally returned. Ezekiel entered the room almost completely quiet. Marcus and Faith didn't even hear him enter.
They definitely heard him when he spoke, though. "Well, looks like Buizel's awake, and you two seem to have already become friends," Ezekiel commented. Marcus and Faith both flinched at Ezekiel's sudden appearance. Faith snapped off of Marcus and turned away, looking a little embarrassed. Ezekiel knelt down next to her and rubbed her head. "Don't worry about it, Buizel. It's just good to see you awake."
Faith just smiled at Ezekiel petting her head. It still felt really good when someone rubbed her head. He really was nice, just like Marcus said.
"I also heard from Nurse Joy that you're also cleaned up and in full health," Ezekiel added. "I don't know if Politoed told you or not, but you're gonna stay with us for a while." Yea, she's been told, and she's fully on board with the idea. Faith just nodded her head to tell Ezekiel that she knew. "It may only be for a while, though. There's a broadcast out looking for your original trainer. If he's found and found able to take care of you, you'll go back to him."
Both Marcus and Faith had their jaws hit the floor. Neither of them wanted Faith to have to go back to that trainer, but before they could voice any protest, Ezekiel spoke up once more. "However, I really don't think that'll happen. Anyone who leaves a Pokemon in the condition you were left in doesn't deserve to keep one." Ezekiel saying that eased both Pokemon's minds. If that trainer tried to claim Faith, they'd find some way to expose how he treated her. She will never go back to that awful trainer.
"Hey, Buizel, from your opinion, are you well enough to travel?" he asked. "We're already behind on our journey, and I'd like to get to Goldenrod before sunset today."
Faith knew what he was implying. He didn't want to hang out in this room all day. Truth is, neither did she. The energy she possessed when she lived back with her family started returning. She nodded her head again. "Bui ibui!"
Marcus came up alongside her. "You sure you're gonna be ok?" he asked.
"Yea, I'll be fine," she replied. "Now that I don't have to worry anymore, I can finally enjoy the outside like I used to." She broke out a big grin as she finished her sentence.
Marcus just put up a smile on his face. Faith'd be a great friend, not only to Marcus but to Ezekiel as well. Even everyone else will accept Faith as a friend. She didn't have to do any battling to prove herself; she already went through the biggest battle of her life. None more was required.
Ezekiel understood instantly that Faith was ready. "Alright, you two, let's get this show on the road. Next stop: Goldenrod!" Ezekiel exited the room with Marcus and Faith in tow. Ezekiel closed and locked the door behind the Pokemon. They walked down the hallway, down to the lobby. Nurse Joy was sitting at her usual spot behind the counter.
Ezekiel walked up to her and set his key onto the desk. "Thanks for the room; we're leaving now."
"Leaving so soon? Well, I've already cleared Buizel to be fit for travel but do take it easy. I hope you do well in your Goldenrod gym battle." She placed the key back into the desk drawer. "Good bye, all," she lastly said, waving to the party.
"See ya later," Ezekiel responded, waving as well. Marcus and Faith were waving, too. The group of three walked outside of the Pokemon Center; the first time for the Pokemon since Faith was brought in. "Well, you two, let's not waste any more time. It'll take us a while to get to Goldenrod, so we better start now." Both Pokemon nodded their heads in agreement. They all walked through the town until the exit to Goldenrod was before them.
If anything, Faith was a bit excited. It'd been so long since she was able to walk through a forest without having to worry about anything. She was just endlessly happy that a new chapter had started in her life.
