Pokémon: 15 Deaths: 17

Dinner conversation consisted largely of Bill complaining about the food (apparently hospital food was the least flavourful in all of the islands, though Saylee wasn't complaining) and Saylee explaining the things that she'd found on Cinnabar. Bill largely agreed with her conclusions. He was determined that Mewtwo was a weapon, just like the machine that he'd found. General consensus was that there'd been fighting at the time that Mewtwo was created, though the Islands had been so out of the way that nobody was quite sure against who or what the fighting had been.

"So, how are you planning to get home once you heal?" he asked. Saylee gave a one-shoulder shrug, having already developed the reflex of protecting her right shoulder.

"The trawlers go pretty far out, I guess," she said. "Though I'm not sure why, the water here's pretty teeming with life. Life that isn't a Tentacool."

"They don't fish water Pokémon," Bill said. "Half of those veggies you're eating are water weeds and edible corals. Fishing isn't a common thing now that what you haul out of the water can scream at you. My grandfather said that most fishermen stopped overnight."

"People still fish at home," Saylee said. Bill shook his head.

"People are hungrier over there," he said. "Anyway, they go far out, but not far enough for Chaz to fly you home on his own."

"I wish I could communicate with home," Saylee sighed. "My Pokédex is busted and this-" she drew the transport ball out of her pocket and shook it. "It's out of range."

"I think I can help you out," Bill said. "I've got a friend from another island coming over tomorrow. His name's Celio. We're going to try to put the finishing touches on hooking up the Islands network to the mainland."

"You mean I could call Professor Oak's lab from here?" Saylee yelped excitedly, nearly jumping out of her chair and then slumping as the sharp movement jolted her ribs. "Owwww..."

"Hey, careful!" Bill said, reaching over to pat her gently on the shoulder. "Anyway, yes, you can, once we've finished connecting it. I've got data about the mainland system on me, and they used to be connected anyway. But you are going to have to wait, okay? It'll be a while."

"I'm stuck here for a while anyway, until my injuries heal," Saylee said glumly, slumping back into her wheelchair. "It'll be a while until I can fit into the flying harness properly."

"I don't think I could fly smoothly enough to avoid jolting your ribs, anyway," Chaz admitted. "You really do need to rest."

"I've got an idea that might kill some time," Bill said. "And it'll help out, too."

"I'm up for it," Saylee agreed. "What do you need?"

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Saylee took a light breath of the salty air as Hernan wheeled her off of the fast ship. The ships between the islands were so fast that the g-forces were too strong to be out on deck. Bill had explained that the ships could go high speed but not over long distances, not without burning out the engine, which was why the ferries only operated between the islands. He was hoping to look into improving the technology of the engine, among a billion other things.

A couple of the people who had been on the ship with her headed along t the beach, but most started trekking up the hill. Hernan easily pushed her up the gentle slope. Saylee fumbled one-handedly to let Carrie, Paul and Chaz out.

"Your scar's looking better," Saylee commented to Hernan. "The spring water's helped it out, hasn't it?"

"It really does have a healing effect," Carrie agreed. "They said you can get your arm out of the sling the day after tomorrow and your ribs are sounding better already. The leg'll take longer, since it's a weight-bearing bone, but I'm sure it'll be fine so long as you stay in the chair."

"I think I can do that," Saylee said. "All the paths here are so smooth and well-kept. Who has time to do that?"

"People who run entertainment places?" Hernan said. "The attendant on the boat was talking about game centres and street markets."

"Game centres?" Chaz said suspiciously. "Like the one in Celadon?"

"Only probably not run by Team Rocket," Saylee laughed. She reflexively put her hand over her ribs, but laughing didn't send searing pain through them today. Three weeks of daily hot springs were doing her good.

A slightly chilly breeze blew through them as they crested the hill and came in sight of the street market. It was the only sign that it was the beginning of winter. At home, it would be getting dark a little earlier in the evening and it would be getting much colder during the day, but the islands remained warm and bright- at least, compared to what Saylee was accustomed to. She saw a mother wrapping a thick scarf around her son's neck and wondered how he could stand it.

"So, where we 'eaded?" Paul asked, looking around the stalls. The first one that they came to was a drinks stand offering hot and cold drinks. Saylee really wanted one, but she didn't have any of whatever currency was in use on the islands; everything at the hospital was free to patients, and she'd gotten a free ride to the island on Bill's ferry pass.

"Let's just have a quick look around," she said. "We need to meet this friend of Bill's. Apparently, he runs the biggest gaming centre here."

"I like that plan," Paul said. "I can smell the amount of 'leccy they're usin' from 'ere. This place is buzzin'!" He darted off between the stalls to have a look around.

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The gaming centre was open, and there were a few kids at some gaming machines and a couple of trainers with Pokémon competing to see who could jump higher, but the second thing that Saylee noticed was that it was actually largely empty. The first thing she noticed was a man in a suit pacing back and forth by the front door. When Carrie opened it he looked up sharply, hope and relief written all over his face, only to be replaced by worry and bitter disappointment when he saw Saylee and Carrie. It was only a flash, replaced yet again by a strained smile.

"Welcome to the Joyful Game Corner, Boon Island's premier centre of fun!" he recited. "How can I help-"

"I'm a friend of Celio's," Saylee said, though she still had yet to actually meet Bill's friend. "He asked me to pick up something for him?"

"Oh... right," the man said distractedly, running his hand through his hair. "Damn, I left it at home... I asked my daughter to bring it over, but... she hasn't arrived..." his voice cracked and the professional smile was pushed back off of his face by worry.

"When does your daughter normally get here?" Saylee asked. The man glanced up at a clock on the wall.

"One o' clock," he said. "She comes to bring me lunch from home and play a little. I really live over on Kin Island, you see, but farming doesn't really suit me so I came over here to open this centre, it does very well, but of course I don't go home at all on the weekends and-"

"Sir," Saylee said as calmly as she could. He was visibly worried and his speech was growing high and fast-paced, and it was giving her a terrible headache trying to keep up. His worry about his daughter was rubbing off, too. "Can you call home? Can you check if she's there?"

"Yes... that's a good idea," he said, hurrying off. Saylee and the others waited patiently by the door.

"I hope she's home," Carrie said. "She's two hours late."

"I hope we don't have to take another ferry ride," Saylee said. "We hung around the market for too long, we'll never get the last ferry back to Knot Island."

"Get the hell outta the way!"

There was an angry roar from Chaz and the more guttural roar of a machine as a motorbike smashed through the glass doors. Saylee screamed and ducked as broken glass showered her, her cry morphing into a scream of pain as she reflexively threw both arms up over her head. Carrie flung her bone at the motorcyclist, who only barely ducked it and drove up and down the aisles of the gaming centre.

"Where the hell are those jackasses?" he yelled, grabbing a kid off of a game machine. "What're you trying to pull, huh? There more than one Kin Island around here?"

"Th-there's just the one," the kid stuttered in fright, "but it's no' this one! This is Boon Island! Really!"

"What?" the man snarled angrily, gunning it down another aisle. The centre owner came running out of a door at the back, almost purple with fury.

"What are you doing, ya gotsan?" he yelled. "Get out of here!"

"What do I want with your shitty place anyway?" the thug shot back, driving straight for him. The owner tried to jump out of the way, but there was still a nasty crunching noise from his right leg as he didn't quite make it in time. The biker drove down another aisle, back towards the front doors.

He was promptly knocked backwards off his bike by Carrie's bone, this time hitting its mark, while his bike trundled on and was snatched up by Chaz, who smashed it to pieces. And then burned those. The thug tried to get back up and was promptly tripped by Paul's tail around his ankles. Hernan strode over and picked up the man by his shoulders.

"What do we do with him?" he asked.

"Call the police," the owner called, white-faced as he clutched his leg. A couple of the gaming centre patrons ran over to the public-use phones to do just that, while a girl a couple of years younger than Saylee the owner to please let go of his leg.

"I'm training to be a doctor, over on Knot Island," she promised. "I just learned how to set bones, and you have to do it quick like."

"Look, I just made a mistake, I'm not even supposed to be in this shithole!" the biker yelled angrily, struggling against Hernan's grip. "The others said we were meeting on Kin and I got it wrong! How many fuckin' islands are there around here, anyway."

"Hey, there are kids present," Saylee admonished him, carefully brushing small bits of glass out of her hair. "You mean there are more thugs like you on Kin Island?"

"What's a cripple like you care?" the man said, spitting at her. Hernan held him up with one hand, pulling the other fist back and looking questioningly at Saylee.

"Try not to permanently damage him," Saylee asked. Hernan nodded and gave the man a solid thump on the head, knocking him out.

"You are creepily controlled," Paul said. "I woulda fried 'im."

"It is important not to lose your head to fear or rage in battle, or you will make mistakes," Hernan said calmly. "Is anyone hurt, except for the game corner owner?"

"The cops are coming right now to take him away," a young man who had been at a slot machine said, jerking his thumb at the unconscious thug. "Nobody else is hurt, thank goodness. Are you alright, miss?" he asked Saylee.

"No major damage from the glass, I think," she said, but it turned out that she did have a shallow cut on her face and small scratches all over her hands from brushing the glass off. The police officer, a lady in a blue suit who locked the thug's hands into metal cuffs, had a medic with her, who wrapped up the owner's leg and organized an appointment at the hospital for him the next day. The police woman dragged the unconscious thug away, promising to be back later to take statements.

"He said that others were on Kin Island, though," Carrie said to Saylee, who was trying not to pick at the plaster the medic had put on her cheek. "Do you think they've hurt people there, too? Like the owner's little girl?"

"That could well be why she's not here," Saylee said quietly. "And that arsehole had a Kanto accent. Might be something to do with those gangs all over the hill to the west of Celadon."

"But won't they have more of those cop people there?" Hernan pointed out. "Shouldn't they be able to do something about it?"

"There's only one cop over on Kin, and 'e's getting on a bit," a little boy informed them. "Nobody does nothin' wrong over on Kin, it's all big farms and about three houses."

"We should go help his daughter," Saylee said, reaching down to take the brake lock off her wheels. "Come on, we can get the last ferry out, and we can get the meteorite while we're there-"

"Hold it," Chaz said sharply, reaching out and taking hold of her wheelchair. "Saylee, you can't go getting into fights! You're still hurt!"

"I'm nearly better!" Saylee argued. "I'm only still in this chair because of my leg!"

"Chaz is right, Saylee," Carrie said apologetically. "I don't think you'll be safe out there."

"Don't mean we can't go, 'course," Paul said. "I mean, we're the ones givin' 'em a kickin' anyway."

"That's... not a half bad idea," Saylee admitted. "Any one of you could handle idiots like these in your sleep. Hernan could take my ferry pass and carry your pokéballs."

"I could," Hernan agreed. "You could stay safe here while we deal with this and bring the little girl and the meteorite back here."

"Why d'we all have to be in the pokéballs?" Paul complained. "Chaz's the only bugger too big to fit in the boat."

"The ferry pass is only for one," Saylee apologized. She looked up at Chaz. "Are you all up for this?"

"I could use a workout," Chaz said, "and it would be bad if these thugs thought they could go around attacking the islands. What would happen to Knot Island?" he leaned down to nudge Saylee's cheek reassuringly.

"Look after each other, okay?" Saylee said, patting him on the nose and looking at the others. "All of you. We don't want to get separated from anyone else..."

"We won't," Carrie promised, patting her on the arm. "Now, let's find you somewhere safe to stay the night here."

"I've got a spare room back there," the centre owner said, limping over on a crutch the medic had given him. "My daughter sometimes sleeps over. Lostelle. Her name's Lostelle." He looked at Saylee's Pokémon pleadingly. "She's only nine. Please, make sure they haven't hurt her. Please bring her home safe."

"We swear we will," Hernan promised him.

"We'll make sure they're the only ones in a world o' hurt," Paul cackled just before Hernan returned it.

"Look after yourself, Saylee," Carrie said as she vanished.

"We'll be back tomorrow," Chaz promised. "All four of us." He vanished too, and Hernan gently fistbumped Saylee before leaving.

"Are you going to be alright?" the centre owner asked. "You all seem very close."

"It's just one night," Saylee said. "I know they'll be fine. I'm sure of it."

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I was told by a friend who lived in Wales for a while that "gotsan" was a cuss she picked up there that basically equates to calling someone a fanny (notes for Americans and other aliens: fanny does not mean your arse in the UK. It means your lady parts. Please stop calling those bags fanny packs in the UK. The more you know!). I could be wrong, she might have fed me false swear words for kicks and it actually means "kitten" or something. Among the reasons that I've given everyone in the Kanto/Johto area various British accents is that I get to play with various slang and dialects. Not the main, important Reason, but it's fun anyway.

I do not own Pokémon. That happy right is Game Freak's.