The Nacrene Showdown
Jessie, James and Meowth were walking through the sewers once more however this time they were in the sewer system beneath Nacrene City! The three constantly shifted their eyes about in the hopes of locating Pierce only for him to show himself first as much like last time the wall next to them would begin to rise up, showcasing a passageway to a dimly light room.
"You three made it, good." Pierce grinned.
"Where's Johnathan and Marcus?" Meowth questioned upon noticing that it was just the four of them within the room.
"You won't need them for this," Pierce stated as he handed them a box. "Inside that box is a fake meteorite, inside the Nacrene Museum is a meteorite that looks just like it. I want you to switch the real one with the fake and be very careful that you aren't seen doing it! Dr. Zager will examine it upon retrieval, we believe it's merely a shard that broke off a much larger one that the boss is very interested in getting his hands on."
"Um, why's he want a meteorite so badly? Is it a Pokemon of some kind?" James questioned only for Pierce to raise his hand to silence them.
"You'll find out soon enough, just get going!"
"Sir yes sir!" The three bumbling buffoons saluted Pierce before walking on out and once they were a safe distance began whispering to one another as they speculated why their boss was wanting a space rock so badly!
"Maybe it's a Deoxys!" James was quick to exclaim.
"If it is then the boss will surely be grateful, those Pokemon are exceptionally rare and powerful!" Meowth's eyes lit up. "Picture this, one night our boss is looking up at the moon and thinking to himself 'Oh boy, I sure would like to visit that moon!' only to find the Deoxys we capture standing next to him. That very Deoxys will take him to outer space and place him safely on the moon and then you know what he'll say? 'Oh boy this Deoxys that Meowth and friends gave me will help Team Rocket reach the stars and live up to the name. I oughta pay them real good for this!'"
"We'll be rich!" The three cheered out simultaneously as they clapped their hands with gleeful expressions.
"Alright you three, you made it." Zach stood atop a hill overlooking the town before setting his eyes upon the Nacrene City Museum. "Inside that gym is the Light Stone, you're to steal it so we can revive the dragon within and further our plans!"
"Light stone?" Brooke questioned as she tilted her head.
"It's a white orb. Don't fail Ghetsis again or else..." Zach drew his sword and threw out his arm, the sword tip mere centimeters away from Chase's stomach as the man began sweating up a storm. "Failure is not tolerated."
"Y-Yes sir!" Chase quickly stated while Brooke and Brick quickly nodded in agreement.
"Nacrene City, we've made it!"
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as their eyes checked out their surroundings. It was slightly bigger in design than Striaton City as there were several large warehouses spread about in addition to various apartment buildings and homes. There was also a rather large museum in addition to the usual Pokemon Center that most cities had but much like last time Ash couldn't see the Gym anywhere!
"Uh Iris?" Ash turned to look at the Dragon specialist only for her to shrug.
"Sorry Ash but I've never been here before."
"I sure have!" Cilan was quick to speak up as he pointed his finger up into the air. "You see I'm also a fossil connoisseur so I take him upon myself to study every fossil I can find, the Nacrene City Museum just happens to be the closest place where you can view them freely without charge, y-you just can't touch them as I unfortunately found out the hard way." He hung his head for a moment.
"Um, get to the point?" Iris rudely interrupted before getting elbowed by both Ash and Hilda who gave her annoyed looks.
"The Museum owner and caretaker is the Gym Leader, she's got a battlefield beneath the Gym!"
"She?! This is my chance!" Brock's face lit up a bright red color as he started daydreaming. "I bet she's so beautiful! I'm a former Gym Leader but I'm also quite knowledgeable, no doubt we'll fit together like two peas in a pod!"
"Um actually she's mar-" Cilan tried to warn his friend.
"Too late." Iris stated as Brock had made a mad dash for the Gym in the hopes of his romantic pursuits finally coming to an end!
The others were quick to follow in case they had to rescue Brock from an scenario of some sort and upon entering the museum were greeted with quite the sight! Fossilized Aerodactyl bones were placed together and positioned on the ceiling above while Ash could also make out several fossils that he'd previously seen on his adventures like the Helix and Dome Fossils along with two strange ones that he'd never seen before, he hoped that he'd get to meet the Pokemon inside someday much like he'd been lucky enough to see the others. There was what appeared to be fossilized Dragonite bones, the bones didn't appear to be as aged as Aerodactyl's but there was still a great amount of age to them. And several other artistic objects, structures and paintings were scattered about including a meteorite encased in a glass casing and a few feet away in a similar glass case was a circular white stone that Ash felt a powerful aura emitting from and began feeling oddly hypnotized as he began walking blindly towards it as if in a trance, his hand reached out and touched the glass that separated the stone from him, the stone began emitting heat and turning a bright red color however he was soon brought out of his trance as Brock shouted out.
"My love, I am Brock and I have traveled a great ways to be with you! You're quite the intelligent individual but I must say that I too am quite the intelligent individual and a Gym Leader myself!" Brock boasted as he placed one hand on his chest while holding out the other as he got down onto one knee in front of a lady that had to be at least ten years older than him. She had a dark skin tone along with light teal colored eyes, her hair was a large and poufy teal. She was wearing a white short sleeved shirt along with a pair of teal pants that matched her hair, completing the look with a pair of orange heels. A pink apron slung over her shoulder as she tilted her head at Brock's words before forming a blush as she spoke up while Croagunk prepared to Poison Jab him.
"I'm flattered but I'm married." The woman held out her hand to show off her ring finger, the sight immediately making Brock face fault as he uttered out a groan.
"Not again..." Brock groaned out as Croagunk croaked out with laughter, grabbing onto Brock's leg before dragging him away as Cilan watched them go.
"Does Croagunk always do that?"
"Pretty much." Ash nodded in confirmation.
"Where exactly does he take Brock?"
"Nobody knows." Ash shrugged, briefly forgetting all about the light stone as he approached the woman himself before speaking up. "Miss, you're the Gym Leader right?"
"Please call me Lenora, and yes I am!" Lenora tapped her chest while giving him a light smirk. "I take it you're here to challenge me and my Gym then?"
"That I am, I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. I've already earned my first badge in the Unova region and I've come to collect my second!"
"Oh have you?" Lenora laughed before flashing the boy a smile. "Well then you're in luck as I happen to be free at this very moment, I'll lead you to the battlefield then." She waved her hand as she beckoned the group to follow. Iris was staring at the Dragonite bones as if she were under a trance of her own before Cilan grabbed her arm and dragged her after them. The group followed Lenora down a flight of stairs, it appeared the basement was primarily used for storage as wooden crates and storage containers were spread about before they'd eventually reach the battlefield. The battlefield was the same size as the Striaton Gym only there wasn't any area for public spectators like in the restaurant.
"Alright Ash, this will be a three on three battle with the winner being decided as soon as one of us is unable to continue fighting. Only the challenger can switch Pokemon and so forth, the rules are pretty standard here. No tricks or special themes, just a good old fashioned battle!" Lenora pumped her arm while giving Ash a smirk. "So are you ready to begin?"
"I'm ready." Ash spoke up.
"If I may, I'd like to referee." Brock offered in a friendly manner having fully recovered and caught up with the rest.
Lenora let out a laugh before nodding to give him the go ahead. "Knock yourself out!" She then turned to Ash and beckoned for him to take his place upon the battlefield as Brock stood on the center of a sideline while Hilda and the others stood across from him on the other.
"The battle between Nacrene City Gym Leader Lenora and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town will now begin!" Brock waved his arm as if he waved a flag, signaling the start of the battle.
"Herdier, you're up!"
"Herdier!" A taller and scruffier looking version of Lillipup burst out in front of her, the dark blue spot that was on most Lillipup had extend into a rather large patch of dark blue fur that covered both his back and tail!
"Herdier the Loyal Dog Pokemon, this Pokemon obeys its master's orders faithfully. However it refuses to listen to anything said by a person it doesn't respect!"
"Mienfoo, I choose you!" Ash threw forward a ball as Mienfoo burst out seconds later, taking a combat stance upon the field as she beckoned Herdier with one of her fists in a challenging manner.
"Foo!"
"Take Down!"
"Herdier!" Herdier charged at Mienfoo before slamming his body against hers at full force! Mienfoo let out a light grunt as she was pushed back before quickly brushing it off with a light glare.
"Force Palm!" Mienfoo quickly raced forward before thrusting her palm up against Herdier's face, a light blue blast followed quickly after impact resulting in Herdier getting blasted away before landing in front of Lenora. The canine Pokemon slowly got back up with a grunt as Lenora thrust out her arm.
"Alright Herdier, use Roar!"
Herdier let out a deep growl causing Mienfoo to let out a terrified cry before she returned to her Pokeball. Ash stared down at the ball before placing it back upon his belt, deciding to let her continue later as he had to choose somebody else to finish off Herdier.
"Oshawott, I choose you!"
"Oshawott!" Oshawott crossed his arms and flashed a cocky grin at Herdier.
"Razor Shell!" Oshawott plucked the scalchop from his chest as a blue aura surrounded the shell before quickly extending to a watery blue blade as Oshawott raced forward and gave Herdier a quick slash, the dog Pokemon let out a yelp before collapsing to his side as swirls formed within his eyes.
"Herdier is unable to battle, Oshawott wins!" Brock threw up his arm, signaling that Herdier was out.
"Way to go Oshawott!" Ash praised, Oshawott's eyes lit up as he quickly raced towards his trainer and leaped on up into his arms for a hug.
"Oshawott!"
"Cinccino, you're up!"
"Cinccino!" A furry gray chinchilla Pokemon burst out before the two, large white fur grew out the back of her head and wrapped around her body like a scarf as to avoid her species tripping over it's own hair!
"Cinccino the Scarf Pokemon, their white fur feels amazing to touch. Their fur repels dust and prevents static electricity from building up!"
"Oshawott use Tail Whip!" Oshawott turned and began wagging his tail at Cinccino. "Now use Razor Shell!"
"Osha!" Oshawott raced forward and brought his scalchop against Cinccino's body with the chinchilla crying out from the damage!
Lenora however remained completely calm as she crossed her arms before forming a light smirk. "Thunderbolt!"
"Cinccino!" The chinchilla's body began sparking with electricity before she fired off a blast of electricity which quickly flew across the field before making contact with Oshawott's body, Oshawott let out a fierce cry of pain as electricity surged through his body before coming to a collapsed heap before his trainer as swirls filled his eyes.
"Oshawott is unable to battle, Ash please select your next Pokemon!"
Ash gritted his teeth as the next decision was tricky, should he send Mienfoo on out or should he save her for the final Pokemon? He wasn't even sure who else to use at first as Rufflet was obviously out on account of her knowing an Electric attack. Suddenly an answer came to Ash, most Normal types only knew physical attacks and he just so happened to own a Pokemon that benefitted from taking those sort of attacks!
"Nidorino, I choose you!"
"Nido!" Nidorino cried out before shuffling his right foot against the ground as he uttered a light growl towards the direction of Cinccino.
"Peck!" Nidorino's horn glowed a bright white as he rushed forward before striking Cinccino with it, upon making impact with his body or rather horn in this case, Cincinno's face began to turn a dark purple color as she was inflicted with the Poisoned status.
"Swift!" Lenora called out as Cinccino shook her tail lightly before several yellow stars flew from the air above and began pelting Nidorino! Cinccino then heavily flinched as she took damage from the poison within her.
"Fury Attack!" Nidorino rushed forward and began repeatedly striking Cinccino with his horn while she cried out in pain from the attack, swirls formed within the chinchilla's eyes before she toppled over in defeat with a light moan as Brock raised his arm.
"Cinccino is unable to battle, Gym Leader Lenora please choose your final Pokemon!"
Lenora returned Cinccino to her ball before reaching for her third and final Pokemon.
"Watchog, it's all up to you!"
"Watchog!" The meerkat Pokemon cried out while Ash pulled out his Pokedex for the final time.
"Watchog the Lookout Pokemon, they make the patterns on their bodies shine in order to threaten predators. Keen eyesight lets them see in the dark!"
"Poison Sting!" Nidorino fired off an array of purple darts at Watchog, striking the Normal type and knocking him back while Lenora could only smirk in response.
"Retaliate!" Watchog leaped forward and gave a swift kick that sent Nidorino flying away while a purple glow formed on Watchog's face. Nidorino collapsed in a defeated slump before Ash as he stared in shock for a brief moment before looking up as if to ask what the attack was.
"Retaliate is an attack that doubles in strength if you lost an ally prior to using the move!" Lenora explained with a smirk. "So now the sides are even as we're both down to one Pokemon!"
Ash returned Nidorino to his Pokeball, he understood how the attack worked but he personally would never utilize it as taking up a move slot with a move that only worked so often seemed a bit wasteful. "Mienfoo, I choose you!"
"Foo!"
"Hypnosis!" Watchog's eyes began swirling about in a hypnotic manner, Mienfoo wanted to look away but found her eyes trapped within his gaze before the meerkat snapped his fingers and she fell asleep!
"Mienfoo!" Ash called out from concern. "Come on Mienfoo, you can do it! Wake up and use Force Palm!"
Mienfoo kept snoozing away, seeming to be in too deep of a slumber to hear him calling out for her.
"Low Kick!" Watchog kicked outwards and knocked Mienfoo off of her feet causing the Fighting type to collapse face forward in the dirt.
"Come on Mienfoo, wake up and use Force Palm! You can do it!" Mienfoo's ear twitched this time but she remained snoozing away as Ash let out a growl of frustration.
"Crunch!" Watchog flinched lightly from the poison before leaping forward and taking a bite into Mienfoo. The Fighting type soon stirred as her eyes shot open before thrusting her palm against Watchog, sending the meerkat Pokemon flying away from her!
"Reversal!" An orange aura surrounded Mienfoo's body as she let out a cry before quickly rushing forward and delivering quite the punch to Watchog's face! Watchog was quick to collapse as swirls formed within his eyes as Mienfoo performed another combat stance.
"Foo!"
"You did it Mienfoo, great work!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo gave Ash a thumbs up before turning to Lenora as she began slowly clapping for the pair.
"Well done, well done!" She gave off a smile before reaching into her pocket to produce a badge that resembled the spine of a brown and yellow striped book! "This is the Basic Badge, take it along with the knowledge you have learned and continue on your path to the Unova League. I wish you the best of luck on your travels." She gave him a light bow.
"Thank you," Ash spoke as he took the badge, he was about to bow in return before an alarm went off within the museum. "I-What's going on?"
Lenora looked up before quickly rushing for the stairs without a word.
"What did the Black Knight want again?" Brooke asked.
"I-I can't remember... all I remember is ruining the bottom half of my uniform." Chase muttered. "Brick?"
Brick pointed at the Dragonite skull.
"Oh right, we were supposed to bring a white dragon so we could revive it and utilize it in our plans! Let's take it, Darmanitan grab that skull!"
"Darmanitan!" The red ape Pokemon reached out and delivered a swift punch to the Dragonite skeleton, shattering the bones and setting off the alarm in the process before the Dragonite skull landed safely within his hand.
"Darman!"
"Let's go, quick!" Brooke began shoving the others out as everyone was looking in their direction. "You didn't have to do that, that was disrespectful to who knows how many Dragonite!"
"Meh, they've been dead for centuries. Besides think of all the good that will come of this, those Dragonite served our cause greatly today!"
Brooke narrowed her eyes before leading them off into the nearby forest where the black knight told them to wait for him to collect.
As the alarm went off and everyone was busy looking at Team Plasma, James quickly made the switch and swapped the real meteorite with the fake one. The Rocket trio then hanged back and pretended to be innocent bystanders much like everyone else as Lenora arrived on the scene followed by Ash and the others not long afterwards.
"What happened here?" Ash asked, his attention briefly went towards the Light Stone before focusing upon the now broken Dragonite bones. He felt rage silently boiling inside of him at the disrespect showcased here.
"Somebody took the Dragonite skull!" Lenora gasped out.
"What about the rest of the bones? You don't seem very much shocked by that." Hilda spoke up.
"Oh, those are merely fake. Aerodactyl is as well, the Dragonite skull is very much real however and quite priceless! It could ruin the museum having it stolen like this!" Lenora collapsed to her knees from shock while Ash placed his hand on the Gym Leader's shoulder.
"Don't worry Lenora, we'll get it back! Right guys?!"
"Right, we'll track down whoever did this!" Hilda exclaimed with clenched fists as Brock and Iris nodded in agreement while Cilan pulled out a detective hat and began closely examining the scene, soon bending out and picking up a singular red hair before letting out a pained shout, waving his hand about before blowing on it.
"That is definitely a Darmanitan's fur." Cilan whimpered lightly before noticing a piece of torn cloth. "And that looks suspiciously like Team Plasma's robes!"
"A Team Plasma member who uses Fire types?" Ash questioned before immediately coming to a conclusion. "It's the same three we ran into at the daycare a few weeks ago!"
"Which means they're likely going to hand it off to Zach!" Hilda quickly exclaimed before racing on out without waiting on the others. "Pidove, take to the skies and scan the tree lines. Try and find Team Plasma!"
"Pidove!" Pidove gave her trainer a swift nod as she flew towards the forest, her eyes scanning the tree line below before making out the figure of Darmanitan running alongside three others. "Pidove!" Pidove flew back before circling above the others as she motioned back towards where she'd just been.
"You found them already?! Great work Pidove!" Hilda shouted out her praise to the Flying type before pointing back. "Now lead us there!"
Ash noticed that Hilda acted a lot more rash and spoke in a vastly different tone whenever her brother was involved, it was clear that she held a great amount of love for him and Ash hoped that they could succeed in capturing him and helping undo the brainwash that Team Plasma had done to him.
"Pikachu, let's race ahead! If Haxorus is there you're the only one that can it!" Pikachu nodded in agreement as him and Ash summoned forth every ounce of energy they had as they took off into the forest, Hilda hot on their tail as she pursued them.
"What the hell? Where is he?! He told us to meet us at this cave!" Chase growled out as he and his team looked around however there was no sign of the black knight anywhere.
"We should really get going then, we can't stay here for too long. You destroyed private property and Officer Jenny is probably out here looking for us right now!" Brooke hissed out in a worried tone before Chase covered her mouth.
"Quiet, I think I hear something. Knight, that you?" Chase looked in the direction of the sound before emitting an annoyed groan as Ash and Pikachu stepped on out, Pikachu's cheeks sparked in a threating manner as Ash crossed his arms.
"Hilda's brother, where is he?"
"Who?" Chase questioned, casting Brooke a confused look only for her to shrug showing she didn't know either.
"The knight guy, where is he?"
"No idea and I wouldn't even tell you if I knew, he's serving a great purpose ensuring the future peace between Pokemon and humankind and I won't allow you to stop that!" Chase pointed forward with a growl.
"Darmanitan, Flare Blitz!"
"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!"
"Darma!"
As the two started the process of charging up their attacks, N suddenly rushed in between both sides with his arms spread out and both were just as quick to call off their attack. Hilda now catching up and noticing, with her mind focused primarily on her brother at that moment she wasn't lost in the moment like she'd previously been.
"There's no need to fight," N spoke up, turning to Chase before beckoning him to hand over the Dragonite skull. "You don't really need that, do you? It's a fossil and who knows if it can even be successfully revived! You should respect the dead and let it be returned to it's resting place."
"Yes," Chase handed the skull right over causing Hilda's eyes to bulge out. From what she saw of him Chase was hot headed and even ignored his own teammates, why would he of all people be listening to N?! She had a thing for the guy and he was definitely hot but there was nothing special about him, he was just a green haired hunk!
"I'm so sorry about this, it was all just a misunderstanding." N lowered his head as he handed over the Dragonite skull to Ash. "You three can go,"
Chase quickly left followed by Brick, Brooke cast a brief glance back towards N before following her teammates away.
"Ash, I'd like to speak to Hilda alone if you don't mind."
"Huh? Oh uh, sure!" Ash assumed it was something romantic related so he wasn't going to butt in on it. "I-I'll be over there in case you need me." He told Hilda before walking just far enough away that he couldn't hear but still close enough that he could keep an eye on things in case a wild Pokemon or Team Plasma came back and attacked!
"Hilda, I-I wanna ask you out on a date. I know your friend is collecting badges so we'll both be in Castelia City, there's this great diner there owned by this remarkable man who donates majority of the profits to fund a nature reserve and-"
"I'd love that!" Hilda momentarily forgot all about her concerns and probably would have entirely had N just kept his mouth shut. She stared into his eyes with a warm and loving gaze that made N's heart thump, he'd never seen a fellow human look at him like that before as Ghetsis mostly abused him and the rest of Team Plasma blindly followed whatever he said without a word! Nobody ever looked at him with love nor did N ever feel these feelings for somebody before.
"T-That's great but first I must confess... Team Plasma? They work for me-" He was immediately kicked between the legs and swiftly punched in the gut as Hilda breathed out heavily with a murderous expression.
"You did that to my brother?! Do you even like me or were you trying to capture and brainwash me too?!" Hilda growled out as Servine immediately burst from his ball and gave N a growl before an army of various Pokemon formed up behind N to back the green haired boy up.
"Your brother...? Hilda please, I have no idea what you're talking about, honest!" N raised his hands as he stared at her with a confused and truthful expression but Hilda wasn't buying any of it.
"You know damn well who it is, I've talked with him and he said the leader of Team Plasma did that to him! You made him into the Black Knight, your personal slave and murdered all of his Pokemon to ensure he'd be too depressed to ever break out on his own!" Hilda growled.
"M-Murder?!" N's eyes widened. "Hilda I'd never, not even the most violent of Pokemon or man! Every life is precious, I-" Hilda slapped him again.
"Get the hell out of here, I have half a mind to kill you right here and now. Just know that I won't rest until I get my brother back and if you get in my way, I won't be so generous next time." Hilda spat in his face with disgust before hurrying to Ash as N stared after her with a confused expression, wondering just what truth there was to her words. It couldn't be... could it? There was only one way to tell.
"I'm sorry Hilda, it really wasn't me... I understand your love for him is blinding you to the fact I'm innocent but that's okay, I promise you Hilda I'll do whatever I can to free him." N turned around and quickly hurried back to the castle, he wasn't going to say a word to anyone. If somebody really was using Team Plasma's name for evil then they'd likely kill Hilda if they found out he told her he was the leader!
Back at Plasma Castle N rather rudely and quietly brushed right past grunts and even some of Ghetsis' sages as they greeted him, N's mind completely focused on the task at hand as he hurried up the stairs to the quarters of the knight. He knocked on the door only to receive no answer, normally N would respect privacy but he wanted to see if Hilda was correct, if she wasn't then he'd send her proof somehow but if she was then well he needed to help her. He hated seeing people suffer but it especially hurt for him to see Hilda suffering like that, she desperately wanted her brother back and N was going to ensure that happened!
"Knight?" N asked upon seeing the Black Knight sitting upright on his bed, still dressed in the armor but seemingly staring off or fast asleep within. N tilt his head before looking back and closing the door behind him. After ensuring it was locked he reached out and began lifting up the helmet and felt his heart quickly sink as he saw so many features that resembled Hilda, no wonder he thought she looked familiar! Turned out she was right! Zach's eyes were open but looked empty as he was staring off into space.
"Who did this to you?" N questioned before hearing somebody at the door, he quickly placed the helmet back on before rushing for the closest and just in time as Colress entered the room. "Colress?!" N hissed out, clenching his fists while giving the man a harsh glare. He didn't dare come out though least Colress question why he was in there or what he was doing.
"I've got your new orders, Knight. You're to report to Victory Garden and steal Victini! That Pokemon will be a great powerhouse for your team and ensure that we destroy those Team Rocket clowns!"
"Yes master..."
N's eyes widened in sheer terror. Harass poor Victini? Destroy fellow human beings? That on top of brainwashing an innocent, this wasn't what Team Plasma was about at all!
Iris was comforting Hilda as they were in their room at the Pokemon Center, Hilda crying into her shoulder as Iris rubbed hers.
"I thought he was a great guy but he-he turned out to be the leader of the very organization I'm out to destroy to free my brother!"
"There are other fish out in the sea you know, why don't you try Cilan?" Iris questioned. "He's a few years older but he's got green hair too!"
Hilda shook her head. "Y-You don't understand, it wasn't just a crush... N was constantly on my mind from the moment we first met and he still is! Despite how much I want to hate him, part of me still loves him! I-I don't understand what's going on!" Hilda cried out.
"Well I'm here for you if you ever need somebody to talk to," Iris placed her hand on Hilda's shoulder and gave her a light smile. "I'll try and help you get over this however you can and I'm sure the others will be one hundred percent behind helping you free your brother however we can!"
Hilda sniffed before forcing a light smile at Iris. "Thank you Iris, you really are a great friend but I-I just need to be alone for a bit..." Hilda stuffed her face against her pillow and began crying again while Iris pulled away and sat at the edge of her bed, ready to step in or talk again should Hilda ask for it.