THE PURIFY CHAMBER
They landed on the grass verge in front of the lab ten minutes later. The Orré Pokémon lab was an impressive glass-fronted two-storey building with a huge hologram of a poké ball on the top of it. Lawrence, his arm around an impassive Julie, led the way, with Cyril, leading Rachel and Lu following, and the Ashes and Julie's three youngsters bringing up the rear.
As promised, the receptionist was expecting them, and gave very clear and concise directions on how to get to Krane's office, which involved catching an elevator. Due to the size of the party (not to mention a ten-foot Lugia) they had to make three trips to get everybody up. They then proceeded to the office. The door opened, to reveal a pink-dressed lady, a brown-haired man with a green shirt and a lab-coat, and a little blue-haired girl in a white dress.
The woman said "Hello, I take it you are our visitors from the other continent, come to speak to the Professor about purifying some Pokémon." Her gaze wandered over Rachel, Lu, and Julie in turn. "I can see that your query is genuine."
"Definitely." said Rachel, who had improved some during the journey.
"Rachel isn't a Pokémon either." Cyril pointed out. "I'll explain later, when we've got this sorted out.
The man in the lab coat stood, identifying himself as Professor Krane. "You must excuse Lily, we've all been rather jumpy over the last month or so, what with this Cipher business. Cipher were trying to get me to tell about my purification research, and so we've feared a repeat attempt of my kidnapping, or worse, sabotage of the Purify Chambers." He turned to the small blue-haired girl. "Jovi, could you run down and tell the people to get the chambers ready for up to three occupants? Tell them that all nine have to be at perfect tempo." The girl gave a chirpy "Yes, Professor Krane! Jovi can do it!" and set off at a run out of the door.
Krane smiled as she exited.
"Ah, the exuberance of youth! I wish I had Jovi's boundless energy. Now, as Lily pointed out, I can see the problem you face with all three of your friends there."
"Rachel is actually a lot better than when we first found her." Cyril said, and told the Professor about what Rachel had been like when they first found her, and her subsequent fevers, bouts of aggression, and peeling skin. Krane nodded.
"It certainly sounds like an immune response, although Pokémon tissue usually doesn't cause such a response in humans. Perhaps your doctor friend back on Shamouti can, after all, find out the cause." He spoke directly to Rachel. "Based on your present progress, I think you can eliminate the effects naturally. This is just as well, seeing as getting you into the Purify Chambers could be a problem, seeing as, not being a Pokémon, you could not go into the computer in a poké ball, and thus into the Purify Chambers. However, your husband was on the right track when he got your Pokémon to surround you. That is what we do in the Purify Chambers-put the Shadow Pokémon with up to four non-Shadow Pokémon. This, over time, opens up their hearts. I think while we get down to purifying your two friends here, you could sit in the TV room with your Pokémon around you, which would be the closest approximation. Your husband certainly felt that it had helped. "
Rachel reached to her belt, where her poké balls were set, and handed the Professor a poké ball.
"Purify, please?" she managed with difficulty. The Professor opened the poke ball, to reveal a small Treecko, and Cyril explained that he had the Shadow-Sight ability, and could see that the Treecko was indeed a Shadow Pokémon. Krane nodded.
"Of course, we'll put it in the Purify Chamber for you." He told Rachel. He turned to Lawrence.
"Now, I take it that both these individuals can go into poké balls?"
"Lu has never been in one, but he is a Pokémon, so it should be possible. Julie has, and Cyril entrusted me with a couple of Master balls. I think now may be the time to use them, if Lu and Julie need to be put in a computer."
"Yes, they will, to enter the Purify Chambers." Krane said.
"I'll need to pop back to my machine to get them." Lawrence said.
"Well, we can take Rachel down to the lounge, and you can pop back to get them. If we meet at the reception desk, we can then go to the Purify Chamber room."
This was done, Lawrence telling Julie to stay with Cyril while he went back for the Master balls. Rachel was quickly and quietly settled in the lounge with five of her original team all around her. (The Sandshrew and her Charizard had been left in Lawrence's machine.) Then they went to the reception desk, where Lawrence, having known exactly where to he'd stored the Master balls, had got back to, and from there, Krane led them to the Purify Chamber room.
They entered the room, and Krane said "Oh yes, as I said, there is someone who I think you will be glad to see, being as you're Shamouti Islanders." He went to the computer, withdrew a poké ball, and released the occupant. Everyone (except Julie and Lu) looked up, gasped, and then smiled.
It was Lugia, and what was more, Cyril could see that he had been restored back to normal, his feathers their usual ivory white and royal blue, his feet rounded, his eyes and their outgrowths were back to normal. Lugia looked at them, then shot forwards to entwine his neck with his son's.
Unfortunately, Lu, in his semi-Shadowed state, took it as an attack, and bit his father on the shoulder, hard. Lugia bellowed as Lu drew blood, and wrested himself free.
He cannot help it, his heart is almost fully closed. Lugia told the assembled group. If you can cure him the way you cured me, I would be grateful. Lawrence stepped forwards, holding a Master ball in his hand.
"I never thought, after the year 2000, and especially after befriending Lu, that I'd be doing this." He said, then hurled the Master ball at Lu, and although he struggled, eventually the ball ceased its rocking and lay still. "Or this." He said, throwing the other at Julie, who barely struggled. Lawrence picked up the two occupied balls, and gave then to Professor Krane.
"When Jovi's brother put Lugia there into the chambers, Lugia looked very different to how he did then. Cipher had announced him to be unpurifiable. However, he purified up all at once, and we think it's something to do with having what we call perfect tempo in all the chambers. If your two friends there have been through the same process, then this will hopefully happen to them." Krane told them. He put the Treecko, Lu, and Julie into the computer, then used the computer to transfer all three into the readied Purify Chambers.
There was a pregnant pause, and then Krane smiled, and whooped. "It worked! They're ready to undergo the final ceremony to clear the last vestiges of Shadow from their hearts." He turned to Lawrence. "As the one who knows them best-apart from Lu's father, who is too large-I suggest you carry it out. Could you step onto the circular plate in the middle of the floor, please?"
Puzzled, Lawrence did so. He found himself in a holographic representation of one of the chambers. Above him was Julie, outlined in a strange white glow, but back to her normal blue and white colouration. Around her were four Pokémon-a Delcatty, a Teddiursa, a Snorlax, and a Meowth. Holographic stars and music notes filled the air, and a jaunty tune was playing. He heard Krane's voice as if from far away.
"You're taking the place of the Relic Stone in Agate in there. When you're ready, say the word."
"There is a Pokémon that is ready to open its heart." Said the voice of the woman Lawrence had first seen upon entering the room. "Would you like to purify it?"
"Yes." Lawrence said. Suddenly the walls around him crawled with an upwards-rushing green pattern, which met at the top and burst down upon Julie. He saw the last of the purple Shadow Aura burst away from her, and saw her blink, as if awakening from a deep sleep. Then he saw her wink out.
"It's okay, she's just gone into the computer," Krane assured him.
"There is another Pokémon that wants to open its heart." Came the woman's voice again. "Would you like to switch chambers?"
"Yes." said Lawrence, and his surroundings changed slightly. He was in a different chamber, and he saw Lu, again surrounded by four different Pokémon and outlined in a white light. The process was repeated with Lu, and then Lawrence came out of the holographic representation. Krane went to the computer and took the two Master balls out, handing them to Lawrence. Lawrence released Lu and Julie, and was almost knocked over as Julie ran to him, throwing her wings around him and kissing him all over. Lu and his father raced to embrace necks again, calling excitedly and almost deafening all present.
A few minutes later, Julie released Lawrence, bending to embrace her three excited children. After giving then lots of kisses and wing-hugs, she stood, and peered disgustedly at the little ribbon attached to her white chest feathers.
"These are getting depressingly familiar." she said. "How many of these do I have now? Five, I think!"
Lawrence's PDA suddenly beeped, and Lawrence answered. It was George.
"We analysed Rachel's skin and blood, and it's full of Pokémon stem cells. These cells usually proliferate well in tissue, but either by accident or design, these ones are not reproducing at all, which is good or Rachel would be in serious trouble. I think Cipher goofed. It looks like they tried to grow these cells extra-fast, to get enough to put in Rachel, but whatever drug they introduced to induce rapid division has actually had a toxic effect. They are all dying, and the fevers and peeling skin are occurring because Rachel's body is getting rid of all this dead material. I'd say she'd take a week at the longest to return to normal."
"That is very good news." said Cyril, who had overheard. He told them the good news about Lugia, Lu, and Julie, and then signed off.
"Well, I suggest we all join your friend in the lounge while her Treecko Purifies up." said Krane. "Jovi's older brother has smashed Cipher now, and I bet the ONBS network will be the first ones to carry the story. Let's go see!"
The reunited friends went to the TV room, except for Lugia and Lu, who sat outside on the grass outside the lab. Lu reached for, and found, Rachel's mind.
She's much better already! he told his father. I'm glad we're both back to ourselves!
Lugia couldn't have agreed more, and showed it by twining necks with his son again.
