Ch.56
Captive
Pokemon is the property of it respective owners
Awaking with a pained gasp and wide eyes, Karen instinctively tried to search her surroundings, but let out a weak scream when her body protested against this action causing the former champion to gnash her teeth.
"..." Karen tried to curse, but no sound came out of her throat causing the teacher's breathe to hitch before she calmed herself and decided to scan the area around her like what she attempted to do when she first woke up.
Seeing that she was in a rather large cave that allowed the sun to get in through cracks as big as a child, but much too small for the mother of one to squeeze through caused Karen to sigh and see that she was laying on a bed of leaves on a giant rock. Noting that the entrance was blocked off by a large, heavy rock, the former champion narrowed her eyes and looked down at her body and what she saw made her blood run as cold as a blizzard. Both of her legs and feet had been harshly mangled like they had been repeatedly run over by a car and were crudely bandaged by leaves and upon looking at one of her arms, Karen gasped as she saw brutal, blackish-blue bruises on it as if someone had repeatedly struck the limb with a sledgehammer.
Taking little comfort in the fact that she could still move it, albeit with much pain, she stared at her other arm and started to breathe anxiously as the limb looked like it had been horribly twisted like a pretzel before it was set straight and put in a primitive sling of vines. What made her start looking for possible escape routes, even if she had to crawl, was the fact that her hand had been viciously shattered like a broken vase and all five fingers had been savagely broken as if they had been put through a meat grinder. Fighting back the urge to cry, the former champion raised her one usable arm and brushed back her hair with a wince before taking a deep breathe in and letting it back out before laying back on her bed.
"Alright, I'm going to retrace my steps and see how I got here," Karen thought to herself as she grimaced when she wiggled around to get comfortable before putting her usable arm over her chest and blankly staring up at the rock ceiling.
"N, Touko, hit that outpost and hit it hard; we need the police to secure any territory from the New Swords of Justice and leave them with no room to hide. Hope, gather as many like-minded allies from the wild pokemon population and then try to cripple that convoy you found. Malakai, you and the Scolipede family sit on that conquered territory until police arrive to secure it," Karen ordered her various allies through the walkie talkie and when she finished, the former champion banged her head on the table and let out a heavy sigh while Slowbro patted her leg.
"(So I take it mission control is going well?)" Stephanie remarked with a grin tugging at her lips causing the former champion to groan miserably causing Rhyperior to gently, but firmly massage Karen's shoulders.
"Hardly, we're making headway and pushing some of the New Swords of Justice's forces back to Victory Road, but it's making them desperate and bold. Apparently, they don't know the definition of insanity because I've lost count how many times they've failed to retake conquered territory," Karen responded irritably before letting out a sigh of relief upon feeling the nerves in her shoulder loosening before getting up and stretching her arms.
"(So we're nearing the end game then? If our enemies are willing to throw everything they have just to regain a small portion of lost territory, then they must be on their last leg,)" Braviary pointed out causing Karen to put a hand on her chin and purse her lips while Lucario smashed his fist into his paw with a look of awe on his face.
"(Hey, that's right! If what Braviary says is true, then I say we should get our friends, the champion, and the Elite Four to assault Victory Road and put a stop to these creeps!)" the aura pokemon enthusiastically suggested causing Electivire to nod in agreement while Braviary, Salamence, Rhyperior, Slowbro, and Stephanie uncertainly looked at one another before the python stared at the jackal who raised a brow and folded his arms.
"(And what happens after we defeat the New Swords of Justice? Sure, the pokemon in their realms will scatter and will not retaliate against mankind for a while, but relations between humans and pokemon are going to get frosty,)" the grass snake pointed out causing Lucario to furrow his brow and glance at Electivire who shrugged while Rhyperior let out a soft sigh and stepped forward.
"(What Stephanie is trying to say is that we should end this war properly. If we strike now with everything we have, I have no doubt we will win, but then the populace will want to inhibit our brethren anyway they can, even if it's unfair to our kind, in order to prevent another war. We can't let that happen because it's just going to cause another conflict a few years down the road,)" Rhyperior explained as best she could causing the jackal to widen his eyes and look down at the floor before nodding slowly as Karen put a hand on her hip.
"(Words of wisdom I wish were spoken in my time,)" Braviary commented as Slowbro laid down on her belly with her butt in the air and her eyes glowing with bright blue psychic energy causing Lucario, Electivire, and Salamence to exchange bewildered glances with one another while Karen, Rhyperior, and Braviary curiously watched what their cohort was doing.
"Is it Hope or another one of our friends coming back from their mission?" Karen inquired with a raised brow causing Slowbro to immediately sit up and quickly shake her head before attempting to tackle the former champion to the ground, but it was too late.
Suddenly, a series of simultaneous explosions rocked the walls of the Battle Academy like an earthquake causing the wall next to the teacher to collapse on top of her and pin her to the ground while her friends managed to defend themselves from the surprise attack. Groggily, Karen looked up and saw through her blurry vision Stephanie and the rest of her friends easily beating back scores of pokemon madly rushing them like their lives depended on it causing the former champion to attempt to free herself from the debris to no avail. Seeing Stephanie shouting something at her, but unable to hear what she said due to hearing being on the fritz, the former champion finally managed to pry herself from the rubble only for something big to violently spear her to the ground and knock the air out of her.
Karen couldn't even gasp for air when she suddenly felt intense, unbearable pain fill her being before everything went pitch black.
"Whatever hit me must have brought me to...to wherever this is...and did this to me," Karen mused while gnashing her teeth and looking over her severe wounds once more before she heard the giant boulder blocking the entrance skidding to the side with an ear piercing screech.
Resisting the temptation to cover one of her ears, the former champion glanced sideways and widened her eyes before setting them in a fierce glower as Bisharp casually walked into the cave while being flanked by a Leavanny, Lilligant, and Marcatus.
"(Comfortable?)" Bisharp inquired causing Karen to keep glaring at her enemy who sighed softly and casually sat down on one of Karen's broken legs like it was a chair causing the teacher to gnash her teeth and shut her eyes tightly as the knight began to speak.
"(You realize this is your fault, right? If you had simply given into our demands, then none of this would have happened, but your human, and humans always have to make simple problems more complicated than they have to be,)" the metal knight commented while forcing more of his weight down on Karen's legs causing the bones to crack like splintered wood and making the former champion mouth a howl of pain as her eyes began to water.
"(The world is, and always will be, a matter of who's on top and who's on the bottom and it's high time for your kind to experience what it's like to be on the bottom,)" Bisharp continued and forced all of his weight down on Karen's already broken leg causing a sickening crack that made Karen howl and wildly squirm as tears freely streamed down on her face before the knight sat up causing the former champion to suck in deep gulps of air.
"(Those among your kind, like yourself, who work alongside my brethren preach for coexistence, but you don't realize as Cobalion did that the humans and pokemon who're friends with one other are mere outliers in the relationship between our species. The experiences of a very, very, small minority should not take precedence over the experiences of the vast majority,)" Bisharp stated coolly as the former champion stuttered and breathed weakly before she felt the knight forcefully yank her arm out the sling causing Karen to curse as she weakly clawed her enemy's wrist with her one usable arm.
"(Now that we have you as our prisoner, I'm going to send an emissary to your replacement and demand humanity's immediate surrender and finally, my master's vision can come to pass. Obviously, as the leader of the New Swords of Justice, I can't be bothered to watch over you so we took some...precautions hence your injuries,)" Bisharp explained calmly while slowly twisting the teacher's arm in the wrong direction which causing more of Karen's bones to crack along her arm like glass causing her to mouth a shriek and try to put her arm back into it's proper position to no avail.
"(You won't be able to escape with your injuries, but just to be sure I'm having some of our group's most devoted followers watch over you. While I have the utmost faith they won't be corrupted by your misguided views, I took the precaution of having your throat sliced in order to prevent you from talking to them,)" Bisharp elaborated coolly while continuing to torque Karen's arm causing her to mouth to open widely as if she was screeching while using all of what little strength she had to resist the torture hold, but the knight's arm wouldn't budge and with a dismissive snort, completely twisted the teacher's arm in the other direction with the utmost ease.
At first, Karen's eyes just widened as a cold chill went up her body, but not a moment afterwards Karen looked at her mangled arm and fell back on her makeshift bed while clutching the now useless arm and if she was able, would be screaming bloody murder as she tossed and turned on her bed. Bisharp rolled his eyes and disdainfully shook his head with his arms folded while his subordinates blankly watched as their leader approached the rock and wrapped a hand around the former champion's throat.
"(You're probably thinking that you can endure this pain as long as your hatchling's safe, correct?)" the metal knight asked with a blank expression on his face while applying pressure around the teacher's throat causing Karen to gag, but managed to open her red, teary eyes and defiantly glare at the knight before nodding.
"(Well, since we're getting better acquainted, I'll let you in on a few things. One, I already know he has a bodyguard and I know who she is considering she use to serve in my squad,)" Bisharp stated calmly while applying a bit more pressure around the teacher's neck causing Karen to gasp for air, but like an anaconda Bisharp just used that opportunity to compress Karen's neck even more with his metallic hand.
"(Two, I know the parents of that dragon tamer friend of his joined his group in order to better protect them and that one member of my forward team nearly managed to kill him had that devil nurse not given him a prosthetic,)" Bisharp continued coolly while easily hoisting the teacher out of her bed and exerting more force on Karen's neck like a car compactor causing Karen's eyes to water even more as the knight slammed her against the wall of the cave.
"(Three, my cohorts and I have taken away your ability to birth more demonic children therefore securing the future of my brethren,)" Bisharp commented as he forced more pressure on Karen's neck causing the former champion to retch and flail her somewhat usable arm before cracking open an eye and slugging the knight in the face which made Bisharp curse angrily.
Before Karen could land another punch, Bisharp pulled the former champion closer to him where he briefly glared hatefully at her before forcefully smashing her into the wall causing some dust to fall down from the ceiling and for small cracks to form where the teacher had been slammed causing the teacher to tucker out in her enemy's grip.
"(Four, we know your son is in Veilstone and trying to earn another gym badge so as soon as we can find a way to sneak past the blockade set up by my traitorous brethren in Hoenn, we're going to drag him here and make him watch every painful second of us breaking you in body and spirit. Then, we're going to make you watch every moment of us destroying him in every way we can think of,)" Bisharp finished in a deathly calm voice and exerted as much pressure as he could on Karen's neck without breaking it causing the teacher to croak violently and wildly bash the knight's arm who didn't even flinch at the blows before Karen's strikes became weaker as time went on.
Letting out a weak, strangled heave, Karen's hand weakly slid down her enemy's arm and dangled limply where it twitched as the former champion croaked before her world started to become blurry. Just as her eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head, Bisharp forcefully threw Karen onto her makeshift bed causing the former champion to simultaneously howl in pain as she landed on her useless arm while greedily gulping down copious amounts of precious air. Managing to turn on her back despite the immense pain it caused, Karen clutched her useless arm while stutter breathing with tears in her eyes before Bisharp walked towards the exit with his hands behind his back before pausing in his stride.
"(We didn't get the other members of your team, but we did get your bodyguard who foolishly tried to take you back by himself. Would you like to see the ditch we threw him in?)" the knight inquired while blankly looking over his shoulder at the champion who's eyes widened and sobbed briefly before clenching her fist and spitting at Bisharp's feet who snorted at the gesture.
"(Ladies, our guest's arm and leg have been shattered and thus they're incredibly fragile meaning that the utmost care needs to be taken to reconstruct them. Unfortunately, we don't have any painkillers or anesthesia so please, try not to be gentle,)" Bisharp calmly ordered his followers who nodded slowly as their leader exited the cave while moving the boulder in front of the entrance before all three turned around to stare at the former champion with blank, zombie like eyes causing the teacher to anxiously look between all three of them.
Bisharp, while putting his head against the wall, pursed his lips as the sound of bone being twisted and turned with gut wrenching cracks and raspy, agonizing howls escaping Karen's lips made him nod in approval before putting his hands behind his back and slowly walking away.
"(Delia's mom better not fucking punish us just because we decided to explore a little,)" Maris huffed with a frown on her face while Dmitri chuckled and rubbed the back of his head while Tomoe rolled her eyes and put a paw on her hip.
"(How the young master hasn't adopted your unsavory tone is beyond me,)" the samurai scoffed causing the martial arts pokemon to snort and put an arm around Dmitri's shoulder while the battle ace sighed softly and put a hand on the otter's shoulder.
"It's okay, Tomoe. I don't have any use for them, but just because Maris cusses doesn't automatically make her a bad person," Dmitri calmly, but firmly told the otter who closed her eyes and shook her head before staring at the battle ace with her eyes narrowed causing Dmitri to raise a brow and stop in his tracks.
"(Master, can I please speak freely to Maris?)" Tomoe requested politely with a bow of her head causing the martial arts pokemon to glare at the otter as Dmitri ran his hand through his hair and glanced at his girlfriend who scowled, but nodded nonetheless.
"(Maris, despite my attitude, I do cherish you as a friend, but a part of me is exhausted with your antics. Not giving your superiors the proper respect, not calling Dmitri master, and speaking like an unsavory hoodlum has been very trying for me to come to terms with. I hope you can understand that I'm trying to tolerate your behavior, but it's very tiring for me to do so,)" Tomoe admitted and acted like a great weight had been taken off of her shoulders causing the martial arts pokemon to widen her eyes and stand completely still like a statue before putting her paws on her hips and letting out a soft sigh.
"(Thanks, Tomoe, I like you too and honestly, I haven't been doing the best to understand where you're coming from either. So I'll try to walk a mile in your shoes like you're doing for me, sound good?)" Maris stated while clasping her paws together and straightening her back causing the otter's eyes to widen before grinning slightly and bowing with the martial arts pokemon returning the gesture while Dmitri smiled at the display.
"Ah, see, you guys do like each other," Dmitri teased his two friends causing Maris to rub the back of her head with a sheepish grin on her face while Tomoe grunted and folded her arms with a slight blush on her face before putting her paws on her hips.
"(Master, please be quiet,)" Tomoe bashfully asked with a scowl on her face which immediately made Maris laugh loudly causing the otter to glare at the weasel who stifled her laughter and put her paws behind her head.
"(Now who's being disrespectful?)" Maris remarked with a smirk causing the otter to huff and glance off to the side with a light blush while Dmitri and Maris shared a laugh together as the trio made their way to the pokemon center.
A short while later, Dmitri, Maris, and Tomoe made it back to the medical center while ignoring the curious looks they got from bystanders because of his prosthetic arm, the scars on his body, or the fact that two foreign pokemon people haven't seen before walked beside him. Stopping at the doors leading to the training field, Dmitri sucked in a breathe and let it back out before walking out to the training field where some trainer's worked with their pokemon, but Maya and Jet were nowhere to be seen.
"Okay, I'm sure Mrs. Shiina will understand so long as we explain where we were and give a good reason as to why we were there," Dmitri told his girlfriend and bodyguard who nodded at what he said before Maris perked up and looked over Dmitri's shoulder and grinned before she happily waved at someone.
Dmitri looked over his shoulder and found Catherine, Luka, and her team lazing around a tree with one newcomer he hadn't seen before causing the battle ace to grin and wave at his friends who returned the gesture before Dmitri, Maris, and Tomoe walked over to them.
"Hey guys, there's someone I'd like you to meet! This awesome girl is called Vaque and she joined Team Catherine while Luka and I were sightseeing!" the former heiress stated happily causing Dmitri to kneel down and extend his hand to the pink bovine who smirked proudly and firmly shook Dmitri's hand causing the battle ace to grin.
"She's cute, Catherine," Dmitri told his friend causing the pink cow to puff out her chest while Maris snorted and narrowed her eyes at the bovine with her paws on her hips.
"(Vaque, you seem cool and everything, but you don't look like you can hold your own if something goes down. I don't mean to be a jackass, Vaque, but we really need pokemon who can stand their ground if we get attacked,)" Maris calmly explained with a soft sigh causing the pink cow to narrow her eyes at the martial arts pokemon before letting out a soft sigh and nodding at what Maris said before Tomoe stepped forward with her arms crossed.
"(I agree with Maris; although master's safety is my priority, that doesn't mean I'm not concerned about Lady Catherine's safety. I'm not trying to slight you, Vaque, but we have to be sure everyone can fend off the enemy and you don't seem like a warrior,)" Tomoe added causing the pink cow to stamp her foot on the ground and let out a furious, angry snort from her nostrils that looked like steam before Vaque calmed herself and put her hooves on her hips.
"(Trust me, sugar cubes, I can more than handle myself in a scrap. I may not be as skilled as Luka, but I can take a hit and just like Ursa, I've got a grip like iron and rock solid legs so when Ihit ya, you're going to feel it for a long, long time,)" Vaque retorted with an edge to her voice causing the martial arts pokemon to open her mouth to retort until Catherine cleared her throat and stepped forward causing Maris to huff and glance off to the side with her paws on her hips.
"I appreciate the concern guys, but I've seen first hand what this gal can do and let me tell you, she's a tough customer," Catherine passionately defended her newest friend causing Vaque to grin appreciatively and pat the former heiress's knee causing the former heiress to smile as Luka suddenly stepped forward.
"(Sis, I thought the same thing of Sparkplug and Kiera until I saw them in action and I'm glad they proved me wrong,)" Luka added causing the bovine to smile gratefully at her friends and let her arms rest at her sides as Maris and Tomoe exchanged glances with one another before the martial arts pokemon let out a soft sigh.
"(Alright, I don't fucking like this, but you haven't given me any reason to doubt you, Catherine. If you say she can fight, I'll...keep an open mind,)" Maris hesitantly conceded with a soft sigh while Tomoe grumbled and pursed her lips before hesitantly bowing her head at the former heiress who returned the gesture.
"Thanks guys," Catherine stated with a grin on her face causing a small smile to grace Maris's lips and nod at the former heiress while Tomoe folded her arms and looked away while Dmitri glanced at Vaque with a raised brow.
"By the way Catherine, since Vaque is on your team, doesn't that mean you're at the limit of how many pokemon you can have with you?" Dmitri inquired curiously causing the former heiress to nod and put her hands on her hips her while Dmitri tilted his head.
"Yeah, I am, but considering we helped stop the resurgence of Team Galactic and defended Hearthome twice, Professor Rowan added another six slots to the amount of pokemon we can carry for showing "extreme competence and bravery" in the field," Catherine explained causing Dmitri and Maris to look at one another with the martial arts pokemon raising a brow before whistling as the battle ace put a hand on his hip and grinned warmly.
"I'll be sure to thank him when I get the chance, but another thing I want to know is how did you get a Miltank on you team? I mean, as far as I know, you can only come across Miltanks on route 210 and even then it's very lucky you did," Dmitri pointed out causing the former heiress to smile mischievously and lean her head closer to the battle ace's ear and put a hand on the side of her mouth while Maris and Tomoe stared at one another with raised brows.
"Well, it's an interesting story-"
"Oh, then by all means, please share it with me, Catherine," a gruff voice barked causing the battle ace to jolt while Catherine yelped before wincing and slowly turning around while rubbing the back of her head with a nervous grin and found herself face to face with Maya who had her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed.
"Oh...uh...h-hii, Mrs. Shiina! L-like I said, it's a funny story-"
"Shut up; you're camera," Catherine stuttered nervously only to be sharply cut off by Maya who extended her hand causing the former heiress to wince and glance at her girlfriend who shrugged helplessly causing the girl to hesitantly place the device in the dragon slayer's hand.
Flipping through the pictures with a blank expression, Catherine looked down at the ground and rubbed her arm while Luka scratched her cheek anxiously before Maya stared up at the former heiress with narrowed eyes.
"Hmm, care to explain to me as to why you have pictures of the cafe and move tutor living in Route 210?" Maya stated calmly while continuing to flip the pictures the former heiress had on her camera causing Catherine to let out a soft sigh while Luka rolled her shoulder and grunted as the dragon slayer handed the device back to the girl.
"I-I...uh-"
"To my knowledge, Miltanks are rare finds specifically sighted around route 210 so finding them around routes 214 and 215 is very lucky...unless you went farther," Maya calmly interrupted the girl while putting a hand on her hip and stepping in front of the former heiress so their toes were nearly touching causing the former heiress to suck in a breathe and let it back out before staring up at the dragoness whose eyes were glowing bloody crimson.
"Okay, I-"
"I specifically said you could go sightseeing, but only in areas that we could quickly reach you just in case something happened. You not only risked your safety just to see something interesting, but you risked our safety by not being in an area that you could reach any of us in short time," Maya bluntly cut in before the former heiress could say anything causing Catherine to resist the urge to groan and simply let out a puff of air from her nose before putting her hands on her hips.
"Mrs. Shiina-"
"Please explain to me why you decided to make this idiotic decision," Maya yet again interrupted the former heiress who shuffled her feet and gritted her teeth before calming herself and letting out a breathe before straightening her back.
"It's just that, we finished sightseeing around route 214 an 215 and I heard that there was this move tutor near the cafe so I decided, why not? My team and I got great meals at the cafe, the owner let me take Vaque for being a gracious customer, and they learned awesome moves from the nice, old lady. Most importantly, we made it back before dark, just like you asked!" Catherine stated truthfully causing Luka to nod excitedly while Maya softly sighed and gently placed her hands on the girl's shoulders which made the former heiress relax.
"Catherine, I'm glad you had fun sightseeing and honored at least one of my requests, but you should have thought things through. What if you or any of us had been ambushed and we couldn't get to you or you couldn't get to us in time?" Maya pointed out calmly, but sternly causing Catherine's eyes to widen and stared down at the ground solemnly before sucking in a breathe and letting it back out before picking her head up.
"You're right, I'm sorry," Catherine conceded humbly with Luka bowing her head slightly causing the dragoness to stand back up and nod before putting one hand on her hip while the other one remained on the former heiress's shoulder.
"Next time you want to see something that's far away, have either Delia, Dmitri, Jet, or I come with you and I should have told you earlier that I'm a highly regarded tutor in my village so you could have came to me for help, but that doesn't make what you did any less stupid," the dragon slayer chided the former heiress who pursed her lips and put a hand in her pocket before nodding with a soft sigh causing Maya to narrow her eyes and slightly tighten her grip on the girl's shoulder.
"That being said, you and Luka are going to be punished for not listening to me," Maya reminded the duo causing Luka's eyes to widen and backpedal while Catherine nodded slowly and lightly kicked the ground while Maris laughed on the sidelines before Dmitri nudged her in the ribs reducing her hearty laughter to quiet chuckles.
"(M-me? What have I done?)" Luka inquired incredulously while pointing to herself and then glancing at her girlfriend who grinned and shrugged while Vaque snorted at the dragon slayer as the aura pokemon sucked in an anxious breathe and let it back out.
"You let her wander off when you could have stopped her so you're as much to blame as she is," Maya answered without skipping a beat causing the aura pokemon to frantically look exchange glances at her friends in disbelief causing Dmitri to rub the back of his head while Maris smirked and shrugged before putting her paws behind her head.
"Catherine, Luka, since you guys decided to ignore my instruction of staying in easy to reach areas, you're not going to leave my side for the whole day starting tomorrow. You can still train with your friends, but wherever I go, you have to go," Maya informed the former heiress and aura pokemon causing Catherine to put her hands on her hips and nod while Luka briefly glanced at Tomoe who shrugged before the jackal regained her composure and slowly bowed her head.
"(Sheesh, authoritarian much? I'm getting punished by extension when I just got here?)" Vaque remarked under her breathe with a shake of her head causing Luka to nudge the pink cow with her foot causing the bovine to grumble and shut her mouth.
"That sounds fair," Catherine stated causing the dragon slayer to stretch her back with a groan and tousle Catherine's hair causing the former heiress to giggle before the dragon slayer retracted her hand and patted Luka's shoulder causing the aura pokemon to sigh.
"Good, I'll see you guys at breakfast tomorrow at six," Maya responded causing the former heiress's eyes to widen while Luka groaned quietly and rubbed her temple as Catherine uncertainly stared at the tutor.
"Why so early?" Catherine inquired miserably causing the dragoness to chuckle and rub the young girl's head with a fanged grin.
"I like to have my morning workout bright and early," Maya answered playfully causing the former heiress to let out a heavy sigh and slump her shoulders as Luka and Vaque rubbed Catherine's back before the dragon slayer turned toward Dmitri with her arms crossed.
"Now then, care to tell me where you have been? You may have made it back before dark, but I have to be sure you weren't go to places I didn't give you permission to go," Maya interrogated the battle ace who stood up straight and nodded frantically as Maris scowled and shook her head while Tomoe put her paws on her hips.
"We trained around route 214 and we explored the Maniac Tunnel, but only the entrance, Mrs. Shiina," Dmitri quickly explained to the tutor causing Maya's eyes to glow an angry red which made the battle ace nervously rub the back of his head before the dragon slayer let out a soft breathe and put a hand on her hip.
"Alright, that's fine. I'm going to get some rest so I'll see you guys tomorrow. Remember, Catherine, bright and early," Maya repeated causing the former heiress to nod sluggishly with her thumb up causing the dragon slayer to laugh softly as she gave Dmitri and Maris a hug while nodding at Tomoe who returned the gesture and gave a backwards wave to the former heiress.
"Oh, Catherine, sorry to remind you about this, but Delia is going to punish you too," Dmitri informed his friend who groaned irritably and put her hands over her eyes while Luka put a paw over her face and let out an irritable huff while Vaque waved her arms indignantly and looked between her friends for an explanation.
"I know, I just hope she's going to be lenient," Catherine replied causing Luka to let out a soft sigh before clasping her girlfriend's shoulder causing the former heiress to put her hand over her Luka's paw.
"(I'm sure she will; spending time with her mother is going to be bad enough,)" Luka assured her girlfriend causing the former heiress to grin slightly before sucking in a breathe and letting it out before rolling her shoulders.
"Whelp, I'm going to enjoy the freedom I have for now so I'll see you back at our room a little later, okay?" Catherine informed Dmitri who nodded and hugged his friend who returned the gesture before walking towards the medical center with Maris and Tomoe in tow before the pokegear in his pocket rang loudly.
"It's Mr. Hope," Dmitri stated with a surprised tone while glancing at his girlfriend causing Maris to raise a brow and put her paws on her hips as the trio entered the pokemon center and made their way to their their rented room.
"(Maybe he's here to tell you that the group Mrs. Long got together are kicking fucking ass and taking names?)" Maris suggested with a smirk causing the battle ace to laugh briefly as the trio entered the room with the battle ace sitting on the edge of the bed with his girlfriend and body sitting down next to him.
"(I don't know, something's...off,)" Tomoe said uncertainly causing Maris to narrow her eyes at the device and put her paws on her legs while the otter uncomfortably folded her arms as the battle ace answered the call and put the tool near his hear.
"Hi Mr. Hope, is there something you needed?" Dmitri politely asked and when the psychiatrist let out a heavy sigh and spoke into the device, a cold chill ran up Dmitri's spine causing him to drop his pokegear which fell to the floor with a heavy clank.