Ch.58
New Developments
Pokemon is the property of its respective owners
"(Ugh, damned boy,)" Oni grumbled lowly as a mental image of Dmitri riding a fast boat full of passengers formed in her head causing the titan to grumble irritabl before regaining her composure.
"(Hmm, judging from the way the boat is traveling, he's going to run into the blockade the New Swords of Justice set up. This is going to be tricky since my brethren are having trouble dislodging them so what I'm going to do is risky, but it needs to be done,)" Oni contemplated before nodding and establishing mental contact with her thrall where she saw through Alice's eyes her Poliwrath forcefully smash her fist into Primeape's fist whenever the pig monkey attempted to land a blow on her causing the primate to hiss and roll his badly bruised hands.
"(Alice, I know you're busy trying to win your rematch so I'll keep it short. The invading pokemon you're going to repel are targeting Dmitri Long so I need you to keep an eye on him until hostilities die down. We can't let him go back to Unova for obvious reasons and as much as I'd like to send him back to Sinnoh, some of the pokemon there were inspired by the New Swords of Justice and have formed bands to hunt him and his friends down,)" Oni explained which elicited a surprised grumble from her servant who ordered Poliwrath to advance causing the legendary to keep a calm look even when she saw Poliwrath duck underneath a punch and forcefully plunge her fist into Primeape's gut causing the monkey to double over.
"Master, that's a terrible idea. He hates me and I don't exactly agree with some...scratch that, most of his views on raising pokemon so putting us together isn't going to be pretty," Alice responded bluntly as Primeape kicked the inside of Poliwrath's legs causing the tadpole to collapse onto one knee before she was hoisted over the pig monkey's shoulders and forcefully slammed onto the ground on the crown of her skull.
"(Alice, I understand your reluctance, you're the only one who can look after him and staying in a moist cave surrounded by raging whirlpools will take a toll on his already strained mental state,)" Oni replied coolly causing the thrall to sigh heavily as Poliwrath rolled to her feet and spewed a jet of highly pressurized water from her mouth that collided with the pig monkey with a gut wrenching snap and knocked Poliwrath's opponent off his feet.
"(It's not exactly true; Jessie could always look after him, but thanks to this prolonged skirmish, she's too busy taking care of the influx of injured pokemon,)" Oni mused to herself and saw Poliwrath firmly grasp the fur atop the pig monkey's head before landing a staggering punch that made Primeape's world become blurry and made him stagger around like a drunkard with a hand on his head.
"Fine, master, I'll babysit...watch over Dmitri. Just fill me in on why exactly he's coming to Johto later," Alice conceded with a slight growl as Poliwrath walked up to Primeape and placed her hand on the pig monkey's forehead before shoving him backwards causing the pig monkey to slide across the water like a stone before coming to a stop and laying still while letting out a groan.
"(So what's this I hear about us looking after someone, stupid master?)" Espeon interjected jovially causing Oni to laugh while Alice sighed heavily before nodding at Poliwrath who gave her trainer a thumbs up before allowing herself to be returned to her pokeball.
"(Yes, Alice, please tell your partner about this new task I've assigned you,)" Oni teased her thrall with a sligh grin forming on her face causing the ex-heiress to grumble as Espeon shot her trainer a smirk before slowly strutting out to the battlefield.
"Please don't encourage her, master. She's annoying as is," Alice pleaded causing Oni to chuckle as Chuck returned his Primeape while thanking him for his efforts before sending out his own battle hardened Poliwrath who glowered at Espeon intensely.
Suddenly, Poliwrath lunged at Espeon who ducked underneath a stiff punch only to receive a rigid knee in the chin in response causing the pink cat to curse as she felt as if her teeth were going to impale her skull causing her to glare at the tadpole only for her eyes to widen as her opponent's giant fist quickly closed in and impacted the jewel on her forehead.
"Agh!" Espeon screamed as she tumbled across the ground and collided spine first onto a jagged rock causing the sun pokemon to cough up a glob of saliva and collapse onto her belly where hissed and grit her teeth.
"(Not going to use your psychic abilities, Espeon?)" Oni inquired as the pink cat looked at her reflection in the water and let out an angry snarl as the gem on her forehead was broken into individual pieces along with a nasty gash on her forehead which caused blood to drip down the pink cat's forehead.
"(Last time, Chuck's Poliwrath powered right through my psychic hold on him like the freak of nature he is and piledrived me headfirst straight through a boulder so for our rematch, Alice and I agreed that I would use my powers only when he was vulnerable,)" Espeon responded as she spat a glob of blood into the body of water and before narrowing her eyes and crouching down with her tail raised as if she was hunting her opponent.
"(I wish you both luck then with this unorthodox strategy and I'll be sure to inform you both of the specifics of this task,)" Oni stated causing the pink cat to nod and charge toward Poliwrath with a war cry as the legendary cut off mental contact with her other thrall and let out a soft sigh while leaning back against the cavernous wall and listening to the sound of the tides.
While the trio leader would have liked to sleep to the rather peaceful sound of the tides advancing and receding, she knew that there was work that had to be done so she sat up with a frown on her face.
"(Okay, Dmitri will obviously try to run away or attempt to attack Alice to defend himself if I just teleport him to her immediately, so...I'll bring him here and explain the situation to him first?)" Oni considered while lifting the tip of her giant wing to her lips and staring up at the ceiling of the cave with an inquisitive look before giving a half-hearted shrug.
"(Yeah, I'll bring him to my domain and explain the situation to him first. Okay, now time for the risky part,)" Oni said as her eyes shone a bloody crimson before she established mental contact with an imposing Gyarados who was patrolling the seas between Kanto and Johto with Dewgongs, Seakings, and a Starmies assisting him.
"(Gyarados, the being we've trying to keep out of enemy hands is now heading straight towards the blockade our enemies set up on a cruise ship coming from Sinnoh so I need you to retrieve him before they do and bring him to my domain. I'll attune my senses to yours so you can feel his energy signature and make it easier for you to track him down,)" Oni ordered curtly causing the sea serpent to blankly stare ahead and then look at its comrades before huffing and barring its fangs.
"(My lord, what you're asking isn't going to be easy, but it will be done nevertheless,)" the sea serpent responded causing the guardian of the sea to give a soft sigh of relief and lean back on the cavernous wall with a small grin on her face.
"(Thank you. I'll attune my senses with yours whenever you're ready,)" Oni stated calmly causing her subordinate to nod and close his eyes causing the sea god shut her eyes and slowly inhale and exhale.
After a moment, her body was encased in a faint, demonic crimson aura that flickered like a candle light which would increase and decrease in intensity with her breathing before the legendary slowly opened her eyes which caused the energy field surrounding her to disperse.
"(Alright, it's done. Just stay safe for now, you idiot,)" Oni murmured quietly as she conjured an image of Dmitri and his friends rescuing her causing the trio leader to smile warmly before laying down and staring up at the ceiling with a thoughtful look.
"Oh my gosh, she's waking up," a surprised voice stated causing Karen to groan before slowly opening and saw that she was in a hut of vines and straw and upon looking to her left, she saw Elise sitting down on a chair made of stone while being flanked by her two Emboars.
Karen tried to say something to the student, but all that came out of her throat was a guttural croak causing the Queen of Fire to rise and grab a banana leaf and hold it up to the teacher's lips where cool water poured into her mouth.
"Take it easy, Mrs. Long; you're still not at full strength," Elise softly told the teacher while patting her shoulder causing Karen to glance at the former student before laying back on her makeshift bed made of vines, grass, and some sort of cotton material.
"How...find...me?" Karen weakly asked causing the self proclaimed Queen of Fire to lift the banana leaf full of water to the teacher's lips again who slowly drank some water before pulling away and laying her head down on the bed.
"To put it simply, some of the pokemon living in the domains of the New Swords of Justice were not willing to sacrifice everything when better options are available so they tipped us off to where you were," Elise explained causing the former champion to widen her eyes before smirking slightly causing the student to raise a brow before shrugging and placing the banana leaf on a nearby rock.
"So...uh...if you don't mind me asking, where's Dmitri? I haven't seen him or Delia around school for a while so I'm just wondering if they're okay; they haven't been captured, right?" Elise concernedly asked the teacher who chuckled softly and shook her head before wincing and sitting up a bit with the student's help.
"No...they...fine. Traveling...Sinnoh," Karen raspily breathed out causing the energetic girl's eyes to widen before bringing her fist down into her other hand.
"Oh, that makes sense! It's no wonder I haven't seen him, Delia, or his Mienshao around school; they've been traveling around getting gym badges, and in another region no less!" Elise stated in awe causing the former champion to smile slightly before grimacing and clutching her arm causing the student to jolt and gently rub the teacher's limb.
"It's alright, just try to relax," Elise advised the former champion who gritted her teeth and nodded as the student continued to massage Karen's arm which was still badly bruised, but she noticed that some of her bruises had healed.
"Where...we?" Karen asked in a hoarse tone of voice causing the student to continue massaging the former champion's arm before looking at the teacher with a small grin.
"You remember that Stoutland that helped us rescue you? Our base is actually in his territory, but he's cool with it and the best part is that we're close to Victory Road and the New Swords of Justice don't even know it!" Elise stated in an upbeat tone causing the teacher to laugh warmly as the student finished tending to Karen's arm which to Karen's surprise felt a lot better even if the limb was still in pain.
"Oh...I...see. Part of...resistance...movement...then?" Karen managed to get out causing Elise to thump her chest with a proud smirk on her face.
"Yep! You're looking at the only group opposing the New Swords of Justice which makes it strange as to why they would nab you. I mean, no offense, I know you're a superpowerful trainer and all, but I thought they would try and kidnap Stoutland, Excadrill, or Ferrothorn for leverage," Elise admitted while rubbing the back of her head causing the former champion to weakly raise a hand and shake it with a smile on her face.
"It's...fine. There are...others...fighting against...the New Swords...of Justice. Me being...one of them," Karen weakly explained causing the Queen of Fire's eyes to widen and recoil a bit before shaking her head and calmly putting her hands on her legs.
"Oh, that's good! I thought we were the only ones fighting them, but it's great to hear that others have been helping too! Sorry, since we're so close to Bisharp, communication with the outside world has to be monitored closely so we don't accidentally bring our enemies to our camp," the Queen of Fire explained with a nervous smile while rubbing the back of her head causing Karen to laugh softly as one Elise's Emboars glanced out of the hut and snorted before patting Elise's shoulder causing the student to raise a brow.
"Um...our leader wants to talk to you," Elise informed the teacher sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head before moving off to the side and putting her hands behind her back while looking down at the ground while her two Emboars folded their arms.
Putting her one usable arm over her chest, Karen stared at the entrance to the hut patiently before raising a brow as she heard the distinct clop of hooves like a Zebstrika and before her eyes went as wide as saucers as she saw a shadow with equine traits and a razor sharp horn portruding from the head of the figure like a Rapidash.
"Is it actually him?" Karen mused in disbelief as the foot steps got closer before the figure finally entered the hut and upon gazing at the leader of the band who had saved her, the former champion noticed that the once innocent look in Keldeo's eyes was gone and was replaced with a solemn, wizened look that one would expect on someone who has experienced all of life's hardships.
"(...It's been a while,)" was all the former Sword of Justice could say as he conjured a ring of water and applied it to the wound on the former champion's throat which made the unbearable pain disappear and was replaced with a soothing sensation.
"(The injury on your throat is healed so you can talk a lot better, but it's only temporary,)" Keldeo informed the teacher who nodded and wiggled around on her makeshift bed of leaves and vines with a grimace.
"Did you manage to get Braviary's body?" Karen immediately asked causing the legendary to nod shortly causing the former champion to let out a sigh of relief and put a hand on her chest.
"(We did, and we buried him along with the rest of our fallen,)" the former Sword of Justice responded causing Karen to nod and sit up a bit with a grimace causing Elise's eyes to widen and put a hand on the teacher's shoulder to help her up.
"I would like to see him when I'm able," Karen requested causing Keldeo to nod before conjuring another ring of water and applying it to the wound on the former champion's throat.
"(Of course, I will have Elise accompany you when you regain some function in your legs,)" Keldeo bluntly responded causing the former champion to nod in thanks and look up at the ceiling of the hut before looking back at the former Sword of Justice.
"Bisharp told me that he took away me ability to birth more children; was what he said..." Karen trailed off before looking away causing the former Sword of Justice to close his eyes and solemnly sigh before nodding slowly.
"(I'm sorry, Karen; my medics tried their best, but the damage was too extensive. I'm afriad you'll never be able to have a child again,)" Keldeo reluctantly told the former champion who covered her eyes with her hands and sobbed for a bit before wiping away her tears with the back of her hand and staring off to the side with her eyes downcast.
"Oh," was all the former champion could say in a tone barely above a whisper causing the former Sword of Justice to take a step forward before looking down at the ground and backtracking.
"(If it's any consolation, my medics managed to heal some of the injuries you gained while in the custody of the New Swords of Justice,)" Keldeo hesitantly stated causing the former champion to roll onto her back with a wince before staring at the youngest former member of the Swords of Justice with a raised brow.
"S-some?" Karen confusedly said causing the legendary pokemon to nod and slowly approach the former champion's makeshift bed and stood a few feet away from her.
"(Yes, Bisharp and whoever was looking after you used the same torture technique my former mentors used on prisoners they wanted to keep alive in the long run. Basically, Cobalion, Virizion, Terrakion , or I would place some of their energy into certain parts of someone's body which would burn them internally which would obviously cause great pain, but also slow down the body's healing process,)" Keldeo explained to the former champion who shuddered and felt a cold chill go down her spine as the legendary pokemon let out a soft sigh and conjured more water before applying it to Karen's injury on her throat.
"And that's what Bisharp and his cronies did to me?" Karen stuttered as another cold chill went down her spine before hugging herself with her one usable arm causing the former Sword of Justice to sigh heavily.
"(Yes, but you're safe with us, and we will continue to expunge the harmful energy within you,)" Keldeo attempted to reassure the former champion who softly grunted in response and looked up at the ceiling of the hut long and hard before staring at the legendary who raised a brow.
"So while you were missing, you were leading these guys against Bisharp and his friends?" Karen questioned the legendary who shook his head and conjured another ring of water as the other one ebbed away before placing it on the wound on Karen's throat.
"(Not exactly; when I felt I had finished figuring out what was noble and ignoble without my mentor's influence, I came across Stoutland who let me stay with him and his kin so when the war restarted I was already helping out around here. At first, we were just protecting as many as our brethren as we could from the New Swords of Justice, but as the attack on Hearthome demonstrated, simply reacting to our enemy's actions was no longer a viable strategy,)" Keldeo elaborated causing Karen to nod slowly and with a wince, sat up a bit with Elise's help causing the former champion to nod at the student who nodded back and sat down next to her.
"Yeah, and as you can see, Bisharp is willing to go to the extreme if his group gets pushed into a corner," Karen mumbled as the muscles in her good arm trembled violently causing the former champion to hiss and gnash her teeth together while Elise went to work massaging her arm before Keldeo closed his eyes and encased her arm in a seal of water.
"(Believe me, I more than know what he's capable of,)" Keldeo responded solemnly as the former champion leaned back and sighed softly as the water around her arm made her feel no pain and to her surprise was able to move it around somewhat normally.
"Since you say that, I'm assuming that's why Elise and Zach are a part of your group now? To protect them from Bisharp?" Karen inquired causing the legendary to nod while the Queen of Fire blushed and rubbed her arm sheepishly causing the former champion to raise a brow.
"(Elise, why don't you explain to our guest why you and Zach are a part of my group as Karen says?)"Keldeo requested of the Queen of Fire by forming water into the shape of words causing Elise to rub her arm frantically before letting out a heavy sigh and putting her hands on her legs before looking at the former champion.
"Okay, just try to not get mad. I...may have bitten off more than I could chew," Elise began while rubbing the back of her head causing Karen to narrow her eyes and put a hand on her chest while Keldeo blankly watched the student off to the side.
"Geez, first Castelia nearly gets leveled, then that city in Sinnoh got attacked, and now they took Mrs. Long for whatever reason? These New Swords of Justice guys are serious trouble," Elise mused as she ducked underneath a branch and pushed her way through the foliage while her companion let out a heavy sigh and followed behind her.
"That's why we've been attacking their camps instead of sitting on our butts at home," Elise's companion responded curtly causing the Queen of Fire to laugh softly and hold her hand up causing her comrade to stop in his tracks as Elise knelt down to examine footprints in the ground.
"Yeah, but to be honest I'm actually kjnd of surprised you're trying to help out. I mean, I know you're trying to be a better person ever since Dmitri beat you, but I didn't think you'd go this far," Elise replied while looking back at her traveling companion and motioning with her hand for them to follow her which her comrade did.
"I guess you could say I'm trying to make up for the asshole I was; I already gave the police evidence of my family trying to rig league matches, I apologized to almost everyone I bullied, and I refunded all of the money to the trainers who have membership in my family's training facility. I just think I need to go a step further, you know?" Elise's friend said right back with a shrug causing the Queen of Fire to nod slowly and maneuver around some bushes while her friend jumped over them and landed in a low crouch.
"Almost everyone?" Elise inquired while seeing more footprints on the ground and followed them while keeping her guard up while her friend did the same and kept a hand over a pokeball on his belt.
"Dmitri and Delia are Arceus knows where so I haven't gotten the chance to apologize for being such a dick to them," Elise's companion responded causing the Queen of Fire's eyes to widen and stared at her friend curiously before shaking her head and continuing to creep forward before beckoning her friend behind some bushes.
"I guess it's a good thing Dmitri's Mienshao kicked Golden Streak's ass then," Elise whispered causing both herself and her friend to chuckle under their breathes as the Queen of Fire's companion rubbed the back of his head before peeking over the bush.
"Yeah, I guess it is; I wouldn't have gotten to where I was if Dmitri didn't show me the way," Zach responded with a small grin on his face as he saw pokemon patrolling Victory Road like sentries and going about either making meal for their comrades, setting up temporary shelters, or just talking with one another.
"Same here; I lost to Delia a lot, and I mean a lot, but it's not until Dmitri beat me that I stepped back and reevaluated my battling style. If I see him again, I'm going to thank him...and ask for a rematch," Elise said quietly with a smirk on her face before replacing it with a calm, stoic expression as she surveyed the camp intently before Zach patted her shoulder and pointed at something near a cave causing the Queen of Fire to focus on what he was pointing at.
"Alright, so this is where they were taking Mrs. Long after they grabbed her back at the academy. Sheesh, this isn't how I pictured my day going when I just wanted to drop in at the academy and say hi to Malakai, Hope, and Mrs. Long," Elise mumbled as she continued to discreetly overlook the camp until she saw one of the pokemon, a powerful looking Conkeldurr, roughly toss the unconscious body of Karen onto the ground eliciting a grunt from the former champion.
"They already captured her, what more do they..." the Queen of Fire trailed off as her blood boiled when she witnessed the New Swords of Justice brutally snapping Karen's limbs like twigs with audible snaps while savagely pummeling certain areas until nasty, purplish black bruises formed.
Zach immediately grabbed his friend's arm and put a hand on her shoulder as Elise's teeth gnashed together as she continued to watch this horrible display while Zach nearly upchucked his lunch when he saw Karen's fingers being contorted in the wrong in the direction.
"Elise, no, we're outnumbered and outgunned. Let's think about this before we jump in," Zach tried to reason with the Queen of Fire who balled her hand into a fist and hatefully glared at the pokemon below who continued to brutalize the former champion.
At that moment, Elise didn't care. She knew Zach was right, and since her battle with Dmitri, she tried to not blindly charge into battle, but seeing what Karen was being subjected to made her throw logic out the window. Breaking free from her friend's grip, Elise charged down the hill while Zach futiely tried to call her back before the Queen of Fire with his words going unheeded as the student unclipped her two pokeballs from her belt and threw them in front of her.
"Coal, use flare blitz on Conkeldurr! Soot, give us some cover!" Elise shouted determinedly as her two Emboars materialized in front of her as Coal coated itself in a bright, reddish orange aura and slammed into the fighting type with reckless abandon.
Conkeldurr grunted as the burly fighting type crashed into it causing a stream of flames to erupt from the aura and scatter over the area causing large patches of flames akin to sunspots to form across the area forcing some pokemon back while others cried out in pain as they tried to escape the hellish flames burning their flesh. Soot covered the area with a black, thick smog that immediately caused the pokemon in the area to break into a fit of violent coughs while others covered their eyes and tried to escape the fog causing Elise to seize the chance rush over to Karen.
"Alright, Mrs. Long. Let's get you out of-" Elise started to say until Coal suddenly flew past her and unintentionally struck the Queen of Fire in the face with its elbow causing the student to yelp as her head snapped back and harshly hit the ground where she felt like her entire world had gone out of sync.
Groaning, Elise groggily pushed Coal off of her and gasped when she saw giant, fist like indents on her friend's arms, chest, and face before quickly turning her head when she heard something snap like a board and covered her mouth when she Soot's arm bent at an unnatural angle while trapped underneath Conkeldurr's armpit. Forgetting her pain, Elise rose to her feet and charged at the muscular fighting type who had forced Soot to the ground with a vicious headbutt and broke the hog's nose with a brutal punch that splayed blood across the grass and released Soot who slowly collapsed on its side and lay deathly still.
In her anger, Elise tried to tackle the fighting type's knee in an attempt to take her foe's legs out from underneath it, but she might as well have been trying to push a mountain as Conkeldurr let out an amused laugh as it didn't budge when Elise was using all the strength her body could muster. With a smirk, Conkeldurr brought its arm up and smashed it down onto the Queen of Fire's back making the student screech as she felt as if someone had brought a sledgehammer down onto her spine and hit the ground face first where she whimpered miserably.
Weakly looking over her shoulder, she saw Zach had been subdued long before he could have sent out Golden Streak and was lying in a pool of his own blood while being surrounded by a squad of Bisharps who seemed eager to rip him to shreds at the slightest provocation. Turning her attention back to Karen, she helplessly reached out as a Galvantula put the former champion on its back and scuttled into the dark labyrinth with its captive causing Elise to weakly pound her fist on the ground. Looking to her left, she saw a pair of Watchogs toss a Braviary into a ditch with regretful looks in their eyes before turning away causing Elise to raise a brow before howling in agony as Conkeldurr stomped down onto the fingers on one of her hands as hard as it could.
Elise screamed and desperately tried to remove the weight on her hand while tears streamed down her face, but it was no use causing the Queen of Fire to look up at her attacker before her breathe hitched as Conkeldurr raised one of its concrete pillars overhead. Elise yelped and began rapidly punching the Conkeldurr's foot until the bones in her fingers shattered and blood flowed down her knuckles like water before just covering her head with her hand, tightly shutting her eyes, and clenching her teeth.
"I'm sorry, everyone," Elise thought to herself as she felt Conkeldurr's weight shift and unconsciously let out a terrified scream before earth shaking explosions rocked the area causing the weight on her back to leave her and heard the fighting type cry out in pain as something picked him up and harshly slammed him onto the ground.
Too terrified to even open her eyes to see what was going on, Elise yelped as something exploded next to her which caused bits of shrapnel to graze her arms and legs causing the student to curl into a ball.
"(Come, little one. We need to move!)" a sudden voice in her head urged her while something nudged her arm causing the Queen of Fire to hesitantly open her eyes and saw a Reuniclus concernedly staring down at her before gently graspng her elbow and helping her to her feet.
"W-wait! Are Zach, Coal, and Soot okay!?" Elise frantically asked her ally after forgetting her fear for the moment causing the cell pokemon to nod and usher her and itself behind a boulder as the explosions increased intensity.
"(My comrades are already taking them back to our camp which is where we need to go now before the distraction team is overwhelmed!)" the cell pokemon responded as calmly as it could while peeking its head out of cover and surveying the area for an intense, brief moment before patting her shoulder and gesturing toward the trees.
Nodding, Elise scurried over to the trees with Reuniclus's hand on her shoulder before the Queen of Fire's eyes lit up and suddenly stopped in her tracks before glancing at the cell pokemon with her eyes wide.
"W-wait, we still need to rescue Mrs. Long!" Elise shouted causing the cell pokemon to shake its head and gently moved the Queen of Fire behind the trees as the explosions started to die down.
"(Don't worry, we'll get her, but not today! It's a miracle we were even able to rescue you and your friends!)" Reuniclus shouted as a group of Herdiers and a Stoutland ran past them causing the Queen of Fire to reluctantly nod and follow the canines with the cell pokemon easily keeping pace with her.
"Reuniclus told me that he and his scouting party were trying to gather intel when they saw we needed help. He's now Zach and I's guardian, but unfortunately my fingers had to get amputated because they were broken beyond repair, but on the plus side, I got these cool prosthetic ones!" Elise stated while holding up her hands with a nervous laugh causing the former champion to narrow her eyes as she saw sleek, metallic prosthetic fingers on the Queen of Fire's hands.
"Elise, I greatly appreciate the attempted rescue, but you should have thought things through! What if Keldeo's friends weren't there, what do you think would have happened to you, Zach, Coal, and Soot!?" Karen chatised the Queen of Fire who pursed her lips and rapped her hand against her leg before shrugging causing the former champion to sit up and glare at the student.
"We would have...died," Elise squeaked while wiping away a tear with the back of her finger causing the teacher to nod and with a grimace, put a hand on the Queen of Fire's shoulder causing the student to look at Karen in the eyes.
"Yes, which is why you need to work on stepping back and thinking things through like Dmitri showed you," Karen calmly, but sternly advised the student who nodded determinedly before Keldeo cleared his throat causing the former champion and the Queen of Fire to glance at the legendary who began forming words out of water.
"(Why don't you got to Reuniclus for combat training to help curb your impulsiveness?)" Keldeo suggested causing Elise to raise a brow before eagerly nodding and waving goodbye to Karen who tiredly waved back before the Queen of Fire skipped out of the room.
With Elise gone, Karen gripped her pant leg tightly and glowered at Keldeo who blankly looked back at her and pursed his lips as the former champion put her hand on her belly.
"What were you thinking!? Elise was terrified of the New Swords of Justice and you thought bringing her on the rescue mission was a good idea!?" Karen incredulously screeched while making sure to keep her voice down causing the former Sword of Justice to nod regretfully causing the teacher to gnash her teeth.
"(At the time, I thought it was; Reuniclus informed me that she wanted to help and seeing as how she quickly learned how to use her prosthetics and that she was a capable trainer, I thought it'd be wise to bring her and Zach along. Later on I realized my folly, but that's still something I should have considered before bringing her along; I guess I'm not completely free of my former mentor's influence just yet,)" Keldeo solemnly stated while sighing heavily causing Karen to retract her hand rub the back of her head before letting out a breathe.
"You're trying to be better though which is what counts," Karen assured the legendary who grinned ever so slightly before returning to a stoic expression causing the former champion to lay back on her bed and blankly stare at the former Sword of Justice.
"(I'll send over one of our Gurdurrs for your physical therapy later, but for now, get some rest,)" Keldeo requested causing Karen to nod and purse her lips before sitting up causing the legendary to raise a brow and tilt its head.
"When all's said and done, will you become a Sword of Justice again?" Karen inquired curiously causing Keldeo to shake his head solemnly and let out a heavy sigh causing the former champion to put a hand on her gut.
"(I had my chance...and failed; the best I can do is just to make sure whoever inherits the mantle of leaders of my brethren will not repeat the mistakes my mentors and I made,)" Keldeo replied sadly before walking out of the hut causing Karen to reach out towards him before he disappeared from view causing the former champion to sigh and look up at the ceiling of the hut while thinking of how Dmitri was doing.