((I know this chapter is also late, but this time, I've actually already had it ready for a couple days. The only thing stopping me from posting it is my proofreader got insanely busy over the past week. In fact, it STILL hasn't been proofread. That said, I didn't wanna make you guys wait any longer for this chapter, so I'm posting it now and I'll have the updated version next month, along with the new chapter for March. It's still going to have similar events either way. Also, to my proofreader, if you happen to see this, I do not blame you in the slightest. Life stuff happens, so don't fret about it. I still very much appreciate your help.

Also, I feel like this isn't my best chapter, but I guess it kinda had to be that way after previous events, and this is shaping up to be a long term plot rather than a quick adventure. Things are gonna pick up again, and as they do, Alex is gonna be in some hot water. As always, comments and constructive criticism is always appreciated. Thanks for reading, guys!))

The first thing Alex noticed when he blinked his eyes open was the rhythmic slow paced beeping. The second thing he noticed was that he was not in his room again. The room was pure white and the bed felt a bit stiffer than normal. He tried and failed miserably to lift his head. He let out a stiff exhale through his nose, feeling an intense wave of pure fatigue wash over him. 'Oh fuck... what hit me?'

"Alex?" a familiar female voice spoke in a trembling tone.

Alex turned his head to meet the owner of the voice. He groaned and blinked through the tiredness, trying to focus. "Ungh... Cassie...?"

His sister's shocked face broke into a mix of emotions as her lip began to quiver and tears started welling up in her already red eyes. She halfway jumped onto his bed to embrace him and broke down crying hysterically. "Oh thank God you're okay! The doc said you'd be fine, but you were so badly hurt and it was days since then, no one knew when you were gonna wake up! And the way you got hurt was super scary-"

Alex grimaced as his sister went on, tapping her multiple times to get her attention. "Cassie! Ow ow, please get off!" he grunted as forcefully as he could manage.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" Cassie shot back up to get off of her brother, but she ended up kneeing Alex's side in the process, causing him to double over in pain. Cassie jerked herself back even further, losing her balance and briefly falling on the floor, before she picked herself back up. "Oh god oh god, I'm so sorry, oh god!" As Alex as he lay groaning in pain attempting to calm himself down, Cassie nervously hovered her hands back and forth over his body as if she wanted to help his brother somehow in spite of not knowing how. "Uumm... uuhh..." after several seconds of this, Cassie ended up just pressing a button on a nearby control panel and sat herself back down on a bedside chair, content to not mess anything else up.

After several moments of writhing in pain, Alex felt it start to ebb to a manageable level and straightened back up in his bed. "Nnf... first off, ow-"

"I said I was sorry!" his sister whined. She did look like she was in emotional turmoil. She was on the verge of tears.

Alex gave another grunt of discomfort as he settled back down and glanced at his sister. Feeling a pang of guilt, he let his head drop onto the pillow, giving a sigh, and he tentatively held out an arm for her. "Just... be gentle, okay? Everything hurts."

Cassie cautiously approached her brother, worried one wrong move would break him, and knelt down to tenderly rest her head beside his chest, letting out a single sob in doing so. "I'm sorry if I hurt you. I was just so scared you were gonna die," she whispered fearfully.

Another pang of guilt, causing him to unconsciously hold Cassie closer. "It's.. not a big deal. I know you didn't mean it. But anyway, second thing. Where... am I? And what even happened?" he asked, both trying to recall the events leading up to the present and change the topic away from his sister accidentally hurting him.

Cassie opened her mouth to respond and managed to get 'they said you got-' in before the door to Alex's room opened up, interrupting Cassie, and revealing a tall and skinny but muscular man with spiky black hair. "Hey, he's awake! Fantastic!" he said in a faux-surprise jubilation with a deeper voice than Alex would've otherwise imagined on a guy like him.

Alex studied the man and blinked through the fatigue and pain, trying to focus and make sense of the new person in the room. "Are you uh... are you the doctor? Why am I here?"

The man shook his head and moved to Alex's bedside, opposite of Cassie. "You're in the ICU. And I'm not the doctor. I'm the nurse that's taking care of you. Gene Braxton, at your service. And you must be..." he trailed off, hinting towards Alex in a friendly manner to complete the thought.

Alex was slightly perplexed. "Um... Alex. Alex Lawrence. Nice to meet you," Alex said, trying to match the nurse's friendly manner.

"Likewise, Alex. And as for what happened, I was kinda hoping you could tell me that. Can you recall anything that led up to your stay here?"

Alex tried remembering what happened. There was... a bar in Austin? Did he get into a bar fight? No, that couldn't have been it. He doesn't even like bars. As much as Alex tried, he was concerned to find he was drawing a blank in his memory. "U-um... no. Should I?"

The nurse shook his head. "Not necessarily right away. What happened to you was pretty rough. Don't worry, you're just fine now. Completely out of danger by this point," the man was quick to reassure before Alex could register any feeling of panic, "and I am going to fill you in, so don't worry about that. Before that though, are there any nearby family or loved ones you'd like us to notify of your improved condition?"

Alex groaned slightly, pinching at his head with a few fingers. This was a lot to take in right away for the state he was in. "My mom and dad both live in North Austin, pretty close to me. I-I suppose I could give you their numbers. Would that be okay?"

The nurse took notice of Alex's motion to his head and his expression became a little more thoughtful. "That'll work just fine. In a bit, though. First off, I need to ask a quick question. How are you feeling right now? Any pain that's more noticeable than anything else? And does your head feel okay?

Alex shook his head. "Not really. I mean, pretty much everything hurts, so there's no one pain that I can single out. And I feel just drained, but I'll get over it... also, my head feels fine. Why, did something happen to it?"

The nurse nodded and smiled again. "That's good to hear. Some body-wide pain and fatigue is expected right now. Glad to hear your head is doing fine, though. You banged it up pretty good on the way down, which can sometimes affect a person's ability to retain information."

Alex's eyed widened the slightest amount. "I fell and hit my head? What, did I get a concussion? And how come everything else hurting is normal?"

Nurse Braxton's facial features softened up slightly as he prepared to recount the events. "Before anything else, lemme tell you that the good news is, you got incredibly lucky. You had multiple bruises, fractures, and debris related body injuries, some of which had to be removed from your body; and to top it off, you had a rather nasty cut and bruise on the back of your head, leading to a very alarming level of blood loss when you initially came in. Despite all of that, none of the damage was permanent. The debris that had to be removed from you was small and few in numbers, and none of them hit vital organs. Your blood type is A positive, which is one of the most common blood types, meaning even in the hectic past couple weeks, you were never in danger of bleeding out due to shortage in blood. And all other physical injuries you sustained will heal on their own with time. You should make a full recovery given a few more days time both in and out of the hospital. You even somehow avoided a concussion altogether."

Alex's eyes widened more and more as he fully grasped the enormous metaphorical bullet he apparently dodged, both simultaneously felt a wave of relief and a jolt of fear as he started to realize that whatever happened to him was no small event and he basically managed to avoid the worst of it in an almost miraculous fashion. He felt his sister holding onto his arm tighter and he gave a stiff nod, signaling the nurse to continue.

Nurse Braxton took his cue to continue. "As for what exactly happened, there was an incident that took place in downtown Austin a couple days ago. There were a couple of creatures that got involved in an altercation in a bar, and it somehow led to someone setting off a concussive blast inside the establishment."

Alex's emotions rapidly shifted from shock, to alarmed, to anger and irritation. "It was a pokemon battle? Inside a BAR? What... but why?" he asked forcefully, starting to process what exactly happened that affected him. Then an additional detail finally clicked in his head. "Hold up, did you say a couple days ago? was I out for that long? It's still August, right?" he asked starting to become alarmed.

The Nurse gave a placating smile. "Not to worry, Alex, it's pretty normal for someone to be out for that long after sustaining the injuries you got. But as I said, you're out of danger, and you just need some bed rest now."

Alex's alarm faded again, paving way for the irritation he still had at the reason he was there in the first place. "Okay whatever, but you mentioned a couple of idiots deciding to have a pokemon battle in a downtown bar of all places as the reason I'm here?"

Nurse Braxton shook his head slightly. "Sort of, but not exactly. I don't know much about pokemon, but I can safely guess that they're meant to be friendly sporting contests of strength, similar to MMA or boxing, yes?"

Alex raised an eyebrow, not liking the direction this was going. "Yeeaa...? Was this not that?"

"Unfortunately, no. The reports from bystanders and the police both said that the two creatures got into an argument of some sort until it reached a level where one of them transformed first and assaulted the other. It was less a 'battle' and more a 'brawl.'"

Alex clenched both his fists, ignoring the pain, and gritted his teeth. The rhythmic beeping that could be heard in the room began steadily increasing in pace. "Are you telling me that the reason I'm in here to begin with is because two dumbasses that happened to be pokemon got into a DRUNKEN BAR FIGHT?! Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Alex yelled out in a loud enough voice that he'd be sure any neighboring room's would've heard it if he was concerned about something like that at the moment. But he was not.

Nurse Braxton didn't miss a beat. "I can imagine how you feel, and I deeply apologize for your situation. But would it make you feel better if I told you that you don't need to worry about costs at all? The two men that caused the fight are in police custody, and since one or both of them are directly responsible for harm that came your way, they'll be the ones liable for all your bills."

Alex's rage shifted to worry again, having not even considered how much it may cost. "What if it's more than they can afford? I mean, I imagine I'm not the only one they hurt, right?"

"Doesn't matter. They still caused it. They can file for bankruptcy if the cost is too much to handle, but at the end of the day, however the bills get paid, it won't be from your end."

Alex blinked and just let his head sink back into the pillow. 'I'm still too tired for this shit.' "Alright, fine... still pissed the fuck off that they decided to pull that shit, but as long as they're getting their just desserts for it... ugh, fuck them, though," Alex bitterly spat to no one in particular. He once again tried to recall the events of that day, and for a brief moment, an image of sixth street flickered in his mind, but unfortunately, he was still drawing a blank for the most part. He gave a frustrated grunt and decided to ask something else that may jog his memory. "Out of curiosity though, what pokemon were they?"

The nurse chuckled and leaned back against the wall. "Well I'm not much of a pokemon expert, so I couldn't tell you what they were. Only what the police described them as."

Alex gave a dismissive hand wave before letting his arm fall limply on the bed. "That's fine. I'm good with pokemon."

The nurse gave a nod and seemed to be contemplating his memory. "Let's see... I think they described the first one as a chipmunk."

Alex lifted his head again. "A chipmunk?" 'Patrat, maybe?'

"Yea, they said he looked like a chipmunk with a spiky green hat or crown or whatever you'd call it."

Alex gave a confused frown for a brief moment, then made an 'ah' face. "That sounds kinda like a chespin to me. And believe it or not, it's a hedgehog. Not a chipmunk."

Nurse Braxton shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I never saw either of them. Just heard the police reports."

Alex gave a nod. The chespin, much to Alex's disappointment, wasn't ringing any bells, so he may not have even seen it. May as well get information on the other one. "Fair enough. And the other?"

The nurse looked a little unsure of himself. "I'm not a hundred percent certain I heard this one correctly, to be fair, but I think they mentioned something about a tan and rust red colored golem?"

Alex felt a chill go down his spine at the word 'golem'. That was the name of another pokemon in and of itself, but the way it was being described made Alex think it was something different. The coloration... tan and rust red... 'Wait a minute, that description sorta sounds like a...' "Regirock," Alex whispered the last word out loud, getting the attention of his sister and the nurse.

Cassie gently prodded Alex's side. "Did you say something Alex?"

The nurse leaned in a bit closer. "Rejrock? Did I hear that right?"

Alex, however, paid both of them no mind. His memory began to flash back to the moment of the explosion. 'The regirock... the explosion... I was- no, I saw it. Then when did I...?'

Cassie clutched Alex's arm firmly. "Alex? Hey Alex, you okay?"

Alex started breathing faster as the memories began to come back to him. He was downtown... why was- to get his car, right. He was with one of his coworkers... Nick. 'He wanted to show me a place... but then he got distracted by- oh FUCK.' Alex felt a jolt of terror again. He remembered what had happened. He faced Nurse Braxton with panic etched on his face. "Nurse you gotta tell me how Nick is doing," he almost shouted out, rapidly.

The nurse was taken aback by the sudden shift in tone and the seemingly random request. "Um, hold up, who's-"

"NICHOLAS CALDWELL. He was with me when the blast happened. He's not family, but he's my coworker and my friend, so please tell me- agh!"Alex began sitting further and further up until he was almost off the bed, causing him to wince in pain at his body screaming for him to keep still and get some rest. But this did little to stop Alex, who continued his panicked pleading towards the nurse. "Please tell me if he's okay!"

The nurse's gaze hardened as Alex became more mobile, and he fixed a stern look towards him. "Sir, I need you to return to bed. You're not in any con-"

Alex was having none of it. "I don't care about me! what about Nick? He was hurt worse-"

"Sir, get back into bed now! You're not helping anything!" The nurse commanded in a tone that wasn't so much loud as it was powerful and authoritative.

Alex flinched and simply stared at the nurse with a stunned look, too surprised to continue speaking or panicking for the moment.

Nurse Braxton momentarily closed his eyes and took an eight second breath to calm himself. Alex looked away from him as he did so, feeling no less fear for his friend, but a jolt of shame and humility. The past week must have been hell for people even closely related to his profession, and here Alex was probably not making things any easier. He felt the bed shift and he glanced behind him to see his sister slowly coming up to his side. "Alex...?" she spoke in a soft, fearful voice. Alex gave her a downcast gaze and motioned her to sit by him on the bedside, which she did after a moment's hesitation. Alex pulled her into a side arm hug, thankful she was here at the moment.

The nurse opened his eyes again and his gaze was once again gentle. "I understand your concerns. I really do. And I will gladly share what I know about him, seeing as it's very obvious you're acquainted with him, but you have to understand something before and after I tell you. You won't be able to do anything," Alex flinched at this, but this didn't stop the nurse, "I know it sounds harsh, but you have to realize, he's under our care. And we've got the best doctors and nurses on duty with centuries of combined medical knowledge and experience. I understand your fears, but even if you were miraculously one hundred percent recovered right this very second, there still isn't going to be anything that you can do that we can't. I'm not saying this to make you feel helpless. I'm saying this so you don't prolong the recovery process for yourself. You got lucky enough as it stands. I don't want you making things worse on yourself for no reason."

Alex wanted so badly to argue his points, but as the nurse went on, his gaze drifted further and further away as he realized the nurse's logic was sound and there really was nothing Alex could do. He was helpless. Tears began to well up in his eyes and he took a shaky breath. He gave a stiff nod, still unable to look at the nurse. "How... um... how bad is he? Is he okay?" he asked, voice breaking.

"He... sustained injuries far worse than yours. He had multiple broken and fractured bones, debris that actually did hit internal organs which caused internal bleeding-"

Alex started feeling the tears fall from his face and he buried his head into the palms of one of his hands. "Oh no," he whispered in a broken voice that was barely audible to anyone.

"-as well as a bad concussion on the front of his head and a smaller one on the back. we were thankfully able to stop the bleeding and get him stabilized, but... he hasn't woken up yet. He's in a coma."

Although Alex thought in the back of his mind that having hope was pointless, he did feel a small glimmer of one, hearing that Nick was at least stable and alive. "B-but he's gonna be okay, right? I mean I only woke up just now and I'm going to be fine. You said so yourself!" Alex said, looking back up to the nurse in desperation.

Nurse Braxton gave a headshake. "It's a bit different with you. It's pretty standard for a patient to be out for a day or two after recovering from a traumatic injury, and you didn't suffer any concussions. Nicholas, on the other hand, suffered two. And it can be pretty hard coming back from that after being knocked unconscious. Furthermore," the nurse continued, anticipating an objection from Alex, "he hasn't been responsive to any external stimulus. See, the way comas work, to put it simply, is that it's not just an 'is he or isn't he' type of thing. You can have varying levels of consciousness or response to stimulus even in the midst of one. You were still rather responsive to pain, questions or commands, and even opened your eyes for brief moments while you were still unconscious and being cared for. Nick has... none of that, I'm afraid. He's unfortunately under one of the deepest comas possible without actually passing away."

As quickly as it came, the spark of hope that Alex had for his friend's safety was quickly being snuffed. "But.. he'll wake up soon at some point, right?" he asked dimly in a vain attempt to recover any level of hope.

The nurse carried on with his gentle gaze, but Alex could tell, much to his dismay, that there was an air of sadness around him. "He may, but are no guarantees he'll wake up anytime soon. Comas can last anywhere from multiple days, to several months, to even years. Nick had two pretty bad concussions associated with his coma, so the likelihood of him waking up within the next couple months is not great. And I'm sorry to say, but even if he did manage to wake up if given enough time, there's a high likelihood that he may not fully recover mentally, if he does at all."

Alex just stared in dismay for several seconds, barely aware of his sister wrapping her arms around him in an effort to comfort him. Alex lowered his head and buried it in the palms of his hands. "Oh God... Nick, no. No. No..," he wept silently with his voice breaking.

"I'm truly sorry. We're giving him the best care we can, but the rest is up to him," the nurse concluded gently.

Alex let his tears soak the palms of his hands, his pain momentarily forgotten as it was temporarily replaced by guilt and shame. 'I could've saved him. I even told him about me being a mew. I could've pulled him away. I could've...' Alex held his head down, letting tears fall as he sorted through his emotions and stresses. After an eternity, he lifted his tear stained head back up and gave a shaky sigh. "Thank you. Nurse Braxton. I'm uh... I'm sorry for the trouble," he muttered in a defeated tone.

The nurse was writing a quick note of some sort on a piece of paper, looking very somber as he did so, before switching his attention back to Alex. "It's okay. Trust me, I understand where you're coming from. Hey, I'm incredibly sorry to leave you like this, but I've got to go tend to other patients. Get some rest. You're gonna be here for one more night for an observational period, but if your recovery goes to plan- and it should- then you'll be discharged tomorrow afternoon after getting a recovery briefing," the nurse told him as he moved to the entrance of the room.

Alex gave a stiff and slow nod as he carefully shifted away from his sister, who in turn walked back to the bedside chair, and laid back in his bed, staring at the ceiling. The room was once again empty, save for Cassie.

"You gonna be okay, Alex?" she asked in a soft spoken voice.

Alex simply stared at the ceiling for several moment before responding. "I'll be fine eventually. I don't know when, though. Nick was- is a really good friend of mine." Cassie said nothing in response and the two just sat in silence for a few moment longer before Alex looked over to his sister with a small thought that had been nagging him for a bit. "Hey, how long have you been here? And where's Mom and Dad?"

Cassie shifted uncomfortably as if embarrassed to respond. "I um... well I walked here with Mom and Dad when we heard about you getting hurt, then I wanted to stay til you woke up."

Alex shook his head. "And you planned on getting home how?"

His sister, despite the situation, had a slightly indignant look on her face. "I can get a friend to pick me up, you know."

Alex gave a dry chuckle. 'Oh Cassie. ever easy to work up, even when I'm not even trying.' His amusement was very short lived, however. His mind was still swimming with new information and his own thoughts, and his fatigue was making it difficult to decipher it all. "Mkay, well do you think you can message them to do just that? I need to be alone right now," he muttered loudly enough to where she could hear him.

"But-"

"It's nothing against you. I'm glad you stayed to look after me. But you know I'm gonna be okay now, and I just... I-I have a lot to think about, and I'd rather be on my own for that."

Cassie gave a frustrated huff, but eventually gave a hesitant nod and got up, making her way towards the entryway to Alex's room. She paused and looked back at her brother. "You sure you're gonna be okay? Don't need anything else?"

"I'm sure. I really appreciate it."

Cassie gave Alex one last look of sympathy before stepping out, leaving Alex to his thoughts. He sank his head down on the pillow and simply stared at the ceiling as he let his mind run wild. It was a lot to take in. Landing himself in the hospital is one thing. Getting blown up by a pokemon was a different matter entirely. 'I suppose this means no pokemon traits whatsoever carry over to human form. Otherwise I probably wouldn't even be here right now. Well isn't that just the most convenient thing ever,' Alex thought with a dark sarcasm. 'Though I guess it wouldn't have really helped much in the end, since I'm gonna be okay, while Nick is... oh God, I really hope he wakes up just fine.' Alex blinked away a few more tears that had been welling up and shifted his mind away from Nick for the moment. worrying himself senseless was going to help nothing. 'Speaking of worrying themselves senseless, I wonder if Mom and Dad are doing alright. Probably blew up my phone with messages the moment they-'

Alex suddenly gasped as a thought came to him. "Oh shit, Eli!" he muttered out loud. 'Ooohh no, I really hope he doesn't think I abandoned him.' He rapidly scanned his surroundings for his phone and found it laying on his bedside table. He snatched it quickly and in record speed, he unlocked his phone and went to his messages. As he expected, both his parents flooded his phone with missed calls and text messages, but that wasn't his top priority. Alex was okay, and they'd soon find that out. Eli, however, was completely in the dark. Another wave of intense guilt washed over Alex as he read the few text messages Eli had sent him, the last one being a short and simple 'sorry if i was bothering you,' sent early that morning. Alex brought a palm to his forehead and gave a frustrated exhale. "Fuck, I am so so sorry, man," he whispered. Alex rapidly started typing a response, but only got so far before a female nurse peeked in.

"Alex Lawrence?"

Alex cursed under his breath. 'So much for having time to gather my thoughts.' "One sec." He deleted the start of his response and typed up a much shorter one for Eli. 'I'm so sorry. In the hospital. I'll be okay. Will explain later.' Alex sent the message and locked his phone. "Okay, what's up?" he asked the nurse.

"There's someone asking to visit you claiming they work with you named Preston Newberry."

Alex's eyes lit up. 'Oh shit, Preston's here!' "Oh! Uh, yes, I know him. Yea, that's fine. He can come in."

The nurse nodded and after a few moments of waiting, Preston walked in. Alex's eyes widened. Preston looked terrible. He looked a bit thinner than Alex remembered and he was showing obvious signs of exhaustion. "Holy shit, man. Are you okay?" Alex asked maybe a little too forcefully.

Preston gave a mirthless chuckle and sat down on the bedside chair. "I'm the one who should be asking that question. Didn't get hurt too bad, I hope?"

"No, I'm fine- well I'm gonna be, at least. Doc says the worst I got was a couple cracked ribs and some rocks and shit that needed removing from non vital spots."

Preston seemed to visibly relax the slightest amount... but also seemed a fair bit saddened for some reason. "Thank God. At least you're okay," Preston muttered.

That one comment added on to Alex's ever increasing list of worries. "Is that not the case for others?" he hesitantly asked.

Preston looked away. "Well duh. I'm pretty sure a few dozen million-"

Alex shot Preston the smallest of glares. "Preston, please don't dodge the question. Fuck's sakes, you look like shit, and you're not even the one in the hospital bed."

Preston returned Alex's small glare with a strong pointed one of his own. One that almost caused Alex to back down. Almost. Preston's glare melted into nothing. And in its place, Alex saw so many negative emotions that he couldn't even begin to list them all. And fatigue. Somehow, he looked even more exhausted than Alex was. "I saw Nick just before visiting you," he said simply, after several moments of waiting.

Alex's face fell. "And um... how bad was it?" he asked, sadly knowing full well what the answer is.

Preston glanced back up at Alex with a bitter expression. "Bad." He said nothing more at first, but after a frustrated sigh from Alex, Preston continued with an impatient grunt and an almost hostile tone. "I don't know what else you want me to say, man. I'm pretty sure you heard it from the doctor, himself. Lights out. No one home. Possibly permanent brain damage even if he wakes."

Alex flinched. He had indeed just talked to Nurse Braxton about that very subject, but the specific words 'permanent brain damage' hit Alex all over again as to how broken Nick was.

Preston shook his head. "Frankly, after getting a good look at him, I'm not even sure how he survived. He was broken and bruised so much it was like an artist tried using a sculpture as their personal painter's palette," he muttered grimly.

Alex shuddered at the incredibly vivid imagery Preston just gave him. He repeatedly hit his head against his pillow in despair. 'Damn it Nick, why did you have to go near that bar...' Tears started welling up again. Alex was ready to lose it again, but Preston went on, saying something Alex didn't expect.

"It was on the news, you know."

Alex rubbed away the tears and looked at his coworker. He was looking down with his arms resting on his knees, palms clasped together. "What was?" Alex asked.

"The explosion. The local media is all over this story. A pokemon causing an explosion that killed three people and injured multiple others?" Preston scoffed bitterly. "I'd be willing to bet the only reason why you, yourself aren't being hounded by those bloodthirsty reporters is cuz you're still in the hospital, and there were several dozen other witnesses and victims."

Alex's heart fell. "Woah hang on, the explosion killed three people?" Admittedly, it wasn't at all unthinkable, but even hearing about it was shocking.

Preston remained expressionless. "Well it did happen inside a bar, after all." Preston paused and shook his head, now looking up at the ceiling. "Pretty much everyone knows a pokemon was behind it all. Some are even calling this a terrorist attack."

"Wha- a terrorist attack? Why? This was just two idiots who got their heads too far up their asses!" Alex snapped in an indignant manner.

Preston finally glanced at Alex. His expression was one of pure bitterness. "I know that. But if I'm being honest, that may be worse than if it was intentional. One or both of them has a power sizing up to a stick of dynamite that they can use completely on a whim. And it ended up killing three people. Just like that. Possibly four, if Nick doesn't pull through," he finished in a distressed mutter.

Alex felt himself getting worked up at Preston's comments, but rather than press the issue, Alex noticed Preston was still deep in thought with a strong air of melancholy around him, and Alex forced himself to bench the issue for the time being for something a little more important. "Nick isn't the only one you're thinking about, is it." It was a statement rather than a question. "You're worried about someone else."

Preston gave no visible reaction beyond a single phrase. "Nope, he's the only one I'm worried about now."

Alex, to put it lightly, was very unsatisfied with this response. He reached over, resting a hand on Preston's shoulder, finally getting his attention. "Preston. Please," he asked gently, showing a great deal of concern to his coworker.

Preston gave a side eye look towards Alex, gently brushed Alex's hand off his shoulder, and once again continued staring into empty space. "I mean it. Nick is the only one I'm actively worried about right now."

Alex gave another frustrated exhale. "Preston-"

"He's the only one I have a reason to actually worry about after all. Aside from you, everyone else I know, friend or family member, that got directly affected by the pokemon crisis in some way... is already dead."

Alex's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "I... what?" he asked softly, unable to come up with a response to the bombshell Preston just put out.

Preston's gaze darkened and started rambling off names. "Cousin, crushed by an onix in a bus. High school friend, mentor, both car accidents. My aunt, burned alive in a building fire started by some fire pokemon. My... m-my dad," Preston had to pause and take a breath. To Alex's dismay, the normally hardy and stoic Preston was starting to break down into tears right in front of him. Preston somehow found the strength to continue the statement, "he was on a plane... probably on one of just a dozen flights that day that had both pilots turn into pokemon. And they lost control..." Preston trailed off, more tense than Alex had ever seen him. Preston ended up not finishing the statement, but it was hardly needed, as Alex could reasonably guess what happened after.

"Jesus Christ, man... I..." Alex couldn't even apologize properly. Those two words would probably be more like an insult to him than anything, given his circumstances.

Preston gave a couple of sharp shudders, which Alex recognized as him sobbing silently. Alex felt like he could do nothing as he watched his friend and coworker drown helplessly in his emotions after suffering an enormous loss. Preston sniffed and shook his head sharply in an attempt to control himself. "These pokemon are dangerous, man. It's horrifying what some of em could do. And believe me, I looked some of it up after turning into one. I know it was probably the regirock who set off that explosion. I mean," Preston paused and took a shaky breath, trying to calm down and keep himself from breaking down again, "it had only been about a week since the transformation occurred, and they already can cause lethal explosions. Imagine the destruction one could cause with the proper training... nightmare fuel." Preston clenched his fists. "I wish they never would've come. I wish I didn't have to deal with this... this parasite inside of me," he spat angrily, getting more and more worked up as he went on.

Alex was at a loss for words. He wasn't sure what to think about Preston's comments on their own, but he could hardly blame him for his vitriol towards pokemon, seeing as the transformation had inadvertently robbed him of a significant percentage of his family in an instant. Alex simply lay there with his mouth slightly agape.

Preston glanced back at Alex and instantly, all sign of malice disappeared from Preston's face. Preston winced and looked away from Alex again. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he muttered.

Alex came back to his senses and scrambled to come up with a response. "Uh- don't be, man. Like I said in the past- or I'm pretty sure I told you- not the point. I'm always here to listen if you need an ear." Alex stammered. 'Why the hell am I so awkward at the worst possible times...'

Preston shot Alex a disbelieving look. "I appreciate it."

Neither spoke much for several moments before Preston got up and started towards the exit. "I should get going. I just came to see if you were okay. I know I'm probably doing a shitty job of showing it, but I really am glad you're okay."

Preston's words were still bitter and filled with despair, but Alex could still tell he genuinely meant it. Despite the situation, Alex managed a small smile. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it. And please, if you ever need to vent, hit me up. Please. I can't say how much I'll be able to help, but if there's one thing I'm pretty damn good at, it's listening." 'Okay, less awkward. Nice recovery, Alex.' Alex had to suppress a grin when he saw a ghost of a smile from Preston.

"I may take you up on that." Preston started to exit, but before he completely walked out, he looked back at Alex with a pleading look. "Please be safe, though. You've seen first hand how dangerous pokemon can be. Just... please steer clear of them if you can. Just to be safe, you know."

Alex's smile faded, but he gave a nod, nonetheless. "I will."

Preston nodded back and left. Just like that, Alex was alone again. Preston's last several comments about pokemon and the dangers of them made him feel weird. Almost as if Preston felt like pokemon were destined to cause undue harm by their very nature. Alex momentarily shelved this thought, however, and recalled another key piece of information Preston shared with him. Namely that the explosion was on the local news. Alex whipped out his phone again and typed in 'pokemon explosion' in his browser.

Alex was surprised to see not only did he find the story instantly, but several major outlets had picked up on the story. It had gone viral. Alex's heart sank. 'I've got a very bad feeling about this.' He tapped a youtube video on one of the major news channels. It roughly recalled the events that took place that day and interviewed some witnesses to the event. They were hysterical and emotional for the most part, which is not unexpected, but a similarity Alex couldn't help but notice is that nearly everyone, even the cooler heads, were making comments on just how dangerous pokemon as a whole were. Not just this particular incident.

Alex tapped on other stories and it was more of the same. Much to Alex's surprise, some of the news organizations even cited some of the legendary pokemons' powers spoken in lore as to what they're capable of. The more Alex watched and the more comments he read on the subject, the more uncertainty, distrust, and in some cases, even flat out malice he saw towards pokemon. Soon enough, Alex found himself growing more and more afraid for his own well being.

Suddenly, it was starting to seem less and less like a good idea to let anyone know he was a mew.