-II-
The power flickers in the police station as the storm rages outside. The wind is gusting through the open doors, splashing rainwater onto Tapu Bulu and the woman they've dropped at Nanu's feet. The deity floats idly in place as they stare down at the kahuna. There are many things he wants to say to the guardian, but he decides to reserve them for when the situation isn't so dire.
His first thought is that Bulu has brought him a corpse. From the way she'd limply fallen to the floor, he's fully expecting not to find any vital signs, but as he gets closer he sees the slightest of movements from her breathing. He kneels beside her, pulling her dripping sienna hair away from her face. There's a few superficial cuts on her freckled cheeks and across the bridge of her aquiline nose. Her eyes are closed - lashes fluttering periodically.
"Why didn't you take her to Malie City?" Nanu asks, looking up at the guardian.
A deep rumbling resonates from Bulu's chest. Their tone is calm and even.
The vines holding the doors suddenly recede, causing them to slam shut. Bulu lays themselves on the floor, reclining on their side as they rumble again.
Apparently, according to Bulu, there's no real emergency.
"This sure as hell looks like an emergency," he growls back.
Bulu resumes their grumbling but it quickly exceeds Nanu's limited comprehension of the Fairy-type.
Mini pipes in with a few short barks and snarls. It's a dialogue he's much more familiar with and after a brief exchange between the two Pokémon, his Absol simply communicates 'asleep'. This puzzles the kahuna even more.
He brings his attention to the woman just as she stirs. She doesn't move much, merely bending her legs and shifting on her side. Her brows pinch a fraction and she sighs quietly.
Tapu Bulu was right, or at least, she certainly seemed to be asleep. The result of a Sleep Powder perhaps?
Nanu is quite familiar with the effects of sleep inducing moves on humans. He's had many encounters in his career where people have been hit by a stray Hypnosis, or stood too close to a Grass-type shedding their Spore. Though Pokemon-induced sleep is harmless in of itself, it isn't like regular sleep that one could simply wake from with a bit of rousing; the attack must wear off first.
But, if that's the case, it's merely a waiting game and he has a lot less to worry about.
Concluding it best not to leave her lying on the floor cold and saturated, Nanu calls his Absol over. Mini is at his side in a flash; alert and ready to assist. He helps Nanu roll the woman onto her back so that she can be lifted. As he scoops her up he notices the grains of sand sticking to her clothes.
Had Tapu Bulu found her in the Haina Desert?
He dares not to think of the possibility of her even being found in the Ruins of Abundance - the deity would not be this calm if that was the case. Regardless of which location she was in, neither of them are home to any wild Pokémon that can learn sleep-inducing moves - which leads into the concerning prospect of a trainer being involved.
It's far too easy for Nanu to start spiralling down the path of speculation. He can't tell if it's because of old cop habits or because Alola has had little in the way of challenging investigations that he's subconsciously looking for a mystery.
Nanu is surprised by how little effort it takes to lift her off the ground. She looks to be almost as tall as he is but there is hardly any weight to her. He can feel that the rain has chilled her substantially - not quite hypothermic, but it's a risk with how wet her hair and clothes are. Anything damp would be counterproductive to maintaining body heat and would have to be set aside. The crop jacket she's wearing has repelled much of the water from her arms and shoulders, but her exposed undershirt and shorts haven't fared well in the weather.
He carries her back towards the living quarters behind the station, scattering the curious Meowth that have woken from the commotion. Mini runs ahead, barking and alerting the rest of his Pokémon that have been waiting in the lounge. When Nanu arrives, his team has cleared the sofa, waiting at the edges of the room on standby. There's already a clean towel in Krooks's arms and Mini gestures with his horn to lay it out.
He places her down over the towel on the couch as his Honchkrow brings another over in his talons. He wraps the second one around her hair for the time being and sets to removing her saturated clothes.
"Alpha, fetch the first aid kit," he says while removing the long boots covering the woman's legs.
Alpha darts off, disappearing through the doorway in a blur of purple. She returns with the kit in her mouth and places it on the coffee table beside Nanu. He retrieves the emergency thermal blanket from inside the kit and tucks it around the woman's lower half since there didn't appear to be anything worse than a couple of bruises.
Removing her jacket reveals several smaller grazes along her arms. He unclips the waist belt and shoulder harness, then peels off her damp black tee. There is a series of dried blood streaks on her left arm. Following the stains on her russet skin he finds them originating from a puncture on the inside of her elbow. He frowns as he notices a similar wound on her right. Each discovery pushes Nanu deeper into confusion.
Nanu hears Creeps's frantic snuffling noises as the jewel-gremlin drags a heat pack along the floor. He's rarely had to use the thing, but he's glad he kept it. He takes it from Creeps, giving her a quick pat as thanks before placing the warm pack over the woman's legs.
The Meowth begin to crowd around as Nanu tends to her injuries. The felines trill and chatter among one another as they watch. The bold ones jump onto the backrest of the couch for a higher vantage point, completely intrigued by the unusual event taking place in their home. One young Meowth gets too close, reaching to paw at the shiny thermal blanket. Alpha makes a warning grumble in her throat and the little one backs off.
"Thanks," he says to her, not breaking focus on his task.
He finishes with the bandages on her arms and pulls the blanket up over her torso. Already there's a warmer flush to her skin which is an encouraging sign. As he tucks the edges under her shoulders and begins to properly dry the water from her hair, the towel catches against something on the back of her neck. He feels a sharp bristle at his fingertips and upon closer examination he finds a metallic object embedded just under the surface of her skin. It comes free without much resistance and Nanu promptly treats the site with some disinfectant before sticking a gauze patch over it.
He turns the metal piece over with the alcohol wipe in his hand, cleaning it off as he investigates. It appears to be a microchip; just over an inch long, rectangular and engraved with some kind of symbol in one corner. He isn't going to have much luck discerning it without some glasses - such was the trouble at his age - so he sets the chip aside.
With a sigh Nanu finally leans away, his eyes weary and back muscles aching. He glances over at the clock on the wall, shocked to find that it's only one-thirty in the morning. With all the energy he's exerted, he feels like it might as well have been four.
He goes to hang up the wet clothes, wringing out the excess water in the bathroom before hooking them up on some spare hangers to air out. He can't find any pockets and she didn't have a Trainer Card on her person to identify her. And he's presuming she's a Pokemon trainer; her clothes had the kind of flair most Ace Trainers favoured. Moreover, her belt and harness had clips specifically for attaching poke-balls. The fact she has neither ID nor Pokemon is deeply concerning.
Was she mugged? Put to sleep by an attacker's Pokemon, robbed of her belongings and dumped in the Haina desert? It's a logical explanation, but it doesn't account for the wounds in her arms or the strange microchip in her neck.
By Arceus's halo, he thought he left mysteries like these behind with his Interpol career.
The window shutters are rattling fiercely when Nanu returns to the living room. The downpour outside intensifies and the lights flicker again.
He'll have to call a paramedic, but he has the distinct feeling that the weather is too dangerous for anyone to come out, let alone carry a patient back to the hospital in Malie City. This also rules out driving his own vehicle, as the roads out here aren't sealed and would be hazardous with all the rain.
"Keep an eye on her for me," Nanu requests to his Pokemon, to which they all nod in affirmation. He catches Creeps eyeing the microchip on the coffee table and wisely chooses to take it with him.
He walks back into the station, hoping to at least try and get a call out for when the storm passes. For some reason Tapu Bulu is still loafing about in the doorway. The deity rumbles in a rising, curious tone and Nanu is baffled.
"Since when did you care about people?" He snorts.
Bulu doesn't answer; their gaze unwavering.
"She's sleeping - like you said. There's not much else I can do. If you wanted it off your conscience so badly, you should've gone to Malie City."
The deity's large tail bell chimes as they right themselves. They look at Nanu for a moment before turning away. Then, as mysteriously as they'd arrived, Tapu Bulu parts the door with summoned vines and silently departs.
Nanu knows the Tapu are cryptic at the best of times, but after all that has taken place tonight he can only look on in frustrated bewilderment. He waves his hand dismissively towards the doors, his annoyance growing at the sight of the puddle of water the deity has left behind.
He can deal with that later.
Nanu spends nearly a whole hour trying to reach the hospital in Malie City, but the interference makes the task near impossible. He places the phone down after another failed attempt and rubs at his eyes with the heels of his palms.
Even though the thunder is more distant now, the wind and rain is unrelenting. Nanu finds himself dozing at the desk, thoroughly worn out from the whole day. He startles awake when Alpha brushes her cheek against his side. She's calm, asking for no more than a pat.
"I'm getting too old for this," He sighs to her.
She chirrups back, slowly blinking her tired eyes at him.
As he runs his hands over Alpha's soft fur, he remembers the microchip he had pocketed to keep out of Creeps's reach. Fishing it out again, he flicks on the desk light for better visibility. He rummages for the reading glasses he normally leaves here, eventually finding them under a loose sheet of paper on the top of his file organiser.
Alpha is equally intrigued by the shiny piece of metal so she lifts her front paws onto the desk to get a better view.
The microchip is its own mystery. The purple casing is unremarkable in of itself, but the firm sharp filaments protruding from the ends are unusual to say the least. He's never seen anything like this before and he briefly considers whether Molayne or Sophocles up at the Hokulani Observatory would have any insights. As he turns the device over, the light catches on the engraving he saw earlier. With his glasses on, Nanu can clearly see an S-shaped insignia, but much like the device itself, he doesn't recognise it.
Alpha meows at him in questioning.
"Your guess is as good as mine, girl," He replies as he reaches for a pen and paper. Looking at the insignia, he roughly copies it out onto the page for a clearer reference for later. Alpha watches him with rapt attention, her eyes meeting his when he finishes sketching.
"What?"
She's smirking in her own way again; her tail swishing in wide arcs behind her. She yawns and Nanu can't resist the urge to do the same. He should've been asleep hours ago. Thinking about how good it would feel to close his eyes is a dangerous temptation and he's barely able to hold back from taking a rest right then and there.
But he can't. Not when there's someone he's supposed to be watching over.
Perhaps some caffeine was in order.
Yes, that will do the trick.
He slides the microchip into one of the desk drawers, removing his glasses and turning light off. Alpha follows him back to the living quarters, her steps sluggish as she begins to succumb to her own weariness. She chirps around another yawn and Nanu scoffs.
"How do you think I feel?"
The room is quiet except for the ambience of the rain. The Meowth have all returned to their various beds around the place; Krooks is curled up in front of the television while Mini is by the couch, both are dutifully observing their charge for any changes to her condition. He doesn't know where Creeps has gone, but so long as she's not up to mischief in here he's not bothered.
He prepares himself some coffee - instant because he hasn't an iota of energy to brew anything better - and grabs one of the spare Meowth cushions to sit on by the coffee table. It's piping hot so he sets the mug down for a bit, lest he scald his tongue.
Thunder rumbles as the wind and rain oscillate in intensity.
Nanu's eyelids are heavy, but he can't give in to it. He tells himself that he's done stakeouts that have deprived him of more rest than this. He turns the tv on in defiance, tuning the volume down so it's no more than a soft background murmur.
He checks his mug. Still too hot.
He cycles through the channels, but either the programming has ceased for the night or the signal was too garbled to receive a clear picture. There's a lot of static and image tearing. He flicks passed a foreign film and a few infomercials before giving up.. He sighs, exhausted. Perhaps he could put on a movie that won't put him to sleep? But that also meant getting up to reach the media player and right now that felt like a monumental effort.
His coffee is still too hot. Why didn't he put milk in it?
Too tired - he's missing steps in his processing. Rectifying this error was also too colossal of an effort.
He holds the mug in both hands, letting the warmth seep into his palms. He looks over at the woman lying on the couch; she's breathing deeply, evenly. Her brows are no longer creased with unknown strain.
It's past two in the morning now. His thoughts slur.
But this is nothing, he reminds himself.
The wind howls.
This is nothing.
His eyelids close. All he's aware of is the warmth in his hands and the rush of falling rain outside. Just a few seconds is all he needs. He almost doesn't hear the soft groan and he passes it off as one of the Meowths murmuring in their sleep. He hears it again, followed by the noisy crinkling of the foil thermal blanket. Nanu's awareness kicks in and he's just about ready to scruff whichever over-curious Pokemon has clambered onto the couch when he sees it isn't any of the Meowth or even Creeps.
Finally, she's awake.
