Chapter 37 – The Pains of Caring

Slate grey skies muted the light upon the ground. The rains had finally stopped, leaving the tiny town of Twinleaf a muddy mess. Tracks crisscrossed every which way as people listlessly went about their business. This was not the happy and charming little town on the edge of Lake Verity any longer. There was a palpable fear in the air. It wasn't just the people who felt the fear, but the Pokemon as well.

One woman however was taking long strides from one of the houses. Fear was one emotion this woman was not feeling. Heels hit hard into the ground as she walked. Her outfit was simple, black outdoors pants, a blue long sleeve top under a black down vest. Her normally loose blonde hair was tied into a ponytail, cascaded down her back from underneath a black toque. Finally, Cynthia stopped to allow the man following her to catch up. As soon as he was close enough, the champion rounded on him.

"What in the world were you thinking?" The words were said quiet enough, but in a tone of barely constrained fury. To his credit, Rowan did not back down.

"That they could help." Cynthia's gaze was as cold as it was threatening.

"You sent children straight into the path of a terrorist organization. Two of them sustained injuries which could have killed them!" Rowan looked abashed at that, and stared at his shoes, shoulder's slumping.

"I told them not to get involved. I knew your priorities would be protecting and helping the people of this region. That is what a champion does. But we had to know what these monsters were doing with the lake guardians." Cynthia was still livid even as she knew that the old professor was correct is in estimation.

"The lake guardians are just myths though!" Cynthia was still attempting to keep her voice down as to not alert people in the village. People must not see the champion losing her cool or else it could spell panic. That was one of the toughest lessons she had learned. The champion must always be in control.

"They aren't." Another voice cut in behind the professor. The old man turned to see the young woman Jill standing there. Her right arm was bandaged from wrist to elbow and she had butterfly bandages to her forehead and neck. Of the three children Rowan had sent to the lakes, Jill had been the one to escape mostly unharmed.

"Whatever team Galactic needs from them, those Pokemon aren't myths. They're real Cynthia." The champion looked at her cousin, all anger gone from the blonde's eyes. Instead, sadness reigned free. It took all of her self control not to cry.

"Jill…" the champion began.

"No. My friends were almost killed to protect them. I'm hunting them down." There was a fire in the young trainers' eyes, one that reminded Cynthia so much of herself at that age. The champion turned around and faced out at the forest that surrounded the little town. After a time of silence, Cynthia spoke again.

"This was never supposed to happen. We did everything we could to find and stop these people." Cynthia seemed to be speaking more to herself than anyone else. A gentle hand went to her shoulder. Cynthia looked at the regions professor and saw sadness yet an unyielding iron behind the man's gaze.

"I know Cynthia. We do not crown Champions lightly. Only those worthy enough to challenge for the mantle are allowed to wear it. You are one such person. I know you did everything in your power, but sometimes even the best of us fail. We needed help, and I turned to the three people who I could trust to help. Three people I have watched and deemed worthy enough. I regret my actions put them in harms way, but as you have shown us, we can not stand by as people such as those of the Galactic corporation attempt to overthrow everything. Even in the darkest hour, a spark of light can give hope to all those around to see it." Cynthia took a deep and calming breath before turning back to face her cousin.

"We are going to have to split up. Do you have any ideas as to where they may have taken the legends?" Jill met the champions gaze finally as an equal. And for once, Jill did have an idea as to where Team Galactic might be.

Lucas opened his eyes, feeling a light pressure on his bed. Looking down, he saw Jill sleeping near his knee. The young man had been put in her room he knew as people were transported away to Sangem for more proper medical treatment. His parents had come the day before, both relieved to see their son alive. But as more and more news poured in, they had both taken their leave to help those in need.

Lucas could scarce believe the news himself. Two days after the attacks on the lakes, people had finally reigned in control. There was a region wide warrant out for anyone with ties to the Galactic corporation. Buildings had been raided, but there was nothing left to any of them. Systems were shutting down as the overseers of various Galactic services had left, leaving core services such as power and transportation in disarray. It felt like they were in an apocalyptic movie.

Jill moaned slightly in her sleep, causing Lucas to smile. He was relieved to see her mostly unharmed when she had come in late last night. Although, how she got here so fast was still a mystery to Lucas, but then most of what was happening right now made no sense. Careful to make as little noise as possible, the young man reached for the glass of water on the nightstand. He gritted his teeth as the slight twisting motion sent lances of pain across his three broken ribs.

"Her let me" the girls voice said. Lucas succeeded in grabbing the glass and raised it to his lips before responding.

"I can do it" he finally replied smiling. "I'm not completely crippled." Jill gave a small smile.

"I know." The two lapsed into a silence. Lucas could tell there was something on the young woman's mind, but he didn't want to pry. They both had seen an awful lot lately.

"How's Icarium?" Lucas finally asked. He was both worried and hopeful. When Jill had arrived, the Professor had personally seen to the young woman's team, much as he had Lucas'.

"He's going to be fine. I'm supposed to pick him up soon." Lucas was relieved to hear it. There was enough bad news going around at the moment.

"That's good." Jill nodded. Sighing, she asked Lucas what he feared she might.

"Lucas, I need to know. You're sure they said they were going to Veilstone?" Lucas grimaced and looked out the window. The sky was darkening as the sun dipped below the horizon.

"Jill, we really shouldn't…" he trailed off as he saw the reflection of her in the window. There was something hard about her now, something new that wasn't there when he met here month's ago.

"I have to. There aren't many people left who can fight. But if we can get a lead, perhaps we can get enough people in place to stop them once and for all." Lucas looked at his friend.

"They'll kill you!"

"They can try. I'm not letting them get away with this."

"Jill, these aren't normal trainers! They fight to kill! They want to change this region, and maybe that Elite guy was right. Maybe we aren't ready. We haven't trained for this."

"Lucas there are people all over the region right now, fighting back. They are helping one another. No one has trained to take on terrorist cells." She was cut off.

"The International Police have! That's what they do!"

"And they don't have the man power now to help! These Galactic guys were smart. By attacking the entire region, everything is spread too thin. They need all the help they can get, and I'm going to help them." Lucas couldn't think of anything else to say. He was scared for his friend. She was strong, there was no doubt about that. But the young man couldn't help but think about the red-haired woman at Lake Verity. She was insane, and insanity couldn't be predicted. Another figure arrived in the doorway. Jill stood and faced the new arrival. Lucas was shocked when he recognized who this person was.

"It's time" the champion said. Jill nodded and turned back to Lucas.

"Veilstone?" she asked simply. Lucas met his friends' emerald eyes. That look gave him hope. She wasn't going in half cocked. She was aware of the danger and wasn't letting anyone else take the burden. Finally, he nodded. Veilstone was where he heard the woman say they were going right before he passed out. Jill squeezed his hand before leaving the room. Cynthia lingered a second, watching the young man.

"Keep her safe?" Lucas asked pleadingly.

"I'll do my best."

Johanna looked at her daughter as Jill prepared to leave again. It hurt her heart more than she could describe. It wasn't fair that the world was putting the young woman in danger time and time again. Jill wasn't a champion. She hadn't signed up for this. She was simply a girl who wanted to become a Pokemon trainer. But as Jill had told Johanna, this is what being a trainer meant. Making the world a better place for everyone.

Cynthia came down the stairs and looked at Johanna. Johanna knew that the champion didn't want this any more than she did. But there was no stopping Jill. Both women knew how headstrong the young trainer could get.

"Be careful you two" Johanna said in a quiet voice when they were both ready to leave.

"I will mom. Look after Lucas?" Johanna pulled her daughter into a tight hug.

"Of course, I will" she whispered into Jill's hair. Tears were spilling out of both women's eyes as they broke apart. A knock of the door caused both Jill and Johanna to jump. Johanna walked over and opened it, finding two men standing on the front porch.

"Professor Rowan, Lucian. Come in" Johanna stepped out of the way and allowed both men to enter. Rowan looked exhausted, while the Elite looked as though he was about to do a photo shoot. The professor however held a covered tray of sorts. Both men said their hellos before the professor looked at Jill.

"I must apologize my dear" Rowan said in a gruff voice filled with emotion. "I never meant for you or your friends to be in any danger. We simply needed information." Jill simply nodded. She harboured no ill will towards the man. In his place, she probably would have done the same thing.

"I have spoken with the hospital up in Snowpoint. Barry's condition is stable, though he hasn't woken yet."

"He's going to be okay" Jill found herself saying. Relief was flooding through her. When she'd heard the news, it had scared her as much as seeing Icarium lying on the ground bleeding. She had tried to stay strong for her mother and Barry's mom, but it wasn't easy.

"We'll stop by Snowpoint before heading to Veilstone" Lucian said. Cynthia inclined her head at the Elite. The psychic user was the one who had alerted Cynthia as to what had happened with the three younger trainers. She still wasn't happy about the situation, but Lucian was the only one with a strong enough Alakazam to teleport both herself and Jill across the region. Jill lifted her bag onto her shoulders before looking at the others in the room. Professor Rowan stepped forward, pressing a button and revealing six Pokeballs. Jill's expression softened as she grabbed hold of her team.

"Last chance" Cynthia said. Jill looked at her cousin with a renewed determination. The champion nodded, and Jill led the way outside. Johanna stopped Cynthia before the champion could follow.

"Cynthia, are you certain about this?" Cynthia could only sigh.

"I'm not certain about anything at this point. But anyone else I trust who could help is too far away now. The other regions have support incoming, but it will probably be too late." Johanna had tears in her eyes as she looked out the door. Cynthia placed a hand on Johanna's shoulder.

"Jill will be alright. She's going to meet up with an International Police agent at Veilstone. And I won't be far behind." Johanna gave a watery laugh.

"If only I could take solace in all of this. Finding Lucas broken like that, and hearing about Barry…"

"These people are out for blood its true, but Jill has seen that now. She's aware and more to the point, her team is strong enough to hold their own. She gets smarter with each battle, and I don't think anyone from this team Galactic will be able to surprise her this time." Johanna nodded and took a steadying breath before heading outside. Cynthia steeled herself and left the house.

Barry woke with a start. Something was pushing air up his nose, a rather uncomfortable feeling. As he reached up to remove whatever it was, his back flared up, sending a searing pain up. He gasped aloud, then gritted his teeth. Slowly, the young man took in his surroundings. He was hooked up to some machines and there was gauze everywhere. He could feel himself wrapped in it. The door to the room opened and the girl with blue streaks in her hair cried out, running towards him. Barry gasped in pain again as the young woman tried to hug him.

"I may have to fine you for that" he said in a raspy voice. Through the tears, Jill managed a laugh.

"I have a feeling you're not in any state to do that" she replied.

"How bad is it?" Barry asked. "I feel like a Kakuna wrapped up like this." Jill looked solemn very quickly.

"You've been burnt pretty bad Barry" she told him. Barry winced again. "Whoever attacked you, they got a good part of your back, neck and some of your head."

"Missed the money maker, then did they?" Barry said, trying to find the lighter side to the situation. Jill gave a weak smile at that. Both lapsed into silence, the weight of the world trying to press its way in. Finally, Barry said what they were both thinking.

"They got away." Jill nodded.

"Whoever ran the operation sent in his best for that task. The have all three lake guardians." Barry looked stricken.

"What do we do now?" he asked.

"We do nothing. You need to rest and allow yourself to heal." The young man looked down at his friend's wrist. There was some bandage showing from underneath Jill's long sleeve shirt.

"Looks like you could use some healing too." Jill gingerly held her arm to her body.

"Someone has to help" she said with determination.

"Then you need help too." Barry made to sit up but was stopped short by another person entering the room.

"You stop right there son."

"Dad!" Barry exclaimed. "What…" Palmer cut off his son.

"What am I doing here? Coming to make sure my boy wasn't dead." There was both pride and relief in Palmer's voice. An embarrassed flush crept into Barry's cheeks. "What were you thinking you two?" Palmer asked. Jill opened her mouth to answer, but Barry was faster.

"We had to help! Dad they took the lake guardians!" Barry began explaining at his usual warp speed. Everything that had been happening on their journey. Palmer simply sat and took it all in. When Barry finally finished, Palmer placed a large hand on his sons' knee.

"Cynthia filled us in. I know the people we're up against. But you are in no fit state to be fighting." Barry looked crestfallen. "Jill you shouldn't be going either." Barry looked at his friend in shock.

"Wait where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to Veilstone. There's an IP agent there waiting to help me. He thinks he may know where the lake guardians were taken." Jill looked down at her feet. Everyone was saying she shouldn't go and having her two friends lying in hospital beds made a pretty convincing case to stay away from Team Galactic.

"How come you get to go on the awesome undercover mission?" Barry said with enthusiasm. Jill couldn't help but laugh. In all this madness, only Barry could see going on some extraction mission against a terrorist group as a great idea to get involved with.

"Because I don't resemble something that's just stepped out of a Cofagrigus." That caused Barry to laugh. Jill was astounded at how quickly her friend was himself considering what had been done to him.

"This is something best left to the authorities though" Palmer chimed in, putting an abrupt end to the laughter.

"Cynthia told me they have reinforcements coming, but isn't that part of our job as trainers? To help others?" Jill countered. Palmer frowned.

"You always told us that was important dad" Barry chimed in, coming to Jill's defense.

"We have to help in any way we can." Jill could tell Palmer thought it was dangerous, but she could also see something else in the man who was much like a father to her as he was to Barry.

"Figures you two would be the ones to find the most dangerous thing you could on your journeys." The frontier brain finally relented. Barry and Jill smiled at one another. "Just know, that while I worry about you kids, I'm extremely proud of you both. Not many would be able to still face the world as you two are after what you've done." Jill and Barry both felt some amount of pride from Palmer's words.

"I have to go" Jill said after a moment of silence. "I'm sure Lucian is still waiting outside." Palmer and Barry nodded, their eyes trailing the young woman as she left. Jill gave a quick wave goodbye at the door and hurried away. Barry let his hand slowly fall as his friend left.

"She really has turned into quite the trainer" Palmer said. Barry couldn't help but agree. "You both have. Now let me go find your mother. She was supposed to be bringing coffee…"

"Are you ready?" Lucian asked as Jill came out to the lobby. The young woman nodded.

"Listen, Jill" Lucian began but Jill cut him off.

"Don't start please Lucian. I've made up my mind, and I'm going to see this through. I have to help. So, don't try to argue me out of this."

"I wasn't going to." Jill started at that, meeting the Elite's eyes. "I wanted to say, I'm sorry." That was unexpected. Lucian wasn't exactly what one would call a warm person, but this apology knocked Jill somewhat askew.

"Why?" She asked.

"I had no idea what Team Galactic were planning to do. I feel responsible for you and your friends' injuries. You shouldn't have had to deal with these people alone, and for that, I'm sorry." Jill looked down, annoyed that her emotions were betraying her and bringing tears to her eyes.

"It's not your fault Lucian. None of us knew what they were going to do. But I'm going to do all I can to stop them." The Elite nodded and guided Jill out of the doors into the softly falling snow. Jill hadn't taken the time to appreciate how beautiful the snow was. Each individual flake unique, floating on the unseen currents. The young woman took a small moment to appreciate how delicate these intricate patterns were as they fell upon her upturned face. Lucian felt almost an intruder upon the scene. A peacefulness took over the two trainers, a needed pause in the chaos surrounding them.

AN: I know the games go in a slightly different direction here at this point, but I wanted to bring a different sense to the games. A slightly more realistic interpretation of the events. Also, the reason Icarium was seriously injured in the story is because during the battles (both of them) a critical hit landed him at 3 and 4HP. So he wasn't killed off but it was damned close. Both Galactic commanders were defeated however. Please leave a review as to your opinions. Thanks