AN: So my betas are bio majors. One works in a lab and the other is in pharmacy school now but worked in a hospital for a year. Both of their knowledge is necessary for this fic if you guys hadn't figured that out yet. You will in this chapter and the next one.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters. Just the random plot bunnies that my mind creates.
Chapter Warnings: Language, injuries, mystery, medical stuff
Pairing: Ash x Gary
Chapter 24 - Hospital
Professor Oak gently removes the needle from his partner's arm. Wiping the tears from his face, he carefully picks Gary up and drags him to a nearby chair. He dries the liquid that fell on the brunet's face.
"Professor...What just happened?"
Hearing a sigh, Ash turns to look behind him. Sad black eyes stare at Gary.
"I don't know Ash. It appears that he had some sort of mental breakdown. He was acting as if he was being attacked by something. He didn't seem to recognize us either...It might have something to do with whatever injury his brain sustained from being thrown by Dragonite as well as the shock of finding out the Dragon Riders weren't the ones who attacked him when he was younger. His psyche just couldn't handle that everything he trained for and struggled against was a lie."
Ash carefully moves the brown hair off of the slumbering face before him. What happened Gary? You are the strongest person I know. What caused you to break down like this?
"Will he be okay once he wakes up?" He asks tentatively.
The slight hope that had built in his body falls at the silence that greets his question. Several minutes pass as they watch the drugged man sitting slumped in a chair against the wall of the lab.
"I don't know...We will have to wait until he wakes up. The tranquilizer was strong enough to knock him out quickly, but it was a low dose so he will wake up soon."
Ash nods slowly. Please be ok. I can't do this on my own. You are my partner. Partners stick together. Brown eyes glance around the room before landing on the wall monitor.
Approaching the computer, he backtracks to the pictures of all the Kanto pokemon. He can see some have red eyes while others have brown or blue. I never really thought about the eye color of specific pokemon before.
"Professor, is there a way to filter out pokemon who have red eyes?"
He turns to the old man next to him. The Professor is rubbing his chin thoughtfully staring at the dozens of pictures before him. Ash steps out of the way to allow the professor access.
Pictures disappear one by one after the Professor enters a few lines of code. About 30 pokemon remain. This many of them have red eyes?
"Hmm interesting. None of them are flyers though…" Professor Oak muses. "I wonder if the red eyes that Gary saw were actually a pokemon riding on a regular flyer. That would explain the large wings since Dragonite's wings are so small... Plus since Gary was injured and it was raining, there is a chance he couldn't see clearly enough to distinguish the eyes of the rider and the flyer."
Ash nods absentmindedly as he runs through the list that's left on the monitor.
"In that case Professor, we can rule out any extinct pokemon, any too large to ride on the back of a flyer, or those unable to hold on...and any that can at least fly or float on their own."
After a few more clicks of a keyboard, less than 10 pokemon remain. This is still too many. We won't be able to narrow this down.
Hearing a squeak at his feet, he looks down to see Pikachu pointing towards a ball on his belt. He automatically recognizes the dark swirl he used to mark his ghost pokemon's ball.
Haunter? What about him?
He watches in some amusement as the electric pokemon makes a funny face to imitate Haunter using one of his attacks. Brown eyes widen as he quickly looks back at the screen. His mind racing as he makes the connection that his small companion had already made.
Haunter glows red whenever he uses a special attack.
"Professor, Haunter glows red whenever he uses a special attack. What if other pokemon eyes also glow when they use a special move? Gary said the eyes glowed before it attacked him."
Professor Oak looks at him curiously before examining the screen again.
"That's a good theory Ash, but Gary was hit by a physical blow not a special one. A special attack won't leave such a large scar like that. It honestly looks like he was cut by a blade instead of a talon."
Ash can feel the anger rising within him. Pokemon or trainer, it doesn't matter. If they were riding on a flyer, they had to have some form of training. Why attack a defenseless little four year old?
Hearing a low groan behind him, he turns and darts towards Gary's side. He stands a few steps away just in case the brunet sub-consciously attacks him again. Silently watching for any form of violence, he waits for his partner to notice him.
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
Green eyes struggle to open. Every limb feels as if they are being weighed down by sand. I haven't felt this bad since hell week before finals. The week where we had to push past all of our limits to try to absorb every little thing we ever learned at the Academy.
Bright lights blind his sensitive eyes. Groaning in pain, he opens them again. Blinking in confusion at his surroundings, he scans the lab and jumps at the close proximity of a familiar raven.
"What the hell Ashy-boy? Trying to give me a heart attack?"
His eyes narrow in confusion at the overjoyed look that consumes Ash's face.
"You know who I am?"
Gary snorts in amusement and rolls his eyes. Is he really being serious right now?
"How could I possibly forget the absolute weirdness that you are somehow made of Ashy-boy? Now help me up. I feel like I just tried wrestling a Machoke again."
Taking the offered hand, his partner pulls him up. His legs buckle under him but a strong arm around his waist stops him from face planting into the concrete floor. A worried look on the raven's face causes him to roll his eyes once more as he regains his balance.
"Guess the tranquilizer hasn't worn off yet. Maybe I should just take you upstairs." Ash mutters as he slowly leads Gary towards the door leading to the rest of the house.
Wait. WHAT?
"Geez Ashy-boy. A tranq? Really? That's why I feel so shitty? You know, if you wanted to get me into bed so badly, you could have just asked. No need for drugs."
He smirks at the ferocious blush that blooms on the raven's face. So easy. A glare is sent his way, but its intensity is diminished since his face looks like a Cheri Berry.
"Not funny. You were freaking out and almost attacked me. Professor Oak had no choice but to knock you out before you hurt us or yourself."
Green eyes widen in shock. I almost hurt them?!
"What the fuck?! I would never attack you or Gramps! Don't fuck with me!"
"Gary."
At the stern voice of his grandfather, he pauses and turns toward the older man.
"What's the last thing you remember before you fell asleep?"
He crosses his arms over his chest at the odd question. He looks up towards the ceiling as he tries to recall the recent events.
We were talking about the attack on Pallet. How it was the Riders but wasn't the Riders. Dragonite's eyes are gray…
Glancing quickly at the monitor on the wall, he sees pictures of various pokemon. Dragonite isn't on the screen.
"We were talking about the attack. I still don't understand how it wasn't the Dragon Riders since they were riding on pokemon. I ran in here after I remembered Dragonite's eyes are gray and looked it up from your files to double check...after that it's just kind of fuzzy and black."
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turns to find Gramps next to him. Dark eyes full of sadness and worry.
"I have a theory that you had some form of a mental breakdown from shock of what you discovered and trauma from the blow Dragonite dealt you. I am not sure if it will happen again or not, so I suggest swinging by the hospital in Pewter. They have a renowned neurologist there. That will also be a good reason to leave to check out the Museum without the military becoming suspicious, since they know about the injury."
Gary remains silent at the explanation. What if this happens again? I could seriously end up killing Gramps or Ash. I can't let that happen. I need to get this under control.
He nods in agreement before turning to go gather his equipment. Ash stops him with a hand on his torso as he walks by him.
"Are you sure about this Gary? If the doctor rules that you are no longer fit to be a soldier, you will be discharged from the military...I want you to get better no matter what, but I know how important revenge is to you…"
His eyes lock with chocolate ones. He tightens his jaw as he observes his partner. I won't hurt him. Not anymore.
"Together. We will get revenge together whether we are in the military or not. I won't risk hurting you or Gramps. You two are the only family I have left. I can't lose either of you. I won't survive that."
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
They leave at sunrise the next morning after calling in that they were going to the hospital. Ash is surprised the higher ups agreed so readily to the sudden trip. Were they expecting it? Jessie did report that he might have a brain injury…
They land outside the hospital just after lunch. The neurologist is waiting for them inside and quickly takes them upstairs to his lab. Ash is left to wait helplessly in the hall as Gary is led away into a restricted access room.
He sits in a nearby chair with Pikachu in his lap. They both watch the door hoping that the brunet will emerge with good news soon.
Hours pass with no word on Gary's condition. The floor is silent. He has only seen a few nurses walk by the entire time he has been here.
Ash has resorted to pacing up and down the corridor when he can't sit any longer. How long does it take to run a few tests? The sun is setting already.
The swoosh of automatic doors opening cause his head to jerk up. A tired brunet and the doctor stroll down the hallway towards him. The doctor stops before him but Gary sits in the chair to his left.
"Mr. Ketchum, based on Mr. Oak's frequent headaches, bouts of lethargy, memory difficulty and muscle weakness, I concluded that the trauma he sustained to his head caused minor cerebral edema, or increased fluid collection within the brain tissue. The excess fluid is increasing the intracranial pressure or ICP."
Brown eyes widen at the doctor's words. That sounds really serious. Red light from a pokeball opening flashes to his left but Ash keeps his eyes trained on the doctor as he continues to speak.
"My theory was confirmed by a MRI. Most minor cases usually resolve themselves within a few days but in Mr. Oak's case, the ICP had only diminished slightly. My guess is that it was very high before, but the medicine your fellow soldier made saved him from any possible permanent damage to his brain. I performed a ventriculostomy and drained the excess liquid from the affected area. Chansey healed him right up after that, which I am sure you are familiar with."
Ash crosses his arms over his chest. Feeling a pressure on his hip, he looks down to see Gary resting his head against side. Green eyes hidden beneath his eyelids. Eevee is sitting on his lap curled into his stomach. He is petting her gently. All of his pokemon must be really worried. They haven't had a chance to see him since Grampa Canyon.
"So he is alright now? No more episodes of confusion or tiredness or anything like that?"
"Chansey reduced most of the recovery time with her Heal Pulse. He will be fine after a good rest. He will probably have a headache for a few days though. I do suggest that you two don't take any dangerous missions for a while that may result in more injury which I will pass along in my report to the League. While you can easily be healed by Chansey, it will still cause a strain on your bodies. You need time to recover from that."
With a nod at him, the doctor turns and returns to his lab. Ash helps Gary to his feet. They slowly make their way to the Pokemon Center for some much needed rest.
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
AN: I couldn't help it. There's no way he would have gotten through that battle with at least this. Honestly probs should have died but we can't have that can we!
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Next up: Chapter 25 - Infiltration
