"Rayna?!" I laugh as she flings herself into me.
"BABE!" She cries, squeezing me in a bear hug.
"How- What- huh?" I ask, and she laughs, sitting back down on the bed with me.
She is wearing a loose fitting pair of bell bottoms, with the Team Skull insignia on the back pocket, and a short pink crop top. Her hair is up in a ponytail, but a few loose strands manage to frame her face in auburn.
"They sent us here for a mission, all of the teams are meeting here! Well, the recruits, anyways." She explains, and I nod.
"So... Matt and Nareen?" I ask, and she smiles.
"Nareen is already here, we arrived together, but Matt wont be in till tomorrow morning, they will just make it for the meeting." I nod.
"So, how's Alola?!" I ask, and she squeals, as she releases three pokemon.
The first one I recognize as her starter, but its bigger now, with a larger beak.
The second one looks like a Rattata, but it has a mustache of fur, and is almost black in color.
And the third one is a little pink berry pokemon, and it toddles along on two feet.
"Meet Pikki, Suave, and Berri!" She giggles, and I hug them all.
"Well, you already know Effie, and this is Cleo!" I gesture to them, and Rayna gasps.
"Hey sweethearts!" She squeals, hugging them both. Cleo licks her cheek, before heading to their corner to meet the other pokemon.
"So, nice place you got here..." She laughs, looking around.
I go to reply, but there is a knock on the door.
"One sec..." I throw my jacket onto a table nearby, and open the door.
"Hey!" Prim smiles, holding out a decent sized box.
"Hey Prim! Come on in!" She steps around me, smiling.
I close the door behind her, but she's already running over to Rayna.
"You are SO GORGEOUS! What colour's do you like? I bet you could SLAY bell bottoms!" She's gushing, and Rayna's laughing.
"Rayna, meet Prim. Prim's an amazing designer, and can make the most AMAZING outfits from out of thin air. Prim, this is my friend Rayna, we've known each other for years." I introduce them, and they hug.
"Oh! I have something that you would look amazing in! If its okay, would you consider wearing it to the dinner tonight?" Prim stands.
"Of course! Want me to come with you?" Prim shakes her head.
"I'll bring it up! Be right back!" She darts out the door, giggling in excitement.
"Shes... different." She laughs, and I laugh to.
"Her work is amazing, shes actually just been accepted on to the designing team for Elesa." Her eyes go wide.
"I just watched her runway the other day, on the first plane ride!" She gasps.
"That outfit with the shimmering fabric she wore? Prim made that, and twelve others." Her eyebrows shoot up.
"Thats amazing! I loved that dress!" I laugh.
Prim arrives a few moments later, and they head into my dressing room.
I go and sit by Effie and Prim, bu as I sit there is another knock at my door.
"Really?" I sigh, laughing to myself as I throw the door open.
"Well hey there!" Patsy smiles, laughing.
"Mrs. Patsy! Hello!" I laugh, hugging her and leading her in.
"I apologize for just stoppin' in like this, you know." She says, and I shake my head.
"Oh, no problem! Is everything alright?" I ask, and she shakes her head.
"Little Belle... She..." She stutters, and I gently rub her arm.
"Is she alright?" I ask, and Patsy shakes her head.
"Shes been... weird. She won't let anyone near her, or the egg, since y'all left." She says, and I nod.
"I'll come back with you, to the farm. See if I can help." Patsy shakes her head again.
"We have her here, flew all night. Shes a bit huffed up since we had to sedate her, but we would love for you to come down and see her." I nod.
"I have a couple girls getting changed, I'm just going to let them know where I'll be, then I will meet you down in the commons room." She nods, turning and heading back downstairs.
"Rayna! Prim! I will be right back!" I call into the dressing room.
"Okay!" Rayna strains back, and I can hear a zipper being zipped up.
Laughing to myself, I head downstairs.
"You be careful, ya hear? She's been quite volatile towards us." Will pats my arm, and I head in.
Effie and Cleo sit outside the plane, huffing cause I wouldn't let them come.
"Belle?" I call softly, slowly entering the back of the plane, and a soft growling answers me.
I see her finally, stuck in a cage with the egg.
Shes pressed against the back of the cage, her fleece glowing with electricity, and the sound of crackling fills the air.
She sends a warning bolt of lightning, which catches me across the abdomen, tearing through my shirt and burning my skin.
Her eyes light up as she recognizes me, and she carefully sets the egg down on a blanket, and trots over to me.
"Reep!" She smiles, as I gently place my hand on her head, the other one holding my burnt side.
"Hey sweetheart. Are you okay?" I ask, getting right to the point, and she shakes her head.
"Baaaaa." She moans, and I nod.
"Okay, hun. Is there anything I can do to help?" She nods vigorously, pointing to the egg with her tail, then gesturing to herself.
"You want... to come with me?" I confirm, and she nods again, smiling.
"Well... I can ask?" It's more of a question than a statement, but she giggles happily anyways.
I gently pet her ears again, and stand up.
"I will be right back, don't hurt anyone." She nods, trotting back to the egg, and curling around it.
I head out the back of the plane, and Will and Patsy are instantly on me.
"What happened to your shirt? Are you okay darling?" She asks, and I nod, smiling through the pain, which has now sky rocketed.
"I'm fine, barely grazed me. But, I talked to her..." I starts, and Will places his hand on my shoulder.
"Go on, son. We need to know." I nod.
"She want's to come with me." I finish, and they both nod, as if expecting this.
"We figured so. And, if you would take her, we would be honored to gift her to you." Patsy says softly.
"Really? You guys would do that for me?" I ask, tears welling in my eyes due to both pain and amazement.
"Of course! Our little Belle is an adventurer at heart, and would benefit greatly from traveling with someone as kind as you." Will says, patting my back.
"You guys..." I sniffle, and Patsy lightly smacks my arm.
"Don't you be going all mushy on us here!" She laughs, but I can see this is a lot harder for her than it is for me.
"Do you have a pokeball on you or do you need one?" Will asks, and I point to my belt, where four empty pokeballs sit next to Effies and Cleos.
He nods, and hands me a key.
"To the cage, it breaks our hearts to see her in there." He says, voice breaking.
I take it, hugging both of them quickly, before heading back in.
I round the corner, and see something completely unexpected.
Belle is standing with her back to me, watching the egg, which is shaking gently.
"Belle!" I gasp, quickly unlocking the door and hugging her.
She giggles, as I grab the egg gently, swaddling it in the blanket from before, and darting outside, Belle on my tail.
"It's hatching!" I gasp, and I realize that here is blood coming from my stomach, where Belle had struck before, and I'm losing feeling in my legs.
I fall the last few steps out of the plane, and twist so that the egg doesnt hit the ground, but in doing so, I knock the air out of myself, and the egg rolls gently to a stop as Patsy grabs it.
"This man needs a doctor!" Will calls, picking me up, and rushing me inside.
I realize that my entire body is now tingling, and I can't move anything, or even talk.
I try to ask them whats wrong with me, but all that comes out is a garbled mess.
"Don't try to talk, honey! You've been Paralyzed!" Patsy pushes people out of the way as someone leads us to the infirmary.
I flick my eyes over to where she is, holding the egg.
"Don't you worry your pretty little had over this, sweetheart! If anyone knows how to hatch an egg properly, it's going to be a rancher!" She bends down, kissing my head gently and winking as she is taken away by a nurse, and me and Will are lead to another room.
I notice Belle stop by the door, looking fearfully between the door and me.
I moan at will, gesturing to her, and nod my head.
"You follow that egg, miss Belle! I got your trainer here, I'll make sure he's safe!" She nods, pushing the door ajar with her head and going in.
Will is taken to an exam room, where I am placed on a table, and multiple nurses and doctors look me over.
They cut my shirt off, and I moan, this was one Prim made me, and I quite liked it.
They throw it to the side, and gasp as they see my wound. I can't move, so I can't turn my head to look at it, but the tingling sensation is now replaced by flaring pain, and I scream.
A mask is placed over me face, and soon, everything fades to black as I pass out.
The first thing I notice before I open my eyes, is that I can hear N's voice in the hallway, I would know his voice anywhere.
The second voice I notice sounds like Rayna, or Nareen.
"Uhhhh..." I moan quietly as I gently sit up, and I open my eyes to see that Belle is curled up, sleeping, between my legs, and there is a small bundle of blankets that she is curled around.
Belle opens her eyes, and instantly jumps onto my chest, licking my face in excitement.
"Mar! Baaa! Reep!" She chatters away, gently picking the bundle up in her mouth, and placing it in my arms.
I gently open the bundle, to see a small brown figure, with a large pink nose and two eyes covered by hair.
"Swi." It giggles, licking my finger as I play with it.
"Your up!" Nareen flies into the room, Rayna and Prim behind her.
"Hey!" I kiss her cheek, hugging her gently.
"I can't even leave for a few days without you going and hurting yourself." N laughs gently as he walks in, but I see Belle recoil at the comment, her eyes downcast.
"Hey, it was an accident. Belle didn't mean to, she was just protecting the egg." I point out, and she sighs, licking my hand.
"Well, that egg is a beautiful baby Swinub now, so I guess it worked out." He laughs, sitting beside me on the edge of the bed, and gently stroking my leg.
"How are you feeling?" Rayna asks, and Prim nods, handing me a bottle of water and gently taking Swinub.
Belle growls, but I pet her ears gently.
"She's a friend, they all are. They will take good care of..." I trail off, and Prim finishes for me.
"Him. It's a boy." I smile, nodding my thanks as she leaves the room.
"Your a mom now, Belle!" Her eyes light up again, and I kiss her forehead.
"And, other than a bit sore, I'm doing great." I turn to Rayna, who sighs in relief.
"Thats good, the meeting is tonight." Nareen points out, but N shakes his head.
"He's been exempted, due to injuries. He doesn't have to go anymore." But now it's my turn to shake my head.
"I'm going. I am NOT going to let this... bump in the road... stop me from attending." N shakes his head, chuckling.
"Well, I wont be the one to stop you. Also, your parents are coming." He laughs as my eyes fly open.
"What? When? Why?" I ask, and Rayna giggles.
"I had to tell them about what happened, hun. I couldn't let them go without knowing, and they were plannign a surprise visit anyways, so they will be here tomorrow." She laughs at my recoil.
"Oh god, this is going to turn into a 'you should have stayed home, I can't believe you would do this.' blah blah blah speech." I groan, and they all laugh.
"Well, if your feeling up to it, lets get you back to your room. Effie and Cleo are going nuts to see you." N helps me up, and we start towards my room.
Prim is sitting on my bed, gently petting Swinub, and Belle jumps up beside her instantly.
Effie and Cleo bound over to the door as we arrive, and start kissing and jostling me.
"Hey girls! I'm sorry!" I laugh as Effie jumps, kissing my cheek.
"Well, we will let you rest up for tonight, you still have a few hours. In the meantime, think of a name for your new baby, mister Daddy!" Prim laughs at my expression to the nickname, and they all head out, except for N.
"I missed you." He whispers after a while, as we both sit on the bed.
Swinub and Belle are playing around, running and jumping and shooting harmless attacks at each other, and Effie and Cleo are behind us, on the bed, not wanting to leave my side again.
"I missed you to. Truth be told, I only went to the ranch because I hoped I would see you there." I confess, and he laughs.
"Speaking of the Ranch, Will and Patsy say thank you, and they are extremely sorry for having to leave on such short notice." He kisses my cheek, standing up.
"Now, rest up! This meeting is going to be huge, and we need you looking your best." He laughs at my confused expression, and kisses me softly, before leaving.
I lean back, onto Cleo's stomach, and she purrs, licking my hair.
"Names for Swinub..." I think, and it hits me.
"Aha! I got it!" I sit up, pointing at the little ice type.
"Your new name is Aspen!" I laugh as he jumps into my lap, nodding and licking my face, before jumping off to play with his mom again.
I lean back onto Cleo, and smile.
No matter what tonights meeting is about, I'm going to present my best self.
After a few more minutes of Cleo licking my hair, and Effie nibbling on my fingers, I get up, and start getting ready.