-Terry POV, FP-
"Ugh, I'm so bored!" I moaned. I had been forced to stay in the hospital for two weeks now while Angel and I recovered from our injuries. Driven to the edge of insanity by endless jabbering from the nurses, needles poking my skin constantly for blood draws and, worst of all, restricted to my bed on some of the most beautiful days Unova had seen in quite some time. Angel, laying next to me on a similar bed, telepathically agreed with me. Alex, sitting on a chair and reading a novel between us, just grins and shakes his head. I scowl and focus my eyes on the 10 year old.
"You would be annoyed too, so don't start laughing…" I start, but Alex just punches me lightly in the shoulder. We look at each other and then I relax, grinning as well.
Alex replies, chuckling. "Well at least we know the pair of you are being released tomorrow, and the weather is expected to stay great for another couple of weeks. Besides, you needed practice on crutches. Don't expect me to push you everywhere, there's no way in hell I'm sinking that low."
I laugh, and so does Alex. Nicky jumps up on Angel's bed, clutching what looks like a DVD player in his hands. "Cool, Nicky! You two can watch a movie while Terry and I grab dinner for us," Alex says. Nicky nods, smiling.
"All right than, Alex. Give me a hand here, please," I say. I pull away the covers, revealing my bulky as hell cast on my leg. After positioning myself in my wheelchair, Alex undid my brakes and pushed out the door and down the hall, toward the Pokemon Center's extended stay kitchen area.
- Later that night -
As the doctors left the room, grumbling as usual about letting the patients sleep not only in the same room, but with their pokemon as well, (but also knowing that Nurse Joy would beat them into the ground if they denied the privilege) I closed my eyes. Angel was squirming a bit, her painkillers hadn't quite kicked in yet and, although her wounds had healed extremely well, she was still going to be severely uncomfortable for a while and won't be able to battle for a week, at least. I moved my arms, my left hand taking hers and squeezing it gently, while my other hand massaged her forehead.
Keeping quiet, as Alex and Nicky were asleep nearby, I whispered in her ear. "I know it hurts, but you need to stop squirming. The medicine will start working soon, but if you move around too much the doctors will think you are staying up late purposefully. They will make you sleep in a different room."
Her body stills, although her emotions do nothing but. It's the first time in a while that Physical Reassurance hasn't worked immediately, at least a little. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, she's in severe pain. So instead I rub her forehead, letting my hands flow rhythmically through her light blue hair, kneading her orange horns. After a few minutes, she starts to speak. Unfortunately, the medicine kicks in and she sighs softly before her mental voice tapers off and she goes into dreamland. After moving her just slightly to assure that she wouldn't fall off my chest, I do as well.
- Morning -
I wake, refreshed and ready to go. Angel is already up, along with another female doctor, who is doing a physical on her. The doctors allowed Angel to stay with me on the condition that I give them privacy no matter what, so I close my eyes and speak. "I'm awake, but I'll keep my eyes closed while you finish up." The doctor pats my arm in response.
"I can't wait to leave. The nurse is just doing a quick physical, and she has a package of medicine for me. She is going to give it to you after you get checked." Angel's voice, groggy but happy, sounds in my head.
I nod, eyes still closed, then reply. "That sounds good to me." I address the nurse. "Mam, since I can't see your expression, I assume you're thinking that I've gone crazy. I promise I haven't. Angel was telepathically conversing with me, and I was responding out loud as it's easier for both of us to understand. I haven't quite grasped mental replies, and I've only gotten it right a few times. Usually it sound similar to a radio station filled with interference. She was explaining the plan that you told her about." The lady pats my arm once again, which I take as a response. A few minutes later, she speaks.
"You can look now, your doc will be here in a moment. Your friends Alex and Nicky are outside with your parents. You will be allowed to leave in a few minutes." I open my eyes and sit up.
Angel sits in my lap while my doctor does his check up. After he finishes, he speaks. "You seem to be doing ok. I took the liberty of adding a storage slot on your pack for your crutches, so you have a place to keep them when you're not using them." He hands me a box, then speaks again. "Angel here is to have one of these every night before bed, and one in the morning. She has already taken her morning dose for today. I've put a second box in your front pocket on your bag as well. The pair should last a couple of months. When you run out, head to the nearest Pokemon Center and give the assistant there your Trainer Card. He or She can get you a refill on the meds if needed. She should be taking those constantly for at least four months. If you have any questions or concerns, just ask any Nurse Joy. Good luck on your journey, kid."
We exchange nods and then he wheels me out into the lobby. I grab my bag from him and sling it over my shoulders. Whispers break out about Angel on my shoulder, as well as the cast on my leg. I ignore them, as does Angel, who disappears into my pack moments later. Balancing on my crutches, I head over to one of the storage computers, I retrieve Patrat's pokeball. Then, crutches and all, I head outside to greet my friends and family.
My mother and father hug me, while Blade, father's partner Gallade, wincing slightly, shakes my hand. "He took a rather nasty fall during training yesterday, I think he was distracted." Father says in response to my questioning look at Blade. I nod, then turn to Alex.
"Alright, We are gonna head out now. Have fun and be safe, guys." Mom and dad return the farewell, and then we take our leave. After a small debate, we decide to head back to route 2 so I can train Patrat. When we get to the route, I take out it's pokeball. "Come on out!" I say, throwing the pokeball high in the air. When it reaches it's peak, the ball opens. A flash of white light follows, and Patrat appears. I stow it's pokeball and crouch in front of it.
We regard each other for a moment, then I speak. "Hello there. It's great to meet you. I can see it in your eyes, you feel mad that Angel beat you and you want to get stronger. We are on a journey to get stronger as well. Will you join us?" It narrows its eyes for a moment, as if trying to understand the level of honesty behind my words, staring deep into my soul. Than it nods. I smile. "Great, welcome to the team! Would you like a name?" At its nod, I reply. "How about Ace?" The pokemon nods once again and the naming is complete.
We spent four extra days on route Two, wanting to get some training in for Ace, as well as a lillipup that joined Alex, now named Kelly. During their third day, Alex admitted that he actually didn't want to get the badges. "Sure, we'll get stronger, but I want to become a professor, not a master." So, rather than staying longer to allow Alex to challenge the Striaton Gym, we headed on to route Three, where we are now.
"Ace, dodge and use scratch!" I shouted. Ace ducked to his right as Kelly barreled past him, then slashed his paw over her back. The Lillipup stumbled and rolled headlong into a tree, where she collapsed. Ace walked back to his trainer, who smiled, balancing on one crutch as he raised the other over his head in victory. "Great job Ace! You too, Kelly, you and Alex did great, that Take Down of yours is really coming along!"
Alex smiled as he picked up the Lillipup in his arms. She awoke, whimpering and licking his cheek. Chuckling, Alex praised her as well. He turned his attention on Ace and myself. "That was really fun. Ace, your speed is off the charts. Don't worry though, we'll have you next time!"
We were on route Three, visiting the Pokemon Daycare and preschool next door. At a request from the teachers and kids, Ace and Kelly had put their training to the test in a battle. Nicky and Angel sat out, Nicky had a lot more practice and would have steamrolled Ace, and Angel was still recovering from her injuries. The two of them sat in the lower branches of a tree, out of reach of grabby preschooler hands and watched from there. As the battle finished, the pair of Kirlia teleported to the shoulders of their partners. Angel stumbled a bit on the landing, wincing as her wound smacked against my shoulder.
Sensing her distress, I gently but casually lifted Angel off my shoulder, cradling her against my chest. One look told me that the teachers saw through the play off though, so I made a quick plan. "All right, Ace, Kelly, why don't you go play with the kids while we fix some food?" The pokemon, who had also noticed Angel's pain, got the idea and bounded off, with the kids in their wake, to play tag. I turned to the principal, who spoke.
"What happened? She didn't battle, and although you played it off well, I saw her face. Explain." I nodded as Alex and I sat down on a bench. The principal, Mr. Reddings, and teacher, Mrs. Davis, sat next to us. After positioning Angel on my lap, with her head over my heart, I closed my eyes and recounted the gunfight at the Dreamyard.
"We set out about four days ago to train up Ace and Kelly, after recovering in the Pokemon Center for a little over two weeks. So, here we are." I finished. For a moment, it was so silent that you could have heard a pin drop for miles away. Mrs. Davis wiped her eyes.
"I'm glad you all made it out in one piece. Team Plasma is the reason that the preschool does not have any pokemon anymore, so I'm glad you guys were able to stop them from causing further injuries. Yes, they invaded the preschool and took several pokemon away." She added at the looks on Alex's and my faces. "The pokemon refused to go and defended themselves at first, but then one of the grunts grabbed Justin Bellings." She points over to a child that was laying under a nearby tree, staring at the ground. The boy had a conflicted expression on his face, as if his blue eyes were trying to wage war with one another. I hadn't seen him watching the battle, nor had I seen him move at all. After a moment I tore my gaze away as Mrs. Davis continues.
"The grunt grabbed him and held a knife to his throat, threatened to kill him if the pokemon didn't comply. He used to be so happy and playful, but he was intelligent, too. He knew what was going on. When the pokemon went with the grunts, he was heart broken. It's been almost a week and all he does now is lay under that tree… Where are you going?" She asks as I suddenly stand, then make my way over to the tree.
The boy doesn't move as I sit down next to him, but as I settle, he speaks. "The pokemon you're holding against your chest is a different color from the other boys' one, even though they look the same…" It didn't sound like a question to me, so I replied.
"Yeah, she is a different color. Something at birth, I think." The boy looks up at this, his facing forming a serious expression, especially for a younger child.
"You knew I wasn't asking a question…" I nodded at this, and stayed silent.
After a few minutes, Justin speaks again. "Cally and Roller got taken from the school. They loved me, and left for my safety. The grown-ups think that because I'm little, I don't understand what they did, what their going through…" He cuts off as I move Angel so I can lift the boy into my lap. My eyes glow blue, and suddenly we aren't sitting under a tree. Instead, we are sitting on a log, next to a younger version of myself. The boy's eyes widen, but I put a finger to my lips and point to the clearing in front of us. Angel is in the process of evolution, and as she finishes, she starts dancing. I speed up this part, stopping as we are walking out of the clearing under the moonlight. The Houndoom appear, forming a ring of fire around my memory self. The boy watches, saying nothing as the snatcher appears out of the smoke, demanding me to give Angel over. We continue to watch as my body and eyes glow red, before the mental explosion hits and I cover his eyes and dim my my young voice screaming, as everything descends into chaos. Suddenly we are back under the tree, the teachers and students watching us.
The boy looks into my eyes, then starts sobbing into my shoulder. I rock him back and forth, waiting for him to stop. When he does, I stand him up, and get on one knee infront of him.
I speak. "Some people don't understand, because they haven't gone through the heartbreak you and I did. When Team Plasma came, you were too young to fight. You didn't know what to do. Your friends sacrificed themselves to torment at the hands of Team Plasma to protect you. When that snatcher came for Angel, I fought out of anger and love. You would join me if you could, but you cannot. So I ask you this. Will you let me fight for you, trust me to safely return those pokemon who survived Team Plasma's horrible work so far, and avenge those who didn't?" He looks into my eyes, and I can sense his torment cease. He nods. I pat his shoulder, then reply, speaking up to the whole group. "Team Plasma has wronged both you and I, and we won't stand for it. I will return those pokemon to this school." I focus on Justin. "Cally and Roller will hug you sometime soon. I swear it."
I squeeze his shoulders slightly, and, standing, turn to the teachers. "I meant every word." They just nod. Then Alex walks up to me. His eyes bore into me, such a serious expression, strainingl to understand.
Then he holds out his hand. I grasp it. "I will be behind you every step of the way. Team Plasma won't know what hit them!" The kids cheer as we head down the road, continuing on our journey.
-That Night, Terry POV-
We camp out near the lake, a few hours walk from Nacrene City. As we lay in our separate tents, I reflect upon the day. I meant every word… I look at Angel, who, after taking her medication, sleeps peacefully next to me.
I whisper quietly. "I will avenge every pokemon and person wronged by Team Plasma. I swear it."
I meant every single word.
