Chapter 23: Sleepy Reunions
A few days passed. No one in the guild had any luck finding information about the Time Gears, and Laura remained unconscious. Mason kept a near constant vigil by Laura's side during the day, but the members of the guild always forced him to go home with Paula at night so that he would eat something and get some rest.
On one particular day as Mason and Paula began their usual trek to the guild, they were stopped by Kangaskhan from Kangaskhan Storage.
"Hey Sweeties!" she called out cheerfully. "Are you off to visit Laura again?"
"Yes, that's right," Paula affirmed.
"Has she woken up yet?"
Mason shook his head sadly. "…We don't know," he softly admitted.
"…I see," Kangaskhan said, sounding a bit downcast. But then she shook it off and smiled brightly. "Well, perhaps the thought of eating these will tempt her awake?" she asked as she handed Paula a small drawstring bag.
"Wow!" Paula exclaimed as she opened the bag to view the contents. "More Plain Seeds? It seems like everyone in town has been giving us some! They've completely filled up our treasure bag!"
Kangaskhan gave a gentle laugh. "Well, we all know how much she adores them…"
"And I suspect that many pokémon are just using this as an excuse to get rid of them…" Mason thought dryly, rolling his eyes.
"Anyways," Kangaskhan began, bringing Mason back into focus. "Tell her that I said hello and that I hope to see her back here soon!"
"Okay, we will!" Paula assured. "And thank you!"
With that the duo continued heading towards the guild. But just as they reached the crossroads, they spotted the very distracted and worried-looking Chatot coming down the stairs.
"Chatot! Hi!" Paula called.
Chatot gave a startled jolt before noticing the two. "…Oh… I was just coming to get you two…" he mumbled.
"…Why? Did something… did something happen to Laura?!" Mason asked desperately, beginning to panic.
Chatot shook his head and Mason relaxed a bit… only to become frantic once more when Chatot explained, "No… in fact, that's the problem. Laura… she's still asleep!"
When Mason and Paula burst into Laura's room, they saw that everyone had gathered around her. She looked deceptively peaceful as she slept under a mountain of blankets, with the one from Drowzee—which Paula had brought a few days ago, hoping that Laura would appreciate and respond to the familiarity—on top.
"It's been days…" Paula said in dismay. "Why hasn't she woken up yet…?"
"Not even Loudred's annoyingly loud voice could wake her…" Sunflora said.
Loudred opened his mouth to give an irate retort to Sunflora's comment, but he was cut off when Chimecho reported, "She hasn't moved once, and no matter how many blankets we pile on her, she still feels cold…"
"No…" Mason whispered, sounding distraught. "Is… is it a coma…?"
"A COMA? What's THAT?" Loudred asked.
Mason sighed before explaining, in a voice devoid of emotion, "…It's a condition where someone sleeps and sleeps… but nothing you do can awaken them. Unless it's medically induced, humans can be rendered comatose by illness or," he gulped, "s-severe head trauma."
"Golly! This is just like Azurill!" Bidoof remarked. "Oof… You don't think Darkrai came back… do you?"
"Oh my gosh! I hope not!" Sunflora exclaimed, sounding horrified at the thought.
"Hey, hey! I have an idea!" Corphish suddenly exclaimed, causing everyone to look at him hopefully. "Why don't we call Cresselia? She helped Azurill when he couldn't wake up!"
"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Paula said.
"But… how will we reach her?" Chimecho asked. "I know she briefly joined your team… but didn't her duties as the Lunar Pokémon force her to quit?"
"Yeah, but she gave me and Laura this item called the Lunar Wing which she said would allow us to 'draw on her powers' so that we could prevent nightmares or contact her," Paula explained.
"Indeed? How does it work?" Dugtrio asked.
"Well," Paula began, "she said something about…"
While everyone else was occupied discussing the item, Mason busied himself with making sure that Laura was comfortable. As he rearranged her blankets, he noticed that his bracelet wasn't glowing at her proximity. He frowned in confusion before moving it closer. It began to glow… but only a little. The he got a sudden stroke of understanding.
"…all right with you?" Paula asked, turning to face him. When he didn't respond, she frowned. "…Mason?"
Mason blinked and turned towards her. "Sorry… what?"
"Is it all right with you if we ask Cresselia for help?" she repeated. "She might be able to wake Laura, but she'll have to go into her mind to do it. I know how you feel about that, so…"
"Yeah, that's… that's fine," Mason said, sounding rather distracted. He glanced back at Laura before drifting backwards and saying, "Um… If you'll excuse me, I have to go do… something."
Everyone stared quizzically at him, but before they could ask anything, he teleported away in a flash of light.
Dugtrio rolled his eyes. "In any case… let us summon Cresselia."
It didn't take long for Cresselia to arrive, and after a brief explanation of the events that had led to Laura's current state, she began her examination.
"…So you say she has been sleeping like this for days?" Cresselia asked.
"Yes," Chatot confirmed. "She doesn't appear to be having a nightmare, but…"
"Can you help her?" Paula pleaded.
Cresselia nodded. "Yes," she assured. "I will see what's wrong."
"Oh, but be careful!" Sunflora cautioned. "She had that thing with her memories, so…"
"Yes, I will be careful," Cresselia said.
With that, she entered Laura's dreams. Everyone watched hopefully… but after a few moments Laura suddenly went rigid and began to spark with energy. In a flash of light, Cresselia was forced out. She screamed as she was slammed against the far wall.
"Squawk! M-Miss Cresselia?! What happened?!" Chatot spluttered.
"She… she pushed me out…" Cresselia panted, her voice faint with disbelief.
Her disbelief was mirrored by Paula. "What?! She… she pushed you out? But she's… she's asleep! How could…?"
Cresselia shook herself off before explaining, "…It is possible for those with a strong mind or subconscious to recognize when their dreams are being manipulated, and they often mount a defense in response. This is what happened with Laura in the Dark Crater when she recognized Darkrai's trick. But… I don't think that is the case this time."
"Oh, oh?" Wigglytuff asked, sounding curious. "Why not?"
"Because," Cresselia said, "Laura… you can't really classify her as being asleep."
Everyone looked at her incredulously before Loudred blurted out, "WHAT?! What do you MEAN she's not sleeping? Look at her! She sure isn't AWAKE!"
"Yes, it's true that she isn't conscious," Cresselia agreed, "but when people sleep, they dream. There is activity in their minds. But in Laura's… there is almost nothing." Cresselia ignored everyone's still-incredulous stares and turned back to look at Laura, continuing, "The instant I tried to use my powers to force her out, everything began to shake and she forced me out instead. But I think that, in this case, it was more of an instinctual act than a conscious decision…"
"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora exclaimed. "I wonder if that's why she started sparking?"
"Although, after the 'incident,' it should not be surprising that she would not tolerate a display of force where her mind is concerned…" Dugtrio mused.
"Oof… but why do you reckon her mind is empty like that?" Bidoof questioned, glancing uneasily at Laura.
"And, hey, hey! What are we supposed to do now to get her to wake up?!" Corphish demanded.
"I wonder…" Cresselia murmured, studying Laura. After a moment she turned to Paula and asked, "Paula… with Azurill wasn't there another pokémon you sent into his dreams before me?"
Paula blinked. "Do you mean Drowzee?" she asked.
Cresselia nodded her head, seeming satisfied with something. "Yes… he might be able to rouse Laura."
Paula started in surprise before frowning. "But… Drowzee isn't nearly as powerful as you are…"
"Exactly," Cresselia said. Everyone's confused stares prompted her to explain, "That might make Laura more likely to tolerate his intrusion in her mind."
"Oh!" Loudred exclaimed. "I GET it!"
Diglett frowned. "But Miss Cresselia… I thought that you said Laura's mind was nearly empty. So even if Drowzee goes in… what would he be able to do?"
"Right before I was forced out, I sensed a presence," Cresselia explained. "It was very faint… but it was there."
"Do… do you think it was Laura?" Chimecho hesitantly asked.
Cresselia frowned and turned back towards the unconscious treecko. "I do not know," she confessed. "But if Drowzee were to go into her mind, I am fairly certain that he would be able to communicate with it. It might provide him with some insight on Laura's current condition."
"My, my! Once more we must commend you for your excellent plan!" Chatot told her.
"Yeah… it's a GREAT plan…" Loudred said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "There's just ONE problem. Drowzee is TRAVELING the world. NO ONE KNOWS WHERE HE IS!"
Everyone gave various exclamations of dismay when they realized that he was right, but Paula merely frowned as something nagged at her mind.
Then it clicked. "Wait… Marill and Azurill might," she said, causing everyone to silence and turn their attention to her, their expressions demanding an explanation. She obliged, "He writes letters to them sometimes. Like when he was in the Chilly Valley; he sent them a letter and a package to give to us." She pointed to the top blanket on the heap covering Laura's body. "That's where we got Laura's blanket." Then she sighed, "But… that was over a month ago, on her birthday. I doubt he'd still be there…"
"But maybe he's sent another letter since then!" Sunflora exclaimed hopefully. "You should ask Marill and Azurilll!"
"Okay! I'll go right now and see if they're in town!" Paula said before rushing off.
Meanwhile… in Treasure Town…
"Marill! Wait for me!" Azurill called out to his older brother, who had hurried on ahead of him to reach the Kecleon Market.
"Hurry up, Azurill!" Marill called back.
"Why hello there, Marill and Azurill!" Verde greeted, chuckling in amusement at the brothers' antics.
"Hi, Misters Kecleon!" the two greeted in return.
Murray smiled warmly at the duo. "And what can we do for you today?" he asked.
"Mommy sent us to get some Oran Berries!" Azurill said cheerfully.
Verde went to get the items and asked, "And how is your mother doing lately?"
"She's doing well!" Marill answered.
At that moment, Wobuffet and Wynaut approached.
"Hello!" Wynaut said. "Do you have any Plain Seeds for sale?"
"Plain Seeds? Were you, by any chance, planning on giving them to Laura?" Murray asked knowingly.
"That's right!" Wobuffet exclaimed.
Wynaut nodded. "Usually Plain Seeds are the first items to get recycled… but I think that lately everyone has been giving them to Laura."
"Same here!" Verde said with a chuckle. "In fact, we don't have any left in stock!"
Marill frowned in confusion. "Why is everyone giving Laura Plain Seeds?" he asked.
The smile dropped from Verde's face and he sighed sadly. "You see…"
He was suddenly cut off when Paula rushed over, yelling, "Marill! Azurill! I need to talk to you!"
"Oh! Paula!" Verde exclaimed, surprised by Paula's abrupt entrance. But at the sight of her frantic face, he frowned and worriedly asked, "How is Laura doing?"
Paula shook her head. "It's no good… she's still asleep!"
"What?" Wynaut spluttered. "But… hasn't it been days already?"
"That's right!" Wobuffet affirmed, sounding worried.
"Huh?" Marill asked, looking from Paula to the other adults. "Laura… has been sleeping for days? You mean… like Azurill that one time?"
"Exactly!" Paula nodded. "And that's what I need to talk to you about! Azurill, do you remember how we sent Drowzee into your dreams?" When Azurill frowned and nodded hesitantly, Paula continued, "Well Cresselia thinks that if we do the same thing for Laura, he might be able to help her!"
"Really?!" The brothers asked, eyes wide and shining with hope.
"Yeah! But the problem is that we don't know where he is," Paula explained. "Has he sent you any letters recently?"
"Yeah! A few days ago!" Azurill said. Then he rummaged in the shopping bag and pulled something out, handing it to Paula. "Here!"
"Thank you!" Paula said with gratitude. "I'll be sure to return it later!"
As she sped off back towards the guild, Wynaut called out, "And why not stop by when she's feeling better? Spinda and everyone at the café have been worrying about her!"
"That's right!" Wobuffet added.
"Yes! We will!" Paula called back, her voice faint from how far away she'd gotten.
Back in the room where Laura was resting, everyone waited impatiently while Chatot read the letter silently to himself.
"…All right," he said when he was done. "It says here that Drowzee is writing from the Arid Plains."
"The Arid Plains?" Paula repeated. "Okay, if you just show me where that is, then I'll go—"
Chatot cut her off, "But… it also says that he's headed off somewhere else in a few days, and it doesn't specify where."
"Oh my gosh! Didn't Marill and Azurill tell you that they'd received this letter a few days ago?" Sunflora wondered with worry.
"Then by now he could already be long gone from the plains!" Dugtrio exclaimed.
Everyone began to chatter with worry before Wigglytuff stepped in. "Everyone… calm down," he said. "He didn't specify when he was leaving, so if we hurry, then there's a chance that he might still be there."
"Right!" Paula said. "Okay, so I'll—"
She was cut off again when a flash of light lit up the room. When it dissipated, everyone saw that Mason had appeared, looking haggard and worn. Cresselia seemed the most surprised to see him, and as she studied him, she frowned. For some reason, he looked very familiar to her…
"Mason! You're back! Where did you go?" Chimecho asked.
"I… I was looking for… something," Mason replied evasively. The he sighed. "But I… I couldn't find any… Did… did you have any luck?" he asked desperately.
Paula shook her head sadly. "No… Cresselia couldn't do it, so now we have to go find Drowzee. Hopefully he's still in the Arid Plains…"
"The Arid Plains…" Mason muttered in recognition. "There are many Ground- and Rock-types there. Let me go with you! I'm part Grass-type, so I'll be effective where you aren't!"
"Okay! Thanks Mason!" Paula said in gratitude.
"Ah ha!" Cresselia suddenly exclaimed, startling everyone. They turned to her in confusion, but she was too focused on Mason to notice. "Mason! I remember! Those eyes… are you him? That boy…"
Mason jolted before nodding and giving her a warning look. Cresselia looked smug for a moment before she became filled with dread as she realized something else. The color drained from her face and she whipped back around to stare at Laura in horror. "No…" she whimpered. "Then does that mean…? Is Laura…?" she turned back towards Mason for answers, and he nodded and gave her an even fiercer look. "She doesn't remember… does she?" Cresselia whispered sadly. Mason's eyes filled with pain and he shook his head.
Loudred had enough of the cryptic statements. "What are you two TALKING about?" he demanded.
"…It's not important," Mason said before grabbing Paula's arm and dragging her towards the exit. "We're wasting time. Let's go!"
The two headed off. Paula was surprised to note that the Arid Plains looked a lot like the Northern Desert. And Mason hadn't been kidding about the number of Ground- and Rock-types. At least there weren't any sandstorms. Unfortunately, there were a lot of Monster Houses.
"You're so strong…" Paula said in awe as she watched Mason take down a ryhorn with his Magical Leaf attack. "I'm sorry that I'm not much help…"
"It's fine," Mason assured. "This place is hard on Electric-types like you."
The two continued on, and Mason decided to satisfy the curiosity that he had been feeling since the journey started. "So… who's this 'Drowzee' character that we're trying to find?" he asked.
"Oh! Yeah!" Paula exclaimed, remembering that Mason had never met him. "Well… the first time that Laura and I encountered him, he was an outlaw who was picking on Azurill…"
"What?!" Mason demanded. "We're getting help from an outlaw?!"
"W-well, yeah… technically…" Paula mumbled nervously. "B-but it's okay now!" she assured. "He helped us out when Darkrai invaded Azurill's dreams, so now we're friends. He even gave Laura that blanket with the rainbows. I think it's because of our team name: Team Rainbow."
"…I've been meaning to ask… is Laura the one who came up with the name?" Mason questioned. When Paula nodded, Mason sighed and dragged a hand down his face. "Laura… just how complex is your subconscious…?"
Meanwhile…
Drowzee was finishing packing up. He looked over the desert landscape one last time before wiping an arm across his brow. "Phew!" he sighed. "That's everything! Too bad there aren't any good souvenirs here… oh well. I'll just get something for them in the next—"
"Drowzee! WAIT!" a desperate voice cut him off. Drowzee turned in surprise to see a familiar-looking pikachu running towards him…
"Paula…?" he questioned, unable to believe what he was seeing. But the disbelief vanished when she came closer, and he exclaimed, "It is you!" before pulling her into a hug. "I'm glad to see you! And just like I'd hoped in Treasure Town, I'm meeting you with a smile and open arms!" He blinked and blushed when he realized that his arms were no longer open, and, as he released her, he said, "Well, I mean they were open until I hugged you, but… well, you know what I mean. How have you been?"
"I'm so glad to see you!" Paula exclaimed, still feeling slightly out of breath. "I'm fine, but—"
Drowzee cut her off when he noticed that she wasn't alone. "Who's this?" he asked, referring to the celebi that had accompanied her.
Mason gave a slight bow and introduced himself, "I'm Mason."
"Nice to meet you," Drowzee said cordially. Then he frowned as he registered the absence of someone important… "Where's Laura?" he asked.
"That's why we came here!" Paula said, the desperation in her voice immediately catching Drowzee's attention. "I mean… it is nice to see you again… but we need your help! Laura is in trouble! She—"
Drowzee cut her off. "Laura is in trouble?!" he yelped. "Where is she? What happened? I'll do whatever I can!"
Mason and Paula led Drowzee back to the guild. Drowzee stared grimly at the unconscious Laura throughout the entire explanation of the events that led to her current state. He noticed the blanket on the top of the pile and started in surprise.
"Hey… isn't this…?" he trailed off.
"Yeah, it's the blanket you gave her," Paula confirmed. "It actually arrived on her thirteenth birthday, which was pretty cool."
"What? She's only thirteen?!" Drowzee angrily demanded. "Then why would those scoundrels do something like this? What kind of low-life goes around kidnapping kids?!"
Then Drowzee cringed as he realized something. "Oh… yeah…" he muttered. "I did the same thing to Azurill…"
"But you have since atoned for that, and you are helping us now," Dugtrio said in an attempt to offer him comfort.
Drowzee frowned; he didn't buy it. "But… I wasn't able to do anything for Azurill. He only woke up because of Cresselia," he reminded everyone, giving a nod in Cresselia's direction. "If Cresselia failed this time, then I don't know how much use I'll be…"
"Please, Drowzee," Paula begged. "Just try."
Drowzee sighed. "I never said that I wouldn't do it. I just…"
"You will do fine," Cresselia assured him. "Just… be careful."
"Yeah, I will," Drowzee promised.
"And don't… don't be surprised by anything you see in there," Mason said, looking nervous. "Laura's mind… it's very… complicated."
Drowzee nodded. "I understand."
With that, Drowzee placed his hands on Laura's temples—frowning momentarily at the unnatural coldness of her skin—and entered her dreams, disappearing into a wave of purple light…