An Age of Valour
by the Lady of the Mists
Chapter Ten: Questions and Answers
Lydia was already up and down in the kitchen, finishing up her bowl of cereal when Jesse finally managed to drag himself out of bed and grace her with his presence. "Good morning, sunshine," she teased when she saw his tired expression. He scowled, burying his face in his arms. "I take it that you're not exactly a morning person."
"Shut up," Jesse grumbled, raising his head to glare at her. "What time are we leaving?"
"As soon as you can get up and get yourself something to eat," Lydia answered. "I'm going to go check on everybody else. By the time we get back, I want you at the very least started on breakfast." She pushed back her chair and left the room, leaving Jesse alone at the table. "I saw that," she added as he stuck his tongue out at her.
"I know," he replied.
Lydia shook her head as she headed to where Nurse Joy was keeping all of their Pokémon. Jesse's Pokémon and hers were all in a group together, cheerfully chattering and eating some fruits that had been provided for them. The moment that they saw her, Eevee and Poliwag headed over to greet her while Cyndaquil approached her cautiously.
She still hadn't entirely earned her trust just yet, Lydia realised as she stretched out her arm to greet the fire Pokémon. "Hey, Cyndaquil, did you sleep well?" she asked, scratching her behind the ears. Almost immediately, she perked up and allowed herself to be scooped up and greeted by the young trainer as she looked over at Jesse's Pokémon. "How about you guys?" she asked, smiling. "Everybody okay?"
They all gave her an affirmative and she grinned, glancing up as Nurse Joy entered the room. "They're all clear," she said, smiling at Lydia. "Are you and Mr. Turner heading out?"
"If he can get moving, that is," Lydia said, rolling her eyes. The nurse smiled, glancing at the Pokémon. "What's the matter?" She saw the worry in Nurse Joy's eyes visibly.
"Miss Talon . . . Lydia . . . may I speak to you for a moment?" The nurse motioned her outside and Lydia stood up to follow the nurse. Her Pokémon looked slightly worried as they watched their trainer leave. Nurse Joy led her to the office, where she closed the door.
Once they were alone, Nurse Joy glanced at the trainer. "I wanted to have a word before I brought in some authorities," she told Lydia severely. "Last night, I came across something very strange while I was examining both Eevee and Cyndaquil."
Almost immediately, Lydia understood what this was about. "I have never hurt them," she said firmly. "Ever. You can ask them yourselves, but I would never do that to a Pokémon. I'd rather take my own life than do something like that." The nurse looked at Lydia, who stared back.
"How did they come across those injuries, then?" Nurse Joy asked, a harshness in her voice that Lydia had never dared imagine could be there. Not from the kind, helpful nurse at the Centre.
Still, Lydia took a deep breath and launched into the explanation of what had happened at her father's house, then of where they had found Cyndaquil at and about their previous trainers. "I swear that it's the truth," she said when she finished. Nurse Joy frowned, then sighed.
"I didn't think that you were the kind of trainer who would do that to her Pokémon," she admitted. "But I had to ask, Lydia. It's my job and I was worried about the Pokémon's safety. I did notice that the injuries were old. You said that Cyndaquil's trainer abandoned him several months ago?"
Lydia nodded. "Yeah, that's what she said," she answered. "We found her on this rock at the Ruins of Alph, where Jesse caught his Natu at." She hated to think what could've happened if they had ignored Faulkner's advice and skipped the Ruins altogether. They never would have met up with their newest members of the team and who knew what would've happened to Cyndaquil?
"Well, I'm going to call my second cousin down at the Rosewaters Isle Pokémon Centre to confirm your story," the nurse said, picking up the phone. "If she verifies your story, then you and the Pokémon are free to go."
She started dialling the Pokémon Centre and Lydia waited impatiently for the other nurse to pick up. On the third ring, someone on Rosewaters Isle picked up the phone. "This is the Rosewaters Isle Pokémon Centre," the nurse on the other end said. She smiled when she saw her cousin on the phone. "Well, hello! And Lydia, too, how are you?"
"I'm okay," Lydia said with a smile. "How are things on the Isle?"
"Good, but somehow I get the feeling that isn't the reason for the phone call," Nurse Joy said, glancing at her cousin, who was waiting patiently. "What exactly is this about?"
Her cousin explained about the scars she'd found on two of Lydia's Pokémon's backs and Lydia's story about rescuing Eevee at her father's home two months ago. "Is all of this true?" she asked, finishing up the story. "Did she bring Eevee to you?"
"Yes, two months ago," Nurse Joy said, nodding. "It was after midnight and I woke to Lydia shouting for someone to help. When I came out, I found her with Eevee, severely injured, and I rushed her into surgery. Without that girl there, Eevee most certainly would have died." She paused. "You didn't think that Lydia hurt them?"
"No, I didn't, but with two of them, I had to make sure," her cousin said. "Thanks, cousin." Nurse Joy nodded as the phone call ended. "Well, that settles it then. I'm sorry for doubting you."
"I'm glad you did," Lydia answered, holding up her hand. "Besides, it would've captured someone's attention eventually. To be honest, I'm just glad that it was someone who would listen to me."
Nurse Joy smiled. "Well, then, you two had better get going. It can get pretty dark in Union Cave pretty early. Plus, it's hard to see even in the daytime. You don't want to get caught in there after dark."
Lydia sighed. "Tell that to Jesse," she grumbled, heading out of the office to go back to her Pokémon. The moment they saw her, they jumped on top of her, wanting to make sure everything was okay. "Guys, it's all right, everything's fine!"
Once they had collected Jesse and explanations had been given, Lydia and Jesse headed into Union Cave, with only one flashlight between them. They had Eevee, Natu, and Gastly out, hoping that the Pokémon's eyes would be better than theirs were. It was about an hour later when Lydia realised that Jesse was not beside her anymore. Almost immediately, she panicked, worried about his whereabouts. Had they gotten separated when neither one of them could see anything?
"Jess, I cannot see a thing!" Lydia said, stretching out to try and find him. "Where are you?"
"Over here!" Jesse called and she walked over to where she had heard his voice, seizing his hand. Almost immediately, Jesse let out a curse of pain. "Jeez, you've got a grip like solid rock. What are you scared of the dark or something?"
"I don't mind the dark, but this is total blackness!" Lydia retorted. "Can we just find the way out of here, please?" Eevee was in her arms so that he wouldn't get separated from them. He whined at her complaining.
"It seems Eevee thinks you're overreacting as much as I do," Jesse muttered. "Should've known better than to start travelling with a girl. I've gotten too much trouble with my sisters."
"Ha, ha. If we ever get out of here, remind me to give you a black eye." A low rumbling emerged as she spoke. Lydia froze. "Uh . . . guys, was that you?"
"Vee?"
"Nat?"
"Gastly?"
"Shh, listen." Jesse stopped too and for a moment silence fell over the cave as the two trainers. After a minute, they both heard the rumbling sound coming somewhere within the cave. "What's that?"
"I don't know, but I don't want to stick around to find out," Jesse said, pulling her along. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"Thought you liked caves, Jess." Lydia smirked at him, despite that he couldn't see her. Without warning, she suddenly sensed something was wrong. And it was coming down the direction that he was heading towards. "Wait, Jesse, not that way!"
But she had spoken too late. They had both found a hole in the floor and both trainers fell through. Lydia screamed, holding on tight to Eevee, who was squealing, clawing to her shirt so not to get separated from her. Nearby, she could hear Jesse yelling as they both hit the floor with enormous force. That was all Lydia remembered as everything went black around her and she lost consciousness.