An Age of Valour
by the Lady of the Mists
Chapter Twelve: A Survivor
Officer Jenkins questioned them persistently during the course of the next hour and a half about the happenings in the cave. Lydia was grateful for the distraction; at least in prevented her from thinking about the little Pokémon whose life was hanging the balance. She had been so weak when they arrived that Lydia wasn't sure if Cyndaquil would make it.
Eevee and Poliwag were sitting in her lap, snuggling close to their trainer, but she had the feeling that their thoughts, too, were on the fate of their partner. She stroked them as Jenkins stood up, his expression grave as he glanced outside. "I was worried about that," he muttered.
"Sir?" Lydia asked. "Do you know who they are? I mean, they kept mentioning this chief and . . . I have the feeling that they're some kind of secret organization or something." She bit her lip as he looked at her.
"You're a sharp girl, Miss Talon," he remarked. "Yes, I think that's exactly what they are. It's too soon to say, but I'd have to guess that they're operating in secret in all parts of Johto, maybe even the entire world. You never can tell if a person is a friend or foe anymore." He looked at her and smiled. "Of course, you seem to have good instincts. You should trust them, Miss Talon."
"But who are they?" Jesse asked.
"I have absolutely no idea," he admitted. "And if there was any evidence left, they were probably destroyed in that fire. Not to mention, any of them that we could have questioned are long gone. Now, don't worry about that," he added, seeing Lydia's guilty face. "You had more important things to worry about and I would've been extremely disappointed if you had been more worried about catching those crooks than the fate of your Pokémon."
"Right," Lydia said, shivering slightly. "I hate trainers like that." Jesse grinned and Officer Jenkins chuckled.
"Well, I'd better get back over to the station and give the detective the report. You two had better stay here tonight, in case some stragglers decided to attack you here. I'll have a guard posted outside all night, just in case. You two going to challenge the gym leader?" Jesse and Lydia nodded. "Well, good luck. Bug trainers around here, but Cyndaquil should help you out there," he said with a smile at Lydia.
She could only manage a weak smile back. "Hopefully," she whispered. Jesse squeezed her hand tightly and Jenkins clasped both of their shoulders before heading out of the Centre. "How long have they been back there?"
Jesse glanced at the clock. "Almost an hour and a half," he answered. "Look, I would take the long wait as a good thing. If it was quick, then it would mean that there wasn't much they could do. I'd worry more, then."
Lydia glared at him. "If that's supposed to make me feel better, then you've failed miserably," she told him.
With a small smile, Jesse wrapped his arm around her and she reluctantly rested her head onto his shoulder, glancing over at the ER. The red light on the door remained lit, which meant that they were still operating. "Talk to me, Lydia," Jesse said quietly.
She was silent for a long moment before she spoke. "I had a dream about my mother the other night," she said quietly. "Back on the way to Violet City. It felt . . . so real. I couldn't see her; she was behind a veil of mists. But I could hear her voice . . . it was so much like how I imagined it as a child and how I often heard it late a night, right before I went to sleep." Jesse was quiet as she talked. "She told me that . . . I had to find out some truth, something that happened that I was lied to about. But she didn't say what it was."
"Maybe it was just a dream," Jesse told her as he let her go. Lydia looked around at him. "Or maybe you're supposed to find out the truth for yourself, not somebody else tell you."
Lydia sighed. "Yeah, that's what she said. Mom said that I would know the truth only when it was essential for me to know. When I was ready, then I would find out. But . . ." She sighed. "What could I possibly find out that would come as an even bigger surprise than anything else?"
Jesse was silent as he considered this. "Maybe . . ." he said finally. "Maybe the reason why your father has been so . . . resentful towards you. I'd say that there's a pretty big story behind that. No parent ever holds a grudge against a child for no particular reason. Unless they're just plain evil," he added dryly. "I've seen some parents like that."
"What's your dad like?" Lydia asked, remembering what he'd told her when they first met. His dad had walked out on his family.
Shaking his head, Jesse looked at her. "I don't remember him that much," he admitted. "Ever since he left, I've never even heard from him and I think that was . . . I think I was around five then. Pretty much the only memory I've got is him walking out the door." He shook his head. "Jessica was around three and Jamie was . . . not even born yet. She came about nine months later."
"All J's, huh?" Lydia asked with a small smile. It vanished the moment that the light turned off on the ER and she jumped up, rushing over to Nurse Joy as she walked out with Cyndaquil on the stretcher. "Is she okay?" she asked the nurse anxiously.
"She'll be fine, just a good rest," the nurse told her reassuringly. "So long as she gets some undisturbed rest, then she'll be ship-shape in the morning. You're all welcome to go to recovery and stay with her, but I want her to have rest," she said warningly to the group.
"Yes, ma'am," Lydia said meekly. Jesse looked nervous as the nurse smiled, instructing Chansey to take Cyndaquil to recovery.
Just as Lydia was about to head out towards recovery, the nurse stopped her, frowning slightly. "Miss Talon, you're bleeding," she observed. Lydia blinked, startled, then rubbed the spot where it had been itching for awhile. When she pulled her hand back, it was covered with blood.
"Oh, I guess I must've cut it back in the cave," she said wryly. Jesse smirked and Nurse Joy sighed, shaking her head. "I'm fine; it's not that bad, actually."
"If it's still bleeding, then you must've cut it deeper than you think," Joy said automatically. "Come with me, young lady." Lydia rolled her eyes at the commanding, motherly tone the nurse portrayed, before following her.
Although it only took a few minutes for her to bandage up the cut, it felt like hours to Lydia, who only wanted to get back to recovery and stay with Cyndaquil. By the time that she was released by the nurse, she was filled with jitters and her worrying had tripled.
Jesse was pacing back and forth across the room when she got there. Cyndaquil was lying on the bed, asleep, as Eevee and Poliwag sat on the bed next to her, looking around at Lydia as she entered. She smiled reassuringly at them as she sat down in the chair next to the bed, rubbing Cyndaquil's back gently as she leaned back in the chair.
"You guys might as well get some sleep," she told Eevee and Poliwag. "I think we're gonna be here for awhile." She picked up their Pokéballs from her bag. Although she never kept Eevee in his Pokéball, she still had one for him.
However, both Poliwag and Eevee shook their heads as she tried to recall them. "Aren't you two tired?" she asked, startled. They looked pretty tired and she could sense their weariness with her psyche.
Then it hit her. They were too worried about Cyndaquil, too, to even think about sleep. A new member to the team, she might be, but that didn't mean that they didn't care.
"Oh, you guys . . ." she sighed, hugging them both. Eevee was shaking underneath her touch due to his fear and Poliwag's eyes were filled with worry and concern. "Don't worry, she's gonna be okay; you heard Nurse Joy, she just needs rest." She gave them a reassuring smile.
"She's right, you know," Jesse spoke up, walking over to Lydia, placing his hands on her shoulders. "As long as she gets some sleep and relaxation, there's no reason why she shouldn't be fine by morning. We should all get some sleep. I'll go get some blankets," he added, heading out the door with Natu on his shoulder. Ivysaur and Gastly followed him from behind.
"Thanks, Jess," Lydia told him, tugging a strand of her light brown hair as he left. She looked towards her Pokémon with a smile. "Come on, it's all been a long day. We should get some sleep."
By the time that Jesse returned, carrying two blankets, the young trainer from Rosewaters Isle was curled up, asleep in the chair. Eevee and Poliwag were right next to her, lying curled up with Cyndaquil on the bed. He smiled slightly, shaking his head as he unfolded a blanket, covering Lydia with it gently. She shifted slightly as the weight settled down upon her, but slept on.
--
Lydia woke when she felt someone climb onto her lap, slowly and careful, so as not to wake her. Although this attempt was slightly furtile, she observed as she shifted slightly, opening her eyes to find Cyndaquil settling herself on her lap. The fire Pokémon looked up at her guiltily as she sat up, careful not to accidentally throw Cyndaquil off.
"Cyndaquil!" she exclaimed, relieved to see her awake and mobile. "Thank goodness you're okay! I was so worried!" She hugged the fire Pokémon gently as Cyndaquil snuggled closer to her Pokémon. "Are you all right?" she asked and Cyndaquil nodded, though Lydia could sense that she was a little scared about what had happened in the cave. "It's all right, you're safe now. You were so brave back there, sweetie. I'm so proud of you."
A shimmer of a smile crossed across Cyndaquil's face as she looked up at Lydia happily. Eevee and Poliwag were starting to wake up by now and Lydia let Cyndaquil so that she could talk with her team-mates, glancing around the room as the blanket fell around her lap.
Jesse was missing, as well as all of his Pokémon. Lydia looked around again, but she knew that she couldn't have missed them. Getting to her feet, she peered outside the room to look for him, but the only person she saw was Nurse Joy, heading her way.
"I was just coming to check on my patient," she said with a smile as Lydia smiled at her. "Looks like she's feeling better. I'm going to do a few checks, but I really don't foresee any problems. Her injuries weren't as severe as they could've been. You got her here in good time." She patted Lydia's shoulder. "Your friend Mr. Turner is down at the kitchen, by the way. Come on, Cyndaquil," she added, smiling at the fire Pokémon. "After we do a quick check up, you can join your friends."
"We'll see you in a few minutes, Cyndaquil," Lydia said with a smile. Once the fire Pokémon had left with the nurse, she turned to the others. "You guys hungry?"
Once she'd taken Eevee and Poliwag to get something to eat, she headed towards the kitchen to find Jesse. As she expected, the dark haired trainer was already chewing down on a plateful of pancakes. "Can you go one day without running out of here with all of the Centre's food?" she inquired as she sat her bag next to Jesse's.
"I could, but I just don't want to," Jesse responded. "Cyndaquil must be okay, if you're down here harassing me."
"She's fine, Nurse Joy just took her back for some tests," Lydia told him. "Apart from finding anything, we should be clear to go. I don't want to put her through a gym battle first thing we do, though. The last thing we want is a relapse." Jesse nodded before heading back to his pancakes.
After getting herself a bowl of cereal, Lydia sat down, pulling out a map and studying it careful as she ate. "So, we can probably head down Ilex Forest and do some training there or we can just check out some stuff here in Azalea. What do you think?"
"We should probably stay in Azalea for the time being," Jesse said with a grin. "It's like Officer Jenkins said: fire is super on bugs. So whenever Cyndaquil is ready, you shouldn't have any problem at the gym. Who's the gym leader, anyway?"
"His name's Bugsy," Lydia answered. "I think he's really young, too, only a couple of years older than us or something." Staring thoughtfully across the room, Lydia was ripped from her musing by Jesse.
"So I'm thinking I was gonna use Gastly, if it's one-on-one," he said. Lydia nodded in agreement. "I mean, ghosts are super on bugs, too. Should at least give me an advantage. Hopefully," he added.
"Looks like we've got ourselves a plan," Lydia said cheerfully. "So where do you want to go while Cyndaquil recouperates? It's not exactly a big town, Jess, not much to do here."
Jesse shrugged, but then his gaze caught on something behind Lydia. "We'll go to a Pokémon festival," he said, nodding to the bulletin board that was behind her. She turned around and looked at the poster. "They've got a trainer gathering downtown. We should go. It'll give Cyndaquil time to relax and we'll have fun there."
"Sounds like fun," Lydia agreed.