Author's Note: Wow, more reviews on that last chapter than any other . . . awesome! Also, this has been the hardest chapter, emotionally, for me to write so far. Anyway, you'll have to check out this purposefully delayed chapter to find out what happened.
Light's Adventures
Chapter 38: Wishes
Light's fur was lifted the wrong way and the very ground underneath him rumbled from the force of the explosion behind him. The light stop coming from the sky and come from behind him for a second as the beam finished its course. After the sound of the explosion, the air was eerily quiet. The menacing Salamence in front of him simply twitched a little as it recovered from the exertion of the attack.
Light was almost too afraid to look back, and yet he knew he had to. Time still seemed to be moving slower as he turned around. At first nothing could be seen from the smoke. However, Light was still able to see where it had gone and knew who had been there.
Light a step forward and then another. Finally, he broke out of his shocked state and ran forward. A single syllable came out of his throat as he ran across the ground: "Cream!" By the time he had reached the site, the smoke was clearing away with the slight breeze of the day.
A long trench led from the last place Light had seen Cream to the light gray wall of the stands around the arena. The wall was cracked and broken where it met the trench left from the Hyper Beam. Light almost choked as he finally saw Cream lying where the wall and ground used to meet before the attack. She was lying on her side, splayed out. Dirt covered her where she had been knocked into the ground, but not even that could hide the small trail of blood slowing coming down her side.
Light rushed to her side, just to find that she looked even worse up close. Part of her fur had been singed, showing Light that gash on her side that was leaking the blood. There was also blood on her forehead and on one of her forelegs, which was held out at an awkward angle. Light tried to reconnect their mental link, but couldn't as she was unconscious. Her sides were moving at a slow, eccentric pace.
What do I do? What do I do? Light frantically thought. Is it safe to move her? Arceus! What do I do?
Light glanced backwards as he heard a thump. Nick had leapt down from the podium, though this time he landed more skillfully. Light also saw that the others had approached, but were staying a little away, unsure of what to do.
What do we do? Light desperately asked Nick as he ran up and dropped to one knee beside him.
"We need to get her to the Pokemon Center," Nick said.
He carefully scoped Cream up into his arms. Cream didn't even twitch as she was picked up. Light watched anxiously as Nick slowly stood back up, still unsure of what to do. Nick quickly left the arena in a jog, Light right on his heels. Light barely realized that the others were following as he concentrated on Cream. Even while jogging, the path seemed impossibly long as they headed down the hallway. Only a few janitors were in the hall at the time; they moved and paled a little as Nick's group rushed by.
After what seemed forever to Light, they exited the stadium and started toward the Pokemon Center. The automatic doors slid open to allow access as they rushed in. The Nurse Joy behind the counter gasped as they came up to the counter.
"Oh, my goodness!" she exclaimed, holding a hand up to her mouth in astonishment.
"Nurse Joy, quick; my Eevee's been seriously injured," Nick got out, heavily panting afterward.
"Don't worry; we'll get right on it," she responded. "Blissey, come quick!" she called out behind her. A large pink and white Pokemon appeared out of a doorway, pushing along a stretcher in front of it. "Place it on here," Nurse Joy ordered Nick.
Nick complied and laid Cream carefully onto the padded stretcher. Light was distressed when Cream still didn't react at all. Blissey quickly rushed the stretcher back through the door it had come through.
"We'll take it from here," Nurse Joy said. She gave a slight bow before also slipping through the door.
Light stared at the door. Tears were starting to form into his eyes as he anxiously waited. It hadn't even been a minute and it was almost unbearable, not knowing how Cream was. He jumped as he felt something touch his back.
"It's okay, boy; it's just me," Nick said, starting to rub Light's fur back into place. "Don't worry, Light; Nurse Joy's an excellent nurse. She'll have Cream better in no time," Nick said, trying to reassure him.
It didn't work. Light started to pace the floor, doing small circles around the front of the door Cream had gone into. He vaguely realized that the others had found places to sit and rest. However, his body wouldn't allow him to rest as he continued to worry about Cream.
Will she be alright? How could this happen? Why did this happen? Light wondered as he paced. He stopped as he suddenly realized the obvious answer. The Salamence had purposefully aimed at Cream; its trainer had planned it all along. Light was just about to rush out after the horrible trainer when he remembered the state that Cream was in. He couldn't leave until she was well again. However, Light promised he would one day get that trainer and his Pokemon back, no matter what.
Light continued to pace in front of the door. He was unable to tell how long it was before the doors to the front of the Pokemon Center opened. Light stopped and looked up long enough to see that there were two men in black suits, each with a suitcase, standing there. Light continued to pace.
Light watched out of the corner of his eye as the two men walked up to Nick who was sitting on a short, orange bench. Pulling Nick up, they started to whisper urgently to him. Nick kept shaking his head no, until he finally lost his resolve and followed them out of the building. Nick's father had watched and hurried out after them.
After countless more small circuits, Light's legs finally started to weaken. Exhausted, Light flopped down in front of the door he had been so diligently guarding, spreading himself to cover the width. This way, he would know exactly when Nurse Joy came out. However, the day still continued without any word. A few people came in, but grew impatient when Nurse Joy didn't arrive and left.
Soon, night came and the others, who had silently waited with him, slowly fell asleep until he was the only one awake. Moonlight was already shining through the glass of the Pokemon Center, when Nick and his father came back in, looking tired. Nick came over and petted Light a little before lying down on his previous bench and falling asleep.
Light had only stayed awake so long was because of his nocturnal side, the dead silence and stillness not helping. Light didn't know how long it was before his eyes slowly drooped, unable to stay open any longer.
(0)
Light jolted awake at the sound of clicking. After adjusting to the brightness of the morning sun coming through the windows of the Pokemon Center, he glanced up and saw that the door was slowly opening. His morning tiredness immediately left and he sat straight up.
He looked up anxiously as Nurse Joy came out, making sure to be quiet. There were small purple spots under her eyes, and she looked as though she hadn't slept all night. She glanced down at him and gave a small smile before walking past him and going over to the still sleeping Nick. As soon as she put a hand on him to shake him, he came awake, which surprised Light.
"Uh? Nurse Joy! How's Cream?" he asked getting up.
Nurse Joy's face suddenly turned grave for a second before her neutral expression came back. "Would you like to see her?" she asked.
"Definitely," Nick said.
"Okay, right this way," she said, coming to the door again. Light got up as she did, and she looked back down at him again. "You're the famous Light, aren't you?" she said.
Light was shocked that she already knew his name.
His expression must have shown for she laughed slightly. "All Nurse Joys have heard about you by now. We all know about the Pewter Town incident," she explained. "Would you like to come, too?"
Light nodded his head and followed them into a white hallway. After passing a few doors, Nurse Joy opened one and led them in. Light took a sharp breath as he saw Cream on one of the beds that he had so often been on. There were a few cords leading away from her, and there were several white patches on her, the largest one where the gash had been.
He flinched as he suddenly made a horrible connection. He would end like this sometimes, and Cream would have to walk in like this. He felt guilt start to stir up as he realized he made Cream feel this way whenever he battled. This was why she disliked to battle.
Light approached the bed, but didn't jump up, unsure if it would hurt Cream. Instead, he jumped into a chair next to her. Cream was lying on her side, the same way she had after the attack. He was dismayed to see that she was breathing was at an unsteady pace.
Nick crouched down next to him and looked at Cream, too, numbly petting Light on the back. Finally, Nick turned to Nurse Joy. "So, what's her condition, Nurse Joy? Will she be okay?" he asked.
Nurse Joy hesitated for a second, before replying, "Will you come out into the hall for a second?"
Light realized that she didn't want to say it in front of him. Nick walked out with her, but Light already knew what this meant. He lowered his head and started to weep. It couldn't be true. It was just one attack. She had to pull through. She just had to.
The worst was implied when Nick gave a startled exclamation on the other side of the closed door. Light shook his head numbly. This couldn't be true. With all his will he wished it to not be true. She couldn't just die. Light started to break down even further.
Light suddenly stumbled as he felt a large part of his energy start to leave. Light started to panic as the drain continued. His wasn't doing anything, so he must be being attacked. Light tried to stop the steady drain of energy, but was unable as the attack continued. Light's vision started to twist as he got weaker. Light realized too late that he was falling out of the chair as he finally started to pass out.
(0)
There was a loud beeping as Light wearily opened his eyes. He felt extremely weak and he turned his head to the side. Sitting next to him was Nick, his face in his hands. By his height of vision, he realized he must be on one of the medical beds. Looking around a little more, Light realized Cream wasn't there.
Cream! Light thought. He immediately started to struggle to get up. However, his limbs refused to cooperate to his commands, instead lying limply at his sides.
Nick, though, had noticed him trying to move. He gasped and wrapped Light in a tight hug. "Light! You're okay!" he said, his voice sounding hoarse.
What happened? Where's Cream? Light thought, opening up a channel, though it was hard.
Nick released him from the pressing hug and sat back in the chair. "We came back in to find you on the floor passed out. Nurse Joy had to immediately hook you up to the healing machine. For some reason, your energy was leaving you, and at a high rate, too. After a little, it stopped. Nurse Joy said the only other time she knows of energy leaving like that is where a Pokemon was being attacked with an attack like Absorb," Nick explained. "We looked around, but we couldn't find the culprit anywhere. Officer Jenny has set up a psychic watch on the area for the time being."
What about Cream? Will she be okay? Light hesitantly asked, fearing the answer.
Nick sighed and looked away, already answering the question. "The attack did some large damage, Light," he said, closing his eyes. "Nurse Joy's informed me that she won't make it." His voice cracked as he told him.
Light stared numbly at the wall for a second. He then closed his eyes and willed the nightmare to leave. It couldn't be true. It all had to be some cruel joke or strange dream. This couldn't happen. Light shakily rose and jumped down. His legs almost collapsed as he landed on the floor. Nick gasped as he jumped and got up.
"Light, you've got to rest. Nurse Joy didn't see any injuries, but you need to recover your energy," Nick warned.
I need to see Cream, Light told him.
Nick leaned down and picked him up. "Okay, but I'm carrying you."
Nick walked out into the hall and carried Light to the Cream's door. Nurse Joy was in there, checking at the various monitors around the room. She gasped as she saw Light in Nick's arms.
"He was adamant to see Cream," Nick explained, putting Light in the chair.
Light looked at Cream, his one and only mate, lying there splayed out on the bed. Her sides rose shakily. Light closed his eyes on the image, tears started to come again. He couldn't lose Cream, not now; not ever. She was his other half. How could he live without her?
He opened his eyes as he heard Nurse Joy and Nick gasp. He stared numbly at Cream as small dots of light started to suddenly appear above her and float down onto her, seeming to melt into her pelt. Then Cream herself began to glow a bright, yellow light so intense, that they all had to look away.