Chapter 14 – Broken
Keith steadily walked up the stairs and reached for the door handle on Alexa's bedroom, door, but he felt another hand reaching for the handle as well. Soon enough, he realised Alexa had approached the door at the same time as him. Alexa recoiled her hand and clenched her dressing gown, just below her throat, as she shied away a little.
"Oh, hi."
"Hi..." Keith immediately spotted a hint of depression from Alexa.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I guess," she replied almost silently. Keith raised a suspicious eyebrow.
"You guess? Okay, come on, we need to talk." Before Alexa could even begin to argue, Keith escorted her into the bedroom, quietly closing the door behind him.
Downstairs, meanwhile, Robbie continued to express his concerns to Skywing, Xavier and Ryder in one corner of the room. At the same time, Layla and the recovering Iara remained asleep on the sofa, with Reese having since joined them. Keenan sat on the floor in front of Iara, reading a small magazine that, presumably, came with a newspaper. He didn't care very much for what 'gossip' he was reading, but he thought it was better than not doing anything. In the kitchen, Lily was cutting up some salad to accompany the pasta bake for dinner, while Hayden and Ian discussed the day's events.
"Wait, wait, wait! So Mavis could die at any moment and Alexa doesn't know?!" Hayden asked in disbelief.
"She's been through more than enough for one day," Ian explained. "I thought it'd be better for her not to know back at the Pokémon Centre."
"But she needs to know!" Hayden insisted.
"I think she's aware that she could die," Lily said calmly, albeit with concern at the same time. The pace of her chopping seemed to have slowed; the sight of the bruise below Keith's eye still held her worry. "Maybe that's why she's been acting strangely." Keenan lowered the gossip magazine and listened intently to the adults' conversation; he picked up the hint that there was more to Lily's concern than what met the eye. He knew something wasn't right, but he couldn't fathom what. He mentally prayed that she, Hayden and Ian were still blissfully ignorant to his captivity.
"There's also the fact that she was pretty much held hostage," Ian said bluntly. Keenan almost shuddered; he didn't want to get started on being held hostage after his ordeal with Jordan, and he regretted every moment.
"Dad!"
"Look, Hayden, my point is, even if Mavis was unharmed, she had a hectic day. Give her a break." Keenan knew very little of what happened with Alexa and Jordan; he only knew bits and pieces, but not the whole picture. But understanding that Mavis was more critical than Iara was, he had the assumption that Alexa must have gone through absolute hell. While he was reassured that she was unharmed, he still worried for his sister.
"What makes you think Mavis is going to die?" Keith asked carefully. Alexa sat at her desk, in front of her mirror, as Keith gently brushed her hair. The white towel that was previously wrapped around her head was randomly placed on the blue beanbag next to the desk with her laptop on it. Alexa sighed as she sat up straight.
"I didn't say she was definitely going to; I just said that she might," she said sadly. Keith carefully pulled some of Alexa's hair away from her face as he continued brushing, taking great care not to pull the brush down too hard in case of any tangled areas of her hair.
"Well, what makes you think THAT then?"
"You saw the state Skarmory left her in. Besides, it was all over the doctor's face; her condition isn't good..." Keith had a small idea,
"When we catch him, Alexa, you can get compensation from him, right?" he suggested.
"I could, but won't." Keith was puzzled. "I don't want his dirty money, and I don't need it."
"...good point," Keith muttered to himself.
"Keith? Do you think she'll die?" Alexa asked sadly. Keith suddenly stopped brushing, mildly shocked at the question he was asked. He heard what the doctor had said to Ian, but he refused to upset her further.
"...it's not my place to say."
"But if it was?"
"Alexa, stop worrying!" Keith said, trying to sound optimistic. "She's in good hands, and, besides, worrying too much is bad for you."
"I'm sorry."
"I don't blame you for worrying, but it's concerning me," Keith said truthfully.
"Huh?"
I'm worried that you'll end up mentally incapable of carrying on with your duties," Keith explained. Alexa frowned; she only needed one guess as to what he was referring to.
"Like when Cain wrought hell for Almia?" she asked. Keith frowned; he didn't need to be reminded of that heartless Pokémon murderer who even went so far as to have his own Pokémon slaughtered. Cain's sentence wasn't nearly enough to set his mind at ease, as the current mission he and Alexa were on reminded him very much of Cain's own crimes.
"...yeah." Both Keith and Alexa felt the tense atmosphere and remained silent for what felt like an hour. Keith finally sighed and set the hairbrush down on the desk, next to one of Alexa's body spray bottles, having brushed all of the tangles out of her hair. He gently rested his hands on her shoulders.
"Just to let you know in advance; if I begin to suspect you're becoming mentally unstable, like before, I'm letting Professor Hastings know and telling him you'll be off duty until you're well enough. Okay?" Alexa dreaded the thought of more compassionate leave because of her 'broken mentality', as she had dubbed it. All she wanted was to get on with the task at hand, and she was determined to prove that she wouldn't let any mishap, however intense and traumatic, stop her in her duties. She exhaled silently.
"Only if I can do that for you as well," she said quietly. Keith's eyes widened a little, but soon laughed quietly.
"Okay, deal." Alexa felt a light peck on the cheek, which cheered her up a little. She stood up from her chair and faced Keith directly.
"Thanks for looking out for me, but, really, I'm fine," she said, smiling timidly. Keith lost his smile.
"For how much longer? With everything that's happened today, on top of what's been happening all week, there's only so much for you to take," he said worriedly.
"I'm fine," Alexa said shakily. Secretly, Keith didn't believe her, and he assumed she didn't believe herself either, but said nothing.
"Let me know if you're not."
"Okay."
"I'm serious, Alexa, I'm concerned about you, both personally and professionally. You have to promise me you'll tell me if you feel unfit." Alexa admired his concern, and smiled warmly.
"Thank you. I'm sorry if I sounded arrogant, but I don't want anyone to think I'm being a pushover all of a sudden."
"Hey, come on, nobody's saying anything of the kind. I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't try to look out for you."
"...I should get dressed; I'm not really comfortable about having dinner in my jammies," Alexa said nervously. "Can you check on Keenan for me?"
"Of course; you only had to ask. Take your time," Keith said sweetly as he made his way out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Alexa made her way to her wardrobe and stared at her line of clothing. She pondered her choice briefly, but then her mind went utterly blank, allowing many thoughts flow through her. She didn't want to believe that Keith might be right about her being mentally incapable of carrying on with their mission. She quickly shook the prospect out of her head and picked out one of her T-shirts.
Gabby and Andy sat on their respective armchairs, disgruntled at how poorly their assault went. Well, Andy was disgruntled at least; Gabby was more than satisfied at the damage her Liepard did to Keenan's Vaporeon. Jordan slammed the door open, almost making Gabby and Andy leap twelve feet out of their seats. Jordan slammed the door again as he closed it, and stormed into the room. Andy and Gabby faced one another in confusion as Jordan took his seat and poured himself some whiskey.
"Yo, Jordan...you all right?" Andy asked nervously. Jordan drank the entire glass of whiskey in one gulp and slammed the glass on the desk, almost breaking either the glass or the desk in the process.
"Fucking bitch got away from me," he replied grumpily. Gabby and Andy looked at one another again; they saw Jordan's anger before, but they never saw him so furious. "I was close...so very close," Jordan added spitefully, clenching his fist so tightly his knuckles cracked. "I had her, but Keith and that old man had to spoil things."
"The one with the Braviary?" Gabby asked, careful as to not antagonise Jordan further.
"Yes," Jordan replied as calmly as possible, pouring some more whiskey into the glass.
"Interfering body number four on the list?" Andy suggested. Jordan took a deep breath and exhaled, enhancing his calm.
"No. His Pokémon struggled against mine; he's no threat." He took a sip from his glass and placed it lightly on the desk again, leaving half of the contents remaining.
"What now?" Gabby asked. Jordan took a cigarette from the small cardboard box next to his whiskey bottle and placed it in his mouth as he took out a lighter from his pocket.
"We go about our business as usual while finding a new place to hide out," he explained as he lit the cigarette.
"And if the kids get in the way?" Andy questioned. Jordan took a moment to ponder the answer, and finally said, as he breathed out the intoxicating smoke.
"...the gloves are off. Don't hesitate to command your Pokémon to attack them...directly." Gabby's demeanour grew more sinister as she took those harsh words to heart, growing a rather demonic grin on her face. "And by directly, I don't mean any of those wimpy 'specially based' attacks; make it hurt."
"Well I know Arbok will have a fun time with that," Andy smirked. His smirk quickly died as he noticed the psychotic look in Gabby's eyes. "And Liepard, no doubt," he added quietly, wincing at the horrific sight of a bloodthirsty Gabby.
The next morning, Alexa stood outside her house, looking up at the sky as the silhouette of her Chatot grew closer and closer to her. Skywing finally came into view and Alexa held out both of her hands, allowing Skywing to roost.
"Here we go. Dominic and Lucky," he declared, pointing to the black and yellow Poké Ball in one talon and at the green and black Poké Ball in the other talon. "They were both cooperative, which was a bit of a shock to see from Lucky."
"Just because Lucky prefers to be either alone or with Tori, it doesn't mean he's not anti-social. He's just very serious," Alexa said kindly. "Thank you, Skywing."
"You're welcome. And you mustn't fret over Mavis; she will pull through," Skywing said as he flew indoors.
"I hope so," she said to herself as she placed both Poké Balls into one pocket of her jeans. She looked up at the sky again as Keith and Keenan approached her from behind, with mutual concern.
"You all right?" Keith asked.
"I'm fine, thanks," Alexa replied, still looking up at the sky. "Skywing just dropped off Lucky and Dominic, that's all."
"Who and who?" Keith asked in confusion.
"Dominic – Dommie, for short – is my Rhyperior," Alexa began. Keith's eyes widened with surprise; such a beastly Pokémon...he hadn't expected someone as kind as Alexa to have such a Pokémon. "And Lucky's my Absol." Keith was even more surprised; how many more Pokémon did she have that Cain also had? His mind was almost blown.
"How come they're here, Alex?" Keenan asked. Alexa wished he hadn't asked her such a question.
"Both Lucky and Dommie are powerful in their own rights. I think they'll be able to stand up to Jordan's Pokémon without ending up like Mavis..."
"Is she really that badly hurt?" Keenan asked worriedly. Like before, Alexa wished he hadn't asked her that question; the mental images of Mavis's horrific injuries, both in Viridian Forest and at the Pewter City Pokémon Centre, ran through her mind.
"...you have no idea," Alexa whispered sadly.
"It's early days yet, she could still pull through," Keith said optimistically.
"Yeah..." Keith walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and smiled warmly at her. Neither he nor Alexa were in uniform; Keith was simply dressed in a purple T-shirt with blue jeans and his cherished dog-tag necklace around his neck, whereas Alexa was casually dressed in a grey vest and lighter blue jeans, with, of course, her treasured emerald choker around her neck.
"Try to think positive," Keith said softly. Alexa smiled. Keenan smiled as he watched the healthy interaction; he'd felt ever so guilty about jeopardising their relationship, even though he was told he had nothing to do with it. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a Pokémon circling overhead.
"Guys?" Keenan pointed at the Pokémon, and Keith and Alexa were drawn to it. Alexa looked at the figure long enough to recognise its identity.
"Skarmory!" she exclaimed. Layla walked out of the house, holding something in her arms. She struggled to close the door behind her without dropping the items she was holding.
"Is it Jordan's?" Keith asked.
"I can't really tell from here, but it's flying around Mt Mortar," Alexa explained.
"I can't see a mountain?" Keith said quizzically.
"Mt Mortar's not a very big mountain, but a mountain regardless," Keenan explained. "The inside of the mountain is bigger than the outside."
"Nyah?" Layla gently tugged at Alexa's vest, attracting her attention.
"What's up, girl?" Alexa asked kindly. Layla smiled as she revealed the items she held in her arms, presenting them to Alexa and Keith; in each paw, she held a Fine Styler and the accompanying yellow and black glove. Both Keith and Alexa took their Ranger equipment.
"Maybe we should start wearing our uniforms," Keith said nervously as he pulled the glove over his right arm.
"What the professor doesn't know won't hurt him," Alexa smiled, clipping her styler onto her gloved arm. "Besides, we only have one set with us, I, for one, don't want to carry out my duties while stinking to high heaven of sweat and mud." Keith laughed.
"Good point." Alexa petted her shining Zangoose on the head.
"Thanks, Layla."
"Nyah~!" Layla purred.
"Right, let's go!"
"Robbie!" Keith called. The Sawsbuck trotted over to him in response and looked at him in confusion. "Fancy showing Jordan some more of your new strength?"
"Saws!" Robbie nodded. Keenan released Darcy from her Poké Ball and climbed onto the Rapidash's back. Robbie bent down to allow Keith and Alexa onto his back, Alexa sitting behind Keith. Both equine Pokémon galloped away, headed towards the destination Skarmory was circling.
Darcy led Robbie to the start of Mt Mortar, where they spotted Skarmory circling overhead. Alexa finally had a better look at the Pokémon.
"Yeah, that's Jordan's!"
"They're ON the mountain?" Keith asked.
"Some Pokémon like to hang around on top of mountains," Alexa explained.
"Up and over, Darce!" Keenan exclaimed. Darcy whinnied as she raced towards the mountain, gracefully leaping her way up by jumping from ledge to ledge.
"I-Is that even possible?!" Keith asked.
"Darcy knows what she's doing. She's done it before. Robbie, follow her lead!"
"Saws!" Robbie made his way to and up the mountain, following Darcy's pattern as closely as possible. He went slower than Darcy due to the fact he hadn't scaled a mountain before.
Andy collected the last of the Poach Balls and dropped it in the large sack that Jordan then tied up tightly. He looked up at his circling Skarmory until he, Andy and Gabby heard Darcy jumping up onto the somewhat flat surface that was the very top of Mt Mortar. There wasn't much to the summit; the surface was uneven and presented a lot of fall hazards if one was too careless. Robbie arrived shortly after Darcy, and the three riders dismounted from their respective steeds. A cold wind blew across the mountain top.
"So you came." Jordan was the first to speak up. "Big mistake."
"The mistake was letting your Skarmory fly around where we can see him," Keenan said nastily. Alexa nodded in agreement.
"No, honeys, the mistake was you coming here because of Skarmory," Gabby smirked.
"So you wanted us to find you?" Alexa asked.
"Let me guess," Keith sighed. "Now is the part where you knock us out and we don't wake up until we're restrained in that death bin of a basement of yours," he said rudely.
"Nah, that'd be too cliché," Andy said casually.
"You've proven to us that you're nothing but a thorn in our stride," Jordan said snidely. "Interestingly, that includes you, Keenan." Alexa subtly stepped in front of her brother and held onto his hand. "Now, I'm done toying around with you. From here on in, expect no mercy from us."
"So you holding a knife to Alexa's throat was your idea of being merciful?!" Keith yelled accusingly.
"She should consider herself lucky she escaped unharmed," Jordan grumbled, glaring at the protective sister.
"She's right here, you know!" Alexa snapped.
"Not for long! Swanna, Hurricane!" Gabby demanded, throwing her Poké Ball into the air. The swan Pokémon burst forth from the Poké Ball as her wings shone in a blinding light blue glow. Before Jordan could scold Gabby for the outrageous command, Swanna flapped her wings and unleashed the tremendous gust of wind, affecting everyone on the mountain top. The powerful wind was proving almost impossible for everyone, including Gabby herself, to withstand, and it was far too much for Keenan to endure; the gust blew him backwards, sending him down the mountain just as Swanna ran out of energy.
"KEENAN!" Alexa cried out as she saw her brother falling over the edge. She turned to run after him, but the brown eyed Absol forced himself out of his Dusk Ball and ran after the boy. Keith only caught a glimpse of the Disaster Pokémon, but he was focused on Alexa, holding her back from the edge of the mountain to keep herself from falling.
Lucky ran down the cliff and grabbed the back of Keenan's T-shirt with his teeth, saving him from falling through a hole that led to a river that flowed through the inside of the mountain. Alexa, Keith, Robbie and Darcy watched worriedly and with horror as Lucky pulled the barely conscious Keenan onto a large and secure ledge on the mountain. Even from afar Alexa noticed the extent of Keenan's injuries; one of the grooves in the mountain broke off and penetrated Keenan's hip, approximately near where his appendix was. Tears flowed from Alexa's eyes, but they burned with complete and total outrage. She stood up tall and faced her foes; Alexa never felt such anger in all her life. She was angrier than when Keith unintentionally insulted the honour of her deceased Butterfree.
"That's it, the line's been drawn AND crossed in one fell swoop! I am NOT going to take this lying down, YOU HEAR ME!?" Jordan raised an eyebrow while Gabby and Andy hadn't expected such an exaggerated reaction.
"A-Alexa..!" Keith couldn't help but worry for her and Keenan. He tried to calm her down, but Alexa held her arm out in front of him, Ultra Ball in hand.
"Dominic, show Swanna what force REALLY is!" she shouted furiously as she threw her Ultra Ball in front of her. "ROCK WRECKER!"
The muscular Rhyperior was unleashed from his Ultra Ball, which had bounced back into Alexa's hand. Jordan hadn't expected Alexa to possess such a titan and was mildly caught off guard. Dominic let out a mighty roar that startled even Jordan. The large Rock type rhino was only out for less than one minute and Andy already feared the beast. Dominic cupped his hands together, forming a gigantic rock veiled in red aura from the many small rocks pouring out from the holes in his hands. As soon as the rock was large enough, the glow faded and Dominic, using incredible force, threw the boulder at the frightened Swanna. Swanna cried out as the boulder shot her out of the sky and she fell flat on her belly, with a large amount of blood pooling out from the laceration on her wing. Gabby was unbelievably horrified and glared angrily at the irate Alexa.
"What the fuck?! Your bloody rhino could've killed my Swanna!"
"Open your eyes, Swanna could've killed us all AND my brother!" Alexa shouted.
"We should've done the dirty deed when we caught him in the first place!" Gabby argued insensitively. While Dominic was catching his breath, Alexa tried to run towards Gabby, intent on attacking her, only to find herself almost lifted into the air by a rather panicky Keith. She struggled to get loose from his grip, but without success. Furious with Gabby, Jordan slapped her across the face with the back of his hand. Andy watched helplessly as Jordan loomed over the recuperating Gabby, almost in the same fashion as when he had Alexa trapped between him and Lydia's headstone.
"What the hell were you playing at?!" Jordan demanded in a low murmur. Gabby looked up at him, both angrily and fearfully at once.
"You said we could, you hypocrite!" Jordan slammed his hand on Gabby's throat, almost choking her. Robbie was surprised to see Jordan being so harsh to someone who was supposed to be his ally. Jordan lowered his head and whispered ever so nastily into her ear.
"I didn't mean on top of a mountain, you fucking slut..."
"Alexa, get Keenan out of here and to the hospital, now!" Keith instructed. Shocked, Alexa stopped her struggling and looked up at him.
"W-what about you..?"
"I'll do what I can here, you need to focus on helping your brother," Keith insisted.
"B-but-" Keith became deadly serious.
"Don't make me turn that into an order!" he snapped. Alexa recoiled slightly. "Just go, I'll meet you later!" The reality of Keenan's accident sank in, and Alexa was overcome with tremendous feelings of guilt for having stood there and allowed the incident to occur right under her nose. She was breathing rapidly.
"T-the hospital's in Goldenrod...!" she finally said quietly.
"Okay, just be careful," Keith said as he released Alexa from his grip.
"Darcy, y-you're with me, Dommie, stay with Keith!" Alexa exclaimed shakily. Dominic nodded as Darcy followed Alexa down the mountain.
Alexa and Darcy finally made it to the same ledge Keenan and Lucky were on. Seeing her brother in so much pain, despite him not showing it, gave Alexa so much heartache, especially seeing the fragment of rock sticking out of Keenan's hip. Alexa pulled herself together and carefully lifted him onto Darcy's back before climbing onto the Rapidash's back herself. Darcy and Lucky ran down the mountain with great care, avoiding a landslide.
Keith watched Darcy and Lucky racing away from the mountain as fast as their legs could take them. He sighed; he never thought he had to physically restrain Alexa to prevent a fight again. He knew he had to take her off duty; there was no way he could ignore Alexa's reaction to the horrific accident.
"And then there was one," Jordan said rudely. Keith turned his attention to the intimidating poacher. Andy was crouching next to Gabby, making sure she was all right after Jordan's assault. "Well, at least there won't be any more whining from that bitch, Alexa." Highly offended, Dominic snarled menacingly.
"Watch what you say..!" Keith jeered angrily. Jordan took out his dagger and looked at it casually.
"I wish I actually made her suffer yesterday; I had the opportunity and she was unbelievably vulnerable."
"Then why didn't you before Ian and I showed up? Too much banter?" Keith asked rudely. Jordan ran his finger gently down the sharp side of his blade.
"That might be down to me trying to find a good place on her to make the first cut," Jordan replied, with the tiniest of evil smirks on his face. Keith growled; he didn't need to have a diagram drawn to understand the meaning behind Jordan's words.
"You disgust me..!"
"Saws...!
Darcy and Lucky raced through the doors of the Goldenrod General Hospital, immediately attracting the attention of the doctors and nurses wandering through the reception area.
"Help, I need help, please!" Alexa cried desperately.
"Get a trolley!" One doctor called to another as he ran towards Keenan, who, by now, had lost all consciousness. "What's his name, love?"
"K-Keenan, Thorndyke. Please, can you help him!?"
"We'll do what we can, sweetheart," the doctor smiled.
"Finn?" The requested trolley arrived quickly, and the doctor, Finn, with a little help from Alexa, carefully moved Keenan from Darcy's back to the trolley, where Finn and the nurses instantly rushed him to the emergency room. Alexa then returned Darcy to her Poké Ball, which she had taken from Keenan while en route to the hospital.
"Lucky, please, go back and help Keith," Alexa requested quietly.
"Sol? Ab-sol," Lucky shook his head in defiance, more worried about Alexa than Keith.
"Lucky, please, just go to him! I-I'll be fine, j-just go! Please!" Lucky looked up at his distraught Trainer; he wanted to stay with her until Keith arrived, but he wasn't one to defy her request. He wasn't Lupin, after all.
"Absol," Lucky finally conceded and left the hospital, on his way to Mt Mortar. Alexa sat herself down one one of the many identical navy blue chairs and leaned her head against her fists, trying to keep a hold of herself as she waited anxiously for news on her brother's condition. Her efforts were proving futile, as her tears wouldn't stop escaping her eyes.
Dominic slammed his bulky fists, both frozen over, into Arbok and Roserade's faces, knocking them down, while Robbie slammed his orange glowing antlers into Conkeldurr's torso, knocking him back, but not down. Conkeldurr backhanded Robbie away from him, but the Sawsbuck recovered quickly, albeit with a red mark left on his cheek. Jordan growled.
"Impossible. Pokémon only obey their true masters, how is Alexa's Rhyperior obeying you?!" he asked demandingly.
"I-I dunno; Alexa just told him to stay with me, she didn't say anything about listening to me." Dominic faced Keith with an unusually kind smile for a Rhyperior and winked at him. Keith was left a little surprised.
"Whatever the case may be, you'll be the first to suffer. Conkeldurr, Focus Punch!" Jordan commanded. Conkeldurr dropped one of his concrete pillars and staggered towards Dominic, with his fist beaming in a blinding blue light. Dominic glanced behind him a little, and smirked at the oncoming Conkeldurr. Dominic moved to one side, allowing Lucky to spring straight for Conkeldurr, engulfed by streams of white light.
Lucky struck Conkeldurr straight in the chest with Aerial Ace, his scythe accidentally leaving a cut little below Conkeldurr's throat. Conkeldurr fell on his back, with Lucky standing on top of him, growling fiercely at Jordan. Keith was confused.
"Lucky?"
"Rrrrrr..!" Keith watched the Absol with intrigue; Lucky looked well treated compared to Cain's Absol, and, oddly, more fierce as well. Jordan recalled his Conkeldurr back into his Poké Ball.
"I know who sent YOU," he remarked. Keith became concerned; he knew Alexa must have sent Lucky to help him out. Both Lucky and Dominic awaited their next opponents, both putting on ferocious looks.
"Well, it looks like neither one of Alexa's Pokémon is going to back down, and continuing a conflict up here will send us down the same route as Keenan," Jordan continued, glaring sinisterly at Gabby. "So we'll be on our way."
"W—just like that?!" Keith exclaimed. Skarmory flew down to the ground, just behind Jordan, as Andy released his Fearow from his Poké Ball. Arbok and Roserade were also recalled into their Poké Balls, along with Swanna. Jordan hopped onto Skarmory's back.
"I'm no expert, but if you want Alexa's sanity intact, find her before she does something stupid," Jordan said harshly. Andy climbed onto Fearow's back and helped Gabby to sit behind him. Skarmory and Fearow flew off, away from the mountain. Dominic and Lucky were furious at the retreat.
"Let them go," Keith sighed. Lucky and Dominic looked back at Keith, noticing the worried look on his face. "I'm going to the hospital to find Alexa. You three go back to the house, let Hayden and Lily know about what happened. And please, take your time." Lucky and Dominic looked at one another with concern; they knew Keith wanted a delay, but Mt Mortar wasn't exactly far from Violet City. They were about to inform Keith of that fact, but he'd already made his way down the mountain and sprinted straight towards Goldenrod City, Robbie having watched him the entire time. The two Pokémon looked up at one another once more before they made their way down the mountain slowly, both wondering how to explain the delay in delivering the devastating news of Keenan's accident to his parents. Robbie followed the duo closely.
Keith ran through the doors of the emergency department and looked around for any sign of Alexa, admiring the beautiful, albeit predicable, décor at the same time. The floors were painted in goldenrod yellow – to tie in with the city's name – with the walls being painted in a more pale yellow colour, there was a clearly marked reception area around the squared pillar in the centre of the room. He found Alexa on one of the plush seats in the waiting area and approached her carefully.
"Alexa?" Hearing her name, Alexa shot up from her seat and spotted Keith. Keith instantly noticed the look of paranoia in her eyes, which worried him even more so than before he stepped into the hospital.
"Keith! W-where're-?"
"I, uh, sent the Pokémon back to yours," Keith quickly explained, feeling nervous. "I told them to let Lily and Hayden know about Keenan."
"What?! W-why did you do that, they'll think it's my fault!" Alexa panicked as she fell back into her chair. He recognised the paranoia, but was afraid it was worse than he first thought.
"Alexa, are you all right?"
"No, I'm not, my brother's in the ER because I couldn't help him withstand Swanna's attack and now my Mum and Dad are gonna blame me for not having looked after him and-"
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Calm down," Keith said abruptly, taken aback at Alexa's panicky ramblings. "It's going to be all right."
"No it's not, Keenan could've been killed and my parents are going to hold me responsible, and they don't even know about his last close call with Jordan, and-" Alexa stopped as soon as she felt Keith pulling her out of the chair. He held onto her arms and looked straight into her eyes.
"Alexa! Try to keep calm, okay? You're not doing anyone any favours, least of all you, okay?" Alexa just stared at him. Keith was worried for her, she knew that; but she also knew he was trying to keep calm for her sake. Though how could she keep calm with the possibility of her brother dying lingering in her head? She loved her brother to pieces, how could she even begin to imagine the prospect of a life without her baby brother? Her tears kept on flowing down her face. Keith pulled her close to him and gave her a cuddle, but Alexa was too afraid to return his hug.
"Alexa?" The teens heard the voice of a senior woman and faced the doctor. Aside from the stereotypical white doctor's coat, she looked pretty out of the ordinary for a doctor; her fiery red hair was tied in a ponytail, she wore fashionable frameless glasses over her topaz eyes, her ID card, with the name Vicki Langdon next to a profile picture of the doctor herself, hung around her neck, over her pink turtleneck sweatshirt and her black leggings only went down to her knees, with grey knee high socks covering the rest of her legs, leaving her knees the only parts of her legs exposed. She oddly wore sports trainers on her feet. Alexa immediately recognised the doctor.
"D-Doctor Langdon! How is he?!" she asked desperately. Vicki sighed.
"It's...not good, I'm afraid," she replied regretfully. Keith placed his arm on Alexa's back.
"Can you be more specific?" Keith asked.
"Sorry, you are..?"
"Her colleague stroke boyfriend," Keith answered quickly.
"Oh, okay, sorry. Well, I'm afraid there were...complications in his treatment," Vicki elaborated. "The rock fragment penetrated his appendix and has inflamed, we've just sent him off to Theatre." Alexa could not believe what she'd heard; Keenan's accident was worse than she thought. Her guilt intensified. Keith was distraught.
"Theatre!?"
"If we don't remove his appendix, his condition will worsen and he could die," Vicki added reluctantly. "But we are absolutely confident that the appendectomy will be a success – being a common procedure – and will help your brother, Alexa, try to keep your chin up." How could she? Alexa found out her brother could die and she was told to keep her chin up?! She felt something snap inside of her.
Keith and Alexa heard the doors of the ED opening, and saw Lily and Hayden running steadily towards them. Alexa suddenly brushed passed Vicki and fled out of sight. Keith was dumbfounded, yet concerned.
"Alexa?!"
"Alexa!" Hayden called. But she disappeared from the reception area, fleeing to nobody knows where. He sighed.
"What's wrong, Vicki?" Lily asked, trying to contain her despair as much as possible. Vicki sighed.
"I've just explained to Alexa that Keenan's been sent to Theatre," she replied hesitantly.
"T-Theatre?!" Hayden questioned in horror.
"It's a simple procedure, Hayden," Vicki added nervously. "But I really don't think Alexa's coping, Lily, she's been behaving strangely since she arrived in the ED."
"Thank you," Lily said politely. Vicki smiled.
"Shall we go to the Relatives' Room? There's no sense in waiting around here," she suggested as she escorted Hayden, Lily and Keith towards the more private waiting area.
Alexa ran into the entirely vacant ladies' lavatory and closed the door behind her. She raced into the farthest cubicle and locked herself in. Inside, she leaned against the wall and eventually fell onto the floor, hyperventilating throughout. She clutched her head with both hands, many thoughts and memories plaguing her mind. She was wide-eyed, yet her pupils were very small, and tears refused to cease escaping her eyes. She was clearly under great stress, and that was putting it kindly.
The Relatives' Room was a more relaxed environment compared to the rest of the hospital. There were two identical green three seater sofas parallel to one another, with four other green single sofas, also parallel to one another, with a rounded coffee table next to one of them. There was a squared coffee table in the centre of the room, and a water cooler in one corner of the room. Like the rest of the hospital, the walls were painted in a pale yellow colour, but the floor was a soft blue carpet. Hayden sat anxiously next to his wife, while Keith leaned against the wall near the water cooler. Everyone stayed silent until they heard a knock on the door and saw a male doctor entering the room. He wore the typical blue hospital scrubs, but his ebony black hair was all over the place, as though he walked through a hedge backwards.
"Hayden, hi, just to-"
"Is he all right, Mark?" Hayden asked abruptly.
"W-well, I was just about to tell you that," Mark said nervously. "Yes, the procedure went well, and he's in recovery as we speak." He looked around the room in confusion, and recognised Alexa's absence. "If I see Alexa, I'll let you know."
"Thank you," Hayden said unenthusiastically. Mark nodded and left the room quietly. Lily and Keith were extremely relieved, even though Keith wasn't sure how Hayden and Lily were acquainted with the doctors he met so far.
"Where did Alexa run off to..?" Keith asked worriedly.
"I'll go find her," Hayden stated.
"No, I should," Lily said politely, standing up quickly. "She's most likely in the ladies' anyway."Hayden nodded and Lily quietly left the room, leaving Hayden and Keith alone. Hayden sighed as he leaned back in his seat.
"Why did she even run away in the first place..?" he asked worriedly. Keith sighed as he sat on the sofa in front of Hayden.
"She thinks you and Lily are going to blame her for Keenan's accident," he replied hesitantly. Hayden looked at Keith in horror.
"What?!"
"I'm worried; she's really taking this badly." Keith took a deep breath and sighed, dreading the decision he was about to take. "She's getting unstable, I'm going to tell Professor Hastings that she's not fit to work for a while." Hayden was as much in disbelief as Alexa was when she first heard the proposal.
"It's like Cain all over again! Only worse!" He sighed. "But why is she afraid of her mother and I blaming her..? We know it was an accident, Robbie explained it all."
"But it was caused by Gabby's Swanna...Hurricane, I think the move was called," Keith said quietly.
"Therefore, Alexa has nothing to be guilty about," Hayden said worriedly.
"She feels she should have looked after Keenan better," Keith said quietly. "She feels responsible for what happened, being his older sister, and she feels she's let him down."
Lily silently entered the ladies' lavatory and closed the door behind her just as silently. The whole room looked like what you'd expect a public restroom to look like; one side of the room had four cubicles, each with an identical toilet inside, while the other had a line of four sinks in front of one large mirror, with several soap dispensers next to the taps. There was a blow dryer mounted to the wall next to the sinks, with several posters stuck to the same wall, all of them laminated for protection against any stray drops of water that might happen to hit them. The posters depicted different advertisements, most about medical help for certain things, such as quit smoking and drinking alcohol responsibly, but there were also general posters, such as stopping discrimination. The saddening sound of Alexa's sobbing echoed throughout the room. Lily silently locked the door, preventing anyone from disturbing her and Alexa. She walked carefully over to the farthest cubicle and stood in front of the door.
"Alexa, honey?"
"J-just say it!" Alexa wept. Lily was bewildered at Alexa's bluntness, but was even more confused as to what she meant.
"Say what, darling?"
"Keenan got hurt b-because I-I couldn't keep my eye on him! A-and I told Keith I'd be more vigilant..!" Lily grew troubled; she had no idea when she said such a thing to Keith, but assumed it was said when the pair were disputing.
"Sweetie, nobody blames you for what happened, it was an accident," she said kindly. "If anyone's blaming you, honey, it's yourself."
"Like Lupin blames me for Lydia I bet..!"
"No, I-" Lily sighed. "Alexa, open the door, we need to talk."
"A-About this or your suspicion?" Alexa asked tearfully.
"What?" Lily asked in puzzlement.
"I-I know you saw the bruise on Keith's face! T-that was me!" Alexa confessed sadly. Lily held a hand over her mouth in sheer shock.
"What..?"
"H-He said he won't report me, but h-he made me really angry, a-and he lost Keenan that day..!" Alexa lost herself in her own tears before she could confess to her mother about Keenan having been held hostage while she, Hayden and Ian were in the Unova region.
"...I knew something was wrong..." Lily whispered to herself. Alexa's sobbing intensified slightly. Lily wiped a tear from her eye.
"Keenan's going to be fine, sweetheart, you have no reason to worry about him any more." Lily hoped her daughter could hear her over her sobbing. "You're stressed because of what happened to you and Mavis yesterday, on top of Lupin not listening to you. You just need to take things easy at the moment, that's all. Why don't you come out? Your father's worried about you, and so is Keith."
"H-He'll tell the Professor I'm losing my mind again! I-I'm not a lunatic!" Alexa cried.
"Nobody's saying that you are, sweetheart, you just need a little time off to-"
"No!" Alexa screamed. "I-I've had enough compassionate leave or sick leave or whatever it was for one lifetime!"
"Alexa..."
"I-I don't want anyone to think I-I can't handle the case!" Alexa wept sorrowfully. Lily was touched, but not in a way she wanted; she pitied her daughter, and part of her understood her refusal for compassionate leave. Her instincts, however, told her Alexa needed it. Badly.
"Right now, sweetie, I don't think you can. Please, come out of there; we need to talk about this." Lily put on a warm smile. "But I promise you, nobody's angry with you, or even at all. Yes, we are worried for your brother, but we're worried about you as well. Please, baby, let us help you."
It took a minute or two for Lily to see a reaction to her genuinely heartfelt words. The door unlocked with a little click and Alexa opened it slowly, walking out of the cubicle as she pulled the door open. Before she did anything else, Alexa flung herself at her mother and sobbed in her arms. Lily was more than ready for the sudden embrace, holding her crying daughter gently in her arms. Lily remained silent, and allowed Alexa to cry as much as she felt she needed to, with no fear of anyone else ruining disturbing them.
To be continued...