This is officially the longest chapter in Wolf Quest so far, at over seven thousand words. I enjoyed writing it, though; that's the most important thing. I also went back and edited the first chapter a bit; thank you to Wolfboydude52 for pointing out where I could improve my word choice and the like.

If you're enjoying this story, make sure to review, favorite, and/or follow. All of those things make me feel good, and make writing this even more gratifying. With that out of the way, here's the chapter.

This isn't strategic. It's strictly personal.

"What's so personal about it?" I shot back at the other Lycanroc. "You seem to really want Rose, but why is that?"

"With all due respect, Day Lycanroc, that's not something you need to know" Requiem replied. He held out one of his paws as though he were going to form an Aura Sphere within it.

Being called by my species rather than my given name angered me more than I liked to admit. I readied my claw in order to strike the Riolu where it hurt, but Rose gave me a glance that said, Don't be rash.

Eventually I relaxed my muscles that had been ready to strike at Requiem. I managed to get control of my breathing back. And I continued talking.

"I think it's pretty important," I snapped. "Rose has been nothing but kind to me; she saved my life the other day. Am I just supposed to discount that?"

None of Team Nightlock replied. Even Stu was silent, which didn't seem to be like him at all.

"Look," Axel said. "The three of us are on a time-sensitive mission, and we've already burned enough time inside the dungeon. I don't know why you three want to harm Rose, but we certainly have no intention of harming any of you. Not unless we have to."

The Oshawott broke his silence, raising one of his paws into a fist. "If you three don't surrender Rose to us, you're going to regret it. Trust me."

"Was that a threat?" I asked, trying to inject as much venom into my voice as I could. "Because if so…".

"No, it wasn't a threat," Stu replied. "It's just reality. You two are destroying yourselves by letting the Ninetales stay on your team, and that's a fact."

"I don't believe you. I don't believe you!"

The Midnight Lycanroc pursed her lips. "It doesn't matter whether you believe Stu or not. Reality doesn't conform to what you'd like it to be. Regardless, I think we must be on our way."

The Oshawott appeared furious. "So you're saying that after we went through all this trouble to find her, we just let her go? What kind of sense does that make?"

The other Lycanroc sighed loudly. "I don't like it either, Stu. But we can't get her if she's with her teammates. We'll have to try another day. Requiem, do you have the Escape Orbs?"

"I sure do," the Riolu replied, reaching into his backpack. He threw the small sphere on the ground with considerable force; it shattered into a million pieces.

A second later, the trio known as Team Nightlock had vanished.

"That was certainly weird" Axel said once they were gone. "They want Rose for some reason, but they won't say why. And they didn't attack us physically, although they did verbally. What was that all about?"

Rose sighed; I realized that the Ninetales hadn't spoken in quite some time. But then she broke her silence.

"You guys don't need to know it," she said, shaking her head. "Requiem is right about that, at least."

Judging by the manner in which Rose stared determinedly at the tree canopy, I knew she wasn't budging from her refusal to answer. In the end, the only thing we could really do would be to continue.

So that's exactly what we did. We'd been quite shocked at having seen Team Nightlock face to face, but it was also remarkable just how quickly we were able to put that behind us. To regroup.

Once out of the clearing, the air seemed to grow increasingly thick with the stench of sulfur. According to Rose, this was a good sign.

"If Austin's grandson is near the end of the dungeon, and he probably is, this means we're getting closer. Deeper into the woods, that's good news for us."

It didn't exactly feel like good news when it was as though I was breathing through a straw, but to each their own. It did, however, help to remember our objective.

We're going to save the Braixen boy. He'll get a stern talking-to from his grandfather, no doubt, but we'll have to be nice.

We had Rose in charge of carrying the bag that contained the Antidotes, along with a first-aid kit we'd bought yesterday in the city. We didn't know what kind of shape we'd find the kid in once we got to him, and I almost didn't want to know.

Along the way, we ran into a couple more Poison type Pokémon, which Rose swore she could only stun, not kill. She'd also instruct us to hold our breath when we passed the stunned Poison types, which isn't the easiest thing to do when you're trying to move quickly.

Axel and I deferred to Rose for navigation. The three of us did run into a few dead ends, but on the whole, the Ninetales was right more often than she was wrong. Before too long, we were making what felt like steady forward progress.

"Is there a map of this dungeon here or something?" Axel asked about half an hour after our encounter with Team Nightlock. "Because I don't want to get stuck in here overnight."

Rose frowned. "Axel, you lived in a dungeon for a while. Why are you so scared of this one?"

"For one, the air in the Forest of Eternal Night wasn't so toxic. Not like this."

The Ninetales couldn't really argue with that, so she didn't even try. I, however, tried not to worry about the fact that we didn't have a map. We had Escape Orbs; as soon as we found the Braixen boy, we could get out of here, unless night fell before that happened.

Speaking of night, this may have just been me, but the air felt darker and colder the deeper we ventured into the forest, more forbidding. I couldn't help but shiver with each step.

Eventually, we reached the next clearing. It was much larger than the previous one, but I didn't realize what was so important about it until Rose announced in a singsong voice, "We're here!"

The clearing consisted of a series of wooden bridges around a moat of bright purple water. The bridges all led to a small island in the center, which contained a mass of dark brown vines.

"What happens if we touch the water?" Axel asked.

"What do you think, Axel?" I responded. "This is the Toxic Forest, so probably nothing good!"

"Guys, we're wasting time here" Rose mouthed loudly. "Look at all those vines…we've got to save him before it's too late!"

The bridge felt rather rickety as we dashed across; I half-expected it to give way at any moment. It wasn't a very long bridge, but these felt like the longest few seconds of my life.

And then we were on the island, and I got a closer look at the vines.

The cluster of vines had seemed to be arranged in a random manner, but there was an order to the chaos. They all seemed to converge around dark gray ankles, binding them tightly to the ground. It was the same with white, furry wrists that were also tightly bound.

A lump rose in my throat as I realized what I was looking at. Here was the Braixen boy we were supposed to save, but he was encased in all of these vines. Still, we had to start somewhere on untying them.

"Rose, Axel, you two keep watch" I commanded. "I'll try to get these knots undone. If it takes a while, we can always take turns."

The other two seemed okay with this, so I knelt down and began this task.

It was a lot harder than it had appeared, which is saying something. Not only were the vines wound tightly around the Braixen's body, but they were also tangled around each other. I'd always thought untying a tangled fishing net would be difficult, but it had nothing on this.

If all that wasn't bad enough, the vines had spikes at several points. They seemed to be oozing a small amount of purple sap, which I was afraid to touch. This presented an additional challenge to freeing the boy.

Is he unconscious?, I wondered. I haven't heard him cry or scream at all.

An instant later, I heard a weak groan. I guess not.

Meanwhile, Axel and Rose stood at the ready for any and all attackers. I heard a few hisses and attacks, but on the whole, the prison of vines wasn't as well-guarded as it could have been. Of course, given the sheer difficulty in getting the knots undone, the task at hand was plenty hard already.

I was just done freeing one of the boy's ankles when it happened.

I felt a small, yet sharp stinging sensation against my front left paw. It was much like a needle, but a bit more painful.

Did something just sting me?

I looked around, but I didn't see any Beedrill or other creatures that could sting. I then looked down and found the culprit.

My front left paw had come into contact with one of the vine's thorns. A small drop of purple sap had been inserted in the wound, and my heart began beating faster as I felt the blood in that area start to boil. Not just figuratively, but literally.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to ignore the searing pain in that paw as I shoved aside the vines that had encircled the boy's ankle. One extremity down, four to go.

Or maybe three - hopefully they didn't tie around his neck. But if they did, he's dead for sure, and this is all for nothing.

"How's the job going?" Axel's voice said from right behind me.

"Pretty slowly" I admitted. "And I got cut." I showed the Umbreon my paw wound from the thorn.

The Umbreon's scarlet eyes dilated until they were the size of coasters. "Eliot, why didn't you scream for help? You do realize that those vines are probably poisonous, right?"

"Well, yeah, but you guys are fighting off enemies. That's also important."

Axel shook his head. "There's a bit of a lull in the fighting, so I think Rose can take whatever comes next alone. We need to speed up this job a bit, though, so I'll help you!"

As happy as I was that I'd no longer have to do this work alone, I felt an obligation to warn Axel about the job's dangers. "Careful of the spikes" I muttered.

Apparently, the Umbreon was far more skilled with knots than I was. In the time that I could untie one, he could probably take care of five. It felt like no time at all until we'd freed one arm, then the other arm, and then…

"Oh, snap!" Axel grunted. "Look at him!"

My heart sank as I saw that the normally-white fur of the Braixen's face and chest had become tinted slightly with purple, so that it was more of a lavender color. That wasn't even the most distressing part, though, for his body was covered in small cuts and scrapes, presumably from the thorns. Each scrape exuded a small amount of purple liquid, too.

All in all, the kid looked like a mess. His eyes were closed, and he didn't respond as we dragged him out of his overgrown prison. Despite this, he rolled around as though he were having a nightmare.

"Rose! Can you heal him or something?"

The Ninetales, who had been staring intently at the wooden bridges for attackers, swiveled around and ran back to our side. She glanced at the Braixen boy and frowned.

"I'm afraid I can't, at least not with moves. Of course, we've got Antidotes too."

"Then use them!" Axel bellowed.

Rose gave the Umbreon a dirty look, but she lowered her backpack to the ground. She then reached into it and pulled out a small spray bottle with the letter A on it.

She tossed the can of Antidote to Axel, who managed to catch it right before it hit the ground. The Umbreon, in turn, faced the thrashing Braixen and began to spray the can.

At first, I thought it was having an effect. When the spray hit the Braixen's body, it made the satisfying noise associated with healing, and I held out hope that the boy would be able to recover from his ordeal.

But then, when the cloud began to dissipate, his fur was still lavender in color. Not only that, but I felt my heart rate quicken as well.

"Could you spray me too?" I asked Axel.

The Umbreon nodded. He motioned to Rose, who tossed him another spray can, identical to the first one. Then, Axel sprayed it on me.

The effect was basically instantaneous as I felt the poison purged from my body. My heart rate slowed, and each beat seemed to be pumping blood more effectively. Of course, I wasn't the one we were most worried about.

That title went to the Braixen boy. Despite the Antidote Axel had administered, there were no visible signs of improvement.

"We've got to get him out of here" Rose muttered quickly. She'd basically taken on the mother-Torchic role at this point, and it was showing. "Axel, do you have any Escape Orbs handy?"

The Umbreon nodded. He got one out of his bag and handed it to the Ninetales.

"In order for this to work, we have to stand close together," Rose instructed us. "Best to only use up one orb."

Neither of us questioned her; I can't speak for Axel, but I wasn't eager to argue with our companion when time was of the essence. Any argument would only waste time.

Rose stood over the Braixen boy, whereas us two guys were just off to the side. My heart was pounding like crazy, for I didn't know what to expect from teleportation; I'd never experienced it before. Could something go wrong?

The Ninetales raised her paw containing the orb into the air, lifting it higher and higher above the ground. Then, making sure it didn't hit the unconscious Braixen, she threw it on the ground.

The Escape Orb burst like an overripe pumpkin, and I knew then that we'd done it.

My satisfaction at having gotten out of the Toxic Forest successfully was short-lived. Teleportation is one of the most disagreeable sensations I have ever felt, and that's not hyperbole.

I couldn't see anything, but I felt as though all the air was being sucked out of my lungs. I found myself clawing at my throat…I was going to suffocate…it was agony…

My surroundings weren't even darkness, because darkness would be something. "Blankness" would have been a better word for it. For a few horrifying seconds, I wondered if I was dead.

If death means being permanently conscious yet unable to breathe, I'll take "eternal oblivion" over that any day of eternity. This is just…

As suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Blinking, I opened my eyes and found myself in a familiar place.

"We're in Angelcaida City again" Axel muttered, sounding as though he were trying hard not to lose his lunch. "I guess the orbs take you back to whatever city you're based in, as opposed to just outside of a dungeon."

I sighed, keeping my mouth closed so that I didn't vomit. I knew that four Pokémon, one of them unconscious, lying in the middle of the square would attract considerable attention from the city's other residents, but I found it hard to care when my number one objective was Not. Tossing. My. Cookies.

Of course, it was a very fortunate thing that the orbs took you back to the city, at least in this instance. We still had to carry the Braixen boy to medical help at the Explorers' Guild HQ.

Wait a minute…

"Guys, we have to get him to the hospital!" I barked. "We have to save him!"

"I can get him there on my back," Rose replied. "It's easiest for me, because my back's the biggest."

Part of me wanted to do the honors, but I knew that the Ninetales was right about that. Besides, getting it wrong would only result in the kid getting hurt more severely, and that's the last thing we wanted.

In the end, Axel and I helped to get the Braixen boy steady on Rose's back, careful not to touch any of her tails. And we began moving slowly through the streets of Angelcaida City.

Let me tell you: If looks could kill, the four of us would have been buried at the center of the planet. We must have gotten so much attention the way we were, especially since lots of people were out and about in the late afternoon.

The sight raised plenty of eyebrows, and how can I blame those people? Axel and I flanked the majestic Ninetales on either side; at least, Rose would have looked more majestic had she not been lugging an unconscious Braixen on her back.

Probably the worst part about this episode was that nobody seemed eager to help. None of the townspeople offered to lend us a hand; indeed, they seemed to be giving us a wide berth on purpose as though we had the plague. I couldn't help but glare at every single 'mon who saw us and walked away.

You asshole. Why would you not help a guy in need? And you can run, but you can't hide. I'll remember this!

The castle wasn't too far away in the grand scheme of things, but it certainly felt that way with the speed (or rather, lack thereof) at which we moved. It also didn't help that I could practically feel the Braixen boy's body heat radiating off of him, even though I was a few feet away.

Eventually we crossed the moat and entered the HQ for the Explorers' Guild. The scene seemed pretty relaxed, with Pokémon sitting in armchairs and talking about where they were going out to dinner that night, or something that was equally inconsequential when the kid on Rose's back was fighting for his life.

Needless to say, the sight of us really brought down the mood in the castle. There were more stares, just like there had been outside, and they were coming from Pokémon who didn't seem willing to help us. They just gave us those looks, which didn't exactly make me feel better.

And then there was the sound of someone leaping to their feet.

"Xeno! You guys got him!"

I frowned. Who was Xeno?

But then I realized that the voice had come from a certain elderly Delphox. He was holding his wand skyward as though it were a drink he wanted to use for a toast.

Austin, despite the dark circles under his eyes, seemed excited. He was smiling from ear to ear, but he wouldn't be for long.

He frowned once he saw the state of his grandson. I hadn't noticed this before, but the stress of teleportation had caused some of Xeno's wounds to open more widely. They were emitting more of the purple liquid, and to make matters worse, the kid was in obvious pain despite not opening his eyes.

"What's wrong with him?" Austin asked.

"He was in the Toxic Forest, got pricked by a lot of thorns…I think he's been poisoned" Axel replied softly. "Do you know where this guild's hospital is?"

"Yes, it's right upstairs!" announced a female voice that didn't belong to Rose. Turning towards the staircase, I saw an Audino making her way down the steps as quickly as her short legs would take her.

I shuddered. Seeing an Audino, the type of Pokémon who most often worked in the medical profession, was rather upsetting. And it really shouldn't have been, since medicine's entire purpose is to help save lives.

It was going to be hard to explain this to my teammates, which is why I tried to hide my worry. Of course, we were all worried about Xeno's condition, but I had my own reason to be especially scared.

The Audino used a Heal Pulse on the Braixen boy, but it didn't seem to help very much. The numerous prick wounds were still on his fur.

"Can you help him?" Rose asked, loudly yet softly at the same time. "We brought him here from a dungeon, and he's in really bad shape."

"You didn't have to tell me that; I'm a medic, you know" the Audino replied. "As to whether I can help him, I'll be honest with you: All I can promise is that I'll do the best I can. It depends on how far the poison has progressed, how much time it's had to feed on his blood cells…".

The excessive description made me shiver more. My vision darkened slightly, and my head swam. If the Audino only knew…

"But yes, take him upstairs right away! Can one of you carry him?"

Rose gritted her teeth. "I'm already carrying him. Don't you guys have magical stretchers or something?"

The Audino sighed, indicating that the answer was no. "Just carry him up the stairs carefully. And I do mean carefully, because the last thing we need is to injure him further."

The Ninetales rolled her eyes, but she didn't say anything out loud. To her credit, she lowered her head towards the ground and began slowly lugging Xeno up the stairs. Austin, Axel, and I followed her, taking the stairs one at a time.

We arrived on the second floor of the castle, a place I hadn't ventured yet. The red-and-gold carpet continued here, but the tile, rather than being black-and-white, was a dark emerald green. It would have been an impressive sight had we not been so preoccupied.

The Audino led us down a brief hallway before taking a right turn into what looked like the medical ward. It was currently devoid of patients, but that was about to change.

Austin and the Audino helped set the Braixen boy down on one of the beds. After that, a lot happened very quickly.

Several Audino medics rushed to Xeno's side; they attached a bunch of machines to him, and said machines began beeping. Each beep sent a slight chill down my spine, bringing back memories I'd never wanted to be reminded of.

"We need to get him some antivenom!" the original Audino ordered. "He's been poisoned badly in the Toxic Forest!"

"Got it!" a different Audino, this one male, replied.

"So an Antidote won't do the trick?" Axel asked the Audino closest to him, the lady who seemed to be in charge of the ward. "Because we tried that on him in the woods, and it didn't do jack shit."

The head of the hospital grimaced at the Umbreon's foul language, but she didn't chastise him any further for it. Instead, she nodded grimly.

"When the poison has had a long enough time to settle into the victim's bloodstream, an Antidote is sadly insufficient. Antivenom is much more powerful, and it works more quickly. It can have side effects, though, which is why it's better not to use it unless absolutely necessary.

"By the way, what's that mark on your paw, Lycanroc?"

I turned to the Audino, frowning at being called by my species. "It's where I got pricked by one of the thorns. I don't think it's that serious, though."

"Take a closer look at it."

I lifted up my front left paw and turned it around so that I could see where the wound had been. To my horror, it had expanded to cover an area about the size of half a pair of headphones. And it was exuding that purple liquid, too.

Instantly, I began to feel dizzy, although I didn't know if that was from the power of suggestion or the poison that might be running through me right now.

"We'll have to give you some antivenom too" the Audino said curtly. "Just come over to the couch and I'll get you set up."

I gulped. "Will I need to stay here overnight?" I asked, ready to spring in the other direction and run away if the answer was yes. Even if it meant I wouldn't get the treatment I needed.

The Audino frowned. "Hopefully not. Since you only have one wound, it should be treatable with just a little shot. I hope you're not afraid of needles."

"Eh…" I began, but I wasn't eager to finish that sentence. There were some things I still didn't want to say.

"Don't worry, just look away," she replied. "And sit down on that couch, too, just in case you pass out. But you won't."

I sighed. As much as I didn't want to go through with the needle, my head was swimming, and my body felt uncomfortably warm as well. I had no choice.

So, like a good patient, I staggered over to the sofa and collapsed onto it. My vision darkened, and I found myself hyperventilating. At the same time, though, I was determined to project as much confidence as possible.

I wasn't afraid of getting shots. At least, that's what I needed Rose and Axel to believe. I was the team leader, after all, and if I couldn't handle a little injection, how could I handle things that were far more frightening?

I'd expected that the needle would go into an area with lots of fur; at least, that's what I had hoped. It might not hurt as much then, would it?

Imagine my dismay when the Audino began disinfecting the wound on my paw. "You're not going to inject me right there, are you?"

The nurse frowned at me. "That's where the poison is, is it not?"

I sighed. "Just make it quick. I'll admit it, I don't like needles."

"The less you talk, the sooner we can get this done."

There was no arguing with that. I sighed and tried to relax my front left leg, but an apocalyptic level of stinging made itself known in the middle of that paw. It was as though a swarm of Beedrill were taking their turn planting their stingers deep inside my wound; whatever rubbing alcohol the nurse was using, it must have been strong.

"This will only hurt a little" the Audino promised me.

As soon as the hypodermic needle entered my paw, I grimaced. At first it stung just like any other injection does, but then…

"Yeowch!" I yelled as the needle's contents were transferred into the wound. It felt like that paw, as well as the digits around it, were on fire.

"Hold still and stay silent, and then it won't hurt as much" the nurse scolded me. "If the Braixen boy can endure all of that, you can endure this."

Eventually the injection was finished, but the pain was not. The fire seemed to spread to my very bones and muscles…it was going to consume my entire leg…

"There we go. Wasn't that easy?" the Audino said. "Now, you should take it easy for the next couple hours, but I expect you'll make a full recovery once the antivenom works its magic."

I, however, had no interest in "taking it easy." The instant the nurse had finished her statement, I jumped off the couch with such force that I resembled a clown in a jack-in-the-box. Despite the Audino's protests, I could not be stopped; I was a heat-seeking missile as I bolted to the Braixen boy's bedside.

Rose and Axel were as close to the bed as the nurses would allow them to be. The Ninetales gave me a worried look as I approached.

Is he…no, I refuse to believe it! After we went through all this trouble to rescue him, and Austin finally gets to see his son again, we can't just give up on him! He can't be gone!

I couldn't help but push my way through my teammates. I would have gone right up to the bed had one of the Audino, who was somehow stronger than me, not blocked me from doing so.

"Don't get too close to him" the Audino scolded me. "He needs rest in order to heal."

Although I hadn't gotten as close as I'd meant to, I had gotten the information I wanted. At least Xeno was still alive, although, when I got a good look at the Braixen boy, it was hard for me to feel relieved.

An IV drip had been inserted into the boy's wrist, and a cold compress placed on his head. There was a monitor clipped to his chest and a pulse oximeter clipped to one of his fingers.

The medical stuff was hard enough to witness, but the injuries were far worse.

Numerous small sores, still with the purple liquid oozing slowly out, adorned the boy's semiconscious body. Every few seconds, Xeno would grimace, tossing and turning as much as his restraints would allow him to.

"He doesn't look very comfortable," Rose observed.

"Well, he's getting tons of antivenom pumped into him right now, so I wouldn't think so. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease." That was a different Audino speaking, not the one who'd restrained me a minute ago.

"Trust me, that shit hurts" I said bluntly. "You really don't want to be poisoned; I think he'll feel terrible when he wakes up."

One of the Audino shot me an irritated glance, as if to say, You're not helping.

"Anyway…" I began, but suddenly, it hit me.

It was a headache, one that started out relatively mild, maybe the type one would associate with slight dehydration. However, a few seconds later, it felt as though a tiny man within my brain was taking a miniature ice pick to my skull.

I clutched my paw to my head, even though I knew this wasn't wise. At least, not unless I wanted to end up in the bed next to Xeno's.

The Audino looked concerned. "Are you okay, Lycanroc?"

Even amidst the agony, I was able to choke out, "My name's Eliot. You can call me that." Then, my knees buckled.

After that, I was vaguely aware of someone putting a blood pressure cuff around my front left leg, but everything else from the outside world was foreign to me. I was trapped inside my own mind.

My father had been lying sick in bed for several days. Despite this, he barely slept at all.

He was too weak to rise, even to relieve himself. As a result, he'd started using a bucket right beside his bed to do his business. Needless to say, to know that my father, one of the strongest men I'd ever known, was reduced to this was heartbreaking.

He did not eat either. Every so often my mother would bring him a cup of water, but it wasn't working to keep him hydrated. Not well enough. His lips became dry and cracked, and the acrid stench of vomit remained on his breath whenever my mother came into his room.

I didn't witness any of this with my own eyes. My mother was always the one to enter his room to give my father what he needed, keeping a towel over her nose and mouth so that she didn't inhale his germs. This had its own downsides, though, because whenever she returned to the rest of the house, she would drop the towel and suck in a deep, fast breath.

After a few days, my father was showing no signs of improvement. This was evidenced by the increasing amounts of time my mother spent in his room; sometimes it was an hour or more. She frequently had dark circles underneath her eyes whenever she left the sick room.

One day, it seemed she'd decided enough was enough. My mother gathered Elijah and I in the kitchen, because, in her own words, she "had an announcement to make."

"Wh-what's the announcement?" I stammered. Had the unthinkable happened?

"Your father isn't getting any better," my mother replied. "As a result, he's going to be admitted to the hospital. I can't take care of him anymore; it's become too exhausting, both physically and emotionally."

Perhaps it wasn't the nicest thing to do to give up on one's husband like that, but I didn't really see it as giving up. Rather, my mother knew she couldn't provide my father the care he needed, so she transferred him over to the people who could.

"Where is he now?" Elijah asked.

"He's already at the hospital. They came and teleported him there right away; they sure seemed worried. I'm not going to lie to you two; this seems bad, and the doctors don't know what to do."

Elijah's eyes dilated. "Why don't they know what to do? Isn't that their job as doctors?"

My mother shrugged. "They don't know what he's sick with yet, so until they figure that out, they can't treat him as effectively. But they're going to do the best they can; of that, I am sure."

Now the only thing we could do was wait for news.

The following day the three of us were allowed to visit him, one at a time. We traveled to the hospital in Ilion City and were shown to his room. Just in case his illness was contagious, all of us were required to don full PPE before we entered. And believe me, it's not easy to put on a hazmat suit, or any type of clothing really, as a quadruped.

When it was my turn to enter the room, I tiptoed inside, not wanting to disturb my father. I saw that his chest was gently rising and falling, as though he were asleep, but it wasn't a peaceful sleep. With every breath, he shuddered a decent amount.

"I love you, Dad," I whispered. I didn't know if he could hear me through the mask I was wearing, but if he could, I hoped he found my voice to be soothing and not as though I were saying goodbye to him.

Because ultimately, I wasn't saying goodbye to my father. I knew that nobody could live forever, of course; I wasn't naive about that. But I didn't expect to have to face my father's mortality so soon. Hell, I still didn't expect it. My dad would live to a ripe old age, and soon enough, this illness would just be an unpleasant memory.

My father groaned in reaction to my voice, but I'm not sure if he was ever aware of doing so. The bulky oxygen mask strapped to his face muzzled the sound somewhat, but there was no mistaking his pain for anything else.

He was truly struggling to breathe.

"You'll get well soon, Dad. You'll feel so much better when you wake up. And then we'll go home together, and you'll keep having good times with us. We all love you very much."

That little speech probably sounded sappy, but I did not care about that. I had gotten the point across, and that was enough.

"Eliot! Wake up!" a female voice all but yelled at me.

I opened my eyes to find myself lying on a hospital bed in a long, dark green chamber. A Ninetales stood over me, mouth agape, waving to the side.

"He's up," she said.

"How long…how long was I out?" I asked through my dry mouth, roughly to the tune of "Otherside" by the Red Hot Pelippers.

Rose frowned. "Uh…I'm not the best judge of time, but it can't have been more than a few minutes."

"That's news to me," I replied. "Can you bring me some water?"

Rose motioned for one of the Audino nearby to give me something to drink. Less than half a minute later, I had the cup of water in my paw and was slowly drinking it.

"Why do you think it was longer than that?" Axel said. "It was really only two or three minutes."

"I just lived out an entire day. It feels like I was out for that long."

The Umbreon and Ninetales looked at each other, then both down at me. Axel spoke next.

"You just passed out as you were looking over Xeno. You're in the bed next to his; fortunately, I think you'll be able to get out of here a lot sooner."

I glanced to my right and saw that he was correct. Just a few feet away, the Braixen boy slept, still connected to a couple of machines. The lavender color was beginning to fade from his fur, though, reverting it back to its standard white.

Still, I felt my own face flush; although I couldn't see it, I imagined that I was beet red. If I weren't lying in a hospital bed with my legs propped up, I wouldn't have believed what had just happened.

A few minutes later, an Audino, the same one who had led us up here, came over to my bed. Seeing I was awake, she smiled.

"There you are. You gave us a bit of a scare, Eliot. Are you feeling okay?"

I nodded, gritting my teeth. The thought of having to spend the night in the hospital was rather torturous, to say the least.

The Audino's smile vanished from her face. "It was just a few minutes ago. We were talking about Xeno's treatment, and you literally just dropped right there. You could have told us that you get squeamish easily, you don't have to be in here to watch everything."

"Again, I am fine," I insisted. "Just a bit of headrush, that's all."

"Very well," the Audino lady replied. "Well, my name is Kara, and I'm your nurse this evening. Is there anything else you need?"

I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I shook my head.

"Okay then. I'll help you sit up, and then, when you feel better, you can stand up and leave here. Is the antivenom feeling okay in there?"

What the hell does she mean by that?

Still, I nodded. "Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better. How is Xeno doing?"

Austin the Delphox, whom I hadn't seen since waking up, came over to my bed with the agility of a much younger Delphox. The expression I saw on his face…was he frantic?

Fortunately, that didn't appear to be the case. Austin was smiling with excitement and relief.

"My grandson's just waking up. Man, that drug really works wonders."

After he and Kara helped me sit up straight, I turned in the direction of Xeno's bed. There, the Braixen boy's eyes were fluttering open.

"Water…" the boy croaked. "I…need…water."

"Yes, I'll fetch it for him. You stay right there, Eliot."

Once Kara was away from my bed, Austin addressed me. "Eliot, I'm in your debt. Both of us are. I don't think we ever talked about what your reward would be…".

"It's fine," I interrupted him. "All we need is the knowledge that we did something right, and that we succeeded in our first job."

Truth be told, we did need money, but I wasn't about to ask the old Delphox whose grandson we had just rescued to part with a large sum of P. I just didn't have the heart for it.

Austin shook his head. "I appreciate how humble you are, Eliot, but I can't just give you nothing. I've got at least 1,000 P I can spare."

I was almost speechless. A thousand P was an entire month's worth of rent, and we'd earned it in only two days. No, that wasn't the right word: Austin was just handing it to us. Sure, we'd given him the ultimate service, but it still felt odd to accept it.

Rose, who had evidently overheard our conversation, turned away from Xeno's side and walked over to my bed. She looked appalled.

"Eliot, you can't just turn down 1,000 P. We were going to struggle to make rent, and Austin's covering the first month for us, just like that! We saved his grandson, we've earned our reward!"

"She's right, you know," the old Delphox replied, looking me in the eye. "Given how grateful I am, I could be giving you a lot more. Please, take it."

I sighed with relief, rather than frustration. Somehow, seeing how much Austin wanted to pay us made me feel better about accepting the payment.

So, in the end, we'd gotten Xeno the Braixen out of the Toxic Forest. We'd earned enough money to cover a month of rent. And we'd completed our first job, not a small one at that. I had to believe that would improve our reputation.

All in all, I considered today a win.

Funny story: When I was like 7, I had to get a blood test done, and I asked the person doing it if I could be injected above the tourniquet so that it wouldn't hurt as much. Of course, the answer was no. Fortunately I'm no longer afraid of needles.

You guys know the drill. Tell me what you think, and I'll see you all in four days.