Following the events of their meeting, Anabel goes to the clinic to check the situation of her subordinates.
A/N: Hello, I just wanted to say I will try to publish new chapters on weekends.
"Greetings, Boss. There's a lot to do today so I'll put you onto date on a few things. I already received the information of the members who will come with us, so no need to tell me. Looker sent a proposal to the directors of the Interpol, and surprisingly, they have accepted our proposition. Fantastic, isn't it? But what remains is if they accept: if they do, great. If not, it's whatever, we can achieve this by ourselves."
That was the first message of Nanu of two, speaking with his typical raspy voice but more tired than usual, Anabel thinking he shouldn't have drunk so much last night. Her thumb hovers the screen, pressing it to listen to the other message.
"We should depart in a few days, perhaps enough time to find these guys and tell our proposal." Nanu coughs and pauses briefly. "Looker must have told you already, but Sophia woke up at the clinic. So far, the doctors have told she's doing okay, but they still keep her under sedatives. I pity her, it must have been a terrible experience, maybe if she sees you, Sophia can calm down and explain to you what happened." He groans and she hears someone else talk to him, but it was unintelligible. "I trust you'll be able to help her, Anabel, see you later."
The message ends at the same time the elevator's doors opened, finally reaching the floor where Sophia rested, and Anabel hoped that she was in a better status than yesterday.
Walking through the corridor, a doctor, who it seemed he hasn't slept for days, stopped her.
"Ah, miss Anabel, I was told that you would come today." He says while placing some documents over a counter. "The patient Sophia is stable, yet I wouldn't try to push her. Just like her body injuries, her mind also presents some traumas."
"She was screaming and pleading for mercy, am I correct?" The officer says, crossing her arms.
"Indeed, and to avoid complications, we kept her under sedatives yesterday, but as I mentioned before, she's stable now." The doctor looks at his watch. "Follow me, miss, we moved her to another room."
The officer nods and follows him in silence, relieved that her subordinate found some rest. She was about to ask for the others, but assumed they were still unconscious as he didn't mention them at all.
"We arrived." He says stopping in front of a big window, and lilac colored eyes looked inside. Sleeping placidly on a bed laid Sophia, connected to a vital sign monitor and a serum directly to the bloodstream. She looked so peaceful, and Anabel felt bad already with the thought of waking her up, but it had to be done.
She arms herself with courage and decides to walk in, shaking her hands and breathing deeply, moving in silence and studying the injuries Sophia had: bandages around her head and arms; with the left one fractured and wrapped in a cast; some small cuts on her face were stitched and strands of chestnut hair falling on her forehead and sides.
Anabel takes a plain chair in the room and places it next to the bed, taking a seat and crosses her legs and arms. The lilac eyes remained locked on Sophia, afraid of the outcomes of waking her up: what if Sophia starts screaming once more? Or if she hates her for not going with them? Or perhaps, a worse outcome.
The boss rubs her temple, shoving the negative thoughts and insecurities to the deepest parts of her mind. There was only one way to know.
"Sophia?" Her head moves closer towards the patient and talks softly, repeating her name a few times and shaking her arm gently in an attempt to wake her up. It didn't take too long for her eyes to open, wandering aimlessly at first until her gaze met with her superior. She didn't display any emotion, but that stare soon after shows surprise and those bruised lips form a smile. Anabel noted the reaction, a genuine smile that allowed to calm herself
"Boss?" The subordinate speaks with a frail voice and does her best to sit straight. Anabel helps her to sit, holding her back briefly. "Why… what are you doing here?"
What a strange question to ask, Anabel thought. "How couldn't I? I will never leave you guys alone." Her hands take hold of Sophia's right hand and lips curling to a sweet smile. "I wanted to visit you a day ago, but the doctors didn't allow me so you could rest, however, they are quite surprised by your progress. They didn't think you would wake up today."
"I see." Her sight lowers, seeing her casted arm and bandages on the other, letting out a loud sigh, pitiful of her situation.
"But the important thing is that you are alive." The expression of Sophia didn't go unnoticed, how her features have shrunken as she witnessed her body. Anabel had studied how accidents can deteriorate mental health, and Sophia perhaps is already walking on that road. "I wanted to bring you flowers, but I've been busy lately. The next time I come I shall come with gifts."
"Boss…" Sophia says looking at her superior "Why can't I remember anything?"
That question made Anabel's blood freeze and eyes expand in fear, mind becoming hazy and entangled. But as her thoughts become a mess, the other continues talking.
"I… only remember being surrounded by many eyes, and suddenly, a dark voice and shadows cloud my sight. I know we were tasked to investigate something, but other than that and what I said before, I cannot remember anything else."
Her main terror of she suffering amnesia vanished as quickly as they rose, breathing deeply with relief. Anabel's hand retracts, intertwined now with her other hand.
"Sophia," her legs now lay parallel to each other and face approaching the other "care to tell me what was the darkness that surrounded you?"
"I can't." Her voice hisses with poison, but then reacts in a surprised manner, and Anabel did as well. Sophia brushes her bandaged forehead and continues. "I mean, it is difficult for me to explain," she sighs. "besides that, I also heard a voice, and although it was a different tongue, I could understand it…"
In the brief pause of Sophia and recollecting memories, Anabel reclines against the chair.
"It said that… "secrets are secrets for a reason", and after that, I can't remember anything else."
The officer looked back at her superior with lost eyes, as if remembering that night caused her to lose grip of reality or the trauma taking a toll on her psyche, but suddenly, Sophia smiles and moves forward to hold the hands of Anabel. Something about that smile made her shiver, to grow distrustful.
"Boss, aren't you a psychic?" Her voice suddenly cheered up, the grip tightening. "I heard that many psychics are capable of delving into other's minds and even understand their dreams. M… maybe you can help me understand what happened!"
Anabel knew very well what Sophia talked about, but going into others dreams required courage, not only to not see undesired things, but to mess with your own memories as well. She wanted to deny it, however, an intrusive thought arose from the depths of her mind, this could be the only chance to learn about that night. There was a possibility that she didn't lose her memories, her brain itself was hiding such a traumatic event for her own safety.
"Even if you allow me to enter your mind, there are high risks in doing so…" Anabel says with a feathery voice. "and I have done this two times before. The possible risks are me messing with your other memories, amongst other things." She pauses, regretting already on what is to come. "Are you sure you want to do this? We could wait until you have recovered completely."
"B…but this could be the opportunity to uncover this mystery!" She says with stutters. "Think about it, Boss!"
Her being so persistent made Anabel grow unsettled.
"Please, it is the only way…"
Hesitation dominated her senses, growing distrustful yet she couldn't know why. No one was so determined to let their someone invade their most intimate thoughts, but even if her guts told her not to continue, Anabel needed the information.
"If you truly wish to." The psychic says while she stands. "I need you to do the following: lean back and close your eyes, do not move even if you feel something in your head. Some feel a sharp pain or pressure in the brain, then you will fall into a deep sleep." Anabel sighs. "Then I shall enter your mind, understood?"
Sophia nods and follows what her superior said, her sight fixed on the ceiling and breathing deeply, waiting for the psychic to begin. Such as her subordinate, Anabel breathes profoundly and shakes her hands, preparing her mind to the connection between the two. With the other ready, the psychic places both hands on the sides of Sophia and stares directly at her eyes, almost as if those eyes were looking directly at her soul.
The conscience of Sophia begins to fade away rather quickly, falling into a middle point of being awake and dormant, until she finally falls fully unconscious. Anabel groans for the last time, and plunges her mind into the other, reality beginning to crack and the environment twisting, all noises went completely deaf, until suddenly, Anabel hears a twig crack and multiple steps.
Entering her mind was successful.
The vision was cloudy and dark, barring a few flashlights dispersing the darkness away. Some voices talked to her and between the others, but these were unintelligible; a soft and cold breeze caressed her face. Sophia's brain, Anabel thought, definitely hid this memory to keep herself safe.
She could see the group walking through the forest following a path of dirt, their steps causing the gravel to make minimal noise as it was crushed; the wind made the leaves shake and contributed in breaking the silence. But that was all Anabel could feel and sense, the memory so distorted that much of it seemed a fabrication of an event rather than a real one, until she felt Sophia stop on her track to look up then on the road once more, making her wonder why she did it.
The cloudy vision showed something in front, not natural but man made, apparently the ruins of an abandoned building, or so she believed. The policewoman turned to her comrades, and they went to investigate, getting lost in the darkness while she and another officer waited outside, engaging in a conversation that she couldn't understand.
Time itself seemed to bend and twist, as with a mere blink, they were surrounded by wild Pokemon, many of which were impossible to recognize, as the main focus lay in two interesting figures, Pheromosa and Buzzwole, standing amongst the mob of Pokemon.
The officers who went to investigate returned quickly, withdrawing their Pokeballs and throwing them to fend off against the new threat. They fought with courage, but the tip of balance was broken when the Ultra Beasts joined the conflict, defeating the Pokemon with ease.
The group called more but four began to run away, with one remaining behind to protect the other three. Seeing Nicole sacrifice herself caused an intense pain in her heart, but there was little time to grieve now, as the memory continued with the group running.
They escaped, or so they thought. One of them fell by an ambush, and when they were close to reach a road bordering the forest, Sophia got caught. And from there, things get more confusing.
The vision becomes completely blurry, unable to see beyond her own hands; the air turning heavy and suffocating her. In her erratic thoughts, Anabel questions if this happened or was Sophia avoiding to remember further. And amidst the darkness, Anabel hears a voice lacking any emotion or tone. It was weird, noticing it spoke directly to her mind. She looks around to find nobody, until in the infinite darkness, two pairs of crystals show up, shining brightly in the void with multiple colors.
The eyes look at her, feeling the pressure of them inside her brain, making her groan and wanting to leave, and suddenly, the deafening silence gets broken by a loud and constant noise; blinking caused the darkness to dissipate and return to the clinic, and took a few seconds more for her senses to return, albeit partially.
Anabel noticed she had almost fallen to the ground, the chair helping her to avoid that. Standing up, she sees Sophia convulse and eyes become white, and seeing her in pain made her fully return to the world.
She was about to run towards the door, but two nurses arrived, asking the officer what just happened. Incapable of telling them what truly happened, the officer tells them they were speaking and out of nowhere she began convulsing.
The nurses asked her to leave, and abiding by their orders, she did, rubbing her forehead as she began to suffer a headache and looking for an isolated place to rest after this unfortunate succession of events. Finding one empty seat, her face gets covered with the palm of her hands and groans loudly, her mind still in confusion, and that vision that still torments her.
Anabel thinks of many things, such as questioning what was that absolute darkness, as it felt completely unnatural and not achievable by a common human, and that was ignoring the fact she was unconscious. No, it had to be something else, a creation of the Ultra Beasts, a trap to prevent others from knowing about them. But that was completely ridiculous, laughing at herself for thinking of such an idea. How could they know that humans could enter others minds?
In the end, her thesis goes back to the beginning, that it must have been the unconscious of Sophia that must have done it, there was no other logical response.
"Miss, are you doing alright?"
A concerned voice makes the officer look up, hands still clinging on her face. It was a nurse with his head slightly tilted to the right.
"I am fine… well I feel a little dizzy and my head hurts."
"Do you need help?"
"Maybe just some water and a painkiller, if it's possible." She managed to give him a soft smile before he agreed and departed, only for him to return quickly with the requested things. The nurse leaves after she takes the pill, telling her that if the pain persisted to seek help.
From her lips another groan escapes, leaning against the plastic chair and looking up. While waiting for the effects of the painkiller, Anabel withdrew the phone from her pocket to call Looker, which only took a few seconds for him to answer.
"Boss, how is it going?" He asks cheerfully, this time with little background noise.
"I could do better," she didn't want to go into details, so Anabel decided to avoid the dream subject. "but I have some good news, partially to say in one way. Sophia was able to remember more things from that night and she told me they found an abandoned building in the forest…" the psychic suddenly pauses, wondering why Sam didn't tell Looker that. Was the heat of the moment or did he stay behind the group? Anabel couldn't tell properly, even if she saw four more walking with Sophia in the vision, the memory could have also become twisted, far different how originally it was. It had to be that Sam stayed in the rear. "So definitely we have to go there again."
"I see," Looker pauses and hums. "but I am far more surprised that Sophia could tell you! That must mean she's doing better now, isn't it." His voice hinted happiness, cheerful that his coworker was doing much better. Anabel winces and looks down, because the reality was much different compared to what he thought. "What else did you talk about?"
"Eh… not so much." She speaks slowly. "After I asked what happened, she was feeling sleepy and our conversation ended there. The sedatives and all, you know." a nervous and fake giggle escapes her lips. "Maybe in the upcoming days she will get better."
"Let's hope it is like that."
"And what about you? Have you learned the whereabouts of these elite trainers?" Anabel crossed her legs.
"It wasn't too difficult, although my main concern is if we are violating their privacy."
"It's not like the first time the institution does it." Anabel sighs, ashamed of the questionable things the Interpol has done before, such as using new technology to track people. "Many of these trainers have already worked with other police departments so convincing them shouldn't be that difficult. They will still wonder how you found them."
Looker cackles briefly and exhales profoundly before speaking. "Luckily for us, all of them are in Hau'oli city and you won't believe what I will say." He pauses. "Red is in the same clinic you are," Looker whispered, but instead of excitement, he spoke with a tone of intrigue and concern. "but apparently he also suffered an incident with an Ultra Beast."
"What!?" She exclaims, unable to contain her voice. "How I am still… Why weren't we informed of this? We are the special unit, godammit, why did nobody tell us about this?"
"I don't know." He hums. "Regardless, that is one less champion that we have to find. Maybe you can look for him and know it by yourself."
"It isn't a bad idea." Another sigh escapes her lips, wondering that her day here still isn't over.
"Also ask him why he lost so early in the last World Tournament." Anabel frowns at this as that really came out of nowhere.
"And why don't you ask him that? Also, that isn't appropriate to ask, Looker…"
He laughs. "I am just joking, Boss. A 6th place is still good despite it all, but must have hurt losing to his old rival in such a way."
Two fingers rub between her eyes. She wasn't in the mood to talk about battle, but she didn't want to interrupt him so abruptly.
"Well, everyone loses eventually," a small pause. "I should be going then. I will just ask a doctor or a nurse where he is and it should be done. I hope he is in the mood to talk or not be uncomfortable with invading his privacy."
"I hope he wants to join us, and good luck."
With that, her eyes look at the screen, specifically at the photo of Looker before putting the phone where it was and her head leaning against the wall, now eyes lost in the ceiling. Finding Red here was completely unexpected, and more so him encountering an Ultra beast. There had been incidents, albeit extremely rare, in the past, incidents that she could count with her fingers. Besides that, the incident meant that he was injured, otherwise there would be no other reason for him staying here.
The echo of steps caused Anabel to look down and see the nurse who brought her a painkiller, place some papers over a counter and examine them. Perhaps he could know which room Red is resting in.
"Excuse me," she asks, lilac eyes looking at his eyes when the nurse turned around. "but do you know where I could find Red?"