A blood-curling scream came from Gale's mouth, gray eyes fluttering open as agony erupted the moment the silver sphere sunk into her skin.
Wind rose and blew around her in an instant, launching Riven, Aine, and Baron back with a gust strong enough to bend trees. Sharper currents of air began to swirl and roar around her, with several razor winds shooting out into the surrounding forest. Bark flew like leaves as trees were sliced to pieces, with stronger and healthier ones being chipped nearly in half from the winds. Some fell over completely.
Inside the whirling tornado of razor-like wind, Gale continued to scream, muffled by the howling. Her entire body felt like it was cutting to pieces, shredded like paper as the winds seemed to rend flesh and blood, even slicing into bone. Pain unlike anything she'd ever experienced caused tears to flow down her cheeks, instantly blown away from the speed of the gusts.
And then it stopped.
Gale lay on the floor, her breathing labored as she curled into a ball. The pain was completely gone, as if it had never been there. Her hospital gown was in tatters, her hair was blown in every direction, and suddenly it felt like she was in a freezer. She shivered in the night air, feeling the coldness of the grass on her exposed skin.
Sitting up, she was speechless as she saw the destruction of the forest beneath the light of the moon, with felled trees and shredded grass strewn about in multiple directions. Giant scars were inflicted on the barks of large trees while dirt was kicked up from similar scars etched into the ground. It was as if a tornado had been there. A commotion was heard and before she could react, Baron appeared beside her, picking her up and teleporting her away to another part of the forest.
Riven and Aine hid behind a tree as several trainers crashed onto the scene, ordering their pokemon to use flash as they surveyed the area. Several cries were heard and light illuminated the forest, scanning the trees like spotlights.
Riven clicked his teeth, knowing that Aine's attention grab from before had drawn a little more than she bargained for. With the equivalent of a wind bomb going off, it was no surprise they got here so fast. Back in the temple, Will's inferno was mostly mitigated by the room and the stone walls. Had he been in a forest, he probably would have taken half the route with him.
One of the older trainers knelt on the floor, seeing traces of blood on the grass. His eyes widened in horror.
Others arrived as well, stricken at the damage. The route was generally peaceful with mild mannered pokemon and otherwise tired trainers, so the forest was usually tame. Strong and violent pokemon weren't common.
A younger girl held a baby Sewaddle, assuring it not to be afraid. "My gosh… Did you guys hear that?" She cried, frantically looking around. "It sounded like a girl screaming. Did someone use twister here?"
The older one grimaced. "I don't know… That scream made my skin crawl and whatever did this sounded like an explosion… God, did a girl just get killed here? There's blood on the floor, looks like it leads into the forest."
The trainers present noted the thin blood trail and exchanged concerned looks.
"I heard some things happened at Nimbasa… You know… Sinnoh stuff, I think."
"Shit, really? Get a UFO over here. Or a ranger, something! Anyone have a Stoutland? Maybe it can track whoever did this."
"No, but I have a Watchog. He can track just fine." A smaller kid with dirty brown hair brought out the pokemon, and it instantly began sniffing the ground.
"Get anything?" The kid asked. The Watchog cried a few times, directing its head in Riven's direction. "Over there? Hey, is someone hiding behind that tree?"
Light focused on the tree Riven and Aine were hiding behind. He had to tear his eyes away as the light assaulted his retinas.
Riven nodded at Aine, swallowing tensely. Dropping low to use the shrubs as cover, they slunk back to another set of trees. He didn't want the UFOs to find out about this—or worse, the rangers and even more clueless trainers. The last thing Yates wanted was for this to get out of hand, and how would he explain to them that Gale had just evolved? They'd sooner believe he'd just committed murder. He also didn't have a convenient Hypno on hand to wipe everyones' memories with.
Running was the only option.
"Aine, knock the tree down. When we get airborne, shoot a flamethrower down, extra flashy. Bright fire, high heat, spread it out over a distance and leave it unfocused. Divert their attention so they don't see you before we're gone."
Blazikens stood out like a sore theme in Unova. Actually, any pokemon from another region did, considering how isolated Unova was with its pokemon species. Whereas other regions had a mix of pokemon that used to belong to other places, like Pidgeys and Mightyenas, Unova's trainers-bar the rare Absol- almost exclusively trained region native pokemon.
Aine allowed her trainer to latch onto her she held him with her left arm. Gripping him tightly, fire blazed in her legs as she pushed off the floor and sent a furious fire-fueled kick into the tree's trunk. The force of the blow and the fire that followed completely blew the trunk over, knocking the tree down towards the approaching trainers. They yelled as it came down, dodging out of the way. They scrambled once Aine jumped high into the air, spewing a spreading torrent of flames from her beak onto the ground below. Purposely making the flames brighter and stronger to have a better masking effect, she ignited the grass and part of the tree line, creating a wall of fire that both impeded passage and sight.
With the trainers below watching in contempt, she jumped away further into the forest.
The Blaziken landed in a part of the forest with thick trees and dense foliage, obscuring much of the ambient light of the moon. If anyone tried tracking them here, it'd take a while. Both Aine and her trainer hoped there weren't any Ariados or Galvantula in this part of the forest. Especially with it being this dark. Baron walked out from behind a tree, sighing in relief as he used a weak thunderbolt in his palm to light the way. Since he evolved, his usage of the move was rather garbage offensively, but it had utility in being a poor man's flashlight.
"I would have warned you they were coming, but I was too bothered by the screams."
"You're not the only one," Riven concurred. "Even scared me."
"Is she okay?" Aine asked, concerned.
"Let's find out," Riven said.
The Gallade held up his hands as Riven walked past them to find the tree Gale was hiding behind. "Wait, Riven! Wait! She's kind of-"
His attempt to stop his trainer failed miserably as he heard a small squeak coming from behind the tree. A palm met his face.
Gale blinked several times in a daze, wrapped in strong arms, her face resting on a shoulder. The only thing she could see were the dimly lit faces of Aine and Baron peeking out from the corner of the tree, and the darkness of the forest.
The embrace was warm, but Riven held her so tightly it was like he was afraid to let go. Like the hugs she used to give to her dad, when he would leave for days. Slowly, she returned the embrace, chuckling.
"I'm dead, aren't I? You're actually hugging me willingly."
She felt the hug tighten on her shoulders.
"No, you're not dead," he said with a small laugh. "This is really out of character for me, I hope you know that."
"Mmm. I guess being dead is nice," she said. "If things like this happen. A caring Riven, what a prince Charming."
He broke the embrace with a sardonic scoff, instantly returning to his usual self. "I told you, you're not dead. I'm just glad to see you're alive. Hold on, look at me."
She didn't grow any feathers, did she?
"It's too dark. I can't even see your face." She emphasized this by reaching for his face with her hands and nearly jabbing his eye.
"Hey, stop reaching, you'll… that's my nose. Can you just- just look up. Not at the bloody sky, I'm in front of you. And no hands."
She listened with a huff, directing her eyes in his general direction. He inspected her with a curled lip. They were usually a mild grey, but the irises had grown lighter and oddly more steel colored. Frankly put, her eyes were off-putting, like watching a storm tearing through a plain from afar. Aside from that, she appeared no different than before, except for the tiny fact that he could make out her navel.
And her hips. And most of her exposed legs.
One grunt of realization and a small choking noise was all it took for Riven to instantly peel his jacket off and tear his eyes away fast enough to pop them out of their sockets. When he put it on her, she shied in embarrassment.
"I was wondering when you'd notice. It's dark so I can't see but I know you can… this dinky thing doesn't cover anything as it is and it's all ripped up… I can feel breezes in places. Why's it so cold out anyway? Did the temperature drop? I checked the forecast and it said that it wouldn't be so cold…" She shivered in place, hoping that Riven could also give her a pair of pants and warm socks, but he couldn't do that in the forest. Her feet felt like blocks of ice.
He rubbed his chin, looking at Gale bemusedly as she tried her best to stretch the coat enough to cover her legs as well, all the while complaining under her breath about short girls having an easier time with men's clothes. She was only four inches shorter than he was. It made him snort.
"Stop laughing at me. Uh… Riven?"
"Know what? Since your feet are freezing, we should get back to the hospital. They'd probably wonder how a girl who's been in a coma suddenly got up and left through the window on a floor that high up." Riven began to walk. "Come on, what are you waiting for?"
Bewildered grey eyes and windblown hair remained rooted in place. She looked like a brown-haired Tangela. "I was in a what?!"
He raised an eyebrow. "Don't remember what happened?"
"I mean, yeah, I uh…" She clapped a hand to her forehead, thinking hard. "Oh." She frowned deeply and glanced away, her voice growing very soft, like a Skitty that had just finished destroying a sofa. "I pulled a you."
Aine and Baron nodded in agreement behind him.
I should probably be more offended by that. "Yeah," Riven said flatly. "Loberia stabbed you with a psycho cut and then you went into surgery. And barely survived. So yes, you pulled a me." He pointed to the region near her waist, where the scar would presumably be. Gale almost instinctively went to check the area herself, but Riven coughed to remind her that she was still mostly half naked.
"That was yesterday right?" She asked, shaking her head. Pressing on the area through the coat, she winced. "Still stings..."
"Gale. If it was yesterday, you'd be in intense pain. Walking around like that especially." Riven exhaled, holding her by the shoulders in case she went limp. Deliver it straight. "You've been in a coma for a week. And still would have been."
Her blinking increased and she twitched her feet, shuffling in place. "But I… my pokemon, how are…?"
"They're fine, but… they were afraid you were going to die. Understandably so." He hesitated, knowing she'd tease him for it. Screw it. "So was I."
"Awwww." She grinned, doing exactly that. "Don't gush. Would you miss me?"
"Pft. Who else would level out my crazy? You're like a therapist."
"Will could do it," she suggested. "Has enough crazy in him to match you."
"He is less of a tease than you, but he's more annoying and ridiculous." He snorted, waving a hand. "Besides, he's not nearly as nice to look at as you a-" His palm met his face when he realized it slipped out. "…Fuck I said that out loud."
He saw Gale's expression of rising incredulity and suddenly he was very, very glad it was dark. Otherwise he might have ordered Aine to set him on fire and not stop until he was effectively erased. He felt like sinking into the floor, through the earth, and out the other side. Preferably into the nearest giant ball of burning gas. There were other words he could have used and were more appropriate given the compliment, but if he did say any of those, he'd walk in front of a train himself.
There was an awkward silence as Gale's disbelief turned into hysterical laughter, but quickly stopped when her cut began to burn. "Ow, ow, ow." Riven held her up as she curled inward from the sudden pain.
"Don't exert yourself so much, you might've gotten operated a week ago, but it's still there. Take it easy."
"I know but… you're just… three years in Kalos, able to talk down a whole room full of operatives and criminals, and you're still such a huge idiot! It's hilarious!"
"Now that's just degrading," he said, miffed. "I'm trying, alright?"
Even though she couldn't exactly see him, she knew he was grinning like a Sableye on a sapphire binge. Then she noticed some liquid running down her arms from the inside of the coat. She smelled it. Smelled exactly like what she thought it was.
"Riven, where are your arms? Grab mine so I can know."
He did, questioning what she was going to do this time. Her hands came up to grab his forearms and upper arms, gasping as she felt blood on her hands. He reflexively pulled back when her fingers traced the cuts on his arms. There was a lot of it on her palms.
"You're bleeding… a lot. The jacket is cut too. Wait, that part of the forest that was ruined… did I do that? Riven, why am I in the forest? This isn't a hospital bed. What did you do to me?"
"Things," Riven said as he quieted her down with a finger, seeing lights moving through the trees closer to the main path. Probably the group of trainers from before. "Before I answer that, we need to go. Some trainers are getting nosy, and you need clothes. I'll explain when we get there."
When they arrived back in the hospital room, Riven found the storage closet with the white clothing replacements that Allen had given him. Gale put them on, but they were a size too large for her. She shrugged it off, sitting slowly back down on the bed so she wouldn't agitate her wound.
"Okay, start from after I got out of the surgery. I went into a coma and then…?"
"You were in a coma," Riven repeated. "The doctors kept telling me that whenever I was ready, that I should consider giving up. I was getting desperate." He looked away but Gale called him back sternly.
"What did you do, Riven?"
He exhaled and ran a hand through his head. "I... met with Tesla. We made an agreement."
She sputtered, gaping. "You met with the guy that almost killed you and whose work buddy almost killed me? In the same city? In a city, in fact! That's-that's incredibly stupid. Even for you. That's going to backfire and you know it, why didn't you kill him? Or call the UFOs on him?"
"I didn't know whether he had surveillance on me or not. He's a crafty fox. And plus, he had the only way to bring you back. Wasting your life for a measly chance at taking out one guy? I couldn't do that," Riven explained sincerely. "You thought I was kidding about people dying around me, Gale? If I had to watch you take your last breath after ordering them to pull the plug… I think Tesla's right, I'd go ballistic. I'm tired of losing people. I don't care how much danger I was in, I just wanted to be able to do something for once."
He slumped his shoulders and gave her a look. That look he always had, a mix of judgment and impassivity. Gale hated that look.
Hands balled into fists as she figured what he was about to say, what he was about to do. About to push her away again. "Riven, if you're going to tell me about how it's dangerous and you don't want me to come because I almost died, please don't. I hate it when you do this, I hate it when you-"
An understanding smile stopped her in her tracks, leaving her a stricken mess as she felt tears forming from the guilt of having her friends worry. Deep down, she wanted to prove to Riven that she wasn't a liability. She didn't want her story to end on the plains.
"I know," he said ruefully. "I can't stop you. Or your dreams, even if they're crazy and straight out of a stupid novel. I know people are going to get hurt, and for the longest time I did all this stuff, hid for three years because I wanted to keep you all locked in a box where you couldn't get hurt, away from me, because losing people hurts. A lot. And it never gets easier. I was a selfish prick, but I'm trying not to be." Another rueful smile he didn't really feel. "If I didn't let you do this, I'd be the biggest hypocrite in the world. I'm always in the hospital, so if I gave you shit for it, I wouldn't have the right to tease Baron for being unable to keep it in his pants. I'd be just as bad. I only talk like I'm above everyone."
"I noticed," Gale managed. Tears fell silently from her cheeks as she stammered, managing a quivering smile as he descended into a goofy grin. "You're an idiot. A stupid, crazy, and dorky idiot who I'll follow even if it kills me. Now you don't have to be the only one going to the hospital. We can do stupid things together."
Riven agreed, scoffing. "I wouldn't advise more trips to the ER than that—but sure, let's go with that."
"Thank you. For not pushing me away."
"You never did," he replied.
Gale beamed as she went beet red, then went strangely quiet as tears began to settle, playing with her thumbs. "Hey… Remember that time in Lavaridge, after the festival? You asked me why I stayed?"
He looked up at her, the memory coming quite quickly. That exchange he did remember quite well. Pretty much called him out for being a paranoid ass. "Yeah."
"Why did you stay?" She echoed. "Could have left me here and taken out the bad guys. You always do say that I'm just a piece of gum, maybe this could have been your chance to get rid of me. And you let one of them get away. Was it really worth it?"
"Worth it to me, that's what matters. I don't care what anyone else thinks," he said truthfully. "As for why I stayed, well- orphans have to stick together, don't they? And you're my traveling partner, it'd be bad on my record if I'd just abandoned you. Now if it was Will…"
Riven rolled his eyes and gave a sly smirk.
Gale smiled brightly, accepting that answer with a small chuckle. She was surprised when he threw a small bag of berry flavored snacks at her. Her face lit up, the ironic reversal of the situation not lost on her.
"And I'd like to think that I'm becoming a decent human being. With feelings that aren't murder, hatred, and vast amounts of brooding." At Gale's twisted look, he reddened. "Okay… a more decent, uh- acceptable… human being. I'm not always a dick. You know that."
"That I do," she said, popping a candy into her mouth. "Just most of the time. So, how did you wake me up and what does it have to do with the fact that it leveled part of a forest and left you, Baron, and Aine bleeding? With them bleeding far more than you."
Man was that weird coming out of her mouth. Usually she was the one that was questioning bizarre happenings, but it was like she was completely fine with it. Chewing innocently, she settled further into her bed, waiting expectantly.
"I turned you into an Origin," he answered blankly, as if that was the most obvious statement in the world.
"A what?"
"Basically, into Will."
She stopped chewing and lost color in her face. Horrible choice of words. He scrambled.
"I mean like Will, not exactly Will. I'm sorry I gave you that mental image, blue Jolteons scare me too, Gale. Look-I, fuck, let me start over. Tesla gave me a sphere, I think it's a flying type. Or wind, I don't fucking know how this works with people. You didn't sprout wings, but you sure used aerial ace. And maybe hurricane, or gust, or razor wind? God damn it, I don't-" He threw up his hands, then shrugged his shoulders pathetically. "How do you feel?"
Pursing her lips, she held up a hand. "Airy."
"Airy," he deadpanned. "Really. What wonderful choice of words."
"What do you want me to say?" She demanded with some scrutiny. "Flippant? Breezy? Feathery? I can pull out a thesaurus if that's what you're looking for, Mr. Cursive girly handwriting." He cursed that letter. "I feel fine, and just a slight bit lighter. Also tired, like I've been in bed for an entire day."
"You were in bed for entire days. Plural," Riven reminded dryly. She threw a candy at him, but he caught it in his fist and ate it. She looked disappointed.
"Apart from that I feel pretty fine. Except when it happened. That wasn't so fine."
"How badly did it hurt? That scream made some trainers think you were dying. Scared the shit out of me, after I got blown across a clearing with cuts along my arms, of course."
She remembered how terrible it felt and got a chill, shaking her head as vivid waves of pain registered in her mind. They quickly fell away as she reflexively ate another candy to forget about it. "Felt like I was getting ripped apart. Like my skin and muscles were getting cut and ripped off in chunks from the winds. Did Will feel like that too?"
"He got burned alive," Riven stated simply. Gale frowned. "Honestly, I'm more surprised that both your clothes survived an inferno and tornado fast winds. But mine can't seem to handle three weeks without getting torn to hell. As for me, I was born this way, so I don't even know how becoming a dark type would feel. Sudden onset depression? Or instant insanity and violence? Not sure."
"So… I'm like you guys now? What does that mean, exactly? You've said it before, but now I really need to know."
Riven scratched the side of his head.
"Err…. Naturally, you'll heal faster. Your body is more durable and a lot stronger than normal—more intensive training in the future for you. And let's see… oh and you get all the strengths that come with your type, alongside all the weaknesses. You know that already, though. Might have to consider it more deeply, now that you're one of us. Those differences become readily apparent, trust me."
She thought back to the sudden chill. "How cold was it outside?"
Riven checked his holo caster for the temperature reading. "Twenty seven degrees outside."
"Celsius?"
"No, this is Unova. Fahren. They're backward, remember? How to metric?"
"Oh, well that's still pretty cold." She thought about the implications of that and went white as milk, with her lips twisting like she'd just bitten into the most sour berry she could find. "Oh my god, it's going to be winter, isn't it?"
"Yes, yes it is," Riven said wryly. "Ice weakness. Which means you suck in cold temperatures. No feathers to protect you from losing heat, either. Double suck."
"Hurray," she said sullenly. "Do you know anything about wind-flying-whatever people? Apart from what you already tried to tell me?"
Riven smiled villainously in a way that made her uncomfortable. "Discovery is always its own reward." He spread his hands over his head in an arc. "It's an adventure, remember?"
Her glare could split steel.
"Ass... You change me into a superhuman but give no pointers on how I control these abilities so I don't kill someone. Those trees got decimated! How am I supposed to control it? Do I just-"
She held out a hand and a blade of wind the size of a small child slashed cleanly through a nearby chair and left a nasty gash in the wall. The blow-back had also disheveled her loose hair and Riven's own. Once again.
"Uh, minor side note," she laughed uncomfortably, "ponytails from now on."
"A brunette Amy," Riven noted. "How grand. At any rate, you'll need to know how to control these abilities, because they can and will kill someone. You saw what Isole could do. Will's fire went out of control and he left some guys burned to shit. They deserved it but still. Considering you weren't born with it, it'll take some time to get the hang of, but you learn fast. I think."
"Don't you have control issues with yours too?" She pointed out. He waved a hand.
"Now that's a completely different thing. My type inherently has control issues with going overboard. I'm also not all that right up here. You're pretty sane in compariso. Mercy and not-killing-it-until-its-unrecognizable are difficult concepts to understand when going Nightmare mode, especially since it has its own sentience. Thank you military training, split personality is wonderful. When it comes to general destruction though, you elemental types are much worse than me. Everyone blows shit up, but you guys can do so much worse. You blow shit up and continue to blow shit up afterwards without even trying. Tornadoes are terrifying and some pokemon make those casually."
"Great… that's comforting," Gale remarked, frowning at her hands. She recoiled when she shook her hand out and a breeze picked up. Then covered her hand in a desperate bid to stop it. The breeze just picked up. Felt nice though."Gah!"
"Just leave it be," Riven advised. "Avoid thunderstorms and if you're thinking about going anywhere, take double the layers for the cold. You'll look like a Torkoal at the cost of being nice and cozy. If Isole is anything to judge by, the cold is going to fuck with you pretty badly. She was melting in Hoenn. And me? Too much light hurts my eyes and I noticed I burn easy. Desert really sucked. Peeled for days."
"That's gross. How do I go about controlling these abilities then?" She asked again. "I mean, who do I talk to? My pokemon? Emile? Kyne? Vizi? They're birds but... I'm just a human. Can I at least fly if I master it well enough? Oh, maybe I can become the next White Sun!"
Her eyes lit up brightly, sparkling at the thought, only for Riven to come in and burst her bubble with a giant, metaphorical needle. She really took to that Bakoto story.
"I doubt it, you don't have wings. And there are no more wars, so no White Sun for you." He brushed off her glare as he effortlessly crushed her dreams. "Honestly, I'd seek Will's help. He did it on his own and formed his own style, but that's with fire. And since Quil is a professional arsonist, consulting him was probably easiest. Your type is a bit tricky. Birds generate gusts with their wings, but you seem to be able to do it with your mind. Or at will, like a telekinetic. So maybe psychics are the best way to go?"
Gale noticed that Riven also had no idea what the hell he was talking about. He seemed to agree.
"That's not helpful at all," Gale complained, moping. "I'll get the hang of it soon, I guess. Where are Will and Lucia anyway? Are they at the center?"
"Actually, they went to Black City to see the wounded operatives and check on Amy and Seab. I haven't called him to check. I should in the morning. They're probably asleep right now. Speaking of which, you should go to bed too."
"Me?" She scoffed. "I've been in bed for days! It's you that has to go to sleep! You look like you kissed a Haunter!"
Actually, he always looks like that...
"And your eyes are bloodshot."
"I blame the flashes those trainers used," Riven said through a half yawn. "And the wind from Aine's jumps. Irritates the hell out of my eyes. I'll just go to the center then, tomorrow I can bring your pokemon up. They'll be happy to see you. Now rest, even if you don't want to. Try not to kick up any twisters in an enclosed area. If you have to, say a Pidgey got in, made a ruckus and that you had to chase it off with a broom."
"Riven, there are no Pidgeys in Unova."
"Really? Oh fuck that's right. Taillow then. God I need some rest. See you tomorrow, my brain is shot." He yawned, heading for the door.
"Wait," Gale called. He raised an eyebrow, hand on the door handle. She cackled like a Totodile. "Want to switch? I'll sit here while you sleep it off on my bed. I'm not sleepy at all so it's okay. We can pick up my team tomorrow. I bet the doctor's face will be priceless!" At the arched eyebrow, she whined. "I just woke up from a coma, let me have my fun. Please?"
Riven wore a flat expression before a huge smirk snaked its way up his face. Then he fell face first onto the bed and nearly sank into the mattress.
Orthopedic, god bless.
When the doctor did walk in, he found Riven dead to the world on the bed. Glancing to the side, he had to pause and do a second take as Gale waved back at him with a smile. Dumbfounded, his brows furrowed and he took off his glasses to clean them on his coat.
Then rubbed his eyes furiously. He was still trying to process if what was going on a result of being in the hospital for a full day without rest, or if he was asleep and a Musharna was using dream eater on him.
"Weren't you in a coma?" He asked, blinking in confusion. "And what is he doing on the bed?"
"I woke up!" Gale said cheerily, raising her hands. It was a bad decision as it made her wound sting. "Ow… Uh, he was tired, so I let him sleep on my bed."
The doctor sighed as he straightened. "Miss, we need to check you over again, just to make sure whether you're in a good enough condition to send home. Surprising recovery speed, almost like this gentlemen here last week… Curious. Although, I do warn you that you shouldn't leave Nimbasa and go out training again until you're sufficiently recovered. Your injury was serious enough already. If it reopened while in the wild, it wouldn't be pleasant."
"I understand, thanks."
He frowned and watched Riven sleeping soundly on the bed, breath rising and falling. "Are you his traveling partner?"
Gale nodded. "Yeah, I am."
"Well, he seemed quite dedicated to you. He's been in the hospital since you got here. Every day for mostly the entire day."
"He better have." Gale smiled to herself. "Guess how many times I've had to take care of him. He gets into more trouble than anyone I know. About time he repaid the favor, hah!"
The doctor smiled sincerely. "Can you wake him up then? We'll have nurses come in to take some blood and see how you're doing shortly. Since you can walk with only mild discomfort, you should be able to leave by today. We'll give you some painkillers to lessen the pain of the wound, how does that sound?"
"That'd be great," she nodded. When he left, Gale unceremoniously shoved Riven awake. For the first time, he didn't try to punch her. Too tired, most likely. He groggily stared at her, too lethargic to move. "Doctors need you to move, since you're not a patient."
Riven turned on his side, settling his head back into the pillow.
Undeterred, she eyed a water bottle in his trainer bag and smiled. After waking him up with half a bottle's worth of water to the face, and getting checked on and cleared, Gale and Riven headed out the hospital to the center. He was still grumpy about the awakening.
When they arrived, Gale released her team(except for the bigger birds). Evie's tail began to wag furiously as she whined, rubbing her snout against Gale's side in her happiness. The girl laughed from being licked on the face one too many times, and wrapped the Mightyena in a large hug, missing the feeling of soft fur. Vizi also gave a low cry to direct Gale's attention as she hopped over. Gale stroked warm feathers, cooing at the falcon. Yukiko reasonably maintained her distance, looking positively ecstatic to see her trainer well again. The icy ghost shook in place from wanting to tackle Gale, but knew not to.
The interaction made Riven and his own team smile. They'd given Gale their own displays of happiness, and after she'd lectured Baron about blaming himself for not being a miracle worker, Baron did as well. After Gale's team had sufficiently calmed down, the two trainers and their pokemon sat idly in the room, finding themselves at an odd impasse.
Nimbasa was… well, relatively normal. The same feeling of positivity overpowered the looming sense of dread and people happily walked to and fro from the Ferris Wheel and the Carnival district. Really, it's like last week had never happened. "Sudden gas leaks" had become a convenient excuse.
Gale broke the silence when she asked, "What agreement did you make, Riven? With that Tesla guy?" She tilted her head, gray eyes narrowed. "Didn't drag yourself into another mess like Kalos did with that Nera woman, did you?"
"Hell no," Riven refuted instantly, "all he wanted was… an agreement to slow down in pursuing Singularity. Not completely, but to be less… enthusiastic about it. He also wanted me to focus more on the Sayre cultists. That's not something I'd disagree with, considering things will get worse if we leave them unchecked. Tesla knows that too."
"Didn't they bring them here?" Gale pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, but they soon found out that unstable teenagers make for very unreliable pawns. Prone to acting out, if you will. Tesla advised against it, but it is what it is."
Gale understood the meaning after a moment, scoffing in disgust. "Oh sh- Does that mean we got used?"
"Just about," Riven confirmed with a sigh. "Obviously, he was a cryptic fucker and when I called him out on his very apparent manipulation- Argh, let's just say he hung your life over whatever lasting doubts I had over his intentions. No clue what the hell that guy is thinking or planning, and he's impossible to read. I also don't know whether he genuinely has ulterior motives, or it's just a front to be ahead of me. I'd call him an idiot, but he's clearly not."
The whole thing felt like a dance—one that he was participating in with a broken leg and no ability to dance with. Kind of similar to his dancing skills before Kalos, actually. They were so pitiful that he more closely resembled a wet dish rag with feet.
"Sounds like you're thinking too hard," Gale concluded, "you might come to the wrong conclusions like that. Maybe that's what he wants you think? Throw you off and keep you from guessing the real thing?"
Riven rubbed his forehead and let out a disgruntled sigh. He'd used the tactic before, and it worked. Stunningly effective. Only it kind of sucked having it redirected back into his face. Karma, he supposed. "I really hate friendly enemies. At least hostile ones I know how to feel about. Kind of miss those. At least violence still solves problems there."
"And what about reluctant allies?"
That was an entirely different Tyranitar. Obviously, she meant Yates and the entire Unovan Field Operations force. Letting a criminal run around that casually drove swords into peoples' spines was no doubt not on their take-this-lightly list, if that even existed for the group of collective hardass that was the UFO. Yates had suggested that he see him before leaving Nimbasa, knowing full well that he had no birds on his team, and the unfortunate side effect of being unable to teleport.
"Yates wanted me to see him before leaving. I don't want to, but I'd rather not get into more trouble with the law, especially since we'll be stuck here for a while. I'll have to use my trainer I.D. and that's easily traceable. Foreigners aren't trusted, so we'll be primary suspects in case anything goes down."
"Gotta love Unova, huh." Gale blew out a breath, disturbing a stray strand of hair. "What's next then? After leaving Nimbasa and getting scolded by Yates?"
Riven shrugged. "Not sure. I still have gaps in my team and as much as I like Boagrius, he isn't fit for fighting like the others are. He's a good support, but sometimes I need that offensive or defensive capability. Boagrius has neither. Right now, my team gets shit on by birds, electric types, ground types, can't do much against dragons, and utterly gets fucked by fairies outside of Efrain. I get fucked by fairies and steel types when Aine and Baron aren't around. Oh and I can't answer to water types. Casca practically one shot Aine with a hydro pump."
Trainers couldn't rely on their pokemon all the time, not in times like these. Or against criminals and mercs of this nature. Maybe that's why so many died in Sinnoh; they were ill-prepared and had never fought an opponent that wanted them dead.
"Get an electric type? They cover most of those weaknesses. Poison type or move wouldn't hurt. I think they sell poison jab TMs. Could be useful for Baron and Aine to fight back against fairies. They're pretty frail, I've heard."
"Yeah," Riven considered. "We'll hit the stores later."
As they walked down to the pokemall in central Nimbasa, Riven dialed Will's number. The holo caster buzzed as a projected image of Seren appeared. The fox pawed at the projection, trying to sniff Riven's image.
Riven didn't know whether to assume this was normal, or consider it a prank. It wasn't often that Jolteons answered calls.
"Uh, Seren? Why did you answer the call?"
The jolly fox gave a happy yip, panting and sparking.
"Where's Will?"
Seren turned to the side, yipping and barking into the distance. When Gale peered back to see Riven talking to a Jolteon over the holo caster, she decided not to ask much questions.
"He asleep?" Riven asked. Seren confirmed it with a bark. "Can you wake his lazy ass up?" The Jolteon looked glad to do it, wandering off and away from the holographic image. There were some barks, yips, and what sounded like electricity. Then there was a crash.
Seren was back, black eyes filled with glee as Riven heard complaining in the distance.
"God dammit, Seren." Will came over, picking the electric type up into his arms as he sat down in front of the projector. His hair was frizzed from the shock and his shirt was singed from the electricity.
"What do you want this early?" He ground out, scratching his head. "Still… tired." He nearly fell asleep again.
"Seren, shock him again." The Jolteon responded by sending out another weak discharge, jolting its trainer awake. Curses followed. "Will, where are you?"
"Stop shocking me! I'm in Black City. Lucia's back at the UFO branch here, if that's what you want to ask. Hargh... Still watching over Gale?"
"Hi, Will!" Gale called.
Red eyes went wide. "Holy shit, she woke up?"
"Yeah, but…"
"But what?"
"She's kind of a windy person now, if you catch my meaning."
Will took a moment to register that. "Ohhhhhhhhhh. Damn. Congrats? I think?"
"She needs your help controlling it."
"Why don't you help her? She's your girlfriend. You got abilities too."
Fucking asshole. Riven growled. "I can't advise her. My abilities come from somewhere different and they're much harder to keep a lid on. You figured yours out without much help."
"I don't know what wind, err… flying is like though. Quil helped me though, he pretty much said to let it out. And to burn stuff down if it looked at me funny."
Riven frowned. Suddenly, that made a lot of sense.
"Can't you at least try?"
"Maybe if you come to me I can try. I can't leave Black City right now."
"Why not?"
"Remember I told you that I wanted to start a Hoenn based force like the UFO?"
That's right, he did. Riven dismissed it as a silly notion at first since the guy wanted the official uniform to have a cape while also getting the females to wear combat skirts, but now it just made him frown. "Don't tell me they agreed to train you?"
"I'm going to learn what they do. They already approved me, heh! That way if I want to start my own branch in Hoenn, I won't look like an idiot. I'm serious, Riven. With all this shit going on, I don't want Hoenn to go to the Houndooms either. The police are pretty much worthless. The UFOs are fucking badass."
Riven held back from gripping the bridge of his nose, breathing in deeply. "Fine. We can head over there if needed. Also, how are Amy and Seab doing?"
"Blue boy has broken ribs, and spiky ponytail girl got a massive cut on her leg. There's a light scar now. Which sucks because she has nice legs—and I mean really nice legs. I can see why you liked her at first." He waggled his eyebrows.
Riven flipped him the bird. "We'll head over there in a few days, I guess."
"Can't you just fly? It's not that far. On bird, I mean."
"I think Emile and Kyne could use a rest from flying so much. Plus, it'd be good to see what the trainer population is like, and it would give Gale more chances to adjust to her abilities," Riven reasoned. "I also need money somewhat badly. My foreign bank account was frozen since the incident, so I have effectively shit for cash. Smashing plebians is in order. You should probably check your bank account too."
"Oh fuck," Will said to himself. "Need to go to the bank soon… Good luck with the trip though. Watch out for crazy asshole Sayres though. We'll be here then, but lemme warn you, Black City is fucking huge. Everything lights up at night, like a sci-fi movie! Isn't it cool?" The fox in his arms agreed, licking his chin. Squirming out of his grip, the Jolteon gave him another mischeivous shock and bounded off like a hyperactive Buneary. "Seren! Come here! Casca, help me catch him!"
Riven ended the call, knowing it would take Will the better part of an hour to calm the electric fox down. Maybe he wasn't blue anymore. Nah, better not to hold his breath.
"Want to head there the traditional way?" Gale assessed. Riven nodded, telling her to put on her running shoes. "I don't mind walking. When are we heading out?"
"Today or tomorrow, if you want. I need to make another stop first."
"Yates?"
"Unfortunately."
"Urk, that isn't going to be fun."
"You're telling me?" He remarked sarcastically.
Gale grinned like a Haunter. "Poor dark boy."
"Crazy wind girl," he shot back.
She opened her mouth, slightly ajar. He wanted to play? She could play. "Edgelord."
"Airhead."
"You should buy a fedora."
"You should get hit by a bus."
"But then you'd miss me."
"Hah, no I wou-" Riven stopped himself and scowled. "Damn you."
The brunette couldn't contain her massive shit-eating grin as he exhaled through his nose, nostrils flaring.
Riven grumbled and stalked ahead, leaving Gale behind as she giggled.
"Fucking swear… like a female Will…"
When they entered the UFO field office, they found Yates calmly sipping some coffee. "For a dark type, you sure wake up early," he remarked, drawing a twitch from Riven.
"I'm not a bloody Zubat."
"I'm aware," he replied, hiding the tiny smirk behind the mug of coffee. He saw brown hair standing behind Riven and tilted his head. "Ms. Serna. Nice to see you've awoken. Harrowing experience you went through. I'm surprised you recovered so quickly from the injury, however." The operative gave Riven a quick, but skeptical glance.
The mercenary kept his face blank.
"Yeah," Gale managed, a little nervous. "It just felt like a really long sleep, and my cut still hurts, but the painkillers help a lot. The Chanseys made it a lot better. Thank you for your concern."
Yates nodded with a brief smile. He turned to face Riven. "I assume you're here to inform me of leaving Nimbasa, Prime?"
"You know my name," Riven stated, more of a question than anything else.
"I also know of numerous secrets that I can't divulge. Mercenaries take exceeding care to keep their identities hidden, and yours is linked with a secret that can't be revealed to the world in its current state. As such, Riven Cerul of the Cerul clan doesn't exist. Isn't that right, Nathan?"
"You're fully correct," Riven chuckled. "Silly me."
"However," Yates began, "I need to warn you. We only let you off the hook because you assisted us in what can be described as a regional emergency. Unova is grateful to you, but know that our gratitude will not excuse any more than this. If you kill others without cause again, you will face the law. There are limits to what we can cover up."
Cover up. Those two words rubbed Riven wrong as he remembered what Tesla said. It bothered him enough to comment, knowing he shouldn't. "Yates, why did you use mass amnesia on the civilians? They're going to remember it later; it's just going to come back and screw you."
The operative shook his head, signing a form. "Sometimes, we have to do things we're not proud of. I'm sure you understand that better than anyone, Prime. We have to quell what we can. Riots and protests with negative undertones can escalate and make matters that much worse. Then we'll play right into Singularity and the Sayre supporters' hands."
"Careful with that mentality," Riven warned. "Good intentions can lead to terrible decisions and lead to a lot of dead people. Those who fight monsters are destined to become them, or so it goes."
Yes, such was true of many operatives. Years of seeing atrocities sometimes pushed them to the edge, turning them down a darker path. Cases like those were always difficult to deal with.
"And you?"
"Don't worry." Riven gave him a smile that was all teeth. "I'm already a happy little monster."
Yates scoffed. "Keep an eye out. Stay out of trouble and try not to murder people openly."
"So you're saying I can do it?"
"Prime…" Yates scowled in disapproval. "Just make sure to keep it a secret. If it's absolutely necessary, make sure I don't hear about it. Some things have to be done, things we, as a law enforcing body, cannot enact. Should the Elite Four or the Champion decide to have words with you, though, I won't lift a finger to help you."
"Got it."
"Also, you should see Elesa at the gym," Yates mentioned. "She mentioned she wanted to see you before you left, said she had something for you. As for you, Ms Serna, keep an eye on him, will you?"
"Who else will?" She shot back, earning a chuckle from the operative.
"Good, now I have to get back to paperwork. Winter is coming soon, so I advise you prepare for it. Hoennites fare poorly in Unova. Spoiled children and your tame weather."
Both Riven and Gale snorted as they left his office, relieved that it wasn't a monumental lecture. They fully expected an authoritative monologue of actions, consequences, morals, recaps of laws, and mountains worth of hardass. Luckily it wasn't to be so.
Elesa's gym wasn't too far away, and when they came into view of it, Riven snickered as he saw construction crews patching up the giant hole in the wall.
"What the hell happened to the gym?" Gale asked, gawking. "Did it get hyper beamed?" Watching Riven cackle, she punched him in the arm. "You didn't."
"I made a dynamic entrance. Worth it," he explained. "Will's idea."
She wasn't surprised at all. The two boys had more in common than they liked to admit.
"Of course it was."
When they stepped inside, they watched as Elesa battled a challenger, a smile on her face as the challenger's pokemon bravely faced off against her own. A man with long hair, oddly striped pants, and a red scarf around his neck stood beside Elesa, cheering both her and the challenger on.
When the battle was over, Elesa congratulated the boy with a badge as her Emolga was defeated. Seeing Riven and Gale in the stands, she beckoned them both over to the back of the gym before her next battle.
"Hello again, Prime. I almost didn't recognize you without your mask. You look… young. Yates gave you my message?" She asked. The guy next to her eyed Gale with wonder, pulling out a sketchbook.
"Yeah, he did," Riven said, watching him suspiciously. "What is he doing? Who's this guy?"
"Why, how pleasantly insulting kiddo! I'm Burgh! Castelia City's gym leader and artiste extraordinaire!"
Shouldn't he be in Castelia? Managing a gym?
Burgh held his hands out. "I'm also Elesa's significant other, so I'm visiting her today to provide excellent moral support and scout potential models for my sketches. But my, I must say, who is this beautiful girl beside you? Her eyes are a fascinating grey I've never seen before. Like storms, I love them!"
Gale reddened as she shook hands with Burgh. "I'm Gale, his traveling partner."
Burgh grinned widely. "Hey, do you mind if I make a sketch of you? I've been trying to capture trainers on their journeys. Especially beautiful ones. It's a little project of mine. What do you say? Elesa's next match is in an hour, so we have some time. I'll hang your portrait in my gym if you ever want to see it."
Gale accepted readily. She caught on fairly quickly that Burgh did it to give Elesa and Riven some privacy. Getting sketched wouldn't be so bad either.
As they left, Elesa sighed sadly.
"Miss him?" Riven guessed.
"Every day," she said soberly. "It's only been a week and yet it feels like years. The rest of my team aren't taking it well either. The rumors don't help. Everyone assumes he died in an accident. It bothers me, like he wasn't important."
"I'm not going to say it gets any better, but you'll have to move on eventually. Is everything else relatively fine, at least?"
"Aside from the giant hole you punched into my gym?" She reminded wryly.
Riven smiled nervously. "Yes, aside from that."
"I suppose. Relations haven't completely deteriorated, but the other gym leaders are worried sick. Security got ramped up in the other cities and more operatives are on standby now. They're afraid the Tournament will make its appearance again. I hope winter slows them down."
"Think that's what everyone is counting on. Anyway, you mentioned you had something for me?"
"Yes." Elesa excused herself for a moment, returning after a minute with a striped black and white egg in her hands. Riven's face fell. "It's Lancer's offspring," she explained. "He had it with another Zebstrika of mine two weeks before he died. I planned to incubate it but with the tour coming up I couldn't. And now…" She made herself breathe. "Since you saved my life, I'd like you to have him in order to honor his memory. Zebstrika are powerful pokemon, and you can use them to get around fairly quickly too, if you can handle the ride."
Riven took the egg into his hands, frowning. "Elesa… I can't take this egg. Not with the situations I deal with most of the time. If I was a trainer, sure, but I can't risk hatching an egg with my line of work. Too volatile."
He tried handing the egg back but she refused.
"Then hatch him when you're ready," Elesa replied. "They can be placed in storage, right? Incubate and nurture the egg on your downtime."
Riven sighed, not wanting to take care of an egg, but also not wanting to disappoint Elesa either. He had a soft spot for last wishes. And he could use an electric type. Part of him was also frightened at the fact that he'd be raising a baby pokemon, and having never had parents in his life past the age of seven, knew absolute dick about parenting.
Begrudgingly, he nodded. "Alright. I'll take it. Just… don't blame me if I push the Blitzle a little harder than normal. My pokemon have very intense training regimens."
"That's fine. If his offspring can grow to become powerful enough to be considered an asset on a mercenary's team, then that's more than enough to honor his memory and make me content. When you decide to hatch it, can you notify me?"
Riven nodded, cradling the egg. It felt out of place in his arms as he touched the surface of the shell. He sighed and brought out a pokeball, sucking it in. "I'll try and raise it the best I can."
Elesa smiled. "Great, now where's Burgh?"
They found Burgh sketching a glowing Gale, who somehow had changed into a white dress. She posed as the artist quickly drew away. When he noticed Riven standing there in shock, he beamed.
"Oh, wonderful! I have some clothes for you here too! Now if you can please stand beside her that'd be great. Her smile contrasting with your dour look will give a message that trainers come in every shape, size, and personality! Truly a union that can seldom be found anywhere else! Hey, Gale, if you convince him, I'll let you try on some of my outfits if you're ever in Castelia. You can also keep that dress, it looks fantastic on you."
As Riven was about to protest, Gale pouted while mouthing a silent plea. Free clothes were great, and Gale did look rather flattering in the dress. Riven struggled to say no to the girl, groaned, and picked up the bundle of clothing.
Life has highs and lows. This is a high. Enjoy the respite while you can. Just like Riven is going to enjoy experiencing the wonderfulness of baby pokemon rearing.
No exp share here boys.
Now, where is my evil mastermind laugh?
Gonna go to a pokemon go event with over 5k people going today. I'll update scrub chronicles tomorrow, with some other entries from hunts previously.
RIP Dratini nests. :(