Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)
Season 1, Episode 10, Chapter 5
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"Just a little more, darling. We're almost there. Not much further," Karina Vallière muttered in her daughter's ear, seemingly unworried by the discomfort of her charge as she ran down the streets.
Louise had never known her mother to be chatty, but she had also never seen her truly flustered. Perhaps running at the mouth was a nervous tic? A sudden jolt sent searing pain cascading through her body, cutting Louise from her thoughts as she buried her head in her mother's chest, a few locks of frizzy hair brushing across her face as she did so. Odd. Karina's hair was always well-maintained, even when such effort would seem a waste of time. What would cause her mother to forsake that? Was it related to her presence here?
The world shifted. Sounds found themselves reduced to psychedelic lights as colors began to bleed together, muddying any meaning the ever-shifting sound-lights might have had. A cold, burning sensation spread outwards from the base of her spine, feeling almost word-for-word like the story one of her father's friends told of being burned alive.
"You really want to hear the tale of my great humiliation?" the boisterous knight cried, a look of false affront clear on his continence. "Again?"
"Yes! We! Do!" the drunken men and women of the Centurion's old unit chorused.
Karina tore around a corner, a stream of citrine words dripping down her face. Noxious purples bloomed from Brennaraki's mouth.
"Alright!" he cried in mock-defeat as the crowd cheered. "I'll tell my tale once more!" He drunkenly staggered over to one of the many maps lining the walls and unsheathed his saber, pointing it at a river a little ways into Germania. "Most of you remember our fight over the Rhine, but let me set the scene for the children!"
Scarlet ticked and tocked from her mother's boots as she leapt over a crashed sedan, pearls of cobalt radiating from within her jacket.
"I'm sure those Germanians were just as surprised to see us as we were to see them! Our orders were to retreat if we faced opposition – a well-trained corps of griffon knights being too valuable to lose, or something of that nature – and that wasn't even considering we were outnumbered almost forty to one!" The knight laughed, several others joining in at his exaggeration. "But we didn't retreat! And why was that!?"
"They had an elf!" Karina shouted.
"Yes! They were driving an elf towards our fair Centurion's estate!"
The elder rosecrown slid to a halt with a sapphire screech. Veritable rainbows of color jumped from the Fennekin as she struggled to keep up. Karina paused her argent diatribe to shout wreaths of verdant encouragement at the trailing fox before she took off, quicksilver falling from her lips once more.
"Were anyone else telling this story, they would sing of how unyielding earth and unrelenting wind drove back the fel creature with naught but the aid of three brave men! But that's not the story you want to hear, is it!?" the knight shouted as a resounding "Nay!" shook the room. "Well! It pains me to my very soul to admit, but no sooner did the she-demon look at me than she engulfed Copperwing and I in a gout of flame! Being the level-headed water mage I was, I immediately drenched myself to smother the flames. Imagine my surprise when it did nothing!"
"We don't need to imagine!" an unseen man called out, as if on cue. "We all heard your screams!"
Her mother stopped, glacial white clouding from her mouth. Her foot pattered out a rose staccato, like her body was filled with a nervous energy as she tried to regain her bearings. A wave of tarnished copper announced Brennaraki's panicked instruction as she motioned for the rosecrowns to follow her down increasingly-familiar streets. They weren't far, now.
"Of course, you did!" the knight shouted jovially. "Even as I steered Copperwing towards the Rhine! Even as I could feel my flesh melt off my very bones! Even as my glorious mane burned away to nothing! I screamed! I screamed like my soul was being rent from my body! I put the fear of God and our Founder into the hearts of those kingless Germanians! And then I hit the water."
Silence reigned for the briefest of moments.
The Pokémon center came into view, but its entrance was choked by a crowd. Karina didn't slow down, sending shouts of iridescent surprise flying as she shoved her way through, crimson babbling pouring from her mouth like so much blood.
"Of course, it did nothing," he continued. "If her flames could resist the waters of a Triangle-Class Water mage, what hope did a mundane river have? But I had one trick up my sleeve: Bubble, a toddler's spell, barely even worthy of the title cantrip. And yet it saved both my life and that of Copperwing. The flames died. I had either been swept out of the elf's range or she believed me drowned. Eventually I climbed out of the river and flew back to camp, only to find that you all had beat me there! Centurion took one look at me, and you know what he said?"
"'Ser Jerome, you look like you've been through Hell itself!'" her father interjected, the laughter of his comrades accompanying him. "And how did you respond?"
Her mother ran into the lobby, rushes of rust quickly fading into the sound of an overtaxed air conditioner. The Center's nurses quickly got out of their way.
"'That may be, Ser,'" Jerome said with a smile as he twirled his amethyst moustache, the only patch of hair on his scarred face, "'but I don't think you'll have to deal with any more rumors about a royal bastard in your unit!'"
The room erupted into laughter.
"Louise, we're here," Karina softly muttered. "I need you to wake up."
"I… am…" Louise slowly croaked.
"How many spines? I can't measure out the dosage unless I know how much you have in you."
"T-three…" Louise murmured, bothered by her mother's unusual speech patterns.
"I'm going to give you the antivenom now," her mother said, her voice like a dam struggling to hold back a flood. "I need you not to panic once it takes effect."
"Y-you're... not… m-my… mother… are… you…?"
"My name is Athena," the woman said as she filled a syringe with liquid. "I gave you a package earlier today."
"O-oh…" Louise muttered, shuddering as she recalled how the assertive strawberry blond had all but backed her into a corner the last time they had met.
"Now hold still," Athena said, swabbing a spot on Louise's arm. "Toxapex neurotoxin reacts painfully with the antivenom, and with how much you have in you, this is certainly going to hurt a lot."
The needle pierced the rosecrown's skin. For a second nothing seemed to happen, then she felt as if every nerve in her body burst into flames. For the second time in less than an hour, she fell into blissful unconsciousness.
"I can't believe you lost her!" Saito yelled at the top of his lungs as he, Elizabeth, and Grant ran through the city, desperately trying to find Louise.
"You have no grounds to make such an accusation of me, especially when you literally just realized you lost your Pokédex," Elizabeth snapped back, her serene voice filled with enough venom to kill a man outright. "Every ounce of energy you spend spewing your anger at me is an ounce wasted."
Saito looked ready to retort, and made to do so, but Grant already heard enough.
"Both of you focus, now!" Grant barked an order, halting any further conflicts between the two. There was obvious bad blood between Saito and Elizabeth, but right now Grant couldn't care less. There were far more important things to worry about at the moment, including the fact that there appeared to be an injured girl suffering from neurotoxin-induced hallucinations running around the city in a panic. The only consolation Grant could find in this situation is that Cyllage finally began to come back under control.
To be sure, the effects of Flare's rioting could still be seen in the form of destroyed cars, broken storefronts, and shards of shattered concrete and stone. But at the same time, lined along those very same buildings were scores of police officers and trainers holding captured Flare grunts and admins. They were being held down by Pokémon, both in pristine and battered condition, yet all held a furious look on their faces. The members of team Flare were either nervous, terrified, or oddly calm. To Grant, the ones who remained calm seemed off. A few of them even had this knowing, smug look on their faces. They knew something, and he needed to find out what. But that was for later. Right now, they had a young woman to find.
"Here's a thought," Derflinger spoke up, catching Grant's attention. "Maybe she's at a Pokémon center? Wouldn't be the first time some tripped their way someplace safe."
"I really don't appreciate describing Louise's status as 'tripping through Cyllage,'" Saito pointed out with a frown, then shot Elizabeth a look. "Of course, had you gotten her out when she got poisoned by a Toxapex, we wouldn't have about to worry about where she went!"
"Again, with the blaming me," Elizabeth snarled, stopping in place as emerald fires razed scarlet fields. "You have no grounds to make such claims against my honor. I tried to get her to get out; I'm not stupid. I don't know how that little rose got those thorns, but she has them. She refused to leave due to her own stubborn pride, and by the time any of us realized how bad things had gotten, we didn't have a choice."
"Yet apparently, you had a choice to act in character…" Saito accused with a low growl and he walked away. Grant shot her a look then went over to the young boy. Now behind them, Elizabeth clenched her fist and slammed it into a nearby wall, suppressing a wince as the bones in her hand fractured just as easily as the brick it struck. Part of her – the roiling, malignant knot that had only grown since her release from the hospital – wanted to scream right into his face, to repay him for all the courtesies he had shown her. But she didn't. He wasn't worth it. How could he possibly understand what she and Louise had gone through? He wasn't even there.
She would need to get her hand looked at soon, though. It wouldn't do for it to heal improperly. Maybe…maybe Espirit would tolerate her long enough to do so.
Then, the three trainers heard Aile screech from above. The Fletchling was circling over them, trying to catch their attention. It wasn't hard to figure out that she had spotted something, and without saying a word they and the rest of their Pokémon followed Aile further into the city. Eventually, much to their relief, they found themselves in front of a hospital, a jumping Brennaraki waiting for them. They sprinted inside the building, carefully moving past the hospital staff and waiting patients, till eventually they stopped before a clerk.
"We're looking for our friend. Louise Vallière," Saito stated, worry on his face. That worry grew when the clerk looked at them with recognized alarm.
"Uh… Louise Vallière is in the intensive care ward for high levels of Toxapex venom in her system," she hastily revealed. Saito paled and Elizabeth felt her body slacken. Derflinger's eye narrowed in suspicion, as to the ancient Honedge the nurse seemed jumpy. But he was probably no better now that he thought about it. Flare had just attacked the city. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about her.
"But," the clerk continued, "luckily she was found by one of our nurses who administered antivenom in time. She'll be out for…a few hours…? Yes, a few hours."
An awkward silence followed her message.
"I can take you to the waiting room, if you like?" the clerk rushed to add.
"Yes, please," Saito begged. The clerk nodded, then opened the door for him to enter. After a moment, Elizabeth followed, but Grant unfortunately had to return to the city. He wanted to check on Louise, but his responsibilities demanded otherwise. Saito hardly noticed outside of a quick thank you, then silently made his way to the waiting room. Once there, he sat down and rested his elbows on his knees, bringing his hands to cover his chin. After a moment, Elizabeth sat down as well on the other side of the room, and both remained silent.
"Rise and shine, Miss Vallière. Rise and shine," an unfamiliar voice said, cutting through the cloying embrace of unconsciousness.
Slowly, ponderously, the rosecrown felt her senses return to her. The ever-present pain that had filled her world was noticeably absent. Not trusting herself to speak without stumbling over her words, Louise silently opened her eyes. She was in a small, well-lit hospital room. Athena sat directly opposite her, flanked by two unfamiliar nurses in monochrome uniforms.
"Well, she didn't display any signs of shock or confusion upon seeing us, so either it didn't take, or we can rule out the possibility of prosopagnosia," the leftmost nurse said, scribbling something down on a clipboard.
"She passed out almost as soon as the antivenom hit her bloodstream," Athena countered. "That wouldn't have happened if it didn't take. In fact—"
"We have more tests to go through if you don't want to cost us our accreditations," the rightmost nurse cut in, causing the other two to cringe in reproach. "So, please, Athena, I'm certain Nero will be just as willing to hear whatever tangent you were about to go on after we are finished with the patient."
"As you wish, Juno," the strawberry blonde muttered, turning back to Louise. "Do we have your permission to perform the standard body of tests following exposure to…" she paused, frowning at the clipboard in her hands then turned to Juno. "Do I have to read the name?"
"Yes, you do. It's standard policy."
"Fine," she said, her posture drooping into a defined slouch as she sped through the boilerplate speech to find her place again, "...following exposure to poly… pathol… jaery…" Athena stopped reading, letting out a low growl, "Who wrote this?"
"I did," Nero replied, affronted by the question.
"I can't read it," the taller woman snapped. "Why didn't you type this up?"
"I didn't have time!" Nero cried, "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but we're swamped after that stunt Kami's brat decided to pull, and it certainly doesn't help that Versus and Crane will be out for blood if we let this whole mess interfere with their 'precious' match!"
"Nero, we have a patient," Juno evenly said. "That's enough."
"Oh, says you!" Nero slung back as Athena slumped forward, covering her ears with her hands.
"This is unprofessional behavior, Nero."
"Now you're harping about unprofessionalism?"
"Nero."
"Where was all that talk when—"
Athena stood up and grabbed Nero's wrist. "Outside. Now," she spat, her voice trembling like a warning sign of one of Louise's more explosive miscasts. "We need to talk."
Nero was silent as she was all but dragged out of the examination room. Athena paused before she shut the door, turning to Juno as her eyes practically vibrated with energy.
"I'll try not to take too long," she said. "Don't waste time for my sake." Then the door closed. A brief pause ensued, only broken by a beleaguered sigh.
"Sorry about that," Juno lamely said.
"Are they usually like that?" Louise asked, surprised at the unprofessional behavior the nurses were exhibiting.
"No, not usually. I blame the stress of the day's events," the nurse replied, picking up the discarded clipboard. "Moving on, are you ready to begin the tests?"
"Why are these tests necessary?"
"Excuse me?" Juno shot her a look.
"I don't mean to imply that I'm not going to take the tests," Louise hurried to clarify, "I just want to know their purpose."
"…That's certainly reasonable, considering the rarity of Toxapex in Kalos," Juno conceded. "To answer your question, due to the potency of the neurotoxin, there aren't many people willing to volunteer for a clinical trial to improve the antitoxins we have. As a result, anything you can find outside of the Aether Foundation's private vault comes with a veritable arsenal of possible side-effects. Since such a large number of those side effects tend to be frustrating to deal with, prosopagnosia and colorblindness immediately spring to mind, we are required by law to perform these time-consuming tests every time we need to use one."
"Oh," Louise said, feeling somewhat guilty for asking. She shuffled around a bit, then nodded. "You may start."
"Thank you," Juno replied.
The two quickly slipped into a rhythm. Juno was clinical and efficient – the very image of a proper nurse. Louise, for her part, tried her best to comply with the tests as best she could, even when the instructions seemed strange to her. About fifteen minutes later, Athena reentered the room. The woman's uniform was noticeably more disheveled than when she had left, almost as if she had taken it off and had to quickly put it back on.
"Where's Nero?" the rosecrown asked before she could stop herself.
"She had something more important to do," Athena replied, the dam-like quality back in her voice.
"Moving on to the next test," Juno said before the conversation could continue any further. "Close your eyes, I'm going to need to cut a lock of your hair."
"Oh, okay," Louise said, complying despite her confusion. Three distinct snips flew across the quiet room.
"You can open them now," Athena said. The taller nurse held out a clipboard with three identical locks of hair placed neatly upon it.
"The clipboard in front of you holds a lock of hair from you, Athena, and myself," Juno read off. "By sight alone, pick yours from the lineup."
The rosecrown blinked. How was that possible? Athena was a blonde and Juno had… grey hair…? Wait. Something didn't feel right. Steeling her nerves, Louise looked Athena dead in the eyes, rosy pink meeting flinty grey. Not violet; grey. A shaking hand grabbed a lock of her hair and brought it up to her face. Grey. The hair slipped out of her hand, allowing her a clear view of her hand in all its drab greyness. Panicked, she swept her view across the room, achieving nothing but revealing more grey. She couldn't take it anymore. Juno's yelp of surprise barely registered to Louise as she bolted from the room. As she did, thoughts came spewing from the back of her mind as the dam burst.
What was she thinking then? Why did she run from that plaza? Auspice was close to the center of that explosion last she saw, why didn't she even try and see if she was injured? Her eyes burned as she remembered those stupid, prideful boasts she had made to Elizabeth. Why did she insist so hard on staying?
She was nothing without her pride. No friends. No magic. No familiar. No future. Just a caged songbird to be sold to her future husband. And yet, time and time again, her pride had done nothing but embarrass her. Her thoughtless oath from before the summoning rose to mind unbidden. She was being punished, wasn't she?
She burst into the lobby. A sea of grey met her. Why had she even hoped it would be different?
Strong arms wrapped her into an embrace. Athena slowly walked her over to one of the benches. Louise looked up. Drained of all color, the woman's uncanny resemblance to her mother and sisters was painfully obvious, but maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Maybe, for a moment, she could be in Cattleya's garden once more. Maybe she didn't have to bear this punishment alone.
Regardless of "maybes," the tears still fell.
For several hours, Saito, Elizabeth, and their Pokémon sat in silence in the waiting room. Neither of them felt any need to speak to each other, and both were trying their damnedest to simply ignore their existence entirety. For Saito, more than anything he couldn't understand Elizabeth's gall and her utter refusal to accept responsibility towards Louise's affliction. More than anyone else on the planet, Saito knew how stubborn Louise could be. After all, he had been travelling with her for months now. Of course, Saito knew why Louise was so stubborn, Elizabeth was right about that. Louise's pride was, at times, dictatorial, but at the same time Saito couldn't hate all of it. It was a source of strength to her, he just wished that she'd learn to keep in check.
Right now, though, the only thing he cared was whether or not Louise would be fine. To that end, he occupied his time by pouring over everything he could learn about Toxapex venom. He would have used his Pokédex to do so, but unfortunately, he had indeed lost his Pokédex somehow in all the chaos. Saito was ashamed of himself for not noticing until now, but he'd find it later. Luckily the waiting room had a desktop he could use to conduct his research, which the clerk was gracious enough to let him use.
From what little research he had gathered, it wasn't pretty. They were native to Alola, and weren't often spotted outside of that region, but they were infamous for being among the most toxic creatures on the planet. Up until recent decades, getting poisoned by one was almost a death sentence, or at the very least crippling to the victim. Luckily, the Aether Foundation, among other companies around the world, had made great strides in making effective treatments and antivenoms. They still had side effects, but nothing too outrageous.
A flash of light brought his attention momentarily towards the far end of the room. There he saw Esprit, the gentle Kirlia that she was, tending to Elizabeth's fractured hand. He scoffed, shook his head and turned away. Why Elizabeth felt the need to fracture her hand against a brick wall, Saito didn't even begin to guess at. Nor did he really care.
More minutes passed in solemn silence. Saito continued to scan his Pokédex, looking through various newsfeeds focusing on Cyllage. The situation was finally calming down, with well over a hundred Team Flare terrorists arrested along with many cell leaders, but Saito wasn't convinced this was the end of it. He, and many others, were convinced that this was merely a distraction. But a distraction for what?
Before he could even answer, the light above the waiting room door blinked green, drawing Saito's attention. He stood up, as did Elizabeth. Both were in rapt attention towards the door, then a nurse they didn't recognize opened it for them.
"Saito Hiraga?" she called out. Saito nodded, and the nurse nodded back as she flipped through a clipboard. "Louise Vallière's condition has stabilized. You can see her now, if you wish."
Saito didn't even say a word as he practically sprinted towards the door alongside his and Louise's Pokémon, brushing past the nurse and leaving Elizabeth behind. The verdette, meanwhile, looked towards her and pointed at herself.
"What about…" Elizabeth paused and gulped. As much as she wanted to check on the little rosecrown, right now she couldn't see herself going in there. "Is there a Raven Silverburgh?"
The nurse flipped through the clipboard, then nodded. "Yes, and she's in good condition as well. Please wait as I escort Mr. Hiraga to Ms. Vallière."
Elizabeth nodded, then sat back down as the door closed before her. Now, more than ever, she was alone.
The walk to Louise's room was farther from the waiting room than Saito expected. It was practically at the other side of the building. But, if he was being honest with himself, that was more of an inconvenience at most. When he finally found himself standing in front of Louise's hospital room, all thoughts of inconveniences fled his mind. Gently, Saito opened the door and found a despondent Louise sitting upright in her bed, starring blankly out of a nearby window. He couldn't see her face, but Saito knew instantly that she was upset. Their Pokémon entered the room, and once they were all inside Saito closed the door again. For a moment, there was only silence. None of them knew what to say, and only an awkward cough from Saito broke the silence. Unlike the silence he shared with Elizabeth, Saito didn't like this. Louise wasn't normally this quiet, and he knew something was wrong.
Finally, he had enough, and moved to speak.
"Louise," he began, "are you—"
"I left them," Louise interrupted, her head beginning to shake.
"What?" Saito asked, then Louise whipped her tear-stained face around towards him.
"I left them," she repeated, fighting back sobs. "I left my Pokémon behind… They got hurt because of me."
"No, they didn't," Saito insisted, grabbing a chair and pulling it towards her bed. "That was Team Flare, not you. You had nothing to do with this."
"They were there because of me!" Louise shouted, now openly crying. "Me and my stupid pride! I should have left, gone for help, but no! Instead, I got hurt, and when my Pokémon needed me most, I just left them!"
"Louise," Derflinger spoke up in an uncharacteristically calm voice, "you can't blame yourself for that. You were not in a right state of mind."
"You think I don't know that?!" Louise began to rant. "That doesn't make it okay! None of it makes it okay! Founder, my Pokémon could have died because of me!"
Louise choked slightly on her tears, her eyes turning red and puffy from her crying. Neither Saito nor the Pokémon in the room knew what to say, all at a loss for words, but Louise took that as permission to continue berating herself.
"You were right, Saito," Louise began, sniffling as a look of horror crossed Saito's face. "A person who can't protect their Pokémon…doesn't deserve to be a trainer… I don't deserve…"
She never got the chance to finish that sentence as a fluffy tail suddenly slapped itself across her face. Surprised, Louise looked down to see a teary Brennaraki looking up at her angrily. Before she could even ask her starter what she wanted, Brennaraki began to yip and bark. Almost immediately, Espirit began to psychically translate.
"'Don't you dare finish that sentence,'" Espirit translated for Brennaraki. "'Don't you dare. Louise, none of this was your fault. None of us blame you for what happened today. All of this was because of bad men and women doing vile things to good people, of which you are one. Without you, I'd be a glorified pet in some rich person's house, Esprit would be the prized possession of a loser, Aile would have eaten herself to death and Auspice would…Okay, I don't know what her deal would be, but you know what I mean!'"
Quickly, Saito shot a look at the aforementioned Aile and Auspice, but neither seemed offended. To his surprise, Aile was nodding in agreement towards the fate Brennaraki had given to her. Louise, however, remained unconvinced.
"But I still—"
Brennaraki slapped her again. "'Don't finish that sentence, Louise. I beg you." Now Brennaraki was crying, as was the rest of her Pokémon. Even the stoic Auspice had tears in her eyes, despite only knowing them for a short time.
"I… I don't…" Louise began, then felt Brennaraki curl up in her arms. She was followed by a flutter of wings as Aile gently flew over to rest on her shoulder. With a pop, Espirit teleported over and gently hugged Louise's chest, and finally Auspice walked over and rested her head on Louise's legs. Louise starred at all of them in shock. Tears began to well in her eyes, and finally she couldn't take it anymore as she took Brennaraki into her arms and held her tight.
"I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry…" Louise wept, and she felt her Pokémon embrace her tighter.
"'We're sorry, too,'" Espirit translated for all of them, and no other sounds were formed outside of gentle crying. Saito remained silent, content to let his friend and her team comfort each other. This wasn't the place for him to interject, and he didn't plan to.
Several minutes passed as Louise hugged her Pokémon tightly. Her crying slowly subsided, going from brutal sobs to pitiful whimpers, until finally she broke away from the hugs. She wiped her nose on her bedsheet, then turned to look at Saito with puffy red eyes.
"I'm sorry, Saito. I know what you're going to say, and you're right. I should have left, and I'm sorry that I didn't."
Saito didn't feel the need to beat around the bush, and he knew neither did Louise, so he nodded.
"Yes, you should have left when the Toxapex stung you," he said, crossing his arms. Rather than feel offended, Louise calmly nodded back.
"I know that your pride is important to you, Louise," Saito continued, "but I don't want to see my best friend get hurt because of it."
"…I know," Louise agreed, her voice filled with self-pity. With a clenched fist, she looked down. "My stupid pride has been nothing but trouble to me and all of us."
"I wouldn't say that," Saito interject, much to Louise's surprise. With a warm smile, Saito leaned forward. "Louise, I'm going to be honest with you. Truthfully, you are one of the most hardheaded, stubborn women I've ever met in my life, and your pride does get frustrating at times. But, for as hardheaded as you are, I've never met a more motivated person than you. You take what the world throws at you, and rather than take it lying down, you get back up and throw it back into life's face. You're pride motivates you to get stronger, to improve yourself, and it drives you forward. Hell, you were literally tossed into an alien world, and within a few weeks you've already decided that you wanted to become champion of the Pokémon League."
"Only after you pointed it out to me," Louise recalled, but Saito merely threw his arms to the side.
"That only proves my point. You knew about the Pokémon League for less than a day, and you not only decided that you wanted to give it a shot, you actively worked to make it a reality despite the hardships such a goal demands. You, a girl with no knowledge of Pokémon, stranded on an alien world striving for the greatest of prizes rather than wallow in self-pity and break down. That came from your pride, Louise, and that's admirable."
Louise stared at Saito, who took her silence as permission to come closer to her bed.
"Louise, you are my best friend. Nothing will ever change that, and I will support you with whatever you wish to do. I'm not asking you to abandon your pride. All I'm asking is that you don't let it lead you to harm. Please."
Saito begged. At first, Louise was silent. Then tears formed at the edge of her eyes, and without warning she gave Saito a hug. For a moment he was surprised, then he smiled warmly and hugged her back. She was sobbing now, and Saito felt tears course down his shirt, but the didn't care as he gently patted her back.
"There, there," he soothed, softly chuckling to herself. Louise then broke from the hug, tears still in her eyes as she wiped them away on her sleeve, then for the first time in hours she smiled.
"Thank you, Saito," Louise said. "You're my best friend, too, and I'm sorry for making you worried. I promise you, I won't let this happen again. I swear on my life."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Derflinger added, bringing everyone's attention to him. Seizing his chance, he continued. "Listen, Louise. I've been around for a very, very long time. I've seen countless brave, courageous men and women let their pride consume them, and I don't want to include you in their number. There's no shame in retreating, just as there's no shame in picking your fights. Those who think otherwise are usually the first to go."
Louise contemplated the Honedge's words, then nodded in agreement. "Okay, I will."
"Thank you," Saito stated with a smile, then leaned back in his chair.
"Well, it certainly took you long enough," Raven said as Elizabeth entered the room.
"The nurses stuck me in a waiting room and forgot about me," the verdette huffed. "I didn't even know you were here until a few minutes ago."
"Woah, woah," the raven-haired woman chirped as she walked towards a window. "No need to get all snippy with me. What's got your feathers all ruffled?"
"Idiots who would rather blame me than own up to their own failings," Elizabeth groused as she moved to follow Raven, "among other things."
"Mind sharing?"
"I'd rather not," she replied, green briefly overtaking red before falling behind once more. She shook her head. "I'm no medical expert, but shouldn't you still be in bed?"
"According to them? Yes," she replied, gesturing at the hospital bed. "According to me? No."
"Erina said you were frozen solid," Elizabeth countered, raising an eyebrow.
"A little frostbite never hurt anyone. Besides," Raven chuckled as she removed her shirt, revealing pale, undamaged skin, "no lasting damage was sustained."
"Really, Raven?" the verdette said, averting her eyes. "Are you sure that hypnosis didn't leave any lingering effects?"
"Xatu checked me over as soon as I woke up," Raven replied. "If anyone tampered with me, he would have seen it."
The two lapsed into silence after that. It was calming, especially after the day they both had.
"You know?" Raven suddenly said, holding back a smirk. "Even if I was trying to seduce you, you're already too dead-set on someone else."
"Raven!" Elizabeth cried as a luminous blush lit up her face.
"Hey, no need to feel bad," the older woman continued. "If I've gauged the competition right, you're her best choice by far. Besides there's no shame in being attracted to an older woman."
"How can you say that? You don't even know her," Elizabeth weakly replied, not processing the latter half of Raven's reply. "Or me…" she softly added.
"Ah, there I've done it again," Raven muttered, tilting her head down as her face quickly fell. "Why don't you ever think before you open your mouth?"
Silence reigned once more.
"I'm… not the best at this whole… talking thing," Raven said at length. "I know this sounds cliché, but, well… ergh... Erina and I have known each other long enough that we just... tend to fall into the same old ruts and scripts whenever we talk, and I usually can't work up the... intent... to break from those whenever I try to talk to anyone else. Even just this is hard, since I'm fighting against habit telling me to either get back on script or let things fall to silence... Does that make sense…?"
"I… I think I understand what you mean," Elizabeth replied sullenly. "Every time I try to do something, I always find some way to screw it up. The current trend seems to be that someone just ends up hurt whenever I try to help, whenever I try to prove that I'm not just a burden. That I'm not just some parasite."
The verdette felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Raven giving her a sad smile.
"I won't pretend to know who you are, but I might have some insight into that," she said. "Maybe you remember this: About eleven years ago, your parents threw a party. I don't remember what the occasion was, but anyone who was anyone was going to be there, so Donatello Versus, then a new player in the circuits of PWE, decided to take his trainers along. There were only four of us back then: Diego, Erina, myself, and, Primera Concerto, I think. She didn't last very long, and I didn't really keep up with her. But I digress. Diego was off mingling with the masses, Erina and Primera were trying to find ways to kill each other without causing too much of a ruckus, and I was the odd one out, contemplating my life choices while I tried to get drunk off of the weak alcohol your parents had provided as refreshments. Then along came a young girl: the daughter of our gracious hosts, you."
"I think I remember this," Elizabeth replied as the hazy memories came back. "Nobody was paying me any attention, so I was excited when you actually listened to me. I don't really remember what I did after that, I have vague recollections of leading someone through the house and later returning to the party just in time to see two women start some complex dance routine."
Raven chuckled, "That was Erina and Primera; from what I understand, they got fed up with indirect attempts at harm and decided to just fight each other under the thin veil of it being a dance. I think Erina dyed her hair blue back then, so it's understandable that you didn't recognize her. Also, you did lead me around your house. You filled almost two hours of my time with a very enthusiastic tour of your house while you regaled me with stories about your future as a Pokémon Master."
"I was different then."
"You don't have to be. You can still be that same cheerful girl I met all those years ago."
Elizabeth turned away. Phantom tassels wrapped tight around her arms as silent tears rolled down her face.
"I had a nightmare last night..."
"You don't know how much I wish that were true."
"Colorblind, huh?" Derflinger noted as he hovered in the corner of a room.
"For at least a month. At least, that's what the nurses said," Louise clarified.
"Could've been worse," Saito added. "I read up on Toxapex-poisoning while in the waiting room. Nasty stuff, but luckily things are better now than what they used to be. At least the colorblindness is only a temporary side-effect of the antivenom."
Louise nodded, then leaned back in her raised bed. "Still, that's not the worst part. They won't let me leave for a few days, at least. I mean, I understand why, but it's still annoying."
"Now you know how I felt after I got stung by that Beedrill," Saito joked, and Louise gave her friend a flat look.
"Saito…I think getting poisoned by a Toxapex is slightly different," she pointed out, but Saito only smiled and shook his head.
"Same category."
"… Fair enough," Louise acquiesced, then crossed her hands over her belly. "Still, at least now things are getting back together."
"Yeah, Cyllage is finally calming down," Saito agreed, walking over to the window to look outside. A heavy silence descended over the group, and both trainers frowned.
"I still don't get it," Louise finally admitted. "What was the goal?"
"I have no idea, and frankly that scares me," Saito said. He scrunched his face, then turned to face Louise. "But there's nothing we can do about it now."
"Yeah…" Louise despondently frowned and clenched her fists. She sighed and shook her head, reaching over for the remote. "At least it's over, and I don't think I have to do any more of those stupid tests…"
"Oh, I heard about those." Saito winced in sympathy. "I mean, I understand why they do it, but I can't imagine those were comfortable."
"They weren't," Louise admitted with a slight grimace. "They checked my eyes, hearing, heartrate, blood, everything they could think of to make sure that the antivenom didn't mess me up in some way."
"Good thing that it didn't—" Saito paused. "Wait, blood? They checked your blood?"
"Yeah, said it was to make sure no toxins remained," Louise replied. A confused frown crossed Saito's face while Derflinger narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"What else did they test?" Derflinger asked.
"Um, let's see… They tested my hair, the skin around the injection points, and some saliva before they were called away. Haven't seen them since."
Saito and Derflinger shot each other a look, then looked back at Louise.
"Were they just being extra thorough?" Saito asked with a raised eyebrow. Louise raised hers back.
"No, they said those were standard procedures all over the world."
"Ten years ago, they were," Saito clarified. "Back then, the antivenom was still experimental. Now it's refined enough to where they only need to check basic vitals."
Now Louise was confused, her hand pressing against the remote accidentally. "Then why did they-?"
Suddenly, Louise's hand accidentally pressed against the remote's power button, and the TV sprung to life. It was already set to a news channel, where they saw Malva standing in front of the ruined plaza where Coda made her final stand. She spoke into the microphone she was holding, but none of the occupants of the room cared about what she was saying. Instead, they were focused on the banner streaming below her image.
'Breakout at Cyllage Prison. Hundreds of Team Flare Members Escaped.'
In silent horror, both Saito and Louise finally understood the answer to the question they had been asking all day. So focused on the TV, only Derflinger noticed as several police cars pulled up in front of the Pokémon Center, where a remorseful Nurse Joy escorted the officers inside.
Maxwell Fletcher was pleased with himself. Very much pleased, if he was being honest. As his rescued men and women were organized into smaller groups, Maxwell gave himself a mental pat on the back. Operation: FLASH MOB was a complete success. In exchange for the loss of dozens of weaker Flare cells from across the region, he had managed to break out several of the most hardened, experienced members of their entire disassembled organization. Mostly from his cell, as well as several others who had proven themselves to be capable believers.
"It's all coming together," he said to himself, then he heard a scoff come from his side.
"I still kinda wish you'd let me teleport out some of the more interesting people," Coda groused. "Despite my saying that our losses were within acceptable bounds, we still lost a lot of potentially valuable operatives and true believers to what was essentially bad luck. For instance, Aki and Robin Sherwood could have expedited our search for a new compound if they weren't waiting for some Kangaskhan court in their paper mache cells."
Maxwell shook his head as he walked over.
"Young Coda, sacrifices were to be expected for our success. Unfortunate, but expected. No need to wallow on lost opportunities, especially when the plan worked," he insisted. "Besides, the rebuilt Team Flare has no need of failures and weaklings."
"Yeah, yeah. I know," Coda replied, then hopped off the log she had been sitting on. She stretched, finally rid of the gaudy outfit she had been wearing all day. "What's our next move?"
"Right now, we lay low," Maxwell explained. "We won a great victory today, but if we move too hastily, we run the risk of overextending ourselves. Lysandre's impatience is what felled him, and we will not fall into that same trap."
"So, we're just going to do nothing?" Coda accused, but Maxwell shook his head.
"Not at all. I've already arranged for some of the more successful cells to meet with us at a secret location while we plant false leads across the region. As the authorities stumble around in the dark, we will accumulate more and more power until finally nothing will be able to stop us."
"Who are these cells, might I ask?" Coda asked, intrigued. For as much apprehension she held towards him when they first met, so far Coda was finding that working with Maxwell Fletcher was becoming a boon for her and her entire organization.
That being said, she still found his cryptic chuckles to be annoying, and she pouted in frustration.
"You'll meet them in due time, I assure you. Right now, they don't want to be named, in case they decide to not to accept my offer."
"But they will," Coda finished, and Maxwell Fletcher shot her a wicked grin.
"Oh, they most certainly will."
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here's the latest chapter of Outsiders! Team Flare's arc in Season 1 is now officially complete, with their first true victory of the story. Don't expect any major developments from them for the forseeable future, at most a Team Rocket-esque encounter involving an isolated cell that is much more lighthearted and would occupy only part of a single chapter. Still, some very important things happened in this chapter, especially for Louise.
Now, onto the Q&A:
Guest (1): True, but we already have a plan for Louise's last two Pokemon. What they are, you'll have to wait and see.
Vein Bloodborne: Glad you liked the chapter so much, and yes we are not taking suggestions at this time. I hope you understand.
keybladelight: We'll be delving into Halkegenia eventually, it's just that right now our focus is on Louise in Kalos. And yeah, I'm happy for Ash. Given how our story takes place during SuMo (Anime), we'll probably reference this is some capacity.
.549: Yeah, whether the drugs made her actually see Celebi and Mew for real or if they were just illusions is intended to be ambiguous. Whichever is funnier, although the situation as a whole is meant to be really bad. The neurotoxin is extremely potent, and we wanted to showcase that.
KiroZen: You were correct, that was not Karin. And yeah, Auspice could have done worse. One of the things we want to showcase is that, when it comes to battles against criminals, the heroes are far less constrained, and brutality such as this helps to showcase this.
Komodo23: Glad to be back as well! We never intended for last chapter's wait to be this long, but we don't intend to let that happen again. Thank you, though, for understanding. Ultimately, as much as I enjoy writing fanfiction, it is a hobby, and real life always takes precedence.
Celestia's Paladin: That's certainly one interpretation of the difference! And you're welcome. As cute as they are, Pokemon are still dangerous, and we wanted to showcase that.
That's all for this update. See you all next time!
