Chapter Text
"Where did you find her?"
"I didn't find her. An Arcanine and various other Pokemon carried her to me. She was the one from the alter, correct?"
"Yes."
"Well thank god she's still alive at least! We didn't know if she would even be alive until we got here!"
"We're all just thankful that she's alive."
"God, ah gotta hand it to that kid. Braver than any of us."
"Oh, by far. Truly, she is the best of us. Agent Looker, how did the rescue of the lost souls go? Are they still incapacitated in the draft chambers?"
"Yes. I was able to restore them, but most of them, like Sky, need more time. They should be fine by tomorrow morning. I'm not sure the same can be said for her however."
"She took a good beating for us. To save... All of us."
**
The hollow incessant beeping of a monitor was the first thing I was aware of as I began to wake up. The next was the sensation in my arm, the IV attached to the crook of my elbow. After that again, the dim lighting of the room around me. My eyesight was blurry as the world began to form in front of my eyes, pulling me from the dream I thought would never end. What had it been about? I had been awake for merely a minute and the dream that had spanned such great time was already beyond my reach.
A Chansey made a little gasping noise as it saw me wake up, and I knew I was in a Pokemon centre for this. It rushed from the room, closing the door quietly behind it. I tried to sit up, but it felt as if I was floating on air every time I tried to move any part of me. I knew that the painkillers in that IV were working miracles to numb me to what I was going through, otherwise I would have probably been crying in pain. Adrenaline, one hell of a drug, had kept me going most of that time. I was covered head to toe in cuts and bruises after all that.
Tired as I was, I tried to assess the damage. I didn't get far.
Nurse Joy entered the room, looking at me with a kind smile.
"Ah! You're finally awake, I see. That's certainly good news." She trotted closer to my cot. "How are you feeling?" It took me a moment to process what she was saying.
"Tired." I grumbled in reply, throat stinging in protest. She let out a laugh.
"As to be expected, dearie. You've been out for quite some time." I took a confused glance around the room, as if a clock would reveal how many long hours I had been out. "Oh, and you have a lot of restless visitors. One of them has been sitting in the same position for over a day now." My heart shuddered. Over a day? How long had I been out? Who had been waiting that long? "I'll bring them in a few at a time." Nurse Joy announced, then left my room quietly, leaving me to my thoughts and the beeping of my monitor.
I looked over to it. Showing my vital signs, I didn't understand what most of it was reading. I could see my heart rate was elevated as always. A solid 96 beats per minute. That's all I could read to know for certain. I tried to sit up again, but to no avail. I waited for a few minutes, but quick footsteps in the hallway indicated early that I had fast approaching company.
"HAZEL!!!" Astrid and Guzma shouted in unison, bursting through the doorway like bats out of hell. My ears immediately began ringing at their shared pitch. Astrid was by my bedside in a moment, arms wrapped around my neck in a death headlock. I didn't resist.
"You were out for three days we were so worried!" She shouted again, her tears flowing in an almost cartoon manner. Three days.
Holy. Shit.
I finally willed my numb arms to move, returning the hug somewhat. She sobbed grossly, burying her face in my shoulder. She continued blubbering about nonsense for a few minutes, having perched herself on my bed.
Then it was Guzma's turn to cry and hug me. The sound of his tears was jarring, but I didn't mention it. They both spent over an hour with me, just talking to me and laughing and making me feel better. I felt better being with them, laughing. I could go on about the bullshit we were talking about, but it's all pointless and one part of it was pretty personal.
They admitted that they felt responsible for me ending up in a hospital bed. They could have stopped me from ending up here, but they didn't stop it. I was still here and hurt. I told them it wasn't their fault. Blame for this couldn't be pinned on one person. But I felt in my heart that there was two people. Myself and one other. But you'll know who I'm talking about shortly.
Gladion was next to see me. He cried and hugged me, admitting the same as the others.
"I feel like I did this! This is my fault, Sky! I'm so sorry!"
Looker and Anabel also then visited me. They simply congratulated me on successfully completing the mission. Killing Niekramant. Man, if they thought saving people was hard, they had it coming. They weren't the ones lying in the hospital bed.
Then, to my surprise, Hau. He was enthusiastic and happy to see me.
"Alola, Hazel!" He started as he walked in, carrying a bag that smelled of something absolutely delicious. He sat down beside me and pressed something from the bag into my hands. "Three days without food can't be good, so here's something from the best place on Earth." A sweet Malasada was what he had given me. I smiled and sadly took a bite. The flavour was rich and beautiful, just like I remembered it tasting. He set the bag down on the table beside me.
"I came here to thank you, actually." He then said, looking at the ground of the room. I made a noise in the back of my throat, indicating my confusion and that I wanted him to elaborate. "Well, we saved Sia and everyone on our end of the mission, which is great! Don't get me wrong! But.." He hesitated, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "If it weren't for you, it would have all been for nothing." I decided to express my continued confusion.
"What?" He looked to me, expression of surprise on his face.
"If you didn't defeat that thing, it would have continued to take people. It would have been for nothing that we saved who we did." That settled into me. I put the half eaten Malasada down in my lap.
"You're all treating me like a saviour. You all keep saying you feel responsible for me being, here in hospital." I stated outright and his mouth went into a skewed smile.
"The world wouldn't be continuing normally if it weren't for you. We saved everyone who had been taken. Your Nuholan friend. Sia. Plum. Even... Even Lillie. We saved Guzma and Gladion too. And that Doctor guy who's been rambling for the past three hours about why he needs to check on you." He paused. "Without you, it's all for nothing. You... You saved us." His expression grew sad again. "You're amazing, Hazel. I feel you should know that. Everyone is worried about you. Everyone wants to see you. You've done something huge." He looked me right in the eyes. "You're amazing." He stood up, a shadow crossing his face, but also a smirk. "Also, we need to catch up. Now that we know everyone is safe," he grinned and turned his face back into the light, "we can finally make some Blonde Salt shirts!"
I laughed for the first time that day.
My next encounter wasn't as nice, however.
Next came Sia, Plum and Lillie. Two of them were frowning and angry looking, the other was mildly annoyed, but she always looks that way. They ignored the flutter of my heartbeat that registered on the monitor. Lillie. She was cleaner than the last time I had seen her, hair combed and partly braided and eyes a gorgeous green just like her older brother's, shirt pressed and skirt neatly ironed in plaids. Beautiful femme.
"You're all okay." I said, something excited, but it wasn't remotely an exclamation. Lillie let out a humph, but Plum and Sia both nodded. "How did they-" before I could even finish the question, Plum answered.
"I can really only compare it to an exorcism." Sia nodded.
"Looker worked some crazy magic for that shit." They both snickered. Lillie was still glaring, and directly at me. "So, you saved us, huh? Worked some fire stuff and killed the demon of death."
"Ironic. And it was a god, not a demon."
"Oh! Right then! That really sweetens the pot!" They laughed. Lillie continued glaring, a newfound agitated puff in her cheek. A gleeful conversation kept going, but I didn't say much. My throat was hurting from holding up conversations. Eventually, upon the talking stagnating, Lillie joined the conversation.
"You're an idiot, Hazel Sky." Lille said, which struck me in the soul. Such a sweet voice, such sour choice of words. Plumeria was being nice, Sia was at least willing to admit that I had done a credit for the mission, but this? Lillie was just being rude for no reason in particular. Her face grew flushed and she turned away from me, looking at the doors. "You failed your first mission to save us, then you get yourself bed ridden after the second mission. You're pathetic." An image of Alfred flashed in my mind and the fluttering that had been in my heart when I had seen Lillie dissipated. What was she going on about?
"Lillie!" Sia hissed in a whisper shout, grabbing the other girl by the shoulder, looking infuriated. "Seriously, there's no need to be this rude!" I heard her say, but Lillie wouldn't budge. Plumeria shook her head.
"I'm sorry. She's just... Acting weird..."
I brushed it off as if it was no big deal, but emotionally, I was hurt. The girl I had so quickly latched onto was acting like she hated me. At the time, so tired and drugged out, I couldn't draw any connections. No reason could explain her rudeness.
I dismissed it and they left, Sia still angrily whispering at her friend. Another thing I couldn't wrap my head around was Sia's attitude to her friend. Why would she want to reprimand someone for being mean to me if that's what she had done not long ago?
I decided to just let it go.
And then there was the last person to see me. Or should I say, people
At first I was confused. An excited young girl with wavy teal hair had run in, vibrant sky blue eyes shimmering as she saw me.
"You! You're Hazel Sky!" She shouted in excitement, pointing in my direction and jumping back and forth on both feet. Who was this? Didn't matter; she ran up to the bed and continued hopping up and down. She looked to be of about seven years, a short little thing with round cheeks and a big smile. She made grabby hands at me, as if beckoning me to pick her up. I would have, but I didn't think my arms could withstand her weight at a time like this. "It's so nice to meet you! My name's-" before she could introduce herself, there came a frantic voice from the hallway.
"Kyla! You ran off without me!" Dr. Smith rushed into the room, looking much messier than I had ever seen him before - hair untidy and clothes that looked like they were pulled from the back of the closet (a button up polo and darkened dad jeans instead of the lab coat I was most used to). He rushed over to where the little girl jumped and scooped her up in an oddly quick motion. "What have I told you about running off without me?!" He scolded and the look on the girls face was something I can only compare to that of a guilty puppy.
"I'm sorry..." She apologised, continuing to give off that puppy vibe. Dr. Smith sighed and pet her on the forehead.
"You scared me, Kalani. Please, don't ever do that again. Let's just be thankful this is a small place and I could find you." He sighed again, gently bouncing her in his arms. He turned to me, casting that piercing gaze over me. My heart skidded, remembering the look in his eyes as he threw the pokeball and ran from the car, leaving Guzma, Gladion and myself to run from our mistakes. "I'm so sorry for her behaviour, Ha- miss Sky. It won't happen again, I promise." I had only barely heard him, but nodded. "Would you mind if I sat down? We have much to discuss." I nodded again. He set the girl down on the bed and she was fast to curl up to me.
"I'm Kalani!" She finally introduced herself properly, waving. She put her arms around my neck and hugged me. "Daddy told me that you saved the world!" She exclaimed again. I put an arm around her.
"It's lovely to meet you, Kalani." I said quietly and I heard her make a happy squeaking noise. She backed off slightly as Dr. Smith sat down on the bed as well, a small smile on his face, but she remained curled up into my side.
"Sky, this is my daughter, Kalani." He explained it very quickly. I could see the connection. Such vibrant eyes could only be genetic. "She's a big fan of yours." He said, letting off an accidental smile and a chuckle he immediately tried to cover up. He ran a tentative hand through his hair, neatening it slightly and brushed the other hand over his clothes. "I must say, it is highly concerning to see you have to be here, in a hospital bed, in a small Pokemon centre. But, do tell, the battle went well?" I nodded. I wasn't really getting what he was saying. After all the conversations before this, I wanted to go to sleep. My eyelids were heavy. But I knew this was going to be long winded.
"Killed it dead." I muttered. His expression drew bemused and Kalani giggled.
"That was the objective. A job well done." He said with a stern nod. "But, it isn't that, that I wanted to speak to you about. I want to speak to you about... Well..." He gulped and glanced around the room, as if checking that we weren't being watched. His eyes landed on his daughter. "Kyla, darling, do you think you could go find Hau and stay with him for a while? I need to speak to miss Sky in private." Kalani looked amiss for a second, but shrugged.
"Okay..." She helped herself off the bed and began walking off.
"Wait." I said and she paused where she walked. I reached over to the nightstand and pulled a Malasada from the bag. I beckoned her over and she grinned, trotting back to my side. I placed it into her hands. "I don't know if you're allowed these or not, but let's just no tell your dad, alright?" I winked at her and her smile was vibrant.
"Thank you, Hazel!" She exclaimed, toddling off happily. She politely shut the door behind her. I nearly laughed. She's the kind of person who's been raised right, to understand to shut the door behind her if people are having a private conversation. Any uncultured person would've just walked out and left it open. Dr. Smith turned his attention back to me. The first time I didn't feel intimidated by his eyes.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, quieter than he normally speaks, and far less forceful. I shrugged. "Physically. Does anything hurt?"
"Uhh, I don't really know? Nurse Joy has me on some heavy painkillers. Everything is just numb right now." He nodded.
"Where did it attack you? I heard from Jade that..." He gulped and his gaze went to the floor. "Never mind. It doesn't matter." He shook his head, running both hands roughly through his hair. "Sorry. I don't know what's been wrong with me these past few days." I didn't say anything. If he was stumbling on his words or thoughts, I couldn't be mad at him. It was whatever. I couldn't have cared less. I ignored the pink that filled his face. What got him so flustered? "Okay!" He pumped a fist to himself as if recalibrated all of a sudden. "First, I want to review your injuries and see what I can do to help you as well. Then, there's something I want to discuss with you."
I nodded and let him get to work. He left for a minute to grab a notebook and a pen. He did a quick review of my monitor - my vitals - and scrawled down some notes. "Recall the injuries you would have sustained. Or remember receiving." I nearly groaned at having to talk, but complied.
"Gash in my left arm. Bit on my right arm. Uhh... Got hit with a leech life..." His eyes widened and he hastily made note of that. "And I probably gave myself a concussion running rough the cave system without a light. Little scrapes everywhere." He ruffled his hair again, nodding.
"Well, thankfully, Nurse Joy was able to save you and reverse the effects of the Leech Life." He scrawled down some more notes then looked at my arms. He reached over, but quickly pulled his hand back. "May I?" He had not been this polite the first time around. I let him unwrap the bandages. He hissed at the very sight of my arms. My left arm was no longer leaking black blood, but the wound was deep. "That'll need stitches. No doubt about it." He made another note. At seeing the rash, his expression was more confused. "What did this to you?"
"Poison Fang bite from one of Nike's dealys." I saw him bite back the urge to roll his eyes. I was being so extraordinarily vague, but I didn't know what else to give him. Plus I had nearly lost my voice just saying that sentence.
"Inch resting." I'm not even kidding. He said inch resting instead of interesting. After making quite a few notes, he looked back to my face. Back to being intimidated. "Do you recall any strange sensory feelings? Say, you suddenly couldn't feel the pain in your arms? Or... You realised you couldn't hear anything?" I nodded as soon as he mentioned hearing.
"Everything got blurry and I couldn't hear. I, actually, uhh... I screamed so much during the battle, but I couldn't hear it. And I think I might have-" air caught me in the back of the throat, stopping the words from exiting.
"Lost your voice." He concluded quicker than I expected. "I don't think that is only strain from your yelling..." I made a noise to indicate I wanted him to elaborate. He took it like I wanted him to. "Mental instability does have physical repercussions. And, if I am correct, your mental state has not been up to scratch within the last week, as you admitted to me." I blushed, remembering that conversation. "Speaking of which, how do you feel mentally?"
I answered truthfully.
"I dunno if it's perfect, but it's... The world has come off my shoulders." He broke into a grin and immediately tried to cover his joy.
"I'm so very glad to hear that." So much happier. Like Astrid and Guzma who had been so thankful and gleeful to see me. He was beaming beneath the hand that concealed his smile. He took a moment to adjust himself again and when he opened his eyes to look at me, I once again didn't feel intimidated. He looked almost caring. "Of course, you cannot dismiss it just yet. It is highly possible, and dare I say in your situation almost completely bound to happen, that you will develop some form of PTSD. Post traumatic stress disorder." I nodded as I already knew this. "And I can't be certain on this - it isn't my forte - but I would say depression is also viable to develop." I coughed and his eyebrows turned downward. "You don't mean to tell you already have that?" I shyly coughed again.
"Since like, a year ago." He clicked his pen closed, focusing his stare at the wall.
"I don't know if I expected less." He sighed, stretching and running his hands through his hair again. I was beginning to realise it was a nervous tick and a way he tried to calm down. What else could it be? "That concludes that then." He said, placing the closed notebook and pen on the floor and standing up. He walked out of the room and returned with fresh bandages and a spray bottle that I'm sure was identical to the one he used the first time. "This is going to sting." He said, spraying my arms with the solution. Definitely the same thing.
I clenched my teeth as a way of pretending I was fine as he cleaned up the gash in my arm and bandaged it again. He didn't say anything else for that span of time, looking to be wandering in his own thoughts. Dim eyes. He wasn't focusing on me or what he was doing. As he finished doing that, I saw light return to his eyes. He backed off and sat the spray on the nightstand.
"What are your opinions of Agent Ace? Or, Alfred Paigen is his name." I grimaced visibly.
"Arsehole."
"I cannot say I don't agree. You see, after everything you did for this mission - the failed rescue attempt, the first battle, going into Matilda's lair... Miss Rivers told me about that. I- the fact is, you did more than any person in this mission. And he..." I nodded, as if knowing what he was about say. Alfred thought I was useless and didn't want to acknowledge me as an important and strong person. "He said it was all him that led to success." I nearly fucking flatlined. Dr. Smith literally freaked out because he thought I was going to go into cardiac arrest at him just saying those words. And of course, he set me off on a tangent of my own. No time for a lost voice. Pure, unadulterated rage.
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! HIM?! HE THINKS THAT HE DID ALL THAT?! WAS HE THE ONE WHO HAD THE ENTIRE WORLD ON HIS FUCKING SHOULDERS?! DID HE WASTE HIS NIGHTS WORRYING?! DID HE NEARLY SPIRAL TO THE POINT OF KILLING HIMSELF BECAUSE HE WOULD RATHER DIE THAN DO WHAT EVERYONE EXPECTED OF HIM?! NO!! THAT WAS ME!! THAT WAS STUPID LITTLE ME WHO GOT HERSELF MIXED UP IN A HUGE LOAD OF BULLSHIT SHE NEVER WANTED TO BE INVOLVED WITH IN THE FIRST PLACE!! HAS HE HAD THIS NAME OF BEING THE ONE IN A PROPHECY?! JESUS, FUCK!!! IF HE WANTS TO SAY THAT HE WAS THE ONE WHO DID THAT, HES ABOUTA CATCH THESE HANDS! THESE INJURED HANDS THAT GOT HURT BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONE WHO PUT ME IN THE CENTRE OF THIS!! DID HE SEE CLOSE FRIENDS BE DRAGGED TO THE UNDERWORLD?! DID HE SACRIFICE HIMSELF TO SAVE PEOPLE, LIKE YOU DID?! FUCK, DID HE DO ANYTHING THAT ANYONE ELSE DID?! HE SAID IT WAS ALL HIM THAT LED TO SUCCESS?! YEAH, WELL I SAY IT WAS ALL HIM FOR ME SLITTING HIS FUCKING THROAT WHILE HE FUCKING SLEEPS!!" My voice couldn't do any more than that. It got so quiet you could hear a feather fall. I wasn't surprised to see many of the people who had visited me previously open and peek through the door. Dr. Smith just stood there, a hand over his mouth.
"I have outstayed my welcome, clearly." He muttered, quietly, bending down and picking up his notebook. "I... I have to speak to you again tomorrow." A guilty expression crossed his face and I tried to reassure him that I was fine for him to stay longer. It wasn't his fault I got mad. I was just having a period moment. It happens. But when I tried to speak, it immediately caught me in the throat. "I am so sorry, Sky. If I had known you felt that way about him..." He blushed and curled in on himself defensively. "I'm sorry!" He yelled, running for the door, whipping it open all the way and sprinting past the spectators. Everyone straightened up in the doorway. The crew was Astrid, Gladion, Guzma, Plumeria, Sia and Lillie. Gladion was watching with a confused expression as Dr. Smith ran from the Pokemon centre altogether. Lillie walked away in silence, seemingly unfazed. Plum shook her head. And Astrid was quick to yell,
"What the fuck was that all about?" I curled up into a ball. I couldn't answer her. I couldn't talk. And the weight of the world felt like it was on my shoulders. Ironic. Because every time I felt that way it was because of Alfred.
I felt like the biggest arsehole in the world. God could only know how much I had hurt Dr. Smith. And just how much everyone's opinions of me had changed. I had lost my mind. I had pent up all of my anger towards him and the stupid mission for too long. It had come up at the wrong time.
Guzma and Astrid came back to talk to me about it, concerned for my wellbeing. But I couldn't tell them. After all, I couldn't talk.
**
Dr. Smith sat in the snow outside the Pokemon centre, notebook clutched to his chest, which heaved with his fast and deep breaths. Hazel Sky. Her words had brought back something he had forgotten. He had always seen something in her. Something that reminded him of himself. Something that reminded him of Kalani.
She was young, like his daughter. Angry at life, like his younger self. Self hating like his younger self. Angry at Alfred like his younger self. Sick of life like his younger self. Hurt like his younger self. No longer innocent to the world. Like his younger self. What was this horrible feeling at the pit of his stomach? He couldn't deny it. Saliva filled his mouth, and he stubbornly tried to swallow it back.
He needed to keep Hazel safe. He couldn't let her be hurt like this anymore. Everything in those notes. Physical affects of her deteriorating mental state. She had been relentlessly plagued with so many tasks, too much to handle on her own. No way of letting out her emotions. It had all happened in a week. This wasn't good.
He needed to keep her safe. But how? Why did he have to feel this way?
Why did she have to be like Kalani?
Why couldn't everything go back to normal?