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Equilibrium	By : jvperric Category: Pokemon > General Views: 12587 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Nintendo does. I make no claim towards any of the copyrighted intellectual property contained herein. I am making no money from this story in any way.

Chapter List
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*****Chapter XV: Damage*****

Douleur toujours nouvelle pour celui qui souffre et qui se banalise pour l'entourage.

*****

Jason found himself floating in a warm, comfortable haze. It was dark; other than some muffled sounds, there was nothing around him. He drifted, without speed or direction, long enough to stray out of thought and time.

Days, months, years later—he could not tell—sensation began to return. The haze brightened in certain points. The unintelligible sounds differentiated into mechanical chimes and the ticking of a clock, with voices occasionally interspersed. His body, which had moved so freely in the haze, began to stiffen and ache. His back grew sore, his arms and legs tired, and his breathing ragged and heavy.

And then Jason woke up.

Once again he found himself facing the harsh, sterile light of a hospital room. A clock hung on the wall opposite him; it was either noon or midnight; there was no window in the room to look outside and check. An intravenous drip and a heart monitor were attached to his right hand. His chest was heavily bandaged, along with most of his left arm and hand. His legs were hidden under sheets, but felt unencumbered. There was an unfamiliar coldness pressing up against part of his left arm, running the length of his forearm down to his hand between the second and third fingers. Mira walked into the room, fumbling with a candy bar wrapper until she saw he was awake.

“Oh! Doctor! Doctor Cole! He's awake!”

Jason was straining to read the mix of drugs in his saline drip when Mira ran over to his bed. He turned to her and tried to hug her, but his hands were still heavy from the medication.

“They said you wouldn't wake up until later tonight,” Mira said, entwining her fingers with his. “You were in surgery for eight hours.”

“Sur—surge…” his mouth felt clumsy, his words slurring.

“Do you remember what happened? Oh, Doctor Cole.”

Jason looked back to the door. A middle-aged woman in a dark blue suit stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Her black hair was left dangling freely down the length of her torso, with some concealing her heavily-bandaged wrists poking out from under her blazer. She shuffled into the room, eyes downcast with a supremely somber look on her face before taking a deep breath.

“Mr. Sato, my name is Doctor Erica Cole, I'm the director of research and development for Skorta Medical. Can you hear me all right?”

Jason nodded. “You're in the Cyethe Memorial Hospital in Darsky City. You were brought in with severe burns on your left arm and hand, do you remember?”

He shook his head slowly. “The Blaziken burned you when you caught it,” Mira said. “You went into shock and passed out.”

“By the time you were brought in, a good deal of infection had set in, despite your friend's help,” Erica said. “The surgeons had to amputate a large section of your forearm and most of the outer side of your left hand.”

“Wh-what?”

“But my division had been in contact with the chief of surgery here about testing a new kind of prosthetic, which you've been outfitted with. It didn't require the removal of any healthy tissue and functions with your existing nerve connections. It will take some getting used to, of course, but eventually you should have close to eighty percent mobility in your third and fourth fingers. Miss Laska here was listed as your travelling companion and approved the procedure.”

Most of Jason's faculties had returned to him. “You…cut off my hand?”

“The infection had spread by the time you got here,” Mira said. “They were going to amputate one way or another, I only approved the prosthetic.”

He nodded and looked at his bandaged left arm. Suddenly he understood the coldness against the middle of his hand. His first two fingers flexed, but there was no sensation otherwise.

“Because of your participation, Skorta Medical will be covering your expenses here. We've also spoken with your insurance provider, which happens to be another subsidiary of our parent company, and arranged for your rates not to increase as a result of your accident. There is one condition that Mira agreed to, however. We have offices in every major city, we'd like you to stop by the ones in the cities you visit so they can run diagnostics and keep the firmware up to date. You'll be helping a great deal with the information you provide. There’s an instructional booklet on the nightstand here for you to look through. Mira has my card, please call me if you have any other questions. Have a good day, Jason.”

Erica bowed slightly and left the room, rubbing her arms as she did. Jason turned back to Mira. “Amputation?”

“They only told me after they had done it.”

“Can I take these bandages off?”

“Yeah. Here, let me help you.”

Mira undid the wrapping at his shoulder and unwound the gauze running down his arm. She paused when she got to his elbow, when Jason saw the first bit of metal anchoring, but kept going. The prosthetic had been matched to his skin tone, but the surface was much more regular and had a faint shine to it. There were noticeable seams at the wrist and fingers, but otherwise at a distance it was indistinguishable from his natural tissue. Jason brought his hand up, struggling to curl the fingers. They moved, but slowly, and only with great effort.

“Hey, you're getting the hang of it,” Mira said, smiling.

“What happened? I remember throwing the Pokéball, but that's it.”

“The Blaziken burned you really badly. Regirock carried you back to the ranger station and they called a helicopter. There wasn't room for me, but one of the rangers gave me a ride to the exit by Darsky City. We hit a pack of Cacturne on the way there, but I had both of our bags and Lucario helped out. I caught one of them, actually.” Mira held up a Pokéball. “I got here a few hours after you, and by that time you were already in surgery. One of the administrators told me about this prosthetic program, and Doctor Cole arrived a little while later. You fractured two ribs, too, but they said those are almost healed.”

“Geez.” Jason looked over at his bag on the nightstand, and the belt attachment that held his Pokéballs. “So I caught the Blaziken?”

Mira nodded. “Lucario wrestled with the ball until it stopped shaking. I got a printout of its stats when I brought everyone to the Pokémon Center—” She took a sheet of paper from her pocket and unfolded it— “The doctors said if it had hit you head on with that attack it would’ve killed you.”

She gave him the paper to look over:

Darsky City Pokémon Medical Center (#0077)

PS-06 Report (Diagnostics) commissioned by Trainer #220188 on 26 May

Species 0257 (Blaziken/Bursyamo) (Fire/Fighting)

Chronological age: ~14 years (Species age modifier x1.08, adjusted age: ~15 years)

Physical: 205cm, 55.33kg

Diagnostic Statistics (All statistical values are calculated using the species’ database of known values available at the time of the report [Database #0257])

Attack/Special Attack spread: 087/092*

Defense/Special Defense spread: 071/085**

Speed spread: 068***

(*) Attack/Special Attack spread values are calculated with Vakir’s coefficient (v²) and carry a ±3 margin of error.

(**) Defense/Special Defense spread values are calculated with Holmes’ coefficient (h²) and carry a ±4 margin of error.

(***) Speed spread values are calculated using Tukey’s test and carry a ±6 margin of error.

— Adelaide Joy, ANP, shift attendant

Jason set the report down without reading the rest. “Well?” Mira asked.

“Looks like I found a winner,” he said.

Mira stared at him, askance. “That’s it? You lose a chunk of your arm and nearly die and all you’re concerned with is rounding out your team?”

He shrugged and resisted rolling his eyes. “There’s not a whole lot I can do about my arm, is there? And I didn’t die thanks to you—thank you, by the way—so I don’t see any harm in thinking about what I gained here, do you?”

She shook her head and sat down in a chair beside the bed. “I’m glad you’re so resilient about this.”

Jason smiled weakly and worked himself into a sitting position. “I’m sure all this compartmentalization will catch up to me eventually, but we’re still trying to stay one step ahead of Scion. They haven’t been doing anything lately, have they? What day is it?”

“It’s the twenty-seventh,” Mira said. “Saturday. You’ve been out for three days. And no, they haven’t been in the news. The only thing they’re talking about on TV is the protests in Kodia City. There was one report about Route 309, though.”

“About us?”

“Just that there was a landslide and they’re looking for two Trainers with a Dragonite. It didn’t mention us, and I didn’t think we needed the attention.”

“Good, good. Are all the Pokémon okay?”

She nodded. “Everyone’s fine. I’ve been taking them to the park every day for some training. Ralts evolved yesterday, and except for her they’ve all gotten used to Cacturne. I haven’t taken out Blaziken, though.”

“Probably for the best,” Jason said.

“I bought one of the quick recall programs and put it on her Pokéball, so you can pull her back in if she starts attacking. Just hit the button twice.”

“Thanks. And Mira?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For…you know, saving me.”

Mira smiled and patted his arm. “You’re welcome. You owe Regirock some thanks too.”

“Yeah. Could I have my bag? I want to show my Pokémon I’m not dead.”

She took his pack and placed it on the side of the bed. “You know, I looked through your bag, I couldn’t find the Air Gem. Where’d you hide it?”

“Hidden compartment in the main pocket.”

“Oh, that’s clever. I have a room at the Pokémon Center, I’m going to go and let my team get some air in the park, call me if you need anything, okay?”

Jason nodded and Mira left the room. He took four Pokéballs from their holster and pulled back the release clasps. Gardevoir, Mightyena, Lucario and Rufflet appeared in turn, jumping on their Trainer when they saw he was awake.

“No no, I’m still hurt—”

Mightyena stopped herself from pouncing on Jason and instead curled up in his lap, gently nuzzling his stomach. Rufflet perched at the end of the bed, clicking his beak and flapping his wings. Lucario patted Jason’s uninjured arm, and Gardevoir sat in the chair Mira had used, resting his head on Jason’s shoulder.

‘Mira told us you were going to be okay, but—oh, your arm…’

They all looked at the prosthetic now laid bare on the bed sheets. “Oh, yeah. The Blaziken burned it pretty bad. They had to cut some off to keep me from getting sick. Some people gave me this, and I have to learn to use it.”

“Lucario told us about the Blaziken,” Mightyena said excitedly. “He fought six of them by himself and then helped you catch the biggest one!”

Jason raised an eyebrow and looked at Lucario. He suddenly became very interested with something on the floor. “Is that what he told you?”

‘Mira told us the truth,’ Gardevoir said. ‘We’ll make sure Blaziken behaves when you let her out.’

“I don’t get it, why does everyone keep calling her a bird if she doesn’t have wings?” Rufflet asked.

“They used to have wings,” Jason said, scratching Mightyena behind the ears. “A long time ago. All they have left are the feathers. Mira’s been treating you all okay?”

‘Yes, she’s been getting us food and taking us outside. We missed you.’

“Well, I should be good to go in a few days so we can move on.”

‘I missed you,’ Gardevoir said, projecting his voice directly to Jason. He nuzzled Jason’s shoulder.

Jason gave him a pat on the head. “I missed you too.”

He whined, and Mightyena scoffed. Lucario noticed the tray of hospital food on the bedside table and tore into it while Rufflet hopped about on the foot of the bed. For a fleeting moment, Jason felt like a normal Trainer, removed from the massive responsibility on his shoulders. He looked at his Pokémon, lovingly surrounding him, and smiled.

*****

Despite the insistence of his doctors, Jason joined Mira in the Darsky City Park shortly after he awoke. With medical gauze still covering his damaged chest and the juncture of his arm and prosthetic, he and Mira released their Pokémon near the center of the park after making sure that there was very little flammable material in range.

Jason held Blaziken’s Pokéball, nudging at the release clasp with his thumb. “Okay guys, I’m going to let Blaziken out now. I have the quick recall button here, but I want to see if she’ll listen to me. If she starts up with any fire, just try and get out of the way.”

Mira’s new Cacturne hissed. “I don’t think I should be here for this.”

“You’ll be fine,” Mightyena said. “It’s Jason she’d go after.”

Lucario and Gardevoir stood close on either side of Jason while Mightyena prowled behind them, hackles raised and bristling. Kirlia hid behind Zangoose while Regirock stood stock still, stoic as always. Mira braced herself, and Jason pulled the release clasp back.

Blaziken appeared in a flash of light, looking around curiously at her new surroundings. Eventually she noticed Jason and Mira and their Pokémon all focused on her, and her feathers bristled. In the daylight, they could see a long, jagged scar running horizontally across her upper chest that had not been visible when she was captured. Inside the yellow of her eyes were dark green irises rather than the usual icy blue. She balled her talons into fists, but then Lucario took a step forward.

“What are you doing?” Gardevoir asked, biting his lip.

“Be careful,” Jason said.

“We don’t want to hurt you, Blaziken,” Lucario said, holding his hands out at his sides. “I know we fought before, but we’re not fighting now. It’s all right. We want to be your friends.”

She stayed tense. “I have a name, little one.”

Indeed, as he got closer Lucario became acutely aware of the large height difference between them. Blaziken towered over him, while his ears only just came up to the yellow plumage on her torso. He kept walking slowly towards her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. What is it?”

Blaziken watched him approach, her eyes narrowed, but some of her feathers started to flatten. “My name is—it’s Sirexi. Or…it was, no one’s used it in a long time.”

“Well, I’m Lucario. Glad to meet you, Sirexi. Why hasn’t anyone used your name?”

She unballed one of her talons and Lucario stood still as she ran a claw over the scar on her chest. “My clan banished me. There was no one to use my name.”

“Oh,” Lucario said, taking another step forward. Kirlia had come out from behind Zangoose to watch the exchange. “Why were you banished?”

Sirexi looked morosely at the ground, clicking her beak. “I was an egg clutch guardian. A nolkama. I tripped one day and, and…I crushed the eggs I was protecting. I thought they were going to kill me. Most of them wanted to kill me. Instead they held me down and did this to me before sending me away.” Most of her feathers had flattened. “Some nights I wish they had killed me. The eggs were ready to hatch, the little ones inside were already grown. I see them every night, and their parents, crying, screaming for blood. My blood.”

Hot tears began to trickle down her cheek. A low, sorrowful squawk escaped her beak. “I killed them,” she said, barely more than a whisper.

Lucario reached her just as she slumped to her knees, at which point they were face to face. He hugged her and she returned his embrace, still whimpering.

“I’m sorry that happened,” Lucario said, stroking her back. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like, but it was an accident, and it was a long time ago. None of us hold it against you. We just want to be your friends.”

“Thank you,” she said weakly. “I’m sorry for attacking you before. But you did try to sneak up on me. And him, I hurt him too.”

Sirexi stood back up and went towards Jason. Mightyena had calmed a bit, but stayed ready to pounce. Gardevoir held his hands in front of him, his defensiveness gone. Jason looked up at her—she was easily a head above him—and reached out to meet her outstretched talon.

“I hurt you,” she said.

“Well, I got this cool robot hand out of it, so I can’t be too mad.”

“You…you aren’t going to send me back, are you? Back out there?”

“No, of course not, why would you think that? You heard Lucario; we want to be your friends. I’d hug you too, but my ribs are still a little sensitive.”

“I thought because I burned you that you wouldn’t want me. I saw all of you from the ball and I wanted to be part of your clan, but I was afraid you’d send me back out there, alone.”

“Poor thing,” Jason said, stroking the crest of cream-colored feathers on her chest. He made sure to avoid the scar in the middle. “You’re welcome to be part of our little group. Let me introduce you to everyone. These are my other Pokémon, Gardevoir and Mightyena—Mightyena, stop growling. Rufflet is over at that pond, looking for fish, and you just met Lucario. Over here, this is Mira.”

Mira approached Sirexi and let her sniff her. She clicked a few times. “You are mated?” she asked.

Jason had never seen Mira turn quite the shade of red she did when he translated, and laughed. “No, we’re not,” Mira said. “We just spend a lot of time together.”

Sirexi nodded. Jason continued the introductions. “And these are Mira’s Pokémon, Zangoose, Kirlia, Cacturne, Staravia is there perching on Cacturne, and Regirock.”

She bowed slightly to them. “So, any questions?”

“Where are we going?” Sirexi asked.

“Well, we were heading towards the Fire Gem when we ran into you,” Jason said. “But I don’t think I’m in any condition to go back into the desert.”

“Now he says it,” Mira said to Zangoose. He growled in agreement.

“So I guess we’re heading north, to get the Water Gem. We’re trying to keep them away from Scion, they’re this group that we think wants to release Arceus for their own purposes.”

“We have stories about the Highest Lord,” Sirexi said. “How He turned on His creations and they imprisoned Him. Releasing Him would be madness.”

“Exactly why we’re doing this. We already have the Air Gem, but we can’t be too careful. Now why don’t you all go play, it’s a beautiful day. We’ll find you later.”

Sirexi went off into the park while the others grouped up to play with one another; Zangoose and Kirlia clung to Mira, and Regirock sat on the ground. Jason eased himself onto a park bench, and Mira joined him while he placed his hand against his bandaged chest. The beginnings of a frown crept along his face when he caught sight of the two mechanical fingers on his left hand.

“Oh, I made you these,” Mira said, reaching into her pocket and retrieving a pair of gloves. The slots for the thumbs and first and second fingers were open, while the third and fourth fingers were completely covered. Jason slipped one onto his left hand and flexed his fingers.

“They’re pretty thin, so they shouldn’t get too warm in the summer,” she said. “And if you wear a jacket or long-sleeved shirt no one would be able to notice the seam.”

Jason nodded and put the other glove on. “You made these?”

“Well, I cut the fingertips off a pair of gloves and sewed up the edges. I couldn’t find any gloves that left only the last two fingers covered. Do you like them?”

“It’s great, thank you.” Jason nudged her shoulder. “You made a really tight seam, I can’t even tell they were cut.”

Mira nodded and smiled. “I used to sew a lot. When all you get is hand-me-downs, you tend to get good at modifying clothing.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“Brother. He’s gone.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m not.”

He nodded and dropped the subject. Mightyena bounded past their bench with Lucario in hot pursuit. Gardevoir and Cacturne had settled near a tree where Rufflet and Staravia had perched. Sirexi wandered about, looking starkly out of place amongst the greenery.

Jason shifted his weight and stood up. “Think I’ll take a little walk.”

Mira nodded and Kirlia jumped up to take Jason’s place. He nudged his bag under the bench and began walking towards Sirexi, who had sat down beside a footpath. She clicked her beak and dragged a talon through the dirt as Jason sat beside her.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“You were nice to me,” Sirexi said. “Lucario too. But I don’t think the others like me as much.”

“They might need some more time. They’re very defensive of me. Don’t worry, they’ll warm up to you. Just be patient.”

Jason reached over and scratched the back of her neck. Sirexi groaned and leaned towards her Trainer as her leg started shaking.

“Oh, you like that?” Jason nudged her down and she followed easily, laying face-up in his lap and panting. He began rubbing her belly and her tongue slipped out of the side of her mouth. “There’s a good girl.”

Sirexi’s foot waved through the air while her body wriggled under Jason’s hands. She turned towards him and put her arms around his waist, squeezing gently. Jason smiled, leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Sirexi cooed and looked up at him with her large green eyes.

“You just want some love, don’t you?” Jason asked.

“It—it feels nice,” Sirexi said, panting. “I was banished before my first mating season, so…”

“Poor girl.” Jason slowly stroked the back of her head. She nodded, and Mightyena trotted over with Lucario behind her. “See guys? We’re getting along.”

“No more burns?” Mightyena asked. Sirexi clicked her beak.

“Quiet, you,” Jason said, pushing her muzzle aside. Mightyena playfully snapped back. He looked up at Lucario, standing beside Mightyena. “Want to join us?”

“We were going to play with Gardevoir and Cacturne,” he said.

“Oh, all right. No biting anyone.”

They traipsed off, trying their best to look inconspicuous as they snuck up on their teammates. Both failed spectacularly; Gardevoir teleported out of the way and Lucario took Mightyena’s head in his crotch when they collided.

“He doesn’t seem very smart,” Sirexi said, watching Lucario roll on the ground in pain.

“Just excited, not thinking straight. Trying to impress you.”

“Me? Why?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because he’s horny.”

She gave him a questioning click.

“Neither of you are mated. He wants to change that, I’m sure.”

“Oh.” Her voice trailed off and her hips shook a little. “Thank you for playing with me, I’ve been so lonely.”

“Anytime. Come on, let’s take a walk. I promise the grass is softer than the hardpan in the desert.”

Jason stood and helped Sirexi up, nearly falling back down when he felt how heavy she was. She nudged herself back to her feet and followed Jason down one of the trails, looking at the unfamiliar greenery as they went.

*****

“You don’t have any doubles?”

“Sorry, we’re booked up. Lots of out-of-towners passing through on their way to the big tournament in Kodia. I have the one single down the hall if you want it,” the nurse said. “The cleaning staff will be done with it in about twenty minutes, the last guests made a real mess.”

Jason nodded and set his Trainer card down on the counter. The nurse copied his information and handed it back, and Jason went back to the couches in the lobby. Mira was sitting with Zangoose purring in her lap.

“Any luck?”

“Just another single that isn’t ready yet. At six at night. Supposed to be good in about twenty minutes. All I want is to take a shower for the first time in days, I feel gross.”

“You can use the shower in my room while I go and get the food,” Mira said. “I put the order in a minute ago, but they don’t deliver. I’ll take Gardevoir with me and we’ll be back by the time your room is ready.”

“Are you sure? You don’t want Lucario?”

“I can’t understand Lucario. And yeah, it’s no trouble. I know where the restaurant is, and…you kind of stink. No offense. Here’s the room key, it’s number twelve.”

Jason smirked and took the key. He gave Mira Gardevoir’s Pokéball and she released him.

“We’re going to get the food, Jason has to shower,” Mira said.

‘Okay. We’ll see you in a little bit.’

They left, and Jason went down the hall at the rear of the center to the private rooms. He unlocked the door and shuffled inside, barely slowing down to strip off his clothes and toss them on the bed before getting into the bathroom.

While he waited for the shower to warm up, Jason looked at his maimed arm and the prosthetic attached to it. It had been covered by his sleeve and glove most of the day, but now it was laid bare for him to examine. Carefully, he unlocked the latches connecting it to his arm as he had seen in the instructions, and it slid away with a slight pinch. There were three sockets on the prosthetic, corresponding with ports that had been partially inserted into his skin, presumably going to nerve bundles. Jason looked at what was left of his hand; the thumb, half of the palm and the first two fingers. Even they were slightly stiff, which he chalked up to having them bandaged for so long.

“This is some cyborg shit,” he muttered, shaking his head and stepping into the shower.

There was more adjustment than he thought there would be—he could not hold the soap bar or shampoo bottles without significant effort—but he managed to clean himself. Jason reconnected his prosthetic when he heard the door open and Mira announce herself.

“Hello? We have gyros!”

“Cool, I’ll be out in a minute,” Jason said, toweling off. “Gardevoir, could you bring my bag in, I need some clothes.”

Gardevoir’s voice rang in his head. ‘Your bag isn’t here, Jason. Isn’t it in the bathroom with you?’

Jason furrowed his brow as he looked around the bathroom, before his stomach dropped into his feet. “Oh, shit.”

He burst out of the bathroom, towel flying away as he fumbled and tried to get his clothing on. Mira turned away when the shock wore off, and Gardevoir gawked openly, blushing scarlet.

“I left it in the lobby,” Jason said, forcing his left foot into his right shoe. “Mightyena and Lucario are in there. And the Air Gem and the Shards.”

Mira ran out without a word with Gardevoir trailing her. Jason followed shortly after, leaving his shirt in the room. They crashed into the lobby, one after another, badly startling the two Chansey behind the desk.

Jason felt his blood run cold when his eyes fixed on the empty space on the couch where his backpack had been.
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Equilibrium