To say that Blaine had kicked over the Trapinch nest was an understatement. Before the sun had fully risen, the Indigo Plateau was swarmed with people and pokemon.
The damage was catalogued with an efficiency that I suspected came from elderly folk who had lived through the war.
Which probably meant that the experts were those from the Johto side of the divide, considering that they’d been the ones to have to deal with the aftermath of Blaine’s attacks.
Bureaucrats were darting to and from various buildings, some completely lost as the buildings that had previously housed them had been damaged, resulting in shifts. Men and women fluttered here and there as they tried to work out the new order of the League and where they needed to go for work as well as where to find others that had shifted.
It was like watching a finely honed machine being torn apart and shifted until the innards that made it work were suddenly all out of position, only for the machine to still limp along.
Repairs and rebuilding had already begun in some places by the time lunch rolled around. Builders, architects and teams of Machoke and Machamp were stripping down walls and even some sections of the street, with underground structures being given a careful inspection.
Rangers and police were out in force patrolling the streets and making sure things kept to some semblance of order. Most of them did so with a coffee cup in hand and dark bags under their eyes that spoke of this being a later night turned early morning for them.
And then there were the reporters.
They were worse than a flock of Murkrow picking at a carcass, investigating every angle for another morsel. Even just standing at a window and looking out had generated five different articles from various gossip rags about me potentially mounting a challenge on Lance.
Not that I was going to. I had tried to come out and assist with the cleanup, only to be politely directed to the building currently serving as the headquarters of the League.
Somehow, that turned out to be the accounting wing of the League.
Of all the places for Blaine not to burn down… he missed the tax office?
What a bastard.
Devon Corp’s skyscraper being melted also had consequences.
Such as Steven Stone himself announcing that he would be visiting the League, having emerged from whatever dig site he’d been tucked away in.
I sighed and leaned back as more and more people streamed into the office where Lance, Lorleei, Karen, and Koga had taken up residence to work out the aftermath.
Bruno was off somewhere not getting in the way which I took to mean as he was in a gym somewhere, completely unconcerned with what was going on.
He’d apparently been able to get into a few fights so he was rather happy and now it was up to others to clean up.
“Hurry up and wait,” I muttered to myself, knowing it to be a truism that Surge had said came with any action situation.
Sabrina hummed in response, in front of her a needle and thread were slowly working through the repairs to some dolls that…
“Are those Suzie and Tilly’s?” I asked.
“They are,” she replied. When I raised an eyebrow she rolled her eyes. “I don’t trust your mother with fixing them properly. I’ve had them on me for a while but I wasn’t about to bring them out last night when she brought up her method of preparing for a fight.”
“Hmmm, do you think she’d have tried to fight you for them?”
“No, people would have assumed I was following her lead,” she replied flatly as the needle punched its way into the toy Bulbasaur’s leg as it was stitched back together only for it to tightly coil back on itself.
“Impressive detail work,” I mused as I leaned in to inspect her work. Oh, she’d even made sure the thread was the exact right shade of greeny blue.
“Turquoise,” Sabrina muttered, correcting my thoughts on the colour.
“Hmmm, when we’re done, do you want to do some wedding planning?” I asked.
The needle, thread and toy floated off to the side. “I can talk about it now,” she remarked, demonstrating her ability to literally multitask.
Chuckling, I reached into my pouch and drew out the plans I had for the wedding which got a raised eyebrow.
“You printed them off?”
“Yeah, I did, which I’m kind of glad I did, 'cause I might have a bit of trouble retrieving the files I had on the Gym’s server.” Chewing my lip, I grimaced. “Considering the invite list, we’re going to have to recruit some security for this event,” I pointed out.
Sabrina nodded. “I had considered that, but with Blaine’s attack, the chances of him capitalising on our wedding to cause mayhem are drastically increased.”
“Good motivation to catch him,” I replied, knowing that any thoughts of pushing back or holding off on getting married were simply not an option.
Sabrina nodded as her brow scrunched up. “The Rangers,” she eventually remarked. “We’re going to have to ask for a favour from them and ask them to perform security work. They are being highly praised, and they are one of the best organisations to step up and assist the police.”
“That is a very good point,” I remarked thoughtfully.
“They also are the least affected by the pokenet being brought down,” Sabrina stated.
That drew a frown, only for a smirk to play out as I recalled the ‘head honchos’ of the Rangers were all elderly men and women with decades of service underneath them. I’d also spent a good deal of time in their outposts.
Pen and paper reigned supreme with direct orders and written communication being most prevalent.
“The Channellers are much the same,” declared Agatha as she drifted to the wall next to me.
I didn’t shudder at her passing, but when a shadow flickered along the ground I did flex my aura slightly to keep Gengy out of my own shadow, earning me a pout.
Agatha opened her mouth to speak only for a pokeball on her hip to pop open. Her Aegislash appeared and stared pointedly at my own pokebelt.
“I left him at home,” I lied instantly.
From my pokebelt relief and feelings of intense devotion drifting into me via the bond I shared with Sanchez. Huh, he was smart enough to not want to deal with crazy. Smart boy.
“Are the channellers capable of performing such roles?” Sabrina asked.
“Our numbers are not as prolific as the Rangers, but I can mobilise them for this,” Agatha stated as she drifted down to sit right as a chair slid across the room to prop her up before it could fall.
Several people twitched in fear at the oddly moving chair, and a moment after Agatha sat, another Gengar appeared behind her waving at the watching crowd. Most people looked away, with those that showed too much interest in our conversation having the Gengar start drifting towards them.
“Any other organisations that we can tap?” I asked thoughtfully. “Probably best we raise the issue of security with Queen Ilene and the police as well,” I murmured.
The next twenty minutes passed in a blur as we began shoring up plans with Agatha occasionally chiming in with suggestions for people we needed to talk to so that everything could continue.
Lance eventually stepped in and looked around only to blink at us blearily. “You’re still here?” he asked.
I shrugged, offering him a smile. “Thought we’d make ourselves available,” I commented, eying the bandages tucked under his sleeves. There was a familiar smell wafting from them. Ah, good to see Pryce was sharing the love. a familiar-smelling paste.
Lance nodded and relaxed, only for his eyes to catch on the sight of our wedding planner. “You’re still thinking of going ahead with that?” he asked.
Sabrina’s expression went blank. “Whatever do you mean?” she said with such a frosty tone that I had to wonder if she hadn’t started training with ice aura.
Lance took a step back. “I just meant that perhaps… We’ll need to make sure we catch Blaine before then!” he said quickly.
I shot him a thumbs up at the quick recovery, but Sabrina continued to eye him only to relax a moment later.
“Oh, that’s good, for a second I thought you were going to be unable to make it to our wedding. Good to hear!” she said cordially.
I bit my lip to stop a laugh escaping me. Alright, that had been ice cold.
Lance nodded, suddenly aware that he’d be committing social suicide to be ‘uninvited’ from our wedding.
That and I had no doubt he wanted to spend more time with Queen Ilene.
“Well, thank you for your concern. We’re going to be here fixing this issue. But we should have it handled.”
“What are you doing for potential backdoors into various servers?” I asked.
Lance stared at me blankly, and a moment later his lips turned down and he cursed.
I held up a hand. “Sorry, it’s just, if this is something I can think of… what could Blaine have done? There’s going to have to be a security sweep and overhaul for most parts of…” I pursed my lips in thought. “Indigo?” I suggested.
“Lance ran a hand down his face. “Excellent, I’m going to have to get some cybersecurity experts on hand. Most of the big corporations are no doubt already trying to poach them with lucrative deals.”
“So offer them something the corporations can’t give them?” I replied.
Lance considered me. “What would you suggest?”
“No idea!” I replied easily. “Maybe talk with Janine?”
Lance nodded slowly. “Koga has mentioned she has a good handle on cyber security, and from what I heard, Fuchsia Gym was one of the few to beat back the Porygon swarm.”
“Any timeline on getting our Porygon back?” I asked.
Lance made a face. “I have no idea,” he admitted, and I offered a nod. It was a fair enough situation.
“We’ll stay off the pokenet for now and stick to transceiver and physical bookings.” Plans started to shift around only for me to stiffen as I recalled something.
My video library that I let people access had been logged on the Gym’s servers…
Which were potentially wiped or damaged from the swarm and my actions to defend the Gym.
“Fuuuuuuck!” I groaned as I recalled how I’d hacked at the cable. “I had a whole video library on my servers for young trainers!” Not to mention all the analysis videos I’d performed with various guest hosts to help boost various trainers reputations like Brawly and Flannery. Urgh!
Lance patted me on the shoulder. “There’s a lot of that going on right now.”
“Man, Porygon and Ditto sure can cause some chaos when they’re used like that, can’t they?” I sighed.
Lance nodded. “On the plus side, we now have a sizable amount of the swarm captured and being trained by specialised trainers, along with a much larger breeding population of Ditto that are being shared around with trusted breeders.”
“That’s good,” I pointed out, only for a moment later for a door to bang open.
“Champion Lance!?” declared Steven Stone. “We need to talk about your actions defending an international corporation!”
I grimaced. “That’s bad,” I murmured quietly.
Sabrina nodded as Lance locked eyes with Steven, and despite the lightning that practically sparked between them, I knew there wasn’t going to be any physical battles breaking out today.
No, today was all going to be about Steven trying to screw Lance over politically or through some other concession.
“Shall we discuss your actions?” Steven asked with a tone of voice that was practically a demand for Lance to enter the boardroom.
Rather than being intimidated, Lance held his ground. “No,” he replied firmly.
Everyone in the room blinked, surprised by this turn of events.
“You want to talk about your actions out here?” Steven cut back.
Lance drew himself up. “Don’t try to play the crowd like you’re the only one that’s been hurt. What you’re here for is to draw some form of compensation that you otherwise wouldn’t. What Devon Corp will get is a grant, rebuilding approval and support in that vein. Nothing else,” Lance stated firmly.
Steven’s eyes narrowed.
Oh damn, Lance had been right on the money with his argument.
Steven had come to kick up a stink and try and drag concessions out of Lance and via him, Indigo as a whole. Which, considering his interest in Megastones and mining rights, I suspected I knew what he might have demanded.
“If a suitable level of compensation for your unilateral command and subsequent fumbling of Devon Corp resources,” Steven bit out, “then Devon Corp will have no recourse but to consider extreme actions.”
Hmmm, suitably vague.
“If Devon Corp is not pleased with what we have to offer,” Lance replied slowly, his fists curling only to relax and a smirk to appear. “Well, they can accept or decline. Now, Mr Stone,” Lance said, carefully enunciating Steven’s title.
The missing Champion title before Steven’s name almost echoed throughout the room.
Lance held Steven’s gaze. “As Champion of Indigo, I have other duties to perform in this unprecedented time. I will see that someone reaches out to you for a meeting with the relevant parties to discuss Indigo’s support.”
With a swish of his cape, Lance swept out of the room, making sure not to step away from Steven but rather right past him.
“This is a mistake,” Steven declared firmly but Lance ignored him as he left the room.
I had to give him style and commitment points. That had been an excellent showing of standing his ground and standing up for Indigo.
I had no doubt people would be gossiping about this for days. Heck, if anyone had gotten a recording of that… well, Lance couldn’t exactly trend right now due to the pokenet being fairly barebones right now, but it was certainly a feather in his cap.
For a long moment after Lance departed, no one moved.
Then Steven took a long breath and considered everyone present. His eyes lingered on Sabrina and I. With a jolt, I realised that Agatha was gone. Heck, even the chair that she’d been sitting in was neatly tucked away, making it seem we were the only ones here.
“Gym Leaders,” Steven greeted us with a nod.
“Steven,” I replied with a nod of my own.
“I must apologise for that unsightly scene,” he remarked.
A hum escaped me. Was this damage control? It felt that way.
Deciding to play it off I shrugged. “Tensions are rather high right now. It’s a bit of a unique situation for all of us. It’s a good time to remember your friends,” I said, offering a critique while giving him a way forward.
Steven inhaled and nodded. “Wise words as always,” he nodded again and sighed. “I too, must go and see what can be salvaged from the building.”
“Are your people alright?” I asked, unsure what prompted the question.
Steven blinked at me. “Hm? Oh, I’m sure they were fine,” he replied airily, only to nod once and depart, clearly distracted.
“Yikes,” I murmured quietly. “Did we pull anyone out of Devon Corp? I feel like there had to be some people doing overtime, or janitors, or security?”
Sabrina closed her eyes. “There were several injuries but most people were able to escape with mere hospitalisation…”
“Most?” I pressed.
“There were seven fatalities, with people getting struck by Blaine’s initial assault before any fire suppression systems could do much. Another three were fire rescue workers who charged into the fires to save others. They weren’t Devon Corp.”
“Shit,” I muttered.
Sabrina nodded empathically. A light pressure on my mind heralded her wanting to talk privately. ‘There’s a young intern who captured the entire discussion on their transceiver… and more. They’d been recording since Lance entered the room.’
“...” I rubbed my forehead. Did I need to do something about that? What was better in this situation? Letting it go to air with Steven getting the rightful flak he deserves for trying to pull that manoeuvre with Lance, or should I ask them to delete it?
“Not my circus, not my Mankey,” I muttered, more to myself than anyone else.
Although if Steven was shamed, Indigo-Hoenn relations might still suffer, as I suspected, there would still be some supporters of the former champion. Not to mention Devon Corp and Steven himself would be annoyed.
….
Urgh! This so wasn’t supposed to be my issue to deal with, I thought, only to sigh and stand.
Arceus damned conscience.
“Which one?” I asked Sabrina, and she directed me to a mousy-looking youth who looked far too uptight to do anything crazy.
Still…
I approached and cleared my throat. “Hey there,” I said as a way of greeting.
The pimply teen twitched. “Oh! Gym Leader Brock!” he gasped, his hand shooting up to hide his transceiver far too late.
I gave him an awkward smile. “I noticed you filmed that last little… event,” I said carefully. “Now, I’m not sure what would be best in this situation, but maybe give it some thought and maybe even ask—” I eyed him up and down,”—your supervisor what you should do with it.”
“....” His mouth opened and shut, and I chewed my lip in thought. Should I just ask him to delete it?
“Tensions are pretty high right now, so… yeah…” I ended weakly.
The kid nodded slowly. “I’ll… do that,” he muttered while blushing. “Can I get your autograph?” he asked after a moment.
That drew me up short. Then I snorted in amusement. “Sure thing,” I replied. “Who do I make it out to?” I asked, some good humour returning to me after the day and night I’d just endured.
“Colby! C-cooltrainer Colby!" he declared, only for his voice to break partway through and reach a high pitch.
I held back a snort of laughter and instead nodded. “To Cooltrainer Colby, think through your actions, as they will echo further than you or I know, Gym Leader Brock,” I replied as I signed off a piece of Pewter merch that I kept in my pack for just such situations.
I handed it back to him and nodded, deciding that I’d done enough to sleep easily. If things went south for various people from here, well, perhaps they should have been more careful with their words.
Sabrina moved up next to me as I left the room. “So your solution was to kick the issue up the chain?”
“Yup!” I replied shamelessly.
“Hmmm, I could have just caused his transceiver to glitch out and delete the video.”
“I had not considered that,” I muttered, only to shake my head. “Not our call to make. It’s kind of touch-and-go right now with everyone. Maybe stepping back is the right call.”
“Hmm, and perhaps having the video, but not using it is also a good call to make,” Sabrina pointed out as she wrapped an arm around me.
We vanished into a Teleport and I sighed in relief when I found myself back in my gym.
Only for Alexa to appear as if summoned. “Brock! Good, you’re here! Your first match has just begun their gauntlet! Are you ready to fight?”
“Ah,” I replied intelligently.
Sabrina patted me on the shoulder. “No rest of the wicked,” she said with a slight smirk, only to vanish into a Teleport.
I stared at the point where she’d been.
My bet was on her claiming our bed and curling into a cocoon to pass out. Although… there was something off about how she’d smirked. If she was going to pass out like that and she knew I knew about it these days she would have done something to alleviate any worries I might have?
Then again, she had done several large-scale teleports last night along with the other telekinetic feats she’d performed, so she could just be tired?
“Gym Leader?” Alexa prompted, and I jolted as I recalled I had my day-to-day duties to perform.
I’d have to check in on Sabrina during my break.
___________________
Sabrina appeared at the front of Saffron Hospital’s entrance and strode in, her psychic senses rolling out over the building as she scoured it with a critical focus.
Pain, fear, desperation, acceptance, and stress emotions flooded out but Sabrina pushed those aside.
Brock had raised an interesting point when he called Steven out on making sure his employees were healthy.
It wasn’t just the infrastructure that had been damaged. There was also a human toll.
“I’m here to check in with Wayne,” she announced when she reached the reception desk.
The receptionist blinked at her. “Uhmmm, you’re not one of his family members…. Gym Leader.”
“I’d like to discuss his care with a doctor, considering what he went through,” Sabrina replied easily, knowing that it wasn’t the receptionist's fault that she leaned on her training.
When in doubt, deny people access to the doctors.
Sabrina gave the receptionist a pointed look.
When the woman stiffened her spine, Sabrina arched an eyebrow, reminding her of who Sabrina was, and more importantly, what she was capable of.
“...I’ll page his Doctor,” the receptionist mumbled as she slumped and reached for her transceiver.
It took five more minutes but eventually a harried-looking doctor swept into the room. His hair was tousled and there was a distinct look of tiredness that announced he’d barely slept but was ready to commit to hours more of work.
“Gym Leader?” the man said firmly as he greeted her with a nod. “You’re here about Gym Leader Wayne? Or should I call him former Gym Leader?”
“That is something we will have to determine. From the brief interaction I was able to have with him, I understood that he was a victim of Hypnosis. I thought it best to make myself available to… unravel the twists that have locked him up mentally.”
“Oh,” replied the doctor before straightening. “That would help greatly. He hasn’t responded to much of the standard methods of breaking the hypnosis.”
Grimacing, Sabrina shook her head. “There won’t be any breaking going on. The mind… it’s not like a vase or a mug that once smashed might have a chance of being reformed. Gentle is best.”
That got a smile from the doctor and he gestured into the hospital. Instead of walking Sabrina put her hand on his arm and they both vanished into a Teleport.
They arrived within the room of Wayne, the current Gym Leader of Cinnabar, and the police posted within the room were up and pointing pokeballs within moments only to relax when they realised who they were pointing them at.
“Gym Leader!” they barked, only to grimace and give the now comatose patient a worried look.
The singular Chansey that was smoothing out Wayne’s sheets didn’t even react, just kept seeing to her task before moving about to another task.
The doctor shook his head. “I’ve told you, you don’t have to be worried about spooking him. Right now he’s basically sleeping.”
Chansey nodded at this and helpfully raised Wayne’s hand only to let it drop onto his face with a limp slap!
“Thank you Chansey, that will be all,” sighed the doctor as he opened the door and ushered Chansey out of the room.
Sabrina approached and inspected Wayne carefully. “It’s good that he’s sleeping now. It’s his body’s only method of dealing with the injury to his mind. A sensible option, but one that will take much longer than anyone would care for.”
“How long would you estimate?” the doctor asked as she moved to the opposite side of the bed as Sabrina.
“A year or two,” Sabrina said, causing the others to wince.
“Yes… a year in a coma would weaken his body greatly.”
Sabrina laid her hands on either side of Wayne’s temples and took a solidifying breath to push back her own fatigue. Then she slowly began to delve into the twisted snarl of his mind.
She didn’t tug, she nudged things towards their rightful places. Each action caused a small tremor through Wayne’s unconscious thoughts. Memories flowed past Sabrina like a river and she avoided dipping into them, knowing that she could get more than she bargained for and that it wouldn’t help right now.
Instead she drifted down, to a point within his mind that pulsed angrily. It felt like someone had ripped and torn, and in response the body had tied it off. Around the knot portions of Wayne’s mind held it locked in place, not allowing it to shift, but also not allowing it to unravel.
Instead of moving straight away, Sabrina began to inspect the construct. There were parts here that didn’t belong. Images that flashed over and over while a pair of Hypnos worked on Wayne despite his efforts to resist them. Then a set of goggles were put over him with electrodes and images.
Sabrina put her hand to the knot even as her stomach roiled, knowing what Blaine had done. He’d combined technological methods of hypnosis with that of the natural psychic method.
“You did a great job, now… relax and let go,” she said.
Wayne’s consciousness, the vague impression, drifted over her, and she felt him inspect the mental projection she was using.
She projected a pure mote of kind intent, like when she was kneeling down to accept a hug from a teary Suzie, or a hug shared around a warm fire.
The defences of Wayne’s mind relaxed, able to trust that she had no foul intentions towards him.
Nodding, Sabrina prepared herself for what came next.
She took hold of the mental knot, twisted, pulled, and unravelled the knot, and while the mind was still reeling, she cut through to portions that weren’t meant to be. Then she wove the thread back together.
She did it all quickly but firmly, ignoring the pressure of Wayne's mind coming down on her due to the ‘damage’ she was doing.
She continued to radiate helpfulness as much as she could and only when she was done did she allow herself to be expelled from Wayne’s mind.
Coming back to her body, Sabrina inhaled deeply.
“It’s done. Blaine used some form of goggles alongside Hypnos to induce the commands into Wayne’s mind.”
“Any idea of how he got abducted?” the police asked.
Sabrina shook her head. “No, but he should wake up within the day now, although he’s going to be rather confused, dazed, and have a significant headache. What I did will leave a form of… mental inflammation.”
Sabrina offered a smile. “Incidentally, he might be more resistant to future Hypnosis as a trade-off.”
“Huh, I’ll make a note of that.”
“Is that replicable?” asked one of the police.
Sabrina gave the policeman a flat look. “You’d have to subject yourself to a Hypnosis at least as powerful as what Wayne underwent and do damage to your mind,” Sabrina said, causing them to rethink the idea of such a procedure.
“Think I’ll stick with getting a Houndour,” remarked the man.
With that done, Sabrina gave the doctor her farewell and Teleported to Brock’s bedroom.
Only then did she strip herself of her clothes, shift into her pyjamas, then with a smile she curled up into a cocoon and collapsed into the bed for some well-deserved rest.
She was just falling asleep when the door opened, and Brock’s voice reached her. “Hmm, thought so. Rest well, Sabrina.”
She felt him kiss her on the forehead before he departed, leaving her with the impression of warmth and love to fall asleep to.
_____________________
A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support!
It also goes to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter!