ToT Ch 3 - Part 3: Apologies

While Harry was checking their stuff, he heard from Zack that he received information about the infiltration group. There were injured Pokémon in them. The Murkrow sent his gang to provide support and help them in getting back. Then, with Stephan, Robin and Lena, they headed to prepare the medical tents. He also joined them.

Various tents were ready to give medical assistance to the members of the teams. After some time, he saw Cornelius with a Ninetales on his shoulders and carrying something. When they were near him, the golden fox hopped down.

“Sabine?” Harry asked.

“Do you think anyone else would be on him?” Sabine put a bit of sarcasm.

“Ah, it is you; where’re Kat and Bran?”

“Both unconscious and Bran had to be treated, we need to check if there’s something we’ve ignored” Cornelius explained.

“Oh geez, okay; let’s get inside then”

A medic made a quick revision in Katrina and said that she only needed to rest. In case of Brandon, it checked more closely the injuries and other vital signs when Sabine explained what happened as a precaution. It gave a few medicaments to prevent any kind of infection and recommended that he would not make any kind of great effort, like fight and carry anything heavy. Harry stayed with the Espeon while the Ninetales did the same with the Absol and rested when her strength faded.

Katrina was the first one who awoke. After shaking her head a little, she saw Harry sat, looking to the entrance of the tent.

“Harry?” She called.

He turned around and a smile appeared on his face. “How are you feeling?”

She sat on the improvised bed. “I’m fine; where are we?”

“In a medical tent; Cornelius brought you here; he said you fainted after fighting against some of the guards”

“Oh; yipi, I remember now” She placed a paw on her head and when she took it off, she saw lilac fur, instead of brown. “Wha? Why my paw has a different color?”

“I don’t know; maybe if you check the rest of your body…” Harry was chuckling.

She turned her head and saw that her body was covered in lilac fur, her tail was thinner and forked in the end; and touching her head, she found a gem in her forehead and tufts of fur below of her ears. “Harry, did I… did I evolve?”

“What do you think?”

She stood up and jumped off from the improvised bed. She was bigger than him from the looks of it. She started to pant, but it wasn’t from tiredness; it was excitement. “I… I did it… I will be able to fight on my own”

“With a bit more of training, you won’t have any problems in that; congratulations Kat”

She hugged Harry. It was a first big step for her to be capable of doing things otherwise it would take much time. After that, she remembered something.

“Where’re Bran and Sabine?”

“Over there” He pointed with his head.

She was concerned about seeing Brandon in the bed with bandages and Sabine, evolved, near him with a worried face. “What happened to them?”

He explained what Sabine told him. The joy from before disappeared when she realized that Brandon almost died because of Bermuda.

“Ow; I didn’t have to agree to separate”

“There was nothing you could have done; at least he’s alive and recovering”

Without any word, she headed to Brandon and Sabine. The Ninetales looked her back.

“How is he?” Katrina asked.

“Still unconscious; the medic said it’ll take a while to wake up” There was a bit of bitterness in Sabine’s tone.

“I should have known something like this would’ve happened”

“Maybe, maybe not; the next time I’ll see Bermuda, I’m going to rip her like…”

“Sabine, calm down; from what Cornelius mentioned, she was took down by the Shadow foxes team; they’ve already did the job for you” Harry intervened.

“Even so…”

“*Sigh* Look, we’re going to Menthe to help in the water purification; you can stay here and come with Bran when he wakes up”

“Okay”

When they were exiting the tent, Katrina felt that the mission was more failure than success if one of her group almost didn’t make it. ‘It was my responsibility and again I made a mistake; a very horrible one’. Her mood was worsening while she was still thinking of it. Cornelius picked them up and noticed that on the way.

“Let me guess; Brandon?” He assumed.

“I don’t really want to talk right now”

“You cannot predict every situation, Kat; that is what life is”

“But Brandon paid the price of my decision”

“Well, in a way you also did it when you paired him and Sabine” Harry added.

“Good or bad is a consequence, not a factor; adversity always appears on missions and we have to adapt to them”

She wasn’t very convinced. “I didn’t adapt fast enough”

“Because it’s experience and that’s something no one can give you; you know that”

“*Sigh*”

“Hey Kat; next time, we’ll be ready, okay?” Harry tried to encourage her.

“Okiie”

“Nice; better pick up the pace, the water is not going to clean itself”

“So you want speed? Then hang there tightly” Cornelius suggested and started to run. In a matter of minutes, they reached Menthe and Sinclair.

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After one hour and half approximately, Brandon opened his eyes. The healed cuts were itching a little, but he was feeling better. He moved his head to see where he was. Sabine was sleeping in that moment, but the sound he was doing awoke her.

“Are you okay?” She asked worried.

“I think so” His answer was calmed, but a bit weak. “The cuts are annoying me, though”

“*Sigh* You made it”

It took him a little to realize the meaning of those words was and kept quiet for a while. He shook his head and changed the topic. “Um, how long I was out?”

“Enough time for me to fall asleep”

“Oh” Another moment of silence appeared. “Um…”

“What?”

“Nevermind”

“Is my fear of the snakes?”

He nodded slowly. “It’s okay if you…”

“No” She felt that hiding her fear wouldn’t help her in the long term, at least with him knowing about it. “I think you deserve to know, after all the questions I’ve been asking to you” She took a moment to organize her ideas. “It all started a decade ago, I guess; I was with my sister, playing near a forest of the city of Rubias; our parents were near with some acquaintances, talking things I didn’t understand; at some point, we were lost and we tried to find our way back; it was getting late and we were still walking, without any luck; then, we heard a sound in the trees like something was slipping through the branches; we looked everywhere, feeling more scared and in an instant, a Seviper and an Ekans surrounded us” She kept quiet for a few seconds. “What happened next is similar of what you saw back there, only that… we didn’t have anyone to help us”

Brandon had a few questions in mind when she stopped again, but he preferred to keep quiet.

“They played with us, bit us while they were hissing and threating us to kill us in an instant; I thought we wouldn’t get out of there alive and I fainted from the weakness; …; when I woke up again, I was back in home; my mother was so worried about us and my father told me they managed to drive the snakes back, but I couldn’t talk and hugged my parents tightly” She looked to him. “That left me with that fear”

“Um, can… can I ask you somethings?”

“Go ahead”

“How does your family looked like and why you weren’t scared of Bermuda? Because she beat me before I could do anything”

She looked to the opening of the tent for a while and then to Brandon. “My father was from the same species as I, but in a silver color with the end of the tails in blue; my mother and my sister were also a vulpix and a Ninetales, but capable of manipulate ice and with purple colors”

“But if you have a golden fur…”

“I was the only one who born with normal colors”

“Oh”

“As for Bermuda… we have to be clear in one thing: the only Pokémon in the world who is allowed to beat the crap out of you is me; and… *Sigh* you’re the only one I trust now, that’s why she pissed me beyond limits; I think she’ll be the only snake I’m going to hate”

“I… really didn’t fight well, did I?”

“To be honest, I expected you to be knocked out in the first ten seconds against an assassin, not more; at least being in the defensive isn’t that bad after all for you”

“Um, thanks; and where are the others?”

“Purifying the water”

“We’re going there to help them?”

“I don’t know; can you move?”

With some difficulty, he got up and moved a little. His left side was annoying him more. “Where’s my shawl?”

“There” She grabbed it and help him to put it on. Then she took the bag and adjusted on her back. “I’ll take this for now; you’re not in condition to carry anything”

“Okay, I’m ready”

“Then let’s go”

Brandon had to walk slower, since he wasn’t recovered at full strength, thanks to the poison. After asking where the purification was taking place, they arrived and saw the teams moving empty and full barrels, at least the ones outside. They found Harry in the tent, preparing tablets for the cleanup. When they were closer to him, he raised his head and looked to them. A big smile appeared on his face.

“How are you?” Harry asked.

“I’m fine, but I cannot move much”

“Yeah; the medic said it would take a whole day, even more for you to recover “

“Ah; um, where’re Cornelius and Katrina?”

“They’re collecting water”

“But Katrina doesn’t have to stay with you?”

“Heh, no; she’s using her psychic abilities to move at least one”

“She can do that? How?”

“I forgot to mention she also evolved” Sabine said. “Into an Espeon”

“She did?”

“Yup, kind of surprising, isn’t it?” Harry nodded and chuckled. “Hey, can you lend me a paw in this? We need to make a lot of purifying tablets for a lot of barrels”

“Are you sure he can?” Sabine asked.

“I’m sure of it; the process is relatively simple and it not demand too much effort; besides, I think you need to practice a little to move some stuff we’re going to need”

“Practice?”

“Your species also have psychic abilities at some degree; you can try to use it with simple objects “

“I don’t…” But she remembered the psychic attack she used against Bermuda. “I… I think I used a move of that type”

“That means you can move light objects, I suppose”

“You expect me to lift something with my mind?”

“If you can and if you want to be stronger to… you know”

In a way, he was right. She never cared of training with the power of the mind, which it proved to be useful for that occasion; but the original purpose of increase her strength to hunt all the witches started to change. The battle in the tunnels began to demolish her previous thoughts as she realized her new reason: to protect his teammate.

Instead of saying anything, she nodded and they began to work. Harry took a few minutes to explain Brandon the procedure of creating tablets and practiced until the Absol was able to make them on his own. In the meantime, Sabine tried to move some of the materials with her mind. It was almost impossible at first; a small bag of the size of her paw moved a couple of millimeters from the table.

When Brandon was able to make ten tablets on his own, her psychical capacity allowed her to move at least the same type of bag to them. After a while, she could lift more of them at the same time, but it still required a lot of concentration. Minutes later, Cornelius and Katrina returned with seven barrels full with contaminated water to clean. The Espeon hopped down and entered the tent to check Harry’s progress.

“Bran?” She was surprised to see him.

“Hi Kat” He showed a small smile.

She didn’t hesitate and hugged him tightly, shaking. “I’m sorry”

“Huh?”

“I never should have let us got separated, I…” She stopped when he placed his paw on her back. She looked to his face.

 “I’m okay now and… Sabine was with me; thanks to her I’m here” He looked to her, who was getting a bit embarrassed.

Katrina looked to her as well curious and a little relieved. “So… does it mean you’re accepting him?”

Sabine took a moment before to answer. “Well… *Sigh* yes, he proved that he’s not from the loot”

“Maybe you can hunt and defeat one of the real evil witches with a bit of help from him” Harry commented.

“Maybe…”

“Guys, don’t you think we should take the tablets to the barrels?” Katrina suggested.

“Yep; let’s go” Harry nodded.

Since Harry was occupied in making tablets, with Brandon later; Katrina and Cornelius accumulated the barrels at some distance from the tent until he was ready with a great number of them. Then, they started to drop a few of them in the goo. They saw how it was disappearing from the water, but not completely.

The number of tablets reduced to the half, but they still have a lot of barrels with water to purify. Brandon was thinking on a spell, the ones he learned by his own respecting to his element, to help them.

“Um, can I try something?” He asked.

“What do you have in mind?” Harry said.

“Maybe I can separate the water from the goo”

“Like water and oil?”

“I think so, but I’ll need another barrel to trespass the clean water”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to accumulate the goo in the barrels” Katrina commented. She knew his option was good, but the flaw was they need all of them.

“Hey, wait a sec” Harry looked where a Liepard with bandages, markings only in the shoulders and and a book in a bag; a Lucario with a vest, smooth spikes, a pair of blades on his back and cinnamon green eyes; and Stephan were opening a barrel. Then something he assumed it was a spell made to the tablet and it was dropped. The Minum took notes about it.

“I have to assume she’s a witch, too” Sabine was sure of it.

“Um, she is; I can sense magic coming from her” Brandon corroborated.

“Jaina and Alex are the Liepard and the Lucario respectively; he with the Scyther Jack saved her from the assassin duo” Cornelius remembered.

“Hmm; Bran, come with me” Harry called him.

“Why?”

“Just trust me”

They headed to the trio. For some reason, they didn’t use another tablet in the water. Harry hoped that his idea was correct.

“Excuse us” He said, attracting their attention. “I saw that you used a spell in one of the tablets”

“Em, yes?” Jaina nodded a bit nervous. She didn’t expect that someone was watching.

“What is the purpose of it?”

“Accelerate the purification process” Alex answered with arms crossed.

“Got it; Stephan, right? What are you writing in the paper?”

“Information about the spell; Jaina wants to have some variables measured”

“Do you need something?” Alex asked.

“Well, can you tell my friend Brandon how can he do it?”

“What do you mean?” Stephan was a bit confused of the question.

“Brandon is a witch?” Jaina also sensed his magic, a small light in him.

The Absol looked to Harry a bit worried, who gave him a calmed look and nodded. He tuned his head to Jaina to answer. “Um, just an apprentice”

“Well, I don’t have any problems to teach you that, it’s very simple; but if you’re an apprentice, where is your mentor?”

“Um…”

“Can we leave that topic for another occasion? It’s kind of personal for him” Harry intervened.

“O-kay; but as far as I know, the witches in this land don’t like the idea of others of them to teach to their apprentices; that’s why I’m asking”

“I… don’t have one, not… anymore” Brandon was feeling a little dizzy with the memories appearing in his mind and breathing deep to catch more air.

“I guess I shouldn’t ask anything” Jaina thought whatever problem it had with his mentor was too much for him to handle

“I’m okay, I’m okay”

“I’m sorry, are you better now?”

He nodded.

“Come here, you’ll need to learn these words”

Jaina opened her book and Brandon took minutes to memorize and apply the spell properly. It was weird how she was teaching him; no pressure and with patience; something he never saw before. She also mentioned how much of his energy needs to use to not exceed. When he was able to do it by himself, he and Harry returned to the group and enchanted their remaining tablets. The same amount of barrels with contaminated water was cleaned.

The masked Riolu and the Plusle, whose names were Marth and Stella from what Cornelius learned, were carrying some barrels and stacking them to be picked up later. Then, Zack and his group were bringing another lot. 

Since there were more barrels brought by other teams, Katrina and Cornelius stopped to carry water from the river and went to take some of them to the cleanup while the rest returned to the tent to make a few more tablets. On the way, the Espeon saw Yang and a Sylveon. She decided to see how they were doing. The shiny Mienfoo saw her a little worried while her partner was lost in her thoughts, looking the goo disappearing.

“A-are you okay?” She asked. “I s-saw that you were unconscious in the r-reservoirs”

“I’m fine, don’t worry”

“A-and Brandon? I saw a l-lot of cuts in him”

“He’s awoke and recovering” The tone of her voice changed.

“W-what’s wrong?”

“*Sigh* It was my fault of what happened to him”

Yang looked to her surprised, while the Sylveon snapped out for a bit. “W-what do you mean?”

“I agreed that we should split up; he and Sabine were being attacked by Bermuda and… from what she said, he almost died”

Yang was left speechless.

“If didn’t allowed it, he would be fine”

“Kat, we’re already talked about this; all of us knew the risks” Cornelius said.

“And where is he?” The Sylveon asked.

Katrina looked back and they saw him, Brandon and Sabine getting out.

“Who’re the Poochyena and the Ninetales?”

“My friend Harry and Sabine”

“What? She evolved?”

“Yes; and if Bermuda stayed fighting her, I can assure you her head will be the only thing Sabine would brought with her and Brandon; in other words, she wanted the snake dead” Cornelius had the feeling that is what would happened.

The Sylveon blinked. “Are you sure about that?”

“Well, from what she told me, the first thing she did was burn her to ashes; which Bermuda didn’t want to be and escaped; better be careful to not ignite the hell with her, her attitude is already volatile to make things worse”

Katrina changed the topic and looked around. “Hey Yang, where’s Sonya?”

“I’m right in front of you” The Sylveon said.

She felt a little embarrassed. “Ohhhh; sorry, I honestly didn’t recognize you”

Sonya only nodded and Yang giggled a little.

“Em, you don’t mind if we help you with some of the barrels?”

“No problem this time”