Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Hospital

"Zack's in the ICU. They said he's gonna be fine after surgery. He got kind of...mauled. Fire Fanged across the chest, one of his arms is broken. It''s pretty bad." Salieri didn't want to mince words, but it sounded like Helena was having a rough time with something already.

"We got into a fight with a...err..." The last time Salieri had called Helena, about The Sniper, Helena mentioned they shouldn't talk over the phone about such a subject. They couldn't be sure who was listening. Ratio was on a side that Sal didn't even know about. Now it was twice as important not to mishandle information. "That guy your brother's been talking about. I can't tell you over the phone. And he can't call you right now either. We can talk about this in person. Cyllage City Hospital, alright?"  

[Marsuru]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

Nurse Berthe adjusted her earmuffs before opening the door. Once the seal broke, a soft melody filtered out, but only for a second. The door slid shut and trapped the song inside. Berthe felt not the least bit drowsy, but still performed a habitual check of her earmuffs before picking up the patient's clip board. Everything seemed to be in order. The multiple fractures on his right arm had been badly mended by a novice Heal Pulse, so the surgical team broke and set the bones correctly before healing it again. The bones would still be weak and painful for some time, but ought to heal properly assuming there were no further complications. The patient's other lacerations were minor, cuts and bruises here and there, except for the Fire Fang wound.

Berthe circled the bed, brushing the back of her hand to the patient's forehead. The three Chansey continued to sing from their pedestal below the window where afternoon sun streamed over trees, and cyclists could be seen competing in the distance. Another perfect day in the ICU. She swiped her hand, and the Chansey ended their song; the patient would wake without the singing, but not for a while.

'Is it safe to wake him up?' Berthe asked the Blissey standing over the bed. Blissngale continued with what she was doing. Her two stubby arms were positioned over the patient's wound, washing it with pulses of pink light. When he'd been admitted, it looked like a hole had been cleaved in the trainer's side, and indeed there were multiple puncture wounds that had been seared shut. The flesh across his abdomen was charred black like ash, and bled through cracks. This ruined mess had been cut away entirely, and Blissngale was in the process of growing back fresh skin. She had worked in a new layer, which looked pink and shiny, like plastic. Blissngale was the hospital's best healing pokémon; by the time she was through, the Fire Fang wound ought to look more presentable.

'Blissngale,' Berthe said sharply before feeling like an idiot. She reached over and removed the Blissey's earmuffs, big fluffy monstrocities, and the pokémon jumped. 'A court noble wants to speak with the patient. Can we wake him now?'

The pokémon frowned and puffed out her cheeks, then looked the patient up and down. After a moment of deliberation, she nodded, squeaking back in pokémonese while signing with waves of her arms. Berthe read the signs slowly but understood. The patient could be woken up, but he'd be in a lot of pain. Unfortunately for him, there was nothing else for it. Who dared refuse the court nobility?

Berthe left the room to fetch the noble, her heart pounding harder than she'd have liked, while Blissngale raised her arms and generated a focused pink light from which a pleasant scent filled the room. The chorus of Chansey all raised onto their tiptoes as they took in Blissngale's Aromatherapy technique, and swayed happily on the spot. The sealed door slid open once again and Nurse Berthe led two people inside.

The first was a young noblewoman who walked with the practiced grace found in the best of her kind. She was incredibly beautiful with serious grey eyes and jet black hair, which had been cut short enough to just teeter on boyish. Berthe supposed it would soon become the latest trend. After all, whether she wanted it or not, Elizabeth Leroux had quite a following. Exactly two steps behind her was an old man with stern lines carved into his face. His greying hair was swept back, and his top lip guarded by a thick moustache. He must've been the butler.

Lady Elizabeth lingered on the Fire Fang wound for a moment, then stepped up to the bedside. Blissngale huffed before doddering out of the noblewoman's way, and jumped onto a bean bag with the Chansey. Elizabeth rested her fingers on the patient's shoulder and gave him a nudge.

'Zack. Zack, can you hear me?' she said, and the patient stirred. First he groaned, then winced and opened his eyes. His head lifted for a second before dropping back down.
'This must be what heaven looks like,' he said, voice barely a growl, and scrunched his eyes shut.
'At least you can joke,' Elizabeth said, shaking her head before turning it to Berthe, who found herself standing straighter all of a sudden. 'Can't you do something for the pain?'
'Any administration of painkillers would interfere with the Heal Pulses,' Berthe said, impressed with how professional she sounded with her heart clanging against her ribcage. It wasn't every day a girl from the Lumiose slums could talk to a Court noble.

'Ouch,' Lady Elizabeth said, turning back to the patient. 'Tough luck, I'm afraid.'
'Don't worry about it,' Zack said, gritting his teeth as he gripped the edges of his bed and forced himself into a seated position. Alarmed, Berthe rushed forward to make him lie back down, but he held up a hand. 'I'm okay. Really. So what's going on? I guess I'm not dead. I don't remember ordering any big ugly old dudes for my heaven.'

The butler's moustache twitched and he folded his arms. Zack wore a smirk. Lady Elizabeth turned to Berthe.

'Could you leave us alone for a minute?' she asked. Berthe opened her mouth and made a silent Goldeen impression before finding her words.
'I'm-- I'm afraid I simply can't let you--'
'Relax,' Lady Elizabeth said. 'Please. I'm not going to poison him.'
'I really can't,' Berthe said weakly. Girls from the Lumiose slums didn't often stand up to court nobles either, and she wasn't sure she wanted to be counted among them. 'It's against protocol.'
'I'm fairly certain my father owned a considerable number of shares in this hospital.' Lady Elizabeth said, turning to Berthe fully. 'I would suppose those shares are mine now. Please, I'd consider it a favour.'

Berthe opened her mouth again, but felt the weight of defeat and bowed her head. She excused herself, and the door opened with a soft sweep before sealing shut.  

[Marsuru]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

The doors slid shut, and the room went silent. Elizabeth Leroux walked away from Zack's bed side and began to pace, first checking through the observation window to see if Nurse Berthe had truly left, then towards the side window. No eavesdroppers, no assassins waiting to burst in, though Zack assumed there'd be little Elizabeth could do even if that were the case. The noblewoman took a breath and straightened up, regaining her high-born poise. Elizabeth seemed to be building up to something, but the pain in Zack's side made him impatient.

'Yeah,' he said, feeling the bones throb in his arm. 'It was him. Ratio.'
'You fought him?' Elizabeth said, stepping up to the end of Zack's bed. Her butler left her side and began rounding up the Chansey near the window.

Zack smiled. 'No, this? I fell down some stairs.' He held up his fingers and winced when a pain shot through his elbow, then sighed. 'I'm not so sure I'd call that a fight. He wasn't even trying to kill us. Who'd have thought an assassin'd go easy.'
'Explains why you're here instead of the morgue. It was still a very close call.' Elizabeth frowned.

'Can you answer a question? Did One Shot make it out okay?' Zack caught himself. 'Uh, Salieri or whatever. She goes by One Shot.'
Elizabeth nodded. 'Salieri Soledad made it out fine. Who do you think dragged you here? You should thank her, assuming she survives Lord Nostrad's questioning.'

So he wasn't the only one having a chat with the nobility. Given everything Esme dug up, that boded well. Really well. They'd become nice fat blips on the radar.

The butler finished recalling the three Chansey and placed their balls back on a tray beside the window. Their buttons lit up; apparently the tray was attached to a miniature healing device to keep the Chansey inside well rested. When he was finished, the butler turned around and folded his arms. Blissngale mimicked him, puffing up to her full height.

Elizabeth put her hand on the bed frame. 'Zack, I have to apologise. I should never have put you in that position. I thought I was being clever, but I acted like a fool.'
'Forget about it.' Zack was about to wave his hand dismissively but thought better of it.
'If I hadn't offered you a reward, you--'

'Probably have gone there anyway,' Zack finished, Elizabeth let go of the frame. The trainer touched his burn wound with his good hand, feeling the hardness of the skin. There was no pain, not until he moved. It didn't feel like part of his body anymore. 'You know, ever since I saw him kill your father, I kinda wanted to see what he was made of. I guess now I know.'

'But I don't,' Elizabeth said. 'You and Salieri are the only ones who've faced Ratio and lived. I need to know what you know. I looked into your home situations, both of you, and it's clear you need money. I won't pay you for bringing Ratio in, it's too dangerous, but I will give you whatever you want for information on how to fight him. Right here and now.'
'Why, so you can fight him yourself? Avenge your father?' Zack grinned. 'I don't know if you've noticed, Princess, but Ratio isn't in the habit of leaving nobles alive.'

'Prin-- That's why I need to know everything I can,' Elizabeth flushed with anger, her pale skin turning pink in under a second. 'How he fights, what kind of pokémon he has. Hidden tricks, weaknesses, anything.'
'I'm not helping you commit suicide,' Zack said. His words hung in the air, the silence broken by the stretching leather of Elizabeth's glove as she made a fist. Zack's gaze didn't falter. Him running into danger was one thing. It was his life to gamble, and he'd gotten pretty good at it, notwithstanding the occasional hospital visit. Other people, amateurs, wouldn't even make it to the emergency room.

The butler cleared his throat; Elizabeth glared at him with a look that could've melted stone but the butler remained unperturbed. He simply indicated to a wall-mounted clock.

'Time is running short, Lady Elizabeth,' said the butler. 'There are other, more pressing, matters that require your attention. Besides, I doubt Mr. Redgrave will be going anywhere.'
'Thank you for the reminder, Cédric,' Elizabeth said, though her tone sounded somewhat less than grateful. 'Well then, Zack, I'm sorry our meeting couldn't end beneficially for both of us. When you change your mind, you have my number.'

Lady Elizabeth bowed her head politely, but didn't bother to hide her glare. Zack may have felt withered by it, but he was in pretty bad shape to begin with. Elizabeth turned to leave with Cédric the butler resuming his position two steps behind her, and the doors slid open. She was halfway through them when Zack thought 'what the hell.'

'Psychic,' he said. Elizabeth stopped and looked over her shoulder. 'I think he's some kind of psychic, he moved too well. That one's for free. Don't go getting yourself killed now.'
Elizabeth shook her head. As she smiled, her tension drained away. 'Thank you. Get well soon, Mr. Redgrave.'

The doors closed once more, leaving Zack staring at them. He clapped his hand to his forehead, and as he slid onto his back, Blissngale doddled over and began fussing over him.  

[Spinne Biss]

((Holy s**t I lost almost 10 days to working. Sorry, everyone.))

"Oh, ********," Helena said as Salieri told her what had happened. Ratio was not someone that Zack could take on, even with Salieri there. She could have told them both that much. "I'll be there shortly, okay?" Helena didn't wait for Salieri's reply before she hung up, she didn't have the time.  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Hospital

Salieri slid her Pokégear back into her pocket and found herself at a split in the hallway. To the left was Matheson’s room, to the right was Zack’s. She needed to talk to Zack about the experience they shared, as much as she disliked the notion of sharing anything with him. But she didn’t know if Matheson was receiving anymore surprise visitors, and she needed time with him alone to get her feelings out.

She went left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Jullien passed out a notice about him yesterday, to all the Court Nobles. It was pretty vague.”

Beep…beep….beep. Matheson’s heart monitor was slow and steady, a relaxed and healthy pace.

Salieri opened the windows. Salty ocean breeze came in and out of the room, the noise of the street dull outside. She pulled a chair next to Matheson’s bed, propping her feet up on the bed next to his. “He said there was a chance, just a chance, that there was a criminal on the loose with a grudge against the Court. And that he might be the guy who killed Gabriel Leroux. Did you hear-“
“Yeah, I heard about that.” Sal clicked her teeth. “I’m on nobility watch, remember?”
“Oh yeah. Right. Well slight creep factor of that aside, Jullien told us all to keep the Ratio matter within the Court. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”
Sal shrugged. “It’s not really first date material anyway. Hey, check this out.”

She searched for a picture on her Pokégear and showed it to Matheson. It was a snapshot of the candid portrait some Painter had done of their first date attempts. Specifically, when they met each other all dressed up and when Salieri showed up with blotchy makeup. One third of the canvas had been left blank. “…um, did you paint this?”
“No, some random dude. It’s us.”
“Oh.” Matheson seemed confused. He examined the snapshot from different angles, squinting hard at it. “It’s cute. My head looks big…”
“See, I got to show you some art after all.”
“So this is what you meant with the whole art thing.” Math handed back the Pokégear and grabbed a glass of water from the bedside table.
Sal grinned and tapped a finger to her cheek. “Yooooou know what I meant with the whole art thing, guy. I was trying to play coy.”
His heart monitor sped up. Beep beep beep. “Okay. You got me. This subtext has rapidly become text.”
“Yep. Well, we’re alone now. Do you wanna ******** choked on his water and Salieri laughed as he sputtered. “Oh. Uh, what?”
“Kidding, kidding. I mean, you’ve got broken ribs, and this is a hospital with nurses and stuff. And that's, ah...yeah I wouldn't do that now.” Sal got over her bad prank and shook her head in embarrassment. “That was a stupid joke, I shouldn’t have said that-”
“No it’s cool,” Math assured her with a wave while clearing his throat. His heart monitor slowed down again. Beep…beep…beep. “And I’m kind of glad that right now isn't your thing. That’s not my type.”
“We were going to kiss before though. Right?”
“Yeah, we were.”

Talking about their failed moment made them both feel awkward. They wriggled in their seats, trying to think of a way to make conversation normal again. “You wanna hear this dumb fantasy I had?” Math asked.
“Sure.”
“Okay, somehow we’d end up in Ecruteak City, around sunset. I don’t know what Johto’s timezone is, but I’d make it work.” Matheson leaned forward, excited. This talking point wasn’t exactly normal, but it was a start. “There’s this cherry blossom festival thing going on I think, so we’d walk around and find a quiet spot under a cherry blossom tree. And the sun would be setting and you would be all ‘Oh Math it’s beautiful’ and I’d say something like ‘Not as beautiful as you, baby’. But smoother than that, that was terrible. Then we’d make out and the world would spin around us, romantic style.”

Salieri nodded slowly, poker face on. Math couldn’t tell what her reaction was, but he kept smiling to hold onto some vestige of comfort. “This fantasy sounded more organic in my head. Can you say something? I feel like a massive dork now.”

She stood up, closer to his bed. Math gulped. “Stop talking. I like you,” she whispered, not because she meant to but because she squeaked it out accidentally.
“I like you too-“

Salieri crawled onto his bed, pushing him back down to a laying position with her hand. “Sal?”
“Ssshh.” Salieri straddled his sides, leaning in closer to his face. One of her hands traced down from his chest to his waist slowly, sensually. Her eyes were half closed, peering deep into his. It made Matheson feel exposed, in a good way. He gulped. Beepbeepbeep.

Her hand didn’t go where she teased it to. It ended up in his pocket instead, pulling out the Magic Door Key. With it in hand, she dropped the sultry act and grinned, hopping off the bed. “Uh, what?”
“Just a second,” she promised, opening up a portal via the broom closet. Math’s heart rate went back to normal, an auditory reminder that he still hadn’t been able to make a real move yet.

A couples of minutes passed. The closet door burst open and in came Salieri with as many cherry blossoms tucked in her arms as she could carry. She hurled the petals into the air, and they rained around the room. It was over in seconds.

Math, wide eyed, took in the splendor that lit up the sterile hospital room. “Oh Sal,” he said as he flicked a petal off of his hair. “It’s beautiful-“

Sal grabbed his face to bring it to hers and finally, their lips met. Eyes closed, the world melted away around them, and Sal and Math only felt each other. It felt like only seconds and an eon simultaneously. When they pulled away from each other, they were in shock. “Whoa.”
“Yeah. Whoa.”

They started full on making out, again ignoring everything around them. The hormone addled trainers were so wrapped up in each other that they didn’t notice a nurse walk in to give Math painkillers and immediately walk out upon seeing them, muttering to herself. “Teenagers.”

Math’s heart monitor became deatched as Salieri got onto the bed without removing her mouth from his, causing it to flatline then turn off. Beeeeeeeeep CLICK. He winced as she got closer, pulling away. “What’s wrong?”
“Broken ribs,” he reminded her casually. Salieri shifted away back to her feet.
“Right. My bad.” Sal pointed a thumb over her shoulder at the door. “I gotta go shakedown Zack for more intel on Ratio, and give him a piece of my mind if he’s conscious enough for it. You’re not going anywhere, right?”
“Not even if I tried. Seriously, it hurts to walk. My fiancé might come back to visit, but I’m all yours.”
“Great.” Salieri felt giddy and, for the first time in a long time, good about herself. “This is going to be a weird arrangement, Math-“
“Noooo, let’s not think about that part now.” Math rubbed her arm. “We’ll talk about the weird later, okay? Like when it comes.”
“Yeah. Some other time.” Sal gave him one more long kiss then headed to the door, practically tripping on her own feet to get there. “I’ll be back soon, and then we can chat or cuddle or whatever?”
“Any of those are good with me.”

They shared a smile and Sal closed the door. She leaned against it, catching her breath. Breath that tasted like his. “Oh man,” she whispered to herself, eyes closed. Salieri tried not to freak out over this development. There were other things she had to do. Putting Matheson and his tongue in the back of her mind, Salieri pinched her cheek. “Get it together, girl.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Salieri opened up Zack’s door with an almost one hundred eighty degree personality turn. Whereas she had been flirtatious with Math, she became crude and business like with Zack.

She nodded at him. “You okay?”  

[Marsuru]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

The doors opened once more with a soft sweep, and Zack looked up from his book. He held it in one hand, off to the side, giving Blissngale enough room to continue treating his burn wound. The Heal Pulse light steadily worked its magic, rebuilding skin and damaged muscle. Zack could feel the flesh tighten painfully then relax as Blissngale went over it in passes. Where it was pink and plasticy before, it was now redder and slightly less plasticy, reflecting the overhead lights.

So when Zack reflexively lowered his book to see who had entered the room, his wound snagged and felt somewhat like a knife had split it open, if only for a moment.

One Shot asking how he was doing. How nice of her. Zack gave her a great, big, fake smile.

'Well, I'm never gonna complain about sunburn again.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

Salieri closed the door behind her. Though she still felt a constant dull pain, she hid it behind her usual tough exterior. "I called your sister, she'll be here soon. I wanted to get to you before she did so I could punch you in the face, but that'd probably be overshadowed by your gross burn wounds, so-"

She crossed her arms and spoke to him with no patience. "I know you must not be aware of how stupid you are, but why the <********> would you bring a Charmander to an Arcanine fight? Or lob a Snorlax at a guy as your element of surprise? I know you don't speak Kalosian, but we have this neat word called reconnaissance..."  

[Marsuru]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

Zack felt a twinge of irritation when Salieri said she'd called Helena. It wasn't her place. The rest of her complaints just sort of washed over him.

'Yeah okay. We had maybe a couple minutes before said Arcanine returned.' Zack put his book on the side table. It was a comprehensive guide to psychic power in humans; documented accounts, interviews, and so on. He was on to something with his Ratio-is-a-psychic theory. What he'd do with the information, he wasn't so sure.

'And I don't exactly recall being blown away by your battle prowess either, One Shot.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

"Hmph. You wouldn't know what prowess was if it was a Shellder on your tail." Reprimanding Zack wasn't actually making her feel better about what happened to Durendal. She didn't approve of his reckless tactics but it was her decision to follow him into the heart of Route 10. If she made the bed, she'd lie in it. Still, that wasn't going to stop her from making fun of him if given the chance. "At least I damaged his Arcanine, No Shot."

Sal rounded to the windows and closed them, making sure their conversation was more private. Blissingale didn't look like a snitch. Mostly cause she was a Blissey. Sal nodded at Zack's book. "You think Ratio is a psychic?" There was something about the way he dodged her attacks that wasn't natural. If he was barking up that tree then maybe Zack was smarter than she thought.  

[Marsuru]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

Zack wasn't so sure a lucky last-second evolution really counted towards Salieri's skills as a trainer, so he just laughed when she tried her crack at him. He watched her go around the room, then finally followed her gaze to his book, and sighed.

'It's a theory,' Zack said, brushing his fingers over the book's cover. It showed a cartoon silhouette of a human being with an eye in the centre of their forehead, and cover notes promising to unveil the mysterious world of psychic energy. Zack couldn't claim to especially like psychic trainers, though it was endlessly amusing when they tried to predict his attacks during battle. He had yet to meet one who could pull that off well.

Ratio was on a whole other level.

'I've never seen a psychic read minds that fast before,' Zack said, idly rubbing his chin and realising he needed a shave. 'I don't know, maybe he just had a psychic type on the sidelines giving him a heads up. Wouldn't be the first show off to try that.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

Salieri leaned against the wall. "I've never seen a psychic like that either...maybe he wasn't psychic. He could be an Aura user. My teacher told me they read minds to help them win fights. It's more practical in fights than standard telepathy." It didn't really matter if he was psychic or an Aura user. Either way, he had more than one trick up his sleeve.

"There's more to his gimmick than that. Dune got a direct Thunder Wave and it did nothing. And you saw that chair he was sitting on, right? All of the sudden it wasn't a chair anymore, it was part of his cloak. Something's up with that."  

[Marsuru]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

'An Aura user, huh?' Someone who could read the life force of every living thing, and most certainly wasn't a carnival scam? Ordinarily Zack would scoff at something like that, but scoffing made his burn wound hurt so he didn't. He'd also been wrong about Diancie, and could well be wrong about this. After all, psychics certainly existed, why couldn't mythological aura masters?

The chair and Thunder Wave thing though, that was something he had an answer for.

'He's wearing a Ditto,' Zack said simply. He'd been thinking about it for a while now, and that's only thing that made sense. 'A Ditto can transform into anything it has a clear picture of. Ratio probably tells it what to turn into with psychic power or with Aura or whatever. Explains where he got the goofy halloween costume.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

A Ditto? Salieri thought about it, then slapped her palm to her forehead. "A Ditto. Duh." She wished she figured that out before Zack did. Ditto's Limber would prevent Paralysis. The implications of this revelation were unsettling. Could it disguise Ratio as well?

"With a Ditto, Ratio can look like anybody. How do you find a guy like that?" Sal allowed that question to sink in, then followed up with, "Did you see what was in that lunchbox thing he had?"  

[Marsuru]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

You don't, thought Zack as he folded his arms. What was she talking about now, a lunchbox? Maybe her National was slipping.

'You mean that container?' The one that blocked Lethal's Aura Spheres. It blew open, and inside there were... 'Mega Stones. It had six or so stones inside. Ratio didn't seem to care that he'd lost them though. Some Orrean guy appeared out of nowhere to pick them up. I'm guessing if Ratio really wanted them back, that guy's dead already.'

It should've made Zack feel strange to be talking about death and destruction so casually, but it was a strange sort of conversation and an even stranger day. Then he grinned, and lifted his backpack from the floor beside his bed. It was half charred but still intact, and contained the remnants of his clothes. There was also a Mega Stone inside, which he pulled out and tossed to Salieri.

'That found its way into my bag. I'm guessing one of my guys picked it up after the battle. You think there's something special about it?'  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

"Mega Stones," Salieri repeated, spinning the indigo orb in her hand. She had heard stories about Mega Evolution before, from the same teacher who taught her about Aura. It was never relevant to her until now.

"No clue," she said, tossing the stone back. "I thought Ratio was after the nobles. And the nobles are working with Team Flair, maybe. But he just blew a Flair operation to hell. Must be where he got the stones from. So was he just after the stones?" There were many strings between these points, but she didn't know where they led or if they were in the right place. All she knew was that Ratio was in the center of it. Did he have something to do with the Darkhorse Hunters too?

Salieri pulled up a chair and spun it around, taking a seat on it backwards and pinching her brow. "Bon dieu, this is a ******** Orrean guy you saw. Did he have a beanie? Open coat, no shirt? Lock of hair blocking an eye and obnoxious?"