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Chapter 12 - The Lowest Point

A sharp scream down the hall hit Lena like a Take Down, her entire body jolting and her head jerking upwards. Her vision was cloudy and misty for a moment as she rapidly blinked away a groggy feeling she didn’t recall having just a couple of minutes…?

Hours…?

She couldn’t recall how long it had been since Erma left, panic rising up her throat as she stood up stiff as a ramrod and rushed out of the family waiting room while looking down the hallways. Arthur, who at some point must have closed his eyes and leaned against the wall to sleep, was at her side more awake than she was at this point, and even Rina’s Dive Ball burst open suddenly as well, looking around for the cause. (When did she come back…?)

Lena was already moving, seeing the panicked nurse in front of William’s room, staring inside with both hands covering her mouth in horror. Lena’s own heart sank as well, but whatever the nurse was seeing was enough for her to ignore what she was saying to her, shifting the medical cart that was in front of William’s room and rushing in.

‘Is he bleeding more? Oh Arceus, what if the anti-venom didn’t work, or if he was allergic, and it finally kicked in? Did he fall off the bed and hit his head, or — or — ’

Lena felt like she physically couldn’t think as she moved, her own thoughts continued to trip up with panicked, unrealized concepts as her vision just now finally started to focus….

The scene, however, made her pause, her eyes blinking in both grogginess and in confusion.

In the bed, was a very concerned Ronin, his entire body emanating nervousness as he focused entirely on William’s chest, where there was something there wasn’t supposed to be.

A Venipede.

Lena blinked, staring at the Pokémon as her mind continually tried to process the scene in front of her.

“O-Oshaawaaatt…! Shaawaaatt..!” (Now you’ve done it…! All this noise is going to wake up my Trainer…!)

“Vvvvvvede. Pedepepe. Venipede.” (Will stay. Hive Leader good human. Comfrey Bugg stay with Hive Leader.)

“W-Waaatt…! Shaa...!” (That’s not the point…!)

The commotion finally must have drawn the attention of others, as a doctor with a Clefable pushed their way into the room, a serious expression on their face as they held a thick file in their hand and looked around, her voice taking control. “What in the fires of Ho-Oh is going on in here?!”

Before anyone could answer, another body rushed in, the entire temperature of the room rising in response. Charon’s collar was alight, ready for a fight, and Lena felt for a brief moment that he was about to attack everyone in the room to protect his ward if they stood in his way.

However, once Charon laid his eyes on William, and the intruder, his face similarly shifted into something perplexed and he stared…

All the while, the lone Venipede turned to look at the new visitors. “Vedevede. Vvvvvenipede.” (Humans bother Hive Leader. Do not bother Hive Leader.)

“Sha-Woooott…!” (They’re here because of you…!) Ronin hissed, clearly attempting to still be quiet for his Trainer. Lena finally gathered her thoughts, and panic started to overtake her as she remembered that Venipede was a Bug Poison Type.

In the room with the poisoned child.

Not only in the same room, but resting on the poisoned child’s chest.

“Shit — where did they come from…!” Lena hissed, already starting to move close to try and remove the offender, but Charon beat her by shifting past to grab the Venipede himself, who scuttled across the bed to William’s legs in a panic.

“Vvvede! Vvvedevede.” (Do not remove! Hive Leader accept Comfrey Bugg.)

“Ty — Phlosion!” (And you’re going to get my ward poisoned again — stay still —!)

The Venipede dodged with a bit too much mobility for a grounded Bug Type, avoiding Charon’s careful reaches to not disturb William from his rest.

It didn’t help anyway though as a muffled groan from William made everyone freeze and turn to the young child in the bed shifting and grumbling from the disruption…

“Yur… all sho… looouud…sHhhsh…”

“Shhh… it’s okay, don’t worry, we’ll leave quickly in a moment, just let us take the Venipede away…” The doctor said to William gently, who blinked back with the same level as someone awoken far too early.

“MMnnn…. noo… comfrey bug stay… sheee… hehee… bugg buuuurrs…” He muttered, the aforementioned bug moving up the bed suddenly at the mention of her and laying on William’s chest. Lena stared as she did indeed ‘buur’, vibrating gently like a Purrloin and creating a soothing, rhythmic noise. William sleepily petted the bug completing the picture and… looked rather endearing to an extent.

That didn’t change the fact that there was a Poison Type still in a poisoned child’s hospital room.

“William, you can enjoy the Venipede later, you have to heal first, we don’t want you to get poisoned again…” Lena quietly stressed, reaching for the Venipede who stared at Lena with beady eyes.

“Nipede. Vene vvvene.” (No touch! Red Lady not have permission.)

“Well, I’m not gonna let a Pokémon with Poison Point poison a child by accident,” Lena said, trying to be as nice as she could with a pointed, if mildly frustrated tone. Regardless, she reached forward this time not caring if she poisoned herself.

William, apparently hearing this grumbled before speaking again. “Sheeh doeshn’t…” Lena froze as he reached forward suddenly and sleepily squished the midsection of the Venipede’s body, rubbing his arms up and down for a moment before leaning back down on the bed. “Nouuh… nooo poiission poiunt…only burrr… buhhg burrr…” He muttered sleepily… his eyes fluttering as he closed them, the Venipede resuming its feline-like purring on William’s chest, almost like a soothing lullaby.

An awkward silence filled the room despite that, with the humans in the room not exactly knowing what to do or respond. Charon said nothing, and simply moved to sit down on a chair that very much was not designed for a human or Pokémon his size. The chair creaked and sank an inch from the sudden weight.

Lena and the doctor both stared at him, but his red eyes just glared back. “Phlo, Typhlosion. Tyyyph.” (I’m staying here until my ward wakes up; if a bug can somehow sneak through the hospital… I’m not leaving until he’s awake.)

“Oshaa… w-watt…” (She… came from William’s bag.) Ronin said hesitantly. Charon turned to him, before glancing at the open bag on the hospital bed. A slowly dawning realization started to fall over everyone.

“Are you saying… this is a Venipede from Pinwheel?” Lena said, blinking as she tried to put together when the Pokémon could have snuck into his bag, the only time the bag was open was when he was attempting to eat Pecha Berries… meaning…

“Float-Zeeell… Float-Zel-!” (She’s been in his bag since he was poisoned… Arthur-! Why didn’t you notice her!)

Arthur, for his part, looked a tad embarrassed. “I… must have overlooked her, I was more concerned about… other things, much like Charon I assume,” Arthur said, trying to extend an Arboliva branch to Charon… most likely figuring he was the next one to get asked.

The Fire Ghost Type looked... disgruntled... or embarrassed? Lena struggled to tell as Charon crossed his arms and looked at William with a side glance before responding. "Typhlo-phlosion. Phlosion-Lolo." (I was more distracted by all the ghosts still lingering around and my grandson’s soul. Excuse me for missing one spirit while I'm distracted.)

Meanwhile, the doctor sighed and glanced over at her partner. “Yomi… please notify me immediately if the Venipede causes an adverse reaction, I still have labs to do, but if the Venipede doesn’t have Poison Point… “ An exhausted, exasperated look formed on her face as he turned to the Ranger now. “Come with me, I have a couple of things I wish to discuss with you.”

A faint shiver ran down Lena’s back; the tone was similar to Erma’s, a command she was compelled to follow despite feeling an initial protest at wanting to stay in the same room as William… but…

A brief glance over to Charon, and how he glared at everyone else in the room, and especially her… she probably shouldn’t…

With a nod, and a dry swallow, she followed the doctor out of the room, Rina and Arthur behind her as the doctor closed the door behind them with a quiet ‘click’... the nurse who had screamed was still there, looking nervous and a tad embarrassed as the doctor turned to her with a strange expression.

“Dear, go get some water from the cafeteria. I’ll be providing primary care from now on.”

The nurse looked hesitant. “B-But the director said —”

“Just tell the director that one ‘Eirin Yagokoro’ said so, and make sure to record his reaction on video.” She said with a hint of a playful smile. The nurse looked a bit confused by her tone of voice. Nevertheless, she nodded and started to walk down the hallway, but not without giving one last glance at the two.

As she turned the corner, the doctor took a breath and turned to Lena. “Now then, allow me to get straight to the point, Erma asked me to assist with this matter…” She explained, making the Top Ranger feel nervous, and already expecting someone Erma personally asked to start dressing her down as well.

However, ‘Eirin’ waved a hand in the open air, most likely seeing her expression and posture shift to become more nervous. “I don’t care about whatever mistakes were made in the Mission, I know Erma most likely gave you her speech. I care about the patient’s well-being, and the well-being of those around them, which includes you.”

Lena blinked — this was not the way the conversation was supposed to turn. “I-I’m sorry, what do —”

“Ranger Lena, without looking at your Styler, or any of the clocks, what time is it?”

The thought made Lena freeze, and on instinct, she almost reached out to Arthur to ask him through Arthur, but the unamused, if concerned emotion she got from him was enough to make her physically wince and glance out down the hallway. The sun was shining through, so it was morning now… probably… early? It couldn’t have been that soon… “I… eight-o-clock? Maybe… nine?”

“It’s half-past-eleven, Ranger Lena.” The doctor stated. The realization made her flinch as she mentally ran back to try and remember when she fell asleep on the hospital chair, only to come up… blank.

She only remembered Charon walking off, Erma coming in and talking to her, and thought she remembered every word of the conversation…

…After that though, nothing. Only the floor of the hospital she was staring at and… static.

“You and your partners are clearly suffering from sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and stress, and that’s only what I can list from just looking at you. This won’t help anyone.” Pointing at Lena’s chest, Eirin’s expression was firm, clearly not taking any protests. “You are going to go to the Pokémon Center and get some rest. Doctor’s orders. William won’t be fit for release until tomorrow, and you’re going to need to rest up for that.”

Almost as if making a concession, she closed her eyes. “...I will notify you when he is awake, but you and your team need to rest… I promise, there will be no more scares for him. You have my word.”

Lena couldn't find the words, they were stuck in her throat as she tried to find some rebuttal, she couldn’t rest, she shouldn’t, why should she when the person she failed to keep safe was in a hospital bed and she was able to sleep in the comfort of a Pokémon Center and she—

“Flo-Flolatzel. Float.” (Lena… breathe, she’s right.) Rina’s gentle voice cut through her thoughts, washing them away as she blinked, and found herself still standing in the hospital hallway…

“Floatzeeell… Zel-Float…” (We can’t do anything now… we all need rest… and you need to wash up.) Rina said gently. Lena glanced down at her attire and realized that she was covered in dirt… and bits of blood still from the injury on William’s shoulder.

Another wave of exhaustion followed, and with a grunt she could only nod and respond. “Okay…”

While the doctor’s expression was firm, an echo of a caring twinge still shined through as she nodded and turned around, organizing the cart the nurse had left by the door to William’s room in a clear dismissal of the Ranger.

Meanwhile, Lena could only awkwardly start to walk down the hall to the elevator… her thoughts felt like they were running a thousand miles an hour yet also muffled as she started to look over Rina and Arthur.

They looked as exhausted as Lena felt. Arthur, who was doing his best to play it off, had his eyes closed as he leaned against the wall of the elevator as it started to move…

In the chaos and worry, she hadn’t had them looked over by the Pokémon Center… more guilt started to gnaw at her core. Arthur sensed this instantly, opening his eyes and turning to Lena with an ironclad face. “Lena, do not feel guilty over this; we wouldn’t have gone to the Center without you.”

“I-I should have at least had you looked over, the poison was enough to affect William, even if it wasn’t a direct sting, and I should —”

“What’s done, is done… Neither myself nor Rina would have left you alone to worry either way.”

Lena’s arms shifted, crossing into a self-hug as she took a deep breath and grit her teeth. Frustration at her partner’s insistence to put her comfort over theirs bubbled, yet a feeling of warmth and comfort at it at the same time clashed. It all swirled around a core of her guilt over all the events which continued to stain her emotions.

She couldn’t find a response, she didn’t have one the entire time they walked to the Pokémon Center, which felt like a blur. She remembered the person at the front desk of the Pokémon Center asked her the standard questions, but she couldn’t recall what they or she said, everything was static to her.

She remembered handing over Rina and Arthur’s Poké Balls onto the tray for them to get healed from last night properly, Arthur’s almost grounding Aura drifting away, and Rina’s Dive Ball shook slightly as she set them down. Her body went through the motions, until she found herself alone in a Ranger reserved room in Castilia’s Pokémon Center. Wearing comfortable clothing and sitting back in the bed… her eyes feeling heavier and heavier even as her thoughts raced without direct or focus… the gentle embrace of sleep surrounding her.

She didn’t even register that there was a room waiting for her at the request of Chairperson Erma until later…

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The minutes seemed to tick on and on, the hours melding together in the old Typhlosion’s mind. Charon refused to budge from the seat as he watched his ward sleep. Ronin had been tired, and Charon had let the Water Type fall asleep next to William’s head. After carefully positioning him to share the extra large pillow William’s bed had, they were now peacefully asleep.

However, the… intruder remained.

The Venipede stared at Charon as she continually purred against William’s body. Charon did have to admit that the sound was much more pleasant than the constant beeping of the machine for William’s heartbeat. The Clefable, Yomi, was also surprisingly no-nonsense for a Fairy Type, at least, with regards to Charon’s questions about everything that was being pumped into William or hooked up to him.

‘The fae was right, medicine and technology have advanced a long way…’ Charon thought to himself with a deep breath before refocusing on William’s soul; the corrupting ichor from the Poison Type energy from even just the glancing blow thankfully hadn’t touched that, but his physical body…

Charon couldn’t help but feel his chest burn in anger at himself for not checking on his ward immediately after the fight. He had seen how pale he was getting, and his repeated attempts to calm himself and stay focused on getting help didn’t go through to Charon.

His ward knew something was wrong, but like with when he was confused… It was too late.

Even though the Pokémon ‘battles’ in Hisui were more vicious, Charon continued to replay the events of last night…

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Back then, humans weren’t considered a threat, and as long as they stayed out of the way between two fighting Pokémon; the most the Wielder might get is dirt over their clothes, or maybe a cut from debris from a stronger attack.

Seeing how the Beedrill dove for William, or tried to attack the Ranger directly…

He wasn’t sure what to think about that yet.

Charon’s musing was cut in half, however, as he could feel William’s soul start to stir. The Typhlosion’s eyes flicked to the ’Eye-Eevee Drip’ that Yomi said was providing him medicine directly… it was empty now, so hopefully his ward wasn’t as… incoherent as before.

He didn’t push his ward, however, letting his body naturally pull itself into consciousness bit by bit… William’s breathing shifted just the slightest bit for Yomi, who had remained silent in the room as well to notice and glance at the monitors. With a hum, the Clefable wrote something on a clipboard, speaking without turning to Charon. “Your Trainer should be fully coherent in a couple more hours, I will notify Master in a moment about this as she has some… questions, if you are able to answer them.”

The Typhlosion raised an eyebrow, normally he could converse with his ward about things beforehand but… giving his state and how this could have ended up…

“What kind of questions?”

“Like if she could do some... experiments on him. She’s particularly interested in his aura, or lack thereof. She has some interesting theories as to how she could... use... them for research purposes. Completely academic, in nature. And I promise that he won’t be harmed like... some of her... other test subjects.”

‘I take that back, this Clefable is just as insane as all the others....’

Charon took a deep breath… possibly two, pushing aside his worries to think about this logically. William had mentioned to him that he felt… extremely lucky to have not had any major medical issues in the past three years that would have warranted further scrutiny, but maybe that was a bane with how events had played out. “Explain these ‘theories’.”

“Well for one, Master’s concerned that a lot of the medicine we normally use for cases like this won’t work on William, and she wants to make sure other doctors will know how to treat him better if he gets hurt again. The most potent of medicines all work off of aura but... they don’t seem to work on him. Master thinks it might be genetic, so she wants to get a blood sample and a mouth swab and a few other things. Honestly quite tame for her, thankfully. Don’t ask her about those Dream Pills, it won’t end well. She also thinks the lack of aura might cause him to have abnormal effects when exposed to Aura energy used in moves — perhaps he could have an affinity artificially grafted onto him? Master tried doing that once with Reisen to try and Mega Evolve her — Reisen is a Lopunny, they can do that — but it only ended up just making her absolutely insane all the time. Those red eyes of hers still give me nightmares... Did I mention the Dream Pills? Do NOT take those—”

‘What in the name of Cresselia is a Dream— No, no… Charon, focus on your ward, and what he needs…’

Rubbing his paws at his face for a moment, the old ghost worked through the information even after Yomi continued speaking… almost missing the small promise she had made in the beginning.

‘...I promise that he won’t be harmed…’

A fae’s promise is not to be taken lightly, it was a contract. One that is impossible to break, lest there be unforeseen consequences for the one who broke it…

Cutting Yomi off, Charon grunted and just nodded. “Okay. I’ll need to speak to my ward so he can give his consent but…” Charon trailed off, Yomi stopping whatever… part of her ramble she was on to fix Charon with an almost alien stare that vanished like the wind in a split second as she just nodded, as if nothing had happened.

Charon hoped he didn’t make a deal with Distortion Incarnate, but he could only stare back as Yomi suddenly turned around and started for the door.

“I’ll leave you two be then so you can discuss that while I let Master know he will be fully awake in a couple hours; she’ll come in once you press the top button on the remote.” She said, pointing to one of the… many cords wrapped around the bed, Charon took a moment but found what he thought it was… he’ll let William know when he’s fully awake, simply grunting and nodding.

Yomi nodded, before giving Charon a sly smile. “Feel free to take all the time you need to discuss it once he’s awake, a family should discuss all options presented to them before making any choices after all.” She said while maintaining her expression, the Typhlosion couldn’t help but return his own flat expression on his face, too exhausted to deal with the fae on top of his worry.

He ignored that as the door closed with a soft click… sighing and turning to William as he started to shift in his bed, his mind beginning to awaken… Charon continued to stare, and wait… the Venipede staring at him with big, beady eyes he tried to ignore.

He couldn’t.

“You have something you want to say?” Charon said lowly, trying not to disturb William further.

“Hive Leader make final decisions. Hive members do not.”

Charon glared, his crimson eyes fixing the Centipede Pokémon on the spot as he could not hold back his slight rumble in his chest this time. “Well, he isn’t awake to make medical decisions for himself at the moment, so a responsible guardian needs to. And it… will be for the best, to prevent incidents like this in the future.” He worded carefully, the Venipede shifting an inch back across William’s chest, but not backing down as she continued to stare at Charon.

“You cannot protect Hive Leader from all?” The simplistic, broken statement was still enough to make Charon flinch like he was hit with the blunt hammer. His chest started to gnaw at himself again and his anger at her comments burned away…

He didn’t get a chance to respond, as he was distracted by a sudden rolling groan from William’s throat. He rolled his head to the side, his eyes squeezing tight as it looked like he had swallowed a really sour berry.

“F-Fhuuuck… is… is this-ach… is this whaut… haungovers fheels like…?” William's voice sounded raspy, dry… he’d had to ask to get him some water if they'd allow that. They better.

“Hey, kiddo…” Charon started gently, his eyes glancing over every movement from William as he blinked a couple of times… his eyes slowly opening and becoming less pinched as he tilted his head up to stare forward… his nose nearly touching Venipede’s.

William stared, blinking a couple more times as Venipede continued to purr on his chest for a moment before finally speaking. “Hive Leader now awake. Hive Leader too warm. Hive Leader need rest.”

His ward stared at the Venipede, his face giving nothing away or even reacting to her words. “Charrroon?”

“...Yes?”

“There’sss.. a Veniperede… on mmy chest.”

“...Yes, there is.”

William continued to stare, and Charon watched as he shifted slightly, causing her to slide down his chest with the cover. William lifted his hand and awkwardly moved it to press a finger at the nose of Venipede, as if he questioned reality. The bug’s eyes focused on his finger to the point of becoming cross eyes and her pupils expanding, her body started to vibrate and purr even louder as William gently poked her.

“Hmm.” William blinked again as Charon could see the wave of confusion wash through him. William worked his jaw once, then twice… a frustrated look formed on his face as it was clear he wasn’t as mentally clouded as before, but his body was still… disconnected from what he physically could do versus what he wanted to do. He rolled his head to the side and stared at Charon with slight desperation, Charon taking a moment before reaching out spiritually towards his ward.

He tapped into the deepest recesses of William’s soul, before filtering out the impurities from the poison and medicine… spiritually connecting to what his ward truly was, no longer bound by the physical restraints of his addled body but the pure essence of his soul, the true William, displaced across space and time, sent by the Almighty for reasons only They know.

‘charon theres a bug on my chest and its very comfy and purrs like a cat and its very nice to cuddle but grandpa why did you kidnap a bug’

…And maybe for reasons the Almighty didn’t know either.

‘No, she snuck inside your bag after you… fell unconscious.’

‘ah well then i hope ronin doesn’t become jealous about this cuddle bug oh pun oops… is this the venipede distribution network at work?’ Came from William as he turned back to the Venipede and gently started to pet the bug as she continued to purr and vibrate.

Charon couldn’t help but feel a smile flicker on his face. ‘He’s a big Oshawott, he’ll manage…’ That smile shifted into a frown as he glared at Venipede, who continued to stare at William’s hand as it sluggishly moved around. “She’s a slippery thing, I couldn’t grab her when we found her on you. We’ll probably need to make sure she doesn’t sneak anywhere further.” Charon said aloud, his tone pointed and direct at Venipede as she turned to the Typhlosion and let out what seemed to almost be a chitter of protest.

“No take back! Hive Leader accept Venipede.” She snapped back. William blinked with a puzzled expression on his face… which looked more like when someone had drank a bit too much sake.

“Sheensh whhen?” He asked aloud, Venipede turning back to him and looking immensely happy, wiggling back and forth on William’s lower chest.

“Hive Leader accept Venipede. Called Venipede ‘Comfrey Bugg’.” She chittered.

“Whhhuuut?”

“Hive Leader give Venipede name. Venipede name now ‘Comfrey Bugg’. Venipede not have name before. Comfrey Bugg now have name. Comfrey Bugg have hive. Comfrey Bugg have Hive Leader.”

William blinked and turned to Charon who looked just as confused. With a side eye, Charon glanced at Ronin who was still asleep, leaning his body against the side of William’s pillow.

‘You’ll need to ask Ronin when that happened, he was the one in the room when she came out of your bag.’ Charon responded through their link, William glancing at the sleeping Oshawott for a moment. The Typhlosion could feel a sudden weight surrounding William, already knowing where his ward was going and sending as much gentle, but smothering warmth as he could through the link.

‘William, you are not allowed to feel guilty, this is not your fault.’ Charon declared, making William frown. To his surprise, he found a surprising amount of resistance coming from William’s soul at this… there always was some unneeded self-guilt that seemed to come from just himself, but this was… different than before.

William seemed to push it aside as he turned to Venipede once more. ‘i guess we have a venipede now… hm i should be more worried but i think im still too drugged up right now’ William gently picked the vibrating bug on his chest into the air… staring intently into her eyes.

“Hive Leader lift Comfrey Bugg.”

At this, William’s expression shifted. “Nhhho… I whill give betttur nhame…”

“Comfrey Bugg get two names. Venipede not get two names. Comfrey Bugg confused.”

“Nnnhhho... Comfrey Bugg iss youuurrr johbb, not nhame.”

“Comfrey Bugg understands. Comfrey Bugg is not name. Venipede job is ‘Comfrey Bugg’. Venipede has job in hive. Venipede will get new name.”

William nodded before taking a moment to close his eyes, Charon could ‘hear’ his soul mentally start to parse through names…

‘whats a good bug name... maybe something from that ant movie? bala? was that the ant queen name? wait no that was dreamworks what was the other ant movie... ala? ada... atta! thats it, atta. would atta work?’

‘Uh, may—’

‘but wait venipede isnt an ant yeah, no scolipede are based on scolopendra gigantea that doesn’t work gigantea isn’t a good name galar would probably sue because gigantamax centiskorch… ‘

‘Sinnoh Almighty kid, no drugs are gonna solve your soul’s ADHD.’

‘its not a drug problem its a drug solution charon’ William physically and spiritually paused as he worked through his statement, frowning. ‘wait that doesn’t work here damn — okay — hold on’ Taking a deep breath, William squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth, Charon feeling his being shift as he…. attempted to focus.

‘okay so maybe a more normal name? well no not normal venipedes a bug poison type… nature… thorns… but shes also strong and fast and cares about her friends and family...’ William’s words shifted more to… images through their link, becoming less words and more concepts. Charon could see William look through images of various characters in his head before narrowing down to two options. The first was what looked like a child holding a staff, a dress of reds and purples and pinks, with numerous vines akin to a rose. The second was a blonde-haired girl on a broom with a black and white dress, an oversized pointy hat, and a round disk with flashing lights.

‘which do you think is better charon?’

‘Why would you name a Venipede after a thieving witch? Go with the red dress girl.’

‘her name is viridi’

Tilting his head back and forth, he glanced at Venipede with as gentle of a look as he could… opening his mouth before stopping to look back at Charon. ‘charon can you ask her if venipede is okay with viridi as her name i cant string together a sentence i don’t wanna fuck up’

‘Fine… but I want to speak to her first, if you aren’t going to question her reasons for joining — then I’m going to have to ask those questions.’

The old Typhlosion glanced down at the Bug Poison Type with a firm, but considering gaze, ignoring William’s defensive protests from his soul. Taking a moment to gather what William remembered of the origin, he stared down at her and continued, curious about something. “Why do you want to join William? If you’re hoping for a relaxing time, you joined the wrong Trainer to do so.”

Venipede stopped vibrating, looking instead at Charon in William’s grasp with her antennas lowered. The Bug Poison Type looked small as she started to speak. ”Hive is dead... Hive Leader is dead. Hive Leader protect Venipede when dying. Venipede try to protect Hive Leader. Venipede fail.”

Charon didn’t miss how Venipede’s voice warbled, her body shivering before she turned back to William.

“Venipede see yellow human. Little Yellow Human protect hive. Little Yellow Human is strong. Strong Yellow Human protect Hive when sick. Venipede go with Strong Yellow Human. Venipede protect Strong Yellow Human when sick like Hive Leader.”

She moved forward, her eyes beady and widening as she stared up at William’s face, vibrating and purring once more.

“Strong Yellow Human is William. William is new Hive Leader. William give Venipede job. ‘Comfrey Bugg’ mean protect William. William make Venipede strong. Venipede will be strong for William and hive. Venipede will be Comfrey Bugg for William and hive.”

Charon stared at Venipede, his crimson eyes staring into her being with a slight narrow… as she spoke, although it was clipped, fragmented speech like most Bug Types had when first caught, her own soul resonated with her true thoughts and emotions with every word she spoke.

The Typhlosion only sighed, knowing his ward would be enough of a bleeding heart once he’s fully coherent to let her join anyways… “William wants to name you Viridi… the name comes from the story of a goddess of nature, protective of those she considers hers…” The information that William could remember seemed scattered, but Charon could see the connecting threads…

“Human actions… destroyed the place she cared for, so she chose to fight back.” Charon said carefully, glancing at his ward once some of the other information started to flow through, questioning if that name best fit… but still, he could see the connection that William was making enough for it to make sense…

It mattered not anyways, as the Bug Poison Type spoke up. “Venipede accept new name. Venipede now ‘Viridi’ in hive. Viridi will be Comfrey Bugg for hive. Viridi will be strong for hive.”

William smiled as Viridi turned to him, vibrating in his hands as he set her down gently on his chest and sighed. “Wehlcom to theh team… Viridi…dede…” Charon could feel William’s being shrinking down on itself in embarrassment from the seemingly automatic speech reflex, but Viridi did not seem to care. She simply stared up at her ‘Hive Leader’ with her big, beady eyes at being officially accepted into the new ‘hive’.

With a breath, William sat her down gently and reached for his bag, starting to rummage through it sluggishly. ‘well might as well find a poké ball for her now… shit there’s still a lot of nest balls in here… do any of them still have beedrill in them thats a problem i cant think through right now’

Charon couldn’t help but roll his eyes and grumble, lifting the bag away and placing it on the seat next to him, as to not let his ward shift through all the items in the bag that would either make Palkia blush or cry at the affront to the Legendary’s domain.

‘You should rest more, my ward… don’t think I can’t tell how exhausted you still are.’ Charon chided gently with a glance as he made sure William’s bag wouldn’t fall over.

William grumbled and tried to look at Charon with a hint of rebellion. ‘charon weve already wasted enough time i may be drugged out of my mind but i should at least try and—’

‘You won’t be able to do anything in the state you are now. Your body is still… what was the phrase from your home… ‘coked up’?’ Charon shot back, his crimson eyes narrowing to try and hold the best firm look he could, but feeling a twitch of a smile form from William’s visceral reaction through their link.

‘I regret teaching you about modern slang. The internet was a mistake.’ Came William’s most coherent message as he grumbled and rolled his head back… sighing as it met his pillow on the bed and he stared at the wall. Viridi seemed to notice the change and gently crawled up to William’s chest, where the bed sheet did not cover him.

“Hive Leader too warm. Hive Leader need rest.” She said, agreeing with Charon without realizing it. William glanced to his side where Ronin still slept at his bedside. He seemed to give into his situation as he carefully shifted his arm against the pillow itself so Ronin was resting on his upper arm instead, before pulling him closer to his body. Charon didn’t miss his ward’s emotions, however, even as the lingering medicine in his system weighed him down.

‘...i still need to plan though we need to get the badges to avoid the league and interpol and get stronger before team plasma attacks just in case we cant waste time…’ William’s voice was getting quieter, but Charon still felt raw exhaustion, fear, and nervousness buried within his soul… images of what was to come, or could come, flashing through.

The human imagination sometimes was more frightening than reality, but the old ghost knew that William’s images probably had the most merit out of anything.

‘And we will, I promise William. Once you recover.’ Charon soothed, trying to calm his ward before he spiraled again by placing his hand gently on his forehead as an almost grounding warmth. William’s eyes blinked slowly as he took a deep breath… his eyes staying closed as his body started to drift back to sleep against his wishes… and with a gentle nudge from Charon.

The link between the two started to weaken from his approaching slumber, Charon let it fade to not strain William’s fragile state even more. His words, images, everything became more scattered akin to broken Tumblestone until finally like words on a page too short, they drifted off into silence as he finally fell asleep.

Charon held his hand on William’s head, holding it in place until he could feel the link between them fully disconnect like driftwood becoming invisible at sea, pulling away slowly as he huffed and crossed his arms.

He was content with waiting until William woke up. He’ll watch him and his slowly growing family…

“You cannot protect Hive Leader from all?

Viridi’s words bounced in his head, making him scowl silently in the room, his eyes glancing back at his charge. They had done well these last couple of years, in the beginning, and the wild Pokémon off Route 2 knew to leave Charon and his charge alone just from him being in the area for so long before.

Now, however? He would also have to contend with Pokémon who were trained by and fought with humans, again.

The memories that came with that thought were unpleasant, and memories that should have been left to wither away with time, Charon forcing himself to take a deep breath.

He’ll protect his ward. He made that declaration years ago. Nothing will change him from that path and goal… no International Police, no Pokémon League, and certainly not a Ranger who couldn’t see a situation for what it was.

…Nothing would change that, even as his own thoughts started to nag at him.

‘...but can you protect him enough?’

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Beta Editors/Readers:

David “TheBlizWiz” R

Garmfild