CHAPTER 46

I took a deep breath and looked at Frillish.

"Frillish, I'm recalling you," I said. "I might need Togetic for this, and you already hate the others enough. I don't want you to get mad and raise tensions."

I thought he would protest, but he just nodded. "Thank you, buddy," I smiled slightly. I recalled him and let out Togetic before bringing her up to speed. She was a last resort in case I needed to just attack everyone with her happiness. I didn't want to do it without their consent, but at this point, I was at the end of my rope.

The first priority was breaking up the argument between Louis and Pauline before they attracted some wild Pokemon, but how would I go about it? I needed to somehow let Louis down gently without offending Pauline too much. I stayed deep in thought as I made my way toward the center of the camp. The fight was still going on, and Louis had released his Gible while Pauline had released her Charmander. The fire type was growling protectively in front of her trainer, while Gible was probably just excited to fight anything. Not good.

"...dare you! I dare you to attack me, Louis, because it'll show how pathetic you are! You're willing to attack me, but when we ask for a little help against wild Pokemon, oh, suddenly, you're nowhere to be found!"

"You're wrong. This is just a precautionary measure against you and your deranged behavior!" Louis yelled.

I bit the inside of my lip as Togetic observed behind me with a sad chirp. If a fight erupted, the forest could light ablaze, and Pokemon could probably hear this for miles. I had no time to think, it was time for action. There was a chance— however slim, that they were so out of their mind that they'd attack Togetic, I was pretty confident Togetic would be able to take care of Gible thanks for her fairy type. Frillish could defeat Charmeleon and extinguish any fires.

"Guys," I said. They ignored me and continued to argue. "Guys!"

"Don't get involved!" Pauline yelled. "You were too scared to speak out, so now this is between me and—"

"Shut up," I said.

She could only offer me a bewildered look in response. She clearly wasn't used to being interrupted."Don't you—"

"Shut. Up," I said again. Togetic clenched at my shirt as she hid behind me. "You're going to get all of us killed. Stop yelling. Can you do that, at least?"

"She started it—" Louis said.

I raised my hand and glared at him. "Doesn't matter. The argument was going nowhere anyway. Louis, I need to speak to Pauline. Alone."

"What gives you the right—"

"I don't want to speak to you—"

"I don't care. Finish this argument after we get out of here! For the love of Arceus, I'm two fucking steps away from just taking Denzel and leaving you people!" I hissed, omitting Cecilia from that list. Although I doubted she'd go along with me anyway. "If this is how the group is going to be from now on, we'd have a better chance of surviving alone."

That seemed to have shut them up. I let out a satisfied sigh and continued.

"Recall your Gible, Louis," I said. The dragon type was snarling and looked like he was going to let out a Dragon Rage any minute. "Prinplup should be fine by now."

He recalled his Pokemon, clicked his tongue, and left, leaving me alone with Pauline. Charmeleon being out was fine because at least she seemed to have no problems listening to her trainer. The redhead in question glared at me with her arms crossed.

"So that's how it is then?" She said. "He gets off with no consequences?"

"Pauline. I agree with you in principle, like I said a thousand times before, but now is not the time."

"Whatever. You people are all the same. You think you know how to lead? I'd love to see you try," She said.

Pauline was about to storm off before I called out to her. She turned with an annoyed look.

I was tempted to let her go. I really was, but I couldn't. "Pauline," I started. "I actually need you here."

"Excuse me?"

"You're strange. You're the only one who seems not to be affected by almost dying to a horde of Paras. I think you're an asset."

"Don't call me an asset like I'm a thing."

"Sorry," I apologized. "I think we need to join forces to fix things, otherwise we're completely fucked, and I don't say this lightly. It's clear that we dislike each other, but in some fucked up way, I kind of respect you. Yeah, you're mean and completely unempathetic to anyone that isn't Emilia, but you've got a good head on top of your shoulders, and you're still standing," I said, echoing the words Cynthia had told me. "And so am I. We're both the only ones that are still thinking sensibly here. We need a temporary alliance to get the group back on track. Can I count on you?"

"Mere flattery won't get you anywhere—"

"Can I count on you?" I repeated. "Or do you want the group to collapse and something to happen to Emilia?" I was being manipulative, and I knew it, but I had no choice.

Pauline stared into my eyes, and I stared back, not breaking eye contact. We must have stayed completely still for at least thirty seconds. She blinked and rolled her eyes.

"What do you need me to do?" She asked.

I grinned. That was my first breakthrough.

—

Our first order of business was swinging by Justin and Emilia. The two were sitting on a half-rotten fallen log, and they both looked like they had seen better days. At least Emilia had stopped crying, although her leg was in terrible shape. Blood had already seeped through the bandage.

Pauline gasped and ran up to her friend. "Emi! Your leg! Why didn't you say anything?!"

She muttered something quietly that I couldn't catch, and Pauline seemingly couldn't either.

Her head turned toward Justin. "You didn't help her switch bandages?! What's wrong with you?!"

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"Oh? I apologize," Justin said hollowly. "I must have missed it."

"You fucking nitwit—"

"Pauline, let's focus on Emilia for now, alright?" I interrupted before she could yell again. "I'll help you switch her bandages."

Pauline grabbed bandages from her bag and slowly unwrapped the old ones around her friend's legs. I grimaced at the state of her limb. It was swollen, emitting a foul smell, and the bites were full of pus.

"Shit, it's infected," I said.

"What do I do?" Pauline said, her voice trembling. "I was never good with this stuff. Cecilia was always helping us."

I started recalling instructor Anders' words. "We need to wash it with warm water— wait, don't touch it! Wash your hands first. Don't you have sanitizer?"

She nodded and cleaned her hands, and then handed me some. Emilia was turning her head away, trying not to look at the state of her leg while Pauline gently dabbed it with a warm cloth as I held the leg still. After a few minutes, we finally gave her new, fresh bandages, but we'd probably have to change them again soon enough. When we were done, Pauline pulled me to the side for a second.

"Should we turn back?" Pauline asked with a whisper.

"Hm?"

"What if it's not enough? Emi might need to get to a Center urgently."

"We can discuss it as a group after we finish bringing everybody back together," I said. "That's not a decision we can take on our own."

"But Emi—"

"I know," I said. Seeing her so hurt and worried was strange, and it was somehow making me feel bad. "We'll get her help. For now, let's stick with the plan. We need Justin on board."

She tapped her heel repeatedly against the ground. "Fine."

We approached Justin again. The thin boy was just… sitting there, staring at nothing, as if he had completely shut down, but he was still responsive and willing to speak, which was more than we could have asked for.

"Justin," Pauline said. "What's the problem?"

"There is no problem, Pauline," He said with a sad smile. "I just need time to… adjust to the reality that my father would send me to such a place willingly."

Pauline stared at me, and I nodded. "Come on, Justin! Get it together already, you already know our parents are different."

I would have liked a little more tact, but I hoped she knew what she was doing. She knew Justin much better than I, after all.

"So? Are you saying this is justified? A parent should unconditionally love their child, should they not?"

"Your father does love you."

"Would you send someone you loved here?"

"Justin, look at me!" Pauline said. The boy stared up at her with dead eyes. "Think about it. Your dad never leaves Jubilife or Sunnyshore, and he lives in the best hotels those cities can offer. Do you really think he knows anything about traveling? All he reads about this place is probably headlines once every few months."

"The headlines that say that some trainer died or was wounded beyond repair?" He laughed dryly.

"Yes," Pauline said. "Those headlines. But he probably thinks you can handle it because he got you the best Pokemon money can buy, and you're traveling with others who also have the best Pokemon money can buy. It's shitty, but that's life. There's a fundamental disconnect that can't be bridged because none of our parents have ever been trainers."

"My father… we'd go camping together. He knows—"

"Camping in some fucking bought-out land doesn't equate to… this!" Pauline yelled, gesturing all around her. "Now, you can call your father after we get out of here and tell him to fuck off because that's certainly what I'm going to do with mommy."

"Truly?"

"Yes! Now get it together. You're usually the sensible one. Let's get out of this damned forest."

Justin offered a slight smile. "Very well. I would have liked it if you could have said all of that without swearing."

"Fuck off."

I felt relief wash over me. That was the second one, but we weren't even halfway there yet.

"Thank you, Justin," I smiled. "Now I'm going to speak to Louis. Can I trust you guys to help Emilia?"

The girl hadn't said anything during Pauline's entire speech, but I would be useless here. I had only been with her for Justin in case Pauline needed backup, but now that two people would be able to help Emilia, I could finally go talk to Louis. We had decided that Pauline shouldn't be there for obvious reasons. The rift between them would need a lot more than words to be repaired.

"We know her the best," Justin said. "I believe we can help her. Right Emi?" He asked, putting his arm around her gently.

"Alright, great," I said. She was in good hands.

I left and walked around the camp, looking for Louis, still followed by Togetic. I was glad I hadn't had to use her powers on anyone yet. Having her at my back made me feel stronger, somehow. Like I was unstoppable, and I'd be able to get everyone back on their feet. I found Louis brooding with his Prinplup next to Cecilia's tent, seemingly rehearsing something he would say to her since he was speaking by himself.

"Hey," I said, making him jump. Prinplup honked at me, angrily moving his flippers.

"Grace? What is it? Has Pauline sent you to berate me some more?"

"What? No, I need to talk to you and set you straight. First, you fucked up."

"Hmph. There it is—"

"You fucked up twice. But you're human, so that's normal. People have lost faith in you, but you know what you should do?" He looked at me and shrugged. "Prove them wrong the next time."

I saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes. I knew Louis' biggest weakness was his incredible ego, but it could also be a strength. Feeding it here was also the key to our problems, even though it pained me greatly.

"Prove them wrong," I repeated. "Contribute next time we get attacked and make Pauline and Denzel eat their words. Impress… impress Cece."

"She already lets you call her Cece?" He asked.

"That's beside the point," I said. "You're our leader, so show us. And it's okay if it takes you a little bit of time to get to the action, just make sure to get there. Arceus knows what else we'll be meeting deeper in the forest."

Louis paused for a second before scratching his head. "Fine, if you need me so much, I suppose I can do what you're asking of me."

"Great! Thank you!" I smiled. "Um, were you about to go in Cece's tent?"

"Yes, to apologize—"

Cecilia's words rang in my mind. I can't bear to look at Louis right now, she had told me. I had to stop this.

"I think that's a bad idea."

"Why?"

"Let me talk to her for you. It'll be easier between girls."

After much convincing, Louis recited to me an apology he had made and asked me to tell it to Cecilia with the exact same intonations and words. It was something about not having cheated on her, and I was astonished he even thought that was her problem. How was he her fiance, and yet didn't know about her problems with her dad or her issues with her best friend? Either way, I lied, saying I would apologize for him, and entered her tent again when he finally left. I was glad to see that Cece was doing better.

"Hey," I softly said. "You okay?"

"I am. I have… recomposed myself, and I'll soon be ready to leave this tent. How goes the outside?" She asked as she fiddled nervously.

"It's going good. I've been going around, fixing things as best I can. Pauline's been a great help, and we're almost done, actually. If you're doing well, there's only… Denzel left."

I swallowed.

She nodded. "I can tell this troubles you. If you want, we can wait here until I'm ready to step out. I can help."

"No," I shook my head. "I have to do this alone. Thank you for asking, though, I really appreciate it."

We stared at each other for a few awkward seconds before I coughed.

"Well, I better get going then. See you later, Cece."

"See you later, Grace. Thank you for all the help. I'll be there soon."

I bent down and left her tent, and nervously trudged my way back to where I had fought Denzel. I felt a surge of nervousness swell within me. What was the best way to approach this? An apologetic approach? An aggressive one, maybe? Before I could come up with a plan, I was already there, and my friend called out to me.

"Grace," He said. He was still sitting by that same tree, still watching Buneary doze off with Eevee and Budew. "You're back."

"I am."

The words were short and felt stilted. Unnatural.

"I'm sorry—"

"I'm sorry—"

We had both tried apologizing at the same time, speaking over each other. We chuckled, and that seemed to have cut the tension at least in half.

"I'll go first," He said. "I'm sorry I blew up at you like that earlier. It wasn't like me. I just feel so… inadequate, you know? I feel like I don't deserve to be your friend sometimes because I'm not doing enough to help. But I should have articulated that better, and I shouldn't have yelled at you. It's not your fault."

"And I'm sorry too," I sniffled. "I'm sorry I just dismissed your worries like they were nothing. I shouldn't have. I didn't know you had all of these worries building up inside of you… and eventually, it's too much pressure, right? You've got to let it out. And you were already angry with Louis."

Eevee barked happily and climbed my shoulder, while Togetic chirped, floating up and down. Budew screeched, letting her scowl go soft for a second. I felt tears stream down my face, but they were happy tears. I choked up, approaching Denzel as he pulled me into a hug.

"Friends again?" He asked.

"Best friends, you idiot."

"Great, because I'd only let my best friend get her snot all over my clothes."

I laughed.