There were tingles running up Hailey's arm.
Not from fear, or surprise, no she'd been expecting this for days now, bracing for it. The inevitable.
No, it was because Gem had jumped at the impact and was now clutching the side of her chair, sparks spilling from her face. Hailey couldn't blame her, Carita wasn't exactly what anyone pictured when they thought 'doctor'.
Hailey almost wish she had a working camera, to capture the moment. Clouds of dust rolling from the impact site, combining with the late afternoon sun to create a potent silhouette. A towering figure, a literal giant, dramatically framed by a billowing coat that Hailey just knew would stay somehow spotless. It would have made a fantastic shot.
Carita’s ego didn't deserve it, you had to be stingy with Dragons.
The dust clouds slowly cleared in the light breeze, fully revealing the doctor, as if some other Dragonite would have just dropped in on them. Her eyes were squarely fixed on Hailey, steady yet there was something burning in them that she'd come to recognize over the years. The hoarding instinct, a very specific form of greed as she'd always thought of it, that only rose to full inferno not upon acquisition of the thing, but on its loss.
Last time Hailey had seen it was when she’d broken her own personal record for a surprise hide and seek session. Carita had nearly folded the steel closet door like paper.
"Carita", She said, deliberately leaving off the Doctor. "How funny to see you all the way out here. Don't you have work to do?"
"Halcyon." Ugh, there it was again, that stupid name, letting her know that while the dragon was keeping herself under control for now, she was still in big trouble. "Yes, I should be, but somethings been deliberately keeping me away from it. A real… mess, and you know how I prefer things neat and orderly. Now, this is mostly for your two 'friends', and I'll be talking to them later, but we can do this the simple way, or… where did the second one go."
There was confusion, but not surprise in her voice as she narrowed her eyes. Carita could be surprised, but not shocked, and she was already scanning for the trick.
As it turned out, the trick was in her left ear.
"Doctor Carita is it? A pleasure to meet you, I've heard about you from Hailey."
Hailey had to double take, she'd been sure Pomona had been behind her, pushing the chair. She'd defused the impact even, right? But now there she was, floating over Carita’s shoulder, and judging from the way the Dragon jumped, there was more than just speed behind that movement.
Still, Carita could be surprised, but not shocked, so even as she jumped to the she'd already opened her mouth to douse the Ghost with a jet of water. Freezing, Hailey knew from experience, Carita used Chilling Water as part of her hydrotherepy.
Still,almost as soon as it started, the water cut off. "Do NOT sneak up on me!" She boomed in that commanding voice, but Hailey could tell she was put at least a bit off kilter.
A now familiar wind rose up behind Pomona as she spun in midair, eventually settling into a kind of curtsy as the water blew from her form. Seemed a bit showy to Hailey, surely she could just turn intangible and have it all fall off?
"My apologies Doctor, I did not mean to startle you."
Carita snorted, "Which is why you used Astonish I'm sure." She was looking the ghost over, throughly scanning her entire form. She wasn't just good at diagnosing from her training, keen eyes let almost no detail escape. "I do not know your… relation to my patient, but I'm sure there will be questions from the Rangers in regards to her disappearance."
Pomona tilted her head, just enough to be noticeable. "Doctor, do you mean to imply there is some kind of criminal element to Hailey's travels? To my knowledge she's travelling of her own free will." The Ghost was playing dumb, but to what end? Hailey actually found herself worrying about her safety, Carita was no thug, but she was not one to mess with, and Pomona had technically attacked first…
"Both of your presences here raise some questions about that, questions that start with the word entrapment, but regardless, a official missing persons report has been filed and such things have…" The melodramatic monologue was suddenly cut off by the painless, yet surprising, impact of a crumpled plastic after bottle off the side of the Dragons head.
"Hey horn head! You just gonna keep talking about me like I'm not her like usual?" For a while Hailey had been worried that she might lose her fire when faced with her caretaker again. Turned out, she needn't have been concerned, nothing got her blood flowing like Carita’s voice.
"Oh, we will have plenty of time to talk about you, young miss, on the flight back!" The good thing was, she had the same effect on Carita, possibly magnified by the days she'd spent searching. It was comical how she could look so intimidating when she was angry, but also so silly. Doctor or no, she was still a Dragonite, a big soft storybook character come to life.
"I don't even know where to start with you this time! Not only was going AWOL a step above your usual antics, this we have theft, deception, and fraud if some of the stories I've heard are correct!" She had completely forgotten Pomona was even there as she stomped over to Hailey, counting off her sins on chunky, claw tipped fingers. "Not to mention the chaos you caused at the hospital! The shear amount of hours spent searching the place top to bottom, the stress you caused Karimi and her coworkers, and the paperwork, the PAPERWORK!"
"Oh, trying to guilt trip me as usual!" She was probably telling the entire truth there, sadly, Carita wasn't one to lie, but she couldn't just admit that. "Like I would have ever been allowed to do anything but rot if I waited for you to give me permission! It wouldn't have been a big deal if you ha-hadn't made i-it on!" The volume was already taking a toll on her.
"Have you ever tried, perhaps, talking to me?! If you're not snidely insulting me, then I have to fight to get a single word out of you most days!" Carita had no such issue with volume, they could probably hear her back in Floroma.
"Well, w-what's the p-point of…" It would have been a devastating retort, really, it would have been. Her body had other plans though. Wracking shudders ran up and down her spine, spots flashed before her eyes, bursts of meaningless light and darkness. Oh yeah, this was going to be a big one.
It wasn't fair, that was just the size of it. Even if she could figure out how to argue well, one of them would always come along at the wrong moment, and show her weakness, her fragility. Nothing she said would ever compare to what people saw when she went under.
Sound faded out as blood pumped in her ears. Gem, who had been cowering behind the chair, seemed to be saying something, touch her, shaking her?
It was hard to focus. The last thing she heard clearly came from Carita, bellowing her name.
"Hailey!" Carita may have been screaming at the girl just before, but her tone shifted on a razors edge.
This was it, the big one, she hadn't been fast enough, hadn’t found her fast enough.
In a flash she crossed the distance, stopping just short of touching her. She need to think, but fast.
The tiny Minun wouldn't be any help, she was already freaking out, quickly moving from shaking Hailey's shoulder to massaging her arm, rubbing her leg, trying to fan her off. It would be cute in less serious circumstances. She needed to consider her options in the field.
Then there was the Ghost. She'd floated over almost as fast as Carita, observing her with an expressionless face.
"Just like when I met her" the Ghost muttered, "but there it passed as I sat with her." Then, with a louder voice, she spoke again. "You are the expert here Doctor, what is the usual procedure?"
Normally, Carita wouldn't have entertained conversation in an emergency, but she needed to talk out loud, to focus.
"Best we could do is mitigate the severity, prevent as much damage to the patients body as possible. Strap her down to prevent flailing, bruises, strains, even broken bones." Briefly glancing down, she looked at her own mits. Big and chunky, yet dexterous, like a doctors should be. More than strong enough to hold Hailey down, but no. Uneven pressure, she'd be more likely to hurt her.
At another shudder, her attention snapped back up. "Cold compresses packed around her body, seemed to slow the reactions. Then try to attach a oxygen mask, mix sedatives and painkillers into the mix, was always of dubious effectiveness. Occasionally we tried mild electroshock to…"
Gem was essentially straddling Hailey at this point, getting thrown around like a Tauros ride. "So I should shock her?!?"
"No!" Carita screamed. Arceus damn it, she need to think! The last thing she needed was a bunch of hatchlings distracting her. Maybe she should quickly scrape a pit out of the ground? Use chilling water to fill it? But it couldn't be too deep or else Hailey would drown, and even in shallow water she couldn't be allowed to flop onto her face.
"I could try possessing her, take control of her muscles?" The Ghost was talking again. Carita waved her off, other hand clutching her head so hard she was starting to get a migraine.
"No, we have no idea what kind of effect that could have, plus with her condition I doubt you could even get a firm hold."
Fly her to Eterna? Even with her speed it would take time they possibly didn't have.
"Akh! My tongue!"
Maybe all three of them could hold her down? They'd need to clear the ground of any rocks and she didn't think that tiny rodent had it in her.
"Hey! Doctor lady?"
Maybe she could lay down, make a bed of her own body? Hold her in a Ursurang hug? Her eyes burned like she'd just gone down on a Magcargo, she wanted to rub them so bad, but that would be weakness, her job wasn't anywhere near done.
"C-Lady! Doctor! Horn head!"
"What!" She snapped. Arceus help her she was about to throw this Minun all the way to the summit of Mt. Coronet.
"I think she's calming down."
Carita blinked.
The Minun was still straddling Hailey, though not being thrown around nearly as much. She was also… rubbing her tongue? It was only then that Carita realized Gem had been speaking with a slur right before. So she took a deep breath and asked the only sensible question.
"What the fuck did you just do?!"
Bashful didn't look natural on the Minun. "Look, I was panicking, ok? Neither of you were being helpful, I'd tried massaging her, hugging her, you told me I couldn't shock her so I… kissed… her."
"Kissed her."
"Full on Kalos style, tongue right down her throat. Then she bit it. But she doesn't, uh, seem to be shaking as much?"
Finally giving in, one hand rose to rub her eyes, while the other latched onto the Minun's scruff, yanking her up to dangle like a Shuppet. The stupid thing was, the rat seemed to be at least partially right, Hailey wasn't shaking as much. Still trembling, but more hypothermia than full seizure. The Ghost was even able to steady part of her body, intertwining hand in hand as she used her other limb to pull Hailey's head to rest on her chest.
"Doctor." The Gho- Pomona, began, "While we have not known Hailey for nearly as long as you, clearly, I think I speak for Gem as well as myself when I say that neither of us wish to see her hurt more." Gem was still rubbing her tongue with one hand, but with the other she gave a thumbs up. It wasn't the most reassuring display but…
"So might I say," Pomona continued, "That a high speed flight to Jubilife might not be the best, given her current condition. Perhaps a more leisurely glide over to Eterna. I could carry the chair, if that would make it easier."
"Hey, what about me?" Gem said, finally no longer preoccupied with her own mouth. "What do you expect me to do, walk the whole way alone?"
Carita just grunted, even if she was being swayed, her mind was made up. Had to do what was best for the patient.
"You seem to like clinging to Hailey, you can do that." She said, gently scooping the girl out of her chair, while Gem debated whether or not to bail before it was too late.
Her wings may have been small, but they were deceptively powerful. One, two test flaps, and they were airborne, headed East.
Slower than her usual Mach though.
Pain and comfort, seemingly opposed, but not unfamiliar twins to Hailey.
Her body told her to stretch, but long experience had taught her that that was a trap. After an attack she needed to be slow, cautious, any sudden movement could cause a sprain. So, as much as it always felt wrong, she stayed still, silent, eyes closed, preparing to start stretching with her fingers.
There was another reason to keep her eyes shut though. She wasn't laying on the ground, certainly not in her chair, that was patently obvious. A bed, clean sheets, a bit stiff as if they were frequently bleached, but quite nice compared to travelling.
She was back in the hospital, had to be. The great escape was over and she didn't even get to see the end of it. Carita would have swept her back to Our Lady of Healing Moonlight as soon as the spasms started. She'd probably spent most of the time unconscious strapped down, so it was at least nice that they'd removed those before she woke up.
It wasn't worth crying over, this was the way it was always going to end. Well, either this or dead in a ditch.
The crackling sound coming from her side was a bit concerning though. Was one of her machines on the fritz?
Cracking her lids, confusion followed light. This wasn't her ceiling, she knew every line and faint whorl in the paint of that old thing. Did they stick her in one of the surgery rooms?
Turning her head only raised the confusion. The was was segmented, wooden wainscotting connected to painted drywall. A light, fresh green colour. There was also another bed, across the other side. Bedside table, lamps, some chairs in the corner. This looked like a hotel room, not a hospital.
The bigger surprise was sitting in one of those chairs though. Legs dangling, oversized head leaning on one arm, cheeks lightly sparking as she gently snored. What was Gem doing here?
She planned to think on it in silence a while more, but her body had other ideas. A sudden cough sent Gem jumping, flailing, head nearly dropping on her knees. The way she scrambled to try to fall back into a cool, natural pose
"Sup bitch?" Gem said, as if she didn't almost just knee herself in the head. "Welcome back to the land of the living."
"Hey slut, never left it, but what land am I living in right now? Carita just grab everyone in the area?" She'd yet to actually seen Gem do anything slutty but it felt like the appropriate way to respond.
"Ahaha, no, not really. It was… we were all trying different stuff before you calmed down. She did fly us though, we're in Eterna now, the PokéCenter." Weirdly bashful tone out of her.
"Really? That surprises me." Hailey said, leveraging herself into something resembling a sitting position. From there she could finally see the massive flower garden planted outside the window. "Thought Carita would have just grabbed me and flown the moment I started jerking, even more surprised she brought you along to."
"Well, I wanted to come, but she, uh, didn't really give me much choice." Gem trailed off. "Jeez, you said she was something Hailey but I wasn't ready. She's fucking terrifying! I felt like Groudon was staring me down and that is not a matchup anyone wants to see!"
"Yeah, she used to have that effect on me to." Hailey answered, "But someone can only give you a sponge bath so many times before you stop taking them so seriously. Speaking of, where is she? I expected to wake up with her right over me, ready with a fresh lecture. And Pomona, her to?"
"Oh they're out… somewhere, together maybe. I dunno cause we're kinda locked in here."
Head snapping around Hailey could see that there was a red light over the door.
"Yeah, you can unlock it by pushing the fire button but that, well, sounds an alarm. There's also a nurse call button I think, but I didn't want to mess with it."
Hailey slumped back at Gem's words. Locked in, she'd say this was a new low, but, well, it wasn't even new. Still, it bothered her.
"What could they even be talking about?" She tried to change the subject.
"Dunno, she was staring Carita down like a placid Mean Look though, I wouldn't have been able to do that. She was also the one that suggested we come here instead of back to Jubilife. I can't read her at all."
"Neither can I." Hailey admitted. "Her actions seem to say one thing, but her face says nothing. So different than the other ghosts in that house."
“Arecus, don't remind me, those ladies were monsters." Gem sighed, before quickly turning away. Looked like she didn't want to dwell on how that had 'ended' either.
There was a bunch more to talk about, like what came next, but a yawn decided to make itself known. It wasn't strange, fits took a lot out of her, and the stillness that came after wasn't the same as rest.
"I'm sure that overgrown lizard will burst in here at some point, but until then, I'm gonna get some more rest. That ok with you?" She asked, though she was already turning over.
She did catch Gem saluting though. "Don't worry, I'll keep watch. At first sign of her I'll scream and electrocute everyone."
Hailey would hold her to that.
She really did fall asleep fast, Gem could usually only manage that after a good roll in the hay, and those had been pretty scarce for a while.
It had been a bit humiliating to be carried like a rag doll, thrown into a room and told to stay, but when a Dragon lady who could not only fold you like laundry, but press and starch you too told you to stay, you stood. Stayed? Whatever.
Still, it wasn't exactly a thrilling time, and she wasn't going to disturb Hailey, girl need her rest after all… that. They could at least put some magazines in these rooms though, Gem guessed that all they expected people to do in them was fuck or collapse after fucking. Wasn't exactly going to be any of that going on. Sure, Hailey had proved fun to chat with, snipe with, but she wasn't much to look at, a real anomaly in the world.
Head flopping back down on her arm, she glanced back over at the girl. She really was a hell of a sleeper, a ray of late afternoon sun was coming in, to land square on her face, but she couldn't care less. It actually did something for her, the sun and the sleep. Smoothed out the harsh lines on her face, the sharp cheek bones. She actually looked at peace now, briefly free from the perpetual strain that seemed to be her entire life.
Huh…