A Time To Heal - PW-R-037

A Time To Heal


"You know the worst thing about being in hospitals?"

"The food?"

"No, that isn't so bad. Hell, I don't even mind the scans, especially considering there's no brain damage. It's the beds. I've slept on air mattresses that are more comfortable." Cass groaned as she felt a slight headache coming on; as glad as she was that the concussion was minor, and that she hadn't suffered any serious injury beyond that, she still wished that she wasn't here, and that it hadn't happened. "I have the worst taste in men, don't I?"

The two sisters were in one of many hospital rooms at Purika General, the elder laid out in a bed with her wounds dressed and the younger seated beside her. Neither looked particularly comfortable, but considering the circumstances, both were glad for what they had.

"Well, if we could identify sociopaths on sight, the world would just be more complicated." Alex smiled and offered, "Of course, if you're open for it, I know a guy you might like. Handsome, decent, hard-working, kinda stoic…"

Cass laughed. "I'm desperate, but not that desperate. Thanks for the offer, though." She sighed and added, "I just hope to God we don't run into that bastard and his friends again."

"We won't."

An eyebrow arched. "Since when did you have so much faith in the criminal justice system?"

"It's limited, but it's there. I've seen enough cop shows to know what we can expect; Edward will have a few years at most, his gang less. Assault can be proven, but conspiracy to commit rape is a little harder to manage. Still, that'll get them out of our hair for a while, even if they take a plea deal. And if we do see them again, well, it's their funeral."

"If they're stupid enough to cross paths with you again anyway. Speaking of, think we should call the lawyers, just in case?"

"Cass, if I was going to be held by the cops, they'd have charged me by now."

"I'm more worried about you being sued. You beat those guys up pretty good."

"And most judges would throw out that suit without a second thought. I think we're okay as far as the legal department is concerned."

"Even with that one guy you stabbed twice?"

"Inflicting non-lethal injuries. If they sue, then we'll deal with it, but I won't be concerned until then." Rubbing her hand against her hip, Alex noted, "I just hope I get my weapons back. I've been used to carrying them around so long, I feel a little naked without them."

"You would." Cass shook her head. "I wish I could get out of here sooner."

"Give it another day, sis. After that, we can go wherever we like."

"Yeah." Cass turned silent for a moment before speaking. "Alex, listen…"

"Cass, you're family, and we've got too little of it left. I won't lose any if I can help it." She leaned in close and added, "And if any one of those bastards had actually managed to permanently harm you, they wouldn't be seeing a courtroom."

"I thought that went without saying." She nudged her head towards the door. "Now go on, get out of here. I don't need you hanging around every second, and last I checked, you had a life too. And I had Pokémon sitting at the local Pokémon Center, so…"

"Yeah, I'll go check on them." Alex got to her feet and made her way to the door. She paused and offered, "Rest up, Cass. I'll see you soon."

-

"<I swear, if I'd known that bastard Edward was going to pull something like this…>" Taking notice of the expression on the Blaziken's face, Obsidian turned and noted, "<What?>"

Surtur smirked. "<I'm just remembering the advice you gave to a young Torchic some time ago, and how the Blaziken that Torchic became would feel the same way.>" He stood up and noted, "<That said, a small part of me wishes that both sisters had learned how to defend themselves. Just because Alex is more suited to it doesn't mean that Cassandra couldn't have benefited.>"

"<Yeah, maybe.>" The Tyranitar groaned. "<Fat lot of good it does us now.>" The two turned as Alex entered the Pokémon Center, and he looked at her hopefully. "<Well?>"

"Cass is going to be fine. No lasting physical damage, and she's in good spirits. I'm not looking forward to the future, but…"

"You shouldn't look forward to the future!" Alex turned in surprise to find a pack of girls, all slightly younger than her and with varied dress styles, glaring at her as if she'd just desecrated a holy relic while setting priceless artwork on fire after killing a clowder's worth of kittens. "What you did was evil! Pure evil!"

Alex looked at the girls with sheer disbelief. "Excuse me?"

The leader of the girls in the crowd, short with blonde hair, called out by way of explanation, "You hurt our Edward!" The other girls swooned at the mention of the man's name, as the short girl explained, "He's the greatest, the most handsome, the best man you could ever meet, and you hurt him! You evil, evil bitch!"

Upon realizing what she was dealing with, Alex rolled her eyes and sat down at a nearby bench. "Are you guys finished, or are you going to hang over me all day?"

"Of course we'll hang over you all day! You don't deserve to be walking around free for what you did to him! You're an evil jealous bitch for beating up Edward like you did! He's done nothing wrong!"

Obsidian growled threateningly, only for Surtur to raise a hand to his chest. "<Hold. She's handling it.>"

"<Are these girls idiots? Are they blind?! If Alex hadn't acted, that bastard would've raped Cass! Treated her like some kind of plaything!>"

"<And they refuse to acknowledge that because they think that someone who's so handsome and good-looking cannot be evil. They'd rather demonize someone else than acknowledge that their idol is less than perfect. Ignoring them is the only way for Alex to dissuade them from bothering her that doesn't get her into further trouble, at least until one of them attacks her.>"

"<Didn't she try that with that Morgan girl?>"

"<Yes, but she's a sadist. These girls aren't quite that dedicated. In theory, anyway.>"

"See?! Even the Pokémon agree with us! You're an evil bitch!"

"<…Although that says nothing about their sanity.>"

Alex opted against responding to either the mob of fangirls or the two Pokémon at her side, and instead chose to yawn at what she saw and pull a pair of sunglasses from her vest pocket and slip them on. She then laid herself out on the bench, her arms crossed under her head as a makeshift pillow.

"Aren't you hearing us?! You're an evil bitch! How can you live with what you've done to our Edward, and the lies you and your sister have told! I'll bet she deserves to be raped! And you know it! That's why you aren't saying anything! That's why…!"

"Whoa, wait, hold on." Alex slipped off her sunglasses and looked at the girl. "Are you saying that people deserve to have someone forced upon them? To have themselves violated?" She sat up and got to her feet, locking eyes directly upon the fangirl. "Would you like it if someone forced themselves on you, and people said that you deserved it? Because you were a woman and he was a man, and he wanted you?" At the girl's silence, she continued, "You're young, sheltered, and naïve. You don't know how cruel and terrible the world is, and you refuse to see it for anything other than the idealized way you view it. In your mind, a handsome man can't be anything other than good, simply because he's handsome, and anyone who hurts him is automatically evil and wrong, and that he should get whatever he wants out of life, even if others suffer. If he'd been ugly as sin, you wouldn't care, but because he's good-looking, you idolize him and belittle his would-be victims and demonize anyone who tries to stand up to him. I can only hope that you'll someday realize exactly how wrong that is."

The lead fangirl looked as if she wanted to protest, but she found herself fixed in stunned silence as Alex turned and made her way to the desk. Her mob's glances moved from her to Alex as she retrieved her sister's Poké Balls and recalled the two Pokémon, then departed the Pokémon Center. She finally managed to stutter as the doors slid shut, "You! You're the wrong one!"

-

Alex groaned as she swiftly walked away from the Pokémon Center, wishing that she could keep her distance from rabid fangirls. Unfortunately, they were everywhere, and there was nothing she could do about it except hope they grew out of it.

A buzz sounded from her pocket, and she quickly answered her cell phone. "Yes?"

"Alexandria Masters, this is Officer Stark with the Purika PD. We've finished our forensic tests on your weapons; you can retrieve them whenever you like."

"Thanks." She clicked off the line and sighed in relief. The sooner she had them back, the better; she didn't trust Edward to leave her or her loved ones be, and she knew full well that if he thought he could get away with taking another swing at her and her sister, he would. That was the sort of man he was.

Of course, if he tried, then he'd get beaten down again. That was the sort of girl she was.