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"Oh... that was soo great!! I'm gonna be a pokémon trainer someday, too!"
"Yeah!"
"Yeah!"
Cries of joy echoed through the usually quiet, sterile halls of the hospital. Children joked and laughed as they walked or were rolled down the hallway in wheelchairs. The pokémon show had been a stunning success in terms of raising the children's spirits. Parents looked more relaxed and happy, taking their ill children back to their rooms to rest. The pediatric ward was normally a sad, depressing place - it hurt everyone to see children going through such terrible trials such as illness and accidents. But events like this made everyone remember how much of life there was to live.
"It was a great show, eh, Michael?" asked a kind nurse, pushing the thin boy's wheelchair slowly down the hall, behind the rest of the excited throng. Unlike the rest of the children, Michael was somewhat quiet and reserved. He was cheerful, none the less.
"Oh yeah! My big brother is a pokémon trainer. He's going to take me with him to see the world," he replied, a bright smile on his face as he looked at the nurse. "As soon as I get well, of course."
The nurse smiled at Michael, but frowned slightly when the young boy looked away. Michael was so very thin and weak. His long blue hair, tied in a low ponytail, was flipped gracefully over his emaciated shoulders. He wore a loose white tee shirt and baggy, gray sweatpants that hid most of his form from view. He had large, green eyes that seemed a little too dim unless he was smiling. Sometimes, people mistook him for a girl, which didn't bother him as much as it would most boys. His older brother always told him that it was useful when people couldn't tell who or what you are. It keeps them from recognizing you later. Regardless, the nurse had a feeling he would be very handsome, if - no, when he grew up. As it stood now, the 10 year-old could hardly walk by himself, let alone start on a pokémon journey.
They continued slowly past the large families that had gathered with their children to see the event. The nurse frowned again. It was a pity that Michael had no real family. Yes, he had that "brother", but the nurse had sure never met him. Michael's parents were dead, killed in a blaze that had crippled the young boy's lungs, causing him to always get sick. He had suffered so greatly from the strain of illness that his body had focused all effort on fixing his heart and lungs, and other things, such as his legs (which could no longer support him), had to be sacrificed. The doctors struggled with physical therapy to give him back his mobility, but anytime they made any real progress, Michael would just get sick again. Then, it was back to square one. I wonder who pays for Michael, thought the nurse, gazing fondly at the boy. Suddenly, Doctor Docker appeared in front of them, causing the nurse to reel in surprise.
"Good evening, Nurse Joie. I'll just take Michael back to his room for you, if you don't mind." Docker grabbed the wheelchair from the nurse and rushed down the hall, leaving her stunned in the hallway. Doctor Docker is so eccentric, she thought with a shrug and walked back to the nurse's station.
Michael looked up at his doctor as they whizzed down the hall. Joie was almost always the person who pushed him around. Unless...
"Umm, Sir?" began Michael, curiosity getting the better of him.
Docker looked down at the boy and winked theatrically.
"You have a visitor," he said softly and delighted in the look of pure joy that inhabited his patient's face.
"BIG BROTHER!!"
James was jolted from his sleep as a loud voice rang through the room. He jumped up, reaching around for his gun, but paused, remembering he didn't have it and where he was. Silhouetted in the light of the hallway sat Michael and Docker. Michael forced his chair forward and James swooped him up in an easy motion, spinning him around once and holding him in a hug high off the ground.
He's so light, thought James with a frown, but put a big smile on his face as he dropped his brother lightly into his bed. Michael was all grins. Behind them, Docker stepped softly into the hallway and closed the door.
"Oh, big brother, I'm so happy to see you!" Michael exclaimed, making motions with his hands for James to sit down again. "Where have you been? What have you seen? How's Jess and Meowth? Did you ever catch that Pikachu you were after?"
"Woah, woah, sport, take it easy!" cried James, holding up his hands as if to ward away the avalanche of questions. "One thing at a time. How about if I ask you a question, then you ask me one, okay?"
Michael grinned again and nodded. He knew he asked a lot of questions. It was just so boring being cooped up in the hospital. James was his outlet.
James thought a moment. "Okay... how was the pokémon show?"
"Oh, it was great," said Michael. He looked up at the ceiling and began to count off events with his fingers. "First we saw a mock battle between a Bulbasaur and an Venonat. Then, a lady gave us a short demonstration on the care of certain types of electric pokémon. After that, a policewoman came in with her K-9 squad. They were really awesome!" Michael didn't notice his brother turning slightly green at that point and continued listing. "Finally, a scientist guy got one of the girls to put her hand on a magnamite. Her hair stood straight up! You should have seen it!" Michael giggled a little, but quickly regained control. "They almost asked me to do it, but I didn't want to mess up my hair."
James inclined his head. "It's getting rather long, Michael. Why haven't you cut it?"
Michael just shook his head. "That's two questions. It's my turn to ask you something. Hmmm..." Michael scratched his head and looked down at his feet. A strange grin spread across his face and he looked his brother right in the eye. James swallowed hard, expecting the worst. "When are you and Jessie going to get married or, barring that, when are you gonna have kids?"
Oy, that was a doozey all right. James swallowed again, his eyes going wide. "Michael! I don't think that's really your business! What makes you think Jess and I could have children right now? I don't think the Zapados would visit us and - "
"Oh, please, brother," replied Michael, rolling his eyes. "When you live in a hospital, you learn a lot of things by listening. I don't believe in the magical Zapados flying through the air at night and dropping babies into the loving arms of parents. I have a pretty fair grasp of how the system works."
"Right, Michael," said James in a slightly condescending tone. "You've probably heard the worst stories. Tell me what you think you know."
He did.
James sat there for a moment, scratching his head, his eyes slightly unfocused. After a few minutes, James snapped back to reality and looked at his brother.
"Yeah," he began slowly, "that's pretty much the way it works. More or less." A little more than less, actually, thought James, his eyes unfocusing again. He was going to have to talk to Jessie when she got back. He shook his head again.
"Anyway, Jess and I are taking extreme caution in terms of not having children. I don't think The Boss would appreciate that very much. I'm not to fond of the idea of losing my job just yet."
"Ah, well, it was worth asking," said Michael with a sigh. "Just promise me I can be a doting uncle someday, okay?"
"It's a deal," said James with a wink, shaking his brother's hand. They both laughed easily and began to talk about other things. The afternoon faded away into evening without either of them noticing it.
"...and so," James paused, snickering, "Jessie told Spunks, 'If you ever try to pull that again, you'll be the one wearing the fish!'"
Michael burst out laughing and James joined him seconds later. Michael collapsed on the bed, laughing so hard, his sides hurt. It was just so funny.
"I - I can't believe she said that!" Michael cried, wiping tears from his eyes.
"I know, I know! I couldn't either! It was so wrong!"
It was at that moment that the door to Michael's room opened slowly.
"Michael, hon, your dinner's here!" called out Nurse Joie in her singsong voice. James and Michael stopped laughing as the nurse walked in. This was bad. It was very, very bad. The nurse blinked a few times as she saw to her surprise that Michael was not alone. The handsome young man on chair next to the bed looked oddly familiar. It dawned on her suddenly where she recognized him from.
"Oh my, God," she whispered, fear clenching her chest. She dropped the tray and ran out into the hallway screaming, "TEAM ROCKET IS IN THE BUILDING!! HELP!! SOMEBODY HELP!! HE'S TAKEN MICHAEL HOSTAGE!!"
Michael and James exchanged a look.
"I'm in trouble," whispered James. Michael only nodded.
Docker whistled softly to himself as he walked down the hall, pausing to do a little jig when no one was watching. It had been a great day. He got to see James again, he managed to remember his wife's birthday, no serious complications had arisen with anybody, he had performed two successful surgeries, and he had been offered an invitation from the Head of the Hospital to join him and his comrades in a game of golf. It was a good day.
Moments later, it was shattered by the yelling of Nurse Joie as she tore down the hallway. Docker reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. He waited a moment while the nurse caught her breath.
"What's wrong, Joie? What's happened?"
"Rocket... team... got Michael... call police..." breathed the nurse, pulling out of the doctor's grip and running down the hallway towards the security desk. Docker cursed softly under his breath. He had to stall. Seeing a crowd of buff orderlies preparing to enter the room, he shoved his way through their ranks and planted himself in front of the door.
"What do you kids think your doing? Stay away! He could be armed and dangerous!" Docker cried hoping they would listen to him. The orderlies paused for a moment, considering the doctor's explanation. Get out of there, James, thought Docker fiercely, uncertain of how long he could keep the crowds at bay.
James heard Docker's voice in the hallway as he rushed around the room, gathering his stuff. He turned to Michael and planted a kiss on his forehead, much to the 10 year-old's discomfort.
"Deal with it," said James as Michael rubbed the offending area with the back of his arm. Michael just pulled down his eyelid and stuck out his tongue. James repeated the action back.
"Get well, okay, little brother?" said James, hugging Michael tightly.
"Only if you stay safe, James," he answered, "and come and visit me more often!"
James nodded and leaped to the windowsill. They were on the fifteenth floor. James smiled. He'd fallen from worse. He looked back at Michael, lying in bed. James gestured to the green gift package next to the boy.
"Hide it," he said. "Open it after everything calms down. I think you'll like the gift I got you." With that, he waved goodbye and jumped out the window (kids, don't try this at home - ed.).
Michael eyed the gift bag with interest. He'd wondered about it all evening, but James hadn't mentioned it. He shoved it far under the bed and hoped no one would look there. A few seconds later, the door burst open.
The next few hours were chaotic to say the least. Michael was questioned by a number of stony-faced police officers and he did his best to play the part of the flustered victim. The gift bag was enticing though. He wanted everybody to leave him alone so he could look at it. Not to mention the fact that all these people in his room was starting to irritate him. Finally, he decided on the easiest and most likely to succeed way of getting everyone to leave.
He coughed.
Nurse Joie's eyes flew open.
"Okay! That settles it!" she called out in a voice of authority that made everyone pause in what they were doing. "Everybody OUT! Michael needs his rest!"
The cops and investigators in the room had the humility to look embarrassed for having harassed a sick, young boy for so many hours. They all shuffled out of the room, planning on interviewing a few of the other people in the hospital. Nurse Joie fussed over him for quite a while, bringing him Jell-O and fluffing his pillows. Finally she too left, leaving Michael alone.
Michael lay on the bed very still for about ten minutes. It looked unlikely that anybody else would bother him tonight. He swung his body over the side of the bed and grabbed the gift bag. It was disappointingly light. Still, good things did come in small packages. He reached in a pulled out a single sheet of paper. It read:
CLASSIFIED INFORMATION
GEN PRO 042, 456-8755-00012
PROJECT TITLE: PIKATO (PEE-KA-TOE)
RESULTS: "Gen Pro 042 is highly stable. Subject has adapted well to surroundings and has been proven to be alarmingly intelligent. Flight ability was achieved without any training. See next page for full listing of training and teaching methods. Retains the characteristics of both donors. Fighting Techniques are unique from both donors. Experiment considered a success." - Dr. F. Renard
ATK CODE: 4567
KRE NBME: 8779
FORMA TI: 4534
DIET NUM: 4567
TRN METH: 6325
In the white space on the bottom of the page was a hand written note from James:
Take good care of it, Michael. When it grows up, it'll eat fruit, vegetables, and nuts. Ask Docker to get you some Baby Pokémon Vitamin Formula #42. That should keep it healthy and happy and help it grow strong. The guys in R&D owed me a favor. Enjoy! Love, James.
Michael could barely contain himself as he reached into the bag again and pulled out a shiny metal pokéball. He held it in his hands for a moment. Holding it in front of him, he pointed the pokéball at the foot of the bed.
"Pokéball, go!" he whispered, his eyes going wide as a red light shot out from the pokéball while it slowly opened. Out of the light, a small creature, about three times the size of fist his fist, materialized. It was curled up in a little ball of fur and feather. It stretched and yawned, blinking its eyes sleepily in the dim light of the hospital room as it looked around. Catching sight of Michael, it stood up and walked a little unsteadily towards him.
"Pikato, pika - to!" it squeaked softly. Michael cradled it gently in his arms as the little fluff ball snuggled against his warmth and began to fall asleep. It looked like a pikachu - well, sort of. It was very light and had large, over-sized wings on its back that it curled around its body for protection and warmth. It was just a baby and would probably grow into them. A brand new kind of pokémon! Bred from the research and development of the famous Team Rocket Organization! His first pokémon...
Michael lay back down on the bed, his new Pikato resting on his chest. It licked his face a few times and Michael giggled. He pulled up the covers around both of them and rested his hand on its back, feeling its little heart beating. Michael stroked its back, listening to it purr softly.
"Thank you, James," he murmured as sleep claimed them both, a smile on his face.