Child of Thorns - A Pokemon Sinnoh Reimagining

Sarah's eyes narrowed ever so slightly and Pyxis immediately took a step back, unconsciously putting Inyssa between them. It was clear why. If Sarah's reputation didn't betray to her who she was, then the dark blue Association uniform would have. Sarah took one look around the inside of the hangar, then nodded to herself and took a step inside in a manner that made Inyssa's nerves shiver on edge.

"I'd wondered where you'd scampered off to." There was something wrong with Sarah's voice. It was too sharp, too distant. "I should've figured you'd be dancing with trouble, making my job harder than it needs to be. As always."

Then she brought one hand to her belt and unhooked the handcuffs from it. Her other hand rested on top of her holstered gun. Inyssa heard Pyxis breathe in sharply behind her.

"You were sighted entering the city earlier today," said Sarah, addressing Pyxis. "I'd hoped to find you alongside all the others in your group, but it's fine. I'll have you tell me where they are later." With a flick of the finger she opened the handcuffs and held them in front of her. "Pyxis of Team Galactic, you are under arrest on suspicion of terrorism. I recommend you comply peacefull–"

Inyssa stepped forward and raised her arms to the side, as though wanting to form a wall between Sarah and Pyxis. The former stopped in her tracks and scowled. The latter let out a gasp of surprise.

"…Move." It was a command, as weighty as a hammer. Inyssa flinched, but did not do as she was told. "I am not in the mood for this, Inyssa. I'm done humoring you and Barry's childish ideals. If you don't step aside I'll consider it a willful obstruction of justice and I will have you arrested, and your license taken from you. Do not test me on this."

"W-what the hell…" Pyxis muttered behind her, the heat in her voice starting to overcome the fear in it.

Again, Inyssa did not move. She clicked her tongue and felt her face scrunching up in anger. She shared Pyxis' sentiment. What the hell was this? Why now? And why…

"What's going on? Why are you here?" There was a bite to her question. "Aren't you Lucian's second in command? You'd think he'd have you doing something more important with half the region falling apart."

A sharp, knife-like sound not unlike a laugh left Sarah's lips, but there was no humor in her face.

"Still think you're the invincible hero, that nothing can touch you?" she whispered. "This is your last warning. Move or–"

"What the hell is wrong with you!?"

The anger exploded out of her without meaning to, but once the words came out she gave up on trying to keep it in check. Her scream echoed louder than it should have. It bounced off the walls like the crackling of lightning, surprising Sarah. Inyssa felt as her eyes flashed. Felt something crackle in her arms, burn in her stomach. Had she been more composed, she would've realized how odd this sudden rush of power was, especially now that Uxie was no longer with her. Power that didn't feel as though it was localized entirely within herself.

"This is what you've been doing all this time!?" she demanded. "Mom and Fantina… they tried contacting you but said you weren't responding. And Barry told me you just left him after the funeral! You left us all behind to deal with the mess Cyrus made, the mess that your Association couldn't prevent, all so you could go off and arrest a bunch of teenagers!?"

Sarah's face darkened like a storm rolling through the sky. When she spoke, her voice was nothing but poison. "S-selfish fucking brat… You don't know anything about–!?"

"About what!? Losing someone!?" Inyssa bellowed back. A part of her mind was trying to remind her that Sarah didn't remember Shadi, that her memories of her had been erased, but said part was too quiet compared to the rest. "Yeah, can't imagine what that's like! At least we're going after the one responsible. At least we're not going after a bunch of stupid kids because it's easier, because they'll put up less of a fight!"

If the face that Sarah made just then was indication of anything, it was that the conversation was over. A terrible shiver ran through Inyssa. At any other point in her life, she would've yelped and shrunk into herself at the sight of a furious Sarah walking her way, but something burning deep in her chest kept her firm, if alarmed. Behind her, Pyxis swallowed and looked as though she would start running, but Inyssa was quicker to act.

"You l–!"

Inyssa threw her arms forward, and a transparent sheen of pale light divided the room in two. Pyxis gasped. Sarah stopped just before running into the barrier, her eyes going wide.

"Hgh!"

Immediately, a sensation like gravity pulling at every atom in her body struck Inyssa, making her legs go weak. But she grit her teeth and kept herself on her feet. Putting up a psychic barrier like this would've been difficult even with Uxie's full power. Right now it was like trying to keep smoke from filtering through her fingers.

And yet she held on.

"Gh-Go!" she yelled out, voice strained with effort. "The w-window at the back! Go through there an–"

"What!? No!" protested Pyxis. "I'm not going to leave you!"

"It's fine, go!" she yelled. "S-she can't do anything to me. Y-you know where to go back to, so just go and stay l-low! I promise I'll be fine!"

Pyxis opened her mouth to protest again, but either due to the effort Inyssa was going through to keep the barrier up or the fear instilled in her by the sheer fury in Sarah's expression, she was left without options. After a moment that felt like a minute, she whispered something Inyssa was barely able to catch. Then, reluctantly, she turned around and ran for it.

It was only after Inyssa heard her land on the other side of the window that she let go of the barrier. It felt like dropping a boulder twice as heavy as her. Her entire body ached and she could barely breathe, but she did not give herself time to relax. Taking one deep breath, she raised her hands and prepared to create another one behind Sarah so she couldn't pursue Pyxis.

But it wasn't necessary.

"What…" Inyssa dropped her arms, eyes going wide. "Why aren't you…?"

Sarah just stood there, one hand holding the handcuffs, the other resting on top of her gun holster. Still simmering with anger, but clearly not in a hurry.

"You just did me a favor," she said. "Do you think I came alone? I brought with me two of my officers who are of the same mind as me, and placed them on the dock's exits. They'll arrest her while I keep you here."

"Wh–No!" Inyssa bellowed from the depths of her stomach, her heart sinking. "I–!"

She took a step forward, but so did Sarah, and that gesture was enough to freeze her in place. Her eyes immediately went down to the handcuffs still in her hand.

"W-why are you doing this!?" Inyssa demanded, her voice shrill, desperate. "This isn't like you!"

"It isn't like me?" Sarah raised an eyebrow. "I am an officer of the law, Inyssa. Arresting criminals is quite literally in my job description. Or are you saying she should be exempt from punishment because you want it? Because she's your friend?"

Inyssa's hands balled into fists. "You know damn well it's not that simple."

"You're right," admitted Sarah. "There's a good chance she and her friends will be pardoned or given light sentences under the argument of Coercion and Unlawful Manipulation of Minors."

"Then–!"

"But that is for a judge to decide. And for that, they are to be processed," Sarah explained. "No one is above the law, unlike what you or Lucian might think."

Something snapped in Inyssa. She found herself yelling before she could process the words coming out of her mouth.

"You fucking hypocrite! Then what about you, what about the people you hurt!?" Her voice boomed like thunder, rage filling her and erasing her exhaustion. "Oh right, it was legal then, right!? It was patriotic!?"

That hit a nerve. Sarah's eyes widened slightly and her nostrils flare. Danger was written all over her face, but Inyssa didn't care in the slightest.

"Inyssa–!"

"Why don't you stop bullshitting and just say you're petty and want someone you can hurt!?" she demanded. "You always act so high and mighty but you know you're just as bad as–!"

"That's enough."

Sarah reached toward her and Inyssa screamed. Somehow, maybe because Sarah was too furious to see and move clearly, she was able to duck under her arm as she passed by, feeling as a hand flew over her head. Choked up by fear and panic, Inyssa tumbled forward and started running. She needed to get away from her. She needed to find Pyxis an–

"HGHAH!"

Unfortunately, no amount of panic changed the fact that Sarah was ten times more in shape than Inyssa was. With the speed of a trained soldier, Sarah turned on the spot and threw herself forward, her hand closing around Inyssa's left wrist with an iron grip. A sharp pain exploded in her shoulder. Her breath seized.

"L-let go of–HGH!"

She swung at Sarah with her other hand, barely conscious of what she was doing. Her fist didn't connect. Sarah got a hold of her other wrist and this time, without the pain distracting her, Inyssa felt it. That sinking feeling in her stomach. So deep and cold that it instantly extinguished the rage inside of her, replacing it with fear.

Her eyes flashed golden. The memory of another touch washed over her; of Shadi's own hand closing around that same wrist; the first time she'd ever physically hurt her. Inyssa whimpered. Her legs lost strength even as she actively struggled to break herself free of Sarah's grip.

"S-stay still!" the woman growled. "I don't want to do this to you Inyssa, but unless you stop trying t–!"

"LET GO OF ME!" Inyssa bellowed so strongly her throat ached. "LET–AGH!"

She fell forward, her legs losing strength, and flinched in pain as her knees met the concrete floor. Sarah used the opportunity to put Inyssa's hands behind her back. She held both of her wrists with one hand while grabbing the handcuffs with the other. The tinkling of metal against metal sent a shiver down Inyssa's spine, but that was nothing in comparison to…

To…

"S-stop… Please…"

Again her eyes flashed and again a memory wracked through her body like a bolt of lightning. Suddenly, she wasn't in a hangar anymore. She was back home, on her knees. Eyes wide and disbelieving, hand shaking as it brushed over her bruised cheek, the sharpness of the slap only now starting to change into pain.

"… Why did you have to make me do that?"

But just as her younger self looked up at Shadi, terrified, the memory vanished. Inyssa came to herself with a sharp gasp. Her eyes ached with… no, that wasn't Uxie's power. Tears were running down her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but the sheer nausea wracking through her body almost made her throw up on the spot. The grip of a hand on her wrists burned like a red hot iron, throwing her mind into chaos.

Something cold touched the back of her hand. Then it closed all around her wrists, and realization dawned on her.

"St-stop pleasepl-pleaseplease LET GO!"

She struggled and thrashed like a feral Tauros, throwing her head back and in every direction she could, but her defiance was short-lived. Cold, harsh fingers grabbed at the back of her neck and pushed it down. Sarah had let go of the handcuffs to keep her still. They were still wrapped around her wrists, but hadn't been secured yet. Not that it gave Inyssa much cause for relief, because the next wave of nausea and wrongness was the worst of them all.

"Inyssa please, you're acting like a child, will you–!?"

But her voice disappeared like a puff of smoke, and once again Inyssa felt herself someplace else. She knew what this would be. She didn't want to open her eyes, didn't want to see it, but even if she didn't she could steel feel it. The back of her head hitting the wall, the feeling of cold fingers pressing tightly against her mouth, the full weight of fear and wrongness and betrayal keeping her in place even as she tried so desperately to get away.

"Will you just comply!?" Sarah roared. "I'm trying to protect you, so stop struggling!"

"D-don't struggle… it's all going to be okay. I'll make it so it won't hurt anymore, so just stay still…"

"That's it… by the time you wake up, this will all be just a bad dream."

Inyssa did come back, but it was only to another nightmare; reality. She was shaking. Her screams, her struggling, had died down. Even as Sarah's grip on her relaxed, she kept muttering uselessly, choking on sobs that crawled up her throat like spikes.

"P-pleasepleases-stoptouchingp-please–"

"I-Inyssa?" Sarah sounded less angry now, more confused. Inyssa's reaction had caught her off guard. "W-what's gotten into you? Why are you–"

"S-stop… stop t-touching me." It was a struggle, but she managed to say the words as intelligibly as she could. "Please…"

But Sarah didn't. Even though she'd already handcuffed her, even though she looked and sounded genuinely worried, she still held Inyssa in place. Like she couldn't possibly understand how she could be hurting her in any way.

"Inyssa, I–"

"I hate you."

Sarah's grip relaxed. "What?"

Inyssa turned her head, cheek resting on concrete, and looked up as best she could, her face contorted into something that made Sarah freeze in place.

"I… h-hate you," she repeated, quietly, sharply. "Y-your fault… it was all your fault. You j-just… had to step in. Even if no one a-asked you to, even if it had n… nothing to do with you."

Sarah's face paled. "I-I...?"

"You didn't want things to c-change. You didn't want your best friend to get the help she n-needed because then… then it'd be t-true that she had a problem." Every word was a struggle to speak but Inyssa forced them out, like pulling out teeth. "You did the same thing you did with Barry. P-pretended it wasn't even there because if it was, then you couldn't do anything about it on your own. You couldn't protect us from it. That's why… that's why you forced her to stay with us. Figured… figured she just needed some support from her family. And because of that you sicced Shadi on us."

"... Shadi? Inyssa, what on earth are you talking about?"

Inyssa wanted to sound angry, wanted her voice to be hot and sharp enough to pierce Sarah, but instead she could barely speak, sobs wracking through her throat. This wasn't the kind of anger she wanted. It was cold, desperate. It served her no purpose except making her hurt.

"She h-had no way to escape, so she took it out on us. And even when she was gone you… y-you didn't even notice. You looked the other way. And you knew. You f-fucking knew mom was still suffering, that I wasn't e-eating or going to school or…" Now all semblance of anger had vanished from her. Tears ran down her face and her voice was broken, shaking. "I-I… I ne-needed help and no one was there. And even after… e-even after I…" A whine cut her off. She felt her whole body shiver with pain and disgust. "At least… Palmer convinced mom and I to get the help w-we needed! At least mom knew she'd done wrong a-and made efforts to change! S-so what's your excuse!? Why bother acting like my second mom if you didn't even have the decency to be good at it!? It was all your fault! I hate you!"

Sarah's grip relaxed entirely. But even then, Inyssa could feel the touch of ghost hands holding her down. The woman's face might've gone soft, but that anger, that indignation still remained in her eyes.

"I'm... I'm sorr-"

But she didn't get to finish whatever she was about to say, because just then they heard quick, hurried steps. They hadn't realized in the heat of the moment. Sarah's eyes went wide and she turned around as quickly as she could, but she was too late.

"GH-KGH!"

Something fast and small and blurry crashed against Sarah with the force of a stampeding Tauros and she was thrown to the side, landing on her shoulder about six feet away. As she lie there, stunned, Inyssa felt something fall on top of her back and grunted.

"Gh-shit, sorry."

"P-Pyxis!?" Her voice was still shrill and shaking from before. As she looked over her shoulder she saw the girl kneeling at her side, looking down with worry at the handcuffs keeping her in place. "I thought they'd…"

"Yeah I know, ran into them outside," Pyxis hurried to say. "Some weird goth girl took care of them, said you needed help. Simone's on their way too with your Pokemon and… Agh! Fuck, I can't get these off with my hand bandaged!"

Had she been in a better mental state, Inyssa might've thought of a way to help Pyxis in taking the handcuffs off, but she'd lagged behind on something the girl had said.

Weird goth girl? Was that… Sanbica?

"Gah, fuck it! We'll have to take these off later. Come on, get up and–!"

But Sarah had dragged herself up to her feet already. She stood there, glaring, clutching her stomach, for a single moment before she ran at them. Pyxis stood up sharply. Inyssa yelled something that was lost in the air as the two met above her.

Pyxis unconsciously threw a punch but Sarah had no problem catching her wrist. However, the girl was clearly more accustomed to fights than Inyssa and instead of freezing in place like she'd done, she growled and threw her whole weight forward, knocking Sarah off balance and throwing them both to the ground. They landed with a deaf thump and rolled a few feet away.

"Stop it! Stop!"

But Sarah didn't hear her. Inyssa was forced to watch as they struggled to keep each other still like two Ekans fighting, though she knew it wouldn't remain like that for long. Sarah's expression, her sharp, desperate movements spelled danger. She needed to help Pyxis, needed to…

Of course! If she could've slapped her palm against her forehead, she would have. I'll call my belt back to me. I just have to…

She tried to concentrate and call forth her power, but then a lot of things happened in quick succession. A yelp of pain caught her attention. Pyxis had somehow rolled on top of Sarah, her knees resting on the woman's lap, but before she could secure her arms she was hit with an elbow straight to the stomach.

"GH! F-fuck off–!"

"S-stay still! This is your last chance, I'll–!"

Then, steps. A voice called out from the direction of the entrance.

"Inyssa, Py–!" Simone cut themselves off as they saw what was happening inside. "Wh–!?"

They held Inyssa's belt on their hand. She wasted no time crying out. "Let my Pokemon out! Just press the buttons and–!"

"Y-yeah! Yeah I'll–!"

A loud deaf thump was heard. Both Simone and Inyssa turned to see Pyxis –furious and delirious with pain– throwing her full weight down into a punch that connected against Sarah's forehead. The woman's gasp caught in her throat as the back of her head bounced against the floor.

Inyssa saw it as though on slow-motion. Sarah's eyes went wide, and whatever glimmered behind them went from shock to pain to anger, and then morphed into something that made Inyssa's blood run cold. A look that was more Pokemon than human, that only someone who'd fought for her life countless times could've shown.

Instinct. Survival.

No…

With a quick, almost automatic movement, Sarah freed her leg from under Pyxis' knees and kicked her in the stomach. She was lifted up a few inches, eyes widening, all the air in her lungs leaving through her mouth. Her eyes looked down just as Sarah's hand unconsciously moved to her belt. There was the click of something unlocking.

Inyssa screamed, but it was drowned out by the sound that came after.

"PYX–!"

Sarah raised her arm straight, gun in hand, and shot Pyxis through the chest.

It echoed. Loud, sharp, like a hammer falling down upon a sheet of metal. And then there was silence. Pyxis stared ahead, frozen, for a short moment that felt like an eternity before she looked down, noticing the dot-like red stain on her shirt, slowly, very slowly spreading.

Her eyes met Sarah's, whose face was twisted with horror and realization of what she'd just done. Pyxis opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a whine, and then her body lost strength and she fell back, collapsing on her side.

Inyssa's lips parted, but what came out of her mouth was not a human sound, wasn't something that anyone or anything else could have made. She felt something. A rush of power, a rush that was not part of her. The light in her eyes burst like thunder.

And suddenly she wasn't herself anym–

Inyssa is a storm of light and rage. She is every flash of lightning, every furious heartbeat, the crackling and thumping of the sky breaking in half, of blood rushing feverishly through one's veins. She is the memory of every storm the world has ever seen, of every drop of rage any human's ever felt.

And she is a flood. Light explodes off her body, first in veins of lightning, then in pooling shapes that swallow her whole. The handcuffs melt off her wrists like burning paper, but by the time they do so there are no more hands, no more arms, no more Inyssa. The light that used to be her feet leaves the ground, and she rises.

There are screams, pleads, but there is no part left of her that can listen. The light finishes pooling around her, and for the first time she sees herself, many times over. She is a heart. A heart of wings and eyes, bleeding veins of lightning with every beat, with every rush of fury that floods out of her.

The next beat comes, both of the heart and of the wings, and more veins of lightning explode all around her. All of them miss Simone. A multitude of them hit Sarah, running her through. She screams, and her limp body falls to the ground, next to Pyxis.

Simone screams. For someone to stop? Who to stop? Inyssa beats again, her dozens of eyes opening and closing in sync, and more veins of lightning fill the hangar, missing Simone by inches.

Why do they have to miss them again? They don't. Of course they don't. That doesn't matter, it's not–

"Inyssa."

A voice shakes through her, freezing the furious heartbeat. It's a familiar voice. It digs into her, tries to break through the shell of wings and eyes, but the storm inside her fights back.

"It's me, Inyssa. I'm here."

All of her eyes shoot wide open.

"U U – U X – X I E?"

"Come back to yourself. You can do it. You can still save her."

Her light shakes, shivers, some of it bleeding off her.

"I C – C A – A N ' T –"

"Yes, you can. Think about this. Why can you hear me?"

"W – W H A –?"

"Why can you hear me? Where is this power coming from? Do not let it consume you. Use it. I know you can."

Power? What power? This light… this rage coursing through her. A part of her, the part that still remains, tries to think about it, and realizes that something is wrong. Uxie is right. Where…?

All of her eyes open at once, and just like before, the answer simply appears in her mind, as though it'd always been there. She…

She is…

"I C – – H E L P…"

The light slides off her body, like flesh and fat melting off bone. Her wings burn to a crisp. Her eyes puff away like smoke.

" S…"

Inyssa falls from within the light and s–

She felt the landing on her knees, pain cursing through her with a jolt. She breathed sharply, as though emerging from deep underwater, but the power had not disappeared yet. She still felt it cursing through her veins, but now… now she was herself again.

"Inyssa! Are you–?"

Simone was cut off as Inyssa stood up suddenly, looking around desperately. Sarah and Pyxis lie only a few feet from her. The former was unconscious, though still breathing, a fist-sized scorch mark in the middle of her stomach. The latter…

"Pyxis!"

Inyssa knelt beside her and Simone followed not long after, pressing their hands gently around the wound in her chest, giving them both a better look at it. But there was no time to look. No time to think. Pyxis was still alive, but she could barely breathe, every inhalation short and desperate, followed each time by a bloody cough. Her eyes were wide and glassy. Shock was setting in.

"T-the bullet went all the w-way through, I saw it but…!" Simone swallowed, their voice shaking. "I t-think she was shot in the…"

"I know. Hold her still, I'm going to try something."

To their credit, Simone did not question her, nor did they let their shock paralyze them, even if Inyssa was kneeling next to them, her whole body glowing gold.

Inyssa wasted no time. She knew where this power was coming from. She took the backpack off her shoulders and searched inside as fast as she could, hoping to touch something square and wooden, but instead her fingers met with something else. What she was looking for. A look inside told her that it had burnt a hole not only through the box, but also through some of her possessions. But that wasn't important right now. She took it out, holding it between her thumb and index finger, flinching at the sudden burst of light.

It was a long, beautiful feather. One half glowing with light, the other brimming with darkness. The relic Sanbica had told her she had in her possession; The Lunar Wing. Darkrai and Cresselia's gift. Their power, fueling hers.

And it was running out. It burnt like a lit match, a third of it already gone. She needed to hurry.

"Uxie, Darkrai, Cresselia…" She held the feather tight against her chest, eyes shut in concentration. "Please, give me your strength."

Then she threw her hands down, palms inches from Pyxis' wound, and her eyes burst alight like miniature suns, the walls around them shaking by the outpour of power. The light exited Inyssa's body, pooling next to her. Much like against Shadi and Mars, a figure was formed entirely out of power and her own memories. But this time it wasn't the Golurk that had served to protect her. It was another Pokemon. One she'd seen few times, but whose power she remembered well.

A glowing shade of Candice's Audino materialized next to her, his tiny hands brimming with the power of life. The power of healing. With this, she could save Pyxis. She could–

Her mind froze. For a short moment she knelt there, wide-eyed, a horrible realization dawning on her.

I could heal Shadi with this.

She was certain that it would work. The Kricketune's body had heavily deteriorated because of her, because of the training she'd put her through. But if she used this power on her… if she could just heal her, turn back the clock and start all over, this time knowing what not to do… knowing how to avoid hurting her so…

It ashamed her deeply, but for a brief moment she truly, seriously considered it. Then, Sanbica's words echoed in her mind.

'Choose the option that will let you sleep easier at night.'

She clenched her teeth so hard it hurt. Then, hands shaking, tears welling up in her eyes, she lowered her hands and the glowing Audino did the same, pressing them against the bleeding wound, pouring every ounce of power into it.

There was a massive flash, and a sound like that of rushing water. Then, silence.

And, seconds later, a weak cough, followed by slow, yet stable breathing.

By the time Inyssa was able to sit down and actually take a breather, hours had gone by.

The hospital hallway was dark and silent as a tomb, the fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling having been dimmed to their minimum output once midnight had rolled in. Now it was three in the morning. Including them, there probably weren't more than five people left in the building who weren't patients.

The past few hours had been chaos, but not a frenzied, frenetic chaos. A slow, nail-biting one in which every second felt like it lasted three times as long. They'd gotten Sarah and Pyxis to the hospital quickly, thanks to Inyssa's Pokemon. Yet as soon as they were checked in, Lucian had shown up in town with a couple of subordinates, less than a minute after Inyssa had contacted the Association. Though of course, that was a different story entirely.

Pyxis and Sarah were stable, thankfully, though neither had regained consciousness yet. However, 'stable' was a lot shakier for the former than the latter. Turns out not even the wrath of nature and several lightning bolts through the stomach could compare to a single bullet through the chest, even after magical healing was involved. Those were the wonders of technology, Inyssa supposed.

Still, the doctors had assured them that Pyxis would live, hopefully with only negligible –if any– side effects. The same was true for Sarah, although in her case she would retain the fist-sized scar in her stomach. It felt like only after hearing that had Inyssa truly breathed for the first time after what had happened.

And now, she practically deflated as she sat down next to Simone, every cell in her body clamoring for rest. But even if she wanted to, she couldn't sleep here. It reeked of disinfectant and antiseptics. Or maybe it wasn't so bad, but just the barest hint of that scent was enough to make Inyssa uncomfortable. It brought bad memories with it.

"Do you need anything?" Simone whispered softly. "I made sure to grab some food and water before the store closed down."

Inyssa just shook her head. She was leaning forward, her head so low it hid her eyes behind her locks of hair.

"I can stay and look over her. You look like you could use some rest."

"I'm fine," said Inyssa, blankly. "I don't think I could sleep even if I wanted to."

Simone didn't press on the issue, even if it was clear they wanted to. Instead, they decided to change the topic.

"How'd the talk with Lucian go?"

Just speaking took more energy than Inyssa thought she had left, but it was preferable to silence. She straightened up and looked at Simone.

"I'd say 'good', but nothing about this is good. It went… how you'd expect, with someone like him involved," she said. "Didn't think I'd ever see him lose his cool like that."

Simone chuckled dryly. "We're always quickest when we want to cover our own asses."

"You're not wrong. He already talked with pretty much every person who saw either Sarah or Pyxis as we brought them here. Made it clear he's willing to do anything to prevent what happened from making it out to the public."

A sour look crossed Simone's face. The same she'd seen countless times on Pyxis.

"You think it should."

"I…" Simone closed their eyes and sighed. "I think I'm too mentally and emotionally exhausted to make judgments like that at the moment."

"Right," muttered Inyssa. "…Sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. Doubt he can buy everyone's silence anyway, so there's a good chance this is gonna get out anyway. " There was a pause, and then they forced themselves to smile. "Tell me at least you shook him down for everything he's worth."

"Heh. Don't know if I'd put it like that, but… we definitely had a talk. Laid some terms and made it clear we weren't anywhere near done. I'll have a real talk with him once all this is over."

"… At least there's that."

Silence. Inyssa tried to summon the will to say something else, to find something to talk about, but just staying awake was a struggle. Her body felt numb, wrung out. By the time she got more words, out, they came out thin and weak.

"M'sorry," she whispered. "For making you miss the concert."

Simone made a gesture as though they were going to pat her in the back, but thought better of it. Instead they just smiled again.

"Right now that's the last thing on my mind, so don't worry."

"You can still go if you want," Inyssa offered. "I can stay."

Simone's smile dropped. Their eyebrow raised slightly. "Can you tell me, honestly, that you'd rather be alone tonight? That it's a good idea?"

"I… no, I guess not." The smallest laugh left her lips. "Sorry, I…"

Unconsciously, she lowered her head again and raised her hand to her face, rubbing her eyelids.

"I'm tired," she confessed. "I'm just… really, really tired."

Then she laughed again. Though it came out more like a whine or a sob. She lowered her hand and looked down at her shoes, eyes dull and distant.

"God, how am I going to explain this to Barry?"

"Lucian didn't contact him?" asked Simone.

She shook her head. "He told me it might be better if I tell him what happened. Was planning to do it in a few hours; he always wakes up super early. But…"

"It wasn't your fault," Simone assured her again. "He'll understand."

"Won't make the situation any better for him, though." Simone had nothing to say to that, though she didn't blame them. "At least Metchi's gonna be there with him. But by now they must've made it to Sunyshore. He was so excited to go and now…"

She knew she was rambling, was just letting that part of her head rattle on as a way to… do something. Anything. Because if she thought too much about her situation…

"It's okay," said Simone. "I'm here for you, and for her. We all are. I promise."

Inyssa stopped talking. It set in. She'd come here to rest, to heal, and instead she'd managed to make everything worse, for herself and everyone involved. She could barely think, barely keep herself awake. And yet somehow she needed to be at top form to save the world in only a few days.

She laughed at the absurdity of it, but once again it came out more like a cry than a laugh.

"Hey, is…"

Inyssa swallowed. She knew she shouldn't ask this, but she did anyway.

"Is… is this w-worth it?" The question came out weak and shy, and for a moment Inyssa felt like a scared kid again. "D-does it get b… better?"

Simone answered, but by the time they did so Inyssa could barely hear them over her own sobbing, over the violent shakes that wracked through her body. She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against their shoulder, hiding her face from the world. And Simone held her, even as she cried, until the sun came up again and there were no more tears to shed.