A Brave New World

by Ausbrony


Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

“The memories of this one… they’re so…boring!” Control muttered as he sifted tough the mind of the Luxray. His life appeared to be the same thing, day in and day out. He lived in a forest, waking up in the morning to hunt, did almost nothing during the day, hunted at night and then went to bed. Rinse and repeat, day in and day out.

“I can’t work with this, there are no memories to manipulate to make him loyal… Perhaps Malamar can do something, but for now…” He pointed to a cell at the far end of the warehouse. “Go there and wait for further instructions.”

Seth nodded and headed for the cell. It seems that Celestia’s spell worked, allowing him to give false memories through lucid dreaming. Once he got to the cage, he could see exactly what he was dealing with. There were more than a dozen Pokémon here, and most looked half-starved and weary.

“Are you seeing this Mewtwo?” Seth’s eyes had a slight blue tinge to them, as the Psychic type saw what he saw. It made the feline emanate a low growl.

“Yes, and while I would take great pleasure in removing this stallion from existence, I am needed here for the moment. Your comrades should be in place in about ten minutes, and then the operation will start.”

Seth turned as Control walked over to the cage, slamming to door shut with a loud clang. “Now Sleep!” he commanded and all the Pokémon fell to the floor, closing their eyes. Seth followed suit, noting that Control seemed to use keywords to control the Pokémon.

“Even getting them to sleep on command, this guy is good, I’ll give him that much.”  While having their eyes closed would prevent most beings from getting a look at their surroundings, Seth had Luxray Super Eyes, and x-ray vision was just so damned cool.

Using it to look past his own eyelids, he tilted his head ever so slightly to get a look at the warehouse. It seemed to be divided into three sections, the one where Seth was housed the Pokémon in a single, massive cage against the wall. To the left and right, each wall had a single door that led to another room. The left appeared to be where Control was keeping all the stolen goods he had acquired, and it was a considerable amount. The right held a furnished room, and Control himself was in there, gazing at the stolen Jewels. There had been a debate over using the real or counterfeit Jewels, but Seth had said he wanted this as realistic as possible. If Control was as smart as he thought he was, he’d probably spot a fake before the plan could be executed.

Lastly, he turned to the Pokémon in the cage with him. Rapidash, Durant, Ariados, Ekans, Shuppet, Sneasel, Linoone, Aipom, Weezing and the Zubat from before soon returned as well.

“Five minutes,” Mewtwo said. “Do you understand what needs to be done?”

Seth sighed inwardly, “Yes, but it’s difficult… they didn’t do anything to deserve this after all.”

“If you do not, then the coming tussle would become more dangerous, a pre-emptive strike is the best solution.” Seth knew that Mewtwo had a point, but why did it have to come to this?

“An emergency ward in the hospital has been sectioned off to receive any injured Pokémon and Ponies,” Grissom said over the link. “And retrieving the Jewels isn’t the priority, rescuing those Pokémon and arresting Total Control are... The Jewels would be a nice bonus though.”

Seth nodded slightly as power began to build in his body, slowly and subtly, just as it had since he stole the Jewels. Being slower at using Charge had its advantages.
 
Control sat in his office, the most valuable jewellery in all of Equus lay at his hooves. And it had been so remarkably easy too, these Pokémon were a gift from the gods themselves… well, the Pokémon God anyhow. He chuckled as he lost himself in the jewels lustre, before a small frown creased his brow. It had been easy, and that was the entire problem.

“The Guard are up to something, and I know that the Luxray’s friends will come for him soon.” He levitated his wine over and took a tentative sip. He had set up measures of course, the tracking gems had been an obvious ploy, but the Guard would have no choice. They couldn’t risk Control fleeing Canterlot with the Jewels.

“Just wait until they see what I have waiting for them,” Control chuckled. “All that remains is for me to finish my little ‘conversion’ of the lightning lion and then the stage will be set.” He finished his wine and got to his hooves. “All too easy…”

Walking over to a small cabinet, he pulled out a jar of white candies. One of the Pokémon he had enthralled used to be formerly human, fascinating creatures actually, and had known a recipe for a special candy that could make Pokémon stronger. Control managed to synthesise a few using alchemy and discovered something rather interesting. Not only had they made Pokémon stronger, but when Control tried one, he’d gotten a boost in magical power, though only a temporary one.

He took out the last one and popped it into his mouth, feeling his magical power increasing. It was a rather addicting feeling really.

He suddenly got the strangest sensation as his fur stood on end and he could smell something odd, it smelled a bit like rain or a thunderstorm.... As he reached for the door handle leading to the centre room of the warehouse, a loud buzz, followed by and even louder crack filled the air and the whole building shook. He flung the door open to see the bars of the cage crackling with residual electricity as Seth stepped out into the open, his eyes gleaming in the low light.
Control’s mouth fell open as the massive Luxray turned his gaze to the Unicorn and his eyes narrowed.

“Sorry about the noise,” Seth said calmly as he took a step forward. “I had to put the others to sleep for a bit… hope you don’t mind.”

Control slowly closed his mouth and gritted his teeth, had Malamar’s hypnosis worn off already?

“I’ll make you a deal,” Seth said. “Give yourself up, and I promise I won’t turn you into charcoal.” His body crackled with azure lightning for emphasis. Control’s reaction was one he wasn’t expecting though, as the Unicorn laughed loudly.

“Hehehehahaha!! You honestly think I’ll give up? Just like that!?” The stallion tapped a hoof on the ground and chuckled again. “I still have you beat, you just don’t know it yet!”

The ground beneath Seth’s paws cracked and then exploded as the Sandslash erupted forth as his claws narrowly missed taking Seth’s eyes out.

“Always have a Plan B,” Control said. “Scanning minds of these Pokémon, I’ve garnered quite a bit of information on how battling works. And I know that you have quite the disadvantage to Ground element Pokémon.”

“Tch!” Seth couldn’t believe that he’d missed seeing the Sandslash, he must have been hiding underground the whole time. Seth jumped back as Sandslash made another sweeping attack with his claws, but the Luxray failed to dodge the Rapid Spin attack that followed. As the two Pokémon battled, something didn’t sit right with Total Control. Why was the Luxray doing this? How had he broken Malamar’s hypnosis?

Using the fact that Seth was distracted by battle, Control lit up his horn and sifted through his memories again, and was surprised to find them completely different than before. They involved a human this time, and from the looks of it, this Luxray used to be one… and he looked familiar for some reason. But how had he fed him false memories before? A bit of prodding showed the reason, a Geas had been cast on him, an extremely powerful one at that. Control found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t alter the Luxray’s memories.

“…Celestia…” he cursed under his breath. It was the only explanation for the sheer strength of the counterspell.

Now he remembered, he’d seen this human in the memories of another, the Sandslash that he was currently fighting! Said Sandslash was cornered, and though he was tired, Seth was about to deal a knockout blow when Control called out.

“Do you want to do that Mr. Crescent? Heath there is your beloved partner is he not?”
Seth’s eyes widened as he looked from the Sandslash, to Control and then back to the Pokémon identified as Heath. It was really him? And how did Control know who Seth was? Heath took the pause to counter attack, slamming into Seth with another Rapid Spin.

The main door to the warehouse suddenly burst open as Selena, Rika, Fritter and some Royal Guard stormed in. The first thing they saw was Seth trying to hold back a Sandslash that was attacking him with a barrage of Rapid Spin attacks. Rika wasted no time in using Hyper Voice to blast Heath and Control, the Unicorn erected a shield to block the attack, but Heath wasn’t as lucky as he went spiralling across the warehouse floor. Seth jumped back and was quickly surrounded by his friends.

“Are you alright?” Selena asked, glaring at Control. “It seems we got here just in time.”

“Yeah… thanks,” Seth replied, wincing in pain. “That Sandslash, it’s Heath!” That got a reaction from his team as they looked at the fallen ground type.

“It’s really him?” Rika asked, as Seth nodded in response.

“Yeah, according to that horned bastard it is,” Seth spat. “How else would he know that name and who I am?”

“It’s quite true,” Control said, fixing his mane that was blown out of place by Rika’s attack. “Both yours and his memories confirm it. Such a touching reunion no?” He looked at the Sylveon and Absol, “Ah, and you must be Rika and the lovely Selena… a true pleasure to meet you.”

“The feeling isn’t mutual,” Selena growled. “I hope you’re ready, because I’m going to hurt you now!”

“Oh, feisty~” Control sneered. “I like that in a mare.”

Selena shivered in disgust. Just what the hell was this guy getting at? “You’ll be eating those words in just a moment!” Her horn lit up with a dark purple light as she rushed at him, her Night Slash would end this in one stroke.

But then Control’s horn ignited with a red light and Selena found herself unable to move. Try as she might, her body wouldn’t listen as she stood there like a statue.

“W-what did you do?” she growled, apparently she could still talk. Control just laughed as he walked closer to her.

“Oh, nothing much,” he purred. “Just a little spell I designed myself.” He saw Seth get to his feet and Control waved a hoof, Selena suddenly found herself pointing her razor sharp claws at her own throat.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you Mr. Crescent. We wouldn’t want anything… unfortunate, to happen to Selena here, would we?” He forced the claws closer until a small droplet of blood stained her white fur. “I for one, would be most upset.”

Seth growled, but didn’t make a move. What the hell was he supposed to do? Control smiled as he lowered Selena claw and stood next to her. Leaning close, he took a deep sniff of her mane around her neck and smiled. “Ah, delightful. I knew I liked you the moment I saw your picture. Simply beautiful~”

“I am going to tear out you spleen and feed it to you!” Selena said through gritted teeth. She wanted to throw up after that, but her body was stuck fast.

“You shall change your mind soon enough,” Control said, unfazed by the threat. “I will have to remove that pesky Geas first, then you shall be utterly devoted to me.”

“How are you doing this?” Selena said, “The Princesses spell should protect me from your mind control, and I’m a Dark Type!”

“Such curiosity, beautiful and smart!” Control beamed. “It’s quite simple really, I’m not controlling your mind, but rather, the electrical signals your brain sends to your muscles. I call it ‘Marionette Magic’ and as you can see, it’s quite effective.” His horn shone and Selena suddenly dashed forward as her tail glowed with a white light.

“Rika!? Look out!” Selena cried, but it was too late as her Iron Tail connected with the side of Rika’s head and sent her tumbling across the ground. A few silent moments passed and Rika made no signs of getting up again.

“Rika? Wake up!” Selena cried, but the fairy didn’t respond. “You bastard! I’m going to fucking kill you!!”

“And you’re also powerful? You just get more and more beautiful!” Control sighed. “Those Rare Candies make my magic so much stronger, you have no chance of resisting.”

“Rare Candy?” Seth’s eyes widened, how had he gotten those? He didn’t have time to respond as Selena ran straight at him, her claws glowing with a pink light.

“Seth, dodge!” Selena cried, but someone intercepted her, Apple Fritter tackled the Pokémon from the side, sending her sprawling across the ground.

“Ah’m sorry Selena!” Fritter cried.

“Don’t be, keep me away from Seth!” Selena responded, that tackle had hurt quite a bit, but she couldn’t even flinch. “You guys have to take Rika and run!” She found her mouth opening and a dark energy began to build. Control was making her use Hyper Beam!?

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” Control said and at the last moment, made Selena aim to the right and blasted the squad of Guards with her attack. “And that takes care of that little problem, now for the other loose ends.” He suddenly threw up a shield as Seth’s Discharge attack bounced off of it. “Ah, ah, ahh~” Control waved a hoof, “That’s very naughty. I’ll have to punish you for that!”

Selena, exhausted from Hyper Beam, was forced to lift her weary body and face her Trainer, her blade shining with Psychic power as Control activated her Psycho Cut attack. “I’m afraid your head will have to roll Mr. Crescent, and the look on Selena’s face as she does just that should be delicious~”

Tears streamed from Selena’s eyes as she ran at her master, her blade shining as her Ability aimed it at a weak point on his body. She was stopped however, as something large appeared out of thin air, clutching her blade and holding her still. Her eyes panned up to see Ignis standing there, his claws holding her blade as a trickle of blood ran down it. Where had he come from? Why was he, of all Pokémon here to see her like this?

“What the hell are you doing?” Ignis said calmly. “Wanna explain why you’re attacking our brother?” When Mewtwo had told him there was a problem and teleported him here, Selena trying to kill Seth was something he wasn’t expecting.

“Because she does what I make her!” Control yelled, wondering just where in the hell this beast had come from. “And you will not stop her. Selena, kill that dragon and take your Trainer’s head!”

“And you’re going to obey him? Just like that?” Ignis said, ignoring the loud stallion. “I thought you were stronger than that Selly? Didn’t think a wimpy little toothpick like that could push you around.”

“He’s using magic on me, I can’t stop!” Selena cried as her body took a step forward. Tears streamed down her eyes as she felt her blade press deeper into his hands. “Please, make me stop!”

“No, make him stop yourself!” Ignis roared. “You are Selena, our sister and the Dark Fairy Queen, he’s just a nobody! So stop letting him push you around!”

“She can’t!” Control yelled. “I have total command of her body, she cannot disobey me!!”

“Yes. I. FUCKING CAN!!” Selena roared as she dug her claws into the ground. Ignis was right, this was going to end here and now, even if it killed her. Red strings to light appeared, that seemed to attach her body to Control’s horn. With another roar as her body became engulfed with dark light, the strings suddenly snapped, causing her to fall as the magical backlash caused Control to yelp in pain as he stumbled back.

“I-impossible!” Control groaned, “How did she break free?” It just wasn’t possible, with his boosted magic, he should have been able to control an alicorn! So how did a lowly Pokémon break free? He wheezed as he felt the downside to taking the Rare Candy, the boost suddenly had the opposite effect and he suddenly felt very drained. He took the last candy from his bag and ate it, he needed to get out of here!

Ignis caught Selena and held her close as her eyes began to close. “You did it, I knew you could,” he whispered. Selena smiled back softly and her eyes closed as she lost consciousness. Ignis held his sister close and hugged her. And then placed her on the ground as he stared at the Unicorn that was getting to his hooves.

“I am going to burn you to ashes!” he growled, but then something caught his attention and looked at this brother.

Seth’s body crackled with lightning as his eyes narrowed to slits as he glared at Control. “Ignis, Fritter?” he said, his voice holding back the unbearable rage he was feeling. “Get all the Pokémon out of here… I will deal with Control!”

“You, but-” Ignis was cut off as Seth turned his glare on him.

“The safety of the other’s comes first. We need to get the Guard, Rika, Selena and the other Pokémon out of here! So get to it Ignis!”

“R-right…” Ignis scooped up Selena and Rika. “Can you handle this?” He got his answer when a massive bolt of lightning shot forth which Control only barely managed to deflect. His shield shattered like glass as a second bolt was being charged.

“Yeah,” Seth replied darkly. “I got this!”

Apple Fritter took a step back as the charged electricity caused her mane to stand on end. “I’ll ah, Ah’ll give you a hand Mr. Ignis,” she stammered, placing Rika on her back.

“You think I’m just going to let you walk away!?” Control shouted and then yelped as another bolt shot at him, narrowly missing him, but still scorching the fur on his left side.

“Like you have a choice,” Seth replied. “You’re going to pay for what you did. I’ll make sure of that!” Lightning arced across his body, this Thunder attack would finish him for good.

“We shall see…” Control said quietly as he got to his hooves as he began to multicast one last time. Like he had said before… always have a Plan B!

 

*~*

 
Ignis and Fritter had barely made it outside when a massive bolt of lightning ripped through the roof, lighting up the night sky like the sun itself. The noise was deafening and every window close by shattered from the concussive force.

All was silent before a figure passed through the warehouse doors and out into the open. Seth looked tired and his eyes just stared at the ground as he emerged. Fritter ran over to hug him, but the Pokémon drew away from her.

“Let’s get the other Pokémon and get them to the hospital,” he said quietly.

“What about that Unicorn?” Ignis said and Seth flinched.

“He’s – I didn’t mean to…” he hadn’t meant to utterly vaporise him, he only wanted to make him pay for what he had done. Ignis nodded and placed a claw on Seth’s shoulder.

“It’s alright,” Seth didn’t want to guy dead, he wanted him to pay for what he did, but not like this. His sensitive ears were suddenly filled with noise as the warehouse exploded, the blast throwing everyone to the ground.

“The hell?” Ignis shielded everyone behind him, the flames not having much effect on him, until Seth ran around him and towards the warehouse.

“SETH!?” Fritter cried, drawing back from the roaring flames. “NO!”

“What the hell are you doing?” Ignis roared, trying to hold the mare back from running after him. A quick glance at the rescued Pokémon told him the reason why... Heath was still inside the building!

Seth coughed as he searched through the flickering flames, trying to find his missing brother. It took what felt like a painfully long time, as the flames burned his fur and smoke filled his lungs, but he eventually found the Sandslash against one of the walls, pinned by a wooden beam.

“Come on!” Set groaned as he tried to shift the beam. “We need to get the hell out of here!”

“Why did you come back?” Heath coughed. His mind had begun to clear and he realised what he had been doing. “I don’t deserve it.”

“We’re family,” Seth replied as the beam shifted slightly. “I don’t leave family behind, you got that!”

Heath groaned as the heavy beam was finally shifted, but both Pokémon were so weak, they couldn’t move. Heath chuckled slightly before coughing on the smoke that filled the warehouse.

“Great rescue there ‘brother’,” he said, placing a hand on Seth.

“Yeah well it’s the thought that counts right?” Seth replied, he was starting to get sleepy, every fibre in his being was telling him not to, but he just wanted to sleep…

Both Pokémon were already unconscious when a blue light filled the room…

 

*~*

 
“I’ll go and get them!” Ignis said, putting Apple Fritter down. “They won’t last long in those flames!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry,” The dragon turned to see an armoured stallion standing next to him, one that hadn’t been there before. Grissom nodded towards the warehouse, “Our friend has it under control.”

“Friend?” Fritter and Ignis echoed. The warehouse was engulfed in light as the flames parted, a sphere of azure light floated out, the silhouettes of three Pokémon inside of it.  The sphere floated over to the group and vanished, revealing Mewtwo, along with a rather singed-looking Seth and Heath.

“I believe these belong to you,” Mewtwo said. “They have superficial wounds and smoke inhalation, we should transport them and everyone else to the hospital.”

Ignis nodded and stared at the smouldering warehouse, how had it exploded in the first place? A faint popping sound caught his ears and he turned to see a sight that made his blood boil. It was that damned Unicorn, Total Control!

Control coughed as he gained his bearings. Those self-destruct runes had been a bit more powerful than he anticipated, he would have died if he hadn’t teleported in time. Well, at least all of his problems were taken care of in one fiery explosion… His eyes widened when he realised where he was, he was just outside the warehouse… but that wasn’t right, he should have been miles away, hidden away in one of his safe houses.

His horn throbbed in pain and suddenly knew what went wrong, the Rare Candy had worn off much sooner than expected. The sound of hooves galloping across the cobblestones caught his attention and he looked up to see an Earth Pony mare only a few feet away. She looked familiar somehow and then his pupils shrank when he recalled. He tried to cast a spell, but his horn just fizzled out.

“The mud stomper…” he muttered and Apple Fritter spun on her hooves, facing away from him as she raised her back legs.

“Mud ain’t the only thing they’re good fer stompin’!” she said as her hooves connected with his chest with a solid thump… Total Control was already unconscious before he struck the side of the building with a sickening crunch and his limp form fell to the ground, the Crown Jewels spilling out of his bag.

“Nopony messes with mah kin,” Fritter spat and then fell to the ground, her energy spent.

Grissom walked over to Control, slipping hoofcuffs and an Inhibitor Ring on him. “You have the right to remain unconscious. Anything you say or do makes no difference, as you are royally screwed.”

Mewtwo nodded and with a wave of his hand, they were all transported to the hospital to recover. Once everyone had been settled, he left for the Hall of Legends, he had a trio of Pokémon to speak to.

 

*~*

 
Memories flashed through Seth’s mind, like watching a movie and hitting the skip button few times. He remembered the first time he left on his Pokémon journey, the first Gym Battle he’d ever won and the moment he decided to stand up for those that couldn’t. He recalled the tender night he shared with Elesa on the Ferris wheel, and then when he awoke in Equestria and met Apple Fritter. He remembered all the new friends that he had made, like meeting Gene and Belle, as well as all of his new pony friends…

But it was time to wake up…

And what a sight it was when he did. At first, the plain, white ceilings of the hospital room he was in greeted his tired eyes. But when he felt something stir next to him, he looked to his left and then to his right to see Apple Fritter and Rika sleeping on either side of him.

‘This is a pretty damned nice way to wake up,’ he thought to himself. He just lay there for a moment, before gently prodding the two girls. “Hey, rise and shine,” he said softly, his voice was raspy and a sudden coughing fit caused the girls to stir.

“Seth?” Rika leant over him, her bright eyes staring into his. “You’re awake!?”

“S’bout time,” Fritter mumbled sleepily. “Ah was worried about ya.”

Rika nodded in agreement and then frowned before pounding his chest with her paws. “How could you do something so stupid!? Running into a burning building? You could have been killed! You almost were killed!!”

“S-sorry,” Seth coughed with each hit, “Won’t happen again… promise.”

“Darn tootin’ it won’t happen again, idgit!” Fritter said, feeling more awake now. “But yer safe an’ so is everypony else, I reckon that’s the most important fact.”

Seth nodded, wincing as his whole body was racked with pain. Yeah, he defiantly won’t run into a burning building anytime again soon. “So what happened, I remember trying to save Heath… and then I woke up here. How long have I been out?”

Rika glanced at a wall clock. “About thirteen hours, give or take,” she replied. “It’s a little after noon now, so I think that might be about right. Everyone else is okay… Diantha and Gardevoir are downstairs healing everyone. They’ve been up all night doing it too.”

Seth nodded, slowly this time and tried to get to his feet, but Rika and Fritter held him down.
“Whoa there partner, y’all aint getting out of this here bed,” Fritter said sternly. “You took in a lot of smoke last night an’ yer burns are still healing. So yer jus’ gonna lay here and let Rika and I take care of you!”

“Seems I have little choice,” Seth chuckled. “At least my carers are cute~” That comment got the two girls to turn bright red and they suddenly found the ceiling very interesting. A cough coming from the doorway got their attention and the three looked to see Selena standing there.

“Are you done flirting? I’d like to see how you’re doing,” Selena smirked, her bravado quickly died though as her eyes watered. Seth motioned for her to come over and the Dark Pokémon wasted no time in walking over to the bed and nuzzling her trainer, tears running down her face.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that. I should have been stronger, not let him-” Her tirade was cut off when Seth put a paw over her mouth and then pulled her into a hug.

“Enough of that, it wasn’t your fault and I certainly don’t blame you for anything.” He ran his paw through her silky fur. “And I know Rika doesn’t hold a grudge either, so none of that alright. You’ll stain your fur and I don’t have a grooming kit on me.”

Selena gave a weak chuckle and leant into the embrace. Rika hugged her as well and Fritter smiled at the tender scene in front of her, until someone else cleared their throat to garner some attention. Set opened one eye to see Ignis standing there, his arms folded and a small grin on his face.

“Can’t leave you alone for a moment, can I?” he said, walking into the room. “Maybe I should have stayed with you, you seem to attract all sorts of excitement.”

“It’s excitement that I could do without,” Seth replied dryly. Fritter brought a cup of water over to him, which he gladly drank. “Ahh, that’s much better~”

Selena hopped off of the bed and wiped her face with her foreleg. “So what are you doing here anyway?” she said with a curt tone. “Shouldn’t you be off picking fights with Legendary Pokémon?”

“Selena…” Seth started, but Rika shook her head.

“Well, I wanted to come see you guys, tell you what I’ve been up to and it looks like you needed my help after all,” Ignis said, walking closer.

“Maybe if you’d been here in the first place, we wouldn’t even be in this mess!” Selena raised her voice.

“Well I’m not a Psychic type!” Ignis yelled back. “How was I supposed to know something like this would happen?!” He pressed his snout against hers and narrowed his eyes.

Selena suddenly leapt at him, pinning the surprised dragon to the floor and staring into his eyes. “So what are you going to do now? Just up and leave me again!?”

“Leave you? Don’t you mean all of you?” Ignis said and Rika facepawed, was he really that stupid… oh yeah, he totally was.

“I know what I goddam said!” Selena yelled in his face and then pressed her lips against his, her face burning bright red. Ignis’ eyes went as wide as they could and his heart nearly stopped. After a moment, Selena finally pulled away and the two Pokémon panted as they caught their breath.

“You get it now, stupid flamebrain!” Selena said quietly, her still blushing face looking away from his. She squeaked when he gently cupped her cheek with his bandaged paw and turned her face to look at him directly.

“Yeah,” he replied. “I think I get it,” he brought his lips to press gently against hers and the two Pokémon just melted into each-others embrace.

Rika squealed with glee and the grin she wore was enormous. Fritter just smiled and leant a little closer to Seth without thinking.

Seth on the other hand was seriously confused. Ignis and Selena were making out on the floor and his brain just could not process that fact.

“So uh, how long has his been a thing?” he asked.

“For a while now,” Rika stated as she munched on some grapes she pilfered from Seth’s fruit basket. “But Ignis was too dumb to pick up on Selly’s feeling and Selly was too damned tsundere to actually admit it outright. Guess she finally grew a pair and the end result is this!”

“I… see…” Seth said. “Well, good for them!” He really was happy for them, but the whole family dynamic between them was changed forever now.

“Yup,” Rika giggled. “Incest is Wincest!”

“I can’t believe you just said that,” Seth groaned, smushing her head under his paw.

Once the happy new couple settled down, Seth was finally able to get some answers about last night. All the brainwashed Pokémon had been brought to the hospital they were currently staying in, and Gardevoir had been working around the clock to repair the mental damage that Control had inflicted upon them. Removing false memories had proven to take quite some time and Gardevoir was guessing at best on how to do it. Several Pokémon had already recovered and would be discharge later today. There were only a few Pokémon left, including Diantha’s Tyrantrum and the Malamar.

Heath was doing alright, his wounds were healing and he wouldn't suffer any lasting effect from the smoke. But he was still unconscious and would probably remain so for another day or two at least.

“Tyra will take a bit longer, the mental damage was pretty severe, plus I kinda beat the crap out of him,” Ignis said. “But Malamar… Gardy said that his mind is broken, she isn’t sure if she can fix him.”

“I see,” Seth said quietly. How could one pony have done all of this? And for what, a few shiny trinkets? “At least it’s over…”

There was a knock on his door and Seth nodded to Ignis for him to open it. When he did, a Rapidash and a Garchomp stepped inside.

“You… you’re Seth right?” The Rapidash said and the Luxray nodded. “Well, my name is Flare Blitz, and… I’d like to thank you. You saved me, saved all of us from that madman…”

The Garchomp walked over to him and placed arm over the fire pony’s withers. “You saved my mate and for that, I owe you. If you ever need anything, just ask! I’m Sapphira, by the way.”

“You’re welcome,” Seth replied and lowered his head in an apologetic manner. “Sorry about having to zap you though…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Flare grinned and nudged his dragon. “Having her as a mate means I’m used to the rough stuff~”

“I-idiot!” Sapphira blushed. “Don’t say that!” She took a breath and smiled though. “C’mon, we should get out of here, it’s crowded enough already.”

Seth chuckled and returned the smile. “You take care of each other now, and perhaps we’ll meet again?”

Flare Blitz nodded, “Yeah, we should catch up some time. Thanks again!” And with a chorus of farewells, the duo left. Seth’s smile refused to leave even after they were gone.

“Well that was nice of them,” Fritter said. “Y’all should be proud Seth.”

“And you guys too,” Seth sad. “You really helped out, I couldn’t have done it without you.” The group shared another hug and spent the rest of the day sitting around the room talking. After the sun had set, Grissom paid them a visit, explaining that the Princess wanted to meet Seth at his next convenience. Once his injuries had healed, Total Control was facing life imprisonment for his crimes against Equestria and the Pokémon. The news of the battles that had raged around Canterlot last night had been suppressed, with the Summit around the corner they could not afford the negative publicity from this event.

Night eventually fell and Ignis and Selena left to let Seth get some rest. Rika and Fritter refused to leave though, even when the nurse asked them to. Seth didn’t mind the company, it felt pretty nice actually. So with the two on either side of him, the Luxray drifted off the sleep wondering just what surprises the next day would bring...