“So that’s the situation,” Jenny had just finished filling in the pony in charge about what had happened since the two of them had shown up. She felt rather ashamed, likely she had made things worse by attacking the pegasus and allowing this situation to develop like it did.
It turned out that the pegasus that Ethan had kicked unconscious now had a broken jaw, but was in otherwise fine condition. They had gathered with Jenny and Ethan near the treeline, only placing a few pegasi around to make sure that Shady did not make a run for it.
The pony in charge was a unicorn named Protocol with a dark blue coat and mane, with a police badge for a cutie mark. He used his hoof and pinched his nose as he forcefully exhaled.
“At least you took out one of them… are you sure that there are more Pokémon inside?” He asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Ethan answered him. “It’s faint, but I can hear some of them inside.” He had heard one of them try to call out earlier but it had been silenced by what Ethan assumed was Shady kicking its cage by the sound of it.
“Damn…” He shook his head. “Well, you did what you could, we'll take it from here,” he told the two of them. He was about to walk away from them but was stopped by Officer Jenny.
“I can still be of help,” Jenny protested. “I am a police officer. I know I acted irrationally, but I can still be of help.” She stared at Protocol who in turn stared right back at her. Ethan felt slightly nervous as he looked in between the two of them and their staring match. He still wanted to help too, but he was still hurt, so there was a limit to what he could do.
Protocol was the first one to look away.
“Fine… but you will follow my orders,” he gave in, to Jenny’s satisfaction. “You said his name was Shady right?”
“Yes, it’s what I heard the pegasus call him at least,” Ethan told him.
“Hmm… I know that pegasus from the local weather team… but there is no Shady living in our town.” Ethan watched some of the pegasi fly around the house. They kept their distance at all times, but looked for anything useful. The hole in the wall from before had been blocked off, it seemed as though Shady had pushed some tables and the like to create a makeshift barricade.
It would be next to impossible for him to escape anyway. From what Ethan had seen, pegasi were the quickest pony race, at least when they were in the air. And on top of that, Jenny had managed to injure his leg with her Flamethrower. Shady was not going anywhere.
Protocol walked away from Jenny and Ethan towards the house, stopping once he heard a voice from inside.
“Don't come any closer!” It was Shady’s voice. He sounded pretty frantic, and just after he had spoken, the door opened to reveal the the very same unicorn. “Any closer and I start slitting throats…” In his magical grip, he held an injured Taillow who looked scared out of its mind and a knife held pressed against its throat.
“Give yourself up, Shady!” Protocol shouted out to him. “Come willingly and you might get a lighter sentence.”
“I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.” Ethan could hear the small Taillow quietly chant a phrase to itself. From what he could see, it had got its wings clipped, the blood around them still fresh. It could very well be the Taillow that the Swablu had told them about.
“Not a chance, I have the power here!” Shady yelled back and pressed the blade tighter against the Taillows neck, cutting some of its feathers. “Let me go free or these creatures start dropping!”
“Please, I don't want to die!” The Taillow in his grasp shrieked as it began to struggle, only for it to be held tighter in Shadys magical grasp, its whole body now aking from the pressure.
“Keep still, you little shit,” Shady growled before he turned back to Protocol. “If you ponies are not gone in the next thirty minutes, they die!” And with that he backed into the house, the last look the group got was the Taillow’s teary face begging them for help before the door was slammed closed.
“What did it say?” Protocoll asked as he trotted back to Ethan and Jenny.
“... He, it was a he.” Ethan started off. “He was…” Ethan halted, his voice stuck. He had been in a lot of terrible situations with a lot of terrible people but nothing like the situation they were currently in.
“He was saying that he did not want to die!” Jenny told him with a determined look on her face. “We got to save him and all the other Pokémon that are inside!”
“And we will!” Protocol confirmed with a nod. “We just need to handle this situation carefully… do you have any experience in hostage situations?” He asked Officer Jenny, who solemnly shook her head in response.
“No, I don't, I only know the textbook responses from what we were taught at the academy.”
“I see… then I don't know how much help you will be,” Protocoll told her. “If I need your help with anything then I will ask so, but for now there is nothing you can do.” Jenny hated to admit it, but she knew that he was right. She watched Protocol walk away to discuss the what they should do with his other men, time was scarce after all.
“I feel so useless…” Jenny flopped down and sighed sadly. She had messed up so much lately that she was not sure if she deserved to be called an officer anymore. She had failed to rescue a bunch of captured Pokémon and even made the situation worse… Hell, she was even going to let a murderer off the hook, because she actually believed that what he did was the right thing. Her whole world was coming crashing down around her fast, and she did not know what to do about it.
“Hey, don't beat yourself up!” Ethan told her as he gave her a small pat on her back. “You did what you thought was right, no one can blame you for that.” He had seen her type a lot of times, so he liked to think that he understood how she felt. The type that it was never just good enough to try or do your best, they needed to succeed.
“I just...I had a good life.” She started off. “I was doing well in my job too, you were the only one I could not catch.” She let out a small laugh and shook her head. “I was in due for a promotion… hell, I had gone on a few dates and even thought that maybe I had found love.” She hit the ground in front of her with her paws as she struggled to keep her emotions under check. “And now I'm pouring my heart out to the very same criminal I was meant to catch…”
Jenny turned to him, her eyes slightly redder than normal but she had managed to keep some of her pride.
“This has been hard on a lot of people… it’s not exactly a normal situation,” Ethan told her. It was obvious that she was close to having a breakdown, just like he had earlier. Luckily for him, he had his friends there to help him through it. Jenny on the other paw… “No one blames you for anything that has happened.” As he said this Jenny turned to him with a furious look on her face.
“But someone does! I blame myself!” She told him in a stern voice. “I have been nothing but a constant failure ever since we were brought to this world…” She looked down to the ground for a moment before she looked back up with a tired look on her face. “You know what… you win.” It took Ethan a few moments to understand what she meant.
“Do you mean?”
“That I agree with you? I guess I do. I will stop my endeavor of trying to get you sent to jail. You are safe from me from now on. You are free to go wherever you like now.” Ethan could not help but to feel a little sorry for Jenny as she sat there. She looked completely and utterly defeated.
Ethan held back on the victory cries for now and thought about how he could cheer Jenny up instead. He had much more experience in dealing with Pokémon rather than people so he was not completely sure how he should proceed. He thought about what Chii would do if she were in his situation, what would she tell him to do?
“Give her a hug!”
That… did sound like something she would tell him to do. Now that he thought about it, Chii solved most of her problems in that manner. Perhaps he could give it a try. He moved a little closer to Officer Jenny and he was just about to give her a big hug Chii style when she interrupted him.
“Hug me and we will find out how well those fluffy ears of yours burn!” She growled at him, making him sit back down.
“Sorry… it seemed like a good idea,” he gave her a sheepish smile. “But why do you think that I’m going anywhere?” he asked her, noticing the confusion that appeared in her eyes.
“Because… I thought you stuck around so that I wouldn't tell everyone about you, and try to get you thrown in jail.” She was right, that was the initial reason.
“Well I have grown to like this town, besides, where else would I go?” He asked her. “Chii and Zoey seem to like it here too. From my point of view, I have no reason to go anywhere else; I’m afraid that you are not going to get rid of me that easily!” There was also the fact that Chii had really warmed up to Jenny, and with both of them in need of a friend...
“I…” Jenny huffed and looked away, but Ethan was sure that he saw a small smile on her face before she hid it. She would never admit it, but with her Growlithe still missing, she needed friends. It would take a lot of work, but maybe he could get her to open up a little more.
Ethan did not say anything, less to ruin the mood. The two of them just sat there and watched as Protocol and his ponies hurried about. It would have been a pretty nice moment… if one looked away from the hostage situation that was.
“So… something is happening” Ethan was about to speak up when the door to the house opened up and Shady could be seen standing there.
“I… I give myself up…” Shady said with his head hung low. Protocol gathered up his ponies and walked towards the defeated unicorn.
“Smart choice… Check the house for any injured!” Protocol called out and a few pegasi immediately flew inside the house.
Jenny had been watching the entire situation unfold alongside Ethan but something just did not sit right with her. It just seemed like everything went too easy. Shady had given them an ultimatum, but he had not even used to half of the time he had given them.
“Something is wrong…” she muttered, but it was still loud enough so that Ethan heard her.
“What do you mean?” He asked her. He had already gotten up, and was going to go over to help with the injured Pokémon. His side still hurt a bit, but it was not as bad as it was initially.
“Call it a gut feeling…” then she saw it. Protocol was just about to put some hoofcuffs on Shady when she noticed the same sadistic smile on his face that he had when he hurt Ethan and her. She was about to yell out, to warn the others but it was already too late.
Shadys horn lit up for a second and in that very instant, the house burst into flames.
The roaring flames bursted out of the windows, and started licking up the sides of the house. Everypony was stunned for a second of two, but in that small time the house had transformed into a roaring inferno.
Jenny was the first one to regain control of herself, and immediately noticed that Shady was missing. Protocol was stunned just like everyone else, his eyes glued to the fire. She looked around and saw something slip into the forest behind everyone.
“Shady!” She yelled and was about to set off after him, but she was stopped dead in her tracks as Ethan grabbed a hold of her tails.
“Let them handle him, we need you here. You are a Fire type, if you had forgotten, we need you to help get them out of that fire.” Everyone had gotten over their initial daze and Protocol had begun shouting orders out to his ponies.
The pegasi took to the skies, gathering clouds to create some rain to contain and hopefully beat the fire. If any of them had noticed that Shady had escaped, then they had not acted on it, as there were more pressing matters.
One of the pegasi that went inside the house had already made it out with a few Pokémon in his grasp, smoke still rising from his fur. Jenny understood what Ethan meant and ran towards the house with Ethan in close follow.
“What is she doing?” Protocol roared as Jenny sped past him, and through the broken doorway into the inferno behind it.
“S-she is helping,” Ethan told him as he came to a stop next to him. “She is a Fire type, fire is not that harmful to her.” If Protocol had any trouble believing Ethan then he did not show it, he only nodded. Ethan also noticed that his horn had been glowing brightly the entire time since the fire had started. “What are you doing?” He had to ask.
“Making sure that the house does not collapse,” he told Ethan. “From what you told me, there was an explosion in there earlier as well, for all we know Shady could have rigged the house to collapse if we made our way in there to rescue them.” Ethan had to hand it to him, that had not crossed his mind at all. “My ponies are already trying to create a hole in the wall to make some easier access to the inside.” Normally, such a thing would only make the integrity of the building worse, but with Protocol’s magic, it was a sound move.
“Right… I’ll do what I can to help the injured,” Ethan told him. He was not sure how much help he would be, but it was the best he could do. He wanted to run in after Jenny to help save those inside, but there was no way he could run straight into a fire like she had did.
“Do what you can, we need all the help we can get right now!” Ethan nodded and ran closer towards the house. The heat was bad enough from a distance, but once he got closer it felt like a pushing force, threatening anyone that came closer.
The hole that had been made earlier from the Explosion had been cleared of debris, giving everyone and everypony a better view of the inside and easier access to it. Some of the Earth ponies had crossed the heat and made their way inside to help locate any injured.
“Ethan!” he recognized Jenny's voice and saw her jump out through the hole, with a familiar Taillow carried in her tails, and a Shroomish on her back. She looked slightly burned in a few places, but otherwise alright.
“Are there many more in there?” He asked her, once she had put the Pokémon down.
“Unfortunately yes…” she answered him. “A lot of them are trapped under debris, the ponies are helping move it, but we can only move so fast,” he nodded as she turned around and ran back into the burning house.
Without further ado, Ethan got his mind back on track. There was only one way he could help them right now, and he would do that to the best of his ability.
“Gather any injured over here!” He yelled out, getting a few nods from the unicorns and other ponies.
With the ones that Jenny had brought out, a total of four Pokémon had made it out and he immediately started going over them and doing what he could to treat what injured they had. He had gotten some supplies from one of the unicorns; it was not too much but it would have to do until they could get everyone some better help.
“What I wouldn’t give to know Heal Pulse right now…” Ethan muttered to himself as he set a broken wing that the Taillow had. It was the one that got its wings clipped earlier, but aside from that and its broken wing it did not have any serious injuries from what Ethan could see. It had also fallen unconscious shortly after Jenny had brought it out, the pain too much for the poor thing to take.
The Shroomish on the other paw, was not so lucky. It had severe burns over most of its body, and had been screaming in pain the entire time. The fact that it was a Grass type was not helping.
There was some ointment with the supplies he had gotten from the unicorn. It was helping with the burns, but with how the Shroomish was screaming and squirming, it did not seem to help any with the pain.
“I’m sorry, little guy, but I don't have any way to lessen the pain…” it broke Ethan’s heart to have to leave the Shroomish in such pains, but it was not in a life threatening condition and he still had other Pokémon to deal with.
Ethan continued to help the injured as more continued to come. Jenny and several other ponies were bringing them out to him, the ponies had started to go into the building as well when the pegasi had gotten the rainclouds together. Not only did it allow them to combat the fire, they could also drench the ponies in water to help them when they went into the fiery building.
“Ethan, get over here now!” Ethan heard Jenny's voice yell out to him, she had just exited the building with yet another Pokémon on her back.
“Just a second, I'm almost done here…” Ethan had made a splint for the wing of a pegasus that was brought out of the building along with the other injured. It seemed like a beam had fallen over him and broke his right wing like a twig.
“If he is not dying then it can wait, I need you here right now!” She yelled out to him again, and this time Ethan noticed the despair in her voice and immediately turned to her.
In front of Jenny was a Oddish, though Ethan had a hard time telling that from how it looked. Its normal green leaves was completely gone, burned to a crisp and the rest of its body was not doing too good either.
“What happened?” Ethan hurried over to her and kneeled down to examine the Oddish. It was even worse that it had seemed from a distance. He had seen worse… but this world did not have the same level of medical technology.
“H-he was trapped under some burning debris… I think he was screaming for help, but the fire made so much noise, I could not hear it until I was practically standing on top of him…” Jenny was sounding desperate and Ethan knew why. It looked really bad, and she probably blamed herself for not finding him earlier.
“I… I don't have the equipment to deal with this level of burns…” Ethan was starting to panic slightly at that point as well. If the burns were not bad enough, it had plenty of bad cuts all over its body, the only reason it had not bled to death was that the fire had cauterized the wounds.
“There must be something you can do!” Jenny yelled at him, in the background the fire was dying out. The Pegasi finally having managed to put the rainclouds they had gathered to good use.
“...” Ethan froze for a moment as he thought about what to do. “Protocol!” He shouted out to the pony, who made his way over to Ethan and Jenny, his horn still glowing and some strain was now visible on his face. “Do you have a pegasus to spare?” Ethan asked him. “I need to get this Oddish some real medical attention immediately…”
“Certainly, we seem to have the situation under control now.” He said before he waved down one of the nearby pegasi.
“Sir?”
“Get this Pokémon to the Doctor’s office in town immediately.” The pegasus nodded and after having the Oddish gently lowered down on his back, took off to the air towards the town.
“Jenny, you run to Mary and tell her to head to the Doctor’s office too. We will have more patients incomming, we will need the help,” Ethan told her. He hoped that they were properly equipped to handle this many patients.
“Right away,” she answered immediately without objecting, she knew that he was right. More than one pony would be needed with the amount of injured they had coming.
With that in mind, Officer Jenny turned and ran after the pegasus towards the town going as fast as her small body could carry her. And in just a few moments, she was out of sight.
“So how are the other injured looking?” Protocol asked Ethan as they stood there. No more flames could be seen from the house now, it had been completely doused just a few places where smoke still rose to the sky above.
“It could have certainly been worse…” Ethan looked over to where the injured Pokémon and pegasi laid. He had done all he could with the equipment he had gotten. “But it’s not too good either… Some of them are unconscious and I can't make too much of an assessment with the ponies. I simply don't know enough about their physique. The broken wings and bones were easy to splint… but they still need proper medical care.” The one Ethan was most worried about was the Taillow. It still had not woken up, and there was something about its wings and how they were clipped that worried him. Normally one would just cut the main feathers to prevent flying, but it seemed that Shady had instead damaged the wings and nerves themselves.
“I see… I must thank you for both of your assistance,” Protocol gave him a nod of respect. “It certainly helped to make all of this go smoother… just a shame that Shady managed to escape!” He let out a long sigh and shook his head. “We will try to track him down, of course, but dealing with this comes first.”
“Speaking of this… are there any more Pokémon trapped inside?” Ethan inquired.
“Hmm… it seemed like your friend made it out with the last one, but we are going over everything a few more times to make sure that no Pokémon has been missed.” All of his ponies had been accounted for.
“Right… we should get started with getting all of the inured back to town to receive some proper help. I may have some medical training, but it’s not as good as a proper doctor or Nurse Joy.” Being educated as a Pokémon caretaker, Ethan had worked alongside many Nurse Joys in the past. Helping out in a Pokémon Center was usually a part of the education.
“I’m sorry, a Nurse what?” Protocol asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked down at Ethan.
“Ah, sorry, they are so common back at Earth that it’s unusual to meet someone that doesn't know about them,” Ethan smiled sheepishly. “They are basically all part of a large family that specializes in medical care…” He was going to say that they all basically look identical too, but he guessed that it would be too far fetched for somepony who had never met them to believe.
“That sounds nice…” Now that the fire had been cleared from the house and most of the smoke had been cleared out, Ethan could see how much damage had been done to the building itself. From what he could see from where he sat, the insides were a mess with debris and the like, that and most of the support beams were laying among the rubble. It should by no means still be standing, if it was not for Protocol’s magic.
“How about you? You seemed pretty used to us, at least more than the villagers that just glare from afar.” Ethan sighed out. Most of the ponies were friendly, but there were still some that were a little cautious.
“I guess I was, huh?” Protocol let out a short laugh. “Well, I know the translation spell myself and I met one of those former humans a little while ago. I think she called herself a Pokémon Ranger or something like that.” Ethan felt himself stiffen for a moment as he mentioned the word “ranger”. Officer Jenny had already said that she was on his side now, but he still felt a little nervous.
“T-that’s good then,” Ethan put on his most convincing smile. “It’s a weird situation for all of us… so it;s good that we are helping each other getting used to our new reality.”
One of the pegasi shouted that the building was clear after they had done one last sweep of it. Knowing that everything should be in the clear, Protocol released his spell.
“That looked tiresome,” Ethan commented. He could clearly see the sweat on Protocol’s neck and forehead, and his mane looked positively drenched.
“It was…” A low creak could be heard from the house. It started slowly growing in volume before a sharp crack could be heard and the entire building collapsed. “But it seems like it was necessary.”
Ethan had his curiosity peaked by the unicorn. Not only by his magic, but by his personality as well. He was in law enforcement, just as Officer Jenny. But she was like a raging fire, that acted on her emotions and instinct. And Protocol seemed more like a block of ice in comparison. Cold, calculating, everything by the book. The type of personality that was the most difficult to predict in Ethan’s experience.
It was an assessment he did not really need to make. His days of hiding from every officer of the law was over after all. He did it more out of habit than anything else.
The pegasi and other ponies were already creating makeshift stretchers to carry all of the injured back to the village, and were making good progress with it too.
“Time to head back then,” Ethan said as he stood up, his side was still hurting, but it was not as bad so he could ignore it for now.
“Indeed it is,” Protocol glanced over Ethan. “Do you need any help?” He asked, having noticed the slight limp Ethan had.
“I should be fine… but I wouldn't mind asking you a thing or two about your magic. That was pretty impressive back then, after all.” Ethan wanted to know more about the unicorn’s magic, it fascinated him. It seemed so similar to their Psychic types but he wondered where its limits were.
“...” Protocol looked over to where the rest of his ponies had finished up gathering the injured, and the Pegasi were already flying them out and back to the village. “We can talk as we make our way back.” He answered. “I would like to go after Shady myself… but it would be foolish to follow him on my own.” He shook his head. “No, we will resume that after all the injured are back safely.”
“I can understand that…” Ethan agreed. He really wanted Shady to be caught and brought to justice for what he did, but being foolish would not help anyone. That was what he and Jenny did that got the whole mess started in the first place, after all.
With the rest of the Ponies having already left or were in the middle of leaving, Ethan and Protocol followed.
When the two of them arrived at the edge of the town, Ethan could spot Jenny. She was talking to what looked like a Manectric. Both of them looked up once Ethan and Protocol came into view and walked over to them.
“Hello there,” Ethan greeted Jenny and the Manectric.
“It's good to see you again, Protocol, and hello to you too,” The Manectric greeted him back. “My name is Olivia.” She said with a gentle smile.
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Ethan…” Jenny cut him off before he could get any further.
“He is the one I told you about,” Jenny said quite suddenly, to Ethan’s surprise.
“Oh, you are the one that helped out the Lotads and with the situation in the forest, thank you so much.” Olivia thanked him with a bow of her head. “I would have joined the operation myself, but I was out when it happened so I did not have a chance to do so.”
“We should head back to the office, it was nice to meet you, Ethan, and you too, Officer Jenny.” Protocol started walking away. Olivia flashed Ethan and Jenny an apologetic look before she followed after him.
“Well talk more later, it was nice to meet some other former humans.” She waved to the two, who in turn waved back to them. Once Protocol and Olivia was out of hearing range Jenny turned to Ethan with a scowl on her face.
“You seriously need to be more careful,” she spat at him.
“W-what did I do?” Ethan asked, he was surprised at the sudden change in Jenny’s mood. That and he had no idea of what she was talking about.
“That was a Pokémon Ranger,” Jenny told Ethan who in turn felt his blood go cold for a moment. “And you were just about to give her your name.” She sat down and let out a long sigh.
“I…” Realization reached Ethan. Jenny had just saved him.
“Ethan is a common enough name from Earth, but you need to stop using your last name altogether. Who have you told it too?” She inquired of him.
“Um… I think I mentioned it to Mary Care, but I don't think I said it to anypony else.” He tried to remember if he had mentioned it to anyone or anypony else, but he couldn't remember anyone.
“That’s good, from now on, stop using it completely,” Jenny told him.
“I will… thank you for saving me back there then.”
“... Just keeping my part of the promise,” Jenny mumbled as she looked away. Ethan could not help but feel relieved. Jenny had already told him that she had given up her chase on him, but getting concrete proof like he just did was something else.
“I thought you would be at the doctor’s office with Mary and the other injured?” Ethan asked her. She had seemed really frantic when she came out of the burning house with the Oddish and when she ran back to the village to warn Mary.
“I was…” She took a pause and stared up at the sky for a couple of seconds before she took a deep breath and looked back down at Ethan. “The Oddish did not survive… when I came back he was already dead…” As a police officer, she had experienced death before but it never got any easier.
“Oh…” Ethan’s look matched her own, he wanted to tell her that he was sorry, but he did not think that Jenny would appreciate the sympathy.
“... I know I already said that I agreed with what you did and that I don't think you deserve jail anymore. I am a woman of my word and I will honor it, but I have one condition.” Jenny told Ethan.
“A condition?” He could see a fire burning in her eyes as she stared at him.
“Yes, I want us to continue to do what you did back on Earth,” Jenny told him, she was practically burning with motivation. “Rescuing and helping those that need it. Even if there are no more “bad” humans, it is obvious that not all ponies are good at heart.” The most recent events had proved that.
“B-but wouldn't you rather join the police of this world instead?”
“Perhaps… but no,” she shook her head. “I have the feeling that you would do this anyway, and this way I get to keep an eye on you to ensure that you do things properly,” he could spot the faintest of smiles on her face as she spoke. “So do you agree,” she held out her paw towards him. “Partners?”
Ethan was shocked as he looked down at Jenny. He had expected many things from her, but that had not been one of them. She really was much more hot headed than he had originally thought.
“Partners,” he shook her paw in agreement.
“Good… now you should head over and see if you can help out with those injured Pokémon.” Jenny told him as she walked past him.
“What are you going to do then?” Ethan turned after her, she was walking back the way he and Protocol had came.
“Shady mentioned a first batch… I think he meant that they had already sold off a bunch of Pokémon.” Ethan did remember that he mentioned something like that. “I’ll head back to the house to see if there are any clues to be found. You go do what you can do… meanwhile I'll do what I do best,” and with that, Jenny disappeared back into the forest.