Worth It

Cerise wiped at her brow as she looked around, taking everything in that she could. Fire, ruins, rubble. Screams and cries for help. It tore at her heart, breaking something deep down into a million pieces. Her partners were elsewhere, helping, and she glanced down at the remains of a house she and her Pokemon were working on. A Pokemon was trapped inside, and she was sure she’d heard a kid in there too, but it’d been a while since she’d heard anything remotely like that. Beside her, Daisy used her great strength to pick up pieces of concrete and wood and chuck them out of the way. A small, sturdy harness wrapped around her body, allowing Cerise to attach a kit to her to drag heavier things away when needed.

Cerise knelt on the remnants of sidewalk, closer to the noise she’d heard earlier. A tiny bark, panicked and exhausted. With some of the weight removed from the pile, a gap had formed for her to look through, and reflecting back at her was a pair of eyes. A Lillipup fusion of some kind. No wonder the pup stayed close to its master. She unclipped the flashlight from her belt and flicked it on, sweeping it around the room she and her Pokemon had finally gained access to.

There! A small form, no older than ten, was a little boy, and an angry and scared Lillipup and Wingull fusion barked at her, standing between her and its master. A paw held up, and it took her mind a second to register the blood dripping down its leg. Dammit. Her head jerked up, dark blue eyes sweeping over the area, looking for anyone in charge. So many volunteers, and not one person in charge in sight. Dammit. She lowered herself again to look in the hole, cooing quietly.

“Hey, hey… it's OK. We’re gonna get you and your master out.” As calm as she could manage, she spoke quietly and reassuringly, even as Daisy tugged on a piece of wood to try and get it free with her tiny trunk nearby. The Pokemon was still getting used to the appendage, and she let out a noise of frustration as the piece of house slipped from her grip. The Lilligull growled and grumbled at her assurances, glancing nervously back at its master. Cerise smiled. “There we go… It's OK.”

The child groaned and shifted to look at the opening, squinting at the light. Cerise flicked the flashlight beam just off their face. A little boy. He wasn’t looking good. Exhausted, starving, and probably really dehydrated. “Hey, hey kiddo! You’re alive. Good.”

A silver lining to this crummy day, that was for sure.

“What’s your name?” 

“Jonah…” 

“And your Pokemon?”

“... Nn… Dandelion…” Jonah and Dandelion. Cute. She shifted her weight to look up and around again, waving down someone who had organized the rescue effort.

“We’ve got two. A kid and his Pokemon. Jonah and Dandelion.” She relayed, and the other man’s eyes went wide, and the relief was hard to miss.

“Keep him talking. We’re gonna get you out, Jonah! Just hold on!” 

As the leader hurried to get help and more people to focus on this structure, Cerise turned her attention back to the hole she’d been speaking through, blinking at seeing Daisy waving her trunk in the hole with a little trumpet. She smiled and shook her head before looking in the hole too.

“Did you hear that, Jonah? You and Dandelion are gonna be OK. We’re gonna get you out. You and Dandelion both.”

“What’re we looking at?” She looked up at the voice as people gathered, ready to help. A paramedic, kneeling next to her to look too. Cerise moved out of the way, balancing on the balls of her feet.

“Older kid and his Pokemon. He’s barely moved since I found him, but his Pokemon - Dandelion - is still active and protective. Scared too.” The medic nodded, sweeping his own flashlight around the space. 

“He’s lucky. Look.” She followed where he aimed and her heart dropped into her stomach. Yeah. The space was barely being held up on the far side. “How we holdin’ up, Jonah?”

“It hurts…” The two adults glanced at each other in worry and she pushed herself to her feet to get out of his way.

“I get it. We’ll get you out of there in no time.”

Hours of work, communication, and coordination (and some very stubborn Pokemon insisting on helping), but finally, Cerise was able to slip into the enlarged hole. She was the smallest adult available, and while her heart slammed against the back of her ribs, she kept it from her body language and face as much she could.

She and the paramedic had kept tabs on the boy and his Pokemon, and that’s how she learned he had been jostled around when the building collapsed. His parents were frantically waiting outside, having gotten separated from their kid when the house started coming down. Jonah had just followed the emergency plan his family had laid out. A good lad. Unfortunately, he’d gone quiet in the past hour, and she hurried to his side.

He’d passed out, and Dandelion was just as tired, barely getting a growl out as he sprawled over the boy. Carefully, she picked up the Pokemon and handed him out of the hole. 

“Dandelion. And the boy’s OK. Just unconscious.” She hurriedly reported before she returned to the kid’s side. She wrapped the blanket she’d been given around him, and he groaned in protest. “Yeah, I know. This sucks. We’re almost out of here.”

It took some maneuvering, but she finally got to her feet again, the boy in her arms and she was glad when they were able to get him safely out. With some help, it was her turn to get extracted, and she sprawled on the ground, panting as exhaustion nipped at her limbs.

It was worth it though, she thought, as she looked up to see Jonah and his parents crying and hugging each other, Dandelion included.

So, so worth it.