The Stream of Time Carries Memories; Farther and Farther Away [Closed-Join With Permission]

[I don't remember! Improvision!]

Dark looked at the nurse, his ears twitching a bit. "I don't really know a name..." He then described the man with very basic detail, practically unable to remember any sort of severe detailed description. "I know he was carrying a first aid kit, or something... Had glasses to I think."

The nurse blinked and her eyes looked off into the distance as she went through various doctors in her mind. Figuring one from Dark's vague description was a miracle, but she could summon up a name to the face. "Oh, I think you're speaking of Dr. Stephenson. I'll page him now, he should be on his dinner break." She searched for something within her desk and withdrew a pager, typing into it and hitting send. "He should be here any minute, in the mean time, could I get a name for you to check in with?"

Evangeline was oddly silent, letting Jonathon and Dark do the talking. She was still uneasy, and her wings pressed harder against her back, as if they too were uncomfortable in their current position.

---

"Taking the door," Nev replied with a quick smile, "the challenge is reaching the handle, I guess we're both kinda short," he chuckled. "If you want, you could boost me up and I should be able to grab it if I reach high enough..."

Jonathon glanced at Dark. "Uh, just tell him the kids from the cabin on the beach. If he needs a name, just tell him Chris." Jonathon said, not sure if anyone had given a name to the doctor when last they met. Then he sat down in a chair in the hall way. "Just sit you two. It might be a while." He said to his travelling companions.

MEANWHILE.

"Or...we could push it open ourselves. It's bound to go both ways." She said, running up to the door. Backing up she readied herself and then charged at the door. She ran at the door at top speed, head down and ready to collapse. At the last second she jumped to give herself even more momentum, and the door opened on it's on and Dawn rolled across the floor. "Oh...that worked." She said before quickly running off to a corner to hide from any trainer who may have found the idea of having a shiny eevee worth stealing someone other trainers pokemon.

Dark didn't really want to sit. He was a bit anxious and trying to keep an eye on Evangeline, staggering to her a bit with the burns Jonathan had caused. "Evangeline, we'll be fine," he told her lightly.

"Will do," the nurse said with a wide smile before sending another message and entering something on her computer. "Just wait right there and I'm sure he'll be right up."

"I will," Evangeline put a hand to her face and pressed lightly against her forehead as a nervous headache began to pound at the back of it. "I just can't help but feel paranoid in here, even though I know nothing will happen. The cleanliness, order, and equipment... they just don't mix well with me. Everything's too tidy and neat. And white... so white, like it will swallow me if I stay in it too long." She shuddered and shook her head, lifting her hand from her face and balling it into a tight fist. "But this is about you, not me. I'll be fine," she gave a forced smile, "I promise."

---

"Wow, I overestimated that door," Nev said wryly, following Dawn inside. As a Pikachu, he wouldn't attract nearly as much attention as the silver of Dawn's fur, but he still needed to be cautious. After all, he technically wasn't caught or owned by Evangeline so a stray Pokeball could mean trouble. "So, what do we do from here?"

Jonathon nodded. "Thank you mame." She said, smiling to the nurse. Putting his head down he began to twiddle this thumbs and hum a little. He knew that in a hospital 'just a couple minutes' of waiting could easily turn into an hour or two. He didn't care though, as long as nothing surprising happened he was fine waiting.

MEANWHILE

"Uh..." Dawn said, looking around. There were a lot more smells here then there were outside. So finding one in a mix of chemicals and illness and who knows what else was a challenge. Focusing in though, she managed to pick up her trainer's scent again and began to run for the stairs. Hopping up them she stopped on the floor. "I think they're around here sir nev."

Dark knew that Evangeline was forcing herself to smile. It made him worry, and when he turned a bit to think of what to say, his burns acted up a bit. He didn't make any sound as if to alert anyone, but he immediately turned back towards her. "You're smiles don't work when I've known you as long as I have," he told her calmly. "If you're worried, I'm sure that you and Jonathan could wait outside of the building... That way it won't be making you nervous; I'll be fine if you choose to take that option." He rubbed his head a bit with his arm, the one that wasn't burnt. "I'd rather you be comfortable than nervous as I am."

"Nah, it's not Jonathon..." Evangeline trailed off. The room's whiteness seemed to be expanding and swallowing everything. It was so clean and bright... too clean. Nothing was right, nothing could be right in this place. It was swallowing her, gripping her in memories she'd rather not keep. It kept reaching for her, as if to drag her down into the abyss of her own mind. Evangeline placed a restraining hand on her head shook it clear. This isn't that place. That place is gone, she repeated in her head. That place is gone... that place is gone...

The Nurse returned to her desk work, which consisted of a brightly colored game on her phone. It seemed that this was an uneventful day in the hospital, and she didn't seem all-too concerned about the new arrivals. Perhaps it was common to have strange drop-ins in places like this. The doctor had not arrived yet, presumably still making his way toward the ICU.

---

"Wait up!" Nev called as Dawn dashed toward the stairs. He kept up as best he could, and quickly rejoined the unheistating Eevee. "So, uh, do we have a plan if this is some sort of kidnapping?" he asked, "it probably isn't a good idea to just go barging into things, trust me, I've done it before," a wry smile crossed his face as her remembered an earlier escapade where he had to crawl through a ventilation system and shock a guy until he passed out. That was some adventure.

Jonathon sighed, rubbing his hands together. He was bored. Sure, the situation was serious. Chris needed medical attention and the doctor was taking his sweet time. Still, the waiting was getting to him. "Hey, I'm going to go take a walk. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." He said, standing up and starting to wander the halls. Then he walked to the stairs. He recalled seeing a vending machine on a lower floor. Opening the door he glanced down and was quite surprised at what he saw. "Dawn? And you're Evangeline's Pichu? How did you both get here?" He said as his Eevee ran over and pawed at his leg. Dawn turned her head toward Nev and stuck out her tongue as best she could at him. Turning his head back towards the others he waved Evangeline over. "Hey, I found your pichu."

Dark worried for Evangeline; she seemed truly disrupted mentally by where they were. He put his hand on her shoulder. "You should go outside and wait there," he told her. "The hospital is obviously making you nervous... I'm sure Jonathan could wait with you." He then heard Jonathan calling for Evangeline. "I guess he found Nev... Perhaps he could make you feel better." He turned his head and went to a chair, sitting down; however, he didn't sit back completely to avoid unnecessary burning. "If it makes you feel better, you could even focus on where our first date should be," he said, joking just a little. "They say love conquers all, after all."

"Ok," Evangeline said, "if you really think you'll be alright..." She was still hesitant, but her panicked mind could not be ignored. Any longer in the forsaken place could make her go off the deep end. Hearing Jonathon's words, the angelic trainer looked down to see Nev entering in a hurried huff.

"Geeze, Angie, you could have left a note," he said, switching back to English now that he wasn't just speaking to Dawn, "we thought you were kidnapped or something." This made the paranoid trainer smile fondly and chuckle, kneeling down to allow Nev to jump up onto her shoulder.

"It wouldn't be the first time, and probably won't be the last either," she said, standing once more and glancing around. "I am going to get some air, I promise I'll be back Dark, and I'll think about our date," she grinned and made her way to the door. As she exited, the doctor from before narrowly ran into her.

"E-excuse me," he said, before recognizing her face. "Ah, so it is you..." he trailed off and glanced toward Dark. "I can treat your burns here if you want to follow to an operating room." He looked to Jonathon and Evangeline, who was now lingering in the doorway, "i-it won't be pretty. I'd advise for you two to wait out of the room while he's in operation. It's not something appeasing to the eyes. If you're ready," he smiled half-hearted toward Dark, "I can get this over with."

As the doctor spoke his words, Evangeline took a deep breath and made her way toward the elevator. She did need a breather, and waiting in void of a room worrying about Dark wouldn't be any good to anyone. Instead, she pressed the down button and waited...

"It talks?" Jonathon said, surprised when the pichu spoke. Shrugging it off he picked up Dawn and put her on his shoulders. When Dark reassured Evangeline that things would be alright, he just nodded and agreed. "He'll be fine, he's a fighter." He wasn't sure why, but he felt a slight pang of disappointment when Dark mentioned a date. Jonathon didn't have feelings for Evangeline...did he? Shoving the thought from his mind he watched as the doctor came to take Dark away. "I'll keep her out of trouble." Jonathon grinned at Dark as the wolf boy got up to go get operated on. Walking over to the elevator he stood next to Evangeline. "Hey, he'll be fine. Why don't we go get some drinks or something. Anything you want, my treat."

Dark watched Evangeline a moment, noticing she nearly ran into the doctor. It almost put a smile onto his face, though it didn't get the chance. Instead, he urged her towards the elevator a bit more so she wouldn't be driven insane. "I'm ready to go," he told the doctor. "But one accident and I don't think she'll handle it lightly."

"O-Ok," Evangeline said after a startled jump, Jonathon had startled her. Her wings shifted out of their tightly folded position and ruffled, as if they, too, were annoyed at the surprised jump. She cast one last glance toward the ICU before taking a deep breath and waiting for Jonathon to catch up. "I am fond of Dr. Pepper," she said with a forced smile, "I'm always in the mood for one of those." Anything to keep her mind off this place. She was seeing evil in a place with none, that wasn't a good sign for her mental health...

"What," Nev said with a sly grin, "I don't get anything either. Angie gets all the attention," he rolled his eyes and his tail twitched playfully.

---

"Follow me," the doctor directed with nerves still gripping the edge of his wavering voice. "T-There's an open operating room at the end of the hall. I'll n-need some assistants to help with the laser. It's typical procedure for burns, b-but I didn't want extras if it wasn't okay with you..." his eyes glanced up toward Dark's strange ears. He still seemed very fearful of the dark aura trainer and didn't seem any sort of threat. Quite the opposite, he found Dark a great threat to his own well being!

"Dr. Pepper, alright, I think I can do that. I was afraid you'd request some obscure soda from another region that's hard to get." Jonathon said, thinking about some of the strangely advertised sodas he'd seen during his brief time spent in a city in Sinnoh. Pushing a button that would, in theory, take him to the floor that the food court would be on. "As for you Nev, I guess I could get you something. My pokemon don't exactly have your same...talents." He said, looking at the pichu. Dawn made a slight move and then glanced at Nev. "We may not have the same talent, but maybe our trainer may not be listening ell enough..." Dawn muttered to no one in particular. "So, what do you want Nev?" Jonathon asked. He hoped that after whatever he did while he was not himself he could perhaps get off on a better foot with Evangeline.

"You act like I'm going to hurt you," Dark told the doctor, him sighing as he scratched his ear a few moments. "I'm not dangerous doctor... It's not like my second personality is free right now..." "Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned that," he thought to himself, still aware that his other personality was down and out for the moment while it still rested. "Disregard that; I was joking," he lied. "I don't care if you have assistants... I just want this procedure done with." He kept following the doctor to where he'd be fixed up, him taking a deep breath. "Is this where 'it' is going to happen," he asked.

Evangeline gave Jonathon a soft smile and a warm glance, her paranoia already fading for now. It was good to have a distraction, no matter how brief. "I haven't traveled enough to get a taste for more exotic stuff," she said, "and I prefer things that you can find almost everywhere, lest I really need one and can't get it." The elevator wasn't any more favorable as it was on the way up to the ICU, and she couldn't help but shift her weight occasionally out of discomfort.

"I'll just take what Angie gets," Evangeline sighed at the use of 'Angie', but Nev ignored it and continued, "just as long as it isn't diet. Diet's gross, why drink soda if you're on a diet anyway." He huffed at the notion, and smiled wryly toward Dawn. Switching to PokeSpeak for a moment, he whispered, "I could always teach you English, if you wanted. I had to learn myself, but I guess it comes more naturally to me then it would to you..."

---

"Y-yes," the doctor replied, his nerves didn't seem particularly calmed by Dark's words. With the trainer's okay, he took out his pager and typed in a short message, hitting send, he pocketed it once more. "I'm having two n-nurses come to assist. Once they're here, they'll get you hooked up to an IV and sedated, it'll be a relatively quick procedure, minimal risk. Though, with laser work, it may be painful once you wake again. I can give you some medication for pain if need be, I'm not sure how you handle such a thing..." he trailed off, though his voice was no longer quivering. He seemed to have gone back to his doctor roots, effectively explaining things as he would to any other patient. He motioned toward a gurney, "If you would make yourself comfortable..."

The elevator dinged and the doors opened revealing a hallway. Thankfully, a large sign on the wall right across from the elevators showed which directions several important locations were in, including the cafeteria. "Come on, this way." He said, starting to head down the hall, noticing Dawn jump off is shoulder. Noticing her go to just walk by Nev he shrugged, smiled, and kept walking. Dawn ran over to Nev, quite eager. "You really think you can teach me to speak human! Oh thank you sir Nev." She said, nuzzling up against him a little.

"Great, more needles," Dark complained lightly, following the doctor's gesture. He didn't necessarily approve of laying on his back, considering it was burnt, so he had to lay on his stomach. "I hate needles..."

"Lead the way," Evangeline said with a slight smile. Jonathon was doing well as a distraction, and the choking grip of paranoia was slowly loosening little by little. Still, her worried eyes continued to dart around every small space as if expecting someone to run at them with a weapon or sedative, and her movements were still gripped with a tense caution, ready to dash off or fight at a moment's time. She continued to follow the Aura Trainer.

"Yeah," Nev replied, "I learned to again from Angie, and we couldn't even communicate well, it should be pretty easy since we can actually talk to each other!" He had used the 'again' nonchalantly, not even noticing it had slipped out. He returned the silver Eevee's gently nuzzle with an affectionate touch from his tail. His wide grin showed his excitement at the idea.

---

The doctor just made a small 'mmm' at Dark's comment before he turned toward the door and greeted two peppy looking nurses. The two looked toward Dark questioningly before sharing glances back toward the stone-faced doctor. Judging his expression, the two didn't care to comment, and seemed forewarned, as they didn't openly gasp at his... strange appendages. "We'll take good care of you," the older of the nurses finally managed to say with a soft smile, "my husband's a firefighter, he had to have the same operation done. Dr. Roberts is excellent at them, you're in good hands." Both nurses made their way toward the gurney, one carting the IV toward it as well. The nurse that had spoken rubbed Dark's arm with disinfectant before gently inserting the IV. "Now," she said, "tell me when your ready and we'll add the sedative. There's little danger to it, and it'll only put you to sleep so you don't feel a thing while we're operating."

"Ad here we are." Jonathon said, opening another door to the cafeteria. "You find a seat, I'll grab the drinks." He said, heading toward the line. Grabbing two cups he paid for the drinks and headed over to a rather fancy soda machine. Filling up a cup with Dr. Pepper for Evangeline and filling his own with a strange mixture of various types of sodas. Carrying them back to the table he gave Evangeline her drink. "There, I hope it is to your liking."

MEANWHILE

Dawn was giddy. "Oh, when can we start? I want to be able to communicate with the humans as soon as possible."

Dark was spooked a bit when the needle was in his arm; he wasn't a fan, and neither was Evangeline as far as he knew. He took his jacket off, keeping it at his side. "I'm ready," he told the nurse, it obvious he was in hatred of needles. "But no one better take my jacket... It has things that are of importance to me."

As Jonathon walked away to get their refreshments, Evangeline laid claim to a table, slightly away from the rest of the cafeteria crowd and relatively clean. Though not necessarily a neat freak, the girl did prefer something tidy to the various strewn messes scattered about on some tables. She lounged in one of the chairs positioned around the table, and leaned back, closing her eyes in relaxation as she waited for Jonathon. When the aura trainer returned, she gratefully took her Dr. Pepper from his offering hand and took a sip, nodding after she swallowed. "Yeah, thanks," she murmured, taking another sip, "it is good." She raised an eyebrow toward Jonathon's own drink. She had watched him fill it with all sorts of different drinks, and she was doubtful that they were particularly meant to be mixed. "What sort of concoction is that?" she asked with a lighthearted laugh, her paranoia, at least for now, was forgotten.

---

Nev flicked one ear as he though, wondering just how to start the lesson. "Well," he said, "I learned how to say my own name first, so why don't we start with that?" he asked with a smile. "Your name's Dawn... so in English, it would sound like d-aw-nh. Can you try and make each of those noises separate? Then we can put them together. D-aw-nh." He was going about things the same way he had learned, making sounds that come together as words.

---

"We won't do anything to your property," the Nurse smiled gently as she added the anesthesia to the IV bag. "In a few seconds you should fall gently asleep," she said, "just close your eyes and listen to my voice drift off..." The medical team was ready, simply waiting for Dark to go under before wheeling him to the operating room.

Jonathon shrugged. "I can't quite explain it. I use drink machines like science experiments." He said, taking a sip. He received a rather pleasant mix of soda, fruit, vanilla, and root beer. "Here, you can try some if you want. I think it might be easier to list what I didn't put in there rather then what I did." He smirked as he slid his cup towards her. "Go on, just one sip. I didn't do anything weird to it. Well, besides mixing a bunch of drinks."

MEANWHILE

"Alright...Should be easy enough." Dawn said. "Ahem...EEVEE!" She said, hoping yelling what she thought was her name in human would work. It clearly didn't. "Uh...D...eevee" She managed to get the start out, however, it was still tough. "This is rather challenging sir nev." She grumbled, the eevee would not give up though. "D...Da...Da...Daw...Da...Daw...Dawn...Dawn? DAWN!" The eevee jumped in the air. "I did it! I did it! Dawn!"

Dark tried to close his eyes and drift asleep; however, he felt as though he couldn't, and after a few minutes, his eyes were open again while he listened to wheels squeaking. "I can't move," he complained lightly, his voice not exactly loud enough to be heard.