Champion's Sword, Galar's Shield (Leon x OC)

18 - Aftermath Part I

And now we reach the aftermath of the bloodshed. Victory was obtained... but at what cost?

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Cassandra woke with a groan, feeling like she'd been rammed by a Mamoswine—and like she'd had that kind of thought before. The lights above were bright, and the white walls of the room didn't make it any better. At least it told her where she was: a hospital. The IV and bed she was in were the next big dead giveaway, and she sighed tiredly. Memory came back soon enough, and she remembered passing out during battle. Being that she was in a hospital and not still on the ground, the city burning down around her, they had succeeded. Barely. Hammerlocke was definitely ruined and would take a long time to repair after all that damage, but they defeated Swordward and Shieldbert.

They'd stopped them.

Somehow.

And with great cost.

The redhead sighed as she tried sitting up, groaning at the ache in her limbs. It reminded her of the day after a hard workout when the lactic acid made even shifting agonizing. The Eternatus energy really had done a number on her, though not so much as Zacian. Her side of the bond was quiet, so she could only hope Leon and the others were taking care of the warrior. She knew Silver would have his Team Rescue do a lot of disaster work, which was their specialty. They brought plenty of Chanceys with them along with other healing types. Sinnoh and Unova had some, too, and she knew she could rely on the Champions to keep things under control. No doubt they'd been working diligently with the Gym Leaders—Raihan, of which, she hoped was alright.

Looking around, she noted her things were there—except her Pokémon. They would have needed a proper Pokécenter to heal after that battle, so she knew they would be in good hands, especially since her old teams all knew Silver, who would visit the ranch, and her team from Galar knew Leon, which meant the others would trust her lover, too. Her pokégear was here, though, and she opened it up to a torrent of messages. Now that her comrades from other regions were around, of course she was getting so many. Most asked if she was doing okay or to feel better. Some were about Arcanine, others about thanking her for her help. It made her eyes water, and she worked hard to wipe away the forming tears.

The door opened, distracting her, and despite the clench in her chest, she smiled at the sight of Leon. There was worry in his eyes, but he managed a small smile back. He carried a bag of food and a backpack over his shoulder. She noted he was wearing the hoodie she bought him. She also not iced how tired he look e when he sat down beside her, putting the bag to the floor and the food on the table next to her. He reached over, taking her hand, and gently rubbed his thumb over the top.

"Hey," he said softly, searching for an answer.

"Hey," she replied, just as soft. "Sorry if I scared you. By passing out, I mean."

"Only a lot... but after what you went through... I'd be shocked if you didn't."

"Still..." she chuckled, wiping her eyes again. She forced the tears back. "So... what happened? After I fainted? Is everyone else alright? Did the others make it okay? Where are they? Gloria? Hop? Raihan? Lance, Alder—"

"Hold on, hold on! Everyone is fine," he chuckled, reaching over to cup her cheek. "All good besides scrapes and bruises. Raihan got a nice new scar, actually, but it could have been worse without your Pokémon and friends. They were exactly what we needed to take out all the Dynamax Pokémon. I think Raihan's considering keeping the ones he borrowed—even if they're not dragons.

He paused to grin when she laughed, and then continued, "Your Pokémon helped other trainers too and were thankfully willing to listen to your friends. Gloria said she got to see some legendaries from Hoenn, and then Hop got to meet a Gym leader, so they're both crazy excited and totally fine. They just crashed hard that night. Your friends are okay, too. They've just been swamped with coordinating the relief efforts. There, ah.... There were lives lost, but all the Gym Leaders got out okay. Hop staying back with Mom right now to keep her sane. Gloria did her part, and she even found Eternatus in the rubble of the castle. Poor thing was exhausted, but in a way that was a blessing. She's pretty sure they won't need to use the lab for him for a long, long time after all the energy that got released."