Onkalo Heart
Chapter One: Heartless
Notes: The fic title comes from the Onkalo spent nuclear fuel repository in Finland; according to Wikipedia, onkalo means "small cave" or "cavity," so it works even without the context of long-term nuclear waste storage. Chapter One's title comes from He got his heart ripped out.
He first regained consciousness in unimaginable pain, as if his chest was in flames and pumping fiery blood through his veins. He tried to scream and choked on his own bloody saliva. Someone else was screaming, but his vision was clouded, and he only saw a faint figure running towards him before, mercifully, he passed out.
He was in and out for what could have been hours or days; he only knew time was passing, not how much. He didn't have the energy to wonder what had happened, but he was dimly aware that he was in a hospital room, so he was at least alive. Occasionally there was someone else in the room. He was unable to speak to them.
Was the scaled, burning hand around his throat a dream?
Rose woke up.
There was no one in the room with him. Still woozy, he dozed a little while he waited for a nurse or doctor to appear.
The last thing he remembered was… unclear. Something had clearly gone wrong waking up Eternatus, and in the back of his mind, he knew he might be facing the blame for it. Well, Rose thought, he had no way to defend himself without knowing what allegations were against him.
He wore a hospital gown draped over a bandaged chest. He didn't feel any pain, but he chalked that up to painkillers–likely why he was still drowsy, too. He kept one eye on the IV attached to his arm. The bag slowly deflated as the clock ticked on, and, eventually, someone would come to replace it.
Sure enough, footsteps approached his room. The nurse walked in and stopped short when Rose smiled at her. "You're awake," she said. "I thought–you didn't press the call button?"
"Was I supposed to?" Rose swallowed; his mouth was dry and tasted odd. "My apologies, my memory is still hazy. Is there someone who can tell me what happened?"
The nurse turned and left without answering. Rose frowned. "Very well," he said to himself. "I'll wait. Don't have anything else to do."
He spotted a TV in the corner of the room, but it was turned off, and he didn't see a remote for it. He flexed his legs and decided he shouldn't risk them not holding his weight. His body felt off, most likely from being semi-conscious for so long… but it bothered him.
Huh. Out of all the equipment in the room, there was nothing that looked like a heart monitor. Rose put two fingers to his neck to feel his pulse.
He was still checking when a new person walked in, a woman who Rose assumed was a doctor. "Good afternoon, Chairman," she said. "How are you feeling?"
"Not terribly," Rose said. "I assume that's in no little part to the work of you and the rest of the hospital, given what I recall of my injuries. Am I still in Hammerlocke?"
"Yes," she said, and wrote something down. "What do you remember?"
"Well, being in severe pain, for one." He paused. "I'm not entirely sure what happened to put me in that state. I remember… an explosion?"
He had underestimated the amount of energy Eternatus would generate, and had sent a message to Leon right before cutting the power to prevent disaster. There had been a sound–Eternatus' cry?–and then the explosion. He had no time to call out any of his pokémon.
"Where are my pokémon?" he asked. "Were they injured?"
"Your pokémon are in custody," the doctor said. "I believe they were unharmed. That's all I know."
"Ah." So he was in trouble. Rose kept a smile on his face.
"Now that you're awake, we need to go over the extent of your injuries." She took a deep breath. "The report we were given said you were attacked. Do you have any memory of that?"
"Attacked?" He frowned. "No. By who?"
"By a pokémon," she said. "The one you awoke, according to the report. Eternatus."
Rose's mouth hung open for a moment before he realized he was supposed to answer the question. "I… I don't recall that, no," he managed to say. "How did it, ah…"
"No one was there when the attack happened," the doctor said, "so we can only theorize. You had poison in your system that was consistent with the samples we got from Eternatus itself, and we believe it left a piece of itself inside your body."
"Excuse me?" Rose's shoulders tensed. He felt the bandages over his chest and realized he couldn't feel his own heartbeat. Combined with not being able to feel a pulse earlier–he swallowed and felt his neck again. Nothing.
"Do you need a moment?"
He forced his breathing back into a steady rhythm. "I'd like to know what happened," he said. "Please."
She nodded and put the clipboard down on her lap.
"Eternatus cut a hole in your chest," she said, "and removed your heart. The reason you are not dead is because a piece of Eternatus–much like a Wishing Star–fell into your chest cavity and was somehow integrated with your biological functions." She paused. "You may have noticed you no longer have a pulse. Your blood is still flowing, but you don't have a heartbeat anymore."
He would have liked to credit his composure to strength of character. Really, he felt disconnected from reality. Of course Eternatus didn't actually remove his heart, that would be impossible. He clung to the sheer impossibility of the situation and tried not to think that the doctor had no reason to lie to him.
"That's very interesting," he said.
"You're taking this remarkably well," the doctor said.
"Ah," Rose said, and he smiled. "I imagine it will catch up to me soon. Am I still capable of eating?"
It caught up to him when they removed the bandages.
He ran his hand over his chest, breathing hard. There was no wound, no stitches–he could feel the edge of where, apparently, new flesh had grown supernaturally fast to cover the hole, so at least there was a scar. No heartbeat, but the skin over where his heart should have been was unusually warm.
Denial could only take him so far. Rose had to accept that, whatever the impossibility of the situation was, it had happened to him.
After he had a panic attack, he put a shirt on and decided to think about something else.
No one would tell him what happened to Eternatus, only that it almost caused a region wide disaster. Rose had to assume Leon had come to the rescue and captured it. He also heard the Champion Cup had concluded; he assumed Leon had won that, too. It had only been a week since he had unleashed the Darkest Day, but he hadn't been conscious for most of it.
The doctor informed him that the police would be arriving to take a statement from him. "Well," Rose said, "if I'm recovered enough to have visitors, may I speak with my lawyer?"
His lawyer updated him over the phone.
"Leon did not catch Eternatus," he said. "He tried to and was nearly killed in the process. Had his younger brother and the new champion not stepped in, things would be much worse."
"The new champion?" It could only be one person. "The girl? Gloria?"
"Yes. She defeated him in the final match, once it was rescheduled." His lawyer's voice hardened. "I won't lie, Chairman, things look very bad for you."
"I…" Rose struggled for words. "I understand," he said. "What do you suggest I do?"
"Plead guilty to all charges. You'll get a shorter sentence that way."
"And what happened to Eternatus, if Leon didn't catch it? Did it become dormant again?"
"No, Gloria caught it." He paused. "I advise you not to ask questions about Eternatus."
"I understand your concern," Rose said, "but Eternatus replaced my heart. I have nothing but questions."
His lawyer had no sympathy. "Keep them to yourself. You don't want anyone questioning your motives."
They allowed him to make as many phone calls as he wanted, so Rose called a number of people while his strength returned. Oleana was, at least, relieved to hear he was alright, but admitted to testifying against him.
He wouldn't lie to himself: that hurt. Rose trusted Oleana more than he trusted anyone else, and she had informed the authorities of everything he had done that could be construed as illegal. Certainly, the circumstances hadn't been ideal, but he thought she would have a smidgen more faith in him.
"I'm sorry, Chairman," she said. "I didn't know what else to do. I didn't even know if you would survive."
He suppressed the urge to snap at her. "It's alright, Oleana," he said, keeping his voice steady. "It was, and continues to be, a stressful situation. Other than Leon, was anyone else hurt by my actions?"
"Everyone who was in close proximity to Eternatus' final form fell ill, but they've all recovered, including myself. No deaths, but there were reports of injuries and property damage due to wild pokémon Dynamaxing at random."
"No deaths," he repeated, his hand over his chest. "That's a bit of good news." He took a breath and forced himself to relax.
"I heard the new champion caught Eternatus," he said. "Do you know what happened to it?"
"I believe Gloria brought it to the pokémon lab for the professor to study it. I don't know anything else."
Rose nodded. "Is there any way for me to be informed of the results of the studies?" he said. "They may be reluctant to include me, but after the state Eternatus left me in…"
"I can contact them," Oleana said, "but I can promise nothing."
It was soon clear to Rose that most of Galar wanted nothing to do with him. He crossed names off his list with every call and tapped the pen on the notepad, thinking. His reputation was shot, he had few people he could trust–certainly not Oleana–and in the public eye, there was no doubt of his crimes. The most rational decision would be to follow his lawyer's advice and plead guilty.
And he would have done so, if not for the Wishing Star in his chest.
What Eternatus had done to him changed his body substantially. When his IV was removed, the location of the needle had healed over instantly, without even bleeding. He needed to do research on both Eternatus and himself, and he needed to be in control of said research; he had no interest in being studied like a lab subject.
He would not get the opportunity to do so in prison.
Rose sighed. He was well enough to walk–something he had been hiding from the doctors to extend his stay–but there was no chance of escaping on his own. He needed help.
A thought occurred to him. He wrote another name on the list and picked up the phone again.
"I'm sorry to bother you again, Oleana, but there's someone I'd like to contact, and I don't have his number…"
Rose smiled as the boy entered the room. "Hello, Bede," he said. "It's good to see you're doing well. Oleana tells me you're studying under Opal, now?"
Bede stared at him. "What do you want, Chairman?" he said flatly.
He had chosen his words carefully; he couldn't outright ask Bede to assist in a jailbreak. "I was wondering if you could do some research for me," he said. "As you know, Eternatus…" He hesitate. "…altered my body in ways no one understands. I wanted to look into it myself, but, well, I won't be able to once I'm in custody."
"That's it?"
"Well, there's more to it, but–"
Bede raised his voice. "That's all you have to say to me?"
Rose frowned. "Is there something else you'd like me to say?"
The boy took a step back, his hands clenched into fists. For a moment, neither of them spoke–until Rose got an idea of where Bede's attitude was coming from.
"Are you still upset about me revoking your endorsement?" he said. "Listen, Bede, I can't say I was happy to do it, but I had no other option."
Bede took a sharp breath. "Did you have any idea what that endorsement meant to me?" he snapped. "I would have done anything for you, and you–you just saw me as a tool!"
"Good grief, Bede," said Rose. "I endorsed you because I saw potential in you, and, yes, I did ask you to collect Wishing Stars for me, but that was because I trusted you."
"Trusted me? You never even told me what those were for!"
"Of course not. If I had, you would most likely be facing criminal charges along with me." Rose sighed. "No, Bede, I trusted that you would understand the weight my endorsement carried and not perform reckless actions in my name, a trust that was clearly unfounded."
Bede's jaw dropped. He didn't respond.
Rose shook his head. "I appreciate that you came all this way," he said, "but if all you're going to do is yell at me, I think your time is better spent elsewhere."
"Fine," Bede said. "Goodbye, Chairman."
He spun around and stormed out of the room. Rose picked up his pen and paper and crossed out Bede's name.
He would have to try something else.
That night, Rose was roused from sleep by a sudden noise in the hall. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. There was a light on in the hall, but he didn't hear anyone else, so he assumed it was nothing and lay back down.
A bundle of fabric landed on his lap.
"Get up," said Bede. "We're leaving."
"What?" Rose pushed himself up again. "Bede? What are you doing?"
"It's easier to break you out of the hospital than it is to break you out of prison," Bede said. "That's what you wanted me to do, isn't it?"
"I wasn't going to outright say it." He picked up the bundle. "Are these my clothes?"
"Do you want to go out in your hospital gown?" The boy turned away. "I'll watch the hall. Change quickly."
He walked out. Rose stared at the door, then decided to do as instructed.
Once dressed, he cautiously approached the hall. Bede barely looked at him. "Oleana has a car ready," he said. "I'll escort you there."
He tossed a pokéball out. A rapidash appeared, its swirling pink and blue mane trailing almost to the floor. Bede patted its back, a faint smile on his face.
"Your pokémon have grown stronger since the last I saw them," Rose said.
Whatever he thought he saw of Bede's smile, it was gone when he looked back. "Follow me," he said.
Rose furrowed his brow. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. "I was under the impression you were angry with me."
Bede stood there without answering for a long moment. Just when Rose was about to ask again, the boy spoke.
"Oleana asked me to," he said.
His rapidash snorted. Rose shook his head. "That's not the full truth, Bede," he said.
"We're wasting time," Bede snapped. "Do you want to go to prison?"
He had to let the subject drop. "Not particularly," he said, and followed Bede to the stairwell.
The hospital was dark, and the rooms empty. They made it outside without encountering anyone but a sleeping nurse at her desk; Rose suspected a pokémon's influence, rather than a natural slumber. As promised, there was a car outside the emergency exit. Rose recognized it as Oleana's personal vehicle. Hopefully whoever reviewed the security feed wouldn't make the connection.
Bede stopped at the door. "There's your ride," he said.
Rose looked at him. "Are you not coming with me?"
"No," he said coldly. "I'd rather not see you again."
"Ah," Rose said, and he smiled. "So you are still angry with me."
Bede turned away. "Leave, Chairman," he said. "Stay out of my life. You never wanted to be part of it, anyway."
At any moment, the alarm could be sounded, and security could halt his escape attempt mid-completion. "Fair enough," Rose said, and he got into the car.