Solana's Trials

Summer...? The faint psychic cry from Solana's mind jarred Summer awake and she stiffened for a moment, afraid that she would wake Blaze, but the older woman was slumbering deeply, so she slipped out of the house without fear. She climbed into a tree and sat on one of the branches, one leg dangling off and brushing the ground. Sorry for the slight delay, Sol; didn't want to wake Blaze. What's the matter? Summer closed her eyes and put her right hand over her ear, focusing on the weak signal. Something major had happened since Solana almost never contacted her this late. Mewtwo probably wasn't too happy about being awoken at three in the morning either, but he would deal with it. The signal was also the weakest it had ever been in two years, another red flag for the young Ranger. There was a momentary pause and she felt the signal waver even further. Whatever had happened definitely had thrown the normally calm blue haired teen into complete disarray. Summer's heart constricted in her chest while she waited for her friend's reply. I did it... I confronted my father yesterday... The police are already getting the case together... Even mentally, Summer could hear the stress as Solana's voice became extremely withdrawn, barely above a whisper. Her throat caught as she closed her eyes tightly, stretching her mind to give her friend any bit of strength she could, but there was little that she could do with being thousands of miles away. I'm proud of you, Sol. Really proud. Summer did her best to keep her tone warm and supportive, but she knew she was faltering. She felt Solana's mind flicker like a flame in a hurricane, almost unable to bear the stress of what was going on. A heaviness weighed on her shoulders, pure fear and anguish radiating from the other girl's core. There was little that could be hidden on such an intimate plane. What happened, Sol? The doctors... They told me... The connection faded  and Summer's eyes flew open, heart racing. The doctors? She'd seen doctors? Then again, the scars were physical evidence for the case, so of course they'd need to see them, but Solana must have been close to breaking down. Even seeing the one Ranger medic she did in Fiore sent her over the edge and into complete mental collapse. What had being poked, prodded and photographed by doctors and police officers done to the fragile girl?  Summer felt the connection spring back to life and she closed her eyes, reaching out with all her strength to keep the pathway open. It was weaker than before; she knew Solana wouldn't last more than a couple more moments. She needed to get this information. ...I'll have to retire within the next three to five years. The psychic weight of the words sent Summer's mind reeling, and she hit the ground as Solana's barriers flew up. She coughed and gasped for air, feeling like she had just gotten punched in the chest full force by a Machoke. The wind was knocked out of her, but she started breathing again a few moments later, coughing heavily. But she didn't move, eyes wide as she stared at the clear, starry sky above. Solana would have to retire within the next three to five years? Had the abuse really been that bad that it had done that much damage to her body? Then again, Solana's body was so badly marred that there was barely an inch of it untouched.  Summer put her forearm over her eyes and closed them, tears starting to roll down the sides of her face. The training days that they had done would need to stop. She couldn't push her friend's limits any longer. She didn't want to damage the already fragile girl anymore than she already was.  But retirement by twenty-four? That was a death sentence for any Ranger. Not being able to help those in need would be an almost impossible task. Most Rangers worked until they were forty or fifty. There were early retirements like this on occasion, but they were only for extremely severe cases near death. Solana was still young, but her body was already so old from the extreme beatings she had taken as a child. Why, why had this happened to her? She had done nothing to deserve this.  And Arceus wouldn't help, she knew that for sure. He never stepped in to help mortals. If they came to rely on Him too much, then when he pulled back, there would be rebellion.  There was nothing that could be done to help Solana as far as Summer knew. Her friend was doomed to an early retirement and an uncertain future.