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Chapter I: Aftershock

Celestic Town

Cynthia didn't know when she had emerged from the rift, carrying an injured Dawn in her arms. She didn't know when she had run through Mt. Coronet. She couldn't even recall when she arrived in Celestic Town, or if she even spoke with her grandparents about the situation.

There were several things that honestly slipped her mind, and to be perfectly honest, she didn't care. Her only thoughts were on the girl currently resting in the bed. Her gaze shifted slowly from the trainer to the Pokeball that was clutched in her hands.

She honestly couldn't tell if what had happened had been an oversight on her part, or just some cruel prank the gods wanted to torment her with.

Looking down to the red and white orb she saw the shadow of the Pokemon that rested within. She felt the creature's gaze on her, and it sent shivers through her.

She slowly stood from her chair and walked closer to the sleeping girl. Dawn was sound asleep, her slow breathing the only sound in the room. The Champion actively ignored the bandages that seemed to cover the smaller girl's form. She slowly raised her hand and started to reach for the Pokeball, but the sound of shifting metal stopped her. Looking up she frowned at the sight of Dawn's Empoleon, Tobi, the emperor penquin glaring at her.

The Pokemon was Dawn's most trusted companion, he was the only one of Dawn's Pokemon to ignore healing to stay by his trainer's side, the others not being in a condition to do so. The penquin's red eyes shined as he watched Cynthia, almost as if he was daring her to take the Pokeball from Dawn. She straightened her self and looked right into the Pokemon's eyes.

"You know, if it weren't for the Pokemon inside that Pokeball, none of you would be in this bad of condition. She would be okay."

That is not your decision to make. She is now one of us, and you aren't going to take her away from Dawn.

The two didn't break eye contact for what seemed like eternity. Soon however, Cynthia threw up her hands in defeat and returned to her chair. Tobi then nodded as he lowered himself back to his seat on the floor. Cynthia's eyes once again returned to the sphere and uttered a tired word.

"Giratina..."

The eyes of the beast in the sphere once again was upon her, as well as Tobi's. The Champion let out an exhausted laugh as she leaned back into her chair.

"Actually, that's not true...if I never got involed with Dawn, if I hadn't been so keen on thrusting every responsibility on her, she would have been fine. What kind of girlfriend does that make me?"

It was true, as much as she hated to admit it, she did force everything on Dawn. The trainer that had just started her travels a mere two months before the battle of Coronet, was sent there by her.

When she first took an interest in the girl, she surprised herself, she didn't normally show any interest in any trainer. And yet, with this girl, she grew so close as to having stolen Dawn's first kiss.

And now she felt that she had betrayed the girl she had fallen for.

Looking over to Tobi she gave a small smile as she waved her hand. The Pokemon gave her a worried look, but she ignored them.

"I didn't know there were going to be that many Plasma members at the summit. I had assumed that Dawn's friends had taken care of the most of them. I also didn't expect to see the Legendary Dragon of Anti-Matter appear when Cyrus's plan was put into effect."

When the words left her mouth, memories began becoming more clear.

"When Giratina had surfaced and attempted to steal Cyrus from the world, Dawn was worried for the Pokemon. She had thought that the power of both Dialga and Palkia's emergence had hurt the legandary."

She wanted to go after it, as much as Cynthia protested that she should go. Sighing she gave the sleeping girl a look, to make sure she was still breathing, before she allowed herself to continue.

"We entered Giratina's domain, the Distortion World, and traversed it until we reached its center. Now I must admit, it was an exhilarating experience. What wasn't so pleasant however, was when Cyrus attacked us. I knew Tobi, that you and the rest of Dawn's Pokemon were at their limits, but she insisted on showing the man the error of his ways."

A smile slid across her face as she remembered the face of the man as he lost to the girl. She made that emotionless man feel defeat, and he looked horrified.

"And then we came face to face with the beast herself. And Dawn attempted to talk to her, and for the most part, Giratina listened. However the beast was still injured and proceeded to attack relentlessly. That is where you fell Tobi."

The Empoleon nodded as he scratched at a nasty burn that covered the right of his chest. A close range Hyber Beam that tore Tobi's defenses apart.

"Then she sent out Galileo, and as sturdy as that Garachomp is, he was unable to defend Dawn..."

The girl held back a sob as the memories finally cleared, the scream that she heard burned into her mind.

"I don't even know if Giratina knew what she was doing, but whatever that attack was that took down Galileo...hit her as well..."

Tobi shifted his gaze to his trainer, a pained look crossing his face as he imagined Dawn's second in command faailing to protect the girl. The red eyes in the Pokeball narrowed, Cynthia didn't know if it was an apologetic gesture or not.

"Despite the damage she took she sent out Stonehenge, he met the same fate. And Dawn took another blow. She kept sending out Pokemon, telling Giratina to share her pain. It was then that Dawn was out of Pokemon. She almost collapsed from the damage she took, but Giratina stopped her from falling."

That was a sight to behold, the Pokemon that was said to have been banished for its evil ways, was keeping Dawn from falling. Almost as if the beast was wanting her to continue.

"And finally, after one last word from Dawn, Giratina poked a Pokeball and was captured. A sight to behold. When I ran to catch her as she fell, she uttered one last thing before she passed out. 'She was angry, and in pain, but she was also lonely, I promised to take it away.'"

The girl had then fell unconscious, leaving Cynthia to frantically take the girl out of the Distortion World. She was worried that the girl might have succumbed to her injuries, and at one point Cynthia swore that she stopped breathing.

"I then felt something that I haven't felt in a long time, fear. Fear that I would lose the girl I love. And it would have been my fault."

Cynthia let out a shaky laugh as she felt a few tears begin to fall. Yes, the one thing she wanted to forget about the events of today, was that she was the reason Dawn got hurt in the first place.

She then went silent as she stared at the ceiling, Tobi was watching her, weary of what she might do. The eyes in the sphere closed as the Pokemon went to sleep. The two sat in silence until a sniff caught their attention.

Cynthia looked down to Dawn to see the girl looking up at her with tears streaming down her cheeks. Cynthia rushed to her side and grabbed one of Dawn's hands. There was a wave of relief that spread through Cynthia.

"Dawn, you're awake!"

"Cynthia, I'm sorry...for making you worry."

Cynthia shook her head as she quickly leaned in and quickly pressed her lips onto Dawn's the two stayed like that until Cynthia pulled away, she had a small smile that Tobi took notice of.

"What have I told you about apologizing to me? I am a bad person, we don't get apologies."

"And how many times do I need to tell you, you're not a bad person."

The two then quickly kissed again, and Tobi turned away to let the two enjoy the moment.

I hope you enjoyed.

My first attempt at a non-comedy centric love story. I mean, if you know me there will be funny and happy moments, but I am trying.

Another experimental story for me. And it is all over the place, as I see it. This story, in my notes, was about Cynthia coping with the fact that she got Dawn hurt, through technicalities. And in some parts it turned into Cynthia trying to remember what happened as she was slightly traumatized from the experience.

If I have failed, then that honestly means I have to work harder for the next chapter whenever I get around to it.

Cynthia is thinking that is what Tobi is saying, she can't actually talk to Pokemon.

Dawn in this story, is 15-16, and Cyhthia is 17-18. I am honestly confused about Cynthia's actual age, so I just set it there. Also, I find this pairing adorable, but I kind of understand that either Dawn needs to be older, or Cynthia younger for there to be an actual relationship.

Dawn's team is based on my Platnium team. Tobi the Empoleon, Galileo the Garachomp, Stonehenge the Bastiodon, Blues the Riachu, Blades the Scizor, and Phantom the Giratina.

I forgot Raichu and Scizor's actual nicknames, oops. That's what I get for not playing the game in two years.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Have a nice day!