Summary: AU: Paul Andreas took his life for granted; everything he had he deserved. Then, when one night sends his life into chaos, will he use the chance given to him to change it for the better?
Disclaimer: As soon as I get my certificate of ownership saying I own Pokémon then I'll tell you, but as of now it's not mine!
"…": Characters talking
'…': Characters thinking to themselves
(…): Extra facts about the story/inner thoughts
A/N Notes: Hello! So, I didn't do a holiday fic. last year due to a lack of inspiration. This year, though, this story has been on my mind for a few weeks. This is actually focused on Paul and Dawn instead of my usual characters Gary and Misty, though they will appear. This story was inspired by a movie I saw on ABC Family years ago during the Christmas season called "Three Days", and from that I drew a lot of inspiration with changes made, of course. It's divided into four parts due to the length. Enjoy and Happy (Summer) Holidays to everyone from MagCat!
Three Days
Chapter One:Prologue
Town Square, Veilstone City, Sinnoh Region, 24 December 2010, 10:00 AM
"Give to the poor! Help those in need!" Dawn Andreas smiled gently as she dug in her purse and pulled out a handful of crisp Pokédollars and placed them in the Veilstone City Orphanage's red bucket. Each year, the orphanage workers held fundraisers to accrue the funds needed to keep the institution running for the winter. Granted, the town's mayor and council did donate money to the cause, but outside funds were always needed.
"Thank you, and Arceus bless you," came the grateful reply from an older gentleman dressed as Santa Claus. The little girl that peeked out from behind the Christmas feature smiled as well. Giggling, she ducked back behind her red-clad protector, waving shyly at the famous Coordinator.
"It's not a problem," Dawn replied as she bent down and patted the girl on her head, smiling at the stream of giggles that resulted. "Merry Christmas!" As she left the two, she pulled her faux-fur clad jacket closer, snuggling down inside its warmth. Piplup, who reveled in the cold weather chirped from his position on her head.
"I'm not sure when he's coming home," Dawn replied sadly the smile abruptly falling off her face. "He called a few nights ago to say that he was needed in Canalave City some more to deal with an issue on Iron Island." In the years since Ash had beat Paul in the Lily of the Valley Conference, the Veilstone City native had joined the G-Men, which had extended its reach from Kanto and Johto to both Hoenn and Sinnoh. Alongside Barry, Paul was one of the top trainers in the G-Men organization, with only Lance and, of course, Ash better than him as an agent.
Piplup chirped again and a bitter laugh emanated from Dawn. "Yeah. He'll probably miss Christmas again." The Coordinator had continued her chosen path and was now on par with May, Drew, Zoey and Kenny as the top Pokémon Coordinators in their generation, and in the Sinnoh Region, one of the best. Her Pokémon collection had expanded to include more types and more strategies for winning performances, though at the moment she was on a break, seeing how it was Christmas.
"I suppose we could get a tree," Dawn commented after a moment of silence, smiling when Piplup chirped in happiness. "Yeah, let's do that. Even if he won't be home again, that doesn't mean that we can't have some fun!"
After a few minutes, the two arrived at a small flower shop which also sold pine trees during the holiday season. Looking around, Dawn found a small tree in a corner, seemingly forgotten and fell in love with it. Purchasing it, she released her Mamoswine to take the tree back to her house, and thanking the employees set off.
Iron-Edge Hotel, Canalave City, Sinnoh Region, 24 December 2010, 12:30 PM
"Damn it," Paul muttered as he threw his bag down on a hotel bed in the room he shared with his partner Barry Rowan (yes, that Rowan. Barry was Professor Rowan's hyper nephew). "Everyone is acting like chickens with their heads cut off. No one knows what someone else is doing."
"It's not that bad, Paul," Barry shot back ducking past his partner to leap onto the other bed. "We got some good information, enough to go after that Team Galactic-wannabe group later."
"Right," Paul snorted, "Showdown at the entrance to the Iron Island Ruins, 4:00 PM. That's definitely enough information to get an arrest for these idiots."
Barry glared at his once-hero (that notion had been soundly smashed years ago, and despite the fact that they were partners it had yet to rear its head again) and muttered, "You just don't want to be here."
"Duh. These idiots couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag." Paul stalked over to the lone desk in the room, having retrieved his laptop from his bag a few minutes previous. Flipping it open, he turned it on and a few seconds later the clacking of keys was heard, with Barry watching from his position on the bed.
"We checking in?" Barry asked and a grunt from the purple-haired trainer was his response. "Guess that's a yes."
"What do you have to report?" A faintly blurred image appeared on the screen, a shock of flame-red hair visible. Lance Thorn, head and founder of the G-Men answered the call personally, knowing just how high a priority this case was.
"Information that a showdown is going to take place on Iron Island at the Ruins uncovered during Team Galactic's reign." Paul and Barry watched their commander's face for any sign of approval or disapproval.
"Very good. You are going to ambush them, correct?"
"Correct." Lance nodded in thought before smirking.
"Have fun, and do try to be gentle." It was well known to the G-Men that Lance only said that phrase when he had an inkling that something suspicious was going on behind the scenes of a case. Paul and Barry had already suspected this; as to what they were going to do next, well, that was only known to them.
"Understood. Andreas and Rowan out." Paul logged off the secure connection and turned to his partner. "Suppose we have to get ready to go out there and wait." He sighed in annoyance as he shut down his laptop. "This is going to be boring."
Barry nodded in agreement as he rooted around in his bag for his communication gear. After a moment, his head popped back up and, frowning, asked, "How's Dawn?"
Paul tensed having known for a few years now that the blonde-haired trainer had had a major crush on his wife and that they had, in fact, dated for a while. It still irritated him. "Fine."
"Come on, how is she really?" Paul shot a dark glare at the Twinleaf Town native which was interpreted accurately. "Hey man, c'mon! I'm asking as a concerned friend, not as a romantic interest!"
"She's fine." Paul connected his wireless microphone to the inside of his black sweater, tugging on it to make sure that it stayed in place. "Why?"
"Well, I mean, it's Christmas, yeah?" At Paul's jerky nod, Barry continued, "I was just curious how she's taking you being away all the time now on official G-Men business."
"She understands," was the clipped reply. Barry rolled his eyes heavenward before continuing his interrogation.
"What'd you get her?"
"For what?" Paul asked clipping his clear plastic headset to his ear, making sure that the wire blended in with his skin and hair.
Barry snorted. "Christmas, duh. I know that you're not big on holidays, Paul, but come on. Christmas is kinda special, y'know?"
"So?" Paul was beginning to get irritated; just what was this guy implying?
"So, did you get Dawn something nice for Christmas or what?" Barry was on the verge of pulling at his hair; why in the hell was this guy so obtuse? What did Dawn see in him? There had to be something there, or else she wouldn't have married him.
"Something," Paul shot back vaguely as he shucked on his black trench coat. "Let's go. Maybe we can get this done early and go home."
"Sure." Barry put on his own coat and, grabbing his bag ran after his partner. 'You'd better have gotten her something damn spectacular, Paul. She needs some cheering up, and knowing that you care'll do the trick.'
Andreas Residence, Veilstone City, Sinnoh Region, 24 December 2010, 3:00 PM
"There." Dawn placed the final ornament on the small Christmas tree she'd purchased earlier in the day and stepped back to admire her work. Though it barely stood at six feet, it was tall compared to Dawn's five-foot-four frame. Covered in LED and bubble lights, it presented a charming sight, as the multi-colored hues bounced off the living room walls. Ornaments of all kinds hung off the evergreen boughs, including ones from family and friends, and one from Dawn's father before he was killed in a construction accident when she was merely a year old. Garland beads were draped from top to bottom, glittering from the tree's lights.
"All that's left is the star," Dawn mused reaching over to the last box and digging through the tissue paper to pull out a simple star with six multi-colored lights on it, an extension cord tucked underneath. As Dawn examined it, she frowned and turned to the tree. "Maybe I should leave it for him to do…"
Paul had missed the last Christmas, and when informed that he'd missed the star (something he'd claimed as his their first Christmas together as a couple) he'd sulked for a few days straight before relenting. Dawn wasn't overly keen on a repeat performance.
"I'll just leave it here, then." Dawn placed the star back into its box and placed it on the coffee table before beginning to clean up her self-made mess. After a good twenty minutes, the empty ornament and light boxes were tucked beneath the stairs in a cupboard and the blunette was just retrieving a mug of hot chocolate from the microwave when the phone rang. Grinning, Dawn hopped over her Pachirisu (who was intent on chasing her tail for some reason) and grabbed the cordless phone.
"Hello?"
"Dawn? You there?" Dawn grinned at the voice of Maylene Kämpfen, the pink-haired Gym Leader having become a good battle partner and friend since Dawn had moved to Veilstone with Paul.
"What's up?" Dawn leaned against a kitchen counter, having retrieved her hot chocolate.
"You up for meeting me at the Gym?"
"Sure. Why?" Dawn was curious, and there were times that this curiosity had gotten her in trouble. As her mom had always told her, "Curiosity killed the Skitty."
"Well, uh," Maylene's pause got Dawn's attention, causing her to place her mug on the counter. "Aaron proposed."
"He didn't?" Dawn was on the verge of jumping up and down for joy; the only factor preventing her from doing so was that Pachirisu had moved so that she was sitting at Dawn's feet, head tilted out of curiosity as to her trainer's sudden surge in emotion.
"He did." There was a definite note of glee in Maylene's voice, and the Coordinator could just imagine that her friend was on the verge of squealing, her Lucario leaning against a side wall huffing in annoyance but a small smirk on his face nevertheless. "You free or not?"
"Yeah, of course! I'll be right there!" Dawn ended the conversation and calling for the electric squirrel to follow her ran towards the hall closet, grabbing her backpack with her Pokéballs and a snoozing Piplup, who grumbled about his nap being disturbed. Throwing on her coat and scarf, Dawn bolted out the door, holding it open long enough for Pachirisu to scamper out before closing it and locking it, which was then followed by a full-out sprint to the Veilstone City Gym.
Upon arrival, Dawn flung open the doors, disturbing some of Maylene's students, one dropping a dumbbell on his foot out of pure shock reflex. Dawn shouted out an apology as she ran towards Maylene's private chambers, excitement swirling around her.
"Where is it?" Dawn demanded as soon as she'd flung open the shoji screen leading into her friend's room. Maylene bounced up from her tatami mats, eyes shining.
"Come in! Man, you were fast," Maylene slid the door shut behind her friend and the two Pokémon before pulling off one of her fighting gloves to show off a glimmering engagement ring, a small-cut, pink-tinted diamond surrounded by opals. A silver band completed the piece of jewelry and was small enough that Maylene was still able to fight. Aaron had chosen well.
"Dish!" Dawn demanded and soon enough the two women were giggling over the romantic evening that Maylene's now-fiancé, Elite Four member Aaron Desejo had planned, complete with a dinner at their favorite restaurant then a walk through the Meteor Fields just outside the city limits. The proposal had been short, simple and sweet, which was what both trainers liked, though Aaron had a tendency to ramble on at times, which he'd done last night. Good thing that Maylene found it cute and slightly endearing at times, and last night was no exception.
"That's so romantic!" The two women grinned at each other as Maylene replaced her glove. "So, who else knows?"
"Well, as of now, just you and my few apprentices out front." Maylene motioned with her head to the aforementioned individuals, hidden behind the screens. "Oh, and I think Flint."
Dawn grimaced before stating, "You do know that Flint's like a huge gossip." Maylene sighed in resignation, having come to terms with the afroed Elite Four member's tendency to agree to keep something a secret then turn around and tell it to the next available person. In other words, he was at the top of the Giratina-damned gossip vine.
"Yeah. Aaron and I figure that word'll be out by the end of the day." Both sighed before deciding to put the business of Flint and his gossiping tendencies aside in favor of wedding talks, which included the site, who to invite and so forth. Needless to say, few if any challengers were able to beat Maylene when she was hyped up on utter happiness.
Iron Island Ruins, 10 Miles from Canalave City, Sinnoh Region, 24 December 2010, 4:45 PM
Luckily for Paul and Barry, the capture of the wannabe-Team Galactic members had been disturbingly easy, consisting of a simple ambush with Aggron and Empoleon, the two half-Steel types making easy work of the wannabes' Shiftry and Ludicolo. The duo's attempts at reviving the crime syndicate had come to a vicious and quick end, much to Lance's satisfaction when the two reported back to him after having tied their victims up and hunted down the explosives placed in the ruins to cause mayhem, disabling them in the process.
"Excellent work as usual," Lance commented smirking at the picture that Paul had sent him of the beaten-up individuals. "Make sure to secure the scene entirely and wait until the police arrive; then, you're free to return home. I'll contact you if you're needed."
"Understood," Barry responded mock-saluting the Dragon-type master while Paul rolled his eyes in disgust.
"Right." Lance raised an eyebrow at the Sinnoh native's gesture, not quite sure what had caused it but sensing that it was best not to ask. "Thorn out." The connection terminated just as the police arrived, Officer Jenny at the head. After the details had been sorted out, statements taken and the culprits loaded in the back of Jenny's patrol boat, the two G-Men were allowed to leave the Ruins.
"Finally," Paul muttered running a hand through his hair, cursing its length and vowing to get it cut as soon as he could. Barry grunted an agreement as he stretched groaning as a particularly tight knot in his left shoulder loosened. "That wasn't even worth us coming out here. Hell, a rookie team could've taken those two down."
"Have to agree with you," Barry responded hand moving over his Pokébelt looking for his Staraptor. Looking sideways at Paul he added, "So. You headed back to Veilstone?"
"Suppose so," Paul answered absently maximizing his Honchkrow's Great Ball. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go."
"Way to sound excited about seeing your wife," Barry muttered petting Staraptor on his beak once the avian had emerged. At Paul's dark glare he returned it with equal force. "For Dialga's sake, Paul, it's Christmas Eve! Go home, spend it with your drop-dead gorgeous wife and don't report back to work until after the New Year!" Barry hopped on Staraptor and took off for Twinleaf Town, hollering back three final words: "I mean it!"
"Idiot," Paul muttered before jumping onto Honchkrow and setting off for Veilstone City. However much he realized it, Barry's words had gotten through to him to an extent, a.k.a. 'Maybe I should spend some more time with Dawn before she kills me.'
'If I listen to him, he'll rub it in my face. If I don't,' Paul winced, 'there's a damn good chance that I'll be killed by an irate wife.'
"Which is the bigger danger?" Paul mused ducking underneath a flock of Starly, sneering as one that thought it was particularly cute tried to get his attention. "Back off!" The Starly screeched in alarm and veered off course, slamming into one of its siblings. Chuckling darkly, Paul sneered once more at the Starly before turning his attention back to his current problem.
"Fine. Whatever." Paul steered Honchkrow over a skyscraper in some no-name town a few miles out from Canalave City, sneering at the rookie trainers as they pointed at his Pokémon. "Amateurs."
It took him a good six and a half hours to make it back to Veilstone City, in part because his Honchkrow had needed an hour of rest somewhere in order to make the trip in such a short period of time and the other because his conscience had decided to eat at him while in Jubilife City for food, so he'd bought Dawn something to show that he actually cared about this stupid holiday.
"Finally." Paul steered his avian towards his brother's breeding center, determined to drop off the Dark and Flying-type for a rest while getting his Electivire, which he'd left there for training. Landing on the grass, Paul hopped off Honchkrow and scratched the bird's neck absently, hoping that the beat of his Pokémon's wings would have woken up his brother, who'd always been a light sleeper. A minute later, a light flicked on inside the house and a bleary-eyed Reggie stepped out, the kitchen light illuminating the back lawn.
"Paul? What are you doing here?" Reggie asked yawning. "It's, like, 11 at night. Shouldn't you be off somewhere near Canalave?"
"Got done early," Paul shrugged recalling Honchkrow and tossing the miniaturized ball at his brother, who barely managed to catch it. "Can I have Electivire?"
"Surely you're not going to go train at this hour?" Reggie's eyebrow went up. "Again, it's 11 at night and your wife, I'm sure, is waiting for you."
"I'm going home as soon as I get Electivire," Paul stressed not giving away any of his other plans. Rolling his eyes, Reggie acquiesced and trotted back inside to retrieve his brother's powerful Electric-type. A few minutes later, he came back out and tossed the Pokéball at his brother, who caught it without a problem.
"Will I be seeing you two tomorrow for dinner?" Reggie asked, hoping that his brother would drop the stupid act about not caring and just join him for Christmas dinner. Dawn was all for the idea; always had been, but it was, ultimately, Paul's choice.
"We'll see," Paul tossed over his shoulder as he walked towards his house ignoring the snow that covered the ground. Reggie sighed, wondering when his brother would grow up and start acting his age of 21 instead of his shoe size of eleven.
Andreas Residence, Veilstone City, Sinnoh Region, 24 December 2010, 11:00 PM
Paul unlocked the front door and, closing it gently tossed his keys in the basket situated on a small table just for this purpose. Sighing in relief to be home and not out on the field, he peeled off his trench coat and hung it to dry, tossing his bag on the floor. As he leaned down to take off his boats, a sound reached his ears that caused him to tense.
"There you are." Glancing up, Paul winced at the sight of his irate wife, who was tapping a boot-clad foot on the floor.
"Uh, Merry Christmas?" Paul tried standing up so that he had a height advantage. Oddly enough, though, that didn't make him feel like he had enough of an advantage over Dawn.
"No phone call, no text, no nothing! I didn't even know when you were coming home!" Dawn attacked instantly, pinning Paul against a rock and a hard place. Temper spiking, Paul retaliated.
"You are not my keeper! I don't have to report everything to you!"
"I am your wife!" Dawn brandished the wedding and engagement rings that she'd worn for the past three years. "I understand that your work as a G-Man is important; hell, if I could I'd join you! But the least you could do is call and tell me what's going on!"
"I did! I called to let you know about my being needed in Canalave for an assignment!"
"Yeah, three days ago." Paul winced. Oh yeah, that was that something that had niggled on his mind and warned him that he'd forgotten something.
"Tough assignment," Paul bluffed hoping she'd fall for it. At her narrowed eyes he knew that the attempt had failed.
"Liar," Dawn hissed getting into Paul's face, a feat considering that he was taller than her by a good six inches. "I am sick and tired of your lies, Paul. What is it, some pretty thing on the side?"
Paul narrowed his eyes and glared at Dawn, who, interestingly enough, was not standing down. "How dare you accuse me of something like that?"
"It's true, right? I mean, I get that you're busy and all that, but hell, Barry of all people stops by every so often when you guys are off duty to visit while you stay away as much as you can. What is wrong with me?"
Paul glanced away for a moment, whispering, "Nothing" before catching himself and turning back to his wife, reaching out an arm to try to grab her shoulder, to communicate his emotions through touch. "There's nothing wrong with you. I just,"
"You know what, forget it. I'm going to stay with Maylene." Dawn ducked beneath Paul's outstretched arm and, grabbing her coat and scarf flew out the door, a teardrop hitting the floor in her wake. Shocked, Paul didn't move for a moment before realizing exactly what had just happened. Cursing, he grabbed his trench coat and ran out after her, incensed when he realized that she'd gotten a severe head start on him.
"Dawn, come back! I'msorry!" Paul's rushed apology fell on insensitive ears, as the city he'd grown up in had seemingly abandoned him, not offering him his wife as easily as he'd hoped.
Rushing towards the Veilstone City Gym, he hurried his pace, hoping that he'd be able to catch her before she made it to the Gym and Maylene's sanctuary. The Gym Leader wasn't overly fond of him at the moment as he'd unknowingly insulted her boyfriend and she was still holding a grudge against his slip of tongue.
"Dawn!" The streetlights flashed overhead, illuminating a trail through the freshly fallen snow, which if he'd paid any attention seemed to be getting lighter the closer to the Gym he got. "Dawn, I'msorry, okay? You're right! I'm an ass and you deserve better!" Still, no sign of the blunette materialized; well, beyond faint footprints that were quickly fading on the cobbled sidewalks.
Just as Paul rounded the final corner that lay near the Gym, the screeching of tires echoed throughout the eerily silent city. 'What the hell?'
A car was stopped in the middle of the road, its engine smoking as the driver got out and began to stumble around, obviously drunk. Deciding that his wife was probably at the Gym in no mood to talk to him, and figuring that he'd attempt to talk her down in the morning, Paul pulled out his G-Man badge (he always had it on him in case something like this materialized) and running over to the drunkard demanded an explanation. What he heard froze his heart into ice.
"Man, she, she just ran, *hiccup*, inta the mid, the mid, the street an' I, oh man, *hiccup*, I couldn't stop in time." The man swayed before falling to his knees and vomiting the remnants of his stomach on the cobblestone street. Not caring that his shoes had been caught in the mess Paul ran to the front of the car and felt his heart stop.
"No." Falling to his knees, Paul reached out and gently moved a strand of blue hair out of Dawn's face, tucking it behind her ear. His hand came away covered in blood. "No!"
Veilstone General, Veilstone City, Sinnoh Region, 25 December 2010, 1:45 AM
"We're sorry, Mr. Andreas, but there was nothing we could do. The internal bleeding was too much to repair and her brain hemorrhaged as we were trying to repair it. We are so sorry for your loss."
"Fat lot of good condolences'll do," Paul muttered angrily punching a nearby wall hard enough for his knuckles to begin bleeding. Ignoring the cry of alarm from the on-duty nurse, Paul stalked out of the morgue, where he'd had to identify his wife's cold corpse as the once alive incarnation of sunshine in his life.
"Damn bleeding heart," Paul snarled as he stormed out of the hospital, his mind whirling. 'Why? Why did this happen? She didn't deserve it; hell, if anyone deserved to die it should've been someone else, but no way in Giratina's hell should it have been her.'
Paul suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, ignoring the snowflakes alighting on his head. "Why?" Leaning forward so that his bangs covered his eyes he began to move slowly back hom – no, to the house where his wife had lived. She was right. He'd never really lived there, not once he'd been accepted into the G-Men. He'd thought that she'd understand how important this was to him, how he felt it necessary to make amends for all that he'd done in the past (some things even Reggie didn't know about) and she had… but he'd taken her for granted. Arceus above, if only he had another chance…
He snorted as he came upon the door to the house. Digging around for his keys, he groaned when he realized they were still inside… and he was sure that Dawn hadn't thought to bring hers either. "Damn it, this is just what I need, and the Pokémon are inside." That was another thought that caused his head to hurt. "Damn it, what are they going to think?"
Slamming his head against the door, Paul hissed in pain at his body's suggestion that perhaps that wasn't the best choice. Turning around, his eyes caught sight of a locksmith shop that was open.
"Perfect," the purple-haired trainer murmured trotting across the street to arrive at the shop. Entering, a blast of heat greeted him, eliciting a small sigh of relief as his eyes searched for a worker. After a minute, a young man walked out of the back room, golden eyes alighting on the trainer.
"What can I do for you?" the man asked, brushing a strand of eerily pale blonde hair out of his eyes.
"I, uh, locked myself out of my house." Paul pointed across the street at the house that had lights lit on the outside and inside. The worker whistled.
"Tough luck mate." He picked up a tool kit from behind him and placed it on the counter. "Kind of lock?" As the two men worked on finding a skeleton key that would allow Paul access to his house the worker noticed the young man's haunted expression. "If you don't mind me askin', what's on your mind?"
Paul paused in his perusal of skeleton keys. Should he tell someone what had just happened? After a moment, he decided why the hell not; news was going to spread all over Sinnoh by tomorrow anyway.
"I just lost my wife," he whispered voice low in case someone else entered. "She was hit by a drunk driver."
The worker winced in sympathy as he silently cheered at finding the correct key. "That's harsh, and on Christmas Eve? Damn."
"Tell me about it." Paul reached for the key when it was suddenly pulled back. Frowning, he reached for it again only to be denied. "Am I missing something here?"
"Do you regret it?" The worker's expression had hardened his eyes narrowed to icy chips.
Paul frowned. "Regret what?"
"What you did to Dawn." The worker ignored Paul's flabbergasted expression at his knowing his deceased wife's name and continued, "Do you regret arguing with her, not spending enough time with her, not showing her how damn much she means to you?"
Paul didn't even hesitate (a surprising fact he'd later discover) and answered, "Absolutely."
The worker smiled, but it was one filled with ice and unfulfilled promises. "Perfect." Tapping his fingers in a pattern on the counter, he stated, "Paul Andreas, Arceus himself demanded that I do this, despite my misgivings. How would you like a second chance?"
Paul's mind was caught up on the words "Arceus himself demanded" for a moment before realizing that he had been asked a question. "Second chance for what?"
"To show Dawn that you love her." The worker was looking at Paul again, but this time his breath hitched as the image morphed to that of Celebi, the Time Guardian's eyes looking into his questioningly.
"Anything. I'd do anything." Paul held his breath, hoping that that was the right answer. If he had a chance to save her… to do something to prove to her that he loved her enough to prevent her death… he'd take it.
"Correct answer." Celebi held out the skeleton key, which now glowed a dim blue. "You will have three days to prove to Dawn that you love her. Use them wisely." Moving suddenly, Celebi slapped the key into Paul's outstretched palm and the last thing the G-Man saw was a flash of green and silver, followed by darkness.