"Here it is, Lance."

"Lyra, I don't want you to do this."

"I know," I said quietly, "but it's what I want."

"I know you're still hurting after what happened to your family and all, but I can help. Silver, however misguided he is sometimes, can help. Professor Ethan can help. A resignation isn't necessary."

I couldn't meet his eyes. Lance and I were friends. We had each other's backs, no matter what. A few times, I had even suspected that I felt more than just friendship. It had been three years since I had become Champion and three years was a long enough time to get to know someone you work with everyday. I was confident in saying that I knew pretty much everything about Lance the Dragon Master. "Lance, it is necessary. I can't do what I'm doing right now and expect to be okay. I have to sort a few things out. The one thing I do know is that I cannot perform my duties as a Champion anymore."

"Lyra, I know you," Lance shook his head, "Even though we're mostly rivals, we train together and we tell each other what's going on. You're not telling me everything. You're not planning on going after them on your own, are you? The people who killed your mom?"

"Lance, I'm not that stupid as to go on my own," I rolled my eyes, feeling my heart beating out of my chest. I should've known that he would guess it immediately. The pain from finding out about my mom had been erased by the sense of purpose I felt. All I knew was that they wouldn't get away with it. That was all I needed to know. Focusing on this made it less harsh. I almost didn't feel it at all sometimes, if I tried really hard.

"Promise me you won't," his face showed only concern and I felt horrible lying to him about this. But he didn't realize that this was only the beginning. Desperate times call for desperate measures and as the police were failing while the trail was getting cold, I couldn't stand by and let this go un-avenged. No one targets my loved ones. No one. What if next time it was Ethan? Or my older sister Julia? Or even Lance? Sure, he was the Champion and wasn't going to go down easy, but a thing like poison didn't care who was on the other end. There were things that I hadn't told even my closest friends, never mind the police, that I couldn't face. This was not a random killing. This was calculated and until I found out a way to stop it, it wasn't going to go away on its own.

"I promise, Lance," I replied, giving him a small smile, "Now can I go get the rest I most definitely deserve? Or are you questioning that too?"

"No," Lance made a face at me, "I know you need a break. But you can get that break without having to resign. Silver and I can take care of the duties for a while during the time you're gone." He handed my resignation back to me, shaking his head. "I won't accept it. Take your time off and do what you need to, but don't close this door completely."

I sighed, but decided not to push it. I would be giving my title soon anyway, involuntarily or not.

"And Lyra," Lance added, his face getting darkly serious, "You know that the offer I made you still stands. If you want me to go with you- I mean, we can disappear for a while and get down to the bottom of this together. It'll be like Lake of Rage all over again. I'd do it in a second if it was what you wanted."

"Lance," I shook my head, "I don't want to drag you with me into this mess. I'll be fine. And I'll steer clear of the whole thing."

"Don't forget about the promise you made," Lance reminded me, not letting this go, "And I'll see you soon. Hopefully."

"Yeah, well, I'll see you, Lance," I allowed myself a brief smile at him, surprised to find that I was almost sad to go. But I didn't have a choice. There were lines that had been crossed. And when Lance had made me promise him to stay safe, he had never said no crossies.

Forty-eight hours before

"Silver, I need your help."

"Oh, so you need my help."

"Yes."

"You, the great Lyra Kotone, need my help."

"That would be what I said."

"Well, gee, I just feel so honored that you asked, but I think I'd like to end this conversation right here."

"Silver!"

"Yes, Lyra?"

"I said I needed your help."

"And I politely declined. Why don't you go ask someone else? Like, oh, I don't know, maybe someone who actually likes you."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's about my mom."

I saw Silver visibly flinch, although his expression didn't change. "So that changes things somehow?"

"Don't be dense, Silver, of course it does. You know it does." I crossed my arms, waiting him out. He flicked a look over at me, then looked away.

"I'm supposed to be on Champion duty, you know," he wouldn't look at me, instead choosing to keep a steady gaze on the door across the room, just in case anyone came in looking for a battle.

"Do I look like I care?" I shot back, getting a tiny bit irritated now. "Silver, you're the only person I can think of going to right now and you're killing me."

Silver raised an eyebrow, obviously trying to squirm out of this. "Can't you go bother someone else? What about Cape Guy? He'd love to help you. Cause I don't see myself benefitting in anyway by helping you."

"Because you're the only person I know that doesn't really care about what happens to me. And as far as getting something out of this, I'll step down as Champion," I retorted, giving him exactly what he wanted.

"Really?" I could see the wheels turning in Silver's head as he thought through the implications of this. He wanted to be the sole Champion like Lance was for the couple of years before Silver and I came. With me gone, that was just one more obstacle out of his way. Silver never did anything unless he was going to get something out of it. I'd figured that much out by now.

"Really," I replied steadily, watching his reaction.

"And you won't challenge the league again," Silver asked slyly, wanting to cover all his bases.

"No, I won't," I answered, "I swear on my Pokemon, I won't."

Silver nodded, looking thoughtful. "All right then, I'll do it. What do you need?"

"I need to disappear," I explained carefully, somewhat dancing around what I was trying to say, "Get off the map. Being Champion puts a lot of attention on you. I need space to operate and the space I have now is virtually zero. Once people hear that a Champion is missing, suspicion will be placed, and probably rightfully so. I need someone to cover for me back here and make sure no one suspects anything or tries to come after me and kill my cover."

"Lance," Silver grinned, understanding what I was saying, "You want me to baby-sit the so-called Dragon Master while you go off and find out who killed your mom. You gotta be kidding me."

"You know Lance. He's nosy. If he hears something about investigations or Team Rocket bases being blown up, he's gonna want in. I need you to try and keep him as busy as possible. Distract him. Do whatever you need to do. If you could discover a new Dragon type Pokemon in the next day or two, that would be great. If I want this to be believable, I need to tie up any loose ends. I can't risk my cover being blown. You have to control things for me out in the real world. That means no noisy publicity and no nosy Dragon Trainers."

"You think it's definitely Rocket?" Silver asked, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"I'm almost positive," I replied, "And they're going to pay for what they did." I didn't tell him about the call I got. I didn't tell him about how this killing was a message to stay out of things this time around. I didn't tell him about how they threatened Ethan next. How easy, they said it would be, for a Pokemon Professor to wind up dead from the aftereffects of a dangerous experiment he shouldn't have been messing with. I couldn't lose Ethan, not so soon after my mom. But neither could I let them say whatever they wanted and do whatever they wanted without laying down the law. There was only one way to deflect all suspicion from myself.

"And I need your help with one more thing," I continued, not stopping there. I wasn't done, not yet. Silver was going to have to earn his keep if he wanted to get the reward. "I need you to help me fake my own death."

That got Silver's attention. "What?"

"You heard me," I answered steadily, "It's the only way to remove all suspicion. If I'm dead, I can't exactly blow up any bases, can I? And Team Rocket won't have an excuse to hurt the people I care about."

Silver sighed, looking for the first time ever like he actually had things to worry about. "What have I gotten myself into?"

"Enjoy it, Silver," I grinned, patting his arm, "It only gets better. Now, let me set a few things up now. I'll call you when I'm ready for you to do more."

"You're crazy, Lyra," Silver shook his head, "I swear."

"Don't swear, Silver," I grinned wickedly in reply, walking out of the Champion room. Things were just getting started.