Light Up The Sky

Calem slowly stepped out from the route gate into the streets of Lumoise City, and he looked around to see the sights of the city around him accompanied by a beautiful starry night sky. It was truly an amazing sight, if the smile of awe on his face was much to go by. "It's really been a while since I've come here…" Calem commented to himself as he was looking at the city around him; he had just arrived back here from arriving into the Power Plant and stopping Team Flare as they were stealing electricity from the building. Now that electricity had been restored to the city, hopefully it meant that Prism Tower would be lit up again and Calem would have a chance to go for his fifth Gym Badge. "I guess there's only one way to find out. Time to head on over there!" Calem nodded in confirmation at his plan, but as he was about to make his way over to the tower, that was when he heard someone calling from behind him.

"Calem! Calem, wait up!" Hearing that voice, Calem turned around in surprise to find out who it was and he felt a bright smile cross his face: there running over to where he was with a big smile of excitement on her face was Shauna. Upon seeing his girlfriend, Calem started to walk over to her, but he was met with a shock as Shauna lunged forward and tackled him in a surprise hug attack, leaving him stumbling backwards a bit before he managed to stand upright, with her arms wrapped tightly around him while he turned his glance down to her noticing her excitement to see him.

"Hey, Shauna. When did you get here?" Calem asked, wrapping his arms around Shauna to return her hug. After a few moments passed, Shauna let go of him and turned her glance up to him, showing her big smile; to Calem, getting to see Shauna's smile was always one of best things about his encounters with her.

"I was on my way back here, and as soon as I saw you just ahead, I started running like crazy to catch up with you!" Shauna replied. Calem showed a smile of amusement before letting out a chuckle; he knew just how excitable and full of energy Shauna always was. It was just one of the many things he loved about her. "You're not gonna believe what I just heard: the power here in Lumoise City's just been restored!" Shauna happily explained, her smile of excitement seemingly not fading from her face anytime soon.

Calem showed an expression of surprise at this; while he knew exactly how that was made possible, he figured that it would be best to play along with Shauna, as he could tell just how thrilled she was about and he didn't want to disappoint her. "Really?" he asked, tilting his head in curiosity as he wanted to know about this. Seeing his interest in what she was saying, Shauna nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah, that's right! I heard all about it on the telescreen in the route gate while I was on my way here: the news reporter said that there were some really bad people stealing electricity from the Kalos Power Plant, and someone came and stopped them!" Shauna explained. Calem nearly jumped from shock once he heard this, as he was starting to worry about how Shauna would react once she found out that he was the one who confronted Team Flare. Taking notice of the expression of shock on his face, Shauna could only stare in concern. "Calem? What's wrong?" she worriedly asked. Calem blinked a few times before turning his attention to Shauna, noticing the expression of concern she was showing him.

"Uh… nothing. I was just wondering… when you saw the news report about what happened at the Power Plant, did they happen to have any information concerning the people who attacked the building?" Calem asked; he wanted to make sure that Shauna hadn't found out about who had stopped Team Flare. Shauna turned her glance up to think it over before she nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah, they did. The news reporter said that they were wearing these bright orange outfits, matching glasses and their hair was a matching orange and it was styled like this." Shauna explained, before holding her hands above her head, one placed on top of her head and opened up facing forward while the other was pointing up into the air and positioned faced in a curled shape, prompting Calem to show a smile of amusement and start trying to stifle his laughter with little success, while Shauna couldn't help laughing along with him as she lowered her hands. "I know, right? How do they get their hair to look like that?" she cheekily asked. Calem simply gave a shrug in response; he was just as clueless about that as Shauna was. Now that she was done with her imitation, Shauna turned her attention back to Calem. "Right now, no one knows what it was that stopped them, but I'll bet they're pretty awesome to pull off something like that by themselves! Would you happen to have any idea of who they are, Calem?" she asked.

Calem could only remain silent before he slowly turned his glance down, trying to think about what he should do about having to tell Shauna that he was the one responsible. He knew that it would be best to be honest with her about it, but at the same time, he didn't know how she would react to learning about him taking on Team Flare by himself, and the worry he could have possibly caused her. As he was trying to decide what he should do, he could see that Shauna was watching him in puzzlement. "You're just as clueless about it too, huh?" she asked. Calem looked up at her before slowly nodding; he figured it would be best to stay silent about it for the time being. Seeing his nod, Shauna showed a smile of understanding. "That's okay; I guess that means there's someone who's as strong as you are!" she cheerfully replied.

"Yeah… it sure sounds like it." Calem quietly replied, slowly nodding in agreement. Noticing that he seemed to look a little disappointed, Shauna showed a reassuring smile before she wrapped her arms around Calem while he turned his glance to her in surprise. "But if I'm being honest, I doubt they'd ever be able to take your place." Shauna added. Calem was silent for a few moments before he felt a grateful smile cross his face, seeing just how much Shauna would support him and be there for him no matter what.

"Thanks, Shauna." Calem softly replied. After a few seconds passed, Shauna let go of Calem before a smile of excitement came to her face. "And there's also something else I wanted to tell you: since the electricity in Lumoise City is back in operation, that means Prism Tower will be lit up for everyone to see! So I wanted to know if we could go see it." she added. Calem showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement with this idea; hopefully that could give him some time to think about how he was going to tell Shauna the truth.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Where is Prism Tower?" he asked. Shauna felt her smile grow bigger from excitement and she pointed just ahead, with Calem turning his glance to notice the large tower located in the heart of the city. "It's just that way. Once we head down this street, we'll arrive smack at Prism Tower. Come on, let's go!" Shauna cheerfully stated. With this, she grabbed Calem's hand and the two started to make their way over to Prism Tower.

As the two were coming just up to where the front entrance of the tower was, Shauna could spot two people standing just in front of the entrance and she immediately showed a big smile as she could recognise them right away. "Calem, look! There's Clemont! He's the Gym Leader of Lumoise City, and he makes all kinds of nifty devices and inventions." Shauna explained, pointing over to where the two were. Calem then showed an expression of puzzlement as he noticed the young girl standing next to Clemont.

"Who's she?" he asked. "Oh, that's Clemont's little sister, Bonnie. They're both really good friends of mine!" Shauna replied. Calem nodded in understanding at this statement, so the two started to continue their way over towards Prism Tower. As he and Bonnie stood just to the side of the tower, Clemont was busy putting the finishing touches on the switch to turn the lights on while Bonnie was waiting impatiently for him to be done.

"Come on, Clemont! How long is this going to take? I want to see the tower be lit up already." Bonnie snapped, crossing her arms with an expression of irritation on her face at the fact that she was having to wait so long for her brother to be done with preparations. Clemont turned his glance down to Bonnie upon taking notice of her impatience.

"Patience, Bonnie. I just need to make sure the lighting circuits are all set up here, and then we'll be good to go." Clemont replied. As Bonnie let out a sigh of annoyance at the fact that she would have to wait a little longer, the two suddenly heard someone calling them. "Clemont! Bonnie! Hello!"

Upon hearing that voice, the two turned around in surprise to see Shauna waving to them with a smile of excitement as she was walking over to them with Calem beside her and his hand in hers. "Look, it's Shauna!" Bonnie cheered, a smile of excitement crossing her face. With Clemont showing a bright smile as he was happy to see her too, Bonnie showed no hesitance in running over to the two. "Hey, Shauna! It's really great to see you!" Bonnie happily commented. She then turned her glance to notice Calem and an expression of surprise came to her face. "Who are you?" she asked.

Shauna let out a cheerful giggle before turning her head to Calem. "This is Calem. He's been travelling with me through Kalos. He's my boyfriend!" Shauna replied, showing a big smile. While Bonnie could only stare in shock at this statement, Calem simply showed a bright smile at Shauna's excitement and nodded in confirmation, to which Bonnie immediately showed a smile of joy.

"Oh, wow! That's great, Shauna! I can tell he's a real keeper for you!" Bonnie excitedly exclaimed. Shauna let out a giggle at Bonnie's excitement for her, while Calem could only stare and wonder what Bonnie meant by that. While the three were busy with their conversation, Clemont was just finishing up with preparations before he turned around to face the others.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. We're all set!" Clemont stated. Calem and Shauna both turned their glances up to the tower in anticipation, while Bonnie showed a smile of excitement before running over to where Clemont was. Noticing her, Clemont looked down at her. "Want to help me pull the switch?" he asked.

"You know it, big brother!" Bonnie replied, promptly nodding in agreement. With this, she reached up and placed both hands on the lever while Clemont placed one hand on it as well and the two turned their hands to Calem and Shauna while they were both watching.

"Now that we're ready to go… the future is now, thanks to science!" Clemont stated, before he and Bonnie pulled down on the lever. After a few seconds, Prism Tower started to light up, starting with the Gym Symbol on the top slowly flickering on, following up each floor's lights turning on until the tower was fully illuminated, with the lights shining so brightly they could be seen all around the city. As Calem and Shauna watched the display, Calem was staring with an expression of awe while Shauna slowly showed a big smile before she turned her glance to him, with him turning to face her.

"Wow… I guess you can call this feeling being entranced, huh? Now I have another great memory with you! Thank you so much, Calem." Shauna happily commented. Calem simply smiled at her before taking her hands in his. "Not a problem, Shauna. Making new memories is always one of the best parts of my journey." Calem replied. He then turned his glance down, wondering if now was the right time to be honest with Shauna. Shauna then showed an expression of concern, noticing that Calem was looking a bit down.

"Calem, what's wrong? What's gotten you down?" Shauna asked. Calem turned his glance up to Shauna noticing her expression of concern as she wanted to know why he was looking upset. After a few moments passed, Calem let out a sigh as he knew that he couldn't hide the truth from Shauna; he had a feeling that he had to tell her about him being the one to stop Team Flare, no matter how much he was worrying about how she would respond.

"Shauna… you know how you saw the news report about what happened at the Power Plant?" Calem asked. Shauna slowly nodded in agreement as she was starting to wonder what Calem was trying to tell her. "Well, the people who attacked the Power Plant are part of a crime organization named Team Flare." Calem explained. Shauna immediately showed an expression of alarm hearing this.

"You've heard of those guys?!" she gasped. Calem simply nodded in confirmation, noticing that she was paying attention to what he had to say, before he continued.

"Yeah, I have. They've been causing problems for everyone throughout Kalos, and the attack on the Power Plant was their most recent endeavour. And you probably won't like what I have to say, but… I was the one who stopped Team Flare at the Power Plant." Calem continued. There was silence for a few moments as Shauna could only stare in shock as she was trying to register what she had just heard. Noticing her silence, Calem let out a sigh of dismay. "I know; you don't need to say a word, Shauna. I should have been honest with you from the start, but I wasn't sure of how you would respond to what I've been doing." Calem quietly commented. Shauna slowly turned her glance back up to him seeing his dismay over the situation before a smile of awe slowly showed on her face.

"Calem… that's amazing! You managed to take on those guys and chase them out of the Power Plant by yourself; I don't think any of us would have been able to do something like that. You're really someone incredible!" Shauna happily exclaimed. Calem turned his glance up to her in surprise hearing her excitement, and a small smile crossed his face hearing that she wasn't upset with him.

"Thanks, Shauna. But… it doesn't really change the fact that I didn't tell you about it right away. It's just that… I didn't want to cause you any unnecessary worry over me." Calem replied. Shauna showed an expression of surprise at this statement before she immediately took his hands in hers while she turned her glance up to him.

"Why wouldn't I worry about you? You're my boyfriend! And boyfriends and girlfriends always look out for each other and support each other, right?" Shauna asked. Calem slowly nodded in agreement with this reply, knowing that she was right about that. "The next time you run into those guys, I'll be right there to help you stop them. They won't know what hit them if the two of us are together!" Shauna stated, showing a confident smile that she would be able to help Calem take on Team Flare if he ever encountered them again. Calem showed an expression of shock at this suggestion before he rapidly shook his head in response.

"You don't get it, Shauna! Team Flare mean business, and they'll stop at nothing if it means achieving their goals! And… well… I don't know how I'd be able to deal with the thought of you being placed in serious danger because of me." Calem replied, slowly turning his glance down at this last statement. Shauna showed an expression of surprise as she started to wonder what he meant before he looked back up at her. "If anything ever happened to you, Shauna, or any of our friends, especially if we ever came face to face with Team Flare again, that's something I don't think I'd ever be able to forgive myself for. All of the friends I've made on this journey are important to me, especially you. And I don't want to be the one responsible for placing you or the others in harm's way because you were there to help me through. So that's why I want to make sure you're as far away from Team Flare as possible, so that I'll know that you'll be safe." Calem explained. Shauna could only stare in amazement, realising just how serious Calem was about this whole situation, before she placed both her hands on his shoulders to get his attention.

"Calem, you won't have to worry about a thing." Calem turned his head up to Shauna to notice the gentle smile she was showing him. "I know everything that's happening right now with these Team Flare guys is serious, but that doesn't mean you have to face them alone. I know that it's dangerous and possibly life-threatening, but there's not a chance in the world that I'd leave you behind! If there's any way that I can help, I want to be there beside you to make it possible. I want to be there for you, Calem, through everything that comes our way." Shauna softly explained, with her gentle smile not faltering in the slightest while she was talking.

Calem could only listen to her in amazement before he felt a grateful smile show on his face as he came to the realization that Shauna was right; she would always be there for him, and when she had her heart set on something, it wouldn't be easy to change her mind. It was moments like this that made Calem feel grateful to have such an amazing girlfriend like Shauna. After a few moments passed, Calem nodded in understanding with a smile of gratitude. "…You're right, Shauna. Thank you; I needed to hear that. I would never dream of leaving you behind. I know you'll always be there for me, no matter what." Calem softly replied. Shauna showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"And don't you forget that!" she cheerfully added. Calem nodded in understanding before he leaned forward and kissed Shauna, with her staring at surprise for a few moments before she felt a bright smile cross her face, as she was thrilled to see that Calem was feeling a lot better about their situation. She knew they wouldn't have an easy road ahead of them, but to her, that didn't matter; all that mattered to her was supporting Calem and staying by his side through everything.