"If the sky that we look upon,

Should stumble and fall,

Or the mountain should crumble to the sea,

I won't cry, I won't cry,

No, I won't shed a tear,

Just as long as you stand by me...,"

-Stand By Me; by Ben E. King


By the time Ash and the others made it to Era Town, they were unsettled by how calm it was. They weren't entirely sure, in that split second, if they wanted to continue; but Ash's determination to find the girl at the Pokémon Center pushed aside any uncertainties he felt at that moment. Straightening his shoulders ever so slightly, Ash hurried his way into Era Town, leaving Dawn and Brock calling after him for his brashness.

"Will you stop, Ash?" Dawn hissed, holding her Piplup closer to her. "We can't just go barging in like that."

"It doesn't look like there're a lot of people out anyway," Brock murmured, looking around.

"You're right," Dawn said quietly. There were a few people scattered here and there, but not a lot in general. The small group had to wonder what had gone on to leave the town looking so barren. Had an uprising left the town somewhat abandoned? What would happen if they ran into any of the people responsible for the uprisings? The uncertainties came back stronger than ever.

"Do you think we'll find her here?" Ash asked, looking over at Brock.

"I could only hope so," Brock sighed. "If we were pretty close to here back at that Pokémon Center, I could only guess she'd come here, too."

"But she'll be OK, right?" Dawn asked, her tone sounding almost doubtful. "Nothing'll happen to her?"

That was the question that seemed to be the hardest to answer.

. . . .

The whispers seemed to fill Nova's head, driving her almost insane. All she wanted to do was find a safe place to go to and rest for a little while. Misdreavus and Pichu looked just as exhausted as she felt. Her feet hurt and her legs ached; her entire body felt as if it were made of lead. Part of Nova knew it wouldn't be a good idea to seek refuge in Era Town, considering its closeness to the Capital, so she was occasionally reminding herself to make it to either Expansion City or Bijou City. Though she knew that making it to Bijou would be a stretch, considering how far it was, even from Expansion City.

Misdreavus nudged Nova's shoulder a little, catching her attention. Turning to look at the Ghost type Pokémon, Nova's attention was drawn to a small inn that her companion was nodding towards. It was a good idea; the inn itself was small and looked like it'd be a good place to rest up, but Nova wasn't sure if her satchel had any money. Since running from the palace, she didn't get the opportunity to really inspect the satchel's contents. Giving an exhausted smile to Misdreavus, Nova shook her head. "It's a good idea, but I don't think we have the money," she murmured. "We're probably going to Expansion City, just to play it safe." She started walking again, despite her aching feet wanting to just rest.

Pichu, who had continually gone back and forth between sitting inside the satchel and sitting on Nova's shoulders, sat comfortably in the satchel with its head poked out, looking around cautiously. The Tiny Mouse Pokémon took note of each human that looked their way, each human who whispered amongst themselves. Pichu could hear some of the things the other humans were saying, and an unsettling feeling came over the small Pokémon. The citizens of Era Town weren't really as welcoming to Nova, they didn't really go out of their way to make her feel comfortable or wanted. Pichu knew that Misdreavus felt the same way, despite the Ghost type wanting to be as helpful as possible. Scurrying out of the satchel, Pichu climbed up Nova's arm and settled on the Princess' shoulder, gently nestling itself in place.

"You doing OK, Pichu?" Nova asked, giving a sideways glance Pichu's way.

A shake of its head was Pichu's response. 'I don't like it here.'

Nova's lips pursed a little. If she could force her body to move a little faster, she'd be able to get out of the town quicker and ease the tensions Pichu was experiencing. Looking over at Misdreavus, Nova noticed the way her companion's eyes were darting around, the uneasiness radiating off the Ghost type. Obviously they were more anxious about Era Town's eeriness than she was allowing herself to be.

. . . .

Era Town had experienced a fair share of uprisings, resulting in a good number of citizens to leave. The remaining citizens were either too afraid to leave or were working in line with the people responsible for Meridian's fast decline. That was why seeing the Princess wandering the streets had come as such a surprise. Those who were responsible for the uprisings in Meridian had been told to keep a lookout for the Princess, since she more than likely had very special cargo that they needed for their plans. And what does she stroll in with? A satchel, probably carrying the very item they needed.

"Should we tell Skye?" someone murmured.

"Yeah, she'll need to know," another whispered. "You follow her. I'll alert Skye."

. . . .

Nova felt herself unconsciously stiffen when she heard footsteps behind her. Straightening her shoulders, she tried hurrying her pace, but her exhausted body wouldn't let her move any faster. Taking a deep breath, she let it out and tried forcing herself to move faster. She had to! If whoever was behind her was a potential threat, she didn't want them causing her or her Pokémon any harm. All she wanted was to get out.

Don't make it obvious you're scared, she thought, trying to internally calm herself down. Don't let them get to you! You're stronger than this. You've managed to make it this far, don't give up now, OK?

Swallowing thickly, Nova tried putting those thoughts to good use. If she allowed her follower to know she was bothered by them, then she'd be giving them the upper-hand, she'd be allowing herself to be overwhelmed with her own emotions. She had to keep calm, she had to make herself look unbothered by what was going on. Nova wanted nothing more than to be brave.

When the sounds of the footsteps started becoming faster, Nova's heart started beating erratically in her chest. She couldn't move any faster than what she was going; feeling her breathing becoming more and more shallow, she tried figuring out a strategy.

"Misdreavus," she whispered, "use Shadow Ball."

The Ghost type Pokémon quickly turned around and launched a Shadow Ball at whoever was behind her. There was a pained cry. In that minute, Nova turned and saw a man stumbling, smoke coming off him from where the attack had hit. He was obviously disoriented, blinking a few times before a heated glare was sent her way. A feeling of dread came over Nova.

"Misdreavus, use Psywave," she stammered.

The attack was instantly launched and the man fell onto his back, letting out another pained cry. Nova gripped the satchel close to her, exclaiming at Misdreavus to hurry and follow her. Much to Nova's delight, she finally mustered up enough energy to at least do a light jog. Despite the man having the ability to easily close up the space between them, Nova was going to use the opportunity Misdreavus gave them to put as much space as possible between them.

It's just like those guards, remember? The more space you have between them, the easier it'll be to lose them! Once you make it to Expansion City, it'll be really hard for them to find you. Keep that in mind, OK?

Before she could even get very far, though, much to Nova's misfortune, she found herself stumbling to a stop when she saw those kids from the Pokémon Center.

. . . .

Brock had informed the others of Era Town being relatively big, and they were scared that maybe they wouldn't be able to find the girl if it was as big as they had been told. Dawn seemed to show obvious worry over the girl's condition while Ash was determined to figure out a way to help her. Brock would admit that he was also concerned about her; seeing the look on her face made him wonder what exactly she went through. She looked like so terrified, and Brock couldn't help but think about one of his siblings being in a situation like that. He couldn't stand the thought of any of his siblings feeling as terrified as the girl was when they saw her.

The trio stopped for a moment when they heard a noise.

"Did you hear that?" Ash asked. There was another sound, it didn't sound too far away. It sounded almost like a person. "C'mon! I think it's this way!"

The trio hurried off to where they believed the sound came from. It was a little hard, since the town had so many alleyways and streets, but once they made their way down another block, they came to a stop when they ran into the girl from the Pokémon Center. Ash felt a sensation of relief washing over him when he saw her, though he had to admit she looked just as disheveled, if not more so, than the last time he saw her. Her hair was frizzy and tangled, her eyes had dark circles around them, the clothes she wore were filthy and she looked almost wild with fear. A Misdreavus floated above her right shoulder while a Pichu was clinging to her left shoulder, the two Pokémon glaring at the trio.

"You're the girl from the Pokémon Center!" Ash exclaimed. That was when he really took in the look on her face; and that was when it started to really settle in with him. She looked terrified, she looked like she was about to burst out into tears or maybe even pass out at any given moment. She was clutching a satchel close to her chest, as if using it as support. That was when the sounds of footsteps came behind her. She quickly turned, her body visibly tensing when a man showed up, looking absolutely livid when he saw her with Ash and his friends.

"Now you listen here, you brat...," he snapped.

"Hey!" Ash snapped, glaring at him. "Leave her alone!"

"Get behind us," Brock instructed, a scowl on his face as he looked at the man. Without a second thought, she scurried behind where Dawn and Brock stood.

"You think you can stop me?" the man exclaimed. "Do you even know who I am?"

"I don't care who you are," Ash said. "You're going to leave her alone."

With a scoff, the man took out a PokéBall. "Take them down, Heracross!" he exclaimed. The Single Horn Pokémon came out of the PokéBall, ready for battle.

"Go on out there, Pikachu," Ash exclaimed. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and in front of him on all fours. The Electric Mouse Pokémon's tail was high in the air, electricity crackling from its red cheeks.

. . . .

These Trainers...these...random Trainers Nova only met once were defending her? Protecting her? She didn't even know them. She didn't know if they were putting up some kind of façade in order to gain her trust; she didn't know what they were planning. But seeing the one with the Pikachu facing off with the man and his Heracross made Nova feel a little reassured. From the looks of it, the Trainer's Pikachu seemed well trained and could possibly take down the Heracross with little trouble.

"Alright, Pikachu, use ThunderBolt!" the Trainer called.

Nova watched in fascination as the Pikachu got itself into position, before unleashing the signature attack. Heracross let out a pained cry as the attack hit. Unfortunately, the attack wasn't powerful enough to knock Heracross out. Whatever happened after that was just a blur...

...because not long after Pikachu landed the first hit Nova passed out.


(A/N):

What do you guys think? I wanna say this is the longest chapter I've written for this story, so don't hesitate to give me any kind of constructive criticism where you think it's necessary!

Do I own anything in the POKEMON franchise? No. No I do not.

Awesomeness3013: From the time Nova left the palace to where she is now, she hasn't slept. I suppose I didn't write that in enough or I just did a poor job at writing it in general, but Nova's sleep deprived. But I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Thank you for your review[s].

WonderBabe: Thank you so much for your reviews! I suppose this is like a 4th gen movie, in a way. In all honesty, I didn't even think of it that way. But I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. Hopefully I can hear from you again in future updates.

Ariel-Sarina-Jen: Well, you were right about Ash and friends saving Nova! I think it could be a good way for Nova to trust them, but it'll probably take a while for that to happen. Hopefully I can hear from you again! I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far.

Jojo: For this story, the main villain is kind of something I'm still working out, I guess? I don't know, for me, it's usually whatever pops up in my head at the time I'm writing the chapter. I'm not sure if that makes sense at all, but I work with character development and everything as I'm writing the chapter I'm on, so once the story really starts picking up I'll hopefully have more of an idea on what the villain will be doing and what their intentions are.

Also, as a note for you guys, I have started my summer quarter at my community college so my schedule's a bit crazy right now. Not only that, but my hours at my job have increased so I will probably have some days where I'll be too busy to update. And I know it has been some time since I updated last, but I thought I'd let you guys know so you don't think I abandoned this story or anything.

On another note, and then I'll wrap this up, how many of you have seen SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING? I am a huge fan of MARVEL movies (I haven't really read the comics, so for those of you who prefer the comics to the movies, please don't get mad at me) so I was kind of excited. And the movie did turn out to be really good. The kid they've got playing SPIDER-MAN did a good job in the role. Anyway, I digress.

Be kind to one another, don't text and drive, and appreciate yourself and others.

Just tell me if there's something that's confusing and I'll clear it up the best I can.

Thanks.

Kaia Milligan