Alright, I lied. It's ready now. By the way, I'm sorry there hasn't been much action in the last few chapters, they've been setting up the plot. I promise, promise, promise that next chapter there will be more action. Also, sorry Alaska and Hermes don't have a lot of chemistry. I'll try to work on that.

Ultima-owner: Indeed.

Far Out There: I can't guarantee there will be a Pokemon battle next chapter, though I can guarantee there will be more action. I promise there will be a battle when they hit Dallas, though.

Banjo2E: Isis survived getting beat up, because she didn't really get beat up. I mean, Alaska threw her into a wall and use Imprison. She didn't have time to beat her up any more than that, because she fainted due to Healing Wish. Also, the reason Healing Wish worked, is that Hermes wasn't quite dead, though he was very close. She couldn't feel his pulse, because her hands as a Gardevoir weren't as strong as human hands, so she couldn't squeeze his wrist tight enough. If he was dead, there wouldn't be jack shit she could do about it. I know you didn't ask about that, but I thought I should explain it, and it felt like I would be able to here.

Japaneserockergirl: Yeah, the mood is really sucking, isn't it? I've been writing this for a few weeks, so even when I'm not actually writing, I'm brain storming. So I imagine all these scenes of them kissing or hugging or shooting people or...other things. Even though most of those scenes don't make it into the story, I still have all of these images, and they contribute to the relationship, so a lot of times, I feel like they've known each other longer than they actually have in the story. It's hard to explain. Anyway, yeah, I'll try harder to set the mood, though the next few chapters will be going back to action.

Hermes POV

We broke away from each other and looked away, both of us a little embarrassed. I wrapped my hand around hers and started to speak. "Alaska, I-" Suddenly, the monster inside of me roared and started to scream. Kill now, kill, rip and tear, destroy, kill her. It was so strong I could barely control myself.

"Hermes?" Alaska asked with concern.

"Get away from me!" I yelled, sensing the danger she was in, "Run!"

She retreated to the other side of the room, but didn't leave. I began to shake uncontrollably with the effort of keeping the monster in his cage. Finally, I managed to defeat the beast, at least for a while. I collapsed to the floor, panting.

"Hermes?" She approached me cautiously.

"I'm okay now, I think. It's safe." I struggled to my feet. I felt as if I had just ran a marathon. My muscles ached and I couldn't catch my breath. I had no choice anymore, I couldn't give in and kill her. I couldn't give up that easily. I had to protect her. I checked myself mentally and was satisfied that the monster couldn't rise again. I pulled Alaska close to me, though I was more careful this time. I made sure that there was at least some space between us, enough room to escape. "I'm so sorry," I told her.

"It's okay," she responded, "It's no worse than Isis trying to use me to kill you."

I laughed bitterly. "We're perfect matches. Both of us are constantly trying to keep from killing the other."

"That's not funny." She glared at me, but I saw that her lips were turned upwards in a smile.

I released her and collapsed onto my bed. I was exhausted. I could tell she was too. "We both need to sleep," I said.

She nodded and curled up next to her Zigzagoon, Bandit. "Good night, Hermes." She yawned and fell asleep almost instantly.

"Good night, Alaska," I murmured. I closed my eyes and wished I could sleep for more than an hour.

I opened my eyes and found myself in a cave covered in multicolored crystals. I groaned. I had been to this cave before. "Where are you, Giver?" I called, looking for the guardian that usually greeted me.

"Right here!" said a voice from behind me.

I jumped in surprise and growled when the younger boy started laughing. I turned around to look at the Giver. He looked several years younger than me, though I knew he was much older, and he was wearing white and blue striped shorts and a yellow t-shirt. He had silver hair. "What have you called me here for Giver?"

He smiled. "I wanted to ask you if you could stop in Roswell before you head to Dallas."

I frowned. "Roswell? Why?"

The Giver giggled. "So I can meet your girlfriend."

I groaned. "You're as bad as Dancer."

"I do my best," he said and his face became serious. "She doesn't know about me yet, right?"

"No. I haven't told her about you."

"That's good." The Giver sighed. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but...I think the Warrior wants to meet her too."

I growled. "The Warrior? What does he want with her?"

The Giver shrugged. "I don't know, but he wants to talk to her and he can't travel through dreams like us. He's trapped on Earth for the rest of his mortal life span."

I gritted my teeth. Nothing would stop the Guardians if they wanted to do something. "Can I at least be there while they're talking?"

The Giver looked away. " I doubt it..."

"Fine. Was that all you needed to tell me?"

The Giver nodded. "You won't have any more trouble from Team Shadow until New Orleans."

"Great. Bye, then."

"Bye!" The Giver waved at me enthusiastically as he faded away.

I sighed as I was brought back to the waking world. The Guardians were starting to really piss me off. I looked at the clock on the nightstand by my bed. It flashed 1:07 AM. I must have over slept by about half an hour. I got up and stretched. Alaska was sleeping peacefully on her bed, her Pokemon laying next to her protectively. She would be okay.

"Ares," I whispered. My Charizard stirred in the dark and I saw his huge shape rising above the other shadowy figures on the floor. I opened the window. Luckily, it was big. "Come on, Ares."

The dragon wagged his tail excitedly, nearly breaking a lamp, before making his way over to me. I hopped on his back and we flew into the night sky. We were careful to stay high enough above the ground to avoid suspicion, but I got tired of that quickly. What else was there to do n Phoenix? It dawned on me that Alaska hadn't eaten sense LA, so we flew to a Burger King and picked up some food. It was odd going into a restaurant and knowing I couldn't eat any of the food there. The people inside matched the weirdness of the situation. I saw a grown man walk by in a Pikachu costume. Ares and I returned to the motel with the food, where I left it before flying off again. I didn't need to eat, so there was no reason to hunt. I didn't need to sleep, so I couldn't go back to the motel. There was nothing for me to do. I sighed. As a human, I never realized how much useless time sleeping took up. Maybe I could stop at a book store later. There wouldn't be one open now. After another hour drifting around the city, I returned to the hotel. It was still only three in the morning. Ares went off to sleep and I turned the TV on with the volume down. However, I didn't concentrate on it. Instead, I made my way over to Alaska.

I sat down on the edge of her bed and watched her twitch quietly in her sleep. Maybe she was having another dream. Hopefully, it was just one of her Guardians harassing her and not Isis. I couldn't help feeling pained that she was infected with a monster, just like me. I gently touched her cheek, then recoiled when I remembered how badly I could hurt her. I sat there for a while, when suddenly, she woke up.

"You're up early," I started to say, when she tackled me. Fearing that Isis had control of her, I rolled out from under her and backed away. I got halfway across the room before I noticed she wasn't coming after me. I went back to her and picked her up off the floor. I looked into her tear-filled eyes and sighed in relief when I saw they weren't violet. I stroked her hair, and asked her, "What's wrong?"

"I can't tell you," she sobbed. "They told me I couldn't tell you."

I growled under my breath, assuming that 'they' referred to the Traveler and the Dancer. Just to be cautious, I asked, "Was it those people you keep seeing in you dreams?"

She nodded, then seemed to collapse into tears. I reminded myself to strangle the Giver the next time I saw him. I saw a furry, brown shape out of the corner of my eye. Bandit jumped up onto Alaska's lap and sat there for a moment, before pressing his tiny black nose to her cheek. She reached over and stroked his fur. She stopped sobbing, but tears were still running down her cheeks. Finally, she fell back asleep. I sighed and picked both her and Bandit up, and set them gently on the bed. I spent the rest of the night watching Wheel of Fortune with the volume off and wondering what in the hell Alaska's Guardians had told her. Most of all, I wondered why she couldn't tell me.

That dream is important, guys, so keep that in mind. ;)