"And you said that I was done,

Well you were wrong and now the best is yet to come,

'Cause I can make it on my own,

And I don't need you, I found a strength I've never known,

I'll bring thunder, I'll bring rain; oh-oh,

When I'm finished, they won't even know your name...,"

-Praying; by Kesha

There was a heaviness that was weighing down on Nova's body, and no matter how badly she tried to move, she just couldn't. Not only that, but she was overwhelmed with a darkness she couldn't quite understand. What had happened? She remembered those Trainers from the Pokémon Center, and the Pikachu facing off with the man's Heracross, but everything afterward was a blur. Everything felt like a mess and Nova couldn't make heads or tails of anything.

She just wanted everything to make sense.

. . . .

Just A Couple Hours Earlier

The man's Heracross fainted, Pikachu's Iron Tail landing the final blow. Needless to say, the Long Horn Pokémon managed to put up quite a fight, which sent a shiver of frustration but excitement through Ash. He loved when Trainers and their Pokémon could hold their own in a fight, though he had to remind himself that the man had been caught harassing the girl from the Pokémon Center. Behavior like that didn't land a spot on Ash's good side. In fact, that made Ash a tad angry. How could someone go around openly bothering someone? Sure, Team Rocket was known to cause plenty of trouble, but they weren't really harming Ash or his friends. Well, they would try and cause harm to Pikachu and any other Pokémon they attempted to steal, but. . . .he was getting distracted.*

When the man's Heracross was no longer capable of battling, the Long Horn Pokémon was return to its Trainer, with the man grumbling under his breath. The man scurried off after throwing a heated glare Ash's way. But the man's expression and general behavior was not Ash's main focus. It was the fact that the girl from the Pokémon Center was unconscious on the ground. Ash vaguely remembered hearing Dawn's startled squeak and Brock's gasp, but Ash didn't think much of it. But seeing that girl on the ground, seeing her Pichu and Misdreavus looking equally as petrified as Ash, Dawn, and Brock felt in that moment, made it feel more real.

"What do we do?" Dawn exclaimed, holding Piplup closer to her. The Penguin Pokémon let out a surprised sound, looking at the unconscious girl with disbelief. Pikachu looked equally as concerned, even attempting to go to the girl's form before her Pichu and Misdreavus sent him back with the threatening looks they were throwing.

"We need to get her somewhere safe," Brock exclaimed. "And we need to hurry."

Ash and Brock shared a look, sharing some kind of silent conversation before nodding. With Brock going towards the girl's feet and Ash going towards where her head was, they worked on picking her up as easily and comfortably as possible, and hurried to find somewhere that would let them in.

0-0-0-0

It took a lot of time and determination to find someone who was willing to allow Ash, Dawn, and Brock into their home. It wasn't easy at all. The houses or buildings they attempted to go into were either bolted shut or abandoned. No one was wanting them in. That made Ash frustrated, which made Pikachu get antsy, which got the girl's Pokémon nervous. After going a block and a half, they stopped in front of a small house; Dawn knocked frantically on the front door. After a minute of waiting, a young woman creaked the door open just a crack, looking at the Trainers anxiously.

"What do you want?" she murmured, sounding nervous.

"We need help," Dawn exclaimed. "Please!"

Opening the door wider, the woman looked at them for a moment before looking at the girl in Brock's and Ash's grip. Her eyes widened. Motioning them inside, she quickly shut the door and locked it. Turning, she watched as Ash and Brock set the girl down on a vacant sofa. The woman's Mothim was fluttering about, looking at the newcomers anxiously.

"What're you doing with the Princess?" the woman exclaimed. "Why'd you bring her here?"

"Wait — she's a princess?" Ash exclaimed.

The Pichu and Misdreavus that accompanied the Princess were huddled close to the unconscious girl, looking about as worried as they could be.

"Of course she's a princess." Crossing her arms over her chest, she threw a dirty look Ash's way. "She's Meridian's princess."

Ash, Dawn, Pikachu, Piplup, and Brock looked at the unconscious girl on the couch. Surprise filled them, they hadn't expected her to be so important. Brock didn't even have an opportunity to flirt with the woman before Ash and Dawn started interrogating her.

"What's happened here?" Dawn asked, her tone serious, leaving no room for arguing.

"Why're people after her?" Ash exclaimed. "She was being chased by this guy and he attacked us with his Heracross!"

"A Nurse Joy from a nearby Pokémon Center said there were uprisings going on," Brock stated. "What's the deal with those?"

"Hey!" The woman interrupted their seemingly never-ending questions. "How about you let me answer one at a time." The Trainers stopped their assault and allowed her the opportunity to gather her thoughts. "The uprisings started with a woman named Skye," she said.

"Who's Skye?" Ash asked.

The woman threw him another look. "Skye's part of the higher-class in Meridian," she sighed. "The richest of the rich. She always hated the way things were being run here, and she was looking for a way to put an end to it. She thought the ways of kings and queens were overrated. So, from what I understand, she started reading Meridian's ancient writings to see how she could eliminate the royal family."

"What!?" Dawn exclaimed.

"According to the writings, there was a time where Princess Merida used the ancient Pokémon Dialga and Palkia to stop a war from breaking out." The woman crossed her arms over her chest. "Due to Princess Merida's success at being able to bond with Dialga and Palkia, they bestowed to her two powerful stones — one to summon Dialga; one to summon Palkia. It's said that whoever holds those stones can have those ancient Pokémon do their bidding."

"What did Merida do with them?" Brock asked.

"She had them turned into a crown," the woman said, shrugging slightly. "She didn't see a reason to summon Dialga or Palkia, but she wasn't going to have the people gain access to something so powerful. Merida believed the only people who could be trusted with such power was the royal family. Over Meridian's history, there've been countless attempts to overthrow the royal family and steal the crown. Once it's in their possession, they'll be able to summon and control two ancient Pokémon at once."

"Do you think that crown's in her bag?" Dawn asked, looking over at the still unconscious Princess.

"I wouldn't be surprised," the woman said. "With the way things are going now, I'd assume the King and Queen sent her away with the crown to keep her and Meridian out of danger."

"But this Skye woman. . . .," Brock murmured. "Does she plan on using the crown to summon Dialga and Palkia?"

"She does. From what I know, she wants to destroy Meridian and have it rebuilt in her image." Clenching her hands into fists, the woman scowled. "I've heard plans she's going to take Sinnoh down with Meridian."

Dawn paled significantly. "Are you sure?" she said, her voice trembling.

"I'm positive," she responded. "I have a friend who's working for Skye. He's providing me information on what's going on." She let out a frustrated sigh. "We're hoping to gather enough information to hopefully stop Skye."

"We wanna help!" Ash announced. "No way is this Skye lady going to destroy an entire kingdom or region!"

"Wait, what's your name?" Dawn asked.

"I'm Alexis," she answered. "And that's my partner, Mothim."

. . . .

Present Time

After what felt like an eternity of struggling, Nova managed to open her eyes. It was difficult, since her eyelids felt like they were being weighed down. Letting out a soft groan, she moved her head a little. Everything looked a little blurry, and the more she blinked, the clearer everything became. She saw Pichu and Misdreavus looking at her anxiously, but their expressions lightening once they saw her awake.

"Hey, she's awake!" a girl exclaimed.

Before Nova even had a moment to regain proper thinking skills, she was surrounded by the kids from the Pokémon Center. They looked at her with bright expressions, and Nova felt an overwhelming sense of uncertainty and uneasiness fill her.

"What happened?" she groaned.

"You passed out," the girl with the Piplup exclaimed. "You're safe, though."

"Don't worry, we'll protect you!" the boy with the Pikachu announced. He sounded so confident, too.

"You just need to heal a bit first," the taller friend said solemnly. "You've been through a lot. I wouldn't doubt you passed out from exhaustion."

With a grimace, Nova tried scooting herself away from them, but her body felt too heavy. "Who are you people?" she murmured.

"I'm Ash, and this is my partner, Pikachu!"

"I'm Dawn! And this is Piplup."

"I'm Brock."

"And I'm Alexis," another voice said. "This is my partner, Mothim. You're in my home, so don't worry. You're safe."

Nova couldn't help but swallow thickly. Was she safe?

(A/N):

How'd you like this chapter? Was it good or bad? Constructive criticism is always welcome! Also, let me know if I get any of the canon characters wrong; it'd suck to know that I wasted this entire story getting Ash and his friends wrong.

Nothing in the POKEMON universe belongs to me!

If you've got ideas for subplots or OCs, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? That kind of stuff is important to me; I like knowing that readers can have their own ideas shared into my stories. So if you've got a subplot or an OC, you can leave a review or PM me.

Let me know if there's anything I should improve on.

Thanks.

Kaia Milligan