Hi everyone. sorry about the delay in updates. i have been trying to get my shit together.

At long last the new chapter is out. it is pretty long so i hope you enjoy it.

please read and review. even if you are guest or whatever. i would like to know your opinions.

And again thank you for reading! I will keep the updates coming.

Note:

"Regular talking"

'Telepathy talking.'

"Regular talking of pokemon as well" (No humans around)

(Thoughts) are obviously thoughts.

Bold+Italics talking is still a mystery.

Chapter 21: Internships and Friendships

'Nooo! I am tired of cup ramen noodles, I refuse to eat them anymore.' Anastasia yelled through telepathy. Abby nodded her head vehemently.

"I don't have anymore money, and I can't earn a living AND go to night classes to get my trainer certificate." Tiara answered, already becoming quite aggravated.

'Why can't you just take day classes for your certificate instead of that other stupid useless school.' Anastasia rudely commented.

"It's not stupid. I have to be taking this one too or else they would kick me out of the trainer class. You need a high school diploma to be a trainer and since I am taking classes now before I graduate they are just counting my class credits towards my high school diploma along with my other normal curriculum. It's the same thing Miku did."

'Well how did Miku learn to make a living while doing both?' Anastasia was becoming unbearable now.

"BECAUSE she has parents!" Tiara yelled.

The room went dead silent.

"My mom and dad don't really care for me and they don't help me... I haven't seen them once this year so far. I sent them an email about taking trainer classes but haven't gotten so much as a reply or a threat not to pursue. They just… don't care." She said softly as her eyes filled with tears. She looked away from Abby's gaze and symbolically pounded her hand on the table.

'Tiara…' Anastasia tried to console her but immediately Tiara threw the pot of boiling water against the wall and ran out of the kitchen. Anastasia chased after her but before she turned the corner Tiara had already slammed the door down the hallway, closing herself off in her room.

Anastasia's POV

I kind of felt bad about what I did. As I was deciding on my next course of action, or whether i should take on, something on the table caught my eye. I looked at the table the lined the wall of the hallway and on top of it lied a couple envelopes with big red letters. I can't read that well considering it had been a long time since Keith taught me and I was only taught a little. Other than that, I never had time to learn.

"D-E-B-T" I sounded out each of the big red letters. "Final notice?"

I slowly made my way back into the kitchen where Abby sat on the floor near the table looking up with sad eyes. "I think Tiara is going into debt." I said while holding up the letter. Abby, who couldn't read, just slowly nodded her head.

"What should we do?" Abby asked.

"I'm not sure." I pondered for a moment. "Maybe it would be better for her if we just leave."

Abby's eyes went open in shock. "We can't LEAVE!" she cried incredulously. "What are you even thinking?"

"She can't afford us. She can't handle the responsibility of two schools at the same time. We are not going to get anywhere with her." I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

"That's not true. We were doing fine before."

"Yeah. Before she decided to become a trainer and need I remind you she didn't even remember how."

"Yea but that's not completely her fault. Just give her some time."

I was on the fence about the decision, but I could sense that Abby was not going to leave anyway. I didn't really want to be out alone either, especially with out her, and I didn't want to leave her with Tiara.

Just leave them. You are better then all. Find the cat pokemon, the powerful one.

At the sound of the voice, I reached my hand behind my back and squeezed the tiny jewel that I had hidden. I felt the power surging forth that helped me clear my mind and the ensuing headache seemed to vanish. "Maybe we can open the shop again." I stated as I took a breath, "I wonder how it looks. I haven't been there in a while since Tiara started her night schooling. She has a lot on her plate and I'm sure she hasn't even gone to check the store either. You don't think people will vandalize or rob it do you?"

"No. Everyone seemed to really love that café. I bet they would be really happy if it opens again for a while." Abby hinted as she gave me a wink.

I rolled my eyes at her unsubtle gesture. "You think so…" I trailed off in thought. (The added income would allow for better meals than just soup every night, and it is obvious that Tiara needed some form of income to pay her debt.) "I think we should do it. But if it doesn't work out, we are leaving. Is that a deal?" I said firmly as I turned to Abby.

"We have a deal." Abby said while showing a toothy smile.

You know she's lying right.

Castelia City, Crowns Café (Normal POV)

"Are you sure we can do this?" Abby asked.

"Well I don't know much because I was building the tower the whole time. Maybe you can tell me what to do since you were here the whole time?" Anastasia replied.

"I…" Abby looked away sheepishly.

"What? Why don't you want to teach me?"

"No it's not that. It's just I slept most of the time so I don't really know what to do either." She said with an embarrassed look on her face and her white fur started growing a slight under tone of red.

Anastasia gave a sigh and shook her head. "Great, so neither one of us knows what to do." Anastasia said while shaking her head. "Maybe we should just quit and find some other way to earn money."

"No! We can do this. I know we can." Abby pleaded.

Anastasia looked at Abby's pouty face and the big red eyes and she couldn't say no. "Fine. So how do we even get inside? Do you have the key?"

"Umm… key? Don't we just open the door?" Abby asked all confused trying to nudge the door open with her scythe. To her dismay, it didn't budge.

"Hey what gives?" Abby looked at Anastasia again with pouty eyes but this time filled more with disappointment.

"It's locked Abby, and we need a key to open it." Anastasia said trying to hold back a giggle.

"Can't you just open it with your powers?" Abby asked.

"I mean I could try…" Anastasia closed her eyes to focus. A thin black mist of aura enshrouded her as she could see the entire interior of the café; she focused her minds vision on the door handle and could see the levers and gears that worked in unison to lock the door. She gently pulled back the lock and a slight click sounded through the morning air.

"Good job Ana!" Abby yelled as Anastasia opened the door. Abby bounced inside looking extremely giddy to be back in the café. She sniffed the rug she had taken many invigorating naps on by the entrance and she sniffed the cash register that had Tiara's scent all over it.

"Can you read these?" Abby asked as she for the first time actually noticed the writing on the register. Anastasia looked over it, recognized a bunch of familiar words and numbers, and explained to Abby that they were probably used to mark up what the guest ordered to be able to charge them. Abby seeming content with the answer ran into the kitchen and then walked to the back to unlock the storage room. A loud scream put Anastasia on alert as she teleported to Abby and immediately shrouded Abby and herself in a miasma of dark aura.

"What is it?" Anastasia yelled quickly.

"I-I think there's something in there and it just caught me off guard. It sounded like a mean growl. Listen." Abby ordered.

A couple seconds of silence passed in the café while the two stared into the dark storeroom.

SNNNOORREEE

"See! That sound! What is it?" Abby yelled as she partially hid herself as best as she could behind Anastasia's thin legs.

"Get out of my gown please" she said to Abby as she relinquished most of her aura and tried to cover herself up as best as she could since the absol was stretching her gown. Anastasia just maintained a very small amount of the energy in her fist. She then threw it into the storeroom where the sound was resonating from and soon it was followed by a yelp followed by cursing and the sounds of something scrambling to get up.

"What the hell was that for?" said the familiar male voice as he stepped out of the storeroom.

"Why are you in there? Don't you have somewhere…" she thought about her choice of words before continuing, "less embarrassing to be sleeping?"

Mewtwo stepped in the light so his figure was no longer obscured.

"Wow Mewtwo! What are you doing here?" Abby chimed in as she finally realized who the intruder was.

"I have been sleeping here for sometime ever since I first met Tiara. I do not see why I am no longer allowed to be in here." He said angrily as he crossed his arms and towered over Anastasia.

Anastasia refused to be intimidated. "Because you were the one that said you will leave when you are done with the tower. It has been completed for weeks now."

"You do not tell me when and where I can go." Purple aura started seeping from Mewtwo's forearms as his temper heated up.

"Can you two-"

"I am just seeing how this pokemon who thinks he is high and mighty yet can't follow through on what he says. Doesn't seem like the personality of a 'legendary' to me" Anastasia sneered as her blackish aura started to reform along her body, rising like steam before dissipating near the ceiling.

"Guys please-"

"Are you challenging me?"

"STOP!" Abby yelled, causing both of the pokemons to stop the quarrel and look at her in shock. "Anastasia and I are here to help Tiara earn some extra money by opening up her shop. That's all. Would you like to help us Mewtwo?"

Mewtwo allowed his aura to disappear before looking at the absol and back to the gardevoir. "No." he said flatly and walked back inside his storeroom before slamming the door.

Abby was kind of shocked at the response but Anastasia knew that would be the outcome. "It's fine. We don't need his help anyway, Abby. Lets go." She said as she led Abby back to the café room.

Anastasia tried to set up things as best as she could making the café seem semi presentable while Abby tried to learn all the buttons on the register. Her paws wouldn't allow her to mark the correct buttons at all so eventually they decided to let Anastasia work the register and the floor and Abby could just be the hostess. They had opened a couple of hours already but no one was coming in either. So, Anastasia and Abby passed the time by playing a board game that Anastasia had to teach Abby. Anastasia remembered it as chess.

"Hey what's going on in here?" said a squeaky voice as a mouse pokemon ran into the room and was looking around confused.

"Hey Mew! It's been awhile since I've seen you!" said Abby who was clearly bored of the game and took the opportunity to leave to talk to Mew.

"It's surprising how busy some kids can keep you." Mew said with a little pika giggle. "I saw the sign said open and thought that maybe Tiara was back in business. Is she here?"

"No. She's in a bad mood because of Anastasia. Ouch." Abby recoiled slightly after getting a soft slap on the head from Anastasia. "Anyway. We have been open all day and not one customer. I don't know why, it used to be busy… right?" Abby guessed, not totally sure if she remembered correctly.

"It had its days but when everyone was excited about the tower it surely brought in a lot of business. But this place has been closed so long I'm not even sure people realize it is open." Mew answered.

"I have an idea!" Anastasia yelled as she stood up from the floor and dusted herself off. "Hold on." She put her hands to her head and some aura vapor started forming around her cranium and her palms. Suddenly out of the silence came Anastasia's voice but not her speaking voice, her telepathy voice.

'Greetings to everyone in Castelia City! It's a beautiful day so let it not go to waste. If you find yourself hungry or thirsty then drop on by Crown's café! It is now re-open and under new management too! So come on by'

"Wow that was a pretty impressive broadcast." said Abby marveling at how well she advertised the café.

"Yea I had plenty of time listening to this box. They had it everywhere, in cars, hotels, even pokemon centers. It would always say things like that when it wanted someone to go somewhere. Keith would always get really annoyed and change channels when one came on though." Anastasia said reminiscing at Keith's adorable reaction to the advertisements. The pain in her heart returned and her head began to throb again.

"Who is Keith? I don't think I ever met him have I?" Abby asked.

The gloom in the air became so thick it was tangible as Anastasia bowed her head and remorsefully told her that she has not. Abby realized how much the question pained Anastasia so she did not press the issue further.

Suddenly Mewtwo appeared in the room. "What was that just now? A broadcast through telepathy?"

"Indeed it was big brother!" Mew yelled excitedly as Mew ran and jumped up in pikachu form hoping that Mewtwo would catch. He didn't. So, without levitation abilities gravity took its toll and the pikachu crashed head first into the floor.

"Big brother! You were supposed to catch!" Mew shouted angrily as the tiny pikachu paws rubbed its head.

"Don't you think a city wide advertisement was a waste of energy and surely just going to freak people out and make them think they have voices in their head?" Mewtwo reasoned angrily as he scolded Anastasia.

"They probably wont even realize it was in their head. They will assume it was played from somewhere. And besides at least-" Anastasia was cut off as the bell for the front door ringed twice as someone opened the door.

"Look! A customer!" Abby yelled giddily and Mewtwo scowled as he realized Anastasia's plan had worked. It was a middle-aged lady with her daughter that seemed to be around six. The daughters' eyes lit up as she saw a pikachu rubbing its head and squealed.

"Pika!" Mew squeaked with a big smile as the tiny black eyes looked happily at the little girl.

"Umm… is there someone that can help me? I heard this place was open again so I thought since I was right next door that I would take my daughter here. She loves the tea." The lady said as she held onto her daughters' collar to keep her from chasing the pikachu.

Anastasia gave a bow while ruffling her gown in the air to make herself seem more elegant and pointed for the lady to have a chair at one of the tables near the window.

"Oh… ok." The woman gave a confused look but didn't take the hint, "Is there someone who can help me? I mean other than a pokemon?"

Anastasia glowered slightly as she picked up a pad and pen and walked over to the lady. 'I can help you just fine.' She said through telepathy, 'we are currently under new management, remember. The new management is us pokemon. How can I help you today.'

The woman at this point looked bewildered. "It was your voice I heard over the radio? How is that possible? Was it even the radio I heard it on? Now that i think about it, it did seem like it came from inside my head." the woman was completely confused.

Instead of answering her questions, Anastasia just wanted to take her order. 'What will you like today ma'am?' Anastasia asked.

"Umm… a chai tea for my daughter and a cake pop. For me I would like two pork dumplings please. Steamed!" the woman began to smile at the strangeness of the situation. Pokemon diners are quiet famous, but those are for pokemon and still served by humans, but a diner for humans that is served by pokemon is out of this world. Though it did seem interesting, maybe they were on to something.

Anastasia seemed to scribble something down, bowed her head one more time before telling her the order is coming right up and scurrying to the counter where Mewtwo waited with curious eyes. She set the notepad down and Mewtwo took a look.

"Wait, what is this? This is just scribbling!" Mewtwo said choking back laughter.

"Shut up! I never learned how to write. That was solely for demonstration purposes." Anastasia said, snatching the notepad back and tucking it inside her bra section of the gown. "But I need your help. I don't know how to make the teas or what the hell a cake pop is or even a 'dumpling'? That does not even sound appetizing at all!" She exclaimed as she remembered when Keith had stated that he needed to take a dump and locked himself in the bathroom for twenty minutes. The smell afterwards was terrible.

"I am not helping. This was your idea." Mewtwo said defiantly as he started to float back in to his storage area.

"Big bro! Please don't be like that. You look like you need something to do anyway. Just help." Mew pleaded.

"Yea its for Tiara anyway. She has no more money." Abby chimed in

"That makes me even more opposed to helping." Mewtwo crossed his arms across his chest and stated matter-of-factly.

"Brother. Stop it. Help them. Now!" Mew using a serious voice that no one has ever heard before. Anastasia's stomach sank as she thought she was going to have to protect Mew but to her dismay, Mewtwo uncrossed his arms and gave an exasperated sigh before agreeing.

The day passed by and they only received three more guest. It wasn't much but it was something. Two of the guest had ordered things that were currently out of stock and all of the milk was spoiled and unable to be used, among other foods as well. Mewtwo said that he will take care of it but wouldn't disclose how. He didn't even have any money yet to order things. Anastasia had a feeling he will use his 'persuasion' to get people to deliver the items... but she didn't object.

Right before closing the bell chimed one more time, and even though they were exhausted and tempted to tell them it was closed, Anastasia finally prepared to greet the final customer.

'Hello welcome to Crown's café, how may I- Tiara?' Tiara had walked through the door with curious eyes, looking around the café and donning a look of disappointment after she had scanned the room.

"What do you all think you are doing? And your set up is just absolutely terrible..." Tiara said as she crossed her arms and began tapping her foot.

'We are new at this and we're just helping you out ok. You have no money to feed us properly and we cant survive like this.' Anastasia said bluntly.

"Ana… be more gentle please." Abby pleaded.

Tiara had to kind of hide her face but Anastasia still felt the shame seep through her. Guilt began to grow inside of Anastasia and decided to heed Abby's words. 'We are only trying to help you out, ok. We figure this would give us all some money to live better. I know you have the problem with your… parents' Anastasia projected softly knowing she was treading on thin ice 'But you do have friends. We can help.'

Tiara nodded her head and remained silent. Finally she spoke up "And what about him. What is he doing here?" she pointed to the large Mewtwo standing in the back.

'Just helping as well.' Anastasia said.

'Not you though, I'm helping them.' Mewtwo said rudely as he turned around so he couldn't see Tiara. Anastasia felt some pain take the place of the guilt now and also sadness.

"Well thank you all for your help. I'm sorry I have been so busy. I… I know I haven't been able to take care of you like I wanted. I'm supposed to be your trainer and look at me. I'm just a failure." Tiara said as she quickly shielded her face and wiped away the tears forming in her eyes.

'It's ok… really. I haven't been easy to deal with either and you have it hard. You have no one to lean on. So anything we can do to help, we will do it.' Anastasia said consolingly.

"Ab absol!" Abby chimed in as she rubbed her body against Tiara and made sure her blade was soft so she wouldn't gash her.

"Thank you Abby. And thank you Anastasia. Even you Mewtwo..." Tiara said sincerely and Mewtwo just sort of grunted at the mention of his name. They all helped clean up, even Mewtwo who seemed to keep his distance from Tiara, and they shared one last cup of tea. Tiara made it just like they all like it and Anastasia could sense the pleasure protruding from Mewtwo as he drank his tea, even though he showed faces of disgust and disdain. They decided to take the long way home seeing as the shortcut usually ended with Tiara barfing the contents of her stomach. The walk in the moonlight was nice and Tiara explained her daily studies while making jokes about some of the professors. Even Mewtwo walked home with us and smirked a little at her stories. It felt natural. It felt nice.

PART 2

Unknown Location Tiara's POV

"Are you sure I can try it?"

'You are our trainer. You have to trust us as much as we have to trust you.'

"Ok fine. Try it. I'll try it."

It was the weirdest sensation I have ever felt. My body was wrapped in what could only be described as a rough gritty yet liquidy substance that seemed hot and cold at the same time. It started working its way up my legs and then my waist. It felt incredibly sensitive around the frontal waist area and made me feel slightly uncomfortable. Eventually though I was completely consumed in the feeling as the water passed over my head and I was completely submerged. It was like a hot tub; uncomfortable at first but after a while it felt pleasurable. This black murky water was actually soothing. I could still see the tall figure of the gardevoir standing just above me on the ledge. Her body was hard to make out because of her dark gown but her white face and deep violet eyes were easy to make out. The water, being so dark, was actually surprisingly easy to see out of.

A flash of red caught my eye. It seemed to come from the gardevoir. I studied her face as best as I could from the rippling water and then I seen it again.

The flash of red.

It was her eyes momentarily changing from violet to red and an evil grin appeared on her face, but only for a moment then it was gone and back to her normal face. It was enough to terrify me. I started reaching for the ledge to pull myself up but my arm just wadded through the murky water.

(Strange. I wasn't this deep) I kicked my legs to gain elevation in the dark water but it seemed to be holding me down. I thrashed my arms and legs trying to shake off the heavy liquid as I struggle to break the surface. My lungs were on fire now but I had no air to breath and the squirming was making me waste more of my precious oxygen.

"Help me!" I gargled as the water entered my mouth. I thrust my hand upwards hoping she could grab it but instead she showed the evil smile again, a smile that consisted of multiple layers of sharp jagged teeth. Maybe it was the water but I could swear that I see dark red horns on her head and her eyes were now the bright red color that had first caught my attention. Her arms had become significantly longer until they almost touched the floor.

(Who is that… what was her name?) "Please… help me!" my voice sounding much clearer than the first time even being under water. My lungs felt like they were about to collapse. I needed to inhale. I can't inhale. I need to.

(What was her name? How can I forget?) "Please-" I couldn't finish my sentence. I need air to speak and my body is completely void of any such substance. I need to inhale.

(Her name was…)

I need air.

(Her name IS...)

I couldn't take it any longer. I opened my mouth. Just before I inhaled it occurred to me-

"ANASTASIA!"

I awoke thrashing in my bed. A terrified gardevoir looking down from above me, holding onto my shoulders as sweat dripped down her brow. I freaked and quickly smacked her hands off me and scurried out from under her.

'What the fuck is your problem?' She yelled as anger trumped her worry.

Panting, barely able to get my breath I realized now that it was a dream. (Wait... what was a dream?). I tried to apologize. "An- Anastasia. I'm sorry. I just had a terrible nightmare... I think." I said finally steadying my breathing but my heart was still going wild.

'Nightmare? About what?' she thought to me curiously.

"It was terrible!" I exclaimed. "I was in… I was in…" (What was I in?) "And… who was in it? Umm. I think it was…" (What the actual fuck! I just had it replaying in my head.) "Umm. I don't remember. I think someone familiar was in it. Or did I even know them at all?"

'You aren't making any sense.' Anastasia said flatly.

"I know! I just can't remember. Did I even have a nightmare?" I asked myself.

'Well you were thrashing around for like five minutes, I had to hop on top of you and try to shake you but you weren't waking up.' Anastasia said.

"Well I guess it's over now so it doesn't matter." I said extremely confused, yet had a sick feeling in my gut.

Anastasia got up and so did Abby as they prepared for their day in the café. I got my school supplies ready and we all left together. The morning air was brisk. Winter was setting. The sun was bright, shinning yet wasn't too hot, and there were no clouds in the sky. After the terrible feeling in my stomach from this morning, the beautiful atmosphere was a godsend. I said my goodbyes to Anastasia, Abby and Mewtwo as we parted our ways. Mew, or the pikachu... bleh, followed me, as it was the same direction as the elementary school. Mew really enjoyed making those kids happy and I guess it was expected considering how much of a kid Mew acts like all the time.

"Excuse me miss." I made an abrupt stop and turned around to the direction of the voice.

"It's Miss. Crown, right? I seem to have seen you a couple times at the night academy for pokemon trainers. May I ask why?" said the woman. She was wearing a long white lab coat with a greenish skirt and white shoes with red stripes. She had brown hair and green eyes with large contrasting red earrings. She looked like a well-established and respectable woman that commanded attention.

"Oh hi. Umm yea, I go to the night academy. It is because I have school in the mornings still. I haven't graduated yet. I should be graduated within the next six months though." I said honestly. Something about the woman appealed to my better nature and i wasn't sure why.

"Really now… Why do you want to be a trainer?" She asked quizzically. Her eyes seemed to burn into my head like if she knew if I was telling the truth or not.

"Well because I love adventure I guess." I said. I was semi-honest. I don't think I ever thought about it but it was something more innate within me. I was still unsure of the answer myself, or at least my consciousness was... Maybe she appealed too much to my better nature though…

"You guess? There is a better answer." It wasn't a question, she said as if she knew there was.

I couldn't shake the strange feeling that made me want to abide to her will. "Umm because my friends are pokemon. I want them to get stronger while leading an exciting life. It seems beneficial to be a trainer." I said, my mind started answering for itself with no thought about the answer.

"There's a better answer. Search deeper." Her eyes had become hypnotizing now. I stood as if in a trance. Something strange was happening but I couldn't do anything about it.

The pikachu looked back and forth between the woman and I, not really sure what was going on. I wasn't even sure either.

"It's because I have a sense of longing. I long to have a family. Not one that is dependent on money or material things. I don't hold any value for such extrinsic values like my parents do. They rather earn money for a daughter that doesn't even need it when what she really wants is just them. I have new friends and they mean a lot to me already. I know it hasn't been long but I want to grow with them. I want to get stronger with them. I just want to be with them whether we lose or win.

I want to know what its like to build such a strong bond and to care for someone more than anything in the world. I long for that feeling that has more value than any material thing anyone could ever offer, because it's not something that could be bought or bartered. It has to be earned and I want to see if my friends will let me earn their trust in that aspect. I want to care for them and to watch them become stronger and watch them achieve their goals. That is my goal. They are the family that matters most to me now and even though I have only known them for a short while, they have been there for me in more ways than my real parents have in the past four years."

The woman finally broke her gaze and I felt a wave of relief come over me, like if a rope that had been constricting me finally released its' tension. "That is better. I see you have potential. Tell me now. What are these friends exactly?"

"They are my friends and that's that. What were you doing to me?" I asked troubled by the complacent and submissive feeling that had come over me.

"Oh you noticed? That's weird. Did you break out of it? We usually hide it better than that." She said doing a terrible job at masking her surprise. "You can come out now I guess."

Suddenly a large squid looking pokemon with feet floated over to the woman. It had two large tentacles that resembled its' arms and a bunch of smaller tentacles on its head. Its torso consisted of a slimy looking purple color with six large golden circles. "My name is Professor Juniper. I'm not usually around this city but I stopped by and saw something that piqued my interest. You! I was thinking about the best way to approach you and also wanted to try my pseudo-pokemon ability that malamar here has been teaching me. So, I thought why not. You are the first to notice I was using it. I guess I need to work on it some more.

"Mala- malamarrr!" Malamar seemed to say in agreement.

"Okay but what do you want from me?" I asked getting seriously annoyed.

"What do I want? What I want is to hear the courageous words of people who will blaze new paths around the world! I want you to travel to many distant places and meet all of the Pokémon in the Unova region! Simple as that. I think you have what it takes to become a great trainer." She said ecstatically.

"Really? Just like that? I'm still in school. I can't even be a trainer yet. Besides I'm kind of dying to get out of the Unova region anyway."

"Ah! Even better! Starting off your adventure in unfamiliar territories, who knows what secrets you will uncover. I think our destinies are intertwined. I live to learn the origins of pokemon and just maybe you can shed some light on that grand mystery for me!" She seemed to be talking as if reciting an over-enthusiastic speech.

"Are you even listening? I can't be a trainer yet. Still in school." I said becoming more aggravated at the one sided conversation.

"You can travel the world! Collect data on mysterious pokemon. Become a pokemon master. You can- hey wait, where are you going?" Professor Juniper finally noticed that I had been walking away.

"You aren't even listening." I hollered back as I continued walking.

"I can make a special recommendation for you. You can graduate immediately and begin your quest under my care starting today. What do you say?"

I stopped dead in my tracks. (Start today? Can she really do that?) "Can you do that?" I asked unsure if it was real or not.

"Absolutely. I am the head professor of this region. There are many others but I am the most renowned. My word holds a lot of gravity here." She said slightly conceitedly.

"I'll do it." I said immediately "I will intern under you then I can really be a trainer by tomorrow?" I couldn't believe this was happening. I hadn't even been taking the trainer class for a month now and I was already going to just pass and become a trainer.

"Absolutely. I can have some supplies-"

"I already have all the supplies!" I yelled gleefully.

"Ok… well a good starter pokemon will be-"

"I have pokemon already! They are my friends. They will fight with me!" I exclaimed becoming even happier.

"They will listen to you?"

"Yes! We talk all the time!"

"Ok… well I guess it's all set. I'll have the paper work ready at the academy by tomorrow. Just drop by on your way out and you will be a full fledge trainer. Congratulations. Don't forget our deal. You have to travel and unravel the mysteries of the origins of pokemon, ok!"

"Sure no problem!" I said quickly as I shook her hand and left immediately to run all the way to the café to share the good news with my soon to be teammates.

Castelia City, Crown's Café (Anastasia's POV)

"Where are the tea pots? Damn, why does everyone keep moving it?" I yelled getting aggravated that I still didn't know where anything was.

"What's wrong?" I jumped at Mewtwo's answer not realizing he was standing directly behind me, "Can't use your psychic powers to find them? Did you drain yourself already? I would have thought you would be fully energized after your delicious meal this morning." Mewtwo sneered.

"What do you mean?" I asked taken aback by his form of questioning. "What's your problem anyway? I haven't done anything."

"What's my problem? I don't have one. Simply curious, that's all. You should be in great shape after this morning so I don't know why you simply do not sense where the pots are."

I could tell he was trying to lead me into a trap but I decided to ignore it, "I can't. I don't see them or can't feel them with my psychic. It's like they are no longer here." I began to look around deliberately avoiding his eyes.

You know he knows.

"That's funny. Maybe you need work on your dream eater because your powers are still exhausted." He spat the words out and they cut like knives. I stood up with my back towards him and pondered how I should respond. He beat me to it with another question "Why?"

"Why do you care?" I replied hastily. "Do you suddenly have feelings for her? Do you suddenly care for her well being?" I knew I was being nasty but it was the only way I could think of defending myself at the moment. (I'm just glad Abby is not here…) I thought.

"I don't particularly care really. I just feel like I deserve an answer. I saw you this morning. She was screaming and you woke up, startled of course, but you tried to help her wake up… after you had already looked into her mind because she wasn't waking. You didn't like what you seen did you, so you began using dream eater. By the time she woke up she couldn't remember anything about her dream or nightmare."

"It was for the best…" I responded quietly after a few seconds of silence.

"For who? For her… or for you? You know damn well the trainee is to never attack it's trainer" his eyes narrowed and he had an icy chill to his words that licked my skin and gave me goose bumps. He could be classed as a legendary solely for the fear-inducing glare he was giving me.

"It was for us both. She wouldn't be able to be my trainer. She would have been terrified of me and it was not even my fault. And I would have been separated from Abby because she wouldn't travel with me. I-it w-w-was for both of us." I pleaded, the guilt making it hard to say my words properly.

(I was just scared...I saw myself as the monster. The First-Born. It wasn't possible for her to know of him. I didn't like how I looked. I think it scared me just as much as it scared her.)

"If it wasn't your fault, then I'm sure she would have known. She is very understanding and forgiving. I know that for a fact. You should have given her the chance. And you shouldn't have attacked her either." He said. His look turned from icy cold anger to just a disapproving stare.

"Well it's too late now. And you shouldn't be giving anyone lectures about understanding, forgiveness and giving chances." I said turning the argument on him. "You didn't even give her a single chance to be your trainer!" The comment caught him by surprise as I figured it would. He stared at me momentarily as I held his gaze.

The worst arguments to hold as a psychic pokemon are with other equally powerful psychics. The anxiety of wondering what is going on in their heads is nail biting. Other arguments are easily won because you already know what the other is going to say. And the argument has to be won without giving any body signs away because those are just as easily interpreted to psychics.

Finally our gaze broke as we both decided to just do a 180 degree pivot and walk off. (At least he holds the same amount of logical reasoning as I do) I thought to myself as I walked into the café.

"Is everything ok?" Abby asked curiously. "I heard shouting."

"Yeah. Me and Mewtwo, you know how it is." I answered, which is pretty close to honesty.

"Ahh. Yea ok that makes sense." She retorted as she chuckled slightly.

See. It's not unusual for an argument to arise when Mewtwo and myself are alone in a room together.

Abby turned around to start walking towards the entrance as we awaited any customers but I felt like I needed her to know something. "Abby!" she stopped in mid-spin and turned back to face me.

"Yes?"

"It's just umm…" for some reason I was getting nervous as I was trying to say what I wanted to. I don't know why, she's just my friend. (Maybe it's because she is the only friend I have right now…) "Look. I know you feel like you have some loyalty with Tiara." I started.

"Umm… ok. And?" she gestured for me to continue. So I did.

"I just… I just want to know. If things don't work out or I don't see them working out, will you come with me if I plan to leave?" I asked. My blood pressure started to rise as I awaited her answer. I couldn't read her mind either even if I wanted to but I didn't want to. I wanted to believe that she will answer honestly and that she will give me the answer I wanted to hear.

"Well…" she paused for a little. "I will hope that you gave it your best try to be a team. If I see that you did, then yes I will leave with you." she responded and offered me a smile. It was genuine.

Do you really think that is genuine?

My head began to hurt and I instinctively grabbed for the gem with one hand while my other went to my head and I crouched down. The moment the gem touched my hand the pain started to relieve itself.

"Are you ok?" Abby asked as she edged closer to me.

"Yes… yes, sorry. Just got a headache all of a sudden." Her answer was very broad and didn't really console my worries but I let the subject drop for now. I stood back up and gave her a smile, hoping that it seemed real.

"You have been getting those a lot… any reason why" Abby queried.

"No… no I don't know why." I answered. I lied.

"What was with the sudden mushy mushy question though?" Abby asked. She was asking too much and my head still felt a small pulsating pain that was becoming uncomfortable and making me irritable.

"Because… you are like my only friend. You saved my life. You protected my morals and my soul. I want to make sure you are safe and I don't know if I can do that with Tiara. That is why I doubt her." I said honestly and sincerely.

"You saved me first remember. And besides, I am strong enough to protect myself so you don't have to worry. But do you doubt her… or do you doubt yourself?"

Do you doubt yourself?

I stood momentarily frozen at the question. I then shook my head and cleared my mind. I didn't realize that I was holding the gem again behind my back. "I do not doubt myself. But bad things tend to happen a lot around me. I want to make sure your safe and one less person that I would have to watch out for while ensuring your safety is one less burden."

"I guess we are in the same boat." Mewtwo said as he silently approached behind me. I jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly hid the gem, hoping that he didn't see it. "Bad things happen near me too. I do not run from it though. I wouldn't be the most powerful pokemon if I did. I make sure to take the challenge head on and crush it. That way they get it in their minds that I am not to be challenged… if they are lucky enough to be able to have a thought afterwards." He added. The same cold chill was in his voice.

"Are you sure you are the strongest? I think you are getting ahead of yourself," I replied with a smirk. "I think you are trying to edge me into a challenge."

Mewtwo smiled. "I will like to challenge you sometimes, I had already told you that. But I am being serious at the same time. You can't always run from what you are afraid of."

I became serious and listened to his words. He didn't mean any ill feelings by them; he was actually just trying to be helpful. That much I could sense through his shields. I nodded my head and looked back at him, "You can't run from what you are afraid of either." I sent a vision to his head. He was instantly taken aback and his mouth dropped in shock.

I opened the door slightly as to not make a sound. Sobbing was the only sound I could make out. Sadness and hurt flowed into my chest from her. From her mind I gathered why she was crying. Her family is broken. She wants to fix it and so she tries replacing them, but Mewtwo was going to leave. She didn't want to feel the pain of another loss. But she couldn't stop crying and hugging her pillow either. I stood up and walked away. I can't do anything for her anyway.

"She thinks of you as family already. More than she does of Abby and me anyway. So, she tried to harden her shell and make sure she wouldn't feel pain the day you finished the tower and decided to leave. But she still felt it after all." I understood her emotions not by choice but because she has such strong and loud emotions that they were hard to ignore. "Sometimes a legendary gets captured. It happens. I heard about it all the time. Maybe something bad happened to you last time you were captured. It doesn't have to be the same. You don't have a family, well except for Mew, so why don't you let one grow."

His mouth finally closed and he looked deeply into my eyes. I couldn't tell if he could read my mind or not because his violet eyes seemed to peer down to my very core but it wasn't intimidating this time, it was a look of understanding for one another. He held out his hand to me and I reached up and clasped his three-finger hand as I stared back into him.

"Sometimes pokemons get captured." He said.

"Sometimes they stick together." I replied.

We both smiled at each other. I don't know if it was the honesty of the sincerity of him bearing his emotions, but it was very becoming of him. I felt a newfound respect develop for the legendary pokemon.

Our friendly moment was shattered as a figured slammed into the door causing the door and the person to tumble over. All three of us turned to see what was going on, only to see Tiara holding up a red device from the heap of debris that looked like a card "Look what I got!" she exclaimed.

PART 3

Normal POV

"Look I know none of you like it but you have to go inside your pokeballs so I can take you to the poke center. You have to be fully healed before we start our journey." She begged. Abby complied easily but Anastasia refused. She stated that she was never kept inside a pokeball with her first trainer. Mewtwo stood with crossed arms smiling at the scenario, slightly glad that he was not captured.

Tiara turned to look at the smiling Mewtwo who immediately dropped his jovial facial expression. "I… I just want you to know-"

'Can I come with you?' Mewtwo interrupted, his voice firm. Tiara's eyes widen in shock and she quickly started to fumble around in her bag, accidentally dropping the pokeball that Abby was currently in.

'Ouch I hope that doesn't hurt.' Mewtwo said kiddingly.

"Oh. I'm sorry Abby!" Tiara said apologetically as soon as she noticed. She picked up the ball and attached it to her belt. Then she finally pulled out the ball she was holding onto the entire time. It was different from the one she offered Mew though.

'What happened to the ultra ball?' Mewtwo questioned before taking the ball.

"This is the one I was originally going to give to you. It's called a cherish ball and it's meant to commemorate a special occasion. I was going to offer it to you for finally completing the tower. But I was being a jerk at the time. I'm sorry." She said as she bowed her head.

'Do not worry. I was just as much in the wrong.' Mewtwo projected, so he grabbed the red ball and clicked the small button. 9 orbs of bright light erupted from the ball as it swung open and the nine orbs quickly encompassed Mewtwo as they merged into one large orb of light and he was drawn into the pokeball. It shook twice, probably just from the large amount of power that Mewtwo possessed, and then click as Mewtwo was finally caught. Tiara let out a high pitched squeal and picked up the ball. It suddenly flung open and Mewtwo was released.

"Hey! I didn't do that. How'd you do that?" Tiara asked shocked. Mewtwo just shrugged.

'I cannot be contained in such a tiny sphere for long amounts of time so I willed the ball to open and here I am.' Mewtwo said nonchalantly.

'You need to teach me that!' Anastasia chimed in.

"Okay, enough. Please lets get back into the balls for five minutes so I can drop you off to get healed already please. I want to start the trip and this bag is getting heavy." She ordered. Both of the pokemon just looked at each other and sighed as they went back into their respected balls.

Tiara walked into the poke center and was immediately greeted by a chancy and a lady with pink hair. "Hi, how may I help you today?" she said politely.

"Just need to heal my pokemon before heading out." Tiara said happily as she finally felt slightly more like a trainer.

"No problem." The nurse took the pokeballs and put them in a small tray that looked like it was meant for pokemon and then walked behind a door that led to the back of the center. About a minute later, she came back with the tray and a weird box thing.

"All healed up. Oh and I'm not sure if you know but one of your pokemon had a weird item equipped. It didn't read properly on the machine so I had it unequipped to take a better look but I still don't know what it is. Here you go." She handed tiara the tray of pokeballs and the small box.

Before releasing the pokemon, she opened the box and saw a small dark gem. It looked completely black and it had an eerie feeling to it. Tiara reached for it but then backed her hand away slowly. The closer her fingers got to the orb the more it felt like an icy pain washing over her hand. She closed the box and decided to walk outside before yelling a "thanks" to the nurse behind her.

She released the pokemon, and they all stretched and yawned as their fully recuperated bodies enjoyed the freedom.

"Does anyone know what this is?" Tiara said opening the box that held the gem. Anastasia immediately gasped and made a quick swipe for it. She then tucked it back under her bra section but it was too late. It had already been noticed.

"What is that?" Tiara asked curiously.

'I don't know. But it is a part of me.' She said as she held her hands against her chest where the gem was hidden.

'It's something strange. I can see it but I cannot sense it. Like if it is not really there, just my eyes playing tricks on me. It has no presence.' Mewtwo said.

'Can we stop talking about it please. When I figure it out I will let you all know.' Anastasia thought.

"Very well. So now for the really important question!" all the pokemon turned to look at her as she smiled widely. With much enthusiasm, she asked her question.

"Where do we start?"