"Thoughts"
"A pokemon speaking through telepathy"
"(Pokemon speaking to each other)"
Flashback
Chapter 25 & 26: And Thus, the Facade Begins to Crumble…
"What?" Zoey exclaimed, "You can't be serious!"
Arceus kept a silent gaze on Zoey as the Lake trio attempted to calm her down.
"I'm sorry, my child, but all the clues we've found all lead us to believe that Mel is the traitor spoken of in the legend" Uxie spoke softly
Zoey let out a sigh before taking in a deep breath,
"What clues did you find?"
"The fire that broke out at the Old Chateau. How do you think Mel found out about the fire?" Azelf asked
"The fire? I assumed you all told her" Zoey answered, unsure as to where this would lead
Mesprit shook her head,
"No, we didn't. The fire was most likely started by Team Galactic, why they did this is unknown"
"But, what does that have to do with Mel?"
Uxie perched atop of Zoey's shoulder,
"Think about it, my child. How would Mel know this without us telling her?"
"S-She could've done research about it…"
Uxie gave the coordinator a sad smile,
"Now, why does that sound familiar?"
After a second of thinking, Zoey's eyes widened as she realized what Uxie was reminding her. The night after the incident at the Old Chateau, Zoey and Mel had a similar conversation,
"…How…How did you know all that happened at the Old Chateau" Zoey said as she remembered everything Mel had told them about Rotom, Mimi, and the fire that started
"It's called research" Mel replied as her back hit the grass and her arms folded behind her head
"But why would you research the Old Chateau? It's on the thickest part of this forest and mostly everyone overlooks it. The only reason we found it is because we were lost and tired"
(AN: This flashback is taken straight from chapter 15, incase you're wondering)
"No way…" Zoey whispered
Arceus stepped forward,
"There is also something else, something I cannot over look"
"What's that, your Majesty?"
Arceus motioned for Azelf to continue,
"Well, Zoey, do you remember when that trainer, Saturn, I think was his name, attacked us?" After receiving a nod, Azelf continued, "Do you remember what he said before attacking us?"
"Um…something about kidnapping us" Zoey replied after a second
Azelf slowly shook his head,
"No, he said and I quote 'I came here to kidnap you but with Azelf here it'll be easier for Master Cyrus's plan…'" (AN: Taken from chapter 20)
"They knew I was gonna be there... and… Mel knew… that's why she had Neji and Yori stay with me…" Zoey said as everything slowly came together
Arceus nodded his head,
"How else would they know where you were? Mel obviously told them"
"Wait! If…if Mel is the traitor, then why did she send Neji and Yori to protect me? You said she would never do anything that would hurt me! You told me to never leave her side! And then you tell me she's the traitor spoken in the legend! …Why" Zoey fell to her knees as her vision blurred with tears, "…why would you… let me spend so much time with her if you knew this… why… would you let me…"
"Fall in love with her?" Arceus finished
Mesprit watched Zoey with curious eyes,
"Now, I'm really wondering…just what happened between you two, when we weren't looking?"
Mel quietly leaned against the double doors that led to the Hall of Origin, the room Zoey and the four legendary pokemon currently occupied. Having been able to escape many enemies during her journey to save the world, Mel was able to easily hide her presence from the psychic pokemon and suppress her aura, thanks to her training with Neji.
"So…they know… Sorry Zoey, but it looks like this is where we part ways…again"
With that fleeting thought, Mel pushed herself away from the door and left to collect her pokemon and leave…
"We're finally here!" Ash and Dawn exclaimed happily as they reached the entrance to Hearthome City
Pikachu opened his eyes, he was sleeping comfortably in Dawn's arms until her heard the two trainer's shouts,
"Pika?"
Brock let out a heartfelt chuckle,
"Come on you guys, let's go to the Pokemon Center and rent a room first, then we can explore the city"
"Right!"
Meanwhile at the rear of the group, Paul was silently grumbling to himself as he glared at everything that was unlucky enough to meet his eyes directly. Dawn giggled lightly as she noticed Paul seething inwardly. She moved back and grasped his arm, pulling him with her,
"Come on, Paul! The faster we get to the Pokemon Center the faster we meet up with Kenny!"
"Joy…" Paul mumbled angrily
After speaking with Nurse Joy and settling into their rooms, Paul counted down the minutes until he saw Kenny once more. Kenny had told Dawn they would meet at the Pokemon Center.
"Dee Dee!"
Dawn's head snapped to attention as the nickname caught her attention, Paul on the other hand had tensed up,
"Kenny…" Paul growled
A boy wearing a large grin waved towards Dawn as he ran up to the group. The boy, Kenny, had hazel eyes that kept a steady gaze on Dawn, his dark reddish hair had spiked out in the back while a front portion occasionally brushed against his eyes.
"Kenny!" Dawn yelled out, not noticing Paul's glare, "Stop calling me that!"
Kenny smiled broadly, ignoring Dawn's comment,
"So how's everything going Dee Dee?"
Dawn sighed at this but she let a warm smile grace her lips,
"It's good to see you again Kenny!" she said while engulfing the boy in a hug
"I-It's good to see you to Dee Dee!" Kenny managed as he fought off a blush
"Ahem"
Dawn pulled away as she gave Paul a sideward glance,
"Is something wrong Paul?"
"No…"
Kenny stepped away from Dawn and stood before Paul,
"Paul"
"Kenny"
The two shook hands, but only for Dawn's sake, as their eyes voiced their thoughts,
"Look at her the wrong way and I swear…"
"Let's see how far I can push you this time"
Once the two released hands, Kenny turned towards Ash and Brock,
"Hi! I'm Kenny!"
"I'm Brock"
"I'm Ash and this is Pikachu"
"Pika!"
Brock smiled unconsciously as Ash leaned in to ask a question,
"Hey Brock, is it just me or has Paul been glaring at Kenny since he walked over?"
"Nope, I see it to"
The smile on Brock's lips only grew as he noticed that Paul had moved closer to Dawn, even pulling the girl into his grasp with his arms wrapped around her waist and his head resting on her shoulder, and yet still able to glare at Kenny with Dawn cuddling closer.
"Yes! Sweet land!" May chanted as her feet hit the ground, "The ship ride was nice, but having nothing but water around you sure is boring! I almost went nuts!"
May reached up and stretched as Roselia, who was hanging from May's shoulder with her roses wrapped carefully around the girl's neck, let out a yawn. Drew, following close behind, couldn't help but agree,
"I know what you mean! Hearing you say 'Did you hear that?' one more time would've drove me crazy!"
"Drew!"
Drew simply laughed at the response,
"But Drew, I really did hear something!"
Drew sighed softly, brushing his hair out of his eyes,
"Alright then, what did you hear?" Drew asked, deciding to humor May
May bit her lip,
"You're gonna laugh, I know you will, but I kept hearing someone say 'Mama'"
"Maybe you just heard some kid looking for is mom" Drew answered as he led them away from the docks and into Pastoria City
"Maybe…"
As May followed behind Drew, she couldn't help but look back to the sea,
"But that voice…it sounded like Manaphy…"
In the outskirts of the Pokemon League building, a lone mansion stood on a hill, barely noticeable thanks to the surrounding trees and now sinking sun. The mansion's only occupant sat comfortably in a chair sipping tea in her bedroom by a window. The woman was non other than Cynthia. She set the teacup down onto its set and smiled softly,
"It's been a while since I've seen you, huh, Mel…"
Cynthia turned her gaze to her left to see Mel waiting patiently on the other side of the window. Cynthia reached out and unlocked the window, allowing Mel to slide it open and dangle her feet inside while keeping a strong grip on the wall to insure her balance,
"What do you mean? We saw each other like last month or so"
Cynthia chuckled,
"So we did, and what is it that I can do for you?"
Mel gave the champion a gloomy expression,
"…Cynthia, when the time comes, could you give the pokeball to Zoey…"
"…So they found out?"
"Yeah"
Cynthia let out a breath of air as she ran her fingers through her blonde hair,
"Alright, leave it to me" Cynthia stood from her spot, "looks like I have to set out and look for her now…"
"Thank you"
"Think nothing of it, my black flame"
Paul groaned loudly as his head hit the pillow. The gang had decided to spend the day with Kenny and seeing what Hearthome City had to offer them. Paul of course didn't like the idea but still went through with for Dawn's sake. As Paul breathed into his pillow, he didn't know if he should be happy or angry. Paul should be happy since throughout the day, Dawn had been smiling and having the time of her life, and angry because all that happiness Dawn had was directed towards him. Kenny. It also didn't help the fact that Kenny had seemed to enjoy Paul's torture.
"One day…"
Paul turned over so that he was now facing the ceiling of the room he and Dawn were sharing. He pulled his arm over his eyes and contemplated on the past events.
"So, Mel is supposed to be the traitor... but it doesn't make sense. Arceus told me about what happened between Mel and Zoey in Mel's timeline… thing's aren't adding up"
"Paul?"
Paul's arm was pushed aside and Paul realized that Dawn was now hovering above him, straddling his waist.
"What's wrong Paul? You've been really distant recently…" a tint of fear was evident in her voice
"It's nothing" Paul replied as he sat up
Dawn frowned and leaned forward burying her face into his chest,
"Liar"
"…You were always able to tell when something was bothering me"
"Well?"
Paul remained silent as he stared into Dawn's cerulean eyes,
"Can you, maybe, wait a bit longer for an answer?"
"….? Why is that?"
Paul simply wrapped his hands around Dawn and dragged her back down into the bed. Dawn, taken of guard by this motion, looked up from her position,
"Paul?"
Instead of responding, Paul merely rubbed his lips against Dawn's scalp, all the while taking in her scent.
"Just a while longer, Dawn" he whispered
"Paul…fine, but you have to promise me!" she demanded
"Right…"
"Paul," she called out, "Promise me, when that time comes, no more secrets, you'll tell me everything….alright?"
"I promise"
AN: Um... yea... if you read the preview that was up on my blog then you will notice that none of the previews are in this chapter...that's because after re planing the chapter and the rest of the story, those previews won't be happening until later... n.n;;
Anyway I was wondering if anyone is interested in becoming my editor, if you've noticed, I really don't go back and edit my work before posting it up here. If you are interested in becoming my editor than please pm me telling me this. Being my editor will work both ways, my work will be edited (and you will be credited for it) but also you will be able to read the new chapter a day, 2 days, or even a week before it gets updated here. I'll accept maybe the first 2 or 3 who ask.
Anyway
Sapphiet: Thanks for spotting that error! You can probably tell I don't go back and edit n.n;; hence why I'm asking for an editor
Storm Dryu: Wow are you a mind reader or something? O.o In my scarp planning of this story, my original plan was to have Dawn be the traitor, but I changed it to Mel
AikoAkahana: Yay! Cookies! ~is happily eating them with pet dragon and fox~
Pikachu1800: Hehe! Thank you! Um... they'll be getting together pretty soon. I agree 100% black charizards are indeed EPIC!