The sun seemed to never rise the next day, despite the lightening of the sky. It was still cloudy and very dank outside. I was listening to the trees, trying to find comfort in the gently scratching sound of bare branches on each other. Whimsicott was looking better, and N was more or less happy to be alive.

He had left for a while in search or oran berries, which I told him wouldn't be growing this time of year, but he insisted anyways. So I was especially surprised when he came back, his jacket slung over his arm and a whole bunch of them wrapped carefully inside. Whimsicott sat up a little straighter, looking happy to see the food.

"They really aren't that great…" he came over to us and unfolded the jacket. Most of the little blue berries where wrinkled and some had marks where a bird had pecked at them, but they were ok.

"No this is more than I expected." I picked one up and popped it in my mouth. "Where did you find them?"

N shrugged. "It's easy when pokemon are willing to help…" he smiled. "In other words, a little Pidove in a tree told me."

I laughed a nervous laugh and swallowed the somewhat bitter thing. "I was thinking… if I can find Bianca and Cheren… they could help us N."

He seemed to frown. "How?"

"Well… Bianca has connections with Elisa and… being that I am sorta the champion of Unova… I think I could get a hold of the Gym leaders… some of them might be a little weary but I know they would help. The former Champion, Alder, he would vouch for me."

"But what good will that do anyways? It's not like you are being hunted down, it's me." He raised a hand and set it on Whimsicott's head. He was too busy stuffing his face to notice.

"But with their help we can prove you innocent. It's the law N."

"Since when has team Plasma ever cared about the law?" he grumbled to himself. I sighed.

"I don't suppose you have a better idea?"

"I could… well…"

"What?"

"I could go back and…"

"NO!" I grabbed his hand as it reached for another berry. "You can't go back!"

"I know there are people that would follow me Touko." He tried to explain. "They would side with me… because they never wanted to put up with all that was happening before anyways. A lot of the Grunts only worked for me and team plasma so they could feed their families."

"So you want to just prance back in there and ask who wants to join you in going against your own father. Their leader?"

"I could make it seem like I really was coming back to do my job…" he looked away. "I could make them believe that I want to be king again; they know with my ability to talk with pokemon I can do it. They would have to let me have another chance…"

I shook my head. "It's too risky. What about that photographer, she saw what happened… she would… she would ruin it anyways!" I hadn't the heart to tell him that I was really just too afraid of being away from him.

"Touko…"

"Please…" I bit my lip. The worst part was that his plan was better than mine and I knew destroying team Plasma from the inside out was the way to do it…

N looked down, not sure what to say. Finally be mumbled. "I probably wouldn't be able to pull it off anyways… I would miss you too much."

I smiled and laughed shakily. "You are a pretty terrible liar." Relief washed over me.

"There is a problem with your plan though." N went on. "You don't have any of your other pokemon and… something tells me you will need them if you are going up against team plasma… again."

I cursed under my breath. "Maybe I can sneak into my house and-"

"No." N cut me off.

"What?"

"You need to clear things up with you mother." He looked terrified, not having much experience with a child to parent relationship. But he was right. "You are going to need all the help you can get right?"

I nodded with a sigh.

"It's not that bad." He gave me a gently nudge. "I would do it for you if I could."

"I know I know… parents can be so difficult sometimes though…"

N laughed, startling me. "Hey, your mom might be a little secretive and over-protective, but I would take her over my father any day."

I rolled me eyes. "I guess I should feel pretty lucky to have the mom that I do…" I murmured, the humor leaving my face in a frown. "I will clear things up with her… She is my mom after all, I love her."

N smiled at me.

"But if you think I am going to forgive and forget about that wretched man that thinks he is my father—

"No one said anything about that…" N muttered. "But if it is really a problem we could always trade fathers."

I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "You need to stop doing that you know…"

"What?"

"Being so smart all the time." I said simply, ignoring the fact that he was so clearly saying my father was better than his. I didn't doubt that either.

He smiled at me, his emerald eyes dancing. How could the two of us be so happy together in a time of crisis? I knew the only answer was the fact that we were just so in love with each other.

"So off to your mother's then?" N asked after a long moment of listening to the sound of the squishy berries in Whimsicott's mouth.

I nodded and sighed again. "Right…"

….

I took a deep breath as I approached the front door of my home… the place I knew like the back of my hand. Every crevice or scratch in the old house was familiar. I could count ever window and tell you exactly which ones opened and which ones would get stuck about halfway through. But what wasn't familiar to me… was the way I felt. Like I didn't quite belong here…

We had abandoned the truck in the forest, knowing that brining back would do nothing but cause more problems. So N stood back, on the dirt road that leads down the center of town. He was watching me, blinking and nodding with encouragement.

I stalled for a long moment, trying to figure out what exactly to say… the only thing that would be prudent enough was "I'm sorry" though… I knew I had to admit defeat.

My shaky hand rapped on the door quietly.

There was a long silence before the door opened and my mother through herself around me, her arms stretched across my body and she was shaking, babbling through her teeth, trying to understand that every part of me was ok. I tried to ignore the fact that this was her fault to begin with… She had been in on it… the whole thing with the Liza.

But I couldn't be angry, or even somewhat upset, I was just too happy to know that my mother still loved me. Teas swelled in my eyes and she started to rock back and forth, hugging me tighter and tighter.

"M- mom. I'm s-so sorry." I started to sob. "I shouldn't have l-left."

"I'm sorry." My mother whispered. "I just… I wanted you to be safe and I know the way I was going about it… was wrong"

One of the best things about my mom was she always knew when she was wrong. In this case though, I didn't quite understand her reasoning.

"I know now… you're not going to leave N are you? No chance in you just forgetting about him and being safe at home with me and your pokemon?" she said looking me in the eyes with her identical ones. I saw my bedraggled reflection there and slowly shook my head.

She sighed, but understood. THIS was the woman I had come to know as my mom, not someone who sneaks out in the middle of the night to go see my runaway father.

"What am I gonna do with you?" she brushed my hair back and wiped away a tear from my eye. "You're just like me when I was younger… only more stubborn."

I tried to laugh but it was stuck in my throat.

"I hope you will stay now…" I could see her eyes flickering to N, who was hanging back, holding Whimsicott tenderly.

"No, it's too dangerous now." I shook my head, finally finding the things I wanted to say. "I don't… I don't want to stay here anyways." My mom flinched. "I love you, that won't ever change but… but I can't just stay here forever."

"For now though?"

"No. Mom, I can't… we can't." I shook my head. "I… I came to apologize and get my pokemon."

Her eyes filled with tears and for the first time in a long time she looked sickly again. "Just like that?"

I fought back my own tears. "I'm sorry… But we are going to the gym leaders, we are going to get help and get something done about this."

My mother was choking with sorrow. "I hate you being gone… how do I know what will happen to you, after you came back from getting chased by the police and… and what am I supposed to do?" her hands trembled around my face. "I don't want to lose you."

"Mom… you don't give me enough credit." I nearly moaned. "I… I can take care of myself!" but my heart wasn't in my voice. "Besides I have N with me… and my pokemon…"

MY mother just shook her head. "You want me to just sit back and watch you get hunted down by the police?"

I nodded. "That's all you can do… Bianca and Cheren will help me… and the gym leaders."

"You're in over your head… but then again you always are." She took her hands off my shoulder and wiped her tears away. She took a deep breath, shaky and pain filled. She coughed once then turned to open the front door. I shot N a glance before going in.

"I will be fine mom… I promise." I said heading up the stairs to my too familiar room. I opened the door and found Galvantula clicking around the ceiling. She came over to me quickly and I gave her a half hug before running to my dresser. Bisharp, Carrocosta, Samorott, Swoobat, and Galvantula's balls where sitting right where I left them. I took them all quickly, called her back and then stuffed them in the biggest backpack I had.

I also grabbed another pair of clothes and the few potions I found, they where nothing special, just leftovers I had from who knows how long ago. I headed back out, looking at my beloved room one more long moment. This wasn't the first time I had parted with it, but it was by far the hardest. Tears ebbed again, but I shook them away. It may have been the fact that if me and N didn't get things solved quickly we might not ever have the chance…

I flipped the light switch off and headed for the stairs.

"Touko…" my mother said from below me. "I… I know what Matt told you…"

I flinched, having completely forgot about the other night. She didn't have to bring it up… I was almost home free from the whole thing.

"I know you will never forgive him… I don't expect you to, but I have and… just know that he won't hurt you again."

I nodded, wondering with a heavy heart if my mother knew that I had bought condoms or not. It wasn't exactly at the top of my worry list, but it wasn't at the bottom either. I didn't know what to say, so I just continued down the stairs.

She stopped me at the bottom and forced another hug. I didn't resent it, but I was so traumatized that I couldn't enjoy it either.

"I love you." My mother told me.

"I love you too mom." I whispered. "I will be fine."

"Do you have your house key?" she asked, releasing me.

I gave her a look of misunderstanding.

"This will always be your home too…"

I reached into the front pocket on my jeans and pulled out the silver key I had used so many times.

She gave me a weak smile.

…

Bianca!" I yelled at the pay phone, interrupting her babbling. "I am in Striaton city! Can you and Cheren get here by this afternoon?"

"Cheren's Tranquill can't carry me and him Touko!" she yelled, making me flinch away from the phone "Why do we have to get there anyways?"

"I will tell you when you guys get here!"

"I don't understand…"

"It's important ok… please Bianca…" I felt my hopes beginning to slip. I looked outside sadly.

"Scott!" Whimsicott yelled into the end of the phone. I shushed him.

"Is that little Whimsy?" Bianca laughed. "Touko, I don't think we can get there by tonight but if not then tomorrow morning."

I sighed. "Ok."

"You ok?"

"Yeah, thank you Bianca, tell Cheren I said thank you too…" I felt bad… last I talked with Cheren he had been furious at me. I wondered if him and Bianca had ever gotten that night back on the ferriswheel together… part of me felt terrible for having been so hypocrite. If Bianca loved Cheren like I loved N… I shouldn't be standing in the way of them.

"No Problem." I heard Cheren's rusty voice on the other end.

"Oh Cheren… Are we ok?" I asked quietly.

There was a strange laugh. He sounded different on the phone… but then again, all guys did. "We're cool."

I smiled. "Can't wait to see you and Bianca."

"Me too." He said softly, maybe a hint of sadness in his voice, and then he hung up with a quick goodbye.

I glared at Whimsicott. "It's rude to interrupt when someone is talking on the phone."

He gave me a sheepish smile and shrugged.

"You don't use your voice much do you?" I pulled him around to be in my arms like he used to. It dawned on me that he had grown very much since I first found him. Not in size, but in personality. He was brave and devoted, maybe a bit more mischievous, but devoted none the less.

I walked away from the payphone and headed down a hallway. This pokemon center, at least right now, had open rooms. So I had paid for one and decided the only thing to do was buckle down for the night and wait. I wasn't about to go bother Chili, Cress, and Cilan right now. I would wait to explain everything to Bianca and Cheren and then go approach the flamboyant brothers.

Me and Whimsicott took the first left and down to the very end, our room was the last door. I didn't have the card key because I had left it with N so I knocked softly.

He didn't answer for a long moment and just before I was about to knock again Whimsicott shot from my arms and slipped like wind under the door. It opened a heartbeat later, Whimsicott hanging from the knob.

I looked past him and saw N sitting on the edge of the full size bed, in his hands where the face of my Carrocosta. He ran his fingers along his head and closed his eyes, looking troubled.

"Whats wrong?" I walked over. Never before had he escaped from his pokeball. "Did you let him out?"

Carrocosta looked at me with cloudy eyes and N's fallowed shortly.

"He isn't happy."

I sat beside N and placed my hand on the large pokemons head. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

He made a low grumbling noise.

"He just… doesn't feel very… well…" N looked up at me. "loved…"

I felt absolutely terrible, now that I realized I hadn't used Carrocosta in quite some time, and even then it was just a quick battle with Black's Zebstrika. I bent down to look my pokemon in the eyes. He looked sorry, not for himself, but for having felt the way he did.

"I'm sorry Carrocosta…" I whispered. "You know I value you just like any of my other pokemon."

N looked very emotional. Sometimes I wondered if it was too much for him, the ability to read pokemon and their emotions.

"Scott!" Whimsicott ran up to him and looked the huge turtle in the eyes. "Whims!" he smiled brightly.

Carrocosta, who never seemed fond of young pokemon, looked to except whatever Whimsicott had said. He nodded once then looked back up at me, a new light in his dark ocean blue eyes.

"Tell you what." I gave him a gentle nudge. "What do you say we go swimming?"

His face turned up completely, happy with the idea. I bent and hugged his huge head before getting up and walking across the room to my bag with my stuff. I still had the swim suit I wore for the photo shoot; Elisa had given it to me, probably in trade for my pain in the ass Emolga at the time. I didn't want to trade, it just happened that way. Still, it was a beautiful swim suit.

N looked up at me. "Swimming? When it's this cold out?" he knew I didn't appreciate the cold so this baffled him.

"I won't get soaked…" I pulled all of my hair up in a tight pony tail.

N shrugged when I headed to the bathroom, and then turned his attention back to Carrocosta. I was happy N wasn't the type of guy to protect me from things he knew I would do anyways. Had it been Cheren sitting there, he would have lectured me on why it was irrational to go swimming in the cold. IF it was Black… he probably would have cracked perverted jokes on how he wanted to swim with me too.

I looked at myself in the mirror and there was something different there, I never noticed before, a slightly different lightness to the whole idea of swimming in the chilly water in winter with N and Carrocosta. Memories of fighting N came back, along with memories of reviving Carrocosta more twice… he had been the weakest of my team at the time, but proven himself in the end. It was him that had beaten Reshiram.

I shrugged my clothes off quickly and folded them. I set them on the sink and stepped into the little bikini bottoms that shimmered a silvery-blue. The top wasn't much different, but sent chills of memory back to me. I remembered falling into the ocean when modeling and how freezing that water had been. Hopefully the little lakes around here would be that cold…

It also reminded me that Samorott would like a good swim… come to think of it… all my pokemon could use a little exercise.

I looked at myself in the mirror and tied the string to the top around my neck. It fit nice and snug.

"Are you going swimming too?" I asked N as I stepped out into the hotel room. My answer was right in front of me, considering I got a whole shot of N's back side as he slipped on a pair of khaki shorts. He didn't have an actual swim, but that was good enough.

"Of course." He flashed me a brilliant smile. "You know there is a lake around here that doesn't have many run-offs from the mountains. It shouldn't be very cold." He told me.

"Trainer lake right?" I said.

"What?" he suddenly looked pale… "That's what they call it?" memories flashed in his eyes.

"Yeah why?"

"Well… back when… all that was going on." He ran a hand through his hair. "Team Plasma was ordered to run the trainers out and… liberate." He looked ashamed, and I noticed how he never said HE ordered team plasma, even though we both knew very well it was him.

"Oh…well last time I checked trainers where still letting their pokemon out there." I said, remembering how I stopped there at the beginning of my second journey, before I found N.

"Oh… good." He flinched and stood up. "Let's go." There was a forced smile on his face.