Hi Readers. (^_^)

I'm sorry for updating in two weeks instead of one, but my dad decided that he wanted to take us on a 'Family Road Trip' which was really just going to visit relatives.

Anyway...

"Talking" Thoughts "PokeSpeech"

I don't own Pokémon, if I did then I would make it much cooler...

On with the story...

Chapter 24: Mistaken Identities

Previously:

*Dawn's POV, Tree of Beginning*

I looked around to see that we were surrounded by fake legendries and some Hunters.

When did they appear?

This isn't good.

They have us surrounded!

There's no escape!

*Barry's POV, Tree of Beginning*

Why didn't anyone realize the Hunters were closing in?

Ash, Gary, Leaf, and Silver should have sensed their auras!

I am so going to fine the four of them for this.

I looked around to see that the four of them were backing slowly away from the edges and closer to us in the center.

What the heck are they doing?

Before anyone could ask why Ash, Gary, Leaf, and Silver were backing up, the ground started shaking.

All of us were so busy trying to keep our balance, we almost didn't hear Ash yell, "Jump in!"

As soon as Ash finished his sentence a hole appeared in the ground in the center of the aura shield.

Did they create a hole in the ground?

Once the hole was wide enough for us to fit through we all jumped in; Ash, Gary, Leaf, and Silver going in last, with the hole closing right behind them.

How the heck did the hole close up right behind them?

At the bottom of the hole was a large cavern with tunnels leading all around.

Gary inspected the way back to see if it was completely closed up before asking, "We have two options, we either stay here, wait until they leave and then have Regirock open another way out just like he opened one in, or we can go through the tunnels until we get out. Majority rules."

So Regirock got us in?

Cool, there are real legendries here!

Okay so maybe they did have a plan.

Paul snorted, "So that's our master plan, I knew you guys weren't that great."

Gary rolled his eyes, "Let's see what you can come up with on a two minute notice and then we'll know who's better. Besides, we're all alive aren't we?"

Paul resigned to defeat and leaned against one of the cavern walls, "I say we get out, we'll seem like losers if we wait for them to leave."

Spenser asked, "Which group is that out there? How did you all come to learn so much?"

Ash pointed at himself, Gary, Leaf, and Silver in turn, "The Hunters are out there and the reason we all know this is because the four of us are Aura Knights and were assigned to protect Dawn so we had to know what we were up against, Dawn, Barry, and Lunick all learned about this because they're all directly part of it, Dawn, Paul, Drew, and May were there when the Hunters attacked Dawn and Barry when they were in Hoenn, and Max was there when the SBS attacked in Hoenn."

How did Ash find out what happened?

Did he ask Silver?

Or was he there as well?

Although the second is unlikely because he was in the Indigo Palace at the time...

I shook my head to focus and looked to see that the rangers were all absorbing the new information.

Honestly after all that's happened today, shouldn't they process information faster?

I am so going to fine them for being such idiots.

I silently laughed at their ignorance but stopped when Elita said, "You all do realize that keeping this information from the government can and most likely will result in dire consequences for all of you?"

All of us tensed for a second, but then relaxed when we remembered who Ash was.

Misty cut in, "That isn't exactly on our top list of things to do. Besides I'm sure the government will be lenient, actually I know they'll be lenient."

Elita smirked, "I know that the King, the princess, and the last of the nobles will forgive you, but if I am up to date, then none of their whereabouts except for Lance and Clair Draygn are known. It is also presumed that the King and princess were abducted."

Our group all turned to look at each other quickly before breaking out in laughter.

If only they knew.

All the people that are supposedly missing are right in front of them.

Plus, I can't wait to see Elita's face when she finds out she just tried to mess with one of the same nobles she just said couldn't help us.

The rangers stared at us oddly before Leaf managed to regain her breath and said, "Arceus! Sorry about that but just hearing someone say that who isn't on a TV screen is hilarious. I can't tell you exactly where the missing royals and nobles are but I will tell you that they're all safe and sound. You don't need to worry about them. Anyway, Gary asked about a vote earlier to see what we should do. Everyone that says we should get the heck out of here and defeat the Hunters now, raise your hands!"

Everyone in our group raised their hands, but out of the rangers, only Lunick raised his hand.

Why don't the rangers want to leave?

Silver chuckled lightly, "Don't tell me all you rangers are chickens? I thought it was a Pokémon Ranger's duty to protect the peace and the Pokémon. You guys really dent that image. Anyway, as Gary said majority rules so we're going out, follow us if you don't want to get lost."

As soon as Silver finished talking, the four Aura Knights started walking towards one of the tunnels that led out of the cavern, Misty close behind.

They'd better not get us lost.

If they do, I am going to fine them for a lot of money.

I know they can afford it.

Once Ash, Misty, Leaf, Gary, and Silver were inside the tunnel and almost out of sight, the rest of us quickly ran to catch up with them; the rangers reluctantly.

We ran through a series of twisting tunnels until we ended up in a large cavern with sunlight streaming in and a large lake in the center, grass growing around the lake.

I thought we were going outside, like an open area with no walls or rocks surrounding us?

I wonder how much money I can get for fining them...

We all stared at the Aura Knights oddly, wondering why they didn't actually take us outside.

They must have noticed our confusion because Ash said, "The Hunters want to destroy the tree. If we leave, we're pretty much giving them the okay to destroy it."

All of us face-palmed, not realizing how simple the reason was.

Kellyn asked, "How are we supposed to defeat the Hunters?"

Gary answered, "We'll worry about defeating the ones here first, and then we'll worry about the ones in Sinnoh."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a voice said, "The ones in Sinnoh are already taken care of."

No way!

It can't be!

All of us turned towards he source of the voice to see none other than Riley standing at the entrance of another tunnel.

Riley looked worn out, but he had a grin on his face, telling us something good had happened.

Ash smirked, "I'm going to assume that your plan worked to perfection?"

Riley's grin widened, "Yes! An hour ago, every member of the Hunters in Sinnoh was arrested by order of the King and Queen. They are going to be sent here, to Indigo, and tried for their crimes."

Upon hearing what Riley said, all of us felt hope seep into our hearts.

If Sinnoh has no Hunters anymore, then that means that Dawn and I can go home without any worries.

Maybe Lunick can come home too.

There's nothing left for him to run away from.

Mom and Dad could also get back together!

We could be a family again!

A huge smile formed on my face from my thoughts.

Ash smirked, "So you plan worked? I don't really think the Sinnoh government is really happy about it, but they should have known better than to support the Hunters."

Wait!

What was the plan?

What if it causes a war between Sinnoh and Indigo?

I hope Ash, Leaf, Gary, Misty, Silver, and Riley can somehow keep the piece using their connections...

Besides, Arceus wouldn't want a war, maybe he would step.

All the rangers tensed, not knowing Ash's position in the government and not realizing that whatever Riley had done wasn't going to get us in much trouble.

Lunick asked, "What did you do?"

Keith added, "If something goes wrong between Sinnoh and Indigo then all of us rangers will be affected, Almia is under the rule of the Sinnoh government while Fiore is under the rule of the Indigo government."

I thought all the Ranger controlled regions were under rule of themselves?

I guess I was wrong.

Kellyn's eyes widened, "That means that we won't be able to travel between regions anymore. There also won't be many new rangers; the Ranger School is in Almia."

They have a school for becoming a Pokémon Ranger?

Whose stupid idea was to make one?

Shouldn't a ranger be chosen for his willingness to help Pokémon not his grades in school?

Ash waved a hand, "I doubt things will go that far, besides if Riley hadn't done something then the people of Indigo would have. It's not like Riley did anything alone either. The entire government of Indigo is behind him."

Considering that the highest officials of the Indigo government are in this room, I don't think Ash is lying.

Spenser raised an eyebrow, "Why would the government of Indigo help him?"

Riley started, "That's simple considering that the king and princess of Indigo are-"

Gary cut in, "-orphans because of the Indigo Massacre twelve years ago, which was caused by the Hunters."

Riley sent a glance towards Ash, Gary, Leaf, Misty, and Silver who sent a look back to him telling him to not mention their connections to the government.

The Rangers looked shocked, the information new to them, sick expression forming on their faces.

Kate choked out, "The Sinnoh government knew about that and didn't do anything to reprimand the Hunters? I didn't think the government I lived under could be so corrupt! They let so many innocent people die! Why?"

Leaf stared at the ground, probably reliving horrible memories, "The Indigo Government refused to help the Hunters find and kill all the witches in the world, including the good ones. They decided to kill everyone they did as an act of revenge."

All of us who had already heard the story of what happened before weren't as shocked and were barely paying attention anymore.

Paul was playing Go-Fish with Ethan, Lyra, and Max.

May was falling asleep on Drew's shoulder, Drew looking quite happy.

I guess they might actually get together sometime soon.

Dawn was looking at Lunick sadly, probably upset at the fact that it was her fault he left.

Ash, Leaf, Gary, Silver, and Misty were only paying attention to the Rangers because someone had to answer their questions.

Riley was sitting on a rock looking at some scrapes on his arms.

I don't understand why I'm still paying attention to everyone.

I should fine the others for not telling me that they were going to play Go-Fish again.

I really want to beat Ethan.

I started walking towards the four playing but sent one final glance at the Rangers.

They don't know how many things are kept secret from them.

*Silver's POV, Tree of Beginning*

Why do these rangers need to keep on asking so many questions?

The others didn't even ask half as much, plus the Rangers have more proof in front of them.

And why do we, Aura Knights, need to be the ones that answer the questions?

I think the others have played Go-Fish at least twenty times in the past hour alone from not paying attention.

Even though I don't like Go-Fish, I actually want to play with them for once.

There goes Barry, now only Dawn is left...

The only reason she's staying is because she wants to talk to Lunick the first chance she gets.

When is this going to end?

I just want to deal with Hunters and get them over with.

Riley blackmailing the Sinnoh government into helping us was good, but we still aren't done yet.

We still have the SBS to deal with.

Ash and Leaf can only stay missing for so long.

Sooner or later the Head of the Royal Council will figure out that the Captain of the Royal Guard helped us and will make him spill.

Plus the SBS is going to way harder than the Hunters.

The Hunters we can easily defeat with the aid of our Pokémon, but for the SBS we needed Dawn and Hikari.

Why did Arceus and Giratina just need to take Hikari away?

We have our work really cut out for us.

I sighed, and turned back to the Rangers to see that Ash, Gary, and Leaf had answered all their questions with Misty answering one here and there.

At least they didn't ask me to answer any.

I tapped Ash on the shoulder, "Are we going any time soon?"

Ash nodded, "Yeah. The rangers have agreed to help us albeit reluctantly. The Rangers and Max will be able to use some of the wild Pokémon to defeat some of the weaker fake Legendries while we use our stronger and trained Pokémon to fight the stronger ones."

I think Arceus and Giratina might take that as an insult, but they aren't fake legendries.

I nodded, "Okay, I'll get the others and you guys round up all the wild Pokémon you can get."

Ash smirked, "If you ask me you just don't want to go with the rangers, plus you want to be with Lyra."

That might actually be a good idea.

I sent Ash a look, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ash shook his head in disbelief and pushed me towards the others, "If you don't make a move on her soon you'll lose her completely."

I know that, but I don't want to break her heart.

I ignored Ash and walked towards the four playing Go-Fish; Paul had gotten up and was walking towards Dawn.

Maybe after all this is over I'll find a way to get Lyra, but for now I just want her to be happy.

Besides why would she even want to be with the son of a criminal gang/mafia lord?

*Dawn's POV, Tree of Beginning*

Should I talk to him?

He is my brother after all.

I just don't know if I'm brave enough to face him after all the things I've done to him.

I stared at Lunick, who was talking to Solana, questioningly, not sure if I should go up to him.

He knows that Barry and I know and understand the truth so why hasn't he made a move either?

I was snapped away from my thoughts when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I tensed and whipped my head around to see Paul standing there with a slightly worried look on his face.

Paul, worried?

I didn't think it was possible.

I smiled slightly before giving Paul a quick kiss on the cheek, "What's the matter?"

Paul mock-glared at me, "Is the PDA necessary? Anyway, you look out of it. If you want to talk to your brother go ahead. Nothing ever stopped me from talking to Reggie, besides you talk so easily to Barry. Stop being so troublesome, Troublesome."

I kicked Paul in the shin, "My name is Dawn. D-A-W-N! Honestly can't you ever get it right, Sir Rudeness?"

Paul sent me a look, "Seriously? Sir Rudeness? Can't you come up with something better?"

I sighed, "Haven't we already had this conversation before? The only difference is that last time there was no comment on PDA and the topic wasn't Lunick. Anyway, how can I face him? You didn't ruin Reggie's life like I did to Lunick's life."

Paul rolled his eyes, "He's your brother. Even though I don't get along with Reggie or support half his decisions, he's still my brother, which means I still care about him. Talking to Lunick won't kill you."

As soon as Paul finished talking he grabbed my shoulders and turned me so I was facing the direction Lunick was in before pushing me forward.

I stumbled a few feet before stopping two feet away from Lunick.

It's now or never...

I sighed and walked the last few steps to Lunick and tapped him on the shoulder, "Can I talk to you?"

Lunick nodded, "Sure."

I sent a glance towards Solana before looking back at Lunick, "Alone?"

Lunick shrugged, "Fine."

I grabbed Lunick's arm and dragged him to a slightly secluded part of the cavern, behind a rock, "I'm sorry."

Lunick raised an eyebrow, "For what?"

I gave an exasperated sigh, "For everything, splitting our family apart, forcing you to leave, everything."

Lunick slouched against the rock behind him, "It's okay. It is mostly my fault anyway. Mom and Dad were fine with working something out, but I was the one that decided to leave. Since you don't necessarily need to go to Ranger School to become a Ranger in Fiore, I sent an application letter to Spenser, who replied saying that he would be happy to have me. The rest is history."

Why doesn't he just accept that it's my fault?

Why does he still defend me?

Even though he's my brother, he barely even knows me.

So what makes him care so much?

I sat down on the ground, "I just still can't help but feel guilty."

Lunick slouched down more until he was on the floor next to me, "It's ironic how you think you're the one solely guilty for tearing our family apart, but I feel the same way. I guess we're both guilty in our own ways. Our family's been torn apart so much that none of us really know who to blame but ourselves. I think that Barry might be the only exception because he didn't play that big of a role in it. It's kind of funny when you think about it."

He's right.

I stared at the ground Lunick sitting next to me and doing the same thing.

As soon as I found out about Barry being my brother, I've but all the blame on myself.

Mom and Dad are doing to same thing, so is Lunick.

I think that maybe even Hikari felt guilty, but we can't keep on blaming ourselves.

That will only keep us more apart.

If only we could fix it...

Maybe after all this is over, we can tell Mom and Dad that we all know the truth and start over again.

Maybe then we'll be a family.

*Lunick's POV, Tree of Beginning*

It's weird that Dawn feels the same way that I do.

It's not going to be easy to put our family back together.

We've each been broken so many times individually that if we try to put ourselves back together the pieces won't fit.

After a few minutes of silence, Dawn and I were pulled into reality when we heard footsteps coming towards us.

We both looked up to see Barry peering at us awkwardly, "Umm... Ash said that we're heading out now. Lunick you're going to go with the other rangers and Max along with the wild Pokémon to the top of the Tree of Beginning. Since most of the wild Pokémon here are wither rock or flying types, then you'll have an advantage up there. Dawn, you're coming with me and the rest of the trainers to the bottom of the tree. We don't really have much Pokémon that have an advantage over flying types."

I nodded, "I guess that kind of makes sense, but why is Max coming with us?"

Barry shrugged, "I think it's because it's easier to find a place to hide up there and Max is still a kid. No one really wants him to get hurt."

I stared at Barry confused, "So why did you guys even bring him along in the first place? Couldn't you have left him with a relative?"

Dawn answered, "Max was attacked by the SBS, we had to keep him safe and the only way to do that was to keep him with us."

That makes sense...

I sighed and got up, holding out a hand to pull Dawn up.

Well I'd better go with the rest of the Rangers.

I walked towards the other Rangers and Max, while Dawn and Barry headed back towards their friends.

As soon as I got to the rest of the Rangers, Spenser said, "We're going to go to the top of this tree/ rock formation. max says he knows the way so he'll lead us. Once we're at the top we'll split into groups of two; Kellyn you're with Max, Kate you're teamed up with Keith, Solana you'll work with Lunick and Elita will work with me. We'll each take one direction standing in four different posts. Now let's head out!"

Hopefully this plan works.

With that the eight of us headed out, following Max until we came out on a rock extension that looked like a giant leaf.

Spenser turned towards the rest of us, "Kellyn, you and Max take North. Keith, you and Kate take East. Lunick, you and Solana take South. Elita and I will take West. Now go to your posts!"

We all nodded before running in the directions that we were supposed to be positioned in.

Once Solana and I reached our positions, we gazed out to see a beautiful view of the landscape, a castle in the distance and trees and crystals everywhere.

It seems so peaceful...

I was broken away from my thoughts when I heard Solana yell, "Capture On!"

I looked to see that a few fake Legendries had appeared and that Solana had captured a few Pokémon with her Styler to help.

I sighed and took out my Styler, "Capture On!"

Hopefully we can win this!

*Paul's POV, Tree of Beginning*

Why couldn't the Hunters use normal Pokémon?

These fake Legendries are annoying!

Whenever you defeat one, it explodes into green goo just like monsters did in those old Saturday morning cartoons.

I jumped up an avoided some of the green goo, which hit the ground and then burned a hole.

Note to Self: On top of being just plain gross, the goo will burn you.

I glared at the Hunters who were commanding the fake Legendries I had just defeated and some others.

I turned towards Barry who was using his Empoleon's water attacks to stop any goo from hitting him.

Why didn't I think of that?

Oh wait; I don't have any water Pokémon with me.

Why didn't I bring one with me?

I cursed my idiocy before turning to my Frosslass and Torterra, "Just destroy those last few fake Legendries will you. I want to get this over with."

Both of them nodded and launched their strongest attacks, Frenzy Plant and Blizzard respectively.

I smirked and turned towards the Hunters, "We are so going to beat you idiots."

I opened my mouth to say something else when we heard someone yell, "You're all under arrest!"

Barry and I turned to see and Officer Jenny and some other policemen standing there.

At least the authorities can do more than we can.

Barry and I returned our Pokémon before smirking as the police arrested the Hunters.

Barry and I started to walk away when we heard Officer Jenny yell, "Growlithe, stop those two boys as well."

Barry and I went into shock as the Growlithe jumped on us and held us down.

Officer Jenny walked over to us and placed handcuffs on our wrists, "You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent."

Barry struggled against the cuffs, "We didn't do anything! I'm going to fine you for this!"

Officer Jenny only laughed, "You are all partially responsible for harming this tree, plus those men said you were working with them. They also said there were kids scattered around here working with them."

Both mine and Barry's eyes widened.

How could Officer Jenny have mistaken our identities?

To Be Continued...

I was originally going to end this chapter a different way, but this way seems good too.

Anyway, the next update will be on November 19.

Review. (^_^)