Fifteen minutes until 20:00. That was the time according to the clock in Dusk and Dawn's room. They didn't reserve it for the night--they just wanted to rest for a little while after the tiring events of the day.
"Can you believe that we actually saw Dialga and Palkia?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah. They were a bit closer than I wanted them to be, though. Nonetheless, to see Giovanni getting swiped off the mountain in a split second was worth it."
"Who woulda guessed that the crazed idiot we met back at the festival would have been the leader of the very team we were out to destroy..."
Dusk smirked. "So where do you think Roark is right now?"
Dawn shoved her head over the edge of the bed and looked up at Dusk, who was resting comfortably on the top bunk. "Do you actually think Brendan was right? That Roark's actually still alive somewhere?"
"I'm not sure if it'd surprise me much. I just want to know where Team Rocket ran off to...Two people I really didn't want to get away..."
Dawn sighed, then laughed. "A lotta stuff happened today, didn't it?"
"...I think I'll miss Latias," Dusk admitted.
Dawn rummaged through her bag, then got out of the bed and stood up. "Here, you can have this, if you want it."
Dusk turned his head. In Dawn's hand was her bandana. "What? No, it's yours!"
"Not really...I mean, I know that...you probably think of that whistle first, but I think it'd be cool if you symbolized your friendship with Latias with my bandana, you know? I mean, it's how you two first met, and everything...Besides, I want to take a break from it anyway, so just take it!"
Dusk smiled and accepted the gift. "Thank you, Dawn."
"A-Anyway, I, uhm...I'm going to go in for a shower now...and lock the door behind me, uhm," Dawn giggled. "And then we should...you know..."
Dusk sighed. "Yeah, I forgot about that..."
"They said they weren't leaving until late tonight! So we probably have, like, another four hours with them, or something...maybe..." Her voice got lower as the sentence went on.
"Well, I'll go find them now," Dusk offered. "I suppose I have to break it to Wizard that...that..." He gulped. "You know something? For a change, how about I go take a shower, and you tell Wizard that Torchic's flying a few thousand miles away from here?"
Dawn laughed. "No, thanks. In exchange, I'll go find a couple tranq darts to shoot at him to calm him down."
Dusk jumped off the bed. "Gonna need more than a couple..."
----------------------------
"All right. All right, fine, you won. Happy now?"
"You know, I bet I could have beaten both of you boys if I had a fair start..."
"Piikaaa..."
Brendan was on the top bunk, panting. May was on the bottom bunk, also panting heavily, though she had the company of Torchic and Wizard. The latter was enjoying his prize of the turkey sandwich that he had won.
"Don't bet against that rodent!" Brendan warned. "I've learnt that one the hard way."
May laughed. A person knocked on the other side of the door, so she calmed her laughter into more of a giggle. "Come in."
The door slowly opened, revealing their Sinnoh friend.
"Pika!" Wizard greeted, a small piece of meat unknowingly stuck on his lip.
"'Ey, Dusk, what's up?" welcomed Brendan casually, rubbing his eyebrows free of sweat.
"Umbreon," May got out of the bed and looked at him sincerely. "Is something wrong?"
"What? No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to talk to Wizard about, you know...you two tonight, and..." Dusk scratched behind his ear. "Are you busy?"
"Umbreon, actually, I was somewhat worried about you..." May hugged her friend, confusing him to no ends. "Today's been a long day for all of us, even though I only remember about half of it. But I...Brendan filled me in on some things, so now I know why Dawn doesn't have much feeling in her arm, and I..." May giggled, hoping she wouldn't embarrass her friend in front of Brendan. "...and I know how close you two have gotten, and I guess that I...just didn't know how you felt about it."
Dusk didn't appreciate that the 'it' could have meant multiple things. "Dawn's arm?" he guessed.
"Yeah...I mean, I know that Dawn's staying strong about it, but whether you know it or not, you have a tendency to worry when people lose feeling in their arm, Umbreon..."
Dusk smirked. Brendan was slightly confused, but he tried to avoid eavesdropping by closing his eyes and concentrating on something else.
"Oh! But, um..." May backed away from the hug, blushing. "If you want to talk to Wizard, I won't stand in your way. Sorry."
Dusk smiled and hugged May himself. "It's going to be so weird without having you around, May."
"Mm..." May smiled. She was happy to be considered such a good friend. "I'll never forget you, or our little adventure, Umbreon."
"All right, all right," Brendan interjected, waking up and looking at the two. "I'm gonna lose Wizard's sandwich if I have to hear any more of this. We're leaving in two hours, and it don't take us that long to say our good-byes."
"Two hours?" Dusk asked, somewhat shocked.
"Yes...I'm sorry, Umbreon..." May apologized, moving away from the hug once again.
Dusk sighed. Dawn's estimate had been further off than he wanted it to be. "...Can I use the shower in here? Dawn's got the one in the other room, so..."
"Oh, sure," May moved out of the way of the door.
Dusk stepped past her and walked into the restroom, shutting and locking the door behind him.
May looked at her bed. While Wizard was still munching on the sandwich, Torchic had grabbed his ear in her mouth and began nibbling on it. Despite appearances, it didn't seem to be hurting Wizard at all. May looked up at Brendan to see what his reaction of it was, then laughed.
A while passed, and Dawn stepped out of the bathroom. Dusk was already out of his own shower, and sitting on the bottom bed.
Dawn took notice that his hair was wet, but didn't say anything about it. "Hey...Umbreon."
"Hey," he answered back plainly. He gave Dawn's body a once-over and noticed how much skin was showing. "Got all those bandages off, huh?"
"Yep. I can't thank Mew enough for healing all those scrapes and bruises for me. I can't even imagine the pain I was in," she said with a laugh. "Anyway, did you already talk to Wizard?"
"I couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it."
Dawn chuckled as she set her brush back inside of her bag. "Well, we'll find some way to break it to him."
Dusk stood up. "You know...I think they just finished setting up the equipment out there."
"Equipment?" Before Dusk could answer, Dawn realized what he was talking about. A small smile crept to her face. "C'mon, Umbreon! I just did that for some fun last time. We don't actually have to do it again if you don't want to. Besides, after your duet with Giovanni, I figured you'd be tired of singing for the day."
"Well, I'm not, and I want to!" Dusk countered with an unusual amount of energy. His heart was beating a bit faster than usual. "I already know what song I want, and you don't even have to sing. I just need you up on the stage with me, all right?"
"Umbreon, what..."
"Oh, just c'mon!" Dusk surprised himself when he realized that he was doing to Dawn exactly what she had done to him last week. It only made the grin on his face larger.
The crowd whistled and cheered. The lights were dim, minus the familiar mirror ball spinning around the room.
"All right!!" The doctor held his own microphone, and he screamed that at the top of his lungs. The result was hurting everybody's hearing. "Whoops, sorry," he apologized, then turned the volume down on the mic a bit. "All right!" he repeated in a more bearable volume. "They're back, they're here, and they were the only ones to actually perform last week! Give it up for...uh...those two!"
As the crowd burst into spontaneous applause, Dusk leaned over to his blue-haired companion. "We were the only ones to get up here last week?"
Dawn giggled.
The side door opened up with May and Brendan looking through it. They saw their friends on stage and decided to use the darkness of the room to their advantage as they slipped into the back, unnoticed, and watched.
The crowd's reaction turned to suspense as Dusk cycled through the songs on the touch screen monitor. "This should be appropriate enough," he said, tapping on a selection.
Dawn was still confused. Though she was standing up on stage with nothing to do, she hardly even noticed that there was a crowd there. Her eyes moved from Umbreon to the machine, but she couldn't spot the title of the song in time.
"Good friends are those who stick together.
When there's sun and in the heavy weather...
Smile after smile,
That's how it will be,
Just you and me..."
The song continued, but Dusk decided to forgo it in order to do something else.
"Hey, May, Brendan? Why don't you come on up here?"
This caused Dawn to look out into the audience, trying to find the two people Dusk had beckoned.
The Hoenn Trainers looked at each other, both blushing. Between being busted when they thought they were hidden and being called up to do something as embarrassing as karaoke, the blush was founded. May finally started laughing and tugged at Brendan's arm, inclining him to follow her up on stage. "C'mon, Brendan! Just because we're leaving soon, doesn't mean we can't enjoy the time that we have!" she shouted over the music.
"...Shoot me." Brendan sighed and gave into her demands, reluctantly following her up the short flight of stairs to get to the stage.
The Pokémon Center's doctor began clapping, leading way for the audience to follow along. The warm welcome was enough to ease Brendan onto the stage and appeal to the crowd with a thank-you wave.
Dusk continued.
"Remember when we first met?"
The single line was enough to make Dawn laugh. She thought back to the first step she had taken into Umbreon's home and how nervous she had been. She nodded, though it was proceeded by looking at the ground shyly after realizing that she didn't need to answer the question.
May hugged Brendan, not caring how many people were watching them. "I certainly remember when we first met..." she mouthed, even though she was turned in the opposite direction of Brendan's face.
"We had such fun, oh I never will forget...
Since then, the times are so good!
We've always stuck together like best friends should...
Til' the end I will be with you,
We will go where our dreams come true,
All the times that we have been through,
You will always be my best friend..."
Once more, the song kept going, but Dawn stopped Dusk from continuing to sing by holding down the hand that was gripping the microphone.
"This is beautiful, Umbreon, but why did you feel that you needed to sing this?"
Dusk stood still, smiling at her.
"Huh...?"
Finally, he moved. Using nothing but his waist, he leaned closer to her until their noses were touching. He turned his head so he could get even closer until their mouths connected with each other. A soft kiss began.
Dawn had to confess that getting her lips sucked on wasn't the way she was planning on karaoke night ending. The Hoenn Trainers and a flock of on-lookers observing them only made the situation worse. It wasn't long, however, until everybody in the room seemed to disappear, as far as the girl was concerned. Everybody except herself and her love.
She put her arms around his neck and allowed Umbreon full reign over her mouth.
"Oh...!" May exclaimed upon noticing the two. The music was enough to block her out.
Brendan slipped out of May's hug and slowly took the microphone from Dusk's hand, who seemed to not even notice that it was moving. He looked out to the crowd and smiled. "Rest assured, folks, I don't think that's actually how the song ends," he echoed through the microphone.
Neither Dusk nor Dawn paid attention to him, though it did snap Dawn back to reality. She still didn't care what anybody thought, or how many people were watching.
Dusk pulled away for just a moment. "I love you, Dawn."
Dawn stopped to let those words register. The same words that she had tried so hard to say herself. "Maybe we're not on top of Mount Coronet, but..."
The male of the couple barely got to see Dawn's smile before she leaned in and began another kiss.
Brendan cleared his throat. "You know, they say that after two minutes without oxygen, the brain starts to--"
May shoved the microphone away from Brendan's face and began kissing him, taking it a bit further than the Sinnoh Trainers were. Her tongue reached inside his mouth and whipped Brendan's own tongue as punishment for making fun of Dusk and Dawn again.
In spite of the blaring instrumental music that was still playing in the background, the crowd was in a state of awkward silence. Some looked at one another for support, while others couldn't peel their eyes away from the make out session.
A little girl that was near the front began clapping. After one more person followed suit, the entire crowd broke into heavy applause.
All four stopped what they were doing and reopened their eyes, looking at the crowd. They all blushed at how strange it felt to be clapped for something like this.
"Well, May," Brendan began, rubbing the back of his head. "It may not be a Contest stage, but is this déjà vu or what?"
Dawn pulled her lips away from Dusk's. Instead, she hugged him tightly. "Let's go into a more...private place." She made sure that no one would hear her over the music.
Dusk wordlessly stepped off of the stage and into the room they were just in beforehand. Dawn was soon behind.
Brendan watched them run off, then turned back to the crowd. He looked at the microphone, then the crowd once again. "You know, if there's any women here that carries around a lot of dead presidents, I'll be more than willing to continue the show and--"
May slapped Brendan in the arm. He laughed and set the microphone back in the stand, then stepped off stage. May tried following him, but Wizard suddenly came bolting out of nowhere and climbed up to her shoulder. He pointed at the microphone Brendan had just set down.
"Pika Pika!" Had he not been right next to her ear, May wouldn't have heard Wizard over the music.
"Oh? Is that so?" May giggled, pretending she could understand him. "Well, all right, if you say so." She walked back on stage and picked a microphone up, then walked over to the song-picking machine and bent down to it. "Which one should we do?"
Being close to the machine, Wizard reached out himself and tapped a song. "Pika Pi!"
She laughed. "I'm not surprised." She lifted the microphone to her mouth. "Torchic? Are you out there?"
Moments later, a small, red chicken cheerfully hopped up the steps and onto the stage. "Torchic, Torchic Tor!"
"Pika, Pikachu!" Wizard licked May's face then hopped down to dance with Torchic.
May bellowed when she watched as Wizard helped Torchic twirl around, following the beat of the song.
"Pikachu!
You know that you're the one, so,
I choose you!
There's no one else, I'd rather
Have you by my side...and you can help me win this fight,
Because we need to face the challenge that's ahead!"
In the side room, both Dawn and Dusk could hear May singing clearly, causing them to smile. Despite what was to be expected, Dawn was on the bottom bunkbed, while Dusk was leaning against the wall. Neither had spoken a word to each other, until Dawn finally decided to break that.
"Umbreon...I..."
He walked a little closer to her and laughed. "I should probably apologize...A bit more of a warning probably would have been nice, I'm sure."
"No..." She stood up and walked over to him, pecking him with another kiss on the lips. "I want to apologize...I'm sorry, Umbreon..."
"For what?"
"...I never said that I loved you, too." Dawn kissed him again, a bit longer than the last one was. "I love you too, Umbreon."
Dusk hugged her. "...I see you finally put some of that perfume on..."
"Mm..." Dawn moaned. "Just tonight, I remembered that I even bought it..." She licked his neck and giggled.
"...You're not going to hate yourself for doing that, are you?"
"Oh, yes, I'm a very bad girl...punish me," she giggled. She kept her head on Dusk's shoulder. "The only thing I hate right now is what we're supposed to do when we go back home..."
"Oh? You still want to head back home for awhile?"
"Yeah..." Dawn sighed. "After all this, I think we should take a couple days' break. Besides...'our' home. I like the ring of that."
"Hm..." he moaned, rubbing Dawn's back soothingly.
Dawn nervously returned the favor, stroking her more-responsive arm up and down Dusk's back. "Hey, Umbreon? Can I share a secret with you?" She waited for a response, but got nothing except a faint nod. It was good enough for her, so she inhaled a deep breath and continued, "I might have...exaggerated a few things that I've told you about me..."
Alarmed, Dusk pulled back. "Are you a robot?"
The girl couldn't help a blank stare. After realizing that it wasn't a serious question, Dawn laughed heartily and fell back into Dusk's chest. "Not exactly..."
"Oh..." He returned to massaging her back. "That still would have been cool, though. Anyway, continue."
"Rowan..." Dawn began drawing circles on the front of Umbreon's shirt. It was a newfound nervous habit. "Rowan didn't really...take me in quite as soon as I may have led you to believe..."
Again, the newer Trainer pushed himself away from the hug. His expression was much more serious than it had been last time. "What?" he asked in disbelief.
"Don't get mad!" she begged. Unable to stand creating any more eye contact with him, she attempted to hide in his upper torso again. He stopped her before she had the chance, gripping her arms tightly enough so she couldn't reach forward. She sighed, then timidly lifted her eyes up to Dusk's. "I didn't lie to you, I just didn't say everything..."
"I'm all ears," Dusk replied sternly.
Dawn's gaze fell back to the floor. "It was, like...a day or two after Ashley died, and the house got...repossessed. And I...didn't really run into Rowan until about...two months later, and--"
"What?!" Umbreon's grip on his friend unknowingly increased. It hurt her left arm a little bit, but she said nothing about it. "So you were--"
"I was on my own for about two months," Dawn said, interrupting him this time. "I really wanted to catch a Pokémon, just so I wouldn't be alone, but I couldn't find any friendly wild ones, and I didn't want to spend the incredibly little money that I had on a Pokéball...So it was just me against Sinnoh."
Dusk finally realized what he was doing and released Dawn from his tough hold. She took the opportunity to rub her aching arm with her numb hand, but didn't seem angry at Umbreon in the least.
He tried saying something, but found that he couldn't do it while facing Dawn. Instead, he turned around. "You know, that just reminded me of Celestic Town...When we were there the first time, Brendan made some wisecrack about a homeless girl...You always seemed so confident and cheerful, but I could never get the thought out of the back of my mind..."
"...You have good instincts," Dawn complimented quietly after Dusk didn't continue.
"Hey, Dawn..." Dusk slowly twirled around until he was able to study Dawn's unsure face. "Thanks. It probably wasn't easy to admit that."
"Not in the least," she grinned a little. "But...I'm glad that I got it out in the open, too. I should really be the one thanking you, though." With a small step, Dawn stood in front of Umbreon. She cupped his chin with her finger and thumb and lifted it up slightly. "Thank you, Umbreon...for knowing all of my dirty little secrets, and still being here..."
"Always," he barely managed to say before Dawn's lips silenced him.
Three consecutive knocks on the door interrupted the moment.
Dawn broke the kiss, letting her head rest against Umbreon's chest once more. She kept her head aimed at the door. "Come in."
The door opened, with a bit of a downtrodden Brendan on the other side. "Hey, guys, how you doing?" he asked, strangely politely.
"...No wise crack that Dawn and I are so close?" Dusk blinked. "C'mon, it was an open shot..."
"No, no," Brendan laughed. "I'm past that. Hey, look, May asked if you two would come on back out for a minute."
Dusk and Dawn looked at each other, then followed Brendan back out to the lobby. He remained quiet on the entire trip, which was unsettling to the Sinnoh Trainers.
May was on stage by her lonesome. The two Pokémon spotted the group and ran over to them. Wizard hopped on Dusk's shoulder and got a welcoming petting by both of his Trainers. Torchic skipped over to Brendan and demanded that she be lifted onto his shoulder.
"My closest friends and I..." May had to rub her eye to stop a tear that was swelling inside of it. "We've been traveling around Sinnoh for a week or two, and, uhm...Well, since they're right here," May smiled at the two from behind her tearing, sapphire eyes. "I sort of have something to tell them that I've been trying to put off for as long as I could, and I guess announcing it in front of all these people will be the only way I'll ever get it out...Dawn...a-and Umbreon...Brendan and I...are leaving." She gulped. "...R-right after I finish up here."
"...M-May..." Tears came to Dawn's eyes.
Dusk looked at his own girlfriend. Watching her watering eyes almost made him cry along with her.
Brendan put a hand on both of their shoulders, seemingly to apologize for not telling them sooner.
May closed her eyes. "I...was going to get off the stage after singing that song to Umbreon's Pikachu, but I saw another song here, and I feel that...I...have to play it..." May sighed as she tapped a few buttons on the monitor.
Dusk took another glance at Dawn. She was biting her lip, clearly trying harder than ever to keep her tears from escaping.
The performing Coordinator closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could only pray her tears waited until she was finished with the song.
"I close my eyes, and I can see...
The day we met.
Just one moment, then I knew...
You're my best friend.
Do anything...for you...
We've gone so far,
And done so much!" May smiled. Those words were so true.
"And I feel, like we've always been together,
Right by my side.
Through thick and thin.
You're the part of my life...
I'll always remember..." The tears in her eyes were becoming evident in her voice, but she tried to stay strong.
"The time has come...
It's for the best, I know it...
Who could have guessed that you and I...
...Somehow, some day...
We'd have to say, 'good-bye'..."
May sniffled. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She ran off the stage, broken in tears, past some people, and into both Dusk and Dawn's arms. The spotlight followed her over. As if randomly, she picked Dawn's shoulder to begin crying on.
"Oh, May..." Dawn's tears began leaking onto May's shirt as well.
Dusk patted May's back hard a couple times. A single line of water from each eye fell down his face.
"Pika...Pikachu..." Wizard threw in sadly.
Brendan continued squeezing one of each of the Sinnoh Trainer's shoulders. Though he knew that he would deny it, tears flooded to his eyes as he choked a single time before pulling himself back together.
Dawn finally let out a small, unconvincing smile. "...May, I think you have a song to finish."
May smiled and rubbed the tears from her eyes, though she knew it wouldn't last long. "Yeah...I guess I do, huh?" She closed her eyes as she turned around and began walking back to the stage.
Since the song had continued playing, May picked up where it had left off.
"...And it seems, like we were always winning.
But as our team, is torn apart...!" She cringed, but continued.
"How 'wish we could go, back to the beginning...
The time has come...
It's for the best, I know it...
Who could have guessed that you and I...
...Somehow, some way...
We'd have to say, 'good-bye'..."
The words paused. Unable to keep her mind on singing, May began choking into the microphone. One last line finally came up.
"Somehow, today...
We have to say...good bye..."
May set the microphone down softly on the monitor, not so much as making an attempt to put it back in the stand. Her eyes were far too clouded to succeed in that. A small smile crawled on her face when the crowd started cheering for her, though she continued choking.
Brendan walked up on the stage. He took her body around his arm and helped her walk back down.
The doctor watched as Dusk, Dawn, Brendan and May all left the Pokémon Center to step out into the nighttime air.
All four walked up the road with nothing but the cries and chokes of the females making sound. The boys managed to not break down, if for only to defend their pride. They finally found themselves at a road which extended two ways.
"I guess...this is where..." Brendan clenched his fist. He couldn't finish his sentence.
Silence filled the air for a few moments. Nobody knew what to say.
May finally walked forward a few steps, causing Dawn to follow her. She giggled, though it was rather stuffed up. "You know that song that Umbreon serenaded you with? I think...we could have sang that song to each other, and it basically would have meant the same thing, huh?" She turned around and tried smiling at Dawn. "...My best friend..."
Dawn looked at the ground that she was kicking at with her foot. "I knew this was going to hurt, but...wow..."
"We've been really close for a really long time, Dawn...I still remember giving you my lunch that day that you forgot to pack your own..."
"May..." Dawn cried. "Thank you. For everything. It's because of you that me and Umbreon are together, and come on...you just flat-out showed me what being a friend is about."
"No, Dawn," May shook her head. "You and Umbreon were supposed to be together. I can't claim the credit for fate."
"I don't know if you remember or not..." Dawn wiped her tears on her sleeve. "But that scarf...It's mine, and I really want you to keep it. I gave it to you a couple days ago."
May smiled. "I was wondering why I had it on..."
"...I'm going to miss you so much, May..." Dawn finally needed a friend to break down to, and fell into May's arms.
"There, there...C'mon, Dawn, it's okay." Despite her words, May's face was getting red from crying so much. "Here, I want you to have a couple things from me as well."
"Please, May, you've given me so much already. You don't have to give me anything..."
"I'm not going to be remembering you because of your scarf while you're off forgetting about me, young woman!" May exclaimed sternly, though it was playful. "First, I want to give you this..." Without even taking it off, May reached behind her back and unzipped a compartment of her backpack. She fumbled around with it for a minute before grabbing the necessary item.
"Need help?" Dawn wondered, stifling a chuckle.
May handed her a tiny, pink box. "Open it," she requested.
Dawn accepted the box and pulled the top of it off. Inside was a dusty, somewhat worn ribbon. "What's this?"
"You still want to be a Coordinator, don't you?" May smiled. "That was the very first ribbon that I ever won in a Contest, and I've always carried it around with me since."
"...M-May, I can't take this. I mean, this has to be an endless source of memories for you, I just can't--"
May put her hand on Dawn's shoulder. "Brendan...told me about your family, and how this scarf is important to you. Dawn, if you're giving me the closest monument of your sister's, then I owe it to my best friend to give her something of equal importance to me. Please use it as a good luck charm for your Contests!"
"...Th-thank you, May..."
May began laughing. "My second gift required a lot of thought, and I was even forced to ask Blaziken for permission. Excuse me." May sidestepped Dawn and walked over to Dusk.
Dawn just watched her. "...Blaziken...?" she asked herself.
The woman stepped back to her first position; this time, Torchic was on her shoulder. She giggled. "All right, Dawn, put that box in your bag for right now, close your eyes, and hold out your hand."
Confused, Dawn did as she was told. She set the pink box in the main compartment of her handbag, then held both hands out and closed her eyes.
A moment later, she felt two claws on them. She peeked her eyes open to see a face beaming back at her. "Torchic, Tor!"
"What?!" Dawn exclaimed, stunned by the gift.
Her reaction somewhat amused May, even though she was expecting that to be the reaction Dawn would have. "I want you to have Torchic. There's no way I could fly back to Hoenn knowing that Torchic's crying her heart out because she can't see Wizard anymore! And I'm sure Wizard will be just as excited to be able to see Torchic every day. However, I decided that I have to throw a catch on giving you Torchic..."
"...Wh-what...?" Dawn stuttered. Her mind was stuck, unwilling to accept that she was getting an entire Pokémon handed to her.
May smirked and lifted up a red and white orb. "I get to keep Torchic's Pokéball!"
"Chic, Torchic Tor?" she cocked her head.
"That's right..." May petted the top of the curious Pokémon's head. "You're going to be staying here, in Sinnoh, with Dawn, okay?"
She bounced up and down in Dawn's hands. "Torchic! Torchic Torchic!"
May smiled. "It's all right, Torchic...Your mommy knows that you'll do just great on your own! And you know that you can always rely on Dawn, or Uncle Umbreon, or Wizard to help you, right?" She laughed at the way she addressed Dusk.
"...Torchic..." Tears were coming to the Pokémon's eyes after having left the humans'.
"I know, I'll miss you too...But, see, you're actually the lucky one. I want to stay here with Dawn too, but I can't. You can, though, and that's great! But I still expect you to be on your best behavior, Torchic! No burning Dawn like you did in the forest before, all right?"
"Chic," she nodded, slowly accepting her fate.
"...M-May, I can't take Torchic. She doesn't want to leave you, and it wouldn't be--"
"I...I don't want to leave you either, Dawn..." Tears came back to May's eyes as she hugged Dawn one more time.
Dawn held her numb hand to the side, letting the perched Torchic get a side-view of the two. She used her remaining hand to wrap around her close friend's back. "May...Is it okay if I say it?"
Even through all of the tears, May found yet another smile on her face. Her head was dug into Dawn's shoulder, however, so the younger girl didn't notice it. "Of course it is."
"I..." Dawn choked. "I love you, May..."
The female Hoenn Trainer gripped Dawn a little bit tighter. "I love you too, Dawn."
Meanwhile, the boys were keeping conversation lively. Brendan had his hand on Dusk's shoulder. Both were staring at the road for the most part, though they would turn their heads to look at one another occasionally.
"And remember, to just stay DEAD," the older Trainer taught.
Dusk looked at Brendan suspiciously. "Stay...dead. I'll...be sure to remember that."
Brendan laughed. "No, no, no. See, that's one of them acronyms that I use. It stands for, 'daffodils, envelopes, and doughnuts.' See, May's favorite flower is a daffodil. And, let's face it, chicks love getting flowers sent to them. What they love even more is the little note, or envelope, that are attached to them. That's where you write some romantic crap that doesn't even make sense to you, but it'll make their hearts melt. And then doughnuts. What else do chicks like? Food. Usually food with lots of sugar on it. Not all chicks, mind you, but you got to watch out for the ones that don't anyway. Trust me, it's old fashioned, but it works like one of them three-leaf clovers."
"It's four-leaf clover, Brendan..."
Brendan shook his head. "Nah, they don't work as well. Stick with three."
Dusk held his hand out. "Thanks, Brendan. For everything."
"'Ey, next to helping old ladies across the street, watching criminals get blown off a mountain by a purple dragon is my favorite pastime." Brendan looked at the hand, then back at Dusk. "Now c'mere and give me some sugar." Brendan took the hand and pulled it, bringing Dusk in close enough for a hug.
Dusk laughed as he crashed into Brendan's shirt. He didn't care about the awkwardness as he wrapped his arms behind Brendan's back.
"Really, though, kid, thanks. Not only were you there for May, but you gave me something to laugh about every time I think about them."
"...What?" Dusk asked.
"The mottos!" he yelled back.
"You get quite some amusement out of them, don't you?" Dusk questioned, leaving the hug.
Brendan also took a step back, then nodded his head. "Sure! Who doesn't, really?" He paused and looked off to the side. "All right, I suppose that ain't very fair. Really, Umbry, I've had a great time. Come to Hoenn sometime, and I'll make sure to return the favor."
"I'll hold you to that," Dusk responded with a smirk.
Brendan turned to Wizard. "And you...You keep your Trainer in shape, would ya?"
"Pika," he nodded sadly.
Brendan and May smiled as they passed each other while on their way to switching Trainers.
"H-here, Brendan," Dawn said hastily. "Please take Torchic back. She doesn't really like me, and suddenly being abandoned by May, I mean--"
Brendan laughed. "Torchic burned two of May's bandanas before she finally warmed up to her. This trouble maker..." He stopped to stroke the Pokémon's head. "just takes awhile to warm up to you, that's all."
"But, why did...May give her to me? I mean, she'd probably be better off with Umbreon, since--"
Brendan brought his hand up to his chin. "Do you...not want Torchic?"
"What? Well, I mean, of course I'll take care of Torchic, I just--"
Brendan interrupted yet again. "And May knows that. That's why she gave her to you."
"Well, so would Umbreon, and--"
"Dawn, Dawn, Dawn, okay, listen to me. Wizard and Torchic can't keep their hands off of each other. You and Umbry can't keep your fur off of each other." Brendan started hitting the tip of his two index fingers together.
Though it took a couple moments to realize what he was implying, Dawn blushed. "...Oh."
"That's also why she wants Torchic to stay ott'a her Pokéball," he went on to explain.
Dawn laughed. "I'm sorry, Brendan...I shouldn't be talking about May when you're going to be leaving for as long as she is, huh?"
"Ah, it's fine. You and May have been good friends since the day we started heading to Oreburgh. I know that you and I are probably the two people who got the fewest lines talking to each other, but it really has been a blast hanging out with you, Dawn. Not many people in Hoenn get the whole Jackie Chan thing."
Dawn smirked. "Thanks. Trust me, it's been...unique hanging out with you, too."
Brendan raised an eyebrow. "Something on your mind?" he asked, confused by her tone of voice.
"I don't...remember ever thanking you. I mean, sincerely, anyway," Dawn confessed.
"For what?"
"Sure, maybe we didn't have many lines or anything, but Brendan...I really do want to thank you for helping me out. I mean...well, all of it. Way back in that forest, before we even got to Veilstone...then there was Mount Coronet, obviously...When the PokéCenter blacked out, you knew that talking to me would help keep my fear in check, and..."
"Hey, I'll have you know that you returned quite a few of those favors. Especially in the whole scene of May's amnesia. No, I know you don't think that helped me out in any way, but trust me, it did. I woulda lost my mind if I didn't have help taking care of May some of those times."
"...And also, thank you for loosening me up a little bit." Dawn turned her head to the ground and rubbed the back of her head. "After being around Rowan twenty-four seven, a counterweight like you was exactly what I needed."
The Hoenn Trainer turned around, leaving his back facing Dawn. "You know, I..." he started nervously, "...I guess I kind of owe it to you to be honest. You were dead on with what'chu said back in Mount Coronet."
Dawn brushed some hair behind her ear, waiting for him to continue.
"I really don't want to leave..." Brendan twisted his head back, letting him glimpse at the somewhat-surprised eyes of Dawn. "You know? I mean, c'mon. Hoenn's better than Sinnoh, of course, but one thing that it's missing is anybody like you two. It's just been me and May by ourselves for a few years now, so to travel around with more people was just..." He turned his head around, gazing instead at the starry night. "I dunno. Maybe I'm just being sappy."
His sentence wasn't stated for any more than two seconds before two arms wrapped around his stomach from the back. "I'll miss you, Brendan..."
Dawn's head resting on his back startled Brendan for a moment. He easily recovered and set a hand on Dawn's own. "Yeah, I'll miss you, too..."
In spite of the smile she had given Brendan, May wasn't able to so much as look at Dusk without tears appearing in her eyes. She took a deep breath, gulped, and forced her last words to her Sinnoh friend out of her mouth.
"Umbreon?" she weakly began.
His back was turned. He already knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from crying if he was looking at May. "Hey..."
Her head hung low. Her eyes were twinkling, though instead of joy, it was because of the tears. "I will really miss you..."
Dusk fidgeted in place. The corner of his eye caught Wizard as he scampered towards May. "May, I owe you thanks for a lot of things, so if you don't mind, I won't run down the list."
She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that's okay..." She happily caught and stroked Wizard as he cried light tears into her shirt. Though it was rude, she ignored the rodent in favor of its Trainer. "If it's okay with you, I want to tell you that I'm sorry for your hand...It's all my fault, and I know it, and--"
"This?" Dusk turned around and lifted his left hand up. "It's healed, May. I'll probably take the bandages off tomorrow."
"But if I wasn't being so selfish, you--" May stopped herself and blinked when Dusk's words finally registered. "...Oh. It's really healed already?"
"Yep..." he replied absent-mindedly. His eyes had turned to May's stomach, where she was holding Team Missile's mascot at. "Wizard's sure going to miss you..."
"Not as much as I'll miss him..." May lowered her head. Her ears were able to pick up the Pikachu's restrained chokes. "By the way, Umbreon, I'm...really glad." She lifted her eyes up and looked at Umbreon with a tiny smile. "I'll let Dawn keep her secrets, but...I'll just say that she was really worried about how today was going to turn out. And...I think you made her a really happy girl tonight."
Dusk looked past May and at the other two. Dawn was laughing, though the fact that she was in Brendan's presence made it unsurprising. "I hope so," he answered back uncertainly.
"You don't need to do that." May shifted around, letting her also look at her boyfriend mingle with Dawn. "I know you did." She aimed her head at the road, closed her eyes, then lifted Wizard up. She kissed away a tear that was running down his yellow fur. She mumbled a word of assurance before turning to look at Dusk.
His fingers were rubbing his eyes at a vigorous, almost unhealthy rate. May assumed she knew why. "Well, I...doubt Brendan wants to wait around here much longer." He tried forcing a smirk, and just barely succeeded at it. "We don't need a Hoenn fanboy like him around here, anyway."
"...Umbreon..." May's shaky voice spoke, "...It's okay. I've been crying for the past half hour. I don't mind if you do it."
Dusk took slow steps towards May. He wrapped his arms around her back as soon as he was in a position to. Wizard was surprised at being sandwiched at first, but quickly got over it and resumed crying on May. "You've been a much better friend to me than you should have been..." He dug his eyes into the Trainer's shoulder for the sole purpose of blocking her from seeing any tears. "Thank you, May. You've done--"
"Shh..." May shushed, knowing that speaking was difficult for Umbreon right now. She removed an arm from supporting Wizard so she could place it behind Dusk's back. "You don't need to thank me. Everything I've done, I did it because you and Dawn made my first trip to Sinnoh spectacular. So, thank you, Umbreon."
More water quietly leaked out of Umbreon's eyes. May's shoulder was there to catch all of them.
Some time passed. The Trainers were standing next to their respective partners, doing everything they could to prevent any more tears from falling.
"So, where are you two off to?" Brendan asked.
"We're going to sleep in Eterna Forest for a quick kick of nostalgia," Dawn laughed. "Then we're going to head to Sandgem, and then...I'm not really sure." She looked at Dusk quickly, but he remained quiet.
Brendan cracked his knuckles, glancing at a smiling May before returning to the Sinnoh Trainers. "All right, before we take off, we got two last gifts for you. May, you want to start?"
She giggled. "All right...Here." May handed a once-folded small piece of paper to Dawn. "It isn't much of a gift, but that note has my cell phone number written on it. You know that you can call me anytime you need me."
"You have a cell phone?! The whole 'good-bye' thing would have been a lot easier if we knew that we could just call you on a phone!" Dawn exclaimed, slightly irritated.
May bit her lip, unsuccessfully blocking a smirk. "All right, Brendan, your turn."
"Next order of business. Dawn, May gave you Torchic, and Dusk, you received some invaluable advice by yours truly."
"I would actually say 'unvaluable' before I would 'inva--'"
Giving a light glare at the boy, Brendan interrupted, "However, the most important gift of all doesn't actually come from either me or May." The Hoenn Trainer grabbed a Pokéball from the side of his belt. "A friend wants to say good-bye." The Pokéball opened, freeing Chatot and setting it on Brendan's shoulder. "Say goodbye, Chatot."
"Goodbye, Chatot! Goodbye, Chatot!" the parrot squawked.
"Can't say I'm surprised by that," Brendan stated.
"Professor Rowan's dinky thing! Beat up Eterna Forest in a dark alley!" Chatot continued.
Brendan's eyes blinked steadily. "Where did you possibly come up with phrases like those?"
Chatot squawked twice before answering, flapping its wings in rhythm with it. "From the internet! From the internet!"
Brendan sighed and shook his head. The other three Trainers laughed. "That's enough, Chatot..." Brendan lifted a Pokéball up.
"For the win!" the bird managed to squeal before getting sucked back into its Pokéball.
"Some good-bye that was, huh?" Brendan's fist clenched. "...Well, May. I thi--"
"Wait!" Dawn interrupted, "Before you go...May, are you...still angry at us?"
May thought for a moment, then realized that Dawn was talking about their conversation soon before she lost her memory. She closed her eyes and shook her head, then opened her eyes back up and smiled at Dawn. "I could never hold a grudge on you for that long...best friend."
Tears came to Dawn's eyes as she smiled back at her. "Please take care...best friend."
"Now I know what the problem is!" Brendan randomly shouted, causing everybody to look at him. "Ionu," he decided.
May blinked. "...What?"
Brendan pointed at Torchic, who was on the ground next to Wizard, looking back at Brendan blankly. "Her name. Call her Ionu."
Dawn froze. "You want me...to nickname her?"
May nodded. "Sure! I like that name. What do you think, Torchic? Do you like the name Ionu?"
"Torchic!" She nodded her head eccentrically.
Dawn smiled. "Well, I guess you do need a nickname if you're coming with us, huh?"
"Umbry...Dawn...We'll see you around, all right?" Brendan turned to his side, ready to make his exit.
"We'll miss you so much..." May added, also turning to her side.
"We will too..." Dawn mumbled out. She didn't know if May had even heard her or not.
"Good-bye, May...Brendan..." Dusk gulped. It was harder every time he needed to say that.
Brendan and May finally turned their backs to them completely and began walking away.
Dusk and Dawn didn't move. They only watched as their friends slipped away. Soon before they were completely out of view, Dawn lifted her hands to her mouth and screamed.
"Hoenn rocks!!"
Brendan lifted his hand high into the air, keeping his index and pinky fingers extended.
Dawn laughed and turned around, starting her trek towards Eterna Forest.
Dusk followed her. "Let's face it, Dawn...Traveling just won't be the same anymore."
"Yeah, I know." For the first time in a few days, Dawn looked up to the sky as she walked. "But, it's okay. Look how much we've learned from them." She laughed. "Let's face it, Umbreon, we wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for them."
"That's a promising future."
Dawn laughed as she set her head on his shoulder.
----------------------
"You ready to blow this popstand, May?"
"I guess so..." she sighed. "Brendan, I'm going to miss them so much."
"We couldn't keep stepping on their toes. Remember that you promised me that way back before we were even permanent members of Team Missile. We had to back off eventually. Besides, you know that we're going to see them again."
"Yeah, you're right..." May looked back again. Even though she couldn't see her friends anymore, she still smiled. "So you think they'll come?"
"If they're Coordinators, dangit, they better come. Speaking of that, I have to say that I'm a little disappointed in them. You think they woulda eventually figured out that we're...a bit more than the average Coordinator. I can't believe we went almost two weeks without them finding out."
May giggled. "I was beginning to get worried when Miss Ashley there got talking about it..."
"Ish," Brendan cringed. "Don't remind me. A bullet barely dodged."
"Dawn, Umbreon...I'll see you in two months, okay?" May giggled, then accepted the Pokéball that Brendan was holding in front of her.
They each shot a Pokéball at the ground, releasing a Flygon from Brendan's and an Altaria from May's. Brendan had called up Professor Birch while May had been singing and asked him to send the two Pokémon to provide transport. They climbed up their respective Pokémon and looked back one more time. Finally, they looked at each other and sighed, then commanded the Pokemon to take flight. Their only destination was the faraway land of Hoenn.