Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, be it the idea, the creatures, or the world. Some of the characters in this story are my own while others can also be creditted back to the original owners. I take no credit for anything not mine, and thank the creators of Pokemon for giving me inspiration.

Author's Note: It's that time again! Update time, yay! Another POV switch before the story continues along it's merry (Or maybe not so merry) way

Chapter XXVIII: Aftermath

(Dawn's POV)

"Idiot!" Rowan's voice bellowed, seemingly echoing throughout the near empty Pokemon center.

Ventus' gaze was downcast, eyes shut. He seemed to have gotten over his initial depression, at least somewhat, and had returned to his usual sarcastic self when we checked Riolu in with Nurse Joy for treatment. Luckily, he would be just fine in a few hours, despite his grievous injuries. "You said that already…" The fighter's trainer muttered, seemingly only to enrage the professor even more.

Rowan paced back and forth before Ventus, his usual manner of walking when he was in the mood for giving lectures or reprimands, I'd noticed; this was easily the latter. "Imbecilic!" He shouted again, almost as if he was physically unable to keep his frustration under control.

The boy sighed, and tilted his head upwards, finally opening his eyes as he stared up at the ceiling, "Said that too…"

The professor stopped, and faced him, "Do you have ANY idea what you've done? Any idea at all, boy?" He'd returned to calling him boy already? And here I thought they were finally becoming friends…

Ventus looked in my direction, to which I could only shrug. Despite having more experience dealing with the professor – Albeit less when he was in this manner of mood – I could contribute nothing that might ease the conversation to a happy conclusion. If the professor was angry, we would all have to deal with it until he was satisfied; that was just how it went. The boy looked back at Rowan, "It's commonly known as helping." He quipped, quite sarcastically – Was he TRYING to tick him off further or something?

I understood that he was upset, especially after what that arrogant Ketrick had said but… Ventus wasn't going to make many friends if he kept acting like this. The professor, granted, probably wasn't helping manners, but I was sure there was a reason for his anger. "That's not what I'm talking about; do you not realize what you've done?" Rowan spoke, his voice growing somewhat calmer, "You've been marked now, boy."

The statement befuddled not only Ventus, but myself as well. My fellow trainer shot the professor a confused stare, "Marked? What do you mean?"

The question went unanswered, for Rowan had begun to pace again, arms gently crossed behind his back; he was going to lecture us now. "Do you know the reason why Team Galactic has existed, thrived even, for so long? Why it is permitted to stay clear in the publics eye, doing whatever it is they wish with absolutely no fear of opposition?" he asked him.

Once more Ventus and I exchanged glances; neither of us had an answer. They were certainly frightening people, but they remained just that; people. Surely whatever the reason was had to lie with some strong connections to someone of great authority. Rowan stopped and faced us both, "It is because whenever someone, regardless of who, gets in their way; they THEMSELVES are removed as an obstacle."

For a moment my heart stopped. One looked at Ventus' expression showed that he, too, felt similar. He looked rather stunned, to say the least. "Removed?" He finally choked out, rising from his seat and staring wide-eyed at the older man. "What do you mean removed?"

Rowan coughed into his fist, and turned away from Ventus, starting for the stairs to the second floor of the center. He cast a sideways glance in my direction, "I'm going to bed now Dawn; I'll see to your report in the morning. Don't lose it before then." He told me, before departing for his room.

Ventus stomped on the floor angrily; "Hey!" he shouted after the professor, "Answer me!" The boy shook his fist angrily, turning to me only when Rowan had vanished from sight.

'He didn't answer on purpose…' I realized, suddenly growing very afraid of what the answer might have been; Ventus too, likely knew what was implied.

The boy flopped back down on his seat and buried his face in his hands for a moment. I listened for sounds of sobbing or something of the like, but he was through with that, at least for now. Poor Ventus, and he had tried so hard to hide it on the way in… I looked back, over the counter and into the back room; still no sign of Nurse Joy. I was surprised; shouldn't she have come out when the professor was shouting? Maybe Riolu's injuries simply required her full attention? I looked back at Ventus.

It was surprising to see that he was left uninjured, at least physically, by the encounter with the Galactics; both Ketrick and Sammis were much bigger then he, yet the boy had dropped one with only one punch! He might've gone even further had I not stepped in, 'He's probably still mad that I got in the way…' I thought sadly, though still knowing full well that there was no other way.

With the Galactic's being practically untouchable, it left only Ventus to get in trouble for public brawling. Even if he wasn't the instigator to the conflict, nor the source of it, he was still in the wrong for striking that man. Though, despite that, I almost envied him for getting the chance to do so. Ketrick was scum; he deserved what he got... I looked on at the boy for seconds more, still wondering if he was indeed still angry.

"Ventus?" I risked.

He didn't look up at me; rather spoke in a muffled manner through his hands. "What?"

Yup, defiantly still mad. I decided against what I was going to ask and opted to change the subject entirely instead; "Why did you ask me about Ralts before?"

The question must have caught him off guard; he looked up. Then again, it surprised me as well – I didn't realize I was so curious about it. The boy wore a look of some confusion as he stared at me, "What're you talking about?"

I pointed out the nearest window, as if to indicate where the event had taken place when, really, I hadn't the foggiest which direction I had just indicated. "Outside Jubilife, when you were headed to Oreburgh. You asked me…" I stopped momentarily, trying to recall his exact words, "You asked if Ralts were common to the area, or the Sinnoh region. I forget exactly which, but that's not the point. I'm just wondering why you asked is all." I held up the clipboard at my side for him to see, "It would be helpful to my report if you'd seen one…"

He didn't answer, rather he reached into his vest; this was even better, maybe he had a picture of one! For a moment, he looked even more confused, as though something was missing, or out of place, but finally retracted his arm and tossed something forward, onto the floor before me.

The Pokeball burst open in traditional fashion, the light surprising me momentarily, and causing me to turn away to avoid being blinded. When I looked back, I could not help but gasp; he had found a Ralts! Even managed to capture the little creature; this was remarkable! Psychic types like Ralts, alongside Abra, were notoriously hard to find, and even more so to capture thanks to their teleporting abilities; for a novice like Ventus to catch one… "Wow…"

Almost immediately, the Pokemon turned away, staring up at Ventus; the action caused it's trainer to frown somewhat. "Not again…" He murmured, half to himself, resting his hands on his knees and leaning forward to return the stare.

Tilting my head curiously, I watched the pair for a moment, trying to decipher just what had caused such a negative response from Ventus. When sights alone told me nothing, I decided to ask; "What's wrong? Why's it just staring at you like that?"

The boy leaned back in his seat, throwing his hands up in the air, "No clue!" he exclaimed, as though at wits end for an answer, "She's been doing that ever since I caught her – She even managed to break out of her Pokeball when I was asleep, and when I woke up…" He pointed at Ralts, "I got that same look; wouldn't be surprised if she was staring the whole time."

Frantically, I began to scribble down Ventus' words onto a new sheet of paper; how interesting! Ralts weren't even supposed to dwell in the Sinnoh region – Not in the Jubilife area, at any rate – And here Ventus had managed to find and capture one. Not only that, but he'd found one with some strange traits to it as well. As far as I knew, Pokemon, upon capture, could not escape their Pokeball unless the trainer called them forth, or they were released; what Ventus said bordered on impossible! Yet at the same time, it was truly intriguing, "Professor Rowan's going to love this…" I spoke gleefully to myself as my pencil raced across the paper.

"Are all girls this weird?" Ventus abruptly asked; I looked up to find he was giving me a strange look.

"What do you mean weird?"

He pointed at Ralts for a moment, "This one won't stop staring at me…" His finger moved to indicate myself, "And you're getting all excited over something that just has me baffled – AND weirded out!" With a sigh, he fell back into his seat and covered his hands with his face, "I wish Riolu were here right now, at least he makes some sense to me…"

Despite the minor insults to both myself and my gender, I could only smile at Ventus. Even if he was rude sometimes, he was still a good person – His caring for Pokemon was more then enough proof of the fact. Riolu seemed positively ecstatic around Ventus, and his newly acquired Ralts seemed to have some attraction to him as well – Why else would it stare at him as much as he claimed if it didn't like him even a little? – Not to mention what he'd said to Ketrick… My expression turned grim as I remembered the encounter; quickly, I returned to my notes.

The center was silent until I finished. After placing the clipboard beside me once more, I looked down at the Ralts on the floor; she remained ever silent, watching Ventus with the same blank expression it had donned since being called out. The boy had a point, it was kind of creepy. "You didn't happen to see Sye around, did you?" He suddenly asked, drawing my attention back to him.

Quickly, I shook my head, "Not since he was at your house, no."

Ventus scoffed some, and looked up at the ceiling again, "Guess he really did go on ahead – He's probably long gone by now."

A small giggle escaped me, followed by a sly grin. I leaned back in my own seat and stretched my arms out before me, "Jealous?" I asked in a teasing sort of manner.

If the sense of rivalry between the two boys was meant to be some manner of secret, Ventus' reaction gave it all away. Just as quickly as I had spoken did he leap to his feet – Surprisingly, Ralts didn't move an inch; she didn't even flinch! "No way!" The boy shouted, his tone surprising even him.

Somewhat embarrassed by the noise he'd made, he fell back onto the couch he was sitting upon and looked away, "Not really, anyway."

I looked off into the back room – Still no sign of Nurse Joy or Riolu yet. 'Guess it really will take a few hours to heal him…' The poor creature; he'd looked so beat up when I was holding him… How could Team Galactic be so cruel?

Either the events of the day had gotten to Ventus, or something else entirely had, because he was being far too quiet – Not at all like him. Usually he would've broken the silence by this point with a random question about something obvious; as was the nature of every rookie trainer. 'But now…' I looked back at him; he seemed to be having a staring contest with Ralts, 'Too bad his Pokemon has a huge head start.'

Finally, I decided to fill the role of silence breaker and ask something, "How did your gym match go?"

He looked away from Ralts, still quiet. Again, I found myself pointing out the window once more – Boy; I hope that was the right direction. "In Oreburgh… You did find the gym there, right?" Given how close to city limits it was, I was quite sure I wouldn't be able to silence a laugh if he couldn't find it.

Rather, the opposite, as it turned out; Ventus nodded, and opened his vest slightly; sure enough, the Coal Badge was pinned to the inside fabric. Despite his unusual sullen attitude today, he managed a small smile, "They did great, despite the odds." He told me, indicating Ralts with a nod, and Riolu with a gesture towards the back.

I was glad; not just because Ventus had won his match, but also because of the way he spoke of it. Most trainers, at least according to what the professor had told me, were all too boastful about their first gym battle, claiming the day had been won by their brilliant tactical expertise, as opposed to raw determination and power demonstrated by their Pokemon. More then often, Rowan had said, it was in fact due to the compatibility between both Pokemon and trainer that won the first match… And luck. Lots of luck.

Ventus, thankfully, knew when to give credit where it was due; I became increasingly more at ease. 'As long as he stays away from Team Galactic, anyway…' the grim reminder imprinted itself in my mind, and all too quickly did I recall the professor's warning.

I found myself looking towards the stairs, where my mentor had departed to, before speaking again. "About what the professor said… Are you worried?" my tone was soft, so much more different then in the previous question.

For a moment, the boy seemed surprised, even confused, until the realization struck him. Quickly, he looked away, not wanting to make eye contact when I turned to face him. "About being marked by the Galactics? I'm not worried…" He was lying; I could see it.

Yet in that, I saw no fear, not of Team Galactic, anyway. He wasn't afraid of them, of their power, or their influence, tonight had more then proven that. That Ventus had been so reckless, despite the numerous warnings from both the professor and Ketrick himself, showed he was unafraid of what the Galactics could, and surely would, do to him. His expression changed rapidly, switching quickly from looks of determination, to anger, even to hints of hesitation. He may not have feared them, but something else was troubling him – Something big.

But if I knew Ventus – And, granted, I didn't know him that well – He would deny it completely.

Of course, I could always be wrong as well; he could be fine, what did I know anyway? "If you say so…" I finally replied, pushing away the doubt I felt, and trying my best to ignore it.

Giving his Ralts another look – Yup, still staring, of course – I rose from my seat and stretched my arms over my head, "I'm going to head upstairs; I need to add a few things to my report before tomorrow… You're going to wait for Riolu, right?"

The stupidity of such a question was only worsened by the blank stare he gave me. The answer of obvious; he wouldn't be moving anytime soon. I gave a soft nod, and headed for the stairs, stopping only to give one last look towards the two. "Ventus." I added, causing him to look over at me.

I smiled, "Thanks for saving me."