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New Divide

Chapter 28: Confession

Crystal and Raikou reach outside to the main floor and take in the night breeze as they enter the valley. Enjoying the scent of fresh air, the two heroes take the chance to look around and see that their allies are sitting on the grass nearby the lake and talking to one another. Some rings of laughter ring through the valley as their conversations vary. Crystal immediately knows that all is going well. Suddenly she realizes something and frowns in confusion.

"Where's Eclipso?" She looks around for the young phantom after realizing that her dear friend is missing.

"Ribo said that he is out patrolling. I wouldn't worry too much about him," Raikou shrugs. Then he smiles as he starts to head towards his friends. Crystal hesitates for a moment before following the tiger. A thoughtful frown forms on her snout. If what Raikou says is true, then why can't she sense Eclipso's aura? Is he-

"Cryssy! There ya are!" Rocky waves cheerily to the white Grovyle. His shout makes everyone turn to face Crystal and smile at her. Crystal smiles as she waves back to the Rhyperior. Then she joins the heroes sitting on the ground and sits right next to Raikou. "Sorry, guys. I was just finishing something. No worries, though." She apologizes.

"OK, if you say so." Violet shrugs. Then she grins as she wraps an arm around Cotton's shoulder. The pink Lopunny grins as she hugs the ghost back. It is quite obvious to everyone that the women are best friends now. "But listen; Cotton has a good story. And boy, is it funny!"

"Funny in a sadistic and twisted way," Ribo corrects as he takes a sip of his water and shakes his head at the female phantom. Crystal smiles and scoots closer to her friends as she listens to Violet and Cotton share their story. The Legendaries also listen into the story and share their input on the information. This earns lots of laughter as everyone enjoys their time together.

Raikou notices something off the distance just behind Scalene and Gallade's shoulders. He leans forward to get a better visual and squints slightly. To his surprise, Zoroark is walking towards the flight of stairs leading to the cliffs. The fox holds a thoughtful expression and narrowed eyes as he looks up at the sky.

Not wanting to make a big scene, Raikou gently nudges Darkrai and Ash. This makes them turn to look at the tiger in annoyance or confusion. Raikou makes a gesture with his eyes towards Zoroark's direction and the two men turn to look at the fox. When they see Zoroark alone, they quirk their eyebrows.

"Haven't you noticed that he's acting a little strange?" Raikou whispers, making sure that the other Pokémon won't hear him. Darkrai and Ash think about his question and then shrug. Raikou sighs as he explains, "He changes his personality randomly. He's a confident leader that suddenly changes into a nervous wreck. It usually happens whenever he looks at or speaks directly to Crystal."

This is true; if Zoroark so much as looks at or acknowledges Crystal, then he acts very uncomfortable. The boys then realize that the fox would be at the farthest end of a room when Crystal is around. He always sends the princess nervous glances every now and then.

Darkrai and Ash haven't given much thought about it. But now that they think about it, they realize that it's a big issue. As Crystal's guardian, Zoroark needs to protect the princess and yet he cannot stand to be within a few feet near her.

"Should we get Crystal and-"

"No; that'll probably make it only worse." Raikou shakes his head before Ash could finish the question. The boys watch the fox's movements cautiously. Suddenly Zoroark looks over at their direction and holds a slightly nervous look and another expression… Sadness.

Why is he so sad? What is it about Crystal that is making Zoroark upset? It's not as if he and the lizard have met before… Right?

Then the men notice Zoroark letting out a large sigh. Then he shakes his head and begins to walk forlornly up the stairs, dragging his feet in the process. The three heroes' bewildered looks now turn into concern. They ignore their friends' conversation as they wonder about what is bothering the fearless leader.

"Why don't we go see what's biting him?" Raikou suggests as he glances over at Darkrai and Ash. The two men hold looks of surprise as they look back at Raikou. "You know; just a regular guy-to-guy talk. If we involve anyone else, it might not end well. Besides, if it does involve Crystal in any way, then we gotta know so we can figure out some way to solve the problem."

"But why us?" Darkrai asks as he crosses his arms.

"Because apparently we are the only people here that notices Zoroark's behavior." Raikou states smartly. Darkrai pauses and notices that no one else is looking for the fox or has even noticed his lack of presence. Then Darkrai sighs quietly.

"Fine, kid. We'll do it your way, but for your sake I hope that you're right," He mutters as floats up. Raikou lets out a small smile as he and Ash stand up. Some of the heroes notice and look at them curiously.

"We'll be back. We're just gonna train with our new affinities," Raikou covers themselves with a good excuse to leave. This seems to convince the heroes since they merely nod and turn back to the conversation. The three boys quickly head towards the stairs. They look up at the flight for a moment before they take a deep breath and climb up the stairs. They fail to see that Crystal is watching them with a raised brow.

By the time the three heroes reach up to the top, they are nearly out of breath. Apparently, they had no idea how high they have climbed. They look back at the valley and see that the group is now the size of a marble from a distance. Pulling themselves together, the three men then look around for the fox but find no sign of him anywhere.

"Where'd he go?" Both Darkrai and Raikou ask at the same time. Ash taps them on their shoulders and then points to the side. The heroes turn to see that Zoroark is sitting on the edge of the cliff right next to a familiar berry tree and is watching the moon rising. Zoroark's body almost looks like an eclipse due to his black outline sitting in front of the moon. He holds his legs together as he enjoys the tranquility of the night.

The heroes quietly make their way towards the fox and watch him as the wind blows gently through their bodies. Zoroark doesn't seem to know that they are there since he makes no acknowledgement to their presence.

Unbeknownst to the heroes, Zoroark is thinking about them at this very minute. He knows that he has to make sure that Darkrai, Raikou, and Ash are safe as well. The three men seem close to Crystal. Maybe Zoroark can talk to them about what has been troubling him. He has no doubt that at least one person (save his own team) has noticed his behavior by now and wants to talk to him about it. If Zoroark is going to confess, he feels that Darkrai, Raikou, and Ash should be the ones that he should talk to. He feels like he can trust them with his issue. But can he?

"Zoroark, are you OK? Everyone's downstairs and you're up here all alone." As if he heard Zoroark's thoughts, Ash speaks out of nowhere and scares the daylights out of the fox. Ash frowns when he takes a better look at Zoroark once the fox turns around. Zoroark's face is pale and Ash notices that the fox's eyes are a little bloodshot and wet. Had Zoroark been crying?

"Don't scare me like that!" Zoroark takes in a deep breath as he clutches his furry chest. He then quickly wipes his eyes with his other paw. He eases a little as he turns to face the men and sits down cross-legged with his arms on his lap. Zoroark stares at the three heroes for a couple of moments before he speaks. "Actually, this is the perfect time. May I speak with you three for a moment?" He asks calmly.

"Um, sure…" Ash glances at the two Legendaries beside him. They shrug as they sit down right in front of the fox. Hopefully, Zoroark is going to tell them about what has been bothering him ever since he has arrived and how it is related to Crystal. "What's up?" Ash asks.

Zoroark rubs the back of his neck. The heroes have never seen him do this but it is plain obvious that the fox is nervous. The fox clears his throat and puts his paws on his lap as speaks more clearly. "Well, I want to talk to you boys about something that I hardly ever speak to anyone else about. It's something that I don't ever want to think about since it has happened long before I have met you all."

Darkrai's frown deepens and he gestures for Zoroark to continue. "What is it about?" He asks.

Zoroark says nothing for a long time as he tries to find the right words to say. "I want to talk to you about a spy that has once worked for Darkstar thousands of years ago."

"A spy?" Raikou crosses his arms in front of him and leans forwards to make himself comfortable. He looks at Zoroark in confusion. The fox wants to talk about a spy that has been long dead? Is he serious? But this seems important to Zoroark; if it bothers him greatly, then it must be serious.

"Yeah, but I have never thought of her as a spy," Zoroark continues as he glances to the side. He rests his elbow on his lap as he holds his cheek with his paw.

The heroes catch that last part of the sentence and their interest peaks. "Her? The spy was a girl?" Raikou asks curiously.

The dreamy look that appears on Zoroark's face catches the heroes off guard. "She was a girl, all right. A brilliant, kind, strong, and brave girl who has always looked at the bright side of things and has helped many Pokémon in need. A girl that I have fallen deeply in love with…" Zoroark's shoulders slump as he cups his chin.

The four men don't realize that a certain white lizard is hiding behind the berry tree as she watches them. Confusion strikes through Crystal's heart as she listens in. Confusion and… A deep feeling of recognition…

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