I own a very adorable lolita OC named Verity who I totally have a jealousy-crush on~

I do not own Pokemon, or 'Time Heals' by Bhi Bhiman


Chapter 27: Chance Encounter

"And so the whole deck freakin' blows up behind us, and we all jump into the water. But get this, when I turned around to see if that Chandelure was still following us, the whole damn thing isn't there anymore! It's just freaking gone!"

On-screen, Professor Juniper's green eyes widened considerably, biting her lip as her eyes flitted back and forth as she attempted to digest what I had just dumped on her (which was pretty much the entirety of the day). She pondered the information, a light smile on her face. "How unusual indeed… finding a ship piloted entirely by Pokémon much less a Chadelure with a shiny obsession…" she scribbled down a few notes on a Minncino notepad situated in front of her.

Hearing it all repeated back to me, it only made me feel awkward how weird indeed this day had been. I smiled weakly at the first, but perked up at her inquisitive tone on the last part. "What do you mean it's weird to find a wild Chandelure?"

Juniper smiled around the pencil pressed up against her lips. "Chandelures can only evolve from their previous evolution, Lampent, when exposed to a dusk stone, which are exceptionally rare, and are mostly cultivated for trainers' use. Finding one in the wild, much less a Lampet finding one, has an exceptionally high improbability."

I felt my face fall flat again. "So I probably should've caught it then…?"

"It would have been a great help."

I let out an exasperated sigh, and whispered a 'fuck' low enough that Juniper wouldn't hear it- she always got on to me for excessive cursing. "I'll remember that next time I'm running for my life."

Juniper laughed, a bright sound like a happy Chimecho's bell. On-screen, she ruffled her papers into a messy pile, tucking a frisky hair that had wound its way out of her immaculate bun behind her ear. "Hmm, well I'm glad I can depend on you in a pinch then."

I smiled back, tightening my arms around Thorn sitting in my lap, antsy as the silence filled the cubical we occupied in the Castelia Pokémon center. The moment we reached the shoreline, Cheren had rushed Bianca off to the walk-in clinic down the street from the frontal docks, and leaving me to my own devices, I decided to go check in with Juniper and recount the tales of our less-than-stellar day. I twiddled my thumbs awkwardly as I struggled to find something else to say to Juniper in the absence of the chatter in the lobby behind me.

"… I miss you a lot Professor… it's been weird not seeing you every day."

The Professor's own face lit up with a happy pink flush and she smiled back through the screen at me, shining eyes bright with motherly love. "I miss you too, Mina. I miss all of my little shadows…" she chuckled. I smiled at her words. 'Shadows' hardly described our dedication to her; 'stalkers' was a more appropriate term, but I'm sure Juniper was too polite to call us that.

"Yeah, it's been what…. two years since we last spent a day apart?"

"Hmm, yes. I'm sure to your parents' everlasting annoyance."

Juniper could tell by the look on my face as the words left her mouth she had struck a cord, the playful tone in her voice lost as my face tensed up and I could sense my temple starting to twitch. My mother and her mental state had always been a touchy subject, and Juniper had always been respectful of that; I couldn't blame her for one slip up. I shook the clenched look off my face and replaced it with a limp smile. "Yeah… I bet Bianca's father was sure you were going to kidnap her or something…"

"Perhaps… that would be funny." The Professor's mood had fallen as well, and though she laughed a bit at the last comment, it sounded hollow. It was her turn to twiddle her thumbs as silence encircled us again.

But this time I didn't let it linger. I flashed her as genuine of a smile as I could sum up and placed my finger on the red end-call button on the keypad set in front of the screen. "Yeah… hey, I'll let you go so you can go attend to your experiments and such, but really, it was nice to talk to you again Professor… and you have nothing to worry about, we're all doing fine."

Juniper was startled at first, but then her face seemed to catch up with my voice and she nodded. "Yes, it would be good if I went and inputted this data you've gotten for me. Thank you so much, sweetie. Say hi to Cheren and Bianca for me~"

"Of course. See ya, professor." I pressed the button without another word or a second thought. The screen flooded with pixelated darkness and the hum of the machine fell silent. I sat back on my stool, resting my hands on top of Thorn's head and frowning lightly. Juniper was the only one it didn't feel right to lie to—or at least semi-okay. It only made me twitchier.

I did kinda walk into that…

"Don't sweat it, Mina. It's the Barbie Doll's fault, not your's. Get over it."

I peered down and caught a glimpse of Thorn's dimmed maroon eyes from between the slits in my fingers. I frowned deeper at him. "I'm fine, and don't call her a Barbie Doll—I find that offensive."

Thorn hardly blinked. "But really, have you seen those hips? They're like… gotta be fake or something. Have you ever asked her about it before?"

I groaned and picked myself up off the chair, pushing Thorn off my lap without ceremony. "Oh, my Arceus, I am not having this conversation with you right now."

Thorn rolled his eyes, swaying loosely beside me as I hurriedly walked back into the main lobby. I glanced around, eyeing the growing line for check in at the front desk (damn, that's what I get for coming into a Pokécenter at fucking 7:30, prime check-in hour). Even all the hard plastic orange lobby chairs were full with impatient trainers and fussy Pokémon waiting for the line to go down, my will to stay nearly depleted by now. And then a thought settled over me: Thorn's missing Miracle seed. I felt my insides jump a little at remembrance of its disappearance. I wheeled around to face my Servine, eyes so wide I could feel the tension in my eyeballs.

"You're awfully calm for someone who just lost his Miracle seed! Why the fuck didn't you remind me about that?!"

Thorn snorted, reaching into the folds of his collar and what does he pull out, a gleaming teardrop-shaped, light green gem. He twirled it on the tip of his finger casually, flashing me a toothy grin. "Don't get your boxers in a bunch, I got it back when the fire-freak got slammed against the wall by Cherry's Skitty-cat."

I gaped openly at the Miracle Seed, almost like I had never seen it before. "Wai—what? How-w… wha—what?!" I wrung my hands through my seawater-frizzy hair with half a mind to just start ripping it out. "And how did you forget to tell me?!"

Thorn frowned. "I'll remember that next time I'm running for my life."

I was tempted to snap back, but relief flooded my body and I decided not to pick a fight I couldn't win (like I ever could win one against this creature).I ran another hand through my hair, wincing as one of my ragged fingernails caught on a clump of hair and took a particularly hard tug to get out. Watching the black-brown hairs fall from between my fingers, a wave of deep depression sunk my spirits even lower. I cast a glance down at Thorn; another at the endless line and at the glass doors leading out into the moonlight world. Suddenly, I got an idea.

I hunched forward, squatting down at Thorn's level and flashed him a grin—which came out more like a grimace but whatever. Reaching out, I ran a hand down his head, ruffling the leaves clinging to his neck on the way down. "Hey, I got an idea… how about we go for a walk—like around the city. Enjoy the night and all."

Thorn glanced over my shoulder, wincing as he laid eyes on the check-in line, which was pushing up against the glass doors leading into the center now. His eyes frosted over with a cold deadness and he looked away. "Not really. Today's kinda been one crotch-shot after another, and I don't know about you, but my balls hurt." He mumbled. "So Imma gonna pass."

I frowned; the wave was back. "R-really… I mean, um okay." I straightened up, feeling a little hurt I was shut down so brutally. Goddamn… "So, uh, what are you going to do?"

Thorn gave me a sharp look out of the corner of his eye, proceeding to roll the red pupil and stick his hand out. "I'm going to stay here and ice myself. Gimme some cash and I'll stay put." He wiggled his fingers for emphasis.

My temples were throbbing again, a hot flash of momentary rage eager to be let out, but my brain shut it down as I forfeited resistance to my Servine again; there was no point in dragging him around, making him miserable which in turn would make me miserable and then everything would be shot to hell anyways. And I still wasn't in the mood for a fight. With a blank face, I pulled my bag around from my side, unzipping the pouch and dug around for my wallet. I had been exceptionally good about keeping track of my finances since the little fiasco at brunch in Striaton City (never again will I live off of $12; Thorn wouldn't let me), and had actually taken the time to organize all the crisp pokédollars by amount; I pulled out a twenty and dropped it into Thorn's waiting palm, taking care not to touch him.

"There, squirt, have fun. Don't order too much room service."

"And if I did, you would just clean up the vomit anyway. You do 'own' me, remember darling?"

I grimaced, turning on heel and walking away before I bopped the little freak on his head. "And on that note, I'm leaving…" I began to zip up my pouch when something red caught my eye—oh…

"Sayonara."

"Wait a minute, I'm not leaving you without a babysitter~" I said without emphasis, turning around to face a puzzled Thorn as I withdrew the gleam from by bag and brought it out to dazzle in the light. "Eevee, c'mon out." I clicked the button on the front of the spherical device, the ball making a pop! sound and the dematerialized form of my other Pokémon began to take shape on the ground. The large rounded ears popped up first, followed by the scruffy head, petite body, and ending with the flicking fluffy poof of his tail. Eevee cooed a bit, opening his wide brown eyes and taking in the surroundings.

"Eeeeve?" he chirped, taking a look around before locking eyes with me, his body going rigid when amber eyes locked on cobalt orbs. He shook himself out, clamoring to his paws and coming to stand at my feet. "Am I needed, trainer?"

I was tempted to stroke the creature when he approached my feet, but the tenseness in his spine cast off the urge like a boat setting sail—a boat that I had apparently decided to rip my ticket for up anyways. I pointed at Thorn. "You guys are free to stay here at the Pokémon-center while I go check out the city. I mean either of you are free to come—" I left the words in the air for a moment, waiting for any interruption; none came so I gave up and began to make my way to the door.

"Just stay safe, and out of trouble. I'll be back in a few hours."

Without looking back, I began to push my way brusquely through the herd shuffling its way to the front desk, not caring if I stepped on toes or trampled on the tails of jackets or Pokémon alike; there was no serenade of chatter from behind me and I knew my Pokémon had turned away. Whatever.

It's not like I needed their okay for anything. I knew I had pissed them off, but I was in no rush to apologize right now. They needed me as much as I needed them anyways.

OOOOOOOOO

The night was cool to the touch though the haze of heavy black exhaust hid the sky from the ground; nevertheless, it was the perfect night for wandering around aimlessly. The street the Pokémon-center was running horizontal with the docks, the Castform-blue channel stretching out beyond the wooden boundaries of the moor. I had propped myself up on the concrete seawall separating the street from the sea, humming to a song on the radio played on my X-transceiver. In the end I had been too lazy for a 'walk' around the city, opting for sitting by the docks and enjoying the uncharacteristically cool April breeze; my hair was out of its ponytail and floated lazily over my shoulders.

"Tiiiiime, they say, heals a broken heaaart, but time has stood stiiill… since weeeeee've been apaaaart~" I screeched along off-key to the song, though I had never heard it before; the words seemed simple enough and true enough to have already been etched into my heart. I bit my lip, trying to not focus too much on the actual words to the song and keep my attention on the tempo and the sharpie in my hand; how Eevee had reacted to me kept popping into my mind though. He was cold… on edge. Not at all the warm friendly creature he had always been. What did I do? I blinked back the urge to start throwing a temper tantrum, going back doodling flowers all over my hand, spiked exotic lilies dancing from my knuckles dressed in vines to my wrists, where they curled like Serperiors poised to strike. Their lethality only made my insides more hostile.

Just for fun, I doodled Thorn's head on a flower, smearing his nose with a finger on accident, then deciding I liked it better that way. Sirens blared in the distance, but I paid no attention to the distressed sounds, focused back on the song and my doodling—there was a lighthouse off in the distance that had caught my eye, a black skiff of some-sort making quick time seeming to be headed straight for it. I started doodling the jagged outline in the distance on my other hand.

"… And I fought back my feelin's… yes I fought back my tears, and my senses had been reelin'—"

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

The song was suddenly scrambling, the ringtone on my X-transceiver fighting against the song for speaker space, the result being a cacophony of painful scratches across my ears. I flung the sharpie down, helpless as it rolled off into the water, but I didn't care enough to stop it. I fumbled with the device, flying through the passcode (which was just my mother's birthday) and flicked off the radio as fast as I could, leaving only the buzzing chime of the call tone left squeaking through the craggy speakers. I had half a mind to just throw the damned thing into the channel as well, but the caller ID finally popped up and I decided this call might've been worth it.

"What?" I answered the phone; formalities and manners were lost on me, not that my friends weren't already used to it.

"Mina! Get your ass over here, it's an emergenc—"

"MIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAA"

"Wha-what?!"

Two mismatched voiced were screaming at me through the X-transceiver, the first and only slightly agitated one clearly Cheren, trying to keep his cool, while the other one wailing like a dying animal was also just a clearly Bianca. A chorus of several other voices came in from the chaotic sounding background, but there wasn't enough coherency in the chatter to form complete words. Switching the X-transceiver from speaker to holographic mode, the flustered image of a teary-eyed Bianca and a pissed Cheren came through along with… Burgh?! What the fuck was he doing there?!

"Mina! How good to see you agaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain! Ooh, your hair looks so niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice down like that!" Burgh chirped, pushing forward through the blockade of shoulders barring him from the front. "Betcha are waaaaaaaaaaantin' to come challenge the gym, right? Well, soooooooooorrry, but right now it looks like we're in the middle of a lil' crisis~"

"For the love of Arceus, just tell me what's going on before I hurl all of you into the ocean for bugging me for no reason." I growled, cutting the gym leader off. I was in no mood to put up with this; Cheren nodded tersely into the screen, pushing Burgh off camera for a moment and taking his turn to stick his head close to the screen. I could see the beige Band-Aids across his nose through smudges on his glasses.

"Mina, you're down by Prime Pier, right?" Cheren spoke quickly into the device, eyes cold with a fierceness I had only seen twice before. My heart skittered in my chest at the imminent thought, though I pushed it back down and snapped back into the screen.

"Yeah, and why?"

"Weeeeeeeeeell, dear, it looks like Team Plasma has been sighted near there! We're on our waaaaaaaaaaaay down there now!" Burgh hopped back into screen, curly mess of a hairdo bouncing with him as he hopped in and out of frame in an almost dance-like fashion. "Just wait there, we'll be right down there in a jiffy!"

"Da frig, Cheren, what's going on, why is Bianca wai—"

"Bye darlinggggggggg!" Burgh sang, and the hologram went black as the other X-transceiver was switched quickly off, leaving me to sit slack-jawed in the crushing darkness swarming around in the cracks of my sight where light had previously resided.

Now I really had a mind to throw the stupid thing into the ocean. I crushed the small machine between my fingers, hoping for the screen to crack so I could just forget this whole mess and go back to the Pokémon-center so I could just crawl under the covers with the door shut and mope. I flung myself off the wall, eyes darting around for any sign of TP crawling out from whatever crap hole they reseeded in, but nothing was catching my eye except—the black boat was now docked at the pier. The very same boat that had been heading for the lighthouse island, the same lighthouse island I now had crudely drawn on my left hand.

I picked up my discarded bag off the ground, sprinting for the boat with reckless abandon as my brain was trying to think through the facts it had just been presented with.

Okay, okay, calm the hell down and think—that boat was headed for that island. Why would it suddenly be here, and what was on that island that had drawn it to it… come on, why would TP be here?! Think, Arceus dammit!

"Mina!"

I whipped around as a voice called out for me, taking only minor notice of the small swarm of black figures dashing for me. I waved them over, eyes still locked on the strange boat. "Bianca, Cheren, Burgh! Over here!"

The horde joined up with me, Cheren, Bianca, and Burgh leading the pack, the rest of the resulting figures ending up being blue-collared policemen?! My heart sunk a beat lower. What's going on?!

"Team Plasma… they took this young lady's Pokémon…" Burgh gestured to Bianca with a solemn blink. My heart thudded lower; really… I didn't want to deal with this again. Helping that little brat the last time had been hell enough, and I hadn't even cared to save her Pokémon. But now with Bianca… my annoyance turned to rage that boiled under my skin as Bianca spoke up next.

"Mina… is there anything we can do?" Bianca whimpered hopefully. "Team Plasma took it… they took Munna… we were at the walk-in clinic and Cheren went inside to get us checked in when they just grabbed her!" She rubbed her eyes furiously like she was trying to fight off the next onslaught of tears. "We went to the police but…"

"I heard this lady's scream and I ran after the thief as fast as I could!" A high-pitched, girlish voice suddenly interrupted, another figure jumping from the horde and coming into the streetlight. I took a step back in surprise when a girl who looked only to be about twelve pushed past Burgh and came right up to me, nearly landing on my toes. She had a forests' worth of midnight-blue hair mounded a good two inches off her head, trailing down her back into a low hanging ponytail; a beige and pink sarong-style top hung loosely off her petite frame, her iris-colored irises blown up to bowling balls. "But dammit, this city is so big and crowded… I lost them!" she pouted, spitting at the ground in disgust.

"Iris, you did everything you could…" Burgh said gently, pulling her off of me and steered her back towards the cop mob. "C'mon, this is no place for a young laaaaaaaaaaaady~"

"No! But that's so bad!" Iris lashed out, flailing helplessly in Burgh's encircling arms as she tried to peel herself away. "Taking people's Pokémon is really bad! 'Cause it's really nice when people and Pokémon are together! C'mon Burgh, lemme go!" She skrieked, howling curses left and right, but accomplishing nothing more than bringing a small grin to Burgh's face.

"That is truuuuue~" Burgh seemed to look off dazed, eyes sparkling like he was watching some nonexistent sunset rather than a pre-teen girl shrieking curses that even I didn't know at her age.

"Focus, sir spacey!" I snapped, causing the far-away look on Burgh's to be banished back to far-away-ville. "What are we going to do? We can't just let them KEEP her Pokémon! That's not right!" I gritted my teeth, staring at the ground and trying to keep my anger in check. "They've done this plenty of times before, Burgh! The skull thing back in Nacrene was bad… but this is just as awful!"

Iris writhed back in Burgh's grip. "Yeah! Pokémon and people each have something the other doesn't, and they help each other! Take one away from the other and everybody just ends up sad."

The thought slammed into my brain with velocity I hadn't imagined to could. "Iris…" I was suddenly guilty for blowing Thorn off like I had; for Eevee's strange reaction to me. Thorn… Eevee….

Burgh nodded quickly, clearly forgetting he still had Iris wrestling for freedom within his grasp. He clutched a fist, looking determined. "Agreed! No fear—we wiiiiiiill get that Pokémon back!" He looked positively giddy with joy, but then a thought seemed to settle over him, leaving him to place a hand on his chin while he contemplated something, easily keeping Iris contained with just a single arm. "Having said that, finding a person or a Pokémon here in Castelia will be like finding a neeeeeedle in a haaaaaaaaaaaaaystack. A really big one~"

I faced-palmed at the obvious. "No dip! How are we going to find—"

"I spy a Gym Leader?!"

The group broke focus as a thick voice cut through the frantic conversation, all of us turning to glace at the figure that had appeared behind the cop mob, the wide-set eyes of the tubby, thirty-something blond grunt behind us widening when they laid eyes on all of us—wide-set eyes landing exactly on Burgh's with an evident fright.

"Last time it went so well… I thought I'd grab another Pokémon…" the grunt muttered to himself, starting to creep backwards with each word, eyes now locking ties with all the surrounding policemen, finally coming to settle on my own, his putrid-green eyes flickering with remembrance; I remembered him, he was one of the grunts I beat back in the cave. "Rethinking…" his voice grew hoarse as he suddenly whirled around and began sprinting away from the dock as fast as he could, "I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

Burgh as at my side in an instant, all but picking me up and dragging me across the dock in a frantic half-waddle in an effort to catch up with the grunt. "Mina! Let's go!" With second thoughts, he released Iris, who was still in his grip, wheeling around to touch her shoulders as he bent down to stare into her eyes.

"Iris, you stay here with this young lady, be Bianca's bodyguard, okay?" He patted her reassuringly on the shoulder.

The girl flashed him a broad smile (her teeth were a lot sharper than they should have been!), happy to be included despite the circumstances. "I'll be Bianca's bodyguard, no worries! So you go after the bad guys, okay?"

"Of course!" I answered for Burgh, my turn to drag him away in a rush to get Bianca's Munna back. My heart was thudding a million miles an hour, the normally intoxicating intrigue of battle masked by the dire need to help my friend, even if it was the second time today. I gripped his shirt so hard I thought I was going to rip it, not that I would have cared, and proceeded to drag Burgh away. "You guys just sit tight! We'll be back in an hour!"

"And if we're not, called the Ace Trainers, mkaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay?" Burgh called over his shoulder as we ran for the streets, the swarms of collected policemen falling in-line behind us as we dashed for the street the grunt had taken a wild detour down—Gym Street by the looks of the teal green road sign.

Together, Gym Leader; Ragamuffin; and a dozen or so either Casteilia's finest or cheapest police officers, we charged into the fray that was Casteilia city, ducking and dodging around the bustling passersby like drunken dancers trying to land a turn that somehow had ended up on a trapeze. I felt like I was flying down the streets, only paying attention to the people I disturbed to shoot them dirty looks. The fetid smell of the city got stronger as we ventured deeper in, though the task of keeping up with the blond-headed grunt kept my mind off of it for the most part. My hair just kept getting in my eyes, making for a much more infuriating distraction.

The grunt stuck out like a sore thumb among the suit-clad workers on their way home from the Battle District, chainmail against silk and tweed suits a clear giveaway of the man's abnormality. Here's hopin' to that fashion style never taking hold.

"There! He's ducking into that building!" A cop shouted from the center, directing all of our attentions to the tail of the grunt's uniform disappearing into what looked to be a half-finished building. I tried to keep from growling; for a fat man, the guy was in pretty good shape.

"That way! M'hmm, they're heading for the gym!" Burgh called from the back, where he had fallen behind in the rapid scramble of bodies in an effort to get down Gym Street with as little casualties as possible.

"No—he's headed for that building!" I hollered back, pushing a blue-haired girl roughly out of my way as I approached the entryway to the building the grunt had slipped into; it had no door, only a blinding white light leaking through the gap in the front where the entrance was; I was about to turn around and yell back when the irkingly familiar sound of clinking metal armor struck my ears, and I wheeled around to stare at a trio of grunts emerging from the building, faces stern with agitation.

"This is deeeeeeeeeeeeefinitely the place~" Burgh whisper-chirped when he and the rest of the mob caught up, staring down the grunts as a whole, meaning to be intimidating, but coming up only slightly intrigued. The grunts were fiercely outnumbered five-to-one, yet they stared back with command that silenced the entire horde of both policemen and gathering civilians.

"There's no one here, not a soul! No other Team Plasma members, nor any of the Seven Sages are inside." The brunette grunt in the middle spoke flatly, addressing the entire gathering as a whole with her darkened green stare. The crowd behind us was whispering nervously, carols of questions about Team Plasma harmonizing in the exhaust-thickened air. I wished I was back down by the docks, the air was choking me here; but I held firm and stared back directly into the speaking grunt's eyes.

"Then why did another one of your heavy metal lackeys just run through that door, chick?" I spoke stubbornly back, keeping my tone as flat as her's. She narrowed her eyes at my comeback.

"If you think I'm lying, why don't we have a little battle to find out…?" She growled back, hands already at her sides for her Pokéballs. A loose wind blew through the gathering out of nowhere, ruffling her dark brown bob and sending my loose hair sweeping over my shoulder; the crowd had grown quiet at the mention of the battle, the whole area silenced like a stand-off in an old western movie.

"I'll take you on any day, bitch—" Oh shit.

My hands had gone for my bag, to reach for my Pokeballs, when the memory of leaving Thorn and Eevee at the Pokécenter crashed down on my head like a ton of cement. My hands were groping for empty air within my bag, a hot line of sweat starting to trace my back as my temple began to twitch furiously again. I can't battle… I can't fucking battle!

"Leavanny, use Razor Leaf!"

Burgh had lunged in front of me, shielding me from both the grunt and his Pokémon's attack, a long, lanky walking-stick like Pokémon bounding in front at the last second, flinging it's arms open wide and loosing an attack of razor-edged leaves into the shocked faces of the grunts. I fell against Burgh's back for cover, as the crowd behind us scattered and wild whirlwinds of leaves swept through like the blades of a lawnmower.

All three of the grunts went careening backwards, pokeballs of all colors falling from pockets to the ground along with a smattering of pokédollars, exploding into a street collage of discarded material. Grunts held onto lacerations on their cheeks and foreheads, inching back on their butts along the ground like worming Bug-types as Burgh's 'Leavanny' repositioned herself back at his side with an unrivaled grace.

"Come now, this isn't the time for a fight." Burgh spoke clearly, slowly. "We just want our friend's Pokémon back so we can get to the bottom of this. "

The main grunt had shrunk all the way to the back, nursing a wide cut across the bridge of her nose as she continued to edge backwards. "This is bad—"

"We've got to report to the Seven Sages right now!" Another grunt moaned from the ground, a cut under his eye oozing red to the point of making bile rise up in my throat; I couldn't look away.

"This is bad for Team Plasma…. Code Plasbad, for short!" the other over-weight female grunt whined from the doorway, shaking like a leaf in the wind.

"You idiots! I told them, they weren't here!"

"Too late now." I mumbled from behind Burgh's shoulder, imaging all the sarcastic remarks Thorn would've made if he were here… dammit, worst decision ever.

"Errrr! Man!" The middle grunt hissed, picking up her companions by the backs of their slips and dragging them towards the glowing doorway. She pushed her two associates in, turning back to glare at us with green eyes of acid. "This is privately-owned property! You can't enter without a search warrant, suckers!" she then jumped through the doorway herself, becoming one with the blinding light.

"Ugh, get out of my way Burgh!" I shoved past him, angling for the door. "We have to go in after them!"

"Hold on, honey pie~" Burgh sniffed, reaching out and grabbing my wrist with one hand, twirling around in the same moment and bringing me back to his side in an instant. He patted me on the shoulders, though his focus was on the hushed crowd behind us. "We can't go in right now."

I blinked incredulously at him, shoving hard against his boney shoulder in disbelief. "Are you shitting me?! They're right there, and there isn't even a door! C'mon we could just go in right now and capture them! No… police… required!" I hissed, shoving him back a few steps. We were this close to getting Bianca's Munna back… why were we stopping now?!

Burgh winced at the forcible move, shifting his eyes to me this time, holding me there with his gaze instead of his hands this time, like he was afraid to touch me (smart to do so, cuz I would have just bit him). "Yes, but that would be against the law~"

That stopped my brain in its tracks. "Come again?"

Burgh shook himself off, gesturing to the half-constructed building behind him. "This is private property—just like the young lady said. We can't enter without a search warrant… if we do it would be considered trespassing and we could get arrested."

"That's… not good." I winced. I had skirted being arrested on enough occasions; I didn't really want my first time to be when I was actually trying to do the right thing for a change. "So talk to the police or something, get one so we can save Bianca's Munna!"

A cop overhearing the conversation suddenly spoke up. "That's a bit complicated. Getting a warrant can take a few hours' time…"

"…and they might be gone by then…" I finished with a high voice. Dammit! So close… only to be shut down again. I glanced up, watching the authorities attempting to push back the antsy crowds to put up the 'Do Not Cross' tape I was sure that was only used in movies. The gesture was kinda lost now, though as I watched one cop string up the doorframe leading into the building, it was the only thing keeping me from busting into that building right now.

I wrung my hands on the end of my tank top, smearing half-wet ink from my hands all over the stomach. I glared at it helplessly. There was nothing I could do… nothing that wouldn't get me arrested anyways.

But that's never stopped you before.

"MINA!" Burgh was screaming from the top of his lungs when I lunged away, shoving aside a few stupid civilians that had wormed their way past the crime tape to get closer to the door. I shoved them away, ripping through the bright yellow tape with my bare hands and tossing it aside to the tune if more voices calling out my name in surprise as I tore my way into the building. I ignored them as I flew through the door, running as fast as I could to avoid the inevitable hands reaching out to stop me; not that I was going to stop.

"Hey! TP!" I screamed, dashing into the lobby of the building like my feet were on fire, voice pitched higher than it had been in years. "You guys chose to pick a fight we me on the one day I wasn't intent on kicking someone's ass—" I grinded a fist into my other hand. "Congratulations… you're fucked!"

"As foul of a mouth as ever, child." A deep voice interrupted.

A deep voice I knew well. "Ghetsis."

The tall man tucked a small bit of leaf-green hair behind an ear, smiling at me with a grin of pure poison. He stood as imposing as ever, still dressed in that god-awful eye-Snuggie thing, but he wasn't alone this time, two similarly-dressed figures at his side turning to face me with discerning eyes; one was dressed in a dreary dark blue robe and hat, with bobbed white hair and a short mustache, wringing his hands together nervously like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't; the other was clothed in chestnut-colored garb similar to the other, and had a wiry beard that dripped down to the base of his neck. He looked far less nervous than his counterpart, though a bit more on-guard than Ghetsis was. Ghetsis placed his hands behind his back, looking more like a principal calling a PTA meeting to order rather than a crime boss.

"… My word, if it isn't the Gym Leader, Burgh…"

"Burgh…?" My head jerked backward at the mention of his name. I wheeled around, surprised to lock eyes with the bug-type Gym Leader, who was standing behind me fearlessly, slipping me a small smile at the acknowledgement. The smile faded as quickly as it had come, and he took a few strutting steps forward, coming up beside me and placing a hand full on his hip.

"Charmed, I'm sure. So, what would you say is the guiding principle of Team Plasma, anyway? 'Take what you want from people'?" Burgh's voice had a crisp edge in it I had never heard the idiot use before; it was kinda frightening to be honest.

"Mina! There you are!" More voices chorused from behind us. I turned around again, this time Bianca, Cheren, and Iris all traipsing through the door, nearly collapsing in a heap on the ground from being out of breath. Iris pulled herself away from the group first, coming to stand next to Burgh as she held onto him for stability.

"Phew, we got lost… but this time I'm going to join in the battle too. Y-you… you can't stop me!" She spoke tensely, though she looked like she was about to fall over.

"Wa-wait! Mina—" Bianca came lurching over to me, placing a weary hand on my shoulder. "Are you all right? I hope you didn't get hurt because of me… I was so worried! Cheren came too…"

"There is no need to be worried, dear; we're just doing our job…"

"Ghetsis…" I hissed at the uprising of his voice from above the breathless chatter of my friends. I had almost forgotten he was here.

"The liberating of Pokémon and the teaching of unworthy trainers," Ghetsis continued simply, like he was scolding Bianca. "This is our sole purpose for Team Plasma's existence, and my dear you are but only our latest pupil in the ways of right."

"You bastard…" I snarled viciously.

"I thought it would be amusing to prepare a hideout right in front of the Pokémon gym, but we were detected more quickly than I imagined…" The blue man to the left of Ghetsis whispered in a disappointed tone. He was fidgeting worse now, and was clearly sweating.

"Indeed, Bronius…" Ghetsis spoke with an amusement in his voice that made my skin crawl. "No matter. We already have an exceptional base of operations…" He broke off for a moment, the amusement in his voice sharpening to a point when his smile widened. "Is everyone familiar with the legend of the founding of the Unova region?"

Iris perked up. "I am! The one about the two Dragon-types, right? The white and… black ones?"

I felt my over-exerted heart bang suddenly against my ribcage; I had just learned about this—this legend back in Nacrene city. How is that relevant now?

Ghetsis took a step forward, closing his eyes and nodding at the girl. "The truth is this… the white dragon appeared before a hero who sought the true way to knit a world full of warring people… And the black dragon appeared before his brother, a hero looking to safeguard his throne from the same warring people. Together the brothers worked with the dragons to guard their home. In return the dragons shared their knowledge with the brothers—and bared their fangs against all who opposed them…"

"And eventually each other…"

That voice…!

A voice came from over my shoulder; a voice that had haunted my thoughts since Nacrene City. The voice still didn't stop, and the figure it belonged to appeared from behind, standing by my side as he continued.

"Together with the power of these Pokémon, the heroes brought unity to the hearts of everyone in the land, at least for a time…"

That voice…

"N." I whispered his name, almost afraid it was an illusion and the green-haired teen next to be would shatter if I spoke too loudly. I touched his arm, astounded at how solid it felt. I blinked, uncertain—was he really here?

"Greetings…" He whispered back, turning to flash me a small close-mouthed smile before reverting back to the glare he had been frosting down Ghetsis with. I was breathless; N looked just like he had last time I had seen him: his green hair was still an unholy mess; his jeans were stained from what looked like dirt and berry juice; he smelled like green tea and honey. Yet his eyes were unkind, so unlike last time.

Ghetsis's smile seemed to falter a bit at the sight of N, his steps halted suddenly by his voice. The mask of amusement was back before I think anyone else realized the shift in demeanor, he was speaking to us all as a whole, even though his eyes were locked solely on N's.

"We shall bring back that hero and Pokémon to Unova once again." Ghetsis sighed, like this monologuing was taking a beating on him. I grinded my fingernails into my hand. I hoped he'd have a heart attack and just keel over right now… save us all the trouble of taking him down.

To my disappointment, he continued. "If we can win the people's hearts and minds, we can easily create a world that I—I mean, Team Plasma—desires. None of this… free-spirit that leads to such suffering in the first place…" This time he directed his fire towards me, though N slid in front of me, Ghetsis then turning his burning gaze to N instead.

I was surprised at the gesture, though I pushed N back to his place beside me, shooting him a look. N's face didn't change.

It was Burgh's turn to sigh, and step forward; staring directly into Ghetsis's blazing green eyes. "Here in Castelia, we have a lot of different kinds of people. Everyone's ways of thinking and lifestyles are very different. Honestly, there's something about what you're saying I don't quite understand. One thing we all have in common is that we all care a lot about Pokémon. Even meeting for the first time, people can talk about Pokémon. Talk or battle or trade... Remember your speech at Accumula Town? You were responsible for leading me to rethink my relationship with Pokémon. For that, I thank you." Burgh took a breath, a small smile blooming on his lips. Oh my Arceus, he sounded sincere! I can't believe he was being sincere with this sack of shit—

"At that time, I made a promise... I swore to myself that I would dedicate myself to Pokémon even more strongly! What you guys are doing... Aren't you going to strengthen the bond between people and Pokémon even more?" Burgh looked up with the most honest look in his eyes, looking like a man who had everything to lose, but was staring into the face of the accuser with a heartfelt expression. He turned back to us, flinging an arm out and gesturing to all of us. "Aren't you going to let these Pokémon trainers deepen their bonds with their Pokémon more?"

"He is right." N spoke up. "Taking Pokémon from the clueless will only aid in more ignorance… and ignorance is dangerous to the growth of Pokémon liberation. Let them release their Pokémon on their own graces… force will only result in chaos and casualty." N's head sunk down, his face becoming hidden beneath a forest of hair and the black brim of his hat. "This world has seen enough casualty…"

My heart was sinking into my stomach, disintegrating into stomach acid and giving me as much of a stomach ache as a heart ache. There was a lot more under the surface in their predicament… I knew it. Ghetsis kept glaring at N like he… knew him, or something. N wasn't acting normal either. And he had showed up right in the middle of TP again, but he was looking more antagonizing that before. I was griping the bottom of my shirt again, but I kept staring at N's hand, half wanting to lock fingers within his; the other half wanting to sock him silly. His eyes were still shrouded in hair, and I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Myah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

My entire body tensed up at the grisly noise. It hardly resembled the laugh it was supposed to be.

"You are quite hard to figure out— a little bit more intelligent than I expected." Ghetsis chuckled again. "I am fond of intelligent people, you see. You'll enjoy hearing about this…" Ghetsis stopped, staring at us as a whole with half-closed eyes, the teasing edge in his voice gone.

"From every corner of the world, I have gathered knowledgeable people for our king's benefit." He gestured with a sweep of his cloak to the two men standing at his sides. "You could call them the Seven Sages. And as far as we have learned so far… as far as our king's learned so far… giving up is not at all an option." Ghetsis smirked, turning around and walking back slowly to the Sages, a smile in his eyes as he peered back over his shoulder. "And though it may be a small prize, in the end, keeping this Munna will aid us all in the cause… so with that~"

Grunts peeled themselves from hiding in the shadows of the building, Unfezants and Sandiles and Sewaddles and more Pokémon that I had never laid eyes on before rearing up to strike on command. Ghetsis turned away, like he was above the carnage that was to ensue. I felt myself tensing up, like a spring about to unload. No… c'mon, we can't just stop now!

"No… my Munna! Give—give her back!" Bianca cried, squirming out from under my grip and throwing herself forward right into the line of sight of our attackers. No! My heart dropped.

"… Goodbye."

I was flying again, wrapping my trembling arms around her, shielding her with my body as the light of dozens of Pokémons' attacks lit up behind us. "Bianca!" I was wrapping her within my death grip and shielding my eyes away from it all—

"Zorua, use Scary Face!" The light was blocked by another figure.

"Arf!" The voice of a Pokémon followed. I looked up from Bianca's hair, gasping in amazement as N's Zorua flew in front of the three of us, Bianca and me huddled together and none other than N guarding us protectively, its face growing longer and darker, blood-red eyes bulging out of its head like bloated balloons, everything assimilating into facial darkness. The sight was horrifying, and I buried my face back in Bianca's blond mop top to shield my eyes from the sight.

All the cries of the attacking Pokémon were silenced at an instant, the whimpers of fear from several filling the empty space the battle cries had left. Zoura tipped a small smile over its shoulder at its trainer, yipping happily when N returned the smile.

"Leave. Now." N spoke through gritted teeth. "You're doing nothing but endangering the lives of more people and Pokémon. The happiness can suffer for others, but this is excessive in the fashion of being unsightly. Give the girl back her Pokémon." N's hand had wrapped around Bianca's arm, pulling her from me and bringing her forward to face Ghetsis. Her face was splotchy with fear and tears, her entire body poised like she was about to be hit. My body tensed as she was ripped away from me, flying back to her side and tearing N's arm from her, replacing it with my own.

"Do-don't touch her—" I hissed at him, N shrinking back at my protective poise. His eyes had lost their hardness, and he just looked confused. I didn't know what had provoked me into such a position. But I held it firmly, staring him down a lot less fearfully than I was feeling.

N was leaning closer. "Mina…?" but was cut off as he head snapped up when Ghetsis was spitting at him again.

"Foolish child, you know not—"

"Attention, all present in the building. This is the Castelia Police department. We have the building surrounded. All criminals on the premise are ordered to drop all pokeballs and weapons in possession and come out with their hands up. We will shoot if need be."

"The cops…" I breathed. I had totally blanked on them. My face drew up in a grin, turning back to Ghetsis with triumph. We had an edge now. The cops must've gotten a warrant in the time we had been debating with these losers. I was filled with excitement, griping Bianca's hand in mine as I leaned forward and grinned at Ghetsis.

"You guys are done for, punks!"

"My lord, what are we to do now?" The sage in brown spoke hurriedly to his superior with a newborn nervous look in his eyes. The other sage closed in on Ghetsis's other side now, flanking him with more unsure looks.

"Erm…" Ghetsis shot a glance at the upper windows above up, the revolving blue and red lights from the police cars shining through the glass and casting a purplish sheen over the room. He's worried, I grinned with devilish enjoyment. Never mind that N was even here—looks like we didn't need him or anybody else helping us anyways.

"Attention, this is the Castelia Police department. We have surrounded the building. Drop all pokeballs and weapons and come out with your hands up. We will not ask you again!"

"Lord Ghetsis…!" The brown sage hissed again, eyes flitting back and forth between him and the window.

"Hmph. Very well…" Ghetsis huffed. He waved a hand, signaling for a grunt from the back to come forward with a leather satchel of something. "We will submit to your opinion and be on our way. That girl over there… return her Pokémon." He flicked his wrist towards Bianca, the sullen grunt with the bag giving her a sharp look as she reached her hand inside the bag and bringing out a pokeball. Grunting, she hocked it in Bianca's direction, the ball sailing effortlessly into her outstretched fingers, Bianca hugging it to her chest as it finished its return.

"M-munna! Th-thank you!" She cried, squeezing the ball like it was the real breathing thing and not just an inanimate sphere of hard plastic.

"Bianca!" Iris growled, pushing her way up to us—and giving N a good shove backwards in the process. "Why are you thanking them?! They take precious people's Pokémon!"

"Ahh—no." Bianca was shaking her head furiously, her blond bangs flying like sporadic wings on a falling flying-type. "It's just… I'm… I'm so happy that my Munna is safe. They-they didn't have to do that!" She shrieked, clutching the ball closer to her chest.

"Ahh… the friendship between people and Pokémon can be very touching…"

"Ghetsis… get out of here already!" Cheren barked, wrapping his own arms around Bianca and pulling her from all of our grasps. I let her go, happy that someone else was taking the incentive for the 'comforting role' this time. I shot a look at N, who had recovered from being thrown back and was back staring at Ghetsis with eyes of… boiling rage. I had never seen him like this before; it was scary.

I couldn't help staring at N as he just kept staring at Ghetsis like the rest of us weren't even here. It was… just like the last time I had seen him in Nacrene—when he had challenged me to a battle and was so abstinent in winning. He wasn't scary then… but he was scary now. Again, I was baffled at how different this boy was from the first time I met him. He kept changing roles like he had a personality disorder, and I wasn't keeping up.

My head snapped up as Ghetsis was speaking again. "Hmph… but in order to liberate Pokémon from foolish people, we will revive the legend of Unova—"

"—and win the hearts and minds of everyone. " The tall man nodded once, shooting one more smoldering look in N's direction, the two sages at his sides, Bronius and the other one who's name I didn't catch, drawing in and growing closer to their leader. The straggling grunts still haunting the corners of the room drew in as well, forming a semi-cirlce around their superiors. They all reached into their pockets, retracting smoky-purple smoke balls and raised them over their heads as one being.

"Farwell…"

POOF!

The smoke balls exploded in a rush of sweet-smelling smoke, all of us springing into coughing fits as the smoke assaulted our lungs. I hacked a particularly hard cough, and found myself reeling as I fell to far forward and lost my balance. I braced for the ground, but was astounded when I fell into something definitely not as hard, with arms grabbing me by the shoulders and lifting me up. My legs scrambled to find a bearing under me, propping my jilted body back up and right into the face of my supporter.

"N." I whispered his name when his emerald eyes swam into view, and he was standing much closer than he had before. His spiked hair was tickling my face and I brushed it away without breaking eye contact. I stayed there, staring at him as he held me by my shoulders, his arms shaking a little—why, I wasn't sure. I was too afraid to move away; he looked like he didn't want to let go.

"Ugh! That was awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwful~!" Burgh coughed girlishly, breaking the silence that I had somehow missed, staring at N. I turned away in an instant, pushing him away from me as I attempted to stalk up to Burgh, but was nearly bowled down when a feisty blur of blue and pissed off went streaking by.

Iris had practically launched herself onto Burgh's chest, gripping his midsection with both hands instead of his collar because she was too short to reach. "What are you doing?! Why are you letting them get awaaaaay?! Are you flipping—"

"GAH!"

"—crazy?!"

"Iris, calm down!" Bianca shrieked, jumping at her sudden pounce. I tensed up too—she did just run over my boots and OW!—but my tension broke when Burgh started laughing lightly, gently pushing Iris off of him and helping her back to the floor.

"Iris indeed, calm dooooooooooooown. It's aaaaaall okay now! What do we do if anything's happened to the other stolen Pokémon? Caaaaaaaaalm down, that's what! Everything worked out in the eeeeeeeeeend~" Burgh patted her head, giving everyone else a broad smile. He gave me a wink instead, once his gaze reached me, turning back to Iris and leaning down to give her a little hug.

"It's okay Iris! Thank you!" Biance spoke up, sliding in and joining in the mini-group hug. "No one was hurt, and more than anything, I got my darling Pokémon back! I can't thank you enough!"

Iris blushed, seeming a little overwhelmed at all the coddling and affection. She rubbed the back of her head, giving a half-hearted push to get Bianca off of her, but failed and only blushed deeper. "Okay, if you're happy…"

"Oh, Mina! I have you to thank too!"

"Huh?" I perked up at Bianca's voice. She untangled herself from the hug, running over to me and grabbing each of my hands in hers and swinging them back and forth like we did when we were kids. She grinned broadly, leaning close and speaking brightly.

"Yup, you helped out too! You stood up to those meanies and protected me when they were going to attack!" She swung our arms apart, forming a triangle like we were playing Skyarrow Bridge is Falling Down, threading our fingers together happily. "Thank you so much!"

"Uhh, I was just trying to be a good friend." I smiled back, swinging our arms back and forth along with her.

"Oh, and you… you guy! You helped me too!"

Bianca separated herself from me, flying back to N, who had started on his way to the door, and jumped in surprise when Bianca plastered himself against his back in a big hug. She hugged him tightly around the waist, his shoulders and head were over a foot taller than her own; he was shaking nervously as she clung to him, singing praises and thank yous in every other breath.

"Thank you so much for helping again—I can't thank you enough! I don't even know you, but thank you-!"

"Um… you're welcome—" N mumbled shyly, unsure of how to reply to all the affection. I giggled; there's that little boy personality again. It was a relief to see it back.

Burgh's own chuckle joined the mix. "So what is everyone planning to do now?" He raised a playful eyebrow.

"Oooh yeah, I hadn't thought about that!" Bianca chirped, pulling away from N and traipsing back over to the group, babbling away with Cheren and Iris on what to do next, Burgh eyeing them with a subtle grin. I watched them with a slight smile of my own; it was all finally over. I could go back to the Pokémon center… get something to eat… say hello to Thorn…

The squeak of rubber sneakers walking away caught my attention. I wheeled around, staring at the back of N's head as he was attempting to sneak out.

"N."

He didn't jump this time, looking back over his shoulder apprehensively as I approached him, hunching into his shoulders like a wounded animal. Not that I could blame him, after being shoved away so coldly… twice. I came around to face him, ducking under the brim of his hat so I could see his hidden eyes, grinning at the deep blush painted brightly over his high cheekbones.

"Hi."

"Hello."

I poked him playfully in the belly, trying to get him to look up. "What are you doing here? You just came out of nowhere…" I tried to keep my tone playful, but it came out more flat than anything. I was silently singing inside that it hadn't come out as desperately as I had thought it would. What I wanted more than anything though, was for him to stare at me again with those bright verdant eyes; or at least to acknowledge my existence.

"I… I heard Team Plasma had been sighted… and that someone's Pokémon had been stolen." N spoke blandly, sounding afraid to say too much, though he did look up this time. He bit his lip, gaze sweeping side to side without really settling on anything. "Then I saw you, and I decided to help out." His tone picked up on the last part, and he looked nervous, eyes wide as he leaned in close to me and we nearly butted foreheads. "That's what friends do, right? Help each other out? Did I do that right?"

I shrunk back at the sudden nearness but I couldn't stop it… I laughed. "Ha…haa," I was breathing hard, trying to squelch the bubble of laughter that were threatening to rise up out of my throat, but I couldn't. I laughed. I couldn't stop it.

"Hahahahahahahha!" I covered my eyes with my hand, swaying side to side in an effort to stay up right as I kept laughing. N's face had contorted into one of absolute confusion; Bianca, Burgh, and Cheren all staring at me like a loon, but I still couldn't stop laughing. The entire world swam as I shook from side to side; my brain hurt from laughing so much. "HAAAA!"

N reached out to catch me as I swung a little too far over to the right, but I just pushed his hand away again and straightened up, holding my head from laughing so hard. I have a headache and I don't even care I got to see N again. "No, it's cool. Ya did fine… N. Pfft…"

N seemed to loosen as stopped laughing so hard, an centimeter's worth of a smile coming to his face in relief. "Oh Arceus… I'm glad. I was worried you were having a seizure or an orgasm or something—"

"HAHHAHAHAHAAAA!"

"Ahh—Mina?! Are you okay… stop dying…!"

"Mina." Bianca spoke up.

"Huuuuhh… yeah?" I said breathlessly, a reprise of giggles dancing dangerously on the edge of my tongue.

Bianca smiled, skipping over and grabbing my hands in her's again. "I have to thank you all for helping me! What would you like to do as thanks?"

"Bianca, I don't need any thanks—"

Grrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwl.

The echoing tone of my stomach growling sounded in the room. But the sound wasn't coming only from me.

I looked to the other source, stifling another round of laughter. "N?"

The green-haired teen looked like he was about ready to roll away and die. He crossed his arms over his stomach, a small frown coming to his face as he looked away embarrassedly. "I'm hungry…"

My eyes slid closed, my face dissolving into a grinning fit as I broke out laughing too. "I'm hungry too."

Bianca grinned herself, clapping her hands together. "Well then, let's all go out to eat! I'll treat you, Mr. N, and Iris all to a meal!"

"Sounds perfect—"

"Hey, there was reports of trespassers going into the building before the search warrant was issued—and I heard they were civilians too."

My heart dropped at the cop's sudden voice from outside. Oh damn.

"All trespassers on premise are hereby under arrest for entering without consent of police and without a warrant—all violators are asked to come out immediately." The voice came from outside again, this time much closer than before. We all shrunk away from the door in fear.

"Perhaps this would be a gooooooooooood time to ruuuuuun!" Burgh chirped, ducking around us and taking off for the back of the building with a loud chuckle.

"Hey wait for us!"

"Wait—wait all of you! Stop right there!"


*Whispers Ferriswheelshipping and rolls away*

Thorn-"Erm... well then. Since Pokégirl is kinda... rolling off a cliff right now, I'll be taking over this AN. Eh-hem. *pulls out sticky note* Sorry for the long hiatus, blah blah blah, schools been busy and Pokémon X came out and yadda-yah, so yeah. This chapter was originally supposed to be just 5k and then Pokégirl went fangirl and added an extra 5k. not my problem."

Mina-"There was a lot of screaming of my name in this chapter... *ditto face*"

Thorn-*stares at tiny subscript on note*"Erm yeah... says here Pokégirl had noticed Mina's name hadn't been said much in the past chapters, so she threw that in."

Mina-"Hmm."

Thorn-"Yup."

Mina-"Well."

Thorn-"Uh-huh."

Mina-"I'm going to go now."

Thorn-"Yeah I should to."