Well! Hi there. I suppose all there is to say right now is, I'm sorry for the gargantuan delay in updates. I have been through a lot in the past eight/nine-ish months, and sadly in consequence writing this story was put on low priority. I know I said there would be an update a couple months ago, but I vastly overestimated how much free time I'd have once school started. And. Well. That's in the past; all that matters now is I'm back and ready to roll. Please enjoy the next chapter. Oh, and a huge thank you to each and every one of you. I appreciate your continuous support so much!

Chapter 36: Solaceon Town and the Festival of Fools

Taze Kidane walked sleepily through the cafeteria of the Solaceon Town pokecenter, skimming the tables for Dawn and Lucas. They had been in town for a couple of days now, rejuvenating themselves after the chaos of the Lost Tower incident.

He spotted them sitting at a booth next to a window, the morning autumn sun beating down on them as they enjoyed a huge breakfast of pancakes, fruit, oatmeal, and orange juice. They had been awake for nearly two hours already, waiting around for Taze. They hadn't woken him up and forced him out of bed, since his rest was rare and much needed. Still, the two of them thought it was odd for him to have woken up this late.

Their pokemon were scattered around the table, chasing each other and nibbling at their own breakfasts. Taze let out Pokey, Eneru and Narky before silently sitting down next to Lucas.

"Morning," Lucas said, cutting into his pancakes.

Taze groaned in reply, rubbing his still half-closed eyes.

Lucas raised his eyebrows. "Rough night?"

"Mehhhh….passthepaaaan…cake…s," the blond boy droned, leaning his head on the table. His eyes fluttered slowly to a close.

Rough night, indeed.

"What took you so long, sleepyhead?" Dawn asked. She had gone back to the room about in hour ago to check up on him, only to find the room completely empty. She asked Lucas about it, but he had no idea where Taze might have gone. She was curious, but decided to save the questioning for later.

"Nothing…"

"Hmmmmmm right," she spat, with a mouthful of food. Pieces of mushy pancake mixed with milk shot through the air. A little piece landed on Taze's hand, which was resting innocently on the table.

His eyes shot open with disgust.

"EWW! You're sick…."

"It's your fault for putting your hand there! The table is a place for FOOD, not hands." The girl nodded sagely, and Lucas sighed.

"Ugh, just keep your fecal vomit to yourself from now on. Pass the pancakes." Without saying another word, Taze lifted the entire stack of about fifteen pancakes onto his plate. He piled on the butter and syrup, and started to dig in.

"Damn…you eat like a pig." Lucas raised his eyebrows at the impressive pile. Dawn laughed coldly.

"He pretty much is a pig. Did you not notice the unholy amount of condiments he's using? Approximately one whole stick of butter was used to help complete his monster meal." She giggled cheerfully. Although his appetite disgusted her, she was trying her best to be quasi friendly to Taze. Ever since the Lost Tower incident a few days ago, he'd been sort of…disconnected from reality. He seemed as fragile as a newborn kitten.

"Oink oink!" Taze squealed happily, grinning like a madman as he chewed his food. "I'm a cute little piggy wiggy, whee, oink, snort!"

"…No, now you're just freaking me out." Dawn slid out of the booth, desperate to get away.

"Taze the piggy is sad." The boy messed his face up into a pitiful frown, trying to feign tears.

"TAZE THE PIGGY IS A FREAK! …A-HEMMM… Soooo…when are we leaving this town?" Dawn asked sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes. She pulled out a map and shoved it into Lucas's face. "Here, mister know-it-all. Gives us our next orders?"

Taze sniffed dejectedly. "Oink…"

Squinting in the glare from the window, Lucas closely inspected the map of Sinnoh. "Well, Veilstone is a pretty long ways away. Maybe a four or five day trip. We might want to stay here for a day or two. Train, stock up on potions, stuff like that."

"Gah. I hate this hick town. I need to get out of here. As soon as possible." Dawn made gagging noises, sticking her tongue out.

"…Oink!" Taze giggled and gave her a thumbs up.

"Stop reveling in my misery, you sadist."

"Aw, come on. There aren't THAT many hicks here," Lucas said, shrugging.

Dawn and Taze both froze to stare at him.

"…Yeah, okay, so there's the occasional guy running around shirtless in a pair of overalls who's missing his two front teeth, but for the most part people are… normal…" he shrugged again, laughing nervously.

"Major understatement. Do you not remember what happened when we took our first step into this town?" Dawn questioned crossly.

The boy had on a dry smile. Indeed, he did remember walking past the 'Welcome to Solaceon Town' sign and instantly being bombarded by a horde of cowboys excited to see some trainers passing through their town. They didn't get much traffic, and it wasn't hard to see why…

He shrugged. "Still, it'd be rude to just leave after one night. They keep tabs on practically every trainer who comes through here. And remember, we have to stay for their little festival today. They said we had to. It sounds like a pretty big deal…"

"They're prob'ly just plottin' ta steal our pokeymawn, or make us all wear overawls and' try ta induce their accents on us," Dawn said mockingly in a western accent. She plopped back down in the booth, holding her head in her hands, defeated. She hated this town. It wasn't even big enough to be considered a town. All it was was a dirt path with some houses, a mart and a pokecenter scattered around it.

"I'd wear overalls. …Oink," Taze said softly.

"Ugh." Dawn pressed her fingers between her eyes and shook her head.

:Taylor? What is a… 'hick'?: asked Pokey from his spot on the floor. The Grotle poked his trainer's leg with his snout curiously.

"Uhh…"

Taze didn't have to respond, because at that moment Ashes turned around and demanded to know why Pokey had to ask so many questions all the time. All of the pokemon then proceeded to keep themselves busy for the next few minutes arguing and analyzing this major point of conversation.

"I say we head on out and see if the festival has started. The Pokemon Center is pretty much deserted now. Come on." Lucas stood up just as Taze was stuffing the last of his pancakes into his mouth and knocking them down with a swish of orange juice.

"Bleh…fine." Dawn slid out of the booth and crouched down to the ground, petting Lekora the Eevee and letting Specter the Misdreavus float on top of her head.

After they had cleaned up, the three trainers headed back to their room to gather their belongings before setting out into the quaint town of Solaceon.

They didn't have to take more than one step outside the pokecenter to see where the party was located.

The entire population of Solaceon had gathered in the core of the town for the yearly Fall Festival, around the Day Care Building, which sat right across the road from the Pokemon Center. Concession stands were set up; food you'd find at fairs was being sold for cheap. Elephant ears, snow cones, banana splits, chili dogs… People young and old milled around, laughing and eating and watching the pokemon play behind the fenced area of the Day Care.

"Well, yee-haw. Is this it?" Dawn asked, looking around.

Lucas shrugged. "Guess so—"

He was interrupted by a high-pitched yowl. "YEEEEE-HAAAAAW!" A random girl in a pair of orange overalls galloped over to the group, beaming widely. She was holding a large, heavy-duty duffel bag. "Howdy, trainers! What brings ya to Solaceon?" Well, you're at the right place at the right time! You're in fer a ROOTIN' TOOTIN' GOOD TIME! YEEEE-HAW!"

Taze smiled pleasantly. "Why are your overalls orange?"

"We Solacians take pride in individuality! These overalls were handmade, and the color is all-natural, made from orange peels and Pomeg berry juice! Now, let's see here…" She began to rummage around in the duffel, and pulled out three pairs of overalls. "In order to participate in the festival, you must DRESS LIKE A TRUE COWBOY! Now, put these on."

The cowgirl threw three pairs of overalls and hats at Dawn, Taze and Lucas. Lucas's were purple, Taze's were fluorescent yellow, and Dawn's were --what else?-- hot pink.

"…" Dawn glared down at the overalls clutched in her hands, her eye twitching violently as the cowgirl skipped away, looking for more victims to mutate.

"…DAMN YOU!" she wailed, shaking a fist after the cowgirl.

"These are the ugliest pieces of clothing I've ever seen." Lucas eyed his purple overalls skeptically. "I'm not sure I want to wear this…"

"Yeah. That deranged lazy can't possibly expect me to wear this. It's like a giant wad of bubblegum."

Taze smelled his yellow ones. "Mine smell like…Sitrus berry." He grinned thoughtfully, and put his matching cowboy hat on.

Dawn sighed. "Well, at least they don't smell like piss."

The three went back inside the pokecenter to change, and came out a few minutes later, completely transformed into rootin' tootin' westerners.

"YEE-HAW! Ride 'em, cowboy!" Taze shouted as he pantomimed a lasso over his head and galloped around, slapping his butt with each step. Dawn facepalmed.

"Kill me now."

The three trainers milled around the stands for a while, letting their pokemon out to get some fresh air. Taze bought a snow cone, and then a falafel, and then a Phanpy ear. Dawn complained about how fat he was, while Lucas pointed out his rib cage jutting out from under his orange and white striped shirt.

They came to the Day Care center, where a good portion of the people could be found looking at the pokemon from behind the fence. At least fifty were playing around in the grass together, while an elderly man watched over them and made sure no trouble was made.

"Helloooo there, Sprouts!" A wobbly, high-pitched voice came from behind Dawn. The girl shivered, twirling around to see an old, hunchbacked lady smiling up at her.

"Erm…hi."

"I am the beloved DAAAAAAY Care Lady! Might I be able to coerce you young tots to leave a few pokemon here for the day? We need the money."

"Uh….. okay…"

"Hooray! Come right inside with me." The old lady took Dawn by the hand and dragged her into the building, Lucas and Taze followed close behind.

"Here at the Solaceon DAAAAAAAY Care Center, we take care of your pokemon for the DAAAAAAY!"

"…Imagine that." Lucas rolled his eyes.

"They might even grow stronger! Or learn a new move! They gain experience here like they would in an ordinary battle. So what are you waiting for? Hand over your pokeballs." Day Care Lady smiled sweetly, holding out her hands.

"Er, wait. What's with the 'DAAAAAAY'?" asked Dawn, slightly disturbed.

"Hell, I dunno, it's just something I do to get the kids to like me. Anything for the dough. Though in some cases, it does help drive the bad seeds away. They think I'm deranged." Day Care Lady sighed.

Dawn, Lucas and Taze all looked at each other. They could see why. But they shrugged and handed over their pokemon anyway.

"Oh, but you will want to keep one pokemon with you for the festival game, which will be taking place very soon!" Day Care Lady gave them each a pokeball back, then ran to the back to release the pokemon into the yard. "Thank you for your service! Come back later in the DAAAAAAY!" she called as she skittered away.

"Oh…kay." Dawn sweatdropped, looking down at Lekora's ball. Lucas had Shieldon's, and Taze had Eneru's.

"YEEEEEEEE-HAWWWW!!!" A sudden deafening chorus of yowls erupted from behind them, where the townspeople were clustered, waving their cowboy hats in the air as they cheered.

"Who says we start the game?!" one elderly cowboy with a long white beard yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"YEEEEEEE-HAWWWWW!!!!" The townspeople were jumping up and down now, barely able to contain their excitement.

"….Game?" Dawn perked up, looking a little happier than she'd been since putting on her pink overalls. "I'd love to beat these cowboys asses…"

"AWWWWWRIGHT! Let's gooooo! GIDDYUP!" the old man yelled, and spun around in his boots, beginning to march away.

The Solaceons followed him across town, a stampede of keyed up cowboys. They headed toward a thinly wooded field behind the pokemon center, where a small cave sat, in the distance, little flags set up all around it.

Taze looked at Lucas and Dawn, who stood befuddled.

"Well? C'mon, what are we waiting for! Let's go!" Taze grabbed both of them by the wrists, dragging them after the rest of the town.

Dawn resisted at first, but Lucas began to drag her as well while Taze gave her a huge smile, and she couldn't help but laugh. The three of them raced after the Solaceons, giggling the whole way. They didn't know what this game was all about, but they figured it was time to relax and have a bit of fun. The events of the past few days had been too serious and tiring for their tastes.

Back at the day care center, the trio's pokemon were getting themselves into a bit of trouble.

The day care man, who was supposed to be looking after the pokemon, went off to the festival, leaving his crazy wife to look after the pokemon.

Fortunately, after trying to get all of the pokemon – over fifty -- to organize themselves into a game of Duck Duck Goose (and failing), she went inside to make herself some tea and fell asleep while she was waiting for the water to boil.

:Some babysitter.: Ashes smirked. He was rather shakily standing on Buwante's shoulders, looking through the window of the house at the Day Care Lady, asleep in her rocking chair. The Psyduck beneath him wobbled back and forth, unable to keep his balance.

"DUCK—PSY—"

With that, he fell on his face. Ashes jumped off at the last second, landing gracefully on his feet.

:Heh. So, what are we all gonna do?: Ashes asked, folding his arms across his chest. The rest of the group, which included Staravia, Prinplup, Budew, Specter, Pokey, and Narky, all shrugged.

:I propose we overthrow the humans,: Narky said, twirling one of his whiskers around his paw.

:Uh…how about no.: Staravia shook her head. :Idiot…:

:Tell me about it.: Budew sweatdropped.

:What was that?!: The Buizel puffed out his chest angrily. :How dare you talk down to your master! YOU PUNY LITTLE FLEAS SHALL OBEY ME! MWAHAHAHA!!!:

:Um…am I a flea?: Pokey asked.

:No, Pokey. No.: Prinplup rolled her eyes. :Arceus, you guys are so immature.:

:Yeah they are…: agreed a timid Budew.

Ashes scoffed. :Whatever, you're all just a bunch of sissy girls.: He looked around at Buwante, Pokey and Narky. :Who says all of Lucas's pokemon are a bunch of SISSIES?!:

:Wait, what about me?: Specter asked. Up until that point, she had been floating around Buwante, flying through his head and freaking him out in general. All in a light-hearted manner, of course. Specter wasn't exactly bright enough to know that she was picking on a Pokemon with an IQ of fifty.

:Nah, not you. Speccy's cool,: Ashes said with a nod. The Misdreavus beamed, squealed with delight, and floated off back to Buwante to pester him some more. :ANYWAYS… who thinks all the girls besides Speccy are a bunch of sissies?!:

:I concur.: Narky raised his hand. :SISSY MAMAS!:

:Me!: Pokey shook the shrub on the back of his shell happily.

"…Psy."

:I'm glad we all agree on this matter,: Ashes said. :It's decided -- Lucas's Pokemon are SISSY NOOBS!:

Staravia, Prinplup, and Budew looked at each other, all sporting rather unenthused expressions.

:Looks like we've got a case of delusional fools on our hands,: Staravia muttered. :We may be sissies, but you're sexist pigs.:

Ashes, who hadn't really been listening, heard the word 'sex' and immediately perked up.

:Why yes, I AM a sexy beast!: He bucked his hips back and forth, licking his lips rather suggestively.

:AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!: Prinplup let out a noise of pure disgust and loathing. :YOU—ARE-- REVOLTING!:

:Well, that was the most disturbing thing I've ever seen.: Staravia's eyes had turned into little swirls. She wobbled back and forth on her skinny legs, finally toppling over onto the ground.

:What? What happened? What are you doing, Ashes? Did I miss something? Why is everyone making gagging noises?: Pokey asked desperately, lost as usual.

Staravia was shakily pulling herself to her feet. :Nothing, Poke. Treasure your innocence.:

The Grotle sighed, just as Prinplup decided to make a blunt announcement.

:I hate men.:

:…Well, I'll be. It seems we have a little Battle of the Sexes going on here, doesn't it?: Ashes asked, his big blue caterpillar eyebrows going up and down. :Who says we play a little game to decide who the Sissies are after all?!:

He looked back at the other male pokemon, who had scooted away from him and now stood in an awkward cluster.

:Um, Ashes…: Pokey gulped. :I agree that, um, they're sissies and whatnot, but… they're really strong! Prinplup…she could kick my butt any day of the week--:

:Pokey! Be a MAN! We have to stand up for ourselves! We cannot be weak!: Ashes sighed, walking over to the Grotle. He lifted one of Pokey's stubby legs from off of the ground. :Here, let me see your muscles. Flex.:

The Grotle did so. Bulges of rock-hard muscle surfaced down his leg.

:Ooooooooh,: Ashes and Narky said in unison, looking on in wonder.

:See, Poke? Muscles don't lie. You're a man. Now act like one!:

Pokey frowned. :But what if I don't want to?:

:Yeeeeeeeah!: Staravia flew over to the group of males, perching on top of Pokey's head. :It's okay, Pokey. You can be on our side.:

:Oka—:

:NO! NEVER!: Ashes tackled Staravia to the ground. :Pokey's ours.:

:Now, I think that should be up to the little shrub to decide,: said Prinplup, who had come forth. She and the rest of the girls looked at Pokey expectantly.

:I… can't… DECIDE! So much pressure!: Pokey wailed, shaking his head. :Can I just be on nobody's side? I can be uh…..the cheerleader!:

:…Cheerleaders are sissies," Narky said. :But if you wish it to be so, then so it shall be....:

Ashes scoffed indignantly. :BUT--!:

:Hey, you heard him,: Prinplup spat. :Pokey's not on either team. So, now it's even. Budew, Staravia, and I versus you, Narky and Buwante. Three against three. In yo FACE!:

Ashes and Narky gasped in terror, looking back at Buwante. The Psyduck sat in the grass, busily eating dandelions and staring at the sun with a vacant expression.

:…UNFAIR!!!:

Prinplup and Staravia cackled evilly, throwing their heads back for good measure.

:Wait, you guys!: Budew shouted over all the ruckus. Everyone looked down at the small grass-type. She cleared her throat.

:Well, um… I just thought… that since we're travelling together and all that, and we're supposed to be, you know, a TEAM… we should be building each other up, not tearing each other down!:

:NO! VIOLENCE IS THE ONLY OPTION!: came a sudden outburst from Narky. Prinplup was there to knock him in the side of the head within a matter of seconds.

:Hmmmm…: Staravia nodded her head. :I see what you're saying.:

:It makes sense, even if I don't like it.: Prinplup shrugged, throwing a rancorous glare at Ashes.

:Hm. You make a good point, Sprout.: The Monferno gave Budew a firm pat on the head. :But… how are we going to do this?:

Budew smiled thoughtfully. :Well, I thought that we could each say one nice thing about everyone. We should spread love, not hate and anger!:

Ashes grinned, striking a provocative pose. He couldn't turn down an opportunity to receive compliments. :I'm in! Come, tell me how sexeh I is.:

Staravia sweatdropped. :The least you could do is be a little more humble.:

:And you are NOT. Sexy.: Prinplup gagged, but Ashes only winked at her.

Budew laughed nervously. :Okay guys. Enough! Let's get in a circle!:

All the pokemon, including Specter and Buwante, situated themselves in a large circle, and plopped down on the plushy green grass.

Meanwhile, Taze, Lucas and Dawn had made their way to the entrance of the Solaceon Ruins with the rest of the townspeople. The mayor, who was the elderly cowboy who had led the way to the rocky mountainside, was explaining the rules of the game to the crowd.

They were to split up into groups of three, and put into rooms inside of the ruins. The rooms surrounded the hallways and staircases, and inside everyone's room were five flags. The point was to go around trying to steal other teams' flags, and to guard their own at the same time. Losing all your flags resulted in termination from the game. The last team standing won. Participants were allowed the use of one pokemon each to aide them. Essentially, it was a massive Capture the Flag type game.

The grand prize?

A bundle of goodies including custom pokeballs, assorted elemental stones, vitamins, seals, TMs, Rare Candies, and an HM.

Naturally, Dawn, Lucas and Taze teamed up with the aim of winning.

The ruins were cold. That was the most prominent thing about them, as everyone slowly trickled inside and split up to find and claim their bases. Dimly lighting the hallways, rows of torches hung on the walls, which were decorated with ancient hieroglyphs fading with age. As Taze followed Dawn and Lucas down the stairs, he looked at the writings with curious wonder as he ran his hand over them, feeling his fingers dip into their grooves.

They were letters – more specifically, each a character of the alphabet represented by the pokemon Unown. That much he knew, thanks to school. Still, they were difficult to read.

"There are five levels, and the middle ones will likely be the busiest. So we should get a chamber in the basement," Lucas was saying as they went down the steps. Their shoes sent pattering echoes through the stairwell. The darkness thickened as they went further down.

Thankfully, more torches lit the way to the next staircase when they made it down to the hallway of the first floor of the basement. The second floor was a long way down.

The teens picked the room in the far corner of the lowest basement's hallway. There was no door, just a huge opening cut out of the wall to serve as an entrance. They convened in the middle of the room, preparing to form their strategy as more people came down the stairs, claiming the three other bases on the floor.

Lucas released Shieldon from his ball; Dawn and Taze followed suit. Lekora and Eneru materialized, stretching and preparing themselves for action while Shieldon ran rampant around the room, crashing into walls.

Lucas cleared his throat, and the three of them huddled together with their arms over each other's shoulders, ready to form a game plan.

"So," the boy started, looking down at the ground in thought. "I'm thinking we should have two defenders to look after the base, and one offensive player to go around stealing flags."

"I CALL FLAG STEALING!" Dawn shouted, her hand shooting up into the air.

"Aww, what if I wanted to be a flag stealer catcher person thingy?" whined Taze, his mouth sagging in a pathetic frown.

"Hey, what if I wanted to be the flag stealer too?!" Lucas asked.

Dawn narrowed her eyes at the two boys. "Too bad then, 'cause I called it."

"…Wait." Taze's head shot up, his eyes bright. "I have an idea. NOSEPASS, PAPER, SCIZOR!!!"

Lucas laughed, and Dawn seemed more than happy to play the classic deciding game – she never stepped down from a challenge or opportunity to beat Lucas or Taze at, well, anything.

"Kay, three-way match?" the blonde boy asked.

Dawn nodded, smirking. "Best two out of three, Tazey-Wazey. Prepare to crumble to my legendary Nosepass Paper Scizor skills."

Lucas chuckled, shaking his head, and the three of them began. Taze lost the first two rounds to Dawn and Lucas, who had both Scizor-ed his Paper. Lucas dominated Dawn the following round.

"GODDAMMIT!" she screeched. "I hate that stupid game." The girl grumbled off into the corner of the room to play with Lekora, her anger extremely short-lived. Within a matter of seconds she was giggling like a little kid with her Eevee.

Taze and Lucas smiled awkwardly at each other. Unspoken words were being exchanged between the two. They were both very relieved and appreciative about Dawn's attitude lately, which seemed to be more positive and cheerful, and less, well…violent.

So, it was decided: Lucas would be the flag stealer, and Taze and Dawn the defenders.

:Ima kill… everyone… kill… BLOOD!: Shieldon growled, tackling Lucas's leg.

:I will try my hardest for the team.: Eneru sat in front of Taze, her long black tail calmly swishing back and forth on the cold stone floor.

:Heh. Let's do this thing.: Lekora smirked, showing her sharp, pointy teeth as she stalked around the room.

Suddenly, a high-pitched, deafening squawk sounded through the entire ruins, its echoes bouncing off of the walls and through every floor.

A faded holograph of a small parrot pokemon with a black music note-shaped head appeared in the middle of the room. It floated there, looking at Dawn, Lucas and Taze with beady eyes. Apparently, one of the festival coordinators was using a psychic-type pokemon to project the image of a Chatot using Hyper Voice into every room in the Ruins.

"SQUAAAWWWK!" the Chatot shrieked. "The game will now start! On the count of THREE! TWO! ONE! GO!"

The image disappeared. Lucas nodded at Dawn and Taze, then slowly slunk out of the room with Shieldon at his heels.

Dawn, Taze, Lekora and Eneru all spread out in the empty space of the doorway. There was a lot of space between them; a small and nimble pokemon could easily get past them and to the flags, but for the most part, they had substantial coverage.

"This should be a good setup for now," Dawn said, looking out into the hallway. The other teams were coming out of their bases, looking for opportunities to strike.

Taze nodded, throwing her a toothy grin he made sure she saw. She looked away quickly, pretending she hadn't noticed.

She tried to avoid smiling at Taze whenever possible. Just because he had freaky stuff going on didn't mean she was going to be nice to him. She was just going to quit being so bitchy all the time. Tolerate him.

Her sour eyes scanned the hallway once more, and she folded her arms across her chest, tuning out the chatter coming from Lekora and Eneru as they conversed. She could sense Taze watching her still.

She moved her head slightly, catching a glance of him in her peripherals. She narrowed her eyes, wondering why she had push herself away from everyone like this.

She hated it. She wanted to be his friend, like she used to be – or anything, anything but this… cold-hearted witch -- but she couldn't. She wanted to open up to Taze, to Lucas, to anyone else who showed even the slightest hint of warm sociability towards her, but she could never truly be friendly in return. All she could do was hold up a pathetic façade of pleasantness before retreating back to her passive and skeptical stance.

She couldn't help it. She was afraid. Afraid of letting someone in, and then getting hurt. Even though she had been growing closer to Lucas recently, she still felt… fake towards him. Like she could never be his true friend, because she didn't even know who her true self really was. She had no idea how to act. Everything about her was forced. When she was hyper, or excited… that was usually just to get people to like her. And when she had her random outbursts, or acted angry… those were all just a tactic of scaring people away so they couldn't get any closer.

It was as if… she didn't even know who she was inside.

How could anyone know her, or call her a friend, if they didn't know the real Dawn? If she didn't even know who she really was, inside?

The girl shook her head, snapping herself out of her depressing cloud of thoughts. She watched Lucas as he and Shieldon battled another trainer and their Zubat. Shieldon opened his maw, releasing an unpleasant scream that had to be at least ten times louder than nails on a chalkboard. Dawn smirked. The Metal Sound had stunned the trainer and Zubat momentarily, giving Lucas just enough time to sprint into the room and grab a flag.

Just as the sound faded and Zubat and its trainer opened their eyes and uncovered their ears, Lucas was running past them, back to home base.

Shieldon skipped behind him as he gave the flag to Taze. The blond smiled and went to set it down with the other flags.

"Good work," he called to Lucas, who waved at them before setting off to steal another team's flag.

Dawn sighed, stretching out her arms. She wished she was out there, running around and being sneaky. This job was so…lame.

She felt a warm breath on her heck. Shocked, she spun around to see Taze standing inches from her face.

"You know," he said, smiling cutely, "those overalls really aren't that ugly on you. You look pretty good."

"EHHHH?!" Dawn took a step back, extremely confused. Was he being honest? Or sarcastic? She truly couldn't tell, though she wanted to believe it was the latter.

She had no idea how to act in this situation. She couldn't even remember the last time Taze had been nice to her for no apparent reason, much less given her a compliment.

"The-wa-ka-wha-ba…er…" the girl stuttered, trying to grasp on to the words that kept failing her. She couldn't believe her inability to form a lucid sentence in that moment. To top it all off, Taze still had on that stupid smile, looking at her eyes even when she broke contact. She was extremely uncomfortable…she couldn't look at him.

Not knowing how to handle herself, she resorted to her usual defense. Anger.

"I KNOW they're ugly, you don't have to make fun of me, jerkface," she snarled. She expected the boy to slink back in response, but his happy facial expression didn't falter.

What was up with him? His strange disappearance this morning, the inexplicable niceness…

Something was definitely up.

Next part soon! Hope you enjoyed. Reviews = love.