The Unovian woman, Touko, sat slouched in a chair in the corner of the room, watching the scene before her. Everywhere she looked people were moving hurriedly and anxiously. Some were busy treating the injured while others were being treated. Leaning forward, she clasped her hands together in thought, her bushy ponytail brushing her face. When she set out in search of Ghetsis nearly two months ago, she expected to find him slinking in some cave or hiding in some unnamed village, not on the front lines of a regional war. The ones who were seemingly in charge, including Lyra and surprisingly N, had quickly disappeared in a small room to discuss what their next move would be. Out of the remaining people, she managed to collect pieces of information here and there and connect them together. So far she had gathered that some big shot boss, Giovanni, had joined forces with Ghetsis to take over the world; how typical, she thought to herself. She continued to wring her hands together as she sat, waiting. Before sitting done, she had quickly spotted Bianca, Cheren, and Touya and exchanged greetings and how surprised she was to see them so far away from home. It would appear that Lyra had convinced them, together with N, to help her defend her region just as she had for them. N. She stopped her hand movements momentarily as she sat in thought. The last time she saw him he had been flying away on Zekrom, leaving her behind. He didn't even think twice about leaving her...

Her thoughts were interruppted when the creaking of a door sounded. Looking up, she saw the door to the small room open up, allowing it's temperary residents to exit. Rising to her feet she waited until the person she was looking for exited. Seeing the greenette for the first time since they fought against Kyurem together, she stepped forward as if on a mission. "N..." She called out, her voice small and unsure.

The green haired male stopped in his tracks at the sound of her voice. Whipping his head in her direction he froze. His body was rigid, as if he weren't sure whether to run towards her or away from her. "Touko..." Her name flowed as smooth as water off his tongue.

"N..." She repeated, quickening her pace in his direction.

"Tou...ko?" His eyes widened as the brunette female picked up speed towards him. Nothing could have prepared N for what happened next- a swift punch to the cheek. N staggered backwards, more surprised than injured. He stared at the woman incredulously as he held his offending cheek. "Wha- what was that for?"

"That's for leaving me!" Touko barked loudly, causing many of the surrounding eyes to fall on them. Reaching for his collar she yanked his head closer to hers, studying his frightened face. Capturing his lips her her own she kissed him quickly, but passionately. His face changed into a deep shade of crimson but he could not remove his eyes from hers, even after she broke the kiss. "That's for coming back..." she whispered softly, her face pinking.

On the sidelines Bianca giggled uncontrollably to herself while Cheren rubbed his arm awkwardly. Touya, on the other hand, looked like he might lose his lunch at witnessing the sudden display of affection. Among the aforementioned observers, May too had been giggling to herself. She didn't know N very well, nor had she met Touko, but woman's intuition had told her they had some deep history together. She had a sore spot for romance, she couldn't help it. "I think it's cute." She said at last to her companion beside her. After not receiving a response she glanced up, concerned. "Ruby? What's wrong?"

Brendan, too deep in thought to even notice the scene, stood in silence, his brows furrowed, head down. After hearing his name he looked up, "huh?"

May cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong?" She asked once more, worry setting in.

Brendan offered his friend a crooked smile and a shrug. "Nothing's wrong, per say. Just confused, is all." He taped his finger in his lips as he continued his thoughts.

"About what?" She asked, prying for information.

The Hoenn male sighed and folded his arms. "Not counting the sub-legendary pokemon, like Deoxys or Latios, every Legendary was here today. All expect one." He paused, his brows knit into confusion and concern. "Everyone except Rayquaza."

"Oh yeah... you're right." May agreed, "I wonder why he didn't show up." She added, equally confused. The last time Kyogre and Groudon had been in the same place at the same time, Rayquaza had appeared. According to Hoenn legend, Rayquaza descends to the ground whenever the Weather Duo are fighting. "Maybe they have to be fighting each other for Rayquaza to appear?"

"Hmm, perhaps." Brendan agreed with uncertainty.

"Excuse me," a masculine voice interrupted. "I couldn't help but over hear you speaking of the legendary dragon, Rayquaza."

May looked up at the approaching figure, her face beaming with excitement. Standing over a head taller than her and Brendan was none other than the regal Dragon Tamer, Lance. "That's right," May squeaked excitedly, "we're trying to figure out why he's not here."

Brendan stared at the giggly girl with dull eyes, "what she's trying to say is, we are trying to figure out why he didn't arrive when Kyogre and Groudon were simultaneously summoned."

Lance put a knuckle to his upper lip in thought. "Hmm, curious indeed. If it is alright by the two of you, I would like to accompany you in this matter of investigation." He held out an open hand towards the former Champion, Brendan.

The Hoenn male cocked a smile at the Champion as he took his hand in a firm handshake, "Thank you, that sounds goo-"

"That sounds perfect!" May exploded, interrupting the males. She continued to giggle excitedly while Lance laughed nervously and Brendan rolled his eyes dramatically.

Silver had been quick to formulate a new plan with the aid of Lyra, Lance, Red, and N. Although he was unsure of N's loyalty to begin with, he had finally accepted Plasma's fallen king after he faced his father in an attempt to save his life. Together they decided the best course of action was to split the remaining trainers up into teams and search for the plates. With their forces being much fewer in number than at the beginning of their fight, they were forced to split everyone into teams of three; save for two teams. The Kimono Girls, who had arrived shortly before their battle against Giovanni, had been placed in one group given that each of them only had one pokemon in their possession. This left Lyra and Silver in a group of their own.

"Silver," Lyra began, her speech slow as she chose she words carefully. She had waited to speak up until the other three had left the small room. "Are you sure about this?"

The red head gave more of a small huff than a sigh. "We don't have much of a choice, there aren't anymore people that can fight." Out of the sixty trainers, only forty-six were still physically able to fight. This number included ones as young as Jessie and as old as Pryce; not what would be considered an ideal army.

"I know but..."

Silver cupped the womans face in one hand and gently held her arm with the other. "Kotone, everything will be okay. I'll take care of you." The brunette met his eyes and smiled for the first time in days. "Trust me." He cooed as he leaned in to give her a soft peck on the cheek.

Lyra shut her eyes, enjoying the warmth from his breath and the softness of his lips on her skin. "I trust you." She said, her voice dreamy.

"Come on," he said with a smile while holding his hand out. "It's time to let everyone know what's going on."

After finally gathering the attention of everyone, namely a giggling May and flustered N, Silver announced their next plan. "Thanks to Lugia's phychic ability, she was able to mentally track each plate before Arceus scattered them. I have," he said, raising a handful of neatly folded papers, "details of where each plate is and who has been selected to find them. If you are still willing to fight, please accept your paper, we will begin searching for the plates immediately." He paused and waited for any complaint or question. When he heard none, he continued. "Bugsy, Agatha, and Bruno." He called out, his voice ringing clearly in the silent halls. Bruno stepped up and accepted the paper Silver held out to him. "You will be searching for the Fist Plate." Nodding with a grunt, Bruno returned to the group and stood beside Bugsy and Agatha to read the details on where their plate was located.

"Pryce, Lorelei, and Karen," he continued. "You have the Icicle Plate. N, Touko, and Cheren you have the Sky Plate. Alder, Touya, and Bianca have the Zap Plate. Clair, Will, and Whitney, you have the Mind Plate."

"Great..." Whispered Whitney. "I'm stuck with the costumed freaks.

"Dawn, Lucas, and Barry you have the Dread Plate. Chuck, Jasmine, and Steven have the Stone Plate. Brendan, May, and Lance have the Draco Plate."

May squealed at such a high frequency no one over the age of thirty-eight could hear it. "Shh! You don't have to get so excited!" Brendan whispered harshly.

Silver paused to let the ringing stop in his ears. "Falkner, Janine, and Koga have the Insect Plate. Ethan, Crystal, and Ariana have the Toxic Plate. Morty, Sabrina, and Lt. Surge, you have the Spooky Plate. Red, Blue, and Leaf have the Earth Plate."

Blue jabbed Red sharply in the side, "watch out Red, I'll be finding that Plate before you do." He was answered by a roll of eyes.

"Ptth, that's if I don't find it first." Leaf winked playfully.

"Misty, Brock, and Eusine-"

"Sweet Suicune, thank you!" Eusine exploded, interupting Silver. "My apologies, carry on." He said in a lower octave, waving his hand. Across the room Misty groaned.

"... you have the Splash Plate." Silver finished, unsure if Eusines placement had been a good choice. "Blaine, Erica, and Jessie, you have the Meadow Plate. Kimono Girls, you have been given the Iron Plate and that leaves Kotone and I with the Flame Plate." He concluded, slightly winded. "Now, any questions?"

"Yeah, I got one." An unfamiliar voice asked. The voice belonged to a man leaning against a shadowed door frame. Pushing off the wall he sauntered towards the red head, past everyone gathered together, and gave him a devilish grin. "Why is it, everyone has been divided up into teams of three or more, save for you and sweet little Lyra?" The male wore dark jeans and a black shirt, his teal hair perfectly styled beneath his black baseball cap. He watched the expression on the red heads face with satisfaction, his green eyes glittering in mischief.

Silver stared at the man incredulously, as if he didn't trust what his eyes saw. When Silver found his voice, he could utter only one word, "Proton."

Yes... Finally, Proton. I have been waiting since chap 13 to write about this guy again. I love him so much. I hope you guys will too. So, was this expected? Unexpected? I am curious it know! Until next time,

R&R!