I sat there, horrified, as the newscasters continued talking. My whole body was still shaking and my heart was banging painfully in my chest. I honestly didn't know what do do or say. For a moment, I found myself in total disbelief and feverishly denying what I was seeing right in front of me. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't...

The main newscaster was talking to another newscaster via a television screen to her right, looking stern and official as she questioned the other. "Is there any information detailing how the attack took place?"

The second newscaster was standing on a busy street somewhere, people and cars passing by her as she spoke, going on about their morning business as if nothing anywhere in the world could possibly be wrong. "Eyewitness reports from the prison claim that the attack came totally unexpected and was carried out with remarkable efficiency. Only one assailant was suspected to be involved. The attack is reported to have been surprisingly peaceful; very little property was destroyed and no injuries were sustained, the prison guards knocked out or incapacitated. The head security guard of the prison suspects Nathan Clarke's high security cell had been opened with its own key and other prisoners within the cell block were completely ignored."

"Any clues to the identity of the attacker?"

"Very little information is available to use at the present time. However, according to one of the six prison guards that were incapacitated while the attack took place, the last thing he remembered was hearing a woman's voice."

"A woman's voice?"

"Indeed. Police suspect a woman is responsible and will now begin investigating the matter promptly. Clarke's whereabouts still remain unknown and prison guards remain busy sweeping the prison's perimeter in the hope of finding him."

"Is there any immediate danger to the residents of Hoenn?"

"The police have urged residents of Hoenn, particularly those in close proximity to the prison in Mossdeep City to remain vigilant and to avoid travelling alone, at night or without the protection of Pokemon if they can help it."

The newscasters continued talking, but I had heard enough. I knew what had happened without needing to wait for any confirmation from police and I was deathly terrified. "Helene..." I croaked out, my voice practically evaporating into nothingness as I spoke. "She... She got to him, didn't she?"

I heard Dad sigh on the other end of the phone. "Yes..." He said, his voice solemn. "That is what I strongly believe, anyway."

I wanted to burst into tears, scream in frustration, throw up and have a tantrum all at once, just do anything to get rid of this swirling, swelling and bubbling mess of emotion that had me in its clutches.. I was overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness that even though I wanted to, I could do none of those things. Instead, I simply tried to moisten my lips enough to try and speak again. "Wh…what are we gonna do?"

"I don't know, Sienna," Dad said in a resigned manner. "I've already contacted your mother and told her about this."

"Mum?" I interrupted. "You told Mum? Why?"

"Think about it, Sienna." Dad's tone was grave. "If Nathan's out, what's gonna stop him from going after you?"

Just hearing him say that made fear stab right into the very depths of my being. "D-dad!" I shouted out, wishing he had never put that idea in my head, no matter how much I knew it to be truth.

"Sienna, that's the truth!" he suddenly snapped. "The fact of the matter, Sienna, is that he knows your address in Pallet Town! If he's out there, he might turn up at your house looking for you! And what if he finds that you're not there but he does find your mother? Your mother, Sienna! What's gonna happen if he goes after her too?!"

"Okay, okay! St…stop, please!" I cried into the phone, feeling hot, angry tears prick at the corner of my eyes. I didn't want to think about that. I didn't want to think about my mother being in danger, especially not by Nathan's hand. I took a deep breath and attempted to calm myself down. "So… so what do I do?"

There was a long silence at the other end of the phone. "I don't know."

"You don't know?!" I repeated shrilly.

"Sienna, I'm worried. About a lot of things. And one of the things I'm most worried about is the possibility that Nathan also has the dojo's address..."

"The dojo's… address?"

"Yes."

A horrible sense of dread and foreboding filled me and I struggled to keep my grip on the phone. "And that means...?" I whispered hoarsely, not even wanting to put forth any terrifying scenarios.

"I know Nathan." Dad suddenly said. "And I know the way his mind works. As much as I hate to admit this, I don't think you're going to be the one he goes after first.."

"Then… who is?"

"I think... I think I might be."

"You?!"

"Yes. I believe he thinks I betrayed him. That I was weak. And were it not for me, they would have succeeded. That's true. I guess in the end I did betray him and I did stop him, in a sense, from achieving what he wanted. So, I believe he wants to make me pay first."

"But that doesn't make any sense…" I whispered. "If he really wanted to hurt you, then surely it would make sense he would hurt me first..."

Dad was sighing wearily. "I considered that, Sienna, believe me."

"Yet you still think he's gonna go after you first?"

"Sienna… I think you might have it backwards…"

I frowned deeply. None of this was making any sense whatsoever and it was making my head hurt just thinking about it. "Backwards?"

"I think Nathan might want to hurt me first to hurt you."

He said it so calmly and so matter-of-factly it was like he was reading something from a dictionary. My heart plummeted to somewhere in my stomach. "But that would mean…"

"Yes… You might not be his first priority, but I do think you're his prime priority. Sienna… I believe this man wants to hurt you. Badly."

"Oh God…" my whole body began violently trembling. "What… what do I do…?"

"You need to get away from Johto, Sienna."

"What?!"

"If Nathan's coming to Johto to come after me, then you need to get as far away from here as possible."

"What, no!" I protested at once. "I can't do that! I can't leave you!"

"Sienna, listen. I'm going to close down the dojo—"

"Good! Then you can get away from that madman!"

"…and wait for him."

"What?!" I cried out in terror. "Are you crazy?! You can't do that!"

"I have to."

"Why?"

"To give you enough time to get away."

"I won't do that!" I cried as defiantly as I could.

"Why not?" I could hear him beginning to lose patience and become angry, but I honestly didn't care anymore.

"I won't leave you as bait for those two to come after you!"

"Sienna—"

"No!" I cried out, eventually losing what little grip on my emotions I had. "I'm coming over to Goldenrod City now! If Nathan is coming for you, I'll be there waiting for him too!"

"Sienna, I forbid it!"

"Well too bad you can't tell me what to do!" I yelled, standing upright out of pure temper just as I became aware of the door to the Pokemon Centre suddenly swinging open. "I'm going to Goldenrod and don't you dare try and stop me!"

Still shaking with a violent cocktail of fear and anger, I stabbed at my phone to end the call. I then turned towards the door that I had seen open. Elliot was standing there, looking slightly haggard and out of breath. "Sienna! What the hell?! Why did you—?"

I saw his eyes momentarily travel past my shoulder and then he stopped completely in his tracks. His whole face fell and was replaced with a look of abject horror. I could only assume Nathan's picture was still on the television, and as I turned around out of curiosity to look, my fears were confirmed. He stopped to listen to the report that was still being broadcast for a few moments, slowly being encompassed by a look of fear.

"Sienna…"

"I know, I know!" I said thickly, slapping my hands uselessly against my thighs. "They think he's gotten out… No, that he's been busted out." I spat the word out with such vehemence, hating the way it sounded. It tasted like poison on my tongue.

"You think it could be Helene…?"

"That's what Dad thinks…" I said, my voice choked.

"Is that who you were talking to…?"

"Y-yeah…" I hiccupped, suddenly finding it increasingly difficult to keep my emotions in control. "Oh God, Elliot, what's going to happen…? He could… he could go after my mum in Pallet Town. Or he could come after us…"

"Sienna," Elliot reached out and pulled me into a comforting hug. "It'll be okay—"

"How can you say that?!" I cried, shoving Elliot away as hard as I could. "He's dangerous, Elliot! D…Dad already said that… Oh God… that he might go to Goldenrod after him."

"Wait, after your dad?"

"Yes!" I cried tearfully. "Dad thinks Nathan wants to hurt me! And that… he'll try to hurt me by going after Dad."

"Oh God, Sienna…" Elliot looked horrified. "You think he will?"

"I… I don't know!" I said, hysterical tears beginning to spill over onto my cheeks. "I don't know, Elliot, I just don't know!"

At that point, I had gone beyond the point of no return and I began to sob, my whole body heaving in pain with each anguished howl that escaped. My legs felt weak and gave way underneath me, but I only vaguely registered falling to the ground. I heard Elliot cry out as my body touched cool floor and then I was wrapped in his arms and held as I began to sob uncontrollably.

It took me what felt like hours to calm down. When Elliot eventually had me calmed the first time, Jasmine and Nikki came back from the Gym, fresh from Jasmine's victory. When they saw me upset, the whole story came out again and the tears came back with an unwelcome, cruel vengeance. Later on in the day when Bailey and Scott came back, also both clutching badges, they also made the fatal error of inquiring as to what had happened. By this point I was beyond speaking, beyond even forming a coherent thought and merely sobbed into Nikki's shoulder until Elliot finished explaining.

As things eventually calmed and I managed to have control over my own thoughts and voice again, I pushed myself out of Nikki's comforting hug and spoke up again. "I… I have to go to Goldenrod…"

"You can't, Sienna." Elliot told me softly, leaning across to hold my hand. "You could walk right into his trap…"

"B… but…" I protested weakly. "My dad…"

I pulled my hand out of Elliot's and found myself fingering the red beaded bracelet my father had given me. There hadn't been a day since I got it that I had removed it and right now I was squeezing the beads so hard I was suddenly terrified I would snap it. Elliot seemed to think the same and put a comforting hand over mine. "Easy, Sienna…" he murmured.

"I just… I just can't leave him there alone. What if he gets hurt…?"

"But what if they go to Pallet Town first? Go looking for you there? Nathan does know where you live, right? And surely, if he really wanted to hurt you, he'd…"

"No…" I said slowly. "Don't ask me why, but I really think he's gonna go after my father…"

"Why would he go after your father to hurt you?"

"I don't know, I don't know!" I said, feeling myself already starting to board on hysterical again. "But I need to go to Goldenrod. I need to make sure he's alright."

"I agree with Sienna." I heard Bailey say and I looked up to see him looking deathly scared, his chubby face white. "I… I want to make sure Cal's okay too…"

I looked up to Bailey gratefully before looking at the others, resolve swelling up in me fiercely. "I don't care what you guys think or do. But I'll go to Goldenrod by myself if none of you want to come! I'll take Cairo and I'll go by myself."

"Don't be stupid, Sienna." Jasmine said at once. "You can't go by yourself."

"I will if none of you will come with me."

"Sienna…" I heard Nikki whisper as she put her hand on my arm. The contact made me jump slightly. "We won't let you go on your own. We'll… we'll go with you."

I frowned. "You will?"

"Yeah." She murmured. "We might not agree with you, or even think you're right… but we're your friends. We have your back."

"And we're certainly not gonna let you walk straight into danger while we sit around twiddling our thumbs." Jasmine added, poking her finger straight into my chest.

"Or have fun without us." Scott added, a hint of a smile adorning his normally aloof face.

Bailey was nodding. "Yeah. We'll help you out any way we can."

At this point, Elliot kneeled down next to me. "We're with you, Sienna. We stopped this guy once before." He said solemnly, looking around all of us in turn. "We can stop him again, right?"

Everyone nodded firmly, whilst I sat there completely at a loss of what to do or say. My emotions swelled within me, and I started to cry again, so moved and grateful for their support. It was times like this that I was so glad for the people in my life and knowing that no matter what I did or what happened, they'd always be there for me...

We left Violet City that day. We realised that the quickest way to get to Goldenrod was to fly, but that threw up its own set of problems. We weren't at all far from Goldenrod, considering Violet was one of its closest neighbouring cities, but I didn't want to waste time. Part of me knew that if Nathan really had escaped from that prison in Hoenn, it could likely take him a long time to travel all the way from one region to another, but I didn't want to take any risks. I wanted to be there as soon as possible just in case something bad happened. So, no sooner had we packed and gotten our things together, we were standing outside, trying to figure out the best way to co-ordinate things.

Our main problem was lack of transportation. There were six of us but only three Flying Pokemon big and strong enough to carry anyone; my Cairo, Elliot's Tropius and Scott's Pidgeot. Cairo had also never flown before with a rider, so I didn't want to risk pushing him too hard in case he couldn't handle it. We also had a problem in regard to Bailey… He was a big guy, that wasn't to be disputed and we were worried not many of the Pokemon would be able to support his weight. I could see Bailey's face twist in embarrassment and horror as Scott explained bluntly that his Pidgeot likely couldn't take Bailey's weight alongside his own. At one point, Nikki had a bright idea and attempted to rectify the situation by phoning Christian and asking to borrow his trusted Staraptor, but she could only get in touch with his agent. She eventually found out that Christian was caught up in the preliminary rounds of a contest and couldn't come to the phone for at least a couple of hours, leaving us still hopelessly stuck…

Jasmine seemed particularly annoyed and displeased at the whole situation. "I can't believe this…" she said, over and over again, shooting daggers and accusing looks in Bailey's direction.

"Jasmine, getting angry at Bailey won't help." I told her as snippily as I could. "We'll figure out a way around it!"

In the end, after a full half an hour of trying to work things out and performing several experiments as to how to best balance and distribute riders and Pokemon, we finally had a solution. Nikki, who was easily the lightest out of everyone, came on Cairo with me, Tropius was strong enough to support Bailey by himself, and Pidgeot took Scott and Jasmine. Elliot, after what felt like hours of trying, eventually got in contact with Lance and after what sounded suspiciously like bribery and blackmail, secured a couple of days loan of one of his brother's Dragonites.

So, eventually, as the afternoon began drawing to a close, the four winged Pokemon took off into the sky, our sights set on Goldenrod City. Elliot and Dragonite soared ahead, our unofficial navigators, followed by Scott, Jasmine and Pidgeot. Cairo, Nikki and I kept a comfortable pace behind them. I didn't want to push Cairo too much, after all. He was a rather unsteady flier at first, evidently still unused to his new size, bulk and wings. If this were any other situation, I would never have ridden him so soon or so far, and certainly not with anyone else. But what could I do? This was an emergency. I hated doing this to Cairo, but I had no other option. Thankfully, after a shaky start, he seemed to find his rhythm and soared adeptly through the sky like he'd been ridden all his life.

Elliot's Tropius however was having more trouble. Bailey's weight was obviously difficult for him to cope with, and his flight was slow and slightly erratic. This was made all the more frustrating by the fact that the journey to Goldenrod would be long, at least a full day's flight, and the Pokemon would need frequent rests.

We stopped travelling as night fell. Elliot wasn't confident about leading everyone in the darkness in case he lead us in the wrong direction, and the Pokemon were exhausted, particularly Tropius. I felt horrible for poor Bailey who looked so sheepish and upset, and who frequently kept apologising to Tropius and the whole group for this. I comforted him the best I could, but this situation wasn't best helped by Jasmine who snapped at him constantly as we built a fire and got tents set up.

"Gee, I really am sorry…" Bailey said for what felt like the thousandth time as he stared guiltily at the food we were all eating that night around the fire.

"Bailey, it's alright." I told him firmly. "We'll get to Goldenrod sooner or later. Besides… Nathan, if he really is out, there's a good chance that he's still in Hoenn. It could take him days to get to Goldenrod. A week even. So it's okay, don't worry."

"I don't think it's okay." Jasmine muttered traitorously from next to me.

"Nobody asked you!" I said through fiercely gritted teeth.

Jasmine glared at Bailey over the fire and shook her head pointedly, while I inwardly fumed. Trying to defuse the situation, I spoke to Elliot instead, who was tuned into the little radio on his mobile phone, trying to get the news to come up. As he eventually got it working, a news bulletin flashed in.

"And now we return to our top story of the day. It has been confirmed that after the attack on the maximum security prison in Hoenn that inmate Nathan Clarke is missing."

"Turn that off." I said at once.

"Huh?" Elliot said, looking up at me. "I… I thought you'd want to know…"

"I didn't need to wait for any confirmation on the news, Elliot…" I sighed, putting my head in my hands. "I knew. Call me crazy, but I had a terrible feeling that ever since Dad told me about that Helene woman that something like this would happen. And right now, I don't wanna think about any of this."

"Alright…" Elliot said with a sigh, turning off the radio. The place descended into abrupt, awkward quiet.

The night passed agonisingly slowly. One by one, everyone gave in and went to sleep. Nikki first, followed by Bailey about half an hour later. Scott reluctantly also fell asleep some time later, leaving Elliot, myself and Jasmine in what seemed like a face off to see who'd be the last person standing. I remained stubbornly awake, staring at the ground. Part of me didn't want to sleep, even though I knew I needed to. I knew that if I tried to sleep, my mind would totally overwhelm me with all the horrible thoughts I'd been trying so hard to keep at bay. So I forced myself to stay awake although my body and mind ached with the sheer effort and I became so frustrated that I probably would have snapped at someone for looking at me the wrong way...

Elliot sighed and gave up as it got close to midnight, but Jasmine was also still awake, staring deeply into space. Every now and again though, when she thought I wasn't watching, I caught her glancing over at our sleeping friends all huddled up in the corner. Illuminated by the glowing orange of the fire, I saw her phosphorescent eyes just linger a little too long on Bailey's slumbering figure.

Frowning, I eased myself forward and moved closer to the fire, took up a stick and began poking uselessly at the burning embers of the fire. I waited a few moments before eventually trusting myself to speak.

"I don't get it, Jazz."

"Huh?" Jasmine looked up, a look of confusion painted over her face. "Get what?"

"Bailey," I said, throwing the stick down.

"Bailey?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. "Why are you asking about Bailey? Especially with this whole thing about Nathan and Helene. God, that's the last thing you should be asking about."

"I should be asking about it." I said firmly. "When it affects people in this group, when it affects… group harmony or whatever, then yeah, I should ask about it. Don't you think I have enough on my plate to deal with right now without having to put up with you sniping at him all the time? So I wanna know what's going on now. Why do you hate him so much?"

She looked away. "I don't hate him."

"Please." I snorted. "Jasmine, you're weird around him. Sometimes you're practically foaming at the mouth with anger whenever he so much as talks to you, but sometimes you're okay with him. Like in Union Cave! I thought you were okay with him after he practically saved your life! But now you're bitching at him again. What the hell is going on with you and him?" I paused. "Is it because of the way he looks? Because he's… big?"

"No," she said at once.

"No?" I repeated sceptically. "Jasmine, I know you. I know you care about appearances, both your own and everyone else's. That's not a bad thing!" I added hastily when she glared at me. "I'm not criticising," I remedied. "But I just don't understand why you're so particularly nasty to him and the only reason I can think of is because of the way he looks! So what's the deal?"

She sighed, sinking her head into her hands, long tendrils of hair obstructing any good view of her face. "Look, I don't know. But it just… it kind of makes me angry to see him… the way he is."

"What?!" I said, exasperated. "What are you talking about?"

"Have you actually looked at him? Taken a really good look at him? He's actually quite… Oh God, I can't believe I'm saying this…"

"Saying what?"

Jasmine removed her head from the sieve of her hands and looked at me reproachfully. She let out a deep exhale, ruffling the fronds of hair falling over her forehead. "He's… he's actually quite nice-looking…" she said quietly.

My mouth hung open. What she had just said was quite easily the most shocking thing I had ever heard Jasmine say. "You what?"

"Oh, you heard me… Don't make me say it again." There was an angry, bright red blush over Jasmine's face and she was looking away from me.

I took a few moments to digest this quite shocking information. Jasmine actually considered Bailey nice-looking? As I thought about it, I was able to see her point. Bailey was a big guy, that was for sure, but he had at least a well-porportioned figure and a very strong, masculine look. Even despite a chubby face, he had a strong, pronounced jaw, well rounded eyes and effortlessly messy hair in a style that sent a lot of girls squealing like schoolgirls. And even I, a taken woman, had to admit that Bailey had a gorgeous smile.

"Yeah, I do actually see your point." I nodded. "But if you actually think he's nice looking, why the hell are you so nasty to him sometimes?"

Jasmine sighed, looking uncomfortable. "You know how I come from a rich family?"

I nodded.

"Mum and Dad never wanted me to go off and become a Pokemon trainer. I've told you that before, so I don't need to say any more. I know, I know, this sounds like your typical 'poor little rich girl can't go out and do what she wants' cliché crap, but hear me out?"

"Sure."

"They wanted me to go to university, get a degree, become a… businesswoman of all things, make a lot of money, settle down, get married and have kids. They practically have my life planned out. Especially when it comes to getting married."

I frowned at the picture Jasmine was painting. It sounded like an absolute nightmare scenario...

"Even I have to admit my parents are really superficial." Jasmine said, running a hand through her long blonde hair. "I mean, I'm superficial. I know I am! I know I put too much on looks and appearances when I really shouldn't. But that's just how I am. My parents raised me to care about the way I looked, to think that pretty people and skinny people are successful people. They also expect me to marry a handsome man."

"I don't get what this has to do with Bailey."

"When I met him, yeah, I'll admit, I was a bit of a bitch to him. I guess I had the idea that fat people were just lazy slobs that didn't do anything worthwhile. But getting to know Bailey… it was like everything I had ever thought about fat people went straight out the window. You know, how he helped his Dad look after his brothers. And then how he turned out to be so nice. Even after I was a bitch to him, he still acted really nice to me."

"I think that's just how he is," I pointed out slowly.

For a moment, Jasmine looked like she was wrestling with something. "Listen, if I tell you something, will you keep it a secret?"

I blinked at her. "Jasmine, you shouldn't have to ask. I'm your friend."

She sighed, swallowed hard, clasped her hands together and eventually spat out "I like Bailey."

"You do!?"

"Yeah. I do. I really do. He's such a nice guy! He's not like all the other guys I've met. He's not the kind of guy that treats girls like objects."

"So, I don't get it. If you really like him as much as you do, why do you act like you can't stand him?"

"Because I know my parents would never approve…"

"Are you serious?"

"You don't know them, Sienna. You don't know how controlling they are. You don't know what they expect of me…"

"Jasmine… I think if you were happy, they'd be happy for you."

"No, they wouldn't… Look, I went out with a guy in high school. He wasn't good looking. He had a squashed nose and a funny face and was waaaaay too skinny for it to be healthy. He was also a goth and dressed in a lot of black and leather, like those rogue trainers. Mum and Dad took one look at him and told me I could do better, and to break up with him."

"Oh, Jazz!"

"So… I guess with Bailey… I try and act like I don't like him. Like I figure if I tell myself enough times that he's fat and unattractive I won't like him. But…" her hands tensed around her knees and her head dropped. "It's not working! I still like him, and he probably thinks I'm a total bitch! It's not fair, Sienna!"

And then to my abject horror, Jasmine did something I have never seen her do. She started to cry.

I faltered for a moment, completely at a loss for what to do. I reached out hesitantly, before drawing her into a hug. I thought she'd stop and calm down, but she didn't. So I couldn't do anything but to hold onto her while she sobbed. I stroked her blonde hair, trying to be comforting, trying to soothe her.

"It's not too late, you know?" I whispered. "I think… I think Bailey still likes you."

"How do you know?" She said thickly.

"Because he told me. I think he likes you, Jazz. You just need to show him you like him back, okay?" I found what I was saying a little embarrassing to say, like I was a thirteen year old girl giving advice she was simply reading out of a gossip magazine to her best friend. But if it helped Jazz, I'd do it..

"How do I do that?"

I smiled. "Just be yourself. Not the bitchy superficial girl your parents want you to be. The real you. The real Jasmine that Nikki and I know and love. Okay?"

"Okay..." She murmured. "I'll try."

"That's my girl." I nodded, before patting her firmly on the back. "Now come on, go to sleep. It's late. We have a long day tomorrow."

"Are you going to sleep?" Jasmine asked at once.

I wanted to say no, that I'd go to sleep later, but seeing the sad look in her eye, I relented. "Yeah."

We lay down next to each other, pulling a blanket over us. It was a surprisingly cold night and without the comforting warmth of the fire, my teeth soon began chattering and goosebumps flared up all over my skin. Despite the cold and rather uncomfortable ground, Jasmine was asleep within minutes, but I lay awake staring at the sky and stars long into the early hours of the morning...

Author's Note

Well here's an update for you. :D

I'm gonna try and go on a writing frenzy to get as much as I can finished :) Now that I'm writing the end, I'd like to get it done as soon as possible :)

Next chapter comes a frightening development in regard to the plot xP

Thanks to my reviewers, ArchXDeath, I have a dictionary here, Shadow Serenity 57, The Neverending Meep, WarriorSwift, TwewyReaperGirl and imv16. Sorry I can't do personal replies this time, I'm kinda exhausted xP Next chapter, I promise.

Until next time! Please drop a review!