All Roads Lead to the Grand Festival

At the conclusion of their dinner, the 'Swinging Foursome' became very deep in their words, especially Conway and Holly. Holly recalls how close she came to having a relationship, at age 14, with her friend. Unfortunately, she died before such a union could take place; a traumatic experience that has caused her grief throughout her teen years. Conway recalled his time with Paul during kindergarten, knowing he was gay back then. Even now, he is not sure if he ever did have feelings for him, leaving him confused. Solana goes out and does a great appeal with her Plusle and causes her Ranger comrades to wildly cheer backstage as Dawn slowly gains respect for the movement.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 37- On This Night, I No Longer Fear)

This is not something that he is used to doing. More often than not, he'd just take a stroll down to the nearest clinic and they would always have this item at no cost to the people that needed it. There would be a container of these just off to the side of different pamphlets that give people information on sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Indeed, the eighteen-year old never saw the need to buy any condoms while on the road if he could get the same item, just as good and effective, for free to the public. He is not the most sexually charged individual in the world, but understands that even in a legitimate swing club and session such as this with professionals the likes of both Kenny and Zoey, it is better to be safe than sorry.

But never before has Conway gotten the exposure to so many different shapes, sizes, colors and brands such as he's seeing inside of this drugstore. It's leaving him most bewildered, causing a mild headache as he just thinks about the various possibilities. Then he comes face to face with the brand that seems to define the product.

"Trojans," he remarks as a very large portion of the shelves are loaded with the type. Looking at the list one more time, he sees that the list calls for him to get a box of colorful condoms for the encounter, and a number next to the centuries-old contraceptive is a clue for the older male that he'll need to get at least six for the evening. Why so many given that there are only two boys taking part is something that he'll have to ask later.

"This is kind of weird shopping for all of this, especially with people nearby," he whispers as Holly comes from behind and places a few tubes inside the basket Conway is currently carrying in his left hand.

"There's enough lubrication in there to get a Datsun through a rabbit hole," she remarks as her boyfriend slowly drops a box of protection into the basket. "I got warming liquid, KY jelly, petroleum jelly and…"

"Whoa, wait a minute. You got petroleum jelly…and I got latex condoms?"

"Yes—oh wait! That doesn't work, or at least it's a poor combination to have. I remember you telling me that happened to one of your friends. The condom broke and…"

"They got a nice little, bouncing, bundle of joy nine months later," Conway adds, concluding the story. "If you're gonna use anything for lubrication that won't effect the condom and cause breakage, try Astroglide. I'm surprised that they don't have that on the list."

"Okay, but I know that they have petroleum jelly on the list and don't forget their words, Conway." Now speaking in a voice similar to her more butch partner, Holly says to him, "You can get whatever you want to get for yourselves, but you better make sure that you get what's on our list or you won't enjoy our time nearly as much…and neither will I."

"Okay then. They'll get their stuff and we'll get ours and call it Even Steven." Leaning in, making sure that no one else in the store hears what he has to say, Conway asks Holly, "You had the pill today, am I right?"

"I swear by it, Connie," she whispers back to him. "You know that."

As Holly walks over to another aisle, which includes the bagged snacks, including chips and drinks off to the side in coolers, Conway shakes his head a time or two and contends, "So it's a crime to know this stuff? I just want to know for sure."

Turning around before she can make her trek to the other side of the store and the snacks within. "Well, know for sure that I'm not ready and I've taken every single precaution to make sure that nothing comes of this other than us having sex. No babies, no illnesses, no nothing. I've heard too many sob stories about boyfriends fathering children with other women they swung with or getting an STD from a couple that they thought they could trust. That won't be us, though. You can count on it."

Now nodding his head, Conway joins the much taller specimen in a walk through the snack aisle for anything that might curb his midnight cravings during what all four parties expect to be a draining night of love in the physical.

While the pair is in this less controversial aisle, Holly adds to the basket a bag of chips and a container of sour cream dip with chives and guacamole. Despite this being arguably a more popular item of choice, the couple remains alone inside of the store. This gives the male an opportunity to ask is girlfriend about a very sensitive subject.

"Hey, um…I don't really know how to say this, Holly," Conway says, still keeping his voice just above a whisper in case someone might overhear what he has on his mind. "I just want to commend you for letting Zoey and Kenny know about what happened with…"

"It's no problem," she smiles while the tandem walks in the direction of the registers. "I still have very strong feelings for her after all these years…but she's gone now, and that's not something I can control. You know from the story…I saw her die, Conway. That will never leave me as long as I live. No matter how much therapy I go through, no matter the love that I get from people like you. Seeing someone you really love die at the age of fourteen before you even get the chance to tell her…I don't wish that on my worst enemy. But I want people to know the story and understand that love can happen in many different ways. Not all of them have to be 'boy meets girl'."

"So true," he remarks as they come to the front of the register line and place their items in front of the male cashier. "Are you sure that you're ready for this? I doubt that once we get up to their hotel room that we'll be able to exercise the 'chicken out' clause."

"I'm sure, man. Goddamn! How many times are you gonna ask that? I'm saddened by her loss, for sure, but nowhere near the point that I get cold feet about other relationships I'm in. Hell, I'm with you! Shouldn't that count for something?"

"Well, yeah. You are with me," Conway affirms. "But compared to your friend, I'm a safe pick. Heck, I'm an unassuming, stereotypical geek type who looks like the only thing he could hurt is an online player's feelings on XBOX Live."

While their items get rung up by the cashier, Holly can't help but giggle at the comment from the teen one year her junior. "You know, with all of these questions you keep asking me about whether or not I'm ready, I'm beginning to wonder the same about you."

"What, me?" he questions, sort of surprised by such thoughts. "Shoot, I'm ready for this! Are you kidding me? I don't know where you get an idea that I'm not prepared."

"Just a thought," she defends while giving the attendant a note to pay for the goods and getting change in return.

With their items in a bag, they walk out of the pharmacy and see the high-rise hotel off in the distance just a few blocks away from the store; well within walking distance. For some unmentionable reason, as Conway comes face to face with the somewhat humid March air during the evening in Slateport City, he begins to breathe harder and walk more rigidly as if the atmosphere had a greater effect on him than it did his counterpart, who appears to walk at a regular pace along the city sidewalks with a smile on her face. Hiding whatever feelings they might, it is not clear what is really going through her head based on her actions in the calm before the storm.

Conway does not have this same sort of fortune as his legs and his forehead, laced with perspiration, fail him and expose him for the nervous wreck that he truly is. Holly says nothing about this, despite having the best look at the young man in specs. Whether it is to keep his bravado and machismo about him or whatever, nothing much occurs between the two in the way of talk. 'What in the world have I gotten myself into?' he wonders as he knows that soon there will truly be no turning back from this night on this night.

Having watched more than his fair share of appeals for the evening, a man of some age and much treachery has grown tired of the practice. Norman, while in bed with his wife, turns in her direction; his eyes somewhat droopy given the mundane activity he's seen on the screen in recent minutes.

"Carly," he begins by using the pet name for the woman by his side, "would you mind if I turned this off for the night? I mean, the announcers just said that May is in and will go on tomorrow in the elimination rounds. I don't have another horse in the race…"

"Yeah, go ahead. I had stopped watching that almost an hour ago, to tell you the truth," she politely answers as she yawns a bit before Norman actually picks up the television remote to hit the topmost button and turn the receiver off for the evening, leaving only the lamps placed atop two side-table drawers as the only source of illumination in the room, minus a partially covered moon in the sky, which it itself is somewhat blocked off by the hotel blinds.

"You know, it's interesting," she mentions half a minute after the television gets its rest for the evening, "You came back to our hotel room after May made her announcement and said that you wanted to…catch the final appeals before going to bed; that you wanted to see if there was any other competition out there that could go up against May on Sunday. You got very close to watching those final appeals before even you had to admit that you needed to call it a night or risk a premature death by way of boredom.

"I had no problem with that; coordinating can be fun when done right, but most of the appeals this evening have been nothing but a rehash of things we saw when we talked about…running off to get married and start our life together. When we were kids, Norman, just like our child today. I know that we agreed in their hotel room that May will become an adult soon and that the decision will ultimately be in her hands. That's why we made the choice that we made; for her and not ourselves." Now leaning closer into her spouse, Caroline continues her form of soul-bearing by adding, "But I wanted to know what you really thought about our teenage daughter telling us that she was going to get married to Kelly, a girl we knew was a good friend of hers, but grew to learn was so much more. I never got that in the talk we had. I felt that Kelly and May got more excuses or reasons why getting engaged now is not a good idea more than anything else.

"Norman, it took me some time to get it, but they're absolutely right," she admits, now tearing up a little bit. "They can make it work and have handled their love fantastically. And it hasn't been one big thing as much as it has just been these small things that cause my heart to skip a beat when I see them. I remember just…two weeks ago when Kelly trained May in between her time at the Rustboro Academy and I saw them right before the sun was about to set…and they just gave each other this look after they talked about their battle plans. A few seconds later, they're both relaxing on one of the couches. Just…it was good to see that little thing happen, especially in young love and especially in today's world with so much…against them. They get it, Norman, I almost felt like I should be asking them at times about how to keep a relationship going even if I've done it for almost twenty-five years.

"Anyway, that's how I felt about it. I just wasn't sure about what you felt."

Apparently, given that there is enough light in the room and that one can effectively read the face of another person that Caroline has known for well for multiple decades, it would appear that she has gotten him on something deep down within that he doesn't want to let out to the surface. Given how well he has been read, though, it looks as if the father of two has no other choice but to be honest like Abe and let her wife know how he really feels about her daughter planning to get married at such a young age. Shaking his head slightly from left to right and vice versa, his real opinion is heard in the words, "I am not completely behind it, to be honest."

"Norman!" she exclaims.

"Don't get me wrong, Caroline! I love Kelly and think that she is great for May. I just wish that all of this got handled differently than it did. I felt a lot of…deceit going on in this entire process. May went to my mom and dad long before she even told me that she had a girlfriend who is a university professor! That didn't matter to me, or even the fact that I now have not one but two gay children. No, my biggest problem with it all was the fact that…I learned about this for a fact and from her lips one month ago, even though I knew of it for a year because of what you told me.

"But everyone around me, Caroline, knew and apparently gave their approval and their blessing before me! She came to my parents—her grandparents before she came to me and said this. I embraced her while she continues on the road she's traveling on in this journey, Caroline," he proudly states while clenching one of his hands into a balled fist. "She is my pride, along with Max. And I felt hurt that she apparently didn't let me in and see the…beautiful thing that I see today and am coming around to more and more." Now with both fists clutched and at his sides while he is in bed, Norman suddenly gets out so he can get to his phone, which is located in his pants that he wore on this day.

"What are you doing?"

Not answering his wife, he opens the cellular phone and begins to press a couple of numbers leading to the list of speed dials. After pressing two more buttons on the phone, he waits for a dial tone, which arrives at the same time he lets the woman in the bed know, "I'm looking for some answers to my questions. May proposed to Kelly using the ring that my dad bought to propose to my mother. If they were gonna do that and actually give May the ring, then that means they had to know about this long before I did and had to have like what they saw. I just wonder why they didn't come to me and say a word about what was going on then."

"Norman, don't you think you might be blowing this a little out of proportion and making a mountain out of a molehill, as well?"

"I just want some answers," he contends. "I'm not gonna snap at anyone or yell. I just need to know what's up."

Just as he says this, a voice on the other end naturally asks, "Hello?"

Immediately recognizing the voice, Norman says, "Hi, mom. It's me, Norman."

"Well hello, son," Katherine Maple replies in the same tone as her son before her. "Is everything going well over there in Slateport?"

"Oh yeah. Caroline and I were about to turn in for the night and I wanted to just say goodnight…"

"Oh, certainly not for me, you aren't," she smiles and laughs while on the other line and sitting inside a café in Cape Town, South Africa. "It's right around 3:30 in the afternoon here and your father and I decided to sample the local fare and then cruise the city until it gets dark."

"Well, that explains it. The time is 10:30 at night back here in Hoenn." Having got the small talk out of the way, Norman now seeks to get to the important items of note. "Uhh…there is a reason I wanted to call you. Is dad nearby?"

"Yes," Katherine answers while looking in Maurice's general direction.

"Could I—if it's possible, could I speak to the two of you on speakerphone and talk to you about something that happened earlier this evening?"

"What about?"

"Uh…I don't know if you know this or not, but May came to me and said that she proposed to her girlfriend Kelly this evening…and that you and dad provided her the ring."

"Oh," is the only thing that comes out of Katherine's mouth before she leans over to Norman's dad and whispers something in his ear, which causes his eyebrows to rise suddenly. While all this happens, the Maple matriarch presses the button on her cellular and switches to a speakerphone option.

"Hello? Mom?" Norman asks, hoping for an answer from either his mom or dad on the situation that took place earlier in the evening.

"Son, it's me," Maurice interjects, no longer keeping Norman in the dark about the call he just made.

"Dad, hi," he responds to the sound of the voice. "I'm guessing that mom told you over that time that I was waiting for an answer, right?"

"Yeah, and you had every right to know what was going on…"

"Then why not say anything to me, dad?"

"Because your daughter told me not to, son!" he replies matter-of-factly. With confidence in his words and a desire to set things straight in his mind, Maurice makes it clear, "I respect the wishes of May. No, she is not an adult and yes, you hold a good deal of her major responsibilities, but I do think that she is capable of making this very adult decision. She came to me in confidence a while back when she and Kelly just got together during the 2008 holidays and told me that she had a great feeling deep inside her that the girl was the one for her. We talked a lot about heart and what the heart says and she expressed these feelings."

"You supported her?"

"Like she was my own, Norman. That's why I didn't say anything because if any news about her and her love life was gonna come out, no pun intended, she wanted to control it and she couldn't do that if I was trusted to be the gatekeeper for a lot of these feelings for a little over a year, yet behind her back, I give you the play-by-play. That doesn't work and doesn't build any sort of trust, son, and that's why you heard her say that she loved Kelly a month ago and heard about the proposal tonight. Yes, she has a confident, brave and upstanding younger brother who did the same, but each man, woman and child who decides to come out has to go at their own pace. Obviously, for some reason, May did not want to let you or her mother know about this and kept it together for as long as she did. But do you have any idea why this was the case and why she kept this secret for this length of time? Can you even make an educated guess on the matter, son?"

"I don't," Norman begins far too early. Taking his time, he regroups his words and answers the last thing his dad referred to; why May would keep such news from her folks for so long. "I don't have an answer for that, dad. Here I am…thinking that as father, I could get all the answers by allowing the line of communication between me and my kids to be open for things like this to be discussed and for us to better understand one another."

"There's still time for that," Maurice assures his son, "and I'm sure you wish that things would not be going this quickly for you."

"Of course, dad! I mean, it seems so out of the blue; May is doing this almost like she has no choice in the matter. Like this is a shotgun wedding proposal, you know? It's all occurred so quickly, I, as an old and wise guy in her eyes, am not able to keep up with her pace."

"Sometimes, a thing like love can overcome time." After a statement that had cryptic undertones within it, the older gentleman in South Africa smirks a bit before saying, to his scion, "But you know exactly what I'm talking about, right Norman? Like father, like daughter. Nothing could be closer to the truth."

He had to know that his dad would bring it up. Much like his daughter has found love at a very young age, he did the same in the one Norman calls 'Carly'. He can hear his heartbeat louder and louder as his father on the other end of the line makes it be known once more of the situation he charged into while in his early twenties.

And then, for a fleeting second, he thinks how interesting a subject like history can be when one's mind is put into it and unable to get out. It is true; the subject has repeated and the cycle continues onward for now with no end in sight, until another generation comes along to take their place.

"Are we making sense now, Norman?" his mother questions after silence sounds like his special of the moment. "There is no denying who your children are, son, because they take after their father. That's not a bad thing, and after learning more about your wife and seeing you actually grow up, I figured that out. I'm sure you called wanting to know why in the world your daughter would go behind your back and come to us in the way she did, but the fact is that you knew the answer all along. Hell, son, you lived through your answer!"

"I'm not mad at you anymore for going behind my back and marrying Caroline," Maurice adds. "I stopped that feeling a long time ago. There's nothing for me to feel bad about; my son defied me, but I knew that that day would come. It's unavoidable just like trying to stop May from doing what she's gonna do. You can't keep her as your little girl forever, Norman; no matter how much you want that fairy tale to come true. As painful and as hurtful an experience it is, she'll defy you—no. I think based on your tone, she's already defied you. Right?"

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say 'defied' as much as she just took matters into her own hands…"

"All right. I sort of buy that, but no matter how you might try to dress the situation, the idea is the same. She's gone against your word and it sucks. It feels like she's spitting right in your face, but truth be told, it will be the best thing for her in the end because she gets to do it on her terms. Your only daughter is gonna get married soon. While it's a happy time for you two…I can't help but feel that this is a very sad day as well, Norman. I know from experience. You have doubts about her decision and aren't sure if she's making the right one. You don't know if things will go the way you would want them to for May. You know what that's called, Norman?"

"What is it called, sir?"

"Being a damn good father," he answers. "It's okay to be scared, to think and walk in that company of skeptics and cynics. I was part of it…"

"And so was I," Katherine admits.

"But we knew that if we did our job as parents, our children would find their way. Your kid has to grow up, eventually, and the fact is…that's the best part of being a parent overall; watching them from the time you held them in your hands through all the growth spurts, firsts of everything up to now…where you'll be giving her away very soon. But that's okay. She is giving herself away to a quality girl if I ever saw one in Kelly Marin. What more could you ask for in a young woman with such passion and determination in her work as her? And Norman, she has goals that she's gonna set very soon! She will be a doctor in just six more months! What father would not want that for his only girl? If you love something or someone enough, you will let them go. You get that, right?"

He's shaking, much like that night about a month ago when he saw it with his own two eyes. 'It' was love, he knew that on Valentine's Night that his daughter found it and it was real. Nothing showy or ultimately defining convinced him of this truth, but a simple moment between two people in love sealed the deal and turned on the light in his head. Through talking the situation over with his loving wife and the two teens, he got an even greater understanding of his daughter and himself; the concern reigned as king in his mind, though he went through this same process with his only son and came out the better for it.

Now, in a different conversation, he gets word from a most reliable source that he has absolutely nothing to worry about, provided that he did the right things for those who depended on him. Nevertheless, he will continue to show concern like a good father should; just like his father did for him.

The tears have long since been there, just waiting to flow from the ducts of the conflicted parent. Caroline has asked the man time and time again what his mother and father are telling him, yet he just keeps shaking his head and looking up to the ceiling above. With his voice choppy like ocean waves against New England shore, he says to his parents, scared like a lost boy, "I get it, dad. That doesn't mean I have to like it, though."

"No one said you would, Norman," Katherine contends. "This is tough, I know, and a great part of me wants to just wrap you in your arms and tell you that everything will be fine…but that's what you have Caroline for now, I suppose." She ends her small response sounding a little downtrodden, but keeps it together for her son and in front of the public restaurant where she and Maurice are enjoying their meal.

"So are you okay?" Norman's dad asks him, but the only call back he gets includes what sounds like loud crying or bawling on the other end of the line.

Afterwards, about ten or fifteen seconds later, Maurice and Katherine hear the sound of their son screaming the words "I love you, May," and "I'm behind you one hundred percent," and "I'm sorry I ever doubted you." Though his folks can't see it, he's quite emotional, with his head down on the carpet and the tears continuing to arrive at the pace of a bullet train.

Picking up his cell phone while embracing the man in her arms, Caroline speaks into the receiver, "Hey, this is Caroline. Uh…what did you just say to Norman? He's here on the floor just…it's like he's lost it. He's…wailing here on the hotel floor and saying how much he supports May."

"No, Caroline," Maurice smiles from the other end. "If I'm not mistaken, I really think you're seeing him at his absolute best. He's just letting go. It's hard for him, as it will be for you, but he has to do this to find…his real reward as a parent. I'm sure he'll speak to me later. For now, my wife and I should be going. This is your time with him. Ask him…what he thinks about his daughter's plans now and you just might get a different answer."

"Take care, Caroline."

"Okay, Katherine and Maurice. Good day to you," she speaks while holding and rocking her husband much like that aforementioned February 14th evening. Hanging up the cell phone, she leads her spouse back to the bed, her mission to find out exactly what occurred over the phone.

Pleading with her husband to take some deep breaths and regain his composure, the question gets posed to Norman about what caused him to cry as much as he has in the last few minutes. To this, he makes the case that, "We've lost her, Carly. Don't you know how sad that is that our daughter is no longer gonna be 'our little girl'? I mean, she'll always be ours, but…before we even know it; she will be someone else's. That and me not understanding that May has to go at her own pace made me apprehensive to her proposal…but not anymore, Caroline. I just…I love her," he admits, his voice breaking yet again. "I have to do right by May, and this is something I wasn't quite ready to accept, until now. That's why I'm…bawling my eyes out because things will never be the same. This night changes everything. I can accept it, or miss out." Finally, as it almost seems like it's been forever since Caroline has seen it, a smile actually appears on the face of her significant other. "What do you think I'm gonna do?"

Returning the gesture, she knows the answer and gives Norman his bone. "Be the best dad you can be," with this answer sealed with a kiss and embrace from the fairer party, the deal is done; set in stone, one might say.

The fear has not departed and may never for what lies ahead for their daughter and even their son, but from this evening forward, the pair refuses to put their faith in such concern.

Their children aren't doing it and it has gotten both of them, especially May, to this important point in her life.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen!" says a microphone-wielder coming up onto the stage with the overhead lights of the stadium illuminating him and all that is around him to the point that one might think it is the daytime upon first glance. Walking up to the Pokémon Ranger, Robert reminds the crowd "That was Solana Roubanis; the second to last coordinator to make her mark in appeals. I must say, you are a face that I have not seen much around contest houses and the like."

"Well, I'm not a coordinator by trade, Robert," she answers, a bit shakily due to some microphone and stage fright. "My fellow Rangers and I are here in a…collective effort to take the Ribbon Cup and represent the order. This is actually my first appeal."

A few 'oohs' and 'boos' are heard from the massive crowd, depending on where people stand on the idea of people walking on in coordinating competitions. Robert seems to take the entire moment in stride by making the comment to the judges, "Did you hear that? It's her very first appeal…ever! Do me a favor; don't go easy on her…at all." This elicits a lot of laughter from both sides. So much of it that many of them don't hear the former Grand Festival Champion say, "Contesta, your thoughts?"

"Well, that's quite an effort for a first appeal. You seem to have a great handle on…attack combinations and you do it quite well with a Pokémon not really known for doing great in attacks. Very good job and you and the Rangers should be proud of what happens."

"Shockingly…remarkable!" Suziko then adds.

Then, Slateport's Nurse Joy continues down the line, explaining, "I really think you did all that you could with Plusle there. The fact that you don't have many technical machines to use for that Pokémon makes this even more impressive. The more difficult the routine, even if it's not done perfectly will always get a high mark in my mind."

Solana just smiles and nods in the face of the criticism, though she feels better as she goes down the line, getting nothing but compliments from the judges, like the Joy of Littleroot Town, who liked the electric show and how Plusle looked like a pinball going through the motions.

Finally, the thoughts of Ever Grande's Joy surface. "I think you might have a future in coordinating…if you're serious about it and want to pursue it. Like my other colleagues have said, you had great command of your stuff out there. You didn't panic when the clock came down and time started to run out and you kept it cool. By doing that, your Plusle kept it cool, too, and for a first effort, it should be commended and will be once you look at the score."

"Okay, so far so good as far as comments and thoughts on your appeal from the people that mean the most." Robert now turns back in the direction of the Ranger, dressed in her uniform for the Grand Festival in order to get her thoughts. "So you aren't a coordinator. Why are you here exactly? Could it be the fact that this competition gives three and a half million dollars in cash and prizes to the victor?"

Leaning in to make the point clear, Solana answers, "You bet. That's exactly why I'm here with my teammates. I'm not the greatest expert on appeals, so…please don't ask me where that came from. It really doesn't matter to me so long as I impress and increase my wealth through it."

Slowly bringing his microphone back near him, Robert now must contend with some of the jeers that Solana is now receiving from this very pro-coordinating crowd. "Okay," he begins. "That is her opinion, but truth be told, it doesn't matter one bit." That statement causes the stadium to erupt into cheers, but like a professional, the coordinator ignores them and moves on with his build-up, adding, "those five judges over there are the ones who hold your fate. They are charged to be objective in their work, and I'm sure they've never been tested quite like this from a real outsider attempting to join the top sixteen with what many argue was a nice appeal. But is it enough? You need at least a forty-four to advance to tomorrow's round, so…up in the booth? What's the score?"

Only scant seconds pass before the big revelation arrives. Solana did more than what she had to in order to make it to the next round by getting a score of forty-five, putting her in eleventh place amongst all contestants and guaranteeing herself a spot in tomorrow's elimination rounds. Among the individual scores came nines across the board from all five judges, realizing that despite her feelings about the sport that they love and judge on a regular basis, she did a job worthy of high praise and an equally high score.

"A forty-five and every judge seems like they are giving you an 'A' for effort in this one as Solana is on cloud nine, I'm sure?"

"Oh yeah, Rob, but if you think I feel good about this, then my team must be ecstatic right now."

"Well, now is the time you can head to the back, celebrate with them and prepare for tomorrow." Shaking the hand of the young ranger, he says, "Good job to you and good luck! That was Solana Roubanis, folks!"

While quickly dashing to the back, she gets her fair share of booing from the crowd, but she could care less about the crowd and their feelings as she has made good on her promise to deliver a high return on the thousand-dollar investments of Kellyn, Jack, Spencer and Lunick. She came to Slateport with a goal, and she has accomplished that goal, even if it would be nice to get that grand prize.

Heading back behind the curtain, her teammates engulf her into a massive group embrace. None of this surprises Solana in the least bit as the boys show their appreciation for her work and for the fact that none of them wasted their thousand dollars on a real gamble.

All the praise goes on for about a minute until a girl off to the side says the name, "Solana!" very loudly, getting the attention of this fantasy five. The voice belong to Dawn, who might as well have the nickname 'stone face' as that is exactly how she looks right now as she walks toward the lone female Ranger. The comrades pay close attention to this exchange as the two ladies now stand face to face with one another.

The tension is most clichéd, but after a while the matter cools down and the right hand of the second-generation coordinator gets extended to meet the self-proclaimed amateur. "Good job," the more experienced of the two admits, though a smile does not crack the façade. "I would have never known."

"Thank you," Solana answers, bringing out her own hand and shaking Dawn's. While their disagreements as far as competition, battling and the science of appeals will continue, the two can put that aside and recognize good coordinating on the part of the older one.

"All right, that's fine with me," Kellyn remarks, "but I think it's time we celebrate our comrade's incredible score!" With his right arm high in the air, he declares "Drinks on me! How about it?" The other four Rangers agree with it and leave the backstage area to head over to a local bar or tavern and properly dedicate this good night for them all.

Dawn, who is the last coordinator left before the elimination rounds, gets her mind back where it's supposed to be for her appeal. 'Stay focused, Dawn. Stay focused, girl.'

"Berlitz," gets her out of her current mode and turns her attention back to the director on the headset. "You're on in five minutes. We're currently in commercial break. We're gonna then run a tease package for your appeal and then, I'll count down to your introduction. You understand?"

"Yes, sir, and thank you."

"Are you feeling all right, Dawn?" Usually, the director for Hoenn region Grand Festivals, an older man in his early 50s who's been doing his job without fail for over twenty years, does not often talk to coordinators unless they are being given instructions for television like right now. This is clearly a great exception to the unwritten rule of professionalism in this region's coordinating broadcasts.

"Oh, I'm fine. Thanks Rick," she says, giving the common answer to such an inquiry. "I'm here, aren't I?" After posing that question to the director, he just shrugs his shoulders and wishes that Dawn has a great appeal while speaking back to his team in the production trucks, barking out instructions in a way that would put auctioneers to shame.

A/N: Dawn's appeal, a huge confrontation, another big blowup and the long kiss goodnight wrap up Saturday in the next chapter.

Until then, it's Rave or Bust!