Terra hugged Belle tightly, and Belle felt a strange sense of déjà vu as she was forcefully reminded of her ferry ride to Kanto. Terra must have been feeling it, too; she sighed, patting Belle's back. "And again, I have to let you go."

Belle nodded stiffly. Her mother had insisted that flying into Hearthome City was too dangerous—she might have to fly over Veilstone, which was Team Galactic's last known hideout, and Terra had very good reasons to want to keep Belle away from them—so she was about to board a bus instead.

Derek, just like last time, kept his eyes on his feet in hopes that Belle wouldn't see his sorrow; and just like last time, Belle knelt to address him. "Hey."

"Hey," he mumbled back.

"I'm sorry I have to go. But hey, dude—eight more years and you'll be starting your own Pokémon Journey."

He mumbled something unintelligible.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "But look." She pulled the Charizard toy out of her pocket, and his eyes swung to it. "I'll always have this with me, so it's like you'll always be with me. Okay?"

"Okay," he agreed in a whisper.

Belle smiled and pulled him into a hug. She stood and patted his head as she turned her gaze seriously toward her mother. "Mom…be careful."

"I won't let the Rockets hurt him," Terra muttered, placing her hand over Derek's ear and leaning his head against her hip.

"Good, but I'm not just talking about him. You, too."

Terra grinned. "Oh, honey. You act like I've never done anything dangerous before."

Belle sighed and pecked her mother on the cheek as the rumble of an engine signaled the bus's approach; she kissed the top of Derek's head and gathered her bags.

Charmy was much too large to travel with her, so Belle allowed Bellossum to sit in her lap the whole bus ride. The little Pokémon excitedly watched the scenery pass by outside the entire way, squeaking happily and pointing with its little nubby arms whenever it saw something interesting, like a large tree or a snow-capped mountain. It took at least an hour to get to Sinnoh, and then another two to pass through Jubilife and Oreburgh to get to Hearthome.

When the bus came to a stop, Belle was groggy. She had been asleep much of the time and suspected that she had completely missed Oreburgh City. As the bus came to a complete stop, a flurry of activity ensued, in which Belle became very angry at various passersby as they rudely and indiscriminately brushed, bumped, and knocked their way past her, ignoring her attempts to get her bags out of the luggage rack. When finally she managed to pull them down, she hobbled down the aisle, holding the bags above the seats so they wouldn't knock into them and send her sprawling. Bellossum stood on her shoulder, clutching worriedly at her head.

Alyssa and Cassandra waited impatiently, nestled together, Ziggy and Fluffy at their sides. It was a brisk morning; Cassandra had a scarf pulled over her mouth and nose, and Alyssa wore a rather sloppily-crocheted hat that she had made at age ten. They were huddled together for warmth just as much as excitement, staring intently at the open bus doors as people spilled out of them, not one of them Belle.

And then it happened. First one blue duffel bag, then an arm, and then Belle's whole body appeared, her face drooping in a disgruntled expression as she struggled down the steps, a Bellossum riding on her shoulder. Her other hand clutched a rectangular black suitcase. She strode quickly away from the bus, glancing over the crowd, and Alyssa and Cassandra both raised one hand each. Cassandra tugged her scarf down to allow herself more volume as she shouted Belle's name.

Belle's eyes made contact with her two friends; her bags dropped from her hands. She removed the Bellossum as if in a daze, setting it on top of her duffel bag, as she stared toward Alyssa and Cassandra, who also felt frozen. Everyone else seemed to disappear.

Alyssa felt emotion rising up in her chest. Tears jumped to her eyes; the same was happening to Cassandra, and as they looked, they saw that teardrops had begun streaming down Belle's face as well. Suddenly, Alyssa was crutching faster than she had ever crutched before, and Cassandra was hurrying after her. Belle ran toward them, meeting them in the middle, and they clashed together in a chaos of limbs and crutches, all sobbing as they grabbed at each other, not knowing where one began and the other ended. They were crying freely now, sobs racking their bodies, pulling each other close as tears left wet slicks down their cheeks. They had all been through so much, but now they were together. Now they could really feel. Now they could let loose. They were together now, and they didn't have to hide anymore.


"This place is amazing," Belle remarked in awe, surveying the room around her. "The ceiling is higher than I would have thought."

"Isn't it awesome?" Cassandra asked. "And we don't even have to pay the water and power bill this month. And you have a job waiting for you at the Poffin House."

Belle felt her stomach twist slightly. She didn't want to think about it so soon, but she had some investigating to do around Veilstone City—a job might cut into that time. She didn't want to just bring up the subject of her incident with Team Rocket, however, so she stabbed a green bean with her fork and said, "This food is really tasty, Alyssa."

"Thanks. It came from a can."

Belle laughed. "Well, you sure know how to open a can."

"Hey, speaking of money," Alyssa said, turning toward Cassandra. They were all sitting around the little round table in the dining room, eating a not-so-home-cooked meal as they caught up. "Does your dad know that Joanna cut you off?"

Cassandra paused. "I don't know," she replied. "I mean, I don't think he does."

"You should call them," Belle told her. "Find out a time when they'll be together and tell Papa G then."

"That would be interesting," Alyssa agreed.

"I don't know…"

"Don't be a wuss." Belle swallowed her bite of potatoes. "If Papa G doesn't know, he needs to. And he needs to hear it with Joanna right there; that way, you can counter any argument she might think up."

"Do it tomorrow," Alyssa said.

Cassandra glanced down at her plate. The mood had grown slightly more somber, and they didn't know what to do. The only sound was the clinking of silverware and the gentle thunk of glasses against the wooden table until Alyssa broke the silence, saying, "Belle, what was it that happened to you?"

Belle looked across the table at Alyssa, stunned. She had been so preoccupied with her father she had quite forgotten that they would want to hear about that at all. Still a little dumbfounded, she set her fork down carefully beside her plate.

" You stopped emailing us, you stopped having emotions, you stopped…being you. How did that happen?"

"We were worried," Cassandra told her. "And you never explained."

"You said you'd explain later."

"And it's later."

"So explain."

Belle drew in a deep breath. "Okay," she said. "It was…it was Lavender Town. I know you guys haven't been to Kanto, but…Lavender Town is…this really creepy place with a tower. Pokémon Tower."

Slowly, painfully, Belle recounted the story of the baby Pichu's funeral. She watched the emotions shift across her friends' faces; she watched them wince as she told them about how she left Derrick. Most of all, she watched them watch her. And when she couldn't watch them, she lowered her gaze to her hands on the table, because at least her fingernails didn't have an expression of hurt and worry.

"And…that's what happened," she finished. "I just…the idea of Pokémon dying…I just couldn't let you guys have that burden. I had to protect you from it. I guess I thought…I guess I thought that if I felt it, if I kept it in, then you guys wouldn't have to feel the sorrow that I felt at the tower."

A ringing silence followed her words. They had long since stopped eating, and little piles of uneaten vegetables sat on their plates, cold from lack of attention; the clinking of silverware against china was gone. Belle waited, staring at her hands, not daring to look up at her friends' faces.

"What the hell?"

Her gaze snapped up; Alyssa looked furious. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," she snapped.

"You're…angry?" Belle asked.

"Hell yes, we're angry," Cassandra barked, slamming her hand on the table. "That's dumb, Belle. Just plain dumb. Of course Pokémon die. Everything dies!"

"I mean, yeah, it sucks that you came across a dead baby Pichu, but come on! I saw a whole slew of dead Pokémon, and I held a dead Poliwag in my arms. You being withdrawn and stupid doesn't keep us from feeling—"

"You did what?" Belle and Cassandra chorused, both of them fixing their gazes on Alyssa.

Alyssa sighed. "Right. I was going to tell you about this face-to-face. Well, first things first: Belle, you are dumb, and you had no need to be this stupid. I mean, imagine what you did to Derrick! Don't you care about him at all?"

Belle's stomach did a flip-flop. "Um…"

"She's blushing," Cassandra whispered, grinning as she leaned forward over the table. "Ooh, I think she likes him."

"It's not like it matters now," Belle mumbled, looking away. "He probably hates me." She shook her head to clear it. "Wait a minute—you held a dead Poliwag in your arms? You saw a whole slew of dead Pokémon? What have you been doing, Alyssa?"

"Being a Ranger," Alyssa replied. "Apparently, Pokémon death is part of the job. And I didn't know."

"Tell us everything," Cassandra said. "Right on up to what happened to your leg. And Ziggy's side."

Belle nodded, and Alyssa's hand fluttered down to lay gently on her cast. "Fine, you guys. But after I spill my beans, you need to tell us what went down in Hoenn, Cassandra."

"Fair enough."

They talked late into the night, moving from the dining room table to the living room floor—they hadn't yet got a couch—where Alyssa stretched out somewhat awkwardly, Ziggy across her lap. Belle and Cassandra had all their Pokémon out of their Poké Balls, and they fell asleep in various places long before the girls went to bed; when they finally did head off to sleep, it was after hours of soul-searching, confessing, and crying, and they all piled into one bed and fell asleep together, Alyssa in the middle, Belle's and Cassandra's heads on her shoulders. Before Belle dozed off, she remembered that they used to sleep like this whenever they had sleepovers, before their lives had become riddled with deception and sorrow.

It was nice, finally being together again.


To: megatcaldwell

From: dingdongbelle

Subject: Safe!


Hi Mom!

I'm safe and sound in Hearthome City with Cassandra and Alyssa. They've already got an apartment in a place called Skybridge Estates. Cassandra's already found me a part-time job at the Poffin House, and I start next week. She's got a full-time job there. I don't know what Alyssa will do on days when we're both at work, but…we'll come to that later.

How are things going at the Gym? Have you had any problems? Did you have any more challengers? How's Derek? Tell him that I said hi and that I miss him a lot. Maybe someday soon he can come up here to Hearthome City with us! Or maybe someday later. He's just a small fry, after all.

Well, I love you, Mom and Derek!

Love,

Belle


Look, I'm updating sort of regularly! Don't leave me! Wow, look at how desperate I sound.

I know it seems like this is getting long, but I promise we're getting to the end soon. Anyway, thank you to my awesome reviewers!:

The Finesseful X (Thanks so much! I'm glad you agree with the super-nice ladies; I based them off some ladies I know. ^_^)

Ralyena Starrling (It's groovy that you watch so much sixties TV, then; sometimes modern television can be so grody! Like, gag me with a spoon! And thank you! XD)

Mo12341234 (Yeah I was hoping Volkner would be a surprise. XD)

DarkLadyPegasus (Yep, I got Black all right! And it's AWESOME. Thank you!)

EmblemDuelist (I started with Snivy...I think I said that before...but I'll say it again! And you should really look forward to having him; he's pretty awesome.)