No, I'm not dead. Though I'm positive a good number of people wish I was. Anyway, it's been hard with college and whatnot. So for the few of you who have been waiting for the next chapter, you have my sincerest apologies for the delay. That being said, a good 2 chapters are already written and are just being edited and added too, so expect them soon!

Chapter 23: The Statue

"How are you still walking?" Dawn asked, out of breath as she trailed behind Lucas in the thick, shading growth of Eterna Forest. They were on their second day hiking in the forest at this point, and Dawn made it clear that she wasn't exactly having the time of her life. Several Caterpies and Dustoxes bothered her for a bit. But though she found it useful to test her newly caught Shellos against these petulant Pokemon, she wasn't exactly happy to be constantly trudging through them and the thick green that surrounded the barely visible path.

"Come on, Dawn," Lucas said, offering his hand for her to stop and get a rest on, "You can do this. Once we're out on the other side, you can have a nice warm bed, I'll bring you a hot plate of pizza, a cool drink of soda, and we can go to bed watching a movie."

"I definitely could use a little bit of all that," she said, following behind him again, "Right, but you and I are actually going to have to get through this forest, first," he smiled. They trudged slowly through the cold forest. Snow fell through the tree covering in some patches, and Dawn would gasp and point with delight at the occasional running of a Deerling and little Pokemon across the plain. An Abra would pop up on their trail before frightfully teleporting away leaving a smiling Dawn gasping at all of the little Pokemon they encountered.

"As tiring as it is to walk through here," she said in between in a breath, "It's definitely refreshing to see all these Pokemon here. I had no idea there could be so much… life in one place."

"One has to wonder, with so many prey Pokemon around, where are all of the predator Pokemon keeping?" Lucas said as he curiously looked at a few more different angles of the forest, somehow thinking he'd suddenly spot a lurking Pokemon on the hunt.

"Uh, no, Lucas. Nobody has to wonder that," Dawn pouted, "Just appreciate how beautiful this place is for a second," she said as she stopped, closed her eyes, and took a fresh breath of the crisp forest air around her while the buzzing of Nincadas and conversations between little Bunearies could be heard around her. She sat down on a fallen log. "Please, can we take a small break?" she sweetly asked as she widened her eyes and slightly pushed out her bottom lip, "For me?"

"Alright," Lucas nodded as he slung down his backpack and sat next to her, scooting a bit closer. "Do you want anything to eat?"

"What do you have?" she asked with a bright smile.

"Uh, some energy bars. An apple. That's about it," he sighed in defeat.

"Um, I'll have the apple," she said, as she reached into his bag and fished out the fruit, quickly taking a bite as she let out an "Mmmm," of relief, collapsing into Lucas' lap next to her as she kept munching.

Lucas didn't want to move or disturb her one bit. He simply stroked her dark brownish-auburn hair. The light twinkled and glimmered through the waving branches of some of the trees, creating a collage of shadows and patches of light on the forest floor that spanned over the small shrubs and trodden paths as far as the eyes could see. He tried following out those paths, seeing where they would lead, his focus slowly creeping to the edge of his vision where he couldn't see much but a dark expanse dotted with patches of yellow with faint dust and movement. It was strangely dizzying, looking that far ahead. He still tried. He tried to look ahead anyway. He wanted to know what could be in the shadows on the path. There was nothing there. He knew that, but something in the back of his mind pressed him to confirm it. He wanted to know everything that his eye could touch.

He shook his head in defeat as he let his eyes relax for a moment and readjust before he continued to stroke Dawn's hair gently. "Dawn?"

"Mhm," she said with her mouth full.

"I… I'm not sure if this is the best time or place to ask this, or even if I should ever ask this, but… about…" he paused as he carefully thought his next words through as Dawn sat up with a more serious, empathetic expression on her face.

"What is it?" she softly said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong. But I wanted to know… about what it is that's between you and Valerie. And I don't mean just her, I mean her whole, uh, entourage. What's going on between you guys?"

"It isn't that important," she brushed off with a smile, "All that matters is that you," she emphasized as she put a finger on his chest, "Don't do something to them because of me. I don't want you to be disturbed or enraged by them just because of what they feel about me; that doesn't make much sense, and I don't want you to have to go through anything because of it."

"No, Dawn, you don't understand. I can't just… turn off my reactions. I wish to Arceus I could, but I can't."

Dawn's expression grew sadder, "But you promised me—"

"When I did, things were different," he calmly said as he held her hand, gently squeezing it, "You know how I feel about you now. I know how you feel about me. You know why I can't let you get berated like that and just watch." He took a deep breath, "And most importantly, this isn't just about you anymore. Valerie's sister is a Galactic Commander, and the moment we stormed Valley Windworks and forced her to bail, my hands were dipped in poison as yours."

Dawn's face seemed to reflect one of worry, "No, no, Lucas. This—this isn't your fight. There is no fight. You need two people to make a fight, if we don't hit back, they'll stop."

"When the other person doesn't hit back it's not called a fight: it's called a slaughter. Dawn, I want to do what you're telling me to do. I'm sorry for the side of myself I showed you that day, and I hope that rage… that anger that I felt then never comes to me again. But I'm not a robot. I need a reason to do what I do, and in that moment, I wanted to protect you, so I eliminated what I felt was a threat. You want me to hold back, but if you never tell me why, if you can't trust me to know—"

"It's not that I don't trust you enough, Lucas," she said as she lowered her head silently in the serenity of the forest. "I don't want to see you like what you were then. I didn't know if I was looking at the same person, Lucas. Maybe you don't know this, but your anger, it's something else. It is not you at all," she took a deep sigh before speaking again as she lifted her gaze up to him, "I'll tell you the truth, but you have to promise me that you won't go all out against them again, no matter what they do."

He nodded seriously, "I promise."

"No, I don't believe you. Pinky promise," she insisted, holding out her pinky as he interlocked his with hers.

"It's a promise," he smiled. "But to tell you the truth, we know they've probably got ties to Team Galactic. If it ever comes to them standing in the same criminal position as Commander Mars, well, at a certain point we have to do the right thing. And the right thing might be more violent than either us of might want to witness, but it doesn't change the fact that it'll have to be done."

"It won't come to that," she said before she pressed her lips together, "All of this… mess with Galactic should pass over anyway," she took a pause, "I don't know if it will. But I hope it does. It's not fair if it doesn't. We never left Twinleaf together to be caught up in the crosshairs of a dangerous gang of criminals trying to do… Arceus knows what they want to do anyway. I don't know what to do. I don't even know what to think, or where to start. Do we give up trying to become Champion and Top Coordinator and do our best to stop them now? Or are we just… overthinking things?"

"Well, the first step is for you to tell me who Valerie and Lucille are," he suggested softly. "I'm sure that if we put ourselves to it, there isn't a problem that you, Barry, Alyssa, and I can't take on. But either way, I care about you, and I think I should know why those girls are always firing at you."

"Well, you've probably noticed by now, but whatever is between us started before I moved here," she started.

"In Kanto?"

"Yeah, in Kanto. I told you my parents were doctors. Well, they, uh, discovered a medical malpractice racket. The insurance companies and some doctors conspired to provide cheaper medication and fake placebo treatments at a full price to unwitting patients, and they even operated on already dead bodies but didn't tell the families of the patients, so they could squeeze some cash out of them for 'treatment'," she began with a painful expression, struggling to say the words.

Lucas looked at her aghast. He'd heard of human beings doing terrible things to other human beings. War. Genocides. Revolutions. But this… this was something more inherently morbid, something that made his mind lurch and want to grab hold of any beacon of hope that there was some good left in the world. "They… cheated the families of dead patients?" he weakly asked, fathoming what she said. He shuddered as he feared about his mother. "But what about… mum?" he worriedly thought. "No, no, this isn't commonplace, right? It can't be." "Dawn, does this stuff happen… everywhere?"

"No. I don't think so. A crime this big brings the harshest punishments, and that's exactly what happened. My parents reported this to the medical licensing board because they were so horrified. Even after they went through the whole paperwork and gave testimony to the board's council to investigate the matter, he and mom couldn't sleep at night sometimes. They'd argue about what to do. If they should follow the investigation and try to pry open horrors around them, in their own workplace, perhaps through their own friends and colleagues, or if they should let the board do its job and stay the safe route."

"I'm guessing they didn't take the easy way out," Lucas said with a look of realization upon him.

"No, they didn't," Dawn said with a reminiscent smile, her eyes now glistening and bloodshot as she held back tears. "They… uncovered a lot of crimes. A lot of criminals. And as they feared, some were friends, some were colleagues. They were about to end the lives of the people they thought were their allies. Mom and Dad knew that what they did put themselves and our future as a family at risk. Dad asked his elder brother what to do, and Professor Rowan told them they had to do the right thing. Eventually, a long list of doctors, seniors and new ones alike, and another long list of insurance officials and executives appeared before the court with a plethora of lawsuits behind them."

"That's good. Those monsters got what they deserved."

Dawn grimaced before she continued, shutting her eyes tightly as her voice weakened. "I wish I could say that, Lucas. The medical board revoked most of their practicing licenses quickly, but that was all that really happened."

"What?!" he said, slightly enraged and horrifyingly confused. "They're… murderers. They chose to let patients die and lie about their deaths to innocent families! Didn't they go to jail? I know the procedure for these things, Dawn. It should have ended them for life."

"These people… they weren't poor criminals Lucas. Between them, they had several billion dollars. They knew who was behind their problems, their downfall. They knew what they had to do," she weakly managed to say as her voice wavered even further. "A week later… I-I saw my parents for the last time." She began speaking with even more difficulty as her sniffling filled the sudden, blanketing silence of the forest as Lucas put his arms around her, pulling her in gently as he patted her back.

"I'm sorry, Dawn," he said as he closed his eyes. "I-I'll never know how you feel. That kind of pain, that kind of loss, I'll never experience it. But I can do my best to walk you through it," he assured as he gently pulled her out of the hug and set her upright as he held her face, delicately wiping away tears as she simply held his gaze with a smile that tried to burgeon through the pain in her frown. "That's a bit better," he said before he leaned in to kiss her forehead. "Can I ask a question?"

"Sure," she croaked back before clearing her throat and sniffling a bit.

"I don't want to sound rude, or maybe my memory is crappier than I give it credit for, but I remember you telling me that… Team Rocket killed your parents, that your parents got involved in stopping them and…" he trailed, not wanting to finish his sentence.

"I did," she admitted.

"Then…" he trailed again. He certainly didn't want to accuse her of lying.

"What I told you that day, it was what I believed when I was a girl. That's what they said in court: that my parents got involved with Team Rocket and were killed because of it. And it seemed to work. They put two people in jail, and I… quietly believed that's what happened to them." She paused as she looked up with an air of slight confidence and willpower, "But I'm not a girl anymore. I know the truth. A leader of Team Rocket was involved in this medical crime, and you can hire a gun to do your dirty work. Those two people were just that: hired Team Rocket guns to kill my parents. They got out of their sentences early, too, not long before all of the cases and articles about the people Mom and Dad turned in suddenly disappeared. I was seventeen then, and that's when Rowan took me to Sinnoh because he feared they'd come for me. I guess they can say whatever they want to in court, but I know what happened to my parents," she grimly said.

Lucas held her tenderly with a soft smile, a slight look of pride as he gazed at her. "You're a strong woman, Dawn," he whispered to her, "I don't know many people who could've… suffered through what you did, much less come outstanding a little taller than they used to. I bet your mum and dad would be proud to see their daughter now."

She squeezed his hand again, "Thank you," she smiled. "It was hard for me," she paused to look up at him, "I know you understand what it's like, too," she empathetically said. "But… for a while, I didn't think I could make it. Mum and Dad turned in people who they were friends with, people whose kids I was friends with. After they died, well, I lost everything I had. I didn't have any money. I still went to private school because I knew I had to at least graduate if I wanted to edge out a living… I was lost for what to do after that."

"You didn't think about college?"

"I did. I did. But… college was something I couldn't afford. Who would pay for it? I-I was barely living off of what my parents left for me. I didn't have a leg to stand on before Rowan helped me out, and in that time, I saw a world that I thought was safe, that I thought would protect me when I needed it most, wither away."

There was a silence the filled the gap as she found words for what to say next. Lucas didn't mind the way, processing what she said and trying to understand the sheer complexity of the girl next to him, how much she'd been through and where she'd come from. "I-f you want to talk about this later, we can—"

"No, you were right. You deserve to know," she said plainly, "Valerie, Lucille… they were my—well I wouldn't say we were close or anything, but we were kind of friends. They were still spenders and obnoxious back then, so I still kept some distance, but they had nothing out for me. Nobody did. But after some of their parents were put on trial… everything changed. They came after me, specifically. I lost everything I loved, and when they saw I was weak, they took it out on me even more," she sighed again, staring at the floor, barely moving her lips when she spoke. "You want to know why I don't fight back against them?"

A gentle breeze lightly whistles through the treetops.

She turned to face him, "Because… they're not just being cruel for the sake of being cruel. At one time, their worlds were threatened to be ripped apart like mine, too. Whereas their parent's connections and ruthlessness held them together, my parents gave themselves up. So while they kept growing in their sheltered, catering world, I was forced to learn to be a better person. I… grew up rich, Lucas. Just like they did. I hate to say it, but there was probably a time when I was like them. But what my parents uncovered… it changed my course and cemented theirs, that's all. I can't attack them for that."

Lucas let his neck fall back as he looked up at the wavy trees and the rustling leaves above him, spotting an empty nest neatly fixed on a firm branch. "You're wrong, Dawn," he painfully said, "You told me that now you're a woman, and now you see harsh truths for what they are, and I think you should do the same here," he carefully treated as Dawn gave him a blank expression.

"What do you mean? Are you… saying I'm lying to you about them?"

"No." He grabbed both of her hands, "Every person has an opportunity to change throughout their lives, with or without a sudden force that throws them into that change. They never took it."

"They didn't go through what I did. They didn't experience… any real pain that transformed them. I can't blame them for that."

"And that's exactly what I'm saying. You don't need pain or experience to transform you into a better person. You need to want to be a better human being. You wanted it. They didn't. I can see that difference between you and them, so why can't you?" Dawn was silent. "You're giving them a virtue of humanity and you're offering them mercy that I doubt they have or even deserve," he firmly pressed, "You need to stand up for yourself. You stood up with me when we fought Galactic. You never ran away and you stood strong for what you believed in, so why are you giving in to them when they hurl abuses like that?"

"They are criminals, and this is personal. I can't treat them the same way."

"I would."

"No, no. That's exactly what I'm afraid of, Lucas. You're pulling the same force you use on Galactic on something that isn't. It's not the kind of force you should ever use on another human being. They're not criminals, so we should still give them some basic human decency, and violence isn't the way to make a peaceful solution."

"Don't you think this dragged on for long enough? Aren't you fed up that they're shielded from consequences? What we need is a permanent solution, not a peaceful one."

"No," she firmly said, "You're wrong. They haven't hurt me. They haven't hurt you. Until then, we'll try to find a peaceful solution."

"They did hurt you Dawn. They're not treating you with any humanity, so why are you being so nice to them? Every time they laugh at you, every time they try to take away what you earned just so they can snigger and find some pathetic amusement to cover up the failures they are, don't you get angry? Can't you feel the heat boiling in you to do what's right?" he asked more curiously than he had the previous questions. It was clear that he'd given up on telling her what to do, and was now more invested in finding out why she did what she did.

"You told me my parents would be proud if they saw me now. Do you think they would still be proud if they saw me lashing out and seeking retribution for every wrong done to me? I learned to sleep at night, even knowing that someone took my parents away from me. I'm not going to hunting for anyone, especially someone like Valerie who can obstruct but never stop me," she confidently said.

"Don't you want to fight—"

"Not every problem can be solved by fighting it away, Lucas!" Dawn curtly asserted, her anger and annoyance revealing themselves in her harsh tone briefly. "You have to make hard compromises sometimes, and learn to ignore what won't change. Valerie won't change. I've chosen to ignore her, and to be honest, you should, too. Letting out your hatred onto them, your fury, even though I know inside you care about me…" she trailed as she gently slid her hand down his cheek, "It's wrong. Ask yourself," she continued placing her finger over his heart, "If we stay out of Valerie and her entourage's way until they actually pose a threat to us or someone else, what have we got to lose, huh?"

"I don't know if I agree with you yet," he sighed in defeat, knowing that there was a fundamental rift between how they thought that kept them from agreeing, "But for you, I'll hold out against them," he solemnly said before standing up. "I'm sorry I had to drag you through all of this, but if I never knew, we'd probably be both dragging ourselves through this at a far less opportune time."

Dawn rose to stand up next to him, "I don't mind talking about this," she smiled, "You need to know me, and I need to know you if we're ever going to get anywhere on our journeys together, right? I think—"

"HELP!" a feminine voice screamed through the woods, startling both Lucas and Dawn as they looked up and down the path they were just on. "ANYBODY! I'M LOST!" the voice yelled again while Lucas and Dawn fell dead silent to try to pinpoint a location for the scream.

"That way," Lucas gruffly said, taking off down the path in the direction of the scream as Dawn tailed nervously right behind him, unable to speak from the blood-curdling and desperate calls for help.

There was one more shout for help, it felt louder than the previous two, and the direction it came from suddenly was more pronounced: Lucas and Dawn had gotten very close, but the scream came from somewhere off of the path they'd walked on. "We'll have to go into the actual forest, now," Dawn somewhat uncomfortably said a Lucas bolted on ahead through the woods.

"Galahad, in the air!" Lucas ordered as he released the Staravia from its Pokeball, "See if you can spot someone from above, and then come back to me," he commanded as the Pokemon flapped beside before jetting off to a higher altitude.

"Hazel, go through the trees and follow her sound ahead of us," Dawn also ordered behind Lucas, releasing her Monferno to spring through the tall trees with ease as it chased the source of the call for help.

They ran through the thick wood for only 30 seconds before both Galahad and Prometheus darted back to Lucas and Dawn, each pointing and gesturing the two to head in the same direction. Lucas and Dawn quickly averted their course to the left where their Pokemon pointed. "Anyone out there?" Dawn called out as they followed Hazel and Galahad.

"YES!" a very enthusiastic and very relieved voice called back. "I-I need help!"

Lucas and Dawn pounced through a thicket into a small clearing in between massive trees where a tall girl stood somewhat worriedly and timidly, her hands together in front of her beside a large, round, pink Pokemon: a Chansey. Lucas and Dawn quickly rushed to her side, expecting a threat surrounding her as Galahad and Hazel dashed to their trainer's sides. "Are you alright?" Dawn asked. "What's wrong?"

"I… got lost in the woods here. We ran into some wild Pokemon, and they called on some of their friends. I-I didn't mean the poor things any harm, but then a whole colony of Weedles and Beedrills started chasing us. We ran away off the trail, and wandered for hours but even when we found the trail again we didn't know which way we headed. I d-didn't think I could make it out on my own, so I c-called for help. Thank you for coming," she very shyly said, clearly coming out of quite a bit of anxiety as her Chansey looked at the two trainers and simply gave them a cheerful, wide, grin.

"Well, you're safe now, Ms…" Lucas trailed.

"Oh, uh, you can just call me Cheryl. And you are?" she asked, turning to Dawn.

"I'm Dawn, and he's Lucas," she smiled back. "We're glad you're okay," she said as she caught her breath.

"I-I'm very sorry I pulled you guys away like this. You're all out of breath because of me. I hope—"

"Please, Cheryl, it's not your fault. Don't feel bad. If anything, we're happy we got here in time to help you," Dawn reassured with a smile. "Which way are you headed?"

"Um, to Eterna City. I'm supposed to run some errands with the lady who runs the Pokemon Center there," Cheryl explained. "I-I know you went out of your way to make sure I was okay, but can I-I ask you a favor?"

"Sure," Dawn replied with a smile, knowing what Cheryl would ask.

"Do you think you could lead me to the edge of the forest. I know it's a lot to ask, and if you don't want to, just leading me to the trail will be enough, but… after that wild Pokemon attack, I'm not too sure how safe I'll be after that, that's all," she said with a dejected and reserved tone.

"We're headed that way, too," Lucas answered, "You and your Chansey can come with us," he gestured with a kind smile. "We're both trainers, so I don't think any more pesky Pokemon will be harassing you until we leave this forest," he ensured.

"Well… if it wouldn't bother you two I suppose I'd like to. Thank you," she kindly said. "I-if we do run into any Pokemon and they hurt yours, though, I have heals to keep your Pokemon healthy," she said, opening a small satchel she had on her as she revealed revives and healing sprays.

"Oh, um, thank you," Dawn said. "You're very kind."

"Well, we should be heading off about now, and we can out of the forest by dusk," Lucas said, looking at his watch and then the map in his backpack.

"Right," Dawn nodded along with Cheryl, "Let's get going." The three quickly slung their bags around themselves and moved back through the woods and thickets from where Dawn and Lucas came, approaching the trail in a few minutes and resuming their journey through the lively forest.

"So, uh, what're you two here for in Eterna Forest. I-if you don't mind me asking," Cheryl politely said, tugging slightly on the strap of her satchel.

"I'm going to try to battle the Eterna City gym leader when we get out and Dawn is competing in the contest circuits," Lucas responded.

"Oh, you're that Dawn. There was an article about you in the newspaper," Cheryl said a bit more brightly.

"Really?" Dawn asked with pleasant surprise.

"Yeah, it talked about how you were like a breath of fresh air for audiences and how you showed a lot of promise. Um, congratulations on the win, by the way," Cheryl said.

"W-well, thank you. I did my b-best, and I'm glad it turned out well," Dawn stammered, trying to contain her excitement as Lucas smiled at her as she held back a grin. "How about you, Cheryl? Where do you work?"

"I work at an herbal and berry apothecary. I'm actually headed to the Pokemon Center in Eterna to drop these off," she said, showing some Pecha Berries and some other fruits and herbs sorted together. "It ain't much, but it's honest work," she smiled.

They kept moving through the forest with Lucas giving the occasional glance at his map and delivering some instructions on where and how to go. Pokemon stopped them along the way, as they expected, and some of the little creatures even called on their buddies for help, trying to pummel them with numbers, although Lucas, Dawn, and Cheryl far overmatched them with their own Pokemon each time. The encounters with the wild Pokemon certainly slowed their progress, but they still kept their reasonable pace, chopping through the light greenish-brown trail that was fighting the growth of plants around it.

"Uh… what are those?" Dawn suddenly said, pointing in front of Lucas' feet.

"What are what?" Lucas said, turning around to see her before following her finger to see footprints in the wet trail before them.

"Footprints," Cheryl softly said, confused as to why Dawn was so surprised, "The soil is a little wet. Somebody must've just been here before us."

"Oh, uh, duh," Dawn shrugged, her nervousness apparent to Lucas, who was keen to point out to the two of them that if they looked through the clearance in the trees there was a building visible.

"Oh look over there, a chateau!" he remarked, shooting Dawn a playfully cruel look as she returned an annoyed glare.

"Oh, the Old Chateau," Cheryl ominously said, "I've heard that it's haunted by an old man who was murdered," she said, lowering her tone.

"Yeah, did you know legend says he lures in traveler's to kill them?"

"He also has a shape-shifting Gengar that helps fool travelers into walking into the home," Cheryl said, piling onto the conversation that Dawn couldn't wait to get over with.

"Yeah… let's go, let's get going," Dawn quickly said, steaming ahead in front of Lucas and Cheryl, quickly walking over the footprints on the trail. Lucas and Cheryl quickly followed, and it wasn't long after that a trail on the side opened up, leading to a small, curved path that went into a looming, wooden building.

Archaic, gothic columns and furious gargoyles lined the front edge of a massive manor that overlooked grimly on the forest around it, its black walls and dust-laden edges seemingly sucking the light out gaps in the trees near it as it fought form being reclaimed by the nature that bordered it. Pillars of glaring Rhydons lined the path that went up to the grand, moss-covered steps of the manner.

"Someone… went in there," Dawn said with a shiver before looking to Lucas for some comfort.

"Jeez, this thing is decrepit," Lucas said, looking at the deteriorating structures that surrounding the giant manor.

"Do you think this person was… lured in by the old man?" Cheryl worriedly asked, giving a scared look at Dawn before turning to Lucas.

"Psht, come on, guys, there's no such thing as…" he trailed, his face blanched white as he looked toward the entrance where the grand mahogany doors once stood closed. "Um, guys," he said, subtly directing them toward a figure at the entrance.

"Oh… oh my goodness," Dawn said in complete fear as she looked at an aged, gray-haired man in a black suit loom over them from the entrance of the house from the top of the stairs that led to the door. "H-he's real," she shuddered as she took a few steps back, "Come on, can we please leave," she pleaded, tugging on Lucas shirt gently as he and Cheryl quickly followed her anxious wish to leave the place, all the while looking back at the piercing, cold gaze of the old man who seemed to not move at all save for the rotation of his head one plane as it traversed to follow their exit from his view. They silently turned their backs and shuffled away, leaving the creaking noises of old wood behind them.

"He's… terrifying," Dawn breathlessly said as the sped away. "I thought you said he was just a part of a legend?"

"Well, apparently he's real," Lucas said, hiding his amusement with Dawn's absolute fear of this particular Chateau and the legend behind it.

"I think it's his cold, menacing stare," Cheryl said, "I-it reminds of me of those Galactic goons. It's why I have to leave Chansey out of her Pokeball all the time these days, I'm afraid that they might try to hurt me or somebody around me. I've seen them try to steal Pokemon from a friend of mine once. She… fended them off, but barely. A nearby group of trainers had to use their Pokemon, too," she said with a tone of more genuine and deep-seated worry than what any of them had heard.

"…Where was this?" Lucas asked, a bit curious as to why Galactic was hunting innocent people, remembering how Arthur told him to keep tactics on their activities.

"It was outside our Pokemon Apothecary where I work. They wanted her Ralts," she explained softly.

"Her Ralts?" Dawn asked, shooting a discreet glance at Lucas, noting that it was a strong psychic-type Pokemon.

"Yeah, they didn't get it, though. They ran away after a good paddling," she said as they began to see a bright light source at the edge of their path.

"What about the police, didn't you call them?" Lucas asked.

"We did… but nobody showed up," she sadly answered.

"It's becoming clearer and clearer. We… might not be able to expect anyone with authority to help us to beat down Galactic," Lucas thought.

"Hey, is that… light ahead?" Dawn asked, pointing to the light that was becoming brighter.

"Yeah, it is!" Cheryl excitedly said, "Looks like we're finally going to get out of the forest," she smiled. "Um, thank you two, for everything. You didn't have to help me, but you really went out of your way to be so kind to me and my Chansey," she gently thanked them both.

"Oh, you don't need to keep thanking us, Cheryl."

"Please, accept this gift," she smiled at the two of them, reaching into her bag to pull out a small bell, "It's a Soothe Bell. I-it'll help make the Pokemon you capture a lot calmer and friendlier. I'm n-not sure if it's something you want, but I think it might be helpful for you," she said as she placed the bell in Lucas' open palm.

"Oh, you don't have to, please," he smiled back.

"No, no, it's a small trinket of my thanks. I'll be on my way, thank you for all your help."

"Well, you still have to go through the rest of Route 205 to get to Eterna City. You can still stick with us if you don't feel safe," Dawn kindly insisted.

"Oh no, I'm staying at a friend's house on Route 205 actually. It's not far from here, actually, so I'm sure that I can find my way there without much trouble," she chuckled. "I'll see you around!" she said as she waved back to them.

"See you later, Cheryl!" Lucas and Dawn said as they waved back before giving each other a brief smile before they headed out into the lightly warm, breezy air that coursed ahead in the second half of Route 205.

"A bit more of a trek and we're into Eterna," Lucas said with a satisfied smile to Dawn, "And we've just got to cross the beautiful Eterna River to get there," he said, gesturing to the span of yet another wonderful scenery of Sinnohan nature before them.

Ahead, Dawn could see the mountains and rocky hills on her right side as ahead of her a span of grass and lush vegetation bordered the banks of a swift, flowing river. A small bridge joined both ends, held by sturdy wooden poles mounted by sturdy wooden planks above the lapping currents of the water below, small cracks between the boards that held it together. Old and young men alike had cargo jackets and baseball caps on, sitting on the bank with boxes and buckets by their side as they cast their lines into the tumultuous blue beneath, yanking the unfortunately curious Magikarp in the river.

"Shall we get going?" she asked as she peered past the river onto the other bank where she could see the skyline pierced by buildings and edifices, a city rising up from the ground surrounded by the enduring mountains and the withering river around it, a city that was built on endurance and growth like the land around it.

"I was about to ask the same thing," Lucas said with a short smile as the two made their way across the long bridge, the creaking wooden boards greeting them as they crossed the splashing river beneath them, walking into Eterna City. "I've actually never been here before," he said as he gazed around with Dawn all around him, admiring the brick buildings and classic industrial architecture with soot on walls and mossed sides that were both fresh and worn from the rainy climate.

"Really?" she asked, cocking her head back in disbelief, "I thought you'd been everywhere in Sinnoh."

"Almost, but I've never had to go here, so I never did. Barry did though, I think it was for a trip he took with his track team a couple of years ago," he remembered, "And he also wouldn't shut up about it for a few days," he chuckled, "He said he met a cute girl here, and the rest of us had to convince him that someone pretty he knew for a day wasn't 'The One'."

Buildings and brick shops sprawled all around them spanning to their left and right in the long town while leaving some patches of grass and greenery to beautify the old city here and there. Bike stands were numerous throughout the entirety of their vision, beside nearly house, shop, and building along with long, straight pathways that facilitated high volumes of pedestrian traffic in a disciplined manner beside the aged, tar roads.

They entered in the middle portion of the town, massive brick apartment buildings stretching to their left and right as a massive, blue, pillar-shaped building with a dome on tope surrounded by a bright, golden yellow ring with antennas protruding from the frill of the dome overlooked the city, a dark shadow cast on parts of the town behind its bright, glinting surface. The glare on it was a bit strong, obscuring any even lettering or title, if there even was any, on the building as Lucas and Dawn squinted at it, both shrugging to each other in futile attempts to find out what the building was for exactly. "What do you think it is?"

"My guess is as good as yours," Dawn said back, "It doesn't have a name or anything on it. Weird," she shrugged. "What do you want to do next," she asked, not sure where to go once they'd reached Eterna City.

"I… don't exactly know. I guess we'll have to know where the Gym and Pokemon Centers are, first. After some practice with Barry, I guess I'll have to battle Gardenia," he speculatively said. "How does that sound to you?"

"Great! Just a couple of suggestions," she said with an excited grin.

"While we're looking for the Gym and the Pokemon Center, what do you say we take a sweet little walk around town?" she asked softly, gripping his arm shortly.

"And does the sweet little walk around town seem to have a romantic air to it? Or is it just me?"

"It's just you," she playfully replied.

"Done," he happily agreed, "And what's your second suggestion?"

"Nothing," she said suggestively, her expression changing a bit, "It's just that, you know, you're always battling Barry for practice…"

"Yeah," he nodded, "It's great for the both of us. Well, not like we have much of a choice, but we've each got three Pokemon and the same high-caliber hard-hitting mentality. Why are you bringing that up though?"

Dawn gave a wide-eyed blank stare for a bit, blinking a bit in between in disbelief. "I wonder who else has three Pokemon and just as much experience training as you two… If only there was someone who you could also prac—"

"Okay, okay," Lucas guiltily said, gesturing her to stop before somebody around them got the impression that they were fighting, "I do owe you a battle."

"Mhm," she authoritatively said.

"We'll battle after I heal my Pokemon up, though. Now that I think about it, your Pokemon need a heal, too," he suggested.

"Alright. But you promised me," she sternly insisted.

"I promise, okay? Now let's get going," he said with a gentle smile, "Or we'll never find the gym or the Pokemon Center," he insisted as he urged the pair to move to a pathway on their left, simply to see if he could quell his curiosity as to what the massive blue building was along the way, first.

Lucas placed his arm around Dawn, as he always did when they walked together, only now, he didn't have to think about it. It just happened and she'd move closer until their shoulders touched as they moved along. He gazed out into the heart of the city, beating with life as people clopped about on the brick and tar floors for the bustling weekend afternoon, the smell of delicious foods from restaurants wafting from every other corner. They'd reached the top-left portion of the town, a corner where the mountains blocked any further expansion of Eterna to the Northwest, where the towering blue building with a flying-saucer like top stood watch from the Northern border of town as Lucas looked up at it.

"It's… a strange building for sure. Everything else here is old, archaic, bricked and smothered in a layer of soot, but this… is new. Polished. Steel. It isn't a natural growth," he muttered so just Dawn could here.

"So what? Maybe they're just modernizing, right? All-new office buildings are made by a whack architect these days," Dawn giggled back, shrugging off possibility of anything being wrong.

"But even the craziest architect wouldn't put a flying saucer with antennas on top of a building, unless there was a powerful functional need for such design…" he continued to muse, "But then again, maybe you're right," he shrugged as he saw people dressed in formal and lab attire enter and exit the small courtyard that surrounded the building, bordered by a thick hedge of finely cut shrubs and bush that seemed to reveal no real entry into the compound, courtyard, or building.

"I'm sure you can ask Barry or Gardenia what it is, right?"

"Yeah, I guess I will," he agreed, leading them back onto their path as they moved along the northern border of the city to the east, hoping to walk the perimeter of the town where they could get a view of its entirety before moving inside.

"How… long do you think it would take for me to become Champion? Or you to become Top Coordinator, for that matter," he asked Dawn with a mild look of contemplation.

"Well, the Grand Festival and League Tournament happen right next to each other. So I'd suppose we'll be ready to take on the league either this year or the next, but why do you ask?"

"It's just that—"

"HEY!" an excited, intense voice called out right behind Lucas, startling him as a familiar collision with him resulted a short moment later. "Ow!" Barry and Lucas said, rubbing their heads as both Dawn and Alyssa looked at the two boys and then at each other with total pity.

"Dammit Barry, have you ever learned to stop?"

"No, it's why I'm always ahead of you," he laughed. "Where are you headed?" he happily said before giving Lucas a brief hug so he could whisper in his ear, "I see you and Dawn have a gotten a little bit closer, eh?"

"We're taking a walk around town, and yes, yes we have," Lucas whispered back with a slight chuckle.

"How close?"

"Had a candlelit dinner, then a dance and a kiss close."

"You made it all the way, then. We'll save a talk for later," Barry laughed as the two pulled back from their embrace, patting each other on the back. "A walk around the town, you say," he spoke aloud again, completely drawing attention away from the previously whispered conversation, "Then I guess you're going to see the statue at the center of town, right?"

"The statue?"

"Yeah, what else do you think is in town this way?"

"We didn't know, that's why we're strolling around town for a bit. Just to get a feel for the place since we're going to be here until I beat my gym, anyway."

"Strolling? Get a feel for the place? If you spend that much time, you'll die here, too," Barry laughed. "Come on, I know the town pretty well, and the statue is certainly a good place to start. Then we can head to the gym and Pokemon Center before evening, right?"

"That works fine," Dawn and Alyssa nodded while Lucas passively agreed.

"Wait, before we go, do you know what this building here is for?" Lucas asked, pointing to the massive pillared building right behind them.

"Honestly man, I was just as puzzled as you when I saw that. It wasn't here last time I came, that's for sure, and I was surprised because the last building that big to be constructed here was built almost 80 years ago… so who's idea was it to build a modern structure here? But, eh, who cares?" he shrugged.

"Good point," Lucas shrugged with him as they set off straight into the heart of the town, over the black road where they could see a clearing in the center of the bustling city. Surrounded by a sturdy white fence, a huge, grass stepped hill with staircases on both sides released a powerful energy into the old city around it. A brown, brass, majestic statue standing proudly and radiantly in the middle of a rugged, stone pedestal with tourists and locals alike around its massive presence. Lucas couldn't quite make out the form from where he was on the road, but its grandeur and magnificence made themselves perfectly clear to him as they neared it.

"I can't even see it clearly from here, but it looks… marvelous," Alyssa said with awe. "I've never seen anything like it, so beautiful."

"Sure you have, have you used a mirror before?" Barry chuckled next to her, her cheeks reddening significantly before walking ahead of the group, leaving her no time to say or react to what he'd just said.

It was only a short trip down the road before, a conversation about the most effective Pokemon type for battles and contest raging hotly between the four, until Lucas suddenly spotted an unsightly figure on the side of the street staring at them. White and grey uniform, a blue bowl cut: he could not mistake that figure as it rapidly approached them. Lucas' vision tunneled immediately, throwing him out of the conversation and narrowing every sense onto the apparently oncoming threat.

"Well, best dragon type, right, Lucas?" Barry asked, his question falling on silence. "Lucas?" he asked again, before realizing that Lucas had left the conversation as he followed his gaze quickly to the grunt, setting the entire group on their toes in an instant. The grunt began walking toward them a bit more quickly, unsettling everyone but Lucas. "He's getting close, man. What's the plan?" Barry asked, although Lucas remained silent, his gaze fixed squarely on the approaching grunt.

"Oi! Remove your Pokeballs from your packs and belts or whatever. Especially you, ladies, or I'll have to check you… thoroughly," he smirked as he pulled out a Pokeball on his own.

Lucas briefly bore an intense, forewarning smile before turning a cold, menacing look to the grunt. He recognized the uniformed Galactic operative. It was the same grunt he'd beaten when they attacked Professor Rowan in Jubilife. This grunt had already gotten a taste of Lucas' power before, and Lucas was itching to unleash brute force, till he felt Dawn's gentle hand tug on his arm. He turned to look at her, snapping out of his lock as a pleading pair of blue eyes spoke to him, begged him not to deal brutally with Galactic again.

He let out a sigh, indicating that he'd toned down his anger by some degree before turning a fiery, menacing look towards the grunt, his Pokeball in hand. He didn't make a move. He didn't say anything. He simply stood his course, making sharp and riveting eye contact as his eyes narrowed, Barry following suit and staring down the grunt until the approaching grunt suddenly recognized faces, halting almost immediately. Lucas' grip around his Pokeball tightened considerably, the cracking of his knuckled from the force shattering the uncomfortable silence as the grunt began to step back.

"Uh, woah, there. You… don't have to give your Pokemon. They're very strong, you can, uh, k-keep them," he nervously said as he shuffled off in the other direction, not looking back at either Lucas or Barry who'd already turned their gazes away from the retreating grunt.

"See," Dawn said to Lucas, "You don't have to fire with every gun you have at everything that threatens you. Half these grunts are spineless bullies. You do what you did now, they'll run with their tail between their legs," she encouraged, subtly thanking him for his refrain in this matter.

"I didn't have to fire every gun because I used force on that grunt already. I taught him a lesson. Now he knows better," Lucas sternly said, "But yeah, it felt good not having to hunt or shoot after them for once," he then agreed with a less cold and aggressive tone. "I don't know what to do with them, though. There are people like him, threatening to steal Pokemon and then who randomly give up. And then we met the people in Jubilife who were willing to kill or get killed to do what they did. It's… hard to believe they all don the same uniform."

"The fact that they have the same uniform doesn't mean all of their efforts have to be concerted," Alyssa suggested, "That guy could just be a weird straggler or someone with a loose screw."

"He could be," Barry agreed," But before you Debbie-Downers destroy the mood, I have to take you to the Eterna Statue!" he exclaimed with positivity, somewhat removing the glum face from everyone's expressions.

It was not a much further walk from where they were to the statue, and since Barry had been there before, he knew his way around without a map, quickly leading them across the brick road and traveling citizens to a grandiose and archaic town square that stood proudly in the center. They quickly trotted up the stairs, the relatively low crowd of a Monday morning allowing them to easily pass until they suddenly stopped at the highest terrace where the pedestal was situated.

A man—tall, broad shoulders, bluish-gray hair, and in a pristine white and grey uniform—stood serenely and with piercing concentration right in front of the statue, blocking the view of some of the people near him of the small plaque or plate that was on the front of the statue, but none seemed to want to approach or near him at all.

"Hm," he huffed in a deep, brooding, almost involuntary manner, "This… is Eterna's Pokemon statue," he said aloud as he gazed from the foot of the pedestal to the zenith of the mighty structure. He folded his arms behind his back, a firm and imposing posture as he kept speaking somewhat quietly to himself. "Space, time: intertwined colors of fabric weaved to create our very existence," he paused to look at his hand before he folded his arms behind his back again, "A painful existence. A purposeless existence."

"Isn't he—" Dawn began.

"Sh!" Lucas quickly cut her off as he began listening further, his suspicions about the man's eerie attire and cold demeanor concerning him.

"To take the loom that wove this faulty piece and redirect the threads into a perfect tapestry—painless, emotionless—I need to know more. To turn your myth into legend, your legend into reality," he said as he placed his hand on the pedestal, "I will investigate your truth, know your power." He then stood back from the statue, turning to where Lucas and the other three were, essentially freezing them dead in their tracks as they all looked at each other, completely stunned.

The man stopped abruptly in front of them, assuming they'd move side by the time he'd reached there but he seemed mildly surprised by their refusal to part before resuming his cold and focused gaze into them. His stare suddenly averted to Lucas' hat, paying close attention, giving it undivided and concentrated attention for an unsettling period of time before looking at Lucas with a curt smile. "I suppose you're here to see the statue?" he asked them, a force of power in his question.

"Yes," Lucas affirmatively answer, hiding his unease.

"Interesting. I wouldn't think kids your age would have much passion for a statue such as that."

"We're different that way," Barry responded.

"A quippy one, aren't you?" he said as his eyes seemed to flash red, "Now stand aside and allow me to pass," he addressed to all of them though his gaze fixed squarely on Lucas until they parted.

Lucas watched the man pass down the stairs and toward the massive blue building he had yet to identify in the distance before he looked back to the bronze statue. He felt a force, a reverberating, growing pulse that seemed to resonate his chest with higher. He looked harder at the statue, a… connection seeming to arise between him and its form. Its head, a streamlined dragon's head with a powerful crest, a massive backplate that rose out of its body as it stood proudly on all two legs, raising its arms in a powerful stance, wings unfolded from each shoulder as its armor plated its extremities with smooth elegance and regality, and a long and muscular tail raising into the sky from the 30-foot statue of a mysterious Pokemon.

Or at least, it… seemed mysterious, though Lucas was sure some parts, or maybe even the whole thing, he'd seen before somewhere. Ephemeral moments of recognition seemed to pop into his mind just long enough to hold his gaze and attention to the statue before a new feature of the colossal structure drew his attention. "Is it…" he began to think, "I can hear it… calling m—"

He was jarred out of his fixation as he felt Dawn's soft, warm hands, clasp his. "Hey," she said, shaking arm, "Are you alright?" she said with a concerned smile, "You're staring at that statue… like that man," she said with increasing concern.