Jason Creight awoke to the creeping cloak of darkness surrounding his room.

He had awakened from a disturbing dream. That same dream that had plagued his nights for almost two weeks.

A dream in which, in a background constantly shifting, he and Leslie, the gym leader of the Insurmountable, faced each other.

Leslie had said, "You can't stop it, Jason. Don't try."

He'd glared back at her. "I can, and I will. I won't let it happen."

"It's already in motion. They're watching you."

"Then let them watch."

Jason sat up and looked over at Kelly's bed, where his girlfriend slept peacefully, completely unaware of the turmoil that clouded Jason's mind.

They were no longer aboard the Insurmountable; they'd debarked from that ship three weeks ago. Now they sailed on the Gargantuan, the third ship of five in the series.

The third gym leader awaited him.

Jason grabbed his PokeGear off the bedside table and hit the night light.

3:34 A.M.

*Come to think of it, that gym leader's probably battling Adam right now.*

Gym battles occurred day and night. Each gym leader was unique in their scheduling of Pokemon battles.

This one would do them night and day.

The mind of a relentless leader.

Jason tried to go back to sleep.

***

Adam peered through the darkness, towards the figure in the center of the three light strobes hung from a triangular overhang attached to the ceiling.

An artificial breeze created by the air conditioning within the gym swept about his equally artificial ankles. He sensed nothing.

He knew who stood before him. He didn't need to see her face.

He had known who it would be before he had even boarded the ship.

Adam wore a T-shirt and shorts. His well-formed muscles were in full exposure, as were his titanium limbs.

He didn't need to hide his condition from her.

The gym leader was wearing form-fitting black pants, matching black sandals, a pink tank top, and she had long, straight brown hair that reached almost to the small of her back. Her face was turned downward. "Welcome, trainer. I congratulate you on coming this far, but this is where you stop."

"Is it?" he asked softly.

She looked up at him, a determined look on her face...

...but that determination dissolved into shock as soon as she saw who her opponent was.

"Adam...?"

He nodded. "Yes. It's me."

A surge of emotion welled up in him, choked him on whatever words he had planned to speak next, clenched his heart in an iron fist, and forced his tense shoulders down.

And for a moment, he thought he saw the same thing in her.

For that moment, they were together again.

But a shake of her head put the years between them again.

"You came here to battle me, didn't you?"

Adam's heart broke--again--as he nodded. "Yes."

"Is that all you came for?"

"It is."

He didn't include his next thought, *But I want so much more than just a battle and a badge.*

"Then take your place and know it, as I have learned to," she responded.

Adam had a sharp retort in mind, but he let it die before it got anywhere close to his vocal cords. He could never speak a cross word to her. Not even now, seeing her as the contemptuous individual she had become.

He stepped to the outlined trainer's box on his end of the stadium.

She watched him for a moment. Neither of them moved a muscle for what seemed an eternity.

Finally, Adam reached for his first capture ball. He enlarged it, considered it for a moment, then reared back and hurled it into the arena. "Go, Graveler!"

A spray of neon light, and Adam's Graveler was revealed in all its round, four-armed glory. It was prepared for battle; Adam could sense it in the way his Pokemon moved.

The gym leader squinted her eyes appraisingly. He still knew what her favorites were, and that would be a disadvantage.

Nevertheless, she chose one quickly. "The girl you knew is gone, Adam Sands. Now you face the full fury of a gym trainer. Watch and learn as I show you why my name is Trixie!"

Adam barely shifted an eyebrow at the name. He remembered what her favorite Pokemon were, so the name seemed rather appropriate.

And from the capture ball emerged a Dugtrio.

Adam shook his head. "I'm stronger than when we last saw each other. Graveler, Dig!"

Trixie was surprised. She'd expected Rock Throw, and had planned to use Dig herself. She shrugged. "Very well. But you are still an amateur strategist. Dugtrio, Dig!"

Adam groaned. *I should've seen that coming.*

Sure enough, Graveler missed Dugtrio completely and came up empty- handed.

Dugtrio bolted through the artificial terrain and smacked Graveler in the back. Graveler twisted around.

"Graveler, Earthquake!" Adam shouted. *Take that, whoever you are.*

Graveler used both of its massive right fists to grab some inexplicable power from the air and bring it thundering into the dirt. The shuddering ground gave way under Dugtrio; even as fast as it was, it couldn't avoid the attack, and it fell upon sharp stones, taking damage.

Trixie glared. "Dugtrio, Slash!"

No one had ever seen the bottom of a Diglett or a Dugtrio, so no one could say whether or not it had a sharp posterior. One could only assume so; Dugtrio moved at the speed of light, as did its attack. A large crag seemed to almost spontaneously appear in Graveler's already rocky, craggy exterior. The attack pained it, but it still seemed determined to fight.

*I have to take that Dugtrio out...* "Graveler, Hyper Beam attack!"

Trixie's eyes grew wide. "Dugtrio, Dig!"

Graveler put its four hands up in the air, looking for all the world as if it were holding some invisible ball among them. The empty space began to fill with reddish-orange energy, seemingly from nowhere. It congealed into a ball and glowed with searing intensity.

Dugtrio again burrowed into the ground and hid there.

Adam tsked and wiggled his finger in a "no-no" manner in the air. "Now who's the amateur strategist? Turns are based on the speed of a Pokemon. The only reason Graveler performed its Dig before Dugtrio is because you were waiting for me to make the first move. And since Dugtrio is faster than Graveler, it'll attack first this turn. Then it'll be all over for this round."

Trixie's eyes glazed over with fury as she watched, helpless to stop Dugtrio and Graveler from dancing the steps of Adam's prophesied tango.

Dugtrio's hit did little to distract Graveler from its goal.

The energy ball's glow increased exponentially, and suddenly, Graveler turned its palms outward, all four of them facing Dugtrio, fingers spread wide.

The ball emitted a lancing beam of pure energy, directed straight at Dugtrio.

Dugtrio didn't even have time to blink.

Adam watched, arms crossed, as the airborne dirt cleared before his vision.

Dugtrio was down for the count.

Trixie's temper had gone past flaring to flaming. "Dugtrio, return! Go, Dodrio, and finish what Dugtrio started!"

Adam shook his head. *Bad move. Dodrio has a weakness to Ground types.*

A burst of neon light revealed the wingless, three-headed bird Pokemon in all its angry glory.

Trixie was instantly on the attack. "Dodrio, Drill Peck!"

Dodrio's triple beaks whirred around and bored into the exterior of Adam's Graveler. It was unfortunate that Ground types had no resistance to Normal types.

*Them's the brakes.* "Graveler, Strength!"

Graveler, using its own strength as well as usually untapped psychic abilities, conjured a gargantuan boulder from the rocks and dirt spanning the gym, lifted it high into the air, and hurled it toward Dodrio. The boulder swept the bird off its feet and took it to the ground.

Trixie's eyes grew wide.

Dodrio was being crushed by the weight of the boulder.

One more hit of any sort and it would faint.

And she had no adequate defense against Adam's Graveler.

She couldn't keep fighting Graveler. Not with what she had. To do so would be to lose, and then he would become closer to learning her pain.

But neither could she forfeit... and bring the same end result as losing to Graveler outright.

She didn't know what to do.

So she did what she needed to.

"Dodrio, return!"

She looked up at Adam.

She was lost.

Adam could see it in her eyes. She wasn't speaking, but she didn't have to.

She was pleading for an answer. Begging for one.

So he gave her one.

"Graveler, return! Go, Geodude!"

She remained on edge. Cautious.

And then... slowly... she plucked her third and final capture ball from her belt.

"Go, Magneton!"

Adam's response was immediate. "You always did like your three- headed Pokemon. Geodude, Selfdestruct!"

Trixie's jaw dropped as Geodude abruptly blew up in Magneton's three faces, causing both Pokemon on the field to faint instantly.

She'd not expected this.

Adam had saved himself from the Atlantis League.

But she would remain part of it.

Bittersweet tears welled up in her eyes as she recalled Magneton and put Dodrio back on the field.

Adam called out Graveler once again.

A single, relatively weak Earthquake attack was all it took to bring Dodrio down.

Adam grimly recalled Graveler, and Trixie recalled Dodrio.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment.

In unison, they walked across the field, meeting at the center.

Both had tears in their eyes.

Trixie sniffed, then drew herself up. She knew she must present a strong face, even as the losing party.

Silently, she handed Adam his earned badge and bag of wager money.

Adam took a deep breath, blew half of it out his nose, and finally broke the silence.

"I'll find a way to get you out of here."

"Yes, but you don't want to take my place."

"Why would anyone?" Adam gently took her shoulders into his hands. "There *is* a lot still out there to see. And I promise that I'll get you out of here to see it. And no one else will be forced to take your place."

She looked into his eyes. Saw her reflection in them.

"Help me, Adam."

Adam squeezed her shoulders reassuringly. "I am. That's why I'm here."

He released her, turned around, and walked away.

***

When he got back to his room, Adam didn't even bother to turn on the light. He simply entered, then closed the door behind him and made his way to his bed in the dead dark.

He sat down on the bed and rubbed the stump of his left leg for a moment. It might have itched if the leg had been removed.

But he'd been born this way.

He removed the prosthetic attached to his knee. Nothing itched beyond it, but standing on it sometimes caused mildly uncomfortable heat and a small amount of itching. He scratched the stump.

And his thoughts returned to Kelly.

*Oh, no,* he thought. *Not again. Please, not again.*

But, as all memories are, it was unstoppable.

He recalled what had happened between him and Kelly the previous night.

***

Since the first time they'd done it, Adam and Kelly had gone to the dance hall numerous times. Usually it happened on nights when they were bored and Jason was focused on battling other trainers. They'd discreetly leave the scene, get dressed into something nice, and go to the dance hall.

That evening, Jason had been challenged by a trainer named Seth, who seemed to have what it took to be a tough trainer. Jason was intensely focused on the battle, as he and Seth seemed to be evenly matched.

Adam turned to Kelly. "How about we get out of here? I'm finished battling for the night, and I'd like to ease back a little bit."

"I'm all for it," said Kelly. She smiled knowingly. "Pick me up in ten minutes?"

"Absolutely."

They'd headed to their respective rooms, and five minutes later Adam emerged in black pants and a blue dress shirt. He went to Jason and Kelly's room, another four minutes, and knocked on the door.

"Come on in!" Kelly called.

Adam complied...

...and was taken aback by what he saw.

Kelly was wearing a lavender dress, a form-fitting black blouse, and a light lavender jacket to match the dress perfectly. She also wore a thin gold chain around her neck. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail, and to Adam, she was stunning.

Adam's eyes bugged out and his jaw hung slack. All he could think was, *My God, she's beautiful...*

A smile grew across her face. "I hope that means I look okay."

Adam regained his senses, and he chose to be witty to cover the awkwardness. He got down on his knees, stretched his arms above his head, and bowed down to Kelly. "I'm not worthy!"

She laughed. "Arise, my servant!"

Adam smiled as he got to his feet. "Shall we?" He offered her his arm.

"We shall!" She eagerly took his arm.

***

Though it was a dance hall, there wasn't much they did in the way of dancing. Adam's prosthetics didn't allow for much action, but that was okay... most of the songs played were meant for slow dancing, anyway.

After a particularly slow, enchanting dance, Adam and Kelly took a seat at one of the strategically placed, empty tables that littered the hall. They made small talk, discussing the music and the style. They also made quiet fun of those who were not as adept at dancing.

Adam stared at Kelly as she watched the dancers. His periphery kept track of them, but a much larger percentage of his attention was focused on her.

*God, she's beautiful.* The words he'd been thinking all night recurred once again in his mind. He didn't care; it sounded so natural, so right when he thought it.

In some ways, she reminded him of Amanda.

He had lied when he tole Kelly that there had never been another girl in his life. There had been Amanda, his next door neighbor in Celadon City.

A friend from infancy, Amanda had encouraged him on his every unsure decision, right to and beyond his decision to get prosthetics and train Pokemon. The other girls he'd known had scorned him for his disabilities; not Amanda. She'd always enjoyed his company, and he'd always enjoyed hers. They'd felt natural to be together.

They had even tried something beyond simple friendship once. They had kissed once, and had come close to a night together. But ultimately, they'd decided that if such a relationship failed, it would ruin their friendship totally.

So they'd stuck to being best friends.

After Adam chose to train Pokemon, she soon followed the same path, first battling her way through the Orange League...

...and then through the Atlantis League.

And in the Atlantis League she had stayed.

It was the hidden rule. The rule that went unread in every trainer's manual, the rule in the fine print at the bottom of the index.

But it was a rule.

And because of that rule, Adam had had to return to Celadon City to tell her parents that they would never see their daughter again.

Unless he could find a way to bring her back to them.

*Truth is so much more complicated than fiction,* he thought, as he continued to appraise Kelly.

She caught him staring and saw the thoughtful, distant look in his eyes. She smiled. "What is it?"

He shook his head. "It'd feel too awkward to say."

"Hey." Kelly leaned forward and laid a hand over Adam's. "You shouldn't feel uncomfortable talking about something. We're always willing to listen, no matter how awkward or bizarre. Just look at how my relationship with Jason developed."

Adam scoffed. "I suppose you're right." He sighed. "In that case, I was just thinking about how beautiful you look tonight."

Kelly's eyebrows shot up and her smile widened. "Why, thank you. Sometimes it's tough to get even Jason to say something like that."

Adam waved a hand dismissively. "Perish the thought. He sees it, I know he does. If I see it, he's got to."

"I hope so." She looked into his eyes further. "There's something more, isn't there? Something else you were thinking about."

He nodded reluctantly. "Yes. But that really is something I'd rather not discuss. As I understand it, you and Jason keep your own secrets. So it must be with me."

She nodded. "I understand. Always feel free to speak your mind, though."

He leaned forward. "I've been wanting to do that for some time now." He sighed. "I've got something I want to tell you, but I'm afraid that if I do, our friendship might end right here and Jason might never consider me a friend afterward."

She frowned. "What could you say to me that could possibly break our friendship? We've been friends for months now, Adam. How could you lose a friend in the space of one conversation?"

"It's happened before," he answered.

Her frown deepened. "How?"

He shook his head. "That's the part I don't want to talk about."

She groaned and smacked the table in frustration. "You people are impossible! You and Jason both think I'm going to go and tell someone all your dirty, hidden secrets that you keep stowed away in those strange minds of yours. Maybe it never occurred to you that I don't gossip? And that there's no one here to gossip with? Why can't you just tell me, Adam?"

"Okay, fine, then I *will* tell you," he snapped. "I've got a crush on you, Kelly. A serious one. You're one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen, and you're one of the nicest, most caring and tolerant people I've ever had the privilege of meeting. That in itself is a plus, but when you take into consideration that physically, you are extremely attractive... finding someone like you is rare, and I don't want to lose a friendship because I'm afraid of what I might try to do behind Jason's back."

He wasn't finished. "Remember when we first met, and I hardly spent any time with you? I was trying to keep myself distant so I was guaranteed not to do anything that would wreck a rather fragile friendship. Then we went to the dance hall that first time, and I felt so much better. Now it's gotten worse again, and... it's overwhelming me, Kelly. *You're* overwhelming me."

He slumped back in his seat and threw up an arm dramatically. "There it is. That's one of my so-called 'big secrets.'"

Now it was Kelly's turn to gape and stare at Adam. Her jaw hung slack, her eyes had glazed over with the revelation, and she was staring straight through him, damn it, straight through him and his eyes and his soul.

"Adam..." was all she could say.

Adam felt her hand moving across his. Her fingers slid between his.

"I... I-I never knew... had no idea..."

"Of course not. I hide things rather well when I want to. But it's hard on me. It hurts to hide things, and especially from you."

Adam shook his head once more. "But nothing can happen between us, Kelly. You love Jason, and he loves you. I can see it in your eyes."

He glanced down at their intertwined fingers.

There was nothing more he wanted... nothing at all.

He knew it.

He looked back up at Kelly.

Saw her conflicting emotions.

And then...

...he pulled his fingers out from between hers.

"It won't happen, Kelly," he said. "You already made your decision to be with Jason long before I met you. And I'm going to respect that."

He looked into her eyes. "Do you want me to leave you alone for a while?"

She shook her head. "No. That's the last thing I want. You leave me here alone and I'll be sitting here all night." She looked back at him. "But suddenly, it's gotten very hot in here. Take me outside?"

Adam had started feeling the heat long before she had. "Absolutely."

They walked out to the forward deck. By this time, there were only a few people there, wandering the ship or taking a break from dancing to get a breath of fresh air.

He sighed. "I hope I haven't made you too uncomfortable with this."

"Honestly, Adam, I don't know what to think right now. To say I'm flattered would be an understatement. And so would saying that I'm feeling confused."

"I understand. Want me to take you back to your room?"

She paused, then nodded. "Yeah. I think I do."

***

All of this took place in Adam's mind.

In real-time, it was an instant.

In his mind, it was close to a lifetime.

He glanced down at his prosthetics one more time. They lay on the floor, discarded like so much scrap metal.

He didn't care.

Adam sighed, stripped off his shirt and shorts, climbed under his bed covers, and tried to get some sleep.

***

Jason squirmed in his bed and found he would not be allowed to sleep so easily.

He looked over at Kelly's bed again, where she lay peacefully, sound asleep, not a wrinkle to distort her sweet face.

He was still confused by what she had done after he'd returned to their cabin from battling. He'd had some late sessions with some particularly tough trainers... including Seth. He hoped for a rematch with that kid... it seemed almost impossible, the way Seth had defeated him.

When Jason had come back to the cabin, he'd found Kelly sitting on her bed, doing nothing but wringing her hands in her lap and staring into space. She was dressed very attractively, and Jason had been surprised. Apparently, she wanted to keep making a good impression on Adam.

Jason started to let jealousy creep into his heart.

Then Kelly looked up at him.

Her face lit up like the morning sun.

She rushed over to him and hugged him around the neck. It was an awkward position she had to get into, but she managed it.

She kissed him, sweetly, passionately. Again, he was surprised, but favorably so. He responded to the kiss.

After a few moments, Kelly pulled back and hugged him again.

And she whispered into his ear the three words that he could never, would never, deny.

"I love you."

Jason smiled at the memory, and turned back to his pillow.

Perhaps with that thought in mind, it would not be so hard to sleep.

And within a few moments...

Jason Creight slumbered on.

To Be Continued