Author's Note: CursedNinetails: Yeah, yeah. I get the point. And you won't be let down in this chapter. At least, I don't think you will. 0.o

MidnightxPhoenix: Heh. Maybe you do, maybe you don't. Who knows really?

Chapter Four: Mysterious Liquid: Part One

Amphie and Des quickly hurried off after Ashley, who had turned a left into another hallway. She was currently sitting on the floor, her head on her knees.

Amphie frowned, and came up to Ashley," It's okay Ashley. It's okay," she whispered softly and gently," It's okay. There will be other boys."

Ashley looked up, and Des and Amphie were rather surprised at her face. They had expected to see tear stains all over her face, and her eyes to be red. Maybe even just one tear. But not one tear had stained Ashley's face, unlike many other girls who would be sobbing uncontrollably.

Ashley looked the other way, then down to where her Pokeballs were, originally attached to the sleeve of her dress-like clothing. " It's okay. I guessed he would've said no. That's why I'm not crying, unlike those other girls. They're all pansies," Ashley then grabbed each of her Pokeballs from her sleeve, and tossed them almost delicately onto the white tiled hallway.

Amphie tilted her head, glancing as the Pokeballs flashed a bright light, releasing the Pokemon. She had never seen Ashley's Pokemon before, having only met her this morning. Des only gave a slight glance, having heard and seen all of Ashley's Pokemon before, whether in Battle Class or just plain out for the hell of it.

The first Pokeball opened, revealing none other than Stan, the Dusclops. He flexed his gloves hands, and then gave a bow to Amphie, as he was the more respectful one out of the group of Ashley's Pokemon. Stan then moaned eerily," Dusclops…" and looked towards the Pokemon that were being released.

The flash appeared again, and out appeared a feminine Absol, giving a glance around at the surroundings before resting her gaze on Amphie. She immediately hissed, pawing at the ground with her front paw. She then threw her head, her hair-like feature moving with her.

Amphie's eyes widened, as she stepped back away from the hissing Absol.

" Don't mind her. Abigail is always the most down-right-mean one of the bunch." Des said to Amphie, watching as she relaxed.

" Yeah…" Ashley agreed, staring off down the hallway, away from Des and Amphie.

Amphie nodded, then watched curiously as another Pokemon appeared from their Pokeball. Out appeared a male Banette, looking around curiously. He then grinned mischievously, his red eyes glittering at wanting to do something fun. He then seemed to cackle, but his mouth did not open.

" That's Twist. He's the troublemaker of the group. He makes trouble when no one's looking." Des explained, pointing to Twist, who hovered a few feet off the ground.

" How come his mouth didn't open when he laughed?" Amphie asked, turning to Des. She was easily seen as spooked, mostly from all these dark types.

" It was said that Banette was created from cursed energy permeated from a discarded doll's stuffing, and gave life to Banette. And the reason Twist never opens his mouth is because Banettes would lose all their energy if they were open their mouth," Des explained lengthily, Amphie nodding, interested. Des laughed," Oh. I rambled on again. Mr. Mew's lectures get stuck in my head."

Amphie giggled, and then watched as the final Pokeball opened. In, yet again, another flash of white light, a female Umbreon appeared. The Umbreon sniffed the air, and then eyed Amphie suspiciously. Umbreon then lay on the floor, proceeding to rolling around, kicking her feet into the air out of sheer boredom.

Ashley turned her head towards the Umbreon," Hey Likuri," Ashley greeted with a sigh. Likuri stopped, and sat upon her haunches, and gave a slight purr at Ashley.

" Likuri is the actual nice one. She's also the strangest one of the group." Des said to Amphie, petting Likuri. Likuri purred, rubbing her head against Des's hand.

Amphie cautiously reached out, and patted Likuri on the head. Likuri yawned, then looked to Amphie, and smiled," Umbreon!"

Amphie giggled, then looked to Des and Ashley, then to Likuri," How is she different?" Amphie asked, mostly to Des, as Ashley was busy staring off into nowhere.

Des raised his claw, almost as if he were thinking, but Ashley cut in," I found her abandoned a year ago. Her rings weren't yellow then. They were glowing blue. Her mood seems to affect her rings. Yellow usually means she's happy, while blue means she's depressed, and red easily means she's angered."

Amphie frowned and looked a bit surprised, not only because of what happened to Likuri, but that all of a sudden Ashley cut in. Amphie looked towards Likuri, still frowning," Poor Likuri."

Likuri lay down on her back, kicking her legs into the air. She seemed to be the youngest and most childish, easily seen by Abigail staring with a flat expression on her face. Twist was looking around mischievously, while Stan was only staring at the humans.

Des spoke up," Well, we should get going. Thank goodness it's early release."

Ashley crossed her arms," It's about that little incident, isn't it? And that dance." Ashley added bitterly. Des nodded slowly.

Amphie looked confused, then looked to the left and right of herself," Umm. Let's go. I might get lost, so, can you guys guide me?" she asked with a friendly smile.

Des nodded," Sure. Come on Ashley. Up." Des held out his hand, which Ashley, rather stubbornly, grabbed, and Des pulled her up.

Ashley looked to her Pokemon, who were busy inspecting the hallway, somewhat interested," Come on everyone. We have to go home now."

Abigail, Twist, Stan, and Likuri all turned towards Ashley, and nodded, all of them stopping what they had been doing, and now returning to Ashley's sides, Stan only an inch shorter than Ashley. Ashley gave each of them a pat, then looked towards Amphie and Des," Well, let's go."

Des and Amphie nodded, and proceeded to walking down the hallway, Ashley lagging behind. Likuri's ears pricked up, as she thought she had heard something. Seeing a shadow, she hissed, her rings flashing red at the scent of the thing. The shadow quickly moved out of Likuri's sight.

Ashley looked back," Likuri. Come on girl." Ashley urged. Likuri looked to Ashley, then back at where the shadow had been. Giving a sigh, Likuri followed her master's orders, reluctantly following after.

Meanwhile-

" Mr. Lott. We need to explain our little problem." A female voice said to Grandpa, all sitting in comfy red chairs in a neat and tidy office.

" Yes Miss Night?" Grandpa asked, putting his hands on his knees," What would you like to talk about?"

Night nodded, and opened her mouth to say something, but looked to the man beside her," You do it Liam."

Liam nodded, then looked serious at Grandpa," Mr. Lott. It has come to our attention, that your granddaughter, Ashley I believe her name was, is a bit different."

Grandpa looked confused, but nodded," Of course she's different. Everyone is different," he looked towards both of them," But I'm thinking this is 'different' different. Oh boy. I'm confusing myself."

Liam nodded," No worries. We will explain everything about your granddaughter." He took out some papers, showing a few tests," After carefully studying her, we have found something incredible." Liam then looked to Night," You know Night."

Night nodded, and then opened a briefcase, revealing many, many vials in protective glasses. Night thumbed over each one, biting her lower lip. She then rested her hands on a certain one, and carefully, pulled it out. She then held it out to Grandpa," Please take this. And give it to Ashley in good water. Not hot or cold. Just normal. But make sure not to give it in tap. Purified water is much, much cleaner, and safer."

Grandpa stared at the vial, containing a dark purple liquid. " But what will it do?" he asked, unsure.

Liam replied," Please, just take it. We have a problem, a big one. And your daughter is the only one who can help us." Liam looked to Night, concerned, then back at Grandpa," We have tested all the employees, but all were negative, including you. We wish we didn't have to use a young girl, but it's our only hope."

Grandpa nodded," Oh. That was the test." He stared at the vial for a few moments in Night's hand, then seemed unsure again," Will it hurt her?" he asked.

Night and Liam looked at each other, then to Grandpa. Liam said," No. It won't hurt her."

Grandpa looked at Night and Liam's pleading eyes, and sighed, taking the vial from Night's hand," Okay. I'll give it to her tonight."

Later that same night. Oh boy. This sounds like Okage Shadow King now-

Ashley sat on the couch in her apartment in Devon Corp., flipping through the channels with little interest. Mostly just things about if Mirage Island appeared and the weather. And not to mention, the Breeders Channel, about breeding Pokemon, and Pichu Brothers was on, a new movie, which Ashley was currently watching.

She watched as the Pichu brothers ran around on the rooftops, dancing with cute music in the background, all about them. She then heard the slamming of a door, and looked towards the front door," Hey Grandpa," she greeted.

Grandpa looked a bit nervous, but gave a meek smile," Hello dear. Have a good day at school?"

Ashley shrugged," Umm. Yes," she lied, not wanting to tell Grandpa about Alec and Amphie.

Grandpa smiled, obviously having fell for it," Oh good. Always nice to hear you didn't get into any sort of trouble again, right?"

Ashley shrugged, leaning her head on the couch," I guess. So, what do you have there?" she asked, pointing to something Grandpa held in some sort of a box.

Grandpa glanced at the package, then back to Ashley. Immediately, a bead of sweat formed on his brow," Oh. Koolaid Mix."

Ashley perked up," Well, open it! I could go for some Koolaid."

Grandpa nodded," Umm. Right. Just go on watching your movie while I make some, okay?"

Ashley smiled, and then went back to watching the Pichu Brothers, in which the two Pichu were playing with the other baby Pokemon, including a Magby, a Smoochum, and an Azurill.

Grandpa sighed, and wiped his brow with his sleeve. He then opened the box silently, quickly glancing at Ashley to see if she was watching. Taking a glass to the fridge and pouring in purified water, he set it on the blue tiled counter, trying not to make a sound. He took out the vial, and glanced at Ashley, paying more attention to the movie than anything.

Grandpa then sighed," I hope she'll be okay," and poured the dark purple liquid into the glass of water, watching as the liquid settled at the bottom. Grandpa then grabbed a spoon, and began to stir the liquid, and laid the spoon back in the sink, quickly washing it with a hell of a lot of soap and water. He then stared at the glass, which was now dark purple, thanks to a lot of stirring to create that.

Ashley yawned, looking towards Grandpa," Almost done Grandpa?" she asked.

Grandpa quickly looked up, and nodded with a weak smile," Umm. Yes." He picked up the glass, and walked over to Ashley. " Here dear." Grandpa said, handing the glass to Ashley.

Ashley stared at the water for a few moments, and then said," Thanks Gramps!" rather enthusiastically.

Grandpa nodded, as another bead of sweat formed on his brow," N-No problem d-dear."

Ashley looked towards Grandpa, and lifted an eyebrow," What's wrong Gramps?"

Grandpa looked to Ashley, and gave a small grin," Oh. Just Devon Corp. stuff. I must be stressed out a bit, is all."

Ashley raised an eyebrow, then looked to the liquid," Oh. Well, thanks again Grandpa."

Grandpa nodded," No problem."

She drank it all.