Thanks to Mor33gan for reviewing the previous chapter. It's been awhile since I last updated, but I'm just not here much anymore.

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Chapter Four: One Step Closer

The return journey from Twinleaf Town to Veilstone City had taken a little longer than Cyrus had assumed; as soon as he set foot before the entrance of the building, he was swarmed by his four loyal commanders. They looked at him as a young child looked at their parent, their eyes full of adoration and respect, patiently waiting for their next order. A lady with bright red hair stepped forward first.

"Boss! Where have you been? I was so worried about you! I thought you may have run into trouble along the way or something!" Her name was Mars and she was the youngest of his commanders, only having recently turned twenty a couple of days ago. She loved her boss wholeheartedly and would do anything to earn his respect, even if it meant placing her own life in danger.

He looked at Mars, giving her a vacant look. "I'm fine."

A male with a deep shade of blue hair stepped forward too. "Where'd you go anyway, boss? It's not like you to just get up and leave without telling us first!" His name was Saturn, and like Mars, he was willing to carry out any order Cyrus gave. He was only two years older than Mars, making him the second youngest in the team of commanders. The trio looked at him with expectant looks.

The commanders weren't going to move out of the way without getting an answer first. Cyrus could easily push them out of the way, but they would only follow him around until he gave in. They idolized him so much they just had to know every single detail of his day to day activities, even if they had to annoy him in the process. So why not fire them and recruit new commanders? The commanders had sworn an oath to serve him until death… or until he freed them from their oaths. Besides, firing them would mean wasting more time in training new recruits and that cost money and time.

He sighed. "If you must know, I went fishing down at Lake Verity." The commanders were loyal to him, but it didn't mean he had to express the same loyalty towards them. They were so foolish that they believed every word he said. Of course, every word he said was a lie, but the commanders weren't aware of that yet. They were blinded by their love for him.

"Fishing? I didn't think you were into fishing, boss," Saturn said, frowning.

"You know, my father used to take me fishing when I was young. We could go fishing together sometime!" Mars stated. "My Purugly is really good at catching fish! So, did you catch anything?"

So foolish, so gullible. Sometimes Cyrus wondered why he had bothered to hire these idiots, but then he remembered they were the only ones who passed the tests to earn a place. The rest of the grunts were so stupid the majority of them couldn't even read yet. They were just there to do the dirty work. "No." Mesprit had chosen not to reveal itself, but Cyrus knew it was down there somewhere, lurking at the bottom of the lake. He needed to capture the legendary – something so powerful could help him achieve his goals, but a few things needed to be dealt with first before he reached that level.

Mars frowned. "That's a shame boss, maybe next time you'll catch something?"

Meaningless conversation. His patience was beginning to wear thin. "Perhaps." He paused briefly then spoke again, turning to address Mars first. "I have tasks that need to be carried out. Mars, you will be stationed at the Valley Windworks to harness the energy needed for our vision to become a reality."

Mars nodded, satisfied. "You can count on me, boss."

He wasn't too sure about that, but Mars knew the layout of the Valley Windworks better than anyone else in his company since she came from Floaroma Town. He turned to Jupiter, the other female in his leadership team. "Jupiter, you will be stationed at our base in Eterna City."

Jupiter frowned. "Great. So I'm on guard duty then. Why do I never get the fun jobs?" she complained.

There was a good reason for that. Jupiter didn't seem as loyal towards him as the other commanders did so Cyrus punished her by giving her the least exciting jobs. "Your job is to draw attention away from the rest of your commanders' dealings so they can carry out their tasks without disruption from the authorities. I would prefer not have to deal with Sinnoh's gym leaders and the Champion herself. Do what you must."

"I can do anything then?"

"Yes."

She smiled. "I'll take a fair portion of the grunts before I go."

"What about me, boss?" Saturn said.

"You will be heading to Pastoria City to lead a group of grunts to take over the nearby lake. Do not cause trouble until I give you the word, is that understood, Saturn?"

Saturn nodded. "Yes, boss."

Cyrus turned to the final commander. Charon was the eldest member of the group and well into his sixties already, but he was also the most junior member of the group, having only been a member for less than a year. "You will accompany Mars on your first mission. Think of this as an introductory session to your role as a commander. Do not attempt to take control from Mars – this is her job, not yours. You will learn to stand alone when the time is right."

The old man nodded. "I will not disappoint."

Sometimes Cyrus didn't trust the man. He seemed to have his own agenda, but whenever Cyrus inquired, the man simply said he wanted to learn more about Rotom. For now, the man had his uses – he had a brilliant technical mind and could solve problems not even Cyrus himself could. He did not want the man unsupervised. Mars seemed displeased with the arranged partnership (since the original trio didn't like the man at all), but there was nothing she could do about it.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get to work," Cyrus ordered.

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Re-entering the gates of Jubilife City brought her a great sense of relief. The air was clean here and she didn't have to worry about getting attacked by grains of sand every second. Everything was much cleaner here and far more exciting to explore. She noticed the clowns were still around, chasing locals and tourists alike to take the quiz.

Dawn shook her head, an amused smile on her face. The clowns were certainly determined, but surely it must be hot and stuffy inside those costumes? The miner's clothes were bad enough but she couldn't even begin to imagine how uncomfortable it must be to wear a clown costume. She continued walking along the streets, this time heading in a northerly direction.

"…Give that back! It's not yours!"

"Finders keepers!"

The unmistakable sounds of a fight brewing caught her attention. Dawn rushed towards the source of the noise and was surprised to see Professor Rowan and Lucas standing across from two funny grunts with horrible bowl haircuts. They were dressed in such strange costumes, Dawn wasn't sure if this was a staged act. Perhaps they were hired performers?

"Professor Rowan? Lucas? What's going on here?" she said, approaching the two males cautiously, keeping her eyes trained on the two people wearing funny clothes. They looked like astronauts almost… with terrible haircuts. Whoever had designed their uniforms had a poor taste in fashion. Her mother would have a heart attack if she was here now since the woman had love for all things fashion.

"Ah, Dawn! You're just in time!" Professor Rowan exclaimed.

"I won my first badge!"

He smiled warmly. "Well done, Dawn. I knew you could do it."

"Hey! Stop talking old man! You better tell us what this journal is about otherwise we'll tear it in half!" the first grunt said. He held up a brown journal before his face, threatening to destroy the book in two.

Professor Rowan wagged a finger in their faces. "Quiet, you lot! Why must you be such a nuisance? Let me list some lessons you still need to learn. One, don't loiter around for no good reason. Two, don't interrupt others while they are attempting to converse. Three, if you don't get your way, don't raise your voice to be intimidating. Four, don't think you've grown strong just because you're in a group. Five, what is with those outlandish outfits you have on? My goodness… You call yourselves adults?" He turned back to Dawn and Lucas. "You kids, don't grow up to be like these sorry specimens."

The grunt holding the journal frowned. "He's not taking us seriously! You're the one that needs to be taught a lesson, old man!"

His companion stepped forward, his fingers clasped around a pokeball. "We're from Team Galactic and we only listen to the boss! Get ready for a battle, old man, we're bringing you down!" the second one crowed.

"You kids give these thugs a lesson in civility, please," the professor said, taking a few steps back from the fight.

Lucas looked at Dawn. "Are you sure you handle this?"

Dawn hated the way the boy looked at her as if she were some incompetent trainer. He might have been a trainer for longer than she had, but it didn't mean he had to be so rude. "Of course I am." Turtwig was the logical choice, but she wanted to train up her new friends. They had yet had a chance to battle.

The grunts sent forth a Pokemon each. One was a purple coloured skunk and the other a type of feline. Dawn consulted her Pokedex for additional information. She aimed it in the direction of the skunk first.

Stunky. It sprays a foul fluid from its rear. Its stench spreads over a mile radius, driving Pokemon away.

Gross, thought Dawn. She hoped the creature didn't spray anything during the battle. Turning the Pokedex again, she faced it towards the next Pokemon.

Glameow. It hides its spiteful tendency of hooking its claws into the nose of its trainer if it isn't fed.

Another nasty Pokemon. The grunts had a taste in Pokemon equally bad as their fashion sense.

"Go Piplup!" Lucas said, throwing out his only pokeball. A blue baby penguin appeared.

Dawn reached for her first Pokemon and hurled it out onto the ground. Murkrow flew around in circles cawing loudly. This was Murkrow's first battle. Would the bird listen to her? She looked at the bird, trying to show no signs of nervousness. The bird seemed to be listening at the moment, but it was a new Pokemon. "Murkrow, use Pursuit!" The small avian conjured a small orb of dark energy and sent it forth. The ball hit the Glameow, but the cat didn't seem that troubled by it.

"Piplup, use Bubble!" Lucas' penguin blew a few bubbles from its mouth, which formed together to create a much larger bubble. It moved towards the Stunky, popping when it made contact with the skunk's face. The skunk winced, as water splashed into its eyes.

"Stunky, use Fury Swipes!"

"Glameow, use Scratch!"

The cat attacked first, pouncing on Piplup, slashing the penguin in the face. Piplup staggered backwards, almost falling over in the process. Stunky attacked soon afterwards, running around in circles around Piplup, stopping every couple of seconds to swipe a claw at its face. The poor Piplup was overwhelmed by the combined force, but somehow managed to stay on its feet.

"Murkrow, use Peck!" Murkrow swooped down towards Stunky, striking the skunk on its head. Stunky winced, turned around and stuck up its tail, emitting a foul-smelling gas from its rear end. Dawn brought a hand to her stomach, feeling a sudden queasiness overcome her mind. The stench reminded her of the time she accidentally dropped a rotten egg on the ground while playing a game of 'egg and spoon' with the neighbours. "Oh my… that is so… bad…" she gagged, lurching over, staring at the ground. Her stomach did a somersault. Her Murkrow looked ready to faint from the overpowering stench.

The grunt snickered. "You think you're so good because you have a badge? Pah! Tell that to the boss! Gym badges don't mean a thing to Galactic! The only thing we care about is making the world a better place!" He thrust a finger forward. "We don't need weaklings like you in our world."

Before Dawn could argue back, she lurched forward and lost her breakfast all over the spot in front of her. Gross… and totally humiliating. Professor Rowan was probably going to regret having given her a Pokemon now. She tried to pick herself back up, but her body refused to obey her. Instead, she remained hunched over, squeezing her eyes shut so she wouldn't have to look at her breakfast.

"Let's get out of here before she makes us sick."

"What about the journal though?"

"What about it? We can't read. I'm sure the boss already knows all this stuff because he knows everything. We can't be here for much longer – we were supposed to be buying the boss' favourite coffee beans from the shop. Come on; let's get out of here while we have the chance!" The grunts retrieved their Pokemon and ran away before anyone could stop them, throwing the journal aside right into… Dawn's pile of vomit.

Dawn vomited again, this time spilling her stomach contents over her shoes. Not exactly the impression she wanted to leave on Professor Rowan and Lucas. Lucas now had a good reason to despise her for showing weakness during an important battle. It was a good thing the grunts couldn't read though otherwise she'd feel even worse if they ran off with the book. She still felt bad though since the professor's hard work was covered in her vomit.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She was well aware they were looking at her, probably with hatred and disgust. Bringing her hands to her eyes, she wiped the tears away and ran down the street, heading in no clear direction at all. All she wanted to do was hide her shame from the world. She turned down into a deserted alley and collapsed to the ground in a heap, bringing her knees to her chest as she wept.

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Fool, said a voice in the back of her head. The voice had no identifiable face, but Dawn knew the voice. It belonged to her. The voice was mocking her for her stupidity, for her show of weakness, and it continued to mock her. Dawn rocked back and forth, hands covering her ears, wishing the voice would stop tormenting her. "Go away…" she said.

You call yourself a trainer? Trainers are strong. You are anything but strong, the voice continued to mock. More tears slipped down Dawn's cheeks, as she struggled to fight off the demon in her head. She reached down and released her Turtwig from its pokeball, hoping to silence the monster. Turtwig rubbed his head against Dawn's legs.

"I'm sorry… I failed you," Dawn whispered.

Turtwig shook his head.

"I know you are trying to be kind, but I'm not worthy of you."

Turtwig tilted his head to the right, giving his trainer a puzzled look.

"I failed to beat a thief."

She wouldn't be surprised to know there were more Galactic grunts causing trouble all across the region. What did they want and why were they causing trouble now? Her mother was probably worried sick about her daughter. No doubt Professor Rowan would inform her mother and tell her it was a mistake entrusting Dawn with a Pokemon. He'd explain she wasn't yet mature enough to handle herself.

"Dawn? Is that you?"

She jerked her head up at the mention of her name. Turning her head to the right, she spotted Lucas frowning at her. For once, he did not look in her direction with disgust, but rather with concern. He walked towards her then sat down. Dawn averted her gaze. "Don't look at me." Her face was swollen, her cheeks a shade of red. She looked like a pitiful person right now.

He continued to look at her. He seemed uncomfortable, as if unsure of how to act around a crying girl. Fortunately, for Lucas' sake, the professor arrived. "Do not cry, Dawn. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

She peered up. "Nothing to be ashamed of? I lost the battle for us," she blurted out, a new flood of tears running down her cheeks.

"It was your first battle against a Stunky. You handled being gassed better than most people," the professor pointed out, looking down at Lucas for some support. "I've seen a handful of trainers faint on the spot."

Lucas nodded. "He's right you know. Every trainer gets gassed by a Stunky at one point in their lives. I got gassed once and even the professor did when he was young. He told me all about it after I got gassed," he explained. "I was playing in the forest with my Pokemon and I accidentally stepped on a Stunky's tail. You can imagine how that ended."

Dawn mustered up a smile. The thought of Lucas, the guy who didn't seem to like her much at all, getting gassed in the face by a Stunky was amusing. She looked to the professor. "What about your journal though? It's destroyed now."

He shrugged. "No matter, all the information is stored on my computer. The journal was used for taking down notes, but we can always find a new book. At least the Galactic members weren't able to make use of it. A vomit covered book is of no use to anyone." He chuckled. He reached down a hand and Dawn took it, helping herself to her feet.

"You shouldn't be too hard on yourself, Dawn. You are a starting out trainer – do not feel like you shouldn't express your emotions. It's not healthy to bury them," the professor advised. "Feeling is what makes us alive. It allows us to care for other people and our Pokemon. If we were unable to feel, there would be no love and no joy in the world. Wouldn't that be a horrible place to live in? Crying is not a weakness, Dawn."

Lucas dug a hand into his bag and handed Dawn a couple of tissues. "Use these. It's better than using your hands."

Dawn thanked him and dabbed at the tears underneath her eyes. At least the professor wasn't disappointed in her.

"You've handled yourself incredibly well, Dawn. I'm proud of you," the professor said, beaming a smile in her direction. "Most trainers usually have someone in the family that can advise them on the road to becoming a good trainer, so you've done well to make it this far without any experience to fall back on."

Dawn nodded, and wiped away a few more tears. "I wish my father was around to show me the way…" she said softly. "Did you know him?" If anyone knew anything about him, the professor would. He was much older than herself and probably met the guy on a couple of occasions. "My mother won't say anything."

There was an awkward silence. Lucas didn't appear to know anything about Dawn's parents, but the professor looked like he knew something. She frowned. He tugged at his moustache. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but you have the right to know." He looked at her directly. "I know your father… well, at least, I knew him for awhile. He left before you were born, Dawn."

"He's alive, then?" Her face brightened. Her mother had told her the guy had died. Did she know he was alive? Or had she lied to keep Dawn from learning the truth? But why would she lie? Her mother wasn't the type.

The professor looked uncomfortable. This obviously wasn't the discussion he imagined having. He continued to fiddle with his moustache. "You do not need to worry about him, Dawn. Yes, he's alive, but I do not know where he is. I haven't seen him since the day he left your mother. It was I who introduced him to your mother…if I had known this was going to happen then I wouldn't have taken pity on him and…" He stopped suddenly, frowning then shook his head. "Forgive me, it is not my place to speak of this. You should ask your mother sometime."

"I'm going to find him."

"You should be focusing on becoming the strongest trainer in the region, Dawn," Lucas pointed out. "I know you want to find him, but you won't get very far in the region without strong Pokemon."

True. She needed to become stronger. She wanted to leave a good impression on him so he could be proud of her. "You're right. I need to strengthen my team." Had he abandoned her because he was worried she was going to turn out to be a failure? Or had there be some other reason for it? She scrunched up her soggy tissues and placed them in her bag. "Thanks for everything."

"Remember my words, Dawn."

She nodded. "I will, Professor Rowan."

"You should head to Eterna City next for your next badge. You'll have to make a stop by Floaroma Town first, but I'm sure you'll find that place relaxing. You can find directions on your map. If you ever find yourself needing someone to talk to, you know who to call. Good luck, Dawn."

Lucas didn't say anything, but he did nod. The two males walked away leaving Dawn on her own. "Are you ready to carry on, Turtwig?" she said, smiling at her friend. Turtwig seemed happier now that his master did and made a happy grunting noise. Dawn chuckled. "I take that as a yes then."

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Cyrus had been hoping the rest of his day would feature no interruptions, but he wasn't always so lucky. Two grunts came bursting through his door, filling the air with their annoying nasally voices. He turned around, glowering, annoyed by the interruption. It wouldn't be a normal day without someone messing up something. "I hope there is a good reason for your intrusion?"

"Boss! Guess what happened? We ran into some old man and his assistant and we beat them to a pulp!" the first grunt exclaimed, his dark eyes shining with amusement.

"And then this dainty girl showed up and tried to be tough, but she couldn't handle the stench and vomited all over the place!" The grunts exchanged high-fives. "It was hilarious, boss!"

Cyrus did not share their amusement. So the grunts had sunk to an all time low where they harassed old men and made fun of young children. "That was a good way to bring unnecessary attention to themselves. "I did not give you the order to annoy community members. I simply asked you to purchase some coffee beans… must I always do everything myself?" he snapped, briefly losing his cool for a moment. He quickly regained his composure though and took in a deep breath.

The amused smirks on the grunts' faces faded. "We thought you would be pleased… it was Professor Rowan, you know, the famous guy on television?"

Cyrus knew who Professor Rowan was. He was the man who had been responsible for introducing Johanna to him when he was a teenager. It was because of the old man that he had experienced his first taste of-no. Reflecting on the past only invited unpleasant memories to play in his mind. Only the future mattered. "I know who Professor Rowan is. What other news do you have to report?"

"Well, the girl had blue hair."

Blue hair wasn't a common colour in this part of the world. Other than himself, he knew only two other people who had the same colour. There was Saturn, but there was no chance he'd be related to this girl. Cyrus had checked to ensure Saturn had no children, nor partner, before recruiting him. That left only one person – Johanna. The woman had mentioned she had a daughter in the previous conversation, the one she didn't want Cyrus to encounter. "This girl with the blue hair. What can you tell me about her?"

The grunt frowned, puzzled by the request. "She's a girl. She has a Murkrow. I think she's just started on her journey so I'd say she's probably between the ages of ten and twelve."

Between the ages of ten and twelve… blue hair… just started her trainer's journey… Wait. At Lake Verity he had crossed paths briefly with a blue-headed girl. She had to be Johanna's daughter. His daughter. She was the right age and happened to be living near Lake Verity. No one else from the major cities would ever bother visiting since it was in the quieter, less populated part of the region.

"Boss?"

"Leave me."

The grunts exited the room. If the girl was on her quest to become the next Champion, there was bound to be a chance he would run into her again. Most likely, she had obtained her first badge since she had a Murkrow and Murkrows couldn't be found in Twinleaf Town nor around that area. The next gym was in Eterna City and there was a good chance he'd meet her there if he left now. Would she become a good trainer? Could she… could she possibly see the world from his point of view and understand the world needed to change? Or would she prove him wrong? He was curious now.

He stood up from his table and left the room. He took a couple of steps towards the staircase when Saturn entered his line of vision. "Boss? Where are you going?"

"Why haven't you left yet?"

Saturn shrugged. "I was packing my bags." He tilted his head to the left, furrowing his brows.

The commander was probably going to follow him around if Cyrus didn't provide him an answer since they were that devoted to him. "I'm going to visit Eterna City. The statues there fascinate me. I want to learn more about them."

Saturn nodded. "All right then, boss. I hope you find what you're looking for." He turned down the stairs and disappeared from his view.