Ari: I'm baaaacccckkkk!
Drew: After how long?
Ari *sighs* I know. Sorry you guys, I got writer's block and then I was busy. I am actually working in China right now, I moved here a few months ago. Anywho, I won't hold you guys out on the chapter. Drew!
Drew: Fine. schoolmouse33 doesn't own pokemon.
Ari: ROLL CHAPTER!
January 18th (Lilycove City, Hoenn)
(Dawn's POV)
I took aim with one of my knives and threw at a bullseye I posted to a tree about forty feet away. It had been a week and a half since the guys rescued us from Alamos Town and it was hard to return to normality, for all of us. For the girls and I, we were uncharacteristically quiet along with our wardrobe changing drastically. All we wore these days were sweatpants and our significant other's hoodie. For me at least, I didn't want to wear anything that made my figure stick out, I was tired of being eyed like a piece of meat. As for the guys, they were hovering like staraptors in keeping us in sight most of the time, not that the girls and I minded. I think subconsciously, it made us feel safer. If they couldn't keep an eye on us, one of their pokemon did.
I pulled another knife out of the hoodie pocket and took aim. I didn't have to look to see that Paul was peering over to watch me every so often from where he was training. When he and the other guys found me, I didn't cry. I didn't want to show any sign of weakness to the spineless bastards who kidnapped me. This concerned Paul, I could tell by the way he was hovering over me. He was waiting for me break down.
I threw the knife as Piplup waddled over to me. He pulled my pant leg and looked at me with concern.
I gave a small smile, "I'm fine Piplup, just like I was ten minutes ago when you came over."
He didn't believe me, neither did Paul when he gave me the same look.
I crept down and pet his head, "Are the guys still training?"
He nodded his head in affirmation and I sighed as I looked to the tree taking all my knives hits.
"You can go back and watch, I'll be there in a few," I said.
Piplup shook his head stubbornly and planted his webbed feet firmly in place.
I sighed again, "Suit yourself," I said as I walked to the tree to pull out my knives.
After pulling them all, Piplup and I walked back to where the guys were training. Leaf and May were practicing as well though Misty was sitting on a blanket nearby. She was on the mend and was almost healed, but the stress of training and battles caused her to be anxious. She didn't tell us that, but we knew. She also was prone to freezing up when close to fire attacks due to PTSD in being partially branded. She also kept her hair down and refused to put it in her standard side ponytail.
I took a seat next to her, "How was practice?" she asked.
"Good," I said as my compowder beeped signifying a text.
"Wonder who that is?" I wondered aloud.
"Hopefully not PHPA, Clair said in no uncertain terms we were not going to be called for any reason," Misty quoted as I pulled out my compowder to read the message.
I looked at it in surprise, "It's from Salvia. She's in the city and wants to meet up at a local café to catch up."
Misty raised her eyebrows in surprise, "They actually allowed time in her schedule to do that?"
"I guess so."
Misty then frowned, "Are you sure it's from her?"
I could tell what she was getting at and I sighed, "I'm sure, but I'll play it safe for everyone's benefit," I said as I got up making my way to Paul.
"Paul," I said to get his attention.
He turned to see me walking toward him before passing instructions to Ninjask and turning back to face me.
"Do you have time for a break? Salvia texted me asking if I could meet her in town," I explained as I held my elbows, "And with the whole mess of what happened starting from a false text, I'd figured you'd be more comfortable walking me to where she wants to meet me and pick me up later rather than going by myself."
I could see a very tiny grin upon his face as his nodded, knowing I made the right choice in asking him to escort me.
"Sure, just give me a few minutes to finish up."
"That's fine, I need to change anyways."
"What's wrong with what you have on?" he asked.
I raised my eyebrows signifying 'are-you-serious', "I'm pretty sure I don't want to meet a princess dressed as a lazy thug."
Paul smirked, "You look too cute to be lazy or a thug," he teased.
"Jerk," I retorted before giving him a give peck on the lips and turned to head back inside.
I texted Salvia saying I was free and asked her where she wanted to meet as I grabbed some clothes to change into. After changing into dark wash jeggings, low cut grey boots, a long sleeved black top, and an infinity scarf in multiple shades of pink and purple, I pulled my hair into a half up-half down do. I grabbed Piplup's pokeball, my wallet, and compowder to stick in a small black messenger bag that I slung over as I went downstairs.
As I came down the steps, I saw Paul getting up from the couch, "You ready to go?"
"Yea," I said as my compowder beeped with a text message.
I pulled it out as we left the house and read Salvia's message. After responding to it, I put my compowder away.
"Where are you meeting her?"
"Swift Tuilp Café."
We then walked in silence for a while as we made our way downtown. We were about two and half blocks away when I saw a car pull up to the café.
"How long do you think you'll catch up?" Paul asked as we saw Salvia and a guard come out of the car.
"No more than an hour, I don't think her butler will let her stay out longer than that."
"Just text me to let me know when to pick you up," Paul said as got to the corner of where the café was.
"Want me to get you anything?" I asked.
Paul rolled his eyes, "I think you're gonna get me something regardless of whether I say yes or no."
I grinned, "You know me so well."
We then kissed before I made my way to the café and Paul stayed on the corner.
I walked to the café and noticed Salvia sitting at an outside table. I assumed the somewhat casual dressed guy sitting two tables was a bodyguard.
Salvia looked up and noticed me, "Dawn!" she grinned.
I walked up and gave her a hug, "It's so good to see you. I was surprised by your text, they actually let you out?!"
Salvia laughed, "I was surprised to, but Freesia made sure to put it in my schedule," she said as a waiter came up to her table.
"I'll have mocha," I told him before turning back to Salvia.
"I'm glad she did 'cause it seems you never get much of a break," I smiled. "How have you been?"
"Busy, as always. I am constantly on the move, but thankfully, I'll return to the castle in two weeks for a break," she said.
"That's good, I sometimes worry that you never get a break. Gosh knows I was exhausted when I was you for a day," I laughed.
"What about you?" Salvia asked. "How have you been?"
My smile disappeared slightly as the waiter came back with my drink, "Thank you," I said as he placed it in front of me.
"I'm not gonna lie, it's been rough," I said as I sipped my drink.
Salvia raised her mug and swirled her drink, "I heard stories," she murmured sadly. "It must have been awful."
"It was, I was lucky compared to most," I said flatly.
Salvia placed her mug down, "The most important thing is that you brought the people responsible down."
"It was terrifying," I murmured after a few moments of silence. "Hearing girls scream as they were raped and branded outside our cages. Being dressed in white to be sold. There was a time that I thought I would never see Paul again."
Salvia said nothing as I paused to sip my drink, "When he came through that doorway where the auction was held, I never felt more relieved in my entire life. I didn't want to let him go after he hugged me. After we got back, I've been dressed in sweats and his hoodie. Meeting you is the only reason I'm dressed in leggings. I think the girls and I are uncomfortable wearing form fitting clothes since we've been eyed so much when we were captive for a week."
"You haven't broken down yet from this, have you?" she asked quietly.
I shook my head, "I don't want to, I feel doing so gives those jerks the satisfaction of breaking me."
Salvia nodded in understanding, "You aren't weak Dawn, you are a lot stronger than most people give you credit for. One day, what happened to you will break you, but Paul and everyone else will be there to pick you up and you'll be able to move on. Right now, you are just trying to accept what happened and that's okay. Everyone is different."
I gave a small smile, "Thanks Salvia."
She smiled in return, "What else has happened?"
I then got animated about working with Paris for a few days and we had a great time chatting for the remainder of the time. Forty minutes later, I ordered food and drinks for me and Paul to bring back with us as Salvia was remaindered by her guard that it was time for her to leave.
"Thanks so much for meeting up with me, I never get to see many friends these days," Salvia said as she hugged me.
"No problem, I always love meeting up with my 'twin'," I laughed.
"Take care," she called as she and body guard walked to their car up front as the waiter returned with my food.
"Thank you," I said as I paid my bill.
I pulled my compowder to text Paul when I saw a figure in the corner of my eye causing me to smile.
"You didn't allow me to text you," I pouted playfully as I stood up.
"Wasn't necessary, I was in the store across the street," he shrugged.
I shook my head with a small smile, "Always my protective Ursaring," I teased as I hugged him.
I felt him hug me back and kiss my head before he grabbed our food, "What did you get?"
"Black coffee," I said as I handed him his coffee, "and a Reuben sandwich, no cheese and double meat. I figured you hadn't eaten yet."
"You're right, I decided to wait and see what you picked and you chose right."
"I'm your girlfriend, I'm supposed know your choices," I teased as I pecked his cheek.
"Did you have a good visit?" he asked as we started walking back to campus.
"We did. I'm glad I was able to meet up with her," I said with a soft smile.
As we walked by, I heard someone wolf whistle causing me to shiver and grab Paul's hand as subtly as I could and squeeze it. I hated the fact I couldn't ignore what just happened. Why couldn't I? It made me so mad.
"Come on," Paul said gently as he guided me onto campus.
When the house was in view, I felt Paul guide me away from it towards the beach.
"Where are we going?" I asked confused.
"Elsewhere."
I raised an eyebrow because this was unusual for him, but I kept quiet and followed him. After walking on the sand for a while, we sat down and started to eat, Paul more or less than me. I just stared at my salad as I had lost my appetite. I just couldn't get that wolf whistle out of my head.
I will not break. I will not break. I will not break.
I then felt a tear roll down my face.
I…broke.
At that point, I put my salad down as more tears fell and I hugged my knees to my chest as I started to shake. I heard Paul sigh sympathetically and felt myself being drawn into his embrace. This caused me to break completely and I started sobbing into his shoulder. I was crying for myself, the girls, and all the other girls who were tormented for so long. I couldn't verbalize my pain; all I could do was cry from holding it in so long. All the while, Paul was my rock, continuing to hold me close as he buried his face in my hair.
"You aren't weak Dawn, you are a lot stronger than most people give you credit for. One day, what happened to you will break you, but Paul and everyone else will be there to pick you up and you'll be able to move on."
After who knows how long, I finally was able to stop crying and stayed in Paul's embrace. I never wanted to leave it.
"Thank you," I murmured as I moved my head to lay it against his chest.
Paul kissed the top of my head before pulling away some, causing me to look at him.
"Dawn, I want you to know that this does not make you weak. What you experience was traumatic and no one blames you for struggling in dealing with it. It takes time to overcome these things, but just know that I will be with you every step of the way. You are never alone."
I looked at him with love in my eyes and a small smile appearing on my face.
"I love you," I murmured as I leaned forward and kissed him.
He immediately reciprocated as he pulled me closer as we kissed. Suddenly his wallet rang, causing us to pull apart.
"Seriously," I heard Paull muttered under his breath as he took it out.
I saw him frown as he read the message.
"What's wrong?" I asked concerned.
"There's a mission, the guys and I need to leave."
I sighed. It couldn't be helped; this came with the job description. I could tell Paul was not happy in leaving after my break down.
I kissed his cheek gently, "It can't be helped. I know you want to stay near me, but you have to do what you're ordered." I said as I grabbed my salad and stood up.
Paul grabbed his trash and followed my lead as I started walking back to the house. When we got back, I could see the others were not happy about this either and they looked at me in concern as well. No doubt my eyes were red and puffy, giving everyone cause for concern.
"How long do you think you'll be gone?" Leaf asked Gary.
"My guess is a few hours, but it might take longer."
"What's the mission?" May asked.
"Taking down some villain wreaking havoc," Ash answered.
May huffed sarcastically, "My guess is you'll be gone for at least a day. Those morons take forever to subdue, trust me."
"Be safe," I murmured to Paul as I hugged him.
He kissed me without saying a word. He didn't need to, his eyes said everything.
The guys then left leaving the girls and I to fend for ourselves.
January 20th (Lilycove City, Hoenn)
(Drew's POV)
"I wish May wasn't right about how long it would take to take down that moron," Gary groaned. "He was a total nutcase."
"No kidding, he wanted to cover Goldenrod City in ice cream to make people lactose intolerant so that he could be the only person to enjoy ice cream," I said tiredly.
"Loser," Ash coughed as we read the house.
"Now to get rid of this nastiness, I think I still have chocolate syrup in my hair," Gary complained.
Ash chortled as Gary was the only one who was hit with ice cream, a fudge sundae to be exact.
When we went inside, we noticed that girls weren't downstairs causing us to give each other looks of slight concern.
"Girls, you here?" I called out in case they were upstairs.
We were greeted with silence.
"I'll check upstairs," Ash said with a slight frown as I walked to the couch and saw a piece of paper on the table.
"What the hell?!" Ash exclaimed causing me to grab the note and run to where he was at in the girls' hallway.
We were greeted with a fist-sized hole in the wall.
"What the heck happened?" Paul muttered.
I glanced at the note, "Hang on, the girls left a note."
"What's it say?" Paul asked.
"Drew, Ash, Gary, and Paul, I'm sure you've noticed the hole in the wall by now. Guess who dumped the gym on their sibling so they could do a performance in the Orange Islands this weekend?" I read.
"Well that explains a lot," Ash said angrily. "Why the hell did they do that to her in her present condition?!"
He had a point and I noticed the handwriting changed as I continued to read, "So, since Misty isn't in the best shape to be doing multiple gym battles, let along be by herself in the gym, we are going with her to help her out."
The handwriting changed again, "If you don't mind patching up the wall, we'd appreciate it! Love Dawn, Leaf, Misty and May."
"Well, we better head over and see how the girls are doing," Ash said.
"Wait, someone has to fix the wall and someone needs to write the report," I reminded.
"Plus we should wait for Gary," Paul added.
"We'll fix the wall, you can write the report," I told Paul.
He nodded and went downstairs while Ash and I went to get stuff to fix the wall. After a while, we were finished and found Gary and Paul waiting downstairs.
"I can't believe I had to wash my hair four times to get the fudge out and I still smell like chocolate!" he snapped.
"Think of it this way, Leaf will cling to you like Heracross does to a honey tree," Ash snickered.
Gary glared at him as May's Gardevoir appeared.
"May sent me to check the house every hour til you got back," she explained telepathically.
"Can you teleport us to the gym?" I asked.
She nodded and we found ourselves in the entrance of the gym with faint cheering in the background. We followed the noise to the gym where the stands were half packed with spectators.
"Staryu is unable to battle. The winner is Hannah the challenger," Leaf announced as both Misty and Hannah recalled their pokemon.
Both girls then walked over to Leaf who held a small tray in her hands.
"Congratulations on beating the Cerulean Gym," Misty said with a smile as Leaf presented the try to Hannah that held the Cascade Badge.
"Wow, thanks Misty!" she said excitedly before giving her a quick hug and left the gym.
"The next gym battle will be held in five minutes," Leaf announced causing some people to stand and stretch while others left to walk around.
Leaf then dived in the water and swam to the other side of the pool where we were at with Gary meeting her at the edge.
Leaf then popped up, "Gary?! When did you get here?" she asked as she lifted herself out of the pool.
"A few minutes ago, miss me?" he teased with a smirk as Leaf stood up.
She smirked back as she latched herself onto him and planted one on him which he happily accepted.
"What do you think?" Leaf retorted as she sniffed him. "Babe, why do you smell like chocolate?"
This caused Ash to snicker as Paul and I smirked while Gary groaned, "Don't ask."
"Now I'm curious," she teased as she grabbed a towel to dry herself off.
"Curious about what?" Dawn asked as she and May walked up to us.
"Why Gary smells like chocolate," Leaf answered as I greeted May with a kiss while Paul did the same to Dawn.
"I'm curious now too," May said as she and Dawn turned to look at Gary for answers.
"He got covered in a fudge sundae," Ash snickered.
"Yum!" Leaf exclaimed.
"More like ugh, it took four times to get the fudge out of my hair," Gary complained.
"Aww, poor baby," Leaf cooed as she kissed his cheek.
"How many more gym battles does Misty have?" Ash asked.
"A lot," May said flatly. "Word got 'round that Misty was back in the gym so trainers have been flocking us ever since we got here yesterday."
"Not to mention her sisters are jerks for being shabby in maintenance," Dawn added annoyed. "Misty claims that she's lucky the gym is as clean as it is."
Leaf turned to the stands to see people coming back, "Well, they are in a hurry," she mumbled.
"Can't be helped, the battles have been entertaining," Dawn said tiredly.
"True," Leaf agreed. "You girls mind doing an exhibition match? I'll check on Misty."
"Sure," May agreed as she and Dawn reached for a pokeball and walked to their respective sides.
"Who's ready for an exhibition match?!" May shouted to get the crowd hyped up.
She was responded with cheers and hollers.
"Alright Buneary, let's go!"
"Gardevoir, you're up!"
"This'll be interesting," Ash commented. "Has May ever battled with Gardevoir before?"
"Not that I've seen."
"Buneary, use ice beam!"
As Buneary's ice beam got closer, Gardevior suddenly disappeared from view and I could see that May was smirking causing me to smirk as well.
"What are you smirking for? Ash asked.
"We forgot that May has a telepathic bond with Gardevoir. She doesn't need to give her commands verbally," I explained.
As I explained, Dawn face-palmed signifying she remembered that May could do that. Then she smirked herself as May had Gardevoir launch shadowball.
"Buneary, use ice beam once more!"
Buneary followed through hitting the shadowball causing a dark smoke screen. As the fog dissipated, Buneary launched forward with bounce. Gardevoir teleported away only to be hit as Buneary rebounded.
May raised an eyebrow in surprise and Gardevoir began summoning signal beam. It looked different as signal beam was covered with a light blue light and Gardevoir took hold of it by splitting it in half as she took hold of it. She then started swing them around like whips.
"That's a good move to use for a contest," Gary commented as Gardevoir wrapped the whips around Buneary and threw her up in the air.
She then pulled Buneary towards her ready to attack by slamming her with her legs.
"Buneary, use dizzy punch," Dawn shouted with concern.
Buneary did dizzy punch just as Gardevoir slammed into her causing Gardevoir to be confused and lose her whips. May frowned at Gardevoir's confusion and I could tell she was shouting mentally at Gardevoir to snap out of it.
"Buneary, use thunderbolt!"
"Wait a minute, Buneary doesn't know that move," Ash said surprised.
"That wouldn't stop Troublesome from teaching it," Paul said with a hint of pride in his voice.
Thunderbolt hit its target causing some damage, but it also snapped Gardevoir out of her confusion. May wasted no time giving orders mentally as she called for magical leaf as well as psychic to control the leaves. Slowly, Gardevoir began moving her arms in a fluid motion to shoot the leaves one at a time like missiles at Buneary.
"Dodge 'em Bunneary!"
Buneary did her best, but using a lot of energy hopping from platform to platform on the water field was starting to take its toll.
"Buneary, use ice beam on the battle field."
"What's she up to?" Gary wondered as the field was frozen with random pillars of ice.
"Alright Buneary, use hidden power!"
"Again, another move Buneary shouldn't technical be able to use," Gary added.
Hidden power then began to bounce around the field and off the pillars. Gardevoir used protect to defend herself as hidden power bounced everywhere.
"Alright Gardevoir, it's the endgame," May said causing Gardevoir to nod in understanding.
She dropped protect and used psychic to take control of hidden power. She then created a circle surrounding Buneary and set one in to trigger the rest to bounce around and hit Buneary.
"Buneary, use ice beam!"
While distracted, Gardevoir threw a shadowball that knocked out Buneary. Cheers were heard at the end of the match and the girls praised their pokemon before recalling them.
Dawn and May then called out Quilava and Blaziken to melt the field as Misty came out. Once the field was cleared, May walked to the refs stand while calling out Wartortle and Dawn came over to us.
"Good battle Dawn," Leaf complimented as Dawn sat next to Paul and kissed him.
A door opened and the next challenger came out.
"You ready Alex?" Misty asked the challenger.
They nodded with a determined grin.
"The gym battle between Alex the challenger and Misty the gym leader is about to begin. Each side will use three pokemon and the challenge will be over when all three pokemon on one side are unable to continue. Also, only the challenger will be allowed to substitute pokemon," May instructed.
"Alright Staryu, you're up!"
"Let's go Mantric!"
"Alex gets the first move, battle begin!"
"Mantric, use thunder!"
"Hey Leaf, has Misty been handling the battle's okay?" Ash asked concerned.
Leaf nodded and shrugged, "For the most part, she still has trouble with fire type attacks as she freezes slightly in battle. At the end of the battles, she breaks down some from keeping it in cause she doesn't want to cause a scene. Thank goodness this is the last battle of the day."
Ash frowned hearing that as we watched the battle. In the end, the challenger won with his last pokemon.
"That was a close match," I said as the girls left to do crowd control in dismissing them from the gym.
"I think Misty could have won, but her pokemon have been battling all day," Paul pointed out.
After the girls were done, they came back into the arena.
"What do you still have to do?" Leaf asked.
Misty sighed tiredly, "Clean the field."
"Define clean," Dawn said suspiciously.
"Clean as in drain the water, clean it completely, and fill it back up."
"F… your sisters Misty," Leaf grumbled.
Misty gave a sarcastic laugh, "No kidding."
"Well, it's not gonna clean itself," May chirped.
"I'll drain the pool. In the meantime, you guys mind cleaning the stands and everywhere else?"
"No problem," Dawn called as she went to a door nearby and pulled out brooms and dust mops.
Ash went with Misty, most likely to check on her while Gary tagged along with Leaf to clean the left bleachers while Dawn and Paul went to clean the right ones. I stuck with May in cleaning the floor around the battle field.
"Who was the villain you fought this time?" May asked while we were cleaning.
I shrugged my shoulders as I moved my dust mop, "Some new loser who wanted to cover Goldenrod City in ice cream to make people lactose intolerant so that he could be the only person to enjoy ice cream."
May snorted, "Wow, that is lame. Someone needs a hobby."
"Or therapy!" Dawn shouted from where she was at.
"I say he needs both," Leaf said as she finished her row and went down to the next one.
"Who needs what?" Misty asked as she and Ash came back into the gym.
"The villain the guys faced needs a hobby and therapy," May explained.
"Ah," Misty answered as she went to the closet to grab stuff to clean the pool.
"You holding up okay?" Dawn asked with concern.
Misty sighed, "As I say every time you ask me that, yes, I'm fine."
I don't think any of us believed her, but we knew what it was like to be pestered with concern so we let the issue drop.
After what seemed like hours, we finally finished cleaning the arena and we all splayed out on the bleachers.
"That….was painful," Ash complained. "Don't you and your sisters hire someone to do this?"
Misty sighed, "Usually, but I couldn't get a hold of them and since it looks like the field hasn't been cleaned for a while, it couldn't wait any longer."
"Shouldn't we be heading back?" I asked.
"Too lazy to move," Gary and Leaf responded simultaneously.
"Jinx," both called though Leaf was slightly faster.
"You owe me a date," she retorted.
"Isn't it supposed to be a soda?" Ash asked confused.
Groans were heard as May chuckled a little while sitting up.
"Gardevoir, come on out," she said as she released her from her pokeball. "Mind teleporting us home?"
Gardevoir nodded and the scene changed from the gym back to the house.
"Ugh, now I smell like chlorine," Gary whined as he took a sniff.
"Take your pick babe, would you rather smell of chocolate or chlorine?" Leaf teased.
"Chocolate because then you would never leave me," he flirted.
"Flirt," Leaf said as she rolled her eyes while leaning into his side.
Suddenly, a familiar and unwelcomed ringing played from four devices causing all of us to groan.
"Again?!" Ash complained as we reached for our wallets. "What the hell?"
I shared his sediment as I frowned while reading the message.
"What is it this time?" May asked as she tried to read over my shoulder.
"Robbery in progress in Blackthorn City," I reported as I pressed a button to activate my spy outfit to appear.
"Gardevoir, would you please?" May asked.
Gardevoir nodded and created an opening.
"Stay safe," May murmured as she kissed me.
I hugged her before the guys and I leapt through the portal ready to deal with the problem at hand.
January 21st
(No POV)
In the early morning as the girls lay asleep with the guys still out, a mysterious figure with a weird machine hovered near the ventilation shaft for air getting into the house.
"On a night before naught and all through the house. Not a creature was stirring, not even that stupid Pikachu mouse. This concoction will take care of those pesky teens," the mysterious figure chuckled as he aimed his machine at the ventilation shaft and sprayed a powder inside before flying away. "For they won't bother me or anyone as they will never again be seen."
Ari: I know the chapter is a bit slow, but it will pick up. I don't know when I'll update next, but hopefully it will be sooner than last time! Til next time! Stay awesome!