Day 13: Truth Be Told

Alain reached out and ran his hand through Mairin's hair playfully. She giggled and batted his hand away, making him smile. He sighed happily and leaned back against the huge oak tree behind him. His favorite tree, the tallest one in Professor Sycamore's habitat area. He gazed up at sky through the thick leaves, the smile never leaving his face. This was the best place to be in the whole world.

Mairin scooted closer to him and layed her head against his arm, snuggling against him. Chespie jumped out of her lap as she relaxed, and scrambled clumsily across Alain's lap. It tripped just as it cleared his left leg, and went tumbling into the grass.

"Chespie, are you okay?" Mairin asked, worry in her voice.

Chespie jumped up in response and said its name happily.

"I think it's fine, Mairin," Zara said happily from above them. She sat on a tree branch above Alain, looking down at him and Mairin from above. Quick as a whip, she clambored down to the ground and crouched next to Chespie, searching it for injuries. When the Grass type smiled at her after a minute of her probing, she let it go back to Mairin and sat back against the oak tree on Alain's other side. Alain laid a hand on her arm, and Zara smoothly slid her hand into his.

Perfect, Alain thought. This is perfect. He closed his eyes and gave another contented sigh.

"I feel like I could stay here forever," Zara said softly.

"Alain?" Mairin asked.

"Hmm?" he answered, not opening his eyes.

"Do you want to stay here forever?"

"Yes, Mairin. I do."

"With both of us?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"But what if one of us leaves?"

Alain opened his eyes and looked straight a her. "Then I'll bring you back again. Whatever it takes."

"Even if we've gone to the end of the earth?" Zara asked playfully.

"Even then," he affirmed, turning to face her.

"But what if we both leave, and you have to go get us both back at the same time?" Mairin asked. "Wouldn't you have to only get one of us?"

"No, Mairin. It would just take me longer to bring you both back here," Alain replied. "I'd keep looking for both of you as long as it took. Even if I had to go to the end of the earth."

Zara smiled at that and layed her head on his shoulder.

Across the habitat, Professor Sycamore leaned out of the lab door and called, "Alain! Guess what I just discovered!"

Alain leaned forward and prepared to call back and ask what it was, when it started getting darker. Much darker, like thick thunder clouds had been pulled over the sky. Then darker like someone had thrown a blanket over his head. Alain's vision of the habitat dimmed untill he couldn't have seen his hand in front of his face, much less Professor Sycamore. It got quiet too. The sounds that the Pokemon were making in the trees lessened untill it finally died out altogether.

"What in the world?" he said.

"Alain, what's going on?" Mairin asked fearfully.

"What happened?" Zara asked softly, seemingly both cautious and curious.

"I don't know. Maybe-" Alain began, but was cut off when the ground three yards away from his feet began to break apart. Huge cracks formed in the grass, and light poured our of them. Not natural light, however, but deep red dangerous light. Upon standing up, Alain realised it was coming from molten lava the flowed below the cracked earth. It hissed dangerously as it rolled in the cracks.

"How in the world-" Zara began, but stopped when then cracks began to spread. Slowly they crawled across the ground toward the three trainers.

Alain wasted no time. "Climb the tree. Hurry!"

He grabbed the lowest branch on the oak tree behind them and hauled himself up, then looked back to see if the other two were following. Zara was still on the ground, hoisting Mairin up so she could reach the branch Alain was on. He reached down a hand and pulled her up. The cracks had covered half the distance to the tree.

Alain grabbed Mairin around her waist and lifted her up to the next highest branch. She grabbed it and kept climbing. Alain turned back to Zara to see her handing Chespie to him. He grabbed the Grass type and set it on the branch Mairin had just been on. The cracks had cover three-quarter of the distance to the tree.

"Keep climbing, I'll be right behind you!" Zara shouted up at him. He wanted to shout back for her to get up here right now, but there was no time to argue. He climbed after Mairin untill he was four branches from the ground, then turned back to Zara. Haste must have made her clumsy, because she was only just scrambling onto the first branch. The cracks had reached the base of the tree, but the tree remained steady, seemingly undaunted by the change in its foundation.

Zara pulled herself onto the branch and started to rise and reach for the next one. Alain relaxed ever so slightly now that she was off the ground. But it wouldn't last.

As Zara reached up for the next tree branch, the one under her gave a violently shudder and a crack split the quiet. No, don't break, Alain pleaded silently. Please don't-

With a great crash, the branch broke off the tree and plumetted into the cracks.

Zara!" Alain screamed.

The branch hit the side of the crack, and as it did, Zara jumped off it and grabbed the side. Alain could see her holding on tightly, but the dirt she held on to wasn't solid enough to support her for long. The branch kept falling untill it hit the lava, and Alain saw it sink slowly below the surface with a sickening hiss. His stomach lurched, and he felt ready to throw up.

Above him, Mairin shouted, "Alain you have to help her!"

Alain swiveled to face her, his brain not comprehending what she'd said. As he turned, the tree swayed underneath him precariously. Its foundation was starting to weaken.

"You said you would bring her back here! You said you would keep her safe! So go help her!" Mairin shouted.

"But what about you?" he asked.

"I'm fine, just help Zara!"

"But I said I would keep you safe too!"

"I am safe, at least for now! You have to-"

A scream cut her off, and Alain looked down to see the ground beneath Zara's hands giving way. She screamed so loud it made his blood curdle, and everything seemed to play out in slow motion.

Zara's hands slipped.

She scrambled to get a hand hold, but there were none.

She slid down the side of the crack.

Alain heard someone scream her name, then realized it was him.

"You gave to help Zara!" Mairin screamed.

Then Zara struck the surface of the lava.

Her sceams filled Alain's ears as she sank below the surface.

Then for one sickening moment, silence.

"Zara! Zara! Zara!" Alain screamed over and over. The scene blurred before his eyes from tears, breaking up into patches of color, and then...

He opened his eyes.

Alain gasped out a yell and jerked into a sitting position, prepared to jump into searing lava. But it wasn't there. He was in his room, in his bed, the cover pulled up to his waist. Gordon was bustling around the room, and water was running in the bathroom.

It was a dream... It was only a dream... he thought. None the less, his heart still pounded in his chest, his hands shook, and his whole body was covered with sweat. Zara's screams still rang in his ears, and he felt like he wanted to die with her just to make them stop. He pinched himself just to be sure none if that had been real.

"You okay?" Gordon asked nonchalantly as he passed by the bed. "You were talking in your sleep."

Alain nodded absentmindedly. He didn't know if he was okay or not. Zara had died in his dream; to say he wasn't affected by that would have been ridiculous.

Then all the thoughts and events from yesterday came rolling back into his mind, and he felt sick. Zara was gone, he had no idea where she was, and he couldn't find her without putting his mission in jeopardy. For all he knew, she might be dead at this very moment.

He clutched his head in his hands and groaned. Just forget about it, and focus on your mission, he thought, then hauled himself out of bed and got ready for the day ahead of him.

He and Gordon left their room at the same time, and walked downstairs together. Neither of them spoke as they went. Alain was too lost in his own thoughts to start a conversation, and Gordon kept to himself.

Breakfast went by quickly and uneventfully. Alain tried to eat, but found everything he tried to swallow made him feel sicker. As he finished what food he could choke down, he noticed Gordon and Brittney off to one side of the cafeteria. They were holding hands under the table. When he saw it, his heart twisted in longing for something he couldn't identify, and his stomach clenched with worry. He put his head down on the table and tried to block the feelings, and calm his stomach.

"Good morning everyone," a feminine voice said from what sounded like the front double doors. Alain didn't lift his head to check, only listened. "Would the trainer's who are still in the competition please follow me to the courtyard."

"Did you find Zara?" someone, who sounded like Wally, asked anxiously.

"Yeah, did you find her?" several other people chimed in.

Alain looked up at the doorway to see Glacia solemnly shaking her head. His heart sank to the floor.

Astrid and Carl both rose from their table across the room and started after Glacia. Alain rose and followed them slowly. He let his feet drag against the tile floor as he walked. Miserable would have been an understatement for how he felt.

Zara's gone and I can't do anything to help find her. I have to focus on my mission. I HAVE TO.

I can't stop working toward healing Chespie! I can't let Mairin down! I CAN'T.

No matter what happens.

Tears formed in the corners of his eyes, but he blinked them away quickly.

Glacia led the three trainers our onto the battle field, then stopped and turned to them. "Now I know we technically have two battles to fight today, but we can't possibly fight them both if one of the competitors is missing. So, we have decided to treat Zara's disappearance as a forfeit. That means you, Carl, will not have to fight anyone to get into the finals. It will be the winner of Astrid and Alain's battle against you."

Under any other circumstances, Alain was pretty sure Carl would have celebrated this news, but now he only nodded.

"So, Astrid and Alain, let's get your battleunderway," Glacia said. She stepped to the side of the field. Astrid and Alain both walked to their trainer's boxes and took out their pokeballs.

"Are you both ready?" Glacia asked, raising her arms.

"Yes," both trainers replied.

"Then battle begin!"

"Absol, let's go!" Astrid shouted, and threw her pokeball into the air. Absol burst out with a energetic cry, landing solidly on all fours.

"Charizard, let's go," Alain said as he threw Charizard's pokeball, but the words felt heavy as they left his lips. He wasn't in the mood to battle right now. But I have to. I have to keep gathering Mega Evolution energy. For Mairin. Charizard burst out of its own pokeball and roared powerfully, shooting a glare at Absol.

A heavy silence reigned over the battle field for several seconds, as both trainers and Pokemon waited for their opponents to move.

Astrid chose to move first. "Absol, use Dark Pulse!"

Absol reared its head back, charged a Dark Pulse, then fired it straight for Charizard.

"Intercept with Flamethrower," Alain commanded, but his normal passion wasn't in his voice.

Charizard blasted a Flamethrower into Absol's Dark Pulse, quickly overpowering it and damaging the Dark type. However, as soon as it finished the move, it turned to look at Alain, a question on its face.

Alain knew his Pokemon well enough to interpret this look as saying, What happened to you? Even if there were words that could express how he felt, Alain didn't know what they were. So he simply fixed Charizard with a stare that he hoped said it all. The image of Zara falling into the lava surfaced in his mind once again, and he only barely repressed a shudder. Stay strong. For Mairin.

Something at the back of his mind flickered at that thought, but he didn't have time to think about it.

"Use Mega Horn!" Astrid ordered. Quick as a Thunderbolt, Absol charged Charizard, its scythe glowing an pale yellow-green.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered, and Charizard intercepted the Mega Horn, sending Absol sliding back across the field.

What was it that was tugging at the back of his mind? Something from his dream. Something about Zara and Mairin. Actually, Mairin had said whatever it was, hadn't she?

"Use Shadow Claw, Absol!" Astrid commanded, and Absol again leaped into action. It ran three quarters of the way across the field, then jumped into the air.

"Hit it undrneath with Dragon Claw!" Alain shouted.

Charizard launched itself into the air at Alain's command, and flew up to swipe at Absol's legs. But as it reached out its claw toward Absol, the Dark type twisted around its move, landed on Charizard's head, then leaped skyward. As Charizard came lost its balance and started to falter midair, Absol dove straight for it, slicing it with a Shadow Claw as it passed it.

Alain grit his teeth as the Shadow Claw connected. Pay attention! That was sloppy, and you can't afford to make any mistakes. You have to win this competition. You have to be the strongest. For Mairin.

Again, something at the back of his mind flickered. Definitely something Mairin had said. When Zara had been in trouble, perhaps? Before or after she'd fallen into the crack?

"I figured you would have Mega Evolved your Charizard by now," Astrid commented, interrupting his thoughts. "If not, we'll go first." And touching her keystone in her earing, she shouted, "Absol, Mega Evolve!" In a blinding flash of rainbow colored light, Absol Mega Evolved.

Not to be left behind, Alain immediately touched his keystone, crying, "Charizard, Mega Evolve!" Charizard roared as the light from both stones enveloped it, and it Mega Evolved.

"Just like last time," Astrid said in admiration.

"Flamethrower!" Alain shouted.

"Dodge, Absol, and use Psycho Cut!" Astrid countered.

Absol leaped to the right, clearing the Flamethrower. As soon as it landed, it jumped again and shot a Psycho Cut at Charizard.

Alain saw the Psychic type move speeding toward Charizard, but by the time he shouted, "Dodge it!" it was too late. Charizard took the Psycho Cut in the chest, and slid back from the powerful blow.

Pay attention! his mind snapped at him. Nothing should get past you! That was sloppy and you know it! If you keep this up, Chespie is as good as gone. Focus. For Mairin.

Again, the thought tugged at the back of his mind. Mairin saying something about helping Zara.

"Mega Horn!"

"Thunder Punch!"

Charizard and Absol charged each other, meeting in the the middle of the field. They intercepted each other, but Charizard won out, throwing Absol back against the wall of the courtyard. As Absol struck the wall, it let out a caterwaul that sounded so much like a human scream that Alain flinched.

And then Mairin's words came to him, clear as crystal.

"You said you would bring her back here! You said you would keep her safe! So go help her!

"But what about you?"

"I'm fine, just help Zara!"

"But I said I would keep you safe too!"

"I am safe, at least for now!..."

She's right, he realised. For now, she and Chespie are both safe. But Zara may not be. So she should take priority. I have to find her. I have to take care of them both. This mission shouldn't completely rule out protecting Zara, and finding Zara shouldn't completely rule out my mission for Mairin. I care about them both. I can't let either of them get hurt. And stopping my mission for a couple of hours while I'm not battling to help Steven find his assistant shouldn't put Mairin or my mission in any danger. And it will help me keep Zara safe.

He knew what he had to do. For the first time in weeks, everything seemed to fall into place.

"Absol, Dark Pulse!" Astrid ordered.

"Fly up, Charizard!" Alain shouted. Charizard took off, but as it did, it glanced back at Alain. Alain gave it a bold stare, and Charizard roared happily. "Use Flamethrower!" Alain commanded.

Charizard's Flamethrower blasted straight through Absol's Dark Pulse, sending the Dark type sprawling across the field.

Astrid started in surprise, then cried, "Absol, can you go on?"

"Sol!" Absol roared as it hauled itself to its feet.

"Alright then, use Psycho Cut!"

"Thunder Punch, let's go!" Alain ordered.

Absol shot it's Psycho Cut at Charizard, but the Flame Pokemon only punched right through it.

"Now Blast Burn!"

"Don't let them attack! Use Dark Pulse!"

Absol quickly launched a Dark Pulse at Charizard, in a desperate attempt to hit the Fire and Dragon type before it could ready it's attack, but it was no use. Just before the Dark type move would have connected with Charizard's wings, Charizard dove to the ground and punched it with a claw, fire burning around it. The ground began to break up, and finally it exploded beneath Absol, sending up a huge dust cloud. The blast sent Absol into the air, high enough to clear the dust, for a few seconds, then it fell back to the ground.

Then everything was still.

Alain watched the field closely, waiting to see Absol leap out of the dust cloud and attack. Passion and determination flowed through his veins, setting him on fire. Now he knew what needed to be done. Nothing could stop him. Nothing.

Not even Mega Absol. The dust cleared to reveal a fainted Disaster Pokemon lying before Astrid, it's legs splayed out at awkward angles. It reverted to its normal form, and Astrid ran to it.

Alain recalled Charizard and walked toward the stairs without a word to anyone. His mind contained only one thought; Find Zara.

And the best way to do that was to find Steven and read Zara's note.

He raced through the halls and up the stairs, passing lots of students and a couple of adults. Someone called his name, but he turned a deaf ear. This was too important to stop and talk to anyone.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm, yanking him to a standstill. He turned angily to face the person, and came face to face with Lysander.

"Alain, where are you going?" Lysander asked him sternly.

Alain hesitated for a split second, before he answered confidently, "To find Steven, and help him find Zara by reading her note."

Lysander's eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened on Alain's arm. "I ordered you yesterday not to read that note. Are you trying to defy my orders?"

"No sir, but I need to help find her. I have to reason to believe she is is danger, and I can help-"

"Alain, I warned you not to spend too much time around the Champion's assistant. Now you have become attached to her. Forget about her. She is none of your concern, only a threat to our mission."

Alain bristled. "She is not a threat to us! And I have been staying away from her, but that doesn't mean I want her to get hurt!" he nearly shouted. "I need to help find her, if I can! Please!"

"No. And that is final!" Lysander said, raising his own voice. He roughly released Alain's arm and turned away from him, the discussion over in his mind.

Then Alain mumbled a question. A simple, one word question. A question that he had never asked Lysander before. Ever.

"Why?"

It was one of the simplest questions Alain could have asked. Yet, as soon as it left his lips, Lysander went stock still. The tall redhead didn't move for some time, and he didn't answer.

Alain stood on the step the whole time, staring at Lysander's back. Confusion and pleading filled his eyes. Confusion at Lysander's silence, and pleading for permission to help Zara. But the silence dragged on.

"Sir, why can't I try to find Zara? Why do you want me to stay away from her?" he asked fiercely, but not defiantly.

"Because she is threat, just like Steven Stone," Lysander said slowly.

"I don't believe that. Why else?"

Silence. Dead, cold silence. Lysander finally opened his mouth to say something else, but Alain didn't want to hear it. No reason should take this long to give. It never took him this long to respond to Lysander. He heard words being spoken, but he ignored them. Lysander's back was still turned to him, thus he chose to slip away from his boss.

This doesn't make any sense. Why would Lysander tell me to do something and not have a reason? What reason does he have for not wanting me to be around Zara? Or to try and find her? Why does he still think she's a threat? She can't be. She wants nothing to do with me anymore, so I wouldn't be around her if she was here. I just need to be sure she's safe, then I can stay away from her as long as anyone likes. Why can't Lysander understand that?

One problem at a time. Find Zara, then you can figure all of this out.

He topped the staircase and plodded down the hall toward Steven's room. Hopefully the Champion would be there and have Zara's note with him. He walked past several students, focused on his goal of finding Zara, but everything else in his head was a whirlpool. One that he would be swept away by if he ventured into it, he knew.

He reached Steven's door and knocked. After a minute, the Champion opened the door and spotting him, said, "Hello, Alain. Can I help you?"

Alain looked him over from top to bottom. Somehow he looked even more bedraggled than he had yesterday. "I need to see Zara's note," he replied, getting straight to the point.

Steven gave him a puzzled glance, but turned to his desk and pulled the sticky note from between the pages of a paperback. "Here," he said holding it out. When Alain took it, he added, "Didn't you already read it yesterday?"

"No," was all Alain offered as a response. Then he turned his attention to the note in his hand. It read:

Dear Champion Steven,

When you see this, you'll know that I've left the school. Please believe me when I say...write that I didn't want to leave. I had too. I suppose I owe you an explanation, but for the sake of my own safety and yours, I can't tell you everything. So here's the best I can do. Something has been chasing me ever since my parents left, and it's caught up to me more than I can risk. But it's not what I thought was after me all along; thus it's caught me by surprise. Know that I'm going to the safest place I know of. And that I won't be coming back. I'm sorry, but it has to be this way. Please don't try to find me. I don't want to be found, by anyone. Thank you for the time you spent training me, and everything else. Please tell Wally goodbye for me, and tell him not to worry.

Zara

Alain read the note twice more before handing it back to Steven.

"So," Steven asked hopefully, "does it tell you anything?"

Alain didn't answer; he was too deep in thought. The note said she was running from something, something that had been chasing her ever since her parents were killed, and it had caught up to her. That made it sound like she was running from Team Magma. But the next sentence said that what was chasing her wasn't what she thought had been after her all along. And that made it sound like she wasn't running from Team Magma, but something else, possibly something, or someone, who had disguised themselves as the red-clad Team. The note was a bit confusing, but Alain was fairly confident that Zara meant she wasn't running from Team Magma anymore. Why else would she put that line about being caught by surprise?

But if it wasn't Team Magma she was running from, then who? If it wasn't Team Magma that had attacked and killed her parents, then who had done it? And if they had caught up to Zara so closely, where were they now?

And was Zara safe from them or not?

The note only stirred up more questions, but what he needed was answers.

Okay, think. If it isn't Team Magma that's after her, who could it be? She said they caught up to her more than she could risk. So this person found her here at the school. And they tried to attack her in the training room. So someone that either was smart enough to get past the security systems, or...someone who was already inside the school.

That thought was enough to make his hair stand on end. There must be a Raticate in the school. But, who? Who here would want to hurt Zara? Who here could have killed her parents almost eight years ago? Surely not Steven. No it can't be, she wouldn't have left him a note if she was running from him. One of the Eilte Four? No, she's been around them for years. She would have run away years ago if it was one of them. Another student? No, no, it can't be, none of them are old enough. Champion Cynthia? No, she was long gone when Zara was attacked.

Wait. All that leaves is...Lysander, Bryony, and Celosia.

That can't be right. None of them would kill anyone. None of them would hurt an innocent girl..would they?

But Lysander didn't think of her as innocent; he saw her as a threat. Bryony and Celosia, he wasn't sure what they thought, but they would do whatever Lysander told them.

No, it can't be! Lysander is helping me protect Professor Sycamore, and heal Chespie! He wants to create peace in the world! He wants to help people! He would never kill anyone!

Then why wouldn't he let you read the note? his mind asked him. Why wouldn't he let you try to find Zara, when she might be in danger?

He must have had a reason...

Then why wouldn't he tell you what the reason was?

I have no proof that it was Lysander or Bryony or-!

And then he remembered Zara's description of the person who she'd seen outside her house just before it exploded. Someone dressed obviously in woman's clothing, wearing red, with short purple hair, and glasses.

Courtney doesn't wear glasses...but from a distance, Celosia's goggles would look just like glasses.

No, it can't be...

But if Celosia was behind that attack, that would explain who attacked Zara from inside the school. And why Lysander doesn't want me to read this note. And why Zara was nervous telling her story to Lysander the first day Celosia got here. And why she claimed they were here on a mission to kidnap her.

And why she thought I was lying to her.

It all made sense, yet he couldn't bring himself to accept it. He couldn't believe, he just couldn't believe that Lysander had been lying to him this whole time. There had to be another explanation. He had to find Lysander and get him to explain this. Surely there was a reasonable explanation.

Without another word to Steven, Alain set out blindly down the hall in search of Lysander. He checked his boss's room, Celosia and Bryony's room, the training rooms, the courtyard, the cafeteria, anywhere he could think of, but there was no sign of him.

He rounded the courner to the staircase, intent on checking Lysander's room again, when he ran smack into Carl. "Hey, slow down!" The dark haired teen said. "Where are you headed in such a hurry?"

"Looking for Lysander," Alain answered, not slowing down at all.

He had cleared the first five steps when Carl called after him, "The tall guy with the red hair?"

Alain stopped in his tracks and turned back to Carl. "Yes."

"I saw him about half an hour ago. He was headed onto the second floor."

Nodding his thanks, Alain continued up the stairs to the second floor. Why is he on this floor? I suppose Celosia and Bryony and doing their research up here, and he's checking on them. The memory of Zara clawing at a plie of plaster came back to him, and he had to force back the idea that Zara had been trying to expose a plot to kidnap her. That couldn't be true.

He cleared the last step, then looked around him. Carl had only said he'd seen Lysander headed onto the second floor; he hadn't said anything about seeing him go in any of the rooms. Which meant he could be in any of them.

Anyone else with any less of a purpose might have given up about now, but Alain only stepped up to the first door and flung it open. Nothing inside but empty paint cans. He opened the second door. Broken glass. He opened all the doors on this side of the building, but they all held similar items. None of them had Lysander. None of them even offered a clue as to where he could be.

Alain kept going, opening ever door on the level, and leaving them open after he checked them. He went half way around the building, flinging doors open, but finding nothing, untill he reached the middle of the far side of the building from where he started. He stopped under the symbol of a keystone and Mega stone that adorned the wall, wiping his forehead and sagging against the wall.

Where is he? Did he leave already and I missed him? There must be something here to tell me where he-

He broke off when his eyes landed on the door across the hall from him. Not so much the door, as the knob. It looked just the same as all the other knobs, save that it had a thin red smudge on it.

Crossing the hall in two long steps, he reached for the knob. Lysander must be in here.

Now I can get some answers.

With that thought, he turned the knob and threw open the door.

X*X*X*X*X*X*XX

Zara jerked her head up for the fourth time that morning. Or was it afternoon? Due to the room she was held in having no windows, she didn't have the faintest idea.

Last night had been miserable. She hadn't slept much, what with Bryony's clicking and clanging with her gadgets all night, and her stomach both growling with hunger and churning with anxiety. Not to mention Celosia's constant demanding to know where the mineral deposit was, helped along by her Drapion poking Zara with its tail. What little sleep she had gotten had been troubled, and usually resulted in her waking up within an hour from a nightmare.

Within the last hour, or she guessed it had been an hour, Lysander had joined Celosia and Bryony inside the soundproof shield. Zara wasn't entirely sure why he'd come. While she understood his haste in trying to get this refining process finished as soon as possible and not get caught, he'd done absolutely nothing to help either scientist the whole time he'd been here.

That didn't seen to deter either of the women from their work. They'd both doubled their efforts since Lysander had arrived. Meaning Bryony's hands flew across the table, and Celosia had started shouting louder than ever.

"Where is it, you miserable girl? Speak up!" Celosia yelled in her face for at least the twentieth time. Zara had finally given up telling her she didn't know and kept silent. Frustration, worry and exhaustion had taken their toll on her, and all morning the only thing that had truly kept her alert was the shouting and her own nerves. Just ten minutes of peace, and maybe she would feel better. But that wasn't going to happen.

"Answer me!" Celosia shouted again. Zara just stared at her with empty eyes. She was long past hoping anyone would find her and rescue her. In her mind, she was going back to Kalos with these people when they finished their experiments, and she'd be stuck there for a long time. There was a glimmer of hope that possibly she would be able to escape from the base they had in the Kalos region, but from how well protected they were here in the school, Zara doubted she'd have a chance back on their home turf. Besides, even if she could escape, she didn't know the Kalos region well enough to hide there for long.

Tears slipped down her cheeks unbidden. Zara couldn't have stopped them if she tried. All her cheerfulness was long past destroyed.

"Sir, the refining process is complete," Bryony interjected from behind her worktable. "Give the crystalized mineral ten minutes to air dry from the binding solution, and it will be ready to use."

"Good," Lysander answered. Begin cleaning up your equipment, Bryony. We will leave within an hour. That means with or without the location." And his gaze lingered coldly on Zara for a moment, then on Celosia.

Celosia's glare at Zara intensified, if that was even possible. She growled angrily, then slapped Zara across the face. Hard. So hard, that if Zara could have seen where Celosia's hand had connected, she would have seen the skin there had aquired an angry red color. More tears rolled down her cheeks, and a sob escaped her.

Celosia turned away from Zara, anger seething from her whole body, and turned to Lysander. "It's no use, she won't speak. I've tried everything I can think of to get her to talk and she still won't say anything."

"Then perhaps you should try something else," Lysander said slowly. He cut his eyes across the room at Bryony's table. Celosia followed his gaze, then smiled wickedly. She stepped lightly over to the table and making sure Zara could see what she was doing, lifted the belt that held all six of Zara's Pokemon. Celosia slowly plucked one of the pokeballs off the belt and pressed the button on the front. In a flash, Sceptile appeared. It took one good look around the room, started to growl angrily when it saw Zara, and then Drapion tackled it, pinning it to the floor.

Sceptile cried out in pain, and Zara felt tears stinging her eyes again. "Let it go!" she shouted at Celosia. "It hasn't done anything wrong!"

Celosia only smiled and said sweetly, "I'll let it go when you tell me where the deposit is."

"I already told you, I don't know."

Celosia snapped her fingers, and Drapion released a Sludge Bomb at Sceptile's back. It struck Sceptile, and the Grass type roared in pain from the super-effective damage.

"Stop, you're hurting it!" Zara cried, even though she knew Celosia wouldn't listen.

"You can make it stop. It's very simple."

No I can't, I can't! Someone, anyone, please help! Zara screamed silently.

Celosia snapped her fingers again, and Drapion raised its arms in a Cross Poison attack. Zara screwed her eyes shut; she couldn't watch. She braced herself for Sceptile's scream.

But it never came. Silence for a full minute, then two, then three. Finally, Zara cracked her eyes open to see what had happened.

The door hung open, and standing in the doorway, stood Alain.

Zara slumped in her chair. While his appearence had helped spare Sceptile more damage, when she had pleaded for anyone to come help her she hadn't meant him. He wouldn't help. He knew all about this mission. He had helped complete it, for crying out loud!

Wait, then why did he look so puzzled? And why had all three of the Team members already in the room stopped and turned to stare at him? Hadn't they called him here? Wasn't he helping them?

Alain's eyes swept the room slowly, like his mind was in a fog. His gaze came to rest on Zara, and when he looked at her, she saw confusion and rejection on his face and in his eyes. He stared at her for several seconds before sinking to his knees, head bowed, hands gripping the door frame so hard his knuckles turned white. When he lifted his head up a full minute later, these emotions quickly gave way to something stronger. Rage washed over his face and he started yelling something Zara couldn't hear through the soundproof shield.

What is going on? Zara thought, confused. But deep within her, hope rekindled.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*XX

Alain stood in the doorway of the room, staring at Lysander, then Celosia, then Bryony, then Sceptile and Drapion, and finally letting his gaze land on Zara. She was tied up in a chair, exhausted looking, with what looked to be a couple of minor injuries. But that wasn't what caught his attention the most. It was her expression, her posture, her demeanor. She looked...he wasn't even sure how to describe it. All the other times he'd ever seen her she been happy. Sure there'd been the few times she'd spoken about her past where she'd cried, but that had never lasted long, always giving way to Zara's sunshine filled side. But this was something else. Zara looked like someone had taken every scrap of happiness she'd ever had in her and destroyed it. She looked defeated. Hopeless. Miserable.

How could this happen? How could anyone let this happen?

And yet, Lysander was here, watching Celosia and Bryony hurt her. And doing nothing about it.

There was no denying it now. Lysander undoubtedly ordered the attack on Zara, ordered her kidnapped, and was having her tortured. That was why he'd told Alain not read the note, and why he'd ordered him not to look for Zara. And why he had no reason for refusing to allow it. He didn't want Zara to be found. Because he had taken her. She had never been a threat in the first place.

Lysander had lied to him.

And if he had lied to him about this...what was to keep him from lying about Mairin and Chespie too? And Professor Sycamore? And their mission?

Their mission. To protect the people he loved. And yet in helping Lysander, he'd hurt Zara. Who else had Lysander hurt with their mission? What was he really planning to do?

Zara's voice played back in his head, "But what are these peaceful purposes? What specifically are you planning to do?"

If only he had asked.

Mairin's voice rang in his head from his dream, "I am safe..."

He had no idea if that was true anymore. He had no idea if anything was true anymore. Lysander had lied to him. His whole purpose was falling apart before his eyes.

But why Zara? Zara had told him the people who'd blown up her house had bought a green mineral off her parents. So if these people were led by Celosia, then that was her mission to retrieve any of the mieneral anyway she could. But how had she known Zara was related to-?

It hit him like a wrecking ball. He'd told Lysander about her past. Thus Lysander must have told Celosia, and ordered her to capture Zara, breaking his promise to keep Zara's secret. It was his fault that she was in this mess, because he'd trusted Lysander, and Lysander had lied to him again.

Alain's knees suddenly gave our underneath him, and he sank to the floor, clutching the doorframe for support. What have I done!? What have I been fighting for if everything I've been told is a lie?!

Then he looked up Zara. A sense on pure and unchecked rage washed over him at the pain she'd been put through. I may have caused this, but I can fix it too. And I will. I swore I would protect her.

"What are you doing!" he shouted as loudly as he could. "Let her go! Now!" The order was directed at Celosia.

All three people only continued to stare at him.

"Let her go!" he shouted again. Celosia glanced a Lysander this time, and her boss gave a slight nod. Celosia recalled Sceptile, then stepped up to Zara and tied a gag around her mouth. Alain winced as he saw her grimace in pain. Celosia finished tying the gag, then stepped up to Bryony's table, touched something he couldn't see, then motioned for him to come closer. He took a single step forward, before repeating his command. "Let her go!"

"I'm afraid that is not possible, Alain," Lysander said evenly.

"Why not? Why are you hurting her? Why did you kidnap her?" Alain demanded.

"She knows some information that we need to finish our mission. But she refuses to tell us. Thus we've kept her here, trying to elicit what we need from her."

"You never thought she was a threat, did you?"

"I was only attempting to protect you from what was to come. You were growing soft, Alain, toward her. This had to be done, and I didn't want you having to bear it."

"Ey!" Zara exclaimed through her gag. Alain had no idea what she'd said, but when he looked back at her, she looked more alive. In fact, she looked livid, struggling against her bonds, her eyes burning brightly with energy.

Alain faced Lysander again. "You lied to me."

"With good intentions."

"That doesn't make it right!"

Lysander stared at Alain silently for a long time. "I'm afraid, Alain, that you have outlived your purpose."

Alain's stare faltered momentarily.

"Thus it is time for me to eliminate you." Lysander drew a pokeball from his pocket and let it expand in his hand. "Gyarados, go!"

Alain jumped back in alarm as the huge, red, Water and Flying type materialized in the room.

"Use Incinerate!" Lysander ordered.

If that's how you want it. "Charizard, let's go!" Alain shouted. The Fire and Flying type burst into the room and roared furiously at Gyarados. "Use Flamethrower!"

Both Fire type moves collided and exploded. Celosia ducked, and Bryony screamed something about her research being ruined before flinging herself in front of the table.

"Gyarados, Mega Evolve!" Lysander ordered. He touched his keystone in his ring, and in a blinding flash of light Gyarados Mega Evolved. The Atrocious Pokemon quickly grew to fill half of the room.

Alain lifted his Mega Ring up to his face and touched the keystone. "Keystone respond to my heart! Beyond evolution, Mega Evolve!" His keystone reacted with Charizard's Mega Stone, and Charizard Mega Evolved. "Use Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.

"Stone Edge!" Lysander commanded.

Gyarados shot the glowing blue stones through the floor, but Charizard only smashed though them. It approached Gyarados, but as it got within swiping distance, Gyarados, swung its tail around in a Dragon Tail attack. It intercepted Charizard's Dragon Claw and forced it back.

"Bryony," Lysander said coolly, "give me the mineral."

Bryony stiffened indignantly, but reluctantly reached for a chunk of green rock on her table and tossed it to Lysander. Zara sat up straighter as the rock flew past her, and she and Alain both watched it closely as it went by them. What is he going to do with that? Alain wondered.

Lysander caught the rock and fingered it for a moment, studying it closely. "Alain, do you remember what I said our research here was on?" he asked.

Alain opened his mouth to snap why that mattered, but then his conversation with Lysander came back to him. The one they'd been having just before they'd seen Zara and Steven arguing with Celosia and Bryony. Where Lysander had told him that he might be interested in knowing they were researching a new way to make Pokemon even stronger.

His heart sank, for only a second, before rising, determined to face this new challenge. It must have showed on his face, because Lysander smiled an emotionless smile and said, "You do remember." Then with one fluid motion, he tossed the rock at Gyarados. The Atrocious Pokemon tired to its trainer and caught the stone in its mouth, crunching down on in as thought it was a piece of rock candy. Its effect was imediate. Gyarados became surrounded by a pale green aura, and it seemed to grow in size. The Water and Dark type gave a ground-shaking roar, and lashed its tail powerfully. Due to its size, it threw every piece of furniture in the room into the walls with its tail. Celosia and Bryony managed to avoid the tail, but Zara, being tied to a chair, was thrown against the back wall so hard the heavy chair she was tied to splintered and broke.

Alain saw her go flying, but there was no time to do anything to help her. The chair hit the wall, broke, then Zara's back connected with the wall. He saw her wince when she hit the wall, then she and the pieces of the chair fell to the floor. For a moment, Alain thought she'd been knocked out, but Zara soon lifted her head slowly, only to duck down again as a beaker from Bryony's table flew over her head.

She's alive. Alain let out a sigh of relief, then turned back to Lysander and Gyarados. I will defeat them. For Zara. For Mairin. For the Professor.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!"

"Gyarados, Dragon Tail!"

Charizard fired its Flamethrower at Gyarados, and Gyarados slammed its tail down on the Fire type move. But instead of struggling against it, the Dragon Tail cut through the flames like they were nothing. Gyarados struck Charizard's head and drove it into the floor, letting off a roar of triumph.

It has gotten a stronger. But I won't let it stop me, Alain thought.

"Gyarados, Stone Edge!" Lysander commanded

"Fly up, Charizard," Alain ordered.

Blue stones shot out of the floor near Gyarados and spread toward Charizard, but the Flame Pokemon avoided them easily enough.

"Drapion, Cross Poison!"

Alain whirled to face Celosia just in time to see her Drapion launching a Cross Poison straight at Charizard. No, I can't fight both of them at the same time! Gyardos is enough of a challenge on its own!

None the less, he had to stop that attack. "Intercept with Thunder Punch!"

Charizard's Claw crackled with electricity, and it punched through the Cross Poison with ease, creating a cloud of smoke where the attacks met. But as the smoke began to spread around Charizard, Gyarados leaped up at it and struck it's side with a Dragon Tail. The powerful move drove Charizard into the back wall, leaving large cracks in the plaster where it connected.

"Charizard!" Alain cried anxiously, as Charizard hauled itself out of the indent it had made.

I can't give up. I will take Lysander down.

But how?

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara lifted her head cautiously after she landed on the pieces of her chair, then immediately ducked as a beaker flew over her head. Blast research of every kind. She watched the beaker smash against the wall before attempting to rise again. She struggled to her feet, wriggling out of all the ropes she'd been tied down with, and yanking off the gag over her head, but when she tried to put weight on her left foot, it gave out underneath her, and she dropped to one knee. Hissing out between her teeth in pain, she felt her ankle. It didn't feel broken, but she couldn't tell what was wrong with it, other than it hurt like fire when she tried to walk on it.

Must have injured it when I crashed against the wall. Well, nothing I can do about it now.

Celosia and Bryony both were busy dodging attacks from Gyarados, and weren't watching her. Zara dropped to her hands and knees and began to crawl across the floor. When Gyarados had knocked Bryony's table, it had sent it flying into the back wall. Thus, Zara had to get over to the table's wreckage. She knew Celosia had left her pokeballs on there.

Gyarados slammed Charizard with a Dragon Tail, and Zara covered her ears when it roared. She still had no idea why Alain had come in here and started fighting with Lysander. He'd said something about Lysander had lied to him, but that didn't explain a whole lot. All she knew was that he'd created the perfect distraction for her to try and escape. If only she could find her Pokemon.

She reached the table, or what was left of it, and began to sift through the wreckage for and pokeball she could find. She found first one then two, then the belt that the rest of them had been on. All except for Sceptile's. The one Celosia had been holding.

Looking up and glancing around the room, she spotted it almost immediately. It was lying on the floor, directly behind Celosia. Zara crept forward on her hands and knees, inching along so as not to alert Celosia to her presence. But Celosia was too busy watching Alain and Lysander's battle to pay any attention to her. Zara scooped up Sceptile's pokeball and struggled to her feet. Much as it hurt, she knew she needed to stand to be able to run away.

Only one problem left. She had to get to the door to get away. And at the moment, it was blocked by two fiercely battling Mega Evolved Pokemon.

Now what do I do? There aren't any windows in here to climb through. But there's no way in the world I can get past those to Pokemon without getting hurt, especially since I can barely walk. I need a plan, but-

Her thoughts were interrupted as Charizard flew past her, slamming into the wall and creating a huge indent. She dove back toward the table wreckage, covering her head with her arms. After a moment, she rose again, and watched Charizard pull itself out of the wall and turn back to Gyarados.

And as Charizard freed itself, Zara watched in amazement as shards of glass fell from its wings and beams of sunlight poured in. Not many, but enough to be noticed.

So there was a window in here after all! They just boarded it up! Scrambling to her feet as best she could, she limped over to the hole and peered out. Just as she had hoped, a small portion of the battle field as visible through the crack. Now I have by way out.

Keeping an eye on Celosia and Bryony, and taking pains to be quiet, she released Sceptile. The Grass type nuzzled her head fondly, before turning to face Celosia. Zara hurried to shush it, then showed it the hole in the wall and whispered a request for Sceptile to make it bigger. Sceptile gave her a quick nod and set to work, ripping chunks of plaster and glass out of the way with its mouth and claws.

As Sceptile worked, Zara watched Celosia to make sure she wasn't paying them any attention. She wasn't, but she was attacking Alain with her Drapion. Zara's attention drifted to the battle, and she was horrified to see Alain and Charizard loosing to Lysander. Badly. Against a Pokemon that had Mega Evolved and been powered up by whatever means that green mineral powered it up, and another Pokemon from a different side, that didn't really surprise Zara. But to see Lysander winning again angered her.

You need to leave while you still can, her mind told her, but she remained rooted to the spot, watching Alain. A Stone Edge ripped through the floor and struck Charizard's right wing, sending it crashing to the floor. Alain flinched as his Pokemon landed, and in the crash, Zara saw a shard of loose rock fly through the air and slice across Alain's arm just above his Mega Ring. He barely gave any reaction to it, but blood oozed out of the wound none the less.

Something deep inside Zara's heart tugged at her, and she struggled with it.

You need to go. Leave him to take care of himself, after all, he wants nothing to do with you. He wouldn't want your help. He doesn't deserve it.

But he came in here and let me escape!

He came in here because he was mad at Lysander, not because he wanted to help you. You owe him nothing.

But don't I? Didn't he pull Wally out of the pool and save him from drounding when I couldn't? Didn't he save my life from that Rock Slide that Courtney attacked me with? I owe him everything.

But he also broke his word and told Lysander about your secret. He lied to you. You can let him deal with his own problems

But he stuck with you too. He was your friend. He made you happy.

He was only your friend so he could use you.

Wait, that can't be all true. He at least talked to you and treated you kindly. And he rescued Wally. And that was before he even knew what your secret was. What Team member would do that? Well, saving me perhaps I could see, but Wally? That wouldn't gain him anything. He did it to help Wally. No Team member helps others without expecting to get something out of it.

But he lied to you...

Another roar of pain split the air in the room, as Charizard took a Sludge Bomb to the back.

Zara took a long look at Alain. Maybe he had lied to her. Maybe he did deserve to lose this impossible fight. But he had treated her like a friend, up untill the end. He had made her happy. He'd made her feel safe.

Another Stone Edge attack ripped through the floor and slammed into Charizard from below. As Charizard fell, a piece of rock glanced off its wing and grazed Alain's shoulder. Alain fell to one knee, clutching his shoulder.

And suddenly Zara realised what she'd been struggling with. She still had feelings for him. Even after all this, she still cared about him, still wanted to be with him, still- still-

Still loved him.

Sceptile nudged her shoulder and she turned to it. The Forest Pokemon had finished clearing a hole in the wall big enough for it to climb through.

Zara looked at the hole, then at Alain, then back at the hole. And she made a choice.

I have a favor to return.

"Hey Drapion!" she shouted, waving her hands above her head. "Hey!"

Celosia and Drapion turned to face her and Sceptile.

"Come and get me!" And she stuck our her tongue and pulled one eyelid down in a taunting gesture.

Drapion roared furously, and Celosia shouted, "Use Cross Poison!"

Zara waited untill Drapion fired the move, then grabbed onto the leather collar that held Sceptile's Mega Stone. In one fluid movement, Sceptile dodged the Cross Poison, taking Zara with it.

"Dragon Pulse!" Zara ordered.

"Sludge Bomb!" Celosia countered.

Sceptile charged a Dragon Pulse and launched it at Drapion. Drapion intercepted with a Sludge Bomb, and the two attacks canceled out.

In the brief moment after the attacks exploded, Zara glanced over at Alain and Lysander. Now that they didn't have to worry about Drapion, Alain and Charizard were starting to hold their ground against Gyarados. But they wouldn't be able to hold out forever. Zara was turning back to Drapion, when Charizard swooped in-between her and Gyarados to dodge a Dragon Tail. And suddenly, Zara had an idea.

"Back up Sceptile," she whispered. Sceptile cocked its head at her, but did as it was told. Letting go of its collar, Zara stepped behind her Pokemon.

"Hey Drapion, come and get us, " Zara taunted again. Drapion growled at her, and Sceptile growled back.

"Drapion, Cross Poison!" Celosia commanded.

"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile and Drapion charged each other.

"Hyper Beam," Zara heard Lysander order.

"Dodge it!" she heard Alain shout.

"Hit the floor, Sceptile!" Zara shouted.

Sceptile continued to charge Drapion, but it kept getting lower and lower to the floor. It swiped at Drapion's legs, forcing the Poison and Dark type to jump to dodge. Drapion jumped and raised it's arms, prepared to attack Sceptile full on.

"Drapion, look out!" Celosia shouted suddenly.

A bright light fell on Drapion, and the Ogre Scorp Pokemon turned it's head to look at the light, just in time to see Gyarados's Hyper Beam attack bearing down on it. With a cry of terror, Drapion took the Hyper Beam full on, and the attack sent it through the hole Sceptile had made in the wall, and into the courtyard below.

Celosia gaped at Zara for a second before running to look out the hole at her Pokemon. Zara only smiled as Sceptile picked itself off the floor underneath where Drapion had been hit and shook some dust off of itself in a final sort of way. Across the room, Charizard dove from where it had plastered itself against the ceiling to avoid the Hyper Beam at Gyarados, its claws glowing in a Dragon Claw attack.

"Good job, Sceptile," Zara praised. "Now, are you ready to face the real battle?"

"Sceptile!"

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Steven marched down the courtyard toward the front entrance of the school. He was one his way to greet a visitor, a very special visitor he'd intended to have come eariler in the week, but this person's plans had changed, and the visit had been put off untill now.

Nearby, a loud crash sounded. Someone's being very loud with their training today, Steven thought. I'll have to tell them to try and keep it down later.

He reached the double doors just as Professor Sycamore walked through them. "Welcome Professor!" Steven greeted warmly.

"Hello Champion," Professor Sycamore replied equally warmly. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it earlier in the week. An emergency came up."

"It's quite alright. If you don't mind me asking, what kept you?"

"This." And the Professor stepped aside to reveal Mairin standing behind him, cluching her Chespin to her chest. "I figured out what was making Chespie sick. The emergency was trying to get it out of Lysander Labs and back to my lab to cure it."

"And what was making it sick?"

"Energy from a new kind of Pokemon. I still don't know what kind of Pokemon it is, or how Chespie came into contact with it, or why the scientists at Lysander Labs couldn't cure it, but I suppose that is a project for another day. I hope you don't mind that I brought Mairin along with me."

"Not at all." And bending down, Steven adressed Mairin, "Hello, Mairin. It's nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too, Steven," Mairin replied.

"So, what do you think of the Mega Evolution School?" Steven asked her.

"It's huge! Did you build it all by yourself?"

Steven chuckled. "No, but I helped. But you haven't seen the best part yet."

"What's that?" Mairin asked, wide-eyed.

"It's-" Steven was cut off as another loud rumble shook the building above them and to their right.

"What was that?" Professor Sycamore asked.

"I believe it's some of the students getting a bit too wild with their training," Steven answered, not completely able to keep the irritation out of his voice. "Come with me, and I'll show you the best part of the school, then I'll go take care of that."

Steven led the Professor and Mairin out to the courtyard. "Wow, look at this place Chespie!" Mairin exclamied as soon as she saw the huge field, and the towering walls surrounding it. Steven watched her spin slow circles, starring at everything around her as they walked.

Another rumble shook the building, followed by a shout. Steven sighed to himself. Turning to the Professor, he said, "If you'll excuse me," then turned back the way they'd come. He was just leaving the courtyard when Mairin shouted, "Steven, look out!"

Whirling around, Steven watched as a Drapion flew throught the air, then crashed to the ground, and tumbled to a stop at his feet. One look at the Pokemon told him it was knocked out. Okay, these kids have gone too far with their training, Steven thought. He searched the walls for the place where the Drapion had come from, but was surprised to find the hole was on the second story, not the first. Didn't I tell all the students not to go up there?

He suddenly spotted movement throught the hole and squinted at it, trying to see who was to blame for all the noise and destruction. It was one of the people who worked for Lysander and had come to help with his research. But it was what he saw behind her that shocked him.

It was Zara and her Sceptile.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

"Charizard, Thunder Punch!" Alain cried.

"Gyarados, Dragon Tail!" Lysander ordered.

Charizard pulled itself off the ceiling and it met Gyarados in the middle of the room, intercepted it's Dragon Tail, but again Gyarados's superior strength sent Charizard spralling. Alain wasn't sure how much longer they could keep this up. But he wasn't about to quit. He would never quit.

"Stone Edge!" Lysander commanded.

"Flamethrower!" Alain ordered.

Charizard let loose with a torrent of flames to intercept the sharp blue stones Gyarados shot at it, but it was no use. As hard as Charizard pushed against the Rock type move, it kept advancing. "Dodge it, Charizard!" Alain shouted, but he already knew it was too late to dodge. The Stone Edge connected, throwing Charizard into the air.

"Use Dragon Tail," Lysander ordered.

"Charizard!" Alain shouted, but it was no use. Charizard didn't have a chance to dodge, or even to intercept. Alain could only watch helplessly as the Dragon Tail got closer and closer to his Pokemon.

And then, out of the blue, came a cry of, "Sceptile, use Detect!"

Alain watched as Sceptile jumped up to Charizard, grabbed onto it, and smoothly dodged the Dragon Tail, pulling Charizard with it to safety on the other side of the room. Whipping his head around to follow them, he saw Zara standing against the other wall. She took a couple of steps closer, and he noticed she was limping badly. Fresh anger flooded through him.

Sceptile let go of Charizard and turned back to Gyarados, growling at it fiercly. Zara too, stared at Lysander with anger in her eyes.

Lysander retured the stare, but his was emotionless rather than furious. "Use Incinerate," he commanded calmly.

Gyarados shot a ball of fire at Sceptile.

"Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" Zara shouted, touching her keystone. It reacted with Sceptile's Mega Stone, and Sceptile Mega Evolved. "Now Dragon Pulse!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile fired a Dragon Pulse to intercept Gyarados's Incinerate, but it couldn't stop it alone and struggled to keep it back.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Alain shouted.

Charizard blasted a Flamethrower at the Incinerate, and together with Sceptile's Dragon Pulse, it drove back Gyaraods's move. The three attacks exploded, filling the room with smoke and dust.

Alain coughed violently as the smoke enveloped him. For a couple of minutes he couldn't see anything, but he heard a loud crash, and suddenly the room got much brighter. When the smoke finally cleared, he saw that the back wall of the room had been smashed out, letting sunlight pour in, hence the brightness. The cause of the smashed wall became evident moments later. Lysander and Gyarados were gone. They must have escaped out the hole in the confusion.

Zara had clearly come to the same conclusion, because she had already mounted Sceptile and the Forest Pokemon was climbing down the wall to the courtyard.

Running up to Charizard and climbing onto his Pokemon's back, Alain shouted, "After them!"

Charizard needed no further promting. It launched itself into the air and out the hole.

Lysander hadn't gotten far. He and his Pokemon were in the courtyard being confronted by a confused looking Steven. "What is going on?" the Champion asked him, "And why was Zara up there? We all thought she left!"

Lysander only said, "You don't understand how stubborn your assistant is, Champion."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Lysander opened his mouth to say more, but was cut off by Zara. "Leaf Blade!" she ordered, jumping off Sceptile as the Forest Pokemon approached Gyarados, her bad foot giving out underneath her when she landed.

"Stone Edge!" Lysander ordered.

Gyarados shot sharp blue stones out of the ground at Sceptile, and Sceptile was forced to dance around to dodge them, untouched, but unable to close.

Alain saw his chance. "Thunder Punch, Charizard!" he ordered. As Charizard swooped down to attack, Alain leaped from its back and landed not far from Zara. Gyarados didn't have time to counter the attack, and Charizard brought its crackling claw down squarely on its head. Gyarados roared in pain.

Charizard and Sceptile came to stand in front of their trainers, and glared at Gyarados.

"Use Incinerate!" Lysander commanded.

"Flamethrower!" Alain shouted.

"Dragon Pulse!" Zara cried.

Just like last time, all three moves met and exploded. Both Charizard and Sceptile together were evenly matched with the powerful Water type.

"Zara!" someone shouted, and Alain saw Wally charging onto the field.

"Alain!" someone else shouted, and looking around suddenly, he saw Mairin off to one side of the courtyard, next to Steven. What is she doing here?

No time to figure that one out. "Hyper Beam!" Lysander shouted.

They'd never be able to block that move with just a Flamethrower and a Dragon Pulse. It was all or nothing. "Use Blast Burn!" Alain commanded.

Zara hesitated only a second before ordering, "Frenzy Plant, Sceptile!"

Charizard and Sceptile both launched their attacks at Gyarados just as Gyarados blasted its Hyper Beam at them. At first the Hyper Beam began to edge back the Blast Burn and Frenzy Plant, but then something amazing happened. As the Blast Burn began to open up the ground more to shoot up its explosion, the roots the Frenzy Plant began to run out of normal ground to grow from. But Sceptile didn't let up. Thus its roots began to grow through the fire, causing them to ingite, and suddenly Gyarados was fighting a perfectly combined move. Its Hyper Beam couldn't hold up against it, and the flaming, exploding roots came crashing down on it from above, and fire exploded underneath it.

When the smoke cleared, Gyarados had fainted. Lysander returned it to its pokeball, looking far from pleased.

Both Charizard and Sceptile released their Mega Evolutions, since the battle was over. But Alain was far from finished. He opened his mouth to yell at Lysander and tell him just how terrible he really was, but the sound of helicopter blades whirring in the distance stopped him.

Lysander smiled. "Just in time."

Alain looked up to see a helicopter, the same helicopter that had brought him here, lowering itself into the courtyard. The wind it created sent everything beneath it flying in all directions, and the other students ran for the building or whatever cover they could find. Sceptile gripped the ground to avoid being blown away, and Zara had fallen flat on her back. As soon as it got close, the pilot dropped a rope, and Lysander grabbed it. The rope quickly retracted, pulling the red headed man up into the helicopter.

"Stop them!" Alain shouted. "Charizard, Dragon Claw!" But due to the strong wind, Charizard was grounded. It couldn't even safely launch a Flamethrower without risking it blowing back at them.

Alain raised his right hand and tried to look up at the helicopter, when he felt something brush his left arm. He looked down, and saw Bryony's Liepard right next to him, his Mega Ring in its mouth. "Hey, come back with that!" he shouted, but the Cruel Pokemon paid him no mind. Alain dove at it, but it was too quick, and dashed away before he could stop it. It ran up along side Bryony, who was racing to the helicopter with Celosia. Moments later, her Bisharp joined the trio. Alain heart sank when he saw what it carried. He looked back at Charizard to see its neck bare. Lysander had taken back his Keystone and Mega Stone.

The four scientists and Pokemon reached the helicopter and were pulled up in a similar manner to Lysander before the chopper began to ascend. In a desperate attempt to stop them, Alain shouted, "Flamethrower!" Charizard, fired the move, but the wind only blew it to nothing. As the chopper cleared the top of the building, Lysander leanded out of the open door and looked stright down at Alain. His stare said: I may have lost the battle, but I will win in the end. And with that the chopper was gone.

Alain stared at the sky where it the helicopter had been shock plastered all over his face. He couldn't believe it. They were gone. And they had his keystone and Mega Stone. How am I supposed to protect the ones I love now? Professor Sycamore, Mairin, Zara-

He looked back at Zara as he thought her name, but stopped his train of thought as soon as he saw her. She was still on her flat on her back, her eyes closed. Alain's pulse spiked. He raced over to her and shook her. "Zara! Zara!" he shouted wildly.

She didn't move.

Without thinking twice, he scooped her up and ran to the Pokemon Center. He turned her over to Nurse Joy, and she took Zara back into her treatment room immediately.

Steven, Wally, Mairin, and the Professor came in right after him. They asked him what happened, but he didn't answer. All he cared about at the moment was making sure Zara was alright.

Time passed. Alain wasn't sure how much. He sat in the lobby of the Pokemon Center untill Nurse Joy arrived at the door to the room, staring at the walls but seeing nothing.

"Well, I'm happy to report that Zara seemes to be just fine."

Tension flowed out of Alain's nerves, leaving him feeling slightly boneless, and he sank back into his chair.

"What was wrong with her, Nurse Joy?" Steven asked.

"It seems she passed out due to exhaution and a lack of nutrition. Give her some time, and she should be fine, but she needs to rest."

"Of course," Steven said.

"Can we go in and see her?" Wally asked. When Nurse Joy looked hesitant, he insisted, "We won't bother her. Please?"

Another moment of hesitation from Nurse Joy, but finally she gave Wally a nod, and the green-haired trainer walked quickly but quietly to the door, followed closely by Steven.

Nurse Joy stepped back toward her counter, but stopped when she glanced at Alain. Hurring over to him, she asked, "How did you get that cut?"

Alain looked down at his left arm to find it had a long, bloody cut just above his wrist. "I...don't know," he answered truthfully. He hadn't even noticed the cut untill she'd mentioned it.

"Let me get you a bandage. Do you have any other injuries?" Nurse Joy asked.

Now that she asked, Alain's shoulder was throbing. "My shoulder hurts a little."

Nurse Joy felt both of his shoulders for injures, but quickly announced that they were only bruised. Then she hurried off, and was back in a moment with a white strip of bandage and a clean cloth. She cleaned all the blood off his arm and wrapped the bandage around it twice. "There. Now be careful with that arm," she cautioned before going back behind her counter. A couple of students walked in and handed her some pokeballs.

Alain sank back into his chair and let his thoughts wash over him. Zara was safe. Mairin was here, safe. Lysander had lied to him. His keystone was gone. It was his fault Zara passed out.

Fingers snapped in front of his eyes, brining him back to reality. "Alain, I asked if you could explain what was going on here," Professor Sycamore repeated.

Alain looked him in the eye for the first time in a long time. "I don't know."

"You don't know what happened?"

"I don't know if I can explain."

"Please try." Professor Sycamore said gently.

"Yeah, why were you fighting Lysander?" Mairin asked, innocent confusion written all over her face.

Alain took a deep breath. And then starting from the very begining, the first day he had ever met Lysander, he explained everything that had happened up till that moment in time. How Lysander had asked him to help him protect people, about meeting Mairin, about Chespie's accident and it being his fault, about his mission to gather Mega Evolution energy to heal Chespie, about being assigned to come to this seminar, about meeting Zara and becoming friends with her, about telling Lysander something importaint she'd asked him to keep a secret, about Lysander refusing to let him be near her, about her disappearing, about fighting with Lysander over reading her note, and about finding her and figuring out everything he'd been told was a lie. He pointedly left out telling the Professor Zara's secret and about his feelings for her.

"And you know the rest," he finished. "We battled and Lysander escaped." He let his head drop into his hand miserablely, unable to look at the Professor any longer. "I'm sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen, I-"

Suddenly he arms wrap around him, and he looked down at Mairin. She was hugging him tightly, like she was afraid there would be no tommorow. Chespie too, hugged him as best it could from its perch on Mairin's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault Alain. You were only trying to help."

Alain opened his mouth to argue that it was his fault, but Professor Sycamore didn't let him. "I wish you had come back to me and asked me about this. We might have avoided you putting yourself through all this." He gazed at Alain for a long time before adding softly, "I missed you."

Alain swallowed hard. He'd missed the Professor too, but he couldn't say it out loud. He didn't think Sycamore fully understood everything he'd told him, but not for a lack of trying. SImply because he hadn't been there, he hadn't felt everything Alain had felt, or seen everything he'd seen. He felt his eyes getting moist, but immediantly forced the tears away, determined not to let the feeling of sadness show on his face. It was more habit than anything that made him do it, but he didn't want anyone to see how he felt. No one would truly understand.

"From now on, we stay in touch?"

Alain nodded.

Professor Sycamore smiled fondly. "Now, I'm going to go check on Zara. Do you want to come with me?"

"Me too?" Mairin piped up.

Alain looked down. "No thanks."

The Professor looked surprised, as did Mairin. "Will you be alright out here by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Alright then. Feel free to join us anytime. Coming Mairin?" And as he rose, Professor Sycamore layed a hand on Alain's shoulder, then left and went into the treatment room. Mairin gave Alain a quick hug, then followed right behind him.

Alain sighed heavily. He wanted to go with the Professor and Mairin, he really did. But not to see Zara. I'm the one who caused her to end up like this. I'd be lucky if she didn't slit my throat if I went in there. I don't want to upset her, or cause her any more pain. She doesn't deserve that.

And I don't deserve her. I love her, but I don't deserve her.

He clenched his fists and gripped the fabric of the chair seat angrily. Pain ripped at his heart at the thought of just leaving Zara without even speaking to her, without telling her how he felt, but he knew it was for the best. There is only one day left in the seminar. Battle Carl tomorrow, stay away from her, and then you'll go back to Kalos and never see her again. Then, perhaps, she can be safe.

And so, with a heavy heart, he rose and trudged out of the Pokemon Center.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara opened her eyes groggily. Her surrounding were haze of colors.

"Hey guys, she's waking up!" someone whispered excitedly.

Zara blinked twice and brought her surroundings into focus. She was in a bed, in the Pokemon Center's treatment room. At the foot of her bed were Wally and a red-headed girl with a green cap and a Chespin on her shoulder, on her left was a tall man in a royal blue button up, and on her right was Steven.

"How do you feel Zara?" Steven asked gently.

And then everything washed back over her. Lysander had kidnapped her. She'd fought him with Alain. He'd escaped. He was still out there. And he still wanted her.

"I need to go," she mumbled, tried to sit up. He head swam at the movement, and she immedantely plopped back down on her pillow.

"Woah there, young lady, your not going anywhere yet," the man in the blue shirt said.

"Nurse Joy said you need to rest," Wally added.

"Can't rest. Have to get out of here before they come back." Zara mumbled again, trying to sit up again, but Steven pushed her back down onto the bed.

"Zara," he said slowly and firmly, "Why do you need to leave? Why were you leaving in the first place? And why couldn't you tell me why you were leaving?"

Zara looked away from him at the wall of the room. "I guess you want an explination for what I said in my note," she mumbled.

"Mmm-hmm," Steven said pointedly.

"I can't tell you."

"But why not, Zara? Have you done something wrong?"

"We won't be upset, Zara," Wally said pleadingly. "Please tell us."

Zara looked back at Wally. His face was full of concern and caring for her, and it tore her heart apart to have to look at him. Oh, Wally, if only you knew the half of what I've done, then you wouldn't want anything to do with me. Tears began to fill her eyes, but she choked them back. I worked so hard to make a fresh start here. And even though I escaped the Team, I still can't stay without having to tell them everything.

"Zara, please, I want to help you with whatever the problem is," Steven coaxed.

I know you do, but I don't want to talk about it. You wouldn't understand. You never had anything like this happen to you. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But we need to know to keep it from happening again."

Zara looked up at him quickly."That's why you want to know this?"

"Of course," Steven answered immediantly, "I don't want anything to happen to you Zara. Why else would I ask?"

Just to know, so you could pity me. So you could start an investigation on the mineral. So you could look into my parents' deaths. I don't want any of that. I wanted to start over, to have another chance at safety. I never wanted to tell anyone about that ever again. Which is what I should have done in the first place...

...right? And Zara looked at Steven again. But if I'd told him to begin with, would any of this happened at all? I wouldn't have told Alain anything, because I wouldn't have felt a need to tell someone. And Steven would have protected me from Lysander. That is, if Lysander ever even figured out who I was.

...I need to tell them the truth. And then I can leave when I get better, if I still want to. They'll probably want me to leave after I tell them I lied to them. And I probably would leave anyway. I'd rather the past stay buried.

Taking a deep breath, Zara began slowly with, "It's a long story, and I guess I need to start at the beginning. But if I tell you this, you have to promise me that we will never speak of it again. Ever."

Everyone in the room nodded.

Zara took another deep breath. "You know what I told you about my parents?" she asked, addressing Steven.

"About them leaving for another region and never coming back? Yes, I remember," Steven said.

"Well, I sort of...I didn't exactly...I lied," Zara blurted. After that, the whole story just poured out, one thing after then next. What had happened to her parents, how she'd hidden in the forest for three years, how she'd met Courtney, how she'd run from Team Flare for years, why she'd initially accepted Steven's offer to become his assistant, why she'd lied to him, then all about meeting Alain and him saving her from Courtney, about telling him everything, about then finding out he was part of the Team that had killed her parents, about running and hiding and skipping meals for the past few days, about being held captive by Celosia, and about Alain finding her. "And Lysander's still out there, and he still wants me," she finished. Ducking her head, she went on, "Now, I understand that what I did was wrong, and I shouldn't have lied to any of you."

Beside her, Steven sighed. "You mean all these times when you were happy and cheerful around me, around everybody, they were all forced?"

"Not all of them," Zara said honestly as she lifted her head, "only the times that I thought of my parents. Or Team Magma. Or my...my lie."

"I thought you were one of the most upbeat people I'd ever met, Zara. You were always acting so carefree." Steven sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. "I wish you'd just told me. It would have saved the both of us a lot of unecessary pain."

Zara gaze at her mentor faltered and lowered back to the bed sheet. She hated it when Steve talked to her like this. It meant he was disappointed with her. Tears formed in her eyes, but she blinked them back. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "If you want, I'll leave as soon as I recover. I know you won't want me here as your assistant anymore. Or your friend." The last sentence was directed at Wally as well.

Suddenly Steven pulled Zara into a sitting position and hugged her around the shoulders. "Why would you think that, Zara? Just because you lied to me?" Steven let go of her and drew back, looking her straight in the eye. "I'm not pleased that you lied, but that's no reason to throw you out on your own. Besides, I'd never be able to find a better assistant in the whole Hoenn region than the one I have right here."

"And I'd never find a better friend in the whole world!" Wally affirmed. He raced around the bed, and coming up beside Steven, leaned over and hugged Zara as best he could.

Zara felt the tears threatening to spill over again as Wally's arms wrapped around her, but again she forced them back. Without hesitating, Zara hugged him back as hard as she could. "Thank you," she whispered. She wasn't sure who she was talking to; Steven, Wally, both, or Arceus for giving her such wonderful friends. Emotions of fear, sadness, loneliness, guilt, worry, and many other things rattled around inside her, but for the first time in a long time, somehow they seemed managable. The whole thing still threatened to overwhelm her if she wasn't careful, and she still didn't want to talk about any of her past with them, but the tempest of fear in her had calmed considerably. "I still don't evey want to talk about this again. It's in the past, and that's how I want it to stay."

Steven only gave her a firm, but disappointed, nod. Wally only hugged her tighter.

Pulling back from Wally, and doing her very best to wipe all the sadness off her face, she said in as much of a mock accusing voice as she could, "Well, are you going to introduce me to these other two visitors, or will I have to guess at their names?"

Wally smiled a broad smile that made Zara smile back at him. Steven smiled tiredly, and said, "This is Professor Sycamore and Mairin. The Professor is researching Mega Evolution, and is here to watch the Seminar and conduct a little research."

"And I came to watch Alain battle!" Mairin piped up.

"So you're Mairin?" Zara said, smile still on her lips. "It's nice to finally meet you in person."

"Chespin!" the Chespin on Mairin's shoulder cried and jumped onto her bed.

"And nice to meet you too, um, Chespin? Is that how you say its name?" Zara asked.

"It is a Chespin, but its name is Chespie," Mairin explained. "Professor Sycamore woke it up right before we left Kalos to come here and see Alain, and Chespie's all better now."

Zara looked to Professor Sycamore. "Why do I get the feeling that you didn't just wake it up from a nap?"

The Professor stared back at Zara for a long moment without saying anything. Finally, he said, "I suppose you should know about this, considering how deeply you were involved." And slowly but steadily, he began to explain about what had happened to Chespie. But instead of starting with a story about how this Chespin had accidently gotten into something at his lab it shouldn't have like Zara thought he would, he started to tell her about Alain. He told her about Alain meeting Lysander and getting tricked into working for him, about Alain meeting Mairin, about them fighting Groudon and Kyogre, which Zara politely didn't tell him she already knew all about, about Chespie's accident at Lysander Labs, and about Alain's promise to heal it. When he finished, Zara could only stare at him.

So Alain wasn't trying to kidnap me. He didn't even know he was working for a Team. He was only trying to help Mairin. And he was trying to help me when he fought Lysander. He was trying to save me. Trying to fix what he'd done. That's all he's ever been trying to do.

Boy, do I know how that feels. Trying to fix a problem, on your own, that seems way too big to fix, and only seemes to keep getting worse as time goes by.

And boy, was I ever wrong about him.

"If you knew all this, why didn't you try to help Alain sooner?" Wally asked Professor Sycamore.

"I only found most of it out a few minutes ago myself," the Professor replied.

"Alain just told us out in the lobby," Mairin added.

That caught Zara's attention. "Alain's out in the lobby?"

"He was when we came in here," Professor Sycamore answered. "Do you want me to go and get him for you?"

Before Zara could answer, the Pokemon Center's chime to indicate a Pokemon had finished healing went off, and the next thing Zara knew, the door to her room banged open and Sceptile was beside her bed, prodding her for injuries.

"Hey, Sceptile, nice to see you buddy! Feeling better?" Zara asked.

"Scep!"

"Good. Think you can help me get out to the lobby?"

Sceptile gave her a worried glance.

"Don't worry, Sceptile, I'm fine, just a little weak."

"Tile."

Zara eased herself off the bed, and keeping a firm grip on Sceptile's collar, stood up. Her injured ankle still hurt, but it was much better than before. Other than that she felt fine, just hungry and a bit tired. Taking careful steps, she and Sceptile walked to the door of the room, and Zara leaned out of the doorway. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but stopped abruptly. Alain was no where to be seen.

"Are you sure he's out here?" she asked back over her shoulder.

The Professor came to the door and looked out. "He was earlier, but he isn't now. I'm sorry Zara. I can try to find him if you want."

He left without even checking to see if I was alright...

Guilt flooded into her for the things she'd said to him. I called him a liar. No wonder he looked like he was playing dumb. He had no idea what I was talking about. And I slapped him.

No wonder he left. For that matter, if he left without even coming into my room, he probably doesn't want to talk to me. Can't say that I blame him. I'd probably have done the same thing. He just stuck around long enough to make sure he hadn't caused any permanent injuries and then left. Made sure he fixed what he'd caused, that's all he cared about. Didn't care to check on me, probably because he doesn't care about me specifically, just about me as a victim.

He's a better friend than I every deserved. Than I ever will deserve.

But I should still try and find him and apologize. Even if he doesn't want to hear it, I have to at least say I was sorry, and then he can go back to Kalos and live his own life peacfully.

Zara opened her mouth to answer the Professor that, thanks, but no, she would find him herself, when she caught a question Wally posed to Steven.

"Is Zara still disqualified?"

That caught her attention, and her head snapped toward the Champion. "I'm disqualified?!"

"Well," Steven began awkwardly, "you did supposedly leave, and you're in no condition to battle anyone right now, so I think we should let you rest and say you made it to the top-"

"Who am I supposed to battle?" Zara interjected, cutting him off.

"What? You're in no condition to-" Steven began again.

"Who am I supposed to battle?" Zara cut him off again.

"It doesn't matter, because you aren't going to battle-"

"Wally, who am I supposed to battle?" Zara interjected again, turning her attention to the young trainer.

"Um..." Wally looked from Zara, to Steven, then back to Zara. Finally he said very meekly, "Carl." Immediatly he covered his head with his hands and cowered away from Steven. "I'm sorry, but she asked," he said.

Without another word, Zara marched out of the Pokemon Center and into the courtyard, Sceptile right beside her supporting her leg with the bad ankle. Two thoughts fought in her mind; Find Alain and try to apologize, or find Carl and ask for a battle?

The choice hurt her, but she chose to battle Carl. After all, that was the first reason she'd come here at all, to win the Seminar. And she could find Alain later. Besides, he probably didn't want to see her anyway.

Once outside, everyone turned to stare at her, and several of the students ran up to her and offered to help her. Zara refused the help as politely as she could, and when she spotted Astrid in the yard, called out to her, "Hey, Astrid! Where's Carl?"

Astrid called back, "In the training room. Why? You're not going to battle him, are you?"

Zara only shot her a confident grin in reply. She felt anything but confident, but that didn't mean she was going to let it show.

Astrid left the courtyard and returned a few minutes later with Carl. "Hey, Zara!" the dark-haired trainer exclaimed as soon as he saw her, "You alright after that battle of yours earlier?"

"I'm fine." It wasn't a lie. She felt fine, as in not in pain anywhere. But inside she longed to go find Alain. "Do you still want to battle to see who goes to the finals, or do you want to go with Steven's call that I'm disqualified."

Carl gave her a big grin as he answered, "Wouldn't be fair if I didn't give you a chance to beat me, would it? That is, if your up to it?"

Zara grined back. "I'm definately up to it. Let's battle."

Carl went to the other trainer's box, leaving the nearer on for Zara, for which she was grateful. She, with a little help from Sceptile, walked over to it. Carl tossed a pokeball across the field, and his Lucario burst out in a flash of light. Sceptile gave Zara one last prod before stepping onto the field itself.

Steven came up to the side of the field and raised his arms. "Are you both ready?"

"Yep!" Carl said.

Zara shot Steven a grateful look as she nodded.

"Then battle begin!"

"Lucario, Mega Evlove!" Carl ordered, touching his keystone set in a his glove and crossing his arm over his chest.

I couldn't ask for a more determined opponent. "Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" Zara shouted, touching her own keystone and throwing her hand above her head, fingers splayed outward.

Their battle was long and difficult. Most of it was a blur to Zara, simply her shouting commands, split-second decisions, to dodge Lucario's attacks and then strike back. After the first few blows were exchanged, they Mega Evolved their Pokemon and started the fight in ernest. But after several sucessful hits on both sides, it all came down to the last blow.

Lucario was on its back, thrown to the ground from above by a Leaf Blade from Sceptile. Sceptile had landed across the field from it lightly.

"Sceptile, finish this! Frenzy Plant! Go!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile let out a huge roar and slammed its tail into the ground. Huge roots spread out from its tail and toward Lucario. The Fighting and Steel type couldn't get to its feet fast enough, and howled in pain as the roots crashed down on it. When the dust from the attack cleared, Lucario was down for the count. In a flash, it reverted to its normal form. Carl recalled it, then shouted across the field, "Good battle Zara! I'm glad you were up for it!"

"Me too! By the way, since I won, who am I supposed to face tomorrow?" Zara called back.

"Alain!" Carl answered. Zara's heart did a flip.

Just then, the whistle for supper blew. She recalled Sceptile, then turned and walked out of the courtyard, through the hallway, and to the cafeteria. I have to find Alain, and I have to apologize. Surely he'll be in here somewhere.

But to her surprise, Alain seemed to be the only one who wasn't in the cafeteria. Everyone, including Mairin and the Elite Four were there, except for Alain. Zara asked several people where he was, but no one had seen him since the fight earlier. Finally, hunger, and Steven insisting she sit down, forced her to stop her search temporarily. She ate, then struck out to look for him in other places. She checked the training rooms, the pool, the courtyard, and the whole second story, but found nothing. At last she made her way to his room and knocked.

It was Gordon who answered the door. "Hey, Zara, what's up?"

Zara got straight to the point. "Is Alain here?"

"No, I haven't seen him since this afternoon. Sorry."

"Oh." Zara hung her head. Then an idea hit her. "Can you wait her for just a minute Gordon? I'll be right back." She took off running as fast as her ankle would let her for her room. When she got there, she grabbed a drawstring back from her backpack. Maybe this will help him see I'm sorry.

Opening the bag and putting a small apology gift inside, she drew it closed and raced back to Alain's room. "Here," she said, handing the bag to Gordon, "can you give this to him?"

"Sure," Gordon answered. "Got anything you want me to tell him?"

Zara hesitated. She didn't want to say too much and end up explaining the whole mess to Gordon. Thus she replied, "Tell him, 'I promised I would battle him.'" She had promised that. Hopefully he won't be mad at me tomorrow. All I want to do is make things right, and then he can hate me all he wants for what I've said.

"Got it," Gordon answered.

Zara turned to go, but Gordon stopped her by asking, "So, do you think you're going to win tomorrow against Alain?"

Zara paused, then answered, "Only time will tell." About lots of things...

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain sat on the roof, Charizard behind him, gazing up at the stars. The sun had set only a matter on minutes ago, but he was to lost in thought to move. He'd watched Zara battle from up here, he'd seen her win. So now he had to battle her tomorrow.

His mind was at war again, fighting itself. Every part of him wanted to go to her and apologize for what he'd done, and explain why he'd done it, to tell her how he felt because she would listen and she might even understand. But he wouldn't. Somehow, her battling Carl today as soon as she was better only confirmed in his mind that she wanted nothing more to do with him. And then she hadn't even come up here tonight, probably because she'd seen him and was staying away from him. She clearly hated him. And now he had to battle her.

Then again, he wasn't at all sure how he was going to battle her without a Mega Stone or keystone. Perhaps it was a good thing that Lysander had taken them. Now he could leave early without having to bother Zara anymore, and she could be declared the winner. Somehow losing the Seminar didn't bother him in comparison to his other problems.

Rousing his restless mind, he recalled Charizard, climbed down the fire escape, and went to his room. Gordon was there, writting somthing on a piece of notebook paper. Alain paid him no attention as he walked to his bed and lay down on it.

Suddenly, as he lay down, his back came into contact with something hard. Sitting up and reaching underneath him, he pulled a black drawstring bag out. It had something inside it. Something hard and round. Loosening the strings, Alain reaching inside and drew out a Mega Stone. Specifically, a black and blue Charizardite.

He couldn't belive his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, Zara came by earlier and told me to get that to you," Gordon said off-handedly, only glancing up from his writting.

Alain felt hundreds of emotions well up inside him, but he didn't know what to make of any of them. "Why?" he finally forced out.

"Said something about promising to battle you," Gordon replied.

Alain stared at the stone, cradling it in his hands. She gave me this stone? To keep? She can't hate me that much if she was willing to give me this.

But she probably only gave me it because she promised to battle me, and I can't battle without a Mega Stone.

But if she really hated you, she would have just let you lose.

She promised to battle you. This is only her way of keeping her promise. If she meant anything else by it, she would have found you and told you otherwise.

Setting the stone on his nightstand, Alain showered, then lay down and stared at it. Sleep was slow in coming, but when it came, it was a far more gentle sleep than he'd had the last few night. Not completely peaceful, but calm enough to endure. Things still bothered him, but he felt more at peace than he had in a long time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

And now that I've finished this incrediably long chapter, I'm begining to think I should have made this a two parter. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Only one day left in the Mega Evolution Seminar! Only one more battle to fight! Only one more chance for Zara and Alain to fix their friendship.

By the way, who do you guys think should win the final battle? Zara or Alain?

As always, please review!