A/N: Oops, sorry for the late update. I've been travelling around the world a lot over the past month and a half, and haven't gotten the chance to write that much. I will be getting home in Australia on the 25th, so expect the next update (and the last XD) around then.

Without further ado, I present to you, chapter 22!

Actually, there is further ado. The replies. XD

Replies to reviews:

PrimalGroudon: XD Bwahaha, I really did want to do that. You know, I'll add it in sometime in the sequel. :P Thank you! Aha, when it fell on Leaf?

Guest: Whoops... Sorry. XD Sorry again. You'll see why I'm apologising soon...

Kitten-lover136: Oh, sorry about the lack of Ikari and LG! I tried to add in as much as possible in this chapter, but there will be lots in the sequel. :P

schoolmouse33: Thanks! Yeah, love them! :D Aha, thanks!

PolarDawn: Aha, sorry about that. Well, the evil tyrant strikes again in this chapter, so it wasn't all over in the last chapter. XD

Sakura Touko: Thank you very much! :D I'll update the epilogue as soon as possible.

Contestshipper16: Woah, you know me too well. XD Yup, that's pretty much what it'll be about. With other issues as well. Thank you, Anica! :D

QUEENSPELLER67: Thanks. XD You'll see!

Ninja-girl242: No problem! I'm honoured to know that. :D Ah, close. And nope. XD

MissShane12: Thank you! :D I'm glad to know! (:

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Chapter Twenty-two: The Fate We Deserve

"This isn't over… they will pay! Whatever happens, make sure they do not win that petty show. I don't care what it takes, override the voting system if you must."

"Make sure they never have their happy ending."

The stage was silent, anticipation hanging in the air. The dim lights brightened, an animation for effects playing on a screen behind the stage.

The props on stage where those of a jungle, creating a forest-like atmosphere. Two, trained show-Liepard were seated on the fake trees.

Purple mist was visible, clearing slowly has the music started.

A soft, but equally strong voice was heard, breaking the anticipated atmosphere. It was Dawn, wearing a Liepard-print outfit which consisted of shorts, a fitted top and a long belt. They wore nothing on their feet but an anklet each.

(Roar- Katy Perry)

"I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath, scared to rock the boat and make a mess. So I sat quietly, agreed politely."

She skipped to another part of the stage, to the edge, to gaze at the audience as if telling a story.

"I guess that I forgot I had a choice, I let you push me past the breaking point. I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything."

The spotlight's next destination was Leaf, who was stood on one of the fake-trees, holding onto a vine. Cheers erupted as she began singing, louder and stronger.

"You held me down, but I got up, already brushing off the dust. You hear my voice, you hear that sound, like thunder gonna shake the ground."

"You held me down, but I got up, get ready 'cause I've had enough. I see it all, I see it now," she continued, Dawn joining her.

Green, yellow and purple lights began flashing around the stage as the music, cheers and voices became louder. All four of the members joined in for the chorus, their powerful voices in perfect harmony.

"I got the eye of the Liepard, a fighter, dancing through the fire! 'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar! Louder, louder than a Pyroar! 'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!"

May grinned at her friends, taking a solo spotlight as they wrapped up the chorus. Like Dawn, she looked around the audience as if telling her story.

"Now I'm floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee I earned my stripes. I went from zero, to my own hero."

Misty was next, a different spotlight shining on her as she sang into her shiny, blue microphone given to her by Lyra.

"You held me down, but I got up, already brushing off the dust. You hear my voice, you hear that sound, like thunder gonna shake the ground."

"You held me down, but I got up. Get ready 'cause I've had enough. I see it all, I see it now," May joined in.

"I got the eye of the Liepard, a fighter, dancing through the fire!"

"That was amazing!" Serena gushed as Eye of the Liepard finished their act, entering the waiting room. "I don't stand a chance against you guys. Plus you were the closing act!"

Misty smiled brightly, taking in the compliment. She had been in a wondrous mood ever since they freed Ghost of the Night. On top of that, she knew that the three conscious members were in the audience, watching the live finals of Kalosian Idol.

Their last performance was crucial, as the final votes decided it all. Who won, and who lost.

Serena's performance was first, her song being one named Sweeter Than Fiction, second were The Candies, singing Here's To Never Growing Up, third was Brendan, singing Don't and lastly, Eye of the Liepard, singing Roar.

There was still an hour left for voting, in which other entertaining shows would be happening on stage. The Champion of Kalos, Diantha, was appearing, along with a famous Pokémon Idol, from the Johto region, called Marinaand a producer and judge of the Hoennese Idol, who was also a Contest Idol, Lisia.

"So, what do we do now?" Dawn asked, taking a seat.

Leaf folded her arms, leaning on the wall was she let out a sigh.

"We wait."

"Done," Gary said, grinning. He had his smartphone in his hand, and had sent a text to vote for his favourite participant. "Who'd you guys vote for?"

"Who do you think?" came Paul's sharp voice from behind.

"I voted for The Candies!" Ash exclaimed, his grin showing of his shiny white teeth. "I'm kidding!" he added, after receiving stares from his two friends.

They were in the audience of the live finals of Kalosian Idol, seated amongst the hundreds of people in the audotorium. Millions of people watching around Kalos and around the world on television.

While waiting for all the votes to come in, there were various forms of entertainment happening on the stage. It was quite a large event, really.

The trio watched on, gazing at the stage as the fabulous duo of Champion, Contest Idol and Pokémon Idol ran a show.

All three showcased their Pokémon's Mega Evolutions on stage. Lisia with her Altaria, Diantha with her Gardevoir and Marina with her Ampharos.

"This is boring," Paul commented to no one in particular, sick of the pretty, sparkly performance. "Why couldn't they have a battle instead?"

He continued, after not receiving no reply. "Diantha may not look like it, but she is extremely powerful."

His right eye twitched in annoyance as Diantha gracefullytwirled her slender hand, Gardevoir responding to her telepathic message and doing the same but with it's body.

"Tch."

Gary rolled his eyes, folding his arms. "This is a stage, not an arena. They can't just battle it out, especially Diantha, inside an auditorium."

Luckily for the auburn-haired genius, Paul couldn't snap as the show finished and an announcement from the MC rang through.

It was time for the results.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, once again, our four talented finalists!" the MC, Dexter, announced, the audience bursting with excitement. "First up, our sweet, stunning, Serena who is in fact our only participant remaining from Kalos itself!"

The honey-blonde strode onto the stage without feeling the slightest bit timid, grinning and waving to her fans as she did so. She took her place, still grinning from ear to ear.

"Next up, one of our two remaining girl-bands, give a round of applause for The Candies!"

The four, changed girls enthusiastically appeared on the stage, thrusting their hands in the air with the rock 'n' roll hand gesture. Their fans burst with cheers, doing the same gesture in return.

"Rock on!" all four yelled as they took their spots beside Serena, the audience yelling the same thing back.

The MC chuckled, before continuing. "Thirdly, the oh-so-suave Brendan, who is just as casual and cool as he is classy!"

Fangirl screams from the audience drowned out everyone else as he casually walked onto the stage, taking his jacket off (the screams grew to an unbearable level as he did so) and throwing it into the audience for a lucky fan to catch.

The screams died down as he took a spot at the centre of the stage beside The Candies, giving his fellow competitors a respectful nod.

"And last, but definitely not least, our second girl-band, give it up for Eye of the Liepard!"

With more pride than any of the others, May, followed by Misty, then Leaf, then Dawn, strode through the stage. They stopped at their place, all four bowing in perfect sync to the audience.

Dawn, Misty and Leaf smiled inwardly to themselves, knowing their special someone was in the vast audience, watching. May, however, had nothing but a pride written on her facial expression.

Dexter's voice rang through the audience, the entire stadium falling dead-silent as he did so.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for," he said, holding four, silver envelopes in his hand. He paused. "The results." He slipped the first one open, taking a card out.

"In fourth place, give it up for Serena Carter!"

The Kalosian's face slightly fell, but she regained her happy composure as the audience burst with applause and , Eye of the Liepard and The Candies all gave her a warm hug.

She strode to Dexter, shaking his hand and taking her medal. She moved to stand beside him. He whispered something to her ear, and she hesitated but nodded. She was given the next envelope, and took out the card.

"In third place," she began shakily, but then smiled, "The Candies!"

The four girls looked slightly disappointed, but smiled and received their hugs. They took their place beside Serena, and Melody was handed the final envelope. She tried to keep her expression straight as she opened it.

Anticipation filled the large auditorium like thick clouds, everyone holding their breaths. Eye of the Liepard held each other's hands, taking in a deep breath. The four exchanged looks, smiling proudly at each other.

"In second place…"

They were always the favourite, and everyone was quite sure they would win.

"is –"

They were certain it wasn't their name that would soon be called out.

"Eye of the Liepard."

Everything seemed silent for a moment, but then ecstatic cheers, whistles and applause broke it.

But to Eye of the Liepard, the cheers were dull. It felt as if they were a falling flower vase, the water pouring out as theonce shining, colourful glass smashed into pieces in less than a second.

All four had spaced out, their surroundings numbed. Second place wasn't good enough, not after all they had been through.

They didn't win.

They lost.

"Oh god," Gary whispered, disbelief evident in his eyes. "I was sure they would win- everyone was! This can't be happening. How did Brendan possibly beat them?"

"Maybe he just had that many fangirls," Ash joined, slurping the last of his drink through the straw. He frowned, shaking the cup.

"Gary, the other hackers back there," Paul said, turning to Gary. He hissed when saying 'there'. "How skilled were they?"

"There were a few, but only one that was more skilled than me." The skilled hacker hesitated, opening his mouth to speak but then pausing again. "I don't know his name."

He frowned, wondering why his former-leader would be asking such a question. Then, it hit him. His dark eyes widened.

"You don't think…"

Paul turned to him, a grave expression on his face. "Exactly, he-"

"Guys," Ash whined, interrupting, "my Coke is finished."

Paul gave him a menacing look. "And what do you want now?"

"I wanted to give some to Misty when we go backstage, but I forgot and drank it all."

The plum-haired young man rolled his onyx eyes. "Here," he said as took a note from his pocket, "go get another one."

Ash grinned brightly. "Thanks, Paul! You're the best," he said, before turning to head to the snack stand. He stopped, turning back to his friends. "I'll meet you guys backstage!"

They shot him a nod, before turning back to the conversation.

"As I was saying," Paul continued, "exactly. I should've known he wouldn't go down without more of a fight, Lysandre has-"

"-struck his final blow," Gary finished. He glared at the floor, as if it was Lysandre himself. The cap almost popped off the poor, constricted water bottle in his fist.

"And he did a damn well good job at it too."

"Misty?"

Ash entered the waiting room backstage, looking around for the short-tempered girl.

"She's in her dressing room," May's quiet voice came from behind.

He whipped around to see May sitting on her own sadly. She had tear streaks down her face, her show makeup arms were wrapped round her legs.

His face fell. He had never seen the usually cheerful brunette in such a depressing scene. "Oh, May. What's wrong?"

"I think the question right now should be what isn't wrong," the brunette replied bitterly, not looking at the asker as she did. She shook her head. "Go see Misty. She needs you."

Ash nodded, gulping. He didn't realise how hard the loss had hit the girls. "Will do," he said, heading towards the dressing rooms. He paused, turning back to May.

"Um, Paul and Gary should be on their way soon," he said, not receiving a reply. Then again, why would he? They were of no significance to May at all, at that point.

"Alrighty," he said to himself awkwardly, turning back to the corridor of dressing rooms. Each door had a star on it, with a name on each.

He reached one which had Misty Waterflower written on the door, and stopped in front of it. He took a deep breath, and knocked.

"Go away," came a loud, strong voice from inside.

Ash was surprised, it didn't sound like she had been crying. Crying wasn't something someone like Misty did, he figured.

"It's me, Ash!" he called out.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried out from Ash's shoulder.

For a few moments it was silent, and then he heard slight scuffling. Soon after that, the door opened slowly. Misty's head poked out, and a light smile appeared on her face. "Ash?"

She opened the door fully, inviting him in. "Come on in," she said.

Ash walked in, surprised that she hadn't broken down like May. But then he saw it, her microphone on the ground and a photo frame with a photo of her sisters laying in the shattered pieces of glass.

"I brought this for you," he said cheerfully, trying to get the mood to her. He held out the drink, and Misty gladly accepted it.

"You guys were awesome, I don't know how Brendan-"

"Don't," Misty replied flatly, cutting him off. Tears were forming in her eyes. "Just don't."

Ash sighed, taking his hat off. He walked over to her, and put the cap on her head. She looked up into his warm chocolate eyes, her own sea-green ones, glossy as they were filled with tears, wide open.

"It wasn't for nothing. Your dream isn't over yet."

He paused.

"There's still hope, Mist."

"May," Gary breathed, shocked at the sight of the lonely brunette. She was in the same position as when she had briefly spoke with Ash. "Oh god."

They were backstage in the waiting room, May being the only one there before the two former-assassins had entered.

She sniffed, her crying had stopped a while ago. "I guess you're looking for Leaf?" she asked, staring at him bluntly with dull eyes. "And you're looking for Dawn," she added, turning to Paul.

"Well, yes," Gary began, but was soon cut off by the blunt plum-head.

"Where is she?" he demanded flatly.

May rolled her eyes, finally standing up. She didn't reply until she walked past the demanding ex-assassin.

"Find her yourself, asshole."

Don't cry. Don't cry. You're stronger than this, Leaf.

The brunette was on her chair, in front of the mirror, in her dressing room, trying to hold in what felt like a gallon of tears waiting to be poured out.

"Leaf?" came Gary's voice from behind.

She didn't have to turn around to see her caller's face, as she could see his reflection in the mirror.

"How did you get in?" she asked bitterly, the forced emotionless expression in her viridian eyes unchanged.

"You left it unlocked," he replied. "Leaving your dressing room door open is not a good idea with all those thirsty fan-boys out there," he added with a smirk.

After receiving no reply, the smirk disappeared and he sighed. "Look. You would've won, but believe me. Eye of the Liepard losing the final round was Lysandre's final blow, a hacker of his cheated the system to make sure the votes made anyone apart from you guys win."

Leaf swivelled her rotating chair, with wide eyes. For a moment, she looked like she believed him. Then, she narrowed her eyes.

"Lies and pity aren't what I need right now."

"I'm not lying," he protested. "Do you really think someone like him would go out without revenge?"

"I told you, lies aren't what I need right now," Leaf repeated, her tone louder. She stood up and faced him, a single tear spilling out of her eye. "What I need right now is a miracle, something to make me stronger."

Gary shook his head, running a hand through his spiky hair. He approached Leaf, extremely close. Then, he pulled her into a tight embrace.

"No, what you need right now is a hug."

Then, she couldn't hold it in any longer. The tears waiting to be released shot out, the sorrowful girl wailing as the emotions spilled out.

"I'm too weak," she managed to say quietly between her sobs.

Gary's shirt was being soaked with tears in their tight embrace, but he didn't mind one bit. He sighed.

"You're not crying because you're weak, Leafy," he said with a small smile. "It's because you've been strong for too long."

Dawn sighed, packing her things. After she was done with tears, she re-did her makeup in case of paparazzi outside the building.

I guess I should go get the others.

She opened the door of her dressing room, falling back instantly. Confused, she looked up to see Paul standing there. She immediately went into a stunned phase and began babbling apologies.

"I- I didn't see you, I'm sorry. Really sorry," she said, almost too fast to comprehend. After getting to her feet, she scratched her head timidly. "Um, Paul. May I ask what you're doing here?"

"I came to see how you were doing," he muttered, not looking at her in the eyes. He noticed that she was changed out of her costume, wearing a loose jumper and jeans.

Gathering courage, he made eye-contact with her. "Also, out of concern. May seems to have had a change in behaviour."

The bluenette smiled, blushing slightly. "Thanks," she began, "but I'm fine. I guess it's back home to my coordinating days for me."

She sighed, looking down at the floor. Her smile disappeared. "As for May, I guess she was the hardest hit. She's lost everything. Her dream, her family," she paused, "and Drew."

"He'll be back soon," Paul said, leaning on the doorframe.

Dawn gave him a look, which said 'you know what I mean'.

"But, I understand," he added, nodding. It was himself that May had come to for a talk about the subject of Drew, so he knew better than anyone else the issues between them.

"Wait," Dawn said, her cobalt eyes frowning as she realised something. "You said May had a change of behaviour, how do you know?"

"She called me an asshole."

Something about that fact highly amused, and she fell into a hysterical fit of giggles. Paul watched as she tried to contain her laughter, rolling his eyes.

At one point she smiled genuinely brightly, her teeth shining. He had to admit; it was the most amazing smile he had ever seen.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the calmed girl said, wiping a joyful tear. "But… where exactly is she?"

May kicked a pebble, with as much force as she could muster in her legs. She glared at it as if it was the source of all her troubles.

She had washed all of the smeared make-up off her face, before leaving the place through the back to avoid paparazzi.

Finishing in second place was more than just a loss. It meant they didn't get a contact with the recording company, and didn't make it to a singing career.

Why me? Why did I lose everything? Is there any reason to live anymore?

The brunette's glaring increased, reaching to the level where she felt like she could shoot lasers from her sapphire blue eyes.

Why did Drew betray me?

The fury from the May's eyes disappeared, changing into sadness and despair.

I thought you'd always be there for me... Emerald.

"There she is!" Dawn's voice came from behind, cutting the despaired brunette out of her thoughts.

May turned around, sighing. She saw the usual monotonous Paul, accompanied by a relieved Dawn.

"We were looking for you everywhere," the bluenette said, exhausted. "Why are you-"

"May, Dawn and Paul! Oh wow, this is our lucky day!" a loud, excited voice came from behind, cutting off Dawn.

The said girl turned around, annoyed. "I'm not May," she said. She turned away, narrowing her eyes. "Not anymore, at least."

There were two adults, a female and a male. They both had what looked like office outfits and seemed like business professionals.

"Go away," Paul said, staring the two older people down. "They're not signing any autographs."

"I assure you," the man began, "we're not here for that. I'm so glad we made it in time."

He looked like he was in his mid-twenties and had short, light brown hazel hair contrasted with dark brown eyes. He was very tall and quite slim, but still had quite some bulk. Accessorised with glasses, a blazer and a briefcase, he looked quite professional.

The woman was of about the same age. She was pretty, with straight, medium length dark brown hair and matching chocolate eyes. She was quite short, but slim.

"Then why are you here?" Paul asked, frowning.

"Excuse me for not introducing myself earlier," the man said sheepishly. "I'm Jeffrey Akhmetov of the PokeStar Recording Company situated in Unova, in collaboration with the famous PokeStar Studios. I'm here to ask Eye of the Liepard to sign a contract with our company."

May's eyes widened and Dawn's jaw dropped.

"And I'm Cindy Lorenzini," the woman introduced, smiling brightly. "I come from the same place. But I'm here to ask Ghost of the Night to sign the contract."

This time, it was Paul's turn to be shocked.

"But our fourth member, Drew, is-"

"-hospitalised, yes," Cindy finished, cutting off Paul. "But we spoke with his official doctor and received the information that he will be relieved of his illness very soon."

The plum-head looked stunned, lost for words.

Cindy smiled, bowing her head slightly. "This is a fabulous career opportunity for both of you," she said, her eyes sparking in excitement.

May shook her head, unbelieving. "Why us?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "We lost."

"Exactly!" Cindy exclaimed, gesturing with her hands enthusiastically. "We were all expecting you to win Kalosian Idol and our Kalosian rival company would be first in priority to sign you up. But it turned out to be a miracle, so we raced here as fast as we could!"

Jeffrey smiled, nodding.

"On behalf of the company, we sincerely hope you will accept. We ensure that this will be extremely beneficial for both of us."

And in those few minutes, fate for the four troubled teens took a sharp u-turn. Fortunately, it was for the better.

Four days later...

"How the heck did the Kalosian Life already get news of us signing to PokeStar?" Dawn asked, slamming the popular entertainment magazine on the table.

They were in Virbank City, Unova, in a large home nearby the PokeStar Studios. It was once a famous filming studio, but had been extended to also a recording company. The already large building had gotten an expansion as they entered the musical industry.

"And everyone's going crazy, they're thrilled knowing that Ghost of the Night are making a return," she added, plopping onto the bed.

"Aren't we all?" May replied, with sarcasm dripping off her words, referring to a certain grasshead.

"I still can't believe it," Leaf said, ignoring May. She was seated by the kitchen bench on a stool, waiting for Misty to finish making her lunch. She smiled brightly.

"It's a miracle. We have our career, we can live together, the boys are free and Lysandre is gone!"

"You know what would make it even better?" May said as she smiled sarcastically. The smile disappeared. She rolled her eyes, narrowing after. "If Drew woke up."

Leaf sighed, her smile disappeared.

"Look, May," Misty joined, turning around from the stove. She was still sautéing the food as she said, "You don't know for sure that Drew did that to your family."

"I don't know for sure, but that's the only answer we have," the brunette shot back, snapping. Her attitude over the days had changed, she was quite a lot more argumentative and sarcastic than she used to be.

Everyone was silent, not knowing what to say next. The only sound was from the fry pan in Misty's control.

May stood up, sighing. She walked briskly to her room, shutting the door behind her. She leaned on the door, sliding down until she was seated on the floor.

"I don't need Drew," May said, shaking her head to herself. "I already have everything I've ever wanted."

But deep inside, at the bottom of her heart, she knew that she was lying to herself.

She needed him more than anything.

A/N: Surpriiiiiise! EOTL didn't win! You know, they were meant to. But Lysandre's minions hacked the system and made someone else win. But they did get the contract with a record company, which is what they were aiming for anyway. So did the boys' band! :D

Cindy and Jeffrey will become quite important characters in the sequel, as GOTN's and EOTL's managers respectively. I hope you'll like them, and they are actually based on two of my closest friends from this website. Jess, the doctor, is too.

Guess what? Drew wakes up in the next chapter.

If you were wondering about the songs, just like, go on YouTube and listen to them. XD

Wow, this is already the second-last chapter. Only one to go, which is the epilogue.

Thank you all very much for sticking with me for thr final chapter, which I will update ASAP. I reply to any questions in reviews via PM, so if you have anything to ask, please do!

I've noticed lots have stopped reviewing, which is only natural. Every one counts, even if it's just one line. Make me smile by leaving a review! (:

-ShinyDragonair2