Okay, I know it's been a while, but I only have ONE computer in this house and since my dad's retirement he ALWAYS hogs it! And I just realized I haven't been doing the disclaimer, so I gotta get into the habit of that!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Ohhhh, if I did...*wiggles fingers and laughs maniacally*...lets not even get into it. Ash would overcome his extreme denseness and realize his love for Misty, May would finally realize that a guy chucking roses at you means that he likes you, and Paul and Dawn would live happily ever after. *Sigh*, if only those Japanese producers would return my endless phone calls...JUST KIDDING! I can't speak any Japanese.

Previously…..

"And now if you'll excuse me, worthless humans, I have a world to destroy."

Dawn POV

We stood for a few minutes, unable to speak after what had just happened. Finally, Brock spoke.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked blankly.

"We have to stop Arceus from finding the legendaries!" Ash said excitedly.

"But how?" I asked, "Arceus could be anywhere! We don't have a clue where he's going!"

"But…maybe Mew might!" Brock said.

"But what if Arceus is right? Maybe Mew is behind all of this!" Paul offered.

"There's no way that can be true! We've met Mew a few times, and she would never do something like that!" Ash argued. Brock nodded. I could see why Paul was defending the evil Pokemon. They had a lot in common.

"Well we have to at least try! Arceus destroying the world would be terrible." I agreed.

"Meh...I guess." Paul said in that annoyingly bored tone. My fists balled up involuntarily.

"Do you even care about anything?" I screamed. Why was he so difficult?

"The world is in danger and you don't even care!" I continued, getting even madder. Paul blinked, then walked away. My eyes widened. Did he really just LEAVE? I slowly turned around and faced Ash and Brock, who didn't really look surprised.

"Don't worry about it, Dawn. Paul's not worth it," Ash said, saying "Paul" like he had some kind of disease.

"Anyways, we have to focus on what's important. We have to try and find Mew," Ash insisted. I agreed, calming down.

"Uh, guys, you're going to HATE this, but I think if we're going to have any chance of finding Mew, we have to do this," Brock said cautiously.

"What?" I demanded. Brock backed up a little.

"Well….maybe Paul should come with us," Brock said.

"WHAT?" We yelled unison. Brock flinched.

"And plus, now that we know what Arceus is planning, it isn't safe traveling around by himself," Brock said.

"I don't care if he DIES!" Ash screamed.

"Ash!" I scolded.

"Please go find him and try to get him to come with us," Brock pleaded.

"Why do I have to?" I whined.

"Because you're the one who flipped out on him," Brock said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Fine," I huffed. "But he started it!"

"C'mon, Piplup!" I said. She jumped on my shoulder. I turned towards the woods and slowly trudged towards my personal doom-Paul. As Piplup and I traveled deeper into the forest, I noticed that the eerie coldness was gone. Lush plants and bushes grew.

"Pip lup lup!" Piplup pointed excitedly towards a dark shape a little way ahead. That had to be Paul! I quickened my pace and caught up to him.

"Paul! PAUL! STOP!" I screamed, waving my hands in the air wildly. He slowly turned around and looked at me. A shocked look was on his face, which was the most emotion I'd ever seen from him.

"What do you want?" Paul said coldly. So much for emotion.

"You need to come with us, Paul," I said. "It's not safe for you to be traveling alone with Arceus on this rampage. You could get hurt." I continued. He raised his eyebrows, probably wondering why I cared if he got hurt.

"Also, you could help us. We're gonna try and talk to Mew."

"Why would you want me traveling around with you? I thought I "didn't care" about anything." Paul said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry. Really," I said. Paul nodded curtly. I guess that was an apology accepted.

"Please come with us. You'd be really good at…uh….um…" I looked down, embarrassed. I seriously couldn't think of something Paul was good at. Except, you know, world's best poker face.

"Oh, I know! You're good at battling! You'd be a big help if we run into something…..you know…..bad!" I stuttered. Ha. Real convincing. Paul chuckled. My eyes nearly flew out of my head. Before I could stop myself, my hand flew up to his forehead. I flinched as a shock coursed through my entire body. My heart beat loudly in my chest. That was weird. I realized Paul was still standing there, looking for an answer to my actions.

"Uh, is everything alright, Paul?" I asked shakily. He narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"What?" he asked slowly.

"You laughed, Paul!" I couldn't keep my serious face on anymore, and burst into laughter. Paul huffed angrily.

"I can laugh," he defended himself.

"When? I've never seen you do it!" I giggled, then shut up when I saw his murderous expression. The corners of his mouth twitched up, and soon he was laughing hysterically, me soon following suit. His laughing surprised me. His talking voice was very low and boring, but when he laughed, he seemed almost….gentle. Then, suddenly, it seemed Paul remembered who he was, and what he was supposed to act like. He cleared his throat and stopped laughing, his face going back to its usual stoic expression.

"So, please?" I used my best puppy dog face, looking at Paul innocently through my eyelashes. His eyes flickered a moment, a soft, caring look replacing his cold stare. I noticed at that moment how very…..purple his eyes were. They seemed to be full of mystery and secrets. The deep plum shade fit his angular face, and his soft, tousled hair…..WOAH Dawn! Slow down, there. Paul cleared his throat and I flushed, embarrassed that he caught me staring.

"Fine."

"Yessssssss!" I screamed and flung my arms around him into a hug. His body stiffened, but he slowly patted my back awkwardly. Never underestimate the power of the puppy dog eyes! I suddenly felt very small in his broad frame, and my head was only up to his chest! Paul pulled away, and I was embarassed when I noticed how cold I felt without his arms around me.

"So, shall we go?" Paul said, his face a little flustered. Obviously he hadn't expected my hug. I hadn't really expected it, either.

"Yeah. Let's go!" I said, and turned on my heel and began skipping back to the ruins. I was about halfway there when I realized what had just happened. I had just begged Paul to come with us, then hugged him, and now I was smiling and skipping! There has to be something wrong with me, I thought frantically. I wasn't supposed to be happy about this. I was supposed to hate Paul, and he wasn't supposed to have been so….nice back there. But I couldn't help but notice how different he acted. It was like he was a whole different person to everyone else. I wondered if he had ever shown anyone else that side of him. He should, I thought with a smile.

A/N: Awwwwwwww! I hope all you Ikarishippers enjoyed that little bit. But don't worry, that will be the first of many. You're probably wondering,"Why did she call it a Poke/Contest/Ikari story if Misty, Drew, and May aren't even in the story?" Yet. Very soon. I promise to update quicker, so keep R&R-ing!

~AguaGoddess