Thank-you for your patience!

I am very sorry about te delay for this chapter, but I've been piled with alot of things, anyway it should be back to normal again. (The Updates)

Alex: Yay! This Chapter has alot of me in it... hehehehehe...

Why is the Alex here different in characteristics from the Alex in the story?

Alex: Cuz yeah! I'm the fun loving one who likes to (Brick falls heavily on her)

Not sure what she was going to say... But I figured it wouldn't be appropiate...

Anyway, Enjoy!

- Chapter 4 -

Trial and Improvements

4:16 am…

My eyes slowly fluttered open, my ears scanned for a noise which woke me up, I heard a grunt followed by paces and I turned my head groggily towards the open window above my bed. I waited for a few seconds of silence before I closed my eyes again and sighed back into my sleep. My eyes opened at the noises again, I rolled my eyes, frustrated at its interruption of my sleep and sat up, stretched my back and peered out of the window.

It was Lucario… He was running outside, as he did every night, but he had never trained this long before. I lay my head on my pillow and closed my eyes, I knew he was training so hard and long because of the memories about his past, but I couldn't get the fact that it was my fault for bringing it up out of my mind - and this made me nervous. I didn't know why I was so uncomfortable about how he was, or why I was sad for him, but I knew that I wanted to help him.

I sat up, and leaned my back against the wall, where I then tilted my head back and thought about my past, before the death of my parents, when I was filled with hate and anguish instead of the sadness that I felt now that they were gone.

Two Months Ago…

"Alex, what are you doing?" I was sat in my room, on my wooden desk, reading a book called 'A Heart-Shaped Locket', my mum had been bothering me for weeks on end, she kept wanting to know every single detail in my life, and I had gotten sick of it.

"Nothing mum, just reading" The words came out angrier than I wanted, and she noticed it,

"You don't need to be so angry, it's only a question" I tilted my head to my right and scrunched my lips a bit - her typical reaction,

"I'm not angry"

She walked towards me, making it worse, "I only want to know what's going on with you, you've been so moody these past few weeks… Are you going through the phase?"

I sighed tiredly; 'the phase' was her way of saying period, "No mum"

That's when she pulled out her 'guilt card', as I thought, "Well fine, don't tell your mother what is going on in your life, but don't complain to me if something's wrong" and she left in an angry manner.

I looked at the ceiling and growled at air, I hate it when she does that, I have been keeping a lot of things inside me these past weeks, my mum was always complaining about everything I did, and she would always either twist my words when I fought back or leave in her own little tantrum, I gave up on trying and now its got me angry every second of the day.

The worst part of it all was that her trump card always worked on me; I still cared about her, and I could never stop myself from being convinced that she was actually hurt about what I said. I slammed my book on the desk in front of me – the sound echoed through the house and sure enough my mum heard it. She burst back into the room and glared at me, her hands shaking at her sides, "What do you think you are doing?"

I cowered down, that is usually what happens; my own little isolated state is where I always go when I am in an argument because I know I can't win. Her temper increased and her face was turning slightly red, "Well?"

I looked to the side and kept my eyes focused on the trees outside of my window, letting my imagination take over, thinking about a life without her - the one thing that kept me happy, I knew it was sad and wrong but I had so much hate for her – I hoped that she would leave as I ignored her, but she kept her position.

"Alex, why are you so angry?" I began to breathe slowly and deeply, she had no idea what she was doing; every little word she exclaimed dug into my mind, and every phrase that she repeated filled me with more hate. I bit my lower lip, and kept my eyes focused on the tree, I didn't want to fight back, I just wanted her to go away and leave me to myself, but she wouldn't stop, "Are you going to answer me then?"

I took in a heavy sigh and shook my head. She turned and looked up at the door frame, trying her best not to let hell loose on me; she was smart enough to know that more anger wouldn't help us, "Fine." And she left in a hurry, her loud, thumping footsteps mirroring her anger. That night I sat in my bed and cried continuously, careful so as not to alert anyone in the house, I was badly hurt… And there was so much I wanted to say and do, but I was too scared to do – I knew it wouldn't do any good… And that's how I spent every day…

Present…

I snapped back into reality by a door that closed in Lucario's room, he must have pushed himself to his limit because I heard him fall heavily on his bed. I walked quietly towards the door and slowly opened it, enough to peer at Lucario; my suspicions were right, he was in a deep sleep, lying on top of his neatly laid quilt cover. I slowly closed my door and lay back in my bed, and I had come to a decision – Thinking about how I felt about my parents, I decided to try and get Lucario to open up about how he was feeling, I thought that it would make him feel better, especially when I reminisced about my feelings towards my deceased mother, which I regret every minute of every day.

Morning came, I was sat on my bed; I couldn't get much sleep thinking about my parents, I was happy that the suns rays brought light into my room. I took to the morning routine I had made; I had a shower, got dressed and made sure I looked presentable for the day. I entered into Lucario's room and found it empty, as usual, I pondered as to how he managed to have enough energy to be able to get up after all the training he did.

I found Lucario practising his fighting techniques outside, and he didn't appear to be the least bit tired. I casually walked by him, trying not to look at him too much, and pleasantly said, "Good morning Lucario, did you have a good night?"

He kicked his foot into the air, "It was fine"

I didn't give up, "Really? I think I saw you running about the castle early in the morning"

He twisted his body in an arch shape and glided his leg across the air swiftly, "What I do is of no concern to you"

I rolled my eyes, "Are you ever going to speak to me properly?"

"No" He abruptly replied.

"But you talked to me yesterday remember? About Aura?"

He threw a combination of punches, "What's your point?"

I blinked at him, "Well… Don't you think we can have a conversation like that?"

I noticed that he was getting annoyed by his narrowing eyes, "No"

I began to get as agitated as he did, "Why not?"

"Because I don't want to, that only happened once and that's all, now leave me be"

I turned around and began to walk away, "You have to talk to someone someday y'know?" He ignored what I said and I sighed, walking away to the dining halls to have breakfast. The food I asked for was nice; a plate of eggs, bacon and sausages. As I ate, I thought about what to do with Lucario.

I sat and wondered about how I would be able to get closer to him; if I knew what to talk about with him then I would be able to carry a conversation. I rested my hand on my chin and gazed at the large, white ceiling above me… nothing.

Frustrated, I stood up and rushed out of the room, I was going to speak to Lady Ilene to see if I could get anymore information about Lucario. I walked along the hallway, letting my fingers slip around the wall, its smooth surface gliding my fingers.

I suddenly stopped at a familiar voice, it was Lucario. I walked closer to the source of his voice and peered around an archway which led into the main hallway. Lucario was talking with Lady Ilene, and by the echoes of their voice, due to the large hall, I was able to make out what they were talking about.

"Lucario, you should join in at the festival, I know you would enjoy it" Lady Ilene smiled at the blue Pokemon.

"No thank-you, I'd rather not" Lucario spoke in a calm, soft voice, unlike when he talked to me.

Lady Ilene walked closer to Lucario, and in a softened tone said, "Not to worry, you don't have to, I just thought it might keep your mind off your problems"

Lucario turned around, "No, it won't" He turned back towards her, "Thank-you for the offer"

Lady Ilene looked disappointed, "Well, if you change your mind, you are always welcome to join"

"Thank-you Lady Ilene, but I won't change my mind"

"Very well, I will leave you soon, I need to organise a few last minute decorations for the festival tomorrow"

Lucario nodded, "I will be leaving now to train"

Lady Ilene nodded and he walked away. I walked in, and made sure Lucario wasn't close enough to hear, although I was unsure of how far that was; even with the closed doors I was sure those long, blue ears would catch something I would say. Lady Ilene noticed me and smiled, "Hello Alex, how are you?"

I smiled back at her, "I am fine thanks, but could I ask a question?"

Lady Ilene came closer to me, "You may"

I took in a deep breath, "Well, besides last night, is there anything else you know about Lucario?"

She shook her head, "No, all I know is what I told you last time we spoke, unfortunately" She looked at me curiously, "Why do you ask?"

I chuckled a bit, "Not for anything bad, I just want to know more about him"

She smiled again, "Is there any specific reason why you want to know more about him?"

I shifted my eyes, and looked away, "Well, I think if I can find out more about him I might be able to relate to him more, and maybe I can help him with his problem"

She placed a hand on my shoulder, "That is very kind of you"

I smiled at her, "Thank-you" I looked to the side and thought for while before I turned back to her, "I do have an idea though"

She listened attentively, "What is that?"

"What if I stay around him more? Maybe I can learn more. What do you think?"

She agreed, "Yes, that may be helpful"

I turned around and began to walk in Lucario's direction before I was stopped by her voice, "Alex"

I turned towards her, "Yes?"

"Don't take it too far though; he is still in a fragile state"

I nodded happily and rushed out the door that Lucario left through. I found Lucario walking across the long, white bridge and followed slowly, making sure that my distance from him was far enough so as not to alert him. I looked around the bridge and saw no places where I could hide whilst I followed, so I slowly followed a few metres behind him, taking note of my footsteps; making sure that the thuds coming from the ground were as quiet as possible.

Whilst crossing, I kept my eyes fixed on Lucario. He was walking at a steady pace, but he seemed to be fixed on something ahead of him, in the woods; that must have been why he wasn't looking back, he would have seen me straight away as I paced behind him. I kept note my shadow too; from the suns position, my shadow and his were facing in the direction we were heading, and I had to keep even further back so he wouldn't notice my shadow either.

We reached the end of the bridge and Lucario walked into the forest on the left side of the path, and I followed him slowly. It became harder to follow him as his pace quickened; he seemed eager to get to a certain place. The leaves weren't any help at all; I had to slowly push them aside, careful to avoid any rustling.

I was surprised at Lucario's ignorance to my presence; whatever he seemed to be following must have been something important for him to be unaware of me. I heard low muttering from Lucario, and I closed in further, sharpening my ears to hear what he was saying; I knew it was wrong for me to eavesdrop, but I needed too.

"Why…" Lucario kept muttering the same word every few steps he made, I knew what he was thinking about, but I kept listening, hoping to find out something. Lucario stopped walking and I pressed my back against a tree; peering my head around the corner slightly.

Ahead of us was a small clearing, surrounded by trees. As I peered closer at the top of the trees, I saw several logs tied to a group of different trees, and I turned my attention to Lucario when he began to speak.

"Why master…Why did you abandon me?" Lucario walked forward slowly, his arms moving edgily by his sides, I could tell he was nervous about this place and I moved closer to see if I could figure out why. Lucario knelt down and bowed his head, "Why did you leave? Why did you suddenly abandon the Queen?"

I moved cautiously to the side of the clearing, where I was able to see more, and I could see tears trickling down Lucario's soft, blue fur on his face; I was shocked at it.

Suddenly his sadness was replaced by anger, he stood up, glaring at the logs and gritted his fangs together, "You abandoned the Queen and myself when you were need the most…" He walked tensely forward, "You fled… Leaving all of us to suffer" He began to shake a little and I walked closer.

"Guaaargh!" Lucario yelled as he unleashed a series of Aura spheres at the dangling logs and destroyed several of them simultaneously. When they were all reduced to crumbling pieces of wood, Lucario walked back from them, glaring angrily as he breathed heavily. He looked up into the sky and shouted into the air, letting out as much frustration as he could, and he then collapsed onto his hands and knees and continuously asked, "Why!"

I stared at Lucario sadly, and made a mistake. I stepped on a twig and before I realized what I had done, Lucario was already standing up and facing in my direction, "Who's there?" I ducked under the bush that was in front of me; but this just angered him even further, "Answer me!" I kept quiet.

I looked through the leaves that covered me and Lucario angrily glared in my direction. He narrowed his eyes and growled menacingly, before he lowered his head and spotted me with his Aura . He sharply lifted his head, "You…" He growled louder at me and I stood up slowly, not wanting to push him even further.

He walked closer to me, "How long have you been following me?" I kept quiet, "Answer me!"

I began to rub the top of my left hand with my right hand, "I…"

"Answer me…" He growled

"Since you were walking across the bridge…"

He narrowed his eyes at me, "How much did you hear?" He asked quietly, in a low, tense tone.

I managed to stutter a lie, "N-Not much"

His voice grew louder, "How much?" I bit my lip and he narrowed his eyes at me, "Tell me now"

I took in a deep breath, "Just the part where you shouted in the air" I was a good liar, thanks to my mum, but I was worried at whether or not Lucario would believe it.

"You better not be lying to me" I shook my head scarcely, still worried that he would see through my façade.

I tried to reason with him, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I-I"

"Just go back to the palace and leave me alone" He growled the last part.

I nodded my head vigorously and quickly paced away from him, heading back across the bridge towards the palace. I walked quickly across the bridge, my heart was pacing as fast as I walked, my eyes were slightly watery, and my hands were shaking at my sides.

Walking through the doors leading to the main hall was relieving, I wasn't happy about lying to Lucario, but I was glad that he didn't do anything to me. Lady Ilene walked through one of the arches and smiled at me, "Hello Alex"

I smiled at her, not wanting for her to find out about the incident, "Hi Lady Ilene" She sat down on her throne.

"Alex, do you mind doing me a favour?"

I walked towards her, "S-Sure"

Lady Ilene noticed my stutter, "Are you alright Alex?"

I shook my head quickly, "Yes, just thinking about something" Lucario's figure crossed through my mind.

She smiled at me again, "Good. As for the favour, could you help some of the servant's set-up the Pokemon stadium?"

"Sure, shall I go now?" She nodded and I left towards the battle ground.

When I got to the area I saw a young man pushing a small machine to create the white lines for the Pokemon arena. I smiled and walked towards him, temporarily forgetting about the incident, "Hello".

He turned towards me; he was wearing a white servant suit, with neatly cut, blond hair and green eyes, "Hi, I'm guessing Lady Ilene sent you?"

I nodded, "Yeah, she said something about helping?"

He nodded in response, "Yeah, I need someone to sweep the ground to make sure the earth is smooth, not important, but it makes this place look more presentable. Could you grab one of the brooms on the side and start?"

I nodded and grabbed one of the wooden brooms. As I brushed the ground, I reminisced about Lucario, and how angry he was; I knew I shouldn't have eavesdropped, instead of finding out things about him to get closer, I just made it worse.

The servant pushed the machine by my side and asked, "Are you okay? You seem a little bit on edge"

I smiled at him, "I'm fine, just thinking about something"

"What would that be?" He shook his head, "Sorry, you don't have to answer"

I chuckled, "Don't worry…" I trailed off and frowned, I had just noticed that I didn't know his name but he realized,

"Eric"

I blinked at him, "What?"

He chuckled, "My name is Eric"

I smiled, "I'm Alex" I paused, "Well, it's nothing, it's just a problem with a Pokemon"

He instinctively knew who I was talking about, "Its Lucario isn't it?"

I shook my head warily, "Yeah"

He shook his head and laughed, "Lucario is an odd Pokemon"

I tilted my head, "How?"

He stopped pushing the machine and turned to me, "Well, he is a Pokemon who resents all humans, plus he is the only Pokemon we know about that can sense Aura's" He paused, "Do you know what Aura is?"

I nodded, "He explained it to me once, but that's as close as I have come to talking" I sighed and then asked, "I gather that almost everyone knows why he is resentful?"

He shook his head, "No, only he and Lady Ilene know, do you know?"

I shook my head not wanting to say something I shouldn't, "No"

He laughed, "Thought so… Doesn't matter"

I became curious, "Is there anything that you know Lucario may like?"

He pushed the machine slowly, and pointed his head in my direction, "No, normally Pokemon like different types of food; like strawberries, all that stuff. They also enjoy battling and all sorts of things, but Lucario is just different, he seems so focused on his training and won't allow any type of conversation with him" I looked away, I knew the reason why Lucario was like that, but I looked back to see if I could find out anything else, "Well… I don't think anyone can really figure him out" He ended with a small chuckle.

I sighed and continued on sweeping, I hoped that he would tell me something to help me, but in the end he just told me what I already knew.

Later On… 9.47pm…

I had just finished sweeping the stadium with Eric – who helped me after he had finished marking the arena. Dark came quicker than expected, the stars glistened in the empty night. Eric and I had been talking about casual stuff throughout the day, and we were amazed at how fast the day went by.

I placed my broom on the side where I first got it and waved at Eric, "See ya Eric, thanks for the help" He smiled and waved me off, and I walked into the castle. Walking around I paused several times at different windows to admire the view; it was always perfect since the first night I stayed at this castle. I could see the night sky reflecting off the calm blue waters that surrounded the trees and castle.

I continued walking through the castle, searching for Lady Ilene; in case there might have been anything else she wanted me to do. I walked down two flights of stairs and walked past a garden. I paused again and looked outside the windows – counting it as the fifth time since I started, but I saw something surprising.

Lucario was meditating in the centre of the garden, back facing towards me. But that wasn't what was so odd; he continuously wiped his eyes and kept breathing heavily. I moved closer towards him, walking outside one of the doors; unintentionally wanting to know why he was supposedly crying, I was entranced by him.

"Why did you leave me here?"

He was crying about his past again. I shook my head, returning to reality and walked towards him, wanting to comfort him. Lucario's ear twitched and he twisted his head back at me, glaring angrily, "What are you doing here?"

I stopped and looked at him, "I-I want to help you" thoughts from our previous encounter caused me to stutter and he noticed.

He narrowed his eyes and stood up, "You lie… You were eavesdropping on me again!" I immediately saw the danger from the tone of his voice,

"N-No! I was walking from the Battle Arena and I saw you here, I just wanted t-"

"Don't try to fool me!"

My lips sealed shut, my eyes focused completely on his red, glaring eyes.

He walked a step closer, "Why do you keep following me!"

My breath caught in my throat, "I…"

He growled more menacingly and angrily than he had ever done before, "Answer me!"

I still couldn't say anything, my breath was caught and my mind was buzzing with words to say,

He narrowed his eyes at me and muttered in a low voice, "Answer me…"

"I-I" I was unable to utter anything else, my lips quivered and my hands were shaking violently at my sides, his voice, along with his violent posture completely instilled me in fear.

The atmosphere grew quiet, I could see Lucario shaking with pure anger, but I was unable to do anything, fear completely froze me, all my muscles had shut-down from response and my heart beat paced faster than it had done before.

That's when Lucario's rage hit its peak. "GUUARRRGH!" He unleashed a large, blue Aura sphere at me and my eyes widened at the blue orb speeding towards me.

My body was still unresponsive to me; I was a sitting duck, but something happened. The blue orb sped past me – he must have been trying to intimidate me further. That didn't stop the effect on me. The Aura Sphere crashed into the wall behind me and the outburst of the explosion threw my stiff, petrified body across the floor.

I grunted in pain, placed my hands on the floor, and I pushed myself up, my mind wondering what was happening. When I heard growling I averted my eyes in his direction, looking at him through my hair that lay over my face; not wanting to show the tears that began to fill my eyes.

Lucario glared at me, "If I ever catch you eavesdropping on me again, that sphere will not miss."

I stood up and grabbed my arm where it began to throb in pain. My eyes were fixed on his position. "I"

"LEAVE!"

The ferociousness of his voice made my body shake in fear. I turned quickly and ran into the castle, heading to my room. I ran through the halls; tears were now flowing down my cheeks freely, my hands were shaking violently and my lips quivering quickly. I looked forward and saw Lady Ilene walking out one of the arches.

She noticed me and looked at me worryingly; I must have been in a bad state if she could see that something was wrong with me. "Alex is som-" She was unable to finish; I was already past her, uncaring whether or not anyone saw me crying anymore.

I slammed the door to my room open and rushed to my bed, where I sat down and buried my face into my hands. I continuously cried into my hands, which were now soaked in pain stricken tears as I muttered, "He's right…"

Two Weeks before the death of my parents…

I was sat lazily in my room, looking at the emptiness that my room had to offer. My mum interrupted my thoughts; and coming into my room, she asked, "Alex, why don't you tell me anything?"

I twisted my head away from her; I didn't want to speak to her.

Her voice was desperate, "Alex… Why don't you say anything? Do you hate me?"

I began to grow angrier, and she continued,

"Well? Tell me something"

I muttered and she walked closer, "What was that?"

I let my voice grow louder, "You don't deserve to know"

She looked at me confused, "What do you mean? I'm your mother"

I looked at her, "Would a mother look through my personal stuff?"

She became defensive, "Well, I just wanted to know what was going on in your life and try to stop these moods that you have with me"

I laughed sarcastically, "Yeah, and looking through all my personal stuff, constantly asking me what's wrong and shouting at me because I don't tell you why is really going to make everything better isn't it?" I growled the last part.

She looked at me sadly, her eyes were shaking, "Alex…"

I stood up quickly, hatred leading me, "Don't try and think that I'm at fault for this, like you always do!"

"Alex, I didn't want t-"

I sat down gruffly, "Save it." And she left slowly out of my room.

In the present…

I bowed my head, "I can't believe I did that… I just…" I buried my face into my pillow and cried harder.

It took about an hour to stop crying so much, my pillow was drenched and my eyes were dry from the constant crying. Calming down, I stood up and walked across my room, "I need to apologize to him" I began to walk out my room and stopped at the door handle; I couldn't see him in my state.

I turned around, when I began to think, "C'mon breathe in" I took in a deep breath, "Out" I let out a deep breath and tilted my head back, I was still shaking. I had a thought to help calm me down. The piano. It always calms me down when I play the piano, it always has done; it was like a fuel tank to fill with my hate, sadness or loneliness.

I left my room and went to where the piano was and I sat down on the bench. My hands shook as I lay them onto the white and black keys, my head still buzzing. I played at a high note, slowly and solemnly. The pace was slow and soft. From the top, I slid down the piano, as I had done the last time I played; my hands shook less and less as I continued.

The melody crescendoed louder and more gracious as it progressed; the images of what had just happened swirled through my mind as I imagined Lucario's anger and my shaken eyes; I let the image portray the sound that emanated from the piano. The sound played into a continuous melody that played at a high pitch, it continued and I closed my eyes, letting fresh tears drip down my face.

BANG!

The music stopped and my head faced the door where I came through. I was certain that I heard a sound coming from there.

"Who's there?" No-one answered, I shook my head and walked towards the door slowly. I ducked around the corner quietly and saw nothing, and then quickly twisted my head in the opposite direction but again saw nothing. There weren't even any fallen items that could have made the noise.

I shook my head again, "What was that?" I took note of how my body was; I wasn't shaking violently anymore and I had stopped stuttering. I walked across the hallways and searched for Lucario.

On my way to the garden I bumped into Lady Ilene, who walked out one of the doors, "Sorry"

She smiled at me, "Don't worry" She paused, "How are you after that incident?"

I looked at her surprised, "Y-You know?"

She nodded, "Yes, when I saw you crying, and running away I immediately went to Lucario and he told me all that happened. You shouldn't have eavesdropped on him"

I looked down, "I know, I am going to apologize to him; I just hope he can forgive me"

She lifted my head, "Don't worry, after time he will"

I smiled and walked off, continuing my search for Lucario.

Lucario was sat outside in the garden as he was before. I walked out slowly and Lucario heard me, "What do you want?"

"I… I just wanted to say sorry, I-I shouldn't have done what I did"

He didn't reply and I continued, "I just wanted to help you… I didn't expect this to happen"

He sharply said "Don't"

I looked at him, "What?"

He was still sitting down, "Don't try to help me. I don't want your help"

I looked away from him, "I'm sorry"

After a few seconds of silence I asked, "Do you forgive me?"

He took some time to reply, "No" My heart dropped, "But I understand the reason why you did it"

I smiled at him.

I walked away after a few seconds of the silence, and went to my room, where I lay in my bed and closed my eyes, uncaring about what I wore.

That night I fell asleep thinking about Lucario, and I dreamt about everything that occurred today… Including him…

Hmm.. Things have spiced up in this chapter ;)

R & R :P