And here we go with chapter sixteen.~ :3 Thanks for reading, as always!

…CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Denial Speaks Loudest

Mudkip was the traitor. She was the spy. It was the only thing that Treecko could think about. Mudkip was the spy. It was so ridiculous, so stupid…there was no possible way that she could ever have betrayed him. There was…no way…

He was dimly aware of Solay and Shadow saying things to him, but Treecko ignored them. Whatever it was, it wasn't as important as this. He'd been betrayed by his best friend in the world. It was an almost indescribable feeling. He was so hollow inside, yet filled with so much fear and anger and sadness… Treecko had no idea what he was feeling exactly. It was all a mix of indistinct emotions represented by color. Blue, red, yellow, green, orange, black… It all created a muddy brown that would probably taste bitter and sour if it had a taste. Treecko could go on and on about how colors would taste, but something else distracted him.

Solay had slapped him.

Treecko lurched to the side, raising a hand to the side of his face. He swung his head around to fix Solay in an angry stare, but she looked livid, and his annoyance died instantly.

"Finally you snap out of it," she growled. "I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes."

"Sorry, I was too absorbed with the fact that my best friend ever just betrayed me!" he shouted back.

"Get a grip!" She slapped him again, this time with more force than necessary. "That's what I've been trying to address. Get a hold of yourself and hear me out."

Treecko muttered something under his breath, swallowed past the lump in his throat, and sat down to listen.

"Thank you," Solay said with a bit of flint still in her voice. "Now, look, Treecko, I know how you must feel right now. Mudkip's…true colors shocked us all. I never expected her to be the villain here, and I'm sure you didn't either. She was the perfect actor…but that's all it was. An act. We need to move on, and possibly take her down, along with the others."

Treecko was silent as she spoke, rage building again. Solay knew nothing. She knew nothing of what he felt right now. She was just another know-it-all who had to be right one hundred percent of the time. He was about ready to slap her back. When she stopped to take a breath, he exploded.

"You have no idea how I feel!" he yelled, standing up. He'd caught her off guard. He saw it in her expression. "You have no idea at all! Mudkip isn't like that! She wasn't acting! It's all true! It has to be!" he strode away and sat, drawing his knees up to his chin. "It has to be," he repeated in a whisper, putting his face down.

…

Treecko walked through the forest, happily enjoying his own company. He'd never really worked with others before, thinking that they'd always get in the way. However…if he wanted to form an Exploration Team, a partner would be a good thing to have. So here he was, wandering around, trying to find someone he could really connect with. So far, there'd been no one.

The bushes to his left rustled. Treecko stopped, turning to look. When nothing came out, he crept over and peered through.

A young Pokémon, probably about the same age as him, was training. She looked like she was concentrating hard, glaring at a rock bigger than herself.

"I will defeat you, foul bolder!" she cried, rushing at it. She launched a Water Gun straight at it, but all she did was get it wet. She pouted and kicked the rock, which did nothing to help. "Oh, I'll never get it… My Water Gun just doesn't have to force to break it. Then again, I could laugh my enemies to death."

"That was pretty good," Treecko called, stepping into the open.

She looked around, beaming. "Hey, thanks!" Then her face fell. "But I didn't break it."

"You looked like you were pretty close to me, though," he offered. "Maybe you just need to work a little more."

She nodded slowly, looking determined. "Yeah, I think you're right! I'll get it someday!" she declared. "This, I vow!"

"You sound like a little kid," Treecko giggled.

"And what's wrong with that?" she defended. "Everybody's a kid at heart. Some of us just embrace the madness!"

He shrugged, but was grinning. This girl…he liked her. She was cool.

…

A few days later, Treecko was walking again. He was on his way to meet Mudkip, his newfound friend, and hopefully his soon-to-be teammate. He decided he was going to ask her to join a team with him today. They'd been training together for a few days now, and they were great friends. She was in the same place as always, trying to split the rock. She'd yet to crack it fully, but Treecko had to admit that she was getting dangerously close.

She looked up as he entered, grinning. "Hey, Treecko! Sup?"

"The sky, the clouds, other stuff." He shrugged, grinning back. "What's up with you?"

"Nearly split the rock," she replied smoothly. "I've almost got it down."

He nodded. "Good!" Treecko hesitated. Now was a good time to ask. "Hey, Mudkip, I've been meaning to ask…would you…be willing to form an exploration team with me?"

She blinked, then smiled. "I thought you'd never ask. Of course! I was going to ask you today, anyway."

They stared at each other, then rolled onto their backs, filled with mirth. They watched the clouds for a little while, simply enjoying the company of the other.

"We're gonna make a great team," Treecko sighed.

"Mmhmm! If nothing else, I'll kick all the bandit's tails with my awesome fighting skills."

Treecko tried to stop giggling like a little schoolkid. "Oh? Fighting skills? You've been attacking rocks!"

She sprang to her feet, looking at him upside down. "But it's true! I know kah-rah-TAY!" She made various fighting sounds and hopped around the clearing on her back feet, throwing mock punches. Treecko couldn't reply. He was convulsing with laughter.

…

Treecko heard Shadow approaching, but still didn't lift his head. There were too many painful memories of Mudkip. He just couldn't believe that Solay was saying it was all a lie…just like that! Like she didn't even care. It was not a lie!

Mudkip said it, too, nagged that little voice in the back of his head. You heard her. You all heard her.

"Shut up, you stupid voice," Treecko whispered. "I don't want to hear it."

"Hey, Treecko, talk to me," Shadow said, sitting down next to the smaller boy. Treecko looked away. "It's okay, you can talk to me."

He hesitated. "Shadow…Solay just doesn't understand."

"She does," he replied. "I know her explanation was a bit…frank, but she does know how you feel. While we were gathering Time Gears with Grovyle, we fell into a trap. Solay was torn between the choice of me or Grovyle, as she could only save one of us. The whole building was coming down. To save me, Grovyle acted just as Mudkip did. Solay didn't want to leave him still, even though her heart was shattered into a million tiny pieces. I ended up dragging her out. We didn't see Grovyle for two days after that. Solay walked around like a zombie." Shadow paused, casting a glance Treecko's way. "She was broken. Then, he came back." The Riolu smiled. "Listen, Solay wasn't finished when you blew up at her. She was going to say 'We'll get Mudkip back, even if it costs me my life. I won't stand for her leaving you like that, Treecko. I just won't.'"

Treecko put his face down again, trying not to start sobbing in front of Shadow. "Thank you, Shadow…and…tell Solay I said thanks too."

"Don't worry…we'll figure something out, Treecko."

"I know. I know."

…~

:3 I apologize for my lack of updating. My father decided it would be fun to ground me for no apparent reason…