….hm? Totally didn't see you guys there! Geez, when did you sneak here? Oh well. Enjoy the following chapter that contains your daily recommended awesomness followed by a boost of epic.

Read, review and enjoy!...cause I say so!

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(Keith)

For a moment, I hadn't felt like myself. It was like something cold washed over me and put my consciousness to sleep. Gah…the feeling's so hard to describe. But hearing Kate's voice woke me up in an instant. What's the next thing I see? She's on the ground, terrified, with my claws about to strike down on her. Thank arceus I hadn't….

That curse posed a bigger threat than I thought. If I'm becoming more of a dragon, then I might lose myself entirely. I'll be gone. Which means I can't be with Kate anymore…I can't see that sweet smile of hers ever again. I'd never be able to tell her that I love her. All the more reason to return to normal.

"Shaaaa…"

We both look over at the trees. At the edge of the mist, there's a shuppet. But…why is it blue? And motioning to follow it? Even as a pokemon myself, I still couldn't understand what it said.

"The blue shuppet!" Kate gasped.

"You know it or something?" I asked.

"I've read them in stories. Blue shuppets are supposed to lead you to your fate." Kate explained. "Yesterday they showed me to the witch's cottage."

They were the ones who took Kate to that place? Those shuppets caused this entire mess? Then why trust them again? I was ready to scrape those ghost pokemon to shreds…

"KEITH! STOP!"

Kate stood between me and the shuppet some feet away. She must've known I didn't trust them.

"Please Keith…" Kate begged. "I think we can trust them this time. Please."

Tch…those eyes. I was never able to resist them before. Certainly not again. With a sigh, I relax and show her I'm not going to attack. So we both go up to the shuppet. Upon close range, it poofs away. Another shuppet appeared a few feet away, with more forming a line through the misty woods. We had a trail to follow.

At first we walked. But the line seemed to be a long one. It stretched over the river and deep into the woods. I managed to fly everyone up over a cliff but had them stay there. I'd handle getting where we needed to go. The line of shuppets seemed to be leading us north, towards…

"Hia Valley!" Kate exclaimed.

She was right. We flew over the cave and into the dark, snowy tundra. As a human, I could totally withstand any sort of blizzard. But dragon? This place was freezing! Hated it! No dragon in their right mind would call that place home! I tried to focus on the shuppet again, watching the blue glows from the sky appear and vanish.

"Keith!" Chia pointed ahead. "Look where the shuppets lead us!"

I looked ahead. There it was. Almia Castle. No one had been there in centuries. Why would the shuppets lead us there? What did this castle have to do with our fate? Kate seemed determined to find out so I'd go with it. Carefully, I managed to land on the snow (which stung my feet…yikes this place is frigid!). From what I could see, the castle had been wrecked some time ago. Lots of collapsed areas and sprawled ruins.

Kate hopped off and started inspecting the place. I would've done the same if my joints weren't frozen. Dragons clearly weren't meant to live in the cold. Kate seemed to notice it too. She found some sort of tattered rug from nearby and threw it over my back and wings.

"Forgot that dragons are vulnerable to places like this." Kate said. "Are you alright?"

I nod my head, reassuring her. And there's that smile again. Arceus…it drove me crazy! The warm feeling creeping up my face was enough to melt ice.

"Keith?" Chia looked over me as Kate began to walk around the destroyed grounds. "You ok?"

"He's just warming up to a certain someone." Wave chuckled.

"Huh?" Chia blinked.

"Keith happens to be head over heels in love right now." Wave told her.

"WAVE!" I snapped, growling at him.

"Wait…." Chia gasped. "It wouldn't be Kate….would it?"

I was quiet for a moment, wondering how to respond.

"Yeah." I sighed.

Chia's eyes widened. The stunned pachirisu stared at me for the longest of times.

"Chia?" Wave pawed her shoulder.

"It's not that big a deal." I assured.

"No this is a big deal!" Chia said. "Bigger than you think! You have no idea what's really going on!"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Kate likes you!" Chia confessed.

…

"No way…" I whispered.

"It's the reason she put that spell on you." Chia's voice grew small.

"Hold on. I thought it was supposed to change his mind." Wave said.

"Kate lied. It was supposed to change hearts." Chia told him. "Kate asked the witch for a spell to make you like her, Keith. She was desperate and thought you'd never feel the same way about her."

All of this was because she liked me? So Kate had feelings for me after all. Which meant….in a way…..she was my mate! Yes! Oh thank heavans…aw man never before had I felt like this! A rush of excitement, relief and pure joy. And a fierce determination. I will get back to human form. And I will tell Kate I love her.

A shriek broke off the feeling. That was Kate. I knew her voice anywhere.

"KATE!" I dash into the castle grounds.

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(Kate)

Ow….rough landing. I had been looking over the frozen parts of the castle when I heard the floor crack. Next thing I know, I've landed in some sort of dark chamber. My only light is the hole where I fell. Keith looks down…was he worried? Looked like it. But that wasn't like him at all.

"I'm fine!" I give the thumbs up. "No real damage done!"

There's debris all over the place but also a lot less ice and snow. Curious, I venture deeper inside the cavern to take a look. This looked like a throne room at one point in history, with the tall chairs at the back of the room all worn down. I narrowly avoid the armored skeleton. From the looks of this place, it had been under attack and suffered a lot of casualties. Question was what caused the collapse of this place? What intruder attacked the castle? All I could see was gigantic scratches that seemed a bit familiar. Couldn't place where.

I wasn't sure what caught my attention but I turned to the left and found something. It was…a tapestry? I think that's what they're called. Like a portrait made of woven yarn. But something slashed through it. One the right side were three boys (red, blue and yellow) and the left contained a loner, a darkly dressed boy. There were names under all of them, though only the dark boy's name was visible, Mer'du. I realized.

This curse happened before.

The story the old lady told me about those princes…the prince the witch told me about…it was related! Mer'du must've asked for that spell to take over the kingdom. But he caused the collapse of his castle and turned into a dragon completely. This was the full extent of this ancient curse. And what Keith could potentially become if I didn't figure out that riddle in time.

"Grrrrrrrrrrr…"

A growl…but it wasn't Keith's. Not even close. I slowly look towards the throne area. Red eyes glared at me through the darkness. But as the eyes came closer, the light showed me the body. A body of a salamence I knew all too well.

"Mer'du." I gasp.

I took a step back. Mer'du slithered closer towards me, ready to pounce and tear me to pieces. For a small moment, neither of us move. All of a sudden, with a ear-piercing roar, the dragon charged right at me. I barely dodged his claw swipe. Under normal circumstances, I would've captured him. But the readings on my styler were going nuts! It wouldn't allow me to capture Mer'du. My only option was to run, which I didn't hesitate to go.

Keith called out from the hole above. With some luck, I evaded the incoming strikes and try to get closer to the exit. I scrambled up the hill of bricks and skeleton parts. Keith's claw was held out to me and I reached for it. Mer'du tries to fire a hyper beam right at me. Keith grabbed me, threw me onto his back and flies off just as Mer'du's attack went off.

"That was way too close!" I clung onto Keith's back, feeling safer than ever. "Thanks buddy!"

Keith gave a reassuring growl as he continued to fly through the blizzard. It seems we lost Mer'du but Keith didn't stop till we were out of the tundra.

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Next update, coming your way!