"Thoughts"
"A pokemon speaking through telepathy"
"(Pokemon speaking to each other)"
Chapter 23:Fragile Façade
Dawn let out sigh of relief as Tsubaki's yelling died down. Both the Zangoose and Seviper tribes came to a temporary truce for the couple's sake. Brock ushered Ash to bring over the tub of warm water. Kakashi held Tsubaki in his paws, whispering comforting words as he kept an eye on the newly born egg that Brock held in a soft cloth. Dawn checked her surroundings and after a few minutes she realized that Luxray was missing,
"Where did Luxray go?"
Paul grunted as he, Mel, Zoey, and the Lake Guardians stood in the Hall of Origin waiting for Arceus to appear. While waiting for the alpha pokemon to appear, Mel could sense the glares Paul were sending her way,
"You still hate me huh?"
Paul simply growled in response. Mel sighed softly before Zoey's voice reached her ears,
"What did you do to make him so mad?"
"Err…stuff…" Mel replied sheepishly while sending Zoey a playful grin
Zoey rolled her eyes while shaking her heard,
"I don't even wanna know…"
While the three trainers were conversing, the pokemon with them whispered among themselves at a distance to stay out of Mel's earshot.
"What should we do about the legend?" Mesprit asked
"…A beautiful yet destructive power will appear to you and try to take the one you love and you will defend her but you will be overpowered…" Uxie recited the legend
Azelf frowned slightly,
"His Majesty wants us to find the one who will become a traitor…"
"I know…" Uxie nodded, "The clues we've found…they all lead to one"
"But I can't believe that it would be…" Mesprit voice trailed off
"You're all here now"
At hearing Arceus' voice, each of the pokemon and trainers found themselves straightening their backs as the alpha pokemon materialized into the room.
"Let us begin…"
The Seviper and Zangoose tribal leaders watched as their tribes interacted with each other. Now that the air of hostility was gone, the two tribes could not for their lives find a reason as to why they were all fighting in the first place. With all grudges behind, the two tribes were able to stand in each other's presence without attacking the other.
"(Well…where do we go from here?)" Seviper questioned
"(We could… combine the tribes…)" Zangoose suggested
"(True… but who will be the new leader?)"
A few seconds after the question was asked, both leaders glanced over to the egg Kakashi and Tsubaki were embracing. The two gave the other a knowing look.
Dawn sighed loudly as she fell back onto her bed. After bidding good-bye to the newly formed tribe of Seviper and Zangoose, the trainers decided to stay at a nearby Pokemon Center and rest up seeing as they were out the whole night. Ash and Brock had already retired to their rooms and were most likely sleeping after missing a whole nights worth.
"I couldn't go to sleep after all that happened last night…"
As Dawn clutched the pillow underneath her head, she quickly noticed something,
"Where's Paul? It's already morning…"
Sensing the trainer's thoughts, Piplup made a move to comfort the girl. Dawn simply patted the penguin pokemon on the head and motion for it to lie down beside her.
"Why don't you go to sleep, Piplup"
"Pip…"
Piplup, still worried about Dawn, chose to obey and cuddled closer to its trainer. The peaceful atmosphere didn't last for too long as Dawn shot up seconds later.
"Piplup! Pip!" Piplup cried when it felt the sudden movement
Dawn turned to look at Piplup she then turns and peeks over to the pokeballs that lay on the desk close by. Inside the pokeballs were hers and Paul's pokemon.
"Wait…there was a full moon last night and Paul usually goes training then…so, why are you guys here and he's not…"
"Pip!" Piplup began to panic inside as it knew where this was heading
Dawn bolted from her spot on the bed and went for the door. Piplup tried to follow Dawn but the said trainer had closed the door behind her and being too short, Piplup couldn't reach the handle.
"Piplup Pip!"
"Before we go any further into the meeting, Mel, I suggest you tend to that wound before it infects…" Arceus said as he motioned to the wound on Mel's arm
"Oh, um…sure" Mel said before moving towards the door
"Zoey, Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie" Arceus called out, "go with her…"
"Right"
"Of course!"
Before leaving the room, Mel's voice rang out,
"If you wanted us to leave you with Paul, all you had to do was say so!"
Arceus let out a light chuckle before turning to face Paul,
"Now… your test" Paul remained silent, giving Arceus the go to continue, "I had hoped you would be able to solve this without needing Mel's help but the three Lake Guardians have already explained to me through telepathy the circumstances at the time…and so you pass"
At hearing those words, Paul had let out a breath of air he didn't know when he had held in.
"There is something I want you to know…" the alpha pokemon began
"And that is?"
"I'm not a hundred percent sure about this but…"
Arceus had decided against finishing the sentence aloud, so he telepathically told Paul what he had in mind. A few minutes later, Paul's fists were clinched as his eyes narrowed,
"You can't be serious…"
Arceus nodded his head,
"I am… not only that but the three Lake Guardians have proof that suggests it's true…"
Mel winced in pain as she tried desperately to reclaim her arm from Zoey but the coordinator held a tight grip on the said arm.
"Zoey! That stings!" Mel whined causing Zoey to roll her eyes
"Well what do you expect? We need to use the antibiotics to make sure it doesn't get infected" Zoey reason
Mel replied with a pout. Zoey giggled lightly at Mel's childish antics. Mel had tried talking Zoey out of using the antibiotics on her damaged arm, but in the end she allowed Zoey to do as she pleased. After cleaning the wound, Zoey began to rewrap the injuries with new bandages. Azelf and Uxie laughed lightly alongside two newly arrived pokemon, Grovyle and Celebi.
"Those two certainly became fast friends when we weren't looking!" Celebi commented
"(That's not surprising…)" Grovyle whispered softly
Once Zoey had finished bandaging the cuts, Mel grasped one of her hands and brought it to her lips, whispering a light, "Thank you". Zoey blushed ever so slightly. At seeing the show of affection, Uxie hovered over to Grovyle and Celebi,
"Grovyle, is there something going on between Zoey and Mel?"
"(No, well at least not in this time…)"
"Huh?"
"What do you mean?" Celebi questioned
Grovyle sighed,
"(In the future that Mel and I came from, Mel had met Zoey but…)"
"But?" Azelf pushed as he joined the conversation
"(…Before Mel and I went back to this timeline she had met Zoey and the two became fast friends, even best friends, but then, a few years later… something went horribly wrong…Mel had lost control of herself and in the end she took Zoey's life…)"
The three psychic pokemon remained silent as they casted their gaze towards Mel and Zoey.
"(Mel feels that she's to blame for what happen to Zoey. So, Mel plans to stay by Zoey until the very end that is how she'll 'atone')"
Uxie let out a soft sight as he thought aloud,
"Now I'm wondering…just how many smiles…were fake?"
Paul groaned lightly as his fingers brushed through his hair. Arceus had sent Paul back, saying that he shouldn't be away from Dawn for too long.
"Paul!"
Paul's head spun around to see Dawn running towards him, a look of relief washed over her face.
"I'm so glad I found you!"
"Huh?"
Paul found himself being pushed down to the ground as Dawn's full weight crashed into him. Paul groaned as he sat up. Looking down at Dawn, he checked to make sure she was all right as she buried her face into his chest,
"You're alright…" Dawn murmured quietly
"Why wouldn't I be?" Paul asked as he moved into a more comfortable position
"It's just…you've been keeping your distance lately"
"I… have?" Paul's mind raced to figure out what the girl was talking about. After a few seconds of thinking, Paul realized the answer,
"I've been so caught up with the whole thing with the Council of Legends…I have been ignoring her…"
At feeling fingers run across her cheek, Dawn lifted her face to reveal that she had tears escaping her eyes.
"I'm sorry…" Paul said in a soft voice, "I didn't know you wanted my attention"
Dawn's cheeks puffed out as she pulled her face away from Paul's warm grasp,
"D-Don't tease me like that!"
Paul couldn't help but let a few chuckles escape past his lips at the sight of his girlfriend's pouting face. An idea then made it's way into Paul's head,
"Will you forgive me if I do this?"
"Hm? Do what?"
In reply to the question, Paul tilted Dawn's face upwards and landed a soft kiss on her lips. Unknown to the couple, hidden behind the forest background was Mesprit. As she was the being of emotion, Mesprit's face glowed with happiness as she felt the twos emotion clear as day.
AN: I'm sorry about not updating for a long time but I've been busy. If you're wondering what the clues are...they're implied in the previous chaps but...just hidden. hehehe