"Thoughts"
"A pokemon speaking through telepathy"
"(Pokemon speaking to each other)"
Chapter 24: And the Traitor Is…
"Alright! Let's go!" Ash exclaimed as he pumped his fist into the air
Brock let out a chuckle at the trainer's burst of excitement. He glanced over his shoulder to watch as Paul and Dawn trailed behind,
"Paul, do you know when we'll see Zoey and Mel again?"
"No and I don't care" Paul replied with indifference
"Paul!" Dawn yelled, "That's not nice!"
"So?"
Dawn simply sighed at the response but said nothing. Instead she reached out and locked fingers with Paul. The said trainer would usually scowl and pull away at the public display, but he made a resolve to show more affection since he didn't want to neglect his girlfriend anymore. Dawn giggled and leaned into Paul, resting her head on his shoulder. Brock smiled softly at the display of affection,
"Wonder what happen last night to make him like this"
In a dark room of the Hall of Origin, a trainer and six pokemon stood as the trainer spoke through a portal. On the other side of the portal was nothing but darkness and a pair of red eyes gleaming down at the trainer.
"I know that!" Mel exclaimed, "I just need more time…"
"More time?" a dark menacing voice called from the portal, "We don't have time! We can't let Team Galactic succeed."
"I know but…"
Mel looked away, unable to look the other in the eye,
"But, if I do that…"
The red eyes wondered down to the bandages on Mel's arm and whispered,
"You don't want to leave her side…"
"Of course not! I am not leaving her again!"
"Sacrifices must be made! Besides, you know as well as I do that she'll be safer if you just-"
"Fine. I'll do it…"
The red eyes gave Mel a doubtful look before speaking,
"…Very well. I trust that your resolve will not break"
With those parting words, the portal disappeared in a swirl of black mist. Mel sighed as she brushed her fingers through her hair and turned to her pokemon,
"You guys stay here for a few. Arceus wanted to talk to Zoey and me in private."
The pokemon nodded their heads as they watched the trainer exit the room. Once Mel was out of earshot, the pokemon began to talk amongst themselves (if you don't remember Mel's team then go to the Author's Note in chapter 17),
"(This isn't good)" Kenji said
"(What's going to happen?)" Nanami asked
"(No idea)" Yori replied from Neji's shoulder
"(If anything, we just have to make sure that Lady Zoey doesn't get hurt)" Akira called out as Nanami nodded at what her mother said
"(Mom's right! I mean the only reason Mel agreed to help His Majesty was because Zoey was here)"
As the pokemon entered a conversation, Daichi kept his gaze on the others as he laid his body on the cold floor.
Zoey gave slight yawn as she waited in the Hall of Origin with Arceus and the three Lake Guardians: Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie.
"So what did you want Mel and I for, Your Majesty?"
"I have another mission for you two, but that can wait until Mel arrives here" Arceus replied
"In the meantime…" Azelf started
"Can you tell us exactly how close you are to Mel?" Uxie asked
"W-What?" a tint of red flashed across the bridge of Zoey's nose
Mesprit giggled lightly as she hovered by Zoey,
"Don't even think of lying to us. I can sense the emotions you two have in regard to each other"
Mesprit's giggling only grew louder as Zoey's blush intensified,
"My, my, I wonder what happened when we all weren't looking…"
The statement didn't do anything to calm down the growing fire on Zoey's face. Arceus let out a light cough to capture the occupant attention,
"In all seriousness, Zoey I ask that you not leave her side"
"What? But you told me to never trust her…"
Arceus gave a small smile before replying,
"True, but you haven't really been listening to that, now have you?"
"Um…opps" Zoey grinned sheepishly before Uxie spoke up,
"Besides, it's not Mel that you should be wary of, it's who she takes orders from"
After a second of thinking, it dawned on Zoey, who it was,
"Giratina…"
The pokemon nodded as one,
"We're still not entirely sure of what he's planning but we do know for sure that Mel would never do anything that would bring harm to you" Azelf explained
Arceus nodded,
"Which is why you are not to leave her side"
"I see…"
"Also Zoey, there is something you must know…"
"Yes?"
Arceus motioned for Uxie to continue,
"You see, my child, we have an idea on who might be the traitor spoken about in the legend…"
"Really? Who is it?"
"It's…"
"Let's see…according to the guidebook, Hearthome City should be about an hour or so away" Brock said as he looked up from his book
"Finally!" Ash yelled, "I'm starving!"
"Pika!"
Dawn giggled as she leaned towards Paul,
"We're finally gonna see Kenny again! Aren't you excited!" Dawn exclaimed
"Ecstatic…" Paul deadpanned as Dawn slipped out of his grasp all the while he glared at the city just within sights
"Great…now I have to deal with him again… Where are Zoey and Mel when I need them? Zoey could have distracted him and then Mel could maul him for trying anything with Zoey. That way I don't have to worry about him trying anything with Dawn but then again…"
Brock silently laughed in his head as he had a pretty good idea of what Paul was thinking, what with that evil smirk Paul was sporting. Ash soon matched his pace with Dawn's so that the two could talk,
"Hey Dawn, what's Kenny like?"
"Well, let's see… he's actually one of my best friends. Paul, Zoey, him and I all grew up together! Kenny and I tend to have a lot of arguments but I sort of miss all of it…"
The longer Dawn spoke about Kenny the more Paul was seething, and Brock was loving every moment of it.
AN: I know this chapter is much shorter than usual, like 3-4 pages shorter in microsoft word, but I have an idea for the next chapter so it should be long enough to compensate for this short chapter. Anyway, because of school I had to start a blog...if you're curious the link is in my profile. And if you're even more curious I might actually post previews and stuff on that blog if I feel that I've made all you lovely readers wait to long...ohh say like a month or two..you know the usual update time it takes for me to sit down, plan out the chapter, then actually write it out.
BTW: Bonus points to whoever knows who the traitor is. As I said in the previous chapter's AN the clues are spread out in the chapters n.n good luck!
And just because I didn't do this for the two previous chapters I'll do it here my response for reviews from chapter 21-23
fanficfab1037: Lol that just shows how long I don't update
Mew Mew Pachirisu: May, Drew, and Kenny will come in the next chapter for sure! So you don't have to wait long to see a jealous Paul xp Yes a black charizard is awesome! Which is why it's one of my favorite pokemon. Tell your lil sis that she's a genius! lol Luxal... I kinda like that, maybe I'll have Mimi (ghost from chapter 13-15) call Paul that when she comes back...hm... (reads another review from you) what makes you think they'll get in between out couples?
AikoAkahana: Lol don't worry you're not troublesome! If anything you bugging me about updating might make me update faster...(reads another review from you)...now that's what I'm talking about xp
DGMSilverAirHead03: Yup and it's good to be back xp
Darkpetal16: You really think the story's awesome? Thank you!
AnimexLuver4ever: With how long it takes me to update...I wouldn't be surprised if that happened
Moonlit Obsidian Frost Zanpakto19: Yup Tsubaki, the Seviper, is giving birth. And don't worry Dawn will find out about Paul... eventually
Sapphiet: Oh? Hm...let's see if she is the traitor