"Thoughts"
"A pokemon speaking through telepathy"
"(Pokemon speaking to each other)"
Flashback

Chapter 30: Let the Play Begin

"Mel! Dawn!" Zoey exclaimed as she spotted the two trainers.

Mel let out a sigh. She had hoped to escape before Paul and Zoey caught up, but the later called out to her and Dawn from the other side of the fence the Day Care provided.

"Paul! Zoey!" Dawn yelled out happily. She ran to the two, turning her head to motion Mel over, "Zoey! I knew you were here!"

"You did?" Zoey asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dawn nodded her head as she stopped before Paul and Zoey, talking to them from the other side of the fence, "Yup! Whenever I see you or Mel, I know that the other isn't too far behind!"

"Um… err…" Zoey blushed lightly at this while Paul smirked as he noticed Mel coughing lightly into her fist as she walked up to the three. Yori, who was still on Zoey's shoulder, grinned and called out happily,

"Monferno! Mon!"
"You and Paul are no different." Mel countered.
"We are?" Dawn questioned as she looked to Paul. This time it was Paul who was blushing. Instead of replying, Paul simply glared at Mel.

Mel chuckled lightly, she liked seeing Paul trying to act tough when around Dawn only to fail and fall for her every word.

"Mel…" Zoey whispered, "We need to talk."

Mel gave out a light sigh as she rubbed the back of her neck, her small smile never faltering. She knew what Zoey wanted to talk about, and she didn't want to have that conversation. Zoey gave Mel a pleading look when the other wasn't moving from her spot, "Please…"

Mel groaned, she couldn't say no, not when Zoey gave her that look. Mel placed both her hands on the fence and then shifted her weight to jump over it. Once on the other side Mel turned her head to her pokemon,

"You guys stay here! I'll be back soon."

Mel's pokemon cried out, letting her know they heard the order. Mel turned back to Zoey and gave a soft smile,

"Lead the way."

Zoey grabbed Mel's wrist and pulled her along. Yori jumped off Zoey's shoulder and followed from the ground. Once the trainers were gone Dawn turned to Paul,

"Paul, come and play with us!"
"What? No!" Paul answered immediately.
"Why not?" Dawn pouted. She reached out and tugged on the sleeve of Paul's sweater, "Come on! I don't get to spend as much time with you these days!"

Paul grumbled under his breath, but he knew Dawn was right. Paul's eyes shifted left and right to check if there was anyone he knew in sight, after making sure of this, he jumped over the fence. Dawn squealed happily as she jumped up and down in place. Dawn launched herself towards Paul, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his chest,

"Yay!"

Paul blushed lightly at being so close to Dawn. He hesitated before awkwardly placing his arms around Dawn's waist. The blush on his face only grew hotter when he heard chuckling from within the Day Care's house, no doubt coming from the elder couple that ran the Day Care. Dawn pulled away, oblivious to the blush growing on Paul's face,

"Come on! Let your pokemon out so they can join the fun!"
"R-Right." Paul managed as he fought down the blush.

Paul coughed into his fist when Dawn went back to where Piplup and some other pokemon were playing. Paul wordlessly reached into his pocket to retrieve his pokeballs, letting out the pokemon inside.

"Why did you leave?"

Mel laughed quietly as soon as the question left Zoey. Zoey had led Mel to a small maze of forests that was beside Solaceon Town to make sure no one could hear. Once the two were out of earshot, Zoey wasted no time in asking. Mel looked to her right to see Yori, up on the branch of a tree, playing silently with the wild pokemon of the area.

"Mel!" Zoey grew frustrated. Mel was trying to delay the conversation, "Please, no more secrets. I want the truth!"

Mel's chocolate brown eyes shifted to Zoey's dark red,

"I've never lied. Not to you Zoey…"
"But you have withheld information from me!"

Mel cringed slightly. She took a step back, knowing there was no way out. Zoey took a step forward, then another, and another until she was a foot away from Mel,

"Mel?" Instead of a verbal reply, Zoey was pulled into a powerful hug, Mel's arms engulfing Zoey's shoulder. "M-Mel!"

Zoey shuddered as Mel breathed into the base of her neck, the warm air tickling her skin. Mel sighed softly when she felt Zoey return the hug, the other girl's arms wrapping around her back. Mel's arms lowered to Zoey's waist before taking a step back, bringing the redhead with her. Once Mel felt the bark of a tree against her back, she tightened her hold on Zoey's waist before pulling the girl down with her to the floor.

"Ep!" Zoey let out a squeal when she felt her weight shifting towards Mel.

Mel fell into a sitting position after pulling Zoey closer, her arms now loosely wrapped around Zoey, who was sitting on her lap. She leaned back onto the tree and watched the drifting clouds,

"Get comfortable. We're gonna be here for awhile if you want to know everything."

Zoey let out a breath of air as she turned her back to Mel and leaned against her, Mel's head landed onto the other's left shoulder. Zoey grasped one of Mel's hands and intertwined their fingers together,

"Why did you leave?" Zoey repeated her question from earlier.
"I had to. You'd be in danger if I hadn't left."
"What? How?" Zoey asked, turning her head to look Mel in the eyes.

Mel's eyes softened as she glanced at their intertwined fingers,

"Zoey… What did the Council tell you about me?"
"Well, they call you the Renegade Trainer. Why do they call you that?"
"My reason for saving the world from paralysis." Mel said with a grim smile.
"Which was?"

Mel's thumb traced a light pattern on the back of Zoey's hand while her free hand ran through her hazel nut hair,

"The Council told you about my journey, right?"
"Yeah." Zoey nodded her head, "Arceus told me that you and Grovyle were sent back in time to find and secure the 5 Time Gears, which control the flow of time, then bring them to Temporal Tower to restore time and prevent the world's paralysis, which was happening in your time period. But on the way back to the past, you and Grovyle got separated, you ended up in an accident that caused you to lose your memory, and you somehow turned into a Charmander. During that time you ran into Daichi, who was still a Turtwig at the time, and you both became friends and started a rescue team that helps other pokemon." Zoey giggled softly as she snuggled closer to Mel, "I can't believe you named the team, Team Wildfire!"
"H-Hey!" Mel stammered as she turned a light shade of red, "It sounded pretty cool in my head!"

The response only got Zoey to burst out in laughter. Mel groaned, her face turning a darker shade as she buried her face into Zoey's shoulder to cover her embarrassment. Yori, who was listening in on the conversation from afar, grinned and laughed aloud as he swung happily from a branch. Zoey smiled when she felt Mel's hold on her tighten, bringing them closer,

"You, Daichi, and the team were off helping others. You had the special ability called Dimensional Scream. It gave you visions of the past or future whenever you touch something or someone." Zoey continued with the story, "After some time, you guys found out about time stopping in some areas. After some investigating, you found out that the Time Gears were being stolen. The one who was stealing them was Grovyle, who was carrying on your original mission, but since you lost your memory you didn't know that and thought that he was just a criminal. Then when you finally captured him, you were betrayed by a pokemon you trusted…err…"

"Dusknoir." Mel provided. Zoey noticed that her tone was neutral and even, void of emotion.

"Right…" Zoey decided not to push the topic, "So, he tricked you, and dragged you and Daichi into the future, where you all were gonna send Grovyle, since him and Dusknoir are originally from the future. While in the future, you met Celebi, found out the truth about the Time Gears and Grovyle, and the fact that you were also from the future. When you were finally able to return to the past, you, Daichi, Grovyle, and your friends had helped in bringing the Time Gears to Temporal Tower. Once time was restored, you were disappearing, since the future you belonged to no longer existed, but you, Grovyle, and Celebi were brought back."

Zoey took in a deep breath and sighed as she finally finished. Mel nodded,

"Yup…"
"But?" Zoey edged on, sensing Mel's hesitation, "Did I miss something?"
"Did he…" Mel's free arm wrapped around Zoey's waist to bring her closer, "Did Arceus tell you that we had met before?"
"We did?" Zoey asked in a confused tone.
"Yeah." Mel replied with a small nod, "We met, back then, before Grovyle and I left to the past for the mission."
"What? Before you left to the past for the mission? …Does that mean I'm also from your timeline?"

Mel shook her head,

"No… not exactly. I mean that I met you, as in I met the other you, the you from my timeline. Think of my timeline as the 'what if' world. What if we had met earlier? What if… what if we fell in love? What if we started a relationship? My timeline, my world, made that possible."

Zoey gasped. She turned her whole body around to look at Mel, their fingers no longer interlocked and Mel lost the warmth Zoey's body provided when she pushed away from her grasp. Mel turned her head to the side; she couldn't look Zoey in the eye,

"Mel…" Zoey whispered, willing the other girl to look her in the eyes, "If… if what you're saying is true… then why didn't you come look for me sooner? Why wait until now to tell me all this?"

Mel bit her lower lip, her brown eyes slowly meeting Zoey's red,

"I couldn't face you… not after what happen last time…"
"Last time? You mean in your timeline?" Zoey received a nod in reply, "What happen?"

Mel pulled away from Zoey, trying to bury herself as far into the tree as she could,

"I… I lost control…"
"Control? Control of what?" Zoey edged her on; she placed a hand on Mel's shaking one to try and calm the other trainer down, but Mel quickly pulled her hand away causing Zoey to frown, "Mel?"

"Myself… I lost control of myself…"
"What are you talking about?" Zoey asked, confusion and worry taking over her mind.

"Don't you get it?" Mel grunted, her palms flying up to cover her eyes, where tears threatened to fall, "I killed you!"

"Ep! You guys!" Dawn giggled as she and some baby pokemon were getting hit with light water attacks from Piplup, Buizel, and Nanami.

Dawn and the pokemon were all having what looked like a water fight. Dawn and the younger pokemon were dodging the attacks and countering by splashing the three older pokemon with the water from the pond they were in. Paul, who was watching from a safe distance, couldn't help but smile at the way Dawn interacted with the pokemon. Paul smirked as he noticed his Chimchar sneaking up behind the water pokemon.

"Chim!" Chimchar cried out as it tackled Piplup from behind.
"Piplup!" The penguin pokemon screeched as it fell forward, hitting the ground.

"Bui?"
"Vap?"

Buizel and Nanami were caught of guard from Chimchar's sudden appearance, causing them to stop their water attacks. Once Dawn noticed that she was no longer being sprayed with water and that Piplup, Buizel, and Nanami were distracted, she called out,

"Alright! Now's our chance, guys! Charge!"

The pokemon that were with Dawn gave a battle cry and lunged forward, towards the shore of the small pond.

"Buizel!"
"Vaporeon!"

Buizel and Nanami let out small yelps of surprise when the other pokemon tackled them from the side. All the pokemon eventually ended up in a pile with Buizel, Nanami, and Piplup at the bottom. Chimchar had retreated to Dawn's side, making a safe get away before the three water pokemon could get revenge. The on looking pokemon burst out in laughter at the sight. Buneary giggled as she watched her water mate struggle to escape the pile,

"(Wow, Buizel! I didn't think you would actually play with the kids!)"
"(Err…yeah…)" Buizel replied tiredly as the baby pokemon got off the three older pokemon, "(I'm starting to regret that…)"

Elekid laughed aloud, his arms swinging wildly,

"(Come on! Don't tell me you're already tired from just one go!)"
"(Oh yeah?)" Buizel jumped to his feet and looked to the baby pokemon, each one were still eager to keep playing, "(Ready? Go for it!)"

The baby pokemon let happy cheers as they charged towards the direction Buizel pointed in, towards Elekid.

"(H-Hey! Wait! I'm not rea- Whoa!)"

The little ones didn't listen to Elekid's shouting; they all piled on top of the electric pokemon. Buizel laughed out heartily at the sight of baby pokemon mass that covered Elekid,

"(Take that!)" The water pokemon smirked.

Nanami chuckled before turning to Houndoom, who had walked up to her from behind,

"(Are they always like that?)"
"(Sometimes,)" the fire dog replied as his eyes locked with the water pokemon, "(Guess its just the atmosphere.)"

Kenji and Akira sat on the other side of the Day Care, watching their daughter play with the other pokemon,

"(They certainly are a lively bunch.)" Kenji said with a chuckle.
"(I know!)" Akira agreed, "(I haven't seen a bunch this lively since the Wigglytuff Guild!)"

Daichi, who was nearby, smiled at the mention of the Wigglytuff Guild,

"(That brings back some memories…)"

Neji looked down from his position up in the tree of Daichi's back,

"(That's right I almost forgot! The Wigglytuff Guild is where Team Wildfire started, right?)"

Daichi smiled softly, his body hitting the floor and his eyes closing as he got lost in his memories,

"(Yeah… It's where everything started…)"

On the other side of the playground, Elekid was finally able to push his way out of the mountain of baby pokemon on top of him,

"(Grr… you'll pay for that Buizel!)" the electric pokemon exclaimed. Elekid stood at his full height and glared at the water weasel, his arms swinging in circles, producing sparks between his power plug like horns. Buizel smirked at the threat and flexed his muscles,

(Then what's stopping you?)"

With those words the two dashed towards the other, ready for a blown out fight. Nanami, Houndoom, and Buneary rolled their eyes at the boys, they hurried the younger pokemon away to a safer distance, and all the while the younger ones were cheering for their favorite to win. Gardevoir's lips turned to a smile as one of the children ran up to her and motioned for it to be picked up. The psychic pokemon bent down and lifted the pokemon into her arms. Gardevoir cradled the baby and sung it a soft lullaby while rocking it in her arms. The toddler cooed in happiness as it snuggled closer to the embrace pokemon.

"Seems that one has taking a liking to you, love"

Gardevoir turned her head to the direction of her lover's voice,

"Looks like it." Gardevoir beamed, "It's already fast asleep!"
"Haha! Well, now we know that you'll be a fine mother!" Gallade voiced with joy.

Murkrow let a snicker as it watched all these events unfold from the sky. Soon enough one particular person caught his attention, his trainer Paul. The raven pokemon noticed his trainer was just sitting under the shade of a tree, not bothering to join his girlfriend or the pokemon. Murkrow let out another snicker as an idea popped into his head. He turned and dived down towards Dawn,

"Murkrow! Murk!"

Dawn's hand stretched out as soon as she heard the bird pokemon's call. Murkrow perched himself on Dawn's arm and let out a caw. Chimchar jumped to Dawn's shoulder and exchanged words with Murkrow,

"(I've got an idea…)" the raven pokemon said with a smirk.
"(Ohh! What is it?)" Chimchar asked excitedly, he and Murkrow tended to be the tricksters of the group on more than one occasion.
"(Well, you see Master Paul over there?)" Murkrow asked as his wing gestured in Paul's direction.
"(Yeah?)"
"(Well…)" Murkrow leaned in and whispered into Chimchar's ear.

After a few seconds Murkrow pulled away and watched as Chimchar's lips broke into a smirk. The fire monkey nodded his head before turning to Dawn, who was confused as the whole exchange.

"Chimchar! Chim!" Chimchar said as he looked to Dawn while pointing towards Paul.

Dawn turned her head and her gaze soon landed on Paul,

"Paul? Why's he all alone?"

Murkrow and Chimchar moved away from Dawn as the coordinator moved towards their trainer. Paul sat against a tree with his arms folded across his chest. His eyes closed and a scowl across his face,

"If Mel's supposed to be the traitor, then why did the Council let Zoey get so close to her? …On top of that, there's still something bothering me about Mel… Arceus said Mel had gone back to the past, this timeline, to correct the future. He told Zoey and me about her journey. But I still don't get why they call her the Renegade Trainer…" Paul groaned, his lips turned to a straight line as his brows tightened, "It doesn't make sense… They call her 'the tragic trainer torn between light and darkness' but why… what did she do to get that nickname? That Arceus isn't telling us something…"

"Paul!"
"Hm?" Paul's eyes opened after hearing his name being called, "What is it?"

The scowl that had occupied Paul's face had melted away when he realized Dawn was hovering above him. She was leaning forward, her hands on her knees to keep her balance. She wore a gentle smile that was returned with a small smile from Paul,

"Did you need something, Dawn?"

Dawn sighed softly before setting herself down beside Paul, her head finding its way to his shoulder. Their fingers intertwined almost automatically once within each other's grasp.

"You just seemed lost there for a sec…" Dawn whispered.
"Sorry. A lot of stuff has been happening…"
"Like?"

Paul looked down to the coordinator and met her blue eyes. They reflected what seemed like pain.

"Dawn…"

Dawn shook her head and buried her face into his shoulder, hiding her face. Paul felt his heart stop when he sensed dampness on the shoulder Dawn was leaning on,

"You promised…" She whispered through a chocked sob, "You promised you would tell me why you've been so distant from me… Is it… because you don't want to be with me anymore?"
"What?" Paul's eyes snapped to attention, his body becoming rigid. He turned his body to face Dawn; his hand flew up to cup her face and forced her to look into his black eyes. Her tear stained blue eyes made him hold in a breath, "What makes you think I would want that?"

Dawn hurriedly pulled away, refusing to meet his eyes again, her voice coming out between soft sobs,

"What else am I going to think? You usually only go out for training on full moons, I used to think it was so you could look for Luxray but…"
"But?" Paul whispered, not wanting to know the answer.
"Lately now… you've been so distant. You're away most nights and I can never find you! Then when I ask you about it you just lie to me! We've been together for years Paul! I can tell when you're lying or not!"

Chimchar and Murkrow, who were up in the tree the two trainers were residing under, heard the blue haired coordinator practically shouting. The two had piles of leaves in their grasp and were planning on dropping them on the two trainers and burying them in the leaves as a prank. Upon hearing the girl's shouting the two pokemon agreed to stop the plan and retreat to another area to give the trainers privacy.

"I… that's…" Paul grunted as he racked his brain for an answer, "I can't tell her it's because I'm meeting with the Council…"

Dawn turned her eyes to meet Paul's one last time. She saw the look in his eyes, they were searching hers. Dawn's hand balled into a fist, she knew that look. Paul always had that look when he was thinking, thinking of a lie.

"Dawn! Paul! There you guys are!"

Dawn's head shot up after hearing her name, thankful for the brief distraction. She looked around and soon spotted Ash and Brock jumping over the Day Care Center's fence and walking towards the two. Dawn took in a deep breath while wiping her tears away. She stood to her feet, turning her back to Paul, and walked towards Ash and Brock.

"Dawn!" Paul called out as he got to his feet.

But he was completely ignored…

"Mel! What are you doing? Team Galactic is almost at the room that holds the three Plates!"

Mel bit into her bottom lip,

"But…"
"Go! Now!" The voice commanded her head yelled.

Mel's eyes shifted to the trainer still in her lap,

"Zoey…"
"What…What do you mean you killed me?" Zoey turned, still in Mel's lap to face the other, trying her best to stay calm, "Mel…What exactly happen… to make you lose control?"

Mel's mouth opened to answer but the telepathic voice from before broke into her mind,

"Mel!"

Mel's lips curved into that of a bitter smile,

"Yeah… Got it…" She whispered.
"Mel?" Zoey's concerned eyes looked up into chocolate eyes.

Before Zoey could ask any more, Mel gently pushed Zoey off of her lap. Once the two were on their feet, Mel gave a light chuckle,

"Maybe next time we meet, you'll be able to forgive me… for everything…"
"…Next time?"

Mel smiled, albeit a small one, but it was a true and genuine smile. She hurriedly pulled Zoey closer to her. A small yelp escaped Zoey, as she wasn't expecting the movement. When Zoey was close enough, Mel leaned forward so that her lips were against Zoey's ear. Zoey was already blushing at the closeness, and it was only intensified when Mel whispered softly into her ear.

Up in the trees, Yori's ears twitched as they heard the words his Mistress whispered to the other trainer. The Monferno made its way down the tree branches and onto the ground. Yori knew why Mel was saying those words… it was almost time…

"Mel…"

Before Zoey could reply, a sound reached her ears.

Click

Mel speedily pulled away from Zoey, leaving a few yards in between them. When Mel was far enough away, Zoey realized there were three pokeballs in Mel's right hand.

"What the? I thought all your pokemon were-" Zoey stopped mid-sentence when a gasp made it past her lips at realization. Zoey eye's drifted down to her belt. Her pokeballs weren't in their usual place, "Mel!"

"Don't worry!" Mel replied with a grin, her usual happy-go-luck facade slipping back into place, "I'll take care of 'em! In return, you do the same with my guys…"

Before Zoey could protest, Yori jumped onto the coordinator's shoulder. The sudden shift in weight caused Zoey to momentarily lose her balance, but it was enough of a distraction for Mel to escape. Zoey heard Mel's voice one last time,

"I didn't just say it for a chance to switch pokemon… I do love you…"

Zoey sighed softly as she fell to the ground; Yori still perched on her shoulder. As she sunk to the ground, Zoey noticed six pokeballs on the ground where Mel once stood. Zoey sighed once more as she reached for the pokeballs and began securing them to her belt, but once she held the last pokeball in her hand, Zoey realized Mel didn't take one pokeball from her.

Zoey reached for the lone pokeball she still had. When the pokeball hit the sunlight, Zoey's eyes widened as she realized it was the pokeball Mel had given her. Zoey's fingers traced the fire design and landed on the button, which looked much like the Time Gears Uxie had described.

"You know," Zoey whispered to Yori, "I never did ask her what pokemon was inside…"

Yori got a hold of Zoey's hand before the coordinator could press the button to enlarge the pokeball. Zoey smiled softly,

"Let me guess, Mel doesn't want me using this pokemon unless I really have to."
"Mon!" Yori nodded.

Zoey nodded her head in agreement. Zoey soon turned back to the direction Mel ran off in, towards the Solaceon Ruins.

"Mel…"

AN: Well... I think this chapter took me the longest to make n.n Lol I love how everyone is suggesting I have Dawn get kidnapped! Hm... who knows n.n And before anyone asks, yes! I do read your reviews! I like reading what you guys have to say be it good or bad n.n;; Let's just see if Paul can get out of the dog house.

Credit for editing goes to Hikaru-pichu and CityGal45!

Anyway...

Etoile of the twilight: Don't worry! I almost forgot about Gardevoir too n.n;;

Palkia's Princess: Really? Thank you!

Starfire1407: Aww I like reading your reviews!

DGMSilverAirHead03: Alright then! I'll hold that to you!

menin: Um... opps n.n;; there'll be ikarishipping coming up! don't worry!