Hey thanks for all the people reading my story at first I thought this was going to be an epic failure but you gave me the encouragement to keep typing thanks guys! ^^'

Chapter Three: Campout

They managed to find a hidden ledge somewhere in side of Eterna forest and Aurora got a fire started while Riley went out to look for more fire wood with his Riolu. He knew how to get back to the camp site because the light of the fire helped to guide him through the murky darkness of the forest. He couldn't believe how dark it had gotten in a matter of minutes just like Aurora had said. Riley was going to go out further to get more wood and ignored Aurora's warning about going out too far, but he changed his mind once he heard a cry of a Pokémon that seemed like it belonged to a Misdreavus so he turned back.

Riley placed the wood in a small pile far from the fire to make sure they wouldn't catch accidently and then sat down on a log opposite of Aurora. She had a stick about a foot and a half long that she found great pleasure in sticking it into the fire and waiting for it to catch then pulling it out and watching the flame fade away. Occasionally she would look off into the forest as if she was being watched but he never interrupted her thoughts. Riley stared into the fire thinking about home, getting to a Pokémon canter and the next gym battle and how much training he still had to go through. Eterna forest is sure to shape up his Pokémon in no time, but what if his caption Pokémon aka Riolu can't battle anymore? Riley sat on this thought of being stuck in the forest with his Pokémon and a girl he had just met and whatever Pokémon she had with her.

Aurora was deep in thought, she had just told Riley not to stray too far and he came back but she knew it was because the call a Misdreavus had frightened him. She poked her stick in the fire then pulled it out: one, I'm alive so is Kirlia and so is Riley and his Pokémon. The fire had faded and she put in and out again to watch the gentle flame: two, I still have the research and so far Riley hasn't asked about it, yet. The fire had yet again burned out and the last flicker looked like something she had seen before but paid no mind to it, Riley just sat down across from her. She wondered if she was boring him but she had light the stick again: Tony is bound to be on his way looking for me, dead no doubt and he wants the research. He would have had left me out here and leave me as a snack for a hungry Ariados if I was dead. This last thought sent a shiver down her spine; she really would've been dead if it wasn't for Kirlia, her faithful companion since she was a Ralts. Aurora looked at Riley, he looked really bored, so she picked up a nice smooth stone and scribed in on it with the charcoal: LOST IN ETERNA FOREST TRAINERS RILEY AND AURORA WITH RIOLU AND KIRLIA APRIL 5TH 1997. She smiled at it and handed it to Riley.

Riley cocked an eyebrow and looked at Aurora, "Is this our head stone if we die out here?"

Aurora giggled, "No, it's a traveler's mark for us in the future or anyone else that happens to find it!"

"Ohhh, okay then."

Riley fumbled the stone in his hands thinking about the near future, he would be passing back through here after his visit with his family and gym leader was over. Maybe he might find it again, and maybe he'll get lost again, but none the less he would have to find his way through the forest if he is to make it back. His thoughts were interrupted when out of the corner of his eye he saw Aurora staring at him; he looked up "What?"

"How old are you? You're definitely not ten like the age most trainers start off with."

Riley was a little shocked by the question; does everyone have to start off at the age of ten? "I'm 13 years old, why?"

"Oh okay…" Aurora was looking back at the fire now, "Just wanted to know…" She looked back at him, "I'm 13 too, but I've been too a lot of weird places in the three short years I've been a trainer. How many Badges do you have?"

Riley felt his face burn at the question, he was the same age as her but she is obviously a much more experienced trainer than him. He tried to play it cool. "Well, let's see. I've started from Canalave city but the gym was way too advanced for me so I worked my way to Oreburg city, after a year of raising my Riolu from an egg. I got that badge from Bryon, then proceeded to Eterna city, the easy way and got that badge. Hey I also met Gardenia the future gym leader of Eterna city and then I got to Veilstone city and earned that badge. However once I got to Pastoria city Crasher Wake was there, he was a bit off but I lost to him anyways. Talk about embarrassing, so I worked my way here to my home town and to try that gym out." Riley listed off and he held up how many badges he had on his fingers, Aurora counted three.

"Well that's not that bad, after all you spent all that time raising and bonding with your Pokémon. I admire that, I bond with all of my Pokémon by traveling to far off lands and venturing in unknown caves and exploring the vast distances off the sea, unless it's too far. If that happens then I see if there is a ferry or something around!"

Riley was amazed. "Then how many badges do you have?" he really wanted to know.

Aurora smiled sheepishly. "It would hurt your confidence if I told you, sorry."

"Oh, okay then I'll ask after the Pokémon league!" Riley still wanted to know. He felt something tugging at his sleeve, he looked around expecting a ghost Pokémon, but it was just Kirlia. She was holding a rather large blanket and was pointing to a large opened sleeping bag then heard her trying to say something to him but he didn't understand her like Aurora did.

"It looks like Kirlia is tired, your Riolu is already passed out," Aurora then gestured to her pack, and there on the pack the little dog like Pokémon was dreaming peacefully with small twitching of his paws indicating he was playing and having a good in his dream. Riley smiled and giggled himself but he looked back at Aurora, she was smiling but for another reason, that made him a bit nervous. "Riley, if Kirlia is going to bed then we will all have to or she'll use hypnosis on us both, she tends to be stubborn like that."

Riley made a funny face as if he was saying oh wow, oh dear. Riley sighed. "Seriously, we have to?" Just as he said that Kirlia was tugging harder on his sleeve as if she was trying to drag him.

"Does that answer your question Riley?" Aurora giggled.

Riley sighed. "Yeah, I guess it does, doesn't it." He was still being pulled by Kirlia as he walked over to the sleeping bag and laid out the blanket after he put Riolu onto it. Riley looked at Aurora with a puzzled look. "I thought you said everyone had to go to bed!" Riley chimed.

Aurora looked up at him with a bit of confusion then understood. "Oh, well someone has to stay up with the fire or we might be eaten alive by it."

Riley quickly understood then told her to hurry up or he'll hog the blanket, Aurora smiled at that and told him that she would.

Riley woke up in the middle of the night, he wasn't sure what it was that woke him but he felt like something was missing. He looked to his right as he was on the edge of the sleeping bag, there he saw Riolu sound asleep and next to Riolu was Kirlia also sound asleep. Good, he thought but when he looked over for Aurora she wasn't there, he looked at the fire pit, it had long since been out but she wasn't there either. He got out from underneath the blanket and the bitter cold met his warm flesh. He got up and started to look around a bit but, nothing. He decided to go look out a little further, it was a clear night and the moon was full so he had plenty of light and made extra sure he knew his way back to the site.

Riley had been out looking for Aurora for a few minutes now and he was beginning to shiver. Just as he was about to go back he heard something: What was that? Sniffling, crying, a ghost Pokémon trying to lure me in? He heard it again and decided to push the few extra feet to investigate. The moment he looked around the rather large tree he found, he saw the source of the sound, it was Aurora crying. He took a breath and as he let it out he whispered, "Aurora?" He didn't think it was that loud but the moment the words left his mouth she stopped crying and turned to face him. Tears were streaming her face and her face was stained with sadness, he had never seen someone so sad, or at least he thinks. She turned back around and looked at the ground, once she did that he moved closer. She was sitting on a hallowed log and as he got closer he saw that she wasn't looking at the ground, but the folder that she had been holding when she fell from the sky. He sat down next to her on the log and hoped that she would start but after a few sniffles it was clear that he would have to start.

Riley took a breath. "Aurora won't you tell me what happened before you fell from the sky?"

She opened her mouth to speak but when she tried her voice was caught in her throat. Riley saw her try to speak so he didn't take it as her trying to ignore him; he understood she had just been crying so speech would be a bit difficult. "Aurora, if you keep it bottled up it will eventually take over your mind and it'll poison your goals. Please at least tell me what's in the folder." Riley softly told her. She looked at Riley with the softest hints of happiness but was still very miserable.

She took a deep breath in and let it out. "I know I shouldn't keep it in. its research that took three years of my life with Pokémon to gather it all. When I realized that it was going against the Pokémon I ran with it." It was then that Aurora told Riley everything, down to opening the air lock and nearly falling to her death and how Tony would be looking for her body in Eterna forest.

"Burn it then."

Aurora looked at Riley in surprise. "Why?"

"So that if he finds you he won't be able to have it, that's why."

He makes sense but does he not get how valuable this is and how thin the ice was that I'm stuck on? "Riley, I can't burn it."

"Why not then?"

"I worked too hard and long on this and I risked too much for it and…" She trailed off.

"What?"

More tears came and she looked at Riley and she continued. "It owes me too much."

"Then we should get out of this forest so you can talk to someone I know, he's a good man and a professor…" "But Riley…" Aurora cut him off but he continued. "I know Aurora, his name is Prof. Rowan, please get to know him first before you take off on him. Now I'm cold and I'm tired and I won't talk to you anymore tonight, we can finish talking in the morning, okay?"

Aurora was speechless but she too was cold and tired so she nodded her head and followed him back to the site.