Down.

Down.

Down.

The air rushing through his hair, ruffling his clothes.

Down.

Down.

The scenery rushing by him at blurry speeds, and he was afraid to look at the rocks and water approaching him so fast.

Down.

And suddenly, a flash of orange. Something caught him and held him tightly to its body. He was no longer falling. Cradled against the chest of some large pokemon, he was going upward. He looked up and saw that he was in the arms of some great dragon pokemon which he had never before seen. "Are you going to eat me?" Arden asked quietly.

"Gon," said the pokemon, laughing good-naturedly. It brought him back up to the second floor of the mansion and set him down, there, gingerly.

Stanislaus took a couple staggering steps toward the pokemon. "S-Sevim," he murmured. "Sevim's dragonite…?"

The dragonite turned its giant face toward him and smiled. "Draaagon."

There was the sound of lopsided footsteps on the stairs and Stanislaus turned around as Dixie limped to the top of them. Stanislaus rushed to the younger Rocket grunt. "Dixie! Your face! You're all covered in blood!"

He grabbed Dixie by the chin and lightly touched his nose. Dixie recoiled. "It—it's broken," he said. "Please don't touch it."

"Hold on," said Stanislaus. "I'm going to straighten it. If you don't put it back straight, it's just going to heal like that. This is going to hurt, so hold very still."

With a thud, Ellis fell to the ground, beaten by Quenelle. Gaius put his hand on the pokemon's head. " 'atta boy, Quen," he said quietly. "Now go get 'em while they're both together."

The tauros charged. "Dixie!" Arden cried out, his eyes widening. Both Rockets turned to see Gaius' pokemon bearing down on them. Stanislaus grabbed Dixie by the shoulders and pulled him close, putting his own body between him and the tauros as a shield. Swiftly, Stanislaus' dewgong rushed between Quenelle and his master, taking the hit and stopping the pokemon's charge. The dewgong fell to the ground limply as Quenelle shook the unexpected impact from his head. With a flash of light, Gentry evolved into a nidorino beside Arden. "Gaius! Stop it! Don't hurt them!"

"I'm protecting you," said Gaius. "Quenelle!"

The dragonite who had caught Arden and had been, since, standing silently behind him, rushed forward past him. The dragonite hit Quenelle from the side as he turned to attack Dixie and Stanislaus, knocking the tauros back. Stanislaus held Dixie tightly against himself. "You shouldn't have come," he said. "It's dangerous here."

"I can't let you hurt Arden, or get hurt yourself," said Dixie, pulling away from him. "Please—stop this."

Arden yelled at Gaius, "Knock this off! Stop trying to protect me! I never asked you to!"

"You'll thank me for this some day," Gaius said. "And even if you never come around, it won't matter because you'll be safe."

"I was safe to begin with!"

"Like hell you were," said Gaius, looking at his little brother sharply. "You'd have been dead if I hadn't got here when I did."

"I would've been fine!" said Arden, stamping his foot. "I can take care of myself. The trouble I make is my own to deal with! Stop this!"

"You're just a kid," Gaius said. "Someone's got to protect you, even if you hate them for it. Even if you hate me for it."

"He ruined my eye," Stanislaus said to Dixie. "Something like that—I can't just let it go."

"I see," said Dixie. "So, then, revenge is more important to you than I am."

Stanislaus looked at him silently.

"If that's the case, and you won't just leave this be," said Dixie. "Then I… I understand. But I'm not going to let you hurt him. Never."

"Then he is more important to you than I am?"

Dixie shook his head. "No. But that doesn't mean I don't care about him, and just because I care more about you doesn't mean I'll stand by and watch you hurt someone I love."

Stanislaus looked from Dixie to Arden with his sharp, blue eye. Forcing his breath sharply out of his nostrils he looked back to Dixie. "Is that so?" he said.

"That's the way it is," said Dixie firmly.

"Then… my eye means nothing to me," said Stanislaus. "It… means nothing to me."

"You're not going to hurt him?"

"I'm not going to hurt him."

"Never?"

"Never."

With a clatter, Stanislaus' magmar fell to the ground, defeated by Gaius' granbull. "Good," said Gaius. "Adolphus, those Rockets—get them, no matter what."

"Bull!" shouted the granbull, lunging toward them. Stanislaus' hand shot to his belt immediately, but before he could get to it, Bruno leapt between the Rocket grunts and the granbull. Adolphus grabbed the sandslash by the throat and threw him hard into the ground without missing a beat. Stanislaus threw his pokeball to release his pokemon, but Adolphus caught it and hurled it away.

"Dixie!" yelled Arden, sprinting toward the pair. Thief and Cruelty ran after him, with a gravely wounded Adalhelm behind them. Adolphus raised his fist to strike Arden away, and Gaius cried out. Arden closed his eyes and covered his face with one arm, flinching expectantly.

But the strike never came. There was a yelp and a clatter, instead, and when Arden opened his eyes, he saw that the granbull had been knocked away. Blinking, the boy glanced around and saw Gimpy at the top of the stairs, his cannons withdrawing into his shell. Arden sighed and went to him, hugging him around the middle as tightly as he could. "I take it back," he said. "I don't wish I'd left you tied up in a forest somewhere."

Gimpy flattened his ears, as he could never recall such a thing having ever been said. All the same, he patted the top of his trainer's head in acknowledgement of his kind sentiment.

Gaius recalled Adolphus into his pokeball silently. There was no more fighting around him. All the pokemon were battered and still, no longer willing to fight each other unless to protect their trainers. Silence and anxiety was thick in the air about them all. Gaius looked at Arden and then at the two Rockets holding each other tightly. Touching Quenelle's head softly, he started toward the stairs, and the tauros followed him.

"Just like that?" murmured Stanislaus.

Dixie frowned. "He took my pokemon with him," he said. "Except Bruno… Bruno—are you alright?"

"Saaand," murmured Bruno, getting up slowly.

Stanislaus glanced at Dixie. "You were wearing his jacket before," he said. "Why was that? Did you and that guy—"

"No, of course not," said Dixie, his face reddening.

"You don't have to lie if you did," mumbled Stanislaus, going to Adalhelm and kneeling beside him. "I'd understand if you did; it's not like I'm incapable of understanding or anything…"

Arden started down the stairs. "A—arden," said Dixie, looking up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to catch up with Gaius," said Arden. "To leave so suddenly… Besides, if he has your pokemon, you should have them back. Your pokemon are your friends, and it's not right for him to take them. You always look so lonely, anyway;— I can't imagine how much lonelier you must be without them."

He headed down the stairs and, one by one, his pokemon followed him, as though their injuries didn't weigh on them at all. Dixie watched him go. "He's different than he was," he mumbled. "I wonder if some of that's my fault…?"

"This wouldn't have even been a problem if he'd just joined Team Rocket," said Stanislaus.

"That was my fault, as well…"

"Hey," said Stanislaus, grabbing Dixie's chin. "Stop blaming yourself for everything. I hate it when you do that. Now, here, let me straighten your nose for you."

"Nng—gently, gently!"

"There's no way to do this gently."

"Isn't this something I should see a doctor for?"

"Stop moving!"

"Sorry—gah! Don't touch it! That hurts!"

"Stop moving!"

"There's no need to be so rough!"

"But Dixie—you told me you liked it that way!"

"Geh—this isn't a very appropriate time or place for jokes like that—gah!"

"There. See, now? Was that so bad?"

"Gah! Gaaah! It's worse than when it got broken! Gah!"

"…though, yes. This is probably the sort of thing you should take to a doctor."