Some of these chapters right now are shorter than usual. I am aware of this, and I blame it on the transitonary fillerness of them.

The group hadn't wasted any time once their ship made port on Chrysanthemum Island. They never even left the docks, opting to simply wait until the return ship was ready to leave, then quickly purchasing their tickets and boarding the nigh-identical ship.

It was nearing dusk as they hung around on the ship's front sundeck, nobody in much of a mood to do anything except wait as their boat slowly made its way back to the coastal city.

"So, uh..." Trey began slowly, breaking the silence that had crept up on them, as they sat there in the amber light of the rapidly darkening sky. "Do you guys actually have a plan for dealing with this fake? Once you get back to the Palace."

"Oh, I don't think we'll have that much trouble." Spenser replied calmly. "To tell you the truth, I'm far more interested in learning how this imposter managed to pass off as me in the first place."

"You seem pretty confident." Brock noted, glancing at the aging man.

"Well, of course!" Spenser responded happily. "Do I have reason not to be?"

"It just seems that this guy had to be pretty crafty to not only take control of the Battle Palace, but manage to impersonate you as well." Brock explained. "He seems like more than your average criminal to me."

"Perhaps you are right. Perhaps you are not. Either way, worrying about it will not change the outcome."

Brock was stunned by this response, not sure what to say to counter Spenser's argument.

"Hey, Trey, you said you were on your way to the Battle Tower, didn't you?" Ash asked, speaking up as well.

Trey nodded in response. "Yeah, but a little trip out of the way like this isn't that big a deal."

Ash shook his head. "No, I just meant that you must've already won Spenser's Symbol, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I battled him just a few days ago, actually." Trey replied. "My Pupitar, Houndoom, and Crawdaunt against his Shiftry, Claydol, and Venusaur."

"What?" Ash cried in surprise. "The guy I fought used a Shiftry and Claydol, too!"

Spenser looked to Ash for a moment. "Now, isn't that interesting."

"Are your Pokemon...?"

"Oh, yes, they're all with me now." Spenser said jovially, patting his waist. "This imposter must have obtained the same Pokemon as me, as well."

Brock wasn't convinced that easily. "Wait a minute. You guys remember that strangely nice guy we ran into outside of Fuchsia City?"

"Oh, that's right!" Max responded instantly. "That guy Nate! He had a Claydol, and he said he was training for the Battle Palace!"

"That's right." Brock said, nodding.

"You think he's the one who battled Ash back there...?" May asked tentatively.

"Pika..." Pikachu chimed in, staring at the deck from atop Ash's shoulder.

Ash turned his head to face the horizon, where Fuchsia City was starting to come into view, framed against the twilight sky. His thoughts drifted back to the battle he'd had the previous morning, when he was forced to watch Swellow, and then Pikachu, fall to the man's brutal battle techniques. "Nate..."

When they made port in Fuchsia City, they disembarked the ship quickly, Spenser in the lead with Ash not far behind.

"Wow, it's getting pretty late..." Max noted, staring at the now-black sky.

"All right." Ash started, turning to face his friends. "I want you guys to go wait for us at the Pokemon Center."

"What?" Max cried indignantly.

"Ash, no! We're going with you!" May added.

"Do you really think that's a good idea, Ash?" Brock asked, caution in his voice.

Ash nodded to him. "Yeah, I do. None of you have any reason to go with us."

Spenser nodded as well. "The boy has a point. I'm not sure what will happen in there, but the less of that go, the better; I'm sure of that much."

"B-but - !" May started, but was cut off by Trey stepping between her and Ash.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of them." Trey assured Ash. "You two just go and get rid of that fake at the Palace."

Ash and Spenser nodded together this time before taking off down the street into the darkened city.

Trey turned to face May, Max, and Brock. May and May looked as if they were about to say something, but Trey held up a hand to stop them.

"I know what you're saying, but don't worry about it. Besides, if they're not back soon, we can always go after them."

Max nodded slowly, staring at the ground, clearly frustrated. May remained staring after Ash for a few seconds before bowing her head in agreement as well.

Ash and Spenser were silent as they sprinted through the pitch-black city streets toward the Battle Palace. Ash was surprised at the endurance of the older man, easily keeping pace with Ash and even pulling ahead every now and then.

Finally, they reached the commandeered facility. The duo quickly ascended the stone steps in front of the building and entered.

Before long, they had arrived at the gigantic marble room that Ash had battled the fake Spenser in. Not surprisingly, the room was empty. The lights flickered on as they ran to the relative center of the chamber.

"Hey! Where are you!" Ash boomed, his voice echoing off the walls of the stone room.

Silence.

"Come out! We know what you're doing here!" Ash continued, glancing around the room rapidly, checking the multiple exits that branched out of the chamber.

Slowly, softly, footsteps came into audible range. Ash and Spenser quickly pinpointed which tunnel they were coming from, staring at the long, dark cave as a visual double of Spenser emerged from the blackness.

"Is that so? Well, darn." The lookalike said in mock-frustration. "I guess I won't be needing this dumb old disguise anymore, then."

The second Spenser's body began flickering before their eyes, and, gradually, the tall, lanky figure of the man Ash had met in the field outside the city came into view in his place.

"Nate!" Ash roared angrily.

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu added, growling at the imposter.

"We thought it was you! What do you think you're doing here?"

"You actually figured it out?" Nate replied, his voice changing back to normal as well. "Color me impressed. And I thought it was fairly obvious what I was doing here."

"Hmm." Spenser said, thinking deeply to himself as he watched Nate speak. "That disguise. That was Camouflage, was it not?"

"Why, yes, it was. Nice eyes, old man." Nate praised, chuckling to himself.

"Well, this was a grand old charade, I imagine, but now I'm afraid you must turn the Palace back over to me."

"And why would I do a stupid thing like that?" Nate shot back, glaring at Spenser from across the chamber. "I worked way too hard on this whole thing to just give it back to you."

"Oh, I had hoped that you wouldn't say that." Spenser mused. "You see, I don't plan on leaving until you've agreed to my request. Therefore..."

"Therefore, nothing, old man." Nate spat. "I agree with you on one thing, though: I certainly can't let you two leave here, now that you know what's going on here and everything."

"Is that so?" Spenser said jovially, as Pikachu leaped down from Ash's shoulder.

"Pi-kaaa..." Pikachu growled, getting into a battle position.

"Growl all you want, little guy." Nate joked, leering at Pikachu. "Won't do you much good after a second."

Suddenly, a Butterfree streaked across the room from the cave behind Nate, loosing a trail of thick blue powder in its wake.

"Ah...that's Sleep Powder...!" Ash cried, covering his mouth with his arm, his eyelids quickly growing heavy.

"Pi...ka...!" Pikachu rasped, before tumbling over onto the ground, unconscious.

The attack appeared to have taken even Spenser by surprise, and he was out cold on the floor shortly before Ash. Within seconds, both trainers were lying in a heap on the marble floor, Pikachu among them as well.

Butterfree looped back around and landed on the floor next to Nate as it transformed back into Ditto.

"Good work." Nate briefly praised before hefting the two trainers in front of him over his shoulders. "Let's get these two to a proper holding cell, shall we?"

Trey didn't have too much difficulty leading May, Max, and Brock back to the Pokemon Center, even in the dark. Once they arrived, he looked to the three of them questioningly.

"So, what now? You guys want to wait here for a while? Get a room?"

Brock considered this for a moment. "Yeah, we probably should check ourselves in again. We're definitely not going to be able to get another ferry until at least tomorrow."

Trey nodded. "All right. Sounds good to me."

The four of them began making their way across the lobby, which, at this point in the night, was mostly empty, save for a couple of trainers presumably waiting for their Pokemon to be healed.

However, May found that she couldn't bring herself to go any further. She remained at the entrance, one hand clasped over her chest, her eyes locked to the floor.

Max noticed her lack of movement before too long. He turned around to face his older sister. "Uh, May? Come on, we're getting a room."

She didn't respond. She simply remained there, making no indication whatsoever that she had heard a word he just said.

"May?" Max repeated, causing Brock and Trey to turn around as well. Max took a step toward her. "What's wrong - "

"Sorry." She cut in sharply, not allowing her brother to finish. She whirled around on the spot and took off running, heading back into the dark city. As the automatic doors closed behind her, her voice drifted through them: "Go ahead! I'll be back!"

"May - !" Max started, but Trey cut in front of him.

"Do what she said. Get a room and wait here." He took a step forward, causing the doors to slide open again. "I'll go and get her for you."

Then he was gone as well, leaving Max and Brock standing there, both of them unable to shrug off a slight feeling of helplessness as the sliding doors closed in front of them.

R&R!