"Please tell me what is taking place? 'Cos I can't seem to find a trace, guess it must have got erased somehow. Probably 'cos, I always forget, every time someone tells me their name, it's always gotta be the same" - Avril Lavigne "My World"

28 Obviously

"I hate riddles," Dawn whimpered. "They make my head hurt."

For the moment, she seemed to have forgotten about Paul, and none of us were keen to remind her. She and Leaf got along splendidly, distracting each other from the pain they were feeling and successfully not solving the riddle.

Leaf was trying to walk on the water, seeing as you couldn't actually touch it. It was working pretty well, even though she kept losing her balance. It looked like she was walking on a bunch of balls that kept rolling out from under her feet. It was about the funniest thing I'd seen this whole journey.

Drew was still in his moderately depressed state about his Absol. I think everything was starting to build up, and soon, Drew would snap from the pressure. Losing May, Paul, his prize Pokemon, and now Brock was probably killing him inside. The thought of Drew going berserk wasn't one I liked to grace my mind with. I shrugged it off and focused on the riddle.

"What does 'consigned' even mean?" I exclaimed. I attempted to splash the water in aggravation, but of course I couldn't touch it.

"It means entrusted," Misty said. She was entirely focused on the water, her eyes hungry. "All things are entrusted to him to keep safe."

"How do you know it's a him?" I questioned.

She rolled her eyes. "I prefer to say him rather than 'it' or 'her' believe it or not. So we're going to pretend it's a him."

I smiled. "Okay, whatever makes you happy, princess."

Misty didn't look away from the water, but I saw her smirk turn into a scowl. "Do you want to solve this riddle on your own?"

"No! I'm sorry! Don't leave me to my own devices on this kind of thing, you know my brain will explode!"

Her smirk came back. "That's what I thought." She refocused on the pool. "If it's very good at keeping secrets, then I guess it can't talk, right?"

"Um, yeah, sure," I replied intelligently.

"It keeps things safe, but from afar," she continued to murmur, as if I hadn't spoken. "It can't act for itself, and it must do whatever the other says." Abruptly she smacked herself in the head. "Jeez, where's Brock when you need him? Even P—." She stopped short, remembering Dawn right behind her. "Brock was much better at riddles than I am," she finished lamely.

"I can help," I offered.

Misty sighed. "I'm glad you're trying," she said, "but I don't think you'll be much help."

It stung, of course, but she was right. I sat back and remembered that I had another riddle to solve. With an exasperated sigh, I pulled out the medallion and began staring at it.

My mind wandered. Should I go see Jessie and James, make sure they're alright? Maybe Dawn could go, because she knows medical stuff and could help, and Leaf could go be her assistant. Leaf… where do I know her from? She seems so familiar. I'm tagging her to Gary, for some reason. I can't believe Gary sent us on this death hunt. Wasn't he supposed to be guiding us? The fagot should've come with us! Arceus, I hate his guts. Calling me a loser every time he saw me. Dangling his car keys in front of me like—

I stopped mid thought. No way. Did I seriously just solve the riddle? I looked at the medallion. There was the picture of the key, looking right back at me.

All the answers were right in front of me. I just didn't know what they were.

"Misty," I said slowly.

She looked around. "What?"

"I got it," I told her, and the most devilish smile played on my lips. I scrambled over to sit next to her, shoving the medallion in her face. "It's a key," I went on, extra excited. "Get it? A key can keep secrets because it locks them away, it keeps your things safe even though its not guarding them, and it can't act on its own because it's an inanimate object, and thus it must do whatever we tell it!"

Misty's face went from confused to understanding in a second. "Oh my gosh," she breathed. "You're right. It's a key." She turned to the water. "A key."

The riddle faded away, but other than that, nothing changed. I feared for a moment that we'd gotten it wrong, but then Leaf gave a frightened scream, and she plummeted into the water.

"We got it!" I cheered. "YES! I did it! Let it be known that on this day in history, Ash Ketchum solved a riddle!"

"Hold your applause," Misty muttered.

I pulled out my water bottle and unscrewed the cap, dunking it into the cool freshness of the water. It was the sweetest water I'd ever tasted.

**********************************************************Paragraph Break. Tada********************************************************

Jessie and James drank the water gratefully. "Twerp," Jessie gasped when she'd drank her fill, "why are you on this mountain?"

I shrugged and continued to tilt the bottle to James's lips. "I don't know. I'm supposed to kill a sky cat, I think."

"You're crazier than I thought," James remarked, and I tilted the bottle more to shut him up.

"You'll get yourself killed!" cried Meowth.

"Probably," I said. "She's already killed May and Paul."

"The one with the bandana?" Jessie said, shocked. I nodded, and she looked sorrowful. "I always liked her. Good Contest competition."

I nodded again, feeling depressed. "Look," I said, standing up, "I've got to go up the rest of the way and slay a lion. I'm sorry, but you guys will have to stay here by yourselves."

"You'll come back for us, though, right?" James begged.

"If I come back," I replied. I placed the water bottle at James's head. "Here. Meowth can help you if you need it."

James nodded. "Please," he said. "Don't die. We'll be out of a job."

I stared at him quizzically. "Okay then!" I said finally. "I'll see you guys later, uh, enjoy the water, and, um, stay safe. All that stuff. You know."

Meowth nodded. "Don't you worry, you guys! I'll protect ya!"

Jessie and James didn't look too thrilled, but they nodded quietly and bade me goodbye. I allowed Pikachu to scamper up my shoulder, and we made our way to the campsite.

I don't know why we weren't staying with Team Rocket; probably old rivalries were preventing us from doing so. We were camped further along the trail, bottles full of water and stomachs stuffed with the remainders of the marshmallows. Leaf was shivering from being dropped in the water, and the fire wasn't helping her dry. It was too small.

I sat down and immediately began inspecting the medallion. If it gave me one answer, it was bound to give me others. The key had solved the riddle, and the fire was probably the bracelet, but what about the rest? It was very vague. I couldn't understand the one with the birds in dresses. It was too ridiculous to make sense.

With my lips pursed, I placed it on the ground next to me. There was no chatter around the fire tonight. In fact, Dawn, Drew, and Max were all asleep (yeah, right. More like lying down with their eyes squeezed shut). Misty was the only one awake, and all she was doing was staring into the fire. I sighed, stood up, and relocated to next to her. She gave me a side glance as a greeting.

"Nice to see you too," I replied.

"Oh shut up," she snapped back. Misty rubbed her eyes. "I'm tired and I can't sleep."

"If you lay down next to me, do you think you'll sleep better?"

"I don't have time for this, Ash, I just—."

"I'm serious," I said, cutting her off. "Misty, one more day and we'll be at the top of the mountain, I can feel it. I don't want something to happen like with Dawn and Paul where they bit each other's heads off and then never said what was important."

Misty bit her lip, looking a little nervous. "So, you think that one of us will… die… up there?"

I nodded gravely. "Yes, I do. If not both of us."

Misty exhaled uneasily. "Okay," she said in a shaky voice. "Then here's a preemptive apology."

"For wha—?" I began, and then she hit me. A powerful, knuckle-cracking, oh-Arceus-I-could've-sworn-I-just-got-punched-by-Arnold-Schwarzenegger hit. I recoiled, reeling back and finally falling over. "Jeez, Misty, what the hell was that for? What, is it Beat On Ash Week? Mew, that hurt!"

"I said sorry," she commented.

"But why did you do that?" I pleaded. "What did I do?"

"You rejected my confession of undying love to you," she said simply.

I gaped, struggling to sit up again while I massaged my poor bicep. "What confession?" I asked.

"I said, 'I love you, Ash, and always will' and you said 'I will never feel the same way, we can no longer be friends', so I punched you," explained Misty.

I blinked, shaking my head. "Wait—what? That never happened!"

"I told you it was preemptive, because it's going to happen." Misty seemed unnaturally calm.

"No, it's not going to happen!" I cried. "Because I'm going to beat you to it."

She lost her calm demeanor, and became extremely confused. "Huh?"

"I'm going to confess my undying love first, and throw off your entire plan," I elaborated. "So, you had no need to give me your preemptive rejection punch."

Misty's jaw was on the floor. "You lost me. Go back a little."

"I said I love you, and now you need to take back your punch," I repeated.

As I watched, her lips began to curve into a smile. "Sorry, one more time," she said.

With a sarcastic roll of my eyes, I wrapped an exasperated arm around her and pulled her in for a kiss. "I love you," I said, staring deeply into her eyes. "And if you didn't hear it that time, you need to swim a little less. Obviously there's a lot of water in your ears."

"Do you mean it?" she asked, sounding excited.

"I just said it three times! And then I kissed you. How much more proof do you need?" I was grinning. She looked so goofy, excited like she was. "Speaking of which, I don't think I heard you say the magic words yet."

"Fine, I love you too," she laughed. "But I don't take back my punch."

"Why not?"

"Because it was too much fun to hit you," she replied.

I smirked. "Oh really?" I gently bopped her on the head. "There. Now we're even."

She beamed. "Even?" she repeated. "But I didn't kiss you yet!"

"I'm waiting…" I teased.

Misty exhaled through her nostrils. She flipped a stray bit of hair out of her face, placed her arms around my neck, and leaned up.

There is nothing more amazing in the world than being kissed by Misty. Her lips fit perfectly with mine, and they're softer than clouds. I could smell the chlorine from all her days at the Gym, mixed wonderfully with the citrus perfume she always wore. It was amazing that the smells hadn't faded from all our time on the mountain, or maybe it was just my imagination putting them there. Whatever. Not like the reason mattered, because here I was, kissing Misty for the fourth time. I didn't count the ones in the castle.

I kissed her back deeply. It was wonderful that we could enjoy this blissful moment, when deep down we knew just how awful it all was. It was great that we could wear this mask of happiness, because if we couldn't, I would have been sobbing with fear.

********************************************************Aw, wasn't that cute?***********************************************************

Mew watched the humans from above. Shaymin was asleep, thank Arceus, and silent. She cocked her head to the side as Ash and the girl with orange hair put their mouths together, and sighed. Human love was so beautiful. That had to be why Father kept them alive.

She floated up into the cloudy night, her eyes shining. The humans were laughing at each other. Mew wished she could see the stars, because Lucario always watched the stars. It would have given her comfort to know she was looking at the same stars he was. But alas, the thick blanket of dark clouds blocked her view.

The humans kissed again, and Mew found it wonderfully romantic. She wanted to be human, so she could kiss like that. It was certainly a fantastic feeling, or else humans wouldn't do it. It made her giddy just thinking about it.

After a little more bantering and one last kiss, the humans snuggled into their sleeping cocoons and went to sleep. Mew pouted, sad the romance was over. She glanced over her shoulder. Shaymin was still asleep. Silently, she rose up and soared down to the humans.

There were six humans. The four that hadn't been kissing tossed and turned in their sleep, making angry and sobbing noises. Mew stared at them curiously. What were they dreaming about?

She hovered over the little boy. He slept with circles on his eyes, a thing humans called glasses. Gently, she took her paws and lifted the glasses off his face. With a curious expression, she set them on her nose, peering through the lenses.

And Mew saw a truly different world.

Everything was blurry. Things that were normally so clearly defined were fuzzy through the glasses. It hurt her head to look through. She winced in pain.

But there was something that she hadn't seen without the glasses. Strange streaks of glowing light shimmered in various places. It looked like someone with stars for feet had made a path through the air. She took the glasses off with her tail, and the paths were gone. She put them back on, and there they were again.

Curious, Mew placed the glasses back on the boy's face. She wanted to follow the trails, but not before she explored the other humans.

She floated over to the boy with green hair. He slept fitfully, clutching an orange bit of cloth in his hands. He kept muttering to himself, but Mew couldn't understand what.

The girl with blue hair cried in her sleep. Salty tears ran down her pale cheeks, and her face was screwed up in pain. Mew hovered right in front of her face, an inch away from the girl's nose. She felt awful for her. There was a sorrowful aura emitting from the girl. Mew didn't like it. Looking for her next subject, Mew left the crying girl alone.

Ash and the girl with red hair were sleeping close together. Mew floated down between them, looking from one to the other. They slept peacefully compared to the others.

"Pi?"

Mew looked up. A tiny yellow Pikachu was sitting up, one ear up in suspicion. "Hi," Mew greeted.

The Pikachu scratched his ear. "Hey," he replied. "Long time no see."

Mew blinked. Now she remembered! The Pikachu was always with the boy, every time she saw him. "Your master is very nice," she said.

"Yeah, he is," Pikachu agreed. He looked at Ash sadly. "I don't know why, but lately I keep waking up and thinking I hurt him in my sleep. And he acts like I did." Pikachu stared at Mew helplessly. "Am I hurting him?"

"Probably," Mew said. She floated up with her feet behind her head, like a child. "Yacaeli's using you against him."

Pikachu's eyes grew outraged. "I knew it!" he cried. "That stupid cat, wait till I get my paws on her, I'll—."

"You can't," Mew interrupted. "She controls you, remember?" Her tail waved, and she made a grab for it.

The yellow mouse looked desperate. "But you've got to help me! You're a Legendary; she can't control you, right?"

Mew snagged her tail, but she looked distracted. "I suppose…"

"Then you can be there and protect Ash from me!" Pikachu exclaimed. "This is perfect!"

"Um…" Mew began, but she never got anywhere on the thought.

"Oh, thank you, Mew, this is splendid!" Pikachu went on. "I am forever in your debt. Do you accept ketchup as payment?"

"Listen," Mew said firmly. She fixed the mouse with a hard stare, giving him her entire attention. "I can't do that. I'm here to save my brother Suicune and that's it. Well, nephew, I guess, because he was created by Ho-oh and Ho-oh is my brother, but it doesn't matter. I can't help you with your master, I'm sorry."

Pikachu's eyes filled with angry tears. "But he saved you! You've worked together twice!" He looked away furiously. "Why did I think I could trust a Legendary? They always stab you in the back!"

Mew felt horrible. The Pikachu had trusted her, even saved her life once, and she had let him down. Lucario would never have condoned such behavior.

"Okay, okay, calm down," Mew snapped. "Listen, I'll do my best, alright? But I'm not supposed to help the humans. Father doesn't even know they're here." She sighed. "I can't do much, but I can give you this." She leaned down and gave the Pikachu a gruff lick. "There," she said proudly.

Pikachu looked puzzled. "Uh, thanks?"

"It's my blessing," Mew told him. "Yacaeli can no longer touch you."

His eyes lit up like the stars did when Lucario was with her. "Really? Thank you so much, Mew! This is fantastic! You are the best, really! I am forever yours to call on. I'll give you all my ketchup!"

Mew giggled. "You don't have to. I owed you, and now we're even. Tomorrow, we will fight side by side in battle."

"It will be an honor," Pikachu breathed.

"Oh!" Mew exclaimed. "One more thing. When Arceus made Yacaeli, he made sure she couldn't kill humans with her powers. The only way she can take a human's life is if she uses her claws or teeth. Not even things she controls can kill them."

His eyes widened in understanding. "So May and Paul are…"

She nodded. "They must be."

**************************************************************I love Mew*************************************************************

Tenebri could feel the power of Yacaeli in her bones. The summit was mere feet away. Tomorrow, she would strike, and Yacaeli would fall, and no one would dare to think Tenebri was weak. Never again would they mock her, demean her, or do anything of the sort. Because then Yacaeli's powers would be hers.

And she would be stronger than Arceus himself.

*****************************************************************Tenebri!*************************************************************

Yacaeli allowed Yata to ride on her back, though begrudgingly so. The human dug her knees into her sides and pulled her fur with her fingers. She carried her up the mountain as quickly as she could, eager to be rid of her.

"What do you want me to do, my goddess?" Yata asked. Her tone said that she would pick the mountain up and carry it all the way to Spear Pillar if that was what Yacaeli wished.

Yacaeli had to smirk. It was too easy. "There are other humans on this mountain," she said in a low voice. "You have met them before."

Yata blinked. "I have?"

"Yes," hissed the cat. "And I want you to meet them as they come up the mountain, and kill as many as you can."

"Kill other people?" Yata questioned. "You want me to kill people I know?"

"At least injure them, my servant," Yacaeli conceded, but her face had gone from smirk to sneer. "Slow them down, I don't care how you do it, I just want it done."

Yata hesitated. "I have no weapon," she protested. Clearly she was glad she'd found an excuse.

Yacaeli chuckled. "My dear," laughed the Sky Cat, "you were given two hands, two legs, and a lithe and speedy form. Did you think it was just luck? This is what you were made for."

"To kill others?"

"Indeed, Yata. This is the time to fulfill your destiny." Yacaeli's eyes glowed in the night. "This is the time."

*AN: I love that romance part up there. And I love Mew. This chapter, I overall loved. And I did not make that riddle up there. I found it online. It's pretty good though, eh? Don't forget to do the poll, folks! The end is near! I can feel it.

I just got a necklace with a glass charm that honest to God looks like my ideal image of a kissy fishy. I'm thrilled. Just thought you should know that. Gonna go read my buddy The Color is Blinding's iCarly story now. Supposed to be the best she's ever done! So, iCarly fans, I suggest you go check her out. She's an awesome writer. We're actually planning on doing a dual story together, and it will be epic. Parody epic, that is. Anyways, ciao.*