I felt like I had only closed my eyes for a few measly seconds before it was morning, light was invading the comforting blackness of my consciousness and someone was shaking me in an attempt to rouse me. My eyes felt like they were practically glued together with the grains of sleep and I didn't want to open them at all. Very grudgingly, I forced them open and I looked up into the hazy pink sky. I groaned immediately from the bright light, sheilding my face. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep. But Elliot was kneeling down next to me, shaking me softly. He was impossible to ignore.

"Come on, sleepyhead." Elliot said, in an irritating sing-song voice I likened to the trill of a mother getting her children up for school.

"No..." I protested, vaguely hitting out at him but missing spectacularly, my hand thudding into the earth. "I'm tired..."

"I know you're tired," he said, reaching under the blanket to hold my spare hand. He gave it a comforting squeeze. "Though it is kinda what you get for staying up till stupid o'clock in the morning."

"Mmmmm!" I murmured in protest, wanting to stick my tongue out, but finding I was too tired to do so. Instead I compensated by pulling the blankets over my head and blocking him out.

Elliot chuckled, before plucking the blanket off my face and smiling down at me. As I watched him, he suddenly reached out to me. I anticipated a hug; he was always very fond of hugs, after all, but before I knew what was happening, one of his arms had found its way under my back and the other was slotted under my legs. I barely got a chance to squeal in surprise before my body left the uncomfortable ground and I was in the air, lifted into Elliot's arms, blankets and all.

I shrieked. "Elliot! Wh... What are you doing?"

"Waking you up." He said with a cheeky grin.

I flailed uselessly in his arms, squealing and completely helpless. I heard laughter coming from nearby and saw Bailey and Nikki doubled over laughing as I kicked and screamed and protested. My face burned in sheer embarrassment as Elliot held me aloft, but despite how much I struggled and hit out, he kept a firm grip on me.

"Woken up yet?" He teased.

"Yes!" I gasped, still struggling.

"Alright," he grinned, before suddenly loosening his grip on me. I shrieked, feeling my body plummet downwards. Terrified I was going to fall and tumble to the ground, my hands grasped for anything solid I could grab on to. But with a burst of laughter, Elliot's grip tightened around me again and I was right back into his solid embrace.

He was grinning wickedly as he set me back onto my feet and that only served to make my temper flare. "Elliot Alexander Wood, I am going to murder you!" I cried, attempting to disentangle myself from the blankets, but failing miserably.

Elliot was still laughing. "Aww, but that would defeat the purpose."

I grumbled angrily at him, before balling up the blankets I had finally pulled off myself and chucking them at him as hard as I could. He caught the bundled up blankets effortlessly, still grinning. He threw them back and they hit my face, before being caught by a gust of wind and scattering over the campsite. I groaned in despair as I watched them fly off in every direction.

Elliot chuckled again, before becoming serious once more."Get ready. We should leave soon."

I made a face behind his back when he wasn't looking, which made Nikki and Bailey collapse into yet more loud giggles. I caught sight of Scott shaking his head in a weary manner as he gathered his things together and began packing them away patiently. I smiled weakly at Bailey and Nikki and quickly busied myself getting ready and rescuing the blankets that looked like they were making a bid for freedom halfway across the campsite. As I packed, a blonde head in my peripheral vision caught my attention and I looked up to see Jasmine nervously approach Bailey and begin to engage him in conversation. She was smiling sheepishly and her gestures were highly animated, almost like violent twitches. I grinned to myself. She was obviously nervous. Bailey, who had initially looked quite taken aback to be spoken to by Jasmine was now smiling broadly as they talked.

"How cute…" I thought to myself happily, instantly feeling my mood lift.

After making sure our makeshift camp site was completely cleared away, we were off again. Elliot conducted the whole proceeding like a military operation, even drawing up an itinerary of when we should eat, rest and where exactly we should be at every hour of the day. This drew a few teasing comments from Jasmine, but Elliot dismissed them at once, explaining that getting there as fast as we could was vital. I agreed with him, and not for the first time since I'd started this journey, I was so glad he was here with us.

The beginning of the day passed exactly as Elliot wanted to. We flew for an hour or so with little incident, stopping as it hit mid-morning in a little town for breakfast. After eating, we stretched our legs around what the little town had to offer, picked up some basic supplies and were quickly on our way again. We were flying over a lot of forestry, so there wasn't very much interesting to look at or do as we continued to fly.

Afternoon came, and as the sun became very warm and impossibly bright, we landed again in a small clearing to eat lunch. We rested for at least a full hour this time, returning the fliers to their Pokeballs for a proper rest. Lunch was a rather relaxed affair as Bailey cooked us a proper soup, aided by the fire that Nikki's Ninetails conjured up. I wasn't even sure what kind of ingredients or vegetables he used, as Bailey was oddly secretive about his cooking, but it turned out delicious and I had to fight to stop myself licking out the bowl. Even Jasmine, who I knew to be particularly fussy about her food inhaled hers with big chunks of bread and told Bailey it was 'delicious'. The look of sheer delight on his face at her genuine compliment warmed my heart.

But just as we were going to head off for the afternoon's flight, we encountered a problem. It began to rain. At first, it was only spits and spots, barely noticeable, but after about five minutes of that, the heavens suddenly opened and we were caught in a downpour. Shrieking, we all recalled our Pokemon and ducked for cover wherever we could find it. I prayed for all I was worth that the rain would stop quickly, but it didn't. As if to spite me it rained for hours. With little else to do but feel frustrated, we had to simply sit under the relative shelter of the trees and wait for it to pass. It was freezing, the ground was wet and uncomfortable and the rain was still able to fall through the leaves, slowly soaking us straight to the bone.

The rain didn't let up until the evening. Thoroughly soaked and sodden, knowing we couldn't go anywhere until the rain stopped, I was in a foul mood, constantly snipping at anyone who dared speak to me, and cursing the rain for all I was worth. But my cursing went unheeded and the rain still stubbornly fell. With nothing to do but sit under what limited shelter we had and wait it out, it was fair to say our tempers were frayed.

The rain finally began letting up as it approached five o'clock. As Elliot tentatively stepped out from under the tree he'd used as shelter, he frowned.

"There's no way we can fly now." He said, looking up at the gloomy sky that was nothing more than slabs of grey, all swirled together like barely mixed paint. "We're better off going and finding a Pokemon Centre now and starting off again in the morning."

This was the last thing I wanted to hear. Anger swelled within me and I instantly wanted to go off in a mad tantrum. As it threatened to bubble out, it was only by Nikki looking worridly at me as she saw my face change that managed to stop me. I let out a resigned sigh, forcefully swallowed down my anger and squashed it, knowing that it wasn't going to help anything.

We mounted our Flying types and flew off in search of a Pokemon Centre to stay in for the rest of the night. Luckily our flight was short as eagle-eyed Elliot spotted a Pokemon Centre a little further down the route. The place was totally devoid of other trainer and Pokemon life apart from us, the kindly nurse on duty explaining that not many people passed through this particular route through to Goldenrod.

The night passed horrendously slowly, not helped by the fact Jasmine began snoring loudly just as soon as I felt I could drop off to sleep. With little other option but to remain awake, I stared up at the ceiling, frustrated, thinking deeply, my temper frayed and fighting not to cry until the first rays of sunlight began inching up from the horizon.

I was irritable throughout the entire morning and wouldn't allow myself to be cheered up, despite Nikki, Elliot and Bailey's best efforts. I ate moodily, spooning up my cereal, not even caring that I was slopping half of it over me. I could hear a worried Nikki inquiring after me to Elliot but I wasn't even bothered about their concern. I was frustrated, tired and worried to death. I had phoned my mother during the course of the previous night and made her promise to be safe and to be vigilant in case Nathan turned up at the house looking for her. I was deathly concerned about her, every time I thought of her name or her face I was mercilessly attacked by stabs of worry and fear. Some part of me still doubted that Nathan would go to Pallet Town first, but I was still scared. I had gone through most of my life trusting and acting on my intuition, and I hadn't often been wrong. However, I was terrified that this time I would be wrong and the consequences of being wrong would jeopardise the safety and well-being of someone I loved dearly...

We left the Pokemon Centre no sooner had we finished breakfast. The day was a lot clearer with not a rain cloud in sight, but it had rained through the night, leaving the ground soggy and an odd chill in the air. Everything smelled strongly of rain and the moisture in the air made me shiver. As Cairo pushed off into the air, the freezing winds buffeting my face had a sobering effect on me and as I took in lungfuls of the bitter cold air, it had an odd calming effect on me.

We stopped at midday for lunch, and despite the fact I was practically dropping from tiredness, the freezing air had had been like the proverbial slap in the face and I realised how stupid and childish I had been. As such, I tried to be cheerful and talk with the others when we dropped back down to the ground. The effort I did put in seemed to be appreciated and Elliot spent the whole hour we stopped to rest practically glued to me. At first, I found I didn't quite want him there while I was still irritable, but after a little while, I grew accustomed to his comforting, warm presence and ended up pulling him back to sit with me every time he got up to move and check on Pokemon or our things.

I was starting to feel oddly more relaxed as I pulled myself up onto Cairo's back and mounted him in preparation for the next period of flying. Elliot had predicted that if we kept a steady pace, we would arrive at Goldenrod City before nightfall, and I felt a lot more at ease now with the comforting knowledge that we were close and would be there soon. But as I straddled Cairo and prepared him for take off, just as Nikki hoped on behind me, my phone started to ring.

I fished it out, heart hammering in my chest, filled inexplicably with panic and trembling all over. However, as I realised that it was Dad phoning, I sighed with relief, feeling instantly calmer. Dad had been phoning frequently to check in and make sure I was safe. You might be surprised to know that it was me who had insisted on him keeping in regular contact. I wanted to make sure he was safe too. So, feeling a lot more relaxed and suspecting that Dad was simply checking in with me, I let out a long exhale and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

There was silence on the end of the phone.

"...dad?"

Still silence.

"Daaaaad?" I said in a sing-song voice. "Helloooo?"

Nothing.

"...dad?" I tried again, checking the phone screen. I had a full signal, and I knew Dad was phoning from the landline at the dojo, so there shouldn't have been any connection problems. "Dad?" I tried again, raising my voice.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elliot frowning as he mounted Lance's Dragonite. Trying to ignore the concerned look he was shooting me, and also trying to squash the rising panic firmly down the silence at the end of the phone still continued. I couldn't understand this whatsoever and I found myself checking that the call was still connected at least ten times. "Dad?" I said, my voice beginning to sound hoarse.

And then I heard breathing. Slow, hard breathing. A shock of icy cold fear shot through me, paralysing my limbs. "Dad...? Are you there?"

I heard a soft, malevolent chuckle sound at the other end of the phone. It sounded sinister, like the cackle of an evil spirit.

"Who's there?!"

The chuckle came again. "...hello, love."

No sooner did the words sound out, my entire body seized up in sheer and unmitigated horror. I recognised that thick, almost unrecognisable accent straight away. I could never and would never forget that slippery voice, dripping with venom and dancing with a devious, sadistic enjoyment that came with inspiring fear.

"Nathan!"

"Hello, Sienna Volbeda."

"Nathan! What are you doing?!"

"Talking to you, of course, you silly girl." He said coolly, but there was a hardened, stony edge to his voice that I didn't like at all. "How nice... and welcoming to hear that pretty voice of yours after all this time."

My skin crawled with repulsion. "Sh...shut up! Where's my dad?! Is he safe?!"

"Oh yes, he's quite safe. So far." He said casually. "In fact, he doesn't even know I'm here yet."

"What...?!"

"Yes," I could practically hear the sinister smile in his voice. "I knew as soon as I left Hoenn I simply had to pay your father a little surprise visit. We have so much to discuss, you know? Not least the fact that he betrayed me..."

'You leave him alone!"

"Oh? Now this is an interesting development..." Nathan chuckled deviously to himself. "You sound almost...concerned about your dear father, Sienna. And yet, two years ago, you hated him. What's changed?"

I hadn't anticipated this track of questioning, and its unexpectedness had me floored and completely tongue-tied. "Uh..."

"Your father is a monster, Sienna. You know this. Abusive. Power-hungry. A villainous, evil, heinous monster. I've heard about his claims to have changed from a very reliable source, and I'm here to tell you that it's a front. A mask. A disguise! He hides his true persona and feelings! He hides behind that dojo and all the 'good' he claims to do. Whereas you know as well as I do that one slight temptation, one slight push in the wrong direction, he'll go right back to where he started. He doesn't love you, Sienna. He's not a father to you. He's a monster!"

Tears were running down my face with every word Nathan spat forward. "No!" I cried at once. "He's not the monster, Nathan! You are!"

Silence.

"Nathan?!"

"I may be a monster, but I'm honest about what I am." Nathan's voice was icy. "Your father is deluding himself. He may be stupid enough to believe he's changed, you may be stupid enough to believe he's changed, heck, the rest of the world is stupid enough to believe he's changed, but I'm not. He'll hide away in this 'Free Spirits' dojo for six months, a year at most, deluding himself he's helping change lives and making up for not being a father to you..."

I took in a sharp breath.

"He'll hide away, denying what he knows he ultimately wants. And it'll slowly eat away at him, spreading like a cancer. Soon, it'll get the better of him. And then the at first sniff of a chance to gain power, he'll go running back to his old ways!"

"He won't!"

"And you're so sure of this, are you?"

"W...well..."

"You're a fool if you think he's changed." Nathan said firmly. "An absolute fool."

"He...he has changed..."

"No. He's not. And he never will. One chance for fame, glory and power and he'll go right back to his old ways. And I can't have a man like that standing in my way."

I cried out instinctively, gripping the phone so hard that I feared it would suddenly snap in two. "Nathan..."

"Goodbye, Sienna Volbeda..."

"Nathan...!"

"...I will be seeing you again."

There was a click as the call was disconnected.

"Nathan!" I screeched, but the phone had already gone dead.

For a moment, I simply stared at the phone, utterly incapable of speech or movement. Only my brain seemed to be working. Even that, however, was making barely any sense. All it could do was scream inwardly, any traces of coherent thoughts disintegrating immediately.

"Sienna!" Elliot's voice somehow punctuated my hazy consciousness. "What's going on? Was that...?" He broke off, looking like he didn't even want to say the name.

As I spoke, I realised I was still crying, the tears flowing thick and heavy down my cheeks. I could taste their saltiness the second I opened my mouth. "Nathan... He's at the Free Spirits dojo!"

"What?!"

"He's there right now! He phoned me from inside the dojo! And Dad doesn't know he's there!"

"Oh my God..." I heard Nikki say behind me.

"We have to get there now!" I cried. "He could... He could hurt my dad...!"

"Or worse." Scott suddenly said.

"I know!" I cried. "We have to go now!"

Without even waiting for the others to react, I kicked Cairo into action and we had shot into the air. Nikki shrieked at the sudden movement and grabbed me in fright, almost pulling the two of us off-balance. I was only just able to seize Cairo's neck and pull us back into an upright position, otherwise we would both have ended up falling at least ten feet onto the hard ground. A shot of adrenaline took hold of me and I squeezed Cairo, begging him to go faster as we began our ascent into the air.

Nikki was squealing in fright behind me and she had such a vice-like grip around my waist and stomach and was squeezing so hard I thought I was going to be sick. I tried to ignore her and focus on Cairo, encouraging him to fly higher. I was tense, sitting practically rigidly as Cairo soared higher and higher. I didn't dare even attempt to relax my body again until he had levelled his flight path and was cruising at a high altitude.

It was an agonisingly long flight, and my heart hammed relentlessly in my chest as I pushed Cairo, urged him on, begged him to go as fast as I could. I didn't even care that the others were lagging behind, or shouting for me, or that Nikki was telling me Cairo needed to rest. Panic had set in and the only thing I cared about was getting to Goldenrod and getting there fast.

It was bordering on nightfall by the time the glowing silhouette of Goldenrod rose up from the horizon. It was such a huge city, casting an amber light for miles in all directions, like a lighthouse in the middle of a stormy black sea. Seeing it was like that proverbial beacon of hope. I was here. I was close. I only hoped I wasn't too late...

I knew roughly the location of the dojo in Goldenrod, and I brought Cairo down to land right in front of the Pokemon Centre, a vague map mentally forming in my head. Nikki stumbled down from Cairo's back, but I barely even registered her calls as I recalled Cairo and began to sprint. I raced down the only slightly familiar route I knew would take me to the dojo, my heart thudding. I didn't know what I was going to see. Part of me didn't even want to look...

As I darted through traffic, barely even looking down the roads before I crossed, my mind was a blur of flashing amber lights, a mess of incoherent, jumbled thoughts and a bitter, all-consuming worry. As I ran, my eyes darted over every building in the tightly packed streets, desperately searching for the dojo.

As I rounded a corner, I let out a gasp of shock as I finally caught sight of the dojo. I had expected, and somewhat dreaded, to see the place in absolute ruins. I had entertained visions of seeing it ripped or blown apart, billowing smoke or completely on fire or surrounded by police, ambulance and fire crew. But it wasn't. It stood there quietly and unassuming, as normal as any other building in the street.

But as normal as everything seemed for the moment, I didn't dare stop to think about it. I dashed through the gate and into the dojo, bursting straight through the door and into the main hallway. All the lights were on and everything was deathly quiet. As I moved, a smell reached my nostrils, at first subtle and barely even there, but the further I went through the dojo's corridors, the thicker it got. It was the unmistakable and pungent smell of burning.

Terrified, I pushed on, desperately searching through every room and door I came across, cursing the giant dojo's infuriating maze-like layout. As I searched, banging doors after me as I went, a faint noise suddenly reached my ears. As I stopped to listen, I could make out faint groans of pain, almost mournful in a way. As I tore into the main room of the dojo, my eyes touched on what looked like a room that had been wracked by an earthquake. Furniture had been uprooted, strewn across the room, lying broken in half or completely in bits. Parts of the broken up furniture lay singed and smoking slightly and scorch marks eroded the walls like a fire had blazed straight through the room. The smell of smoke was particularly strong in this room and as I breathed in, I gagged and began coughing as the chalky and charcoal taste clogged up my lungs.

I heard another groan coming from the adjacent room and picked my way carefully across the destroyed debris until I stumbled in. My eyes immediately widened as I took in the horrible sight that lay before me.. Pokemon lay strewn across the room, bloodied and letting out soft murmurs of pain. I saw familiar figures of Rock, Ground, Steel and Fighting Pokemon, my father's favoured power-houses all lying injured and unconscious. A Golem in a crumpled heap. A Machamp sprawled on its back. A weakened Steelix coiled up in a ball. A Tyranitar face down, bleeding profusely. A Bronzong buried under a pile of rubble. I instantly thought the worst.

"Oh my God..."

But it was at this moment that I heard the sound of a sliding door opening. I whipped around to my left and saw the figures of a Poliwrath and an Empoleon push their way through, surveying the room. As they saw me they both began hollering, making such an uproar and looking so furious that it quite frightened me. As I stood there, shocked, heart hammering, another figure appeared at the door, laden down with medical kits, his arms spilling potions and bandages. My heart dropped to somewhere in my stomach as I caught sight of the familiar face.

A familiar face that was sporting a vicious wound, blood cascading down from his temple, running into his eyes, down his check and dripped onto the floor as he walked.

"D...dad?!"

Author's Note

Well, this is a relatively short chapter but I hope it'll show the direction I'm going with. Next chapter we'll learn more about Helene and we'll start to get the plot rolling again :D

Okay! Thanks to my reviewers:

WarriorSwift: Yes, it got worse... And it is gonna get a LOT worse before it gets any better, unfortunately...

ArchXDeath: Well, you'll be seeing a lot of Helene soon, kohai! :D Also, I really need to catch up with your fic... I've been slacking a lot...

lmv16: Duly noted! Sorry, the font on my phone is a bit dodgy at times xP Thanks for reviewing!

TwewyReaperGirl: I actually like raisins xP Well, I hope this chapter answered your question anyway :D Thanks for the review, they always make me smile :D

TCoBlackRoses: Ahh, your reviews are always so uplifting to read :D Yes, Helene will be the forefront for the next couple of chapters so I'm hoping that'll really pick up the story :D

SuperShinyShadowUmbreonX: I will eventually get around to doing Monty's story in the extension, yes, and I have a few other stories I want to tell, so don't worry!

Twisted diction: Thanks for the reviews! :D and you never know, there might be an Arcanine somewhere along the way :D

Until next time, guys :D