Me: *drops from ceiling* Boo!

Gardevoir: *rolls eyes and sidesteps*

*SPLAT*

Gardevoir: Sigh...that wasn't even scary, you know.

Me: *painfully stands up* Well excuse me for not being Slenderman.

Gardevoir: Huh?

Me: He's this faceless guy in a suit from an online game called Slenderman who follows the player around and tries to kill them.

Gardvoir: *frowns* Delightful.

Me: *grimaces* Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go wipe this blood from my nose! *slams bathroom door*

*knock on front door*

Gardevoir: *groan* Now who is it?! *opens door but no one's there* Weird. *shuts it and turns around*

*knock on front door*

Gardevoir: *quickly opens it again but no one's there* Okay, Eon. Stop messing around! This isn't even scary! *slams door shut and sees a figure move outside the window*

*pots clang loudly in the kitchen*

Gardevoir: *looks around nervously* This is getting weird. Disclaimer: Eon does not own Pokemon in any way.

Chapter Four: Green

I could tell when Blue had transitioned from consciousness to dead sleep by the speed of her breathing, and once it'd slowed down enough, I retracted my fingers from her hair and looked across the room to see Red watching.

"What did she get herself into?" He said with a shake of his head. He shifted on the arm of the couch Yellow was lying on and frowned. "We shouldn't have left her behind."

I clenched my fist. "She didn't give me a choice! You think I enjoyed walking out of there without her?"

He held up his hands to calm me down. "No! I just wish she wasn't so stubborn!"

I grunted in agreement and turned to see Black coming down the stairs. "Where are the towels again?"

Red glanced at him and flicked his hand upwards. "Top cabinet over the sink."

Black smiled a thanks and ran back upstairs to shower—something all of us had missed out on the past couple of days. Mrs. Sage, the lady who was kindly housing us, had a son along with her daughter, and luckily, he was the same age as Red and I. We'd already taken a shower each and were fitted in some of his clothes. It seemed like they'd do the same for Black and Silver, and it was proved true for the latter as he trotted down the carpeted steps, his red hair still a little wet.

He seemed quite comfortable in that big gray sweatshirt, and the mother of its owner smiled at him as she walked into the room from the kitchen. "I'm glad to see it fits," she said cheerily.

"Yes, thank you," Silver told her politely, quite a change from his normal glaring demeanor.

"Oh, it's no problem," she smiled at all of us before heading back to the kitchen where she was cooking supper with a freshly cleaned White wearing some of her old clothes. "After what you kids have done for everyone of Kanto, it's the least I can do."

My eyes trailed after her before finding Silver's. "Have you told her why we're really here?"

He shook his head, and I nodded. "Probably best not to."

Last night after escaping the burning hotel room, the six of us hadn't gotten too far before our burns and smoke-filled lungs had us all crashing to the ground. When we'd come to, we were disoriented and quite surprised to find ourselves in someone's house. Mrs. Sage had then introduced herself and told us that she'd carried us back to her home with her Machamp. We'd been a little uncertain about staying, but with our injuries and nowhere else to go, we didn't exactly have a choice.

The woman was kindhearted, though, treating our wounds with her homemade remedies and giving us clothes to change into. We'd decided to keep her in the dark about our current situation, and she'd been considerate enough to refrain from asking questions.

"Not to what?" came a small voice from the stairs.

"I-It's nothing," Red chuckled a little nervously at the little girl that emerged. He'd never been very good at lying. "Don't worry about it."

Her dark eyes narrowed but said nothing, the girl shyly turning to me and coming to Blue's side. "Is Lulu okay yet?"

I looked at the side of her face as she watched the singed Cheshire sleep, and her sweet worry softened my voice. "Not quite, but she should be alright in the morning."

She only nodded and glanced up as Mrs. Sage appeared at the kitchen doorway. "C.C., come help me get the plates ready."

The little girl nodded and followed her back into the kitchen where I could see White finish making a batch of Cinnabar Burgers. Silver walked around to the back of the couch behind Blue and me and shook his head at her.

I nodded. "My thoughts exactly."

"At least she got back here safe," he muttered. "It was a good thing that she met Mrs. Sage's daughter along the way."

"Didn't I tell you to call me Janie?" The woman said smartly, suddenly appearing by the doorway again and surprising all three of us. She chuckled and gave a small laugh before beckoning us into the kitchen. "Let's go. Soup's on!"

Silver looked back at us before following her in, and I got up to do the same, remembering that Black was still upstairs. "I hope Black comes down soon. He won't get anything to eat once you reach the table."

Red looked up at that and smirked. "Hey…" The smile fell from his face though when he got to his feet and glanced at Yellow. Giving her a little shove, he huffed with a tone containing both frustration and worry. "Okay. Something's wrong, Green. She should've woken up by now."

I mentally counted the hours in my head and nodded in agreement. Going to his side, I looked at the girl and examined her sleeping figure with a finger beneath my chin. "It doesn't look like there's anything wrong—internally that is. If she had some kind of poison, she would've showed some other reaction a long time ago."

"Then what could it be?" He asked himself fretfully.

I narrowed my eyes as something shimmered lightly in her hair. When I reached out for it, the change in light refraction made it disappear, and I backed up until I saw it again. Memorizing its location, I quickly snatched it from her hair. Red watched in confusion as I held it up to the light where it glimmered again.

It was a small grain of powder that had a light-greenish tint but remained mostly clear. It was no bigger than a seed from an Aspear Berry, but I kept it away from me just in case. I had a good feeling that this was what was causing our little sleeping problem.

"What is it?" Red questioned me, tilting his head to get a better look at it.

"I have no idea," I told him truthfully. Glancing back at her hair, I pried it apart in case there were anymore. Finding some, I plucked the rest out until I had a small handful of the powder. "I think this is the whole dose Amber used."

"So what do we do with it?" Red looked back at Yellow. "We don't know anything about it so how are we supposed to figure out how to reverse its effects?"

"Had things been normal, I would've taken it to the lab," I said, reaching into my bag to bring out an empty Zinc jar that I'd forgotten to get rid of sometime ago. After carefully placing the powder inside and sealing the lid shut, I put it on the table. "But seeing how they're not, we're going to need to send it to one of the other professors to look at." I frowned. "That's going to be a little difficult, though."

"Why?" Red stared at me curiously. "There's a Pokemon Center down the street with tons of video phones. We can just send it through the transporter."

"No, that's exactly what we can't do," I stated. "We have no idea of what means Melany has of tracking us. So if we leave less for her to work with, there's a better chance that we can keep ourselves hidden."

"So we can't even stay at the Pokemon Centers anymore?" His eyes widened in surprise as I shook my head, and he growled. "I hate all this hiding and running."

Black came rushing down the stairs before I could say anything and stood beside us, rubbing the back of his damp head. "Is it supper time yet?" He got a glimpse of the Zinc jar on the table and scrunched his eyebrows. "What's that?"

I glanced at him sternly. "We'll tell you later. Go have something to eat."

He nodded quickly at the look on my face and headed for the kitchen.

"So which professor are you going to send it to?"

I thought a moment about Red's question and looked at the powder again. "Well, Gramps and Juniper are a no-go seeing as how she's showing him her research in Unova; I met Professor Rowan at the Reunion and he told me that he was conducting a research on two mysterious islands in Sinnoh; and Sapphire's father is still most likely looking into the appearance of Jirachi from our little adventure. So that only leaves Professor Elm."

"But Crystal said he called her on account of a new project," Red mumbled disappointedly.

"But Gold and Emerald went with them, right?" I reminded him. When he nodded, I said, "That means there's one more extra hand at the lab that can do some research on it."

He tilted his head. "One?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think Gold's even allowed to go inside the building?"

The red-eyed boy thought about it a moment before shaking his head. "So how are we going to send it to them? We don't even have access to a video phone."

"I don't know." I picked up the Zinc jar and placed it in my bag. "Maybe Mrs. Sage does. We can ask later."

Red nodded and gave Yellow another worried look before following me to the dining room where everybody was eating White's Cinnabar Burgers. As we sat down and merged ourselves into the activity, I quietly watched in surprise as Red ate near to nothing. Mrs. Sage kept offering him something now and then, but he continued to politely refuse. When the meal finally concluded, I narrowed my eyes at him and loomed over the boy as he took his seat by Yellow in the living room again.

"Not eating anything won't help the situation," I told him smartly.

He didn't answer, only staring at Yellow's slow breathing. "I just don't get it, Green."

I sighed and sat down at Blue's feet on the other couch. "I know."

We didn't say much else as the time passed by, and everyone started getting around for bed. Black and Silver ended up in Mrs. Sage's son's room, Red and I refused to sleep anywhere else but near the couches, and Copycat got a new roommate who she had made quick friends with at dinner.

The little dark-haired girl stopped by Blue's side where I was lying down on the ground while everyone else headed off for their designated rooms. Her matching eyes grew shiny for a moment, and she kissed the brunette's forehead, pulling a blanket from the back of the couch and draping it over her. Looking at me, she demanded as sternly as an eight year-old could, "Watch over Lulu."

I silently huffed with a smile and nodded. Satisfied with my answer, her little feet flew as she ran upstairs to join White in her room. Giving a sigh, I rolled my eyes as I heard Red already softly snoring and closed them in an attempt at sleep. It was quite hard to do though with concern about Blue running through my head. I commenced to banging it hard with my fist and snorting. Since when did I worry about the Pesky Woman? If she wanted to get into trouble, that was fine by me!

I opened my eyes and looked up to see a wisp of her hair hanging over the side of the couch and sighed. Who was I kidding?

With that thought, I forced my mind to shut down and get some sleep. It was back up not that much later, my hand holding my head as I sat up. My Pokegear read five 'til eleven, and the room was pitch black except for a single candle that burned in the kitchen, barely illuminating the darkness out here in the living room.

When I get myself to tune out again, I sighed and sat up, grabbing the TV remote and clicking it on. My fingers instantly went to the volume and turned it down until the people on the screen were almost inaudible. From the looks of it, the show was some sort of soap opera, and I quickly changed the channel with a roll of my eyes.

Chin in hand and hand on knee, I lazily surfed the stations, passing many late night shows and weather broadcastings until stopping on one that had the local news. The lady's lips were moving, but I was paying more attention to the picture behind her than the soft voice coming from the speakers.

It was the hotel we'd first stayed at, a thin trail of smoke escaping from a window and frozen in the image. Slowly moving the volume up, I quit when I could just hear what she was saying.

"…and firefighters arrived at the scene not long after the flames had first been reported, but what mystified the authorities was that they had already been put out."

My eyes widened as she went on.

"Police found some quantity of water in the remains of the room but say it wasn't anywhere near enough to have put out the fire. Investigators are currently looking into the matter, but it is still a mystery as is the location of the party responsible and those who had been staying there."

I stared at the burning window image until it blinked out to make way for one of a Growlithe standing in front of a market entrance. "And in other news, a local pet has turned out…"

My finger numbly hit the mute button. I set the remote down and leaned back on the couch, my eyebrows scrunching as I placed a hand on my chin and pondered over the broadcast. There were only two easy ways to put out a fire; either douse it with water or cut off its oxygen supply. But that usually only worked for those on a small scale.

I thought back to the raging inferno we'd woken up to yesterday and shook my head. There was no way it could've run out of oxygen before the police arrived.

I arched an eyebrow. So what exactly happened?

"Strange, huh?"

My head whipped up in surprise to see Blue sitting on the couch, her back against the cushions as she lightly rubbed her eyes. I got up and sat next to her as she gave a yawn.

"Sleep well?" I asked expectantly.

"Mhm," she mumbled tiredly.

"Feeling better?" I whispered after a glance at the sleeping Red.

She nodded.

My eyes narrowed. "Good. That means I can do this."

Snatching her wrist, I dragged her blanket-covered body to the front door, only having to deal with a few sleep-weakened struggles. I quietly turned the knob and pulled the two of us onto the porch where there was an outside settee and table set that she immediately collapsed on, her weary eyes already closing again.

"What was that for?" She said irritated.

I loomed over her stretched-out form, my eye almost twitching. "Are you kidding me?! Blue, you could've died last night!"

"I'm fine," the girl muttered through the pillows. She slowly pushed herself upright, and I could see her face slightly twist up at the light strain.

"See?! You got hurt pretty bad. You should've gotten a glimpse of yourself when Mrs. Sage brought you in. I swear it was like you were walking charcoal! You're lucky her daughter found you when she did!"

"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" She gave a deep sigh and showed me her healed arms. "And my burns are all gone. I'm just a bit sore from falling five stories." Her bitter voice cut off at the angry shock on my face. "Oops. Forgot to mention that didn't I?"

"You fell off a building?!" I fumed.

She clicked her tongue. "Technically, it was out of a window…"

I grabbed my head and looked up. "I don't care how it happened!" I sighed angrily. "Did you purposefully not try to call us for help or something?"

"You know, I think getting knocked unconscious and almost giving myself a concussion excuses me from that," she told me smartly as I sat down beside her.

"Then why wouldn't you let me stay?" I asked, closing my eyes and leaning on the back of the couch.

"Because I could take care of those morons," she said, wrapping up in her blanket even though it actually wasn't all that cold.

"And look where that train of thought got you," I muttered. Letting out a breath to calm myself, I turned to look at her. My eyes found hers in the dark, and for some reason or another, she flicked them away to watch the glowing lights of downtown Saffron in the distance.

Seeing as how it appeared she was done talking, I slowly tore my gaze from her and did the same. The chorus of the night was calming to my ears, and I was about ready to nod off when her voice sounded next to me, soft as the wind.

"I guess it's because I didn't want anything to happen to you."

It was a second before the annoyance kicked in. "I can very well take care of myself, Blue."

She gave an angry huff and stood up with her blanket. "That's not what I meant." She stalked towards the door muttering to herself. "I swear you're turning into Red."

I scrunched my eyebrows, and my eyes widened a little as I reran her words through my head. I got to my feet and took a step after her.

"Blue…"

She paused and turned her head back at me, a splash of rose on her slightly hard face. She frowned slightly as I walked up to her, the blanket billowing around her ankles in the breeze.

My jaw was slack as I searched for something to say, but no words came to mind. I mean, you can't blame me. When does Blue ever say something like that?

Her eyes softened at my confused face, and I turned it away. The action made her giggle a little, and I became a statue of ice as she suddenly leaned forward and kissed my cheek. When she pulled back a moment later, she smiled at me. "Greeny loves me."

My mouth opened to give the usual, 'I do not' but stopped. Instead, I hung my head and sighed with a corner of my lips curved up. "Pesky woman."

She just stuck her tongue out teasingly and tugged the blanket tighter before heading for the door again. I stared after her as she slipped inside and blushed brightly when she caught me watching and laughed until closing the door behind her.

I growled lightly at myself and sat back down on the couch, doing everything possible to get rid of the heat in my cheeks. When it continued to remain, I gave an angry scoff and face-palmed.

Stupid emotions.

Shaking my head, I watched the vaguely pulsing lights far off, wondering what had happened to me over the past couple of weeks. I was never this…defensive before. Okay, yes I fought with all I had at the Battle Frontier just recently, but even then there hadn't been this super strong urge to protect Blue like there was now. I frowned. Maybe it was because the whole episode in the digital world was the first time she'd almost died on me. I looked up at the sky and sighed. Maybe not. Either way, I had something new to deal with—because this feeling was holding on tight and showed no signs of letting go.

After mulling over my thoughts for a while, I sighed again and pushed off the cushions, quietly leaving the outside world for the inside to try to go to sleep once more. The TV was still on, and I turned it off before settling on the blanket bed I'd made on the ground and closing my eyes. It wasn't as hard to fall asleep as last time, and I wasted no time doing so, the redness finally leaving my face as I blacked out.

I was up long before anyone else, clear-headed by eight in the morning and folding up my blankets. Carefully stepping over Red, I passed between the couches into the kitchen to look for something to eat. To my surprise, Mrs. Sage was already awake and cooking a big breakfast at the stove.

"First one up again, huh?" She questioned once noticing my presence. Putting down her spatula with a smile, she found an empty plate and filled it with eggs, bacon, and a variety of berries from her garden in the backyard. "Seeing as how this also happened yesterday, I'd guess you're the early riser of the bunch."

I nodded and hesitantly reached for the plate. She laughed at me and shoved it in my hand. "Don't be shy! I made enough for everyone!"

As she went back to the stove and I sat down at the table, I could see she was right. The counters were littered with multiple platters of fresh hot pancakes and french toast along with the ones that my eggs and bacon had come from. Bowls full of berries filled the spaces in between and near to none of the surface beneath was visible.

"I never got a chance to ask you guys yesterday," the woman said as I ate the first forkful of eggs. "What brought you guys out to Saffron?"

I paused a moment, trying to come up with a story. After a short period of silence, I told her, "We were just passing through on our way to Celadon City. Blue wanted to give Black and White a tour of as many cities in Kanto that she could."

"That sounds fun! Can I come, too?"

Mrs. Sage and I turned to see her daughter standing in the doorway, her Persian-print pajamas shifting as she ran up and sat down in the chair beside me. "I wanna go with Lulu!"

Mrs. Sage chuckled at her and flipped the last pancake onto a platter. "Do you really think he'll take you along? He's never even met you, dear."

The little girl spun back around to me and grinned wildly. "Hi! I'm C.C., but everyone calls me Copycat!"

I swallowed the mouthful I'd just taken. "My name's Green."

Her grin widened, and she got this knowing look in her eye which was quite unusual for an eight year-old. "I know who you are."

I raised an eyebrow. "You do, eh?"

She nodded with a teeth-showing smile. "Of course."

"Why would that be?" I asked a bit warily.

"Because Lulu's my idol!" She shrieked happily. "I know everything about her!"

I rolled my eyes. "And I fit in how?"

She smiled evilly and beckoned for me to lean closer. Giving a sigh, I did so until she was close enough to whisper in my ear—which she did and told me one of the most unexpected things I'd ever heard.

"Lulu loves Green!"

I pulled back sharply to stare at the girl, and she giggled, putting a finger to her lips. "Don't tell Lulu I told you!"

I just looked at her. After a second of silence, a chuckle quickly rose in my throat, and I burst out laughing. Copycat soon followed suit, and the sound of our merriment filled the house. It took a few minutes, but finally we were able to control ourselves to talk normally again.

"So can I? Can I?" She asked excitedly.

I frowned uncertainly, but thankfully Mrs. Sage answered for me. "C.C., I don't really think it's a good idea. Besides, who would look after Chan-chan while you're gone?"

Copycat's head drooped for a second before popping back up in ecstasy. "Wait! Does this mean I can keep Chan-chan?!"

Her mother paused in surprise and tried to find the right words. "N-no, we still haven't discussed it yet. She doesn't belong to us." Giving a sigh, she walked up to the little girl and gently pushed her towards the doorway. "Now, why don't you go wake everyone up? It's time for breakfast."

"Okay!" She said brightly, leaping from her chair and racing out of the room. As she disappeared around the corner, Red trudged into view, rubbing his eye as he slowly strode in our direction.

"Did I actually just hear Green laughing?" Apparently he was awake enough to feign disbelief, and I rolled my eyes as he plopped down in a chair and Mrs. Sage gave him a plate piled high with pancakes and such. The promise of food instantly made his eyes brighten, and he immediately set to digging into it as soon as he got a fork.

Proceeding to do the same, I didn't notice Mrs. Sage sit down until her piercing gaze caused us both to slowly stop and look up at her. The woman's eyes were narrowed slightly but with curiosity rather than suspicion.

"Why are you guys here?" I was opening my mouth to repeat what I told her, but she stopped me with shake of her head. "And don't even give me that phony story you said earlier. There's no way that explanation fits with how I found you guys the other night."

My eyes widened slightly at her keen observation, and I looked to Red whose cheeks were filled up like a Rattata's. His expression was similar to mine, and after a second, he shrugged his shoulders and swallowed.

"It's not like it's a big secret or anything," he said simply.

Going back to his plate and leaving me to do the explaining, I sighed at him and turned to Mrs. Sage who was patiently waiting. "Let me just put it simply; a few weeks ago, these strange people began trying to kidnap Yellow."

The woman gasped as to be expected and glanced behind her at the living room. "That's awful! Who are they?"

"We're not sure," I admitted. "But for some reason, they've been intent on getting her. Even going to the point of setting our hotel room on fire."

"So that's why you kids were all burned up like that," she murmured to herself.

I nodded. "They were almost successful at their last attempt, and ever since then…Yellow hasn't woken up."

Red stiffened beside me, and Mrs. Sage's eyes grew large. "That's so strange…"

Red could only nod, slowly putting his fork down as I said, "Yesterday, we found this powder in her hair that we think might be responsible, but we're not sure. Would you by chance have access to a transporter that I could send it to Professor Elm for observation?"

Mrs. Sage shook her head ruefully. "I'm afraid not. But there is a Pokemon Center just down the street. You could go there."

"We'd rather not. Just in case these people are tracking us. We want to stay as hidden as possible."

She nodded slightly at this in agreement. "I don't blame you."

Footsteps sounded through the house as Copycat tromped down the stairs and walked into the kitchen, a sleepy-eyed Black, White, and Silver filing in behind her. "I got them up!" She announced cheerfully. "Now it's time for Lulu!"

The three weary teens joined us at the table as she dashed back out of the room. Getting up to get them some food, Mrs. Sage quickly returned with three more plates which were set in front of each new arrival. As if he was Red's clone, Black started shoveling bacon into his mouth, and White smacked his arm for being so rude before starting in on her own. Silver, however, looked at me and narrowed his eyes, completely ignoring the dish before him.

"What's that powder near your bag?" His voice sounded curious, but I could hear the wariness in it, too.

"Stuff from Yellow's hair," Red said shortly. The two Unova kids stopped and looked at him as he finished. "We think it's what's keeping her from waking up."

"What does it look like?" Black mused aloud, absentmindedly chewing on a Cheri Berry.

I stood up and went for the living room. "I'll go get it."

Their voices became muffled by the walls as I left the kitchen and found Copycat watching Blue with a worried expression.

"What's wrong?" I came up beside her and saw the answer for myself.

The blue-eyed girl was tossing and turning violently in her sleep, regardless of the fact that she should've already been awake from Copycat's shoving. Her feet had kicked off the blanket over her, and her entire body thrashed wildly around in a panicked frenzy.

"Lulu?" The dark-haired girl whispered as Blue's face scrunched up and she bit her lip.

"Blue?" I grabbed her shoulders and stopped her from throwing herself around. "Blue!"

Her eyes snapped open in an instant, and I could see they were filled with fear. Her final position had been with her arms sprawled out and body pushed against the back of the couch as if she was trying to get away from something. She was panting heavily, and my eyes widened as she frantically glanced around before sighing and slumping down with her shoulders hunched.

"Are you okay, Lulu?!" Copycat asked distressed.

Blue gave a shaky laugh and nodded. "Fine, fine! Just a…bad dream is all!"

The little girl didn't seem to notice the miniscule pause in her words, her face lighting up with an idea. "I know! I'll got get you my old dream catcher! That way, Lulu won't have any more!"

Blue just watched her dash upstairs, sighing once she was gone. I got on my knees and looked her in the eye. "Another nightmare?"

She nodded barely, and I helped her up, grabbing the Zinc jar from the table in the process. "Come on. You're going to want to hear this."

"Hear what?" She said quietly, following me after a second as I headed back to the kitchen where the others were still eating. I regained my seat, and Blue found one for herself, gently refusing when Mrs. Sage tried to give her a plate. "I-I'm not that hungry," she told her earnestly. I narrowed my eyes at her and made a note to talk to her later.

Placing the jar on the table, I waited until everyone was focusing to speak. "Red and I found this mysterious green powder in Yellow's hair yesterday."

Silver reached for it and took off the lid, pulling out a pinch and rubbing it between his fingers. "It kind of looks like Sleep Powder."

Black nodded. "You're right."

"Well, it's not Sleep Powder. I can tell you that now," Blue said firmly.

"How come?" White questioned.

"Sleep Powder would've worn off by now. Whatever this stuff is, it's continuing to keep her unconscious." Blue's eyebrows scrunched. "Let's take it to the lab, Green."

"Too risky," I told her instantly. "For all we know, it could be watched over day and night. We don't really want another run-in right now."

My words seemed to light a fire in her eyes, and my own reduced to slits as she stared me down. "We need to grab our clothes from the gym soon anyway. Might as well stop by while we're there."

The others nodded in agreement, and I scowled softly after a second of dead silence. "We won't have enough time to run a thorough analysis, but...I suppose it would give us a chance to send it to Professor Elm."

"Exactly," Blue annunciated.

"Are we all going?" Red wondered from his spot next to me, finishing off the last berry on his now empty plate.

"It'd probably be best if I just went," I decided after a moment of thinking. "It'll be easier to get things done fast and stealthy."

"I'm going, too," Blue demanded, crossing her arms. "I can go to the gym while you deal with the shipment dilemma. It'll make things easier."

I narrowed my eyes at her but slowly shook my head a moment later anyway. "Fine, but you will call me if something happens."

She chuckled nervously then and reached into her pocket. "About that…it appears as though my Pokegear won't call after getting damaged yesterday."

Silver rolled his eyes with a huff and took the device from her. Clicking through its contents to discover the problem, he went at it for a couple minutes before turning it over and opening the back. "It looks like you bent the internal receptor. Give me a day, and I'll fix it."

I sighed. "Alright then. We'll leave tomorrow. If we don't get back before dinner, you can come after us, but be careful."

Everyone nodded in comprehension, and Mrs. Sage got up to start clearing away our plates. "I'm so sorry this is happening to you guys. I just wish there was something more I could do."

"Letting us stay here is a relief in itself," Red told her while she loaded her dishwasher across the room. "We don't have to deal with getting publically tracked down like last time."

We all looked up suddenly as Copycat ran into the room, rushing up to Blue with flushed cheeks and an object in her small hand. "For Lulu! I'd forgotten where I put it, but I found it!"

Blue looked at the silver and white dream catcher in wonder, slowly turning it and taking in all its complex weaving. "It's beautiful." She looked at the girl. "Are you sure you want me to have it?"

Copycat nodded swiftly. "It'll keep the bad dreams away! Besides, Lulu needs it more than I do."

Blue smiled at her and gave the girl a quick hug. "Thanks."

She giggled a little and turned to start talking with White who she hadn't taken long to get to know. Blue's smile gradually faded, and she glanced at me when she felt my eyes on her.

I knew by the look in her eye that she was planning something, and I could only hope that it wouldn't get her into another predicament like the fire as she turned away and left my thoughts whirling around in my head as to what it might possibly be.

Gardevoir: Okay, whose there?! Eon! Stop it!

Me: *comes out of bathroom* I'm right here! What are you yelling about?

Gardevoir: *drops jaw and aimlessly points to door* But there was a knock...and then somebody outside...

*clanging from kitchen*

Gardevoir: And someone in the kitchen!

Me: *rolls eyes* Alright, who did you hire to trick me? Hm? Because whoever it is, they're failing miserably.

*knock on front door*

Me: *opens door to see no one* But... *shadow moves outside window* Ahh!

Gardevoir: Now do you see what I'm saying?! Something's here!

Me: Sh! *opens curtain to see faceless Slenderman* AHHHHHHHH!

Gardevoir: AAAAAAHHHHH! THAT STUPID GAME PERSON IS REAL?!

Me: *runs to Gardevoir* What is this?! What's going on?!

Gardevoir: I DON'T KNOW!

*loud knocking on door and banging in kitchen*

Me & Gardevoir: AHHH! GO AWAY!

Me: Wait! *hears people laughing* I know that laugh!

Gardevoir: *swings open door to see Max dressed up like Slenderman* You've got to be kidding me!

Max: Oh, you're faces! Haha!

Me: Then who was in the...? *Narrows eyes* Oh, don't tell me... *marches to kitchen and screams* I can't believe this! *drags out a dark-haired boy dressed like Slenderman too*

Gardevoir: Whose that?

Me: *glares at boy* CARLOS?!

Carlos: *rolling on ground* Great idea Max! So worth the trip up here!

Max: *still laughing* We thought we'd come pay you a visit!

Gardevoir: *fuming* NOT FUNNY!

Me: *face-palms* I'm gonna kill you guys...

Max: Haha! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Eon worked really hard on it so let her know what you thought!

Carlos: Happy Halloween!