I just want to thank the reviewer who mentioned the mistake where I spelled 'Aiden' as 'Eden' a few times. It was revised and I corrected the chapters so I think I took care of it. 'Eden' was actually going to be his name in earlier drafts, but after a while I changed it to 'Aiden.' Guess I overlook two or three. Don't worry, hopefully it won't happen again in later chapters. Again, thanks!

Chapter 3: Threats Onboard

Elysia Heart

The elevator door nearly snapped shut on Elysia's hand. It stopped inches away and opened for her. She had been following her boyfriend, who had just lost his first battle against a ridiculous trainer. It had been an unfair loss, though. Drakon was clearly the stronger trainer and had battled better than that cheating, smoke-loving, Fire-type trainer.

Drakon had stormed off the field and headed directly to the elevators. The Opening Ceremony had just begun and the ship had just left port, but Elysia had to comfort him.

"Leave, Ely," he said, voice cold and distant. He stood in the center of the elevator with arms crossed. The elevator lights made his gorgeous blue eyes turn blood red. Ely slid through the doors, went to his side and wrapped her arms around his. The elevator began to rise.

"You know you were better," she told him. "He got lucky, that's all. Come on, Drakon, let's go back to the party. I think they let out a group of altarias. They're dragon-types!"

"I lost! Lucky or not, I'd be in Castelia City watching the cruise leave if it'd been an official battle! And don't speak to me of those fluffy birds that only dream of being dragons. Let go! Solvo brachium meum!"

Drakon pushed Ely away. She took a step back, but still held on to his arm. She knew better than to stand too close when he was angry. And when he spoke Latin, space was the only cure.

The elevator door opened with a ding and Drakon stepped out the second it did. Ely followed, struggling to keep up. A few people lingered in the hall, those that weren't at the Ceremony. They murmured and stared at them as they passed. Ely felt their eyes on her.

"Fine," she said, the tail of her flower-filled, yellow dress trailing behind her. "At least talk to me about it. Drakon!"

Drakon stopped and turned abruptly. He clenched her wrist. Ely felt more eyes watching her. She guessed Drakon did, too, since he loosened his grip.

"I told you to leave, Ely," he whispered. He took a key out of his pocket and slid it in a thin crevice in his room's door. A green light flashed and he threw the door open.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said, voice low and smooth. "Forget him, Drakon. You'll beat Aiden next time."

Something seemed to snap inside Drakon. He stopped a step inside his room, causing Ely to nearly bump into him, and turned. His face was wrinkled in anger and his eyes turned red once again. For a second he looked dangerous, and in that moment, Ely feared her boyfriend.

"Next time, Ely? Next time, I'll destroy him!"

He slammed the door in her face and the impact sent out a gust of wind that lifted her light blond hair. She thought of knocking and demanding him to open, but she knew people were staring.

Elysia collected her dress, lifted her chin and made her way back to the elevator. She ignored the faces that followed her down the hall. When she got to the elevator, she thought of going up to her room, but then she remembered the altarias and how dazzling they looked flying around deck. She hit the button with the arrow pointing down, waited for the elevator to arrive and entered when it did. As the doors closed, a voice called out for her to wait. Thinking it was Drakon, she hastily pressed the button that opened the door.

A pokemon entered the elevator, instead of a person, as Ely expected. It had red and yellow fur, with a human body and a rodent-like face. It stood in the doorway, holding the door for someone. Ely looked down the hall, and saw a girl running toward her. An auburn-haired trainer, with gray eyes and a black skirt that Ely thought was a little too short, sprinted into the elevator.

"Thank you, er, Elysia," the trainer said, looking at Ely's contestant name tag and smiling. Then she smiled at the pokemon. "And you, Mienfoo."

The pokemon stepped off the doorway and the door slid closed. It smiled as it stood between Ely and its trainer.

"Don't mention it," Ely said, faking a smile. She had hoped Drakon would've been the one to chase after her. She noticed the trainer's name tag and realized that she, too, was a contestant, not just a guest. It read Kara Ryder. "Um, Kara."

Ely stared at the elevator door, but noticed Kara staring at her, and felt insecure for a second. She pushed her hair back, behind her ear, hoping it would make her look prettier. Kara squinted her eyes at her.

"I've seen you before," Kara said, at last. "You were next to that Dragon-type trainer earlier, when he was chosen. Your boyfriend, I take it?"

Ely nodded. "You saw the battle?"

"The TV in my room was broadcasting it. I guess they'll show every tournament battle there. He did fight really well, though. Sorry he lost."

Drakon's not going to like that, Ely thought. Probably everyone on the ship saw the battle. They must think he's weak. Well, he's not. He'll come back, better and stronger. Ely gave a chuckle. Now I'm beginning to think like him.

The elevator stopped and opened with a ding. Music filled Ely's ears and the lively deck came into view. Hoppips floated and decorated the sky above the cruise. Ely noticed the trainer that had beaten Drakon in the center of a crowd of people. He was celebrating his victory, surrounded by people and pokemon. That should've been Drakon, celebrating with her, Ely thought.

"Well, see you," Kara interrupted her thoughts. She gave Ely another smile as she left the elevator. Her pokemon followed close behind. Then Ely felt alone. Drakon was gone, and she didn't know anyone else on the cruise. Maybe she should've went back to her room, she thought.

"Wait!" she called out to Kara. The trainer had already mixed into the crowd and was nowhere to be seen. Ely felt silly. Then Kara stepped out, gray eyes staring at her like an owl.

"Yes?"

"Um, er," Ely stuttered. She gulped. "Well, you see, I, um, my boyfriend isn't here, and I don't really know anyone else. I was thinking, maybe I could accompany you. At least for a while. To not pass the Opening Ceremony, um, alone."

Kara gave her a confused look, raising one eyebrow. Ely felt embarrassed. Then the smile returned to Kara's face and Ely felt at ease again.

"Sure," she said. "I think I saw a few altarias earlier, with dancing roselias on their backs! Want to go see them?"

"Yeah, I'd really love to."

Ely and Kara made their way through the crowd. They passed through the place where that Aiden was and Ely kept staring at him, studying him. Something about him disgusted her. Celebrating after the dirty way he fought . . .

"Going to have to watch out for him, won't we?" Kara said, glancing at Aiden as she leaded Ely between cheering people. Her voice suddenly turned icy cold. "He's a threat. But he's not the only one, right?"

Ely nodded, though she didn't know who she was talking about. At least someone else shared her dislike of the Fire-type trainer.

And for the rest of the Opening Ceremony, Elysia and Kara stayed together. They admired the pokemon, danced when they turned the battlefield into a stage, talked and laughed. Ely even let her Shinx out when Kara asked her what pokemon she had. The two, accompanied by their pokemon, went to the railings and watched the sun set in the horizon, altarias flying with swablus and hoppips while mantines and finneons swam below. Ely felt happy, since she had a friend. But Drakon kept weaving his way into her mind, and she couldn't help worrying about him, and the threats…

Author's Note:

All six main characters have been presented! You can expect more from them as the story progresses. I know this chapter was short, but don't worry, the next ones will be longer. So, looks like some contestants aren't happy with Aiden's victory. What consequences might that have? Who is this Kara? Is she actually all smiles and happiness all the time, or have we not seen anything of her yet? Stay tuned to find out!

If you find any other mistake I might have made, please tell me in a review. They're always welcome!