Chapter Nineteen – Meetings
The sun was shining brightly as Keith stood outside the iconic Gear Station, with Ava constantly touching Keith's treasured dog tags with her paw as he held the small Pichu in his arms. The black jacket he wore was only zipped up half way, revealing the burnt orange t-shirt underneath, with the jacket sleeves fashionably rolled up passed his elbows. The ends of his sapphire blue jeans nestled loosely over his grey and white trainers. Keith looked around curiously as he waited patiently for something, whistling casually as he did so. Ava herself looked fairly relaxed, if a little curious about the strange piece of jewellery hanging from Keith's neck. However, a loud and fiery roar echoed through the sky, causing Ava to squeal with fright as she inadvertently shocked Keith with her electricity, messing his previously tidy hairdo again. Keith and Ava looked around until they saw a large winged shadow flying over them and proceeding to land in front of them; the glare they were met with sent shivers down their spine. Phoenix stood tall and firm as he stared resentfully at the crimson-haired boy, a pair of virtually naked arms wrapped around his neck from behind and a pair of black boots wrapped around his stomach.
"Sorry," Alexa apologised nervously as the arms and legs disappeared behind the Charizard's being. Hearing Alexa's voice brought very slight relief to Keith as he finally began using his right hand to hastily tidy his hair. "I overslept."
"I-It's okay," Keith replied shakily. "It's not 10am just yet." It wasn't until Phoenix disappeared into the sanctuary of his Poké Ball that Keith finally saw Alexa herself; he was surprised to see her exposing more flesh than he was accustomed to with her attire consisting of a grass green crop top and dark blue denim shorts. "Uh...is your Dad okay with you dressing like that?"
"What, would you rather I take fashion advice from Cain instead?" Alexa asked rudely as a very shaky and giddy Jollie and Pachirisu made their way onto each of her shoulders. The Pachirisu had a V-shaped cut on the very top of his right ear. Alexa sighed as she placed Phoenix's Poké Ball back inside the terracotta brown belt bag around her shorts. "Sorry...I've been so nervous about this meeting, I hardly slept..."
"No...I'm sorry for being nosy," Keith said shyly. "It's just...I've...I-I know I've seen you in shorts before, but I've not seen you wearing anything that reveals your-"
"My Dad doesn't mind."
"Huh?"
"My clothes," Alexa continued. "It's only going to get warmer in Unova anyway, so...yeah." Keith could tell she still felt uncomfortable around him, reigniting his guilt all over again.
"Is that your Pachirisu?" he asked suddenly, hoping to relieve at least some of the tense air around him and Alexa. Alexa smiled at the Electric Squirrel Pokémon as she stroked his head.
"Yeah, this is Chutney," she said politely. "I thought it'd be nice for Ava to make friends with a fellow electric rodent Pokémon."
"Chippa!" Chutney greeted as he raised a paw into the air. Ava spotted the optimistic Pachirisu and blushed as she buried herself in Keith's arms.
"P-Piii..." Jollie gave Chutney a sly grin.
"Bun-neary~!" Chutney returned the Buneary's cocky grin.
"Pachi~!" Jollie huffed as she pouted and looked away from the Pachirisu.
"Looks like Jollie's grown up a little since I last saw her," Keith observed.
"Yeah, she has," Alexa said awkwardly. Keith bashfully looked away from Alexa and avoided eye contact with her for a few moments. As Alexa did the same thing, Jollie tapped her Trainer's shoulder and pointed to the large analogue clock built into the top of the train station, prompting Alexa to look at the time. "It's about one minute to ten...we should get going."
"Y-yeah," Keith agreed nervously as the two teens finally made their way inside the train station, avoiding eye contact throughout the entire trek.
The forest was as breathtakingly beautiful as ever; the sun's warming radiance seeped through the many trees that stood firmly and almost proudly, adding to the forest's overall feeling of tranquillity. The grass and many bushes were as vibrant and fresh as expected, and the river flowing through looked clear and calm. Hayden and Harvey walked through this wonderful scene, Tiffany walking alongside Hayden and Laddy sitting comfortably on Harvey's shoulder.
"Jonathan Gulliver contacted me yesterday," Hayden said casually.
"The XCommunications CEO?" Harvey inquired.
"Yeah, that's the guy," Hayden nodded, his smile growing a little wider. "We've finally arranged a meeting time and place to discuss the possibility of having Xcommunications stores in my department stores." Harvey's feeble smile hadn't escaped his notice, causing him to look concerned.
"Wow, that's...great, bro...happy for ya."
"What happened?" Hayden asked gently. Harvey sighed.
"I spoke to Naomi," he said quickly. Hayden held onto his brother's arm, causing the pair to stop walking.
"What did she say?" Hayden asked worriedly as his Liepard approached him in bewilderment as to why he suddenly stopped.
"That's what's bugging me," Harvey confessed. "I told her I only went ahead with the divorce because it was what she wanted; turns out she didn't even have the slightest inkling."
"Don't tell me you lost your temper with her."
"I was annoyed, sure, but...I was...crushed, more than anything," Harvey said sadly. "I ended up telling her the truth in the bluntest way I could."
"How did she take it?" Hayden asked with worry.
"Hell if I know; I walked out of there the millisecond I finished the sentence," Harvey said glumly. "Still," he sighed, tightening his deep brown ponytail. "I don't regret that as much as battling Adelina not long after I left."
"You what?"
"Yeah, Laddy and I met up with her and Huey on Driftveil Drawbridge after we met Naomi," he explained.
"But why would you battle her?! More to the point, why didn't you say something about it sooner?!" Hayden said, almost sounding panicky.
"I dunno, I...I had a lot on my mind, Hailey has a lot on hers and I know you had your hands full with Alexa's problems...mine seem like a dead Ponyta by comparison..."
"Hey, don't go falling into Hailey's downward spiral!" Hayden said firmly. "What exactly happened to warrant your battle with her anyway?"
"She said she'd tell me why she's tormenting Hailey if I defeated her in a one-on-one battle; Vergil defeated Dolores in the end, despite ending up with horrific burns that are still healing, but she was still cryptic."
"What did she say?"
"Just that if there's something she wants, she gets it no matter what," Harvey replied, trying not to remember the almost seductive tone of voice the enigmatic woman used against him.
"But that doesn't answer your question, though, does it?"
"I said exactly the same thing after she left," Harvey complained. "Sorry...I thought I could get some clear answers from her."
"Hey, the fact that Vergil's still alive is an accomplishment in itself; I mean, let's face it, he's as old as Dad's youngest Pokémon, and even Brandy's getting on in years," Hayden said cheerfully. Harvey chuckled.
"Yeah...I knew Frankie or Dakota would've been better suited to battle that pompous Jellicent of hers..."
"Frankie? He'd rather take her to the dance floor!" Hayden laughed. "But, seriously, don't get worked up over Adelina; Hailey's our priority in this situation, not her. And don't worry about Naomi either; just give her time to process what you told her and maybe try talking to her again in about a week or two unless she calls you first."
"Yeah...I need to put all of my energy into helping our baby sister anyway," Harvey nodded. He grinned widely as he ruffled Hayden's hair. "Thanks! I needed that!" Hayden laughed nervously as he neatened his messy hair.
"Sure. But...warn me next time you do that."
"Why? It'd be a lot less fun if I did!" Harvey teased. The two brothers resumed their journey through the forest; Harvey looked as cheerful and relaxed as usual, thanks to his brother's counselling, but Hayden still appeared troubled; it suddenly dawned on him that most of his family was undergoing some kind of turmoil. At least, that was how he felt.
Keith and Alexa sat opposite one another in the train car as it sped along the tracks, swiftly passing through the Unovan countryside that Chutney, Jollie and Ava seemed to be admiring. Keith and Alexa, however, still avoided eye contact with one another, with Keith staring at the table between him and Alexa, while she looked up at the ceiling.
"...I...I've been meaning to ask..."
"Hm?" Keith looked towards Alexa in confusion.
"Where're Robbie and Reese? I noticed their absence as soon as I saw you."
"About that... Actually, I didn't sleep very well last night either," Keith admitted. "All of us were pretty much up at the crack of dawn, so we went to Troy's Daycare Centre after his Mom told me about it before I left; that's where they are now."
"Troy's Daycare?" Alexa queried. "But...how did you get to Gear Station before I did? I mean, it's quite a trek between Route 3 and Nimbasa City..."
"It was for Robbie, at least; he galloped all the way to the Daycare Centre, which in itself took, like, two hours...but his Beheeyem took us back to Nimbasa with Teleport, so we were good; had enough time for breakfast as well!"
"Yeah...Miranda's good like that...but...Xavier...he's been there since we all arrived in Unova; he's visiting his parents," Alexa stated. "Did you see him at all?" Keith suddenly turned glum.
"And the many daggers he glared at me, yeah," he replied half-heartedly. "I didn't even know he was there...or why he was there to begin with..."
"Like I said, he's visiting his parents," Alexa said feebly. "I'm...I'm sorry Xavier made you feel uncomfortable..."
"I don't blame him, though..." He suddenly watched Alexa in bemusement as she shuffled blindly through her belt bag, finally pulling out a small white plastic carrier bag that seemed to jingle as she passed it towards him.
"Here; I got this for you two days ago," Alexa said kindly. Keith curiously placed his hand inside the bag and pulled out the Soothe Bell. He examined the gift with both hands; he felt the silky smooth fabric that was the dull cyan ribbon with one hand and held the brown necklace cord on his other hand, noticing the cord used a lobster claw clasp to clip the Soothe Bell around a Pokémon's neck.
"It's...a bell?"
"A Soothe Bell," Alexa explained. "I bought it for Ava." Keith managed to crack a smile at the gift.
"Thanks, Alexa." He looked towards the awestruck Pichu. "Ava, c'mere a sec."
"Pichu!" Ava walked over to Keith obediently and sat down in front of him. Carefully, Keith slowly turned Ava around, making her back face him as he placed the Soothe Bell around Ava's neck. The little Pichu looked down at the strange ribbon that now hung from her neck in perplexity. Alexa smiled a little as she found that the accessory suited Ava well, though she turned her line of sight away from Keith and his happy rodent, turning it towards the window and the spectacular view Chutney and Jollie were admiring. Keith looked towards her, hoping to express more gratitude, but noticed her attention was diverted from him, causing him to feel slightly disheartened; he should have known that she wouldn't feel comfortable around him so soon.
Lily and Keenan walked casually into the large museum, Iara on Keenan's shoulders and Cheryl at Lily's side. The first thing they saw upon entering the museum was the central display of a skeletal Dragonite. Both Cheryl and Iara looked up at it with fascination as Lily and Keenan approached and admired it.
"It's kind of interesting to see fossils like this," Keenan stated.
"Kind of?" inquired Lily.
"Well, it does give us a clearer understanding of a Pokémon's anatomy, but...if Rena saw this, I really don't know how she'd react."
"Por, Poreon," Iara said teasingly.
"Oh, come on, Iara, Rena's sense of vanity isn't that high," Keenan chuckled.
"If anything, I reckon it would unnerve her," Lily guessed. "Possibly, at least..."
"I guess Uncle Harvey would need to bring her here and find out for himself," Keenan said as he walked over towards the fossilised Armaldo. However, he saw something through the corner of his eye that caught his attention, which prompted him to approach it; he saw a black sphere of some sort that almost looked like a capsule, even though it looked nothing like a Poké Ball. Curious, Lily and Cheryl approached him.
"What's that, sweetie?" Lily asked; Keenan looked up at his mother with a sly smile, knowing she was quizzing him.
"It's the Dark Stone," Keenan replied as he looked down at the object displayed in front of him. "It's said to be the dormant state of a Pokémon called Zekrom, a legendary Dragon Pokémon from Unova lore; Zekrom, along with its twin, Reshiram, used to be one single Pokémon until the twin heroes, who wanted to use the single entity's power to build Unova, started to dispute and fought. Consequently, the two dragons that resulted from the dispute, Reshiram and Zekrom, took sides; Reshiram, the Vast White Dragon Pokémon, sided with the older brother who sought truth, while Zekrom, the Deep Black Dragon Pokémon, sided with the younger who sought ideals. At least...that's what Alex told me once..."
"Full marks for demonstrating applied knowledge," Lily praised as she herself admired the fake Dark Stone. "Did she tell you anything else?"
"Yeah, Reshiram and Zekrom are actually part of a trio, not a duo; the "husk" that got left behind when the single Dragon Pokémon split into Reshiram and Zekrom became the third Dragon of the trio, Kyurem," Keenan explained. "I think Alex said that Kyurem is rumoured to eat people at night, but she doesn't believe that..."
"That's the Lacunosa lore if I'm not mistaken," Lily pondered. "Does Alexa not believe it because she hates the idea of a Pokémon eating humans?"
"I don't think she put it like that; she said she doesn't believe it because there's no actual evidence to suggest Kyurem snatched and ate people, other than the Lacunosa Lore itself at least," Keenan replied. "Though I wouldn't put it passed her to hate the concept as well, if only for outlandish it sounds."
"I wouldn't either," Lily chuckled as a large group of teen-aged school students entered the museum with several adults. The students all wore the same clothing; the girls seemed to be wearing slate grey blazers, white blouses, grass green ties, plain grey skirts that barely cover their knees, matching grey socks that go up to their knees and respectable black shoes, while the boys wore the same blazers and ties, white shirts, grey trousers and equally reputable black shoes. Each student had an ID card clipped onto their trousers and skirts, while the teachers that accompanied them wore their ID cards around their necks. "But, looking at that...I have to wonder where those Dragon Pokémon are right now..."
"Hopefully somewhere safe," Keenan answered as two of the school students made their way over to him and Lily. "I know Alex would hope for the same thing; she truly hates the idea of humans disturbing legendary Pokémon."
"Is that because some guy tried to kill Regigigas?" Daphne asked with interest. Slightly startled, Lily and Keenan looked back at the twins.
"Oh, hi! I thought you'd be stuck in Striaton!" Keenan said nervously.
"Admittedly, so did we," Daniel replied. "To tell you the truth, this visit was thrown together at the last minute, or so Mr Hardy said."
"But every cloud has a silver lining!" Daphne said cheerfully.
"Yes, it does," Lily agreed. "And, to answer your earlier question, it wasn't because of what happened with Regigigas in Almia; Alexa felt like that for as long as I can remember, once she was introduced to legendary Pokémon, at least."
"It's a wonder how she and Uncle Hayden made it out of there alive," Daniel said rashly. Keenan gave his cousin an annoyed look.
"The important thing is it's all over now," Lily said optimistically.
"Indeed, but there's another problem afoot," Daniel stated.
"What now?" Keenan asked with frustration. Iara patted his shoulder with her paw.
"It's still Adelina; Daphne, Peggy and I had a discussion about why she's bothering Mum so much," Daniel said on a very slightly more sympathetic note.
"Yeah, we still can't get to the bottom of what Adelina's motivation is," Daphne said despondently.
"How is your mother doing anyway?" Lily asked delicately.
"Right now, it doesn't look good," Daniel answered earnestly. "She didn't sleep that well last night after yesterday's visit."
"Oh, dear..."
"It gets worse, Aunt Lily," Daphne cautioned.
"Oh?"
"Mum told us about Adelina's battling skills, or what she knows of them," Daniel continued. "Are you familiar with the phrase "a team is only as strong as its weakest link"?"
"Absolutely," Lily replied.
"So you're saying Adelina's weakest link is actually very powerful?" Keenan questioned.
"Pretty much," Daniel nodded. "But that weakest link happens to be Huey."
"Huey? That's odd; he doesn't strike me as the battling type," Lily mused. "He appeared to be so docile and domesticated."
"Looks are deceptive. But the scary part is...Mum doesn't know who or what Adelina's strongest Pokémon is, which is scarier when you consider that it was Huey who left Dad's Magmortar with his scars," Daniel elaborated.
"Huey left those scars!?" Keenan exclaimed in disbelief.
"And if Adelina's weakest Pokémon can leave such ugly scars...then facing her strongest is practically suicide, or so Mum said herself," Daphne said worriedly.
"We thought you should know the next time we met," Daniel said considerately. "If you can pass it on to Uncle Hayden and Alexa, that'd help."
"Just tell them yourself; you have their Xtransceiver numbers," Keenan said grumpily. "But thanks for the warning."
Troy placed two identical bowls of Pokémon food in front of Robbie and Reese, who were lying contently on the soft green grass of a fenced paddock. As the two Pokémon began to eat the food, Troy walked away from them and looked around him and smiled. Many Pokémon resided in the paddock, all doing differing activities; among the many Pokémon were a couple of Pikachu playfully chasing a merry Dedenne, a Luxio snuggling with a shaggy Furfrou that looked down at his companion lovingly, a duelling Pawniard and Sneasel, a quartet of swimming Ducklett in the nearby pond, a meditating Hariyama and a Zoroark joyfully conversing with a Ninetales and a shirtless youth with black and red hair tied with a green band. Troy exhaled as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm, proceeding to take off his vest; a black tattoo of what looked like a tribal Salamence head could be seen on his right pectoral. He tossed the discarded vest towards the fence as Adelina, clad in a simple white blouse, black miniskirt and high heeled shoes, approached it with her trusty Delcatty.
"Oh, I'm flattered, darling, but I'm way out of your league," Adelina suddenly remarked flirtatiously. As he heard the distinguishing voice of his aunt's supposed friend, Troy groaned as he confronted the bronze-haired woman.
"You're right; you're too old for a start," he retorted wittily. Huey hissed angrily at the boy, but Adelina merely giggled.
"Touché." Adelina leaned her arms against the fence, almost looming her face closer to Troy's. "So...how's the family?"
"I didn't think you cared," Troy said nastily. "What, with you having brought my aunt to the brink of depression and all..."
"Depression? Dear me, you make me sound like a disease," Adelina laughed. The youth, Zoroark and Ninetales turned to look at Troy's conversation with Adelina, revealing the boy's blue eyes, very slight stubble and X-shaped pendant; the Pokémon were confused, but the boy raised an eyebrow.
"You are," Troy said rudely. "Or, at least, might as well be; what kind of person hurts their friend when they're down?"
"I'm not going to coddle a guilty person," Adelina said simply, looking at her perfect manicure.
"Whoever said Aunt Hailey's guilty of anything?" Troy asked with frustration. The youth excused himself from his group, stood up and made his way over to Troy.
"Everything was fine until Hailey and Eric-"
"Yo, Troy," Xavier greeted suddenly as he approached the frustrated Breeder. "Is this lady bothering you?" Troy gave Xavier a look of resignation.
"Pretty much." Adelina's smirk grew as she admired Xavier's abdomen.
"Oooh...are you boys subconsciously trying to woo me?" she asked rascally. Xavier glared at Adelina.
"Oi, that's enough outta you, lady," he scolded calmly. "If you're just gonna cause trouble, it's best you moved along. Skedaddle." Adelina laughed.
"If you say so, handsome," she complied amorously. "It's latte time anyway. Come along, Huey!"
"Reow," Huey nodded obediently as he faithfully followed his Trainer, walking away from the fence. Troy sighed as he placed his hand on his forehead.
"That's the one giving Hailey grief?" Xavier asked as he saw Adelina disappearing towards Nacrene City. "I can see why she's so downtrodden."
"Thanks for the help," Troy smiled as he lowered his arm.
"No probs," Xavier said happily. "But I really hope Hailey gets better soon."
"You should be more worried about Alexa," Troy suggested. Xavier snarled as a black aura momentarily flickered across his body.
"I still can't believe that bastard...!"
"Whoa, easy, Xavier!"
"I'm sorry, but I was under the impression that he loved her! Why would anyone hurt someone you love?!" The Zoroark, whose mane was dominantly red and contained a jade green bangle near the bottom of her ponytail, ran over to Xavier and held him softly as the Ninetales casually walked over to the conversation.
"Zorrr..." Xavier sighed as he held one hand over the Zoroark's claws.
"Sorry, Mom...I'm just...so angry!"
"So was I at first," Troy said reassuringly. "After he finished accusing me of being her new boyfriend, I heard his side of the story and now I'm hoping they'll work things out."
"You sure she wouldn't be better off without him?" Xavier asked openly.
"Zorrr," Zoroark said gently in a loving motherly voice. "Zorroarr..."
"Perri's right; we can't make that decision for her," Troy said peacefully.
"Ninetales," Ninetales nodded in complete agreement. "Ninetales."
"Michael's right about that; no matter what the outcome is, it's for Alexa to decide. But try to go easy on Keith as well; this bad blood isn't easy for him either." Xavier looked away from Troy in thought as he used a finger to lightly scratch the side of his head; he began to wonder if he acted unfairly towards Keith in spite of him having hurt Alexa emotionally.
Keith sat in front of a small squared coffee table as Alexa placed two identical glasses of freshly brewed cocoa down; one in front of Keith, the other in front of the seat she intended to occupy, which was directly in front of Keith's. Ava, Chutney and Jollie sat on the carpet not too far from Keith and Alexa, with a plate of many different coloured cakes in the middle of them; Jollie playfully handed Chutney one of the orange cakes, to which the Pachirisu pushed away from him, clearly expressing his disgust over the confection, much to Ava's amusement. The coffee shop Keith and Alexa sat in was, as Alexa herself had previously stated, was extremely quiet. There were possibly only three other customers in the entire shop, all of whom sat in drastically different places in the shop, though doing nearly the exact same things; two of them were reading different newspapers over a coffee whilst the third was on a slim black laptop with a cup of coffee and a bagel next to him. Alexa kept her eyes away from Keith as she sat down in front of him, causing Keith to nervously look away from her. After a few moments of awkward silence, Keith sighed quietly.
"I'm...I'm sorry about concussing you," he apologised timidly as Alexa drank from her hot mug of cocoa.
"It's okay; I was at fault as well," she mumbled shyly. "I wasn't looking where I was going." Alexa took another sip of her cocoa as Keith tightly gripped his jeans at the knees out of anxiety; he waited for Alexa to return her mug to the table before he spoke up again.
"How...h-how have you been since...since that night?" he asked shakily. Alexa held onto both of her arms, though it provided little to no comfort.
"Hurt," she said simply, her voice starting to crack.
"I-I know...and I'm...I'm sorry," Keith said regretfully.
"I mean..." Alexa held one hand over her eyes, shielding them from Keith's view. "...how could you say that to me..?!" It was clear Alexa was fighting to retain her waning calm temperament; she even began to shiver slightly.
"...I wasn't thinking. Again," Keith said pessimistically, recalling a different argument he and Alexa had previously. "I thought I'd learned my lesson after Keenan vanished, but..." Keith held his hand over his own eyes, deeply ashamed of himself. "I lost my temper and I took my stress and frustration out on you again...I...I can't apologise enough..."
"...y-you didn't have to say that, though...!" Alexa said in a highly distressed whimper.
"I realised that the millisecond I stopped raging..." Keith lowered his hand and looked at Alexa sadly; despite how sorrowful she looked, a part of Keith was relieved that he hadn't seen a single tear fall down her face. "I'm really sorry, Alexa; I was angry with how that last mission went – before, during and after – and I was furious...but..." He looked away from her, heartache written all of his face. "I didn't mean to hurt you..." Alexa took a few quivering breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. "But I did...and I'm sorry... I love you...and...you don't hurt the people you love..." Keith became even more anxious when he noticed Alexa was sitting in absolute silence; she wasn't even breathing loudly. "Alexa..."
"You were right," she said dejectedly. The three Pokémon looked up at the heart to heart conversation expectantly as they ceased eating.
"What?"
"You were right," Alexa said again. "...that's...that's why it hurt me so much..." She lowered her hand from her eyes.
"No," Keith insisted instantly. "No, I was wrong; I shouldn't have said-"
"All I'm good for is getting into trouble," Alexa said forlornly as she very slightly raised her head to face Keith; he was almost mortified to see how soulless her usually vivid fuchsia eyes were. "...no, you were right; our mission to stop Jordan proved that all over again..." Keith grew increasingly depressed; he was witnessing the damage he caused to Alexa's psyche first hand, and it crushed him deeply.
"Alexa, you ARE a good Ranger – a great one even!" he exclaimed desperately. "Everything I said that night was meaningless, it-"
"Felt pretty meaningful to me," Alexa said cynically.
"Alexa, I'm sorry! I wish I hadn't said anything! Really, I do! I-I didn't mean any of it! Please, Alexa...you have to believe me...!" Despite him being able to see her eyes, it was obvious they weren't focused on him.
"...I...I don't know if I can..." Keith was aghast and devastated; this was the first time Alexa had implied that she had lost all faith in him since their friendship sprouted at Almia's Ranger School. Jollie was highly upset with Alexa's dying faith and Ava was overwhelmed by the saddening aura around Keith and Alexa. Chutney, however, turned his attention to Keith, smiling joyfully as he awaited the boy's next response.
"Hailey, we can't stress this enough; none of what happened was your fault," Hayden said carefully as he faced his depressed sister. He and Harvey sat on either side of Hailey at her kitchen table, with Colin sitting directly in front of her, his Phantump hovering over his shoulder.
"If you say so," Hailey said submissively.
"Honeybee..."
"We do say so," Harvey nodded. "Now, Adelina's just mad because the Contest got cancelled, acting like a little baby who threw her toys out of the pushchair; there's no reason for you to let her get you down."
"Hm."
"I'm sorry about this, guys, she's been more depressed than usual since I proposed Adelina was hurting her deliberately," Colin apologised.
"Phantump..."
"It's okay, you thought you were doing the right thing," Hayden said kindly. Much to the astonishment of her husband and brothers, Hailey suddenly stood up from the kitchen table.
"I can't believe that...I need to talk to her."
"After everything she's done to you?!" Colin asked in horror as he stood up. "Why would you even consider it?!"
"I need to know the truth and it has to come directly from the Ponyta's mouth!" Hailey insisted as she began to make her way out of the kitchen. In a panic, Colin, Harvey and Hayden followed her swiftly.
"That-that's what I tried to do when we bumped into one another," Harvey said quickly. "Vergil and I battled her and Dolores hoping to get some sort of answer, but all that came out of it was a badly burned Serperior!"
"Yeah, well, I'm not so stupid as to seek answers through a battle and driving my Pokémon to suicide!" Hailey yelled anxiously. Her sudden rudeness alarmed Colin, Harvey and Hayden. "I'm going to find out the old fashioned way; through talking!" she shouted as she fled the household. Harvey and Hayden rushed out of the house and pursued their sister, but Colin delayed in favour of locking the front door behind him.
"Hailey, wait!" Hayden called loudly.
Inside the museum, Lily, Keenan, Daphne and Daniel all heard Hayden calling out to Hailey and looked at the open doorway just in time to see Hailey running by with determination.
"What's gotten Mum so fired up?" Daphne asked.
"I don't like it," Keenan said suspiciously.
"Me neither," Daniel corroborated. Without another word, Lily and Keenan made their way out of the museum with Cheryl, Iara and the twins.
Harvey, Hayden and Colin ran after Hailey, who spotted Adelina sitting at one of the outdoor tables of the café residing next door to the museum. Hailey, her brothers and husband approached the café table as Lily, Keenan, the twins and Pokémon exited the museum and witnessed Hailey's confrontation.
"Adelina, we need to talk!" she said insistently. With her tall latte glass in hand, Adelina looked down at her friend with displeasure.
"Do you mind? I'm in the middle of my latte," she said frustratingly before taking another delightful sip of her coffee. Huey lay next to Adelina, modestly munching away at a piece of dark brown iced cake.
"Is it true that you're hurting my feelings deliberately?!" Hailey asked accusingly.
"Is that what this is about?" Lily asked in wonder. Hailey, Colin, Harvey and Hayden all looked back at her, spotting Keenan and the twins at the same time.
"Lily! Keenan! Fancy seeing you here," Hayden said nervously.
"What're you doing here, guys? You should be in school," Colin observed.
"That's what I said to Mr Hardy," Daniel sighed, rolling his eyes.
"What's going on?" Daphne asked worriedly.
"What it looks like," Harvey said apprehensively as he, Colin and Hayden looked back at Hailey, who was glaring angrily at the annoyed Adelina.
"Is it true or not?!"
"You're interrupting my critical Latte Time for such a pointless interrogation? What a waste of time," Adelina huffed as she drank more of her cherished coffee.
"If you would just answer me, then this would be all over quicker than you can bat an eyelid," Hailey said restlessly. Adelina drank the last of her coffee at the same time Huey finished the final piece of the cake slice.
"We're done here. Come along, Huey," Adelina said as she and her Delcatty got up and left the table. Everyone watched as the pair approached Hailey. "Oh, and uh...as much as I adore the attention, darlings," she began, smirking at everyone in the gathered audience, Pokémon included. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said innocently as she began to leave. As she was passing Hayden, she seductively, slowly and lightly pressed her fingers against Hayden's chest and brushed her hand up to and across his shoulder, heavily spiting a now livid Lily. Hayden blinked in total confusion.
"...can someone...tell me what just happened...?"
"She can get away with pulling out erotic gestures with me, but it's a bad idea to pull something like that off with a married man," Harvey said, glancing at the infuriated Lily. "Especially with his wife in the vicinity." Keenan kept his watchful eye on the exiting Adelina. Iara was perplexed, but Keenan was highly incredulous and began to wonder what the antagonising woman was truly up to...and why she feigned innocence.
To be continued...