A/N: Hey guys. Since the website isn't keeping track of traffic stats (how many folks are coming to read this), I would appreciate a review to see how folks are enjoying the story. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Expect updates to be monthly for the next few months, being released around the 1st or 2nd of every month. I hope you all enjoy.
"Whether it's friendship or relationship, all bonds are built on trust. Without it, you have nothing." - Unknown
Chapter 21: Matter of Expression
By the time Serna went back outside, she noticed Mew was already there and talking with Ash and the Pokémon. She saw that Ash also had Bulbasaur, Charizard, and Greninja out of their Poke Balls, but they were right by Pikachu and Wasabi. Lucario and Tyranitar were behind Ash. Ash's face was serious as he nodded in response to what he was listening to. Mew noticed Serena and adjusted her speech to enable Serena to understand her. If Serena didn't know any better, Mew seemed slightly spooked once she noticed her. The girl wasn't sure why or how, but decided not to worry about it.
"You have all day to complete your task. I wish you the best of luck, Ash." Mew said. Ash didn't seem too thrilled, but he was excited at the prospect of spending time with Lucario and Tyranita. The two gazed at their trainer, determined to prove themselves.
Serena saw Ash placing all of the rest of his Poke Balls in Alice's hand. The old woman nodded in understanding and promised Ash she would keep the rest of his partners safe.
"Right," Ash said, while clutching his fist. Serena looked at the raven-haired teen, confused about what was happening. She was surprised to see Wasabi and Lucy here as well as Mew. Serena wondered if there was some sort of trouble amiss.
"Ash, what are you doing today?" Serena asked. Ash quickly told her about what Mew wanted him to do. Serena suddenly looked concerned as she said, "Be safe, alright? Fighting against legendary Pokémon sounds terrifying."
"I'll be fine. I believe in Tyranitar and Lucario." Ash said with a confident grin. Tyranitar and Lucario felt happy to hear this from him, but looked at Serena wearily. As they were behind Ash, he could not see them looking at Serena this way. Serena sweatdropped, but tried to act normal. Ash asked, "What will you be doing?"
Serena was about to answer, but Mew had other ideas. She jumped into their conversation by saying, "This has been irking me for a while, so if Serena doesn't mind, I'd like to show her how to speak to Pokémon without telepathy while you are gone."
"You can teach me that?" Serena said in surprise. Mew nodded.
"Of course. Hybrids typically learn to understand Pokémon later compared to guardians or psychics. I feel it would be a useful skill to know in case I'm not by you. Do you wish to learn?" Mew offered. Serena thought about it for a moment. The girl always did want to understand her Pokémon and she felt like it was a bit of a hassle for Mew or any other person to act as a translator. She nodded at the offer.
"Yes. I would love to know what my partners are saying to me." Serena said. Mew made a large grin.
"Perfect." Mew chirped. The psychic type then looked at the rock type. She acknowledged verbally, "Lucy?"
"Yes, my lady?" Lucy responded.
"You will be the perfect Pokémon for Serena to begin to understand Pokélanguage. It'll also give you more of an opportunity to be near her…" Mew said with a wink. Lucy started to wag her tail and nodded. Serena laughed at the Lycanroc's excitement and scratched behind her ear in response. Though Serena wondered why Mew wanted Lucy to be the Pokémon she started to understand first, she liked the rock type enough to try learning what she had to say on her own.
"While I'm gone, see if you can find Talonflame so your egg hatches a bit faster," Ash advised.
"That won't be necessary. I can transform into any Pokémon with Flame Body to aid in reducing the egg-hatching time." Mew said in Serena's place. Serena frowned, but knew what Mew was saying was true. She decided to focus on Ash. She gave him a small peck on his cheek with a small blush. Ash couldn't help but blush, too, but made a small smile in response.
"Take care, Ash. I'll try my best here, too!" Serena said.
"I'm looking forward to seeing your smile when I get back, Seri. Tyranitar. Lucario. Let's go." Ash said as he headed toward the Tree's caves. Lucario and Tyranitar followed their trainer, both nervous and excited to see how he would command them. Serena nodded and watched him until she could not see her boyfriend.
"Alice, may I ask that you also patrol the Tree with your husband? I wish to talk to Serena alone… and I do like to have no intrusion when teaching someone something." Mew asked the elderly Ketchum.
Alice was surprised at the request, but could tell by Mew's tone that her question was an order. Considering the Zurui spies earlier, she wondered if Mew was going to let Serena know about them. She decided not to question her deity as if she did something, it was usually for a good reason.
Alice nodded in acknowledgment and went inside to prepare a small plate of food for her husband. Waving at Serena and Mew, she flew off with the plate of food in hand, seeking out her stubborn, but hungry husband. The moment they couldn't see Alice in the air, Mew's expression got deadly serious.
"Before we progress, I must ask you something very important," Mew said to the honey-blond girl.
"What is it?" Serena said, curious.
"Have you ever changed your eyes to turn silver or have seen a person change their eyes into silver?" Mew asked. Serena widened her eyes at the sudden question. It sounded so specific and out of the blue.
"Why are you asking?" Serena wondered, but Mew ignored her. Her gaze turned daunting. There seemed to be an ominous shadow under Mew's eyes as she scrutinized the young teen's expression. Serena could sense the mythical Pokémon getting increasingly hostile. So could all the other Pokémon. They all looked at Serena, concerned for her.
"How you answer will determine how I treat you from here on in. Answer truthfully… and carefully." Mew said in a dangerously low tone.
"…" Serena was getting increasingly afraid of the psychic type. At this point, Pikachu was concerned enough to stand in front of Serena with sparks in his cheeks in warning. Lucy's eyes turned red and she frowned at Mew. She looked ready to react at a moment's notice. It was a stark contrast to how lax she normally was.
"This is a question more important than you know," Mew said to Serena.
Serena didn't know why Mew was suddenly acting this way, but wanted to revert her back to how she was in the labyrinth. Serena could tell Mew knew about her father, but wondered why she was so fixated in getting her to admit that she saw her father. Serena weighed her options and decided it wasn't worth getting on Mew's bad side to keep her father a secret. The girl sighed.
"I… have never changed my eyes to silver, but…" Serena didn't want to admit this to Mew, but she wanted the tension to cease.
"But what?" Mew asked.
"My… father. I saw his eyes turn to silver before. He saw me for the first time in years yesterday." Serena said begrudgingly. The dark look in Mew's eyes went away as she nodded aherself. She made a sigh of relief to herself. Serena wondered why. Seeing Mew calming down made Pikachu and Lucy less tense themselves. Lucy's eyes turned back to normal.
"Thank you for admitting that. I needed to be sure I didn't regret my choice..." Mew said, thankful.
"What are you talking about?" Serena asked in a hesitant tone.
"I'd considered killing you last night. I see your heart is still in the right place." Mew said. Serena suddenly stepped back, fearful.
"What?!" Serena exclaimed in shock. The girl was looking for any sign of joking in the primordial's expression. Mew looked completely serious. Serena gulped to herself.
"Listen to me carefully. Your father is an ancient type of psychic that is future sight immune. This type of psychic is exceedingly rare… so rare that I thought they were extinct until your encounter with him. Your father is likely an evolved version. He is quite the adversary for that reason alone." Mew explained.
"…" Serena stayed silent and decided to listen.
"However, your interaction with him yesterday opened a lot of negative paths lest they remain unchecked. I may not be able to read him from a distance like most humans, but I can read into what happens around him and other people." Mew continued.
"If Father is future sight immune, how come you can still read into what would happen to me?" Serena wondered.
"You aren't actively using your father's power, so I can still look into your future. I'm not sure how that would change as you become more in tune with your psychic side." Mew answered. She said while facepalming in annoyance, "I'm mentioning all this to you because I was able to accurately predict that you would be spied on by the Zurui, but unable to predict your father coming to see you the moment he found out you were alive. Making you appear psychic was a checkmate from the start…"
Serena wasn't surprised that she had been spied on. She was more surprised that her father didn't hesitate to come to see her. Considering the type of man he made himself appear to be, his teleporting to Mufasa Fields immediately upon finding out about Serena seemed a little too impulsive. The girl wondered if he quickly calculated any risks before coming, but she wasn't sure. She didn't know Doku well enough. Serena was also curious about Mew's choice of words.
"How so?" Serena asked.
"If I didn't make you appear different, the Zurui would have found out about a living hybrid and Malladus would have come after you. If I made you into a guardian, the same result that's happening now would be happening. Either way, your father positioned himself in a way that makes things complicated going forward. I went over to Mufasa Fields when everyone here was sleeping to see what had happened in the past using a time flower. I noticed you considering seeing your father again tomorrow…" Mew said. Serena wasn't sure why Mew was freaking out or what negative paths she was so afraid of. Still, she didn't want to get on Mew's bad side, she bowed apologetically.
"If that puts everyone in danger, I'll happily won't consider it again. I don't want…" Serena started, but Mew interrupted her.
"No, no… that's a good thing," Mew said with a reassuring smile.
"Huh?" Serena said, confused.
"I would like to have a better understanding of the enemy. Your father was willing to disarm himself because he cares about you. That's a notable weakness. It means he'll likely slip information around you. I'm sure he made you curious, but suspicious of him at the same time. He was very deliberate in how he spoke to you… except when you started to cry. That was the only time I saw no signs of calculation from him." Mew noted. Serena felt a bit touched that Doku wasn't trying to take advantage of her crying, but curious as to why he wanted her to be suspicious of him in the first place.
"He wanted me to use my aura around him, but he also let me know that he found me suspicious from how he was acting. That's the impression I got." Serena admitted. Mew nodded.
"Exactly. When you weren't looking, he took some of your aura to sample in case you decided not to follow your curiosity. It leaves us in a bad spot. Since I never anticipated him to appear before you and your aura was intertwined with mine at the time, he likely will find some of my signature in your aura. I worry about the consequences of this as I cannot see what he will do next. I am the ancestor of all humans and Pokémon… you can use my genetic code for quite a lot of things." Mew said in sadness. Mew sighed as she thought about the last time she dealt with a clone of herself and how Ash got involved. She didn't want a repeat of that.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Serena asked, but curious and suspicious.
"I want you to humor his request and go to him tomorrow morning here so you can see him in the early afternoon in Hokori. I will teach Delphox Teleport to enable you to travel long distances without a ride Pokémon. I was hoping you could find out as much about him as you can and report it to me. Then, I can begin to understand the enemy more and make more educated moves. Once you meet him, I should be more able to determine how he can influence you." Mew explained her objective to the girl. Serena narrowed her eyes.
"You think he'll influence me? So that's why you wanted to kill me. I'm not my father and I won't become like him." Serena said with a resolved tone. Mew shook her head as she seemed sad.
"You don't know that. There's always a possibility, unfortunately. You and Ash's love for each other… keeps you alive… for now. I rather it not come down to me intervening, but I will if I must. I must know more about your father before I proceed." Mew said seriously. Though Serena was aware of how destructive Mew could be when intervening in something, she didn't feel like it was right to decide to kill her. The girl felt slightly annoyed.
"How do you know he won't influence me if I go to him tomorrow?" Serena said with crossed arms. Mew raised one of her fingers.
"There's one constant in the present time. He won't use his power on you and I see no signs of him having used his power on you in the futures you decide to abide by my wishes. He seems adamant with this because of how consistent that factor is, which baffles me, but I wish to use that to ensure your safety." Mew explained.
"…" Serena didn't know what to say to that.
"The thought of asking a human this, especially the daughter of said terrible threat, is a horrifying prospect, but I mitigate as many negative paths as I can by being upfront with you. I will do anything to preserve this world and… try to prevent as many large-scale tragedies as I can. I'll give you the entire day to consider all this. I know this is a bit to take in." Mew admitted.
Serena heard some desperation in her tone. Serena's eyes softened. The psychic guardian remembered what Ash told her when Mew had confronted Arceus and how passionate she was when talking about preserving humans. Serena could see this was hard for Mew to admit and decided to trust in the primordial. She wasn't sure how well she could help, but she would try.
"Will I be able to take anyone with me safely?" Serena asked. Mew shook her head.
"No. I sense if I allowed you to bring Ash or any of the Ketchums, you would be distraught after you left your father. I do not know what your father would do, but your emotions afterward are a good indicator of how bad of an idea that is. I also don't see Ash coming back should he go with you." Mew said. Serena felt a shiver down her spine when Mew said that.
"I… don't like feeling like bait here," Serena said with a sigh. Mew genuinely seemed to feel bad.
"I do apologize about all this. I should have been more cautious allowing you and Alice to head to Hokori. However, all we can do now is try to mend things as best we can. Trust me, I thought about things a lot last night." Mew said.
"Do you know for sure that I will be alright? I don't want to worry Ash." Serena said while placing a curled fist on her chest to illustrate the point. Mew nodded.
"If you go alone, I am almost positive you will be fine. I do not see a future in the next few days where your father damages you physically by the time you come back in any way. Normally, there is a small chance for something to go wrong and thankfully, you won't get hurt. Mentally, he doesn't harm you, either, but you seem to be in deep thought after your encounter." Mew says.
"I'll… think about this. I'm not sure how well I'd be able to let you read my father." Serena said. Mew seemed hopeful at the response.
"I have a keen ability to read people and the environment. You'd help me more than you think by just telling me your experience. I may not be able to read his future, but I am still able to sense what he's doing in the present time if he touches the ground. I am Mother Earth, after all." Mew said. She flew over to Lucy and gestured for her to get closer to Serena. Mew said with a smile, "Despite what I just told you, I wasn't kidding about trying to teach you how to understand Pokémon. It's useful to know. Let me know when you're ready to begin."
Lucy and Serena looked at each other, both unsure what to think of the psychic type, but curious to begin communicating together.
8 hours earlier…
Raven landed in a modest town near an impassable forest. Vanville Town seemed full of life, but peaceful. She wasn't sure how peaceful things would last, but she wanted to see this town stay like that. Raven, though she was within the town, could not get herself to move. Her partner Hydreigon noticed her indecision and bumped her forward. The dark dragon gestured for her to go on. Making an appreciative smile, she heeded her partner.
Compared to Hokori, Kalos was less verdant, but more suburban. She could see that it was in the middle of the night, which she felt most comfortable with. Kalos was about three hours behind Kanto and if her internal clock was right, she arrived in the middle of the night. She felt at home at home, but acknowledged that a lot of people would be sleeping right now. She hoped that Grace would still be awake, but had no idea if she would be awake.
When Grace was younger, Raven remembered her to be an early sleeper, but having not talked with her in years, she had no idea if this had changed. There was only one way to find out. Raven sensed the auras around her and instantly recognized Grace's. With Drei right behind her, she hurried to the house she sensed Grace in.
Raven soon arrived at her friend's house. She noticed that there were no lights on inside and chuckled to herself that at least that part of her didn't change. Raven noticed how much space she had in her backyard and wondered if Grace was still into Rhyhorn racing as well. Considering her earlier guess that Grace was still an early sleeper seemed to be correct, she assumed that her next assumption was also accurate. She noticed an empty bowl outside for what seemed to be a Pokémon. Raven stopped observing the house and started to focus her attention on the front door.
Once in front of the door, Raven took a deep breath and remembered Drei nudging her earlier. Her partner's confidence in her was enough to allow her to knock. To the raven-haired woman's surprise, the lights turned on after a few moments.
A tired Grace, while rubbing her eyes, opened the door to answer the call. Grace's drowsiness completely dissipated when she saw who answered her. "R-raven…?"
"It's been a while, Gracie," Raven said with a gentle smile. Drei smiled in greeting. Grace acknowledged the dark dragon by petting his head.
"Gracie… now that's a name that takes me back. Birdie, you're crazy for coming here. Why are you here…?" Grace suddenly seemed fearful once she woke up completely. She seemed panicked and was looking around herself. She continued in a nervous tone, "You never would be here unless you sensed something bad happening soon. You're a human Absol, after all."
Raven laughed slightly hearing this, but didn't deny herself being akin to an Absol. However, her laughter did not reach her eyes.
"You're right. As much as I wish to catch up, I'm here to give you a bit of a warning." Raven told her.
"And that is?" Grace said with curiosity.
"If you continue to converse with the Zurui, tragedy will befall you. Beware of the Zurui bosses." Raven said gravely. Grace shook her head and looked confused.
"Since when are you a psychic? I don't still converse with them." Grace assured her. Raven looked unsurprised, but made another dry laugh.
"And I love to murder people. We both know our last sentences are lies." Raven said while narrowing her eyes.
"That's a little extreme for an example, don't you think?" Grace pointed out. Raven seemed a bit annoyed at her deflection.
"I may be extreme, but I'm not a hypocrite. Gracie, you told me you moved to Kalos so you and Serena could be safe from harm. Why the hell are you still conversing with the Zurui? That's dangerous!" Raven hissed. Grace looked irritated with the raven-haired lady.
"How do you know anything?" Grace hissed in the same tone.
"Aurora… you know… the woman whom we were assigned to kill so long ago who spared our lives? She told me you still conversed with them when I pressured her enough. She has no reason to lie to me about something like that." Raven explained. Grace seemed slightly afraid hearing this, but shook her head in defiance.
"How did you even know I talked to her? I doubt she'd let you into her mind." Grace pointed out. Raven crossed her arms.
"I know her well. She wouldn't want another mother to worry about her child if that child was being trained for a long enough time. From Serena's psychic teacher describing Serena and the situation she was in, I decided to help Serena learn more about her guardian side in times Aurora needed to be in Hokori. So, this is closer to me than you think it is. I would do anything for that girl." Raven continued.
"…" Grace showed visible anxiety upon hearing that.
"I know I promised not to see you after you moved here in Kalos, but… I just have a bad feeling, is all. Tread carefully." Raven warned. Grace, despite her anxiety, grew irritated at the other guardian. She couldn't believe what she had been hearing.
"You… invaded Serena's life after I told you never to appear again? That could spur her memory of Donnivan! What are you thinking?!" Grace berated Raven. Raven frowned.
"I'm thinking I rather her learn to fight than sit around and wait for her to be taken by him. You were willing to keep her weak for far too long. What were you thinking?! She should be able to defend herself." Raven retorted with a bit of snark.
"I only said yes to her training because I wanted her to be happy, not because I wanted to her get stronger. I kept her weak to make it harder for Donnivan to sense her and to make it easier to cloak her aura. I know that it would have been impossible to continue that due to her relationship with Ash. She loves that Ketchum boy too much. Her happiness is all I want." Grace said
"Gracie…" Rave realized that their wants aligned, though in different ways. She wasn't sure how to respond to that.
"Besides, Donnivan doesn't know she's still alive still." Grace continued. Raven shook her head.
"You don't know that for sure. She's with a Ketchum. Ketchums get spied on by the Zurui constantly. I had to risk my life trying to stop a recording that had Serena and Ash's grandmother together. Imagine what would have happened to you if I hadn't of stopped that?! Do you expect Donnivan to treat you kindly if he finds out his daughter is alive?" Raven asked with a sharp tone.
"He won't ever find out about her. Serena is coming up to the age where she'll be able to move out and live her life. Since she's in the Tree of Beginning, it would be impossible for Donnivan to even visit her even if he did find out. Past her training, I doubt she'd want to move to Hokori and that they would see each other." Grace said.
"Serena's into performances, is she not? If she gets famous and Donnivan sees…" Raven started.
"Donnivan is too busy to view performances. He runs a company… and he's always on some computer. That's the type of thing you'd watch on TV." Grace countered.
"Why are you making so many excuses for him?!" Raven, now beginning to get fed up.
"Because I still love him!" Grace yelled out.
"…!" Raven gasped hearing this and looked at her friend like she was insane. Grace seemed a bit ashamed of herself for the sudden outburst and looked away.
"I… I… know. I must sound crazy. After Serena's fake death, he got so much more mellow. It's like… her death humbled him to be a different person. He's still stoic, but he's attentive and caring. He hasn't hit me once since the fabrication." Grace explained.
"You poor fool. I… kind of get where you're coming from wanting to hold on to your love, but it doesn't seem safe. You're treading a thin line here." Raven said in concern.
"I know, but I'll be fine. Nothing's happened after all these years and I think Donnivan's moved past being physically violent even if he did find out." Grace said with confidence. Raven seemed unsure about that.
Raven sighed and shook her head. She relented by saying, "If you say so. I just… well, if anything happens let me know, okay?"
"Nothing will happen to me. You came all this way just to warn me about something that won't happen?" Grace asked. Raven shook her head.
"That and to tell you that you really should call Serena. I'll encourage Serena to talk to you when I go back to teach her. I've been noticing that whenever I or anyone tries to get her to talk about you, she'll avoid the subject. Did anything happen between you two to cause this?" Raven asked curiously.
"That's… none of your business." Grace curtly replied.
"Always the secretive one, huh? Must have been some argument." Raven rolled her eyes upon hearing that.
"Raven, I think you should leave," Grace said with a warning tone. Raven frowned at hearing Grace call her by her actual name. Raven could feel herself getting more annoyed when she heard Grace ushering her away. It brought out a bad memory of the last time they spoke. Raven showed no signs of moving.
"Why should I? I always try my hardest to be respectful and to follow your wishes, but it seems you still treat me as though I'm only to be used. You've never grown out of your selfishness." Raven said with a snort. Hearing that from Raven stirred an anger she hadn't felt in a long time. In response, she punched Raven directly on her nose. Drei's fuchsia eyes immediately began to glow in anger for his trainer having been attacked and he bared his fangs out. He made a low growl.
Raven felt a pain she couldn't describe, but it ran deeper than the impact of the punch.
Raven slowly wiped her face with two of her fingers and noticed the punch had drawn blood. She looked at her fingers for several moments. Instead of looking at her friend in surprise, her eyes lost all signs of compassion she had earlier. Then, they began to flicker red. Grace grew purple from seeing this. If Raven's eyes were flicking toward their true marks, she knew she didn't only make Raven annoyed. Raven was angry. She looked more like a monster holding itself back than a human being.
"Strike me down again. I dare you." Raven said chillingly. She made a taunting expression and gestured for her to hit her again. Should the brunette accept the invitation, she would not hold back against her old friend.
Grace was not a fool. She knew it was a death wish to attack Raven again. Instead, she said, "I… I'm sorry for that."
"Humph. You made your stance quite clear." Raven snorted in annoyance. Her eyes returned to normal. So did Drei's. She hissed, "Don't ever hit me again. I won't hesitate to retaliate next time."
"Got it," Grace said with a shiver.
"With that… hopefully… behind us, please at least talk to Serena. I don't know what you two argued about, but shutting yourselves from each other isn't healthy. I know it's none of my business, but this is coming from a concerned friend and mentor." Raven said.
"…" Grace looked away from Raven.
"Last time I'll offer this: do you want me to set you and Serena up to talk soon?" Raven asked.
"Why don't you give me the Ketchum house number so I can call her directly?" Grace said, noting how she was avoiding talking about the Ketchum household. Raven seemed morbidly amused by the question. Raven laughed hysterically.
"You're kidding, right? I may want the best for you, but I'm not going to endanger the Ketchums for you to talk with your daughter, you lowly Zurui spy." Raven snapped at her. Grace and Raven narrowed their eyes at each other as the atmosphere began to get more tense. Grace didn't deny her and Raven knew not to fall into any traps.
"Humph." Grace snorted. Grace lightened up and looked at her side forlornly. She then nodded, "Yes… it would be nice to make amends with Serena. I want to see how she's doing."
"Very well. I'll let her know in the next day or two, then." Raven said with a smile, hopeful of the progress Grace might make with her daughter. Raven mounted Drei and he began to hover slightly higher than before. She said with a wistful tone, "Until next time, Grace…"
Raven and Drei soon flew into the night sky and disappeared into the night. Grace kept looking up at the sky until she could no longer see Raven.
The brunette had mixed feelings seeing Raven again. Raven was a reminder of her past and she wanted to keep that behind her. Despite that, she had been internally excited to see her old friend, but kicked herself for making things between them that much more awkward. If she could return her punch, she would, but knew the damage had been done. Grace hoped that Raven would be true to her word and let her talk with Serena. She hadn't spoken with Serena in almost a month and was concerned about how she was doing.
A lone masculine voice interrupted her thoughts. She heard someone say, "That was quite the intense discussion you had just now. Care to share more?"
"Donnivan?!" Grace recognized that voice immediately. That soft, but deep voice was hard not to recognize, but she couldn't see where he was. Her confusion was settled when Doku revealed himself to be leaning against the house. He had been invisible. He was wearing the golden locket she had given him long ago and he was looking up toward the moon. He walked behind the house and revealed he had hidden his bag so neither Raven nor Grace could notice his invisibility.
Doku had the heart-shaped locket opened and Grace saw the picture of him and Serena having fun together. Grace had never seen him wear that locket since Serena's fake death and instantly grew more nervous. Doku also had on a bracelet that made his cloaking abilities augmented, so neither Raven nor Grace could sense him. She had no idea he had been there and he seemed to have been there for a while.
"Apologies for coming so suddenly, but I had an urgent matter to discuss with you that ties into that discussion you just had with Miss Raven. I decided to wait until your… heated talk was finished before saying anything." Doku said, now softly caressing the locket. It was hard to read Doku's expression, but she could hear repressed rage in his voice.
"H-h-how much did you hear?" Grace said, now realizing how right Raven was. Doku approached the now petrified Grace with narrowed eyes. She kept backing up until she cornered herself against a wall in the house. Doku had his arm extended to prevent escape.
"I heard... enough," Doku growled as his four-pointed star mark appeared on his face. His eyes turned silver and several objects in the living room began to float, trembling. Grace could feel all her senses dulling as Doku himself began to blur. She couldn't help but shed a tear before she lost all sense of bearing.
A/N: Things are getting spicy. Doku confronting Grace about her lies can't be good. Serena getting closer to her future partner sure is, though. Next chapter, we'll see what's happening to Ash on his end. Things will eventually converge once more. Until next month, I thank you all for your patience. Happy reading!
Next Chapter: Almighty Legends
~SPG123~