I felt like I had just been punched in the gut. Serena stared into my eyes with a desperate, silent pleading and I could feel my throat going dry. I wanted to tell her I wasn't. I had never wanted more to shuck off my persona of Satoshi Killian and tell Serena everything... but I suddenly felt shivers go down my spine. Before I had even turned around, I pushed Serena away from me hard enough that her arms slipped from around my neck and fell back to her sides. Glancing over my shoulder, I felt my heart plunge down into my stomach as I saw Neptune glaring with a cold fury a few feet behind me.

My hands squeezed Serena's shoulders as I tried to figure out how I was supposed to explain myself out of this mess. At that moment though, Pikachu had become distracted by Neptune's sudden appearance and Majestoat streaked past him and leaped onto my leg, scrambling up my body and rubbing her cheek affectionately against mine.

Neptune's eyes narrowed further at the appearance of the furry white creature and I immediately pulled her away from me and pushed her into Serena's arms. Serena looked up at me with confusion and aching sadness that nearly broke my heart, but her safety was now my top priority.

"Stay behind me," I whispered urgently, before turning around so that my body mostly shielded Serena and Majestoat from Neptune's view.

"Sorry about that, Neptune," I said, surprising myself with how relaxed I sounded. "I found Pikachu, so we can head out now."

I held out my arm for Pikachu to jump on, but I barely kept from flinching when I felt Serena's fingers touch my back before gently gripping the fabric of my shirt in her fingers. Neptune was still staring daggers at me though, so I ignored Serena's touch and waited until Pikachu had jumped onto my arm. He climbed up to sit on my shoulder, keeping his black eyes trained on Neptune.

"Who's your friend?" Neptune asked, her voice as icy as a long-frozen tundra. I could feel Serena's fingers tense into a fist against my back, but at least both she and Majestoat were remaining silent.

"Friend?" I repeated, feeling like the biggest jerk in the world at this particular moment. "We just bumped into each other when we were looking for our pokemon."

Serena's hand loosened its grip on my shirt at my dismissive words and I wished more than anything that I could use telepathy to tell her that it was all an act... but unfortunately, humans did not have the capability as far as I knew. Neptune's eyes did not slacken even for a moment and she took a menacing step forward, seeming more intimidating at this moment than a rampaging Aggron.

"Let me rephrase my question," Neptune said darkly as she stalked towards me. "WHY is this woman holding one of my failed experiments?"

My entire body went cold at this and I could hear Serena let out a low gasp, her hand once again balling into a fist against my back, but this time I could feel it trembling. My brain scrambled for a way to answer Neptune that would not draw any further attention to Serena, but suddenly people around us began to gasp and ooo while looking up at the sky. Even Neptune tore her livid glare away from me when a gust of wind washed over us. We both looked up and I felt my mouth drop when I saw a familiar Salamence beating its blood-red wings in preparation of landing practically on top of us.

Kicking into autopilot, I turned, grabbed Serena's arm, and ran several feet backward. The Salamence beat its wings a few more times and I took the precious seconds it was taking for the beast to land to turn away from Neptune and cup Serena's cheeks into the palms of my hands. She looked up at me with obvious confusion and I let out a groan.

"Stay with Aryan," I said, just barely loud enough to be heard over the wind that Salamence's wings were creating.

"What's going on, Satoshi?" Serena asked, reaching up and gripping one of my wrists tightly. I shook my head firmly before lowering it to press my forehead against her.

"I'm sorry Serena, there's no time. Please stay with Aryan and be safe."

I felt a cold pressure from Majestoat's little nose as she pressed it underneath my chin and I moved back so I could rub her ear gently.

"Look after Serena for me, okay?" I asked the little pokemon. Majestoat immediately whistled at me with a clearer look of understanding than I had expected.

I gave Serena one last apologetic look before stepping back from her. She lifted her hand towards me as if hoping that she could make me stay, but I shook my head and turned. Sprinting as fast as I could around Salamence as he finally touched down, I stood directly in front of Neptune, using my body as a shield for her.

Aryan and Bree slid off the gigantic dragon types back and immediately split. Bree ran towards Serena, holding her back as she tried to follow after me, and Aryan came to stand next to Salamence's scaly leg.

"First a secret lover, now the detective that burned you shows up?" Neptune growled from behind me and I flinched slightly, reaching back to hold onto Neptune's thin arm. She did not pull away, to my surprise, and I chose to ignore her biting remark.

Aryan met my eyes briefly, and I could see the unease in them. I grimaced at him, glancing beyond him at Bree who was still holding back Serena from coming over to me. A decisiveness made Aryan's features turn into a calm mask and he let out a small huff.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes. I thought Salamence toasted you back in the forest," Aryan said bitingly. I knew instantly that he wanted me to play along and I gripped Neptune's arm a little tighter.

"A little heat won't keep me down for long," I retorted with a scoff. "You here for a rematch?"

"I'm here to take you in. You and your leader," Aryan said while narrowing his eyes.

"No!" Serena's horrified shout felt like a slap, but Pikachu jumped from my shoulder and took a defensive stance in front of Neptune and I. Aryan's Salamence growled threateningly at my pint-sized partner, obviously remembering the embarrassment he had received after Pikachu had smacked him out of the sky with his Volt Tackle.

"Hmph, as if you have a chance against Tigrice," Neptune scoffed, poking me in the hip near my belt that had Tigrice's pokeball clipped to it. "Go on, Satoshi. Let him see just what he is dealing with."

"Pikachu pika!" Pikachu growled up at Salamence, showing absolutely no fear for the pokemon that dwarfed him ten times over.

We were beginning to draw a crowd and I grimaced, looking between Aryan, the people pointing at us, and finally Serena. Her face was pale with horror, but I could see a desperate denial in her expression as well as if she were just waiting for me to say this was all an elaborate hoax. I slowly closed my eyes and took a step back, bumping into Neptune who had stood her ground.

"What are you doing, Satoshi?" Neptune hissed angrily, and I looked back at her momentarily.

"There are too many people, Neptune. We should get out of here before we make a scene," I said quietly, pushing against her arm to prompt her to move.

"Why? We can easily take on everyone here," Neptune said nonchalantly, and I saw her reaching for her own belt housing her pokeballs.

"We're so close to the end, I don't want this to jeopardize your plan," I said hurriedly under my breath.

"Everyone move on, this is official police business," Aryan said, pulling out his badge and flashing it around at the crowd we were attracting. The crowd gasped and several of them began to shuffle around, obviously not sure whether they should follow Aryan's directions or if they wanted to stay and watch the drama unfold.

Taking advantage of the confusion, I turned while clamping my hand more firmly on Neptune's arm and sprang through the crowd. Neptune protested vocally, but I was surprised that she actually seemed to be keeping up with my frantic sprint through the sea of people. Some guy thinking he would be a hero lunged for me, but I dropped Neptune's arm and ducked down, slamming my shoulder into his middle and tossing him away like a sack of potatoes. The guy crashed into several other onlookers and I winced with guilt but didn't stick around to apologize.

Flashes of lightning came from behind me, showing that Pikachu was putting on a show of holding Aryan and his Salamence back, giving us time to escape. I silently thanked my partner, knowing that he would meet us back at the jet once his distraction had run its course.

Neptune was breathing hard as I ran through the crowd, dragging her behind me. Once we got to the forested area I could hear the roar of a thoroughly annoyed Salamence and I grimaced, ducking into the forest and beginning to search. Finding what I was looking for, I tugged Neptune towards a huge beech tree with leaves that had grown so thick they would cover us from view. The lowest branch was taller than I could reach but that didn't really matter to me.

I came to a stop and Neptune, huffing from our sprint, looked up at me with confusion. Without pause, I gripped Neptune by the waist and heaved her up. She yelped at the unexpected move but must have immediately caught onto my plan because she reached out and gripped the thick tree branch. Once she had a hold, I slipped my hands down to hold under her feet and boosted her up. She scrambled onto the tree limb and looked down at me with an incredulous expression.

Not waiting for her to say anything, I took a few steps back then ran towards the trunk. Jumping as high as I could, I planted my foot against the tree trunk and launched myself up, snagging the same tree limb that Neptune was on and pulling myself up easily. I had always loved climbing trees and I was on my feet and helping Neptune to climb higher within moments.

Once I was certain we were in a position that Aryan, or even worse Serena, couldn't spot us I sat down on a thick tree limb with my back pressed against the tree trunk and let out a small sigh. My hands were sticky with sap and I was just about to apologize to Neptune for getting her clothes dirty when she suddenly wobbled.

I yelped when she lost her balance and began falling backward. Wrapping my legs around the tree branch I lunged forward, catching her around the shoulders and waist and time seemed to stop for one impossibly long second. I stared into her shocked expression and a fleeting thought whispered through my mind.

The world may be saved if I let her fall.

Even as my body seemed to be frozen in time, my mind raced as I tried to process exactly what I should do. Neptune was evil. She was planning to wipe out everyone who didn't follow her in just a few short weeks... but if I let her fall would that stop her plans? Would Proteus continue her work out of revenge for the loss of Neptune who he obviously loved? And what if she didn't die? She would know that I had purposefully let her go at this point, so if she didn't die... then how was I supposed to stop her then?

Do I have the right to choose whether to end someone's life? If I let her go... how would I be any different from her?

Suddenly time around me started up again and I felt Neptune grip my arms so tightly I winced. Grunting at the strain on my back muscles, I hauled her back up. She fell against my chest and clung to me, shivering slightly from the near-death experience. I closed my eyes, wondering if I had made the right decision, but then a sound caught my attention.

Snaking my hand around Neptune's cheek, I clamped it against her mouth while making sure to leave her nose free, to silence her gasping breath. To my surprise, Neptune did not attempt to push me away, she just lay against my chest and tried to control her breathing. I listened as heavy footsteps sounded from beneath us, but they kept going, not even stopping for a moment to look up in the tree I had chosen for our hiding place.

"Aryan!"

My body stiffened at the sound of Serena's upset voice calling out into the forest. I couldn't help but look down. Through the heavy leaf coverage, I could just barely make out two figures running through the forest in pursuit of someone.

"Aryan, please wait up! There must be some mistake!"

I could feel my jaw tighten and I silently scolded Aryan for leaving Serena behind like that. His job was supposed to be protecting Serena after all... I hoped that he wouldn't let his personal vendetta against Neptune for possibly kidnapping his partner cloud his judgment.

Before I knew it the sounds of feet slapping against the ground disappeared and for the first time, I realized just what sort of predicament I found myself in. I immediately released my grip on Neptune's mouth, her breathing had calmed a while ago without me realizing, but there was nowhere for me to go with my back pressed to the trunk and Neptune leaning heavily against my chest.

Her small frame was deceptively delicate. It almost felt like I had a child leaning against me for support, but when she raised her head to meet my eyes I found myself looking into the face of the woman that had tormented my conscience for the last few months.

"There was no reason to run," Neptune said in a whisper, arching one thin eyebrow up defiantly at me.

"Last time I went up against Detective Aryan his Salamence nearly burned me and Pikachu to a crisp. I didn't want to risk that..." I couldn't force myself to say the words "with you there" when I really wanted to say "with Serena there" so I swallowed forcefully and shrugged. Neptune's hand glided along my side that still had scars from the healed burns and I looked away from her, wishing I was literally anywhere else right now.

"Who was that girl?"

I closed my eyes, trying to figure out how to explain myself this time. They flew open, however, when Neptune suddenly grabbed my chin and pulled me so that I was staring right into her eyes.

"Why did you give her that failed experiment when I told you to dispose of it? I saw her hugging you. What does that girl mean to you?" I was shocked at the icy fury that was beginning to overtake Neptune's pale eyes and I grimaced when I realized that this might be Neptune's version of jealousy. Swallowing with difficulty I let out a sigh and met her eyes.

"She's my cousin," I said quietly, hoping that I sounded appropriately sad. "I've been trying to convince her to join Team Galactic for a while now. She's too naive to understand though and she refused to leave her life behind to come with me."

"So you gave her the failure to try to convince her to join us?" Neptune asked with her eyes narrowed. I grimaced down at her and rubbed the back of my neck, pulling my chin from her grip and looking at her dejectedly.

"You know my feelings about pokemon, Neptune. I tried to follow your orders but I couldn't bring myself to do it; not back then. When I ran into my cousin the pokemon got attached to her. I figured it wouldn't hurt anything for her to take the pokemon on her journey and if she ever chose to join us I would have explained myself to you."

"Why did you lie and say you didn't know her?" she asked darkly.

I couldn't keep a grimace off my face and I let out a sigh, trying desperately to come up with a good excuse.

"I... didn't want you to be angry that I had failed to recruit her even though she's family..." The lame excuse fell awkwardly from my lips and I immediately regretted it.

Neptune continued to keep her eyes narrowed at me, but I didn't know what else I could say to make her believe me. I silently waited for her judgment, hanging my head to appear as if I felt horrible for keeping a secret from her.

The pause was so long as Neptune kept her thoughts to herself I was really beginning to wonder if I had finally pushed past my last chance. Her order that finally came though was even worse than anything I could have imagined.

"Kiss me, Satoshi."

My eyes flew open and I only barely kept the disgust from my face as I tried to focus on the shock of this unexpected demand. I looked into her face, which was as hard and impassive as glass, and tried to see if she was joking.

"What?" I choked out, pressing myself against the tree trunk unconsciously.

"You claim that girl is your cousin instead of your lover right? So kiss me. Prove that you'll obey me." Neptune's eyes were hard as she narrowed them at me, looking as if the words she was saying were perfectly logical and could not be argued against. My lips pressed tightly together as my brain raced, trying to come up with something that I could possibly say in this bizarre situation.

I should have let her fall... a horrible part of my inner self whispered inside of me.

Swallowing with extreme difficulty, I slowly raised up a hand to cover my eyes and tried to will blood to rush to my cheeks to look as if I were blushing. That was not something I had ever tried before though so I doubted it had worked.

"I've never kissed anyone before Neptune... you should only do that with someone you love."

I nearly gagged as the words came from my lips, but I remembered Director Fallon's comment that it seemed like Neptune liked my "naivety", so I thought that this may be my only way out of this situation. My heart was hammering rapidly from the stress as I waited for long seconds for Neptune to respond. My spine stiffened when I felt her small hand touch the back of mine and pull it away from my eyes.

"Why won't you just follow orders, Satoshi?" Neptune asked me, and I was shocked to see true frustration in her gaze as she looked at me. Not the angry kind of frustrated though, more like... sad frustration.

"Pikapi!"

I immediately looked away from Neptune and glanced down the tree trunk to where a small flash of yellow could be seen on the ground below us.

"Pikachu, you found us," I said softly down at him, feeling myself relax.

Neptune had ordered Pikachu to leave us last time she had brought up this sort of topic, so I figured I had narrowly escaped. When I turned back to help her get down though, her face was within inches of mine and she was staring at me with an iciness that froze me to the spot.

"Do as you are told, Satoshi," she said menacingly, with both of her hands planted on my chest.

Knowing that I had officially reached the end of Neptune's patience, I swallowed a whimper and forced myself to nod. Neptune closed her eyes and waited, keeping her face within inches of my own. Every part of my body screamed with displeasure as I looked into her lovely but terrible face and I took in a quick gasp of air to psych myself up.

After gathering my wits, I slowly leaned forward. My eyes moved to her lips, which I was sure she had meant to be kissed, but I just couldn't do it. Instead, I tilted my neck and gently pressed my lips against the corner of her left eye. After the quick contact, I moved back, trying to calm down so my skin wouldn't erupt in disgusted goosebumps. Neptune's eyes opened and her dissatisfaction was palpable, but to my utter relief she let out a weary sigh and gingerly began scooting away from me.

"Madeleine better hurry up with her experiments," Neptune muttered under her breath. I frowned at this, but when Neptune began climbing down I followed after her without argument.

Pikachu immediately climbed up to my shoulder when I was back on the ground and I nearly laughed when his angular tail swiped roughly against my lips, giving me a small shock in the process. I gave him a grateful smile before turning to Neptune and following after her as we made our way to the jet.

A/N *Shudder* Neptune is a whole different level of creepy