The forest had a dark and dull feel to it even before walking into it. Taking a few steps forward, Crystal and West could already see dozens and dozens of dolls and plushies hanging from the branches and such.

Some were disfigured and ripped apart, while there were others that still looked somewhat new "geez..." West gulped "How old did you say this girl was? She needs a new hobby." he glanced at every doll as they walked through the path

"N-no kidding..." Crystal stuttered. He noticed how much she was shaking.

"Are you alright?" She nodded

"O-of course! There's nothing that can really freak me out as much! That devil child needs to learn that this is terrifying and not normal" even if the person responsible is her sister, Crystal always called Olivia; a devil child, in which Olivia takes as a compliment.

"So you are scared."

"No" she shut her eyes "Stop talking so much!" They stopped walking. West stared at her hugging herself with her eyes closed "I'm not scared... okay?" She opened her eyes, imagining demons coming from a black pit and crawling up to grab her "I-I'm not..." he reached out to hold her at the same time Honedge used its clothe to wrap around his head and show him a scene of the princess crying and screaming while sleeping in bed. His eyes widened

"It's the after effect of your curse..." she looked at him and the cloth around his forehead "Even if you're not cursed, you're still terrified till this day" she looked away, rubbing her arms.

"I-I guess that makes sense..." she looked back at him confused "What made you think of that conclusion?" He looked up at the cloth on his head "Did it show you something?"

"Yeah... It's strange how-" Froslass stood in front of Crystal, cautiously.

"Froslass?"

"Miss Ashly!" Someone shouted "Please stop! This is not how we behave!"

"Screw you!" A girl laughed, swinging on vines hanging from the trees, escaping from Team Victoria running after her. They were a pair of red shirts, meaning they were rich-like grunts.

The vine the girl swung on snapped, causing her to land in West's arms "oh!" She giggled, playing with her neon blue short hair "nice catch!"

"Uh... thanks" he could feel Crystal's aura flaring in anger behind him, so he quickly placed her down. The Grunts stood in front of her, taking out their Pokéballs

"Don't touch our admin, peasants!" One glared

"Who are you calling a peasant!?" Crystal glared, actually freaking them out "Who do you think you are..?"

"You're wearing red, so I'm assuming you're the stuck-up snotty Grunts who think they're all that?" West said

"Blue or red, we are Team Victoria! We don't let anyone look down on us! By the time we complete our mission, you'll bow down to us and cower in our name!" The other laughed "It's only a matter of time before we gain access to summon the legendary Pokémon; Glēgotan" the admin behind them stared at the couple for a few moments, gasping at their similarities to the picture book of the legend

"Forgive my boys" The admin bowed.

"M-Miss Ashly, why are you bowing down to these peasants? You're supposed to set an example!" She smiled sweetly at them. They flinched at her happiness

"Who are you to tell me what to do? I might be a lower class than you growing up" her eyes went serious "but I am still the admin. I can throw you out just like that... and then you'll become the peasants" they bowed as she looked at the couple again "My name is Ashly. A pleasure to meet you! We are Team Victoria! Aiming to change the future of Kannena for the better."

"For the better?" Crystal looked down, staring up at her "What game are you trying to play?" Ashly sweated a little, but kept her smile

"Team Victoria brings in members who are willing to be on top of everyone. Every class is welcomed, since in the end... it won't matter" she smirked sinisterly "We'll become the top class, and everyone else will be looked down upon... as not only peasants, but slaves" Crystal flinched, taking a step back

"What did you say!? You're going to use the legendary Pokémon to reverse the harmony and connections so you can bring back slavery!?" West gasped, his inner anger exposed, making him as scary as the Kimana family were known for their anger "You've got to be kidding... like I'll ever let you get away with that!" Ashly hid her giggle

"Oh come now... Don't you remember being a slave? It wasn't so bad? Was it?" The grunts looked at each other confused. West glared angrier, slouching his back while he reached to grab Honedge's handle and pointed the blade at her. His eyes glowed, showing he was possessed.

"Mine liberty hath been wrested from mine grasp!" West choked back the Warriors voice "You're wearing blue, so you weren't born rich! What makes you think you have the right to take away someone else's freedom when they worked hard to earn it!"

"Earn it? What's the fun of earning it when you can take it? Either way... Your family was born wealthy thanks to the Battle Tower" she giggled.

"How would you know about that?" She played with the ends of her historical dress similar to admin Britney, only in blue, and leaned forward

"After finding out that you and your little princess are connected to the legends, we had to do some research on you" she looked at Crystal taking a step back "grab her!" The grunts threw out their Pokémon; Ivysaurs, and had them wrap around Crystal's body to bring her towards the Grunts

"Diane!" West shouted. Crystal opened her eyes from getting squeezed, and looked into his eyes. He flinched, turning his eyes from glowing to flashing back and forth to his original color "Crystal!" He glared, pointing Honedge at the tip of Ashly's chin, making her look up to avoid the blade "Let her go... now"

"You were a warrior in the before life... so holding a sword isn't anything new" she gave a close-eyed smile "Why fight anymore? We can be on top of everyone. You can look down at the people who ruined your life... and you can look down at the people who embarrassed your family" not only was she talking to West, she was talking to Damian. The vines around Crystal tightened, making her groan

"C-Crystal..." he gasped. Ashly lifted her arm to separate them from each other.

"Sadly, I couldn't get any information off your little friend, but seeing how much you care, do you really think she will if it was the other way around?" Crystal stared at the trees above her, knowing if it she never met West before, she wouldn't have cared, but now... "The princess of the past... She was royalty, and she was the blood of the ones who made you a slave. You don't have to be like that again... How do you know she's not using you?" Crystal flinched, feeling tears burning her eyes "Don't let history repeat itself... You can join me, help us get the Fiery orb, and tell us where the ice orb is"

"Why are you getting anything from West!?" Crystal glared "You're the one that has me tied up!" Ashly looked at her

"I've seen your kind before... rich people think they can do whatever they want without any disregard of how anyone feels" the grunts looked at each other, gulping that their blue colored admin was talking about their kind

"Your history shows your story. You stand elegantly, and you still look down on me like I'm a pawn!" She shouted "you rich people are the reason why I was separated from my sister! This organization helped us reunite... We all will become one, and those lowlives will never see what's coming" she looked back at West standing there "Men are so easy to persuade... What do you say, Westly? How about you abandon the life you knew and prevent yourself from becoming a slave again... join us" Crystal stared at West staring at the hand the short girl offered.

That girl is toying with his mind, going back and forth to Damian and West to make him confused. Not really knowing if Ashly was aware, Crystal tried getting out the trap to help him, but lost feeling all over her body again

"Fros!" Froslass shouted. West and Damian looked at Crystal's lifeless body hanging in the air with her hand hanging downward. His eyes widened in horror, shaking.

"Chris!" West shouted. He squeezed on Honedge's handle, automatically making it glow and evolve into a Doublade. He shouted and crossed the blades in front of Ashly, making her scream and jump out the way before she could get hit

"I'm not going anywhere with you! I don't care if I become a slave again... I just want Crystal to be alright" he could see the tears running out Crystal's eyes.

"W-West..." she cried.

"How could you say you don't care if you become a slave..?" Ashly held her chin "That's amusing. I'll make sure you'll work extra labor when we get a hold of the scepters and orbs" she snapped her fingers at the grunts, making them run to grab him. The Doublade was making him aggressive and throw out swings in every direction, making it dangerous even for himself.

"What are you doing? Stop..." Crystal said "You're going to get hurt..." laughs could be heard from every direction again. The dolls around them laughed and whispered individually, though it wasn't clear on what they were saying.

"Why are you fighting!? You're going to abandon her anyways! Just like in the legend!" Ashly shouted. Doublade froze, and Froslass snapped, blowing a hard pressure level of icy cold wind at their direction.

Crystal shakily lifted her head to look around for West, but the wind turned everything white "He's going to abandon me, just like in the legend..?" She chuckled and stared at the sky between the leaves and tree branches "of course he will... When he finds out everything..." she closed her eyes "I'm sorry, West. I'm sorry that it had to end up like this..."

The storm suddenly stopped. Froslass floated over West's body sitting on the floor confused, while the grunts and admin were covered in ice they had to shrug off to remove

"What was that..?" Ashly glared at Froslass floating there with its hands together and eyes closed "Why you little... You think a snow storm is going to stop us!? I was trying to make this go towards the easy way, but since you want to play hard to get-" footsteps crunched on the snow below.

A little girl with a big pink dress down to her knees, long goldish orange hair in a high ponytail, walked towards Team Victoria with her face low to blend with the darkness, holding a Pokédoll in hand, standing next to a Sylveon, and covered in what she knew was red paint... but they didn't know that

"What are you doing..?" The little girl asked "You are disturbing the spirits within this forest."

"W-who are you?" Ashly took a step back, a little creeped out

"Does it matter..?" The girl giggled, lifting her face to show the devilish look in her eyes. Crystal wanted to throw up at how well that girl can make the most terrifying faces "I'm going to be your worse nightmare if you don't leave this forest..." a small disfigured looking Pikachu, or a Pokémon wearing a Pikachu costume, peaked from the edge of a tree and stared directly towards the grunts from the darkness it stood in. They instantly freaked out and ran for their lives

"Good... they're gone" she sighed and stared at the Pikachu dressed Pokémon swaying around happily towards her. She giggled again and petted it's... head? "good job! Now the spirits of the forest can continue resting in peace..." she froze when a body ran pass her "huh-?" Her eyes widened when West carried Crystal into his arms. Although she couldn't see Crystal, she saw a head of blue hair, a lifeless arm, and legs

"Chris... Are you okay?" He gasped "how are you feeling..?"

"I'm fine... but I think you should worry about the devil child behind you..." feeling a chill going through his spine, West slowly looked at how close Olivia was to him with a wide smirk on her face.

"Why aren't you leaving..? Don't worry, you can leave your girlfriend here, and I'll make sure her body gets some rest" West glared, holding Crystal and carried her bridal style, facing her, and walked away at the same time Crystal opened her eyes and made eye contact with her, having her gasp in terror

"Not happening! I'm taking her back to her family! You freaky little girl!" Olivia put her hands together, hopeful

"West... This is the gym leader of Rosebud, Olivia" Crystal sighed. Olivia stared at Crystal before looking at West's determined eyes "she's my sister's... friend" Olivia tilted her head confused.

"Huh?" She looked at Froslass speaking "oh! Huh... I almost didn't recognize you there, Crystal..." She giggled "I might not know what's going on, but I'll go along with it! Nice to meetcha! I'm Olivia Otashi, and you are?" West gulped at the red blood on her dress

"I'm Westly Kimana..." Olivia looked at Crystal surprised "and we came out here to look for you and ask for a gym battle!" Olivia just stared at West like he was dead "W-What are you staring at?"

"You don't seem like that Rhea girl..." what did Rhea do to be hated by every single gym leader he meets? "You're holding Crystal close..." Froslass spoke again "Is that so..?" Crystal blushed, turning away "so what..? Are you her caretaker..? Where is Wyatt?"

"You're asking questions? You're the one that has blood all over your dress..." West said. She tilted her head in a "cute" way, which looked terrifying "Y-You even responded to Froslass like you understood her... S-She is creepy..." he told Crystal

"I told you... She's a devil child" Olivia held her cheeks with a gasp

"Awe! You're so sweet" Crystal sighed, seeing that she never changed "Is something the matter..?" She held Crystal's hands "Did your body freeze again..?" She nodded "I see... well come now. Your family may be able to help"

"No need... I already have some medicine stocked up" Olivia nodded and went over to pick up a lamp hiding behind the tree the Pikachu dressed Pokémon hid behind

"Very well... It's already dark, and if you wander without supervision, you can end up lost and end up like the Pokémon around the forest" West looked around, noticing eyes were staring at him through the darkness. Crystal kept her eyes close to avoid seeing them

"Please follow me..." Olivia curtsied her dress and walked away. West looked at Crystal keeping her eyes close while remembering what that admin said about the legend... that the Warrior abandoned the princess..? No... There's no way he can do that. Never!

They made it to a neighborhood with every corner filled with roses. It made the place look beautiful and smelled good. Now it was clear on why the town was called Rosebud

"Here is one of the family's houses" Olivia looked up at a large house surrounded by a garden of roses of different colors. Crystal's cousins were playing in the front yard with glow sticks and Ladybas flying around them "so, Kimana" Olivia looked at West "how about you drop off the princess and we can have our battle now?" Crystal noticed the empty look in Olivia's eyes...

"Will... you be alright on your own?" he asked Crystal

"Don't worry about me..." the cousins took notice of the three and came over "Don't get too many terrors from the battle."

"I'll try not to" he kissed her forehead, surprising her and everyone around them "I want you to be with your family, so I'll send you a text when I'm on my way to my room I'll rent later."

"I see... alright" he handed her to Liam "S-See you later" she frowned. He smiled and waved, walking away with Olivia frowning at her. The cousins stared at West smiling at Crystal, even if she's an Otashi and he was a Kimana. They are natural enemies. Well, it's the Kimanas that hate their guts. The Otashis' don't care for any of it... still, what makes West different?

"You know... even if you're taller than me, you don't weigh a thing" Liam chuckled.

"Let's take you inside! It's Tonya's birthday today, explaining why everyone is together!" Kendall said

"Everyone is dying to meet you after our auntie told us she saw you the other day! That's why our parents asked us to find you and bring you home! Talk about a perfect time for a family reunion!" Jeff smiled. Crystal sighed with a small smile and nodded.

"I look forward to seeing everyone. It's a coincidence that I made it to the reunion dad told me about."

"That's a different reunion, but as long as you're here now" Mary smiled sweetly, moving a little of her hair behind her ear "and when you get better, can you battle with us?" Crystal blinked confused, being walked into the house.

"U-uh well..." Walking into the house, the first thing she saw were dozens of people she never met before, only seen in photographs her parents sent through Articuno's deliveries

"Well... look who finally made an appearance" a tall woman with brown eyes, sitting next to a gray-haired man with his blue eyes, smiled over to her. Crystal gasped, wanting to cup her mouth

"Mama..? Papa..?"

ai Olivia