Alex looked over his shoulder, making sure he hadn't been followed. As expected, Bella was nowhere to be seen. He'd stopped hearing her cries a long time ago. There was no way he could've been tracked through the dense trees of the forest. The forest that he knew better than most. Eventually he came to a familiar clearing.

It was a small open patch of grass where he trained his Pokémon. As usual the derelict temple-like structure sat to the side, looking as old as it always did. Alex moved over towards the building, eager for a rest. Annoyingly, the large green slab that he normally sat on was missing, probably stolen by a wild Pokémon. It wouldn't have been much, but the slight elevation it offered could make a slight difference to what little comfort he had.

Sighing, he slumped down in the doorway. His arms and legs ached from all of the running he'd just done and this was just the rest he needed. Every breath felt like it regenerated a bit of his strength and he was going to need all of it. He knew he couldn't stay here. Sooner or later, Bella would have an idea as to places he might go and this would be one of the first places on her mind. She'd know how much he liked this spot. Where he'd go next though, Alex wasn't sure. Perhaps he'd just wander around the island until he found some food and a good shelter.

He got an uneasy feeling, as if he was being watched. He glanced around but so no signs of anything. He chuckled to himself. That was what he needed most right now. A sign. It didn't have to be much. Just some kind of sign to show him where to go next, what his next move might because at the moment he really had no clue what was in store for him. In just a few weeks, everything had been taken from him and now he couldn't even use his Pokémon out of fear. He wasn't used to fear. He didn't like it.

"Did you hear that universe?" Alex spoke for the first time in several hours. "Give me a sign!" In a moment of frustration, he picked up a nearby pebble and threw it with as hard as he could, missing the tree he was aiming for. It made an odd donk as it escaped his vision, as if it hadn't simply landed on the ground. It sounded more like someone, or rather something's, head.

"Eee!" came a tiny cry. Alex stared in disbelief as a small pixie with a blue, pyramidal shaped head emerged from the trees at the edge of the clearing.

"No way." he breathed "Azelf?" The Pokémon nodded and floated over to him, attempting to pull him up. He'd met Azelf once before last year, when he'd saved the Lake Guardians from the Darkness Warriors but what was the legendary pixie doing here? He stood up, much to Azelf's delight, who then started tugging at his blazer so much Alex thought it might rip.

"Eee!"

"What?" Alex asked. Azelf let go for a moment to float a few feet away and gesture him to follow. "You want me to follow you?" The pixie nodded. Alex briefly considered. He had nothing to lose and nothing else to go on. Wherever Azelf might take him, it had to be better than aimlessly wandering the island. The pair then set off, heading through the forest, further than Alex, possibly even anyone, had ever gone before.

*

Bella didn't know what to feel. Her emotions were all over the place. It'd been like that ever since Alex had lost to Cooper. She, along with the rest of the gang, had regularly visited Alex in his coma-like state and it had pained her to say the least. Watching someone who she'd grown to care about so much lying in bed, tossing and turning, moaning and sometimes even screaming had hit her really hard. Sometimes she'd gone on her own. She'd just sit by Alex's bed and watch him. She'd cry sometimes as well.

However, as bad as Bella had felt, Megan had looked worse. They went together once. As much as Megan tried to hide her feelings for Alex when he was around, she hadn't been able to keep anything in and Bella had heard it all. That was alright though. Bella was good at keeping secrets for other people. The secret she was worried about wasn't Megan's. It was her own.

She shook her head, brushing the recurring thought away. She knew that it would pass in time. Right now, she needed to focus on the objective at hand which was finding Alex and getting him back. Bella had never seen him anything like this. He'd run away from a battle. No explanation, he'd just turned and fled. Whatever had happened in his unconsciousness, it had clearly scarred him.

"Hey Bella," Lucy smiled as Bella walked into the Azelf common room. It looked as though the whole group was here, settled on several sofas. "You look a little flustered. Something wrong?"

"Alex is gone."

"What?" Megan cried. Everybody looked at Bella, shocked.

"I was trying to give him a bit of a pep talk since he's been feeling down lately and I thought a battle could cheer him up." Bella explained. "Before we even started, he just ran away. I couldn't catch him."

"Which way was he headed?" Megan asked. "He can't run forever. If we start looking now-"

"I don't think that'll work Megan." Bella shook her head. "This island is huge and he could literally be anyway by now."

"But-"

"Last year when you got kidnapped, Alex wanted to go out and find you." Bella interrupted. "Cynthia strictly told us not to go looking ourselves. She put the entire police force out just to search for you but they couldn't find you. Alex accepted that it'd be best not to look for you and I think we have to take the same approach now."

"She's right." Lenny nodded. Megan looked like she wanted to argue but she couldn't find the words. Besides, if she showed too much interest, Thomas might get suspicious.

"I think we should try and get to the bottom of this." Bella said, trying to sound confident. "Maybe that'll give us a clue as to where he is."

"Well it's obvious isn't it?" Megan said "Alex hasn't been right ever since Cooper showed up."

"You're right." Bella agreed. "If anybody's done anything to Alex, it has to be Cooper. Why don't we pay him a visit?"

*

Alex fell on his hands and knees, exhausted. He'd lost track of time. He had no idea where he was or how far from the academy he was. All he knew was that this trek never seemed to end. He gulped in huge breaths of air, trying his best to stay conscious. He'd already passed out a few times. He wondered where Azelf was taking him.

"Eee!" Azelf, still looking cheery as ever, beckoned him to keep going.

"Easy for you. You can float." Alex moaned as he looked at his hands. They were badly cut and bruised after Azelf's mystery tour had lead him over what Alex was pretty certain was a volcano. His knees were almost as badly injured. It hurt even to stretch his legs. He thought about giving up. He thought about crying. Even if he wanted to, he was probably too dehydrated to form tears.

"Eee!" Azelf began tugging at him again, urging him to carry on. Azelf desperately pointed to Alex's right where in the very far distance, he could just about make out the sea.

"Is that where we're going?" he asked, still clueless as to where their true destination was and why they were going there. In any case, Azelf continued on after Alex had had his brief rest. This journey just went on and on forever. Or maybe Azelf was taking him somewhere. He just had to trust the little monster.

*

Cooper laughed. Murph had disappeared and they thought that somehow he was to blame?

"What's so funny?" Bella asked.

"Oh it's just this wild story you lot have come up with." Cooper replied. "According to you, me beating Alex in a battle has turned him insane and forced him to run away? That's actually what you're suggesting?"

"Yes, that's actually what I'm suggesting." Bella said. Cooper could tell that she was trying to act confident and trying to keep it together but she was close to cracking. The rest of Alex's little gang wouldn't be able to stand up to him once Bella had backed down.

"If you ask me, the guy just couldn't take losing." Cooper shrugged. "Ironic really, considering that he is very, very lost, in all senses of the word. He lost the battle, now he's lost his way, he's lost his will; by the sounds of things, he even lost his mind."

"And you think that's funny?" Bella said, her voice beginning to rise in volume. "You think it's funny that Alex's depressed, alone and missing?"

"I think it's funny that you think it's somehow my fault." Cooper said. "Just explain to me how that works."

"Simple really. Before you beat him, he was always full of energy and happy, full of determination and he cracked an awful lot of terrible jokes. Then you come along and all of a sudden, he's depressed and won't battle anymore. Doesn't take a genius to see cause and effect."

"Ok, I think I might be able to prove that you're wrong."

"How?"

"You against me. This Saturday."

"How does that show anything?" Bella asked.

"If whoever I beat goes insane, then when you lose, you'll be just like Alex. Except that when nothing happens, you'll see that your story is a load of bollocks." Cooper grinned. He knew Bella wouldn't be able to back down and this was the opportunity he'd been waiting for. Bella was the last real threat to his title of being the best and that was something he wasn't exactly going to give away.

"Alright then." Bella nodded, agreeing to the terms. "But I'm warning you now; I will crush you."