"I can't tell you what happened" I told Augustine sitting on his chair across his desk, asking me what made me go into a panic after leaving the power plant "I was told that I saw someone and that I went crazy. I don't even remember it happening, but I know what caused it"

"Will you share with me?" I nodded and explained to him about me and my moms blood bond "I don't hear much about blood bonds, but I hear that they are a serious thing just to keep a promise. You made a promise to your mom to never look back at those memories from when you were little?" I explained what I knew from the dream. He held his chin, not saying a thing.

"August?"

"Sorry, I was just remembering something. Don't mind me" he stood up and leaned on the side of his desk "It's good that you're feeling better, but you caused a disturbance in some parts of Lumiose. You screamed the entire time you were escorted here by the hunters who were still around in the area. They held Xavier back, thinking that he did something to you"

"That's awful" I frowned "Where is he?"

"On a mission with the boys. Shauna is in the city shopping for some supplies. She offered to stay in Xavier's place since he was in your room for hours without sleep. It's not healthy for him"

"I'm sorry to make everyone worried"

"Even you didn't think your blood bond would cause you so much pain. You don't even remember anything happening, so I'm guessing that bond is still keeping you from seeing the thing your mother didn't want you seeing" it kept me from seeing the person my mom didn't want me seeing from that long ago, when he made her the way she is today.

I groaned and held my head in pain "are you thinking about it?" Augustine asked. I nodded "Whatever it was, for the sake of your health, please don't"

"I'll try" I sighed. He looked at his phone.

"You should go meet Shauna at a restaurant called Restaurant le Yeah. It's located on Autumnal Avenue. I told her you'll be leaving soon and she'll meet you there" I nodded "also, the vampire you brought here with the dagger was wanted by police for stalking a human before confirmed he was a vampire. He was set clear by me the other day, and is certainly with your other follower" I'll never get use to the fact that I have followers now "Good job"

"Thank you for your help" I bowed.

"One last thing" he took out a few papers from inside his desk "The sample Sina delivered to me was a small sample of demon blood. The acidity was off the charts, farther than the duplicate's blood, and was so close to melting through Sina's container. We can only say that the blood cells of a leader and the duplicates carry this blood inside it, but with the Ph scale, it's useless in all sorts of ways. We can't use it to our advantage, but I'm glad we have enough to know about a species we don't know anything about"

"I'm glad I was able to help" I smiled "I'll try my best to be more useful in the future instead of making everyone worry all the time. Thank you for your time" I bowed and left. Right when I walked out, I looked back at Augustine through the door closing, seeing a frown on his face. I decided to ignore it for now, and focus on more big things like looking for my followers and see how they were doing.

"What a mess" I sighed, walking out the academy "I always seem to cause trouble for everyone" I looked above the city at the prism tower "I know Clemont lives there. I felt it before, but ignored it for this long" Now with this Peace treaty, I have to make my way there as soon as possible.

"I better find Shauna first" I ran out the gates and searched for this specific restaurant she chose for some reason. Finally finding it thanks to a taxi man pointing it out, I walked in and was greeted by a host who escorted me to Shauna eating an appetizer with her Pikachu and another Pokémon I didn't know she had.

"Shauna?" I walked up to her. She jumped up and gave me the biggest smile ever.

"Serena!" I hurried over to hug her and looked at the round Pokémon beside Pikachu.

"Who's this?" She rubbed the back of her head, a little ashamed, it seems.

"Well, I did tell you that I was a trainer back when we first met. You didn't think I was lying?"

"I never really put much thought in that. So you had another Pokémon this whole time and you didn't tell me?" I leaned over to pet it's head "It's adorable!"

"Thank you, but the reason why I didn't tell you was because..." she nervously laughed "he attacks me"

"What?" I blinked confused.

"Yeah. I had to tell dad about it and he send Quilladin to a daycare where they tame wild Pokémon who attack their owners, but in all honesty, we both knew it was because I'm a you know what" she sat down across from Quilladin, so I joined her and sat next to it staring at me.

"If it's with you now, how's it going?"

"I'm trying to show it that I'm good friends with Pikachu, but he's being a bit suspicious. I don't really blame it though. Who would trust a monster like me?" She leaned her elbow on the table "It'll take time, but he's just been turning away instead of growling at me, so that's something"

"You're not a monster, Shauna" I pet her head, surprising her "If you were a monster, I wouldn't have been able to help convince Pikachu that you're so loving and nothing like the others. Once we can get an army to be on our side, vampires won't have to be labeled as monsters anymore" I whispered so no one can hear. Shauna frowned and took my hand.

"I'm happy to know that the first person besides my dad knows that I'm much more than what my race is. Korrena is on our side, which makes me feel good about the future" I smiled.

"I got another leader to be on my side" she gasped surprised "it was surprisingly easy" I told her what I experienced back in Coumarine City "and today, I'm aiming to find another. His name is Clemont"

"Oh, I heard of him-" the waiter asked for our order. Since I could eat anything, I asked for a surprise while Shauna got what she saw on the menu "anyways, I heard of him. He's the city's electrician! Imagine if X's plan was still being carried out. This place will be doomed" I nervously laughed while she giggled joyfully. I could tell her Quilladin was watching her closely, eyes wide open and almost surprised.

It took awhile for the food to arrive, but when it did, I somehow felt uneasy for some reason. The waiter came back with our food, describing what was in front of us after lifting the lid off the plate.

"Here you are" his bored voice spoke, showing me my delicious looking meal "This is the viande portion of the meal, with out chef's compliments" I felt my mouth watering at the piece of braciole "a braciole of fresh, Azure Bay Slowpoke Tail. It's accompanied by Payapa Berry crudities glazed in an extra virgin Oran oil and had been described as the gastronomical equivalent of a Gastly glaring at a Hex Maniac" I sweat dropped. That's oddly specific... "a perfect meal for a princess" I froze my entire body and slowly turned to properly look at the waiter, but lost a glimpse of his face as he walked away.

"What's wrong, Serena?" I gulped, unsure if I was just seeing things "Did you know him?"

"I.. I don't know. I feel like I mistook him for someone" she questioned who. I shook my head and started eating my entire plate while on edge. The waiter came back every so often to check on us, and every time I tried looking at his face, he'd walk away every time.

"Do you think he's cute or something?" Shauna looked over at the kitchen door he disappeared into "I would had thought you would have your eyes only on X, but it's not like there's nothing wrong with looking other guys" she giggled, hand feeding her Pikachu. Her Quilladin eyed her, looking a bit left out, but pretended to be fine when she looked at it.

"Hey, Shauna?" I spoke a bit too softly.

"Hey Serena, dad told me that you and X found out what was happening in the Kalos power plant. Since the power has been out for so long, today is the day when they'll finally be turning on!" She smiled big "Later tonight! It'll be like looking at a light show! Bet you never seen one of those, huh?" I sighed and smiled, nodding. She picked up her Pokémon's food and tried feeding Quilladin, but he refused every time "I guess it'll take some time" she sad smiled.

"Don't worry, you got this" I smiled. The waiter finally came back with our check. Being distracted by Shauna and her Pokémon, I didn't get the chance to see the waiters face after he thanked us for joining him. Shauna was the first to thank him and we both stood up to leave.

"Come on! I want to get a front row seat to see the lights at the prism tower!" Shauna ran up ahead to the exit. I pushed in my seat, about to chase after her before a hand grabbed me and quickly pulled me into a private dining room. I quickly looked back and gasped at who I saw. Our waiter.

"You..." I quickly turned around to face him giving me a blank expression, just like the others "what are you doing here? Did Siebold have you search for me or something?" The waiter, Tanner, was one of the elite four member's messengers. Never had I expected to see a messenger anywhere in Kalos that wasn't close to anywhere where they were running errands.

"I don't have to answer that" he stated. I groaned, snatching my hand away "Please return back to the castle, Mistress. You being out here will not do you any good. If you return with me, you won't be punished" he offered his hand.

"Look, I don't have to do anything. I'm quite happy here! I don't have to go anywhere with you! I finally found my purpose in this world, and I will not be locked away in that room again" I held my heart "Don't you understand what it feels like to be stuck in a room for 16 years? You and the others have come and go, teaching me about different things about our world, but you got to leave while I stayed behind. I know you have something left in you to understand how I feel" I frowned, taking his shoulder "You're outside, away from the castle. You can live and not be a blood bag for those demons" I took his hand, hoping he'll find something in him that'll snap him out of it.

His expression changed only slightly, looking a bit distressed "Tanner, please. I want to live. I can't go back to that place"

"I'm doing this... for your own good" he glared at our hands touching "Just come back..."

"I won't! Why can't you just let it go? They won't have to know that you saw me! I'll help you! You'll be protected and you'll never have to suffer anymore!" He snatched his hand away and turned to the side, glaring more at the floor.

"Forget it... just leave then" I frowned, wanting to take his shoulder, but thought that I shouldn't "I... I just don't want anyone else to get hurt"

"Tanner..?" What's happening? "You're so emotional..." he took a deep breath and sighed.

"Master doesn't always have time to feed from me, since he's busy taking care of his other restaurants. I am more open than the others..." he frowned at me "I try the best I can, even if I still have his blood in my system. Jasmine killed her childhood friend before you showed up when you saw her body in front of your room" I cupped my mouth "Jasmine is my younger sister. I knew they were friends before the two of us were taken from our homes to be messengers. I feel like deep down, Jasmine felt guilty for killing Layla" he bit his lips hard "I don't want anyone else getting hurt..." He sobbed while squeezing his chest in pain.

"Tanner, what happened..?"

"You would think as a messenger, you'd be emotionless. Layla's death should had not meant anything in her state of mind with the demon blood, but something in her triggered it. She..." his lips started bleeding from how hard he was biting himself. I sniffled at the scent "she hung herself" everything was silent for a moment. Tanner tried his best to stop crying, but he never did. I looked at my hand and squeezed it, needing to find a way to help him.

"I ask you to come with me for your sake. I knew you were always stuck in that room. I could only imagine what you went through. I don't want anyone else to suffer, just please come with me" he begged. I sat him down on a chair and shook my head.

"I can't..." I placed my hand on his forehead "Stay strong, Tanner. I won't go back no matter how many times you say so. I have something I must do..." his eyes went heavy "Where is Layla and Jasmine buried?"

"Outside the castle..." his eyes closed.

"Relax. You don't have to worry about me. Thank you for caring, but I have to leave now. Promise me you'll continue to do your best, and remain strong" he slowly nodded. I bit my lips and slowly removed my hand away, leaving the building as he fell asleep. I slowly walked back to the streets, staring at my hands.

"This hypnosis thing is getting easier to use" I looked back at the restaurant "I better hurry up so I can save them too... to think I almost forgot they were humans too" Pikachu suddenly appeared in my view. I looked up to see Shauna trying to look pass a crowd of people waiting around the prism tower.

"Is this light show really a big deal?" I asked, walking up to her.

"There you are. Did you use the restroom or something? I almost got worried" I sweat dropped "but knowing you, I feel like I don't have to worry all that much since you're always okay in the end" she giggled, teasing "but yeah! I bet you never seen the prism tower light up! We're here before it started! Too bad we're stuck back here!" I looked at how tall the tower was "Hey" Shauna looked at me "what's wrong? You're shaking. Something bothering you?"

"It's nothing. I just want to go to more missions already" she glanced away for a moment and looked through the crowd. She smiled and waved her hand.

"Come on. We can squeeze through these people. I'm sure we'll have a better view of Clemont so we can get things started" I quickly followed her dashing through everyone without warning. A few of these people were hesitant to let us through, but at the end, we were in the very front. I spotted Clemont typing on a computer that was attached to a table that was attached to a metal backpack he was wearing.

"There he is!" Shauna pointed at him and Bonnie next to him jumping up and down in excitement. What's with that personality change? The first time I met her she was so cold and collected, where as now she looked carefree and happy "Let's talk to them after the lights are turned on. That okay?" Shauna asked.

"Yeah, sure" I sighed and looked at my hand "I have to hurry and get this army... I don't want anyone else getting hurt"

"What was that?" Shauna asked, mesmerized by the beauty of the tower. I shook my head and smiled, wanting to have a good time at the moment without feeling down about the stress I'm causing myself. For now, I better set up times when I can just relax and step up my game. I have two leaders on my side. It's time for the next, and I won't take no for an answer.