Chapter 14

"Do you still think it was a good idea to put N and Amos in the same group?" Archy asked White as she tinkered with her pistol.

"No, I don't," she admitted, looking up at her Arcanine. "But Amos was the best choice, plus I actually get along with him.

Two days had passed since the group of trainers had split into groups. White was currently on Route 6, and were trying to find their way back to Route 7. Amos, N, and herself were still traveling together, but things weren't exactly going smoothly. N kept treating Amos terribly. He was making life a bit difficult for the younger trainer, and hissed him threats behind White's back. After scolding N about his behavior, she had sent her brother and friend out to see what was ahead. They had not returned yet.

Archy sighed and rested his head on his paws. His ears kept twitching every time the pistol made a clicking noise as she fiddled with it.

"Why do you even have that with you?" the Arcanine growled, rolling onto his back irritability.

"It's just a safety precaution, don't worry," she assured him, putting a pokeball in the gun and setting it down.

One thing White was known for was her pokeball pistol. While regular guns shot out bullets, her pistol shot out pokeballs. The pistol had been made by Sky Blue, who had taken a regular gun and modified it to shoot out pokeballs as well as bullets. The idea had come from seeing gym leaders or Elite Four members who had modified their pokeballs to other weapons, like nunchucks, shurikens, and bows and arrows. She didn't use it unless facing extremely powerful or large opponents.

The tall grass rustled loudly as three pokemon entered the area that White and the two boys had occupied. Raichu, Zoroark, and Packs were all panting and huffing from both anger and exhaustion.

"I never want to be stuck with this werewolf again!" Raichu groaned, flopping down on the ground next to White.

"Well it's no picnic for me either, princess!" snapped Zoroark, jumping up onto a low hanging branch and laying down.

White wasn't entirely surprised to hear this. When she, N, Raichu, and Zoroark were little, they had all gotten along just fine. But Raichu had turned more hostile toward her old friend the older she got, especially after being brainwashed. Her attitude hadn't changed much.

"Did N behave?" White asked Raichu, changing the subject.

"I think so, he didn't talk much," the Mouse Pokemon replied, looking up toward the place in the trees they had come from. "Then again, they are a bit behind. We weren't going that fast."

"He's probably lingering back to give Kissy Boy a few death threats." The trainer heard Packs mutter quietly.

She rolled her eyes just as N and Amos came into the clearing. Her older brother avoided looking at White or Amos as he walked past them, Rapi trotting behind him.

"So how did it go? And please, don't just ignore me." She added irritability.

"It wasn't too bad," Amos told her quietly as he and Liliana came over. "At the end of this route, there's a castle that was turned into a museum."

"Well maybe we should visit it before going back to Route 7," White suggested. "Of course, we might have to disguise you, Ne-Ne."

N scowled as White used his annoying nickname before telling his sister, "No, it's fine, you and your friend just go on ahead."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked, glancing from one boy to the other. "I'm sure it won't be too much trouble if we find some way-"

"You don't need me to slow you down, ok? But take Zoroark with you if you two go."

Zoroark groaned at this and fell right out of his tree branch.

"But I don't wanna go!" The dark fox-like pokemon whined, his voice muffled from his snout being buried in a small pile of snow. "Please, have mercy on a poor old pokemon like me!"

"Oh, stop complaining!" snapped Archy, who got stood up and glared at the Dark Type. "You're not as old as me, and you're a three year old compared to that Absol Fiona has!"

The Illusion Fox Pokemon didn't speak for a moment, but then said, "That old geezer is still alive?"

"Yes, Zoroark," White sighed exasperatedly. "Abram is still alive."

"You never told me that!" Zoroark yelled, pointing an accusing claw at N.

"I assumed you knew." The green haired man answered as Rapi facehoofed a bit.

As Zoroark started grumbling to himself, Amos spoke up and asked, "So who is going to the museum?"

"I will, and I guess Zoroark and Archy have volunteered," replied White, turning to look at Rapi and N. "Are you sure you won't come, N?"

Her brother nodded, and Rapi said softly, "I'll stay and help watch camp. You two go on ahead and have some fun."

White and Amos glanced at each other before they each got back on their own Arcanine. Zoroark pulled himself off the ground sluggishly and dragged himself after the two trainers. Raichu and Packs exchanged looks before following the two humans, the two Arcanines, and the Dark Type.

"So N didn't bother you, did he?" White asked Amos again after a few minutes.

Amos shrugged and replied, "No, not really. He didn't talk much."

"Yeah, I kinda thought that would happen," the older trainer admitted, and then adding, "I'm sorry you have to deal with my brother, it's just that he's been a little overprotective of me lately. Actually, that's why I chose you and not Sky Blue."

"What about Mira or Leia?"

"Mira is a little...over excited when with her brother figures, like N and Sky. Leia never got along with N either. They clashed heads often when they, Sky, and Mira were together for a bit last year during the war with Team Plasma."

"I think I remember hearing about that from Leia and several different pokemon..."

They fell silent after this. White felt something jump onto Archy's back as well. She turned her head to see Raichu laying face down behind her.

"Was walking too much for you?" She asked her Electric Type, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, just lazy," came Raichu's muffled reply.

"Sounds like what I just said."

"Pretty much."

"White," Amos started, interrupting the pokemon and trainer's pointless conversation. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Nobody's stopping you, so shoot." she answered unconcernedly as she adjusted her turquoise blue glove over her fake arm.

"The people in this region seem to know who you are. I mean, I guess I kinda expected everyone to act a little intimidated around you, but you never were really err... well known in this region."

White sighed softly and looked over at younger trainer. She was expecting someone to ask for the long story of why she was world famous. She barely told anyone the entire story, but this was Amos.

"Have you ever heard of the term 'The Champion Gone Bad'?" She asked him, looking away from his gaze and turning to see the tall grass ahead.

"Yes," Amos admitted. "It was used a lot in Unova a few years ago, but my mom never fully explained what it meant."

"It's actually quite simple. I'm the 'Champion Gone Bad'."

"Wait, what?"

White felt a smirk spread across her lips as Amos turned on Liliana's back to see her face. She was kinda surprise it took him so long to figure that out.

"You are the 'Champion Gone Bad'?!" He repeated in amazement.

"Yup," replied White, smiling slightly. "The term 'Champion Gone Bad' is a name of mine. Street gangs came up with the name, and I guess the phrase was then used by others."

"But...but why does it mean you?" Amos asked in astonishment.

"I was Champion of Unova for awhile, remember?" She reminded him. "It was the only way I could support Mira, Sky, and myself."

"So you collected all the badges?"

"Yeah, duh. It actually didn't take that long. It took a little less than a month to get them all."

"A month?! It took Leia a lot longer to get all the badges!"

"Well no offense to Leia, but my pokemon team had a bit of a head start. Most of my pokemon were already fully evolved when I started challenging the gyms. She only had Severusa when starting out."

"So why are you called the Champion Gone Bad?"

"I became Champion of Unova, and I stayed as Champion for a few months. You remember Alder, right? The Champion during Team Plasma's first rise to power? Well he came along and beat me. I had to give up my role as Champion to him."

White paused for a minute. She never liked Alder that much, but she knew it was only because he had taken the only job that had been suitable for her. On the rare occasions when they did meet face to face, Alder was polite and kind to her, not to mention that he was very patient with her.

"After losing my title as Champion of Unova, I had to go back to doing what I did best besides battling. I began stealing food and money again to keep me and the other two alive. Several weeks after I started slipping into my old habits, I apparently got caught on a security camera with my coat hood off. It was spread all over Unova that their ex Champion was now breaking the laws that she was suppose to uphold. My betrayal was spread all over the globe. That's why I was one of the most well-known fugitives in Unova, if not the world."

Neither of the trainers spoke. White could hear Raichu beginning to snore loudly, which Archy, Liliana, and Packs seemed to all find very amusing. Zoroark was still attempting to look bad tempered, but she could see the corner of his mouth twitching.

"I'm sorry you went through all of that," Amos finally said quietly. "I think the world judged you too quickly."

"Thanks, but the blame is my own. I threw away the laws I was suppose to uphold, and that was a mistake."

"If you hadn't broken those laws, you, Sky, and Mira wouldn't be here right now, and Unova would probably be in chaos."

"I wouldn't go that far," White snorted with a smirk. "I'm sure Team Plasma would have been disbanded one way or another. Anyway, I believe we're here."

They had emerged out of the tall grass and into the sunlight. They could now see a large, marble castle a little ways away. It was a magnificent medieval castle that still looked brand new. A golden gate surrounded the building.

"I'm guess that's the museum, right?" White asked, turning to her traveling companion.

"Yeah," replied Amos, getting off Liliana to look at the distant castle. "It's pretty impressive."

She heard Zoroark snort as she got off Archy and returned him to his pokeball. She knew he was thinking of the N's old castle. N and his pokemon friends had lived there for almost nine years. When Team Plasma had disbanded and N became a fugitive, the castle had fallen into ruin, and two years had buried it in a hidden cave.

"Hey, I don't wanna walk!" Raichu whined as she fell off Archy's back as he went back into his pokeball.

"Well you gotta use them stumpy legs of yours, little missy." said Packs jokingly.

"That's enough, you two!" White snapped as the Mouse Pokemon hissed furiously at the Lookout Pokemon.

Raichu's fur flattened and Packs merely scoffed. White rolled her eyes and exchanged a look with Amos before walking toward the castle. They didn't talk much as they made their way to the building. Zoroark, Raichu, and Packs ran ahead of them, chasing and trying to tackle each other.

"Is there by any chance security here?" White asked as she noticed a man standing outside the golden gate.

"Well it's a museum, it's most likely gonna have some guards patrolling around." Amos replied with a shrug. "I'm sure you'll be fine if you're with me."

White nodded stiffly, but she felt herself blush a little as they approached the gate. When they got closer to the gate, she could see that the golden metal on the gate was twisted to look like two Serperiors facing each other.

The man at the entrance looked like he was a butler. His suit was navy blue and expensive looking. He wore a monocle over his right eye. For some reason, White felt a little uneasy being around someone so wealthy, even if he was just a servant.

"Are you two here to visit the Parfum Palace?" the butler asked White and Amos as they reached the palace gate.

"Yes," Amos answered, glancing at White and the three pokemon.

The butler nodded, but his gaze lingered on the female trainer. She thought she saw his eyes narrow suspiciously at her before looking away.

"Very well," the man sighed after a moment. "That will be ten dollars each, please."

White felt her stomach squirm as she reached into her bag and pulled out her own worn out wallet. Mrs. Parker had given her some money for her trip, but if this kept up, she wouldn't have anymore money to use. She currently had a hundred and fifty dollars, but she was worried about going a spending frenzy.

She was about to pull out ten dollars when Amos pulled her arm down.

"Don't worry about it," he assured her, taking twenty dollars out of his wallet. "I'll pay for this."

"But-" she started to protest as the younger trainer handed the butler the money.

"Just save your money for something else, ok?" Amos told her sternly.

White bit her lip but didn't respond. They didn't say anything as the butler unlocked the gate and let them inside the castle grounds. She could tell that the butler was annoyed about three furry pokemon running around the museum.

When the two trainers got onto the grounds, White said irritability to Amos, "You didn't have to pay for me."

"Can't I do one nice thing for you?" He asked calmly as they entered the museum. "Like I said, save your money, you don't need to waste it on this."

The museum's entrance hall was huge. It's high ceiling and walls were marble with crimson wallpaper. Golden arches were above the entrances to hallways. Busts of Pawniards and Bisharp generals were set against the walls. In the center of the entrance hall was a stunning golden statue of a Milotic.

"Heh, sweet busts!" giggled Raichu, jumping onto a Bisharp bust and started posing.

"Raichu, get down from there!" White snapped sharply and rushed over to pick up her Electric Type. "We don't have the money to pay for this stuff, and I doubt that even Amos can pay for your messes!"

"Shame," sighed Packs as he hopped onto the Milotic statue. "What's a Hoenn pokemon like Milotic doing in a Kalos castle?"

"Hey, that goes for you too!" Amos scolded, dragging his own pokemon away from the sculpture.

The second they pulled the Mouse and Lookout Pokemon away from the medieval arts, a man ran into the entrance hall. From the expensive clothes he was wearing, White suspected that he was the museum's manger. He was red in the face and was sweating a lot.

"Oh good, more helpers to help in the search!" The man said in relief after noticing White and Amos.

The two trainers exchanged confused looks before White corrected, "Uh, no, we're not helpers, sorry."

"Err, what are you looking for, exactly?" Amos asked uncertainly as the man began to panic again.

"My Furfrou is missing! You haven't seen it have you?!"

"No, we haven't, we actually just got here."

"Oh, I see," the manager sighed, sounding disappointed. "I guess I should go speak with the butler out front about doing that lockdown."

"A lockdown?" echoed White, her stomach squirming a little after hearing the word 'lockdown'. "Isn't that a bit drastic?"

"Some people may think so, but I must have my Furfrou back, even if takes days!"

"Uh, White," Amos started as the museum manger ran outside. "What does a lockdown mean?"

White turned to see Amos, Packs, and Zoroark all watching her. She sighed and explained heavily, "In prison terms, it means that prisoners remain in their cells until a missing prisoner is found. I think we're gonna be here for awhile."

"Ok," groaned Packs as he facepawed. "So you're saying that everyone in this museum is gonna be held hostage here until the dude gets his stupid Furfrou back?"

When the female trainer nodded, Raichu groaned and Zoroark also facepawed.

"And it was becoming such a nice day!" The large brownish orange mouse complained.

"Well maybe we can still get out before he starts the lockdown!" Amos suggested hopefully.

White was about to agree when loud speakers came on.

"Visitors to Parfum Palace, the museum manger has put the museum under lockdown until his, uh... lost Furfrou has been found. No one is to leave or enter the castle grounds until its safe return. Anyone who is visiting is asked to help in the search."

When the speaker turned off, White put her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggling. The situation wasn't humorous, but the irony of it all was.

"Well," she started after her giggles subsided and returning to her serious self. "I've heard of the good shepherd and everything, but I somehow doubt that God would hold people hostage for the Mareep's safe return."

"I see what you mean," Amos chuckled. "But we're still stuck here."

"So then we better go help find that pokemon quickly," White replied, putting Raichu on her shoulder and taking her fellow trainer by the arm. "N would kill both of us if we get back late. Now, Amos, if you were a Furfrou, where would you go in a situation like this."

She smirked a little as Amos blushed when she touched his arm. She saw Packs snicker silently, but Zoroark looked furious.

"W-Well," he stuttered. "I-I would probably go...outside."

"Then we'll start there," she agreed, leading Amos out of the entrance hall. "Let's see if we can find a way a pokemon could get outside. Zoroark, try and find a scent that belongs to a canine pokemon!"

Zoroark growled in response and began to sniff at the floor. As they entered a long hallway connected to the entrance hall, Raichu and Packs looked behind the busts and around exhibit cases. Zoroark continued to sniff around in search of a possible canine scent.

"How long do you think we'll have to stay here if the Furfrou isn't on the grounds?" Amos asked White after a moment.

"Maybe a day," she answered. "If we can't find it by tonight, then we're busting down a wall no matter the cost."

She saw Amos smile a little at this. Just then, Zoroark gave a howl as something thundered down the hall. There was a high pitch squeal as a white and black pokemon slammed into the Illusion Fox pokemon. Raichu yowled and actually shot a bolt of lightning from fright. The crack of thunder startled poor Packs, making him jump and bang his head on a Pawniard bust. A little girl and a pink puffy cloud tumbled off the white pokemon's back.

"Fiona!" White cried, running over to the little girl and picking her up.

Fiona hugged Mister Poofy tightly as the older trainer held her. She noticed that Fiona's thick auburn hair was now in a small ponytail. It was tied with a maroon ribbon, which made White guess that Margaret had been doing her hair. Mister Poofy also had a ribbon on its sticky pink fur. Abram the Absol did not have a bow.

"Fiona, what are you doing here by yourself?" White asked, not really expecting a reply. "Where's Danny and Margaret? Are they here too?"

The auburn girl tilted her head and pointed at a pair of large dark gray doors. It was opened by a crack, and White could see sunlight slipping in.

"Well if it ain't lil' Foxy!" Abram was growling at Zoroark. "Haven't seem you since the year of 2002!"

Zoroark gritted his teeth and snarled, "I thought you died in 2002! What are you doing here?!"

"Me and the Gengar are here to protect the kid! Where is that ball of antimatter anyway?!"

As the Absol said this, White's shadow extended and pale eyes appeared on them. The dark violet Ghost Type zoomed out of it and landed next to her, making her shadow return to normal.

"Someone say me name?" giggled Jeremiah, levitating over Zoroark. "Ah yeah, you're that tiny Zorua, right? Yeah, I remember you."

"White," Amos interrupted, who had opened the dark gray doors. "I think I found a place where the Furfrou might have gone."

The older trainer walked over to him and looked through the open doors. Beyond the door was a bridge that lead to the castle's garden. A river laid under the bridge, and Dratini fountains released water from the side of the building. White could also see a large bronze statue of a knight, a Golurk, a Palpitoed, and an Eevee sprouting from the water.

"Perfect," White said quietly and looking back at the Gengar, Zoroark, Absol, and Watchog. "Hey guys, come on! We don't have time for this!"

"Boys..." Raichu hissed under her breath from White's shoulder as she stepped onto the bridge.

White felt Fiona hold tightly onto her and Mister Poofy as she carried the little girl across the bridge, Amos and the male pokemon following behind her. She could see hedges around ten feet tall on the other side. But as she and the others stepped onto the garden grounds, White's attention was drawn to a marble statue a little ways away from the foot of the bridge.

A familiar, pure white pokemon was facing straight toward the back of the grounds. It's dragonish form was beautiful. It was like looking at a white horse. Its jaws were opened wide as if making a silent roar.

The Vast White Pokemon, Reshiram, still fascinated White. It was one of the reasons why she chose White as her false name. Memories of when Team Plasma first came to power surfaced from the back of her mind. All the memories seemed to be about Blake River, but then again, he was the reason why she couldn't let the past go so easily.

"You ok, White?" Amos asked her, sounding concerned.

"Yeah," she replied, shaking her head a little. "I'm fine, just lost in thought."

"Oh, well where do you think Margaret and Danny went?" He continued, looking around at the hedges and trees around the Reshiram statue. "Those hedges, I think they are supposed to make up a maze."

"The palace has four mazes," Jeremiah informed the trainers. "There's the Chandelure maze, the Solrock maze, and the Pyroar maze. The fourth is just a regular one."

"Why are they named after pokemon?" inquired White curiously.

"Because the mazes look like pokemon from a bird's eye view," explained Abram. "We actually went into one, but we all got seperated at one point. Fiona, Jeremiah, Poofy, and meself got out, but Green Ivy got separated from us too. He might be with Danny or Margaret's team."

"Then they still might be in there," Amos said, looking nervously at the mazes. "But this could take hours!"

"Not if we split up!" Packs suggested, speaking for the first time since finding Fiona. "Me and Raichu can take the Pyroar maze, Zoroark and Abram can take the Solrock maze, and the three humans take the regular maze! Since Jeremiah can hide in shadows, he can take the Chandelure maze by himself."

"Already on it!" The Gengar declared before floating into the shade of a hedge.

Before White or Amos could object, Packs, Raichu, Zoroark, and Abram had already left in pairs. Apparently none of them wanted to be in the palace any longer.

"Well I guess we don't have much of a choice," White said slowly after a moment, taking a few steps toward an entrance to a maze. "But we might as well get this over with."

But she felt reluctant to enter the maze. When she was younger, she had heard about mazes from both N and Sky Blue. N had explained the purpose and function of a maze, while Sky had told her scary stories about children who got lost in hedge and corn mazes. All of his stories ended with either the kids never appearing again or being found dead, and he had told her that some of the tales were true (Unfortunately for Sky, Missy was not at all pleased with him scaring White, so he received a time-out). When White traveled with Mira and another boy in Johto, the boy had told her creepy stories about the bushes and hedges in the National Park eating lost trainers alive. After that, White avoided going near all trees, bushes, and hedges in the nature-filled park.

Thankfully, Amos was not like other boys. This time he was the one to take her by the arm and lead her into the maze. Fiona seemed to be just as terrified of the hedges because she hid her face in Mister Poofy's fur. But the Swirlix barked and licked her face to comfort the little girl.

"Have you ever been in a maze before?" Amos asked White as they turned a corner on their right.

"Not really," she admitted as she kept looking at the hedges nervously. "But I'm a bit...claustrophobic. Besides, I haven't really had good experiences with mazes..."

"I understand," he assured her with a smile. "I remember going in a corn maze with my family when I was five. Me, Leia, and Hugh got separated from my mom, aunt, and uncle. Leia thought that we should all try and stand on each to see over corn. By the end of the attempt, Hugh was at the bottom with a sore back and a little black eye, I was on top of him with a sore back, and Leia was on top of me trying to see that way we came."

"If I remember correctly, you and Hugh consider Leia a bit of a dictator, right?"

"Have you ever been on the receiving end of her left hook?"

"Nope, can't say I have."

"Well for a girl her age, she can really pack a mean punch! She actually got suspended for beating up a guy a grade older than her!"

"I'm actually a bit relieved, to tell you truth." White admitted. She had been wondering about her decision to put Sky Blue, Mira, and Leia all in one group. The three of them were the most hyper and energetic of all the group of trainers, but she had hopes that Leia would take charge of the group.

As they passed another path, White turned to see that the path was thrown into shadow. A dark figure was standing in the middle of the path. The figure was wearing a dark cloak, and its hands were covering its face.

She stopped and tugged on Amos' arm, and whispered, "What's that? Is that a statue?"

Amos stopped too and looked back at the figure. He looked a little unnerved at the sight of the figure.

"I can't tell," he answered, squinting at the figure.

Just as he said this, the high pitched siren-like noise split through White's ears. She gasped in pain and collapsed on the ground, Fiona and Mister Poofy tumbling out of her arms as she covered her ears. The noise was too much for her. The same two words kept thundering through her ears.

Hide, scare, hide, scare, hide, scare...

"Whitney!" Amos cried, kneeling down next to her, picking up Fiona and taking White's hand in his free one. "What's wrong?!"

"I-It hurts..." She stammered as the words continued to split through her ears. "C-Can't you h-hear it?"

"N-No," he said, now looking horrified.

White didn't understand it. Amos had one of Sky's hearing aids that allowed the wearer to hear the voices of pokemon. But maybe the words weren't from a pokemon. If it wasn't from a pokemon, where was it coming from, and why was she the only one hearing it?

Then a shadow loomed over her, Amos, and Fiona. It then dawned on White that none of them were looking at the figure anymore. She and her friend both slowly looked up at the owner of the shadow.

A horrifying face could be seen from underneath the hood of the cloak. Wide, bright maroon pink eyes glimmered from under the hood. The pokemon had its long arms stretched above its head, bearing down on them. White could see the humanoid pokemon's mouth opened wide, it's teeth easily seen.

"RUN!" White bellowed as Fiona screamed from fright.

The humanoid pokemon gave an ear piercing shriek as Amos quickly helped White onto her feet. White gripped her friend's hand as the ran away from the pokemon. She could still hear it screeching distantly as the ran deeper into the maze. The words hide and scare were no longer drumming in her head. Fiona was clinging to Amos now. The little girl was crying and whimpering as she clung onto Amos. White was still coming over the shock of what just happened.

She was doubtful that the manager knew about the cloaked pokemon or else somebody would have warned people about it. Then again, the pokemon might have just gotten into the palace just today. But why would such a pokemon hide in a museum's garden maze?

Her thoughts all vanished however when she and the other two turned a corner and smacked right into two people. White yelped as she fell backwards and hit the ground. She heard Amos and the other two fall to the ground as well, each of them yelping or gasping in pain. There was a roar and a bark as well.

"Watch where you're going!" White snarled, but then realized who she was talking to.

The other two were Danny and one of the girls they met when first arriving in Kalos. White thought her name was something like Shauna. Behind them were two pokemon. One was a pale yellow, white, and auburn fox with a branch in its fluffy tail. The other was dark reddish orange lizard-like pokemon with long claws and a flame on the tip of its tail.

"Speak for yourself," she heard Danny growl in annoyance as he stood up. "We were walking."

"Sorry, I thought you were somebody else!" White snapped back.

"You guys got lost too?" Shauna asked as she stood up with the help of the fox pokemon.

"I guess you could say that," answered Amos, letting go of Fiona and Mister Poofy so they could go back to Danny. "You're Shauna, right?"

The girl nodded and said, "Yep, and you're Amos and White, correct?"

"Yes," White replied, turning her attention to the two pokemon. "Who are they? Is that Samson?"

"He evolved into Charmelon yesterday," Danny explained as Samson made a purring noise and nuzzled against Fiona. "That other pokemon is Shauna's."

"This is Braixen!" Shauna piped up, gesturing to the fox pokemon. "She's my starter pokemon!"

The pokemon, Braixen, barked and sniffed the newcomers. White had never seen a Braixen in real life, she had only seen a Delphox, which was Samuel. On her first visit to Kalos, she and Sky had not stayed long enough to see much of the region's native pokemon.

"Um, so where's Margaret?" Amos asked uncertainly after a moment.

White noticed that Danny exchange looks with Shauna before answer, "We got...separated, at one point."

"Xavier and I were looking for that Furfrou the manger wants everyone to help find when we both got lost too. Then, well..." Shauna trailed off and fell silent.

They both seemed to be shaken now that she looked at them closely. They looked frightened, panicky, and a little tense. Had they met the humanoid pokemon too?

"Well," White started, putting the memory of the pokemon at the back of her mind. "We'll have lots of time to look for the other two."

"What do you mean?" asked Shauna, perplexed.

White and Amos explained to the others about their conversation with the museum manager and told them about the lockdown. They both left out the part about the humanoid pokemon. White left it out so she didn't embarrass herself, and she had a feeling that Amos was trying to save her some embarrassment as well.

"So you're telling us that no one can leave or enter this museum until someone finds that Furfrou?" Danny summarized, sounding skeptical.

"Pretty much, yeah," White answered, giving a small nod.

"But that's kinda silly!" protested Shauna. "It might not even be here anymore!"

"Either way, they're not going to let us leave until that Furfrou is found, or is proven not to be on the palace property." Amos told her with a sigh.

Getting tired of all the talking, White stepped between the three other trainers and said forcefully, "Well now that everyone's filled in, shouldn't we go find the pokemon and the other two? We're gonna need to find our way back to the garden entrance too, so we should really start moving."

Amos, Danny, and Shauna all seemed to catch the tone in her voice that meant she was annoyed, because they all nodded and didn't speak as they began walking again. Fiona rode on Samson's back while Mister Poofy has perched himself on top of the small girl head. Braixen chased after the two pokemon, barking for Samson to slow down so she could join in on the fun.

"So are you guys just touring the museum too?" Amos asked Shauna and Danny after turning a corner.

"Actually, no, we're not," Shauna admitted, glancing at Danny. "Well, me and Xavier aren't here for touring."

"Margaret, Fiona, and I were going to come here for fun, but the visit became more of a mission," answered the other rookie.

"Then why are you all here?" questioned White.

"Well, there's a sleeping Snorlax blocking the bridge that leads to Route 6," the young female trainer explained. "Apparently the only thing that can wake it up is an instrument called a Pokeflute. Unfortunately, the Parfum Palace manger took the Pokeflute from its owner as a payment for a debut, so me and Xavier came to ask if we could have the flute for awhile to wake up Snorlax. But we got dragged into finding the Furfrou before we could ask."

"Did you come for the Pokeflute too?" inquired Amos to Danny.

The rookie trainer nodded and replied, "Yeah, pretty much. We did meet up with Sky Blue, Mira, and Leia, but they were able to teleport or surf to the other side. Our only surfing pokemon is Petunia, but she hasn't evolved yet, so our only option was to help find the Pokeflute. But we got pulled into finding the Furfrou as well, and the three of us got separated in this maze."

Just then, they began to hear the cries of pokemon, and the sound of small paws scampering against the rocky road. As they came to an intersection of three paths, a white, harry, canine-like pokemon came pelting out of one path. After noticing the four trainers, the three pokemon, and the little girl, it yelped in fright and tore back down the path to its left.

"Oh no you don't!" Shauna yelled as she ran after the missing Furfrou, her Braixen chasing after her.

"Watch out!" White warned her desperately as two pairs of vines came shooting out of the center path and swiveled toward Shauna, Braixen, and Furfrou.

As the vines closed in on the trainer and the two pokemon, White heard Danny shout, "Samson, use Dragon Rage!"

The Charmeleon roared and shot blue and yellow flames at the vines. The vines withdrew immediately, but then bubbles came shooting out of the right path and floating toward the Furfrou as well.

"Quick, use Psybeam!" Shauna ordered her Braixen as the bubbles enclosed on them.

The fox-like pokemon barked and pulled her staff out of her thick furry tail, like a knight unsheathing a sword. A pink beam flecked with multiple colors swirled around the staff before the Braixen flung the swirls at the bubbles. The bubbles began to pop one by one, there shiny watery fragments falling to the ground like rain. It was actually quite beautiful.

The Furfrou growled and ran swiftly back down the left path as they heard someone running down the right path. Margaret and Petunia came off the path, followed by a white and blue frog-like pokemon. They were all panting heavily.

"Margaret, where have you-" Danny began, but Margaret shook her head and almost collided with him.

"Where...did...the Furfrou...go?" She puffed, gasping between words.

"It ran down the third path," White told her as she looked at Margaret's hair which was now stringy and humid because of all the running. "Margaret, have you been trying to catch that pokemon all by yourself, and is that Water Type yours?"

"What? No, of course not!" Margaret snapped, running her fingers through her hair, making herself look quite mad. "You know I wouldn't be able to chase that Furfrou down by myself!"

"Then who does that pokemon belong to?" asked Amos, nodding toward the dark and light blue frog pokemon.

The frog gave a reproachful croak as Shauna said excitedly, "It's Xavier's Frogadier, Bubblestar! So you've seen him then?"

Margaret pointed shakely at the third path and told Shauna, "He was going to try and trap the Furfrou down there! But please be careful, our pokemon are trying to catch the pokemon as well, and my Fletchling somehow learned how to use Ember!"

"I'll go with you," White offered as she thought about how dangerous a Fletchling like Fletcher knowing the move Ember could be. "Danny, make sure Margaret doesn't pass out from exhaustion. Amos you can come if you want, I guess."

The Frogadier, Bubblestar, gave another croak and hopped down the third path, Shauna's Braixen by its side. White, Shauna, and Amos ran after them as Danny and Fiona tried to calm down Margaret. White could hear the Furfrou barking and a high pitch roar, kinda like a cat cry. When they reached another corner, they heard a yelp, a thud, and someone yelled, "Gotcha!"

The boy White recognized from Lumiose City, Xavier, was holding the furious Furfrou. He seemed to have wrestled it to the ground since they were both cover with dirt. A small, brown and tan lion cub-like pokemon with a tuft of fur like a flame on its head was growling at the canine pokemon, its tail swinging back and forth.

"Xavier!" Shauna called, running over to her friend and helped him up.

"T-Thanks," Xavier stammered, adjusting the pokemon in his arms. "I-I'm fine!"

"Err, that Furfrou doesn't seem too happy," Amos commentedas the pokemon tried biting Xavier's hand.

"Well what'd you expect?" said White, now turning to see the lion cub pokemon now growling at her. "Who's this?"

"That's Lionflower, my Litleo," the Kalos trainer explained as the Litleo padded back over to its trainer, straightening up with pride. "She's a bit protective."

A flapping noise came from the route behind them as Fletcher the Fletchling flew toward them supporting a burned Green Ivy and an exhausted green plant, monkey-like pokemon. White could hear Danny, Margaret, and Fiona were coming down the path they came from. Margaret was holding onto Danny's arm for support, which made White smirk.

"Oh good, you caught it," Margaret huffed as they caught up. "And Fletcher, you got back too!"

White heard the Fletchling snort as it set the Bulbasaur down in front of Fiona and chirped irritability, "I barely made it back with my legs intact. And stop clinging to my foot!" the robin added to the monkey still clutching his leg.

The pokemon, which White recognized as a Pansage, flinched and crawled back over to Bubblestar and Lionflower.

"That's my Pansage, Seedbelly," Xavier introduced, answering the unanswered question.

The Furfrou, which had been snarling in the Kalos trainer's arms, leapt away from Xavier and sat next to Fiona instead, who was petting her poor Bulbasaur which got burned from the Dragon Rage. Apparently the canine only felt comfortable around the little girl.

"I suppose we should try and find the museum manger so the captives can be set free," said Shauna after a moment.

"Yeah, about that," Amos started, looking from one path to another. "Does anyone by any chance know the way out of this maze?"

Nobody responded to this. They had gotten so caught up in finding the Furfrou and finding each other that they didn't think of a method to find their way back.

They all turned after hearing someone running toward them. The museum manger was running toward them, his breath coming in short, painful gasps. Trailing after him was Samson, who was carrying an exhausted Petunia and Sowny on his back. The Charmeleon was panting heavily too and was dragging his feet across the ground from all the weight on his back.

"My Furfrou, you found my Furfrou!" the manager gasped happily after seeing his pokemon next Fiona.

Unlike its owner, the Furfrou looked extremely unhappy about seeing him. It yelped and hid behind the little girl, but the manager just picked it up and held it tightly.

Well I wouldn't want to stay with this weirdo either, White thought to herself after seeing the look on the pokemon's face.

"Thank you so much for finding my Furfrou!" the manager told them gratefully. "This means a celebration! Maybe fireworks!"

"Err, sir," Shauna started, trying to get the man's attention as he began to walk away. "We need to speak with you!"

"Surely it can wait!" he responded unconcernedly, not even bothering to look back.

"But sir," protested Xavier as he and Shauna began to run after the palace owner, Braixen, Bubblestar, Lionflower, and Seedbelly all running and hopping after them. "We really need to talk to you! We need to borrow the Pokeflute!"

With the Kalos trainers gone, White and Amos were left with the two Kanto Trainers and Fiona. None of them spoke for a few minutes. They were all listening to Shauna sand Xavier's shouts.

"That poor little Furfrou," Margaret sighed after a moment. White snorted and Amos laughed at this. Danny smirked a bit at his best friend's words.

"So are you two going to stay here for awhile?" Amos asked the rookies after a moment.

"Might as well," Danny replied, glancing at Margaret and Fiona. "That Snorlax is kinda holding us back from moving forward."

"Are you guys going to stay?" questioned back Margaret.

White shrugged and said, "Well we can't just leave our pokemon here, can we? My Raichu and Zoroark, Amos' Watchog, and Fiona's Absol and Gengar are still wandering around the other three mazes." She then added before stopping herself, "I hope they didn't meet that one pokemon..."

Amos glanced at White nervously and the other two looked up at her as she said this.

"Um, did you by any chance see a tall, scary pokemon too?" Margaret said slowly, exchanging a look with Danny.

"Yes," answered Amos, looking surprised. "You two saw it as well?"

"That's how we got separated," Danny told them. "When we lost Fiona and her Swirlix, we went looking for her. We found a path with someone in the middle of it. The pokemon was covering its eyes and it wore a cloak, so we couldn't see it properly. It attacked us when we turned away from it, and we ended up running in separate directions."

"Xavier and Shauna saw it too," the other Kanto trainer added. "That's how they got separated. Xavier said they saw a tall pokemon wearing a cloak. It was covering its face with its hands and attacked them when they tried going down another path. They ran away, but they accidentally went on opposite directions."

"So everyone has seen the same pokemon?" White interrupted, looking at each trainer in turn. She found it odd that each of them had seen the same pokemon all in the same maze. It was like it knew its way around the place like the back of its hand.

"Wait a minute!" Danny said in realization after a moment, turning to look at Margaret. "Margaret, you had your Pokegear out when we ran into that pokemon! You were taking pictures with the camera! Did you by any chance get a picture of the pokemon?"

Margaret began to shrink away a bit as everyone began to watch her. She shivered and stammered, "I-It's possible that I did, I-I can c-check and s-see..."

She pulled out her Pokegear shakely and began to press the buttons on it. After a few minutes, she held out her Pokegear to them.

"I-It turns out I did get a f-few pictures, but they a-aren't that great..." Margaret stuttered after White took the Pokegear from her.

The pictures Margaret had taken of the cloaked pokemon were blurred from the pokemon's swiftness. The clearest picture showed the pokemon's hand reaching for the camera. The arm was light green, and White could see the pokemon's blurred face in the corner. She gave the Pokegear to the two boys, unable to look at the photo any longer.

"You can barely see the entire pokemon," said Amos as he handed the Pokegear back to Margaret. "I can't tell what it is."

"White?" Danny started, noticing the worried look on White's face. "Are you alright?"

White nodded, and she heard Samson, who was laying on the ground on his stomach, growl, "The pretty pokemon got her tongue, and its gonna get our souls next."

Margaret jumped at the Charmeleon's growl, while Petunia and Green Ivy gave tired giggles and Sowny wheezed, "Be quiet, you overgrown lizard, I'm trying to rest!"

"For your information, you and Petunia are resting on my back!" Samson retorted.

"White, have you seen that pokemon?" Amos asked White, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"No," she lied, shaking her head. She had actually seen the same pokemon in Unova. But White was against its pokemon species, all because of one specific memory, and she had hoped that she would never see another one again.

~~~

...Long time no see.

Welcome to the longest chapter yet. The actual chapter is around 7800 words long. It was hard to write with school and everything.

Welp, I did the impossible. I started watching the Pokemon anime again. The anime is WAY better than it was when I last watched the shows. Bonnie is my favorite character so far. She's hilarious, especially in her search to find Clemont a wife x3 I also like the Pokemon Showcase, it gave me the inspiration brick I needed. I actually downloaded eight episodes to watch after publishing this.

Anyway, before anyone asks, yes, the Weeping Angels inspired me at one point in the chapter. However, the Weeping Angels are NOT in this book! They merely inspired the actions of the humanoid pokemon! You will learn more about the pokemon in a couple of chapters! For those who don't know the Weeping Angels, they are creatures that take the form of a statue of an angel. They move only when you're not looking at them or if you blink, and if they touch you, they send you back in time before even your own birth. They are also known as one of Doctor Who's scariest monsters in the history of the show. They are me and my brother's favorite Doctor Who monster. I advise looking them up if you don't watch Doctor Who and don't know what I'm saying.

Next thing: I know the currency in Pokemon are Pokedollars or even yen, but the currency in this book is just regular dollars. I hope you guys don't mind ;-;

Also, one reader pointed out in one chapter that White's crimes wouldn't be as well known in Kalos as in Unova. Well I would think that if a Pokemon Champion like Cynthia, Steven, or Lance turned "evil", it would be world wide news. That's my own theory though.

Last thing: In the next two chapters, I will be stepping out of my comfort zone! I'm both excited and nervous about this, but whatever happens, PLEASE don't hate me! I'm nervous enough as it is! The next chapter might be a bit shorter than my usual chapters. Thank you for understanding! :3

I think I'm done. I'm sorry for the long chapter and the long wait! I tried to find all the errors in this chapter, so if you see any, please let me know! I'm trying my best! Please vote and/or comment! If I forget something, I'll add it later!

Bye! :)