Chapter 31

Also, to the rest of the readers, I am sorry that so far I have not been able to update as much as I hoped. So far my summer has been mainly mowing lawns with a broken down push mower, cleaning the house and my church, and occasionally baby sitting people's kids. Believe me, I have been trying to write as fast as I can. Hopefully I will be able to get a schedule set up for writing, my first schedule was a bust. Again, I am so sorry, please forgive me ;-; )

"You must hit harder!" Ray advised sternly as Sky Blue punched his paw.

"I'm hitting as hard as I can!" Sky complained.

"I know you can hit harder! White almost punched through my paw on one of her first tries! Now do it HARDER!"

White looked up just in time to see Sky Blue swing his fist into Ray's paw. He ended up hitting it very lightly and fell backwards onto the ground. The boy huffed heavily as Ray straightened up and glowered at him.

After yet another attack on their Hidden Grotto by a wild pokemon infected with the plague, Ray decided that it was time that White continue her self defense lessons and that Sky Blue should start his. White had finished her lesson after being praised on her performance.

Sky's lessons weren't going quite as well. Ray had probably been expecting Sky Blue to be just as talented as White since he was a boy, but it turned out all his muscles and strength had went into making his brain and IQ. He was ultimately failing in self defense. Unlike White, he kept being very gentle when hitting Ray. This softness was causing the Lucario some frustration.

"You are not putting enough strength into your fist!" Ray scolded as Sky tried getting up.

"Well I'm finding that difficult at the moment!"

The Aura Pokemon put his paw on his forehead and took a deep breath.

"Alright, maybe we should take a break," he suggested calmly. "Let me think about how we can make this easier for you."

The Lucario then backed out of the clearing and a light this echoed from the place he disappeared into.

Sky Blue looked around at White with a puzzled look on hiss face.

"Is Ray ok?" He asked concernedly.

"He's fine," White assured him while she continued to tune her new guitar. "He probably stuck his head in a tree, nothing unusual about that.''

Seeing as White wasn't too concerned over the sanity of her Lucario, Sky merely shrugged it off and sat next to his friend. Blue Moon, who had been hiding behind the log they were sitting on, poked his head out and squeezed between the two human children.

"You did really well, Sky!" Blue Moon told his friend encouragingly.

"You need your eyesight checked, then," Sky replied gloomily as he tried fanning himself with some fallen leaves.

"Ray can be a little harsh when training, but it's because he doesn't want anything bad to happen to us," White tried reassuring him.

"Yeah, well, how are you doing with that guitar?"

White had recently got her own instrument, which was a wooden guitar. Pichu and Chatter had come back with a hundred dollars one day, claiming that they found it laying around in the city. Missy and Thundrus were suspicious that they stole it, but took advantage of this struck of good fortune nevertheless. They had bought food, clothes, equipment, and had given Sky and White their own allowance. Sky Blue, however, had given his money to White after seeing how much she wanted a guitar at a rummage sale. She was still learning how to play it.

"I'm getting there," she admitted as she flipped a page of the manual that came with the guitar. "It's a little tricky."

"If anyone can learn to play that gi-tar, it's you, my dear."

Missy had floated through the trees behind them while using her psychic powers to levitate a bucket of berries. Behind her was Thundrus, who was carrying two buckets of water. White noticed how much more weak and fragile Missy was looking. She had shown signs of being contaminated by the plague, but if she was, she wasn't telling anyone. By the way Thundrus was watching her, White suspected he had noticed the signs as well.

"I'm guessing you three are the reason Ray's about to shove his face in that tree, hmm?" Missy questioned as she set her bucket done next to them.

"He's having a tough moment," White answered as the light thudding noise continued. "Why are you here?"

"We thought we would check up on all of you," Thundrus replied, also setting the buckets he was carrying. "How have your lessons been?"

"Ray says I have the skills of a warrior and the heart of a champion," the little girl said proudly, causing Sky Blue to scowl with irritation.

"And what about you, Sky?" Missy then asked the boy suspiciously.

"Well, besides doing as well at self defense as a Magikarp out of water water, it's been ok," Sky told the Mismagius as he tried to help himself to some berries, but Missy levitated them away from him.

Missy tutted and scolded, "No, no, no, we'll go home for dinner in a bit, then you can eat them."

As Sky Blue began to complain while his shiny Eevee ate the berries behind Missy's back, White felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up to see Thundrus towering over her.

"May I borrow your instrument?" Thundrus asked kindly.

White looked from the guitar to Thundrus before nodding. She handed the guitar to him nervously She knew the legendary Bolt Strike Pokemon was very gentle, or at least tried to be, but he still had a firm grip that could snap it in half.

Thundrus bowed his head and then began to mess with the chords. He then muttered as he adjusted to strings, "Let's see if this instrument is capable of bring tamed."

Looking over at Missy, Thundrus called to her, "Missy, may I borrow your vocal cords?"

"Oh, of course, of course," the Magical Pokemon agreed happily as she drifted over to the legendary. "What is it that you need them for?"

Both White and Sky Blue exchanged puzzled looks as Thundrus began whispering something to Missy behind his large hand while the Ghost Type giggled. Blue Moon looked just as confused by their behavior.

White had noticed that the older pokemon like Archy and Rapi had been discussing Thundrus and Missy's relationship more lately. Whenever one of the human children asked why Missy and Thundrus were both more giggly and softer than usual, Archy or Rapi would merely say that they have just become good friends. When asking Ray, who was younger than Rapi and Archy but older than Di-Di, Pichu, Blue Moon, and Junior (Chatter was actually older than Ray, yet knew as much about Thundrus and Missy's relationship as Jo Jo), he would scoff and say they were just bring immature for two pokemon over a hundred years old.

When Missy pulled away from Thundrus with a smirk on her face, she floated down to White and asked her, "White, dear, I believe you know how to sing, correct?"

"I don't want to sing!" Sky complained as White nodded and Missy had swiveled around to face the young boy.

"Oh, I won't make you sing," Missy snapped. "But I will encourage you to sing!"

"I'll sing!" Blue Moon piped up while wagging his shiny white tail, causing Sky to huff in annoyance.

"Thank you, Blue Moon," Missy said gratefully as she levitated up next to Thundrus. She took a deep breath, and then started to sing while Thundrus started playing the guitar.

I got my ticket for the long way 'round
Two bottle 'a whine for the way
And I sure would like some sweet company
And I'm leaving tomorrow, wha-do-ya say?

Then White, Thundrus, and Blue Moon joined in with Missy.

When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

The three stopped and allowed Missy to take over again.

I've got my ticket for the long way 'round
The one with the prettiest of views
It's got mountains, it's got rivers, it's got sights to give you shivers
But it sure would be prettier with you

The human girl and two pokemon joined in again. White then beamed when seeing Sky role his eyes and join in, using his high pitched squeaky voice.

When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my walk
You're gonna miss me by my talk, oh
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

When they finished, Ray finally came back into the clearing. He looked just as frustrated and annoyed as he had been when leaving. The singing and the two old pokemon's behavior obviously irritated him.

"Would you mind keeping it down?!" The Lucario snarled at Thundrus and Missy. "Or even better, you could stop your concert!"

"Oh how rude!" Missy huffed, drifting down to White and Sky Blue's level. "You've never appreciated family togetherness!"

"Of course I don't, I was disowned! I love you all, I appreciate you all as family, but I don't like the togetherness part of it! Now, I think I've solved how we can get Sky in fighting fit."

"By quitting?" Sky asked hopefully.

"Yeah, you wish, but no. Tell me, Sky, what pokemon scares you the most?"

Sky Blue cocked his head to the side before answering, "You and Archy are pretty scary."

Ignoring White, Blue Moon, and Missy's giggles, Ray flattened his pointed ears and continued, "Well, I guess that's a start. Anything else?"

White watched Sky Blue curiously. What pokemon beside Archy and Ray scared him the most. Her best friend had closed his eyes to concentrate, and had shivered at the thought of a pokemon.

When he opened his eyes again, he stood up and beckoned for Ray to lower his head. He then whispered something in the Aura Pokemon's ear. The Lucario looked a little uncertain about what Sky had told him, but nodded nevertheless. For some reason, Ray eyed Missy nervously.

Ray stood up and strode across the clearing. When standing across from the young boy, he called, "Are you ready over there?"

"Y-Yeah," Sky stammered, looking uneasy.

With Sky's permission, Ray then stretched his arms out, his palms facing his student. A golden, dusty aura seeped out of his palms and twisted around his wrists. White could feel a strong breeze whipping around the area, the Lucario's power pulsing from him. She never realized how powerful her brother figure was.

The aura began dripping onto the ground, each drop forming into a part of a large form. Ray's aura began creating something short and raggedy. It was like a big plush doll, but scarier. It's mouth looked as if it was zipped together with a zipper.

The aura-made Banette growled and its gaze landed on Sky Blue, who was petrified by fear. White quickly looked to Missy, and was startled to see the look of rage on the Mismagius's face.

As the Banette took a few steps toward the boy, Missy swooped in front of him as Thundrus shouted, "Missy, don't!"

But Missy had already let out a terrible shriek of fury and sent a large Shadow Ball at the Banette. When making contact with the Aura creature, the golden Banette shattered into millions of pieces of dust.

She then rounded on Ray and spat, "HOW DARE YOU RECREATE BANE LIKE THAT! WHY OF ALL POKEMON-"

"He needs to learn to defend himself, Missy!" Ray argued. "Some day he will need to face his worst fear, and I would like him to be prepared!"

"Do it if you must, but don't go using Bane!" She snapped. "Bane was evil! I never want to see him again, substitute or not!"

White's confusion and curiosity increased. Who was Bane? Why was Missy making such a big deal about the Banette?

She watched uncertainly as Blue Moon skidded over to Sky Blue and rubbed against his leg. The silver Eevee, like everyone else, looked concerned for his friend's emotional state. Sky was shaking badly and looked like he was on the verge of tears.

"Thundrus, who is Bane?" White asked the legendary quietly. "Why is everyone uptight about the Banette?"

Thundrus looked down at the little girl, observing her expression. He then told her, "Bane was Missy's former mate. He was, er, kicked out of the grotto the same day Missy took in Sky, but not before he tormented him. Missy isn't very, uh, fond of him, to put it mildly."

"I refuse to let him face that...that...that thing again!" Missy spat again. "He did enough damage to this boy, aura made or not!"

"The aura Banette will not cause any damage!" Ray argued. "All I can make it do is walk!"

"I don't care! This lesson is over! Skyler, come along!"

The Mismagius had begun to float away, but had stopped when noticing that Sky Blue had not followed her. He was still staring at the spot the Banette had disappeared.

"Skyler, let's go!" The Magical Pokemon repeated.

Sky Blue glanced back at Missy before saying very quietly, "Um, I would like to try, Missy..."

"No, I forbid it!"

"B-But Missy, if this is the only way to help me learn, I should learn to try! I-I won't be scared next time, I promise!"

"I said n-"

"Missy, I would give him a chance," Thundrus intervened, tapping Missy's small shoulder. "He won't be a boy forever, someday he will need to learn to defend himself. Its better for him to learn to defend himself as a boy than be unprepared as a man. One more try, Missy, that's all we ask."

Missy opened her mouth to argue, but closed it after looking at Sky. White could tell that the Mismagius was picturing him as a much older boy, a man.

"Very well," she sighed. "But just one more try!"

With that, she drifted over to White's side. Blue Moon licked Sky Blue's hand and told him before going back to sit with the others, "You show that bully who's boss!"

"You can do it, Sky, I know you can!" White added encouragingly, causing her best friend to blush.

Once Sky had stood up straight again, Ray walked back to his spot. Turning to face his pupil, he asked once again, "Are you ready?"

"I-I think so," Sky Blue stammered back, though he sounded nervous and uncertain.

Ray nodded and stretched our his arms to return to his previous stance. His palms facing Sky, golden dust once again swirled around hiss paws. When reaching his elbow, the aura dripped off his paw and into the ground. Each drop began to form into the Marionette Pokemon, like a sculptor forming clay.

In a few short moments, the aura-made Banette was crouching before Sky Blue. The Banette slowly turned its stuffed plush head toward him, its mouth tightly zipped together. Even if it wasn't the real thing and was made of golden aura, it was still very creepy and horrifying.

The Banette then took one shakey step toward its victim. It then took another, and another. Sky Blue seemed frozen to the spot, unable to run from this nightmare. White wanted to shout at him, tell him to run, but that would agitate Ray and cause Sky to lose his concentration.

Then Sky Blue suddenly forced his arms stretched out in front of him like Ray's when the Banette was three feet away from him. White was flabbergasted to see a sky blue aura sphere form against his palms. The wind in the clearing picked up and swiveled around the area more powerfully the larger the sphere got. White, and the rest of the pokemon seemed to as well, felt a great, overwhelming power fill the area around Sky.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Sky Blue shrieked as the sphere reached the size of a basketball.

He then released the Aura Sphere at the Banette. The Marionette Pokemon exploded when the two auras made contact. The blue and gold fragments slowly fell to the forest floor like some.

Everyone was silent. Missy was staring at her surrogate son, who had fallen onto the ground from the force of the Aura Sphere. Blue Moon was watching the aura remains with curiosity and interest. White had her hands over her mouth.

She had never seen such powerful abilities from any human. What had caused him to use such advanced skills? How could he use such advanced skills? The only pokemon she had seen use such powerful moves was Ray, but it was normal for his species. Sky Blue was a human, like White, and no human could possess such power.

White looked over at Ray. He looked just as dumbfounded as the rest of them. She saw him exchange a look with Thundrus, which told White that they knew something the rest did not.

"Skyler," Ray asked the human boy in a calm yet shaky voice. "How did you do that?"

"I...I don't know," Sky whimpered while he stared at his hands. "I was just going to push it away, b-but I felt strange... like all my strength went into my hands and pushed it out through my fingers..."

The tense silence was then broken by a happy bark. Blue Moon ran up to his human friend without fear. His tail wagged back and fourth happily as he batted at the aura fragments that still lingered in the air.

"This is so cool!" the shiny Eevee said admiringly as he turned to look at Sky. "Can you do it again, pleeeease?"

"No," Thundrus suddenly interrupted, flying over to Sky Blue's side. "We shouldn't push him. I don't think he'll even be able to repeat that Aura Sphere."

"Aura Sphere?" Missy echoed as she swooped over to Sky as well. "But that's a highly complex move to know, even for most pokemon!"

"Missy, this is nothing to worry over, I give you my word on that," Ray assured her. "I, uh, may have an explanation, but I shall tell you later."

White set aside the large guitar and slid off the log. She approached Sky Blue and said encouragingly, "That was pretty cool! I have never been able to do something like that in any of my lessons!"

The little girl noticed once again that Sky Blue blushed whenever she complimented him. She did not understand why he would do this every time she would speak to him.

"Um, are you ok, Sky?" She asked nervously. "You look sorta red."

"W-What? Oh no, I'm fine, really!" He answered in a rush, his cheeks turning even redder.

"Well now that these lessons are over, we might as well get home," Missy intervened, swooping over to her bucket of berries and beginning to float away while levitating it away. "It'll be dark soon, and I'd rather not run into an infected...infected..."

Everyone turned to look at Missy as her voice trailed off. Her eyes had suddenly widened and she lowered herself toward the ground. Then the Mismagius dropped the bucket and collapsed to the ground.

"Missy!" White and Sky Blue shouted at the same time, both of them pelting toward their caretaker.

The Ghost Type did not respond as the small group gathered around her. The two human children knelt next to her as Thundrus shook Missy's small shoulder gently and said anxiously, "Missy, Missy what's wrong?! Missy!"

"What's wrong with her?!" Sky asked fearfully. "Why won't she get up?!"

"W-Will she be ok?!" White squeaked.

"Let me see her!"

Ray pushed the two aside so he could see Missy properly. White held her breath as the Lucario checked for a pulse and her breathing. Missy wasn't dead, was she? She couldn't die, she was their caretaker. Their mother. They couldn't lose her.

A moment later, Ray looked up at Thundrus, a panicked and grave expression on his face. He then whispered, "She...she has the plague..."

***

"Here you go, Fiona," White told the little girl as she gave her the vanilla ice cream cone. Fiona squealed happily as she took it and began to lick it. White couldn't help but smile at Fiona's happiness while paying the man at the ice cream stand for the child's treat. After paying, she took her by the hand and guided her back down the path.

Everyone was doing something different that day. Most of the girls, excluding White and Fiona, were at the Cyllage City Pokemon Showcase. Danny had gone to the Cyllage City Gym with Xavier and the new friend he made, Emmaline. Amos was probably training somewhere, and Sky Blue was who knows where, but White didn't care one bit. White and Fiona had spent their day out at a "classified" event. They were now on their way back to the Pokemon Center.

Green Ivy, who was striding next to Fiona with Mister Poofy sitting on his flowery back, occasionally tried to lick the ice cream cone out of Fiona's hand. Mister Poofy would also try and climb on Fiona's back to get even a lick of the treat, but the little girl would always lift it out of their reach. White would've bought the two pokemon their own snacks, but she was trying to save her money. Besides, there was always food at the Pokemon Center.

White had only just started to wonder how long everyone else would be out when Fiona gave a loud, high-pitched squeal. The older trainer stopped walking to see Fiona pointing at something on top of a nearby water fountain.

A small, plump, miniature Raichu was perched on top of the fountain. It had pressed the button of the fountain with its tail, and had begun to drink up the steady cool stream of water. It stopped after seeing White and Fiona watching it. The little rodent squeaked loudly and blew a raspberry at them. White then recognized that it was the same pokemon that they had seen the day before.

Well I know that isn't a Raichu, White thought as she took her Pokedex out of her overcoat pocket. She slid it open and used it to scan the pokemon. A moment later, a picture of the pokemon and its name appeared on the screen.

Dedenne, the Antenna Pokemon.

White felt Fiona tug on her sleeve again as she returned her Pokedex to her pocket. When having the older trainer's attention, the little girl pointed to Green Ivy and Mister Poofy, to a pokeball on White's belt, and then to the Dedenne.

"You want to catch it?" White asked, piecing the signs together.

She nodded, a great big smile on her face. White hesitated. She didn't want to catch Fiona too many Pokemon, but then again, she currently had only two pokemon. It wouldn't hurt to add one more to her team.

"Alright," White finally agreed, taking out her Pokedex again and handing it to Fiona.

Fiona beamed at her and exchanged her ice cream cone for the Pokedex. She pulled it open and pressed a few buttons. A high pitched siren noise emanated from the device. Green Ivy and Mister Poofy perked up and moved to face the Dedenne. White had Sky Blue add a few helpful applications to White's Pokedex so Fiona could command her pokemon by herself.

The young girl did very well for a beginner in battles. It took her a good fifteen minutes to weaken the Dedenne. The little mouse pokemon was quite powerful, and had greatly weakened both Green Ivy and Mister Poofy.

Eventually, Fiona rolled her tenth pokeball at the stubborn Dedenne. White watched patiently as the Dedenne was sucked into the device. It rattled, once, twice, three times before clicking shut.

Fiona squealed and ran to pick it up, her Ivysaur and Swirlix trailing behind her weakly. The little girl scooped up the pokeball and ran back to White while waving it around.

"You did really way," White told her with a smile as Fiona showed her the pokeball. "You will be a great trainer when you grow up."

White took back her Pokedex and gave Fiona her slowly melting ice cream. Thankfully it was still cool enough to keep the ice cream from melting. Fiona adjusted the ice cream cone in her hand and pressed the pokeball with her pinky finger.

The Dedenne popped out of the pokeball and landed in front of Fiona. The little Electric Type scoffed and tapped his little paw on the ground as he looked between Fiona, Green Ivy, and Mister Poofy. Fiona knelt down in front of the Dedenne and patted its tiny head. The Antenna Pokemon took advantage of her outstretched arm and climbed up it onto her shoulder. The Dedenne ran onto her other arm and began licking Fiona's ice cream.

The little girl squeaked with fear as both Green Ivy and Mister Poofy rushed forward and began licking what was left of her ice cream.

"Hey, move back, you lot!" White snapped as picked up Fiona and held her away from them. The Dedenne, who was still perched on Fiona's shoulder, burped and and slid into her jacket hood. Below, Green Ivy and Mister Poofy were enjoying the remains of Fiona's ice cream that had fell on the ground.

"Don't worry, we can get you another one later," the older trainer assured Fiona as she began walking back to the Pokemon Center, Fiona's Pokemon trailing behind.

"You know, Raichu didn't really trust me right away when she joined my team again. Well, she still doesn't quite trust me, but I'm sure you and your Dedenne will work it out." She added, causing the little girl to giggle. White saw the Dedenne's tail twitch irritability as it stuck out of the hood.

When finally reaching the Pokemon Center and entering to see that no one they knew had arrived yet, White set Fiona down and pulled the Dedenne out of jacket hood. It squeaking angrily and walked in circles in her hands while White held him out to Fiona.

"Why don't you try and bond with this little guy?" White suggested as Fiona nervously took the Dedenne in her own hands. "Then maybe you can think of a name for him. I'm going to drop off my, er, outfit, in our room before anyone else gets back, ok? Make sure Abram is with you."

Fiona nodded, and White smiled at her before heading toward the elevator across the lobby. She saw Fiona take Dedenne to the play corner with Green Ivy and Mister Poofy as the elevator doors opened and she stepped inside. On the second floor, White pulled the room key out of her unusually full bag as she walked down the hall, trying to find her room which she shared with the other girls.

The moment White pulled out the key, someone said behind, "Got your second key, Maya?"

White shrieked, rounded on the person, and swung her bag at his face. Sky Blue yelped and tumbled backwards from the force of the bag.

"What do you think you're doing?!" White shouted as he tried standing up with the help of the wall.

"There was no need to hit my face, I was just asking if you got your second Princess Key!"

White froze and whispered, "What?!"

"Well you're Maya, right?" Sky repeated. "The steampunk performer that won the Ambrette Town Pokemon Showcase?"

The former Champion ignored her best friend's yelp as she pinched his ear and forced his head down so he was at White's eye level.

"How did you find that out?" She hissed furiously.

"Lucky guess? Not to mention you missed a spot, some of your hair is still black and red."

Her hand shot to the back of her head to cover her hair. She looked around the hallway before pulling him not so gently down it. She ignored Sky's yelps of pain as she thrust open a door to the stairs that led to the lobby. When slamming the door behind them, White pushed him against the wall and demanded, "Alright, who told you?! It was N, wasn't it?! He didn't want me joining in the fir-"

"N knows?!" Sky interrupted, his voice rising steadily. "Who else knows?!"

"Just N, Fiona, and now you!" White snapped. "And this greatly complicates things now!"

"But Whitney, you?! A performer?!"

White let go of Sky at this and paced to other side of the wall. She looked down at the bottom of the circling metal staircase as she muttered, "I was too embarrassed to tell anyone else..."

"Well what made you do it in the first place?" Her friend persisted. "You hated the idea of attending a Showcase!"

"And I did! But after awhile, after seeing how everyone got excited about doing it and how they got so much enjoyment out of it, I wanted to try it! I wanted to try something new! So I went out and got the most non girlish outfit I could find. I watched previous showcases to get ideas and practiced."

"Well what was the Fennekin then? I know the Ivysaur was the little kid's."

The former Champion sighed and said quietly, "That was Zoroark. N let me use him for Showcases. Fiona was more than happy to let me use her pokemon. When the Ambrette Town Showcase came, I changed into my costume after you all left, and I sprayed a lot of perfume on all three of us to prevent any of the pokemon for catching our scent. I wasn't planning on winning! I didn't think my performance was good enough! But, well, you saw what happened. Same with today, I wasn't planning on winning, I just tried a new tactic, but everyone absolutely loved it! Seriously, what's a girl to do to get unnoticed?"

"Maybe you should take off the mask and ditch the steampunk theme for a start," Sky suggested a little irritability. "So I'm guessing you got two keys now, right?"

White didn't say anything. She instead unzipped her bulging bag and dug around inside. She then pulled out a golden ring with two keys clipped on and held it up for Sky Blue to see. One had a pink shell on top with two blue pearls beside it. The newest key had a small sphere on top with golden wire intertwined around it. The sphere was filled with sand from Cyllage City's shores.

"Ah, so you're in till the end now, right?" Sky asked as he took the keys and looked them over.

"Don't have a choice, do I? "Everyone is expecting me to continue on. And now that you know all this, I expect you not to tell anyone about this," she added, her voice soundly stern.

"What? Why?"

He yelped as White once again pushed him against the wall. The force caused him to drop the keys and let them fall with an echoing, ringing clang.

"If they find out, they'll laugh at me!" She hissed angrily. "I will not be embarrassed like that! I don't want to be seen as a girly woman!"

"But you are a girl!"

"A girl who prefers overcoats and military boots over dresses and high heels! Please, Skyler, don't tell!"

White waited with baited breath. After a moment, Sky finally croaked, "O-Ok, I won't tell!"

She sighed with relief at this and whispered, "Thank you..."

Right at that moment, the door beside them opened and a narrow eye peaked in. When seeing White and Sky, the door opened wider and they could see Alan the Alakazam levitating in the door frame.

"I hope you're done now," Alan said calmly. "You both seem to have a visitor. He wishes to speak about a rather delicate matter."

Both trainers exchanged puzzled looks. Who would be visiting the two of them?

"Who is it?" White asked curiously.

Alan floated aside to show the very short visitor. A Riolu was standing behind him, his cold red gaze sweeping over the humans. White then realized that it was the same Riolu from the day before. The Riolu was Blazestar, the partner pokemon of Emmaline.

The Riolu then darted onto the stairway before anyone could say anything. He leapt onto the railing and scuttled up to the end of it so he could stare intently at Sky Blue. White and Sky both watched the Riolu sniff Sky Blue's sleeve while keeping his eyes on the human boy. The one eyed trainer looked at Alan for help, but the Alakazam merely shrugged his shoulders while looking rather bored.

"Err, can I help you?" Sky asked the Pokemon nervously.

"No, I'm actually here to help you," the Riolu told them quietly as he leapt to Sky's other side. "Hmm, a real human Aura Guardian. Well, part Aura Guardian, a good bit of his powers are gone. Now this is a first..."

The Riolu then straightened up and looked up at the humans.

"I know who and what he is, I can tell you about the place you need to go and what to expect." The Emanation Pokemon informed them. "Without me, you will not get within a one mile radius of your destination."

"How do you know where we want to go?" White asked suspiciously. "None of our friends even know about it!"

"Maybe because I use to live with one of the three tribes. Believe me, if you go there unprepared with the Aura Guardian, you will never come back."

*~*~*

"So how exactly do you know each other?" Sky asked his Alakazam as White locked the door. They had decided to take this touchy conversation to a more private setting than the staircase and the boys and girls rooms. They instead decided to talk in an empty deserted room on the second floor. Nurse Joy had given them permission to temporarily use the room.

"We traveled together for a short amount of time," Alan answered, though his gaze was on the Riolu, who had just leapt onto the nearest bed.

"But he's just a kid-" White friend started, but the Riolu had already snapped, "For your information, I am nine years old! I am actually a young adult, if not a full fledged adult! I just haven't evolved into Lucario yet! Riolus take longer to evolve without a trainer or someone they have a strong friendship with!"

"Actually, how do these pokemon evolve then, like how do Kadabras become Alakazams?" White questioned curiously.

"Loopholes, genius," Blazestar scoffed, causing White's dislike for the Riolu to rise. "Kadabras can evolve by working with other pokemon. Anyway, I did not come to talk about tribal customs. I came to help you get to those special tribes and possibly help you learn about what you're facing."

The Riolu then turned to look at Sky and continued, "Who's side of the family did you receive your Aura Guardian DNA from, your mother or your father?"

Sky Blue looked to Alan to see what he thought of this. When the Alakazam nodded, the one eyed trainer answered, "We think it was my dad's side."

"So your mother is the one that passed on the more dangerous DNA, correct?"

"You know about that too?" White interrupted, making the Riolu look away from Sky to look at her.

"It's quite obvious, really," he told her quietly. "Obviously something went wrong with the genes. If not for his mother's family's sickness, he would be a full fledged Aura Guardian. I can see aura, so I can see what went wrong."

"Then enlighten us, what went wrong?" Alan growled.

"Well such genes were never suppose to mix. An Aura Guardian's powers and a powerful rare mental disorder never mix well, as I am sure you know. If you had the same father but different mother, you would be a full bred Aura Guardian, and you may have never known you were one. If you had the same mother but different father, the results wouldn't be quite as relaxing."

Blazestar paused before asking Sky, "Tell me more about this disorder."

"It... It's passed on through the first male child every few generations," Sky explained, sounding a little shaken. "I think my great grandfather had it, and his great grandfather before him. From what I found out later, they didn't really have completely sane lives."

The Riolu didn't say anything. He tilted his head slightly to the side as if observing the aura that surrounded him. White could only imagine how wild and dark it must look.

After a moment, the Riolu asked quietly, "When did you first show signs of wielding the aura, and when was the last?"

Since Sky looked as if he could no longer answer these questions, White told the Riolu, "The first was during a training session when he was eight or nine. The last was eight years ago when he was ten."

"Alright, so that makes you eighteen, correct?" Blazestar continued, and without waiting for an answer, "Eight years is too long to go without unleashing all that aura. From what I can see, you've built up quite a bit of aura. So that gives you a few weeks before you explode out all those negative feelings and aura, and once it does, it will be hard to get the lid back on. If that happens, you may not be the same again until everything is poured out, and the stress from that energy could kill you.

"As you have already decided, the three clans up north are your best option. There are well trained Pokemon Aura Guardians in those clans. The only problem is that you have what we call a dark aura. Dark auras have often been in wicked individuals, any pokemon or human that enjoys causing pain, grief, and despair in lesser creatures. Centuries ago, one of our own members became absorbed by their own dark aura and caused great destruction, so it was decided that any being with a dark aura would be destroyed on sight. That's one stage I can't help much with. I would bring Alan and Shane along. They may appeal to tribes' more softer nature."

"Well since you know so much, can you also tell us where we can find these clans?" White asked after giving a nod of understanding. "We know it's up north, but which route are they on?"

Blazestar looked coolly up at her before requesting, "May I borrow your map of the region?"

White nodded and dug her Town Map out of her bag. She handed it to the Riolu, who accepted it and began skimming over the map.

"Before we left, the tribes were located on Route 14, which is connected to Lumiose City and Laverre City," he explained as he zoomed in on a certain spot. "Now it's located on Route 15, where it's connected to Laverre City and Dendemille Town. I urge you to be careful when venturing through Route 15. Young delinquents usually hang around the route, and they have their base in the hotel ruins. They can be dangerous."

"Ok, thanks," White thanked him as she took back her map, and then adding, "Why are you helping us? This has nothing to do with you, we barely even know you."

The Riolu gave her a calm appraising look. After looking over the two humans and the Alakazam, he answered, "Before I met my trainer, I was alone in Lumiose City. I looked after myself and trusted no one. I depended on myself and myself alone. But when she took me in, I learned what it was like to be a part of a family. They taught me to help others over myself. I also know that if my trainer was in the same boat your friend is now, I would search for help and do whatever I could to help her."

He then turned away and glanced at the window.

"I mustn't stay longer, my trainer will go looking for me," Blazestar informed them as he stood up. "I'd rather not go back, but I wouldn't want her sending the old feather brain after me. Once he starts a lecture, he won't stop till he loses his voice."

With that, the Riolu leapt off the bed and scampered across the room to the window. He pushed the window open, gave Alan a curt nod, and leapt outside.

After a moment, White turned to Alan and asked quietly, "What do you think? Can we trust him?"

Alan looked at the two humans with a piercing gaze.

"In our youth, Blaze was a loud mouth, a cheat, and a nosey delinquent!" The Alakazam said harshly. "He wanted nothing but attention! I find it difficult to believe he would care about this!"

He then sighed and continued more softly, "But he was a lousy bluffer. Couldn't lie to save his life. I think he was a being honest. It's hard to make up information like that. My best judgement tells me to trust him. I guess he has changed since I last saw him. He never cared for anyone. He was the last pokemon I would expect to let himself join a trainer's team. Well, I promised to tell Shane what Blaze said."

With that said, the Psi Pokemon then turned away and levitated toward the door. Right when he reach for the doorknob, White suddenly remembered the conversation she and Sky had and how Alan had been right outside.

"Alan, wait!" White burst out, causing Alan to move his hand away from the door. Alan said nothing, so she continued on, "Alan, how much did you over hear of me and Sky's discussion?"

The Alakazam looked up at the human female, his slim eye brows raised.

"What I heard in the that staircase I already knew, or at least guessed," he admitted with a chuckle. "Archy and myself already knew you were the performer. Do not worry, I haven't told anyone, nor do I intend too. I hope to see more performances from that brilliant young lady."

He smiled at the look on White's face and departed. When the door closed shut, Sky Blue sat down at the end of one of the bed and put his head in his hands. White hesitated before sitting down next to him and putting arm around his shoulder.

After a minute or two, the girl looked at her friend and asked quietly, "Are you going to be alright?"

"For now," he mumbled as he removed his hands from over his face. "I accepted that I am dangerous and that I have the power to kill long ago. I had no idea my condition could kill myself if I didn't do anything..."

"Well I know this isn't a comforting thought, but who you are would die if you didn't physically die from it," White added unhelpfully.

"That very inspirational, White, very helpful..."

"Look, I know it's grim, but at least we have a location! We can find those tribes before it starts!"

"Did you hear the Riolu?!" Sky snapped. "If I go anywhere near their tribes, they'll kill me! Just because of who I am! I don't think even Alan and Shane will be any good against an entire colony of Psychic and Fighting Types!"

White didn't respond to this. It was true that the task ahead of them was more dangerous than they anticipated. They were not expecting a life or death situation from the pokemon they thought could help them, but doing nothing was not an option. Sky's future looked grim and filled with chaos if they did nothing.

"We can't turn our back on this, Skyler," she whispered to him. "Not anymore. We need to try. If there is even the slightest chance they can help you, I will take it. Besides, we have a family now. We can't just let you go through all this."

"We also can't just keep them in the dark about this," he pointed out.

"I was going to tell Amos when we leave for Geosenge Town. You're officially apart of my group. It will be you, me, and Amos."

Sky Blue didn't say anything for a moment, but then asked, "Has... Has Margaret been told about me?"

"I think N was going to try and meet her on Route 10. I promise, Sky, everything will be ok."

White felt saddened at her friend's hopelessness. Sky Blue had always been so uplifting and encouraging to everyone. He could always make someone turn a frown into a smile. Seeing him so unhappy made White feel absolutely miserable.

She glanced at Sky before taking a small intake of breath and began to sing quietly.

I got my ticket for the long way 'round
Two bottle 'a whine for the way
And I sure would like some sweet company
And I'm leaving tomorrow, wha-do-ya say?

When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

White saw the look on Sky Blue's face to mean that he recognized the song as the one Missy had pressured them into singing so many years before. She beamed just like back then as Sky began to sing alongside her. He no longer had a squeaky, high pitched voice, but a low yet mature voice.

I've got my ticket for the long way 'round
The one with the prettiest of views
It's got mountains, it's got rivers, it's got sights to give you shivers
But it sure would be prettier with you

When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my walk
You're gonna miss me by my talk, oh
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

The group that had sung that song so many years ago had grown so small. They had lost Missy, their mother and caretaker, Blue Moon, Sky Blue's partner and best friend, and even Ray, the Lucario who had been Sky's only hope and White's brother. But White knew in that moment that she would never let Sky reach the same fate, or even face a worst destiny. They're adopted family may have decreased, but they at least had each other and the friends they had surrounded themselves with.