Hi everyone!!  SK here.

Yeah I so left off on a MAJOR cliffhanger last update... so I tried to publish this one as soon as I could.  So, I won't waste word space talking here and I'll just get started.  As always, I hope you enjoy it!! :D

Ash

I wake up in a room I don't recognize, and I don't know where I am.  I sit up and slowly blink my open eyes, trying to remember what happened last night.

Looking around the space, I try to make sense of my surroundings.  I'm in a room that was surrounded in twisted brambles, with small holes to let in outside light.  I hear rain coming from outside, but somehow no water is making its way through the holes.  Weird...

I turn my head downwards, and realize that my clothes are different.  Instead of my usual blue jacket with white stripes, I'm sporting an almost-black navy-blue one although it's much more fancy than my normal clothes.  It almost reminds me of that suit I wore to that dance party a while back, when Sylveon evolved and when I had that awesome double battle with Serena.

Serena...

In a flash, everything comes flooding back to me.

My birthday celebration.

Serena's rejection.

Alain taking me to the Dark Fairies' Colony.

Rin stabbing me through the heart.

My Initiation.

I jump up with a start, beginning to panic.  I look all around the room for my Pokemon, but I can't spot Pikachu or Greninja anywhere.  I'm not wearing a Necklace, so they can't be my Mist Pokemon, can they?  "Pikachu?" I call out, my voice urgent.  "Greninja- argh!"

I try to stand up, but a huge burst of immense pain coming from my chest clearly has other intentions.  I fall on my knees, my hands clutching the spot where the pounding is.  I let out a groan, and I feel like passing out.

"Rise and- oh!  Here, let me help you."  I hear a female voice, not really one I recognize.  I'm not really paying attention as she crouches by me, but when she summons some magic, I instantly start trying to get away from it.  

"Hey, this isn't meant to hurt you!  It's going to do the opposite, just trust me."  I feel a warmish aura hit my chest, and almost at once, the pain dissipates away.  I let out a sigh of relief and sit up, stretching.  

"Thanks," I say quickly, turning to look at the person who helped me.  In a flash, I remember her.

Layra.

The girl that had helped Rin fulfill his plan last night.

She must see the flare of anger in my eyes because she puts a magenta-coloured dome around the room.  "No one will be able to hear us in here," she explains.  "Not with that spell.  So, there are a few things I need to talk to you about.  But first, here's some food," she says, pointing to a tray that she had supposedly left on the bed.  

I raise my eyebrows.  "And how am I supposed to know if there's some sort of curse on it?"

She rolls her eyes.  "What's with everybody thinking that...?"  She shakes her head.  "So, I guess you're not hungry then.  Whatever, I'm starving," she says, going over to the tray and taking a bite of the food.  If she's eating it, it must be safe.  

"Sorry," I mumble, then go over to the bed and begin to eat myself.  It isn't anything special, but I am so hungry I don't care.  "Question: how did I get here?"

"I had to bring you here, because your Initiation really drained you out.  By the way, this is where you'll be sleeping for the next few days," she adds as she takes another bite.  I want to comment but I choose not to- isn't this my food?

"And tell me this.  Why should I trust you?" I demand, because she certainly didn't have any problems with almost killing me last night.

She sighs.  "There is something you need to understand about being in this Colony," she says, her voice very low.  "Rin is extremely powerful, and he has a deep hatred toward the Light fairies.  He wants to continue the war so the Darks can win, which would change everything.  Because not everyone wants to go to war, Rin mind-controls everyone to stop them from disobeying him-"

"So how do I know that you're not mind-controlled!?" I question, stating the obvious.

She sighs once again.  "There is... erm, a certain quality that one must have to stop them from being mind-controlled- well, at least in Rin's version of that spell anyway.  I have that quality," she says simply.  

"Wait... does that mean he'll control me?" I whisper, starting to feel nervous.

"That depends," she says casually.  "If you want, I can check whether you have the quality or not."

I nod.

"Okay," she begins.  "First, I need you to put both of your hands on your chest, close your eyes, and bend your head down.  Got it?" she checks.

"Yeah," I respond, doing exactly as she said.

"Now, here is the real test: are you in love?"  I can't see her, but from her tone of voice I can tell she's smirking.

"What?" I repeat, believing that I didn't hear her right.

"I said, are you in love?" she repeats.

"Y-Yes," I say after waiting a few moments.

"Good, then you have the quality.  You can stop the pose now," she says pleasantly.

I immediately open my eyes and glare at her.  "Why did I have to do the arms-eyes-head thing?"

"Why?" she asks, taking another bite of my food.  "Because it was funny."

I want to slap her so bad, but I resist it.

"W-Wait, so you're in love with someone?" I inquire, but immediately regret it when she shoots me an angry glance that can easily send someone six feet under.

"Tell someone," she says, "and you're dead."

I nod, my chin bobbing up and down faster than Pikachu's Quick Attack. 

I resist the question of who this person is and decide to say something else.  "You still haven't proven that I can trust you."

"I can't be mind-controlled.  I am the Minister of the Dark Fairies, and I bear the same responsibilities as the Light Fairies' Minister.  I've seen too much of this war, and I want peaceful times for the infinite years I have ahead of me; to be honest, this whole situation has had me fed up and I want to go home to the old Colony.  There is so much life outside of this forest, both people and Pokemon, that must be protected.  He's hurt so many people, even the people who he really needs the most to help him."  By the old Colony, she must mean the Light's home.  I can't say I disagree with her there.

I think about what she means, and remember how she kept eating earlier, even though the food wasn't hers.  I look at her, and for the first time I see a small purple mark underneath her left eye- a bruise or a remnant of one anyway.  It seems she attempted to heal it with magic, but even she can't heal the mark that- I assume Rin- has gifted her.  She also mentioned that she was in love, but telling me not to tell anyone only makes me assume that she's in love with her 'enemy', a Light fairy.  Peace would mean they could see each other again.

I look at her eyes, full of hurt, and realize that she hates Rin and hates this place as much as I do.  

"I can trust you," I say, and for the first time I can fully believe it.

"It's... it's why I act different around him," she say, sounding bitter.  "If he's there, I have to act cold, cool, and calculating.  But here, now, is what I'm really like, I swear.  I promise you, I swear on the immortality that was given to me.  I swear on Zagan-"

I hold my hands up, stopping her.  "Okay, okay, I get it!" I assure her.  "Tell me what the plan is."

She nods.  "Each fairy has a Necklace that's bound to their soul, and that means, if you take it off, you die," she explained.  "If you're a fairy, you only have up to a week to survive if you have never bonded with a Necklace before, otherwise, it's instant death.  There is an exception of course for fairy-born fairies but..." she trails away, looking at me.  "But you aren't one, so you don't have to worry about that."  I remember that my Element was Destruction, which I guess is the Dark Leader's Element, because Serena's is Creation.  Also, if that's true, we only have one week to get Rin's Necklace and stop him.  Just great...

"We have to get Rin's Necklace from him, and you will be the new Leader.  There is another problem... but I'll explain that to you at a later time.  The goal is to get Rin's Necklace, and you have a greater chance at doing it than any other Dark Fairy."

"Because of my Element?" I ask.

She shakes her head.  "No, because unlike all of us, you have two Mist Pokemon."

I'm about to speak, but she stops me.  "Today we're going to start your training.  It will be hard, but you'll be able to see your Pokemon again.  We have a lot to get started on, so let's go."

She lets the spell disappear, and goes to exit the room.  "Wait, won't Rin notice that you put up the shield?" I ask her.

She laughs.  "He probably most certainly did, and he'll try to ask in an 'extremely polite manner' what we talked about, but he won't be able to get any information from me.  He'll probably do something, but I've been taking it for centuries, so don't worry."

If she meant to make me feel better, she had the opposite effect.  

She flies out of the room and waits for me, and since I have wings now, I think I'll try too.  I take a step, try to fly, and end up falling flat on my face.

"Today's gonna be great," I mumble, and I can vaguely hear Layra giggling above me.

Serena

After having a partial freak-out, Heliux and Brock manage to calm and sit me down to talk.  

"Tomorrow, I'm going to call a Council," I announce.  "This is an important issue and it's literally life-threatening."

"B-But Serena," Heliux protests, "You and me discussed..."

I recall that he has his mysterious meeting tomorrow.  "Don't worry, we should finish before that."  I shoot an apologetic glance at Brock, who has no idea what we're talking about.

Heliux nods, looking relieved.

"There is one other thing I want to do today, which I don't think either of you will approve of.  I need to request information from an outsider," I announce, starting a mental countdown for their protests.  Three, two, one, ze-

"But Serena!" they shout at the same time, and I almost laugh at them talking in unison.  

"Your Lightness," Heliux says looking firm, "unless you know this person, I highly suggest that-"

"Oh, I know him," I interrupt.  "I've known him for a long time, and I trust him.  And I request that I also bring Bonnie with me," I add.

"Why?" Brock questions.

I sigh.  "It will... it'll just be easier, if I'm right."

Heliux doesn't look happy, but he nods.  "Do what you must," he says, standing up.  "I will let everyone know about your Council.  Just please be careful, we need you more than ever."

I nod.  This can really help us, if it works.

Ooh, interesting chapter.  Not offering a shoutout this time, but a) who do you think Layra is in love with and b), who do you think Serena is going to see?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!!  Stay tuned for more :)