Skyarrow bridge was elegant and bright in color. It was the only bridge that had a walking path above the main road where the roads were traveling back and forth. I walked ahead to admire the view of the ocean while Nate was following me from behind.

"We are so high up!" I raised my arms in the air, feeling the air on the walking bridge we were on.

"Be careful. This place is narrow. Though there are fences to keep you from falling, I don't want you to go off on your own" Nate said.

"Don't worry! I'm not going to do anything dumb-" I was interrupted by his weird cry like he's seen a ghost or something "What?" He was staring at something beside me, which was nothing there, with a freaked out expression and quickly pointed at nothing "What did you see?" I asked, walking up to him.

"T-There was..." I looked back at where he was looking at "Ghost..? She was just next to you!"

"A ghost?"

"Y-Yeah! She sort of looked like the one from your strange house..." I held my chin and looked around my surroundings, thinking of something "I'm telling the truth!"

"Oh! Don't worry, I believe you. This place just brings back memories" he calmed down and listened to me "I came on here when I was walking back to my mothers house..." I frowned, remembering walking here as a little girl all alone, crying "When my father left... I had to leave my house after the police took care of him. They first came to take him to prep him and bury him. I went with them, then they dropped me back home. They offered to take my mother's house, but I denied and lied, saying I was going to be picked up. I walked on my own at 7 years old. People watched me crying while walking from city to town to route, offering assistance, but I didn't take it. I came home pretending father just left on business, but that was all a lie"

"I'm sorry you had to go through that... I bet visiting your dad again was painful" I smiled.

"Actually... It was comforting. I admit, I did cry when I felt the guilt build up. The shame I held when I knew I couldn't save him. But aside from that, I never believe those who had passed have left us. When I was little, I use to be able to see ghost" he flinched "but that ability disappeared after father died. That's why I believe you when you say you saw a ghost. I wish I got the chance to talk to him like I've done before everything. Seeing ghost may explain why I was terrified of strangers, but things just change... I'd love to see father and Melanie again" I sighed "but it's okay. I'm just happy my family knows the truth and are all together now"

"That's good... I hope you can continue being happy" I smiled and continued on walking the bridge until we made it to the route. The route was quiet and had a few buildings within it, but only by a bit. Oricorio suddenly went crazy and cried out as an alert. Feeling a presence coming my way, I dodged an attack from the Swords of justice.

"Not again" I sighed, tired of this sudden appearance like last time.

"What the fuck?!" Nate shouted, grabbing my hand to make a run for it "Now all of them are here?!" We ran a good distance before Nate stopped to face the three running after us "I'm not going to keep doing this. Let's go, Samurott, Braviary! Gigalith!" He sent out his Pokémon to battle against three legendary Pokémon! He's out of his mind!

"You're seriously going to fight against legendary Pokémon?!"

"Yes! If it means they will leave you alone, I'll fight until you're protected" I frowned, feeling my heart beating hard and fast. He always says things that make me melt...

"Nate..." I sniffled, holding in my emotions "You're so good to me... Why do you make this hard for me..." I watched him fighting hard with his Pokémon to keep Cobalion and Terrakion in check while Virizion kept its eyes on me.

"Stay behind me, Cam!" Nate shouted. I nodded and stayed behind him, watching the battle unfold before me. Nate is so talented in his battles... I'm so jealous, but I admire him so much.

"I wish I can be as great as him..." I stared at how concentrated he was that I almost forgot he was protecting me from legendaries that wanted to kill me "He's amazing... It's one of the reason why... I love him" I held my heart beating out of control "Nate..." I sniffled "I wish you could be mine..."

"Viri!" Virizion cried out and jumped in the air to jump over Nate and land right in front of me, throwing a sharp whirlwind at me that cut parts of my clothes.

"Cam!" Nate snatched me into his arms and held me close while he backed away from the Swords of justice "I won't let them hurt you, Cam. I'll put my life on the line" I flinched and started shaking, crying slowly.

"Nate... It's okay. You should save yourself..."

"No way! I'm going to travel with you just like you wanted! I'm not letting anyone stop you from being happy! I'm not going to let you throw me to the side again!" He continued to battle. I frowned and looked at the Pokémon surrounding us. I took a deep breath, feeling that this may be our end... We can't win against three legendaries at once. If this is going to be our last moment, I wanted to sing to him before it ends.

"Listen to the words that you say... It's getting harder to stay... when I see you" I sniffled, sobbing "All I needed was the love you gave... All I needed for another day... and all I ever knew... only you" I looked down, holding him close "This is going to take a long time... and I wonder what's mine" I imagine Nate smiling with Rosa in my head "Can't take no more..." I looked up at Nate frowning at me "Wonder if you'll understand... It's just the touch of your hand... behind a closed door... and all I needed was the love you gave. All I needed for another day... and all I ever knew" I held his cheek, holding him close before grabbing his body and throw him to safety "Only you..."

Song: Only you by Selena Gomez

The Swords of justice shouted up in the air. I shut my eyes to prepare for an attack, but it never came. I opened my eyes to see them gone.

"Where did they go..?" I took a step back, shocked that nothing happened.

"What the hell?!" Nate shouted at me "Why did you do that!? I told you I'm staying with you!" I cupped my mouth and turned away, thinking that I basically told him how I felt. "Braviary! Scan the area! We can't have them chasing us again!" Nate looked at me turning away "Cam?" He walked up to me "That song..."

"What about it? I sing when I'm in my feels, okay?"

"It sounded like... You were singing that song for me" I held my chest, trying to control how hard my heart was beating. Why couldn't the Swords of justice just kill me instead of letting me live with this embarrassment?!

"N-No... It wasn't meant for you. I was just singing!"

"A-Are you sure?" I turned to him and shut my eyes before raising my voice.

"I don't like you like that! I was scared, okay!?" I looked at my shaking hands "I was scared... I didn't know what I was saying... Okay?" I squeezed my hands, hating that I told him how I felt in song form "I'm so embarrassed..." I cupped my face "Just forget what I said... Okay?" I felt him reaching out for me. I moved away and made a run for it, not wanting to face him after that total embarrassment.

"Why did they have to leave like that?" I whined "I thought they wanted to kill me! Why did they not kill me after I sang to him! I might as well die now!" I kept running to where my feet were carrying me until I saw a city appearing from under the hill I was on. Once I reached to the top, I gazed upon the entire new city I only seen once when I was a child.

"Is that..."

"That's Black City" Nate came to me, out of breath and leaning on his knees "It's a city of gambling, drinking, drugs, and criminal activities. It's very dangerous. I don't recommend coming here at all, but you haven't been here and you wanted to come, so stay close. We'll find a place you can have fun in"

"This place sounds very adult" I looked at how dark, but advance this place was with neon lights and black exterior "Criminal activities?"

"Yeah. People can die in these streets. People sell illegal drugs, people gamble their life away, and children are not allowed to live in this city due to its high percentage of kidnappings" I looked around "the worse city to be in, but I'm sure you wanted to keep going"

"Yeah" I smiled. He looked at me keeping my eyes on the city.

"If you came from your home after what happened to your dad, does that mean you passed by here as well?" I chuckled.

"I have, actually" he came to face me.

"Did anyone... mess with you?" I smiled at his concerned face.

"If you're thinking this is where I was kidnapped, you got it wrong. I was kidnapped in Nacrene City" he looked surprised "I was in the library when I was spending the summer with Hilda in Nuvema Town. It had gotten dark and I needed to get back home soon, but it got so dark. I got kidnapped by someone and they end up being part of the group that were wanted. Like I told you before, that's how I got all the money I have" he nodded.

"From the way you're telling me the story, I'm sure you handled it well" I nodded, proudly "Hey... Let's pretend what happened back there didn't happen" he rubbed the back of his head "I mean... Those Swords of justice really gave us a fright. No need to keep thinking about it" I studied him, wondering if he actually thought I was singing to him, but he didn't seem fazed by it, which I was glad about, but at the same time it hurt...

"Yeah" I smiled "This may be the last city we get to adventure in... so let's make the most of it. I wouldn't want to separate from you, so let's stay close" I took his hands "This journey has been so much fun with you. I look forward to spending the rest of our time here until it's over" he forced a sad smile and nodded.

"Don't think I'm going to give up... I still think you deserve happiness and should stay" he pulled me in to hug me, shocking me "I'll protect you, okay?" I smiled and hugged him back tightly.

"Thank you... But we'll be fine" I held his hand and pointed at the city in excitement "I'm excited to keep going! Let's go!" We continued walking down to the city. As we walked, I noticed there was a bunch of grass peaking from the corners of the street.

"So Black city didn't give you a hard time when you were walking through it as a kid? Please tell me it's because you took a bus"

"No, it was by foot" I shrugged "I took martial arts when I was a kid, so I was good at protecting myself. Nobody messed with me, but they sure tried" he laughed "Huh? What's so funny?"

"I just can't imagine seeing a little girl beating up on grown men!" I arched my brow at how he was laughing. I smiled at his laughter, glad to see that he wasn't thinking about how stupid I made myself out to be not too long ago.

"Of course! Just because I was little doesn't mean I couldn't defend myself" I smirked confidently, thinking back at my experiences in a city like Black City.

We entered deeper into the big city covered in black, making it as mysterious as it is known as "Hey Nate?" I called "How do you know so much about this city anyway?"

"I'm a cop. What do you expect?" I held my chin to think on that logic "Let's just say this is where it all happened" Where it all happened? Is he talking about... Why he was arrested?

"You sold drugs, Nate?!" I gasped a bit too loud, getting glances from the people around us.

"What?! No! What the hell?! Keep your voice down!" I nervously laughed, not meaning to be so loud "Don't say stupid things like that in a place like this. You're just asking to get picked on" he sighed.

"Sorry..." I looked at how tight he held my hand, like he was worried that I'd go somewhere. His eyes were focused on every corner of the streets, keeping close tabs on anything that can interrupt our time here.

"What are you thinking of doing in a city like this anyway?" Nate asked "Not much you can do. Do you want to go to a karaoke bar or something?" I gasped excitedly, making him chuckle "I'll take that as a yes. Come on, we can watch people sing drunk and whatever. It's always a good time" the way he said that made me feel like he does know a lot about this city, but I shouldn't jump to conclusions "We'll go only if you promise to be on your best behavior"

"Of course!" He narrowed his eyes before sighing and take me through the city without even asking for directions of where we were going. It's like he knows where we're going.

"Here it is" he showed off the building we walked up to.

"This place?" I looked around at all the adults smoking outside "What a sketchy place.."

"It's not as sketchy as other places in the city. Across the street is a strip club" I blinked confused and looked over at the place he was talking about, seeing something I wish I didn't see. I cupped my eyes and blushed, wishing I didn't see that aggressive make out session a couple were doing by there.

"T-That's..." thats so awkward to look at...

"We can always leave this city if it's too much for you to handle. It's not a city younger folk like us would be into, but this karaoke place is the closest we can get to having a good time. You just better remember to not take a drink from anyone or take your eyes off a cup you're drinking out of" so it's that serious...

"I think I'll be okay" I leaned close to his face "I have you to protect me after all, so why don't we just get drunk and act like that couple on the other side of the street?" He looked at me confused before he looked over at what I was talking about. His face immediately went red before he glared at me, making me laugh at his expression.

"Seriously?!" I calmed down my laughing and entered the karaoke bar with tons of people sitting on some tables and bars, watching some drunk people singing on the stage. This looks like a hell of a good time!

"This looks a lot of fun! Can I participate?" I asked as we walked up to the bar and took a seat on some open chairs.

"It's up to you, I'm just going to stay here. I'm just thinking about those Swords of justice almost killing us. I need to a drink" I stared at him request a drink "What?"

"Are you old enough to drink?" He made a face.

"You think this place cares if I'm old enough to drink? I'm older than you, Cam. We are pass the drinking age limit" I giggled at how serious and tired he was. I pat his head and listened in on the crowd cheering for the people singing on stage. It looks so much fun!

"Is it always this loud?" I asked the bartender giving Nate a shot glass next to a few others he already drank since we got here.

"All the time... It gets exhausting fast, but you get use to it" he shrugged and walked to another customer calling him. I looked at Nate drinking his shot and not even get fazed by the alcohol. Wow... He isn't a light drinker then if that shot looked like it didn't do anything.

Nate looked at me after staring at the shot glass "What is it?"

"Are you okay?" He sighed and put the glass down.

"I don't know... I guess I'm just worked up from thinking we were going to die earlier" I nodded, watching him pull his hair a bit.

"You look like something else is troubling you"

"Uh... No, I'm fine" he called the bartender for another glass.

"You shouldn't drink too much. You won't be able to do your job" the bartender gave him three more glasses he requested and drank them all "N-Nate..." Why is he drinking so much..?

"I don't want anything happening to you..." he looked down, slurring his words a bit "No matter what I say, you'll never change your mind" he placed his head on the bar table, surprising me.

"Nate..." I frowned and looked at the stage with people roaring in excitement. It's not easy talking to Nate when it's this loud. The only way I can get to him is by singing and maybe getting him to fall asleep.

I went over to the person controlling the karaoke machine to request a turn on stage "Welcome! You look new! Wanna sing a song?" He asked me.

"I would love too! What do you have?" He gave me a lift of songs I could sing. A lot of these songs were very pop and rock like. Nothing what I'm used to, especially when I always turn a song into an acoustic.

I ended up finding a song suited for me and showed it to him "That's what you want to sing? Good luck with that. People tend to get annoyed by people who sing a song that soft. Make sure you sing like you're the best out there" I nodded confidently and got on stage when it was my turn.

People cheered me on before I even started doing anything. I adjusted the microphone by me looked over at Nate looking up from his head down and saw me beginning to sing my song, sending everyone into a trance.