JiMing

IC: Dahlia/Aspen/Olivia Seaton The three Seaton siblings waited at the front of the mansion with Zach, waiting for when Ryan would turn up again. Olivia held Zach's hand as it was standard to do so again, and Dahlia stood next to Aspen, though the latter seemed distant and distracted somehow. All three of them turned their heads in surprise as they heard footsteps coming from behind them, confirming their suspicion that it was indeed Ryan Hikari. "Oh, there you are!" Dahlia replied, smiling at the sight of the older Hikari, but then blinked in confusion. "Didn't you say you were going to visit Lucia? We were waiting for you to walk in from the front...." Aspen looked up, and scratched the back of his head. "Hmm. Yeah, that is pretty odd, unless you went through the back exit or something..." he replied, shaking his head. "Nah, that wouldn't work... Hmm, but then why else would you-" "I think I know why..." Olivia spoke up, interrupting Aspen. She turned to Ryan, raising an eyebrow, seeming amused about something. "That Shannon girl, she's being held here to recover from her injuries... Kinda had a hunch you had a fancy for her, didn't want to leave her hanging, did you now?" the redheaded trainer said, grinning.

hahahaha i'm still a youngster /is 17 But really, happy birfday Kon, even if you probably won't see this for a while!

Eh, I'm not really mad to be honest. Just really impressed I lasted one whopping night, and got one vote in.... Oh well. Perhaps I'll get my chance... Another day.

Well again, there has to be a few chessmasters running around, who could potentially ruin the entire game for everyone and should probably have to be taken out asap. I wouldn't call myself one. Far from it, actually. I literally do not know how I've actually managed to succeed at the few games I have in the past, so yeah.

So did you intentionally target me because this is basically the first Mafia game I've played in forever? I woulda thought there might have been more high-profile targets to take out than the guy who never knows what he's doing???? Ah whatever. I guess that's it from me. Show's over folks.

Uh, uh, RNG save me I don't know what I'm doing...... BURNMAD IT IS I GUESS PURE INTELLECT DETERMINED THAT

Welp I guess it's time to actually join an G&T game now that posts count to the post total. Yay let's see how far my luck'll take me, spot 15.

My question is, who else actually got a Dark Pit amiibo not for collection purposes, but because they legitimately liked the character in Kid Icarus: Uprising? I can't be alone for that.... Right?? Right??? =)

Dark Pit's amiibo is completely amazing and it's a perfect representation of my favorite character in Uprising, and my main in Smash. (Not gonna get more amiibo though, don't wanna leap headfirst into the abyss... At least I hope I don't.)

IC: Lachina/Mercury Lachina smiled at Drew, and nodded. "Alright. I should be going now." she said, kissing his forehead. "Stay strong. I'll come back soon as I can." The Ranger exited Kiri's house, turning to Mercury. "Alright, we're supposed to be at the Pokemon Center. Aolani'll take us there. She's not going to murder you, I swear." Lachina told Mercury, and glared at the Altaria. She complied, and with Lachina putting on her flight goggles, they were off. Soon enough they were at the Pokemon Center, and below them, Lachina could recognize a certain Top Ranger..... Mercury nodded to KIri. "We'll let you know how it goes." He then turned to follow Lachina out of the house. He was hesitant, but went on the back of the Altaria after recalling Anubis. As they took off, he looked down. A burst of laughter escaped his throat as he saw the city from on-high. "You fly like this a lot?" He would need to get a flying-type. This was amazing. Lachina smiled a knowing smile at Mercury's wide-eyed reaction of awe to flying high. Just like my first time flying.... she thought. As they landed, Keith turned to watch them. He was in his mid-thirties, his auburn hair was mussed from the efforts of the day.. He removed his sunglasses, brown eyes crinkling with a smile towards Lachina. "Ranger Lachina Adaon, report." He squared his wide shoulders, powerful arms crossing over his broad chest. Mercury slid off Aolani's back, standing aside to let Lachina talk. After landing however, she got off Aolani's back, nodding at her superior. "Yes, Mr. Summerfield." she replied, and put a finger to her chin. "The situation hasn't changed much from the last report. Mercury's willing to aid us. However, one new detail has arisen... It turns out he possesses the ability to read aura, and manipulate his own." the Ranger added, looking to Mercury. "Could you please show Mr. Summerfield your list, Mercury?" Keith raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's certainly a rare gift. Thank you for letting us know about it, mister... Mercury, is it?" He flashed a reassuring smile. The silver-haired trainer nodded softly, pulling the paper once more from his pocket and passing it to the Top Ranger. Keith unfolded it, eyes scanning over it quickly. "When did you get this list?" he asked softly. Mercury shrugged. "Like I told La- Miss Adaon, I woke up a month and a half ago with it in my pocket. I would assume that I got it before the avalanche in Snowpoint City." He shrugged again. "I'm not sure why I have the list, but I know what I want to do with it right now. The next attack is Two island in two weeks. I want to do whatever we can to stop it." "I can't help but notice that you don't have the causes of the attack actually on here, but rather written in the margins." Keith raised an eyebrow. "So, whoever or whatever gave you this didn't bother to tell you how to actually stop anything." "No, sir," Mercury said. He shook his head softly. "I can only assume that if we knew the exact details, it would change the course of it happening. We might stop it before it happens, and then somewhere else gets destroyed instead." Keith nodded. "Lachina, what do you think of all this? Does it sound on the up-and-up?" Lachina put a finger to her chin, and looked at Mercury. "....So far, I don't feel as though he's lying." she replied at last, turning to Keith. "But there's no way we can know for sure, right at this moment... And yet, we can't ignore the possibilities this could open up if it's true..." The Ranger frowned, and looked to Mercury. "You do seem like you know what you're doing." she observed, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure you remember -nothing-?" Mercury shook his head, sighing. "No, ma'am. Before Fallarbor, just bits and pieces of my childhood. If I seem like I know what I'm doing, I'm just chalking it up to my mind being sharp from how I grew up." He locked eyes with Keith. "We have two weeks to act. I want to be there when they find out what's happening. I know you don't trust me. I wouldn't trust me either. I nearly attacked a kid over a piece of paper, I'm claiming to not have memories, and I know what places are going to be attacked and when." He sighed. "The fact of the matter, mister Summerfield, is that if you try to restrain me or stop me from going, I'll be forced to fight against you and make my own way to Two Island. Instead of focusing all our efforts on defense, we'll be fighting each other. I don't want that." Keith frowned softly as the younger man talked about fighting and fleeing. "Well, you're right about that. We don't want you to fight against us." His solemn face broke into a grin and he winked at Lachina. "I think I'll just have to keep you under the observation of my best rangers while they investigate the situation. You met Aolani, so you know that my people have good, strong pokémon on their side." He rolled his neck. "Lachina, can you think of anyone who might be interested in accompanying Mercury to the Kanto region?" Lachina put a finger to her chin, but ultimately sighed. "Not ringing a bell, I don't think really much of my friends made it to Sootopolis.. And anyone who did is probably occupied with clearing rubble and rescuing citizens." the Ranger replied, frowning. "I haven't been in contact with anyone else since I landed... Sorry, Mr. Summerfield. Perhaps we could contact an Operator, see if they can reach a Ranger who's open..." Keith laughed for the first time that day. It felt good to be able to laugh right now. "Well, in that case, I'll just have to assign somebody. So, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to escort this young man to Two Island before the date on that piece of paper. I'll get you supplies for the trip. You leave tomorrow morning, first thing." Mercury breathed a sigh of relief. He had expected the top ranger to put him through the grinder before even considering the mission, but the man seemed to understand the urgency of the situation. Keith continued speaking. "For now, go get some rest at the Pokémon Center. I'll send someone by with provisions shortly." Lachina chuckled slightly at how inept she appeared. "Alright. Thank you, sir." the Ranger said, and nodded. "Shouldn't be hard to get to Two Island if it's two weeks. It'll just be a matter of what to do when we're there...." She turned to Mercury, putting a finger to her chin. "You still tired? Well we're going to be waiting outside the Pokemon Center, so if you need to snooze, you might have to find a wall to lean against." Mercury stretched, rolling his neck softly. "I'll be fine for the trip. I might spar with Anubis a little bit while we wait." So saying, he pulled the ball off of his belt. "Oh, and by the way..." He hesitated, not entirely sure how to finish the sentence. "Thanks. For giving me this chance, I mean. I'm not sure I would trust me if I were you, given the circumstances." Lachina looked back, seeming a bit surprised. "...Well uh, that's nothing." she mumbled, losing her professional edge in that moment. "I mean, there was the chance your info could prevent hurt and suffering. Why wouldn't I try to humor you?" the Ranger replied. She looked around at the ruined buildings, homes with memories and families destroyed, and sighed. "I always wanted to help. I thought it'd just be small stuff. Now, I have a chance to really make a difference." Lachina said, turning to Mercury. "And as long as you're willing to help too... Yeah. I'll trust you." Mercury smiled lightly, nodding. "Here's hoping. Get some rest, ranger. I'll just be over here." He gestured to an area by the water, well within view of the Center. "I'm going to see if I can still take my Lucario in a fight."He waved, heading down to the spot and releasing the aura pokémon from his ball. Lachina smirked. "As much as I'd like to though, still can't sleep on the job. That'd just be plain unprofessional." she replied, though walked over to Mercury's suggested spot, and sat down. She kept an eye on the silver-haired trainer however, as it seemed he wanted to battle said Lucario one-on-one.... As they squared off, Mercury smiled softly to himself. For the first time in memory, he felt like things would work out. They would make it to Two Island in time to prevent disaster, and it seemed they had a companion who they could trust to have their back. True, she was also keeping a watchful eye on them, but that was no major problem. As Anubis made his first move, Mercury allowed his smile to grow wider, a true expression replacing his usual blank or scowling features. Everything would be alright.

OOC: We're all jam buds here~ IC: Lachina Adaon/Mercury Keith Summerfield activated his styler's call function while supervising the removal of debris. He hadn't spoken with Lachina since their arrival, and was glad to hear from her. "Lachina," he said in his brusque way, his deep voice gravely from a long day clearing dust and rubble away. "What are your current status and location?" Even as he asked, he was viewing the capture styler. Each of his Rangers had a small device in their styler so they could send out SOS messages without speaking if necessary. "Give me a full situation report." By now, he was sure he didn't have to remind her for details, but he did anyways. "Tell me everything, nice and slow." Lachina instinctively took a deep breath. Keith was a highly respected Top Ranger, a rank few could ever hope to achieve. Furthermore, he had aided many years ago, with the Altru incident that had threatened to plunge the region into darkness. He was a living legend... But he was asking a question and she needed to answer it. "Right, lemme review the facts, Mr. Summerfield." the Ranger replied, pausing for a moment. "While I was aiding a woman named Kiri handle two street urchin kids, Drew and Alaina, we happened across an exhausted man, named Mercury. Stands at about 5'5, looks to be in his early twenties, and has silver hair and eyes." she explained, glancing behind her shoulder to make sure Mercury was still there. "He possesses a list of locations, that appear to be accurately predicting attacks happening on major cities of various regions... I got a quick glance at the list. The exact date and time for Sootopolis was there. I didn't see what was next, but apparently he wants to get to Two Island, fast." Lachina stopped there, and put a finger to her chin. "But he doesn't know why he has the list, or if he does, he's not sharing. Said something about losing his memory six weeks ago, thanks to trauma. Whether he's telling the truth or not, I can't tell, but at this moment, he seems to be willing to cooperate... Even said he wouldn't mind handing the list over. Apparently has it memorized..." Keith listened to the report without interruption. Despite her age and occasional overzeal, she was good at her job, and he respected her. At the mention of the list, Keith raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. And you're sure he didn't write this list after the fact? Sounds pretty hard to believe." He trusted Lachina, but she was fifteen, prone to gullibility and naivety. Keith was't going to clear anyone for a mission to Two Island without probable cause. "Is this guy's story consistent? He's not just some loon who saw everything going on and decided to capitalize on it?" Mercury sat back down, watching Lachina silently He ran his fingers along the edges of the paper idly, feeling the cloth-like texture of the worn paper. This was the only outward sign he gave that he was nervous. If her superior ordered his subdual, they would lose precious time. "That's what I'm worried about.... I'm completely sure about his story." Lachina said, frowning. "The two urchin kids? They tried stealing his list. I was already reprimanding them accordingly, but he flat-out threatened to harm them either way. But afterwards he's apologizing, saying he overreacted. That doesn't sound like consistency to me, but so far he's cooperating... Which has me wondering." Lachina sighed, and scratched the back of her head. "Says the next attack is like, in two weeks. I can't confirm anything else at this moment, other than Mercury possesses a Lucario. Should I bring him over, see if we could get any more information out of him?" Mercury scowled a bit. "I didn't," he growled, "I didn't threaten them." He folded the paper over his index finger, giving it a new crease. He had started to reach for Drew, but he'd caught himself. "Two weeks? Well, he certainly isn't giving us much time to weigh our options here, is he?" Keith sighed. This was just part of the job, he supposed, making snap decisions. "Alright, bring him over. I'm near the Pokémon Center, east end of town, up the stairs to the north. The sooner you get here, the sooner I can approve an expedition to Kanto." His head pounded at the thought of the paperwork needed to approve such a mission. That alone could take two weeks. He would have to send the Rangers and then fill it all out after the fact. It would get him chewed on by hishigher-ups, but it was necessary. No more people would die if he could help it. "Ask him what other pokémon he has. If he doesn't cooperate, restrain him and search his person. We don't want any surprises from this guy." "Alright, got it, Mr. Summerfield. We'll head over soon. This is Lachina Adaon, signing off." Lachina said, shutting down the communicator of her Capture Styler, turning around and motioning to Mercury. "Alright, Mercury. We've got an audience with Keith Summerfield, and it seems he'll try to get us to that Two Island place as soon as possible. But first, I have to ask you a few questions. The Ranger cleared her throat, and began speaking again. "Do you possess any other Pokemon besides your Lucario? And would you happen to be carrying weapons, firearms, or any other sort of lethal tool? I don't mean to upset you, this is par for the course." she said, and waited for a response. Mercury sighed a bit, standing. "I have two other pokémon. My Lapras, Oggie, and an Absol." He pushed his coat back, showing two pokéballs on his belt. "The Absol is in my coat's pocket for safety reason." He turned out his jean and coat pockets, showing just his trainer card and the list. "No weapons." He paused for a second, and then held his hand out, palm-up. Silver light formed into a ball above his palm. "I can see auras and manipulate my own into a sphere, like the fighting move." He shrugged. "Other than that, nothing." He sighed. "Let's go, then." He gestured for her to lead the way. Lachina kept a straight face, even as her eyes widened at Mercury's aura abilities. "....Mr. Summerfield will need to know that, too." she muttered, and sighed. "Alright, if I bring up a map of Sootopolis on my Styler... Got it. We're going over." she said, motioning for Mercury to follow. "Thanks for all your assistance, Kiri, Alana, Drew! Maybe we'll run into each other another day!" the Ranger said, shaking hands with all three of them, and giving Drew one last hug before she stood up again. "Stay safe, you three. Good luck."

OOC: The sun is bright, our shirts are clean, we're sitting up above the sea. Come on and share this jam with me~! Peach or plum or strawberry, any kind is fine, you see.Come on and share this jam with me~!I'll do my best to give this jam the sweetness it deserves~. And I'll keep it fresh, I'm jamming on these tasty preserves! Ingredients in harmony, we mix together perfectly, come on and share this jam with me~! IC: Seatons/Zach Olivia had waited right outside the bathroom door, and perked up once she saw Zach exit. She stood up off the bed, and moved closely to Zach, examining the adjustments he made to the makeup, and grinned slightly. "....I like the additions you made. Seems like you've got more finesse in your fingers for this than I do." she said, chuckling softly even as the hint of a blush on her face stayed. "Um, thanks..." Zach blushed slightly, and scratched his head. He thought for a moment, but then smiled, as he yawned for a moment. "Should we go see if the others are up, then? We should probably have breakfast too..." He relaxed a bit, smiling as he wondered what was for breakfast. "....Good point about the breakfast. We really didn't get a chance for dinner last night, what with the whole.... Well, tiredness, thing..." the red-haired trainer replied, as her stomach punctuated her agreement by moaning indignantly. "Yeah, breakfast's good. The others are probably up by now... Wonder what they'll think of your makeup..." she snickered, before the two of them opened the door, and made their way through the hallway. "Oh, morning!" Dahlia said to the two of them, as she and Aspen had made it into the kitchen around the same time. The middle Seaton blinked, and took a look at the two of them, smiling. "Matching shirts, huh? How cute!" the gardener exclaimed, as Olivia's tank top was roughly the same shade of green as Zach's shirt. she looked again, and that smile widened ".....And you've got a bit of makeup on your face, Zach? It looks nice! Really suits you." "....Yeah." Aspen replied simply, and nodded in agreement with his sister. He was feeling rather shaken up about the revelations about himself from the Pride battle, and was attempting to be as careful with his words as possible, so that he didn't stray from Zach's good side once again.... Zach blushed a bit at both comments, and rubbed the back of his head. "It's to, um, cover up some of the bruises from yesterday..." He replied, as he walked over to the table. He wasn't sure if there was breakfast that was going to be served or not; but his question was answered, as Stacy walked into the kitchen, a surprised look on her face. "Oh, good! You all are up, just in time; I was right about to make breakfast for myself... Anything you four don't like?" The older woman asked with a kind smile, as she walked over to the fridge to get out the food to cook. "No, not really.... Oh! Do you need a hand with cooking?" Dahlia asked, turning her smile to Stacy. "I could help you! I think most of us are going to be pretty hungry, so more hands means less time waiting." the gardener offered, chuckling slightly. "....I could help too." Aspen said quietly, and cleared his throat. "....I can help. I know how to cook, kinda." the trainer repeated, this time a bit louder, before looking down and scratching his head. Cooking wouldn't make up for anything he had done... But it would be a start. Olivia turned her head, blinking to run into Stacy as well, with the five of them somehow converging in the kitchen at the same time. "I'll help too. I definitely know how to cook." the red-haired trainer said, and poked Zach. "Well? Whattabout you, you feel like helping or you still too woozy?" Zach chuckled, and stood up again. "I'm up for helping." He giggled with a smile, as he walked forward. After a little while of everyone helping out with the cooking, they finished preparing the meal in question, and sat down at the table to begin to eat. Zach in particular looked over at Aspen, as he wondered about what was with Aspen's behaviour, and whether it was connected with the incident yesterday. Aspen on the other hand, was doing his best to avoid Zach's gaze.... Or anyone's for that matter. The young trainer seemed to be mulling over things that had occured yesterday, absentmidedly poking at his food.... When he should have been complaining loudly about how hungry he was. Dahlia looked over at her brother with a concerned look, and attempted to tap him on the shoulder. He simply looked back and smiled, before going back to his routine. She sighed, and turned to Stacy afterwards. "Thank you so much for allowing us to stay in your house.... We really appreciate it." Olivia had been wolfing down her food, but stopped to chew and swallow when Dahlia spoke up. "Yeah... Having a place to sleep last night was really nice." she said, smiling back. "Geez, that was a long day...." the eldest Seaton sighed, and took a deep breath. Zach nodded in agreement about what Dahlia and Olivia had said, and continued to watched Aspen curiously. "You alright?" He asked, as he seemed a bit confused about everything that the younger boy was up to right at that moment. Stacy smiled in response. "You're very welcome! I couldn't just let you all just sleep on a sidewalk or something, after all." She said with a chuckle, as she ate her food as well. She also was a bit concerned with Aspen's quietness, from what she had heard in the past, but left that up to Zach, since he was already handling the situation. "H-huh? Zach?" Aspen muttered, looking up from his food, slightly confused. "Oh, uh... Yeah. I'm fine, now...." he replied, but bit his lip. "Let's eat first, I'll..... Talk later about this stuff. Yeah, later." the hazel-eyed trainer said. "....Well, alright then." Dahlia said, frowning. "It wouldn't have anything to do about that Pride person.... Would it?" she asked, to which Aspen looked back, and hesitated, but nodded slowly. "....Zach, didn't you mention Pride being similar to something?" Olivia asked, furrowing her eyebrows as well. "What was that again? Wrath or something...?" muttered the red-haired trainer. Even though Aspen didn't want to talk about things at that moment, she still wanted to know all the details she could before doing so.

IC: Olivia Seaton Olivia listened to Zach's noting of how quickly they fell asleep last night with an awkward chuckle, then grinned at his comment towards her and Bree. "Of course you'd say that, of all people.... Thanks, though." she said, walking over to their backpacks as well. "Well Bree, it's nice to see you in the morning. But you'll have to stay in your Pokeball for a little bit more, alright? Good..." the eldest Seaton told the baby Torchic, petting the Pokemon's head happily before recalling her, and reaching into her own backpack, looking for suitable clothing. "Be right back." she said to her friend, grabbing her clothes and heading inside the bathroom. In almost no time at all, the red-haired trainer came out in much more sport-like attire, fitting the restored summer weather. Olivia looked over to find Zach in a new outfit as well, and smiled, walking over. "You look great..." she muttered, rubbing the back of her head, before raising an eyebrow. "...Your face is kinda bruised and scratched up.... Here, lemme get something for that." the eldest Seaton said, reaching into her backpack again and pulling out a small makeup kit. Immediately, Zach's eyes lit up with amusement and his mouth curved into a grin, causing the Seaton to blush subtly. "...Wh-what? I can do makeup too... Sorta." she replied awkwardly, before sighing. "Whatever, this should help..." Olivia told Zach, applying makeup on his face to cover up the damage caused by yesterday.

IC: Olivia Seaton "Ehh... Don't feel any less tired than I normally do, to be honest." Olivia replied, stretching again, and stepping off the bed, looking over with a grin at her best friend. "...Named her Bree, huh? That's so cute~...." the red-haired trainer said, chuckling quietly, stepping closer to the Torchic in question. Bree looked up and smiled happily at the eldest Seaton, chirping and hopping up slightly. "Settle down, kiddo." the Seaton replied, picking up the tiny fire chick with both arms, before looking back at Zach. "Know what time it is maybe? The others might be up by now...."

IC: Zach's Room The young Torchic chirped, almost sounding as if she were giggling in response to Zach's questioning, taking a step closer to the auburn-haired trainer. Then he mentioned a new word 'Bree'. The fire chick blinked a little and wondered what it was, but made an approving squeal, finding the word to be very pretty, nodding as well. Olivia yawned, and slowly started sitting up from the bed, stretching her limbs. "Morning...." she mumbled tiredly to Zach, before looking down to see the baby Torchic was once again outside her Pokeball. "...Can't stay out for long, can't you?" she said amusedly, as the Pokemon unwittingly christened as Bree looked up with wide eyes at what she saw as her two new parents. Then the tiny fire chick hopped off the bed and stared up at the door curiously.

IC: Dahlia Seaton Dahlia looked back to Erika, smiling. "Ah, no, it's no problem!" the gardener said reassuringly. "The world needs more people like you, thank you for being so generous!" she said, moving to grab the Turtwig's Pokeball. "Though, you do have a point... I shouldn't keep the others waiting like that." Upon seeing the Dahlia take her Pokeball, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon trotted back and placed the hat gently by the gardener's feet, quickly after being recalled. The middle Seaton picked up her hat, and started walking out the door, turning back to face Erika. "Thank you so much! Good luck to you, and all of Celadon!" she said, before finally heading out of the Gym, and back to Stacy's mansion. IC: Lachina Adaon Lachina turned her head to look down at Drew, once again ruffling his hair. "We'll have to see, but yeah, that's definitely a possibility!" she replied, as Kiri asked her where her superiors were. "We've got leaders here in Sootopolis too... Keith, for one." she told the woman, and put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "They could alert Operators in Almia, and perhaps we could have a teleconference.... At least, that's how I hope it'l work." The Ranger turned to Mercury, and thought for a moment. "Enough time to get to Two Island.... I'll have to mention that to them." she said, and looked down at her Capture Styler. "Hold on, lemme contact Keith... See where we could meet him." IC: Zach's Room The first light of day creaked out of the dark, though Zach and Olivia still snoozed throughout. In fact, they were still both fast asleep. Even as the morning progressed, neither one showed any indication of waking from their rest anytime soon. After a while, a certain Pokeball released a certain baby Torchic. The tiny fire chick ruffled her feathers, and looked around curiously to see where she was. Then she caught sight of the nice people who took her in, and chirped happily, running over. However, neither of them reacted, still laying perfectly still. Intruiged, the Torchic hopped up on the bed, and looked over at the auburn-haired trainer. The fire chick then lightly pecked the side of his head, attempting to get his attention.

IC: Dahlia Seaton Dahlia pet the small Turtwig's head happily for a moment, before getting up from her knee and looking back at Erika while she was being complimented. "It's really nothing... I'm just glad I could help even just a little bit." she replied humbly. "Doesn't matter that Celadon isn't my home... Its people don't deserve an attack of this kind ever, and being able to defend this wonderful and its city... That's a reward, in it of itself." The Tiny Leaf Pokemon looked up at Dahlia while the gardener spoke, nuzzling against her leg afterwards. When the Seaton bent down to start petting her again, the Turtwig once again snatched away the hat, leaping away with a mischievous chuckle, leaving the girl to simply scratch her head in confusion, smiling and watching the Turtwig wave around her sun hat.

IC: Dahlia Seaton Dahlia smiled sincerely when Erika offered both a badge and a Pokemon, bowing in respect. "Thank you for your generosity, Erika!" the gardener exclaimed, taking first the badge and pinning it to her shirt. She looked back upon hearing the distinct sound of a Pokemon being released from their Pokeball, her smile widening upon seeing the Turtwig. "Well isn't she just the cutes-" the middle Seaton began, before said Turtwig leaped forward with no warning. Dahlia attempted to catch it, however, she significantly underestimated the weight of the Tiny Leaf Pokemon, and was sent sprawling back onto the ground from the impact. While the gardener lay on her back in a daze, the quirky Pokemon snapped open her mouth and snatched Dahlia's sun hat, crawling off to run around the blue-eyed trainer. "Geez, you really weren't kidding when you said she was quirky...." Dahlia said after slowly getting up, looking down to see the Turtwig offering her hat back, to which the Seaton giggled, and accepted the offering. "Very sweet, though...." IC: Lachina Adaon Lachina listened, closing her eyes and blocking out any background noise while she considered Mercury's words. After considering what was told to her, the Ranger at last opened her eyes and spoke. "Tell you what.... You can keep that paper for now. But you're going stay with me, until I have a chance to bring you to my superiors." She frowned, and looked up thoughtfully. "...To be honest, this is quite literally, the first time I've been out of Almia. But I've heard bits and pieces of what conflict goes on in other parts of the world. And the ability to forsee destructive events... That could be huge. But...." the Ranger said, and looked to Mercury, her grey eyes appearing like a mirror. "That begs into question, how you got the list in the first place. You say you're amnesiac from trauma but... I have no way to tell if you're being completely honest." Lachina muttered, sighing. "I'm sorry, but at this moment, you're a potential threat to the safety of millions, with or without your memories." she said sternly. "I'll do my best to keep you safe and under watch, but if you attempt to flee, I've got handcuffs, and I won't hesitate to restrain you. Understood?"

IC: Dahlia Seaton The brown-haired girl relaxed, and walked forward, smiling at Erika. "He's great! Turned out to be totally safe and unharmed, thankfully." Dahlia explained, then looked at the garden the Gym Leader had been tending to. "Your garden's beautiful.... This is more like what I'd want to tend to, eventually, gardening's sorta my passion." the middle Seaton rambled, and smiled afterwards. "So uh, Erika... What exactly did you call me here, for?" Dahlia asked. "To thank me... Right?"

IC: Lachina Adaon "Alaina! You know I wouldn't let anyone hurt a hair on Drew's head!" the Ranger replied, frowning at the urchin girl. "And especially not Aolani! They're getting along juuuuuuuuuust fine." she said, glaring back at the Altaria, who growled softly but remained still. Lachina smiled, and nodded in approval at her Partner Pokemon. "So yeah! Your adorable little brother is safe with me!" she reassuringly told Alaina, before patting the urchin boy on the head, ruffling his hair while smiling. She had almost forgotten about Mercury's presence, until she looked up, at which point her smile disappeared, and Lachina's grey eyes grew stormy once more. "....Alright you. Listen up." she said gruffly. "You threatened these two kids over that list, even though I was already handling the situation. Therefore.... Whatever your explanation is, it better be good. Got it?" IC: Dahlia/Aspen When Zach dragged Olivia off to one section of the mansion, Dahlia turned to her brother, and hugged him. "I'm glad to see you're safe...." she muttered, smiling afterwards. "...Huh. This seems familiar." was the youngest Seaton's only reply, smiling widely afterwards. He looked down the hallway, slightly dazed at the myriad of rooms. "....Hmm... Looks like we have to start finding a room now." Aspen muttered, and blinked. The middle Seaton looked back, and spoke again. "...Actually, uhh.... Erika said she wanted to see me again, after I went to look for you." she explained. "So would you mind if I quickly went back to the Gym, to see what's up?" "....Go right on ahead." Aspen said, nodding. "She probably wants to give you a gift, for helping out. And honestly, you deserve it, especially for believing in me all this time...." The gardener was surprised at her brother's words, but nodded. "Alright. I'll be back as quick as I can." True to her word, Dahlia paced through the ruined city. She quickened her pace, disturbed by the shambles of the once-great buildings, but as she approached the Gym doors, put on her biggest smile, before stepping inside. "Erika?" she asked, blinking. "You there?"

OOC: 2/3~~ (the spacing better not bork this time) IC: Olivia/Zach As Olivia began to dream, she would slowly start to see a memory from a long time ago. Her and Zach were around their early teens, and were working on their homework after a long day's work. However, as things progressed a bit, things were seeming a bit different than usual dreams; for one, she could see both of the kids from a different perspective than a normal dream, and she could tell that she was 'present'. It was a hard feeling to describe, however. Olivia blinked, looking at a younger Zach and her curiously as they sat next to each other at a table, doing homework. The Seaton looked over to find the present-day Zach next to her, also watching the memory, surprising her. "Z-Zach?" she asked. "Is this... Are our minds linked, now?" Zach giggled, as he watched the younger two versions of themselves talk and do homework. He nodded to her question, but then watched, as the younger version of Olivia yawned, and went to lay down on the bed. As the memory went on, however, the younger Zach had fallen asleep doing both his and Olivia's homework. The young girl awoke not long after, and seemed surprised, as she noticed what her friend had done, and smiled slightly, as she walked over to the young boy. With a blush despite no-one watching, she lovingly kissed the young Zach on the cheek in thanks with a more pronounced smile. "Huh... So that's what happened that day..." The present Zach said with an amused and teasing smile on his face. He looked over at the older Olivia, as the memory faded off slightly into the background, and giggled slightly. "I'd thought something like that happened, but never knew what... You're welcome for that..." Olivia watched, as Zach did, blushing herself once she saw the younger her wake up, as she knew what was coming. Sure enough, the teenage Olivia softly pressed her lips against the teenage Zach's cheek. "...Heh... Heh..." she muttered awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head when the present Zach turned to speak to her. "T-that was a good memory to show you, I-I mentioned how I liked you even then, but... I really, truly was head over heels in love with you, back then..." she explained, smiling. "Normally I did my best to be, well, normal around you, but in cases like that.... That's when I showed my affection....." Zach giggled again with a smile, as he sighed. "I wish I had've realized that sooner. I have an idea for later in this, though..." He giggled again, as he held out his hand to her. "What do you think so far? Any ideas for what to do?" Olivia giggled somewhat awkwardly, but then put a finger to her chin. "....Hmm..." she thought. "...Well, something really, really didn't go well for you, six months ago, but... I'm still not entirely sure what..." the eldest Seaton muttered. "I understand if you don't want to show it, if it's still too painful for you... But if you can, I'd like to have a better understanding of what happened, so we can be even closer." Zach listened to Olivia's request for a moment, and thought it over for a second. "Alright. But I'll warn you that it can be a bit... tough to handle. I was actually dreaming about it the other night, and nearly had to wake up because of it..." He smiled after that, though. "I think I can take it, though. Especially with you. And nothing can hurt us like this..." As he said that, a glow appeared around the two of them, as if they were shielded, and the scene began to shift. A roar pierced the area, as Palkia and Black Kyurem began to clash once again... ---- "Wh-what the-?! Olivia sputtered, looking around her as the two legends clashed with one another. On one of them, a young man with brown hair she didn't recognize. On the other...... "...So that's why you're.... Oh." the Seaton muttered sadly, as she finally understood what had gotten Zach so distraught recently. The trainer reached out for Zach's hand, and gripped it tightly. "I.... I'm so, so sorry." she said, looking into her best friend's eyes. Olivia wished she could say more, or -do- more for her friend. No wonder he was so upset lately... But all she could do in that moment was wrap her arms around Zach, and sigh. Zach smiled sadly, as the land below them began to vanish. "It's alright. I couldn't do anything... And you've been helping me realize that I've been too hard on myself. But I still feel a bit bad for all the people who got hurt because I had played right into my dad's hands..." He looked at Olivia, however, and chuckled slightly. "I have to thank Evan, though. At least with all this, even though things went bad, they didn't go worse... Especially since Reshiram wasn't exactly in fighting condition at the time. And..." Zach turned back to the fight, as it skipped to the end, when Evan made his fancy return. Olivia listened to Zach, and nodded "I'll still tell you none of this was your fault. Who could have seen... This, coming?" she said, hugging a bit more after though. "I get why you were so sad before though, even though you were being unhealthy with how much you punished yourself.... But I just, I wish I could have been there to help you earlier, because you've beat yourself up over this for half a year, I...." the red-haired trainer paused, and looked around her again, seeing the return of the brown-haired man. "...So that's Evan, huh?" Zach nodded, and chuckled slightly. "The Hero of Space himself." He said, and sighed slightly. "You're right, though; I took it too hard. But, you remember our conversation with Caitlin? I guess I had just been finally starting to accept being a hero, and then this happened, and between all the shock of what happened with my dad, and all this, and technically being part of this... It had just affected me then." He explained, but smiled more. "I'm glad for your help, though." ".....I remember when you were just a kid who went to my school and helped me do my homework.... And here you are now, talking about accepting being a hero." Olivia said, blinking. "I mean, I knew that before, it's just... Huh, weird to think that that boy I looked up to already, could become so much more...." she explained, smiling. "I can't promise I'll be able to match the heroism of that Evan, or the rest of your Unova friends... But, if you'll have me anyways, I'm going to do everything I can to support you as much as I can from now on...." Zach chuckled with a slight smile, and scratched his head. "I'd be glad to have you by my side... I don't even really know how much of a hero I really am; I just want things to be normal." He said with a sheepish shrug, but smiled, as he hugged her happily. Olivia smiled, and kissed Zach while they embraced. "Zach, no matter what happens to you, no matter if you want to be a hero or not.... I want you to know you're -my- hero...." she reassured him, smiling warmly. "You always have been. And you always will be.... No matter what road you take, I'll never forget how much you've helped me grow, ever since that first day we met.." the eldest Seaton declared. "I love you, and nothing will change that..." Zach seemed surprised at first, but smiled, as he kissed her back, and then looked as the scene changed again. This seemed to be of a school's gym, from the look of it. He had to actually focus a bit, but then smiled amusedly, as he saw a young kid with auburn hair running around with a dodgeball, a wide grin on his face. "Hmm, this seems familiar, were we just talking about this?" Zach asked Olivia, an amusedly teasing look on his face, as he realized just what memory this was. Olivia looked around the gym, with a confused expression on her face. "Well this is our school's gym, but how does this connect with.... Oh." the eldest Seaton said, as she saw the auburn-haired kid run around playing dodgeball. She looked around, focusing elsewhere, as there was a little girl with red hair off to the side, taking a break. "....Our first meeting..." she muttered, eyes widening with surprise. Olivia grew silent again, and watched, with the five-year old Zach soon rebounding his dodgeball off a wall improperly, the trajectory aligned perfectly with the five-year old Olivia's head, causing the present Olivia to wince slightly at the impact. "...You decked me in the face with a dodgeball...." the red-haired trainer muttered, watching as a horrified younger Zach rushed over to aid the girl he had struck. Said girl fought back tears, and raised her hand, delivering a solid smack to his face, while screaming and calling him a meanie. "...And I returned the favor." Zach winced slightly, but nodded. "Yeah... Not either of our finest moments." He said with a sheepish smile, as he noticed people come to deal with the situation. "We kinda both got detention for that accident, just because of how it happened." The scene shifted subtly to a classroom, as the two kids sat there, quiet at first. ---- "Uh... uh..." The five year old Zach tried to say something, and then went quiet again fo a moment, but then looked over to the smaller Olivia. "I-I'm s-sorry... I'm... I'm not good at throwing..." He apologized profusely for a few moments more, and then looked back to what he was working on, when there wasn't an initial response. "....Leave me alone, meanie!" the five-year old Olivia responded brashly at last. "You hurt my face, and I don't want to talk to you, because I hate you!!" the small girl declared, crossing her arms and looking away from the auburn-haired boy. She seemed utterly determined to not look in the general direction of the young Zach, while trying to ignore him as best as possible. The younger Zach seemed uncertain for a moment, but then sighed slightly. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to hurt you... I'm sorry for keeping you from your friends..." He finally said, as he tried to focus on what he was working on. He didn't have the most amount of friends, and had thought the young girl to look cool when he had seen her around, but now just felt bad for all this. The small girl named Olivia simply sat silently a few minutes after Zach spoke, not turning around to look at him. Unbeknownst to the young boy, his words surprised the five-year old, who mulled over what he had said for a few minutes. ".....But I..... I don't have any... Friends...." she muttered at last, still looking away from the young Zach. She was confused. Why had he thought she had friends? If he had seen her, he would have noticed that she was always by herself in the halls, in the classroom, or at lunch. But given how few people liked her... The young Olivia couldn't blame Zach for not noticing her much. The kid Zach looked over in surprise, as he turned to face her. "Wait... You don't have any friends...?" He asked, a slightly puzzled look on his face. Even though he didn't actually have any friends at the school, he'd still had his friends that his family knew. So the concept of not having any friends was foreign to him, and he had thought she had just been alone during the actual school days. "I-I'm sorry... I'll be your friend, if you want..." He said with a goofy smile on his face, as he didn't want her feeling bad. "What?! the kid Olivia exclaimed, actually turning around to face the younger Zach. She was utterly shocked by his offer of friendship, and stared blankly at the upbeat boy's grin. ".....You.... You mean it? But no one wants to be my friend...." she muttered, completely caught off guard by everything. The five year old boy nodded with a smile, as he scratched his head. "I mean it. No-one should be without friends, and you seem nice!" He paused for a moment and giggled with a sheepish smile on his face. "Sorry about the dodgeball again..." ".....Me...... Nice??" the young girl repeated, utterly baffled. "But I.... I hurt your face back...." she pointed out, seeming completely confused by the five-year old Zach's words, but oddly... Happy at the same time. The young Zach giggled again, and didn't seem to mind. "Well, that was because I had hurt you, right...? You thought I was mean... So it was a... miss.... uh..." He scratched his head, as he tried to figure out how to explain. "Missun... Missunnnnder..." the young girl tried to say, but gave up due to the difficulty. "....Then.... I really, really want to be your friend...." the five-year old Olivia said, blinking and looking down. "...No one likes me, because I get mad and then scare them... You are okay with that? she asked worriedly, as this was her big chance at finally not being alone anymore The young boy nodded with a happy smile. "Everyone can get mad sometimes! I'm okay with it." He said with a nod, as he was glad she seemed to be alright with the idea, even if he had accidentally hit her with the ball. ".....Thank you. Thank you!!" the five-year old Olivia exclaimed, throwing her arms around the young boy happily."I.... I always wanted a friend... Now I have one!!" she said excitedly, squeeing with joy. The younger Zach was a bit surprised by the girl's sudden change in mood, but beamed in response. "You're very welcome!!" He said with a happy giggle, as he hugged her back, a warm smile on his face, as he realized he helped someone out.

IC: Dahlia/Aspen/Olivia Seaton Dahlia relented from her lung-crushing hug, and smiled at Ryan. "Alright, you're good now, then?" she asked, glad to see the older Hikari had recovered. "You're a good person, Ryan. Even if you tried to go to far... It already means a lot that you're feeling remorse over what you did." "Glad to see you're okay." Aspen muttered, offering a smile. "Well, looks like we'll see you around, but it's looking like night's coming pretty soon.... Bye." the youngest Seaton said, before departing with Dahlia to find where a good room might be in the mansion, deliberately leaving Olivia and Zach to themselves. "Good luck, Ryan." was all Olivia said, before turning back to Zach. "Seems like Aspen's got the right idea... Somehow. He's been odd ever since we found him again." she muttered, scratching her head. "But uh, have any idea where to go in this huge place...?"

IC: Dahlia/Aspen/Olivia Seaton Dahlia pat Ryan on the shoulder some, and smiled. "Zach's right. It's no good to feel sorry about the past, especially when you couldn't have seen Shannon jumping in front of that attack. Your brother's giving very solid advice, maybe you should listen to it." she said, wrapping her arms around him in a comforting, sisterly hug. "Yeah, I don't think Shannon blames you." Aspen replied, scratching the back of her head. "She probably cared about you, and did what she did to stop you from making a decision you'd regret even more... At least, that's what I think she did that for." he said, awkwardly shrugging. "Like Zach said, you should probably wait for her to wake up, then you two can talk about it more.. But until then, you shouldn't sit here, blaming yourself." Olivia stayed behind Zach, and smiled when it seemed Ryan seemed to be perking up. She didn't have much to add, as everything everyone said was basically everything she had been thinking, so she just looked over at Ryan and nodded. "How you feeling now?"

-Polishing of Rust - Part 2- Aspen and Olivia both blinked, and were going to ask what was wrong, only for the latter to cry out, as she was flung out when Zach was, collapsing on top of him. "That rotten.... Urgh...." she groaned, getting off of the ground, looking to Amethyst, also releasing Shade from his Pokeball. "You two, fight this guy...." she ordered, with the Gardevoir firing a Will-O-Wisp and the Sneasel sending an Icy Wind. "And you, get up, idiot..." the eldest Seaton said to Zach, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. Zach looked at Olivia in slight surprise, and seemed uncertain, as he was pulled to his feet. "I... I'm sorry... I... I didn't... forget..." He mumbled, his voice growing quieter as he spoke, and looked up. All this was because of him, in the end. "I'm... sorry... about everything..." Aspen looked behind him in shock when Zach and Olivia were flung back, only to stare down the hooded man. "I don't care this was a trap! You took my sister for six months, and I'm not letting that continue!" he cried, releasing Flare and Jet from their Pokeballs. "Alistair! A-Alistair...." Dahlia called out desperately. "I know why you're angry... But please!! No one has to hurt one another, just... Don't do this!!" Ryan frowned, as he noticed the slightly older man send out a Scizor, a Magnezone, and a Dragonair in response. He had already been wondering why the man had looked familiar, and then... Alistair...? Wait... Ryan furrowed his brow for a moment. It couldn't be... "I'm sorry Dahlia. But it's a bit late." Alistair stated, and narrowed his eyes at Zach and Olivia especially. "You all forgot about me. And about her. You never even considered her thoughts or feelings." Alistair shook his head and held out his hand, as his Pokemon launched off a multitude of attacks. The Scizor launched forward with Bullet Punch, planning to attack the Gardevoir. The Magnezone launched off an Electro Ball toward the Braviary. The Dragonair attempted to use Dragon Rush on the Riolu and Quilava. Finally, the Lucario dodged the initial attacks, utilizing Extremespeed to her advantage, as she launched off an Aura Sphere to counter the Sneasel. Amethyst kept her eyes on the Scizor, psychically grabbing two large rocks and hurling them in front of her to act as a sort of barrier between her and the Bullet Punch, only to teleport away before the Steel-Bug could get too close, her actions hidden by the rocks. "Over here." she replied, just as she fired off a Hypnosis.... Meanwhile, Shade used Agility to dodge the Aura Sphere, running past it, and leaped forward with an Ice Punch. Flare curled into a Flame Wheel and dashed into the Dragonair's Dragon Rush fearlessly, despite seeming outmatched. Jet let out a mighty war cry and used Tailwind to avoid the Electro Ball, attempting to ram into the Magnezone with a Superpower. The Magnezone was knocked away by the Superpower, but attempted to right itself, trying to wait until the Braviary was too close to avoid another attack, as the Magnezone fired off a Thunderbolt in return. The Dragonair shrugged off the Flame Wheel, and was about to return fire with a Thunderbolt of his own, when he noticed his Scizor friend be put to sleep, and Lucario about to be hit by an Ice Punch. The Dragonair launched off a Thunderbolt at his two opponents quickly, even as the Riolu attempted a Bullet Punch that didn't work well too, hoping that he could keep them preoccupied. Lucario frowned, as she noticed the fight going badly for the others, and tried to dodge Shade, but winced, as her left arm was frozen over slightly by the Ice Punch. In return, she attempted to launch off a Close Combat, to try and rid the fight of this pest. Olivia was surprised at Zach's apology, as he said he had never forgotten her. He..... Still remembered... Someone like me?? She looked down for a moment, but then back up, shaking her head. "Don't waste time being sorry. Help me fight this... Alistair." she replied, frowning, as she looked toward the cloaked man in confusion. "That.... Why is that name familiar...?" she muttered, returning Alistair's glare, as her eyes seemed to burn in anger. "First of all, explain yourself. I'm not ever forgiving you for kidnapping Dahlia, but you seem to think you're justified...." Aspen frowned, and scowled at the cloaked man. "What are you talking about? I'm pretty sure I've -never- known anyone named Alistair for my entire life. What is going on??" he demanded, slowly becoming angrier. "I don't appreciate you kidnapping my sister over something I don't even have a clue about!!" Dahlia opened and closed her mouth, and looked down sadly. "A-Alistair... If you didn't try to attack them.... They would show how much they care." she said with a conflicted look on her face. "Please, stop.... It doesn't have to be this way, why do you need revenge?? Why do you have to fight??" "It's too late, Dahlia, can't you see that...? The only way they can remember is by this." Alistair said quietly, and unhooked one side of his cloak, and gripped it with his left hand. "You want answers?" He asked louder, as Ryan frowned. "Then here's some!" The man tossed the cloak to the side, revealing his hair and face in the process. "There. None of you probably remember me." Ryan's eyes widened, as while he was older... "Alistair... Hakuda...?" Ryan asked, which prompted a rueful look from the man in question. "I... But... how did you...?" He seemed utterly shocked that Alistair had survived, but the man was focused on Olivia. "You." Alistair stated finally, as he pointed out a finger at Olivia. "You didn't care at all. Neither about me, or about Dahlia. What kind of a sister leaves, without even returning to say hi once in a while? Who tears up their family, and leaves some people to be upset over it?" "I think the same can be said to you." Ryan interrupted coldly, as he gave Alistair a piercing look. "Can you justify 14 years of leaving us to think you were dead?" ---- Olivia listened to Alistair's accusations, becoming angrier with every word spoken. "You have no right to say anything about how I cared for Dahlia!" she hissed, furious at the accusations. "I left my family because after I saw the news, I was broken and crying! Mom, Dad, Dahlia... They all tried to help. But nothing worked, and all they did was waste their time..." she said, looking down for a moment. "So I had to help myself! I left for Rocket so they could stop worrying about me helping me and do things that really mattered.... I left to help myself, yes, but it was my family that really mattered!" "You know this maniac??" Aspen said in disbelief to Ryan, and frowned. "Fourteen years.... That's as old as I am!" he exclaimed, glaring at the cloaked trainer. "So let me get this straight... You're mad, because we all 'forgot' you.... But I am VERY certain we have never met, because I was in freaking diapers!" the youngest Seaton pointed out, clenching his fist. "Well?? What else do you have against me, because that's not a valid reason at all!" "You're wrong...." Dahlia muttered, shaking her head. "There's no situation where the only solution is to fight! I know, if you had returned sooner, they would have been overjoyed, welcomed you with wide arms!" she said, tearing up with a distressed look on her face. "Why.... Fighting just leads to people hurting one another...." Alistair looked at Olivia at that with narrowed eyes for a moment, and turned his gaze to Aspen. "It doesn't concern you." He stated, and then looked back to Olivia. "Are you certain about that? How do you think Dahlia felt about you leaving like that?" He asked, ignoring Dahlia's question. She was wrong, there was no way he could've returned. He had already been told that. But yet, Ryan still persisted. "Dahlia's asking a good question. Why couldn't you return?" He had a calm outlook, and yet, a disapproving look on his face. "Were you ashamed? Did you not know how long Jessie was looking for yo-" "I was told I couldn't, and I obviously believed it, because who ever reacts good to people who are supposedly dead?!" Alistair asked with a pained tone. "... And I was proven, because everyone forgot me. I was only welcomed with open arms by my adoptive parents here." He stated, as he shook his head, knowing it to be too far gone for anything but fighting now. Olivia returned Alistair's disdainful gaze, and pointed at him. "I'm certain that it only hurt me more to see Dahlia run herself ragged always worrying about me and only thinking about more ways to help me, when noting was working!" she countered. "I never wanted to hurt her, but she was already hurting herself! And what, do you mean to tell me kidnapping Dahlia was to help?? Even though all it did was separate her more from her family??" "I don't know about you, but it sounds like everyone really respected and cared about you!" Aspen interjected, annoyed at the approach Alistair was taking. "Had you returned, they probably would have been happy beyond belief!" Flare frowned while dodging the Thunderbolt, and jumped forward at the Dragonair, spewing a SmokeScreen directly at the serpent-dragon's face. The Brave Quilava could have attempted a Flamethrower, yes, but against a stronger opponent, the best strategy was to confuse and disorient them. Jet let out an indignant squawk at the super effective strike, but used the pain to grab the enemy Magnezone in his claws, and head high up to prepare a brutal Sky Drop. Amethyst looked at the sleeping Scizor and so simply after a quick Dream Eater, grabbed the Scizor in a psychic grip, tossing it at the Dragonair. Meanwhile, Shade didn't see the Close Combat coming, and was quickly knocked out of the fight, though a Will-O-Wisp came at the Lucario's direction not long after. The Magnezone was caught off guard by the sudden Sky Drop, and was sent crashing to the ground, not totally out, but unable to do anything. The Quilava's smokescreen succeeded in disorientating the Dragonair, however, without any damage dealt, he was still in fighting condition... Until the Scizor was slammed into him. Meanwhile, the Lucario got hit by the surprise Will-O-Wisp. She turned to Amethyst's direction, and prepared an Aura Sphere quickly in response, firing it off not long after. Flare saw his chance once the Scizor crashed into Dragonair, with an opponent he could actually deal heavy damage to. The Quilava curled up into a Flame Wheel and head straight for the steel-bug. Jet on the other hand, saw the disoriented Magnezone as an opportunity for another Superpower, and so attacked it once more. Amethyst set up a psychic barrier to block against the Aura Sphere, though the attack shattered it, She picked up rocks telekinetically and hurled them at the Lucario, trying to see what her opponent would do next. The Scizor was knocked out by the Flame Wheel, unable to actually dodge the attack, being already asleep. The Magnezone, on the other hand, could not move even if it wanted to. The Lucaro noticed, and inhaled sharply, as she dropped the fight with Amethyst for the moment, and zipped over in front of the Braviary, taking the attack with her body, as she was knocked out. "Then what about Dahlia? Let's hear what she has to say." Alistair stated, as he once again ignored Aspen for the moment, seeing the battle going very badly. However, he frowned slightly, as while he doubted what the boy said... He still had to wonder if maybe he had been wrong all along. ---- "Alistair..." Dahlia replied, as the attention shifted to her. "I-I won't say everyone dealt with Olivia leaving the best, but I understand why she did..... We exhausted ourselves trying to help, and it hurt Olivia to see that, added with her pain already..." the middle Seaton explained with a sigh. "Alistair.... I-it did hurt. But.... You have to look at the intentions behind actions! Sometimes people end up unintentionally hurting others, but just because their actions hurt, that doesn't make them into a bad person! Your family, friends, they -wanted- to see you again! But everyone has a life to lead... Please, you can't keep blaming them for trying to move on! It hurts, I know... But they still loved you, and I know they didn't forget! They remembered you as a great person, so please.... Just... Stop!!" she pleaded, breaking out into sobs. "This pain, it doesn't have to continue, the fighting was never needed, please.... Be the Alistair they remembered...." Flare saw only Dragonair remained, and breathed a Flamethrower at it. Amethyst noticed as well, and took several more rocks, hurtling them in the direction of the serpentine dragon, hoping to end this fight once and for all, even though that would leave the issue of Alistair himself.... Alistair frowned, as he paused and looked at Dahlia in slight confusion, a conflict on his face, as he considered everything that everyone had said. "I... I don't be-" He started to say, before getting cut off. "You're a fool, Alistair." Ryan said sharply, as he stepped forward again. Behind him, the Dragonair finally fell, unable to take the multiple attacks. "Who told you what you heard? Because I know for a fact they were lying. Jessie never gave up on you, no matter what. Heck, she even still believed you were alive! I might have lost track of those memories for a bit... But I lost a lot more than that, then." Ryan stated, which caused Alistair to look over in surprise. "No... that can't be right, how could it? He told me everyone had given up... Even as he helped me back to health, he said it was for the best, and seemed genuinely concerned..." Alistair said, unable to process this turn of events in his head. How could what he had seen be wrong? But yet... He recalled some of the looks he had seen on his sister's face, and the times he had nearly been caught... and how Jessica had seemed so happy afterward. "... It was Gerald, wasn't it? He told you all that, didn't he?" Ryan asked quietly, as Alistair looked up in surprise, torn from his thoughts. Alistair furrowed his brow for a moment with a nod, as he registered what Ryan had said. A look of understanding and horror then dawned on his face shortly after, as he realized the implications of what Ryan was trying to point out. The one who had caused the issues, the wanted criminal... "Gerald...?" Olivia muttered in confusion, as she turned to Zach. "Who the heck is that??" She couldn't exactly put her finger on it, but she seemed to almost recognize this name, but couldn't figure out why. "Seconded." Aspen interjected, looking at Ryan with a skeptical frown. "That name sounds familiar, more familiar than Alistair, but..... There's a bigger picture here, isn't there?" After everything he had heard that day, he was leaning toward that more and more as time went on. Dahlia sobbed for a bit longer, before wiping her eyes, breathing heavily. The fighting had stopped, and it seemed everyone was at last willing to communicate with one another.... "Please, just.... Talk..." she pleaded quietly, looking at everyone present. "My dad... cause of everything that's gone wrong for me..." Zach said quietly, as he sighed. He looked over to Alistair in a confused manner. He had been young when everything had happened, but still recalled the incident where he had... "... Though I probably have to share the blame here..." Ryan looked over with a slightly annoyed look at Zach for constantly blaming himself, but frowned with a nod. "Yeah, he's our dad. He must've found Alistair. To explain a bit, between Jessie, Zach, and I... we kinda caused a cave in that made us think Alistair was dead. Turns out, Gerald was manipulating everyone for longer than we thought." He noticed Alistair sink to his knees, as the implications of who he had listened to finally sunk in. "... I... I didn't want..." Alistair sighed. "I didn't mean to have Dahlia stay here for so long, I'll be honest... I kept leaving clues, but..." He scratched his head in awkwardness for a moment, but then gave up on that. "I realize now... I was wrong to think what I did in the first place, now that everything's actually sunk in a bit. I... I didn't realize Gerald was bad, though..." He sighed again, as he recalled the Pokemon present on his side. "Your.... Dad?" Olivia said, blinking afterwards. "You mean the guy you said was never around? And the reason why is he's a manipulative psycho...." she muttered, shaking her head, looking at Alistair. "You might have been manipulated, but don't go looking for forgiveness just yet. You kidnapped my sister for six months, and that's something I can't forgive." "The only thing stopping me from punching you right now is how you didn't hurt Dahlia." Aspen replied, glaring angrily at the Hakuda. "I don't want to see your face for a long, long time, you hear me? Don't you -ever- think about attacking my family again....." Dahlia looked down sadly, as though the fighting had stopped, there was still animosity around.... She bit her lip, and looked around everyone present. "Well.... I.... I better get going, then...." she said quietly, walking to the direction of Zach, Ryan, and her siblings. Alistair stayed quiet, and nodded, as he could understand everything, and why they were reacting as they did. "I..." Uncertainly, he rolled three Pokeballs toward Zach, Aspen and Dahlia, and scratched his head. "I guess it's... time for me to go, too..." Ryan looked over with a frown, and was surprised, as he had to quickly catch a flying piece of paper. He unfolded the piece of paper, which seemed to be a number. However, as he looked up again, Alistair sent out his Magnezone again. As he climbed onto the Pokemon, Alistair gave a sad look back. "Don't disappear for 14 years again." Ryan gave Alistair a piercing look, and the man looked away guiltily, as the Magnezone levitated into the air, and began to fly off into the distance. ---- Aspen and Dahlia blinked, and picked up the Pokeballs rolled to them. Then each of the Seaton siblings watched as Alistair hovered away on his Magnezone, until he was out of sight. "It's time to head back home..." Aspen said at last, turning away from the spot the Hakuda once stood. He turned to Dahlia, and hugged her as tightly as she usually hugged everyone else, very glad that she was alright. "I'm glad you're safe....." Ryan thought for a moment as everything began to settle down again.. "I'll head off on my own. Got a few things to do. Ciao." He waved to the others, already walking toward the nearby woods. He began to get lost in thought, knowing he had to find something... "Hey... Zach." Olivia said to the auburn-haired trainer with a slightly nervous look on her face. "Where are you gonna go? If you want, you could.... Go back to Olivine, with the rest of us." She suggested hesitantly, shrugging afterwards. "If you didn't really have any plans otherwise, that is..." The uncertain mumbling managed to still make it to Zach because of their proximity to each other, but was still quieter than the rest. Zach picked up the Pokeball that had rolled to him, and looked over to Olivia in slight confusion. "Well... I don't want to interfere with anything, so I was gonna go get my team healed, and then..." He scratched his head after that. "I honestly don't know where I'd go..." He admitted, but still seemed a bit awkward. While he didn't mind heading with the others, he just couldn't tell if they would mind or not - especially after earlier. "Come back with us, then." Dahlia said, smiling slightly in response to Zach. "Mom and Dad would love to see you again after all these years, and I know they wouldn't mind you staying over for at least a little bit...." she offered, before looking to where Ryan had decided to walk to, slightly confused about what he'd want in the Petalburg Woods... Aspen looked to Zach for a brief moment before focusing back on Dahlia, but spoke anyways. "....Yeah. Dahlia's right. You can come back with us." he said distractedly, as he tried to focus on everything that was good right there. "Mom and Dad would really wanna catch up, after all...." Zach seemed surprised at the offers from the other two, but smiled ever so slightly. "Thank you... I'd be glad to accept." He closed his eyes, admittedly glad that he could be around people who didn't want to totally bite his head off about what happened six months prior. As her siblings spoke, Olivia looked down at the ground, slightly worried about Zach's initial reaction. However, she seemed surprised when he accepted after the reassurance that it wouldn't be an intrusion, and took a chance. She tapped the remaining Hikari on the shoulder, as she nervously tried to figure out how to say this. "....A-also, Zach?" she started to say, as she kept her eyes trained on the ground. Zach opened his eyes and looked over to Olivia in curiosity, as she tapped him on the shoulder. "Yeah?" He wasn't sure what she had wanted, but he noticed a slight change in her mood since they had found Dahlia. The eldest Seaton looked up, with a softer look on her face while looking at her old friend. "...I-if you want to, you can.... C-call me 'Liv'...." she muttered quietly, blinking a bit afterwards, as she seemed a bit confused as to Zach's thoughts once more. Zach seemed a bit caught off guard after everything the girl had said earlier, but smiled slightly, as he closed his eyes once more. "Alright, Liv..." He said, as he looked over, as he figured that had been a good sign. He wondered slightly if she had been stressed earlier, though still knew it was mostly his fault. Olivia's face appeared to redden very slightly, though she quickly looked down again, away from Zach's gaze should he have opened his eyes again. "....I-I'll get Am to get us all home...." she said awkwardly, calling over her Gardevoir. While turned away from the group, however, she let a happy smile cross her face. "I didn't get a chance to say this Zach, but... It's great to see you again." Dahlia said warmly to him, smiling widely, as she eyed the reactions of the other two. "Thank you for helping everyone look for me." "Yeah.... Thanks for helping me out." offered the youngest Seaton, as he looked over to Zach for a moment with a brief look of sincere thanks. "But it's about time to head home finally, and maybe things'll return to normal...." Aspen sighed slightly, as he scratched his head in slight confusion. Zach opened his eyes as Olivia looked away. He thought the reaction Olivia had just given seemed familiar, but focused on the other two, as he smiled at them. "You're welcome..." He said, and nodded as Aspen mentioned about things returning to normal. "Normal... I'd like that, so, so much..." "....You can explain what's happened to you more when we get home." Aspen replied, looking at his oldest sister, as he had a feeling they needed to talk things out, even still. "Maybe she could, too....." "Once again, thank you for your help." Dahlia interrupted, extending her hand to Zach. "If there's any way I could pay you back... Let me know." Amethyst walked over to the remaining group, and looked around. "Everyone ready to head back?" she asked, as she gave a small smile, glad that everyone was back safe and sound, and that things were going better. Zach nodded, as he shook Dahlia's hand, and chuckled slightly. "You don't need to pay me back, I just wanted to help..." He scratched his head slightly in response, but nodded to Amethyst. "Yeah... I think we are." The Gardevoir nodded in response. "Alright then.... To Olivine." Amethyst said, as everyone gathered closer. Aspen held Dahlia's hand, while Olivia stood closely behind Zach. In a quick flash of purple light, the group disappeared from Rustburo, and arrived back in Olivine. The sudden reappearance of the sea breeze surprised Zach slightly, however, he smiled, as he looked to the sky for a moment, having an oddly hopeful feeling now.