Melody had finally woken up to find herself inside a bedroom that she recognized to be from a center. How had she gotten there? The last thing she remembered was exiting the Lumiose Cafe and being stopped by a young man in a red suit. After that, there was nothing else. 

"Looks like you're finally awake," said the familiar voice of Felicity. 

"Felicity? what am I doing here?" she asked, confusion in her voice as she tried to determine what may have happened to cause her to wind up in a center. 

"Seth brought you here last night. You were out cold," she said with a sigh. 

Felicity was sitting in a chair beside Melody's bed. She decided to watch over her that morning until she woke up. Her holocaster was out and she was messaging Seth. Setting the device down on the small dresser beside the bed, she looked back at Melody, worry still lingering in her eyes. She was like a sister to her, and the fact that she could have lost Melody was something she couldn't bring herself to imagine. After hearing what Seth told her last night, she knew she needed to be watchful on her journey. 

"Melody, what's the last thing you remember after getting off the call with Seth?" Felicity asked, hoping she'd remember. 

Melody thought for a moment, doing her best to recall the sequence of events that took place. She recalled that she was writing before calling Seth. She needed to ask him for some advice, and for whatever reason, she'd forgotten. After the call she remembered meeting this guy and—

"Ah! that guy!" Melody exclaimed suddenly. "That guy that I met. He had a Bronzong with him and as soon as I saw it everything went black." 

"A Bronzong? why would seeing a Bronzong make you—oh... Melody, that Bronzong knew Hypnosis. That's why you don't remember anything! that little shit!" Felicity snarled, her Kalosian accent slipping as she loosed a stream of curses. 

"I was... Hypnotized? I feel so violated," Melody shuddered, hugging herself and shaking the thought from her mind. 

"I swear, if I ever see the guy who did it I'll—"

"Beat the shit out of him? you'll have to get in line. Besides, Seth already took care of that part. I just wish I'd been there to take a crack at him myself," Jamie muttered as he closed the door behind him and Seth. 

"Big brother!" Melody exclaimed as she tore the covers off and leaped off the bed towards her older sibling. 

Seth caught her and wrapped his arms tight around her. Tears streaked down her face as she nestled into him. Unintelligible words fell from her lips as she cried into his chest. 

"Hey... it's okay sis," Seth said softly, looking down into her tear-stained face as she looked up at him. 

"He didn't do anything to me after I was out did he?" Melody questioned, her body shaking fearfully at the thought. 

The circle of soul vanquishing fire popped back into his mind. Seth squashed the thought as quickly as it came and shook his head. 

"No... he didn't. And there was no way in hell I'd let him either," Seth replied reassuringly, drying her tears and placing a kiss on her forehead. 

"Thanks big bro. You're the best," she sniffled, hugging him tightly again. 

Seth smiled contentedly and ran his hand through her hair. Looking over at Felicity and Jamie he began to address them. 

"Thanks for helping me when I got back. We're still in agreement that we're not to tell mom what happened?" he asked. 

"Absolutely. That woman has enough to worry about with that job of hers. We'll keep this on the down low," Felicity said affirmatively. 

Seth sighed in relief as he got a nod from Jamie as well. He could only imagine what his mother—or his father for that matter—would do if they found out about this. Due to Enzo's actions, he was also left with no option but to inform Allie of what happened. As he recalled, Enzo was tenth on the list. She was on her fifth visit at the moment, and he had no idea where she was or who she was with for that matter. And with the lack of a flying-type, he had no real way of finding her location on his own unless he borrowed Constance again. 

He supposed he could just call her again. After all, there was no reason why he needed to tell her in person. Why he was so bent on doing it in the first place was anyone's guess. 

Guess I'll have to settle for calling her..

Allie sighed happily as she stepped out of the shower and wrapped her towel around herself. Thus far the time she was spending with the fifth contender was pleasant to say the least. He was kind, thoughtful, and quite intelligent and ambitious. So why was she so bored? There was almost no reason to be. Perhaps it was because he was going too far out of his way to impress her. She got it, he was generous and had been to a lot of places overseas. So had she! Thankfully, the man wasn't so into himself that he didn't ask about any of her likes. 

As she wrapped up her hair, she could hear her holocaster going off. 

"Who could that be?" she wondered, hanging the towel up and exchanging it for a robe before walking out of the room. 

Her eyes widened upon seeing Seth's number popping up. Panic filled her as she became more aware of the fact that she wasn't even ready for the day yet. Should she let him see her like this? There was always not answering the call, but that would be rude, and she hated rude despite the fact that she was sometimes rude herself. Making up her mind, she threw the towel off her hair and snatched up a hair tie and quickly put her hair up. Making sure her robe was secure, she sat on the bed and answered the call. 

The hologram of Seth materialized in front of her, bringing a certain warmth to her face upon meeting his eyes. 

"Well, if it isn't my favorite pauper? to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" she inquired, working her confidence into her voice. 

"Good morning to you too, Allie," he replied with a roll of his eyes. "Got a minute? there's... something I need to talk to you about."

Allie canted her head and placed her cheek in her hand while playing with a stray lock that fell in front of her face. 

"And what—pray tell—might this be about?" she asked curiously, her heart beating slightly faster as she awaited his reply. 

"That's the thing. It's a little hard to explain," Seth hesitated.

"Oh boy, that doesn't sound like something I'm going to enjoy hearing about. Is this in relation to the competition? please don't tell me you're withdrawing because I don't want—"

"No, it's not that!" Seth interrupted before she could continue. "I'm not, don't worry..."

"Thank Arceus," she whispered with a sigh. "Alright then, what is it?"

Seth took a deep breath and then began to explain the details of what happened. He gave her the rundown of the previous night, of how Enzo had kidnapped his sister and put her in danger. By the end of it, Allie was completely flabbergasted. 

"I'm not sure what to say, Seth. That's... that's outrageous!" Allie snapped with a frown. 

"I know it's a lot to process, but—"

"I mean, I always knew there was something I didn't like about that man, but now I have even more reason not to like him!" Allie fumed, reaching for her bag and taking out the notebook with the list of names on it and furiously crossing off Enzo's. "There! one less name to worry about. And to think I almost found his try-hard attitude endearing..."

Seth took a deep breath and let out a relieved sigh. 

"Hey, Seth? this sister of yours..."

"Yeah, what about her?"

"Why didn't you introduce me to her?" Allie asked with a frown. 

"I didn't think you—"

"You didn't think I'd be interested in meeting this sister you seem to adore so much? of course I would! As a matter of fact, In a day or so I'll be home with some spare time. Why don't you ask her if she would like to come by the palace?" Allie inquired. 

"You don't have to do that you know," Seth said objectively. 

"Oh, but I do. Tell Melody that she may come by the palace this Thursday at ten in the morning if she's free. We'll make a day of it," Allie said with finality. 

Seth smiled and threw his hands up in surrender. 

"Alright, I'll tell her. Do you mind if she brings her camera? she loves photography and I know she'll be wanting to take pictures of just about everything in sight," Seth added nervously. 

"She can take pictures of every room for all I care. It'll be nice to have someone to chat with aside from my family and the maids. And if she has any Pokémon she'd like to bring, she's free to do so as long as they are mindful of where they will be," Allie inputted with a bright smile. 

"Got it, I'll let her know. And again, I'm sorry about... well, this," Seth said again, earning a frown from Allie. 

Waving him off she replied, "stop apologizing already. You're not at fault. He was practically asking for it when he kidnapped Melody. He will be notified that he is no longer part of the competition. It was a breach of the rules anyway so I can kick him if I please."

Seth nodded in agreement, electing not to further argue with her. She was—after all—the one in charge of the competition and the one with the final say so of who got to stay and who did not. Allie heard a knock at her door followed by the voice of the trainer she was with. Looking at the time she blinked in surprise. How long had she been talking to Seth? 

"Hey, thanks for calling. I need to get going now as I have another day to complete. Don't forget about Melody okay? I'll be expecting her Thursday," Allie said sweetly. 

"I won't forget. Take care," Seth replied. 

"Au revoir Pauper," she said before ending the call. 

"I see... so he failed as expected," Lysandre said as he turned around to face Jacqueline. "Did you record anything after you followed him?"

"Yes, I sent it to you last night," Jacqueline replied casually. 

"Excellent work as always. Now, has your team determined the disciplinary actions that will be taken regarding Enzo?" Lysandre asked curiously. 

"We haven't come to a consensus yet. We decided to wait to see if you had any ideas after seeing the recording."

Lysandre stroked his goatee and placed his hands behind his back as he finished his thought. 

"Very well then. Should the footage prove useful, the punishment won't be too harsh. However, I do expect some form of disciplinary action from one of you for his involving a civilian. Regardless of her ties to Seth, tarnishing our image is inexcusable."

"As you wish, Lysandre. We will await further instruction after you've seen the footage."

"Then you're dismissed, Jacqueline," Lysandre replied firmly. 

Jacqueline turned tail and exited the laboratory. After she left, Lysandre headed to his office and sat at his desk. Turning on his computer, he found the file that Jacqueline had sent him and began watching what she'd recorded. 

"Seth Da Silva... you are proving to be more intriguing by the day. I wonder what more you are capable of..."