Chapter 27

"I'm really excited to get to Cyllage City!" Mira chirped happily as she and Amos walked down one of the streets of Ambrette Town.

"What's in Cyllage City?" Amos asked, smiling a little at Mira's excitement. She had been disappointed about her loss at the Pokemon Showcase the day before, but she had perked right up very quickly like usual.

"Me, Margaret, Deborah, Leia, and Shauna are going to see the Showcase there!" She explained. "The Kalos Queen herself is going to give a performance at the beginning of the Theme Performance!"

"Will White or Serena be joining you? I'd imagine at least Serena would want to come."

Not surprisingly, Mira frowned irritability at once and huffed, "She said she might come too. I hope she doesn't..."

"The alternative is having her flirt with Sky Blue."

"Not if I can help it! I swear, if she gets one inch toward him-"

Amos watched Mira continued her rant on Serena with amusement. It was the day after the Ambrette Town Pokemon Showcase, and they were heading toward Route 8. It was time for them to split into their groups of three and head to Cyllage City. Everyone was scattered around Ambrette Town, but they knew at least White was on the beach of Route 8. Amos and Mira had been the last to check out of the Pokemon Center, so they were both heading down to the beach to be assigned to their groups.

"-and that is just the beginning!" Mira continued furiously, though Amos didn't know what she was talking about.

"Yeah, I kinda zoned out, so what were we talking about?" Amos admitted, smiling a little.

"What?! Why does EVERYONE ignore me when I talk?!" Mira complained while stomping her foot.

"Sorry, I was just thinking. Why can't you try to get along with her? I know she's a little strict with everyone, but she could be worse."

"Like?"

"She could be a whole lot more cruel and rude."

"But she's flirting with my brother! Do you really expect me to take that lying down?!"

"No offense, Mira, but he doesn't have a whole lot of options. Besides, I don't think he likes Serena. She flirted so much and was so nice to him that she freaked him out. I personally think she was very unfortunate to have started liking him."

"Does that mean you're on my side?"

"I'm in the neutral zone right now, you two just need to work it out," Amos told her a little more sternly. "Then again, what did White say about this?"

He did hear that Mira and Leia had both rushed to tell White about Serena. However he never found out about White's reaction or what she planned to do about it. He personally thought she would have ripped Serena limb from limb, but that apparently never happened since the older trainer let Serena sneer at her when her own group left for Cyllage City.

Mira snorted and scoffed, "She said she's not involving herself with stopping girls like Serena that like Sky Blue. She said she learned her lesson with Esther and that she leaves the situation with Serena in my capable hands."

"Esther?" Amos repeated. "Who's Esther?"

"A girl who use to go crazy over Sky Blue. She was a part of a rival street performer group called Team JET. She was the same age as White, so she only took White very seriously. I was still little so she didn't take me seriously. She kept mistaking me as a five year old and talked to me as if I were a baby..."

Seeing how disappointed Mira looked, Amos turned to her and assured her, "You're not a baby, Mira. That's just how the older trainers act."

"Yeah, but it was really annoying. She never took me seriously, she talked to me like I was a baby-"

"And I'm guessing she too flirted with Sky?" Amos interrupted with a small smile.

"Every. Time. We met." Mira hissed, punching her fist into her hand. "The good thing is that Sky Blue freaks out whenever a girl gives him a complement! I guess it's because White is always rude to him, but this is actually the first time I've been glad she was mean to him, then at least he doesn't lap up every complement a girl gives him..."

Amos noticed the look of guilt on his friend's face. He honestly had no idea what to say. He couldn't blame her for the way she was feeling. It was natural for her to feel somewhat protective of Sky Blue since she had no other brother figure, that is unless they counted N. Amos felt the same way over Leia, who was more reckless and carefree than himself and Hugh.

Soon a loud barking and yipping noise filled the air as they passed the small park at the center of the Cyllage City. Amos looked over to see two Eevees jumping and running around happily while chasing what looked like a wrinkled piece of paper. He recognized the two Eevees as Toro and Lily Rose.

"Mira, are you supposed to have Lily Rose or is Leia in charge of her this week?" Amos asked his friend while pointing to the Eevees.

Mira looked confused and looked at where Amos was pointing. After seeing Lily Rose, Mira gasped and shouted at the Eevees, "Lily Rose, where have you been?! Leia was looking for you!"

Toro and Lily Rose both turned to look at who had spoken. The instant they saw the two trainers, specifically Mira, they squealed and began zigzagging away from her. Toro snatched the paper they were chasing and pelted toward a flower bed with his sister.

"Hey, get back here!" Mira yelled furiously as she chased after them but ended up tripping over a loose brick on the sidewalk. She squeaked loudly as she tried balancing herself but fell anyway.

"Nothing hurt..." she growled, glaring at the Eevees that were giggling and laughing at her from the flower bed. "Just my dragon tamer pride..."

Amos winced as Mira then bellowed at the Eevee siblings, "THAT AIN'T FUNNY!"

Toro and Lily Rose stopped before barking and pelting away as Mira chased after them while continuing to shout at them. Not wanting to be yelled at by the small yet angry dragon tamer, Amos sighed and tried helping her round up the two Eevees. He never had problems with Pepper so he had forgotten how fast Eevees really were. Toro was particularly difficult since the only humans he had any respect for were Sky Blue, White, and N.

"Gotcha!" Mira finally cried while pouncing on Toro after minutes of chasing him. The little Eevee yelped and spat out the crumpled piece of paper in his mouth.

"You got him?" Amos called to Mira after catching a disgruntled Lily Rose.

"Yeah- hey, what is this?" Mira asked, taking the piece of paper from the ground.

"Hey, we had it first!" Toro whined, struggling against Mira's grip.

"Yeah, it's ours!" Lily Rose argued.

"Ha!" Mira snorted while unfolding the paper. "Well it belongs to me now!"

Then two small blurs popped out of another nearby flower bed. They squeaked and gave loud cries as they pelted toward the two trainers. The taller of the two, a pale blue and dark gray pokemon, snatched the paper from Mira's grip before leaping from bench to bench with its companion.

"HEY!" Mira shrieked, making Amos and the two Eevees wince. "BRING THAT BACK, YOU LITTLE THEIVES!"

"Mira, wait," Amos told his friend as Mira let go of Toro and pushed herself of the group. "Look at them, the pokemon!"

The two pokemon that had taken the crumpled paper for themselves were now tossing it between them. One had the exact same appearance as Toro and Lily Rose. The second pokemon was taller and stood on its hind legs. It had a canine appearance similar to Leia's Lucario, Ringdog.

"A Riolu?" Mira said blankly as she looked from one Pokemon to the other. "And another Eevee? Good grief, now there's more than two of them..."

"Are Riolus native to Kalos?" Amos asked as he set Lily Rose down. He thought that they could only be found in Unova and Sinnoh.

"Well I think they can be found in Kalos, but they are very uncommon and can only be found up in the northern region."

Amos pulled out his Pokedex from his pocket and slid it open. He found it odd that a wild Riolu was this far away from its native area. The Pokedex scanned the Riolu that was playing with the Eevee. A list of data loaded onto the screen and Amos read it.

Riolu, the Emanation Pokemon

Evolution Line: Riolu, Lucario

Height: 2' 04" or 0.7 m

Weight: 44.5 lbs or 20.2 kg

Sinnoh Behavior Description: Its body is little yet powerful. It can crest three mountains and cross two canyons in one night.

Unova Behavior Description: It uses the shapes of auras, which change according to emotion, to communicate with others.

Kalos Behavior Description: The aura that emanates from its body intensifies to alert others if it is afraid or sad.

Location: Sinnoh, Unova, Central Kalos

"Hey," Mira said excitedly after she had taken out her own Pokedex. "It has a Pokemon Summary, so does the Eevee!"

"Pokemon Summary?"

"It appears in the Pokedex when the Pokedex scans another caught pokemon! Check the lower left corner of the screen!"

Sure enough, Amos noticed a small tab in the lower corner that was labeled "Opponent Pokemon Summary". He pressed it and more information loaded on the screen. However, it was data that trainers used to identify a captured pokemon.

Pokemon Species: Riolu

Type(s): Fighting

Ability: Steadfast

Gender: Male

Nickname/Name: Blaze

Nature: Hasty

Characteristic: Alert to sounds

Before Amos could read the original trainer, the Pokedex began scanning the Eevee it was tossing the paper around with. The Riolu's data disappeared with the Eevee's.

Pokemon Species: Eevee

Type(s): Normal

Ability: Run Away

Gender: Male

Nickname/Name: Buck

Nature: Bold

Characteristic: Strongly defiant

"Hey, that was ours!"

Toro and Lily Rose had went up to the Riolu and the third Eevee. Toro was standing right up to the two older pokemon. Lily Rose, on the other hand, was hiding behind her brother with ears flat against her head.

"Nuh-uh!" The Riolu snapped, both he and his friend stopping their game of catch and facing Toro. "You both were done with it!"

"No we weren't! It was taken from us!"

"Well it's ours now! Finders keepers, losers weepers!"

Amos saw Lily Rise leap away from her brother as Toro and the Riolu snarled at each other and gnashed their teeth together. The other Eevee didn't seem to know what to do, but he backed away with the paper between his teeth.

A moment later, Toro and the Riolu engaged in a fight. They weren't seriously hurting each other, but it was enough for Amos and Mira to try and separate them.

"Toro, stop it!" Amos snapped as the Eevee growled and dug his claws into the Riolu's arms.

"That goes for you too!" Mira snarled at the Riolu, who was howling and kicking his feet at Toro.

However the two small pokemon refused to listen. It wasn't until Lily Rose's voice broke through the Riolu's and Eevee's fighting noises.

"Um, e-excuse me, but can we please have it back?"

Lily Rose had approached the other Eevee shyly. Amos had never realized how shy she was still now. Her ears were flat against her head and she was shaking nervously. She was one of the more quieter Eevees among her siblings besides Pepper and Minty, but she still had a reputation for being a whiner.

She fumbled a little before continuing, "W-We did have it first, and we'd really appreciate it if you'd return it..."

The Eevee blinked at Lily Rose curiously as she waited for a response. After a moment, the Eevee approached Lily Rose slowly before setting the paper down in front of her. The female Eevee looked surprised and turned to see the other Eevee.

"I only gave it back because you asked instead of him," the Eevee told her simply. "You're much more polite."

Lily Rose seemed to be blushing under her brown fur. Mira, who had already proven to have an eye for love, let the Riolu go after seeing Lily Rose and the other Eevee together.

"Aww, they are adorable!" Mira squeaked happily as Lily Rose hid her face with her tail. Amos and Toro glanced skeptically at each other before looking away. They weren't as excited about this stuff as most of the girls were.

The sound of flapping wings made Amos look up. A large bird pokemon flew over their heads. It surprisingly landed between the Eevee and Riolu. It was a Pidgeotto, and it looked both strict and intimidating.

"There you are!" the Pidgeotto cried in a throaty tone and a thick accent. "The lady has been searching for you both!"

"We've been gone for three hours and she just noticed?" the Riolu asked, looking a little proud. "Heh, that's a new record!"

"You've done this before?!"

"Yup!" The Eevee piped up. "No one ever notices!"

Both Amos and Mira winced as the Eevee and Riolu gave loud painful yelps while the Pidgeotto squawked furiously and pinched their ears with his talons.

"Du umodne idioter!" The Pidgeotto hissed angrily at the Eevee and Riolu. "I've had enough of your foolishness! The lady may think of you both as little children but I know better! You must moden and give your elders and trainer the utmost respekt if you both wish to be elite fighters!"

"This is so weird," Mira whispered to Amos as they watched the Pidgeotto lecture the two pokemon. "It's like listening to Deborah, but I think it's a whole different language!"

"Yeah," Amos agreed as he held up his Pokedex. He was curious about the owner of the three pokemon and why they kept calling their supposed trainer "the lady".

The Pokedex then loaded new information. It had scanned the Pidgeotto and brought up the same series of information.

Pokemon Species: Pidgeotto

Type(s): Normal/Flying

Ability: Tangled Feet

Gender: Male

Nickname/Name: Willowwing

Nature: Careful

Characteristic: Quick tempered

Original Trainer: Emmaline Gābena

"-now without further ado," the Pidgeotto concluded, flapping his wings furiously and flying a few inches more above the ground. "We shall find the lady and you both will apologize for being such irresponsible juveniles!"

"Hey, I'm nine years old!" the Riolu protested as the Pidgeotto dragged him and the Eevee away. "I'm practically an adult!"

"Did you spend twelve years as a Pidgey?! Have you evolved yet?!"

"No, but-"

"My point exactly. Now come along, Blaze, Buck!"

The Flying Type's nagging and the two canine pokemons' whining soon disappeared and left the two Eevees and the two trainers in an awkward silence. However, Mira took advantage of Lily Rose's bewildered state and took the piece of paper from her mouth.

"Well that was...strange," Amos stated as he continued to look toward the place the Pidgeotto, Riolu, and Eevee had disappeared from. Then after noticing the look on Mira's face after reading the now spread out piece of paper, he asked, "Mira? Something wrong?"

Mira looked up at him with an astonished look on her face as she told him, "This paper has writing on it...and it has Sky Blue's name on the top."

"What?" Amos started, looking over his friend's shoulder. "That doesn't seem like something to worry about."

"If his name wasn't on the same line as 'name of offender', I'd agree with you!"

"Offender? Amos said blankly, but then he assured her, "Mira, Sky Blue was arrested several times in his life, everyone knows that."

Mira opened her mouth to retort but stopped after noticing Toro and Lily Rose watching them with interest. Amos exchanged a look with her before bending down in front of the young, curious creatures.

"Here," he started, digging around in his pockets and pulling out two pieces of candy with indigo wrapping. "I'll give you both a Rare Candy if you go back to your trainers and not say a word of this to anyone, ok?"

"Can we talk about the funny pokemon?" Toro piped up, eyeing the candy hungrily.

"Yes, just not about meeting us."

The two siblings exchanged looks as if wondering if it was worth it. But then they took the candies happily with a nod to Amos before skipping out of the park.

"Now," he continued, straightening up and facing Mira. "What's the big deal?"

"Look at this," Mira ordered him immediately, handing Amos the paper. "I'm not too sure about this, but...I think this is a court record..."

Raising an eyebrow, Amos took the piece of paper and looked at it. Sure enough, Sky Blue's name was in the top right corner. However, there was a list of data besides it.

Date of court case: March 11, 2010

Judge: Gerald K. Carson

Offender: Skyler A. Azul

Attorney-at-law: Mark P. Stewart

Offender's witness: White J. Azul

Offense: Skyler A. Azul is charged with a violent attack on five defenseless boys and two policemen.

Verdict: It was decided that Skyler Azul acted out of self defense, but his mental state was too dangerous to ignore. It was decided that he be moved to a well trained psychological institution for further care.

Amos couldn't believe what he was reading. No wonder Mira was so shocked. Yes, it was common knowledge that Sky Blue was a little cracked in the head, but this?

"You didn't know about this?" He whispered to Mira, who was covering her mouth with her hands. "Did you know any of it?"

"No," she replied, sounding horrified. "I didn't join White and Sky till almost a year after this was written!"

This deeply troubled Amos. White, Sky Blue, and Mira were like their own family. They were very close for teenagers of different families and regions. Amos and his cousins never believed they kept secrets from each other. Well now it seemed that Mira had been kept in the dark about this event.

"Ok, it's simple, all we need to do it just pretend that we never saw this and that we just- Mira?"

Amos just realized that Mira was no longer with him. He looked around frantically for his friend before seeing that she had walked over to a nearby hedge. She had pushed back the leaves and was staring at something behind it.

He walked over to her and repeated, "Mira?"

Mira didn't answer. She instead knelt down and reached through the gap she made in the hedge. She then pulled her arm back, grasping a folder with ruffled papers inside.

The dragon tamer looked up at Amos as she stood up with the folder. She then whispered, "I was never allowed to see what was inside this. Sky Blue always made sure I never opened it and kept it close to him just in case. Amos, I think I just learned something I never should have known..."

"Mira, secrets don't always stay buried," Amos told her truthfully. "Somehow I'd imagine that Sky Blue would do a better job hiding this sort of stuff after last year."

Mira didn't reply. She was looking at the folder in her hands. Amos could tell that she was debating with herself on what to do. Her older brother's secret horrors laid inside and she had the chance to see the dark truths. She was now choosing to dig up the remaining secrets or take what she knew to the grave.

Then to Amos' surprise, Mira cracked open the folder and muttered, "I must be crazy to do this..."

"I don't entirely agree with this, but I guess you have the right since you're the younger sister." Amos told her with a slight smile.

Mira mumbled something but it was barely audible. Amos waited as the young dragon tamer read some of the papers. He learned his lesson with White and the secrets she kept. He had been so angry after finding out White and N were using them as playing pieces that he almost unintentionally killed her.

After a moment, Mira lowered the file and sat down on one of the benches. She covered her face with one hand and held out the folder to Amos with the other. He then heard her mutter, "I can't look at this anymore..."

"M-Mira?" Amos stammered nervously, staring at his friend.

"He...he..." Mira started, but shook her head and pushed the folder toward him while saying, "Look at this..."

"Mira, I really shouldn't-"

"Fine, I'll tell you; Sky Blue is insane."

"Um...hasn't he always been a bit crazy?"

"No, he is legitimately insane. Just look at this!"

Amos took the folder but kept himself from looking at it. He couldn't deny that he was tempted to read the file and find out what White and Sky Blue had been hiding from them. But it was most likely that he would never look at the two older trainers the same way again.

Gritting his teeth, Amos slowly opened the folder and looked at the first page. It appeared to have the same format as a medical record.

Date of record creation: March 6, 2010

Patient's surname: Azul

Patient's first name: Skyler

Full name: Skyler Aaron Azul

Age: 10 years

Relatives/Contacts: White Azul (sister)

Medical history: Medical history prior to March 6, 2010 is unknown. Skyler Azul has shown signs of being mentally unstable and capable of causing injury.

Mental Health: signs of depression, appears to have a certain duality disorder

Symptoms: *Loses all common sense when frightened or angry; only happens when feeling intense negative emotions.
*Changing colors of the iris; blue is normal, purple is neutral, red means highly dangerous
*When loses common sense, patient becomes highly dangerous; gains the strength of two grown men.

Residence: Patient is to be transferred to Xerneas Psychiatric Institute

Amos snapped the folder shut, refusing to read more. This had to be a joke. Sky Blue was harmless, why would he ever hurt anyone? But it wasn't by his own free will, was it? The record said he had some kind of duality disorder. Amos had seen in movies and books of people who acted like they were two beings in one body, but he never heard of an actual case.

He looked up at Mira and said quietly, "We shouldn't have done that..."

"Too late now," Mira sniffed as she began wiping her eyes. "I never knew any of this. I-I knew he was a little odd, b-but never this..."

The young dragon tamer looked up at Amos tearfully and then asked, "W-What do we do now?"

"Well we can't tell anyone what we know," Amos pointed out. "I don't think Sky Blue or White would be very happy...I guess we'll have to return this folder though."

"But how?"

Amos closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Then he opened them and answered, "We'll use Tinkerbell."

"T-Tinker? My Spritzee?" Mira repeated in a squeak.

"We can give her the record and she can give it to Sky and White," he explained. "She is clueless so nobody will get suspicious of her. It's simple."

Amos watched Mira think over the plan. He could understand her doubt. This was a serious situation, and it was obvious no one was supposed to know any of this. However if he was thoroughly honest with himself, he would have kept this a secret too if it had been- no, was him.

Finally, Mira nodded and took a pokeball off her belt. She pressed the center of it and the device burst open. A loud chirping noise broke through the air as Mira's cheerful Fairy Type burst out of the pokeball. It fluttered gently onto her trainer's outstretched arm and blinked patiently up at her.

"Tinker, I need, you to do us a favor," Mira told Tinker as Amos handed her the folder. "You need to take this to Sky Blue, but I don't want you tell anyone that you saw me and Amos. If he asks, don't say anything or just play stupid, ok?"

"Okie Dokie!" Tinker agreed as she took the folder from her trainer with her beak. With that, she flapped her wings and began to fly clumsily out of the park.

After the two trainers watched Tinker fly into a street lamp and then a second street lamp, Amos said to Mira, "Maybe it would be wise if we followed her and make sure she gets there in one piece."

"That's probably a good idea," Mira sighed as the Spritzee screeched and apology to them at the top of her voice.

So once Tinker went on her way and glided slowly down the street, Amos and Mira snuck after her by keeping a great distance from the Fairy Type. There were a few close calls where Tinker would almost drop the folder on a random person's head, but she would always catch it before they noticed. Amos had begun to notice that Mira looked on the verge of having a heart attack every time Tinker dropped the folder. He was sure that one more drop and Mira would pass out cold.

Then their plan was about to be tested. Amos felt his heart sink as he saw a figure strolling down the street while humming loudly. She was alone, but she had already proven to be very suspicious of anything out of the ordinary.

Deborah.

Amos grabbed Mira's hand and pulled her behind a tree as his friend winced. As Mira opened her mouth to snap at him, Amos pointed at the Fairy and Psychic Type and whispered, "It's Deborah!"

Mira looked over at where he was pointing and a look of increased anxiety crossed her face. Tinker, however, was oblivious to the intelligent Gardevoir below her.

Then it happened. The folder for what felt like the millionth time slipped through the Spritzee's tiny talons and fell toward the street. However, Tinker couldn't reach it in time, and Amos and Mira both winced as Sky Blue's secret folder fell on top of Deborah's head.

The Gardevoir cursed loudly and stopped walking immediately. She shook the folder and papers off her head. Deborah looked up to see the Spritzee chirping in circles above her and her eyes narrowed. The Gardevoir took a deep breath before bellowing, "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE PUTTING YOUR JUNK, YOU STUPIDE LITTLE POWDER PUFF!"

Tinker gave a frightful squawk before zooming off and away toward the beach. The two trainers watched in horror as the Gardevoir continued to mutter angrily while using Psychic on the file and scattered papers. Then one paper seemed to catch her eye as she put them back in the file.

"Oh mother of Mew," Mira hissed as Deborah began reading the records. "She's gonna kill us all!"

"Well what do you think the worst possible that can happen would be?" Amos asked, not wanting to know the answer.

"Deborah would probably walk up to Sky Blue, demand if he really is a runaway inmate of an INSANE ASYLUM!"

"Mira, shhh!"

"I have the right to freak out, my big brother is a lunatic, it's legit now!"

Amos sighed and looked back over at Deborah. She was reading the papers with an intrigued look on her face. It was clear she understood the records clearly.

"We're gonna have to face her," Amos finally told Mira.

"What?!" Mira yelped. "Why?!"

"You just said she'd be blunt about this entire thing! We have to explain this to her! We have to keep this hidden!"

Mira opened her mouth to retort, but then closed it. She sighed and muttered, "Ok, fine..."

With Mira on his side now, Amos got out from behind the tree and ran toward Deborah. When the Gardevoir looked up as he skidded to a stop in front of her, Amos burst out, "You read nothing!"

Deborah tilted her head and argued, "No, I read about how terrifying the cyclops boy was as a child."

"Deborah, you can't tell anyone what you just read!" Mira panted as she came to Amos' side.

"Why?"

"It will ruin Sky Blue! He didn't want anyone to know this! We found out by accident, and Tinker was trying to give this back to him so we didn't have to face his and White's wrath!"

The Gardevoir looked from Amos to Mira. She looked puzzled about the situation.

"Why can't I ask about this?" Deborah asked calmly, crossing her arms behind her back.

Amos and Mira exchanged exasperated looks. They didn't want to explain the entire reason why she couldn't directly confront someone about their stay in a mental hospital.

"Look, Deborah," Mira started uncomfortably. "Did Sky Blue ever tell you about this?"

"Non."

"Did White?"

"Non."

"Well that shows that they didn't want us knowing this. They never told us, we found out on accident. For must humans, what Sky Blue supposedly went through would be uncomfortable to talk about. This is a serious and delicate matter."

The Gardevoir's thin eyebrow arched slightly before she leaned over to see Amos and Mira at eye level. It was quite intimidating as her eyes became slits.

"I think it's safe to say that I am well informed on White Copperstone and Skyler Azul's behavior patterns," Deborah told them in a quiet yet deadly voice. "And as for the situation regarding the cyclops boy's mental state, I believe I know how to handle this. Actually, I believe I understand his condition and his very essence more than you both. These records just gave me the answers and the last piece to the complex puzzle of Skyler Azul's aura."

Amos stiffened as Deborah looked from him to Mira with a hard look. He was reminded strongly of White, who probably would've told them the same thing if she wasn't involved in hiding the evidence. But the problem was that he was beginning to fear the talking Gardevoir more than he ever feared White.

Then to the coordinator's surprise, the Embrace Pokemon sighed and straightened up. The folder of records that had been levitating next to her fell into her hand and she once again crossed her arms.

Deborah looked at the two young trainers and continued, "However, I will do as you wish. If you really think I shouldn't ask further about this, I will not. I won't breathe a word of this to anyone else, not even Maîtriser Danny. Furthermore, I will save you the traumatizing task of returning the records by doing it myself."

"You will?" Amos asked uncertainly, not entirely believing her.

"Yes. You may watch from a distance if you wish. I will, how do you put it...ah, yes, take the bullet for you both."

"Really?" Mira said weakly. "Oh, thanks, Deborah, you're a lifesaver!"

"It is nothing," the Gardevoir assured them as she held out her hand. "I assume you are heading to Route 8 as well, correct?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I was going to teleport there from the edge of Ambrette Town, but I might as well do it here. Would you like to accompany me?"

Amos was still a little unsure of trusting Deborah but somehow he felt compelled to believe her sincerity. Mira had already taken Deborah's hand and the Embrace Pokemon was now waiting for Amos. Sighing, Amos stretched out his hand and placed it over Deborah's and Mira's.

He winced as the area went black and the air once again disappeared around them. He had teleported several times before, but it was still uncomfortable.

Seconds later, the air was restored and the darkness was lifted. The two trainers and the Gardevoir had appeared at the bottom of the stairs behind the Ambrette Town Aquarium. They were on the seaside road of Route 8. Amos could already see some of their group members a short distance away.

"Keep your distance from me," Deborah advised them as she began walking toward the trainers ahead.

"So you're going to face them by yourself?" Mira asked uncertainly.

"That's the plan. Do not worry, I doubt they will be much trouble."

Without another word, the Embrace Pokemon strode over to the trainers. Amos and Mira looked at each other before walking quickly after Deborah. Amos personally wanted to hear if Deborah could get away with giving Sky Blue the record without lots of questions.

As they got closer, they could see who all was there. Margaret and Danny were together near the sea shore with the rest of their pokemon out. Danny appeared to be training his pokemon while Margaret and her team watched. Leia was nearby with team out, which consisted of her partner, Ringdog the Lucario, her starter, Severusa the Serperior, then Abby the Audino, Randy the Krokorok, and Lily Rose. She was brushing Ringdog while Fiona played with the others. Then there was White and Sky Blue, who both appeared to be in an argument. It sounded as if Sky didn't agree with the group White was planning on putting him in.

"But why can't I just come with you?!" Amos heard Sky Blue protest to White as they drew closer. "I'd rather have you beat me up than go with Ne-Ne or the evil Gardevoir!"

"I'm with Leia and Fiona," White told him, her eyes narrowed. "So you have to choose between Danny and his Gardevoir or Ne-Ne and Margaret! Seriously, choose one already, I still need to put Mira and Amos into a group!"

"But-"

"Am I interrupting?" Deborah cut in as she stood in front of the two older trainers. White turned away from Sky Blue looking irritable. Sky Blue, on the other hand, yelped and hid behind his friend.

"No, you're not, Deborah. What do you want?" White sighed while scowling at Sky.

"I came to return this to the cyclops boy," the Gardevoir said simply, holding the folder out to White.

White looked down at the file in Deborah's hand and stared at it. She seemed to be in shock. When Sky Blue risked a look over White's shoulder, a look of horror crossed his face. He immediately came out from behind White and snatched the folder from Deborah's grasp. He then limped a few feet away from them and flipped through the pages, checking to see if everything was there.

Deborah shrugged and began to walk away, but White called seriously, "Deborah."

The Gardevoir turned and asked, "What?"

"How much did you read?" White demanded, stepping closer to the Psychic and Fairy Type.

"Very little." She answered coolly.

"That doesn't reassure me. What did you read?"

"Nothing of much importance."

White growled and went right up to Deborah. It was frightening seeing two of the most intimidating members of the group stand up to each other. However, Deborah was quite a bit taller than White, which made her more impressive.

"I don't trust you still, so forgive me if I don't take you seriously!" White hissed to the Embrace Pokemon. "Now what did you read?!"

"Ok, I wasn't entirely truthful the first time," Deborah snarled. "I read his name on the first page! Also, I think I should add that your behavior shows that the folder is important! It's peeking my interest! What are you hiding? Why won't you just tell us?!"

White's eyes became slits. She observed her for a moment before whispering, "What's in that folder is none of your concern. Now, where was it? Where'd you find it?"

"In an alley near the Pokemon Center."

"Alright, you can go, but if I hear that you read that, you'll regret it."

"Is that a threat?" Deborah demanded quietly.

"Yes, I suppose it is," White snarled, turning her back on the Gardevoir. "Go back to your trainer."

Deborah bowed her head and the two counterparts went different ways. While White went back over to Sky Blue, the Gardevoir passed by Mira and Amos. She bowed her head slightly to them as she went to join Danny and her teammates.

"That was scary..." Mira whispered from next to Amos. "I-I've never seen White act like that before..."

"Well we can't tell them we read that," he told her. "At least not yet. Come on, let's just get in our group and pray that Sky Blue doesn't get thrown with us."

Mira giggled and nodded as they both approached White and Sky Blue this time. Sky had put the folder in his bag and the argument he and White were having had resumed.

"Alright, Sky," White sighed, her patience evidently fading. "You got ten seconds to choose a group."

"Ten seconds?!" He yelped, his eye darting toward the back of Deborah. "You can't make me choose between my worst fears in ten seconds!"

"Well I just did and I am. You got ten seconds to choose between the deadly Gardevoir or vicious Ne-Ne. So choose now or forever hold your peace because if you don't decide, I choose that you go with Deborah. Starting ten, nine-"

But she didn't need to finish. Sky Blue jumped, turned to look at where Danny and Margaret were, and bellowed, "HEY MARGARET, YOU'RE WITH ME AND WE NEED TO BE OUT OF EYESIGHT OF WHITE IN THE NEXT EIGHT SECONDS!"

"E-Eight?!" Margaret cried after recovering from falling over from the shock. "B-But I need to say goodbye to-"

"NO TIME, HURRY UP, PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU!"

"Well I should remember this technique for the future," White chuckled as Sky Blue limped away as fast as he could while supporting himself with White's staff. Margaret and her pokemon were giving Danny and his team hurried goodbyes while running in Sky Blue's wake.

White then turned to look at Amos and Mira. After looking Mira, White looked concerned and asked her, "Mira, you alright? You look you've been crying."

"What?" Mira said, looking and sounding startled. "Oh, I-I'm fine, I didn't sleep well last night, I'm probably just tired..."

"Join the club," White sighed, though she still looked worried. "Well I guess that leaves you two with Danny. The road to Cyllage City is two days long, so it won't be a huge trip like before."

"Ok," Amos said nervously, still feeling anxious about what they just witnessed between Deborah and White. "So I guess we'll see you in two days."

"Heh, yep," White agreed as she began to walk away. "Oh, I wanted to tell everyone, watch out for Team Flare. They've been seen in this area. Try to avoid them. Other then that, see you both soon."

When White went to meet with Leia and Fiona, Amos turned to Mira, "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah," Mira muttered, wiping her eyes. "Just a little nervous...and scarred...and out in the open...unsafe..."

"Lets try and forget what we learned for now, ok?" He advised her. "Let's just enjoy these next two days and worry about Team Flare and think about the look on N's face when he finds out Sky Blue will be in his group."

Mira giggled a little and gave a tiny, "Yeah, I guess so..."

She then began to walk over to Danny, Deborah, and the rest of the pokemon. Amos watched her with increased anxiety and guilt. He couldn't bare to think of what Sky Blue and White possibly went through. However, the finding of the tragedy didn't satisfy his thirst for answers. What was the strange mental illness Sky Blue had? How did they get out of such a serious situation? Were the police still looking for him? What did he do to wind up with a mental health record and sentence to be sent to a mental hospital? Did he ever really go to a mental hospital, or did he escape? They were only questions two people could answer, and they both were now more terrifying and intimidating before.