I guess this isn't my longest chapter, but hey, I wanted to get finished as quickly as possible. So here it is. Chapter 17.

Chapter 17:

Going Home

Paul opened his eyes; he sat up and rubbed them. Cold wind blew, causing him to shiver. He looked around, trying to get back to reality. He was surrounded by green trees!

"What the…?" He stood up, it seemed to be nighttime. The moon was bright and full. He was attempting to understand was had just happened. He fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the forest?

"What's going on here?" He looked behind to find his and Dawn's belongings at the entrance of the cave.

xOx

"Why are you doing this Amako?" Dawn yelled, wanting an answer.

"My friends want to play… I'm here to make sure they have their fun…" The child giggled.

"Where's Paul? Tell me!" Silver demanded, Amako pointed to the sky.

"He's where the moon is out."

"Are you taking us for idiots? It's daytime!" She laughed louder.

"Not where he is…" She smiled and patted the air next to her. "He's actually right here, right now."

"You're freaking CRAZY little girl!"

"Me? I'm not crazy; I'm just having fun…" She clapped her hands and called out various ghost Pokemon. They formed a circle around the three trainers.

"Let me tell you something Paul doesn't know. Everything you guys went through was an illusion, everything!"

"Are you serious?" Silver clenched his fist.

"Oh, it seems you're angrier, lemme make it up to you. If you beat all the ghost type Pokemon I'll let you two go. I have a different game for Paul…" She faded away after that statement. Silver reached into his pockets and found his Pokeballs.

"Are you going to help me?" Dawn nodded and ran toward her backpack. They threw their Pokeballs in the air simultaneously.

xOx

Paul watched the small girl walked toward him. She grinned wickedly, he glared at her.

"Hi there, Paul-,"

"Where is Dawn and Silver?" He gritted his teeth together, getting impatient already.

"They are safe, for now…" He punched the wall.

"TELL ME!" Amako wiggled her finger.

"You'll see when I get something out from you…"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?" She smiled sweetly.

"I want you to tell me, in truth, you love Dawn." Paul gave her another cold glare.

"I don't love her, that's just ridiculous!" She crossed her arms.

"Well, if you don't admit it, you'll never see her again."

"Good, she doesn't need me…" Paul watched the little girl pace around.

"What if she does need you?"

"I already said this before! She didn't need me before, so she doesn't need me now!"

"That's because she didn't know who really you are."

"Who am I, then?" Amako kicked his shin, he grunted.

"Stupid, that's who you are!" Before he could say anything, she disappeared. He sighed and sat against the wall. He looked at his backpack and grabbed it. He reached his hand in and pulled out a Pokeball. He threw it and came out his Chimchar.

"Chimchar let me talk to you."

"Chim?"

"I want you to keep an eye on Dawn, okay?" The Pokemon tilted its head and jumped into his master's arms.

xOx

Silver's Ursaring tackled the last of the ghost Pokemon. Amako clapped her hands.

"You work fast, Silver!"

"Shut up and get us out of this dream!" She smiled and nodded her head.

"Let's visit Paul, first…" The child grinned wickedly and grabbed their hands. Their skin began to lighten up and they also started to disappear.

Paul noticed a light coming from behind. He turned around and saw Dawn and Silver began to form in front of him. He got up as the bluenette ran towards him. She threw her arms around him and laughed.

"I found you!" She cried in his chest, she wasn't going to let go anytime soon. Paul stood still, he looked up at Silver. Amako pushed both of them away and winked at Paul.

"Pauly, how about this… Either you beat me, a little girl, senseless OR declare your love to Dawn."

"I'm not doing any of that!" Amako's evil grin grew unnaturally wide.

"Then, you'll have to-."

"STOP!" Dawn slapped the young girl, making her fall to the ground. She pouted and cried.

"You're so mean, why Dawn?" She hid behind Silver who pushed her away. He looked at her with disgust.

"You're not a little girl! You're something else!" He scowled at her. She grew a wide, wicked smile.

"He, he, you caught me… All I wanted to do was play, but you guys aren't any fun. I need to find a new play mate. Congratulations, you won… We were entertained, but you guys are getting boring. Everything you do is too repetitive. It was a fair game…" The sun came out, burning her skin. But, she didn't scream, instead she giggled. She lit up and turned into dust that was carried away by the wind. They heard the snickers of the trees that surrounded them. The laughter grew louder and louder. The forest began to burn.

Silver grabbed his two younger peers; he tried to shield them from the fire. The trees turned black and mocking faces appeared on the burnt bark. The noises the forest made were painfully loud. Dawn placed her hands on her ears. She wanted the torturous screams to stop. Bloodcurdling screams of agony pierced their ears.

Suddenly, silence…

"Good night."

xOx

Sapphire eyes fluttered open, they blinked a few times. Dawn quickly sat up; she looked down and saw Paul sleeping. She looked around for Silver. He was leaning against the wall.

"I was waiting, wake up Paul." She nodded her head and shook Paul. He was already in the process of waking up.

"Dawn, are you okay?" Before Dawn could hug the purple haired boy, someone called her name.

"DAWN! Where are you?" It was Ash. Dawn's face brightened. They were outside and everything seemed normal.

"Ash, I'm here!" She waved at her friend, getting his attention. He ran over to her, Brock and Pikachu followed them. She stood up and received a bear hug from Ash.

"Where have you been? You were gone for 3 days now!" Three days? They were gone for weeks! Though, they chose to ignore that comment. Ash pulled away and glared at Paul.

"You took her away from us, didn't you?" Paul got up on his feet to retrieve his stuff. He gave Silver the 'this-is-awkward' look.

"SILVER!" The red-haired trainer smirked and caught the running girl. She squeezed him tightly, crying. He waved at Gold, who was catching up to the group.

"Sorry, Lyra…" The girl stomped on his foot, she crossed her arms.

"You shouldn't run away like that!" She scolded him like a puppy. Paul watched the two interact.

"Hey Paul, are you listening to me?" Ash was literally in his face. Paul sighed.

"Ash, I want to join your group." His rival was surprised at the sudden demand.

"W-why?" He looked at Dawn.

"I like Dawn, a lot; I've grown attached to her." This made the girl's cheeks turn red. Ash walked towards Brock. They seemed to question Paul's request. The older plum-headed trainer approached the blushing girl. He placed his hand on her head, petting her. He pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Hey, Paul… Brock and I agree with what Dawn wants." Paul lightly pushed the coordinator away.

"It's up to you…"

"Of course I want you to come with me!" She gave him a sweet smile. He leaned in and placed his lips on her cheek. He was making a decision he already regretted.

"Then, I'm sorry…" He let go of her, shoving his hands in his pockets. He gave her another kiss on the cheek and took a deep breathe.

"Paul…?" He turned around and walked the other way.

"Don't you even think about following me Dawn!"

"PAUL!" He ignored her and kept walking. He didn't dare to look back; he couldn't imagine the look on her face.

Epilogue:

The bluenette sat on the park bench, quietly sipping her smoothie. She watched her rabbit Pokemon chase Piplup. She had already said her goodbyes to Ash and Brock. She really wasn't as busy as she thought. Buneary was the busy one and she never got day offs, so Dawn rarely sees her own Pokemon. She sighed and stared at her cup. Hearthome was a bit boring.

"Can I sit here?"

"Go ahead…" She didn't look up to see the person.

"Is that your Piplup?" She nodded. "Can I pet him?"

"He won't let you…" She heard her Pokemon sing with approval. She looked up to see that ass of a trainer. She stood up, dropping her drink.

"Littering is bad for the world." He snickered.

"Paul, what do you want?" He put the penguin down, frowning.

"Did Infernape take good care of you?"

"What do you want?" She asked again.

"Just to get one thing straight…" He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her blue eyes. She studied his as well. "My eyes are grey." He leaned down, his eyes half closed. The gap between them got smaller and smaller. Dawn began to shiver; he was so close to her. Their lips made contact, the trembling girl blushed madly. She couldn't help, but welcome it. She melted into the kiss. Their eyes closed, bodies holding each other. She wanted to stay like this forever. They had to pull away sometime.

"Paul?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you walk away from us?" She was still hurt, "We were supposed to be friends!"

"That's why; I wanted you to know that we weren't friends before."

"So what?"

"You didn't need me, we don't have to be friends!" Dawn pouted, she pushed him away.

"So, are we friends?"

"Only if you want to be friends."

"Friends don't kiss each other, Paul." He smirked and bent over to her ear.

"I guess not, but let's be more than friends…" He whispered coolly, Dawn squirmed out of his arms. She returned her Pokemon and walked towards the cup. She picked it up and threw it away.

"Paul, maybe it is best we stay friends. I don't want you to walk out on me again." Paul dug his hands in his pockets and looked away.

"Well… You know where I am. Take this and don't read it until you get home." He handed her an envelope and began to leave her yet again. She opened the sealed letter and read it. She smiled, in big bold and beautiful letters it read: Are you cold, Dawn? She ran to the trainer and grabbed his hand. He smirked and wheeled around.

"I'm very cold, right now…" She hugged him; he wrapped his arms around her waist. He chuckled.

"Who wouldn't be in clothes like that?" She started to cry, he stroked her hair.

"Are you a pervert?"

"To tell you the truth, I think I am…"

End

I hope this wasn't too disappointing... I thought I couldn't end it just like that so I added a little extra. I don't think this is Sequel worthy, but I must say this is people really liked this story which came as a shock to me. I want to thank those who stuck around to read it. I'm sorry for all the delays for the past two years. (Someone actually made a similair story to mine after I neglected this one. I thought I'd update) I'll fix any spelling errors and eventually start to rewrite everything. So, thanks you guys, for dealing with me. And with that I say "I don't own Pokemon."