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Kilik watched as the two flew away, his hands shaking a bit. He slowly let go of Nina's hand and patted her shoulder once or twice before starting to walk away from her. I was hoping to use her in a real battle for once, he thought, recalling Bahamut and placing the ball back onto his belt. He glanced over at Giovanni to see him recalling his Kingler. The boy closed his hands into fists and glanced back up in the direction the two had taken off to.

So this Raimundo, someone that Nina had trusted so much, was in this as well? He wasn't the good looks and great skill that he came off as when Kilik had first met him when he finally saw Nina again. He lifted a thumb up to his lips and bit down on it, hard. A little too hard. A nasty taste filled his mouth as blood dripped in. He winced a bit, sucking the liquid away and ignoring the coppery taste. He looked over at Mike, looking a bit like an idiot with his thumb in his mouth.

Frozen. Numb. Shocked. Destroyed. Betrayed. Those words were miles and miles away from truly touching base on how Nina felt at the moment. She helplessly watched as "Anna" unleashed her rage, instantly knocking out the Jynx, and simply slumped down as her former Pokemon subsequently teleported away from the wreckage she had caused at Maorde's behest.

There she sat at her knees, her head tilted to the right a little bit, an entirely blank expression on her face as she stared off in the distance. Pookie could trample over her at this moment and she wouldn't feel his hooves crushing her bones and organs. She wouldn't notice herself struggling to breathe and hang onto her life. She wouldn't notice the doctors trying to help her respire before she slipped off to a state of unconsciousness that she'd never recover from.

As far as she was concerned, she was dead already. Everything she knew, everything that was precious to her, had turned out to be fraudulent... This boy, Raimundo, she loved him. She loved him, she loved him, but he was only a twisted perversion of her vision of a perfect partner. He was only acting the entire time.

Acting. He put on a good show, too. To be able to fool those close to him whom he spoke with nearly each and every single day, who he had known for quite some time. He portrayed a person he was not, with near perfection, never once slipping up in his guise, save for the moment he bared it to everyone.

Love. What is to love? What is to be in love?

I loved him, I loved...

"Loved" was the past participle. Nina couldn't love him anymore. Not after that. She was in love with the act, not the actor.

The tears came then. And so did the terrible, hysterical screaming and shuddering.

Nina hardly noticed Whitney wrapping her in a tight hug, reassuring her that it would be okay.

The screams of a broken heart, something he never wished upon anyone he cared about. He knew they were coming, but that didn't stop them from being utterly painful to hear. With each outcry and sob, Mike slammed his eyes shut. "That was low Raimundo." He muttered to himself. "Very low."

To play on the emotions of an already unstable girl, to fake talk her into a false sense of security, these were things that went against nearly all of Mike's morals. Oh, you better have a much better reason for helping that madman than simple knowledge. The boy's right hand began to smoke, as heat wavered upward. You want to learn? Read a book! He was furious now. Too long has Nina suffered. It wasn't fair. Not only has she had to live with her sister's murder, but now this? When were the fates going to giver her a break?

Mike's eyes stayed shut, as Nina's hysterical shrieks echoed in his mind. They enveloped him, only adding to his vengeful state. "Don't worry Rai," he said to himself. "I'll teach you a thing or two next time we meet." He lifted a flame wreathed fist upward, looking once more to the horizon.

"Just you wait."

Ky felt a little worried for M.A. It seemed Bugsy gave her a much more piercing look than Ky'd expected; the silence was long and awkward. Even so, he gave her some time. It was plain to see she was thinking a lot, and he really didn't have a say in the matter (they were here for her, not him). He wanted to say something like, 'We don't have to do the gym battle now,' or 'Are you sure you want to...', but those thoughts quickly passed once M.A. declared her challenge. As a matter of fact, Ky was quite ecstatic when she made the decision to fight. He always enjoyed watching his friends battle back in school, but watching a friend in a gym battle was totally different. When he had battled Bugsy, it was as if a new Ky had shown his face, one that would give his all for victory. He could imagine M.A. had that kind of spirit, despite how nervous she was. Even in the face of her apparent bug-phobia, Ky believed in her. All that was left was for Bugsy to accept. Ky smiled; Bugsy did have plenty of reasons to decline, but as a rule, he had to accept, despite M.A.'s final comments. It probably didn't matter anyhow; Bugsy was a Gym Leader; he probably trained under worse conditions than being in a run-down gym with little sleep.

She heard a rustling in the grass, and turned her head to see a wild Ratata scampering into the forest. Kurine decided not to bother the little mouse pokemon, and she adjusted the way her backpack was set on her shoulders, to place it into a more comfortable position.

She then returned Sentret and Cyndaquil to their pokeballs, letting them rest from walking. Kurine thought she could spot the outline of Violet a ways ahead of her, but she couldn't be sure quite yet.