Zzz...sleepy...anyway, what's up everyone? I'm finally on summer vacation! :D

AnthonyC22: Finals week was good; the tests were easy as shit, lol-one question on the literature final asked how King Claudius is related to Prince Hamlet. Curiously, when I read your comment, I remembered Gary from the old days (because he too calls Ash "Ashy-boy"). As for building a Death Star...well, I don't really know :D

Guest: Thanks, but...THE UNSC INFINITY? That, my friend, is genius.

Chewie Cookies: I'm glad I updated too...XD

Enjoy Chapter Seven!

Chapter Seven

The Reason

"Well, alright then. That was a quick selection process. Everyone except Ash, you may leave."

With those words, Scott got up from his seat and walked out the door. The Frontier Brains exchanged glances, then they, too, rose and exited, entering a long hallway.

"Well, that was an interesting meeting, wasn't it?" said Tucker.

"Yep, it definitely was, wasn't it, Ana-OW!" Noland yelled as Anabel, who was actually previously a good distance ahead of the others, pinched him.

"Shut up." Anabel briskly walked forward again, maintaining the distance.

"...yes ma'am."

Having been utterly humiliated by someone of the opposite gender twice in a row, Noland took what little dignity he could muster and moved to one side of the corridor, muttering curses...well, until Greta heard him and "lightly" poked him in the ribs.

"So, what'd you guys think of Ash?" Greta asked, ignoring Noland's scream of pain.

"Well," Lucy said, "he fared better than I expected. He seemed to understand everything easily, even without explanation."

"True," Tucker agreed. "Though I do think his entrance was a little...unexpected, to say the least."

"'Uncalled for' might be a better term to use," Brandon said.

"Yeah, exactly. I mean, even I'D never do that." Greta grinned. "It was funny though-"

"Almost as funny as when you did the exact same thing, except you actually broke the door." Spenser had a wry smile on his face.

Greta pouted and avoided eye contact with the Palace Maven. Gah, Spenser can be so annoying sometimes. She called out, "So, Anabel, what do you think of-"

She immediately quivered in fear as Anabel turned around, a pissed expression on her face. "Did you say something, Greta?"

"U-Uhm...yeah...I w-was gonna ask your op-opinion on-"

Spenser discreetly whispered, "Say more and she is going to kill you."

Greta nodded and quickly ran behind the others.

"She seems very touchy about the subject of Ash right now," Brandon observed.

"Indeed. One would think she'd be happy right now," said Spenser.

"Well," Lucy pointed out, "Scott did tell us she fainted after she heard that Ash was gonna become a Frontier Brain. So I'm pretty sure she's happy about it."

Tucker spoke. "There is one other possibility. She may be happy, but perhaps she also detected something a little...off. Did anyone else notice? Ash seemed very blank, docile, possibly even unconfident. Surely if even we, being non-empathic, could see this, then no doubt Anabel could too, and more. No doubt Scott could, too. I don't know what Scott plans to do about our aspiring candidate's change in personality, but I guarantee that he'll do something."

"We...really need elevators in this building," Noland gasped as the group reached the first floor.

"We have them, Noland." Greta laughed. "It's just that some people don't mind walking, aka everyone else here. Get more fit, would ya? Even Anabel's not complaining, and she's way younger than you!"

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm a mechanic-"

Brandon interrupted. "The only thing that means is that you don't really walk, you just bend your back trying to examine plane undercarriages."

"...I hate you all."

"There's a fine line between hate and love, my friend," Spenser responded gleefully.

"What does th-"

"If I remember, you said you 'hated' Jasmine," Tucker said.

"I still do!"

"Then why are you thinking of her chest?" Anabel asked. Although she had been keeping quiet, the information gleaned from using her special abilities, combined with the current situation, proved too tempting to waste.

Noland spluttered. "I'M NOT!"

Anabel continued. "And now you're dreaming of girls in general. Oh dear. What do you like in a girl? I mean, besides your-"

Noland was beet red now. "SHUT UP, SHUT UP!"

"I suppose anyone that's living would suit your criteria?"

Noland, purple with rage, yelled, "Anyone that's living and is actually PRETTY! THERE'S SOMEONE HERE WHO SURE ISN'T!"

Everyone suddenly got quiet, eagerly yet fearfully watching the events unfold. Then Anabel quietly whispered,

"Yeah. Good thing you never look at yourself in a mirror, otherwise you'd turn yourself to stone."

One moment of silence.

Then, laughter. And Noland screaming threats that would probably make Arceus cower in fear.

Meanwhile, in his own dimension, Arceus watched the whole spectacle and was amused.

"Humans. Such interesting creatures."

"Here's the exit," gestured Brandon.

All the Frontier Brains prepared to step through the doors that served as the gateway to freedom.

Suddenly...

"Anabel, can I have a word? The rest of you, leave please."

Scott appeared, holding a large stack of papers. "Oh, these? These are the forms for Ash to sign. I misplaced the ones I had earlier, so I came down to make copies." He pointed to the door. "Now, go."

Not wishing to jeopardize their chances of getting paid, six of the seven left.

"Ah, that's better. By the way, why did Noland look so red?"

Anabel blushed. "Oh...um...he's usually like that. You know. He's Noland."

Scott chuckled. "I see." In reality, Scott had heard everything that the Frontier Brains had said. Noland still hasn't learned to properly hide his thoughts. Anabel can't read human minds all that well, she can only sense human emotion...unless it's Noland's completely open mind she's infiltrating. Oh well. As long as it leads to some entertainment I'm not complaining, though I'm sure one day he'll try to smash a hole through something. Scott set aside his thoughts of reinforcing everything in the conference room with steel and resumed talking. "Anabel, the truth is, I expected Ash to pick you because I told him to. The primary reason is your friendship, or, as you would like it to be, rela-"

"Friendship," Anabel said firmly.

Scott grinned. "Right," he said. "Friendship." His grin grew wider as he saw Anabel turn red. "But on a more serious note, there was another reason."

Puzzled, Anabel asked what that other reason was.

"I think you know as well, Anabel. Tell me, did you observe anything about Ash during the meeting?"

"No, not really. He looked the same to me."

"Not like that, Anabel. Let me rephrase the question: did you sense anything about Ash during the meeting?"

Anabel thought, then responded, "Actually, I did. You did too, right? He seemed a little...passive. I'm pretty sure the other Frontier Brains noticed too. Tucker said he seemed docile."

Scott nodded. "Yes, I thought so too. I think we can both agree on one thing: this is not the Ash we know. Sometimes his old self is present, but other times this shell is in his place. That's why I told Ash to have you mentor him. Anabel, besides readying him for becoming a Frontier Brain, I have one more task for you."

He placed a hand on Anabel's shoulder. "From time to time, when you think he's in a fairly decent mood, sit down with him and find out just what is sapping him of his former energy and activity. At first, simply explore his mind a little, familiarize yourself with it, the like. Report all findings to me so we can help him. Ash simply cannot perform well in his current state. So good luck. Depending on how long it takes for Ash to fill out these forms, he'll be with you within two to three hours." As he finished speaking, Scott turned around and walked toward the elevator.

Anabel stepped outside. "Alakazam!" she said as she released the Psi Pokemon from its Pokeball. "Teleport me to my home, please."

With a grunt and a nod, her trusty instant transportation system snapped its fingers and they were both gone.

I'm alive! Yeah, if you guys haven't realized by now, Anabel's travels inside Ash's brain will be a key part of this story.

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and please leave a review! (Or follow/favorite this story-that's great as well!)