Hey everybody! This is your favorite piece of Confederate chocolate here with a brand new fan fiction story! Now I know I said I would write another story after I got twenty yes's on my pole...well I've only gotten four, but inspiration can't be stopped, so here goes.

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"How much longer, Steven?"

Zara posed the question to her teacher as she gazed out the air plane's door window. Normally a relatively patient person, Zara had been bouncing on the balls of her feet ever since Steven's father's heli-plane had taken off from Hoenn. It's destination: Lumiose City, in the Kalos region.

"Fifteen minutes, give or take," Steven replied. "In a hurry to get there?"

"Yes and no," Zara replied.

"Why yes and no?" Steven asked.

Zara sighed as she answered, "It's complicated, Steven."

It had been four days since the Mega Evolution Seminar had ended, and if life had been anything since that time, busy would have to be it. Even since the seminar ended, Steven had started making plans to travel to the Kalos region and help put an end to Team Flare for good. He'd shut down the League, put Drake in charge untill he got back, checked the status of Team Magma and Team Aqua, and told the Elite Four if they needed anything to ask Wallace, the Water type gym leader from Sotopolis City. Then he'd prepared one of his father's company planes, including getting a good pilot, and convincing his father that he needed to go. Then, bright and early this morning, he and Zara had set out for Kalos. Wally had showed up on the landing pad just before they left, begging to go with them so he could see Kalos, but Steven had told him no. Zara frowned as she remembered how Mr. Stone had needed to hold Wally back to keep him from jumping into the plane afterward. She'd know that he really wanted to go to the Kalos region and travel around it, she'd just never realized how badly he'd wanted it.

Zara herself really wanted to come to the Kalos region, and then again she didn't, hence her conflicting answer to Steven's question. It had to do with two people, her desire to see one, and her fear of the other. The one she wanted to see was Alain, the teenage trainer she'd met at the Seminar, who she'd told about her past, something she never told anyone about, and who she'd accidentally helped to see he'd been tricked, and who she'd subsequently come to trust completely. The one she feared was Lysander, the man Alain had been tricked by, and who had ordered her parents killed, and had intended to take her back to Kalos as his prisoner. It was Alain who had rescued her from Lysander, saving her from a fate she didn't even dare think about. After a little time spent hiding in her own guilt for believing he truly was serving Lysander, she had confessed her feelings to him, and he had returned them whole heartedly. He'd even kissed her before he'd left.

Zara closed her eyes, letting the memory of his lips crashing against hers wash over her. But as she did, a memory of Celosia, the one who had carried out Lysander's order to kill her parents, surfaced unbidden. In Zara's mind, the purple haired scientist slapped her across the face, and Zara opened her eyes sharply, jerking and giving a small gasp.

Steven's attention turned from the plane's instrument panel to Zara. "You alright, Zara?"

Zara nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. Honestly, she didn't know if she was alright or not. She was scared, really, truly afraid of what she was walking into, but at the same time, she wouldn't stay behind and not help no matter what. She wanted Lysander and his villainous team stopped before they hurt anyone else the way they hurt her, the way they hurt Alain.

Calm down girl, she thought critically, you just need to calm down. When you get to Kalos, he'll be there, and he'll keep you safe. You can tell him everything when you get there, that'll make you feel better.

In the four days since the seminar had ended, Zara had found herself thinking that a lot. Everywhere she looked, there seemed to be things that reminded her of her encounter with Lysander and Celosia, and she continually was caught reacting to them by either Steven or Mr. Stone. Even Wally had asked her if she was alright a couple of times. Everytime one of them would ask what the matter was, however, she would only respond that it was complicated. She'd told Steven and Wally everything about her past, but had also told them that she never wanted to talk about it again. Saying things were complicated was her way of not answering the question that had to do with her past and the information it contained, and yet still giving an honest answer that got the asker to drop the subject.

Zara took a deep breath to steady herself and she leaned against the door window again, straining to see the ground, but only glimpsing it around the wing"How much longer?" she asked again, trying to get her mind on something else.

"Three minutes since the last time you asked," Steven answered. "Do you want to-"

The Hoenn Champion was cut off when the plane suddenly jolted wildly. Zara grabbed the door, Steven grabbed the instrument panel to steady himself, and everything else in the plan, including Zara's and Steven's suitcases, went toppling, landing in a huge heap on the floor.

"What was that?" Steven asked.

"Something struck the wings from the outside," the pilot replied, scaning his instruments rapidly.

Zara leaned back un against the window and strained to see the ground again. "Can you tell if it came from above or below?" she asked.

"Below," the pilot answered curtly.

Zara flattened herself against the glass, and then she saw it. A Pokemon's attack coming straight for them, a pale blue one. It came closer and closer, untill it passed above her window and out of sight. Almost as soon as it did, there was another violent jolt, and Zara grabbed the door again as the whole plane shook.

"Something's attacking us from outside!" she shouted.

Suddenly, the plane tipped to one side, causing everything that had fallen on the floor earlier to slide toward that side of the plane, and the aircraft began to go down.

"What's going on?" Steven asked urgently.

"There's something building up on the left wing of the plane," the pilot answered. "It's weighing that side down. I'll try and level us off, but if we take on much more weight, this plane won't be able to handle it.

Steven nodded before turning to Zara. "Who's attacking us?"

"I can't tell," she answered.

"Well, what attack are they using then?"

Zara turned back to the window just in time to see two more of the same pale blue attacks flying toward the plane. Somehow they looked very familiar...like icicles, or a skating rink, or...

"It's Ice Beam!" she cried suddenly, just as the two attacks connected. Somehow though, the jolt they created seemed bigger than what just two attacks could do.

Steven, who had let go of the instrument panel, was knocked to the floor by the powerful Ice Beams. He quickly recovered and hurried to the other door's window. "There are more over here!" he shouted.

After the additional layer of ice, the pilot was struggling to maintain altitude, and the plane began to drop even lower. "Sir, can you help me control this?" the pilot asked Steven desperately. Steven hurried over to the controls and began adjusting them as the pilot told him to.

Another Ice Beam struck the left side of the plane, and the aircraft did a crazy dip before the pilot and Steven could level it out. As it dipped, the things that had fallen onto the floor, which by now were in a disorganized pile, slid across the floor and banged against the left wall. As the items connected, Zara thought she heard a muffled, "Ow" from within the pile.

Oh no, it can't be... can it? Scrambling over to the mess as best she could, she tore into it. And sure enough, about halfway down, she encountered a head covered in green hair. "Wally!" she shouted.

Wally blinked a couple of times as his eyes adjusted to the light, then seeing Zara's angry face, looked away sheepishly. "Oops," he whispered.

"Oops is right," Zara replied. "What are you doing here?" But as she said it, the plane jolted, and then dropped again, sending both of them toppling across the plane. "Tell me later," Zara amended, then scrambled back to the door.

More Ice Beams were coming up at them. Lots more. We must have upset a group of wild Ice types or something, Zara thought.

The plane gave a violent shudder, and began to slowly descend.

"I don't know how much longer we're going to be able to last!" the pilot shouted, tugging hard on the plane's steering wheel.

Zara looked out the window one more time. More Ice Beams than ever were flying up at them. I have to do something, she thought urgently. And fast.

Making up her mind, she punched her palm into the button that opened the door. It slowly began to open, sharp, cold wind pouring in through the opening. She reached into her pocket and drew out a pokeball, letting it expand in her hand.

"Zara, what are you doing?!" Steven cried.

"Stopping those Ice Beams, what does it look like!" she cried back. She drew back her arm and flung the pokeball with a shout of, "Flygon, at the ready!"

The pokeball burst open, and her Flygon burst out in a flash of white light, crying its name as loud as it could.

"Flygon, Protect!" Zara ordered.

The Ground and Dragon type pushed its snout toward the incoming Ice Beams and a transparent green barrier formed in front of it, stopping all but one of the Ice Beam attacks in their tracks. The one that it didn't block struck the propeller on the wing of the plane. Another jolt shook the aircraft and it dropped even lower.

More Ice Beams shot up, one after another. "Flamethrower!" Zara ordered.

Flygon opened its mouth and blasted the new Ice Beams with a torrent of flames. Two attacks got past it this time, one striking Flygon on the tip of its tail, the other shooting up toward the wings of the plane.

Then suddenly, from beside her, Zara heard a "Shadow Balll!" Almost instantly, a dark ball shaped blob intercepted the stray Ice Beam and the two attacks cancelled out. Zara whipped around to look beside her and found Wally and his Roserade.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"As l-long as you know I'm h-here, I may as well help-p," Wally answered, his voice shaking slightly. The plane continued to sink lower and Wally gripped the doorframe so hard his knuckles turned white. "Where are th-these att-tacks coming fr-from?" he asked.

"That is a very good question," Zara replied.

More Ice Beams shot up at them. "Flamethrower, Flygon!" Zara commanded.

"Petal Blizzard!" Wally cried.

Both Flygon and Roserade launched their attacks and intercepted all the Ice Beams. They connected and exploded, generating a cloud of smoke.

"Yes!" Wally said happily.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Zara cautioned. The plane, thought it hadn't taken anymore damage or ice for a while, was still steadily sinking from the weight of the ice on it. "We've got to find a way to get the ice off the plane. If we don't, I'm afraid this thing is going to crash."

"How do we do that?" Wally asked just as a new set of Ice Beams flew past the open door.

"Protect!" Zara shouted.

Flygon twisted mid-flight and chased after the Ice Beams. It overtook them and flew between them and the plane, then created a pale green barrier in front of it. The attacks stopped short of the plane, all driving into Flygon's Protect.

"Could Flygon use Flamethrower on the plane to melt the ice?" Wally asked. Another Ice Beam shot past them, and he ordered, "Shadow Ball!"

Roserade intercepted the Ice Beam with a powerful Shadow Ball.

Zara paused and considered Wally's idea before discarding it. "No, I'm not sure where all is frozen. If it happens to be a place that's over the gas tank or the engines, the fire could cause an explosion."

"So we br-break it off?" Wally suggested.

"That-" Zara began, but was cut off by more Ice Beams. "Flamethrower!" she shouted, and Flygon blasted the attacks with flames. "-isn't a bad idea. But if we can't see the ice, I can't direct Flygon where is safe to hit and where isn't. Any ideas?"

Wally twisted his mouth around in thought. After a second, he shrugged sadly and said, "Mirrors?"

Zara gazed out at her Pokemon. "You know what? I think I know how." She lifted to fingers to her lips and whistled a high blast. Flygon turned it's head toward her and started to fly back toward the open doorway. "Think you can handle these Ice Beams for a few minutes?" Zara asked Wally.

"Maybe, b-b-but what are you g-going to do?" Wally asked.

"Get a Dragon's eye view," Zara answered. Giving Wally a comforting wink, she turned to the open sky. Flygon dipped under the plane and began to fly even with it. Zara leaned out over the Dragon and Ground type, waiting for the right moment.

"Zara!" Steven cried in a painiced voice from the control panel, "What are you doing?"

Zara turned her head and gave him the most confident smile she could manage before leaping from the plane.

"Zara!" Wally shouted frightfully.

Zara barely heard the young trainer's cry. In seconds, she had fallen out of ear shot. The sound of the plane's propellers roared in her ears. Wind whipped past her, cutting through her clothes and freezing her skin. It was terrifying and amazing at the same time.

So this is what skydiving feels like, Zara though. Except skydivers have parachutes. I've got-

As she thought this, more Ice Beams shot up from the ground. Now she could see the ground clearly, but theur attackers were still hidden. Thick trees blocked her view of whatever didn't want them around. Several of them flew past her toward the plane and she could hear Roaserade's attacks intercepting them. But some of them shot toward her. Closer, and closer, cold, jagged, pale blue attacks.

Oh no. Help. Help! "Flygon!" Zara tried to scream, but the wind stole her cry away.

The attacks began to close in, fast.

Zara's pulse spiked and she panicked. She stared to flail her arms, trying to change her direction, but it didn't work.

"Flygon!" she screamed again, but to no avail.

The Ice Beam was close enough she could have touched it with her foot.

And then Flygon was beneath her. The Mystic Pokemon darted underneath her and Zara landed flat on its back, arms scrambling to grasp it's neck, heart pounding like a drum. Just as quickly, Flygon darted away, out of the path of the Ice Beams. They passed by harmlessly to be intercepted by an Aerial Ace from Steven's Skarmory.

Flygon pulled level with the plane and Zara began to survey the damage the ice had caused.

"Zara, what are you doing out there!" Steven hollered to her, though Zara could only barely hear him over the propellers.

"Getting the ice off the plane! What do you think?" Zara yelled back.

"Can you g-g-g," Wally began, but couldn't finish. Even from Flygon, Zara could tell he was shaking.

"Get the ice off?" Zara finished for him. "Yes, we can!" She patted her Flygon on its neck, and it screamed it's name eagerly. "Alright Flygon, Dragon Tail!"

Flygon zipped into action. It darted toward the underside of the plane's wings, and twisting around, slammed it green glowing tail against the ice that had formed there. Zara clung to its neck as it twisted, hoping desperately she wouldn't fall, fighting to keep the anxiety off her face.

Ice shatted beneath Flygon's tail, and shard began to fall all around it. Zara clung tighter to her Pokemon's neck and flecks of freezing cold ice scraped against her face and arms. She grit her teeth as Flygon shot around the wing, and her stomach lurched angrily.

"Steel Wing!" she heard Steven shout from below.

"Petal Blizzard!" she faintly heard Wally add.

Moments later, the plane jolted violently, and began to descend more rapidly.

Ugh, more ice to clear off. "Flygon, Dragon Tail again!" she cried.

Flygon zipped around to the plane's other wing and repeated its manuver. Again, flecks of ice scraped against Zara's exposed skin, and her stomach lurched more violently. Flygon didn't wait for another command, but again darted under the first wing and drove it's tail through the ice that hung there. Then it came to fly above the plane, it's wings humming in a steady rhythm.

"There," Zara said, surveying their work. "Good job Flygon."

Beneath her, Flygon cried happily.

The plane steadily began to level out, and then began to rise. Guess the pilot regained control of this thing, Zara thought. "Okay, Flygon, let's get back to helping Wally and Steven."

Flygon dipped it's head and turned toward the left side of the plane.

Suddenly from below, several explosions sounded. "What-" Zara began, but stopped when she heard Steven's voice shouting, "Steel Wing, quickly!" Moments later, the plane jolted sharply and began to falter in its ascent.

"Down Flygon, fast," Zara urged her Pokemon. Flygon wasted no time. It dove over the side of the plane and down untill it flew below the aircraft. Now Zara could see what had happened. More Ice Beams had struck, this time on the bottom of the plane, and now ice hung there. And if Zara knew anything about planes, which she knew very little, she knew that the gas tank was on the lower portion of the plane.

"Oh no," Zara whispered to herself. "Flygon, Dragon Tail! Break up that ice! Fast!"

Flygon darted to the front of the plane and doing a sharp loop, raised it's tail and slammed it into the ice. The ice broke once again, but this time it came off in chunks, not flecks. The chunks fell onto Flygon and Zara like hail, pelting them with rock hard pieces. One struck Zara's arm above her wrist and suddenly she felt pain there. Looking down, she saw the ice had left a zagged cut about three inches long that was oozing crimson red blood.

Zara scowled at her arm then patted Flygon's neck. "Up Flygon."

Flygon flew up till it was level with the plane's open door. Steven's Skarmory pulled even with it too.

"Did you g-get it all off?" Wally called out to her.

Most of it," she called back, "but it keeps coming back faster than we can break it off!"

"We're trying to stop them, but there are too many!" Steven yelled. "Whatever happens, you need to get back in the plane!"

"I'm fine! We have to stop-" Zara began, but stopped when Flygon roared beneath her. Leaning over her Pokemon's side, she saw an Ice Beam driving into her Pokemon's right wing. "Flygon!" she cried.

Flygon continued to scream and roar, but its wing beats from its right wing became steadily weaker. Quickly it's whole wing was encased in ice, and stopped flapping altogether. Flygon flapped it's left wing furiously to try and make up for the loss, but to no avail. Slowly it tipped it it's right side, slipping from the sky.

As her Pokemon began to tip, Zara clutched it's neck for dear life. Flygon did a barrel roll, then plummeted, taking Zara with it. A scream tore out of Zara's mouth as she fell, but the wind stole away the sound.

"Zara!" she heard both Steven and Wally shout before she fell out of earshot, but if they said anything else, it was lost in the wind.

Flygon struggled to right itself, steadily managing to roll over so Zara was on top. Zara watched her Pokemon desperately flap it's wings, trying to shake the ice off the right one, but it couldn't.

Zara peeked over Flygon's shoulder and nearly threw up. The ground was less than three hundred feet away and coming in fast. But that wasn't the worst part. More Ice Beams were coming up from the ground. And everyone of them was aimed at her and Flygon.

Reaching out with her foot as far as she could, Zara beat at Flygon's ice covered wing. The ice refused to budge or crack.

Flygon reared and screamed, now flailing it's whole body desperately.

"Protect!" Zara cried.

Flygon quickly put up a pale green barrier. It stopped the Ice Beams, but they continued to fall.

Zara clung tighter to her Pokemon's neck and wracked her brain for a solution to the problem. If only he and his Charizard were here. He'd be able to help us. Help. I need help.

But he's not here. So what do I do?

I have to get the ice off Flygon. I have to break it off or melt it off or...Charizard could just burn it away, so long as Flygon didn't faint in the process...

That's it!

"Flamethrower on your wing, Flygon!" Zara screamed, raising her voice above the wind.

Flygon roared and rearing back, blasted itself with flames. They struck it's wing and underbelly, burning the Ground and Dragon type, but melting the ice quickly. As the ice melted, the flames flew up around Flygon more. As the last of the ice turned to liquid, the Flamethrower licked up around to Flygon's back, singeing Zara pants and leg. Flygon stopped it's attack and began to fly again, the wind putting out the fire on Zara's clothing, but a burn remained on her leg. Zara hissed angrily, but tried to ignore the pain.

They were now less than one hundred feet from the ground. Flygon dipped downward, trying to even out its flight, and bringing the ground into sharper focus. When I wanted to see the ground, this wasn't what I meant, Zara though, shuddering.

Suddenly, from under the tree cover, she saw movement. Small, dark Pokemon were moving around below them, walking on two legs and waving their arms wildly.

"What are those, Flygon?" Zara asked. Flygon didn't reply, only flew on, beginning to climb back to the plane.

From below, voices began to drift up to Zara ears over the sound of Flygon's wings. Loud, angry voices. Looking back down, she saw the Pokemon screaming at each other and some of them attacking one another. After a moment of studing them, she concluded they were either Sneasle or Weavile.

And then she saw something that turned her blood to ice.

A human dressed entirely in red stepped out from beneath the foliage of a tree and began pointing angrily to all of the Pokemon. The Pokemon settled down grudgingly. Then the person lifted a hand and pointed upward. Straight at Flygon. Straight at her. The person looked up, and somehow Zara felt as though he was looking straight into her eyes, thought she knew he or she was too far away for that.

Zara jerked into a sitting position, clutching Flygon's neck with a death grip. Team Flare. Team Flare knows we're here. Team Flare is trying to crash our plane! Fear knotted her stomach, and bile rose in her throat.

The many Pokemon below all followed the person's finger, and moments later twenty Ice Beams shot up at them. Zara could only watch them come, rooted in place.

Flygon looked down from its ascent and roared furiously. Twisting and going into a steep dive, it charged into the incoming Ice Beams. As it neared them, it threw up a Protect and blocked them, tearing toward the ground.

No Flygon, no! Zara's mind screamed, but Flygon kept going. When it was within twenty feet of the ground it threw it's head back and blasted the ground with Flamethrower. The Pokemon, which turned out to be Sneasle, cried out in pain and scattered, and so did several of the humans.

Flygon screamed after them as they ran, then twisted out of its dive. The Mystic Pokemon turned back to the sky, lashing it's tail as it left the ground. Zara clung to its neck fiercly, her hear pounding like a drum in her chest.

Team Flare just tried to crash our plane. We have to stop them. We can't let them get away. But they'll hurt us if we do!

I'm scared. But no one needs to know that.

...I wish Alain was here.

Flygon had finished its ascent, and had come to a stop just beside the open doorway. Steven and Wally both reached out toward her as Flygon approached, but Zara didn't reach back. She clung to her Pokemon's neck as her stomach knotted inside her.

"Zara! Get in the plane!" Steven shouted.

"Hurry!" Wally cried.

Zara only clung tighter to Flygon. Her eyes began to glaze over as thoughts swam through her head. I shouldn't have come to Kalos. I thought we coud slip in without being noticed, but now, I'm not sure what's going to happen. One thing that is sure: I'm not safe here.

I don't want to keep running for my safety.

But I can't just let Team Flare keep hurting people. No one deserves to go through what I've been through. And they will if no one stops them. If I don't stop them.

I have to do something. But why do I have to get so close to danger to do it?

I just want to be with Alain again. He'd keep me safe. He'd-

As Zara hung in her state of thought, steadily the sounds around her began to lessen. At first she ignored it, but slowly the noise quieted untill it gave out altogether. Zara blinked and finally started to pull herself from her thoughts, when a scream cut through them, jerking her back to reality. She blinked her eyes rapidly to bring them back into focus, and discovered, to her horror, the plane had stopped and was plummiting at a fourty-five degree angle toward the ground.

"Flygon?" Flygon screamed again. The Ground and Dragon type twisted its head around to look at her oddly.

Zara stared at it for a second, as reality began to sink in, then shook her head and shouted, "Flygon, after them!"

Flygon jerked its head back around and bolted after the plane.

Wind sliced past Zara as Flygon dove, burning her cheeks and stinging her eyes. I can't let fear distract me. I don't even know what happened to them to make the plane fall I was so caught up in my own wishes.

Flygon caught up to the plane and roared. Now Zara could see what the problem was. The propellers on the plane's wings were not turning, save for the little bit the wind moved them. Some of the ice must have struck the wiring to those, Zara thought.

Steven and Wally were both still in the open door way, clutching the sides of the door. Wally looked like he was going to be sick. Steven shouted something to her, but it was lost in the wind.

I don't know what Flygon can do to help, Zara thought. It can't hold the plane up, and it can't fix the wiring. She glanced at the fast approching ground. Wait a minute...it can break their fall.

"Flygon, Sand Tomb!" she cried.

Flygon lashed its tail, but didn't otherwise react.

It can't hear me! Zara thought, panic shooting through her.

She poked her Pokemon in the shoulder as hard as she could to get its attention. Flygon quickly flared its wings and pulled out of its dive, and as it did, the wind roaring in Zara's ears died out. Flygon turned its head to look at her as it leveled off, a question on its face.

"Get below the plane and then use Sand Tomb Flygon," Zara ordered. "Let's see if we can catch that plane before it crashes."

Flygon dipped its head and rolled back into its dive. This time it flapped its wings so hard they were nothing more than a blur of motion, and Zara had to hold on to its shoulders as tightly as she could to not be blown off.

Zara had to squint her eyes against the strong wind to see anything, but when she looked past Flygon at the plane and the ground, her stomach dropped. She'd know that stopping to give Flygon directions would put them behind the plane, she just hadn't realized how far the heavy metal aircraft would fall in such a short amount of time. Already it had dropped half of the distance from Flygon and the ground, and though Flygon was diving at speeds that could rival a Raquaza, the plane seemed to be falling even faster. Zara layed her head against her Pokemon's neck and willed it to go faster. The ground got closer and closer, but Zara couldn't watch. She screwed her eyes shut and let Flygon dive.

Seconds dragged by. Wind whipped past Zara's face, but she ignored it. Come on Flygon, faster, faster!

As if in responce to her thoughts, Flygon's wings hummed even faster. And suddenly, the Mystic Pokemon changed direction, sharply. Zara was nearly thrown off her Pokemon's back when it stopped, and here eyes flew open. The first thing she saw was the plane, directly beside them, still falling. The next thing she noticed was the ground, less than fifty feet below them.

"Sand Tomb!" Zara shouted without even thinking.

Flygon reared its head back, its eyes begining to glow a bright green. It raised one claw, then lashed it forward as if it was slicing at something. Below it, a small, brown tornado appeared, which quickly grew into a huge storm.

Zara leaned over her Pokemon's shoulder and watched the plane. It was still falling, straight for the Sand Tomb. Please let that attack hold it up, Zara thought desperately.

The plane struck the top of the tornado, hard, and began to sink through the storm, its weight breaking up the weather formation.

Flygon roared and its eyes began to glow even more brightly. The Sand Tomb grew stronger, but still the plane sank through it toward the ground. Twenty feet, then ten, then five.

No! Zara thought desperately.

Suddenly, Flygon gave a strangled cry beneath her, and its Sand Tomb gave out. The plane dropped instantly to the ground, a resounding boom visibly shaking the trees around it.

Zara held her breath. The plane didn't crash exactly, but are they still okay? There was no movement to indicate they were.

"Down, Flygon," Zara ordered. Flygon flew downward as fast as it could, exhaution starting to slow it down.

The Ground and Dragon type touched down about three yard from the plane. Zara jumped down from is back and dashed to the plane's side door. Somehow the door had closed between the time she'd seen it last and now. She raced up to it, and grabbing the handle, threw it open. Please let them be okay.

And inside, spralled out on the floor, were Wally, Steven, and the pilot, all of them coughing and struggling to get up. The floor of the plane was covered with their luggage and sand, and some still hung in the air, hence the coughing from the three passengers.

Relief flooded through Zara. They were okay. They had all survived.

Steven rose first, and spotted her almost immediately. "Zara, you're alright!" he exclaimed.

Zara smiled weakly. "Your the one who went through a plane crash and you're asking if I'm alright?" she asked.

Steven only smiled back with a strained smile.

"Zara!" Wally shouted, then immediately began coughing.

"Oh no, an asthma attack! Someone find his bag!" Zara exclaimed. She jumped into the plane and began digging through the piles of suitcases and sand. Steven and the pilot turned quickly to other piles and began sifting through them.

After a moment, Steven located Wally's worn cross body bag and pulled out his inhaler. The green haired trainer took it and took a long breath from it. As he did, Zara steered him out of the plane into the clean air to keep the sand from bothering him again. The others followed behind them.

Once outside, the pilot began to walk around the plane. Zara glanced at him curiously before turning back to her friend. "Are you going to be okay, Wally?"

Wally nodded and he put the cap back on him inhaler. "Why dsaidhe propellers stop working?" he asked.

Zara looked to Steven, who said, "Why don't you ask our pilot?"

A loud exclamation of, "The fuel tank is punctured!" from the pilot at the back of the plane answered their question.

"Well," Steven said calmly, "I guess the only thing left to do is to walk to Lumiose."

Zara was about to ask how far it was when she remembered Team Flare was out in the woods around them. Walking there could prove dangerous.

"How far is it?" Wally asked.

"About ten minutes flying, so a twenty minute walk, as the Murkrow flies." Steven answered.

"So we could get there in fifteen if we rode our Pokemon," Zara reasoned. She tried to keep the fearful waver out of her voice.

"We could. Good point Zara," Steven said.

The pilot rejoined them with a disgusted look on his face. "I'm going to have to get a repair crew to work on this plane before it will run again."

"Then the sooner we get to Lumiose, the better," Zara said. She jumped into the plane and grapped her backpack and duffle, then jumped back out as quickly as she could.

"Why the big rush?" Steven asked pointedly.

"I just don't want those Pokemon to find us out here on the ground," Zara answered. Inwardly she grimaced and thought, That's not why you want to get to Lumiose!

I know that, but they don't need to. She shoved the thought out of her mInd. "Let's get going before they find us." She took a step toward the surrounding woods, then looked back over her shoulder to find the others hadn't moved. "Please?"

Steven gave her a long look, then nodded his head. "We're coming." He climbed back into the plane and came out a moment later carrying a suitcase. Wally and the pilot followed silently and gathered their own things. One by one, the three released the Pokemon they planned to ride on and climbed on, Skarmory for Steven, Gallade for Wally, and a Rapidash for the pilot. Zara pulled a Pokeball from her pocket and tossed it, releasing her Sceptile. She clamored into its back, but not before it shot her a confused and concerned look.

"We'll talk about this later Sceptile," Zara told it quietly.

"Scep," Sceptile replied patiently.

"Ready?" Steven asked, addressing all three of the others.

They all nodded.

"Then let's go Skarmory," he said, patting his Pokemon's neck. Skarmory took off, with the pilot's Rapidash and Gallade close behind.

Zara gave the forest around them one last look before parting Sceptile's neck. The Grass type took off after the group, but Zara kept her gaze focused behind her.

The sooner we get to Lumiose, the sooner we find Team Flare, the sooner we get this over with. And the sooner things can go back to normal.

Team Flare...wherever you are...you won't capture me again. You won't capture anyone again. I won't let you.