A/N It's been a while ._. sumimasen.

Looking back at the other chapters, I realized that my writing style is drastically different. Furthermore, I have lost the overall feeling of the Pokemon characters, which makes it hard for me to write. Therefore, after this chapter, there will be no more chapters. The story will be put on an eternal hiatus. Thank you for staying with me. ;-;

Information from Bulbapedia-very helpful. =]

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nope, nope.

Chapter 4

Dawn had returned the Crystal Tear to the pedestal. After a careful inspection, she was relieved to find out that there was no damage done to the stone. As she brushed it clean with a jeweled feather duster that she always carried around with her, she heard a strange noise.

Tap, tap, tap.

"Just a minute, just a minute!" Dawn replied. With a sudden realization, she froze. There was no door in front of the stairs leading upstairs. The other entrances led to halls and therefore had no doors either. Besides, this room belonged to no-fairy; no one knocked to gain entrance here.

Tap, tap, tap.

The maid turned ever so slightly. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw something hovering at the window. It had the size and form of a young fairy. Jagged dragonfly wings sprouted from its back. His red hair was short and windblown, like that of a fey child's. It wore clothes that looked like it had a brief acquaintance with a shredder machine. Above one of the bare feet, an ankle was hugged by an anklet with a single dark rock hanging on it.

Dawn did the best she could to remain calm. Her mind worked furiously to determine her next move. She could go and alert another, more capable fairy to take care of the situation, perhaps even the royal family. But then, the Crystal Tear would be out in the open, exposed to whatever danger was presented before it.

Tap, tap tap.

Oh, what to do indeed. Without any other options, the fairy carefully picked up the object before her and began walking towards the stairs as if this was part of her daily routine. She had barely reached the first stair when-BLAM!

The thing had lost its patience. With a dark red knife, the interloper had scratched a complicated and elegant design onto the magical shield that protected the tree. A forceful strike with one palm was all it took to break the barrier and send the glass of the window flying across the room.

With a strangled cry, Dawn fell to her knees. The Tear flew out of her hands and landed with a THUMP in front of her, out of reach. She scrambled to it, ignoring the glass digging into her hands. Just when she picked it up again, she heard a beast's voice snarling quietly behind her: "Girl, give me the Crystal Tear."

~ / / \ / / \ | | | | / \ \ / \ \ ~

"Oh! Your majesty, your princeliness, where is your highness going?"

The prince's eye twitched. Why was it that everywhere he went, he still needed to be escorted? He was no longer a baby, and his wings were fully developed. Father had even told him that his wings were more powerful than most fairies of the same age.

"Don't worry, I won't leave the tree," he reassured the servant. "I'd like some quiet time to think." Not bothering to wait for an answer, the purple-haired prince snapped open his glossy feathered wings and made his escape.

Prince Shinji landed softly on the carpet in the next room. Assuaging his irritation, he took some time studying and admiring the artworks, especially those of Kenji Tomoseki.* The great artist, Tomoseki, was one of the only artists that were able to completely convey his subject and his feelings of the subject with any medium-pencil, pen, oil pastel, paint, and even the cheap childrens' crayons.

However, one day, when he was in his studio, he mysteriously disappeared. Witnesses passing by his studio report a flash of red light and a disturbance of air in the shape of a small fairy, as if the air itself was vibrating. After that, he was never seen again. His unfinished painting, still in the sketching stage, had the promise to be the greatest of all time. Following the artist's supposed kidnapping, the painting was set on an easel in a corner of the room. As a tribute and reminder to that day, a translucent red covering of pokemon spider-silk draped the easel. To represent the flash of light, galvantula carefully wove electrocuted threads into the fabric in a way that it wouldn't zap anyone, and the silk was enchanted by Kenji's assistants, relatives, and friends to suspend it in time, to keep it in its current state forevermore.

It was on this piece of art that the prince preferred to dwell on. He liked everything about it-the mystery behind the disappearance, the potential and form of the art, and the plethora of outcomes Tomoseki might have arrived at. On this particular day his focus was directed on the fabric covering. As he took note of the simple yet intricate pattern a big BOOM from beneath his feet interrupted him. A noticeable tinkling of glass followed suit.

He leaped towards the stairs with a delicate pivot. With a hop, he took flight, then folded his wings, hurtling him down the curved staircase. When he reached the bottom of the staircase, he snapped his wings together and quickly scanned the situation: a rogue fairy and one of his family's maids were in a room. Glass dotted the floor as stars did the sky. The servant girl was curled over something, protecting it with her eyes shut tight.

Instinctively, Prince Shinji leaped in front the blue-haired figure. What is that maid doing. Is she protecting the Crystal Tear? Seems like it. He snarled. Why is she here?! She'll only be in the way! And that rogue! What is HE doing?! Does he not understand the consequences of removing the Tear from its rightful place?! Tsk, so troublesome!

With a sweep of his eye, the rogue fairy analyzed his new opponent. He smirked.

This brat of a prince...he has not seen the real world, as I have.

Killing him will be a piece of cake.

A/N: *Kenji Tomoseki: "Kenji" is the Japanese name for Tracey Sketchit from Pokemon. "Tomoseki" comes from the name of his Japanese voice actor, Tomokazu Seki.