This is what I've been waiting for, the big reveal! Settle down now, everyone, all your questions will be answered shortly!
~
Zenith was on a mission. She had stopped briefly to see Serena at the docks, but was quickly drawn away by the prospect of what she had seen.
She knew that Azumarill, and now she was looking for its trainer.
The Champion had been around the whole city twice already, and knew they had to be around somewhere.
However, she had exactly zero luck, and headed back to the Pokemon Center feeling defeated. She handed her Pokeballs over to Nurse Joy for a quick heal, reading the list of occupants out of boredom.
However, under it, there were two different rooms booked under the last name Sawyer. That's funny. I only have one room. And the only other Sawyers I know are...
"Your Pokemon are fully healed! Get a good night of rest, Mademoiselle Zenith," Nurse Joy said, giving her Pokeballs back. Zenith shook her head, taking them back and putting them on her belt before checking the list one last time.
It was nearly midnight, so she'd be up bright and early to pay someone a visit.
As expected, Zenith was up bright and early, fixing a meal of French Toast, eggs, sausage, and orange juice, as well as buying a few Pokebeans for the Pokemon. She downed hers before leaving a note in the others' room.
'Dear everyone,
I'll be out for a bit, but I'll be back within an hour or so. I made breakfast, so dig in!
-Zenith'
Satisfied, she left it on the inside of the door before walking out of it, looking for the room number listed for the other "Sawyer" room.
Finally, she found it. The honey blonde took a breath and knocked on the door.
"Who's there?" A familiar voice asked.
Zenith grinned. "Guess who."
The door immediately opened to reveal a short, tan girl with a black chin-length bob hairstyle and bright green eyes.
"Sky!?"
"Hey Blaze."
The girl immediately pulled her inside. "GIRLS! Sky is here!"
"What!?" Another voice called, and soon, two more girls appeared. One had long, wavy platinum blonde hair with teal highlights and bright blue eyes, and another had straight brown hair with one blue-green eye and one brown eye.
"Yuki! Rose! Since when were you all in town!?" Zenith exclaimed, pulling the three girls into an embrace.
"We came to see the Showcase, but got caught up in something," the brunette answered, hugging back for a second before trying to pull away. "Sky, can you, uh, let us go?"
"Not until you give me a proper greeting."
The brunette rolled her eyes. "Ugh, fine. Hello Kalos Queen and Champion Zenith Sawyer."
Zenith let go with a mischievous smile. "Come on! You've gotta come meet my new friends!"
The short girl crossed her arms. "And what if one of us doesn't want to?"
Zenith suddenly lifted the girl up, carrying her piggyback style. "Too bad!" She then ran out the door, leaving the other two to chase after her as they returned to our heroes' room.
"Knock knock, and I brought company!" Zenith exclaimed, pushing the door open. Inside were a surprised Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena, as well as their Pokemon, who were all in the middle of eating, still in pajamas with bedheads.
They sputtered. "Who are these people!?" Clemont exclaimed. Just then did Zenith notice something off about Serena.
"You CUT your HAIR!?" The black-haired, green-eyed girl said exactly what Zenith was thinking, but the next was a bit uncalled for. "News flash: getting a haircut won't change the fact that you bombed your performance, butchering probably every chance you had at becoming a performer!"
Zenith dropped the girl, letting her hit the floor roughly. "Blaze. Apologize. Now. That was extremely rude!"
Serena, now with much shorter hair, eyed the dropped girl suspiciously. "Who is this and why is she insulting me?" She demanded.
Zenith rolled her eyes as the two girls behind her giggled. "Girls, why don't you introduce yourselves?"
The brunette snickered. "I can't believe they don't recognize us!"
The blonde kicked the other's leg. "It's rude to laugh, Rose." She turned to our heroes with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about my sisters; they don't know how to behave sometimes. My name is Crystal, but these three disasters call me Yuki."
"Wait, sisters?" Bonnie asked, eyeing the newcomers.
Zenith and Crystal nodded, with the former responding. "I'm the oldest by a few minutes, then Yuki, then Rose, and Blaze is technically the youngest."
"Wait, MINUTES!?" Clemont shouted.
The 'Rose' girl put her arms around Crystal and Zenith's shoulders as the youngest stood up. "Yep, these are my sisters! We're quadruplets!"
Everyone's jaws formally dropped. "No way!" Ash exclaimed.
"You don't look anything alike!" Serena noted.
Zenith shrugged. "We aren't identical. Anyways, I'll introduce our other two. The brunette we call Rose, but her real name is Pine, and little Blaze's real name is Shadow."
Shadow's eyes narrowed as she tried to playfully punch her elder sister, but the athletic champion caught her arm mid-attack.
As they settled in, Ash looked them over. "So, what do you three do?"
Pine was the one to answer first. "I'm mostly a 'trainer trainer' as I call it. I run this facility in Lumiose City where I help trainers and their Pokemon become stronger, but I also perform alongside Yuki."
Crystal, upon hearing her nickname, perked up and added to her sister's words. "And I have a bakery in Shalour City, but as Rose said, we perform together in Contests."
Shadow simply looked away, turning her head up with a 'hmmph,' so Zenith answered for her. "Shadow is Professor Sycamore's assistant, but she's quite the trainer and performer, too."
"I do not perform!" She exclaimed in frustration, but the other three just giggled.
"Yeah, and Pignite fly little sis," Pine teased.
"I DON'T DO YOUR STUPID FRILLY PERFORMANCES! UNLIKE MISS DOESN'T KNOW JACK ABOUT ANYTHING- LIKE ALWAYS KEEPING YOUR POKEMON RIBBONS A FEW INCHES FROM THEIR PAWS- I'M A STRONG AND SMART TRAINER!!!" Shadow erupted, storming out of the room.
Zenith ran after her sister, but Serena also followed.
The three went out of the Pokemon Center and ran down to the docks, where Shadow sat down at the edge in fury. Serena was panting, nearly passing out from exhaustion by the time she neared them, but Zenith being athletic (again, you guys should know this!), hadn't broken a sweat.
Neither approached the noirette, but Zenith wordlessly acknowledged the girl behind her. After a moment of silence, she pulled Serena further away from her younger sister. "I'm sorry she said those things about you. No matter how mad you are, please don't flip out at her."
"Mad? I mean the things she's said to me so far have been rude and uncalled for! ...But she seems really upset, and just last night I was here at the same place, so I guess I understand her lashing out," Serena whispered, much to Zenith's surprise.
The Kalos Queen sighed. "I suppose you deserve at least an explanation then, if not an apology that I'm sure Blaze won't give. The reason she's like this is because of... because of our father. He always said we were mistakes, and the worst thing that happened to him. Shadow received the worst of his brutality, and he always called her a freak and a witch because of her dark hair and deathly pale skin." Among... other things, Zenith thought with a shudder.
"That's... that's horrible!" Serena cried.
Zenith nodded sadly. "He said we were weak and useless, and that really got to her. That's why she's always determined to be tough and heartless even though, on the inside, she wants to indulge in silly things like performing and friendly competitions just as much as any of us."
"I'm sorry, Zenith. I didn't know about that, about your past... it doesn't excuse what she did of course, but I'm not as upset."
"It's okay. Not many people do. Our father abandoned us when we were young, and our mother died when we were only seven. The Professor took us in, which is why she still works there today. She thinks of Professor Sycamore as her second father, and wants to repay him for everything he did for us as kids."
The two sat at the beginning of the dock, watching the other girl. Finally, Shadow turned around, narrowing her eyes at them. "What? Here to yell at me, too?"
"I'm..." Serena began; whatever she was trying to say looked difficult for her. "....here to apologize. I might be a rookie performer, and the sight of me might make your blood boil for all I know, but I don't hate you. Just..." She finally told the other girl, who only scoffed before she could finish.
Not saying anything else, only pushing past them and speed walking away, Shadow left the two honey blondes on the deck. Zenith turned to Serena. "Go on back with the others. I'll reason with her."
~
Wait, Zenith has three sisters, quadruplets no less!? And is that a hint of their past!? No wonder Shadow lashed out so easily, but Serena actually tries to do something kind!? Since when does THAT happen? What a chapter, am I right? All in a days work for me!
Goodbye for now,
-Zenith, Zenith S. Sawyer