FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter Eight.

Axel and I entered the cave slowly at first, but carried on at a normal pace as it opened up into a large cavern lit by a few torches and small fires. Within, a single Lucario was sitting cross legged on a pile of hay, tail curled up around his legs as well. His eyes were closed, but upon hearing our approach they opened and he stared at me. His eyes were a dull red, and getting closer I noticed he seemed partly blind as his eyes had difficulty focusing on us. His fur was slightly grayed as well, the blue and yellow fur not as brightly colored as the younger Lucario I'd seen outside. He did not seem frail however, though he was not as defined as the others, I could tell he was still physically strong.

"Elder Xio'en?" I asked him softly as I stood a few yards in front of him with Axel at my side.

"Yes I am indeed. I take you are Ruli?" He asked me back while his paws rested on the knees of his legs.

I nodded, "Yes, I'm uh...answering the summons."

"Hmmm yes..." He waited then, and I became a little anxious

"I'm sorry...um...is there something I need to do?" I rubbed the back of my head and he started himself, shaking his head.

"I forgot, you did not grow up here. Apologies."

I remembered what the other Lucario had told me outside about there being formalities between Riolu and Lucario and I became worried. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend or anything." I said quickly.

He held up a paw to stop me, "It is okay, I merely forgot. We can dispense with formalities for now, in the future though it is customary to do a slight bow."

I nodded and kept rubbing my head awkwardly as the Elder continued, "Anyways, I summoned you here to give you something and discuss a situation of importance." Xio'en rose, rather quickly for what his age seemed to be and began walking past us. "Follow me please."

Axel and I followed the Elder out of his cave. The two Lucario guards flanked us as we walked through the village. While following, passing Riolu and Lucario would bow lightly as we passed them, and the Elder would bow back. They would place one paw on there chests as they would do this. I wanted to remember this as even though I didn't know if I would ever return here, I wanted to try and respect the species customs.

He led us to a cave close to the edges of the village and waved us in, telling the guards to wait outside as we entered. Inside were several well built wooden chests, I instantly thought believed this was a treasury of sorts. The Elder approached one and opened it, the lid creaking as it did and a light coat of dust floated in the air. He reached inside and pulled a dark purple scarf, about as long as I was tall, and handed it to me.

"This is now yours." He stated simply as he held it out to me. I blinked as I reached up to his paw and took it. Holding in my paws, a part of it laid on the rocky ground at my feet. It felt soft and well made. Despite that I was sure it had spent years inside that chest, not a single part of the cloth was worn or torn.

"This scarf was your mother's." The Elder said I looked up at him. "Your father grew up much like you did, away from the clan, but your mother had grown up here before she moved away. She made this before she left, and instructed me to give this scarf to her first born child. I was not aware of your being alive until just a week ago, which was when I sent out that message."

"You weren't aware I was alive?" I questioned, "But...Pangoro said you allowed me to live in the coast town knowingly."

The Elder brought a paw to his chin, "I'm afraid we were not aware, we would not have freely allowed you to grow up outside your clan unless your parents were alive. We were aware they had perished during a storm, but had been told they had no offspring. We were aware that about a year after that, they sent us notice they had found a lost Riolu in the forest and we gave them permissions to raise him. It was not until recently that I was told that you were in fact their son."

"So...Pangoro lied." Axel determined, and when the Elder and I looked at him in confusion he clarified. "Remember Ruli? He said that your father told him it was his wish that you grow up outside of the clan?"

"I do but-"

"That makes sense." The Elder said, interjecting on me, "Pangoro knew we would never have allowed a Riolu to grow up outside the clan, so he lied to us to avoid having you taken away from your birthplace." The Elder waived his paw lightly, "It is all right though, I probably would've allowed the request had he been truthful. I respected your father for what he was."

"Who was he?" I asked him as I held the scarf in my paws still, examining it thoughtfully.

"Strong, independent, a bit of a goofball." The Elder chuckled and shook his head, "A natural leader though. He didn't want to waste his life in the clan and wanted to do more with his life. He was exiled."

"Exiled? What for?" I looked at the Lucario in concern as he held his paw up.

"Easy young one, his exile was voluntary. Unlike being banished, exile lasts only as long as one wishes it to. He could have returned to the clan at anytime, but he clearly enjoyed what he did more. Your mother was the same, she wanted more and left to fine thrills and met your father. They had known each other as Riolu, so it is no surprise they also ended up as mates."

I tilted my head, this was first I was hearing of an option to be exiled but allowed to return. I looked at Axel, who seemed just as confused.

"The scarf though," The Elder continued, "Is made of Skarmory feathers, Mareep wool and Spinarak webbing. It as strong as the steel of our very bones but as soft as the clouds." He clapped an arm with one of his paws heartedly as he said this. "That scarf is unlikely to ever be damaged, even in the middle of a fight. It is your mother's eternal keepsake."

I nodded and folded the cloth up in my paws to hold it against me and looked up at the Elder, "What was the other thing you wanted to talk about?"

"About how I was made aware of your existence." The Elder peered at me as he spoke, "I was meditating when I had a vision. I heard voices speak your parents name I saw you at the school."

I blinked, not sure what to think of that, and the Elder must of sensed my confusion as he explained, "Certain things happen for certain reasons, Ruli. I would not have had this vision unless it was vitally important that I was able to call you here, and so I want to find more about you and what you might be up to."

"It is more important than you think it is, Elder Xio'en." A third voice interjected and I turned to the cave entrance. Seeing a dark figure standing between the guards that were barring his entrance.

"Who is there? Let him in." Xio'en called out and the guards parted. The third Lucario past them and entered, and the Elder hummed. "Ah Lucian. I didn't think you would show up for this."

The new Lucario, Lucian, came close and I was able to see a very defining characteristic right away. He had a dark cloth patch over his left eye and left side of his face, leaving only his right visible. His muzzle bore a long scar that went up the left side of his muzzle and under the cloth.

I remembered quickly what Psy had told me. Seek out the Lucario known as Lucian. It seemed I didn't not need to seek him out anymore as he had come to me.

Lucian placed his paw on the tip of his spike and gave a short bow to Xio'en, "Elder...it is nice to see you again." He said this with a smooth and calm tone, not smiling at all.

"I wish I may say the same about you Lucian," The Elder spoke back with more of a concerned voice, "The last time you visited us there was an avalanche that nearly killed three of our clan. You bring disaster in your wake."

"I am to be at fault for my parentage? That is what has been blamed in the past..." Lucian said calmly still and the Elder scowled.

"Your parentage..." Xio'en grimaced and shook his head. "Why your mother bred with that beast I do not know."

"Nor do I." Lucian returned and folded his arms under his spike. "Perhaps she had not been given a choice in the matter." He stared coldly at the other Lucario.

Axel and I looked back and forth between them as they exchanged their hardened words, but the Elder didn't seem intent on playing anymore, shaking his head once again. "What are you here for Lucian?"

"For this young one here." Lucian waved a paw down towards me.

"And what would you plan to do for him?"

"Teach him."

"Excuse me? You mean you would train him?" Xio'en asked in surprise now for some reason.

Lucian nodded, "In combat and to get him to evolve, yes." Lucian folded his arms, "Like you promised his mother, I promised his father something as well..."

"And what was that?"

He shook his head, "I cannot tell you Elder...it would break his honor to do so."

"Humph." Xio'en tapped his footpad on the ground and he gave a soft bark and a slight shake of his head, "Do what you will then." The Elder walked past us, leaving the cave. We turned to watch him and once I believed we were alone I turned to Lucian and spoke up.

"Who are you?"

Lucian stared down at me with his arms crossed across his chest still, tilting his head downward to look at me. "I am a friend of your father's..."

He began walking away and I scowled, not satisfied with that answer at all, but Lucian did not seem to care.

"Follow." He commanded lightly but kept walking, not looking back.

I looked at Axel, who shrugged slightly. I looked at the scarf in my paws again and decided to trust in what Psy said, he wouldn't have told me to look for Lucian if I could not trust him. I walked quickly to catch up with the Lucario as he led Axel and I outside of the clan.

______________________

Lucian led us up higher into the mountains following a side path from the main one. Just as it felt as if it was getting hard to breath because of the altitude, we arrived at a natural cave. Unlike the ones back in the clan, this one was not dug out. It was rather spacious and big for just one pokémon. The ceiling of the entrance was low and Lucian had to duck to enter, but was able to stand straight up again inside.

I rubbed my paws along the cold walls as I stepped in after Lucian and out of the chilly wind of the mountains. The cave curved around and from there was a small living space. A bed of hay like the Elder's and a small fire a few feet from it that at the moment was dying. A large pile of wood lay nearby, more than enough to last for quite some time.

Lucian started to feed these into the dying fire, carefully prodding it with his paws until the new logs seemed to start catching and he sat in his hay.

Axel and I started at him from the other end, silence going from awkward to actually annoying at how distant this stranger was being.

"Again." I asked him pressingly, "Who are you?"

He turned his eyes to me in a sudden glare, "I already told you!" He barked and I jumped back, startled. He huffed and shuffled in his hay a moment and he grumbled. "Sorry."

He closed his eyes and sighed, "I am Lucian, I am a banished Lucario."

"Banished?" Axel asked, "Why were you allowed to come into the clan?"

"I am only banished in the very loosest of terms." Lucian said coolly, "I am still allowed to visit if I need something."

"Why though?" Axel pressed still, "That is very strange I have never heard of such a thing, as well as that "exiled" thing Xio'en talked about."

"For you Eeveelutions, you probably have no choice but to be a part of your clan." Lucian stated, "Not a single one of you is allowed to say you don't want to spend your life there. The option of exile does not exist to you."

Axel fell silent, clearly Lucian unknowingly hit his weak point, so I spoke instead then.

"But why are you banished?"

"Because of my parentage." Lucian stated and he sighed, closing his eyes, "I am a halfbreed." With that, Lucian began removing the cloth strapped around his head that covered his eye. When he removed it I gasped a bit, his left eye was blind, the color white and dull. He stared unwavering at us as he continued, "My father was an Absol, my mother a Lucario. I was born with my left eye the color of an Absol's, not a Lucario's."

Lucian began putting the cloth back on as he continued, which I noticed as it's gaze left that I had started to feel a little sick. "My mother was raped, though the clan would not believe her stories. They believed she wanted it. She died giving birth to me alone...I was taken in by the clan, but I was not welcome. I was outcast and shunned. Soon it became apparent that I didn't just inherit my left eye from my father."

The fire was starting to pick up and Lucian started into it like he was seeing memories inside, "They began to notice that those that spent time around me would begin feeling ill, sick...others would have horrible accidents happen to them. I had apparently inherited an Absol's most dreaded thing...the ability to cause those that saw me misfortune. I've learned to control it, it's my left eye that causes it." I understood then why I started feeling ill as the eye was looking at me.

He shook his head, "But I realized that too late. The more misfortune I caused, the more hated I became. Eventually, I was banished for the wellbeing of everyone around me. I was only banished from spreading my halfblood and being around the clan for extended periods though."

He looked at me, "Ruli, when your father and I were still Riolu, he was the only clan mate I considered a friend. He did not let my eye bother him, nor did he let the accidents and sickness he suffered because of me get to him. He pleaded with the previous Elder when they decided to banish me. He told them all it was not my fault that I was born like this, that I shouldn't be punished for something I could not control. It did spark a lot of discussion about if I really should be punished for it. In the end, this is what they settled on. "Partial banishment." they called it."

"Your father was still able to visit me from time to time. Once we became Lucario, he told me he was exiling himself to explore. He wanted me to come with him."

"Why didn't you?" I asked lightly now, having been listening quietly to his tale.

Lucian shook his head, "I...didn't have the courage to. My childhood was a wreck and so was I. I didn't want him to deal with what my eye caused others. I later found out covering my eye would stop the misfortune, but he was already off and about. He did make me promise something to him though." He looked at me again, and for once he smiled slightly, "He made me promise to be his child's godfather."

I blushed slightly at that and twitched my ears, not sure what to think of that really.

"And because of that, I'm going to take it upon myself to train you." He stated and waved his paw at me, "Come over here."

I stepped forward cautiously with the scarf still in my paws. When I got close he reached out and took hold of the scarf. I instinctively held onto it tightly as he tried to pull it out of my paws, not even sure why though. He stared at me intently, "Relax...I knew your mother as a Riolu as well...I remember this scarf and I'm not about to harm it. I actually want to help you put it on."

I stared at him for a moment longer still as I judged his words and the tone of his voice. I loosened my grip reluctantly and he unfolded the scarf and held it up in the air in front of himself.

"I remember this being so much bigger looking...but it is only three feet long." He mused softly and then he held it out over the fire. I gasped at him and he tutted, "I said relax! It's not gonna burn." I watched as the scarf caught fire, but he pulled it away before it got too bad. He let it keep going for several seconds though and I watched as he held it in the air.

"See? It doesn't burn." He said as the fire was dying away on the scarf, fading until it vanished. The scarf was unharmed. Where the fire had been was no mark, scuff, burn or other damage.

"Whoa..." Axel said next to me as he had been watching as well, "That's a hell of a scarf."

"It's made of the best materials, just like the Elder said." Lucian said proudly and he sighed. "Can't believe she would leave this here. She loved this thing, she got it as a gift from her own parents. I thought for sure she had taken it with her. To think it was locked in that chest for all those years." He mused again before holding it in both paws at length.

He turned towards me and flapped the scarf around my neck then, and I hold still watching him as he began moving his arms around me. I felt him circle it once around my neck, tucking in the end tightly against the fur of my neck. He then flipped the rest behind my back as a cape, and I felt the frills at the end brush just barely on the balls of my heels.

He sat back afterwards and tilted his head at me, "Looks good. You look a lot like your mother. Except you know, besides being male."

I tried to tilt my head to try and look back at the scarf now hanging over my shoulder and down my back. The end of if was out of my vision though. I felt slightly silly wearing it but at the same time there was a warmth to it.

I looked up at Lucian then and as he continued, "So we'll begin some training tomorrow, it's getting late today." He looked at Axel, "You though, will have to stay here while we train."

"What? What am I supposed to do all day?" Axel asked annoyed.

"You could gather some firewood." Lucian suggested, clearly not caring.

"What?!" Axel's fur bristled and he growled.

"I don't care what you do." Lucian growled himself back at the Eevee, "If you want something to do than find it! You can't be there distracting us. Actually if you really want, I heard there's a group of your kind nearby doing some surveying of the mountains for Arceus knows what, why don't you go try to find them and bother them instead?"

"Hey!" I shouted at Lucian myself now and Axel jumped next to me as I had my paws clenched into fists as I glared at the Lucario, "Don't you dare make fun of Axel!"

Lucian started at me a moment, his eye watching me as I was shaking a bit and he turned his head, away and closed it. "We'll begin training in the morning..." He said softly, dismissing the situation, "Get some sleep."

I remained glaring at him for a few minutes longer before Axel prodded me and we set up our tent in the opposite corner of the cave, outside of earshot of the other pokémon as long as we didn't raise our voices to high.

"I don't really trust him." Axel commented to me as we ate a pair of apples inside the tent, out of sight of Lucian who was still sitting by his fire, unmoving. "He's very suspicious."

"I don't know..." I said softly as I wondered about the Lucario. "He just seems a little...distant and hurt."

"I can understand that I guess." Axel nodded.

"I'm more curious about the clan..." I said and I held the end of the scarf in my paw then, I still was wearing it. I actually liked how it felt on my neck, it was so soft. "Was this really all they called me here for?"

Axel shook his head, "Elder Xio'en said he wanted to questioned you about "what you were up to" or something, but Lucian interrupted our time with him before he go further and the Elder seemed to forget about it."

That's right, I realized. Lucian had so conveniently interrupted the Elder right as he had been about to begin questioning me. Had he known or was it just timing? Psy seemed to know him, so was it possible Psy informed him of what was going on somehow?

It was probably for the best that he did though I realized. If the Elder made me tell him about everything I had been doing at the threat of banishment I wouldn't have had much of a choice. I had to safeguard Ruli's status as a pokémon, regardless of if I was going to be stuck permanently as him or not. What would the Elder have done if I told him what I saw in the mirror? Banish me for sure, but what else?

Psy seemed determined in keeping the amount of pokémon involved to a minimum, so logic seemed to point that he told me to find Lucian as a way of telling me that I could trust him, then somehow informed Lucian about me.

"I think Psy told Lucian we were coming." I told Axel then and he tilted his head at me, pausing in his eating.

"What makes you think Psy knows him?"

"Psy told me, in my head, before we were teleported. "Seek out the Lucario known as Lucian." He didn't tell me why though."

"That's odd..." Axel mused, eyes furrowing as he thought, "You think that's why Lucian showed up when he did?"

I nodded and explained what I thought to Axel that Psy had Lucian intercept us after receiving the scarf but before the Elder could begin questioning me about myself and how that was to prevent him from finding about what I saw in the mirror.

"That's...farfetched but...I suppose it makes sense." Axel shook his head, "Psychic types are damn crazy sometimes though Ruli I swear, bunch of know it alls."

I giggled and smiled at him. I had already figured he didn't like psychic types that much, based on all the grumbling he had done back at the forest tower when Psy revealed he knew all along that Axel was a prince.

"I'm serious!" He growled at me, but he smiled as well as he knew I was playing with him, "They read your mind and have no sense of privacy!" We both laughed a bit and I wagged my tail happily, glad that I had Axel here with me. He was able to keep my mind off all the craziness going on around me.

I blushed a bit as I felt that warmth in my chest again and I leaned forward as Axel had his eyes closed while he was laughing and I pressed my nose against his once more. Axel froze as he felt it, opening his eyes to stare at me and I smiled brightly. He blushed and smiled as well while pressing his nose back to mine.

"Hey Ruli." He said lightly and I twitched my ears.

"Hmm?"

"I think I might go try to find those Eeveelutions he mentioned while you are training after all. I...I think I'm ready."

I pulled away from the nose touch as I tilted my head, "Ready for what?"

"I'm uh..." He chuckled and shook his head, "I'm gonna try to find the Umbreons."

"Oh? To become one?"

"Yeah." He nodded, "I'm gonna tell them though that I need to settle a few things before I join them there though, but that I want to go ahead and evolve now and see if it works."

"But...what about the duties and such? They won't let you leave once you choose and evolve won't they?"

He nodded and looked away a moment, "Yeah that's the problem huh?" He chuckled and shook his head, "I think the only option I might have might be to take it and run so to speak."

It was now that I realized what he was really meaning, "You mean...you're going to let yourself get banished after you become an Umbreon by just running away?"

Axel nodded slightly as he sighed. "There really doesn't seem to be any other way to do it." He looked back at me and smiled, "But that's okay I think...I mean...is it really so bad to be banished? Milotic seems fine afterall."

"There has to be other ways." I pressed, but Axel shook his head.

"It'll be fine..." Axel said as he smiled at me, "I won't need anything from them after evolving...Just...remember what you promised to me yesterday." He said softly as he nuzzled up against me then and I hugged him tightly.

"Of course..." I whispered in his ear lightly, "Even banished...I'll be there with you."

_________________________

The next day Lucian woke me early and practically dragged me out of the tent, grasping my paw and pulling me out, not giving me time to really wake up or even wake Axel to say good-bye. By the time I was actually awake enough to be upset about this, he had already led me halfway back down the mountain. I pulled my paw out of his then and walked behind him. He did not acknowledge my reaction to his rude awakening, but I had gotten used to his disinterest in my opinion now.

"Lucian." I said from behind him as I walked, the scarf still wrapped around my neck and fluttering about in the wind behind me.

"Hmm." He hummed back to me.

"What kind of training are we going to do?"

He looked back at me with his right eye, staring at me briefly. "I can tell just in the way that you carry yourself that you are somewhat trained, but not by a Lucario."

"Pangoro taught me what he could during the little time I was there."

His eye narrowed at me, "What do you mean by that? You have lived there your whole life."

I realized my mistake and retracted my statement, "I mean...he didn't train me much..."

"Humph." Lucian grunted and turned his head away to look ahead of himself again, "I'm going to be trying to shove years of training into you in a matter of days, I hope you are ready for this. This won't be regular training...this will be the training we put all Riolu through."

I gulped heavily and felt a shiver run up my spine at the way he spoke the words, and suddenly wished that Axel was here.

What Lucian said made me wonder though. He didn't seem aware that I was actually not Ruli. Did Psy not tell him any more details than what he actually needed to know?

The Lucario led me down into the trees of the forest below the mountain and into a clearing where we stopped and rested a moment. After a bit, he rose again and moved about fifty feet away from me, then dug in his heel into the dirt and began walking slowly around me, creating a circle as best as he could.

He motioned for me to stand up and I did, and he came to stand in front of me a few feet. Suddenly he grunted and kicked out at me.

"Hey!" I shouted as I barely dodged the kick, stepping back away from him, the frills of my scarf brushing my feet as I did.

He didn't respond as he brought his foot back quickly and kicked out at me with his other foot then. I held my arms in front of myself as I felt his foot impact to me, and I flew into the air and landed on my rear a few yards back from him. The scarf ended up getting under me, poking out under from one my legs. I picked myself up with one arm and wiped my muzzle with one paw, glaring at him.

"What the heck's your problem?!" I shouted as he brought his foot back to the ground and he took a fighting stance. He still did not respond as he stared at me.

I growled and picked myself up from the ground, arms stinging a bit from the force of his kick. I went to start brushing myself off but suddenly received another stinging kick to my side as soon as I stood. I gasped as I flew another few yards, this time somehow landing on my feet. I was dazed as I tried to keep my balance, but didn't have time to think as again I got another kick to my stomach this time.

I yelled as I flew through the air and landed, tumbling a bit to rest at my side as I whimpered, eyes shut tight as I felt my body ache. My lungs burned as I tried to breath, but the kick to my gut had me out of breath. I eventually opened my eyes and looked up to see that I had landed out side of the circle, my tumbling having crossed out some of the line in the dirt. Lucian stepped up over me slowly and I whined as I saw him stare down at me with that one, unnerving eye.

He silently looked down then and dug his heel into the ground, recreating the circle and then turning away from me as I looked at the back of his head.

"You lack discipline." He stated coldly as I was trying to get back up to my feet, my pokémon body already repairing most of the damage.

Lucian walked away as I pulled myself to my feet, moving to the center of the ring and he turned to face me, crossing his arms across his chest as I stayed outside the circle holding my left arm with my other paw as it had gotten a little banged up.

"You are to push me out of this circle or knock me out cold, only then will I determine I have fulfilled my promise to your father." He spoke loud enough so that I could hear him from so far away.

"Being a godfather doesn't mean this!" I shouted back at him.

"Not being sure you can handle your own would be a failure in of it. I won't hold anything back." Lucian shot back. "If that makes you angry than use that emotion to strike back at me! Either way, we won't be returning to your friend until you succeed, even if it takes days, weeks, or months. I have all the time in the world, unlike you." With that, he made a line in the ground at his feet, before stepping about eight feet back and making another line, which he then stood on.

I grimaced and growled as I squeezed my arm in my paw, the pain fading now as my body was repairing quickly enough for the slight aches.

I panted while standing at the edge of the circle, staring at the ground at my feet and I grit my teeth. I took a deep breath to calm myself and let go of my arm as I entered the circle. I walked to the line he had set for me and I glared at him from where I stood. He was two feet taller than me, stronger, and more skilled. But I suppose that was the point wasn't it? To push me and force me to grow and learn.

He grinned as he saw me staring him down, "Now there's focus in your eyes. Show me what you can do." He said as he took his fighting stance, holding his paws in front of himself just below his chest spike.

I set my jaw as I growled and balled my paws into a fist, watching him momentarily as I studied him, trying to remember what Pangoro had taught me about fighting.

"Don't try to study me." Lucian barked as he stood, watching. "Forget that training, it's not what our species relies on. Let your instincts do the work and just..." He crouched and leapt at me then, "MOVE!" He howled as he pulled back his fist.

I jumped into the air as he punched at me, his fist punching into the ground at my feet and cracking the earth under his fist. I brought my own paw back and prepared a Force Palm to strike him back. His eye never stopped watching me though, and as I flew above him he used his forward momentum to swing his foot into the air at me.

I didn't expect it, I was hit unprepared for the impact. I skidded along the ground again, my scarf become unfurled from my neck and fluttering through the air a bit before coming to a rest several yards away from me as I too came to a rest. I gasped and panted, again my body aching and bruised. I looked to the scarf ahead of me as Lucian walked steadily closer.

He stopped at the scarf and knelt down, taking the scarf in his paw and holding it. He stared at it intently in his paw.

A few moments passed as I watched him before he let go of the scarf and stood up, turning away once more. "I'll get us some apples...We'll take a small break to eat and then get back to it." He stated lightly before walking away and outside of the circle, leaving me laying in the grass and battered.

I watched him disappear into the trees and then planted my face into the grass, breaking down. I started to cry. Again, more than ever, I wished Axel was there...

________________________

Lucian was not kidding when he said he was not going to hold back, nor when he said it didn't matter if it took days to do so. While we did take breaks to eat and rest and sleep, most of our time was spent sparing, and me usually getting beat up and tossed about. Three days later we were still at it. It was now the fourth straight day we were at this and it was near sundown.

I was starting to be able to read his attacks though. He had a particular style of fist fighting that was hard to read, but he relied heavily on feints and bluffs mostly, tricking his opponent into dodging a fake blow to follow up with a real one. With this, I began being able to hold my own for longer periods against him, and occasionally get in a strike of my own. I was still no where near pushing him out of the edge, but he admitted to me on at the end of the second day I seemed to be catching up quickly.

I did spend most of the time on the defense though. Lucian did not leave many openings, and he read my attacks easily. He was also just plain more experienced than me. Banished as he was he had still been trained properly by the clan while I had none of that. I was beginning to understand in what he meant by letting instinct control my actions. It was easy enough already to get lost in the heat of a fight, to willingly let yourself do that was simple. It taught me something as well to ignore all thought in a fight, I could forget my worries while focusing on what was in front of me. When we would take a break to eat I would worry about Axel again, and at night when we slept I stayed awake for a few hours worried about him and about the mirrors again. I felt cold knowing Axel was not there with me, wondering what he was doing. Did he find the Eeveelutions that were supposedly in the mountains? Was he an Umbreon right now? Had he already been banished for running away after becoming one?

"Focus!" Lucian shouted at me as I blinked from my thoughts, just in time to take a knee to my chin and get sent flying.

I skidded along the ground again, for what felt like the thousandth time, scarf treading under me. I rose quickly though, having been tossed around so many times I was getting used to the minor injuries and they no longer rattled me.

I grunted as I caught Lucian's follow up blow, catching his foot with my arm and hooking it around his leg. I pulled, making him lose balance on his other foot.

He flailed a bit as he started to fall as I kicked back at him, catching him in his stomach and making him fall backwards. He landed on his back and I was already up in the air and preparing a Force Palm to strike him. He looked up in surprise as he saw me and I knew I had him. I shouted as I punched at him and he raised his paw, a flash of white light appearing in it.

*Crack*

I blinked in surprise as I found my attack blocked by a long, blue glowing bone spear that suddenly appeared from thin air and in Lucian's paw. The energy of my Force Palm blasted around us, making the grass ruffle and my scarf flutter behind me in the air wildly.

Lucian grunted as the blast pushed him against the ground, but it passed quickly and I tumbled away from him, rolling on the ground to absorb the fall.

I looked back at Lucian in surprise as he held the bone spear in the air above him still, before it disappeared and he grunted while lifting himself up from the ground.

"Seems you've learned my fighting style." He chuckled lightly and stood, and then he waved his paw again and the bone staff appeared once more, he held it with both paws as he grinned at my surprise. "An enemy can adapt too though, so you need to be on your toes while still able to fight back."

He dashed at me then and I reacted as he swung the staff at my feet. I jumped up slightly to avoid the sweep, then ducked as he spun to swing at my head. His entire style was changed now and I was reeling as I tried to make sense of it. He made a jab at me next that forced me to jump back, then swung down with the staff as I landed.

It smashed against my skull and I felt my neck crack painfully from the force, before falling back from the blow and yelling out. I landed on my back and fell still. I groaned and winced as my forehead throbbed, my vision blurry.

Lucian stood above me once more and I looked up at him, my vision focusing as he held the staff beside him.

"It's getting late...we've done enough progress today..." With that, he turned and walked away leaving me laying in the grass like he often did.

I sighed thankfully and closed my eyes, forehead still throbbing and I quickly passed out to sleep.

The next day was the same, and the day after that, and the day after that and so on for the next six. A week and half had now past since we began. With each day, I felt myself getting stronger and stronger, muscles building under my fur. Each blow Lucian dealt felt less and less painful as my body began to adapt to it.

Lucian now kept to using his staff during each sparring match. His combat style with this was much harder to read than with fist to fist. When far away he would jab or make huge vertical swings with the very edge of the staff, at a medium range he would take wild and constant horizontal swings at my legs and head, and when close up he would swing for my midsection. It was difficult to defend against and find an opening his own defenses. I found myself dodging most of the time. Trying to grab the staff would do nothing as I found Lucian had the ability to dismiss it when I had once got a good grip on it, leaving me holding air which had followed by a shift crack to the head as he summoned it back mid-swing, so I abandoned that tactic.

On this day, I had Lucian on the ropes though. I was getting used to constantly moving and I learned that I could confuse him slightly by darting in and out, making small punches and kicks at him and jumping back just as he would take a swing at me from close range.

I was jumping out as such after giving him a quick punch to his stomach that he read my movement and was already taking one of his huge vertical swings with the edge of his staff, intending to hit me on the head as he had several days ago. I sidestepped on reaction, just in time to dodge as the weapon hit the ground beside me. I jumped at him then and pulled my foot back to kick, aiming for his head. I struck him dead on across the left side of his muzzle.

He yowled as he was sent back through the air from the force of my kick, all the training had improved my strength and I was now strong enough to kick him through the air. The bone rod vanished as Lucian lost his focus and from my kick his eyepatch fell off to the ground, but I didn't pay attention to it. I hurried after him to follow up and punch him as he skidded across the ground.

I shouted as I pulled my fist back to punch at him, but as he rose his head and looked at me with his left eye I froze up from some unexplainable sensation. I stood still as I coughed, feeling a sickening feeling rise in my gut and I grimaced as it built up, trying to fight it but it just kept building. My eyes went wide and I heaved as the sickness got to me. I vomited all over the grass in front of me as I suddenly felt absolutely horribly sick, falling to my hands and knees. After my stomach emptied its contents, I continued to dry heave, gasping for air and shivering violently, spittle dribbling from my muzzle and that horrible taste of acid on my tongue. I felt cold and hot at the same time, a massive headache pounding through my head.

"Some opponents can't fight physically..." Lucian said as he walked by me, having gotten up while I vomited and heaved loudly, "So they must resort to tricks of the mind and illusions to disarm you...It seems your physical training is complete, so now we will move on to mental training before going to the last step."

"L-last step?" I asked out as best as I could between half coughing and my stomach clenching as it continued trying to heave.

"Fighting an opponent that does both physical and mental combat." He said before moving to go to his place to sleep. He left his eyepatch on the ground, apparently intent now to not keep it on.

And so the next two weeks went by, now nearly a month having passed since we started this insane training regime. Lucian never did put his eyepatch back on, never stopping whatever it was he was doing that made feel so awful. For the first two days during this training, I was not able to eat as whatever I ate my stomach would rebel and make me vomit. By the forth day, I was finally able to keep the food down just by the fact that I was so damn hungry I forced it to stay through my willpower.

I ran a constant fever and had chills all the time, never once feeling at a comfortable temperature. I lost sleep due to it and began to hallucinate from lack of sleep by the sixth day. Slowly, I learned to discern reality from illusion through that and finally managed to get myself to sleep at least slightly enough to function. Towards the end of the second week I began to tell myself that my fever and chills were not real and through that I started being able to ignore it slightly. I was beginning to grow used to feeling so miserable, and I realized that was actually the point of this part of the training so that it would not distract my focus.

Of course though, Lucian never stopped the sparring each day, but now he would not attack me directly. Instead he merely stood there in the middle of the circle, staring at me with that eye of his. Through it he conjured an imaginary Machoke that which would strike at me. The blows were real though they would send me tumbling as I groaned in my sickened state and dodge lazily as I tried to retaliate. They would not keep at me as much as he did when we spared physically, rather as soon as I would manage to stand up they would come at me again. They were not as quick or agile as he was, but in my weakened mental state they made easy work of me. I was not able to actively run at Lucian to strike him with the Machoke distracting me, and it would increase it's speed suddenly to stop me from doing so when I tried.

At the beginning of this mental training I really believed that they were truly striking me, until I grew enough resistance to Lucian's mental attack that I was able to punch one of them. He gasped out from where he was standing, but I heard it from in front of me. I realized that what I was seeing was what he wanted me to. He wasn't really standing there, he was the illusion striking at me.

Upon that realization, the illusion of the Machoke vanished and he appeared in front of me, grinning, "Good, you are gathering your will it seems."

I panted heavily as I felt drops of sweat matting my fur, and chills still running through my body. "What does this teach me anyway? I can't do the things you do like this."

"True." He admitted, "But again, there are those physically weak but strong of mind. You need to train yourself to resist their influence while trying to strike at them or find ways to stop their influence." He stepped to the side as I tried to jump at him while he had been speaking. I tumbled along the ground, scarf ending up covering my face as I panted.

"I'm never going to be able to keep out all the influence." I complained and he nodded.

"That is also true." He stated, "But you don't need to keep it all out, just enough to move and fight back." He took a lazy punch at me at then, quick but not as fast as in matches before. I barely managed to dodge it just the same, body still feeling weak.

For two more days we did this, now that I was building more resistance I was able to fight him more directly without most of his illusions or the sensations he was forcing me to feel getting in the way. Eventually, during the mid evening of the last day of the two weeks, I was finally able to withstand all but just a slight fever and body aches affecting me. I was making punches and kicks constantly, growing steadily faster and quicker, now keeping him on the defense instead. He was acting as if he really had no physical prowess now.

"That's it..." He encouraged me as he blocked each of my punches and kicks easily though. I was still slower than I was without these mental attacks.

It was upon the point that I jumped up to punch him in the face by surprise after he went to block a feint I made that he instead caught me in midair with his other paw, having clearly read the attack but as he held me in the air and stared at me with both of his eyes, I felt the fever, chills, and nausea fade away, leaving me both very relieved and very confused.

"I think you've perfected it as best as you can for now, mental training is also one of self training. I can't force you to get any better at it than this for now."

I nodded and panted as he held me in the air still, and he continued, "We'll move on to the final step tomorrow. I'll go get us some apples to eat while you rest up."

He sat me on the ground under a tree and I rested against the stump as Lucian left and vanished into the trees. I looked up at the canopy of the tree as I panted and rested, happy that was over with. Without a doubt that was the hardest part of this training so far. I felt proud for managing it though, and I had always been noticing after each day that my muscles were getting more and more toned.

I began wondering what Axel was up to again after a few minutes past when I heard rustling from the nearby bushes and looked to see a Lucario dashing through the trees. It was Elder Xio'en.

"Elder!" I shouted out to him and he spotted me, instantly turning to run to me.

"I found you! Thank Arceus!" He seemed greatly worried and he continued, "You must flee!" He shouted this as he ran up to me.

I tilted my head, eyes wide at his agitation, "Why? What is wrong?"

"The Eeveelutions are here looking specifically for you, they say you and two others are responsible for an assault on two Towers!"

"Wh-What?!" I shouted and stood up quickly, adrenaline suddenly flooding me with new energy.

"There's no time to explain, but you must flee! They are searching high and low for you!"

"What about Axel?" I asked him worriedly.

"He may be waiting for you in Lucian's cave, hurry though!"

I dashed away as quickly as I could then as the Elder shouted, "Stay out of sight as much as you can, they are looking specifically for a Riolu named Ruli!"

I didn't acknowledge his warning. As thoughts ran through my head of what he just told me, anger and worry swelled within me. The thoughts of what he just told me. I was right to worry all along, there were other pokémon, other humans, attacking the towers.

As I ran through the bushes, my body began to glow white, though I paid it all no mind as I suddenly began to evolve. My mind was engulfed with thoughts of Axel. Had he managed to become an Umbreon? Was he there when the towers were attacked? Was he all right?

My body grew two feet longer in height and my limps grew longer. I tripped slightly as I had to readjust my balance as my tail grew longer as well, wincing as I felt spikes grow out from my chest and the backs of my paws. I felt my fur grow along my body, the yellow fur coat brushing down along my chest and belly to stop at my waist, while my hips and legs grew muscle into that thick "pants" like look. I felt my muzzle and ears lengthen, as well as two new appendages growing on the back of my head to now give me four.

I reached the base of the mountain just as my evolution completed, but still there was no time to enjoy that I just suddenly matured from all that training. I had to make sure Axel was okay. Still tripping slightly from my new body and elongated legs, I made my way as quickly as I could to Lucian's cave.