FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

After leaving behind the Idol of Windfang in the depths of the temple below, Luke, Volcan and the treasure hunter Lashanne returned to the surface to begin their search of the city for other items that would make Lashanne's venture yield some profit. Finding such treasures would ensure she would fulfill her end of the bargain and take them to Princeport, where they would find passage back home to the East Continent.

Volcan had left Luke and Lashanne to search the city for valuables. Meanwhile, the Blaziken, having spotted a balcony overlooking the temple entrance and going to explore it -there had been no stairs leading to an upper level of the temple, which meant that the balcony and wherever it led was accessible only to flying Pokemon. Hopefully there would be items of value to be found in such an unreachable location.

Luke and Lashanne were searching the houses, searching for items such as antique pottery, precious stones and old jewellry that might have been left behind when the city was deserted. During their search, Luke had stumbled upon a few items he thought were of some value to the treasure hunter; old necklaces and smaller idols to name a few. At one point, he even found an entire jewellery box that contained surprisingly well preserved jewels and other valuable items within its confines, like it hadn't even been opened before. He quickly brought the box over to the Delphox to gain her opinion of the box he had found.

She examined the items with great detail for a moment, studying the gemstones especially as she rummaged through the contents of the box, and seemed satisfied with the find. "Nice," she said. "Good eye."

"Thanks." Luke returned with a nod, closing the box and let out a small sigh. "You know, I was half expecting finding anything worth of value here to be somewhat difficult, but it looks like I was wrong. We've managed to find a fair number of items so far." He commented.

"To be perfectly honest, that surprises me too," Lashanne admitted. "Finding all of these treasures here isn't what surprises me specifically -this city was said to be prosperous in its time. But the sheer quantity of them. We've found no trace of the people or where they went, yet if they fled the city for any reason surely they'd have taken some of these things with them."

"Do you think the attack from those invading Kabutops might have had something to do with it?" Luke asked.

"Maybe, if they came back to attack again -the first invasion was thwarted by Windfang and his allies," replied Lashanne, closing the box of valuables and setting it aside. "But if the invaders won that time, there'd be bodies in the streets -none of which we've seen, not even bones, and there's no way they'd leave all of this treasure. Hell, the Kabutops might have even made that lake their home," she gestured toward the massive body of water resting below the opening that lead into the cave.

Luke rubbed his chin slightly as he pondered on the idea. "Perhaps...after the initial attack, they decided it was best to take only what they needed and evacuated the city before another wave appeared?"

"There's no mention of that in any records the academy has," Lashanne returned with a sigh. "Plus, it doesn't explain why the tunnel was resealed, as you guys found out. It's as if the people just... left. They just picked up and left the city, leaving everything." She sighed. "One of the great mysteries of the world I suppose."

"Well I'm sure one day the mystery might be solved." Luke tried to offer, shrugging a bit. "It may take a while, but, it's always possible."

She nodded, and then stood up while tucking the box of valuables under her arm. "May as well go bring these to the lake so Toby can start hauling them up to the ship."

"Alright. I'll go get Volcan and let him know we're heading out." Luke offered.

"Right. Sounds like a plan. I still need to work out how to bring the ship low enough that the crane will reach."

Luke nodded. "I'll see you in a few then." He bade her, then quickly turned and trotted off to find Volcan and let him know what was going on.

With that, the two headed off in separate directions, with Luke heading back towards the temple to seek his lover, leaving Lashanne go make her way to the lake.

After making his way back to the steps of the great stone temple, carved out of the very wall of the cavern itself, he attuned to his Aura Sense, seeking Volcan's location. The Blaziken was on the upper level -a place normally only flying types could reach but with his powerful jumping ability, Volcan had been able to reach the outer balcony where flying-types would enter the structure. Of course, Luke had no means to get up there, having no way to actually reach Volcan. Still, he could signal him, and...

He stopped. Something was amiss. There should have only been two other auras that the Lucario could sense, but for some reason, he was detecting another... no, two... three more within the city. There should have been no one else there, yet surely enough he could sense three other Aura signals, and they were close... not to him, but to Lashanne. They were approaching her, and given her lack of movement she did not know they were coming...

"Damn!" He muttered softly, spinning on his foot and running back into the city streets, hastening back to the Delphox whom he was certain was about to be jumped by vagrants.

He dodged and charged around buildings, wishing at that moment he could jump like Volcan, but his Extreme Speed was his best bet to reach Lashanne in time even having to dial it back so as not to run face first into a wall.

As he rounded the last corner and finally saw her, he shouted out her name. But he was too late. The ground beneath her exploded, hundreds of vines erupting from the stone and carrying her up off the ground while the box of treasures fell from her grasp, clattering to the ground and spilling the contents all over the street.

"Someone else is here!" A deep, booming voice shouted.

A mad cackling filled the air as a winged form leapt from the rooftop and glided in Luke's direction. Giant, bat-like wings cast the Noivern in shadow as they dove for the approaching Lucario, a wild look in their eyes. Luke instinctively veered to the right just as the Noivern was about to nail him, spinning on his foot once as he dodged the incoming bat like Pokémon before regaining his stride and dashing to Lashanne, already priming his Bone Rush in his paws as he got closer to the mass of vines that held the Delphox in place.

A large form stepped into his path, and he tried to stop only to run comically into a mass of muscle with the durability of a brick wall, knocking him flat onto his backside. He shook off the daze and looked up as two beefy arms plunged towards him. Reacting purely on instinct, he threw his legs over his head, launching himself into a half-somersault just before the two fists shattered the stone where he had been a second before.

Landing upon his feet, he wasted not a second, conjuring an Aura Sphere and throwing it at his attacker. The figure, revealed as a Machamp, was blown back by the sphere as it struck his chest. But from beside the Machamp appeared a Cacturne, arms holding a glowing Energy Ball that he promptly launched at Luke. Again the Lucario's sharp reflexes saved him from a direct hit. As he saw the Energy Ball coming at him, created another small Aura Sphere and threw it at the Energy Ball, the two rebounding off one another, one going up, the other kicking up a cloud of dust from the floor.

Taking advantage of the obscuration caused by the dust, Luke conjured a new bone rush and hurled it toward the Cacture, following after it with a Force Palm prepped. But as he cleared the dust, he found himself faced by a round surface and a wall of thorns as his bone rush fell harmlessly to his feet -a Spiky Shield, and only his sudden stop spared him from running himself upon the thorny shield, only to realize then that he was surrounded. The Noivern was behind him, the Machamp now moving to block the only other street down which he could go, and the Cacturne blocking him from reaching Lashanne, still held aloft by the towering stalk of vines that kept her out of the fight.

Luke stood his ground, eyeing each of the assailants individually, ready to defend himself from the next one to attack. "Who are you three? What do you want?" He demanded.

Rather than answer him, though, the Cacturne made a motion with his arm, and suddenly Luke was subjected to an ear-splitting shriek from the Noivern. The Lucario threw his paws over his ears, gritting his teeth against the pain. In that same instant, the Cacturne cast a Grass Knot on Luke -vines formed around his feet and entangled the Lucario before he could respond, engulfing him up to his throat and rendering him immobile.

The Machamp stepped forward, drawing back a fist to strike the helpless Luke, only to stop mid-swing, his fist hovering inches from the Lucario's face. The Machamp showed visible strain, struggling against whatever force had halted his attack, and glared up toward the entrapped Lashanne, who had managed to summon a Psychic hold around the Machamp.

Seizing the opportunity, Luke cast a Metal Claw. The spikes atop his paws glowed and reshaped into three razor-sharp claws, severing the vines holding his paws and freeing his arms long enough to cut away the rest of the vines. The Noivern lunged, he kicked them in the face. The Machamp swung -he ducked and dove aside, leaping over the Cacturne as they too swung at him and slashing the vine stalk holding Lashanne.

The Delphox fell, flipping around to land on her feet and managing to draw her branch wand. The Cacturne lunged at her, she ducked under his arm and delivered an uppercut Fire Punch to his face, knocking him backward. She cast Protect to stop the Noivern who moved to attack her with Boomburst, the barrier deflecting the sound waves away from her and Luke behind her, his claws having retracted to reform into the spikes atop his paws.

With her focus on the Protect a that moment, the Machamp broke the Psychic hold around him, the Machamp charged at them as the barrier fell. Luke intercepted him, thrusting his paws out once, then twice, blasting him with Force Palm. The first slowed the Machamp, the other sent him skidding back, forcing the Noivern to take to the air and land upon an overlooking roof to avoid being possibly flattened by his comrade.

The Cacturne had moved behind them though, raising his arms and angling both toward them. Glowing needles grew out of his cactus fists as he prepared a Pin Missile aimed for Lashanne's back. Once more Luke was to the defense, dashing behind Lashanne with another Bone Rush in hand and spinning it as the flurry of needles shot forth, his twirling bone deflecting the onslaught. The Machamp moved to strike again, only to be caught by Lashanne's Psychic hold once more, and thrown back into a building, yet even the impact with solid stone did not stop the Machamp, who laughed off the attack and started forward again.

Lashanne and Luke, not standing back-to-back, caught their breath as the three assailants formed a triangle around them again, the Noivern above, and the other two positioning themselves accordingly, blocking any attempt at escape from the T-intersection in the narrow street where the fight had brought them.

"I should've known it was only a matter of time before these three bozos showed up," Lashanne said bitterly, mostly to herself but loud enough for Luke to hear. She then raised her voice slightly, addressing the three assailants directly. "You jerks been following me again, waiting for me to do the dirty work for your boss?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Lashanne," the Cacturne retorted coldly. "Our employer has been searching for this place far longer than you have."

"Yet I got here first?" She returned, grinning smugly at the Cacturne. "Doesn't say much for your boss, now does it? Aren't Alakazam supposed to be smart?"

"I'd watch that mouth if I were you, lady," the Machamp growled. "I've no qualms about making a woman eat her teeth if she talks smack about her betters."

"Give us the idol of Windfang, now, and you might walk away from this unharmed," the Cacturne added.

"You won't get your filthy hands on it so long as we still draw breath." Luke growled back. "That idol is a tribute to Windfang's efforts in protecting his people. Pokemon like you don't deserve to even glimpse at it!"

"Since when did you care about honouring the dead, treasure hunter?" The Cacturne asked, half ignoring Luke.

"Hey, don't look at me- this sentimental slob said it," she returned, gesturing to Luke and ignoring the dirty look he cast over his shoulder at her. "Anyway, I don't _have_the idol -we found it, and we left it in the temple, along with a rather nasty guardian. You want it, do what your boss is paying you do and go get it yourself."

"Assuming you are even telling the truth, I think it'd work far better in our favour if you go get it for us, then, since you already know where it is," the Cacturne piped up. "What say you to that?"

Lashanne brandished her wand, a flame igniting at the knobbed tip. "I say you can kiss my furry ass, Crane!"

"Bah! We're gettin' nowhere with these two," the Machamp stated. "I say we squash 'em, then go raid the ship. If it ain't there, then we'll come back and squeeze the info out of these two. Maybe help ourselves to whatever other treasures they've found here." He took a threatening step forward, Lashanne flinching at the movement, aiming her wand toward him.

The Noivern was shaking as if he were cold, only to suddenly burst into a fit of rampant giggling. "Oh yes! The fun part begins! Fun, fun, fun," he sang, waving his tail behind him and clawing eagerly at the edge of the roof, his voice deepening as he spoke again. "Going to take my time with you two." He purred.

"Don't count on it, batso."

The voice had come from behind the Noivern. He rose up, blank-faced, and turned to look behind him, catching only a glimpe of gray as a talon-tipped foot slammed into his chest, launching him off the roof sputtering incoherently as he arched over Lashanne and Luke to land dully upon the cobblestone street. In an instant, he was up, rolling onto his side and spinning around frantically like a Growlithe chasing its tail, until he stopped, and seemed to recollect himself.

"Who dares?!" Crane demanded as he and the Machamp looked up at the attacker.

Standing on the edge of the roof was a Blaziken, a metal box tucked under their arm as they stared down at the three assailants harshly. Across his chest, he wore a leather harness, the metal buckle housing a Blazikenite within it, catching the little light coming into the cavern. The Blaziken looked down at the Lucario and Delphox, arching an eye at them.

"I'm gone for five minutes and you get into a fight without me," he said. "I feel left out."

Luke smirked back at the Blaziken above them. "Your timing is perfect. We've only just started," he said. "Glad you could join us, Volcan.

"That Energy Ball that hit the ceiling was a dead giveaway something was up," replied Volcan as he hopped over the edge of the roof, joining his two friends below.

Crane regarded the newcomer curiously, and then turned his attention to Lashanne, addressing her directly. "For one who prefers to work alone Lashanne, I see a fair bit of muscle in your company today."

"Oh, you know. Go new places, make new friends," she returned with a shrug.

"So who are these creeps?" Volcan asked.

"The grassy scarecrow is Crane. The big guy is Zann, and that batty bozo is Karth," introduced Lashanne. "These guys work for a guy called Seji, and they're the ones who are always hounding me."

"Wait, Seji?" Volcan repeated, a hint of familiarity in his voice as he looked back at Lashanne.

Luke glanced over to Volcan curiously. "Sound like someone you know, love?" He asked.

"I'm... not sure," Volcan began, putting a talon to his head. "I could swear I've heard the name somewhere though..." He then shook his head to clear it. "I'll worry about it later, though."

"Right. For now, let's focus on taking these guys down." Luke agreed, tensing up a bit and making his Aura Surge flame burn more aggressively around him as he prepared for round two with these new enemies.

"It appears the odds are even this time, Crane," stated Lashanne. "I've been able to fight off you three plenty of times, but now I'm not outnumbered. So, sure you wouldn't rather walk away?"

"I still have a job to do," Crane returned coldly, glaring at her from beneath the rim of his hat-like top. "And I intend to finish it."

"Guess that's our answer then," said Volcan.

Luke took a moment to gauge their three opponents based on what he had seen of them so far. They had some team cohesion, but weren't tag-team fighters like him and Volcan. While he might use that to their advantage, Lashanne was the third wheel in this case -they had not had time to learn everything she could do. The best option then was to fight apart, and Luke set his sights upon Karth. "Volcan, you think you can take on the Machamp?" He asked.

Volcan turned his head to look at Zann, taking a moment to size him up and gauge his chances before he replied. "I can try," he replied, cracking his knuckles.

"Alright then." Luke nodded, glancing to Lashanne. "You handle Crane, while I take on Karth." He stated as he locked onto the Noivern, narrowing his eyes dangerously at him.

"Watch it, Luke -Karth is absolutely nuts," Lashanne warned in a low voice. "He's so hard to read sometimes I don't think even he knows what he's going to do next."

"Thanks for the tip." Luke nodded back to her, widening his feet in preparation to charge, his eyes narrowing before he shouted. "Go!"

Karth wasn't fast enough to avoid Luke's Extreme Speed, feeling the Lucario slamming into him before he could see it, and carried down the street behind him. Zann turned reflexively, starting to pursue, when Volcan dashed into his vision and delivered a kick to his chest, throwing the Machamp into the wall of the house behind him.

"Your fighting me musclehead!" The Blaziken said sharply.

Crane, fully expecting the attack, turned as Lashanne fired a Flamethrower from her branch, raising a Spiky Shield to stop the attack as she engaged the Cacturne.

Up the street, Luke threw Karth to the ground, the spastic Noivern sputtering as he turned about, back on his feet and supported by his wing claws. He lunged, turning and lashing at Luke with his tail -Luke ducked under the swipe, and then retreated as Karth snapped at him with his teeth. When the Noivern missed, Luke delivered an uppercut to the Noivern's chin that nearly threw him onto his back, but he managed to stay on his feet.

"Okay, you're fast," Karth remarked, shaking off the Force Palm. "But are you..." He whipped around. "Fasterthansound?!" He barked before firing a Boomburst at Luke, slamming the Lucario with an unseen force, sending the Lucario hurtling backward, ears ringing from the sonic blast.

Volcan fluidly dodged Zann's hurtle of punches, each fist flying independently as he chased the Blaziken up the street, never seeming to tire. At one point, he stopped the punches, attacking with a Dual Chop from his two lower arms -Volcan brought up both fists swiftly, sending Zann's arms up over his head and throwing him off balance.The instant Volcan created his opening, he snapped his leg up in a sidelong kick, striking Zann in the stomach, and then sprang to deliver a second kick to his face, splitting his lip and drawing blood.

But as Volcan lunged forward with another kick, aimed for his stomach, Zann braced himself, the kick landing, but receiving only a grunt in response as the Machamp stood firm on his planted feet, and seized Volcan's legs with two of his hands.

"Crap," Volcan muttered, and cried out as the world spun around him. Zann swung the Blaziken about and hurled him through the air, sending Volcan cartwheeling over the city streets before managing to right himself, landing on both feet and rolling to reduce the impact.

But as he started to get to his feet, the Blaziken saw something spinning towards him. Without thinking, he fell back onto his belly, watching as the object whirled over his head and shattered against the wall of a house behind him. "Was that... part of a wall?" He asked in disbelief.

But then he heard the laughter. "Oh shit-!" He turned, but it was too late. Zann fell upon him from above, landing with a Body Slam worthy of a Snorlax and shaking the foundations of the city as he squashed the Blaziken beneath his weight.

Lashanne took cover behind a corner as Crane barraged her with Pin Missiles, moving closer as he continued the unrelenting barrage, waiting until the last moment before pulling back one arm. He ceased the attack, and lunged, swinging his arm around the corner and bludgeoning Lashanne into the wall as she leapt out to strike at him with her branch, slamming her back against the wall. Thankfully her leather jerkin saved her from being pierced by the spikes, but the wind was still forced out of her, and she fell to one knee.

Collecting herself quickly, as Crane drew back his other arm to strike, she swung her knobbed branch up and struck him across the cheek, sending him reeling. She swung again from above -he blocked with a Spiky shield, and attempted to spear her with Needle Arm. Lashanne bent her body to the side, narrowly avoiding his fist, and hurriedly swiped at Crane again with her club, retreating following his block and firing another Flamethrower to hold him at bay.

Collecting himself and shaking the ringing from his ears, Luke was barely in time to protect himself as Karth dove at him, blocking the Noivern with his Bone Rush, the bat-like dragon gnawing viciously on the length of energy until his teeth broke it, and Luke had to put up his paws to keep those teeth away from his face. Drawing back one paw, he thrust it into Karth's chest, firing off the strongest Force Palm he could muster to knock the Noivern off him.

Karth cackled madly as he recollected himself, a smile and a murderous glare turned in Luke's direction. "Aura Spheres and Force Palms can't stop me -I'm a Flying-Type," he then added in a singing voice. "You can't hurt me~."

Luke scoffed. "Any good fighter knows to keep their options open," he said, pressing his paws together. "I have learned many types of attacks, and one of them," he pulled his paws apart, revealing a deep blue sphere of energy, deeper than his Aura Sphere. "Happens to be of the Dragon-type."

"Ah, damn it," grunted Karth, before scrambling to try and avoid the oncoming attack, but he was too late.

With a thrust of both paws, Luke fired the Dragon Pulse, hitting Karth in the back and sending the Noivern hurtling face-first into the wall of a building, slamming into it reminiscent of a bug hitting the windshield of a boat. He comically fell away from the wall and landed, dazed, upon the street.

"One down," said Luke.

Too stunned by the body slam he had taken directly before, Volcan had no chance to protect himself as he was picked up by Zann, wrapped tightly in all four of his powerful arms, while his two were trapped against his body as the Machamp bearhugged him, squeezing him and forcing the air out of Volcan's body. Even with his legs free, kicking at Zann availed him not, having no room to build up a strong enough kick as the Machamp slowly crushed him.

"I'm going to squeeze the stuffing right out of ya!" Zann growled gleefully, adding more and more pressure...

Jab!

Volcan's beak struck Zann's forehead. The Machamp crossed his eyes, shaking his head before looking at Volcan. "Hey! You damn -ow!" He yelped as Volcan pecked him again, this time directly into his eye.

The pecks continued, the Blaziken jabbing Zann repeatedly, going for his vulnerable eyes with each jab of his head. Finally the Machamp was forced to take two of his arms off of Volcan to protect his face with his hands, and that reduction of grip allowed Volcan to rip his arms free, both fists crackling with electricity.

"Uh oh..." Zann muttered, before Volcan drove both fists into the sides of his head. He screamed incoherently as the electricity coursed through his head, and then worked its way through the rest of his body, causing his muscles to spasm and loose his grip on Volcan.

Breaking free of Zann's hold, Volcan pushed himself away from the Machamp, hand-springing away from him before summoning forth his ultimate attack. Incorporeal wings of white fire grew from his back, splaying out widely before he was engulfed in light the colour of the sky, launching forward like a rocket and slamming Zann with the force of a small bomb, the attack sending the Machamp into blackness as he was thrown onto the street, skidding nearly the length of the block before coming to a stop.

Touching back down to his feet, Volcan's 'wings' disspated, as did the blue aura, a wave of fatigue washing over him followed by dizziness. He fell back onto his hindquarters as his head throbbed, bringing forth a groan.

"Going to knock myself out doing that one day..."

Finally, Lashanne's battle was coming to its conclusion. Both she and Crane had exhausted their array of distance attacks. Crane changed his strategy by using another Grass Knot to try and entrap her, but she recognized the motions of his arms prior and levitated off the ground in time to avoid them, burning away the grasping vines before they could reach for her.

"I grow tired of this," Crane growled, drawing back his fist as a bronze-coloured, flame like energy engulfed it. "I'll finish you now!" He roared as he charged at her, the Focus Punch ready to bring him a swift victory.

"Not today or any other day, Crane!" Lashanne retorted as she tapped the looplet on her arm with her free hand, the red gemstone housed in one of the three slots beginning to glow as she touched ground again, aiming her branch at Crane who was less than a second with landing his punch when a brilliant, multi-coloured beam exploded from the tip of the Delphox's branch.

The beam filled the cavern with light as it stuck Crane, bringing a scream of agony from the Cacturne as he was engulfed in the light. When she ceased her attack, the Cacturne collapsed to the ground in a heap, motionless and not even letting out a groan as he slipped into darkness at her feet.

"You lose again, thug," Lashanne said bitterly, before turning to regroup with her friends...

The three regrouped at the same street intersection where the battle began. Out of the three, Luke had received the least punishment, having only a few scrapes to his name, but Lashanne's fur was mattered with blood in multiple places -none of the injuries were severe, but clearly caused her some discomfort. Volcan was the worst, walking slowly and semi-awkwardly up the street and leaning a wall for support as he addressed his friends.

"Looks like we won," Volcan commented.

"Of course we won," Lashanne returned confidently. She looked at Luke. "How'd you do?"

"Took a few hits, but nothing major." Luke returned, then turned toward Volcan, noticing the hobble in his step. "You alright?"

"Had to knock him out with Brave Bird," returned Volcan. "Felt like I launched myself into a concrete wall."

Luke nodded. "Well in any case, they've all been taken care of." He stated. "I think we've overstayed our welcome in this city, though. It's time we leave."

"I concur," the Blaziken remarked.

"You made damn sure Zann wouldn't get back up, right?" Lashanne asked Volcan.

"I got him full force -I can't imagine anyone getting back up after that," answered Volcan. "Least of all since he's a Fighting-type."

As if one cue, the pile if rubble under which the Machamp lay scattered as a red skinned fist punched through it, sending pieces flying in all directions as an arm stood protruding from the rubble. The trio watched as the pile shifted, until Zann burst forth from it, his gray skin now red as a beet, steam emanating from his body as if he were as hot as a furnace, and his muscles had become noticeably thicker. To Luke, the Machamp's aura had doubled in magnitude, now exceeding the level of anyone else in the cavern threefold, and he bore a wild grin on his face, eyes shrunken to the size of beads.

"Oh, that's bad," Lashanne said meekly.

"Okay, I'm not allowed to say things like that anymore," added Volcan.

"What the hell is he??" Luke exclaimed as he got into his stance again.

"So now what?" Volcan asked.

"We scram that's what!" Lashanne backed, waving her wand to the box of valuables Volcan had brought when he had arrived, collecting it before she brought it over to the Blaziken. "Carry that please," she said, before turning and beckoning them to folo. This way!" She commanded before breaking into a run down the street, holstering her branch to free her hands as she ran, the two males following her without question

Zann unleashed a furious roar before he charged after them, moving with startling speed as he pursued, arms waving wildly and destroying everything he touched, with nary a note of reaction on his face.

Luke glanced behind him as they fled from Zann, grimacing as he saw the enraged Machamp charge through walls and buildings and demolish them as he gave chase. He noticed that he was slowly gaining ground on them, which caused him to worry further. He could easily outrun him with Extreme Speed, and Volcan could make use of his Mega Evolution's Speed Boost if he needed to, but Lashanne possessed neither of those two abilities, limiting Luke's options as to how they could escape the rampaging Machamp.

Lashanne reached for the looplet around her arm, studying the stones that she had left in the slots -a red one and a yellow one, which she reached up to touch with her other paw. "Make a right here!" She called to them, pointing ahead to a fork.

"I sincerely hope you have a plan!" Luke called back as they all headed right when they reached the fork in their path. "Because he's really starting to gain some ground on us!"

"Trust me -I do this all the time!" She said as she led them down the path on the right, reaching her arms back. "Hold onto me!" She instructed.

Volcan tucked the box of valuables he carried under his arm to free his hand, taking Lashanne's paw in it while Luke took the other. "No matter what, don't stop running!" Lashanne directed as she cut through another fork, keeping her path straight as Zann rounded the corner and resumed his chase.

Ahead, the three saw the street ended at a wall -they were running into an alleyway! Volcan started to protest. "Uh, Lashanne?! It's a dead end!"

Luke looked back and forth between the oncoming wall and the rampaging Machamp behind him, feeling increasingly nervous as they got closer to the dead end. "Lashanne, if you're going to create a path for us, now's the time!" Luke urged her, already starting to ready his free arm for a Force Palm.

"Just keep going straight forward -don't slow down for anything!" She stated, the wall only seconds away now.

"Lashanne, we're not Ghost Pokemon -we can't walk through wa-uuuuut the fuck?"

They had not hit the wall. What should have resulted in a sudden, painful stop, had not come to pass -they had gone from the alleyway, to the shadowy inside of the building, and through the opposite wall on the other side in complete defiance of the laws of physics, passing through the walls as though they were incorporeal. Yet, the sound of Volcan's talons clicking on the stone ground still filled the street -he was indeed solid, and therefore so were Luke and the Delphox leading them onward.

Luke was completely flabbergasted, his eyes wide open in shock as the realization just hit him that they had just literally ran through a wall as if it weren't even there. He looked back toward the wall incredulously, then back to Lashanne as they kept running. "Okay, what just happened?" He asked.

Rather than answer, Lashanne made a left at the next fork, leading them down another alley and nearly causing Luke to lose balance from the sharp turn as they beelined towards the wall at the end. A second before they passed through, Luke heard rubble scattering into the street where they had been before, showing Zann still in pursuit, but they phased through the wall and were out of sight before he found them.

They passed through the building, running through to the next street and making another left, until they were one block over from the house they had first entered through. In the distance, they could hear Zann still searching for them, roaring in frustration as he knocked down walls and doors alike as he attempted to flush them out.

"Okay, we've bought ourselves a few minutes," Lashanne said, speaking lowly.

Luke released Lashanne's paw, still wearing that incredulous look on his face as he spoke. "Okay, before we go into making a plan to get out of here, I just want to back up a bit and ask you just what the HELL happened back there?" He almost blurted out.

Lashanne showed her looplet, showing the yellow one that was now glowing, while one of the sockets that had previously housed a red one had vanished. "Mobility Emera -lets you phase through objects," she explained. "I always keep one handy for exactly what we just escaped from."

"What the hell was with that Machamp -why'd he go all ballistic?" Volcan asked. "Not to mention, turning red like that?"

"Some Machamp have the ability to amplify their energy by calling upon deep reserves, giving them a surge of power," explained Lashanne. "It's called 'Dynamic Fury' or something like that. Makes them super strong, fast and tough as iron."

Volcan looked at Luke. "Sounds a little like your Aura Surge," he remarked.

"It felt like it too, only unstable." Luke commented. "An ability like that takes years to fully control. The fact he went on such a berserker rage means he still hasn't fully mastered it."

"It may also be different for a Machamp -as I recall your body doesn't change colour when you use Aura Surge but he turned as red as a tomato," Volcan added, before looking at Lashanne. "How long will he be like that?"

"He can't hold it for very long, and as soon as it runs out, he'll be ragged -that's the last we'll see of him for a while," she answered to their relief. "But Crane and Karth might still come after us if they wake up in time. We have to signal Toby and get out of here."

"How do we do that?" Luke asked. "We don't have a way of getting any sort of signal out of this cave to reach him." He pointed out.

"Leave that to me. But we have to get over to the cave mouth so he can see it," she returned, pointing in the direction of the lake. "Downside is, soon as I send that up, it's going to give away our position."

"Well if anything, I'll be able to sense when they'll be coming for us and give us a rough estimate as to how long they'll take to find us." Luke offered.

"Do it. We need to be sure," Lashanne requested.

Luke nodded, then closed his eyes and focused as he tuned to his Aura Sense, extending his range as far as he could to see where the three pursuers might be at the moment. He detected the Aura of Zann, more than a hundred paces away. His aura had reduced drastically, signalling the end of his 'Dynamic Fury' state. Elsewhere he could see Crane and Karth moving again -they had regained consciousness. At first they seemed weakened, but he saw both of them already recovering somehow. Either they had brought some medicinal items with them or they were using recovery moves -he couldn't tell, but they were not out of the game yet.

Luke tuned out of his Aura Sense and looked to Lashanne grimly. "Well, good news, Zann's all tuckered out from burning through all his reserves. Bad news, Crane and Karth are back up and healing themselves." He explained. "It won't be long before they start looking for us."

Volcan nodded. "Maybe we can distract them somehow," he said, rubbing his chin in thought. "Luke, how far can you lob an Aura Sphere?"

"Pretty far. Perhaps... fifty meters before it fizzles out." Luke answered.

"Try sending it somewhere opposite where we're going -the noise should draw those thugs away," Volcan went on.

"Smart thinking," agreed Lashanne.

"Indeed. It's definitely worth a try." Luke nodded in agreement as he formed an Aura Sphere in his paw. He looked toward the open cave mouth above, judging their distance away from it, then turned his attention to the opposite direction and lobbed the sphere as far as he could.

"Alright, let's move!" Volcan urged, taking the lead and jogging up the street to the fork, checking both ways before heading off in the direction of the lake, with Lashanne and Luke following closely.

In the distance, they heard the Aura Sphere strike the ground, sending out a small explosion to mark its place of landing. A check to his Aura Sense revealed to Luke that the hired goons had taken the bait and were running to investigate the sound. He smirked as he saw them running off to where his attack had impacted.

"They bought it; hook, line and sinker." Luke informed Volcan and Lashanne. "That should buy us at least a few more minutes."

"Good. It'll take no less for Toby to retrieve us," Lashanne returned as they cleared the city and approached the lake. "He better be watching," she said before she cast a fireball up towards the hole, sending it out into the open air and flying past the airship anchored above.

"There. Now we wait and hope he's quick."

"Doesn't look like they saw the fireball -we might be home free," stated Volcan.

"Don't jinx it, love." Luke cautioned the Blaziken, keeping his eyes forward toward where he fired his Aura Sphere. "Always expect the worst, but hope for the best."

They waited for any sign of activity from the ship above. But after a time, Lashanne began to shift uncomfortably on her footpaws, her expression turning to genuine concern. "Something's wrong..."

"Maybe he didn't see it?" Volcan suggested.

"It's possible...but if you guys anchored down as close as you did, then it's unlikely he wouldn't see your signal." Luke pointed out, glancing to Lashanne. "I'd suggest trying again, but...I don't want to push our luck. We're on borrowed time as it is."

"Maybe he came down?" Volcan offered. "Luke, try your aura sense -see if you can spot anyone up there."

"Will do." Luke returned, closing his eyes and focusing once more, tuning to his aura sense and focusing on the area above them. He could make out something small that seemed to be floating, most likely Lashanne's compatriot aboard her vessel. He twitched though, when he saw that his aura was unusually calm...too calm, which only meant one thing to the lucario.

He opened his eyes again and turned to Lashanne. "Well I found him...but his aura was very calm, meaning he's either asleep or he's unconscious." Luke stated to the Delphox.

"Toby would never go to sleep in the middle of a hunt!" Lashanne protested. "They must've done something to him before they came after us!"

"Now what do we do?" Luke asked. "We lucked out with the first but if we send another signal they'll see us for sure."

"Wouldn't matter anyway if the pilot isn't awake to see it," reminded Volcan. "I hate to admit it, but I don't have a backup plan this time."

"Maybe I can..." Lashanne began to say, raising her paw to look at her looplet.

Luke looked over to the Delphox, seeing her glance down at her looplet. "What do you have in mind, Lashanne?"

"Normally when I levitate I can only do myself -maybe a small inanimate object with me," she said. "But if I use this last Power Booster Emera I have, maybe I can carry all three of us up."

Luke was a little skeptical about her plan, looking at the Emera she was holding up. "How long do those Emeras last when you use them?" He asked.

"A few minutes. More than enough time -that's not the problem," she replied. "The problem we're facing is that if I lose my concentration while carrying us up, we drop."

"Well then for all of our sakes, you better concentrate your damned hardest." Luke returned.

"Then you better hope Crane and Karth don't spot us before we're out," she retorted as she tapped the red Emera housed in the looplet, taking in a deep breath as she prepared herself.

She cast Psychic, and immediately Luke and Volcan felt themselves become engulfed in psionic energy. She began to float off of the floor, as did they, and were slowly carried higher into the air.

The Lucario instinctively waved his arms a bit as he was lifted off the ground against his will, staring at the ground as he began to ascend with Lashanne and Volcan into the air. He looked over his shoulder toward where Karth and the others were searching for them, tuning quickly to his aura sense to check if they had spotted them yet. He got his answer as he saw Karth taking to the air, and his aura rapidly coming closer. Crane was following behind him, slower and not likely to reach them in time but the Noivern would be on them in less than a minute at his speed.

"Head's up, we got incoming!" Luke stated to Lashanne and Volcan, holding up his paws. "Volcan, give me a hand with keeping Karth at bay."

"He's a Dragon-type; my fire's not going to do crap," Volcan commented. "And I can't use Dual Chop like this... any suggestions?"

"Maybe..." Luke muttered, trying to think up of a plan. "I have an idea." He said as he created one aura sphere in each paw. "Be ready with that Dual Chop. We have to time this just right." He added before he started unleashing a barrage of Aura Spheres at the oncoming Noivern.

"I sure hope this works, love," Volcan said, his hands glowing with the violet energy of a Dragon-type attack and waited...

Karth beelined straight towards them, angling his head to unleash another Boomburst attack as he approached. Luke kept piling on the Aura Spheres as Karth got closer, the blasts hitting him, though not doing much to slow him down thanks to his flying sub-type. When he was practically on top of them, luke stopped firing and turned back to the Blaziken. "Better clench up!" He hollered as he grabbed both of Volcan's legs and swung him as hard as he could so that he was able to nail Karth with the Dual Chop.

Volcan whooped as he was swung, but didn't miss his chance as he was brought within range of Karth. With a knife hand blow powered by Dual Chop he struck Karth where his wing connected to his body, causing the Noivern to dip and lose aerial balance. He babbled incoherently as he went careening out of control before splashing into the lake below.

"Bullseye!" Volcan crowed.

"Nice hit, love!" Luke also exclaimed, bringing Volcan back to his original position and gently releasing him.

"If you would... kindly... not do that again!" Lashanne commented in a strained voice. "It's really hard to focus when you swing each other around like that!"

"Oh, erm...Sorry, Lashanne." Luke returned. "Guess I got a bit carried away there."

"Whoa!" Volcan yelped as a glowing sphere shot past him. "But we're not out of the woods yet!" He called, pointing down to the city, where Crane -having finally cleared the houses, was launching Energy Ball attacks at them, narrowly missing Lashanne with the second one.

Luke turned back to face Crane, waiting for the next energy ball to come racing at him, prepping an Aura Sphere in the process. "These guys just don't give up.." he growled a bit as he discharged the attack just as Crane launched his, the attacks colliding and creating an explosion between them.

Volcan looked up, seeing the cavern opening just a few meters higher yet. "We're almost there!" He exclaimed. "Keep him off us, Luke!"

"I'm trying!" Luke returned, discharging another Aura Sphere to counter another Energy Ball from Crane, the two spheres once again detonating on contact. But as he started to charge up another, he was treated to the sight of another energy ball shooting toward him. He had no time to conjure an Aura Sphere, having only time to put up his arms to defend himself, taking the attack full force.

"Luke!" Volcan cried as the sphere detonated in his lover's face.

Lashanne visibly buckled under the impact as Luke was thrown backwards, but she managed to maintain her hold on him. Crane was now close enough to unleash a pin missile barrage on them, sending flurries of needles at them. Volcan exhaled the largest cone of fire he could muster to incinerate the needles before they could belt him, Luke or especially Lashanne.

Finally, in just the nick of time, they emerged from the cave, moving to the side to get out from over the hole. It was here that Lashanne could hold on no longer, gasping sharply as her Psychic powers ceased, all three of them falling onto the stone ridge heavily. Luke and Volcan managed a roll to correct themselves, the former regretting it as his arms still ached from the Energy Ball, but he held back his cry and looked at Lashanne, seeing her lying prone and panting heavily.

"Lashanne! Are you okay?" Luke asked.

"Can't... levitate... any higher," the Delphox replied between gasps.

Luke ran over to her, lowering himself to one knee and turning the Delphox over to sit her up. "She's completely drained." Luke said to Volcan, draping her arm over his shoulders and gently helping her to her feet. "Is your vessel nearby, Lashanne?"

"Look... up..." she retorted in a weakened variation of her sassy tone.

Luke cocked an eyebrow at her, slightly confused before he turned his gaze upward as she said. His jaw nearly hung completely open at the idle airship above them, his expression completely flabbergasted at the sight of what seemed to be the keel of a ship, modified with a wider bottom to rest upon level ground, hovering above their heads.

"You're...kidding me!"

"...Think I could trade in my boat?" Volcan asked rhetorically.

"How...How did you even acquire such a vessel?? Let alone make it an airborne one??" Luke demanded.

"Talk later!" She snapped harshly, lifting herself from Luke and limping forward. "Need to... get aboard. There's a ladder... but, Toby's out cold."

"I can jump us up," Volcan offered, setting down the box of valuables he'd been carrying since Lashanne had put it in his hands.

She heard the rattle of the box, and turned on her paw to look at him. "Wait, don't leave that!" Lashanne protested.

"I can carry it, or I can carry you," Volcan returned firmly.

Lashanne let out a sigh. "Right, take me up first."

With that, Volcan moved to Lashanne's side, picking her up and cradling her in his arms before taking a running start and jumping up to the ship, carrying the Delphox with him. Luke knelt down next to the box of treasure and scooped it up in his arms as he waited for Volcan to return to get him, or at the very least, waited for a way that he could climb aboard the airship himself. The Blaziken returned a moment later, running over to take him up to the ship next.

"Is Karth back up yet?" Volcan asked, expecting any moment for the Noivern to be back on their tail.

"Not that I can sense." Luke returned as he walked toward Volcan. "I think that last shot downed him pretty bad."

"Let's not stick around to find out," Volcan returned, picking up Luke and jumping up to the airship with him.

Lashanne, now having caught her breath, was already working on rousing Toby from unconsciousness, slapping his face and shouting his name until the Meowth shook his head and opened his eyes in alarm. She untied the ropes binding him, and then they hurriedly worked to get the ship ready to go.

"Sever those anchors!" Lashanne called to Volcan and Luke, gesturing to the ropes at either side of the ship -each one attached to a harpoon, that held it in place to keep it from drifting.

Volcan ran to the port side anchor, igniting his hand with a fire punch and clutching the rope until he burned through it, while Luke headed over to the starboard anchor and flexed his right paw. The spike on his paw glowing and morphing into a set of claws before he took a swipe at the rope, slicing it with relative ease and freeing the ship.

With the ship now freed, Lashanne started the engines and took the wheel in both paws, steering the ship away from the cavern opening. The ship accelerated surprisingly quickly for a dirigible, and she took cover in the mesas in case Karth were to come out in pursuit of them. By the time the three thugs would find their way out of the city, the airship -with treasure and hunters on board- would be long gone...

Relieved to have escaped from the hired thugs, Volcan dropped onto the deck of the ship, leaning against the mast and sighing contently as he leaned against the railing. "Phew. What a rush," he said.

"You can say that again." Luke agreed, walking on over and taking a seat next to the Blaziken. "This has been probably our wildest adventure yet... but we pulled through, and we're a step closer to our goal."

"Yeah... straight on Princeport from-"

He was cut off by the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the deck. The Blaziken and Lucario turned to see Lashanne lying on her side by the ship's wheel. Toby called out her name in concern, running over to her and rolling her onto her back as Volcan and Luke scrambled to their feet, rushing over to see what was wrong.

"What happened?" The Lucario asked as he and Volcan knelt next to the Delphox. "Lashanne! Are you alright?" He inquired as Volcan turned her over, and the two examined her for injuries or other signs of her ailment.

But she was unmarked, minus the injuries she had before -no fresh wounds, and the ones she had were too minor to be the cause. Toby lifted her hand, laying it onto her chest, when he noticed her looplet and the three vacant slots in the accessor

"Wait... Sweet Palkia, did she use all three of those?!" He demanded, noting the blank slots in the looplet.

"What's wrong?" Volcan asked.

"Emeras are more common than Mega Stones but some of them have a nasty side effects," Toby replied, and then pointed down to the deck. "In the cabin below here there should be a basket of food -bring it out here, quick!"

Volcan didn't question any further, shooting to his feet and bounding over the railing to take a shortcut while Luke and Toby stayed with Lashanne.

"What are these side effects, Toby?" Luke asked the Meowth. "I saw her become incredibly fatigued, but, if she needs food do they also cause starvation?"

"The Emeras she used in particular all share the effect of accelerating the metabolism, so yeah, you got it right. For that reason she always carries some food with her just in case, but to use all three stones? Damn she will be starving at this point!"

Luke suddenly remembered the bread that Lashanne had given to him and Volcan when they had first met earlier that day, realizing the rations Toby spoke of must have been those loaves of bread. "She gave her food to us..." he said.

Volcan appeared over the railing again, carrying a wicker basket between his hands as he ran over to rejoin them. Toby looked at Luke, pointing at Lashanne as he stood. "Help feed her; I need to steer the ship before we hit one of the mesas."

"Alright." Luke returned, looking over to Volcan to see what he had brought with him. The Blaziken set down the basket beside her, lifting off the cloth cover to reveal an assortment of breads, dried fruits and meats, hard boiled eggs and a jar of pickles -all items with long shelf life, and each one proportioned to be carried in a pocket -or in Lashanne's case, a satchel.

Volcan lifted Lashanne into a seated position, propping her upright and lifting off her satchel to set aside so that Luke could safely feed her. She took one bite of the bread he offered her before she seemed to spring back to life, eyes opening wide. She snatched the bread away and started to devour it ravenously, stopping halfway through it to avoid choking and to catch her breath before she went back to eating it -slower this time.

"...Holy hell, Toby wasn't kidding." Luke muttered as he watched her devour the loaf of bread like she had not eaten in days. "If this is what using those stones does to you, perhaps it's not worth it to use those Emeras after all."

Lashanne scoffed, giving him a sideways look. "Easy for you to say; you can Mega Evolve. And don't think I didn't notice that gemstone on your neck -or on Volcan's harness."

Luke averted his gaze slightly, adjusting his scarf a bit and clearing his throat. "It's not something I use like a crutch. If anything I treat it as a last resort, but that's beside the point." He stated. "Feeling any better?"

"Starting to, yeah," she replied. "But this hunger's only the start of it... tonight I'm going to have the mother of all migraines to deal with."

"Heightened metabolism and now a migraine? What's next, arthritis?" Luke asked in half jest.

She rolled hjer eyes. "The Migraine is from overexerting my psychic powers, like if you pull a muscle from overextertion." She then added stenly. "As for what's next, a black eye, if you lost my treasure."

Volcan shot her a warning look following the threat of harm to his betrothed -even if she hadn't meant it to be a serious threat. "I'm going to just assume that's the hunger making you crabby and forget all about it. Your treasures are fine -your satchel and your box, filled up with stuff." Stretching out his leg he dragged the aforementioned box over to them. "I admit, I didn't find much other than some old pottery, a few brass medallions and probably the most expensive looking thimble I've ever seen."

He popped the box open and lifted out an item that bore a striking resemblance to Lashanne's looplet, except that it was made out of gold. "This was probably the best I found. I don't know the value of metals but gold is always worth something, so I took it."

Lashanne's ears stood straight up as she saw the gold bracelet, jaw going slack as she seemed to realize what it was. "Worth something? That's a king's ransom right there!" She exclaimed, taking the looplet and examining it. "This is a gold looplet! A crown jewel in a king's treasurey! Only a couple of hundred of these were ever made -the collector's value on _this_alone is almost as much as the idol would have been!"

She held the looplet to her chest as if it were her own newborn kit. "Oh, this is awesome!" She then looked at Luke, still wearing that gleeful smile. "Do I have permission to kiss your boyfriend?" She asked. The stunned look on Volcan's face behind her nearly caused Luke to burst out in laughter.

Holding back the urge to laugh, the Lucario briefly stammered his response. "U-uh... I guess? If it's on the cheek it's fine, I suppose."

"Hey, don't I get a say in this?" Volcan asked.

"Nope," Lashanne returned before she planted one right on Volcan's cheek, leaving the Blaziken sitting blank-faced and blushing as she sprang up, and practically danced over to the stairs. "Payday, Toby!"

"Hey, mind the Meowth puns!" Toby called back to her.

Volcan blinked in confusion after watching Lashanne skip down the stairs like a Spoink on a sugar high, her hunger and the headache that was sure to follow gone from her mind as she rejoiced in the treasure she held in her paws. He cast an incredulous look toward Luke, waving his finger in a circle beside his head.

"That woman is whack." He said lowly, but he underestimated just how keen a fox Pokémon's ears were.

"I heard that!" Lashanne called from the deck, causing the feathers on the back of Volcan's neck to bristle, his hands raising reflexively as if he expected an attack

Luke blinked, taking a moment to process the past moment, but it was finally the look on Volcan's face that sent the Lucario over the edge. He burst out into a fit of laughter, falling onto his back and holding his stomach as the comical moment brought a much-needed moment of joy for him.

"Of all the things that have happened since we arrived here, that has made my day!" He roared, before returning to his laughing fit.

Before long, Volcan could not help but laugh too, and for the first time since they had left the cave, his spirits were high, even when his body was not. He lay upon the deck, basking in the ray of sun that covered half his body from behind the giant gas bag above. For the first time in days, he did not wish the incandescent orb be gone. He welcomed it, and the moment of reprieve they would have on the way to Princeport.

~~~~~

A flash of light later, and suddenly, Crane, Zann and Karth had been transported from the ancient city to the abode of their employer, who sat in the shadows watching them as they re-oriented themselves following the teleportation. Zann and Karth both froze at the sight of their boss, with only Crane retaining his composure as he saw the Alakazam.

"Mi-Mister Seji," Crane began. "I am glad you were able hear my call -your telepathy is most impressive, as is your teleportation prowess."

"Good call, buttering him up before we feed him the good news," Karth said in a low voice.

"You know he can probably hear you right?" Zann growled lowly to the Noivern through grit teeth.

The Alakazam slowly rose to his feet, his eyes shining in the darkness as he stepped toward his three minions. "...Flattery might get you somewhere with anyone else, Crane..." He said as he stepped into the light, revealing himself to the three of them, only now seeing the look of disappointment he had in his gaze. "...But it won't get you anywhere with me." He added as he circled around them slowly. "I see you have arrived empty handed yet again. Is it safe to assume that you've let Lashanne slip through your grasp with the treasures once more?"

"She had help this time," Crane returned. "There was a Lucario and a Blaziken accompanying her, both of whom proved to be capable fighters."

"I can attest to the Blaziken especially," Zann remarked, rubbing a flowering bruise where he had taken the Brave Bird attack.

Seji stopped pacing around the three of them, his back turned to the three underlings as he lifted a hand to run it along his moustache. "...You don't say." He muttered softly, sounding more intrigued than angry. "...Tell me. Did you happen to catch their names, or take note of any distinguishing features about them?" He asked.

"I heard the Lucario call out the Blaziken's name," Crane answered. "He called him Volcan, or something akin to that."

"He had a scar on his back too," Zann added. "Like someone tried to cut him in half."

"I see." Seji muttered, narrowing his eyes dangerously as he went deeper into thought. 'So, he lives after all...You've blundered yet again, you insane fool.' The Alakazam thought to himself before he turned back to his underlings. "Regardless, you've failed me yet again...I'm starting to wonder if my money is being wasted in hiring you three idiots." He added, shooting each of them a dangerous glare. "So, tell me... how shall I punish you this time?"

"W-We can still get the treasure, sir!" Crane said, putting up his arms defensively. "We know where she's going -if we can just jump her before she gets to Princeport -or even _in_the city when she tries to sell it- and get those two out of the way, we can take it from her then. She can't fight all three of us alone."

"Attacking her within city limits will blow my cover." Seji snapped back at Crane. "There will be too many witnesses. If we're to dispose of them, it will be in an area where no one will find their bodies." He explained, stepping around the three of them and looking out a nearby window, humming lowly in thought. "...Against my better judgement, I will grant each of you one last chance to prove your not just wasted space. You three will dispose of Lashanne's compatriots, whereas I shall deal with our meddling treasure hunter myself."

Seji then sharply turned and held his hand toward Karth and Zann, catching them both in a psychic grip and lifting them effortlessly off the ground, squeezing their necks and effectively strangling them as one of his spoons appeared next to him, taking aim at Crane's forehead and charging a Signal Beam. "I trust this will set a strong example as to what will become of your fate should you fail me again..." he warned.

"Y-Yes, sir," returned Crane. "You have made yourself very clear..."

He started to grin, then he released the Noivern and Machamp from his grasp and fizzled out his Signal Beam. "Excellent." He stated. "Now lick your wounds and be ready to leave within the hour." He commanded as he turned his back to them.

"As you say, boss," Zann returned before he hurried out of the room ahead of his cohorts -though snatched Karth before the Noivern could dare say anything that might only worsen their situation, with Crane being the last to leave, allowing Seji time to formulate their plan of attack.

The Alakazam reflected on the news that Crane had delivered to him, running his hand through his moustache once more. "So, Team Phalanx and Team Valiant's captains have survived." He muttered softly, allowing himself a chuckle before walking to his study. "And you were so certain of your accomplishment, Calhoun. Oh I can just imagine how livid you will be when you discover that your most prized possession failed to kill one traumatized Blaziken and a Lucario from some backwater port town."

He slid open a drawer and pulled out an item that resembled a basket hilt with its blade completely removed. "Well, as the old saying goes; if you want something done right," he paused as a violet blade of pure Psychic energy shot out of the hilt in front of the Alakazam, his grin broadening. "Then you have to do it yourself..."

~~~~~

Lashanne had been bedridden for most of the trip. Once her joyful moment at retrieving the gold looplet had passed, the migraine headache she had anticipated swiftly came. She retired to her quarters where she could rest in a dark room until it passed. Toby, who stood at the helm above her stateroom, made certain not to do anything to cause too much noise, for fear of disturbing her, leaving Volcan and Luke to sit and wait until they reached Princeport.

Toby suggested they head below decks if they were bored, to find the third room down the corridor -there would be something for them to do there. Following his directions, they descended below the deck of the ship, and Luke was first to the room -formerly a crew member's cabin, from the vessels days as a sailing ship, modified with a window and several bookshelves built into the wall. The Lucario smiled in contentment when he saw the shelves lined with books regarding ancient artifacts and old history, not surprised to find such material in the possession of a professional treasure hunter.

"She's more of a bookworm than she lets on, it seems," said Luke, picking one of the books off the shelf and opening it, only to frown as he realized he didn't understand a word on the yellowed pages. "And apparently knows many languages -I can't read a word of this."

"And she's got a vintage chess set here," Volcan added, studying the set on the table near the door. "Very classy."

"What, really?" Luke asked, looking over his shoulder to see the chess board on the table. "No way, let me see!" He added in an excited tone, trotting over to get a better look at the set.

Sure enough, a chess set with hand-carved wooden pieces, each one at least a hundred years old, sat on the table where Volcan stood, the pieces arranged as though a game had been in progress but left unfinished. Each pieces was weighted down with a lead piece on the bottom, some bearing signs of early corrosion despite being shiny with fresh polish.

"Wow...very vintage indeed." He commented. "I have to admit, she's got some good taste in everything ancient." He then grinned. "Think when she's over her migraine that I should have a game with her?"

"I'd love to see what she can do," Volcan remarked in agreement. He then looked over his shoulder to the shelves of books, eyes scanning over the volumes briefly. "How many of these do you think she's read?"

"Plenty, I imagine. Some of them don't even appear to be in modern dialect either -I wonder just how many languages she knows?" Luke laughed lightly, eyeing the chess set again. "Well... we can either sit down and have a read together or we can finish off our chess game that got interrupted when we were sailing to the fortress." Luke offered.

"Think she'd mind us playing with this antique?"

"So long as we're careful, I don't see why not." Luke returned with a shrug. "Same bet as last time, love?"

"You're on," Volcan returned with a smile.

"Hehe, alright." He said as he took a seat and rearranged his pieces so they were ready for a new game. "Hope you've taken notes, because if not, I'm about to take you to school." He commented confidently.

"Don't I still hold the lead?" Volcan returned with a smug tone, flashing a grin at his lover

"Then it's high time I even the odds." Luke returned, gesturing Volcan to move first. "Your move, my love." He said with a wink.

So began their game. They sat quietly, pondering each other's moves carefully as they went. Volcan tried a new strategy than his usual approaches, though this one Luke caught onto quickly and turned the tide against him, forcing him to retreat and postulate a new strategy. When he came back at Luke for a counter attack, he narrowly managed to seize victory -though both were left with their last three pieces on the board.

"Almost had me that time," Volcan commented after declaring checkmate. "You're catching up to me fast, love."

Luke chuckled a bit and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm starting to get a better read on the way you play. It certainly reflects on the way you formulate plans on the battlefield." He commented back.

"I guess. Although this time I failed to minimize casualties," he remarked, gesturing to his remaining three pieces still on the board.

Luke gently scooted over in his seat closer to Volcan, placing a paw on his shoulder. "Well, at least this is just a game." He replied softly.

"Yeah I know," he said, sliding an arm around Luke. "Still, it's what I prefer to do- get the job done without losing too many. It's why I look for every possible opening or advantage and determine the right person or people to take that advantage and act on it."

"Honestly I'm kind of the same, only rather than minimizing casualties, I try to keep them to zero." Luke replied. "Realistically, I know that isn't really possible, but I at least try to make sure all of my teammates return home alive."

"I think any good leader does," replied Volcan.

Luke sighed softly as he leaned against Volcan. "In any case, we're finally on our way home. After we cash in our reward, we can finally get a ship back to Azure."

"Suppose we're almost there?" He asked. "I'm curious to see what passes for a city out in this dustbowl."

"I hope so." Luke replied. "I just want to go home...I think I'm starting to feel a bit homesick, and I'm sure our friends and family are worried sick about us."

The Blaziken pulled his lover closer to him, letting Luke rest his head against the Blaziken's feathered chest as they sat quietly in the dimly lit room. "If we only had some way to let them know we're alright..." Volcan added with a sigh.

Luke's ears perked up a bit the second Volcan finished speaking. "Wait...you don't suppose Princeport could have a post office of some kind, do you?" Luke asked suddenly. "We could send a letter to them that way, to let them know we're on our way home!"

"Hey, Yeah!" Volcan agreed with a snap of his fingers. "Romulus has to get missions from somewhere and there has to be someone to deliver the messages!" He looked at Luke. "How did we not think of this until now?"

"I don't know, honestly. We were so caught up in just surviving that I guess it slipped our minds." Luke returned. "Well then, that's the first thing we're doing after we collect the reward."

"Absolutely-_eeee!"_Volcan cried as the ship lurched suddenly, throwing both from their seats and onto the floor.

Luke grunted as he fell on his side, pushing himself up on his elbow and looking around the room frantically. "What was that? Did we hit something??" He asked as got to his feet and quickly helped Volcan up as well. "Come on, let's head to the bridge!"

They charged out of the room, making a beeline for the stairs to the upper deck. They cleared the stairs in a few long strides before they emerged from below decks, finding Toby struggling with the ship's wheel. His teeth were bared as he tried to make it turn, as though the wheel were resisting him.

"Toby!" Luke called as they approached the Meowth. "Is everything alright?"

"Does it look alright?!" The Meowth snapped. "I can't control the ship; the rudder's locked up!"

Ahead, they could see their destination -a city sat just a half a kilometer away, but they were being steered away from it towards a ridge to the right. Try as he might to steer away from it, Toby could not force the ship back on course.

Lashanne burst forth from her room, looking up at Toby to see him struggling. Having already heard the rudder was malfunctioning she looked at Volcan. "Get up there and help him!" She ordered before turning to Luke. "With me; we need to check the rudder!" She instructed before she bound up the stairs, past the helm and towards the stern of the vessel.

"R-Right!" Luke returned, quickly following after Lashanne to the stern of the ship to see just what was causing them to veer off course.

Lashanne picked up a rope sitting at the back of the ship, hastily tying it around herself before throwing the other end to Luke. "Hang onto that!" She directed before she jumped onto the rail, and then onto the rudder mount.

Due to the nature of the ship's function, following its modification, the ships usual rudder for steering in the ocean had been replaced with one modified to function in the air, resembling the tailfeathers of a bird if it was flying on its side. She walked along the top of the rudder's frame, noticing the propeller blades were not moving.

"Toby, did you shut off the engines?" She called.

"Yes, but we're still being carried by momentum! We're going to hit the ridge!"

Luke held onto the rope as firmly as he could, having to lean back just to keep his balance. "Have you found the problem, Lashanne?" He called to her.

"Working on it!" She called back, lowering herself onto one knee and searching the length of the rudder for blockages or anything that might be keeping it from turning. But there was nothing she could see -it was simply as though the rudder had anchored itself in the right turn position, steering them off course.

But somehow the ship was still going in a semi-straight line...

"Someone's jinxed my ship," she said with a low growl, drawing her branch from its holster. "Not on my watch!" She declared as she waved the gnarled branch at the rudder, the tip glowing with blue light.

The rudder creaked in protest but began to turn. Volcan and Toby felt the wheel stop fighting them and they began to correct their course. The sudden turn nearly caused Lashanne to tumble over the side, but she caught the frame she was on with her legs, and a tug from Luke hanging onto the rope yanked her back onto the beam, sparing her a painful fall.

The ship veered away from the ridge, the hull skimming the rock face slightly, causing a harsh grinding sound to fill the air but leaving the ship otherwise intact. The disaster was averted, and the ship saved.

Lashanne carefully made her way back to the ship deck, climbing over the rail with help from Luke and collapsing against it as she sat down on the deck. "That was too close," she said, wiping her forehead with the back of her paw.

"You alright?" Luke asked, panting a bit as well and putting his paw to his chest in an attempt to steady his rapidly beating heart.

"Yeah," she returned.

"So, what caused the malfunction?" Volcan asked.

"There wasn't one," Lashanne returned. "Someone was controlling the rudder Psychically, trying to force us into a crash."

"Wait what?" Luke asked incredulously. "But...how? Was there anything that was lodged into the rudder when you checked?" Luke asked.

"Not a thing. It was clear of any debris -I made damn sure. But some force was pushing it and forced us to lose our course."

"Who could have done that? And where..."

All of a sudden, there was a pop interrupting Volcan's question, followed by a sharp hiss. The three of them looked up to see an energy needle falling from the gas bag, and above it, a hole in the leather deck, where the gas that allowed the ship flight was now escaping.

"Damnit, we're hit!" Luke exclaimed as he saw the gas leaving the bag above them, causing the ship to start falling to the ground. "Everyone find something to grab onto and brace for impact!!" He called to the others as he dashed for the railing closest to him and held onto it for dear life.

Very swiftly, as everyone seized anything solid that they could hold onto, the ship descended, slowly at first but picking up speed rapidly. Their feet left the deck as it reached its fastest, before coming to a sudden halt followed by a deafening crash. The impact sent pieces and Pokémon flying in all directions.

Luke was thrown clear over the rail, falling into the crusty earth below that knocked the wind out of him as he landed. Even though dazed, he had sense enough that he managed to cover his head with his paws and curling into a ball, making himself as small as possible while wood, nails, dust and other debris scattered about.

He dared not move until the last of the debris had fallen. When everything settled, Luke wheezed, having forgotten to breath while protecting himself. He shook his head and rubbed away the ringing in his ears, coughing a few times before he collected himself enough to look around, and take in his surroundings. The airship, half-hidden behind a cloud of dust, was in ruins. Its entire keel had been smashed inward, the gas bag deflated and lying draped over the demolished frame.

"Ugh...Everyone alright?" He called out as he stood on his feet. "Volcan? Lashanne? Toby? Can anyone hear me?"

Nobody had landed with him, and with the dust still settling he couldn't see much. He shut his eyes, reverting to his aura sense and surveying the area around him, reaching out until he sensed a nearby life form he recognized as Volcan. Spurred to action, he ran to where he felt the aura, opening his eyes as he drew close and nearly tripping over the prone form in the sand as it appeared. He dropped to his knees, calling out to the Blaziken and turning him over onto his back.

Volcan stirred, groaning and curling back his legs as he took in a breath, letting out a cough and holding his chest. "Ow," he groaned, moving his hand from his chest to his head as Luke helped him sit up. "Okay... that wasn't fun."

"Are you alright?" Luke asked, looking Volcan over for signs of injury, but he was fortunate -he had landed softly.

"Yeah -just a bit winded," replied Volcan, rubbing the dirt from his eyes before turning to Luke. "What about you? I saw you go over the side."

"I got a bit winded too, but I'm alright otherwise." Luke replied, standing up and gently pulling the Blaziken to his feet. "We need to find Lashanne and Toby. For all we know, they might be in worse shape than we are."

"Stay alert -whoever shot us down is still around too," Volcan warned, adjusting his harness and making certain he still had his mega stone, feeling he was going to need it soon.

"Agreed." Luke returned, turning back to his aura sense to pick up Lashanne's and Toby's signals as the two of them began moving along the wrecked airship, praying internally that they weren't injured in any way.

They found the two after a quick search, finding them still on the deck of the ship -they had not been thrown over the side. Lashanne lay at the bow with Toby held in her arms, both knocked senseless by the drop but the Delphox was already coming around when Luke and Volcan climbed over and ran to check on her.

"You okay?" Volcan asked.

"That drop did _not_help with my headache," she replied, sitting up and looking at her unconscious helmsman. "Toby... Is he okay?" She asked. "I grabbed him as he was hurled into the air but I think I landed on him before we tumbled down here..."

"Let me see him." Luke said as he approached Lashanne and knelt next to her, quickly checking the injured Meowth in her arms. He saw no visible injuries on him save for some bumps and bruises, which made Luke sigh a bit in relief. "Looks like he's just out cold. I don't see any major injuries on him." He informed Lashanne.

"Good," returned Lashanne, sighing with relief. "What about you guys?"

"We're fine," said Volcan, his eyes drifting to his right. "Which is more than I can say for these chuckleheads in the next five seconds..." He added lowly, his wrists beginning to ignite.

At the front of the ship, where the dust was beginning to settle, four figures could be seen approaching their position. By the outlines alone, Luke and Lashanne both could see that it was the same three thugs they had fought before but now there was one more with them.

Luke rolled his eyes as he saw the figures coming toward them, standing up and turning to fully face them. "Not these guys again," he said derisively.

"How the hell did they get here ahead of us?" Volcan asked. "The Noivern maybe, but there's no way a Cacturne or Machamp could possibly move that fast."

"I bet I know," Lashanne said lowly, her face contorting to a deep scowl. "Volc... if you're going to attack, take the guy second from the left out first -don't give him a chance to move."

"Right," Volcan said, shifting weight in his legs as he readied himself to strike.

As the group drew closer, Volcan bound over the side, landing as silently as he could before creeping along the wreck of the ship's hull for cover, making certain that the four thugs would not see him coming until it was too late, letting them move closer to further that plan.

When he felt they were close enough, he sprang out, immediately entering a Flame Charge and speeding towards them with a fierce cry, aiming for the one Lashanne had indicated -who was just slightly ahead of the rest. But to the Blaziken's shock, a mere foot from his target, he was stopped dead in his tracks, seized in a psychic hold as he was nearly face-to-face with an Alakazam who stood with an elevated hand angled towards the Blaziken.

He wore a devious grin on his face as he met the Blaziken's gaze. "Well well...we finally meet in person, Captain of Team Phalanx." The Alakazam stated with a chuckle. "I must say, you're a hard Blaziken to put down."

"HEY!" Luke roared as he jumped down off the ship and onto the ground below, using Extreme Speed to rocket toward the Alakazam. "Put him down!!"

The Alakazam lifted his other hand up toward Luke and caught him in a Psychic hold as well, causing him to freeze where he stood before he was lifted effortlessly off the ground. "And Team Valiant's Captain as well.This is quite a treat indeed."

"Wait..." Volcan said in a strangled voice, looking closely at the Alakazam, staring intently at him and studying his features. "I... I know you!" He exclaimed.

"Do you now?" The Alakazam asked rhetorically. "Considering this is our first meeting, I find it hard to believe you know me directly..."

"Your face is familiar to me," Volcan replied, narrowing his eyes. "But I remember... a..." His eyes glazed over, once again seeing a flash from his past.

He was in a house. Seated at the table with Minato, Caulin and Linda, along with another, older pair -another Lucario and Gardevoir, whom he didn't recognize at first. But it all started to return to him as behind the two elders, on the mantlepiece of a fireplace, a photograph sat. It bore the image of a young Minato, standing before the elder Lucario, and an Alakazam bearing a pleasant smile on his face -which now matched the one on the face of the Alakazam standing before Volcan at that moment as his mind flashed back to reality, though the look in his eyes was different.

"You... knew Minato's teacher!" Volcan exclaimed. "You were in a photograph in his house! Then that means..."

"Seji!" Lashanne shouted as she leapt over the railing of her airship, firing a Signal Beam at the Alakazam in an anger-fueled fury, forcing the Alakazam to release the two in order to defend himself, where they were quickly set upon by the thugs accompanying the Alakazam, pinning them down -Crane bound Luke with Grass Knot while Karth and Zann tackled Volcan and pinned him down, forcing him face-first into the sand.

"You wrecked my ship, you old bastard," growled Lashanne. "I've taken some grief from you for a long time, but this time, it's personal."

"Oh it's always been personal, Lashanne..." Seji stated right back, leering dangerously at Lashanne as he held his arms behind his back. "Ever since the day you started looting what was rightfully mine in the first place..."

"Then you should've found it first," she retorted mockingly. "I thought your species was supposed to be smart."

"Oooh the same jab she made before," Karth remarked. "She's asking for trouble, yesyesyes -trouble indeed."

"Shut up, batty -focus on the flaming bird here," Zann growled at the Noivern, one hand pushing Volcan's face into the sand..

Seji took a deep breath to calm himself down from Lashanne's jab at his intelligence. "Normally I'd rather not take matters into my own hands -it is beneath me. However, considering who you've allied yourself with, it's clear that I'm going to have to get my hands dirty while I dispose of you myself." He stated as he brought his right arm in front of him, now holding a basket hilt of a broadsword in his hand, minus the blade itself -in its place, a socket where it would normally be fitted, but it was only a shadowed void.

That is until he opened his eyes and grinned at the Delphox, his hand squeezing the grip tighter as a violet blade of pure Psychic energy shot out of the hilt in front of him, then he swung his sword to the side and shifted his stance so he was angled slightly toward Lashanne. "I'm going to enjoy slowly carving the life out of you, young lady..."

"I was getting sick of beating up your thugs," Lashanne retorted, brandishing her wand. "Though this time, I think I'll leave that to my friends here."

In the exchange, Volcan had managed to slowly push one of his hands under his body, reaching his Mega Stone and touching it, triggering its powers. Zann and Karth were flung off him as the violet crystalline sphere of Mega Evolution formed around him. When it shattered, he emerged in Mega Form, letting out a ferocious cry as his arms spouted ribbons of fire that burned brightly.

He turned towards Crane, and fired a Flamethrower at him, forcing the Cacturne to flee for cover. Volcan dashed past him, making a beeline straight to Luke and swiping the talons on his fingers at the vines binding him, severing them enough that Luke was able to pull his arms free, sprouting Metal Claws and hacking away the rest until a mess of shredded greenery lay around him.

Now free of his restraints, tugged his scarf down and tapped his own Mega Stone, bringing its power to life as he too was shrouded in a large crystalline sphere before exploding outward, revealing the Lucario in his enhanced state. He let out a furious roar as he brought forth his Aura Surge once more, a large blazing red flame burning heavily around him before he brought it back under control.

Seji glanced at the Mega Evolved Lucario and Blaziken -moreso at Luke calling upon his full power, narrowing his eyes as the sight of him doing so brought an old memory into his mind. He remembered watching a training session between two Lucario, one younger than the other, and seeing him call upon a similar power during their training. The Alakazam quickly shook that image out of his head before turning his gaze back to Lashanne, holding his blade in front of him as a sort of salute.

"Enguarde, my dear..." He would state with a grin.

Coating her branch in Psychic energy to protect it from being cut, Lashanne readied herself, leaving Volcan and Luke to handle the hired muscle while she would face off with the Alakazam herself, but knew that she would need their help eventually -she was still tired from escaping the city, her head still throbbing with pain, and her Psychic power was nowhere near as developed as that of the more practiced Alakazam. Her only hope was to stall for time until the two could come to her aid.

Volcan and Luke stared down the three thugs, who were visibly intimidated by the Mega Blaziken and Mega Lucario they were now faced with. Volcan cracked his knuckles as he spoke to them, bearing a hint of malice in his voice. "This time, we're going to make short work of you punks."

"They have Mega Stones. Why didn't anyone say they have Mega Stones?!" Karth demanded. "Why don't we have Mega Stones, hey?!"

"Your kind doesn't Mega Evolve you idiot!" Crane snapped at the Noivern, silencing him. "Nor do mine or Zann's!"

"I don't _need_mega evolution," Zann growled as he stepped forward, the red hue returning to his body -as it had shown back in the underground city, with steam pouring forth from his flesh as whatever innate power he had was brought forth. "I'll flatten these two like everythin' else."

Luke brought forth his Bone Rush in his right paw, stamping it onto the ground next to him firmly. "Last chance to turn around a leave..." He warned the three before him. "I don't care what you choose, personally, but know that if you stay and fight, you can't say I didn't warn you."

"Zann, we'll cover you from back here," Crane said. "With long range, maybe we can beat them."

The instant he said that, Volcan seemingly vanished into thin air with but a shift of his leg, and reappeared in front of Crane, the Cacturne's eyes going wide. "Is that so?" He asked in a deep tone.

Crane reacted quickly, bringing up a spiky shield to protect himself as Volcan his leg swung at him. Karth jumped in, lunging at the Blaziken with a Super Fang only to miss as Volcan ducked and rolled away. Zann, seeing his chance, moved to strike the Blaziken from the side, only for Luke to intercept him and slam his weapon right into the Machamp's jaw from the side, sending him stumbling away. Luke continued his onslaught as Zann was recovering, swinging his weapon rapidly and striking him from almost every angle before he'd push him away with a Force Palm straight to his chest.

"You couldn't defeat Volcan when he was in his normal state." Luke stated confidently as he stanced himself. "What makes you think you'd stand a better chance against me at full power?"

"You might be able to Mega Evolve," Zann returned. "But I've got power like you can't imagine, short stack, and I'll show you right now!" He bellowed as he charged Luke.

It was a well-known fact that Machamp -though not quick on their feet- were amazing power punchers, able to more than match speedy punchers like a Hitmonchan. Zann showed this in full, as every swing of his arms came hard and fast and would have toppled most Pokemon with a single hit.

But first he would have land that hit. Luke's speed and reaction time was far beyond a normal Pokémon, having been honed by years of training and sparring with equally swift Pokémon such as Kage and Eagle Eye. He was able to outmaneuver Zann well enough to avoid suffering the Machamp's overwhelming might. When Zann started to tire, Luke dashed aside to avoid his last punch, and then rushed to stand before him, his paw hovering above the Machamp's chest for a moment while he stood frozen, bracing himself for an attack

"Wha-?" Zann started to ask.

The pulse of energy sent dust billowing out behind Luke as it simultaneously launched Zann through the air, slamming hard into the sand over a dozen feet away.

Karth took to the air, leaving Crane to face Volcan directly. The Cacturne pulled out all of the stops with his array of attacks, relying on Spiky Shield to keep Volcan at bay. But he knew he was only stalling and seeing Zann in a predicament of his own against Luke's speed, he called out to his comrade. "Zann, try to bring him over here!" He said but suffered a kick to his flank for taking his eyes off of Volcan, nearly toppling him were it not for Karth coming down to harass the Blaziken with his beating wings and shrill cries.

But Crane was heard, and Zann, back on his feet, changed his approach. He let Luke come at him again, blocking the Lucario's punch, and then veered to the right and then flew into a spinning lariat, forcing Luke to back up as he twirled like a tornado towards him. At the same time, Karth resumed his attack on Volcan, altering his course and firing at the ground with Boomburst, raising it until it hit Volcan directly and sent him skidding back. Volcan was ready for the attack, crossing his arms to shield his eyes and digging his heels into the ground to slow his skid, until he felt his backside collide with someone. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Luke looking back at him, equally startled.

"Now, take this!" Crane said as he threw out his arms, and a cloud of Cotton Spore erupted from his body, showering the Blaziken and Lucario with it.

"Shit!" Luke growled as he saw the shower of spores coming their way. "Quick, burn them away before they touch us!" Luke shouted to Volcan.

Volcan exhaled a cone of fire, filling the air with as much flame as he could muster until he successfully burned it all away. But they realized their arrow too late as from the shower of ash, Karth erupted, and let out a shrill Screech that forced both to throw their hands over their ears. Luke could not hear the sound of his own scream as his ears felt like they would burst from the sound. All the while, they never saw Zann's follow-up coming as he lunged forward and punched both of them in the gut, knocking the wind out of them and sending them hurtling backward.

Volcan and Luke hit the ground heavily after flying at least ten feet through the air, and seemed to cease movement following that, leading the three to believe that they had won.

"Slammin'!" Karth crowed triumphantly as he flew in a somersault.

"Excellent work. They never saw it coming," Crane stated. "Let's finish this quick."

But Volcan and Luke were not actually defeated yet. They stayed lying down, taking that moment to assess the situation and plan their next move while their opponents gloated about their supposed victory -evidently not aware that the two should have devolved out of their Mega Evolution forms when they had lost consciousness. Volcan held his eyes shut as he whispered to Luke.

"Zann's the powerhouse of the group but Karth and Crane have all the tricks -take them out first, then we'll gang up on the big guy."

"Sounds good." Luke returned. "I'll take Crane. You handle Karth. Once they're down, we nail that four-armed bastard with everything we've got."

The three hired thugs started to approach, and then Volcan's eyes snapped open. "Go!" Volcan said sharply before he sprang back to his feet and was off in a run, heading straight for Zann.

Zann swung, but Volcan was gone, having not been the Blaziken's target. With his Mega form's Speed Boost ability, Volcan was too fast for even the thugs to follow as he raced behind Zann, past Crane and then appearing in front of Karth, the Noivern's eyes going wide as the Blaziken seemed to appear from nowhere, his hands glowing with dragonic energy.

"Light's out, loudmouth!" Volcan shouted before making two knifehand strikes to Karth -one to his face to daze him and the second to the back of his neck, robbing him of his consciousness and sending him crashing into the ground.

Crane turned, hearing Karth fall. But no sooner did he turn his back that Luke appeared behind him, his only warning being the grind of sand beneath Luke's feet as he skidded to a halt. The Cacturne looked over his shoulder, eyes widening in horror as Luke unleashed his brutal assault, slamming his paw into Crane's chest, winding him, and followed by his muscles coming rigid as Aura pulsed through his body, leaving him completely helpless as Luke unleashed his ultimate Close Combat assault, sparing him not a second of reprieve as he utterly pulverized the thug.

Crane went down like a falling tree, hitting the ground limply and leaving Zann the last man standing as the two Mega Evolved Pokémon bore down on him. In desperation, he lunged forth and swung swung all four arms, aiming for Luke. But Volcan appeared behind the Lucario and caught two of Zann's arms, leaving Luke to stop the other two. They caved somewhat under the force of the blow, but to Zann's horror, they held their ground.

Then came their onslaught. Volcan and Luke attacked him simultaneously, their fists a blur as they relentlessly pummelled the Machamp until he would certainly be black and blue all over. Even this innate power of his would not avail him as the onslaught overwhelmed him and rendered him as comatose as his two allies, his body reverting to its normal gray -save for the discolouration of flowering bruises, as he fell heavily to the ground with a groan.

Luke scoffed as the Machamp went down, his Aura Surge quickly calming down and disappearing from around him. "And stay down, all of you." The Lucario said before stopping to catch his breath, looking at Volcan. "We got them."

"Never a doubt," said Volcan, starting to turn around. "Now let's-"

He froze in shock at the sight that awaited him...

~~~~~

As the battle between Volcan, Luke and Seji's hired goons began, Lashanne's duel with the Alakazam followed suite. She blocked his psionically charged blade with her equally infused branch, the two weapons ringing as though they were real metal. She parried his second swing, managing to lung forward with a punch to his cheek -though did little more than stumble him as he managed to block her following swing with her branch.

Lashanne was younger and perhaps stronger than Seji physically, but the Alakazam had vastly more experience than her, and unlike others of his kind, actually favoured a close combat duel rather than a battle at a distance -something she was not quite as proficient at as him. He held the advantage, especially with the Delphox still fatigued from the battles in the city -the Regirock and the hired goons weighing heavily on her.

At one point in the fight, Seji managed to parry a thrust from Lashanne's weapon, allowing him to swing his blade in a way that made her arm swing out wide and leave her open to an attack. Seji then thrust his blade forward, stopping just inches shy of her throat, still holding that grin of his.

"What's the matter, Lashanne...?" He taunted her with a chuckle. "You're far younger and more spry than I am. Surely this isn't the limits of your capabilities."

"I've had a long day!" She returned sharply, whipping her branch around to knock his sword upward before she once more lunged at him and punched him in the cheek.

Growling, Seji swung his blade back down, but Lashanne leapt back, angling her branch forward and casting Mystical Fire at him. He gave a disinterested grunt as he held up his hand, an invisible barrier halting the flames in their trek. Then, as the flames dispersed, a speed appeared in his hand and from the rounded back, a multi-coloured Signal Beam shot at her, too quick for her to dodge. To her fortune, her Fire-typing made the move less powerful than if she were a pure Psychic-type, but even that did little to help her as she had no chance to brace herself.

The attack struck her in the chest, blowing her backward and knocking the wind out of her. "Dammit!" She cursed.

Seji then took his opportunity to grasp her in a Psychic hold as she stumbled, applying pressure around her neck and strangling her as he stepped closer to the Delphox, his blade held at his side as he approached. "Such a shame..." He commented as he stood before her. "I really do hate to see such a beautiful young woman perish, but you've been a thorn in my side for far too long. Now, the time of retribution is at hand..." He said as he lifted his blade to her chest, prodding where he had hit her with the signal beam. "Any last words, treasure hunter?"

Even if she had anything to say, she could not bring the words out due to the psychic force strangling her. She clawed feebly at it to no avail, unable to concentrate enough to call her branch back to her hand. She tried kicking at him, but he was out of reach of her legs, and he applied more pressure to her neck in response.

Seji gave a small shrug in response to her silence, pulling his blade back and holding it parallel to his head, ready to run her straight through her heart. "Farewell, Lashanne..." He stated, grinning madly as he thrust his blade forward.

But as the tip of his blade was but a hair's breadth from impaling her, a blurry shape suddenly sped past the Delphox, seizing her and sparing her the point of the blade. Blinking in surprise, Seji turned to where he had seen the figure move, and saw a Blaziken setting the Delphox down onto her knees, supporting her as Lashanne coughed and gasped, fighting to regain her breath.

At first, Seji thought the Blaziken might have been Volcan, but there were discrepancies in this one's appearance from that of the Phalanx captain. For starters, this Blaziken was not as tall, and had shorter crests growing from the back of their head -the distinctive trait of a female of the species, he realized. In addition, the crests were not tan like a normal Blaziken's, but stark white, and their red feathers were dark red. Lastly, as the apparently female Blaziken turned to him, she did not wear a harness like Volcan's, but a golden plated necklace, embedded with an emerald in the front. She bore the same sharp look Volcan had, however, and the same sky blue eyes giving him a dangerous glare as she turned to Seji.

"Why are you trying to kill this woman?" The female Blaziken demanded.

"My reasons are my own, female." Seji snapped back, turning to face the Blaziken and holding his sword at his side. "Stand aside or prepare to share her fate."

"I do not consider myself a fighter, but I won't simply let you murder someone weaker than yourself," the female retorted, that look never leaving her eyes. "Dare you face one who is not helpless?"

The Alakazam scoffed, holding his blade in front of him again. "Very well, prepare yourself." He stated before he shifted his stance once more, standing completely sideways and holding his blade slightly pointed down toward the ground.

At that, the Blaziken shifted... and seemed to distort the air as she moved, appearing to Seji's left. His eyes twitched, he turned, and barely saw the ball of blue fire held between her hands as she thrust it forward. Taking no chances, he hopped back from the flame just before it reached him, slicing at it with his blade before he countered with his own attack, calling forth another of his spoons and firing a Psybeam right back at the female Blaziken.

Once more, the air visibly distorted when she moved, as though every step she made broke the sound barrier. This time, when she appeared, it was closer to Seji, on his right. She was too close for him to swing at her, but much to his dismay, she held something else between her talons this time...

An unfired Psybeam...

"What the-?!" He exclaimed before the beam was fired point-blank into his face, making him recoil from the attack. Angrily he cast another at the Blaziken, only for the same result to occur -to have his own attack fired back at him after she darted out of the way.

He started to form a hypothesis in his mind as he raised the hand holding the spoon again, this time charging up a Signal Beam before firing at the Blaziken, keeping his blade held at the ready as the beam traveled to her. As Signal Beam was a Bug-type move, she did not even need to dodge it -as such an attack was ineffective against Fire or Fighting types but against one that possessed both, it may as well have been breeze. Surely enough though, after taking the hit, her cupped hands formed a Signal Beam of her own.

"Mirror Move," he muttered softly as the beam raced toward him. He swung his blade in a wide arc as it neared him, deflecting the attack away from him before he used Teleport to appear behind the Blaziken, rearing his arm over his head and swung his blade down, aiming to cut her clean in two.

But as his blade struck her, there was a thunk, as though he had stricken wood. In that instant, he realized that all colour had seemingly left the Blaziken female's body, and in her place, a wooden copy of herself remained, catching his blade in its form. A Substitute!

He heard the Blaziken female speaking behind him. "Your tricks have been described to me before, Seji," she said, and he froze as he heard the Blaziken speak his name, receiving a knifehand to the back of his head for his hesitation.

Dispersing the blade of his weapon to free it, Seji stumbled forward quickly shaking the stars he was seeing before he pushed himself up and glared back at the Blaziken standing over him. "How...Who are you? How is it you know of me?" He demanded.

"I suppose you wouldn't remember me," the Blaziken female returned. "But you ate at my diner once, back when you and Victor were still friends." She scowled deeply. "I am thankful he doesn't have to see the disgrace you have become."

The Alakazam's eyes widened as the memory she described to him flashed before his very eyes, causing him to blink rapidly before he shook his head to clear the image our of his mind and quickly force himself to his feet, hopping back from the Blaziken and leering dangerously at her. "...So, it you... the boy's mother. So, you survived the raid as well. It seems your entire family is too stubborn to die."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?" She asked in a deep tone.

"You'll find out soon enough..." He retorted, then shifted his glance to Lashanne. How he longed to finish things off, but the sound of battle nearby had ended, and he knew that soon he would be outnumbered. He did not doubt he could find a way to beat this Blaziken female -strong though she was, her technique was purely defensive. But that would take time he no longer had.

Pointing a wrinkled, clawed finger toward Lashanne, he gave his final parting words. "Consider yourself lucky, my dear. You get to live to die another day..." He warned her. "But know this. My compatriots will hear of this, and I can promise you, there will be no mercy from his unbridled wrath once he gets his hands on you." With that, he suddenly vanished without a trace, using Teleport to vacate the area and leave the two women to themselves.

Once the female Blaziken was certain Seji was gone, she finally risked turning to Lashanne, walking over to her and kneeling down by the weakened Delphox, supporting her with her hands, which were gentle and motherly in how they held her.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah... I think so," replied Lashanne, groaning. "Ugh... not one of my best days to be fighting, I tell you."

"Rest now. He's gone," she said softly.

Lashanne looked up at the Blaziken, studying her closely. "You know I thought you were Volcan at first, but now that I get a look at you-"

The Blaziken's eyes widened, her hasty question interrupting Lashanne. "Volcan?" She repeated. "Wait, how do you know that name?"

Rather than answer her with words, Lashanne turned her gaze to her left, where the other Blaziken and the Lucario, still Mega Evolvled, approached them. Seji had taken his hired goons with him -more than likely for his own sake than theirs so that they could reveal nothing about him- allowing the two to regroup with Lashanne. As the female Blaziken followed Lashanne's gaze, the eyes of the two Blaziken locked together, staring at each other in stunned silence.

At first, the female did not seem to know the male, until the Mega Evolution expired, and Volcan reverted to normal. It was then the female's face seemed to light up with an expression mixed of surprise, joy, and wonderment as her beak fell open.

"Can it really be...?" She asked, almost in a whisper as she walked up to the other Blaziken. "Volcan?"

"Who..." Volcan began to ask, but the words died in his throat. He was once more bearing that lost look in his eyes, which had glazed over again. He was stuck in another memory. He knew this Blaziken...

Having reverted to his normal state not long after Volcan did, Luke approached Volcan, somewhat concerned when he saw that glazed look come across his gaze. "...Love? Is everything alright?" He asked softly.

Volcan couldn't answer him, unable to tear his gaze off of the shiny-formed Blaziken before him, still staring at him. She saw the lost look on his face, and an expression of hurt formed on her own. Her hand, previously reaching towards him now covering her mouth. "Oh Arceus... you don't recognize me?" She asked. "My poor boy, what has happened to you?"

"I..." Volcan tried to answer, but then put a talon to his head, eyes clenching shut. "I'm trying..." He said in a strangled voice. Never had the memories come back to him so strongly before -it nearly overwhelmed him where he stood, having to shift weight to one of his legs or risk falling over.

Lashanne, having stood up and going to stand by Luke, looked between the two as Volcan's eyes reopened to stare at the female again. "Hey, wait," she said, her gaze shifting between the two as if noticing something. "Their eyes match -they're the same colour. Are they related?"

"That's what I'm starting to wonder, myself." Luke returned, his gaze shifting to the female Blaziken. "Excuse me, miss. How exactly do you know Volcan?" He asked. "Is he a relative of yours?"

"Relative?" She echoed in disbelief, looking at Luke. "He's my son."

At that, Volcan reeled slightly, his eyes shooting wide open but still bearing that sightless look as more memories flashed before him, of a loving face staring down at him while he lay in a crib. Another of him laying across the lap of the female Blaziken standing before him while she held a book in one hand, reading to him the words written inside it. It was as though time itself was being revealed to him as image after image shot across his mind's eye -being walked to his first day at school, walking at the side of the Blaziken -whom he barely reached the knee of in the memory. He must have only been a Torchic at the time.

The rest passed by too quickly for him to see, and soon Volcan sank to his knees, pain flooding his skull as he clutched at it as if it were about to explode. He didn't hear Luke or the Blaziken calling out his name as they stood at his side. The pain was so intense that he was almost brought to tears, but it finally came to a stop at one final image of the female Blaziken again, bearing a look of pride on her face as a hand reached up to caress his cheek.

"You've always done me proud, my sweet boy," the spectral memory spoke to him, and that image was seared into his confused mind, finally bringing him back to his senses, regaining his sight and looking ahead into space.

Luke was on his left, watching him with deep concern. The Blaziken was on his right, sharing that concern, but even deeper -as though she were terrified at what was happening to this boy...

Her boy...

"...Mom?" Volcan asked, in a weak whisper.

The female Blaziken's face seemed to fill with life as she heard Volcan say that one word. "Oh my..." She began to say, ready to praise all of the gods of the world, but at that moment she had lost control, embracing Volcan tightly in her arms as she sobbed uncontrollably. "My poor child... I've been so worried about you!" She cried, her voice breaking.

"Mom..." Volcan said weakly, his arms wrapping around the other Blaziken as he too cried with her. "I'm so sorry..."

But she gently shushed him, caressing his crest as she held him so tightly it seemed she might never let him go again. "It's alright... all that matters is that you're alive. All this time I thought I had lost you, but you found your way back to me..." She buried her face in his crest, kissing his cheek.

As her hand travelled down his back though, the bald spot in his feathers did not go unnoticed. She pulled away enough to look at his back, gasping at the scar that trailed almost from shoulder to hip. "Oh, my gods, what did they do to you, my poor child...?" She asked, hugging him again and sobbing louder.

Lashanne and Luke watched in stunned silence, yet a lingering, positive sensation hovered around them as they witnessed the joyful reunion taking place before them. Lashanne put a hand on her hip, unable to hold back a smile -though it was a sad, weak one. Luke also stared at the two Blazikens sharing in this joyous moment, a warm smile on his face as he lifted his paw to touch his own chest. The sight reminded him of when he reunited with his family back when he was settling into a new life in Port Azure, and how overjoyed he was to see that his family was still alive and well despite them being separated for so long.

They sat there for what seemed like ages before Volcan pulled back to meet the gaze of his mother. "We've got a lot to talk about, mom," he said. "But first... there's someone I want you to meet." He turned his gaze to Luke, beckoning him over. "The one who took care of me while I was gone."

The Lucario took a few steps forward, standing at Volcan's side and offering his paw to Volcan's mother. "It's a pleasure to meet you miss." He said warmly to her. "My name's Luke. Captain of Rescue Team Valiant, and,well to put it simply...your son's boyfriend." He added.

She looked at Luke curiously for a moment, then at Volcan and back at Luke, but a warm smile found its way to her face nonetheless as she grasped Luke's paw. Then, to his surprise, she guided him over, and brought him into the embrace shared with her son.

"Thank you," she said to Luke. "Thank you for caring for my son."

Luke was a bit stunned at first when he was embraced by the female Blaziken, but was quick to return it, gently patting her back as the three of them held each other. "It was my pleasure." He returned softly.

They stood out there for a time, holding each other under the light of the setting sun as it was about the vanish behind the sea of mesas over which they had come. Lashanne could only stand watching, seeing no reason to get involved at this reunion. She looked over her shoulder as she heard Toby stirring, and saw the Meowth had finally come to and was sitting up, rubbing his skull to ease a headache that he was certainly feeling after being knocked out cold.

She looked back to the trio again, seeing they had pulled apart. Volcan and Luke looked over at Lashanne, who gave them a wave to tell them they could take their leave. "We'll meet up again later," she said.

They nodded, and with Volcan holding both his mother and his boyfriend around their shoulders, they started toward the city, leaving Lashanne to watch after him, wiping away a tear that had crept into her eye. 'A boy reunites with his mother,' she thought. 'All in all, I'd say that's a good way to end the day.'