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With his satchel fitted snugly onto his back with a custom-made harness that was designed to allow free movement of his wings without restriction, the Pelipper Postman of Port Azure was ready to head out to do his deliveries for the morning. Following the first address on his list, he flew southeast towards the edge of Azure, just before reaching the forest that made up half of its border, then landing just outside of an abnormally large hut composed almost entirely of stone and earth, with a few other materials that were used to hold the structure in place without it collapsing on itself.

Luminara was just about to head into the market to gather some groceries when the Pelipper had landed and began to approach her. She paused and gave him a smile of greeting. "Well, good morning to you sir." She greeted him in a kind tone.

"Good morning, ma'am," returned the Pelipper as he shrugged off his satchel. "Would you be miss Luminara?" He asked.

"I am." She returned with a nod. "I take it you have mail for me today?"

"I do indeed," he returned, opening the satchel with his bill and picking out a letter, which he held out to her. "All the way from Princeport too -that letter's been travellin'!" He commented through the corner of his bill.

Before Luminara could inquire about the letter's origins -having never heard of a place called Princeport, she paused, and saw the writing on the envelope. "...Wait." She said as she took the envelope, tearing it open and pulling the letter out of it. She was near frantic as she unfolded it, having to catch herself to keep from damaging it as she read the contents.

Her eyes then widened, and she covered her mouth and began to water. "Oh, Arceus Almighty..." She muttered softly.

"Ma'am? Is everything alright?" The Pelipper asked, seeing the tears in her eyes. "I hope I didn't just bring you bad news..." He added ruefully.

"On the contrary." She returned, folding the letter and suddenly lunging forward to wrap the Pelipper in a tight hug. "You've just delivered the best news in the world!" She said before pulling back. "I need to inform the others!" She stated as she quickly ran around the dumbfounded Pelipper and dashed off toward town.

"All... in a day's work?" He remarked, watching as she ran off towards the village.

"We have a way home, and we'll be rejoining you all as quickly as possible," was all the Blaziken had wrote, but the message was well received by the others.

Serena's face lit up with joy as she reared onto her hind legs joyously. "They're alright!"

"Yeah! Nothin' stops our captain!" Tristan bellowed, pumping his fists into the air, though he was quickly drowned out by Hank's whooping.

"I CALLED it! I fucking CALLED it!!" The Zoroark crowed. "Who's got two claws and fucking called it? THIS guy!"

Kage scoffed at Hank's outburst, rolling his eyes and looking away from him. "As if there was ever any doubt." He said lowly. "I told you all they weren't dead."

"Hey, chin up, gloomy!" Tristan barked, seizing Kage in a headlock. "This means you were right! They did survive! Would it kill ya to show _some_enthusiasm?!"

"Unhand me, and I might consider it..." He replied coldly.

Lighris hopped forward, approaching Luminara. "Does the letter say where he is?" He asked her, anxiously. "Er I mean.. Where they are. Sorry -I know someone from here is with him too."

"The Postman said this letter came all the way from a place called...Princeport, I believe." She answered the Zapdos.

"From wh-?!" Lighris began to ask, trailing off as he slumped, his eye twitching. "Th-That's where I came from before I flew all the way out here!" He exclaimed frantically.

"It seems if you'd have waited, he'd have shown up anyway," Tristan remarked, nudging the Zapdos, who elicited a groan in response.

"Judging from our first encounter, I couldn't imagine him being the patient type..." Katsu said as he glanced to Lighris.

Eagle Eye snickered a little, hiding his beak in his wing. "Hehe... ain't karma a bitch, Spikey?"

Lighris glared down at the Talonflame. "The hospital has a vacant spot since they let me out. Interested?" He asked, in a warning tone.

"Enough..." Kage cut in before an argument could break out. "If you two wish to make things physical, then save it for another time."

"Can't believe I'm sayin' this, but I agree with tall, stoic and creepy here." Hank chimed in. "I mean, fer fuck's sake, our captain's comin' home guys! We gotta get ready for when he gets here!"

Lighris, after managing to calm himself, turned to cast Hank a somewhat sad look. "That may be a while. Princeport isn't exactly across the street."

"Unfortunately, Lighris is right," Tristan added, his previously cheery tone having lessened. "Princeport's on the same landmass as _my_hometown."

Serena's eyes widened, looking up at Tristan. "You mean... the west continent?" She asked.

"Yep," replied Tristan. "And even further than my town -like, opposite side, kind of far."

"Then Mewtwo really did send them to the other side of the world," Serena remarked, saddened. She then shook her head. "No matter... we know they're alive, and the letter states that they have a way home. It may take them over a month yet to get here, but at least we know they're coming."

"Indeed." Katsu agreed with a firm nod and a smile. "In the meantime, we must continue to be patient. Obsessing over when they will arrive back home will not do us any good."

"Yea, well I still think we should throw a party or some shit for when they get back." Hank commented with a shrug. "With what they've probably been goin' through, they'd probably welcome the sight."

"We'll have to ask 'em when they get here," replied Tristan.

"I ought to fly there now and see my little brother," replied Lighris. "Make sure he's got everything he needs..."

"Lighris, it would take you weeks to fly there, even with your speed," Serena reminded. "You could well end up missing them all over again -better that you wait where you know they will be. Besides, didn't you say that's where your mother is too?"

Lighris hummed. "You have a point... chances are Volcan's already found her too. I bet she'll even come back with him." He then nodded. "Alright... I'll wait here. I suppose I've done enough flying overseas for a while. But he's _still_getting a piece of my mind for scaring the crap outta me."

"Hmph...the haphazard fool actually thinks his situation through rationally..." Kage muttered, managing a faint smirk before he turned his back to the others. "If we're done here, then I'm going. These missions aren't going to get themselves done..." He stated.

Eagle Eye sighed and slapped his forehead with his wing. "For cryin out loud... you're such a buzzkill, Froggie..."

"I think I'll head over to Minato's and let him and Caulin know that Volcan is alright," offered Serena. "I imagine Caulin will be especially happy that Degra will be coming too."

Tristan chuckled. "Kid could never get enough of mama bird's banana bread," he remarked. "Not that I blame him -she's a great cook."

Serena turned to Luminara. "Thank you so much for bringing us this news. It's the best we've had in so long," she bowed her head to the elder Lucario.

"It was my pleasure. You all deserved to know of your friend's well being just as I did about my son." She bade the Vaporeon. "Speaking of which, I suppose I should inform my other two boys of this wonderful news as well."

"Of course," Serena replied. "Thank you again. Enjoy the rest of your day."

With that, the group parted, with Serena heading off towards the local hostel to meet with Minato. Fortunately, it was not far from their current position, taking her only minutes to make her way there. She ascended the stairs to his room on the second floor, approaching his door and gently knocking with her paw.

A few seconds later, Caulin answered the door. His face looking a bit downtrodden, but as soon as he saw who it was standing outside, his face lit up. "Oh, hey Serena!" He said with a happy smile.

"Hello Caulin," she bade. "I have some news. Is your father here?"

His smile faded a little as he looked over his shoulder. "Yea he's here...He never leaves this place unless he's hungry." He said sadly.

"May I come in?" She asked.

"Sure, if you want." Caulin returned, opening the door some more and stepping aside to allow Serena entry into their suite.

She stepped past Caulin, nodding in thanks to him before she entered the room. "Minato?" She called, looking for the Lucario and eventually finding him lying on the bed at the far end of the room, which was dimly lit only by the light coming through the window, leaving the Lucario awash in shadow where he lay. He didn't respond at first, not even looking in her general direction as she addressed him. He seemed to completely ignore her at first, but after a long silence he finally spoke.

"...What do you want?" He asked in a flat tone.

Hearing his tone made Serena stop in her tracks, suddenly understanding why Caulin had looked so downtrodden when he had answered the door. She didn't let her hesitation last though, walking up to the bed and sitting down. "Minato...?" She asked. "Are you...?" But she trailed off, unable to finish the question.

"Am I alright...?" He asked, keeping his gaze to the wall away from her. "Do I look alright to you, Serena? Or was that a rhetorical question...?"

"Forgive me... I..." She began to say, but paused once more, before she went on to say what she wanted to. "I just wanted to let you know. We got a letter, from Volcan."

His ears did slightly perk up at the mention of Volcan's name, and he rolled onto his back to sit up, looking over at her. She could barely see his face in the dim light, but the fact he had responded brought some hope to her heart as she waited for him to speak.

"...So, he's alive then...?" He asked her lowly.

"Yes," she replied. "He's safe. He's in Princeport, on the West Continent. It seems Mewtwo sent him and Luke to the other side of the world, but he's alive and he says he has a way home."

He stared at her in silence for a long moment, his eyes still as stoic and void of any emotion as they were the day after he was informed of his late wife's passing. "...Good." He said softly before his gaze returned to bed below his legs. "...Is that all?"

"Y-Yes," she returned. "I thought you would want to know... Since you _are_his best friend..."

He twitched visibly at her statement, causing his expression to sadden a little bit as he kept his gaze down to the ground. He clenched his eyes shut and ground his teeth a bit before he responded. "Go."

She frowned, turning her gaze from him with a deep frown on her face. She got up from the floor, turning to leave. "I'm sorry to have troubled you," she said to him as she made her way towards the door, passing Caulin who had been holding it open for her the whole time, but his eyes were on his father.

She looked up at Caulin, seeing the hurt on his face at the state his father was in, and said lowly to him, "if you ever need anything, let me know, ok?"

He slowly looked back to Serena. "Can I come with you?" He asked just as lowly. "I don't wanna be around Dad when he's like this..."

"Of course," she returned, nodding.

He slowly walked out with Serena, casting one last glance back at his father before shutting the door quietly, leaving the elder Lucario alone in the dark room.

~~~~~

One week later...

The Sailor's Shack was abuzz with business that day as many merchant ships sailed into poor and anchored in the harbour to deliver their goods. Once their cargo was offloaded, many hungry sailors flooded to the shack, looking for a bite to eat before they would set out to sea again.

The Sailor's 'Shack' barely lived up to even that name. Though it came with a fully equipped kitchen - or several kitchens, as it were, as there seemed to be four miniature galley kitchens at the back of the building. When one stepped out from one of these kitchens, they would find themselves standing in a room that seemed like it was meant to be the interior of a diner, but the construction had been stopped halfway to completion, leaving the dining area open to the outside, a tiled floor stretching from the kitchens to the boardwalk running parallel to the bay between each side of the harbour.

But when a sailor was hungry, he didn't care about where he ate -he only wanted food now. Orders flooded the kitchen throughout most of the morning, and every cook, motivated by the large commissions that such a large crowd would bring were putting out food as fast as they could. In the kitchen farthest to the left, a Lucario was in charge, and throughout most of the day he was really pushing out the orders. He was like a blur in the kitchen, serving the sailors their meals within minutes of them placing their orders, which helped to earn him a few coins extra in tips from the patrons.

When the day finally ended, Luke felt ragged. He had been working so hard in such a cramped space -the kitchen, though well equipped with a gas stove and running water, was not spacious, and through his first week on the job he had struggled to adapt to its limits, constantly bumping into the counters, and nearly tripping over the uneven floor between the kitchen and dining area where he had to go to wait, serve and clean tables. His last task for the day was to scrub the tables spotless, clean the kitchen and then collect his pay from the owner.

On his way out, he received a compliment from one of his last patrons -a female Ambipom. "If you ever feel like serving on a ship, look me up. With cooking skills like yours, I think I'd fire my other cook to have you aboard."

Luke chuckled a bit and blushed at her comment. "I appreciate the kind words miss, but I think I'll stick with my current occupation for now." He said as he gave her a casual wave as he exited the shack. Once outside, he took a moment and sucked in a deep breath before slowly letting it out, feeling his body and mind relax a little after such a taxing day. He felt quite ragged...and hungry as well.

Working in an environment surrounded by food had really stirred up an appetite for the young Lucario. He followed the pier toward the end of the boardwalk, where to no surprise he saw Volcan waiting for him from the moment he stepped out of the Sailor's Shack. The Blaziken was seated comfortably on a bench just a short walk away, a tin can for collecting coins sitting on the boardwalk in front of him. A passing sailor dropped a coin into the cup as he passed, earning a nod of thanks from Volcan as he kept playing his guitar, an inspiring tune eliciting from the strings.

"You know...I can't help but think that the reason you chose to play here of all places was because you couldn't stand to be that far away from me all day." Luke joked as he stood in front of Volcan, smirking slightly with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Well, this is the busiest part of town this time of day, once the morning market rush is over," Volcan replied, finishing the song before standing up from his chair, collecting his tin cup and carrying it along with his guitar as they started to leave the docks. "Seems like a no-brainer to come here. But playing in sight of the shack..." He winked at Luke. "Well, you got me. I don't like being far away from you."

"Thought so." Luke commented with a wink. "Well, I'm not complaining either way. I think your music actually helps business." He said as he held up a bag full of Poks, shaking it slightly with a grin. "Maybe we ought to work together from now on. We seem to be making quite an earning for ourselves."

Volcan shrugged. "Still got my night job too but it could work," he reminded. "The inn seems to really like my music too -and forgive me for saying but drunk patrons seem to pay a little more than sober ones." He remarked as he added his own earnings to Luke's pouch and then slipped his guitar over his shoulder, anchored to his chest by a shoulder strap.

It was then Luke noticed Volcan didn't have the harness for his mega stone on. "Hey...where's your Blazikenite?" Luke asked as he tapped Volcan's chest with his paw. "Did you leave it at home or something?"

He nodded. "I did," he replied. "I figured it wasn't a good idea to walk around with it. Mega Stones are rare -don't want to take the chance someone might try swiping it."

"I see...good call, love." Luke commented as he grasped Volcan's hand and began to walk back to Degra's home with him at his side. "Feel like continuing our training after dinner, or you just want a night to relax this time?" He asked.

"I think I could go for some practice before dinner. But we'll have to make it only an hour so I can get to the inn on time," replied Volcan.

Luke nodded softly. "Alright then. Off to our training grounds." He said as he took the lead, tugging Volcan after him as he increased his pace to a trot, altering their course to just outside the town's borders.

Once more, Luke leapt into the air, swinging out with his leg while channelling his aura into his feet, only to result in what seemed more like a Force Palm fired from his foot as he lashed out, but there was still no fire despite his best attempt. "Damnit...still nothing." He grumbled. "What am I not getting...?"

"Remember, try manipulating your aura like you're striking two flints together," Volcan instructed. "You need the flames to be intense -they can be fueled by your emotions but make sure not to let them get out of control."

"I think that's where I'm struggling the most." Luke admitted as he glanced back to Volcan. "I'm not used to relying on emotions- I often try to keep them in check during a fight, to control my aura." He explained before looking ahead again. "...Okay, let's try again," he said as he spread his legs apart a bit and dug them into the ground.

He let out a slow exhale as he concentrated his aura to his legs, then strained a bit as he tried to merge the two auras together in the middle. His first attempt failed, his concentration waning before he could make the auras clash. His second attempt yielded some results, as he managed to strike the two auras together, which did generate some heat, but not enough to create the spark he needed to complete the technique.

On his third attempt, Luke focused as hard as he could, manipulating both auras in his legs. He thought back on what Volcan said -about emotions fueling the fire, and thought back to his brother Rigel -a master of Blaze Kick in his own right along with a few other fire attacks despite being a Lucario like himself. Rigel was passionate like Volcan, offset by his overconfidence and sheer rambunctiousness -something that Luke's lover seemed to have down. But the similarity between them was indeed their passion -for their loved ones, and for the thrill of the fight. Maybe that was the key he was missing...

Taking a new approach, Luke let himself go for just a moment -he had always enjoyed a little combat himself, and so he tried to summon that thrill willingly, thinking back to the Team Warmachine tournament. The anticipation of fighting Team Drake, his battle with Sickle and its thrilling turns, even his seething at the attitude of Romulus of Team Phobia, he allowed it all to come forth, just enough to let the thrill flow through him again as it did then. He focused it through his aura, into his feet, and with a blur of motion, he struck his footpaws together and lunged forth.

The resulting kick exploded with fire, covering his leg below the knee. Almost immediately, Luke's thrill and focus vanished and he began slapping at his legs, trying to put out the flames before they could consume him, an urge to call Volcan for help forming on his lips. But much to his surprise, the flames didn't burn him -he felt the heat, but no pain. He watched the flames until they started to die down, and then looked at Volcan, who was smiling and nodding with approval.

"You managed to ignite it," he said. "Now you just need to be able to call upon it at will, and from there you can make it your own technique."

"Well, that will take some more practice, but at least I finally managed to understand the basics..." Luke commented as he used his aura to put out the flames around his legs. "Honestly, I've learned a lot of attacks and even made up a few myself, but I've never struggled as hard as I have with that one..."

"Fire is represented by the more intense emotions -passion or anger for example," Volcan stated. "To fully control it you have to have to have at least one of those as part of you. At least that's what my mother says."

Luke looked at his paw in silence for a moment, grimacing a bit as the thought of anger or a vengeful ire being the triggers for his newly learned attack. His expression did soften a little as he thought about passion being his trigger, since not all passions required an aggressive trigger to manifest. "Well, in any case." Luke began as he lowered his paw and looked back to Volcan with a smile. "Now it's your turn. Let's add Focus Blast to your repertoire."

Volcan let out a sigh. "Alright... let's try this again," he said, setting his guitar aside and leaning it against a boulder while he stepped out to an open spot, and began running through the steps Luke had taught him -with the Lucario walking him through any he was unclear on.

"Remember...Unlike with most of your other attacks, your mind needs to be calm, focused and in tune with the energy within you." He instructed as Volcan got ready to perform the attack. "Try to think about something that makes you feel at peace. Concentrate on that and let the power surge into your hands."

"Okay," returned Volcan, widening his stance and shutting his eyes as he sucked in a deep breath, hands laying at his sides as he tried to find his center, fighting to keep his mind clear as he focused his energy into his talons. "Yanno, it occurs to me that what you struggle with for Blaze Kick, it seems I'm in the same boat with this," he remarked, and at the tilt of Luke's head he continued. "Your aura relies on maintaining a calm composure, but I let my emotions fuel my actions, especially my attacks."

Luke chuckled. "That's a good point, but you'll have to reel that in a bit here," he reminded.

Volcan nodded, facing ahead as he spread his legs and brought his hands together, cupping them in front of him. He concentrated, eyes fixed on the space between his hands. He commanded his bodily energy to flow there, to take form between his hands -this wasn't so different from using Fire Punch or Blaze Kick, but this time a tiny sphere of golden yellow light formed between them, beginning as no larger than a bead, but expanding slowly.

Volcan's eyes twitched visibly, narrowed with strain as he tried to no avail to hold his focus- the light fizzled out of existence before growing much larger than a pearl. Volcan cursed in annoyance, then resumed his previous stance, making a second attempt. As with the first time, once he had brought his hands together, the light appeared, growing slightly only to fizzle out again. Volcan stopped, panting for a few breaths.

"Dammit. Still can't keep it together," he said, putting a hand to his head. "There's too much going on up here..."

Luke caught Volcan's words despite them seemingly having been meant to be a whisper. "What do you mean?" Luke asked, taking a step closer to the Blaziken. "Is everything alright, Volcan?"

"I..." He began, shutting his eyes and sighing again as he sat down in the sand. "Not sure..." he said. "My dreams are still haunting me. I don't wake up screaming anymore but they haven't stopped." He put his hand to his head again. "Seems like every night I remember more about the attack -stuff I didn't recollect even when we landed on Arc before, the day we found Serena. Previously it was always centered on that Gallade, or when I ran from that Gyarados, but now it's that damn Dark Blaziken that keeps popping up. I can't get him out of my head -he really shook me up when we encountered him."

Luke took a seat next to Volcan, gently touching his arm with his paw as he listened to his troubles. "So, your nightmares...they're getting worse?" Luke asked in a concerned tone. "You should have told me about this. Had I known this was bothering you so much, I would have spent more time helping you push your worries away."

"I didn't want to make you worry, or my mom -her least of all," he admitted. "She doesn't know I suffer from nightmares and I really didn't want to let her know I have post-traumatic stress. Every time she sees this scar on my back I can practically feel it eating away at her, like she feels like she failed to protect me when I was in danger. Sure, she knows I can take care of myself but what decent parent ever stops worrying about their child?" He let out a sigh. "I didn't want to let this keep coming into our lives, not when we're trying so hard to move forward..."

Luke sighed and let himself lean against Volcan. "But I'm your boyfriend..." He said softly. "You know you can confide with me if something's troubling you." He explained as he caressed his chest. "It's what I'm here for..."

"I know," he leaned closer to Luke, eventually putting his arms around him and hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry..."

Luke held onto Volcan just as tightly, nuzzling just under his beak as the sat together in each other's arms. His ears twitched a little and he looked up toward Volcan with a smile. "You know what?" He asked softly. "Let's make a promise...whenever there's anything bothering either of us, be it large or small, we tell each other what's wrong." He stated. "That way there are no secrets between us, and if our relationship is to truly blossom, we need to be completely honest with each other."

"Agreed," returned Volcan. "No more secrets."

"Good." Luke said with a smile, his paw lifting up to touch Volcan's cheek. "Feel a bit more at ease now that you've told me what's bothering you?"

"A little, I guess," he returned, his talon absently caressing Luke's side as they sat together.

"Only a little huh?" Luke asked as he started to smirk up at Volcan. "Well then...I can only think of a few other ways to help ease your troubles..."

"Yeah? Like what?" Volcan asked, smiling back at him.

"Oh...I think you know one of them quite well." Luke answered with a slightly suggestive undertone. "If you have time for it, that is~"

Volcan grinned widely at Luke, wanting so much to indulge in what the Lucario was offering him at that moment, but despite his eager smile, he shook his head. "Not yet, my love," he said. "I want to save this for when we get home. The moment we're back in our own bed, though, back in our own home" His hand slid around Luke's lower back, leaning close and giving him a hungry look. "...You're all mine."

The Lucario blushed as he felt Volcan touching him, ears lowering as he gave a light chuckle. "You are such a tease, love." He commented, rubbing his nose along his beak. "Though you're right -it'll be worth it when we finally arrive back to our own home." He agreed. "With that said... I'm still not letting you leave without this." He would state as he suddenly pulled Volcan down to him and kissed his beak firmly for a moment, savouring it, then slowly pulling back and holding that grin of his.

"That the best you can do?" Volcan asked in challenge, grinning widely at Luke. "Come on~."

"Oh you're asking for it, handsome~" Luke growled, accepting his challenge and pouncing on the Blaziken hard. He lay on top of Volcan, pinning him down by his shoulders and he made out with the Blaziken madly, his tail swishing frantically behind him. Volcan held tightly onto the Lucario, kissing him with equal fervor as they expressed their equally frustrated, pent-up selves, wishing so much to take their relationship to the next level but wanting to save it until they were home and could make it a special occasion.

When finally they pulled apart, Volcan looked up at the sky, realizing that they had already exceeded the hour they had settled on. "Alright... we better get going," he said. "Still need to eat before I go to work tonight."

"Very true." Luke returned as he rolled off of Volcan and stood back up, offering his paw to the Blaziken with a smile. "I'm still feeling rather starved from working in a kitchen all day."

Volcan accepted Luke's paw, letting the Lucario help him to his feet. "Yeah. Feeling pretty peckish myself," he said, going to retrieve his guitar and shouldering it, along with picking up the tin cup he used for coins as he would need it again tomorrow. "Let's go."

As they started to walk back towards the city, though, they heard a voice calling out their names. They turned towards it and saw Lashanne jogging towards them from the direction of her airship's repair site, with Toby coming up behind her, struggling to keep up with the Delphox for her longer stride.

"Oh, hey Lashanne! Toby!" Luke greeted the two of them as they approached, slowing enough to allow them to catch up before carrying on. "How have things been as of late?" He asked as they slowed their pace to walk beside them.

She shrugged in response. "Repairs to the ship are coming along," she replied. "How're you guys doing? How're the odd jobs?"

"We're getting by," replied Volcan. "You coming into town?"

"Yeah -Toby and I were just heading for the Omanyte," she replied. "You want to come?"

"We're heading back to my mom's place for dinner, but I'll be there this evening," replied Volcan.

Lashanne cast a glance over to Luke. "Think you'd be able to come with him? I need to talk to you guys about something."

"Sure, I can be there." Luke returned with a nod. "See you then?"

"You bet."

They walked together into the city, before parting ways at the gate. The Delphox and Meowth headed for the tavern while Luke and Volcan headed back to Degra's home in the slums.

A while later, with bellies full and the sun beginning to set over the horizon, Luke and Volcan made their way to the Omanyte Tavern, which was already beginning to fill with patrons for the night, as mixed assortment ranging from sailors to locals. They found Lashanne and Toby seated at a table by the stairs, the two waving to them as they came in. Volcan went to take his place on the stage to play for the night while Luke crossed the room to sit with the two.

He took his seat across from the two of them, leaning forward a bit and resting his elbows on the table. "So, what was it you wanted to discuss?" Luke asked as he glanced between the two. "Is something up?"

"Kind of," she replied. "Before we get into that, you want anything? My treat."

"Hmm...I guess I could go for something light." Luke returned. "I'm not much of a drinker personally, but I'll indulge a bit tonight."

"Alright," returned Lashanne, waving down a barmaid to whom they gave their orders. When she left, Lashanne turned back to Luke again. "So, you remember that gold looplet Volcan found?" She asked.

"Yes?" Luke asked, tilting his head lightly. "What about it? Did you sell it?"

"Not yet," she replied. "As I mentioned once, gold looplets are rare. Selling them to a pawn shop or a jewelry maker, they'll only pay you for the value of the metal, not the item itself. So, to get the most out of such an item you need to find the right buyer. I found one that made me a great offer, but..." She shifted. "Well, let's say I've got a feeling about him. He wants to make the sale outside of town rather than somewhere public -first red flag right there. But he's offering me twenty-five hundred Poks for it so I can't really turn it down."

"...I think I see where this is going." Luke answered, his gaze narrowing slightly. "You're thinking he might double cross you and try to rob it from you, hence why he asked to make the sale outside of town." He deduced. "And you want me to come with you and determine whether or not he's being honest about his intentions, correct?"

Lashane nodded, giving him a finger-shot motion with her paw. "Right on the button," she said. "I've dealt with these types before. Normally I have Toby here standing by in the airship for a speedy getaway."

"For obvious reasons, that ain't an option this time," Toby chimed in.

"So, that's why I come to you. I need someone I can trust to help me with this -and frankly, I don't trust anybody around here," Lashanne concluded.

"Say no more." Luke answered promptly. "Just tell me when the exchange is taking place and I'll be there."

She perked up, smiling at him. "Thank you," she said with some relief. "It's taking place at the crossroads in the pass, where the road forks. That's where I'll be meeting him, tomorrow morning around six o'clock -hopefully enough time before you have to go to work?"

Luke nodded firmly once more. "I should be able to make it." He replied. "Besides, work may be important, but I place my friends above that any time."

She nodded back, and then looked up as the barmaid returned with their drinks, setting them down on the table before them. Lashanne flipped her a coin as a tip as she left, turning back to Luke again as she picked up her pewter mug. "Then it's time to make some money," she said.

Luke grasped his tankard in his paw, staring at the foaming liquid for a moment before looking at Lashanne. "Suppose we should make a toast as well?" He asked. "Say... to our friendship?"

Lashanne and Toby both laughed as he made the offer. "Gods, you are such a sap, Luke," the Delphox said, shaking her head.

"Maybe, but at least I remain an honest one." Luke said with a chuckle.

"True that," Lashanne returned, leaning forward with her mug

"Yeah," Toby agreed, having to stand on his chair to reach but joining in as well.

Their three mugs thudded together, throwing foam into the air upon contact. With that, they proceeded to toss back their drinks, downing half the contents of the tankards in one go. Luke visible cringed at the strong flavour of the ale, but Lashanne and Toby seemed unbothered. They continued their conversation as Volcan strummed away on stage, filling the tavern with soft, but joyful music through the night.

~~~~~

Luke was up at the crack of dawn the following morning, having to wake Volcan for their errand to go help Lashanne. It took the Blaziken a moment to get going, but after waking up fully they left the house, meeting Lashanne at the gate where they then headed out of town towards the meeting point. Toby carried the gold looplet, walking at Lashanne's side with it held securely in his paws as they followed the road from town.

The great, yawning ravine that led to Princeport closed in around them as they ventured forth, becoming narrow until they came in sight of the signpost ahead. The road and the canyon walls at either side forked off into two directions, one towards the desert and the other to the north, so deep that not even Volcan could see the other end of the path. It was hard to believe such massive stone walls could have formed naturally, but it protected Princeport from the harshness of the desert -at the cost of sunlight, as the walls left the city and the gorge bathed in shadow most of the day.

Volcan surveyed the area carefully as they approached the sign. "The walls are steep, no caves to hide in and they're up way too high for anyone with a bow to get a clear shot, plus despite these walls the land is pretty flat," he said analytically, his strategic mind at work. "Not an ideal place to set up an ambush when there's no cover."

"Unless they come from underground," Toby piped up. "Lotta Ground and Rock-type Pokémon live in these parts, yanno."

"Fair point. Luke?" Volcan looked over at his boyfriend, who understood immediately.

A quick search with his Aura Sense thankfully revealed nothing -no Pokémon were waiting underground but he could sense the presence of other ones approaching their position. "We have company." Luke returned, tuning out of his aura sense and looking to Lashanne. "Three Pokémon approaching directly ahead of us; probably your supposed buyer and a couple escorts. Seems he was just as concerned as you were about a possible double cross."

"Don't be fooled," Lashanne returned dismissively. "Muscle like that is brought both for protection and to get what they want. But if there's only two of them, then with you guys here we should be okay. They're a lot less bold when they don't have you outnumbered."

Luke nodded back in return. "We'll be on our guard." He assured Lashanne as he turned his gaze forward, preparing to meet the incoming traders.

The three approached. At the lead of the pack walked a male Krokorok and at his sides a pair of Sandslash, walking with their heads lowered and backs bristling in readiness for the imminent exchange -they were as ready for a fight as the bearers of the looplet were. Luke noted quickly their disadvantage -himself, Volcan and Lashanne were all vulnerable to Ground-type Pokémon and had no attacks that might give them an advantage against such opponents. Though the numbers were even, they would have to be careful not to rile the three. He did his best to look as calm and non-threatening as possible, even taking a deep breath and letting it out to help him further relax as he tried to work out how best to deal with these three if the agreement should go south.

Volcan seemed to also be aware of their predicament, his eyes narrowing and gears turning in his mind as he pondered how to handle the situation. Lashanne stepped forward, accompanied by Toby but motioning for Luke and Volcan to stay put as she waited for the Krokorok to make his approach. The two Sandslash moved a little to the sides as though to surround her, but their gazes met those of Luke and Volcan who shot them warning glances, and they stopped, standing instead parallel to the Krokorok as he stopped and addressed Lashanne.

"Miss Lashanne?" The Krokorok asked.

"Correct," replied the Delphox.

"I believe you have something for me," the buyer stated.

Lashanne motioned to Toby, who handed her the gold looplet. She then showed it to the Krokorok, who was reaching out to take but she pulled it back. "I don't see my payment," she said.

"In due time. I need to check the condition of the item first," the Krokorok returned.

"We're standing on soft sand -the moment this enters your claws you could bail out of here in seconds," Toby retorted.

"What my partner said," replied Lashanne. "I don't see the payment, your claws don't touch this item."

The gaze of the two remained locked for a moment, until the Krokorok let out a sigh. "As you wish." He said, turning from her and putting two claws to his mouth, letting out a sharp whistle back in the direction they had come.

Luke hadn't sensed anyone else from that direction before, and it became clear why shortly after. A Sableye walked towards them, carrying a metal box in between his two claws. Ghost-type Pokémon did not have Auras for him to sense, and now the numbers were no longer even.

Volcan leaned over to Luke, whispering. "This just got worse," he said. "That guy's immune to all of our Fighting-type moves and Lashanne's Psychic powers."

Luke glanced slightly back at Volcan and nodded a little. "Just keep your guard up and focus on the Krokorok if things go south. I'll deal with the Sableye." He whispered back.

"You have something for a Ghost/Dark-type?" Volcan asked.

"I have a couple attacks that will do some damage to him." Luke answered back.

Volcan nodded, looking ahead again as the Sableye brought over the box which was assumed to be holding the money. Lashanne made a motion with her hand, the box lid flipping open much to the surprise of the buyer and carrier, who both jumped.

"Alright, looks good," said Lashanne, motioning for Toby to retrieve the box. "I will be counting it though."

"I assure you, it's all there," the Krokorok returned. "Provided you've brought me the real thing."

"I know gold when I see it," returned Lashanne, offering the looplet to him. "And legitimate craftsmanship to boot."

Slowly, the Krokorok took the looplet, turning it over in his claws as he studied it at length. "It's in very good condition," he said, turning it over in his hand. "The leather padding has of course worn away, but that's common." He checked it over for a little longer before looking at Lashanne again. "You've brought me the real deal, treasure hunter." He motioned to the Sableye, who dropped the case of coins into Toby's paws.

When Luke saw the exchange was going smoothly, he let himself breathe a sigh of relief, closing his eyes for a moment and allowing himself a small smile. 'Alright...looks like we can rest easy.' He thought to himself.

As the Krokorok and Sableye turned to leave, Toby opened the box and began examining the rolls of coins within, lifting out one of the stacks of coins bound in paper and tearing open the bottom of it, letting a coin fall into his paw. "...Hey, hold up!" He shouted, causing the buyer and his followers to stop in their tracks as he produced one of the coins. "Ya think you're fooling anyone with this?"

"Whatever do you mean?" The buyer asked, but he had a nervous expression on his face.

"This ain't a real Pok!" Toby called, biting down on the coin which bent easily to his teeth. "Aha, see? It's tin!"

Lashanne glared at the buyer, her branch already flying into her paw. "_Fake_money?!" She demanded.

"There must be some mistake," the Krokorok returned.

"No mistake at all," Toby returned. "You stacked real poks on top but buried at the bottom of these stacks are tin coins. That's one of the oldest counterfeit tricks in the book, buddy!"

'...Well so much for that.' Luke thought to himself as he rolled his eyes, then took a step forward and clenched his paws tightly at his sides as he glared at the traders. "You know, it's not good business to rip off someone trying to sell something genuine with fake currency." He growled. "Time to come clean...you never intended to really buy that Looplet from her, did you?"

Rather than answer, the Krokorok turned and tried to run, his three henchmen barring the way, but Luke wasn't going to fall for that trick. He tensed up and quickly charged forward toward the henchmen, lifting his arm up to throw a punch at them. However, right as he looked as if he would attack, he vanished from their line of sight, using Extreme Speed to maneuver around them and appear right in front of the Krokorok and shoving him onto his backside just as the desert reptilian prepared to dig himself to safety. He grunted as Luke pushed him back, the Lucario snatching the gold Looplet in the process.

The two Sandslash, hearing their employer grunt, turned to look behind them, and that was when Volcan made his move. Taking advantage of the distraction bought by Luke, he lunged at the Sandslash duo, grabbing their heads and slamming them together with an audible thunk as bone hit bone, and they collapsed dazed onto the ground. Lashanne dashed toward the Sableye, delivering a fire punch to his face that dazed him, and a second from her other hand sent the ghostly Pokémon reeling, falling to the ground with cheeks smoking from the flames.

Volcan scoffed. "What was I worried about?" He muttered. "These guys are pushovers."

The Krokorok soon recovered from Luke's surprise attack on him, looking up in horror as the Lucario loomed over him, his left paw gripping the golden looplet he had taken back from the crook. He tried to scurry away, only to have Luke step on his tail to bring him to a stop before he could get any further.

The Lucario and leered dangerously at him. "I'll ask again," he growled. "You planned on stealing this from her all along, didn't you? You never intended to buy it. Not with real money anyway."

The Krokorok whimpered fearfully, pulling his tail free and hurling sand in Luke's face before he turned and ran, making a leap and dive toward the sandy ground. He clawed at the ground, digging fervently, but Volcan was already there, seizing him by his tail and pulling him back up from the sand before he was halfway under it, where he then found himself dangling by his tail in the grasp of a very displeased Blaziken.

"Where do you think you're going?" Volcan asked scornfully as he hoisted the Krokorok up. "You going to answer the man, or do I have to use you for a club and beat your henchmen silly with your head?"

"Okay! Yes! Half the money in the box is fake!" The Krokorok shouted. "My boss didn't want me to pay the full amount even if the item was for real, so I loaded the chest with fake coins!"

"And who's your boss?" Lashanne asked.

"None other than mister Sandjaw, my lady," replied the Krokorok, by his smile clearly believing that the situation would be resolved if he used that name.

But he was wrong. Volcan had not forgotten what he and Luke had heard at Ceras Outpost regarding someone called 'Sandjaw'. For the blatant lie, the Blaziken punched the Krokorok squarely in the gut, and he let out a breath as the Blaziken's punch winded him "Lie to us again, and that will be the _least_painful thing I do to you," Volcan warned.

"Everyone knows Sandjaw was sent to prison years ago," stated Lashanne. "So you're either working for someone else or you're calling the shots yourself."

The Krokorok coughed, rubbing his stomach where Volcan had punched him. But as he started to explain himself again, the three thugs suddenly jumped back into the fray, one of the Sandslash tackling Lashanne from behind, another erupting from beneath Volcan's feet and throwing him onto his back, dropping the Krokorok in the process while the Sableye went after the unprotected Toby who let out a yowl of fright as the Ghost Pokémon attacked him.

Luke cursed under his breath when they were all surprise attacked, his eyes darting between each henchmen before falling upon the Krokorok as he tried to scurry away again. He dashed at him from behind, throwing his arm around his neck and putting his windpipe in line with the pit of his elbow. "Call off your men, NOW!" He yelled at the sand crocodile.

"Don't underestimate me blue boy!" The Krokorok retorted, whipping up his tail and throwing sand into Luke's face. The sand attack caught him off guard, making him step back a bit and wipe his eyes with his paw. He instinctively tuned back to his aura sense and saw the Krokorok's aura just as it was about to attack him, narrowly side stepping out of the way and summoning his Bone Rush, whipping around and bringing it onto the Krokorok's back. The aura bone audibly connected with the renegade, sending him face-first into the sand.

Meanwhile, Lashanne, still pinned down by the Sandslash, looked towards Volcan who was struggling to keep the other one from clawing his eyes out. She fired a Psybeam from her branch, blasting the Sandslash off Volcan. The one on top of her, furious, dug his claw into her side, piercing her leather jerkin and causing her to cry out in pain as blood was drawn. Volcan leapt to his feet, dashed over, and punted the Sandslash off her, sending it flying through the air comically.

"Thanks!" Lashanne said as Volcan helped her up.

"We're even!" He replied.

"I could use some backup here!" Toby cried, still running from the Sableye.

Hastily, Lashanne raised her branch, the tip igniting as she aimed. "Back off, creepy!" Lashanne shouted as she fired a Flamethrower in the Sableye's path, forcing it to a halt or risk running through a wall of fire.

After clearing his eyes from the sand thrown at him, Luke stepped toward the downed Krokorok and lifted him up once more, one paw holding him by the scruff of his neck, and the other holding his tail and pulling down to make him unable to concentrate on attacking him again due to the pain of being yanked at both ends. "Now...let's try this one more time." He stated lowly, leering right into his eyes dangerously. "Who do you really work for?"

The Krokorok grunted as Luke pinned him, but eventually he complied and answered him. "I wasn't lying when I said that I work for Sandjaw!" He urfed as Luke added pressure to his neck. "I took over the gang after he was busted by Team Phobia! But we were running out of money -we overspent the wealth the boss left behind!"

The other thugs, hearing their boss having given in to Luke's pressuring, had ceased their attack -though Volcan still stood by the two Sandslash, poised to knock them out if they tried to attack again as their employer continued. "So, we started buying up artifacts to add to his old collection but we paid using fake money! Then we were going to sell the collection for its proper value and live like kings for the rest of our lives."

"A good plan," Lashanne admitted. "But you clearly didn't consider someone figuring out your scheme so easily."

"Nobody ever checks the bottom coins first," the Krokorok added with a whimper. "They'd never know until they try to spend them..."

"For which they'd be busted anyway for using phony money," Toby finished. "While you'd be long gone."

Luke growled angrily at the Krokorok, still stretching him in his grasp. "Well either way, it looks like your scam's gone on long enough, and you'll be spending a good amount of time locked up in a cell when we take you back to Princeport." He stated firmly, his eyes then looking over to the other three henchmen. "All of you."

One of the Sandslash snorted defiantly. "And how do you plan on holding all of us?" He asked. "Ya might have the boss but we could easily..."

A bright glowing light behind him and his partner silenced him, and they both looked back to see Volcan, having activated his Mega Stone, the arms of the Mega Blaziken crossed over his chest as he glared at the three henchmen.

"Try it. I dare you," he said with a warning tone. "See how far you get before I run you down."

At that, though, the Sableye bolted, running towards the canyon walls. Volcan was about to take off after him, but hesitated. If he left the two Sandslash alone, they'd dig away and they'd lose two of the criminals instead of one, and Lashanne couldn't hold both -nor hope to catch the Sableye.

Seeing as there was no way to catch the Sableye, Luke sighed. "Let him go...We won't be able to catch him now that he's got a head start." He commanded, then looked to the Krokorok again. "And just for the record, I can Mega Evolve as well...so if you or your two Sandslashes try anything funny while we take you back to Princeport, then I won't hesitate to pummel you into the ground..."

"Alright, you've made your point," he returned, letting Luke haul him to his feet and force both his claws behind his back.

Toby retrieved the abandoned coin box and took the gold looplet from Luke, carrying both as Volcan and Lashanne restrained the two Sandslash, and so the seven of them began to make their way back towards town to the sheriff's office, while the cowardly Sableye faded into the cliff wall, never to be seen again.

~~~~~

"Nine hundred poks," said Lashanne disdainfully as she and Toby finished counting how much of the money was real. "Lying croc -not even half the coins were real." She let out a disappointed sigh. "That still leaves me short on the amount to fix my ship."

"Well... Perhaps I could stop by after work and deliver my share to you," Luke asked. "Would that help?"

"That sale alone would have covered half of the repair costs," she said, picking up the gold looplet and rolling it in her hand, staring at it as if looking for some sign -some answer it might hold, to their problem. "If I sell this at the jewelry shop, I'll only get the value of the gold but it's worth so much more than that."

"Can you find another buyer?" Volcan asked.

"Maybe," she replied, humming as she considered the idea. "It may take a while though, and even if I had the money tomorrow the ship is still going to take another month to fix at the rate things are going."

Luke rubbed the back of his head, unable to offer her any sort of words of consolation. "Just...don't be afraid to ask us for help if you need it." He added, then his ears twitched as he remembered. "Speaking of, I need to get to work."

"Oh yeah. The shack opens right at seven, doesn't it?" Volcan asked.

"It's already past seven, but the breakfast rush won't be starting yet," Lashanne replied. "If you hurry you might still have time for prep."

"Already on it." Luke returned, then he quickly turned to Volcan and pecked his cheek. "See you after my shift, love."

"Have a good day, Luke," Volcan returned. "I'll probably be down there later myself once the market quiets down."

"Oh, I know you will." He said with a wink before he turned and ran out the door of the tavern. They saw him run past the window seconds later, heading towards the docks.

"Guess I better go get my guitar," Volcan said, rising from his chair. He looked over at Lashanne, seeing the hopeless expression on her face. With a sigh, he leaned over and clapped her shoulder. "Hey, chin up, treasure hunter. We'll find a way. Even if Luke and I have to work a few more days."

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know... just didn't want it to come to that."

"Hey, if all plans went smoothly, Lashanne, would we ever grow to the people we are?" Volcan asked.

She gave him a curious look. "That's oddly philosophical for a fighter," she said.

"I'm a tactician -I do a lot of thinking, a lot of planning, but even some of my plans have failed before, I'm sure," he started making his way to the door. "The gate and key to getting through any hurtle, be it an ever changing battlefield or just life itself, is adaptation. There's always another way -it may not be easy, or quick, but few things worth pursuing ever are."

She smiled after him. "Well said," she remarked before he headed out the door, and she helped herself to a drink. "Adapting, huh? I wonder..." She thought aloud as she looked at the looplet on her arm...

~~~~~

A few days passed since the incident with the buyer. Luke and Volcan saw little of Lashanne in that time -most often she would come to the tavern at night to retire for the day, but Volcan, on stage each time, never saw her stopping to eat or drink -she simply went to her room without a word.

In the meantime, the two were hard at work. Luke and Volcan together had made a generous amount of coin from their new part-time jobs, but the desire to be on their way home was ever present, and when they met up in the evening for bed they were often sharing their anxiety with one another, or with Degra. Due to Lashanne's absence they hadn't heard much more about the airship's repair progress.

For five nights, Volcan did not see her return to the tavern at all. He returned home to tell Luke about it, though neither one could really imagine what could be keeping her away. They went to bed shortly after, concerned but too weary to investigate it yet. They both drifted off to sleep easily and slept soundly into the small hours of the morning. But maybe four hours after they had gone to bed -still some time before dawn would come, they heard someone calling their names in a hushed voice. They tried to ignore it and keep sleeping at first, until whoever it was raised the volume.

"Hey! Wake up!"

Volcan sat up with a start, throwing the blankets off himself and Luke in the process. "Ugh, fucking what?!" He asked, grumpily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and then looking about the room, only to see no one besides the Lucario at his side who was stirring as well. "Who's there?" Volcan asked.

"Up here, dumbass."

He turned, seeing a silhouette outside the window. As his vision cleared he saw it was Lashanne. Behind her, the Blaziken could still see a few stars in the sky. It was not even light out yet.

"Mmggh....what's all the commotion?" Luke asked groggily, pushing himself up onto his elbow and rubbing his eyes with his other paw, blinking a few times before looking up to the Delphox in question. "Lashanne? What the hell are you doing here so late?" He asked.

"I've got some good news for you two," she replied.

"And it couldn't wait until the sun was up at least?" Volcan asked, his beak opening as he yawned.

"The ship's done," Lashanne stated.

Volcan stopped yawning so abruptly, the sound of his beak closing shut was audible to everyone in the room. Luke's ears stood up, staring at Lashanne in surprise before a broad smile suddenly crossing his face and his eyes lit up with joy. "You're joking! It's really fixed??" He exclaimed.

"Sure is! If you want to tidy up, you can come see for yourselves," replied the Delphox.

"Hell yes! Let's -doi!" Volcan, once again rising too quickly, fell back on his rear after his head collided with the low ceiling. His hands clutched his throbbing skull as he blinked the stars from his eyes. "Ouch..."

"Well that won't help you wake up," Lashanne teased, holding back a laugh.

"Shaddup."

"No time for bickering!" Luke nearly snapped as he scurried over to the crawlspace leading out, grabbing Volcan by his hand as he went. "Come on! Let's get moving!" He added in an excited tone, yanking the Blaziken after him.

"Whoa! Hold your Rapidash, love!" Volcan called as he was practically dragged out of the room, barely avoiding banging his head on the door.

Out in the corridor, they saw Degra poking her head out of her own room, looking at them through half-lidded eyes. "What's all the noise, boys?" She asked.

"Lashanne just informed us her airship's fixed! We're going out to see for ourselves!" Luke answered back, still dragging Volcan after him.

"Oh... wonderful," Degra added sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she watched them leave, before a smile crept onto her face. "Well then... I guess it's time I start packing."

The door practically flew open as Luke and Volcan charged out of the house, meeting Lashanne in the street before she led them out to the repair site outside of the city walls. Even from the gate they could see bright lights illuminating the worksite and saw several of the carpenter's Lashanne had hired to fix the hull were still present, gathering up their tools and vacating the premises.

But before they went to douse the lamps that illuminated the site, Luke and Volcan saw the brand-new hull of the airship in all of its splendor. Freshly varnished wood sanded to a sleek and smooth surface had replaced the utterly destroyed bottom half of the ship. A new gas bag hovered above the main body, bobbing slightly in the light breeze blowing through the canyon. At the railing, they could see Toby watching the workers from above, carrying a lantern in his paw as he paced the rails of the ship.

Luke could only gape at the newly reconstructed airship, his joyous smile still present on his face as he looked on, even starting to laugh a little. "It really is repaired!" He stated before throwing his arms up into the air as if he'd just won the lottery. "Yes!! We can finally head home!!"

"How did you manage this?" Volcan asked. "You said the ship would take a month to fix -it hasn't been a _week_since that botched deal."

"I pulled a few strings," replied Lashanne, looking over at the Blaziken. "I talked the boss into extending the workdays to include nights. I had to pay extra, so I've been working on making some extra Poks to cover the difference."

"So that's why we haven't seen you all week," Volcan stated. "But, what've you been doing to make that much money?"

"Remember that extra treasure we found -including the looplet?" She asked. "I hosted an auction for the looplet -had collectors coming from all over town and from a few others clamouring for it. In the meantime, I also melted down the other gold items to sell gold ingots and the gems separately to the highest bidders. It took a lot of bartering, and a lot of hot days at the local smith." She showed her paws to Volcan, dirty and calloused -and noticeably twitching from soreness. "But I managed to make top Pok for all my hard work and was able to pay for the extra work to the ship."

"Lashanne, you are a damned godsend." Luke stated as he turned to face her. His eyes fell to her paws, his smile fading when he saw how abused they seemed. "Oh jeez, you weren't kidding about the work you had to do." He added as he lifted his paws to gently touch hers. "May I?"

"Uh... sure," she replied, not sure what he planned to do as she let him take her paws -though she noticeably twitched with pain as he grasped one, showing just how tender they had been left.

Luke then pumped some of his power into his paws, sending a warmth through Lashanne's paws that eased her soreness and made her twitching cease, like how he had treated Volcan's legs when he jumped off the crags upon their arrival in the West. He then released her paws once he saw the twitching cease and took a step back. "There. That should ease any further discomfort."

Lashanne flexed her paws, looking them over. The sores and callouses were still present, but she found that they did not hurt anymore. She looked at Luke with intrigue. "Didn't know we had a doctor around," she remarked.

"Actually, his brother's the doctor," Volcan remarked with a chuckle.

"Therapeutic Masseur, then?" She replied, and then added slyly to Volcan. "I bet it really helps after a long day."

"Oh, like you wouldn't believe," returned Volcan, before he looked at Luke, and then over him toward the ship. "Well, we agreed to stock up the ship, so as soon as the market is open for the day, we'll go get all the supplies we need and bring them out to the ship."

"I made a list for you," the Delphox said as she reached into a pocket on her leather top and handed it to Volcan. "We'll need a lot of preserved stuff. It's going to be a long trip."

"Understood. What time should we be here?" Luke inquired.

"Let's say about ten. I need some shut-eye too," she replied, rubbing her eyes for emphasis. "Toby will have the crane ready for you when you get here."

"Perfect." Luke returned, nodding quickly before turning to his boyfriend and taking his hand in his paw, much gentler this time. "C'mon love. Let's get as much sleep as we can so we can rise up early and get the supplies we need." He bade him.

"Right with you," Volcan returned.

As the two of them walked back to Degra's home, Luke's grip on Volcan's hand tightened as he spoke. "We're finally going home." He said softly, looking up to the Blaziken. "Gods I haven't felt this happy since... well, since I proposed to you."

"I know what you mean," he said. "Everyone must be so worried about us... I can't wait to see them all."

"Yea. Hopefully that letter we sent them helped to put their minds at ease a little." Luke replied as they walked through the front door of Degra's home. "One thing is clear though. I'm definitely going to be getting an earful from Rigel when we get back."

"I have a hunch I will from my brother as well, wherever he is," he said. "Speaking of... I wonder if there's a way to contact him. He's out there looking for me, yet I'm right here in Princeport."

Luke opened the door to their bedroom once they were inside, holding it open for Volcan to enter first. "Who knows?" Luke replied with a shrug. "Maybe he somehow managed to find his way to Azure."

"Now what're the odds of that?" Volcan asked incredulously.

"A thousand to one." Luke answered with a small laugh. "Though considering what we've endured, anything's possible."

"Fair point. After all we did fall into a hole in the middle of the desert, so far off the beaten path that it hadn't been uncovered in centuries," Volcan added.

"Only for it to be rediscovered by two stranded travelers who just happened to walk over the right spot." Luke commented with a laugh. "Never a dull moment in our lives."

"What's next; we discover a portal to the distortion world?" Volcan asked with a helpless shrug.

"Let's not get too crazy now." Luke said as he flopped back into bed, grinning up at Volcan. "Save that kind of talk for when we're back home." He added with a wink

"Indeed," Volcan remarked, making himself comfortable next to the Lucario. "Kinda wish we had an alarm clock -hope we don't sleep in."

"We'll be okay. I'm an early riser by nature." Luke assured Volcan as he pressed up closer to him. "And in case you _do_sleep in, well... I'll just have to kiss you awake."

Volcan chuckled, cuddling with the Lucario as he pulled the blanket back over them. "Sounds like a nice thing to wake up to," he remarked.

Luke chuckled as well, getting as close as he could to his beloved Blaziken and sliding his arms around his neck. "It's also a nice thing to fall asleep to." He whispered as he planted a light kiss on Volcan's beak, closing his eyes as he held the moment as long as he could until sleep reclaimed both of them.

Later that morning as light filled the skies, they arose from their slumber in time to head for the markets, their hard-earned money in hand as they took Lashanne's list and went to get the items to stock the ship.

By Lashanne's estimate they would need twenty-five days worth of water. She also specifically requested certain items for the voyage. Dried meats, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, pickled eggs and other preserved items that could be eaten on the go. Even though her ship had a galley -they had seen it for themselves -it seemed the Delphox was not keen on cooking. Nevertheless, they followed the list as requested -having to rent a hand cart to move it all for the food was enough to fill two crates, and they had four kegs of water on top of that. Volcan took the handcart after Luke tied down the supplies and began to pull it out to the ship.

As promised, the ship's onboard crane was ready for their use. They called out to Toby to get his attention. The Meowth motioned to a pallet unto which to load the supplies -though cautioned them to only three at a time. After which, he operated the crane -through a series of gears and handles, to bring the supplies on board. Volcan jumped up to the deck to help him unload while Luke brought the last items out of the cart.

With the second batch brought aboard, they went back for Degra to help her bring their belongings out to the ship. The female Blaziken left a note tacked on the door addressed to Lighris in case he should return, telling him that they were travelling to Azure. Finally, as they returned to the ship, it was time to put the West Continent behind them and return home. The ship ascended from its place by the cliff, rising until it ascended over the canyon walls, and turned its course eastward, leaving Princeport to slowly fading in the distance.

Volcan and Luke watched from the ship stern as their temporary home faded off in the distance. "You know, Princeport's a nice place to visit," Volcan commented. "But, Azure calls out to me now... I'm more than ready to go home."

"As am I... back to our own house and reunite with our friends and family." Luke added, smiling happily as he pictured his team and his family all swarming him the second he was back.

"Still a long trip yet," Volcan said. "So, we better get cozy."

Luke glanced back to Volcan, raising an eyebrow at him. "You really want to spend the entire trip cooped up in our room?" He asked.

"I'm open to suggestions," the Blaziken returned, shrugging.

"Well, we could always crack out another chess game." Luke offered, then started to smirk as he looked back to Volcan. "...Or we could just lock ourselves away and just... wait out the trip in our own way."

"Variety is the spice of life, so let's say, all of the above."

Luke started to press into Volcan firmly. "Good answer, love." He said with a chuckle. "Let's do it~"

"Let's go somewhere private first before we get too into it, shall we?" Volcan returned with a chuckle.

"Of course." Luke returned. "Unless there are any other rooms we can hide in, perhaps we should just lock ourselves in our room."

"Well it is ours to do with as we wish," the Blaziken replied, and then looked towards the helm. "Hey, Lashanne? Did you happen to scavenge that chess set of yours?"

"That vintage one I kept with all my tomes?" She asked. "Yeah, even found all the pieces. You wanted to use it?"

"Yes, please, if that's okay?"

"That's fine. Just don't lose any of the pieces -it's a miracle I was able to uncover them all," she called back.

"We won't. Just need something to pass the time while we travel," Volcan returned. "Thanks, Lashanne."

"No problem. Maybe you'll give me a game sometime," she returned.

"I'd like that actually." Luke commented. "Perhaps later I'll take you up on that."

"I look forward to it. Toby can play, but he's not so hot at it."

"Hey!" The Meowth shouted from the deck. "I'm right here you know!"

"Sorry partner, but I have to be honest."

The Lucario couldn't help but chuckle at the exchange, then looked to Toby and smiled at him. "Perhaps one day I can give you some pointers to help improve your game." He offered to the Meowth.

The Meowth was still left pouting as Volcan and Luke headed below decks. Volcan looked up at Degra who was sitting reading by the mainmast. "Talk later, mom," she said.

"Have fun, son," Degra returned.

"I'm sure I will," the younger male returned before disappearing below decks with Luke.

"Damn right you will." Luke added as they gathered up Lashanne's chess board, then locked themselves in their room and began setting up the game on the table inside.