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It was only a matter of time before Hank had to stop relying on his Illusions to keep the Rockruff pacified. Even before they left Kia He following the encounter with Phaedra and her cruel mate Raguram, they had begun to show the Rockruff his true surroundings. Hank had to keep the pup in his room, which he already shared with several of his teammates but they had all agreed to stay out while the pup adjusted to his surroundings.

Hank was thankful that the room was windowless, fearing the pup might have tried to escape when he left the room. Hank remained in the room, sometimes accompanied by Jora or Serena for counsel. The pup ate little, small meat scraps that Luke left for him, and Hank had to fight the temptation to rely on his Illusions to make the Rockruff sleep when night fell and the pup kept pacing through the room.

It grew too much for Hank, and eventually he dozed off in his seat. When he awoke later, unsure what time it was, he found the pup lying by his leg, curled up against his thigh for warmth. At least he slept, the Zoroark thought, relieved. He had to fight off the need to get up, not wanting to rouse the pup from a much needed slumber, and eventually managed to go back to sleep himself.

He woke again to a gentle knocking. The pup awoke immediately, alert, and jumped off the bed when Hank sat up to open the door enough to see who was outside. It was Volcan, bearing two plates of food - a small one, obviously for the pup, and a second larger one. Behind him was Luke, carrying a pitcher of water.

"How's our stray?" Volcan asked in a whisper, unsure whether the Rockruff was awake or not.

Hank sighed heavily, reaching up with his claws to accept the plates and pitcher from his teammates. "Well, he ain't freakin' out anymore, so that's a plus." He informed the Blaziken. "Though that ain't saying much. I'm trying _not_to use my illusions to pacify him when he gets too rowdy, but..." He looked down at the Rockruff staring curiously back at Hank with a tilted head. "I dunno the first thing about bein' a parental figure, ya know?"

"You're doing a great job, Hank." Luke assured the Zoroark with a nod and a smile. "At least he sees you as someone he can trust."

"Maybe, but I ain't really the kind of guy to be a parent..." Hank answered solemnly. "I wouldn't even know where to start."

"Well he doesn't growl at you anymore, that's a start," said Volcan as he knelt down to retrieve the pup's water bowl from the floor. The Rockruff glared at him and let out a growl as he did. "Case in point," the Blaziken remarked as he stood up slowly, holding out the bowl for Hank to fill with water.

Hank took the bowl and refilled it quickly before setting it down in front of the pup, letting out a soft growl to inform the pup that Luke and Volcan were not enemies. The pup looked back at Hank curiously again for a moment before he turned and went to drink from the newly refilled bowl, allowing Hank to set the pup's food down before he sat back down on the bed himself.

"You know I can't keep the little guy..." He informed the Lucario and Blaziken. "I'm just not the kinda guy he needs in his life..."

"No one's asking you to be, Hank. Not if you don't feel you're ready," said Volcan. "But we can't take him back to Kia He, and we certainly can't leave him on his own." He leaned over to rest a hand on Hank's shoulder, reassuring him. "We just need you to keep doing what you're doing, until we get back to Azure. We'll figure something out then." He promised his friend.

The Zoroark nodded softly in response as he took a bite of his meal. "I can do that... So long as we get our guy out as fast as we can." Hank remarked with a bit of a sneer. "As much as I love the tropical aesthetic, I've had my fill of this place already."

"Trust me, the feeling's _more_than mutual..." Luke responded with quite a sour tone in his voice, visibly shuddering as thoughts of his time on Kia He rushed into his mind.

"Likewise," agreed Volcan, with bitterness to match Luke's. Miraculously the events on Kia He hadn't driven a wedge between the two of them, but their memories of the island would be forever tarnished by those short two days.

Then, much to their surprise, the Rockruff pup stopped drinking from his bowl and glanced up at Luke in particular. The young canid Pokémon stared at Luke intently until their eyes met, and a brief silence followed before the Rockruff slowly stepped closer to the Lucario. He then lifted one of his forelegs and gently placed it on Luke's foot, making the Lucario's heart quicken a bit as the Rockruff acknowledged that he was someone that he could trust.

"...Well, how 'bout that." Hank remarked with a slight grin.

"I bet he knows Luke's the one making food for him," Volcan remarked with a chuckle. "The smell's got to be telling."

"I dunno man. Luke's always had that sorta fatherly feeling about him." Hank answered as Luke knelt down to stroke the pup's head. "He _did_raise two kids of his own before hookin' up with ya."

"Right, I sometimes forget that," said Volcan, watching his lover bonding with the Rockruff.

Luke kept stroking the Rockruff's head until it pulled away, then wagged his tail and offered a smile at Luke before he turned and went back to drinking his water and nibbling on his food again. Luke gave a soft sigh as he stood tall again, watching the pup refuel himself for a bit before turning to Volcan.

"We should probably get a snack ourselves before retiring for the rest of the trip." He suggested. "We'll need to be at our best if we're to succeed."

Volcan nodded. "Yeah. If Skyler's directions are good we shouldn't be too far from the enemy base now."

"Then let's enjoy our last leg of the journey while we can." Luke offered, taking his fiancé's hand in his paw and opening the door for him with the other. "After you, love."

"Try not to make _too_much noise~" Hank teased as the two of them exited the room. When the door shut, he sighed and tucked into his own food, occasionally glancing at the Rockruff munching on his own food. A thought then crossed his mind as he recalled what he told Volcan about Luke parenting children of his own, and it made the gears turn in his head as he looked toward the door again, then back at the pup.

'...Ya know? Maybe they'd_be more suitable to raise this tyke.'He mused to himself, smiling somewhat as he glanced back down at the Rockruff again. _'...Yea. They'd be perfect fer you, little guy.'

Out in the hall, Volcan walked with his arm looped through Luke's as they made their way over to their cabin. Volcan, though, was heavily distracted as they stepped, eyes forward but not seeing what lay ahead until he literally walked into it. An audible _thunk_followed by a grunt from Volcan made Luke jump, turning to look up at his boyfriend, who had just bonked his head on the door frame. He had forgotten to duck.

"Son of a Swalot..." Volcan muttered.

Luke couldn't help but chuckle at the Blaziken's expense. "Not like you to not look where you're going, love." He pointed out as he leaned up to kiss Volcan's forehead when he ducked low to clear the doorway. "Everything okay up there? You losing your marbles again?" He joked.

"Just had something on my mind," he said, though his eyes lingered on Luke for a moment, even as he crossed over to the bed and sat down. "...We've been through a hell of a lot together this past year, haven't we?" He asked as Luke stepped over, lifting his hand to caress Luke's cheek, again with his eyes lingering on the Lucario.

"Yea, we have, huh?" Luke answered, sighing and leaning into Volcan's hand as he caressed his cheek. "A siege on a faraway island, getting lost in the desert, protecting a large city from being destroyed, working separate missions..."

He paused to give Volcan a playful boop on his beak with his nose. "Saving your sexy ass from being kidnapped... And the fall out that came with it." He added in a more somber tone, glancing off to the side a bit. "Now we're on our way to save our friend after discovering Calhoun's origins and intentions... Yea, it's been a hell of a year..."

Volcan nodded slowly, his gaze dropping to the floor for a moment as he seemed to consider something. Then, before Luke could ask, he suddenly raised his head and shook it. "Damn it... This has been waiting for too freakin' long," he said, before turning to Luke. His expression was determined, making Luke wonder why he looked so serious.

Luke slowly pulled his head back and looked at Volcan curiously, with a bit of trepidation. "...What do you mean?" Luke asked softly. "What's been waiting for too long? The length of this trip?"

"No," replied Volcan. "_You've_been waiting too long." His hands raised, taking Luke by his shoulders and pulling him in to kiss the Lucario passionately, not even giving Luke a few seconds to ask why.

Luke grunted a little, surprised by the suddenness of Volcan's romantic actions. But he was quick to reciprocate the kiss. He swung his arm around Volcan's back and pressed into him, gently laying the Blaziken on his back and lying prone on top of him. After several seconds, Luke pulled back from the kiss and smiled softly.

"Eager to make the most of tonight?" He asked in between breaths of air. "If so, you could have just said so from the start~"

Volcan shook his head again, leaving Luke puzzled until he spoke "It's more than that," he said. "Luke, after all this time, however short it might seem to some, we've learned about each other and been through so much together. Seen parts of the world neither of us might never have been to otherwise. But the most important thing we learned... Is how much we need each other. And after that shitshow on Kia He... I've been reminded of that fact." He smiled broadly. "I've made you wait too long for me to ask this.."

Volcan leaned forward, speaking almost in a whisper. "Luke... My dearest beloved. Will you marry me?"

The Lucario's expression was flat and unreadable for a few moments, left stunned as the words first entered his ears. Then, his flat expression started to quickly change into a look of complete shock; his eyes widening as he felt his heart skip a beat, left speechless until he finally found his voice again.

"V...Volcan..." he whispered softly, his eyes starting to water up as he fully registered the proposal. "Is... is this real? Are you... finally ready to take that leap?"

"Without a doubt," said Volcan. "I know we wanted to wait until the crisis was over but... After what's happened, back on Kia He and way up in the north I feel like if we don't do this soon, then we might never do it." He rested a palm against Luke's cheek. "I _want_this... I want you, Luke. To be eternally mine, and I yours. I love you."

Luke started to smile ecstatically after Volcan finished, unable to hide his tears of joy as he lunged at the Blaziken, embracing him tightly as he began butterfly kissing all over his face.

"Yes!" Luke almost screamed in response before kissing him right on the beak for a few moments. "Yes! Yes, a _million_times, yes!" He went on, happily sobbing as he gave Volcan his response. "You're right... I _have_been waiting too long! I-I almost forgot that I even proposed to you back in the Western Continent, what with everything that's been going on!" He admitted, then pressed his forehead into Volcan's firmly. "I will marry you, Volcan! I've longed for this day since the night we confessed to each other... I want you and only you, my dearly beloved Blaziken!"

"Then I'm yours," said Volcan, taking Luke into another, shorter kiss. "When should we have it? Whenever you want!" He added excitedly.

"Let's have it... a month after we get back! No! Make it two months!" Luke answered. "We need to leave enough time to send out the invitations and gather up the supplies we'll need. I'll need to save up for a _lot_of groceries to prepare the banquet with!" He added with equal excitement.

Volcan let out a laugh. "Okay, perhaps we should tone it down. Our excitement might run away from us at this rate," he said.

"Well in that case~" Luke began, grinning more suggestively at the Blaziken. "Would you care to help in 'toning down our excitement~?'" He asked before sneaking in a slow, gentle lick along Volcan's neck.

Volcan chuckled. "With what we do in our spare time? Seems counter-productive," he said, though his hands slid down Luke's back, their destination clear. "But pass up a chance for some fun with you? Not in a thousand years~"

"Then hurry up and claim your prize, before we have to get back to it~" Luke whispered back, grinning happily before he lunged forward again and made out passionately with Volcan for a few moments. "...My husband~" he added before locking lips with him again...

~~~~~

It was still pre-dawn when Lashanne sent Minato to gather everyone from below decks. One by one, and some not happily, the members of Teams Valiant and Phalanx emerged from their bunks and stepped out onto the deck. There, Lashanne pointed out their destination to them.

In a deep cove, sitting in the shadow of a nearly vertical cliff, they saw a great castle rising up from the sandy beach as if it had grown out of the sand itself. The castle was composed of a large central keep with two adjoining towards on either side, symmetrical in design and oddly resembling a face with the placement of its forward windows and central door, accessed by a staircase. The towers were as featureless as the rest of the castle but round and tall like lookout towers. Strategically placed oil lanterns all across the building illuminating it on the outside, with similar light coming from within.

"I don't see any guards," said Volcan, suspiciously. "You'd think there'd be at least a sentry on the door or something."

"Agreed. The place looks... barren. Abandoned even." Wade piped up, squinting his eyes in a futile attempt to see the castle more clearly.

"Hey, boss. Minato. See if you guys can find anything with that Aura Sense of yours." Doug piped up from his tub of dirt.

"Already on it." Luke returned, both Lucario were scouring the castle for any life signs within the castle. They quickly discovered only a few aura signals wandering the upper halls of the castle, but nothing more. No sign of Calhoun or any of his lieutenants.

"...There's almost no one in there." Luke informed the others. "A few sentries along the upper floors, but that's it. No Calhoun or anyone."

"Probably got too chicken shit to stick around after we drove off his little pet." Sol snarkily remarked.

"Maybe... But experience has taught me if something looks too good to be true, it probably is," said Volcan. "Any sign of Kage?"

"I think so." Minato answered, having shifted his attention elsewhere within the castle. "I see... three signals underneath the castle; all of them really faint, barely alive." He stated. "Probably some kind of dungeon below the main floor."

"If they're that faint, then we don't have much time." Katsu remarked firmly, turning to Volcan and Luke. "What is the plan, my captains?"

"Well... I didn't find any other means of entering the castle," Luke cast a look at Volcan. "Our only options seem to either barge right through their front door, or make an entrance ourselves elsewhere..."

"We'll need better intel before we proceed," said Volcan. "Lashanne, land us so we can send Doug ahead."

"I can't touch down anywhere that won't be in sight of the place," said Lashanne.

"Alright.. Can you and Minato lower him to the ground then?"

"We can." Minato answered. "Though one of us should go down with him to help him out of the tub."

"Just... don't drop me like Tristan always does." Doug piped up, looking back at the Aggron. "It's bad enough I get whiplash from his express elevator rides..."

"Hey, ain't my fault that I'm the only one that can pick you up!" Tristan retorted. "Well, aside from Katsu... And Sol too, actually."

"I ain't a ferry service." Sol shot back.

"And I would not fare any better at bringing you to ground than Tristan would." Katsu admitted.

"At least I can use Magnet Rise to soften the drop," Tristan added indignantly, crossing his arms.

"If we're in agreement." Minato piped up, looking at Lashanne. "Dear, would you care to help Doug out of his tub, or shall I?"

"I can," she said. "I'll go to the ground first and bring him down slowly."

"Got it." Minato answered with a nod. "I'll send him down when you're ready to receive him."

"Ooohhh maaaan I'm not liking where this is going..." Doug moaned uneasily.

"Just relax," Lashanne said as he hopped up onto the railing. "I'm not going to drop you."

With that, she casually stepped over the side, dropping toward the ground below. She caught herself with Psychic, and slowly levitated down to the beach below, where she then looked up at the ship and waited, waving to show she was ready. She could barely be seen in the pre-dawn light though, and dared not light her want, lest she give herself away.

Fortunately, neither she nor Minato required light to see. Minato, locked onto his girlfriend with his Aura Sense, got to work. He slowly lifted Doug's tub into the air and over the railing of the airship, then carefully started to lower him down toward the ground, making sure to be as gentle as he could as he lowered the Dugtrio down to Lashanne's own telekinetic grasp when he was within range. She took hold of the tub halfway to the ground, and matched the pace Minato had kept so as not to jostle him, until finally the big ceramic container was on the ground.

"There. That wasn't so bad, right?" She asked as she stepped over to him, and set about helping him out of the tub, slowly turning it over and digging out some of the contents to give him a way down.

"I mean, yea. It was _better_than when Tristan does it." Doug answered as he burrowed into the ground, then resurfaced next to the Delphox in the sand below. "It's just... ya can't blame me for being nervous when I'm being telekinetically manhandled in a tub of metal a dozen feet above the ground."

"Well considering your species is incapable of leaving the ground it kinda limits our options," she said, pragmatically.

"Please, don't remind me..." Doug remarked with a disheartened sigh, then he lifted his three heads to look at the castle ahead. "Alright. Time to do what I do best." He said, flicking the lights on his hardhats before digging under the sand, tunneling his way over to the castle to begin his reconnaissance task.

Above, Volcan turned to look at Eagle Eye. "Eyes up, bud. We need some air recon too. Stay a safe distance and check those towers."

"Aye aye, Cap'n." Eagle Eye squawked, flapping his wings and taking off into the air, soaring as high as he could before he began circling around the building itself, taking care not to be obvious in his flight path as he scoured the castle for any hidden sentries or even another way into the castle.

His patrol flight revealed no other sentries aside from the ones Luke had pointed out earlier, not even in the towers. The Talonflame kept circling the castle above, checking and double checking his findings before squawking to his colleagues on the airship as he made a pass.

"Yea, I got no visual on any other sentries patrolling the outside! The place is as barren as an empty wine cellar!"

"...Something about this doesn't feel right," said Volcan, narrowing his eyes.

"Agreed. This practically _screams_trap..." Hageshi remarked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously as well. "No guards, no sign of the enemy... There's no way they could have vacated a castle of this size so quickly." His eyes rolled to the side as another thought came to him. "And if the case is they did evacuate, why leave the prisoners behind?"

"Leave them to die, no skin off their back. Doesn't sound too complex," said Volcan. "But still... They have _some_people here, but why so few?"

Luke then put his paw to his earpiece. "Doug, what's the situation on the castle itself? Did you find anything we could use as an alternate entry point?"

"That's a negative, boss. The only way in is through the front gate, and I can't dig my way in without risking the whole thing coming down."

Luke frowned at that. "...What do you mean? Is the structural integrity _that_badly compromised?"

"Far from it. The castle's in pristine condition, but that's not the weirdest thing." Doug replied. "There's no foundation holding it up. It's like they built this castle directly over the beach. It's a damn miracle that it hasn't collapsed into the sand already."

"That's impossible!" Tristan piped up. "I know my construction - there's no way something that big could stay up for so long on just sand! Unless the bricks are hollow and full of air."

"Wrong again. The brickwork is as solid as it comes." Doug added. "Trust me, I'm just as baffled as you, big man. There's literally no way this thing should even be standing, and yet here it is."

"One puzzle after another," said Volcan, rubbing his chin in thought. "Calhoun's not there, only a few guards... I suppose though since Aura Sense can't pick up Ghost-types, the possibility of an ambush is still there. Just the same though, I can't begin to guess what's going on here."

"Be that as it may, the longer we dawdle on this, the longer our comrade suffers." Katsu pointed out. "If we are to rescue him and his allies, we must do so swiftly."

"I dunno man... You heard Legs, there could be an ambush in there and we'd be none the wiser." Hank remarked. "As much as I'd love to just bumrush that castle, I'd rather go in with a plan this time around."

Luke sighed softly, rubbing the bridge of his snout with his paw. "We're not making headway going about in circles like this..." Luke remarked, glancing at his lover. "It's your call, Volcan... I'll support whatever you decide, but like Katsu said, we need to decide now."

"One way in... Few guards," said Volcan. "All in all, it seems like our best move is the direct approach. We smash our way in, get Kage, and get out. Hopefully we can move faster than any trap they can spring." He shut his eyes, one again caressing his chin as he thought about how to make their entrance. Finally, he spoke. "Alright, Tristan... You're on point for this one. Hank, Hageshi, Luke, you're his backup. Of all of us here you're the only ones with Dark-type moves to use against Ghosts if any are waiting for us in there."

Volcan turned to look up to the helm. "Toby, bring us lower," Volcan called.

"Aye aye!" The Meowth acknowledged.

"Everyone, get ready. We're doing this hard and fast. Eagle Eye, stay with the ship, keep watch. Serena you keep back too - if anyone gets hurt, we can't have you getting caught in the crossfire."

"Understood," replied the Vaporeon.

"What about the rest of us?" Minato asked, gesturing to himself, Katsu and Wade.

"You guys follow up with Sol just behind the first group - I'll be with you too," said Volcan. "And Sol? You see anything that looks like an attack coming from those towers, you have my express permission to blast them into oblivion. We know Kage and the others aren't up there so no need to hold back."

At that, the Typhlosion grinned madly and clapped his paws together firmly. "_Now_we're talkin'" He said as he rubbed his paws together eagerly.

"A standard snatch and grab..." Hageshi remarked dryly. "What could go wrong?"

"Don't you _dare_jinx it, Hageshi." Luke warned the Greninja, then sighed as he steeled his nerves. "Okay... I'm ready."

"On your go, Tristan!" Volcan called.

"One door goin' down!" Tristan called before he leapt over the side of the ship, hitting the ground running with Luke, Hank and Hageshi following on his tail.

The Aggron broke into a sprint, head lowered and arms pumping as he slowly picked up speed. Hundreds of pounds of rock and steel leading the way. Hank, Hageshi and Luke all chased after the Aggron, sprinting just fast enough to give themselves enough time to react in the event they were attacked by any sentries that saw them coming, or in the event that Tristan couldn't bust down the gate on his own.

Wade, Katsu, and the rest of Team Phalanx, sans Serena, all brought up the rear, with Sol staying a bit further back with a Fire Blast already charged in case they were attacked during their approach. Minato strode alongside his captain and his girlfriend, sword already in hand and ready to attack at any moment.

Tristan picked up speed as he ran. By the time he reached the stairs, he had acquired enough momentum to clear the steps five at a time. "What's up, bitches?!" He roared before slamming head-first into the door, throwing all his weight behind his metal clad skull and horns.

The door _exploded._The sound of wood breaking filled the air as he struck, the double doors flying off their hinges into several pieces they went. A clamour filled the foyer beyond as Luke, Hank and Hageshi, only a few steps behind him, entered the room to the Aggron's triumphant chortling.

"That's usin' yer head!" He bellowed, slamming his fists together eagerly. "Now, who's first and where do they not like to be punched?!"

The three of them brandished their weapons as they came to a halt behind the Aggron, quickly fanning out around Tristan and covering him from three different angles. Luke immediately tapped into his Aura Sense once they were in position, scanning the upper floors to see if their entrance alerted the few guards stationed in the castle. To their relief, and somewhat surprise, there seemed to be no reaction from anyone within - no shouting, no alarm... Nothing.

The rest of the teams barged in as Luke, Hageshi and Hank relaxed, the Lucario turning back to look at Volcan with a small shrug. "Nothing..." He informed his fiancé. "No alarms, no ambush... There isn't even so much as a whisper."

"They probably all ran for the hills when their door got bashed in." Sol remarked with a scoff. "Fuckin' cowards."

"Be that as it may, we mustn't overstay our welcome." Wade urged. "Let's find Shishio and leave before we run into any other surprises."

"Alright. Heavies stay here and guard the door. Hank you stay with them as well," said Volcan. "Find the stairs and let's get to the dungeons, get Kage and the others and get out of here."

"Agreed. Let's go!" Luke exclaimed, looking at Minato. "Where were the signals you sensed?"

"This way." Minato answered, taking point and taking off toward the hallway on the far end of the foyer.

Tristan paced about the room as the others ran off into the nearby corridor. "Damn, what a letdown," he muttered. "I was really hoping they'd have a few more of those big bugs like the one I fought on that little island. Those guys can take a beating and put up a good fight."

"Perhaps so, but we are not here to engage in a scrap, my friend." Katsu remarked, putting his Seamitars away and falling down on all fours. "This is a rescue operation, and time is a luxury we do not possess."

"I agree with Katsumoto." Wade stated with a nod.

"Well I agree with the metal dumbass." Sol remarked snarkily, snorting a bit of smoke out of his nostrils. "It'd at least make this trip mildly entertaining to crack a few skulls..."

"Not sure if I should feel insulted he called me a dumbass or grateful he agreed with me," Tristan remarked as he turned to look out the door.

Then, his expression went blank. "Uh. Hank, are you casting any illusions?" He asked, looking over at the Zoroark who was standing by the far wall.

"Eh?" Hank turned his head to look at Tristan over his shoulder. "Uh... No? There ain't no reason fer me to cast an illusion, why do ya ask?"

"Then I must've hit my head pretty dang hard," said Tristan, rubbing his skull with a claw. "I could swear we came in right over there." He pointed over to the opposite wall at the front of the foyer, to the front door...

That was no longer there. The pieces of the door Tristan had knocked down still lay in shambles, but now all that remained was a flat stone wall.

"...Hold up, what the hell?" Hank remarked, tilting his head in confusion as he ran over to check on the wall, earning Katsu's, Wade's and Sol's attention as well. They were equally as confused as Hank was that the opening was now replaced with a solid wall, the Zoroark feeling along the texture with his claws.

"Ooookay, should I be freaked out right about now?" The Zoroark remarked as he backed away from the wall. "Cause I'm starting to feel a bit freaked out right now."

"What sorcery is this?" Katsu remarked as he went over to examine the wall for himself, placing his paw along its surface and rubbing it slowly.

"So I don't have a concussion then," said Tristan, walking over to the wall and running his claws over it. "How does a solid wall form when we only had our backs turned for-" he paused. "Wait..." he said before scratching the wall with his claws, flecks of sand falling away from the indent created by his claws. "That's... weird. This looks like sandstone - already a lousy choice for building material but it shouldn't be this brittle."

"If it's made of sandstone, then all we gotta do is either punch it or melt it with water." Sol remarked, already cracking his knuckles as he stepped toward the wall. "Move outta the way, dumbass. I'll _make_us a way out."

"Wait Sol, don't!!" Wade hollered, but his words fell on deaf ears.

With a mighty roar, Sol wound back his arm and threw his fist into the wall as hard as he could, his fist connecting with the wall heavily and causing the whole chamber to shake slightly. A cascade of sand fell from the wall when Sol struck it, and the Typhlosion received a shower of grains for his efforts, but a visible crack had appeared on the wall in front of them...

Only, as they watched, the crack disappeared, seemingly messing itself like an open wound after healing but many times faster, eventually reforming into the solid wall again. The five of them stepped back, astonished by what they had seen.

"Okay, Hank!" Tristan exclaimed. "You can start freaking out now! I'm right with ya!"

"I already fuckin' started!" Hank exclaimed, his claws already scratching his mane frantically. "The hell kinda wall just ups and _heals_itself from one of Sol's punches??" He demanded.

Wade started to get a feeling of trepidation in his gut, causing him to look cautiously at their surroundings and gulp nervously. "...I hate to be a negative nancy here, but... I'm starting to wonder if this foyer itself is the ambush..."

"Now yer just being stupid." Sol abrasively remarked, rubbing his punching fist and scoffing angrily. "If it's just gonna fix itself, then all we gotta do is hit it harder than it can fix itself. Simple."

"Oh yeah, that makes perfect sense," Tristan said sarcastically.

Down below, the others had reached the dungeon area, finding one guard at the door. A Dusclops, which was easily dispatched when they approached, and then Volcan kicked the door open when it turned out to be locked while Luke fetched the keys.

They ran into the cell block, and on the first one they found, they saw Kage lying in the corner, looking pale and malnourished. Luke was already at the gate, trying each key on the ring and hoping that one of them was the right one. However, Hageshi managed to bypass the door entirely by using Shadow Sneak to slip underneath the door and appear on the inside of the cell.

There, he approached his weakened father, kneeling before him and gently placing a hand along his cheek. The elder Greninja barely stirred, his head shifting slightly in Hageshi's hand, but other than that he was completely still. Hageshi grimaced at the sight, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before slipping his father's arm over his shoulders and slowly rising to his feet.

By then, Luke had managed to unlock the cell and slide the door open, quickly stepping in and examining Kage for himself. He gasped in horror when he saw how pale he was, holding a paw over his mouth as he stepped aside to allow Hageshi to bring him outside of the cell.

"My Lord Arceus... what have they done to him...?" Luke whimpered softly.

"Over here!" Lashanne called, waving to Luke for the keys as she stood outside a cell holding a tall, thin lizard, in a similar state as Kage. Luke immediately ran over to where Lashanne was, using the same key to unlock the cell and step inside, where he and Lashanne closely examined the lizard Pokemon. Like with Kage, this creature was almost as white as a sheet and heavily malnourished, but for the most part he was alive... if barely.

"Minato, take this one!" Lashanne bade her boyfriend as she and Luke, followed by Volcan, hurried to the next cell.

In the third cell they found a Weavile, his dark fur at first making him difficult to spot, but Lashanne thankfully did even in the dim light. Volcan had overshot the cell, checking the others, when he called out.

"Here! It's Shamshir!" He exclaimed as Lashanne unlocked the Weavile's cell and gave the keys to Luke.

Luke darted over the instant he had the keys, hastily unlocking the cell Volcan had found and stepping inside. However, after his first few steps, he suddenly recoiled and covered his nose, grunting and gagging as he tried to stop himself from upchucking the contents of his stomach.

"Ugh, damn! Why does it smell like maggots and mold in here?" He asked absently.

"No idea," said Volcan, rubbing his nostrils as he crossed the room to the Scizor, kneeling in front of him. "Sham-" Volcan started to say the Scizor's name.

He stopped mid-word, frozen in place. Volcan's expression shifted, slowly turning from concern to outright shock. He just knelt there, staring at the unresponsive Scizor's chest for several seconds when he pulled his head back, staring down at the Scizor's face this time. After another pause he turned his head and looked at Luke, despair apparent in his eyes.

Luke caught the despair in Volcan's eyes, at first his mind tried to deny it, but the longer he looked back at his fiance, the more the truth became apparent. His eyes drifted to Shamshir's chest, and there he saw the holes in the metal carapace of the Scizor, caked with blood that had dried to the point of crystallization. "...No," He whimpered softly, slowly shifting his gaze back to Shamshir. "It can't be... Please tell me they didn't!"

"I'm sorry, Luke," Volcan said, his voice breaking as he looked at the Scizor again. "He's gone..."

The others had gathered around Shamshir's cell by the time Volcan made his claim. Luke was already starting to whimper as tears rolled down his cheeks, his legs starting to turn to jelly as he struggled to stay standing.

"Damnit..." Minato whispered softly, closing his eyes and turning his head away before silently paying his respects to the fallen Scizor. Hageshi only stared at the Scizor with a neutral expression, having not known him personally, but out of respect for everyone around him, he uttered a small statement in his native tongue as a means of paying his own respects to Shamshir...

Volcan stood up, slowly, from Shamshir, staring down at him. Behind Luke, he felt Lashanne's paws rest on his shoulders, and the Delphox speaking as softly as he'd ever heard her.

"Come on, Luke... There's nothing else we can do," she said. "Let's save the ones we can."

"...Right." Luke whispered back, wiping his eyes with his arm and taking a moment to collect himself, turning away from Shamshir so that he didn't have another breakdown. "...We should at least bring him with us, so we can give him a proper burial when we get home."

"Agreed," said Volcan, kneeling down and bringing Shamshir's arm around his shoulders to pick him up. "We'll take him back to Torolf and the rest of his team." He stated as he carried the Scizor out of the cell. "Minato, take the lizard guy. Hageshi, your dad. Lashanne, the Weavile. Luke, lead the way. Let's get out of here."

"I couldn't agree more." Luke answered firmly, turning toward the stairway leading back up to the main floor and taking off toward it.

Hageshi followed close behind, having shifted Kage so that he was carrying him piggyback style, with Minato hoisting the strange lizard pokemon over his shoulders and giving chase himself. Lashanne carried the Weavile over her shoulder, holding him by his legs to keep him from sliding off as they climbed back up the stairs.

Halfway up however, was when the shaking began. The entire stairway seemed to quiver as they climbed, bringing them all to a stop as they looked around. "What's going on?" Volcan asked. "Is the place becoming unstable?"

"If so, then it picked a bad time to start collapsing in on itself," Hageshi remarked with a bit of a scowl.

Luke quickly tapped to his radio. "Doug, report! Can you see what's happening? Is the castle collapsing under its own weight?"

"...Boss, I... I'm not sure I believe what I'm even looking at right now..." Doug answered in a shaky, ominous tone. "It's as if the castle itself is... changing! Like, it's turning into something else entirely!"

"Changing how?" Volcan asked. "What's it turning into?"

"I don't know! That's the thing!!"_Doug exclaimed frantically. _"It looks like a castle still, but... call me crazy, but it almost looks like it's... alive!"

"...Okay you're _really_grasping at straws here, Doug!" Minato remarked. "How does a structure go from inanimate to sentient? It's impossible!!"

"Let's figure that out later! Right now we need to get out of here before we get buried!" Lashanne urged.

"Agreed. Let's go! Move!" Hageshi urged, practically pushing Luke forward and making him continue running up the stairs back to the main floor.

"What the hell is going on?!" Tristan demanded as more sand cascaded down from the ceiling above, the wall that had trapped them becoming soft like sand itself yet retaining a shape.

By all appearances it seemed like the castle was dissolving. Even with Sol punching it as hard and as fast as he could, whatever dent he created was covered up by more sand, reducing any progress he had made back to zero. With a scoff, he quickly backed away and rubbed his sore knuckles, then began charging a Fire Blast in his mouth and discharging it right at the wall.

To his annoyance, the wall only appeared to have been charred at best, and even then, it was quickly replaced by more sand falling from the ceiling below, causing the Typhlosion to feel the slightest twinge of panic starting to set in.

"Okay, _now_I'm starting to get pissed off!" The Typhlosion growled, trying to mask his growing panic with more anger.

"Perhaps I should have a turn!" Katsu stated, drawing his Seamitars and pointing them both ahead of him. He started to gather copious amounts of water at the tips of his blades, similar to how Sol performed his Blast Burn, and roared out furiously before discharging a powerful Hydro Cannon at the wall, bombarding it with a blast of torrential high pressure water.

The water exploded outward as it struck the wall, which darkened rapidly with moisture, becoming mud. But rather than fall away from the wall, it remained a solid surface. However, the structure did shudder, and the group heard what sounded very much like a growl. An angry one, reverberating through the interior.

"Somebody please tell me that was their stomach." Tristan said.

"I wish that was that hungry, Lunkhead." Hank answered, biting his bottom lip as he instinctively rubbed his stomach with his claw.

"...That came from the castle itself!" Wade surmised, looking around at the walls and ceiling changing all around them. "It's alive! It has to be! That's the only explanation to why this is all happening!"

"A living castle!" Tristan barked. "What's next, a floating teapot?!"

At that moment, the others emerged into the foyer, bearing multiple additional faces - among them Kage, pale and gaunt on Hageshi's back, drawing looks of alarm from his teammates. Especially Wade, who quickly rushed over to Hageshi and took a closer look at his master, horrified by his condition.

"What happened to him?" He asked.

"I can't explain the skin condition, but he is incredibly malnourished. They didn't treat their prisoners very well when they kept them here." Hageshi answered quickly. "That hardly matters right now, Wade. We must escape this place, now."

"Where the hell is our exit?" Lashanne demanded, a Weavile over her shoulder as she looked in shock at the wall where the door once was.

"Well, it was over there!" Hank hollered, pointing at the wall where the doors once stood. "But now it's become some giant wall that keeps fixing itself despite what we throw at it. Not even Sol could punch a hole through it, and when Kats tried blasting it with water it just... moaned! Like it somehow felt that blast!"

"I think we can safely deduce that, whatever this structure is, it's clearly alive." Wade answered. "There's no other explanation. It's keeping us here, of it's own choice!"

"But how? The only Auras I sensed when I scanned the place were the sentries patrolling the upper floors! How come I didn't pick up on the signature of this place?" Luke asked, frantic with confusion.

"Everyone!" Serena's voice suddenly came over the radios. "The castle! Jora recognizes it - she called it a Palossand! It's a sand spirit that feeds on the life force of other Pokémon after trapping them! Worse yet, its eyes- I think it's a Shadow Pokemon!"

"Sand spirit?" Volcan echoed, then looked at Luke, a spark of realization in his gaze. "No wonder you and Minato couldn't see it - it must be a Ghost-type!"

"It may also be a Ground-type as well!" Katsu proclaimed. "It reacted quite heavily to my Hydro Cannon when I fired it at the wall. Perhaps if we pool our powers together, we can make an exit ourselves and make good our escape!"

"It's worth a shot." Luke concurred with a nod. "Everyone, power up your strongest special attack. If you have a move that is strong against it, use it! We need to break out of here before it starts feeding off of us!"

The group formed a line by the opposing wall, trudging through the rapidly softening ground. Volcan took the Weavile for Lashanne, allowing her to take a spot as well with the group.

"Haven't used this in a long time but, let's see," Lashanne commented, brandishing her wand as a globe of shadowy energy formed at the tip. A Shadow Ball.

Hank stood at her side, also powering up a Shadow Ball himself since his Night Daze was an area of effect attack and would likely affect his allies as well as the Pallosand. Tristan stood at their left, powering up a Flash Cannon. Luke stood at the center, charging up a Dragon Pulse in his paws and holding it at the ready, with Katsu on his left powering up another Hydro Cannon and Wade on his right creating his Water Shuriken. Hageshi also prepared a Scald attack of his own, with Sol bringing up the rear with a Solarbeam charging between his paws.

"On three!" Luke hollered to his allies. "One... two..._THREE!!"_He roared before discharging his attack.

The others followed suit, sending the barrage of attacks to hammer the wall that separated them from their escape route. The mud and sand stubbornly held its shape for most of the barrage before finally giving way and revealing an opening. A shrill, agonized scream now filled the halls as the creature felt the onslaught, nearly deafening them with the volume.

"Guys, whatever you did, it worked! That Pallossand REALLY felt it! Doug called to them through their radios from wherever he was outside.

Tristan took a step forward. "Whoo! Score one for the- _gyaaah!"_Tristan suddenly screamed as he rapidly sank into the sandy floor, as though whatever solid surface he had been standing on had been yanked out from under him and exposed a hole under the sand. Almost immediately, he was dragged down to his chest, the sands swirling around his body.

"Tristan!" Minato hollered, stepping forward and extending a paw toward the Aggron as he settled at his chest in the sands swirling around him. "Hurry and grab my paw!!"

"Trying! I'm being pulled under!" The Aggron exclaimed, waving his arms.

At almost the same time, Minato felt the sand at his own feet stirring, making him look down and gasp in shock as he saw sand was pooling around his feet as well, trapping him and pulling him slowly into the ground. "What the hell?!"

At that moment, everyone started to feel the same sensation. The sand they stood on had gathered around their feet and began to slowly pull them into the floor, almost as if it were liquefied by some unknown force.

"As shit! The floor's turning to quicksand!" Hank hollered as he frantically tried to step out of the shifting sands.

"This must be how it consumes its prey!" Wade remarked, trying to use his Seamitars to dig his way out.

"Very astute of you to notice, Wade!" Hageshi remarked condescendingly, earning him a scowl from the younger Samurott.

"No, No NO!! We were so close!!" Luke exclaimed, trying to blast Force Palms down into the sand to try and blast it away enough that he could step out of it, but his efforts bore no fruit. The sand quickly gathered at his feet whenever he blasted it away and continued to pull him into their sandy depths. "Damnit! It's the West Continent all over again!!"

"Only this time it's not an accident!" Volcan exclaimed, trying to lift his legs out of the sand as it pooled. He nearly lost his hold on the Weavile, forced to let go of Shamshir's body for balance and to avoid being dragged down by it.

The group fought against the sand trap with all their strength, desperately looking for handholds or solid objects they could use, but the featureless lobby had no such items for them, and the walls had completely dissolved from the fake brickwork, back into sand. Any attempt to grab the walls only left a fistful of sand, and nothing to gain any leverage.

"Anyone else... Feel tired?" Lashanne asked, a paw on her head as she swooned. "Feels like I just came off a run..."

"I do..." Sol admitted, his eyes fluttering heavily as his struggles started to wane a little. "Fuck, why do I feel like I just... Came out of an intense workout?"

"It's the Palossand..." Hageshi remarked, struggling to hold his father behind him as he too started to feel fatigued. "It's... Begun to feed, to keep us from getting out."

"Oh, great... We get to drown... and get our energy siphoned away?" Hank asked sarcastically.

The effects were already showing on Tristan, whose struggles had become weaker, to the point he was barely moving even though the sand was now up to his shoulders. Despite his growing weakness, Katsu began to trudge through the quicksand and grabbed at Tristan's arm, growling as he leaned back and began trying to pull the Aggron out. He grunted and strained himself as hard as he could, trying to power through his increasing fatigue to try and save his friend, but his efforts were in vain, and he only sank down to his thighs as a result of his efforts.

"C-Come, Tristan! Do not give up yet!" He bellowed to the Aggron. "We... will find a way out... ! We always do!"

Tristan replied with no more than a groan, not even lifting his head. Everyone else could feel the effects worsening as the sand took them deeper, churning and compacting itself to trap them as they descended. The Palossand was not going to ever let them go...

They had been baited with their comrade, and Calhoun used a creature so massive as to seem impossible. He'd even planned for the presence of an Aura Master, ensuring that they would have no way whatsoever to see their trapper until it was too late.

"D...Damnit!" Luke moaned out, struggling to keep his eyes open as he descended to his waist, no longer having the strength to struggle anymore and letting his arms fall into the churning sands. "W...We walked right into it.... And we were none the wiser..."

"Guys! Guys what's going on in there??" Eagle Eye squawked through their earpieces, the Talonflame having been flying overhead the entire time the change had occurred. "Gimme a sit-rep! Why's this thing suddenly moving as if it were alive??"

"That's because it technically is alive!" Doug chimed in. "Jora said this thing's a Pokemon, and that it feeds off of anyone that steps foot inside of its structure!!"

"Well, can't you do something about it, Mole Man?? You're the Demo expert here, can't you just... Condemn the thing??"

"I can't! It's structure is too soft to shake properly, and it'll just reform itself if I do!!" Doug answered. "Boss! Volcan! W-What should I do??"

Luke could not offer an answer. He looked back to Volcan, seeing if he had any idea, but the Blaziken could offer even less. He had weakened too much, to the point he had dropped the Weavile, unable to hold him up anymore, and the unconscious captive rested atop the sand, slowly being drawn in as his would-be rescuers were, while Volcan stood panting for breath. Already, he looked weak...

"Guys!! Talk to me!!" Doug tried one more time to raise them, but no one offered any response. _"Gaaaah, damnit all!!"_He hollered as he cut his feed.

From outside, the Dugtrio vanished into the ground, digging his way through the sand and using his tectonic senses to navigate through the sand until he was underneath the Pallossand, out of range of its feeding zone.

He felt the first of his comrades fall under the sand above. Tristan had been the first to sink completely under the surface as he was the deepest when the Pallossand started feeding. Mustering up all of his strength, the Dugtrio used Earth Power to change the direction of Tristan's descent, slowly moving him sideways through the depths of the beach until he was outside of the Pallossand. He then used Earth Power again to push the unconscious Aggron back up onto the surface before he popped out himself, panting heavily as he rested his three heads against the drained Aggron next to him.

"You... really... need to... lose some weight...." He remarked absently as he caught his breath.

His efforts though, he knew, were futile... He couldn't get everyone, not before they succumbed.

Back inside, the others had all been drawn down to their stomachs respectively in the shifting quicksand, most of them having given up struggling from how drained they were. Hank looked lazily at the spot where Tristan once was, thinking he had succumbed to the Pallossand and began tilting his head back, the sand starting to crawl up to his chest.

"F...Fuck... So this is how it ends..." Was all he could manage to say, his body going completely limp as he was the next to go down, sucking in a weak breath before his head went under.

Minato still had a little fight left in him despite his condition, having slowly trudged his way over to Lashanne reaching out to grab at her and save her from sharing his fate. She saw him coming and reached out to him, managing to catch his paw, but a defeated look remained on her face, knowing her end was coming.

"C...C'mon..." He moaned, still pulling her toward him and still trying to pull her out despite both of them being bogged down to their chests. "I'm not.... Losing you...to this freak of nature...." He growled defiantly, but despite his claim, he could do nothing to save his beloved, and soon they too disappeared under the surface of the sand, left to drown and have their life force absorbed.

Hageshi was next to go under, forced to release his Father earlier from the fatigue brought on by the Pallossand and watch him sink into the quicksand next to him. Knowing there was nothing more he could do, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, accepting his fate and letting himself sink at an accelerated rate due to his surrender. Wade watched in horror as his rival succumbed to the sands, instinctively reaching out to try and grab him before he went under, but his paw splashed into the churning quicksand just short of the Greninja, and with that last act, he lost his remaining strength and was slowly being consumed himself.

"R...Ray..." He whispered weakly. "T-Take care... Of our dear Yaiba..." He whispered before he too vanished without a trace.

"Sol! Sol, quickly! You can use my power to escape this predicament and save your friends!!" Reshiram exclaimed to Sol as he sat neck deep in the sands, having all but given up his struggles.

"Lady.... Just... shut up, will ya...?" Sol moaned, tilting his head over toward Volcan and shooting him a regretful look. "Hey, Cap... Fer what it's worth..." He began, spitting out some sand that had gotten into his mouth before he tilted his head back to speak once more. "I'm sorry.... Fer all the trouble I caused...."

"S-Sol... hang on..." Volcan tried to say, but he couldn't get the words out before Sol went under.

He turned to Luke with tired eyes, seeing his betrothed had pushed his way over to him. Volcan reached out and managed to get hold of Luke's paw. His grip was so weak he barely held on.

"Love... I'm sorry..." Volcan whispered, panting heavily.

"It's... not fair...!" Luke whimpered back, tilting his head back as the quicksand crawled up his neck, being shorter than Volcan. "We... were finally... going... to get married..." He added, tears running down his cheeks.

Volcan held on for as long as he could, desperation allowing him to keep his grip and pull Luke back up until the Blaziken's eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out from exertion, falling into the sand just in arm's reach of Luke. The Lucario whimpered sadly as he watched his betrothed fall under the sands, watching his hand wave feebly for any sort of purchase before it followed after the Blaziken. With that, Luke finally surrendered. He tilted his head back and let the sands consume him until there was no trace of him left.

Katsu was the last remaining member left afloat. His mighty strength and monstrous stamina allowing him to struggle against the pull of the quicksand longer than the others, but as he sat chest deep himself, he too was quickly reaching his limit. His strength was failing him, and he was panting heavily from the exhaustion seeping in. In his mind, there was only one thing he could do now, slowly raising a trembling arm and reaching for his radio within his shellmet.

"S...Serena... " He called out to the Vaporeon aboard the airship. "My dear, sweet maiden... I'm afraid we are done for... Our comrades have fallen... and soon I shall fall too..." He began somberly, turning his head toward the gaping hole they had made earlier, looking on at the airship outside. "You must... travel to Hadleigh... Report our findings to the Council...Let them know of our enemy's intentions...!"

"Katsumoto!" Serena, on the verge of tears, cried into the microphone held in her paws. "Don't give up! W-we'll find a way to reach you! I'll come down and-"

"S-Stay where you are!" Katsu practically commanded her."If you try to assist me... You will become consumed by the monster as well. I cannot allow that!" He firmly stated to his beloved. "It pains me, to have to leave you like this... But I can perish knowing that I gave it my all to not only protect the innocent, but to protect the woman who stole my heart.You.... Gave my life... such joy, and for that you have my deepest gratitude..."

She could hear the hissing of the sand slowly drawing him deeper to his demise, and the choked gasps of her beloved Samurott as he struggled to keep his head above the surface. "F...Fare thee well...my beloved maiden of the seas....I... love... you..." Were his last words before the hissing grew so loud that it sounded as if she were hearing static coming from his end.

From within the large castle, she could see the Samurott's paw weakly grasping for any sort of purchase, anything to pull himself out, but it was a futile effort, and his arm slowly disappeared into the Pallossand's depths to be devoured and drained of his life energy. "Katsumoto!" She cried desperately, dropping the radio and standing by the railing horrified, tears flowing freely down her cheeks now.

"C-Can't either of you do anything?" Toby demanded, panicking as he looked between Eagle Eye and Jora.

"Even combined, we could not even hurt it!" Jora replied. "Not before it consumes them! It's too big!"

"Even our strongest attacks wouldn't do crap!" Eagle Eye squawked, his head already dipped low as he struggled to hold his own tears in. "A-And if I flew too close... it'd just nab me too..."

"I-I'm... Tapped out from saving this beast already..."_Doug piped up, still panting as he struggled to recover his strength. _"I'm sorry, guys..."

"It can't end like this!" Serena wailed, already jumping onto the railing. She looked ready to jump off, to run to save her treasured friends and beloved Katsumoto.

Jora let out a call, and a pair of massive paws caught Serena before she could jump off the ship. Koa held her back as she struggled, but even he could barely hold her in her desperation. She kicked, struck with her tail and even tried butting him In the chest with her head, but he held firm.

"No, I can't lose them like this!" She sobbed, turning her gaze to the sky. "You saved them once. You saved all of us once, when Lugia came to our aid!" She said, seemingly to no one. "Hear me, gods of the world! I beg of you, save them again! I can't lose them - they are all I have left!" She finally stopped struggling against Koa, hanging limply in his arms as she cried, begging for help that was likely never to be heard.

But then, from the other direction, the sun suddenly intensified in brightness, casting them in shadow with the incandescent glow at their back. There was then a howl that had them all turning to look in the direction it had come from. The howl was familiar to Eagle Eye in particular. He had only been half awake when he had heard it, but few could forget a call like that - full of ferocity and might.

".No way... No freaking way!" The Talonflame squawked, quickly taking off into the air and soaring in the direction the howl came from. He nearly fell from the sky when he saw the unmistakable silhouette of the Trident racing toward the island, and at its bow stood the all too familiar form of a Mega Houndoom who leapt off the bow as the boat ran aground, landing on all fours and running toward the Palossand in full sprint.

"R-ROMULUS???" Eagle Eye screamed.

The screech was so loud that everyone else heard it from the airship and the beach respectively. Doug in particular stiffened at the sound of Eagle Eye screeching out the Houndoom's name, all three of his heads turning toward the ocean and staring at the vessel rapidly approaching their location. "No fucking way!!" He exclaimed in pure, dumbfounded shock.

Further shock found them all when the Mega Houndoom skidded to a halt, and suddenly let loose the biggest Solarbeam he probably ever had from his maw. The beam was so large, its green hue lit up the beach, bathing Doug and the entiree airship in its light as it passed overhead. It struck the giant Palossand directly, and the entire center structure of its body, from the tip of its tower down to where there had once been a door, was blown apart.

A deafening scream of agony filled the air, the Palossand's tower like arms flailing as its central structure reformed from the sand around the beach. Its red eyes, filling the holes that had once been windows, fixed upon Romulus. It charged, moving toward him, and raised one of its arms to strike at him. Beside Romulus, Revane appeared, rising out of the ground itself. The Dusknoir spreading out his hands, which swelled in size as he caught the falling sand tower between them. Sand fell over the two liked a waterfall as it fell loose from the tower, but both of them stood their ground.

From the opposite side, Phanto the Gengar, also Mega Evolved like Romulus, emerged from the shadow of the Palossand, already bearing a massive Shadow Ball between his arms. He attacked, the Palossand recoiled, and Romulus hit it again with a second Solarbeam, point blank this time. The central tower body was completely obliterated, the tower arms collapsing into piles of sand while the Solarbeam cut directly into the cliff face behind where the Palossand had once stood, posing as a castle, with only a sea of disturbed sand to mark it had ever existed at all.

In the cliff face, a black gouge had been created by the Solarbeam, and even as they watched chunks of the ridge above fell into the newly opened space, showering down to the now vacant space below.

"Such power..." Jora said, breathlessly, completely taken aback by the might of Romulus.

"He ain't the boss of Gladiator for nothing," Toby remarked, eyes wide and paws holding the railing fearfully. "You don't mess with Romulus."

Doug could only watch in silent awe as Team Phobia easily dispatched the Palossand, only shaking out of his stupour when they gathered before the pile of sand that was once the corrupted sand castle.

He heard footsteps approaching, and spun all three of his heads around to look at the Houndoom as he passed. "...I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but damn am I glad to see you guys." He remarked.

"Don't thank us yet," said Romulus as he and the ghosts approached the sand pile. "Help us find your friends, before it is too late."

Revane once again expanded his hands to a gargantuan size, reaching into the sand and scooping out a large handful, letting some of it cascade through his fingers and revealing several of the entrapped rescue team members in his grasp. He slowly lowered them to the ground, letting them fall between his hands one after the other, before turning his attention back to the sand and repeating the gesture.

Among those extracted by Revane was Luke, lying beside his unconscious betrothed. Unconscious but alive, and Luke himself was beginning to come around. He started blinking his eyes a few times when he felt light hit his face, groaning weakly and turning onto his side, coughing hoarsely and spitting out a mouthful of sand. When his eyes fell upon Volcan, he immediately shot awake and pushed himself up onto his paws, his arms trembling as he fell on top of Volcan and pulled him into his lap.

"Volcan!! Volcan!!" The Lucario cried down at his fiance, then placed his ear over the Blaziken's chest. His heart was beating, and Luke felt his chest rise as the Blaziken took in a breath.

The Lucario sighed with relief, relaxing and falling back to his side with his Blaziken still in his arms. With the adrenaline subsided and his betrothed safe, he then started to wonder how he was suddenly out on the beach and not drowning in the Palossand's vast sea of soul sucking quicksand.

"...Weren't we-?" He thought out loud, turning his head as much as it would allow while laying on his side, trying to figure out just how he was still alive.

A shadow fell over him then, and a familiar voice filled his ears. "So, Luke," they said. The Lucario turned over, and lifted his head to find himself staring up at a face he knew well - altered only slightly by the more rugged features and upright horns brought on by Mega Evolution.

"Shall we finish the conversation we began in Azure, or should I just anticipate you will go for my throat again?"

~~~~~

The team was successfully extracted from the sand pile and hurriedly tended to. Romulus had not come alone - with him was an entire regiment of volunteers from the guilds, who were quick to provide medical care to the previously imprisoned team members. One by one, they all came around, finding themselves being looked after by strangers, but accompanied by the faces of Team Phobia.

Luke and Romulus sat together, out of earshot from anyone else, though no words were being shared between them yet. Romulus sat patiently, waiting for Luke to speak and keeping his eyes on the ongoing operations. He had since devolved back to the form of an ordinary Houndoom, but even to Luke who had seen him many times he remained ever-imposing.

It was as much out of concern as spite that Luke was reluctant to speak. Eventually though, he found his voice, clearing his throat and opening his mouth to speak.

"...I'm honestly surprised you even bothered to come all this way to save us, given what happened the last time we spoke." The Lucario started, averting his gaze away from Romulus. "I guess I should thank you, despite my... well, I guess resentment would be the most accurate term to use right now."

"I always intended to come, Luke," he replied without looking at him. "With or without you, I was making the arrangements to mount a rescue for Kage and the others. I had no intention of leaving them in the hands of the Crusade, not without at least trying to bring them home."

At that, Luke turned his gaze back to Romulus, a look of mild shock present on his face as he regarded the Houndoom. "Wait, you... You were actually going to come save Kage regardless?" He asked, then frowned. "If that's the case, why did you even bother to stop in Azure in the first place? If you had taken initiative and brought Kage back yourself, maybe I wouldn't have exploded on you like I did back then... At least I could have seen you had taken initiative to make up for this transgression."

"I was waiting for reinforcements," he said, finally turning to look at Luke, his expression neutral. "I had time enough to come to see you, and invite you along to save your teammate, while we tried to prepare ourselves for the Crusade's trap. A trap which we knew was waiting for us." His eyes narrowed. "All of which, I intended to explain."

Luke's expression fell aghast at the revelation, his shoulders slumping slightly as he stared back at Romulus in utter shock. "You knew the whole time?"

"Why else would they keep them alive, but to bait their enemies into an unfavourable position?" Romulus asked. "It is an old, but effective strategy, especially against somone who takes action based on emotions, rather than logical thought."

Luke scowled, feeling a retort welling up in his throat. But he held it back, slowly lowering his gaze to the ground, his ears flattening in shame and disappointment in himself. "You knew, and in my anger I didn't even give you a chance to explain... We fell right into the enemy's trap, all because of me, and I nearly lost _everyone_as a result." He sniffed, but dared not allow himself to cry in that moment. This was a moment of learning, and it was a lesson he needed to learn, now that he understood the Houndoom's true intentions.

Luke sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out before daring to face Romulus again. "...I owe you much more than an apology, Romulus."

Romulus shut his eyes as he answered, his tone relaxed and as gentle as likely he could make it with how deep his voice was. "I know how much you resent me, Luke. And after what I did, I understand," he said, opening his eyes and looking ahead again the crews as they walked. "My words may not be enough to convince you, but we both want the same thing. Justice, and an end to this crisis."

"We just have different means of seeking out that justice. Yours just happens to be more... direct and, admittedly, ruthless." Luke remarked sadly, looking out at the remains of the Palossand scattered across the cove.

"It was the Palossand, or you and your friends, Luke," said Romulus. "I did not have time to explore another option, once I knew where you all were."

"I know, I know," Luke replied, letting out another sigh. He regretted that the Palossand had to be destroyed, but considering the alternative, and the nature of the creatures as it was, he wasn't sure that even he could say that Romulus had been wrong to do so.

"I'm... not sure if I can forgive you for what you did to me at the Council, Romulus, but knowing that you fully intended to right the wrong you committed by organizing this rescue operation to save my friend... I can't hate you for that." He added. "And for saving me, and everyone who I care about, thank you. I'm truly sorry for how I reacted back at my Mother's house."

"All is forgiven, Luke," he assured the Lucario. "I am also sorry for what I did to you. But that wrong, and this mistake," he gestured ahead. "I won't be making again." He stopped to let out another huff. "I've resigned from the council, and returned to active duty as a Rescue Team Captain. This mission was my last executive order."

"Glad to have you back on the field, I suppose." Luke answered with a weak chuckle, looking back toward the pile of sand that was once their imminent demise. "With that being said, if this experience has taught me anything..." He lifted his paw and looked at it for a moment, then clenched it tightly. "...It's that we're not ready to face Calhoun the way we are. We nearly died because of my negligence as a Team Captain, and that is something I can't allow to pass ever again."

"Temperance is a difficult lesson to learn," said Romulus. "You must learn to think with your head first, and sometimes put your heart last." He grimaced. "Just don't allow your heart to turn to stone, as mine has."

Before Luke could speak up, there was a shout from the crowd ahead, spurring both captains to attention. A form was being extracted from the sand, and Luke's heart sank as he recognized the body of Shamshir being lifted out, laid out upon the ground. The churning sands had scratched his already lusterless body, but thankfully had not damaged him beyond recognition.

They sat in silence for a moment, before Luke caught something out of the corner of his eye. He looked at Romulus, and was shocked to see the fur below his eyes had become dampened, a tear escaping the fur to drop to the ground below as he stared at the body of Shamshir. His expression was unchanged, but nothing could fake those tears...

"..Romulus..." Luke whispered softly, daring to lift a paw and rub it against the Houndoom's cheek to wipe away the tears. "You're... crying."

Romulus let out a huff, and the curl of a smile appeared on his face. "Perhaps... Not as stone as I thought," he said, sniffing. "I sent a noble warrior to his death..." he added with a shake of his head.

"...Yes," Luke whispered softly, turning his gaze down toward Shamshir's corpse, his paws clenching at his sides tightly. "...But he wouldn't want us dwelling over his death like this. He knew the risks when he agreed to this mission, as did Kage and the others." He said firmly. "The best thing we can do to honour him is to keep pressing forward, to stop Calhoun and his Dark Crusade once and for all."

He then looked at Romulus again. "But to do that... we need to cooperate. We can't beat him by ourselves, but together, we can send him packing."

"Agreed," he said, wiping his eyes with the back of his paw and letting out a sigh. He turned to look at Luke. "I will return his body to Team Warmachine. It is the least I owe him, and them." He lifted his head, raising his voice. "Zofia! Voltner!" He bellowed.

At the call of their names, the two spiders raced over. "Wrap Shamshir's body in a cocoon. Do what you can to preserve it until we get him home."

"On it, boss," Voltner replied as he and the Ariados headed to Shamshir's body to carry out the order.

"If I may ask you to," Romulus went on, looking at Luke once again "Do you mind taking the other operatives back to Hadleigh? They will require a debriefing and some extended hospital time, then they too can go home. They've earned a rest."

"I'll run it by Volcan first, but I think we might be able to manage. Thankfully we managed to pick up some extra food supplies from an island not far from here." Luke explained with a nod. "I'll also need to take a moment to inform my team about my thoughts on our current combat readiness, and..." He paused as he glanced back at Romulus. "...As well as formally announce my wedding."

Romulus lifted his head at that and looked at Luke with mild surprise. His expression relaxed, and he said. "My congratulations to you." Then, he stood up from his seated position, turning to face Luke fully. "Until next time, Captain Luke." He said with a bow of his head.

"See you on the front lines, Captain Romulus." Luke answered, lifting his paw and formally saluting the Houndoom in return. "Stay safe out there, or else it might be me pulling you out of a Palossand's grasp next time." He added with a wink and a smirk.

Romulus smirked back. "I'll be sure not to make any half-cocked plans to a hostile island in the near future," he replied before turning to walk away.

Luke stared after him, his expression blank as it dawned on him the meaning behind Romulus' words. As it sunk in, Luke frowned, ears lowering as he grimaced. "...Yea." He said. "I deserved that."