FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The town of Berrymoore, a small agrarian town not far from Azure, had been suffering multiple storm cells over the past several weeks, with violent lightning strikes raining down upon the town, the plantation from which it made its living, and had injured multiple people. Perhaps more surprising to Minato was that it was not the only listing reporting these events. Several other neighbouring communities, almost exclusively farm or produce-related, had been hit by the same storm cell, and reported that the anomalous weather condition was not dispersing.

Somehow, it was visiting the towns time and again, always foretold by the coming of dark, swirling clouds. No rain, very little thunder. Just lightning, striking everything in its path. The people were understandably convinced that the cell was not natural, and were calling for both relief aid and protection, believing the storm cell to be fed by a powerful electric-type Pokémon gone rogue. Minato returned to his team with the listing, calling everyone to meet, and showed it to them.

"I can see why they think it's a Pokémon causing it," said Lashanne after reading the job report. "No other explanation for a storm cell that seems to be hanging out over one area for days on end. Electrical storms don't typically last that long, and they certainly don't visit the same places over and over again."

"So, we're gonna go have a look then?" Tristan asked.

"We are," said Volcan. "If it is some Pokémon gone rogue, then these people will need our help. But if it's an Electric-type, we'll have to plan accordingly." He looked at Serena as he continued. "We'll have to keep you in reserve for healing; it'd be dangerous to pit you against an electric-type."

Serena nodded in agreement. "Understood," she said, "but, I must express a concern. If the storm cell is being fed by Pokémon, be it one or many, to generate and maintain their own stormfront would require tremendous energy."

"Yeah, Serena has a point," agreed Lashanne, "we may need some heavy-duty backup here." She looked at Sol and flashed him a smile, "Good thing we have our artillery, eh big fella?"

Sol scoffed in response; arms crossed over his chest. "Please, with me on your side, I'm all yer gonna need. I don't care if it is one or many, I'll incinerate them to ashes before they even get a chance ta strike."

"Glad to see you're raring to go," Minato remarked with a smirk. "Still, we can't afford to be careless, remember? This may be unrelated to the main crisis at hand, but we shouldn't just rush in without some idea on what we're up against."

Sol snorted. "I don't need to be reminded of that," he growled.

"Lashanne's right. We'll probably want some backup here," said Volcan, rubbing his chin in thought, "Electric-types are tricky; they only have one weakness. I'm thinking we should make this another joint op with Luke's team, particularly with Doug."

"What about Luke himself?" Lashanne added. "He knows Bone Rush, and most Electric-types are damn quick. We could probably use him to even the scales."

"She's got a point. His Bone Rush and mine should even the odds in our favour, and considering Luke's pretty much the fastest one among us..." He went on, rubbing his chin in thought. "Doug could also be useful with Arena Trap ability and other Ground type moves..."

"Arena trap could certainly help," said Volcan, nodding, "it's worked before. Alright then. Minato, Sol, it'll be you and me. Serena along for support. Lashanne and Tristan, you'll be sitting this one out."

"Wait, you're leaving me behind?" Tristan asked. "But I got the strongest Ground-type attack here!"

"Unfortunately, Tristan, you're too slow," replied Volcan. "These guys will run circles around you. More so, even if you are our shield, you're stronger against physical attacks. Three-quarters of all electric-types known the world over are Special Attackers, so they'd be hitting you where it hurts."

Tristan huffed. "Dang... been a while since I got left curbside."

"And why am I staying behind?" Lashanne asked, paws on her hips.

"With Luke and I gone, someone's gotta be in charge," replied Volcan. "Kage may have more experience but let's be frank, Lashanne - you're the smartest person here, and you have way more personality."

"Well one of those is definitely true," replied Lashanne, lowering her paws from her hips.

"Er... which one? The smart, or the personality?" Tristan asked.

"Yes," the Delphox replied with a cheeky grin.

Tristan blinked. "Okay, now I'm lost..."

Both Sol and Minato had to cover their mouths in an attempt to hold in their laughter, but ultimately, they burst out laughing at Tristan's expense. Sol holding his sides and Minato slapping his knee repeatedly as they struggled to regain their composure.

"And here I thought you couldn't be any more stupid!" The Typhlosion exclaimed.

Minato quickly swung his arm around Lashanne's shoulders and nuzzled between her ears. "Dear lord, that was good... I think we all deserved a good laugh."

Tristan huffed. "Yeah, as usual it seems I end up the butt-monkey for every joke," he muttered. "Should've been born a Primeape to make that more official."

Volcan clapped Tristan on the shoulder. "Only 'cuz we love ya, big guy," he said. "You'll be on the next mission, so long as it's suitable."

Tristan nodded. "Right."

"Volcan," Serena piped up. "If we're going up against Electric-types that can generate a storm front, we may need someone who can disperse it, in case it goes out of control when the assailants are dealt with. Might I suggest we include Lighris in this mission as well? It's well-known Zapdos have power over storm cells."

"You could use him for air cover too," said Lashanne, "He'd be a better choice than Eagle Eye, given the circumstances."

Volcan grimaced. "It'd be risky... Lighris proved himself capable in Hadleigh but not without a rocky start," he said, looking at Minato for his opinion.

"If he's smart, he'll have learned from his mistakes during our mission at Hadleigh," Minato firmly stated. "So long as he understands he needs to listen to our orders, then I say we'll need him for this."

"You underestimate just how stubborn he can be. But, I'll have a talk with him," said Volcan. "First, let's get Luke and Doug, then we'll get my brother."

"Alright then. If we're done here, let's head back to Azure," Minato stated..

"So, how far away is this Berrymoore?" Serena asked.

"Maybe Luke knows. If he doesn't, we'll grab a map," replied Volcan, "Alright. Everybody go get ready, I'll go get Luke and Doug. Meet at my place soon as you have anything you need."

When Volcan got to his house, he explained everything to Luke about the mission and their plans for it, and their idea to bring him and Doug along since it was likely the attacks involved at least one Electric-type. Though Luke was more skeptical when he brought up the idea to bring Lighris to assist in the mission.

"The last time Lighris came along, he was a loose cannon while under Eagle Eye's command. He didn't start listening to us until after you were rendered comatose from Nendranos' attack," Luke pointed out firmly. "Who's to say he won't pull the same stunt again this time around?"

"I'm hoping to keep him straight while he's with us," replied Volcan. "But I want him along for caution's sake. Nobody has actually seen what Pokémon is causing these attacks. Could be something just as strong as him, or it could be several of them working in a group - fact is, we don't really know what we're getting into." He shrugged. "Loose cannon or not, he's one of the strongest assets we have."

Luke let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead with his paw, carefully weighing the situation in his mind. "...He needs to understand that whenever he's working with us, he has to follow our every command without question." He remarked firmly. "If we tell him to hold back, he holds back. If we need to retreat, he needs to understand _why_we're retreating and do so without question." He added, gently touching Volcan's chest with his paw. "Think you can make sure he understands that, love?"

"I'll certainly try," he promised with a nod.

"Alright then," Luke relented. "I'll see if I can ask Mother or Degra to look after Ignus while we're away. Once that's done, I'll inform Doug of the mission and meet you back here."

"Okay. I won't be long," he said before turning to head out the door again, off to find his brother...

The group gathered at Volcan and Luke's house as planned. Volcan arrived with Lighris in tow, the Zapdos hobbling along after him on legs not overly meant for walking. He had to crouch low to set his balance as he moved, but he managed. Luke, Doug, Serena, Sol and Minato were all waiting for them when they arrived, Lighris giving a nod of greeting to Minato.

"Hey blademaster," he said. "Sup?"

"Oh, you know, balancing work life with home life and training, making sure our son stays strong and educated and all," He answered with a shrug. "Same shit, different day."

Lighris nodded. "I hear ya. How is Caulin, and yer new lady?" He asked with a smirk on the second question.

"Well Caulin's made a new friend recently, so there's that," replied Minato, then smirked right back at the Zapdos. "As for Lashanne? Well, she keeps me on my toes a lot, but hey, it's working out so far."

Lighris nodded. "Good to hear it's going well, between you and the lady who knocked you flat on your arse," he teased, "and yeah, I heard about that."

"I'd rather take a punch to the cheek than what you apparently endured during your time in Hadleigh," he countered right back, his smirk broadening into a challenging grin.

"Oooookay! Let's not get too excited here!" Doug piped up, moving between the two in case they decided to get into an argument. "Maybe we should save the enthusiasm for when we're actually fighting the bad guys. How's that sound?"

Sol smirked and snorted a little smoke from his nostrils. "I dunno. I'd pay good money to see these two go at each other's throats..."

Lighris chuckled. "We're just bantering, Triplett. I've known Minato almost as long as Volcan has. We get along well enough."

"Doug's right though. We need to focus," Luke stepped in. "This is serious business, and we need to be at our best if we're going to get to the bottom of this."

"Right. Way I hear it, we got some rogues causing havoc for some farmers," said Lighris, rising in his feet to his full height. "That about sum it up?"

"More or less," replied Volcan,"And we don't know what we're heading into. Could be a bunch of pranksters feeding a cell that got out of control or it could be one of the Weather Trio is around and feeling pissy. Either way, that's why we're bringing two big guns." He gestured to Sol and Lighris.

"The way I see it, you only need one big gun." Sol remarked. "He's just here as backup."

"Oye, you want to see who-" Lighris started to say, but Volcan stepped in.

"Save it!" He said sharply, before he continued in a calmer tone. "Both of you are confident in your power, but this isn't about who is the big gun. When I said the weather trio that was just an example. I'm bringing both of you to be on the safe side, but if you start picking a fight neither of you are coming," he looked at them, and when they offered no response, he looked at Luke. "So. Would you happen to know the way to this Berrymoore place? It's where the one who posted the job is."

"I've heard about it, but Ihaven't been there myself," Luke answered honestly. "All I know is that its general location is Northeast to that of Azure's borders, and as the name suggests, it's got several berry plantations in which they grow and harvest them for sale and making other products. I think Eagle Eye mentioned he flew over it occasionally, either during his free time or whenever we've asked him to fly for long distances as part of an aerial recon."

"If it's a major agrarian community it shouldn't be hard to locate," offered Serena. "The road heading north out of town branches eastward before entering the deep woods heading toward Bluegrove, yes?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah, it does," agreed Volcan. "We can cut over to the road from here."

"Looks like we have our heading then," Doug piped up, "Want me to take the lead and scout ahead, boss?"

"That might not be a bad idea... Considering they wouldn't be able to see you coming, you could always pull off your little sneak attacks whenever the enemy isn't looking; provided we even find them," Luke concurred.

"I've got the skies then," said Lighris, spreading his wings. "I'll keep in sight and let you know if I see anything out of the norm."

Volcan nodded. "Alright team, let's go."

The journey from Azure to Berrymoore was uneventful. Keeping a brisk pace they reduced the travel time from six hours to four and a half. The woods were thinning the further they went, signaling that open ground was ahead. But before they reached it, Lighris came down to intercept the group, looking grim.

"What's up, Lighris?" Volcan asked. "Did you see the town?"

"I... Don't know," he replied, "There are buildings up ahead but if that's Berrymoore, it's in really bad shape, little bro."

Volcan shared a concerned glance with Luke, and then Minato. Both Lucario nodded to Volcan before Luke responded. "We better pick up the pace. If there are any survivors, we need to tend to them immediately." He stated before he began running ahead of the group.

"Well, isn't he eager to get started..." Minato muttered before he too ran after Luke.

They cleared the trees, passing by a half-destroyed plantation of Berry trees. Several were burnt to a crisp, others split down the middle where lightning had struck them. They found the town proper, and Serena was the first one to gasp in horror at the destruction that awaited them. More than half of the buildings had been destroyed, dotted by black burn marks where lightning had struck, roof shingles had burned and chimneys had been obliterated.

"What a disaster," said Volcan.

"Looks like I hit this place," Sol agreed.

A few people could be seen in the windows of the few houses left standing, though only one came out to meet the visitors.

They heard one of the house's doors open with a squeak of protest from the hinges, and a Simisage walked out of the house and walked warily over to them. "Excuse me," he began. "Forgive me for prying. May I ask who you are and your business here in Berrymoore?"

"We're rescue teams Valiant and Phalanx," Volcan introduced them. "We're here about a request posted on the guild board in Azure."

The Simisage relaxed, looking very relieved. "Oh thank Arceus, someone finally came!" He exclaimed, putting his hands together. "We are grateful to you. I am the mayor of Berrymoore, and some of the other surrounding villages that have been hit. I sent out that request almost four days ago to the guild hall in Westport."

"Can take a while to process the job requests sometimes," said Volcan apologetically.

"But we're here now, that's all that matters," Sol remarked with a shrug. "So, where's this beastie that's been scorching your turf?"

"Sol, "Luke warned the Typhlosion before clearing his throat. "Excuse our comrade... He's just eager to get to the bottom of this debacle." He apologized.

"As are we all," the Simisage returned. "That blasted storm, whatever is causing it, has hurt many of our workers here, and left others homeless." He gestured to the destroyed houses.

"You have injured?" Volcan asked.

"Yes. We wanted to move them to the clinic in Azure but we're afraid of doing them more harm; some of them were seriously hurt," he answered. "We've been doing the best we can for them here, but this place isn't safe anymore - we're not sure what to do."

"Serena," Volcan called up his comrade. "Go with the mayor. See what you can do for the injured."

"On my way," she replied, nodding.

"Where is this storm? Is it still nearby?" Volcan asked.

"It turned south after hitting us last," replied the mayor as Serena went to stand by him. He turned his gaze southwards, followed by the others.

The sky to the south was clear, but then the Simisage mayor turned his gaze east, and went rigid and gasped in horror, prompting the others to follow his gaze. In the distance, a dark cloud hovered over the open grasslands beyond, casting the east horizon in shadow. Lightning streaked across the cloud repeatedly, even as they watched it.

"Oh, gods save us... it's hitting the ranchers again!" The mayor cried. "Those poor people... Worse still once it's done it'll come this way again for sure, like it always has!"

"It moves in a pattern?" Volcan asked.

"Yes; it sequentially hits every one of the farming communities that cover this area," the mayor answered. "First here, then the south to the feed plantation, then to the ranchers and back here again, causing destruction at all of them! It scared the Miltank herd so badly on its last attack, half of them stampeded this way and caused irreparable damage."

"How far away is the ranch?" Volcan asked, urgently.

"It's about three kilometers away down the road," the mayor answered, pointing the way.

"Then we don't have a moment to lose." Luke stated firmly, nodding to Volcan and the others. "Lighris, cover the skies. Stay hidden until we assess what we're dealing with. Once we know who's in charge... You have permission to cut loose." He informed the Zapdos.

"Now that I like to hear!" Said the Zapdos as he took to the air.

Volcan looked at Sol. "We need to move fast. Can you keep up?" He asked.

"Yer talking to the only_pure Fire type that can fly, what do _you think?" Sol remarked snarkily.

"You can fly? How?" Lighris asked from overhead.

"Talk later! Let's move!" Volcan barked as he broke into a run, heading across the field in the direction of the ranch. Luke and Minato quickly broke into a sprint after Volcan, trailing behind him a little bit while Doug quickly tunneled under the ground and bore his way through the dirt after his teammates, relying on the tremors that their footsteps left in the ground above.

Sol smirked to Lighris as he crouched low to the ground. "Try to keep up, ya Slowpoke with wings." He taunted, then he leapt high into the air with a burst of flames being left in his wake, then quickly ascended into his Blessed state once he was at the peak of his jump. With a flap of his fiery wings, he bolted after his comrades from above, soaring high in the sky and leaving behind a streak of blue fire as he soared through the air.

"...Okay that was pretty awesome," Lighris admitted silently before taking flight after the Typhlosion.

The team raced across the grasslands toward the ranch, already hearing the terrified cries of the Miltank roaming the pasture, and the roar of a Tauros in pain. They doubled their pace and reached the ranch in record time. But just as they crossed onto the property, a lightning bolt struck the ground in front of them. They halted, and veered left, and another bolt hit near them again. This time, they ran for any cover they could find, ducking behind trees and large rocks. Another bolt struck their hiding places, and Volcan understood.

"Those aren't random, they're aimed!" Volcan exclaimed.

"Spread out! Move in a wide berth so that they'll have a harder time hitting us!" Luke hollered. "Doug! Keep ahead of the storm and look for any sign of a source!"

"Already on it boss!" Doug assured before his three heads disappeared underground.

"Now, let's find this guy! Anyone see him?" Volcan asked.

"One second," Minato returned as he tuned to his Aura Sense to find the culprit.

He started by scanning the immediate area within Doug's arena trap for any signs of the culprit before turning his attention toward the thunderclouds lingering above them. That was when he saw the aura above. A powerful aura, concealed in the thunderclouds above. To his horror, he realized it was not a standard aura, but a dark aura, spreading throughout the cloud, centralized on a single entity at its core.

"...Well, good news, bad news or worse news first?" He asked.

"Not the time to be messing around, Minato. Did you find them?" Luke asked.

"Yea... And you're not gonna like it." He answered, looking at his comrades. "They're in the air - a flying-type. Doug's arena trap is not going to be able to help us here. The worse news is, we're dealing with a Shadow Pokémon."

"What?!" Volcan and Luke shouted in unison.

"Shadow Pokémon, again?" Volcan demanded, looking up at the cloud. "So, Calhoun's behind this?!"

"Seems so. Unless this was just some freak accident, it's probably best to assume he had a hand in this," Minato answered. "Now it's just a matter of getting them down to the ground...."

"Good thing we have air support," said Volcan, putting a finger to his ear. "Sol, copy?" He asked, hoping the Typhlosion had remembered to put his radio on.

"Is it finally my turn yet?" He asked in a begrudging manner.

"Just might be," said Volcan, "But the news just got worse. The entity causing this isn't on the ground - it's inside the cloud, and it's a Shadow Pokémon!"

"A Shadow Pokémon, eh?" Sol asked, then there was silence for a moment before a sinister chuckle was heard on Volcan's end, then the feed was abruptly cut.

"...I just let the loose cannon loose, didn't I?" Volcan asked, worriedly. "This is gonna end well."

As Sol and Lighris approached the cloud, lightning bolts fired out from its mass toward them, forcing the two into evasive maneuvers to avoid being struck. Sol rolled quickly out of the way of an oncoming bolt of Lightning, then dove under another that tried to shoot him down. The blessed Typhlosion was wearing the widest, most sadistic shit eating grin he could muster as he closed in on the thundercloud, his fiery blue claws flexing hard as he zigzagged his way toward the center where their target was hiding.

"Hey, hothead! I'm supposed to be the reckless one here!" Lighris called after him as he followed, though Sol lost sight of him in the cloud.

The Typhlosion then changed direction and shot right for the sky again, soaring as high as he could into the air and remaining aloft once he was at the peak of his ascent. After taking a moment to gauge where he felt the source of the thundercloud was hiding, Sol then shot right for the cloud below him, letting gravity take a hold of him as he dove headfirst back into the clouds. In a moment, he found a silhouette in the clouds, and recognized a spiky-winged figure, thinking he had just run into Lighris again.

As he opened his mouth to speak, the figure turned, and that's when he saw the eyes, glowing like two bright amethysts as the head turned until both eyes were fixed on him. Two violet orbs glared at the Typhlosion through the shroud of the storm cloud around him.

The sight alone gave Sol pause, even going so far as to halt his descent entirely and making him flap his wings repeatedly until he was aloft in the air. "Ohhh you have got to be shitting me..." He muttered aloud as he stared back into those amethyst eyes in the center of the cloud mass.

The winged figure's body crackled with electricity, before a lightning bolt shot out from their body straight at the Typhlosion. Sol quickly brought his arms in front of his body, unable to react in time to dodge the lightning, so he did his best to shield himself from the attack as it barrelled right for him - though, against electricity, it was a futile gesture.He started spasming heavily as the lightning coursed through his body, but being the tough Typhlosion he was, he powered on through the shock he received, ignoring any paralysis that resulted from the lightning attack, and shot right for the being in the clouds again, roaring as he closed in on his target.

The being shot out of Sol's path, avoiding his charge, before they turned about and rushed him from behind. He felt talons digging into his back, piercing flesh as the being grabbed onto him. Sol roared out in pain as he was grabbed onto, but he fought through the pain and glared back at his attacker. His fiery wings quickly expanded with his temper, becoming a large blast of fire that enveloped his foe's feet and threatened to burn them to a crisp if they didn't release him. The creature withdrew and disappeared back into the cloud.

Despite this, Sol still felt pain in his back, and knew he was probably bleeding from the talons. Every movement of his flaming wings was painful, and he was struggling to stay aloft. His attacker could strike again at any moment, he knew, and they had the advantage in the cloud.

"Fucking damnit!" Sol growled as he felt himself losing altitude just from the pain from that attack. He had no choice but to let himself fall, flapping his fiery wings in order to steady his descent so that he didn't hurt himself upon landing back on solid ground.

The team below saw Sol fall through the clouds from where they stood, and Minato's keen eyes could see the blood flying out of Sol's injured back as he fell to the ground with a heavy thud a few meters away from them.

"That's... Not good." He muttered in shock.

"Sol!" Volcan called out in concern as he and the others ran over to him, seeing the punctures on his back. "Jeez! Looks like he got bearhugged by a Cacturne!"

Sol had powered down from his blessed state as the others arrived to check on him. "Yea, thanks for stating the obvious." He growled, trying to straighten his back as he stood up, but the sting of his injuries kept him hunched forward. "Fucker got me right in the back. Probably woulda rendered me a vegetable if I didn't burn his feet off my back..."

"Did you see who it was that attacked you?" Luke demanded from Sol.

"All I saw were a pair of purple eyes looking right at me before it shot a bolt of lightning at me, then when I went to go at him, I felt claws digging into my back," the Typhlosion answered. "Fuck... Where's that fish chick when I need her?"

"She has a name," reminded Volcan scornfully. "We're going to have to bandage these until - wait..." he looked closely at the wounds. "These aren't from spikes... These are from talons! Look at the placement of each puncture!"

As the two Lucario examined the wound, they heard Lighris call out, and looked up to see the Zapdos coming down. "Hey! what happened?" He asked as he landed.

"Sol was attacked, and he's got talon marks on his back," replied Volcan. "Did you two have an altercation?"

"What? No, I lost him when he flew into the cloud!"

"You didn't mistake him for the attacker then?"

"Bro. Big_typhlosion with wings made of _blue fire," retorted Lighris, "A Zubat could have seen that, even in that mess up there. After he zipped ahead, I tried following him but he was all over the place, then I came out and found him down here."

"...Hey, he's right." Minato concurred, running his paw gently along the injuries. He then looked back at Lighris for a moment as a thought crossed his mind, specifically when he looked between the Zapdos' talons and the injuries on Sol's back. "...Lighris, come here a second and show me your leg." He instructed.

"Don't tell me you think I did this," said Lighris, though he still approached as requested, shifting his weight onto one leg and lifting the other.

Minato gently took Lighris' leg into his paw and studied it closely. He hummed in thought as he gently placed his talon on where Sol's injuries were, making sure that the Zapdos' talons didn't enter the Typhlosion's wounds and aggravate them even further.

...To his own horror, the punctures matched with Lighris' claws to a tee, albeit on a different scale indicating that the owner of the claws that had wounded Sol was larger, but the resemblance was still uncanny.

"...I think I know what we're dealing with," Minato said as he released Lighris' leg.

"You think it's a Zapdos?" Volcan asked, surprised by the suggestion.

"But I thought I was one of the last ones," Lighris pointed out, his wonder matching his brother's.

Before Minato could answer, another lightning bolt struck the ground near them. The assailant in the clouds was on the attack again, and the next bolt would have hit Luke were it not for him moving just as the bolt arced toward him. Fortunately for him, even for a being like a Zapdos, lightning was hard to aim with. Out of the clouds they fell, and a pair of wings caught the light streaming around the clouds, outlining the silhouette of an avianic Pokémon.

It was indeed a Zapdos. But more so, as they studied its features... There was a certain resemblance to one among them. Luke in particular felt a pang of familiarity as he studied the lightning bird's face, and slowly cast a look at Lighris, who was staring back up at the Zapdos with stunned awe. Beside him, Volcan was also looking up at him, though not with the same familiarity as his brother, yet it was apparent that Volcan also saw the resemblance by his gaze drifting back and forth between the two.

Lighris' eyes were wide, his beak hanging open before he uttered a single damning word...

"...Dad?"

Minato, Luke and Doug all froze when Lighris uttered that one word, all of them slowly turning to look at Lighris as if they had seen the scariest Ghost Pokémon they ever bore witness to.

"...That's your dad?!" Doug exclaimed in pure, unadulterated horror, even his beady eyes opening so wide they might pop out of his heads.

"That's..." Volcan began, his expression shifting the longer he looked at the Zapdos, "That's our father?"

The corrupted Zapdos struck out again before Lighris could answer, firing another lightning bolt. Lighris threw out his wing to push Volcan out of the way, taking the hit instead and throwing him back. He grunted as he hit the ground, but seemed otherwise unhurt. Then the corrupted Zapdos fell into a dive and plunged at them, blue light engulfing him as he dropped. A Sky Attack!

"Oh no you don't!" Luke growled, holding his paws forward and charging a Dragon Pulse attack. He unleashed the wave of draconic energy at the Shadow Zapdos right as it drew close, so that it would have a harder time dodging out of the way of the attack.

Much to his chagrin, however, the Zapdos was powerful enough that it pushed through Luke's Dragon Pulse, barely slowed by the attack.

Doug was also quick to follow up on Luke's attack by using his powers to unearth several rocks from underground, then hurling them at the Zapdos in the form of a Rock Tomb attack. The Rock Tomb had more noticeable effect, the rocks bombarding the lightning bird as he plunged, but managing to do little more than slow him and soften the blow as the Sky Attack landed, colliding with Luke, then into Minato who moved over to provide help, knocking them both off their feet. Doug managed to avoid the attack by ducking into the ground.

Both of them lay flat on their backs after they skidded to a halt, laying there for several seconds before they managed to push themselves back onto their feet. Minato shook his head to clear his mind of the pain before he glared back at the Shadow Zapdos, then reached out with his mind and tried assailing it with a powerful Psychic blast as it circled around for another attack. The corrupted legendary bird was blown back, caught off guard by the attack and crash landing on the ground.

"We gotta detain him!" Volcan called, running at the corrupted Zapdos and making a jump onto his back as he attempted to ascend back into the air again.

The sudden weight on his back caused the Zapdos to dip again, losing altitude and barely managing to avoid hitting the ground. But Volcan's mistake became all too clear as he felt a jolt coursing through his body, causing his muscles to tense and become rigid. He lost his grip and fell back to the ground as a result.

"Volcan!!" Luke cried out as he scrambled back to his feet and ran over to the Blaziken's side to help him.

"I've got 'im!" Doug piped up, using Earth Power this time to command the ground to rise up in the Zapdos' path, and arching it to intercept Zapdos as he attempted to ascend. At that, Doug then attacked with another Rock Tomb, knocking the electric bird out of the air and sending him careening to the ground, where the boulders cascaded on top of him, keeping him pinned..

"Alright, that should hold him down for now at least!" Doug called.

"Good job," Minato complimented, "Though that still doesn't solve the issue of him being able to electrocute us if we even so much as touch him." He added, gesturing to Volcan being helped back to his feet by Luke.

"Static!" Lighris called as he circled overhead, having taken to the air again. "Dad's ability, same as mine! It's Static! Keep your distance!"

"Any ideas on how to counter it?" Minato asked.

"Short of an attack to nullify abilities? You'd need to insulate yourselves with something, otherwise keep your distance," replied Lighris.

"If we knock him out, will that stop his ability from triggering?" Doug asked in a strained voice, having to really give it his all to keep his Earth Power from decaying enough for the Shadow Zapdos to break out of.

"Yeah, it should. It's a reflexive ability, triggered by adrenaline!" Lighris explained. "If he's mellowed out, it'll quell the static and then you can touch him!"

"Then our only answer is to hit him with distance attacks until he's weakened enough, then Luke and I can purify him from the Shadow Curse," Minato answered.

"Then tell the lovebirds to move the fuck outta the way..." Sol growled as he stood up, ignoring the pain in his back. "I'm gonna hit that fuckwit as hard as I can."

Sol then let out a roar as he forced himself into his enraged state, his neck flames turning blue and the air around him heating up immensely as he did. Sol then began to charge his Blast Burn attack, gathering up as much heat energy as he could in front of his mouth, all while keeping it condensed into a single point in front of his face. Sol was wincing the whole way through, as he struggled to fight through both the stress this attack put on him _and_the injuries on his back flaring up from tensing his muscles the way he did.

The corrupted Zapdos finally ripped himself free of Doug's trap, letting out a shriek of anguish as he began to take flight again. Minato growled and used Psychic once again to try and halt the Zapdos' ascent into the air, pouring all of his concentration into assailing its mind and inflicting it with immense mental pain.

"Grrr... V-Volcan! Luke! Clear the area!!" He exclaimed.

Luke's ear twitched as he heard Minato's voice, causing him to turn over to their direction. Behind him, he saw Sol charging his Blast Burn attack, then looked at how close they still were to the Zapdos before it clicked.

"We gotta go! Now!" Luke urged Volcan, trying to pull him out of the predicted blast radius as best he could.

"Trying..." Volcan returned, stumbling along after his betrothed, his muscles still refusing to follow his command.

"Sol, be careful!" Lighris called. "That's our father - try not to roast him!"

Sol couldn't respond. He was too focused on charging his attack without having it explode in front of his face. Minato was also struggling to hold the Zapdos in place as well, exerting his mental capabilities past their limits. He was starting to wane, but he kept the pressure up regardless of the throbbing headache he would no doubt suffer from after this was over.

Finally, Sol's Blast Burn was ready. He opened his mouth wide and chomped down on the heavily condensed ball of fire before rearing his head back as far as he could. Then, he lurched forward as if he were unleashing a loud belch, only instead of gas, he discharged the fireball he had ingested, the attack rocketing toward the Zapdos at breakneck speeds.

The fireball nailed the Zapdos along its side, then what ensued next was the largest explosion of fire and destruction the team had ever seen. The Shadow Zapdos was utterly engulfed in blue flames, left in agonizing pain as they burned at his body, and left with some severe damage just from the pure concussive force that Sol's Blast Burn also brought along with it. The Shadow Zapdos was blown away by the attack, searing his feathers before sending him crashing through a pasture fence, nearly reaching the barn in the process. When the attack finally abated, he was still.

Seeing what had happened, and certain that his corrupted father was down for the count, Volcan turned to Luke. "Hurry, before he comes to," he said urgently. "I'll be okay."

Luke quickly looked between the Zapdos and Volcan, nodding back to him before he released him and ran for the downed Shadow Zapdos. "Minato!" He called to his ally, but he got no response. Turning his gaze, he saw that the elder Lucario was down on his knees, grasping his head in his paws and shuddering heavily from all the mental stress he put on himself just to keep their foe in place.

Luke felt a sense of dread creep up his spine as he closed in on the Zapdos, realizing that he would have to extract and purify the Shadow Energy on his own again. He did his best to shelve that dread as he mega evolved, then placed his paws on the Zapdos' body and began pumping his aura into his body to act as a lure for the Shadow Energy to latch onto while he searched for the Zapdos' essence.

'Focus! Don't let it consume you! Don't let it sense your fear!' He kept reminding himself internally, focusing his thoughts on everyone he was fighting to protect, just like he did when he and Minato purified the Southern Nexus.

He could feel the Zapdos struggling against the corruption, feeling hid spirit trying to regain control. The Shadow Energy was attacking him over and over again. Luke could sense many emotions in the aura of the Zapdos. Rage, hatred... regret? The host was a very confused and conflicted individual, and it was feeding the shadow power, giving it an edge that only Luke was holding back with his attempt to free him.

"Hear me, Zapdos!" Luke tried calling out to him through his astral projection. "Try to follow the sound of my voice! Fight through the bindings that are holding you down and reach for my essence! I can purify you, but you need to trust me!"

"What? Who is that? Where are you?" A voice responded, sounding panicked as it spoke, "Am I going insane now?"

"No, you're not! I'm here to help you!" Luke continued to call out, struggling to fight the curse off. "My name is Luke of Rescue Team Valiant! I need you to focus on the sound of my voice! Let it be your guide to help you pinpoint my location!"

"I... I'll try," he replied, and Luke could feel his aura gaining strength, power against the corruption and holding it back as Luke shared his strength with him.

"That's it, you're doing it!" Luke called out to him. "Keep pushing. I've got a lock on your essence. Just a little farther and I'll be able to reach you!"

Finally, Luke had a solid hold on the shadow essence. It was time to extract it. With a furious roar, Luke started to walk backward from the Zapdos, pulling the writhing Shadow Energy with him and away from the legendary lightning bird. With each step back, the Shadow Energy's influence on him grew weaker and weaker, until Luke was finally able to rip it completely out of his body and hold the writhing mass of black ink-like energy between his paws.

Wasting no time, Luke quickly held the energy above hsi head and discharged it into the sky as if it were his own power, sending it as far as it could go before it ultimately disintegrated into nothing but dust. With the deed done, Luke slowly fell to his knees and began to pant heavily, feeling a wave of exhaustion was over him, though nowhere near as bad as when he freed Lugia. He was still conscious, but he was going to need a fair bit of recuperation before he could move on his own again.

Zapdos lay limp on the ground while Luke collected himself, feeling hands grasping him as Volcan knelt down beside him, seeing his father reverting to his normal colours again. "You did it," he said, relieved. "And thank Arceus it didn't turn back on you." He followed his words with a tight embrace.

Luke leaned slightly into Volcan's embrace, lifting his paw to caress his cheek. "Like I would ever make that mistake a second time." He offered in light jest. "Not after we've made everything official between us..."

Volcan chuckled. "Good to know," he said, and then looked over her shoulder as he heard Lighris landing beside him. "Lighris, are Sol and Minato okay?"

"Yeah. Sol just burned out but he's fine, and Minato's just a little winded from trying to hold our dad down," the younger Zapdos replied. "Speaking of, how is he?"

"He'll be fine," replied Volcan, "Luke was able to purify him."

Doug crawled his way over to Luke and Volcan, stopping next to them and staring on at the unconscious Zapdos in bewilderment. "...So, uhhhh... Yer Dad, huh?" He remarked as he turned his gaze to Volcan. "I mean, that's pretty freakin cool, but... Damn, who woulda thought you'd run into him like this, eh?"

"Had Lighris not been here, I wouldn't even have known it was him," said Volcan, somberly. "This is the first time I've seen him since I was less than a month old. Mom said he left shortly after I was hatched, and he never came back..."

"Well... He's here now, and if you got questions for him, you'd better ask em when he comes to," Doug offered. "Maybe you'll get some closure that you've been longing for, right?"

"Closure?" Volcan echoed. "What, like I have daddy issues? Like I said, I don't even know the man." He looked down at Zapdos, an unreadable expression on his as he studied the prone form. "Still... I suppose there will be a few things I want to ask him. But let's get him to Azure first, and get him checked out; there's no telling how long he's been Calhoun's puppet. We still need ot help the people of Berrymore too.

"Agreed." Luke concurred, slowly forcing himself back to his feet. "Let's head back to Berrymoore and collect Serena, have her treat our injuries and we'll head right back home..."

Volcan stood at the viewing window with Lighris and Luke, peering into the room as Mikhail and a few nurses carried out their examination of the Zapdos. They barely saw Degra coming out of the corners of their eyes, the elder Blaziken moving to stand between her sons and look into the room, her eyes going wide at the sight, one hand lifting to cover her beak, the other resting against her chest.

"It's really him," she said in barely more than a whisper, "it has been almost twenty-five years... He looks exactly like he did the night he left."

"Legendary Pokémon do live long lives," said Lighris, reminding his mother of the fact, "But where has he been all this time?"

"And why did he leave?" Volcan asked. "All you said he said was that he'd made a mistake, and then flew off without another word."

Degra nodded slowly, confirming Volcan's recounting.

"He never mentioned the mistake he claimed to have made?" Luke asked the elder Blaziken. "Or at least give some form of hint as to what he meant?"

To that, she shook her head. "None... He just said, 'I'm sorry', and then he left... flew off into the moon until I couldn't see him anymore," she meshed her fingers as she laid both hands over her chest, like she was trying to slow a rapid beating heart. "I... I don't know if I am ready to speak to him yet... it's been too long."

All three of them could see the conflict in her eyes, and the many emotions that came with such conflict seemed to be running through her at that moment. She was unsteady on her hands, looking like she wanted to faint. Lighris leaned against her reassuringly, and so did Volcan.

"It's okay mom. We get it," Lighris assured her.

She nodded, and when her two boys pulled away from her, she took a few steadying breaths. At that moment, Mikhail stepped out of the room, addressing them.

"How is he?" Volcan asked.

"Well, he's pretty exhausted. His body has endured a tremendous amount of physical stress from fighting off that Shadow Corruption, but he'll make a full recovery." Mikhail answered, nodding to Volcan and Lighris. "He's... Probably going to have to stay here until he's recovered enough to be discharged, and even then, he's going to need time after that to regain his full strength."

"Has he woken up at all?" Lighris asked.

"Once or twice, but he fell right back into an unconscious state almost immediately after." Mikhail answered. "Like I said, he's undergone a tremendous amount of stress. He's so exhausted that by all accounts he should be dead," He answered honestly. "Though I suppose being a Legendary Pokémon comes with its own set of perks, such as increased durability and stamina...."

"Let's hope he's got answers for us when he does come around," said Volcan. "We have a lot of questions for our father."

"They'll come with time, love." Luke remarked softly, stroking Volcan's arm with his paw. "Right now, let's just let him rest. We won't get anywhere pestering him for answers if he's out cold."

"Yeah... I could use some air anyway," said Volcan, nodding.

"Me too," agreed Lighris.

They left the hospital and ventured outside, where Luminara was waiting with Ignus. She and Degra had arrived together, and the elder Lucario could see the looks on the faces of Volcan, Lighris and Degra alike. They were not grim, but the conflict each of them was emitting was palpable. Ignus in her arms seemed to calm down at the sight as well, regarding his fathers with concern.

"How is he?" Luminara asked as she gently handed Luke their child, though was addressing Volcan and his family when she asked that question.

"He'll live," Volcan replied in an emotionless tone. It was clear to all of them that both he and his brother were feeling overwhelmed. "Just needs to rest for a while." He added as an afterthought.

Luminara nodded softly, deciding against pressing the matter and reaching up to gently touch Volcan's cheek in a reassuring manner. Then she looked to Degra and motioned for her to follow. "Perhaps we should let them have some time to process all of this on their own. Why don't we grab a coffee together?" She offered.

She nodded. "I'd like that," she said. "I... Really could use the company too." She looked at her sons. "Take care, both of you."

"Will do, momma," Lighris returned, managing to sound confident.

Volcan answered only with a nod to her.

Luminara nodded back and offered them a warm smile before she and Degra wandered off to grab some drinks together. Luke gently bumped his hip against Volcan to try and get his attention, a heavily concerned look present in his gaze. Volcan was slow to respond to him, turning slowly to meet Luke's eye. Lighris looked between them, and then nudged his brother as well.

"Pull yourself together, bro," he said, trying not to sound chiding.

"I'm trying to," replied Volcan, "it's just a lot to take in... He's gone for almost twenty-five years, and when he comes back, he's a Shadow Pokémon. My mind is reeling from so much right now I can't keep up with it all..."

"Then let's just go home, love," Luke urged the Blaziken, walking closer so that their son was pressed gently between the two of them. "Let's just... Put Ignus down for a nap and it'll just be our time, okay? Please?" Luke added, his tone becoming more pleading as he begged Volcan to agree to those terms.

"Right," replied Volcan, nodding, "Yeah, I could use a rest."

"I'll be ready when you are, Volcan," said Lighris, "And don't forget I'm here for you too."

Volcan nodded. "Thanks, bro," he said, managing a weak smile, and hugged his brother, leaning into him when the Zapdos put his wings around him.

The three parted ways, and Volcan and Luke headed back home. They entered the house in silence, and Luke took Ignus to his room to lay him down for his nap, while Volcan sat down on the couch to try to relax. When Luke stepped back out, he found his betrothed eyes closed, sitting in a meditative posture, taking several steadying breaths as he tried to find his center.

He let out a small, worried sigh as he approached Volcan, taking a seat next to the Blaziken and scooting up as close as he could to him. Slowly he reached for his hand and held it in his paw lightly while rubbing his cheek along his shoulder in an attempt to comfort his future husband. Volcan's eyes slowly opened, and he stared off to the wall.

"I don't know why I'm so conflicted..." he said. "I've never met him... Thought I never would. Then this..."

"You're probably just so used to not having him around in your life," Luke tried to reason with him, "Maybe things might be better after you get a chance to talk to him, love...but whatever you do, try not to let it interfere with your life," He whispered softly. "Especially for our little Ignus' sake... He needs his brave, strong father, not a bout of uncertainty..."

"No question about that," replied Volcan. "But still... it's just hard to get out of my head. To be reunited with him at the center of a crisis... If i didn't know better, I'd think Calhoun had done this on purpose just to mess with me. But how could he know? I didn't even know, and Lighris only barely remembers our father." He leaned forward, resting his arms across his knees. "It's messing with my head..."

Luke leaned closer and slit his arms around Volcan softly, caressing along his back and front with his paws to try and comfort him. "I'm sorry love... I really don't know what else to say other than to ask him when he wakes up." He said, nuzzling along his cheek.

~~~~~

Volcan, Luke and Lighris were at the clinic as soon as they heard that Zapdos - who according to Degra, went by the name of Torden, had awoken. They entered the room behind the nurse who announced them, before she took her leave again and gave them the room. Torden stared at the three, as they entered, though his eyes fixed upon Lighris specifically when he stepped inside.

"...Wait... You look just... Like me," he said slowly. "Can it be... Lighris?"

"Yeah, dad. It's me," the younger Zapdos replied.

At that, the older Zapdos sank back on the bed, his eyes arching in a look of sadness. "Never thought I'd set eyes on you again," he said. "I didn't feel I deserved to..."

"Why not?" Volcan asked.

Torden looked at him, studying the Blaziken closely. "And you are?"

Lighris spoke up first. "Dad, who do you think he is?" He demandeddefensively, "You had two sons, remember?"

Torden's eyes widened, this time fixing on Volcan with a stunned expression. "You?" He asked, taking a moment to study the Blaziken. "...Well, you certainly have your mother's eyes, don't you? How did I not see you're Degra's son?"

Volcan scowled. "I'm your son too. Can you not even remember my name?" He asked.

An awkward silence fell over the room for a moment, leaving the four males to sit uncomfortably as they all waited for someone to speak. Finally, Torden did speak, after taking in the room around him. "How... how did I get here? And where is... Here? Surely, I'm not back on Arc Island?"

"No, you're in Port Azure," replied Volcan, "Arc Island is... Gone. Destroyed in a raid, by a group called the Dark Crusade."

Torden nodded. "Them... I've heard of them."

"Clearly you've encountered them, considering how we found you," said Volcan. "Care to explain what happened?"

"I don't remember much," Torden replied. "I was flying, somewhere in the south. Something hit me from above. I didn't get a good look at it, but it was pale, and had a long tail." Torden huffed. "I fought, but it overpowered me... Then I remember tumbling through darkness, like I was in some nightmare that never ended. Until recently, when I heard a voice calling out to me."

"That was Luke here," said Volcan, gesturing to the Lucario at his side,"You were turned into a Shadow Pokémon, dad, and Luke here saved you."

Torden looked at Luke, his eyes resting on the Lucario for a moment before he gave him a nod. "You have my gratitude then... Luke, was it?"

The Lucario nodded slowly back to Torden, though his expression was anything but warm and welcoming. Like with Volcan, Luke was keen on discovering the reason as to why Torden was never a part of Volcan's life... but it wasn't his place to ask such a question.

"But that's not what you really want to ask me, is it?" Torden asked the two knowingly, "So... where to start?"

"Where have you been all this time?" Volcan began. "Mom said you left without any explanation whatsoever. That all you did was make a mistake."

"And that was the truth," he said. "I dared to hope that I could achieve something with her... But, it turned out to be wrong."

At that, Luke finally piped up. "Care to elaborate on what this 'something' you wanted to achieve was?" he asked in a firm, but calm manner.

Torden looked at him, sternly. "Saving my species," he said, getting straight to the point.

When none of them replied, he continued. "Before my parents died, they told me that I might have been the last Zapdos alive, but I dared to believe I could find more of them," he lowered his head. "I didn't... forty years, I searched, and found nothing. I heard a rumour of one once in the north lands, and it did look like one of my kind but it turned out to be a completely different Pokémon. A flightless bird, to boot. By then, I was ready to give up, and flew south again. I landed on Arc Island, and I met your mother when I stopped to find food. Needless to say, I caused quite a stir among the populace there."

He shifted in his bed, making himself more comfortable. "She consoled me. Overtime, I found myself falling in love with her and in the end, I decided to stay on Arc. Still, I was shocked to find out she was bearing a child, not knowing our species was compatible. Then when Lighris was born... I thought it a miracle. That maybe, I didn't have to be the last Zapdos. Maybe I could save my race," He shook his head. "But by Arceus was I naïve... I hadn't even considered how rare it is for a child to be born the same species as the father... And I was reminded of that all too clearly when he was born." He cocked his head toward Volcan.

"So... Why did you leave then?" Volcan asked, "You decided you didn't love mom anymore just because of that?"

Torden leered at him. "Like you could understand," he said, "I didn't leave because of that. I still loved your mother, and I still would if I saw her today. What I hated was my naïveté, and the horrible fate that I left Lighris to." He gestured to the younger Zapdos as he continued. "I was to be the last of my kind... Now I've condemned _him_to be the last. To die alone, and with that bring about the extinction of our kind. A slow, lonely death to our race, and I made my own son have to be the one to suffer that fate... I couldn't bear it."

"If you truly loved Degra as you claim you do, you would never have left her side," Luke piped up in a rather scornful manner. "I can understand you wanting to propagate your species, Torden, but there's more to life than just wanting another of your kind in the world."

The Lucario gestured to his two sons standing to his left as he continued. "Before you stand your children; your own flesh and blood. Regardless of their species, I would think any father would consider themselves honoured to have offspring to carry on their legacy," he then slid his arm around Volcan's back and stood closer to the Blaziken. "Especially one like Volcan."

Torden scowled. "What about him?" He asked, in a completely emotionless tone.

The words could not have hit Volcan harder if they had been written on the side of a club, and Luke saw it on the devastated look he saw on his betrothed's face. Even Lighris recoiled at the words, looking at his father with a mixed expression of shock and disgust.

"What _about_him?!" Lighris demanded. "He's as much your son as I am! How could you speak of him so dismissively?!"

"Because he's not the last of his kind like you and I are," Torden replied. "He's just another Blaziken; anyone could have been his father, and there'll always be more of his kind."

Volcan's knuckles cracked as his hands clenched into fists, breathing hard as he stared at his father. "So, what am I to you, father?" He demanded. "Am I the mistake that you abandoned mom for?"

"Like I said...You could never understand," Torden returned evasively. It was all the answer that needed to be said...

Lighris huffed, looking ready to lash out at Torden when he saw the devastated look on his brother's face. Luke bared his teeth and looked equally prepared to scold the old Zapdos for his words as well. But Volcan beat them both to it.

"You know... Maybe I _was_better off never meeting you," he said, in a strained voice that they knew was due to holding back tears, "I felt a lot better about myself, not knowing I was related to such a fucking coward."

Without another word, he stormed out. Torden did not even look at him...

"Volcan, wait!" Luke called out to the Blaziken, but his words didn't reach him even after the door slammed shut behind him. He stood there for a long moment staring at the door in silence, his head hung low... Then his paws clenched heavily at his sides, turning almost white from how tightly he had clenched them, and when he looked back to Torden, he had the look of a man ready to slaughter Torden for what he said to his betrothed.

"You... Callous... Heartless... BASTARD!!!" Luke roared at the elder Zapdos, moving as a blur as he dashed over to Torden and grabbed him by his beak, forcinghis head over so they were eye to eye with each other. "Who gives a Rattata's ass what species Volcan is?! That man, your own flesh and blood, carries a burden on his shoulders that you will never understand because you weren't there when it happened!!!" He reamed on Torden, not even giving him a chance to speak thanks to how tightly his paw held his beak shut.

"Volcan has endured trials you can't even begin to imagine! He came here to Port Azure barely clinging to his life after Arc Island was destroyed!! I've seen him do so many amazing things since then! He went from being a scared, helpless Blaziken with no recollection of who he was into the hero it is today! He even saved me, as he has saved so many, all while bearing a guilt he has no need to carry but he presses on regardless of it! That's someone any father should be proud of!" He ended off, releasing Torden's beak and taking a couple of steps back. "You might be a Legendary by title... But through his own blood, sweat and tears, Volcan has become more of a Legendary than you could ever hope to be!!"

As Luke stormed out to follow after Volcan, only Lighris remained. He watched Luke leave, and then turned his eyes back on his father. "I can't believe you would speak to him like that..."

"Lighris-"

"Fuck off!" Lighris snapped, silencing the elder Zapdos, "All of our lives, there has been a gap for both of us! We grew up without a father - I was the man of the household before I even knew what that meant! I had to teach Volcan everything I myself learned by trial and error, all because you_fucked off to escape a misguided guilty conscience!" He spread out his wings as he continued. "So I'm doomed to be the last of my kind. So fucking what?! Better I at least live _my life not being ashamed of my existence!"

Torden sputtered, trying to formulate a response to the insolent ranting of his eldest son. But before he could even form any words, Lighris folded his wings again and started out the door as he spoke again in a low, disgusted tone of voice. "Volcan was dead right about one thing. You are a coward."

With that, the younger Zapdos was gone, yet the elder one continued to say nothing, merely staring after him until he could neither see nor hear him anymore and leaving him alone to weigh everything that had happened in his own mind. But eventually, he pushed all other feelings aside to shake his head, nestling back in his bed again.

"They just don't understand... How could they?" He said to himself, shutting his eyes to rest for a little longer, though he'd already decided what he would do that evening...

Outside, Luke was chasing down Volcan through Azure's streets, calling his name repeatedly to get him to at least stop walking away. It wasn't until the Lucario made a mad dash through an opening in the crowd and clung to him from behind, keeping his arms firmly wrapped around his waist that the Blaziken finally stopped walking, his body shaking as he had the first night he had stayed in Luke's home, waking from a nightmare. Tears streamed down his face as he stood in his lover's arms, staring at the ground.

"I can't believe he'd say that..." he said, "He blames me for his own grief. I was just an accident to him, or a bad reality check! Either way," he inhaled deeply, "the fucker doesn't even think of me as his son. I'm just some unwanted thing to him..." He lifted his hands to his head, pressing his palms into his eye sockets, "I never thought it would be like this... I've only met him today; why does it hurt so much?"

Luke quickly trotted around Volcan and held his lover's hips firmly in his paws, looking back up at Volcan with tear-stained eyes of his own, "You're not an accident, Volcan! You're right, he is a coward, but you don't need his approval or his recognition. You have all that you need right here, and I will be damned if I let that bastard make you think otherwise," he said in between sniffles, placing his paw over Volcan's heart as he Blaziken put his arms around him.

Volcan held Luke tightly, still shaking even as he cried, unable to think of anything else to say as they stood there, ignoring the stares of the passing crowds. Luke did everything he could to ease Volcan's sadness, clinging to him tightly and pecking at his chest repeatedly, practically soaking up Volcan's sadness and letting it out through his own. He kept whispering sweet nothings to Volcan in between sobs, telling him how much he loved him, how proud he was of the man he had become, how honoured he felt to have asked for his hand in marriage. He kept going until all that was left was incoherent babbling, and just stuck to shedding tears against Volcan's chest as they held each other.

In the Blaziken's mind, he had only thing he could think of at that moment. Ignus... The little Rockruff that he and his betrothed had taken in was all that mattered to him at that moment. 'I never had a father,' he declared in his mind. 'But that doesn't mean I can't be one...'

After a moment of pondering this, Volcan spoke up again. "Let's... Go back to the house," he said, gently pulling back from Luke and looking over his shoulder, roughly in the direction of their home. "I need to see Ignus... There's something I... I have to say to him."

"Okay..." Luke whispered softly, nodding as he released Volcan from their embrace, but continued to hold his hand firmly in his paw as they headed on back to their house. He had a decent idea on what Volcan wanted to say, and it was unlikely Ignus would understand a word of it, or Volcan's feelings as he spoke them, but if it helped give his betrothed closure then he wanted to let him do it.

They returned to the house, and they found Luminara there once again, looking after Ignus while waiting for their fathers to return home. She knew something was amiss the moment the two walked in through, practically feeling it radiating off them. The way Volcan walked further clued her in as well, seeing his slumped posture and how he dragged his feet; he was truly the picture of a broken heart.

"...Oh dear. I know those looks when I see them." She said as she stood up from the sofa and set down Ignus' formula bottle. "What happened you two? Did you get into another argument?"

"Of a sort, but not the kind you're thinking of," Luke answered, gently taking Ignus from his mother, nuzzling the top of the young Rockruff's head before he then passed him over to Volcan, who cradled the toddler Rockruff in his arms. "Let's head outside. I'll explain everything." He said as he gestured for his mother to follow him out the front door.

She obliged and gently shut the door behind her as she left, allowing Volcan to say whatever he needed to say to Ignus now that they were alone. Ignus looked up at his adopted father with a blank expression, hearing how the Blaziken was dragging his feet as he walked back over to the couch. Ignus watched Volcan's face with deep concern, his keen senses enough to tell him something was wrong, and the forced smile on Volcan's face did nothing to hide his broken heart.

"Hey little fella," said Volcan, gently lowering himself onto the couch and cradling Ignus "How's your day going?"

Ignus didn't respond right away. His usual peppy demeanour seemingly gone when he saw the tear stains along Volcan's cheeks. He tilted his head a little and began to lean up and lick at Volcan's face, letting out a low whine.

"More worried about me, huh? Yeah, I guess I'm kinda wearing my emotions like a mask right now," he said, gently rocking Ignus in his arms, "I met my father today... It didn't end the way I hoped. Not that I really hoped for anything, I just... I don't know. I guess I thought maybe there might be something, but I was wrong."

He shook his head. "That... Man," he caught himself, almost cursing but managing to hold it in, "he never even wanted me. I'm just some... Unwanted thing. An accident. It hurt... It hurt so much to hear that from him - even though I've never met him before now, it still hurt." He had to draw back one of his hands to wipe his eye as he started crying again.

Ignus started to whimper when he saw his father crying. He turned himself over and stood on Volcan's lap, lifting himself on his hind legs to rest his forepaws against Volcan's chest while he tried to lick those tears away from his cheeks and even bumping his head lightly against Volcan's chin. In a way it was the Rockruff's way of telling Volcan to keep his chin up, even if he didn't realize it. Volcan, warmed and impressed by the Rockruff's empathy, smiled at him, and held the Rockruff closer, rubbing his beak against him.

"I know you may not understand me too well yet. But I have to say this," he said softly, "I'm making you a promise, Ignus. I will never do what my father did. I'll never take you for granted... I'll never regret my decision to adopt you, and I will never, ever abandon you," He lifted Ignus so that he could meet the puppy's eyes as he spoke, hoping that Ignus could at least understand the sincerity in what he was saying,"You're my son now, and I will love you unconditionally as any father should."

The Rockruff stared back into Volcan's eyes intently. It was true that the Rockruff didn't understand what Volcan was saying, at least not all of it, but he did sense what his adoptive father was trying to say, hearing it in his words and seeing it on his face. Ignus gently closed his eyes and bumped his nose along Volcan's forehead in an affectionate nuzzle, his tail slowly wagging behind him as he showered the Blaziken with affection.

Then came something Volcan could never have expected. He started hearing Ignus breathing heavily, as if he was struggling to breathe - which at first made Volcan start, fearing Ignus was sick, but he soon realized that wasn't it. The sounds coming from Ignus' mouth, strained as he elicited them, and hoarse as strange words formed on his canid lips.

"Hhhh... Luh..." He struggled to from the words for a time, as they were still strange to him. But Volcan, curious to what the Rockruff was trying to say, watched and waited as Ignus kept trying to form the words he wanted to say, until eventually they formed two coherent words that Volcan could understand.

"Luuh...Love... Daddy..."

All of Volcan's pain was gone in an instant as Ignus spoke those words, feeling his heart fluttering in his chest as he stared in shocked delight at the Rockruff in his arms. His frown turned into a smile that could have lit up the room.

Without hesitation, he hugged the Rockruff to his chest. "I love you too, Ignus!" he cried, tears leaking from his eyes again, but this time as tears of joy. "My boy..."

Luke finished recounting what Torden had told them at the clinic to his mother, and she was just as livid as Luke was at the time, if not more so. Her paws clenched tightly at her sides as she looked over her shoulder toward the direction of Azure, absolutely seething with anger.

"I have half a mind to march over to that hospital and give that bastard a piece of my mind... But it would seem you've already beaten me to the punch, and anything I say would be redundant..." She remarked with a huff. "Still, this should be conveyed to Degra. She won't like to hear about this, but it must be done. She deserves to know the truth just as much as her son did."

"Just... don't let her do anything rash, alright?" Luke urged his mother.

Then, as their conversation ended, Volcan called out to Luke, asking him to come back inside. He sounded... better, as he called for his betrothed.

"Oop. Volcan needs me." Luke remarked, looking over his shoulder to their house.

"Go to him, Luke." She returned with a nod, "I'll pass on what you told me to Degra."

Luke nodded back softly, then quickly turned on his heel and trotted into his house again, while Luminara turned and headed off to find Degra.

When Luke entered the house, he was relieved to find Volcan did look happier. He was holding onto Ignus like the Rockruff were his most treasured possession, and Ignus looked quite content where he was. Volcan opened his eyes to look up at Luke, still wearing the smile as he addressed Luke. The change in Volcan's demeanour was somewhat alarming, as only moments ago the Blaziken had been a heart-broken mess, but now, he was positively glowing.

Volcan choked as he formed the words to tell his betrothed what happened. "He spoke to me," he said. "Our little guy spoke his first two consecutive words just now."

"He did??" Luke exclaimed, the most elated smile crossing his features as he ran around the sofa and sitting next to Volcan and Ignus.

"Can you repeat what you said for papa too?" Volcan asked the Rockruff encouragingly.

Ignus turned and yipped when Luke sat down, turning and licking his face a couple of times before he began to speak to him as well. "L-Love... Daddy!" He said in a more excited manner, clearer the second time though still struggling to form the strange words.

Luke felt his heart melting after he heard the Rockruff's first words, his smile growing wider as he looked up to his betrothed. "Ohhh, and what a perfect choice of first words," he said softly. Now it was his turn to start shedding tears of joy as he snuggled up to Volcan more closely, stroking their son's head with his paw gently. "I love you too, Ignus..."

"We really were meant to have him," said Volcan, "I made a promise to him. That I will be the father he deserves, and that I will never be like my own," he rubbed the Rockruff's back gently. "He's my child - our child. He deserves better than what I got, and I will give him that, no matter what."

"Then I too will make the same promise." Luke remarked with a firm nod of his own. "I will do everything in my power to ensure our Ignus lives the best life he can. He will be loved and cherished, and much like the promise I made to you, I will never abandon him..." He added firmly, then lifted his paw away from Ignus to touch Volcan's cheek. "He is our son... Our baby boy, and I'm thankful he has become a part of our lives."

"So am I," said Volcan, putting his arm around Luke and hugging both him an Ignus tightly. "So very much..."

Torden stood at the end of the pier, watching the setting sun descend over the horizon when Degra found him. She walked slow, calculated steps as she approached, a mix of emotions running through her as she stepped closer. Anger, fear, and love all fought for control, and she didn't know which one to allow to come forward. She paused mid-step as Torden turned to face her, hearing the click of her talons on the pier she guessed. His eyes met hers, widening in surprise as he turned to her.

"Degra..." he said.

"Torden," she replied in a glib tone.

"I should have guessed you were here as well," he said flatly.

She scowled. "Is that all you have to say?" She asked. "It has been twenty-five years, Torden... You left, without any explanation to me. So far, all I've had is Lighris' recounting of what you told our sons," Her scowl deepened. "And about how you spoke to Volcan."

"As I told him, you don't understand," he said. "You couldn't-"

"What's not to understand, Torden?" Degra demanded as she threw out her arms reflexively, her sudden outburst cutting him off. "You thought you could save your species, but when it turned out it wouldn't be so easy, you ran away. You let your two boys grow up without a father."

"Lighris was better off without me," he said firmly. "I've damned the boy to a terrible fate... I didn't deserve to be his father."

"And what about Volcan?!" She snapped. "He is as much your son as Lighris is!"

"But he isn't one of my kind," retorted Torden. "I have no reason to be concerned for him. The population of Blaziken is not in decline."

Degra's hands clenched into fists. "That's all you care about?" She asked, "He's not a Zapdos, therefore he is not your child?"

"He could have been born to anyone else, Degra," replied Torden. "I just happened to be the one."

"...And did you ever love me?" She asked, her tone almost in challenge as she awaited an answer.

Torden turned to her, alarmed by the question. "Of course, I did!" He returned. "How could you think otherwise?"

"I must question what your definition of 'love' is, when you can love a female, but not the children she carries for you," she went on. She pointed a finger at him. "First, you break my heart by running away without an explanation, then you break that of your second son's by telling him you never even wanted him. After all he has been through, and after he risked his life to save you, you can't even be grateful for the man he has become, just because he's not a Zapdos?"

Torden did not answer her, but she could see the conflict her words had stirred in him. Clearly now, he was second guessing what he had said to Volcan... But he was far too late. Degra wasn't going to wait for him to decide he wanted forgiveness. He did not _deserve_forgiveness.

"So here we are again," said Degra, "You stand there, ready to fly off to the horizon. You had an opportunity to have a family then, just as you did now, and once again you squandered it." She lifted her hand to point at him again. "Go then, Torden. Leave Azure... Leave all of us like you did before. But this time, don't ever_come back, because if you hurt _my children again, I will make you regret it."

The conviction in her words was enough to tell Torden that she meant every one that she spoke. He stared after her as she turned her back on him and stormed away, following the pier to the shoreline where another Lucario stood. A Lucario female, staring in disgust at the Zapdos as she walked beside Degra, and the pair made their way back into town. He continued to watch them until they were no longer in sight, and at that he turned to stare to the setting sun once again. Slowly, he spread his wings and took flight, leaving behind the family he had abandoned for the last time...