FSE

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The sunrise came warm and gentle the next morning, casting a subtle orange glow on the dew covered plants in the forest. The light filtered through the canvas of the tent, playing across Tamash?'s eyes. They fluttered for a moment, then opened, and gave a yawn accompanied by a contented smile. She snuggled against her still sleeping mate's chest, enjoying the feeling of waking with Valor beside-or rather under-her for the first time in so long.

Disturbed from his own sleep by her movements, he woke with a few blinks as his vision came into focus. As soon as he realised that it was in fact her that had-albeit unintentionally-woken him, a soft, loving smile spread on his lips. He hugged her tightly, feeling just as she did: that it was so unbelievably wonderful to be together again.

Tamash? giggled in response to his embrace. "Good morning to you too."

With a playful gleam in his eyes he asked, "Would you prefer I not hug you? And if so what would you prefer?"

"No, I like it when you hug me. But as for what I would prefer, I think you know the answer to that." Without giving him even a second's opportunity to answer she sealed her lips against his, giving him his answer. She couldn't help but be amused at his obvious disappointment when she pulled away a moment later.

She suddenly suffered from a fit of giggling as she realized something was starting to press against her inner thigh. "It really doesn't take much to get you going, does it?"

He blushed at the question. Though he wouldn't want to admit it, being apart from her-and any kind of sexual activity by extension-had made it so that it really didn't take much to arouse him. Tamash? enjoyed watching him squirm under her gaze for a few seconds more, then with telepathic equivalent to a whisper said, "I suppose we should do something about that, shouldn't we?"

Before he could respond in any way but blushing even harder, she dove into the sleeping bag, quickly wrapping her lips around the tip of his erection. She started slowly, centimetre by centimetre sliding his length over her long, soft tongue, and toward the back of her mouth.

Considering the time of day, he knew this wouldn't turn into actual sex, and he wasn't going to let her be the only one of them who didn't get any thing out of this. Taking advantage of how perfectly positioned she was, he leaned forward a bit, and delivered a long, slow lick to her slick entrance. She yelped in surprise, briefly turning back to look at him. Then, with a bemused sort of grin she returned to her pleasuring of him.

Satisfied that she approved, Valor repeated his previous action, gladly taking in the scent and taste of his mate's already flowing fluids. Along with working his tongue back and forth through her folds he also applied the occasional light flick to her clit, each time drawing an ever so slight intake of breath from her.

As she enjoyed his attentions to her organ, she made sure not to slack on doing the same for him. While she bobbed her head along his length she also used her tongue to deliver special attention to the tip. She couldn't help but enjoy the little shudders of pleasure that occasionally went through her mate's body. One of those shudders was a bit more violent than the rest, and was accompanied by a familiar salty taste filling her mouth, much her delight.

Even having had an orgasm of his own, Valor was determined not to stop until he could do the same for her. In an effort to instigate a faster result, he slid his tongue as deeply into her as he could, sliding it along her inner folds. As her own climax drew closer she started whimpering a bit, spurring Valor on until he felt her contacting around him, sending out a sizeable amount of her own, sweeter fluids.

Having finished her he laid his head back, and after a minute or two she turned back around so they were face to face once more. With a small grin he said, "I'd say that's a better way to wake up than using an alarm clock."

She nodded in agreement, then slid of him so she was lying by his side, snuggled in close to him. "It's too bad we're probably gonna have to leave soon. I really kind of wish we could just stay here like this."

Without a word he kissed the top of her head, telling her that he felt the same without saying so.

***

After a quick breakfast and taking the time to pack up their camp, the six of them set off, Galen seeming to assume a natural position at the front of their little group. It was around midday when they reached Saffron City. When they made it to the first split in the path, Galen, Valor and Tamash? turned to head north and-much to Tamash?'s dismay-Gardevoir and the others turned to head south.

"Hold on, you're not coming with us?"

Gardevoir shook her head. "No, this is where we part."

Tamash? looked around at her friends, noting the less than happy expressions on all of their faces. "But, why?"

"Two reasons. One, because, well, you didn't really expect us to travel around with you forever, did you?"

"No, I didn't." Tamash? admitted reluctantly. "What's the second reason?"

Gardevoir exchanged a brief glance with Lopunny, then said, "We've been talking, and Lilligant and I are going to try to help Lopunny find her trainer. So, we're heading south to Vermillion City to hop a ship to Hoenn. That's where Lopunny's trainer lived two years ago. The hope is that she's still there. And, Lopunny also thinks that her trainer would be willing to take us in, so..."

"Oh." Tamash? was still a bit reluctant to part from them, but she understood their reasons. With a sad sort of smile she said, "Well, good luck then, to all of you. And be careful, yeah? I wouldn't want to have helped you three get out of trouble just to have you land back in it."

Gardevoir nodded in agreement. "We'll be fine, don't worry."

Without discussing it in the slightest the four of them came together in a group hug of sorts, then separated, and turned to head down their separate paths. Tamash? took one last look at the backs of her retreating friends, then turned and followed after Valor and Galen.

After a minute Galen spoke. "So here's a question: why are you two moving north? I would have thought you would be on the first ship back to Sinnoh."

Valor answered, saying, "We talked about it, and we thought it would be nice to spend a little extra time with just the two of us first. So, we're taking the 'scenic route' if you will. We're gonna take the magnet train to Goldenrod City. We figured we would make our way through the Johto Region, then take a ship from Olivine City to get back to Sinnoh."

"Well, there are worse paths to take. But then, you two should have some time to yourselves. With how long you've been apart, it must be nice to be together again."

Valor thought he detected a catch in his friend's voice, but he decided not to ask, since if he was right there was probably some kind of sensitive topic attached. Tamash? however, was not so delicate. "Galen, is something wrong?"

"It's nothing Tamash?."

She rolled her eyes in response. "You're a worse liar than Valor. What's wrong?"

"I don't have the time or the desire to talk about it. Please just leave it alone."

She didn't really want to 'leave it alone', but a look from Valor made her reluctantly drop the topic.

After a few more minutes of walking-this time in complete and somewhat sombre silence-they came to another division in the path. Galen turned to face them. "Well, this is where we go our separate ways."

Valor nodded. "Yeah. So, where are you headed?"

"I'm off to be with my wife again. As it was she wasn't happy about me leaving her, even though she understood my reasons for going. I don't want to stay away for much longer, because even now she's probably already pissed at me."

"Well, good luck with that. And thanks, for everything."

Tamash? chimed in then saying, "Naturally, you have my thanks as well. Not only for helping to save me, but for keeping Valor from getting himself killed."

Galen waved dismissively. "Don't worry about it. You two are my friends. I couldn't very well leave you two without any help, now could I? Besides, I can't stand people like Lawrence and Pokémon Hunters. And, don't tell my wife, but frankly my life has been a bit on the dull side lately. I needed to get one last little adventure out of my system I think."

Valor gave an exhausted sigh accompanied by a shake of his head. "You never take anything seriously, do you?"

"Kid, I've learned after a long time that if I'm to serious all the time, then my life just becomes nothing but stress and worry, not to mention a short temper on top of that. I only take things seriously when I really have to. Right now for instance. Before I leave, I'm going to have to be very serious. Listen, and listen well. We may not have seen the last of Lawrence. He has power and influence, so there's no telling what he could accomplish, even from behind the walls of a prison. Even in general, you two should try to be careful. Okay?"

With an air of confidence-almost to the point of sounding conceited-Tamash? said, "Don't worry so much. We'll be fine. And if we're not, you can just come and rescue us again!"

With an expression that was a mixture of guilt and regret Valor said, "Tamash?, don't say things like that. It was my own over confidence that caused this whole mess in the first place."

"Valor, I told you to stop blaming yourself."

"I'm not going to no matter how many times you ask. It was my fault."

"You're so stubborn."

With a hint of a smile he asked, "Why do you say that as though you're not?"

Before she could respond, Galen held up a hand to stop them. "Look, much as I would enjoy sitting here watching you two do this playful bantering stuff, I need to get going. So, until we meet again, take care of yourselves, okay?"

Valor gave an affirmative nod. "We will."

Tamash? added, "And you take care of yourself too Galen."

He gave a nod of his own in response, then with a final farewell wave he set off down the road before him, leaving them to make their way through the city to the magnate train station. It was a relatively short walk from where they were, and half an hour later they were waiting on the platform, tickets ready to board the train to Goldenrod City in the Johto Region.

The sleek silver bullet-like train pulled up before them, the doors opening with a hiss of released air. They stepped through and set out to find their seats. After a minute or two they the doors closed again, and the train began to move forward, leaving the station.

Mere seconds after the train left the station, several men in Saffron City Police uniforms came running up the steps to the platform, all looking very out of breath. One of them-a lieutenant swore under his breath as he saw that the train had left. He pulled out his radio, putting in a call to the station. "We just missed them. It's too late to stop the train. Send a message to the Goldenrod Department to be ready at their end."

The comm crackled with static, then came a voice. "Roger that. We'll send the alert."

"We don't happen to have anyone on board who could make sure they don't get away, do we?"

More static, then, "Negative. But our records do show that a member of InterPol is on board. We can probably get his help."

The lieutenant gave a curt nod, though he knew the person at the other end couldn't see it. "Alright then, we're returning to the station. Over and out."

With that he and the other officers turned and left the station, assured that the issue would be dealt with.

***

For the first few minutes of their time on the train Tamash? stared out the window, her tail waving back in forth in wonder as she marvelled at just how fast they were moving, something that Valor found incredibly amusing. When she had grown tired of that, she had laid down on the seat beside him, quickly falling asleep with her head in his lap.

Valor had spent another few minutes, gently scratching her behind her right ear-a favourite spot of hers-before he found himself absentmindedly staring out the window. It was his lack of attention that that made him whip his head around in surprise when a voice asked, "You mind if I sit here?"

There was a man standing there, pointing to the seat opposite Valor. "I wouldn't ask, but someone took my seat and won't give it up."

Valor shook his head. "It's fine. Feel free."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." The man sat down, smiling brightly. By the look of him, Valor guessed he couldn't be more than twenty two or twenty three. "My name is Zyle, by the way."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Valor, and the Lucario drooling on my lap is Tamash?."

Her ears twitched briefly, as though she could tell even I sleep that she was being talked about. Zyle smirked. "Is it actually drooling?"

"She, and no, just thought I would try to be clever."

"Sure. Though, I do have to say, she does seem very comfortable. Almost, too comfortable."

Valor chose his next words carefully, not wanting to say too much. "Yeah, well...she doesn't really have a concept of 'personal space'. That and, she hasn't been sleeping too well lately. So, I can't really hold it against her."

Zyle nodded. "I understand. Why hasn't she been sleeping well? Insomnia or something?"

"It's...kind of a long story, and it's not something I want to discuss with someone I just met."

Zyle smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, guess I am getting a little personal."

"Don't worry about it." The next several minutes passed in silence, the only sound coming in the form of the quiet hum of the train.

After the train had been zipping along the track for around fifteen minutes, Tamash? woke up, and naturally took immediate notice of the stranger in their presence. "Who is this?"

Zyle blinked in surprise. "Whoa. I've heard that Lucarios could use telepathy, but I always thought those were just stories."

Tamash? smiled a self satisfied sort of smile. "Yep, we can use telepathy any time we want. Though, most wild Lucarios don't really ever make use of the ability, and many Lucarios who have trainers usually only talk to their trainers. But back to my question: who are you?"

"Zyle. My name is Zyle."

Tamash? tilted her head to one side. "Zyle? I'm not quite sure what it is, but there's something I like about the sound of your name."

"Uh...thanks, I think."

"It's a compliment, trust me." Turning to Valor she asked, "How long was I asleep for?"

"Not long. Though, with how fast this train it shouldn't be too long before we get to Goldenrod."

She leaned against him, closing her eyes again. "Too bad. I wouldn't mind getting a bit more sleep in."

Zyle raised an eyebrow to the sight before him. "I would be careful if I were you. Somebody looking at you two might think you were...some kind of couple or something. I'm sure that would only cause problems."

Silently apologising for doing so, Valor pushed Tamash? off him. "Like I said, she doesn't really have a concept of personal space."

Tamash? threw him a dirty look, both for effect and because she was actually a bit unhappy about being pushed away. "Since when do you care what other people think? Just let me lean against you, you ass!"

"Who are you calling an ass?"

"You, you ass!"

As they continued bickering back and forth like that, Zyle smiled to himself. To anyone who just took a look at them, it would appear as though they were friends who knew each other well. But as one who knew what they really were, he could easily recognize how much they cared for each other. I came looking for criminals, he thought, but that's not what they are. We have no right or reason to be after them. "Damn."

Valor and Tamash? broke off from their mock argument, their attention drawn back to Zyle. "What's wrong?"

Zyle's eyes widened. He hadn't realized that that 'damn' had been out loud. A quick lie came to him. "Uh, I just remembered I have to make an important call, and it's kind of about a private matter. Sorry to leave so abruptly, but I'm sure you understand."

Zyle stood and quickly walked away, leaving Valor and Tamash? with matching looks of confusion. As soon as he was sure they wouldn't be able to hear him, he slipped into an empty seating compartment and pulled out his Pokégear. He quickly punched in the number of the Goldenrod Police Department, hoping he wasn't going to be too late. As soon as the other end picked up he said, "This is Agent Zyle of the International Police. Connect me to the Chief of Police."

After another moment his call was put through. "Listen, you can call off the officers waiting at the Goldenrod Station. I've combed this train three times and they aren't here."

The other end was silent for a few seconds. "Are you sure? The Saffron Department said they were on the train. They even said they had security footage of them boarding."

"Well then, they made a mistake. Don't waste your resources on this. They're probably still in Kanto."

"Alright then, I'll send an alert to Saffron then."

Zyle breathed a sigh of relief when there was a click at the other end, signalling that he had been hung up on. He then smiled a sad sort of smile. "Well, I may lose my job over this, but I'm pretty sure it was worth it."

No sooner had he said that that an attractive red head walked past, drawing his attention. He smiled again. "Well, this day might be about to get a little better."

With that he set off after the woman, his thoughts of Valor and Tamash? quickly forgotten.

***

When the train pulled into the station in Goldenrod, Valor and Tamash? were among the last passengers off, with the afternoon sun shining down on the brightly coloured city to accompany them. They had decided to go north out of Goldenrod, take the path through the National Park to Ecruteak City, then head toward Olivine City from there.

As they walked through the City, they walked in silence. It was a silence born of closeness and contentment, both glad that their life had regained some semblance of normalcy. They had almost reached the northern gate of the city, when a voice from behind them called out, "You there! With the Lucario! Stop!"

They both turned to see a man in a Goldenrod Police uniform running toward them. He stopped a few feet in front of them, breathing heavily. Valor took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure. Whatever this was about, it couldn't be good. "Is there something I can help you with Officer?"

"Possibly. Is your name Valor?"

Valor tensed up slightly. "Yes. Why?"

The Officer was quiet for a moment. "Well then, I'm sorry to do this to one so young, but you are under arrest on suspicion of forming an illegal relationship with your Lucario."

Valor took a step back, his mind racing. Lawrence. He must have said something about them. It was the only explanation. What now? He thought. If we get arrested, the Guardian Council could find out. It could cost Tamash? her life. I can't-won't let that happen!

Tamash? was trembling slightly. She had come to essentially the same conclusion. "Valor, what do we do?"

"The only thing we can."

The officer looked at him in confusion, as he hadn't heard Tamash?'s telepathic question. "What? What are you talking about?"

Valor looked the man before him straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry too, but you won't be arresting anyone."

Before the officer could react, Valor loosed a pulse of Aura from his body, creating a small shock wave that knocked the office back several feet to land heavily on the ground. The people in the immediate area gasped in shock, not believing what they had just seen. Valor grabbed Tamash? by her paw and took off toward the northern gate of the city.

"Valor, what are you doing?!"

"Like I said, the only thing we can. Keep moving. It's the only way we both get out of this alive, and I'm not losing you again!"

Tamash? nodded and pulled her paw from his hand, continuing to run alongside him. She had never wanted this. She had never wanted to force him to leave his world behind for her. But she knew why he was doing it. She understood perfectly. She knew it was the only way. She didn't like it, but she figured he didn't either. So she did all she could, and continued to run.

Valor was experiencing a similar rush of thoughts. He had never wanted to put her in this kind of danger. But now, now he had to protect her. He had to make sure that he didn't fail her again.

Less than a minute had passed since they had started running, when they came to, and passed through the gate to the route just beyond the city. Knowing they would definitely be caught if they stayed on the main road, they quickly dashed into the forest that lined the road, disappearing deeper and deeper into the shelter and cover of the greenery.

As they ran, one immutable fact rang out in both of their minds. Now, everyone would know their guilt. Now, they had no where they could go to be safe, and they had to keep running. Now, they were outlaws.

***

Their lives changed so quickly once they started to run. They had to hide. They had to avoid roads, and camp where they couldn't be seen. Most of where they travelled was wilderness. The first two weeks of this were the most difficult, as they were always running, always looking over their shoulders. Neither of them got much sleep during that time. By the end of the third week of being on the run they were becoming used to it and by the end of the first month like that, they had become used to their 'new life' of running from the law-or at least as used to it as someone can become.

One particularly rainy night found them sheltering in a somewhat dry cave, a small fire burning to keep them warm. Valor sat leaning against one of the walls of the cave, and Tamash? was seated in a cross-legged position near the entrance, staring out at the thick drops of water that fell heavily from the sky with the unending patter of water hitting already formed puddles on the ground. The stress of recent events had undoubtedly put strain on their relationship, and it was now not uncommon for them to sit apart like that.

It was in a similar fashion that their physical relationship had suffered, and in the last month they had found only a few quiet moments where they were both in the mood for any kind of carnal activities. Needless to say the lack of emotional release had also made their tempers a fair bit shorter, and there had been at least a couple of instances where one of them snapped at the other, something that under normal circumstances never happened.

Staring at the deceptively cheery blaze before him, Valor let out a quiet sigh. So much had changed. He hated what they had been forced to become, and once again he often felt himself unable to feel that it was anything but his fault. Not only that, but he could almost feel the disappointment and anguish of the people who had told them to be careful. He couldn't help but worry about what his mother's reaction was, if she even knew what was going on. For that matter, he couldn't help but wonder how Galen, or Candice, or anyone he would call a friend had reacted. Being disconnected from society like this had made it impossible to know what was going on, or just how far spread the news of his 'illegal relationship' had travelled.

Worst of all though, at least to Valor, was that where he once thought that the love between them could weather any problem, he now worried if their relationship could even survive under such conditions. Between the threat of being arrested, and the undoubtedly greater threat that was being found by the Guardians, there life had become little more than unending stress, with little moments of relief, not unlike the rain that fell just a few meters from where he sat. He hoped more and more each day that an end to the storm would come into view, and the blue sky of a new day would shine through the darkness that had pervaded their existence.

Whereas Valor was trying to stay hopeful, Tamash? was finding it harder and harder to do so. She didn't even like being put in her Pokéball. Being forced to lose her freedom in any way simply didn't sit well with her. She didn't want there to be place that she couldn't go, and she hated that she had to constantly worry about being put under even greater constraints were they to be caught. She found it all...depressing.

She sighed, an exhaustedly sad sigh. She then stood, stretching out her body as she did. Turning to Valor she said, "I'm going to sleep. I can't keep sitting here doing nothing."

Valor looked away from the fire, furrowing his brow with a concerned sort of look in his eyes. "Really? It's still pretty early."

"I don't care how early it is."

"Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

"No more so than usual."

"Look, I know we're not under the best circumstances here-"

Tamash? could feel some pent up frustration coming to the surface as she cut him off to say, "Really? What was your first clue?"

Valor faltered for a moment, somewhat surprised by her response. "I know things are bad, but don't take that out on me, alright? We can't start fighting each other. Just calm down, okay?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child Valor! I know what's going on! I know things are bad, and I refuse to 'calm down' about it! This whole thing is ridiculous!"

Valor slowly got to his feet, starting to feel a bit frustrated himself. "Stop. Just stop. I don't like this any more than you do. Do you think I like having to hide in caves and run every time I think there might be people anywhere near by?"

"I'm aware that you don't like it! I know! But you can't tell me you're not angry about all this!"

"Of course I'm angry! Our whole world is falling apart around us! But please stop acting like this is my fault!"

"Acting? You think I'm acting? At the end of the day, this is your fault!"

"How the hell is this my fault?!"

Tamash? was quiet for a brief second, then shaking with anger, she answered. "Do you really want to know how this is your fault? Then I'll tell you. Way back before we were a couple, I told myself that even though I loved you, I would be perfectly happy just to be with you, that I would only tell you how I felt if you told me first. I never thought you would. But you surprised me, and I decided to go with it. At the time, I was happy beyond belief. But looking back at it, I made a mistake, and so did you. I realized that if you had just kept your mouth shut, we never would have wound up in this situation! We would be nothing more than a pokémon and her Trainer, and we wouldn't have to be acting like fucking criminals! So yes, at the end of the day, we are in this Arceus damned situation because of y-"

In an instant of nothing but pure, blind fury as a result of pent up anger, frustration, and the catalyst that their argument had become, Valor struck her across the face, sending her reeling back from the force and shock of the blow. Almost immediately his anger vanished as he registered what he had just done. He rushed over to her, a horrified expression on his face. "Tamash?, are you alright? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

He was unable to finish his sentence as within as single second Tamash?-acting with anger of her own-tackled him to the ground, pinning him in place. She stayed there for a moment, breathing heavily. Then without a word, she stood and started walking toward the entrance to the cave.

Valor pushed himself up into a sitting position, then rolled his body a bit so he was up in a crouching position. "Tamash?, where are you-"

"I used to think they were wrong. Whenever anyone would say that a relationship between a human and a pokémon couldn't be together, I thought, we'll prove them wrong. Now, I'm not so sure."

She started walking out into the rain, and Valor immediately stood to follow her, but stopped cold when she turned to face him with a very dark look in her eyes. "Don't follow me. It's over Valor. It's all over. And if you follow me, I won't hesitate to attack you."

She turned and continued walking away, her fur quickly becoming soaked. When she was a few meters away from him she broke into a dead run, quickly disappearing into the deep undergrowth of the forest just outside the cave.

Valor simply stood there not knowing what to do as he struggled to understand how this had happened. Of course, the answer was clear. Once again-at least as he saw it-he had screwed up. Behind him the fire burned out, the darkness in the cave now matching the cold feeling that had formed in his heart.

***

Tamash? hadn't been running for very long when she came to a stop. She was already breathing heavily, and her fur was soaked through to her skin. Though it would have been impossible to tell the difference between the two, mixed in with the rain soaking her face were tears that had been flowing freely since she started running through the forest.

Once she had caught her breath, she wiped her eyes, then found a somewhat dry spot beneath the upheaved roots of a large tree that formed into a hollow just big enough for her to stand up in if she bowed her head. She laid down on the soft soil, curling up with her tail wrapped around her. She closed her eyes, not only in an effort to sleep until the rain stopped, but also as an attempt to stop the flow of her tears.

"You know, the offer I mad to you at Lake Acuity is still open."

Tamash? sat bolt upright at the sound of the voice, her eyes narrowing with irritated recognition as she came face-to-face with Mesprit. "What the hell are you doing here? And what offer?"

"I have been keeping an eye on you and Valor because you two have caught my interest. That is why I am here. And the offer I refer to is the one in which I informed you that I could take away your emotions. You never actually gave me an answer, so I thought I would tell you that the offer was still open, in the case that you wanted to take me up on it."

"Give that a rest, would you? I'm not going to 'take you up' on that offer. Just leave me alone. I don't want to deal with you or anyone else right now. And for the record, I don't have any emotions I need to get rid of."

Mesprit raised one eyebrow. "You say that, but if that is the case, then explain the tears running down your face. Clearly you are feeling quite upsetting things."

"If you want to listen to a sob story, then go talk to my...then go talk to Valor. I'm sure he would just pour his heart out for you."

"Ooh, so full of emotion over Valor. Not really surprising though, after what just happened. I can feel it. You are torn between love for him and anger at...him, but not really him, as well as anger at yourself, and something akin to resolve. Care to explain any of that?"

Tamash? laid back down with a 'humph'. "No, I wouldn't."

"Well then, allow me to ask you something. Are you really going to let your relationship with him-something that brought you so much joy, so many happy moments-fall apart just like that?"

"Everything falls apart eventually. It was only a matter of time."

"I can tell that you do not believe that. And do you know what else I know? I am aware that you did not mean what you said to him back at the cave, even if their may have been a grain of truth to it. So if that is the case, why say those things to him?"

Tamash? was quiet for a moment before she chose to answer. "I did it for his sake. Being with me has only brought him trouble. This will be better for everyone. It's the right thing to do."

"Funny. That is the second time I have had a female pokémon tell me that as her reason for leaving her human behind. I dare say it was not better for either of them."

Tamash? looked up at Mesprit, confused by her last statement. "What are you talking about?"

"Hmm...I cannot really say, as it is not my secret to share, but I suppose in the interest of providing an example of what could happen to you, I could give you the basics. I once knew of a couple not so dissimilar to you and Valor. They began their relationship on the shores of the lake I call home. That couple was a human and a Ninetales. After six months of happiness, the Ninetales somehow became pregnant, and she decided that in order to protect him, she would leave him behind. I tried to convince her otherwise, but she would not listen. To this day they both miss each other greatly, and he still has no clue as to why she left. Trust me when I say that you would regret it for the rest of your life."

"I...look, I don't want to leave him. I love him. I always will. But, how can I go back to him now? I attacked him, I said all those awful things, and knowing him, he probably won't ever forgive himself for hitting me. It just won't work." Tamash? sniffed as she struggled to fight back a new wave of tears.

Mesprit gently floated down so that she was right in front of Tamash?'s eyes. "He still loves you Tamash?, and he has already forgiven you. Right now he is sitting in the dark in that cave, debating between risking you attacking him again to come after you, and waiting there in the hope that you will come back on your own. Are you really going to make him wait? Besides, even if you don not go back to him, he would follow after you or wait for you for as long as he needs to, because the thing he wants most is to be with you. He knows he made a mistake, and he feels terrible, but he wants to make it up to you. Do both of you a favour, and do not break both of your hearts."

"I don't see how he could forgive me for all of that. How could anyone?"

Mesprit shook her head. "Tamash?, you cannot just throw away your love for each other over one argument. Go back to him. Make up with each other. You two need each other, not only to get through these darker days, but also in general. You two cannot survive without each other. Do not make a second mistake today."

Tamash? took a slow, deep breath to steady her nerves, then she slowly pushed herself off the ground, and stood up, wiping away the fresh tears from her eyes. "You're right. Much as it may be beneficial in certain ways to separate, we do need each other. It...might be hard to go back, but I have to try, right?"

Mesprit nodded. "That is right."

"Thank you Mesprit. I suppose you are good at putting things in perspective."

"I would be a pretty useless Being of Emotion if I could not help others with their emotions."

"I guess so. Before I go, would you mind telling me why you're so interested in me and Valor?"

With a knowing sort of smile Mesprit simply and mysteriously said, "Because you two are important."

Before Tamash? could ask what that meant, Mesprit was enveloped in an orb of light that disappeared in a flash, taking little pink Psychic-type with it. Tamash? stood there for a moment with a confused sort of expression on her face, then, filled with new resolve and clarity of mind, she turned face the way she had come through the forest the first time, and she took off running, determined to get back to her mate.

***

Valor sat quietly in the now dark cave, desperately trying to decide what to do. On the one hand if he went after her she might attack him again, but that would be worth it, wouldn't it? Then his other option was just to wait where he was and hope she would come back, but he didn't much like the idea. No matter what he knew he had to do something. He drew his legs up close to his body and bent his head until his forehead was resting on his knees. "What do I do?"

No answer came except for the consistent sound of rain coming from outside and the occasional sound of dripping water from deeper in the cave. In his solitude he had lost all track of time. He could have been sitting there for an hour, or merely for a minute, and he wouldn't have known the difference. At one point from the sheer piling on of emotions he broke down and cried, but after a while even his tears left him, and he simply couldn't cry anymore.

It was in perhaps his greatest moment of depression that without actually hearing a sound, he heard that so wonderfully familiar mental voice simply ask, "Valor?"

He looked up to see Tamash? standing at the entrance to the cave, her fur completely soaked and her feet covered in splatters of mud from running through the forest. Valor stood up slowly, scarcely believing that she had actually come back. Without moving from where he was he quietly said, "Tamash?...I'm...so sorry. I let my anger get the better of me. I-"

He was cut off as she ran forward and tightly hugged him. "Valor, if anyone needs to be sorry, it's me."

He stared down at her in confusion. "How do you figure that? I'm the one who...well...you know."

Tamash? slowly backed away from him, a guilty and apologetic look in her eyes. "I'm the one who should be sorry because...because I said everything I said just to get you angry. I...I wanted to have a reason to leave so that you wouldn't try to stop me."

Valor stared in shock, not understanding or believing what he was hearing. "What? Why would you do that?"

"I...I figured things would be easier for you. I thought it would be better if you didn't have to worry about or deal with me. I felt like I never do anything but cause problems for you. But...I decided I was wrong...with some help anyway. I'm really sorry."

Both of them were silent for a moment, then Tamash? flinched as Valor took a step toward her, expecting the worst. She was blinking in surprise a moment later as she realised that he had wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him. "You idiot. Even if you do cause problems for me, I would gladly put up with that, because I love you. And that will never change."

Upon hearing that she returned his embrace, snuggling against him as tears started to form in her eyes again. "I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean any of what I said."

"You were kinda right though. If you trace it back far enough, this is my fault. If I hadn't chosen to show an ounce of courage for once in my life on that day, we wouldn't be in this mess."

She shook her head with a small laugh. "No, we would have wound up in this position anyway. Even if you hadn't said anything, I was already thinking about pinning you down and breeding with you whether you wanted to or not. We would be in just the same place we are now. 'Course I knew you wanted to, but still."

"Wait, you knew?"

She nodded. "Do you know how many times I caught you staring at me? Or how many times I noticed you blushing when I would look at you? I am smart enough to figure it out Valor."

His face flushed bright red as she said this. "Oh. I guess it was kinda obvious."

"Yeah, but it was cute. That's part of why I fell for you."

They then both fell silent again as they stood there in each others arms, all of their problems seeming to evaporate in that moment as they recalled their happier days.

The silence went unbroken for several minutes until it was simply shattered by a violent sneeze from Tamash?. Valor smiled with a shake of his head. "Let me see if I can get the fire going again. You must be freezing."

She nodded and reluctantly let go of him, and within a few minutes they were in each others arms again, cuddling in front of the newly lit flames. Tamash? had used those few minutes to shake out her body and squeeze the excess water from her fur, leaving several large puddles on the floor of the cave. Now she was only damp, but that hadn't helped her warm up as much as the fire and being in her mate's arms were.

About an hour later-or at least what she thought might have been an hour-her fur was dry, and the rain had stopped, the pale light of the moon shining lightly through small breaks in the clouds. After everything that had gone on recently, it felt kind of odd to have a simple, quiet moment together. But it was also a relief. It was almost possible to forget that they were wanted "criminals".

Tamash? arched her back slightly as Valor started to scratch her behind the ear. That only really improved the moment in her mind. She was disappointed when he stopped and said, "Do you think you would mind getting off me long enough for me to roll out our sleeping bag? I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted after today."

She made a dissatisfied grumbling sound in response. "I do mind, but I would also like to get to sleep...so I guess I can get off you...for now."

It didn't take him long to get their sleeping bag ready and put the fire out, plunging the cave into darkness once more. But instead of feeling distant and cold like it had before, as they snuggled into the tight fabric together, they felt incredibly close and comfortable, a rare moment of darkness dispelling happiness, just like the moon light breaking through the clouds.

***

When Valor's eyes opened, the first thing that came into focus was a field of blue fur mere inches from his face; it was one of Tamash?'s ears. He smiled briefly, then his smile vanished as he remembered what he had been dreaming about. For the second time now, he had dreamt of Tamash? dying in his arms. He had once thought the dream had something to do with Lawrence, but now, he wasn't so sure. Even though he had made it seem to Tamash? as though he had let go of it, it still worried him. It was so real, so painful, that it was difficult to believe it could just be a dream.

He was broken free of his dark thoughts by Tamash? grumbling in her sleep, a cute sort of sound that brought a smile to his face. Whatever happens, he thought, I'll do everything in my power to protect her, and that's all I really can do, so I won't worry about it until I absolutely need to.

He didn't fall back to sleep, but he simply laid there beside her, enjoying the brush of her fur against his hands, and the steady rhythm of her breathing. In was a rare time when he felt totally at ease.

After a while the silence was broken by a yawn from his mate, signalling her own return to the waking world. She snuggled against him, making a contented sort of sound as she did so, drawing another smile from him as well as a small laugh. "Good morning."

She responded not with words, but by giving his neck an affectionate nuzzling. He raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "So, do you actually intend to talk to me this morning?"

With a mischievous gleam in her eyes she shrugged in response, again not saying a word.

Valor sighed. "Alright then. I you're not going to talk to me, then I guess I'll just get to work on making breakfast."

He slid out of the sleeping bag and stood up, stretching as he did so. Tamash? rolled her body so that she was in a position to pounce, then, with her tail wagging in excitement, waited until he closed his eyes at the apex of his stretch. The moment the lids shut she leapt out of the sleeping bag, tackling him to the ground and pinning him by his shoulders.

Once the pain faded he opened his eyes to see her sparkling ruby red eyes staring right back at him. With a weary smile he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Being playful and unexpected." Then, seeming to be almost an afterthought she added, "Oh, and I'm trying to figure out how to get your clothes off you without letting you get up."

He rolled his eyes, then adopting a similarly playful manner he said, "Well, you could just rip them off me."

With an evil sort of smirk she 'whispered', "Shouldn't you know by now not to give me ideas? Though, you do have a spare set of clothes, so..."

Valor's expression suddenly transformed to one of concern. "Hold on, I was just kidding! I don't want you to-no wait don't!"

But it was too late. With a sound of teeth tearing through the fabric his shirt was ripped open, exposing his chest and turning his T-Shirt into something more akin to a short sleeved jacket. Tamash? smiled with an air of self satisfaction, a strip of the red material hanging from her mouth. "Like I said, you should know by now than to give me ideas."

Valor groaned in response. "Me and my big mouth. Just please take my pants of properly."

"Oh fine, but it won't be as much fun." She then winked and said, "Now don't go anywhere, 'kay?"

"I couldn't if I wanted to."

It took her a minute to do it with out hurting him or destroying the denim, but eventually his pants were lying on the ground a few feet away. With a devilish smile she looked at him and said, "Alright, I took your pants off gently. However, you never specified what I should do with your underwear."

Before he could stop her she grabbed at the waist band and pulled, ripping the garment clean off his body, much to his dismay. "Oh come on! Was that really necessary?"

"Yes."

Valor laid his head back on the ground with a sigh of resignation. "Well, so much for those. If I didn't have an extra pair-"

"Then you would just have to deal with it. After all how long would you really be able to stay mad at me for?" Before he could answer she had her full weight pressing down on him again and had her lips tightly locked with his. Despite the fact that kissing wasn't something that came naturally to Lucarios, she had come to enjoy the feelings that came with it. To her there was something rather...enthralling about the feeling of pressing her lips against her mate's. There was something wonderful about being able to feel each almost imperceptible move he made, as though each moment brought them close to each other.

In spite of his slight irritation at having his clothes ripped apart, Valor quickly found his heart racing as it began pumping blood to the area were it was needed most. It wasn't long before the space between them seemed to become even less as his hardened length was pressed between them.

Feeling his readiness, Tamash? gently lifted herself off him just enough to guide his swollen manhood to her already dripping entrance, easing herself down along the throbbing flesh until she had taken every inch of him. She then started in with an uncharacteristically slow grinding motion, gently sliding her body along his. While he found it enjoyable enough, something was...missing. "Hold on, stop for a second. What's with the slow gentle stuff? That's not like you."

She looked away from him in embarrassment. "I figured after everything I put you through yesterday, I would go easy on you for once."

He rolled his eyes, and gently turned her head so that their eyes met. "Don't worry about yesterday. It's in the past. Right now, I want you to worry about this, and that means acting like you."

She smiled, nuzzled him briefly, then pulled back to look at him again. "Alright then, you asked for it."

Without any kind of warning she started grinding against him again, but this time at a pace that was more similar to her usual performance, accompanied by the oh-so familiar sounds of fur brushing and thumping against skin.

With how rare such physical release had become for them of late, Valor had lost much of his endurance, and could already feel the tell tale signs of an impending orgasm. His breathing quickened and his pulse raced. She was so tight, and it felt so good to have her sliding along his length, the fur around her mound brushing against his member. Unable to hold him self back any longer he released a torrent of his cream into her body.

She slowed for the briefest of moments to better enjoy the hot, wet sloshing feeling that came with her mate's orgasm, then she picked up her pace once more, driven by instinct to fill herself with as much of it as she could. As she continued she started to let out little moans of pleasure, enjoying the feeling of her mate stretching her as only he could.

Another moment passed, and she could feel she was close to the edge. She picked up her pace, trying to get him to fill her one more time before she hit her own orgasm. Breathing heavily and with her ears pressed flat against her head she let out a long low cry as she lost control, her entire body shuddering as her muscles began to contract around him.

In order to muffle herself she leaned in close to him and bit into his right shoulder. The feeling of her canines sinking into his skin was enough to push him into a second orgasm, filling her to the point where a mixture of their fluids was leaking out around his manhood.

Spent from her efforts she released her grip on his shoulder and laid her head on his chest, breathing heavily. She arched her back slightly as he reached up to scratch her behind her ear. It was-at least in her mind-what could only be called a perfect moment.

A short while later she pushed herself off him, looking down at herself with a sigh. "Between running in the mud and rain last night, and now...this," she said with a gesture directed at her nethers, "I need a bath. Desperately."

Valor pushed himself up so he was sitting, stretching as he did so. Well, there's a stream near by. That's about the best we can do at this point."

She pretended to contemplate it for a moment, then said, "I suppose that will work." With a wink she added, "But I may need some help with the hard to reach areas."

Valor shook his head with a laugh. "Well, somebody's feelin' frisky this morning."

As she strutted out of the cave she gently flicked her tail in his face and playfully asked, "Well that's your fault, now isn't it?

He quickly got up, gathered up his back pack and their sleeping bag and followed after her, a grin on his face. With everything that was going on, it was nice to see her acting like herself again.

By the time he caught up with her she had already submerged herself up to her waist in the aforementioned stream and was-from what he could tell-rather vigorously scrubbing herself clean. He gently set down their belongings a few feet from the banks of the meandering water, then slipped into the water about a meter downstream from Tamash?. The water was a little cold, but his body quickly adjusted, and like her he started cleaning away the sticky mess that had accumulated between his legs.

Once he was free of any residual fluids he looked over to his mate and was amused to realise that what she was doing was no longer cleaning. She had her eyes closed and a look of concentration of her canine features. Fighting to keep from laughing he asked, "Having fun over there sweetheart?"

Her eyes opened in surprise. She looked over to him, standing there with a grin on his face. She was about to say something back to him, but then smashed her arm through the water, splashing him with a massive cascade of droplets. "No. NOW I'm having fun."

After a moment of spluttering and coughing he asked, "Don't you think that was a little bit of overkill?"

She crossed her arms with a smug smile and said, "Well, that'll teach you not to make jokes about me."

"You make plenty of jokes at my expense!"

Affecting an air of playful indifference she asked, "And your point would be...?"

With a sigh he quietly accepted that he wasn't going to win. Instead he waded over to her, wrapped her arms around her waist and quietly said, "You're right. I don't have any real point to make. So why don't we change the subject? Why are you touching yourself, when you have me around?"

Though it wasn't visible she blushed profusely as she looked up at him. She wasn't used to him being so forward with her. She was used to being the one to say things like that, or being the one to suggest they have sex. "I...I don't really..."

"What's the matter? You seem kind of nervous."

This was completely out of the ordinary for him. He was always the nervous one! He never acted this confident! And she certainly never became nervous or embarrassed like this! But there was just something so different about the way he was acting. She didn't get it. "V-Valor...what's gotten into you? Y-you're not really acting like you."

He raised an eyebrow at her, and gave a confident sort of smile to go with it. "I could say the same of you. Are you alright?"

She slowly shook her head. "I-I don't know."

Whatever was going on, it had to be him, didn't it? Or could it be something different about me, she wondered? She could feel a stirring in her loins as she continued to look up into his bright blue eyes. But this wasn't the kind of arousal she was used to. She had never felt anything quite like this before. It was as though some instinct deep in the back of her mind were screaming 'Let him fuck you RIGHT NOW!' She didn't know where these thoughts and feelings had come from so suddenly, but she decided to give in and follow them.

Suddenly feeling a lot less nervous she said, "Valor, I want you to take me right here, right now."

Now it was Valor's turn to be thrown off. He blinked in confusion as he stared back at her own sparkling red eyes. He had just been trying to be a little-as she had put it earlier that morning-playful and unexpected. Apparently it had worked better than he had expected. "Uh...alright then. As you wish."

With out giving her even a second to respond he took her in a passionate kiss, and, in a break from the usual order of things, slipped his tongue into her mouth. It took her a moment to recover from the surprise of him acting so quickly, but once she did she very suddenly realised why he enjoyed it when she did this to him. There was some thing strongly intimate about having her mate's tongue sliding across her own tongue and toward her throat. She closed her eyes in bliss and her tail started to wave back and forth in excitement, creating little waves in the water.

She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in a bit closer, feeling her heart race as her instinct continued to drive her. She began grinding her hips against his, enjoying the feeling of his erection between them. He pulled away a moment later much to her disappointment. Breathing a bit heavier than usual he said, "If you keep rubbing against me like this, I'm not going to last long enough to 'take you'."

She stopped immediately, knowing he was right. She wanted this to last, and that wouldn't be the way to do it. As soon as she stopped he began kissing her once more, though this time instead of him putting his tongue in her mouth their oral muscles wound up entwined as the tried to infiltrate one another's mouths. Unable to take the anticipation any more, Tamash? reached between them, lined up his tip with her lower lips, and slammed herself down onto it, hilting him in a single shot. Thrown off balance by the sudden impact, Valor fell backwards, landing in a sitting position with Tamash? on his lap. Blinking away the pain he asked, "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah. You?"

"I'll be fine."

"Good, then there's no reason not to keep going."

Because of the way Valor had fallen they were now in shallower water a foot or two from where they had started out, but it was still two thirds of the way up his torso. So, with most of their bodies below the water, Tamash? began pistoning along his length, creating ripples and waves in the stream as she fought to satisfy her sudden need. She closed her eyes as the sensation over took her, his manhood rubbing and sliding against her insides, stretching her so wonderfully and hitting all the right spots.

Easily deducing that her need was far greater than his own, Valor decided to concentrate all his energy on making sure she enjoyed herself. Searching by touch with his left hand he felt around the area where their bodies had become connected, until finally he found what he had been looking for. Just above where he was even now sliding in and out of her with a steady rhythm, he could feel her warm, blood engorged clit. She shuddered slightly when he brushed his thumb against it, and she began arching her back as he began to vigorously apply his attentions to the swollen nubbin.

With his hand occupied below, he decided to give something different a try. Using his right hand he brushed through the cream coloured fur on her chest until he came across one of her nipples. He then curved his back and neck so that her chest was at his eye level, then he moved away his hand, and gently took her nipple in his mouth, stimulating it with a gentle sucking motion. The effect was immediate as she released a gasp of surprised pleasure, briefly opening her eyes to confirm what she was feeling.

Satisfied she allowed her eyelids to drift down again. She began whimpering mere moments later as he delivered a gentle bite, licking at the tip of the swollen nipple. She could feel herself getting closer and closer to her climax by the second. Each motion of his length against her insides, each brush of his thumb against her clit. It was all adding together into a sort of cumulative pleasure that was driving her to the brink of losing control.

She started slamming down harder on him, evidenced by the larger and larger ripples formed in the water, until finally she managed to force herself down hard enough to have him go through her cervix, the opening quickly tightening around him just beneath his tip. Even with her movement now restricted by their 'tying' she continued to pound her body against his as hard and fast as she could until finally she went over the edge, her orgasm washing over her just as the water of the stream was.

A moment of the familiar contracting around his member was enough for Valor to experience his third orgasm that morning, his body stiffening and his balls tightening as his seed was sprayed straight into her womb.

Both exhausted, he carefully scooted himself back until he could lay back against the bank of the stream. She likewise laid her head on his chest, panting heavily with her tongue slightly hanging out of her mouth. He looked down at her with a loving smile on his lips. "How was that?"

"Wonderful. I don't know what came over me, but you certainly satisfied it." She closed her eyes with a contented smile and snuggled against his chest.

"I'm glad. I love you Tamash?."

"I love you too."

***

After spending a relatively short amount of time recovering from their amorous activities, Valor returned to his original plan for that morning and proceeded to prepare breakfast for the two of them. Once their stomachs were full, Tamash? found a warm patch of sunlit ground and spread herself out, contentedly resting from their breeding session and their meal.

Valor on the other hand was not so relaxed. He had known this day would be inevitable, and so far he knew of only one solution to the predicament they were now in. He took one last look at the contents of his back pack, then with a sigh walked over to Tamash? to sit down beside her. "We have a problem."

She opened one crimson eye to look at him, a puzzled expression colouring her features. "How so?"

Valor took a deep breath and said, "Well, we seem to be running low on supplies. Specifically food and medical supplies. As it was I was already running a little low on things like potions before we were forced to start running, but after a month in the wilderness, well, I'm sure you can figure it out."

She sat up, her curiosity obviously changing to concern. "Is it really that bad? Are we completely out of food?"

Valor shifted his eyes so that they weren't looking at hers. "Completely." He lied.

"Valor, what are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing."

She folded her arms, and with a serious tone in her voice simply said, "Valor."

He sighed, then got up and walked back over to his bag, Tamash? close on his heels. It only took a minute of rummaging through it for him to find what he was searching for, producing a smallish white box. Tamash? raised an eyebrow at the item before her. "And what is this?"

"It's...a box lined with NeverMelt Ice. It used to keep things cold...or keep them from melting."

"Things like what? Or, to make myself clear, what's in the box?"

Valor opened the box and tipped out the contents, producing a haphazard stack of four chocolate bars. "I save these for special occasions."

Tamash? stared at her mate in disbelief. "You've had chocolate on you this whole time and you didn't tell me?!"

"Like I said, I save it for special occasions. Where did you think I got the bar I gave you in Lily Cove from?"

She simply stared at him for a moment, then held out one paw. "I want one. NOW."

Valor sighed. "Fine, but the others are still being saved."

He handed her one of the bars, which she took and quickly set to work unwrapping. "We'll see."

While she was occupied with the wrapper he slid the remaining three back in to the box, then closed it and returned it to his bag. When he turned back to look at her she was happily munching away at the candy, he tail waving back and forth in happiness. "Happy now?"

She simply nodded, and he found he couldn't help but smile at her almost child-like happiness. His smile quickly vanished though as he remembered their original topic of conversation. "So, back to what I was saying before, we need supplies."

He waited for a response to make sure she was paying attention, and continued when he got a nod in return. "Our only real option is to...well, unlike a pokémon I can't by any stretch survive on just berries and whatever else wild pokémon eat. So, I'm gonna need to go into a town or city to get what we need."

The moment that registered with her she whipped her head up to look at him, the remaining third of her chocolate suddenly forgotten. "You can't be serious?! Are you insane?!"

"I don't have any other option. Look, we're near Ecruteak City where we are now. It's a relatively small city, so they probably don't have as many police. Not only that, but after a month out here like this I don't really look the same any more."

She hated to admit it, but he did have a point. His hair had grown even longer and he had a darker tan than he used to-not that he had been very tan to begin with, but it was still darker. "Alright then, what about me? You can't hide this," she gestured to her spike-less chest, "nearly so easily. There aren't any more Lucarios I know of that look like me."

"You're absolutely right, and that's why you're not coming with me."

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"Look, I won't put you in danger again, I just won't do it. So it's either you wait for me here, or I put you in your Pokéball."

She immediately stiffened up. She didn't want to be put into her Pokéball, after all there was a reason she hadn't been in it in almost a year and a half now. But she certainly didn't want to wait there, left to worry whether or not he would even come back. Having made up her mind, she took a deep breath and said, "Fine then. I'll go in my Pokéball. I'm not letting you go alone, so I'll just have to deal with I suppose. Just do me a favour and don't get us both caught okay? After all, I won't be around to keep you out of trouble."

He nodded, a gentle smile gracing his lips. "Alright then. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble."

"Good. Let's leave in a little while okay? I'd like to enjoy just a little more time outside my Pokéball before we go..."

He nodded. "I understand. I wasn't planning on going until a little later today anyway."

"Good." She quickly finished off the remainder of her chocolate and then returned to her sunny spot, laying back to enjoy the warmth once more.

Several hours later they were hiding in the woods only a few hundred yards from the gate into Ecruteak City. Having watched the entrance for a while already, they were fairly certain there wasn't any security. Taking a deep breath to ease his nerves, Valor turned to face Tamash?. "Alright, it doesn't look like waiting around is really gonna do us any good, so I think it's time."

For a moment she didn't respond, then she rushed forward, quickly covering the short space between them to tightly hug him. While nuzzling him she quietly said, "Please, please be careful."

He gently hugged her back, wishing with all his heart that they didn't have to risk this. "Don't worry. I'll be careful."

Though she took little comfort in his reassurances, she took a deep breath and stepped back from him. "Alright then, let's get this over with."

Valor signalled his agreement with a reluctant nod. He hated that he had to do this to her, but with every inch being a struggle he reached down to his belt, and pulled off the red and white capsule that had so long been vacant. "Tamash?, return."

He pointed the ball at her, the device releasing a single beam or red light. At the exact instant that it made contact their eyes met, and in that split second, all that they felt for each other passed between them, as though by some kind of mental link. The concern, the regrets, and most importantly the love they shared for each other.

Then it was over. He stood there alone, holding her Pokéball. He reattached it to his belt, and set off toward Ecruteak. He found himself cursing his luck that there weren't more people around as he travelled through the city, wishing there was a crowd he could blend into. But then, Ecruteak had always been a quiet sort of town without a lot of activity.

As Valor moved through the town he tried to keep his head down and, more importantly, sneak around without looking like he was sneaking around. It didn't take him long to reach the Pokémon Center, and once inside he made straight for the built in PokéMart. Quickly sorting through the merchandise he picked out enough medical supplies and pokémon food to keep them supplied for the next three months. As he went about this he tried to stay aware of what was going on around him without coming off as jumpy or paranoid, and to his credit he did rather well at that.

Once he had made his purchases there he then made for the nearest market and purchased enough non perishable items to keep him supplied for as long as his pokémon he immediately set off to leave Ecruteak. He couldn't help but feel relieved as he made his way back through town, headed for the nearest exit. In just a few minutes, he would be out of the city and he and Tamash? would be able to put some distance between them and the town.

But, as if the universe wished to dash his hopes, he suddenly heard a gruff voice from behind him say, "You there in the green shirt, stop walking and turn around-slowly."

Valor slowly turned around, finding himself in the shadow of an Ecruteak police officer. He gulped, then asked, "Is-is something wrong officer?"

"We both know the answer to that young man. You're under arrest for forming an illegal relationship with your Lucario and for resisting arrest."

The officer took a step toward him, and Valor immediately turned and broke into a run, taking off down a side street, determined to lose the officer without having to attack like he did in Goldenrod. As he ran he could hear the footsteps of the officer in pursuit. Occasionally he would look back over his shoulder to see how much distance was between them, but he generally tried to keep his eyes forward. He kept running, and as he did, he tried to figure out how to get out of the city, desperately trying to figure a way out of the situation.

As he ran through the maze of streets and alleys he could feel himself beginning to tire. He knew he would have to think of something, as he also knew that he couldn't keep up his current pace for much longer. He took a look back over his shoulder as he ran around a corner, and immediately wished he hadn't as he crashed into someone, falling to the ground.

Looking up he was horrified to find himself looking up at another officer, this upper half of his face obscured by his uniform's hat. Valor found himself too shocked to resist as the officer reached down and hauled him to his feet. Mere seconds later the officer who had been chasing him came tearing around the corner and nearly crashed into them both. Breathing heavily he said, "Don't let him get away!"

The officer Valor had smacked into immediately grabbed him and-against his struggling-bound his arms behind his back with a pair of handcuffs. Valor continued struggling, becoming more aggressive by the second. He couldn't let it end like this. He couldn't let Tamash? down. Not again. Holding him tightly the officer quietly said, "You may as well stop struggling. It's over kid."

"Well done. If you hadn't come along I might have had to use force to catch him."

The officer holding Valor nodded with a confident smile. "Glad to help, but I was just in the right place at the right time."

"Let me go you bastard!" Valor growled as he continued to struggle.

The first officer let out a sigh. "Why do they always have to make it harder on themselves? Can you handle him from here? I'm exhausted. I must be getting too old for this."

The second office responded with another nod. "I can take care of it. Feel free to take a rest."

"Thanks. I'll take care of filing the reports just as long as you get him to the station."

The second officer started to drag Valor away, saying, "I said you should stop struggling kid. There's no point in fighting."

When they had made it about twelve meters from the first officer, the one holding Valor looked back over his shoulder with another confident smile and said, "Oh, and one other thing, you should really be certain of who it is you're handing a criminal off to."

Before the officer could respond, the already shadowy street seemed to grow darker, and from a nearby alley a Luxray dodged out to stand beside the officer holding Valor. The first officer stared in paralyzed shock as beneath Valor, the Luxray, and the other officer a shadowy portal opened, immediately engulfing them and closing behind them, leaving the space they had occupied completely empty.

***

Valor was down on all fours, feeling an unfortunately familiar nausea. Once the shock of passing through the portal had passed he stood and looked in disbelief at the man standing before him in a police uniform. "You are the most unbelievable son of a bitch I've ever known!"

Galen simply pulled the hat from his head to take a bow, fully revealing his face. "Thank you, thank you. I know, I'm amazing."

Despite the situation Valor found himself smiling. "How in the hell did you even find me?"

Galen gave a sheepish grin in response. "Honestly? Complete and total luck. I've been looking around Johto for weeks trying to track you down, and I was just-as I said to that officer-in the right place at the right time."

"Really? That's it? No mysterious or convoluted explanation? It was just luck?"

"It was really just a text book example of a serendipitous occurrence."

Valor sighed. "Yeah, that sounds like you. Okay then, two questions. One, why the police uniform, and two, where did you get it?"

"There are relatively simple answers to both. I'm wearing it so I could keep a low profile while searching for you and Tamash?. As for where I got it..." He trailed off, his face flushing bright red in what Valor could only assume was embarrassment. "Let's just say my wife had a fantasy she wanted to live out in the bedroom."

"Oh." Valor didn't know how to respond to that. He had never really discussed any thing about fantasies or anything like that with Tamash?. It was that thought that jogged his mind, causing him to say, "Oh crap! She's gonna kill me!"

"Who?"

"Who do you think? I promised Tamash? I would stay out of trouble and then, well, this happened. How do you think she'll react when I let her out of her Pokéball and she sees where we are?"

Galen struggled to keep a straight face as he said, "Yeah, you're dead."

"Thanks. Thanks for that." Valor replied with an obvious air of sarcasm.

Valor gulped, then pulled her Pokéball off his belt and silently pressed the button on the front, releasing Tamash? in a flash of light. She immediately stretched out as though she had been in a cramped space, then with a tone of relief said, "Well, I guess things turned out alright the-"

She stopped cold as she realised where they were. She was quiet for a moment, then slowly turned to face Valor. "What did you do?"

Valor looked away, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and guilt. "It wasn't really my fault. An officer in Ecruteak happened to recognize me, then I ran from him...then by sheer luck I quite literally bumped into Galen who then proceeded to...save...both...of..." He trailed off as he struggled not to meet his mate's gaze.

Tamash? sighed. "Well, I suppose it really wasn't you fault. Though this why I didn't want you to go into town in the first place. If Galen hadn't shown up..."

"I know. I'm sorry. I guess I let you down again."

"You idiot, stop doing that. You can't blame yourself for everything and you can't make such a big deal out of every mistake. After all, you only human, so you can't possibly be as perfect as say...me."

Valor smiled, enjoying the familiar playful narcissism. "Perfect huh? I'd say you're pretty close, but totally perfect? I don't think so."

Tamash? raised an eyebrow at him, an irritated look in her eyes. "Oh? And what pray tell are my imperfections, since you seem to think I have some?"

With an amused sort of laugh he pulled her into a gentle hug. "Don't get all huffy. You know what they say, you like people for their good qualities, but you love them for their flaws. I'm pretty sure that idea can be extended to pokémon."

She hugged him back, telepathically saying, "Fine, I guess I can accept that...you know, as long as you love these 'flaws' you seem to think I have."

Galen cleared his throat, drawing their attention. "Look, this is cute and all, but we should get moving."

Valor sighed. "You have a bad habit of killing moments, you know that?"

Galen shrugged. "I suppose, but it doesn't change that we should get moving."

With that he turned and started walking along the path of floating platforms before them, Luxor padding along beside him. With yet another sigh, Valor separated himself from Tamash?, and together they followed after Galen, setting off into the Distortion World's depths.