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The Riolu and the Kirlia were standing in the basement of Jason's house, still on their quest to speak somewhere private. Jason had led them to his house considering it's his only actual safe place for him. He set his bullet proof vest and his utility belt down at the living room and led the Kirlia down the basement. He knew full well that the Sceptile would probably have their house under surveillance, but he was also aware that the Sceptile hasn't 'bugged' the secret tunnel.

"Welp, this is about the most private place I could think of." The Riolu said as he pulled up a secret hatch at the floor of their basement, revealing stairs that led further down.

"That Sceptile's spores don't reach us down there." The Kirlia smiled as she took a step down. "Yeah, this place should do."

With that, the Riolu and the Kirlia stepped into the secret staircase with Jason closing the hatch behind them, leaving them in total darkness. The Riolu snapped his fingers as a ball of fire burned to life on his palm, giving the two pokemon light. The Kirlia observed the Riolu as he grabbed a torch from the wall and lit it.

"Here." the Riolu said as he handed her the torch.

The Kirlia was startled a bit, too focused on the Riolu's fire to notice him approaching to hand her the torch. "Oh, uh, thanks." She said as she took the torch.

"So," the Riolu walked around before extinguishing the fire on his hand. "what is it that you wanted to show me?"

The Kirlia was silent for a moment, moving her grip nervously on the torch. "Jason, I want you to light your own fire. That way the two of us have our sources of light."

Jason didn't really have much of a reason to protest. He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers once more. Upon closer inspection, the Kirlia noticed that a spark is emitted with the snap and the spark itself grows into the ball of fire. "M'kay, Sarah, we both have our sources of light now." The Riolu said. "Now what?"

"Just watch." The Kirlia said as she let go of her torch which was now held up by her psychic power. She held her arms in front of her chest and Jason stared in surprise and awe as water started flowing out of her palms and gathering into a sphere. The water seemed to come from the pores of her skin in steady, wire-thin streams and moved across her arm before it started floating in midair. Whether the levitation was done through psychic means didn't matter right now. Water streaming out of her body was the main issue.

"You can make water come out of your body?" the Riolu asked.

The Kirlia gave Jason a nod as she stared intently on the sphere above her hand. Jason noticed that maintaining that small ball itself took quite the concentration for the Kirlia, surprising considering that she could probably do that easily with regular water and her psychic powers.

"No no no..." the Kirlia softly whispered as the panic rose in her. The sphere began distorting in shape then started darting around in the air, seemingly elongating into a whip-like shape as it slithered and thrashed around the air wildly. Both pokemon stared at the flailing whip with different expressions. The Riolu's was that of curiosity while the Kirlia's was that of a mixture of panic and fear. That water whip then surged towards the Riolu at high speeds, to which Jason quickly countered with a swift swipe of his arm, the ball of fire on his hand arching in front of the Riolu, countering the water.

The two opposing elements collided in an explosion of hot steam that obscured their vision for a couple of seconds. Once the steam had dissipated, the Riolu emerged unscathed. His fur may have been a bit fuzzy from the humidity, but he was unharmed."What was that for?" Jason demanded, surprised by the Kirlia's sudden hostility.

"I'm sorry, Jason." The Kirlia herself was surprised, though panicked would've been a better word. "I d-don't know what happened. I just wanted to show you my power... I tried to control it as best I could but..."

The Riolu felt the fear coming from the Kirlia. She clearly meant her apology and didn't mean to appear hostile. The Riolu almost felt sorry and regretted raising his voice like that as he lowered his hands. "Right... apology accepted then, don't worry." The Riolu said. "Anyway, why did you have to show me this in private?"

"It's because my dad made me promise to keep it a secret." The Kirlia answered, her breathing returning to normal as she calmed down... well... slightly at least.

"Why show me then?"

"Because..." the Kirlia paused, fearing what the Riolu may think about her answer. Still, she's gone this far, there should be no turning back now. "Because I thought that maybe you and I are the same?"

"The same how?" the Riolu asked, clearly enticed with curiosity.

"When I grabbed your arm and dragged you out of the meeting room... I admit that I was barely thinking back there..." she said as torch floated back into her grip. "For a while, I kept asking myself why I did it, why I felt so strongly about helping you... about being with you..."

The atmosphere got really awkward when she said that, both pokemon blushing slightly and avoiding eye contact from the other. The Kirlia made the torch float over to the Riolu who took it and hung it on the handle on the wall. "So..." the Riolu cleared his throat. "...uh... continue?"

"Right..." the Kirlia twiddled with her fingers as she thought about how she would word her next thought. "Then... when you and I shook hands... a strange sensation came over me... and it surprised me enough to suddenly let go of your grip."

"I felt that too..." the Riolu added. "Charlie thought that you did something weird to me and was about to act hostile towards you." he said with a chuckle.

The Kirlia chuckled as well. "That explains the jabbing."

"Well... that pretty much sums up what happened before now." The Riolu said. "Is that all?"

"That's all I know of." The Kirlia said. "Look, I know this is all awkward and pure speculation but I had to be certain. Don't you think it's weird? How you and I have an additional element at our disposal?"

"I thought it was cool, actually." Jason said. "I used to have fire punch as my primary combat skill before my mom trained me with the aura. Now I stick with force palm because of the paralyzing pain it gives."

The Kirlia's eyes widened with surprise when she heard what the Riolu said. He was... glad? "But haven't you at least asked why it happened to you?" the Kirlia asked. "Or... I don't know... lost control..?"

The Kirlia's voice slowly trailed away and the Riolu could feel her discomfort. "Well... yeah. I have wondered why I'm like this." The Riolu said. "And yes, I've also lost control of my power a few times when I was young. And recently, I lose control in my sleep."

"I see..." the Kirlia mumbled, looking a bit shaken. "But... you seem calm about it... why?"

"My parents trained me to master my powers." The Riolu answered, his smile slowly fading into a look of curiosity and worry. "Sarah, are you alright? You don't look too well."

"I don't know..." the Kirlia's voice showed evidence that she was fighting back tears and the Riolu felt all the more awkward and guilty for having to ask. "It's just... I'm just... I'm afraid of my powers and I was hoping that I found someone to share my pain okay!"

The Riolu's never felt more awkward in his entire life. Here he was, staring wide-eyed in shock as a girl he just met started crying in front of him. He took a step forward, awkwardly holding his arm out to pat her on the shoulder. Instead, he was taken by surprise as the Kirlia suddenly threw her arms around the Riolu and hugged him tightly as she cried even louder, her face pressed against the Riolu's chest causing Jason hoodie to soak in her tears.

Jason tried to swallow whatever fear that held his throat. He had to do something for her, he couldn't just leave her like this. His arms slowly found themselves wrapped around the Kirlia, hugging her lightly in contrast to how she squeezed the Riolu. "There there..." the Riolu said softly, but that was about it. He just had no idea what to say to her. "You called me down here so you could feel accepted... right?"

There was no response from the Kirlia but her crying grew softer, giving Jason the assumption that he was on to something. "Honestly, you don't have to be afraid of your powers. Like I said, I used to lose control of my powers as well. You wouldn't believe what happens to my room at night when I get a nightmare." He said with a chuckle.

When he heard the faint sound of a chuckle from the Kirlia, he knew for sure that he was making progress. "Look, Sarah... this is honestly the most difficult thing I've had to do. I'm not good with this... emotional life-changing talk thing... but... I was assigned as your bodyguard, it's my duty to be by your side and keep you safe. And..." Jason paused, the awkwardness of the situation choking him in his own words. "And I can be a friend who would... be there to help you..."

Jason's mind was too busy trying to process his already disorganized thoughts into words that he didn't even notice that Sarah had stopped crying halfway through his speech. A wry smile spread across her face as the Riolu awkwardly tried to comfort her, and it worked. As awkward as it might have been for the two of them, Sarah enjoyed the Riolu's warmth too much to just let go so soon. She wasn't even paying attention to what Jason was saying anymore, all that mattered to her right now was the moment of security. Her powers won't harm anyone while Jason is with her. He will vaporize her water before it could get the chance to do anyone harm. He will be the light that will guide her out of the sea of her own sorrow--

"You're not even listening to me anymore, are you!?"

The Riolu's voice jolted the Kirlia back to reality as she stared at the Riolu's brightly blushing face. The Kirlia herself blushed as she realized that they were probably hugging for quite some time now. "Uh... sorry..." the Kirlia said as she quickly pulled out of the hug. "It's just... I'm really really glad that you're willing to put up with me... like this..."

"Right..." the Riolu mumbled as they returned to the avoid-eye-contact phase of their conversation. "Anyway, nothing happened between us. This conversation never happened. Out there, I am your body guard and you are an important guest... ugh... anything else you'd like to add?" the Riolu spoke quickly that he almost bit his tongue a couple of times.

The Kirlia couldn't help but chuckle at the Riolu's display. As much as she herself felt awkward about it, she felt as though the two were slowly opening up to each other. Pretty impressive for the first hour or two of being together. "Well... how about acquaintances?"

The Riolu gave it a moment of thought and saw no harm in it. "Yeah... okay... Also, can we also be... uh... training partners or something?"

"What do you mean?"

"One of the things I told you, but you probably weren't paying attention, was that I could try and help you control your powers." The Riolu said, actually managing to look the Kirlia in the eye in all seriousness. "So I thought that maybe I could give you pointers about controlling it just as my parents helped me control mine. And I thought that maybe you, as a psychic type, could help me as well."

"Help you how?"

"I don't know..." the Riolu clammed up once more and returned to avoiding eye contact. "I've always had a fascination for the psychic types considering you guys can practically manipulate most matter. I always wanted to be able to imitate those."

"I understand." The Kirlia nodded. "Well then, partners?" the Kirlia said, reaching out for a handshake.

"Partners." The Riolu smiled as the two shook hands once more.

The Kirlia was more than happy that she finally found someone with a curse/blessing similar to hers, someone who was willing to put up with it and even help her control it. The sensation she felt in the handshake was no longer strange, not even the slightest. She felt the warmth of the Riolu's flame, of his kindness and his courage, and most of all, she felt safe.

The same cannot be said for the Riolu though. All the warmth that the Kirlia was feeling from his was all in her head, psychologically produced by the words that gave her hope. If anything, the Riolu felt a chilling wave wash over him. He somehow managed to maintain that kind, confident smile even when his heart ached and his throat constricted in sheer agonizing terror as he watched himself shake hands with the decaying corpse of his smiling, dead friend, Damien.

---

"Alright, looks like my older brother and my father will be busy for a few hours, maybe until evening." The Kirlia said as she sat by the windowsill. She was just having a telepathic conversation with her brother to inform them that she and Jason would be busy as well.

The two were now in the living room with minutes having passed when they left the secret tunnel. The Riolu offered to prepare them iced chocolate drinks, a personal favorite of the Riolu's, while they sat down while the Kirlia contacted her family.

"He also says that if even a single hair is out of place on my head, he will see to it that you suffer agonizing mental breakdowns before he fillets you." she said with a chuckle.

'He's gonna have to wait in line...' the Riolu thought to himself. 'I'm pretty sure someone else wants a piece of my psyche...'

"What was that?"

The Riolu was startled by the Kirlia's question. "I didn't say anything."

"No, your mind." The Kirlia corrected. "Your mind said something but your mental barriers muffled it."

"I just thought to myself that your older brother was rather overprotective of you." the Riolu said with a chuckle, a rather effective lie it would seem. "I'm not saying that it's wrong to be protective, but there's a limit to where it can become unhealthy."

"That's just how he is." The Kirlia chuckled, her gaze slowly lowering to the ground. "Well... since you'll be helping me through this... I guess it's only fair that you know more about your... patient."

The Riolu's ear flickered curiously at what the Kirlia said, especially the way she said it and the twitch of uneasiness in her aura. "Sure, what is it?"

The Kirlia took a deep, mustering all of her courage to share her story. "Jacob isn't really my older brother... and Matthew isn't really my father." She said.

"Oh, so those are their names." The Riolu mumbled to himself, nodding as though he was still taking in the information. "I see... and your real family?" Jason cursed himself immediately just as the question left his lips. This was something that was probably very personal and very sensitive and he shouldn't pry that much. Luckily, the Kirlia seemed willing enough to answer.

"My real parents are dead..."

"I'm so so--"

"I killed them."

The Riolu almost choked on his own spit when the Kirlia interrupted him. He stared at her in sheer surprise but the Kirlia merely gave him a forced smile, the tears streaming down her eyes. "That's what you're up against, Jason." She said. "I lost control of my powers when I was very young, and just like that... I watched as I brutally mutila--"

"Enough." The Riolu interrupted the Kirlia with a stern voice and a raised hand.

As much as the Kirlia initially planned to share with him her story, she was immensely grateful that the Riolu forced her to stop. "I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault. But if there's one thing I learned, dwelling on a past THAT painful isn't helpful in any way." The Riolu spoke in all seriousness, but the Kirlia felt a bit of sorrow from his voice. "It eats you up on the inside and it messes with your focus. It's not really that healthy for you both physically and mentally."

The Kirlia knew what the Riolu meant considering that she's gone through it. However, she couldn't shake away the feeling that the Riolu speaks from experience. She then remembered that small panic attack that the Riolu got when he was first assigned as her bodyguard. "What about you?" the Kirlia asked the Riolu. "What's your sad story?"

The Riolu lowered his gaze as his mind impulsively flashed back to that attack four months ago. Some time may have passed, and his nightmares have stopped especially since the Garchomp trained him to put up mental barriers... but somehow... the fear's come back... the fear that he would be unable to protect this one as well...

"It has something to do with that panic attack of your back at the meeting room, didn't it?" the Kirlia asked once more when the Riolu said nothing for about a minute. "You know, Jason... one thing I've learned about these horrible experiences is that talking about it usually helps. C'mon, Jason," she got up from the windowsill and sat beside the Riolu on the couch. "talk to me."

It took a moment for the Riolu to gather the strength to speak. In the end, he decided to just give her the gist of what happened rather than an elaborated version. "I watched my best friend get murdered right in front of me... and I couldn't do a thing about it..." the Riolu seemed rather calm about sharing his story, but there was still that tone of sorrow in his voice. "My story isn't as bad as yours... but it still haunts me to this day..."

"And the panic attack?" the Kirlia asked. "Do you get it every now and then or did something in the room remind you of the event?"

"Because I'm afraid that you'd end up like him... that you'd die and I would be powerless to do anything about it..." Jason said. "That was the first time in months that I felt that terrified..."

"I see..."

The two sat there awkwardly for a few moments, remaining silent as they recovered from having to look back to their darkest memories. The Riolu shuffled nervously in his seat and so did the Kirlia, both unsure as to what to say next. The Kirlia looked around the room, there's got to be something interesting to discuss. Her eyes went from the kitchen, to the stairs that led upstairs and downstairs, to the TV, then to the portraits that hung above the piano.

She was just about to ask about the Riolu's musical talent when a glimmer from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned to see what it was and saw the Riolu's utility belt hanging at the corner of the piano. Around the belt was the holster for his pistol as well as a pack for what she assumed was other equipment. But there was a second belt that looked identical to it, except its only attachment was a scabbard containing a dagger. She then noticed that the glimmering came from the dagger, a rather peculiar dagger in fact...

"Um... Jason," the Kirlia started. "Can I have a closer look at that dagger of yours?"

"Hm?" the Riolu's ears twitched at the sound of his name, his trail of thought being disturbed. "Oh, that dagger..." he said as he stood up and walked over to his belt. "Why would you want to look at it?" he asked as he unsheathed the bronze blade from the scabbard and walked over to the Kirlia.

The Kirlia carefully took the blade from the Riolu and examined it closely. "No reason in particular. I was just looking for something to talk about."

"Oh, I see."

"Hm..." the Kirlia hummed. That was her initial intention anyway, but now her curiosity was captured by the intricate design of the blade. The dagger was crafted much like the Roman pugio, giving her the sense that it's either a replica or it's actually ancient. She also noticed how the handle of the blade was wrapped in cloth that clearly wasn't there originally. "I'm a little curious though, why do you keep a dagger like this? Isn't it a bit old fashioned?"

"Well, it is." The Riolu said with a chuckle. "But it was a gift from my friend so... well... I dunno... I like keeping it with me I guess."

'Great, we're back to the topic about dead loved ones...' the Kirlia cursed to herself as she put the dagger down on the table. 'Quick, topic change, topic change...' she quickly thought about something else to say, hopefully something unrelated to the dagger. "Say, Jason, didn't you say you were going to train me? How are you going to do that if you don't use water skills?"

"Hm..." the Riolu hummed, leaning back against the couch as he gave it some thought. He didn't even notice the slight sigh of relief from the Kirlia. "Well... hm... how do I put this..?" Jason held his hands in front of him and did some weird motions with them. As far as the Kirlia could see, the Riolu was either trying to show her something or he was rearranging his words in the air. "My parents said that my fire powers came to be because my aura had fire affinity.

"When they trained me to master my fire affinity, they were actually training me to master manipulating my aura. Perhaps that's why I'm this connected with the aura even though I'm not a Lucario yet." he stared at his hand as he channelled his aura into it. The Kirlia watched as the Riolu's right hand was coated in a blue, mist-like energy.

"Basically, what I'm trying to tell you is that I managed to master my strange power by channelling it through something that my specie can work with. In this case..." The blue aura around his hand immediately changed from a blue, mist-like energy, it because a searing hot orange flame. "I can transform my aura into fire."

"Incredible..." the Kirlia said in awe as she looked at her own hands. "And how will you be able to translate that into the Ralts evolution line?"

"Hm..." the Riolu gave it some thought. "Down at the basement, when your water freaked out, you looked like you were have a difficult time controlling it. I found that rather odd considering you were able to keep the torch floating properly with your psychic powers. Do you like... will the water like what water types do?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, why don't you try using your water power JUST to summon the water, then you use your psychic power to control it?"

Silenced followed after the Riolu's question. Jason looked at the Kirlia curiously as she did nothing but stare at him weirdly for a few moments. And then she spoke. "You've got to be kidding me..."

Jason was confused about what Sarah said. "What..?"

"That's it? That's really it?"

"Um..." at this point, Jason didn't even know what was going on in the Kirlia's mind as she frantically asked him if that was it.

"All these years I've been afraid of my own powers and that was it?" the Kirlia asked once more. "Why didn't any of us even think of such a simple solution?"

"Maybe it's because it's a lot more complicated than we think?" Jason asked.

"True..." the Kirlia's voice seemed calmer now as all her excitement drained away. "For all we know... my water has a mind of its own and it would resist my psychic powers..."

"Still, it's worth a try right?"

The Kirlia gave it some thought, but seeing as Jason would probably be able to neutralize a situation before it could get worse, she agreed to it. "Yeah, we'll try. But... can we start tomorrow?"

"Your call." Jason said as he stood up, taking the dagger from the table and sheathed it back in the belt which he now wore along with his vest. "Anyway, I guess the best thing to do right now is to take you to where you're staying. You should be tire from making your way through the forest on foot."

"Oh, you have no idea." The Kirlia chuckled as she too stood up. "Shall... we..?"

The two were interrupted when the TV suddenly came to life with nothing but static on its screen. Then, after a few seconds, the picture began clearing up and the image it came with sent chills down the Riolu's spine. On the screen, with a very unclear image (but otherwise feasible), stood the Luxray that haunted the Riolu, with an evil smile and it felt like he was staring directly at the Riolu, burning his soul by his mere presence.

"That's him." The Riolu said with a slight tremble in his voice. He just wasn't sure whether the trembling was due to fear or rage, whatever the case, seeing the Luxray once more sent his heart racing. "That's the man responsible for everything..."