FSE

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One week after Volcan's arrival in Port Azure...

Volcan woke with a start as he once again awakened from a horrible, vivid flashback of his forgotten past, sitting up in bed and gasping for breath as he looked around, getting his bearings as he checked the room for hostiles, letting out a sigh as he remembered he was in the guest room of Luke's home. He had been staying there for the eighth night in a row now, but every night, the same horrible memory would creep its way into his mind and haunt his dreams until he finally woke himself.

He ground his beak together and grabbed his head in aggravation. 'Why can I only remember that one horrible moment?' He thought, scratching his head furiously. 'Can't I just, for one night, have a memory of one of the good points of my life... or is it simply that there weren't any?'

These lapses in his memory, with none of who he really was, where he was from, his family or the names of his friends -other than what was listed on the back of that photograph that had been found on the boat he'd landed in; a photograph which now sat on the side table of the guest bed in which he slept. He turned to that table, reaching over and picking up that photograph to stare at it longingly, eyeing each of the smiling faces in the picture, gingerly touching it with his talon.

"Where are you, my friends?" He whispered. "I know you're my friends... even if I can't remember any of you... but if there was ever a time I needed you, it would be now..." He sniffed, feeling a dampness on his cheek. He reached up to wipe the tear from his face, before he shut his eyes and set the photo aside.

He sat there for another moment before roughly throwing the blankets off of himself and swinging his legs over the side of the bed, standing up and walking out of the guest room, not even trying to be quiet as he made a beeline for the front door, just wanting to get outside for a little while and get some fresh air. He barely even cared when he bumped his crest against the doorframe as he hastily ducked through, the door shutting behind him.

Luke, having been somewhat stirred by the hasty exit from the guest room, might have just gone back to sleep were it not for the sound of the front door shutting. Rubbing his eyes as he lifted off the covers and slowly crawled out of his bed, he exited his room, crossing to the next door before peeking his head into the guest room.

"..Volcan?" He asked. But the Blaziken was gone.

He exited the room, looking around in the living room first for any sign of his guest before he concluded he was outside, heading for the door and pulling it open before he exited the house and stepped outside, using his Aura sense to search for him.

Thankfully, he was able to find Volcan quickly. The Blaziken had leapt up a tree across the clearing from the house, standing upon the highest limb that could support his weight as he stared off into space. The wind was blowing steadily that night, only enough to rustle the trees but not high enough to indicate a storm or pose any threat to the Blaziken -not that it did anyway, given that he could easily survive that drop without so much as a jarred leg bone.

Luke locked onto his aura and trotted over to the tree Volcan was perched up, looking up at him from the ground. Rather than calling up to him, he began jumping up from branch to branch, ascending the tree until he eventually cleared the foliage to land on the same tree limb as Volcan.

"You know, the more you wander off like that, the more you're going to make me wonder if I'm being a bad host." He stated in mock jest at him, placing a paw on his own hip as he regarded the Blaziken.

Volcan, not even looking at the Lucario as he made his statement, replied monotonously with a simple "Sorry," as he continued to stare up at the moon.

Luke's half smirk faded and he took one more step closer to Volcan; having allowed the Blaziken to stay in his home for the past week, it was easy for the Lucario to know when his guest was upset. "You had another nightmare, didn't you?" He asked, matter-of-factly.

Volcan nodded slowly, his gaze dropping from the moon above to the ground below. Putting a hand against the tree trunk for balance, Volcan lowered himself down to sit on the limb with his legs hanging over the side, folding his hands across his lap as he struggled to find words.

"It was the same one again," he said. "The burning town, that Gallade... this time I think there was a glimpse of the boat but otherwise, it's always that same image... every night it shows me a little more but the terror is never any less." He leaned against the trunk, his expression sullen and miserable.

The poor soul was tired in more than just body. His heart was in turmoil, his mind full of confusion and yearning to learn the truth about his life, but so far his mind had only tortured him with nightmarish memories; he had not slept properly for several nights, not even when Luke had stayed with him for one of those nights; the result of which had Luke thrown to the floor when the nightmare returned, and leaving Volcan fearing for the safety of others around him on account of his violent reactions to the dreams.

"Why can't it show me anything else?" He asked, his talon tightening into a fist. "Stuff like my home, who my parents are. Do I have any siblings or am I an only child? _That_is what I want to know right now, not be reminded of the son of a bitch that tried to kill me..."

Luke silently looked on at Volcan as he spoke, waiting for him to finish before taking a seat next to him and scooting closer to Volcan again, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "I'm sorry, Volcan...that you have to go through with this turmoil every night." He said softly. "I wish there was more I could do for you, I really do, but for now, all I can do is provide you a roof over your head, food on your table, and a job. Until we find out more about who you really are and who it was that attacked you. Then..." He trailed off for a moment, unsure of where he was going with his sentence.

"Yeah... what happens then?" The Blaziken asked, though it was clearly a rhetorical question. "At this point the only thing I can remember is that nightmare..." He shut his eyes again and let his skull connect audibly with the trunk of the tree as he let himself fall against it. "Eight nights I've been here... and every night, that dream. I don't know how much longer I can take this... I'm losing my mind."

"Well sadly, the boat's still not fully repaired yet." Luke stated. "The construction crew Katsu gathered gave me an estimate of maybe another week or so before it's able to set sail once more." Luke added. "I... just wish I could help you even more than I already am now." He admitted, looking back down toward the ground and flattening his ears.

Volcan allowed his eyes to open, looking over at Luke and seeing the regret that Lucario felt at not being able to do more to help him. It made the Blaziken feel guilty, seeing the selfless Lucario so sad. With a sigh, Volcan returned to an upright posture, scooting closer to Luke and raising a talon to place upon his shoulder. "I'm sorry... You've done so much for me already; more than, I feel, I would ever have asked from someone else." He gave Luke's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I didn't mean to let my negativity get to you, or to sound ungrateful."

Luke lifted his head to look over at Volcan, his ears lifting once more while managing a weak smile and gently placing his paw over Volcan's hand. "It's alright... you're distraught right now. I completely understand how you feel." He said with a nod. "If it helps any... I know how it feels to not know where your family and friends are when you've been separated from them for a long time."

"You... you do?" Volcan asked, somewhat surprised by this and finding his curiosity piqued, but he quickly collected himself and shook his head. "No. Now I'm just being nosy. I imagine that's a touchy subject for you."

"It's fine. I don't mind sharing." Luke returned. "I'm long since over it now."

Volcan nodded. "Still, I won't press you for it," he said. "Besides, I'm still a stranger to you; I hardly have the right to know something so personal."

Luke chuckled. "Volcan, I think we've passed the point of us being strangers by now. You've been a guest at my home for a whole week, and after our last sparring session, I'd say you've earned enough of my respect to call you a friend."

Volcan allowed himself a smile at that, nodding weakly. "You're right. Sorry..." He said. "I'm glad to know you consider me your friend; I just hope I can be one to you."

"Volcan, you've done nothing to suggest otherwise." Luke said. "Don't make me hug you again, because I will." He warned mockingly, which actually brought Volcan a laugh.

"I think I'd welcome that right now," he said, chuckling.

Luke smiled even more. "Then come here...." He offered, leaning more against Volcan and pulling him into a warm, comforting embrace that Volcan happily returned, wrapping his arms around Luke and holding him closely.

However short a time had passed since meeting this golden-hearted Lucario, Volcan had come to care for him, feeling safe and comfortable in his presence. His had been the first face Volcan had seen when he awoke after his crash, and like a child would react to seeing their parent for the first time, Luke's soft, kind words had formed a connection with the amnesiac Blaziken. For now, Luke was his pillar of strength, and he was glad it was him; he had a way of making it feel like everything would work on.

Luke rubbed his paws slowly along Volcan's back, his smile still present as they held one another. Luke also cherished the Blaziken's company, and he also felt like he was a sort of Pillar that would support Volcan through these tough times no matter how bad things would get. Slowly he lifted his head up and looked him in the eyes.

"We'll find a way to get you back home Volcan, I promise... even if it's the last thing I ever do with my life."

"Hopefully it won't take that long," Volcan said, half in jest. "You have a life to live without me around too." He looked up at the moon one more time before he yawned, covering his beak in the process before he pulled away from Luke and grunted. "Come on... let's get down from here and get some rest."

"Agreed." Luke agreed, sliding off their branch and dropping down to another below, proceeding to methodically leap from one to the other to descend back to the ground safely.

Volcan, of course, took the express way; three branches down, Luke saw the Blaziken fall past him, simply dropping from the tree branch all the way to ground below, landing with both feet, bending his legs to absorb the impact before straightening back up again, looking up and watching as Luke came down. "What took you so long?" He asked, jokingly.

Luke smirked back at him. "Just decided to take the more acrobatic route down." He returned in jest, nudging his side gently.

They shared a laugh as they made their way back to the house, entering together and heading back to their rooms to go back to sleep, making sure the front door was closed and locked behind them.

As Volcan placed his talon on his door to open it, he stopped. "Hey Luke?" He asked.

"Yea?" Luke asked, turning around a little to look back at Volcan.

"Thank you, for coming to talk to me," he said, giving Luke a warm smile. "I might've stayed up brooding in that tree all damn night otherwise so... yeah."

Luke smiled back warmly at him. "Next time you have a nightmare like that, just come and wake me up." Luke returned. "No need to think you should shoulder this by yourself. That's what friends are for, right?" He asked softly.

"Sure thing... though I'll try to avoid waking you if I can," he said. "No sense in us both losing sleep, right?"

"Volcan, if it means easing your mind on whatever's bothering you, then I can afford to lose a little sleep." Luke returned. "Besides, I'll have plenty of time to sleep when I finally pass on."

At that notion, Volcan's smile faded. "Let's... not think that far ahead, okay?"

Luke blushed and averted his gaze. "You're right, too much...hehe." He said, chuckling awkwardly.

"Right then," the Blaziken said conclusively. "Good night, Luke."

"Good night, Volcan." Luke returned with a nod, entering his room and shutting the door behind him. He gave a sigh as he shut the door, rubbing his forehead a little before crawling back into bed for the night.

Volcan slowly crossed the room back to his own bed, pausing as he stood at the bedside, his gaze drifting to the photograph on his night stand, reaching or it and picking it up to look at it again. "Somehow... I'll find my past," he said. "And all of you too..."

He pressed the photo against his chest, placed over his heart, holding it there as if in prayer before he returned it to the side table. With that, he slid onto the bed, slipping below the covers and lying down on the pillow, staring off into space until his eyes slowly drifted closed.

He did not dream again that night...

~~~~~

A hearty, high-energy breakfast started the morning for Luke and Volcan that day, followed by, after their food settled, a bout of sparring. Every passing day, Volcan relearned more and more of his powers; the first day he had relearned Flame Charge and the -unexpected, Dual Chop. The second day, he had regained Blaze Kick that he swung high in the air when Luke had tried jumping at him, actually taking the Lucario straight out of midair -though he had not managed to land that a second time as now Luke was becoming more familiar with his technique.

On the third day he had demonstrated an excellent Low Sweep, and this was the first battle which Luke had almost lost against him, because immediately after taking his feet out from under him, Volcan had whipped around into a Blaze Kick that, although held back, had still winded the Lucario and sent him flying. Volcan had actually run up to him apologizing frantically as he was afraid he'd hurt Luke.

Now, today, on their eighth day of sparring, it seemed all of Volcan's combat prowess had returned to him; his fighting style was focused on power and precision in a harmonious sync, using every part of his body as part of the technique. Fists, feet, elbows, knees, even his head, but the most shocking discovery happened that day when a punch from Volcan and a Force Palm from Luke collided in midair, and Luke saw -and felt- the unmistakable jolt of Elecricity accompanying Volcan's fist.

Somehow, Volcan actually knew Thunderpunch. Not impossible for a Blaziken from the proper tutor -most Pokemon, in fact, could learn it. But it was still a shocker -no pun intended- to both of them when their hands met. The resulting collision had sent both of them skidding, fighting to keep their balance, and their arms numb from the paralysis induced by the projected Aura in Force Palm, and the electric jolt of Thunderpunch.

Luke grunted after they had regained their footing, holding his arm as he tried to force it to move, but the paralysis of the surprise Thunderpunch had set in. "Damn. That was a surprise... Since when did you learn Thunderpunch?" Luke asked, then he went crossed eyed for a moment and shook his head. "Wait, don't answer that. Dumb question."

"I didn't even know I knew it," Volcan admitted, rotating his shoulder as he tried to return feeling to his arm. "I just... felt a surge of power and I channelled it into my arm." He looked at his talon. "Whoever trained me went all out... I know a Dragon-type move and I know an Electric-type move; it's like they were deliberately preparing me to face opponents I couldn't beat with Fire-type attacks."

"Well in that case, after careful assessment and all evidence pointing to you having relearned how you fight, I'd say you're about ready to take on your first mission." Luke stated with confidence, waving his arm around a bit. "...After I get my paws on a Cheri Berry." He added with a grimace.

"Good idea; any berry trees around here?" Volcan asked, cringing as he tried to lift his arm, but it had gone numb, with the socket of his shoulder feeling prickly and irritated as the nerves tried to heal.

"There's some this way." Luke said, jerking his head to his left before he began walking towards a denser part of the forest a short walk from his house with Volcan followed close behind.

Stepping through a collection of pine trees, they entered a glade filled with several berry trees -pint-sized compared to the rest of the forest around them, their canopies alight with colour from the different berries of each tree. Although they looked like small trees, most called these plants 'berry bushes' instead of berry trees, since their leaves were similar to typical shrubbery "...Should stock up on other types too for later missions," he thought aloud.

Volcan examined the berry trees, making sure to take note of where they were before locating the Cheri bush. Using his good arm he plucked one berry and consumed the little fruit, waiting a moment as its healing effects took hold and feeling returned to his arm. "That's better," he said, rotating his shoulder and trying a mock punch in the air to make sure he had all of his feeling back.

Luke had followed suite shortly after, sighing in content as he ingested the berry. "Mmhh... tastes great, and is good for treating almost anything." He muttered, feeling returning to his arm as he began to swing it around a bit. "There we go."

"So... where do we look up mission listings?" Volcan asked.

"Normally they arrive at the post office in Azure." Luke returned. "It's located in the middle of town."

"Alright. Lead the way, boss," Volcan said, giving a mock salute before allowing himself a laugh; he was in better spirits that day after the talk with Luke last night, plus being able to finally get a proper night's sleep

Luke snickered. "You seem to be in a better mood today." He commented as he led the way to the post office located in town. "Here I thought only Eagle Eye ever called me boss."

"I'll stick to Luke if you prefer, or 'Captain'."

Luke laughed more heartily this time. "Just my name will be fine." Luke answered. "I try to keep things equal among my team. I may be captain, but I'm no more important than the rest of my team."

Volcan nodded, and seemed to have a thought as he followed Luke out of the grove of berry trees. "I wonder who among my old team was the leader?" He asked in a low voice.

Luke's ear twitched and he looked back at Volcan over his shoulder. "You say something?"

"Sorry, just thinking about the others in that picture," Volcan replied. "Just started wondering which one of them was the team captain."

"Well from what I saw, it looked to be the Aggron holding you and your other comrade in headlocks." Luke returned. "But that's just my idea. I could be wrong."

"Maybe, or it could've been that other Lucario," Volcan suggested. "i guess I'll find out someday..."

"We will." Luke said firmly with a nod.

~~~~~

The two arrived at the post office in the middle of Azure, identified by how it stood out from other buildings due to being build in the likeness of a Pelipper. The core of the service was dependent on a Pelipper's greater ability to fly overseas, carrying postage to various destinations all across the region. They only did the deliveries, of course; other Pokémon could work at the counters as customer service or in the back keeping stock and sorting mail. It was a valued service, as for remote towns like Port Azure, it was the only way to send word anywhere in the world.

Luke headed on over to the bulletin board once inside to check and see what missions were available. He wanted to pick something relatively easy for Volcan, but nothing TOO simple. There'd be no fun if there was no challenge to it.

Listed up on the board were only a few regular D or C-rank jobs, the common types for unranked or Bronze-rank Rescue Teams but always simple, straight-forward and easy to do, hardly a challenge for the experienced members of Luke's team, but an ideal choice to help Volcan return to the swing of things. Each job was listed in the fields of Courier, Security, Labour or Search & Rescue.

Luke narrowed his eyes as he scanned each of them, though when he spotted the urgent search and rescue mission posted under S&R, he reached up and pulled that one down from the board, studying the details carefully. The listing was of a local person reporting that a friend of theirs from out of town had gone missing; they had wanted to explore the woods as they lived in the city and had never seen a real forest before, but during their trek they had gotten separated. The posting had not been up for very long.

"This one's fairly recent." Luke commented. "A search and rescue mission should be simple for a two man cell." He said, turning to Volcan and showing him the poster. "What do you think?"

Volcan looked at the posting, examining it carefully and reading over the contents, his brow furrowing. "I say definitely," he said with firmness in his voice, as if the report had switched on something in him, like a protective instinct. "A missing person is a top priority."

"Glad we're on the same page then." Luke said before turning over to the front desk to let the clerk know they'd be taking the mission.

Additional instructions were given to them by the Pancham at the desk, saying to meet the client outside of the woods. The client had camped there overnight in case their friend turned up and had only left briefly to drop off the posting before heading back again, hence why it was so recent. With the job now handed to them, they were free to go meet their client, and then go find the missing Pokémon.

"Alright then, let's head out." Luke said, turning to Volcan. "This should be relatively simple, but in spite of that, don't let your guard down." Luke said as he led the way out of the post office toward the forest.

"Understood," Volcan agreed, walking at Luke's side as they headed out of town.

It wasn't too long of a walk. Luke was familiar with the all of the woods around Azure, including the part where their client was waiting for them. Luke looked down at the instructions for the mission once more as they entered a small clearing. By now they were at least a ten minute run from the edge of Azure, the smell of the sea replaced by the fragrance of the forest, and the sound of waves lost amidst the rustling canopies above.

"...Should be right around here." Luke stated as he studied the job listing page again, but just to make sure, he closed his eyes and concentrated, tuning to his Aura Sense to lock onto their client's aura signal. There couldn't have been many Pokémon out here; no one lived in this part of the woods except for some Bug-type Pokémon but they stayed high off of the ground, living among the branches.

They were still a short sprint away but he found a lone Aura signature nearby. When Luke pointed it out, he and the new recruit made their way over to its location, keeping a brisk pace as they passed through the trees, emerging out of the woods where they found a campsite, and a Quilladin sitting near a campfire poking it absently.

The Quilladin looked up as the two emerged, his face lighting up with hope as he scrambled to his feet. "Are you a Rescue Team?" He asked, hopefully.

"We are, yes." Luke answered, approaching the Quilladin. "I represent Team Valiant. I take it you're the client who filed the Missing Pokemon's report?"

"I am," he replied. "My name's Ori; my friend, Carl, a Machop, came here from Westport to visit me and asked if I could show him the woods. We went in, wandered around for a while but then one minute later I hear him just go quiet. I turn around and he's gone!" He put his hands together pleadingly. "You've got to find him; he doesn't know how to find his way out!"

"We'll find Carl for you, Ori, I promise you." Luke said in a reassuring tone. "Where approximately was the last place you saw him before he vanished?"

"About a half a kilometer in," the Quallidin replied, pointing into the trees. "Near some berry bushes; we were on our way out and stopping for a snack of some oran berries when I saw he was missing."

"Then that's where we'll start." Luke said, then turned toward Volcan. "Let's move. The sooner we find Carl, the sooner we can get him to safety."

"Right with you," Volcan said, nodding.

They then trotted off toward the direction Ori pointed out was the last place he saw Carl, keeping a close eye out for specific berry trees they were picking from. After a moderate jog, they arrived, and Luke was immediately scanning the area for any signs of something that felt out of place.

Volcan joined him in his search, checking the berry bushes and examining the crop they carried, noticing their dark tinge. "These ones aren't ripe," he mumbled before moving on to the next cluster, until he found some ripe ones, identified by that light blue colour of theirs that was actually rather matching to his eyes. "Here we go..."

"Find anything worth noting?" Luke asled.

"Well from what I can see only a few of these trees have ripe berries," Volcan said. "Carl definitely didn't wander off looking for better ones among these bushes; if he had, Ori would've seen him." He walked around the tree, looking at the ground for anything that stood out, noticing some disturbed soil. "Machop have plantigrade feet, right?" He asked.

Luke looked over to Volcan curiously. "Yes, why?" He asked, approachng the Blaziken. "You found something?"

"I might've," he replied. "There's a footprint in the mud here; really small," he looked straight ahead. "He walked this way."

Luke joined Volcan and studied the footprint and the direction it was going, finding the theory to be sound. "Then that's where we're going too." Luke said as he took the lead, once more tuning to his aura sense to try and pick up anything else related to the missing Machop, as well as to detect anything that might pose a threat to the two of them.

Volcan seemed to expect trouble as well, for he kept his hands raised defensively as they followed the tracks, heading deeper into the woods and staying in close proximity to one another, but as the trees grew thicker, he jumped at just about every sound, feeling as if someone would ambush them at any moment...

Luke's ear twitched everytime he heard Volcan jump, sighing a little. "I know I said to keep your guard up, but right now you're too tense..." Luke said calmly to him. "Relax a little bit. You won't be able to defend yourself properly if you're too jumpy."

"Sorry," the Blaziken returned, sucking in a slow breath as he tried to calm himself, and focused on keeping his steps light and quiet.

"That's better." Luke said, feeling Volcan's aura calm down somewhat before focusing ahead of him. "Come on... show me something." Luke whispered, still keeping his sense up for any sort of clue.

He spotted a few nearby life signs, but they always turned out to be either bug or flying-types looking for food, forcing them to overtime widen their search parameter and look for other clues, spreading out enough to cover more ground but not far enough that they couldn't see each other.

Luke eventually gave an exasperated sigh as he tuned off his sense for a moment, crossing his arms and tapping his arm a bit. "Damnit... nothing." Luke muttered. "It's like he just disappeared, but fighting types can't just magically disappear like that." He said, pondering what to do next.

"You're right, they can't," Volcan stated, eventually coming back to Luke's side. "And a Machop would stick out around here; they normally live in the mountains, not the forest." It seemed some of Volcan's basic knowledge of Pokémon was coming back to him; the days of healing and taking it easy were helping, though memories about himself remained clouded.

Luke rubbed his chin a little. "And thinking back, there aren't any more tracks to be found either." Luke returned, surveying the ground; the tracks had vanished some ways back, and they had spent the last ten minutes trying to pick up a trail again. "Like he was suddenly-" He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening a little in realization before slowly started to look up toward the treeline above.

"Like he was picked up and carried away," Volcan said, evidently sharing Luke's thoughts.

Luke then slapped his forehead. "Of course... No one ever looks up." Luke muttered to himself. "Let's head up. There might be more clues along the treeline."

"I'm on it," Volcan returned, looking for a solid-looking tree-limb to jump up to, reaching it in a single bound and searching the area around him while Luke waited below, until something caught his eye. "Hey! I see something that tree over there!" He called down, pointing where he had spotted a strange object. "Something shining!"

"Heading there now." Luke called back, running over to where Volcan pointed out the shining object, spotting it himself and then leaping up to it with quick bounds off of a pair of tree trunks until he arrived at the object in question. He found a copper bracelet sitting in the split of the upper portions of the tree, covered in a bit of dirt and grime. Normally such a shiny object would be coveted by a Murkrow and often made off with, but no such Pokemon lived in this forest.

Luke then tuned to his sense to try and determine if this belonged to Carl or not by sensing for any of his aura still lingering on the object. There was indeed a faint hint of aura still clinging to the bracelet; having not met Carl he had nothing to compare it to, but it had the feeling of a Fighting-type in the aura, making him feel they were on the right track.

"Well we know this belongs to him." Luke muttered. He then looked back toward where Volcan was. "Hey Volcan! I've found something that belongs to Carl! Try searching the surrounding area for any other clues!"

"On it!" He called, leaping to another tree and searching it and the ground below for anything else, even climbing higher to get a better view before coming back down, until he eventually saw something. "I think I see something... looks like a house, I think?" He called to Luke, peering off towards the east where the trees were even thicker.

"A house? This deep in the forest?" Luke muttered to himself in question, making his way through the canopies to join Volcan in his tree, where they both perched on a single limb, and Volcan pointed where he had seen the hut Luke was able to see it as well; a thatched roof of what appeared to be some kind of hut, hidden in grotto surrounded by trees and only noticable because of a small opening, through which they could see thanks to their elevation.

"Think they've seen something?" Volcan suggested. "Better still, maybe Carl's in there."

"Only one way to find out." Luke muttered as he dropped back down to the ground below, then began approaching the thatched hut, examining it carefully as he got closer to the front door.

The hut wasn't of recent construction, he could tell, but it wasn't exactly old either. More surprised than anything that he had not found this place in the past, but the closer he got to it, the more ominous a sensation he felt creeping around him, like the very air around that hut stank of fear. Luke actually stopped midstep, right as he arrived at the front door of the house. He felt a shiver crawl up his spine, as if something was here that shouldn't be. To be safe, he tuned back to his aura sense once more to check the surrounding area, but also to see who or what could be within the hut before he went knocking at the door.

Inside, there were two aura signatures; one was laid out flat on a bed, and was weaker than the other, which seemed to pulsate with power as it stood over the first Aura; a sinister chuckling passed through the straw walls, only adding to the ominous sensation the hut gave.

Volcan dropped down from above surprisingly quiet, but went still when he saw the look on Luke's face, waiting...

Luke slowly opened his eyes, furrowing his brow before slowly stepping back toward Volcan. "Well you may be right about one thing...Carl's in there." Luke whispered to him. "However, he's not alone, and his aura's qutie weak. Whoever's in there with him is holding him against his will."

Volcan narrowed his gaze, staring at the hut's canvas door for a moment, holding back the urge to charge in before looking at Luke. "Plan?"

Luke nodded. "I'll drop in from above. I'm a lot lighter on my feet, so there's less chance he'll notice me on his roof." He explained. "You charge in from the left wall. It's a blindspot and there will be less risk of harming the hostage. Well move in on my commmand, and we have to time this perfectly."

"Whereabouts in the room is Carl?" Volcan asked.

"Opposite end of where you'll be charging in." Luke said, pointing to the wall farthest back from them. Luke then rubbed his chin. "Actually...no I have a better idea. Same formation, but I'll act as a diversion. I'll Force Palm the roof, get his attention, and then you charge in and tackle the culprit."

"Okay," Volcan returned. "Soon as I knock him down, you get Carl; I'll keep him busy."

"Sounds good." Luke said, giving him a nod before he silently trotted back over to the hut, gingerly leaping to the roof before signalling Volcan to come closer.

Volcan moved steadily closer to the hut, keeping low and moving slowly so as not to make too much noise as he crept closer to the canvas flap that acted as the door, peering under it and spotting a pair of yellow feet he assumed belonged to his target, and waited for his opportunity...

Luke nodded to himself when he saw Volcan in position, then slowly raised his paw and prepared to strike. With a quick thrust, Luke launched his Force Palm into the roof, causing the section he attacked to cave in. The spot of roof he struck hit the head of the standing occupant, and when Volcan heard them cry out, he made his move, charging through the flap and lunging for the figure whose feet he'd seen before; a Hypno looked at him in alarm and failed to react fast enough before Volcan tackled them, sending both of them charging through the rear wall of the thatch hut and then slamming into a tree.

Now was Luke's chance to get Carl.

He quickly dropped down into the hut and grabbed the Machop, quickly hoisting him in his arms before looking back at Volcan. "I've got him!" Luke hollered.

"Get him somewhere safe!" Volcan called as he wrestled with the Hypno, the two of them grappling one another and trying to gain control; the Hypno was trying to use its Psychic attacks on the Blaziken, but Volcan was constantly ruining its focus by grabbing and clawing at him, stopping him from managing any attacks.

Luke nodded, quickly running off toward the woods to find somewhere safe to place the Machop. He eventually found a small bush and leapt inside, gently setting the Machop down and checking his body for any wounds. "Hey. Carl are you alright?" Luke asked.

On the outside, the Machop was completely fine; no sign of any physical trauma, but he was deep in slumber, his face contorted as if disturbed and he started to roll over in order to curl up, arms over his chest protectively. The Hypno had been forcing him to sleep, and evidently had been feeding off of his dreams to give itself more strength, leaving only the bad dreams for him to suffer...

Luke growled. "That bastard..." He muttered. There was nothing he could do for Carl at that moment; right now his teammate needed him. He made sure Carl was well hidden in some shrubbery before running back to assist Volcan

It seemed the battle had turned against the Blaziken; during his struggle with the surprisingly strong Hypno he had attempted to disorient his target with a headbutt to their cranium, but the Hypno actually seemed to get an idea from that, and retaliated with a Zen Headbutt that sent Volcan stumbling back, and then it finally managed to raise its hand and cast Confusion at him, assailing Volcan's mind with Psychic energy and making him grab his head in pain.

The Lucario flinched when he saw Volcan being attacked. He held his paw out in front of him and materialized his Bone Rush, extending the weapon until it was long enough to act as a bo staff, and then charged in right as the Hypno was closing in on Volcan. He then swung his weapon at the Hypno's face, nailing him square the nose to make him back up, enough for Luke to follow up with an Aura Sphere to stumble the Hypno. Luke stood there between Volcan and the Hypno, staff in hand and leering at his opponent with a fierce glare.

Volcan felt the pain in his head recede, shaking his head before opening his eyes to look at Luke, seeing him standing between himself and the Hypno.

And then, just like that, suddenly everything he saw changed... the forest disappeared, replaced by a town covered in flames. A Lucario was standing in front of him, poised to engage a Gallade that was eyeing them both with displeasure. This Lucario was not Luke, however; they wore a long black coat instead of scarf, and their bone rush wasn't in the form of a staff, but almost like a sword, no longer than his own arm but with one edge sharped, giving it more the appearance of a bone saber...

The sudden flashback had rendered Volcan still, and the Hypno was getting back up, rubbing its now bloodied nose before it spoke to them in a deep voice. "It was very rude of you to interrupt me," he growled as he narrowed his eyes. "And you will suffer for it!" He held his coin forward, and its face glowed before firing a Psybeam at Luke.

Luke brought his weapon in front of him and began spinning it rapidly in front of him. The Psybeam struck the weapon, then was deflected away to a nearby tree instead. Luke siezed his window of opportunity, charging in at breakneck speeds, weaving left and right as he travelled, before he got right in the Hynpo's face. Then, just like with the sparring match Luke and Volcan had, Luke had suddenly vanished from sight, confusing the Hypno for a moment before he felt Luke's Bone Rush smack him HARD from behind.

The Hypno lurched forward, his feet leaving the ground from the force of the strike before he fell onto his front, stunned by the attack and seemingly unconscious...

Luke waited for a few moments, just to be sure the Hypno was truly unconcious before he dematerialized his weapon and walked past the Hypno and toward Volcan. "Hey...you alright?"

But just as he walked by him, the Hypno suddenly sprang back into action, seizing Luke by his leg and yanking hard on it!

Luke grunted, falling forward from the yank on his foot. Landing on his front, he instinctively started kicking out with his leg before trying to turn over onto his back and get a look at his attacker, still kicking. The Hypno refused to let go of him though despite suffering repeated kicks, and tried to scramble up to pin him, threatening to lock him in an eternal dream from which he'd never wake up if he managed to immobilize Luke.

Volcan snapped out of his earlier shock as he realized Luke was in trouble. His reaction was immediate and perhaps a little overkill as he shot forward, unleashing a Flame Charge to bring himself close to the Hypno just as it started to raise itself up, elevating its fist to use a Pound attack on Luke.

But Volcan was faster, coming up at the side and unleashing a roundhouse kick that sent the Hypno flying through the air, landing back on his damaged hut's roof and finally causing the rest of the structure to collapse with the rogue Psychic-type buried in thatch and straw.

Volcan, panting for breath, stared towards the Hypno for a moment before turning to Luke, kneeling down to help him. "I'm sorry; I was too slow. You okay?"

Luke grunted, propping himself up on his elbows and looking up to Volcan. "I'll be alright." Luke returned, shaking his head a bit before returning his gaze to Volcan. "Thank you."

Volcan offered him a hand, smiling back at him. "Anytime, Min-" He caught himself, almost uttering the wrong name. "Luke," he corrected.

Luke tilted his head a little at Volcan almost stating a different name, but wrote it off and accepted Volcan's hand, standing back up on his feet once more.

"How's Carl?" Volcan asked.

"Carl will be alright, but he's been heavily drained." Luke answered. "That Hypno must have been feasting on his dreams to gain more power for itself..."

"How can we help him?"

"By taking him to a clinic for one." Luke returned. "Though we should go and inform Ori that we've found Carl." He then looked to the Hypno. "We'll bring him with us. He's earned some time in a jail cell as far as I'm concerned."

"I agree, but we'll need to tie him up with so he doesn't try to get away," Volcan said, rubbing his chin in thought as he looked back at the collapsed hut. "Maybe there's some rope in there..." He turned back to Luke again. "Go get Carl and we'll meet back here; I'll have him detained by then."

"Understood." Luke returned. "And Volcan." Hearing his name, the Blaziken turned to Luke, eying him curiously. "You did well today." He returned with a smile, then dashed off to collect Carl.

Volcan allowed himself a smile of his own as he watched Luke leave, before collecting himself and turning his attention back to the hut. He jogged over to it, digging through the collapsed structure until he uncovered the half-conscious Hypno, who began to come around as Volcan stood over him. The Hypno glared up at him, and started to speak only to be punched back into unconsciousness by the Blaziken.

"Not interested," he said, coldly, and went back to digging through the collapsed hut looking for anything he could use to bind the Hypno and prevent him from causing anymore damage.

Despite the situation, Volcan was actually smiling, hearing Luke's compliment to him repeatedly in his head, 'You did well today' echoed in his ears. He had not only completed the mission, but he'd had Luke's back. As a team, they had accomplished their objective, saved the young Machop known as Carl, and make Azure a little safer.

For the first time since his arrival in Azure... he felt genuinely_good_, in every sense_._