Me: Oh my gosh! I cannot believe I made you all wait this long! I'm so ashamed... And the worst part about it is... This was mostly done back in December! I'm serious! Most of it was written down and saved away, before New Years eve!

Riley: Bum.

Me: I heard that. (Nodding head in agreement) Anyway Riley, I've gots a present for you in the next room, if you want to know what it is?

Riley: ... Sure, although I doubt anything you'd have for me would be very nice...

Me: (You got that right!) Oh, come on. Don't be so mistrustful! Today, Friday fifth, is my B-day! Why can't I be nice to you?

Riley: Because you have a very twisted sense of 'nice'! But, if you insist...

Me: I do, insist! ('Cause I'm gonna give you to Sanada'srose, for remembering to say happy B-day to me a few days ago!)

Gallade: *Walks*in* But... Why me...?

Me: Oh, come on, Gallade. You have to do it! The fans would love to hear a telepathic disclaimer!

Gallade: Alright. Lady Umbreon does not own... Um, I don't know that word... Uh, just the stuff she said she did not own in previous disclaimers!

Me: Er, thanks, Gallade. Anyway, folks, I'll be honest. I am recovering from wisdom tooth removal, and holy crap-noodles! It is painful in the mornings! DX So I felt even less inclined, than usual, to post this. So, sorry this is so ridiculously late! And without further posturing, I give you, Chapter Six!

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XXXXXXXXX

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Chapter Six:

Eterna City

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"Elele-Trike!"

After the blinding flash of electricity shot off by Magnezone cleared, Kale stood frozen with angry shock. How was it possible? What were the odds of an Electrike in the area, with the 'Lightning Rod' ability!?

Breathing a sigh of relief, Allan looked toward Gallade and winked. Nodding, the chivalrous Pokemon turned back to his opponent, and let loose with a 'Fire Punch'! The attack singed the enemy, and left a bad burn... Magnezone was in trouble if Kale didn't do something!

That something, turned out to be more disgusting swear words. And it was plain after he'd scared the wild Electrike off, that he wasn't going to calm down and gather himself like he had been trained. Master Hail will not be pleased. Nor would the other DK Masters for that matter!

"I'm gonna rip you a new one when I'm done, and then I'm gonna kill you!" Kale screamed

"You won't get that far," Allan answered calmly, "You're finished with this fight!"

'Master Allan!' Gallade cried when he failed to approach the enemy

'Don't worry about that.' Allan focused on his surroundings, making certain that Kale wasn't about to cheat for his victory, 'Just concentrate on making the Magnezone faint! The sooner that happens, the sooner I can put Kale out of his misery, and then we'll get to move on!'

'Alright,' Gallade feinted, then charged, 'Just as long as you promise that we'll get some food after this. Syncing up during an Aura battle is really draining!'

'Then I guess we're out of practice!' Allan scolded unhappily, 'It shouldn't be that hard on us...'

'You're keeping too many secrets from me and Lapras for that to be true.' was Gallade's solemn answer, as it knocked the Magnezone out of the air once and for all

"Nooo!!" Kale yelled when his Pokemon fainted

Turning an angry glare on Allan and Gallade, he shouted, "I won't forget to report this, you bastard!" and ran away

'Should we really let him go, Allan?'

"We may as well," Allan shrugged, "There isn't a whole lot we can do to stop him from doing what he says he will. Besides, he might end up getting scolded for his actions instead... I don't exactly pity him, but it's true, considering..."

Gallade shivered and silently agreed. No way was it possible to avoid a punishment from the DK Masters, when you fail to follow simple instructions.

"I'll just have to believe that whoever they send next, they'll be smart enough to just ignore me and report my status, as commanded..."

But now that the excitement was over, Allan started to feel what Gallade meant about their syncing up for the fight, being very draining. Aside from foraging, there really wasn't much they could do about the side effects, if Allan wasn't going to share what he was keeping secret.

As they thought about this, a flock of Starly flew overhead, calling and swooping about. When the last of the stragglers had passed them, Allan and Gallade turned toward where they had come from.

"That's either the way to the edge of the forest, or they were just flying away from something else."

'I agree,' Gallade nodded, starting in that direction with his friend, 'It's probable that they live deeper in, and were heading to their nests for the night.'

"Yeah..." Allan looked at the sky that had purple shades of rust, streaking through the paler oranges and pinks, "It was much lighter when Kale attacked us. He may actually have done us a favor by delaying us a bit, until the Starly could arrive to show us the way."

Moving along, evening shadows closed in, and the trees of the forest surrounding them began to thin out.

'Strange. I thought it was supposed to be getting darker?' Gallade mused as he looked about them

"We must be getting closer to a major city if we can't see the stars very well." Allan replied

Sensing about, Gallade found a high concentration of the Auras of people, and Pokemon, 'You're right! There's a city slightly to the southeast of here.'

"Southeast? Then it must be Eterna city."

Pondering this, Allan reflected that if they wanted to find the Aura Knight, then Eterna city was as good a place as any to start. If the rumors about Team Galactic having an important base there were to be believed... 'I'll just have to trust that Team Galactic is as flashy as ever, and will not pass up an opportunity to wreak havoc wherever they can.'

'I think we'll be able to grab something to eat when we get there too, as well as a good nights sleep,' Gallade smiled wearily, 'I don't want to fight while we're both feeling a little tired.'

"I can agree with that," rolling his eyes while they walked on, Allan continued, "Raiding a base belonging to the Galactic's wasn't something I planned to do so soon on this mission."

'I guess we are being sidetracked...' the Pokemon sighed

'Not if we consider that this direction isn't really all that, 'out of the way', for us.' Lapras chipped into the conversation

"No, I think you're right about that. One way or another, this was probably meant to happen."

'What do you mean?' both Pokemon were somewhat curious as to why Allan would say that

"Taking into account that we, that is, the Dark Knights don't know where the central base for Team Galactic is, we could discover that information by attacking a lesser base-of-operations."

'If its really there...' Gallade sighed

"Yes, if," said Allan, " But there's no sense in not looking, at the very least."

'And if its not there?' Lapras asked

"Then we either move on, or look for Galactic activity in the area to give us some clues."

'Well, it makes sense at least.'

"Why wouldn't it, Gallade?"

'No, you're right. I'm just feeling a bit tired.' the Pokemon answered lightly

"I thought so, but it looks like we've passed the city limits already. We'll be able to eat and get some rest really soon, so hang in there. Okay?" Allan said, taking Gallade's hand

'Yes...' was his small, quiet reply

Gallade was a little mystified. The rare occasions when Allan would reach out and show some physical affection, had become even rarer still, lately. And rather than taking it in stride, Gallade would choose to fully enjoy these simple moments, that make him feel safe and happy. Aware that the feeling was being reciprocated.

Turning a corner around a small foothill, their eyes were met with the dazzling brightness of the city's lights. Approaching ever closer, they noticed a couple men in Team Galactic's uniform, hassling some people at the edge of the suburbs.

"Please! We're just travelers on our way to visit family!" the man of the group cried suddenly

"You can still visit them... Providing you pay the toll!" answered one of the Galactic grunts

"Yeah," agreed his partner, "We'll let you go in and out as you please... After you pay the toll!"

The grunts snickered, and continued to block the people trying to pass.

'I don't like the looks of those punks!' Gallade growled disapprovingly

"Neither do I..." Allan replied quietly, "Let's sneak closer and see what happens."

As they approached, the man spoke again, "Then... What sort of toll is it, that we've got to pay?"

The first grunt just snickered some more, and said, "One strong Pokemon per person. .."

His partner giggled rudely, "Or you can pay one million Poke per person!"

"Wha- One million Poke!?" the group exclaimed in shock

'That's just low...' Gallade glared in the direction of the two grunts

"Yeah. And even if those people have that kind of money on them, it's still unreasonable to ask for so much, just for a simple toll!" Allan agreed again

'We should do something!' Gallade said, turning to his friend

"You're right, we should. Or rather..." Allan faced Gallade, "Lapras and I should. You need to hang back since you're tired from that last fight."

'But we're on dry land! Lapras will be at a disadvantage!'

'And I'll overcome it!' Lapras responded, 'I want to show those bullies who's boss...'

Back with the small group of people, things were starting to get prickly.

"Oh, what's that Granny? You think you can take us on!?" one of the grunts suddenly taunted

"I'll fight you fairly. And if I win, you'll let us pass!" the old woman in the group replied, holding up a Pokeball

"Whoo, I'm so t-t-terrified..." the first grunt shivered, then shouted, "Not! You're about to visit a world of pain!" and he held up one of his Pokeballs

"It looks like we won't have to move until the result of this battle is concluded." Allan sighed

He settled in to watch, as the old woman called out a Meditite to battle against her opponent's Stunky. Not a very good match up. This fight could take a bit, depending on the power levels of the two Pokemon fighting, and the moves used.

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XXXXXX

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"Well, well... What have we here?" Comdr Mars said with a deadly sweet smile

"Long time, no see." Riley smiled warily back

"You know, I was just hoping I'd run into you again," she said, then, "Funny, though... I thought you were tougher in a fight."

"Your subordinates caught me at a bad time," Riley answered, "I'm sure I would've been able to do better, if that's what you were hoping for."

Mars wasn't impressed, "Uh-huh, well, you didn't, and now you're in my loving care until we transport you to our boss for... Questioning." she finished with a smirk

'Every time they say the word 'questioning', it sounds as though they expect it to be some kind of torture...' Riley frowned as he thought this

"What's wrong? Oh, do tell me what is bothering you, so I can make you even more miserable!" laughed Comdr Mars, as she saw him frowning

"Nothing much. I just though how much more tacky your uniform could be, if you added more unnecessary details."

"Excuse me!?" Mars exploded then, "Did you just call my uniform 'tacky'!? Don't make me laugh! As if some weakling man like you, would know anything about fashion!"

The stress of emphasis Mars had put on the word 'man', was starting to get Riley irritated, "What does being a man have to with fashion advice?"

"Quite a lot, Mr. Dapper-Suit-and-Hat! What look were you aiming for with that getup anyway?"

'There's no way you'll be able to explain that it's a suit that can focus your powers, to increase your Aura affinity.' Lucario groaned from within her Pokeball

'I know, Lucario...' Riley silently replied

"What's this? Nothing to say? Good! The sooner you learn to keep your mouth shut, the better for me, who has to transport you!" Comdr Mars said with a disappointed huff

Disappointed? She wanted a reason to lash out? Clearly this woman has some anger problems that won't be solved by letting her vent too frequently.

"I'll be checking up on you later!" so said, she turned and left, slamming the door after her

'She could use some discipline training with Master Lauren.' Lucario chuffed

Smiling a bit, Riley agreed and said, "I suppose so, though, even Master Lauren slips sometimes."

'You could say that again... Are you going to let me out now, or not?'

Chuckling at Lucario's exaggerated tone, he pulled out her Pokeball, and pushed the release switch.

Once free of her confinement, Lucario said, 'I hope you don't plan on doing that again, anytime soon.'

"I'll have to, if someone comes and opens the door to our holding cell." Riley said sternly

'Yeah, yeah...' she grumbled in response

Locked in this dark, and silent cell, there wasn't very much either of them could do to be productive. And in a way, it was ironic. Riley had promised Master Starr that everything would be alright, if he and Lucario were assigned this mission. Now though, it was looking like Starr's first instinct about the mission was correct. But, now that he was here, Riley felt no need to become regretful. It wasn't worth it, in his position, to contemplate that he'd failed. No, it was more like; If he intended to successfully escape, he'd have to keep his spirits high, and not look back on any mistakes until he was free enough to do so.

'What should we do for the time being, then?' Lucario asked, breaking in on his thoughts

"Rest. Concentrate on healing our wounds. And most importantly; Learn everything we can about our enemies, now that our chance to do so, couldn't be better." he replied softly

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Later...

.

Whether it was day or night now, no longer seemed to matter. Time felt like it was moving very slowly at the moment, and being locked in darkness didn't exactly help their ability to gauge time. Doing nothing so far, except meditating and healing their injuries, was becoming very boring. Not that Riley could just stand up, break them out, and start doing some heavy training! Still, some action would beat the constant monotony of doing little else... But getting checked up on by Comdr Mars, wasn't on the list of 'fun things to do'.

So when she opened the door suddenly, after Riley barely managed to hide Lucario and her Pokeball away, Riley almost forgot to arrange his expression into one of bored disinterest.

"Yes?" he asked politely

"My guards have told me something very interesting about you." she answered with a slight note of suspicion

"And what's so interesting about me that they had to report it?" Riley asked, again politely, but with a tone of lost interest

"They have said that they heard voices, more than one, in your cell," she paused, "Why is this?"

"Perhaps I practice ventriloquy." he shrugged

"That's hardly truthful, coming from someone who thinks they know anything about fashion!" Mars snapped

"And why is that so?" Riley asked, confused about why she'd still be angry about something that had been said hours ago

After about a minutes worth of silent fuming, Comdr Mars smiled and said, "Maybe it's time you had some manners beaten into you. Master Cyrus would be very displeased with me, if I handed over a prisoner who didn't know how to show the proper respect he deserves!"

'Riley! Let me out!' Lucario cried

'I'm sorry, Lucario, I can't do that...'

'Are you a glutton for punishment!?' she yelled unhappy at his response, 'What did we spend several hours doing before she showed up? That's right! Healing! Let me out, we can't let her do as she pleases!'

"What are you doing?" Mars said, feeling suddenly bored with the idea of attacking an unarmed opponent

"Wondering who this, 'Master Cyrus', is," Riley answered easily enough, "You being a Galactic Commander with your temper, is something of a mystery to me."

"It's a mystery to many people!" she snapped, "But, I don't particularly care what others think about my position within Team Galactic. What matters to me, is obtaining the thing my Master craves most... A new world order, with Master Cyrus at the head!"

"And why would you want this?" Riley attempted to pry further

"Enough questions!" Mars screeched suddenly, "I will make you regret crossing Commander Mars of Team Galactic!"

Raising a familiar Pokeball, Mars prepared to unleash her Purugly at Riley, when an unfamiliar person appeared and said, "Mars! Master Cyrus would prefer that he's lively enough to survive being questioned."

"Shut up, Jupiter!" Mars snapped, "I don't intend to kill him... I just plan to mete out the punishment he deserves!"

"And what if he's in no condition afterwards to travel, let alone get questioned?" Jupiter asked with a penetrating stare

"I..." Mars fell silent

"That's what I thought," Jupiter said scathingly, "You never pause to consider the consequences of your choices, do you?"

"Well, he's far too rude to present as a captive for questioning!" Mars tried in her defense

"That's nothing that Master Cyrus hasn't twisted out of his victims before. Your attacking selfishly like this will only delay our boss's ability to affect him." she said pointing a thumb at Riley

"Fine! But I want him completely knocked out, by the time I have to move him to our home base!" Mars said, turning away from Riley at last, and leaving while continuing to argue with the mysterious Jupiter

Sighing, he pulled out Lucario's Pokeball, and released her.

"It seems we didn't have to fight after all." he said calmly

'No,' Lucario relented, 'But I doubt we'll be so lucky the next time someone comes around to bother us!'

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XXXXXX

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In spite of the bad match up, the old woman had been able to defeat the first grunt with some effort. The next one proved to be too much however, when they launched a sneak attack after the first one lost!

"Hey! That's not fair, or legal!" cried the young woman, as her mother's Pokemon fainted

"Fair?" said the first grunt who'd lost

"Legal?" said the other, and they shared a look

"Who said anything about either!" they gleefully shouted simultaneously, and faced the people who were just trying to go visit close family

"Villains!" yelled the man, as he tried to defend the two women by charging at the grunts

"Now, now, sir!" said the first

"We can't have that!" said the other as he commanded his Pokemon to attack

At this point, Gallade turned beseechingly to Allan and said, 'Allan! They don't seem to have any more Pokemon they can use to defend themselves!'

"I know," he answered edgily, "I'm going to have to put aside the code of secrecy, and help them out against those nasty Galactics!"

'I'm ready to assist!' Lapras said, prepared to go as all out as necessary

"Hey, you cowards!"

Allan burst away from the tree, in who's branches he'd been hiding, watching as events played themselves to the point of no return. Throwing Lapras' Pokeball, the proud Pokemon landed with a very loud thud to the ground as the grunts and their victims stared at the newcomer in surprise.

"W-who're you!?" the grunt who'd beaten the old woman shouted, very shaken up, by the way his voice trembled

"Who I am is none of your business..." Allan kept his face well hidden under his hood as he said this, "But you blocking the road with phony toll stops is very much my business, as, sooner or later, you'll step into my path demanding the same!"

"Y-yeah?" the first grunt stuttered, "And w-what's wrong with that!?"

Pausing to take in the near surroundings, Allan said in a low, dangerous voice, "I don't expect a criminal to understand how his actions are wrong. I do expect, however, for him to know when to roll over when things are going too well for his misdeeds!"

"Ha! You're going to beat me?" because Allan hadn't attacked yet, the grunt was starting to regain some of his confidence, and said as cockily as he could, "Don't make me laugh! I beat this lil' old lady like she was nothing!"

"... She is travel weary, and obviously not as young as she used to be. Your beating her was because of a vicious sneak attack. Now that you've done that, you have me to deal with."

Allan didn't reveal whether or not he was angry at the grunts, but it was plain now that he was a serious threat to their little toll road scam! Not taking anything for granted, Allan moved to stand close beside Lapras and put a hand on the Pokemon's neck.

"Lapras and I can''t lose to ego-bloated cowards, like yourselves... 'Ice Beam'!" Allan cried

Ice suddenly froze the Galactic grunts to the ground, and instead of managing to stay balanced, one of them fell over to his back. Rather uncomfortably, I might add, as his feet were still stuck to the earth beneath him. The grunt still standing, was doing his best to not fall forward and break his knees, by bending them the wrong way.

Cursing, he glared at Allan and said, "Hey! That's not fair!"

"Fair?" Allan said before anyone else could speak, "As you said to these innocents, 'Who said anything about being fair'! ... If you don't like it, you can take it up with these people you harassed. I, on the other hand, must be going on."

Allan called Lapras back, and proceeded to walk into town, when the young woman reached out and said, "Wait! How can we ever repay you?"

"I don't need to be payed. I was just doing what would've been done eventually." he kept moving

The man stepped up to the grunt still standing, and pushed him so he'd also fall onto his back. As much as the fool protested, the man had done his knees a lifelong favor.

"Hang around. I'm sure the police can help you out of this!" the man laughed and walked away with his family after Allan, "Hey! Wait up, we're going to pay you back anyway!"

'Master Allan, it wouldn't hurt to see what they have in mind, would it?' Gallade asked gently

'I'm not particularly curious about it... And stop it with the 'Master' thing!' Allan projected telepathically in response

'I can't help it if that's what I call you naturally.' Gallade reproached, 'And I want to know what they mean by payment. Not out of any sort of greed, just that, it would be kinder to hear them out...'

Gallade felt that he wasn't making too much progress with convincing his friend that interacting with others could be informative... If one knows what to look for. Perhaps these people were more useful than they initially appeared. At this point, anything was possible. Because Allan had rushed in to help complete strangers that he could just as easily have ignored, and passed by into the city with no more thought on the matter, than that they were poor saps to run into opponents they couldn't beat.

For Allan, change was on the wind.

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Later...

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'I don't have a clue how you convinced me to do this...' Allan thought, disgruntled by Gallade's success

'Well, I think this would be good for you... It'll be hard to act normal if you don't have a better example than what you've seen growing up with the cruelty of the DK Masters.' the Pokemon reasoned

'Even if I can't refute that, I still think this is a bad way to deal with the problem!'

Allan had been having this telepathic conversation with Gallade for a while now. If the focus were something normal, like the fastest way to kill an angry Dragonite, then Allan could have closed it a long time ago. The subject however, was foreign enough that Allan had no way to counter Gallade's insistence they investigate.

"You're quite nervous, aren't you?" the old woman, Granny Glinda was her name, spoke kindly as she walked beside Allan

"No... I just haven't been to a stranger's actual home, in a long time..." Allan was speaking in a gruff sort of tone, not sure how to talk to someone who was normal, like a friend... Or even family

"That's fine, dear, fine! No need to be shy," Granny Glinda said sweetly, "We'll have plenty of food to force on you, when we arrive, too!"

"Um, what?" this statement had left Allan unsure of what to say, so he could only frown helplessly as Glinda giggled at his cute antics

At least, they were cute to her, as well as her son, Harv, and daughter in-law, Inez. They laughed good-naturedly, and continued to lead the way to their relatives' home. They talked and laughed, and Allan wasn't sure how he could fit into a situation like this... It was confusing. They could make playful jabs at one another, and not get angry, or even nasty about it in return. It was so very different from the way the people on Spire island acted toward one another!

If asked how he felt about the situation, Allan would've said that he'd take the Dragonite! Somehow, and this was a truly new sensation, he felt like he couldn't willingly hurt the people who were being so kind to him. Now he wonders... What would his true family have been like?

"Well, we're here!" Harv said, breaking him out of his reverie

Looking up, Allan saw an ordinary looking two story house. For as much as he new of houses, and other contemporary buildings for that matter, this was going to be a new experience, among several others!

"Hey, its Grandma!" shouted a small child, who had burst from the home to see who'd arrived at the door

"Oh, Uncle Harv, Aunt Inez! You're a little late; We were getting worried something came up, and that you were in no position to contact us."

A teenage girl had appeared. She was now sternly telling her little sister to let their Grandmother pass into the house. Harv began explaining Allan's presence to the girl, who seemed shocked that part of her family had gone through such a nasty ordeal.

"Then all of you need to come in so you can catch some rest!" Harv's niece said emphathetically pushing them all into the house, "Oh, the nerve of those jerks! Picking on two women, and an unarmed man... They ought to be locked up!"

Granny had found her way to an easy chair, and was sitting, bouncing her little granddaughter on her knees, as she puffed a sigh of contented relief. The little girl, about four years old by the look of her, had caught Allan's eye and smiled. Jumping away from her Grandma, she ran up to stand in front of Allan.

"Are you a strong trainer Mr. Hero?" she asked suddenly, "My name's Emma! What's yours? I got a Pokemon, too! Wanna see her?"

All those questions, and that fearless forwardness shocked Allan. He'd never, in all his missions, in all his heartless quests of destruction, met anyone quite like this little girl... Emma, it seemed, had no idea who he was. Just that he helped her Grandmother, and must therefore be a 'good guy'.

'You're staring,' Gallade interjected into his thoughts, 'You could just answer a few of her questions, Mr. Hero!'

Frowning slightly at Gallade's jovial take on the situation, Allan said, "You can call me, 'Allan'. But I'm not a hero; I was just finishing what would've happened eventually."

"You're called Mr. Allen?" Emma concentrated like she was trying to remember something, "What do you mean, 'finishing'... What's that?"

"Emma! You talk too much!" said her older sister walking in

"I do not! I was just asking what he means!" Emma retorted sounding upset

"Oh, hush now, you two! You're embarrassing this young gentleman." said Glinda, ending it before it could begin

"But, Suzie started it!" Emma moved closer to Glinda, as if it might make her argument more reasonable

"I know that Suzie didn't have to say you talked too much, but you shouldn't ask someone you don't know very well too many questions either." Glinda said, looking her granddaughter in the eye

"Why not?" the little child persisted, Suzie sniffed disapprovingly at this, and Glinda's eyes twinkled

"Because its rude, and maybe they won't want to talk right then. People aren't all as bright and friendly as you, dear."

"Nope!" Emma agreed, then turned back to Allan, "Do you want to see my Pokemon, now?"

She held up a Pokeball, and smiled, like it was the one thing that would make her the happiest girl alive, if she could show off her Pokemon to Allan.

"Um, sure..." he shrugged

Still not sure how to act, Allan just agreed to cooperate with the happy little child. After all, it couldn't hurt!

'And you need to open up a bit more than that, Allan!' Gallade finished his thoughts

'Would you please stop! I'm trying to figure this out!' Allan was finding it hard to remain calm as though everything about this situation were normal, then he corrected himself, 'No... I'm the one here who isn't normal!'

"Is something wrong, Mr. Allen? Do you not want to see my Rhally?" Emma asked, a bit confused about why he was being so quiet

"I'm sure he'd love to see your Rhally, dear, he's just a little shy!" Inez said, strolling into the living room to sit down

Allan found that he was having a hard time, keeping his bright red embarrassment hidden! The rest of the family soon followed Inez into the room, they settled to talk and laugh, while Emma tried hard to be the center of attention.

There were Pokemon, too! A Glameow that curled itself on a window sill; Two Finneon, and a Remoraid, swam in a large fish tank; And a Carnivine dozed in a hanging planter. If there were others, they had to be even more cleverly hidden than the ones Allan had been able to spot, in this room alone. "Rhally", turned out to be a Ralts. And Emma whispered conspiratorially, that her big sister, Suzie, caught it for her when she said she wanted a Pokemon too!

Allan almost lost his breath, a lump had lodged itself in his throat. This made Allan feel more than he'd ever let himself feel in a long time. Longer even, than before he'd been imprisoned for his insolence in justices favor. It wasn't wise to dwell on your emotions for any length of time when the DK Masters were looking over your shoulders for any, and all, signs of weakness. But here, in the warmth of a family's embrace, he found his resolve to stay immune to their kindness waning. 'Not good...' he thought in distress, 'If I have to sit through this much longer, I might not be ready to face another of the Squires sent to check on me for a while...'

"Mr. Allen? Are you awright?" Emma asked in concern, while Rhally looked around her, at him

"Um, no. I have to be going now..." Allan stood up and quickly moved to leave

"Whoa, whoa, hold on there, lad! You haven't even shared a meal with us yet, and weren't you planning on accepting our gratitude for saving our relatives?" Harv's brother, Earl, reached to stop him

"I never said I was planning on it. And I don't think I should just stay, either..." Allan looked away from their confused expressions; He, himself, felt confused enough as it was, without taking in their own, "I'm sorry, but I'll be going now."

"But... Wait!"

Several of them had called out to him when he made it to the door, but none had tried to get in his way. Not even relentless little Emma, had tried to bar him.

Outside at last, the mid autumn air bit his cheeks, and he took off running toward anywhere that would take him away from the family that reminded him of his bitter fate with the Dark Knights.

'You shouldn't run away like this, Master Allan!' Gallade did not want to see Allan freaking out like this, but this was small in comparison to some of things they both had already endured 'Didn't you say you wanted to blend in better? With other people without feeling this awkward?'

"Awkward? I passed that stage when you somehow convinced me to do this!" alone now, in a park that had a mysterious statue, Allan let Gallade free of his Pokeball, and yelled with all he could muster at the hapless Pokemon, "I don't know what you think I was going gain by staying for dinner with that family, but if it had anything to do with the fact that I simply don't have a family of my own, then you can just forget our partnership!!!"

Both Gallade, and Lapras still in his own Pokeball, gasped in shock and hurt. But before either of them could respond, Allan continued, by throwing back his hood, revealing his pale face and black hair, "Did you think I could just adopt their way of life so easily!? After all the years of pain, and tortuous training to be little more than a killer, a monster to human and Pokemon alike!?"

'No... I did not think it would be easy...' Gallade half looked up from his kneeling position, to see if Allan was listening, then said, 'But I didn't believe that it would be so hard either... We, that is, all of us, Lapras, you and I, we are sort of like a family too... I thought that that was enough to make you feel safe, trying to be like a normal person.'

"You already know that isn't true..." Allan faced away, speaking slowly, still out of breath after his outburst, "I can't change... Not yet. Not while I still need to be the me that I already know..."

What Allan said was true. But it didn't hide the fact that he was hurting now, from the inside out. And Gallade felt it in small, intense waves.

'But, Master Allan... You asked yourself if you still had family elsewhere...'

Though Allan had no idea where Gallade was going with the odd statement, he distinctly felt his heart beginning to beat faster. Like he'd known Gallade was keeping some dark secret from him all along.

'I was with you, even back then...' Gallade waited for Allan to nod his assent that this was true, then...

'I know that they didn't leave this world, but I didn't want to say so earlier, in case it put them at risk... Your family is most definitely alive, though I have no idea where in the world they are.'

Allan tried to speak, but had to stop and catch his breath several times before he could. Finally, barely above a weak whisper, he asked, "Why now...?"

'Because I couldn't explain why getting along with a family, like it was normal, was important...'

Both Pokemon, and human, stood stricken. The air about them was cold, and their hands were getting numb, but they didn't move. They stayed there, staring each other down for what felt like hours. Unable to move, for fear that this was all just a bad dream that they would wake up from at any second.

Wordlessly, Allan called Gallade back to his Pokeball, and proceeded to move away from the park that felt colder when a southbound wind swept through his hair and clothes, breaking the strange silence that had held them both at a stalemate.

Much thought was needed now, to decide what was right, and what was wrong with their priorities.

Allan's dark, hopeless life, felt thrown off its axis. Everything was stranger than it had been. And now, finally, how many more lies and dark secrets would he have to uncover, to see the whole truth of the half life he'd been living? What sick sort of game was fate playing with him!?

... What sort of people were his family?... "NO!!" Allan stubbornly refuted his curiosity, and paced onward to the Pokemon Center, "Like I originally planned..." he added quietly, to no one in particular

.

XXXXXX

.

Riley awoke in the cargo bay of a moving van. Looking closely at the walls told him that calling for help would be useless. It was padded against sounds escaping from within, and entering from without. Shifting so that he was sitting up, he grunted at the scratchy rope that tied his hands together, frowning at the discomfort.

Truthfully, it was his own fault he'd been tied up. If he hadn't made a last ditch effort to escape when the grunts came to get him for transport to the home base, he probably wouldn't be getting squeezed a smidgen too tightly by a scratchy, low quality rope. That, and his head wouldn't have a splitting ache from the beefy grunt who'd pounded on his head to stun him! The whole situation was a bit much, and if it weren't for his bad headache, Riley almost felt humored enough to laugh at his predicament.

'I don't see what's so funny!' Lucario grumbled from her spot, at his inner coat pocket

"You know what? Neither do I..." he answered, and then grimaced when it caused his head to throb

'I'd almost be angry with you, if you weren't even worse now than you were when you first came to in that cell... Riley, you're even more banged up, and your arm looks really bad!'

"Does it?" he asked, leaning back and letting her out to look more closely at his busted elbow

'It's poisoning your Aura... This pain is too much! And you aren't even feeling half of it anymore, because it has gone somewhat numb...' she reached for his arm, and then held back, unsure what would happen if she dared close distance

"It might be poisoning my Aura, but I think that's because it is doing all it can to support my body right now..."

'When you put it like that, I'm convinced that you made some terrible choices!' Lucario leapt up, red eyes bright with frustration, 'Why did you let us be captured? Even if you didn't have the strength to run, you should have tried! You should have let me help you to fight off those grunts, to allow us a chance to escape! Instead, we're here now, in some stupid human transportation machine, awaiting our imminent torture at the hands of their, so-called, Master Cyrus!' for the last two words, she put on a simpering tone that proved just how disgusted she was with the prospect

Her anger was comparable to many frightening things nature had to offer, not the least of which, was raging a storm at sea! But even in the face of this storm, Riley could only sigh and shake his head. Moving to a far corner of their current prison, Lucario sat with her back to him, and proceeded to meditate.

.

XXXXXXXXX

.

Me: Well, things are looking a might grim for our hero, Riley.

Riley: Who's your hero!? What's going on!? Why are we trapped in this cardboard box!?

Me: Um, some friends of mine that own this mega-conglomerate-thing decided to donate enough funds to trap Riley in a cardboard box. So never mind him. He's just being a little touchy right now.

Lucario: Let us out of here!!!

Riley: Lucario, no! Don't do--!

Box: Whoomph!

Me: Obviously it's a very special cardboard box, or they would've gotten out by now. Anyway, I should probably be honest with you... I didn't feel like posting this one. I thought it was really pretty good, at first, but then it's quality changed, and I didn't like it anymore. Oh well, because I'm not just going to dump over twenty pages of work, just to satisfy my own selfish reasoning. I should have posted this forever ago too, but I guess I'll just treat this like a bad B-day present to me. (I do deserve as much, too, for making y'all wait this long...)

Jupiter: All that aside, I think you summoned me for the review call?

Me: Yeah... (Nice hair! *Barfing*Sound*FX*)

Jupiter: Lady Umbreon thanks all of you for your continued patience, over that last couple of months that you have been waiting. This story update was for you, the fans, and the readers who don't comment. Lady Umbreon begs your continued patience over the next while that this story will take to update, and promises that any OC's not currently putting in an appearance will do so, if and when, Riley can get away from Master Cyrus. Once again, thank you for your continued reading and patience...

Me: ...

Jupiter: ...

Me: ... Well, that was... Nice. You could have put a little more feeling into it, but... Ahaha, I guess you did your best...? (Totally weird! Who can read an entire speech word for word, and not add their own feeling? Or even add lib? Somethin' ain't right with this chick!)

AKC Starr: Oh, well... You can always try someone else later.

Me: Yeah--Wait a minute! Where'd you come from!?

Starr: Let Riley out of the box, Lady.

Me: But... He was being mean to me!

Starr: I'm sure we can work this out with a little talking, so... Let him out.

Me: But... I threw the key into the Dark Abyss... Yeah... I'll gather my exploration team, and we'll go get it... Um, be good kids! And review when you get the chance! We writer's love those things to death! (Seriously! I hugged my last review until it was thinner than a thread, and longer than a mile!)