Chapter 10
Journey to Barren Canyon and a New Recruit?
"Up and at 'em!" Zero and Furno groggily got up at the sound of Stride's voice.
"Ugh. It feels like I barely got any sleep," Furno said with a loud yawn.
"You'll get used to it," Stride said with a smile, though it looked slightly strained to Zero. Before he could say anything, Stride spoke again.
"Hurry up and put your gear on. I'll meet you in the lounge," Stride said as he turned and left their room.
A few minutes later, Zero and Furno left their room with their new ribbon and band wrapped around their necks. Once they entered the lounge, Stride tossed Zero the pack that they had prepared the night before and the trio set off towards Barren Canyon.
Barren Canyon B1
"So this is Barren Canyon," Furno said as he observed their surroundings.
As the name suggests, the entire area was devoid of almost all life, save for a few withered looking trees that, like the area, were barren. The ground was dry and cracked, showing that it had not rained in this dungeon for who knows how long. There were a few boulders littered throughout the area while the sun hung high above them, heating up the ground under them.
"I see why they call this place Barren Canyon," Zero muttered earning a nod from Furno.
"This place used to be called Lush Canyon because of its lush forests and beautiful flowers," Stride said, gaining a far away look. "It was truly a beautiful place."
"What happened?" Furno asked.
Stride's expression darkened. "No one knows. One day, everything here just died, leaving this place barren and the soil infertile. Those who lived in the area prayed to Landorus to make the land fertile again, but they received no answer," Stride said. "Shorty after that, this place became a dungeon."
"What makes a place become a dungeon?" Zero asked curiously.
"Again, no one knows," Stride said. "Dungeons started appearing around the time the legendaries disappeared.," Stride answered. "Anyway, we're getting off track. According to the mission sheet, we are looking for a female Ponyta that went missing somewhere on the fourth floor.
The members of Team Dawn Breaker nodded and the trio began their trek through the dungeon.
The trio had been walking for about ten minutes before they encountered their first Pokémon. They were walking silently on a random path when a Maractus jumped out in front of them. When the trio saw the cactus Pokémon, they were instantly put on guard. Zero set the pack down and he and Furno leapt into action.
Furno started off by shooting a flurry of embers at the Maractus, forcing it to dodge. As soon as it leapt out of the way, Zero slammed into it with a quick attack, causing the Maractus to hit the ground. The moment the Maractus touched the ground, Furno spat another ember attack at the Maractus, this time hitting it directly.
The Maractus screeched in pain as it felt the heat from Furno's attack. Despite the pain from the attack, the Maractus got up and growled at the duo. Its claws then glowed white and three streams of white pins shot out from each hand and shot towards the duo.
Seeing the attack Zero rolled out of the way while Furno burrowed into the ground to avoid the attack. Zero then dashed towards the Maractus and slammed a force palm into the Maractus' stomach. The Maractus went flying back a few meters, but got back up. It glared at Zero and was about to attack him, when Furno burst out of the ground and slammed into it.
The Maractus gasped in pain as it was sent into the air. The Maractus hit the ground with a dull thud and did not get back up.
"Good work you two," Stride commended. "But it appears that your fight has attracted sum unwanted attention."
True to his words, a Drilbur and a Sandshrew burst out of the ground and attacked the surprised duo. Zero stumbled back from the attack while Furno cried out in pain from the super effective attack. Seeing his friend in pain, Zero instantly put himself in front of his downed friend.
The two wild Pokémon growled at Zero, but to Furno's and Stride's surprise, Zero growled right back. This action surprised the two wild Pokémon, and before they could react, Zero ran at them and slammed a force palm into Drilbur's gut and kicked the Sandshrew in the face, causing it to stumble back. Before the Sandshrew could recover, Zero slashed at it with a shadow claw.
Unfortunately, the Drilbur recovered from the hit and slammed into Zero with a scratch attack. Zero winced in pain, but ignored it and kicked the Drilbur in the face. Zero was about to hit the Drilbur with another force palm when the Sandshrew slammed into his back with a rollout. Zero landed on his stomach and struggled to get back to his feet.
The Drilbur was about to hit Zero with another when Furno got to his feet and scratched the Drilbur across the face. The Drilbur reeled back from the attack and was unable to dodge a force palm from Zero. The Drilbur was sent flying into a withered tree and slumped to the ground, unconscious.
The Sandshrew attempted to hit Zero with another rollout, but Zero saw it coming. Zero jumped out of the way and kicked the Sandshrew in the side, causing it to veer off course and slam into a boulder. The Sandshrew shakily got to its feet and burrowed into the ground. Thinking quickly, Furno took a page out of the Fraxure that they apprehend's book and shot an ember attack into the hole dug by the Sandshrew.
There was a moment of silence before a pained screech could be heard from underground. The Sandshrew then burst out of the ground, parts of its body was charred from Furno's attack. Seeing the mouse Pokémon emerge from the ground, Zero charged at it and hit it with a shadow claw, knocking it out.
"That was tough," Furno panted. "I didn't realize getting hit with a super effective attack hurt so much."
"Be thankful that those two were low level," Stride said, holding out two oran berries which the duo accepted gratefully. "If they were at a higher level, that attack would have hurt a lot more. That's why you are training. So attacks like that won't have that much effect on you."
Furno nodded in understanding. Seeing this, Stride turned to Zero.
"You did good putting yourself in front of your teammate when he was injured, but you should not have charged in without any form of plan," Stride lectured. "Fighting more than one foe without any sort of plan can be catastrophic, as you experienced. Whenever you fight more than one opponent you must keep all of them in your field of vision." Zero bowed his head in shame. Seeing this, Stride reached out and placed a hand on Zero's head.
"Don't feel discouraged, you're still learning" Stride said, ruffling the fur on Zero's head. "You're bound to make mistakes. What's important is that you learn from those mistakes, so you can better yourself. Understand?"
Zero nodded and gave the Greninja and smile, which masked his unease. Zero was grateful for Stride's reassurance, but he still held that feeling that was keeping him from fully trusting the Greninja. He felt guilty that he was unable to trust Stride after everything he had done for him and Furno and wanted desperately to trust him. Zero, was shaken out of his thoughts, when Stride removed his hand from Zero's head and spoke again.
"Let's keep going," he said. "We need to find our client."
Barren Canyon B2
The trio found the stairs after a few minutes of searching and entered the next floor. The whole time Stride, while seeming to be looking around, was looking at Zero in thought. After what he heard last night, he was a little hurt that the young Riolu did not trust him, but he could understand why he did not trust others. On top of that, he was still in shock from the revelation that Zero could have been a human.
When Stride walked past Team Dawn Breaker's door, the duo were already well into their conversation. Stride was about to knock on the door to tell them to go to sleep, when he heard Furno mention something about a human. Listening closely, all he could make out was that Zero did not trust Stride with a secret. Putting everything together, he figured that either the duo knew of a human turned Pokémon or one of them was a former human. He ruled out Furno being a human due to the fact that he had a family, so he was fairly certain that Zero was the former human.
Stride honestly did not know how to go about this information. He did not confront the two about it without them coming to him first because he would have to admit that he had eavesdropped. This would cause Furno and Zero to lose trust him, while Zero would lose what little trust he had, and they would most likely clam up and refuse to tell Stride anything. He would have to wait for the duo to come to him about it.
There was also the matter of there being a live human in their midst. Even if they were now a Pokémon, the fact that a human had survived when their whole species went extinct. He knew for a fact that they were extinct. After all, he was there when...
"Look out!" Stride was broken out of his thoughts when Furno shouted. Stride mentally cursed himself for his inattentiveness. He looked up saw that Furno's shout was directed towards Zero, who leapt to the side to avoid a horn attack from a wild Rhyhorn.
Stride stepped back and watched his charges engage the Rhyhorn. He had hoped that they would not run into any Rhyhorn during this mission. He knew Rhyhorn were tough adversaries, and he had hoped that duo would be able to handle it.
The Rhyhorn roared loudly and charged at Furno with a take down attack. Furno yelped and barely dodged the attack by jumping to the side. The Rhyhorn, unable to stop itself, kept going and slammed into a tree, completely destroying it. The Rhyhorn growled and turned around, glaring daggers at Furno. Before it could charge at Furno again, Zero dashed forward and slammed a force palm into its side.
The Rhyhorn roared in pain, but did not budge from its spot. It glared at Zero hatefully before hitting the Riolu with a powerful horn attack. Zero gasped as the air was forcibly removed from his lungs and went flying back into a withered tree. Zero groaned and clutched his chest in pain. He got to his feet and was forced to leap to the side to avoid another take down from the Rhyhorn.
The Rhyhorn smashed through the tree and before it could turned, Furno shot a flurry of embers at the Rhyhorn. The Rhyhorn gave a grunt, but gave no other indication that Furno's attack did anything besides anger it even more. It turned and roared at Furno before it used rock blast and shot a barrage of rocks at the young Chimchar.
Furno cried out in pain as the rocks met their mark and slammed into the stunned Chimchar's body. The force of the attack sent Furno tumbling through the air before he hit the ground with a loud thud. The Rhyhorn then charged at Furno with a horn attack, attempting to finish off the Chimp Pokémon, but Zero slammed into its side with a quick attack. Though the attack did little to no damage to the Rhyhorn, it was enough to cause the Rhyhorn to veer off course and miss Furno.
The Rhyhorn skidded to a stop and as it turned around it was greeted by a force palm to its face, causing it to reel back. Zero pressed on by hitting it with another force palm, trying to keep the Rhyhorn from recovering. However, despite Zero's efforts the Rhyhorn shook off Zero's attacks and hit him with a close range rock blast, sending Zero flying back.
The Rhyhorn then tried to use stomp on the downed Riolu, forcing Zero to roll to the side. Before the Rhyhorn could pursue Zero, Furno burst out of the ground and slammed into the Rhyhorn, doing massive damage and causing it to fall on its side. Before it could get up, Zero slammed a final force palm into the Rhyhorn's exposed stomach, causing the Rhyhorn to roar in pain before it fell still.
"Good job you two," Stride said, approaching his tired charges. "Are you two okay?"
"Yeah," Furno panted. "Just a little tired."
"Here," Stride said, holding out two oran berries. "Rhyhorn are not easy adversaries to face. You two should be proud.
Both Furno and Zero smiled sheepishly, taking the offered fruit and devouring it, immediately feeling better.
"Thanks," Furno said happily. "That Rhyhorn was tough. I wasn't sure if we could handle-"
Furno was cut off by a loud roar. The trio turned and saw that the Rhyhorn that they thought was unconscious was back on its feet and charging at them. Completely cut off guard, Zero and Furno could only brace themselves for the hit. Just as the Rhyhorn was about to hit them, a powerful hydro pump slammed into the Rhyhorn, sending it skidding back, digging up a trench in the ground. When the Rhyhorn stopped moving, it was clear that it was unconscious.
"Always make sure that your foe is incapacitated before you relax," Stride said sagely.
Zero and Furno nodded, still surprised from not only Stride's reaction time, but also the power of Stride's attack.
"Come," Stride said, snapping the duo from their thoughts. "Let us continue."
Barren Canyon B3
Thankfully the trio made it to the next floor without any other encounters, much to Zero and Furno's relief. Unfortunately for them, as soon as they entered the next floor, they were attacked by four Pokémon, a Cubone, a Larvitar, a Sandile, and a Trapinch.
"Today just keeps getting better and better," Furno grumbled as he dodged another bite attack from the Trapinch.
Zero only gave a grunt in response as he dodged a chip away sent by the Larvitar.
"Keep your eyes on all of your opponents," Stride couched from his spot. "Do not let them get behind you."
Zero jumped to the side to avoid a bite sent towards his foot by the Sandile. Zero landed and kicked the Sandile in the side, sending it into the Larvitar. He then rushed towards the duo and hit them both with a force palm, doing major damage.
Meanwhile, Furno was stuck on the defensive as he dodged a string of constant of mud slaps sent by the Trapinch and multiple swings from the Cubone's bone. Having enough of constantly dodging, Furno quickly burrowed into the ground just as the Cubone was swung its bone at Furno's head.
The Cubone looked around in confusion, trying to find where Furno was. The ground behind the Cubone cracked and Furno burst out. The Cubone turned, but could do nothing to avoid the embers sent by Furno. Furno then turned and scratched the Trapinch.
"Don't let up," Stride commented. "Keep up the pressure. Don't give your enemy time to recover."
Zero nodded at Stride's words and continued his assault. He lashed at the Larvitar with a shadow claw, sending it reeling back. He then spun around and slammed a force palm into the Sandile's face. The Sandile screeched in agony, only to be silenced by a kick to its jaw, knocking it out.
With the Sandile unconscious, Zero dashed towards the Larvitar with quick attack and slammed into it. The Larvitar stumbled back from the hit and lost its balance. Seeing this, Zero rushed in and delivered a powerful force palm to the Larvitar's midsection. The Larvitar was sent flying back and slammed into a boulder with enough force to crack the stone. The Larvitar slumped to the ground and fell unconscious.
Furno rolled to the side to avoid another bone club from the Cubone and scratched it across its chest then hit it with an ember. The Cubone screeched in pain as its hide was burned. It glared at Furno and headbutted him in the stomach, knocking the air out of Furno's lungs. Furno recovered and hit the Cubone with another ember before finishing it off with a scratch attack.
Furno then yelped in surprise as he was suddenly pulled into a huge hole. He looked down and saw that the Trapinch had created a sink hole around itself and was pulling Furno in. Furno clawed at the walls of the hole, but found out quickly that the walls were made of sand, making it impossible to climb out. Furno fired a barrage of embers at the Trapinch, hoping to stop it from pulling him down any further. The attack hit the Trapinch, but did little to the Trapinch. Thinking quickly, Furno tunneled into the sandy walls before the Trapinch could bite him.
Furno popped out right in front of the sink hole and fired his strongest ember attack yet. The Trapinch screamed in pain as the embers made contact. Furno refused to let up and continued to fire off embers into the sink hole. After a few more seconds, Furno finally let up his attack and fell to one knee, panting lightly. He looked over the edge of the sink hole and saw that the Trapinch was out cold.
"You okay Furno?" Zero asked worriedly, approaching the fatigued Chimchar.
"Yeah," Furno gasped, trying to catch his breath. "I just need to catch my breath."
"Nicely done you two," Stride commented as he walked over to the duo. "Zero, good job at putting pressure on your two foes. Furno, good thinking using dig to escape that Trapinch's sand tomb."
"Thanks," a still tired Furno said. "I'm just glad those guys were weak. If they weren't, I would have probably been a goner."
"Don't sell yourself short, Furno," Stride said. "You did good going up against two foes that had a type advantage over you. You should be proud."
Furno blushed from the praise he was given. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a shrill cry come from the path to the group's right. They turned and saw a Sandshrew emerge from the path and stood on all-fours a few yards away from the group, glaring at them.
Zero's body tensed as he prepared himself for another fight. Furno made to get up, but Stride placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You're still tired," Stride said. "Just leave this to Zero. I'm sure he can handle it."
Furno nodded and stayed sitting, though he did not look happy about it. Zero turned his head and gave Furno a reassuring look, silently telling him that he'd be fine. Seeing this, Furno smiled at his friend and nodded. Zero nodded back and turned to face the Sandshrew.
The Sandshrew reared up on its back two legs and gave another shrill cry. The Sandshrew was a little smaller than the other Sandshrew that they encountered, but Zero knew better than to underestimate an opponent.
The Sandshrew gave another cry before curling up into a ball and rolling towards Zero at impressive speeds. Zero jumped to the side to avoid the Sandshrew's rollout, the he felt it brush against his tail. The Sandshrew tried to turn, but it was going to fast and it slammed into a tree, destroying it. The Sandshrew turned and barreled towards Zero again.
It's faster than the other Sandshrew we fought, Zero thought as he dodged the Sandshrew again. The Sandshrew, again, tried to turn, but ended up continuing before it finally stopped. It doesn't appear to be able to turn well. I can use that to my advantage.
The Sandshrew growled at Zero, annoyed that Zero was avoiding its attacks. Clearly not learning its lesson, the Sandshrew curled up into a ball and charged at Zero again. Zero dodged the attack like the others, but this time, he ran after the rolling Sandshrew and as soon as it stopped, Zero slammed a force palm into the Sandshrew's back.
The Sandshrew grunted and stumbled forward a little, but remained standing. It then turned and scratched a surprised Zero across the face. Zero winced in pain and quickly jumped back to gain some distance from the Sandshrew.
"A Sandshrew's armor is made of an extremely strong hide. You won't be able to beat it if you only attack its hide!" Stride shouted to Zero. "Aim for its underbelly. It doesn't have the same armor like hide that it does on its back!"
Zero nodded in understanding and dashed at the Sandshrew with a quick attack. However, before he made contact with the Sandshrew, it curled itself into a little ball and braced itself. Zero slammed into the ball and cried out in pain, feeling like he had run into a brick wall. Zero staggered back, slightly dazed from his collision with the Sandshrew, and shake the cobwebs from his head. The Sandshrew uncurled itself and fired a poison sting at Zero, who was unable to dodge or block.
Zero cried out when he felt the purple needles hit him. The Sandshrew stopped its assault and launched itself at Zero with another rollout. This time, the Sandshrew's attack made contact with Zero, causing the air to leave his lungs and go flying back a few meters.
Zero hit the ground with a low groan and slowly got to his feet.
This things a lot stronger than the Sandshrew from earlier, Zero thought as he held his injured stomach.
The Sandshrew gave a screech of triumph, thinking that it had won, and charged at Zero with another rollout. Zero quickly shook off his pain and rolled out of the way. As the Sandshrew rolled by Zero lashed out with a shadow claw and hit its side. The Sandshrew uncurled itself in mid-roll and skid across the ground.
The Sandshrew got to its feet and turned to Zero, only to be kicked in the face by said Riolu. The Sandshrew stumbled back and before it could regain its balance, Zero slammed a force palm into its stomach. The Sandshrew went flying with enough force that when it hit the ground, it bounced once before landing on its stomach. The Sandshrew rose up on all fours and growled at Zero, though it was weaker than before. It then began to dig into the ground, hiding itself underground.
Okay Zero, just calm down, Zero thought, forcing himself to calm down. If I can't see it, maybe I can hear it. Zero closed his eyes and focused on his hearing, listening to everything that was going on around him. He listened for any disturbance and finally heard the ground behind him crack.
There!
Zero jumped to the left just as the Sandshrew burst from the ground and flew towards the spot where Zero once stood. Zero pivoted on his foot and slashed the Sandshrew's side with a shadow claw, eliciting a pained cry from the mouse Pokémon. Taking advantage of the Sandshrew's position, Zero kicked it into the air, grabbed its tail, and slammed the Sandshrew onto the ground hard enough to crack the ground.
The Sandshrew gasped out in pain as it was slammed into the ground. Not wanting to take any chances, Zero slammed a force palm into the downed Sandshrew's stomach, pushing it further into the ground and creating a small crater.
Zero took a step back and looked at the unconscious Sandshrew. This Sandshrew was stronger than most of the Pokémon in the dungeon despite its size. Zero allowed his body to relax, the adrenaline that went through his body leaving him. He gave the unconscious Sandshrew one last look before walking over to Furno and Stride.
"That was amazing Zero!" Furno shouted. "I thought that you would need help when you got hit with that rollout, but you pulled through!"
"Yes, very well done," Stride said, giving Zero an approving look. "You handled your fight very well." Zero beamed at Stride. "However, there is always room for improvement," Stride added. "When we get back I'll have Monty increase your training."
Great, Zero thought bitterly.
Before anymore could be said, the sound of rubble being shifted caught the trio's attention. They whirled around and saw the Sandshrew wrenching itself out of the crater. Furno and Zero tensed and prepared themselves for another fight while Stride only gave the Sandshrew a curious look. The Sandshrew made it to its feet and locked eyes with Zero, but instead of growling like it had earlier, t bowed its head.
Both Zero and Furno gave the Sandshrew a curious look. "What's it doing?" Zero asked.
"I do believe that it impressed upon you," Stride said amusedly.
"Impressed upon me?" Zero asked, shifting his attention to Stride.
"Yes," Stride said. "Impressing is the rare occurrence where a wild Pokémon sees a sentient Pokémon as its alpha. This only occurs when a sentient Pokémon displays enough power to show its dominance over the feral. Hence the name, impressing."
"Oh," Zero said, looking at the Sandshrew. "So what do I do."
"Walk up to it and extend your paw," Stride said. "It will then choose to either leave without causing you any more trouble, or it will join you."
"Join me?" Zero asked in bewilderment. "You mean join the team?"
"If that is what you want it to do, then yes," Stride said. "If it joins, it will do whatever you command it to."
Zero nodded, still in shock. He then steeled his resolve and walked over to the Sandshrew and extended his paw towards it. The mouse Pokémon looked up and stared at Zero. Red eyes met blue as the two Pokémon seemed to be having a silent debate. After a few tense seconds, the Sandshrew cooed happily and nuzzled its head in Zero's paw.
"It appears that it wants to join you," Stride said. "It will now follow your every command."
"Cool," Furno said, approaching cautiously, not wanting to startle their new teammate. The Sandshrew saw Furno approach and shyly moved behind Zero. "Awww. Its shy. That's quite a difference than before."
"In the presence of their alpha, wild Pokémon tend to be more calm and they let their true personality out," Stride said, taking a closer look at the little Sandshrew. "It appears to be a young male Sandshrew. You can tell by the pattern on its back. Females tend to have smaller squares on their back while males have larger ones." Stride chuckled when he saw the Sandshrew attempt to make itself smaller. "It's shyer than you, Zero."
Zero smiled lightly and patted the Sandshrew's head reassuringly. "Can I get an oran berry for him?"
Stride nodded and handed an oran berry to Zero, which he in turn handed to the Sandshrew. The Sandshrew looked at the fruit for a second before devouring the berry with gusto, causing the trio to laugh.
"I believe we've spent enough time here," Stride said. "We still need to find that Ponyta."
Team Dawn Breaker nodded and the trio set off again down a path with their new ally in tow.
Barren Canyon B5
It was almost funny how fast they found the Ponyta. As soon as the group made it to the next floor, they heard the distinct sound of hooves against the dried ground. Following the sound, they group were greeted by a rather comical sight. The Ponyta that they were charged with rescuing was running around in a circle being chased by a Trapinch, a blue satchel on her shoulder.
"As amusing as this sight is, we are here to help the Ponyta," Stride said.
"Right," Zero said before using quick attack and slamming into the Trapinch.
The Trapinch was sent tumbling away from the force of the attack, but soon righted itself and growled at Zero. It was about to charge when it was hit by a rollout from the Sandshrew. The Sandshrew uncurled itself and glared at the Trapinch with the same intensity that it showed when it fought Zero.
The Trapinch shakily got to its feet, but was unprepared for a barrage of purple needles. The Trapinch hissed in pain as the needles made contact. It tried to bite the Sandshrew, but the Sandshrew dug into the ground and avoided the attack. He then burst from the ground and slammed into the Trapinch's side.
The Trapinch gave a final growl before slipping into unconsciousness. The Sandshrew gave looked at the Trapinch for a few seconds, making sure that it was incapacitated, before returning to a stunned Zero's side, his shy nature returning.
"Wow," Furno said, looking at the Sandshrew in amazement. "That Sandshrew is strong... but why did it attack like that?"
"Because Zero was threatened," Stride explained. Seeing the confused looks on Team Dawn Breaker's faces, Stride explained further. "It saw the Trapinch as a threat to its alpha, aka: Zero. Seeing this, our young Sandshrew hear sought to eliminate the threat."
The duo nodded their heads in acceptance, still surprised at the complete personality change of the little Sandshrew.
"But enough about that," Stride said, gaining the duo's attention. "We're hear for a reason."
"Right," Furno said, remembering why they were here in the first place. They turned towards the Ponyta, that was currently cowering in the corner of the room. The group slowly approached the scared Ponyta. "It's okay," Furno said soothingly, trying to calm down the Ponyta. "We're not hear to hurt you. We got your message and we're hear to rescue you."
"A-Are you with the Emperor?" The Ponyta asked timidly.
"No, but that doesn't matter now," Stride said. "We've come to get you out of this dungeon. How did you get here in the first place?"
"I-I was exploring the n-nearby area when I a-accidentally entered this dungeon," the Ponyta stuttered. "If you're not with the Emperor, then who are you with?"
"As I said, that does not matter," Stride said. "What matters now is that you're safe."
"B-But you have one of those things with you!" the Ponyta said, pointing her head the Sandshrew, that was currently hiding behind Zero.
"Trust me, he won't hurt you," Stride said. He then turned to Zero. "Use one of the escape orbs. I think we've spent enough time here.
Zero nodded and pulled out the requested orb. He then activated it and the five Pokémon teleported out of he dungeon.
Author's notes:
Sorry it took so long to post this chapter. My work schedule has been driving me insane. I'm hoping that I'll be able to post at least one chapter a week, I'm not making any promises. Thank you ll for your continued support. AuraFighter23 out.