Lucifer crouched opposite of Mew, a bit miffed that she would agree to things even if he didn't.

At the moment they circled each other in their human forms, auras pulsing slightly from their hands. Queen Ilene had asked for them to demonstrate their aura capabilities, and Mew had immediately jumped on the chance. So now, they "sparred" with their auras.

Lucifer hesitated, unsure of how to attack Mew. She wore black leggings and a sweater, and Lucifer wore loose track pants with a similar sweater, each outfit suited for the practice fight. Queen Ilene and her daughter the Princess Sable watched eagerly from the side, as well as a large group of spectators.

The rules were simple—both Mew and Lucifer would use their auras against each other without malice, and the first to either pin, strike a "killing" blow, or forced the other to yield was the winner.

Lucifer slid his feet across the dry ground, focusing on Mew. She circled, eyeing him carefully and gauging his strength. Lucifer did the same, but he wondered; how could he get past her defenses? He knew she was still better to this day, but before he could contemplate it any longer, Mew took the offensive.

Blocking each of her blows with his forearms, Lucifer swung his fist back. Mew ducked lithely beneath him and hit him in the gut, but Lucifer took the hit as well as he could and instead sent a return blow to her side. She grunted femininely, and backed away a few steps, but Lucifer felt an urge to defeat her quickly before she could wear him down. Jabbing quickly, Lucifer aimed for her jaw, but his knuckles missed their mark. Lucifer started on the inside when he saw a flash of pink hair duck close and then slam her forearm into his face.

An explosion of pain blinded his vision with stars. Crying out and backing away, Lucifer grasped at his aura and threw up a shield—and a foot crashed against the ward, protecting him.

Lucifer's heart rate picked up incredibly as he shook his head free of sparks of pain, ignoring what he assumed to be a broken nose because he could feel warm blood dripping over his lips, Lucifer grabbed Mew's next punch and twisted her arm back. However, he felt a shaft of irritation when she outwitted his maneuver AGAIN.

He tried to twist her arm backwards in an obtuse angle, but Mew jumped and flipped over as well, unwinding herself before striking his jaw hard. Lucifer gritted his teeth and threw his full weight against her.

They both slammed into the unyielding ground hard, and Lucifer started to pin her, trapping both arms to her chest, but a sharp and unexpected pain erupted low between his legs, making him groan from between clenched teeth. It was just enough for Mew to get a little leeway and escape him.

However, she took the time to gather her wits instead of blindly attacking again, but Lucifer figured he had nothing to lose and went for broke. Throwing a small ball of aura energy to her, it exploded at the ground in front of her, covering her vision up with dust. Lucifer, however, knew exactly where she was and ran to the dust, intending on taking her down.

Lucifer gave a startled yell when Mew threw herself from the settling dust right at his lower legs, and he fell hard, the breath leaving him in a giant whoosh. He kicked out at her, but Mew bent herself away and leapt on top of him, raising a fist.

Lucifer didn't think twice, but let a blinding flash of his aura suddenly flare in her face. She cringed just a little before throwing the punch anyway, but it was enough that Lucifer was able to grab her breast and twist violently, making her cry out, before he finally was able to escape and throw her away to rethink his strategy.

They began to circle again. Mew wrinkled her nose, rubbing her sore chest. "That was low. Was it really necessary?"

Lucifer struggled not to roll his eyes. "Was this?" and he gestured to his tender area and then to his nose. "Is it broken?"

Mew pulled a sheepish face. "Yeah. Sorry."

He snorted. "You're not sorry."

"Well, if you put it that way—" She charged suddenly, making Lucifer fall back into the defensive. "Then no, I'm not, I want to win!"

Grabbing a fistful of her hair, Lucifer wrenched her back down to her knees, but before he could do anything more, she looked up at him with her wide blue eyes. The breath hitched in the back of Lucifer's throat.

His falter in his attacks was his undoing. Mew wrenched his arm back and down, forcing him to his knees before she threw her weight on his back. His jaw cracked against the ground, and he was sure he bit his tongue because he tasted the rusty and nasty blood in his mouth. Mew twisted both his hands painfully behind him, between his shoulder blades, as if trying to make each opposite elbow meet at the small of his back. Her knees pressed agonizingly into the backs of his knees.

Lucifer squirmed beneath her. "Give up, Dexter. The win is mine."

Lucifer scowled. He was NOT about to give up to her. Surely he could use his aura some way to free himself . . .

He growled shortly when she yanked harder, his shoulders screaming in protest. "Dexter," she cajoled playfully, causing the entranced crowd to break into laughter, "this is only going to get worse the more you wait. You can't get up."

Lucifer tried to buck her off of him, but it was no use. She stayed on as if glued. "I'll find a way yet," he grumbled, jerking only to wreak more punishment on his arms.

"I'm sorry, everyone, he's being stubborn today." More chuckles from the crowd alighted on Lucifer's ears, and he gritted his teeth in irritation. After struggling pointlessly more, he finally grunted and muttered, "Fine. I yield."

"Good!" Mew jumped up immediately, and Lucifer rolled his sore shoulders, nursing his bloodied nose. "Here, let me straighten that for you."

Lucifer jerked away when Mew reach for his broken nose, trying not to scowl too deep because it aggravated the wound. "Don't touch me."

Mew gave an impatient sigh, shaking her head. "Going back to this?" She sighed. "Look, just let me fix it at least, then you can go sulk and be mad at me all you want."

Lucifer clenched his jaw. She had hurt his pride by beating him in front of everyone. She knew it too, and that was why she was going to let him mope in his own self-pity. The thought that he would sulk like some little kid angered him, so Lucifer sucked it up and dropped his hands. Mew straightened the broken nose back into place, and despite the agony that raced over his face, Lucifer didn't make a sound. Instead, he just followed Mew's footsteps silently.

The day passed slowly because it was mostly spent with Queen Ilene and explaining all they did and why they did it as aura guardians. It also passed slowly because Lucifer got his tail handed to him more than once with the bouts Mew and he practiced with.

Though, Lucifer couldn't fault Mew—he was getting consecutively stronger at an alarming rate. Her training was rigorous, but effective.

Lucifer collapsed in the bed that night exhausted, body aching. He was going to pay for Mew's beatings today, but he had learned more today than in a while. Maybe it was because she brought him back to the basics when she explained things to Queen Ilene.

A smaller body jumped on the bed with him, rocking it. Mew put both hands on either side of him, nuzzling his neck. "Lucifer?" she crooned.

He gave a low groan. "Really, Mew? Not now."

"Oh?"

"I'm tired," he heaved, not lifting his head from the pillow.

She tickled his chin. "Is there . . . ANY way I can persuade you that you're not as tired as you think you are?" Mew kissed his jaw.

A faint stir started in his stomach. "Mew," he stated on a weary growl, "you've kicked my ass from here to the farthest of creation today. I need my rest."

"Hm . . ." Mew trailed her fingers up his arm. "Really?"

"Do you want me to wake up tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah."

"Then let me sleep."

She chuckled quietly before snuggling into his back, giving it up. They sat in comfortable silence for a while before Lucifer's tired eyes opened to the dark.

Her breathing had deepened considerably as she sunk closer to sleep, and Lucifer felt her chest press intimately into his with her steady breathing. Lucifer reached up a hand to cover hers over his chest, swallowing. Lying in the dark with her arms around him, it suddenly struck Lucifer at how CHERISHED he was. How much he loved her, and how much she loved him in return.

Heart sputtering emotionally in his chest, Lucifer twisted around and bundled her close to his chest. She tucked her legs up, curling in a ball into his heat.

"Mew?" he whispered quietly.

"Hm?" Her head lolled to the side some, the top of her head brushing beneath his chin. A perfect fit to the contours of his body.

"Have I told you I love you today?"

An adoring smile tugged Mew's lips apart. "I think so . . ." she said teasingly, "but you could always say it again."

Stroking his fingers across her jaw, he lifted her chin gently to press a tender kiss to her lush lips. "Mew," he whispered huskily. "I LOVE you. You do understand that?" Mew finally lifted her eyelids, exposing her blue eyes to him. "I love you more than anything this world could offer me, and I would do anything for you." Lucifer pressed his forehead against hers, his own electric blue eyes swallowing her sight. "Mew, I LOVE you. Never forget that."

She placed a benevolent kiss to his lips again, slow and sweet before saying, "Et tu, Brute," with a faint spark of mischief. "You've wound yourself around my heart, and I will never be able to forget you. Do you know why?" Mew nuzzled her nose tenderly to his before murmuring softly, "Because I LOVE you. With all my heart."

Lucifer took a trembling breath before cuddling her close again. Mew melted into his embrace, and Lucifer officially decided that he was the luckiest Lucario in the world as he drifted off to sleep.


A rumble shook the building.

Lucifer shot awake with Mew in the early morning, leaping to his feet. His body groaned in protest, and he scrubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Lucifer raced after a pink-headed Mew as she dressed them with a flash of psychic energy. His boots clunked against the floor, and he felt the constricting of jeans and the same black and red-checkered sweater. Mew was dressed similarly, only with her boots were tight-hugging jeans and an equally baggy orange woolen sweater.

Dashing down the hallway with her, Lucifer heard the sharp beating of helicopter propellers and the rumble of many engines.

"What's going on?" Lucifer shouted after Mew as she ran down the steps.

"I don't know exactly!" she shouted out, "but I think we might have been found out!"

Lucifer swallowed a curse and followed Mew to where she skidded to a halt in the throne room where a particularly pale Queen Ilene sat straight in her chair.

"Queen Ilene!" she intruded quickly with no thought of formalities. "What's going on?"

Oddly, the Queen responded promptly. "Team Rocket," she said surprisingly even. "They are demanding us to hand over Mew—as if we could! She is a free pokemon, we do not own her. Only if she wishes to show herself will she show herself."

"They're threatening the trainers outside," Princess Sable added quickly. "Mother won't let me go out and fight."

"And you won't," Mew said quickly, running a hand through her hair agitatedly. "This is my fault . . ."

Lucifer grabbed her arms, spinning her to himself. "Don't say that. You've done nothing wrong."

"But—"

Two Weavile burst into the room, and Mew and Lucifer reacted instantly.

The pokemon dashed forward with two Night Slashes at hand, and Mew took one and Lucifer the other. Mew threw up a ward of aura, managing to stop the first Weavile in its tracks before kicking it so hard it pitched to its knees and clenched its stomach. Then, she threw it back with a burst of her aura. It fled.

Lucifer, however, intercepted the Night Slash and wrenched the pokemon's arm back. Refraining forcibly from breaking its arm, Lucifer slammed it to the ground instead and punched it hard across the face with the strength equal to a Mega Punch. Then, he picked it up and slung it to the side with its friend, and both Weavile dashed from the room.

"They know we're here," Mew whispered, watching the two messenger pokemon flee. "Lucifer, we've got to go."

"Change me back," he barked at her, grabbing her arm before she could run off.

Her eyes flickered with doubt. "But—"

"I'm no use like this!" he growled. "I need my full capabilities to protect you."

"But—"

Lucifer yanked her close, noses touching. Fed up with all the secrets, knowing they were going to be found out anyway, he snarled, "Mew, change me back, NOW!"

Instantly he felt the human form fade away to his natural, pokemon form. Several gasps were heard, and Lucifer craned his head to look up on the pink-topped human before him. Her lips thinned.

"Let's go."

Lucifer dashed ahead of her, ignoring the queen's pleas of, "Wait!" and burst out the door to the trap beyond.

Lucifer halted, throwing up a ward of aura energy to protect himself from the sudden onslaught of pokemon attacks aimed directly towards him. With this moment of peering past the sparks of power his aura stopped, he saw the full intensity of the situation.

Choppers and ships filled the sky, but there was clearly one main mother ship as it was the biggest. The courtyard was filled and cut off from any way out. Multitudes of pokemon filled the grounds, mainly dark types over the bug or ghost type, and Lucifer felt his stomach lurch at the sight of them all—this had been planned. They weren't planning on letting them escape this time!

With Mew close behind (turned into a Pichu when he wasn't looking) Lucifer charged into battle. Throwing a barrage of Aura Spheres towards his foe, they each took the hit and flew back several feet to give him some breathing room. Then, all hell was unleashed.

Lucifer barely knew exactly what was happening. He was aware of Thunders that zapped so close to his body that it made his hair stand on end, was aware of the sheer electricity that crackled the air. He noticed that with his and Mew's defiance to Team Rocket it spurred other bold trainers to action to help save a pokemon they didn't even know, and it helped ease the sheer ferocity of the attack against them—but not by much.

Lucifer used his aura mercilessly to wound several pokemon out of condition to fight. Putting both his hands together toward the front, Lucifer let a spurt of aura shoot out and blast the Raticate closest to him away like a bug. In a way he had never done before, Lucifer utilized the aura in a new way, more closely linked to it than he had ever been in the past with the pressing situation.

He felt time slow. There was a split instant where he was sure he could almost FEEL the future, and then everything sped up quickly with an Extreme Speed. Dashing in and out of over five pokemon, Lucifer ripped them apart with his aura, hitting each and making each howl and fall back in pain. Flipping closer to Mew, he sent off a barrage of Aura Sphere's again that crippled the attacking force of Team Rocket before he flinched, a shadow passing overhead.

A Salamance! A Dragon Pulse shot from his palm without much thought, and it narrowly missed the target as the great beast came closer. Lucifer saw the strangely dressed woman riding it pointing a gadget at him, and before he could retaliate—for he was dodging a well-placed Dragon Claw—she shot.

The beam hit him squarely in his chest, and Lucifer felt his body harden. No—that was too weak—he stiffened, unable to move or bend, and he felt himself crash face-first into the ground, bested by the new technology.

"Well done, Hunter J."


Mew shrieked when she saw Hunter J petrify Lucifer. The Lucario in question face-planted into the ground, still in his dodging and attacking position, body twisted to evade but hands aggressively up as if ready to shoot another aura-based move at her.

Then, a bulletproof glass encased around Mew before she could blink.

Mew screamed in anger and fear, letting another powerful Thunder fly from her little Pichu body. Instead, she screamed in pain when it amplified tenfold against herself, shocking her body so much she collapsed and twitched on the inside of her cage.

The voice of Giovanni filled her ears, chilling her blood. "Well done, Hunter J. Take your prize and your paycheck will come shortly."

Mew felt another shocking electricity course through her veins, making her shriek as she was forced to let go of her transformed body into her natural, pink feline form. When the pain abated, Mew saw Hunter J land, ready to take Lucifer from her.

"No!" Using a deathly sharp Iron Tail to break the glass, Mew slammed her tail against the glass with every ounce of force she could muster. It didn't so much as scratch it. Instead, she felt another crippling jolt of electricity electrocute her from head to foot, making her scream again as it was too powerful for her body.

Every blue crystal of the Tree of Beginning glazed red.