Authors Note: Well, after a long time, the next chapter's up! It's the longest chapter yet, and probably the most difficult so far. It was a challenge to finally start the incline towards the climax - and it's a steep incline. So it might be too fast near the end, but I rewrote it twice and it's the best I could make it.

Also, thank you anonymous reviewer for the amazing, utterly flattering comment. It made my day. Actually, it still makes my day.

He was right - he simply could not fall asleep. It was as though some unknown force kept him awake. The entire night, Grovyle's mind was racing with questions and possibilities. Although the Mightyena had threatened him with the lives of his new friends and he would do anything to prevent harm from coming to them, he had recovered from the initial shock of the threat and, also influenced by his boredom, decided to keep trying to unmask the criminal. However, he'd have to be a lot more careful than before and keep it completely to himself.

The main question was, who was the criminal? He spent hours mulling over a list of potential subjects but he always reached a dead end. Mismagius was ruled out; she was the guildmaster. In order to open Mismagius Guild, the Exploration Federation would surely have made a thorough check of her background. Manectric was also on the list, considering he was inexplicably grumpy and had a malicious air about him, but that was really all the gecko had - his own observations. There was no material evidence or even a clue that could point him in the right direction. As for the others... He didn't know ay of the other members well enough to make conclusions. The Pokémon he did know relatively well didn't seem suspicious, either.

And he couldn't investigate; there was always the risk that the Mightyena would catch him.

With the primary question unanswerable, he focused on the Magnolia Relic. He knew that unless they could make him obey them in some way, they would never get to it. But why did they want it in the first place?

He sighed exasperatedly and looked out the window, his eyelids itching and heavy. There was some light outside, but it was still too early to go out. His gaze subconsciously drifted to Aurealis, who was lying on his side, sleeping, his chest rising and falling with each deep breath. Grovyle couldn't help but stare at him for a moment. The gecko realized that although he disliked the Lucario on a surface level, he was quite attached to him. Sure, they only met a few days ago and they had had their share of disagreements, but Aurealis was also the first one he met; he was the one who saved him, he was the one who guided him into this new world, and he was the one who did, in the end, give the gecko something to do with his life. If there was anyone in this new world Grovyle would instinctively hang around, it was Aurealis.

'It's just too bad he picked this Arceus forsaken guild,' he muttered to himself, rolling back to a supine position.

As he lay there, staring at the dark void that was the ceiling, his thoughts turned back to Magnolia Relic and Arden. He couldn't help but pity her. After all, she was trapped down there in that stuffy room for who knows how long, and now the only friend and company she ever had didn't even remember her. She'd probably go insane soon if he didn't visit her occasionally.

'Maybe tomorrow,' he mused, yawning. That said, he was reminded of what Arden had said about him - that he used to be the strongest Grovyle in existence. Frankly, he found that hard to believe. How could being defeated and one simple case of amnesia be enough to change him from the hypothetical strongest Grovyle ever to the weak, incompetent, and clumsy Pokémon he was now? Surely, if amnesia was all that happened to him, he should have retained at least his physical strength and stamina? He didn't feel as though he were Loran, a guardian with amnesia; he felt as though he were a completely new Pokémon, plunged into this world and age.

Thinking of his change made him wonder how he could have survived his defeat. Obviously, upon failing to find Magnolia Relic, his foes wouldn't have just given up and left him there if he were still alive. They must have thought he was dead. But how was that possible?

All the thoughts about his situation caused a feeling of self-pity to overcome him suddenly. Ever since his memory loss, all he had wanted was to live a normal, peaceful life, but apparently fate had a different idea.

With a sigh, Grovyle pushed away the thoughts and stared at the ceiling once more. He knew it probably wouldn't take long for him to go insane or do something reckless and endanger his friends if he kept living like this. He had to get to the bottom of this mystery, quickly.

With a silent grumble, Grovyle rubbed his eyes and sat up against the wall. He'd fallen asleep at one point, but it felt as though he'd only slept for a second; that's how much rest his tired body seemed to have gotten. However, judging by the grayish light outside the window, it was perhaps quarter of an hour before the wakeup call.

'Enough time to go to the lake, I suppose,' he mused to himself. He told himself to get up but his body refused. Grovyle sighed and stretched himself, yawning. Upon doing so, he realized his broken wrist didn't hurt anymore. He flexed his wrist and, to his joy, he felt no sign of pain. Gleefully, he untied the bandages and threw them aside. His wrist leaves readjusted themselves to their normal position, bringing along a sense of relief.

Motivated by this piece of good news, Grovyle got to his feet somewhat sluggishly and stepped out into the corridor. Most of the guild members were still sleeping, but some were just lying on their beds and nodded to him as he walked by to say good morning.

Sentry Sentret greeted him, too, and the gecko nodded back before trudging down the hill to the lake. Once there, he timidly poked his face into the water and wiped his eyes. He stared at his reflection solemnly.

"Hi, Grovyle," a voice from behind greeted, causing him to jump and wheel around in surprise.

It was only Abby. He sighed in relief and turned quickly back to the water. "You scared me."

"Well, you should expect Pokémon down here," she pointed out, getting up from the ground and walking over to him, "We're all required to come here at least five times a week. You're bound to meet someone here eventually."

The Grovyle grumbled to himself, having wished to be alone. There was also that very strange shyness that made him avert his eyes. "So, what are you doing here this early?" he muttered, kicking his feet into the water and waving them around.

"I couldn't sleep," she yawned in response, "I assume you're here for the same reason?"

The gecko nodded and gazed off into the horizon, where the first rays of the sun began to paint the sky a golden orange. He watched the increasing light, anticipating the warmth that it would bring.

He was too distracted to notice the awkward silence settling in but Abby did and she quickly remarked, "You look depressed. Something wrong?"

"No," he replied immediately, avoiding her gaze.

"You don't look like you're in a good mood."

"I'm fine," he insisted, a little bit too sternly, glaring intently at the lake. He immediately regretted it, but he knew it was necessary to keep from arousing any suspicions.

"If you say so." With a sigh, the Marowak stood up and turned to leave. "Well, I'm going. The morning announcements will be any time now. Don't be late."

"I won't."

With that, Abby trudged up the hill, and Grovyle stared after her with a feeling of guilt. For some reason, he wished he were more kind to her. Once she was out of sight, he shrugged it off and rolled over onto his belly so all his leaves could get the sunshine. The indescribably blissful feeling like a warm tingling under his scales returned, and he couldn't help but close his eyes and smile with pleasure.

Of course, it was only a few moments later that Manectric's voice boomed: "Wake up call!"

With a loud groan, the gecko picked himself up from the ground reluctantly. "Stupid wake up call," he grumbled, trudging back up the hill.

Once he was back inside the guild's main hall, he noticed with immediate relief that the hallway was nearly empty. There were only a couple dozen Pokémon in the usual semicircle, so there was no need to fight for personal space.

He easily spotted Aurealis in the crowd and made his way over to him. "Good morning," the Grovyle greeted, taking his place next to him.

"You're actually on time. Sunbathing again, were you?" the Lucario remarked, looking over the gecko.

"Yep. I could't sleep."

That was all that could be said before the door to Mismagius' chamber flew open and the guildmaster and her right hand took their position in the center of the semicircle. As always, the ghost addressed everyone with her cheerful eyes, though now it was significantly easier to do with less Pokémon.

After Manectric roared to silence the crowd (which was already relatively silent), Mismagius began, "Good morning everyone! Isn't everything so much better when it's not so crowded?" It was a rhetorical question, so Mismagius immediately continued.

"As we all know, yesterday's search for Magnolia Relic ended in failure. However, we're absolutely sure it's somewhere near the village. It must be hidden very well. Since searching again is highly unlikely to return any results, we'll postpone that for now. Instead, I ask that everyone try to gather information about the Relic anytime possible. Otherwise, today will be a job day like any other. That is all."

"Excuse me," Dexter put in hesitantly, keeping an eye on Manectric in case he was going to explode, "I was wondering whether there was any news on the rogue Pokémon."

For a slight instant, Mismagius appeared to have no idea what the dragon was talking about, but then she gasped, "Oh yes, that almost completely slipped my mind. But no, there has not been any news regarding the rogue Pokémon."

With that, the crowd dispersed. Grovyle didn't pay it much attention; in fact, he hadn't even been listening to the announcements. He was observing everyone in the crowd in an attempt to find the criminal. For the first time, he noticed that everyone was wearing a band similar to his. They probably all got it along with their bag, like he and Aurealis had.

"Grovyle," Aurealis called, snapping the gecko out of his thoughts with a poke to the ribs, "it's time to pick a job."

"Oh, right," he replied absently. The two approached the billboard, a task that was now infinitely easier with less Pokémon around.

"Should we do a regular job or arrest an outlaw?"

"I don't care; choose either one."

The Lucario stopped and focused on Grovyle's eyes, finding them to be vacant. "Grovyle, you don't look too good," he pointed out, with a hint of worry. "You've been like this all morning."

"Huh?" the lizard blinked, once again yanked from his thoughts. "Like what?"

"Like that. You keep drifting off. You don't pay any attention; your mind is somewhere else. What's wrong?"

'Is that concern I'm hearing?' Grovyle wondered, surprised. "I just... didn't sleep well, that's all."

Aurealis wasn't about to be dismissed like that and persisted, "You seem to have sleeping troubles. Is something bothering you? You can tell me, you know."

Although Grovyle was determined to keep lying, he was caught off guard by the Lucario's concern. He wasn't sure whether it was just another mood swing or his actual personality resurfacing. "No, I'm fine," the gecko finally replied, somewhat lamely, and turned to the billboard to end the discussion. "I say we do a rescue mission. Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah, sure," Aurealis sighed, following his partner and looking up at the board.

There were seven rescue missions left. Four of them were one star or above; obviously they couldn't take those. The remaining ones were ranked S, A, and C.

"The easiest mission here is grade C," Aurealis pointed out, "that could be a bit too tough for you, Grovyle..."

"Oh..." the lizard simply said, gritting his teeth. "Let's see the outlaw missions, then."

They looked through the outlaw missions, and thankfully, there was a D-rank mission. Grovyle snatched it from the board and exclaimed, "Look, I found one! The outlaw is a.. a Charmeleon. He's in the Steep Canyon and the time limit is four hours."

"We'd better get moving then," Aurealis smiled. "The Steep Canyon is beside Mt. Raven, I think."

"All right," Grovyle responded, "I'll go get the bag."

"This is where you usually start complaining about something," Aurealis gibed, a thin but good-natured grin on his face.

"Be quiet," the gecko chuckled, running to his room.

He grabbed the bag, shoved the mission paper into it, and stared into space for a moment. 'Aurealis is really nice today,' he remarked to himself, smiling. 'I hope his mood swings are over.'

With that, Grovyle ran back into the hall and found Aurealis already waiting at the stairs. The two ascended and set off in the direction of the Steep Canyon.

About half an hour later...

"Wow, this canyon really is steep," Grovyle remarked, peering over the imposing edge of the canyon. He felt sick to the stomach and quickly backed away. It sure was high. "How are we going to get down there?

"If we keep walking along the canyon, we'll reach a more gradual hill, and we can get down from there," Aurealis explained as he began his march along the edge of the cliff.

Meanwhile, Grovyle, afraid of the height, kept his distance from the edge and walked behind the Lucario carefully.

The walk was going to be a pretty long one since Grovyle could see that the gradual slope Aurealis was talking about was at least a kilometer away. So, Grovyle tried to think about the Guild and what to do about his predicament, but the precarious fall just a stumble away on his right kept distracting him. So, he tried conversing instead: "Aurealis...?"

The Lucario glanced back briefly but did not stop or slow down to let the gecko catch up. "What?"

Grovyle took a deep breath, feeling awkward about what he was about to ask. "Do you have parents?"

That caught the Lucario off guard. He stopped and blinked and stayed silent for a long time as though he were recalling lost memories. Finally, he continued walking at an even faster pace than before and replied, "Of course I do. Everyone has parents, either dead or alive."

The answer struck Grovyle as emotionless, if not cold. Sighing, he continued, "Well, which one of the two are they?"

Aurealis took a long time to reply again. Obviously he wasn't accustomed to talking about this subject. "I... don't know."

This time, it was Grovyle who froze. "What?" he snapped in disbelief, "How can you not know whether your own parents are alive?"

Aurealis sighed and looked as though he were about to stop but kept walking. "All Lucario are sent away from their parents at a certain age. It has to be like that for our kind to be more... successful, I guess. I haven't met them since."

Grovyle calmed down somewhat, noting the softness in the Lucario's voice. "You don't sound as though you like that tradition."

"I just wish I could see them from time to time. I don't even know where they are... They don't know where I am, either."

"Well," the gecko stammered, "I... I'm sorry."

"No, that's all right... I've learned to live with it..."

Grovyle didn't know what to say after that. He could tell Aurealis was trying to look emotionless again, but his ears and tail sagged and his eyes were downcast.

The conversation made him think of his own parents. It frustrated him that he knew absolutely nothing about them. In fact, he couldn't even tell whether he had any - all he had to go on was what Aurealis had said: everyone has parents, either dead or alive.

"We're here," Aurealis abruptly announced, stopping in front of a fairly long and gentle slope.

"Right," Grovyle sighed. "Let's go."

The dungeon was long and annoying like any other. Fortunately, though, according to Aurealis, Charmeleon were easy to find in dark and narrow places like these because they had a flame that always burned on their tails.

Frankly, Grovyle wasn't sure whether he was supposed to be glad or nervous. He certainly didn't like the sound of fire Pokémon.

Walking soon got boring, and the incredibly monotonous colors of the canyon only contributed to that. Although the bright orange and yellow layers of sediment that made up the walls were captivating at first, they were now downright annoying to see. So far he hadn't seen any traces of local residents, either.

At least they'd found an item, though - a Pecha Band. Aurealis explained that if explorers faint in dungeons, some of their items and money are left behind. That was why they hadn't seen many items lying about before - there were very little of them in easier dungeons such as this one.

However, the item wasn't enough to entertain Grovyle, so, like before, he started talking out of boredom. "Don't you find it a little weird that Mismagius stopped the search for the relic all of a sudden after just one day? I mean, it's perfectly possible that one of the teams missed it..."

"I think it makes sense, actually," Aurealis argued, not looking back to the gecko as usual, "Everyone did their best yesterday; I doubt anyone would find it today. Besides, these outlaw and rescue missions need taking care of. We can't just stop doing them. Pokémon need help; outlaws need catching. Speaking of outlaws, do you happen to know anything about Charmeleon?"

"No, I don't, other than what you've told me," Grovyle admitted, somewhat embarrassed by his ignorance.

"They evolve into Charizard, possibly the strongest and most majestic fire Pokémon. Unlike Charizard, Charmeleon don't have wings. That's why Charmeleon tend to be a bit grumpy and like to battle to 'gain experience'. They can't wait to fly."

"Oh," was all Grovyle could say. And he'd beaten a Charizard before. Him! No one would ever believe it.

"Grovyle!" Aurealis abruptly exclaimed, stopping the gecko with an outstretched paw, "Look, right in front of me. Do you see it?"

See what, he was about to ask, before he scanned the area in front of the Lucario. There was nothing there except for a rock. A very familiar-looking rock.

"Arceus! It's another one of those Geodude, isn't it?" Grovyle whispered, involuntarilsy backing away a bit.

"Yes, it is."

"...You're not going to make me fight it, are you?"

"Yes, I am."

Grovyle sighed with exasperation and growled, "Do you remember what happened the last time I fought one of those? I broke my wrist!"

"Yeah, I know, but-"

"What do you mean, you know?" the gecko snapped. "It hurt like hell! And it just healed, so I'm not about to break it again!"

"No, you won't; please, just listen," Aurealis reassured, trying to calm the grass type down with open palm gestures. "I only want you to practice the Giga Drain move. If the Geodude tries to retaliate, I'll stop it, I promise."

Grovyle glared at the Lucario, then at the Geodude, which was probably still asleep or was simply ignoring them, and then back. "I don't know whether I can trust you," the lizard finally huffed.

His ears and tail drooping, Aurealis conceded, "Look, I can understand why you don't trust me, but you've got to learn by trial and error right now, if you want to learn at all. There's no other way for you. I can't just tell you how the world works, or how to fight, or how to socialize with other Pokémon. You need to try things yourself, whenever you can."

The gecko was silent for a long time, reflecting upon Aurealis' words. Finally, he sighed, "Fine..."

"Stand back a bit, just in case," Aurealis suggested, backing away himself so that he wasn't between the Geodude and Grovyle.

Meanwhile, the wood gecko did as he was told and stared at the Geodude nervously. Finally, he closed his eyes and concentrated on using Giga Drain, silently praying that it would work.

It did. The lizard heard a low, enraged growl and quickly opened his eyes to see the Geodude, its body surrounded by a bright green glow, rise and fly towards him. However, much to Grovyle's relief, the rock type was caught and restrained by Aurealis, who grunted quietly while the Geodude thrashed about in his arms.

Then, finally, Grovyle began to feel the Geodude's life energy flowing into him. It felt as though he were getting stronger by the second while the rock type's flailing grew weaker and weaker until finally it went limp in Aurealis' arms.

"You can stop now," Aurealis said, dropping the Geodude.

Grovyle interrupted the attack and grinned. "I love this move!"

"Well, next time I won't hold him back," Aurealis replied with a smirk, to which Grovyle slumped as his confidence left him. "Anyway, we should get back to looking for the Charmeleon."

"Uh, right."

Since floors were hard to discern in these kinds of flat dungeons, neither Grovyle nor Aurealis was sure what floor they were on when they spotted the recently put out remains of a fire.

"He's nearby," Aurealis remarked, his eyes closed and his aura sensors hovering in the air, "I can sense his aura. He's not too far ahead... Remember, this is a D-ranked mission, so this will be even harder than before."

"Could you stop reminding me?" Grovyle cringed, trembling slightly from anxiety. "And anyway, you're doing the confrontation this time."

"All right, all right," Aurealis sighed in consent.

With that, the two crept ahead, on the lookout for the outlaw. There were significantly more places to hide in this part of the canyon. The walls narrowed somewhat into labyrinthine curves and there were a few fissures in the walls, but none of them seemed wide enough to hide a Pokémon.

Grovyle also noticed that the walls looked a lot more cracked and unstable, and some chunks of it seemed ready to fall. He strongly hoped that the Charmeleon would go quietly, though that was highly unlikely.

"Grovyle," Aurealis whispered, suddenly yanking the gecko back by his head leaf, "He's right there, behind the corner."

"Oh," Grovyle said, eyes wide. "He didn't see me, did he?"

"No, it doesn't look like it. He's just sitting there... Are you ready?"

The gecko swallowed nervously. "No."

A hint of a smile appeared on Aurealis' muzzle before he jumped out from behind the corner.

"Charmeleon!" he roared, jabbing a paw accusingly at the outlaw. However, the Lucario's fierce tone quickly died. "You're under... arrest."

Grovyle immediately wondered what happened and timidly stepped out into the open and noticed that the Charmeleon was... crying?

Grovyle and Aurealis shared awkward glances. Meanwhile, the Charmeleon sized them up with teary eyes and got to his feet. "Please leave me alone," he stammered, unsuccessfully trying to keep his voice from trembling, "I didn't mean to do it!"

Both Grovyle and Aurealis still stood there, dumbfounded. "It might be a trick," Aurealis suggested, though even he looked at the Charmeleon with pity.

"Maybe..." Raising his claws to show he didn't mean harm, the gecko, after a long moment of hesitation and undecidedness, inched closer to the fellow lizard, who regarded him with fear. "What is it that you've done?"

The fire type looked at him with trembling eyes and stayed silent, as if deciding whether or not to answer. "You're going to arrest me, aren't you?"

"Well..." The gecko paused awkwardly. "Not necessarily. Go on, tell me what you did."

The Charmeleon took a deep breath and, with a quavering voice, began, "I-I'm a Charmeleon, you know? Other Pokémon always th-think that I'm supposed to be s-super tough or something, but..."

Meanwhile, Aurealis stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say.

"...Then, all of a sudden, these Pokémon started beating me up and teasing me for being so 'wimpy', as they said it... I don't know how it happened but I... I was so mad... I exploded; I beat them up nearly to the point of death..."

"Oh," Grovyle looked away for a moment. "What happened to them? Did they manage to get to a healer?"

"I don't know... I hope so... I was scared, so I ran away here..."

Sighing, the gecko looked back at Aurealis. "What should we do? He doesn't seem like a bad guy at all. I don't think it would be fair to arrest him..."

"Grovyle," Aurealis scoffed, "we don't have any idea whether anything he said is true."

"Come on, look at him," Grovyle insisted, gesturing to the sniveling Charmeleon. "I don't believe that a Pokémon like this is capable of doing anything bad."

Aurealis looked away and thought for a moment. "All right," he finally decided, "I think we should bring him back to the village, but not under arrest. Maybe we could try to get the Pidgeot Police to investigate."

"That's a good idea, the gecko replied, proceeding to turn to the Charmeleon, who had, rather suddenly, stopped crying, though there was still a hint of hopelessness on his face. "What do you say?"

The fire type nodded solemnly and rose to his feet, still trembling slightly. Meanwhile, Grovyle fished out the badge from the bag and held it in his palm. Charmeleon glanced at it glumly before the three were enveloped in a blinding golden light.

The Charmeleon was quiet the entire way. He took small, hesitant strides and his head was constantly downcast. It was due to this unusual sullen nature that Grovyle and even Aurealis couldn't help but feel bad for bringing him in like this.

Finally, the three arrived at the guild. They stopped at the gate, as if allowing Charmeleon to examine its facade. The lizard didn't seem to appreciate it and walked onwards with the two AuraBladers following.

This time, a different Pidgeotto was waiting at the billboard. His features were significantly more angular and his eyes uncomfortably sharp. His face seemed to be stuck in a permanent frown.

The Pidgeotto noticed them and approached. He greeted them with a nod and a curt hello and identified himself as Weston.

"Hi," Aurealis began, looking back and forth between the Pidgeotto and the Charmeleon undecidedly. "This is the Charmeleon we were asked to bring, but..."

The Lucario wasn't sure how to finish the sentence so Grovyle stepped in and continued for him, "He's protesting his innocence, and we were wondering whether you couldn't have made a mistake in outlawing him."

Weston scowled a little. "You do know he crippled three Pokémon for life?"

"Yeah, he told us, kind of," Grovyle responded lamely, glancing at the Charmeleon, who hanged his head shamefully. "But he was being attacked, what else was he supposed to do?"

"If he was attacked, then why is there not a scratch or bruise on him?"

To this, the gecko had no response, and both he and Aurealis stared at the Charmeleon dumbly. Truthfully, the Charmeleon's hide was as clean as could be.

"And that's why this guy is only ranked D," Weston lectured, somewhat coldly. "He can't lie to save his life."

The Charmeleon sniffled and turned away from Grovyle's hurt glare. "You lied? Why? Why would you lie and then turn yourself in anyway?"

The fire type looked up at the Grovyle apologetically with tearful eyes and then quickly turned away again. "B-Because, I didn't want you to think I was a bad 'mon, and... I'm really not, I swear... I didn't want to do what I did; I wouldn't hurt a soul..."

"So what did you do, truthfully?" Aurealis demanded, crossing his arms.

"I was being bullied, b-but not the way I told you... I-I was being pressured by others of my kind to be like them... be violent... All my life I'd been lonely; the odd one out... I wanted desperately to fit in, and... I didn't want them to laugh at me, so... I did what they told me to... I attacked c-completely innocent 'mons... A-And while I was doing it, all the others started cheering and hollering, and I just... I realized what I was doing and r-ran away... I... I lied because I felt guilty and ashamed of what I did... I'm not asking for forgiveness. I-I iwanted/i to be punished for what I did... that's why I came along with you."

Grovyle and Aurealis were silent, eyes downcast as they once again felt some pity towards the outlaw. Weston, however, contorted his face into an expression of scorn. "I hope you don't believe him again."

The Charmeleon, ignoring Weston completely, sighed and collected himself somewhat, as if a load had been taken off his shoulders. He smiled weakly and glanced at both Grovyle and Aurealis. "For what it's worth, thanks for trying to defend me, though."

The two AuraBladers nodded their heads slightly but remained silent and otherwise motionless. A moment later, Weston grumbled to himself and rolled his eyes, as if exasperated, and hopped closer to the Charmeleon. "All right," the bird huffed, puffing up his feathers a bit to appear more imposing. "Charmeleon, we're going. Here's your reward, Team AuraBlade." With that, the Pidgeotto stuck his beak into the bag that hung from his neck and pulled out a Sitrus berry and a 300 Poké coin.

Aurealis accepted the reward and without another word, Weston showed the downtrodden Charmeleon out the guild.

"Th... That's not fair," Grovyle protested once the two were gone, stomping his foot weakly and wishing that he'd had enough courage to say that in front of Weston himself, "how can he be so quick to make judgements and an arrest?"

Silently putting the two items he'd received into the bag, the Lucario stared ahead for a while, deep in thought.

"I think we ought to go visit the Pidgeot Police," the grass type declared. "If what the Charmeleon said is true, I think he could be released, or at least have his punishment reduced." Grovyle paused and scanned Aurealis for approval.

"I think so, too," the Lucario finally agreed. Grovyle nodded and the two set off.

Along the way to the Pidgeot Police, the two decided to stop at Magmortar Storage. At first, Grovyle was reluctant - in other words, lazy - to go, but Aurealis made a somewhat lengthy monologue saying that they had no use for the Pecha Band, that it was in the way in the bag, and that if they were ever knocked out in a dungeon, a spare band would be handy in storage.

Persuaded, Grovyle and his partner stopped in front of Magmortar's storage. Like Castform market, it consisted of a stone counter, behind which stood a Magmortar and two buildings: one probably his home and the other a sturdy, stone structure built for storing money and items.

The Magmortar interested Grovyle more, however. The fire type was massive and well built, and had a number of battle scars and the occasional bruise on his front. He also radiated an intolerable heat, as the gecko and Aurealis found out when they approached the counter. Grovyle couldn't stand it and stayed back, discouraged and slightly embarrassed, while his partner took care of things.

After exchanging formalities, Aurealis soon handed the fire type the Pecha Band and Magmortar, upon placing the cloth into a chest in the stone building, delivered his catchphrase in a gruff voice: "I'll guard it with my life."

"Thank you," the Lucario replied. He nodded his head and turned back to Grovyle, who was fidgeting on his feet impatiently.

The two AuraBladers set upon the road that led to the crossroad. However, Grovyle noticed librarian Sceptile emerging from the library. He didn't know why that alarmed him until he realized that he had forgotten the page he'd taken in Loran Forest. His eyes widening with fear, the gecko hastily ducked back into the cover of the marketplace.

Meanwhile, Aurealis stood there and watched the lizard, dumbfounded. "What in the name of Palkia are you doing?" he finally demanded, walking over to his partner.

"Did she see me?" Grovyle whispered, afraid to move.

"Who?"

"Librarian Sceptile."

The Lucario glanced over his shoulder to check. The Sceptile had still quite a distance to reach the crossroad to tell which direction she was going to go, but she didn't seem to have noticed them.

"No, I don't think so," the Aura Pokémon answered, still clueless. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Uh, sorry, I think I'll run back to the guild," Grovyle said, shifting on his feet and keeping his eyes on the crossroad nervously. "Sorry. Please see the Pidgeot Police without me."

Before Aurealis had a chance to respond, the gecko ran for his life. The Lucario stood there awkwardly for a moment before sighing and continuing in his trip to the police.

Panting, the Grovyle stopped in front of the guild, bending over, leaning on his knees, and greedily inhaling lungfuls of air. "I got away," he rasped, chuckling to himself at the closeness and ridiculousness of his situation.

"No, you didn't," a voice behind him replied with a chuckle; a very familiar female voice that made Grovyle's heart sink. He shuddered and turned around slowly. Sure enough, the Sceptile was standing there, looking very cross with her crossed arms and piercing glare.

The younger grass type whined and backed away, shrinking himself to the point where he was practically on all fours. "H-How did you-"

She ignored the question and grabbed the Grovyle by his head leaf. He braced himself for the unbearable pain that was sure to follow, but surprisingly, Sceptile did not pull. Not yet, anyway. She fixated him with a stern glare and interrogated, "Where's the page you stole?"

"I f-forgot it in Loran Forest," he replied immediately, trembling and lowering his gaze as if apologetically. "I-I was knocked out, and I f-forgot about it on the way b-back."

"Do you remember where it is?"

"Y-Yeah." As he said so, Grovyle, anticipating what the librarian was going to say, silently prayed that the page was still in the log he'd left it in.

"All right then," Sceptile announced, straightening herself and releasing Grovyle's head leaf. "Let's go get it."

"Uh, what... right now?" the younger gecko protested weakly, desperately. Silently, he wondered why she was making such a big fuss about one page, but he wouldn't dare to say that to her face.

"Yes, what's wrong with right now? It's still early afternoon; there's plenty of time left."

Unfortunately, Grovyle saw that she was right. Barely any exploration teams were back yet, which meant there was still more than enough time to do another mission or, in their case, scour Loran Forest for the lost page.

Sighing, Grovyle hung his head and began walking in the direction of Loran Forest, with the watchful Sceptile close behind.

As the two grass types made their way through Loran Forest, Grovyle realized that, in spite of the circumstances, he involuntarily felt better around one of his kind - that is, the Sceptile behind him that followed his every step. And he certainly hoped that she would one day forget this episode and be as kind as she appeared when they first met.

'Why would you want that?' a voice in his head asked.

It was a good question. Perhaps he didn't want to miss any opportunity to make friends. Any help in this new, dark life was appreciated.

The young gecko was brought out of his thoughts when they reached the river and stopped beside the log inside which they would hopefully find the map he'd left there.

It felt like the weight equivalent of a Steelix had been lifted from his shoulders when Grovyle spotted the paper exactly as he'd left it. It had some particles of dust and wood on it, but once he picked up the paper he blew them off.

"There," he sighed with relief, handing Sceptile the paper. He couldn't begin to imagine what she'd do to him if the page was gone.

"Good," the older grass type said, the strict attitude from before evaporating. "I'm glad you were honest. Many Pokémon would have lied and it's mostly that for which I punish them rather than the bad deed they've committed."

Grovyle smiled, feeling somewhat pleased by the praise, and was glad she wasn't cross anymore.

"Now," the Sceptile continued, "let's go back, shall we?"

The two grass types turned and began walking to leave the small clearing that was a riverbank. However, they stopped when the wind abruptly picked up and a low growl sounded from the trees.

It took a moment for Grovyle to guess what it was and he tensed up and hid behind Sceptile instinctively. The older grass type was confused by the gecko's actions until several Mightyena emerged from the trees and surrounded the two, their backs to the river, in a semicircle.

"Who are you?" Sceptile demanded, her voice polite although she widened her stance and raised her arms in case she needed to attack.

There was no answer. Instead, more and more Mightyena closed in on them; soon it became impossible to even count how many of them there were. Grovyle shivered with fright, knowing there was no way even Sceptile could fight them all. They were utterly trapped and helpless. She seemed to know this, too, but she did not back away.

'But why are they here?' he whimpered to himself, 'I-I didn't do anything wrong, did I?'

"What do you want?" the Sceptile growled, eyeing the dark types. They all bared their fangs and glared at them with bloodlust.

The closest Mightyena, which was only about a meter away, answered: "We want him."

The mentioned gecko swallowed hard and hid behind the Sceptile even further. The older grass type glanced at him curiously over her shoulder and then refocused on the Mightyena. "Why?"

"That's none of your business."

"What are you going to do to him?"

"That's none of your business," the Mightyena repeated, this time assuming a battle stance.

"P-Please help me, Sceptile," Grovyle whimpered, regarding each canine with fear.

Careful to keep her eyes on the opponents, she demanded, "Why, what do they want from you?"

"I think they... Th-They want Magnolia Relic... I-I'm the only one who can get to it."

"You? Magnolia Relic?" the Sceptile breathed, eyes wide with surprise.

"Ah ah ah, Loran, remember the deal?" the Mightyena taunted, grinning. "You don't want Lucario meat for dinner, do you? So shut your mouth."

The gecko shuddered and reluctantly obeyed, turning his gaze downwards helplessly. Sceptile looked between him and the Mightyena confusedly. "Loran? Why did he call you Loran? And what on earth does he mean by Lucario meat?"

"Never mind that," the head Mightyena growled. "We mustn't keep Master waiting."

With that, the first row of Mightyena lunged at Sceptile at once. Quickly, she grabbed the startled Grovyle and jumped into the river, leaving the Mightyena snarling on shore. The two made it to the opposite side while the Mightyena leapt into the river and swam after them.

Sceptile practically carried the stunned Grovyle as she clambered out of the water and began running. She climbed up the first tree she could see and leapt from branch to branch with such agility they were a mere blur. Grovyle screamed with the thrill of it all and dared not try to move from her grip.

Unfortunately, he didn't need to. The Sceptile wasn't used to traveling at such speeds while carrying weight. Her footing faltered once, and that's all it took for them to lose speed and crash into the next branch with such velocity that they were knocked out by the impact. Their bodies hit the ground limply and, after a few moments, the Mightyena surrounded them, grinning.

Loran awoke to a sharp pain in his left side. Moaning, he rolled over onto his back so it didn't hurt as much. Whatever it was, the injury must have been caused by their crash into the tree. Once he realized this, memories of what had happened came flooding back.

"He's awake," a deep voice, easily recognizable as that of a Mightyena's, growled.

"Good," another one mused.

His heart rate accelerating, the gecko opened his eyes to see where he was, though he already feared he knew the answer thanks to the cold, stone floor under him. Sure enough, he was lying exactly on top of the secret door of Loran Temple, with countless looming, black figures on each side, their demonic eyes glaring daggers into him. The Grovyle whimpered as they closed in on him. He felt tiny and powerless, and knew he was entirely at their mercy. Already his mind thought up a list of dreadful things they could do to him.

"Listen up, Loran," a Mightyena hissed, leaning down to the gecko so their heads were level. "We want you to open this door."

'Oh no, they must want Magnolia Relic...' Gritting his teeth, he looked around for any hope of escape, but there was none. In doing so, he noticed Sceptile was nowhere to be seen, either. "Wh-Where's Sceptile? What did you do to her?"

The Mightyena nodded to the canines behind him and they dragged the previously hidden body of Sceptile in front of the Grovyle. She had a deep gash on her shoulder and was pale and motionless. At first, he thought with horror that she was dead, but then he noticed her chest rise and fall with each laborious breath.

"She'll be fine," the dark type sneered, "as long as you cooperate. Open the door."

The Grovyle gulped nervously and hesitated, glancing between the unconscious Sceptile and the door below him. 'What do I do? I promised I wouldn't open the door, and it's my duty to protect Magnolia Relic, but... I can't just let them hurt her!' The decision was so impossible, he thought he'd faint for a moment. Finally, he stammered unconvincingly, "I-I don't know how to open this door. Th-That time I fell through; it... it was an accident, I swear. It-It just kind of opens on it's own."

The Mightyena nodded again, and on his signal the canines surrounding the Sceptile lunged at her and began clawing and biting her. She woke up and screamed but could not move as the Mightyena tore and bit off pieces of her skin, spraying blood in all directions.

"Stop!" Loran cried, the action causing a stab of pain in his aching left rib. He felt sick and turned away from the disturbing sight of Sceptile who, torn and bloodied, lay there trembling and sobbing with pain. And it was entirely his fault. "P-Please, don't hurt her, I-I'll do anything, I swear..."

"Just open the damn door," the Mightyena snapped.

The lizard looked at the canine helplessly, then at the Sceptile, and then turned his gaze to the door below him. His eyes were beginning to glaze over with tears. He knew his conscience couldn't take it if he made Sceptile go through that again, but if he opened the door, many more Pokémon could suffer.

"Th-This isn't fair," he sniffled. "Why? Why are you doing this? What do you want?"

"Listen," another of the canines growled, stepping forwards and, trying a different approach, speaking in a somewhat gentler and more compassionate tone. "Once you open that door, it'll all be over, and we'll leave you alone. You can live peacefully with your friends and perhaps even have a family, like you've always wanted-"

"Don't listen to them, Grovyle!" Sceptile rasped, reaching towards him with an outstretched, trembling claw, "They'll kill you once they get what they-"

She was cut off by a sharp blow to the head by the Mightyena next to her. "That's quite enough from you," he growled. The rest of the canines turned their attention back to the Grovyle, who stared at Sceptile worriedly, waiting expectantly for him to make a move.

"I've had enough of this chatter," the first Mightyena barked, stamping his forepaw. "If you don't open the door right now, we'll kill her slowly and painfully, and believe me, we'll torture you and every single member of Mismagius Guild if we have to. So what's it going to be?"

His decision was already made, but the Grovyle, practically paralyzed with fear, couldn't bring himself to comply.

The Mightyena sighed with impatience and turned to the Sceptile and spat, "Kill her."

"No!" the grass type yelped, and before he knew what he was doing, the door disappeared with a flash of light, and he fell through and landed with a thud and a yowl of pain at the sharp, stabbing pain in his ribs.

Arden had jumped slightly from the surprise of him falling into the room and was in the process of slithering over to him to greet him when the Mightyena from above leapt down and immediately began surrounding her. She recoiled with the initial shock and then hissed and bared her fangs at them. They didn't back away but they didn't advance, either.

"Loran, who are they?" she demanded, glancing worriedly at the gecko, who was lying outside the ambush, still on the ground, writhing in agony. "What happened? Why'd you let them in?"

The dark types growled and looked at each other indecisively, unsure of what to do with her.

"Don't hurt her, please!" the gecko cried, trying to reach out with his arm in a pleading gesture. "Take whatever you want but please, don't hurt her!"

Arden tensed up. "What do you mean, 'take whatever you-'" Her eyes widened as she figured out what was happening and widened her hood and exposed her fangs in defiance. "They're here for Magnolia Relic!"

With that, she lashed out at the nearest Mightyena with her tail, striking a glancing blow across the canine's face that sent him flying into the Mightyena next to him, knocking him down as well.

The rest of the Mightyena snarled amongst themselves, and at least twenty of them lunged at the snake simultaneously from all directions. Arden screeched and thrashed about with agony and rage, but the dark types managed to hold her down and sink their claws and teeth into her hide.

"No, I'm begging you, please stop!" the Grovyle yelled desperately, but even at the top of his lungs, he could not overcome the noise.

For a moment, the poison type managed to free herself enough to yell desperately, "Loran, you're the Magnolia-"

She was cut off by her own pained screams as the Mightyena pinned her down again and continued in their slaughter. Loran desperately wanted to intervene but he was petrified and could only stare with horror as Arden's struggles weakened and finally ceased. The Mightyena backed away from her, revealing her limp figure, torn and bloody nearly beyond recognition.

The chamber fell into a dead silence. The Mightyena only stood there as Loran took in the ghastly sight. "You... You... monsters!" he choked, eyes brimming with tears, "You didn't have to kill her! She was only protecting the relic!"

The Mightyena disregarded him completely. After briefly examining their wounded, they of them ran to the treasure chest at the end of the room and one of them proceeded to open it. The gecko ignored them and began to crawl towards Arden's corpse.

The canines watched with suspense as a white light beamed from the chest, but Loran didn't care about them anymore. Upon reaching Arden's body, he kneeled beside her head and stroked her skin, sniffling. Her eyes were still open, though they were dull and vacant, so he closed them with trembling claws.

Meanwhile, the Mightyena reached inside the treasure chest once the light died down and pulled out a smooth, round stone with vine-like patterns etched all over it.

"The Magnolia Relic," the dark type breathed, staring at the relic with wide, glinting eyes.

"Master will be proud," another said. "Let's go."

The Grovyle hadn't even noticed them as he gazed somberly at Arden, his heart heavy with guilt and regret. He wished he'd spent more time with her; that he'd been kinder. He was everything to her, he knew, and before his defeat he had probably felt the same about her, too, but now, no matter how much he wanted to, he could not feel those feelings. She was practically a stranger to him, and yet, deep down, her death - which he had caused - filled him with a devastating sadness.

He was snapped from his mourning when a Mightyena shoved him with a paw and snarled, "Open the door, lizard."

The gecko rubbed his eyes and looked at the canine and then at the door. "I'm not doing anything for you," he sniffled, turning back to Arden.

The Mightyena shared glances amongst themselves, chuckling slightly as if they were amused by this answer. "Excuse me?"

"I won't," the Grovyle repeated, trying to sound firm though his voice and body trembled with fear and despair.

"I think you might reconsider," the Mightyena snickered, grinning with bloodlust. He stepped closer to the gecko and rolled him over so he lay on his right side.

"W-What are you-" That was all the gecko could say before the Mightyena placed his forepaws on his injured side and pressed down hard, crushing his already fractured ribs. At that moment, a pain worse than anything he'd ever felt coursed through him. He let out a deafening screech and, almost immediately, he couldn't bear it and begged for the door to open - anything to stop the pain.

The room was filled with the signature green glow. The Mightyena took his paws off the Grovyle, who doubled over and continued to wail with pain, and smiled coolly. "There's a good lizard."

A different Mightyena walked up and hissed to the canine, "Master said we should leave no witnesses."

"Of course," the Mightyena nodded. After a brief moment of deliberation, he and all the other Mightyena turned to the curled up gecko and grinned malevolently.