Chapter Twenty-One: Healthy Reunions

'Oh!'

Togekiss looked up from his position in the tall tree, seeing the immense rustling in the nearby forestation. He gathered himself up from his branch and dropped down, landing smoothly next to Staraptor on the ground.

'They're back.' he said. Staraptor turned away from watching Altaria and the children wrap bandages around Gardevoir's bloodstained leg to see the trees parting. Haxorus and Garchomp slowly trudged out of the darkness, one of them looking rather chipper while the other seemed to be verging on an emotional breakdown. Garchomp looked up and saw Staraptor and Togekiss looking at him with a combination of happiness and apprehension. Then he noticed Gardevoir wincing slightly as Totodile pressed down too hard on her leg, causing him to almost turn away.

'Relax.' Haxorus rested his clawed hand on Garchomp's arm and encouraged him with a head nod. 'They'll understand everything. Our best friends.'

Garchomp acknowledged this and the two dragons walked towards them, past Xatu leaning against the bark of the tree. Staraptor and Togekiss watched as their towering frames cast shadows over everyone there, causing some of the children to let out high-pitched noises. Garchomp glanced to the right at Haxorus who gave another encouraging smile, then addressed the group as a whole.

'I am sorry everyone.' Garchomp said, his face solemn and his injuries more present than ever. 'For everything I was.'

'You don't need to do that, Garchomp.' smiled Staraptor. Togekiss nodded in agreement. 'You may not think highly of yourself but you are the one who helped create Haxorus.' She gestured at the powerful green dragon. 'You are capable of so much!'

'It's time to move on.' Togekiss said. 'Okay buddy? With us by your side, we can overcome any obstacle. You just gotta have faith.'

'And with me here,' Haxorus looked at Garchomp with a broad smile between his tusks. 'you know for sure that not all dragons are out to harm.'

Garchomp smiled weakly as over Staraptor's back, Gardevoir was steadily getting to her feet with the help of Altaria. Her leg was strapped heavily, a red stain almost seeping through. Garchomp shook his head in dismay.

'Miss Gardevoir...' he lumbered over to her and fell to his knees, the earth quaking around him and some leaves falling from their branches above. Gardevoir managed to stay balanced and rested her hand on his ravaged head.

'Mr Garchomp you are a good pokemon.' she said, her warm voice sending reassurance through everyone. 'I see into your mind and know you would do anything to protect your friends. I think that is worth looking at more than accidentally hitting me with a piece of wood.'

She gave a tinkering laugh then leaned forward to kiss the top of his head. Behind her, Altaria gave an approving nod while all the children let out cheers and crowded around both Garchomp and Gardevoir. Then when they saw Haxorus approach, they began to screech louder, bumping past each other to try and get to touch him. Haxorus laughed as Garchomp stood back to his feet, smiling back at Gardevoir.

'I am so glad we met.' said Garchomp, over the noise of the squealing children. 'The help you have provided me...I don't know how I can ever make up for it.'

'I can tell you how.' Gardevoir replied. 'Have a great life.' She looked round at the torn up forest, her face somewhere between wistful thinking and slight regret. 'When this is all done, you live in a nice place, settle down with someone you love and live the rest of your life at its most wonderful. That is how you can repay me.'

Garchomp nodded his appreciation at the wonderful pokemon before him, then knelt down again and embraced her tightly. Meanwhile, Togekiss was almost being trampled as he tried to ward off the children's attention from Haxorus.

'Shoo! Shoo!' he tried to wave his wing to get them away.

'It's alright Togekiss!' laughed Haxorus as Staraptor admired the proceedings. 'We all did the same to you!'

'I would be lying if I wasn't a bit envious.' Togekiss scowled, causing Haxorus, Staraptor and Altaria to burst out laughing. 'You beat my evolution record, and apparently dragons have a very slow growth rate! This is just scary!'

Haxorus was about to reply but then an idea flashed before him. He glanced upwards at Altaria, the sounds of the children muffled by his own brainstorm.

'Altaria! Can we talk for a second?'

Altaria approached Haxorus with an inquisitive look on her face.

'What is it?'

Haxorus beckoned her over to a more quiet area by the singed trees, leaving Staraptor and Togekiss to marshal the excited kids. Haxorus stood by a sizable grey rock just below one of the taller trees that had not been affected by the earlier fire and waited for Altaria to come to him.

'You have no idea how proud I am!' Altaria said with glee, standing in front of Haxorus. 'Not only have your reached your final evolution but I think you may have snapped Garchomp out of it altogether! I kept calling Gardevoir incredible but I think you are extraordinary!'

'I appreciate every word of it,' Haxorus replied, looking over at Garchomp still talking to Gardevoir. 'but this is somewhat serious.'

'How so?'

Haxorus took a deep breath, knowing that Altaria would not like what was about to be said. He tried to phrase it the best he could.

'None of the other children have evolved.' he explained to Altaria. 'I think that is because I have placed myself in more pressing situations than anyone else and I have learned from it. Maybe if we-'

'No.' Altaria interrupted and Haxorus could see that her demeanor had changed entirely.

'Altaria...'

'I am not putting those children at risk just so they can get a growth spurt.' Altaria growled, suddenly slightly hostile. 'Evolution isn't everything you know.'

'You just acclaimed me for my progress like a second ago!' Haxorus retorted.

'As a development from what you once were!' Altaria hissed, not wanting to disturb anyone nearby. 'You had a great and unique teacher as well as the likes of Lucario and Armaldo along the way.'

'Oh do they not have them either?' Haxorus pointed back the way at the children. 'It would be a great help to us with the current situation. We can maximize their power and they can assist us with the battle against the clan!'

Altaria's nostrils flared, giving Haxorus the confirmation that he had said the wrong thing.

'So they're going to be trained to be soldiers now?' she asked sarcastically. 'Raised and designed to be killing machines? No. I will not let these children that I have put my life on the line for to be turned into weapons.'

Haxorus looked away for a second, wishing that he hadn't offended Altaria like that.

'I'm sorry.' he said glumly. 'It's just...I want the clan to pay for everything they've done. To me, to you, to Garchomp and Lucario and Flygon and everyone.'

He clenched his teeth together, the very thought of the vile clan seering his blood to a violent temperature. Altaria relaxed her facial muscles, knowing he did not mean to upset her.

'I know.' she said soothingly, floating upwards and resting her soft wing on Haxorus's shoulder. 'We will stop them. We fight the battles so they don't have to.'

The two of them looked back at the playful children, all smiles and innocence as they danced and played around with Togekiss and Staraptor. It was truly wonderful to see the effects of Altaria's care on these damaged pokemon take place. How happy they were and how safe they felt despite everything going on around them. The victory over Salamence and Hydreigon may have been the most inspiring thing they had ever seen.

'You should be proud.' Haxorus said to Altaria as above them, the large rock gave off little clicking sounds.

'I am.' Altaria replied, turning back to Haxorus with her broad smile dominating her face. 'Of you. And I always will be.'

'Oh Altaria!' Haxorus couldn't help but blush and he raised his arms wide aiming for a tender soft hug.

'Outta the way!'

A blur of red and brown had leapt down from the large grey rock and smacked into Haxorus's side, sending him toppling over. Altaria squealed and jumped backwards in shock. The commotion alerted Staraptor, Togekiss, Gardevoir and Garchomp along with the children as Haxorus was quickly pinned to the ground by two very familiar faces.

'I've got his arms!' Scizor yelled, wrenching Haxorus's wrists behind his back while Lopunny grappled with his head and neck. 'Now quickly, plug him in the skull with a rock or something!'

'What are you doing!?' Altaria screeched at the two of them. Haxorus was struggling to breath with Lopunny pressing down on him so hard. 'Get off him!'

'We're saving you!' Lopunny cried out as the other present Shining Beacons ran over, all shouting their objections. 'He was about to crush you in his grip!'

'That's Fraxure!' Staraptor screamed, shaking off her almost practically fully healed wing and ramming into Lopunny, sending her flying off of Haxorus. Garchomp was about to inflict his own force to get Scizor off but Gardevoir quickly used her power to propel him backwards and definitely saving him a lot of pain.

'F...Fraxure?' Lopunny spluttered as Haxorus was helped to his feet by Altaria and Gardevoir. 'That's Fraxure?'

'Yes it was him! It's Haxorus now!' Togekiss said angrily. 'What do you think you're playing at?'

'We thought he was going to attack Altaria!' Lopunny pleaded, getting gingerly to her feet while Scizor sat on the grass, shaking his head in disbelief.

'Why did you think that?' Staraptor stormed up to Lopunny, looking rather intimidating when enraged and causing Lopunny to recoil in fear.

'I'm sorry!' Lopunny squealed, covering her face with her hands. 'We didn't know who-'

'It was me.' Everyone looked at Scizor, still sitting on the grass and looking up defiantly. 'It was my idea.'

'What is wrong with you?' Altaria scorned him while Gardevoir looked nervously up at Garchomp, as if reading Scizor's mind made her know he was about to say something bad.

'Look when I see a big fucking monster dragon with his arms outstretched,' Scizor was preparing himself for the backlash here. 'due to my past and some of the stuff I've seen I do tend to prepare for the worst.'

Scizor looked at Haxorus, ready to receive a mouthful of disdain. Instead he got something far worse.

'You dare call us monsters?' One step from Garchomp almost threw Togekiss and Altaria off to the side. He stomped up to Scizor, who amazingly did not back away. In fact he stood up to his feet. Garchomp's face was contorted with rage which was matched by Sceptile's contempt. 'I will squash you like the insect you are!'

'Mate this insect has kicked the shit out of dragons twice your size.' growled Scizor, tilting his head up at Garchomp, only a couple of inches separating them in height. 'So unless you want to join those ranks I suggest you back away.'

Altaria was trying to calm down the wails of the children as Lopunny held her head in her hands in fear. In the back of Togekiss's mind, he was anxiously awaiting viewing a potential showdown of the century between Scizor and Garchomp.

'Both of you...' Staraptor was breathing heavily, her words sounding forced and exhausted. '...Please.'

'There is no place for your prejudice here.' Garchomp leaned in closer, only for Scizor's eyes to light up and his adrenaline to skyrocket. 'You will apologize for what you have said immediately.'

'Oh this is precious.' Scizor chuckled. 'Striking fear into everyone around you is fine but one little statement is just...'

Garchomp snarled and Scizor braced himself. However, a second before they almost engaged in combat, they both saw something in the corner of their eyes that made them stop in their tracks. For Scizor, it was Lopunny. Her mouth was cupped by her hand as her eyes welled up. She was shaking her head, pleading for Scizor to stop. In Garchomp's case, it was Haxorus. He was standing with his arms lowered, his eyes looking down at the ground, occasionally glancing up at Garchomp with a glint of remorse in his eye. These respective sights caused both combatants to lower their guard before Gardevoir even found it necessary to use her power to stop it. Scizor gave a low grunt and turned to Lopunny, who was still clutching her face and trying not to cry. He sighed and wrapped his arms round her upper body, hugging her tightly into him. Meanwhile, Garchomp stood where he was while Haxorus slowly trudged over to him, his face having changed to one of relief.

'Thank you.' Haxorus murmured. Garchomp snorted.

'I don't need this.'

'I know you don't.' Haxorus said, his hands on his hips. 'You know I don't really care about what just happened to me. Just leave it.'

'It's about what types like him,' Garchomp nodded over at Scizor still hugging his girlfriend. 'think about us.'

Between both pairs of pokemon, Togekiss turned to Gardevoir and Staraptor, his eyes wide and his face flushed.

'Woah.' he said, trying to lighten the mood. 'Was anyone going for bets there? Some showdown...They would...'

He stopped as he gathered that his attempts at humour were not working from the look on Staraptor's face. She stared into thin air for a few seconds and then turned to Scizor and Lopunny.

'Any sightings of Lucario and Armaldo?'

Scizor shook his head.

'They left before us but we took a different path.' Scizor explained, gently stroking the back of Lopunny's soft head. 'Had some soul searching to do together.'

'I see.' Staraptor nodded. 'We had quite the conflict here.'

'Yeah I was guessing that.' Scizor said, eyeing the charred trees around him. 'What happened?'

'Portal appeared.' Altaria had come over, obviously finished calming down the youngsters. 'Those dragons, Salamence and Hydreigon, came and started threatening us. Then a fight ensued where...' she grinned at Staraptor who returned one in kind, albeit a weak one. '...We pulled off a pretty spectacular maneuver to take out Salamence's eye!'

Scizor's grip had relinquished slightly on Lopunny, and he was now staring at Staraptor rather concerned. When Scizor is taking something seriously, the situation really must be bad, thought Altaria.

'The same happened with us!' he exclaimed with Lopunny still hanging onto him. 'That's why Gardevoir and Togekiss came to you! She knew you were in danger!'

'Are we being followed?' Staraptor turned her head side to side from Scizor to Togekiss, who shrugged.

'I don't see how a tracker could have been placed on us!' said Togekiss, looking round in case Haxorus or Garchomp could help as they came back to them. Gardevoir had turned away to mask the fact that she grimaced at the potential answer to that.

'Well if there was a portal here and in Pariliun...' Lopunny looked up from Scizor's chest, her eyes bleary. '...Then do you think there was one in Giruphin?'

'Oh no...' Haxorus put his hands on his head while Altaria whimpered. Scizor looked over at Gardevoir, his arm swinging off of Lopunny as he almost disengaged himself from their hug.

'Did you sense anything?' He asked her, letting go of Lopunny and walking up to her. Everyone observed as Scizor approached the visibly shaken Gardevoir. 'Something that would hint that they are in danger?'

Gardevoir gave a little hiccup and clapped her hand to her mouth. Scizor stared while Staraptor ran up to her, holding her wing behind her back in comfort.

'Hey...' Staraptor tried to calm her down as Gardevoir was now the one to start sobbing.

'I shut my mind off from Gallade temporarily.' she told the group at large, causing them all to give off puzzled facial expressions.

'You what?' asked Togekiss.

'Why would you do that?' Haxorus tried to brush past Garchomp to approach Gardevoir but Garchomp held out his arm to block him from invading her personal space.

'I knew,' Gardevoir sniffed. 'that he would constantly be worried and anxious about me while on his mission. So obviously, he doesn't know about any of what happened here...But he will know soon.'

'You kept your safety a secret from your husband?' Haxorus stared at her.

'Oh who would do such things?' Scizor nudged Lopunny, hoping that this joke would offset the mood but just like Togekiss's, it fell flat.

'What is this, high school?' Staraptor scowled at Haxorus. 'Gardevoir didn't want Gallade to be overly concerned when he's miles away and that sounds reasonable to me.'

'The fact of the matter is,' Garchomp spoke up. 'that Gardevoir has to reconnect with Gallade soon and the truth will come out.'

'What about a communicator?' Togekiss asked, referring to the devices used for broadcasting messages to others from far distances. 'We...Oh yeah. We're a bunch of misfits with no funding. Silly me.' He was now almost fed up with the current dilemma.

'I'm sorry everyone.' Gardevoir whispered, fidgeting with her fingers in discomfort. Scizor then moved his head slightly to look over her shoulder, seeing rustling and hearing voices in the distance.

'Speaking of which.' he nodded to where he was looking at, causing everyone else to turn in kind. 'Incoming.'

He and Lopunny stepped in front of Gardevoir, who slowly backed off, looking down at her damaged leg. Gallade is not going to react well at all, she thought, glancing to her left at Garchomp and praying that nothing negative would come out.

'Show yourself!' Staraptor yelled ahead, still with the apprehension that it could be hostile pokemon. The voices grew louder and louder. Lopunny held her breath and Togekiss raised himself up in the air for a better look. There was then a crash and a familiar yellow and black furball toppled over a tree stump, landing face down in the ground.

'I never thought I'd be so glad to see you!' Togekiss gave a warm smile at Electivire who raised his sweaty face from the mud. 'Come here you big bozo!'

Togekiss flew up to Electivire as behind him, Charizard, Sceptile and Milotic made themselves present, with Gallade trudging behind them, almost reflective of his wife as she remained relatively hidden.

'Hey man.' Electivire got to his feet and gave Togekiss a hug. Sceptile and Milotic moved past them and caught sight of Lopunny sprinting towards them with Scizor at a brisk pace behind her.

'I was so worried!' Lopunny cried out. Both she and Milotic gave out high pitched squeals and toppled into each other in a warm embrace.

'Oh my dear Lopunny!' Milotic said in ecstasy. 'I missed you so much!'

'Me too!' Lopunny replied. 'I mean, I missed you! Not I missed me!'

In contrast to the two women acting like they hadn't seen each other in a year, the two men gave a very traditional guys greeting.

'Alright?' Scizor nodded at Sceptile, who merely replied with 'Sup?'

'What the heck did you guys get up to over there?' Lopunny unfurled herself from Milotic and looked round at Sceptile and Scizor, her face joyful once again.

'Kicked some ass and took some names.' Sceptile smirked.

'Sure you did.' Scizor rolled his eyes.

'No I'm not lying!' Sceptile gestured at Milotic as behind her, Charizard and Gallade trooped past them up to Staraptor, Altaria and the dragons. Gardevoir still remained behind Garchomp, anxious to what would happen.

'Mission was a dud.' Charizard told Staraptor. 'Mayor Dusknoir is aligned with the Clan of Shadows and he exposed us.'

'He what!?' Staraptor was paralyzed with raged while Altaria gasped. 'So that's why there were basically zero attacks to Giruphin in the past few weeks?'

'I believe so.' Charizard scratched his snout, thinking hard.

'Gallade!' Haxorus stepped out in front of the moody sword wielder. 'What happened to your face?'

Gallade looked up at Haxorus with a scowl. Behind Garchomp, Gardevoir gave another whimper and put her hands to her head, seeing that Gallade's face was completely ravaged. The skin around his left eye had turned dark purple while his entire face was littered with bloodstains and cuts.

'What happened to mine?' Gallade asked, his voice coming out rather strained. 'What happened to yours?'

'Oh man...' Haxorus raised his head up and allowed his voice to boom round the campsite. 'Just to let everyone know, yes I did evolve.'

There were exclamations from all around but Gallade ignored it as his eyes fell upon the pokemon he had wanted to find more than any.

'You're safe!' he cried out, rushing towards Gardevoir. Garchomp slowly stepped out of the way, looking down at the ground in preparation for what would happen.

'Seriously, what happened to you?' Gardevoir gently ran her hands over Gallade's face with a stare of dismay.

'Bisharp.' Gallade said as everyone else started to move back in their direction. 'But it doesn't matter. You are safe.' He looked at her critically. 'You didn't seem to be telling me anything through telepathy.'

Gardevoir continued to fidget in discomfort, causing Gallade to realise something.

'You didn't block our minds did you?'

'I'm sorry...' Gardevoir whispered. 'I just didn't want you to be too concerned about me. I wanted to prove that I could accomplish things without you feeling the need to hold my hand. I just knew it would distract you from your own mission.'

Gallade stepped back, almost bumping into Sceptile who was walking alongside Lopunny, Milotic and Scizor, their moods in sharp contrast to his own.

'That implies that something happened.' Gallade said slowly, scanning her body up and down and then seeing her bandaged and bloody leg. 'What? Who did that?'

Gardevoir closed her eyes, knowing that delaying the truth would make everything far worse. She then allowed Gallade to unlock the doors to her mind, allowing each other to see everything that had happened recently as well as their thoughts and feelings.

'No...' Gallade was seething. He turned round to Garchomp with fire in his eyes. 'You did that...'

'Gallade, he didn't mean it!' Gardevoir pleaded, grabbing his arm. Garchomp looked at the pair of them with a sorrowful expression.

'Wait, he did that?' Scizor appeared on Gallade's shoulder. Once more, Lopunny tried to pull him away from any conflict.

'It was an accident!' Haxorus stepped in front of Garchomp defensively. Everyone had turned to face the conflict happening.

'We don't need this.' Electivire tried to rest his hand on Gallade's shoulder but he swatted it away.

'And I don't need you!' he glared at him.

'Oh that is fucking rich.' Electivire snarled, giving Gallade a sharp push with his open palm which seemed to ignite a tense chill in the air. 'I think you definitely needed me when Bisharp was kicking the shit out of you.'

'Why do you feel the need to cause a conflict wherever you go?' Milotic snapped at Gallade, who was now being targeted at multiple angles.

'What do you do in this time of war then?' Gallade retorted. 'Trust everyone blindly? Oh no you do that anyway, that's why you act like a wet blanket when the topic is about Gyarados.'

Milotic jumped back, startled at how he knew this when she never told him.

'How did you-'

Gallade nodded at Gardevoir.

'She sees in your head.' Gallade told her. 'And she told me much earlier.'

'I'm sorry...' Gardevoir wiped her face, gazing sadly at Milotic.

'Okay this mind thing is too creepy.' Charizard said loudly, intervening as Sceptile stepped up to Gallade.

'You sound like you have something to hide.' Scizor said bluntly.

'Not you Scizor...' groaned Charizard. Scizor looked over at Gardevoir, waiting for all to be spilled.

'Well?'

'I am not your secret teller!' Gardevoir cried out to the quarreling group at large. The mood there was toxic. Mistrust was everywhere and fingers were being pointed.

'Gallade the reason the mission failed was because of you!' Electivire came up close to Gallade again with Sceptile breathing down his neck.

'Is this true?' Staraptor flapped up to him despite Altaria's pleas.

'...Bisharp overheard me.' Gallade nodded, then quickly changed the subject. 'It doesn't excuse Charizard from failing to tell us something critical about Dusknoir and Gengar.'

'Oh so now I'm the villain?' Charizard pointed at himself.

'To be fair Charizard,' Staraptor piped up. 'you have admitted yourself as careless before.'

'Staraptor don't.' Charizard said but his self-consciousness was making him appear physically vulnerable.

'It never occurred to you that maybe you should mention the fact that Gengar worked for Dusknoir?' Sceptile looked at Charizard, totally aghast.

'Well didn't you notice the picture too?' Charizard shouted angrily. 'Fucking hell, you expect me to babysit for all of you? Are you still a child that needs his hand held, Sceptile?'

'Guys why are we doing this!?' Lopunny wailed. It was clear that the child jibe had struck a chord with Sceptile but he knew going up against Charizard would be a bad move.

'You're right, we're avoiding the main point here.' Gallade stormed towards Garchomp with furious intent. 'You need to pay for what you have done, accident or not.'

'And what will you do?' Garchomp stood up straight, asserting his physicality over everyone there. Electivire gulped, thinking that Garchomp would lose his mind in this situation. 'Try and hit me? You cannot even see with one eye, you'll probably miss and hit someone else.'

'I have plenty of vigor in me to prevent that from happening.' Gallade spat as everyone tried to talk over one another. Garchomp stood where he was unflinching so Haxorus tried to step in his way.

'Gallade, you're better than this!' he cried out. The Shining Beacons had converged into a tight cluster filled with noise. Hands were reaching out to touch something, be it Gallade, Haxorus or even just to receive attention. By the tree, Xatu still stood like the statue he was, totally oblivious to the chaos going on. The children were too afraid and upset to even cry out for Altaria who was busy being one of the peacemakers in the ensuing riot. Every pokemon present was attempting to one up each other, with Gallade still threatening the defiant Garchomp, Sceptile and Scizor attempting to gang up on Charizard and Milotic berating Gardevoir for invading her mind. It was lunacy. Sheer lunacy.

'How could you forget something the queen told you personally? What's wrong with you!?' Sceptile yelled, keeping his relative distance from the slowly burning Charizard.

'I don't think it's a coincidence that everyone here thinks you're repugnant.' Garchomp growled at Gallade.

'This is not negotiable in any way!' Haxorus tried to make himself heard.

'You wouldn't like it if I spilled all your secrets for the world to hear!' Milotic hissed at Gardevoir, never expecting to be so hostile towards her.

'Let's look on the bright side!' Togekiss butted in. 'Nobody died!'

'Just shut up and get over it!' Lopunny hopped up and down among the quarrelers.

'I am not prepared to lead a group of bickering babies!' Staraptor shouted, leading Scizor to let out a guffaw.

'A load of selfish morons.' Gallade scorned the group at large. 'What a huge mistake this whole thing was.'

'Please! We can't afford to be torn apart like this!' Altaria wailed, darting in between every pokemon.

'None of you know what it feels like to have multiple minds running through your head every day!' Gardevoir lashed out at Milotic. 'Don't act like you understand me!'

'I think you're all idiots and I'm going to fight every one of you!' Scizor drew himself up tall and straight.

'Am I the only one who has actually learned anything in the past few days or am I insane!?' Electivire bellowed at the air.

'Oh this really is like raising children.' Charizard shook his head, his nostrils flared. 'Except I never asked for any of this!'

'ENOUGH!'

The reverberating voice shook round the forest, causing the heated argument down on the scorched plains to cease. When the word was spoke, a blue flash blasted its way around the large space and echoed through the trees, bouncing off the charred barks. Everybody had ceased their ill tempered bickering and slowly looked up to where the voice came from, steam visibly emanating from Charizard while Gallade and Garchomp looked ready to duke it out. On top of the large grey rock stood three pokemon, the one in the lead being the sole being that everyone had wished to see more than anyone else.

'This is not what is needed.' Lucario dropped down to earth, accompanied by Armaldo and Hoopa slowly clambering from the rock. 'At no point in our mission are we to ever have a pathetic, babyish argument like this! What is going on?!'

Lucario marched up to the rest of his comrades with an inquisitive and angry expression on wolf-like face. The majority of emotions present changed from enraged to remorseful save for a few. There was a grunt from within, and Lucario watched Gallade march from the tight-knit group over to the trees leading to a small path.

'Gallade...' Gardevoir stretched her hand out weakly, hoping her husband would turn around but he did not.

'Leave him...' Garchomp and Sceptile said together, watching Gallade disappear through the undergrowth of plants. Electivire stared into thin air, knowing that Gallade's change in attitude had emerged when he found out that it was he who had inadvertently acted as the catalyst for the downfall of Tanapas. He folded his arms and looked away from everyone else.

'Lucario...' Charizard stepped up to him. Everyone watched as the two warriors met each other eye to eye. Lucario waved him off.

'Why doesn't everyone just...take a time out?' Lucario said, sounding tired from everything that had just happened. He looked back at Armaldo, as if he needed permission from the old fossil.

'Maybe that is for the best.' Armaldo nodded. He nudged Hoopa and whispered in his ear. 'Your story will have to wait.'

'Alright guys, take ten.' Charizard called out over his shoulder to his comrades. 'I think we could all do with a lie down.'

There was quiet among the once united group when Charizard gave the order. Then one by one, everyone trudged off in different directions. Garchomp and Haxorus stomped over to sit next to Xatu, who had really benefited from not being able to see or hear any of what had just went on. Scizor and Lopunny took a last hostile look at Sceptile and Milotic, then wandered off away from the both of them. Sceptile glanced up at Milotic's face, aware that everything in the past few hours had stung her greatly.

'I'm going to...' Sceptile said rather cautiously. '...go for a walk. Do you want to come?'

Milotic shook her head and turned away from him. Sceptile wanted to say something else but nothing came out of his mouth. The feeling of being drained reflected off both of them, as he looked round to see Staraptor flop down on the ground and Electivire to stand around awkwardly, not knowing where to go. Sceptile sighed, then turned and walked back in the direction that Gallade had vanished. Lucario stared around in despondence. What had transpired in the time he had been away? Was it just that nobody got along naturally here or are the effects of the Clan of Shadows pouring over everything in sight? Armaldo looked back at the small mystical pokemon, Hoopa, with a sad look on his face.

'You can tell all later.' he said as reassuringly as he could. 'Right now I believe that everyone requires the peace their body and minds deserve.'

Hoopa nodded. It was unfortunate to arrive at the wrong time. The visible space between everyone was a story in of itself. In the middle, Electivire sat alone like a small child on the playground and not talking to either Staraptor or Charizard behind him. Togekiss seemed to have retreated up a branch in the tall tree out of sight from anyone else while Altaria was quietly and rather halfheartedly telling the children to stay as one big group. Lucario stood slightly apart from Armaldo and Hoopa, observing the situation and aware of what he had brought upon these once peaceful pokemon.

'I'm sorry.' he whispered slowly, his grip on the memoirs from Glaceon slightly slackening.

'Uh hey.' Sceptile poked his head out from behind a tree to address the irritable pokemon sitting by the thin stream. He winced slightly as Gallade turned to see him, sinking behind his cover a tad more.

'Oh it's you.' Gallade said flatly, his slender legs dipped in the sun soaked water. 'Come to tell me how much I've hindered you guys thus far?'

'No no.' Sceptile shook his head, stepping out from behind his tree. 'Just wondering how you're doing.'

Gallade shrugged his shoulders, looking back at the glistening stream flowing down towards a craggy wall and splitting off into different directions. It reminded Sceptile of the river in Vortur Forest where he and Milotic had floated down after Sceptile had his shoulder scarred by Banette. It seemed like a long time ago now, he thought as he took a few steps closer to Gallade, his feet crunching on the wet green grass. After everything we've been through. It's been overwhelming.

'What you up to?' Sceptile asked, standing a foot behind Gallade's right shoulder. Gallade picked up a flat stone on the riverbank and chucked it stylishly at the water. They both watched it skim off the surface multiple times before sinking to the bottom.

'Just thinking about...' Gallade paused for a moment, wondering how Sceptile would interpret this. '...Nothing.'

'Come on,' Sceptile said, dropping down next to him. 'you can tell me.'

'And why do you say that?' Gallade looked at him closely. 'Have you done anything to gain my trust?'

Sceptile opened his mouth to launch a rebuttal but slowly closed it, knowing he had a point. Even if the whole fracas five minutes ago didn't happen, Sceptile still thought that the mood around the campsite would be tense and testy. The mission had failed and now they were more wanted than ever. It seemed like the Clan of Shadows had fully seized control over Charom.

'Look,' Sceptile said, his hands pressed on his green knees. 'we can push past this. It's a minor setback, let's just go back to camp and try form a plan.'

'What's the use?' Gallade scowled, the bruises on his face setting in just like Sceptile's scarring. 'I'll just fuck it up again.'

'Gallade...'

'It's true though!' Gallade kicked out at the water in frustration. 'I know I may have acted irrational towards Electivire the whole way through but it turns out that me trying to help makes it worse than when I don't! Back at the bar I tried doing some digging and some scanning for potential threats but I just ended up spilling the secrets to Bisharp!'

'Anyone could have done that.' Sceptile tried to reassure him. 'You're more than capable of being great, Gallade. You just need to learn to work in a team!'

'That's your conclusion?' Gallade's answer sounded rude but he looked genuinely curious. Sceptile nodded.

'Yes! It's going to be impossible to survive this unless we work together.' Sceptile told him, feeling wiser beyond his years. 'I learned that too well in the past few days. I would be dead if it wasn't for Milotic. Charizard as well. And Scizor is living proof that you need teammates.'

'How so?' Gallade asked. 'Scizor seems to handle himself pretty well.'

'Yes but he's a gigantic asshole.' Sceptile laughed. 'I like the guy but he is the biggest twat you'll ever meet. Probably more than you have been.'

'Fuck you.' Gallade shook his head but he was grinning. 'Seems like I'm not the only one who was given a new lease of life by a lady.'

'Exactly. I think Lopunny is good for him.' Sceptile said. He then chose his next words with caution, knowing that Gallade would be able to help him with this more than most. 'Can I talk to you about something?'

'Is it Milotic?'

Sceptile was flabbergasted.

'How did...' He scowled slightly. 'Did Gardevoir-'

'No actually.' Gallade smirked. 'I don't need Gardevoir to know that you're smitten with her.'

'Oh.' Sceptile scratched his nose. 'Is it that obvious?'

'Mhm.' Gallade nodded, his eyes closing slightly as his point was confirmed. Sceptile pursed his lips together, his hands moving from his own legs down to the wet grass.

'Speaking of which,' Gallade turned his body to face Sceptile, a bit more serious looking this time. 'did you know that Gardevoir can't read your mind?'

'Huh?' Sceptile furrowed his brows. He remembered Milotic informing him about this enigma but had put it behind him in the ensuing chaos involving Gengar and the others.

'It is impossible for her to see what is going on in your head.' Gallade explained, the reminder making Sceptile uncomfortable yet he did not know why. 'She just sees blankness.'

'Well...' Sceptile really had no clue on what to say. '...There has to be multiple other pokemon that have that ability... Isn't there?'

'I can only think of one other pokemon who Gardevoir cannot do that to,' Gallade said. 'and it's unfortunate that it has to be that one in particular.'

'Bisharp?' Sceptile's eyes widened as Gallade nodded again. 'Look I have nothing in common with him. Maybe we are just exceptionally strong willed and want to complete our mission at all costs, I don't know.'

It was clear that Gallade was not that fond of Sceptile paying any sort of compliment towards Bisharp but after the mornings revelations he had reserved his emotions.

'If you say so.' Gallade sniffed, rather haughtily.

'I know as much as you do.' Sceptile said defiantly, wanting to get back to the point. 'I don't think many of the questions that have been posed to us recently are going to be answered anytime soon.'

'The least pessimistic side of me says you're probably right.' Gallade sighed. 'What was it you were about to say earlier? About Milotic?'

'Yeah.' Sceptile shuffled slightly closer to Gallade. 'So you are aware of my feelings towards her?'

'Yes I just said that.'

'Okay,' Sceptile continued, ignoring Gallade's rudeness. 'well I don't know what to do. I think she likes me back but there comes the problem. In a way I'm similar to this Gyarados guy. She only knew either of us for a short time but she grows attached very quickly. Should I be concerned about this?'

'No.' Gallade said abruptly, leaving Sceptile startled at the slight anticlimax.

'No?'

'Me and Gardevoir never started off our relationship in an environment like this.' Gallade explained, gesturing around him at the toxicity of the current state of Charom. 'Reason being is because we didn't have these lofty expectations and ambitions to save Charom like what has been thrust upon us now. Like every other couple our goal was to solidify our bond, learn to trust each other above all else and make the most effort possible. It's my belief that due to this journey, Milotic's priorities with someone are to realise that somebody will be by her side through thick and thin. Are you prepared to do that?'

'Yes.' Sceptile nodded quickly, his head bobbing up and down.

'Well there you go.' said Gallade. 'Milotic is strong. She is capable and smart but she does have vulnerability. I realized that when we were leaving Giruphin. She would barely say a word when she found out that somebody she thought would be by her side is gone to her. Now is your chance.'

Sceptile looked down at the water soaked grass as Gallade stood up. He wished that Milotic would be straight with him more often. He wished that she could let go of Gyarados. He wished that Milotic...would just be with him.

'It's a classic tale.' Gallade said casually, rubbing his blade arms together. 'Boy meets girl. Girl plays hard to get. Boy needs to help eradicate a group of warmongers for her attention.'

Sceptile sniggered. He looked round his shoulder as Gallade stepped up the grassy slope, intending on heading back to the camp.

'You coming?'

Sceptile prepared to stretch his legs out and push himself off the floor until something in the corner of his eye stopped him. It was over the stream, standing by a small bush filled with oran berries. No, he thought as Gallade waited for him. It can't be...

'No I'll stay here for a bit.' Sceptile eventually said, causing Gallade to frown slightly. Sceptile needed to go over to that familiar pokemon standing in the distance.

'Suit yourself.' Gallade shrugged, taking another step up to underneath the tree. 'Sceptile you know that I still don't fully trust you?'

'...I'm aware.' Sceptile stood up straight, brushing himself off and looking up at Gallade.

'And with relatively good reason.' Gallade continued. 'Your mind is unreadable. You wander off to places on your own. You seem more prioritized on getting with this girl more than accomplishing our objectives.'

'And I can say the same with you.' Sceptile responded bluntly. 'See you later, Gallade.'

Gallade stared in his direction for a few more seconds until he gave a tiny smirk, then headed off into the trees once again. Sceptile waited a bit more to make sure that Gallade had fully vanished before turning hastily. He skipped over the rapidly flowing stream and headed over to the berry bush, wondering what she was doing in his presence and especially at this time. He skidded to a halt and confronted the white furred pokemon, who was looking at him in a critical fashion.

'What are you doing here?' Sceptile asked, his tail brushing the plant next to him and sending some berries dropping to the ground.

'Just passing by.' said the mysterious Absol, admiring the scenery around her.

'Don't play dumb with me.' Sceptile scowled, pointing his finger in her face. 'It's not a coincidence that you find me here after everything that has gone on. Are you following me?'

'No Sceptile of Harfawn,' said Absol, her mouth curling slightly. 'it seems that our paths may be intertwined.'

'Meaning what?' Sceptile asked loudly. 'Is that fate? I'm in no mood to talk in riddles right now all things considering!'

'Don't try and dismiss fate.' Absol warned him. 'When we first met I said something terrible was about to happen to Charom. Later that night, the death of Queen Vespiquen.'

'You just said something terrible.' Sceptile told her, lowering his finger. 'It could have meant anything at any time. So how do I trust you?'

'You can't.' Absol replied, aware that Sceptile was no longer as lenient as he was a few days ago. 'Which is why I said you need to rely on faith.' Absol looked down at her paw, her scythe like horn shining in the gleaming sun. 'I am sorry...Charom is going to be broken.'

'What?' Sceptile looked at her in disbelief. 'What are you talking about!? Is this another one of your rough estimates?'

'No I can see it more clearly now.' Absol grimaced. 'It was earlier. I saw flashes of a future...A dead future.'

'A dead future?' Sceptile took a step back at this proclamation. Absol nodded.

'All I see is a dark wave...' she explained, seemingly detached from her mysterious quality and now looking more vulnerable. 'It seeps across the land...A flying pokemon drops to the earth while the resistance turn and run from their oncoming demise. I've seen it. And it is inevitable.'

They both stared at each other, the pain of saying this seemingly paralyzing Absol to the spot. For Sceptile, this was bringing out levels of rage inside him that he seemed to be boiling for some time now.

'Stop it.' he growled, shaking his head in denial. 'We're gonna fix this. Everything's going to be okay...Right?'

Absol looked genuinely remorseful as she shook her head.

'I needed to tell you this.'

'But why me!?' Sceptile cried out. He was so frustrated at this moment. Frustrated at this prediction. Frustrated at Absol, at Milotic, at Gallade and Charizard and everyone right now. 'Why are we meeting so often? What is so special about me, I'm just a guy who wanted to see the land and meet good pokemon but now I've been brought into this shitty, endless and from what you've said, pointless quest! You've just told me that we are going to die! Leave me alone!'

Sceptile spun round and stormed away from Absol, his feet sloshing about the flowing water as he crossed the stream. Absol's voice rang out from behind him, forcing him to stop on the cold grass.

'Where are you going?' she shouted. Sceptile turned his head over his ravaged shoulder, soon to be the least of his battle scars if Absol's predictions ever came true.

'If I'm going to die,' Sceptile muttered. 'I want to be with the ones that I love.'

Sceptile gave Absol one last look then turned his back on her, traversing through the trees back to base. Absol shut her eyes and dug her claws into the ground. She then whispered to herself ever so softly.

'I don't think his time has come yet...'