Hey. So... I guess that I'm back now. I know that I said that I'd get this out last week, but... I mean, life happens. School projects after only being here for a week, finals after only being here for a week, and just... Just life, I guess. Parents that seem to always hate me, no friends at my new school, and constant crushing and crippling depression add to the mix, so... I'm late. I'm sorry. I'm honestly a giant fucking asshole, and I really apologize. But... Y'know, what can I do? I mean... Other than not being as worthless, but whatever...

Anyway, yeah, I've returned with this new chapter, as well as my new name. The Average Zero. Remember, though, as I've said, you can still call me Brandon, or Link. Your preference, I suppose. But, yeah, I'm back. And I hope to stay for a while, and I have no plans to disappear for almost a year like last time... Arceus, I'm sorry about that... Anyway, I suppose I should just jump to the reviews, so that I don't keep you guys waiting any longer for the actual reason you're here.

Guest (The One Talking About Fair and Its Kick): I mean... I'm pretty sure that I mentioned the kick, did I not? Like... With his arm flying back? I don't know, man. It's been... What, a year since that chapter? I honestly may be right with that... Maybe.

MasterUmbreon: Nah, man, don't worry about it. I'm the asshole who made that update chapter bullshit. Happy belated birthday, though, man. Hope it was fun. Sorry for disappointing you.

JubJub: Thanks, man. I've finally settled into this place, so I guess that that's good... Also, I've seen you review before, and it's always piqued my interest, and I don't believe I've ever asked. Is your name from Neopets, from WoW, or somewhere that I don't actually recognize?

And... Those are the reviews. Onto the story, I suppose.

Announcement

I watched as everyone moved into the Meeting Room, many of the Champions and Legends still rubbing sleep from their eyes and in their night clothing. I felt my hands ball into fists as I watched Moltres's group come in and sit down near the back, her piercing eyes stuck on me. I merely looked away, fighting to keep my composure. How can I, though? My best Champion… My son is stranded out there, and I have no idea how to get to him! I stopped and held a breath, attempting to calm myself. Keep it under control, Arceus. They don't know, and they can't. Just keep your cool, and tell them what happened. My eyes caught on Shane's crew as they entered. They took their usual seats at the back, and I caught Darkrai watching me. I motioned to her, and she raised an eyebrow to me, before rising. As the Reaper moved toward the front of the room, I glanced back to Shelby, my eyes locking on her tired and sorrowful ones. I averted my gaze as Darkrai reached me, a perplexed appearance on her face.

"What's up?" She greeted me, her voice instinctively lower.

I hesitated for a moment, before quietly saying, "I… Can you address them? I really don't think that I can, Darkrai.

"What?" She asked, her eyes wide. "Why me? And why aren't you able to?"

"I'll explain after this." I told her. "Can you please do this for me, Darkrai? I promise, I'll answer any questions you have."

She was silent for a moment, before answering, "I guess that I can. But you owe me an explanation for this."

I nodded, letting out a small sigh of relief, as I agreed, "I know. I'll introduce the meeting, say that you wanted to speak to them, then you can come forward and explain what happened."

"But what do I say?" She asked me, her voice low, yet fervent. "Morning guys, Shane went after his father, and now we had no fucking idea where in the hell he is?"

"N-No, no." I told her. "Just… Just make it up as you go along, I guess. I'm sorry about this, I just don't think I can do it."

My companion sighed quietly, saying, "A-Alright. I suppose that I'll try."

P.O.V Switch: Darkrai

I nodded to Arceus, who returned the gesture nervously, her sleepless eyes moving to the floor. I turned and moved to address the gathered crowd, my breath hitching in my throat as all eyes turned to me.

I hesitated a moment, glancing around the room, intentionally avoiding the eyes of Shelby, before clearing my throat and struggling out, "Well… I'm sure that you're all wondering why you've been called here today."

"Well no shit, moron!" A voice called out, one that I quickly recognized as Moltres. "It's too damn early for this shit."

I heard a few grumbles of agreement in the crowd, but I merely clenched my fists and sighed.

"I recognize that, Moltres." I spoke, making no effort to hide the venom in my voice. "Now, if you will shut the fuck up, and not interrupt me again, I can let you get back to the beauty sleep that you so desperately need."

The room grew silent at my words, save for a few chuckles from some of the Champions. Moltres locked a glare on me, but kept silent.

I cleared my throat, all of my previous nerves overridden with anger, before continuing, "Now, to get down to business. I'm sure that you all, somehow, heard news of our temporary visitor. Last night, when we were returning him to his home, there was an…" I hesitated a moment, trying to find the right words, before continuing, "There was a form of altercation between him and Shane." I looked around the room, preparing myself for the expected responses, before finishing, "During this, he managed to slip through the portal after the man. Subsequently, we currently have lost any and all information on Shane's whereabouts, as well as his well being."

I watched the crowd as my words began taking effect, noticing the smile that spread across Moltres's face almost immediately. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists tightly, pulling the sleeves of my signature jacket down slightly. I saw the glee spread from the phoenix's face, over to Entei's face, and to a few Champions in the room, albeit to a much lesser extent. I also noticed a few pairs of eyes widen, particularly Anna's and Chelsea's, while some others remained unchanged. However, three faces in particular caught my attention. I watched Heatran's face show a moment of slight shock, before she brought her hands up in a lazy arch over her mouth, hiding any expression. My eyes then flicked over to two of Shane's long time enemies. The Eons. I watched as their expressions stayed in a static state, a rather blank template. Latios then turned to Latias and gave a short nod, before the two rose from their seats and quickly, yet quietly, left the room.

My attention returned to the full room, but before I could speak, a quiet, accented voice asked, "Do you 'ave any idea at all where 'e could have gone?"

I scanned the still quiet room for the owner of the voice, my eyes eventually falling on a small Espeon near the back, as she lifted her orange lensed racing-esque goggles to rest on her head.

I hesitated a moment, before answering, "Unfortunately, not really. We were able to observe him after he left, but we believe that he has since found another means of transportation, which he used to leave our sight."

"What about the trackers we all 'ave, then?" She suggested, as I noticed a few of the more tired members of the crowd process the news. "Couldn't you just find 'im tha' way?"

"Theoretically speaking, yes, it would be possible." I replied. "However, amid all the… emotions during his recruitment, we never fully got around to that. Subsequently, we can not locate him, nor can he summon his weapons."

"Seems like a little oversight there." I heard a third voice mutter under her breath.

I whirled around to face the speaker, narrowing my glare on the Volcano Pokemon, before blurting out, "Oh, because you were being such a fucking help when he first got here, weren't you?"

The canine leapt up from her seat, spitting out, "Don't even try to pin your stupidity and refusal to obey tradition on me, bitch!"

I felt my fists clench tightly, and I opened my mouth to retaliate, only to be interrupted by a deep voice shouting, "Enough!"

The room quickly became silent, as all eyes turned to the doorway. There stood a figure in all black, his face hidden under a hooded jacket, and dual sheathed katanas on his back.

"Oh, it's you." I heard Entei scoff out. "Who died and made you king?"

"No one did, Entei." He answered, the name spat full of spite. "But I have important business to take care of, and I'm on a schedule. So, if everyone is finished here, I'd like to attend to this business. Any objections?"

I looked around as no one spoke, my eyes catching on the fear in some of the Champions' eyes. He always has had a knack for scaring people.

"Good." The figure said, nodding slightly. "Arceus, Giratina, Darkrai, Dialga, and the Mews: Follow me."

And with that, he turned around and left the doorway, leaving us all in silence. I glanced over at Arceus, whose own eyes were wide at the man, before she shrugged and followed. I let out a small sigh, before following behind her.

"Stupid dick." I heard Moltres mumble as we left, and I had to resist the urge to attack her.

P.O.V Change: Shane

"So, what's the schedule for today?" I jokingly asked the Liepard, as I entered the small kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Well, I was thinking that we'd have some breakfast first." She answered, turning around from the stove. "And discuss the day as we eat."

I nodded in response, saying, "Sounds pretty good. You wouldn't happen to have a coffee pot, would you?"

Jaimie chuckled quietly, telling me, "Yeah, next to the fridge. I already made a pot."

I nodded again, rising from my chair as she leaned against the counter, shaking her head slightly, causing her short purple hair to move around, the messy spikes flicking slightly.

"Coffee addiction must be genetic with you guys." She commented, as I grabbed a coffee cup from the cabinet and began making my drink. "Your father drinks the fuck out of it."

I faltered slightly, before quietly saying, "Oh… Is that right?"

The Liepard cross let out a small laugh, telling me, "Yeah. At least, he did the last time I was with him."

I remained silent, choosing instead to simply sit down at the table. Neither of us said anything, and I could almost feel the room become increasingly awkward.

After a few moments, I asked, "So, any suggestions as to what we should do today?"

Jaimie turned back to the stove, shrugging slightly as she answered, "A few. But the three of us should probably discuss it together. Speaking of which, wanna go grab your dad?"

I hesitated a moment, taking a small sip of my coffee, before answering, "Y-Yeah, sure. I'll be right back."

I rose from my seat and moved to the doorway, going into the living room. I went to the set of three doors on the opposite wall, going to the one on the far right.

I knocked on the door twice, followed by a voice answering, "Yeah?"

I froze up for a moment, before calling out, "Breakfast is ready, Lex."

Before he could respond, I moved away from the door, heading back to the kitchen.

As I took my seat back at the table, Jaimie asked me, "So, is he coming?"

"Y-Yeah. He's on his way." I answered.

Or, I think so, at least… God, what is with this shit, man? I thought that I had forgiven him… I shook my head slightly, but the thoughts lingered as I zoned out, my eyes on my coffee. Arceus… I forgave him years ago… Right? I was brought from my thoughts as a plate of bacon and pancakes was sat before me, surprising me.

"Here you go." Jaimie told me, standing across the table.

I looked up to her slightly, quietly saying, "Thanks."

The Liepard cross hesitated a moment at my response, a purple eyebrow raised to me, before leaning down slightly, asking, "Something on your mind, kid?"

I froze at her question, my eyes dropping to the plate of food before me. I… I don't know…

"I…" I began. "Kinda. I'm just… I'm just worried about my friends back at the Hall, I guess."

A small smile formed on the woman's face at my lie, as she reached over to pat me on the shoulder, assuring me, "Is that all? Trust me, kid, they're fine. And I'm sure that we can get you back there soon." My expression didn't change, so she said, "Oh, perk up, kid. You'll be back there before you know it. For now, though, you've got a breakfast to eat. You're still a growing kid, and you need to eat."

I smiled slightly at her words, nodding back.

"Y-Yeah, I suppose." I agreed. "The food looks good, too."

Jaimie chuckled lightly, turning back to the stove with, "Thanks. I don't really cook too often, so I like to go all out when I do. I'm much more of a take-out kind of girl. And, oh sweet Arceus, Ming's shop a few streets over has the best damn egg rolls you'll ever fucking taste, man. Remind me to take you two there while you're here."

"I'll be sure to do that." I told her sincerely. "It's been years since I've had some good take-out."

"I second that." A voice came from the room over, as Lex stepped in, fully dressed.

I went silent and turned my blank face to my food, as Jaimie commented, "Well, look who decided to finally wake up."

The Shiny Umbreon chuckled at her words, sitting down with, "What, did you think that I'd miss out on your cooking? It's probably the best that I've ever had!"

The Liepard rolled her eyes at him, flicking her tail in his direction, saying, "You always were a flatterer."

Rather than reacting to the two, I instead chose to simply ignore them. Instead, I picked my fork up from the table and cut off a small piece of one of the pancakes, before beginning to eat. Not bad, really…

Jaimie placed two more plates on the table, one before Lex and one across from him, before taking her seat.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Lex asked.

"Well," Jaimie answered, "the kid and I were just talking about that. And I had a suggestion that I wanted to share with you two."

"And that would be?" The Shiny Umbreon asked.

The Liepard took a bite of her own bacon, before telling us, "Well, I was thinking that we could go and introduce you two to meet the Boss."

My eyes flicked from my food to Jaimie, as Lex hesitantly asked, "Uh, pardon? You want us to meet the Boss?"

"Well, yeah." She answered. "I mean, if we're going to keep the Organization out of here, we should probably get started as soon as possible. And what better way to start than to meet our leader."

Lex shrugged at her explanation, saying, "Well, sounds reasonable to me, I guess. What about you, Shane?"

Instead of saying anything, I just nodded slightly, before taking a drink of my coffee, trying my best to act like I had to wash my food down.

"Awesome!" Jaimie cheered. "It's settled then. After breakfast, we can all take turns showering, then go and meet the Boss."

Oh… Should be… Fun, I suppose. Maybe, anyway.

Alright... So, not the longest, which is kinda inexcusable, but whatever. I suck. I know...

Anyway, what'd you guys think of it? I doubt that it was worth the wait, but I assure you that the rest of the story will be... Hopefully.

I will never be good at end notes, will I? Anyway, as a little FYI to people, I've recently kinda redone my profile to clean it up some, and updated it. It now has other online places that I exist at (Such as my PS4 tag and Wattpad account, which I may end up actually using), as well as some other things. Nothing too major, but if you're interested, it's there.

So, I'm going to sound like an asshole for this, but I honestly don't think that I'll be updating next week, despite the fact that I'd like to get back on updating at least one of my two active stories weekly. There are two reasons for this. 1. I'll most likely be wanting to just chill for a little, as Monday is actually a half-day at school for me, and is my final day of the year (And then I'm a Senior... Which means that I'll be graduating in a year... And forced out into the real world... God, I hate life, man...). And, 2. Overwatch is releasing on Tuesday, and I am insanely excited. I have been hella amped for that game since it was announced, and I finally managed to pre-order Origins Edition for PS4 the last week before the Beta, so I got into the Early Access Open Beta, and damn, did I love it. Honestly, it was some of the most fun I've had in a while with games in general, especially FPS's. I even streamed playing it on Twitch for about an hour, without a mic or camera. It's very fun, though, and I know that it'll take up a lot of my time. Hell, I put 30 hours into the Open Beta, and loved every second of it... Except for that match where I was against 6 Torbjorns... Dear Arceus, never again. That was a force of cheese bullshit that the world should never experience...

Anyway, I'm rambling on now, and I apologize. So, I suppose that I should get going, as it's midnight, and I intend on uploading this before school in the morning... Because... Y'know, most my readers are in the US, so it'd be the best time to get attention from them, and... Yeah... Analytics and stuff...

Anyway, that's all for now, Knights. I'll see you soon, and I hope that you all have a good day. And to those of you that are also getting out for the summer (Sorry, international readers! 'Merica, and all that!) soon: Wear sunscreen, hug every dog you see, and if you go to Warped Tour over the summer, dear fucking Arceus, hit up the Monster Energy Party Zone. Crown the Empire, Motionless in White, Ice Nine Kills, and so many other killer metalcore bands, man... Fuck, I hope that I can go this summer... Not counting on it, but, y'know... I can dream, right? I mean, not really, but...

Anyway, that's all from me, guys. Have a good day, and if you die, die with your mask on, if you've got to. See-yah later, Lunar Knights.