A week later, Ash, Aurian, Misty, and Brock occupied a corner table in the G-Men's commissary, a dozen mini muffins resting between the four. Corps members flooded through the area, the base a riot of post-mission activity.

"I honestly don't think I would have made it another day without coffee," Aurian sighed, the familiar scent of a lavender latte drifting up from the mug in her hands. "God bless the hospital for clearing us for release. And for eight ounces of liquid gold a day."

Ash clinked his mug against hers. "Cheers, now we get to violate every order the doctors gave us to finish our mission briefing."

"Just remember, caffeine does not a Rapidash make," Misty side-eyed the coffee stand employees, who responded with a cheerful wave. "Don't make me tell them to close your tab."

Aurian laughed. "Good luck, that tab's been open since we got here."

"Next thing I know you'll tell us that extra coffee's going to destroy the cardiac recovery progress we've made since we were discharged yesterday," Ash raised an eyebrow.

His sister stifled a snort.

"I hear points of contention," Michael slid in next to Ash, propping his crutches against the wall. "Misty, I'd rather invade the Rebel League's base again, on crutches this time, than take coffee away from Aurian. I like having all my limbs."

"Even if her health depends on it?" Misty rolled her eyes.

"I think we can negotiate a compromise," Aurian shrugged. "Anyways. Now that we're functional-"

"More functional," Brock pointed to the patonai's temporary wheelchairs.

"Fine, more functional, that mission report won't write itself. I suggest we hunker down in a conference room and crank it out as fast as we can," Aurian said.

Ash drained the rest of his mocha. "Seconded. I am so ready to be done with this assignment."

"But not the tournament," Misty pouted. "I'm pretty bummed that we won't get to see that one through."

"Shame that we don't get to see either of you take on Tobias," Brock shook his head.

Michael chuckled. "You know, the way Ash destroyed him within an inch of his life during the raid was enough for me. Want me to see if we can get Conference Eleven? I think that's the only conference room with the reclining sofas."

"Sounds great, thanks," Ash nodded. "Ri, do you think we'll need the trainees?"

"They'd love to help. Wait, scratch that, they'd be really mad if we didn't let them help. I'm on it," Aurian reached for her PokeGear and texted their three smallest friends.

Misty stood, gathering their trash. "If we're going to be in there for a while, we need snacks… and you three should drop by the medical bay before we do something this big. You're not using this report as an excuse to miss your daily check-ins on my watch."

"Ugh, you know me too well," Ash groaned, a series of blue sparks streaming from his fingers.

Aurian's eyes went wide. "Ash!"

"What?"

"Your aura survived the Alea! You can still wield!"

Ash stared at his hands, expression caught somewhere between shock and wonder. Aurian tackled her brother in the best hug she could manage.

"Hey, watch the ribs!" Ash couldn't help but laugh.

Aurian pulled back, tears in her eyes. Three blue sparks spluttered from her fingertips, then four, then ten.

"Now this is a good day," Brock pulled Misty in for a hug while the patonai and Michael yelled in joy.

"That was all the boost I needed," Ash grinned. "Onwards, to Conference Eleven and paperwork!"

After a brief visit to the medical bay, everyone met up in the conference room. The trainees toted get-well-soon cards and a pile of sweet treats.

"These are from my parents," Noah presented the G-Men with a plate of snickerdoodle cookies. "They really wanted to say thank you in person, but Steven talked them out of it."

Michael tore the plastic wrap off and stuffed a cookie in his mouth. "Mmph. Dewichous."

"My mom says thank you, too!" Maddie passed three envelopes and a stack of Pokemon treats around.

Max set three blocks of fudge down on the conference room table. "I'll bet these top everything else on this table. Mom's famous homemade coffee fudge."

"You are absolutely speaking my language," Aurian put both hands over her heart.

"Thank you," Ash nudged his trainee. "Let's get this report out of the way. All of you are here because you were an integral part of how everything unraveled."

Aurian nodded. "We need your input to pull this off."

"Here's what Misty and I have of the Silver Base invasion so far," Brock turned his laptop around, scrolling through seven pages of text. "It's not complete, but we're close."

"All right, here we go," Ash cracked his knuckles and stared down his laptop. "Aurian and I landed on the Island the night before Max and Maddie got there…"

"And done!" Aurian triumphantly pressed 'print' on their report file.

"Thirty-four hours, two naps, and an Arceus-forsaken amount of caffeine later, we're through," Ash groaned. "I never want to do that again."

Wes, who'd come in five hours ago to check on their progress, put his head in his hands. "This has to be the most convoluted report anyone's ever submitted."

"You think you could do any better?" Michael asked, halfway through his seventh cup of coffee.

"I tried," Wes gave his fellow Orrean an impressive Arbok-eye. "Didn't go well."

"At least we know it's accurate," Eusine said. "The entire Armada's done some form of work on this thing. If a mistake makes it past this many eyes, it needs to stay in there."

Hiori stood and stretched. "I love that this turned into a family affair."

"No more reports," Mack groaned, hanging upside-down off a beat-up armchair.

Misty motioned towards the trainees, asleep on a couch in the corner. "I think they have the right idea."

"We gotta deliver the report before sleep happens," Aurian said, wheeling to the printer. "Ash and I will take care of that. Everyone else, go home. You've earned your rest. We'll see you at some point… today? Tomorrow?"

Ash nodded. "We'll figure it out. Ri, how many pages is that thing?"

"Two-hundred thirty-seven."

Brock shrugged. "You know, that's not so-"

"Double-sided."

"I stand corrected," Brock leaned back in his chair.

"That thing's gonna take forever to print. Do we have anything to put the report in? Did we think that far ahead?" Ash asked.

Hiori brandished five binders. "I think this should be enough. We'll let Lance worry about fancy title pages, let's just indicate the order with sticky notes."

"All in favor?" Eusine called from the couch, all present Armada raising their hands.

Ash nodded. "Great. Everyone, we love you, but leave. We got this."

Assorted grumbles of farewell floated through the conference room as ten exhausted Armada members trudged back to their rooms.

"Brock, that includes you," Aurian said.

He yawned. "Awesome. I'll take the trainees with me. See you later."

Ash, Aurian, Hiori, and Misty were the only ones left after the Armada cleared out.

"Hiori, can you and Aurian take point on organizing all this?" Ash asked.

The tall boy grinned. "I feel like a kid in a candy store. We're on it."

Ash waited until Hiori and Aurian were deep in discussion about how to divide the pages between binders before motioning for Misty to meet him outside.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"More than!" Ash crossed his arms. "Things are moving pretty fast. Do you know when you're going back to Cerulean?"

"I wanted to stick around a bit to make sure you were okay and to make sure that Lance and Riley had extra hands on deck in case they needed help. Now that we're pretty much in the clear…" she trailed off.

"Now, I have no idea. How am I supposed to go back to my Gym and pretend like everything's still the same? I don't think any of us are the same people we were before the tourney," Misty reached for Ash's hand. "Not that I'm mad about that."

"I'm not mad, either. I did want to talk about this, though," he swung their hands back and forth. "I owe you a proper first date instead of an evening spent invading a base that shouldn't exist. How does dinner and a movie sound?"

Misty smirked. "Would Lance let you leave base?"

"Riley's got a date with Cynthia tomorrow and he didn't bat an eye. We're allowed to have lives off-base!" Ash laughed at Misty's double-take. "I want to make sure you're part of mine."

"We do have four years of lost time to make up for," she said.

"And I promise to be around this time. Misty, I mean what I said before we teleported out of the Silver Base. I love you. Dearly and deeply."

She scooted into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. "I love you too. Everything's better when you're around."

"Even though the world tends to try to end wherever I am?"

"Even that," Misty grinned. "I'm in for the long haul."

Ash swore he could see a glimpse of infinity in Misty's eyes before they closed, lips meeting in slow motion.

"Wow," Ash said as they broke for air. "I'm a lucky guy."

She elbowed his arm. "I think I'm the lucky one here."

"How about we just be lucky together?"

Her response was limited to a smile brighter than the sun as Aurian and Hiori emerged, five binders balanced precariously on Aurian's lap.

"We're good to submit!" she flashed a thumbs-up before the binders wobbled, Hiori racing to keep them steady before they tumbled to the floor.

Hiori chuckled. "I'll help you get these to Lance. If any of those binders break, I might cry."

"Why does this have the same energy that group projects did back in primary school?" Misty asked, drawing a laugh from her three friends.

"Honestly! Misty, I think we're good. You should get some rest," Aurian said.

Misty crossed her arms. "Are you sure?"

The patonai glared in unison.

"Okay, you're right. See you," Misty waved over her shoulder, the redhead vanishing down a side hallway.

Ash glanced at his watch. "Is Lance even up right now?"

"One way to find out," Aurian said, wheeling in the general direction of Lance's office. "Hiori, thanks for the help."

Hiori flashed finger-guns at the patonai. "My pleasure."

Ash, Aurian, and Hiori arrived at Lance's office soon afterward, the Champion opening the door after the third knock.

"You're up early," he said. "What's going on?"

Ash brandished the first of five binders. "We finished our mission report."

Riley poked his head out. "Already?"

"Two-hundred-thirty-seven pages ready for filing with insurance and for inspection by both the International Police and the League," Aurian passed her binders to Lance. "We ran through every text, every phone call, every entry in our internet histories. It's as close to complete as we'll get it."

"I think this might be the fastest major mission report in the history of the corps," Riley smiled. "First in combat rankings, first to get their paperwork done. That's my Captain pair!"

"We had a ton of help, that's not a fair statement," Ash put his hands up.

Hiori offered the last two binders. "This report brought to you by literally the entire Armada, an ungodly amount of caffeine, and an all-nighter."

"Good work," Lance said. "Do you have time to come in?"

Hiori shook his head. "I need to get to bed, but I'll let the injured hooligans hang here. Peace out, y'all."

He tried to moonwalk out the door and failed spectacularly, slamming into the doorframe before ducking out of the room.

"... you really did pull an all-nighter," Riley noted, a smile breaking through his normally stoic expression. "How are you feeling?"

Ash shrugged. "You know, I really think the Darkrai claw was worse."

"You don't have to put on a front around us. There's no one here you have to reassure," Riley said.

"Thank you," Aurian sighed. "Everything hurts and we're miserable."

Lance leaned in. "Are the doctors taking good care of you? Is everything at least manageable?"

"Yeah, I'd say so," Ash nodded. "I won't lie, it's been hard. Physical therapy is going to kill me. I'd absolutely do all of it again, but I hate being down and out like this."

"What good are we if we can't help how we want to?" Aurian asked.

Riley crossed his arms. "Did you or did you not decimate the largest threat to world peace in two thousand years with nothing but your brains and your aura?"

Ash frowned. "But-"

"No buts. That's actually what we wanted to speak with you about," Riley traded a glance with Lance, who gave a thoughtful nod. "We love you and we are incredibly grateful for how much of yourselves you give to the Armada and the G-Men as a whole."

"That being said, you need a break. A long one. You've earned it," Lance said.

Aurian raised an eyebrow. "Rehab counts as a break, right?"

"No," Riley said, "beyond that. You've run non-stop for the three and a half years that we've had you. We've put in a request on your behalf for a sabbatical."

"What? No! Part of the Rebel League is still out there!" Ash protested.

"We can't stop now. Ash and I made this mess, we need to clean it up," Aurian added, arms thrown out. "We owe you that much."

Lance stood. "You owe us nothing. We're the ones who owe you! Here you are in some of the best years of your lives, fighting crime and sacrificing far too much when you should be traveling with your friends and inflicting misery on your opponents in tourney battles! We're the ones who pushed you as members and as leaders. In the end, this is my fault. I should have taken better care of you both."

"Lance..." Ash trailed off.

"We chose this," Aurian shook her head. "Don't blame yourself. We chose membership, we chose the Armada, we chose to take this mission, consequences be damned. It's been hard in ways I never would have imagined, but I wouldn't trade my time here for anything."

Ash sighed. "Lance, Riley, that's why we want to keep going. I don't want to be anything other than a member of the G-Men. You took us under your wings and mentored us, both of you. Your support is everything to us."

"Our parental tendencies concerning the two of you are base-famous, yes," Riley mustered a smile, "Please trust us. Vacation, sabbatical, whatever you want to call this, the break will do you some good."

The patonai exchanged a glance.

"I think we still need convincing," Ash said.

Lance smirked. "I figured. Give me two minutes."

He spun around in his desk chair and entered a horribly long number into his video call app, the line ringing twice before a familiar face picked up.

"Good morning, your Majesty," Lance said. "May I have a few minutes of your time?"

Queen Ilene of Rota appeared on Lance's screen, clad in a Cameran College sweatshirt and hair in a messy bun. "Any time, Lance. What can I do for you?"

"Would you mind telling Ash and Aurian a bit more about our sabbatical plans for them?" Lance wheeled aside, leaving the patonai in full view of the camera.

Ash gasped. "Lance, you did not."

"He most certainly did. Captains, thank you for your selfless service and sacrifice. You've done your legacy proud."

"Thank you, Majesty," Aurian nodded.

Ilene grinned, taking a sip of tea from her mug before continuing on. "A group of Rota historians are working on something called the Preservation Project, which is dedicated to documenting the history of our Aura Guardians and their Guild. Their team has done a remarkable job, truly, but I feel that their efforts would be aided by the presence of individuals gifted with the ability to wield aura. Namely, you two."

"Your sabbatical would include helping Queen Ilene and the Preservation Project as they close in on completing their first public exhibition," Riley said. "No G-Men responsibilities. We would only contact you in case of an emergency. Stay as long as you like. I've already spoken with Wes and he is more than willing to assume active command of the Armada."

Ash took a moment to think before responding. "What is your team currently researching?"

"They've covered a bit of everything. Molecular analysis of Rota crystal, in-depth research into remaining Guild documents, and first-hand accounts of events we long thought fables. Now, their leader is focusing specifically on everything Sir Aaron left behind after the sacrifice. The vast majority of his belongings and documents were remarkably well-preserved. However, he can only get so far without access to aura himself."

"No way," Aurian breathed. "Riley, does she know?"

"Not all, but some. She knows that both of you are of Aaron's line but not more than that," Riley said.

"I cannot tell you how long it has been since Cameran boasted Guardians in her halls. Rota would be thrilled to welcome you for a sabbatical. From what these two," Ilene motioned in Lance and Riley's general direction, "told me, you both have earned some time away. Please use it here. It would be a great honor."

"Two conditions," Ash started, surprising even himself. "Would it be okay if our mom came to visit for a bit, too? She's from Rota and would adore the opportunity to come back."

Ilene nodded. "Not an issue."

"Thank you. I don't mean to speak for Ri, but I think we're in unison on the second one. We want to talk to Cabot once he's conscious."

Lance nearly dropped his coffee mug. "Why the hell do you want to speak to the man that tried to kill you?"

"We need answers," Aurian's voice went soft, "that no one else can give. Not to over-inflate our own importance, but I doubt he would speak to anyone but us."

"She has a point," Riley tucked a pen behind his ear. "I'm fine with it. Lance?"

He sighed, eyebrows furrowed. "Okay. I don't like it, but okay. We're not releasing you until your wounds have mostly healed. Ilene, will you be able to take them in about two to three more weeks?"

"Yes! That gives us plenty of time to make preparations. I cannot wait to tell Ryan, Mercy, and the rest of their team about this. Is there anything I can do for you in the meantime?"

"I think we're good!" Aurian flashed a thumbs-up. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Ilene grinned. "It may be early for informalities, but please, call me Ilene. We won't worry about titles until the festival rolls around in two months! Lance, Riley- take care. I'll be in touch!"

The four G-Men waved goodbye as the Queen ended the call.

"I… I can't thank you enough," Ash said.

Aurian squeezed his hand. "Somehow, you found a way to send us home."

"What comes next for us?" Ash asked. "You know, other than healing and interrogating Giovanni and… wait, what happened with the Tournament? I've heard nothing."

"For good reason. There are tentative plans for a competitor send-off, hosted in one of the stadiums you didn't explode," Riley answered with a grin.

Lance drummed his fingers against the desk. "Since all members of the Final Four were either G-Men or Rebel League, we decided to call the tourney a draw. Each member of the Top Ten gets to challenge any Elite Four member they want, on record."

"That's a good solution," Ash said. "Nice middle ground between covering our damage and a sincere apology."

"Additionally, The G-Men and the IP partnered up to sweep the League for any pro-Rebel League employees. Now that we've fired anyone sympathetic, we're in the process of rebuilding the League from the top down," Lance said, arms crossed. "The Champions confirmed a new League President this morning. Everything else is falling into place."

Aurian raised her hand. "Are we allowed to ask who the new President is?"

"None other than our very own Steven Stone," Riley exchanged a confident nod with Lance. "It was unanimous. Tameranze, though enthusiastic, wasn't the best fit. Steven is thrilled to move into a role with less paperwork and more outreach. Brendan will take over the Technology division."

"Oh, that's going to be perfect!" Ash grinned. "Is he still going to be a G-Men member?"

"We're still working that one out," Riley said.

Aurian kept her hand in the air. "I'm assuming that isn't public knowledge?"

"Level Eight classified," Lance said, earning a nod from the patonai.

"Wait, I thought Ri and I only had Level Seven security clearance. Since when were we Level Eight?" Ash asked. "That's normally only for Overhead, the division commanders, and the commander general."

Lance nodded, a conspiratorial spark in his eyes. "You're right. When Harrison retired last year, his rank of Colonel was left unassigned. When I came into the commander general position unexpectedly, he was an absolute life-saver. I couldn't have asked for a better second in command… until now."

Aurian nearly fell out of her chair. "I'm sorry, what?"

"As much as I love this job, I won't be around the G-Men forever. I'll get old and retire one day, contrary to what I like to believe and to what Riley likes to constantly remind me of."

Riley smirked. "Who has more grey hairs again?"

"If you were in my shoes, you would," Lance rolled his eyes. "I kept the position open this long on purpose. This isn't a decision I wanted to make lightly. I knew whoever I chose needed to be capable, quick-thinking, and unafraid to take decisive action, especially when decisive action is the unpopular option."

Ash shook his head. "Lance, I don't know what to say."

"I want to name you both Colonels. There is no one I would trust with the future of the G-Men over you. Riley, the rest of the division commanders, and I have full faith that you will lead the next generation well."

"Not to speak for Ash, but… why us?" Aurian asked.

Lance motioned to a newspaper sitting on his desk, the front page of the Sunyshore Gazette showcasing an article written about the downfall of the Rebel League and their artificial Pokemon. "You're our miracle workers. You outwork the entire corps– not just in training, but in leadership and in your dedication to getting the little things right. That makes you stand out head and shoulders above the other candidates."

"We've joked for years that Lance does enough work for two people," Riley crumpled a piece of paper and chucked it at the man in question, "and he's finally seeing sense. Overhead was thoroughly stunned by your tactics throughout the duration of your mission. I was, too. You pulled off maneuvers that I never would have dreamed of doing three years ago, let alone when I was your age."

Ash traded a glance with his sister. "It's an honor-"

"We're in," Aurian grinned.

"Good," Lance clapped his hands. "Please keep this quiet for now. We plan to announce our intention to promote you the next time we call the corps to full assembly, which will probably be at some point next week."

"The League was extremely generous with financial compensation for our efforts last week," Riley said, drawing 'oohs' of realization from the patonai. "Tradition states we need to meet as a corps to vote on how to spend our collective bonus."

Ash nodded. "That sounds like a plan. Do you need anything else from us?"

"You just cranked out a major mission report. Go sleep. We'll handle the rest," Lance waved the patonai out his office door. "We'll call if we need anything."

Ash and Aurian made their way back to their room, near-collapsing onto their mattresses after closing the door.

"Lance had the right idea," Aurian punched her pillow a few times to reshape it. "I'm wiped."

"Me too. Let's call Mom in a bit and tell her the good news," Ash yawned.

Silence filled the room.

"Ash?" Auran asked. "What happens if Giovanni never wakes up and we lose our chance to talk to him?"

He paused, Pikachu curling up on top of his chest. "I don't like thinking about that. If he dies or is stuck in a coma for the rest of time… we'll keep moving forward, just like Father told us we should. I'll admit that I'm curious about his motivations, but we can't linger on that without risking our well-being. We survived his schemes, now we need to finish recovering."

"You're right," Aurian smiled. "Thanks. Sleep well."

"Night night, don't let the Caterpie bite."

Aurian's PokeGear erupted in a frenzy of buzzes at one in the morning, startling both patonai out of a deep sleep.

"Lance, this better be worth it," Aurian groaned, putting her commander on speaker.

"Giovanni's awake."

Ash shot up, nearly knocking his lamp over in his rush to turn it on. "Where and when?"

"Hold on! Do the two of you feel comfortable interrogating him?"

"I don't think I can be in the same room as Giovanni without committing a felony," Aurian crossed her arms. "Maybe multiple."

"Yeah," Ash said, "I think we might need back-up. Would it be possible for you and Riley to come in with us?"

Lance paused on the other end of the line. "It'll be tight, but we can make that work. The most important thing we can do is give you both an opportunity to address Cabot for who he is and as who you are. You deserve a chance to be the last Borealis descendants in that room, not just Captains Ketchum and Copland."

"That means a lot. Thanks, Lance," Aurian smiled.

Ash nodded. "Absolutely. Where and when?"

"Cement Castle, last room on the left. Are you able to come in formals?"

"We can try," Aurian shrugged.

"Good. Come as soon as you reasonably can. Dismissed."

Aurian pocketed her PokeGear as the call ended. "That's a surprise. I was banking on having at least another week."

"Oh, I bet he's hurting," Ash winced. "Especially after that shard hit him in the face. You think we took his eye out?"

"Probably."

Ash pulled his jacket on. "An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind."

"Until this vicious cycle ends, which is now," Aurian said, adjusting her jacket and holding the door open. "Let's do the Guild proud."

(A/N): Thank you for reading C32 of Primary Intentions! As always, special thanks to thechinskyguy for his spectacular betareading work. Go check out his work if you haven't already! See y'all on the flip side!