A/N:

Not too big of a chapter here, but a very important one nonetheless. Hope you all enjoy. And remember, for those of you who leave a review, you are eligible for one-shot requests.

Thanks to Orthros for beta-reading this chapter. Caught a really weird mistake where some paragraphs had merged into some ugly mess.

"…" - Spoken dialogue

Italics - Character thoughts

'Italics' - Telepathic dialogue

. . . . . - Time skip

/\/\/\ - Lemon Scene

Chapter 11

— — — — —

Selina

— — — — —

As the morning fog began to lift from Serenity River, the five members of Retribution strolled along the shoreline, looking for any signs of their rescue target who had last been seen in the area about a week ago. Poor Liam, though, was certainly outnumbered. With Lapras restricted to larger, connected bodies of water, and Marvin being as young as he was, Liam was now really the only male that could go on most missions with the others. And it looked like every other female member of the team had the morning free today…

"I cannot believe this furret has managed to get himself lost again," Eleanor stated. "Flora and I have already rescued him from this place before."

"Must be a glutton for punishment then," Liam replied. "Guess we should just turn around and forget about this whole thing."

"Haha, very funny," the cresselia replied sarcastically. "Of course, if he'd gotten lost out here a dozen times, you wouldn't have the heart to say no to the rescue request."

"You don't think so?" Liam asked.

"Oh I know so."

As the two of them playfully bantered back and forth, Rachel led the way, staying mostly focused on the task at hand. Selina and Flora paced behind the others, with the shaymin occasionally laughing as a result of her teammates' silliness. The umbreon treaded in the shallow water, enjoying the cool tide impacting her feet.

"He's quite a character," Flora whispered, referring to Liam.

"Yeah, I know. Quite a handful too," the umbreon replied.

"Oh I know. It makes him more fun, don't you think? I never know what on Earth he's about to do."

"That makes two of us," Selina said.

"That was what kept going through my head back when I first met the two of you. He's always been fun to be around, but I can't for the life of me understand him."

"What do you mean?"

"He can just flip on a whim. One minute he'd be doing some public deed without looking for recognition, then the next he'd be paying someone off to rig the debates. He can go from that playful, sweet act to downright nasty, then back again…"

"Yeah but only when it comes to criminals," Selina stated. "And he's conditioned to those types of people. He's never so much as looked at me the wrong way…"

"Well of course he'd never show you his bad side."

"Have you seen it then?" the dark-type inquired. The two of them paid mind to keep their voices down, and checked to make sure their words were between them only.

"No, not really, not aside from all that underhanded business," Flora said. "But I'm just saying that if he had a bad side, then he'd make sure never to show it to you, hence why he was sneaking around so much during the election under our noses. And he didn't seem pissed at all when Eleanor confronted him, but all you had to do was ask sweetly for him to tell, and you had him spilling everything. Admit it, you've got that lucario wrapped around your paw." Selina hadn't thought about it like that at all.

"But I would never consider manipulating Liam…" Even thinking of such a thing sickened her.

"Oh no, I'm not saying you would. I'm just…" Her eyes darted forth once more, before her voice assumed an even quieter whisper. "Liam absolutely adores you. He'd do anything for you." Of course, she knew that. But hearing someone else that knew the two of them say it, Selina couldn't help but blush at the implications. At least her dark fur hid any outward signs of embarrassment. "I'm jealous though," Flora added. "I wish I had a guy that felt the same way about me. I've been trying with Tristan, but… he hasn't really reciprocated."

"Wait… you think that… Liam has those kinds of feelings for me?"

"You're kidding, right?" Selina had come to a halt, simply staring back at the shaymin.

"N-no…"

"Arceus Selina, you can't really expect me to believe you haven't picked that up by now…" Flora seemed completely unhumored by the topic at hand. Meanwhile, the umbreon didn't know what to make of any of this. Surely Flora would never seek to mislead her…

"But… what makes you think that?" she asked.

"Well let's see… the way he lights up when you're around is a pretty good start. And you two share a house. Or how about the fact that you two are practically fondling each other all the time?"

"W-what?! We have never done anything of the sort!"

"Oh, you two aren't always as secretive as you think. I've seen the way you two hug, and it's not the way that friends do."

"Liam and I have always had a great relationship. We've been to hell and back together. Of course we have a very intimate bond. But that doesn't mean anything of that nature has gone on!" Selina said.

"Not yet. But my guess is that it will."

"N-no. Liam and I aren't like that…"

"Mhm. You just keep telling yourself that. But don't be surprised when you find the two of you locked together, if ya know what I mean." Selina splashed water in her friend's face, but only received a series of high-pitched laughs in response. "Stop it," she said through her giggles, "you know it's true!"

"You're messed up!" the dark-type said in embarrassment. Thank Arceus that Liam and the others were out of hearing range. Selina couldn't even imagine trying to get her way out of a situation like that. Then again, Liam would be equally as humiliated.

"Mmm, alright."

"I'm serious! I better not hear that you went and put these kinds of ideas in the others' heads!"

"I don't need to," Flora countered. "Everyone that knows you two is thinking the same thing."

"Well then they're all wrong - and you are too! Liam is my best friend, but our relationship isn't that kind…"

"Alright, alright, I'll drop it."

"Good," Selina said, before changing the subject. "Now about you and Eleanor…"

"Hmm? What about us?" the shaymin inquired, thankfully not pressing the issue any further.

"Now that the election's over, will the two of you resume rescue missions?" asked Selina.

"Of course. Though I may end up taking a trip back home before long. It's been awhile since I've seen everyone, and I'm sure they'd all love to see you guys."

"That would be nice. Shaymin Village was beautiful last time I saw it."

"What about you?" Flora inquired. "What are your plans now?"

"I guess for me, everything will go back to the way it was before. Maybe Rachel will take Tristan's place with Liam and I. There are always criminals out there, and it would be nice to have the extra help." And knowing what Rachel was capable of, that extra help would be a tremendous one at that.

"Right." Flora looked ahead of them, where Liam and the others conversed about a hundred feet ahead of them. "One thing I did want to ask you, though - about Liam."

"Please," Selina said, "don't—."

"No no no, nothing like that. I'm just wondering… what have his plans been? Surely he must have something in mind for getting back to the future. Then again, that's assuming that the future he came from still exists…" Flora shook her head. "Sheesh, time travel is confusing. But anyways, why hasn't he talked about any potential course of action?"

"We have talked about it, actually," Selina replied, earning a look of interest from the shaymin.

"Oh? Well what did he say?"

"He said it was probably impossible. Grovyle himself explained it. Time travel takes a massive toll on our bodies, and once you go through that portal so many times… well, eventually you can't do it anymore. Not alive, at least. Grovyle hit that limit, and Liam just about has too. I've only gone through once, but both Liam and Grovyle skipped around through those things a ton back when they were a team. If Liam goes through, there isn't any coming back. And that's assuming he would even survive."

"Wow, that has to suck," Flora said.

"Yeah, but it's still impossible. The future that Grovyle came from no longer exists."

"True. But if it did?"

"Then Liam still wouldn't go," Selina replied.

"Really? That's interesting. But why?" Flora inquired.

"Because he wouldn't leave us to try and chase down memories that he no longer has. He cares for all of us too much for that. I find it touching."

"It is. Surprisingly so for a bounty hunter," she said with a laugh. Ahead of them, a feraligator had stepped from out of the water, followed by a pair of his pre-evolved forms. Selina began to pick up her pace, but Flora shook her head. The groups were speaking, but they couldn't hear what was said. It was clear that hostility was in the air, though, made even more apparent when the water-type struck out towards Liam. The male lucario responded immediately, sending an aura sphere into the reptile's face, following it up with a swift shin to the groin. As Eleanor and Rachel dealt with the other two, Flora just looked over towards Selina, amused by the whole situation. "And now back to a menacing machine of war."

"Yeah, he can change at the blink of an eye. But that guy deserved it…"

"Of course. I guess I'll fly outta here and get the officers…"

— — — — —

Tristan

— — — — —

"Listen, I can't tell you how much I appreciate all this…" said the typhlosion.

"No problem Aidan," replied Tristan. "I may be good at managing money, but I need all the help I can get. And you are even more qualified in that field than I am. Having you around would only be sensible."

"I'll do my best to help where I can."

"Well then, funny thing about that," Tristan said with a smile, "I might be in need of your assistance within the next day or so."

"Really? What do you have going on?"

"The police force here - they need some serious remodeling. They couldn't fight their way out of a bar, much less against honed outlaws. Retribution would have to beat them unconscious for the police to be able to handle them. I want more capable people defending our town, or at least to make the current officers more capable."

"Ah, I see. And it's going on while you seek to expand the farms, too," Aidan replied.

"Exactly. Now the budgets for this month and next are all devoted to that and general provisions for the town, so I could use some help in getting everything taken care of."

"That's a difficult one. And you said all of the budget is in use, correct?"

"Practically all of it."

"There are a couple of solutions that come to mind. When we've got more time, I'll sit down with you and the elders and lay out a few solutions. Right now, though, I have to tend to my mate. She has been a bit under the weather as of lately."

"Of course. I would never seek to impend you in that. I will speak more with you about it tomorrow. You go ahead and take care of her."

"Alright. Thank you once again for the position." Aidan shut the door behind him, leaving the luxray to himself. Alright, now that that's done… There were a couple of things still on the agenda for today, and he was secretly hoping for it to all be over. Of course, he knew the position would be a lot of work when he started. But in order to be the kind of leader that people respected, he had to put in far more hours. When he had done missions for a living, the workload alternated between off days and high intensity pursuits of outlaws. Now, however, he had to give each and every day the same amount of effort he had when he was a bounty hunter.

Next stop is the café, Tristan thought as he set off. Though the sun would be setting in a few hours, he had forgotten to eat throughout the day, as the various matters that he needed to tend to had demanded his full attention. He had done enough to deserve at least a little break, especially considering he had gotten everything in order to complete the farm expansions.

As Tristan was walking through the streets full of people looking to do their final shopping for the day, he secretly enjoyed the looks of respect that he received from them. Many of these very people would not have even recognized him prior to his victory. It was an open secret that when someone mentioned the words "Team Retribution," they really meant three people: Liam, Selina, and Eleanor. But now, everyone knew who he was, and they would all see what he was capable of.

It was on his way past the town square when Tristan noticed a rather frantic looking fennekin on the side of the road. He walked over to the small fox and smiled.

"Hello little one. Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," he said with a small nod, "I was here with my mom… but I can't find her now…"

"Where were you when you two got separated?" Tristan asked.

"Right over there, sir," the fennekin said, pointing with his tiny paw towards the bank.

"I'll tell ya what, we can probably find her easier if we team up. Does that sound good?" The fire-type nodded with a smile. "Great. And what's your name, by the way?"

"Aaron…"

"Awesome name. Alright, if you would, just hop on." Aaron laughed, but did as he was told and climbed onto the luxray's back. "Now your mother is a delphox, right? Or maybe a braixen?" he asked as the fennekin on top of him tried to situate himself.

"She's a delphox."

"Well there are only so many of those around, and I doubt she went too far once she realized you were no longer with her." Tristan scanned over the crowd, though he didn't quite see the female fire-type anywhere. He did, however, notice dozens of humored looks from the townspeople upon seeing their leader serve as a steed for the child on his back. To be fair, it probably does look funny… He decided to just roll with it and smile back, finding the humor in the situation.

"Huh, we've come pretty far this way," Tristan said, having passed the bank a minute ago. "I think we should turn around."

"Okay," Aaron replied. Going by the tone of his voice, he was enjoying the ride.

About ten minutes had passed with him searching just about everywhere in town. But eventually he made eye contact with the fire-type he was looking for, who immediately ran towards the two of them.

"Oh thank Arceus!" she said. "Where in the world did you head off to?! I was worried sick!"

"I'm sorry mom," Aaron said, hopping off of Tristan's back. "I didn't mean to get lost…"

"I'm just glad you're safe. And you," she said, diverting her attention towards the luxray, "I can't thank you enough. I knew I made the right choice voting for you. You are a true leader." She hugged him without reservation, and Tristan smiled in response.

"It wasn't a problem at all, ma'am. I'm just glad I could help."

As he left for his next destination, which now would no longer be the café on account of the time, Tristan couldn't help but smile.

— — — — —

Liam

— — — — —

"Maybe this time he'll manage to stay out of trouble," the cresselia said. They had just finished up with the police, who had taken the feraligator and his crew into custody. As things had turned out, that particular gang had been known to ambush travelers, so Retribution was able to collect the bounty in addition to the reward money for the initial mission.

"I doubt it," Liam said. "Odds are he'll decide that he's got it all figured out in about another month or so, and then he'll venture out somewhere else and get his ass lost again. Seems to be in the furret's blood."

"Oh well. At least we managed to bring in a few outlaws," Eleanor said.

"Yeah, there's that." Liam was looking towards the water-types as they were loaded into the cages. Selina was off by the side of the river, looking out at the calm, afternoon scenery ahead of them. Ever since they had started the mission, she had been keeping to herself - something that wasn't like her in the slightest. Now that there was actually a free moment, Liam decided to go speak with her. "Hey," he said, taking a seat beside her in the sand.

"Oh, hey Liam," she replied.

"Everything okay? You've been distant all morning."

"Of course. I've just been kinda deep in thought…"

"Alright then." He remained silent for a second, looking out across the river. Of course, curiosity got the better of him. "You gonna tell me what about?"

"Mmm, nope. Not this time, nosy," she laughed.

"Oh really? Well like you always say, I'm gonna find out sooner or later. We live together, after all."

"Probably so. Arceus help me when that happens."

"Is something the matter though? You know you can always talk to me," the lucario said.

"That's not always the case," Selina admitted. "But I wish I could…"

"Why can't you?" he inquired.

"It's… awkward. Questions that I don't even wanna ask myself. I'd honestly rather try and think it over on my own." Liam nodded, not pressing the issue any further.

"Okay. Well if it helps take your mind off things, we could grab something to eat when we get back. Spinda's should be open then." She nodded, though an uncertain smile was on her face.

"Sounds like a plan Liam…"

"So anyways," he said, changing the subject, "are you excited for the trip?"

"Absolutely. We always have fun over there," Selina said. "Though now that I think about it, do you think there's anything wrong with us going back to the Hidden Land?"

"I dunno. I mean if Dialga had a problem with it, I guess he'd have said something to us. But he's only been happy to see us each time."

"Yeah. I was just kinda wondering. I mean the place was sealed off for a reason…"

"So they could keep troublesome people like yourself out?" he joked. She head-butted him harshly in the side, and he braced his paw to keep from falling over.

"I'll show you trouble," she said, joining in his laughter. As she nudged him, all he could think about was how sweet and melodious her laughter was. Sure, he'd heard it countless times before, but he hadn't really stopped and focused on it. While his mind was occupied, he let his guard down and proceeded to get shoved onto the ground. "See? That's what you get!"

"It's alright," he said. "Has anyone ever told you that you have the prettiest laugh?" The statement had come out of nowhere, shocking Liam himself just as much as it did the umbreon in front of him. Her playful demeanor having vanished, she averted her gaze timidly.

"N-no… I've never heard that before…" He mentally scolded himself for saying something so awkward, having not though about his words before he had said them. "But… that's really sweet of you, Liam…"

"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to make things awkward, I just…"

"…Just what?" she asked quietly.

"I… I don't know. Just forget about that little comment…"

"Oh, alright then…" Liam diverted his focus towards the now-imprisoned outlaws, one of which undoubtedly was still feeling the results of the run-in with the lucario. "I kicked him pretty damn hard," he joked. "He probably swallowed his balls after that."

"Liam!" Selina said, smacking him on the side.

"Ugh, sorry. Keep forgetting Tristan ain't here. Can't talk to you gals the same way I could to him…"

"Yeah, got that right," she stated. "And besides… I don't even know if they have… well, you know…"

"Beats me," he said with a shrug. "Guess they might be inside?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Why on Earth are we talking about feraligator genitals?"

"What do you mean 'why?' You started it!" The umbreon replied.

"Maybe. Anyways, your turn to change the topic." She rolled her eyes, then looked back out over the river. A few of the local bug-types could be seen hovering lazily over the water. Most of them were clearly mated pairs, enjoying the nice afternoon with one another.

"You know, I actually have been kinda wondering something. Something I've never really heard you talk about."

"Oh? You know as much about me as I do," he joked. "But what is it?"

"Well… being a human and all…" she began, "your customs…"

"I mean I don't even know that much," Liam replied.

"Right. Well… are you planning on settling down?"

"I already have though. We're pretty well stationed here."

"No no, not like that," Selina said. "I mean really settle down. Like with a family and all."

"You all are as much of family as a guy could ask for," the lucario replied.

"That's not what I meant either. I mean like take up a mate." Liam tilted his head curiously, not really knowing the answer to that question. He may have asked himself the same thing a time or two before, but it had always resulted in him not coming to a conclusion. "I was just thinking. You know, being a human and all…"

"Yeah, I gotcha. I haven't really found an answer to that myself," he admitted. "I don't know what I'm after, honestly. Other than staying here and helping lead Retribution. But a mate? Would humans even be into pokémon like that? I mean my kind is a completely different species…" He thought it over to himself, and it did seem kind of weird. Though he didn't even remember what a human looked like. "But, on the other hand, it's not uncommon to find different species of pokémon together. Hell, some species practically have to do that."

"I wouldn't think it's weird," Selina said. "But then again, I don't really know a thing about humans."

"Guess it's just another thing on the list of stuff I'll never know," Liam stated. "But I guess I'll have to make that choice one day. That or just remain single forever."

"I'm sure the day will come, and you'll know what to do then," replied Selina.

"Probably. For now, though, I'm content with you all." Hearing footsteps approaching from behind them, both Liam and Selina looked back to find Rachel approaching them.

"Hey guys," she said. "I was already heading over here. Didn't want you all to think I was eavesdropping, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation."

"So you were totally eavesdropping then," Liam said.

"Err… no…"

"I'm just messing with ya. Join us." The female lucario sat down to his right, mindful to keep her distance. "Arceus, I'm not gonna bite you," he joked. She laughed and edged herself a bit closer. "So what's up?"

"I heard what you two were saying, and I got to wondering. You aren't going back to being human, right Liam?" He shook his head.

"Doesn't look like it's possible."

"Well then don't you think it's time to accept the fact that you'll be living the rest of your life as a pokémon? I definitely don't see any humans around, so if you want to find a mate, then you'll have to look outside of your species."

"Yeah, figured that much."

"Like I said, you would do well to learn how to live as a lucario. You may be the same person that you were before, but you are now a member of this species. And not to sound annoying… but you're a bit behind in that regard. I mean heck, even I am, being seventy seasons old and not having settled down with a mate. And you're older than I am. Granted, there's far more to being a lucario than settling down as fast as possible. We're generally very selective when it comes to picking a mate."

"Lucario or not, I'm not in a rush. Not for that at least. But I do need to get better at being one."

"Maybe. But I don't want you to change who you are," Selina said.

"Oh I won't," he stated.

— — — — —

Selina

— — — — —

The café was mostly empty, with only ten or so people in it at the time. Liam and Selina had picked a small table in the corner, and the two had laughed and carried on well past midnight. It wouldn't be long before Spinda closed up shop, but they didn't seem to be mindful about that right now. And between the two of them, only one was sober. Though a drunken lucario was a funny sight to see, Selina made a mental note to let Spinda have it later; he knew damn well when Liam was stumbling up to the bar that he'd had enough. But seeing as to how the bartender had had very few customers that night, he had probably been ready to accept whatever money he could make. At the expense of Liam's sense of balance… Well at least they would be walking home together…

"And then…" Liam said, with tears in his eyes, "he told me he'd brought a cage!" The lucario burst out into laughter once again, finding even the slightest thing funny. She was laughing too, but more so at his current demeanor right now. Though she'd already heard the story before - not that he was aware of that in this state.

"Liam… you're terribly drunk…"

"I know!" he said excitedly. She couldn't help but giggle at that response.

"I think we need to get you home before you make any more a fool of yourself."

"Probably a good idea." He hopped off of the stool and stumbled forward, catching the edge of the table before he fell onto it. "See? No problem."

"If you say so…" She walked towards his side, ready to catch him if he tipped over. And that was more than likely to happen on their way back.

The stairs took awhile, and served to both humor and annoy the umbreon. Just when he would make his way up a few, he'd begin to back down once again. But slowly they made their ascent - fortunately with nobody else watching. The most powerful bounty hunter in the country couldn't be seen like this. Well, not by anyone aside from her, at least.

"Oooooh," he said, drawing his words out. "That's pretty." He was looking at the radiating rings on her body.

"Really? How many do you see?"

"Like… all of them."

"Six, from where you're standing," she said.

"Mmkay, whatever you saaaay!"

"Arceus, Liam," she said with a slight laugh. "We really need to get you home."

"But we're having so much fun," he said.

"Oh yes. And when you wake up tomorrow - not remembering any of this - I'm going to have a lot more fun making you relive it. But you're not going to pass out in the middle of the street on my watch."

"Ugh, fine. Now which way is it?"

"I'm leading the way for a reason."

"Yeah…" he looked around, unfamiliar with the town that he walked through just about every day. "Today was a good day!" he proudly exclaimed from out of the blue.

"Yes, I suppose it was." They had taken care of two things - both a mission and an outlaw gang. So they had definitely accomplished something.

"But then again, it's always a good day when you're around! I wouldn't be lying if I said I was in love with you, ya know." She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Wh-what?"

"Mmm, look at you acting all shy."

"Liam, you're drunk…"

"And you're adorable."

Thankfully, the rest of the walk home had gone nothing like that. Liam seemed to have forgotten he'd even said such a thing to begin with. The same could not be said for Selina.