A/N:

Hope you guys enjoy the latest chapter, as things are starting to really pick up in terms of the plot. Be on the lookout, particularly for the next two. It's getting somewhat obvious what's under way.

Also, keep in mind that following or favoriting this story, as well as posting a review, makes you eligible for a one-shot. Generally they're around 20K words or more.

Thanks to Orthros for the super fast editing services!

"…" - Spoken dialogue

Italics - Character thoughts

'Italics' - Telepathic dialogue

. . . . . - Time skip

/\/\/\ - Lemon Scene

Chapter 13

— — — — —

Rachel

— — — — —

"Right in here!" the flaaffy said hastily. "He needs help, please hurry!"

"I know, I know - you've said it like twenty times already," Rachel said. "We're going."

"How bad is it?" Eleanor asked. "Have you set the bone or anything?"

"N-no," she replied, "I don't know how to - that's why I came to you all!"

"Alright, I just wanted to know. Flora, do you mind keeping Marvin company while we tend to him?" The aid that they provided could very well be a gruesome sight, and one that they would prefer to keep the young manaphy's eyes away from.

"Fine, I'll take up babysitting duty," the shaymin said with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey!" Marvin said.

"Only kidding, sweetie. I'm sure we can find something fun to do while the others play doctor." Rachel led the way into the cave, followed by Eleanor and Bianca. Inside, they saw an ampharos with his back to the wall. His left leg was noticeably broken, swollen and inflamed around his thigh, and it was evident that he'd been unable to withhold all of the tears.

"Dang," Rachel said, "this doesn't look good at all."

"I know," Bianca said. "What can you do?!" Eleanor looked at the female lucario and just shook her head.

"I'm afraid there isn't too much we can do, other than transport him back to town. Doctors there will be able to help him far more than we can."

"Well we could at least set the thing before we take him. We'll need to make a brace for it."

"Do you know how to do that?" the cresselia asked.

"Yeah. Since it's his femur, I'll need to make a brace that he can put most of his weight on. Unless of course, you'd like to carry him the entire way."

"I do not know if I can, even with my power. Proceed," Eleanor said.

"Okay, I need you to go outside and get me a bunch of sticks - like a little bit longer than his leg, and as thick as my paw, if you can." Eleanor nodded and flew out of the cave, leaving Rachel with the two electric-types. She examined the wound, and from the looks of it, it was probably a severe transverse fracture.
"How did this happen?" she asked the ampharos.

"We were climbing down - we were careful and all. But I tripped and fell down…"

"He fell like twenty feet!" Bianca exclaimed.

"I tried stopping myself. If I'd fallen over the next cliff…"

"You would've died," Rachel said. From where they were, it was at least a hundred foot drop to the ground. "You made the right call. Better your leg than your life."

"You mean I'm going to lose the leg?!" Gavin asked frantically.

"No, no - you'll be fine in a few months," she said.

"Oh thank Arceus," the flaaffy stated.

"But you definitely could've gotten it worse. You're lucky it's not comminuted."

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"When the bone breaks and splinters everywhere. Yours just broke right across - that's easily fixable. Comminuted fractures, not so much. So I'm going to make you a brace that we can use to help get you back to Treasure Town."

"But we're from Capim…" he replied.

"And that is another day's walk. At your pace, unassisted, it would take you a week to make that, so we'll have to make do. Do you two have any money on you? Or anyone related to you in Treasure Town?"

"N-not really. I'm afraid we don't have much on us at the moment," Bianca said. Great. "Are you… do you all need payment?"

"No, that's not what I'm getting at," Rachel said. "We don't charge. At least, not for stuff like this. I do collect bounties, but this is anything but. What I was getting at was whether or not you two have a place to stay."

"Oh…" Bianca said. "Well, no… not really." The lucario sighed quietly to herself.

"Alright, you two can stay at my house until further notice," Rachel said.

"Really?" the ampharos asked. "Well… we really appreciate that."

"We'll figure that stuff out later. For now, let's see what we can do." Eleanor had returned with a large collection of sticks, and the lucario went about sorting through them. She selected a few that were of decent enough length to make a temporary brace.

"Wait… won't we need something to bind them together with?" Eleanor asked.

"Already got it covered. One of the things I've learned to never leave without is rope." She gently stretched out the ampharos' injured leg and positioned a stick on each side, roughly measuring everything out before going to work.

— — — — —

Flora

— — — — —

"Well is it that big tree over there?" she asked.

"Nope, you're getting colder," said Marvin. She had all but listed every green thing in sight and was running out of ideas. "I'll give you a hint - it's touching the water."

"Hmm… is it those lily pads over there?"

"Oh, you're on the right track!" the manaphy stated. "Now which one?"

"Are you kidding me right now? There's like four hundred of the things! You can't just make it so that I have to find the specific one that you're looking at!"

"Okay, okay, fine. It was that one right there - the one kinda floatin' out in the middle of nowhere." She could see which one he was talking about, but it would've taken her at least ten minutes to guess it.

"Alright then, my turn."

"Nah, this is getting kinda boring. Let's do something else." Flora rolled her eyes in response.

"Okay, fine. Whatcha wanna do?"

"I dunno. Talk?"

"About what?" she asked.

"Oh, how about Mom and Dad? How do you think they're doing?" The shaymin shrugged. They were definitely still at sea, as the journey took about four days without a rush.

"I guess they're good. I dunno. But from what I understand, Liam doesn't really like sailing. Makes him kinda dizzy, not to mention he's surrounded by all that water. Hero of the continent, and can't swim to save his very life…"

"Oh. That's sad," Marvin said. "When do you think they'll let me go on that trip?"

"Well honey… this is kinda something they do on their own. Like a little getaway, if you will. But they also go for a few other reasons. You are aware of what happened before you were born, right?"

"Yeah, they went over there and saved the world!" he exclaimed. It was adorable how proud he was of his adoptive parents, in the shaymin's opinion.

"Well yes. But there was a lot more that went on there." She was surprised that Liam and Selina hadn't really gone over what all had happened at the Hidden Land, and she contemplated whether or not it was really her place to disclose such information.

"Well? You gonna tell me?" he asked. She sighed.

"Alright, but this just stays between the two of us. Can you do that for Aunt Flora?"

"Of course!"

"Okay. So Liam and Selina went there about half a year before you hatched. But they weren't the only ones to go - they had another friend."

"Ohhh… Who was it?"

"A guy that just went by Grovyle. But… he didn't make it. Just like Liam, he came from the future, and the time came for him to go back. And now… the future he came from doesn't exist… He's… gone for real."

"Oh no…" The young manaphy looked out over the river, as if trying to imagine the events himself. "Wait a second… how is Dad still here then?"

"Now you've put it together," she said quietly. "Liam… he disappeared too. The two of them stopping Dialga from going primal made it so that he was erased from time. He was dead for a few months…"

"What?! But…" He looked just as confused as she imagined he would.

"But Dialga took pity on Selina, and bent the fabric of time itself to bring him back."

"Wow. That's really cool, I guess. But Mom… she must have felt awful."

"It was before I joined them too, so I didn't witness anything. But from what I heard… she was going off the deep end. Liam was her entire world, and she wasn't coping well without him. I know she wasn't eating much at all during that time, and… from what I understand… she cried a lot."

"Aww… Now you're making me feel all sad…"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I felt like you kinda deserved to know what happened. But I mean it - this better stay here. Selina hates bringing up that stuff." The manaphy nodded.

"I bet. But I promise, Aunt Flora, I won't say a word. But… I've got other questions. Mom and dad, ya know… they don't make a lot of sense…"

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"I mean they don't… they aren't like all my friends' parents."

"Oh… you mean that. Well… truth be told… they aren't really mates, you see."

"But… that's so weird!" he said, half to himself. "What kind of parents aren't mates?"

"Ugh, it's kinda complicated. But both of them love you very much. That's all that matters, right?" He nodded.

"I guess so…" He looked at her, and it was clear that he was contemplating whether or not to ask her something else.

"What is it, honey?"

"Do you uhh… think that they love each other?"

"I…" she looked around to make sure that they were still alone. Rachel and Eleanor must have still been inside the cave, tending to Gavin's leg. "I think so… for sure…" she whispered. "But you didn't hear that from me! I mean it!"

"Haha, alright!" And the words had been exchanged just in time, too. Both of them turned around upon hearing the stumbling behind them. The ampharos was walking on his makeshift brace, albeit awkwardly.

"I think I'm… getting the hang of this…" he said.

"Yes, honey, I think you are." Bianca said. "Now do you think you'll be able to make all the way back? It's almost a day's walk…"

"Of course! It'll take more than a broken bone to stop me!" The flaaffy rolled her eyes.

"Oh, whatever," Bianca said. Rachel and Eleanor had joined the others outside, ready to pitch in and help in the case that he fell. Flora got back on her feet and stretched out, secretly hoping that Marvin wouldn't accidentally spill on what all she'd said. Not that any of it was too secretive; practically everyone knew this stuff. But she could only imagine how much Selina would chew her out for saying those things to Marvin.

"I think we may be able to get home before nightfall," Eleanor said. "In any case, I would say that it's about time for us to head out."

— — — — —

Lapras

— — — — —

The water-type glided against the gentle waves, and the temperature was just about perfect for such a voyage. So far, the weather had been smooth and consistent, and the three friends were enjoying it thoroughly. Given the speed that he was currently going, they would arrive at the Hidden Land within another two days. Well, he could go faster, but it'd be a challenge for his two passengers to hang on. So Lapras maintained the speed that would get them to the Hidden Land in decent time, but also wouldn't fling the lucario and umbreon off into the water behind him. Though on the downside, there wasn't a whole lot to do, other than talk.

"No, Dialga controls time, so he's immune to it. Wouldn't he be like… at all points in time at once?" Liam asked.

"I don't… follow what you're saying," Selina replied.

"He's saying that Dialga always exists, and he's constantly in the past, the present, and the future," Lapras said.

"Ohh…"

"Or at least, that's what I think," Liam said. "Of course, I'm not a multi-dimensional being, so I don't really know for sure. I guess we'll just have to ask him when we get there."

"Sounds like a plan," Selina said. "I actually got something I wanna ask, too."

"Really? What is it?" the lucario asked.

"Well, Dialga knows the future, right?" Liam nodded. "I mean, he practically guides it. But your visions… I guess… I just want to know how they would have come to pass. What sort of events would've had to happen for a future like that to occur."

"Huh, now that you mention it, I'd like to hear that myself. I haven't had any of those visions for some time now. But it is kinda weird, you know, being that the Dimensional Scream wasn't ever wrong before. Now we've gone and kinda forced it to be wrong, so there's that I guess."

"I wonder… just maybe… Do you think that Grovyle might still be alive?" she asked, changing the subject. "I mean… you are…" Liam looked out over the ocean, then shook his head with a laugh.

"I doubt it. I'm pretty sure I was dead for that time… Now I didn't find myself going to the afterlife, so maybe I was destined to come back here. But I was a weird case. Grovyle's entire future was erased, but I had to already be tied to more than one time period. I mean… how else would I have such an ability?"

"Maybe Dialga might have an answer," Lapras said. "That'll give you two something to look forward to on your journey."

"Yeah," Liam said, "right after we visit a grave, too."

"Well, it could be worse. At least you're able to go on this trip to begin with," Lapras said. "I mean, I remember back when Selina and I were the only ones riding back…"

"Don't you start on that," the umbreon said.

"Oh yeah," the water-type said, "I forgot. Touchy subject."

"But why?" Liam asked. "I'm here, and things are fine. No need to be upset over that."

"It's not… you, Liam," she said. "It was just a really rough time for me… I'd prefer not to remember it, that's all…" Lapras nodded, knowing exactly what she was talking about. Once Liam was out of the picture, things had gone downhill for the umbreon. He wasn't aware all the details of it, but he had seen her that one night at Sharpedo Bluff, far too close to the edge for his comfort. Lapras didn't know for sure what her intentions were, but it wasn't long after that when Liam had showed back up, and nothing of the sort had happened since.

"Aw, well don't you worry about a thing. I'm not going anywhere now. I'm pretty set right here with you," Liam said. The water-type couldn't see the two of them, but he could feel the lucario shuffle over a bit, probably to hug the dark-type.

"You know, the two of you better not start anything on my shell," Lapras joked.

"H-Hey!" Selina said, causing him to laugh.

"Anyways… how have things gone with Rachel? I haven't seen her on any missions," Lapras said. "Really, only seen her around the campfire. But she does seem nice enough."

"She's been a big help ever since she joined," Liam said. "Right now, she's out there with Flora and Eleanor doing a rescue mission. And of course, you know of her involvement in the election."

"Yes, of course," he replied.

"She's far more skilled than I'd originally thought, and even when she joined I knew she was something special, to have gotten that rank on her own. Being a one-man army is incredibly dangerous, and if you get defeated in hostile territory… there's no telling what might happen, especially to a female…"

"That is true," Selina said.

"But aside from that, she's been helping me on several occasions, teaching me to be more like a lucario. I'm not about to change who I am, but it's nice to know what other members of my species are like. That and she helps me some with combat. She's got a very precise style, that's for sure, and you've gotta stay on your toes if you wanna avoid getting swept off of them," Liam said with a laugh. "But I've been teaching her a thing myself. She's taken up an interest in learning how to throw iron spikes."

"Wh-what?" Selina asked. "She… has?"

"Yep. Is there something weird about that?" Liam asked.

"N-no… I just… thought that maybe she would have… already known how to?" The umbreon sounded uncertain, and unconvincing, but it seemed like one of those things that would be better left ignored. Selina wasn't the type to deal well with questioning, and she'd always act nervous if in the case that she was trying to keep something to herself.

"Well, you gotta start somewhere, I guess," Lapras said. "Maybe it was just seeing Liam always walk around with a sash full of them. It does look rather tough, if I may say so myself."

"That's kinda along the lines of what I was thinking," the lucario said. "Anyways, it's a good skill to have. A well placed thorn is far more effective than a normal attack."

"Yeah, if you intend on impaling the enemy."

"Well," Liam said with a shrug, "some people deserve to be impaled, I guess."

"Like that Kraven…" Lapras said.

"Oh, he got his. He was taken back to the Air Continent and executed for his crimes. Alakazam sent me the letter breaking everything down. I'm glad they were able to help take him in."

"It's sad that it has to be like that," Selina said.

"I know. But someone as bad as he was… he doesn't have much of a place in society. And I don't think it's fair, either, for everyone to have to float the bill for him to stay in prison. He got what he deserved. Maybe if he didn't want to be executed, then he wouldn't have terrorized people around the world for the sake of money. Even Eleanor - a direct agent of Arceus - was ready to take Darkrai's life. It's unfair to allow innocent people to die just because one can't accept that sometimes, it's best to take a life to save countless others."

"I understand," Lapras said. "And I know that Darkrai must have been bad for Eleanor to be ready to do that. She detests violence, let alone killing."

"Oh I know. I've already gotten a few of her lectures as to why I should bring them all in and let the law deal with it," Liam said. "Of course, she hounded me after Venom. She says that it was well within my power to take them all in, but I'm not about to risk injuring myself to protect someone who's gonna be killed once they're taken in anyway. That just doesn't make much sense to me." He got onto his feet, stretching out after having sat for a few hours. The lucario nearly tripped on one of his shell's spikes, causing the other two to laugh at his near fall into the water. It was a welcome change of tone, at least, given the previous topics.

"Well it sounds like everything is working out just fine, then," Lapras said. "Of course, I'd come on more of the missions with you all, but as you can see, my body is not particularly designed for land."

"Ah, you know, you could just kinda drag yourself along behind us," Liam joked. "Dang, that'd be a funny sight to see." Selina giggled at the thought of it, and Lapras admittedly found it pretty funny as well.

"Would it be as funny as seeing a lucario try to swim all the way to the Hidden Land?" Lapras asked.

"Sure, especially when he sinks like a rock!" Selina said.

"Hey now, I can swim well enough…"

"Yeah, if you count thrashing around helplessly as swimming," the umbreon teased.

"Well I can't help the fact that I'm a steel type," he said in his defense. "I mean, in case you didn't notice, we don't exactly float…"

"I would still try to learn, if I were you," Lapras said. "I can't imagine that it would be good if you were to fall into water on a mission."

"Oh, it would be awesome," Selina said. "See, I'd get to paddle out there and save him, and he'd be all embarrassed and try to think up some excuse…" Lapras laughed from the thought, knowing that such a thing would be well within the lucario's nature.

It wasn't long before the orange skies turned dark, and the water-type slowed to a stop, floating atop the still seas. After they had all eaten, they made their preparations to settle down for the night. Liam and Selina had used the small travel bags as makeshift pillows, and Lapras listened to the gentle breeze as the two of them eventually fell asleep beside one another.

— — — — —

Tristan

— — — — —

Raymond and his associates were mainly going over attacks and their respective typings, all while the officers, old and new alike, listened intently. The salamence clearly knew what he was talking about, and Tristan found himself enjoying the way he was able to conduct himself. He seemed to be a real figure of authority, both derived from his power and his experience. That was something he himself was going to need to get better at.

So far, everyone liked him for who he was. Tristan had worked himself to the bone to serve the people as well as possible, and he was always trying to make the inhabitants of Treasure Town happy with his devotion. But there was more to leadership than simply being a nice person, and that much he knew for certain. Tristan needed to increase his charisma, as currently, it seemed as though he was considered as a nice, neighborly person. The position of Advisor, though, was one of power and respect, and had been throughout the town's existence.

He shook his head. There he was, going off on a tangent when there was work to be done. Raymond had made the members of the magnemite family form into various positions, instructing them on formations that he had encountered from various police forces over the course of his travels. Tristan could see what he was doing, too, even being able to feel the results around him. The electromagnetic field in the area had grown significantly larger as they began conducting electric attacks, and it was an impressive feat on ingenuity that could both make their attacks more accurate and significantly more powerful.

"Enjoying yourself?" Rachel asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. This guy was well worth the money," he answered.

"Looks like it to me. He seems to only be focusing on the team aspect of things, though…"

"Well yeah. It's not like they're gonna be attacking outlaws on their own or anything," Tristan said.

"I know," Rachel countered, "but a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, right? They've gotta know how to each fight on their own, too."

"Well I guess that's next on the agenda. Right now though, this'll do. It's already a massive improvement over the mockery of a combat style they were using in the beginning."

"You know," the lucario continued, "I could help some in my spare time, too."

"Really? You could?" The luxray looked at her questioningly.

"Of course. That's my specialty, and the reason I was able to get the ranking I had. I do know what I'm doing," she laughed.

"I know that," Tristan said. "You kinda kicked Liam's ass, and I've never seen him lose a fight."

"Well that wasn't really a fight…" She laughed slightly, and he could see a smile on her face.

"Oh? Don't think I didn't see that," he said.

"See what?"

"You like him, don't you?" Tristan asked, grinning. "Yeah, you do! I knew it all along…"

"Hey, knock it off now!" she said in embarrassment. "Nobody needs to be hearing that." Rachel kept her focus on the training exercises ahead of her, and remained silent for a moment or two. But eventually she sighed. "…Alright… fine… maybe just a bit."

"Is that why you joined Retribution?" the luxray inquired.

"Well it definitely was something in mind at the time, but that wasn't my main reason. I did want to join the group, since it makes it a lot easier to take out more outlaws. This crew here can do three jobs in the time it'd take me to do one, not to mention the fact that going alone was always so dangerous. I know I don't look it, but… it made me scared at times."

"I don't doubt it," Tristan replied. "Lot of bad people out there."

"Yep," Rachel said, "that's the whole reason I have a job."

"Now back to Liam…"

"Ugh, you're gonna make me regret telling you, aren't you?"

"Nah, I won't tell anyone. But I'm surprised that you haven't said anything. You seem the type to have no problem speaking her mind and all…"

"I know," she admitted, "it's just… whenever I get around him, I become a little fidgety. There aren't too many of us around, and… well, you know what he did years ago. His reputation and all… and yet he's as nice as he is."

"Ah, he ain't all that nice," the luxray said with a laugh. "You should see how he treated that one guy last year who threatened to force himself upon Selina."

"Oh? What happened?" she asked.

"Liam told us to get the hell out, and he ended up stabbing him all up. I mean butchered him in all but a few seconds. Not to say the guy didn't deserve, since I'd have done the same thing in Liam's position. But holy shit… hearing that dude screaming out like that? And to see Liam walk out, more red than blue… Damn, it was a sight to see."

"Wow… he's really something," Rachel said. "He cares a lot for his team, it would seem."

"Yeah," Tristan replied, "he does. Anyways, if I were you, I'd go for it. What have you got to lose?"

"You know, I think I will," she said. "In about a month's time, that is…"

"They'll be back before you know it. Now I don't mean to cut our conversation short or anything, but…"

"No, it's not a problem at all," she said with a smile. "I know you've got stuff to attend to. I won't keep you any longer."

"Alright then. You gonna just sit there and watch 'em go at it?" he asked jokingly.

"Actually, I'm considering pitching in myself. It'll give me something to do between missions, and they sure could use it," Rachel stated.

"Well I'm sure the officers would appreciate it, given your level of skill. Now I've gotta go and meet Aiden. We've got a lot of planning to do, now that we've actually got some money to be working with. I'll see if I can set aside some time when you guys are also here. We should all grab dinner." He looked up at the mountain where his quarters were, having made very little use of his own house ever since he'd won the election. It was working him to death, alienating him from his friends. Perhaps if he managed time a little bit better, he could do stuff like that more often. "It's been awhile since we all got together. I'd like to do it more…"

"Well we all get it, with you being busy and all," Rachel said. "Now you best be off. If you need me for any reason at all, you always know where you can find me." He nodded, and, thanking her, Tristan left the station. It took only moments for thoughts of work to flood his mind. But this time, it was far larger than before.

Increasing the sizes of the fields had been a good call, and with the roads already under construction in each direction, a deal was in the process of being made, one that would take the entire town by surprise. Capim Town and Treasure Town were planning to unite into one general territory.

A few of their officials had met with Tristan's administration, impressed by the quick expansion of the town. Treasure Town's leap in agriculture would soon be enough to feed a population significantly larger than their current one, and that happened to be an area that Capim Town wasn't so fortunate in. While it supposedly wasn't a concern now, they did not have the capital to tend to these issues, and there had been talk of making a move like this in the past, from what the luxray had heard. Either way, it would work out well for Treasure Town, too. Capim, while lacking in the agriculture department, had large amounts of timber, as well as a few nearby iron mines. Not to mention that both settlements had equally ideal access to the sea, granting the possibility of water trade routes as well. But that stuff could be planned out thoroughly once the main agreement had been made.

Once he had reached the designated meeting spot - since their guests likely had no interest in hiking up a small mountain - Tristan spotted Aidan and walked up to him. They were a few miles west of the four-way road outside of town. For some reason, the typhlosion looked slightly nervous. "What's gotten you all worked up?" Tristan asked.

"Oh I don't know… I just wouldn't have thought that we'd find ourselves doing something so… well… big," he replied. "I mean, we're practically about to start a small state…"

"Well I've already seen the people that we're meeting with. They aren't anything to fret yourself over. Nice guys, too. But you can tell that they're desperate for this."

"Desperate? What do you mean?" Aidan asked.

"I mean that they need this union on account of their location. Mostly gravelly cliffs and some forests. There aren't too many places to build farms without leveling one of those two, and they're about to hit the point in which their population can't be fed by their fields. It's far more convenient - not to mention doable - for them to just join us. Of course, we'll probably want to do some more expansion for our own fields… again… but we've got the resources to accomplish that. And if not… well, Liam was a great help last month…"

"Was that where it came from?" Tristan looked around, seeing only the few designated members of his administration around, and out of hearing range.

"Yeah," the luxray said quietly. "He contributed the half that we couldn't come up with for the fields."

"Arceus…" Aidan said. "That was a lot of money…"

"It's nothing for him. If only you knew how rich that lucario was…" Tristan shook his head, but couldn't help but laugh at the predicament. "He's willing to be the safety net here. He really cares about this town, that's for sure."

"Yeah, well doesn't he own practically half of it?"

"Him? No, not that much. I'd say a third, but even then it's just the fact that he went and bought up the property that most of the businesses are sitting on, and flat out most of those businesses themselves. He's always generating money, even if he sits on his ass and does nothing."

"Well damn, it sounds to me like you should've hired him as a financial advisor," he joked.

"He wouldn't want it. Politics isn't really his thing. He'd rather go out and hunt down bad guys, and I can't fault him for that." The two of them joined with the others, and they all made small talk about the upcoming diplomatic move. With them were Kieran and Cecilia, as well as a few of the village elders. He had come to strongly rely on the bayleef, whose knowledge of botany was absolutely unrivaled by anyone he'd ever met. He had promoted her to the position of Administrator of Agriculture, and anything she needed, the luxray did his best to provide. Tristan had truly been surrounded by talented, experienced people, and for that he was grateful. As long as he used the skills and advice of those who were more knowledgeable than he, then it wouldn't be difficult at all to be revered as a great and effective leader.

"Looks like they're here," the raichu said.

"Arceus," Tristan joked, "did they bring the whole village?"

"Yeah, I'm already feeling a bit outnumbered here…" Aidan stated. The two groups met, and as it was discovered, the group from Capim Town consisted of all twelve members of their council.

"I'm seeing a few new faces, Tristan," the old torterra said.

"Yep, I could say the same. This is Aidan, my financial advisor, and Cecilia here runs all of the agriculture around these parts. I thought both of them would be relevant for the purposes of this discussion, along with, of course, the wisest within our town."

"Wait then, what does that make me?" Kieren asked.

"Comedic relief," Tristan joked, eliciting a laugh from those present. "Nah, but you're a massive help too. Got far more energy than I do."

"Now I can't help but wonder how we will go about transporting goods between the two towns," the old torterra, named Hughes, said.

"That's actually something I've given a great deal of thought towards. We have a series major road expansions planned, but perhaps we should focus most of those efforts Northeast towards you guys and put the others on hold. Then we could put aside what we would've spent on the other roads towards the development of a sea route for trade."

"All of that sounds very well thought out," Hughes said. "I would be lying if I were saying that we weren't in need of this agreement. Now I hate to be the one to ask something of the sort, and I had my reservations about making the request in our previous meeting, but is there any way we could begin trading at such proportions within the week? Our town will be in need of food soon, and rations are beginning to stretch thin."

"Oh? What happened?" asked Cecilia. "I thought… you all were self-sufficient last year… You shouldn't have gained that many people. What went wrong?"

"A landslide occurred," said a female ninetales. "It leveled a good portion of eastern fields right before we could harvest. We have had similar occurrences in the past, but none of these proportions."

"Over the hundreds of seasons that I have led my people, I have never had to face them about such a concern," the torterra said.

"You won't have to. Cecilia, we can get a crew together and set aside enough to feed their population, right?"

"Leave it to me, boss," she said. "We've got more than enough to cover our own and them some. Now about that road…"

"I fear that the road won't be constructed within the time needed for the transport, but we can have everything leveled in time for the shipment to arrive at Capim. At least, I think so…"

"Should be," Kieran said. "It's about a day's walk, right? If they need it within a week or so, I think we could easily set aside enough workers to clear the way."

"Yeah, I believe so," Tristan confirmed. "Y'alls population is a bit smaller than our own, and you've still got some fields that are yielding crop, correct?"

"Yes, that's right," Hughes said. "We have already planted once again for the next harvest. All we need is enough to make it through the season."

"We currently have around three thousand acres for grain, and another hundred for vegetables and berries. I'm not sure how much an acre will feed, but I feel like we've got enough to help out."

"Absolutely," Cecilia said. "With our dominion over plant-life, we can make an acre feed about fourteen or fifteen people. Well, that's if they're just eating bread, and of average size, but it's a start. If we need to support them for three months, then that would only require maybe two hundred or so acres to support their whole population for three months."

"Those numbers sound about right. At least, for estimates," Aidan stated. "Welp, I guess that takes care of that. Now about all this talk of the merge…"

"Yes, I do believe that it would benefit both towns," Hughes said.

"Agreed. I was thinking that we could establish some regular trade routes. Clearly we have the advantage in agriculture, and you all in mining and other raw resources. Bartering in such a manner would greatly help the both of us out. Now you all are looking to become a territory of Treasure Town, right? I am the Advisor here, so you all would be answering to me, but I'm not going to install people of my own into your town. I figure that you guys know far more about Capim than I do, so that's best just left alone."

"That is a wise move, Advisor," one of the elders, an older leafeon, said. "There is no need to fix that which does not need fixing."

"Of course not. Now I have been thinking… this is technically a state we're starting, right?"

"I would consider it to be that," said Kieren, "especially if other towns decide to join in a similar manner."

"So then we will need a name for this new state," Tristan replied. "Of course, that can be dealt with later. Right now, though, I'll have preparations made for the convoy back. Anyone got any questions?" The luxray looked around, and nobody spoke up. "Awesome. Now let's get to work."

— — — — —

Selina

— — — — —

The two of them watched as Lapras disappeared into the sunrise, having dropped them off a bit sooner than expected. A hefty bag had been strapped on her back, containing the thick-walled tent they would use when the weather would inevitably act up, while Liam carried all the provisions. She didn't know how on Earth such a place could manage to have such an array of bizarre weather patterns, but it surely did. It was nothing for it to go from sandstorms to hailing in the matter of a few hours, then to raining… But the trip had become a ritual of theirs, and despite the many difficulties of the Hidden Land, there was an undeniable beauty to all the chaos.

"Well, we're here…" Liam said.

"That we are," Selina replied. "I guess… are you ready to go?"

"Yep. Better cover some distance while it's decent out." She nodded, turning around to mystical land that they would soon be traversing. It wouldn't take too long to cross, but they had developed a specific route, one which minimized their exposure to the elements and allowed them to collect necessary provisions, along with allowing for some sightseeing. Though she wasn't as fond of that hike up the mountain as Liam was, she did have to admit that being able to see the entire island from one point was pretty neat.

A surreal breeze drifted through the Hidden Land, the timeless area smelling of the salt of the surrounding sea. She released a content sigh, the temperature being perfect for the start of their journey. Liam looked at her and smiled, before looking towards the path ahead. A small flutter within her, and she looked down, the very thoughts she had been struggling with starting to resurface. She tried to focus on the imprints her paws were making in the soft sand in an effort to distract her. She didn't want to wage this mental war with herself right now. "You okay?" he asked, not even having to turn around. "You got a bit jittery there."

"Of course. You just know how I am about heights and all…"

"Aw come on, we haven't even gotten near the tower yet."

"Yeah but… it's always frightening when we do…" the umbreon said, hoping to try and end it there.

"Well you know that I'll never let anything happen to you," Liam replied. "So you don't have to worry about a thing." Ugh, not helping, Liam… She shook her head, trying to regain her composure. But she knew fully well that this journey would be the hardest of them all. Not because of the weather, or the distance, but because of herself, and the multitude of ideas flooding her mind. Was she reading too much into things? Or perhaps not enough? The poor umbreon was about to drive herself mad with all of it, and despite everything, he seemed to be calm and collected. He almost always was. But as Eleanor had mentioned during the election, it was difficult to know what Liam was really thinking. Unless he snapped, then his thoughts and motives were difficult to determine, even for the umbreon.

The shoreline gave way to the soft, swaying grasslands that covered the majority of the island. A few of the locals gazed upon the duo, some of them knowing exactly who the pair was. Selina looked over to her right, where a pair of dragonairs sat, coiled beside each other. Between them was a single dratini, watching the two travelers with great interest. She smiled at him as she passed by.

As they ventured up the first of the rolling hills, she looked towards the tower. She couldn't yet see it, but it was always clear which direction it was in, with a large, mystical light radiating from each direction. And unlike those years ago, they would be welcomed warmly by the god of time. And unlike then, Liam was here to stay. She always did enjoy the trip, as it gave them a true period of relaxation. There was no rush to save the world, or anything else for that matter.

But despite the peaceful nature of their surroundings, Selina's mind could not stop racing. Perhaps the trip was just what she needed to calm her down. Or maybe, instead, it would give her more questions about her relationship with the lucario, being that he was her only companion for the month. She sighed quietly, not knowing what to make of anything right now. It was clear that the trip would be different than any of the ones before it.

Little did she know just how different.

And there we are. Please consider leaving a review if you'd like to voice your thoughts. Until next time.