A/N:

Another really important chapter here that hints at a lot of stuff. That's all I'll say about that.

Of course, there are the one-shot drawings that are available. If you follow/favorite the story, then you are able to make a request in the One-Shot Collection. Stories tend to be over 20K words.

Special thanks to Orthros for beta reading the chapter!

"…" - Spoken dialogue

Italics - Character thoughts

'Italics' - Telepathic dialogue

/\/\/\ - Lemon Scene

Chapter 18

— — — — —

Tristan

— — — — —

Trade caravans were now passing through the crossroads each and every day, with shipments of various types traveling among the four settlements. The road to Desert Village was about halfway done by now, and with it, people from the distant town would be able to arrive with far less difficulty. Though Desert Village lacked natural resources or a suitable environment for agriculture, they did offer a fair amount of more advanced services, alongside the fact that there were a few bounty hunting teams within the area that could be hired out if the need arose.

Meanwhile, he had already given out the orders to have land leveled for the creation of additional fields within Roseview, and Cecilia was overseeing things over there. If everything went according to plan, then he'd be able to feed several additional territories in the case that other settlements wished to join. Now that the luxray actually had something going, he could have people sent out to offer annexation into other towns. Though right now, he might want to hold off a bit - between the police training, the start of the fields, the road construction, and the recent offer, he had reached the limit for spending within only two weeks, and had already used half of Liam's allotted funds.

But those were but small issues, and hardly of concern. Tristan had something growing here - something he could be proud of, nonetheless. The luxray had devoted more of himself than he knew possible to making all this work. Everyone around knew it, and despite his youth, he had been regarded as one of the most successful leaders in the continent. The combined population among all of the settlements now under his rule greatly surpassed even Obsidian City, similarly placing him in a position of power the likes of which had never been seen before. Granted, he knew that something like that needed close overwatch - he didn't want to become tyrannical like the Guild had, after all. His refusal to make any policy decisions without the input of the elders would keep him safe from that possibility.

The training had just about concluded, too. Already the officers were far more skilled than they had been prior, and before long, they would be able to take on jobs much like a team would. Having a competent police force had been wishful thinking just a few months ago, but the luxray had made it happen with the help and support of his friends. Rachel, in particular, had been a massive help, volunteering hundreds of hours of work for the cause, and often times directly after getting back from a mission. That gal is something, he thought, shaking his head. His interest was only platonic in nature, but he admired both her work ethic and skill. Liam would have been a fool to turn her offer to join the team down.

As always, though, something else needed his attention. Right now, his focus would be best diverted towards the speech that he was supposed to be giving in a few minutes. The police had nearly finished gathering as many people as possible around the town square, though there was no chance that everyone would be able to hear him. Tristan stood on the elevated platform, looking out over the sea of people. Every species that he could imagine, and as far as the eye could see. At least one part of this announcement shouldn't come as a surprise.

Eventually everyone managed to settle down, no doubt eager to find out just what they had been called here for. Tristan smiled upon seeing a particular fennekin and his mother, both of which waved. He returned suit, then began to focus on the matter at hand as everyone fell quiet. He saw his chance and gave them the news.

"Thank you all for being here today. I know the frequent announcements must be getting tiresome, but I do feel like it's necessary to tell you all exactly what's going on and what causes your money is going towards. For starters, I want to express my sincerest gratitude to everyone. Over the course of that election, the people as a whole chose what was right over what was temporarily convenient, and just a few months later, look where that has gotten us. Borders are expanding faster than we could ever have imagined, and now there are a total of fifty-seven small settlements that have joined Valmor, including three major ones, and as of this morning a fourth. The Nest - a large village of about two thousand flying-types on the eastern half of the country - has expressed their desire to join the state." The crowd applauded, and the luxray looked happily around, seeing several people holding the banner of Valmor. Flying his very colors.

"Looking at the map, this means that Valmor now covers about a third of the total landmass within the Grass Continent, and the population of our state is now over five times the size of the great Obsidian City - probably even more - once all the uncivilized are included. That's just our estimates, since we don't know how many people are still living in the woods. But with the rise of this civilization has come a movement into all of the settlements unlike anything ever witnessed before. That leads me to one of the main points today: Treasure Town… can no longer accurately be called a Town. Not with a population of twelve thousand." The people were looking around in shock, but something like this had been coming for some time. The fact that there had to be people relaying his message to those far away from him should have been evidence of that enough.

"The elders and I have spoken a great deal about the matter, and though it seems like only semantics, changing the name of this settlement carries far higher implications. After much discussion, it's time we name this home of ours Treasure City." He waited for the cheering to die down, and an occasional flamethrower was shot into the air, causing the luxray to laugh. But once he was able to speak, he seized upon the opportunity, hoping to get the next words out before the joyous chaos could continue. "My friend Aidan just handed me the reports yesterday. My approval rating among you all is currently ninety-four percent. So really, we've only got six percent of a problem," he joked, causing everyone to laugh. He smiled, then shook his head.

"In all seriousness, though, I'm glad that you all have given me this opportunity. But this isn't my doing. Yeah, I'm putting in the hours, and I'm having the meetings, but I can't take credit for Valmor." He looked out over the population of this new city, his expression beaming. "You did this. It's your tax money that spurred everything onward, and within a month, we'll have more of it than I could even figure out what to do with. I mean, what else can be done here? The police have become a force to be reckoned with, food isn't ever going to be an issue again, and business is flourishing. So the elders and I have decided that the next project… is to make this place the next wonder of the world.

"I know word gets around fast, and no doubt many of you are aware of the crew that I have had sent over to Obsidian City. They are all architects, and their goal is to observe the structures there - particularly those with multiple floors. Obsidian has done well in their construction, and so we will be taking a similar approach. We can always expand outwards, that is true, but within another decade, space may be an issue, and I would like to prevent that from happening in the first place. There's still a lot to be discussed - that's for sure - but I think that within the year, we should be able to begin the construction of far larger buildings around the main crossroads. So with all that said, that about wraps up the main topics that I wanted to mention to you all. I want everyone here to feel proud of Valmor, as none of it would have been possible without each and every one of you."

The speech had concluded, and most of the people had gone about their business, though there was no denying the sense of pride within the air. Many people stuck around to ask questions, which Tristan and his associates had prepared for, devoting the next hour to just that. Throughout it all, the luxray couldn't help but feel appreciated and respected, and it felt nice. Within the span of a few months, his list of accomplishments had already surpassed those of Torkoal's - or any other leader across the continent for that matter.

— — — — —

Liam

— — — — —

If they wanted to be there when Lapras arrived, then they needed to be on their way. After saying farewell to the legendary - who promised to visit once he was able, which would likely be within a year or so - the couple began their descent of Temporal Tower. This part was admittedly easier than the journey up the massive structure, though he wouldn't want to be one to fall down so many stairs. But on each floor, the murals served as great entertainment value. Powerful creatures - most of which he didn't even know - engaged in all sorts of battles. Dialga had explained that each was a prophecy, the vast majority of which were yet to come.

Though what had piqued the lucario's interest was that there were, in fact, many humans that shared a similar circumstance to himself. Though he knew not why a barely-present species within this world had been relied upon in several cases to save it… But he did wish to pay closer attention to what he had been overlooking these past years, as the legendary had said that many of these instances had already been prophesied millennia ago, including Liam and Selina's battle with him. He had mentioned that it was on the fourth floor, with each one spanning over several thousand years, and the spire covering the end times. Those walls in particular showed nothing to them, but Dialga had mentioned that such information was never meant for mortals in the first place, and thus they lacked the proper eyes to see the future events.

He peaked out one of the tall windows within the structure, seeing the ground still a long ways down. "No! You step away from there right now!" Selina barked. "I'm not taking that chance again!"

"Ugh, I'm sorry. Just wanted to see how much longer we've got to go. Safe to say we'll still be at it for a half hour…" He stepped back, much to the umbreon's comfort, and she nuzzled him appreciatively.

"Why don't we take a break, then? Besides, I've seen you eyeing these pictures like a pup."

"Well you gotta admit that they're pretty cool. I mean just look at that," Liam replied, motioning towards a particularly large depiction. What looked like an asteroid was closing in on a green, serpentine creature as he towered over a charmander and a chikorita. "Seems sorta like what we had to do, right?"

"It sure does, love."

"Speaking of which, Dialga mentioned that our mural was on this floor, too. Let's see if we can find it." Though there were a considerable amount of depictions of lucarios. For such a rare species, they sure seemed to be prominent across the world. Liam had already noticed about a dozen or so on various floors, most of them leading armies or rebellions from what he could tell. But without being able to read the language inscribed throughout Temporal Tower, educated guesses were as close as he could get to understanding what was going on.

"Alright then. But let's hope it doesn't take too long," Selina said. "I'm about ready to feel grass underneath my feet again."

"Yeah, same here."

They walked around, Selina occasionally nudging his side playfully. Every once in awhile they passed by one of the guards, and most of them weren't exactly the social type. But as long as they weren't attacking them this time around, the lucario didn't have a problem with it.

Selina was the first to notice the large depiction of their battle, and she trotted up to it with Liam close behind. "Wow…" she said, impressed by the detail. There were large blocks of text underneath the picture, though they weren't the main focus of the duo.

"Look at that," he said quietly. "Ha, I even remember when we did that move, too." The mural showed the small eevee dodging out of the way as the crazed legendary smashed into the pillar. The riolu, on the other hand, had leapt off of the crumbling structure and had launched an aura sphere which was depicted halfway between him and the legendary. Liam remembered it all like it was yesterday, smiling at the sight. "Who would've thought that the two of us would've been capable of such a thing?"

"I definitely wouldn't have," she admitted. "But I'm glad all of it happened. Right now… being with you like this made all of it worth it."

"Alright, you're determined that we're gonna make out every ten minutes, aren't you?"

"Well you certainly don't seem to complain," she said with a grin, before hopping up on her hind legs and placing her forepaws on his chest.

"Of course not," he said, gently claiming her mouth. He embraced her, and she drew back, nuzzling into his neck. "Arceus, I love it when you do that…"

"Which is why I keep doing it," the umbreon said, pressing her nose to his. Liam ran his hand down her sides, having fallen in love with her sleek figure. But he knew that some things were worth waiting for - particularly in such a place. And they had decided to hold off for some time, too.

"Hey, I've got an idea."

"You always have ideas."

"Yeah, well this is a good one." She hopped down, and the lucario started rummaging through his satchel. He pulled out the journal, which currently had several small entries that he had made. Most of them admittedly about him and Selina… But this one was going to be different. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sketch like he had before, but he wanted to at least make an attempt, and this particular mural was of a lot of importance to the two of them. He sat down and went to work.

For a few minutes, he sketched the basic details of the scene, Selina looking at the picture as he did so. "Hey… that's not bad at all, Liam!" she said once he'd finished. "You've still got it!"

"You think so?"

"Absolutely! I'd like to see you make a few more." He rubbed along her back appreciatively, before getting back onto his feet.

"Well, I guess we can stop sightseeing. After all, we kinda lived it."

"We sure did," the umbreon replied.

The two of them began towards the stairs, which were on the other side of the floor. Every time Liam had devoted even the slightest bit of thought towards how things turned out, he couldn't help but smile. She had chosen him too, after all this time. He had been far too scared to say anything, but it had all been worth it, and now all sorts of new questions had manifested themselves within him. He didn't really know where to go from here, if he was being honest. Liam hadn't seen himself making it to this point. But now that they were here, he needed to sort a few things out - particularly since he had never been in a relationship before.

"Hey… Selina?"

"Mhm?"

"I was kinda wondering… well, about us…"

"Well me too, but go ahead," she said happily.

"Are we… I mean… do you want to s-start a family?" The very thought made him feel warm inside, aside from the fact that it came with certain implications. She shyly looked at the ground, and he'd wondered if he'd embarrassed her with the question.

"I… I do. It's funny… Marvin asked me something similar awhile back…"

"He did?" Liam asked.

"Yes. He wanted me and you to… to get him a brother…" The lucario laughed, earning a sheepish look from his mate.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just… how in the world did you react?"

"I didn't know what to say. Would you?" she asked. "For him to just go and say something like that… sheesh…"

"Well… we can't disappoint our kid, can we?" Selina head butted him, but it was impossible to ignore the smile she had on her face. "Hey now, I wasn't saying we had to rush into anything like that…" he joked.

"Of course not. But… I do wish to start a family with you, Liam. Or… expand our family, I guess… Just when the time is right."

"I'm honored that you would choose me, Selina," Liam said, meaning the words from the bottom of his heart. "I couldn't have possibly come across a more perfect girl. You have been my motivation to be a better person for a long time now."

"Liam… you're trying to make me tear up, aren't you?" she asked. The two of them would have likely followed up with their affectionate gestures had it not been for the lone salamence slowly treading through the hallway. "Later," she said. "Then you're mine."

"Giving me something to look forward to when we get outta this tower," he replied.

The stairs had come into sight, and the two of them made their way towards them. Liam locked eyes with the umbreon, and the two of them sincerely smiled at one another. It was then that he noticed an odd mural on the wall behind her.

"What is it?" Selina asked, turning around. "What in the…"

"Would ya look at that…" he muttered. "That's… well, that's a pretty badass scene, gotta say."

"Hey, watch your language in here," she said. "But… it is rather intense…" It was yet another member of Liam's species, but this depiction was far more unsettling.

The lucario stood against a massive foe - an eight-headed dragon, and one that fit the descriptions of no creature that either of the two knew of. He was missing all of the spikes that the species was known for, and wielded two curved blades, facing off against his enemy. Each of the heads had vivid yellow eyes as though they were staring into their enemy's very soul. A few words were underneath the picture, and one large one on the monster's chest.

"Whatever's going on there, I wouldn't wanna be him…" Liam said. He quickly retrieved the journal once again, thinking that this scene would also make for a great addition. Though he could likely fill up the entire book with interesting depictions throughout the tower, this lucario captured Liam's attention for several reasons. Even on the wall of the structure, the lucario's red eyes seemed to radiate his rage, and both his swords had blood along their blades. He sketched the picture, not with as close attention to detail as he had for the other, though he did decide to write the word over the beast's chest for whatever reason. "Alright, I'm done now. No more drawing," he joked.

With that, they continued their descent of Temporal Tower, eventually making it out a little past noon. On the Rainbow Stoneship, Liam laid back, knowing it would take a few moments for them to reach the temple. Selina cuddled up to his side, and they nuzzled one another sweetly as the ride continued.

"I'll never get enough of this," the umbreon commented.

"Me neither. You've got me looking forward to 'expanding' our family, as you put it." The umbreon placed her muzzle to his, giving him a quick peck before drawing back, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Liam… I don't know how humans did things… and I know that some species out there are polygamous… but if we do this, the two of us are paired together for life."

"I don't know," the lucario said. "I mean if I find a cute little braixen or something on the side… kinda hard to resist that, you know?"

"Liam!" She smacked him on the forehead, and he broke out into a fit of laughter. "I can't believe you would go and say something like that…" Selina tried to hide the smile, but it was a futile effort.

"Ah, come on sweetie - I could never dream of loving anyone other than you."

"Much better," she said with a smile. He slid his arms around her, pulling her in for a soft hug, and she nuzzled underneath his chin as he rubbed her sides. His paw brushed along her hip, and the umbreon looked up at him and giggled. "Getting a bit adventurous, are we?"

"That wasn't my intention…" He moved his paw back upwards.

"No, that's okay," she said, shaking her head. "I rather enjoyed that. You're always so… sensual…"

"Well you give me a reason to be," he said, pressing their cheeks together. "I love you so much, Selina." She licked his cheek, and before either of them knew it, their muzzles were pressed against one another, with the lucario drawing her in for a deep kiss.

— — — — —

Zane

— — — — —

The last customer of the day had been taken care of, and the zoroark had decided to close up shop a few moments early. After all, there were still several projects that needed to be completed before long.

Business hadn't been much of an issue for Zane, particularly due to being on the edge of Lively Town. Though why it was considered a town at such a size was beyond him, but he supposed that it didn't really make any difference one way or another. The zoroark grabbed the small set of iron claws for the growlithe that had ordered them and sat down by the grinding wheel. He still had yet to bind the blades to the main bar, which had been fitted for the fire-type's front right paw. Though why anyone would want only one and not another for the opposite paw was beyond him. But his money spends all the same, Zane thought as he sharpened the blades.

Despite the line of work, the zoroark had found that this was very soothing, actually. And besides, it wasn't like he was selling his weapons to bad people or anything. His main clientele consisted of rescue teams and the like. It was a dangerous world out there, and his services were needed just because of that.

Once he had finished his work with the three blades, Zane grabbed them carefully and headed for the leather strip, already mentally planning out his next task. He dipped his clawed hand into the bucket containing some red powder and rubbed it along the surface of the leather, giving it a slight coat before setting two of the blades onto his desk. Many in his occupation did not go to these lengths to ensure a sharp blade, as it generally didn't take long to rust or dull given the tendencies of those who would purchase such things. But he took great pride in his work and wanted his clients to be impressed with his craftsmanship. So far, that was the case.

As he drew the blade down the leather strip, he began to wonder what he would do with that special metal that had been gifted to him. A medium-sized ingot, it was told that it had been made by some master smith in the Air Continent, though he wasn't sure if he believed any of that. One thing was for certain, though: the alloy was significantly harder than any other material than the dark-type had made weapons with. The zoroark had been able to melt a small piece of it, but it was considerably difficult to break that piece off, and even harder to get the forge hot enough to melt it. But the small knife that he had made from the material was one that he always had on him, and it had served him well over the past few weeks. It hadn't lost its edge despite all the punishment he had inflicted upon it.

But perhaps he should only be dealing with one thing at a time. By now, Zane had finished the final blade, gently tapping the edge and finding it to be to his liking. The next part was to bond it to the main bar, which would be on top of the growlithe's paw. He had made the bar with three slits on the side so that he could fit the blades inside, though the openings were ever-so-slightly smaller than the edges would allow. Yet that was all part of the plan, as he knew from experience that the iron would expand during the heating process, and he would carefully insert each of the three blades inside, to which they would be stuck for good. Though he wasn't about to start such a miserably hot process at such a time. Maybe tomorrow.

After that, he moved on to one of his more odd requests. A marowak who often took jobs around these parts had taken to the metal weaponry that Zane had created, particularly after his bone had snapped from use in the field. The ground-type was known to be a good guy, though he was a tad bit on the quirky side. He had requested an iron club, though the top part had spikes that branched out in four directions, each curving downward to end at a sharp point. But at two and a half weeks of salary, the zoroark wasn't about to turn down the strange job. He only pitied anyone who would be on the receiving end of such an instrument. The majority of the work for this piece still had yet to be done, but he had figured out how he'd go about creating such a weapon.

Zane had been at this for six years now, and he was known to be the best in his field around. To think that he'd simply picked up the skill within his desperate search for some sort of career, stumbling upon an old infernape by the name of Emmett as he had nearly closed up shop for good. The fire-type hadn't been concerned about Zane's past, and instead taught him everything he knew, finding one final project in teaching the unskilled zoroark the art of blacksmithing. Before he had passed on, though, he had left the forge and everything he owned to Zane. The dark-type missed Emmett and the conversations they would have late at night.

Not a day went by where he didn't wonder how differently things may have turned out had he taken a different path. Despite all the mistakes made along the way and all the hardships faced, though, he supposed that things didn't turn out too bad at all. No… I can't complain. Beats rotting in that cell any day. But that was all so long ago. He was financially stable now, and given the way things were going in the Grass Continent, Zane had considered the prospect of moving back. Of course, he still preferred to give it some time after what had happened there, but it might have just been his tendency to overthink things. And who could blame him? That's all there was to do behind bars.

He shook his head, coming to the conclusion that he was likely being paranoid. His business would thrive if it were anywhere near Treasure Town or Obsidian City, each being the two main economic powerhouses of the country. All he would need was to pay a few water types to help him ferry his equipment across the sea. Well, that and a loan from the local bank so that he could get his own place. That hadn't worked out so well last time, but surely if he tried now, he would have better luck. After all, he doubted that anyone would recognize him as Red anymore.