A/N:

Here's a shorter chapter, as Part 1 of the story is coming to a close. Be ready for some pretty eventful chapters coming up!

Special thanks to both Fifi the Braixen and Fawkes Kleiffen for proofreading ahead of time.

"…" - Spoken dialogue

Italics - Character thoughts

'Italics' - Telepathic dialogue

/\/\/\ - Lemon Scene

Chapter 21

— — — — —

Rachel

— — — — —

Rachel was walking towards the police station when she noticed Marvin zip by. She turned around, looking at him curiously, but it didn't take her long to find the cause of his excitement. Well look who's back, she thought. The female lucario picked up her pace, heading for her two friends, who were both laughing as the manaphy swarmed them with questions. She decided to head over and greet them herself, but she couldn't help but notice that something was different about the two of them. Their auras felt so indescribably lively. What happened to them? she found herself wondering. She was about to find out.

"It's good to see the two of you again," Rachel said cheerily. "You two look so… different. Did everything go well?"

"Better than well," Selina said, nudging the male lucario. "We've got some pretty good news to tell everyone. This time, though, I'll be doing the talking." As if making her point, she looked up at Liam with playful aggression.

"What is it?" Marvin asked. "Did something exciting happen while you guys were gone?"

"Definitely," Liam replied, rubbing the manaphy's head. "But I don't think I'll tell ya."

"What? Why not?" he asked.

"Liam," Selina stated, "it's not like it's going to be a secret for much longer." Rachel looked between the two of them, and there was no way that the implications could escape her this time around. "Anyways, sweetie, your father and I… well… we're together now!" Rachel looked down, the realization not being the most welcome one. Oh well… that's that I guess… But as disheartening as the news was, she looked at the two of them and smiled.

"That's awesome!" Marvin stated happily. "I mean… I kinda thought you two were before, and then Aunt Flora told me that you weren't, but that you might be…" The manaphy trailed off, realizing that he probably shouldn't have said that.

"Flora? I told her to keep quiet about all of this!" Selina said, clearly agitated.

"Oops…" he said.

"Well in any case, I'm happy for the two of you," Rachel stated. "Really." Hopefully Liam wouldn't be able to detect the feeling of disappointment that she was doing her best to hide.

"I appreciate that," Liam said. "We've been waiting for something like this to happen for quite some time, and now it all feels so surreal. Part of me still can't believe it's true… or that Tristan managed to build a country while we were out…"

"Say, where is everyone else?" Selina asked.

"Flora should be back soon. She had a few messages to deliver to The Nest - they joined Valmor too, by the way - and then she's running a few errands of her own around Roseview. Eleanor is with the other elders, since she's filling in for Tristan while he's away."

"Really? Where did he go?" the male lucario asked.

"To Amp Plains." Both Liam and Selina cast each other a sideways glance, likely recalling the same eventful memories from years prior.

"Well I guess if any Retribution member is welcome there, it'd be him," Selina said. "That's where we met him, you know." Rachel nodded.

"Yeah. And he's using that to his advantage, too. Now that we've got such a big country, he's shifting his focus towards building a military. Well, that and a whole lot of construction."

"A military, huh? Never thought I'd see the day when that happened…" Liam admitted. "But there's no doubt in my mind that such a thing is needed - not when Valmor is about a third of the continent. How's he doing with the military, by the way? Have you heard anything?"

"Pierce flew in a few days ago," Rachel said.

"Who?"

"You know, the skarmory who works with the police? Well, it seems like Tristan managed to convince the two largest manectric packs to join together. He's got some sort of deal worked out with them for their services. My guess is he's paying them in the form of food, shelter or the like." `

"I'm glad to hear everything's worked out so far," Liam replied.

"Okay, enough of all that! How was Dialga? Oh, and the tower? And—."

"Alright, alright - one at a time," Liam stated. "We'll tell ya everything. But right now, I need to meet with Eleanor. Got a few important things to discuss with her." Hearing that, she couldn't help but wonder if the rumors about Liam were true. But perhaps those thoughts best be kept to herself until she knew for sure what was going on.

Once they had parted ways, with Liam and Selina trying to keep up with the hyper water-type, Rachel thought everything over. She had been hoping that the suspicions had not ben true - that Liam would still be free. There wasn't anything that could be done about it, though, and after all that the former human had been through, he definitely did deserve to be happy… even if she wasn't a part of that happiness. But as disappointing as the revelation was, there was more to life than this, and she would just have to move on.

Speaking of which, she was late for the training session that she had scheduled with the police. Truth be told, the majority of them had gotten to the point where they could fend for themselves just fine - even without further instruction. At this point she was just showing up to teach a few of the bipedals who were a little bit behind in their performance. But it wouldn't be long before they would be caught up in their skills. Once that was accomplished, she looked forward to resuming her usual line of work.

Of course, there still was the desire to find a partner - one that had led her here in the first place. There was no doubting that she had found something else, though, in Team Retribution: a family. Really, all things considered, everything had turned out quite well for her, and the lucario couldn't help but smile to herself as she neared the police station.

— — — — —

Eleanor

— — — — —

The cresselia intently listened to every word Liam said, finding out that her suspicions had been correct all along. She was upset to hear it all, nonetheless, but she would give the lucario credit where it was due: he had finally taken the initiative on his own to be upfront about his workings. Just as in the past cases, Liam had displayed mostly good intentions with his interference in political affairs, but she didn't like to hear that he had been willing to use Tristan in order to do so. Once he had finished, Eleanor sighed, before replying.

"Well… I guess that confirms my thoughts," she said. "You should not have been interfering in such ways. While you have good causes in heart, it isn't right for you to run around and manipulate things. It sends a negative message, Liam, and others are starting to question it. Let us not forget who the Advisor is here. And you have now seen what Tristan has accomplished, so you have no need to intervene any longer."

"I do still intend to help," the lucario said. "I mean… look at what all I have, Eleanor. I couldn't possibly use all this money that I'm making, and there are people out there that have next to nothing. Had I not made arrangements with Capim Town, what would they have done about their food situation?"

"You could have gone about things in a less secretive manner," Eleanor stated, "and there are other ways to be charitable than what you have done."

"Yeah, I know," Liam admitted. "That's what I've come to you for. I want to help where I can, but… I've decided that maybe my methods of doing things aren't best. Maybe you can help me with that, Eleanor - if I run things by you two before I take action."

"I think that would be a wonderful idea," the cresselia said. "And I am proud of you for coming to that resolve. Despite our disagreements, I hold you in high regard. Your heart is in the right place, Liam."

"It brings me comfort me to hear you say that," the lucario said. She gave Liam a hug, pressing her head to his in a friendly gesture, to which he returned suit.

"Careful now - he's mine." Eleanor shot the umbreon a questioning look, then back to Liam, who simply grinned.

"Oh really?" the cresselia asked, before flashing a smile of her own. "Well I am overjoyed to hear such! I cannot help but say that I expected as much… the two of you truly were meant to be."

"Thank you, Eleanor," Selina said. "I wish that we had paid attention to the signs earlier… all this time that we'd felt like this." But the umbreon turned to her partner, giving him a loving nuzzle. "But none of that is important now. Arceus has blessed us both to be able to have one another."

"That he has," Liam said, returning her affections.

"We were wondering," Selina stated, "if you would consider legitimizing our union. We wanted to take things slowly and do it the right way…"

"And that is admirable," the legendary said. "I would love to preside over the event. How large are the two of you wanting to make it?"

"Oh, uh… I don't know if we had some major event in mind," Liam admitted, before looking at his partner. "Did you?"

"No, not really. I was just hoping the two of us and maybe the team… or even just a private union with you legitimizing it…"

"Whichever we choose, definitely nothing big - that's for sure."

"Well if we went with a ceremony for the entire team, I'd prefer that they all actually be here…" Selina said. "But both Tristan and Flora are out, and who knows when they'll be back…"

"So then maybe it would be best to just make it the three of us," Liam replied. "Wouldn't want the others to feel left out."

"That works for me," Selina added.

"Where should we do it?" Eleanor asked. "Any particular place the two of you would want?" The umbreon seemed to think it over for a moment, then perked up.

"The beach where we first met! I think it'd be perfect."

"That sounds like a great idea," Liam stated.

"Very well." The legendary couldn't help but smile upon hearing all of this, feeling that it was simply inevitable from the start. She had always known that each of them had feelings for the other, even though they had been hesitant to come to this realization. "When would you like to have this done?"

"How about tomorrow?" Liam asked. "Are you up for that, Selina?"

"Anytime would be wonderful, love. Though I think it would be nice to do it during the sunrise…"

"I think that sounds like a beautiful idea. So I assume that we will be meeting tomorrow morning on the beach?" Eleanor asked.

"It's a date," Selina said happily.

Once they had left, Eleanor retreated back to the tent, where Aidan was already at work, totaling up the taxes collected for the month, as well as all of their expenditures. It was one of the more uneventful parts of the job, but absolutely imperative nonetheless. She couldn't believe how much money was now flowing through Valmor, but she supposed that such a thing was to be expected when so many different settlements were now financially cooperating with one another.

But as she continued the task, Eleanor's thoughts kept drifting towards her friends. It brought her great joy that the two of them had found happiness with each other. Selina's innocence and purity of heart was the perfect compliment to Liam, making him act more as the person that he truly was. Not the sneaky, unpredictable lucario, but the sweet and gentle person that she had known for years. She was glad that the dark-type had that effect on people.

As for Liam, she supposed that she couldn't be upset with him, just so long as he stuck with his resolve to be more open and transparent this time around. Of course, he had been dishonest about this very matter in the past, and generally that would be enough to raise questions once again. But this time, Eleanor felt like his word was sincere, backed by the umbreon that he had fallen for. Not to mention the fact that there simply was no reason to be discreet about his dealings anymore.

"So…" Aidan started, "you gonna tell me what all that was about? Not to pry, of course…"

"No, it's okay. It wasn't much of a surprise to begin with," the cresselia stated. "Liam and Selina are now a couple."

"Oh? Really?" he asked. "Well… I kinda have to agree with ya on that. I've heard more than a few whispers about the two of them, living together and all. But I'm happy for the two of 'em. I haven't really met this Selina gal, but Liam seemed like a real nice fellow… even though we were rigging an election and all…"

"Yes, he is," Eleanor agreed. "He has some weird ways of showing it, but at the end of the day he wants to do what's right."

"That's the feeling I was getting from him back when he paid me." Aidan set the feather down beside the inkwell, then closed the small glass container. He had finished his share of the work that they had divided between the two of them, and she was on her last few pages. The typhlosion remained seated, staring off into space. "Eleanor, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Not at all. What's on your mind?"

"It's gonna sound kinda dumb," the typhlosion admitted, "but whatever. I've just been a bit concerned, that's all. This time it's about me, though…"

"What's wrong, Aidan?"

"I dunno, I guess… I think I'm just scared." Eleanor looked up from the task at hand, making eye contact with the fire-type. "It's just that… a few months ago, I was just like everybody else around these parts. But Tristan came to me and gave me this job, and now I'm in such a powerful position. I mean I control a good bit of how the money in Valmor moves around…"

"Are you unsure of yourself?" she asked, receiving a nod in return. "Oh, Aidan, you have done a wonderful job so far. I don't think you need to be concerned."

"Well yeah - things have worked out well up until this point. But what if something goes wrong? I used to run some pretty simple accounting over in Obsidian, and now I'm dealing with tens of thousands a month. If I mess something up…"

"Then you will have done what everyone else has," Eleanor said. "Nobody is perfect - not you, nor I. I'm sure you remember Tristan stumbling in the beginning of the election. Everyone will mess up from time to time. A person's worth cannot be defined by the mistakes they make, but rather in how they learn from it and better themselves." The fire-type looked down, then shook his head.

"You know, you're really good at that…"

"What?"

"The whole inspirational thing. You should consider doing it for a living," Aidan joked.

"Oh, I see. Well, I think I will pass on that. I enjoy what I do," she replied. "Throughout all my years, I have always wanted to help others wherever possible. There's a lot of evilness in this world, and if I can show Arceus' love, then I feel like I've done my part to balance everything out. Retribution has been a great means to accomplishing this, and I enjoy both Liam and Selina's company."

"I don't mean to imply that you're old or anything, Miss Eleanor, but don't legendaries like yourself live for a really long time?" he asked. The cresselia set down the papers, having finally finished her share of the work.

"No, I don't take offense to such things," she said with a laugh. "It is true that many of us live for a long time compared to others. I personally am five hundred thirty-two years old, and I am still a younger member of my species, though there are only a few of us that have ever existed. I would say in reference to you, I'd be a young adult."

"Are you worried about outliving them?" he asked quietly. It was a thought that she always tried to keep suppressed, but it was a valid concern.

"I know it will happen," she said lowly. "Well… nobody aside from Dialga and Arceus truly knows the future. For all I know, I could die in some accident tomorrow. But if I do not fall to injury, then there is no doubt that I will live to watch Liam and Selina grow old and die. I have witnessed my friends perish in such ways my entire life."

"That has to be hard…"

"It is," she admitted. "Those who are not legendaries do not have to experience such things. But I have come to expect it."

"How do you deal with that?" Aidan inquired.

"I did not. At least, not at first. The first person I truly became close to was a delcatty named Claire. She was vibrant and full of life, even as she aged. We explored nearly every corner of this continent and helped map it out."

"Oh wow, that's impressive."

"She never ceased to amaze me. But biology ran its course, and we had to alter our course to account for her age. First she couldn't climb mountains anymore, then even gentle inclines..." The legendary looked out of the tent, as though staring off towards the other half of the continent where it happened. "I still remember every detail of that day. She had fallen ill, and we found ourselves within a small settlement that used to be about two days' walk from Claw's Edge. I had been tending to her for some time, hoping that I could find some way to delay the inevitable, but I could not. Claire was courageous throughout the whole process, and dealt with it much better than I did. She said that 'death was just a part of life.' Unfortunately for me, it has been a constant companion."

"I'm… sorry to hear that…" Aidan said.

"It took me some time to get used to it. Rulers have risen and fallen - entire villages constructed from the ground up - and I've witnessed it all. But I have lost everyone that I have ever felt a connection with. Claire told me to remember all the good times, and take comfort in the fact that I would one day see her again. I know that eventually I will join all of them, but… Arceus only knows how long that will take." She looked at the typhlosion, and despite the painful recollections, smiled. "I will do the same for my newest friends as well. As for Liam and Selina, I share a bond with each of them that has been stronger than any before. Even though one day I will watch them both perish, I know that I love both of them and will be able to cherish what time we will have together, even if that time is short in reference to my lifespan. Both of them are fine people, so I have no doubt that I will see them one day in the Hall of Origins. Regardless of what may happen, I can always be glad that I ever knew such people."

"That's a good way to look at it. I wish I were as wise as you…"

"Oh, don't give me too much credit," she joked, "but I do appreciate the compliment. Any wisdom that I may have is that which all decent people obtain as they grow older. I just happen to not physically show it. At least… not too much, I hope."

"Haha, you're doing fine at aging. I mean… I don't know what an old cresselia would look like, but you look great!"

"Alright, alright, whatever you say," she joked.