Chapter 22

The sound of rushing water filled the Braixen's ears and stirred her from her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes and groaned as she stretched her arms and arched her back until she felt a satisfying pop. As Diamond scooted over to the edge of the bed, she grunted from how sore her legs were after her and Aura's long night of activities. She slid a mildly curious finger along her waist and was somewhat relieved that Aura at least remembered to wipe her fur down a bit so she wouldn't feel as crusty as she did after their first time.

Diamond let her legs fall to the side of the bed and she slowly stood up with a slight wobble, quickly slapping her paw on the nightstand to keep balance as her knees buckled. "Heheh, l-last night felt wonderful though." She said to herself. After finally regaining some of her balance, Diamond wobbled towards the bathroom door to find it opened just a crack and quietly stepped inside.

Although the rushing water made it difficult to hear, Aura noticed the clumsy clacking of Diamond's claws against the tile floor and looked over to see her holding onto the towel rack. He chuckled. "Good morning. Wanna join me?" He asked, stepping back and opening the glass door. Diamond blushed as she saw Aura's shaft and her heart thumped loudly in her chest. She heard Aura snickering. "Didn't get enough last night?" He teased.

Diamond's legs buckled as his lewd comment caught her completely off guard. "N-no-! I-I mean yes-! I mean-! Stop being pervy!" She squealed, only to receive a heavy laugh from her mate. Straightening herself, Diamond stepped towards the bath and held onto the door, "B-but yes. I would like to shower with you." Aura stepped back and let his mate climb into the tub before shutting the screen again. Diamond's body loosened up as the steaming hot water washed over her. "Haah~, this does feel nice though."

Aura chuckled and wrapped his arms around her chest. "So, did you enjoy your birthday?" He asked.

She tittered as thoughts of last night once again returned. "Hehe, yeah… I think it was the greatest birthday I could ever have-eep!" Diamond squeaked as she felt Aura's member poke her back, the fox quickly stepped forward and turned around with a scowl. "H-hey! I already told you to stop being pervy!"

"Haha! So you weren't just thinking about us having sex last night?" He retorted.

Diamond's face turned red and she hastily crossed her arms and looked away. "N-no…! Okay maybe a little bit… but how do you expect me not to think about it?!"

Aura knelt down and planted a kiss on her cheek. "I'm just happy to see you enjoyed yourself."

She sighed in response but smiled at her lover nonetheless. "Because I got to spend it with you… I love you, Aura." Diamond leaned forward and pressed her cheek to his chest and held her mate lovingly, though she soon felt something coarse against her fur and pulled away, staring at his scarred chest and reminiscing about their origin. She reached up to lightly brush her fingers across the wounds; they still felt very strange to her, although seeing them didn't bother her as much anymore.

As Diamond's expression turned somber with her eyes glued to his chest, she let out a slow sigh that left Aura concerned she might still be worried about his health. He gently took her wrist in his hand and pushed it away slightly. "Diamond… It's been over a month since I got these scars, you don't need to worry about them anymore."

To his surprise, Diamond looked up at him and smiled. She pulled her paw from his grasp and began to feel over his chest once more. "It's not that. When I first saw these I was scared and lashed out without knowing what happened, but when I think about it now, I see these scars as a good thing and am kind of grateful that Alice didn't heal them."

"R-really? I figured you didn't like them because of how I stupidly put myself in danger."

Aura tilted his head as he watched Diamond place her other paw over her own chest. "No… Seeing them actually reminds me of how you really meant what you said. The promise you made to me after we helped Kelsey," she turned around and picked up her shampoo bottle and snapped open the top, pausing for a moment as she thought about how Aura bought this new bottle for her after her other one was lost the week before, "you put yourself in danger to rescue Prince from a Mightyena, and even though I wasn't there to see it happen, those scars are proof enough for me."

She squeezed some shampoo into her paw and set the bottle back onto the ledge before looking over her shoulder at her mate with a smile. "Now, can you help wash my tail? I think some of your-eh… stuff is still in there…" She told him with an embarrassed blush.

Aura cracked a smile and loudly laughed before taking her shampoo bottle and squirting some into his palm. "I'd be happy to." He began to gently glide his fingers through her fur while she started to work on cleaning her chest, parting her white fur to wash her breasts as well. Aura smiled, "You've really grown as a person since we started our journey, you've overcome a lot of your fears and anxiety and you're getting more confident by the day. I'm really proud of you."

Diamond folded her ears back and blushed. "It's all thanks to you that I'm like this now," she took one of the red tufts of fur from her ears and gently combed her claws through it, "without you, I never would have been able to get over everything that's happened to me."

Aura chuckled. "I'm really glad that you're opening up a lot more. Even though I was just teasing you, we were still able to have a serious conversation right after, not to mention while we're both in the shower together…"

She heard him pause and could no longer feel his hands over her tail; but considering what he was talking about moments before, she quickly grew suspicious and knew she wasn't gonna like what was coming. "A-Aura?! D-don't you dare-yipe!" Diamond let out a loud yelp as Aura had lathered his hands with shampoo before suddenly slapping her butt and firmly groping her cheeks with a hungering passion.

"Can't forget to wash down here!" He laughed as his harsh groping turned into a gentle massage, though the deed was already done as Diamond felt her legs wobble as a small bit of arousal dripped down her thighs; despite this, Diamond scowled at her mate over her shoulder as she had to lean forward slightly to stop her legs from buckling underneath her from the pleasure.

"A-Aura…" She moaned harshly. He looked at her with a cheerful smile. Diamond took a deep breath and had to control her urges from having her mate massaging her rump like this. She deeply wanted to retaliate against his lewd actions, but at the same time she didn't exactly dislike what he did and didn't want to seriously hurt him, so as she felt his hands slide down to her thighs and a quiet moan escaped her lips, Diamond looked at the faucet and flashed a sly grin. "D-don't mess with Fire types or else you'll get burned!" She cried, suddenly grabbing the hot-water knob and rapidly turning it as far as it could go before grabbing the cold-water knob and spinning it the opposite way.

Aura looked up curiously from Diamond's rather unsure warning only to suddenly flinch and clench his teeth as scalding hot water blasted against his flesh. The abrupt and absurdly intense increase in temperature made Aura practically scream as he jumped back and scrambled out of the tub, all while hearing Diamond laughing maniacally in a "serves you right" kind of manner as she readjusted the water.

Aura lay on the bathroom floor groaning in pain. "O-okay, I guess I really deserved that…" He suddenly began laughing as well and sat up on his knees. "Haah. Can't really get upset at you for that when I literally smacked your ass."

He heard Diamond stumble in the tub bark at him for phrasing it so crudely, telling him that if he continues to act like this she'll set him on fire, although even she sounded quite unsure about that threat, nonetheless he did feel something bonk against the back of his head as Diamond threw a bar of soap at him.

Diamond grumbled to herself and sighed. "If you promise to stop being a pervert then you can come back in here, otherwise you can finish your shower once I'm done!"

Aura snickered and reached his hand in first to check if she readjusted the temperature properly. "All right. I think I got the jokes out of my system." He stepped into the shower and was greeted by Diamond shoving the shampoo bottle into his face and sternly telling him to finish washing her back. He took the bottle and grinned. "Heh, I think I'm starting to like this new sassy attitude of yours more than your usual one," he gently pressed his hand against her back and gently massaged it, "you're cute when you're feisty."

Diamond glared at him and reached for the hot-water knob again, making him recoil suddenly and apologize. The fox grinning as she found a satisfying way to keep her mate in line.

The couple spent another few minutes together in the shower before stepping out. "Argh, I don't like how heavy my fur gets after a bath. H-hang on… Aura? Can you get me my towel please?" A begrudging groan came from the fox as she leaned over the edge of the bath and began to wring out the water from her ear tufts, unintentionally giving her mate a generous view of her exposed backside as her heavy tail hung just off her hip. Aura chuckled at her obliviousness to the current situation and, after tying his towel around his waist, took Diamond's towel off the wrack and startled her as he draped it over her butt. "Th-thank you?"

Aura nodded and walked over to the sink while Diamond secured the towel around her waist as best she could before continuing to squeeze water from her fur. "No problem, but just so you know, it might be a good idea to think twice about bending over like that right after a shower."

Diamond looked over her shoulder curiously. "Eh? What do you mean?"

"Well with your fur as wet as it is and your tail out of the way, you're kind of showing off a bit more than you'd probably want to?"

She suddenly tightened her grasp on her fur as her face flushed bright red and her body grew hot from embarrassment. Quickly straightening up and turning around with her eyes wide, Diamond held her paws behind her backside with her legs held tightly together. "Wh-what?! Y-you mean I-?!" Aura awkwardly nodded and Diamond let out a heavy groan. "I-I didn't even know I- that you could-! Kyargh!" she cried out, angry with herself for her own negligence, "Haah… At least it's just us in here, if anyone else would've seen it, I-I… I don't even want to think about it!"

Aura nervously chuckled and walked closer to pat her on the head. "Don't get so worked up over it, okay? Just take this as a lesson to be a bit more aware," he smirked, "though I can't exactly deny that I did enjoy the view."

Diamond shot him a piercing gaze and snarled. "I told you already to stop being pervy!" she barked, picking up the clean shirt Aura was planning to wear and whipping it at his face before turning away with her arms crossed, "jerk."

"Heheh, love you too. Now let's hurry up and finish getting ready, we've already wasted enough time as it is and it'll take you a while to get your fur all dried and brushed out, plus we still gotta have breakfast." As Aura turned to grab another towel to dry his hair, Diamond glanced back and smirked; though she didn't want to admit it, she did somewhat enjoy her mate's antics at least a little bit and couldn't deny that they certainly made their relationship that much more lively.


Once they had everything packed and checked to make sure the room was clean before they left, Aura and his team stepped out into the hall. "You got everything in your bag, Diamond?" Aura asked as he got out the room's keycard.

The Braixen gripped the straps of her pink backpack and bounced it, "Yep! Got my grooming kit, my jewelry cases, some medicine, Pokefood, my flashlight and my water bottle all packed with some extra room for whatever we pick up at the Pokemart!"

"Good to hear." Aura shut the door and placed the keycard against the scanner to lock the room. "It's still pretty early so we may as well see if the others are up yet before we head to the lobby."

"You really fit all that stuff in your bag?!" Stan asked in amazement as they followed Aura down the hall.

Diamond nodded proudly. "Uh-huh! It took a bit to organize it all but it's surprisingly roomy inside."

"Oooh~! Do you think I could fit in there?!"

"Pardon me, Master Aura," Prince asked, "but didn't we all agree to meet in the cafeteria for breakfast? Why are we going to their rooms?"

Aura shrugged. "May as well see if any of them are still getting ready. It's only a little after eight-thirty so I just want to check in while we're still up here," he looked up and grinned, "and would you look at that, we're already at Dan's room." he teased.

Upon knocking on the door and quietly calling for their companion, Aura was met with complete silence, looking down at Prince after a few moments went by and shrugged before knocking again. Still there wasn't any response. "Perhaps they're all still asleep or they are already waiting for us downstairs?"

"Maybe, Gwen's room is just around the corner so we'll check with her next. Come on you two-uhh…" As Aura looked back down the hall, he let out a sigh at the sight of Diamond crouched down with her bag on the floor and Stan's backside sticking out as he tried to fit his whole body inside. "Guys!" he called. Diamond stopped giggling and turned around while Stan quickly shuffled back to pull his head out of the bag. "Keep up you guys!"

"S-sorry, Aura!" Diamond called, grabbing the items that spilled onto the floor and quickly dropping them back into her bag before the two came jogging down the hall.

Aura scanned the floor to make sure nothing was left behind before shaking his head at them. "Let's try to not play around with our supplies too much, okay? I imagine your bag is a mess again though so I'll help you reorganize it when we're having breakfast." Diamond nodded and hung the bag over her shoulders again as they continued down the hall.

A short stop at Gwen's door was met with similar results, however this time Aura noticed a slip of paper just barely visible underneath the door. "Looks like Gwen and her team are already downstairs. Nice of her to leave a note though. So next up is Mom's room." After slipping the paper back under the door just in case the others had the same idea as he did, Aura led his party further down the hall to the room Darlene and Kibbs were in.

Aura knocked on the door and called out to see if either of them were up yet. Almost right away they heard a bark from inside muffled by the walls. "Just a minute!" Kibbs called back.

There was a few seconds of silence before they all flinched upon hearing a quiet thud followed by a loud yelp from within, both of which were followed by the Growlithe letting out a muffled yet clearly agitated "Son of a bitch!" Aura was about to knock again but he paused when Kibbs called out again, "Yeah, I'm all right, Darlene. A chair just fell on my tail…" there was another pause, "gibb meh ah minuhd!" she shouted, sounding like she was holding something in her mouth. A few more seconds of silence passed until they finally heard a clunk by the door and a small click. "Okay! It's open!"

Aura looked at Diamond for a moment before pushing open the door. The first thing they noticed was a chair toppled over in the middle of the room with another set right by the door with Kibbs perched on top of it. They could also hear the shower running in the bathroom and Darlene calling out over the rushing water, "Who was at the door?"

Kibbs sighed and turned towards the bathroom. "It's just Aura and Diamond and Prince and Stan!" she called back, jumping down from the chair and walking over to the couch.

There was a pause, then the water shut off. "Thanks, hon. I'll be right out!"

The dog rolled her eyes. "About time considering you've been in there for nearly half an hour," she mumbled. "Sorry we weren't down sooner, dear, your mother slept late and didn't get up until about forty minutes ago, most of which she spent in that bathroom- I'm just glad they don't charge extra for the water bill…"

Aura awkwardly chuckled, shifting his gaze to the side a bit, "Yeah, that would be a problem." Kibbs suspiciously squinted at him, though her attention was drawn away when the bathroom door opened and Darlene walked out with a towel around her. Aura immediately looked away and put a hand up to block his view. Even though Darlene was covered by the towel, Aura still felt a bit uncomfortable seeing his mother like this.

As Darlene went to retrieve her clothes, she glanced over and smiled at the group. "Good morning everyone. I hope you all had a good sleep?" Prince and Stan happily returned the greeting and nodded, though Diamond blushed slightly as she thought about their intimate time together last night. "I just need to get dressed and we can start heading downstairs." Darlene picked up some jeans and a shirt and re-entered the bathroom.

Once he heard the bathroom door close, Aura uncovered his eyes and sighed. "Why did you need to cover your eyes?" Prince inquired suddenly.

Aura was going to answer, but Kibbs quickly spoke up, "Most human males don't like to see their mothers in such a revealing fashion."

The trainer in question sighed, "Yeah… not exactly a fun sight for me."

The door to the bathroom opened again with Darlene stepping out fully clothed. "All right, Kibbs and I already packed up our stuff last night so we should be good to go." She walked over to the fallen chair and set it back by the table. "I just need to finish drying my hair and put on some makeup and we'll be right down. Why don't you all go on ahead."

Aura nodded. "Fine by me. I just came by to see if you were ready." He stood up with the rest of his team and returned to the hallway, stopping at Dan's room one last time before heading down to the lobby. As they reached the first floor they spent a few minutes scouring about for the other two until eventually going to the cafeteria.

"I never really noticed how big this place actually was." Diamond suddenly pointed out. "It almost reminds me of the mall Dan took us to back in Lumiose." Aura shrugged and glanced around the expansive lobby, for the most part seeing a multitude of small shops and cafes like it were a mini mall, even noticing for the first time a couple signs noting certain things like tennis courts and even an indoor pool.

Prince crossed his arms and nodded. "This is true. It is also far more expansive that the other Pokemon Centers we stayed at."

"Maybe it's because of all the stuff around Camphrier Town." They all turned around to see Dan and Gwen sat on a nearby bench with Kelsey perched atop Gwen's lap. Dan waved to his traveling companion and stood up with his Town Map in his hands. "Camphrier isn't just a popular tourist spot because of the festival, it also has a small castle in the town itself and the Parfum Palace just a little ways to the North-West."

Gwen stood up with a Town Map of her own, however hers was dark pink rather than yellow. "Don't forget it's also the closest town to the Battle Chateau."

As Aura looked at them both somewhat dumbfounded, Dan informed Gwen that he'd only just moved to Kalos recently and didn't even know about the festival until they first arrived.

"Yeah. I used to live in Johto but we moved here so I could start my journey earlier," Aura explained, "even though it ended up being way more than I was expecting."

"Sorry for the wait!" Everyone looked over to see Darlene and Kibbs walking towards them, the woman hauling a large travel case behind her. "Hope I didn't keep you kids from breakfast for too long."

Gwen shook her head and put away her Town Map. "Not at all, Darlene. Daniel and I were just telling Aura about the nearby sites."

"How lovely, perhaps you could fill me and Kibbs in too while we eat?"

"Hehe, gladly." Dan and Gwen quickly grabbed their bags and followed Darlene to the PokeCenter's public cafeteria for some breakfast.

With everyone sitting around a table with most of the Pokemon sitting on cushions on the floor, Aura did as he said earlier and helped to reorganize Diamond's bag before the two would begin eating. When asked why they were doing that now, Aura briefly explained there was a mishap upstairs and Diamond's bag spilled out in the hallway.

"So anyways, Aura," Daniel began, "I'm guessing we're gonna have a look around the market for a while and restock on supplies before heading out?"

"You guessed right. We did use up quite a bit of supplies back in the forest and I haven't had the chance to restock. You?"

Dan lifted his bag and gently shook it with little sound coming from within. "Same here. Didn't really need to as long as we were staying in town."

"So where are you guys headed next anyway?" Gwen asked.

"The closest Gym right now is in Cyllage City, so we're gonna go stay there for a few days," Aura told her, "and what about you?"

Gwen took back out her Town Map and showed them a picture of an enormous structure. "My mom and dad are gonna be at the Parfum Palace, so me and Kelsey are gonna stay in town for another couple days to stop by to give my dad a full report on how well the translator's been working. But after that we're heading straight to the Battle Chateau for some serious training." Kelsey barked excitedly and made her trainer laugh.

"Haaah… If only we could stay and visit the Parfum Palace too," Kibbs sighed, "but unfortunately Darlene and I are heading home today."

Gwen shrugged. "Well if you'd ever like an exclusive tour of the place in the future, I'm pretty sure I can get my dad to pull a few strings for you."

Darlene set down her cup. "You really don't need to do that, but honestly who am I to deny such a generous offer," she tittered. "Thank you very much, Gwendalyn."

Gwen waved it off as no big deal and they resumed eating before joining Aura and Dan to do some shopping. While browsing around the marketplace in town square for some fresh ingredients, an incredibly sweet scent caught the attention of a certain Shinx and lured him towards a pastry stall.

"Hey, Aura?!" Stan called out, "what are these things?"

Aura looked up from the onion in his hands and took a moment to notice the feline a couple stalls down. He quickly placed the onion back and jogged over. "Please don't run off by yourself," he briefly scolded with a sigh, "as for these; these are… huh?" Aura paused as he noticed the many boxes full of colourful sweets. "I had no idea they sold these in Kalos." He picked up one of the pink boxes labeled 'Poffins.'

"Oh? So you've had poffins before?" The elderly woman running the stall inquired.

Aura nodded and set the box back down. "Yeah, although I haven't had them since I was a kid. H-how much per box?"

The old lady smiled and told him the price. As Aura got out his wallet, the lady noticed Diamond curiously peering over the counter at the treats along with the young Shinx eagerly drooling from the smell. "Oh my, what sweet little darlings you are," she lifted a basket from behind the stall and set it on the ground, "here you are. But just take one, okay?"

Diamond and Stan looked at the basket with gleaming eyes as they both took a pink one while Prince stepped forward and picked up a green on. ("Thank you very much, ma'am.") Prince said through telepathy.

The old woman smiled and set the basket back behind the counter. "You're very welcome, little ones." Aura smiled at the woman's generosity and quickly paid for four boxes which the woman tied together with a ribbon before handing them over. "You all have a lovely day now."

"You too, Miss. And thank you very much." As Aura led his team back through the market, he smirked as Stan couldn't keep his distance from the boxes in his hand. "Heh, guess you guys really like them."

Diamond nodded as she stuffed the last bit of hers into her mouth. "Mmmh! These are amazing! They're called poffins?"

"Haha! Yeah, Poffins are kind of like PokePuffs in a way, but without all the icing and with different ingredients. It's not often you find them outside of Sinnoh though, so we should be conservative about these ones since we never know when we'll find more." So with their newly purchased sweets in hand, Aura led his team through the market for a while longer to finish gathering the necessities before finally meeting back up with the others near the train station to see off Kibbs and Darlene.

Upon their arrival, Aura was taken back by how packed the station was, not realizing so many people had actually come for the festival. Nonetheless, as the time for departure drew ever closer, Aura embraced his mother and Kibbs lovingly. "It was nice seeing you, Aura, and I'm glad we finally got to meet everyone else too."

"It was great meeting you, Aura's Mom! I can't wait for the next time you visit!" Stan cheered as he happily bounced around.

Prince, being his chivalrous self, politely bowed with a paw on his chest. "It was a pleasure to finally meet you both. I hope to meet again in the future."

"Hehe, so do I," Kibbs replied, looking at the Riolu coyly with her foreleg held over her muzzle, though everyone else was too preoccupied to notice.

Darlene placed her hand on her son's shoulder and smiled. "Make sure you take good care of everyone, okay, Grand Guardian?" She told him with a short wink.

"Heh, I'll do my best, Mom." they came together for one more hug, "It was nice seeing you guys again. I'll try to call home more often."

He felt Darlene suddenly jerk back. "Oh, that reminds me!" She stepped away and rummaged through her case. "I got something here for you." She took out a rectangular box and placed it in Aura's hands. He curiously lifted the top and stared at its contents.

"A phone?" He said in surprise, taking the black device from the box.

"Mh-hm! You never bothered getting a new one so I decided to pick this one up for you when we stopped off in Lumiose City." she tapped the screen with a smile, "I already put in my number and set it up with the trainer plan for you! Just make sure to keep it charged."

Aura closed the box and hugged his mother once again. "Thanks, Mom. I'll call you later tonight if I can."

It wasn't long before they heard the train's horn loudly echo through the station. "We'd better get going. Come on, Kibbs." The Growlithe followed her trainer onto the train, though as soon as she stepped on she glanced back at Prince moments before the doors were shut tight and the locomotive slowly pulled out of the station.

Aura let out a sigh as he put the new phone in his pocket and the box into his backpack. "All right, guys. I think it's about time we head out next."

"Good luck with your Gym Battle, Aura." Gwen told him. "Next chance we get to battle I'm sure it will end differently."

Aura smirked and shook his rival trainer's hand. "We'll see about that. Good luck with your training at the Battle Chateau."

She grinned slyly. "Thanks, but not sure we'll need it. Oh, and before I forget, lemme give you my number!" Aura handed her his phone and watched her put herself into his contacts; then finally, after saying her farewells to Daniel next, Gwen hurried back to the Pokemon Center while Aura and the others all started towards the western gates to finally return to their journey.

Diamond looked back and sighed. "I'm gonna being with everyone like this."

Aura glanced at her for a moment before taking out his new phone. "Well now that I have this, we don't have to wait until we reach a Pokemon Center just to call them."

"Speaking of," Dan turned to Aura, "what happened to your last phone?"

He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, "Let's just say that Pikachu plus camera flash equals a bad night."

Dan caught on almost immediately, but the other three were a bit slow. "Wait, what do you mean by that?" Diamond asked.

Aura averted his gaze awkwardly. "I made the mistake of trying to take a wild Pikachu's picture a while back and I kind of forgot to turn off my flash. It got pretty spooked and hit me with a Thundershock. I came out without much damage, but my phone, well it wasn't quite as lucky."

Diamond thought back to the few dangerous encounters with wild Pokemon and sighed, scolding him lightly and telling him to be more careful around wild Pokemon.


The air was cool and humid as expected from the deepest caverns of a cave. The rhythmic sounds of water dripping from the rocky ceiling barely noticeable over the constant noise of many men and women dressed in red suits lounging about.

The red-clad people had taken to a variety of ways to keep themselves entertained: some were clustered together gambling, some sat in total silence polishing weapons and Pokeballs, some were even taking naps or playing handheld games to pass the time. However, there were a small number of these characters who were fiddling about with what appeared to be some form of shadow-like energy, these particular men and women wearing eerie purple or black coats- robes even- in contrast to the more common red suits their peers donned.

Near the back end of the cave was a red tent, the man inside wearing a black, two-piece suit with a heavy maroon dress-shirt underneath, an unusual looking Flareon was napping peacefully on the bed behind him.

As the man removed the cigar from his teeth and picked up his wine glass, the flap of the tent quickly flew open, startling the man and nearly making him spill his drink. He took a deep breath and set down his glass before turning around to stare at the red-suited man who so suddenly rushed in. "What do you want?" He asked with a menacingly deep voice that was hardly endearing.

"S-sorry, M-mister Lucas- sir, but we just got word that his vessel is on the move again!"

Ashing his cigar, Lucas leaned forward with his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands. "Good to know. How long until he arrives? I grow tired of waiting."

"B-by our estimates, he should arrive in another day or so; h-however, with the incoming storm, it may potentially take longer." Sighing in irritation, Lucas stood up from his velvet office chair and flicked his wrist, an unsettling purple energy emanating from his right hand. "Um- s-sir?"

Lucas walked around the desk, "You are aware this is something of a setback for us, correct?"

The grunt swallowed hard and nodded, "V-very much so, sir."

Lucas stepped closer, his eyes radiating the same lightless energy as his hand, "So you know that this setback could have easily been avoided had you grunts not failed to capture the vessel the first time, correct?"

The grunt grew even more nervous as the air grew heavy and near unbreathable, "Y-yes?"

Stopping right in front of the grunt, Lucas suddenly snapped his hand around the grunt's neck and lifted him off the ground, the purple energy around his hand growing more intense as it spread across his entire body, "You saw what I had done to the other upon your pitiful return to base! I thought seeing how the darkness consumed its victims would encourage you not to fail again! But I suppose we need another example," Lucas brought his face closer and whispered, "and it looks like we have a volunteer."

Frantically grabbing at the hand around his throat, the grunt begged for mercy, "P-please, sir! We weren't expecting what happened!"

His cried were ignored as Lucas stepped out of his tent into the dreary darkness of the cave, his hand still tightly clasped around the grunt's neck. He walked into the center of the cavern, calling for everyone's attention, "Listen here you low-lifes! It seems the failure to retrieve the vessel in Lumiose was more of a setback than we thought," he raised the grunt higher into the air, "the master needs the boy as soon as possible, so let this be another example as to what happens when you fail him!" The dark shadow grew in size, surrounding the grunt as he screamed in horror, begging for it to end.

"Lucas! Enough of this!"

The dark energy quickly retracted, though the grunt looked badly beaten and nearly half dead already just from the few moments of being encased by the purple energy. Lucas lowered the grunt's body and smirked. "What is it, Master?"

A similar purple energy began to swirl around a few feet in front of Lucas, taking the shape of a totally featureless human man. Many of the grunts in red began to cower in fear of the mysterious figure, while those dressed in dark robes came closer.

"Why must you always result in killing your own men whenever something goes wrong? Do you not understand that we need them to fulfill our mission?!"

Lucas glanced down at the unconscious body of the grunt, huffing under his breath as he tossed him aside, "I apologize, Master, but it was due to them that our plans have been postponed for a few more days."

"That does not matter! So long as you can capture him and bring him to me then our plans will still go along well enough."

"I understand, Master Kyreon, we shall not fail in bringing him back."