Jack, Razgriz, and Nova popped into existence with a crackle of electricity. They found themselves on a cobblestone street facing a large gate, beyond which was a large building that looked like a Japanese temple.

"Welcome to the Veilstone City Dojo," Jack told the two Saldarans.

"Certainly isn't like any building I have ever seen," Nova replied as she took in the building in front of her.

"Same here," Razgriz said as he too looked at the building.

"Veilstone is a very old city, and its culture is just as ancient," Jack commented, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He'd missed this place. "The city's history is interwoven with myths and legends, so much so that it's sometimes hard to tell what's history and what's mythology. At least, that's what Maylene told me."

"So who is this Maylene?" Razgriz inquired as he continued to look at the complex.

Jack cocked his head thoughtfully to one side. "She's… well, she's the one who taught me most of what I know about martial arts. She's the gym leader of the Veilstone Gym, but I'm guessing that means absolutely nothing to you right? Does Saldara even have a Pokémon league?"

"Based on what I overheard from some of the soldiers there, they have something different. For one, the age to become a full fledged Pokémon trainer is eighteen. After that, they practically go through what I guess could be described as a form of military training with Pokémon instead of just challenging gyms," Razgriz replied.

Jack scratched the back of his head. "Okay then. I'd actually be interested to see that some time, but oh well. Anyway, you could think of Pokémon gyms as… I guess like checkpoints on a trainer's journey. In order to finish, you have to get past all eight gyms and collect their badges; which are basically just trophies saying you've beaten the gym. The point of it is to give new trainers a mark to shoot for, something that forces them to keep getting stronger in preparation for the Sinnoh League tournament. You following me so far?"

"So far yes," Nova said as both she and Razgriz nodded their heads.

"Veilstone Gym is the third in the series, which means the trainers who come through her gym are usually still somewhat inexperienced," Jack continued, a wry grin spreading across his face. "Which is unfortunate for them, because last time Maylene and I went head to head she gave me a run for my money. And by that I mean not only were her Pokémon on par with mine, but she personally fought me almost to a standstill."

"Sounds like quite the fight," Nova started before a smirk made its way onto her face. "Did you have to cheat that time as well?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Not really. When I say she fought me 'almost' to a standstill, I mean the fight was over about five seconds after I started taking it seriously."

"Yeah, humans tend to not put up much of a fight. I fought a marine once, while he was certainly strong, not anywhere near as strong as I was," Razgriz said.

"I think you just summed up the majority of Earth's population," Jack deadpanned.

"Humans, only the dominant species because of their brains and what they can make with them," Razgriz continued.

Jack shrugged. "I guess that's a pretty fair description, for most humans at least. You'd better prepare to be surprised though, this dojo isn't exactly a holiday resort. And if Maylene has done as much training since I've been gone as I'd imagine she has, then she might just poke a few holes in your opinion of humanity."

"Doubtful," Razgriz scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Just wait until you meet her," Jack insisted. "She's…"

Jack didn't finish that sentence, because at that precise moment he sensed an enormous surge of aura nearby. From the way Nova and Razgriz's heads turned, Jack figured they sensed it too. By Jack's estimation, it was coming from behind the dojo.

"Aaand that would be her," Jack commented with a smirk.

"Well…. That is certainly impressive…" Razgriz muttered, thinking there might have been some truth to Jack's words.

Jack snickered slightly. "I don't want to say I told you so, but…"

"That's a lie and you know it," Nova interjected with a small laugh.

Jack's grin widened. "Yeah, you're right. I really, really want to say I told you so."

"Impressive for a human," Razgriz finished, "I have sensed aura signatures far more powerful than hers."

"But from whom?" Jack challenged.

"Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina," Razgriz replied.

"Exactly," Jack shot back. "And let me ask you this, how do you stack up against Palkia or Dialga in terms of aura signatures?"

"Closer than you think," Razgriz countered with a satisfied smirk.

"Fine, fine," Jack conceded. "You have to admit though, saying that she's not as powerful as Palkia or Dialga is more of a compliment than anything else. Even being compared to legendary Pokémon is an honor."

"Fair enough," Razgriz said with a shrug.

"Anyway," Jack continued, "Let's go. With any luck, we can watch her train some. She basically runs this dojo, and… do you know what a dojo is?"

"Haven't heard that term before, but I think I get the general idea," Razgriz replied.

"It's basically a big school for studying martial arts, including the use of aura apparently," Jack explained. "And Maylene is one of the teachers, or at least she was when I left. By now she's probably the headmistress or something. Anyway, she used to teach a lot of the classes here and I doubt that's changed."

"In that case… Nova, disguise me if you would," Razgriz started, turning to look at Nova. "I would rather not cause a panic."

Nova nodded her head before closing her eyes briefly. Lucario's form seemed to glow for a bit, then in a flash his white fur turned blue, the dark grey fur on his chest was turned tan, and his dark purple spikes turned silver. Only his eyes remained a bright purple as before.

"There you go," Nova said as she opened her eyes again.

Jack nodded. "Alright then, let's knock on the front door. I know that's not our usual modus operandi, but let's try it just this once," he quipped, a wry grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"You mean it isn't acceptable to make your own doors?" Razgriz countered with a short laugh.

Jack shook his head. "Nope. It falls under the same category as making your own skylights. Been there, done that."

Nova couldn't help but laugh at Jack's choice of words, she shook her head some causing her mane to sway behind her.

Jack snickered slightly as well. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up. Seriously though, let's get inside and introduce ourselves before someone notices us and makes the first move instead."

Jack walked up to the front gate of the dojo with Nova and Razgriz following him. When he finally reached the gate, which consisted of vertical iron bars woven together by strands of copper ivy, Jack pulled a thick golden rope hanging off to one side. The rope sounded a bell, which tolled out a long, deep note that alerted anyone within several miles that there were visitors at the front gate.

Only a few moments later, someone stepped into view on the other side of the gate; a brown-haired boy who looked around Jack's age, wearing a white martial arts uniform that looked vaguely like Jack's robes.

"Hail, visitors," the boy greeted them, bowing formally. "Are you here to challenge the Veilstone Gym?"

Jack chuckled. "Nope, sorry. I know how much you all love a good show, but this is purely a social call. Tell Maylene that Jack is here to see her."

The boy nodded, then paused and glanced at Jack in confusion. "Wait a moment, you are acquainted with Master Maylene?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Master Maylene now? Good grief… but to answer your question, I'm an old friend of hers. She'll know who you're talking about."

The boy nodded and bowed again. "Alright then. In that case please, come inside while I fetch Master Maylene."

The boy opened the gate for them, and Jack led Nova and Razgriz inside. The boy then went inside the main building, not making any noticeable haste.

"I'll tell you one thing," Jack commented once the young disciple was out of earshot. "There's no way I'm calling Maylene 'master'. And don't let me hear either of you calling her that either, although I doubt you would anyway."

"Yeah… not happening… Ever..." Razgriz replied.

Jack nodded. "That's pretty much what I figured. I just don't want to inflate her ego any bigger than it absolutely has to be. I don't want her making my mistakes," he said with a wry smirk, although he was only half joking.

At that moment, there was another surge of aura from behind the dojo. The disturbance started moving rapidly towards them and, barely a few seconds later, something flew clean over the roof of the dojo and landed less than two meters in front of Jack. A quick glance told Jack exactly what he already knew.

"Long time no see, Jack," Maylene said, rising from her crouch and stepping forward out of the shallow crater she'd made in the ground.

"Yeah," Jack replied, "It's been a while, hasn't it."

Maylene walked slowly up to Jack, looking him up and down as if checking to make sure he was still in one piece. After a few seconds she seemed to be satisfied. She smiled warmly and looked Jack in the eyes. Then, without warning, she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around Jack's torso in a bear hug. Jack was caught completely by surprise, and he almost had the wind crushed out of him.

"It really is you," Maylene exclaimed quietly, still squeezing Jack tightly. "You're alright."

Jack couldn't help but smile, although he was still somewhat taken aback by the hug. "Yeah," he replied, "I'm fine. It's good to see you again too."

Maylene smothered her face in Jack's right shoulder, and squeezed him slightly tighter; although it hardly seemed possible.

"I was so worried," Maylene said softly into his robes, her voice cracking slightly. Jack felt a lump form in his throat as he realized that she was holding back tears. "I… I thought I'd never see you again…"

Jack sighed and wrapped his arms gently around Maylene's shoulders, running a hand through her scruffy, tomboy-ish ginger hair in what he hoped was a comforting manner. He'd never seen Maylene get even slightly misty-eyed before. She must have been worried sick about him. In retrospect, he couldn't really blame her.

"Well, I'm back now," he reassured her. "I made it back, safe and sound. Although a few more minutes of this and you might break a rib or two," he added with a grin.

Maylene let out a short laugh that could, Jack supposed, have also been a sob. He decided to call it a laugh. The gym leader released her vice grip on Jack and backed up a little, as Jack also let his arms fall to his sides.

"Sorry about that," Maylene apologised, before glancing at the Pack and then behind Jack at Razgriz. "So, you found them then? Is that you, Jason?"

Jack felt like someone had stabbed an icicle through his heart, and it was freezing his stomach. He was hard-pressed to hold back tears of his own.

"N… no," he managed to croak out past the lump in his throat. "They're… some people I met in Saldara."

"You can call me Razgriz," the disguised aura Pokémon started telepathically before gesturing with one of his paws towards the Zoroark next to him. "And this is my mate, Nova."

"Nice to meet you," Nova said with a friendly smile.

Maylene was momentarily taken aback, but to her credit she just accepted it and moved on.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," the gym leader replied, bowing to them. "My name is Maylene. I'm sure there's quite the story behind why you're here with Jack," she commented, looking back over at him, "But first, where's..."

"I didn't find them!" Jack interrupted her, almost shouting; his fists clenched in an effort to hold back the tears that wanted to stream down his face. "I… I didn't find them..."

Maylene nodded solemnly. "You'd better come inside. I'll get you all something to eat, and you can tell me everything," she said in a tone that left no room for argument.

Jack took a deep breath, and unclenched his fists. "Yeah… okay."

"Oh, and Jack?" Maylene added, flashing him a reassuring smile. "Don't forget the most important word. Yet."

Jack let out a short laugh, although to be fair it could also have been called a sob. Maylene decided to call it a laugh. A single tear worked its way down Jack's cheek, but he wiped it away with his sleeve.

"Thanks, Maylene," he said, giving her his best attempt at a smile. "Something to eat sounds great."


Maylene sat in rapt attention as Jack, with a little input from Nova and Razgriz every once in a while, explained what had happened during his time in Saldara. He started with how he'd stumbled into a military checkpoint in the first five minutes after he arrived, and he'd told everything up to the battle at Fort Aaron by the time the food arrived.

The four of them were seated on soft mats on the floor around a low wooden table. They were in a room Jack remembered to be the instructor's lounge. For a place the teachers went to relax, the room was surprisingly bare; spartan even. The hardwood walls were devoid of decoration, and the only furniture in the room was the aforementioned table and mats. A lone window allowed the light of dusk to stream in, and there were several candles lit in preparation for nightfall.

Jack plucked a square of some white substance from the platter on the table and, with only a brief sniff, popped it into his mouth. It was chewy and tasteless, and Jack wondered briefly if that meant it was supposed to be good for him.

Nova and Razgriz were staring at the weird white cubes as well. Neither of the Pokémon seemed interested in the strange food. Both of them selectively went after a tray of shrimp and left everything else alone.

"What is this?" Jack asked once he'd swallowed his mouthful of tasteless putty.

"It's called tofu," Maylene told him in an apologetic tone. "It's supposed to be good for you…"

"I kinda figured as much," Jack deadpanned.

"It's better with the dipping sauce," Maylene replied. "And that over there is eggs and rice."

Jack glanced at the bowl of dark red liquid beside the tofu, and then at the pot of yellowish stuff he hadn't been brave enough to try yet.

"This isn't anything like what they served last time I was here," Jack observed.

Maylene chuckled. "Yup, that's because they always pamper the newbies a little; at least for a while. If you'd stayed much longer, this stuff would've ended up on your plate more and more often until you didn't even notice it any more. The teachers, me included, eat this for almost every meal. Unless I can find a good excuse to go out for junk food, that is."

Jack shrugged. "Well, at least there's shrimp."

Jack reached for the platter of seafood, only to find that there was almost none left. He raised an eyebrow at Nova and Razgriz.

"Not our fault you were to slow to go for the good stuff," Razgriz said as he popped another piece of shrimp into his mouth. Nova simply nodded her head in agreement with a small smirk on her muzzle.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Et tu Brute? Whatever, maybe the rice is good."

He reached for the ladle in the rice pot and scooped a small serving onto his plate. He then picked up his spoon and, silently wondering whether or not to be thankful that they hadn't given him chopsticks instead, took a bite of the rice. It was unsalted, and all he could taste was the eggs; which he doubted had even been cooked. It may not have been the most disgusting thing he'd ever eaten, but it still made him wish for a slice of pizza.

"Yeah, glad I didn't even try that," Nova teased with a satisfied smirk as she ate another piece of shrimp.

Maylene sighed. "Sorry, I should have told them to prepare something a little less… healthy. I didn't even think of it."

Jack shook his head as he swallowed the rice. "It's fine. Anyway, where was I? Oh right, Fort Aaron."

Jack continued recounting his adventures, occasionally taking a bite of tofu; which really was better with the dipping sauce. He skimmed over the bulk of his and Nova's journey, and only gave a brief account of their stay at Axiom; most of which was a mix of character development and filler. Maylene was obviously bursting with questions about the city of Lucarios, but she restrained her curiosity for the time being. Jack chose to simply not mention the mystical auric Core, for several reasons.

Jack went into a little more detail with his account of their meeting with Damocles, although it was mostly for Razgriz's benefit. The hybrid Lucario had been listening intently as well so far, as he had been absent during this part of the story and was interested in the events leading up to his rescue.

Jack explained, more or less, what he'd been thinking at the time and why he'd chosen to trust Damocles. He left out a few of the more personal parts as usual. He told how Damocles had decided to join them, to which Nova added a few details as well, then he skipped straight to the assault on the Alpha base; starting with the plan he'd cooked up.

"Of course though," he commented ruefully, "No plan survives contact with the enemy. Can't remember where I heard that, but..."

"I believe it was General Ford who told you that," Nova interject telepathically so that Maylene could understand her.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Anyway, he was right. Things went well at first; Damocles busted in and started tearing stuff up, and we snuck in undetected behind him. We took down anything that got in our way until we reached the R&D lab. Once there we interrogated the head scientist and found my Pack, but it was empty."

"Was your team being held somewhere else?" Maylene asked, although she had a sneaking suspicion that the reality was much worse.

Jack shook his head. "The pack was empty by the time Alpha got their hands on it. The way I see it, that only leaves one other person who could possibly have them. The one who helped those soldiers ambush me in the first place."

Maylene gritted her teeth. "Hunter J."

Jack nodded. "Yup. Don't worry though, Razgriz here has given me an excellent idea on how to catch her."

"Good," Maylene replied grimly. "I've run across Hunter J before, and she's a nasty piece of work. I wouldn't want her anywhere near my Pokémon…"

Jack grimaced. The icicle in his chest was back, colder than ever.

Maylene's expression flooded with guilt. "Oh no, I'm so sorry Jack. That was stupid of me…"

Jack shook his head again. "It's fine. Anyway, once we realized my Pokémon weren't there we headed back to give Damocles some backup."

Jack gave a brief description of the battle between him and Nova, and the four hybrids including Razgriz. He didn't say anything about his strange memories, partially because only a tiny, scattered handful still remained; but mostly because he still had no idea what was going on, and he didn't want to say too much about it until he did.

"Then I… blacked out," he finished. "The last thing I remember is the snake hybrid closing in on me… and after that nothing, until I woke up to Razgriz being free; and kinda awesome and protecting us and stuff, honestly that part's a little blurry too. According to Nova, some pretty weird stuff happened in between."

"Yeah… weird sounds about right," Nova said after Jack finished.

"Hang on a second," Maylene interjected. "Razgriz… I remember that name, it was all over the news. The Demon of Razgriz… you're him, aren't you. You're the one who attacked all those cities," she said, addressing Razgriz.

Razgriz let out a sigh as he closed his eyes, his head dropping slightly. After a few seconds, he glanced over at Nova and nodded his head. She then dropped the illusion surrounding him, revealing his natural appearance.

"Yes… That was me, though it was not done of my own free will," Razgriz replied.

"Yeah, the mind control," Maylene replied thoughtfully, as Jack had already explained that part.

"Like I said," Jack stated, "Razgriz had no control over his actions."

Maylene nodded. "Right… okay then, if you say so. I guess that does explain a lot, like how he was powerful enough to go toe to toe with you Jack."

The corners of Jack's mouth curled upwards in a sheepish grin. "Yeah… let's not talk about that too much. I like the fabric of reality the way it is."

Maylene raised an eyebrow quizzically. "What?"

"Never mind," Jack replied. "Anyway, after we freed Razgriz from Alpha's mind control…"

"Hold on," Maylene cut him off. "How did you free him?"

Jack shrugged. "That's part of the blank space in my memories. If you really want to know what happened, ask Nova."

Maylene glanced over expectantly at the blue-maned Zoroark.

"Well… as I said earlier, it was weird… even my memory is a little fuzzy about it," Nova responded, partially lying as to protect Jack. She could tell that he didn't want Maylene to know about that part of the story. Jack flashed her a grateful smile.

"Okay then," Maylene replied with a small shrug. "So what happened next then?"

"Razgriz opened a portal which we used to escape the base," Jack continued. "Then…" he paused for a second, glancing over at Razgriz. "We went back to Nova and Razgriz's home and rested for a while."

Jack figured that the hybrid Lucario didn't want to discuss the fate of the Alpha base any more than Jack wanted to discuss his blackout. Although that may have just been Jack projecting a little bit.

Jack briefly went over their debriefing with General Ford, and skimmed over the ship ride back to Sinnoh. He could barely bring himself to discuss the Alpha sneak attack, so once again he kept things vague.

"When we finally landed in Canalave city" he finished, "We came straight here. I figured you'd want to hear the whole story."

"Darn right I did," Maylene affirmed with a smirk. "So, what are you planning to do now? You said you had a plan to catch J?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, but it's a plan that involves a lot of waiting around to see if she takes the bait."

"What do you mean by bait?" Maylene asked, furrowing her brow.

"Well, you are looking at one of the rarest Pokémon in the world," Razgriz said with a slight smirk.

Maylene's eyes widened. "You're not saying…"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, Razgriz has volunteered to serve as the bait in our trap."

"But won't that be dangerous?" Maylene asked.

Jack just raised an eyebrow.

"I have done far more dangerous tasks than being bait for some human," Razgriz countered.

"Yeah," Jack deadpanned, "Trust me, if J does take the bait we're not the ones who'll be in danger."

"Good point," Maylene conceded with a smirk. "Sorry, for a second there I forgot who I was talking to."

"Like I said though," Jack continued, "The plan is going to take a while; especially if J decides to play it cautious, or is on the other side of the region or something. That's if she takes the bait at all. So we may be here a while."

"And yes," Maylene interjected with a wry grin, "You can stay at the dojo. Thanks for asking."

Jack assumed an air of wounded dignity. "I was going to ask…"

Maylene rolled her eyes. "Sure you were. But yeah, you can stay here as long as you like. I'll have someone get a room ready for you. Or… would you rather have a few rooms?"

Jack glanced at Nova and Razgriz. "Two rooms should be fine. Right?"

"I don't see why it wouldn't be," Nova replied with a shrug.

Maylene nodded. "Okay then. I'll set you up on the second floor probably, somewhere with windows. Follow me."

Maylene got up and headed for the door, with the three guests following behind. She led them up a flight of stairs, then down a few corridors lined with doors. From the nameplates hanging off each door, Jack guessed this was some sort of dormitory. He'd always slept outdoors during his time at the dojo, mostly because his team couldn't all fit into one room with him.

"Here we are," Maylene said as they reached a few doors that didn't have nameplates. "They should be fully furnished already, although around here that basically means a mattress and a couple blankets. If you want anything else, you'll either have to ask for it specifically or buy it yourself in the city."

Jack shrugged. "I'll be fine, I'm used to less than this."

"We are used to sleeping in a cave, so I think this counts as an upgrade," Razgriz said with a faint smile.

Maylene let out a short laugh and shook her head. "Okay, okay. I get it. Wow, and I thought one Jack was bad enough. I swear, this is like having three in one room."

"I would like to point out that we are in a hall, not a room," Nova countered with a smirk.

Jack snorted with barely restrained laughter. "I think you just proved her point."

Maylene applied her palm to her forehead. "Yeah, pretty much," she agreed, still smiling despite herself. "Anyway, make yourselves comfortable. If you need me, I'll probably be outside. Try not to blow anything up."

Jack grinned mischievously. "Can't make any promises," he shot after Maylene as she turned and walked back down the hall. The gym leader chose to ignore him.

Jack chuckled as Maylene went out of sight around a corner. "Yeah, she's a lot of fun. She just gets a little stiff around here because everyone expects her to be 'Master Maylene.'"

"Well, the two of you seem to get along well enough," Nova started, looking over at Jack.

Jack's grin shrank by a couple centimeters, and took on a rueful tint. "Yeah. Well I fought her, trained under her for a while, then fought her again. During that time, I guess we got to know each other pretty well."

"Yeah, I would agree to that. Almost sounds like how I got to know Razgriz," Nova continued, shifting her gaze over towards her mate.

Jack held a hand to his forehead, and decisively derailed that train of thought before it could go any further. He was going to have to talk with Maylene privately about a few things, and there were certain things he really, really didn't want to be thinking about when he did.

"Well," Jack said, opening the door directly in front of him and stepping inside, "I call this room. We can reconvene later to discuss the finer detail of operation 'hunt the hunter,' but for right now I really need some rest. Good night."

"Goodnight," both Nova and Razgriz replied before going into their own room.

Jack shut the door behind him, then took a deep breath. He could still feel a ball of ice in the pit of his stomach, and he doubted it would go away until he finally saw his friends again. Still, he couldn't sit around feeling sorry for himself. He had more than one reason for coming to Veilstone.

With a faint whoosh of displaced air, Jack slipped through a crack in the fabric of reality and reappeared outside the dojo. True to her word, Maylene was in the courtyard meditating. She was sitting motionless on a rock beside a mirror-like pond, her breath clearly visible in the cold night air as the late autumn moon shone its pale beams down on her like a spotlight through the scattered clouds. Jack could feel her aura expanding past him, filling the courtyard as she meditated. It was strangely comforting, like being wrapped in a blanket made of happiness.

She felt his presence almost immediately, and wrapped her aura around him in curiosity. Last time they'd met, she had barely been able to sense aura at all. Now though she seemed, if anything, even more adept at it than Jack himself. Jack could see her emotions as though he was reading a book; she was relieved and happy that he'd returned in one piece, but underneath that was a layer of doubts. She was still worried about him.

"I'm fine, you know," he said quietly.

Maylene sighed and turned to face him. "Are you? You don't seem fine."

Jack didn't meet her gaze. "What about you, are you okay? You seem to be pushing the limits of your new abilities already."

Maylene sighed again, but didn't bother calling him out on how he changed the subject. "Well of course I am. I've always wanted to be able to use aura like Lucario can, and now I have the chance to."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much what I expected you to say. You have to be careful though. This power comes with a cost. If you overuse it, it..."

"It'll sap your strength," Maylene interrupted. "Yeah, I figured that out already."

Jack furrowed his brow. "What happened?"

Maylene just shrugged. "I did exactly what you said, I pushed the limits of my abilities and ended up wearing myself out. Nothing to worry about, I just took it easy for a couple days and I was right as rain again."

"Okay then," Jack said. "Just making sure."

Maylene nodded. "That's fine. So," she continued, fixing him with an amber-eyed stare that seemed to look straight through him. "What happened that you don't want to tell me?"

Jack sighed. "Was it that obvious?"

"I can read you like a book, Jack," Maylene told him with a smirk, then her expression softened. "There are some burdens you shouldn't try to carry alone, I learned that a long time ago. If there's anything you want to say, just go ahead and say it."

Jack hanged his head in defeat, and walked over to sit down beside Maylene. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words stuck in his throat. With everything that had happened in Saldara, Jack didn't even know what to think of himself any more. Was he some sort of dangerous monster after all? Would Maylene think that way? What if she...

At that moment, Maylene leaned over and wrapped her arms around him. Once again, Jack was rendered completely speechless. Maylene didn't crush him like before, and the constant pressure was strangely comforting.

"Don't worry," Maylene said softly, reassuringly. "You're my friend, Jack; and I'm yours. No matter what you say, I promise I won't think any less of you."

Jack felt something wet roll down his cheek. "Okay… I'll tell you."

Maylene relinquished her hold on Jack's shoulders and backed up a little to give Jack some space. Jack took a deep breath, and started from the beginning. He explained about the strange dreams and how they felt like old memories, about what Nova said really happened during his blackout at the Alpha base, and about the final Alpha attack on the ship.

By the time he'd finished the story, his tears had all but dried up. Maylene had sat through it all in complete silence, absorbing the information thoughtfully. Jack didn't look at her, her couldn't bear to for fear of what he might see in her eyes. Once again though, he was taken by surprise when Maylene gave him another warm, reassuring hug.

"I don't know what's happening," she admitted, speaking in barely a whisper, "But I know one thing. You're no monster. You'll get to the bottom of this eventually, don't worry. Just please, don't be too hard on yourself."

Jack nodded, one last tear dropping from his chin onto Maylene's shoulder. His voice didn't want to work any more, but he managed to croak out two final words.

"Thank you."


Jack: Man, is it good to be back!

Me: Never thought I'd say this, but it's good to have you back.

Jack: Wow…

Me: Don't get used to it. It won't last.

Jack: Wouldn't dream of it.

Me: Anyway, how are our honoured guests finding the change of scenery so far?

Razgriz: Seen one building so far that is different, so change is noted.

Nova: The food was different as well….

Me: Don't worry, it'll get better. The food at least. Also, I'll say this right now, if for any reason you feel the need to break the fourth wall, please feel free to do so. Palkia has signed a contractual agreement that forbids him from interfering with the events of this story, either directly or indirectly.

Jack: Then again he didn't exactly know what he was signing until it was already signed.

Me: Hey, isn't that what fine print is for?

Nova: Sounds interesting…

Razgriz: But Osean made us sign agreements before shipping us over here. That and anything you send him gets sent through a fourth wall filter.

Me: …

Jack: He's outsmarted you this time.

Me: Shut up.

Razgriz: the man is an engineer

Me: Yeah yeah, so he's good at math. He also messed up big time concerning a certain missile scene if I remember correctly…

Jack: That never actually made it into the story however, so you have no proof.

Me: I have it recorded. Anyway, that's it for the first chapter of the second arc of this collab. I hope everyone is enjoying it as much as Osean and I are. Trust me though, things are going to pick up quickly from here so prepare for a wild ride that'll take us far beyond anywhere this story has gone before. See you all in the next chapter.