Aurian jolted awake the next morning to find Ash dead to the world, drooling on her shoulder. His breaths kept even time with his heartbeat. She envied how her brother could sleep through anything- including gunfire, as they'd found out in Orre. That was an interesting apology to Lance and Riley.

Remnants of her dreams danced in her head as she checked the time. According to the small old-fashioned alarm clock, the Armada strategy meeting didn't start for another two hours, giving her patonai plenty of time to sleep and giving Aurian plenty of time to decipher her dreams.

She'd seen her father but hadn't been able to reach him, his aura crystallizing as she extended her hand to grasp his. Then came the Red Chains, binding her to a wall and draining her reserves, slowly but surely. Aurian's scars tingled as she dressed in her prototype combat uniform, laced her boots, and packed a second set to take to Misty later on in the day. She always dreamed of Red Chains and experimentation before crucial missions. As much as Aurian hated to admit it, she found it sobering. Life wasn't always guaranteed after their missions ended.

Before Aurian could process what she was doing, she arrived at her mother's room. Delia opened after two quiet knocks and welcomed the younger patonai inside.

"Did you sleep all right?" Delia asked, handing her daughter a hairbrush.

Aurian chuckled and began to untangle her unfortunate case of bedhead. "I've started missions with less."

"You don't have to lie to me," Delia answered. "What woke you up so early? You're normally not up until ten on days where you can sleep in."

"Nightmares," Aurian blurted, putting her head in her hands. "Not that I wasn't expecting my brain to freak out before this mission but I'm always caught off guard whenever this happens..."

Delia sighed, clasping her hands. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"I suppose so. You have the right to know, Mom, but this doesn't leave the room- it's still classified. When Ash and I went on our first mission in Sinnoh, I nearly died via my aura reserves being forcibly removed by a Red Chain," Aurian said, rolling her sleeves up to show the extent of her intricate web of scars. "It happened again in my dreams this morning. When I woke up, Ash was still asleep. Figured a walk around HQ would clear my mind."

"He never told me exactly how he almost lost you," Delia murmured, putting an arm around the girl's shoulders. "and I think Ash might want you to know that he couldn't sleep during first week you came home because he kept losing you whenever he closed his eyes."

A tear dripped down Aurian's cheek. Delia passed over a tissue.

"You have every right to be nervous and scared about what Lance and Riley are expecting you to pull off today. You wouldn't be human if you didn't feel that way, Aurian. Aaron struggled with this too, you know."

"Really?"

Delia nodded. "Especially in the weeks leading up to our separation. Goodness, I could never get him to relax completely except when he was around you and your brother. Anxiety runs in the Borealis line. You and Ash are natural leaders, just like him, so a lot of pressure is placed on you."

Ash poked his head in the door. "You can say that again, Mom. The looks I got from other divisions on my way here were insane. You okay, Ri?"

"I am now," Aurian said, hugging Delia. "Thank you. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who had to deal with this."

"If Aaron were here, he'd tell you to 'go forth and have no fear'. That was his squadron motto."

Ash smiled. "I like that. Not too sure about the 'have no fear' part, but that might come with time."

"Go take care of business, I don't want to hold you back," Delia said, passing her kids a bag of cookies. "Made these before I left. Eat a few but take the leftovers to Lance and Riley. They'll need something to distract them for a few minutes."

"You're a saint, Mom," Aurian said, pulling a chocolate chunk cookie out of the bag and munching on it. "We'll pass these off at the meeting."

Delia hugged the patonai and affectionately shooed them out the door.

"Guess Mom's sending us a message," Ash muttered through half a cookie in his mouth. "We should go find Misty, Brock, and company and pass over our spare uniforms."

Aurian stopped in the middle of the hallway. "We have to tell them what we saw yesterday."

"God," Ash said, putting his head in his hands. "Is it bad that I don't want to process that into words yet?"

"No, but we don't have a choice. We promised to tell them what we found, so we will. Doesn't mean it'll be easy," Aurian said, crossing her arms.

The patonai arrived at their friends' rooms and quickly called a meeting in their barrack.

"Whoa," Misty said, taking in every aspect of the tiny bunker from the posters on the walls to the photographs strung up on colored twine across Aurian's corner of the room. "This is where you've been living for the past four years?"

"It's not much, but it's home," Ash said, placing Pikachu on his pillow and sitting on his bed. "Gather 'round, we have stories to tell. Brock and Misty, we have your uniforms for the mission today."

Misty gratefully accepted the small package that Aurian handed her.

"It might be a little tight but we can fix that," Aurian advised, sitting next to Ash. "Same goes for Brock. We take our uniforms very seriously here."

"I can see why," Brock replied, unfolding his jacket. "These look incredible."

"Don't want to interrupt the uniform session, but I'm curious. What'd you guys find yesterday?" Max asked. "We heard you guys get back at about midnight and got worried when you didn't come find us."

"What you're about to hear doesn't leave this room," Ash said, eyes grave. "Celebi took us back to the day the Great War ended."

Misty sat on the edge of Aurian's mattress, eyes wide. "No!"

"Did you see-" Brock started, biting his lip.

Aurian nodded, eyes watering. "We saw all of it from beginning to end. We watched Father trap Uriel in the staff, watched his sacrifice, and h-held his hands while he passed on…"

Ash wrapped his sister in a hug, tears welling up. "It gets worse. Right after his aura crystallized, John Cabot ran into the Inner Sanctum. Giovanni and Cabot are the same person. We don't know how he managed to get to this time, but a portal opened up as Mew prevented the last battle and he took advantage of it."

Brock shook his head. "How did he not see you? I've been in that room, there aren't a lot of places to hide."

The patonai made eye contact and disappeared from view.

"Holy crap," Max said, rubbing his eyes. "Invisibility is a thing?"

Ash appeared first, a small smile crossing his face. "We already knew how to cast invisible aura. Disguising ourselves was the next logical step."

"We also learned of something far more powerful but we're not at liberty to discuss it here. Father, Lance, and Riley explicitly forbade us from ever using it- but as you know, we're not ones to follow orders that don't make sense," Aurian sighed, returning to view and wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"If worse comes to worst, we are prepared to sacrifice ourselves to shut MissingNO down," Ash finished, his newly blue eyes sharp and cold as steel.

Misty shook her head. "We just got you back, Ash. I can't lose you again-"

"Yeah, what she said," Max added, squeezing in next to his mentor. "Does it have to be you two?"

"You've heard what we've told you. It seems like fate intended this to be a Borealis and Cabot showdown since day one," Ash said.

Maddy bit her lip. "What can we do?"

"The trainees will stay here with Research," Aurian ordered. "You're not getting within fifteen miles of this feud. Brock, Misty- you're with us. As long as you follow orders and don't do anything incredibly stupid, chances are you'll make it out alive. The strategy meeting starts in about thirty minutes- change into uniform and we'll grab food real quick."

"Also," Ash said, taking out the bag of Delia's cookies, "Mom made these for you guys. Save some for Lance and Riley, though!"

The four civilians devoured a cookie each. Brock and Misty left the room to change into their temporary uniforms while Maddy and Max stayed behind with the patonai.

"Hey, Aurian," Maddy said, examining the photo collection over the younger patonai's bed, "who all's in this photo and why are your uniforms white?"

"That one?" Aurian asked, joining her trainee. "That's the Armada on the day Ash and I were initiated. It's a requirement that you wear white during the ceremony. Riley insisted on taking a group picture that day, for some odd reason. Needless to say, it didn't turn out so well."

Max joined the two girls. "Any particular reason you're turning your backs to the camera?"

"Armada tradition," Ash answered. "If the photos are leaked, they'll know our faces. Plus, things seem a bit more epic when you don't face the camera."

"There's an extra person here," Max said, pointing to a man with a thick black ponyta-tail. "Who's that?"

The air of the room turned from jovial to crestfallen. Misty and Brock slipped in the door, anxious to hear a response.

"That's Saul. The reason he's no longer here is that he sold us out in Sinnoh," Ash said, crossing his arms. "He was a turncoat. Leaked our mission plans to Galactic, who were able to kidnap Ri to finish their Red Chain research. He was prosecuted and amnesia'ed on Lance's orders. He's now in jail for what he thinks is an attempted double murder."

"Damn," Misty said, crossing her arms and holding them close to her chest. "You weren't kidding about how serious an information breach is."

"Do the uniforms fit okay?" Aurian asked, carefully inspecting her friends.

Ash bit his lip, completely conscious of how his patonai changed the subject.

Misty nodded. "I think so. They're a lot easier to move around in than I thought."

"Mine's a little tight, but I'll manage," Brock said, adjusting his sleeves. "How do the hoods stay up through all of your combat shenanigans?"

"Magic," Ash winked. "Not really, there are elastic loops built in that go around your ears. We've got a strategy meeting to set up for- you guys ready?"

The group nodded.

"Max, Maddy, we'll walk you to Research first," Aurian said, holding the door. "Steven will take good care of you, I promise."

The group of six left the residential wing to find the base buzzing with quiet anticipation.

"Is this place normally this tense before missions?" Brock asked.

Ash shrugged, leading everyone up a few flights of stairs. "Yes and no. Since this is a corps-wide mission, there's more pressure. If it was just a routine Regional Rebellion shutdown, it'd be more of what we're used to. We've got backup coming in from all over the world today."

"You might get to meet our Ranger friends from Oblivia," Aurian said, opening a door. "Depends on where Lance puts them... hey, Steven!"

The silver-haired man appeared from behind a set of computer monitors. "Hello! You've brought your trainees?"

Ash nodded. "Yes, sir. You said you had work for them to do?"

"Mainly radar watching with Brendan," Steven said, putting a hand on Max's shoulder. "They'll find a place."

"Be careful, you two," Aurian asked, looking the trainees in the eyes. "If someone in authority tells you to do something, do it. If it doesn't feel right, call for Steven, Brendan, or Lucas and they'll help you out. Clear?"

Max nodded. "Yeah. See you guys soon, okay? Take care."

Maddy hugged her mentor. "Stay safe."

Steven held the door for the group as they left.

"Protect them from as much as you can," Ash said, passing Steven on his way out. "They're too young to know of what really happens on missions."

"Weren't you too young, patonai?" Steven asked. "We'll do what we can."

"Touche. See you, Commander," Ash replied, saluting.

Ten steps later, Ash's Pokegear buzzed.

"Hello?" Ash said, putting the device to his ear.

"Ash, it's Lance. You have a visitor in the Armada Headquarters. Come now, he's getting impatient."

Ash frowned. "Yes sir, we're on our way. See you in three."

"What was that about?" Misty asked. "You shouldn't have any visitors now, of all times..."

"Unless this visitor is critical to the mission," Aurian answered. "Now I'm curious. Before we head out, does everyone have their teams on them?"

Misty nodded.

"Yeah," Brock said. "I haven't battled competitively in a while but I've been training my team up again just in case. Great timing, right?"

Ash snorted as he held the door into the Armada headquarters. "Too perfect, Brock."

Lance and Riley stood in a conference with a third figure obscured by shadow.

"Holy crap," Ash said, nearly falling over when his aura sight activated. "It's you?"

A Lucario stepped forward, a wicked grin on its face. How eloquent. Hello, Ash! It's good to see you again. Four years really did you well, friend.

"Ash?" Aurian asked. "You know him?"

"This is the Aura Sphere Riolu I met a while back," Ash said. "What I'm amazed by is that you managed to track me here and convince the G-Men to let you in."

Riley laughed. "It wasn't hard. I knew about Hunter J's ambitions on your friend here from the start. We'd been in contact a few times whenever the Lucario Kingdom up on Shaymin's Island was in trouble."

We knew that the Armada had adopted two youngling Guardians into their ranks, Raziel said, But I had no idea that it would be you. My fellow Lucario released me from duty when we heard about what happened at Lily of the Valley and sent me here to come work with the G-Men. Ash, I cordially extend my service to you for this mission and all that follow. Will you adopt me into your team?

Ash teared up, old memories of Sinnoh flashing before his eyes. "Yes, but I need to know your true name before we seal the deal."

Raziel, the Lucario said. I'm called Raziel back home.

"Well, Raziel, welcome to the team," Ash said, tossing an Ultra Ball. Three shakes later, Raziel released himself and stood by his new trainer's side.

We really must catch up, but this is not the time, Raziel said. I recognize Brock. Who are your female companions?

"This is Aurian Borealis, my sister and my sworn patonai, and Misty Waterflower, a close childhood friend."

Honored to meet you, Raziel bowed. Especially you, Aurian. Thank you for taking care of my Master.

Aurian blushed and returned the action. "The honor's been mine, friend."

The rest of the Armada filed into Headquarters, taking their seats around a circular table. Raziel and Cass, who released herself once she sensed another like her, stood in the back, speaking quietly in their native language.

"That was unexpected," Ash said, passing the bag of cookies off to a thoroughly excited Lance. "I knew that Raziel and I bonded when we first met but didn't imagine it would lead to this."

Aurian grinned and clapped her brother on the shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Ash. We'll talk more about this soon. Riley, we almost ready?"

Riley nodded, adjusting his sleeves and pulling up the necessary diagrams for the meeting. "Give me another minute and we can start."

"While Riley brings up the plans, I can start by telling you that this mission will not be easy," Lance said between bites of Delia's cookies. "Andan's fortifications on the old Rocket base are unlike anything I've ever seen before."

"There are three towers on the side that we'll be taking," Riley said, a picture of three shadowy buildings appearing on the screen. "Our goal is to sneak in and take the three towers and capture Charon and MissingNO. Our secondary objectives are to reveal Darkrai's Shadow nature via a method that Steven deciphered and to Snag that Legendary. The patonai and their Lucario will lead this effort..."

A green "Call Waiting" icon appeared on the bottom of the screen, an unfamiliar number in the address line.

Steven burst into the room, disheveled and out of breath. "That's the number we got from Andan yesterday."

"Armada, clear out," Lance ordered. "Borealis, Borealis, and Stevens- stay with me."

The patonai and Riley moved forward past the rapidly exiting squadron. Misty flashed Ash a quick thumbs-up on her way out the door.

"What could this possibly concern?" Lance asked, motioning for the three Guardians to pull their hoods up.

Ash frowned. "Not sure. Wait, is the door within view of the camera?"

Steven turned the lens. "Now it's not. Prop the door so the rest of the Armada can listen in."

Lance sprinted to the door. "Listen in. If any of you make any noise at all, you're dead. Clear?"

The unit nodded.

"Riley, accept the call," Lance said, rejoining the patonai, who pulled their hoods up.

The Armada commander raised his hood, accepted the call, and squeezed in next to Ash.

"Armada," a voice said, face obscured by shadow.

Ash and Aurian winced.

"Giovanni," Lance replied, voice steely.

"I thought I'd offer you an ultimatum," the Andan Boss offered, crossing his arms. "We both know that a rather nasty brawl is going to happen within the next thirteen or so hours, yes? I'll give you Goodshow- with full permission to legally prosecute him for funding us out of the League Treasury- in exchange for an hour-long visit with your two younger wielders."

The patonai made eye contact with Lance, who bit his lip.

"How would I ensure that their one-hour visit wouldn't turn into a life-long imprisonment?" Lance asked.

Giovanni moved into the light, face contorting into a frown. "You don't trust me?"

"Haven't given us a reason to," Ash said, rolling his eyes. "The last time one of your affiliates had a wielder in custody, you nearly killed her."

"A slight technicality," Giovanni replied, steepling his fingers. "The deal still stands."

"No way in hell," Lance said, discreetly putting a hand on Aurian's shoulder. "Is that all?"

Giovanni frowned. "That is all."

"Watch your back, sir," Lance said, a smirk slipping across his face. "There's a siege headed your way."

"Duly noted," Giovanni answered.

Lance hung up, ears burning red. The Armada silently filed back into the room, awed by their general's quick tactical thinking.

"Way to go, Lance. I never would've dreamed of subverting the attack method and hinting at a false siege," Riley said, attempting to diffuse the situation. "Breathe, friend. Your heart won't be able to handle much more stress."

"I'm not capable of stressing more than this," Lance groaned, rubbing his temples. "Wes, run a message to Flint and N, they're now in charge of setting up units under the pretense of siege. The faster we can move out, the better, and the sooner you all can shut down MissingNO."

The tall trainer slipped out of the room, an Umbreon on his heels.

Lance shook his head. The silence was deafening.

Ash slammed a fist on the table, eyes flaring brighter than normal. Misty watched in horror as the aura in her friend's eyes completely burned away the crimson contacts, leaving a stark blue iris.

"Dammit, Lance! I can't let you pit the entire Armada against MissingNO and you know it. Ri and I are the best equipped to defuse the situation- let us go. Put the rest of the squadron where they'll be most effective against Andan."

"We know we might not get out of this one in one piece," Aurian started above general uproar from the Armada, "Considering what we uncovered last night, it has to be us."

"Fill us in, Captains?" Sam asked, crossing his arms.

Riley raised his hand. "I can't foresee any problems with telling the rest of the Armada. Friends, what you're about to hear does not leave this room by penalty of forced amnesia and expulsion from the company and the G-Men. Are we clear?"

The Armada crossed their hearts in unison.

"Long story short," Ash started, doing his best to fill in the gaps in the shortest amount of time possible.

Eusine shook his head. "Plot twists of the century…"

"Giovanni and Cabot are the same? Damn," Sam muttered, crossing his arms.

"I knew that you two were unusually powerful for wielders your age but this definitely explains why," Hiori said, carefully eyeing the patonai. "Lordy. What have we gotten ourselves into?"

Lance cleared his throat. "A battle for the future of the League itself. If we can't resolve this now, all the peace and order we've taken for granted will fall. Andan's primary end goal is to kill our three wielders to finish what they started a millennium and a half ago. They're willing to destroy countries to do it. We can't let this happen."

"That explains why Lance denied the deal so quickly," Mack said, crossing his arms. "Time to give 'em hell, guys."

"Our plan is crazy, but it might work," Riley said, clapping his hands. "Listen up…"

The Armada left their headquarters three hours later, completely debriefed on any possible situation that might arise within their operation.

Misty tugged on her sleeves and power-walked towards a quiet alcove that Aurian pointed out on their way up. After everything she saw in the tactics meeting, she needed a lot of time to think and process what lay ahead.

Another set of footsteps mirrored hers and Misty turned to find Ash on her heels, a concerned look on his face.

"Hey Mist, the rooms are that way," Ash said, pointing in the opposite direction.

"I need some time alone, okay?" she replied, ducking out of his way.

"Misty, wait!" Ash called, chasing after the redhead. "Tell me what's on your mind!"

"You'd really like to know?" she asked, eyes watering. "You scared me back there, Ash. You were angry enough with our situation that you destroyed something meant to keep your true nature under wraps. The Ash I grew up with wouldn't've dreamed of getting angry enough at something to go off like that. I don't even know who you are anymore…"

The sheer horror that appeared in Ash's eyes caught Misty completely off guard.

"Mist, look at me. We both know I'm no longer the blundering idiot I was when you met me eight years ago. I've been forced to grow up, I've seen things that no one my age or younger should ever have to see. Four years in the military would change anyone. Sure, I look different now- I've grown a foot and a half, I'm a Guardian, my eye color changed- but I swear on my Guardian's Honor that parts of me are still the same. You've seen my loyalty to my patonai, my team, and my division, right?"

Misty sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? Don't worry about me. I'll see you later-"

"Don't apologize," Ash interjected, ears burning red. "You're stalling. Tell me what you really want to say."

The redhead closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'mworriedyouwon'tcomebackalivefromthisandaboutwhatwillhappenifAndanfiguresoutwhoyouare," she blurted, face crimson.

Ash took her hand. "Hey, I've gotten out of worse scrapes, as has Aurian. As long as my sister and I are together, we'll make it out no problem. As for Andan figuring things out... that's unavoidable after the gala. They'll know our code names. Lance's done a remarkable job of covering our paper trail so they shouldn't know our real identities unless something gets screwy or they see our scars. You're really that worried about me?"

"I've done a terrible job of hiding it," Misty said, running her fingers over the unfamiliar material of her uniform.

"And I've done nothing to deserve your worry," Ash replied, crossing his arms. "I was a crap friend for not telling you what happened after my Sinnoh League. You probably thought I was giving you the cold shoulder for four years and were probably incredibly mad after you figured everything out."

"Partially true," Misty answered. "But I was more scared to death than anything else, especially when the League started going after you and when Lance popped up and took me into the witness protection program. I thought I knew fear until I came here. I don't know how you've survived four years of this."

Ash fidgeted with the inside of his jacket and held out a hand to his friend. "Misty, I want you to hold onto something for me."

"Sure?" Misty asked, hesitantly extending her left hand.

Ash dropped a small pin into Misty's palm and she gasped when she saw the gym badge she'd reluctantly given him eight years ago.

"All this time?" she asked, tears streaming down her face.

"All this time. I need you to give that back to me after we're through here, though. Can't go losing that, it's important," he said with a wink.

Misty ran to Ash's arms and the young captain did his best to comfort his friend.

"I promise I'll come back- for good this time," Ash said, awkwardly stroking Misty's hair. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

"I have four years of sister stories to fill you in on," Misty muttered.

Ash laughed. "Come on, we've got a mission to finish and Riley's expecting us for equipment check soon. Let's go!"

Aurian smiled as her patonai and her new friend walked further into headquarters, hand in hand. Everyone but Ash and Misty could see how this one was going to end. She knew she probably wasn't supposed to listen in on their conversation but Ash would've told her about it eventually. Plus, those two were loud when they were angry...

"Fifteen until inspection," Aurian muttered, checking her watch. "Might as well go early and be a productive Captain-"

Riley tapped Aurian's shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"I think so," she replied. "My brother's growing up, isn't he?"

"You both have," Riley said. "You're not the same patonai you were when you left for this mission a month ago, nor the same people you were when we found you four years ago. That's part of life, I suppose."

"Don't leave yourself out of this," Aurian said. "You're changed too, Commander. Slightly less uptight than you were, yeah?"

Riley laughed. "I suppose so. It almost feels like Lance and I traded personalities, but that's enough of this for now. We have an equipment check to run..."

Everyone here?" Riley asked, glancing over a small list. "Equipment check starts now. Earpiece?"

The corps tuned their comm devices to the right frequency.

"Mawile 580?"

The entire division pulled a small pistol out of their holsters.

"Houndour 1304A?"

Eusine, Sam, and Michael held up their assault rifles. "Got 'em."

"Snag Machine?"

Michael and Wes saluted.

"Mark 312?"

Mack motioned to his sniper rifle. "You really think I'd leave the building without my baby?"

"Moving on," Riley groaned. "Smoke Grenades?"

The division nodded.

"Crystal reserves?"

The patonai held up their arrowheads, the pendants all but glowing with power.

"Other assorted personal weapons?"

The corps partnered up to check their comrades' equipment.

"Transportation is a school bus. They'll take us as far as the entryway to Mt. Silver National Park, then we'll hike in from there. Any last-minute questions?"

"Is the Board trying to humiliate us by using a yellow dog?" Eusine asked. "We have charters."

"They look less threatening. Who expects a military raid to use a school bus?" Riley asked, setting his clipboard down and reorganizing his belt. "No further questions. Armada, move out!"

"Deus nos tueatur iudicium praevalaet!" the Armada shouted, right hand over their hearts. Misty and Brock looked on in confusion.

The group moved towards the bus, combat boots slipping over the ground.

"Hey, Aurian?" Brock asked. "What did you guys say before we left?"

"Oh, the corps motto!" the younger patonai answered, securing her braid. "May God protect us and justice prevail. It used to be one of the Guild sayings. We borrowed it for our own purposes."

Ash nodded. "In a way, we're the new Guild, trial by fire and all."

"Any advice for us rookies?" Brock asked. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"None of us did," Wes said, clapping Brock on the back. "Follow Ash and Aurian, listen to commands through the earpiece, and move if Lance or Riley tell you to move. You have firearm experience, right?"

The rookies nodded as they climbed onto the bus. "Yeah. Gun training is required to maintain a gym leader position. League thinks we should be able to protect our gym and everyone in it in a worst-case scenario."

"Ever used one for real?" Sam asked.

Brock nodded, Misty shook her head.

"Really, Brock?" Ash asked.

The ex-gym leader nodded. "Right after Dad left and I took over the gym. There was a break-in. The guy was armed. Didn't even think about it."

"This will be different," Riley said, taking the wheel and starting the bus. "Everyone we will face today has been taught to kill on sight. They'll be lethal. We'll be faster."

"And invisible," Aurian said, a giant grin lighting up her face.

"That's so unfair," Eusine sighed. "How come you guys get to do all the cool stuff?"

Ash shrugged. "Kinda comes with the whole aura thing. Be glad you haven't been hunted and nearly killed multiple times for what you're capable of."

"Touche," Eusine said, putting his hands up.

Riley groaned. "Cut it out, you guys. Start doing your pre-mission traditions- especially the patonai. Stretch out your reserves."

The bus went quiet, most members stretching out previous injuries and reflecting on their goals.

"Ready?" Ash whispered.

Aurian nodded and raveled a small sphere of aura in her right hand, her brother copying her action. The patonai transferred their auras into each other, blue light flickering underneath their hands.

"Feels normal," Ash said, stretching out his fingers. "Weapons check?"

The patonai formed small daggers, swords, and throwing knives, rapidly reforming them based on calls from the other.

"Looks like everything checks out," Aurian sighed, releasing the aura she'd generated and settling into her seat. "We sleeping until we get there or nah?"

"Brock's already on top of that," Misty said, motioning towards her snoring seat partner. "He's been out since you two started your aura checks."

Ash chuckled. "Some things never change, right?"

"How long of a ride will this be?" Misty asked.

"Maybe twenty minutes, tops?" Aurian said, gazing out the window. "We left out the back entrance to Victory Road, which directly faces Mt. Silver."

"The hike should take about forty minutes, or however long it takes Mack to haul his butt up the mountain," Ash called.

Mack huffed. "I'd like to see you climb a mile and a half with extra sniper gear, Borealis."

"Been there, done that, have the scars from Orre to prove it," Ash said, scratching his right shoulder.

"Wait... Ash, where's Pikachu?" Misty asked, frantically searching for the little yellow mouse.

Ash laughed. "He's with Dragonite Reserve. My identity'd be a dead giveaway if he came with me so he'll be running patrols for Reserve until they're called in. I'll have N's head if he doesn't take care of the little guy."

"Chances are Pikachu's taking care of N," Aurian groaned. "He's good but still inexperienced..."

The corps quieted down as the sign for Mt. Silver National Park flashed by outside their windows.

"Five minutes to landing. We've got a cloaking device set up for the bus, right?" Riley asked.

Mack nodded and pressed a button on his wrist. "We're cloaked. Park somewhere inconspicuous."

Riley followed the signs for mountain entry and parked the bus in a deserted side lot.

"Check your gear and follow me," the commander said, shouldering his backpack and raising his hood. The other Armada members copied his actions and left the bus.

The hike was mostly uneventful and followed Lance's game plan to the minute. The last Armada member crested and reached the pit stop with four minutes to spare.

"Mack, find a good spot?" Riley asked, triple-checking everyone's earpieces.

The sniper nodded, disguising himself and his equipment behind a small shelter of rocks and ivy. "I've got perfect aim into Towers Two and Three. No one in their right mind would be able to track me here. The ivy will cover my heat signature and there's room for Sam to second my duties."

"Understood. Remember, this operation starts with the patonai slipping in between false siege units and taking the first tower. I'll lead a group to the second, Dragonite Reserve radioed in a bit ago and asked permission to take the third. If all goes as planned, we will meet in the long corridor towards the research room. Clear?"

The Armada saluted and split off into their respective groups, huddling behind groves of aspen and pine trees to keep their body temperature high.

"Just us, huh?" Ash murmured, stretching out his shoulders.

Aurian grinned. "Just us. The faster we can take this tower, the better, right?"

"As long as we stay mostly undetected, which might not be too hard with our new little superpower," Ash winked, vanishing from view.

Aurian rolled her eyes and disappeared. "Dear Lord, Borealis. Joke later, work now."

Riley motioned for the patonai to move out. Ash and Aurian slipped into the forest cover and picked their way towards the entrance at the base of Tower One, breezing through a few stray Andan guards.

"All right- patonai, do you copy?" Mack's voice crackled in their ears.

"Copy," Ash breathed. "Where are the cameras?"

"If you're where you should be, there are seven. Lance recommends knocking them all out at once; it'll look like a power outage."

"Understood," Aurian whispered, taking note of the locations Mack passed over and pinpointing them for her patonai.

Ash raveled seven strands of aura, inhaled, and shut down all seven cameras in one go, aim perfect as usual.

Here we go, Aurian said, drawing her cloak of invisible aura a little closer.

Two men stood posted at the entrance, AK47s across their chests and pistols on their belts. The patonai crept a little closer and listened in on their conversation.

"Seems weird that Boss ramped up security for today," the taller guard noted, crossing his arms. "I know things went haywire at that gala thing in Sinnoh but there's no way the G-Men could've tracked our location that quickly-"

Ash and Aurian flickered in and out of view, scaring the agents into dropping their guns.

"Wrong answer," Ash snarled, knocking both men out within fifteen seconds.

You didn't leave any for me? Aurian groaned, propping a man against the wall and swiping his ID card . Come on, man, you know I could've handled that.

No time, come on! Ash said, dragging Aurian through the door and into the fortress. They'll know we're here in about three minutes-

The patonai sprinted past the guard change, a confused look crossing their face at the sudden breeze.

Up the stairs to your right is the control tower. Braveheart, hack in and disable the systems so we can storm, Riley said. All orders will come through Kokani from here on out.

Ash and Aurian skidded around a corner and took five flights of stairs at a steady run, bursting into the control room.

We're in, Aurian said, sliding into a chair. Starting now.

Keys clacked as the younger patonai breezed through the systems, utterly destroying everything in her wake.

Ash took out the lone security camera in the room and waited patiently for his sister to finish her job.

Ri, I can feel people coming. How close are you?

Ash, I'm done! Aurian cried, slamming the last button with a slight spark in her fingertip. The system's screens turned aura blue and then died with a sad little pop. Noises of outrage echoed through the first tower and a second door to the control room burst open, revealing men dressed in old Rocket uniforms.

"There's no one here, why was Mars freaking out about an intrusion?" the squadron captain asked, crossing his arms.

Aurian suppressed a giggle. "I know, right? She's kind of crazy like that."

The captain frowned. "Wait a second..."

The patonai launched into action, throwing punches and creating mass chaos among the unit. Soon, only their leader remained.

"The hell is going on here?" he asked, drawing his pistol.

Ash and Aurian flickered into view, pure terror appearing on the older man's face.

"One question before we leave, sir," Ash said. "MissingNO. Where is it?"

The man gulped. "What happens if I tell you?"

"We help you with a plea bargain," Aurian said. "We don't take threats against humanity lightly. Help us now and we'll return the favor."

"Research is between towers one and two, third floor below ground," the captain said, wiping his brow. "Are my men all right?"

"They'll be hurting in the morning, but yes," Ash replied, gripping a pressure point on the man's back and sending him plummeting to the floor. "As will you. Thank you for your help, friend."

Riley! First tower is ours. Send in Reserve! Aurian announced, a smile breaking her somber mood.

Understood and good job, patonai. Hold your ground until we say so.

Ash grinned. Also- MissingNO and Charon should be in Research. Third floor below ground, according to the captain we just knocked out.

Excellent! The Armada just took advantage of your chaos and entered Second Tower. Reserve is well on their way to taking Third. I'm about to take up the rear. See you in ten, Riley replied.

"Now what?" Ash asked.

Aurian looked around the room. "Replenish our reserves, first. Then we investigate. Pick off anyone they send up here to check on the squadron that we took out."

"Good plan," Ash said, gripping his arrowhead and drawing upon the stores of energy that he'd deposited over the past month. "That took a lot more out of me than I realized. You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," Aurian said. "I took a lucky graze to the arm so that'll hurt in about three hours. I'm fine other than that."

Their earpieces crackled and a distinctive scream pierced the patonai's eardrums.

"Dear God!" Ash yelled, right ear ringing. "Report!"

"Michael's hit!" Wes gasped, gunfire echoing through the transmission.

"We've got medics coming, they're almost there!" Lance said, dropping a few curses.

"Guys, it's okay! I've had worse!" Michael replied, voice weak. "It's a bullet to the leg, that's all."

"Nonsense. Medics just got here, we're leaving Mike with them. Patonai, meet us at Research. Five members of Reserve are headed your way to take over your position. You'll pass them on the staircase," Riley said.

Ash and Aurian raced out the door and took the stairs at a dangerously fast sprint. N and four of his Reserve members tagged the patonai halfway down and reached the ground floor two minutes later, frantically searching for a continued staircase downstairs.

"Any idea where we're going?" Ash asked, leading his sister down a hall.

"Captains? This is Saturn. Turn right and keep going for three hundred yards. The staircase is in room 105 in the storage closet."

Aurian bit her lip. "Torn between wanting to kill you for jumping in on a classified mission and wanting to call you a saint but thanks. Armada, what's your position?"

"Sent Eusine and Hiori to take the control room in the second tower, we're meeting you at Research ASAP," Riley said. "You'll know it when you see it."

The patonai busted down the door to room 105 and scared the lone guard so severely she passed out.

"That was easy," Ash muttered. "To the catacombs?"

"Geez, don't call them that," Aurian groaned. "We're not dead yet."

The staircase creaked on every third step, plunging the siblings into darkness. Ash lit his hand in blue fire and intensified his aura as they reached the third floor, illuminating the long corridor. Motion down the hall proved to be the rest of their unit, huddled around something in the wall.

Ash and Aurian greeted their remaining Armada at a white door, a sequence of black runes marking the frame.

"Anyone able to translate these?" Wes asked, fiddling with his Snag Machine.

Riley moved forward and squinted at the small markings.

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Fitting, seeing that this is where MissingNO was created," Riley said, crossing his arms. "Abandon all fear, ladies and gentleman. Braveheart, Shadow, take down the door."

Aurian cracked her knuckles. "Traditional way or our style?"

"Twenty bucks each and free pizza if you take the door off its hinges," Wes taunted, the entire squadron shaking with suppressed laughter.

Ash grinned. "Challenge accepted. Let's move."

The younger patonai took twenty steps down the corridor, stretching out her feet on the way. Ash prepped the door and waited for his sister to make her move.

Aurian sprinted down the hall, leaping into the air and slamming the aura-charged heel of her shoe into the lock. The door splintered under the force she generated and exploded off of its hinges, filling the room with smoke and debris.

All the occupants coughed and scrambled for safety as the Armada entered the room, Pokeballs and weapons drawn. The three wielders lit their palms in blue fire.

"Good evening, Andan!" Ash called, a grin appearing from under the shadows of his hood.

Tobias, Faith, and Charon stepped forward, eyes wide when the remnants of the bulletproof door came into view.

"I take it that was your work?" Faith asked, an eyebrow raised.

Aurian smirked. "I suppose so, Miss Sorenson."

"Speaking of true names," Tobias said, crossing his arms, "You're obviously extremely observant to have figured out who we are. You're not the only ones who've been paying attention. There's a set of trainers back at the Global Invitational who can non-verbally communicate with their teams with no issues whatsoever. We know they're not psychics or empaths, so that leaves one option- aura."

Riley took a slight step forward, unconsciously shielding the younger patonai. "Not entirely correct, Tobias. You forget that almost anyone can communicate non-verbally with practice. Some use hand signs, others form such a bond with their teams that words are no longer needed."

"No," Tobias started, releasing Darkrai, who let out an annoyed growl, "they are different. I'm blind to the aura world but I can feel a pull of some sort whenever they- and you- are around. Am I right, Red, Blue?"

Ash and Aurian made eye contact, nodded, and dropped their hoods, eyes on fire.

"Congratulations, you solved the riddle," Ash said. "You said you were blind to the aura world, Tobias- let us have the honor of giving you an introduction. Rule one? Don't work for the people who murdered our family."

"Rule two: we don't like to be watched, especially by League traitors," Aurian growled.

Riley raveled five strands of aura and took out two visible security cameras and three covert lenses on his first try. "Rule three: When we're angry, all hell breaks loose."

Faith leapt forward, slashing at Aurian's throat with a pocket knife. The younger patonai ducked out of the way, blocked Faith's blow with a wall of aura, and swept the Andan agent's feet out from under her.

"Hidden weapons?" Ash asked, a small aura-blue knife materializing in his grip. "We can do that, too!"

Kanto's Crimson Menace and the Undeniable jumped into combat, moving so quickly they turned to blurs. Their Pokemon began to duke it out on the sidelines, Raziel and Cass clashing with Darkrai.

Riley used the distraction to his advantage, charging a highly concentrated sphere in his right hand.

"I really hope Steven's theory works," he said, crossing his fingers as he launched the sphere at Darkrai's back.

The attack made contact, covering Darkrai in a thin sheen of blue. Four seconds later, pitch-black aura streamed seven feet high off of the Darkrai, startling everyone back a few feet.

"You really thought we'd skip over the fact that your Darkrai's a Shadow?" Ash asked, taking a hard landing on the ground. "Wes!"

The tallest member of the Armada activated his Snag Machine, launching a pitch-black Pokeball towards the Legendary with deadly accuracy.

Tobias screamed as the Pokeball shook, stunning the ongoing brawl into silence.

Once.

Twice.

Three times-

and clicked. Wes and Tobias dove for the Snag Ball, which flew upwards out of their grasp over the stunned mix of Andan and Armada. Wes got to it first and chucked it as hard as he could away from the Undeniable. Aurian gave her patonai the boost he needed to catch the Snag Ball and Ash cradled it against his chest as he landed in a somersault.

Tobias tossed out his Latios and shook with rage.

"You son of a-"

Pikachu cut him off with a well-timed Thunderbolt as the reserve troops from Dragonite reached the research room.

Latios responded with a powerful Razor Wind aimed directly at Ash, who ducked just in time to dodge the worst of the attack. The bottom edge of the wind caught Ash's uniform jacket in its grasp, ripping his jacket open to reveal the gouge in his chest left by Darkrai all those years ago.

Tobias screeched to a halt, mesmerized by Ash's scars. "Ash Ketchum? You're supposed to be dead!"

"For the record, you're terrible at making sure that the people you intend to kill stay dead," Aurian said, rolling up her sleeves to reveal her web of burn scars.

Ash shook his head. "You nearly took us out and we really don't appreciate that."

The patonai moved forward, their palms glowing with blue fire. The Armada and Dragonite Reserve unified and charged forward with a haunting battle cry. Andan forces scattered, leaving what remained of the base in anarchy.

"Now it's our turn to return the favor."

(A/N): Hello, all, and thank you so much for reading C23 of Primary! Hope this super long and dramatic chapter makes up for the long wait I put you guys through. It's review response time!

Reader of Fate: Thank you so much!

MidnightHunter563: I'm really glad you picked up on the continuities I tried to keep between the eighth movie (my personal favorite) and the anime before AIAFTP. We can't quite go creating time paradoxes, can we? As for Giovanni- all will be explained. Eventually.

Guest: I think Secondary will be to your liking- just have to finish Primary first!

Guest: Popular opinion seems to favor Secondary but I might crank out a few one-shots before I start!

NightShade1712: I like your idea but once someone's dead in this universe, they're gone. Maybe in a future story!

boomingmaster: Thank you, I'll have to check it out soon!

For those of you who didn't read the update I posted about a week ago, there's a poll up on my profile that I'd love your help with! There's almost unanimous demand for a sequel at the moment but things can change. Shoutout to the eleven people who have voted so far, I really appreciate it!

Don't forget to drop a review- tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what I did well, what I should change.

This is PL, signing off!