Hi all,

This wraps up the first arc of the story. There will be one final time skip at the end of the chapter.


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Chapter 22

Lucas kneeled beside the Charmander. "Hello, there. I can tell that you are an amazing Pokemon."

As Oak watched Lucas from behind, he said, "Well spotted. Imara is an exceptional girl."

"Imara," Lucas echoed. "That's a beautiful name."

Imara tilted her head as she tried to understand the humans. Her Mother had explained that a trainer would choose her today to initiate a bond. Was this going to be her partner?

The more Lucas observed Idara, the more excited he became. Her parameters were impressive.


| Pokemon: Charmander | Name: Imara | Age: 0 | Gender: F | Type: Fire | Potential: S |

| Affection: - | Favourite Foods: - |

Description: The flame on its tail shows the strength of its life force. If it is weak, the flame also burns weakly.

Stats

Level: 4 | Next: 43% | AP: 15 | HP: 78 | Aura: 100 |

Attack: 57 | Defence: 46 | Sp Att: 65 | Sp Def: 52 | Speed: 70 |

Special Ability

Solar Power - During harsh sunlight, Solar Power raises the ability-bearer's Special Attack by 50%; but it loses HP with every Move used.


Moves

Physical

Scratch: (Normal) [Power: 40] (Cost: 6)

Bite: (Dark) [Power: 60] (Cost: 9)

Dragon Tail: (Dragon) [Power: 60] (Cost: 10)

Special

Ember: (Fire) [Power: 40] (Cost: 6)

Status

Growl: (Normal) [Power: -] (Cost: 5)

Belly Drum: (Normal) [Power: -] (Cost: 10)


Affinities

Attack type-energy (Trainable)

| Fire ~ 50% | Dragon ~ 20% | Dark ~ 15% |

Defence Effectiveness (cannot be changed}

| Water: -100% | Ground: -100%| Fire: -100% |

| Grass: +50%| Ice: +50% | Bug: +50% | Steel: +50% | Fairy: +50% |


Professor Oak certainly knew his stuff. Idara had three Egg Moves, and he was happy that she had already unlocked her dragon-type energy. That was the biggest hurdle in teaching dragon-type Moves to the Charmander and his evolutions. Belly Drum was also excellent, raising the Attack Stat by six stages as long as you were okay with your Pokemon losing half their HP. In the right situations, it would be very effective.

"Imara is the daughter of my Charizard, Scarlett," Oak explained. "She rarely produces an egg, so you should consider yourself fortunate."

It's no wonder Imara was such a monster. Although there was no guarantee that the child would inherit the parent's potential, it increased the odds of it happening. Professor Oak's Charizard was an absolute monster that helped him dominate the Pokemon League when he was younger.

Solar Power was an overpowered ability and could end battles quickly. He should spend AP to raise her HP if he utilised Solar Power as a tactic in battle.

Imara had already trained her Stats, so he could have her focus on mastering her current Moves. She had enough variety for the moment, although he should teach her the Sunny Day TM. It was a vital addition to any Fire Pokemon's arsenal and would mesh well with Solar Power. After that, she needed to learn some better Fire-Type Moves.

Lucas looked at his watch and noted there were still twenty minutes left to noon. He returned to the plateau's edge to see his team's progress. They had less than a third left to climb, but they had slowed down.

"Twenty minutes left," Lucas called. "You got this."

It seemed to galvanise them as they increased their pace. Although they were in pretty good shape for their age, he should push them to improve their physical condition.

They made it with five minutes to spare. Faith finished a few seconds ahead of Jason, collapsing on the ground and sucking air into her lungs. Jason flopped over like a dead fish and groaned.

"You were amazing," Lucas praised his girlfriend. Even hot and sweaty, she looked amazing. He took his water bottle out of his pack and gave it to her. She gulped down the water, then poured some onto her face. A bead of water ran down her throat and into the valley between her breasts. Lucas almost swallowed his tongue, watching its journey.

"What about me?" Jason protested. "Where is the love for your bro?"

"No time for that," Lucas grinned, tapping his watch. "Technically, you haven't completed the challenge. We need to get to the finish line."

"What?! You said nothing about that," Jason complained, sitting up with some effort.

Lucas helped his team onto the stage and stood beside them in front of the group of adults.

"Congratulations," Armstrong said. "You are the first team to finish the practical exam."

"Well done, brats," Surge rumbled. "It's no surprise that your team came first."

Armstrong kicked Erica awake, and the girl shouted in protest from her position on the ground. She blinked before seeming to regain focus. "Oh, a team is already here. Well done."

Professor Oak cleared his throat. "I don't think they are paying much attention."

Indeed, Faith and Jason were staring at the Pokemon with sparkling eyes, and their tiredness had seemingly disappeared.

"Well, I don't see any reason to delay," Oak announced. "Go and choose your Pokemon."

Lucas grabbed his teammates before they could rush the Pokemon. He pushed them to the side so they could have some privacy.

"Listen, guys," Lucas whispered. "Before you choose your Pokemon, I want to give you a heads-up. I have an ability that allows me to see the potential of low-level Pokemon, so if you care about that, then let me point out the best choices for you."

"A special ability?" Faith asked sceptically. "Is this Aura utilisation?"

"I don't know," Lucas lied. "It's something I have had since I woke up from my coma."

"Well, point me in the right direction," Jason said. "I trust you."

Faith smiled softly at her boyfriend. "I feel the same."

After showing them the best options, Lucas chose Imara without hesitation.

Professor Oak handed the three of them Pokeballs. "Go ahead and bond with them."

Lucas pressed the Pokeball against Imara and clicked the button to initiate the bond. Sighing in relief when the bond snapped into place, Lucas summoned Imara back and crouched down to hug the Pokemon.

'Welcome to the team.'

'Thank you. I hope we can become stronger together.'

'Dante, Maximus, do you hear me?'

'Yes.' They chorused.

'Say hello to your new team member, Imara.'

'Hello. I am Dante, the leader.'

'I'm Maximus. I like hugs.'

Imara narrowed her eyes into slits. 'You're the team leader? Who made this decision?'

{Dante} 'I'm Lucas's first Pokemon and the best. Naturally, I'm the leader.'

'We shall see about that.' Imara promised, her tail flame flaring up in anticipation.

Lucas facepalmed. There was going to be some conflict in the immediate future. He turned and watched as his teammates interacted with their new Pokemon.

Jason said something to Squirtle, only to receive a face full of water, sending him sprawling. Lucas smirked.

Faith was having more success as she crouched down and petted the Bulbasaur. It used its vines to tickle her face., and she giggled. Erica walked over and sat next to Faith, and the girl's eyes lit up. Faith began rapidly asking questions, which reminded him he had not tapped into the Electric Gym Leader's knowledge.

Lucas looked around and didn't see the man anywhere. He turned to Professor Oak. "Where did Lieutenant Surge go?"

Oak pointed down the cliff. "The man was getting antsy, standing around. He climbed down the mountain for some exercise."

Lucas shook his head. The man reminded him of Ned from his martial arts class, obsessed with training and always shouting 'Youth'.

"Why is everyone here? Are you going to stand around on top of the mountain the entire day?" Lucas asked.

"The Government insisted we make a song and dance of the event," Oak rolled his eyes and pointed at a cameraman off to the side. "They will show it on television to garner some good press."

"Wait, a minute," Jason overheard the conversation. "We are being recorded? Do you have our parent's permission? Have you been recording all this time?"

Jason turned and pointed at the cameraman. "Hey, I demand you edit the part of me disgracefully getting floored by Squirtle."

"Not a chance, kid. It is good footage." the cameraman grinned. "And we already have your parent's permission."

Jason gave him the finger. "I will show you good footage."

"You little brat," the cameraman yelled.

While waiting for Lieutenant Surge, Lucas checked out the notifications waiting for his perusal.


Climbing has increased to Level 2.

Climbing has increased to Level 3.

Observation has levelled to Level 20.

Observation has reached the maximum level.

Observation has transformed into the skill: Observation Plus.


[Observation Plus] (Active) [Max] (Next; -) [Cost: Variable]

Description: Observation Plus works differently from Observation because it allows the player to observe any Pokemon at any level as long as the player has the required Aura. It also lets the player get a more in-depth analysis of Pokemon Moves.

Reveals all information on objects.

Reveals all information on owned Pokemon/Moves

Reveals all information on Pokemon/Moves [Dependant on available Aura]

Within five levels of the player, he can see a Pokemon's level above their heads without costing him any Aura.

Observation Range: 10.16 metres [Sight Modifier].


Quest Complete!

Number One Team in Camp

Reward: Exp Share, 5 AP points.

Bonus Reward: Old Fishing Rod, Lure Ball x 2.


Exp Share | Equipment | Unique | Grade: 3 |

Description: The Experience Share is an item that can be held by Pokemon and is unique to the player alone. Only the player's team can take advantage of its special ability. When given to a Pokemon to hold, they gain twenty per cent of the experience, even when not participating in the battle.


Old Fishing Rod | Equipment | Unique/Upgradable | Grade: 1 |

Description: The Old Fishing Rod is a piece of unique equipment that looks like an ordinary fishing rod. It can fish in shallow waters down to a depth of ten metres. The rod has some fantastic benefits and can even be upgraded to a superior version when the player has achieved specific requirements.

- 20% less time to hook a Pokemon

-20% chance to avoid hooking a Pokemon above the player's Pokemon level.

+ 5% chance to hook a Pokemon with a high potential

+ 5% chance to hook a migratory pokemon from nearby regions.

Consecutive Chain Capture: Reeling in the same Pokemon in the same area repeatedly increases the chances of hooking a Shiny Pokemon, reaching a maximum chance of 1% with a streak of ten or more.


Congratulations!

You have bonded your third Pokemon!

Pokemon Bond permanently restricts 10 Aura.

Physique has increased because of Pokemon Bond.


Lucas dismissed the notifications. The upgrade to Observation was a pleasant surprise. It meant he could get a rough estimation of a Pokemon's strength as long as he was within their level range. Another cool feature was that he could now analyse Moves, which would be helpful when training his Pokemon.

Twenty minutes later, Lieutenant Surge climbed up the plateau with the team's Pokemon hanging off his body.

"Why did you leave them on the ground?" Surge complained. "Never leave a soldier behind."

"We're not in a war, Surge," Erica scoffed.

"I don't care," Surge huffed, setting the Pokemon on the ground.

The Pokemon joined their partners, and Dante and Maximus met Imara in person for the first time.

{Imara} 'This is the leader?'

{Dante} 'What is it to you?'

Imara bared her fangs. 'Let's have a battle. The winner gets to be the leader.'

'Enough. We are all teammates here. If it is so important to you, then both of you are leaders.'

{Maximus} 'I want to be the leader.'

{Dante & Imara} 'Denied.'

{Maximus} 'Meanies.'

Lucas left them to their own devices and sidled up to Lieutenant Surge. "Hey, you got any tips for my Elekid?"

"I wondered when you were going to ask," Surge beamed, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Come, let Uncle Surge give you some advice on Electric Pokemon."

{0(((..)))0}

August 5th

"That was fast," Lucas said. He had just received a delivery containing his Trainers License and a Pokedex.

"The government is very efficient regarding trainers," David explained. "It is the lifeblood of the region, after all."

Lucas hummed. He stored the Trainer License in his inventory and inspected the Pokedex.


Pokedex 3.0 | Equipment | Special | Grade: 3 |

Description: The Pokedex is an electronic device created and designed to catalogue and provide information regarding the various species of Pokemon. It has several other functions: a rudimentary Artificial Intelligence, a video camera, a satellite map and a radio. The Pokedex also serves as identification in all circumstances.


Why was he given the latest version? Was it his Grandfather that pulled some strings? Usually, trainers only received the base version for free and had to purchase the newer models.

"I paid for the latest version," David said. "While it is technically not out on the market, it is close enough to release that I could get my hands on one."

"I don't understand," Lucas placed his hand on Dad's forehead. "Are you sick? Weren't you dramatically opposed to me going on the Pokemon Circuit just a week ago? Now, you're encouraging me?"

David scowled, swatting his son's hand away. "I am still not happy you are going, but I am working on something to ensure you will be safe."

"It better not be an entourage of bodyguards because that would be a serious downer."

"You just have to wait and see," David smirked, walking away.

There was no way he would allow bodyguards to watch his back while he travelled with his friends. It would seriously kill the vibe.

Lucas took out his phone and checked the list of things he still needed to accomplish. There were plenty of things in the works, but he had finally reached a point where he could concentrate fully on training his Pokemon and working on creating new incense and food recipes for his partner's needs.

He checked his messages, but there was nothing from Faith. His girlfriend was currently busy training her Pokemon and creating a batch of the new incense he had invented. Lieutenant Surge had been interested in his incense and ordered five hundred on the spot.

The investigation was also kicking into gear, and since she was a key witness, she would have to provide testimony. It was a necessary sacrifice to get Kline convicted, even though it meant spending less with her.

Lucas had just over twenty-five thousand dollars left with all his expenses and impulse spending. That was okay, though, as he would receive a lot of Pokedollars in the future.

His Mother had been in contact with the CEO of her company and was currently negotiating a contract on his behalf. He trusted his Mother would get him a good deal. Lucas would rather work with her company. It would only help it grow, and family came first.

Next month he would go into the recording studio to produce the instrumental version of the Pokemon song. When it went on sale, he would have royalties coming in that would provide a steady income.

Lucas would need the money, with many projects in the beginning stages of planning. He still needed to supply Nora with the building materials for his habitat, and there were plans beyond that for the island. Buying supplies for his journey was necessary as well.

He could probably produce another song and look at getting an agent. A few record label companies were already sniffing around, looking to sign him on as a client. Of course, he had little interest in signing with anyone, but he could start accumulating songs for an album while competing in the Pokemon Circuit. he could spend months or years crafting it, as there was no rush. It was not his main priority.

All the money he received as an influencer was going towards charities that his mother was helping to manage.

Thirty per cent of the money went to Jason because, with all the work he put into it, he deserved the paycheck.

There were only two months left until he started his journey. The main focus now was on training his Pokemon.

{0(((..)))0}

'All right, gentleman, gather around. It's time to discuss your training schedule for the next two months.'

Imara snorted, releasing a small bout of flame. 'Don't forget this lady.'

'Forgive me: gentlemen and lady. Now, I have written up individual plans for each one of you. Dante, I will start teaching you some new moves, as you have already mastered the ones you have and need more variety.

Dante nodded. 'Okay.'

Dante mentions nothing about the changes to the Moves mechanics, which meant there was some subtle mind-fuckery involved from the 'System.' His partners were not aware of its existence as far as he was aware.

'Max, since you are still in the Baby Stage, you will still work on increasing your parameters, especially your Aura. But I need to teach you an Electric Move, so that will be our priority.'

{Maximus} 'Yes! Teach me to beat up those other two meanies.'

'Eh, alright.'

Suppose he was judging Max's height correctly, then he was close to his first growth period and leaving the Baby Stage.

'Imara, you differ from the other two. You came to me with a good variety of Moves and have already trained your parameters well. What you will do is concentrate on mastering the moves you have already got.

{Imara} 'Of course. It will be a piece of cake.'

'Love your confidence, girl.'

One thing that would help was the Aura Regen Incense Dante utilised before. Now that his crafting skill had levelled so much and he had access to better quality ingredients, he had crafted the superior version he had received from Daisy.


Aura Regen Incense | Uncommon | Grade: 2 |

Description: An incense that regenerates a Pokemon's Aura. An incense maker with some experience crafted this with quality ingredients, resulting in an incense that restores a Pokemon's Aura by a fair amount.

Effective Range: 4 metres

Duration: One-hour

Potency: Restores 25 Aura


'Besides those things, you will work on increasing your type-energy affinities. I need to work on fire-type and psychic-type insight incense, but even without them, you should have no difficulty making progress.

Maybe that wasn't entirely true. Dante's and Imara's natural attack affinities were already high, but that was an inherent trait. He had read up on affinities and discovered that the higher they climbed, the harder they were to increase. The powerful Moves were locked behind high attack affinity, so it was important, but it would take a long time to master, even with the incense.

'You will also have daily training sessions with Poliwrath in martial arts to increase your battle efficiency.'

Imara's eyes lit up at that, and her tail flame flared for a second.

'Alright, I will get Max started with his training before we get the two of you sorted.'

He led Maximus over to the resistance training area. 'For now, work on your Defence Stat, and I will return later and start teaching you an Electric Move.'

The mechanism to raise the Defence Stat was relatively crude. It was merely a simple machine with an arm that swung violently and hit the Pokemon, who defended the attack as best they could. He could raise the power once the current setting was no longer beneficial.

Lucas returned to his other partner and checked out Imara's Moves progression.


Move Progression

Growl 70%

Scratch 48%

Ember 45%

Bite 33%

Belly Drum 21%

Dragon Tail 14%


It was impressive progress for a Pokemon with so many Moves. Lucas considered what she should work on first, but it didn't matter much, so he may well work down the list in descending order.

'Imara, I will have you work with Dad's Machop. You are both similar in strength, so you will benefit from training together. Do you need help to increase your proficiency with your skills?

Imara shook her head. 'Mama gave me a solid foundation for all my current Moves. I need to work on increasing their effectiveness.

Lucas motioned for Machop, who was waiting nearby. He came running over eagerly. He handed them both a bunch of Aura Regen Incense.

'Imara, when your Aura gets low, I want you to light an incense and meditate just like I showed you.'

Machop had been using them for a while, so he did not need to be shown how they worked.

'Use the battle stage in the training area. Some of my parent's Pokemon will oversee your battles to ensure your safety. Go on then.'

Imara and Machop ran off, and Lucas turned to Dante.

'Alright, buddy. It's just the two off now, just like old times.'

'If only that were true every day.' Dante rolled his eyes.

'You know you love them. Alright, I have been thinking of the Moves that we could start with, and I realised you don't even have any Psychic Moves, which is a huge oversight considering it is your main energy type.'

'It's not like I have been involved in many battles.'

'That's true. So, the first Move I will teach you is Confusion, a powerful Psychic Move that will take advantage of your Special Attack. I'm going to see if I can borrow Mr Mime to help teach it to you.'

'Okay.'

Lucas called his Mother on his cell phone. "Hey, I need a favour."

"What is it, dear?"

"Can I borrow Mr Mime? I'm going to be teaching Ralts a Psychic move."

"Sure, ask her yourself. She's usually around the house somewhere."

"Thanks, mum. Oh, can you give her permission to communicate with me telepathically? I want to see if Red Energy affects my mind. I suspect I might resist the negative side effects since I have Balanced Aura."

"Okay," Sophia replied reluctantly. "But I will tell Mr Mime to stop if you show any signs of distress. Why do you want to communicate with her?"

"Eh, it will be more efficient. I know she can read and write like Dante, but that will take too long."

Lucas hung up and searched for Mr Mime, who was vacuuming in the living room. His parents had tried hiring maids to look after the mansion and cook the meals, but Mr Mime had done the job herself. She liked to keep busy, and with her enhanced stamina, it took little effort to clean the entire mansion and feed the family.

Mr Mime shut off the vacuum and turned to Lucas.

'Hello, Lucas.'

Lucas waited to see if he was affected but relaxed when nothing happened. Was this because he had a Balanced Aura? Another reason could be because of his high mental resistance. Or maybe both.

'Hi, Mr Mime. It seems that I'm not affected by Telepathy. Are you okay to help with Dante's training?'

'Sure. I am up to date with the housework.'

Mr Mime put away the vacuum, and they returned to where Dante was waiting. Lucas retrieved the camera and set it up to record the training session. Thankfully, the battle stage also had cameras so that he could watch Imara's training later.

Mr Mime stood in front of the training target, with Dante standing next to her. Lucas watched carefully, waiting for Mr Mime to execute Confusion.

'Observation Plus'

20 Aura consumed.


Confusion | Psychic | Power: 50 | Accuracy: Variable | Aura: 10

Description: Confusion deals Special Attack damage and has a 10% chance of inflicting the Confusion status effect. Pokemon with the ability 'Own Tempo' and 'Substitute' cannot be confused.

Appearance/Attack Conditions: A Spiral of purple energy forms above the user's head before delivering the attack almost instantly on the target. At lower level mastery, it takes longer to form and so gives the target more time to avoid.

Mastery: Power: 60 ~ Aura Cost: 6 ~ 20% chance of causing Confusion.


The attack hit the target and exploded with purple energy. Thankfully, the targets had been designed to take the punishment because, with Mr Mime's power, the Move would have destroyed them instantly.

Psychic Moves had a one hundred per cent accuracy, as it locked onto the target's mind and delivered the attack almost instantly. However, there was a caveat to the accuracy that would turn that one hundred per cent to zero.

There were two weaknesses with psychic-type moves from what he had read. The Move always took a certain amount of time to charge, depending on the power and mastery. Also, once it started the Move, the target location was fixed and couldn't be changed. So if a Pokemon moved, it would completely miss. It seemed like a strange detriment considering the Pokemon could lock onto the target's mind, but maybe it was balanced that way.

It was better to utilise Psychic Moves when the opponent was hindered or affected; that prevented them from avoiding the attack.

Lucas scribbled down the information in his notebook while watching Dante trying to manifest psychic-type energy into a form. He imagined learning would take some time, even though he had a high affinity for psychic moves. There was a difference between being able to manifest the energy and moulding the attack into the correct form.

He watched the playback from Mr Mime's attack and calculated the time to form and the attack landing on the target. It was about half a second, which was incredible. That was the target he set for Dante to reach, although he was sure that wasn't the limit. Even with a mastered Move, Pokemon could go beyond that if they learned a new way of utilising it. He imagined that when high-level Pokemon battled, it was a matter of milliseconds, not seconds, that determined the outcome.

Lucas continued to watch for a while before going to see how Maximus was doing. The Pokemon was still happily taking some punishment like a champ. Although the arm was moving faster, as obviously, Maximus had increased the speed. He frowned, wondering if he should say anything, but left it alone. The Pokemon didn't seem to struggle with the increased power.

He checked out his Parameters while waiting.


| Pokemon: Elekid | Name: Maximus | Age: 0 | Gender: M | Type: Electric | Potential: C |

| Affection: 40 | Favourite Foods: - | Baby Stage: All stats halved. Prone to injuries. |

Description: Even in the most vicious storm, this Pokemon plays happily if thunder rumbles in the sky.

Stats

Level: 1 | Next: 0% | AP: 0 | HP: 30 | Aura: 15 |

Attack: 25 | Defence: 14 | Sp Att: 20 | Sp Def: 26 | Speed: 31 |

Special Ability

Static - If a Pokémon with Static is hit by a move making contact, there is a 20% chance the foe will become paralysed.

Balance - Increases Aura by 25%.


Moves

Physical

| Quick Attack | Normal/Physical | Power: 40 | 6 Aura |

Status

| Leer | Normal/Status | Power: - | 5 Aura |


Affinities

Attack type-energy (Trainable)

| Electric ~ 45% | Fighting ~ 10% |

Defence Effectiveness (cannot be changed}

Ground: -100%

| Electric: +50% | Flying: +50%| Steel: +50%


Maximus's Stats had increased a bit in the short time he had been training, but it would still be some time before he hit the limit for his current growth stage. His lack of Moves was an obvious problem, but with enough hard work, he would change that in the next two months.

His potential was much lower than the other two Pokemon, but he had plenty of time to rectify that problem later. He still had the Rare Candy he received from a quest, and initially, he would give it to Dante. However, there was no rush, as he was far from reaching level twenty. It was possible that Dante would increase his potential naturally, although it would be hard to achieve.

Lucas judged when Maximus had enough and turned the machine off.

'Why did you turn it off? I was having fun.' Maximus pouted.

Was he having fun getting hit by a machine that had to hurt? Could it be that Max was one of those? Lucas shook his head to clear the deviant thoughts from his mind. He had to remember that Pokemon didn't have any sexual desires.

'It's time to teach you, Thundershock. We have some videos to watch to see how it works in action and other materials showing you how electricity behaves in nature.

It wasn't the same as teaching with a Pokemon, but Lucas wanted to find out if he could teach new Moves to his partners by himself. After talking with Lieutenant Surge, he gave plenty of ideas on the approach to Max's training.

Lucas took out his laptop from his inventory, and the two watched the videos together.

Teaching his Pokemon new Moves; watching them progress and become stronger was his favourite part of being a Pokemon Trainer. Even more than Pokemon battles themselves. Watching Max as he concentrated hard on the videos, he felt incredible joy. It was almost like being a parent, which was the wonderful feeling the bond gave humans. After hearing stories about how some trainers deliberately mistreated their Pokemon to break the bond, he could not fathom their reasons. He guessed that just like some parents did not deserve to have kids, some trainers did not deserve the privilege of having Pokemon.

The beginning of his journey was so close, and his anticipation was rising. There was still so much left to do, but he would be better prepared than most trainers before taking a step outside town. He was in two minds, wanting the next two months to pass quickly, but he wanted to savour the process.

{0(((..)))0}

October 9th

Two months later.

"Happy Birthday," everyone shouted as Lucas stepped through the door into the living room.

"For me," Lucas pointed to himself in mock surprise. "Wow, you guys are awesome. I'm glad to see so many people show up to my birthday party."

Lucas walked around the room, greeting everyone and chatting with them. There were people he hadn't seen in a while, like Amy, his nurse, who embarrassed him by telling others about his sponge baths. Daisy was there also, and Lucas told her about the new incense that he had been developing. She almost dragged him off to show them to her.

Faith's little posse of orphans was there as well. Haley and Abigail had become fast friends, and he could see them in the corner, giggling about something. Most of the other orphans stood at the catering table, competing with Jason for how much food they could shove in their mouths.

His Grandfather and the Three Enforcers were there, and he monopolised their time by asking them questions and taking advantage of their expertise. He asked Sonya about Nora, who had declined to come. He could understand the reason, but he was still disappointed.

His godfather was there, with his fiancee Sarah. They had announced that she was pregnant a week ago. Lucas teased the man about working fast. Jason felt conflicted, unable to decide if he was happy that he would have a sibling or angry that Victor had knocked up his Mother.

Lucas approached his girlfriend and kissed her. Their relationship had progressed some, but they were still taking their time. They enjoyed getting to know each other without jumping into the nearest bed. Although Lucas was eager for more, he had consciously gone at her pace. She didn't have the experience he had, and he would not get frustrated by the slow progression of their relationship. They had plenty of time.

Lucas put his arm around her waist and leaned his head against hers. "Tomorrow is when it starts. Are you excited?"

"Of course," Faith looked at him. "I have been waiting for this for a long time. The only thing holding me back was the orphans. I can leave without worrying now that they are getting taken care of."

Lucas hummed. "The day can't come soon enough."


So what do you think? It was time to kick things into gear; Next chapter Lucas finally begins his journey.

Thanks for reading.