Lucas
I took breath after breath, feeling connected with the ground around me. In a desert especially, it's always easy for a ground type to really feel their element course through their body, which was energizing. I was out here with my mentor, who practically buried me in the sand multiple times. Aven was a strange pokemon, he almost never spoke, and when he did, it was emotionless. His words were blank, not leaving any chance for someone to get a read on him. He intrigued me in more ways than one. Not only did I want to know more about him, but I felt like… I could relate to him for some reason. It was like a mental connection, which was weird, but evident nonetheless.
I hated talking to others, never enjoyed it in the past, and most likely won't ever in the future. Pokemon try and talk to me all the time, like my old partner, and my new partner on occasion. I hate them. I hate both of them. I don't know what drew this feeling out of me, but I hated the two of them, the leader of this place, every other Raven I've interacted with, and the damn umbreon who bested me in the applicants' tournament, embarrassing me more than I can say. I ask myself a lot why I even decided to try and become a Raven, but I always remember the reasoning quickly, and then think about something else.
Aven stood a distance away from me, while I sat on the ground, trying to become one with my element. That's what I was instructed to do by him, and seeing as he's helped me in the past with some of my shortcomings, I was inclined to listen. Despite how I felt about being here when I had no drive to, I had to admit that Aven has made me a more competent pokemon in battle. He teaches me something new every time we meet, but they all seem like basic concepts that I can learn in an hour, it feels like he's holding back on what he can teach me. He's also asked me a lot of strange questions, specifically about malice towards others and how I contribute to the Nest as a Raven. I gave all of his questions half-honest answers, not really sure why he needed them in the first place. It honestly bothered me a lot that I knew absolutely nothing about him, and yet he knew all of this about me. Not that I could do anything about it.
Most of our sessions as of late have consisted of nothing but meditation, which was beginning to get under my skin, as this was the one thing that didn't help me at all. Although, I will admit, something about today felt different. Aven wasn't as statue-like as usual, he moved around every now and then, which wasn't normal. It was almost like he was actually thinking about something for once, not serving the purpose of making sure I didn't leave. Part of me wanted to test my luck and see if I could go do something productive, rather than sit here like an idiot, but I was stopped. Aven had gotten up, and walked towards me.
"I have a question for you." His voice stayed as monotone as ever, despite his slightly different mannerisms. I sort of hoped that I would get something out of him this time, but I accepted that not happening. I looked back at Aven, not saying anything or moving. He knew that I was listening. "Tell me, have you ever killed anyone in the past?" What? Why ask something like that?
Questioning Aven wasn't going to work, so I decided that it would be better if I just answered as I was asked. "Yes." I simply said without remorse.
"Ferals, or civils?" He continued to ask. He was a Raven, a leader no less, so I had no doubts that he'd probably done his fair share of ending the lives of other in the past. I wasn't being asked because of judgement, I was being asked for confirmation.
"Both." I responded just as stoically. Aven and I stared at each other for a little bit, not passing any more words. It was like we were trying to get into each others' heads, but I wasn't succeeding. What is this leading to?
"Then I have a proposal for you."
Kai
How can they be so loud..? I had just finished leading the group of four I had to evaluate out on a mission. Despite the fact that all of them took a bunch of hits, got knocked around, and pushed their bodies past what was necessary, they still had enough energy to loudly converse with one another on the way back. I can't say I was angry at them, just a little bit annoyed. I was glad they were proud of coming out of their first real combat mission on top, but I just wish they didn't tell each other about every little detail considering the task on the way back, especially considering that I just watched the whole thing in real time.
In the bag I had slung over my neck, I had audio-recorded notes regarding the four recruits. I observed each and every one of them carefully, trying to point out strengths and weaknesses, or finding general areas of improvement that needed to be addressed. They weren't exact measurements, but it would help Shard out, who needed to come up with exact statistics. I stood next to a large rectangular room, one where the inside was specifically used to evaluate Ravens of all levels. Shard was on her way here to listen to my notes, and the four being evaluated went to get their stamina restored via a healer at the Nest. I decided to take out my golden device, and then re-listen to my own notes about each of them, not wanting to forget anything.
The first one that played was my observation of the zoroark, Vero. The recording documented her style, and some weak points. She liked to have total control over her opponent in battle, which was evidently shown through her use of techniques. Kuro must have given her some pointers on how to harness what she could really do. Except, her use of the same skill differed from Kuro's. She used hers to entrap her opponent, or mess with them in some way shape or form. For example, she would grab onto an opponent and not let go until it was forced, creating an attacking chance for her allies. Not only that, but she was very swift and smooth with her movements. She wasn't held up at all, despite being tossed around like she was. As for her weakness, she doesn't seem to have much physical strength under her belt, and relies on piercing or slashing her opponents with her claws, rather than hitting them directly. Her type-based projectile moves seemed to do a decent bit of damage, but as for her physical ones, it could use some work.
Next was the luxray, Kage. His strengths were all-around capabilities. He was decently fast, he could hit hard, and he could take hits pretty well. That, along with his ability to cloak himself in an electric charge, preventing most contact, made him quite the formidable one to battle. I'd say he still had the edge on Kuro. His main weakness is simplicity. He doesn't do much in terms of variety, so he has a rather predictable style. His golisopod opponent certainly took advantage of this, and he ended up being punished a few times because of it. He was able to overcome this with the help of his partner, but it was still something to work on in the future.
Now for the glaceon, Naru. Although they fought similarly, she seems to be the polar opposite of Kuro when it comes to combat. Judging by the reactions from the group they battled, Naru's attacks hurt a lot. She could do a lot of damage in a very short amount of time, and with single hits if she needed to. Not only that, but the biggest thing she had going for her was creativity. Being able to instinctively cover the ground below you in ice before using it for a velocity boost really helped her out, and shined a spotlight on her open mind. As for her weakness, she was indecisive in battle. There were multiple times where she looked like she paused, not really knowing what to do. She was an interesting one, her biggest strength and biggest weakness are similar. She can creatively think of a solution to a problem on the fly, but when she tries to really use her head, she becomes unsure. I assumed Shard already knew about this, being her mentor, so I didn't put too much emphasis on her.
Finally, the umbreon, Kuro. I didn't see him too much during this, as he was all over the place even when he led the rest of the four saints back to his allies. However, I already knew what Kuro was about when it came to battling, after all, he is my protege. He was opposite to Naru, his attacks didn't do much, unless he used one of newer ones I taught him, which then causes recoil, so it's a liability. However, he had more than enough stamina to make up for his lack of offensive punch. In fact, I'd say he beat out a lot of other Ravens when it came to stamina, including a few leaders. Not all of them, but he was up there when it comes to endurance. Not only that, but he was a quick thinker. Although he didn't have the same kind of out of the box thoughts that Naru had, he still reacted to most combat situations well on instinct. His overall main weakness… His recoil.
If Kuro didn't have to deal with the pain he has whenever he used a unique ability, then he would be much better off. That's not to say that he's in a terrible position as is, but it's certainly a hinderance. There is something strange about him though. By now, his pain should at least be lessening, but it didn't look like that was the case, made very evident to me by the battle the group had just participated in. He used his abilities a lot in that confrontation, especially near the end. I had high hopes that his over-usage of them meant that his recoil had subsided, at least a little bit, but I was mistaken.
Once they all finished their battle, Kuro separated himself from the group a little bit, which confused me at first. Of course, because he was in my line of sight the whole time, I soon figured out what caused him to perform such an action. He went behind one of the buildings close by, and sat down, closing his eyes. He retracted his tendrils after they had been out for an extensive amount of time, and then a few motionless seconds passed, while Kuro just idly sat down. After those few minutes, his legs began to tremble, and it looked like he was forcing his eyes to stay shut. He grit his teeth and dug into the dirt ground with his claws, all four of them. It was a normal reaction, if a bit more intense than normal. However, this escalated quickly. Kuro threw himself on the ground while his body curled up and contorted, while furiously trembling. He dug his head into the ground, still gritting his teeth, not letting himself do anything other than write in agony silently.
To be honest, the sight disturbed me. It was strange, I had been doing some of the Void's dirty work for a while now, seeing many things that cannot be bleached from my memory, and yet, I had a much more harsh version of the feeling while watching Kuro in pain like that. I had no idea why this stirred up inside of me, it confused me. Here I was, a leader at the Nest and a forced member of the Void, seeing more scarring things than I can count, yet still obstructed by watching my protege try and cope with the worst possible side effect that could come of something that I taught him. Did I feel guilty? That was part of it, but not everything. There was a lot more behind my disturbance that I couldn't quite decipher. Why am I dwelling on this so much..? This isn't normal.
"Heya Kai!" A voice pulled me out of my mental ramblings, the voice of a half co-worker. The froslass started to glide towards me, and then planted herself right in front of my body.
"I have the recordings of their skills for you." I responded to Shard, specifically trying to keep my voice stoic. I didn't usually need to do that.
"Awesome! I'll make good use of these when it's time to test them!" Shard took the device with the recordings out of my bag and held it in her hand. "Also, something bothering ya? For some reason, your voice sounds a little bit different than usual." Is it really noticeable..?
"Nothing of the sort." I responded firmly. "I just finished my job as usual, nothing out of the ordinary happened." Shard smirked at me.
"I didn't ask that." I looked back at her and internally flinched. Kai… you damn idiot.
"I was just elaborating on what I said, nothing more." I said, trying to recover.
"Oh, were you now?" Shard put on a teasing tone. "From the way it sounds, something happened today that's bothering you." I made sure not to change my expression in the slightest.
"Nothing that happened today bothered me at all. The group I evaluated did perfectly fine in their mission, drove out the pokemon they were supposed to, and made it back with minimal injuries. There's nothing to be bothered about." I thought I had just made my falsified point clear, but Shard chuckled, and I knew I screwed up somewhere.
"What happened to your personality there?" I didn't immediately understand what Shard was saying. "You don't usually talk that much, and I swear I just heard a hint of emotion in your voice." Shard floated a little bit closer to me, leaning her head close to mine. "Something's bugging yooouuuu~~" ...She completely caught me…
"It's nothing for you to be concerned with." I said with a small sigh, nearly dropping my facade. This girl was too considerate for her own good. Some pokemon don't like to be invaded upon like this, and they may react violently. Although… it's not like many would be able to hurt Shard in the first place.
"C'mon, why don't you talk about it? I can probably help you out if you need it." Trust me, no you can't.
"It's more of a personal issue that I'd rather not share." I said, trying to resume my stoic tone. I'm not sure how well I succeeded.
"Ahh… I get it. Can you at least give me a general idea? I still think I can help you at least a little." Shard asked with concern. It was weird, this pokemon really did push the notion of everyone she interacted with being as comfortable and happy as possible. I wasn't close with anyone at the Nest, I never allowed myself to be because of my… circumstance. However, Shard still tried to talk to me. A lot. Like, every possible opportunity she had. I just took it as her being friendly, but she seemed to single me out more than the others, which didn't bother me, but it was odd. It obviously had an effect on me, because I was actually considering giving her an explanation. Should I really say anything? It's risky… I processed my thoughts for a second or two. I guess as long as I water it down as much as I can, then there isn't an issue, right?
"You can say that I'm… confused about something emotionally." I said, not really caring all that much about my tone. "What I feel in response to something right now is nothing like I should. It doesn't add up with my past experiences, so I'm confused." That's all I was willing to say. If I went into more detail, I could possibly have my cover blown, so I held off. It was admittedly hard not to though. For some reason, actually saying these things out loud made me want to keep going, and express them. Again, I wasn't too sure why, maybe because I never talk anything out. Right now, it didn't really matter.
Shard gazed at me for a few seconds before smiling again. How is she always so positive? "Have you had any of your bonds change recently?" She put on a thinking expression before talking again. "If you start to think of someone differently or care for someone, you might think differently. Like, your views on certain things might change because now you have a different perspective, or you may think of certain things as more or less serious when it comes to an individual. It all ties in with how you think of them. Whether it be respect, love, responsibility, or just general care, your views can change drastically." For some reason, I couldn't really think up a response. I agreed to talk because I wanted to get it off my chest, I wasn't expecting actual advice, let alone advice that actually threw my mind for a loop. Change in bonds… that… might be… possible.
It was sort of hard to think about to be honest. There's only one pokemon I interact with regularly in the Nest who is an actual Raven, and not an undercover agent. That would be Kuro. I've been training him for just over two months after all, interacting with him every other day within those two months. I've seen him grow from the day we battled in the applicants' tournament. Back then, he was just a random umbreon who had some talent to me. After that, he became my protege, and I thought of him as such, nothing more. But as time went on and I watched him grow, perhaps I began to enjoy his company when it came to training. We didn't talk very much, but sometimes actions speak louder than words, and Kuro had a clear desire to better himself, despite his roadblocks. This was more than evident through our many sessions.
But he wasn't necessarily the only one my views changed on. His partner as well, had a similar drive as him. She was motivated, and clearly wasn't going to take nonsense from anyone. When I figured out that she mouthed off to Aven of all pokemon, I was shocked to say the least. I could barely muster up the will to talk to him normally, and she straight up challenged him. Those two were also inseparable, which gave me some insight as to why they act similar at times. Because of this, Kuro and Naru were pokemon I didn't want to see bad things happen to. They did nothing to deserve it, and knowing that they both had a grotesque experience with the Void in the past just angered me. Thinking about it more, they're the reasons I decided to go against the Void, despite the risk of me being found out and punished by them. I guess they're also the main reasons why I've been confusing myself.
"Thank you." I bluntly said to Shard. I wasn't expecting her to actually help me, but I was appreciative.
"No problem! We're friends, right?" Hearing her describe me as a 'friend' made me uncomfortable. I wasn't deserving of friends here, especially not someone like her.
I just nodded my head to her and turned around to walk in the other direction, towards my room. I had a lot on my mind to think about, and I needed to sift through it.
First off… Who attacked those two?
Blitz
Owww… Why can't he settle down for one day..? I was on my way back to the room I shared with someone who never spent any time there. Lucas was a weird one, he never wanted to talk, and he hardly spent any time in what was essentially his living space. I mean, half the time he didn't even sleep there, I have no idea where he did, but it wasn't in the room. I really wished that the partnership I had with Kage didn't get switched like it did, especially because of the kind of pokemon Lucas is. I actually got along with Kage, and we were friends, not only that, but we could relate with each other a lot more. We even both got beaten up by the same heliolisk every training session, so we understood each other! However, he and I were swapped, giving him someone that he likes a lot, and me someone who doesn't want to come close.
I sighed to myself while turning another corner of the Nest. I hadn't been able to talk to Kage much since he got into a scuffle with a Void member that somehow made their way into the Nest. He spent some time resting off a disgusting gash, and after that, he practiced for his evaluation non-stop, really wanting to prove himself to Xen, who he seemed to idolize. I felt similarly, as Xen put all of his efforts forward to help us, despite the fact that he almost broke our bones every session. He was still a caring guy, just not in the traditional sense, which Kage and I both understood. Because of this, the two of us looked up to him, again, despite the harsh combat we experienced from him. It's all to make us better… As much as I hate this feeling…
I limped my way to the door of my room, and then pushed it open with my head. I never locked the place, it wasn't really necessary. I highly doubted that any other Raven was going to come over and rob me, it seemed so unlikely that I just stopped taking caution when it came to locking the door. It's not like Lucas cared either, he's never even here, so I never locked the door. I plopped myself down on my straw bed and let my muscles relax. It was such a great feeling to go from getting knocked around like nothing else, straight into laying on a bed. I closed my eyes and continued to relax, just taking in the usual silence that comes from this room. I guess that was one thing I appreciated about Lucas never being here, the peace. It was something I needed after training, and I'm glad that I got it.
As my mind drifted off, I heard some movement come from close areas outside of my door, although I had no idea what it was. I sort of dismissed it as a Raven walking nearby, because it wasn't exactly the most uncommon thing in the world for someone to come close to the room. In fact, it happened pretty often, but it wasn't too much of a bother. I came from a home with an abundant amount of small siblings, so I was used to a ton of noise when I was trying to rest, a few steps weren't going to bother me. I even made a bit of a game out of it, trying to figure out what kind of pokemon was walking by the room based on the sound of their foot or pawsteps. Of course, I had it wrong about ninety-nine percent of the time, but it was a way to occupy myself while laying down to rest. There was only one pokemon that I could recognize the steps of, and that was Lucas, just because he's been here more than the others. I used to know Kage's too, but that memory floated away when we got switched.
The steps I heard didn't sound like Lucas' which wasn't surprising, as, like I said, he never comes here. Probably a random Raven. I continued to let myself relax, wanting to fall asleep and pass time until my body didn't want to collapse on me. For some reason though, I had this nagging instinct in the back of my mind that told me that I should stay awake, like I needed to be ready for something. I really didn't want to, but I gave into this instinct, being intrigued. Am I paranoid about something? Why can't I just sleep?
A loud noise made my eyes shoot open and look at the door, where Lucas was now standing. He wore the same hateful scowl he wore whenever he laid eyes on me, as he didn't like me very much. I guess I tried to be friendly with him and he did not like that. Something about him being here was weird though, something other than his presence in the first place. Why didn't I hear him at all? He always sounds the same, how could I miss it?
The land shark walked over to the side of the room he resides in whenever he decides to grace me with his company and seemingly stared at the wall motionlessly. I lifted my head up to look at him, confused by his actions. This is… weird. Usually, he would come in just to sleep or come in to grab food and then leave again, but now he looked like he was ensnared by something, like he was processing actions through his head. I was intrigued, forgetting about the odd instinct I had earlier, I stood up off of my bed, feeling them tense up as I did. It wasn't really from their strain though, more from my uneasy feelings about the current situation. He had no reaction to me standing up, he just continued to stare at the deep purple wall, not doing anything. Should I try saying something..? I know he hates me talking to him, but I'm curious. I took a deep breath.
"Hey-" Lucas immediately turned around and sprinted at me, pointing one of his claws towards my chest. I let out a yelp and jumped to the side, his claw skimming me and making a very light scratch. My adrenaline picked up immediately, and I no longer felt so tired. "Hey! What's wrong with you!?" He removed his claw from the wall, which it almost got stuck in after his attack. He looked at me with an angry stare from across the small room. He didn't just look angry though, or at least, not directly at me. In fact, maybe angry isn't the right word. More like… aggressive. I put my front legs forward, getting into my battle stance. I had no idea what was going on, but I caught the trajectory of that attack. He tried to pierce me, right where my heart is. He tried to kill me.
"What are you doing, Lucas!?" I shouted at him, desperately wanting an answer. He didn't like anyone, that much was certain, but he just tried to murder me. That was not normal. Not by a long shot. Lucas crossed his claws in front of his face and said one word, one word that offered no confirmation.
"Initiation." He shot a purple beam from his mouth, which I ducked under. The beam collided with the wall behind me, rocking the whole room. I took a quick glance at the door to the room, which was closed, and sadly locked by Lucas. I wanted to burn the thing down, but everything in the Nest was fireproof, probably so fire-types didn't incinerate their living space in their sleep. Lucas ran at me again, and I rushed at him in response. He un-crossed his claws in my face, but I stalled before we made contact, making him miss. I slammed my head into his stomach, sending him back into the wall. Hopefully someone will hear this… Lucas recovered and retaliated by headbutting me back, dazing me a little. I shook my head and locked back onto Lucas. Why is he doing this?
He ran at me again, and I lit his body up with a flamethrower, which slowed him down and made him stop running, but didn't do much else. I could barely do anything to him in the first place in terms of damage, I didn't mix well with ground types, especially when they had another type that resisted fire attacks, which was my only other outing. Lucas waved the flames away after a second, and his body began to light up with a strange purple glow. This glow intensified and then flared into a red color, before disappearing. Is that what I think it is?
Lucas rushed at me again, this time much faster, and then slammed his shoulder into me, which brought a great pain to my muscles, especially the sore ones. My further slamming into the wall didn't help. I pushed myself up just in time to avoid a cross-slash from Lucas, which would have taken my head off. He turned and shot off a stream of flames, which lit the room up in a bright orange. I canceled it out with a thunderbolt, which also made contact with Lucas, but ultimately did nothing. His body began to glow blue, different from the purple glow from earlier. That's not much better! He flung himself at me with an immeasurable speed, looking almost like he didn't have control over himself. Because of this, he was inaccurate, so I was able to easily dodge, despite the small space and his speed. He slammed himself into the wall once again, quaking the whole room.
Aside from the fact that Lucas was trying to murder me right now, something was off about him. He was sloppy. I knew how well Lucas fought, and it was much better than the show he was putting on now. Something must have been putting him off, although I had no idea what. Not that it mattered, right now, I just needed to focus on not getting killed. Never thought that would be a goal so soon… Lucas recovered from his miscalculation and faced me again without his body glowing. I glared back at him.
"Just accept it. You're about to die, and it can be painless." hearing Lucas talk like that gave me chills. He hardly spoke in the first place, but he had a voice that bathed in maliciousness. While looking into his eyes, I pretty much told myself that there was a high chance of me dying right here, right now. I didn't know how other Ravens compared to Lucas, and I didn't know how I compared to him, but that didn't change anything. I don't stand a shadow of a chance… I lowered my body, ready to act once more. Even still… I dryly laughed at Lucas.
"So what if I think I'm about to die?" Lucas lowered his eyelids, intensifying his glare towards me. "Look, I have absolutely no idea why you're doing this right now, or what dropped you into the deep end, but you're forgetting something here." I felt heat begin to gather in the center of my body, building up more and more as I spoke. This heat soon transformed into pressure, moving its way up my body. "I'm not giving up, even if I'm about to die!" My shouting seemed to affect Lucas, who sprinted at me again. His body began to glow once more, but he still didn't have control. Expecting me to dodge in the air, his body was raised high, but because of his lack of cohesive movement, he was higher than anticipated. I used this chance to slide under him, taking the golden opportunity that he gave me. I took a deep breath, and shot off a hyper beam from right under him, connecting with his stomach.
Lucas' body launched up to the ceiling and slammed into it, which earned a yell, and a pained expression on his face. He fell back down face first, right in front of me. With the corner of my eyes, I looked down at Lucas, who started to get up. I can't move now… The aftermath from a hyper beam plus my fatigued muscles created an inability for me to move a muscle, so I just stared into Lucas' eyes as he got up, and then stared back. I couldn't move, and he was fully mobile. I launched that attack as a last resort, something that had the very faint chance of knocking Lucas out. Of course, it didn't work, in fact, it seemed like I barely did anything to him. He looked at me with a combination of anger and contempt, knowing that it was over now. I came to the same conclusion.
I smiled at him.
Lucas stabbed one of his claws into the center of my body, piercing my heart. I felt him shred through my muscles, and break past my bones until his claw reached their destination. It was weird, I felt the pain for a second, but after that, a cold sensation flooded over my body, and I felt tired. I coughed up blood, which stained the ground of my room. My breathing was beyond shallow, and my gasps for air weren't delivering. Even still, I looked up at Lucas, smiling. I was content with death. I don't know why, but I was, and I have been since I joined up with the Nest. It was part of my commitment to be a Raven, I could die at any time out on a dangerous mission, I accepted that. I didn't expect my final moments to be in the room I resided in at the Nest, but the situation was what I signed up for. I was still confused though, why would Lucas want to kill me? Still had no idea. Would I carry this with me into the afterlife? Probably not. No use dwelling on what you don't know, especially when you were about to die.
Lucas pulled his claw out of my body, and I slumped to the ground. My body's internal fluids were expanding across the floor, which Lucas stepped through, and left the room, closing the door. I felt my eyes begin to weigh more, and the cold feeling in my body began to intensify. I voluntarily shut my eyes fully and gave myself one final smile. I wanted to go out looking positive.
I guess… I signed up for this…
I felt one last breath pass through my lungs, and I relaxed.
Hello Readers!
Welp, now you know what I've been planning to do with with Lucas since the beginning, so I hope this answers all of the questions sent in about him! (Apparently I did a decent job of foreshadowing him doing something bad :p) This chapter is a little bit short compared to some others, because like before, this was originally going to be something entirely different, which was WAY too long for one chapter. (I might even have to split it again depending on how the next one goes) Hopefully it all works out though!
Also, I have a bit of an announcement of sorts. You see, there is a part of the story coming up after everyone gets solo-evaluated where I wasn't sure what exactly to do. Like, I had a general idea, but it was vague and all over the place. However, I had a conversation with one CharTheCharmander (A fellow author, check their work out!) and after a joke about giving Kuro and Naru belly rubs, we basically devised a much better version of what I originally had planned for the future, and for the character that goes with it. And now, this person is also helping me devise a lot of other future events, so they might as well be a co-writer to large parts of this story now, so that's a thing! Check out CharTheCharmander! (Actually one of the most polite people I've ever met :p)
Finally, I want to thank all of the reviewers, and all of you who have messaged me about the story, messaged me about things other than the story, all that stuff. I love all of it and I respond to all of it, so don't be shy! (Not too convincing coming from me :p) Thank you to my beta-reader for making all of these chapters better, and not holding my embarrassing typos against me! (8-BitUmbreon)
See You Next Chapter!