Hello, I'm back, and a lot sooner than I thought I'd be. I love breaks, they really let you relax and unwind and of course procrastinate on school work.

Special thanks to Menace13 for reviewing! I'm glad that you like the story so far, and as to who Tree is...I'm going to tease you a bit. All I'm going to say is that he's Kyra's boss/foster-dad. Don't worry, I'll explain him more in depth as the story progresses.


The galvantula rolled its many eyes at me, and then I knew that it really was Tory. To think that he would evolve at a time like this. Just looking at his new form filled me up with pride. Tory turned so that he faced the silverette who was now standing over his fallen maractus, and who was glaring at me with such killing intent that it made me slightly uneasy.

"Huuh...That your galvantula?" he asked coolly.

"Yes. So what if he is?" I replied trying to maintain the same coolness that he had.

The silverette's glare was starting to get to me. There was just something behind his blue eyes that didn't seem normal, a mixture of too many things. Cold and calculating, while also showing hints of a crazed look that warned of the monster that they belonged to. It was really unnerving.

Tory seemed to notice how nervous he was making me as he planted his front legs on the ground firmly and sparked threateningly at the silverette.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I certainly wasn't expecting the reaction this elicited from the silverette. His mouth suddenly turned upwards in a grin, then widened when he began laughing hysterically.

"Huahaha! This is great!" he cried in between laughs, then wiped at his eyes. "If I can get my hands on your galvantula, then I won't have to worry about being scolded by Boss for letting you break in. It must be pretty powerful to have been able to defeat my maractus."

There was a hungry look in his eyes as he looked over Tory. "Yes..." his eyes flickered towards me again, "but you must have some more pokemon on you, don't you. Just as strong as this galvantula. If I can get my hands on them then Boss will definitely be pleased with me."

I subconsciously placed a hand over Sai's pokeball protectively.

"I was right, wasn't I," he chuckled darkly, and took a step towards me, "and even if it's not strong I can sell it off for some profit. I win either way. So why don't you just spare yourself the pain and hand over all your pokemon before things get rough? I'm sure a frail-looking girl like you would rather do this the easy way."

"SHUT UP!" I shouted, glaring at him with as much venom as I could put into it. "Just shut up! What kind of sick, disgusting person are you! There's no fucking way that I'll just let you do as you please! You'll have to kill me first before that happens!" I wasn't just going to take this, especially not now that I got Tory to help back me up.

"Now there's an idea," the silverette smirked, then pointed at Tory, "you know what to do, Gothitelle!" With a cry of assent, the gothitelle shot towards Tory, using its psychic powers to levitate off of the ground so that it flew towards him.

"Give it an electro-ball, Tory!" I cried as the gothitelle grew closer. My best bet right now was in a long range attack. With the speed that gothitelle was displaying there was no question as to who would be better at close range combat.

Tory charged up for split second, and then unleashed a ball of electricity that went sailing towards the gothitelle. Parts of the ball arced off and left burn marks in the ground and the surrounding buildings as it continued in its path.

"Dodge it!" the silverette ordered. Gothitelle swerved to the right in an attempt to dodge the attack, but it was futile as the ball of electricity followed after. The silverett e's eyes widened in surprise as the ball of electricity hit its target and his gothitelle cried out in pain as the attack took effect. Gothitelle caught itself before it could collapse on the ground, but it let out short little puffs of effort as it stood up.

The silverette growled out of frustration, "Gothitelle, I told you to dodge! What are you doing!"

"There's no use taking it out on your gothitelle!" I called out, glaring at him, "Tory's ability won't allow your gothitelle to dodge attacks so easily!" I don't know why I felt the need to defend the gothitelle, but it was probably because the silverette was placing the blame on it and not on himself. This guy was really pushing me over the edge.

"What are you talking about?" After a few seconds his blue eyes widened with realization. "Compound eyes?"

"Good job," I praised mockingly, "although I'm sure a kindergartner could have figured that out quicker." The silverette growled and threw me a glare that could send a beartic running.

"I'll make you eat those words," he snarled, then pointed at towards us once more, "use psychic, Gothitelle!" Gothitelle's eyes lit up as it prepared to attack.

"Quick, Tory, use electro-ball again before it can attack!" I exclaimed. Psychic was a very unpredictable attack in that it was near impossible to dodge. The only way to avoid the attack was to attack the user before they unleashed it.

As Tory began charging up his attack, I was not expecting to see light begin to envelop my arms and then my whole body. Suspecting what was about to happen I let go of lillipup, who yelped when he hit the ground, just as a blinding pain erupted all throughout my body.

I screamed and fell onto the ground, very aware of how every second felt like an hour and how the pain just seemed to increase as time passed. Before I could pass out the pain stopped which left me spent out and panting on the cold, hard ground. I groaned in pain when my head began throbbing, and my stomach clenched painfully to the point where I felt like I was about to throw up.

"Huahaha! I'm surprised that you're still awake! Didn't that hurt!" the silverette chortled.

I coughed and began pushing myself up. Tory was at my side instantly, and I gratefully used him as support as I stood up shakily. Thankfully, I saw that Lillipup was still with us as he was hiding behind Tory's back leg. Once I was sure that I wouldn't fall down, I wiped at my mouth and groaned inwardly when I saw my hand come away bloody.

I glowered towards the silverette, "That was a dirty trick."

He shrugged, "I never said that I'd play fair."

"What a coincidence, neither did I." Both of our eyes widened in surprise when Jason suddenly sprung up from the ground and lunged towards the silverette. He let out a battle cry and threw his fist forward so that it connected with the side of the silverette's face, sending him spinning and then crashing down to the ground. "No one ever said that I couldn't play dead."

"Goth!" Gothitelle gave her trainer a panicked look and instantly ran towards him.

"Quick, Bisharp, use night slash!" Jason exclaimed. Suddenly, Bisharp also shot up from where he was laying on the ground and barreled towards Gothitelle, arm extended in preparation for the attack. Gothitelle was too preoccupied with how injured her trainer was that she never saw Bisharp coming. Bisharp slashed at Gothitelle's exposed back, and with a pained cry she collapsed face-first and lay unmoving on the ground.

Bisharp half-turned to Jason and gave him a thumbs up, which Jason returned, grinning broadly. Jason shook out his hand that he'd used to deliver the punch and smiled at me.

"Hey, Kyra. You feeling okay? That psychic attack hurts like hell, doesn't it?" I just stared at him in disbelief, causing Jason to shift on his feet uncomfortably. "Wh-what? Do I have something on my face?"

I cast my head down so that my eyes were hidden by shadows. "You...just how long were you actually awake?"

Jason flinched back and laughed sheepishly, scratching at his cheek, "Um...well, since your galvantula came back? Who knew that you could actually look so cute when you're happy." By the time he finished talking I was already at his side and had my arm outstretched from the punch I just delivered to his face.

Jason cradled his cheek in his hands, groaning in pain and looked at me with tears in his eyes, "You're so mean, Kyra," he whined, "I can't handle to be hurt anymore, and besides I meant that last part as a compliment." Bisharp, as I expected, ran over to his injured trainer and began fussing over him.

I just cracked my knuckles threateningly, "Just be glad I didn't decide to kick you between the legs." Stupid idiot, I thought sourly. Tory bumped into my leg bringing my attention back to the situation at hand. Lillipup walked up to me, and I bent down to pick him up smiling as he licked my face.

"So, I guess we can head out now, huh?" Jason questioned, looking down at the silverette he had knocked unconscious. I cast a glance at the silverette as well, thinking of how pathetic it was that he was knocked out with only one punch.

"Hmm," I glanced behind me and scanned the building where we had rescued Lillipup from.

What do I do? This is probably my last chance for a while to get my revenge on that woman, but... I looked down at Lillipup, who looked back up at me from my arms and let out a little yip. I still had a duty to return this little guy to his family.

"Kyra?" Jason waved his hand in front of my face in order to get my attention. After some thought I sighed, and massaged at my temple with my fingers.

"Let's go, I'm sick of this place already," I decided finally, then glanced at the silverette laying on the ground, "and we'd better hurry before this guy wakes up and comes after us." Truth be told, I wanted to stick around and give this guy the beating of a lifetime, but I guess that would have to wait for another time as well.

Jason looked up at the sky in thought, then looked back at me, "You don't have any flying type pokemon on you, do you?" he asked. I frowned and shook my head.

"Nope, so we better hurry, we've got a long road ahead of us and it'll be troublesome if these guys catch up to us," I explained sighing again. I really wanted to get a flying type pokemon of my own, but it was a little difficult since I only really had bug type pokemon right now which always put me at a disadvantage every time I went to go catch one. I always went for powerful flying types too, since I wanted to build up a strong team.

"Hey, just because you don't have any flying type pokemon on you doesn't mean that I don't," he grinned and pulled out a pokeball tossing it up into the air. There was a flash of light, and once it died down, in its place was a braviary.

"Bra! Bra!" Braviary flapped his massive wings and flew in a half-circle so that he faced Jason, then kept beating at the air in order to remain airborne.

"Hey, Braviary! You mind giving us a lift back to HQ?" Jason asked, placing his hands on his hips. Braviary cast a glance towards me, then turned back to Jason cawing happily in consent. "Awesome, thanks, Buddy."

Jason pulled out another pokeball and pointed it towards Bisharp, "Return, Bisharp." Just before the light enveloped Bisharp he cast a glance towards me, and I swear that he gave me a warning glare or something before he was finally absorbed into his ball.

I let out an amused grunt, which caused Jason to look at me strangely. "What?"

"It's nothing," I replied. Bisharp had probably been warning me not to hurt Jason any more than I had already. "All right, Tory, let's head out," I reached for his pokeball that was on my waist then stopped when I felt Tory lean up against me, digging his feet into my shirt and began pulling. With a shock I realized what he was trying to do.

"Wait, Tory!" I cried, "You're not a little joltik anymore! Stop!" Tory ignored me, and pulled on my shirt again, trying to pull himself up so that he could rest on my head. I cried out when Tory's weight finally took its toll on me and I fell backwards. "Tory!"

O O O

How pathetic.

The cloaked figure passed by the gothitelle and maractus who lay on the ground, unconscious, and stalked over to the boy who lay further away, ignoring how loudly the heels on the shoes clacked on the pavement. With a slight nudge, the figure managed to roll the boy over so that he was on his back. The figure scowled at the sight of a bluish-purplish blotch beginning to form on the young boy's face.

How deplorable.

With a grunt, the figure kicked out at the silver-haired boy, effectively hitting him in the ribs. His eyes shot open, and he cried out in pain while grabbing at his side.

The figure sniffed disdainfully. "Devin, wake up, you useless boy!" The silverette, Devin, coughed while still holding his side, but managed to sit up on his knees and looked up at the menacing figure towering over him.

His eyes widened in surprise, and he could feel himself trembling. "B-boss!" Devin gasped and he looked around at the surrounding area, feeling his panic rise when he saw that it was just the two of them, not counting his pokemon who were still both knocked out. "I-I can explain, Boss."

"You don't need to explain anything, Devin," she stated, "I know all about what happened here. About that girl and boy who rescued the lillipup and how they beat you and escaped. I know all about it. Now..."

Devin's body shook in fear as his boss reached into her cloak, and came out holding a pokeball.

"Please, Boss!" Devin threw himself down so that he was bowing at her feet, "I'm so sorry that I let them get away! Forgive me!" He pushed himself down lower so that his forehead was pressing into the ground. Just let her get this over with quickly.

His boss clicked her tongue, "Devin, do you really believe that I'm angry with you?"

Devin remained quiet, unsure of how to respond. He knew that she must be angry with him, he let them escape after all, but her voice wasn't betraying any emotion and that was the scariest part of this whole thing.

"I...I know you must be disappointed in me, Boss," he said, choosing his words carefully, "our client will be really upset, too, now that the lillipup is gone."

"I don't even care about that horrid man any longer, Devin. He's no longer any of our concern," Devin looked up at his boss in confusion as she continued, "You would think I'd be upset, wouldn't you, Devin, but I'm actually rather interested right now."

"W-why is that, Boss?" Devin visibly relaxed when he saw that she wouldn't be punishing him for his mistakes.

"That girl..." she chuckled darkly, "I didn't think I'd see her again."

"You know her, Boss?" This was really surprising. Devin chewed on his bottom lip in anticipation for his boss's reply.

"Yes, from a long time ago actually," and with that she tossed the pokeball she was holding up in the air releasing the monster within. From the faint light of the lamps, Devin was able to see the outline of the pokemon that was now hovering in midair.

Oh, Arceus. Just the sight of this monster made Devin's blood run cold. Even though right now it was acting very tame, Devin knew by first-hand experience that that monster could rip your head off no problem. He'd seen scores of tougher and older men than he fall victim to this monster...including his own father.

His boss walked right up to it, and running her hand along the monster's lean, muscular body jumped up onto its back letting out a little grunt in the process. She swung out her legs so that there was one on each side of the monster's body and settled down, placing her hands on its neck. The monster let out a deep rumble in anticipation for the flight it knew it was about to launch on.

"I'll leave things here to you, Devin. I think that you can handle that at least, right?" Devin just nodded numbly as he wanted them to leave as soon as possible. "Great. Now don't mess things up, or I'll have to really hurt you this time, okay?" Devin just nodded again and watched as with an ear-shattering roar his boss's pokemon took off to the sky. They instantly blended into the darkness of the night and disappeared from view.

Devin felt his legs collapse from under him, and with an exhausted sigh he pulled out his maractus' and gothitelle's pokeballs, instantly recalling them. He needed to go get them healed.

"I'm sorry, guys. I was a jerk today, wasn't I?" he whispered.

Then when he went to rub at his eyes he winced when he brushed up against his cheek. He pressed down gingerly and winced as the tender skin protested against the touch. He needed to get that healed, too. In all of the excitement he'd forgotten that that guy had punched him. That girl, too...he wondered when his boss had met her. Maybe she's just like me, he vaguely wondered, it's possible.

Devin leaned his head back and stared up at the night sky, examining the infinite numbers of stars that decorated it as a miserable look crossed his face.

Just a little longer, Mom, Sis. Then I can free you.

O O O

I watched in awe as a shooting star shot across the sky. It was so pretty up here in the air, and it was nice to feel the cool, night air caress my skin as we soared through the sky. This whole experience really made me wish that I had a flying type pokemon of my own.

At first I was worried that Braviary wouldn't be able to support both Jason and I, but I was proved wrong when he retained the same amount of stamina as he had when we first set off, and he'd been at it for at least two hours now. When we got back to HQ I was definitely going to put in a few words for Braviary. He's one of the toughest flying types I've ever come across at my time at EARTH.

When we'd boarded Braviary Airlines, we'd gotten in a little dispute over who would sit where. In the end we decided that I'd sit in the back, and Jason in the front, although I'd used a little coercing on my part to get him to agree. He finally relented after I pinned him to the ground and twisted his arm back to the point where it popped. Lillipup, I decided would be on my lap since technically, Jason had to help Braviary with how to get back.

I also just wanted to be in a position where I didn't have to worry about where Jason's hands could 'accidentally' touch something he shouldn't. So, I had my arms wrapped laxly around his chest, and tried to ignore how close we actually were. Despite this, I was actually really enjoying myself...that is, until Jason opened his mouth.

"You know, Kyra," he began, "if you forget about the fact that we're on a mission this could almost be romantic, couldn't it?"

I felt bad for Braviary, because he ended up having to dive after his trainer but didn't reach him in time. I also felt bad for Lillipup, because the sudden drop had him scared out of his skin and I had to pry his little paws off of my shirt since his claws were starting to dig into my skin painfully.

When we finally found Jason he was tangled up in some branches and being dive-bombed by a flock of pidove who were not happy about being woken up in the dead of the night. Braviary managed to scare them all off and successfully retrieved his trainer who had scratches all over his face and arms.

As we went back into the sky, Jason shot me a backwards glance that was definitely accusing and angry. I just sniffed and turned away, "You had it coming."

After a while of more flying, the sun finally started peeking over the horizon. It was hard to believe I was up the whole night. I was definitely going to sleep the day away once I got back into my nice, warm bed. Lillipup had managed to fall asleep a little after the falling incident, and I smiled when he began kicking in his sleep.

"Hey, look!" Jason pointed in front of him, "There's HQ!" And indeed there it was, as regal and big as ever. No matter how many times I saw it, it was a grand place and the sight of it always took my breath away.

I stroked Lillipup on the head, You're almost home, little guy, I thought wearily.


Thanks so much for reading, hoped you liked it!

Please review! I've discovered that reviews are very motivational and will inspire me to write faster and thus leads to quicker updates.