Rays of Light

by CJFANG

After the incident in Altomare, Latios and Latias, wait for Ash to come back. However, they find out they will do more than wait, after a special someone pays them a visit, which brings more characters and fun... and more chaos. Sequel to TRIGGER. DISCONTINUED

5. Street Rats

CJ: Next chapter ready to go!

DB: Be warned! This behemoth of a chapter has over 17,000 words!

CJ: (chuckles nervously) Yea...my bad.

DB: Well, I did add some of this literary mass.

CJ: You only added 3,000 of the 17,000!

DB: I said some, not all.

CJ: Well, regardless, enjoy this chapter!

~!~

"Reports are that more and more gang members are being arrested and turning themselves in from the FUZE task force everyday. The mayor of Altomare thanks them for their efforts; they have already done so much to clean the streets of our beautiful city." The news anchorwoman reports on the TV, her blond hair swaying a little in the wind.

"Grandpa, are you listening to this?" Bianca asks, not wanting to get up. Pikachu is lying on top of a rubber mat, which in turn is on top of her thighs. The little mouse's dinner was taking revenge, leaving Pikachu to clutch his stomach in slight pain and sneeze every now and then.

"Pi...Pi-ika...pika-CHU! CHU! CHU!" He sneezes, releasing electric jolts at every "chu" and getting the TV to flicker in sync.

"Poor little guy, we shouldn't have let you eat that food last night!" Bianca laughs just as Lorenzo walks in from the workshop.

"FUZE? The same corporation that helped us last night?" Lorenzo asks, brushing some sawdust off his hands from the work he finished.

"Uh huh. Apparently, they're sweeping the streets for gangsters," Bianca said as she strokes Pikachu with a rubber-gloved hand. The mouse weakly groans.

"Where they came from is still a mystery, but they are doing such an altruistic act for us. If you see a FUZE member today, be sure to thank them for their efforts." The lady smiles. A picture appears over her left shoulder; bold white letters over a dark blue background spelling out FUZE, while a hooded figure is just below it. The picture shows a typical FUZE member; such a common sight now that you can't swing a stunned Skitty without hitting one.

"A bit suspicious don't you think?" Lorenzo asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you kidding? Those hoodies make them look like gangsters themselves," Bianca replies. Pikachu makes a more painful groan, prompting Bianca to roll him over and start scratching his belly.

"As long as those thugs are out of here," Lorenzo shrugs before throwing back the rest of his glass of water, then going back to work on the gondola.

"CHU!" Pikachu sneezes, managing to roll over and discharge the zap into the ground instead of Bianca's face. She sweat-drops

"Jeez, that could've been bad!"

~!~

Josh and Lucy walk down a street beside each other, watching as a purple robed FUZE member guides a handcuffed thug into a FUZE boat; a long sleek craft as dark as the fur of a Weavile. The thug's feet were also cuffed together; forcing him to walk in a weird shuffly movement.

"Those guys are really stepping things up." Josh remarks, eying the two carefully; ready for any sneaky moves that would harm his sister.

"Alright you Rattata, step down into the-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it you piece of shit!" The thug hisses. He was the same boy that harassed Lucy, only with clean shorts.

"Hey, that's the guy who tried to hit on me," Lucy says, getting a little pissed. Her expression softens quickly, seeing through his snarl to the scared guy underneath.

The FUZE man slugs the thug in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. The teen doubles over and plummets into the dark waters. People were now watching as the thug hopelessly plummets into the dark canal water. The FUZE man stares, then gets on the boat and drives off, not a care for the helpless gangster. Lucy watches in horror as the thug doesn't resurface, then quickly takes off Ash's cap and her hair-band, thrusts them into Josh's hands, then dives into the water.

Horrified, Josh runs and stops at the water's edge. "Lucy!" he yells, trying to peer through the deep water to find his sister. Why hasn't Ray taught him how to sight-share as a human yet?!

A few seconds pass before Lucy resurfaces, the thug beside her with his cuffed arms hooked over her neck. He unhooks himself from the hiding Lati and loops the cuffs over a drain pipe nearby; using it to pull himself onto land while Lucy climbs out beside him.

Once back on sturdy ground, the thug coughs out some water and gasps for air, then looks up at Lucy as she pulls her hair back into a ponytail then takes her beloved possession from her bro.

"Of all people, you save me?" The goon asks in surprise.

"Just because you hit on me doesn't mean you have to die," Lucy smiles. Josh looks at her with a bewildered expression; sometimes she's impossible to understand.

"Thanks, I owe you one." The thug grunts while struggling upright. "Anyone got a paper clip or something?" The thug asks the crowd who had assembled to watch. They quickly disperse, but another fifteen-year-old with spiked up black hair and green eyes hurries over.

"Jeez, DJ...you love getting yourself into trouble don't ya?" The boy asks, taking a paper clip out of his own pocket, twisting it with precise expertise and then shoving it into the lock in the handcuffs. With a quick twist the handcuffs fall away from the paper-clip.

The boy twists the clip around in a blur again, then slips them into the feet-cuffs and turns again. Cuff and clip clatter to the ground in seconds.

"How do you do it that fast JT?"

"Thanks for saving him. Please don't turn us in!" JT says as they run off. Josh stares at Lucy.

"He hit on you?!?"

"Uncle Ray took care of it, don't worry." Josh looks away to find the cuffs lying at his feet. Josh grabs them and puts them in his vest pocket.

"What're you doing?" Lucy asks. Josh turns to her and shrugs.

"Maybe it'll be useful later. Come on, lets go home. Ray and Kara are probably waiting for us." They both turn and walk toward Lorenzo's house.

~!~

"Nice day huh?" Ray asks, walking next to Kara; both enjoying the sunlight washing over the entire city.

"Guess so, it's not that bad." Kara replies, looking down into a canal to see a FUZE boat speed by. "It's too hot though..." she concedes, slightly annoyed. Lucario are naturally sensitive to high temperatures, but Kara's always seemed more sensitive then others.

"Want to fly?" Kara doesn't even have to reply, just give Ray an adventurous look along with a smile.

They run into a dark alley, going deep enough so that passerby wouldn't see them.

Kara gives a fast check before saying, "Coast cl-"

"Wait." Ray interrupts, sensing something that Kara missed. They both turn to the far end of the alley to see two boys run into view and stop, doubled over and panting. Ray and Kara slip against the wall, Ray camouflaging the two of them.

"Jesus, I was about to die there," one figure says.

"Who was that? She saved your ass!" The other says, putting his hands behind his head. This one had on jeans, a white shirt with some weird black design on one side, and a chain connecting a belt loop to his back pocket.

"I dunno, I hit on her earlier though. Never knew that she would actually save me later." Ray frowns, now he recognizes them.

"God damn, I never knew hitting on a girl would actually help is this situation! We have to get back; do you know what's gonna happen to us if the fuzz ever get us? Some of the guys back at our hideout say that they freakin' torture gangs over there!"

"Tauros-shit, the authorities would never allow that. You got a piece on you?"

"Yeah. I'm always loaded, you know that."

"I need to grab mine, come on. We need to tell the HH," The figures start running again.

"Just hold on a minute." Kara growls, breaking out of the camouflage and blocking their path.

The second figure got into range, his green eyes widening. He immediately reaches for the gun under his shirt, but freezes when an Aura Sphere the size of a basket-ball appears in Kara's hands.

"Shit!" The first says, raising his fists. He didn't have a chance against a pokemon, but it was instinctive to get ready for a brawl.

"You know we can't go against a Lucario with this thing!" The second boy whispers.

"You don't have to. All you need to do is just tell me some things and we'll let you go." Kara says, keeping her eyes locked on them.

They glance at each other in bewilderment at a talking pokemon. The first boy shakes it off and snarls "What do you want?"

Kara's eyes narrow and she replies with a much more menacing snarl.

"Information." Ray answers stepping beside Kara. "First of all, you're the one who hit on my niece." he adds, resting a hand on the concealed dagger at his side.

"She's your niece?!? Aw damn man, I'm sorry! She saved my ass back there, almost drowned!" The first boy says, putting his fists down.

"Sorry doesn't cut it for now. By the fuzz, you mean the FUZE members, right?" Ray asks, not letting his guard down.

"Yeah! Ever since they got here, other gangs keep on disappearing! They don't even give them trials for false accusations!" The second boy says, drawing his hand away from the concealed handgun.

"Alright, that's pretty much all I need to know." Ray replies, pulling his hand away from the dagger. He glances at his fiancé and then back at the goons. "You might want to apologize. I've cooled off, but she hasn't."

As if to further the point, Kara intensifies the glow of the sphere; almost to point of it becoming blindingly blue.

The two quickly utter a fast apology to the pokemon. She closes her eyes and looks at their auras; mostly fear and vengeance, but a lot of innocence is present as well.

She lets the sphere dissolve.

Ray notices this and stands aside. "You can go now. Go! Get!" The two look at each other, then run past.

"Thanks!" The second one yells before they round a corner and get out of sight.

~!~

"So that's what happened," Josh mutters, sticking his hands in his pockets. He didn't look at his sister, instead looking forward, trying to find Lorenzo's shop through the crowd of people.

"Uh huh, I guess we'll need to tell Uncle Ray about the FUZE guy," Lucy says, now dried and looking lively. She was also looking forward, but kept playing with the ponytail that she pulled through the back of Ash's cap.

"Why'd you do it?" Josh asks, now looking at his sister.

"Everyone needs a second chance," Lucy replies. She exhales and clasps her hands behind her. "You had yours, so why not give others one?"

Josh was a little surprised at Lucy's answer, then looks away; ashamed.

"I guess you're right." Josh concedes. His gaze falls to watch his sneakers hitting the ground.

"Big brother, it's okay." Lucy smiles, gently grabbing his hand, "Its just the way you are. Just try being a little more selfless."

"Thanks sis. Come on, Lorenzo's shop is right up ahead." They let go and head inside, first noticing a sick Pikachu sitting in a large bowl of hot water.

"That should help with the sneezing, but we should probably get some medicine for that stomach." Kara says, gently patting the ill-mouse's head with a wet cloth. Pikachu had his eyes closed and seemed pretty content in the warm water.

At least until he explodes with a "CHU!" and a Thunderbolt straight into the water, shocking himself.

"Its not fair," Pikachu croaks in poke'tongue, "Lucy and Josh don't get sick, but I do?" Pikachu opens his eyes to come inches away from the human face of Lucy.

"Pi-CHU!" Pikachu exclaims in both shock (AN: pun ftw) and as a sneeze into the water again. Lucy giggles, touching Pikachu's nose with her finger.

"Hey, guess what happened a few minutes ago?" Josh asks his relatives as they walk from the kitchen into the shop entrance.

"What?" Ray asks back, his black button-up collared shirt transforming into a simpler black T-shirt.

"Some guy ended up running away from the FUZE guys while we were walking around," Josh said, handing Ray the cuffs and the distorted paper clip.

"He escaped?" Ray skeptically asks, raising an eyebrow.

"No, Lucy saved him after he got punched in the gut and fell in the water." Josh looks past the older Latios to see Lucy giggling while toying around with Pikachu. "I just don't get her."

"It came from your mother, you should learn from her," Ray smirks, taking the occasion a bit lightly. He glances at the paper clip that is still lodged in the lock. He takes it out to examine the delicate twists designed to fit into every corner of the lock.

"Who did this?"

"The guy with him; black hair and green eyes. His hair was kind of short and he had on a white shirt with a black design on it." Josh describes, looking into his uncle's eyes with complete seriousness. Ray half-frowns.

"We bumped into them earlier in the street; I don't think the FUZE Corporation is here for a good cause..." Ray answers, returning the stare. "I'll keep these for now, I need to find out who these people are and what they're capable of."

"You can do all that from looking at a bunch of handcuffs?" Josh asks, his eyebrows raising in surprise.

"Kara and I work wonders," Ray smirks. Josh just laughed and shook his head at the true meaning behind his comment.

"I'm going to have to get used to these jokes about you and Kara," Josh says as he walks off towards Lucy.

Kara comes over from helping Lorenzo and looks at the wet cuffs. "Evidence?"

Ray nods. "Yeah. Do you know what these guys are like from their aura signatures?" Ray asks, still peering through the opened locks.

"I can probably trace a small bit of it that's still left on the cuffs; I'll give you a detailed report later. What's really important is that those two were serious back there, all the information they gave us was either true or a lie that they don't know of," Kara states as Ray pulls over chairs for the two of them. The Latios sits down, but the Lucario remains standing. "Who are these FUZE guys anyway?" Kara asks.

Ray sighs and slouches forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Whoever they are, they're not friendly and don't follow the rules." Lorenzo, who was walking by for another tool, puts his hand down on the back of Ray's chair.

"The mayor seems to be oblivious also, FUZE is all over the news." the old man says. Ray glances back at the aged face of his friend. "Do you think they're after the DMA also?" Lorenzo asks, looking into Ray's hard-gold eyes.

"If they are, doesn't that mean that they're going to need another Latios or Latias to activate it?" Bianca asks, standing next to Kara with her arms crossed.

"Yeah. We need to make sure that they don't take either Josh, Lucy, or even both of them at once. Josh already knows how painful it is..." Ray says, cringing at the thought of the forceful release of so much power.

"I won't let both of them go through that pain again..." Bianca says, closing her eyes and trying to force away the memories of Josh getting tortured by the very machine designed to help the Altomarians.

"Don't worry about it, I'll teach them how to defense themselves, all you have to do is just be strong for them." Ray says, looking dead into Bianca's eyes with determination. She nods before Ray glances back at Lorenzo, "You gave them the swords right?" he asks while standing up.

"I've introduced the swords to them, but they haven't used them before."

"That's fine, I'll teach them how. They're in the chest right?" Ray asks, walking towards the closet.

"Yes, of course." Lorenzo replies, following him. "I wouldn't disobey your brother-in-law now would I?"

Ray grins, "As odd as he was, I wouldn't either. Oh, I'm going to need to use the phone after this." He replies, moving some of the random jackets, shirts, overalls, and dresses out of the way. After working his way to the back, he presses in part of the wall, getting the cases to slide out of a secret panel.

I'm never going to understand his fondness for closets... Ray mentally sighs before taking the cases out. One is deep-blue and the other crimson-red, but both are glowing and much larger than Ray's own case; despite these only holding one set of weapons each. "I never thought that they would actually give up their swords for Josh and Lucy."

"I can, it is tradition isn't it?" Lorenzo asks as Ray walks by. He stops and thinks for a moment, then shrugs.

"Since the Hanging Gardens don't exist anymore, I guess it is."

~!~

"My Lords, one of the gangsters apparently drowned in the canals," a hooded FUZE figure reports. He's present in a darkened room in front of nine other hooded agents. Unlike this one; who has a completely purple robe, each of the others has a double-helix pattern detailed on the front of their robes, each a different color. For these special nine there is also a holographic image flickering in front of them; a deep blue hexagon with a bright white number ranging from 01 to 09. They surrounded the lower ranking member in a semi-circle.

"Have you covered it up as an accident?" Number 04 asks. The voices were completely distorted, making the true identity unrecognizable.

"Yes. We have," the un-distorted grunt replies.

"Do not lie to us; we know that you intentionally attacked the gangster and left him for dead. The sniveling Rattata escaped his fate with the help of a citizen. We have eyes everywhere, you cannot fool us." Number 07 hisses, throwing a robed arm accusingly at the grunt.

"We cannot afford to reveal our true colors just yet. We have to appear as them; following their codes, not ours." Number 05 agrees.

"Relay the order to the rest of the 'police' units. We will be watching." Number 08 adds.

"Yes my lord," the grunt says, bowing respectfully to the masked superiors.

"Wait. Have you discovered the DMA yet? Were you able to reach it?" Number 01 asks. The grunt stands back up.

"N-no, we haven't my lord. We are trying our best, but heavily armed guards with highly trained pokemon are guarding the museum," the grunt cautiously replies. His voice was wavering greatly; as if the only thing he wanted was to run away from the icy-cold voice of Number 01.

"First of all, you savages will address me as a lady." 01 angrily spits, "Even though it may not sound like it, that's what I am. Second, you must follow the code of the Altomarians to make sure we have complete access to the very best defensive mechanism in the world. Do. You. Understand?"

"Yes my lo- my lady!" the grunt replies, shaking a little. The rest of the superiors stood still; not moving an inch.

"Good. You are dismissed." A door opens behind all of the figures, flooding the room with light although no-one's faces became lit. They shuffle out of the room one by one, their holographic numbers disappearing as each left. Finally, just Number 04 and Number 01 are left.

"You do know what we are getting into right?" Number 04 asks.

"Of course. I have been to Altomare myself after all. It is time we took a step towards the new future; the future that will change us all. It is also time for the darkness to be released so it may rain terror upon the world once again. We will start over, starting with this city. With the technology that we have, we will use the darkness to carve a path towards a new light; a new future. All we have to do is just start the world over." Number 01 replies.

"I understand. May FUZE prosper." Number 04 says.

"No. May the darkness prosper." Number 01 corrects before vanishing.

~!~

Ray twirls his sheathed katana blade in one hand before planting the end of into the ground, then gives a stern look at the two Latis floating in front of him.

"Welcome to Lati 101; here, you'll learn the basics of...well, everything. Also, you two will be attending 'school' every day from now on, and don't try faking sick; Kara can see right through it." Ray warns before placing his other hand on the sword hilt. "You'll also be receiving combat training, but breath easy; we won't start off there or on anything too hard."

An awkwardly silent breeze blows through the group, getting the fabric of Ray's black T-shirt and black cargo pants to rustle.

"School?" Josh asks.

"For how long?" Lucy adds, tilting her head a little and getting Ash's cap to spin in that direction.

"As long as it needs to be, I promised to train you two. I'll teach you everything I know, but the rest is up to you. Bianca, Kara, and Lorenzo will help me, but relax; it shouldn't be that hard..." Ray smirks before adding, "At least learning isn't."

Josh and Lucy look at each other in a mix of fear and confusion.

"You'll be going through some tough training, and relatives or not; there won't be any slack on my end." Ray evilly chuckles, "But again, you two aren't starting with your swords yet. You won't get to use those until you complete at least the first step. How about we start off with some stretching, it'll loosen up those muscles and joints," Ray reassuringly says before picking up his sword and disappearing in a flash.

Josh and Lucy's head shoot up in surprise. "What the...?" Josh asks as Ray reappears and starts walking towards them.

"Don't focus on me, focus on yourselves. Now, put your paws behind your head." Ray orders, putting his own hands behind his back.

The two Latis do so.

"Good. Now, Josh, hold still." Ray disappears from the sibling's sight.

"What are you-?" Josh tries to ask before Ray cuts him off.

"Just look forward, and relax." Ray says from behind.

"O-okay..." Josh says getting uneasy.

"Uncle Ray's scaring me." Lucy telepathically tells her brother.

"I heard that." Ray remarks, getting the Latias to blush. Ray really was one of the most powerful Lati alive.

"How long do we have to -YOW!" Josh suddenly screams. Lucy glances over to see Ray on Josh's back, holding each paw with a hand and twisting them into an unnatural position.

"Uncle Ray!! What are you doing???!" Lucy shrieks.

"Both of you relax, especially you Josh. This is going to hurt. This is going to sting, but do NOT fly away or something worse will happen. Lesson one, discipline is everything." Ray calmly states.

Josh sucks in a quick gasp before clenching his jaw and shutting his eyes; the last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of his uncle and sister.

"Accept the pain, absorb it. Learn how to tolerate it. I know this hurts, I wanted to kill my teacher when he did it to me, but you have to do this. Its very important." Ray explains, twisting a little more. "This, believe it or not, is stretching. You're going to need it because the more flexible your arms are, the more you can take care of your wings and back."

Lucy quickly gasps as Kara lands on her back and starts doing the same. She let out a quick shriek before slamming her mouth shut.

"Are you sure this is supposed to help?" Kara asks, glancing at Ray with a hint of doubt.

"Yeah. Don't worry, just two more minutes." Josh and Lucy grimace before the amazing happens; the pain starts to recede as their muscles loosen up. After one more minute, the pain was all gone.

"This isn't half bad now," Josh remarks. Ray knowingly smiles at his nephew's head.

"It feels kinda good to stretch," Lucy adds, relaxing as best she could. Unlike Josh, she's got a much heavier load; a canine with a skeleton harder and stronger than steel.

"See? Now, obviously this isn't going to happen with everything that involves pain; but stretching is pretty important." Ray says, "Your wings are next." he finishes while simultaneously releasing them with Kara. The two watch their relatives rotate their arms around to explore this new freedom.

"Ow," Josh grunts, getting Lucy to giggle. Ray glances around the garden before spotting a large forked branch.

'Alright, that'll do' He thinks before jumping off his nephew and turning back into a Latios. He flies over to the forked branch and examines it; it wasn't perfect, but after slicing away a large nub on one of the prongs, it'll do. He makes a quick whistle to get the attention of the others. "Fly on over here."

Lucy and Josh fly over while Kara runs over before leaping onto a nearby branch.

"This is what you two will be doing next. Watch me first." Ray tucks his arms in before flipping himself to look straight up at the sky. After nestling himself into the crook of the branch he starts to relax and stops levitating. Slowly the large Latios begins to sink down, his wings bending forward so much that they almost touch his neck. After staying that way for a few seconds, he sighs before adding, "You two will be doing the same, stop levitating and stretch your wings out like this. I also want you to do it belly-down and belly-up too. Don't do it upside down, you'll get dizzy and fall."

The younger dragons snicker a little while Ray levitates out of the branch and looks at the younger dragons. "Well?" he asks, waiting for a volunteer. Lucy shyly flies over while tucking in her arms then lays back on the forked branch. She slowly starts to let herself fall towards the ground, but was having a little trouble; this one hurt a lot more than the arms.

"Slowly, not too fast. Your wings are really important, so be careful; its alright to stop if you feel something move in a direction its not supposed to." Ray warns. "The more you stretch your wings, the better of a flier you'll be."

Lucy clenches her teeth and starts levitating again, but just enough to slow the descent a little more.

"How long does she have to do that?" Josh asks, a bit scared of how painful it might feel.

"Until she gets comfortable, then she flips over. You hear that?" Ray asks, looking down at the Latias.

"Yep!"

"Good, we're going to find another branch. Kara, can you watch her?" Ray asks as he starts looking for another spot.

Kara gives him that toothy smile again. "Of course." she replies, sitting cross-legged beside her soon-to-be-niece. "Wow...how does it feel to stretch your wings?" Kara asks, looking down at Lucy who is still trying to go all the way.

"It hurts and feels good at the same time," Lucy replies before finally reaching her goal. She tries reaching her brother with telepathy and succeeds, asking him "How's it going?"

"Ow." Josh replies. Lucy giggles.

"I know, I hope this is the last one..." Lucy admits. Judging from the weird grunt, Josh probably agrees. Once they flipped over and did the other side, the three dragons met on the stonework near the fountain while Kara remained in the tree, examining the handcuffs for an aura signature.

"Alright, since you two still look pretty lively, we're going to do more stretches," Ray says, giving the two a toothy grin. His relatives look back in horror.

~!~

"Hello? Anybody home?" A man, about eighteen years of age, walks in with a large cardboard box perched on his shoulder, steadied by one of his hands. He was quite tall and a bit more muscular than the average person, but didn't seem to be easily angered.

"Yes?" Lorenzo asks, stepping out from behind the gondola he was working on. Right behind the man is a large Typhlosion, again bigger than the average, with its fire silently burning on its back. It must've been a considerate pokemon since the fire was kept low; most like to avoid lighting the workshop on fire. He or she looked strong, judging by how easily it was holding another box; this one made of solid metal.

"Yeah, this is a package delivery for Ray." The man smiles. A black cap sat on his head and matched his black vest, under which is a red T-shirt while a pair of white cargo shorts completed his attire.

"I see, and the other one?" Lorenzo looks at the large Typhlosion. It was looking through the workshop at Pikachu, who's sound asleep on the arm of a nice couch.

"Oh, that's for him too." The man replies. The massive pokemon manages to give a small smile at the older man.

"I see, I can take them if you want." Lorenzo replies, holding out his arms.

The man laughs. "Thanks but no thanks, its our job to hand these packages to him ourselves." he smiles, "Besides, we want to see the secret garden."

Lorenzo lowers his arms and laughs "Follow me," he says, leading the two towards the entrance.

~!~

Josh and Lucy were on the soft grass next to the entrance, pooped. Ray was floating over the two, chuckling.

"Come on, you guys should feel refreshed!" Ray laughs. Josh was belly-up while Lucy was belly-down.

"I do, its just..." Josh gasps, "Thirty minutes of stretching is a bit too much don't you think?" he finishes in a groan.

"I stretched parts of my body I never knew I had," Lucy moans. Ray chuckles again while the three hear a faint giggle coming from a nearby tree; right where Kara was.

"You guys better get used to it!" Ray remarks before landing and turning back into his human form. He sits between the two Latis and asks "Now, if I gave you guys a test on what I talked about and said, would you know the answer?"

Josh raises his head while Lucy cranes hers around. "Oh..." she groans before turning to face him.

"You guys have to pay attention to what I'm saying; some of those things are going to be important later on." Ray instructs, waiting for the Latis to finish floating upright again. "Just raise your paw when you know the answer. Alright, why don't you want to completely turn your neck when looking backward?"

Josh's paw shoots up first, but Lucy came in a close second.

"Josh?"

"Because if you're flying, the wind resistance would be greater and it would mess up your flight." Josh answers.

Ray nods, "Yep. Even if your body is designed to be aerodynamic, something as small as that will affect your flying. Why stretch your wings?" Lucy's paw is up in the blink of an eye.

After he points at her, she answers, "To help with flying?"

"How?"

"It lets you turn and do tricks better!" she chirps.

"Correct. Why are those 'feet' there on a Lati body?" Josh raises his hand and Ray points at him.

"To...uh...waddle?" Josh answers, a little unsure. Lucy giggles.

"Yeah. Believe it or not, Latis first learn to waddle, then float, then levitate, then finally fly." Ray smiles, "Why stretch the paws and claws?"

Lucy barely manges to beat Josh's hand. Ray points at her.

"Because the claws are the second strongest bones that can be used as weapons. The claws are the only natural, physical weapons we have...right?"

Ray approvingly claps, "Nice!"

"Wow, you sounded smart there," Josh laughs. Lucy gives him a playful shove.

"What are the tips of the wings for?" Josh raises his hand.

"To help turn better."

"Good. The correct term is 'banking', but tomato-tomata." Ray nods, "Last question, why stretch the arms?" Lucy and Josh tie, but Ray picks the Latias.

"To help you take better care of your back!" Lucy smiles, getting her uncle to nod.

"Sweet. Since you both tied for correct answers, I'll buy you two chocolate bars later." Ray grins.

Kara snaps out of her work and pokes her head out of the tree, ears perked up and eyes sparkling. "Chocolate?!?" Kara asks, very excited.

Ray quickly turns around and urgently yells, "No! No chocolate for you!"

Kara's eyes narrow while she growls and disappears back into the tree, going back to work.

"Why can't she have chocolate?" Lucy sincerely asks. Ray sighs before turning to her.

"Canines get really sick if they eat chocolate. Last time she had some, she was sick for days," Ray explains, glancing back at the fuming Lucario on the branch. "Unlike most pokemon, us Lati's can eat practically anything and use it for energy, our stomachs can break down and use everything we eat. Which is why we don't have to go 'number two' like most species."

"What's number two?" Lucy innocently asks. Josh flies over and starts whispering in her ear, causing her to blush. "Oh..."

Ray laughs. "Well, that wraps up the stretching. Once we eat lunch, we're going to test your flying next. You guys are free 'till then." Ray says, dismissing his relatives.

"Ray? Teaching? Jeez, you always have words of wisdom up your sleeve, but I never thought you would actually teach." A voice says from the entrance, getting all the heads to turn and see a man with a Typhlosion walk in.

The man waves, watching as Kara leaps down from the branches and speeds over beside Ray. "Words of wisdom? Come on, that sounds so lame!" Ray complains as he stands up.

Josh and Lucy uneasily look at the visitors, especially since they weren't disguised right now.

"Guys, meet Lloyd Vin. Great buddy of mine," Ray smiles, walking over and clasping Lloyd's waiting hand. They shook and turned towards the rest.

"What's up Kara?" Lloyd laughs, "You look a little pissed there."

"Ray won't give me chocolate..." she pouts. Lloyd raises an eyebrow before chuckling.

"Really? Come on Kara, you know better!" The Typhlosion starts chuckling as well.

"Is that Blaze?" Ray looks past Lloyd.

The Typhlosion grins. "The one and only," he says in a low, strong, grumbling voice, shocking Josh and Lucy.

"He can talk too?!?" Josh asks in surprise, pointing at the fiery behemoth.

"Yep, and you can talk when you're a pokemon, thanks to the machines in this box." Lloyd sets the cardboard box down. Josh and Lucy curiously look at the fresh cardboard box.

"They're not ready just yet," Ray adds, tapping the box with his foot.

Lloyd shrugs. "Suit yourself," he gives a toothy grin.

"What about the other box?" Lucy shyly asks Lloyd, turning everyone's attention to the metal box in Blaze's hands.

"This is for Ray and Kara only." he says while handing the box to Kara, she almost drops it; surprised at how heavy it was.

"What's in this thing?" Kara asks, looking up at the Typhlosion. He gives her a look that says, 'ask Ray'.

"Alright, package delivered. Your furniture is here too." Lloyd says, getting Ray and Kara to brighten.

"Really?" Kara asks, Blaze nods. "Thanks guys! You're the greatest!" Kara exclaims, setting the metal box beside its cardboard buddy.

"There is a bed though, right?" she asks, a bit slyly. Blaze blushes while Lloyd scoffs.

"Yeah, two small personal LANCE standard-issue beds," Lloyd smirks. Kara looks horrified, but Ray laughs before hugging her from behind.

"Stop scaring her Lloyd," Ray said, gently holding her a little tighter.

Lloyd laughs while brushing off his cap, revealing the dark-blue hair that was a bit shorter than Ray's. "Don't worry, we have a nice king-sized bed for you two. Now, you needed us for something else?" Lloyd asks as Blaze takes a couple step forward.

Ray and Kara give each other a serious look before separating. "Yeah. Josh, Lucy, go practice your flying until lunch," Ray says, turning to his nephew and niece. The nodded before turning invisible and flying away, leaving a small gust of wind in their wake. Once the two are gone, Ray turns back to his friends.

"You've heard about FUZE right?" Ray asks, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Of course, they just showed up here in Altomare." Lloyd replies while Blaze takes a few steps closer, eager to hear more.

"Something's a bit fishy about them," Kara says, idly passing the handcuffs around in her paws.

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asks, bending down to get a better look at the cuffs.

"The mayor suddenly ordered a wipeout of all gang members, and FUZE just happened to be there when he did. The gangs in the east have already been flushed out, and the gangs in the west are getting picked off by the FUZE members." Ray says, crossing his arms and training his golden eyes into Lloyd's charcoal gray ones.

"I don't think the officials really care about the FUZE members, and all the law enforcement and judicial powers in Altomare just shifted authority to a foreign corporation that no-one has heard of." Kara adds, crossing her arms as well.

Blaze and Lloyd quickly get a suspicious look. "What does FUZE even do?" Lloyd asks. The Latios and Lucario shrug.

"Nothing's been announced, and they're all in hoodies and using their own manpower instead of pokemon," Ray answers.

"You're kidding," Lloyd states, furrowing his brow.

"No, I'm not. These guys are really suspicious, yet the officials trust them. It just doesn't logically make sense." Ray says.

"The ambassador from FUZE is human though," Kara adds. She motions to her handcuffs, "These were on a gangster that almost drowned from a FUZE arresting and got picked by an associate of his. The faint aura signatures are traceable, but they only show innocence in what happened to them earlier."

"I took a look into their heads too. Even though one of them has a handgun, the only major crime they've done so far is graffiti, hit on some girls, and arms dealing; they aren't even top notch." Ray scoffs, "Looks like FUZE is smart enough to knock out the top dogs first."

"Jeez, another crazed terrorist group probably," Lloyd put a hand to his face. He sighs before looking back at them. "I'll tell chief and everything, Altomare is in your hands for now. I've got-" Lloyd stops and fakes retching, "paperwork to do."

He turns to the Typhlosion. "I'll let Blaze stay here after moving your stuff if you want," Lloyd suggests. Blaze gives Ray and Kara a confident smile. Ray's serious expression changes into a smirk.

"We could always use some firepower," Ray says while Kara gives Blaze her a smile with her canines. Blaze does the same, only his canines are about three times bigger than hers.

"More time to spend with your pokemon buddies, eh?" Lloyd smirks.

Blaze chuckles, "Oh yeah. You better get done quickly or else you might miss the fireworks. And I'm not gonna be around to burn up your junk mail for now!" Lloyd and Blaze share a deep laugh before pounding their fists together. Lloyd goes to rubbing his hands while Blaze cracks his knuckles.

"Alright, let's get your stuff moved in!"

~!~

"Dang, these tips really do help!" Lucy exclaims, shedding her invisibility as she and her brother fly away from Altomare. The two are flying side-by-side a few feet over the water, the waves behind them shooting up into the sky.

"Guess Uncle Ray really knows how to do it!" Josh replies. He banks to the right and starts flying higher. "My lead!"

Lucy giggles while following him. The two kept going higher and higher before shooting into the clouds; contorting the fluffy matter into unrecognizable shapes behind them. They rose higher and higher before finally exploding out of the clouds and into the bright blue sky and beating sun.

The Latis rolled a few times before starting to fly over the clouds like they were still over the ocean. They flew straight for a while before splitting apart; Josh going right and Lucy to the left.

As they banked; the two let their wings cut into the clouds and leave a visible line following their path. The two begin to perform long drawn-out banks, timing so when their paths crossed, Josh would go by just before Lucy. After overlapping a few times, the two began to lift up into the sky; stopping to levitate about twenty feet above their cloud.

The two turn around a smile at the double helix carved into the white matter. "My turn!" Lucy laughs before speeding downward and plunging head-first into the cloud. Josh chuckles to himself while following her. The two explode out the bottom of the cloud and keep on going; eventually plunging deep into the water and scattering a school of Magikarp.

The two can't swim as fast as they can fly, but the water was a bit more fun to move through; the way the sun shimmered above the surface and the large schools of aquatic pokemon made it amazing. The two swim around, playing chase with some of the aquatic pokemon and darting around the rock formations.

Enough is enough and the two rocket back upwards; bursting out of the water and cooing at the feeling of wind in their fur. Thanks to the design of their body, Latis don't have to worry about pressure or gravitational forces as much as a human does.

What they aren't immune to however, is tiredness. Both slow down to gently float just under a cloud as they breathe heavily, happier than Clamperl. "Whoo!" Josh exclaims. Lucy just starts laughing, barrel rolling next to her brother to shake away the rest of the water.

"That was fun!" Lucy exclaims, not even bothering to talk telepathically as the two start floating back towards Altomare. Josh gives Lucy a smirk before stopping; prompting her to look back at him.

"Big brother?"

"Race you to Altomare!" Josh smirks.

Lucy gives him a playful smile. "Firstonetothegradenwins!" Lucy yells before taking off, hoping the slur of words would confuse him.

It doesn't work, Josh only laughs before taking off as well. "Try to trick me huh?!" Josh playfully asks through the roaring winds. Lucy only giggles, she was in the lead.

Josh however, pulls a trick out of his sleeve. He starts dropping, letting gravity speed him up even more. Lucy manages a glimpse at Josh as he shoots by below her.

"No fair!" she pouts before copying him. Lucy, being a bit smaller, didn't have to worry about wind resistance as much as Josh does, but since he's bigger he has more power to spare. In short; the two are evenly matched as they fight for first place.

"I'm going to eat your chocolate!" Josh threatens, pulling ahead a little. Lucy tries her hardest to pass him.

"No you're not! I'm going to eat YOURS!" She declares, pulling ahead of Josh by an inch. A second later, Josh is beating Lucy by an inch, then Lucy is beating Josh again. They keep swapping places until they realize that Altomare is now behind them.

"I won!" Josh exclaims, banking hard to the left.

"No, I did!" Lucy corrects, banking just as hard to the right. They both turn invisible while shooting downward towards the garden. They manage to stop short of hitting the ground, but the gusts of wind they created drive the wind instruments into a psychotic frenzy.

"Draw!"

~!~

"Alright, the furniture should still be outside your apartment building." Lloyd says, leading Ray, Kara, and Blaze around a corner.

"You just left it unguarded?" Ray asks in surprise.

"Nah, I got a couple guys who owe me a favor to watch them." Lloyd replies. "And with them on guard duty, I doubt anyone would try taking your stuff."

"Unless they're crazy." Blaze remarks, completely unfazed by the metal box on his back.

The four come out in front of the seaside apartment building to find a small pile of furniture sitting outside and two Machoke standing guard over it. Well, one was standing guard, the other was napping on the couch.

The awake Machoke notices Lloyd's return and quickly elbows his sleeping buddy.

"Hu-huh? What?" the second one grumbles, sitting up.

"You two weren't sleeping on the job, were you?" Lloyd asks as his group stops in front of them.

"Not at the same time." The first Machoke replies, then glances behind Lloyd to see the others. "Oh, hey! Ray! Kara! Long time no see!"

"Nice to see you too Mid. Iro." Ray replies. "Jeez, when did we last see ya?"

"Wasn't it that trouble in the Orre region?" Kara asks.

"I think so. That was like, what, a year ago?" Mid, the one who wasn't sleeping, asks. He could be distinguished from his literal twin brother because he has a green bandanna tied around his head, while Iro has a yellow band on both arms.

"Lets catch up later, now we should move this stuff." Iro replies, climbing off the couch. "Leave the heavy stuff to us."

"Couldn't agree more." Ray replies, "I've got the chair."

"You lead the way to the apartment, I'll take the chair." Lloyd corrects, "You're the one with the key."

"Isn't there anything I can take?"

"I spy a plant." Blaze says.

Ray shrugs before plucking up the small plant, then leading the group into the building; followed by Kara with the cardboard box, Blaze with the metal box, Lloyd with the chair, and Mid and Iro with the couch.

"Hey!" the landlord yells, noticing the train of movers marching through, "What are you doing?"

"Just moving our stuff in." Ray replies, "Don't worry, the rest of them are only here to help."

He looks suspicious, but unwilling to cause a scene. "Fine...just don't break anything." the man grumbles.

The bizarre convoy heads up the stairs, all the way to the fifth floor. Ray quickly unlocks the door and leaves it open for the rest of his train.

"Nice place Ray." Lloyd comments, making way for the Machoke brothers.

"Thanks," Ray replies, putting the plant on the counter between living room and kitchen. "Just set the stuff anywhere, we can move it when its all done."

"Alright." one of the two Machoke grunt while putting the couch down against the wall.

The group of six head back downstairs and round up some more furniture; this time a few end-tables, a couple more chairs, and the large TV. Once the newest wave of furniture got moved up, the group turns to go back down when they see a weird sight; one of the smaller boxes had followed them up the stairs thanks to a Pikachu.

"Where'd this guy come from?" Mid asks, looking down at the small mouse.

"Hey, that's the Pikachu that was staying with Lorenzo and Bianca." Ray remarks as Kara goes over to the small mouse. "I thought he was sick."

"He doesn't look sick." Lloyd remarks.

"Pikachu..." Kara softly coos while lifting up the mouse, "What're you doing here?"

"I felt better, so I wanted to help. To say thanks." He replies in poke'tongue.

"You didn't need to do that, besides, most of this stuff is too heavy for you."

"I can get the little stuff." He insists.

Kara sighs, "If he's as stubborn as I heard, Pikachu's here to stay."

"Alright, but be careful." Ray warns. "I don't want my nephew and niece mad at me because you got hurt."

"I will be!" he replies before squirming out of Kara's arms and bounding back downstairs.

"You sure he was sick?" Iro asks.

"He was." Ray shrugs before following after the small mouse.

On the way down, Pikachu goes by with a second plant. "Well, he's saving us trips at least." Ray admits.

Just as the group gets back outside, a faint ringing is heard. Lloyd quickly reaches into his pocket and pulls out a Lance communicator. The device, despite its name, is more like a personal messaging system; able to send small text messages between users for easy communications.

After reading the new message, Lloyd turns to the Machoke brothers. "Sorry guys, HQ wants you back."

"Alright, at least let us carry the bed up." Mid replies.

"Will it even fit around the corners of the stairway?" Iro asks.

"Sure it will, its got a one of those fancy, flex-frame thingys. Its strong enough to hold the bed together, but easily flexes to get around corners." Mid replies. "Doesn't make any less bulky though."

"Alright, alright, hold your Ponyta." Iro grumbles getting the hint and marching over to grab one side of the bed while his twin grabs the other. "You guys go ahead of us, we'll probably cause a traffic jam."

"Good idea, I think the rest of the bed is in those boxes." Lloyd says, gesturing to another large cardboard box.

"I got it, who'll get the wardrobe?" Ray asks, easily lifting up the box and plopping it on his shoulder.

"I'll get it." Kara says, "I'm the only one of us who'll actually use it."

Lloyd and Blaze give her an impressed look as Kara rests her back against the wardrobe, grabs it, then leans forward; easily holding up the whole thing.

"Remind me to never piss her off." Blaze whispers to Lloyd.

"Same here." Lloyd replies before gesturing to a couple lamps. The Typhlosion nods before grabbing them and following his fellow pokemon inside. Lloyd grabs a taller pole-lamp before following the fire-type and getting followed by the two Machoke.

The four easily reach and unload their cargo in the room, but it takes Mid and Iro a whole two minutes to work their way up the stairs and into the bedroom. "Can you guys assemble this thing without us?" Mid asks.

"Sure, go on. You two have work to do." Ray replies.

The two Machoke nod before hurrying out. Leaving their friends with just a handful of smaller items. Pikachu has already brought up the last two plants, and quickly trots by the descending Lance members with another box in his hands.

The small mouse reaches the room and sets the box down beside its companions, then sighs. Everything left was too big for him to lift, and he doesn't know where to put anything that has already been brought up.

"Guess my part of the work is done." Pikachu mutters, climbing into one of the chairs. He glances around the apartment and feels a little impressed by Ray and Kara's find. Such nice folks...his thoughts wander to imagining the expressions of Bianca and the others when they see this place.

His little chocolate colored eyes eventually settle on the balcony, where a few Pidgey are standing; resting their wings. He smirks when he sees the birds, then sighs as the memories of his first day with Ash flood back...

"Ash...please be okay..." Pikachu sadly mutters, his ears drooping down. Before his thoughts could get too gloomy, he hears the squawking of Pidgey and looks to see them flying away in surprise; just before some weird form lands on the railing then leaps away in a blur.

Surprised and curious, Pikachu hurries over and wiggles through the slightly ajar door, then hops up on the railing for a better view. Whatever that thing was, it was already three buildings away. All the mouse can see is a black form leap between two buildings before it gets out of sight.

"What the hell was that?" Pikachu asks aloud, tilting his head to one side.

"What was what?" asks Ray's voice, getting the mouse to turn. The disguised-Latios steps out onto the balcony and looks at the electric mouse, awaiting an answer.

"I dunno, I saw something land here, then jump away. By the time I got out here, it was already out of sight."

"You sure it wasn't just a bird?"

Pikachu looks down at the balcony floor...there was no way this thing was a bird, but what was he supposed to say? "No Ray, I just saw a shadow leaping between buildings!"?

"I-I don't know...maybe I was just seeing things." Pikachu grumbles before hopping down and going back inside, Ray following behind.

All of the furniture that was in a pile outside is now (more or less) haphazardly scattered around the apartment...but at least its inside now.

"That's all of it." Lloyd says, brushing his hands and smirking. "You two sure you can handle sorting everything?"

"We'll be fine Lloyd, don't you have..." Kara trails off, waiting for him to get the hint.

"Alright, go ahead...leave me with the paperwork." Lloyd grumbles before leaving.

"I think we still got a little time before lunch, care to get started?" Ray asks.

"I at least want the bed ready." Kara slyly purrs, getting both Blaze and Pikachu to blush and glance away.

Ray just laughs, "Alright, I'll help. Blaze? You want to get the TV?"

"Sure." The Typhlosion shrugs while Ray and Kara disappear into the bedroom. "Hey, little guy, you want to hold onto the cord?" he asks, turning his attention to the mouse.

Pikachu shrugs before hurrying over and grabbing hold of the TV's power cable, keeping out of the larger pokemon's way as it gets moved to a small cabinet that is sitting by a power socket. That out of the way, Blaze leaves Pikachu to plugging the electronic in to move the couch into place in front of it.

The pieces of furniture get moved into place one-by-one, Pikachu managing the smaller pieces and helping out Blaze whenever need be. In no more than ten minutes, all of the furniture is in place and the two pokemon stand by to admire their work. In the living room, next to the buffet window is a large table with six chairs; more than enough to handle Ray's family.

Occupying the other half of the room is the couch, pushed up against the wall separating living from bedroom. One chair sits on both sides of the couch and are angled towards the TV on the opposite side of the room. Nestled into the arc created by these four sitting areas is the coffee table and a pole lamp is sitting between the couch and the chair to its right.

The last thing occupying the living room (apart from the clock and a calendar the two found in one of the boxes) is a large wooden desk that is sitting opposite the hallway. Nothing is on the desk right now, but once Ray and Kara open up the rest of the boxes, something is sure to turn up; Pikachu and Blaze didn't want to because, well...its their stuff, it wasn't right to root through it.

"You're not that bad little guy." Blaze admits, looking around.

"Just call me Pikachu." He replies.

"Little boring calling you by species name...how about I call you Sparks."

"Suit yourself."

"Wow guys," Ray says, coming out of the bedroom with Kara right behind. "This place looks great."

"Thanks." Pikachu and Blaze reply. "All that's left is your...personal stuff." Blaze adds.

"That'll take two minutes." Ray replies, waving it aside.

Kara gasps as she checks the clock. "Its almost lunchtime!" she exclaims. The stomachs of the other three angrily growl in response.

"Last one back to the garden is a Grimer!" Blaze yells, before shooting out the open door; Pikachu hot on his heels. Somehow the mammoth pokemon missed all of the furniture in his way.

"Sometimes I wonder what's more powerful; Blaze's fire, or his stomach." Ray grumbles, but his only response is Kara's laughter as she runs out as well. He sweat-drops before hurrying after her, only stopping to lock the door.

~!~

The gang has gathered back in the garden, all in a tree eating at the subs that Bianca brought home from the cafe' she works at. Well, Pikachu didn't want to risk getting sick again, so he's inside munching away at fruit. Even Blaze had managed to climb up, and had found a sturdy enough branch to sit on; his flames were kept out for the tree's safety.

The Typhlosion paws at his meatball sandwich a little before eating it in one gulp.

"Mmm...saucy." Blaze smiles before leaning backwards to relax. Josh and Lucy were having an eating contest on the branches next to the Typhlosion, trying to see who could finish their sub the fastest.

"I'm gonna win!" Josh somehow exclaims despite practically shoving the sub down his face.

"I'm going to eat mine first!" Lucy counters, before starting to wolf down her sandwich. Bianca glares at the two.

"Jeez, you guys haven't learned a thing!" Bianca scolds before starting on her own sub in a more civilized manner."

"Thank you for the subs!" The siblings yell out telepathically, already finished. Bianca face-palms with one hand while holding her sandwich in the other.

Kara and Ray look at their niece and nephew in amusement while quietly eating their own sandwiches.

"Yeah thanks Bianca, these are really good." Ray says from his perch above his relatives. He's in his pokemon form right now and his wings are stretched out; Kara's comfortably nested into his right wing's fur.

"Thanks Bianca," Kara adds, taking another bite of her sub, "Too bad Lloyd had to leave right away."

"His loss," Blaze chuckles before licking his fingers clean of the sauce. "That had to be one of the best subs I've ever had. My props to whoever cooks this."

Bianca smiles. "I know how to make them now, its not that hard." She admits, turning to face the large pokemon.

"Sweet," Ray smiles before taking another bite. By now, the siblings are fighting over who won. "Told you she works at a good cafe'."

"Never doubted you for a second," Blaze grins, "By the way, I think the contest is a draw." he adds, glancing over at the siblings.

The two stopped fighting to glare at each other.

"I'll eat yours someday." Josh warns, pointing a claw at his sister.

"I'll eat yours anyday." Lucy replies, sticking her tongue out.

Ray and Kara simultaneously finish their subs just before Bianca.

"Alright, Josh and Lucy, you guys have about forty five minutes or so before we start training again. We have to settle something." Ray says as Kara leaps down to the ground, landing silently. Blaze hops down as well, but lands with loud boom instead.

Ray takes flight out of the tree and turns invisible. Kara and Blaze follow after their invisible friend, with Blaze bellowing "Catch you guys later!" as they disappear out one of the exits.

Bianca sighs and looks back at the siblings, finding that they've gone back to arguing. She sweat-drops before silently climbing out of the tree and going to check on Pikachu; leaving Josh and Lucy to their bickering.

~!~

"Lloyd, we're probably going to need you near the bridge on the west side of Altomare. You know the rally point right?" Ray asks, flying overhead as a camouflaged pokemon. He looks down below and sees a large boat lazily drifting through the canals.

"Yup, but you owe me one. I've got a mountain of paperwork back at base."

Ray silently laughs to himself before flying away. He lands on a building and transforms back into a human, walking up next to his partner. "Do you see him?" he asks while pulling a pair of fingerless gloves from the pocket of his bullet-proof vest. He got it from the metal box Blaze had, along with some other tools. Everything he's wearing, from his T-shirt to his cargo pants, are black except for the golden insignia on his left shoulder.

Kara doesn't so much as twitch when Ray spoke. "I think so. Its a little hard to tell since there are so many others nearby...guess they're all gathered together." she replies, keeping her eyes shut.

"You hear that Blaze?" Ray asks to the air, making sure the small ear-piece was working.

"Hah, looks like I'm going with Lloyd after all. I hear you loud and clear, just tell me where." Blaze's deep rumbly voice replies from the ear-piece The fire-type is down in the alley beside the building, blowing smoke from his mouth to pass the time.

Ray smirks before bounding down two stories to the Typhlosion, then closes his eyes and activates sightsharing between him and Kara, making sure to include Blaze as well. A large blob composed of a patchwork of colors appears in front of them; the view of Kara's aura sight.

"You see where they are?" Kara asks.

Ray nods, "Area confirmed. Follow my lead." He flashes back into his pokemon form and lowers himself so Blaze can get on. Using his Psychic energy, Ray manages to make the heavy pokemon a little bit lighter so his back doesn't break.

The Latios turns himself and his passenger invisible before floating back up to Kara's level. "You guys ready for this?" Ray asks. Kara gets an Extremespeed ready while Blaze tightens his hold on Ray, making sure not to strangle him.

"Let's go!" Kara exclaims, rocketing off the roof; Ray lagging mere inches behind her. Kara easily bounds from rooftop to rooftop, making only soft thumps with each landing. Ray is causing so much of a slipstream that loose shingles are blown away as he goes by.

Once the two get close to their target, the three duck down into a darkened alley that leads to a large metal warehouse door; their quarry is waiting on the other side.

Blaze hops off Ray's back to allow the Latios to change back into a human. While the three quietly walk up to the door, Ray pulls out a black handgun and his golden dagger; locking his wrists together so the weapons are pointing in the same direction and the dagger is just underneath the gun.

"Breaching positions, I'll take point," Ray whispers, hugging the wall next to the door. Kara presses her back to the wall as well, but is waiting beside the door. Blaze occupies the area on the other side of the door, readying a Flamethrower.

"5...4..." Kara starts counting down, readying a Force Palm, "3...2..." She holds her hand out in front of the door, ready to blow it open. "1...GO!"

She slams her hand into the door and sends it flying away with a boom; cracking the walls around it and filling the room with dust and debris. Ray and Blaze burst in through the door with Kara following after forming an Aura Sphere.

"Freeze! Lance Syndicate!" Ray orders, Blaze shooting a quick burst of flames from his back to help send a message.

Coughing could be heard inside, but the shouting of men was a lot clearer. The dust settles to reveal a group of gang members with shotguns, handguns, and sub-machine guns aimed at the open doorway. In addition to the armed humans, a pack of Houndour are present as well; along with a Houndoom standing next to who looks like the leader. All of the dark dogs have a flame-thrower ready; aiming mostly for Kara.

Ray quickly makes a battle assessment; they may have been outgunned and outnumbered, but not outmatched. Lance prepared them for this.

"Its you!" Someone yells.

"I knew it," the leader growls. He has jet black hair, a black jacket, and black eyes...actually, all of the gang members are garbed in black save a handful over on the right-hand side. "You were trying to get us busted this whole time!" He points one of his pistols at the smaller gang, who were armed as well. They didn't have any pokemon, but an arsenal of larger weapons. The one thing that stands out about the smaller gang is that they all looked young; none of them seemed older than fifteen.

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't even know what Lance means!" One of the gang members, DJ, yells back. He has a shotgun pointed at the other leader and JT is at his side with a pistol and a sub-machine gun aimed at the same target.

"Once we get rid of this AA shit, you're next!" The other leader yells.

"We're not the Altomarian Authorities!" Kara retorts. None of the gangsters seemed fazed that she could speak english.

"Tauros-shit! Houndoom attack!" The leader orders, prompting his Houndoom (and somehow the Houndour) into launching a Flamethrower. Kara counters by throwing forward her Aura Sphere, causing an explosion when the attacks collide.

The gang members were blasting away, but once the smokescreen fills the room they stop; hoping to save their ammo. The Houndour and Houndoom start sniffing at the air, hoping to find the enemy, but can only smell smoke.

"Since they're done," The leader growls, turning and pointing his guns towards DJ. "You're next!"

Two loud clangs ring out as his pistols go flying away, a dent in both barrels as a result of bullet hits. They all turn back to the entrance only to see a torrent of fire explode out of the smoke cloud; at least twice size of their combined Flamethrowers. The ruffians and their pokemon scatter to get out of the way, they all try attacking the source; but the sheer heat of the attack renders everything useless.

"Shit!" JT grunts, gasping for air. The fire is eating up all of the oxygen and suffocating the group inside. The leader of the darker gang hurries over to a door and kicks it open; leading the others deeper into the warehouse. The two gangs quickly move past dusty machinery and old crates until they find another exit.

"There!" one of them yells, just before the door slams shuts; leaving the room to only be lit by the burning fire behind them.

"Dammit, what now?" Another one asks.

"Wait!" JT orders, putting up a hand to silence the group. The shadowy dogs start sniffing around, looking around between the catwalks, ceiling, and lights. They let out a confused whine, like they're trying to find some target that slipped away.

"There!" DJ yells, blasting at a shadow that rushed by.

"What the hell is this?!" A third member yells, then hears one of the lights creak. He blasts it with his shotgun and makes it explode into metal and glass debris.

Suddenly one member falls over, groaning from some weird injury. A second one falls, then a third, then a fourth.

The leader of the dark gang growls before looking at his Houndoom. "Light this place up!" The large canine barks to its pre-evolutions before raising its head up and spitting out a small fountain of fire; not enough to cause any trouble, but enough to act as a good light source. The smaller dogs do the same, lighting up the surrounding area to a comfortable level.

"I should just shoot your ass right now!" The leader growls at DJ.

DJ scoffs. "That's not gonna help at all, is it?"

Right after he asks that, a figure leaps off a stack of nearby crates and lunges straight for the middle of the group. It slams a paw into the ground and causes a small tremor, but one strong enough to send the gangsters toppling over. Most of them slam their heads hard enough to knock them out, but a few, like DJ, JT, and the other leader, lucked out.

"Jeez, how do we fight something like that?!" JT asks.

"You don't." A voice calmly says. Those who are still up turn to the voice and try firing their weapons, but get even more frightened when the weapons make hollow clicking noises.

"Just give up and make it easy for yourself." The voice adds. A weird wind rushes through the room before the gangster find their hands in handcuffs. "Besides, we're not trying to kill you like FUZE Corp is."

They look towards the voice to see Ray stepping out of the shadows and glaring down at them. He slides his gun back into its holster, but keeps his dagger out.

"What the hell are you?" DJ snarls.

"If I told you, then I would have to kill you." Ray says, giving them an evil smirk. They look around to see Kara dragging the unconscious gangsters into a pile, the Houndoom and Houndour gathered together and muzzled, and the fire dieing down as the Typhlosion comes stomping in.

"Ahh!" He sighs, "It's awesome to use my back again!"

'The Typhlosion's back?!?' JT thinks, his mind racing. 'I can't do anything, he's watching me...how did he...?'

"Come on, you can't mess with a Typhlosion's back," Ray smiles, easily reading his thoughts. JT clenches his teeth.

"What now? You guys aren't with the fuzz," DJ asks, giving up when Kara piles all the weapons together and far out of reach.

"I dunno. If you guys cooperate, I think you can work for us," Ray calmly states. Kara and Blaze give him a questioning look, but he returns it with a 'trust me' look.

"Why the hell would Hell's Houndours work for you?!?" The leader barks.

"Trust me, it's not like you're all going the same way those other gangs did. You do want to get rid of FUZE, right? If you help me, you'll get those guys off the streets." Ray replies, giving the leader an equal glare.

"Same to you." Ray says as he turns to DJ, "Help us, and you guys will be under LANCE's protection...at least until this whole FUZE ordeal is over with."

'LANCE...' JT thought, where did he hear that name before?

"Trust me. Not like you've really got a choice." Ray adds.

Kara suddenly gasps before closing her eyes, letting her long hair spread outward. "FUZE is coming, we've got two minutes at max. Ray, we gotta get out of here now."

Blaze shifts around uncomfortably while Ray curses under his breath. As much as he hated to admit, those guys were good.

"Choice is yours, go with the fuzz, or come with us." Ray states, looking at the nervous gang members.

DJ sighs and gives in. "I'll come, my whole gang and I." he says, throwing himself upright. He sincerely looks at Ray and adds, "Just help us..." After giving the rest of his members a quick mental check and finding them to be willing to go as well, he nods.

"Get up and follow me. Don't even try escaping, you'll just get picked off by FUZE." The rest of DJ's gang nods before throwing themselves upright as well.

The Houndour start whining at Kara, begging to be let go. As much as her heart wanted to help them, she had to wait for Ray's call.

"Boss, what now?" One of the HH members asks in a panic.

"We're going to face those FUZE bastards like men!" He shouts, sparking an argument between the gang members. This only upsets the Houndour even more and gets them to start whimpering harder.

Ray notices this and trains his eyes on the HH gang. "You've picked your fate, but your pokemon go free. They don't deserve to suffer for the things you made them do." he growls, after looking into their memories and seeing the abuse the small hounds got. Ray turns to Kara and nods, saying its okay to let them go.

"This guy however." Ray says, looking down at the Houndoom. "You're just as bad as they are. You get to stay with them." The Houndoom growls at Ray, but he knew better; this one bullied the others just as much as the humans did.

"Let's go," Ray says, leading DJ's crew toward the entrance they barged in from.

"Come on buddy, don't you want to stay and help me?" One of the HH members asks a Houndour.

"Yea, I knew you since you were little! Don't you remember?!?" Another asks.

The dark dogs growl at them as they walk by and grab one of the weapons from the pile, then keep following Ray; all twenty or so of them. The only weapons left behind were just a couple empty pistols.

As the large group moves outside, Blaze turns to the Houndour and barks something to them in poke'tongue. The dogs nod before hurrying ahead and breaking up into groups of four or five each; all scattering down other alleys.

"How did you-" DJ is cut off when Ray yells, "No time for questions, we have to move now!" and breaks out into a run, Kara just behind him, then Blaze on all fours. DJ and his gang aren't far behind.

The weird group only passes into the lit street occasionally as they dart from alley to alley; luckily DJ's crew only added about ten or so members, so it isn't unmanageable.

As they run down an alley separated from a canal by a building, they hear the distinctive noise of motorboats roaring by.

"Jesus Christ, they're already here!" one of them yells.

"Keep running!" Kara barks.

"Lloyd!" Ray yells, pressing a button on his communicator. "We're coming over with at least a dozen mobiles! Get ready for evac!"

"Seriously? Some Houndour just hopped in not thirty seconds ago! There should be enough room for them though! I'm waiting in the next canal you're coming too, but hurry! There's a shit-load of FUZE boats everywhere!" Lloyd yells back.

Just like he said, up ahead was a canal and Ray could sense Lloyd's thoughts coming from down inside it. "Listen up! I want all of you to jump off the ledge at full speed! Don't worry, just jump!" Ray yells back, watching as Kara and Blaze speed up. The two pokemon hurl themselves off the edge.

"What are you damn crazy?!? The water's too shallow!" One member yells. He would've stopped, but the buzzing of another FUZE engine from a canal behind them changed his mind.

"Trust me!" Ray shouts before leaping off as well.

"Ah shit!" JT yells before throwing himself off the edge; followed closely by DJ and the rest of the gang.

A purple FUZE boat goes by on a nearby canal and one of the hooded passengers turns to see a boat floating there with two clearly non-gangster teenagers on-board. What he didn't notice however, was that in the floor of the boat was a sliding door that gave access to the cargo hold and it just closed.

Ray and Lloyd watch the FUZE boat speed away and heave a big sigh. "I don't think we've ever cut anything so close before." Ray grumbles, watching his friend as he goes over to the control console and turns on the engine.

"I'm serious Ray, you owe me." Lloyd says, steering the boat down the canal before going in the opposite direction FUZE went. "Ten percent of my paperwork-load and a sundae when this blows over."

"Fine whatever." Ray says, waving away Lloyd's request, "But thanks.

"Anytime bud. Next stop, Temporary LANCE base."

~!~

"What the hell? I can't see a thing," DJ says, a bit scared of what he might find. He was rubbing a sore spot on his leg that the metal floor of wherever he was.

"Me neither, this better not be a trick!" One member yells. Right as he finishes, the dim lighting clicks on; one light in the ceiling and a few lines of glow-rope encircling the walls.

The space that they are in is the interior of a large boat; but was still pretty cramped. None of them could stand up and as they looked around all they could see was one or two small crates accompanying them.

"Jeez, this better not take us to the fuzz." JT grit his teeth while backing up, accidentally stepping on something soft the growled at him. He quickly moves forward and turns around to see a small pack of Houndour

The dogs were lying down, paws on top of whatever weapon they stole from their gang back at the warehouse. The pokemon give the humans a warning growl until they gather in the opposite corner of the boat. JT was about to reach for the pistol he kept stashed under his shirt when a crackle comes out of nowhere.

"Now, now, let's get along here," a voice says through the intercom speaker that was right next to DJ's ear. The startled teen stands up before thumping his head on the ceiling and falling forwards.

"Scared? Don't be. You all are going to a temporary LANCE base, so just stay calm and don't do anything stupid. I'm keeping an eye on you." The intercom clicks, signaling the end of the transmission.

"Holy shit," JT grumbles to the rest of the gang, "I don't think I've ever been this close to a Houndour before."

"When was the last time I had a pokemon?" One of the members asks aloud, sliding his back down the smooth wall and sitting with his knees together; the others following suit.

"I never had one. I don't think any of us did," DJ sadly admits. The gangsters sat across the area from the Houndour, trying to avoid eye contact. One of the Houndour, however, was watching JT with interest. JT was looking at the same one, watching its dark-red eyes watch him. One of the hounds had a scar on its right ear, but the one that was catching JT's attention was lying next to that one.

"I've always wanted one though," JT mumbles as he moves closer. The others look at him like he's a madman.

"Yo, what are you doing?" DJ hisses. "Get back here!"

JT ignores him and keeps going, eventually sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room. The Houndour that caught his attention gets up and walks towards him as well, the pits and pats of its feet on the floor much louder than that of the boat's engine.

The dog sits in front of JT, staring into his eyes while he stared back. None of the other Houndour or humans dared to move, but kept their eyes fixed on their respective species. Seconds seemed to stretch into minutes as the two sat there, almost silently daring one another to move.

The other gang members turn to see the Houndour pack staring back at them. Neither one moved, watching for any sort of hostile attack from the other. It was then that DJ realized that the number of humans and Houndour present were equal; nine to nine. It looks like the others are still out going wherever it was the Typhlosion ordered them to.

"If you get your face bitten off, it's not my fault," DJ says, trying to lighten the mood but nobody else laughed.

Abruptly, the Houndour in front of JT starts growling; getting the human to frown, unsure of what to do.

"Don't look away, don't be intimidated. It's testing you." whispers a voice in JT's head; he recognizes it as Ray's.

"How are you in my head?" JT asks, but still obeys. The Houndour now has a small ball of flame in its mouth.

"Just keep staring and stay still. If you don't, something bad is going to happen."

"What if something bad happens when I stay still?" JT asks. He still couldn't help but feel challenged by the hound and leaned closer, giving the pokemon his own silent dare.

"Then so be it."

JT smirks, never wavering from the large red eyes of the hound. It finally acted and spat out a fireball that went whizzing by JT's head and into a part of the boat where (luckily) nobody was.

The attack did get the other gangsters to get up and as a response the other Houndour stood up, but one sharp bark from JT's and the dogs sat back down. "Don't move guys, just sit still." JT says, getting his species to calm down.

The Houndour spat out another ball of flame, but aimed this one into the ground between itself and JT. JT tensed, but didn't budge...it actually felt strange having a fire so close, yet not having a single piece of his clothing light up.

The Houndour sets its paw into the flame and waits a few seconds, until its paw was nice and hot.

"Okay, listen carefully. Put your elbow on your knee, raise the fist, and aim the back of it towards her. Make sure you keep your hand clenched." Ray's voice says.

JT does so and watches as the Houndour raises the heated paw towards his fist.

'Her?'

"This is going to hurt." Ray warns.

The Houndour presses its paw to the back of JT's hand and applies pressure, steadily burning a paw-print into him. JT bites his lip to keep a hiss from coming out, but it was hard to do due to the pain.

"Don't move away! You have to hold your ground until she's done! You can endure it too! Just keep looking into her eyes!" The voice says, encouraging him.

The other gangster look on in surprise, their jaws hanging open. "Oh my god JT," DJ says under his breath, not even daring to blink.

The burning lasts for about ten seconds before she lowers her paw. JT grunts, not moving his fist; if he did it would hurt more. The Houndour seems to smile at him before lower her head and gently licking his burn. JT hisses at the pain, but sighs as it subsides. Once he seems to be okay, The Houndour gives him a happy bark before going to back its spot and contently lying down on an empty sub-machine gun.

The victor, JT drops his head and starts breathing heavily; then lets his hand and arm start moving again. He turns it around to take a look at the burnt paw print she left behind.

"Now that's a rare sight," the intercom softly crackles.

"We can heal you up once we get to the base, but that mark's going to be there forever. Wear it with pride and treat her well; she's putting her trust in you." Ray's voice crackles in over Lloyd's. The speaker clicks again before going quiet.

JT didn't go back to his friends, instead going to the wall between them and the Houndour. "The trainer doesn't pick the pokemon, the pokemon picks the trainer." JT announces while showing off his mark.

"God-damn JT, you're crazy!" DJ laughs, "I think our gang needs a new name!"

The scarred Houndour moves into the middle of the room and gives a challenging bark to DJ; who notices that it had gotten off his shotgun.

JT laughs back. "DJ, I think you're next."

~!~

"Well, that was a first," Kara says, smiling to herself. She and Ray had just left the temporary LANCE base a few minutes ago after dropping off DJ's group and the Houndour, who quickly meet up with the other eleven hounds that got there on their own. The Lucario is actually happy for both of the convict species. "I've seen trust pacts formed before, but never like that!"

Ray smiles along with her; content that those twenty-nine souls are safe from whatever FUZE is up to. "You should've seen JT's face when he heard that Houndour was a girl." he laughs.

"Speaking of ladies, Blaze has a girlfriend!" Kara exclaims, quickly catching Ray's attention.

"Seriously?"

"Serious as their relationship level." Kara replies, "Which, I might add, seems pretty high going off his words."

"Well, who is it?" Ray asks, nudging her with his elbow.

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me," Kara states, pouting a little.

"Ten bucks that it's the Ninetails he's eying," Ray says.

"A chocolate bar it's another Typhlosion!" Kare replies, sticking her tongue out at Ray. The two laugh over the chocolate before quieting down as the fresh air of the garden rolls over them.

"Thank Arceus we didn't have to use the other weapons that were in the box," Kara says, giving an exasperated sigh.

"I know. Besides, the twin guns are for my Latios form anyway." Ray admits. "Alright you guys! Its lesson time!" he shouts to the trees.

Lucy and Josh fly out of the foliage and levitate in front of their uncle and soon-to-be aunt.

"What took you so long Uncle Ray?" Lucy curiously asks.

Ray smiles at her. "I had business to attend to. But since that's over, we can begin our flight testing." Ray says while turning into his Lati form. He quickly turns to Kara and asks, "You'll need to be on the water, observing their performance. You can do that, right?"

He finishes in a smirk, challenging her. Kara smirks back and crosses her arms. "Since when did you start doubting me?" she laughs, "Tell me where to go and I'll probably beat you out there."

The four share a relaxing laugh before leaving as a group.

~!~

"Hey Uncle Ray! Where's Kara?" Josh asks, following Ray on the older Latios' right. Lucy is following on her uncle's left. The three are just above the ocean's surface, far away from Altomare.

"She's down below the water, watching you guys. Alright, let's begin. Follow my lead!" Ray exclaims before rolling to the right, keeping his wings diagonal. He then quickly lifts up in the air before stopping at a reasonable altitude.

"Kara? Can you still see us?" Ray asks as Lucy and Josh come up behind.

"Yeah, I see you. I can always keep you three in view with Aura-sight if you get away," Kara replies. She is just below the ocean's surface, staying afloat on a bubble of aura-charged water and breathing thanks to a small breath-pack. If she doesn't keep the aura bubble, she'd quickly start sinking due to her skeleton; bones stronger than steel are about as buoyant as the metal is.

"Don't worry about me. I'll tell you when I start getting tired," Kara smirks, keeping her red eyes trained on the three Latis above her.

"Perfect." Ray replies before turning to his students, "Alright, what helps you turn faster at high speeds?"

Lucy and Josh simultaneously reply, "The wing-tips!"

"Okay then, show me. Keep up as best you can." Ray says before taking off, Lucy and Josh following shortly after him. Kara, down below, forces her bubble to explode; giving her a bit of a speed boost before using a modified form of Extremespeed to keep pace; channeling a large amount of aura behind to move forward, but keeping a little beneath her to avoid sinking.

Ray quickly barrel-rolls off to the left, then pulls a hard right; turning on the proverbial dime. Lucy and Josh do their best to keep pace, but still fish-tail a little on the turns.

Ray quickly breaks to the right before rolling again then shooting back off to the left. Lucy and Josh are now having hard time keeping up with their uncle's movements.

"Come on you guys!" Ray encourages. Josh and Lucy grit their teeth and try their best to keep up with him and turn as well as he could; but they kept turning either just a little too loosely or just couldn't keep up.

"Oh man..." Josh groans, the tips of his wings start to get tired from the workout.

"Now the tips are starting to hurt..." Lucy grimaces, starting to lag behind.

Ray stops flying and turns around, letting Josh and Lucy stop in front of him.

"Well?" Ray asks Kara.

"They didn't do that bad at the start...but started lagging behind during the end." Kara's voice comments, echoing in the minds of the three. "They followed you through, mimicking your exact movements. I'd give a B...B-plus."

"Alright, not that bad, but you two can do better. Now, what did I not do while I was flying?" Ray asks.

"Look back!" Lucy chirps.

"Good. Your homework is to work on turning on the tips of your wings, but for now, here's the next lesson. Stay there and watch closely." Ray instructs, speeding away. Josh and Lucy do as they were told; watching their uncle fly away before banking to the left. He made a long enough turn so that he'd soon go by in front of the two, left to right, on his next flyby.

"Watch and learn!"

When Ray comes around again, it almost looked like he was slowing down. As he came by he started rotating upwards to aim towards the clouds; simple enough except for one thing. While Ray was facing upwards, his body was still moving parallel to the horizon.

"What the???" Josh has his jaw open, watching his uncle seem to defy physics. The older Latios slows down a little more before suddenly rocketing upwards, where his does a quick loop-de-loop and starts descending again; stopping in front of his niece and nephew.

"How did you do that?!?" Lucy asks, bewildered.

"Alright, this is science time. What I just did is called the 'cobra maneuver' developed by Viktor Pugachev. What I did was stop propelling myself forward and let my own momentum handle the moving while I aimed in another direction. Once I was aimed the right way, I started flying again." Ray explains, "Its just simple inertia when you think about it.

"If you ever stop flying, and I mean both flight and levitation, you start slowing down but don't drop like a Geodude...at least not right away. If you lose enough speed, then you stall and then you drop like a Geodude. Stalling is when the air-flow beneath your wings isn't strong enough to keep you aloft.

"The cobra maneuver is for abrupt turning and for quick bursts of altitude; and I comes in handy for getting a Flying-type off your back if need be. Latis are the only pokemon that can do this maneuver, since we're the only species that uses psychic energy to move forward; every other flying type needs to beat their wings like crazy to take off and occasionally to stay aloft. Its a little like a jet engine for planes, except ours doesn't run on fuel. Now, if you master this maneuver..."

Ray pauses and motions to Lucy. "Hey, follow me and try to hit me with a Mist Ball when we fly past Josh."

Josh looks at his uncle like he was nuts.

"W-what?" Lucy stutters.

"Trust me," Ray smiles, "Josh, you stay here and watch."

Lucy nods before following her uncle on the same path as before. Down below, one of Kara's eyebrows has perked up in interest.

"Alright, once we go by Josh, use Mist Ball!" Ray says. Lucy chirps an 'ok,' still nervous.

Right as the two pass Josh, Lucy releases a gray orb, the Mist Ball, towards her uncle. Ray cuts his propulsion and starts tilting backwards, eventually to land on a diagonal that has him looking back the way he came. He then turns his propulsion back on and rockets up into the sky again, dodging the Mist Ball by inches.

Lucy flies back around to her brother while Ray rights himself and descends back to his students.

"Whoa..." Josh says, impressed and excited with the new technique. Lucy was also giggling, amazed at how well Ray could fly.

"This is homework number two," Ray smiles, "Try experimenting with propulsion, speed, and stalling; you might get something fun out of it. But for now..." Ray stops, motioning for the siblings to com closer.

"It's time to get your chocolate, and don't tell Kara!" he whispers in poke'tongue. Lucy and Josh smile and laugh before following Ray towards the mainland.

Kara curiously watches the three fly away, confused why Ray didn't tell her what was next, but quickly gives chase when she notices a school of Wailord coming towards her.

~!~

"Whew, long day huh?" Ray sighs, speaking in human while laying down on the grass of the garden. Night had fallen a while ago and everybody was headed off for bed. After vigorous flying training, Josh and Lucy were more than willing to fall asleep early. The two are in the branches somewhere, soundly sleeping. Bianca and Lorenzo are probably asleep by now too, as is Blaze; who came wandering back into the garden a few hours ago and is now curled up off by the wall, sleeping peacefully and snoring like a chainsaw. Even Pikachu, who again saw the female Pikachu with a flower in her ear while the others were gone, is fast asleep; probably up in Bianca's room.

Despite it being a fun day, Kara had her arms crossed and was standing next to Ray with a look of disappointment on her face.

"No chocolate..." Kara pouts, sticking her tongue out at Ray. They both laugh.

"You know the consequences," Ray smiles, settling down into the grass and breathing in the crisp air. A breeze rolls over him, getting the Latios to smile at the tingling feeling.

"Aw come on Ray!" Kara says, giving Ray the "sad-puppy-dog" look. Ray closes his eyes to keep himself from seeing it.

"Nope."

Kara was sitting down, but she slips herself atop Ray's body. She caresses his face and gives a teasing lick on the cheek. Ray opens an eye before closing it again.

"Pleaaase?" Kara asks, touching her nose to Ray's.

"N-no...fair..." Ray stutters, his face glowing red. He accidentally opened his eyes and got caught in her gaze.

Kara huffs in defeat and gets off the Latios. "Fine Ray, but you owe me." Kara says, giving him a wink.

Ray's blush deepens. "I'll do my best," he says, giving a sheepish smile, "But for now..."

Ray gets up and hurries over to the soul dew. He holds Ash's hat in one hand (Lucy let her uncle hold onto it during training and was so tired that she forgot to ask for it back) and reaches into the water to touch the Soul Dew with his other. He opens up sight-sharing with the soul dew, using it to see the trainer's past and what he was up to right now.

The young man's past was crystal clear to the Latios, and apart from being a little stubborn and having an unlucky tendency to get electrocuted by Pikachu or burned by some Charizard...he seems like a good enough kid. But the more recent past and present are a bit harder to make out...the images were blurry, like the reception was bad. He can see a boy in armor and a sniper rifle, slowly walking towards an area with dozens of other armored men. Ray could see broken buildings, war-torn areas, and dozens of battle-weary soldiers. The visions finally circle around to his face; a hardened one but still showing a deep compassion beneath it all...then the visions end.

Ray lets go of the Soul Dew and shakes his hand to get rid of the water. "Turned from a whiny boy to a soldier in a month..." Ray says, serious now.

"That was Ash?" Kara asks, having joined in the visions shortly before they started to get blurry. "I can see why Lucy likes him. He's not that bad looking and seems like he's got a big heart."

Ray doesn't reply, but sets the hat down near the fountain before pulling a small object out of his pocket. It was a metal finger with a bunch of severed wires poking out.

"What's that?" Kara asks, looking at the weird piece of metal.

"Its from a 'maverick', those things that attacked the garden with the two ladies that are in jail right now." Ray replies, also pulling out some prosthetic skin and a military beret. He motions to the skin and adds, "This is from that boy...Cyphrus. The one that they were talking about. This beret supposedly belonged to one of the soldiers that died here."

Ray tightly holds onto the objects and reaches back in to touch the Soul Dew. He reactivates the Soul Dew to watch the battles that raged here, and the fights and the war in Cyphrus' home. He and Kara watch as Cyphrus' dark past unfurls in front of them; so much darkness and misery came cascading out from his war-torn life.

It overwhelms Ray who breaks the sight-sharing before the visions finish. The Latios glances away while Kara just looks on, dumbstruck.

"Oh my Arceus..." Kara whispers, looking down at the sparkling orb in the water. "How does that guy still smile like that?"

"I don't know...he's been through a lot more than we have," Ray replies, turning to Kara.

She nods, her eyes looking like they were on the verge of tears.

"Yet it took us so long to get over it. He's really capable of hiding his past," Ray says, letting the finger and skin fall from his hand. The finger tumbles into the grass while the fake-skin gets blown away in the wind. The Latios turns toward the hidden grave, marking where the boy named Shawn Bennueto rested in peace. The boots and rifle remained untouched, marking the memorial of that brave soldier.

Ray and Kara walk over to the grave and place the beret back on the grave. Both of them politely bow, paying their respects to the fallen soldier.

"I hope Cyphrus finds his sis." Ray says, empathizing with the other man. Kara silently nods.

The stand in front of the grave for a few more seconds before Ray says, "Come on, let's go back to the apartment."

"Okay," Kara distantly says. Before Ray could even take a step, she quickly catches him in a hug.

"Ray...don't go anywhere..." she whispers, her voice shaky, as she buries her face into the crook of Ray's shoulder.

Ray pulls her close and holds tightly onto Kara.

"Don't worry," Ray says, resting a hand under Kara's snout and lifting it so she could see him. Her ruby eyes look deeply into Ray's soft golden ones.

"I won't."

~!~

DB: Well there you have it, more mysteries, more fun, and more characters!

CJ: And yes, there really is such a thing as the 'cobra maneuver'.

DB: (nods) Its actually designed for pilots to fire at pursuing aircraft, but why not tinker with it a little to let Latis dodge?

CJ: I've got Ace Combat 4 to thank for introducing me to this chapter. Its also thanks to that game's soundtrack that I got enough creativity to make this chapter.

DB: Yes well, I'll leave you to your flying antics. I've got a rowdy bunch of smashers to get back to. Can you handle the ending?

CJ: Sure.

DB: (nods before hurrying off)

CJ: Thanks for reading this super-chapter and see you in the next one! Till then! (waves goodbye)