"The coast is clear, my lord."

Bouldarin's eye blinked monotonically as the Rhyhorn in front of him – the leader of the scouts he had sent out in the caverns to search for any lingering robotic Pokemon – stepped away, his face filled with seriousness, although he looked somewhat relieved that the battle was over.

Not too long ago dozens of robotic Pokemon had raided the caverns, proceeding in proving that they weren't of Bouldarin's earlier assumptions and instead belonged to the crime syndicate: Team Rocket. All led by the horrific human scientist, Terotrey, the robots had chased after Raikou and the others, who Bouldarin had assumed had escaped because he had not seen them even after the metallic monsters had been called back and suddenly withdrawn from the fight only minutes after Terotrey had suspiciously left the cave. Of course, Raikou and the others had returned shortly after, stating sadly that Suicune had been captured, and since she was apparently the only one Terotrey needed, the said silver-haired scientist had decided to leave altogether.

Bouldarin hated himself for this; he felt he hadn't kept the monster in human form that was Terotrey Horrifiance away from the beings he had been striving himself to protect. Despite that most of his warriors had made it out of the battle alive, proving that they were indeed strong and worthy enough to help Raikou in any future battles, the Rhydon still felt guilty – both at the fact that he had been so judgmental before, dubbing the now-allied beings around him such as Deoxys the vile term of 'demon', and of his failed attempt to keep the robots away from Suicune during the fight.

He knew that he and his clan had fought bravely, which he had been convinced of by his brother, Atsila.

Bouldarin blinked, remembering his brother as he turned his eye towards the said old Charizard, who was speaking with a Luxray called Ulrik over various things – no doubt reports on the after effects of the battle, as well as the status of their clan's warriors. The Rhydon was quite surprised that his brother had come in and joined the fight during the raid of the robots, although the Charizard hadn't spoken to him since then, obviously because of the feud their clans had been dealing with before the arrival of Raikou and the others. Bouldarin could tell that his brother still felt hatred towards him for his past acts, and for once in the stubborn Rhydon's life he couldn't help but not blame him.

The Rhydon, feeling slight nervousness towards his brother, turned his attention to Raikou, who had been sulking in the corner of one of the caverns ever since the start of recovery after the battle. Mewtwo and Deoxys looked quite depressed as well, although they were trying to comfort the thunder tiger while simultaneously coming up with a plan to fix this whole mess. Jeff and Skyler, on the other hand, were conversing with themselves on possible ideas, despite that their saddened expressions signaled their own worry for the unpredictable events in the future.

Bouldarin sighed again. He noticed of what Raikou had told him that Terotrey was obviously planning something for the Legendaries – some sort of epic act that would probably change the world. The Rhydon felt somewhat frightened whenever he thought of the possibilities, which caused images of apocalyptic conclusions to where survivors, if any, were forced to live in a barren, deserted world to fill his mind. He also assumed that the intention Team Rocket had been carrying ever since the start of their business, which the words 'world domination' summed it all up, was their main goal to accomplish, and no doubt would the power of the Legendaries help them do this with ease.

"Brother…"

The Rhydon snapped his thoughts away when Atsila's wise voice spoke from the side of him, displaying slight anger, although obvious calmness to hold it all back could be sensed from it as well. Bouldarin turned his eye to the approaching Charizard as the old Pokemon folded his wings around his torso like he always did, giving him the impression of having a cloak, despite that it was obvious he was doing it to hide the cut and scrapes on his chest and abdomen he had received during the battle from before. It somewhat amazed Bouldarin that, even with the Charizard's aged countenance, the Pokemon could still put up a better fight than most warriors out there who had global renown.

"Yes?" Bouldarin eventually muttered in reply, feeling his stomach churn in the process. He could feel foreshadows of argument rise from within his gut, as the war he and his clan had put his brother's through had taken a few lives from each. It would be awkward for Atsila to let such a thing go unnoticed – unremembered; to let such hatred that grew from the moments suddenly be forgotten as if they had never existed. Nonetheless, the Rhydon kept a straight face, deciding to reveal none of his emotions.

Atsila sighed slightly, his emerald eyes turning downward. He seemed ashamed to face his brother, as he always had been, and even with the fact that the air within the caverns had grown quiet, calm, and eventless due to the end of the battle with the robots, tension still lingered upon him, as well as with his brother. Almost whispering, the old Charizard muttered, "You and I have many hardships, Bouldarin, which our clans have been forced to endure."

Bouldarin forced himself to nod as the guilt from being judgmental before returned. "I now know the truth, brother," he replied softly, and Atsila could swear he heard sadness grace the Rhydon's tone, "that you did not kill my son; that you did not give my tribe the plague of metallic monsters."

"Our clans have suffered greatly for this," said Atsila, "we have lost loved ones within each, and all due to a simple misunderstanding."

Bouldarin turned his head away; feeling more ashamed than Atsila was. His gaze softened as he focused it on the stone ground below, and he could feel himself clench his claws in anger, suddenly hating his own person rather than Team Rocket – the true culprits of his son's death and the match behind the blaze of war between his and Atsila's tribes.

"Even if Team Rocket had brought us into war," Atsila then started again, not speaking harshly to earn his brother's attention, as he even knew that the Rhydon was thinking about the things he had done – the false assumptions he had made, turning them into guilt that pained his heart to think about, "I cannot forgive you for the death of my wife, nor the casualties of my tribe members that you have caused in the midst of this misunderstanding, as you cannot forgive me for the deaths my tribe has caused to your clan in defense."

"I know, brother…" Bouldarin replied, still not turning to face Atsila, who closed his eyes to help clear his jumbled thoughts. His voice was still strong, although implications of regret practically drenched his tone to the extent where Atsila could tell that his brother really meant it – that he was really wishing he could take all the things he had done back.

Atsila sighed once again. "We did have a feud when we were young," he began, slightly opening his eyes. "I was the one chosen to be leader, and you became jealous. I could not blame you for this – I know how much you cared for our clan and thought that you knew what to do to keep it alive better than I did.

"However, even when I was chosen, I was sad for you. I was not mad when you left to start your own clan, but instead depressed. I was worried for you, brother – afraid that you would not know what to do. When I saw that you had successfully started your own tribe, I agreed to share my resources with your people.

"However…" Atsila turned his eyes to Bouldarin. "That's when the metallic monsters came and -"

" – and became the sparks to false accusations, which brought us into war," Bouldarin finished for his brother, sighing himself as he dwelled on it mentally. He could practically feel Atsila gaze upon him with slight compassion, catching the hints of sorrow that graced his countenance like an emotional veil. He could feel his brother's urge to comfort him, but the damage from the clan war was still present – like a phantom that wouldn't stop haunting them, refusing to make them forget the past and continue onto the future with clean slates to draw upon. Because of this Atsila did not display visible sympathy for his brother, and instead only turned around to walk away.

"I didn't tell Raikou about our family connection," he suddenly muttered, stopping in his place, back turned towards Bouldarin, although the Rhydon had shifted around to face him, "because I was ashamed of you. I had purposely forgotten that you carried my blood in your soul, and all because I did not want to remember you as a brother, but as simply another clan leader in the forest. Even if we both have agreed to help Raikou and the others rescue the Legendaries, I will no longer be fighting by a 'brother', but instead a simple ally."

Bouldarin bowed his head in misery, mentally agreeing with him. He had caused sorrow to cover their tribes' members, and felt that he didn't deserve to be looked upon by Atsila as a brother he could turn to whenever he needed help. He was nothing more but a clan leader Atsila traded with; their brotherly connection had dissipated due to lack of honor.

"I understand," Bouldarin replied, but when he turned his head up to eye his brother, the Charizard had already walked off.

Flame the Charmeleon, otherwise known as Atsila's son – the heir to the throne of his tribe, stared somewhat-emotionlessly at his father as the said Charizard walked off from Bouldarin the Rhydon. He had overheard the conversation that had taken place between them, agreeing with his father that he couldn't forgive Bouldarin for what he had done, even if the whole thing was caused by a simple misunderstanding and jumping to conclusions too quickly.

He didn't as much despise Bouldarin anymore, though, seeing as how the Rhydon's bravery in battle had amazed him. He was somewhat annoyed towards his father for not even informing him that he was the brother to the Rhydon; then again, for the reasons Atsila had explained why he felt ashamed to confirm his bloodline connection with the stubborn leader, Flame now understood completely why.

He was forcing himself to tolerate Bouldarin, as he knew that saving the Legendaries was the top priority now. If their clans continued to fight then they would be worthless in the upcoming battle against Terotrey, and no doubt would that cause disadvantages, which really needed to be avoided if they were going to brawl with super strong robotic Pokemon.

"Hey."

Flame escaped his thoughts as he turned his head to spot Shadow the Absol sit right next to him, keeping her red eyes away from his emerald gaze for reasons he didn't bother pondering on. Instead he only smirked slightly, despite that his own orbs displayed monotonic hues that he managed to support through silence, which, of course, added awkwardness to the moment. Shadow was the one affected by this the most, though, seeing as how she was the one who held feelings towards the Charmeleon – not the other way around.

She eventually turned her head to him, and regardless that he didn't look back, instead keeping his eyes on his father, as well as Bouldarin, she slowly asked, "Do you trust in Bouldarin now?"

The Charmeleon could feel a snort rise from within his chest. He had always scolded those who asked such a question, definitely since it was obvious he was never going to like the Rhydon. Now, though, after seeing the stubborn leader actually put himself in harm's way to protect Raikou and Suicune (despite that Terotrey's sneaky tactics had gotten passed this) Flame couldn't help but feel slightly impressed. He emitted a short sigh, having a hard time interpreting what his mind was configuring.

"Not entirely," he found himself saying shortly after, and Shadow only shrugged since she had been expecting such an answer. "Like my father I can't forgive him for what he did – my mother is dead because of him." He slowly shifted his eyes towards Shadow, as if trying to get his point across by meeting her gaze head-on. "The Legendaries need to be saved, though, and that's the important thing now."

Shadow could fell herself blush as his emerald eyes bore into her scarlet ones, and she quickly turned her head away, which brought Flame to display a look of bewilderment. He didn't bother to pursue his friend's weird behavior, as he was just somewhat happy that he was actually talking to her without any interruptions. Usually when they tried to spend some time together, his duty as the heir to the tribe's throne, as well as other things, pulled him away before he could mutter a single word.

"Yeah…me too," Shadow replied, stuttering slightly as she tried to hide her blush but yet keep the conversation going to avoid suspicion from her Charmeleon crush. Flame didn't notice any of it anyway, although this was mostly because he was too busy pondering over recent things. Meanwhile, Shadow couldn't help but to turn to gaze at the side of his face since his eyes were focused towards the ground, and she somehow felt that if their tribe and Bouldarin's were going to help Raikou with his fight against Terotrey then the possibility of one of them not coming back was at a high percentage. She suddenly was certain that if she didn't admit her feelings now it would be too late.

"Uh…Flame?"

Flame turned to eye her, his gaze abnormally compassionate rather than carrying implications of arrogance like usual. His eyebrow was slightly quirked, his lips forming into an emotionless frown.

Shadow gulped. "I…uh…" She was very tempted to curse at herself, mainly because she couldn't bring her mouth to mutter the three words she had always wanted to tell him.

Flame suddenly snapped his head away when Atsila's voice rang from the side, calling for him. The Charmeleon turned to gaze at Shadow in a somewhat-loving manner, although he shook it off when he got up and began to brush himself off. Shadow felt her heart plummet, but she knew that confessing now would be pointless, so she instead turned her head the other way, avoiding his emerald eyes that reminded her of hypnotizing malachite.

"What did you want to say?" he asked somewhat quickly, and she jumped a bit, not expecting him to be interested in her thoughts. For the sake of everything, though, she hesitated to shake it off, telling him it was nothing of importance.

"Just…forget it…" she said, placing a forced grin on her face, although Flame still seemed slightly worried. He could feel she wanted to say something deep, but decided not to push on the subject and therefore turned away to head towards his father's call.

In the midst of it, he turned his head to eye her one last time, his smirk returning. "Stay out of trouble, you here?"

Shadow couldn't help but frown at the arrogance that had leaked from his words, but was still mostly sad because she hadn't confessed. Nonetheless, though, she sighed, blushing slightly as she watched Flame walk off. Eventually she turned to go the opposite way, only to forget that there was no opposite way and just a wall, therefore slamming face-first right into it.

"KLUTZ!" Flame called from his distance away, and although he rolled his eyes at her obliviousness he couldn't help but smile like a goofy teenager in love.

Raikou hadn't spoken a word since the capture of Suicune, now suffering through deep depression because of it. Despite that he tried to tell himself that it was going to be okay – that they still had the willpower to go save her along with the other Legendaries (definitely with the fact that Bouldarin and Atsila's tribes had agreed to fight by his side), he was worried what would happen to her during her imprisoned state. What was Terotrey going to do with her, as well as the rest of the Legendaries? His stomach churned like crazy just at the mere tragic possibilities he had concluded.

Standing by him was Deoxys, who, despite that she hadn't known Raikou for very long, could already feel his pain as if she had been a friend to him for years. She had already figured he loved Suicune, and therefore understood the severe misery he was going through in which the fact that he had a relationship with the water dog seemed to amplify it. She could feel herself sigh over and over again, mad that she couldn't be anymore useful beyond helping in battles whenever they came.

Jeff and Skyler were even displaying their own sadness from the conclusion of the previous battle, although they showed determination more than anything else, mainly because they had grown large amounts of hatred for Terotrey because of it. Jeff had even made comments on wanting to see the silver-haired scientist's head on a wooden pike.

Eventually Mewtwo approached them, having just come back from a talk with both Atsila and Bouldarin on what to do next. Raikou showed interest, despite that his droopy eyes begged to differ, while Deoxys kept quiet like a scared witness of a crime, determined to stay out of the way, and Jeff and Skyler were too busy throwing insults at Terotrey to notice that the manmade Pokemon had even left in the first place.

"We have decided that it will be best if we move forward," Mewtwo began, his tone slow with aftermaths of concern, although it was obvious he was trying his best to keep it strong, "just the five of us. We will head towards the mountains where it is believed a Team Rocket base – the one possibly holding the Legendaries – is located. We will get there first and confirm if it is true or not.

"Bouldarin and Atsila have told me that they will indeed serve as our army in this fight. However, they need a few days to prepare, so we're going to go on ahead, confirm the assumption of a base's presence, and then meet them at the rendezvous point, which is the entrance into the mountain valley, where we will pledge our attack."

They all exchanged looks, agreeing with the idea. It would be good for them to move forward in front of everybody to locate and survey the Team Rocket base holding the Legendaries (if, like said, there was one) before meeting up with the army and attacking altogether. Raikou still felt depressed from the capture of Suicune, but knew that this served as his main motivation to stop Terotrey as fast as he could. With now-determined eyes, he nodded in approval.

"So…" Jeff began, his voice dragging purposely. "Does this mean we're going to be, like, kicking some Rocket ass soon?"

Mewtwo, despite the barbaric language the Roselia had used, couldn't help but smirk deviously and slowly nod.

Jeff chuckled. "Heh, awesome."