Okay people, I've realized that I've been slacking a little with my stories, but in my defense I didn't want to force a story that wasn't there, because that would be horrible to write and to read. Hopefully over the summer I will make some progress… And you know what I noticed… This about a year now that I've been with So I have to give out a huge thank you to my fans, followers, reviewers, or whatever you wished to be called! Love you all okay! And to see who you all are read till the very end! ;) see you there please enjoy!
Disclaimer: By now I thought I would've proven a point that I don't own Pokémon gees.

The Cave chapter 16

Everything was silent and still. The light from the mouth of the cave barely illuminated the front of the cave, yet everything wasn't total darkness. In the pale light small crystals gave off one could see the small wreckage. The smell of rubber and oil lingered in the air. Then, just when someone would've least expected it, there was movement. A scraped and slightly blood encrusted hand grasped the dash of the jeep to try and pull themselves up. Riley then lifted his head, and rubbed the side of it. He could tell that he was pretty beaten up. Hit in the head, a crushed hand, he sprained his ankle over a branch running for Aurora as it now was throbbing, and even a cut on his lower lip. He knew the list probably was bigger than that, but he was thankful to be alive. He checked in the back seat and found only two Pokéballs barely even scuffed. He smiled with pride as he remembered calling the Pokémon back before they would get injured by the crash. Then it clicked. "Aurora!"

Riley crawled in back, and hopped the seat to wear Aurora still laid peacefully. She had a small cut on her cheek, but that was all that was visible. He ran his fingers over her head and felt a small knot. That would be a headache waiting to happen, he thought. He let his hand rest on her cheek and felt a smile touch his face.

"I suppose I should untie you now huh?"

He unbound the ties they had place around her wrists and ankles. He also saw the slight burns. He felt the anger filling his face. Why did they tie them so tight? I guess just because they probably don't care about her well being then is it? Riley looked at the hard metal floor he was on, and the seat in front of him. Five minutes later Aurora was lying more comfortably on the back seat.

Slowly and cautiously Riley made his way to the mouth of the cave and examined the skies above. They were tinged with an orange and pink color. …Sunset? What, already? … At least I've still got my…. WHAT? Riley reached behind him to where his black pack should've been; only it wasn't. Flabbergasted Riley looked out into the forest. Where… could it, have gone? Alone he knew he was defenseless.

Two Pokéballs were tossed into the air… "Skarmory, Lucario, I need your help!" …then two bright flashes of red, then the Pokémon. Riley looked at them and smiled. "Hey guys… I lost my pack, and I have an idea, but I need you Skarmory to scan from the skies for it." It nodded and took off. Riley watched it till it was in mid flight before speaking. "Lucario…" Riley gave a slight smile, "Lucario, someone has to watch Aurora…" Just when he thought he understood what Riley was saying Riley continued. "Lucario! That someone has to be you while I look for the pack." Taken aback Lucario had a face that just screamed, what do you mean? Finally he finished explaining, "I can't help the both of us if something where to happen. You can though. You're in much better shape than I. So until I get back, I'm counting on you," and with that Riley turned and limped retracing his steps.

The Lucario turned to the jeep and back at his trainer. When Lucario walked by the window he peered at the girl sleeping on the back seat, and pulled his head to the right. A frown spread across his face while it glanced between the girl and the mouth of the cave where his trainer had once been. Finally after long last he shook his head and sat on the hood of the jeep. Lucario wasn't exactly sure of things right now, and it was times like these that he wished there were someone that could understand him.

##########

Riley limped along the dirt road following the tire tracks. He was really hoping that his pack had just flown out of the jeep while they had spun out of control. As he trekked the dirt, he saw just how far they had steered off course, or rather how far he had steered off course. He scanned the terrain for his black pack, but he couldn't spot it for anything.

He walked along the dirt road further and further until he found the real dirt road. Unfortunately that wasn't all he found. He heard two brusque voices coming up over the hill. When it clicked as to where he heard them from he ducked into the brush. He observed them as they passed him and through his strained breathing he made out what they were saying, but barely.

"Are you sure we should follow? They could be miles away by now…"

"Our best bet of getting out of here or finding her is if we follow their path. Besides if we report in boss will surely get our necks for this, also when we've got all the experience, how much more damage could two weak trainers do to us?"

Riley felt his fist tighten, then the pain of his right hand tingle up his arm. He had to bite back his tongue to keep from giving himself away.

"Well her unexpected partner gave us a run for our money… He hadn't told us about there being a partner with her though. She always traveled alone didn't she?"

The other man thought for a second running his fingers through his black hair then stopped. "She had a partner, but it was a Kirlia… then at least… How old is she?"

The red haired man wiped his forehead with the back of his hand as he pondered over his friend's question. "I think," he started "I think that she is either 14 or 15… And I'd think that her Kirlia would have evolved by now to a Gardevoir. Why do you ask her age?"

The man with black hair shrugged. "He could have been her boyfriend, and to protect her was his first instinct." He turned to face his partner, "Hey Lloyd?"

"What Henry?" He groaned.

Henry had a wide grin on his face and a glimmer in his eyes. "Maybe if we brought both of them we would get a double on our pay checks?"

"Oh… I like where you're going with this… Tell me while we look for a good camp site. It'll be dark soon."

They both started walking again as Riley heard Henry start talking about his idea, but quickly faded away as they headed into the forest.

Wide eyed and concerned, Riley made his way back to the cave.

##############

The fur on the back of Lucario's neck began to prickle as he stood and began to pace back and forth from the jeep to the mouth of the cave. On so many levels could he tell that there was something wrong, but he couldn't seem to find it within himself to figure out what exactly it was. He looked to the left, nothing. He looked to right, nothing. Stumped and confused he let a grunt escape his maw as he plopped down on a rock. It was awkwardly warm… and soft and he felt himself cozying into it a little more each passing second, until he heard a deep rumbling sound come from right behind him.

Confused and frightened Lucario snapped up and turned to face his "rock." Lucario felt a sweat drop on his forehead. What were the chances? An Ursaring, of course it had to be an Ursaring. Lucario took a second to reflect on the predictability of this very moment. In a swift moment however the Ursaring backhanded the Lucario sending him flying across the cave and bouncing off the wall down to the floor.

Slowly getting up from being face down in the dirt Lucario looked the Ursaring in the eyes, something not many wish to do out of fear. Getting up from his knees to a standing position Lucario schemed. Keeping their eyes lock, the Ursaring started to grow infuriated as it wasn't accustomed to other Pokémon not running in fear. The Lucario just stood its ground as it turned into a fierce staring contest.

The Ursaring threw its head back in a snarl just as Lucario gave a slight smirk. It had had an aura sphere going for quite some time now, and this was just enough of a distraction towards the Ursaring for him to unleash it. As he pushed the wad of aura away from him to the enraged Pokémon it made a perfect hit landi9ng in the center of the large circle on its chest. The force of the blast was enough to knock it back a little and to give Lucario the golden opportunity to strike. Trying to muster a close combat to the great bear, it stood and caught Lucario by the neck.

His ears were ringing and barely any air was reaching his lungs. He felt himself feeling fuzzy and cramped inside. Unable to focus long enough on one measly aura sphere, the Lucario started to thrash about, begging for freedom. The ringing in his ears grew louder, and the lights were dimming, and the strength steadily drained from his body… Then finally his body grew limp. The thing it remembered was a bright flash of light then falling down to the ground.

#################

Riley raced through the shrubbery trying to get to the cave as fast as he could. He even swore that it took less time to get away from the cave than to the cave. His eyes were fixed on the trees in front of him, so when he tripped over something and fell flat on his face, he was ill prepared.

"Oomph," was all he could get out before he had a mouthful of fabric. "What?" he sat up to examine what exactly he tripped over. A grin grew steadily across his face, "My pack! Yes! This is the only one good thing so far… Right, Aurora!" He grabbed his pack and through it on his shoulder and began running again, this time he could make out the rock formation that held the cave. It was late and the sun was starting to set already. As he drew nearer he could hear the wails of his Skarmory. She must've known the skies were getting darker before I, but why is she crying out so? Out of fear and concern he ran towards his partner full speed despite his pain.

As he drew nearer to the cave and peered inside he saw large Ursaring in a huge heap on the ground, his Lucario in someone's arms, and a Gardevoir leaning against a stalagmite catching her breath. "Lucario!" He collapsed by their sides and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. He tried not to cry, but the hot tears burned from behind his eyes. His body was quivering when he felt a hand rub his shoulder. The person's head was down and her hair was covering her face, long and rather straggly. When she looked up the hair fell away from over her face, her eyes were red, and her grin wide. Riley gazed into her endlessly pale blue eyes and listened as she spoke, "He'll be fine, just needs some rest that's all, Riley…"

"A- Aurora… You're awake… And okay!" He embraced the two of them in the warmest he could offer. When he closed his eyes being lost in the hug he felt the sickly warm tears stream down his face. He pulled away abruptly recalling his Pokémon after affectionately stroking his Lucario's head. He wiped away the tears on his face and stood facing Aurora.

She closed her eyes and giggled, "We love you too Riley." She stood up, and then swayed uneasily. Before she had a chance to fall she found herself wrapped up in Riley's arms. He smiled down at her, and she felt a blush race across her face. R- Riley… Gaud I must look like a fool, quick say something you stupid! Aurora laughed and tilted her head, "I guess whatever they drugged me with is pretty strong huh?"

Riley went wide eyed and looked at the mouth of the cave, then deeper inside the cave. Finally he looked back to her. "Do you think you can walk? Those two men are still following us, and I need to know honestly."

She looked down then back up, "Well if I can't stand then why would I be able to walk? I could try, but I'd slow you down, and we don't have much light left or Pokémon…"

Riley smirked, "We've got each other… And we've really got to get away from them… I've been meaning to make this a surprise, Lucario can do this so much better than I, but I really haven't got a choice now."

Aurora blinked, "Riley… you aren't making any sense… Did you hit your head again?" He flashed a smile. "Whoa!" Aurora found herself up in the air, being carried by Riley. Her arms tightened around his neck almost strangling him. "Riley you insane person, what on earth are you doing, what are you thinking you can't carry me like this, how on earth do you expect to get very far like this, whaaaaaaaa! Riley did you even think this through?"

He stared at her blankly for a second only catching about half of what she had just cried out. He pulled his head away pulling her arms apart a little. "You're light, I can handle this just fine, trust me okay?" He walked forward into the dark and Aurora's Gardevoir following right behind, until they were completely consumed by the shadows.

And now to thank all of you kind people :)

adventurerXD
Lauren 'Blue' Shayminluvr
iwritetolive
And last but most certainly not least
StaraptorEmpoleon

Thanks for staying with me for this long, love you all. Now words from my friend Spok, "Live long and prosper."