-April 9th, 4:48 AM, Michael's POV (Human - Orphanage Owner)-

"Nice to see you again, Luke." I say as he walks in the door, carrying a duffel bag across his gold furred shoulder. He nods as he enters the small space of our cabin.

It had been about two and a half days since Luke had contacted me with the news that Tsuyoi was alive. Then he helped Tsuyoi talk to me. Eight years since I had heard that voice, just the familiar Aura was a dream come true.

During that time, their group had successfully traveled through to Fallarbor. The trainers Billy and Crystal walked in afterwards, both looking just as Luke had described. We exchanged quick greetings, and then I turn and watch as Tsuyoi appeared in the doorway.

It was nearly impossible to recognize the look upon Tsuyoi's face, because I had never seen it before. It was a look of pure, utter hopelessness, the sign of a broken soul. Tears dotted my eyes as I started forward.

Suddenly Tsuyoi dropped to his knees, seemingly panicked. "I'm sorry, Michael! Please…" He stopped as I dropped to my knees as well and hugged him tightly. I don't know how long we stay like that, but it must be several minutes. I see scenes in the back of my head, years of torment at the hands of the Society of the Shattered Moon flashing through my head.

I release him and stand, holding out my hand as I do so. He takes it, and I pull him to his feet. I stare him hard in the eyes. "This wasn't your fault, and if you ever think so again I will smash your pokeball. Are we clear?" Tsuyoi seems taken aback, but after a moment he nods. "Good. Speaking of which…"

I stride over to my backpack and pull out a pokeball. Turning back, I toss the ball to Tsuyoi. He hesitates, before catching the ball by its sides, avoiding the button. I speak up, trying best not to let my voice crack. "Your original pokeball was deactivated and buried. If we're going to fight these guys, it's time you stand by me."

Tsuyoi's eyes widen at this proposition. I stride over and stand in front of him. "Stand by me, and Stand With Aura. Do you accept?"

Tsuyoi's breath catches in his throat. "I-I stand by you, and Stand With Aura." With that, I take the pokeball from him and tap it on his forehead. He disappears in a flash of red and white light, and after a moment the pokeball dings with a successful capture.

"Welcome back, Tsuyoi." I say to to pokeball, before pocketing it and allowing the Lucario to rest. I turn to the rest of the room, eyes settling on Luke, who has sat on the end of Gale's bed, to Billy and Crystal, talking quietly to each other from the small couch, to Gale, catching Luke up from his position on his cot, to Celebi, sleeping quietly on her bed of leaves.

I clear my throat, and the room quiets down. "It's great to see your faces, to see everyone here together. The Society of the Shattered Moon has been developing some sort of plan, a plan of which involves Celebi. Their final goal is unknown. Our job is to get her back to the Master of Time, Dialga. Gale, have you come up with any ideas?"

Gale sits up, wincing slightly. Billy notices this and quietly gets some items out of one of his duffels, silently setting up a medical station in the background. He notices us watching. "Don't pay attention to me, guys. I'm listening."

Gale nods. "Celebi and I have been thinking. The first option we have, of course, is to go to the top of Sky Pillar and attempt to contact the Master of the Skies, Rayquaza, or his Keeper, Deoxys. We might even be able to talk to the Master of Existence, Arceus. This is pretty obvious of a location, however. That being said, the Society of the Shattered Moon is surely to have a lookout watching the Tower. If we're seen going in, they'll send their entire army after us in an attempt to recapture Celebi."

Gale takes a moment to let this sink in. "Now, I've had another thought. The owner of the Devon Corporation lives in Rustboro City." Gale's face flashes with a dejected look. "Back before I came to the Orphanage, my previous trainer used to talk to the guy a lot. He loves pokemon, and he's a great man. If we could get to Rustboro, we could request a private plane out of Hoenn. From there, we travel to Unova and get to Mistralton City. I've heard that the Gym Leader Skyla is an excellent pilot. She could take us from Unova to Sinnoh. Once we land in TwinLeaf, we travel over land to Mt. Coronet, and get to Spear Pillar." He sweeps the room with his eyes, taking in the looks of uncertainty in everyone's faces. "I know, it seems like a long trip. But it's a hell of a lot safer then trying to climb Sky Pillar."

Crystal speaks up, doubt lacing her voice. "That's true, but how do we get all the way to Rustboro without being caught? I doubt we'll get lucky like this again."

Gale was about to reply via telepathy, but I cut him off. "We're getting ahead of ourselves. As of now, we have listed our options. It's pretty damn late as is. How about we get some shuteye?"

"To be honest, I think I should take a look at Gale before that." Billy says. "Some of those wounds look infected. Come on over here, Gale." He orders. Gale, knowing it would be better not to argue, gets up and lays on the table that Billy made by pulling one of the cabin's neat folding tables, like those found in camper vans, over next to the other to form a surface. His gaze is set on the Gallade soon presented on the table before him, but he addresses me. "You all, on the other hand, should sleep. I'm too tired to do anything serious, so I'll just patch him up a bit better and work more in the morning. I'll help Celebi then as well. That, and I can keep watch for the time being. That is, if we plan on doing watches."

Michael nods. "Fair enough. Crystal and Billy, you two can use the back room. It has a hidden bunk under the main bed that can be pulled out. Good night."

-April 9th, 3 AM, Dave Corring's POV (SSM Admin)-

"Your reports, then?" I ask, adding an unmistakable hint of venom into my polite tone.

The two men glanced at each other for the smallest fraction of a second before saluting. The man on the left speaks up. "Jerry and Arnold Pines, reporting. Target Shiny Lucario AKA Luke was found traveling with a female trainer. Name unknown. We captured the two of them, and unbeknownst to them, installed a tracker in one of their two duffel bags. As we were getting ready to call in backup for transfer, An oddly colored Aura Sphere hit the ground at our feet. It was massive, and the next thing I remember is waking up to no trace of the targets and a big crater in front of me."

"You suspect Experiment 184?"

"184?."

"Tsuyoi."

"Right! We more than suspect, we have no doubt."

I smile. "You two are both being promoted. Yes, they got away. But you got a tracker on them. That's all that matters. You planned ahead, and they'll lead us right to him."

The other man, Arnold, speaks up. "Sir, we believe that they have already found Michael and his comrades. The signal stopped moving just outside Fallarbor Town."

My eyes widen at this. "Good! This is excellent news. Now, get down to Hangar Two. You'll be briefed on your next assignment."

"Sir!" Both state, before turning on heel and marching out of the room. The second they close the door, my smile fades. I pluck the phone off my desk and dial a number.

The voice that answers sounds garbled. "Where do we stand?"

I reply, my voice hard. "We stand on the Moon, which is soon to be Shattered."

The voice laughs. "So, what the fuck do you want, Dave? Don't ask for a foot massage, or I'll put a bullet in your head."

I don't laugh, but instead find this rather annoying. "Can it. How fast can your strike team get to this building?" I punch in the coordinates of the tracker.

The man sighs slightly. "Hmm… Four hours? If you want a full team, you're gonna have to deal with a speed issue."

"That's fine. Get your team ready. You leave in ten minutes. And by the way," i say, lowering my voice. "Don't let them die peacefully. Make sure they know the true meaning of pain, Hades."

"Gladly."

-April 9th, 6:30 AM, Gale's POV (Shiny Gallade)-

I mentally reprimand myself, cutting off a string of curses that threatened to escape my mind via Telepathy. I'm laying on a mat behind the house, where my muffled screams will go unheard by the others, whom are sleeping in the cabin. Billy practically lays on my arms, holding me down, and adjusting my gag so I won't wake anyone.

After a few minutes, the burning from the alcohol cleaning my wounds fades. I widen my eyes, signaling to Billy. He nods and removes my gag. When I sit up, my wounds are freshly bandaged, and there's a noticeably large amount of blood on the mat. It flows off and into the dusty ground, where it dries in the hot but still slightly dark air.

I catch my breath, at the same time grasping Billy's outstretched hand with my one good one and using it to haul myself to my feet. My injured arm won't be doing anything for a while, but at least I can move my legs without feeling the need to vomit. "Thanks, Billy. Arceus be damned, though, did you have to take you so long?"

Billy shrugs, packing up the sack he had brought out and leading the way around the house. "It wouldn't have been so bad, or so long, if you weren't struggling so much. Besides, just looking at your wounds made me want to puke. They had to be dealt with right. That being said..." He flashes me a grin. "Toughen up, little boy."

I grin, shaking my head and catching up to match his stride. It's a little hard to do with my limp, but I make it happen. Besides, I'm liking this guy more and more. "Little Boy? Oh sure, the guy that happens to be able to throw a fully grown Machamp across an entire battle arena is little."

"Strength often comes in small packages."

"Tell me about it."

We laugh for a moment outside the door, before quieting down and entering. Michael waves to us from his bed, where he had sat up and was reading.

"Enjoy your torture, Gale?"

I laugh slightly. "How much did you hear?"

Michael snorts. "Enough to know that if I ever need someone with a special skill at creative cursing, I'll come to you."

I feel the heat rising in my cheeks and try to play it off. "Yeah well, I blame Billy."

Billy fakes a glare at me. "Rude."

Michael shakes his head, grinning. "I hate to interrupt a budding bromance, but we've got things to do. Crystal isn't up yet, but Celebi is, if you want to take a look at her." He says.

Billy nods, striding over to Celebi's bed. True to Michael's word, she was awake, but she seemed slightly intimidated by Billy.

Relax, I told her with Telepathy. He was only rough with me because I told him to do so. I wanted it over with. He'll respect your judgement and privacy, and I'll be nearby if you have any questions.

-20 Minutes Later, Billy's POV-

"Well, Michael," I say as I start to pack my bag. "I gotta admit, you know what you're doing. The best I can say is a bit of pain meds, but otherwise you patched her up well."

Michael nods. "I thought as much, but I still like having a second opinion."

"MICHAEL!"

The telepathic scream rips through the room, causing everyone to flinch.

"Damn!" Michael says, shaking his head. "Luke, what's wrong?"

"I'm sensing a dark Aura about two miles out and closing in fast. You need to mo-"

BOOM!

Out of nowhere, the front wall of the house is blown off, raining wooden splinters the size of forks down on us. Fire and smoke cloud the room, making it impossible to see. I'm coughing and retching, stumbling around the room. After a moment, I'm able to get out of the smoke. Michael and everyone else soon follow.

Michael's got a cut across his cheek, but he doesn't even seem to notice. "It's the SSM! We need to move!" He shouts. I watch as Crystal and he take off, Gale on his heels. Soon enough I catch up, weaving over boulders. The gunship behind us looms overhead. Suddenly a laser dot appears on Crystal's back. A scream builds in my throat.

Out of nowhere, Gale pushes her out of the way. She falls to the ground behind some rocks. The shot is heard over the sound of the engines. Everyone freezes.

Gale turns his head to Celebi, who is in Michael's arms. "Don't look."

She turns her head as Gale falls over, a bullet hole in his stomach.

"GALE!" Michael screams. He lunges to Gale's body, shaking him, tears streaming down his cheeks. But it's no use.

Gale is dead.

Michael quiets down. A slight red Aura starts emanating from him. He stand and strides over to me. He gently puts Celebi in my arms. I accept without a word.

"Go. Get to Rustboro and tell the owner of Devon Corp. to take you to Mistralton. I'll hold them off." He puts two pokeballs my pocket. "Luke and Tsuyoi will protect you. I'll buy you time."

I'm so shocked that it takes a moment to think. Then I nod. All of a sudden, Michael turns around, cupping his hands together as he does so. An Aura Sphere charges in his palms, bluish white, similar to Tsuyoi's.

"THIS IS FOR GALE!" He screams, slinging the orb at the jet. It scores a direct hit, and the plane falls. However, the back of the craft opens, and dozens of trainers in SSM uniforms jump out, landing smoothly on the ground.

He looks back at me. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? RUN!" He yells. I shake my head, before turning and running at full clip over to Crystal's hiding spot. I grab her hand and we sprint off into the desert.

May Arceus be with you, Michael. I think to myself as we flee.

(Author's Note: What a plot twist! Although, this chapter doesn't seem very detailed. Thus, if it gets updated, make sure to reread it, because it will probably make more sense. Good Luck, and Happy Reading/Writing! -Orthros)