Hello everyone! I have returned! My apologies for the long wait and how short this chapter is, but I was participating in Campnanowrimo during July and had a writer's block directly afterwards. I also posted the first chapter of a new story here on Fanfiction, so if any of you are Transformers fans as well as Pokemon fans, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on it.

Review response: Dear Forever on Hiatus, hello! I'm glad you liked the chapter. The Perfectly Petrifying Purrloin Pair is a lot like Team Rocket aren't they? The similarity was unintentional, I was merely trying my hand at writing incompetent villains and this is what came out. Oh well. Dale's emotional path is not going to get any easier I'm afraid and Leal, despite his sincerest efforts, isn't much help. Also, Jack is still a closely guarded secret that will be revealed much later.

Dear Shadow Snivy, hi! Here is the resolution to the last cliffhanger and a new one to brood over! Thank you for your compliment, I always try to make my characters creative. Villains are difficult though. I have big plans for Mirale, very big, very secret plans. Sekani is never going to get a break, he is too much fun to write when miserable! You really liked Cassandra didn't you? I will admit that her innocent act was very convincing, she almost convinced me that she was a good guy and I'm the author! Mira's past is ... messed up to say the least. So I would not be at all surprised if Chono and Neko reminded her of someone she met before coming to the island, or not. Only time will tell.

Author's note: I believe that I've got the Copy-N-Paste function figured out again, but please let me know if this chapter is messed up.

Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or their world, the only things I own are the plot and the characters.

Chapter Thirteen:

Swift Bravery

Dale snarled viciously at the lunging Purrloins, his mind set fully on defeating them. Crouching low, he dived underneath their slashing claws, ears flattened in concentration. Spinning in place on one front paw, he bundled his legs underneath him again and surged forward, not giving them any time to recover from their failed dive and head to head collision. Lowering his head and sliding his body to the left at the last second, he cannoned into the still slightly dazed Purrloins, knocking them to either side.

Dale kept running, knowing that if he stopped the two bullies would be able to outflank and defeat him. Chono and Neko shook their heads, clearing the pain-induced fog from them and hissed. Neko whined, "Hey! That hurt!"

Chono was practically spinning in place, trying to keep up with Dale's dizzying figure eight run, "Yeah! You weren't supposed to hit back!" Dale rolled his eyes, not bothering to reply as he agilely bounced off a nearby tree and tackled Chono again. As Dale leapt back from his tackle attack and started to flee again, a sharp pain lashed through Dale's left hip and he stumbled, tripping and rolling uncontrollably for several feet. He lifted his head trying to regain his bearings as Neko hissed, "Never forget the lady in the fight, Eevee."

Dale rolled back onto his paws, aware of his friends calling encouragement as he found himself being circled by the two Purrloins. Wow, they recover fast. His mind racing for a new tactic he asked casually, "I don't suppose you two will give up now?" The two Purrloins growled and lunged, claws outstretched, "Guess not." Dale dodged the flashing claws by millimeters, acutely away of the tufts of his fur that were coming off on the Purrloins paws as he did so.

Another flash of pain in his side informed Dale of a second hit and he spun on his front paw, teeth snapping at his attacker. Chono squealed in pain as Dale's sharp fangs sunk into the sensitive flesh of his right ear, removing a tiny piece from it as the Eevee leaped backwards from his sister's swiping paws. Dale narrowed his eyes in concentration as he spat out the tuft of Purrloin fur, Scratch appears to be their only attack. As one of his opponents raked his ear painfully Dale amended, a very painful one, but still. They must be low level to have only one real attack and I think if they had two they would have used it by now.

His mind latched onto an idea as he ducked under Neko's wild leap and head butted Chono hard in the stomach, I'll bet they're low level enough ... As if she could hear his thoughts, Mira's voice cut through the other calls of encouragement, "What are you waiting for? Show them your speed!" Dale grinned and took off like a Rapidash on a sugar high, hearing Chono and Neko clop heads together again as he placed some distance between them.

Whirling and sliding to a stop, Dale took a deep breath and focused, Just like you've practiced, concentrate, believe, and attack! Dale opened his mouth and yelled, "Swift!" He felt a newly discovered surge of energy flow out of him and out of his mouth in the form of painfully accurate yellow stars. The two Purrloins barely had time to blink before the stars split evenly into two groups and pummeled them both.

With the exception of Mira, all of Dale's friends fell silent in shock. Dale hadn't gotten around to telling anyone about his increased level, let alone his newly learned move. A moment later, they burst out cheering again, their cries nearly drowning out the pained protests of Chono and Neko. Neko whined as she got back onto her feet, "Since when to milk sops like you know Swift?"

Dale bounced lightly backwards on his paws, "Since you decided to come to Meiro Woods and prey upon those smaller than you."

Chono glanced at his twin, his gaze uneasy, "Sister mine, this endeavor has become rather unprofitable, don't you think? Perhaps it would be better if we cut our losses and made a discreet exit?"

Neko glared at Dale, her ears pinned flat so tightly against her head they almost seemed to disappear. Dale glared levelly back, his lips parted in a silent growl that warned of another Swift attack should she choose to continue. Apparently, the subtle warnings were either lost on her or completely ignored. She hissed, "Never! We need to show this little brat that playing hero is a painful mistake!"

From the sidelines Mira called contemptuously, "You two are roughly the same age as Dale you know, possibly younger even!"

Whirling to hiss at Mira, the enraged Purrloin screamed, "Stay out of this you ... you..."

"Pikachu." Supplied Mira flatly.

Neko continued her rant, "Pikachu you! I can call that Eevee whatever insult I like!"

Mira didn't miss a beat in her retort, "Of course you can. It's just a pity that you don't have any good ones to call him. That's what you get for skipping grammar lessons. Or maybe its just your skull size, no room for anything other than survival protocols."

Neko stared speechlessly at Mira, her little jaw hanging slack and her normally thrashing tail perfectly still. Looking over at Chono, Dale couldn't resist asking, "Is she always like this?"

Chono nodded slowly, "You have no idea."

Neko snapped her head around to glare at her twin, "Don't talk to the enemy!"

Chono protested loudly, the fight with Dale seemingly forgotten, "You were doing it just now!"

Neko sputtered indignantly, "That wasn't talking that was ... breaking their moral resolve with witty banter!"

Chono snorted, "They don't look at all broken to me."

Dale coughed politely, "Uh, you two?"

Both Purrloins glanced his way long enough to yell, "Stay out of this!" Before resuming their own argument. Dale sat down and watched in baffled amusement as the two felines ended up rolling back and forth in the grass, fighting one another while yelling insults. This wasn't exactly how I thought the fight would turn out, but hey, it appears to be working.

Dale observed as the Purrloins started doing more damage to each other than they had inflicted on him when working together. Fur flew, teeth flashed, and claws tore up the turf until both of them flopped apart, totally exhausted. Dale stood up languidly and trotted over to them, "Give up?"

Chono nodded weakly but his sister wobbled to her feet with the declaration of, "Never! I'm only leaving because this endeavor has lost any interest to me. Come Chono!" The cat in question groaned in a tone that said, 'now she tells me' as he climbed to his feet and the two retreated into the bushes.

The moment they had disappeared from sight and hearing, Dale found himself surrounded by his excited friends. Castor was grinning widely, his sharp teeth fully on display, "Dale! When did you learn Swift? That was awesome!"

Dale blushed slightly under his fur, "Uh … yesterday. I was going to tell you guys, but it didn't really seem that important."

Sekani seemed to teleport right in front of him, going to nose to nose with his fellow normal-type, "Not important? Not important? Are you kidding me? That. Was. Amazing! You have to teach me that move because it is so cool and sparkly and totally useful so you have to-" There was a customary smack from Cora and responding yelp from Sekani.

Cora shook her head in disgust at Sekani before turning to Dale with a smile, "Sorry about blabber-pom here. Congratulations on the level up, Dale! Was it a hard move to learn?"

Dale nodded, "Very, I didn't think I'd get it for a while, but Mi-" he paused, afraid that Mira wouldn't approve of his revealing their training sessions.

Mira surprised him by stepping in, "He learned it while sparring with me. Hurt like the dickens too."

Ahanu winced, "Oh, Mira! How horrible! It must have been a strong attack to hurt like the … the … what's a dickens?"

Mira rolled her eyes, "Something that hurts more than you thought is would. Just like those two Purrloin learned." Ahanu looked about to say something else when Mira growled softly, "Try to baby me and I will murder you. Go back to admiring Dale's accomplishments." Dale hid his smile, Mira hated to be fussed over, she only ever wished to be treated like an equal who could take hits as well as anyone. Nothing more, nothing less.

Leal nudged him lightly on the shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. Instead of the hearty shout and back patting Dale expected, Leal leaned in and whispered, "Well fought friend Dale. A good fight from a good Pokemon."

Dale eyed Leal in a mildly puzzled way, whispering wasn't exactly the Riolu's forte, "Uh, thank you Leal." Feeling increasingly embarrassed by the attention, he turned to the others and said, "Hey, thank's for the support but … we really should be moving on while there's still daylight."

Castor straightened his posture and called order, "All right everyone, you heard the Hero of the Hour! Move out!"

As they began to turn and leave, a timid voice called out, "Wait, please!" Dale stopped and looked over his shoulder. The Paras whom they had seen the purrloins attacking was watching them shyly.

Dale turned around and trotted over to her, "Hello there. Are you all right? Cora has some Oran berries…"

The Paras shook her head, "Oh no, I'm fine, I have plenty of Oran berries myself. I just … I wanted to thank you for helping me. Those two wanted to rob my hidden herb garden, they would have too, if you hadn't stepped in."

Dale smiled, "Happy to help." He hesitated, the Paras looked like she wanted to say something more, but was to shy to come out and say it.

The Paras suddenly scuttled over to the tree she'd been huddled against during the attack and retrieved something from underneath a root. Scurrying back over to him, she offered Dale a small woven pouch, "Here, take it. It's something special I made for my shop … but I want you to have it." Reaching up with her pincers she gently strung the pouch around Dale's neck and explained, "It's a Revival Herb, but I crossbred it with a Stati Root. When used, it should be able to not only revive a Pokemon, but also cure any lingering status ailments they have."

Dale reached up and touched the pouch with a paw, touched by her gift, "Thank you, Paras. But … you don't have to give me anything…"

The Paras shook her head, "No! Please, take it! It is better that you have it than some thief. Besides, I get the feeling you would put it to much better use than I ever could." Dale paused, while he was loathe to take something so rare, he knew that if he refused the Paras would be insulted.

He dipped his head, "Very well, I will make sure to use it wisely." The Paras dipped her head shyly and with a muttered goodbye, scuttled off into the bushes. Dale trotted back to his friends, "Let's go."

Their journey resumed, filled with laughter and chatter. Cora insisted Dale take an Oran berry for his injuries and while he had protested, he was secretly touched by her concern. As hours progressed and the novelty of his Swift attack wore off in favor of the forest, Dale breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone liked attention, but being the sole Pokemon in the spotlight was not something the humble Eevee liked.

"Hey." At the sound of her quiet voice, Dale looked over at Mira, "You did great out there. It takes a lot of guts to stand up to two Pokemon, even idiots like those Purrloin."

Dale shrugged and dipped his head shyly, "You're the one everyone should be praising, I couldn't have done it without your training."

Mira smiled softly at his words and turned her eyes back to the path ahead of them. But as she did so, Dale suddenly got the impression that her smile was more bitter than happy, as if his words had reminded her of something. Or someone. Is that how she met Jack? Through training? Dale's good mood threatened to evaporate, but he shook his head stubbornly. There was no sense in brooding over things he could not change, instead, he chose to focus on how pleasant her gentle praise made him feel.

As they crested a particularly tall hill that offered a view of the Meiro Woods main valley Mira hissed softly, "Dale." He paused and glanced at her. She was standing stiffly on her hind paws, ears erect, jade eyes hard, "That's it."

Dale frowned, "What's it?" Without saying anything, Mira pointed off into the distance. Dale followed the path of her paw with his eyes and felt his blood run cold when he spotted it. It was still few miles away the distance making it small and hard to spot. But there in a reclusive corner of the valley, a black maw of legends and darkness, was the entrance to the Meiro Woods Kuro Cave. I didn't think we'd see it for a least another two days.

The others crowded around, all falling silent when they spotted the dark cave entrance in the distance. Finally Sekani moaned, "Why oh why can't our journeys ever lead to hot springs? Or gorgeous cities? Or anything other than dark, scary, demon filled, ghost inhabited, unsavory, wet, cold, caves?"

Cora's voice sounded small, "My brothers are in there?"

Castor lightly touched the Squirtle's shell in an effort to be comforting, "I guess we'll find out soon enough."