Me: Ack-to-zuka! I didn't expect to have resort to drastic measures! O.O; I knew the beginning was too weird to warrant anyone's attention! I guess I overestimated myself...?
Um, anyway, I'd like to thank those that wanted me to continue... Thank You! It really means a lot to me, to finally be a writer for people's entertainment!
For the disclaimer, I still don't own Pokemon, just the plot and my personal OC's... I also don't own toast, but... Well, I eat it, so on with the story! I hope you won't mind the rocky start!
XXX
.
Chapter One:
Iron Island
.
The waves at night sound much louder than during the day.
They sound out louder than they ever had, or so it seemed to the the pair that slipped carefully onto the island.
"Don't forget to move silently, my friend..." whispered the taller of the pair, to which the other merely nodded
Yes, this other knew well enough that silence and stealth was what they required here, in this phase of the mission. Once past the rocky crags that was the northern cliff line of the island, they began to soundlessly run to the perceived destination. Although they hadn't seen it with their own eyes yet, they knew it was the perfect spot to stake out the enemy Galactic encampment. Leaping and bounding over the rough surface of the islands hills, they continued on their way forward fearlessly. At a quick signal from the smaller shadow, they both ceased their movements, listening to their surroundings quietly. And then they heard it.
"Hey! You idiot, you're supposed to put it over there! What do you think Commander Mars is gonna say, when she sees what you bungled this time!" shouted what was unmistakably a Galactic Grunt
"Ohoho, so it's my fault is it!? Wrong! You were the one who said it had to be put right here, and by-the-way, my name's not 'You'!!" the other Grunt shouted back, annoyed, "My name's 'Benny'!"
"Well, 'Benny', or 'Ben', or whatever! We as members of Team Galactic, are supposed to forgo our names, and take on the less individualistic code numbers we're assigned! Or did Momma's wittle cwybaby decide to just stick with what he was born with!?" taunted the first Grunt meanly
"Well it's not like my name stinks or anything!" Grunt 'Benny' yelled, apparently hurt by his associates rudeness
Meanwhile up on the cliff, the taller of the two shadows suppressed a chuckle. It wasn't as though he thought the situation funny, he just believed that they were too human. The aims of the Team Galactic he knew, believed that human emotions and values, were meaningless in the grand scheme of things. So simple were the pair of Grunts down below, to fight over the placement of the small machine and names.
'Even if that first guy is right about the machine, they deserve more than they're giving themselves...' he thought sadly and sighed
His partner looked up with large intelligent red eyes, that spoke understanding of the circumstances. These two men were another pair of faces, to her friend and master. Two more that might soon count themselves as victims who were used. The foolishness of humans amazed her greatly sometimes. For she was not human, but perhaps something very close... For a Pokemon.
"I'm sorry, Lucario," her partner sighed again, "I know you don't like it when I get like this."
'No, Master Riley,' Lucario shook her head, 'These humans never learn... I just wish you could let the fact that they're human, go.'
Riley smiled. His partner was right, of course. He'd have to forget their humanity, and concentrate on the fact that they're known and wanted criminals... For now. Down on the lower ground below, the small argument had escalated, and been broken up by their Team Commander: Mars. Sent scurrying every-which-way to escape her irritation, the two who had started the whole thing, had disappeared into the eerily identical crowds of Galactic Grunts. After a third, and final sigh, Riley settled himself for the staking of the temporarily camped Galactic's, to learn what he could about their plans.
.
Later...
.
It had been a long night. Quietly working his stiff limbs with lightly aura-charged stretches, Riley stood at last to face the Team Galactic task force, before they completed the research data they had come here to obtain. Whatever it was, it wasn't something 'beneficial to the betterment of mankind', as one of their slogans would have said. This 'research' could hardly be worth studying, if it meant driving the steel type Pokemon on the island mad with some strange signal to accomplish it! He'd overheard this useful bit of incriminating info while eavesdropping in the night. Knowing this, he'd had to call Lucario back into her pokeball, to keep her from suffering what the Pokemon on the island were.
'But I can hardly face that many people alone...' Riley thought, dismayed
'I can come out for short spells though,' Lucario said frantically, 'I can use my aura to resist the effects somewhat, and you don't have to face them alone, Master Riley!'
"You are full of spirit, Lucario, but even you know you can't resist for very long. I don't want to risk losing you, if I can help it." Riley whispered, as he approached the lower crest of the hill to drop in on them in a surprise attack.
.
XXX
.
"Hurry it up, you imbeciles!!" Commander Mars screeched for the third time that morning.
More than irritation though, at this point in time she was worried that Cyrus, their Boss, would be cross with her for being behind schedule. And as the Grunts surrounding her rushed from one place to the next, either doing something useful or pretending to, she noted that she should probably have taken that offered vacation for actually obtaining the power that they needed from the Valley Wind Works.
'At any rate, I'll be in for an even bigger reward if this plan more than succeeds.' she carefully hid her smirk of pleasure at this, and continued to glare at those nearby not doing anything.
"I'm sure you could have found something more useful to do, than standing around like a heard of vacant Miltank, chewing on their cud!" she said with as much condescension as anything
"Um, but... We're the technical staff... We're not supposed to do anything until our equipment is all set up." one of the losers ventured, attempting to curb her wrath at their idleness
"Oh, really?" Mars said, pretending at first to be disbelieving, "Then I suppose you don't have another job you could be doing, at this time, hmm?"
And rather than incur the anger they knew Mars wanted to unleash, they rushed off to do whatever would make them look useful.
"Perhaps my reputation isn't serving me quite as well as I'd like to think..." Mars muttered in annoyance that they had run off before she could vent on them
What good was being the 'Passionately Fiery' Commander Mars, if you couldn't at least show as much on occasion to your subordinates? "This is irritating!"
.
XXX
.
"Che, the eastern side of this island isn't as dangerous as they said, the cowards..." said a mysterious hooded figure that had, indeed emerged, from the most inhospitable side of Iron Island
"Of course, no one would expect a thing from here either." they continued in a bored, yet content tone, "I wonder if those Galactic clowns even suspect their immanent destruction..."
At this, the owner of the voice and shady silhouette smirked. Of course they wouldn't! No one could detect when he planned an attack. They never did, and never would...
.
XXX
.
"How are the readouts?" Mars whispered behind the Head of the technicians, making him jump with shock. Mars smirked, "Well?"
"Uh, the readouts? Um, from what we've gathered so far, we just might be able to find that." the researcher said, nervously checking the rapidly expanding readout data, "Master Cyrus' suspicions about these ruins were, most probably, correct-"
"Of course they're correct!!" Commander Mars snapped, "Our Boss is rarely wrong about anything, in case you forgot! And don't forget it again!!!"
"Y-yes, Commander!" he said hoping to be turned back to the data sometime soon, and was both surprised and relieved, when Mars stalked off, apparently bored with harassing him
'Whew, that Mars has some temper! It's a wonder she's so highly ranked as a member of Team Galactic... What with Master Cyrus' wish that our unneeded, and imperfect, emotions be left behind in favor of progress...' He shook his head, still puzzled since the first he'd ever heard of Mars. 'But that's not for me to worry about. I should get back to focusing on my work.'
.
Meanwhile...
.
"Hey, 'Benny', still miss your mommy?"
Several random Grunts laughed meanly at this while they continued their patrol of the area. Benny just shook his head and kept walking on his circuit. What did it even matter though? He liked his original name, and this patrol business was shaping up to be very dull and pointless.
"Aargh!"
Ahem, was, to imply that they had not really expected to be attacked... Was, to say that, they weren't really prepared for immediate action, were it to be required of them. And finally, was, because it just sounded cool, all right!?
"Don't let him get through!"--"Aaahhh!!!"--"What the hell!? Send out your Pokemon to figh- Augh!!"
Benny knew what he had to do here... Run! Hide! Just get as far away as possible from the person, or thing, that was causing this much damage with no help to be seen at all, save for the flashes that may or may not have been some kind of Pokemon attack!
"What's going on *fizz*crackle*!?" Commander Mars' voice had issued from one of the radio pods attached to every Grunts uniform, "Squad leader, 83224! *fizzy*squee*Where are you!? Report! What's going on over there *fazzle*click*!?"
"I'm sorry to have to treat you all so roughly, but it can't be helped..." there was a pause as a well dressed man appeared, looking or sensing around for something, "There's one more of you who's still conscious."
Said conscious one, a.k.a. squad leader, ducked low and hoped he hadn't just heard that.
'I-it's just some k-kind-of bluff, r-right?' Benny thought in terror, 'There's just no way he's human if he's for real about it!'
"There you are." Riley said quietly, as he reached out to catch Benny by the shoulder before he could move to run
"N-no! Let me go! I'll do anything you want, just don't hurt me!" Benny wailed piteously, "Dammit, I should have never left Momma, or the old country! If I survive this, that's exactly where I'll return!"
"Please, calm down!" Riley said as gently as he could manage under pressure, (Well, duh, he is known as the 'Gentlemen' after all!), "I never said I was going to hurt you, I just want to put you to sleep for a little while."
"Really? That's all? I'll go to sleep myself!" Benny said moving to lie down on the rocky ground and make himself comfortable, "See?"
"I'm sorry." was all the warning Riley gave, in the instant it took to force Benny into unconsciousness
Moving away from his victim, Riley continued to penetrate the Galactic's poor defenses, and at last, stood before their Commander.
"Mars."
"Oh, you know of me? Then to what do I owe this honor?" Mars finished on a rather sarcastic note, but the message was clear, as it translated to, 'What the *bleep-word*, do you want!?'
"You, and the other members of Team Galactic, claim to be for the good of the people... Your own people, I take it?" Riley said quietly, as he scanned the area for the thing that was disrupting Lucario's chance to move in and help
"But, of course, we're for our own people. If we weren't, then I don't think we'd make much of a team, now would we?" Mars said sweetly, she knew something had to be up if he wasn't immediately attacking her in an attempt to spoil the mission, "Something wrong with it?"
"Only that you have to hurt the environment for your, 'teamwork', by disrupting the wild steel type Pokemon into going crazy..." Riley spoke calmly, but inside he was genuinely angry for the Pokemon that were being hurt because of all of this, "Where is the machine that's doing this!?"
"Oh, is that what you're after?" Mars said disdainfully, "Why don't you just go away and pretend nothing is going on, ok?"
"I can't do that." Riley said simply, and continued to look around for the troublesome machine
"Suit yourself, but you'll never find it!" Mars retorted
And then there was an explosion.
"What was-" Mars began but then she noticed exactly where the boom had come from, "No! Not the equalizer!"
"You mean this thing that was bothering both me, and the island's Steelix population?" said someone who kept their face hidden under a hooded cloak, who, also stood near the site of the wreckage
'I didn't even sense his approach!' Riley thought, slightly disturbed that his powers, that had been on high alert, were thwarted so easily by this total stranger, 'He's younger than me, too...'
"You! You will pay for that! Go, Purugly!" and Mars called out her famed monster cat, which gave an unhappy growl to have it's nap disturbed so early in the morning
"Lucario, help stop that Purugly!" Riley cried, releasing Lucario at last from her confinement to the ball
'You could have let me fight sooner, you know!' Lucario told him disgustedly, the situation was far too dangerous to leave in human hands alone!
The stranger paused when Riley called out his partner. 'A Lucario?' He thought, wondering why this seemed significant. 'It's not like they're particularly rare... But this is different somehow.'
"Argh, Purugly! Don't let that Lucario get in your way, make that hooded jerk pay!" cried an increasingly frustrated Commander
The situation wound itself taut from there, Mars called to her Purugly to maim the mystery person, Riley and Lucario refused to let it happen. Thus the danger increased. But it wasn't until a Grunt ran up, saying that their Boss had called them back, that Mars surrendered the fight and punishment that she so wanted to deal the impudent youth.
"Don't you forget this, you freak!" Mars narrowed her eyes, and made to flee like the others of her small force, "And I have a nice parting gift, for all of Iron island..."
This last part could barely be detected, let alone heard, Riley didn't at least.
"I just might, but that's not my problem, it's yours..." There was a smirk in the stranger's voice that Riley didn't like
"No, I can't let them just run away!"
Dismayed, Riley and Lucario moved to make chase, not expecting any particular answer...
"I think you can," The stranger spoke up, stopping Riley from moving further, "After all, the explosives they set up throughout the island, are all neatly packed away on the vessel they arrived here on."
"What 'explosives'?" then Riley understood, and that Mars didn't know... "Why would you move them someplace that might cause casualties!?"
"Are you afraid of due justice or something?" The stranger appeared bored by Riley's reaction, "If you are, then what right do you have to fight them? As far as I can see, if you can't take them down once and for all, then you shouldn't even be here!"
There was silence. As it stretched longer and longer, the suspense increased, and Riley knew he had to snap out of it and stop Team Galactic from setting off the bombs. If he didn't, lives could be needlessly lost! 'How could this-this kid, think like that!?' He thought slowly, still dazed and becoming frustrated by his inaction. 'I can't let this bother me right now... I have to warn them not to bring about the explosion!'
But it was too late, in the short distance to the sea they felt and saw the horrible boom that shook the island. There was no way that everyone got out of that unhurt, and there was no way that there weren't lives that had been taken... The first to move after, was the stranger, who turned to the eastern side of the island and started walking. Lucario would not let him just walk away...
'Monster!!!' Lucario's anger concentrated into a dangerous blue light, which she unleashed at her target at full unswerving force!
"Lucario, no!"
That wasn't how a Knight dealt justice, not even to a horrible criminal who deserved no less, they had to follow the code!
"You're a few years too early to be trying that on me."
The stranger turned back, and there was a new Pokemon on the scene, a Gallade, and he deflected the Aura Sphere back at its originator.
Lucario dodged aside, and growled angrily. Riley reached out a hand for his friend, and placed it on her shoulder. He carefully focused his Aura to let Lucario in on something strange he noticed; 'This is strange... A Gallade is known for its kind and chivalrous spirit... Why would it serve someone like that?'
But as he thought this so Lucario would understand, the stranger and his Gallade turned and continued to flee the scene.
"Damn! We can't let them get away!"
Though they gave chase, and though they moved as fast as possible relying on their Aura's to increase their speed, it quickly became apparent that their target could do the same; Or how could they stay so far ahead? He wasn't a Knight or even an apprentice that Riley knew, so who was he? Then, the Gallade and it's master disappeared! Sensing something amiss they slowed themselves, and not a moment too soon, for the island ended suddenly at a steep, deadly cliff!
'Master Riley! They're down there somewhere, I can still feel them!'
"There..." Riley pointed to a Lapras speeding away with a rider astride it's shell, "Somehow they were able survive the fall, and get away..."
'What will the Council say?' Lucario looked apprehensive
"I don't know," he began slowly, "All I can tell for now is that we let... Or maybe I'm still too shaken up from the explosion..."
Lucario didn't miss what Riley's thoughts, and words, had been hanging on. 'Is it possible? The last of them had been destroyed, or so I thought, one hundred years ago...'
"No... We have to see if anyone survived the self-bombing."
They turned away from the cliff and headed over to the southwestern port. 'Or what's left of it...' both thought darkly.
.
XXXXXX
.
'The shadows on Spire island are as gloomy as always.' thought the cloaked youth, as he tread slowly to the secret fortress within the tallest of the island's namesake, 'But what was that Knight doing there? That wasn't a part of the plan...'
He was angry.
His Master had never said anything about having to challenge an actual Knight, for Arceus' sake! And now what was going to happen? They weren't supposed to reveal themselves until the last possible moment... He shook his head and continued onwards, entering a vast, dark, audience chamber. Within there was very little light, save for what came off of the the small, faintly fluorescent crystals, set wide apart and at intervals. At the farthest end of the chamber there was a dais in the shape of a three level crescent. The center of the platform was the highest, the two on either side were lower, and the last of the levels, being the shortest, were still a few inches taller than the youth who approached them. Upon every level of the dais there was a throne, and every throne belonged to the highest Masters of the Dark Knights.
"Well, cheers to an excellent job, my squire..."
A lone man stood on the tallest platform before his throne, such an honor to have your own 'Master' willingly rise in greeting... "You are yet another step closer to completing our plan for ultimate vengeance!"
Although his 'squire' knelt in in respect, he quickly looked up to speak, "Master, there was an unexpected... Detail... That turned up."
"You are referring to the 'unexpected' Knight, perhaps?"
Because of the small distance, and the surrounding darkness, it was hard to tell if his master had raised his brows at him. If any of the other masters had been present, he was sure he'd be getting laughed at; The sarcastic little stress his master had put on the repeated, 'unexpected', made him sure of this...
"I quite expected this, and the Knight was a test of your skills... You did, in fact, engage him when you met?"
"No, master, I was not told that I had to-"
"Imbecile!! You were faced with a threat to our plans, and you didn't even try to destroy that threat!?"
"Master Raze, I didn't know you-"
"Silence!!!"
And so the squire went silent. Master Raze was unpredictable at the best of times, a hard learned lesson that had left many a mark of punishment on the youth's back...
"I suppose you thought you could just escape a Knight, and not set off their suspicions about what you are? About who you might be?"
These questions, though odd in their phrasing, were unmistakably a challenge. An excuse to punish him, should he answer. But if he didn't, his master might just punish him anyway... It was better to remain silent, as he'd been ordered. Yet, what had he meant when he said 'who'?
And then Raze smiled. It was the one smile he ever showed, it was always cold and cruel to all it graced. And it always meant that the only one who would enjoy what came next, was himself.
"You will be punished for your cowardice, my squire... How you could hesitate after destroying the Galactic's ship, with them all aboard, and then run away from one more person... A Knight!" Raze paused, to take a breath and then said, "You will not leave this island without the proper remorse for your actions!!!"
"Yes, master..."
.
Later...
.
'Master Allan... Please, you need to drink some water.'
The squire who had been hooded since the incident at Iron Island, looked up at his one and only friend, Gallade. It was true, he was feeling very parched from the beating he'd received at behest of his master, but he wasn't yet strong enough to accept the proffered water from his friend. It was still too much to move his arms, and feel the sting on his back from the vicious whipping of his master's Roserade. It's thorns always dug in too deeply for a swift recovery, even with the assistance of ones Aura, it still took days to mend.
"I'm sorry, Gallade, I can't move." Allan's voice was raspy, too, and Gallade sighed
'Try to endure...'
Gallade moved forward and lifted his master's head to the cup of water he'd been trying to get Allan to drink. The pain of being touched was quickly relieved by the flood of sweet water that cooled his dry throat. Not wanting Allan to say anything more, but to rest, Gallade spoke first;
'Master Allan should rest now.'
Smiling as convincingly as he could, Allan lay back and closed his eyes. 'Gallade is the only one who ever does these sorts of things. Master Raze would be furious if he knew I considered listening to Gallade, instead of his orders... How many members of that 'Team Galactic' were actually hurt? ... How many died... I'll be punished again, if Master Raze thinks I failed, or am likely to disobey him...'
It's at times like these that he forces himself to silently recite his mantra; 'What's done is done, and regretting things only slows you down. If I slow down, Gallade and I will never be free.'
.
XXXXXX
.
Riley paused at the Solaceon county line, and looked at the cloudy sky. Lucario, who followed beside him, stopped as well and said;
'After discovering that no one was killed or severely hurt in the explosion, you'd think the sky would be celebrating!' Lucario glared at the storm that had yet to break over their heads
"Yeah, I suppose so..." Lucario turned to him with a concerned expression on her face
'Riley... You've been quiet like this ever since that guy, got away.'
"I have?" Riley was bemused by this(One of his better traits!), "I'm sorry, Lucario... I can't help but wonder if he really is what I suspect."
'If he is, half the Council will have heart attacks!' Lucario tried to sound concerned, but failed due to the humor of how it would look, 'I know it isn't really funny, though.' she tried again, and succeeded
"I know what you mean," Riley smiled, for the first time in three days, "We should keep moving, we're almost there."
They continued walking into the Solaceon Town area, and on to the secret Aura Knight's Headquarters. Within town, they headed over to the Solaceon press house, and walked in. 'Who would've thought that this was the entrance to a secret base, that protects not only Sinnoh, but the world?' Riley thought bemused again, and waving to the papers editor as he passed.
(Alert! A total, 'Team Rocket in Celadon Game Corner', moment!!!)
At the back of the building, Riley lifted the poster describing the work for available trainers, and pushed a button that released a hidden door in the back wall that led underground. People never seemed to wonder why the back wall was so thick. But then again, just because it was flush with the building next door, and anyone who'd been inside both might be able to notice, didn't mean it was obvious from the outside. Only those who payed attention might notice the depth difference. 'How strange to have founded a town unintentionally, just by having these buildings here to conceal our base.' Riley had ruminated about this before, but then it wasn't like it particularly bothered him, so he smiled for the second time that day.
Once at the bottom of the steps, he relied on his Aura senses to see where he was going. After all, you can't conceal a door if it has light shining on the other side, especially at night. And this was also good for young Pages and Squires in-training. If one had to rely on their Aura to see the way forward, eventually they grew used to it, and were able to adapt more easily to the tasks assigned them involving total darkness. Lucario snorted at this sentimentality. She didn't like having to walk in the dark, on a steadily upward sloping path, that eventually led to a door in the continued darkness.
"I know, I know. Just bear with it until we can see again." Riley said in a placating manner
'I see just fine!' Lucario retorted, still in a sour mood herself, apparently, 'I just think that there could be a light, or something, much sooner than after we're actually there!'
"Perhaps to illuminate the door at the end, but then, if someone accidentally found their way down here, they might stumble onto our base as well." He reasoned to the irate Pokemon, "I'm sure you do know where you're going, too... There's no need to resent what happened a long time ago." Riley added as an afterthought
Of course, if he could see beyond his feelings, he might've seen the stoic Pokemon blush, caught remembering her biggest embarrassment about this shadowed path. Soon after, they stopped, and Riley reached out with his hands to push open the final door to A.K. HQ, as many liked to call it. Light flooded the tunnel while they held their eyes closed and stepped though the portal, shutting the door after them.
"Ah! Riley, it's about time you got back!" cried the lady Knight who kept watch over the entrance, alongside her trusty Gardevior
"Sorry we took so long, Saluna. We ended up dragging our feet a bit, after witnessing a terrible explosion."
"I'll bet. It was all over Sinnoh news, and I wouldn't be in the least surprised if it made the news in other regions, too!" Saluna frowned thoughtfully, and then, "You know, Riley, I doubt that they'd ever be that clumsy, even if they are thick in the heads... Better go report to the A.K.C., and be quick about it too, Master Lauren is out for blood, practically!"
"I'll keep that in mind."
As he said this, he headed off to the Councilor's main audience chamber, Lucario close on his heels.
Once outside the very room he needed to enter, he stopped when he heard a loud shout on the other side. The angry voice sounded a lot like the same councilman that Saluna had warned about. 'Geez, she wasn't kidding about Master Lauren!' Riley frowned and looked at his partner, who looked back, equally unsure of what to do next. Taking a calming breath, Riley raised a fist and knocked on the door.
"Who is it!? The only one who should be arriving to make a report, is Riley!" shouted Lauren before the other councilmen could speak
"It is I!" Riley said loudly and clearly, then he opened the door and strode in, "I apologize for taking so long to return, Grand Council."
"Oh, about time..." one of the other members, Lady Sharinn, cried, "I was sure that Master Lauren would finally succeed in making us all deaf!"
"And why would I wish that!?" Lauren responded in turn to this well-meant jibe
"I'm sure Lady Sharinn, was only ribbing you, Lauren."
When the central Councilman spoke, everyone quietened down respectfully, including Lauren. All seven turned to Riley, who bowed just as respectfully to them, and began his report. He described in detail about the steel type Pokemon's distress, and the stranger who had identified the machine responsible and destroyed it, but who was responsible for the explosion of the villain's ship, as well. At the end of his speech, the silence in the room was as heavy as stone, and perhaps just as solid!
"What does this mean?" Lauren said uncharacteristically quiet
"It means, we should have this young man investigated." central councilman Starr replied, "But not with Riley; He has done enough on this case. What say you, Riley, care for a small break to recuperate?"
"Thank you, sir, but I wish to investigate this matter myself." Riley waited at attention, hoping his request would be answered
"But I agree with Master Starr! Riley, you need to rest for a while, and recover from that horrible experience."
Of course. The ever caring, Lady Sharinn, wouldn't hear of overworking any one of the Knights under her. Not while she still had the power, and respect of a great many' opinions. Yet, it all came down to Starr's ruling, and very rarely would his wise decisions be challenged. Only under the agreement of the other six members of the council, and the Knight in question, could those choices be overturned. Riley hoped to have at least two, other than Starr, on his side to defend his request. Master Lauren rose to occasion.
"Why not let him rest a week, and then get right back on it?" he spoke haughtily, "I mean, if the Knight's willing, then why tell him no?"
"Because he has already done significant work on this case, Lauren!"
Uh-oh... When Lady Sharinn starts to pick at the siblings-on-first-name's thing, you know a ping-pong match of sasses and snips is sure to follow! Luckily for Riley, and the other members present, Starr intervened before it could start.
"Now hear this! My decision on the matter will be final!" a momentary silence less heavy that the first, reigned, "Riley, I trust you will not be making this a personal affair... You will take a week to rest, and at the end of it, you will see me in private to discuss your next mission."
"Yes, Master Starr..." understanding that this was a dismissal, Riley turned and left, Lucario following quietly behind
.
XXX
.
Me: Ah, shazbot! I knew this would suck a little in the middle, but to suck a lot! I just hope that I closed this off better than it began... Please... Reviews are the only way for me to know for sure, what I have to improve upon!
Riley: Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad, though I'm not too sure I like being told I have to drop pursuit...
Allan: Ha! You'll never catch me!
Riley: ... Why is he here?
Me: An OC muse is supposed to stick near, so I don't lose focus. And besides, it's not like he wants to be evil.
Riley: I'll concede that, but it doesn't mean I won't pursue him doggedly, until he explains why he attempted to murder several unsuspecting people!
Me/Riley: (Goes off on an argumentative tangent!)
Allan: Um, I guess I'll say it... Review please... I really didn't like blowing them up, even if they are a bunch of jerks, who steal and lie to the people... ( And why does our authoress not seem to get along with Riley?) So, yeah, review!