The Aura is with You

by Lady-Umbreon

Who are the 'Aura Knights', you ask? They are an Elite force of men and women, trained in the use and comprehension of 'Aura'... Rated T! At long last, an update for you dedicated fans of Aura. Sorry for the wait! vnv;

16. Chapter 15

Me: No excuses. This is very long, and detailed. No internet for a little over a week also plays a role in delaying this, but that's irrelevant.

I personally disclaim ownership of Pokémon this time, because I don't want to waste any of your, the readers', time.

I hope you enjoy this latest (and late!) chappy installment... ^-^; I'll have the next one out real soon!

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Chapter Fifteen:

Open Ended

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"Are you going to let us into the building, or not?" an exasperated Riley asked, after Maylene made him promise repeatedly that he would never do anything to get himself kidnapped again.

"Well... Okay. But only because its starting to get stormy again!" Maylene said, rushing into the the entrance of the dorm first, closely followed by her Lucario, Rex.

"She might actually be really in awe of you, Sapphire Knight," Vincent chimed suddenly.

"I'm not- Look, you can call me by my name. I already said this once..." after getting Vincent inside, and making sure Allan had followed, Riley looked straight at Vincent, "Call me, 'Riley'. I don't hold with all those silly nick-names people keep trying to pin on me. I'm really not that great, or special."

"Your reputation begs to differ," Vincent winked at Allan, "I hear you single handedly stopped an avalanche from overtaking a small town. Not to mention that you averted a would-be war between Hoenn, and a lesser country. And let's not forget that you're one of the top three Aura users in the world!"

"Huh? What's he talking about?" Maylene, who'd asked them briefly to wait by the entrance until she brought some towels back to help dry them off, appeared suddenly in a doorway, looking from one guest to the other.

"Er, that's all talk," Riley turned to his young cousin, "Thank you, Maylene. Could we go over to the dorm's bath house to wash up?"

"Sure, but all my gym assistants, and apprentices are there right about now..." Maylene glanced quizzically at Riley's companions, "Neither of them look like they could hold their own if a couple of the guys wanted to get rowdy. And that's not strictly because one of them has a broken leg."

Allan felt a flash of annoyance that a little girl, gym leader sure, but still younger than he, would have the gall to say that after one look at him.

'I should be leaving a more... Well, 'intimidating' impression on her,' Allan thought, turning away from the conversation.

'Intimidating?' Gallade repeated questioningly, 'Not that I don't think you could be frightful if you really wanted to be, Allan, but... You've been thinking and doing a lot of good things lately. You couldn't even scare Budew when you lost your temper with Lucario.'

'I don't give a hoot about that. I just want her to know, or at least respect, that I'm deadlier than any of her black-belt level associates!'

"Are you having an interesting conversation with one of your Pokémon?"

Allan twitched, surprised that someone had been watching him. When he turned to see who had asked, Allan almost grimaced to find that it was Vincent. Allan kept his face blank, though it was still, thankfully, hidden from sight by his hood.

"Or were you just thinking about something?" Vincent seemed genuinely curious, all enmity from earlier forgotten, "Hey, we can go wash up before I get my leg checked out. You wanna help me to get over there? Allan?"

Restraining any overly spiteful words that might've come out of his mouth, Allan instead chose to say, "No thanks. You'll have to find someone else... I don't want to be anywhere near you, or anyone right now."

"Wha?" Vincent gaped.

"Allan!" Riley tried to reach for his shoulder to make him stand still.

Allan dodged this easily, because Vincent was still sitting between the two of them. Making a break for it, Allan leapt back out into the rain, and disappeared among the shrubbery around the dorm's front entrance.

"Allan, come back here!" Riley called, standing just outside the door, "Please. I won't be angry with you over this, just don't make me follow you out into the rain... Because if I have to, I will use my tracking skills to find you."

'I don't want to be found,' Allan thought quietly, 'I just want to be alone right now.'

'Allan, what makes me so different from Vincent?' Gallade asked.

'Why are you asking me something weird like that? You know what makes you different!'

'But he was just trying to be friendly. I have always been friendly with you,' Gallade reached out to Allan with his emotions, 'These interactions he's been having with you are normal. It's true you two didn't get on at first, but now its different. He...'

' 'He', what?' growing disinterested in this exchange, Allan stared through the gaps between the shrub's twistedly weaving branches. He saw the rain pattering in the mud with large splats, and plops.

'He wants to befriend you, Allan.'

Closing his eyes, Allan chose not to respond.

'Don't shut this out, Allan! You aren't expected to become someone else overnight, or anything unreasonable like that, but you have to let these changes happen... You can never know what a more normal life is like if you don't trust this Aura Knight to help you.'

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Meanwhile...

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"Is he nearby?" Vincent asked, from his place on the floor.

"Yes. He didn't go very far at all..." Riley answered, still facing outside.

"I'm not very proficient, yet, at detecting these sorts of things, but... It seems like he's in a lot of emotional turmoil right now," sounding unsure, Vincent trailed off thoughtfully, then he looked up at Riley's back, "Why is he so important anyway? I mean, why is it so important that you keep an eye on him?"

"Sorry. That's confidential until the Council sees fit to inform everyone else... They don't want anyone jumping to any unfair, or negative conclusions."

"Oh, I see," Vincent shrugged, deciding to let it go, "Then he's got something to do with the mission you're on..."

Turning to look at Vincent once before moving beyond the door to seek Allan out, Riley said, "Essentially."

Outside, with an umbrella this time, Riley moved over to the hedge-like bushes that flanked the western side of the building. Walking along them, he sought out Allan's Aura, making carefully sure that he wasn't going to pass by him at any moment. He crouched down next to a particularly scraggly looking bush, and pushed some of the shrubbery aside.

Allan had hidden himself in a surprisingly dry spot, all things about the weather considered, but it was the way Allan was sitting that bothered Riley most. Although Allan had seemed like a proud individual, with every sarcastic word or action he'd taken, right now, he just looked sad and lonely. Keeping his knees drawn up to his chest, Allan seemed to want to hide from the world, covering his head with his hands.

"Allan," Riley said gently, not wanting to scare him off before he could learn what had gone wrong.

"I just want to be alone right now... I'm not running away, Aura Knight." Allan hadn't moved, or looked up.

"I can see that," Riley leaned a bit closer, reaching for Allan's shoulder, "But wouldn't it be better to reflect on anything that's bothering you inside, where it will be drier, and much warmer?"

Seeming to sigh, Allan said, "Its none of your business, but I'm used to these harsh conditions."

Riley was glad for the clue, but still didn't think he should just leave Allan out in the rain. He tried again, "Maybe that's so, but you don't have to stay out here," Riley laid his hand gently on Allan's shoulder, "You don't even have to share a room with me, or Vincent, or anyone, if it would help you to relax somewhat. This gym's dorm is big enough for that."

"Even if you mean well, I don't like feeling confined," Allan answered, finally raising his head to look at Riley.

"I have no intention of trapping you against your will," speaking almost sternly, Riley said, "I won't make you go anywhere you don't want to go. But I may have to, if you can't find it in yourself to trust me."

Allan looked down again. He said, "You know, I never actually got around to washing up after I got away from you at the Pokémon Center."

Surprised by this sudden gleam of humor, Riley chuckled and said, "You know what? I didn't figure you did."

"That bath house you mentioned, though... Isn't there someplace I could go that's more private?" Allan's Aura showed true; he was not going to run, and he was genuinely worried about his privacy.

"Well, I don't know," Riley stood up, and straightened his hat, "I do know that there are a couple smaller bathing areas in the bath house. But the most secluded ones are for family, and relatives of the gym leader, only."

Noticing Allan's concealed disappointment, Riley added, "But I'm sure Maylene would make an exception in your case, if you at least ask her for yourself."

Riley sighed when he saw that Allan still wasn't happy with the arrangements, but at this point, there was very little he could do to make it better for everyone. Deciding this wasn't something he should dwell on, Riley held the umbrella between the two of them, and walked back to the dorm alongside Allan.

Inside the dorm's entrance, Riley saw that Vincent had been moved elsewhere. In a way, he was grateful, because it meant he wouldn't have to mediate any disagreements Allan might have with the spunky young Squire.

Deciding to let Allan take his time at the entrance, Riley moved further into the hall leading to some of the living areas, and entertainment rooms.

Allan took a closer look at his surroundings. The wooden floor, beyond a small four-by-six foot square of stone tile-work, was raised a few inches above the entrance by the door. A tall shelf full of cubbyholes took up the right-hand wall. Many pairs of shoes were being stored in these 'cubbies', and a basket that held several pairs of guest slippers, wrapped in clear plastic so that they didn't get dusty, was set on the ground in front of the shelf.

'Well, there isn't a big sign saying so, or anything, but it would seem that the polite thing to do here, would be to remove your shoes before you go any farther, Allan,' Gallade said lightly.

'I know,' Allan seated himself on the slight ledge that made up the floor beyond the front door, and proceeded to remove his boots, 'I wasn't not paying attention. I did see Riley remove his shoes here... I also heard him when he said Maylene put the basket out especially for our use. Vincent, and me, that is.'

'Hey... You said Vincent's name...' Gallade was mystified, 'You even said Maylene's name, and she was part of what put you in a bad mood a bit ago!'

'Get over it, or I'm not letting you out of your Pokéball to walk with me.'

'Alright, I'm sorry, Allan. I just think that that's good. That you might be able to truly relax a bit while we're here for the time being.'

Holding up Gallade's Pokéball, Allan freed the chivalry Pokémon from it's binding embrace. Gallade stretched, and loosened himself up, while Allan finished putting away his traveling boots. Looking up when he sensed he was being watched, Gallade's eyes met Rex's, and the two Pokémon sized each other up.

'Your Aura says you're tough,' Rex said, leaning against a door frame.

'As does yours,' Gallade answered in turn.

"You two can sniff each other's butts later," Allan said, walking past Rex breezily.

Looking embarrassed, Gallade followed Allan in a perturbed state of mind.

'Wh-what was that?' Gallade finally asked, when he and Allan had put some distance between the front door and themselves.

"If you want to spar with that Lucario, then you'll have to do it later. Right now, we need to focus on trying to get a private area for me to clean up at."

'Alright, Allan,' the Pokémon finally nodded, 'I know you're not a neat-freak, but I feel the same way. Not having a bath for nearly a week is making me feel itchy!'

"And then some," Allan replied, nodding as well.

Noticing that Riley and Maylene were waiting for them in a room just off the hall, Allan turned there, and went in, Gallade trailing closely behind.

"So you decided to show up," Maylene said, grinning ear to ear when she caught sight of Gallade, "He's a fighting type! The same as my gym's specialty!"

Gallade put a hand over his heart, and bowed forward respectfully.

"I told Maylene a little bit of what I know of your circumstances, but I'm afraid that it wasn't much," Riley said apologetically.

"I don't really expect you to know much of anything, anyway," Allan sighed.

"So is there any particular reason you need someplace private to clean up?" Maylene asked, getting straight to the point.

"None that I can explain openly," Allan answered in a guarded tone.

"Could you take off your hood? One, you're indoors. Two, I like to know the face of someone I'm talking to... Especially if they're asking me a favor!" Maylene folded her arms, and frowned unhappily.

"Um, sorry, Maylene. That's my fault," Riley spoke up, "I should've explained that he's not very trusting, and that you'll have to forgive him this... Quirk. Not even I know what his face looks like."

"And why not? He's traveling with you now, isn't he?" Maylene turned her frown on Riley, and continued by saying, "I have a right to know the face of anyone I accept into my home."

"Then I relinquish my familial rights to privacy, to him," Riley actually sounded a little flustered as he said this. Calming himself, he added, "Listen, Maylene. We've both had a rough week. Just give us a break, no questions asked. I promise I'll make it up to you, but for now, he needs to be allowed his secrets."

"Well..." Maylene looked from one to the other doubtfully. Finally, "I guess I can let it slide... But only if Rex and I get to battle you and Lucario. I'd like to battle that Gallade, too, but I know you'll have to leave here as soon as you're all rested and ready for more traveling tomorrow."

'Battle a gym leader, and her partner?' Gallade glanced at Allan questioningly, 'But why does it seem like the Aura Knight is trying really hard to keep you happy?'

'Who knows...' Allan half-shrugged, 'I already promised I wasn't going to run away, and it fits into my plans that he's trying to lead me somewhere... Wherever that is.'

Riley signaled for Allan to follow him into the hall, then stepped past him and Gallade taking a right in the hall.

"You must have a really powerful mind," Riley said quietly, as he led Allan a little further into the dorm's living quarters, "My master used to say that it takes a lot of skill, and self discipline, to maintain a continuous telepathic conversation with one's partner... It was just one of those skills that is difficult for many, but that a select few can accomplish easily. I guess it didn't come so easily to him, as it did me."

Allan chose not to respond, even though he and Riley were nearly side by side. Riley turned his head to glance at Allan, and Allan turned himself away.

Sighing, Riley spoke again to keep up his end of the conversation, "What I can't figure out, though, is why you frequently do this around me, when I could easily poke in to eavesdrop. I'm one of the few that can maintain long conversations, myself."

Still not responding, Allan thought to himself, 'You do that, and we will both know. You do that, and I will run away. Respect my privacy, and I might just stick around long enough to gloat at your weaknesses.'

'Allan, that's not very nice,' Gallade complained.

Ignoring this remark, Allan chose to remain silent in both means.

Stopping at an open doorway that had a loosely hanging curtain that came down almost half way with the words, 'Bath', and 'House' on their segments, Riley said, "Allan, we'll have to pass through this section of the bath house to reach the private rooms at the back," he turned to look at Allan, "You won't be bothered by the other members of this dorm, I hope. But many of them are... Garrulous, I guess you could say. So try not to, ah, lose your patience with them if they talk to you..."

Trailing off, Riley seemed to shift his feet awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand, then straightened up, "Yeah, I just wanted to give you fair warning in advance. Let's go."

Before passing through the curtain, Allan had noted that there was more than the sound of running water going on here. Many voices in active conversation were either chattering away, or breaking off to have a laugh at a remark one of their friends had made. As Riley had stated; many of the men in this dorm were very "garrulous".

Stepping into the steamy atmosphere, Allan followed Riley carefully, keeping an eye out for sudden puddles that could make him slip up, or some other hazard to that effect. A few of the men in the room quieted down to turn and look at the intruders. None of them seemed overly bothered by the intrusion, though all of them were wearing little more than a small towel wrapped around the waist.

Feeling just the least bit awkward, Allan thought, 'Okay, we're all male here, but that doesn't change the fact that this type of communal behavior is weird.'

'Maybe that's just how people outside of Spire Island live,' Gallade reasoned.

'You won't catch me acting like that, normal or not!' Allan restrained a shudder.

Gallade rolled his eyes, 'Humans shouldn't be so concerned about what they look like. You all look pretty much the same to me. But there are differences. These differences are what make humans interesting... To me, at least.'

'Well you can keep your opinions on that matter to yourself,' Allan sidestepped a bar of soap, and kept walking after Riley, 'Being in a room with a bunch of naked guys is the last thing on my, 'fun things to do' list.'

"Hey, kid! You look a little funny walking around with a hood up. You know we're inside, away from the rain, right?" one of the larger men called out.

A couple of his buddies chuckled at this, but one of them said, "Ah, leave it. If he wants to be 'Little Red Riding Hood' while he's here, he can be my guest."

"His hood ain't even red, though," another one chimed in, "'Course, we could just take his an' dye it, if we want it to be."

After another round of laughs at Allan's expense, they turned back to their original topic of discussion, involving one the guy's failed lock holds during a sparring match.

Beyond another curtained door, Riley stopped and said, "Are you alright? They didn't say anything to upset you badly, did they?"

Frowning at Riley's ridiculous concern, Allan said quietly, "Hardly. That's nothing compared to what I get back home."

"You sure?" Riley pressed.

"You can back off, Mother Hen," Allan took a step back himself, "I'm fine, and I won't be running away again... Not very far, at least."

"Oh..." Riley's cheeks turned pink, "Sorry. I've been told I'm a worry wart, but..." he laughed nervously, "I guess it's a relief to know you don't plan on going anywhere by yourself."

"You're weird," Allan frowned.

"What can I say? I'm a caring person, and..." Riley fiddled with his coat hem, "I guess I really don't like seeing you unhappy."

Realizing what he'd said, Riley's face redefined the color 'red', and he stammered out, "Ah, um, that is... Uh, well, you just... Um... Yeah! You seem like you're really lonely!" he said, when he finally remembered what he was trying to say.

"I restate myself: You're weird."

Allan passed Riley, and examined one of the three curtained doorways. Just inside the room, there was an open shower station. Further past that, there was a low shelf set next to a sunken bath tub. On the other side of the tub was a large, full wall size, window that faced the garden outside.

Wondering if there was a proper door on anything in this bath house, Allan turned to Riley, and asked, "Are there at least privacy screens, to keep out prying eyes?"

Blinking, Riley answered, "Yes, there are. In fact, if you'll look, there are at least two per bathroom in the closets on the right."

Stepping inside the room Allan had been examining, Riley opened the closet and said, "Ah-ha! Here they are," he pulled one out to show Allan, "These fold up to prevent taking up too much space. Just put 'em away after you're done, and Maylene won't have a problem with you using them."

"There's one other thing..." Allan shifted uncomfortably.

"What is it?" Riley asked.

'I think Allan will need to borrow some clothes until his are washed," Gallade supplied, when Allan took too long to answer in his own words.

"Oh," Riley nodded thoughtfully, "I can go get you a guest kimono, if you wouldn't mind something like that."

'Kimono?' Gallade cocked his head to one side, 'What's that? Some kind of... Clothes?'

"It's a robe," Allan muttered under his breath, having known what that was since his expedition in Kanto.

'Oh, that thing...' Gallade fidgeted with his hands, remembering why Allan disliked that particular garment, 'Sorry, Allan. I forgot.'

"Forgot what?" Riley asked, looking between the two of them.

Squeezing a fist out of site, Allan said monotonously, "Never mind. Its fine. You can go get that... Please..."

Popping out of her Pokéball right then, Lucario asked, 'What's wrong with a kimono? You have an embarrassing experience while wearing one?'

Allan turned frustratedly away, and Gallade said, 'Surmise to say it was much worse...'

Striding into his chosen room, Allan had a seat on a bench, and waited for Riley to go get the kimono. Gallade had followed, and was now fidgeting even more uncomfortably than before.

"What?" Allan growled at the Pokémon.

'Um, no,' Gallade was rubbing his forehead as he said, 'That is... I guess I completely forgot about that incident, and everything related to it.'

"Yeah? Well you can forget it again. It will never happen again, so there's no need to worry about it!" Allan turned away from his partner, and watched the rain falling outside.

'Are you sure you're going to be comfortable wearing one, though?' Gallade persisted.

"Look, that was a year ago. And unlike my problems with lit candles, at least I'm old enough to make sense of that... Situation." Allan looked down at his feet, and heaved a sigh.

'Right...' Gallade looked at the doorway sadly.

"Allan, I've brought the kimono. Do you need anything else?" Riley said as he walked into the bathroom to lay the garment on the bench next to Allan.

"No, not that I could think of..." Allan said, looking around to be sure.

'Um, do you have ointments for treating cuts and bruises?' Gallade asked, facing Riley.

"Why would you need something like that?" Riley asked curiously.

"You couldn't possibly be injured by anything," Allan said, standing up to examine Gallade.

'No, not for me...' Gallade answered, looking Allan in the eye meaningfully.

"You're hurt?" Riley said in shocked surprise, taking a step closer to Allan.

"That's for me to know, and you to never learn," Allan evaded.

"That's not okay, Allan!" Riley said sternly, "You need to tell me why Gallade wants those healing ointments!"

'Guess telling him about me not running away anytime soon was a mistake,' Allan thought regretfully.

"Allan," Riley softened his tone, "Please tell me. Are you hurt?"

'He'd probably flip out if I told him that the only reason I am hurt, is because I didn't kill him on Iron Island,' taking a step back, Allan moved behind Gallade, and said, "It's none of your business, Aura Knight."

"My name is, 'Riley'," seeming frustrated now, Riley put his right hand on his forehead, and rubbed it, "And it is my business... If not now, it will be soon. I want an answer, and even if you don't give it to me today, you will tell me eventually."

"If you aren't going to help Gallade by carrying out his simple request, then leave. I've got no more need of you."

"That-!" Riley began in an attempt to put his foot down, but Allan cut him off.

"I am not arguing with you, Knight! Leave me be!" Allan yelled, turning away.

Standing as though he were seriously considering objecting to Allan's behavior again, Riley inhaled deeply, then released that breath, along with all his frustrated anger. He left, with Lucario following along obediently.

"Because it is not your business if I failed to do the worst possible thing when we first met," Allan whispered, to be sure that any eavesdropper listening would be thrown just long enough to give himself away.

'M-, no,' Gallade paused before trying again, 'Allan. I want to understand something.'

"What?" Allan did not feel like being interrogated, but figured he had enough remaining energy, and patience, to handle another couple of questions before he lost himself in a long, hot bath.

'I don't understand why we couldn't at least tell Riley what your injuries were. Why was it so important that he not find out? I could sense that much in your evasive answers...' Gallade moved toward the closet to grab out some of the privacy screens.

"If he knew what they were, he would not be satisfied until he learned what caused them. You understand that these 'cuts and bruises' aren't normal injuries, by anyone's standards?" Allan stood up, and moved over to the shower first, to make certain the water was warm before he began undressing himself.

'Perhaps,' placing the one of the screens near the bathroom door, Gallade straightened up, and turned to Allan, 'But it didn't seem fair to cut him out after all the help he was trying to give you... We could be little more than his prisoners right now, but he's treating you, us, like equals.'

"Even still, I have to be vigilant. I know you don't fully grasp why that may be, but I promise you, Gallade, that I will tell you why in time," shaking the water on his left hand off, Allan turned to the Pokémon, "Can I trust you to at least keep my secrets? Until I explain everything?"

'Yes, Allan... And I will guard this room while you take care of business,' sighing, Gallade turned to his task, allowing his sensitivity to the Aura's of all living things to consume him in meditation.

No one was near. Allan was safe. The Pokémon sighed once more as he settled into a more comfortable seated position, floating three feet from the bathroom floor.

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Nearly an hour later...

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Riley stood, pacing outside Allan's chosen bathing area, wearing a bathrobe of his own. Lucario was still grooming her tail, glad of the bath she had been able to take. Maylene had been by to say that she was sorry for giving Riley, and his charge, a hard time before, and said she would understand if he didn't want to battle because time was against him.

"No, Maylene, I really would appreciate being able to postpone the match," he'd said.

"I see," she responded sadly, "Well, just don't forget to drop by when you're in the area again..."

So saying, she left Riley to await Allan's return from the land of cleanliness. Stopping for moment to think, Riley looked at the bathroom doorway in time to see the screen being pulled back and folded. Allan was folding up the screens, while Gallade held the closet door. Both looked relieved to have taken baths. Or at least, Gallade did. Allan was wearing his cloak and hood again. But from the bundle that now sat on the bathroom bench, Riley saw that Allan had accepted wearing the kimono until his clothes were washed.

"Do you both feel somewhat better?" Riley asked after they finished putting the screens away.

"Enough so, that I won't have to bother you about it again for a month," Allan said, sounding as though he was in a much better mood. It didn't seem like a sarcastic remark, anyway.

'Then I guess we'll have to show you where the mess is, right 'sirs'?' Lucario said, batting her eyes with complete, and total sarcasm.

"Even if I were hungry right now, I would much rather find out what happened to that clumsy oaf," Allan answered.

"You mean, Vincent? You actually care what happens to him from here onward?" said a bemused Riley.

"Not really. But it should be good for a laugh," Allan moved past Riley, and made for the main hallway on the other side of the bathhouse.

Flabbergasted by Allan's response, Riley put both of his hands to his head to rub his temples. 'What's it going to take to make him more civil?' he thought woefully, as he followed Allan out.

'I don't know, a beating, maybe?' Lucario suggested vindictively, unhappy that Riley was saying very little in the way of verbal self defense against Allan's constant assault.

She was finding it difficult to believe that Allan would try to hide so much, even after all that had happened on the way to Veilstone city. On the other hand, how much did she really know about him...? 'Just that he's maybe on our side...' she answered herself, solemnly.

"What?" Riley said, breaking in on her thoughts.

'Nothing, Riley. I'm just thinking about ways to punish him once I have the chance,' the Pokémon answered easily, 'Besides, you can't be happy with what's been going on, since he's been around.'

"Well, no. You're right that I'm not the least bit happy with the way he's been treating me, and the others he has to interact with..." Riley drew a breath, "But that doesn't mean I think he should be punished for it yet. It's possible that..."

'Possible that, what?' Lucario asked.

Sighing, Riley said, "I don't know. It's just possible that he doesn't know any other way to act around people. Given his possible... Background."

'That's assuming too much, Riley... We might have the authority to ask, but only the AKC is likely to get an answer out of him, during any sort of interrogation.'

"Are 'you two' enjoying your conversation?" Allan interrupted, when they arrived at the main hall.

"Sorry. What were you asking?" when he didn't understand what Allan had said, Riley looked at him in confusion.

"Look," Allan said, gathering his thoughts, "We've both had a long day. As important as it is to have a proper meal no less than three times during, I really don't feel like eating anything right now..."

"But I thought you said you were feeling better after the bath," Riley's confusion continued.

Allan looked at Riley carefully, sizing him up before he answered. After a long silence, Allan said, "What sort of training do Aura Knights go through, to be able to withstand the constant berating I've given you... I'm sorry for the way I was treating you earlier, but I need to make something clear. I'm not going to be your friend, ally, or even your informant for things you do not understand," Allan, still hiding his face, seemed to be looking at Riley's eyes. A very risky thing for anyone to do when facing down an Aura Knight, as it makes their task of looking into your very soul a simple matter. Allan kept talking, "What you choose to do with me from here on out will be up to you, but I don't plan on surrendering without a fight toward the end of our little journey together... Wherever you plan on taking me. So don't expect me to hold back: Taking your life is going to be my one goal when the fight begins."

At the end of this speech, Riley felt a familiar tingle at the back of his head, that alerted him to the truth of Allan's deadly words. Whatever else Allan might be feeling, the threat he'd made, here and now, was real. Riley felt at a loss for what to say. Lucario seemed to be bristling in an angry rage over Allan's warning. Riley could feel her anger prickling against his skin, where she stood next to him. In spite of this, Riley felt he should say something positive. Something nice, to relieve the tension that was now suffocating their part of the hallway.

"But are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" Riley asked.

Allan twitched, as though truly taken aback by Riley's resolve to be kind to him, despite the harsh things he'd said. Looking away finally, Allan said, "No. I just want to sleep..."

"Okay," Riley replied, with a small smile, "You said you only want to take my life toward the end of the journey, so I know it will be fine if we share a room. Besides, I'll let you know when we're almost there, so you can take your best crack at me."

"Whether you tell me or not, I'll know... But for now, point me to the nearest bed." Allan conceded to his need to sleep, and followed Riley without making another wayward sound.

Both Pokémon companions had been silent for a long time. Although Lucario, and Gallade, had become fast friends, it was clear that they were going to do battle with the same resolve as their human partners. For now, they could wonder sadly at the circumstances that had brought the situation to this. But come the moment that the life or death fight begins, all feelings of sadness, or kinship, would have to be left behind. Their sworn duty to their human partners would deny any other course of action as a disgrace.

Looking up at the door Riley, Allan, and Lucario had passed through, Gallade saw that they were in a more private area of the dorms. Inside, there was only one king-sized bed. Large enough to keep Allan and Riley at more than arm's length, but still...

'Allan, these arrangements are...'

'I know, Gallade. Awkward at best... But I'll get over it.' Allan responded in telepathy, then said aloud, "Knight... Could I ask that you feed my partners?"

"How many do you have?" Riley asked, after assuring with his eyes that the bed was definitely large enough to keep them apart.

"Just Gallade, and Lapras." Allan replied automatically, but then, "No, there's one more..."

"One more? What is it?" Riley prodded, not happy that this last partner could end up being a very nasty Pokémon, indeed, if Allan didn't at least forewarn how to handle it.

"He's a new edition. I may as well introduce you, so that there's no confusion when you take him for feeding," Allan said, pulling out a Pokéball.

"Baaaaah! Bahdew!" the little Pokémon said fiercely, thinking he'd been summoned for a battle, and that he had to be tough sounding to impress everyone.

Stupefied for a moment, Riley put a hand in front of his mouth as he tried to suppress himself from laughing out loud. 'A Budew?' he thought, 'That's kinda cute, but hilarious at the same time!'

"Bah-budew?" it said, peering up at Riley with an affronted look on it's face.

"You're going with him to get some food. I need to sleep," Allan said, waving a hand disinterestedly, flopping onto the bed face down. Burying his face in his chosen pillow.

"Bahdew!" clearly shocked by the turn of events, Budew hopped up and down frantically, trying to get Allan's attention.

'So you let him join your team after all...' Lucario sounded both impressed, and mystified.

"What? Lucario, what does that mean?" Riley asked, still out of the loop on certain matters.

'Um, Allan wants to sleep just now, and he gets little enough as it is, so...' Gallade trailed off awkwardly.

"Alright, dammit!" Allan burst out suddenly, making all in the room freeze in surprise, "I'm still not hungry," he added in a more reasonable tone, "But the Budew only joined me because it wouldn't leave me alone... It also helped in the fight against that Team Galactic guy. More important than any of that, though, is the fact that it made a solid life decision. If it had not, I would've found a way to abandon it somewhere safe."

"So the Budew is with you now, because it proved it could handle your lifestyle? Whatever that is..." Riley glanced at the Budew with a serious expression, "Before you sleep, Allan, could you at least tell me how you managed to befriend a rare, differently colored Budew?"

"Differently colored?" Allan said, sitting up to glare at Riley impatiently.

"Yes, it has different coloration traits than any other Budew I have seen out there across Sinnoh," Riley answered sincerely.

"Could we stop talking, and let me sleep already?" Allan asked, after thinking for a minute about what Riley said.

Riley sighed, "Alright, fine."

.

At dinner...

.

'...So that's the gist of what I learned out there on the hills between Solaceon, and Veilstone city,' Lucario said, finishing off her Pokéchow.

"And that's why Budew is with Allan now?" Riley asked, glancing at Gallade.

'Basically,' the Pokémon supplied in answer, 'Though Allan didn't actually allow Budew to join until after we escaped from the Pokémon Center.'

"Ah..." Riley said, looking down at his plate of half eaten food, "If that's what went down on those foothills, Allan should be feeling hungrier than a freshly woken Snorlax... How can he stand it? He's just a kid..."

'Teenager, for your information. And starving on the brink of death is normal for-Ahm-no! That's none of-...' Gallade swiftly turned away, ashamed that he'd started acting friendly with them out of turn.

"I'm bringing him some food," Riley stood up with a determined gleam in his eyes, "Whether he eats it, or not, is up to him. But still..."

'I'm with you, Riley,' Lucario said, standing up as well.

"Bud-badew?" Budew, who'd been eating his own food gladly up to that point, also stood up, but with a confused expression on his tiny face.

'They may be right, Gallade. We can't help Allan any more than he'll let us... But we can still try when its really important,' Lapras chimed in, approving the force-feeding plan Riley and Lucario were thinking up.

'Allan will not be happy...' Gallade stared down at the table, 'He's probably trying to recharge himself after all that effort,' he turned his eyes to Riley, 'I... Allan needs his sleep first. Please let him.'

"Don't worry. I just want him to eat immediately after he wakes up," Riley nodded to reassure his audience of Pokémon. Then thought how strange this would seem to an ordinary person.

'You never thought talking to me was strange!' Lucario protested unhappily.

"No, that's just..." Riley smiled sheepishly, "I never expected to have the loyalties of a part-time enemy's Pokémon. Just talking to you all at large is... Well, wonderful, in a sense."

'Loyalty? No...' Lapras shook his head slowly, 'You only have our approval to help our friend, and master. Nothing more. Although you do have my thanks for taking care of us for his sake.'

"Badew! Budew!" hopping up and down to emphasize his enthusiasm, Budew rammed his head into Riley's chest, winding him, and causing Gallade to catch the smaller Pokémon while making embarrassed apologies.

Smiling, the little Pokémon continued to coo his happiness, even as Gallade told him off for tackling Riley in the chest.

.

Later...

.

Arriving at the room shortly after 10 pm, Riley set the tray bearing the food aside on the bedside table. Careful not to look too closely at his charge, Riley noticed that Allan's hood had fallen back again.

'Again... Is fate trying to make me break my promise to him? I cannot violate his privacy so easily...' reaching over to the hood's hem, Riley slowly pulled it back into place. Doing his utmost to make certain Allan did not wake up right then.

Allan shifted in his sleep, rolling onto his side, and Riley's heart jumped into his throat. Backing off, he took a slow, steadying breath, then moved around to his side of the bed. Standing with his back to it, Riley wondered, 'Why am I acting so nervous? This is ridiculous...' he glanced back at Allan, who was still very much dead to the world, 'Its not like anything big is going to happen, and not like he'll kill me in my sleep...' Riley shook his head to rid himself of the thought, 'He promised he would only make that attempt at the last moment of our journey to the AKHQ...'

Deciding that these wild notions, and paranoid thoughts, were useless, Riley slipped into the bed with his back to Allan. Yawning, Riley's last thought before sleep overcame him was, 'Well, nothing bad happened yet, so this might actually be okay... For now...'

.

The next morning...

.

'We're sorry to say, Riley, that no amount of investigation is helping anything...'

No...

'You're going to have to face the reality that your baby brother is... Gone...'

Never! We can't quit... One more day... One more clue! That's all we need, please! Just don't let him go like that... We can still find him...

Feeling himself breaking out in a cold sweat, Riley tossed and turned, trying vainly to catch hold of his baby brother's image. Wishing anything that he could save him from the fire that destroyed his parent's flower shop.

Suddenly, Riley felt himself punched in the shoulder, and realized he was having a nightmare, just in time to focus on what Allan was saying, "You dumbass! You weigh a ton! Get off of me!"

"Crap! Sorry, Allan! I, um," Riley only made a halfway attempt to move himself off of Allan, but was out of it enough to not notice that he was still pretty much squishing his charge.

"Just get off, or I'll make you get off, Aura Knight!" Allan struggled to be free of the bed, and added while he was at it, "Do you get your kicks laying on top of younger men, or are you just weird?"

Finally waking up fully, Riley swiftly moved himself to his own side of the bed, then apologized again, feeling completely stupid, "Sorry, Allan... I was just trying to figure something out..."

"That's nice. But could you do me a favor, and sit on an actual meditation rock next time?" Allan's voice was very strained with suppressed frustration as he said this.

"Sorry," Riley said again, looking down at his folded hands, "I know I should've moved immediately, but... I had to hold on to a nightmare I was having. Had to try to decipher it quickly, if I could..."

"And that nightmare is something you want to remember, why?" Allan asked, his tone filled with annoyed disbelief, as he slid off the bed to get away from Riley's reach, in case he was just playing his true intentions down to lower Allan's guard.

"Really, Allan. I mean it," Riley hopped out of the bed quickly to make his point, "I'm sorry for sitting on you longer than I should have... Its not likely to happen again anytime soon, either."

"I should hope not," glancing over to the bedside table, Allan noticed the tray that held the food Riley had brought in last night, "What's this?"

"Ahm, I guess its your breakfast?" Riley didn't sound too sure, despite the fact that he'd placed the tray himself, just last night.

Popping out of her Pokéball right at that instant, Lucario practically bellowed in a singsong voice, 'Good morning, good morning, good mooooorniiiiinnggg!'

After a long drawn out silence, Allan said slowly, "Has your partner gone mad?"

"She does that every once in a while..." Riley answered under his breath.

'Please,' Lucario rolled her eyes, 'I sensed how affectionate you two were being earlier. You can't pull one over on me!'

"'Affectionate'? You call his attempt at smothering me, 'affectionate'?" Allan could only shake his head as he turned away from the two who were supposed to be his captors. 'There is no way they'll be able to defeat me when it comes time for me to make a last stand...'

.

Much later...

.

Even on the way to Solaceon town, Allan, with Gallade and Budew trekking at his side, did not feel like saying much. The day just did not start off the way Allan would have preferred it, what with nearly being crushed by an air-headed Aura Knight, topped off by a presumptuous Pokémon partner's opinion.

"... Either way, Lucario, we weren't doing anything that-that weird," Riley was trying to explain that he'd somehow rolled on top of Allan by mistake... An excuse Lucario didn't seem to be buying into.

'From where I was sitting, it looked like you two were finally warming up to one another,' Lucario lithely jumped ahead, and faced them walking backwards on the trail, 'What is so wrong with you two cuddling up to each other? We Pokémon do that sort of thing all the time, you know.'

"Yeah? Well human beings don't..." Riley said, blushing in spite of the unimpressed stare he was giving Lucario.

"Budew! Bud bud, budew!" : 'Whatever you're talking about... I'm gonna be the first to battle anything that comes to attack my hero-friend!'

'I'm sure you will,' Gallade smiled.

'You know, Allan doesn't look too fierce with that little pipsqueak following him around... Not that he looked particularly tough to begin with!' Lucario snickered, walking beside Riley again.

Taking a left fork he knew would lead them through some ancient ruins, Allan leapt swiftly up to higher ground, leaving the rest of the group momentarily behind.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Riley called, quickly closing the small gap that had formed between his, and Allan's groups, "This trail is too treacherous for an average hike. We should take the normal route further north!"

"I'm not interested in taking my time, Aura Knight. I've wasted enough time as it is, saving your butt. If you want to travel with me, you're going to have to get used to every back trail I can find!" Allan called back, leaping up another ledge.

Playing 'catch up' again, Riley followed as quickly as he could wondering, 'If he's as worn down as Lucario and Gallade suggest, then we should be trying to go somewhere easier, for his health's sake!'

'I hear you, Riley. But it looks like we get an easy-win fight this time,' Lucario said, having read Riley's mind.

Further up ahead, Allan turned a bend around the hill they were scaling, and was temporarily out of sight until...

"Dammit!"

"Allan!" rushing now, Riley turned the corner on the slope, "What the?"

Before them both, a huge mudslide was blocking the trail. Allan punched the pile angrily, "This must have happened during yesterday's storm!"

"Must have..." Riley agreed, eying the situation critically, "Should we consider another route? We made a lot of progress following this trail at your pace, but its not too late to turn back and travel on the northern route."

"Its not too late for you to shut up about that open, well traveled, easy road, either," Allan growled testily.

'Oooh, we're so scared!' Lucario faked a terrorized look, and then said on a more serious note, 'Do you see any other way? Riley may be right about this... There were no forks leading up to this point, other than the one that takes us back to that, 'easy road', you're trying dearly to avoid.'

"Why do you want to stay off the main roads, come to think of it?" Riley asked quizzically.

"How about I answer when you best me in mortal combat," Allan folded his arms impatiently, "That is only going to take place when we are near the secret headquarters of you Aura Knights, wherever that is, and only when we're in a place of secrecy."

'Thats a lot of 'secrets',' Lucario smirked.

"Why are you so sure that we must fight about this?" Riley said, starting to get a little upset, "Why are you so determined that you should either kill me, or get seriously beaten up in the attempt?"

Checking his surroundings, Allan, keeping his senses alert, motioned for Riley to step closer. Unsure about Allan's sudden careful behavior, Riley moved cautiously closer.

When Riley was close enough to brush shoulders with him, Allan whispered flatly, "Not that its any of your business, but I want it to look believable."

Riley snorted, clapping a hand over his mouth to suppress a fit of laughter that wanted to burst free. From Allan's tone, to his secretive behaviorisms, the whole situation suddenly seemed humorous. Coming back to himself, while fighting off some remaining giggles, Riley whispered, "Believable? That's a bit much, Allan."

Allan seemed to roll his eyes, then moved over to the mound of fallen earth, looking for a way to bypass the heap of dirt, and plant matter.

"Allan," Riley reached his hand out, then thought better of trying to touch Allan on the shoulder, "What do you want me to think of you? Nothing you've said, or done so far, has made much sense... I don't understand much of anything, anymore."

"Its none of your business," Allan glanced back over his shoulder as he said this, but in a much nicer tone than he'd been using on Riley.

Finding what he'd been after, Allan stepped up onto the pile of dirt and debris. Although shaky at first, he found solid purchase on the loose scree, and made his way up to the top of the pile without once slipping up. Gallade picked up Budew, and got to the top in less time. Lucario looked back at Riley with an exasperated attitude, then moved to follow the others who were already on the other side. Deciding that it was too late to turn back now, Riley went over the mudslide last, carefully sliding down the other side to join up with the group that had made it to solid ground.

'Welcome back,' Lucario said flippantly, 'When are you going to draw the line with this jerk?'

"Don't think I won't make my point, Lucario. Its just a matter of time," Riley answered calmly.

'So these are a part of the Solaceon ruins?' Gallade asked, staring at the gorge that appeared to have been partially excavated.

"Yes, this place certainly looks like it," glancing ahead, Riley saw that Allan was already making his way forward, as though guided by an invisible force, 'Does he sense the concentration of powerful Auras?'

'I wouldn't be the least bit surprised,' Lucario answered in a shrugging tone, 'I could feel them before we made it to that mudslide we somehow crossed.'

"But he shouldn't be so aware," Riley jogged to catch Allan up for the third time that day, "His Aura should still be feeling hugely depleted."

"Your constant underestimation is starting to piss me off!" Allan said, turning sharply to face Riley, "You have no idea of the things I have to be able to survive, so shut up about what you don't understand!"

Allan's sudden stop almost had Riley tripping up. Again, Riley was led to wonder why he should be surprised by anything Allan was capable of, after all, Allan had proven time and again that he was quite a bit more Aura proficient than most kids his age. But then again, it was also unreasonable to push one's Aura this hard, simply because it was what one was used to.

Voicing his opinion, Riley said, "I think we should both take a meditation break. I need to come to terms with some things, and you need to gather enough energy to resist your cranky nature," he wrinkled his nose humorously, "Its not very becoming."

Allan didn't waste a beat, "You can stay behind if you wish, but I'm going."

Sighing, Riley dropped his notion that he could convince Allan anything, and trailed along behind their traveling party.

Nearly an hour later, the sun was sailing to it's afternoon position, allowing their trail around the southern side of the small canyon to cool somewhat. Budew seemed a little put out that the sun was going away just when things were starting to feel really fun. By 'fun' he means 'edgy'. 'Edgy' as in, the cliff side trail they were on was narrowing out to the point where they had to pass certain points one after the other more slowly.

"At least there isn't some sheer drop to worry about, but the trail is still much easier up here, despite the sudden increase in difficulty," Riley muttered gruffly, careful to avoid any loose stones that might give way near the ledge.

'No sheer drop? The floor of the gorge below looks like its at least twenty five yards down!' Lucario snipped unhappily, 'If that doesn't look like a sheer drop to you, then you better get some glasses that improve your farsightedness, because that's a lot further down than it seems!'

"You two can argue over here, where there's a lot more ledge to stand on," Allan called back, making Lucario grunt her relief.

'Finally! I was starting to think that we were never going to make it to more solid footing!' leaping onto the wider portion of the ledge with a flourish, Lucario raised her paws to the sky, and cried out, 'Thank Arceus for the mercy of the ground beneath our feet!'

'You must not like heights,' Gallade blinked, letting Budew hop out of his arms.

"She's the bravest of her kind," Riley said, bringing up the rear, "But Lucario can become distressed in uncomfortable places."

'Like you should talk, Mr. ocean-lover,' Lucario griped, clearly unhappy that she was the only one being cross examined for her pet peeves, 'The last time we were on board a ship smaller than a yacht, you nearly fainted because you can't stand being on deep water!'

"That's not-" Riley began to counter, when a loud rumbling cut him off.

"Dodge!" Allan shouted, moving quickly ahead on their path.

The rest of the gang made it just in time to avoid a fair sized avalanche as well. The fierce tremors, and loud crunching of falling boulders, was caused by a powerful explosion from the valley below. But they weren't out of the danger zone yet, another explosion rocked the earth beneath their feet, heralding another avalanche of dust and stone from right over their heads!

"We must be on an excavation site that's being cleared!" Riley yelled over the sound of falling rocks, and debris.

"Figured that out yourself, did you?" Allan shouted back sarcastically, not stopping to check if everyone was still with the group.

When the booming of the newly excavated area was finally behind them, and they escaped into an abandoned site, Allan turned back to the others to count heads.

"Well, that's all of us," he heaved a sigh, and sat on flat boulder that was protruding from the wall of the cavern.

'At least we're safe here,' Gallade agreed, setting Budew on the ground once more.

Riley looked back at the sluggishly rising dust clouds from the spot they had been, not five minutes ago, "If we had arrived a moment later... But there's something odd about that situation."

'What do you mean?' Lucario asked, straightening up after she'd caught her breath.

"The ground is still fairly damp from yesterday's storm. Any professional expert from a dig site would probably agree that that's not the best time to go tearing up the earth for ancient artifacts," Riley turned back to the rest of them, "But I'm not exactly someone who would know about this sort of thing... It just strikes me as unusual."

"Yeah, yeah..." Allan waved a hand disinterestedly.

'So how do we get back? We've been blown off course, Riley... Almost literally!' Lucario sneezed to get some dust out of her nose, 'The prospects aren't looking too good.'

Gallade moved further into the cave, and the blue horn on his head started to glow dimly. Glancing back over his shoulder when the glowing stopped, Gallade said, 'Why not just walk through here to the other side?'

"There's a way through?" Riley asked, not too sure he wanted to just start walking deeper into some ruin he didn't know after narrowly escaping danger once.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Allan replied irately.

Riley sighed, "Not really. Our luck might not be so good in this place, though, after avoiding major injury once already today."

"Chalk it up to bad karma, Knight. We're not done with this place, by any means," so saying, Allan stood up to walk deeper into the unknown.

.

XXX

.

In the base of the Aura Knights within Solaceon, light footfalls tread softly toward one of the base's oldest features; the Library. It contained many records and archives pertaining to the history of the Aura Knights, and their past exploits. From mission reports, to the retelling of the Knight's stories, by and for themselves, when it came time that they felt they had to write their own personal memoirs. One such article was being conceived even now, as the old Knight in question walked with his stiff gait, and pleasantly rheumy little smile, toward his favorite spot to work on this project.

As he seated himself in a comfortable armchair, he bemusedly looked around at the tall selves bearing books, old scrolls, even outmoded video tapes. Sighing, he watched the dust motes dancing in sunlight pouring in from one of the high windows of the Library. 'How time has changed the things that were once viewed as the cutting edge,' he chuckled to himself.

"If you were reading a comedy, I might not feel worried by that curious behavior you're exhibiting," a particularly moody Knight said, glancing over his book at the older man's antics.

"Never you mind, then, the musings of a man who has seen much, with still more to come long after I have gone," Master Starr replied, still feeling quite amused by his predicament.

"Oh, come now, Master. You're not that old!" the Knight protested unhappily.

"Oh, but indeed I am," Starr shook his head slowly, "I fear my age might finally be catching up to me, these days..."

Unsure how to respond, the Knight merely wore a put out frown, and turned back to his reading. The sunlight flared suddenly, out of the corner of Starr's gaze, and he looked toward the glare that glinted strongly in an inviting manner. Realizing that the light was playing off the protective casing of an old scroll, he arose to examine it's contents, and learn why it seemed so important that it had to shine in his eyes. Carefully placing the scroll's case aside on a table, he opened scroll itself ever more carefully.

"How interesting..." Starr mused, "It is no wonder the sun was telling me to pick this particular scroll up."

Over at another table, the Knight who was reading blinked in a befuddled effort to remain focused on his book.

.

XXX

.

Thunder clapped it's angry roar overhead, as rain pelted itself upon the sharp peaks of Spire Island. Rising in the wind, almost unheard, were the pained cries of children and infants. It was a fine day to break-in the new batch of would-bes, and future slaves... Or, so thought Raze, Master of all this dreadful kingdom built upon the blood and corpses of the weak and tormented. Raze's Roserade was lashing out at the children with it's thorny vines, scoring deep cuts, and nasty bruises. With nowhere to run, they could only attempt to shield themselves by curling up to avoid being struck in the stomach, or on the face. But to no avail. As soon as Roserade's whip hit their sore wounds, they would arch back, crying, begging, and pleading for the mercy that was not forthcoming. Delighted by their pain, Raze lounged on a high throne, eating sweet dates as he watched his choice entertainment being played out.

Hurried footfalls announced Master Shock's presence as she entered the chamber looking frazzled, and severely in need of an aspirin.

"High Master..." she said with her head bowed, kneeling low at Raze's feet.

Not one for displays of sudden irritation at one of his favorite underlings, Master Raze only showed mild disinterest as he popped another of the dates into his mouth. Chewing it thoroughly, he swallowed, and said, "I suppose that you have some news of your apprentice's location... Has she learned anything about my own?" Raze signaled for Roserade to stop, allowing Shock to speak, and be heard, normally.

"Yes, sire. Tera has," Shock answered immediately, still eying the floor, adding promptly, "It seems Allan's decided to go slightly off plan, and ignore Team Galactic entirely, for a new plan that involves sneaking into the hidden base of the Aura Knight's itself."

"Indeed..." Raze appeared to be mulling this over.

Not sure how he was going to react, Shock waited patiently.

"Humph! Let that wretched Squire of mine do as he wishes," Master Raze had an unpleasant smirk on his lips as he said this, "Have Crush send Evan in a week's time, I know that my apprentice will have learned much in that span, to enhance our plans."

"As you wish, my lord," Shock replied, standing to leave.

As she left the chamber behind, she heard, to her amusement, Raze asking one of the victim's if he'd like one of his dates. The poor child did not answer, for fear of saying the wrong thing. Ultimately, that child ended up dead, for the impudence that he'd shown by not accepting Raze's so-called hospitality. The other's suffered similar fates of punishment, but would live to see another miserable day on Spire Island. In symphony to the wailing winds, crashing thunder, and spattering rain, the pained cries of innocent children rang out long into the night.

.

XXX

.

"Ouch!"

"What's wrong now?"

"Nothing. Unless you find it odd that me using my Aura to see where I'm going is failing to work!" Riley groaned, bending down to check the foot he stubbed on a large rock.

"Huh!" Allan scoffed, "What Aura Knight hasn't heard of Shadow Stone! You can't seriously be ignorant about what this place is made of?"

'But, Allan, it's not so common just because we've seen it many times,' Gallade intervened quickly, not in the mood to mediate a new fight between his two human companions.

"I'd agree with Gallade, there. I've never heard of it before now," Riley looked up from examining his foot to ask, "So... Is this 'shadow stone' just really difficult to see with one's 'Aura Sight'?"

"Yes, and no..." Allan answered unhelpfully.

'What does that mean? Can't you be more specific!' Lucario griped, annoyed that she was also 'in the dark' about this place.

"Look, you two, we don't have time to relieve you of your ignorance! Gallade, light this place up... These pansies don't have what it takes to see through Shadow Stone, yet!" turning away in mild disgust, Allan strode forward into the darkness while Gallade did as he was bidden.

'Why that-! Riley, we need to teach that punk a lesson! Now!' Lucario was really mad now. Annoyed, one, for being unable to see on her own. Two, for Allan's insinuation that he could see through this strange, impenetrable darkness.

But with Gallade's light shining, Riley and Lucario were finally able to see the way. Keeping his distance to avoid spoiling Allan's scouting of the path ahead, Gallade said softly, 'It is not a sign of weakness to be unable to see past the Shadow Stone... It takes weeks, if not years, to see beyond it's dark illusions. Allan's not perfect, but he's attained a powerful level of awareness that even great master's find difficult to achieve.'

"Really?" Riley asked, bewildered by these thoughts.

'Wow, he's so amazing! ... Or that's what you'd expect me to say, right?' Lucario commented sarcastically.

'No... I just want you to understand that... Well, he didn't really believe that your Aura Knight's Council would leave it's followers unaware of some things. Important things, that could mean the difference between success, or failure,' Gallade picked up a Shadow Stone pebble, and showed what happened when he held it on his palm.

"I can see your Aura everywhere on your hand, but the place where that small rock is sitting...!" Riley looked around at the cave walls with new appreciation, "Then, it covers the Aura of not just anyone holding them, but of all things that have Aura's to be seen!"

'Yes, but...' Gallade shook his head, dropping the stone, and leading onward.

"'But', what?" Riley raised an eyebrow, keeping pace with the Pokémon.

'It wasn't important. We might want to stay on Allan's tail, that way I don't lose sight of him,' Gallade answered simply.

Nearly two hours passed them by, traversing the depths of the cave that seemed to stretch for miles into unchanging darkness, when outside light suddenly met their eyes at the end of the cavern's trail. Racing now to reach the red and gold sunset that met their searching gazes, Riley was unable to contain a whoop of elation, glad to be free at last from the confining 'Shadow Stone' tunnel! Joining the call, Lucario barked out happily, and Budew, who'd been astride Gallade's shoulders, squealed his joy. Though they were the last of the day's sun rays, the sight of them was a glory to behold! On a grassy, golden hillside now, the intrepid companions looked out over the land below, seeing their destination at last... Solaceon Town.

Glancing at the three Pokémon, Riley smiled, ready to be off again. He turned to face Allan, and barely evaded being punched in the jaw!

"Wh-what are you doing?" Riley shouted.

"Don't play ignorant, Aura Knight! You know what this is about," Allan didn't give any more warning than that, as he charged in with a series of nasty kicks that Riley barely managed to block, let alone evade.

"You're wrong! I don't understand!" Riley, in an attempt to restrain Allan's furious attack, grabbed hold of him by the ankle, "We don't have to do this, Allan..."

Allan jerked his leg, trying to pull free, "Quit making excuses! I can't stand your stupid face," Allan lifted his other foot, and kick out at Riley's head, "Every time you show your freaking ignorance, I want to punch that stupid, blank-look off your face!"

Riley lifted his other arm to ward off Allan's fresh effort to cave his brain-box in. Catching Allan's other leg firmly, he was glad that he stood almost two feet taller than his opponent. Holding him upside down, Riley voiced a new protest, "This isn't right. I don't not want to fight you because I think I can win. Really, I would rather talk to you... Get to learn who the kid under the hood really is."

And then, Gallade struck Riley hard on the shoulder. Releasing Allan unintentionally, Riley barely had time to scramble out of the way before Allan, and his partner, Gallade, launched a tag attack. Both human, and Pokémon raised their right-hand fists rushing at Riley with fierce battle cries!

Out of the line of fire in time, Riley ducked as the backlash of colliding Aura's blew the surrounding grass all directions away from the epicenter with explosive force.

'Riley, they're serious! We can't afford to hold back,' Lucario cried indignantly, rushing to sync with him for the fight ahead.

On the sidelines, Budew fussed sadly, confused by what was going on. Hopping in place near a boulder he could leap behind if things got dangerous, Budew cried, "Budududud-deeeeewwww!"

Clashing in a fearsome display of skill, and might, Lucario locked paws with Gallade, and growled out, "You're the last one I'd expect to betray Riley so easily! How could you? Where's your honor as a Pokémon!'

'This no longer has anything to do with honor, Lucario... You can't hope to save me, or Allan, if you do not best us in combat!' shouting savagely, Gallade pushed back, and threw Lucario apart from himself.

Riley, though still very much consumed by his concentration on the battle at hand, in the heat of the moment came to realize something, 'Save them? How are they... Prisoner? Unless...'

As Allan punched at Riley's face, Riley deflected his fist by swiftly thrusting both of his hands at Allan's chest, pushing him hard enough to cause him to overbalance. Allan did not resist falling back, and was prepared to roll away to regroup for the next assault, but Riley pounced on him, pinning Allan's wrists behind his head.

"Coward! Get off!"

"No. I'll stay on top of you all night if I have to, but you will not defeat me, and I will not let you suffer what horrors you have up to now, ever again," though he put on a calm facade, Riley felt really uncomfortable sitting on top of Allan, while Lucario warned off Gallade from protecting his captive partner.

"You don't know anything. You won't know anything either!" Allan was not happy, nor did he feel inclined to give Riley any kind of information for defeating him like this. So while Allan struggled to be free, he grunted out, "If you have any sort of kindness in your soul, you'll get off, and fight me for real!"

"I can't do that," Riley shook his head, careful not to let his guard down, "I could never bring myself to harm you."

Allan stopped squirming to catch his breath, "Don't dishonor me like this. Either fight, or finish me off... You don't have to kill me, but that is my goal if I get free before this is over!"

"Over? As in resolved?" Riley asked, perplexed.

Using all of his weight in that instant of doubt, Allan braced for one great push to roll himself over, thus freeing himself from Riley's hold. Riley toppled almost too easily, as Gallade burst past a surprised Lucario, to make certain Allan was freed at last.

Locked in a stare down, both human, and partner adversaries assessed the other. Searching for even the smallest sign of weakness.

After a long standoff, both parties rushed each other. In the next instant, there was a huge flash of Aura's lighting up the darkened hillside, and in the blackness that followed, only two of the combatants were still standing.

Panting from the strain of battle, Riley bent to check that Allan was still breathing. After putting this troubling thought to rest, he sat down next to where Allan lay, and placed his hand gently on Allan's shoulder.

Lucario had already flopped herself down to catch some rest. She looked up at the stars that had come out during the fight, and chuffed, 'Too bad we missed watching the remainder of the sunset. It looked really nice this time...'

"Yeah..." feeling a lump in his throat, Riley coughed, then said, "Why did it have to come to this?"

Turning her crimson eyes on him, Lucario answered, 'We have our ideas, but the best possible answer will come from Allan himself. When he wakes up, we should ask him then.'

A little less depressed, Riley took a breath and said, "Yeah, you're right. Until then, we should see about getting him, and his partners to town."

'Well... Its not like Gallade would have any problems if we revived him first,' Lucario sat up to place her paws on either side of Gallade's head. Concentrating on his life force, she gently nudged him into wakefulness.

Blinking up at the stars, Gallade remained where he was, in a dazed sort of stupor. Lucario gave his Aura one more small boost, and he blinked again, much more alert.

'What?' Gallade looked around, absorbing what was going on, '... I take it we lost...' he finally said, when he glanced Allan's direction.

'That's the understatement of the century!' Lucario quipped, rolling her eyes.

Rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, Gallade frowned, 'Okay, I can admit it. We lost. But please don't rub it in. Allan's got some sort of plan, and he might be more inclined to share if we go easy on him for a bit... When he rejoins the world of the living, that is.'

"'Rejoins the world of the living'? Is that what you call, 'regaining consciousness', after fainting?" Riley asked seriously.

'I know you aren't trying to be mean when you ask that, but that's not what happened with M- ah, Allan...' Gallade looked away from Riley's face, and moved to stand up.

"Okay... I don't get it," Riley gave Gallade his, 'you've got me' look, "My senses tell me that he's merely unconscious, and that he'll wake up soon, either on his own, or with gentle prompting. Like we did with you."

'You'd like for it to be that simple, wouldn't you? But...' Gallade shook his head angrily, 'He's built up an immunity to outside Aura's assisting him forcefully awake. You won't be able to overcome the damage he's suffered over many of the years of his life.'

"What do you mean?" although he was confused how anyone could've 'built an immunity' to Aura healing techniques, Riley had a horrible premonition about the answer.

'Its not for me to say...' Gallade looked sadly away.

'Why not? You still don't trust us, or something?' Lucario snapped, annoyed at how complicated Gallade and his partner were acting.

'No, I trust you very much. I would give you a show of my good faith, if I could, but Allan's needs come first. He is my partner, after all, and we've been through Hell, and back, together.'

"Then how are you treating this situation?" Riley frowned as he asked this.

'You're surprisingly astute, Aura Knight,' Gallade bent to pick Allan up, 'The only way I feel about this 'situation', is that it is only an illusory respite from all the harsh things we've seen up to now... But Allan wouldn't want your pity,' looking up at Riley unflinchingly, Gallade said in a solemn tone, 'Because of our lifestyle, if he had wanted 'pity' he would've been dead long before now.'

"I want answers. I know that if I expect to get all of them, that I'll have to ask Allan himself, but," Riley reached to help Gallade support an unconscious Allan, "If there's anything you can tell me for yourself, I'd like to know it. I imagine that if there's anyone who knows anything about the parts of his past that he has trouble recalling, its you."

'You'd be surprised how much I could tell you,' Gallade shook his head, this time it was a sad shake, 'Just... Take us to where you wanted us.'

"Not yet," Riley pulled Allan into his arms, and moved to lay him on the ground again.

'What are you doing? Why do you not want to take us prisoner now? You have your chance...' Gallade knelt down beside Allan, and watched as Riley prepared to revive Allan, 'You won't succeed. Allan cannot be made to wake after a blow like that, no thanks to all those times he was forcibly revived, only to be beaten into unconsciousness again! You have no idea how hard his life has been!'

"That's exactly why I have to try though," Riley said, looking across Allan at Gallade, "You just said it yourself; Allan was forcefully revived, then beaten until he fainted again. I don't know how many times in a row that's been done, but I'm reviving him for different reasons, and with different feelings... That should be enough."

Gallade reached out to stay Riley's hand a moment, 'If it is not, don't keep trying uselessly. You'll just be wasting your own energy.'

"Don't worry. I've got this," Riley flashed a thumbs up, and placed his hands softly on Allan's head. With his finger tips just brushing Allan's temples, Riley took a soothing breath, and began to meditate on Allan's consciousness.

.

Within darkness...

.

Beyond all Riley's expectations, he successfully entered Allan's mind. And even further beyond these expectations, he never imagined that Allan's mind would still have relatively active thought flowing through some of the deeper channels. 'He's unconscious? But this doesn't seem like a mind that's shut down...'

Like faint starlight among nighttime shadows, the thin streams of thought seemed to going to, and from, one location. As if he could stare ahead along the length of these formless streams, Riley allowed himself to drift closer.

Reaching out to find the source of the flow, Riley's spirit followed it deeper. Feeling as though a heavy darkness was closing in on him, even as the presence of a strong inner light grew stronger before his spirit eyes, he felt afraid. Stopping to reflect on this thought, Riley almost broke his concentration as he reminded himself how silly it was... 'Make no mistake, though; the human mind can be a dangerous thing.'

That Riley dared to go this far was enough to prove that he cared, but for his own safety, he really needed to consider escaping while he could. 'I'm almost there...'

Why are you here?

'What? Allan, is that you?'

You are violating any promises you made in the past...

'That can't be helped. You're unconscious, and I don't want to just carry you in like a freshly hunted deer...'

...

'Allan?'

Starring at the small ball of light that made up Allan's spirit, Riley wondered why his own spirit had form enough to look like himself, but not Allan. Albeit, Riley only looked like himself down to the waist, which became a formless haze. He was not wearing anything, either...

You need to go.

'I want to help you regain consciousness.'

Are you blind? Do you not see the scars?

'Scars?'

Your spirit seems strange...

'... Could we have this conversation outside, where I can see you? I know you dislike me enough so, that you wouldn't want me to see your spirit's rises and falls of emotion... At least, not as easily as this...'

A thin tendril of light reached from the core of the small sphere, and touched Riley's outstretched spirit hand. A blinding flash surrounded Riley, making him feel as though he had been enveloped in Allan's light. Receding finally, Riley found himself at the surface again...

.

XXX

.

Opening his eyes, Riley saw that Allan was slowly coming to, and that he'd put one of his hands over Riley's.

Allan groaned lightly, "Mmm, that really hurt, you know?"

"Allan!" Riley almost jumped when Allan spoke, "You really are waking up!"

'Master Allan!' Gallade gasped.

"Bah-budew?" Budew had been sitting in Gallade's lap while Gallade explained what was going on, and why they had to be really quiet.

"You really aren't going to break that ridiculous habit, are you?" Allan directed a one eyed glare at Gallade as he said this.

'Sorry, Allan. I am trying,' Gallade set Budew aside, and leaned forward, 'Did you have one of your strange dreams while you were out?'

Allan had been moving to sit up, but laid back again, and sighed, "Not really, but that's a relief... I don't need to be having dreams about impossibilities while people like... Him are still around to try breaking me in..."

"Him who?" Allan looked up at Riley, who was staring down at him questioningly.

"To put it succinctly... My Master," Allan turned away.

"Master? I don't think I fully understand..."

Instead of answering Riley's perplexed look with a reasonable answer, Allan simply said, "Weren't we supposed to be headed for wherever you're taking me?"

Agreeing that now was not the best time to be discussing these issues, Riley stood and held a hand out to Allan, "You don't have to hold it the entire way, but I can't see you making it to town on your own so soon after all that stress you put on yourself."

"Just for that, I should refuse!" Allan took Riley's outstretched hand, "But you have a semi-reasonable point... I'll be walking on my own once we get to town, though!"

"Fine by me," Riley smiled.

At the outskirts of Solaceon town, Allan took back his hand from Riley, and attempted to walk on his own a few paces to see if he'd gotten back some of his energy. After the third step however, he stumbled. Gallade, Riley, and Lucario rushed to help him. Nudging their hands, and paws back, Allan pushed himself up, sighing, "I'm still a bit tired I guess..."

"Riley!" a youth's voice hailed.

"Hey! Its Riley! Riley's back!" added a man to the calls that were rising in the evening air.

"Oh, gracious! Riley!" an old woman from the daycare center cried, running toward them.

Several people rushed over to the small party that had just arrived at town, whooping with barely controlled elation that Riley was safely back among them. Apparently, these individuals were privy to some of what had happened, or they might not have reacted so gladly at Riley's return.

"Y-yes. Thank you. I'm very well, thanks!" Riley was shaking hands left and right, receiving several pats on his back, trying not to be rude as he maneuvered toward Allan and the Pokémon that were standing by supporting him, "Please... I'm very grateful that you are all pleased to see me, but I must get through!"

The crowd dispersed somewhat, and he was able to get back to Allan's side in time to be greeted by none other than High Councilor Starr.

"Good evening, Riley. This, I take it, is the youth you described to us during your report concerning the Iron Island affair..." peering at Allan closely with a soft smile on his face, a shadow of doubt seemed to cross Starr's normally placid face, and he said, "Perhaps we'd better finish this inside the council chambers..."

Heading toward a building that had 'Sinnoh Press' painted on a large sign in front, Allan leaned over to quietly ask, "Is that some sort of cover, so this place would be harder to find, or something?"

Chuckling, Riley answered, "You might say that. But it really is a news press."

"Huh. Imagine that..." Allan quipped sarcastically, reflecting on how redundant it seemed to have a place that reports things from the scandalous to the uplifting, concealing an organization that protects all the world.

"Heh, yeah. It is kind of funny, isn't it?" Riley smiled, "But, as far as I know, it has worked for years, and still works today."

At the rear of the building, Starr prodded the secret switch behind a poster advertising work for Pokémon trainers who were willing to volunteer their time, and Pokémon, for the daily 'This Pokémon' article. A panel in the wall moved, and a pitch black stairwell that led downward revealed itself.

"You two are sure you want me to see all this? Truthfully, you could have blindfolded me at the town's entrance to save yourselves the trouble of a memory wipe."

"That's not how things go with us, Allan," Riley said seriously, "And we'll no sooner probe your mind against your will, than force you to forget all that you have seen here. What you do with the knowledge you are collecting now, is completely up to you... But, somehow, I have faith that you won't betray us..." looking down like this last statement was confusing, Riley's concerned frown didn't last too long, as they descended into the darkness of the underground pathway.

'Well, thank goodness they can't see my face! The corniness of what Riley just said was... Embarrassing,' Allan shook his head to clear his thoughts. As his face cooled in shadowy depths of the passage, he admitted that more than the embarrassment of being told the line, 'I have faith in you', he felt bothered that he might not succeed in his plans for freedom, 'I could well end up being the catalyst that gets the whole world enslaved... As Master Raze planned...'

'You're really thinking about the other's here as well, aren't you, Allan,' Gallade was sympathetic to Allan's plight, but wished that he wasn't being left in the dark about what was going to happen next, according to Allan's plan.

'Don't worry, Gallade. I'll tell you and Lapras all, really soon, so... Just be patient with me a little while longer,' Allan reached out and hold Gallade's hand.

"How interesting," Master Starr's voice broke the silence, causing Allan to stiffen, "I don't believe I've introduced myself yet. My name is Starr. I'm the High Councilman currently in charge of the Aura Knights order."

"Ah, right... Name's Allan. That's Gallade..." Allan replied, wary of any tricks that might be hidden up the old man's sleeve.

Chuckling, Starr said, "Its long past the time when I could pull something out of the hat, as it were, to trick you, young Allan."

"Then what's so interesting about me holding my Pokémon's hand?" beginning to feel tired again, Allan shook his head, and blinked hard once.

"Goodness... Riley, you might want to support him, it seems he's close to fainting."

Touching Allan's shoulder, Riley said, "Only if you'll let me."

"It's fine. We're in the dark, and nobody's gonna spread weird rumors around to land me in the fire," Allan answered more mechanically than anything else.

"Um, yeah..." Riley smiled awkwardly, and put his arm around Allan's waist.

After some time, Riley stopped, allowing Starr to remove their final obstacle; the grand door. From what Allan could sense, before it was opened and light flooded into the dark pass, it was at least twelve feet tall. When the door swung lazily open, it seemed to be heavier than even the old master should be able to move, but Allan noticed, before he was whisked beyond the entrance to the base of the Aura Knights, that the door's hinges were of a tougher than average variety, carrying most of the weight of the door by themselves. Within, Allan was allowed a chance to look around, and see what the first hall had to offer.

Off to the left, beside a huge tapestry on the far side of the hall, a young woman about Riley's age was standing at attention. Her Pokémon, Gardevior, was also on the alert, but smiled sweetly when she saw Gallade. Of the tapestry itself, if Allan hadn't looked at everything else first, he would not have noticed the two guards standing beside it. It was an amazing thing. Hung so that it was at least three feet off the floor, it was still a good twenty feet long, and at least seventeen feet wide. The images that were woven into the fine cloth showed incredible depictions of strength and valor. Center most, and perhaps the largest picture of all, was of a single, humbly dressed Knight on a grassy hill. Beside him was a Lucario, and a young woman with windblown black hair, and a playful smile. Standing beside the woman was an Espeon, staring nobly at all who looked toward the beautiful tapestry.

"Where do you look?" Master Starr asked gently, careful not to break Allan's concentration on the image he'd chosen, out of all that could be seen.

"That plainly garbed Knight. He resembles Riley, though I don't know who his companions are... I can recognize the species of Pokémon with them; a Lucario, and an Espeon," Allan replied, not sure why this would be so significant.

Satisfied, Starr said, "If the Knight resembles Riley, it is because Riley is a descendant of Sir Aaron's younger sister, Lady Lina."

"His sister?" Allan glanced away from Sir Aaron's visage to stare questioningly at Starr, "Why not Sir Aaron himself?"

Starr sighed, "Tragically, he gave his life to end a terrible battle, long before he even had a chance to find himself a lovely bride. Not to say, though, that worthy women in his life were few and far between. If anything, he was more dedicated to the peace of the warring kingdoms than his own affairs."

"Sounds like a self-righteous fop, to me," Allan said in an unimpressed tone, "Either that, or he was gay."

Riley and Lucario, the Lady Knight and her Gardevior, all four of them stared at Allan in appalled horror.

"Ah..." Starr thought for a moment, "That 's an interesting perspective. I've never really thought of it like that before."

"Forget it then. Its not like my input is going to change the legends, or anything silly like that," Allan shrugged disinterestedly.

"Um, well... We should be headed over to the council room right now anyway..." Riley still seemed frazzled by Allan's unabashed attitude toward his own outrageous comment. 'That was a very disturbing thought...' Riley frowned unhappily, nudging Allan forward on the way to their destination.

.

XXXXXXXXX

Me: Welly, well, well. I finally got done with this, and it's just barely short of being fifty pages long. I estimated that it might end up longer, but I'm glad it didn't. Truthfully, I only made it this long because there was a particular goal I had in mind while writing this. I finally met it, toward the end, and I feel somewhat satisfied. (Not to the point where I won't want to keep writing this, though... Hell no!)

Riley: Right... You really over-did the length of this one, you know? If your readers aren't fed up with waiting, they'll be fed up with how freakin' long this chapter turned out... And what's with suggesting that I'm related to someone who's gay, huh! ? Sir Aaron is not gay!

Me: Dude, you didn't even know the man! That's not to say, though, that I'm suggesting Allan's line is factual evidence. If anything, it was supposed to be humorous... A joke that turns back on the speaker. Not that anyone without their own personal suspicions will get much out of it. -_-;

Beside that, there's always the next chappy, where there'll be a story within a story. Isn't that nice? ^-^

Riley: Peachy... -_-;

Me: Aww, whatsa matter, Riley? I like to torment you, but not when you're in a bad mood. Its no fun that way! So why the lemon up your butt?

Riley: I don't have a lemon up my butt! Aren't you forgetting something important?

Me: Nope. The review call will have to wait until the next chappy, unfortunately, because this took too long to write and post. For the sake of the readers, I have to post this immediately, so I can't go through all my old messages to find all my latest entries... (I should just make list document that I can add to promptly...)

Riley: 9.9 Whatever, as long as you do it next time.

Hey, readers! Would it be too troublesome to ask for some reviews for the sake of reviews? If you like the story, it would gather a lot more attention from other fans of Pokémon, or myself, or whatever else it is you like about this story, if it had a higher number of reviews per-chapter... On the other hand, Lady doesn't deserve 'em for treating me as meanly as she has... Ah, whatever. She might get off her lazy butt and write just a little more often if she knew what kind of impression she was leaving on you guys. Obviously you like it if you put it on your alerts list, but still... You get the jive!