Me: No excuses as preamble; just enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Places, Items, or Characters herein who are not previously recognized as my own creations, or the Original Characters of friends and fans who requested an appearance. So I deeply thank the people who made Pokémon what it is today, for all their hard work. I hope to enjoy more great games in the future.
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Chapter Nineteen:
The Choice
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"What am I supposed to do?" still shell shocked, Vincent sat on the hill looking down at the raging battle on the lake bed, "This isn't how it's supposed to be, right? Aura Knights t-talk first, before..."
Shaking, his hands balled into fists, Vincent closed his eyes trying to block out the violence unfolding before him.
'Why are you even following me? You can't handle the situation you're in now, and you expect to be of some use to me later, when I arrive at the lake?'
"Ah!" shocked once more, at remembering Allan's words from earlier that same day, Vincent lost all sense of hearing as he looked at the battle anew, "Then... What? Why should I fight?"
That was just the question. Why should he fight? This wasn't the same as when it was the Carnivine that was attacking them. It and its buddy, Drapion, had even run away after realizing that they weren't an easy meal... But this?
Allan pressed at the front, pushing forward with all his might to reach the location where their leader was surely hidden. Gallade was backing him up flawlessly. They've been in this type of situation before, and compared to them, Vincent suddenly felt like a child.
'And what's with you? I thought you were at the Squire level!'
"I am..." Vincent replied to his memory, left hand covering his face, as if to block any scrutinizing stares that were aimed at him.
'That's one of the reasons she's sent me off on this training journey, I guess. 'Cause I lack focus, or something.'
"Damn it!" punching the ground beneath his knees, the young Squire couldn't believe that it had to come to this. It just couldn't!
Turning his gaze to the sky once more, he cried out, "Why? Master Raya?!" and then, feeling inexplicably tired, passed out.
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One year ago...
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"Master! Master Raya!" a young boy was running recklessly down a hall, unaware that he was causing trouble to the others going the opposite direction.
"Oh, you trouble maker!" one of the victims huffed as the lad knocked the stack of papers out of his hands.
"Vincent!" a pale haired woman called sternly, "You should apologize!"
"Huh? Oh, Master Raya! There you are! I was looking all over for you," Vincent said, turning on his heel mid dash as he passed the doorway she stood in. He fell over then, and looked back at the Knight he'd accidentally knocked into, "Sorry about that, sir!"
"Just stop running around aimlessly! Geez..." the Knight replied sourly, gathering his fallen papers.
"Eh-heh..." Vincent shuffled his feet awkwardly, then turned to his friend and teacher, "Master Raya... I have this question, and its been driving me nuts all day!"
"Oh?" Raya said, directing Vincent to enter the room and sit on a comfortable arm chair.
"Yeah!" Vincent said, widening his eyes emphatically, "It's true! And it's all because of that one guy, too! He said that the only reason there are still Aura Knights after all these centuries, is because we might have to go to war someday!"
"Did he now? And did he give any reasons why that might be?" Raya said with a calm smile.
"No... He just said that there's always going to be bad guys, like the Dark Knights, to be beaten down in the name of peace... But Master, that doesn't make sense! I thought the Dark Knights were gone. They were banished for being evil, weren't they?"
"'For being evil'? My, now you do have quite the imagination..." Raya sighed, looking at the golden sunlight streaming in from the room's window.
"What's that supposed to mean? They were evil, weren't they?" Vincent huffed, impatient to know the truth.
"Not originally. Once, they were our very own brothers and sisters of the Aura Knights order," turning to her student, Raya had a soft smile on her face, "I don't view the history of the 'Dark Knight War' as a great victory for us, the Aura Knights."
"Then what? What else is it supposed to mean?" raising his hands like her story was unbelievable, Vincent said doggedly, "We all banded together, gathering the clans of people all across Sinnoh, and defeated them because they were trying to take over, and rule over everything, didn't we?"
"Vincent. The tale of the Dark Knights is not only cautionary; it is a tale of tragedy. About how people you once considered friends, can become your enemies if you don't pay attention, and try to help them all you can," sighing, Raya resigned herself to the obstinate debate that was going to unfold.
"If they were bad enough to become our enemies, why were they ever our friends? Why would they even be good guys once? The Dark Knights are evil, and the Aura Knights are good! That's what our history book says!" although the boy was in his early teens, he was still so childish and immature, that it was a wonder why Raya had even taken him on as her student.
'He has great potential, if only he would pay more attention...' Raya thought, wondering how long Vincent was going to stay this way, 'If it were my own choice... He would never have to change, and could just stay the sweet child that he is.'
"Master Raya? Are you listening?" Vincent said, leaning forward in his seat, "I was asking why we would ever have to go to war again, if the Dark Knights are gone?"
"Vincent..." shaking her head slowly with a resigned smile, she answered, "Maybe someday we will have to go to war. But if that day does come, the only reason you should fight is because you have something you want to protect. No matter what, even though fighting in the first place is wrong; if you do so without thinking about the people you want to protect, then what would you be fighting for? Vincent? Are you paying attention? Oh, Vincent..."
Having dozed off finally in the warm sunlight, Vincent never heard her answer to the question he'd been curious to learn all day.
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Coming to...
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"Ughn..."
Lifting his head, Vincent looked up and realized that the fight was still going strong. Jumping in shock, he realized that he'd somehow dozed off, and missed Allan taking a serious hit on the back of his head. Gallade was still fighting, ferociously protecting his partner from the advancing Galactic grunts.
"Crap!" no longer afraid, he rushed to stand up, but was held back by a strong hand on his right shoulder.
"Are you sure you know what you'd be fighting for?" turning back surprised, Vincent noticed the older middle aged man for the first time since waking up.
The man appeared to be huge, and had unkempt brown hair. Though it was clear he needed a shave, and the situation was hardly a laughing matter, he smiled easily and said, "This ain't over yet, kid."
"Wh-hey! My friend is down there! Of course I'd fight... I'd fight to protect him. Why are you holding me back?" Vincent said, answering the man's question at last, with a question of his own.
"Hmm," the man hummed, taking in the battle below, "Call me a mean old bastard if you will, but that ain't good enough to save your pal down there. You're stayin' here."
"What? Why?!" Vincent said, before suddenly being overcome by paralysis, "Wh-at?" he grunted out, struggling to move.
"Sit tight, while I show you how a real man fights," so saying, the man patted the younger's shoulder and turned to mount an over sized Skarmory.
Taking off into the night sky, the Skarmory and it's trainer rose high up to where they would be nearly impossible to spot, before plummeting in a dead on nosedive to the center of the impromptu arena.
"Skaa!" the Skarmory shrieked, raising its bladed wings in a terrifying show of bloodthirsty confidence.
His rider slowly dismounted, and said with a brash grin on his face, "Now then... You fine gentlemen and ladies can't seriously be enjoying a one sided beat-down on a kid and his Pokémon, can you?"
"Get 'im!" one of the grunts shouted in response; the cue for the fighting to recommence.
All diving in at once, they failed to notice that the strange older man had grabbed up their original targets, and placed them on his Skarmory's back for safe keeping. Calling out a Tyranitar, he commanded it to unleash a 'Sand Tomb' on the enemy Galactic members.
Screaming in shock at their sudden predicament, the members of Team Galactic called a retreat, even as they found themselves trapped in a quicksand pit made by the Tyranitar's 'Sand Tomb'.
Rising on the wings of another large bird Pokémon that Vincent couldn't name, the man laughed heartily, and said, "Hate to say it, but you all left me no choice in the matter!"
He swooped toward the cave, and then frowned, thinking to himself, 'The guy in charge has escaped... When did that happen? Maybe when I was checking on the other kid?'
Riding an updraft, his bird Pokémon called out, and he nodded, "Right. We'll just concentrate on getting these kids to safety."
Meanwhile Vincent, still paralyzed, is looking on at the scene below in surprise. 'He didn't have to raise a fist, or start hurting anyone to beat them... Who is that guy?'
"Vincent!"
Straining to look back, the young Squire saw a face he was glad to see, "Riley!"
'He's been paralyzed!' Lucario said, stopping her run right beside their younger friend, 'This looks like the work of an advanced Aura ability...'
"Yeah, but who's the culprit?" Riley said, looking straight at Vincent, "Where's Allan?"
"There..." Vincent struggled to tilt his head toward the empty lake.
Following Vincent's gaze, Riley gasped at the site. Grunts from Team Galactic were attempting to pick themselves up out of a shifting sand pit, while two large bird Pokémon that were carrying some riders looked on.
"This feeling..." Riley said, sensing this situation had a familiarity from somewhere.
As the two large birds ascended higher, they turned toward the hill where Riley and the others waited. The man astride a large red bird Pokémon called out to him, "Get that kid and head back into the forest. We're outnumbered, and need to regroup to assess the situation!"
"Come on, Vincent. We have to do as he says." Riley said, putting a hand under Vincent's arm to lift the boy.
When his senses flooded back to him at Riley's touch, Vincent cried out, "B-but Allan-!"
"Will be fine. I know that man, and we can all trust him..." Riley turned grimly to face the young Squire, "If he says that a situation is bad, then you'd better believe it. He's one of the strongest Knights I know living outside of Sinnoh."
"What do you mean?" Vincent asked, drawing a blank on who this new Knight was. Thinking to himself, Vincent had his doubts about this stranger, 'I know at least one thing about every strong Aura Knight out there. But... Who is this old guy that showed up?'
After ten long minutes of running back into the woods Riley finally stopped and looked up at a small patch of starry sky, waiting.
The sound of soft wing beats, and the rustling of dried leaves slowly grew louder until the two large bird Pokémon swooped talons-first through the tree tops, landing with gentle thuds.
"I have to admit. It's been a while since I've seen a good Aura 'tantrum'," the stranger said, dismounting his red bird. Skarmory cawed it's agreement, folding it's wings and looking back at it's inert cargo.
Stepping over to help the older man, Riley winced when he caught sight of Allan, "They weren't exactly gentle, were they?"
"Trust me, Riley; this kid gave a lot more than he got by turns, and I'd hate to be on the receiving end of his terrible fury." the older Knight chuckled quietly, laying Gallade out next to Allan for revival.
Riley knelt, and put his hands carefully on either side of Allan's head, 'Please don't be hurt too badly...' he thought, worry plain on his face.
"Are they going to be okay?" Vincent finally asked, keeping his distance from the older Knight, while trying to get closer to Allan and Gallade.
"They're still breathing, aren't they?" the older Knight looked up, his brash grin back on his face, "Don't worry, kid. You might not've gotten to fight, but this isn't nearly enough to kill off your friends, here."
"I don't think I can trust you until I know who you are..." Vincent replied darkly. Although it was true, this man had saved Allan and Gallade from being seriously hurt, he hadn't revealed his name, or his reason for being here... Not that a lake exploding was a bad reason to show up to stop Team Galactic.
Concentrating on reviving Allan, Riley only half gave their conversation mind. Whispering quietly, more to himself than anyone else, Riley said, "Come on, Allan... It's me. I'm back... And I'm sorry for doubting you; for snapping at you like that. Please wake up..."
Faintly moving, Allan moaned in response, "Azelf..."
"Hum?" the older Knight looked up, pausing in his revival of Gallade, "Did he just say, 'Azelf'?"
"He's unconscious! He could've said anything!" Vincent growled, "Riley might know you, but I don't. Allan won't like waking up near some stranger who can't even politely introduce himself... On top of that, you stunned me for no reason!"
Finally looking away from his ministrations, Riley gaped at the young Squire's lack of manners, "No reason? Vincent, even I could see that he was just trying to keep you out of harms way. As for names, he's best known as the 'Roving Wings'."
"Yeah, yeah," the older Knight cut off, and added, "I don't hold to that, even though all my best partners have been flying types. But an inexperienced kid like you can call me, Bran. It's how everyone who actually knows me, calls me."
"Bran? What kind of name is that?" Vincent asked, perplexed.
"Not a common one, but it is his name, Vincent. I thought you might recognize his reputation's nick-name," at this, Riley directed a look at the older Knight, "Which is why I introduced you by that first, Bran."
"Even still, Sinnoh ain't that worldly. And neither are it's country's residents." Bran leaned back and scratched his stubbly chin, finished with reviving a stirring Gallade.
'Allan?' Gallade groaned a bit where he lay, and turned his head toward Allan, 'Are you still unconscious?'
"Why is Allan taking so long to wake up?" Vincent asked, worry tinging his voice.
"Hmm..." leaning a bit closer, Bran noticed Allan's resistance was from a flesh memory, "Well, he's going to need a bit more coaxing than that, Riley. What the heck has this kid been through?"
"More than even I know..." Riley replied sadly, "This is my fault. If I hadn't been short with him, he wouldn't have run away and gotten himself hurt like this."
'That's not true, Riley!' Lucario growled in protest, 'While it's true that you yelled at him, and even pushed him away, it is not your fault that he got hurt. That's on those Galactic goons! And I'd love to have my revenge...'
'Allan wanted to get to the lake for some reason he wouldn't explain...' Gallade projected to the group at large faintly, 'Somehow, he knew something bad was going to happen. He wanted to stop it... before it... happened.' unable to maintain his words, Gallade closed his eyes, and continued to rest.
"Looks like these two know more about the situation than you, Riley." Bran half smiled, placing a hand over Allan's heart. Closing his eyes, Bran allowed his Aura to flow from his fingertips to Allan's breast, and said, "Alright, Riley. It's now or never; wake this kid up!"
"What are you doing?" Vincent asked, as both Knights' hands began to glow fiercely blue-white.
Although it was a dim flicker at first, Allan's face slowly started to react. Screwing it up from the pain of being beaten up, Allan gasped, and at last opened his eyes.
"Easy. Easy, there!" Riley said, catching Allan as he suddenly sat bolt upright.
"What happened?" Allan groaned, leaning against Riley for support.
"You got the stuffing kicked out of you, that's what." Bran replied, shaking his head, "'Course, you gave them a sound what-for, before that cheatin' chick smacked you with her buzz rod from behind."
Frowning blearily, Allan relaxed until he was limp, "I don't know what they're planning, but they've kidnapped, Azelf."
A collective gasp from the group, and then, "Well, shoot. In't that just the durndest thing." Bran whistled.
"... I give up. If Riley knows you, then you can't be all that irritating." Allan sighed, too worn down to care what happened next after the appearance of a new stranger.
"I'm not quite following," Vincent said, looking between Allan and the others, "What's an Azelf?"
"What else, but another one o' them unique legendary species." Bran winked, sitting back against a tree he'd moved to. Absently stroking the feather's of his large red bird Pokémon, he continued, "Can't make heads ner tails of this issue, though. Historac'ly speakin', legendary Pokémon are said to have many great an' terrible powers... 'Specially in the wrong hands."
"Mm," Riley nodded his agreement, "Azelf is said to be quite powerful by itself, but it is one in a set of three; if Team Galactic has any plans for one, you can bet they're making plans to capture the other two!"
"Oh, crap." Vincent said, comprehension tinging his face with slight horror, "So then, the two other major lakes in Sinnoh; Lake Verity, and Acuity... Team Galactic might be positioning people there now, even as we speak?"
"Or they've already had people there, an' they've got what they were after. Namely, Uxie and Mesprit." Bran growled.
"We don't have time to waste..." Allan put a hand on the ground to try pushing himself up.
'Ha! The little punching bag thinks he's strong enough to keep going, does he?' Lucario chuffed, crossing her paws in a jaunty manner.
"Hush, Lucario!" grimacing somewhat, Riley held Allan down by the shoulder, "The only way I'm letting you go anywhere is if you allow either me, or someone else to carry you."
After a moments thought, Allan replied, "No objections... Just no funny business."
"Funny business? Allan, apart from Riley's Lucario, everyone here's a dude." Vincent said, perplexed.
Deciding that justifying his half-hearted joke was a waste of time, Allan simply rolled his eyes, "How well can your Machoke function after night time?"
"About as well as me!" Vincent replied, acting tough and energetic to make his point look good.
"Hehe, we really should consider finding a more local place to stay for the night..." Riley said smiling in an awkwardly bemused fashion, "From here, the outskirts of Pastoria, and it's smaller town hamlets, would be easier to reach than Solaceon... There's also a village on the fringes of the lakeside resort."
"Hm. Thinkin' 'bout headin' home to your parents, then?" Bran asked, following Riley's thoughts.
'Oh,' Lucario fidgeted.
'Uh-oh...' Gallade added, agreeing with Lucario's awkward mood.
'Parents?' Allan thought, feeling a sudden rush of dread, he quickly said as nonchalantly as he could, "Injured or not, I'm headed for Pastoria."
"Huh?" Vincent blinked in confusion, "But, wouldn't it be just the coolest thing ever to meet Riley's parents?"
"No. I don't like touchy-feely family gatherings..." Allan turned away to keep his eyes hidden from view.
"I deserve your disdain after how I treated you back in Solaceon, but my parents do not," Riley frowned at Allan reproachfully, "If you're going to act like a fool, then just meet them once before you judge them... That's all I ask."
"And I'm telling you that I don't want to." keeping his eyes averted, Allan moved to stand up again.
"Allan!" Riley wasn't going to have it; not so soon after catching up to apologize for his unkind behavior.
"Okay, there, boys!" Bran intervened, "Whatever this is about, it can probably wait until after we come up with a game plan."
Frowning his annoyance, Allan decided that maybe going south, when Team Galactic's base was North, was a pointless move, "Actually, Veilstone might be a better destination; and it's equally far from here to Pastoria, or here to Veilstone."
"Yeah, you told me about Team Galactic's main HQ being hidden in plain sight near the pier in Veilstone. Does this mean we have to travel north again?" Vincent asked, putting a hand on Allan's shoulder.
Chuffing briefly, Bran said, "I'll tell you one thing; if we don't clue in the council to what's going on, a helluva lot of people are going to be in trouble... I'm fair certain we don't want any of that, so we're best off headed to the nearest telephone now."
"Any idea where that might be?" Vincent asked curiously
In silence, the party exchanged uncomfortable glances. None wishing to rehash the argument that had taken place moments earlier.
"Well, I wanted to head to Pastoria, but that's opposite to where we need to go if we aim to deal with Team Galactic ourselves... I'm not in the best condition to be traveling long distances, though." Speaking to break up the heavy quiet that had taken hold in the clearing, Allan added, "So I don't have a problem with the phone call, just no going anywhere I'm not ready for, yet..."
"Fine," Riley said inattentively, not really in the mood to chat anymore.
Awkward feelings whirled around the small party, deepening the shadows that crept underfoot. As much as they would all like to laugh at their shared failure to stop the grunts of Team Galactic, it was too much to ask that any of them quirk a half-hearted shrug, let alone a chuckle.
Lucario whispered privately to Gallade, 'Is it just me, or is everyone acting ridiculous about little things? I've never seen Riley act depressed so often; and that's saying something because he was almost worse in some ways after, well... You know...'
'I can imagine,' Gallade replied, hardly hiding the fact that they were having a conversation by leaning toward Lucario, 'As much as I hate to admit my inability to help him, Allan is also depressive... It's all I can do just to get him to cooperate with me in general, let alone keep him in a semblance of happy contentment... I guess it's because I don't want him to feel content, so much as the strength to fight back for the freedom he should have had from the start.'
Nodding, Lucario said, 'In many ways, I saw that in his Aura the first time we ever met. I didn't want to admit it because he nearly killed several people by blowing them up with their own bomb. Even though it was to protect the island, it wasn't quite the right thing to do, but he just avoided hurting them.'
'He did?' Gallade looked her in the eyes surprised
'Yes?' Lucario was confused, 'Didn't either of you hear that no one was so badly hurt that they had to stay at a hospital for an extended period? There were no mortal casualties.'
Seeming to slump with relief, Gallade answered, 'There's actually no way we could have known, where we were at the time the news was going around... Even though this is somewhat top secret, I'll tell you this much; the island can't be detected by any normal means beyond eyesight, for those who can't see beyond darkness...'
'Allan's specially honed ability?' Lucario asked, remembering their conversation from a few days ago
'Yes,' Gallade looked at the dirt as they traversed the path to Veilstone, 'This is something that only the strongest Aura users manage on that island. It is honed in me, and other partners to strong Aura wielders, as well. Out there, on that island, the sky is perpetually dark. Because you've seen shadow stone, you know that it is blacker than the night. No Aura's can be detected through it by average means. The stone itself can't be detected by artificial means, either... It's how the Dark Knights have stayed hidden for so long.'
'Hmm, I'm getting a bad premonition about all this; what exactly have you and Allan been trying to say to us?' Lucario turned to face Gallade, but continued to keep pace with their human companions
'That's not so easy to say, or explain,' Gallade shrugged, 'The honest truth, is that neither of us knows what to do anymore. Things seemed... Brighter, for a time,' Gallade turned to share Lucario's gaze, 'At first, it was simply to perform our mission like usual. But then it became something more when we met you for the second time; somehow, a connection was established by those two fateful meetings...'
'I think I know where you're coming from; neither of you expected an Aura Knight to be indebted to you, much less an entire order that depends on its own strength to protect innocent citizens the world over...' casting her eyes to the stars that had wheeled to roughly two in the morning, Lucario sighed, 'I think I understand a little better, the trepidation you have whenever you think about how well the order will be able to protect themselves, much less the world, if more deadly opponents with a higher degree of training were to invade now.'
'That is certainly a part of it,' Gallade nodded, 'But there's more to it than that... Now we have, though I'm sure Allan wouldn't admit as much, friends that it would just kill us to see die...'
Lucario stopped in her tracks. Her mouth was agape with the reality that hit her like a runaway freight train; if she hadn't been as tough-hearted as she was, she was certain that tears would be sliding quietly down her blue furred cheek.
"Lucario?" Riley turned back to look at his partner curiously, "What's wrong? Why did you stop?"
Shaking off her distress, she turned her nose up at Riley, and said, 'It's no wonder we aren't able to get along with them; we see things too differently! Even when it's the exact same opinion, it's not the same feelings... Instead of being numb all the time, why don't you try to feel some things? Riley, if you felt anything to the extent that they do, then you'd realize how much it burns them to be near us. Learning about us, seeing glimpses of what we see, and what we care about... There's nothing more painful than loving something you can't protect; you know this better than anyone!'
"Okay, where did this come from?" Bran interrupted loudly, his Skarmory cawing sharply from above in agreement.
"I really can't be sure what brought this on, but Bran's right. You're out of line, and need to cool your head," Riley's face was pale as he said this, and called her back to her Pokéball.
'This doesn't stop my ability to communicate with you, but the one needing to cool their head is you... Without ever intending to, Allan and Gallade both have begun to love our presence... And it brings them pain.' Lucario stopped speaking, and did not reply when Riley reached out to her again.
'Just what was that supposed to mean?' Riley wondered to himself, acknowledging that secretly, he was starting to feel the same for Allan and Gallade, too.
'If ever there was a time to say something to break up the tension, it's surely now,' Gallade said to Allan sadly
'I know. But something is telling me right now that you've said too much, again,' Allan replied telepathically, keeping his face straight while Machoke continued to carry him piggy-back style.
Gallade shuffled his feet with guilt, 'Perhaps a bit. I can't say that I liked setting strife between Riley and Lucario; it was the last thing on my mind, but it happened anyway...'
'They're too simple and free to understand the complicated things that we've dealt with, completely by ourselves, at an early age. Don't try to clue them in now at a stupidly fast rush; even if Lucario can get it, Riley just doesn't want to see it... He may accept me as the brother I might be, but that also comes with the stipulation that I leave everything I am behind to be that baby brother he would expect me to be... The time that I could change passed us all a long time ago, and is dead.'
'I'm done trying to tell you that this isn't true. It isn't, but you don't want to hear me, either. Setting that aside... Can you really say that you hate this about Riley?' Gallade reached out to put a hand on Allan's shoulder.
Forgetting himself, and the others around them, Allan answered Gallade out loud, "I don't know what to say about these sorts of things. As much as I hate Riley's determination that I can be whatever he expects, I can't help but love that about him, too. Everything is simultaneous love and hate; I hate that he's a worrywart, but love that he cares; hate that he keeps secrets, but love that he's already thinking about how I may feel about them; hate his stubborn tenacity, but know I'd be lonely for it if he hadn't gotten under my skin as deeply as he has... I'm pretty certain I've gone insane this time, Gallade."
'Um... I'll say... You just made that speech aloud...' Gallade looked like he wasn't sure if he wanted to give a half smile, or sad glance Allan's way.
"So what? I'm not only too tired to care, I'm starting to think that Riley doesn't either," Allan replied, turning his burning face away from the group at large.
"Uh-huh," Vincent hummed, thoughtfully, "Then... What is it you really want from Riley? Or any of us, for that matter?"
"Nothing... And everything," Allan answered in an unhelpful contrast, "The truth is; what little I've seen of the Aura Knights has left me feeling very uneasy for the world..."
Bran scratched his stubbly chin, "Uneasy, you say? Hmm, I take it you know something about the power of the people you work for, but not much about the Aura Knights. I'm not a particularly active member myself, but I know personally that the strongest of us are scattered all over the world to better protect it."
"Yeah! All over the world is right!" Vincent nodded with enthusiasm, "When it comes to the amount of members we have, we aren't spread too thinly to protect everything from evil... Um, the majority of the guys on your side are evil, right?"
Thinking on this for a moment, Allan shook his head, "Regardless of moral alignments, the majority of the people on the island are slaves that didn't make the cut... Just after that population value, the Dark Knights number more than a thousand. That's qualified Knights, not the Squires, and Pages that are still yet to prove themselves."
"This bothers me, Allan... You didn't specifically say anything about being a Dark Knight." Riley spoke quietly, but the sadness was plain in his tone.
"Well I'm not a 'Dark Knight'," Allan replied with an annoyed sigh, "I'm still just a Squire, and I can pretty much kick your butt when I haven't been wandering around to distant locals."
"Kick my butt? Really?" Riley perked up at the challenge, "I won that battle, Allan."
"Because I was tired as hell," Allan nudged Machoke to keep walking, not interested in this coming to blows, "This isn't what you should be focusing on, anyway. It should be the fact that you were nearly beaten by an 'unqualified Squire'!"
"Yep, I'd say he's got the right instincts, your ward," Bran agreed
"I am not his ward!" Allan shouted, turning somewhat pink, but glad of the nighttime darkness that concealed it, "But at least you get what I was saying..."
"Hey, Allan?" Vincent stepped up so that he was walking beside Allan and Machoke, then continued, "I don't know about you, but I'd be majorly hyped about being related, even a little bit, to the 'Gentlemanly Sapphire Knight', Riley."
"Only because you have an idol-crush on him." Allan jabbed verbally
Vincent was taken aback, "A what?"
"Never mind!" Riley interrupted with an awkward cough, "Bran's right, though... You may have lost in the end, but it was still a close fight. I should be paying more attention to your warnings from now on, I guess?"
Acknowledging Riley's addressing him, Allan said calmly, "Yes... But even at that, I still can't be totally trusted, right?"
"Wrong!" Riley cried vehemently
"Absolutely wrong!" Vincent quickly agreed
"You're outnumbered, kid. They're trusting you, even if it gets them killed." Bran smirked
"I would love to be able to say the same," sighing, Allan explained his point, "As weak as everyone in the Aura Knights order seems to be, we'd just be pointlessly sacrificing life if you all followed me into the fray now..."
"That said, fight on?" Bran asked with a smirk.
"You do realize that you're never shaking me off again, after what's been said this night?" Riley directed at Allan, indicating that he wasn't going to be leaving any time soon.
"Yeah!" Vincent tagged on, "Machoke and I are going to train up faster than we ever did before! So don't you worry about us 'being worthy', or not; we're going to be the strongest Aura Knights in history!"
"Ma!" Vincent's partner agreed, hitching Allan higher up on its back.
"I hate this..." Allan grumbled at his continued feelings of embarrassment.
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Hours Later...
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As dawn broke out over the bay, Riley and company stood at the top of a hill overlooking Veilstone city. Turning to his friends, Riley said, "I doubt that security will be even slightly weakened after the last time we were in town, but then again..."
"Changin' things up too soon would likely draw attention. And that's despite the incident with the lakes." Bran nodded
Yawning hugely, Vincent chipped in, "Okay, but I'm a bit too tired to be storming some evil dude's base so early in the morning without any sleep..."
"Who said we had to attack it right away? For all we know, the main base is a decoy for what's really going on," Allan said, lifting his head from Machoke's shoulder to glare blearily at the new day's light.
"Oh, the princess is finally awake," Bran chuckled.
"Haha," Allan turned his glare on the older man, "If it were you, I'm pretty sure you'd still be unconscious."
"Heh, if you say so, pup."
"Stop teasing him, Bran. I don't think that's what we should be concentrating on..." Riley watched the city as it slowly revived from last night's activities.
Facing the reality that they had only a few hours to rest and recuperate, the small party lost no time in making their way to the Pokémon Center.
After making his reports to the council with the phone in the Pokémon Center, Riley joined them in grabbing a late breakfast, and a quick rest in the guest rooms.
To Allan's chagrin, Riley was sharing the same room, and the other two in their group were in another room entirely. Turning away from Riley to ensure that his face wouldn't be seen, Allan groaned at his luck to end up in this predicament a second time.
"Allan?" Riley sat up when he heard Allan's disgruntled moan.
"Nothing, I'm fine." he replied, waving a hand back at the Knight.
"I've been thinking a lot about what's been said, actually..." Riley said in a low tone, as if thoughtful about how he should broach his topic of discussion. Continuing when Allan didn't reply, he added, "It's about what you said when you told me that my little brother isn't coming back... What did you mean, exactly?"
Thinking on this a moment, Allan kept his back to Riley as he answered, "Nothing much... Just that people change with time, and there's just no way he'd be anything you'd expect."
"Can you be sure of that?" Riley said, a tiny note of challenge in his voice.
Feeling his cheeks burning up, Allan was glad that his head was still covered by his hood before he finally replied, "... Yeah."
"Then what do you know?" Riley said, moving closer to gently touch Allan's shoulder, "It took me a while to realize this, but for some reason... I'm convinced that you do actually know something now."
Allan nudged Riley's hand away, and sat up facing the wall, "There's not much to tell, and I don't want to talk about it, either."
Pulling his hood lower, Allan added before Riley could reply, "It's not something I can just talk about. Not this soon."
"Then you will sometime in the near future?" Riley asked, silently wishing he could just make Allan talk now.
"I don't guarantee 'near'. But, yes... Sometime soon," Allan turned slightly so that he could watch Riley as he moved back to his own bed, 'Maybe when I've earned true redemption for being so weak... I should be stronger than this, for everyone's sake.'
.
Meanwhile...
.
High atop a skyscraper watching the sea for signs of prey disturbing the surface, a Fearow cawed defiance toward its hunger. Poking its beak at the leather strap holding a messenger pouch to relieve an itch, it nearly missed the sight of a fish tail flicking in a silver flash above the waves.
Cawing again, Fearow spread it's wings and plummeted from the peak of the forty-story building. Pulling out of the deadly beak-dive, it rushed toward the noontide light from between the many alleys and side roads that otherwise blocked out the sparkling brilliance of the sun's radiance.
Leaving the skyscrapers, docks and quays behind, Fearow closed the distance between itself and it's chosen prey. Dashing now, in the valleys and deeps of the waves, Fearow called once more it's challenge to nature to keep it from claiming a full belly. A silver flash! Fearow swooped perilously. Breaking through the top of a wave that nearly overtook it, Fearow gave a victorious caw, while its talons clutched the fair sized fish it had pulled right out of the sea.
Atop the tallest skyscraper in Veilstone, hunger now sated, Fearow preened its wing while keeping an eye out for its trainer who awaited the message it carried.
.
XXXXXXXXX
Me: Well, what can I say in review of my own chapter? It feels burnt in some places, and doughy-not-even-half baked in others. v_v;
In light of how long I've made my most patient followers wait, I do say that any criticisms about that will be accepted, though I did state in advance that I might be a while in coming about getting this next one out...
Turns out, it took me 'til a couple months after I graduated college to really focus on this. I might not be able to very much in the near future, either, because finding work as an Automotive Alignment tech (while still being a girl ) is going to be hard. And it has been; because as much as I would like to be able to take care of it quickly (so that I can figure out better time management for this, and other side activities), I just can't seem to find reliable city transportation to justify going out to apply myself.
Riley: That's soon to change, right? -.-;
Me: Yes, I'm seriously lacking the confidence for it, though. Wish me luck my few, proud readers!
Oh, yes... Sorry about the little Fearow vignette at the end. You have seen it before in a previous chappy, though! :P