Milo Chapter 11 – Ripples

Milo huffed, clearing his mind to focus as he checked over everything they had just bought. For the first time on his journey they were going to make a trip that would take longer than one day of travel, and would have to camp. Amaya was (predictably) indifferent, but Milo and his Pokémon were quite excited. Aurora was bouncing up and down on the bed singing lightly as she danced about;

Camping, camping, gonna go camping…Me an' my friends an' my Milo are camping…Camping, camping, camping!

Milo was always fond of seeing the young Eevee's regular displays of boundless youthful energy, but she'd been going on that way for almost an hour now, and he needed to be able to concentrate. He shot Azura a look, and she understood perfectly.

Aurora, come little one, we're going to do some training! Want to train? Come on, let's all go!

That did the trick perfectly. Blaze, who had been relaxing in the corner, rolled his eyes with a grin and stirred slowly while their youngest teammate, Ferra, wriggled her way out of a pile of clothes to chase excitedly after Azura and Aurora.

Yes! I'm gonna be the strongest! Woohoo, training training training! I'm gonna be stroooong!

I'm sure you will, answered Blaze patiently, let's follow them. I'll help you get faster, little thing.

With amusement and relief, Milo grinned. He watched through the window as his team gathered on the training field behind the Pokémon Center. He was more than thrilled to see them all getting along so well. He'd heard of Trainers whose Pokémon didn't develop that kind of chemistry, and he knew it could cause crippling issues that were rarely resolved well.

"Yo, we ready?"

Amaya's voice preceded her into the room, and Milo answered absentmindedly, refocusing on his final gear checks;

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah… Got the tents, stakes, sleeping bags-"

"Wait", interrupted Amaya, "is that your team out there? Hang on; I'll get mine to join them. They don't get to hang out enough."

"Wait, Amaya, we'll be leaving in a few – or not, whatever."

Milo muttered this last part to himself as Amaya had already left. He finished running through his mental checklist: they had basic field medicines, two days of food plus some extra, plenty of water…everything seemed to be in order. Satisfied, he went to go out and round up the restless Pokémon outside, who had now been joined by Coral, Terrus, Granite, and Leon.

As he passed through the lobby, his mind full of self-checks regarding their trip, a voice made him turn;

"Hey, Milo, there you are!"

"Oh!" He was rather startled, "Gardenia, what's up?"

"Well, a couple things. First", the good-natured Leader struck a sassy, hands-on-hips pose, "I can't believe you were about to leave without saying goodbye. Second", she cut through his attempted protest, "a prominent local figure wants to meet you."

"A…prominent local figure?"

"Yeah, he should be here soon. His name is Archibald Montgomery, and truthfully he's a bit of an odd duck. Great guy, just not all there socially. You'll see."

Nervous, Milo pressed Gardenia for more info as they took a seat to wait for 'Archibald Montgomery',

"Who is this guy, and what does he want with me?"

"Well, he's an Aura Guardian of some kind, and he's, umm, he sort of proclaimed himself 'Protector of Eterna'. He certainly fits the bill; he's helped defend us from poachers, Rockets, even Team Galactic, back in their hey-day. He's crazy strong, and he's got a real thing for Lucario, which goes with the whole Aura bit."

"Okay", Milo furrowed his brow, "that's all fine, but again, what does he have to do with me?"

Gardenia chuckled to herself, "Well, I'd guess it's got something to do with your little Riolu, Ark doesn't miss a thing around here. Besides that, who knows? He's never been the easiest to figure out. Milo", her grin faded and she became quite serious, "make sure you respect him. He's well known and highly admired by everyone around here, including me. This city owes him a great debt, and for him to seek you out is a great honor indeed."

"…I – I understand", responded the young Trainer solemnly.

"Don't mind if he's a bit awkward", Gardenia added, "he was actually raised by wild Lucario for a long time, so human society is a bit like a second language to him. I promise that he does have a very serious side under the… outgoing exterior. Ah", she turned as the door to the Pokémon Center opened, "that should be him now."

Milo could only blink in surprise at the man that walked in. The Lucario fascination Gardenia had mentioned was immediately evident; he had dressed himself to actually look like one. The short, wiry man, who looked in his mid-late twenties, wore a tan shirt with short blue sleeves and blue shorts that reached just down to his knee-high black socks. He'd even put on a black bandana to complete the effect.

He looked about briefly, before bounding over to Gardenia and Milo with a bright grin;

"Hello, hello! Good to see you as always, Gardenia – and this! This must be the Milo! Am I right? I am, aren't I? You're Milo?"

"Erm…yeah. That's me. You're, uh, Archibald Montgomery?"

Milo did his best to be polite, not stare, etc. It was more difficult than it sounded; the exuberant man did much to draw attention.

"That's me!" He spread his arms wide, before tilting his head slightly and looking quizzically at Milo, "Ark is fine, though. My goodness, are you – Gardenia is he – my boy, you have a particularly odd sense about you. Have you ever come in contact with any kind of Aura? There's something…off about yours that I can't place. I'm sure I've felt something like it before…but where?"

That must be the awkwardness that Gardenia mentioned… I can't just have him blurt out about my Dark Aura!

Swallowing and doing his best to think quickly, he replied as nonchalantly as possible, "Aura? No, no, nothing like that… I do have a Dark-type with some sort of Dark telepathy, and a newborn Riolu, maybe that's it?"

For the first time, Archibald Montgomery's broad smile faltered, "Ah, so it's true. The young one is with you. Pardon me a minute…"

"Ark, if I may", Gardenia cut in, "why don't we take this outside, where you can meet Milo's team and his friend Amaya?"

"Hmm? Ah, yes. Yes, that's a good thought. Out back, I presume?"

Milo nodded wordlessly and led the way, head spinning. As they left the Pokémon Center lobby, Ark poked a button on a Pokéball at his belt, revealing a Lucario. The intense Pokémon immediately stared with deep red eyes at Milo, who froze in his tracks.

"Anubis", called Ark shortly, "easy. I feel it too, but the young one is here."

That seemed to get Anubis' attention, and he and Ark fell silent. Milo inferred from their facial expressions that they were having some kind of Aura-based mental discussion, not unlike his own talks with his team.

Soon, the group rounded the corner of the Center to find the crowd of eight Pokémon all engaged in some rudimentary form of training on the practice field. Amaya sat and watched, headphones firmly in place, as Blaze and Azura led Leon and Aurora through one of Milo's speed drills, while Coral and Granite coached Ferra in a light sparring match. Terrus was kindheartedly giving Ferra an 'opponent' to launch attacks at without retaliating enough to injure the young Riolu.

"Hey guys", called Milo, "hey! There's someone who wants to meet us!"

Both sets of Pokémon ceased, (not before Ferra landed one last admirable Focus Blast) and turned to see who the newcomer was.

Undaunted by the array of faces peering at him, Archibald Montgomery introduced himself cheerfully,

"Hey to all of you! Saw your Gym battles on TV, great stuff! Call me Ark, I'm Eterna's Aura Protector. I just was curious about you guys and wanted to meet the two young teams that have caused such commotion! Oh, this is Anubis, by the way."

Anubis, with a dead serious face, bowed stiffly.

"Don't let me interrupt your training, though! I just want a few words with your Trainer, really."

Slightly subdued, they returned one by one to their previous activities, while Milo and Ark joined Amaya on the side of the field, sitting on a bench to talk and observe. Gardenia hung back, saying,

"I'd love to stay, but I just came to put you in contact with Ark here, and say goodbye. I wish you luck, and I'll be on the lookout for a video from Veilstone very soon! See ya! Oh, and Milo…If you talk to Marcus, tell him I'm anxious to see him? Please?"

Milo chuckled, "Sure thing, Gardenia. Bye!"

Amaya dispensed quickly with formalities, addressing Ark shortly, "I'm Amaya. Who are you, Ark? And why are you dressed up like a Lucario?"

The enigmatic man smiled (again), and replied, "Like I said, I'm the Aura Protector of the city. I was raised in the forest by Lucario, so this outfit is what you could call my tribute to my past."

Amaya raised an eyebrow, looking askance at Ark, "Uh…sure. Whatever. Why are you here?"

"To meet all of you!" He gestured broadly to the assembled Pokémon, who were still training, though many of them cast an occasional glance backward at him.

"Though", he continued in a more subdued tone, "I do have a few questions for Milo in particular."

Amaya rolled her eyes and put her headphones back on, saying, "Seems like everyone does. Have fun chatting, you two. I'll keep an eye on the team."

Ark nodded in agreement, and motioned with his head to Milo, who followed him to a bench on the other side of the field. Still unsure of Ark's intentions, Milo opened his mind quietly to his Pokémon, so they could hear everything that happened,

"So", began the young Trainer, "what kind of questions do you have, Ark?"

"Well", the Aura Protector of Eterna dropped his boyish attitude almost immediately, becoming surprisingly serious, "first I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you've done, especially for your heroic actions in Oreburgh."

Taken aback by the forwardness of his words, Milo sputtered, "I…I don't…what do you know about Oreburgh?"

"I know…" Ark paused; evidently this was difficult for him, "I know where that marvelous little Riolu came from. I know her story."

"You…know about Ferra?" Milo's voice was hushed, "You have the Aura thing… did you know something about her parents?"

"Anubis", said the man quietly. The stoic Lucario, who had been standing nearby watching Milo and Amaya's Pokémon training, padded silently over to his friend Ark.

"Anubis, you've been watching her. What do you think?"

The Aura Pokémon blinked once or twice, and then looked at Ark for a minute, still silent. Milo was confused, until he realized that Ark and Anubis were likely communicating telepathically.

This must be how weird it is for Amaya when I do that. Huh.

"I agree", said Ark, before turning back to Milo, "it really is her."

"Sorry", Milo jumped in, "but what exactly do you know about Ferra? Please, if you know, can you tell me?"

Before Ark answered, Milo felt a small tug on his pants leg. He looked down to see Ferra herself looking solemnly up at him. He picked her up carefully and sat her on his lap, rubbing her ears the way she liked. Looking back at the Aura Protector, Milo saw Ark's eyes cloud with tears, as a small smile spread sadly across his features.

He took a shuddering breath, and began, "I was raised by Lucario in the forest south of here, as I said. I learned to use Aura as they do. Lucario are a rare enough species of Pokémon that all wild Lucario share a kind of Aura connection; I learned to sense that connection as well. The upshot here is…I felt, as did Anubis, when those poachers attacked Ferra's parents."

Anubis himself was now staring unreadably at Ferra, completely focused on Milo's youngest Pokémon friend. Judging by their occasional facial twitches, Milo guessed that they, too, were communicating silently, somehow.

"I…I have a tattoo on my back", Ark continued, standing and turning around, "you can see the top of it there. It's a bone, and goes halfway down my spine, with two slashes through the middle. I got it very recently; it's a reminder of the two brave parents who were lost that day."

Milo was speechless, overwhelmed. He gazed down at Ferra, who was also crying now. He tenderly held onto her small paw, and she grabbed his whole arm tightly, holding on seemingly for dear life, her face buried in the crook of his elbow.

"The father…Ferra's father", Ark's voice was low, full of memory and laden with pain, "his name was Fenrir. He was brave, strong, and kind. He and his mate Morra had gone down years ago to begin a new colony outside Oreburgh. When we heard they had an Egg, we were overjoyed. Especially Anubis."

Ark's Pokémon turned away, clearly suffering from the same pain that was written all over his Trainer's face.

"You see", Ark finished, "Fenrir was…Anubis' older brother."

Dumbstruck, Milo tried to wrap his mind around this revelation, "His brother? So, Anubis…Ferra, that's your uncle!"

The young Riolu was already miles ahead of her Trainer. She had already jumped down and was walking slowly towards the older Aura Pokémon. She approached almost reverently, and placed one small hand on Anubis' leg, looking up at him with the utmost seriousness written on her tiny features.

"Ferra", said a powerful voice. It was Anubis, projecting his voice to be audible.

His voice is so…so strong, thought Milo, so full of experience and depth.

"Ferra, my brother's daughter", he picked her up and held her at his eye level, "Be proud of your legacy. Know that Fenrir is surely proud of you."

Ferra instantly broke into a fresh wave of tears, overcome by the emotional moment. Milo blinked; it was so easy to forget sometimes that she was still incredibly young. Lovingly, Anubis held her close, just like…just like a father would have.

"Honor him by your strength and loyalty", concluded the austere Anubis before gently handing Ferra back to her Trainer.

Breathing deeply to control her emotions, the young Riolu looked up at Milo with a new fire in her eyes and said,

Milo, I wanted to be strong to win and be famous. Now I want to be strong with you, and…I will be strong to honor my father.

Anubis nodded approvingly, "Fenrir would have had it no other way."

Ark smiled sadly at the scene before him before turning respectfully to Milo,

"Someday, Milo, we'll meet again, and I'd love to tell you all about Fenrir. However, I suspect that you need to be off soon, and I've some things to attend to here as well. Before we say adieu, I had one more thing to discuss with you. If you don't mind, that is…"

"What else did you want to talk about, Ark?"

Milo felt much more comfortable talking to 'Archibald Montgomery' now, having shared such an intimate reunion experience.

Ark leaned in, his brow furrowed, "I didn't want to press the issue with anyone else around, since you seemed unwilling to admit it around even Gardenia, but…you have Dark Aura."

It wasn't a question. He knew, for certain. Milo took a shuddering breath.

"I…yeah. I have Dark Aura. Is, uh, that a problem? I don't use it for personal gain or anything, only when it's needed…"

Ark crossed his arms, deep in thought, "It's not a problem, exactly. I just can't help but wonder…where does a young Trainer, fresh out of school and with two badges to his name, get that kind of dangerous power?"

"It was given to me by – by someone I trust, and who trusts me."

Milo was trying not to get defensive, but he was beginning to feel like he was being interrogated, even judged. Anubis was staring at him again, apparently as concerned as Ark was. Suddenly, the Aura Pokémon shot forward like lightning and grabbed ahold of Milo's left hand with the strongest grip he'd ever felt.

Ferra cried out in surprised concern, and Anubis applied Aura power to Milo's hand…and something within Milo seemed to retaliate. He could feel his own Dark Aura rush to repel this intrusion. Still, he couldn't shake free of Anubis, until the Lucario barked in sudden pain, and Milo's hand burned fiercely. Trembling, he turned his hand over to see, on the back, the white insignia that represented his closest secret. Anubis and Ark saw it too. It was the glowing symbol of the Order of Shadows.

"Impossible", whispered Ark, "That can't be. That Order disappeared centuries ago. This can't be happening."

"The Order of Shadows is still alive", responded Milo shakily, clinging to his allegiance to the organization, "we still fight for the balance of the world between chaos and control."

"I… should explain my shock here", said Ark, "Dark Aura users were unheard of in the world until some began to abuse Aura. As they say, the brightest lights cast the deepest shadows. When the proud tradition of Aura Guardians was at its height, some began to take advantage of the dignity and authority of that name. These corrupt Aura Guardians extorted and robbed innocent people, using their strength as a brute weapon for personal gain. Suddenly, a powerful group of people with anti-Aura powers appeared seemingly from nowhere. They called themselves the Order of Shadows and they used this new Dark Aura to lay waste to those who dishonored the name Aura Guardian. Once they had completed their purge of the ranks of Aura Guardians, they vanished into thin air and were never heard from again. They brought the Golden Age of Aura Guardians to a swift and violent close, but also cleansed us of a devastating cancer. They were as much a mystery as their power – their Dark Aura."

Milo, who was listening to every word with rapt attention, questioned the Aura Protector of Eterna, "Why was Dark Aura so effective against them? Aren't Aura moves traditionally fighting-type? Wouldn't they have power over Dark Aura?"

"An astute question, but that's not quite how Aura works. Aura and Dark Aura are more like two sides of the same coin, two expressions of the same deeper force, like a yin-yang type of thing. I'll give you an example; I as an Aura Guardian can sense Aura from every living thing around me. But because you have a concentration of Dark Aura, you're like…a blind spot in my vision. A complete hole, a dark spot where there should be something. Your Dark Aura would affect me just as strongly as my Aura would affect you. The two are equal and opposite."

"I'd never heard the history behind all that", answered Milo truthfully, "it's cool to know that the Order dates that far back."

Ark shrugged, "As far as we know, it's entirely possible that your Order is even older than the Aura Guardian tradition. The Order of Shadows hasn't been heard from in literally hundreds of years; it's one of few organizations more secretive and secluded than the Guardians. I… I must tell you, I'm going to have to report this to my superiors."

"Oh, uh…" Milo knew the importance of absolute secrecy, "I'd really rather you not tell anyone about this, actually. The Order is just as secret now as it always has been, and we need to keep it that way."

"Don't worry", assured the Aura Protector, "We Guardians know all about keeping secrets. Nobody outside the Guardians will hear a word of this. I'll also make sure never to mention you by name."

Milo bit his lip, knowing there wasn't much he could do about it. He'd have to tell Marcus…

"It will be interesting", commented Ark, "to see what happens now. Ferra may be one of the first of her kind to have experience with both Aura and Dark Aura…Ah, but now we both have things to do and things to think on."

As he stood up, something of his earlier exuberance returned to his bright face, "Milo, it was grand to meet you!" He turned to the Pokémon and waved, adding, "It was great to meet all of you as well, and I wish you the best of luck as you continue your journey to the summit of Pokémon Training!"

Milo watched him go, still processing everything that had just happened.

"So", said Amaya, who had crossed the field, "what did weird guy want?"

"That's rude", Milo chided, "He's got a name. Besides, he's a pretty nice guy. He wanted to know about Ferra, turns out she and his Lucario are related. Cool stuff."

"Cool", she nodded. The girl paused and looked curiously up at Milo before posing her next question, "What was that thing with your hand?"

Not again, thought Milo. He thought for a split second before saying, "My hand? Oh, uh, he was just checking something. Turned out not to be what he thought, so no big deal."

"No big deal? Your hand started glowing. Something on it hurt that Lucario when it grabbed you. What are you not telling?"

Cursing under his breath, Milo knew that he was (again) trapped, "Glowing…You saw that, huh? Crap. Well, the Shinx is out of the bag now I guess...No offense, Leon."

With a sigh, he launched into a (heavily abridged) explanation of the Order of Shadows and Dark Aura. Getting through it all in ten minutes was a major accomplishment, given Amaya's frustrating capacity to interrupt him every other sentence. When he was done, he took a deep breath and waited for her reaction;

"Huh. So not only are you some kind of freak prodigy of a Trainer, now you're a secret agent with Dark Aura powers? Milo, you really are something else. Anyway, thanks for spilling the beans."

"…That's it? That's all you have to say about – about everything I just told you?"

Amaya shrugged, "What do you want me to say? 'Oh, Milo, I'm so terribly impressed by your dark and dangerous secrets'? Travelling with you lands me in some pretty wacky circumstances. It'll take more than 'Dark Aura' to really freak me out."

Replacing her headphones, she strode back over to her bench to continue monitoring her team's training. Milo stood, mouth open in disbelief, as she walked off. How…? She was utterly unflappable! Secret organizations, sinister plots, Dark agents – all that got dumped on her at once, and she just…shrugged it off and accepted it? It was like he'd just told her that lunch would be five minutes late!

Well, came Azura's voice, she's certainly a hardy type of person. Does nothing faze her?

I…I guess not.

Milo gave himself a little shake. If Amaya wasn't going to make a big deal of this, he probably shouldn't either.

It was now about ten o'clock in the morning, and Milo decided to give his team a bit more time to train, just to burn off some excess energy before heading out. Maybe this way Aurora wouldn't be bouncing around spouting an endless stream of consciousness into Milo's mind the whole day long.

He tried to just watch, but before long he couldn't resist the temptation to join his team. Soon he was running back and forth, racing Ferra and Aurora back and forth across the length of the field. He'd given up racing Blaze, who was now much too fast for him, but at a full sprint he could just keep pace with Azura, and with every workout he got in he was getting slowly but steadily faster and stronger. This was what being a Trainer was about to Milo; growing alongside one's Pokémon team, as true equals.

He'd recently come up with a new drill to improve his team's intelligence, instinct, and speed at the same time;

"Alright gang, listen up. What we're going to do is spar, like normal, but the goal is not to get hit first. Whoever gets hit first has to do a full field sprint – once down and back. Remember, it's not just about speed; you need to be able to think ahead and try to trap your opponent. Ready? Okay, Azura and Blaze over there, Aurora and Ferra over here. Ferra, let's see that Quick Attack in action!"

While Amaya's team stood on one half of the field blasting away at one another with impossibly strong attacks, Milo and his team began what turned out to be a highly effective drill. Eventually, when Ferra was tired, Milo sparred against Aurora using his Dark Aura to launch weak attacks at the young Eevee. He was surprised by her ability to dodge on instinct; she could avoid a string of attacks without appearing to exert hardly any effort. In fact, it was Milo who did the majority of the sprints when she would catch him off guard with a Shadow Ball.

They trained this way for almost an hour, and Milo called a halt around eleven;

"Hey guys, that's good for now. Let's not get completely exhausted before we head out. Amaya, you good to go?"

"Waiting on you, Milo" was the impassive answer.

In another fifteen minutes or so, they at last left Eterna, headed due South on Route 206.

-o-

"Ugh", said Amaya after they'd been walking about two hours, "if we had bikes, we could've been halfway to Hearthome by now."

"Yeah", Milo answered gruffly, his patience wearing a bit thin, "well, we don't have bikes, so complaining isn't going to help anything. Come on!"

Blaze and Azura walked just behind Milo, talking quietly to one another about something, and Ferra was asleep in Milo's backpack, her head resting on his shoulder. Aurora and Leon came bounding past him;

Last one to that rock's a Slowpoke!

Leon, protested Aurora, that's no fair! You got a head start!

Hey, you're supposed to be Miss Speedy, remember? Nyah nyah!

Dropping her head, the little Eevee broke into a full sprint. Milo noticed the impromptu race and encouraged his small teammate;

"Hey, get him Aurora! Show him that work we've been doing!"

Sure enough, Aurora managed to make up ground on the competitive Shinx.

"Come on, Leon!" Amaya had also taken an interest, it seemed, "Don't let her catch you!"

The two young Pokémon raced towards the arbitrarily selected rock…and both ran headlong into it, unable to stop in time to avoid the collision.

I…beat you… said Aurora, panting.

Leon evidently disagreed, but the whole group was suddenly distracted by a newcomer;

"Hey!" A voice called from behind, a voice that made both Milo and Amaya turn to each other and groan.

"Hey, losers! What, did you give up on the Eterna Gym already?"

Amaya gave Milo a look, and asked, "Do you want to thrash him this time, or is it my turn again?"

With a sigh, Milo shrugged, "I'll get it. Ah, Damion! I couldn't hear you over the thunderous footsteps of your grossly inflated ego."

"Shut up and fight, you twerp!"

"When will you realize that both of us outclass you, Damion? If you're the best the VPC has to offer, I think even the Twinleaf Trainer's School outranks you by a mile."

"Ugh, this is why everyone hates you smug JPTA nerds. I said SHUT UP and FIGHT ME!"

Milo shrugged and said, "Have it your way. Azura, let's get to work!"

The Umbreon coolly made her way out to the improvised battle field.

"Ha! Bet you weren't expecting this! Prinplup, get it done!"

"Hmm", Milo raised an eyebrow, "Prinplup, eh? Well, I think it's time for a reunion then. Azura, let Blaze take this one. You'll get your turn later. Blaze, let's get to work!"

Blaze jumped eagerly forward, nodding in acknowledgement of his old friend, who waved cheerfully back.

"Hey", yelled Damion at his Pokémon, "don't be friendly with that flaming runt! Attack! Drill Peck that thing!"

Blaze cartwheeled acrobatically out of the way of the charging Prinplup, and Milo called a follow-up,

"Let's see that Brick Break, Blaze!"

Blaze's glowing arm came down hard into the back of the sluggish Penguin Pokémon. Damion's Water starter got up slowly, shaking his head to clear his vision.

"C'mon, get in there already, Prinplup! Bubblebeam!"

"Get moving, Blaze. Be patient."

In fairness to Prinplup, the Bubblebeam was a powerful one, and he maintained it for a good time. After about twenty seconds of Blaze casually dodging the stream of bubbles that flew at him, Prinplup had to stop and take a breath.

"Now, Blaze. Low Kick."

Prinplup hit the dirt, again, unceremoniously. Milo knew he could end the round then and there by pressing his advantage, but it felt unfair…

Blaze turned and asked, Should I hit him again?

No. Damion deserves it, but for Prinplup's sake let's not. He deserves better, don't you think?

The Playful Pokémon nodded, I agree.

Blaze and Milo waited patiently, while Prinplup grimaced and forced himself back upright.

"What the hell", called Damion, "why can't you beat a freaking Fire type? Get back in there! Fury Attack!"

Milo sighed, "Again, Blaze. Mach Punch when it's time."

For the third time, Blaze had no trouble avoiding the now-exhausted Prinplup. When his opponent paused, Blaze landed a rather apologetic Mach Punch, sending Prinplup down for good. Damion recalled his fallen starter;

"Tch. And here I thought evolving might make you useful. Fine then, Machop! Get it done!"

"Blaze, return."

Milo looked over his shoulder to see that Ferra had woken up and was watching as if her life depended on seeing every instant of a real battle.

"Hey, sleepyhead", he greeted her, "Want to try it out?"

You mean I get to battle? Really?

Only if you want, answered Milo, I'll pull you out the moment it looks bad, okay?

In response, the young Riolu jumped down and ran out onto the field, staring down her opponent like a practiced battler. Damion's eyes narrowed, and he asked in a low voice,

"Where…where did you get that Riolu?"

Milo recalled with dark pleasure that it was Damion who had intended to buy the Egg from which Ferra had hatched. He felt his emotions begin to build.

"Oh, you mean this Riolu? The one that hatched from the Oreburgh Egg? The one gifted to me by the city after I rescued it from poachers?! THAT Riolu?!"

"You didn't…You stealing bastard!"

Now he was absolutely furious. Milo screamed at the taller boy, "Oh, I'm the bastard? You hired poachers who killed two innocent Pokémon, stole their Egg and tried to sell it illegally! You're the bastard for having anything to do with Team Rocket! Prepare to be crushed, Damion!"

At this outburst, Ferra whirled around to face Milo, eyes wide in shock;

It…It was him? He hired the people who…

Yes, Ferra, answered Milo grimly, It was Damion.

She unleashed the biggest scream of rage her little body could muster and took off faster than Milo had ever seen her move, dashing towards Damion's Machop, who looked entirely unsure of himself. Milo could see her palm begin to glow a light blue color, and he called out,

"Yes, Ferra! Force Palm him with all you've got!"

"Machop, counter with Karate Chop!"

Ferra had the power of fury behind her, but she was as yet inexperienced, and the Machop timed its Karate Chop well, blocking her effort. They reached an impasse, and Milo knew his young Pokémon wasn't prepared for any fancy moves, so he encouraged her as best he could,

"C'mon Ferra! Give it everything you've got!"

With a growl that turned into another surprisingly ferocious yell, she pushed the larger Pokémon off her, and sent it flying back to collide directly with Damion, who scrambled back to his feet. Milo knew he had the advantage now, despite Ferra's youth. That small victory would surely have boosted her confidence through the roof.

"You're doing great, girl, now don't give him time to reset! Quick Attack back in there and show him that Blaze Kick you've been working on!"

"Move, Machop! Dodge that Quick Attack and Seismic Toss this tiny punk!"

Milo could tell that Ferra had been watching Blaze closely: she managed to alter the course of the Quick Attack to account for Machop's weak attempt to dodge. The Superpower Pokémon was thrown back, but recovered well. Ferra's Blaze Kick was unfortunately still a work in progress, and when it failed to hit home, Machop was ready.

"Do it", yelled Damion, "Seismic Toss it into the ground!"

Milo's heart was in his throat as Damion's Pokémon grabbed Ferra tightly and, despite her struggling, slammed her viciously into the ground.

"Ha", came the taunt from the Veilstone graduate, "not so tough after all, are you? Who's next?"

Milo was about to make it official when he heard a small groan from the prone form of his Riolu.

Don't…Milo…I can still – I can still kick his butt! I – I refuse to let him win! This is for my parents!

From the ground, she leapt up and Force Palmed the Machop in the abdomen, sending it flying up…and crashing down.

"YES, FERRA!" Milo was ecstatic, "Now Focus Blast!"

The quick follow-up confirmed the sudden comeback, and Machop collapsed unconscious in the dirt, eliciting a snarl from Damion;

"Geez, you can't even close out a victory. What a waste of a Pokémon. Whatever. Staravia, get in there, and get it done!"

"Ferra", Milo knew better than to let her keep going, "come on back. Let Azura handle this."

Each Trainer waited, seeing if the other would make the first move… It was Milo who took the initiative in this round;

"Azura, Dark Pulse!"

"Move, Staravia. Quick Attack, then Aerial Ace!"

"Stop it, Azura! Confusion!"

The pace of battle skyrocketed. Azura's Dark Pulse went safely underneath the speedy Staravia. Damion's bird Pokémon snapped into a dive bomb with Aerial Ace ready to go, but was stopped in its tracks by Azura's psychic blast.

"Yes! Now Pursuit, ground it!"

"Behind you, Staravia! Wing Attack!"

Milo's eyes narrowed as Staravia perfectly intercepted the Dark attack by beating Azura with its wings, bringing her tumbling back down.

Are you alright?

Definitely, came her determined response, let me back at him.

"Alright, girl. Another Dark Pulse!"

Staravia tried to dodge downward, but Azura predicted it perfectly, and landed a huge Dark Pulse hit.

"Shoot", Damion was frustrated, "get the hell up, you sack of feathers! Get in there and fight! Aerial Ace!"

With a pained grimace, Staravia shot forward across the ground, wings aglow, aiming unerringly for Azura, who waited bravely for Milo's command;

"Now! Pursuit!"

"Staaa?"

Damion's bird was dumbfounded as its target vanished just before impact, only to slam hard into its back. With a tired squawk, Staravia allowed itself to stay down, leaving its Trainer with only one Pokémon remaining.

"Hpmh", Damion's scowl was thoroughly indicative of his mood, "Well, this last one won't take no for an answer. Geodude, get it done!"

"I'm surprised you would be so naïve, Damion", Milo's response was rather condescending, "Well, maybe not that surprised. Blaze, one more time, let's get to work."

Always ready for a fight, Blaze jumped out, giving his tail a sizable flare to show his enthusiasm. Geodude was unfazed by the fiery display, and Damion called out,

"Show him that Rock Throw, Geodude!"

"Quick Attack, Brick Break!"

Blaze crossed the makeshift battlefield in a flash, crashing into Geodude. The Quick Attack didn't do much damage, but it threw off the Rock Pokémon just enough to allow Blaze the time he needed to land a savage Brick Break that left his opponent reeling.

"Quit fooling around, Geodude! Magnitude!"

Time slowed for Milo. He knew Blaze was trapped. There was no running from a Magnitude, especially if Geodude managed a particularly powerful attack. A thought struck him – there was one place the attack would surely not touch…

"Blaze, get on top of Geodude!"

The Playful Pokémon still took a fair amount of damage as the attack began before he could get off the ground, but he managed to follow Milo's bizarre instructions perfectly. With an impressive leap, he landed squarely on Geodude's head, grabbing on tightly to weather the Magnitude attack.

"What are you doing?" Damion was absolutely nonplussed, "Shake that thing off! Rock Polish!"

Seeing that Magnitude had subsided, Milo gave his next order, "Focus Punch him into the ground, then get your distance!"

Unfortunately for Geodude, the Focus Punch was more than enough to put it out of commission. Another clean sweep victory for Milo left Damion Parr fuming and spluttering.

"It's not like this even matters", he finally managed, "I'm still going to top anyone and everyone. You just wait."

With that bit of petulance, he scowled and went back the way he'd come. Milo quickly got out some potions to fix up Ferra, and before too long she was feeling perfectly fine.

"Hey, all three of you, that was really well done! Blaze, I'm proud of you for fighting through that Magnitude like you did. Your endurance has been improving, pal."

Woohoo, chimed in Aurora merrily, go team! Good win! We're the best! We're the best!

Amaya walked over and punched Milo in the shoulder, a sure sign of affection, saying "Nice win, Milo."

"Ow! Uh, thanks. One of us had to kick his butt."

Suddenly, Azura's ears perked up,

Milo…Did you hear that?

"Hear what? Azura, is someone else here?"

Aurora noticed as well, and bounded over to the Umbreon, whom she had begun to idolize,

'Sup, 'Zura? You talking about that Gible that was watching us?

"Wait, Aurora, what Gible?"

Amaya cut in, tired of hearing only half the conversation, "Hey, Milo, fill me in here. What's up?"

"Aurora says there's been a Gible watching us for a while. Hey, come out!"

Sure enough, from behind one of the rocks a ways down the path from where they'd had their battle emerged the small Dragon type, wearing a fierce look,

"Gib gib! Gible gib!"

"Well. Hey there, little guy."

Amaya took a step back, and her hand went to her belt; "He looks kind of pissed off…"

"Vee!"

Aurora jumped in between Milo and the visitor and protested on his behalf.

No! He's very nice! He wants to be strong, just like us! He told me so!

"Aurora…were you talking to this Gible while we were battling?"

Yep! She smiled, apparently quite proud of herself, His name's Drake.

Drake stepped forward now, past Aurora, and looked Milo in the eye, pointing a small claw at Blaze, who was still quite perplexed;

"Gib gible gib!"

Azura pawed gently at Milo's leg, and he looked down at her for an explanation;

Milo, this Gible wants to join us, but wants us to prove ourselves to him. He'd like to fight Blaze.

So…If Blaze beats him, he'll come with us? Why Blaze?

Because, answered Azura simply, he watched our battle.

Milo's apprehension slowly turned to excitement at the prospect of a new addition to his team, and a grin spread across his face;

"Alright then, Drake, we'll take you on. Blaze, what do you think?"

The energetic Fire-type smiled, Eh, I'm a bit sore, but I can take this little guy down if he wants to pick a fight.

Barking his approval, Drake waddled over to take up position across from Blaze on the makeshift field they'd just used to defeat Damion.

"Let him go first, Blaze, let's see what this Gible's got up his sleeve."

Drake needed no second invitation, and his claw began to burn with an eerie flame as he ran at Blaze.

"Careful Blaze, that's a Dragon Claw! Jump straight up, and come down with a Blaze Kick!"

Blaze leaped upwards and landed with a fiery foot on the unsuspecting Drake, but the attack that would have felled most weak wild Pokémon seemed only to anger the Land Shark. He got up with an angry look before diving into the earth, burrowing a hole for himself as fast as his small claws could move.

Amaya, who was watching the proceedings with her usual passive interest, raised an eyebrow and asked,

"What? Is that…Dig? That's not bad…"

Milo refused to be distracted, and advised his Monferno, "Get moving, Blaze. We don't know where he'll come up."

Blaze began flashing to and fro with a flurry of Quick Attacks and a Double Team. After a few tense seconds, the middle of their battling area exploded in a shower of earth as Drake, unsure of where to hit Blaze, had gone straight for the middle to cover the most possible ground. Unfortunately for Blaze, the strategy was both intelligent and effective. The Playful Pokémon was caught near the edge of the blast, and went flying a good ways, before getting back up with narrowed eyes: he meant business now.

An attack that large from a Pokémon so small should leave it tired, Milo realized, now is our chance to counter!

"Quick, Blaze! Mach Punch before he recovers!"

With his pride now at stake, Blaze shot towards the Gible with ferocious speed, landing a truly massive Mach Punch that all but knocked the small Dragon out. Milo quickly fished an empty Luxury Ball from his belt.

"Can't ask for much more proof than that; you're coming with us, Drake!"

The ball rolled about on the ground, and actually bounced quite violently once or twice before it pinged, completing the official capture.

"Yes! Great going, Blaze! I'm so proud of you, buddy."

Blaze puffed his chest out confidently, as the rest of the team came over to congratulate him. Ferra was particularly awed, as she generally was by any display of battling prowess.

That was a really strong Mach Punch, Blaze. How'd you do it?

The kindly Monferno winked down at his young companion, I'll try and show you next time we train. Right now I'm a bit too tired, though…That Dig was nothing to sneeze at. Hey, Milo, let's meet Drake!

Milo nodded, and released the newly captured Gible.

"Gible gib!"

The little Pokémon smiled fiercely up at his new Trainer before turning to acknowledge his four teammates. As the Pokémon all passed around introductions, Amaya stood herself at Milo's side and commented;

"You have to be the luckiest dang Trainer I've ever heard of."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"After everything that's already happened, a Gible, which by the way will be a freaking Garchomp eventually, just shows up and literally asks to be captured? Wow."

Milo grinned and shrugged, "What do you want me to do about it? I can't help if the way I act attracts people and Pokémon who want to travel with me. I mean, you literally just showed up and asked to come along, too, remember?"

"Yeah", she answered with a sly grin, "but you didn't capture me." She punched Milo in the shoulder, and went back to her pack to get a snack and tend to her team. Milo rubbed his shoulder ruefully as he watched her walk away before turning his attention back to his own Pokémon.

Drake was apparently explaining himself to the team, but stopped short as Milo approached.

"Hey. Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. Mind if I listen in?"

"Gible gib?" Drake gave him a questioning look, confused as to how Milo could 'listen in'.

Milo sighed, and warned his new Pokémon, "Don't get freaked out by what's about to happen."

He closed his eyes, took a breath, and stretched out with his mind towards the little Dragon.

Hey, Drake. Nice to meet you, officially.

WHAA! Wait, you're kidding… You can't actually understand me like this, can you?

You bet I can. It's a good time.

…Well. That's weird. I'll start over, then…

Drake – one week ago

"Drake, this is the last straw!"

The Gabite leader of their little community glared down at him with a face that would have cowed any of the other Gible into submission, but not Drake.

"Last straw? Why?" He challenged angrily, "What are you afraid of?"

Bigjaw dropped his voice to a dangerous hiss, "We have tolerated your…disruptive behaviors until now, but if you do not reform and relinquish these futile ambitions then you will be banished!"

At this point, the other Gible present at his 'trial' were nervously whispering at him to drop the issue and agree with Bigjaw. Drake, however, refused to back down. He'd come too far to change now.

"No! You can't force me to live some small life and never be anything but just another Gible! I will be Garchomp someday, and nothing you do or say will stop me!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" roared the taller Gabite, "You know as well as the rest of us that few Gible ever become Gabite, and only a handful ever become Garchomp! Your reckless ambition will upset the careful order of our proud society if you cannot curb your lust for power!"

"What, so I should just quit because my chances are too small? Is that what you want?"

His heart burned with a fire he'd never felt before. He knew – he just knew, that he was destined to be Garchomp someday, no matter how slim the odds were. He could feel it in his bones. If not even Bigjaw could understand his fervor, then maybe it really was time to strike out on his own. On the rock pedestal in front of him, the leader of their cave community sighed, composing himself before he answered;

"Drake, nobody wants you to give up. We see and admire your fighting spirit. We only wish that you could perhaps… direct it more productively towards the ways of our people. Accept and follow our laws. No more picking fights to grow stronger, no more going away for hours, alone, 'to train'. Stay here and be content."

Adrenaline coursed through the idealistic Gible, and he answered for the last time, "I'm sorry, Bigjaw, but I can't lay aside my destiny for your rules of comfort. I can't do it. If there's no place for me to follow my dream here, then I'll go. Goodbye, Bigjaw."

The Gabite, as well as his fellow Gible, called out to him, yelling for him to stop, to come back, but he shut them out. Growing more determined with every step, he broke into a run, sprinting out into the sunlight beyond the cave he'd called home his whole life.

-o-

So, he concluded, I wandered about for a while, and then decided that the best way to grow would be to find a Trainer. I watched various humans that passed by, but none of them seemed competent enough to propel me towards becoming Garchomp. Then I saw you battle that other guy, and I just got this feeling that you were the one. I talked to – it's Aurora, right? – yeah, Aurora, and she confirmed what I suspected. So here we are.

"That's a heck of a story", said Milo, "I'm honored that you think I'm the one. I'll certainly do everything I can to make sure you evolve into Garchomp. For now, though, let me fix you up. Blaze sure knows how to dish out a beating, after all."

Drake gratefully accepted the medications that Milo produced from his pack, and before long he was back to perfect fitness. Milo returned his team, with the exception of Aurora, so they could get additional rest after their fights, and looked to Amaya,

"Alright, ready to move on?"

She was petting Leon while munching on what appeared to be fruit snacks. Seeing Milo trying to get her attention, she pulled her headphones off and asked,

"Huh? What, did you want to get going? Yeah, alright."

She nudged her Shinx off of her lap, put away her bag of snacks, and was ready to hit the road seconds later.

Milo was grateful that nothing else of any note happened in the next few hours. As they passed under the southern end of the Bike Route, Milo began looking out for a good place to make camp. They had plenty of strong Pokémon with them, but it was nonetheless dangerous to be caught unprepared at night.

"I think we should set up for the night soon, Amaya. We should probably aim to be done making camp before dark."

"Okay. I'll be honest, Milo, I've never done this camping thing before."

Aurora, who was nestled contentedly against Milo's chest, held safe in his arms, perked up and asked,

Do we get to make a fire?

Hmm? Yep, that's right. We'll have a campfire. I'll probably get Blaze to help us out.

Spying a relatively bare patch of ground a ways off the main path, Milo announced their arrival;

"This looks like a good spot, we'll camp here. Come on out, everyone, I'll need your help setting up!"

As the rest of his Pokémon appeared, Milo began assigning jobs to make sure they got set up quickly. It was early evening now, and the sun would be gone behind the trees in only an hour or two.

Milo and Amaya got out three tents; one for each Trainer, and one for the smaller Pokémon, who would no doubt relish the chance to sleep outside of their Pokéballs.

Woohoo! Camping time! Aurora was once again ecstatic, Can I help? Please, please?

"Yes", he answered aloud, "everyone's going to help. Drake and Azura, can you two go gather some wood, so Blaze can light the fire?"

The pair of them nodded, and wandered off into the trees to get suitable firewood. Milo turned next to Blaze and pointed at one of the tents,

"Alright. Until they get back, help me get this one set up, Blaze. You two", he addressed Aurora and Ferra, "when I point out where the stakes are going, it'll be your job to put them in the ground, alright?"

As Milo and his team got down to work, Amaya and her Pokémon were doing their best to do the same. Coral and Granite were too big to be much help, so she, Terrus, and Leon all puzzled over how on earth the tent was supposed to go up. Milo and Blaze quickly had their own tent erected, and as the two younger Pokémon eagerly set to their task of pounding the stakes into the ground, Amaya finally gave in and asked for help;

"Milo, how'd you get yours up that fast? I can't figure out which parts go where on this darn thing!"

"Huh? Oh, here, let me show you. Ah, you've uh…you've got it laid out upside down."

The Twinleaf Trainer growled in frustration as Milo took over and demonstrated.

"How'd you get so good at that anyway? Does the JPTA do field trips?"

Milo grinned, "Nah. I took an elective a few years back called 'Travelling Trainer Basics'. It was a blow-off course, but now I'm glad some of it stuck at least."

"They have classes for this kind of thing there? That's nuts."

After he showed her how to put her own tent up, he left her with her Pokémon to put up the extra tent, as Drake and Azura returned with bundles of wood. Milo carefully picked out just enough wood to get the fire going, and arranged it in a teepee shape before having Blaze use a light Ember to get it burning.

"One last thing to do, then", Milo said triumphantly, "and that's eat! Who wants hot dogs?"

The team sat around and Milo roasted some of the hot dogs he'd packed over the fire. Ferra particularly enjoyed them, as did Blaze, who ate four. Of Amaya's Pokémon, only Coral was willing to try them, and the majestic Milotic found that she simply couldn't get enough, as long as they had ketchup. This was hilarious to watch, but unfortunate for their food supplies. The extra dozen hot dogs Milo had packed disappeared in less than half an hour as Coral kept on requesting more.

"Sorry", he finally said, "That was the last one."

Coral was disappointed for a moment, but then curled herself up contentedly like an overgrown python and gazed at the fire. By nine o'clock, they'd finished eating and were all sitting around the fire, each wrapped in their own thoughts. Milo noticed that Ferra was already asleep, leaned up on a log, and Aurora's eyelids were beginning to droop as well.

"Alright", he began, forcing himself up, "let's get you two in your tent so you can get some sleep."

He silently thanked his lucky stars that he received no protestation, and before long, they were joined by Leon, at Amaya's request. Blaze went as well;

Someone ought to keep an eye on the kiddies, after all.

Milo nodded, but he knew Blaze really just wanted to go to sleep.

Milo, Azura stood up and looked at her Trainer, her amber eyes reflecting the firelight warmly, I'm going to settle in. If you don't mind, I'll share your tent with you.

Sure, he smiled, I'll be in before too long.

With that, it was only Milo and Amaya left outside, sitting next to one another as the fire quietly popped and crackled with a life of its own.

For a few minutes, a peaceful calm settled on Milo. He was quite content to sit in the warm air, by the fire, with his friend and his Pokémon team.

"…Milo?" Amaya asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"What's this about for you? Travelling, training, all of it; what do you do it for?"

"…Never thought I'd hear that from you of all people. Why the question?"

"I don't know. Just – I was thinking about it."

The two young trainers stared up at the stars together. Milo paused before offering an answer;

"Part of me feels like doing all this will prove to everyone else that my different ideas actually work. Mostly, though, I guess I just enjoy it. Geez, this sounds so cheesy, but – whenever I see my team I just feel like I couldn't see myself doing anything else. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"What about you?"

Amaya said nothing, and after a second Milo peered over to find her brow furrowed, as though she was quite concerned.

"I enjoy it too…but I feel like I have to do this. This is the only option I have."

"I don't follow. Why do you have to be a Trainer?"

"I…have to prove I'm not weak. I have to prove it to the world, and to me."

"Nobody thinks you're weak, 'Maya. Your strength is, like, off the charts. Your Pokémon are stronger than mine – the only reason I beat you is because we're fast enough to get out of the way."

"You don't understand. I…can you promise not to talk about this to anyone else?"

Milo looked curiously over at his new friend. It was unheard of for her to actually open up this way.

"Of course. What's up?"

"I wasn't always so…you know, Amaya-y. I used to be nice, outgoing, cheerful, all that stuff. Back then, I still had my older sister."

"You have a sister?"

"Had", was her cold, angry response. Milo was about to apologize when he heard Amaya take a shuddering breath and continue, "She's not my family any more. She's in jail."

Another pause.

"Seven years ago, when Galactic was hitting their stride, they came all the way out to Twinleaf to recruit people. My sister, Maxie, was an ambitious teenager with some moderate talent as a Trainer. She saw an opportunity to escape Twinleaf and really make an impact on the world. When she told me she was thinking of going, I freaked out. I begged her not to go."

"She…she left anyway?"

A dark chuckle cracked through Amaya's lips, "Oh, she did more than that. We had always been thick as thieves, Maxie and I, but when I tried to stop her joining Galactic she blew up at me. She screamed at me that I was weak, I didn't understand, I would never amount to as much as she could. As a nine year old little sister hearing that…it left a mark. I had a Feebas at the time that I'd caught when she and I went fishing one time. After Maxie left, I trained the heck out of my only Pokémon, and soon enough I had Coral. That's why I am who I am now. I can never do enough to prove to myself that all those things Maxie yelled in my face were wrong. I don't think I'll ever be able to really put it behind me."

Milo was shocked. He couldn't imagine that kind of betrayal. He knew that if Marcus had ever done something similar, he would've been totally broken, and Amaya was no different.

"Amaya…I'm so sorry."

"Yeah. Me too. Still, we're not so different."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you and Marcus are close, but you're still in his shadow. Until you do something, you'll be Marcus' little brother, not Milo."

"I mean, yeah, but I don't see that as something I have to do. That's more like a challenge I've accepted."

"Huh", Amaya mulled over his response briefly, before admitting, "I'd never really thought of it like that. That's – I think that's a really cool way to see it."

Milo smiled, happy to have helped in some small way, and the two Trainers lay by the campfire a while longer, gazing silently at the stars, until Amaya stood up without warning;

"I'm going to bed. Milo…thanks for talking. I guess I didn't know I needed that."

"Sure", he answered without moving, "anytime you need to talk, you know I'm here."

She got into her tent, but Milo sat outside a while longer, thinking over what he'd just learned. He'd never understood Amaya's aggressive impassivity, but knowing what he did now, it suddenly made perfect sense. He couldn't relate, exactly, but he could at least understand.

He sat quietly, letting his mind slowly empty itself out, and eventually he roused himself and quietly got into his tent. Azura had fallen asleep next to his sleeping bag, and though he tried not to wake her, she stirred, and happily snuggled in close to her Trainer.

Tomorrow, he thought, we'll hit Hearthome. After that… we head out for Gym number three.

He fell asleep with a grin of anticipation on his face. His next challenge was fast approaching.

Author's Notes: So, first things first, a big shout out to Lunar Knight Archangel for suggesting/providing the character of Ark.

Second, what did you think of the backstory on Ferra's parents and the Order? How about the life chat with Amaya? Let me know your opinion with a review! I love hearing from readers!

Gameboy1001: Hopefully this chapter shows how/when Galactic fits into this particular version of Sinnoh.

Finally, don't forget to follow and/or favorite so that you can keep up with this story as I keep going, and other people can find it too! Thanks so much for reading! Cheers!

-NanobotEX