"Aura is the force that all life forms exhibit, but only few can see it. Even fewer can manipulate it- whether that be in their own favour, or to help others, is purely up to them."
"The Lucario evolutionary line is one of those few that are able to successfully read, manipulate and use aura."
"The black appendages on the back of their whole species' heads exhibit a high volume of that aura within them, likely storing them for future use. Like mentioned earlier, all life radiates that aura. These 'things' are simply increasing the amount of aura a Lucario can hold."
"In their pre-evolutionary stage, Riolu are not as fond of that power, relying on their physical strengths to get through life until evolution."
"Once that happens, it's like the opening of a third eye for these freshly made Lucario. They will see the world differently, hear sounds differently."
"Aura can be used offensively, as well as defensively or even passively. While on the offense, the aura user will feel a spike in their determination, as well as heightened adrenaline rushes throughout battles."
"That's not the only offensive use though. While all that is happening, the flow of aura that the user generates also heightens, maximizing their potential and driving them to the limit of their bodies."
"The spiked flow can also be used as a way to generate spheres made up of that energy, that upon contact with any solid matter, explode. This serves as a great way to keep distance when battling hearty foes."
"On the defensive side of the spectrum, the user will be able to use the aura as a means of healing their allies, drawing it from their surroundings and pushing it into the injured colleague's own."
"The user can also create barriers using their aura, potentially blocking attacks and even trapping opponents in invisible walls- a great way to drive them to insanity."
"While on the theme of insanity, the user of aura can transfer their own aura into another being's body, something that's used as a last-ditch effort to save one another, but also something that is often fatal to the user."
"Outside the defensive and offensive spectrum lie passive abilities that come with mastering and understanding aura on their own."
"One such thing is being able to sense the aura of others, even through thick objects, and when the user's vision is obstructed. It proves highly useful against opponents that hide behind smokescreens and such."
"A less popular ability is the ability to speak with the dead, even allowing them to interact with the physical world. As of yet, this particular ability is unable to be researched, due to the recipients being ghosts, and in turn invisible."
"It cannot be even proven if those really are the dead speaking and interacting with the world around us, since the user of aura can be simply talking himself."
"Talking is another thing that aura enables. Not verbally, of course- telepathically. That is another reason why the whole "talking with the dead" thing has been crossed off of aura capabilities temporarily."
"It is still unclear how exactly these telepathic messages form and travel to the recipient. Maybe the user thinks of the words, then uses aura to send these words to somebody else. Nobody knows remotely enough to be sure."
"The last and probably most important thing, is the ability to read minds. Yes, that is true; aura allows the user to hear the thought process going on in another's mind, perceiving it as normal words."
"It can be used to uncover many secrets, find out many things, spy on others- the possibilities are virtually endless."
"One such thing that aura also enables, is reading memories through thoughts. It is theorized that the user manipulates aura in such a way, that they travel deep into receiver's mind, planting a sort of bug and listening in on them."
Lucario stopped writing, staring at what he has made with both confusion and awe. It has been a long time since he last wrote something.
"No, no... It all sounds too mysterious and creepy. It's like a scientist is writing this. What do you think, Shout?" He looked up, as if staring at his friend's form.
"Well, you can use some of this to think of another story, right?" He suggested with a low hum.
After a moment of thinking, Lucario nodded and ripped out the page on which he had wrote the previous piece, smiling. "I think I have just the thing for that."
Chapter 7: "Warm nights."
"Kill the mind, build the mind, free the mind.
"Come on, you can do better than that!" The Lycanroc yelled at his pup as he slammed himself repeatedly against a boulder.
The small Rockruff grunted heavily as he tackled the giant rock once more, collapsing down to the ground from exhaustion and panting heavily.
He looked at his father, who only scoffed at the sight and looked away. "Pathetic."
"No, no, no, dad, I promise I can do it! Just give me one more chance!" Rockruff said through his laboured breathing, getting back up on his shaky legs.
"Cassian, that is enough." Lycanroc stopped him abruptly and stared into his son's eyes. "You have already proven your worth. And from what I gathered you cannot do even the simplest thing."
His father's sharp tone would have scared many Pokemon, but not Rockruff, who has lived with this kind of attitude towards him for all his life.
"Never enough, forever disgraced." Cassian mumbled under his breath and sighed, turning back to the rock and continuing to ram his body into it all full force, determined to at least crack it.
He felt as his body grew weaker by the second, his muscles slowly giving out and the pain taking over.
The moment he threw himself one last time at the slab, Lycanroc stepped in and punched clean through it, shattering it into many small pieces and leaving the small Rockruff pup astounded at this show of raw strength.
It wasn't often that he saw just how strong his dad was, but when he did, it never left him without emotion.
He looked up at Lycanroc's face, studying his breathing and taking mental notes.
"I told you many times- focus, tighten, attack." The Wolf Pokemon tried explaining to his son, punching the air with his fist.
"Yes, I know. Focus on your goal, tighten your muscles, attack with all strength." Rockruff rushed into a smaller piece of the rock that broke off when his father shattered the bigger tablet.
He was successful in smashing through it, leaving a small cloud of dust lingering in the air. He coughed violently as he inhaled it, trying to get it out of his nose.
Once he could see clearly again, Cassian looked up at his father's face, searching for any signs of approval.
All he found was disdain.
The big Wolf Pokémon scoffed once more and walked away in silence, not even looking back at his son, who was left alone.
This is the kind of life that Cassian lived every day; in pursuit of acknowledgment and appreciation from his father, something that he never received.
The small Rockruff pup sighed to himself and walked out of the barrack of a building, letting the fresh air swipe the dust off of his face.
He took a deep breath and soaked in the sun, as it warmed the tip of his nose. He smiled innocently as he felt his worries slowly fade away.
"Ah! Good morning, prince!" Another Rockruff called out to him, laughing as she did so.
Faraday, his sister. Father never really talks about where she came from and dismisses all questions when asked about it. And so, the brother came up with his own answer- she was adopted.
Cassian chuckled and sighed, bounding towards his sister. "I already told you not to call me that. Cass, Cassie, Cassian, anything works fine, just please don't call me prince!"
Faraday laughed and nodded. "Whatever you say. Are you free by any chance?"
"Not particularly, but I bet dad will be gone for a long time, so I think we have time to do something fun." He smiled gently.
"Awesome! Say, Cassian, have you ever been outside the kingdom?" She grinned happily and leaned closer to Cassian.
Stunned, but also intrigued, he smiled back nervously and shook his head. "No, never. Dad forbids me from going outside the walls. He says that there's nothing there."
It was true that he has never gone anywhere outside of the confinements of his dad's kingdom. What wasn't true, was his smile and attitude.
On the outside, he looked just like any other Rockruff that walked around- smiling and eager to learn and explore. Cassian was... different.
Because his father had neglected him, and had always seen him as a failure, he slowly began growing more resistant to the strong emotions that these things would bring him.
A walking, smiling husk of a young and happy soon-to-be Lycanroc. The shell he encased his emotions in was unbreakable by now, with the only exception of the fake happiness shining through from time to time.
Thanks to growing distant to his own emotions, Cassian did not feel the same pain as he did so many times before when his father berated him.
He simply stared down at the ground with a blank expression, waiting for him to end his monologue so that he can go back to training.
"...So? What do you think?" Faraday's tail wagged behind her as she looked into the young prince's eyes.
Cassian quickly snapped back to reality, having zoned out before. He narrowed his eyes and smiled nervously. "Uhm, can you repeat that?"
His sister sighed and nodded. "I was thinking that maybe we could go outside for a little while. You know, explore? Since that was our dream when we were little pups."
"Ah, right." Cassian closed his eyes and thought for a moment, debating whether he should come with or stay put in the castle and train.
He chose the former.
Cassian nodded and looked up at his sister. "I guess it's fine if we leave for a little while." A hint of uncertainty could be heard in his voice.
Faraday got behind him and began pushing him forward, laughing lightly. "Come on then! Let's go!"
"Gee, alright, alright! I'm going, no need to rush." He replied to the pushes and shook his head slightly, walking alongside her now.
There wasn't really an age difference between the two of them. Cassian was only a few months older than Faraday, but the gap between their personalities and reactions was massive.
The female Rockruff, Faraday, was extremely hyper and all over the place. She was energetic, and eager to do many things all at once.
She always found time for everything but important things, oftentimes leading to her being scolded by father
She was a good kid, going by "forgive and forget", just like her dad. Though, that attitude was exclusive towards his daughter, switching to the worse one when his son came into play.
Her opposite, Cassian, wasn't as energetic and outgoing. Because he suppressed his emotions, he didn't have such a positive outlook on life.
The negativity shed from his father only added to that, leading the male Rockruff to have quite a pessimistic perspective of everything.
He never let that show though, opting to keep his opinions to himself and not speaking until spoken to. This was the life he lived every day- "suppress, stay quiet, smile."
He called this the rule of the three 'S', and he obeyed these rules day and night, letting his imagination take over his mind when doing so.
Not long after walking out the boundaries of the castle's courtyard, Cassian looked around himself, looking at all the different people playing around in the rocky scenery and having fun.
He stared at everything with a blank expression and half-lidded eyes, not moved by anything happening around him.
This caught the attention of Faraday, who blocked his vision and got into his face, her smile not present and instead replaced with curiosity and worry.
The male Rockruff blinked twice and smiled. "Is something the matter?"
"You're doing that weird thing again. How come you are so unhappy all the time?" Faraday backed away and looked ahead at the road in front of them, frowning and thinking hard.
"I don't understand it." Her frown quickly disappeared as she smiled once more, not as widely though. "But that's what makes you special."
Cassian cracked a smile and shook his head, looking back at the road just in time to see a figure standing in front of him.
Unable to dodge the person, Rockruff landed on his back as he bounced off of the stranger.
Their deep blue plumage reflected light that was shining on them right into Cassian's eyes as he scrambled to get up.
The stranger turned their head a clean one hundred and eighty degrees and smiled gently.
"Oh dear, was it me that caused you to fall over? Here, let me help." They turned their body, revealing that the stranger was a Dartrix.
They reached out their wing towards him and helped him get up. Once that was done, Dartrix brushed away the leaf that was covering his eye.
"A Dartrix? I know dad uses your help to move many things, but I've never seen someone like... you." Cassian stared at him and narrowed his eyes.
The Blade Quill Pokemon's plumage was a different colour to what he had always seen- brown and white feathers with vibrant green leaves on the top of their heads.
This Dartrix had a dark slated grey cover of feather, as opposed to the usual brown mentioned earlier. The leaves, that were usually green, were also a different colour now- a bright blue.
"Ah... I assume it is my appearance. And if not, then you have never seen me here because I'm a mere visitor!" The owl laughed.
"I see. Well, I hope you have a great stay here. Although, if I have to be honest, there are much better places scattered around in Alola than this stony wasteland." Cassian chuckled genuinely.
Dartrix laughed hollowly, the sound that escaped his beak echoing through Cassian's ears. "I like you already!"
Rockruff smiled gently and looked down at the ground. "I cannot say that your specific personality doesn't make it a little less boring here."
As he stared at the ground, he noticed a dark blue cap lying on the ground, with a ribbon tied around the rim, cream in hue.
He walked over to it and bit it very lightly, so as to not damage it. He lifted it off the ground and nudged Dartrix with it, catching his attention.
The owl looked down and smiled. "Ah, thank you my small friend." Dartrix took the fedora out of Cassian's mouth and put it back on his head. He looked down at the pup and stroke a pose. "How do I look?"
A brief period of silence ensued the question, before they both burst out laughing. Cassian could feel the littlest tinge of happiness escape the shell he made around his emotions.
It felt good to laugh like this, when someone saw him as just a normal Rockruff and not a higher-up.
The moment of contentment ended quickly, as Faraday cleared her throat and caught Cassian's attention. The two laughing Pokemon turned their heads to look at the agitated Rockruff.
"I think your friend over there is getting rather impatient, hoo hoo!" Datrix pushed Cassian lightly with the tip of his wing. "Off you go, little one."
The male Rockruff nodded and turned around, going back to his sister and walking away from the stranger with her.
After a brief moment of silence, she spoke up and tackled him lightly on the side. He stumbled to the side but caught his footing quickly and looked at her in confusion. "What was that for?"
Faraday scoffed and continued looking forward, not paying attention to Cassian at all. She ignored his question.
Cassian seemed to get the hint immediately, as he nodded once to himself and just continued walking forward alongside her, not daring to say anything else.
He knew that her little attitude would pass rather quickly; it always did. For the time being though, maybe he should just focus on walking forward.
And walk forward he did, as the duo soon arrived at the behemoth gates separating the outside world with Lycanroc's kingdom.
And after this period of silence that the two of them shared finally came to a stop, Faraday sighed and looked at Cassian. "Come on, I know a way around Barren."
"You mean the guard stationed here? I thought his name was Warren." Cassian stared back at her bewilderedly.
"No, that's his brother. Pretty ironic that the two guards near the gates are brothers, right?" Faraday laughed softly and began walking along the wall that surrounded the whole place.
Cassian nodded to himself and followed. "I never knew they were related."
The female Rockruff didn't respond, and instead kept on walking. This confused the male even more, as he followed closely behind and stayed quiet.
He knew he was being rude and impolite earlier, but he never thought it would displease her that much. It was unlike her to be so quiet.
"Should I apologise? No, bad idea. She would start going on about how what I did was inappropriate." Cassian shuddered and shook his head.
After a while of quietly following Faraday, she finally stopped in front of a small and tight burrow, going under the wall. She turned back at looked at the male Rockruff, who quickly looked away and stared at the hole.
"It's... Well, it's a hole." Cassian shrugged and looked back at his partner, who was visibly annoyed with him.
It took him a moment to get the hint, but once he did, he made an audible "Ohhh" sound and nodded. "That's how we get to the other side?"
"Do you have a better idea, knucklehead?" She giggled softly and slowly, but surely, started descending down into the hole.
She took one last glance back at Cassian and beckoned him to follow her by gesturing with her head.
He looked back at the civilisation he's grown so fond of, and eventually, he followed her down the hole.
:::::::::::::::::::
Lucario looked at the piece of paper with apparent discomfort as he put down the pen beside him.
Mere moments later, Shout appeared in his head again and began talking. "Something wrong with it? It looks fine to me, just what we learnt."
"I know, but his story is so... sad, you know?" The Aura Pokemon sighed and tilted his head, staring at what he has just written.
"I'm not used to covering backstories that are just so sad. His father neglected him, he felt useless, and everything that will happen now in the story will only be temporary."
Shout sighed audibly and appeared in the physical world, taking on the form of a Bisharp. While looking practically the same as a usual Bisharp, Shout was transparent, as was made out of the blue light that represented aura.
The ghostly figure nodded and crossed his arms. "Yes, life isn't particularly fair for all of us. Some have it better, some have it worse. But that's just how it is, and you cannot do anything to chance."
"I guess so... Still, it saddens me to know that Cassian had to live through this all. I wouldn't dare to wish something like that even upon my greatest enemy."
Bisharp laughed softly and nodded once more before disappearing back into Lucario's mind. "That's good. It shows you have compassion for others, something that not every has."
The Aura Pokemon smiled gently and picked up the pen again, clicking it twice in his paw and getting to writing again.
:::::::::::::::
Cassian blinked twice as he exited the pitch-dark tunnel, adjusting his eyes to the surrounding white light.
But even with his eyes closed, he could feel that this area was a lot more different than the barren kingdom he was used to.
And the moment he could finally see again, the male Rockruff looked around himself in awe of the vista stretching out before his own eyes.
All those years of living in lies- the kingdom is not the only place left alive. If anything, the world outside was a lot more alive than it!
The soft and vibrant green grass gently squeaked as Cassian stepped on it, with it covering lands as far as the eye could see.
It was beautiful, to say the least. The lush forests grew outwards of the walls, with thick vines and bushes covering the complete view.
Faraday got in front of him, pushing him to the side slightly as she ran past. She laughed loudly and wagged her tail, beckoning for her brother to follow.
"Isn't it beautiful, Cassie? Look how green everything is! A-And how alive it all seems!" She jumped around the whole place, rolling around in the grass.
Cassian took a deep breath of the fresh air. Even if just mere metres away from the kingdom, the air took a drastic change for the better.
There were other Pokemon, crawling on the bark of the trees as well as crawling down on the ground.
In the distance, he could even see an Absol, staring at them in curiosity!
It was truly a different world out here, compared to what he was used to. In that moment, Cassian felt truly free of his burdens.
Like he could drop this facade at any moment and roll around in the grass, letting all his emotions show.
"Cassie, are you coming? Come on, there's a place I want to show you!" Faraday snapped him out of his daydreaming state, making him come back to the ground.
"I'll need to come back here someday." He thought to himself and began trailing behind the female Rockruff.
As the two of them jumped over a large root, Cassian finally found the courage to ask her where they were going.
She giggled in response and looked back at him, smiling widely. "It's a secret!"
She led him through the overgrown forest, as it progressively grew darker and darker, the further they went.
Nervous wasn't the word he'd use at that situation- anxious felt more appropriate.
As they travelled through the deep glade, the peaceful sounds that all Pokemon were making suddenly stopped and were replaced with low buzzing and humming of Bug-types, crawling around in the woods.
The whistles of the birds flying overhead earlier also stopped, and apart from the sound that these Bug-type Pokemon were making and the duo's footsteps, the forest was dead silent.
It felt threatening, instead of comforting now. Everything could happen, now that they were alone. Were a predator to discover them, it would surely rip them to shreds.
"No, stop that! Nothing like that will happen. I am sure of it... She's safe with me. I won't let anything happen to anyone." Cassian took a couple of deep breaths and looked forward again.
Faraday was as oblivious as ever, happily skipping through the forest with a smile on her face.
He could hear the rustling of leaves behind him, something that made him snap his eyes to the source of the sound.
He watched as out of the bush, the same Absol as before came out. He stared at the male Rockruff before shaking his head. "Stop here while you still can. There is no good waiting for you there."
"W-What? Waiting for me where?" Cassian inquired as he nervously got closer to the speaker.
Absol looked up at motioned towards Faraday, who had stopped to look around herself. "Something bad will happen, I can feel it."
Cassian looked back as well, focusing on the same target as the Disaster Pokemon did. "You mean you want me to stop her?"
"And to turn back and run, as fast as you can." Absol nodded, before looking ahead of himself and trotting away, somewhere deep into the forest.
"N-No. He must have been just trying to trick me. There's nothing bad waiting for us ahead, yeah! I-I'm sure of it..." Cassian swallowed nervously and headed back to his sister, just as she turned around.
Faraday smiled gleefully at him and laughed. "Almost there, Cassie! Come on, don't keep me waiting!"
It was now or never- tell her or suffer the consequences. But the same thought shot through his mind again, like an arrow speeding through the forest; What if that Absol was wrong?
He must not bother Faraday with something that a random stranger had told him. After all, he's probably wrong. Yes, definitely. There is no way that the Disaster Pokemon was right.
How would he know anyways? It'd be considered a supernatural feat. The female Rockruff tackled Cassian with some force, snapping him out of the trance again.
"Keep it together, knucklehead. We're close, let's go." She beckoned him to follow and started walking back in the direction that they were going in earlier.
Miniature mushrooms began sprouting just beneath their feet as they wandered, with them having a sort of weird, glowing light coming off of them.
Cassian leaned in to sniff the strange mushrooms but was driven away when it released strange spores into the air.
He coughed violently and began sneezing as he inhales these spores. Faraday looked back at him and sighed. "Just stay by my side, alright? And please don't wander off anywhere or stop to investigate something."
"R-Right. Okay." He stuttered and quickly trotted back to his sister, with the spores still lingering in the air above the mushrooms.
As they went further and further into the forest, more of the same glowing mushrooms started appearing, and even Faraday could not resist the urge to sniff them out of curiosity.
Just like before with him, the mushrooms released glowing spores into the air, causing her to inhale them as well. She sneezed, getting thrown back a distance.
Cassian smiled gently as she shook her head, getting up on her feet. "I thought you said not to stop to investigate."
"Curiosity got the better of me." She replied sharply and sighed. "Let's just get... going..." Faraday yawned and blinked hard.
The other Rockruff yawned as well, as a sudden wave of drowsiness seemed to wash over him and his companion.
It was hard to keep his eyes open, and his legs were trembling. It wasn't long before they both collapsed, and a dreamy voice began talking, as if in their minds.
"Curiosity killed the cat, little ones... Go to sleep, we need to regenerate..."
The last thing Cassian saw, was the giant cap of a glowing mushroom, slowly getting closer to them, stretching its weird root-like hands towards the two of them...
And then, darkness ensued, as he laid on the ground motionless. He could feel something brushing against his fur softly, until it stopped completely.
That strange brushing now turned into something gripping tightly onto his tail, digging into his skin and tugging on it.
Aside from someone grabbing and tugging on his tail, the scraping of rocks, sticking out of the ground could also be felt, scratching his skin.
After these two feelings passed, it was back to lying in complete darkness, unmoving. No scent, no vision, no sounds- nothing.
After what felt like eternity, Cassian began slowly waking up, adjusting his eyes to the same brightness that engulfed him back when he was outside the dark glade with Faraday.
He blinked hard and covered his eyes with his paw, groaning in dissatisfaction as he slowly regained his sense of hearing.
He wished he didn't though, as he was met with someone yelling loudly into his right ear, waking him up fully and making his fur stand on end.
Cassian shot up and swiftly backed away a few metres for safety as he looked at the Buneary who seemed to be the one who yelled into his ear.
"Bah! W-Who are you?! And how did I get here?!" He asked frantically and looked around himself, seeing that he was back at the entrance to the forest, near the kingdom's walls.
She laughed lightly, with it slowly transforming into a louder and more genuine laugh. Eventually, she stopped and looked up at him. "I'm the best thing that has ever happened to you in life!"
The Rockruff stared at her bewilderedly, before looking around again. "Where's Faraday?" He asked before clarifying himself. "T-The other Rockruff, where is she?"
Buneary's smile faded away as she hopped closer to Cassian, putting her paw on his back and sighing. "She's a goner. I'm sorry."
The male Rockruff rubbed his face with his paw as tears started welling up in his eyes. He sighed. "I should have listened..." He looked away from her and at the ground.
"This wouldn't have happened if only I had listened." More tears began forming in his eyes, dropping down onto the ground.
Buneary could only watch as he dropped down to the ground, hiding his face in his paws and sobbing quietly.
There were so many emotions beginning to flow outside of the barrier he created for them, infecting his mind and making him cry louder.
The many emotions included mostly sadness and grief for his lost friend, disgust towards himself, as he could not save her from the inevitable death.
Anger also directed towards himself, stemming from the same reason as disgust. But amidst all those emotions, there was a particular one that stood out...
Rage. The purity of it all building up inside Cassian, destroying his innocent soul and mind. Soon enough, instead of crying, he was screaming loudly and banging his paws against the ground.
"I'll kill them! They deserve it, ALL OF THEM!" He got up off the ground with his legs shaking. His breathing was ragged and heavy.
"They will pay! THEY ALL WILL! I WILL BURN THIS WHOLE FOREST TO THE GROUND, EVEN IF IT MEANS PAYING WITH MY LIFE!" He yelled in its direction as more and more emotions flooded outside of the shell.
"If not for my own good, if not for anyone's good, then to avenge my best and only friend! YOU HEAR THAT, YOU STUPID MUSHROOMS?! I'LL GET YOU!"
Buneary crossed her paws and stared at Cassian in admiration. She did not know what it was about him that was so strange. Was it what was driving him further forward, or was it the sudden change in personality?
Whatever it was, Buneary surely had found someone that had sparked something in her, something that she's never felt before.
As Cassian yelled into the forest, continuing his monologue, she walked up from behind him and put her paw on his back, calming him down while gently stroking his fur.
"You'll get your revenge someday, and I'll be sure to help you get it." She added as he stopped screaming, sitting back on his haunches and staring into the forest.
The strange concoction of emotions seemed to fade away as soon as she did so, with all of them present but muted slightly.
He did not care for his father, neither if he respected him or not. There was a new thing driving him forward, a new purpose in life- to get revenge on his fallen friend.
Looking up, the male Rockruff only now noticed that the sun was beginning to set, turning the sky into a deep orange colour.
The Rabbit Pokemon did the same and sighed. "Hey, stranger? If by any chance you'd want to meet me again in the future..." She stopped for a few moments, considering something.
"I'll be just over this hill, in that small hole by the tree." She pointed at a tree in the distance- lonely, solitary, and small in size. She smiled gently. "I want to see you get your revenge someday."
Cassian, having calmed down, steadied his breathing and responded with a nod. "I'm Cassian, not just any stranger. And..." He looked away and blushed slightly. "...Thank you. For stumbling upon me and saving me."
Catching on to his blush, she did so as well and looked down at the ground. The same strange feeling that invaded Buneary earlier, now spread to Cassian, who tried deciphering the new emotion in his soul.
After a long pause of silence, Buneary finally spoke up and bid the male Rockruff farewell, leaving him alone in the clearing.
Having lost Faraday inside that damned forest, Cassian could only think of the terrible things his father will do to him for doing something like that.
And as he stood there alone, he looked up at the evening sky and closed his eyes, calming his soul and readying himself for the confrontation.
The moment he closed them though, he felt the warmth of the orange sun beginning to get warmer and warmer, seeping into his skin uncontrollably.
He shuddered as he felt a wave of immediate and bitter cold wash over him suddenly, with the warmth fading away.
When he stood there with his eyes closed though, he could not get rid of the feeling that his head was a bit... heavier than moments before.
Not only that, when he raised his paw to rub his face again, he found that it now possessed larger and sharper claws.
Finally, he flung his eyes open and looked down at his feet, staring at the orange fur that now surrounded his forepaws.
Cassian then took the same forepaws and ran them up along his head, finding he now had a large mane sprouting from the back of his head.
He put his paws up the sides of his head, accidentally poking himself with the sharp stones that now seemed to grow around his collar.
"I... Evolved?" He asked himself before shaking his head. "No, this isn't a Midnight or a Midday form. Then what the hell am I?"
Cassian scrambled as he struggled to get up, finding that his tail had also grown into a large and fluffy one, weighing him down a bit.
Having finally stood up, he looked around himself in search of any body of water to look at himself. That was, before he spotted it- a small and solitary pond just outside the forest.
He quickly ran up to it and looked down at his own reflection, shaking his head in disbelief. "No... What-What am I?" Cassian started scratching at his own face.
"This must be some kind of illusion. I-I refuse to believe this! No, I am not a Lycanroc!" He kept repeating to himself on loop, catching the attention of nearby Bug-Types.
"This-This is not how Lycanroc look! What the hell am I?!" The poor Rock-Type did not want to accept what he had become, or rather who he was now.
He wasn't just any Lycanroc now- he was an outcast! The moment anyone sees him, they will start questioning him and staring at him; something that he does not want to happen.
But even if he manages to get through that, what about his father? What will he make of his own son's new form? What will he think of him...
"...He'll be livid." A voice seemed to snap him out of his trance, coming somewhere from within the forest and sounding awfully familiar.
It was Faraday. She stared in amazement at her brother, smiling weakly. She was alive but was physically malnourished.
"Faraday! I-I thought that-"
"That I died?" She chuckled and hobbled towards Cassian. "Yeah, I thought so too. Those plants really took a lot out of me."
The newly formed Lycanroc walked towards his injured sister and sat down right in front of her. He then put his forehead against hers and cried tears of joy.
Though salty with the lies he had been told, even if unintentional, Cassian felt true happiness at that moment. He closed his eyes and smiled as he cried a river. "I will look after you, forever and ever...
"I promise."
::::::::::::::::::
Lucario sighed with content and nodded as he looked over what he had just written. Not long after, Shout flew out of his head and inspected the paper.
He turned his eyes to the Aura Pokemon and raised his eyebrow. "But... But that's not true. That is not how it went down at all!
"Cassian made it out of the forest before he could fall asleep, but his sister fell behind and got captured, never to be seen again!" He reprimanded his friend.
"Oh, come on. The real story was too sad for me to narrate! Besides, I want to speed things up a little." Lucario yawned and rubbed his eyes.
"Lack of sleep is getting to you, I see? Then why won't you go to sleep and finish this up tomorrow, after Huang's tests?" Bisharp suggested, but Lucario was quick to dismiss this idea.
"No, I'll forget what I was doing by tomorrow and I'll end up forgetting to write this all." He chuckled quietly so as to not wake up anyone that's already sleeping.
"I see... Well, if that's the matter, then I guess I'll allow it." Bisharp laughed and looked on as the Aura Pokemon erased the whole part about meeting Buneary.
"What are you doing?"
"Well, I thought that since Buneary appeared after Cassian was banished, I might as well follow at least this one thing."
Lucario began jotting down something frantically, making the whole story sound incoherent and worse from before. Shout looked back up at him in confusion, stopping his paw before he could write anything else.
"Let me help with that, alright?" He gave another suggestion, but unlike the first one, Lucario liked the sound of that.
"Yeah, do your thing. Just, please, keep the part about Faraday living in. And let's just pretend that she travelled somewhere far." The blue furred Fighting-type felt his free will slipping away as Shout started taking over him, stretching out his fingers.
"You got it. And since you don't like sad stuff, I'll leave out the more depressing things." Shout smiled as he picked up the pen and Lucario's journal.
"Much appreciated. In the meantime, I'll catch a few z's. Wake me up when you're done with that part."
Shout nodded and started writing once more, starting over from the part where Faraday and Cassian inhaled the spores...
The last thing Cassian saw, was the giant cap of a glowing mushroom, slowly getting closer to them, stretching its weird root-like hands towards the two of them...
And then, darkness ensued, as he laid on the ground motionless. He could feel something brushing against his fur softly, until it stopped completely.
After that, Cassian could feel as something sharp pierced through the skin of his hind leg, and slightly tugged on it, before beginning to drag him along the ground.
He could not do anything to stop the pain, or the one who was causing it. All he could do, was wait it all out. Though it was hard to do so, the male Rockruff tried to dismiss it all and went to "sleep".
In truth, he simply ignored everything that happened outside as the strange tugging seemed to drag on forever.
Until it didn't, and he was finally met with silence and peace. Cassian could feel the warmth of the evening sun seeping into his skin as he laid on the soft grass.
And then, as suddenly as the warmth came, it disappeared and turned into a cold stream of air blowing all over him. He shivered slightly.
The coldness then travelled up his nostrils as air, and entered his bloodstream, spreading itself all across the male Rockruff's body and covering him whole.
Thankfully, the evening sunlight seemed to balance the two temperatures out after a moment, as the cold stopped spreading and Cassian laid there- not cold, nor warm.
It felt as if an eternity had passed until he finally woke up. And to his surprise, the first thing he saw was Absol's muzzle, pressed right up against his own and sniffing him aggressively.
"W-Woah!" Cassian retreated his head and exchanged confused stares with the Disaster Pokemon. "What are you-"
"Hush. You just woke up, it's best if you rest for a little while." The white furred Pokemon cut him off before sitting down on his haunches and continuing to stare at him.
After a moment of silence, Cassian finally found the courage to ask some questions. One of which was "Who are you?"
Absol blinked twice and looked down at the ground. "I'm nothing but a humble protector of these lands. Many think of me as the one who brings disaster, though I merely foretell it."
Rockruff tried getting up but was stopped by a sudden headache. And when he looked down at his body, he found the answer as to what that strange feeling from earlier was.
His paws have grown a lot slimmer, with his once brown fur now turning into a clear white. On all of his paws were now also sets of three sharp, black claws.
As he continued to inspect his body, he found that the once small tuft of fur around his collar had now turned into a giant, fluffy, white mane, riddled with sharp stones pointing towards all sides of the world.
And perhaps the most obvious thing that has changed in him, was that he was twice as big as his pre-evolutionary stage.
"Have I... evolved?" Cassian ran his paws along his collar and through the thick fur on it, finding out that there was yet another mane growing over his head.
One shaped like a crescent moon, and the other like the sun.
He took yet another glance back at his body, finding that the fur he expected to be light brown in colour, was orange.
"S-Sir, I assume you've been here as I evolved, so I must ask..." Cassian looked up to see that the strange Absol was already gone, probably having vanished into the forest. "...you."
The newly formed Lycanroc sighed and looked around himself, checking his surroundings for anything he might recognise or anyone who could help him get back to the kingdom.
To his surprise, he was back at the entrance to the deeper part of the glade, but not entirely out of the forest just yet.
He tried his strengths at standing up again, only this time, succeeding. And when he did, he took another look at his new form.
"Not Midnight, nor Midday." He sighed again. Just when he was about to continue, a familiar voice continued his thought for him.
"Father will be absolutely livid..." Faraday hobbled towards him with a weak smile present on her face.
"Sister! Thank heavens!" Cassian ran to her side and put his forehead against hers as a solitary tear fell down to the ground. "I-I'm sorry, it's my fault. You see-"
"Shh. Don't worry Cassie, I'm alright. These plants gave me a few bruises, that's all." The Female Rockruff laughed.
Cassian lowered himself to the ground and laid down beside her. "Hop on. We're going back home. And we are not coming back here, ever."
Faraday stumbled up on her big brother's back, laying down and spreading her paws to embrace him in a hug to not fall off. "Agreed. Let's not."
::::::::::::::::
"See? Now that's good going." Lucario laughed as Shout began flipping to a new page.
"I thought you were asleep." He responded and laughed quietly as well.
"Bah, how could I sleep when you were writing someone's biography right in front of my eyes?"
"I see. Do you wish to continue? I must say, writing is not for me." Shout added before closing his eyes and letting Lucario take back control of his own body.
As always, the journey back was worse than before. He shuddered and stretched out his sore limbs, along with his legs.
At last, he gave a content sigh and chuckled. "It feels good to finally... well, feel."
"As for me, I find sitting idly without any external stimuli better. But that might as well be personal experience."
"Experience? Were you a Pokemon once?" The Aura Pokemon inquired and set the pen down on the journal, as Bisharp materialised in front of him.
The aura projection gave a laugh and nodded. "Once. And it's a story for another time."
Lucario nodded and picked the pen back up, clicking it twice before getting back to work on the story.
He did not expect that something would stop him- a blockade of sorts. Try as he might, he just could not remember any further details about Cassian's story.
Seeing this, Bisharp put his arm on Lucario's paw and started writing with him. "Take your time, there's no rush."
The latter took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. I think I'm good."
He put the pen back on the piece of paper and let Bisharp guide his movements, as the two of them wrote together.
:::::::::::::::
After a long trek back to the kingdom, Cassian got down to the ground again to let his sister off and started tackling the gate to attract attention. "Open up! It's me, Cassian! And my sister's here too!"
Silence.
"Hey! Can you hear me? Open these damned gates or I'll tell father to demote you!"
Once again, silence.
Lycanroc sighed and looked around, then back at Faraday, who was laying down on the rocky road just under the gate.
And then an idea came across his mind, one that was sure to work. He walked up to her and stared down at her.
As she looked up, she narrowed her eyes and raised her eyebrow. "What? Is there something on my face?"
"I'll need you to open the gate from the inside." He asked nonchalantly.
Faraday continued to stare at her brother bewilderedly. "Pardon?"
"I said I'll need you-" He motioned at her with his paw. "-to open the gate-" He did the same with the gate. "-from the inside." He pointed at the hole they got through earlier.
"Well, can't we just crawl through the hole? You know, both of us?" To this, Cassian shook his head.
"Look at me. I barely fit in there as a Rockruff, I won't fit as a Lycanroc."
Faraday seemed as if she was about to say something but withheld from doing so. Instead, she sighed and nodded reluctantly. "I'll see what I can do."
Lycanroc nodded and turned away to face the gate. He trotted over to it and sat back on his haunches, waiting patiently for his sister to raise it.
In the meantime, he could think of what happened today- of what happened to him.
First and foremost, he's special. But not because of his personality, or the things he does. It's because he evolved into something that no one has ever seen before.
Or at least not here, in his father's kingdom. Back when he was a young pup, he used to read many books from the royal library.
Many of which contained things inaccessible to the public, like records of what has been built, where it was built, who owned it etcetera.
Among these were also records of who has committed crime, against who, what it was and how they were punished for it. But those were the things that bored the young prince.
What he had found the most interesting in this library, were the ancient tales and myths, written long before his dad was even born.
They told a story of two deities- The beast that devours the sun, and The beast that calls the moon. The two of them fight day and night over control of the skies.
Hence the day and night cycle. But between their conflicts, there exists a very delicate moment of peace, where they both sit and stare down at Earth, smiling as they do so.
After that, it's back to their squabbles they go.
The Sun deity is often depicted as a large, metallic lion, whose mane radiates the same heat and light that the sun does. It was once said that it would come back to Earth, once its third eye opens, though that has yet to happen.
On the other side, the Moon deity is... strange. A large, skeletal bat, with wings that resemble the crescent moon. When it stretches out its wings, they strangely sparkle and look like the night sky. And just like its counterpart, it is said that it will come back to Earth once it opens its third eye.
But that's not the only thing that sparked Cassian's curiosity in those books. It was how the two influenced a Rockruff's evolution that did.
While under the dark embrace of the Moon deity, a Rockruff would absorb a miniscule part of its energy, with the cold of the space enveloping it whole and transforming the Puppy Pokemon into its Midnight form evolution.
Were a Rockruff to do the same under the calm breath of the Sun deity, it would do the same as its counterpart, sharing a tiny bit of its energy to develop the young Rockruff into its Midday form evolution.
These were the two forms that were commonly known and were seen everywhere. But amidst them, there was a third; a hybrid of the two. Rare and special.
The people in the ancient times called these the "Dusk form". They were said to evolve, when the peace between two deities ensued.
Then, and only then, would both share tiny fragments of their power- one from the frozen bat, and one from the shining lion. Both bits would then join together once entering a Rockruff's body and merge the two common forms into one.
Though, as the book stated, it only worked on certain Rockruff. Ones that did not pay heed to other's reprimands, ones that were hard-headed and determined.
Ones that followed their Own Tempo.
These were rare, and the ability to ignore all the pessimism came as they lived on. The ability wasn't inherited, neither was the Rockruff born with it. It simply adapted to its surroundings and had a tunnel vision on reaching their goal- to survive, adapt, and overcome.
And when pieced together, it would all make sense. Cassian wasn't born following his own tempo, his father had always set it for him!
The moment he exited that forsaken kingdom, he finally felt free, like he was finally free of his father's quick pace, but not entirely.
He still felt weighed down by what the older Lycanroc demanded of him, by what he expected of his son. Though, it all changed when him and his sister narrowly escaped from the forest.
Once Cassian saw his wounded sister, he knew and realised, that there's more to life than just following orders and trying to please others.
The most important thing of all, was to ensure the safety of others. That's when he finally found his own tempo, when he manifested his own reason to live- to protect those who he loves!
Before he could form another thought, the mechanism that was holding the gate shut suddenly creaked, as the heavy behemoth doors began sliding open.
Cassian snapped out of his dreamy state and looked up at it, seeing the confused face of the guard, as well as his little sister standing by his side.
"Princess, are you sure that he's..." The guard began.
"Yep, that's my brother alright!" Faraday giggled and trotted over to him.
Seeing how she could walk on her own again, her brother withheld from asking her to hop on his back. It would only seem weird, now that she's fine.
She tackled him lightly and nodded towards Barren, who was standing still and staring at the duo. Cassian quickly cleared his throat and nodded gently.
"Salutations, soldier. Back to your post, chop chop." He commanded, and without any questions, the guard shook his head with a sigh and turned away, walking back to the small booth at the entrance.
"Wait, that worked?" He thought to himself as he passed through the gate along with his sister, looking back at Barren who stared after them as they went on.
After a moment, he turned to her and leaned down so as to whisper in her ear. "What did you tell him, exactly?"
"Oh, nothing. I just said that I need him to open the gate." Faraday smiled innocently and hummed as they calmly walked further into the kingdom.
Deciding not to push her further with the questions, Cassian stopped and just kept on walking, not minding his surroundings.
At first, there were few people, as they were on the outskirts. As they went on though, more and more Pokemon started to notice the strange duo and stared at them in both confusion and awe.
The orange wolf seemed to notice this and shrunk down in size as he felt the pressure of everyone's eyes on his back. It was unbearable. As if a boulder was weighing him down, pressing him to the ground.
His sister seemed to notice that, and got closer to him, keeping her side directly by his. "Don't worry, I'm here." She whispered and continued their stroll.
"It was me who promised to keep her safe, and yet she's the one taking care of me..." Cassian reverted back to his big and menacing posture and stared onward with a blank stare.
"But it doesn't matter who takes care of who. We're siblings, if not bound by blood, then by the time we shared together." He furrowed his eyebrows and kept his head high as they walked.
"Even if something separates us, we'll still be together. If not physically, then spiritually."
Eventually, the two of them made it through the crowds of Lycanroc and Rockruff, all staring at them; some perplexed, some surprised, and some in wonder.
And then, they finally made it to the castle's courtyard. Royal guardsmen were yelling at Cassian to stop, but all it took was for Faraday to stop and stare back at them for them to cower back to their posts.
And as his sister walked over to the giant doors separating the outside world from the inside of the throne room, where their father resided, the Lycanroc stopped.
He stared at the door, trembling in fear. His mind was overrun with all the bad things that can and probably will happen the moment he passes them.
"He'll disown me- no, he will banish me." He whispered under his breath and swallowed audibly. "I'm a dead man walking."
Faraday seemed to catch on to his fear, and quickly ran over to his side, hugging him tightly by his leg.
They both looked at each other, sharing a moment of silence.
While they shared that subtle minute of peace, Cassian felt his worries fly away, as if she was his little lucky charm, keeping the bad spirits away and driving his further.
He knelt down and put his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and letting a blue tear slip from his emerald eyes.
As it splattered on the ground, mixing with the sand and gravel, he released a smile of his own. A genuine one.
The moment his tear fell, more and more droplets started filling the ground underneath them, as the sky took on a grimmer, darker colour and started pouring cats and dogs.
Neither of them seemed to mind the rain as it soaked into their fur, drenching them completely. It was their own quietude, and nothing could ruin the moment.
"I think it's best if you talk with dad on your own, Cassie." Faraday laughed gently. "He'll get even madder if he knows that I've went out with you."
Cassian retreated his head and nodded at his sister, turning back to the giant door and walking up to it with newfound courage.
"Deep breath... In... and out..." The orange wolf pushed the door open with a loud creak, stepping into the throne room as his fur dampened the perfectly dry interior.
He took big steps through the long hall, feeling the gaze of the dozens of stone statues on his back. Only this time, he knew Faraday was with him.
"If not physically, then spiritually." He repeated to himself in his mind and continued onward, spotting a lonely Midnight Lycanroc sitting on a throne, just beside another, empty one.
"Heed me, Father! Your failure of a son has returned!"
:::::::::::
"Man, his life is about to take a turn for the better, isn't it?" Lucario nodded and stared at the paper, as Bisharp let go of his paw.
"Yes, it will. It may not look like it, and he may think that these events brought more suffering than anything else, but sometimes it just is like that." Shout smiled gently.
The two of them sat next to each other, both holding the pen and smiling as they wrote together.
"You know, everything is like that. Especially life. It looks horrible, and it feels that way, but once you spend enough time with it, you start to see how beautiful it is."
Bisharp closed his eyes and nodded at his friend's words. "And that's the reason you can't give up. Ever."
:::::::::::
The Midnight Lycanroc turned to face his son with his face already displeased at hearing his voice. What he did not expect, was for the once Rockruff to be something else.
The two stared at each other- one in disbelief and confusion, and the other with rage and determination sparkling in his eyes.
"You…" The father eventually spoke and shook his head, as if choosing not to believe what he's seeing.
"Me. There's something we need to discuss, Crimson." Cassian said in a cold tone, no longer referring to the Pokémon before him as his father.
"Yes, I believe there is. You're leaving, and I don't care if you want to or not. I am not going to be seen as the king with a freak for a child."
The Dusk Lycanroc, instead of backing up and shrinking, stepped up to the person in the throne. He wasn't the same as before.
"For so long, you have been neglecting me, abusing me. It all ends today, Crimson. No more of your tyranny." He continued.
"Tyranny? TYRANNY!?" The older Lycanroc laughed and crossed his arms, stepping off the throne. "I was merely training you for the real world! You don't know the half of it, and yet you think you know everything."
Cassian scoffed. "You baffle me with your poor excuses. Really, are you going to just blame it all on preparing me for the "harsh" reality?"
"The world outside-"
"The world outside is more beautiful than this stupid rocky wasteland! You just want to keep everyone in here, contained in these rock walls. And you know why that is?
"It's because you're scared. You don't want anyone to go and tell the Pokémon outside the kingdom, how much of a bad ruler you are. You are scared of losing your throne, Crimson. Face it."
The Pokemon in question spread his arms and began laughing in Cassian's face. It then slowly transformed into more of a quiet giggle the longer it went on for. "Even if I am, what can you do about it? Nothing! You're powerless!"
"Maybe I am- and even if, so what? I'll make sure everyone outside knows of your atrocity." He responded in a firm tone, making the king stop laughing. The tides have turned.
Crimson took one more step towards his son, balling his paws into fists. "You wouldn't dare do that to your own father. I raised you- I loved you!"
Cassian laughed and took a step back down and off the steps, guiding the other Lycanroc down and on the ground. "Let's face it- you never loved me. You blame me for the passing of mother, because you can't come to terms with the fact that she was deathly sick!"
"No! It was all your fault! You killed her the moment she gave birth to you!" Crimson clenched his fists tighter and growled. I was obvious that he was losing his high ground.
The Dusk form, noticing the king's clenched fists, readied himself and grinned. "Fine. Believe the lies you keep telling yourself. I won't be around to watch you fall."
Crimson raised his fist and was about to strike his son down, when he suddenly stopped. Cassian stared up at the risen fist with a still grin, not even flinching.
The king then moved his fist and pointed it at the exit behind him. "Leave."
"What, afraid of what would happen if-" He got cut off by a loud yell, echoing through the hall as well as his ears.
"LEAVE!"
Cassian only raised his chin before grinning even wider, putting his muzzle right in his father's face. "You're already beaten. Might as well give up now, Crimson."
In response, he was met with a powerful hook coming from the left side, knocking him off balance and to the side.
Not a moment later, a follow-up attack was launched aimed straight at his stomach. Cassian did not mind the pain, however. The adrenaline rush covered it all up.
"That's all you've got? Launching surprise attacks? How cheap!" He thought to himself and got back up to his feet, steadying himself and staring at his opponent.
Though inexperienced in real fights, the young Dusk form knew how to defend himself and how to attack. It was one of his dreams when he was younger, after all.
And so, Cassian got lower to the ground and began running right in the enemy's position. The only difference being, he was not going to confront them head on.
"I know he's tougher, he's stronger. I don't have any chance of beating him in hand-to-hand combat." He dodged a sucker punch coming from Crimson and ran past him.
"That's why I have to think two steps ahead and use the environment for my advantage!" Cassian ran up a pillar holding up the throne room using his thick claws to scale up.
Once high enough, he kicked himself off of it and aimed for Crimson, who was staring up at the show of agility in awe.
He turned his hind legs towards the enemy and stretched them out, landing a powerful kick straight on the king's head and knocking him down.
After tumbling forward for a certain distance, Cassian got back up and wasted no time, dashing back at Crimson and this time headbutting him on the back, knocking him forward and into the same pillar he scaled earlier.
Dust and sand obscured the king as Cassian breathed heavily, staring at the cloud of debris in anticipation.
A loud cough could be heard, as well as the cracking of stone. Soon enough, the cloud finally fell back down to the ground and Crimson could be seen, standing right in front of the broken pillar.
He was not laughing, staring down at the ground and breathing as heavily as his son. "As much as I hate you, I did not want to do this. But it seems like you have forced my hand to do so either way."
A loud rumble came from down below as the king put his fists against the ground and steadied his breathing. "Have you ever seen a sharp stone up close?"
Without so much as a warning, several sharp rocks began rising up from the ground, trapping him in a sort of cage. And after that… The battle was over.
Crimson looked back at his son, who was desperately trying to destroy or even scale up one of the stones. "It's pointless. You'll tire yourself out, and I'd prefer to see the look on your face when you get kicked out."
"Shut up! You're cheating!" Cassian yelled and head butted one of the sides of his stone cage. To his surprise, a crack appeared. He smiled and hit it once more, widening the crack.
"You were never able to so much as make a difference on the stone tablets I gave you. What makes you think you can destroy these ones?"
"You see, Crimson." He threw himself against the wall once more. "…I changed. My body, my mind…" Another hit. "…And I also became stronger." Final hit, and the wall finally broke down.
The stone let out a loud noise as it fell down, crumbling into dust against the ground and knocking up a cloud of debris, lingering in the air.
As the older Lycanroc stared in disbelief at the whole thing unfold, a bright and red sparkle appeared amidst all the dust and gravel.
That sparkle was rapidly approaching, and before the king could realise that it was Cassian, he was already down on the ground again, clutching his side as a head butt connected with his stomach.
Crimson coughed violently as he got thrown at the same pillar as before, only this time, shattering it and flying through it.
The pillar cried a loud sound before it finally toppled over and fell down right in front of Cassian's father, trapping him. And once more today, the tides were turned.
He hopped from stone to stone, slowly advancing on the trapped king. And when he was close enough, he bowed down and sighed.
"I'm not like you. I'm not a monster." He bit down on his father's mane and proceeded to drag him out from under the fallen pillar.
The older Lycanroc groaned and pushed his son away, turning back to his throne and mumbling something under his breath. "Cassian, even if I hate you, you are still my son. And as much as I would want to forget the lies, I chose to believe, I can't."
The Dusk form hopped off the fallen pillar and looked at his father's back, perplexed. "So, in a way, you hated me for so long that you can't stop hating me?"
He was met with a nod and a small sigh. "I pushed you so hard because I wanted you to become the best. I was so angry when you failed, because I thought there was no hope for you.
"I was so angry at you, because I could not look past my own standards, past my own beliefs."
Crimson turned around to face his son again and bowed down, just like his son did before. "It's only now that I understood that."
Cassian shook his head in turn and smiled. "Then you found out too late, old man. I'm leaving, take care of Faraday for me."
"Wait!" His father called out as he began to walk the opposite way, towards the exit. "Before you go... Do you... forgive me?" He asked sheepishly.
Cassian looked back at his old man and smiled. He sighed and turned the other way again. "Goodbye, father."
The sound of his steps echoed through the now ruined throne room, as he walked past the same statues as he did before.
Maybe that's what life is about- to not care about what others think, and to find your own way to succeeding. Even if everyone else finds it odd, or unconventional, you know that this way, is your way.
Complete and total silence befell upon the room, as Cassian slowly pushed the heavy doors open and stepped through once more, finding himself outside on the rain again.
As it washed away all the debris, dust and sand, he could also feel as the small droplets of water coming from the sky, washed away all his worries.
Now that he was free of his father's tempo, he felt as if he could do anything and everything. Nothing was out of bounds now.
In that moment, Cassian also felt his true colours beginning to shine through the shell he encased his emotions in, shining as bright as a thousand suns.
All the smiles he caught himself doing today were genuine. The anger and the sadness he felt were true too.
His emotions were finally coming back.
The Dusk form Lycanroc looked around himself and sighed, before going out further into the rain and starting his walk back to the same gate he entered through earlier.
A chapter in Cassian's life has just ended, but another has started. Shrouded in mystery and full of surprises. Or perhaps that's the beginning of his true life?
"Whatever happens, I'll make sure not to forget you, father." He smiled again as the rain slowly melted the cage around his emotions, freeing them for the whole world to see.
"Whatever happens, I'll make sure to go through it with a smile." Cassian walked through the now empty plaza, not minding the thousands of invisible eyes staring down at him.
"Whatever happens, I won't give up." He began trotting, then slowly turned it into a run, as he smiled widely with the rain falling in his eyes.
"If not for myself, then for everyone who cares!"
:::::::::::::
Bisharp looked over at his friend, sound asleep and slumped down against the wall. He chuckled to himself.
"Sleep, Lucario. Unlike me, you will need it tomorrow. And in the meantime..." Shout stretched out his arms and did a few laps around the room.
His whole body felt sore, and oddly tired as well. It was unlike an aura creation to be tired, let alone when practically feeding off of the user's energy.
He should be feeling full of energy, like he can move mountains! Not like he's going to fall down any second.
If Lucario's asleep, then he's constantly producing energy. In turn, it would mean that Shout could stay in his state for as long as his host is asleep.
And yet, he still felt tired. Bisharp yawned and blinked hard before picking his friend's journal back up, along with the pen. "I'll try to keep it brief."
:::::::::::::::
"I appreciate your help, Barren." Cassian bowed down slightly as a way to show respect to his fellow Lycanroc.
"Don't mention it, prince! Oh, and safe travels! May the winds guide you to safety!" Barren called out and bowed down too, as his prince began walking away in the direction of the thick forest.
The Dusk form took a last glance at the closing gate, before it shut completely and separated him from the kingdom, once and for all.
He sighed and shook his head. All the good things that happened, all the bad things, everyone he knew... all of this was now gone, left behind in a previous chapter.
The first thing that he had to worry about, now that he's no longer under his father's steel fist, was to find a place to call home.
So much as a burrow would do, as long as it was warm and isolated from the outside world, it was fine enough for the young prince.
Though, actually finding said burrow would prove harder than Cassian initially thought, since every single one that he found has already been taken.
And every time that he asked for permission to stay at least one night, he was always met with the same answer- "I'm sorry, young man, but it would get a little too crowded in here, were you to stay over!"
"I understand, kind sir. Thank you for listening to me, and good night." Cassian bowed down at the small Rattata, who retreated back into his little hole.
Once alone, he sighed to himself and continued onwards through the same forest he ventured out to with Faraday before.
The evening sun was not shining as brightly as before, and with the addition of the rain, it might as well be called night already.
Needless to say, it was getting dark. And with the night slowly creeping in, so did the cold. Were he to be caught by the night, especially after such a lengthy period out in the rain, a sickness was inevitable.
And so, Cassian picked up the pace, searching for any and all holes he could find and checking if they are free. If not, he asked the residents politely if they could share some room with him.
It wasn't until he walked out into a clearing, with only a single tree out in the middle of it, did he finally find a suitable burrow to sleep the night away in.
The hole itself was in such a place, that the leaves from the crown of the tree stopped most of the rain, only letting a droplet or two past.
Lycanroc looked around warily, searching for any signs that this is either a trap or if there are simply any dangers lurking nearby. And when he found nothing, he steadily made his way down the hole.
Surprisingly, it fit him perfectly, as if the previous resident was also a Lycanroc. Either that, or they were bigger than Cassian. And if so, then he certainly did not want to find out if they continued to live there or not.
The burrow itself proved to be quite deep, stretching out so far that even the tree's roots did not reach him.
After some time, he finally reached the bottom, where he was surprised to see a neatly decorated room, lit up by a candle that smelled strangely of honey.
The young Lycanroc dropped down from the hole and into the room, taking a look around and finding that this whole underground room, was indeed occupied.
THWACK!
He fell to the ground as someone stealthily came up from behind him and stomped on his head, pinning him down to the ground.
"Who are you, how did you get here, and why should I trust what you say?" A firm, female voice said from behind him, presumably belonging to the Pokemon that pinned him down.
He stuttered clumsily and closed his eyes, keeping them shut tight as their interaction went on. "I'm Cassian, I got here through the hole under the tree, and you should trust what I say because otherwise you'll beat me!"
A loud silence ensued, as Cassian laid on the ground and awaited his deathly demise.
Instead, a loud laugh sounded through his ears, as the leg that pinned him down suddenly let go of him as let him stand up.
He crawled forward a little bit, before standing up and turning around, only to see a tall Lopunny clutching her sides and laughing at the Wolf Pokemon.
He shrunk in size as she continued laughing, eventually joining her in for a nervous laugh so as to not displease her or offend her in any way.
"I like you already! Tell you what, I'll let you stay here, but you need to stay with me too." She said and leaned down to his eye level.
Cassian swallowed audibly and raised his eyebrow. "As in...?"
The Lopunny sighed and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms in the process. "As in, it gets boring around here. I want to have someone to talk to, you know?"
Lycanroc thought about his options for a moment, thinking hard of the pros and cons of each and every one of them.
He could always decline and get kicked out, though that would mean he'd need to find someplace else to stay.
Then again, if he accepted the offer, nobody knows what would happen to him, or what the Lopunny's true intentions are, were she to actually lie to him.
But after careful consideration (one that took Cassian about a minute), he finally nodded as a response and opened his eyes back up. "Alright."
Lopunny put her paws together and bowed down slightly. She smiled gently. "Then I think it's about time to officially get to know each other. My name is Ziel; what's yours?"
:::::::::::::
A bright light awoke Lucario, as he groaned loudly and turned on his side.
"Wake up, Lucario. I told you there's going to be training today." Huang said firmly as he shook his friend, so he'd wake up.
He was instead met with another groan, and the flail of a paw. "Just one more minute..." The Aura Pokemon replied sleepily.
Lurantis sighed and looked down at the ground, where he saw the open journal and a pen right next to it.
He bent down to reach for it and began reading out loud. "Cassian and the big bunny. What a creative name." He said unenthusiastically.
Lucario jolted up and turned to look at his friend, who was reading through his small booklet. He reached out to grab it but fell down to the ground with a loud smack.
Lucario sighed heavily. "Alright, I'm up. Just please don't read that."
Huang scoffed and helped his friend get up off the ground, holding him under his shoulder and smiling gently. "Is this why you're so grumpy? Have you been writing all night instead of sleeping?"
"Mhm..." The sleepy fighter replied and rubbed his eyes, careful not to poke them with his spikes.
"And who is this 'Cassian' you're writing about?"
"It's a very long story..." Lucario chuckled and yawned, stretching out his paws and beginning to walk on his own.
Shout appeared from behind him and laid down on his friend's shoulders, hanging down and dragging his legs across the ground. He too yawned.
The Aura Pokémon smiled gently and turned to Bisharp. "You too?"
"Don't mention it." He grumbled back and floated right behind the two.
Huang raised his eyebrow. "What was that?" He asked in confusion.
Lucario turned back to Lurantis and smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his own head. "Oh, nothing. Just me talking to myself."
"You owe me for finishing that story, Lucario." Shout suddenly said and floated beside his friend, who looked at him in disbelief.
"Y-You finished it? With Cassian's and Ziel's romance, and everything in between?" He whispered back, cautious not to talk to loud so as to not raise attention.
"I'm not much of a romance person. I stopped at where they met."
Lucario sighed in relief and nodded to himself. "I'm not either. Romance is… strange."
"It sure is, isn't it?" Huang cut in and pat the Aura Pokémon on the back. "Talking to yourself again?"
He admitted finally with a nod and a sigh. "To a friend of mine."
"An imaginary friend?"
Bisharp immediately rose up, staring at Lurantis angrily and intensely. "Lucario, can you tell him that I am not imaginary?" He put an emphasis on the word 'imaginary', continuing to stare Huang down.
Lucario laughed lightly in response and shook his head. "He's a manifestation of my aura. Or the person that lives inside of me."
Lurantis laughed quietly under his breath and nodded to himself. "A friend that's always by your side… Sounds like life never gets boring."
Lucario nodded back and smiled widely, looking back at Shout who had a more relaxed and nonchalant posture, yawning and stretching his arms out to the sides.
"I guess so. But that's good, I like it that way. And I hope that never changes."