Indulgence: Alola

by ActivatedNeuronSensei

A man dies, hit by a truck in an act of uncharacteristic selflessness. Torn from his previous world and thrust into a new one, he must relearn everything he thought he knew about the Pokemon world, and what it means to form connections with others.

8. Chapter 7: Capture, Part 3

Howdy, howdy! I know it's been a minute since I put a note up front, and this'll be short. I noticed at least one person may have concerns about the characters' ages, and that's fair. They're about 7 now, which is 3 years off from the common 10 years old. Still, 3 years is a pretty big gap at that age. I do plan on having Taiyo and his friends get older over the course of the fic, but I'm sorry to say that may take a bit of time. I hope you're willing to put up with it in the meantime, though! Trust me, I'd much rather write about them in their teenage years, but there's certain character moments I can only really do while they're still little kids, as well as plenty of setup for when they're older. One of the biggest things is that Taiyo's world is still small, and the stakes are pretty simple while he's a kid, which will slowly open up as he can get more and more involved as he gets older.

I*A*C

Blood on the ground. Blood on her clothes. Blood on her face. Why was there so much blood everywhere. A body, slumped and bleeding in front of her. He'd tried to protect her, and now he was dead. Team Solar. Now she remembered them, as they shoved her into the car and drove off. They were the bad guys that her daddy and mother talked about sometimes, when she was supposed to be asleep. They were the reason her family was in Alola. It was their fault that Taiyo was dead.

Lusamine woke with a start, her eyes and brain barely processing what was around her. Slowly, though, she came to her senses. She was in a small room without any windows, and a single door on the opposite side of her. There was a single table next to the door, and two adults were sitting at it, talking with each other about... sports? The big thing, though, was the massive, dark Pokémon standing in front of her, staring at her with its singular, glaring red eye. She didn't recognize the Pokémon at all, though maybe that was her terrified mind trying not to.

"Hey, the little brat's awake," one of the adults, a man, spoke up from the table. Her eyes darted to him before focusing back on the Pokémon in front of her. He was wearing that same yellow suit, while the woman on the other side of the table was wearing a dark purple suit. "Nice to see you join the land of the living, sunshine. How was your nap?"

"D-Daddy says not to talk to strangers..." Lusamine said, trying not to let her fear and tears drip out. The woman rolled her eyes.

"You idiot, of course your dusclops is scaring her," she grumbled. "At the very least put him in his poké ball. We don't need him right now." The man grumbled under his own breath, presumably weighing his options, before sighing and returning the Pokémon to its poké ball. Lusamine felt her breathing relax a bit, a heavy pressure lifted from her shoulders. "There we go. See, kid? We can be reasonable. Just sit tight and once your daddy gives us what we want, you can go home and pretend like all of this didn't happen."

"You killed him..." Lusamine felt the pit grow in her stomach. Now that she could think a bit more clearly, she could remember what she'd seen before she'd been taken away. The woman seemed confused.

"Him? Who's him?" she asked her partner, who shrugged. "Do we kill people? I thought we just roughed them up a little."

"Ah, you know how Malik gets," the man replied. How could they be so calm about this!? "Probably one of her butlers or something. I bet he tried fighting back."

"You killed my best friend!" Lusamine screamed, struggling against the ropes that bound her. The two adults seemed shocked at that. How could they!? How could they not know what they did!? "He's dead! How could you!?"

"Calm down brat!" the man snarled at her, standing up and marching over to her before kicking her chair, knocking her to the side.

"Kev!"

"Nah, you gotta show these little shits who's boss sometimes," the man snarled, picking her up by the collar of her blouse and slamming her back against the wall, setting her upright again. Lusamine trembled, trying to keep her tears in. "You're gonna sit there, shut up, and look pretty, got it you little brat?" She nodded, feeling her lip quiver. A good girl doesn't cry. A good girl doesn't let others scare her. A good girl is always in control of her emotions.

Lusamine felt tears running down her cheeks, her breaths heaving in her chest as the man sat back down, a scowl on his face and a glare in his eyes. Her mother taught her all about how to be a good girl. How to be liked by other people. If that was all true... then what was she right now...?

"That was uncalled for," the woman said, glaring at her partner. The man spat to his side, rolling his eyes. Lusamine stared at them, breathing heavily. Her head felt light. Her body felt numb. What was happening to her? "She's just a kid, Kev. Besides, did Malik actually kill some brat just to get to her?"

"What does it matter if he did or not?" the man asked, sounding annoyed. "The little shit probably tried playing hero. You know how he gets. What's one less little crotch goblin in the world?"

"Yeah, you keep saying that until it's Lizzy on the chopping block," the woman said. The man scowled even more. Lusamine's eyes felt heavy. She looked up, praying to Arceus that she'd be let go soon. That somehow, her best friend would be ok.

Please, she prayed, I just want him to be ok. I'll never sneak out sweets from the kitchen or watch TV past my bedtime again. Please just let him be ok. Please let someone find me! Through blurry eyes, she looked at the wall at the air grate. She could have sworn that she saw a pair of eyes looking back at her through the grate before they moved away.

I*A*C

Weavile was never the most agreeable Pokémon. that was fine by him. Most days, he spent alone trying to get comfortable in the warmer temperatures. It always failed, but he wasn't going to give up on it. It was bad enough when they were still in Unova, but here in this hellscape called Alola? Yeah, those humans could fuck right off with that. The trainer who'd caught him, Lestor, was a prick who didn't know left from right. He'd promised to make Weavile stronger, but it may as well have been a lie for how incompetent he was. It was just luck that allowed the little idiot to catch him, and it'd been skill that allowed the then Sneasel to slit his throat in his sleep. Unfortunately for Weavile, he'd done it in a town and the little shit had been able to get help.

Now, he was forced to live with the brat's 'sponsor' or whatever, and he wasn't allowed to go with any other trainers to get stronger. With this brat, though... It might have been a mix of desperation and boredom that made Weavile agree to this little brat's desperate pleas for help. A chance to show off his skills, and get a nice, cold place all to himself to boot? Yeah, even if the little brat was lying, it was worth the risk. Hell, he'd even managed to force the bastard of a 'sponsor' to agree to it! Not only that, but even after just a few moments, the kid had the insight to know Weavile was suffering in the heat. He'd been the first to actually realize what was wrong.

So yeah, Weavile would give the little kid a chance. That chance came in the form of finding the 'sponsor's' little brat. He couldn't care less about the blonde terror who played with Furret and her little petilil, but if it got him what he wanted, he'd drag the girl kicking and screaming if he had to.

Weavile darted to the side of the building, letting the patrolling gastly pass by him before lunging in with a Night Slash, a move passed down by his parents, the wretched bastards. It was the only gift they'd left him with. The ghost Pokémon went down easily, and a sadistic smile crossed his face as he continued to attack the injured Pokémon, putting it down permanently. He proc'd Agility once more, then Hone Claws, before darting through the dilapidated building once more. Weavile's ear twitched as a nearby knocking sound caught his attention, just low enough for his sensitive hearing to pick it up. The Pokémon rolled his eyes, approaching the ventilation grate.

"You smell like shit," he growled, seeing the fuzzy tube staring back at him from the other side. "This better be important, cumsock."

"I found Lusamine," the Furret replied, sounding offended. "And for your information, you smell like blood."

"I know," Weavile said with a grin on his face. He could see the little fuzzy thing roll his eyes. "Where is she? I'll drag her out, myself."

"Two floors down, under the buildings," Furret replied, calming down once more. "I couldn't tell you exactly where, but I can show you. Think you can get this grate off the wall?"

"Not without making a shit ton of noise," Weavile admitted, feeling bitter about that fact. He'd have to use Metal Claw to pry it open, and that would obviously attract attention. He'd be all too happy to lay the beat down on some of these weaklings, but to get that freezer building, he had to rescue the kid. Ugh. Humans and their parental love. Why couldn't they just imprint their instincts on their children and let them grow up alone like sneasel did? "Of course this couldn't be easy. How the fuck did you get in there, anyway?"

Furret slid through one of the grates with a bit of effort, giving Weavile a pleasant smile. He scowled. Despite being so tall, Furret was deceptively thin. Mostly fur, even. Guess that's how they came up with their name. "Show off," the Sharp Claw Pokémon snarled, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. Furret slipped back into the vent, taking noticeably longer this time. "Ugh, this place is crawling with ghosts, too. I can kill them without any problems, but it'll be fucking annoying trying to ambush all of them. I wish the human had planned a distraction." Weavile did not jump as a loud siren wailed through the building. He looked around quickly. Nothing seemed to be approaching them, which meant...

"You were saying?" Furret practically purred, snickering. "I guess that human was already five steps ahead of you, Weavie!"

"This doesn't prove anything!" the Dark-Type growled back. "The dumb fucker must have gotten caught. Come on, let's get moving while their attention is focused somewhere else and hope he doesn't cross our path." Furret took off into the vents while Weavile darted from corner to corner, looking for any signs that might indicate that there were stairs behind any doors.

"Fucking human signs. Why can't they just use carved symbols like we do? Their stupid language is impossible to read!" Weavile snarled as he came across a door that looked different from the others. There weren't any signs, but his feathers weren't detecting any kind of air current coming from it. He readied a Slash and tore through the door's bottom enough for him to poke his head in. Even before he did, he could see light on the other side. Humans liked light, didn't they?

"Looks like I found my way in," the Pokémon smirked at the knowledge. He used another Hone Claws and began to Fury Swipes at the door, dashing through the small entrance he'd made with a Quick Attack before taking off down the stairs behind the door. He moved quickly, using the walls like springboards as he bounded down the stairway. Down two floors, right?

A duskull moved through a wall, catching Weavile in its lone, pulsating eye. Not quite fast enough, though. Weavile smirked, charging up a Night Slash mid-leap down a set of stairs and, as soon as his feet hit the ground, he bounced off back onto the opposite wall to then lunged at the Ghost-Type. It barely had time to shriek before his claw pierced the Pokémon's face, shattering it and impaling the glowing red orb behind it; the duskull's eye and core. The Pokémon fell immediately, instantly killed by the super-effective attack. Weavile landed on the railing of the next set of stairs, looking back at his victim for a moment before moving on. How much longer would he be forced to fight weaklings like this?

Down the next set of stairs he went, taking him only moments with his speed and reflexes. The door to his destination opened as several humans wearing yellow and purple clothes rushed through. "Let's go! There's an intruder- wait, who's weavile is- Agck!" The man's annoying voice was cut off as Weavile Slash'd his throat as he rushed past him, grabbing the next human's outstretched arm as a pole to spin himself around and launch himself over their heads. He grinned, a Nasty Plot forming in his head as he flew above them.

"Die, scumbags!" Weavile screamed as he unleashed an Icy Wind on the humans. All of them screamed, shivering as his power washed over them. The Pokémon landed behind the group, unleashing a Fury Swipes on them all before finishing each one with Slash in quick succession. Weavile took a minute to look over his bloody handiwork before moving on, trying to find an air vent to meet up with Furret again. Alarms openly blared within the deep recesses of the building, telling Weavile that the humans knew something was happening.

"I just fucking wish I knew what was going on!" The Pokémon thought to himself. He slid to a stop, hearing footsteps running his way. The Pokémon snuck into a nearby open room, keeping close to the wall and letting out a breath of air, not letting so much as a strand of his fur twitch. Several heavy footsteps ran past him, and he watched distracted Ghost-Types float through the floor into the ceiling, paying him no mind. He smirked, tempted to ruin their days, but thought better of it. The human he came with obviously had a plan, so he'd trust that the boy could handle a few more eyes on him. Even if he couldn't, it was his own fault for being dumb enough to set off alarms. Except... ugh, the boy had to live for him to get his nice freezer room. It always came back to that fucking cold air.

Once the humans had passed, Weavile once more ran down the halls. He kept an ear out for Furret, hoping he hadn't passed the noodly rodent. These halls all looked the same, and he still couldn't fucking read any of the signs! Weavile snarled as he finally came across a group of humans running along him with their Pokémon. A mismagius, a bisharp, and a drowzee. Easy pickings.

"What the- whose Weavile is that!?" one of the humans yelled.

"Who are you?" The bisharp, who stood at the lead, asked. Weavile smirked, imagining all the ways he could kill these puny Pokémon and their human masters with a Nasty Plot.

"H-He's using a move!" the drowzee explained. He turned to his master. "A-Alan, he's not one of ours!"

"I don't know, do you, Kale?" the second human, Alan, asked their only female companion.

"Kerse, what do we do?" the bisharp asked his human. Weavile used Hone Claws, then burst forward with Agility before any of the humans could react in time.

"You fuckers are breathing my air!" Weavile screamed, a nasty smile carved across his face. He lunged at the drowzee, who desperately tried to stop him with a wave of his hands. He felt a stab of pain in the back of his head, his Agility coming to an end. Disable. Figures the fucker would be annoying just before dying. Weavile didn't stop, using Night Slash on his claws as he tore through the obese Pokémon. He turned, finishing with a second blow through the back of the neck while the other creatures were stunned.

"D-Drowzee!" the human master cried, panic rising in his voice. "K-Kale, Kerse, do something!"

"Mismagius, Thunder Wave!" Weavile tracked the Ghost-Type as she burst with a wave of Electric-Type energy. The wave of electricity was dense. Not dense enough.

"Take this, your wretch!" the Pokémon screamed as her attack went off. Weavile smirked. So much for a worthy fight. Weavile twisted his body, passing through the narrow gap that was afforded to him by his enemy's inexperience. How dare these idiots waste his time.

"Shit, this Pokémon is insane!" the girl shouted to her friends as Weavile leapt towards Mismagius with a Quick Attack. The Magical Pokémon smirked, obviously only seeing that Quick Attack was just the first part. His claws glowed with a pitch black hue as she realized too late what awaited her. Weavile had no such hesitations or distractions as he cut through the Ghost-Type with ease. She screamed in agony before falling to the floor, writhing in pain. Weavile landed shortly after, charging up another Night Slash to finish-

"Bisharp, Metal Claw!" He was interrupted by the third nuisance. Weavile scowled before leaping out of the way of the bisharp's attack. "You two, take your Pokémon and go! Bisharp and I will take care of this thing!"

"M-My Drowzee... He's not..."

"Go!" the human shouted. Mismagius was returned to her poké ball and the two other humans ran, the last one crying as he left his dead drowzee behind.

"You've slaughtered one too many of my compatriots, fiend," Bisharp grumbled to his enemy. Weavile chuckled under his breath as the trainer barked another order. Weavile's eyes narrowed with glee. Agility was back. He used the move, easily evading the bisharp's predictable and slow strikes. "Do you find the death of dutiful Pokémon amusing, distorted one!?"

"Yes!" Weavile admitted, laughing as he led along the frustrated bisharp. "All of your friends were so weak! They're pathetic! The human who brought me here thought you'd be some kind of serious threat, but all I see are weaklings!" The bisharp roared with anger as he tried to catch the Weavile, but he got no closer. "I was told that my strength would be needed, but instead I find nothing that the stupid plant who snuck along couldn't handle!"

"Speak sense, you wretch!" Bisharp howled. "I may not be strong, but you've yet to face the full might of Team Solar! You wouldn't stand a chance against Malik and his Malamar!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Weavile grinned. "Then maybe I'll kill you quickly, then seek him out!"

"I will be enough to defeat you," the bisharp snarled. Weavile had had enough. It was fun at first, but making this Pokémon chase him around was now getting dull. It was time to end this.

"Now die," he hissed, charging up his Night Slash. He ran forward, striking the bisharp at center mass. Except his attack didn't slice through like he'd been expecting. No, the bisharp stopped it. "What!?"

"Did your trainer never teach you?" the bisharp chuckled as he spoke. "I am a Steel-Type. Your moves have little effect on me!" Weavile... his trainer had been an idiot... of course he hadn't... Weavile yanked his claw back, but the bisharp trapped his claw between his own arm and the blades protruding from his torso. Weavile winced in pain as they cut into his skin. Bisharp grabbed his arm with a single... appendage and pulled him close.

"Great work, Bisharp!" the human squealed with delight, and Weavile felt his stomach drop. "Now, use Iron Head!" Bisharp's protruding axe head glowed an iron grey as he slammed his head down onto Weavile's. The Sharp Claw Pokémon howled in pain as he felt like his head was being split open. The Sword Blade Pokémon didn't let go, repeatedly slamming his Iron Head attack into the slowly dying Weavile. How!? How could someone be this much stronger than him!? Weavile felt his legs weaken as the bisharp continued to bash his head in. He was going to die here...

I*A*C

"The fuck is going on out there?" the man in the yellow suit growled, staring at the lone door in the room. Lusamine was exhausted. She'd since cried herself out, and all she felt now was nub. The eyes in the vents had left, and now she was all alone. She was going to die here... "Arrrrgh, I wish I fucking knew what the hell that was!"

"Oh, for the love of Arceus, just go check!" the woman growled at her partner. "You've been griping for, like, ten minutes!"

"What, and leave the kid here alone?"

"She'll be with me you moron!" The man paused at those words, thinking it over for a bit before shrugging. "Are you finally gonna go check?"

"Ugh, I'll be right back," the man grunted, standing up and leaving through the door. It was silent, save for the wailing alarm. Still, Lusamine didn't dare to hope. It couldn't be for her. She'd been a bad girl.

"Hey, kid," the woman spoke, her voice gentler than it had been before. "Look at me, kid." Lusamine obeyed, not knowing what compelled her. The woman's eyes were hidden by a domino mask, but there was a frown on her face. Had she... made her upset, somehow? "Are you alright? Kevin was pretty rough with you." Lusamine stared at the woman, who offered her some kind of smile. She couldn't tell whether it was kind or cruel. "Hey, you alright?"

"Why...?"

"Hm?"

"Why do you care...?" Lusamine asked, her numbness giving way a bit to confusion. "You kidnapped me... You killed my best friend... Why do you care...?" The woman sighed, shaking her head and reaching up to grip her violet hair. There was silence as the woman thought of an answer. A lie. Lusamine had been a bad girl, but this was an evil woman.

"Listen, I didn't sign up for the whole 'kidnapping' and 'child murdering' thing," the woman lied. "Here, if it helps, I'll tell you my name? My name's Akani," the woman lied. "What's your name?" Lusamine kept quiet. "Yeah, I get it. I wouldn't want to tell someone my name if they tied me up like that, either. Once your daddy gives us the Prince of the Stars, then you'll be sent right back to him. I promise." She was lying. There was no such thing as some Prince of the Stars. Nothing could survive on a star, it was too hot.

"Ugh, c'mon, kid, just work with me," the woman grumbled, frustrated. Lusamine hid a smirk. At least she could get back at them like this. "Fine. If it helps any, I'm sorry we killed your little friend. Nobody was supposed to die in any of this. Ugh, it's not like Team Solar can really do anything except keep itself floating until we get our hands on that Pokémon." What Pokémon was she talking about...?

No, that wasn't important. What would Taiyo do in this situation? Well, he wouldn't sit around and cry, that's for sure. He'd find some kind of way out, using the weaknesses that others gave him. Lusamine stared hard at the floor, slowly coming up with a plan in her mind while she ignored the wailing of the alarms.

I*A*C

"Fuck."

Yeah, that word just about described my situation as I leapt back from the duskull that had been inches away from my face. I tried to remember what duskull- no! No thoughts, just action! "Lily, I need you!" I grabbed her poké ball and quickly unscrewed the top, tossing it out into the air in front of me as the duskull gave chase. I glanced around, looking for a way out as the duskull's shadow seemed to get longer. No, it was stretching. Shadow Sneaky bastard. "Charm, Lily!"

In a flash of light, Lily stood between myself and Duskull. She wiggled cutely, and the Shadow Sneak attack paused just long enough for me to get my bearings. "Sleep Powder!" Lily whipped her head towards the briefly stunned duskull, a purple powder washing over it as it slowly began to drift to the ground, the red eye dulling for a moment. I had to take this thing out.

---

"A taser, a dagger, and pepper spray," I told Aster as he added things to the list. He raised a brow at the first item, but wrote the others.

"What in the world is a taser?" he asked, obviously confused. Damn. I guess an easy 'elemental' attack was out of the picture.

"An electrical weapon that focuses a current through whatever it hits," I told him. Even if it didn't exist yet, I could at least give him the idea. Warfare for humans might have been stuck in the 1700s, but not for me. "Don't worry about it. I'll make do. Just the dagger is really necessary." Vic and Aster shared a look before the two of them seemed to relent. Aster's earlier question seemed to return in full force, given the look on his face, but to his credit, he didn't ask it again.

"If you say so," Aster mumbled under his breath.

"Are you truly intending to kill, Young Master?" Vic asked, concern etched in his shaky voice. "You need not-"

"If I have to, I will," I told him

---

"I'm not about to let anyone stop me," I growled as the lingering thought passed through my mind. I walked past the sleeping duskull, reaching into my bag that I'd left by the roof's edge and grabbing the dagger within it. It was wrapped in a black leather sheathe to keep it from reflecting and to keep me from cutting myself by accident. As I pulled the weapon out, I strapped the actual sheath to my leg, ensuring it was nice and tight. In mere moments, I stood over the duskull. I'd never actually killed anyone or anything before. Not like this. Not in this life or my previous one.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, feeling my heart begin to pound. I ignored the feeling of vitriol beginning to cloud my mind, picking up Lily from the rooftop and setting her on my shoulder. The little Bulb Pokémon nuzzled my cheek to comfort me. My hand gripped the hilt of my blade. "You're in my way. I have no other choice." I knelt down in front of the small, lightly snoring Pokémon. My eye twitched. My hand trembled. No. I had to do this! I-

Pain and sound echoed across the rooftop all at once. I shuddered as it washed over me before I looked frantically at where the sound was coming from. Behind me flew a magneton as it unleashed a Screech attack. I snarled as I moved to the side and behind the cover of an air conditioning unit, seeing duskull wake up in light of the loud noise. It gave me a baleful glare before descending quickly under the roof.

"Well, double fuck me in the ass," I growled under my breath. Okay, quiet option was out. I was really hoping that shit wouldn't hit the fan this fast. I knew it was inevitable, but this was ridiculous! "Aggron! It's time to go loud!" I roared as I unleashed Aggron on the roof. The massive Iron Armor Pokémon emerged with a roar. Then he dropped. The roof crumbled under his weight, and I leapt after him, landing on his back as we fell. Aggron landed hard on the ground below. It hadn't hurt him any, but I could feel his annoyance rolling off of him in waves as he turned his head, his blue eye staring me down. "Sorry about that, buddy. I forgot about your weight." Aggron growled lowly, but turned his head as I pointed at the floating magneton. "No time. Let's test out your new moves, Aggron! Brick Break, and hold nothing back!" I grinned as Aggron's right hand glowed white, and he lunged at the magneton. Without a trainer, the Pokémon was a sitting duck. Aggron roared, slicing clean through the Magnet Pokémon. At least, he would have, if the three magnemite making up magneton's body hadn't separated, causing the attack to pass right through them.

The Magnet Pokémon buzzed and whirred, and I watched as it began charging up some kind of electrical attack. While that attack might not do a lot to Aggron... Warning sirens went off both in my head and throughout the building, and the momentary distraction forced me to take a second to refocus. "Protect!" Aggron let out a roar as I heard Magneton's attack go off. No painful electrical shocks, so I assumed that Protect went off without a hitch. "Return fire with Sand Tomb!" Aggron stomped on the ground, turning the floor to sand and dust as energy poured out from him. With a swipe of his hand, the debris swirled around Magneton, making it hard for the Pokémon to float and keep balance. "Brick Break!"

Distracted by trying to keep its balance, the magneton was only barely able to separate as Aggron attacked once more. "Lily, Helping Hand!" The little petilil squeaked, reaching over to touch Aggron. Vines spread across his body towards his left hand before it jerked, glowing the same white aura that his right hand was. The vines twitched, slamming his left hand against one of the magnemite making up magneton's body. It hissed and sparked, falling to the ground as the other two followed suit. Aggron growled at the downed Pokémon, stomping in it and crushing the Magnet Pokémon into pieces.

I let out a sigh, trying to calm my racing heart. "Come back, Aggron. Thanks for the help." I returned the aggron to his poké ball, mumbling against it. "I'll let you know if I need your help again." I looked around, grabbing my bag from where it had fallen to the ground from the roof and pulling it back onto myself. "Ok. Quiet way is botched. Time to go loud." I sighed, glancing at Lily. Time to see if my experiment would work. "Lily, Sunny Day. Keep it localized." Lily squeaked eagerly, creating a miniature ball of light. I gently touched the bright ball, feeling a steady warmth emanating from it. "Can you move it with us?" The petilil nodded, seeming invigorated. "Ok. Entrainment." The petilil danced, glowing a soft, white aura. I watched her dance on my shoulder, and I felt myself compelled to follow her movements. After a few seconds, I felt... good. Like energy was flowing through my body through the Sunny Day.

Well, that was interesting. Lily had the ability Chlorophyll, and the fact that I could be affected by a move that gave me her same ability... Something to think about later. I smirked and took off running towards the buildings further into the area. I looked at various signs as I burst through the doors of the first warehouse, but I needn't have bothered. A small hole at the bottom of a door shone with light. Weavile was in. I'd have to follow his lead, then. I ran towards the door before several Ghost-Types flew up through the floor, looking around before facing me and glaring at my direction. I should've kept Aggron out of his ball.

"Cover me, Lily. Use Stun Spore!" Lily leapt to the ground from my shoulder as I grabbed Aggron's poké ball again. "Sorry buddy, thought we'd at least get closer to where we needed to be before I brought you out again." His ball shook annoyedly as a yellow wave of spores washed over the Ghost-Types in front of me. A few of them tried using some attacks, but Lily knew better than to stay still, using the recoil from her spore attacks to burst and move out of the way of incoming attacks. It didn't add a lot of distance, but it was enough to keep her from taking the full brunt of the damage and catch the other Pokémon off-guard with her sudden speed. "Let's go, Aggron!"

In a flash of red light, the giant, crimson Iron Armor Pokémon emerged once more from his poké ball, roaring menacingly out of frustration. He glared at me for a moment before turning his attention to the Pokémon who were trying to pin down Lily. "Lily, Synthesis and get back here! Aggron, show them no mercy with Brutal Swing!" Lily quickly shot herself back towards me with a quick burst of Stun Spore, glowing in midair as she used the Sunny Day to help her heal herself from the minor injuries the Ghost-Types had inflicted on her. Aggron, in the meantime, twisted his body as he charged at the other Pokémon, spinning just before crashing into them and slamming his tail into the group with Dark-Type energy coursing through it. The Pokémon went flying back against the wall, passing through the concrete since they couldn't maintain their corporeal forms. Just in time, as the door I'd been eyeing was shoved open as several Team Solar members filtered out to see their Pokémon get knocked out.

"Wha-What the hell is that!?" one of them yelled. I smirked, hopping onto Aggron's back.

"A crimson aggron and a man in black armor... They're supposed to just be legends!"

"You can't be serious, there's no way they actually exist!"

"B-But they're right there!" I smirked under my mask, mumbling just loud enough for Aggron to hear my voice.

"Let's make these idiots wet themselves, Aggron," I told him, hearing him rumble lowly in amusement. "Lily, use Entrainment on Aggron. Can you move that Sunny Day behind us?" Lily began to dance in my palm, and Aggron repeated the motions, his Sturdy Ability turning into Chlorophyll. It was definitely a downgrade, but it didn't matter when the point was to make him seem unnatural. The little glowing ball shone behind us, silhouetting us against its light.

"W-What's it doing!?" One of the Team Solar members yelled. "W-Wait, go, Kadabra!" There was a flash of red as the grunt let out their Pokémon to face us. "Use Psychic!"

"Sandstorm, then Protect," I tucked Lily into a small pouch in my backpack as Aggron let out a feral roar, whipping up sand and dust from the ground in what I knew would be a typhoon of dirt and sediment. The other Pokémon tried to get their attacks in while they could still see us, but Aggron's Protect ensured we wouldn't be bothered. "Time for another new move, Aggron. Substitute." The three of us shifted, and I could see the shadow of a large aggron back where we'd just moved from. I could hear the Team Solar grunts coughing through the Sandstorm.

"Where did it go!?" one of them shouted. "Woobat, find it!"

"Sand Tomb all of them. Rock Tomb the rest. This will be their graves," I told Aggron, who was all too happy to oblige. "Show them your power." The crimson Iron Armor Pokémon let out a loud bellow, shifting as he grabbed pieces of concrete and threw them at our enemies. I couldn't see anything through the sand, but I could hear the screams of both humans and Pokémon coming from in front of us. I unzipped my bag slightly, searching for what I needed. It probably would have been smart to grab these first, but desperate times and all. That, and I'd been too focused on just not thinking to keep our enemies on their toes.

---

"A pair of goggles," I had Aster add to the list. He let out a sigh, having had to flip to the next page of his tiny little notebook. "You think this might be extensive, but it's all in preparation for the worst. You'll know why, if shit does hit the fan." He gave me a disapproving stare at my language.

"Is that because of the new moves you had us teach Aggron through TMs?" Vic asked, his voice weary and tired. I guess I was wearing the two men down with all of my preparations.

"Right on the money, Vic," I told him, chuckling under my breath. "I still might not be able to see much through Sandstorm, but it's better than having to keep my eyes shut the entire time. Got that, Aster?"

"Is there anything else?" he asked, his patience obviously having been run thin by now. I thought for a moment, then shook my head. He groaned softly.

"One last thing," I said, steeling my expression. "This is a big one, too." Aster straightened up, a frown on his face as he prepared to write. "I know this might be extreme, but I want to be prepared for anything. You're not gonna like it."

---

I slipped the goggles onto my face after finding them in the special pouch I'd dedicated to them. I ensured there was as little sand in them as I could while putting them on before I opened my eyes, seeing nothing but swirling sand around us. The lenses were a deep red, and the straps pitch black like my balaclava. For all intents and purposes, it should look like I have glowing, red eyes. It was silent save for the alarms going off and the sand itself hitting things. "Can you see through the sand, Aggron?" I asked, getting an affirmative nod from the beast. "Is everything dead?" Another nod.

"Good. It's your turn again, Lily. Sunny Day." Lily squeaked, and the sandstorm dissipated, once more returning that little glowing ball of light behind us. "Thatta girl, Lily. Keep it up." I already felt rejuvenated under the little mote, and could tell that Aggron felt the same way. "Alright, Aggron. Let's bust through that wall over there, then start heading down the stairs. We're going in loud." I saw the edge of Aggron's mouth twitch into a grin as he let out a loud roar, charging at the wall. I hid myself fully on his back, feeling the wall crumble as he slammed through it and down into the stairwell.

I*A*C

How!? How could someone be this much stronger than him!? Weavile felt his legs weaken as the bisharp continued to bash his head in. He was going to die here...

"Get your hands off of him!" Weavile heard a scream before fwoom! A rush of heat, and the bisharp screamed in pain before letting him go. "Weavile! Talk to me, are you okay?"

"Tch, what the fuck happened?" the Sharp Claw Pokémon growled, spitting out blood as he looked towards his rescuer. Concerned eyes stared back at him from a brown and tan tube. Furret. "You."

"Me," Furret turned to look back at the bisharp. "I can lead you to where miss Lusamine is, but we gotta take care of this guy, first."

"I fucking had him, you little sock puppet," Weavile snarled. Furret gave him a sidelong glance before refocusing on the bisharp.

"Clearly."

"Where'd a weakling like you learn a Fire-Type move, anyway," Weavile asked, looking back towards the bisharp as he shook off the attack.

"Where the fuck did that one come from?" the human asked, sounding uncertain of himself.

"You dare attack me on behalf of this unscrupulous knave?" Bisharp snarled, readying himself for battle once more. "I'll have your head! Kerse, your orders?"

"Heh, Victor taught me a few things before retiring me," Furret replied to Weavile's question. "You ready? You go high, I'll go low."

"Like hell I'll listen to you!"

"Break!" Furret took off with that word towards the enemy without giving Weavile a chance to think of another plan. The Dark-Type growled and leapt into the air at his enemy. The human finally seemed to catch on, barking an order.

"Bisharp, Iron Defense!" The human yelled. Bisharp momentarily glowed an iron grey as Weavile readied up a Hone Claws into a Slash attack. Looking down, Furret's left paw caught fire as he readied a Fire Punch attack. "Use Night Slash on the Furret!"

"Take this, you knave!" the bisharp yelled, his right claw-thing glowing a dark aura. Weavile used Quick Attack, boosting himself towards his enemy.

"Your enemy is me!" Weavile snarled, aiming for the burnt spot on Bisharp's torso. He attacked Bisharp with Assurance, hearing the Pokémon scream in pain as he attacked the injured spot. "You die now!"

"Bisharp!"

"This is for miss Lusamine!" Furret yelled, striking Bisharp center-mass with his Fire Punch. The Sword Blade Pokémon staggered back, feeling the pain but not out. Furret winced and looked back to Weavile. "I have a move to take him out, but you need to keep him distracted while I focus!"

"With pleasure," Weavile grinned, coming up with a Nasty Plot.

"Bisharp, use Iron Defense again!"

"What, are you and your master scared of losing!?" Weavile Taunted the Pokémon as he prepared to obey his human's orders. "Aren't you supposed to be the powerful and feared Team Solar!? You're pathetic!" Bisharp growled, charging at Weavile.

"Bisharp, what the fuck are you doing!?"

"I am putting down this creature like the beast he is!" Bisharp screamed back, his left arm glowing a gleaming metallic grey. "Die, you impudent knave!" Weavile raised his claw, forming an Ice Shard with Ice-Type energy before throwing it at the Bisharp. It was easily knocked to the side as the weasel Pokémon activated Agility, weaving under Bisharp's arm as he swiped at him with Metal Claw.

"Bisharp, stop ignoring me and use Scary Face!" Bisharp paused for a moment before leveling a glare at Weavile.

"You're so weak!" Weavile Taunted again, laughing. "When I'm done with you, I'll slice your precious human's throat out! He has such an annoying, stupid fucking voice!"

"Silence, you cur!" Bisharp screamed, running at him again, once more ignoring his human's orders. "I'll dice you into ribbons!"

"Weavile!" The weasel Pokémon grinned.

"You'll die trying." A tube leapt over the weasel, right paw glowing with an incredible aura.

"Focus Punch!" the furret screamed, striking the bisharp as his eyes widened in shock. His body shook and cracked before giving way. Even Weavile was taken by surprise when Furret dove through the bisharp, emerging through the other side from the hole he'd punctured through the Pokémon's chest. Bisharp staggered, before finally falling to his knees.

"Bisharp!" the human screamed. Bisharp looked up at hit human as Weavile used Quick attack.

"K-Kerse!" the dying Pokémon screamed, moments before Weavile Slashed through the human''s neck. The two fell to the ground together, the human's stupid head rolling across the ground towards his Pokémon. Man and monster stared at one another as the light faded from both of their eyes. Weavile licked his claws clean of the human blood.

"Time to keep moving," Weavile turned to the brown cum-sock. "Where's the girl, ferret?" Furret trotted over to him, giving the two bodies a final look of distaste before turning his attention back to Weavile. He used Agility, and Weavile did the same.

"They're down this way," Furret said, taking off running. "Follow Me!" Weavile's senses focused on his temporary partner as the two of them ran down the halls. They ran across other groups of humans and Pokémon on the way, but none of them were nearly as challenging as Bisharp had been. All of them died within moments of crossing the duo. Weavile continued to watch Furret's tail. Maybe he wasn't as useless as he first seemed. All because of a trainer? Maybe there was something to having a trainer who knew what the fuck he was doing.

Weavile kept his eyes peeled as they ran, skidding to a stop as they passed an open door. He backtracked while Furret stopped as well, noticing the weasel Pokémon had stopped. "What's wrong? We're almost there!"

"Take a look at that," Weavile pointed into the open room. It had nice looking carpets, and several stands full of very shiny and fancy looking items on them. The lights were turned off, but he could easily pick out some very shiny things with his ability to see in the dark. "Hey, we should grab some of this shit."

"What!? That's a waste of time, let's keep going, Weavile!" The Dark-Type scowled.

"Hey, the more we screw over this team, the better we'll end up being, right? Just a few things, that's all. It'll only take a minute." Furret glanced at the variety of items spread out in the dark room, letting out a sigh.

"Fine, but just a few things. Make sure you grab those two things," the furret raised his paw at a pair of objects in particular, some wrist-band looking thing as well as a dark, oval diamond-like item with each end capped by a small square diamond shape.

"What, are those useful?" Weavile asked, and Furret nodded.

"Very," the other Pokémon told him. "They're ancient items from Alola's past. That gem in particular is said to have belonged to a celestial queen." There was obviously more that the furret was hiding, but Weavile frankly didn't give a shit. Those were gonna be his! The Dark-Type leapt onto the first altar, swiping the two items before grabbing a few others, including some chunks of gold, some red band that looked interesting, as well as a pair of prismatic gems that looked very pretty. One was like a small marble with a helix shape inside of it, and the other was a deep red with twisting stripes of gold and silver in the center.

"Here, take these," Weavile told Furret, shoving the items into the Long Body Pokémon's fur. Furret sputtered, only resisting briefly before groaning and relenting to the impromptu storage.

"I am not your carrying bag!" the ferret growled as he gave in. "Whatever. Are you ready, you kleptomaniac?" Weavile grinned, patting the furret's back as he walked back out into the hall. A loud roar echoes through the hall itself, sounding vaguely familiar. "Sounds like Taiyo and Aggron have made it in. Go back and lead them here. Do you remember the way?"

"Of course I fucking do!" Weavile snarled, offended. His species was dependent on memorizing twisting routes by second nature. "You better not leave any of my shit behind!"

"I'd never dream of it," Furret replied, rolling his eyes as he stepped back into the shadows of the room. "Now go!"

Weavile took off back down the hall the way they'd come, eager and giddy after securing some very shiny loot. The more he could bring back, the fancier his freezer room could be! He could hardly wait!

Weavile ran back down the twists and turns of the base, heading for the stairwell. It didn't take him long to do so, but once he got there, he rolled his eyes and groaned. The door was smashed outwards, and sand and dirt covered the floor in front of it. He peered through, seeing the completely demolished staircase leading several floors below the one he was on. two, to be exact. Ugh. He hopped down the staircase, following the path of destruction. Maybe he'd underestimated just how much the human he'd come with wanted to save the bastard's daughter...

"Just what the fuck did he feed that aggron?" Weavile thought to himself as he landed at the bottom of the stairwell, the floor cracked and fissured. The door that led deeper into the base no longer remained, only a massive hole where Aggron must have charged through. The lights flickered in the hallways, the ceiling ripped open from what Weavile assumed must have been Aggron's horns. He heard the massive Pokémon roar from within, and the entire earth quaked. The foundations of the entire place buckled and cracked, and Weavile was, for the second time during this mission, concerned.

"Oh, you absolute little fucking shit!" he growled, dashing into the ruined halls. "You better not bring this place down on us, you little fucker!"

I*A*C

"Nice work, Aggron," I patted the Pokémon's side after we'd landed at the bottom of the stairwell. "I'm gonna try looking for Lusamine. Feel free to wreak as much havoc as you want. The more you destroy, the less people I'll have on me." Lily squeaked, staring at me from my bag. I chuckled and too her out, placing her on Aggron's knee. The larger Pokémon picked her up, setting the little petilil on his shoulder. "Stay with him and help him wherever he needs, Lily. Next time we see each other, Lusamine should be with me." I grinned, jumping onto a ruined railing. "Get going, you two! Keep each other safe! If you're in too much danger, get out of here and meet me on the east side of town, outside the actual town, itself!" I waved them off as Aggron let out a loud roar, crashing through the halls of the bottom floor.

I looked back up the stairwell, weighing my options. If this were a videogame, Lusamine would obviously be on the bottom floor, but Team Solar wasn't going to keep her somewhere so deep. They needed her to be watched, but easy to access if something happened. Chances are, they might have even moved her by now. My eyes locked onto the second floor up, right in the middle. It was as good a place to start as any. I reached int my bag and grabbed the grapple, giving it a few spins before throwing it up, seeing it catch on one of the railings on that floor. I gave it a few tugs before pulling myself up. It took me a few minutes longer than it had climbing up the side of the warehouse, but that was because I was actually pulling my way up the rope this time and didn't have a wall to make things easier.

When I finally reached the floor I wanted to be on, I packed the grapple back into my bag and reached down to draw the dagger strapped to my leg before taking off down the hallway. Just in time, too, since I heard the pattering of footsteps running a bit further down the hall. I felt the ground shudder as I ran, and it took me a second to regain my balance before continuing. The lights flickered, and I knew that Aggron was doing as much as he could to cause havoc on the bottom floor. I read the signs I passed them, not quite sprinting, instead jogging slow enough that I could actually catch some key words on them.

Most of them were inconsequential, things like barrack blocks and cafeterias. Even an in-base store, which was kind of interesting. However, the one that got my attention was a sign pointing the direction of meeting rooms and offices. If there was ever a place they'd keep Lusamine, it'd be around there. I took off running, following the signs. There weren't any signs of life aside from some dead bodies, so I assumed that Weavile had already been through here. There was even a headless man lying next to a bisharp as I rounded to a T-junction. I ignored them, following the sign as it pointed left, deeper into the tunnels. I must have made a big loop from the stairs, which were down to my right at the junction.

As I traveled, the clear signs of Weavile were here. Carved out throats and deep gashes in the walls. There were also burn marks and signs of blunt force, with was probably Furret. They must have met up at some point.

I stopped at a closed door before I passed it, seeing a sign that read 'Meeting Room'. I debated moving by it, but I wasn't about to pass up key information that Team Solar might have. I cracked open the door, ensuring nobody was inside before walking in. Several papers were left scattered on the table, and the light had been left on. The door closed on its own, which told me why it was closed in the first place. I looked over the papers, picking out key information as I skimmed through them. Financial reports. Data packs. Critical information to run a large-scale organization. I glanced at the bolded names. Alola. Unova. Hoenn. Kanto. Kalos. Paldea. Galar. My eyes narrowed. This organization wasn't just massive. It was world-spanning! Orre. Fiore. Almia. Even Ransei was mentioned, but it seemed like Team Solar was having problems getting in due to the constant warfare spanning the region.

I glanced at the financial data, feeling my heart drop. Aster had said that this group appeared out of nowhere five years ago, but this information was dating back decades! There's no way they wanted money of all things. Hell, if these numbers were right, they probably had enough cash to buy out entire regions if they wanted!

"So what is it they actually want?" I asked myself, eyes narrowed through my goggles. "Come on, there has to be something here," I mumbled out aloud, shifting through the papers. The data packets held a lot of information, but how much of it was useful? I caught some key names. AZ, the former king of Kalos three thousand years back. Still at large. Lysandre, the most recently born heir. Names of the Camelurn royal family of Galar. Lists of descendants of King Kahele, the first formally recognized king of Alola. They were all records of the royal families across Regdon, as well as their most recent descendants.

"The Draconid Tribe have legends passed down of a Prince of the Stars," I internally read one report on the ancient Alolan monarchy. "According to their records as well as Alolan genealogy records, the current heirs are of the Kauhane family living in Po Town. What luck, as one of our satellite bases is located within the town itself. A group should be sent to seduce or eliminate any members of the family. However, records of the Prince of the Stars, commonly seen as a sign of the right to rule Alola, state that this line gifted the Pokémon to the Balsam family some two-hundred years go." I stared at the paper, rereading that line a few times before it sank in. It wasn't money that Team Solar wanted. It was the right to rule over the world through imperial lineages. And this 'Prince of the Stars' wasn't exactly hard to figure out, either. Cosmog. Team Solar wanted Cosmog, and Lusamine's family had it last.

I felt the papers crinkle in my hands as I clenched my fists. If Aster had been hiding that from me, then what else was he hiding? Did Lusamine know? No, she couldn't. She was clever and tricky, but she was laughably easy to read for anyone who knew basic body language signs. Ugh, I'd have to worry about that later. Right now, I needed to take this information with me. I grabbed as much paper as I could, stuffing it all into my backpack. I tightened it around me like I had before once I was finished. I moved towards the door, which opened as I reached for the handle.

"-we can grab the documents before we evacuate." The person who opened the door stopped talking as our eyes met. Staring back at me was a woman in a purple suit and a domino mask, with several other Seam Solar members behind her. I didn't even think. I lunged at her and swung my arm, my dagger in hand, across the woman's throat. She stumbled back, neck bleeding as I stared wide eyed at my bloody blade.

"I-Is that the Black Samurai!?" someone screamed.

"Oh, sweet Arceus above, that Crimson Aggron downstairs is his! He's come to bring down unholy judgement on us!" another cried out, paying more attention to the bleeding woman than me. I slowly walked forward, the group of grunts fleeing for their lives as fear took over any rationality. If they'd looked closer or had clearer heads, they'd have noticed that I was half their size. I walked towards the dying woman choking on her own blood. She stared up at me with wide eyes, fear in her gaze. From the acrid smell, I'd say she'd just soiled herself.

"Rest in peace," I told her. "Maybe you're just as evil as the rest. Maybe not. But your struggle is over, now." I knelt down in front of her, and took the dagger in my hand to slowly bury it into her neck, finishing the job. I felt like I needed to puke, but held it back. Her struggling ceased. I took a couple of deep breaths despite the smell and removed her mask, burning the image of her face into my mind. I had a feeling that she wouldn't be the first. I stood up once more, walking down the way I'd been going before I had stopped into the meeting room. Anger. Sickness. Disgust. A mix of emotions overwhelmed me as I quickened my pace to a jog.

I focused on what was in front of me. Dull, empty eyes. I had a mission to finish. A girl to find. Teeth stained with blood. Lusamine needed me. I was the only one who could rescue her right now. Terror, then acceptance. I ran down the hall, steadying my breathing to prevent myself from hyperventilating. I had to finish the mission. Murderer.

A squeaky bark nudged me from my thoughts as I passed an open door, and out popped the head of Furret from within. "Ah, hey, buddy!" I swallowed before greeting the little tubular Pokémon. "I saw your handiwork earlier. Do you know where Lusamine is?" The furret seemed confused for a second. He chirped, but eventually nodded. "That's great!" He turned into the room, and shook himself, various trinkets and items falling from his furry body. "Holy..." It was a treasure trove of stuff. I glanced at everything, and there was easily enough gold here to buy a fancy yacht. There was even a Z-Power Ring and a Z-Crystal. I had no idea what kind, yet, but I wasn't about to leave this stuff behind. "Great job, buddy! Man, you sure you don't have the Pickup Ability?" I chuckled as Furret preened, packing the things into my backpack. I gave the room another once over. It seemed like a trophy room of some kind, given the stands inside of it. Why wasn't this place locked up?"

There were some things already missing; more spots than the amount of stuff I'd put into the bag. Had someone else come in here to loot the place before we got here? "Did you see anyone else come through here, Furret?" The Pokémon tilted his head before shaking it. Huh. "I guess that's not important right now. Have you seen Weavile anywhere? I would'a thought he'd have been with you." Furret gave me another confused head tilt before squeaking again, looking out the way I'd come from through the door. "Shit, I guess we must have passed by each other. That's fine, we all know to meet up on the east side of Po Town, so we'll see him there." I lowered my arm, petting Furret's side. "Can you take me to Lusamine?" Furret nodded, and ran out the door. I quickly followed him, wishing I had that Sunny Day speed boost right about now. That was another thing I'd have to research once this was all done. We took off down the halls, and it didn't take us long to meet opposition. He stood in front of us, arms crossed as he blocked the hallway behind him. In front of him stood a dusclops, who stared at Furret and I with a single, hateful eye.

"I knew that whoever was causing that racket would find us here eventually," the man growled, a smirk on his face. "You're here for the little girl, aren't you?" I didn't have time for this. I couldn't allow myself to get caught up by another grunt. Dull eyes. Terror, then acceptance. "Well? Aren't you gonna answer me, Black Samurai? Tch, you're just a little kid." The lights flickered as the ground shook. I glanced at Furret.

"Furret," I mumbled, smirking under my mask. Furret was one of Vic's old Pokémon he'd retired some time ago. Which meant Vic knew Ghost-Types would be some trouble. Which meant Vic knew he'd have to come up with a counter-play. "Rain Dance, then Shadow Claw." Furret's paws glowed an ethereal grey before he charged at the dusclops, water beginning to pour from the ceiling in a heavy rain. I slowly walked around the fighting Pokémon as the Team Solar guy barked orders. Furret had gotten this far, which meant he knew how to fight even without commands. Vic had trained him well. This man, however, was too focused on the battle. He nitpicked his Pokémon. He wasn't paying attention to the kid who should have been on the opposite side of the hall from him. I gripped my knife tightly as the lights continued to flicker, the rain itself clouding visibility. By the time he noticed I wasn't where I was supposed to be, it was too late. I buried my dagger into the man's leg, sending him to his hands and knees. I then shoved the weapon into the back of his neck, grabbing Dusclops' poké ball.

"Return," I commanded as the dusclops was once more trapped in his poké ball. Oh, I'm sure with some effort he'd be able to escape, but I was hoping to be long gone by then. I tossed the ball onto the man's bleeding corpse as the rain diluted the blood on the ground. "Let's get moving, Furret," I called out, the Long Body Pokémon once more taking off down the hall. I jogged after, sheathing my dagger. I didn't want to have to use it a third time.

We finally came to a stop in front of a door. Furret motioned his head towards it. I opened the door, staring at Lusamine. She was tied to a metal folding chair. She looked up at me with terrified eyes. Terror, then acceptance. "Oh, thank Arceus you're- you're not Kev," a woman was inside, and she looked stunned to see someone other than who she was expecting.

"Furret, Fire Punch," I told the Pokémon. His paw caught flame as the woman tried to grab her poké ball, but it was far too late for her. Her body cracked against the wall as Furret attacked her, and she slumped to the ground. She struggled to look up at me, pain in her eyes.

"P-Please," she begged, her voice weak. "I didn't know we were killing people... I-I just filled out a job application on the PC! Please, don't kill me!" Tears spilled down the woman's cheeks from her cerulean eyes. Dull eyes. Furret turned his head to the side, giving me a side-long glance as he kept his focus on the woman in front of him. He towered over her. The woman trembled. "Please..."

"She's an evil woman," Lusamine spoke, her voice soft and hollow. The woman turned to her, staring at her with wide, betrayed eyes. Lusamine was fearfully looking at me. "You're the Shadow Man, aren't you? Coming to judge these people." The lights flickered. "She's evil. She's with the people who killed my best friend." Tears welled up in Lusamine's eyes again, and I turned away to face the woman. She looked like she wanted to lash out. Scream, yell, whatever. Even strangle Lusamine, if she were able. Instead, she looked at me. More tears fell down her cheeks as she closed her eyes, accepting what she presumed would be her fate. I met Furret's eyes and sighed.

"Grab her," I told the Pokémon. "She'll come with us. We'll decide her fate once we're in the clear." Hope spread across the woman's face as she realized that she wasn't about to die. At least, not yet.

"W-What!?" Lusamine shouted, protesting. "B-But she and her friends killed Taiyo!"

"If that's what you think, then I'm a bit disappointed," I told Lusamine, pulling up my goggles and the bottom of my balaclava, exposing my face to her. Her eyes widened in disbelief, then relief, then finally, tears spilled from her face as she began to sob. I moved over to cut her hands free from the chair.

"Tai!" Lusamine cried, hugging me as soon as she was free. She squeezed me tightly, mumbling my name over and over as she took in the fact that I wasn't really dead. "Tai, you're alive! I saw you die!"

"I'm not easy to kill," I told her, chuckling a bit as I let her have her moment. The woman seemed to be looking anywhere but in our direction as Furret helped her stand. "I'll always be around to protect you if you need it. I promise. We can save this for later, though. We need to get out, first." Lusamine didn't let go, or even back away. She just kept hugging me. Oh, boy... I hope this didn't form a complex in her. Ugh, who was I kidding? "Lucy, we need to go." I gently pushed her away. She looked like she was about to start crying again, but managed to hold the tears back.

I turned to the woman who was leaning on Furret. "You, what Pokémon do you have?"

"M-Me? Oh, uh, I have a steelix," she said. I stared at her. She looked around as I stared at her, probably not sure what she'd done to earn such. "Uh, is everything ok?"

"You have a steelix," I repeated. She nodded. "And they kept you in here with Lucy." She nodded again. I narrowed my eyes at her, making her flinch. "And why is that?"

"Oh! Uh, he, um... doesn't really listen to me..." the woman said, laughing nervously after admitting such. I let out a sigh.

"Give me your steelix," I told her. She blinked, but after a brief moment of hesitation, she picked up the poké ball she'd dropped when Furret had attacked her and handed it to me. I walked out into the hallway, giving the area a once over before tossing out the poké ball. "Steelix, come on out!"

"What are you doing!?" The woman screamed as my vision was filled with steel. The emergence of Steelix from his poké ball forced the hall to expand, and he was very obviously not happy, given all I could see was his very angry face. The lights flickered, before finally shutting off. His body must have cut off the electrical lines in this area. "You're gonna get us all killed!"

"Alola, Steelix," I greeted the Pokémon, pulling my bag from my shoulders and digging through it for my flashlight. It was an easy find, and I turned it on, shining it on the ground in front of Steelix's massive head. The shadows it cast gave him a threatening look. The steelix snorted, snarling at me as his body shifted, trying to get closer to me. Presumably to eat me. "Now, now, just wait a moment before you kill us. I have a deal for you." The Pokémon's eyes narrowed in confusion, looking between myself and Furret. The Long Body Pokémon chirped and tittered, obviously saying something to the massive creature. Steelix growled in response, his sounds akin to shifting metal across metal, or like a chair being dragged against a tile floor. Just much louder. Furret squeaked and chittered in response, before the steelix turned his gaze back on me, rumbling with annoyance, but not as outright hostile as before. I opened my bag again and pulled out one of the couple gold chunks from it. Steelix's eyes zeroed in on the gold.

"Ah, that got your attention, huh?" I asked, chuckling. "Tell me, this is quite the treat for you, isn't it? Steelix and onix love precious metals, right?" The Pokémon moved. It was subtle, but he did nod. I think. "Well, if you help us out, I've got a few more of these in my bag, here, weighing me down. First, I need to find out where my other Pokémon are. They should be making quite a lot of tremors. Can you feel them?" Steelix's eyes focused straight ahead, and I felt the ground shake a bit as his body moved again. Finally, the Iron Snake Pokémon nodded again. "Great! I'll give you this chunk if you burrow to them so we can meet up. I've got more, too, so as long as you keep helping and I don't run out, do we have a deal?"

Steelix growled, nodding one last time. "Perfect!" I tossed the chunk of gold into the Pokémon's mouth, and he accepted it happily, crunching on it before moving his head and opening his jaws. Steelix bit into the floor, beginning to tunnel towards where Aggron and Lily, and hopefully Weavile, were. I glanced at my companions. While Lusamine seemed all too happy to hug me again after Steelix had moved, the woman's mouth was agape in shock and disbelief.

"I-I've had Steelix for two years, and... Arceus above, that was... that was ten-thousand Credits worth of gold! You have more!? You're just going to feed it to him!?" She shouted, obviously on the verge of losing her mind. I chuckled and slung my bag back over my shoulder, looking down into the tunnel that Steelix had begun digging.

"Yeah, sounds about right," I told her, pulling my balaclava back up my face and my goggles back down. "Keep up, Slowpokes! The sooner we're out of here, the sooner I can take a goddamn nap!" I slid down into the hole, taking off on a light jog through the tunnels.

I*A*C

Many Minutes Before

Aggron was having a blast going wild! As annoying as it was having a human who didn't know exactly what he was doing, he'll give the kid credit. Letting Aggron go on a rampage, with the little petilil to boot, was the best idea he'd had all night! "Come on, you cowards!" Aggron roared, watching as the humans ran away from him along with their Pokémon as he tore through the halls of the base he was in. "Fight me! Are all of you really so weak!? Face me! I want a challenge, like I was promised!" Aggron laughed, having never felt so alive since he had been a lairon.

"Calm down, Uncle Aggron," Lily whispered in his ear from his shoulder. "We can't bring this place down, ok? Mama and papa are still here." Aggron rolled his eyes and growled, but curbed his rampage just a little bit.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, brat," the Iron Armor Pokémon grumbled in response. "I'll tone it down. Just keep that Sunny Day and Helping Hand coming."

"Yes, sir!" the petilil cheered happily, making the big tank of a Pokémon smile. petilil was a cute kid, and he couldn't help but love her enthusiasm for violence and battle. She'd taken him by surprise when she'd unleashed Stun Spores and Leech Seeds at the Pokémon who'd had the stones to fight him, before, but maybe the two of them had done a little too well. No, nobody would face them in straight up fights. It also didn't help that the lights kept flickering because of his destruction, which the humans obviously had a problem with. Whatever. He was here to cause a distraction, so he'd continue to break things.

"Someone come and face me!" he roared, marching into an open room that looked like some kind of cafeteria. Ancestors, he could go for a snack right about now. He marched over to the machine with human snacks in it, grabbing it between his claws and shaking it. "Urgh, how the hell do these things open? I can see the food inside!"

"Why don't you break the glass?" the petilil asked, making him pause. He smirked, shoving his hand through the front and reaching in to grab some snacks. "Oh, oh, there's a Rage Manju Ball in there! Can I have that?"

"Heh, sure thing, brat," Aggron grinned, grabbing the square packaging that Lily had pointed at with her roots. Once he grabbed it, the roots traveled down his arm and wrapped around the manju, slowly dragging it back to the little Pokémon. Ancestors, that was creepy, but he'd live with it. The larger Pokémon looked at his bounty, licking the inside of his lips as he recognized a few of the images on the packaging. He hadn't seen some of these since he'd been an Aron!

"Oh, this is a good one," he picked out the small sticks of meat with the litleo packaging. Spicy meat sticks were great! "Hey brat, want anything else from in here while we're at it?"

"Mmm-mmm," the petilil mumbled, mouth full of rice and chestnut deliciousness. "I'm good!" Aggron tore open the packaging of his own snacks, tossing them into his mouth with glee. Ahh, they were just as good as he remembered!

"Tch, so you're the fuckers who've been tearing up our base," a human voice growled behind them. Aggron turned around, facing the human. He wore a yellow suit, just like all the others. In front of him, though stood a Pokémon he hadn't seen in a really long time. A malamar. "Guess Aster decided he wanted to try and take his brat by force. Jokes on you, though, you're on the wrong fucking floor! Hah!" The human and malamar both laughed as Aggron continued to munch on his cheese dust covered tortilla chips.

"Are you quite finished?" Malamar asked, noticing Aggron's lack of reaction. "You're about to die, nimrod!" Aggron's eyes narrowed as he stuffed another clawful of chips into his mouth, chewing a bit more slowly as he tried to gauge the other Pokémon's power. He wasn't getting much. Then again, malamar were tricky bastards.

"Not like you were gonna eat 'em," Aggron shot back, smirking. He looked down at the bag, noticing it was almost empty, before pouring the rest of the chips into his mouth and tossing the bag off to the side. "So, we gonna fight, or what?"

"Is he ignoring us!?" the human shouted. "That's fucking it! Malamar, use Hypnosis!" Malamar grinned cruelly as his eyes glowed, and his body began to change colors. Aggron tried to look away, taking a step back, but those colors were so... they were... he felt his consciousness slow before he felt a pop in his back, and he was jolted back awake. Had he fallen asleep? Was his cot back at home tidy? Oh shit, were the walls already cracking? Could he even fight without bringing this place down on itself? "What the hell!? Why isn't he asleep!?" the human yelled.

"I-I don't know, sir!" the Malamar replied, just as confused.

"Don't worry, Uncle Aggron, Lily's got ya!" the petilil cheered from his shoulder If she had a mouth, Aggron was sure she'd be smiling. Oh, ancestors, why didn't she have a mouth!? How the hell did she eat that manju!? She began dancing, and Aggron felt himself compelled to follow her movements. Once more, he felt invigorated as she used Sunny Day, his worries fading from his mind.

"Urgh, whatever. Malamar, Foul Play!" the human yelled. Aggron squared himself up as Malamar rushed towards him. He sent all of his Type-Energy forward, using Protect. However, the Pokémon before him slid past the now solid barrier, grabbing his arms with his tendrils before slamming his claws into his own face.

"How!?" Aggron roared internally as his own strength was turned against him. "How did you get past my Protect!?" Malamar simply laughed as he continued to use his arms to wail on himself. He felt his arms stop, though, as he watched vines move down them and keep them from moving. Instead, they wrapped around his joints, forcing his appendages to grab the tendrils that Malamar had wrapped around his wrists.

"W-What!?" the Overturning Pokémon screeched, eyes darting across Aggron's upper limbs. "How!?" Then, the Pokémon's eyes locked on to Aggron's shoulder. "You! You're the one helping him! Master, there's another Pokémon, here!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Malamar!? Keep attacking him!" the human was none the wiser as Malamar screamed angrily. Aggron grinned.

"Nice work, brat," he growled, eyes glowing. He stared down at the trapped upside-down squid, who looked back at him with terror. He shoved Steel-Type Energy into his body, activating Iron Defense. "Now, time to make some calamari."

"Malamar, use Swagger, then Topsy-Turvy!" The malamar grinned back up at him as orders were given, huffing with pride. Just what the fuck was this Pokémon's problem!? Aggron tried to shake off his irritation and confusion, but why was the thing so confident in himself!?

"Aaargh, I'm gonna smash you into bits!" Aggron snarled again, using another Iron Defense on himself. He reeled a claw back, intent on carving this Pokémon's beak out with a Metal Claw, but suddenly something snapped as he looked into Malamar's eyes.

He felt... weaker. Something was wrong. what happened to him. His armor felt more brittle. Much more brittle. His strength even felt drained, along with his will to fight. "What-" Aggron coughed, struggling to stand up. "What did you do to me!?"

"I flipped your pathetic world upside-down, bitch," the malamar purred, grinning cruelly.

"Malamar, Superpower!" the human shouted and the squid Pokémon marched over to Aggron as he tried to catch his own breath.

"Uncle Aggron!" Lily cried out. "Please, you need to do something! After You!" Energy revitalized Aggron. Not power, but it was enough to act.

"You bastaaaaard!" Aggron screamed, raising his arms up and slamming them full force down onto the malamar. The Pokémon buckled under his weight, but still stood. How!? The malamar's tendrils trapped his arms once more before he let out a mighty scream.

It was slow, but Aggron felt himself being lifted up. He panicked, struggling and flailing as best as he could as he was lifted in the air by the Overturning Pokémon. "Face the wrath of Team Solar!" the malamar screeched, slamming Aggron back onto the ground. The large Pokémon felt the wind knocked out of him as he hit the ground, the entire earth quaking as it cracked underneath him. He... couldn't move. He felt weak. "Know your place, you pathetic worm! The might of Team Solar knows no equal."

"S-Screw you," Aggron growled through gritted teeth. Malamar snarled back at him.

"Finish him off, Malamar," the human commanded. "Night Slash." Aggron looked over at his side, and Lily lay just a few feet away from him, staring in horror as Malamar's long left tentacle glowed a sickening black.

"L-Look away, brat," Aggron pleaded with the little petilil. "Don't watch."

"Uncle... Aggron...!" the little Pokémon began to cry. Malamar smirked as he looked over the two downed Pokémon, before cackling.

"It's time for you to die!" he jeered, raising his tentacle into the air. "The mighty Crimson Aggron, slain by the most powerful malamar in Team- why can't I feel my tentacle?" The three Pokémon looked at the raised appendage. The raised nub. Malamar's tentacle was gone.

"W-What!?" Malamar screamed. "What happened to my tentacle!?"

"Malamar!" the human shouted, concern now evident in his voice.

"Tch, you're really going to die to this weakling?" a snide voice called from across the room. Aggron looked over, spying a face he hadn't wanted to see in years, but was glad he could look upon it now. "Come on. I thought you were supposed to be tough, fucker."

"Late as always, Weavile," Aggron growled with good humor, feeling like he could breathe easy again. "Would it have killed you to be quicker? Oh, let me guess, it was 'too hot', right?"

"Shut your stupid fucking ass, Aggron," Weavile shot back. "Oh wait, that's your face. I'm sorry, I got the two completely mixed up!"

"Y-You!" Malamar screamed at the new arrival. "I will mount your head where my tentacle used to be!"

"Tch, whatever," Weavile spat to the side. "Get your ass up, steel nuts. What're we working with?" Aggron slowly got to his feet, reaching down to bring Lily back onto his shoulder. The little bulb restored the Sunny Day and used Synthesis, restoring her own heath. Ancestors, he wished he could do that, right about now.

"He's a slippery one," Aggron told Weavile. "Good strength, almost comparable to mine. He can reverse buffing moves, so watch out for that. Can you give me a few seconds while I get my armor back up to snuff?"

"Please, I'll take this walking dildo down before you even get the chance," Weavile replied, readying a Night Slash. "Hey, your enemy is me, now! Turn your eyes over here and get ready to fucking die!"

"Malik! Orders!" Malamar screamed.

"Lunge, Malamar!" the human shouted, pointing at Weavile. The weasel Pokémon grimace, only barely familiar with that move. Malamar grinned, covering himself in a forest-green aura before he leapt at Weavile. The weasel used Quick Attack to avoid the hit, dashing backwards as the squid Pokémon pursued him. "Annoying- Malamar, use Hypnosis!" Aggron focused himself as he used Iron Defense for a second time since Weavile had begun fighting Malamar, feeling back up to 100% again. Ok, no overbuffing himself with moves. His strength still felt weak, but there wasn't much he could do about that besides... His eyes turned to the trainer.

"Uncle Aggron? What are you thinking?" Lily asked as she followed his gaze. Aggron smirked.

"Taking care of the problem," he rumbled. the human turned his attention back to Aggron, his eyes narrowing. His hand went down to the poké balls on his waist. Aggron was not about to give him that opportunity. The massive Iron Armor Pokémon charged at the human, roaring.

"Malik!" Malamar immediately rushed to the defense of his human instead of attacking the sleeping weavile.

"Malamar, Scary Face!" the human yelled as he pulled his second poké ball. Aggron tried looking away from the malamar, but it was too late, and he felt himself stumble as a flesh of red then filled his vision. Aggron blinked, clearing his sight as he tried to renew his speed at the human.

"Claydol, Teleport!" the human shouted as the large, bulky Pokémon stopped Aggron in his tracks. A flash of red, and Malamar was gone. Another flash of... something, and the human was gone along with the claydol.

"Ancestors, damn him!" Aggron roared, punching a nearby support column. It barely left a crack. "I swear to my ancestors buried beneath the earth, I'll crush him!"

"Tch, get in line, pal," Weavile grumbled, walking up next to the massive Pokémon. "I get a feeling that the human we came with is gonna consistently want to stop these guys. On the bright side, they got a lot of nice trinkets with them. We could go steal a few more before finding the human and the girl." Aggron made to answer, but stopped short as he felt the ground trembling. "What? Shiny things not your deal? I'm sure we could- whoa, what the fuck is that?" The ground shook as the wall on the far side of the room fell inward, a massive metal head emerging from it. It stared at them, and they stared back at it.

"Yo," the massive Pokémon greeted them, slowly moving into the cafeteria room. Aggron readied himself for another fight. The head alone of this Pokémon rested on the floor, and yet still scraped through the ceiling, just like Aggron did as he stood up. His body, ancestors, his body, it just never ended as it twisted and spun into the ground, propelling this Pokémon forward.

"The fuck are you?" Weavile, ever so eloquent, demanded. The massive Pokémon growled, making even the weasel take a step back.

"Bitch, I could literally turn you into a flapjack," the massive Pokémon replied. "Don't even try it. Your human friend told me to come find you."

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," Weavile muttered under his breath. Aggron was equally shocked. The human had befriended this massive behemoth of a Pokémon? How!?

"What's a flapjack?" Lily asked. Aggron tried to come up with an answer for the little petilil, but his brain was currently nonfunctioning as he tried to figure out how exactly the human found a massive Pokémon like this, much less convince it to help him!

"Hey, there they are!" he heard a voice shout from the tunnel that the big Pokémon had dug out. "Ah, is everyone safe? Nobody's hurt?" Aggron raised his claw, still shaking a little from the fight. "Ah, shit, ok. I'll look you over in a sec, Aggron." The little human, Taiyo, emerged from the tunnel and ran over to the big Pokémon, eager and with a smile. This human... did he have no fear?

"Thanks a lot for the help, Steelix," Taiyo told the massive snake, reaching into his bag and pulling out gold!?

"Hey! That shit's mine!" Weavile protested, marching up to Taiyo before a glare from Steelix had him stepping back in fear. "Er... I mean, I found that shit! What the fuck are you planning to do with it!?"

"Hah! Serves you right!" another voice echoed from the tunnel as Furret emerged with... one of the Team Solar women. Aggron shot a glare at Taiyo, but he didn't seem to notice. Ugh. If he brought her, then there must be a reason.

"Mama!" Lily squealed as she hopped off of his shoulder, running to the last human to come from the tunnel. A little girl about Taiyo's age, and who Aggron had often seen from a distance back at the garden. The two embraced as they began to cry, and Aggron couldn't help the smile forming across his face.

"Here's your reward for helping us," Taiyo told Steelix, tossing the gold into his mouth. the Steelix seemed satisfied if the low groans were anything to make of it. "Alright, there's more where that came from if you can tunnel us out of here to the eastern side of town?"

"Wait, that gold is mine!" Weavile protested.

"Eat shit, little bug," Steelix replied. Weavile growled, but wasn't about to get close. Taiyo smiled at Weavile and Aggron, obviously having no clue as to why Weavile was upset.

"Thanks, both of you," he said, grabbing two poké balls from his belt. Finally. "Get some nice rest. The two of you deserve it."

"I'll rip off your hea-!"

I*A*C

After returning Aggron and Weavile to their poké balls, I pulled out my final item from my bag. It was small, but I knew better than to mess with it. A condensed explosive, created to contain Fire-Type Energy and release it alongside Dark-Type Energy, effectively creating a miniature, temporary black hole. It would destroy everything within ten city blocks. "All of you, get on Steelix," I told the others, planting the explosive against one of the support columns. Lusamine looked like she wanted to ask what I was doing, but I shot her a look that stopped her questions before they began. I gave us a ten-minute window and waited for everyone to get on the Iron Snake Pokémon before activating it. I ran towards the massive snake, climbing on top of his back behind his head. "Get going, Steelix, double time! We don't want to get caught in that blast!"

The big lug let out a panicked groan as he began tunneling with haste towards the the east. Or at least I hoped it was east, or we'd all be getting very wet very fast. I kept my head low to his body, and I lost track of the time as we tunneled. Thankfully we didn't hit water, which meant we were going the right way. About ten minutes later and some change, I heard a loud explosion echo through the tunnel, as well as a wave of hot air pass over us. Steelix groaned uncomfortably, but kept on digging.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we began tunneling up towards the surface. We broke ground not long later, and I took a look around to get a bearing on our surroundings. We were about a third of a mile outside of Po Town, and I could even see it in the distance. We were safe.

"Nice job, Steelix," I complimented the large beast, reaching into my bag and pulling out two of the three chunks of gold within. I tossed them both to the large creature, and he ate them happily. "Thanks for your help. We would have been screwed, without you." The large Pokémon rumbled happily, probably feeling proud. "Now... what to do with you," I turned to the woman, who shivered under my gaze.

"I promise I'll find new work!" she immediately said. "After all this, I... Arceus, I just wanna curl up in bed." I chuckled rolling my eyes, but nodding. Ok, so she was just a woman in over her head. I frowned, wondering how many others like her I'd just killed. Dull eyes. Terror, then acceptance. I shivered. I had to do it. They'd taken Lusamine, I did what was necessary. My bag felt heavier on my back, despite having given Steelix almost a pound-and-a-half's worth of gold in the last hour.

"Can you call anyone to pick you up?" I asked her, and she nodded, pulling out her phone. Why hadn't I taken that from her? Whatever, no use thinking about it, now. "Lusamine and I are heading off, then. Steelix, can you keep your... trainer safe?"

"Actually... why don't you take him with you?" the woman asked, sounding sheepish. "I've had Steelix for two years, yet he's never listened to a thing I've said. Maybe it's best if you kept him." I frowned, glancing at Lusamine. She had been hugging my arm ever since I'd fed Steelix his gold. I pulled out Steelix's poké ball and shook my head. He couldn't come to the garden, and I certainly couldn't keep him. Welp, there was only one thing I could do about that if the woman didn't want him. I dropped the ball onto the ground, lifted my foot up, and crushed it under my heel. It sparked and buzzed, before dying out.

Steelix, the woman, and Lusamine all stared at me like I was an idiot. "Go on, Steelix," I told the massive snake. "You're free, now. Go enjoy your life." The steelix was the first to realize what had happened. He let out a bellow that I assume was happy, and began tunneling back into the ground, disappearing after mere moments.

"You-" the woman was still in shock. "You have the fate of a steelix, an incredibly powerful Pokémon, in your hands... one that respects you, and you just... let him go?" I chuckled nodding.

"Yep, that about sums things up," I told her walking away as I gave the woman a wave. "Take care, lady."

"Y-Yeah... Arceus, he's insane," she mumbled as I led Lusamine away, chuckling. I reached into my bag, grabbing the sole flare inside of it. the sparse trees became even sparser, and I could see the silhouette of Mount Lanakila through the moonlight. I smiled, cracking the flare and tossing it onto the ground, waiting for the chopper to arrive.

"You're always ten steps ahead, aren't you, Tai?" Lusamine asked, looking at me with hearts in her eyes. At least, she may as well have been. She held me close to her. "You smart and amazing... Now I know you're more incredible than even I knew!" I chuckled and rolled my eyes. Was that really how she saw me...? "I knew I saw greatness in you when we first met. Just like how you could see how amazing I was on that day." I blinked. Uh...

"N-Not really," I chuckled, shaking my head. She gazed up at me, confusion settling on her features. "Listen, you just looked super helpless back then, so I did it to be nice." Her fingers gripped my bodysuit sleeve more tightly.

"N-No, that can't be it," Lusamine stammered. "You have to have seen I was exceptional, right? I-I mean, who just defends someone out of kindness? That's... stupid!"

"I, uh, guess I'm stupid, then?" I chuckled again, giving her an amused smile. "Like I said, you just seemed helpless and cute, so I helped. I was just being nice, honest."

"B-But you helped train Lily!" she protested. "And you were nice to her! And you were polite to Victor! surely to get in his good graces, right!?" She was practically yelling, now. Something in her eyes told me that I was shattering the way she looked at me. Maybe even how she saw the world. "E-Even tonight, you rescued me because I'm valuable! R-Right...!?"

"I rescued you because you're my best friend," I told her. Her grip on my sleeve loosened, and she took a ginger step back from me. Her breathing was heavy as she looked at me as if I was a stranger.

"Y-You can't..." Lusamine mumbled as her gaze fell to the ground. "I- You- Ah-"

"Lucy," I whispered, making her look back up at me. "Not everything has to be a give and take. Some people just... like helping because it's the right thing to do."

"No, that can't be," she denied. "Things like that only exist in historical dramas and TV shows!" I gave her a gentle smile, pulling her into a hug. I felt her tense up. Her shoulders began to shake as her entire body trembled, and Lusamine began to sob. "You're lying! You're lying! Nobody is like that! You're a liar! A big, fat, liar, Tai!"

I gently rubbed her back as she cried, her blouse ruffled and dirty and sweaty from the events of the day. God, it'd only been a single day, but it felt like it'd been a week. "You're my best friend, Lucy," I told her. "You're nice, and you're fun to be around, and even when you're trying to pretend like you're superior, you still think about what I want and how I feel. I'm so happy you're my friend." Lusamine cried harder into my shoulder.

"I want to be your friend, Lucy," I told her. "Not because you're rich, or you have something to owe me, or even because I want something from you. I just wanna be your friend because it's something I wanna do. I don't know how smart you think I am, or whatever... but I never really planned any of this." Lusamine buried her face into my shoulder, her sobbing having quieted down over the minutes she'd cried for.

"I-I have an anime collection," Lusamine said, her voice muffled by my bodysuit and my shoulder. I just listened as she spoke. "I like pressing flowers, and playing with the P-Pokémon in the garden. Ribombee is my favorite, and she's so nice to me! I-I've never played any video games because my mother doesn't want me to try any, but I-I've always wanted to try!" Her voice grew louder and more frantic as she spoke, her breath hitching every now and again. Despite the tears that still fell down her cheeks, I could hear the smile on her face. "I've red a lot of b-books, but I've always wanted to re-ead about super heroes because Kanu ma-makes them sound so cool! I like watching TV shows from Unova, bu-but I like Reality TV the most!" I laughed at the last one, and felt her beat on my back with her fist.

"D-Don't laugh at me!" she cried, laughter pouring out from her as well. I laughed even harder as Lucy began beating on my chest with her fists as we both broke down, crying and laughing with each other as the events of the day finally caught up with us. All the while, the sound of a helicopter came closer and closer. I hugged the girl to my chest, realizing I'd do anything to keep her safe. Lucy was my best friend, and I never want that to change.

I*A*C

And that's a wrap! This honestly could have been two chapters, and it was going to be, but I actually used the first part of this chapter at the end of the last one, and just started writing again. This is now the longest chapter in the story, and I'm hoping I can someday write an even longer one and keep it consistent. The Capture story isn't quite over yet, as there's a lot of things Taiyo needs to unpack, and then finally confront Aster about how much he's been lying.

I hope you all really enjoyed this story, so please leave a review letting me know what you think! Feel free to follow or favorite or both, cause that also lets me know you're enjoying my writing, and I'll see you guys in the next one!