I feel pain. My whole body is aching, but I can't stop now. Ren needs me right now, he's fighting, and that Camerupt is really vicious. He's got the type advantage on him, I can't let him get damaged further.

This is the first time we have accepted a mission that takes us to the Obsidian Volcano, and I'm already regretting it. The area is already hard enough to navigate with how steep it is, but the ash only makes it harder, and I already struggled to breathe with how hurt I am from the battle.

The Camerupt outlaw is about to hit Ren once again… If he lands another fire-type attack, he's going to be down! I have to do something, but… My body won't move!

No… I can't… I won't allow that. I don't care about the pain. With my remaining strength, I run to stand in front of the staggering Sneasel and hold my paws forward, desperately trying to protect Ren.

And… that's exactly what I do. Protect.

A barrier appears out of thin air and it somehow… stops the attack, the fire spreading around it like it's just dust.

"What? Did you just use protect?" Ren asks, dumbfounded.

"I… I don't know, I never did this before!" I say, but then notice the outlaw going for another attack.

This one hits harder, and my barrier starts shattering. Oh no, I can't do this forever! If only I could get Ren out of here…

"Ari, what are you doing? You're going to get fried too!" He yells.

"N-no… I don't want you to get hurt!"

But he's more stubborn than I am. He's actually jumping ahead of me, claws raised in an attempt to strike a finishing move on the Camerupt, and… he narrowly avoids the fire coming for us and swipes at him, making the foe step back with a really pained look, until it stops. He looks at us with an angry scowl, until he loses balance and falls on his side, fainting.

I sigh, that was a close one, and we barely made it in one piece. I walk towards him, checking if he's okay, and probably making sure that he's not angry at me or something. I know he hasn't been that short-tempered with me lately, but I still don't trust myself, I know I can upset him at any moment with my stupidity.

"Ren… Are you okay?"

He slowly turns around and stares at me. He looks amazed. "You're not supposed to learn protect without a TM… That was really convenient and strange."

"Yeah… Um, sorry, I couldn't stop that last attack, I should get stronger…" I said as I rubbed the back of my head.

Ren crosses his arms and frowns. "You… No, that was fine. I don't get it, why did you even try to…?" He stopped mid-sentence, shaking his head and walking towards the fainted outlaw. "Anyway, we should get going. This guy won't take himself to jail."

And so, we go back to Pachirisu's Guild and make sure Camerupt is taken care of. I think I might try asking Ren about the whole outlaw situation… I'm scared of his reaction, but I'd like to do more normal missions that won't always leave me shaking like a leaf.

We're outside the building now, and there's still plenty of daylight. But I guess I'll have to go back home soon. I'll ask first-

"Hey, Ari. You're limping."

I stop. "Oh, um. Sorry, I guess I am, hehe. The doctor said I should try not to walk too much after the beating we got. But you got it worse! I shouldn't be complaining."

He shakes his head. "I'm just fine. But forget about that, I was going to ask… I'd like to show you something. Wanna… come with me?"

I blink. Twice. What would he want to do with me? It's the first time we do something outside of our schedule. Well, it probably has to do with some mission, yeah.

"Okay, I don't see why not. But do you want me to call anyone else from the guild? So they can assist us, and-"

"No, just… just the two of us."

He wants to be… alone with me. I guess it's probably because he dislikes the rest, but I'm not sure anymore. "Okay. Then, let's go-"

Before I can even take a step forward, he approaches me and… lifts me up in his arms? Huh?

"W-what?"

"You can't walk, so I'll take you there," he says with a serene voice, already moving without even breaking a sweat.

"But… What about you?" I don't get what's even going on.

"I already said I'm fine. You just wait, we'll be there in no time."

I want to complain, but at the same time, this… feels good. Not just because it's comfortable, but because he's doing this for me, and I feel we're getting close to each other. Is it really that? I thought I had messed something up, so I'm not sure…

After a few minutes of walking through the outskirts of the city, going through a lush forest, and passing by some really big pine trees, Ren leaves behind a set of bushes covering the sight ahead of us. And then, I see it.

The forest gives way to a cliff, surrounded by colorful flowerbeds beneath my sight, and at the other side of the hill, I can see a waterfall in the distance, spraying water around and leaving a rainbow behind.

My eyes brightened at the view. "Woaaah, what is this place?"

Ren walks a bit closer to the flowers and carefully puts me down, sitting on the grassy field beside me.

"This is… a secret place where I like to come alone to relax. Away from everyone and everything. It's really peaceful," he says as he stares at the sky.

"Secret… place?" I ask, a frown slowly overtaking my face. "But now I know about it… Is that really fine?"

He turns to me and nods. "Otherwise I wouldn't have taken you with me. I wanted to… Well… Spend some time with you. Since you always go back home every night, we never get to… you know."

I see him scratching his cheek nervously like he's doing something he's really not used to. I've never seen him like this. He said he wanted to spend time with me… Is that true? Something doesn't feel right… Is it me?

"B-but… Why would you want to spend time with me? I thought I was only bothering you… I- I don't deserve this!"

He frowns. "That's not true. I guess I did have different thoughts about you before, but… Well. Um, how do I say this." Is he blushing? "I guess… you're not so bad in the end."

I can feel my paws trembling a bit. I've never been in this situation, I don't know what to say. "I'm… B-but… You really mean it?"

"Yes, after all…" He takes a deep breath and looks away, trying to look uncaring. But it's the first time I've seen him smile. "You're my only… friend."

Friend.

Something about that word is getting to my eyes. I'm starting to feel like the air is a bit itchy, for some reason. My eyes are watery.

Tears start welling down my face, and I desperately try to wipe them before Ren notices, but he's too smart for that. I start apologizing because that's the only thing I always do. And he gets closer and tries to comfort me, while he clearly looks uncomfortable since he's never been like this with anyone before.

I guess there's a first time for everything. Even showing affection. Even having friends.

Even feeling loved.

$%&&%/("&=%)/("$/%/&$

Ren isn't here anymore. I'm in a dark space, and there's nothing but me and the figure in front of me. Staring at me, while having no eyes. It's the smaller version of me.

Little Ari is just standing there without moving an inch, making me feel uneasy, scared, and mostly, sad. Why am I sad? Why do I feel like I did something wrong?

"We're not… the same…" It says.

I don't understand what it means. "What? But I used to be you! Did something… change?"

"We're… not…"

Again, just spitting disturbing nonsense. I wanna run away from it, I don't know what it wants, but I don't like it. What did change? Did I… lose my essence? What kind of puzzle is this?

I can't take this anymore. Leave me alone!

I start running away.

I don't know where I'm going, there's nothing here.

I'm always running away, hiding from something.

Hiding from myself.

Ari wasn't sure if it was the dream he had last night that made him feel dizzy or if he was actually getting sick. It was getting hard for him to pay attention in class, and that was giving him a weird sense of déjà vu. For now, he tried to ignore the feeling and his attention returned to the lesson the owl teacher was giving.

Maia was teaching about laws, which was the most boring part of the subject, but necessary nonetheless. They were working with police staff and they already got a lawsuit before, so they didn't intend to make the same mistake again. That didn't mean they were thrilled to receive all that information.

The class was deadly silent whenever Maia asked any question, and the few times someone raised their hand was because they were lost. And the only ones without questions were Velia and, surprisingly, Mylo. That absolute unit of a Toxtricity was smarter than he looked.

Luckily for them, the class was interrupted when someone knocked on the door.

"Ah, right, I forgot!" Maia said as she went to get the door. "Everyone, we're getting a visit today. She has some questions for all of you."

Everyone exchanged confused glances as Maia opened the door. From it, a serene-looking Gothitelle entered the classroom and bowed.

"Thank you for conceding me a bit of your time, Maia," she said and then eyed all of the students with an interested glance. "I assume these are…?"

"Indeed! Team Riding Star and Team Silver," Maia confirmed with a smile. "Please, do come in!" The Gothitelle followed Maia to the front of the room and stood right next to her as she did the presentations. "This here is Luna, a member of the Criminal Investigation Department of Syftelia. She approached me to ask if she could come see you in person, she's very interested in you all!"

"Indeed I am," Luna said. "I wanted to see with my own eyes the two teams that have been the talk of this town recently. Not every day we get new teams with such an impressive track record! Not only that, but also having two of the best novice teams in the same class!"

"Wow, I… didn't know we were already famous," Asher said, smiling widely." They're talking about us?"

Velia slammed her paws on her desk. "Of course they are! This was a matter of time, I'm telling you, we're about to reach fame and fortune before we know it!"

Everyone around her cringed and tried to hide behind their desks like they weren't related. Sanah, however, ignored that and addressed Luna.

"So I assume this is because we discovered stuff like the Azure Project?"

One of the Gothitelle's eyes twitched for a moment and she stopped, staring at Sanah for longer than usual before regaining her composure and nodding nonchalantly.

"That's one of the reasons. It was some really useful information, and nobody would have expected such a revelation to be found by a team of teenagers."

"So the actual famous team is Team Silver? Is there nothing for us?" Cora asked with a frown.

"Oh no, don't get me wrong, your team also did wonders, being involved in two different mysteries that were thought to be solved years ago, but they weren't."

Only Kyle was involved in finding the actual culprit for those two murders, but nobody mentioned that and just accepted the praise. At least someone finally recognized all the effort they were making by doing jobs that were usually done by adults, even if Pokémon were already considered mature enough to get jobs at an early age.

"Anyway, I'd like to get to know you all a bit better, and learn how you work as investigators," Luna continued, eyeing the whole class. Ari could swear she stopped to look at him for a longer moment, but he thought that was because of his looks. "Tell me, what talents do you all have that help you with investigations? What are your roles in the team?"

Luna started pointing at Kyle, who blinked. "Uhm… I don't know, I guess I'm the… voice of reason?"

"Hey, are you implying we're crazy or something?" Velia asked, and she got sarcastic looks from everyone.

"I think that suits Kyle," Cora added as she raised her flipper. "I could see him as the leader of the team."

Kyle wanted to complain, but Velia beat him to it. "Why him? I have the brightest ideas here, and I clearly know how to coordinate our team."

"We're not denying that," Asher intervened with a sheepish smile. "But we should just leave it as a team with no leader. We're all equally as important."

"If you allow me," Luna said, getting everyone to look back at her. "There are different kinds of leaders, and even if any of you think you're not a good leader, you might have qualities that help you in different environments. For example, a good leader could be someone who communicates with the whole team and asks questions when interviewing a suspect."

Asher hummed. "Actually… that sounds pretty much like Kyle. He's the people guy, and I'm just a good evidence finder."

Velia went to complain, but she stopped herself. Even she had to admit they had a point there.

"Yup, and I'm really good at lifting the group's mood!" Cora beamed. Was that actually a talent? Eh, nobody had anything against that, they all liked her and her infinite joy, at least whenever she wasn't mad.

The Gothitelle nodded, interested. "I see, you're an outstanding team! But let's get to the other team, shall we? What can you say about yourselves?"

Team Silver exchanged glances, and both Sanah and Mylo shrugged. Ari supposed he could start with himself since Nimb didn't look too eager to speak with that lady.

"Uhm… I guess I'm good with deductions. And like Kyle, I'm the one who usually speaks the most with the suspects. That… doesn't mean I see myself as a leader. I think that role suits Mylo more."

Mylo crossed his arms and expressed his disagreement. "I don't think I coordinate this team any more than you do. But I'd say we usually just reach a consensus, so there's no leader. Besides, My special talent is that I know a lot about any pokémon and their biology."

"Oh, that is quite interesting!" Luna said as she joined her palms, content. "What about the Archen?"

Nimb tensed. "Uh. I'm… w-well, I guess I'm similar to Asher? I always f-find stuff easily."

Asher gave him a thumbs-up, and Ari smiled at that. Nimb and Asher were always really similar, and it was nice to see how well they got along. In a way, that was kinda like Ari and Kyle; he had a lot in common with the Scrafty, even more than with Asher with his extreme kindness.

"That only…" Ari stopped to sneeze, and he sniffled a bit before continuing. "That only leaves you, Sanah."

However, Sanah was hesitating. "I… Well, my talent is… um…" She looked around, seeing the interested looks of her classmates and expecting to think of something before they grew tired. But there was nothing. "I don't know? I never thought of that…"

"I'm sure there's something you're good at!" Cora cheered. "You make good deductions, right?"

"Uh… not that much. At least, not more than the rest…"

"Oh."

Maia waved dismissively, attracting the attention of the group. "It's fine, don't worry about that. What matters is that you're a helpful asset to the team, you don't need a specific talent to help with investigations."

"I guess so, but still…" Sanah wasn't content with that.

However, Maia noticed how Luna was staring at the Riolu with curious eyes, and addressed her. "Is something the matter?"

Luna snapped out of her trance. "Oh? Ah, sorry! I was just thinking about the Riolu there…"

"Ari," Maia confirmed.

"Yes, Ari." She then raised her voice to be heard by him. "That look of yours intrigues me. Were you born like that?"

Ari rubbed the back of his head, ready to give the same explanation for the umpteenth time.

"Hehe, no, I just changed out of nowhere more than a year ago. And I'm kinda… developing psychic powers out of nowhere, no idea why."

That caught her attention, and her eyes went slightly wide. "Oh, psychic powers? Is that so?" Ari nodded. "That makes me even more interested. Are riolus different where you come from? Or have you been living here for all your life?"

"Ah, no, I'm from Iris City, but riolus are the same there, so that doesn't have anything to do," Ari explained.

"Then you moved here to become an investigator on your own? How did you manage to pay for your own residence?"

"Oh, he's actually living with me a bit to the south from here, alongside Nimb as well," Maia explained, and Luna turned to her with a hand resting on her chin.

"So they're living with you, I see…" Luna murmured.

"Hm? Is something wrong?" Maia asked.

Luna shook her head. "Oh, it's nothing. I was thinking I'd like to ask you more questions after the class, if it's okay."

"Oh, that's fine by me!" Maia approached her desk and examined an agenda she had left there earlier. "I think I have enough time for that."

"Ehhhh… Maia?"

Maia turned to Nimb as he raised his wing, calling for her attention. "What is it, Nimb?"

"I think Ari isn't feeling well."

She looked to where Ari was sitting, and saw him holding his head with a paw with his eyes closed. He looked awful. "Oh dear! What's wrong, Ari?"

"Ugh, sorry, I think I'm sick… I've been feeling weird since yesterday and it's only getting worse." He stopped to sniffle once again, trying to not let the snot fall on top of his desk.

Maia frowned. "That won't do. We have to take you home right now. I'm sorry, Luna, I know I said we'd talk, but..."

Luna perked up. "Actually, don't worry about that. I could accompany you for a bit, so you don't have to worry, and I could help with anything. If that's fine by you, of course."

Maia was surprised to hear that but didn't waste much time and decided she didn't mind. "I don't see why not."

Maia was lucky that it was time for recess, otherwise she couldn't have taken Ari home. Nimb, Sanah and Mylo decided to come as well, worried about the Riolu's health, even if the Toxtricity eventually decided Ari was in good hands and left so he wouldn't get in the way. Maia brought a doctor to see him, but there was an extra guest who decided to drop by.

It was Louis the Reuniclus, who was interested in Ari's recent discoveries and had a theory of what was happening to him.

"It's actually quite simple. Your body wasn't prepared to hold psychic power, so its reaction was to raise your temperature like it's trying to eliminate a virus from your body," Louis explained. "And since it's a power that big, specifically a whole new type that a Riolu shouldn't have, your health has been greatly affected by it."

Ari, who was lying in bed covered in many blankets, couldn't even think about the information that was being thrown at him. He felt like he'd been crushed by a Wailord.

"Ugh… That's great, but right now I don't feel like having everyone here," Ari said weakly. Nimb, Sanah, Maia and Louis were all in that room with him, and he just wanted to rest peacefully. His fever was already too much to deal with, he didn't want noise on top of that.

"Then we should get going…" Sanah said, hesitantly.

"I should stay to take care of you, not sure if you're going to be okay if we leave you alone," Maia said with a frown. "But I also have to work…"

Nimb leaned closer to Ari and put a wing on his forehead, feeling the high temperature. "I… I can stay. After all, I don't see myself out there without Ari."

"Well, that's not such a bad idea," Maia said, thoughtful.

"And I'll come to check on both after class," Sanah said, going for the door. "Meanwhile, I don't think we should be here."

"Sounds about right. But before I leave…" Louis turned to the Riolu with interest. "May I have a sample of your DNA? Specifically in the form of saliva, so I can examine it and do a proper analysis. I'm curious about what changed in you."

"Uh… I guess?"

After Louis had gotten what he wanted, he, Sanah and Maia left, leaving Nimb to take care of Ari. He was mostly sitting beside the Riolu and watching him as he slept at first until he got tired and decided to grab a comic book to read. The latest entry of Powerful Mysteries was really interesting, even if Nimb was a bit disappointed that the second main character had barely been relevant in that arc.

He related to that, for some weird reason. He cast a glance at the Riolu, sleeping like he should have been back when he was having those nightmares, and he couldn't help but feel like something wasn't right.

It was true that Ari was always there for him, but Nimb felt like his entire personality had been just acting like Ari's sidekick. Could he be a burden to him? Was he just… a nobody?

"Nimb…"

The Archen perked up as he noticed Ari was looking at him with his eyes half-opened. "Huh? What?"

"Mmhmm… Are you okay? I can tell you're frowning." Ari then sniffled and yawned loudly.

"Oh! Uh…" Nimb swallowed looking around as he thought of something. "I was thinking about… Project Azure! I thought it was a weird name… Azure sounds like it could be a team name or something, don't you think?"

Ari didn't react, sniffling once again. "Well. Maybe Arceus would like that name, but I think that's another story, or even another algorithm. But that's not what's bothering you, right?"

Nimb eyed him for a long moment until he sighed. "Yeah, well… I was thinking about us. Well, about me, rather. I don't think I've made much progress since I came to Bismuth Town."

Ari shifted in his bed, inching closer to the Archen. "Huh? What are you talking about? I literally told you already that you've changed a lot! You talk to many pokémon without hesitating that much!"

"But I still only feel comfortable around you… I'm not sure I changed anything about that."

"Well… You can only do so much at a time. Now that you're getting better with social interactions, maybe you could… go to the next level?"

Nimb frowned, fearing what that implied. "And… What are you suggesting?"

"I don't know… Start with trying to talk in front of a crowd, like we tried back in Deepsoul Lake. And then, you could also try and… battle? Well, not even I like that idea, but you get why I say it."

"I… guess that makes sense." Nimb sighed. "It's just hard to make significant changes in myself. I feel like I'm stuck."

Ari extended his arm. "Come here you dumb bird." Nimb eyed him carefully but decided to join him, and the Riolu wrapped his arm around his head. "There. You're doing great, you hear me? Once I'm feeling better, I can help you try new things, but we'll take it slowly. Okay?"

"... Okay. Thanks, Ari." Nimb smiled and embraced him warmly. "And… I should do something about that fever you have. You're warmer than before, and that concerns me."

"I… do feel a bit worse."

Nimb pulled away from the hug and walked away, giving him a last look. "I'm going to get a wet towel for your forehead."

Ren was resting in his room with nothing but a desk, a candle, and the bed he was lying on. His bag was lying in a corner, with his precious gem popping up on top, and an extra yellow fabric resting right below it. The gem didn't have its usual radiance due to the darkness of the room. The Weavile still didn't appreciate the lack of windows in there, but he had to make do.

His eyes kept drifting back to his bag until he stood up and kneeled to grab the scarf inside. After all this time, it still had Ari's scent all over it. It was a nice feeling, one that grounded him from all the madness of that place.

Ren walked back to his bed and sat on it, feeling the scarf on his claws and thinking about Ari. There was nothing that he wanted more than to see him again, to hear him yapping about those stories he made up when he had time. Ren always encouraged him to write them down, but his parents wouldn't allow that.

He sighed. Ari's words kept coming back to his mind.

"What if I turned into a feral?"

He didn't like thinking about that possibility, but it should be alright. After all, he could just ask Zed to revert it, or at least he thought so. But he really didn't want to see Ari suffering like that. He cared too much about him.

It was a weird thought, really. How someone could make such an impact in your life without even realizing it? And how it happened by pure chance, and a slightly different choice could have made your life vastly different just by meeting a different person.

Instead, there he was, questioning his current position because of the pokémon that made his life worth living. He wondered if Ari even realized how much he had changed him, and how grateful he was. And yet, with all that being true, why was he still there?

Oh, right. He couldn't come back now, not after all he's done. He would be put in jail, and there's not much that he can do from there. Ren heaved a deep sigh and dropped on the bed, exhausted from all those thoughts. He hoped he would get new orders soon so he wouldn't have so much time to think.

Somewhere deeper in the base, Zed had been contacted via telepathy and was pacing in circles around Keene, who just stared with anticipation.

"Tell me, Astra, do you have any news?" Zed said, and Astra's voice resonated in his mind.

"Yes, Zed. In fact, I'd say it's very good news. I have confirmed that our Riolu comes, in fact, from Iris City."

Zed perked up. "Oh, that's perfect! Then we still have time to fix our mistake."

"And that's not all. I also know where he lives now. It's a cottage that's located on the eastern part of Bismuth Town; he's living with a Decidueye and an Archen. Luckily, the Riolu is currently sick, so he's an easy target."

"Hmmm, I see… Very well, we'll have to be careful if we don't want to draw attention. It's about time we do what we should have done back in the day." Zed then turned to the Inteleon, who was already growing impatient. "Keene."

"Yes, Zed? Shall we go, then?" The Inteleon said with a confident grin.

Zed nodded. "I need you, Arabella and Spike to go to that house and bring me the Riolu. Just the three of you."

Nimb had been doing a great job taking care of Ari. He had missed some classes, but it was fine for once, and it's not like he wanted to be there without his brother. Ari, however, was getting worse from the fever, and Nimb was starting to get concerned. Louis said it shouldn't be life-threatening, but it was still scary to see something like that considering it was caused by a phenomenon that no one else had experienced before, which is developing a new type without evolving.

"Mmmhmhm… Nimb, have I told you how much you mean to me?" Ari murmured, accidentally dropping the towel from his forehead. "You're like… You're my cute birdy bird bro. Birdyyyy…"

Nimb sighed and put the towel back on. "Yes, Ari, you've told me many times in the last hour."

"Let's do some powered investigations! Weeeee…"

"You should try to sleep, I don't even understand what you're saying anymore! And we can't do investigations with you like this."

Luckily for Nimb, someone knocked on the main door and he was forgiven for at least a moment. He left the room and went to grab the door, and he perked up at the sight of Sanah the Zangoose.

"Hey Nimb! I came as I promised."

"Sanah, thank Arceus! Please, replace me for a bit, Ari is way too difficult when he's sick!" Nimb said, rubbing his face with both wings showing exasperation.

"Uh… Okay, no problem I guess?"

She went inside and arrived at the room where Ari was resting, already mumbling like he was talking to someone. At least he looked cozy under all those blankets, but it was still a weird sight, as funny as it was.

"Ari? I'm gonna take turns with Nimb to take care of you," she said as she sat down in the chair next to him.

"Oh, Sanah? Yayyyy you're here! I'm glad to see… that chunky pretty face of yours," Ari joked. Or it wasn't a joke, who knows?

Sanah flinched as her face turned red. "W-WHA? What do you mean chunky? And d-did you say pretty?"

Ari ran a paw along the fur of her cheek and smiled groggily. "Yeesh, you're soft and fluffyyy, I like it. And your fur always smells like vanilla. I wwwwanna cuddle with youuu…"

"AAAAAHHH, ARI, STOP IT!" Sanah stood up and quickly swatted Ari's arm away. "I get now what Nimb was saying, geez! P-please don't say stuff like that, you're embarrassing me!"

Ari suddenly dropped his smile and emoted a deep frown. "Oh, no! Did I make you upset? I'm so sorryyyyyyy!" He covered his mouth and half-closed his eyes like he was going to cry.

"Hey, i-it's okay! Calm down, holy shit… Your fever is starting to worry me."

"Oh… So you're concerned about me? Awww that's sweet and… sweet…. Zzzzzzz…"

Sanah threw her arms upwards as she frowned. "And now you just fall asleep. Is this how sicknesses affect riolus? I swear this doesn't make any sense…"

The Riolu's chest rose and sagged with each gentle breath, and Sanah just kept watching him for a long moment, admiring how peaceful he looked like that. In a way, she felt like she shouldn't be seeing that, like she was disrespecting his privacy, but she knew he didn't mind. And it was kinda cute.

"Ah, Ari… How do you always end up in these situations?" Of course, she wasn't referring to being sick, but rather the psychic power that was causing that. Ari always managed to have the weirdest of things happen to him.

Sanah stayed with him for a long time, changing the towel on his forehead every now and then and taking turns with Nimb, until eventually Ari woke up again. He looked around and his eyes met Sanah.

"Ah, Sanah, you're still here?" He asked, suppressing a yawn.

"Of course I am, I said I'd be here for you. And Maia still hasn't returned…"

"Oh… I wonder what she's up to." Ari coughed and covered half of his head under the blankets.

Sanah removed the towel and put a claw on his forehead. "Let me see… Hmm, I think your fever is a little better. And you're not delirious now, that's good."

"Yeah… Sorry if I was all weird or something. Did I say something awkward?" Ari asked with a hint of fear.

"Well, uh…" Sanah's eyes trailed to the window as a blush overtook her face. "You might have said… something about me having a pretty chunky face and well… that you wanted to c-cuddle with me."

Ari sneezed hard, and he flushed red as well. "I SAID WHAT? AAAAAHHH I'M SORRY!"

"Eh, it's fine, don't worry!" Sanah waved her arms dismissively, then brought one of them up to scratch her cheek. "But, um… is that, you know… true?"

The Riolu's eyes went wide. "... Huh? O-oh, well… You see, I go a bit coo-coo crazy when I'm sick haha, ehm… But…" He covered his whole head with the blankets and spoke with a muffled voice. "I wouldn't say it's a complete lie."

Sanah's breath hitched as she felt a sudden warmth in her chest, and thought she might be sick as well. "I… I see. Y-you're a weirdo."

Ari peeked an eye from under the blankets and whined. "Please, don't hate me…"

She rolled her eyes and smiled shyly. "I don't hate you, relax. It's actually… kinda cute, I-I think. But maybe we should, like… talk about something else?"

He sniffled and revealed his head once again. "Okay, then I wanna ask you something. Have you been thinking about what that Gothitelle said earlier?"

Sanah tilted her head and frowned. "Are you reading my mind or something?"

Ari chuckled. "Hehe, I swear I didn't use my aura this time. I saw you looked troubled after you couldn't think about your talent."

"Haaah… Yeah, I'm actually concerned that I don't have any specific role in the team. All of you guys. I wouldn't say I'm bad at what I do, but most of it is stuff at least one of you is a specialist in, and I don't stand out in anything at all."

"Hmmm… I wouldn't say that's a bad thing," Ari said. "Doing a bit of everything means you're versatile. That's always useful, you know? Besides, you might find your own specific role eventually, I wouldn't think too much about it."

Sanah perked up a bit at that. "Huh… I guess you have a point. It's just that I'm so used to being the worst that I'm a bit obsessed with making up for it."

"I understand, but such is the way of the word "silver" in our team name. We're conformists," Ari joked.

Sanah shook her head with a smirk and gave Ari a gentle poke on his arm. "Hah, shut up." They both exchanged smiles, and the Zangoose then looked down and rubbed her arm. "You always know what to say to make me feel better. Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it." Ari turned to face away from her as he thought of his next words. "Hey, um. I'm glad you're here. Not only because you're doing a great job taking care of me, but… I really like spending time with you. I feel like I don't say these things enough."

"Ari… That's really nice," she said, glad that he wasn't looking at him to notice how she was blushing again. "I feel the same."

Ari nodded slowly. "And… thank you for taking care of me."

She smiled. "It's no problem. I'll always be there for you, like you do for me."

After that, no more words were shared as the two just enjoyed the company despite the circumstances, and Ari eventually fell asleep once more. Nimb took her place for another while as she just relaxed in the living room while checking Nimb's comics out of curiosity. She was starting to understand why he was so invested in them.

Nimb was resting his head on Ari's bed, sitting right next to him, and dozing for a bit, until he heard noises coming from outside. Confused, he slowly got up and watched the Riolu still in the dream world, and decided to let him sleep while he checked.

Once he got out of the room, the first thing he noticed was that Sanah wasn't there. The comics were scattered on the floor in front of one of the cushions, and everything else looked the same, but no sign of the Zangoose.

"Sanah? Are you here?" He waited but got no response. "Huh… I guess she got tired and went back home?"

However, before he could go back to his and Ari's room, he heard another noise. It sounded like something hitting wood repeatedly, and it came from the kitchen. Nimb was starting to be scared, and this time he couldn't shield himself behind Ari in case something happened.

He swallowed and walked slowly towards the kitchen. "Sanah? Is that you?"

Still, no response, but he could swear he was hearing mumbling. It could be from outside? But who would be lurking around the house just like that? Maybe some prankster kid? He sure hoped whatever it was, it wasn't going to be a big deal.

He walked hesitantly towards the kitchen, turning the corner and meeting with an empty kitchen, at first sight. However, the window was open. He was sure it was closed the last time he saw it. Maybe Sanah opened it? Whatever the case, he leaned to close the window, hearing the satisfying click it made when doing so. And then…

Nimb saw something under the dining table. His eyes trailed down and he felt his blood running cold at the sight.

Sanah was thrashing around, covered and gagged by what looked like spider webs.

"MMMMPPPFF!"

Nimb jumped and stepped back in fear. "S-sanah? What happened to you? What the-?"

As he turned around, it was too late. A Spidops was upon him, and he couldn't react as another spider web was launched at his face. That was the last thing he saw before everything went black.

Meanwhile, Ari was stirring on his bed, slowly opening his eyes as he felt his throat dry. Without turning around, he called out.

"Nimb… Can you bring me some water?" But nobody answered. "... Sanah?"

No response either. Instead, he heard footsteps entering the room. They were strong footsteps, like nothing he's used to hearing. Not from Nimb, not from Sanah, and definitely not from Maia. It was someone big.

Confused, Ari turned his head sideways to look as someone stood right there.

An Obstagoon grinned at him.

Maia fidgeted with a fork, twisting her beak a little as she grew anxious. That Gothitelle was still asking questions and talking nonstop, and they were already over with the meal. The restaurant was quite busy so it was a bit hard to hear her anyway.

The place was decorated in a way that looked like some expensive restaurant, but it wasn't that big of a deal. It just had intricate wood ornaments on the walls that looked like curvy music staffs and some music notes were hanging from the ceiling by little ropes. The lighting was warm and yellowish. Pretty fancy for a place whose food could be made at home.

"You know, I was wondering about the methods you use for your classes. Good investigators aren't born, they learn from someone, obviously," Luna the Gothitelle asked, joining her fingers in front of her mouth.

"I… Well, it's a combination of theory and praxis, as you can already tell… And I just let them express themselves and be responsible for their learning. They need to find their own tools and ways, it's part of the meaning of 'investigation', after all."

"I see… Independence is really important, yes. You've made the right choice by implementing that into your classes." Luna nodded, satisfied, and then tilted her head with interest. "And what about that praxis? Have you shown them the ropes before throwing them out to the world?"

Maia coughed uncomfortably. "Uhm… I kinda just, uhhhh never mind. Hey, Luna, this has been nice and all, but I really should get going. I shouldn't have left Ari for so long knowing he's sick, I'm worried about him." She frowned, turning towards the windows and staring outside. It was already getting dark.

"Leaving already? But I was getting to the important questions!" Luna then took a sip of her cup of water and traced a finger along the crystal. "Besides, I'm sure that Riolu can handle himself just fine. Riolus are usually tough, right?"

The Decidueye shook her head. "I know, but… I want to see him just to be sure. I've been away for too long even after class, and I have other stuff to do."

"Why are you so worried about him? He's not your son, isn't he?"

Maia clenched her wing under the table and suppressed a frown. "Doesn't matter. I'm his tutor in a way."

Luna closed her eyes and huffed. "Is there any legal proof that states that's the case?"

"... I don't like what you're implying." Maia leaned back on her chair and stood up, annoyed. "You're no one to judge how I treat others, more so because you don't even know us."

The Gothitelle stared at her for a long, tense, moment, until she stood up as well. "I… apologize if that's the impression I gave. It was never my intention to offend you in any way, I was just trying to understand the situation."

Maia analyzed her words and slowly nodded. "Okay… But if you'll excuse me, I will leave now. We can talk any other day."

Luna nodded and watched her leave, not before paying for the food at the entrance. Once Maia had left, Luna murmured to herself.

"Not like you're getting there in time."

Maia didn't want to take any longer to get home, so she chose to fly instead. She didn't do that too frequently since she enjoyed taking her time to enjoy a good walk whenever she had to go anywhere, but this was important. At least to her.

There weren't many pokémon outside, most of them having returned home for the day as the sun set, so the streets of Bismuth Town had gone silent, only the rustling of leaves and the sounds of the river filling the calm yet uncertain atmosphere.

After a short flight, Maia stepped on solid ground in front of her cottage and went inside in a hurry.

"I'm home! How is Ari doing?"

But as she entered the living room, she already felt that something wasn't right. Once she went inside Ari and Nimb's room, she found no one there. Where could they have gone? After all, Ari wasn't in a good condition to even walk. Nimb surely wouldn't have let him go outside, right?

Maia returned to the living room and started pacing, anxiety winning over her. Before she could start thinking of possibilities, she could hear a pair of muffled voices coming from the kitchen, and she perked up. Hesitantly, she moved there a bit uneasy and stopped as the source of the voices was let known.

Nimb and Sanah were thrashing around while being tied in a spider web, both of their mouths covered as well. Nimb was crying, and Sanah was raging.

"NIMB! SANAH!" Maia yelled in shock, and she quickly leaned to remove the spider web covering their mouths. With a quick tug, she managed to tear it off and they both gasped.

"Maia, thank Arceus!" Sanah said anxiously.

Nimb whimpered. "It's Ari! They took him!"

"WHAT?"

"Those fucking bastards, the Rising Bandits… They broke inside and ambushed us, then took Ari and left!"

"W-why would they want to kidnap him…?"

Maia couldn't believe it. Without wasting any more time, she generated a glowing green blade from her wing and cut the spider webs from both Nimb and Sanah, releasing them.

"How long ago did that happen?" Maia asked definitely not calmly.

"Not too long ago…" Sanah responded while she stood up, struggling at first due to being numb from the tight web constricting her. "We might still have time."

"Then let's go! We have to reach them before it's too late!"

Maia wanted to stay calm and act rationally, but Ari had just been kidnapped while she was happily eating a meal in a restaurant. All because she chose not to stay with him while he was sick. If something happened to him, she wouldn't forgive herself.

She introduced her trembling wing inside her bag and pulled out her own Gholdevice, quickly tapping into it and calling someone.

"Come on, come on…" Eventually, a beeping sound played on it, and Maia perked up. "Oh! Brynel, are you there?"

From the gadget, the Zeraora's voice could be heard.

"Yes, it's me! Are you okay? You sound nervous."

"Ari has been kidnapped!"

"Ah, okay then, let me just… wait, WHAT?"

Nimb and Sanah just watched as Maia freaked out while talking to the GD. The Archen was on the verge of a panic attack, barely holding on for the sake of not making things worse.

"What I said! The Rising Bandits took it! Please, tell me you can track them down or something, maybe see if there was someone suspicious around town…" Maia begged.

"I… I can check, but you're gonna have to give me a moment to ask everyone. Once I have anything, I'll let you know and I'll join you as soon as possible."

Maia took a shuddering breath and nodded, even if Brynel couldn't see that. "Okay. I'll go flying to see if I find anything in the meantime."

Sanah stepped forward. "Let us come as well!"

"Yes, please!" Nimb added, trying to sound brave despite the tremor in his voice.

"What? But I can't take you with me, and I'm too fast for you to follow!" Maia retorted.

Nimb and Sanah exchanged troubled looks. They knew that was true, and they were just going to be deadweight.

"I… guess you're right," Sanah admitted. "Then we'll go to the police station, so we'll know where to go once Brynel finds something."

Maia eyed both of them, deciding whether or not it was a good idea to let them take part in this, but at this point, they've gone through worse together, so she relented.

"Alright… Then I'll go now. We'll communicate via Brynel."

Everyone nodded, and Maia quickly went outside, followed by Nimb and Sanah. The Decidueye then took flight, leaving the duo behind, who started running towards the police station. Maia could only hope the dark of the night wouldn't make it too hard to spot what she was looking for.

A few hours earlier, in the underground base, Ren couldn't stop thinking about the same things. How could he be having second thoughts at this point? He had done so much for this project and he knew that was what he wanted! And yet, now he wasn't sure anymore.

Maybe he was obsessed with Ari? Or… well, not with him! Rather, all that he told him the last couple of times they met. Ren was probably too affected by being separated from him for that long, so he wasn't thinking clearly.

Yeah… it was probably that. Ari should be fine by himself, anyway. He already saw how much he had changed, and he had other pokémon to be with. He didn't need him anymore. Does he?

Ren couldn't bear those thoughts, so he chose to go take a walk and clear his mind. There was no fresh air to breathe down there, but at least he could flex his legs and that would help a bit. However, the base was kinda empty at the time, more than usual…

The Weavile kept walking, not only because he wanted to distract himself, but to actually see if there was anyone there. It was just too weird. Eventually, he came to a stop as he was reaching the door to one of the laboratories, where he heard two voices.

It was Zed and Riska. They were talking about something private, it seemed, and it made sense for them to be there, since Riska barely ever left the lab where he works. That was a bit annoying for Zed since he preferred dark places and the labs were pretty much the only illuminated areas in the whole base.

"And you think we're going to be able to do it?" Riska asked.

"We'll have to try. The worst that could happen is that we don't gain anything from this, but it's worth a shot," Zed responded.

"I see." Riska then stayed silent for a long moment while he thought. The next thing Ren could hear was the sound of some papers being handled until Riska talked again. "Still, that doesn't change the fact that we're gonna stick with the original plan."

"Indeed. There is no cure for feral pokémon, in the end. And it's going to stay like that."

Ren's breath hitched from where he was listening, behind the door. That was not what they promised him.

"Anyway, how about that Riolu? Have they caught him yet?" Riska asked.

Ren froze. They couldn't be talking about…?

"The Rising Bandits are already on their way to capture him. They should be in Bismuth Town soon enough, and the escape route is already planned," Zed responded. "Astra is also helping, she's been there trying to get us time and making sure there will be no opposition."

"That's good to know. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some readings to analyze in lab 2," Riska said, and his footsteps could be heard approaching the door.

"Yes, I'll leave you to your duties. Keep working hard."

With that, the door opened and both Zed and Riska went outside, walking in opposite directions through the dark and seemingly empty corridor that was that cave with a tiled floor. The Toedscruel turned a corner, spinning on his tentacles while being oblivious to the lurking entity that followed him.

Suddenly, an icy wind came from behind him, completely freezing his lower body with all his tentacles, and he fell over.

"W-what? What is this?"

And then, he saw the source of the attack: an angry Weavile, that approached him with pretty much unfriendly intentions.

"Guess who just learned a new move?" Ren said with a sneer.

"Ren? What the hell are you doing? I'll inform Zed of this!" Riska struggled against the ice, but he was completely immobilized.

"You can tell him whatever you want. You're going to tell me all that you know about that mission you were talking about. Where they are. Their escape route. Everything."

The Toedscruel scoffed. "I'm not telling you anything."

However, Ren wasn't so sure about that. He leaned closer and raised a claw up to his neck, now enveloped in dark energy. "Are you sure about that? You better think that twice, because I swear I'm not going to hold back."

Riska swallowed.

Ari's exhaustion was overwhelming, and he could barely register what was going on around him at that point. He knew the Rising Bandits had come for him, that he was certain. Why, though? He had no idea. And he couldn't even fight back; instead, he did nothing while he was being taken on the Obstagoon's arms like he was some sack.

Next thing he knew, he was inside a carriage of some sort, all wood around him and a curtain covering the back door. He could tell it was nighttime already, as only the moonlight filtered through the small windows on both sides. The headache was worse than before, and the hardwood where he was resting his head wasn't helping.

Around him, he could see an Inteleon, an Obstagoon and a Spidops. It was the full gang, except a certain Weavile. Ari could feel his movement restricted, probably due to the silk wrapped around his whole body. That means he couldn't use any moves; not that his current health was going to allow that. That was just perfect.

"Oh, look who's waking up now. You were too easy to kidnap like that, you know?" Keene the Inteleon said, uncrossing his arms.

Ari felt the reality of the situation sinking in, and he started hyperventilating. "What… What do you w-want from me?"

"Honestly? No idea. But orders are orders, so you're coming with us to the base. But at least you'll get to see your friend, so you shouldn't complain."

"R-Ren?" Ari looked around, desperately trying to find him, but he wasn't there.

Arabella the Spidops scoffed. "Honestly, I don't get what he sees in you; you're just a weak civilized Riolu."

"I wouldn't say weak if Zed wants to get him so bad," Keene corrected.

Ari couldn't think clearly. He was trapped, unable to move, sick, and away from anyone he could trust, even Ren. The others might not even know where he was. There was no hope. He was overwhelmed after all that was happening to him, things he never asked for and no one cared to explain to him.

Ari started crying.

"P-please… Please, let me go…"

"Oh, come on," Spike the Obstagoon snarled. "You're not going to die. You'll be better with us in the end, knowing what's gonna happen elsewhere. You should be grateful."

"B-but… I don't wanna be there, please…

Keene reached out with a hand, which made Ari wince, but he just placed it on the Riolu's head and patted it. "You'll get used to it. Not like you have another choice."

Ari could only whimper under the touch of the bandit. Now more than ever, Ari felt like he was just a kid. A scared kid who wanted nothing more than to go back to his family. To play with Nimb, to get a hug from Maia. To go to school like a normal kid, but without the bullying he got before he became an explorer. He just wished to be normal for once.

Suddenly, the carriage came to a stop abruptly, and everyone staggered. The Rising Bandits stood alert, in case of an attack. A voice could be heard from the outside, and whoever was carrying the cart responded with a deep male voice. From what Ari could gather, they were being questioned about what was inside.

Before Ari could call for help, he was grabbed by Spike, who pressed him against his chest and covered his mouth with a hand as he leaned onto the side of the door. It seemed like the carriers weren't winning the argument, and some footsteps were heard approaching them.

Ari could now hear the voice… it was stressed, and it was familiar.

"Let me take a quick look inside."

It was Maia! Ari tried to scream, but not only he was too weak in his state, but the furred hand on his mouth was making it impossible to hear. However, the Decidueye was approaching from behind, so Keene gestured to Arabella, and they both prepared to attack.

Maia was about to open the curtains when a jet of water bullet was thrown at her, and she barely dodged it. She jumped back when Keene and Arabella stepped out of the carriage and attempted to attack her at the same time, with another water bullet coming from the Inteleon's finger and some gastro acid being spat by the Spidops.

Maia countered with a leaf storm that covered the area, acting as a barrier that diverted the attacks. "It's you! Release Ari immediately!"

"I'm sorry, but that's not going to be possible." Keene said before he generated water around his arm, forming a water sword and charging against the Decidueye.

Maia quickly countered that with a leaf blade, and both swords clashed. The type advantage was going to make Keene lose his liquidation, but a string shot caught Maia's wing and withdrew the leaf blade, allowing the water blade to impact Maia's chest. She groaned in pain and was launched back.

"I won't… allow you to take Ari!"

Another leaf storm covered the area, but this time both Arabella and Keene avoided it by jumping to both sides of the Decidueye, launching combined attacks. Maia took flight and the attacks impacted below her, and right there she launched herself towards the bug type with sheer speed, and Arabella couldn't dodge this time.

The brave bird impacted her and left her badly damaged. Maia couldn't stop to celebrate, however, since from the side of the carriage came reinforcements for the bandits. Two Zebstrika, the ones that were carrying the cart, charged against her at a shocking speed, one coated in electricity and the other in fire.

Maia wasn't fast enough to avoid that, but luckily for her, they weren't the only ones with reinforcement. A Zeraora thunder-punched the ground in front of her and a wave of electricity stopped the foes before they could reach them.

Maia brightened at him. "Bynel, you're just in time!"

"Sorry I took so long! I managed to locate you thanks to this!" Brynel opened his satchel and showed a radar orb, the sphere displaying many colored dots around them.

Keene scowled, but he wasn't going to surrender just because he might be at type disadvantage. He pointed at the intruders and shot several water bullets at them, and Maia stepped forward and dispelled them with another leaf storm.

"I'll take care of the bandits, you go for the Zebstrikas," Maia ordered, to which Brynel nodded, turning back to the electric horses.

Brynel ran towards one of the Zebstrika, slashing them on the side with glowing claws, which made them stagger. However, the other Zebstrika closed the distance in a second and stomped Brynel on the guts with their back hoofs, sending him flying towards the cart, which damaged the exterior.

"Hey! Careful where you're aiming!" Arabella scolded, and the Zebstrika winced.

Maia and Keene were locked in a clash of blades, neither of them relenting in the slightest. Maia couldn't understand why his liquidation was so strong to hold her leaf blade back, but she was going to give her all to keep fighting. However, Arabella's gastro acid hit the Decidueye while she was focused on Keene, making her drop her guard with pain and receiving a hit on her left wing with the water blade.

Brynel recovered from the previous hit and closed distance with the Zebstrikas. However, he stopped himself as he thought of his possibilities. If he got too close to them, they could do the same as before, so he was in a tough spot. He needed to attack both at the same time to not leave any room for a counterattack due to his attacks leaving him vulnerable for a moment.

He started gaining speed and circled around them. He knew they would be fast as well, but luckily he could at least make it hard to predict where he was going to attack from. The Zebstrikas looked around and launched sparks of electricity, trying to land a hit, but Brynel was fast enough. Then, the Zeraora launched himself towards them from an angle that allowed him to push one of the Zebstrikas onto the other, making both of them fall to the ground.

Brynel then punched each of them alternately, gaining more strength with each punch, but he had to stop once one of the Zebstrikas enveloped themselves in fire, to which Brynel had to retreat. Both of them stood back up, seemingly in a worse state, but still standing nonetheless.

Arabella bit Maia's right wing, and she yelped in pain. Both of her wings were damaged from the fight already, so she couldn't use brave bird again, but she needed to win! Ari was in danger, and she wouldn't let them take him away from her. She wasn't willing to go through something like that ever again.

Getting as far away from Keene and Arabella as possible, Maia launched another leaf storm that bathed the area, but Arabella protected both of them by quickly secreting a silk trap that acted as a barrier around them. Maia didn't like that.

She needed to stop them from moving, so she tensed the cord on her chest and prepared to launch a barrage of shadowy arrows. Once they were closing distance with the bandits, Keene formed another water blade and blocked most of them, only a couple of them hitting them while none managed to land on their shadows, thus preventing them from limiting their movement.

How could that Inteleon be so quick in his reactions? He managed to block most of her arrows like they were nothing! It was going to be hard to damage them if they were always faster than her…

"Maia!" Brynel called, and she glanced at him while she panted. "I got you!"

Brynel held out an orb, this one being orange and with an arrow on it. He closed the distance with her and threw the orb to the ground, and a blinding light enveloped both of them.

"What? Was that a quick orb?" Maia asked. "Thank you!"

With their speed increased, Brynel returned to the Zebstrikas, running circles around them and landing some punches that they couldn't evade, resorting to using flame charge to envelop themselves in flames so the Zeraora wouldn't be able to use physical attacks.

Maia approached Keene and managed to keep her away from Arabella so she couldn't use her silk trap on him, and their blades clashed once again. This time Maia was faster, so she could outmatch him and cut through his thick scaly skin, wounding his shoulder.

Keene wasn't going to let that pass. Once Arabella was upon the Decidueye and acted as a distraction, he went inside the cart and grabbed an item, quickly returning to the battlefield. Arabella managed to protect herself from the attacks, and then grabbed Maia's ankle with her silk and pulled, launching her towards the Zeraora, who had just evaded an attack from the Zebstrikas but couldn't avoid the raining Decidueye.

Maia and Brynel groaned, but quickly pulled away from the dogpile, standing up again. However, Keene had his item prepared for the right moment, and that was it.

"You're not the only ones with orbs this time," the Inteleon said, and he threw his brownish orb that popped right at Brynel and Maia's feet. A blinding light erupted, and suddenly, they couldn't move.

"Ugh! A petrify orb?" Brynel barked. He should have seen that coming; after all, they were stealing orbs not long ago. Both he and Maia were completely frozen and at their enemies' mercy. But they had different plans.

"Well, well. Looks like this is it. I should have used this a long time ago, now there's no point in battling anymore," Keene said with a malicious grin. "Farewell."

"No! Come back here!" Maia yelled desperately.

"Don't you dare leave now!" Brynel said, trying to generate some sparks that didn't reach far.

The bandits walked back to the cart, both Zebstrikas returning to their roles and preparing to pull the carriage back on track. Keene and Arabella hopped on the cart, but before they could enter, a purple fire passed right in front of the Inteleon's face, who barely avoided it at the last moment.

"What the…?"

It was a dragon breath. The bandits turned around and saw an Archen and a Zangoose. Great, those two were here too.

"Release Ari right now, you freaks!" Sanah yelled with her claws out, and Nimb quickly approached Brynel and Maia, slightly pushing both of them to release them from their state.

"Just in time!" Maia said, getting her arrows ready. "Now it will be an even fight."

Arabella scoffed. "Don't get so cocky, we're just starting."

Everyone prepared for the fight. Nimb and Sanah focused on the Zebstrikas so that Brynel and Maia could give their all against the Inteleon and the Spidops. Claws glowed, fists crackled with electricity, blades flashed…

Then, in an instant, chaos was unleashed upon the forest. Eight pokémon were locked in an epic battle where even those who never liked battling were giving it all. Nimb cooperated with Sanah to overwhelm their foes with a barrage of rock fragments followed by a series of slashes, while the Zebstrikas tried to outrun them and slammed head-first against both of them.

Brynel took advantage of the leaf storm unleashed by Maia to cover his position and jump from behind, hitting Arabella but failing to reach Keene, who quickly wrapped his tail around Brynel's neck and squeezed it. However, he had to drop the bind as the Decidueye tried to slice him with a leaf blade, releasing Brynel, who was left a bit dazed.

The battle was so intense that nobody noticed the subtle movement coming from the cart. Spike the Obstagoon slowly left the carriage with the Riolu wrapped around his arms, covering his mouth so his whines wouldn't alert the others. And so, he ran away from the scene, leaving the battle cries behind as he went deeper into the forest.

It was dark, and he didn't really know where he was going, but as long as he stuck to the plan, everything would go alright. He kept running, and Ari kept crying as he saw his last chance to escape being completely ruined. No one would find him now.

Except someone did. A dragon breath hit Spike on the back, making him groan in pain and almost drop the Riolu. He turned away and saw a lone Nimb panting heavily and staring back with a scared glare.

"You're… arf… n-not… getting away!"

Spike grinned. "Aw, it's just you? What are you gonna do, cry until I die from pity? Don't make me laugh."

Nimb shook his head. "N-no! I will FIGHT YOU!"

"Bwahaha, you're shaking like a leaf, come on! I can take you down with my eyes closed."

Nimb was really scared, but he couldn't let him go. Not with Ari. A purple fire rose from his throat and he prepared to launch another dragon breath.

"Oh, so that's how things are going to be? Well, I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Spike then grabbed Ari and held him in front. "The boss wanted me to bring this Riolu, but he didn't specify if he had to be…"

He then held his glowing claws up to Ari's neck, threatening to cut him off.

"... In one piece."

"WAIT, NO!" Nimb yelled desperately, much to Spike's amusement. The fire in his throat died down as he froze at the threat.

"N-Nimb… I'm sorry…" Ari said, more tears welling down his face, and falling on the silk wrapped around his body.

Spike grinned. His plan was working out just fine. He just needed to scare them a bit and he didn't even need to fight, even if a good fight would have been fun. Now, he just has to keep walking backwards and leave without-

SLASH!

Spike received a cut with an icy shard on his cheek, being hit so forcefully that he even dropped the Riolu. He could see a purple blur pass right by him as he was hit, and he immediately knew who had just hit him.

Ren landed across the clearing not far away from the Obstagoon, a mad glare on his eyes as he rose to his feet and turned back to him. He then spoke with venom in his voice.

"I can steal whatever you guys ask me to. Raid a carriage. Turn against society in the most shady way. But hurting Ari?"

The Weavile stepped forward with his claws raised, and his eyes went dark.

"That's where I draw the line."

He launched himself with blinding speed against Spike, who could barely block an attack with his arms raised in an X formation, but the strength of the hit pushed him a few meters back. Nimb and Ari just watched the fight in awe, confused about what was going on, but also silently rooting for the Weavile.

Spike slashed back at him, but Ren blocked it with his own claws, both covered in the same dark aura, and both bounced back. It was a battle of speed against brute force, and speed was gaining ground thanks to Ren's pure anger, and a little extra. Ren could see his body enveloped in a red glow and then saw the Riolu glowing in the same way. He wasn't really sure of what had happened, but he felt like Ari had helped him somehow.

Ren blew an icy wind now that Spike was far away from Ari, and he had to jump aside to avoid becoming an easy target. Once Ren was upon him with another icy shard, Spike took his chance to close distance and headbutt him, both receiving the attacks and groaning in pain.

"Grrrr… Are you out of your mind? You're betraying us, after all what we did for you?" Spike growled.

"I don't care about that," Ren responded, stomping his foot down with anger. "I already warned you that Ari was off-limits!"

While they exchanged tense looks, the others finally arrived at the scene; Sanah, Maia and Brynel looked with surprise at the weird scenario.

"What's going on?" Maia asked.

"It's the Weavile and the Osbtagoon too! We have to stop them!" Brynel ordered, but Nimb stopped him.

"Wait! That's Ren, he's actually on our side! I think…" Nimb said.

Brynel blinked but did notice how Ren and Spike were in front of each other, ready to continue the fight at any moment, and Brynel relaxed a bit.

"Ugh, there are too many…" Spike complained, taking a step back.

"Your teammates ran away! You're alone in this!" Maia exclaimed.

Spike frowned at that. He couldn't win this, no matter what. Not with Ren by their side, and not with all of them against just him. The mission had failed. And so, he just waited. He said nothing as everyone stared back, confused.

Sanah scowled. "What the hell is wrong with you-"

Suddenly, Spike vanished out of thin air.

"H-huh? Where did he go?" Nimb asked, looking around like crazy. Brynel stepped beside him and rested his paw on the Archen's shoulder.

"They probably used a rollcall orb. They reunited somewhere else, probably far away from here. We can't catch them now…"

While he explained that, Ren approached Ari and picked him up, quickly using his claws to cut the silk around his body. Then, he just held him there, in the arms of his dear old friend, safe and sound. Ari looked sick, but at least he was smiling.

For a moment, time seemed to stop as they looked at each other's eyes.

"Ren… You actually came to save me, thank you so much…"

Ren smiled back. "Of course I did. I'm sorry all of this happened to you, I should have known…"

"But Ren… What are you going to do now? You turned against them…"

He shook his head. "I don't care! I made up my mind, I'm never going to leave your side again. I'm done with that."

Ari's eyes widened. "What? So you're not going to…? Does that mean…?"

Ren smiled again and nodded. "I won't hide anymore, I'm tired. I should have done this from the beginning, honestly. From now on, I'll always be there for you."

Ari felt like he could cry, but he had wasted all his tears already. Ren was there. Like, for real this time. And he wasn't going to leave again. After all that time, they were finally together again…

"Ren, are you sure about this? I-I can't believe…"

"Yes, I'm sure. I don't care if I'm put in jail if I can at least see you."

Ari reached with his paw and cupped Ren's cheek gently, feeling the strangely warm fur of the ice type. "I'm so glad to see you again, now more than ever. I was so scared…"

Ren closed his eyes and pressed him closer. "I know. It's all over now, don't worry."

Meanwhile, Sanah observed them with mixed emotions. She would have come closer to see Ari, but she felt she was completely out of place. Why did that make her feel… bad?

After a while, other police agents arrived at the scene and took care of the Zebstrikas that were left behind by the Rising Bandits, both being taken into custody. They were cursing the bandits for abandoning them, but couldn't complain further since Aimer the Kommo-o was threatening them to worsen the sentence.

Ren turned himself in willingly, so Brynel took him before Ari's sad gaze and everyone else's conflicted feelings. Everyone walked back to Bismuth Town in an awkward silence, knowing what was to come for the Weavile.

"This feels wrong…" Nimb said.

"Well, he did commit some crimes after all," Maia explained, holding Ari wrapped in her wings. "At least he did the right thing in the end."

Ari didn't stop looking at Ren during the trip, and neither did Ren. It was a bittersweet feeling, but at least they were reunited, even if it was in that way. Brynel kept asking questions every now and then, but Ren wasn't too enthusiastic about answering them. He was still wary of everyone except Ari.

"Come on… You know we're gonna have to interrogate you tomorrow," Brynel said with annoyance as he guided the handcuffed Weavile.

"I don't have anything to say to you. I'll talk, but only to Ari. If he wants to ask me questions, then I'll answer."

Ari and Maia exchanged a knowing glance, and he decided to speak.

"Ren… Do you know why they wanted me?"

"... They didn't tell me. In fact, they didn't tell me many things. I was lied to," Ren said as he narrowed his eyes.

"I see…" Brynel gave Ari a concerned glance. "I guess we'll need you to be present during questioning, once you're feeling better."

Ari nodded. He locked his gaze on the Weavile once more and smiled. "Ren… Questionings aside, I promise I'll visit you in jail all the time."

Ren could only smile at that.

"By the way, Brynel…" Maia said, and the Zeraora perked up. "Thanks for all that you did today. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have located the bandits, and your help in battle was really appreciated."

Brynel smiled. "I'm… glad this time I could fulfill my promise."

Maia then turned her gaze to the Weavile. "And… thank you too, Ren. For saving Ari."

Ren didn't say anything but stared back longer than he would have liked to admit. His only response before he looked away was a simple 'hm'.

Nimb leaned closer to where Maia was holding Ari and spoke in a shy voice.

"Hey, Ari…" The Riolu turned his attention to him. "I wanna get stronger from now on."

Ari gasped. "Wait, what? But you don't like fighting…"

"I know, it's just… I get it now. What you told me back when we first met. That even if you don't like fighting, it's worth it if it helps your friends." Nimb rubbed his wing as a blush overtook his face. "I'm tired of depending on you. I wanna help protect you, just like you do for me."

Ari didn't know what to say. Seeing everyone so willing to be there for him made him so happy. He stared at Nimb for a long moment until his smile returned.

"I'm proud of you."

Zed was really disappointed. The mission was a complete failure in many ways, and they were running out of time. They had wasted a perfect opportunity to get the Riolu, and now who knows when they'd have another chance at it.

He kept pacing around in the room with the giant roots protruding from the ceiling.

"This is a disaster. Not only did they fail in bringing the Riolu, but we lost an important ally. It was a matter of time, but still."

Astra the Gothitelle watched him come and go with a serene expression, despite the gravity of the situation. "Sir, you know this is only the beginning. We have everything we need to succeed, even if we didn't achieve our goal this time. We don't need to worry."

Zed stopped. "Hmm. You know what? You're right. In the end, we still have plenty of time, since the Riolu doesn't seem to have developed his power yet. He's gonna have it hard to reach a point where it could be a problem to us."

Astra nodded. "Indeed. And we learned a bit more about who we're against. They were lucky there were so many pokémon around him to help, otherwise we would have won. Next time, we'll need to make sure Ari is completely alone."

"That's true. But for now, we're gonna have to sit and watch. Bismuth Town is going to reinforce the security after what just happened, so we can't exactly go there to try again."

"Yes, we'll need to make sure Ari leaves the town," Astra suggested, and she leaned closer to her boss. "I'll come up with something, don't you worry."

"Thank you, Astra. I suppose we'll have to wait for now. Wait until the right moment… and then, when they think they're safe, we'll strike when they least expect it."

Well, you know what this means. Ren is officially a good guy now! From jail. Whoops. I've been wanting to reach this chapter so bad from the very moment I started writing this fic, and I'm so glad I could finally make it happen. I just love Ren. By the way, there is art for this chapter that you can see in AO3 and PMDFF's version of this chapter, so go check it out!

Next time: two celebrities visit Bismuth Town.