The dimmed light of the luminous orb cast the shadows of six pokémon in the questioning room. Grayish walls enveloped them, adding to the unsettling atmosphere that had fallen upon them as the conversation continued. Sitting on a table in the center, Brynel watched the pokémon in front of him, a Weavile, as he half-betrayed the bandits he had been working with.

It took a few days for Ari to be in good shape again so he could be present for Ren's questioning. And what a few days they were. Nimb was even more clingy to Ari in fear that he might lose him again, and Maia wouldn't stop smothering him. She was pretty shaken, knowing the Riolu could be kidnapped at any moment, even if there was more security around town after the incident.

But even if everyone was worried about Ari, there were other more important matters at hand, and that's why they were there now.

"I heard him clearly. Riska said that there wasn't a cure for feral pokémon. All this time I've been working for them thinking that all this damage would be undone someday, once we'd achieved our goal." Ren sighed, eyes trailing elsewhere. "I made a fool of myself."

"So… It was true. There really is no way to fix this…" The Riolu standing beside him said. "I hoped that wasn't the case, but deep down I expected it."

The Zeraora took some notes and glanced back at Ren. "And tell us… What about Project Azure? What's it about?"

Ren frowned. "I don't wanna tell you. I might not trust them now, but their cause is more just than any civilized pokémon could ever be."

Ari sighed and leaned into him, resting a paw on the handcuffed pokémon's shoulder. "Please, Ren… You said you'd tell me, at least, right? And even if you tell me in private, I'd end up telling the others afterwards."

The Weavile thought about it as his eyes darted around the room, studying the other three pokémon that were there as well, for some reason. The Archen looked really shy and nervous, something he was surprised to see after he saw that powerful dragon breath. Then there's the Zangoose with that undecipherable look, yet there was something… familiar in that expression.

And the Toxtricity. That judgemental-looking Toxtricity, who looked as unpleased to see him as he was. At least it was mutual. But his frown only grew worse as their eyes met; it was clear they didn't like each other.

"... Fine. Project Azure is exactly what you might have already imagined. Turning pokémon into ferals, as many as they can, so they can form an army that will fight on their side in order to reclaim the land stolen by the civilized pokémon."

Everyone flinched. Nimb looked as if he was going to pass out from how hard he was trembling now, and Mylo put a hand on his shoulder for reassurance.

"What? Isn't that like… a war?" Sanah said in alarm.

Brynel slammed his paw on the table. "What do you mean with 'stolen' land? That's not…" He shook his head and pressed his paw on his temple. "Scratch that for now. How the hell are they going to use feral pokémon as an army? They're brainless! They don't fight for anyone!"

Ari glanced at the Zeraora with a hint of worry and then turned to Ren with pleading eyes. "Ren, is there… something else?"

"... There is. The feral pokémon on their own are neutral, but…" He looked away. "They've been… experimenting with pokémon. There's a specific pokémon they have captive, I don't know who, but they have the key to all this. Something in their DNA, along with another substance, was what they used to create the Azure. But those infected with Azure are susceptible to being controlled by that same pokémon."

Brynel hummed. "So they're using that specific pokémon to mind-control the ferals… That would explain why once the fog was lifted in those mystery dungeons they went directly to attack some towns and cities in mass. They sent them there."

"But why wait? Couldn't they attack before the fog was lifted?" Nimb eventually asked.

Ren glanced at the Archen for a long moment, who visibly tensed. But then he took mercy and looked back at Ari. "The fog is kinda like a barrier that prevents that mind-control or something like that, I didn't pay much attention to that explanation. But that's why ferals weren't enough for them; they needed something more."

Ari frowned. "And that is…?"

"The other experiments. Feral pokémon were infected by the fog, but not by Azure in its pure form. So they have been experimenting for years with pokémon to make them not only easier to control but also way stronger. I don't know much about those, but they are the evolved version of feral pokémon. The so-called corrupted pokémon."

Team Silver plus Brynel exchanged concerned glances. Not only did they have to face feral pokémon, but there was also another threat in the form of biological weapons.

"And how… how can we tell when a pokémon is corrupted?" Ari asked.

"It's easy to tell. You already met one, after all," Ren said, drawing a confused look from the Riolu. "Their appearance is quite different, and they are persistent as hell. Remember that Armarouge that attacked you in Gemstone Mine?"

Everyone gasped.

"You're telling me… that that monster is also tied to all this? And it's one of those corrupted pokémon?" Brynel asked with widened eyes.

Ren nodded, visibly discontent about sharing that information with him. "Their name is Neo. They were the very first corrupted pokémon they made. From what I've been told, they've been around for ten years."

"Ten years…" Ari said to himself, looking at his paws. "Turned into a monster for ten full years, away from your loved ones, and lost to insanity…" He shook his head, deepening his frown. "Knowing they have a name only makes me feel worse… I could only see them as a monster all this time, but this… changes everything. They used to be a pokémon like me…"

Sanah approached from behind and patted him on the back. "I know it sounds horrible, but… there's nothing we can do about it. We can only try to prevent more pokémon to end like that, at least."

Ari wasn't too convinced, but nodded, nonetheless.

"I don't understand…" Nimb said, eyes turning to him. "If this has been happening for so long… if this is such a big threat, why no one has done anything? Where are the legendary pokémon? Aren't they supposed to protect the world?"

Ari gasped. He hadn't thought about that all this time. Legendary pokémon, from what he was taught, had been hiding all around the world since ancient times, protecting the world and its inhabitants in many ways. On rare occasions, there had been sightings of some legendary pokémon, or even some of them had been living along with common pokémon if their role wasn't too demanding.

"It's not that easy," Mylo explained. "Pokémon like Dialga and Palkia are supposed to maintain the flow of time and space, and they can't deviate from that task or they risk our reality breaking. Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza are supposed to be the guardians of the land, the seas, and the sky, but unless there's a major catastrophe they won't take direct actions."

Brynel nodded. "That's true. Then there are others like the legendary beasts; Entei, Raikou, and Suicune, that live in other parts of the world and are probably already facing other threats as we speak. After all, this is probably not the only major threat the world might be facing right now."

"I… haven't thought about that possibility," Nimb said. Suddenly, he felt much less safe.

Brynel continued. "There's also the lake guardians; Mesprit, Uxie, and Azelf, the beings of emotions, knowledge and willpower. Their situation is probably the same as the legendary beasts, although this is just speculation since as opposed to the beasts, not much is known about the lake guardians or their whereabouts. Their sightings are even rarer, actually."

Ari balled his fists and stood firm. "But we can't wait for legendary pokémon to do something, right? There has to be something we can do." He turned to the Weavile and softened his look. "Please, Ren… Can you tell us where their base of operations is? Where this 'Zed' guy is planning all this from?"

Ren let out a deep sigh and shook his head. "I'm sorry, but that's not a possibility. Not even I know the location of that base. Whenever I went there, I met with a psychic pokémon that teleported me to the base every time, and since they already know I betrayed them, I doubt the psychic is going to be standing in the same spot."

Ari deflated. "So… there is no way to know where they are, huh…"

"Of course, it wasn't going to be that easy…" Brynel said as he pinched his nose. "Anyway, we should inform others about this. The guilds and police departments in Syftelia need to know this so everyone can offer their help."

Ren frowned, his gaze directed towards his handcuffs with resignation. Ari noticed it and moved to meet his eyes.

"Hey, Ren… You're not, like… still on their side, are you?"

Ren hesitated. "Ari… I don't trust them, but honestly, I was really tired of how society works. You saw how wild pokémon are treated, right?"

"I… I can't say I didn't…"

"Then you understand. I don't like being here now. I chose so because you're here, but I still don't trust anyone else. I don't like what they're doing by turning pokémon into ferals, but… that still feels like what the world deserves."

Ari's heart sunk at that. Even if Ren wasn't helping the Rising Bandits anymore, that didn't mean he was on their side. But could he blame him? Ari only saw a small part of the damage civilized pokémon had caused on wild pokémon, but he didn't want to imagine all that he could be missing.

What was the right thing to do? Was he on the right side? … He hated himself for even thinking about that. Nothing justified what they were doing to all those innocent pokémon! There had to be another way of fighting for their rights!

If only he knew how…

"Okay, concentrate now. Try to use your own aura as a catalyst, and then tap into the deepest part of your thoughts," Velia explained to an amused Ari.

"Okay, so… My thoughts, huh? I thought-"

"No, that's just a way to activate your mind before the actual exercise begins."

"... Ah."

Ari and Velia had met in a secluded part of the academy's backyard to train Ari's psychic power during recess. As the Riolu expected, it was hard as hell, and Velia had to repeat the same explanations over and over again, much to her dismay.

They were sitting on a patch of grass with a rubber ball placed in front of the Riolu for him to train. But the recess was going to end soon, and he hadn't managed to move the ball a single inch.

"Okay, imagine your mind as an extension of your body," the Meowstic continued. "You're using invisible arms to move objects, and you just need to focus all your willpower on the item, thinking about what you want to do."

Ari nodded, already tired of hearing that for the fourth time. He concentrated on the ball, and his body was enveloped in his blue aura. However, after a long moment… The ball was still not moving. He imagined having extra arms, long arms that extended towards his objective, but nothing was happening.

"Ugggh, it's like it only works when I'm in danger…" Ari complained, sighing. He looked aside and frowned as he was looking for something, which Velia noticed.

"It's okay, your body wasn't made for psychic power, so it's to be expected that you're struggling to pull this off. Besides, it seems like you're not in the right mindset for this."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Velia stood up and towered over the Riolu, crossing her arms with a neutral expression. "I can tell you're not concentrated on this, there's something in your mind. And you keep looking everywhere."

Ari rubbed his arm sheepishly. "Well, yeah… I guess I'm still thinking about what happened that day. I'm… scared. I was almost kidnapped, or… well, I literally was kidnapped for a while. And I've been feeling on edge ever since, like something could jump at me at any second."

Velia almost softened her look at that, but her expression was mostly the same as always. "I know that can be scary, but you were just vulnerable because of your illness and now everyone is watching over you, so you shouldn't worry."

"That's the problem." He wrapped his arms around his knees and looked away. "Everyone is so… jumpy. Well, just like me I guess. Maia and Nimb have been overprotective, and even Sanah and Mylo seem scared that something could happen to me. I don't wanna cause more problems for everyone, it's the only thing I've been doing since I came to Bismuth Town."

Velia thought about that for a moment but then sat beside the Riolu. "Didn't they already tell you that you also helped them a lot? I thought they said you brought them more good than bad things. Or something like that."

'She's trying to cheer me up… in her odd way, even if she doesn't really understand how I feel. I really appreciate that,' Ari thought. "Well, I know that, but still… this sucks. I don't wanna live in fear. I just wanna be normal for once."

"But that doesn't make sense, you're fighting/psychic."

Ari suddenly raised his head. Velia blinked. Ari turned to look at her with widened eyes.

"Was that joke intentional…?"

Velia tilted her head. "The what now?"

Ari couldn't help but snort. That somehow helped lift his mood a little, even if nothing had changed. At least he could count on his friends, and if they had saved him from being kidnapped once they could still do it again in case it happened a second time. Which he hoped wouldn't be the case, and everyone could forget about all that stress for good.

Suddenly, a loud voice boomed through the whole academy, both in the interior and the exterior.

"ATTENTION TO ALL THE STUDENTS, WE ASK YOU TO GATHER IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM FOR AN IMPORTANT MEETING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE."

That Exploud was a great announcer for important affairs like those, but it always left everyone's ears ringing afterwards. Ari and Velia exchanged confused looks but decided to do as told and went inside.

"Now! You two attack me at the same time, try to predict where I'm moving!" Reko the Grapploct yelled.

Both Nimb and Mylo nodded to each other and ran ahead. They both decided to train together after what happened with the recent encounter with the Rising Bandits, even if the Toxtricity was already doing so from way before. They needed to be much stronger.

Even if Nimb didn't like it, he wasn't willing to risk it. Not anymore.

The academy's dojo was empty, with just those two and their teacher using it as every other student was enjoying recess. After using the training dummies for a while, they moved on to a real battle, something that put the Archen a bit on edge. But he had to do it.

Nimb ran towards the teacher with raised glowing wings, which Reko quickly evaded right before he jumped to dodge one of Mylo's punches. Nimb quickly tried to stabilize himself to try again, now that Reko was focused on Mylo. However, his wing attack was stopped as the Grapploct's tentacles grabbed him by the waist and he was lifted in the air.

"Good one! However, you can't assume I'm vulnerable just because I just dodged an attack. I could inflict a lot of damage if I used my octolock on you!"

Nimb frowned but was quickly placed on the floor and he fell into a battle stance once more. Mylo was already aiming at Reko again as the Grapploct put some distance between them, and Nimb also charged with another wing attack.

It would have been great if Mylo and Nimb didn't crash into each other. They both fell with a loud thud and groaned.

"Ugh, this is impossible… I can't land a single hit!" Nimb complained, standing on wobbly legs. Mylo didn't say anything but also looked embarrassed to have failed like that.

"Don't give up so early," Reko said. "Think about your goals. What are you fighting for?"

Nimb didn't hesitate. "I'm fighting for Ari!"

Mylo glanced at the Archen and nodded, satisfied. "I'm fighting for him, too. And also, for justice. For all the pokémon that can't protect themselves against evil doers."

Reko hummed, content with the answers. "Those are noble causes, I admit. However." He pointed his tentacles towards the duo. "You won't be able to protect anyone if you expose yourselves like that."

Nimb and Mylo exchanged confused looks. "What… do you mean?" Mylo asked.

"You're too focused on hitting me without thinking of the consequences. If you're too careless and just charge ahead but do not value your own safety, you'll damage yourselves and won't be able to protect anyone."

"But… Are we really that careless?" Nimb asked with a frown. "I thought I was just giving it all…"

Reko closed his eyes and crossed his tentacles. "You're giving your all, but that also means you're forgetting the most important thing." He opened his eyes. "You're also fighting for yourself. Both of you are, or at least, you should be. Remember that."

Mylo recalled Sanah's words.

'You're always making Ari's problems your own, but what about you? You're your own pokémon, for Arceus' sake!'

That was right. As much as he wanted to protect someone, he needed to protect himself first. And both he and Nimb were exposing themselves by attacking carelessly.

"We'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Reko," Mylo said with a nod.

"Uhhh… Y-yeah, thanks," Nimb added.

"ATTENTION TO ALL THE STUDENTS, WE ASK YOU TO GATHER IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM FOR AN IMPORTANT MEETING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE."

The three pokémon looked towards the door as they heard the voice shouting on the academy's corridors, and then exchanged looks.

"What was that?" Nimb asked.

"Dunno. Guess we'll have to go check it out," Mylo decided.

Mylo and Nimb left the dojo and went all the way to the other side of the academy, reaching the conference room after having to deal with a crowd of pokémon on the way there. Mylo stepped on a Nickit's foot on accident, and Nimb almost fell as he crashed into a Cubone and a Squirtle that were holding hands and kinda obstructing the way as they were too focused on each other to even move.

Once everyone was gathered in the conference room, Nimb and Mylo reunited with their classmates, who were pretty far from the stage and could barely see what was going on from there.

"Hey, Nimb, Mylo!" Ari called, with Velia standing right next to him. Sanah, Kyle, Asher and Cora were approaching as well. "How did the training go?"

"Well… We tried." Nimb smiled sheepishly, but his smile quickly wavered as more pokémon surrounded them, and he found himself perched on Ari's arm once again. "Ugh… I hope t-this is quick."

"Yeah, what is all this about?" Sanah asked, butting into the conversation. "I couldn't even finish my sandwich in time. And I was eating fast, considering Asher was looking at my food while literally drooling."

"Sorry, haha," Asher said, looking away with a blush.

"It sounded like something serious, for the way they wanted us to come as quick as possible," Velia said. "I can't see what's going on in there, though, but everyone seems… excited? Asher, can you see something?"

The Cyclizar, being the tallest of the group, straightened his neck and glanced over the crowd of pokémon until he saw some teachers on the stage along with some pokémon he hadn't seen before. And behind there, Maia the Decidueye stood, whispering to Emeric the Noivern with a deep frown on her face. Emeric frowned as well after he heard whatever she said.

"I think there's a couple of pokémon there that…. Hmmmmm why do I feel like they're important?" Asher said. "They're probably the reason why everyone is yelling."

Before anyone could ask, however, the booming voice of Emeric shushed everyone in the room.

"OKAY, SILENCE EVERYONE! As you might already know, we have special guests today in the academy. We'd like to introduce you to… uh… the legendary explorers, Lyssa and Viggo from Team Valiant!"

Ari felt his blood run cold. Suddenly, the thrilling cheers of the crowd were nothing but a muffled echo in Ari's mind as he could finally see, between the mass of pokémon, the duo of lucarios standing on the stage. One of them was the usual blue, and the other of a different, yellow, color.

His parents.

The Riolu could feel his arm being squeezed by Nimb, who didn't even dare to say anything. Around him, even if he couldn't turn to look at them, all of his classmates looked mortified, exchanging looks and giving Ari a concerned glance.

Lyssa, the yellow Lucario, spoke. "Hello, dear fans! We're so honored to be here at Gholdengo's Academy! We've only heard good things about this institution and its students. It has become one of the most renowned academies even outside of Syftelia. You should be proud!"

More cheers followed, and Ari just kept staring at the floor, hoping nothing bad would come out of that.

"However," Viggo, the male Lucario, continued. "There's another reason we're here. We recently learned of a new threat to our society that we need to address here."

There were concerned murmurs all around the room, and Ari could hear Cora ask, "What are they talking about?" Ari and Nimb looked at each other as they feared what they were about to say.

Lyssa cleared her throat. "A faction of the long-forgotten Forest Guardians has reunited with a horrifying goal: turn innocent pokémon into ferals."

Ari and Nimb stiffened, while Sanah brought her claws to her temples. "What the hell are they doing?"

Viggo continued. "Project Azure, as we were told, is the name of their evil plot to subdue our society under the wild pokémon's dominance. Mystery dungeons are, in fact, a product of their wicked experiments."

Ari felt his heart thumping harder, faster, as he heard the voices of other pokémon around him.

"I can't believe it! That's why I don't like wild pokémon!"

"My friend used to be a wild 'mon, but he's nice…"

"They're savages! Of course they'd try something like that!"

"I don't want to die! They should be stopped!"

Nimb trembled. His eyes wandered everywhere, cringing with each comment about wild pokémon and sinking further into Ari's frame. The Riolu didn't say anything, but he hugged him tight and waited. Sanah also leaned closer, pawing Nimb's shoulder while she grimaced at the crowd.

They couldn't know they were wild. But it still hurt.

"Why are they revealing this information to the public?" Cora asked, inching closer to the group. "This should have stayed confidential! And now everyone is panicking!"

"And if they're revealing the information we got, how did they know they are a faction of the Forest Guardians? So far we only knew about the Rising Bandits…" Asher commented, struggling as he was being pushed by the crowd.

"It probably was something they could figure out just by their intentions. It actually makes so much sense," Velia theorized.

The Forest Guardians… Nimb recalled what was told in that one class a long time ago. They were one of the two sides of the War of the New World. The faction made up of wild pokémon. The ones who were defeated by the Aura Warriors, who helped develop modern civilization.

Mylo crossed his arms. "I bet this has to do with some kind of campaign. They're going to act like they're doing all they can to stop the threat by themselves so everyone will adore them."

The crowd was silenced as the duo of lucarios continued.

"Fear not!" Viggo said. "We're doing all we can to solve this issue, and we're working hard with the police and the guilds to investigate this and you can be sure we'll protect our society with everything we've got!"

"There you have it," Mylo whispered, unimpressed.

After another round of cheers, Lyssa hushed the crowd, and… Ari could swear her eyes stopped right on him.

"Actually, we couldn't have acted in time without the team that uncovered this conspiracy. The one that managed to find all the information that we got while being a team for just a few months."

Ari froze.

'Oh no. Oh no, nonononono. You can't be serious.'

"Team Silver, led by none other than our son, Ari the Riolu!"

Lyssa pointed at the crowd, directly at Ari, and all the pokémon around them moved out of the way to expose the Riolu, along with the Archen that was perched on him. Both stood there with a mortified look while the crowd cheered and applauded.

Many pokémon dedicated nice words to them, but they were all muffled in the duo's minds, who couldn't believe what was happening. Ari was just numb to everything since all he could think of was the fact that his parents were there. They found him, and that meant reliving some awful memories.

And what was that about Ari being the team leader? That was just not true!

But Nimb… He was not prepared to have a crowd of pokémon staring at him, asking questions, yelling things he didn't need to hear. His eyes moved so fast, from one pokémon to another, entering panic mode. The only thing grounding him was Ari's touch, and he wasn't much better either.

"Wow, you guys are so cool!"

"How did you do that? Why is the Archen so clingy?"

"So you're also an Aura Warrior? Why aren't you an explorer like your parents?"

Nimb took deep breaths. Deep, deep breaths. But his breathing was coming in ragged. Too many questions, too many people. Why were they doing this? What did they want? Did they expect something from him? No, it was for Ari, but he was with him as well. He was going to mess something up and everyone was going to laugh.

Or worse. Did they want to hurt him? Why? How? When?

Nimb kept his grip on Ari's arm and didn't let go, while the crowd slowly got closer, and closer. Why didn't they stop?

Ari, on the other hand, focused on his parents. They were walking down the stage, and slowly approaching him. He really didn't want to deal with this.

Luckily for him, Emeric reacted in time at this and used his booming voice once again.

"SILEEEEENCE! If any of you have any questions for Team Valiant, now it's the right time!"

Suddenly, the crowd dispersed their attention on Ari and Nimb and turned to the duo of lucarios. A thousand questions came from the crowd of pokémon, making Team Valiant flinch as they were overwhelmed. Nimb sighed in relief, but Ari wasn't relaxed yet.

Not with them here.

At least he was thankful to the Noivern for saving him from his parents, even if it was just for now.

The conference passed like a blur for the Riolu. His thoughts were spiraling out of control and he didn't register what was going on anymore, but now he found himself walking through the academy's corridors with his parents beside him, his mother resting a paw on his shoulder while Nimb, Sanah and Mylo walked closely, followed by a crowd of pokémon.

It looked like they were getting a free tour through the academy, escorted by Gholdengo himself, who looked proud to have the legendary team visiting his institution.

"Here in Gholdengo's Academy we prioritize praxis over theory, and we offer our students all the golden opportunities they can have to be active in their education," Gholdengo narrated to the lucarios. "That's why we're known for the overwhelmingly positive results of our students, with many testimonials from former students to back it up."

"I see… It is good to know that the new generations are in good hands," Lyssa said, nodding. "It must have been hard to achieve all of this, building a whole institution from scratch and turning Bismuth Town into such an important landmark. The town was never as lively as it is now, for what I've heard."

"Indeed! But this is only possible thanks to heroes such as you and your ancestors, who fought hard to bring progress to our society!"

Viggo looked at his wife with a smirk. "What can we say… We've trained so hard to live up to everyone's expectations! Everyone deserves a peaceful life and we're here to make sure it stays like that forever."

Sanah silently blew a raspberry. It was sickening to hear them praising themselves like that, knowing all the pain they've caused Ari. She wanted to say something, but her reputation wouldn't help her case if she tried to expose them in front of the crowd.

Similar thoughts were crossing Nimb and Mylo's minds. For now, they just had to follow them around to make sure Ari wasn't left alone with those two. But… what were their true intentions? Were they just visiting, or there was something more to it?

"Excuse me, Gholdengo," Lyssa said, interrupting the tour. "I'm curious as to what our son has been doing since he joined the academy. Has he been a good student?"

Gholdengo brightened. "Oh, of course! His academic record is brilliant, I must say, and he and his team have gotten very promising results with their investigations so far! You must be proud of him, he's getting a reputation here even before anyone knew he was your son."

Viggo chuckled. "Indeed, that's how it should be! We raised him the best as we could to become worthy of succeeding us, after all!"

Ari frowned. He had so many things he could say, but he couldn't bring himself to even open his mouth. He was tense, too tense. Even Nimb could tell from where he was standing behind the Riolu.

"Oh, is that so?" Gholdengo asked. "So he'll become both an investigator and an explorer?"

"Well, that's up to him, of course," Lyssa answered. "But he'll surely make the right decision, after all, he's going to be a wonderful Lucario soon."

Viggo nodded. "Yes, that's why we chose that name for him."

Ari opened his mouth. Nothing came. Behind him, his teammates exchanged confused glances, but it was Gholdengo who voiced their concern.

"What's with the name?"

Lyssa and Viggo turned to the Riolu with unreadable expressions. Maybe it was pride, but maybe it was… a challenge. A look that said 'This is what awaits you, whether you like it or not.'

Lyssa finally responded. "Well, Ari comes from Luc-Ari-o, as simple as that."

Ari suddenly felt paralyzed. He couldn't even blink, just stared back at his parents with a completely blank face as he learned that for the first time.

He wanted to vomit. To tear his skin off and yell, to hit his head on a wall multiple times until he would no longer breathe. He couldn't believe his name, something so meaningful to him, was literally a cruel joke that came out of the only thing he didn't want to become.

Of course, he should have known. His parents wouldn't give him anything good, they just wanted him to be their tool. And he was marked forever.

Mylo had to hold Sanah back to prevent her from attacking the lucarios, but he also wanted to punch them so badly. They couldn't do that in public, though.

Right, the crowd. They forgot about all the pokémon following them, obsessed with the famous explorers. Before he could say anything else, Gholdengo clicked his tongue and moved towards the admiring students.

"Okay, okay, that's it, you all should go back to your classes! Come on, let them breathe…"

As he motioned for the crowd of pokémon to retreat with no success, Lyssa turned to his son, taking advantage of the fact that nobody was paying attention to them now and they couldn't hear her.

"So, Ari. Did you have fun?"

Ari blinked. "H-huh?"

Lyssa's smile was forced. "Was it fun to play detectives with your new friends here? I'm sure you're tired of it already, aren't you? You got us worried for leaving the way you did." Her grip on Ari's shoulder tightened. "But it's all over now, so you don't have to worry."

"What? W-what do you mean?"

Lyssa leaned in to whisper in Ari's ear. "As soon as we're done with our little tour today, you're coming back to Iris Town with us and you'll return to the guild. We'll be the ones to take care of the Forest Guardians. Am I clear?"

Ari widened his eyes in distress. His breath hitched as he thought of the different options he had at the moment. He could say no, after all, he had a new purpose here. He didn't want to throw all of it away just like that, and his friends… and Nimb and Maia.

But if he said no, his parents would…

His mind was clouded. His mother's smile… His father's stern look… They were the same as ever.

Empty.

"O-okay, mom…"

Ari spoke without thinking. He couldn't defy them. He hadn't changed at all, everything was the same.

And behind them, Sanah heard the whole conversation. Her mouth fell agape, and her claws came out, just out of instinct. But she didn't do anything. Not now.

She couldn't.

After the tour through the academy, Viggo and Lyssa stopped by the police station to talk to the chief, Aimer the Kommo-o. Of course, they brought Ari along, and the rest of Team Silver tagged along just in case. Maia had to stay at the academy, even if she wanted to stay and make sure things were okay.

"You're doing an outstanding job, Team Valiant. We're counting on your collaboration with the current events," Aimer said, tilting his hat as he bowed.

"It's nothing," Viggo said. "If anything, we're grateful for your services to our society; there's only so much an exploration team can do without the help of the police."

Aimer nodded and turned to grab some documents from the file cabinet in his office. The room was a bit crowded, but luckily all the pokémon in it were involved with the case, so he could talk about it with no issue.

"Project Azure is still a mystery to all of us… And all that we've learned so far has been thanks to Team Silver (as much as that surprises me) and for what that Weavile criminal said."

Viggo turned to the Riolu with a serious look. "That Weavile… See? That's why we told you to focus on your missions instead of bonding with him. We were right on suspecting him."

Ari frowned but didn't say anything, instead looking away.

"Anyway, at least we could get something out of him, so that's that," Aimer said while he revised the documents. "Hmmm. We still don't have any news from the Exploration Guild Society, but Zohar said he would do everything he could to set things in motion. Problem is that Houndoom's Guild is already busy dealing with the ferals' onslaughts in Farlight Town."

Mylo crossed his arms at that. It was concerning to know other towns and cities were dealing with ferals as well, but it made sense. Bismuth Town wasn't the center of the world.

"Then there's Dragonite's Guild in Apex City, which has an important lack of capable exploration teams and is still looking for new apprentices. I can't believe that guild is located in one of the most important cities…"

"What's with that guild?" Mylo asked, tired of only watching the adults talking.

Aimer sighed. "Apparently, people don't like Guildmaster Dragonite too much, but I don't know the specifics. There's just too many resignations."

"I see…"

"Anyway," Lyssa interrupted. "I believe that's all the time we have for now. We'll get in contact really soon, and we expect the same if there is any news regarding Project Azure."

"We'll let you know, don't worry," Aimer assured.

Lyssa then clased her paws and turned to Ari. "So. With that out of the way, it's time you show us where you have been living, right Ari?"

Ari's eyes slowly widened. "... Huh? R-really? There's nothing interesting in there, I don't think-"

"Of course it is! It's been your home for a few months already, I'm curious to see what it looks like. Right, Viggo?"

"Oh, right," Viggo said without thinking much.

Ari stole a glance at his teammates, who looked unsure. If they went there, Mylo and Sanah wouldn't have much of an excuse to keep tagging along, but they didn't want to leave Ari and Nimb with those two.

A part of them wanted to confront the lucarios over what they did to Ari, but at the same time… with them being so famous, they felt like they had no power over them and they could ruin their lives somehow. And what if all that abuse was only part of the dream and it wasn't actually that bad…?

No, they trusted Ari. He wouldn't lie about something like that.

But for now, Ari's parents wanted to see where he had been living, and they wanted it now. Ari sighed in defeat.

"... Okay."

Ren the Weavile sat in his cell, reading a book on his bed while endlessly tapping his cheek with his claw. There was enough light filtering through the small window for reading books and writing whatever thoughts crossed his mind, which was the main activity in which he was now engaged.

He didn't have anything better to do while being locked in jail, and his mind wouldn't stop going places knowing all that was happening outside while he just stayed there. Whether the new world order succeeded or not, he was missing it. He didn't know if he still wanted it anymore, though.

So yeah, he had been writing his thoughts down in a notebook all that time. He hoped nobody would see it, it was a bit embarrassing. His thoughts were interrupted when someone opened the door to his cell, though.

"Weavile, you have a visitor." It was the Gallade that guarded the place.

Ren perked up and closed his book, looking at the door and smiling.

"Oh, Ari, hello the-"

However, he didn't see the aura canine this time. In fact, the pokémon watching from the other side of the bars was none other than the Zangoose that was in Ari's team.

"... Hey," Sanah said with uneasiness.

Ren's smile faded and now he only glared at the visitor, crossing his arms. "What are you doing here? I don't wanna talk to you."

Sanah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know you don't like me, and I don't like you, but I'm not here to make friends. This is important."

Ren scoffed. "I don't care if it's important; I'm not talking to you. You're all the same and-"

"Ari's parents are here."

Ren suddenly turned with widened eyes. "WHAT?"

Sanah sighed. "Yeah, they showed up just to reveal to the public all about Project Azure, just like that. I don't even know why they know, but that's not important now. I don't want Ari to suffer because of them…"

Ren pondered that for a moment until he stood up as something clicked. "Wait, he told YOU about what happened to him… regarding his parents?"

"He… well, kinda. It's more complicated than that, but we all know about his parents and what they did," Sanah said, rubbing her arm as she replayed Ari's dream in her mind. It was painful to remember. "And they are with Ari right now as we're speaking."

Ren frowned. "Why are you here, then? You're going to let them get away with all that and do nothing?"

That stung. But Sanah had to counter that. "Ugh, fuck off. As far as I know, you didn't do anything about it either, did you?"

The Weavile's scowl slowly faded, replaced with shame. He looked away. "I… I couldn't do much, because he asked me to. I didn't want to make things worse for him…"

"Yeah… And that's why I couldn't say anything either," Sanah admitted. "But I don't wanna let that happen again. I'm here because… They want to take Ari with them and go back to Iris City."

Ren turned back to the Zangoose and inched closer to the bars. "No! Don't let them do that!"

"I know, I know! But I'm scared of facing them… They're literally one of the most famous explorers out there! That's why… I wanted to ask you for help."

Ren tilted his head. "... Huh? Why me?"

"Because you knew them more than I do. I thought maybe you could tell me something useful to use against them."

This was too good to be true. Ren didn't know if he could trust this Zangoose, a civilized pokémon, to actually save Ari from his parents. But she was part of his team, and Ari said they all helped him a lot. Maybe he was being genuine, but Ari tended to see the good in everyone despite the bad stuff, so he wasn't sure.

But now… He had no other choice. No one else could help Ari right now, since he was trapped in jail, and the only pokémon who actually bothered asking him for help… was this Zangoose. Maybe she really wanted to help.

"... Alright." He let out a deep sigh. "Ari's parents are… really complicated to deal with. They'll use everything they have to turn the audience against you, so convincing anyone with mere words is a waste of time."

Sanah nodded. "I assumed that. I can't destroy their reputation just like that, but there has to be something else I can do."

Ren crossed his eyes and thought about that for a long moment. "Hmmm… Well, if there's something that those lucarios care about, it's not his son, but his reputation. That comes on top of everything, that's for sure. There has to be a way to use that against them."

"You think that threatening them to damage their reputation could make them leave Ari alone?"

"I don't think, I'm sure. But as we said, no one is going to believe you just like that. You need to find a way to prove, with physical evidence, that Team Valiant are abusers."

Sanah hummed. "Physical evidence… How am I going to find that?"

Ren started pacing around his cell. "Let's see, so far I didn't have any chance of doing so while I was an explorer." He stopped and turned to her. "But you're an investigator. Surely you have something I didn't. Perhaps there's some tool you could use for this task…?"

The Zangoose slowly perked up, a metaphoric lightbulb turning on over her head. "Wait, that's it! I think I know what to do, but it's going to be… risky."

Ren approached the bars. "Then you better get to it now, I don't want anything bad to happen to Ari while we're talking."

Sanah nodded and turned to leave. "Alright, I'm going now. Oh, wait." She stopped to look at him one more time. "Uhm… thank you. My name is Sanah, by the way."

Ren stared at her, hesitating. He still didn't entirely trust her, but at least she was helping, and that was worth something. In the end, he simply nodded before Sanah finally left. Ren was left staring at the other side of the bars with many thoughts clouding his mind.

"Hmmm… I guess you could say it looks cozy enough," Lyssa said, staring at the wooden walls of Maia's cottage with a somewhat amused expression. "Even if rather rudimentary. Is that Decidueye poor or something?"

Ari sighed. "No… This is just a design choice."

Mylo and Sanah weren't with them anymore, instead being just Ari and Nimb with the duo of lucarios. It was really awkward to have them in Maia's home without her around, but it's not like they could say no to them.

Viggo sat on one of the cushions in the living room and shifted uncomfortably. "Well, this could be better… But anyway, we haven't finished talking about that criminal."

"You mean… Ren?"

The Lucario nodded. "Yes. You did well in capturing him, at least."

Ari winced. "I… I didn't exactly 'catch' him. He turned himself in."

Lyssa approached his son with a scowl. "What were you waiting for, then? You didn't even try to catch him? Knowing he was a criminal?"

"B-but he was my friend! It's not that simple…"

"I don't wanna hear it! That wasn't your friend, he was just a wild pokémon who wanted to corrupt your mind with his nonsense. You would have been influenced by him if it wasn't for us."

Nimb only cringed at that, keeping close to Ari but trying to stay out of the conversation.

Ari shook his head. "N-not all wild pokémon are like that! You shouldn't-"

"We shouldn't what?" Viggo threatened. "Watch your tone. We warned you to stay away from wild pokémon, and you didn't even tell us the Weavile was one until we found out ourselves. At least you're now surrounded by civilized pokémon, that's better."

Nimb cringed harder. Even more when he noticed the shiny Lucario had turned to him.

"What about you?" Lyssa asked. "How did you meet Ari?"

"... U-uhhhh… W-well, we were in the woods and-"

"Wait." Lyssa crossed her arms as a frown overtook her face. "That look… Don't tell me you're a wild pokémon too?"

Ari was rubbing his arm so hard that he almost peeled his fur off. He needed to change the topic real quick and prevent them from questioning Nimb further.

"H-hey, have I told you how we found out about Project Azure? We were-"

"I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work," Lyssa said. "Ari, is he a wild pokémon or not?"

Nimb finally snapped.

"So what if I am?"

Ari felt his blood run cold. Nimb didn't know what came over him either, but there was no stopping it now.

Viggo stood up from where he was sitting and approached his wife. "Excuse us?"

Nimb eyed them nervously but continued. "Y-yeah, I used to be wild. What's so wrong about it?"

"I knew it. Of course, you can't stay away from them," Lyssa said, looking at the Riolu. "You should have ditched this savage the very moment you met him."

The Archen felt a heat rising from his throat. "At least I'm actually a decent pokémon, instead of a pretentious abuser who doesn't know the meaning of love!"

Both lucarios glared at him, but it was Lyssa who responded as she stepped closer. "You're no one to go around giving lessons! You're nothing but a scum that's preventing our society to progress! Why don't you go back to your dirty cave with your skeet relatives?!"

That did it.

"DO NOT TALK TO HIM LIKE THAT!"

Ari realized too late he had stepped in front of Nimb and was glaring daggers at his parents. He just reacted. Both lucarios stared in surprise at the sudden outburst from the Riolu, but he wasn't done.

"You talk like you know him or any wild pokémon just because they were born in different conditions, but you're WAY WORSE than any pokémon I've met! Nimb is amazing the way he is, and perhaps it's civilized pokémon who are WRONG!"

And just like that, as he saw the furious looks on his parents… Ari's inner fire was extinguished.

He barely had time to react with a protect barrier to block a bone rush that was aimed at his head. A second hit broke the barrier, and Ari fell on his rear, with Nimb stumbling backwards as well. Lyssa didn't hesitate and kneeled down to grab Ari by one of his aura feelers.

"Listen to me, you're overstepping your boundaries! You'll learn to NEVER speak to us like that again!" She growled harshly.

Right then, she raised her glowing fist, preparing an attack. She clenched it, and-

Nothing. She didn't move.

"U-urgh… W-what…?"

Lyssa trembled as she tried to move, but she was completely immobilized. Viggo gasped and looked down at Lyssa's shadow, which had an arrow piercing it and somehow locking her in place.

From the main door, four figures emerged: a Decidueye, a Noivern, a Zangoose and a Toxtricity. Sanah was holding a Gholdevice in front of her, pointing at the scene.

"I will not tolerate any violence against that innocent kid!" Maia said, furious. "You're the ones who overstepped your boundaries!"

The male Lucario stepped in front of his wife and scowled. "Hey, don't tell us how to raise our child! Who do you think you are?"

"I'm Maia, his teacher and the one who's been housing him for months now," Maia said as she entered the room with a threatening aura. "And I'm not going to let you hurt Ari again."

Ari was still frozen in fear, but Nimb pulled him out of his trance and helped him get back up, moving away from the duo of lucarios. Lyssa could finally move again, but she just turned to the Decidueye, getting angrier than ever.

"Last I checked you weren't his mother, are you?" Maia slightly flinched at that. "And this is not about hurting him, we're educating him! How else are we going to make sure he behaves?"

Sanah was fed up with all that and decided to make herself heard. "Tell that to the public, then! 'Cause I have the whole thing recorded here," she pointed to her Gholdevice. "And we can end your reputation by just sending this to other devices like this one and showing it around. All tabloids will talk about it."

Lyssa and Viggo gasped and their mouths went agape. "You couldn't…!" The father said. As much as they wanted to eliminate any evidence, they were two against six. They didn't expect the Decidueye to bring so much backup, and that Noivern looked tough. Even if they were surely stronger than him, that wouldn't be enough against all of them at once.

"What are you going to do now, huh?" Emeric said, stepping closer to the scene in defiance and making the lucarios step back. Ari was surprised to see the Noivern was also helping out, and he was really grateful for that.

"Ari, I'm sorry we didn't act earlier, but we needed the evidence," Sanah explained.

"No, it's fine, really…"

The lucarios were just speechless. They exchanged looks, but neither knew what to do or say anymore. They were caught.

Maia stared for a long moment, deciding her next move. It was now or never.

"Okay, I'm gonna make a deal. We won't release the recording, at least for now." She turned to the others. "Sanah, Mylo, I need you two to leave and keep the evidence safe. Emeric, stay with me just in case. Ari and Nimb, you two go to your room."

Ari frowned. "But-"

"To your room, now."

Ari and Nimb exchanged confused looks, but they didn't dare to say no. Everyone did as told, as much as that felt like a weird move. No one knew what the Decidueye was planning to do, but that wasn't new.

All that was left in the living room was Lyssa, Viggo, Emeric and Maia.

Maia glared at them for a moment, then went to grab her bag and searched for something in it while she spoke. "I won't release that recording on two conditions. The first one is that you let Ari stay in Bismuth Town and you leave him alone."

Lyssa and Viggo whispered to each other as they debated on that. They didn't look happy, that was for sure, but they seemed to have their priorities clear.

Eventually, they turned to Maia and the shiny Lucario spoke. "... Alright. What's the other condition?"

Maia nodded and handed them a document that she had taken from her bag. "The second condition is that you sign this."

They both eyed the document carefully, but their eyes slowly widened as they realized what it was.

"Y-you can't be serious!" Viggo exclaimed, flustered.

"This is too much!" Lyssa protested.

However, Maia was pretty much sure of what she was asking for.

"You want that evidence deleted, or not?"

They thought about it. For a long moment. The tension was immense between the four pokémon, and it felt like a fight could break out at any moment. However, no one was moving an inch.

After what felt like an eternity of Ari and Nimb pacing around in the room with growing anxiety, the door opened, revealing a Noivern smiling at them.

"Come on, you two, the coast is clear. Your parents are gone, Ari."

Ari let out a deep sigh and exchanged a smile with Nimb. Both moved to the living room, getting playfully stroked on the head by Emeric on their way. They laughed a bit.

Maia was standing there with a smile plastered on her face, but there was no one else. Which was good.

"Ari, you're going to be fine, don't worry. We took care of that," Maia said.

"That's great… Really, thank you so much. I don't know what I'd have done if I had to go back to that life…" Ari said.

Nimb grabbed his arm and shook his head. "No, don't even think about it…"

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry…"

Emeric walked towards the main door an waved at them. "I better leave you three to talk in private now, I don't wanna intrude in this. But we'll see each other soon enough." He then winked at Maia, and Ari could swear she blushed.

What was that about…?

Either way, with everyone else gone and only Maia, Ari and Nimb in the house, they could finally relax and pretend that none of that ever happened. Except Maia didn't want to do that, and she still had something else to do.

"Ari, Nimb, come here for a moment." They looked at her in confusion but did as told. As the duo approached her, she handed them a couple of papers. "Please, I want you to take a look at this and give me your opinion."

The Riolu took both papers and read one of them out loud.

"Let's see… Huh, why does this have our names on it? It says 'The Government of Syftelia certifies, under the agreement of both parties, the ado-'"

Ari's paws started shaking. His eyes teared in a matter of seconds, and his breath hitched. He couldn't believe it.

"What is it, Ari?" Nimb asked, concerned.

Ari took a shuddering breath as he tried to find words, and he turned to Maia with a contorted face that almost looked… hopeful.

"Y-you're… adopting us?"

"WHAT?" Nimb asked and also turned to the Decidueye, who was smiling warmly at them.

"I want to, yes. But it won't be official unless you two agree to this. I don't wanna force you, so I haven't submitted the documents yet."

Ari was a crying mess by this point, and Nimb couldn't help himself either and started tearing up. They wanted to say yes, but all that came were crying riolu and archen noises, and both immediately hugged Maia and cried on her lap.

Maia held them in her warm embrace for a long moment, smiling at them as they kept crying. For once, they were tears of joy.

The joy of a found family.

After a long moment of tears and hugs, Ari and Nimb pulled away from the hug and wiped their tears.

"B-but how? When? How did you…?" Nimb asked, confused. He took another look at the documents and saw the signatures on them.

On one of the papers were the signatures of both lucarios. On the other, Nimb recognized the signatures of his parents. For a family of wild pokémon, they were literate enough to be able to write and read, luckily. Otherwise, it would have been hard for Nimb to join the academy.

"Wait, so back then…?" Nimb asked.

Maia nodded. "When I went to speak to your parents in private… this was one of the main reasons."

"I see… I-I don't know what to say, thank you, Maia…" Nimb said, his voice still raspy from crying.

"Yeah, thank you so much…" Ari added, wiping another set of tears. "I really needed this…"

Maia gently wrapped her wings around both once more, smiling fondly. "You can call me Mom if you want, it's up to you though."

Ari and Nimb blushed, but the Riolu waved his paws dismissively. "Wait, wait, I d-don't know if that would be okay… I'm already too old for this, and I don't know if I deserve it, it's… too good to be true, and-"

"Ari, it's okay," Maia interrupted. "Stop thinking about what's supposed to be correct and think about what you really want for once."

That made Ari think. So far, he kept trying to convince himself he didn't deserve to have loving parents, but it finally happened, and he… liked it. A lot. Was it bad to enjoy something like that? It… sure didn't feel like it.

He rubbed his arm awkwardly and looked at Nimb, who was equally as flustered as him. Finally, he let out a deep sigh and turned to the Decidueye.

"Okay… m-mom."

Nimb swallowed and smiled at Maia. "Yeah, t-thanks… mom."

Maia couldn't help it and blushed as well, giving both of them a gentle stroke on the head. "It's okay, I get that it might take a while to get used to it. You can call me however you want, take it easy."

They both nodded, and Nimb tilted his head as a thought popped into his mind. "Wait, since you adopted both Ari and me, that means…"

Maia nodded. "You're officially brothers now!"

Ari brightened as he stared at the Archen, opening his mouth but taking a long moment to pronounce words. "You're my… brother." He blushed again as a wide smile overtook his face. "My brother! For real, this time!"

Nimb flinched as Ari suddenly wrapped him in a tight hug, one that even if he struggled to breathe he couldn't deny he was enjoying. He guessed that was his payback for being the one to hug Ari (or his arm) most of the time.

"I like the sound of that…" Nimb said, nestling on Ari's neck and brushing his feathers against the Riolu's face.

Still not letting go of Nimb, Ari made a joyful sound and nodded. "It does. We're a family now."

A true family.

"Is that so? That Decidueye has adopted you?" Ren asked.

He was happy to have Ari visiting him again, but he didn't expect to hear such news after learning that his biological parents were in Bismuth Town. Ren pressed against the cell bars, trying to keep close to the Riolu, who was yapping happily at the other side of the bars.

Ari nodded. "Yeah! I guess she has been planning for this for a while, after learning about my past. It feels so good to finally have a loving family, I never expected something like this…"

Ren couldn't help but smile. Even if he didn't trust those pokémon that much, it was nice to see the Riolu so happy. "I'm so glad, you deserve it, Ari."

"Mhm! But hey." Ari turned his smile into a pleading look. "What do you think? You still don't like my new friends and family? You've had the chance to meet them properly this time."

"Hmmmm… Yeah, I guess." Ren turned away to stare at the notebook where he had been jotting down his thoughts. "I still don't like them, but… I guess I can tolerate them."

Ari brightened. "Really?"

"Kinda. If they helped you so much, then I'm happy for you. That Archen seems to care a lot about you, and the Zangoose… I mean, Sanah, even came to me to ask for help when your parents were bothering you, so I guess she's not that bad."

"I'm glad you think so!" Ari said with a smile.

"However," Ren began, turning back to the Riolu with a frown. "That Toxtricity. I still don't trust him one bit."

Ari's smile faded. "Huh? Why?"

"The way he looked at me, and the things he said… He's too judgemental, like everyone. I don't like that, and even if you consider him your friend, I can't stand that guy. I'm sorry."

"Well, I guess that's fair… It's not going to be that easy," Ari said as he deflated.

"Are you going to let that sour your mood? You have a loving family now."

Ari shook his head. "Yeah, that's great, I shouldn't let it bother me, but… There's also another thing that I can't take out of my mind. You know, about my name."

Ren inched closer to the bars and looked Ari right in the eyes. "Listen. I know it sucks to hear that your name was chosen with such a meaning, but it's your name and it doesn't matter what meaning they give to it. What matters is the meaning YOU give to it."

Ari looked back at him with sadness. "I know, but… I don't even know what to think of it. It doesn't mean much to me."

Ren smiled. "Well, it certainly means a lot to me. You know, even if 'Ari' came from that awful joke, it's a name that already existed. It means 'sun-like', and that's something I feel about you." He reached to cup Ari's cheek through the bars and his eyes softened. "You're like the sun to me. Always bright, lighting the dark and cold world around me."

Ari's eyes glimmered under the light that entered through the small window from inside the cell. Both he and Ren blushed, the latter realizing how corny he had gotten out of nowhere, and he went to remove his claw from Ari's face, but Ari grasped it with his own.

"I think I like that meaning much more… Thank you, Ren."

Smiles were exchanged. Even in such a place like jail, joy was still making its way, and it felt like things were going better than ever.

Even in the face of circumstances that put the world in jeopardy, hope was still lighting the way.

It's official, we got a found family trope in the most literal sense. I loved writing this, I was screaming inside as I reached the adoption scene. I've been wanting to write that scene for so long actually. I originally planned on showing more of Team Valiant, but I didn't know what to do with them and I just wanted to reach the important part, so honestly, they can go fuck themselves. It's not like anyone like those two, right?

Also, isn't it funny that I released a chapter so focused in family right in the middle of the Christmas season? Merry Christmas!

Next time: Team Riding Star receives the help of an unlikely ally.