Watcher of Arceus - Path of the Immortal

by The Shadow Master of Weapons

Watchers, the direct descendants of Arceus herself, sets of twins born with her power. Born in pairs, these twins were meant to bridge the gap that had come between humans and pokémon, one a gifted human, born beside a pokémon. Inseparable immortal twins, the godchildren wandered the world. But now, a single pair remains. Full summary inside. Reboot of Watcher of Arceus.

50. Chapter 50 : The Aura Oasis

Watcher of Arceus

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Only the idea and OC's.

Author Notes:

-X-This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.

~xXx~ This will identify where each paragraph breaks.

"Human Speech" 'Character Thought' {Pokémon Speech}

Co-author: Catsithx

The following is a total and complete Reboot of the story "Watcher of Arceus".

~xXx~

Chapter 50 : The Aura Oasis

Thomas walked out of the room that Latias and Latios has prepared for him, stretching a little and back into his regular clothing again. It was only early afternoon, but Thomas had never felt so rested, even if his dreams had interrupted him again. He left Rebecca to sleep, and while he had accidentally woken her as he got up, she was far more tired from last night's events. He left her to rest as he went about the day.

Heading to the makeshift kitchen that was set up for so many of them, Andrew was there helping Sarah, Verna, Zai, Latias and, and Palkia making lunch, the latter of which was opening portals to spaces all over Japan to snag the freshest of ingredients.

"Good morning Thomas. I hope yours was a most enjoyable night." Andrew smiled, slicing up a series of vegetables while Zai and Sarah were looking over various pots.

'Morning sleepy head.' Verna teased. 'Did Rebecca hold you back?'

"I'm surprised your up honestly, after all that Dahlia did to you." Thomas teased back.

'Dahlia had some things that she wanted to start doing today, and I just kind of woke up with her. I'm still a little sore, but that really is a night I'll never forget.' Verna said still with a small blush, coming over with a small spoon of cream. 'Dahlai's been teaching me recipes for someone named Juro. It was his recipe for the gyarados last night?' Verna asked.

"It was." Thomas replied.

"Who is this Juro?" Andrew asked.

"Maybe the greatest chef that the world has seen in almost a thousand years. I would have loved to see what he could with today's modern era of tools, utensils, and precision cook ware." Thomas stated, picking up a chop stick and using that to get a small taste of the offered cream. "Almost, it should be a little smoother though. Its definitely his recipe though. Dahlia's teaching you very well."

'I would be interested in see such a thing myself, but it is best to limit moving someone from the past to the future. Still, it smells like Verna would have made a wonderful student for him.' Palkia stated.

"Such high praise for someone. This Juro must have been quite the person or pokemon." Andrew stated.

"Oh his recipes were great. Dahlia's been writing up a few hundred recipe cards for his meals from a time long before electricity. All of his recipes used old wood or charcoal fires, or in some cases dragon fire. We've all been at work trying to translate them into more modern ones since the original books that he helped write have been lost to the passages of time." Sarah added.

"How did you all meet this Juro? Did he come to you or something?" Andrew asked.

"Dahlia meet him first, something over a thousand years ago. Arcticuno, Moltres, and Zapdos have always called the Orange Islands home, the elemental islands made just for to be at their best helping to command and limit the weather systems of the planet. They've always been a bit more reclusive then some of the other legendary pokemon, even when we had full interactions with the world. Some tribal leaders of the Orange Islands demanded their servitude and it never worked, but they still spread some bad words around." Thomas explained, moving up to help Andrew cut up some vegetables and other things.

"The three of them had sunk dozens of ships trying to assault their islands, and some of these leaders used that to try and start a war on them, and word got around to Juro that they were responsible for sinking a ship that had some very rare spices that did not grow on the Orange Islands. We never did find out if that was true or not, but the ships that they were rumored to be on were sunk by Moltres, three of them to exact. Juro took it personally and in a discussion one day, Juro mad as all hell from not getting what he was promised made a very vocal threat about going to cook Moltres if even given half a chance. Dahlia and Argyle were on the islands that and Dahlia didn't take to kindly to hearing that, and proceeded to kick Juro's ass rather hard." Thomas continued, the others listening well now.

"Well, after the misunderstanding was sorted out, Juro changed his tune when he found out how sentient and aware Moltres and the others really were, as well as found the full truth of why those were sunk in the first place. The legendary pokemon and us watchers became frequent customers for his food after that." Thomas smiled.

"Sounds like a fun time." Andrew nodded.

"His recipes when we can make them properly are some of the best I've ever tasted and you know how my parents liked exotic foods." Sarah added, only to give a small sigh after she brought up the subject. "Hey Andrew... how. How are my parents doing? I'm... a little scared of calling them still. I don't want to put them a risk of anything just yet, and I know that Hoenn is having some problems."

"What's going on in Hoenn that I haven't noticed?" Thomas quickly asked.

"Well, to start with you Sarah, your parents are... well its complicated. Your father, Joseph deeply misses and has spent a small fortune trying to find you, and has tried to, well at times nearly assault me over my defense of Thomas. He's, well angry over this whole disappearance and blames Thomas for getting you caught up in. He wants you home where he can try to protect and believes some of the lies that have been told to him, about him kidnapping you, and how he's doing something to you. He still thinks that you need to come back home and start being a proper lady, take your schooling more seriously and get ready for life after your adventure that he's still honestly not happy about. Your mother still thinks very fondly of Thomas though, and I think still wants you to get together with him, not knowing about Rebecca clearly. I think there may be a divorce soon to be honest, but they are healthy and physically fine." Andrew stated slowly, giving Sarah an apologetic look, but it still brought her down a quite a bit.

"I... I see. I'll … I need to call them tonight or something." Sarah stated, understandably working more slowly now.

"As for the rest of Hoenn. Well, from what I've seen, Alto Mare might the beacon of a world reunited with the legendary pokemon. I've never seen a place so eager to have them return and happy to keep them free than what I've seen here so far. If only Hoenn was the same. Teams Magma and Aqua have taken the return of the legendary pokemon as a sign that they were right all along, and the Hoenn Region police forces have been forced to crack down hard on any thing that might be associated with them. Besides that, there's a growing long list of trainers who are personally trying to get together for the sake of capturing the legendary pokemon even more aggressively now, and Hoenn is the middle of passing new laws, regulations, and redefining the punishments involved with attempting to capture the legendary pokemon. Some trainers are taking well to the new special Rangers squad called the Arceus Division, whose sole purpose is to manage any incidents with the legendary pokemon, while some view this new Ranger Outfit as directly interfering with their goals of capturing the legendary pokemon... which to be fair, is why they the unit was made in the first place. Some trainers just think that the world must worship them after all." Andrew explained.

"Clearly that hasn't been any major incidents with them or you would have known already, but I'd say the biggest problems are coming from some churches. A few deny the claims of Arceus's return without them knowing of it, others are getting inflated egos, and some refuse to even acknowledges the changing of the world. Its complicated no matter how you look at it, but such is the nature of being introduced the gods of your world and cultures I suppose." Andrew finished.

"As they say, hind sight is nearly perfection. Even I'm left to agree that trying to hide away from the world was a mistake, and most of us agree with that sentiment. We just don't know what else we could have to remain active and peaceful without starting a war." Thomas said, taking a few slow deep breathes as he thought back over the past several hundred years.

"I am just glad that you've chosen not to hide to be honest. I'm grateful to learn so much now, to see my dreams come true, and in time I'm sure Vivian will as well. I've got to ask though, what... changed your mind? I mean last time we met, well before the attack, you were talking about hiding away for years. What happened to change your mind and come out now?" Andrew asked.

'We felt that we had no choice left. Dangerous times are head of us, and a great evil is trying to awaken. We could not help the world while we hid.' Palkia stated when Thomas remained silent.

"A... great evil?" Andrew asked now very concerned. "Just... what kind of evil."

"The kind that can change an era, and may do so again." Dahlia stated slowly walking up, and then giving Verna a slow kiss to her cheek.

"Andrew, this is Dahlia, another of my personal sisters. She is a direct child of Arceus like me as well." Thomas smiled, Dahlia giving a small bow.

"I'm sorry for not being able to talk with you more prior to this, although I am very glad that you had the opportunity to make it here. I am sorry to see that your wife was unable to join us, but I hope to meet her in time. Still, it is an honor to meet the man who has done so much for my brother in his infancy, to help him grow up again. One day, he shall make a fine adult once more with the lessons that you have taught him." Dahlia stated.

"I'd say he's a pretty good adult already to be rather honest." Andrew smiled, only for Thomas to shake his head some.

"I am only an adult by the definitions of the human cultures. As a descendant of Arceus, I have more growing, mentally and physically, and one last awakening to do before I can claim to be an adult myself. Only when I am in complete control of myself, when I have fully matured and am leading a life fully of own choices, merely aided by the memories of my past lives will I be a proper adult." Thomas explained.

"And... when will that be?" Andrew asked.

"On the day of his twenty-seventh birthday, he shall experience what we know as the Day of Individual. As youths, our past lives give us a vast great deal of experience to think upon, but most of it more instinctual, less active thought. On that day though, we awaken fully as a child of Arceus, we are as much a legendary pokemon as any other, and are no longer what you might call mortal. We become one with the world, able to truly feel and be a part of the whole thing." Dahlia explained.

"Nine, Eighteen, and Twenty-Seven. The days of our evolution from carefree child, to godhood. The Day of Awakening, when we remember who we are, the Day of Remembrance, when we remember the how of how we got to where we there and our lives, and then the Day of Individual, when we are properly awakened in full, truly part of a pair with our twin as ourselves in our current life. Only when we have experienced all three of these days, and have started a life with our own experiences and lessons, will I truly be an adult among the legendary pokemon." Thomas continued.

With that though, Xent walked in, carrying a bottle of wine from last night, going to put it away. "Did I hear that right?" Xent asked as he walked in. "You're technically not an adult yet?" Thomas just shrugged some though.

"I mean I guess it depends on what you're considering adulthood. By human standards, I am, but well, as godchild, I still have mental growing to do. Is that a bottle of magoberry wine?" Thomas asked, knowing that Rebecca had heavily favored the drink last night.

"No... No I'm pretty sure that it sounds like your not an adult yet. Which means... ye shouldn't be drinking yet ya wee lad." Xent teased.

Thomas quickly tried to speak, but just stuttered over his words while the others just laughed or giggled a little. "You be quiet..." Thomas grumbled a bit.

"Well, its good to see you have found some real friends on this journey." Andrew said with a smile.

"Oh yeah I've been his bestest friend, I can assure ye!" he said, suddenly putting on a very convincing Galar accent.

Thomas when to argue, only for Latios to fly in quickly though. 'Thomas, I've got something I need to show you. You've got more experience with this than I do. And I guess you would too Dahlia.' Latios stated, and a little urgently, quickly flying back out of the room. Thomas and Dahlia followed, along with Xent who was a bit curious about things, before following Latios all the way to the far end of the chamber in the back. A side path that seemed very different and went under the gardens. The place was entirely crystalline in nature, with lights and more, leading down a small round chamber where dozens of images were on display over the walls.

"What is this place?" Xent asked as he followed along, seeing all the strange things, before taking note of how the images were moving, and some were places that he recognized.

"What Latias and Latios do best. They tinker, they build. I wasn't joking about the state of Alto Mare a little over two thousand years ago." Thomas stated as he followed along.

'Once we decided to become a more active part of the world again, I did a lot tinkering with things. Turns out, me and Latias were able to filter the radio waves used for radios and televisions to get through the interference of the city's protective fields. We use to just limit it to the the garden itself to let the city grow and keep up with the electrical age of the world left it that. Now though...' Latios explained, only for Latias to rush around room flipping images by the dozen and effectively changing channels on them, hundreds of television stations now on display.

'We matched their wavelengths into easily readable information, and expanded the field of reception all the way to the mainland. We can even isolate other communication forms. The wireless internet access points still have a few issues, but we're cleaning up those too.' Latias smiled happily.

"That seems... like a big stretch of illegal spying." Xent stated as he realized what all this implied and how each of these images were basically cameras scattered about Alto Mare, Dahlia just shaking her head a bit.

"Ignore him right now. He can go over this personal view points on being "spied on" when you're done." Dahlia said.

'Well, we had to do it!' Latias explained.

'The field over Alto Mare is much stronger than any other temple and when we just started to slowly expand it, there total signal black outs all over the island where we tested the field again. We had to make a filter to let somethings through, and the best way to do that without risking another incident like the last time was to filter everything through a single source and keep an eye on it. This is the result of that work. Now the field is back up in full, but there's no signal interference to mess with the average person.' Latios explained.

'And we've slowly been turning on a lot of the other features too. The churches and governing system of our city already know that the two of us are at work on something. We were hoping to run a few tests in the next week or so, but we might hold it off until there's no more festivals, and the Tour de Alto Mare is over so we don't interfere with them. Soon, we'll be teaching some of the priests who honor us how to use parts of the systems and be able to use the hologram system like a radio to do sermons and help spread our teachings for those who want to listen. We've been studying things carefully though, since we want to include the people of Alto Mare in this, but we don't want to risk another incident...' Latias smiled, only to droop down some at the mention of the incident.

"It looks like you're already ready to go. What do you need me and Dahlia for?" Thomas asked.

'Well, a few things. First, we wanted some opinions how to... well open this up to the people, but we weren't sure how. You've more in time with the modern cultures of the day, we thought that you could offer some ideas. The people still want us to be part of their lives again here, but we want to take it slow, or at least slow enough to not just replace their culture.' Latias smiled.

'And sadly, the real reason why we called you is... well, we think that the Knights are coming here, maybe in force. We've been tracking someone who we didn't like, they felt wrong... And now we know why.' Latios stated, turning one specific image which now shifted to an image of the inside of a boat. It showed a bedroom, and there on the bed looked like a tiara, made of silver with gold lining.

"Well, it could be one, do you have other proof?" Dahlia asked, moving up and reaching up, zooming in on the screen like it was a touch screen, trying to get a better image. "Is the system out of sync or is the web cam that you're looking through just low res?" Dahlia asked.

'Low res?' Latias asked.

"Sorry, Resolution, the term humans use for how detailed an image is. Its usually a property of the camera to determine how good looking the taken images or videos will be." Dahlia asked.

'That would be the camera then.' Latios explained, only for a coat to drop over the bed.

"Wait... is this a live feed?"Thomas asked.

'We didn't turn it on, but someone else did. We've just been looking at it every time its been on. We know that she does video calls with someone, we aren't sure who, we only get the image on this side right now. We got worried about it when this woman tried to sneak into the different churches a few times. She only spends a few hours in the city at a time before going right out to sea and just sticking close around the city. Honestly, if the priests didn't tell us, we wouldn't have known. There's been a few incidents with the knights here, but this one is different. The problem is we never got a image of her face even if we can track part of her movements while in the city.' Latios explained.

"Do you have sound?" Thomas asked.

'Not readily. It seems like they remove the audio until they need it. We've only caught glimpses of who they might be though because each time she does a meeting, she wears a strange hat, and some facial wear. Its like she knows that someone is watching her, but its not us. I think someone else is trying to do things here. It could be Team Rocket, we know that the Knights are at odds with them, or it could be someone else. They only speak in code, and she's very careful about not being on camera without a mask of some kind.' Latios replied, before moving to another image and picking it up, looking over the screen as it rolled backwards.

'I was reviewing this though and she let a few details slip. Here... here, and here.' Latios stated, pulling up three images out of the one he was looking at.

'There's this image of me and Latias, with a few notes on it, something about the protection and being watched.' Latios explained, showing an image of Latias and Latios on a large cork board with some paper notes there, but there was only a bit of the board visible. The notes seemed very basic, with the names of churches, other sightings, and a few other things like where they had been seen most frequently. There was a few partial phrases about offering help to them, wondering if they were still free, but the rest of the notes were too vague.

'And this image suggests that she has help inside the city, she's talking with people, but it might have been intentionally seen on purpose, like she wanted it known. The map shown there is of the northwest districts of the city, mostly living spaces, aside from those two large circled streets. Those are a bunch of workshops, and that orange circle is the high class trainer shop and cafe that sits on a large outcropping above all the buildings around it giving it a great view of the city and ocean. It's been the site of a lot of trouble lately, where most of the trainers who come in looking for us start and typically get asked to leave or arrested. It would be easy to collect information there though, but we can't be sure if she has ever actually been there herself or she has friends there.' Latias explained.

'And then there is this. Its a partial image of her face without the mask. Her wall mirror fell over this morning while the waves were rough, and we got a partial look at her. I don't know about you, but I mean it almost looks like Xent. We just got this image and that's when I went to come find you.' Latios noted.

Xent paused for a few moments looking over the image though, gears turning in his mind before looking towards Dahlia. "Could it be Coria?"

'Coria? Do you know this person?' Latias asked.

"A real piece of work that one, trained to be a future king. Strong physically and mentally, devoted to their cause, legitimately believes that Thomas is the greatest devil in the world, and the single most problematic person who kept me locked me up with the knights. Whenever she went off on a mission, she ordered that a full strike team was in the office on standby at all times, otherwise I would have been able to get out a few years sooner." Dahlia explained.

"It was sheer chance that Mew caused a scene in Cameran Castle that had everyone rush to the kingdom of Rota while I pretended to be a backup plan to try and trap Thomas just in case he escaped. Coria didn't know about the backup plan, which is likely the only reason that I had my chance to break out. They thought that they still had enough control over me and wanted to try and track me just in case. But, those tonfa gave me all the power I needed to subdue them and once I was free of that damn harness, I took care of the tracking device." Dahlia continued.

"Is that really her... is that my sister?" Xent asked.

"Hair matches yours, there's enough to there to suggest that it could be, but its too low res to say for certain. The M.O. fits Coria though, she doesn't like to take chances. Let me guess, this has been the only time you've even remotely seen her face, she's never been on camera otherwise proper otherwise." Dahlia asked.

'Not without some kind of facial wear.' Latios reminded her, only for a chair to sit down in front of the camera, and whoever was in the room sat down with a full face scarf, large almost jet black sunglasses, and a large beanie. Aside from the bridge of their nose, there was almost no features to look at when the lady sat down and plugged in a mircrophone.

"Mr. Ren Junior. Apologies for the late response. I think I've found a buyer for the deeds you were looking for. Lots of interest the day before yesterday, but it seems promising. I'd hurry up if you want to make the sale in person though, things are getting crowded lately. Its a shame that you missed the public reveal of Latias and Latios, oh it was a sight to see. They even had some extra guests to tour the city with. All of Alto Mare was up in celebration over it." The girl in the image stated, the voice echoing lightly around the chamber, the sound good, but clearly not the best, some minor static involved, Latios quickly trying to clean that up, or at least mute the static.

"Well... I see what you mean by full facial wear. No eyes, lips and teeth hidden, you can barely see her nose, but its female. And a low quality microphone means we don't have a good voice clip to try and match against anything." Xent grumbled loudly.

"Yes yes, I would have loved to get pictures, but you know how I am. Just a wreck at times, can't really get close to that many people, I'm sorry. I mean I tried to get close but, I'm sorry. You could bring the whole family though if you want to come down. There's plenty of room on your yacht and being the city of water, Alto Mare can house all kinds of boats. It would be a great chance for you take a few days off too after you seal the deal on the sale. You'd have to get down here quickly though. Between Latias and Latios's public reveal, and the upcoming Tour de Alto Mare races, the city is packed with people with more on the way. It be easy to get lost, so say nothing of how hard it would be to get a big boat in." The lady continued.

"I eagerly look forward to see you again Mr. Ren Junior. Have a pleasant trip on the way over, I'll see what I can do to make arrangements to find a place to dock down here. See you in a few days." She stated, before quickly hanging up, the group clearly only with half a conversation. She sat at the computer for a few more minutes, and then quickly shut down the computer and image went dark.

"Well... she's about as paranoid as I am to say the least." Xent sighed loudly, even with a shake of his head.

"I don't like the implications of that. And Ren is not a name I like to hear. If its the Ren family connected to the Knights, then we can count on trouble. It might have been the Ren family who played me and tricked me into bolstering the company called Master Shipper's which would later become Trinity Shipping. There's the occasional fool in the family, but most are cunning and will end up playing you before you even know what's going on." Dahlia stated. "It doesn't matter who this person is, we need to find them. And then the lucario's can tell us quickly if they are being truthful or if we need to take other actions."

'It would probably be best not to cause a scene today then. Are you up for talking a quick walk? We know just the place to ask for some help then.' Latios stated.

"No offense, but I'm pretty sure that given what's been going on this week, going anywhere with you two is bound to draw a major crowd. If you want to tell us where to go, I'm sure me and Thomas can get there quietly without drawing a scene. And who knows, might be a chance for to learn a bit more about how he just manages to blend in so well." Xent stated.

Latios merely Xent a small annoyed stare before there was a bright light, dozens of small lights coming together and then falling off of Latios, or rather where Latios had been. Now there was man there who resembled Xent rather closely, if with longer hair and two large almost horn like tuffs of hair leaning upwards, and wearing a rather fitting blue and white suit. 'What was that about drawing a crowd?' The "man" leaned forward, his lips not moving, but Latios's voice was there in full as the man gave Xent an annoyed glare.

Directly to Latios's left though, there was a different kind of shift of light, a distortion of how the chamber looked almost like a large globe of water was there before it faded back to normal and Latias just wasn't there, just the cup that she had been holding, which tipped back showing someone was taking a drink from, as Radara walked down now.

"Latias and Latios have some unusual abilities. Honestly, while they haven't revealed themselves to the people of Alto Mare for generations, they have not stayed cooped up in the garden and still regularly explore the city that they built." Thomas said rather plainly, looking over to Radara as she hopped up on a small chair that she had brought down with her.

Xent just looked at the floating cup, reaching up and feeling a hand there, before looking back to the "man" that was Latios, giving a small nod.

"Well, I could definitely use something like that myself. Any chance that's part of the crystal technologies you two make or is that just part of being Latias and Latios?" Xent asked.

'I do not like the idea, but if such a knight is here, then they will be looking for the two of us. I shall stay here with Verna, Suicune, while Palkia and Juno can keep an eye on the others to keep them safe or answer some questions. I am well versed enough with the mechanisms of the command room here. It will also be easy for me and Thomas to talk with each other if something comes up. If the computer is started again, I will know, and I can watch the streets around you from here.' Radara offered, calling out to Verna and Suicune to let them know what was up.

'If you have any problems, don't be afraid to call out to us.' Latias stated, now changing shape herself to a human girl, while Latios also changed his outfit, both now wearing simple clothing.

~xXx~

The group with a now disguised Latias and Latios were walking down the streets, a pair of rangers is more casual wear and a lucario were guiding them down the streets along one of the medium sized canals. Thankfully there was no major crowd today even as a few of the priests waved to them, but it was easy enough to travel this time. Finally though, they turned a corner and came up to a large group of lucarios, some in full aura guardian gear and a number of humans starting to pull down some barricades and a boat that was moving some large machines.

Above the double doors of the hotel, a sign was getting washed off now, before a pair of lucarios dropped down off the awning over the doorway, and then a large sign lit up. A very fancy thing, of a number of lucario silhouettes, behind them a silhouette of Arceus, and on either side were the sides of a Cross of Arcues, below it the name now presented in full, The Aura Oasis.

"What's going on here?" Sarah finally asked, feeling something different about this place, only to give a loud gasp when Morag stepped out of the former hotel building, her aura bone even brighter then usual.

Rebecca ran forward though, her life crest worn happily on her right wrist just below her wrist spike. 'Morag! Oh, its so nice to see you again! Look! I am Thomas's equal now, we are proper lovers, we're married! I'm part of the family of the legendary pokemon.' Rebecca cheered.

'It is good to see he you treats you as you should be now. Does he still make you hide away when danger appears?' Morag asked.

"No. No, we are partners in this life now. You have... presented your argument well." Thomas stated, Morag giving a slow nod then, before looking to Latias and Latios, and then the others.

'Welcome my guests. Right on time, we've just finished moving the heavy equipment out.' Morag stated, looking over the group.

"Heavy equipment?" Thomas asked a little confused.

'We talked with the city counsel and came to an agreement a few weeks ago. The lucarios of the Lucario Kingdom could pick any old and under used building and see if we could come to an agreement about obtaining it. Eventually, we settled on this old out of date three story hotel building.' Latias smiled, Morag confused to hear the voice of Latias and looked around some.

'And it would serve two purposes. For our Aura Guardians, it would give them a place to rest and restock. And secondly and perhaps more importantly, it is a place for the lucarios to teach would be future priests the words of our mother without issue. The people almost unanimously agreed that a minor tax increase could even be agreed upon to help fund the upkeep of the place, while me and Latias gave the city a lot of silver to pay for the reconstruction to bring the building up to date and fix it.' Latios said, moving over and happily shaking Morag's hands.

'We apologize for being less noticeable than usual, a crowd would defeat today's purpse. Yes, I am Latios and this is Latias.' Latios explained.

'I see that you are full of unusual talents, but such things can help. I thank you though for this help, and have already picked out a dozen promising candidates who are eager to help spread the teaching of the World Mother Arceus. They are preparing to move in at the end of the week. The Rangers who are part of the Arceus Division that James started are sending out another four men who should be arriving tomorrow as well. This was a very good choice in place, there are rooms for everyone to have their own space, to let each of us meditate in peace as they see fit, while still working on any tasks we would have. There is also enough communal space to teach, and cook, and have our own supplies stored here.' Morag stated slowly seeing the aura of Latias and Latios now before, turning to look over the building.

"You've really put a lot of thought into this, reuniting with the people of Alto Mare after so long." Thomas said, back to holding Rebecca with a smile, even Dahlia impressed.

"If only I still had control of the bank accounts. I'd have fund as many places like that as you wanted all over Japan. I'm impressed, really impressed. Sadly, I don't have that kind of control anymore." Dahlia smiled.

"Seriously... how did I not spend any time in Alto Mare. If the people were always like this, maybe I wouldn't have been such a jerk all the time. Is it just like mandatory that all the nice people live here or something?" Xent asked as Morag motioned for them all to come in.

The main lobby had been redone entirely, a water feature now taking up the center of the room, with the feel of a small shrine. Half the room was set down below the entrance level and would be flooded in an artificial pond of sorts. A pipe slowly filling it up, with a large stone platform in the middle having a few fountains around it as well as space for some cushions, and a dozen small platforms all around it for additional seating and meditation.

Dozens of small golden statues of the legendary pokemon were placed high up along the walls, and with a closer look showed a massive golden cross of Arceus under the water. Around them though, half a dozen lucarios were busy cleaning up the floor now, while some rangers were moving the last of boxes. 'I am eager to see the first of our teachers begin their lessons... although I am unsure who I will leave in charge here.' Morag stated.

"Mana seemed trust worthy, and strong enough to hold her own." Thomas stated, recalling what all Mana had done in the short time that they had been in the Lucario Kingdom.

'Mana has other obligations now. She's found the one she desires as her true mate, the one to raise all the future cubs she may have, and she is unprepared to leave the region without him. She would have been a fine choice otherwise. I too will be remaining in the Kingdom, I will not abandon my people. Old Ginger shall make trips here, and begin production of a new still while he has time left. His drinks shall help aid our cause, the sale of some of his alcohol helping to provide supplies to us in addition these measures of tribute to our cause. He is old however, and we knows that soon, his great strength will not be enough to stay challengers if I left in him charge here. We have a few teachers ready and eager to help share in this grand cause who are willing to move here full time as well as those who would assist them, but finding the one I shall leave to lead them will be... a hard choice.' Morag stated.

"I hope that you find someone most fitting." Thomas stated.

'Changes in the year while you have been away have made this decision difficult, far more challenging than before. Collectively, we now number close to four hundred lucarios and riolus in and around the valley beside the nearly two hundred humans. I have my paws full just handling things in general. A dozen other packs of lucarios have heard of us now, and seek to aid us, but not without incident. It has been difficult finding space for everyone and settling differences. The strength of our aura and right to lead has been questioned a few times, but none even come close to over powering me in my own home. Our aura is stronger then any others as of yet, but in time they may find their own aura to truly awaken as well. Arceus herself has personally chosen to aid my rule however, but some would try to win the World Mother's favor to take my place. She has openly stated many times that I am to remain Alpha, but this has not stopped challengers. Maintaining peace has become difficult at times. Beans has been forced to take two more apprentices to keep up with the task of managing the ring in addition to the help he already has.' Morag explained.

'The trouble is that I must pick someone who is as strong a leader as I am, able to keep the peace and prevent others from getting hurt here in pointless challenges of strength. This is not a pack for us to lead after all. We are to be teachers, sharing the words of the World Mother, giving guidance to the world in these troubled times to come. We are here as guests who have been invited to help others, and there are many who would welcome us and more who would oppose us. We are not here to carve out a new territory or fight the humans for rites to this land despite the disagreements that will surface. It is finding one who understands this important lesson that makes this choice a difficult one. Whoever I leave in charge here must not forget this.' Morag continued.

"I can understand the problems that come with such responsibilities. I hope that you are able to maintain yourself in all of this." Dahlia stated.

'We could talk of my problems and I would welcome your opinions all day though, but I am now sensing your own desire to talk. I am sorry, the passage of Palkia messes with my senses and aura for several minutes after I walk through it. You have reason to come and see us.' Morag asked.

'We've come to ask for the assistance of the aura guardians. We know that most are not ready yet, but you have named a few as Aura Guardian now. We hope that you are prepared enough to help us for this. Already you have helped us deal with some members of a group known as the Knights of Arceus, but we believe that one of their higher ranking members, one far more careful then any other is here and may prove a real problem.' Latios stated.

'This one has you worried. I can feel this now.' Morag stated slowly looking over them.

"Its more that we don't know for certain who they are, but we have an idea. We can't be sure of anything however, they are taking things extremely carefully. But, we do have one advantage." Xent stated walking forward now. "I know that some lucarios can track a person from far away. Can you track a direct relative just as effectively?"

'To some extent. I can tell a mother or father, and often a child of a lucario, and sometimes a human. Surely you do not suggest that family is the cause of this great concern.' Morag asked.

"It might be my sister. I was likely saved from being a zealot of the knights. My sister though is directly being taught by the Knights of Arceus and their diehard fanaticism." Xent stated, Morag looking at him carefully now.

"It's a complicated story, but much like how you lucarios breed for the strength of the child, Xent's parents were encouraged to do the same. Him and his sister were both expected to help lead the knights once they were grown for their good genes. Xent's grandfather had opinions about this and tried to free them both, but could only save one even at the cost of his own life." Dahlia stated, giving the quick story.

"If she's truly here, then she'll honestly believe that she's here to help save the world because of the devotion that the knights have spent instilling in her since her birth, never knowing the proper truth, only the truths that they have told her." Thomas said, a bit worried, but knowing that if anyone could help right now, it would be the aura guardians.

'Are you truly sure you wish to see this fight. I can already sense the amount of trouble such a thought is giving you. Confronting this problem now will not be easy.' Morag stated firmly now, looking towards Xent.

"We need to do this now. If this is my sister, then she's prepared to throw everything she has against Thomas, the entire deal of the Knight's is that they refuse to accept wonder boy here as a descendant of Arceus. Its best to face her now, before more knights show up." Xent said slowly, grumbling a bit about how easily he was being called out and read again.

"Would you stop with the wonder boy please?" Thomas grumbled.

'Very well. If you are certain, I shall make the attempt to help you. I am unsure if I can be such a help right now though, my aura is a little different out here, and I use the roots of the tree under the kingdom to expand my sight.' Morag stated before looking to the pool. Latias moved into the water, moving over towards the one of the large crystal gems that adorned the Cross of Arceus. Leaning down into the water, she did something over it, and then it began to glow lightly, showing that it was one of the legendary crystals, Latias quickly moving to the next.

'Here. If the roots of the world tree under your kingdom help to aid in your aura right, then we should be able to help with that. That would mean that you are in some ways attuned to the power that they hold, and these crystals are just refined versions of that crystallized wood. If we turn them up a bit while just tuning them more specifically to life of the world, let them radiate a little power, then it should have similar effects to the tree.' Latias smiled, Latios nodding and moving to help turn the other two on.

'The same types of crystals make up the entire foundation of the city and part of the island. If you have used them to expand your sight, then its just a matter a tuning their strength to the power of aura right now. It might take a few tries, but there's no reason that the same power of aura underneath your kingdom can't be done here too.' Latios explained.

'You... can do that?' Morag asked, watching the two of them go to work.

"These crystals are sort of like an amplifier for the power that the legendary pokemon have, a way to draw out and stabilize the powers of the world they would use. The roots under your kingdom are the crystal in its raw form. Latias and Latios though, the power that can be found in the crystals is their domain. I guess its not too much of a stretch of say that can could mimic those same feelings anywhere." Thomas stated, Rebecca moving forward a bit curious as well, taking a seat on the side of the pool.

'Then... you could amplify this effect and set up other places where we could train aura guardians?' Morag asked, walking into the pool of water now too.

'Well, its possible. I mean we can't say for certain yet, we're just trying to help focus your aura here and now, and that we can do easily. But setting up a place to train other aura guardians, that could be an idea.' Latios explained, finishing up with the two crystals he worked on and Latias had easily finished hers as well. Already Morag, Rebecca, and a number of the other lucarios around them were starting to gather by the side of the pool, feeling their senses of aura expanding some.

'Whatever you've done, it seems to be working. I can feel myself more easily now, and the others too. If Rick could continue his aura training here, along with a few other promising trainees, then we could prepare more students to learn of the ways of the Aura Guardians as well. We might even be able to use places like this to sense for other candidates who might have potential as well.' Morag looked around room at the other lucarios, able to see their aura reacting like hers. Although she felt weaker each time she had left the kingdom before, now things felt stronger. It wasn't the same as back in the kingdom, but the feeling was similar. She held her aura bone up a little and it began glowing even a bit brighter for a few, before it died down, Morag impressed with what was going on around her.

'You say that this might be your sister. And of the same mother and father?' Morag asked, walking into the center of the pool now, one of the other lucarios tossing her a large pillow that she easy caught and set down on a raised flat stone on the center of the platform while the other lucarios began passing out more pillows to take seats on the stone platforms above the water. Taking a seat herself, Morag looked to Xent and urged to him move in front him.

Xent reluctantly did just that, after taking off his shoes and socks to walk through the pool towards her. Latias and Latios kept up their little tinkering though, and even looked over the gold of the cross as well, before looking over to Morag. 'Give it a try now. Let us know how it feels compared to the roots under you kingdom.' Latias stated as Latios changed back to his proper form, floating beside them.

'If you can find her, tell me where. I shall go and see if its really her.' Latios added.

"Is it wise to send him alone to check on this?" Xent asked.

'I will be fine, and it will be easiest if we use sight share while I am invisible. Between Morag's aura sight, Radara in the gardens, and the number of rangers and lucarios in the city right now, I have safety if something goes wrong, and you are already here in Alto Mare in case things get real bad.' Latios stated.

"Sight Share?" Sarah asked, looking over the pool some, only to slowly start feeling more around her, Morag giving her a look as well.

'Your mastery of aura continues to expand. If you had not chosen to dedicate yourself to helping the god-children, I would once more you to take up formal Aura Guardian training.' Morag noted as Sarah took off her shoes and socks as well, stepping into the water.

'This is... so powerful. It really is like another version of the roots under the lucario kingdom.' Rebecca smiled, pulling Thomas in close, Thomas letting her do so while he waited though, just rubbing Rebecca's shoulders some.

'Relax. Be at ease. I must see your aura calmed to find those who might share a relation to you.' Morag stated.

Xent didn't really like being told to relax, but he knew what it would mean. If this really was Coria, then he had to see her and know for sure. He moved and took a seat in front of her on the stone platform, and then did his best to try and calm himself and relax.

'Do you know where I might start my search?' Morag asked.

'Start along the coast line and in the waters surrounding the city.' Latios stated.

'We know that she has a boat, but we aren't sure where yet. It will be a larger area and know that, but there should be a lot less people. That should help right?' Latias added.

'Do not think that this will be easy. I am unaccustomed this to this space. I will help, but it not be an easy thing as I must learn of the city first.' Morag stated, and Latias quickly moved back into the pool of water again.

'I can help too, just let me tinker with the crystals. Let me know if I'm making things worse or better. I'll try to align them to aura throughout the entire city from here.' Latias stated, Latios moving to help her some as well.

It was a very slow process however, and Latias and Latios had to spend a lot of time working on refining the process on how to try and properly align the crystals of Alto Mare for Morag to use properly.

Finally though, Morag spoke. 'I found something, an aura similar to yours. Human, female, roughly your height, messy hair and practicing with a blade. A short sword, single edge with a large guard and pommel... no. No edge, only a point, more rapier like then short sword.' Morag stated.

'To the east, a small island with an abandoned building on it, ruined, possibly stone work. There are some trees growing over and in it, the dock is ruined though but it looks like the boat is moored there hidden away by low hanging trees.' Morag stated, taking her aura bone and pointing to the east.

"Do you think that's the remains of Signa's fishing outpost? Or would that be one of the watch towers or light house?" Thomas asked, more asking Latias and Latios though.

'It could be any of them. None of them really survived the ages. It was too unsafe for large boats to come in from the east, its much safer from the west and the south, so those were the buildings that were left to ruin once they got replaced or were abandoned.' Latias stated.

'Can you tell me more about the island? It is tall, or round, or long but narrow? Are there buildings still kind of standing but under the water? Or is there a tower on the island?' Latios asked.

'The island is... rounded, but I don't see any structures under the surface. Its small, smaller than the building you arranged for us, and not quite as tall. I can make out at least two floors in the stone buildings. And there are trees on it.' Morag stated, before Latios nodded. There was a shift of light around Latios, making it look like a giant globe of water again before the space returned to normal and Latios took off, a large splash in the water outside and Latios was clearly gone.

Latios moved to the center of the group though, and then started to give off a glow. "Everyone, stay seated or where you are standing. Remember that you're still standing in a room with a large pool in it and a lot of ups and down." Thomas warned.

"It might look like we'll be somewhere else, but we'll just be seeing things through Latios's eyes. We'll all still be here in the hotel." Dahlia added.

Latias's eyes were now an entirely bright blue and then world changed, each of them taking on a ghostly form, transparent but still there. Around them though, they now saw the world through Latios's eyes. He was rushing through the canals of the city, staying underwater, but they could see everything around them like, in all directions around Latios as he made his way through the city.

"W-what is this?" Sarah gasped out, having been meditation, not even aware of the two aura spheres that were floating on either side of her body, moving in surprise over the place before she fell off the platform that she had been on and right into the water, the aura spheres falling with her, but now just floating on the water.

This quickly got attention from everyone, even Morag noticing the twin aura spheres as they slow dissipated. 'You Sarah, are not just aura sensitive. You can tap into it the aura around you passively somehow...' Morag stated looking over her with interest, using aura sight to move over to Sarah even while the world around was still flying past them through Latios's eyes.

"Good job Sarah. And no cursing this time... see." Xent stated, giving a small grumble, but letting it go as Latios left the city and was out in the waters around the city quickly continuing along.

Helping Sarah up, Morag looked around through the vision Latias was giving them, and then noticed something as Latios was approaching a few out islands around Alto Mare.

'That one on the left, between the one just coming up and large pointed rocks beyond it. I saw this woman there.' Morag stated, and Latios changed course just a little, even quickly getting up out of the water and now flying over the island, before slowly coming down over it.

Hidden away and out of view, there was a boat see from above, but not from the sides of the island, and one of the open spaces within the ruin building had been cleaned up of debris. While the roof was long gone, some leafy branches, a stack of spare bricks held in place by some new wooden boards, and a few ruined tapestries covered all the windows keeping anyone from looking in and accidentally seeing the person doing some training inside the space.

Latios slowly got down closer, hiding himself, his thoughts, and his presence entirely to look over them while they practiced with a rapier, a new table holding a number of other swords and some gear. The woman was a little shorter then Xent as Xent walked up pretty much right next to the image of her that Latias was giving. Their hair roughly the same shade of very dark green, and their eyes were both a slightly dark yellow as well. Aside from the obvious gender differences between them, it would be easy to mistake one for the other if they had matching outfits that didn't show her chest.

"Almost like looking a mirror..." Xent grumbled.

"That is definitely Coria." Dahlia stated slowly. "And she looks more determined then I've ever seen her. She must not have liked the fact that I walked out on her..."