FSE

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A snowy spine of mountains divides the Sinnoh Region in two. Mount Coronet is the most famous of these with its twin peaks that tower above all others, but it doesn't stand alone. Stretching north to south straight through the heart of Sinnoh, the only ways to traverse the range are through the tunnels that stretch from east to west, or to travel one of the rare paths that go from one side of the range to the other. It is in one of the larger mountains that the Guardians of Aura have their ancient fortress, a place of safety and gathering for all the Guardians of the world, built straight into the mountain itself. It is within the painstakingly carved tunnels and halls that the Elders hold their Council, and where all the knowledge the Guardians have accumulated is stored.

It was through one of these smooth walled, high ceilinged tunnels that Mathias travelled, making his way toward the library where he knew he would find both Galen and Sarina. Ever since they had given him the rather startling news that there was likely a traitor or traitors among the Guardians, all three of them had been quietly but consistently trying to discover who they were and what they were up to. But now, a rather different issue was on his mind, one that he knew neither Galen nor Sarina would be pleased to learn of.

Arriving in the archival chamber, Mathias could immediately see both Galen and Sarina seated at a nearby table, apparently having an animated discussion of some sort, presumably about their present situation. As he approached, Mathias could hear Galen saying, "...Was a whiney little pest at times, but as he's gotten older he has gotten a bit better. Can't blame him for much of that though. He got bullied a lot when he was really young."

Mathias cleared his throat to get their attention, raising an eyebrow once he had it. "What on earth are you two talking about?"

They exchanged a look, followed by brief laughter. Sarina smiled sheepishly. "I...sorta felt the need to take a break from all the serious discussions, so I was asking Galen about Valor. I may never have met him...but I wish I had."

Mathias gulped, his while demeanour changing in an instant. Galen noticed that shift immediately, his eyes narrowing suspiciously as he asked, "Mathias, what's going on?"

He hesitated for a brief moment before answering, clearly reluctant to do so. "Recently...we detected a large surge of Dark Aura, and we sent someone to investigate, a Guardian named Nestor. He just sent us his report as he was leaving the Oblivia Region-"

Galen immediately stood up, his features distorted by a fierce scowl. "Did you just say Oblivia?"

Mathias's eyes went wide. "You knew. You knew where they were the whole time, didn't you?"

"Who the fuck do you think sent them there?!"

Sarina shook her head, confused. "What are you two talking about?"

Galen slumped back against the nearest shelf, causing it to shake slightly. "Valor and Tamash?. I sent them to Oblivia to keep them safe."

Redirecting his attention from the now quite distraught looking Sarina back to Mathias he said, "Please tell me they got away. Please tell me this Nestor was reporting a failure."

Mathias shook his head. "I wish I could. They are currently in his custody, and he will have delivered them here by tomorrow afternoon."

Galen was now shaking with anger, and Sarina seemed to be on the verge of tears. Galen let out a shuddering sigh. "Alright. I can't speak for the two of you...but I'm going to find some way to save them, even if it means fighting through the whole Order on my own."

Mathias shook his head. "You can't fight them all alone. It would be suicidal. Besides, its time for a change anyway."

Galen smiled slightly. "I assume that means you're going to help then."

It wasn't a question, but Mathias chose to nod in reply anyway. Having calmed a bit himself, Galen turned to Sarina, who now had tears streaming down her face. He placed a hand on her shoulder as he said, "I know it won't be easy, but you need to try to maintain your composure. We can't do anything to help them if we aren't thinking clearly."

She nodded and stood, wiping the tears from her face. "I know. I...I just..." She took a deep breath, then continued to say, "I just need to get myself under control. Give me a few minutes, I'll be right back."

She then turned and walked away, leaving the two men alone. Turning to Galen, Mathias asked, "Do you really think we can prevent this tragedy?"

With unblinking resolve Galen replied with, "Even if it costs my own life, I'll make sure we do."

***

When Valor woke, his head was pounding and his hands were tied behind his back, and he was lying on his side on a cold, hard floor. For a brief instant he thought this was the result of some odd experiment with Tamash?, but as his vision cleared so did his memory, the events on Renbow Island coming flooding back. He and Tamash? had fought Nestor, and it had seemed to be going well for a few moments until their opponent had attacked with Dark Aura. That was the last thing Valor could remember, and judging by his current situation, he guessed that the confrontation hadn't ended well.

Valor lifted his head as much as he could, trying to get a better look at his surroundings. He didn't like what he could see. He was in a more or less square room that, besides him, contained several crates and storage boxes. Clearly, it was some kind of cargo hold. It was then that he noticed the floor seemed to be rocking ever so slightly, and it occurred to him then that he was on a boat.

He laid his head back on the floor, crestfallen. A boat meant isolation, with no where to escape to, especially if it was out on the open ocean. But he had to escape, otherwise he wouldn't be able to protect-

Tamash?! Where was she? He raised his head once more to look around. This time he spotted her, or rather her tail, which was just barely in view beside one of the larger crates in the room, the rest of her body blocked from his sight. He let out a sigh of relief. At least he knew where she was, and that was a start.

The next question that came to him was one of the whereabouts of his possessions, including but not limited to his Pokéballs. Maybe if he could get one of his other pokémon out, he could at least get free of the rope binding him, which, unfortunately, was much tighter than it would be had Tamash? been the one behind it. One more look around taught him nothing else, revealing neither the locations of his other pokémon, or any other useful information, save that from where he was he could see part of a staircase that presumably led above deck.

He let out a sigh. He was really in a bad position here. Even if he could get free, he had no clue where the boat was, or what kind of opposition he might have to face from the other people that were likely on board. No matter what, freeing his hands would have to be the first step. The other parts would come later.

But then, that first step was the most difficult. He needed to find a quick way to remove his bonds, but he had no way to cut them, and no one to help him. He could try to fire a blast of Aura at the rope, but he would be just as likely to hit himself, and that would most certainly not help. He growled in frustration. It seemed as though he had no options to speak of.

With no better plan in mind, he started struggling and twisting against the rope, hoping to possibly loosen it enough to slip a hand out. Unfortunately, after several minutes which felt more like an hour, Valor ceased his efforts, as they were having no effect besides wearing away at the skin on his wrists.

He then began moving his head around as much as he could, trying to see if he could spot anything he could use, even if it was just a nail or another such small object. He froze as he heard footsteps descending the metal stairs from above.

He scowled as Nestor came into view, the other man smiling in reply. "Well, I'm surprised you're awake after the hit you took. I figured I had a few more hours of silence at least."

"Where are we?" Valor asked, hardly believing how calm he was being. But then, something in the back of his mind said holding his temper would be a good idea at that moment.

"On a boat, bound for the Sinnoh Region."

Well, at least I'm getting answers, Valor thought. "Where'd you get the boat?"

Nestor's smile turned a bit wicked. "I managed to...convince a fisherman to transport us. Death threats and great power do make for wonderful motivation."

"Where are my other pokémon and my stuff?"

Nestor pointed up. "I'm keeping them in my cabin. You're pokémon are all safe and sound, though they have been placed in a special device that prevents them from leaving their balls on their own."

So much for getting help like that. "How many are on board besides you, me and my mate?"

Nestor quirked a brow at the use of the word 'mate' but answered anyway. "Just the Captain of the boat."

Valor felt a slight amount of relief. At least he wasn't horrendously outnumbered if he could get free. Now for slightly more serious questions. "When we fought you used both a regular, and a Dark Aura. How is that possible?"

Nestor shrugged. "I don't pretend to understand what power I've been given, I just try to use it as best I can."

Valor felt a hint of irritation. He felt that answer was a lie, but he continued on any way. "So you're delivering us to the Guardians, right? Why?"

"Because my Master wishes it."

"But why?"

Nestor's smile vanished. He crouched down beside Valor, leaning in close. "Because he believes you have the potential to stop his plans. He refuses to explain why, but your existence worries him."

Valor felt an odd twinge of pride at the thought of him intimidating someone. "And what are his plans?"

Nestor smirked, snorting in amusement. "Now what makes you think I would tell you that? I do believe I've entertained this interview for long enough."

Nestor stood back to his full height, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small spray bottle. "This is a spray made using Sleep Powder. Very potent, and rather hard to come by. But I think you need to sleep a bit more, and I'd rather not risk damaging you more than I have to."

Nestor squeezed the bottle's trigger, and before Valor's lips could so much as form any of the rather violent swears that came to mind, he was taken by darkness, falling into a deep sleep.

An hour later, when Nestor came once again to check on his prisoners, he was unsurprised to find Valor still quite unconscious. He was equally unsurprised that Tamash? was awake, and was struggling quite furiously against her bonds. Unlike Valor, her strength and abilities had been taken into consideration, and she was instead bound by a pair of handcuffs, and she was gagged. Upon catching sight of Nestor she began growling. "You bastard. If I get free I'm going to-"

He knelt beside her, grinning maliciously. "To do what? Risk getting yourself killed?" He shook his head. "Last time all it took was one little bump on your head and a rather weak pulse of Aura to knock you out. I doubt you would be able to stand up to me."

She continued growling, causing Nestor to roll his eyes. "So very stubborn. You're lucky the Guardians want you alive. Well, they don't want you alive, but they want you delivered to them alive any way. And I would so hate to have to do to you what I did to that meddler Zyle."

Her eyes went wide and she curled her body up trying to inch away from him and keep herself protect at the same time. Nestor smiled. "Now that's a good girl. However, I need a bit of insurance that you'll behave yourself."

Once again he pulled out the small spray bottle filled with the Sleep Powder solution. "This should put you out for a nice long while."

One squeeze of the trigger, and Tamash?, like Valor, fell into a dreamless sleep almost instantly.

Several hours later, on the afternoon of the day after their capture, the fishing boat arrived in Sinnoh, where Nestor all too gladly handed the two still somnolent prisoners into the hands of the Guardians.

***

When Valor's eyes next opened, his setting had changed quite dramatically. No longer were his hands tied with rope, and no longer was he in the cargo hold of the boat. Instead he found himself lying on a cot in what appeared to be some sort of cell, with his hands now in front of him, and bound by a pair of somewhat odd looking hand cuffs.

Looking around, he quickly realised there was nothing to see. The four grey stone walls were very blank, and the only exit was a door on one side of the cell that was made up primarily of four vertical metal bars.

Getting up off the cot, he staggered over to the door, his mind still a bit groggy as he looked out through the bars, trying to figure out where it was he had wound up. The first thing he spotted was a man-a guard, presumably, standing just off to the side of the cell door. Hearing Valor's movements, the guard turned to look at his prisoner. "Ah, you're awake. Allow me to welcome you to the Guardian's holding cells, adulterer."

Valor's eyes went wide. They were already in Sinnoh? They were already in the hands of the Guardians? He shook his head. Nestor hadn't been lying when he had called that Sleep Powder spray 'potent'. The Guard continued speaking after a moment, saying, "By the way, I have been told to inform you that those cuffs you're wearing-"

"Where is Tamash??!"

The Guard blinked in surprise at the sudden question. "Uh...who?"

Valor's lip curled into a snarl. "My Lucario dammit! Where is she?!"

The Guard was about to reply with what Valor could only assume would be a snide remark when a familiar voice stole through his mind. "Stop shouting Valor. I'm in the cell right next to yours. I'm okay."

Valor let out a sigh of relief, and immediately tried to stretch out to sense her Aura. As soon as he started to extend his vision he let out a surprised yelp as a jolt of electricity ran through him, originating in the handcuffs that bound him. The guard snickered. "As I was trying to tell you before, those cuffs can sorta...detect it when you're trying to use Aura, and they'll give you a nasty little shock when they do. And the more power you try to use, the bigger the shock. So, you know, don't do anything stupid."

Valor was too pissed to even care about trying to figure out how the cuffs worked. Taking a deep breath, and speaking in a more even toned manner, he asked, "Tamash?, you can hear me, right?"

A second went by before the reply came. "Yes, I can."

Valor gave a small, sad sigh. "Then...I want to apologise...for not being able to keep this from happening."

In her own cell, Tamash? shook her head, even though she knew he couldn't see. "It's not your fault. Clearly...we just weren't strong enough. Neither of us were."

Valor nodded, knowing she was right, unfortunately. "I still feel like it's my fault."

She gave a hollow laugh. "You ALWAYS feel like it's your fault."

He nodded, knowing that, once again, she was right. "I guess I do. But, I promise you, I will get us out of this, somehow."

"Valor?"

"Yes?"

"If...if anything should happen to me..."

He shook his head. "Don't even thing about that. Everything will be fine."

The Guard scoffed, but Valor ignored him. "We'll get through this."

She started shaking slightly, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Valor...we're prisoners. We're outnumbered, and we couldn't even defeat one opponent. How do you propose we get out of this? We can't fight and survive to tell about it! We can't afford to fight!" More quietly she added, "But we can't afford not to fight in some way or another."

Valor scowled. Tamash? was usually the more positive of the two of them. He was used to her being ready for a fight or anything that they had to deal with. He wasn't used to hearing her sound so...defeated. Sure she had had moments of sadness and doubt, especially with how their life had been recently, but she almost always seemed to bounce back to more positive thoughts with relative ease, or at least he thought so. It just wasn't like her to give up. But then, he couldn't blame her either. In spite of what he had just said, he was far from confident about their chances. He had really just been hoping to comfort her.

"Tamash?...no matter what happens, I'm going to do everything I can to protect you."

Wiping a tear from her face she sighed quietly. "I know you will...but if something should happen...I want you to continue on with your life. Don't forget about me certainly...but at least try to be happy with someone."

He shook his head. "I...I couldn't, cause...you're the only one I can imagine any kind of future with. Because...you're..." He struggled for a moment to find the right words.

He smiled as they came to him. "Because you're beautiful, charming, sometimes a bit...crazy and you're always exciting, and no one could ever compare to you."

Valor walked the short distance to the wall between their cells and leaned against it, even though he knew she wouldn't be able to see or feel it. "I love you. And that's all there is to it."

He heard a sniffle, then a shuddering sigh. "I love you too."

Outside the guard rolled his eyes and said quietly-and mostly to himself, "That would almost be sweet if it weren't so disgusting."

Neither of them heard him though, and the moment fell into silence as they sat there on opposite sides of the same wall, waiting for fate to come for them.

At some point the man guarding their cells was replaced by another, guard who occasionally muttered something like 'guarding sick perverts' or 'glad when this is over', and he even insulted them directly once or twice. The two did their best to ignore him though as they both stayed pressed against the wall that kept them apart, both wishing that, if nothing else, they could at least see each other.

Time eventually lost meaning to the monotony, leaving them with nothing but their thoughts and worries. Finally, at around midnight, an unwelcome change came. Their one guard was joined by three more. Both cells were opened, and two guards took hold of each of them. Valor struggled briefly, but stopped as soon as he realised that Tamash? was simply allowing herself to be taken. That truly scared him. Had she given up? Had she resigned herself to what the laws of the Guardians said would most assuredly come next? He couldn't believe it, yet the evidence was clear as day.

They were 'escorted' through the winding tunnels and polished halls, eventually coming to stop at a set on ornately carved stone doors. The left door depicted a human of average height, with a brave sort of face and a quiet fire burning in his eyes. The right door depicted a Lucario, looking more fierce than Valor had ever seen one of them appear before, its fangs bared and its muscles tensed, ready for a fight. The doors were a work of art, and under normal circumstances, he would have been fascinated by them. As it was, they only filled him with dread. He didn't know what lay on the other side, but it was almost certainly not good.

They stayed there, standing before the doors for what seemed to be an eternity, as though the Guardians who had brought them to this point were waiting for some sort of signal to enter. Finally, as if of their own accord, the two doors swung open with a sound of grinding gears and stone.

Valor and Tamash? were led through the opening into the next room. They found themselves in a rather sizeable circular chamber that seemed to have been carved straight from the stone. The edges of the room were lined with several rows of stadium like seating which looked as though it could hold several hundred people. As it was, what appeared to be somewhere between a hundred and one hundred-fifty of the seats were filled. But they were not home to excited sports fans. Instead they were filled with a sombre set of people, who in most normal situations didn't look as though they all belonged together.

Valor gulped as he realised that the entire Order of Guardians was before him. Galen had told him early on in his training that though they had been known to have in excess of three hundred members at one or two times in history, the current Order only had around a hundred and thirty members, all of whom were presently staring down at Valor and Tamash?, some with pity, and a fair few passing judgment, faces painted with disgust or condemnation.

The central area of the room was largely empty. In the very center the floor was raised about six inches higher than the rest, forming a circular dais. On the dais stood three men, all them of an advanced age, though they appeared to be in quite fit shape in spite of that, the only signs of their age being a few wrinkles and grey hair. All three looked at Valor and Tamash? as though they were diseased or dirty.

The Guardians holding the two of them continued forward, taking them toward the dais. The ones holding Valor stopped a few meters away from the raised stone, while the one's guiding Tamash? continued onward until they stood before the three older men.

The man in the middle, who looked to be a few years older than the other two, cleared his throat, and began to speak, his voice echoing through the chamber. "Thank you all for gathering here. For those of you who don't know who we are, we are three of the members of the Guardian Council of Elders. I am Tahnokk."

Gesturing to the man on his right-who was the shortest of the three as well as appearing to be the youngest-and said, "This is Eckhart," He then gestured to the hook nosed man on his left, who stood several inches taller than the other two, "And this is Richard. For those of you who do not know why you have been called, allow me to explain why you are here."

Tahnokk pointed first to Valor, then to Tamash?. "These two, are the cause for this mustering of the Order. They have broken one of the most sacred laws of the Order, and you have all been gathered here-per tradition-to bear witness to their punishment, just as tradition demands that at least three members of the Council are present."

A ripple went through the crowd of assembled Guardians. Some seemed satisfied with just that, but some clearly were not content with such a simple explanation. None spoke though, as they waited for Tahnokk to continue. Once the room was silent once more, Tahnokk resumed speaking. "These two, the Guardian named Valor, and his Lucario, have violated the law against the formation of a romantic or-"

Tahnokk paused, his lip curling in disgust, "Sexual...relationship between them. As such, Valor will be hereby removed from the Order. For the matter of his Lucario, the traditional punishment, is execution."

Another ripple went through the crowd and Valor felt as though a stone had been dropped in the pit of his stomach, and from what he could see of her, Tamash? seemed equally frightened.

The Guards holding her moved forward once again, and at Tahnokk's direction they chained her to metal rings that were in the floor of the dais, connecting both her wrists and ankles to the stone, making it impossible for her to move more than a few inches in any direction. Valor could do naught but watch as her body began shaking in fear. He began to try to struggle against the Guardians holding him once again, but was forced to his knees, making it all the more difficult for him to fight back.

A man came up to the dais, holding a long, ebony coloured wooden box. He offered the box to Tahnokk, who proceeded to lift the lid of it, the hinges squeaking slightly. Tamash?'s eyes went wide and Valor's heart seemed to stop in his chest as from within the box came a long, wickedly curved knife with a pitch black blade.

With a sort of solemn dignity, Tahnokk turned to face Tamash?, and spoke once more. "As stated by our laws, this abomination will be put to an end, by this blade as custom would dictate."

Tamash? tried to back away as Tahnokk approached, but was unable to gain more than a few seconds, bound in place as she was. She started looking around desperately, as though trying to find some way out of the situation. Finally, her eyes settled on Valor's, and their eyes met, bright blue locked with sparkling red. She looked so desperate as she stood there, and Valor could feel tears forming in his eyes even as he could see them forming in hers.

He voice entered his mind, ringing out with that comforting familiarity, that sweet and innocent sounding tone he had come to love so dearly in all the time they had been together. "Valor...I'm sorry...and I love you..."

She broke her eye contact with him, turning to face Tahnokk, apparently ready to face whatever was coming. That only drove Valor to struggle harder against those who held him, do nothing for him but getting a fist smacked against the back of his head. He watched in horror as Tahnokk, who now stood directly in front of her, raised his arm back with cold, emotionless eyes. "Now, this ends."

Time seemed to slow as Tahnokk plunged his arm toward Tamash?'s chest. Valor could see her, standing there with all the dignity and courage a crying Lucario could muster. He could feel tears streaming down his own face, and he could feel the strain on his vocal cords as he cried out her name. Tamash? was experiencing a similar sensation as the knife came toward her. She could hear him calling to her. She could see the glint of the metal that would take her life and could feel the weight and pressure of her bonds.

Valor tried in vain one last time to pull free from the Guardians holding him, and watched helplessly as the tip of the metal was now but a hairs breadth from his mate.

Then, suddenly, he fell forward in sheer surprise as the Guardians who held him collapsed on either side if him, and in a single instant a bolt of pure red energy flew over him, knocking the blade from Tahnokk's hand and sending it flying several meters away in the split second before it reached its target. All eyes turned to the entrance to the chamber, where, between the doors stood Galen as well as several other people and a Lucario. All were breathing heavily as though they had been running.

Galen shook his head and let out a long breath. "You...have no fucking idea...how many Arceus damned tunnels...this place has."

In spite of the situation they were in, Valor felt himself smiling. With Galen there, they might just make it out alright. "Galen, what are you-?"

Galen held up a hand and, between breaths, said, "Wait...for me...to catch my breath...first."

Tahnokk appeared to be simply furious at the interruption, a snarl twisting his face. "You impudent...meddling-"

Once again, Galen held up a hand. "Let...me catch...my breath. I will take...all questions and comments...when I am able. It's no fun...to be a snarky smartass...when I can barely breathe."

Tamash? looked at him with incredulous disbelief. "Really? My life is on the line here and you're worried about being able to get off snarky responses?! What the hell you asshole?!"

Valor couldn't help but smile at that. They were still in danger, but he was glad she seemed a bit more like her usual feisty self, even if only for a moment. While everyone else in the room seemed to be dumbstruck by the sheer audacity of it all, Valor took the time to glance over the others who were accompanying Galen. There were four humans-two men and two women-and a Lucario that Valor immediately recognised as Azure. He didn't know any of the humans, though one of the women looked oddly familiar.

Taking in one final breath, Galen straightened to his full height, and quite suddenly, the light hearted glint was gone from his eyes, replaced by a very serious expression, and a quiet fire now seemed to be burning in his eyes. "Alright, first things first."

Galen raised his right arm toward the dais where the three Elders stood with Tamash?. Galen's arm became surrounded by a reddish, fiery halo of energy that Valor recognised as the precursor to the same attack Galen had used to blow apart the doors of Lawrence's mansion. "Now then, the three of you are going to step away from Tamash?, or I'll blast you apart."

The three of them seemed to hesitate, as though they doubted his threat, but then backed off, apparently reluctant to test him. Galen looked over to Valor and jerked his head toward Tamash?. "Go on kid. Get her out of there."

Valor nodded, jumped to his feet, and rushed to Tamash?'s side, immediately setting to work at freeing her. After a few tense minutes of focusing on the chains that bound his mate and studiously ignoring the threatening glares that Galen was exchanging with Tahnokk, Richard and Eckhart, he managed unlock the cuffs, quickly finding himself knocked off balance by Tamash? hugging him and nuzzling his chest. Realising they were still in a dangerous position, Tamash? backed off a second later, and-very aware of the angry stares at their backs-they crossed the room to stand just behind Galen.

Looking over his shoulder at them he asked, "Is she alright k-"

He stopped, and a small smile spread across his face. "Is she alright Valor?"

Valor blinked in surprise, not used to hearing Galen use his name. "Uh...yeah...seems to be." Looking at her he asked, "You are, right?"

She nodded. "A bit shaken...but not injured."

Galen gave a satisfied nod. "Good. Now on to the other matter at hand."

Galen released what Aura he had coursing through his arm, returning to a more relaxed stance. Looking over to the three Elders he said, "So, we have a few issues to deal with."

Tahnokk nodded. "I dare say we do. It would appear as though you, and half of the Council intend to betray us and defy our laws. I can't say I'm surprised though. I always knew you were...untrustworthy Galen."

Galen quirked a brow. "Is that so?" Looking back over his shoulder he asked, "Mathias, Angela, Sarina, have any of you ever thought of me as untrustworthy?"

Angela snorted with amusement. "After all you've done? Not a chance."

Sarina nodded in agreement, but Mathias seemed to hesitate before saying, "Not to disagree with you Tahnokk...but Galen has proved to me that he is worth trusting."

Tahnokk gave a derisive snort. "And what does this change? Traitors claiming that another traitor is trustworthy? But then, what does it matter? You have all sealed your fates. You are now enemies of the Guardians."

Mathias took a step forward, a more determined look in his eyes. "No brother, we are not. We want to protect the Guardians, to preserve them. Committing a cold blooded murder is not something the Guardians should be participating in. That is why we have come to put a stop to this."

Tahnokk scoffed. "Preserve and protect the Guardians? And you intend to do this by breaking the laws of our Order? The very laws that are designed to protect us?"

Galen cleared his throat. "Thank you for bringing that up Tahnokk, as that is one of the issues we need to discuss. It's a rather large issue, in fact."

Addressing not just Tahnokk, but all the Guardians, Galen continued. "When all of this started happening, I couldn't help but question why any sane group of people would require the death of any given creature simply for falling in love, and acting on those feelings. I began looking into the origins of that law. It began when a disease over took a very specific demographic of the Lucario species. This occurred during an era when relationships between Guardians and their Lucarios were quite common. The law forbidding these relationships was enacted in order to prevent harm to the Guardians, as well as to prevent unnecessary heart break for all involved. Because this law was meant to be absolute, the Council of that age decreed the punishment would be a death penalty. Not because they thought people-or rather the Lucarios-should be killed for their emotions, but to act as a deterrent. They never wanted to kill anyone, but the law, and the punishment, have remained.

Which brings us to the present day. The 'disease' that effected the Lucarios hasn't been seen in centuries, and yet these laws remain. Why? What do we need them for?"

Refocusing his gaze on Tahnokk, Galen asked, "Now then, Tahnokk, as the man in charge of internal security of, and keeping track of the laws for, the Guardians, it is your job to periodically go through the various laws, and figure out which ones are unnecessary or need to be altered, correct?"

"Yes. What of it?"

Galen smiled, ever so slightly. "And is it not also your duty, to know the reason and history behind every law of the Guardians?"

Tahnokk nodded. "Yes. What does this have to do with anything?"

"This," Galen replied with a slightly wider smile. "Now, assuming you knew the cause behind the laws you try so hard to follow, why would you not bring before the Council a law, that was enacted to combat an apparently extinct disease, and require an execution if disobeyed? Why would you not suggest such a thing be rendered void, or at least updated in such a way to reflect more modern times?"

A ripple went through the crowd of Guardians, all of them whispering in hushed tones as they tried to work through the implications, while Tahnokk-as well as the other two elders who stood with him-all seemed to be growing angry. Glaring venomously at Galen, Tahnokk asked, "What then? Are you accusing me of purposely leaving the law unchanged?"

Galen shook his head. "Not really. I think the laws have been going unchanged for longer than you've been alive, all to serve the agenda of someone other than the Guardians."

Tahnokk laughed. "What, you think someone is influencing us from the outside?"

"No. I think they're influencing us from the inside."

Tahnokk changed from a smile to a snarl in the blink of an eye. "Explain yourself."

Galen smirked. "Gladly."

He spent the next few minutes explaining the evidence behind the true cause of the 'disease', offering Azure's experiences as proof that-while it technically still existed-it was no natural ailment. As he spoke, the Elders arrayed against him all seemed to grow very still and quiet, and more and more of the on looking Guardians began to catch on to the full implications of what Galen was saying. Valor and Tamash? watched and listened in silent awe as they too began to put together the pieces of all that had happened to them over the past few months. When Galen finished he said what most of them had already figured out. "There are traitors within the Guardians. Dark Aura users, who have been manipulating the Guardians for a very long time now."

Tahnokk scowled. "So, not only do you appear to be questioning my security, but you are also saying that somehow, there are people among the Guardians who are capable of using Dark Aura. But that would be impossible. We would know them in an instant."

Galen shook his head. "Not if they were capable of using their natural Aura to mask their darker powers."

Taking a step forward, Richard said, "That is simply impossible! No one could do such a thing. It would be ludicrous to believe that someone could have both their natural Aura, and a Dark Aura."

Azure spoke for the first time since the confrontation had begun, his mental voice flowing through the minds of all present. "But it is possible! My partner Faerin...he was corrupted by a man who had two Auras, and one of them was pitch black!"

The crowd of assembled Guardians was thrown into an uproar, and through it all, Tahnokk, Richard, and Eckhart all stared at their opposition coldly and calmly. When the room finally settled once more, Tahnokk said, "But there is no true proof of this. All we have is the word of a Lucario who was also corrupted at one point! You have no way to prove a thing you say."

Galen faltered. "I know the only proof you have is our word, but do you think we would really just make this-"

"But there is proof."

All eyes in the room turned to Valor and Tamash?, specifically Tamash?. Turning to Valor she asked, "Don't you remember? On Renbow Island? We've seen someone with both a regular and a Dark Aura."

Valor's eyes went wide. He had forgotten that in the stress and events of the past several hours. "That's right. The Guardian who captured us in Oblivia...he fought us first with a blue Aura...but when he got frustrated with my defending against his attacks...he turned his Aura black."

The room was deadly quiet, a complete change from when Azure had spoken. Everyone in the room was looking around as though none of them trusted each other any longer. Galen let out a deep breath. "Well there you go Tahnokk. And, if I remember correctly, the name of the Guardian was Nestor, was it not? Perhaps he would like to join us down here, to defend himself from these accusations."

Tahnokk exchanged glances with Richard and Eckhart, and all three nodded. Tahnokk raised a single hand above his head, and snapped his fingers once. Immediately ten different Guardians, including Nestor, jumped out of their seats, down into the central part of the room to stand beside the three Elders. Each of the three Elders then produced a Pokéball, and each called out an attack.

"Sleep Powder!"

"Hypnosis!"

"Dark Void!"

In a flash of light, Tahnokk's Darkrai, Richard's Dusknoir, and Eckhart's Venemoth all appeared and did as commanded. Too fast for anyone to react, the entire crowd of Guardians was put to sleep, some falling to the ground as they were caught in an attack mid movement. Tahnokk smiled maliciously at the shocked expressions of Galen and the other still waking Guardians and Lucarios as he and his cohorts returned their Pokémon to their respective balls. "Well, I hadn't planned on us being discovered like this, but I suppose I will just have to go along with the hand that fate has dealt me."

Tahnokk's entire demeanour had changed, he now stood straighter, spoke with a smoother tone of voice, and seemed oddly more youthful, an effect that also seemed to have occurred in the other two Elders. Mathias shook his head in disbelief. "Tahnokk...you...you are..."

Tahnokk laughed. "Yes. There's no need to try to fool anyone any longer. I am the one who has been controlling all of the Dark Aura users, and we thirteen have remained hidden among you, manipulating situations and people to reach this point."

The others remained in a shocked silence, but Galen dared to ask, "Why?"

"Why have we gone to these lengths? To free our true Master from his prison. Up until this point, all who I command have referred to me as Master, but after this day, our true Master's return will be nigh. And with his return to this world, darkness will fall across the stars themselves, and we will be given power greater than that of any living being." Tahnokk smiled sadistically, clearly enjoying the horrified looks his answer was receiving.

Galen was the only one who appeared calm. "That's all fine and well...well its not fine, but more to the point, what do Valor and Tamash? have to do with all of this?"

Tahnokk shrugged. "I don't know all. I have only done as instructed. But I do know it has something to do with the final word of the First Guardian."

Galen's eyes went wide. "Oh...so that's what we're dealing with. Well...this is gonna be...interesting. But...that still doesn't explain why killing us would free-"

Galen stopped, a grim sort of smile forming on his face. "Ah. I get it now. The First Guardian's prediction...could be taken to mean that if one dies we all die. So killing Tamash? would-in theory-lead to the death of the real target. The one who needs to die for your Master to be freed."

The room fell silent as they all waited for Galen to offer a name. When it became clear that none was forthcoming, it was Tamash? who dared to ask, "Not to sound self centred...but if not me, then who?"

Galen smiled sadly. "Me. Well, me, assuming I'm correct. I've made a few enemies in my lifetime, and one of them just so happens to be locked in a prison of purest darkness. That prison will only endure as long as my bloodline exists. So, Tahnokk, am I right?"

Tahnokk nodded, seeming none too pleased about doing so. "Essentially. In destroying them, you were to be left powerless to face us, thus sealing your own demise."

Galen chuckled. "Well, that is a hell of a plan. Highly flawed, and quite likely to fail, but still a hell of a plan. Not the worst evil scheme I've ever heard, certainly."

Switching moods once more, and becoming instantly more serious, Galen looked over his shoulder at all who stood behind him. "Sarina, Angela, I want you two to create a shield around the uh...audience. They can't defend themselves right now, and I feel this is going to get messy."

The two women nodded, and a moment later a half green/ half pink wall of Aura cut off the center of the room from the surrounding seats. Galen nodded, satisfied. "Perfect. Valor, Tamash?, Azure, you three stay back. Mathias, Riley, you're with me."

Tamash?'s head whipped around to look at the black haired man who had arrived along with Galen and the others. Looking back to Galen she asked, "Riley?"

Galen nodded with a small laugh. "Yeah. He trained me as a Guardian, and yes, your father is named after him."

Riley shook his head. "And it gets rather annoying when he and I happen to be in the same room."

Riley and Mathias then fell into place beside Galen, Riley on his left, and Mathias on his right. Tahnokk sneered at the sight. "This is what you intend to do against us? An old man who's power is on the decline, a Guardian who prefers peace over violence, and the supposed 'strongest Guardian alive', who is really just an egotistic, meddlesome smartass."

Galen scoffed. "Its not supposed, I really am that strong."

Riley nodded. "And I'll fight when I have to."

"And you're older than I am, Tahnokk." Mathias finished.

"It matters not. You three will fall, as will all of you. I would do it myself, but frankly you aren't worthy of facing the power we three can wield." Richard and Eckhart nodded in agreement, all three of them stepping back away from the center of the room. Tahnokk snapped his fingers, and in an instant the ten traitors Guardians showed their true selves, pitch black Auras becoming visible. "Instead, our subordinates will put an end to you."

Galen snarled. "Coward. If you really want to see who holds greater power, we'll just have to demonstrate. You two ready?"

Riley nodded as his body began to glow with a tranquil blue energy. "Of course."

Mathias likewise began to glow, his own red Aura appearing. "How are we going to handle them then?"

Galen smirked as his own Aura flared into visibility, casting a rather bright crimson light on the room. "I'll take the four in the middle, you two can take the three on either side."

Riley quirked a brow. "Why do you get to fight more of them?"

"Because I'm stronger."

Neither Riley nor Mathias had an argument for that, so all three took ready stances, and thus the room fell into silence, not a single creature moving as the two sides stared each other down, watching, and waiting. Even though no one had moved, the power radiating through the room was quite clear, so much so that at Valor's quiet urging, he, Tamash? and Azure moved back against one of the walls, trying to get as far away from the combatants as possible.

Seconds passed like minutes as both sides tried to anticipate the best plan of attack. Eventually, Galen looked over to Mathias and nodded, and the two immediately attacked, each sending tow bolts of red Aura at the group of opponents. Three blasts found their targets, catching three of the traitorous Guardians by surprise, and immediately reducing the number of foes they faced to seven.

Knowing better than to remain grouped together, the seven who remained scattered in every direction. Two of them immediately began attacking Riley, who with practiced calm created a shield before him, seeming to block the oncoming bolts of Dark Aura with relative ease, and his own Aura appearing to glow brighter with each attack that was stopped.

Mathias had become caught in a clash of wills with another of their opponents, each firing a continuous blast of energy, trying to overwhelm one another with sheer power as black clashed with red.

That left Galen, fighting against the other four. They approached him cautiously, moving around him like Sharpedos circling a wounded Wailord. Galen closed his eyes, watching all four of their Auras simultaneously. The four now surrounded him. Three were men, one a woman. He grimaced. He didn't like the idea of fighting a woman, but then the situation all but required it. It was with a heavy heart he reacted then, as she was the first to strike at him.

Striking from behind she attempted to land an Aura enhanced punch on him, clearly an effort to knock him out in one shot. Watching her attack, he twisted out of the way, and reached up to grab hold of her wrist. He then pulled back his other arm, and with a flat palm drove it into her elbow, effectively breaking her arm with the sickening sound of bone snapping.

She wailed in pain and jumped back from him, clutching her wounded arm. Wishing he didn't have to attack, but knowing he had to take as many opponents out of the fight as possible, he turned toward her, and fired a mid strength pulse of Aura at her, the red blast knocking her off her feet and into unconsciousness as she hit the ground.

Galen let out a sigh of relief. Brutal as he had been, he knew he would have done worse to one of the male fighters. He smiled grimly. He probably still would. Turning back to face his three remaining opponents, he opened his eyes, noting the distraught looks they now wore. He knew they cared not for their fallen comrade, but instead were far more worried about how they would fare against someone of Galen's strength.

They seemed to hesitate, as though they had lost the will to fight as they realised that they may very well be outmatched. Seeing this, Tahnokk's lip curled. "I suggest you three fight him. The worst he can do is injure you. Fail to follow my commands, and I will...dispose of you."

Galen sighed. Why did the evil ones always have to threaten their own underlings into fighting, even when they're at such a clear disadvantage?

He didn't have long to ponder that though, as his three remaining adversaries decided it would be better to avoid Tahnokk's wrath, and charged toward him, bodies glowing black with energy. Switching back to Aura vision, Galen waited until they were almost on top of him, the released two minor bolts of Aura the knocked the two outer ones off their feet, leaving him with one immediate foe.

Reacting a second too slow to stop his forward motion as he realised what had happened to his comrades, Galen was able to grab the man by the front of his shirt, and use his own momentum against him, swinging him around to slam him into the ground with a loud snap of several ribs breaking and possibly his skull cracking. Galen then jumped back from the prone form and fired a relatively weak blast of Aura to ensure that the man was indeed out of the fight.

Now he had only two foes remaining, and they were behaving far more cautiously than before. They kept their distance, watching him, hoping for some sign that they could attack. The two exchanged a quick glance, and the one on the right charged toward him, causing Galen to smile tightly. It was clearly a ploy to draw his attention.

Dropping into a crouch, Galen swept outward with one leg, kicking the charging man hard in the led with an Aura enhanced strike, knocking the man off his feet and breaking one of his knees, which sent him tumbling over Galen into the other man who had rushed forward when he thought Galen to be distracted. The man with the now broken knee hit his head upon landing, knocking him out cold.

Pushing the man with the broken knee off him, Galen's remaining opponent got to his feet. Valor felt an immediate surge of anger as he realised it was Nestor. "Galen, be careful! He's the one who beat me."

Galen looked over his shoulder, then back to Nestor. He quirked a brow. "You? Really? Huh, you must be stronger than you look."

"I'll gladly demonstrate." Nestor jumped back from Galen and fired off a salvo black Aura at him, throwing up a cloud of dust and smoke.

When the debris cleared, Galen was still standing, unfazed behind a relatively small shield. "Was that it?"

Nestor took a step back, fear painted across his face. "You...you're not human!"

Galen let out an amused snort. "Of course I'm human, I'm just exceptionally powerful."

Nestor looked back over his shoulder at Tahnokk and the others. "My apologies Master, but it would appear as though your sins are about to catch up with you. This is where I take my leave!"

He then bolted, trying to run straight past Galen to the entrance. He made it only a step past where Galen stood when he was stopped by Galen taking his left shoulder in an iron grip. Galen smiled darkly. "It would appear as though your sins have caught up with you as well. You didn't really think I would just let you run, did you?"

Nestor never got a chance to answer, as Galen swung hard with his right arm, punching Nestor square in the jaw, fracturing the bone quite easily. Following from that motion, Galen took a hold of Nestor's other shoulder, and proceeded to violently knee him just under his rib cage, knocking the air from his lungs and dropping him to the ground.

Valor and Tamash? both stared in awe at Galen as he had-in just a minute or two-managed to dispose of four foes without suffering so much as a single bruise.

Satisfied with his own work, Galen looked around the room and rolled his eyes. "Come on you two, would you finish them off already?"

Riley canted his head slightly. "What, and deprive you of the spotlight? Well, if you insist."

Riley's body suddenly began to glow more intensely, and the shield before him started to radiate energy. The two traitorous Guardians who had been attacking him stopped, suddenly looking very concerned. He smiled. "Do you know why I allowed you two to keep expending your energy on attacking my shield? Well I'll tell you. So I could absorb that power."

The shield flashed with light and two massive blasts of energy emitted from the side that faced Riley's adversaries, blasting the across the room and into the far wall. "And all that power, allowed me to do that. I may not like fighting much, but I have no real issue with turning someone's strength against them."

There was a scream from the other side of the room accompanied by an explosive blast wave and a bright crimson light. When it faded Mathias stood alone, his opponent down on the ground, smoking slightly from a number of burns that covered the prone form. He calmly walked over to re-join Galen and Riley, raising an eyebrow at the looks they gave him. "What? You asked me to finish it."

Galen shrugged. "Fair enough."

The three turned back to face Tahnokk, Eckhart, and Richard, all three of whom looked quite displeased by the turn things had taken. With his usual confident air Galen asked, "So, feel like surrendering yet?"

Tahnokk laughed then, a high, manic laugh. "And why would we? Because you managed to defeat our underlings? We were-are-the ones in control for a reason."

The three of them stepped forward, and their Auras flared into being. Tahnokk glowed with a bright yellow, Eckhart's Aura being royal blue, and Richard's a deep shade of purple. Then, a chill crept into the air. Tendrils of dark Aura began to swirl around each of them, mixing and fusing with their natural Auras until each of them stood surrounded by energy that pulsed and alternated between the natural Aura and the dark. Everyone present could easily detect the sheer power they now radiated.

Seeing this, Galen said, "Riley, Mathias, back down. You two won't be strong enough to deal with that level of strength."

Mathias's brow furrowed, showing his confusion. "And what makes you think you can?"

A confident smile was the response. "Just trust me."

Mathias and Riley exchanged looks, then reluctantly, both men stepped back, retreating to the edges of the room.

Tahnokk smiled maliciously. "Feeling heroic, are we? Or is it suicidal? Then again, they are rather similar, aren't they?"

Galen chuckled. "Well, see, I'm not really suicidal. In fact, I know I can defeat you."

Galen widened his stance, the air around him seeing to shimmer with heat as the full strength of his Aura was put on display, jagged bursts of bright red energy knifing out in every direction. After a moment his Aura seemed to return to a calmer state visibly, but its power was still detectable. Detectable enough, that everyone in the room came to one immediate conclusion: Tahnokk and the others were still significantly stronger.

Tahnokk-with an air of seeming disappointment-asked, "Is that all?"

"Nope. I'm just getting started."

Compared to the previous moment, Galen took a more meditative stance, closing his eyes as he stood there silently. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then, much as the Dark Aura had fused with the Auras of the three ex-elders, Galen's Aura began to integrate itself with a pure white energy that had begun to surround him until finally, he appeared to be surrounded by a nimbus of red and white flames. His eyes opened, and he smiled. "This is the power that belongs to the most direct descendent of the First Guardian. In other words, this is the true extent of my power."

Tahnokk snarled. "That is completely ridiculous! Not to mention impossible! No one has ever wielded that white Aura."

Galen pointed over his shoulder. "You see that guy carved painstakingly into the stone door? You know, the First Guardian? Yeah. I'm his most direct descendant, in a long line of eldest sons, and as such I am the heir to his power. I just so happen to be the first one to unlock it."

Eckhart scoffed. "And you think this will allow you to defeat us? We still out number you three to one."

Galen smirked. "Fair point. But then, I never expected a fair fight."

Without warning Galen whipped his arms up and fired off two intensely powerful blasts of his red/white Aura. One blast struck Richard, the other making contact with Eckhart, sending both of them flying off their feet and crashing into the wall behind them. Both fell to the ground, either unconscious or dead.

Galen cracked his knuckles, then his neck before refocusing his attention on Tahnokk. "So, are you convinced yet that this is a bad idea?"

Tahnokk began to laugh quietly, leading Galen to sigh and shake his head. "It's never good when they start laughing."

Seeming to bring himself back under control, Tahnokk grinned maliciously. "Do you know, that even those two referred to me as 'Master'? I am far stronger than either of them. You may have taken out shades and shadows, but now you will face darkness incarnate!"

Tahnokk proceeded to charge an Aura sphere of pulsating black and yellow, firing it at Galen. Faced with the oncoming attack, Galen did the first thing that came to mind, creating an Aura shield in front of him to absorb the attack. But, as opposed to simply exploding on contact with the shield, Galen seemed to move with the momentum of the sphere, drawing it and the shield in toward himself, before compressing all the energy and firing it straight back at Tahnokk, spinning tendrils of energy whipping up a gale as it raced toward its target.

Tahnokk, prepared for the retaliation, focused the vast majority of his strength into his right arm, striking the Aura sphere once it was in range, changing its trajectory to send it flying up toward the ceiling where it exploded, cracking the stone and sending shards of rock cascading to the ground below.

The dust had barely begun to settle when Galen sprinted across the debris strewn floor, moving with Aura enhanced speed, winding up his right arm and channelling mass amounts of power into as it as well. Once within striking distance of Tahnokk, Galen lashed out, only to find his fist coming into contact with a wall of pulsing black and yellow Aura. Massive amounts of energy were released from the point of impact, causing everyone else present who was still conscious to flinch and shield their eyes from the combination of intense light and wind whipped dust that assaulted them.

Galen continued to push forward with all his might until with a sound like cannon fire the shield shattered, forcing Tahnokk to jump back several feet to avoid what would have been a most certainly devastating blow. Taking advantage of Galen's momentum propelling him forward, Tahnokk lashed out with a bolt of energy, firing at what was essentially point-blank range.

With little to no time to react, Galen crossed his arms in front of him, blocking the attack with nothing more than the energy flowing through his body. While it prevented him from being injured, the force of the impact still knocked Galen off his feet, sending his flying back several meters before he managed to land rather shakily, nearly falling to the ground in the process.

Galen knelt, his head whipping up to look at Tahnokk as he prepared to counter whatever attack came next. To his mid surprise and irritation, Tahnokk calmly strode forward, smiling. "That's it, kneel before me. Soon you will all be nothing in this world. You may as well get used to bowing your heads now."

Galen snarled. "Not a chance in hell."

He sprang to his feet, and his whole body began to glow with a fiery intensity, energy radiating from him in unequalled amounts. His whole body seemed to be charged with power as he raised a single arm toward Tahnokk and, with an impossibly fierce look in his eyes said, "Bow to this you son of a bitch."

A single, massive blast of red/white Aura shot across the room, blinding everyone with its white hot radiance. Tahnokk responded with a similar attack, pouring continuously more energy into it until the two massive pillars of energy were equal in strength, reaching a stalemate as both struggled to push through the raw power of the other. Wind howled through the room and tore at the clothes of all present. The pink/green shield that protected the unconscious Guardians flickered and sputtered as Sarina and Angel fought to maintain their concentration. Mathias, Riley and Azure were struggling to stay on their feet, and Valor and Tamash? were huddled close together, holding on to each other with all their strength in the face of the hurricane of air and energy.

Then, an odd sort of quiet settled over the room, as for but an instant, time seemed to slow. The winds still roared, but the sound of them seemed less, though they were unchanged. All who could manage to look past their own arms or hands could see quite clearly the battle that rage. Tahnokk, his face twisted with rage and malice, using fear and darkness to fight the battle. Then, on the opposite end stood Galen, who seemed to be growing calmer every instant, until finally he closed his eyes. A second passed, then another.

Then, Galen's eyes snapped open, and the red half of his Aura seemed to flare more powerfully than before, as though he had found some hidden reserve of energy deep within himself. The effect was immediate. What had been an equal struggle for supremacy a moment before, now turned to a battle in Galen's favour. The red/white energy began to push the black/yellow energy further and further back until Tahnokk, seeing that he had lost the struggle, jumped off to one side, narrowly avoiding being struck by the overwhelming might of Galen's attack.

The light faded. The wind settled. And the scene of a few moments before was now reversed. Tahnokk was down on one knee, breathing heavily from the exertion as Galen strode toward him, a look of contempt in his eyes. "Give up Tahnokk. I've beaten you. It is over."

Again, Tahnokk began to laugh. "You have beaten me? I think not. I am more powerful than you can imagine. And you, you are all quite weak and fragile. You could have all been so much stronger if you had just embraced the shadows."

An anguished, telepathic cry of shock rang out through the room. Galen looked over his shoulder to see Azure pointing to Tahnokk, shaking with rage. "You! I thought I recognised your voice! You were the one who...who..."

Tahnokk laughed. "The one who corrupted your precious Faerin? Yes, I did oversee that one personally. What of it?"

Azure growled. "What of it?! I'll kill you for that you sadistic mother f-"

Galen cut him off to say, "Azure, stop. He's already beaten. Killing him won't accomplish anything."

"But Galen he-"

"I know what he's done, but he will be punished accordingly."

Tahnokk looked up to Galen, smiling darkly. "Punished, eh? Well, you may have beaten me, but you cannot proclaim victory over the shadows if Valor and Tamash? fall!"

Before any could react, Tahnokk fell to his other knee, and fired off a single, massive blast of his Aura, putting all his power into the blast. The black/yellow Aura shot straight past Galen, headed right for where Valor and Tamash? stood.

With no better plan in mind, and too shocked to think of anything else, Valor pulled the both of them to the ground, then pushed Tamash? behind him, intending to shield her with his own body if he had to. As the attack was almost upon them, he closed his eyes, silently praying that it would be enough to save her, even if it cost him his life.

Through his eyelids he could see the light of the encroaching energy, and he knew in that instant that he was going to die. Then, the light seemed to fade, and a shockwave of air and energy knocked him back to the ground, causing him to gasp in pain. Sitting up he opened his eyes, and was dismayed to see that, just a few feet in from of where he and Tamash? now sat, was Azure.

The male Lucario's fur was blackened and smoking, and his whole body was shaking slightly. Valor and Tamash? immediately rushed to his side. He looked up at them, offering a pained smile. "Glad to see, that I didn't waste that chance."

Valor was stunned speechless, where as Tamash? seemed to be on the verge of tears, prompting her to ask, "Why? Why did you do that?"

"Be-because...that man...t-took my love away from me. I didn't want to see him do the same...to either of you. T-there truly is...no worse pain in all...all the world, than to lose the one you love." Azure smiled, then clenched his eyes in pain. His breathing was rapid and shallow.

Tamash? shook her head. "You still shouldn't have-"

"It's alright. Ever..." Azure groaned, then continued, "Ever since Faerin died...everyday for me...h-has been nothing but heartbreak, with only...only a few good moments woven in. I-in a way...I wanted this. Now...n-now I can be with h-him again. Now...I can see Faerin again..."

Azure trailed off as his eyes closed. A quite moment or two passed, then the movement of his chest that came with each breath also ceased, his life passing from his body.

Silence fell upon the room for a few moments, until it was broken by the sound of Tahnokk's laughter. "That stupid queer of a Lucario. What did that really accomplish? All it did was end his own life."

Galen turned to face Tahnokk, looking away from what remained of Azure. "You...sick...sadistic...prick!"

Grabbing Tahnokk by his collar, Galen brought the man up to his eye level. "I swore that I would never let someone die because I couldn't protect them! I swore that I would never let that happen again dammit!"

Tahnokk smiled. "Well it would appear as though you failed in that endeavour."

Face twisted with rage, Galen pulled back his arm, fully intending to break Tahnokk's skull, when a howl of pure, anguished anger tore out across the room, resonating off the walls. Galen dropped Tahnokk and turned to face the source of the sound, surprised by the sight that met his eyes.

Valor was on his feet, his entire body glowing with Aura. However, it wasn't his usual emerald green Aura. Instead it was an Aura not unlike that of Galen or Mathias, a fiery, blazing red. His whole body shook with anger. He spoke, his voice not sounding like his own, instead taking on an echoing quality. "You bastard. You mother fucking bastard. You have ruined so many lives. Faerin. Zyle. Azure. And those are just the ones your actions have killed. That doesn't even account for the ones who were affected by those deaths. I'm sick off all this shit. All of the destruction...the death...and I'm sick of people dying for us. Now...now I'm going to make sure you spend an eternity in unrelenting pain."

Galen looked at Valor and disbelief. "Oh...shit. Everybody, get down!"

Though there seemed to be no reason to do so, no one in the room was stupid enough to question Galen, and thus none were surprised when Valor let out another howl of rage and loosed a massive pulse of Aura from his body, radiating out in every direction. Once the wave had passed, Tahnokk got to his feet. "Galen could barely beat me. What makes you think you could boy?"

Valor didn't answer, but instead growled, and rushed toward Tahnokk at inhuman speed, forcing Tahnokk to rapidly create a shield in front of himself just to avoid getting hit. Jumping to his feet, Galen moved away from the fight, rushing over to where the others were gathered.

They all watched in stunned silence as Valor viciously and unrelentingly attacked Tahnokk, until he broke through the black/yellow barrier, managing to land a single glancing blow on Tahnokk's left shoulder, but even that seemed to have quite the effect as Tahnokk left back, holding that area. There was an expression on his face that was equal parts confusion, pain, and fear.

Looking to Galen with fear in her eyes, Tamash? asked, "What's going on with him? What's wrong with Valor?"

Galen grimaced. "It's possible-when an emotion is felt powerfully enough-for someone's Aura to change colour. Valor is clearly pissed, thus his Aura has become red. And when someone with a red Aura is this angry, they become little more than a merciless animal, driven only by instinct and the desire to inflict pain. I should know. I've been in that state a few times in my life. You lose yourself, not remembering anything but the rage."

They both looked back as Tahnokk screamed in pain. His right arm was hanging limply at his side, as though it had been dislocated or broken. And yet still Valor pursued him, taking consistently vicious swings with Aura imbued fists, his whole body still radiating crimson energy.

Tamash? looked back to Galen, her eyes wide. "Is there anyway to stop this?"

Galen hesitated. "Well...there is."

"Well what is it? What can we do?"

Galen rolled his eyes. "Alright, this is gonna sound ridiculously insipid, but the only way to break him out of this state is with love. In this kind of rage, the only thing that can bring you back is being reminded of your heart."

Her eyes seemed to grow a bit wider. "Are you sure?"

Galen nodded. "I speak from experience. You're the only one who can stop him. And if you don't, he will keep going until Tahnokk lies dead at his feet, and even then he may not stop."

She looked back over to where they fought. Tahnokk was constantly moving back from Valor, desperately trying to stop himself from taking any more damage. Then, a look of utmost horror crossed Tahnokk's face as he stumbled on rubble that had accumulated on the floor over the course of the various fights. He tried to back away as Valor approached him, a cold, merciless look in the young man's eyes. His voice still seemed to echo as he said "Now Tahnokk, I will put an end to you. But only after I make you scream for mercy."

Valor pulled back one arm, charging an Aura sphere one handed. He narrowed his eyes, preparing to launch the attack that would likely end Tahnokk's life, when he pitched forward slightly as Tamash? grabbed onto him from behind, her arms wrapped around his midriff. 'Valor please, you have to stop!"

He snarled. "Why should I? All this man has done...he deserves to die in fire."

"Maybe he does...but...is putting him through that worth losing yourself? You aren't this person Valor. You're kind and sweet...and you would never want to hurt anyone."

Valor began shaking slightly. "I...I...it doesn't matter! He will die by my hand, and there's nothing you can say or do that will stop me. He is a blight on this world that needs to be extinguished."

She held onto him only tighter, nuzzling his back. "Valor, please, you simply can't do this."

"What reason do I have not to?"

"Because I love you! But...I can't love the kind of person you would be if you were to go through with this."

More quietly she added, "And because I want my children to know who their father is."

Valor's eyes went wide, and he looked back at her over his shoulder. "W-what?"

Tamash? stepped back from him, and he turned to face her. She nodded. "I...I didn't want to say anything...because of all that's going on...and because I knew it would only worry you more if you knew but I've known since we were on Renbow Island that...I'm pregnant."

Valor simply starred at her in stunned silence as the red energy of his Aura faded from view. Finding his voice-which had returned to normal as well- he simply asked, "Really?"

She nodded, and in that instant he seemed to be about to tear up himself. Crossing the space between them he hugged her, holding her as close as he could while still being aware that he couldn't put too much pressure on her now. Whispering he said, "That's...fantastic...and...I'm...sorry. I...I lost control. I completely lost control. I'm so sorry."

She nuzzled him affectionately in response. "It's alright. You came back form it, and I'm just glad you did. I love you, Valor."

"I love you too, Tamash?."

Galen let out a sigh of relief. They had certainly suffered losses, but at least it was over. Glancing over to Mathias, the two nodded to each other and walked over to where Valor and Tamash? still stood. Galen cleared his throat to catch their attention as they neared. "Well, congratulations you two. Now, why don't you go share the good news with some of the others? I'm sure Sarina in particular would love to congratulate you on the whole...pregnancy thing."

Valor quirked a brow. "Why her in particular?"

"Valor...you really are dense sometimes. She's your aunt, remember?"

Valor's eyes went wide. "Oh...I had completely forgotten...there was...you know, kind of a lot going on...so it didn't really-"

Galen held up a hand. "Just go."

Valor nodded, then, smiling brightly as he looked over to her said, "Come on Tamash?, let's go."

With the two of them out of the way, Galen and Mathias approached Tahnokk where he now lay on the debris strewn ground. He was clearly weakened by all that he had endured, but still had the strength to look at the two of them with contempt and just a bit of malice. "So what now then? You clap me in chains and I wait for my own execution?"

Mathias growled. "No Tahnokk, we aren't like you. We wouldn't heartlessly execute someone, no matter how much they deserve it."

Galen nodded. "And damned if you don't deserve it. Frankly, there's no punishment to fit all that you've done. While technically there's no law that-by the Guardians or any government-fits your crimes, you have done horrible things, both in name and by your own hand. You-and all of your followers-will be punished in a way to be chosen by the Council."

Tahnokk chuckled. "What Council? There's only three of you left. Hell, there were only three of you too begin with."

"Perhaps, but from the ranks of the Guardians, we will choose replacements for you, Richard and Eckhart. It won't be that difficult a task." Mathias replied.

Galen cleared his throat. "I would recommend finding four new members."

Mathias gave him an odd look. "Why four?"

"Because six creates too much possibility for a stalemate. There needs to be an odd number, so there will always be someone who can break a tie on any Council matter. Also, it would be more fitting to have seven members since the Order was founded by the First Guardian's children." Galen answered.

Mathias sighed. "Well...it does make sense." He smiled slightly then. "How many times have you rehearsed that answer?"

Galen laughed. "Not once, though I have thought about it before."

Mathias's smile faded as he turned back to Tahnokk. "Well, what do we do about him for now?"

Galen shrugged. "Well, we can start with this."

Galen cracked his knuckles, bent over, and proceeded to smash his fist into the side of Tahnokk's head, knocking him out. Mathias sighed. "Well...I guess it's better than leaving him awake."

Galen smiled. "My thoughts exactly."

Looking around he added, "Speaking of awake, how should we go about waking up the Guardians they put to sleep?"

"Uh...I don't know. You don't happen to have around a hundred Chesto berries on your person, do you?"

Galen sighed. "Even I don't carry that many items around with me."

"Oh well. We'll just have to let them wake up on their own."

Galen nodded. "May as well. Can't do much else right now."

The two of them left Tahnokk where he was, walking over to where the others were all grouped together. As they approached Valor asked, "So what happens now?"

Galen smiled. "Well, these thirteen will be locked up for the time being. And, I think it's safe to say that the Council will be revoking the law against Guardian/Lucario relationships. Am I right?"

The three remaining Council members exchanged glances with each other, then all nodded, Sarina saying, "It will take a bit of time to officially remove it, but we certainly won't be punishing anyone for it anymore."

With a wry smile and a sarcastic tone Tamash? said, "Well, it's nice to know I can now have a relationship without it threatening my life."

Valor placed an arm over her shoulder, pulling her in close. "I know that was sarcastic, but you have to admit it's a change for the better."

She sighed with a small smile. "Yeah...it is."

Galen smiled slightly. "Anyway...Valor, Tamash?, we've got a lot of cleaning up to do here, not to mention waiting for a crap tonne of people to wake up...so, since I'm sure you two would rather enjoy each other's company right now, why don't you two go find a nice quiet spot to spend some time alone together for a while?"

Valor quirked a brow. "You're trying to get us out of the way, aren't you?"

Galen shrugged. "It's up to you. It was only a suggestion."

Tamash? grabbed Valor by the hand and immediately started leading him out of the room. "One we'll gladly take! Come on Valor."

Galen shook his head with a smile as they departed. "Well, nice to see that those two are none the worse for all of this." Turning to Mathias he asked, "Speaking of finding some time alone, shouldn't you be running off to have a long overdue conversation with a certain someone?"

Mathias tensed up. "What certain someone would that be?"

Galen smirked. "You know exactly who."

Mathias sighed. "I hate you."

Galen snorted with amusement. "No, you don't. Now go on, get out of here. Neither of you is getting any younger."

Mathias threw Galen one more dirty look, then walked out, smiling slightly as his thoughts turned to what he was about to go do. Turning back to the others, Galen was less than surprised to find himself faced with a number of questioning expressions. He rolled his eyes. "I can't be the only one who knew?"

When no response came, Galen sighed. "Mathias and his Lucario, Rose, have wanted to be a couple for years now, but didn't want to risk the repercussions."

Riley and Angela appeared simply dumbfounded, while Sarina appeared as though some great realisation had dawned on her. "That's why he wanted to change the laws. He implied at one point that he had his own motives for wanting to do so...but now it makes sense."

Galen nodded. "I found out by accident years ago. Mathias asked me to keep it a secret, so, until now, I have."

While giving them a moment to absorb that information, Galen looked around the room, looking for any signs that the Guardians were stirring. He sighed. "Looks like this is gonna take a while. Since it doesn't look like any of them are in a mood to re-join the waking world, I'm going to go make a quick call."

Riley gave him an incredulous look. "And what are we supposed to do?"

Galen shrugged. "Put cuffs on Tahnokk and his cohorts, explain what happened to any of the Guardians if they wake up. You know, deal with the issues at hand."

Without another word, he too walked out of the room, leaving three less than pleased expressions in his wake.

***

Much to Valor's surprise, Tamash? had-as she pulled him along through the tunnels and corridors-told him that, while she wanted to do as Galen had suggested and spend some time alone together, she actually had no interest in sex at that moment. So, the two of them had wandered until they found an exit to the tunnel complex. Stepping outside, they had been surprised to find that the sun was just beginning to rise, shedding an orange light across the mountains of Sinnoh.

Seemingly content with just that, Tamash? sat down beside the tunnel entrance, leaning back against the flat wall behind her. Valor gladly joined her, and they sat silently together, watching as a new day began. After a while, Valor noted that a some point, without even realising it, he had wrapped one of his arms around her midriff, and now had one hand-almost protectively-over her abdominal area. He smiled at the thought that it wouldn't be too long before a small bump would begin to form there.

As though she could sense his thoughts, Tamash? looked up to him and smiled softly, nuzzling him affectionately. No words were needed between them to express their simple, sublime joy and contentment.

When the sun had almost completely risen, they looked over to the tunnel exit, their attention drawn by the sound of echoing footfalls. The source of the sounds became quite apparent as Galen came out through the stone archway, immediately looking down to where the two of them were seated. He smiled, and sat down beside them without invitation. "There you are. I've been trying to track you two down for a while now. How are you guys feeling?"

Tamash? smiled contentedly. "Wonderful."

Valor laughed. "More or less the same here." He became more sombre as he added, "Though, all things considered, I'm not sure I should. In the last two days, both Zyle and Azure gave their lives to protect us, and we weren't able to do hardly anything to help."

Tamash? nuzzled him in an attempt at comfort, then turned to Galen. "That reminds me...what is going to be done with Azure?"

Galen sighed sadly. "Well...he's going to be given a proper burial. It's really the only thing to do. After all, he deserves no less after what he did."

Valor nodded in agreement. "If it weren't for him...we might all be dead right now."

Galen rolled his eyes. "That's a great outlook. Cheer the hell up Valor. You survived, Tamash? survived, and you're gonna be parents. Yeah, some sad things have happened, but the best way to feel better about it is to look at the good things, and be grateful for them."

"Well, can I bring up one more kind of...unpleasant topic?" Valor asked.

Galen sighed. "If you must."

"Okay...well...while we were in Snowpoint City-and two more times since-I've had...a rather unsettling dream. It involved...well it was about Tamash?, and in the dream she was dying. The thing is, I finally realised where the dream was taking place. In the dream, we were in the very same room that all of...that...just happened. So, what does that mean?"

Galen thought for a moment, then said, "Most likely the dreams were warnings of a possible future, but not necessarily of an absolute outcome. It has been noted that the First Guardian had rare prophetic visions from time to time. It is possible that since-like me-you're descended from one of his children, you may have tapped into that ability in some way."

Valor nodded. "So wait, does that mean I could learn to use that white Aura as well?"

Galen snorted in amusement. "Sorry, but no. There's more than one requirement to being able to use it, and you won't ever be able to meet the second one."

Valor sighed. "Gee, thanks for being so honest. So what about the red one? Is my Aura permanently red now?"

Galen shook his head. "Nope. Your Aura has already returned to its normal colour."

Deciding to test that, Valor called upon what strength he had left, his Aura becoming faintly visible for an instant before fading again. As Galen had said, it had returned to its usual green hue. Valor sighed. "Well that's a bit disappointing."

Tamash? snuggled up closer to him. "I prefer this one anyway. Its fits you better."

Valor smiled. "Well, if you prefer it, I guess it's not that disappointing."

Galen rolled his eyes. "Valor, you are way too easy to control."

Valor looked mildly irritated, for a moment, then a look of something like confusion crossed his face. "Hey uh...not that it isn't a change for the better...but why do you keep calling me by name? You never did before...well today."

Galen got to his feet, turning to walk back into the tunnel. Looking over his shoulder he said, "Because it seems wrong to call a future father 'kid', even if he is only nineteen years old. Especially not if he's gonna have two kids."

Valor only appeared more confused as they watched Galen walk away. "Two...?"

He turned to Tamash?, who didn't seem to share his confusion. Canting her head she asked, "Didn't I mention it before? There's two."

Valor's jaw dropped. "No, no you didn't. Are you sure?"

She nodded. "You can see for yourself. They've already developed weak Auras of their own."

Still a bit sceptical, Valor closed his eyes, opening his senses to the Auras around him. Looking carefully at the area where her womb was, he was surprised that there were in fact two smaller Auras within Tamash?'s own. One was almost invisible as it was the same colour as Tamash?'s, and the second was faintly red. He opened his eyes, smiling.

Leaning back against the wall of rock, he laughed. "Dear Arceus...twins. We barely had a chance of getting one...and there's gonna be two."

Tamash? nuzzled him. "I know. It's wonderful, isn't it?"

He nodded, and the two of them fell once more into contented silence. They sat there together, relishing the happiness of that moment as the sun continued it's ascent into the sky.