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Though their stay at Ceras Outpost was far from restful, Luke and Volcan managed to get the sleep they needed to regain their strength, knowing they would need it for their planned confrontation with the bandit pack leader, Redfang.

Volcan purchased a few supplies that morning before they set out. Fortunately, the store opened early - and was managed by someone far less grouchy than the Kecleon the day before. With food and water to last them the day's journey to get back to where they first saw the Mightyena pack, they were on their way, heading south across the desert.

Volcan had suggested they wait until reaching the mesas and finding the pack before planning their strike, in case they could use the terrain to their advantage. But Luke could tell the gears in Volcan's mind were already turning as he worked to formulate an appropriate battle strategy against the Mightyena pack, going over all he knew about the species and what attacks would serve him best against them.

When the two of them could see the crags at a distance, Luke opted to stop for a bit and take a small snack break to keep their energy up. The last thing either of them needed was to venture into enemy territory running on fumes. As they ate a bit of their travel rations, Luke glanced over to the crags ahead, then after swallowing his morsel he spoke up.

"So, I take it you've come up with some sort of plan already in taking these guys down?" He asked, then allowed himself a small smirk. "I swear, if I keep letting you come up with all the plans, I might as well hang up my scarf." The Lucario added in jest.

Volcan chuckled at Luke's wit. "As much as I appreciate the compliment I'm more or less improvising and sticking with basics. I don't know much about Mightyena, just a bit about Dark-types. They're vulnerable to Fighting, Fairy and Bug-type, immune to Psychic, resistant to Ghost and other Dark-types. Mightyena usually travel in groups, and they fight with fangs, claws, and having higher numbers. But this is all common knowledge; I don't know much else like what attacks they can learn."

He hummed in thought before going on. "In comparison the closest Pokemon I have seen to a Mightyena is a Houndoom -that being Romulus, but I imagine the two are quite different. The only other Dark-type I can remember meeting was Hook but he's a Drapion," he then gave Luke a sly smirk. "And he didn't get much time to showcase his strength against_you._"

Luke nodded softly. "Dark and Poison are the worst possible combination in going up against my species." He said with confidence. "But we digress. What I know about Mightyena is also limited, as they prefer to live on open plains and I have spent most of my life in the woodlands, so I have met very few. They like to travel in packs, and their primary weapons are their strong jaws and strength of numbers. Aside from attacks involving their teeth such as Bite, I cannot name the kind of moves they will bring against us."

Volcan nodded. "First we definitely need to remove that strength in numbers," he said. "Type advantage or not there were at least twenty of those guys yesterday, and that wanted poster claimed he may have even more. If those guys swarm us they'll tear us asunder."

"Which now begs the question..." Luke went on. "Do we take out the head and hope it causes the others to falter, or start with the henchmen and isolate Redfang himself?"

"Without knowing his approach to combat, that's hard to say," said Volcan. "We only saw what he looks like, not how he thinks. For all we know he could be the 'lead from the front' type, in which case he'd be the first one into the fight. I mean, we saw him -he dwarfed every other one of those Mightyena around him, and there were plenty of scars on him too."

"That is true," agreed Luke. "From what we learned, his pack was small when he began -it be ideal, even expected by his cohorts that he be able to fight as well." He let out a huff. "I think our best option then is to try to thin out his pack first, and our best way to do that is with distance combat -Mightyena do not learn many ranged attacks."

"So your Aura powers and my Flamethrower," said Volcan, nodding. "They may not be weak to fire but they don't resist it either," he added with a grin.

"Alright, then it seems we have our plan for taking out the pack." Luke said with a confident nod. "Now all that remains is a plan to take out the leader and take his namesake as proof that we took him down."

"Hopefully a humbling defeat will be enough to put an end to his criminal activities," Volcan added hopefully, though there was a pang of doubt in his voice that Luke caught onto.

Moving to sit by his lover, he offered some consolation. "Well, if it doesn't, we could always inform Romulus when we get back about his whereabouts." Luke offered, a grin crossing his face as he added wryly, "or at the very least, we leave behind the threat of us doing so to Redfang." He added.

But the Blaziken was seemingly unconvinced. "If Redfang feared any retaliation from Romulus would he be doing this?" He asked. "That Houndoom is the scariest creature on this side of the world."

"Remember that Cubone said plenty of people have tried to find him," Luke reminded him. "And, Gladiator City is nearly a week's journey away -a two week venture, to chase one criminal. It's possible that not even Romulus can pursue him out here."

Volcan nodded, understanding the logic behind Luke's reasoning.

Luke took the lead as they resumed their trek along the desert, and was the first to spot the entrance to the crags where he noticed a few slightly faded pawprints leading toward. With the stone pillars looming overhead like unmoving sentinels, they ventured into the stony labyrinth below the mesas.

Luke shut his eyes, tuning to his aura sense to seek out the Mightyena pack hidden in the crags. Volcan took to the more active approach, scrambling up the side of one of the buttes shadowing them and leaping up to the nearest landing to survey the surrounding area, taking note of their surroundings. Some of the mesas were low enough he'd be able to jump up to them, and down from again without hurting himself as he had the other day.

"Those'll work," he decided as he gauged the heights of the crags, and then hopped from his perch, returning to ground level and walking over to Luke. "Anything yet?"

"No, nothing yet," he replied. "But it should not be hard to spot them with how barren this place is." He expanded his range, briefly stopping when he found a light aura nearby, but it was only a plant, and resumed his search. After a moment of silence, his ears twitched, lifting his head as something appeared in mind's eye. An aura, too big to be a plant, with the shadowy sensations of a Dark-type Pokemon. He opened his eyes, turning his head in the direction of the aura.

"I found something, that way -maybe a couple of hundred yards or so. I think it might be what we're looking for."

"I spotted a good place for a vantage point -right up there," the Blaziken turned and pointed to the lower mesas he had spotted before. "I'll jump up there and see what I can spot."

With a nod from Luke, the Blaziken ran over to the two stone pillars, while Luke approached from below, remaining on ground level and searching with his aura sense as Volcan ran up the side of the shorter of the two buttes. Once the incline turned vertical, he jumped, launching himself skyward with a single mighty leap to clear the rocky face all the way to the crown. He then made another jump onto the neighbouring pillar and found himself standing high over many of the other stone pillars that filled this expansive range of mesas.

Remembering where Luke had indicated, he peered off to the south, searching through the maze of rocky pillars for any sign of movement. His elevation was good, as he could see over and between many of the rocks, though the sheer volume of them would make it hard to spot anything unless it ventured directly out into the open. Patiently, he waited, but still could not see anything.

Disappointed, he leapt down from the butte, landing upon the shorter one again before he gently dropped over the side to the ramp below, lessening the fall. He ran down the incline to where Luke was waiting, giving him a pensive glance. "Can't see much even from up there -this place is a mess. We'll have to go in deeper."

"Alright, but we'll have to be more alert. They have the home field advantage as it were." Luke returned. "Stay close to me." He stated firmly as he took the lead again, following the path ahead of him, but taking any detours he found that would lead him and Volcan closer to the aura signal he had sensed before.

Volcan studied the ground floor for any tracks to follow, but after leaving the sandy dunes, the ground had become very hard and crusty, leaving no signs of disturbance even from their own tracks. He stayed at Luke's side, his body tensed and ready to lash out at the first thing he perceived as a threat -not unlike a coiled Ekans poised to strike.

Luke took another turn around a stone pillar, and once again he halted in his tracks, holding his paw out to stop Volcan in his tracks. He sensed it again, that same dark aura he felt earlier, only it was stronger than before, and he could sense more than one signal off in the distance. "...We're definitely getting closer. I sense more than one dark presence in the distance, and they're closer than before." He informed the Blaziken.

"Then their hideout can't be far Volcan added. "Can you tell how many there are?"

Reaching out again, the Lucario sought out the energy signatures once more, gauging how far apart each once was before he offered a reply. "I count...four." Luke returned. "They seem to be fairly spread out from one another and at different elevations; most likely keeping watch for intruders like us."

"Sentries, then. Alright we'll have to take them out first. One howl from one of them and the whole pack will know we're here."

"Agreed." Luke returned with a nod. "We should split up for this and take two each. You take the high ground, I'll get the other two." He instructed Volcan. "We'll need to coordinate our movements flawlessly for this to work."

"Have we failed to do so even once yet?" Volcan reminded him with a confident smirk, before his expression reverted to a more serious tone. "Can you give me an exact fix on the two I'm after?"

Luke focused harder on the two sentries on the right, getting a more accurate look at their locations. "They're at different elevations, from what I can tell. The one above is slightly behind the one below, so I'd start with him." He instructed.

"Got it." Volcan returned, making a jump into the air to find a vantage point from which he could strike.

The Lucario shuffled along the side of the butte he was against until he could get a clear view at both of his intended targets. One was on the ground, the other standing atop a high rock, both doing little more than walking in circles, the boredom on their faces all too evident. They hadn't noticed his scent, neither one seeming too invested in their jobs and more in just passing time until they were relieved.

He saw both Mightyenas turn their heads slightly away from him; his chance had come! Quickly he rounded the corner and hurled each of the spheres in a wide arc. The orbs of blue energy travelled around to the hyena pokemon's blind spots, then they zoomed in at breakneck speeds and nailed them each at the same time along their heads with enough concussive force to render them incapacitated rather easily.

When he saw them fall to their sides, he let out a sigh of relief. "Whew, that worked." He muttered softly. "Now it's your turn, love."

Watching through his aura sense, he was just in time to see Volcan fall upon the first of the Mightyena. For an instant, the Blaziken's aura seemed to be merged with that of the Mightyena, who thrashed about in response until becoming still, his aura fading to a relaxed state but still visible. Volcan's emerged once more, before arcing through the air following a leap as he made his way to the next one.

Luke rounded a corner as he tried to make his way over to Volcan. He spotted the fourth Mightyena, standing on a ledge above a small ravine and pacing from one side to the other. There were only two ways into the ravine, but Luke saw a cave mouth on the side opposite to where he stood, and with his aura sense he detected a high concentration of collective auras within. They had found Redfang's hideout -all that was left was to deal with this last sentry and plan their next move from there.

He looked up to see Volcan drop over the crown of the butte above the Mightyena, landing surprisingly silently behind the canine, but still just loud enough he started to turn around. Volcan was too fast for him though, darting forward and slamming the side of the canid's head with his elbow, knocking him clean out with that one strike. Volcan reached over to touch the creature's neck, as if to make sure there was still a pulse and that he hadn't killed it, before leaning back and nodding with satisfaction.

'Nice, Volcan.' Luke thought to himself as he watched the Blaziken work, then when he could see the Blaziken looking toward his direction he gestured for him to make his way over to his current location, pointing toward the cave as if to say 'I found it.'

Volcan followed where Luke was pointing, spotting the cave before turning back to him with an approving nod. He cautiously looked around to make sure no one was watching before leaping over the gap separating him from Luke and landing near the Lucario. "Did you get both of yours?" He asked.

"They didn't even know I was there." Luke replied with a confident smirk. "Two Aura Spheres and they were out like lightbulbs."

"Excellent," returned Volcan, looking towards the cave once more. "So that's where they're holed up, eh? What's the number looking like -can you spot Redfang among them?"

Luke tuned to his aura sense once more, taking a look inside the cave and spotting several more aura signals that resembled Mightyena. Despite that, not one of them appeared to belong to that of Redfang. They were all too small and didn't feel as foreboding to him. He opened his eyes and looked back to Volcan, shaking his head slightly. "No, he's not in there."

"He must be off somewhere else... still, we can take out the gang while the leader's absent," said Volcan. "Question is, how to flush them out."

"Well, I was thinking you use a Smokescreen to force them out into the open, then we can nail them all when they're exposed." Luke answered back.

Volcan turned to Luke and arched an eyebrow. "Blaziken can't use Smokescreen," he pointed out.

"...Oh." Luke returned, then averted his gaze slightly and rubbed his cheek. "Well scratch that idea then."

Volcan chuckled. "It was a good thought," he said, before looking back at the cave and rubbing his chin in thought. "Unfortunately I trained myself to master techniques primarily for combat, not diversions, and they'll see me coming the moment I approach the mouth."

"We need some way to divide and confuse them." Luke muttered also wracking his brain for some form of answer to their next move, eyes narrowing greatly as he thought through possible scenarios in his head.

At that moment, Volcan perked up as he seemed to have a thought. "I could still provide a distraction."

Luke glanced over to Volcan with an inquisitive glance. "Yea? How do you plan to do that?"

"I could approach the mouth of the cave and try to see if I can coax them out," Volcan offered. "Meanwhile, you can cover me from up there." He pointed to a high rise overlooking the ravine, on the same side as the cave. "You're much better at distance combat than I am, and I can easily outmaneuver these guys on this terrain. It may be the best play we have."

Luke looked over at the high rise, humming a bit in thought before he gave a shrug and nodded. "It's as good a plan as any." He admitted. "I'll just have to make sure I don't hit you in the process." He added as a joke.

Volcan chuckled. "Nah, that's why I picked you to provide cover fire. If it was me, well... there'd be an emphasis on the 'fire' part, and I'm more worried about that." He turned his attention forward again. "Alright, chat time's over -we should do this before Redfang comes back, and then we can get the drop on him."

"I'll head on up then." Luke returned, already starting for the ravine. He took a moment to study it, seeing some potential outcroppings he could use for footholds, then he began to leap up the ravine as fast as he could. Granted he couldn't jump as high as Volcan could, but he certainly had more dexterity when it came from leaping from foothold to foothold, and was soon on top of the ravine and moving into position to cover Volcan for when he made his move.

As Luke crossed the cliffs to the proper position, Volcan made his approach to the cave, approaching from the side so as no to be spotted before the time was right. He lay flat against the wall at the very edge over the opening, stopping to listen. He could hear the grunts and growls of many Mightyena within the cave, followed by a bellow of triumphant laughter -though what it was about, he couldn't tell. Slowly he leaned around the corner to peer inside and get a better idea of what he was up against.

The cave wasn't deep -even from his current position he could see the other end. But the massive cavern through the mouth of this opening was far from barren. He could see the many ill-gotten gains of the bandits arranged in a nearby corner in what he guessed was an order of most valuable to least, though he didn't really care.

At the center of the cavern was a huge, long wooden table with short legs, and the bandit pack of Mightyena lined either side of it, many engorging themselves on their stolen food. He even saw one clutching a pitcher of what he at first guessed was water between their paws and chugging it back, but that thought was soon banished as the canid dropped the pitcher, belched and fell onto his back, looking quite buzzed.

Volcan did a quick head-count of the bandits, with at least eighteen in plain sight. He wasn't certain how many the gang actually numbered, but he could not shake the feeling that not all heads were accounted for -even factoring in the sentries he and Luke had already removed from the equation. There was only one way he was going to get these Mightyena to follow him out, and that was to antagonize them to the point they'd be out for his blood.

'Time to take a page from Hank's book, I think,' he thought, sucking in a deep breath before he stepped out in front of the cave opening, in plain sight of the gang within.

Nobody noticed him at first, but that changed quickly when he exhaled a cone of flames that arched across the table, sending the pack scattering in panic as flames engulfed their spread, igniting another pitcher of ale as its contents spilled out over the table and set it alight.

"Hey, fleabags!" Volcan shouted into the cave in a taunting voice. "Your new chef is here -hope you like your meals well-done!"

Quickly the pack began to reorient themselves from the surprise attack, several of them already making a beeline towards the Blaziken. He had to make certain all of them followed him out, and so he stood his ground as the first three charged him, one leaping at him with teeth bared. He spun around an a wide-angled kick to knock that one aside, and then the other two dove at him simultaneously -he backflipped away from them, meeting the second charge of one by seizing him by his fur and hurling him at the other.

More of the gang began to emerge. He didn't have time to count how many but once he was sure at least half of them were coming out, he performed a Flame Charge away from the cave. They ran after him in rage, many shouting colourful threats about what they would do to him when they caught him, completely oblivious to the trap that awaited them as they ran out into the open ravine in pursuit of him.

"...Seems he's gotten a few pointers from Hank." Luke thought out loud before he held his paws in front of him and conjured a pair of Aura Spheres in them. When he was certain the last of the group was out in the open, he began to open fire, firing both his attacks, then conjuring more quickly and firing them shortly after the first pair, rinsing and repeating the process as the spheres homed in on their targets at breakneck speeds.

The first aura sphere collided with a Mightyena in the middle of the pack, while the second took out one further to the rear. The group at the front, oblivious to the attack, continued pursuing Volcan while almost half the gang was once more thrown into confusion as they sought the source of the surprise attack. Volcan turned on the pack leaders and did another Flame Charge, this time bulling his way straight through them. Three received scorches to their fur as they failed to get out of his way in time, and he kept going, rushing through the rest of the group to further add to their confusion.

Luke kept up the hailstorm of Aura Spheres, taking care not to aim any at Volcan as he burned his way through the group. The orbs of energy arced in random directions around the pack, but each of them would quickly home in onto a target and nail them with deadly precision, striking at the sides of their heads or square in their faces or chests, the explosive concussive blast rendering each target that was hit unconscious quickly.

With the pack thinned out as it was, Volcan turned to engage them. One rushed at him instantly. He kicked the canid Pokemon mid-leap, knocking them aside. The next one rushed him, once more suffering a kick, but this one did not stay down like the first - he rolled back onto his paws and lunged for Volcan, who barely caught him as those teeth aimed for his throat.

Luke saw Volcan drop, but the Blaziken threw the Mightyena off him with his legs, sending them falling onto another one of their pack members. The Blaziken sprang back to his feet, exhaling a cone of fire in a sweeping motion to keep them at bay.

Luke narrowed his eyes in suspicion when Volcan was knocked onto his back. He knew he was a better fighter than that, and these Mightyena should be no problem for a Blaziken of Volcan's fighting prowess. He saw a few more aiming to charge the Blaziken, to which he discharged a few Aura Spheres at them, intercepting their paths and nailing them each in the face, rendering them unconscious before they could even touch Volcan.

One managed to escape him though -they rounded the wall of fire Volcan had created to defend himself and lunged at the Blaziken. Volcan deftly avoided the attack, kicking the Mightyena's flank as he passed. To the Blaziken's shock, the dark-type, though hurt by the kick, was not nearly as much as Volcan had hoped, landing on all four paws to attack him again.

By now, the pack had spotted Luke, and the Lucario was suddenly under fire from several Shadow Balls that hammered the cliff at his feet, forcing him to back away or risk a collapse sending him hurtling to the ground.

"Damnit!" Luke growled as he ran back from the cliff edge, crouching low once he was a safe distance away and waiting for the barrage to cease. The cliff he was on crumbled and fell away after the barrage ended, then Luke quickly stood tall approached the edge again, firing more Aura Spheres down at the group that was attacking him while running along the edge, making him harder to hit for the Mightyena, as Shadow Ball didn't home in on its targets like Luke's Aura Spheres did. As a result, he could dodge their attacks with his greater speed, but they could not.

The pack's numbers were thinning, with most now focused on trying to find a way to reach Luke, while three remained to deal with Volcan. They both heard one of the Mightyena in the pack let out a shrill howl that echoed across the mesas, but both were too occupied to worry about that one.

Luke kept up his strafing run, keeping the Mightyena from finding a way up to him as he continued to barrage then with his Aura Spheres. Each one of them nailed their intended targets like a charging Donphan, and soon it wouldn't be long until they all were taken down, leaving the final three for the Blaziken to finish off.

But as Luke turned his attention back towards Volcan, he saw to his surprise that Volcan was struggling against the Mightyena that tried to overwhelm him with their numbers. He was still faster than any of them, deftly outmaneuvering and dodging their attacks, but for some reason every strike he landed was barely enough to stumble the three Mightyena. He didn't seem fatigued, but it was still shocking to see him struggling against undisciplined, brutish foes such as these after seeing him battle far more disciplined fighters to a stalemate.

Seeing Volcan tiring spurred Luke into action. He leapt down from his perch, blasting the ground with a pulse of Aura to slow his descent and avoid injury, and barely seconds after his pawed feet touched the sand he used Extreme Speed to close the gap between him and the Mightyena, appearing between them and Volcan in the blink of an eye and thrusting his paws forward, releasing a widespread Force Palm that . He then fired three Aura Spheres while they were airborne, striking them heavily before they hit the ground in a heap.

Volcan let out a surprised cry of pain as something snapped around his leg. The last of the pack -the one who had removed himself to let out the howl before, had bitten Volcan on his leg from behind and them jerked back, sending him falling onto his stomach. Kicking himself free, Volcan rolled onto his back as the Mightyena lunged, delivering a better-aimed kick to the pouncing canid, but the effect was minimal, the Mightyena only wheezing with a slight loss of breath but still landing upon Volcan, forcing him to struggle to keep the mouthful of teeth away from his neck.

Luke reacted quickly, dashing to the two of them and grabbing the Mightyena by the scruff of his neck, tugging him away from Volcan. "Get off him!" He growled before slamming his paw hard into the Mightyena, launching him across the ground with a powerful Force Palm, finally knocking the stubborn creature out.

Volcan sat up, panting for breath and wincing as a scratch left by the canid's sharp nails flared from his side. "Guess these guys were a little stronger than I thought," he said, sounding disgruntled at the thought of underestimating an opponent -something he was not prone to doing.

Nor had he, Luke thought as he turned to Volcan, trotting back to his side and gently hoisting him back to his feet. "I don't know...From what I saw, you were holding your own incredibly well at first." Luke returned, brushing the Blaziken's with his paw to push off some of the sand clinging to his feathers. "There's no way you were exerting yourself that much either. Something else was behind this."

Before Volcan could answer, a deep, throaty chuckle was heard behind them, with so cold and violent a tone behind it that it made Luke's fur stand on end as he and Volcan whipped around to face the owner of the voice.

They came face-to-face with three more Mightyena -the middle one utterly dwarfing the two at his sides who stood growling, bellies low to the ground ready to lunge the moment their boss gave the word. The larger Mightyena was blind in one eye, the left gray and sightless with three visible clawmarks leaving bald spots in his fur. From the front of his muzzle protruded a discoloured tooth that seemed as though it was coated in dried blood.

Luke remembered that face from the wanted poster at the outpost, and from having seen this being only one day before. The Mightyena was so large that even down on all fours he nearly reached Luke in height, as opposed to the remaining two who were level with his chest at the nose. His body was thick with muscle, though defaced by the scars of many battles and dirty, matted fur from years in the wilderness.

"It appears you don't know very much about my kind," growled the large Mightyena. "Not a smart move to approach us without even knowing our most common traits, like our abilities."

Luke narrowed his eyes dangerously at the canid and his escorts, turning to fully face him and clenching his paws at his sides. This was undoubtedly Redfang -true to his name, and as frightening to behold as his reputation suggested. "So, you must be Redfang." He said, his tail swishing once behind him. "You have a lot to answer for, bandit."

Redfang's grin faded and he scoffed at Luke. "A law-dog is it? Disappointing," he said. "Still, you're the first ones to ever find my hideout. I'm impressed, knowing there is someone smart enough out here in this dungheap to track me down. I respect a bit of cunning, so I'm going to give you a chance," his eyes narrowed. "Forget you _ever_saw this place, and run until you're on the other side of the continent and maybe I won't eviscerate the both of you." He took a step forward, his fur bristling as his two followers growled deeply.

"You must be an idiot if you think we'll turn a blind eye to all the raids that have left a struggling town without food, water or supplies for nearly two years." Luke growled back, also taking a slight step forward and tightening his paws at his sides. "Your life of crime ends today, Redfang." Volcan repeated Luke's motion, inching his leg forward as flames ignited on both of his wrists, glaring harshly at the Mightyena.

"Always the hard way. Boys, sick little boy blue while I deal with the birdbrain," ordered Redfang. "This'll just take a few seconds."

At his command, the two Mightyena charged forward, rushing at Luke with teeth bared. Volcan moved to step into their path but Redfang was already making a beeline towards him, moving with speed that defied his size, outpacing his comrades and pouncing at Volcan, forcing him away from Luke while his two followers lunged for the Lucario.

With Volcan engaged, Luke faced the other two, conjuring his Bone rush as he sprang out of the path of the two bandits, twirling the weapon between his paws as he faced them. "Come on!" Luke growled.

They charged, the first to reach him making a leap at him. He thrust his bone forward at him, hitting him on the chest and winding him, then turned to the and snapped his leg out in a sideways kick to knock him as he was about to bite Luke's leg. The other attacked again- he swung, taking the Mightyena in the side and batting him into the other, sending the two into a tangled tumble.

Yet still they got back up. Luke was certain he had hit them hard enough to at least slow them down, yet they barely seemed hurt. He started to wonder just how tough these creatures really were when they started for him again. He held up his bone rush and thrust the haft into the mouth of the pouncing Mightyena, the angered bandit chomping and gnawing on the middle until his teeth broke through it, and then he fell into Luke head first, landing a Tackle that staggered him. Then, his assailant opened his mouth wide, a dark orb of energy appearing between his jaws -a Shadow Ball!

Luke quickly formed an Aura Sphere, casting it just as the Shadow Ball was thrown toward him. He bent backward, raising his paws to catch himself as he avoided the attack before hand-springing back onto his feet just as the first Mightyena was blown away by the Aura Sphere. The second Mightyena started for him, his eyes gleaming as he unleashed a Snarl that felt like a thunderclap sounding off in his face.

Luke stumbled back from the force of the attack, growling in a manner that matched his attacker as he sprang for him. With his amazing reflexes, Luke lunged away, falling into a crouch to avoid the Mightyena as he conjured another Aura Sphere into each paw, spinning and hurling them one after the other at his opponent. The first hit -the Mightyena whimpered, and then the second knocked him down permanently.

"Stay," he growled, catching his breath and turning his attention to Volcan, still engaged with Redfang

The Blaziken and Mightyena were locked in combat, with Volcan easily outpacing Redfang with his superior speed, yet no matter how many times or what attacks he tried, Redfang barely seemed fazed by the onslaught. While there was no question Redfang was strong, it still confused Luke that Volcan could be so much weaker than him -surely Volcan had fought stronger opponents in Romulus, Shamshir, and not the least the murderous Gallade at the fortress. What could it be that was cutting Volcan's strength so heavily?

Suddenly, it clicked. He remembered what Redfang had said about 'abilities'. All Pokemon had abilities; Mightyena were no exception. There was one they were most known for -the most common one among them. 'Intimidate', an ability that lessened the physical attack strength of the opponent upon sight. Redfang's frightening appearance was not only his outward physique, but the Intimidate ability was both psychological and physical. And if every member of Redfang's gang possessed the same ability...

As Volcan moved in for a Blaze Kick, Redfang's right forepaw ignited with a black, fire-like glow, and he lashed towards Volcan like a whip, dashing under his outstretched leg to punch him in his exposed gut, stumbling him. Volcan took the hit, wincing, and started to raise his head, only for Redfang to retch and spew a dark purple gunk from his throat. The foul-looking liquid splattered across Volcan's face, and the Blaziken reared back and screamed in agony, his hands going straight to his face.

Luke, seeing his lover in danger, started to run to his aid, but it was too late. He stopped in horror as Redfang slammed into Volcan's torso with all of his weight, winding Volcan and sending him careening over, where he curled into an agonized fetal position on the ground, struggling to breath and trying to clear the smear of gunk burning his eyes.

"Almost too easy," the large Mightyena said with a derisive laugh.

A searing anger welled up within Luke, rising out of him like boiling water through the earth that would inevitably explode into a geyser of seething hot water. In an instant, he appeared before Redfang, and delivered a rage-fueled kick that sent the Mightyena spinning through the air, landing heavily on the sandy ground in a heap. Luke could have continued the assault there, but his concerns flew immediately to Volcan, running to his side and falling to his knees beside him.

Volcan was frantically wiping at his eyes, trying to get the strange substance out of them to no avail. He was breathing erratically, his entire body already hot to the touch -not from his natural body heat but as though he were becoming feverish. Luke looked closely at the substance and was soon able to identify it by its foul smell. A Toxic attack...

As Luke struggled to find some way to help Volcan, he heard Redfang speak up again. "That actually hurt.. It seems my gang's abilities didn't affect you as much as they did your friend."

The anger rose within Luke again, a growl rumbling from his throat as he stood and glared at Redfang with a look so cold it actually stopped the Mightyena in his tracks. "You will pay for that!" He roared, before he was suddenly right in front of Redfang. He had moved so quickly the Mightyena had not even seen the Lucario relocate until it was too late.

The time between each of Luke's furious attacks was not even a second, unleashing a Close Combat onslaught backed by his fury. He unleashed hell upon Redfang, beating on him again and again. He would have struck him more, but Luke was quick to regain control of himself, his restraint holding back a blow that would surely have crushed Redfang's ribs. He settled instead for a hard punch to his chest that emptied his lungs of air, and finally one more to his face that silenced the bandit indefinitely.

"And STAY DOWN!" Luke roared at the top of his lungs, giving the Mightyena one more kick that flipped him onto his opposite side, and only then did Luke finally force himself to calm down.

He quickly knelt down and rolled the Mightyena onto his back, pressing his paw to his neck and checking for a pulse. He was relieved to find there still was one -Redfang would recover, though given how sore Luke's paws felt he could only imagine how uncomfortable Redfang would be until he healed.

He let out a sigh of relief, slumping his shoulders a little before he sucked in a deep breath and regained his composure. Luke then reached toward Redfang's mouth and grasped at his blood coloured tooth, grunting as he yanked it out of his mouth. He now had the proof he needed to claim that Redfang and his bandits had been taken care of.

"...I'll be sure to let Romulus know of your whereabouts," He promised, clenching the tooth in his paw.

"Luke? Luke where you?!" Volcan called out, snapping Luke back to reality, clawing feebly at the ground around him. He sounded panicked. "I can't see! My eyes...!"

"I'm here love!" Luke called back quickly kneeling in front of Volcan and grasping his hand in his paw, trying to assure him. "It's alright. You're going to be okay..." He tried to reassure the Blaziken.

"Wh-Where's Redfang?" Volcan asked. "The bastard blinded me!" He rubbed at his eyes, once more trying to get the gunk out of them. "It burns...!"

"Don't rub them!," said Luke quickly. "I took him down." Luke assured him. "Relax, Volcan. You got hit with a Toxic attack. You need to calm down or the poison will progress faster." He urged him as he looked back toward the cave that the bandits were residing in. "We need to go see if there's anything in that cave I can use to treat your eyes. Come on." He said as he gently pulled Volcan back to his feet.

Volcan staggered to his feet, stumbling slightly away from Luke before regaining his balance and letting the Lucario lead him, trying to resist the urge to rub his eyes. Luke guided the Blaziken into the cave, looking for the closest chair in his immediate area and gently setting Volcan down on it.

"Just stay here. I'm going to see if I can find some Pecha Berries to cure you, and some water to try and wash the gunk off. Do not rub your eyes," he said before quickly turning away and trotting deeper into the hideout and rummaging about for anything he could use to treat his lover.

Surely even bandits had to keep some medicine around to treat their own if they were wounded, he thought. Sure enough, as he dug through their ill-gotten gains, he uncovered a cache of various medicines. There were no Pecha Berries, but he did find a bottle labelled 'Antidote, for treating common poisons. Apply to affected area'. There was also some sort of mark on it -like a brand symbol, but it wasn't one he recognized.

He found the water supply of the gang but was annoyed to find only a few half-filled canteens. Taking one, he returned to Volcan, who he found panting for breath in the chair where he'd left him.

"I... think the poison is... kicking in," he said, before he belched slightly and covered his mouth with his hand. "Ugh..."

"Hang on, Volcan..." Luke whimpered a bit, quickly stepping to his side. "Okay...this is going to sting a lot, but I need to force your eyes open. I've got an antidote that should take care of your ailment." He said as he held the bottle closer to Volcan's eyes. "Take a deep breath." He warned him.

"Okay..." Volcan said, sucking in a breath and tilting his head back as he forced his eyes to open. They were reddened with irritation and Luke could still make out the poisonous gunk beneath the lids. He could see Volcan fighting hard not to shut his eyes before he could flush them and so he worked quickly.

Luke started by pouring some of the canteen of water onto his eyes to wash out as much of the toxic gunk as he could. He had to firmly press his other paw onto Volcan's shoulder to stop him from jumping out of his seat as the pain intensified, waiting until he calmed down somewhat before he applied the antidote to his eyes, applying them to his face around his eyes. When he acted up again, Luke had to use both paws in order to keep him seated, and was idly nuzzling his forehead to help calm him down, consoling Volcan as best he could as the antidote got to work in curing the poison from Volcan's body.

As they sat there in the cave, waiting for the antidote to do its job, Volcan slowly calmed down. A few times he groaned, feeling quite sick, but he was otherwise managing quite well, while Luke had to wait and remain watchful of the gang outside. Most of them had already started to regain consciousness, watching Luke warily, but none dared approach him as he remained protectively at Volcan's side -likely fearing that they would suffer the same fate as their leader if they dared risk his wrath.

Each one that dared to take a step forward, Luke shot a glare at, forcing him back a bit and making him second guess trying to step forward again. At one point, Luke finally spoke out to the gang. "I suggest you take whatever supplies you can and leave this place." He stated. "Try anything funny, however, and I'll beat you down as mercilessly as I did your leader." He added, slowly back into the cave and gathering up as much of the supplies within the cave as he could carry, then returned to the entrance of the cave and tossed the supplies to the Mightyena.

"What the heck is all this for?" One of them asked in confusion while the others stared warily at the supplies, even though they were from their own stockpile.

"I'm giving you all a chance to rethink your lives..." Luke answered back. "I'm not like your leader. Despite you all being bandits, I believe in second chances. I strongly advise you take this chance to change your ways and start your lives from scratch again." His expression became less aggressive, turning into a look of pity as he went on. "I'd rather not have to beat this life lesson into you a second time. Crime doesn't pay. In the end, someone will bring you to justice, and they won't be as merciful as I am."

The Mightyena at the lead -one of the larger of the bunch though not as big as Redfang- let out a snort. "Rethink our lives? That's an easy thing for you to say," he said scornfully. "Look around ya -take a good long look at the place we're stuck living in. What do you see? Sand and rock -that's all there is out here. What kind of life could anyone build from that?"

"The kind of life that those living in towns they built from the ground up can live. If they can do that, so can you." Luke quickly answered back. "There's always a choice to be better than what you are now."

None of them looked convinced, least of all the speaker as he continued. "Are you even from here?" He asked. "This is the West Continent -you do what you have to to make sure you don't wind up like the ancient ruins scattered all over this land -a forgotten skeleton of your former self, buried beneath the sands. So why don't you take your clean furry hide back to whatever cushy town you came from and worry about your own life."

Without another word, the speaker lay back down on his belly, turning away from Luke and going to nurse his bruised body while the Lucario was left to consider his words. Luke let out a disheartened sigh, then turned his back on the group of Mightyena and went to see how Volcan was doing, standing at his side and gently rubbing his shoulder to let him know he was there.

Volcan was able to open his eyes a crack, turning to Luke. The irritation still showed in his eyes, but he had regained enough of his sight that he was at least able to make out the colour of Luke's own looming before him. "What was that about? That guy sounded pretty cheesed off," he remarked, having heard at least part of the conversation. "Not too sore about the whoopin', I hope." He added rhetorically.

Luke couldn't help but smile at his comment. "He'll get over it." He said softly as he gently hugged around his head. "How are your eyes? Feeling any better?"

"They hurt like hell, but I can feel the effects of the poison lessening," he returned. "I don't think I'm going to be able to see properly for a while, though."

"Well, good thing you've got an extra pair of eyes for that." Luke added, gently patting the back of Volcan's head before he gently released him. "Think you're ready to move on? We should get out of here and at least try to make it back to some form of civilization."

"A good call. I don't trust any of these guys as far as I could throw them," Volcan agreed. "See if there's something else we can swipe from here, though -cloaks or something we can use to protect ourselves from the weather. Especially when the sun goes down and it gets cold again."

"Good idea." Luke returned, looking at his surroundings to see if he could find anything that would aid in their journey.

Rifling through the Mightyena's stockpile of ill-gotten gains -as much as he wished he could return them to their owners- he found what he was looking four. A pair of dark gray cloaks, with inside pockets where he deposited Redfang's tooth after wrapping it in a handkerchief before throwing it over himself. He then gathered a few other items, filling the pockets of his cloak with nonperishable rations and a canteen of water that was only half full, and returned promptly to Volcan.

"Found a few things...not much, but they should keep us going on our way back to the outpost. Here," he offered Volcan one of the cloaks.

Volcan reached for the cloak, fumbling with it until he had a good grip but still needed help finding which way was right-side-up on it as he couldn't see for himself. With that, they were ready to leave -preferably before Redfang himself came to his senses.

They hurried out of the cave, and with the gang of Mightyena watching them coldly, they left the valley ravine and the gang of Mightyena behind...

Volcan turned to Luke as they walked out, his talon holding Luke's paw firmly. "I heard you get pretty angry earlier..." He asked. "After Redfang blinded me. I've never heard you explode like that before."

Luke's ears wilted and his gaze lowered to the ground as they walked. "I..." He began, though he paused before he spoke further, trying to put the words he wanted to say together before he continued. "When I saw that you were poisoned by a Toxic attack, I was afraid you weren't going to last long," he admitted softly. "Just the thought of you succumbing to poison scared me to the point where... I would do anything to make sure you lived."

Volcan let out a light chuckle. "Luke, a Toxic from a non-Poison-type Pokemon would take a lot longer than a few minutes to do any real harm," he assured him. "If Redfang had been a Seviper, then I'd have been in trouble. But thankfully, he wasn't."

"Even so, I know that Toxic causes more damage the longer it's in your body." Luke returned. "I've seen Kage use it enough times to know its effects. Whether it's from a Poison-type or not, it's still deadly if left unchecked, love." He added, lifting his gaze to meet the Blaziken's. "I was not about to take that risk, and I never will..."

Volcan reached his free hand over, wrapping it around Luke's paw that held his other talon already and squeezing it gently. "You concern for me is always appreciated, Luke. But I'll be alright," he said. "At least once the fog clears from my eyes. For now, let's just get back to the outpost, rest up and then head for this Princeport place."

"Yea. I think we've earned a good long rest after what we've been through today." Luke returned, squeezing Volcan's hand just as tight and letting himself lean a bit on the Blaziken as they strode together along the path back to the outpost.

~~~~~

Night had fallen over the desert within hours of leaving behind the mesas, bathing the land in darkness as there was no moon out that night to light their way. Walking around through such darkness would be far too treacherous and so Luke and Volcan knew they would have to stop for the night. Volcan made the suggestion of them leaving the path as he felt that Redfang would not likely take his defeat lying down, and would no doubt come after them in the night. Mightyena had powerful senses of smell and adequate night vision -much more than either of them, and they would be vulnerable in the dark.

And so it was they wandered off the road, making sure to do so after passing a flag which they hoped to use to find their way back to the road again once day broke. They lay down in the sand, exhausted, and even from the lack of bedding to lay on they felt sleep claim them within minutes of lying down, and so there they rested amid the dunes, the soft sand and their cotton cloaks serving as their beds that night.

Unfortunately, the forces of nature had decided to take an unwelcome turn that night...

The howling of the wind and bite of the sand in his flesh roused Volcan awake, sitting up as though he had just been stung by a Beedrill; he flailed his arms about to ward off attackers that were not there, before he calmed himself and tried to get his bearings. His eyes still stung, but he was able to open them just enough to get a look at his surroundings.

All around him, he saw blowing sand; he could tell by the warmth in the air it was at least well into the morning but he couldn't be certain of the time because he couldn't see the sun above, the sand cloud was so thick. It took him only a moment to realize their situation, following him getting buffeted by the sand.

"Shit!" He cursed before he spun over to Luke, and began to shake him. "Luke! Wake up!"

Being more resistant to the storm, Luke wasn't affected by the sand blowing around them, so he wasn't forced away like Volcan was. However, his lover shaking him did cause him to stir, and the second he opened his eyes, he clenched them shut and let out a grunt as particles of sand flew into them and stung his eyes. "Gah! The hell??" He demanded, slowly sitting up on the dune. "What's going on?!"

"We're caught in the middle of a sandstorm!" Volcan replied. "We need to move, now!"

"R-Right." Luke returned, rubbing his eyes as he got to his feet. He then looked around a bit and froze for a moment. "Uh oh." He muttered, taking another look around again, but because the sandstorm was so thick, he couldn't figure out which way to to back to the path. "Damnit! The storm's so thick I can't see where we came from!"

"You're kidding me!" Volcan returned, pulling up the hood of his cloak to try and protect himself from the sand. "Fuck me and my stupid ideas!"

"We didn't take into account the chances of a sandstorm." Luke returned. "...We have no choice. We'll have to just travel where we think we last came from." He then looked around again, stopping at his left. "Maybe...that way."

"Alright," Volcan replied, reaching for Luke's paw and grasping it. "We need to make sure we don't get separated!"

"Then you better hold my paw tightly." Luke returned as he began trudging toward the direction he pointed out. "Let's move. Standing around here will only make things worse for us." He called back.

"Agreed; lead on!" Volcan bade him.

Luke gripped Volcan's talon tightly and used his other arm to shield his eyes as they began their trek through the sandstorm, finding it rather hard to see or breathe properly as the sand was constantly blowing against his direction. While his Steel sub typing saved him from getting buffeted by the sand, his eyes were still vulnerable, and hampered his ability to see properly ahead of him.

After a short walk, it became clear they had gone the wrong direction; Luke knew how far away the road had been, and they would've seen the flags lining its edges by now, but there was nothing. Suddenly it was starting to look like they were getting lost in the sandstorm; they would soon either have to choose to stay put, hunker down and try to wait it out, or keep moving and risk winding up somewhere miles from where they meant to go.

Luke eventually stopped, taking a quick gander at his surroundings and giving a somewhat defeated sigh. "Damnit...we're hopelessly lost..." He muttered softly, then shook his head a bit. "We should have stayed on the path."

"I'm sorry Luke; I thought we'd be safer off the path," Volcan said to him, sensing his thoughts even though he hadn't heard him.

Luke turned back to Volcan and shook his head. "No it's....it's ok. You had the right idea in trying to avoid a run in with Redfang...We just should have kept going until we found somewhere along the path to settle in for the night..." He returned. "We'll just have to keep going for now...and hope for the best."

Volcan struggled to force his eyes open, trying to see if maybe he could spot something -anything, to give them some shelter or get their bearings, but the sand cloud was just so thick; behind him, to his right, straight ahead past Luke; nothing but sand. His eyes still hurt from their battle earlier, though the poison had long since been purged from them, he still hoped they might find a solution as he focused his vision and stared through the sand.

As he turned and scanned the area, he stopped. "Hey... hey I think I see something over there!" He pointed with his other arm.

Luke looked over to where Volcan was pointing to, having to squint his eyes to get a better visual, and through the veil of sand, below the dune they were standing on, he could just make out the silhouette of what appeared to be a tall wooden pole. Staring for a while there was just enough of a break in the storm that he was able to make out what the object was when he saw the loose, flapping object at its top.

It was a red flag.

"It's a flag!!" Luke hollered happily, looking over to Volcan. "We're back on the path after all!!" he said, smiling with glee up at Volcan. "Come on! Let's get over there!" He said as he tugged at Volcan's arm.

They descended the dune where they were standing, but once reaching the bottom is where things would take yet another foul turn for the two. When they stepped onto level ground, they felt something under their feet, like a sudden tremor through the sand. Instinctively Volcan let go of Luke's paw and sprang away, thinking he might've stepped on a Sandile that would bite him in a flash if he didn't move, but there was no such creature below him.

"Did you feel that?" He asked, the wind a little quieter from where they were thanks to the dune.

"I uhm...I think so." Luke returned, glancing back to Volcan with a bit of an uneasy look.

"I... wanna say don't move but... I dunno..." Volcan returned, looking back at him.

Luke stared down at where he was standing with mild concern, his gut feeling telling him to move away from his current position...and quickly. "Let's step back a bit." He said as he began to step back toward the Blaziken and back up toward the top of the dune.

However, the second he tried to lift his leg up to walk toward Volcan, immediately he felt something was wrong. He looked down toward the ground and gasped in horror at what he saw. His feet had disappeared into the sand where he stood, and the sand itself was flowing in on itself, drawing the Lucario slowly toward the center of the now newly formed sand funnel. He tried to step forward, but all he ended up doing was dragging his feet in place and digging himself a little deeper into the shifting sands. Luke quickly looked up to Volcan in a panic.

"I-I'm sinking!!" He hollered to the Blaziken. "H-Help!!"

"What?!" Volcan shouted, looking over at him and seeing the sand that was closing around his feet. "Oh no; Luke!" He cried, reaching out with his talon for him, stretching his arm as far as he could as he reached for the Lucario. "Grab on; hurry!"

Luke quickly began reaching out with his left paw, straining to try and reach for Volcan's talon, missing a few times when they were about arm's reach of another. Finally, Luke let out a strained grunt and leaned as far forward as he could, grasping onto Volcan's arm tightly.

"Got you!" Volcan called, and began to try and pull Luke back to him, but as he did, the Blaziken felt more sand around his feet as well. He looked down to find, to his horror, he had slid into the funnel forming under them. "Shit; no!" He screamed, trying to pull his legs out, resulting in him falling onto his backside in the sand funnel.

"Volcan!!" Luke hollered, still grasping his lover's hand even as he fell onto his backside. "C'mon stand up!! Hurry or you'll be drawn in too!!" He hollered, all while also trying to pull his legs out of the funnel as well, which by now had been drawn down to his lower thighs.

"I'm trying; I'm trying!" Volcan returned, suppressing his urge to panic as he struggled to get up, but trying to use his other arm to do so only served to sink that in too, forcing him to yank it out. "Th-There must be a cave-in or something below!"

"Yea, well I don't want to know how deep we have to go before we find it!" Luke hollered, trying even harder to pull himself out.

By now it was practically too late for him though, he was bogged down to his waist and still being drawn in. He still held Volcan's talon firmly in his paw, clawing at another section of the funnel in a vain attempt to pull himself out, but to no avail. Finally, he looked over to Volcan and gave a small whimper. "L-Love...!" He called to him, desperate for any sort of solution to their current crisis.

Volcan was wracking his brain for an answer. Unfortunately neither of them were Ground-types; they couldn't dig their way out of this, or control the sand in any way. Eventually he saw only one option; he turned to Luke, reaching over to him with his other talon, both of them sliding under Luke's arms and began to lift him. Luke looked at Volcan's hands in confusion, wondering what exactly he was planning to do at that moment, though when he felt himself slowly being lifted out of the sand, his eyes widened as he realized what Volcan was trying to do: Volcan was trying to lift him out of the sand funnel, but as he was raised out of the sand, Volcan had sank deeper, now all the way up to his stomach!

"Wait!! Volcan stop!!" He hollered to the Blaziken. "You're pushing yourself in deeper!!" He added.

"I know," he replied. "But I'm not letting you die in this damn desert; I'm tossing you out of this pit!" Volcan returned, lifting Luke further until now the Lucario's legs were almost free.

"NO!!" Luke hollered, spreading his arms apart and making Volcan lose his grip on him enough to sink back to his waist again, wrapping his arms tightly around Volcan. "I'm _not_abandoning you here!! I swore to you that I'd stay by your side no matter what!!" He hollered at him. "I'm not leaving you!!!"

"Don't be stupid; if I don't do this, we'll both die!" Volcan returned, trying to pry Luke from him. "I promised your mother I'd get you home; I'm not going to break that! You have a family back in Azure; I don't! I won't cost them a son or brother; Giratina damn me if I do!"

"Maybe so, but you're part of that family!!" Luke hollered back, clinging to Volcan tighter as they were both drawn in deeper to the sandpit. "I can't go on without you, Volcan! I'd...I'd rather die with you than live a life without your comfort or support...!" He began to tear up a bit. "I... I don't want to be alone again!"

"Luke, you stubborn idiot; don't do this to me!" Volcan looked at him, tears streaming from his eyes and speaking quickly. "You have no idea how much I wish to stay with you too, but I don't want you to die; I could never forgive myself, in this world or the next!" He returned, shaking his head vigorously and flinging the tears from his eyes in the process. "You mean too much for me to allow that!" He continued to lift Luke, trying to force the Lucario to let go of him, even as they now approached the center of the sinkhole. "Now damn it, use my shoulders to jump out of here, please! It's your only chance!"

He kept holding tightly onto Volcan despite him still trying to pull the Lucario out, forcing himself to stay close to Volcan even as they sank to their possible demise. In a rash movement, Luke planted his lips firmly onto Volcan's beak and kissed him hard, allowing himself to force himself down to roughly the same depth as Volcan.

"I'm. Not. Leaving you...!" He said in a firm tone, even growling at the Blaziken. "I-I don't care what you say...I refuse to let you go...not..." He trailed off, clinging to Volcan as hard as he could. "...Not after all we've been through together..." He whimpered to his lover.

Volcan just could not force Luke to change his mind; after being surprised by that kiss and giving Luke the chance to renew his hold on the Blaziken, there was no longer anything he could do as the sand rose up to their shoulders. He looked at Luke with a mixed expression of both annoyance and yet still seemed touched by Luke's devotion.

"Damn it if I didn't love you so much I'd be cursing you so hard..." He then pulled Luke into an embrace, tilting their heads back as it neared their jaw line. "Hold your breath Luke; it's our only chance..." He then inhaled deeply, just before his head went under the sand at a slightly faster rate as they reached the middle of the funnel.

"I know..." Luke whimpered, starting to take a deep breath as well.

However, he was barely able to take in a fraction of air into his lungs before some of the sand managed to get into his mouth, instinctively making him sputter even as he went under. In his mind he panicked, clinging so hard to to his beloved Blaziken as they sank to depths unknown, already feeling the need to breathe and clear his lungs overcome his willpower. He sputtered again, now inhaling sand and suffocating as the particles filled his lungs.

Deeper and deeper still they sank, the sand closed in all around them, pressing into them. Volcan struggled to keep his breath in, exhaling small spurts through his nostrils to keep the sand from clogging up his airway, unaware that Luke was in trouble, believing that the Lucario's intensified grip was out of fear.

Luke writhed as he unintentionally inhaled more sand when instinct took over and he tried to breath. His throat had become clogged with sand and he began rapidly fading out of consciousness; they had been under the sand for what felt like hours, the pressure of it closing around them slowly suffocating him, and his grip on Volcan began to lessen. But Volcan could not see the danger Luke was in, with sand pressing in all around him and no way to open to open his eyes.

He too was rapidly running out of breath, struggling to keep what air he had as they continued to sink. But after a while, he felt a sudden force pulling him away from Luke, and immediately recognized the effects of gravity taking over as he fell out of the waterfall of sand... and fell.

Volcan screamed and waved his limbs, cloak billowing around him as he dropped. Fortunately, he didn't fall far, and there was a soft landing waiting for him below; he hit the sand with a 'fwumph', sending a cloud of it billowing around him before he tumbled down the growing mound of sand on the floor, eventually leaving the soft incline and landing on hard, painful rock.

He coughed harshly, clearing some sand from his nostrils and the inside of his beak. He was tangled in the flaps of his cloak, and after struggling to free himself he turned over and sat upright, slowly opening his eyes to take in the surroundings. They had dropped into a cavern beneath the desert, sand still pouring in through a hole above and the howl of the storm filling the cave with an ominous whine.

His eyes would eventually adjust to the dark as he spoke aloud. "A cave... thank fuck; that sand was going somewhere," he said, and then turned where he thought Luke would be. "Luke, we're okay!"

But Volcan did not see him. "...Luke?" He stood up briskly, searching frantically as he rose to his feet, eventually settling his gaze on the sand mound, realizing with horror where his lover was. "Luke!"

He ran back to the pile, plunging his arms into the sand and digging through it as fast as he could, flinging particles of sand everywhere as he searched for any sign of his beloved. Eventually, his talon touched something soft; he closed his hand around it, and pulled, bringing an arm out of the sand pile and then pulled again, yanking Luke free of the sand pile and collapsing back to the floor once again with the Lucario in his arms.

"Luke, are you okay?!" He demanded, turning him over to look at his lover's face.

His heart sank...

Luke was an even deeper shade of blue than usual, and was lying limp over Volcan's lap as the Blaziken propped him up. Upon closer inspection, Volcan could see that Luke wasn't breathing. His eyes shot wide open in horror as he realized what was wrong.

"Oh Arceus no!" Volcan nearly screamed, shaking Luke harshly. "Luke! Wake up!" But he was unresponsive. However, Volcan briefly saw into Luke's mouth, and saw with horror what the problem was. His mouth was full of sand, and no doubt it was blocking his airways as well. 'Oh gods, what do I do? What do I do?!' He screamed in his mind, wracking his brain for answers.

He had to clear Luke's airway somehow. Thinking quickly, he grasped Luke, turning him over and angling him forward, draping the Lucario over his knee, placing it against the underside of his chest spike and, with brief hesitation, struck him on the back. Luke visibly reacted to the strike, and a glob of sand fell from his mouth, but he remained unresponsive even as Volcan hit him twice more.

"Luke, please!" Volcan cried, feeling tears welling up in his eyes again as he turned Luke back over, laying him out on his back. He leaned Luke's head back slightly, keeping his mouth open but pinching his nose shut as he closed his beaklips around Luke's mouth and breathing into him gently. Luke's chest rose to the air entering his lungs, and Volcan pulled back and began resorting to chest compressions.

"Come on, Luke, don't you give up on me!" He screamed loud enough for his voice to echo through the cave.

Volcan kept up his efforts, breathing into Luke and compressing his chest time and again, but not once did the Lucario show any signs of life, and Volcan's attempts began to become feeble as tears poured down his face as he stared at his lover's lifeless body laying on the stone.

"Luke, no..." He whimpered, leaning over his lover's body and crying his eyes out. "You can't die... I swore I'd never let that happen. I promised you; I promised your mother..." His head lowered, drops falling from the tip of his beak to the sand-coated floor below. "I promised..." He whispered, his body beginning to shake.

Slowly raising his head again, he leaned forward, picking up Luke in his arms and cradling him against his body, staring at his face. "Luke... please... don't leave me," he begged, reaching up with a talon to caress the Lucario's cheek. "You're the only thing that keeps the darkness out of my heart; the only source of strength I have left. I_need_ you..."

He buried his face into Luke's chest, not even caring when his chest-spike scraped his cheek a little. "Please come back to me... I love you Luke... I want to wake up every morning with you at my side; how can I do that if you don't keep fighting?" He continued to speak, even though all hope had left him. "I have nothing left without you; please don't leave me here..."

In the darkness clouding his mind, Luke's life seemed to be flashing before his eyes. He saw his home in Azure, his friends and Teammates with Team Valiant, his brothers Rigel and Mikhail, sharing joyous moments with their youngest sibling. The loving face of his mother smiling at him. And last but not least, the face of the Blaziken he loved, appearing first as the lost, frightened soul he had saved on the beach only a month ago, to the brave, loving and passionate male he knew today...

These sights seemed to give him the strength to pull himself back to the world of the living. His body tensed and convulsed as he began to cough lightly, shaking in Volcan's arms.

Volcan's head shot up in alarm, looking at Luke with renewed hope in his eyes. "Luke?" He asked, gently, waiting until he saw the Lucario seemingly reacting to his voice and stir again. "That's it Luke; fight on! Follow my voice," he was still crying. "Don't give in!"

Luke continued to convulse, eventually doubling over in Volcan's arms and seized by a coughing fit, spewing several small globs of sand from his mouth until his airway was clear. The first breath burned, his face contorting with pain as he filled his aching lungs with air again. He coughed again, removing the last of the foreign substances from his mouth, and breathed again. It hurt less with each breath he took, each one raspy and desperate, but soon levelling out as strength returned to his body. He felt arms grasping him once more, lifting him and propping him up against a cold, hard surface.

Slowly, his eyes fluttered open, blinking weakly until his vision cleared enough to see the desperate face of his beloved Volcan staring at him. With a few more coughs, a very small smile started to form on his face. Weakly, he spoke. "...Well... this is a lovely sight....to wake up to...." He whispered between breaths.

It was unclear whether Volcan were choking, laughing or sobbing still as Luke spoke to him, but the fluttering in his heart made his entire body seem to come alive with joy. He kissed Luke hard on the lips, a short but sweet one so that he wouldn't suffocate Luke again with his joy, and embraced him so lovingly.

"Xerneas be praised," he said. "You're alive; you came back to me..."

Luke reached up, his paw shaking as he placed his paw on Volcan's back, trying to embrace him as well but barely managing more than a gentle pull. "...I... promised you... that I'd never abandon you," Luke said softly up to his Blaziken. "Nothing will tear me apart from you, ever..."

Volcan lifted Luke up a little more, smiling down at him. "Oh you stubborn fool..." he said, pressing his forehead to Luke's "But you're my stubborn fool. And I'll never stop loving you for it. Just... please don't ever scare me like that again."

Luke managed a smile. "I promise..." He whispered back softly, pressing his head closer to Volcan's and nuzzling him softly, his other arm lifting up to touch Volcan's chest lightly.

They lost track of how long the two of them stayed like that; minutes, maybe, but neither one was eager to pull apart. But after a while Luke's ears twitched as a thought filled his mind, and he slowly pulled back a bit to look Volcan in the eyes. "That's right... I almost forgot." He said softly.

"What?" Volcan asked, softly.

Luke's smile started to widen a bit. "Remember back in Azure..." he began. "I told you that there was something I wanted to tell you? And that I wanted to say it after this whole ordeal with the fortress was over?"

Volcan chuckled, waving his hand to gesture at their surroundings. "Not what I'd call the ideal place for a chat, but sure; you can tell me anything."

Luke chuckled a bit, pulling back his paw from Volcan's cheek and reaching for his talon, gripping it tightly in his paw. "Well...it wasn't exactly something I wanted to say...it was more along the lines of a question..." He returned. "Thinking back on it...maybe I was rushing it a little but..."

He paused for a moment, taking a small breath before he continued. "Volcan, my love... It's all thanks to you that I finally found that inner peace I'd been seeking ever since my last hard break up... Ever since that memorable night with you when we finally confessed to each other, I've finally moved on from the past and now... only a future with you matters the most to me."

Luke's grip on Volcan's talon tightened as he spoke his next few words. "Throughout the course of my life... I've had three wives that I loved dearly... but now, it's about time I took on a new approach..." He blushed deeply as he gazed into Volcan's blue eyes. "...And took on a husband instead..."

Volcan's eyes widened, staring back into Luke's with a rather expressionless stare, caught off guard as it dawned on him what Luke was asking from him. "Luke... are you... proposing to me?" He asked.

The Lucario nodded weakly. "I am." He whispered. "I firmly believe you're the one I've desperately needed in my life." he added. "...Volcan, my dearly beloved Blaziken... Will you become my lover for life? My mate? My husband?" He asked softly, the look in his eyes showing he meant every word.

Volcan's expression didn't change as he stared back at Luke, struggling to find words to answer him with, eventually his gaze drifting away as he spoke. "You're... sure you want this; to be with me? There's still so much unclear about me -about who I really am. Is that... really something you want in a husband?"

"Whatever's left for you to uncover, we'll find it together," Luke returned with a firm tone. "I made you that promise a month ago and my mind has not changed." He shook his head. "And I don't care how much is still unclear about your past; I care only about now._I have seen who you are; I know all I need to know." Once more, he pressed his paw to Volcan's face, staring desperately at him. "You _are the one I want to be with... I know it."

Once again that stare. It lasted so long Luke was afraid Volcan was trying to think of a way to refuse him, until the Blaziken suddenly lowered himself down and kissed Luke on the lips again. Unlike the previous times they had kissed, this one was somehow different; their first one had been an expression that accompanied their confessions to one another, and the day they had made out in the kitchen had been a heated, passionate moment, letting out feelings they had felt but never expressed...

Now though, it was as if the first kiss of true lovers was being shared, and somehow it made both Volcan and Luke feel more alive than they ever had before this moment, their arms holding each other tightly as they shared this moment in the darkness of the cavern.

An all too short moment later, Volcan pulled back from Luke, beaming down at him. "How could I possibly refuse the light of my heart?" He asked, holding Luke's cheek gently. "You mean _everything_to me... you have given me so much. You gave me a new identity, a new home, helped find missing fragments of my life I could never be without, and then, you gave me your heart." He slid his talon down to Luke's chest, gently caressing him "I want to give you all of that and more. It's only right that I start with saying... 'yes'."

Luke's face lit up, filling with life again as Volcan accepted his proposal. With strength that seemed to come from nowhere, he pulled Volcan into a tight embrace, squeezing him tightly and pressing his cheek against the Blaziken's, with Volcan happily returning the embrace.

"...You complete me, Volcan." He whispered warmly to him. "I'm glad that I could fill you with such joy in your life...No one is as deserving of it than you." He said as he began to pull back a little, looking back into Volcan's eyes with possibly the widest, happiest smile the Blaziken had ever seen. "I love you... with every fibre of my heart, my soul; my very being. Only you may have it, and no one else."

Volcan could think of no other words to tell Luke to express his sheer joy. They had known each other for barely more than a month, but only a week ago, Sickle had said it first, when he said that in them he saw the brewing of true love between them; something so rarely found, and so wonderful. Even if they hadn't known each other that long... he knew in his heart of hearts, this was right, and it was meant to be.

They stared at each other for a long, silent moment until a sound caught their ears; a sound they quickly recognized as a water droplet falling into a pool. They finally broke their locked gaze, searching for the source of the sound. Volcan squinted as he saw a tunnel mouth at the far wall of the cave, needing to lean out of the dim light beaming in from the hole above, which was still trickling with sand into the cave. At the wall, Volcan could see a cave mouth, revealing a tunnel that lead deep into places unknown, but that's not all there was; a dark, quivering liquid pool lay by the cave mouth, reflecting the dim light to reveal its position as it rippled from the droplet that had fallen from the stalactite above.

It was water.

"Look!" Volcan pointed, excitedly, towards the pool and tunnel mouth next to it.

Luke quickly turned his head where Volcan was pointing, feeling a wave of relief wash over him as he saw the pool of life-giving fluid gathering in the corner of the cave. "Hallelujah; water!" He exclaimed.

"Come on!" Volcan declared, slipping his hands under Luke and hoisting him up in his arms before sprinting over to the pool with a spring in his step, dropping to his knees next to it and setting Luke down so that he could reach it,

Now kneeling at the edge, Volcan dipped his talons into the pool and splashed some of the cool water over his face, washing some of the sand and grime from his features and helping to cool his eyes as well, which only now did he notice still stung from the poison splat he had suffered the day before during their battle with Redfang, but he didn't complain about it.

Luke, in a spur of eagerness, dipped his entire face into the pool, letting the water soak into his fur and get all the sand out of it while he took large gulps of the cool fluid. To his tired, dehydrated body, the water was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted, and he kept drinking until he pulled his head back out and gasped, a content smile crossing his features, eyes closed and enjoying the cool trickles running down his face to his neck.

"Haaaah~" He sighed as he let himself fall onto his backside, sitting comfortably by the poolside, eyes closed with contentment. "Much better."

"Arceus has mercy after all," Volcan remarked, after taking a few mouthfuls himself. He may not have needed as much water as a non-Fire-type would, but it felt good to get a bit of refreshment in him, not to mention it helped cool his eyes.

"Indeed," Luke returned, wiping his mouth a bit, then glancing over to the cave entrance next to the pool of water. "We even have a way out it seems. Talk about a lucky break."

"As hopeful as I'm feeling, it's not a way out 'till we find the right path," Volcan stated. "Let's rest here for a bit, and then we'll go searching." He rose back to his feet, pulling off his cloak and giving it a shake to get the sand out of it. Of course, he regretted doing this when the billions of invisible particles coating the brown cloak exploded from the fabric and buffeted the Blaziken, who blew a raspberry as he got a face full of sand. "Pfft! Dammit, come on; I just washed my face!"

Luke started to laugh a bit at Volcan's small misfortune, then stood up himself and pulled away his cloak as well, doing the same as Volcan had an suffering the same fate, clenching his eyes and mouth shut as he let it settle, but wrinkling his nose as the particles irritated it, bringing a sneeze out of him. "...Ok I guess I had that coming." He muttered, feeling karma bite him back in the ass for laughing at Volcan earlier.

Volcan chuckled lightly, and said "I think you've had enough sand for one day."

"Of that, we're agreed." Luke returned, shaking the rest of the sand out of his cloak, then wrapped it around his body again, looking over at Volcan as he approached him. "So, where are we going to rest?"

"I don't know; nothing but rocks in here," Volcan replied. "We'll have to make the best of it, and then go do a bit of dungeon delving." He looked up at the hole they had fallen through, easily forty feet up. "Or I can risk splitting my head on a stalactite and jump us out through there," he said, pointing to the hole in the ceiling where the howling of the sandstorm outside was still filling the cave.

"I'll take Option A if you don't mind." Luke returned, shuddering at the thought of Volcan hitting a stalactite.

"Probably for the best; even if I reach up that high, that's a pretty narrow hole from down here." He reached up to rub his eye. "And thanks to that damn Redfang I don't exactly trust my depth perception right now," He added. "Besides, that sandstorm's still blowing out there; who knows when it's going to stop?"

"Point taken." Luke said softly. "No choice then; just have to rest here for now." He said, looking around for a suitable spot for the two of them to lay down, spotting a rather smooth spot at the corner of the cavern where they would also be safely hidden from anything that might wander into the cave -in a place like this, they could not take chances.

He wandered over to the corner, pulling off his cloak and emitting an aura pulse over the ground to scatter the small stones that littered the floor, before laying the cloak out on the stone and smoothing it out. He sat down on the stone, turning his attention to Volcan who had been watching him as he worked. He smiled, and patted a spot on the cloak next to him, inviting his lover to join him.

Without even a second of hesitation, Volcan walked over, pulling off his cloak as he seated himself down next to Luke, who scooted over to him and draped his arm over Volcan's middle as they lay down on the floor, and the Blaziken pulled his cloak over them like a blanket. The stone floor wasn't perfectly smooth, though, and they could feel bumps and ridges digging into their backs as they lay down, but having had their rest interrupted by the sandstorm before, they didn't really care; all they wanted was a few hours of sleep to gather their strength.

With Luke now snuggling up to him, Volcan put an arm around his lover, who was now laying with his head on the Blaziken's chest. "I know I said this already," he began. "But as long as we're together, we will get home."

"Yes...yes we will" Luke whispered back, gently stroking Volcan's chest and staring up at him. "I can no longer find any words to express how deeply I want you in my life..." He stated softly. "I truly... deeply... love you, Volcan... now and forever, and even after we pass on...I'll always remember you." He then reached up and held his face with his paw. "Even if we happen to be entire continents apart from one another...I will_always_... love you."

"And I will always love you, Luke," Volcan returned, hugging Luke tightly in his arms. "For as long as I draw breath; you are my life now..."

"As you are mine." Luke returned, and then crawled Volcan's body to face level with him. "...Enough words, my dear husband; shut up and kiss me." He practically demanded from the Blaziken.

Volcan grinned back at him, swiftly bringing up his arms to hold Luke as the Lucario dove in and pressed his lips to Volcan's again, once more the two of them sharing that passionate kiss, caressing one another and becoming entwined beneath the cloak that covered them. They fell asleep like that, resting in the deep gloom of the cave; their challenges were far from over yet -the journey was just beginning, and a long road full of unknown dangers still lay before them.