[color=a187be]"Hmph. Alright then." Sephie watches Serph rush off, then turns to Ai-yu. "Ai, we're going to see just what this is all about."
Ai-yu nods in reply. Sephie then glances back at the rest of her Pokemon. "I want all of you guys to stay here and guard everyone else here, okay?"
"Whaaaaat?" Euphoria looks heartbroken. "No! I might finally have a chance to plaaaay! PLEEEEEASE, SEPHIE, PLEEEEEEEEEEEEE-"
"Ack! Okay, okay. Euphie, you can come too. But seriously, the rest of you stay here and help out, unless I call for you." Sephie chuckles a bit as Euphoria prances happily up to her side.
"Will do, Sephie." Pipley agrees with a polite nod. "Should I need to, I won't hold back." He winks.
"I'm counting on that." Sephie grins before turning her back and following Serph.
Meanwhile, Aruba has nearly reached the clearing where mostly everyone has gathered together, when she runs into new auras heading right in her direction. One is another Lucario...and the other two are a pair of closely-resonating ones, which she recognizes all to well. In the shadows, she stops right on top of the auras, and then jumps down at them with a weak attempt at an attack. She means for the pair to dodge, as they do.
"Well, well...I had my doubts...but, the cape seals it." Sephie smirks. "Long time, no see..."
"...Despite what you say, I don't know you. Not anymore, at least." Aruba growls back, though she con only look at Sephie while saying this, and not Ai-yu. The little pink Celebi is making a dreadfully saddened face, with big green eyes that would tug at anyone's heartstrings.
"Ruru! Ruru, it's us! You...you have to remember me, right? We were best friends! You saved me!" Ai-yu tries to plead with the Lucario, but she's cold and unresponsive towards Ai-yu altogether.
"Well then, I have to ask, what are you doing tracking down strangers?" Sephie crosses her arms, raising a brow.
"My job." Aruba's reply is brisk as she rushes forward to try and attack Sephie. Sephie doesn't move an inch.
"HI, GUYS!"
Euphoria dives in front of her trainer with a frightening grin stretched across her face. Aruba is caught off guard by this expression, and even more so by the Pixilated Hyper Voice that Euphoria lets loose. Aruba is flung back, but she lands on her feet again, gritting her teeth.
"Ugh..." Aruba glares at Euphoria, then at Sephie. "Tch...Kalos Pokemon...who do you even have left from your roots, then? From Sinnoh?"
"How does someone who's supposed to not know who I am anymore know that I originally started out there?" Sephie counters, wagging a finger and looking very amused. Aruba only growls again in frustration, which causes Sephie to laugh. "Alright, I'll give you a break here. I've still got many of my Sinnoh friends...Raven's here right now. If you'd be so kind as to quit trying to beat me up, I'm sure she'd love to chat with you again."
"Heh...nice try...but I can't." Aruba huffs back.[/color]
[color=8dc73f]"I'd hope so. It would simply be a shame if he went on being an idiot forever more, wouldn't it?" Rythian nods at Aqua with a small chuckle. He glances around the area after mention of his two friends, "Hm...perhaps. It's not like those two to get lost...but, they're so energetic sometimes that they both have a bad habit of 'leaping without looking', so to speak...but, they aren't bad. True, one of them likes to steal, but we're doing our best to fix that."
"S-should we even try going back now? I'm a little scared, Electricia..." Mystarii doesn't move from her spot, where just a minute ago she was cowering in front of a Revolutioneer Lucario. Electricia is next to her, not moving either, unless you count her shaking.
"I don't know...I mean, Rythian isn't a Trained Pokemon...but, didn't he say he used to be a Revolutioneer? What if that one just now recognizes him, and now there's trouble up there?"
Before the two friends can come up with a decisive plan of action, they're confronted by Sha, which only frightens them anew.
"G-GAH! NO, NOT AGAIN! Please, Revolutioneers, don't hurt us, w-we're Scattered!" Mystarii cries.
"W-wait...shiny Zoroark? You know where Rythian is?" Electricia's ears perk up, and she grab's her friend's arm. "Mystarii! Hey, this guy's offering to take us back to Ry!"
"R...R-really?!" Mystarii brightens up. "Oh, thank goodness! Let's go!"
Mystarii helps Electricia onto Sha's back first, since she's smaller, and then climbs on as well.[/color]
[color=ed1c24]Montainum, in his study, glances at the small cloaked figure. He pauses with thought for a moment, then nods. "Yes...go ahead. Perhaps that is best..."
Darkclaw, meanwhile, has made his way back to the base by now.
"I certainly hope Aruba's adhering to the rules down there....she knows what'll happen it she doesn't..." Darkclaw chuckles evilly to himself.
In the recesses of the base, back in the room with the cages, Tatakumei is undergoing her own battle. She's practicing against the bars of her cage, attempting both to weaken the metal, and to make herself stronger. She can only become a Lucario when she's strong, and can see the sun. She can see the sun, and she'll be strong enough, when she can break out of her own cage. Tatakumei holds these beliefs tight in her heart, hoping to make her mother proud...[/color]