Total Hit Count: 5,318

Disclaimer

The following is a non-profit, dedicated work of FanFiction. The original characters, ideas, and storyline are owned by me.

Any and every song listed, licensed characters portrayed, or other miscellaneous concept referenced all belong to their respective properties.

Please do your part in offering them your support, and continue doing so if you already are.

"This chapter is historically incorrect, When crucified victims would often be tied with ropes not nailed in. Jesus was an exception because the people (at the time) hated him so much" -Cyndaquil123

"This is an absolutely amazingly epic story I am glad to have come across." -DemoncatShade

"You clearly put your heart and soul into this story and I appreciate that." -Flameboo

"But in all honesty you are a horrible person, I found this new chapter at 3 in the morning, I wanted to sleep. But unfortunately this chapter kept me up longer that I wanted to be up. You should feel really proud of yourself. ;)" -Kalakar

"Very good fic sir, original and enjoyable. I like where it seems this is going. One piece of feedback I could give is that you seem to use complex words to describe actions and situations a little to liberally. hope you keep writing this to completion." -Lothario the Lucario

"Truthfully the first time I attempted to read your story I got threw chapter 1 and lost interest. Out of the lack of any other long stories with Lucario in it I decided to give this another shot. And I can say I am glad I did. My one and only major complaint about this story is that for most of it I felt as if I was reading two independent stories. There are a few other nitpicky complaints that I won't bother with though." -OseanSoldier

"This story just keeps getting better! Great job man!" -TaXMaNFoReVeR

"This is quite frankly one of the best stories to have a Lucario fight. I love this battle and have yet to find one better." -ZealousZoroark

Over the course of writing my very first FanFic, "The Path of the Aura: Intertwining Crossroads" I feel as though these were some of the strongest reviews given to me and towards my story, one per individual. And by strongest, I don't mean by their magnitude of loving praise or nitpicky spite, but by their importance to me, the generosity of each individual in reflecting my potential as a FanFic author, where I can evolve from there, and what helps motivate me in continuing to write.

And as I've stated before in the "Afterword" chapter of my first FanFic, I plan on continuing to write, for as long as I'm able to, and with the ideas that I have piling up within my mind, towards my growing audience.

After all, I stated before that I planned on making a quartet through my ideas. However, as time goes on, that original future sight of my progress might change. It won't chance for the worst, mind you, but for the better. That much I can promise my fellow readers, even though I won't say anything more on the matter out of the fact that you (hopefully) already know of my first completed FanFic, as well as this budding sequel that I've already put in 100,000 words into, if you've been following the growing info that I've put on my profile page.

But for those that don't know of "The Path of the Aura: Intertwining Crossroads", this chapter properly summarizes the entirety of my first FanFic, all 353,009 words of it. As for those that do know of my first FanFic, and have already read through it, this chapter does a proper job in refreshing your memory of it, as well as organizing it down into three main segments: Eduardo's side of the story, Xeno Lucario's side of the story, and where my sequel FanFic will follow on from there.

Enjoy.

Recap Prologue

26.1: Crossroad of the Man of Bulwark

Hikari -KINGDOM Orchestra Instrumental Version-/Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete - CD1 - Kingdom Hearts OST/Utada Hikaru

(Song Begins)

In the year 33 A.D, within the remote village of Saudi Arabia, in the middle of a desert of apparent nothingness, a boy by the name of Eduardo resided as a secluded citizen. This child was born with extraordinary intelligence, which he used to construct an underground laboratory within his own home, filled it to the brim with various technological marvels that won't exist for another two millennia, as well as with various gene-spliced biological fruits that under normal circumstances don't exist.

His parents, rarely home because of their career choice as mercenary soldiers, have left him alone for most of his childhood, with no one to look after him, and no one to befriend. However, when two orphaned boys by the name of Costas and Ian stumble inadvertently within his own laboratory, Eduardo quickly befriends them and accepts them as brothers to his own family.

Unfortunately, a cryptic letter from a Roman General tells the three of them of the passing of Eduardo's parents in battle. And from that letter, Eduardo's fire, fueled from the spite of the Roman Empire, began to burn.

As the years passed, as Eduardo and his adopted brothers were reaching their late teens, Eduardo had an idea, to create a storage device that had no tangible limits. The process for developing the core of this device—a black hole—proved to be both dangerous and a formidable test for Eduardo's intelligence and patience, but eventually he succeeded after 160 attempts. He manufactured the first of his self-proclaimed "S-Rank" inventions: the S1-GS device, dubbed "Grand Storage Sphere" by his brothers and accepted by Eduardo as a nickname.

As he celebrated his success with his brothers, the three of them were visited by, of all possible people, three Roman soldiers, who enigmatically caught word of his S1-GS device. Sensing the danger at hand, Eduardo and his brothers fled into their laboratory, where they retrieved their weapons, safeguarded the device, and stood to impede—and hopefully repel—the Roman threat. Unfortunately, the three of them, skilled enough to hold their own against these professional soldiers, were defeated in battle. Then, they were held as prisoners until the remaining soldiers—and their general—in this Roman legion arrived.

Once they did, the leader of the Roman legion identified and introduced himself to Eduardo by the name of Mercury, which coincidentally turned out to be the same person that killed Eduardo's mother and father. However, even though revenge for Mercury's actions flared within Eduardo's mind, they weren't carried out in the form of action. Because, when Mercury managed to obtain the S1-GS device from Eduardo's advanced security systems, he felt it fitting to dispose of all of the citizens within the village.

Eduardo and his brothers were nailed by their palms and feet onto thin wooden stakes, and hoisted into the air to view first-hand Mercury's conquest of his home village. And despite Eduardo feeling utter hopelessness at seeing Mercury's Roman battalion decimate the village's whole, one residence after another, both of his brothers still believed that hope shouldn't be lost, so long as none of us give up.

Hearing their words of invigoration, Eduardo felt a replenished drive to retaliate against this invasion. And deep within him, a power that no one thought possible surfaced forth from him, a power that he classified as "Elemental Aura". With this unexplained power, Eduardo not only managed to retrieve the S1-GS device back into his possession, but also managed to single-handedly obliterate Mercury's entire legion of 999 soldiers, sparing Mercury himself for the pleasure of finishing him last, as the 1,000th.

However, when Mercury indirectly exposed the fact that he had nothing to do with the death of Eduardo's parents, and that the letter was nothing more than a fictitious description of a bitterly true event, Eduardo felt just enough mercy to spare him, and even construct for him a boat to reach home.

With Mercury gone and his legion annihilated, Eduardo and his brothers proceeded to return home. But before Eduardo managed to do so, he caught a quick glimpse of the brewing instability that his fellow neighbors were displaying. The instability amongst them suggested that they clearly didn't see Eduardo as a hero that saved their village from the ambition that Rome had in expanding their conquered territory, but rather as a bloodthirsty monster that killed hundreds of soldiers with enigmatically acquired, bizarre and unexplainable abilities that allowed him to manipulate various attributes with nothing more than his inner aura.

Sensing the inevitable riot, Eduardo retreated into the depths of his underground laboratory, to gather supplies for his departure. Both of his brothers, knowing that the person that accepted them both into his family was about to leave and never return, felt it appropriate to bid him farewell. And when Eduardo appeared outside of his house once again, the surviving villagers were beginning to prepare an uprising in driving him out.

Eduardo, bidding his own brothers farewell in return, fled from the village, outrunning the population giving chase, and accepting the life of a banished individual.

Meanwhile, two months later, when Mercury returned to Rome, he proceeded to the Throne Room of the palace of the fourth Roman Emperor Claudius. Mercury discussed the mission results that occurred at the remote village where Eduardo inhabited. Claudius dismissed him until his next assignment, and pondered how the S1-GS that Eduardo had manufactured was never his intention to obtain. Instead, he sought a different objective. He sought to have Eduardo's inner powers awaken. And based on Mercury's report of his mission "failure", Claudius had succeeded.

For Eduardo, over a year had passed since his banishment, and he found himself having wandered within the same body of land that his home village resided on, according to the map function of his recently-constructed second "S-Rank" invention: the S2-PTSDO device, standing for "Portable Two-Screen Digital 'Omni-computer'", but nicknamed "Different System" for ease of reference. He searched for a place to rest after walking for a tiring distance during his travels. And after further inspection of the land, he found a piece of land that he deemed welcoming, in the form of a grassy hillside with a tree on its apex.

However, the area wasn't as halcyon and relaxing as it seemed. Because shortly after he decided to rest within the area, he found himself face-to-face with a vicious winged dragon, with black scales and a blacker aura, having appeared before him out of seemingly nowhere.

Thankfully, through a difficult battle between Eduardo and this mysterious intruder, Eduardo proved victorious. However, despite having its body scattered across the landscape, the dragon didn't appear finished. Instead, when Eduardo approached the mutilated head, the dragon spoke to him of a puzzling entity, one that was out of his power to endure against, escape from, or prevent. And then, as a parting gift, the dragon struck Eduardo in the left eye, knocking him unconscious while simultaneously rendering that same eye useless.

When Eduardo regained consciousness after the questionable ordeal, he quickly discovered that, even after his left eye had been healed of its injury thanks to his Elemental Aura abilities, the damage had already dug itself too deep and proved irreversible. Deciding to cut his losses there, Eduardo simply placed an eye patch over his ruined eye, and then pondered two topics to himself: why no trace of the dragon remained, not even its own spilled blood on the grass, and what was this "It" that the scaled beast was referring to.

The years continued to pass for Eduardo after that unusual event, leaving him now at the adolescent age of twenty-seven. And quite recently with his newly-acquired age, Eduardo decided to create a third invention that was worthy of the self-named title "S-Rank": the S3-OSS device, the "OSS" standing for "Optical Surveillance Sphere".

And as he was testing this latest invention, all twenty-six aesthetically different versions of the same device concept, Eduardo felt a shred of curiosity in using one of those devices to observe the village from which he was banished from over a decade ago. In doing so, he noticed Rome's military forces attempting to conquer his former home village, with his former neighbors standing in their path to impede their progress.

And despite the great danger that his village was facing, Eduardo no longer felt it appropriate to defend that place, the village that drove him out despite his heroic choice of actions long ago.

However, because of an encounter with an enigmatic hooded figure, his choice on the matter was premeditatedly decided for him, whether he wanted to initiate it or not.

Before Eduardo knew it, he had been transported to the center of the conflict between the Roman military and the village citizens, within his home village. And after eyeing both of his brothers after a decade of absence, Eduardo confronted the Roman military, only to immediately discover that his Elemental Aura abilities had temporarily left him. Sensing something was amiss with Eduardo, both Costas and Ian took him back to his former laboratory, telling him that their village could handle things from here.

Within the underground laboratory, after Eduardo had bluntly stated that he arrived here against his will, he also said that he was well equipped to fight against enemy forces, even without Elemental Aura abilities. Both of his brothers, knowing that Eduardo spoke the truth, accompanied him to the surface and confronted the Roman threat.

Upon reaching the surface, all three of them watched at the conflagrations and the ruin that the vast majority of the village had succumbed to under Roman General Mars's invasion. And immediately at seeing this, the inner rage that Eduardo had within him flared forth, and took shape in the unforeseen form of a white-scaled winged dragon, through the most disturbingly graphic metamorphosis imaginable before his brothers.

With this new body that tripled his height and increased his weight to half a ton, Eduardo simultaneously combated Mars's Roman legion alongside his own fatigue from the transformation, and accumulating injuries that Mars's forces dealt him. And through brute force and sheer force of will, all of Mars's soldiers fell in battle, one after the other, until all that remained was Mars himself. And with one attack, Eduardo obliterated the entrails of the fear-struck Roman General, before tossing his gutted carcass into the Red Sea.

With the battle won, Eduardo hobbled back over to his former house where his two brothers awaited him, moments before exhaustion finally strangled the consciousness out of him. Both of them, alongside his former neighbors, saw past his scaly exterior and looked at his choice of actions, seeing how he still chose to save the people of this village, even after they had cast him away, even with power that can be easily used antagonistically, but was never decreed so. Proof of this came in the form of the villagers helping out his brothers in carried Eduardo's massive body into the laboratory, where he could recover and rest after a victorious battle.

When Eduardo awoke a fair amount of time afterward, his brothers were there, to make sure that he was alright, and to ask him what was on their mind. Afterwards, Eduardo told them that he would plan on reverting himself back to normal, and he promptly got up on his feet once more to begin his task at hand. However, both Costas and Ian, before giving their brother a chance to leave the door, told him how the villagers had offered their hand in bringing him here. Eduardo noticed their presence, and they promptly began to apologize to him, for their blind actions over a decade ago. This mass forgiveness proved far too emotional for Eduardo, and he couldn't help but forgive them, and then apologize for his uncontrollable draconic tone of voice.

After tending to the village by reconstructing the houses and paying respect for the deceased, Eduardo spent the majority of his time searching for a way to return to normality. And after achieving his breakthrough, Eduardo manufactured a healing tank for the solution that would return him to normal. Without any complications, the experiment proved successful in returning Eduardo back to normal, much to the relief of his brothers and the observing villagers.

However, shortly afterward, the hooded figure intruded into Eduardo's underground laboratory. And instead of picking a fight with him, for reasons known only to the hooded figure, he decided to give me some information instead, information that Mars tried to bribe his way out of death by telling Eduardo, and that his brothers would've told him in time, if he didn't put it off for this long.

He spoke to Eduardo of an extraterrestrial—an Aura Pokémon by the name of Xeno Lucario—that arrived into this world through a rift in space. This alien individual arrived and resided here over one month ago—before Eduardo's return here—, and then ran off after defeating Mars's first and failed invasion attempt here, searching for a way to return home. After saying what he needed to, the hooded figure took his leave, leaving Eduardo's brothers to fill in the blanks that the hooded figure left.

Afterwards, they tell Eduardo what he plans to do next, and he says that he's going to locate Xeno, especially since his brothers hinted Xeno about Eduardo, how the Aura Pokémon might possess acumen keen enough to help his cause, and how Xeno is locating Eduardo as well. Also, because of Xeno Lucario's skills in wielding aura, Eduardo might have some questions in his life answered through the Aura Pokémon.

Thankfully, with the S3-OSS devices that Eduardo possesses, locating Xeno Lucario will only take a matter of time.

Surprisingly quickly afterward, thanks to the optical range and Mach 2 speed that Eduardo's S3-OSS devices can blanket over the Earth, he managed to locate Xeno Lucario, who appeared badly injured and hemorrhaging on the hillside that Eduardo had visited once before. When the S3-OSS devices returned to Eduardo, the three of them held two of them in each hand and used them to fly over to Xeno's location, Eduardo using his Elemental Aura abilities to reach Xeno at top speed, without wind resistance getting in his way.

Upon reaching Xeno's location, Eduardo assimilated the situation—Xeno Lucario lying unconscious and bleeding profusely before five avaricious Roman nomads—and checked for Xeno's pulse, hoping to feel for signs of life, only to receive coldness of skin and blood in return. And when the five Roman nomads boldly placed their economic interests over Eduardo on what to do over Xeno's body, Eduardo's vehemence erupted forth before them, in the form of Black (Darkness) Aura. With that power and with negative emotion symbiotically supporting each other, the five Roman nomads were obliterated, just as Costas and Ian arrived to the scene.

The three of them analyzed Xeno's gruesome injuries, Eduardo forming the diagnosis that Xeno endured fifty lacerations on the front half of his body, and fifty more on the back half of his body. Eduardo believes that Xeno is dead, due to the fatal hemorrhaging he sustained. Oddly enough, his brothers strongly disagree, saying that Xeno is much stronger than this, and that Eduardo hasn't gotten to see his combative attributes in person yet. They even tell him to feel for his pulse again. Eduardo reluctantly did so, believing that they're entering denial over his death.

However, Eduardo is immediately silenced of his opinion when he feels a very faint pulse from Xeno's apparently cadaverous body. And immediately after detecting faint signs of life, Eduardo quickly retrieved his fourth "S-Rank" invention—the S4-BW ("Bio-Welder")—and hastily began to mend all of Xeno's injuries. And when all of Xeno's injuries were taken care of, his heart bean was returning to normal as well. Eduardo saved Xeno's life, and his brothers are greatly thankful that he managed to do so.

In waiting for Xeno to awake from his slumber, Eduardo decided to take a moment to explain to his brothers about key events that occurred to him during his banishment, and various other topics that they showed curiosity over. Afterwards, Eduardo ogled Xeno's equipment that rested in a neat pile by the tree's trunk: the battle armor and the utility belt that had various Poké Balls strapped onto it.

Eduardo began to dissect all of Xeno's belongings within his mind, analyzing the materials that composed the battle armor, as well as who manufactured it—Team Rocket—and the date of manufacture—2010. Then, he downloaded all of the data within Xeno's helmet and scanned through it. From the data, what caught Eduardo's eye was the aesthetic similarity of his first three "S-Rank" devices with items that were present within the databanks and the Poké Balls that Xeno had on his possession.

And when Eduardo reached into the Pokédex program within the downloaded information from the databanks of Xeno's helmet, he scrolled through the hundreds of Pokémon that the Pokédex program had on file, paying special attention to the ones that Xeno had bookmarked for quick reference: #004: Charmander, #005: Charmeleon, #006: Charizard, #131: Lapras, #150: Mewtwo, #246: Larvitar, #247: Pupitar, #348: Tyranitar, #253: Grovyle, #254: Sceptile, #255: Torchic, #256: Combusken, #304: Aron, #305: Lairon, #306: Aggron, #355: Duskull, #356: Dusclops, #359: Absol, #374: Beldum, #375: Metang, #380: Latias, #381: Latios, #403: Shinx, #404: Luxio, #405: Luxray, #445: Garchomp, #447: Riolu, #448: Lucario, #477: Dusknoir, #483: Dialga, #484: Palkia, and #487: Giratina. All of these Pokémon left Eduardo and his brothers puzzled in the workings of Xeno's parallel Earth.

Eventually, Eduardo decided to briefly return to his underground laboratory, to check on the maintenance systems of his Berry plants, and used two of his S3-OSS devices to reach there, leaving both Costas and Ian to watch on at Xeno's wellbeing.

When Eduardo was returning, he noticed that Lucario had awakened, and was amongst both Costas and Ian. Eduardo descended down before the three of them, and apparently had Xeno stare at him unwaveringly. Upon seeing this, Eduardo asked Xeno Lucario a few questions, how he was feeling after his mass laceration ordeal, if he was hungry, and how he obtained his injuries earlier. The first two questions were answered with vague silence, and the third came in the form of an attack that was too swift for Eduardo to defend against, knocking him out cold with a METAL CLAW swipe across his countenance's left side and a SKY UPPERCUT to the chin.

When Eduardo awakened from enduring Xeno's one-two sucker punches, he noticed that only Costas and Ian were present before him, the Aura Pokémon disappearing from the setting altogether. His brothers explain to him what occurred, how Xeno warped away for perplexing reasons, after receiving an unbearable headache after contemplating having struck the person named Eduardo.

Rather than show spite over Xeno's unusual choice of actions, Eduardo attempts to ponder the reasons why from Xeno's perspective, and contemplates searching for him once more with the S3-OSS devices. Both Costas and Ian manned the controls to Eduardo's S2 and S3 devices, while he tended to his injury, noticing that the most he sustained from Xeno's METAL CLAW was a scar on his blank, left eye.

The search for Xeno consumed the time of the night and progressed until early next morning, where Eduardo remained awake in receiving any feedback from any one of his S3-OSS devices. Thankfully, one of them finally located Xeno, identifying his location to be, of all possible places, within an Empty Lot in Rome, prepped for slaughter by the Roman Emperor Nero.

Contemplating his methods of reaching the Aura Pokémon in time, the only method that had the highest chance of success was transmogrifying into that dragon form, and then amplifying his flying speed with Light Green (Wind) Aura to the point where supersonic flight was not only possible, but exceeded the speed at which the S3-OSS devices were capable of reaching.

In attempting to access the dragon form within him, Eduardo meditated and entered the confines of his own cerebrum. Within his consciousness, he found himself descending down a sable abyss, until he reached a platform in the shape of a star-shaped pentagram, surrounded by a circle in all five points, and emanating a crimson light in the darkness.

Eduardo's dragon form appeared shortly after he touched down. The dragon half of Eduardo asks him why he divided himself and sealed this monstrosity within his mind. Eduardo responds by saying he has no idea what he's talking about, and asks to unite their power into one, in order to rescue Xeno from Roman clutches. The dragon half explains how this power only destroys those within reach, replaying the events of Eduardo's clash with Mars in the process from beginning to end.

Eduardo counter-argued his dragon half by saying that, under his control and choice of actions, this raw power was used with defense in mind, to ward off oncoming threats that threatened the safety of those that he loved and valued, and would never become otherwise as long as Eduardo lived with full awareness of his actions. The background, during this argument, reflected the after-effects of Eduardo's battle with Mars and his legion, where the eyes of all of the villagers, as well as those of Costas and Ian, looked at this massive winged reptile with gratitude and respect, no longer with fear or with uncertainty.

Eduardo's dragon half, surprisingly, began to cry at the freedom that it missed, ever since being locked away within Eduardo's mind, and looking at the world through Eduardo's memories. Eduardo reached out his hand to his other half, saying how they'll help each other with their problems, as a whole rather than two halves. Eduardo's dragon half accepted, extended out its hand, and connected with his own, instantly shifting the darkness within this mental setting into blinding white light, where the two of them became one once more.

In doing so, this sparked the question in how Eduardo's dragon half became separated in the first place, and why there existed no shred of memory on the matter.

Back into reality, with newfound power in mind that could turn the tides on Xeno's fate, Eduardo formed a cocoon of aura around himself with the twelve Elemental Aura abilities that he'd learned so far, creating a rainbow veil where his risk-free metamorphosis was taking place. Both of his brothers awoke at the moment where this cocoon dispersed, leaving their eyes to behold him when Eduardo became the white dragon once more.

With absolute confidence, Eduardo assured them that when he returned, there would be a total of four individuals accounted for. And after saying that, Eduardo rocketed towards Rome—crossing over the Mediterranean Sea in the process—at the sound shredding speed of Mach 3, leaving my brothers to ponder just how little they truly know about him.

The ridiculous speed that Eduardo was travelling at allowed him to reach Rome, to reach Xeno Lucario, just in the nick of time. However, he only arrived quickly enough to intercept Nero striking Xeno with his Gladius sword, by standing directly between the two of them, and being on the receiving end of the thrust of his sword. The end result was Eduardo being penetrated through the abdomen by Nero's Gladius sword, which promptly disappeared after being eaten away by Eduardo's acidic dragon blood.

With Xeno safe and assured in the fact that Eduardo was here in time to stop Xeno's own execution, Eduardo began to converse with Nero, the Emperor of the Roman Empire. Nero showed great signs of spite for my choice of actions against his military forces, which have impeded his ideals for further Roman conquest. Eduardo responds by saying that it was all brought on him after his forces killed Eduardo's parents and attempted to conquer the village where Eduardo was born, cementing Eduardo's rage towards their civilization. Eduardo stated that he would continue to fight to protect those that he loved, from ruthless people who wish to see it all under their rule. And to conclude the conversation, Nero stated that he will not rest until Rome overlaps the whole world and that the two of them cease to exist, moments before Eduardo flicked a finger onto his forehead and knocked him unconscious.

And after disposing of the ten Roman guards within the Empty Lot, and then having Xeno tend to Eduardo's injuries and vice versa, Eduardo explains to Xeno how he had to gamble in accessing this form under his own power in order to save his life, and Xeno is just thankful that everything worked out for the better.

In wanting to leave Rome as fast as possible, Xeno Lucario rode on Eduardo's back as he flew up into the sky and onward towards both Costas and Ian. Nero awoke from his unconsciousness soon after, and contemplated how to rid the world of both Eduardo and Xeno Lucario, moments before the hooded figure appeared before the Roman Emperor.

(Song Ends)

26.2: Crossroad of the Aura Pokémon of Prophecy

March Caprice for Piano and Orchestra/Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete - CD2 - Kingdom Hearts OST/Yoko Shimomura

(Song Begins)

Late in the 20th century, within a forest north of Celadon City of the Kanto region of the Pokémon world, an egg was present by a tree's trunk on the forest floor. In the form a bright light, the egg hatched and exposed a dark-furred Riolu, curled up and sleeping soundly where the egg once was.

After awakening from his slumber, this Riolu explored the forest location of his birth, and stumbled upon some Sitrus Berries that he deeply enjoyed upon first bite. And after strolling deeper through the forest, he eventually encountered a hostile Absol, one with the intent of killing the dark-furred Riolu.

The dark-furred Riolu, at first, attempted to run away from the oncoming threat, but eventually stood his ground and clashed with the Disaster Pokémon. They both bloodied each other, and Riolu managed to crack Absol's face with an AURA SPHERE—a Pokémon technique that is normally out of a Riolu's level of understanding until evolving—, prior to collapsing afterward.

Unfortunately, that Absol still had enough fight left in it and desired to inflict the final blow that would end the dark-furred Riolu's brief life. However, just before Absol could do so, another Riolu, normal in terms of fur color, caught Absol off guard and managed to KO it.

Shortly after doing so, that Riolu called for its friend Grovyle for assistance. The Riolu carried the wounded dark-furred Riolu back to Grovyle's tree house, and had Grovyle carry Absol back with them as well, feeling conflicted if it didn't do so.

When the dark-furred Riolu awakened, both Grovyle and the normal-furred Riolu were there beside it, where they introduced themselves formally, the normal-furred Riolu mentioning its nickname of "Tiny" Riolu in the process. The Absol that Riolu clashed with earlier was here as well, being awakened through the noise that he was making when Grovyle and Tiny were forcing him to remain in bed to recover from his injuries.

Out of curiosity, Riolu asked Tiny what aura was, when the topic was brought up, and then stated that he believed that he used AURA SPHERE in his battle with Absol. Tiny grew astonished at Riolu's ability to use a technique that is normally out of their level of prowess, and even agreed in teaching Riolu what it knew about aura-based techniques. With glee, Riolu accepted, unaware of the grin that Absol formed at the thought of combating this Riolu to the death, once its strength was tempered through training.

A total of thirty months passed since Grovyle and Tiny accepted Riolu and agreed to train him, the Absol that clashed with Riolu spend the same amount of time in solitude training as well, with the drive to kill Riolu when the two of them have heightened themselves martially. During this period of time, Riolu evolved into a well-trained Lucario, and Grovyle evolved into a Sceptile, with Tiny remaining a Riolu because of its personal choice.

During the day where Absol would return, Lucario had a nightmare, where he envisioned his forest home burning in flames, and the Pokémon inhabiting it being captured by humanoid silhouettes with a bright red "R" as their insignia, moments before he dreamed he was captured himself by their leader.

Once morning came and he awoke in a cold sweat, Lucario proceeded to the waterfall within his forest home to wash up and meditate, alongside Tiny who was there for a morning swim, as well as Sceptile who tended to its chores. And upon returning home, Tiny explained of its bitter past with Absol to both Lucario and Sceptile, and how it felt Absol should be kept alive so that Tiny could kill it in its peak condition.

Upon reaching the forest's Cliffside, Lucario confronted Absol, who was just waiting for Lucario to arrive. Both Sceptile and Tiny—alongside a light-furred Lucario by the nickname of "Wanderer"—added themselves to the observing audience of the battle.

Through a long and brutal battle between Absol and Lucario, Absol explained its reasoning for wanting Lucario dead. It mentions how its family, when Absol was at an earlier age, fell victim to Lucario over a mere dispute of territory, and it has been fighting vindictively against any Riolu and Lucario that it meets ever since, out of vengeance.

The end result of the battle left the two of them brutally wounded and bloody from their powerful attacks. Thankfully, Lucario proved victorious in the battle, managing to knock Absol off of the cliff with an AURA SPHERE. However the battle proved too much for his consciousness to bear, and he fell unconscious soon after, almost falling off of the cliff himself in the process, were it not for Sceptile, Tiny, and Wanderer preventing exactly that. The three of them brought Lucario back to the tree house to recover.

When Lucario awakened, he was introduced to Wanderer, a Lucario that Sceptile once traveled alongside with. Once introduced, Lucario decided to ask Wanderer a few questions, one of them being why Wanderer was here. Wanderer responded by saying that it heard of a clash between a Lucario and an Absol, and felt like seeing it.

At one point, Wanderer mentions a myth inscribed in one of the pillars on Spear Pillar, of a Pokémon that defies their basic normality, but knows very little else because it didn't decipher the Unown's language completely. At another point, Wanderer describes its battle with Ho-Oh, how it was out of boredom, and how it resulted in a stalemate. Afterward, all three of them went to sleep, Wanderer deciding to remain in this forest rather than its home in the Sinnoh region's Snowpoint Mountains.

Over thirteen years passed since that day, the four of them learning much in terms of martial skills, and having various tasks that keep them occupied within their forest residence.

During Lucario's practice in learning how to FLY, he noticed a group of helicopters flying and approaching his forest home, bearing with them a threat in the form of Team Rocket. Some of the helicopters flew directly overhead of Sceptile's tree house, with Lucario following closely behind. The Team Rocket Grunts within those helicopters dropped down beside Sceptile's tree house, and then set it ablaze with their Fire-Type Pokémon, much to Lucario's horror as he watched from a safe distance.

The blaze, despite engulfing Sceptile's tree house in a conflagration of four-digit heat, didn't consume either of the residents—Sceptile and Tiny—within. Instead, they were spared the full force of the fire by Tiny's PROTECT technique, which unfortunately left it critically drained of energy. And after Sceptile made it clear to them that they were resisting capture, the Grunts released their Koffing and Weezing, having them envelop both Sceptile and Tiny, before giving them the order to detonate at pointblank range. Lucario, knowing that there wasn't a moment to waste, attempted to reach both Sceptile and Tiny, in an effort to save them from the SELFDESTRUCT and EXPLOSION techniques from the Koffing and Weezing.

However, he reached Sceptile and Tiny a split second too late, and both gaseous Pokémon detonated in a dense ball of fire, knocking Lucario back from the shockwave. The Grunts surrounded him, noting that Lucario wasn't knocked out, but taking into account the demise of Sceptile and Tiny. And in bitter retaliation for the loss of his friends, Lucario mowed down both the Grunts and their Fire-Type Pokémon, before proceeding over to aid Wanderer against the remaining Team Rocket personnel.

Upon reaching there, Wanderer immediately gave up its freedom by giving Lucario the chance to retain his own, by having a Great Ball capture itself rather than Lucario. And shortly afterward, the action occurring within the setting subsided when all of the other Pokémon were captured as well, leaving Lucario alone against Team Rocket.

Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket makes himself present before Lucario, and explained of his organization to the point where Lucario vomited at their anti-moral viewpoints on Pokémon. Giovanni then sent out a Machamp from an Ultra Ball to combat Lucario, only to have it perish under Lucario might.

However, the Steelix that Giovanni sent out of its Heavy Ball fared much better against Lucario, and actually managed to imprison him with its steel-hard coils, slowly suffocating him to the point where Giovanni successfully captured him with "Team Rocket's Poké Ball". And with the satisfaction of capturing such a powerful Pokémon for his organization's use, Giovanni and his remaining Team Rocket personnel returned to their headquarters via helicopter.

They crossed over Kanto's Mt. Moon and continued hundreds of miles northward, away from any other human residence and into Team Rocket Main Headquarters, a massive building structure that resides in solitude and secrecy. Giovanni and his following staff handed over their Poké Balls to an unsuspecting Grunt, who would then take them to their HQ basement's holding cells. Both Wanderer and Lucario were transported into their own respective holding cell, Wanderer having to be knocked unconscious through a brutal electric shock, and Lucario still unconscious after his ordeal with Giovanni's Steelix.

Once Lucario awakened within his holding cell, he noticed two other Pokémon held within other holding cells adjacent of his own: a Lapras by the nickname of "Aqua" and a Garchomp by the nickname of "Terra". Both of them appeared very depressed, until Lucario explained that Team Rocket is to blame for all of this. Lucario, through a speech with its power coming from the pain he feels from Team Rocket's cruel actions, vows to free all of the Pokémon that Team Rocket has captured, and then crush Giovanni with his own two paws. His ambition motivates both Aqua and Terra to join his cause, "Team Liberator" as Lucario has decided to name his faction.

Moments later, the three of them hear Giovanni and his personal armed bodyguards approaching their location. Giovanni opened the locked holding cell containing Lucario and told him to come with him, explaining that he doesn't want Lucario to be just another Pokémon tool in Team Rocket. Lucario, in order to remain alive to fulfill his secret initiative, complied with Giovanni's intentions, and followed submissively, until he noticed a wounded Wanderer within a nearby holding cell.

He struck Giovanni and was then impeded by Giovanni's bodyguards from delivering a fatal blow. And just before Giovanni's bodyguards could drive their bullets into Lucario's skull, Giovanni told them to stand down, and then explained how their weapons worked when he noticed Lucario ogling them.

Afterward, they all proceeded to the top floor of Team Rocket Main Headquarters, where both Giovanni and Lucario entered. Giovanni proceeded to register the new Pokémon that were within the holding cells—which included Aqua, Terra, and Wanderer—and then return them to their respective Poké Balls—a Net Ball, a Quick Ball, and a Great Ball. Afterwards, Giovanni asked Lucario to step into the machine so that he could analyze his quintessence.

During the process, Giovanni explained that he would rather see Lucario as a member of Team Rocket, the second Pokémon ever to become so, rather than as another Pokémon for a Grunt to use as a tool. Lucario pondered the opportunity as beneficial to his "Team Liberator" initiative, because he'll learn far more about Team Rocket and likely recruit some Pokémon for his cause as well. Giovanni also explains that Lucario is no ordinary Pokémon, because he's about as powerful as a Legendary Pokémon, and has no technique restrictions whatsoever, because of his "Inheritance" ability—as Lucario was given the opportunity to name.

Lucario, once he stepped out of Giovanni's machine, asked of the first Pokémon to join Team Rocket. Giovanni explained it to be a man-made Pokémon, created under his orders. It possessed enough power to reduce the laboratory that it was created in—and all of its scientists—into nothing more than a burning heap of machinery adrift in the sea. And compared to Lucario, this Pokémon's greatest difference is that it's far more savage in battle. To end the topic, Giovanni already made plans to house the two of them within the floor below them.

Later, Giovanni handed Lucario an Expert Belt to help amplify his power, three Pokémon for his personal use—Aqua, Terra, and Wanderer—and a copy of the data that the machine analyzed from his being. The last two things that Giovanni gave Lucario was a nickname—Xeno—and the key to his new private quarters. And when "Xeno" Lucario took his leave, Giovanni pondered sinisterly about what to do when both the man-made Pokémon—Mewtwo—and "Xeno" Lucario evolve in terms of martial power.

Under a new name and under the roof of a new home, Xeno Lucario settled himself within Room 29-6 of Team Rocket Main Headquarters. He released the three Pokémon he had in his possession, only to find that they're all unconscious. And after awakening Terra with the sharp tip of his paw spike, Mewtwo entered its new room and helped Xeno awaken the other two Pokémon with its psychic power. They all introduced themselves and made themselves comfortable within their new room. And during the night, Xeno explained to Mewtwo about his "Team Liberator" proposal, convincing the Genetic Pokémon to acquire a few Pokémon of its own when given the chance to, in order to help Xeno out. However, he wasn'table to convince it to join his cause, because Mewtwo wanted the opportunity to control its unstable powers and saw Giovanni as someone who has the capability and resources to be able to.

The next day, both Mewtwo and Xeno were equipped with their very own battle armor, before being cast on their first few missions, which either involved capturing Pokémon at select locations around the world, or train under the Viridian Gym, under Giovanni as the Gym Leader. Regardless, the two of them—alongside their respective party of Pokémon that they've befriended and worked alongside with—grew from their assortment of experiences and hardships, some of them vital while others questionable or demoralizing, during the year that they were under Team Rocket.

Eventually, Mewtwo found it within itself to leave Team Rocket altogether, after hearing Giovanni explain to it that it only exists to serve under him and then burying him underneath a destroyed Viridian Gym. As a final farewell to Team Rocket Main Headquarters—when in reality it was to Xeno—Mewtwo left within Room 29-6 a package containing its former party of Pokémon, as well as a letter explaining its reasons for leaving, and a utility belt that can have Poké Balls strapped onto it. And as Mewtwo flew across the vast oceans—pondering what would occur if the authority of humanity and Pokémon swapped places—, it never even sensed the presence of two disembodied, white-gloved hands, watching on at its progress in life.

Lucario, after receiving the package and dissecting its contents before himself and to his eight colleagues—"Aqua" Lapras, Charmeleon, Dusknoir, Lairon, Luxray, "Terra" Garchomp, Tyranitar, and "Wanderer" Lucario—, he noticed a wounded Giovanni arrive into the infirmary ward of Team Rocket Main Headquarters, and proceeded to visit him there.

Once there, and after a few chess matches against him, Giovanni explained to Xeno how similar Team Rocket is to the game of chess, from its pieces—aside from the queen piece—to its objective of decisive victory. Giovanni then explains how useful the two of them were in amassing Pokémon into Team Rocket, and what he intends to use them for: to overthrow the Elite Four and Gym Leaders of all of the world's regions, and then ruling the world when the last major resistance is abolished.

After hearing this, Xeno returned to Room 29-6, leaving Giovanni to ponder how likely it is for him to follow Mewtwo's path to freedom. Upon reaching his respective room, he told all of his colleagues that the time to escape is near.

Late at night, after a brief rest, Xeno and his colleagues initiated Team Liberator's Escape Plan. During the night, Xeno and his colleagues withdrew Pokémon within the holding cells and returned them to their Poké Balls, knocked out present Grunts before salvaging their Poké Balls, demolished all but one of Team Rocket's transportation vehicles, and downloaded their entire data banks within the helmet of Xeno's battle armor, before he himself retrieved his armor and equipped it. At one point, Wanderer handed Xeno a Luxury Ball that had no respective Pokémon to it, and he held onto it.

Once they reached the first floor, carrying alongside them a treasure trove of hundreds of assorted and occupied Poké Balls, they began to load themselves and their cargo within the twin-rotary helicopter that remained. And as they were about to make their leave, Giovanni—despite being injured from his ordeal with Mewtwo—made himself present before them, clad in advanced battle armor and proving to be a bulwark in preventing their escape.

Because of this, Xeno was forced to make a difficult choice. He decided to stay behind and face Giovanni one-on-one, having to brutally shove off a tearful Wanderer inadvertently in the process. This allowed his colleagues to escape and conduct Phase Three of their initiative without him.

Through a vehement and spiteful battle between Giovanni and Xeno Lucario, Xeno proved to be an overwhelming force that Giovanni had originally shaped to do his own and his organization's bidding, but no longer held the leash to command him. At one point, Giovanni managed to inject Xeno with a lethal dose of Pokérus, only to have him shrug it off as though it were nothing. To end the battle, Xeno froze Giovanni solid with SHEER COLD, before escaping as dawn began to emerge across the sky, leaving his former "master" to rage his way out of the ice.

Once Xeno reached Mt. Moon as he began his attempt at locating his colleagues' whereabouts, he noticed the presence of a pair of Pokémon stalking his progress: a submissive Beldum and a persistent Torchic, two Pokémon that were discreetly watching his battle with Giovanni. They asked if they could accompany Xeno and ask for training from him, but Xeno regarded their safety first and leaves them behind in order to return to his Celadon Forest home. Both Beldum and Torchic follow closely behind anyway.

Upon reaching Celadon Forest, Xeno returns to three areas that he recalls vividly before he was captured away by Team Rocket. He proceeds firstly to the Cliffside within Celadon Forest, where he recalled a life-and-death battle with Absol. Secondly, Xeno goes to the charred remains of Sceptile's tree house, painfully remembering the fate of both Sceptile and Tiny in the process. Thirdly, Xeno travelled to the waterfall within Celadon Forest, and decided to meditate underneath it as he used to do, allowing both Beldum and Torchic to catch up to him. Xeno comes to accept them as new additions to his party, as long as he is able to bestow them the power to ward off looming threats.

The three of them proceed further within Celadon Forest, noticing an enclosed area that is completely leveled of its trees, caused by a Pokémon that they've yet to identify. Further into the forest, the three of them stumble upon the decaying cadavers of a human and its Pokémon partners. Xeno retrieves two Poké Balls from the carcass—a Friend Ball and an Ultra Ball—before noticing that both Beldum and Torchic scurried off out of fear.

Before following after them, another Pokémon rushed after them before Xeno could. Deciding to not take a chance and to act quickly, Xeno managed to capture Beldum with the Ultra Ball and Torchic with the Friend Ball, moments before the trees around the two of them were leveled in the blink of an eye.

And when both Poké Balls returned to him, the Pokémon that was responsible for Celadon Forest's deforestation made itself present before Xeno as Sceptile. This Sceptile proved to be the same exact one that he thought was obliterated by Team Rocket over a year ago, only now Sceptile possessed a considerable amount of burns and scars over its body, no longer had its right arm, and now brandished a buster sword that was its exact size in length. It threatened Xeno to leave its forest territory, much to his surprise at Sceptile's negative behavior.

Through a brief clash, Sceptile identifies the fact that it lost someone in its life, which Xeno clarifies as Tiny. Sceptile recalls that bitter day, explaining how the explosion knocked both it and Tiny back, and giving them severe injuries in the process. It recalls digging a fair distance away to escape the human threat, before emerging to the surface and taking into account Tiny's grave injuries. All that Sceptile could do was converse with it until death removed Tiny's suffering.

Understanding that words wouldn't knock Sceptile back to its senses, Xeno clashed with Sceptile once more when the moment flared itself. And through a heated battle within the jungle that they inhabited, Xeno managed to deal a decisive blow onto Sceptile's forehead with his BLAZE KICK technique. However, Sceptile proved resilient enough to continue, and grasped Xeno before siphoning his strength with GIGA DRAIN, managing to replenish itself and simultaneously rendering Xeno unconscious.

But before Sceptile could kill Xeno, a LUSTER PURGE attack by a third Pokémon strikes Sceptile and knocks it out. That same Pokémon uses HEAL PULSE on Xeno, causing him to rise back on his feet and ogle Sceptile's present state of body, before speaking to the Aura Pokémon that it just rendered Sceptile unconscious. And through Xeno's helmet, the Pokémon is identified as Latios.

Latios immediately tells Xeno to capture Sceptile with the Luxury Ball in his possession, and says that it has been watching Xeno for a while when the question on how it knows Xeno has a Luxury Ball in his possession is prompted. Disregarding his thoughts of the Eon Pokémon's motives, Xeno did as he was told and captured Sceptile with the Luxury Ball. And when he released Sceptile from the same capsule, Lucario summarizes Sceptile's recent hardships and offered to give it a hug, which Sceptile immediately and tearfully accepted.

After thirty minutes of much-needed embrace, Latios impatiently tells Xeno of "someone from your distant past" that it must retrieve before flying off to bring it over. Both Sceptile and Xeno know that Latios is referring to Absol, the same one that Lucario had clashed with years ago, and was taken for granted as fallen in battle.

When in reality, Absol fell from Celadon Forest's Cliffside and splashed down on the lake below, bloody and broken after its battle with Xeno, as it was being carried downstream. It would've perished in the flowing water, were it not for Latias tending to its injuries. Absol would've returned to Xeno and seek his death, were it not for Latias's choice of actions to beneficially warp Absol's path in the right direction.

Latias asked Absol what its purpose in life is, and quickly cut it down because it'll lead Absol to its own death. Latias explains how Absol fails to see the branching outcomes of its choices and how they'll influence the viewpoints of other Pokémon. Latias says that other Pokémon will only see Absol as a genocidal monstrosity that only sought the extinction of both Riolu and Lucario, and not as a Pokémon that is avenging its beloved, deceased family.

Absol asks why Latias decided to heal it, and Latias states that it believes in second chances, and believes that Absol could use a much-needed friend. And to start Absol's second chance in life, Latias believes that it's appropriate for Absol to first pay the respects of those that it has killed.

When Latios returned with both Latias and Absol, Xeno noted Absol's present disposition and how it has changed over the years. He noted Absol's black bandana over its mouth—which shrouded an absence of lips—, as well as a missing left eye and blade-like appendage, all prices Absol paid when it clashed with Xeno years ago.

Absol approached a spiteful Xeno and assured it with honesty that it's no longer the same Pokémon that sought his species' extinction, and has changed for the better, thanks to Latias's kindness. Absol shook paws with Xeno, only to have him FORCE PALM its forehead in vindictiveness. Xeno believes that, because of Absol's blood-stained past, it is deserving of burning in hellfire, and fires an OVERHEAT attack towards it in the process.

The attack however, is intercepted by Latias, who explains to Xeno that Absol is a better Pokémon now, who repented for its past actions and spends its new lease in life by speaking for the dead. Xeno bitterly believes Absol, and boldly states that Absol must earn their trust in time. Absol agrees to this, and is awkwardly told of Tiny's passing.

Afterwards, Xeno plans on locating its Team Liberator colleagues, but doesn't know where to begin. Latias quickly informs Xeno that they're on Mirage Island, located within the Hoenn region. And with that information, they all fly over towards Mirage Island, Latios pondering how Xeno hasn't even scratched the surface of his potential.

Within Mirage Island, all of the Pokémon were settling in for temporary shelter, before they decided where to start with Phase Three of Team Liberator's Plan. Wanderer, however, was sulking over the thought that Xeno sacrificed his life in allowing them to escape from Team Rocket, and any attempt to soothe its broken spirit were in vain.

At sunset, Xeno's present party of Pokémon—Absol, Beldum, Latias, Latios, Sceptile, and Torchic—descended onto Mirage Island, directly where Team Liberator's stolen cargo helicopter was parked. Xeno tells them all to wait until he settles a personal problem with Wanderer.

Xeno approached the scene where his colleagues were attempting to cheer Wanderer up from its emotional slump and made himself present before them. They all were surprised by his presence before them and instantly welcomed him back with open arms, Wanderer as well when it let Xeno know that it no longer cared about what happened before escaping, after having taken the time to ponder it over logically.

They all hugged for a brief moment in time before Xeno called over his friends from their point of standby.

Wanderer Lucario immediately recognizes the Sceptile as the one that was presumed to have perished in an explosion, and then knows that Tiny wasn't as lucky. Wanderer also recognizes Absol as the same one that was presumed dead after Xeno's battle with it, over sixteen years ago. And after Xeno told Wanderer that Absol has had a change of heart, Wanderer still finds it within itself to FORCE PALM Absol in the forehead, but knows that it'll build its trust to the Disaster Pokémon alongside Xeno in time.

A few days passed where all fifteen Pokémon in this group—Absol, "Aqua" Lapras, Beldum, Charmeleon, Dusknoir, Lairon, Latias, Latios, Luxray, Sceptile, Torchic, "Terra" Garchomp, Tyranitar, "Wanderer" Lucario, and "Xeno" Lucario—resided on Mirage island. During that time, they discussed with the Pokémon that they liberated where they lived or now desired to live, and where to go firstly from here. And before leaving, a funeral for Tiny Riolu was held, with Absol showing proficiency in speaking for its death, intertwining its experiences and relationship with Tiny alongside Tiny's own experiences and life story. In doing so, it earned the trust of both Sceptile and Xeno, cementing its place amongst Xeno's party. Afterwards, both Latias and Latios decided to take their leave, saying vaguely that they'll return when they're needed.

The cargo helicopter departed from Mirage Island altogether, and began dropping off the liberated Pokémon in their familiar or new locations, training them as well so that their chances of recapture were slim. The time it took to complete the final phase of Team Liberator's plan was just over eight-and-a-half years. And during that time as everybody grew more experienced, both Lairon and Charmeleon evolved into an Aggron and a Charizard, while both Torchic and Beldum evolved into a Combusken and a Metang.

But once the final phase of Team Liberator was completed and the name itself was disbanded, Xeno's party of Pokémon was left wondering what to do next. Thankfully, Wanderer Lucario still recalled the prophecy at Spear Pillar that it has yet to fully analyze, and everybody was in agreement to fly over to Mt. Coronet to learn of it.

Once at Mt. Coronet, Xeno alone navigated through the frigid height of the mountains, with his battle armor over his body, alongside Sceptile's buster sword and the used Poké Balls of his twelve colleagues. When Xeno reached the summit, he released everybody from their Poké Balls and they proceeded inside Spear Pillar. Once inside, Wanderer quickly found the broken pillar with the prophecy on it. And once it was puzzled back together with telekinetic abilities, both Wanderer and Xeno deciphered it, only to find that it related to Xeno in its entirety.

But before any one of them could make sense of the prophecy, Giovanni entered the scene and returned Xeno back into his "Team Rocket's Poké Ball" before making his armor-clad presence known to Xeno's colleagues. Thankfully, Xeno managed to not only break free of his Poke Ball, but snatched it from Giovanni's hands and added it to those of his own colleagues. Both Giovanni and Xeno's colleagues prepare to battle, only to have both Dialga and Palkia appear before them through their respective dimensions.

Giovanni, going on the offensive against the two of them with the idea of assimilating their great power, was quickly sent skyward by Palkia's DRAGON TAIL attack. Dialga then promptly froze Xeno's friends in time, and the both of them told the "Pokémon of Prophecy" that they've been expecting him. Xeno, because they paralyzed his friends in time, goes on the offensive against them, only to be quickly knocked unconscious from a bite would that Dialga inflicted upon him.

Giratina joins the situation and combines its power of dimensional transport alongside Dialga's temporal abilities and Palkia's spacial warping. In the process, they send Xeno Lucario into a remote village on a parallel Earth, set to the time of December 1st, 59 A.D.

Once Xeno crash landed onto this new location, all of the villagers quickly surrounded him and attempted to make sense of this unusual being, the village chiefs Costas and Ian included upon the people's request.

Xeno eventually woke up amongst these people and the pain of his injury overwhelmed him. Both Costas and Ian tell him that they can help treat him, and Xeno chooses to set aside his distrust over people and accepts their offer.

Once within the underground laboratory, Ian begins to treat Xeno's injuries, while Costas ogles the equipment that Xeno brought alongside him. When Ian finishes treating the worst of Xeno's injuries, the Aura Pokémon says thank you to Ian and Ian responds back without astonishment over the fact that he's capable of speech. Costas retrieves some medicine for Xeno and he gives his thanks as well, earning the surprise of speech that he expected from a human. Xeno then tells them a bit about his origin and the three of them introduce themselves formally, only Xeno doesn't say his name because he hasn't developed enough trust to them yet, although he does decide to reside here until his injuries fully heal.

Xeno briefly explores the laboratory until he decides to rest for a bit within the Prison Cell Room. Within there, he notices a dust drawing on the floor, describing a silhouette within a dream that Eduardo had over a decade ago, over a figure that he saw standing up against a Roman invasion. Xeno simply ponders that it was drawn over boredom and pays no more attention to it.

Over a week passes as Xeno inhabits the village that he was transported to. During that time, his injuries have fully healed, and he ponders about the three deity Pokémon—Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia—that sent him here. He can't figure out what they know that he doesn't, which includes their knowledge of the prophecy and why he was sent here in the first place. All he knows is that he's supposed to prevent the world from falling into the Void of the Dark One.

From the horizon, Xeno notices an impending Roman legion, and the villages standing by to impede their process. He listens on from a distance, wondering what the commotion is about. From a distance he hears the Roman General—Mars—discuss with Costas and Ian how the Roman Emperor sees this village as a stain and an embarrassment to his expanding empire, one that must be removed as swiftly and as absolutely as possible, now more than ever because Eduardo is no longer here as the village's bulwark. Xeno proceeds over to the commotion when he's heard enough to sense something hostile.

Mars prepares himself and his legion to mow down all of the villagers, and tells them if they have any last words. Both Ian and Costas do, and they pour their hearts out before their enemies. They say how it was wrong, of the villagers that they lead over, to have driven out the only person who can protect this village from the "Veni Vidi Vici" concept of Rome. Within the throng of villagers, Xeno ponders over this "Eduardo" person that they keep mentioning.

Mars notices Xeno from the mix of villagers and demands his presence up front. They comply and step back from Xeno's presence, letting Mars attempt to make sense of his alien, external appearance. Xeno notices this man staring at him and becomes mildly irritated by his interest in him.

Mars attempts to call Xeno over to his side with a downgrading, authoritative tone of voice that a man gives to their pet dog, and Xeno responds to that rudely and immediately, making the fact known that he can speak. And as Mars is seething over his blunt remark, Xeno makes known his opinion on the whole of human nature, down to the last negative detail.

However, he also says that he's recently learned that not every human is a bane on the world, using the selfless deeds of Costas and Ian as his example. Xeno mentions that these gallant people are selflessly helpful, and are eternally targeted by power-hungry warmongers, by imbeciles with overinflated egos and hyperactive drives of materialistic greatness.

Xeno faces Eduardo's brothers and thanks them for their actions to him earlier, and says that even though they never expected a repayment for their actions, he's going to give them one. Mars realizes this in the form of Xeno deciding to combat his entire legion of battle-ready soldiers, and he can't help but cackle at the ludicrous matter. However, Costas and Ian see this as nostalgic with Eduardo, and ponder if Xeno Lucario is just as powerful as him.

Mars challenges Xeno to clash with him, and Xeno gravely intimidates Mars's entire legion with a display of his aura power, before unleashing himself amongst them. Through a phenomenal display of Fire-Type and Ground-Type attacks, Xeno demolished Mars's legion, leaving the Roman General as the sole survivor.

Mars, rather than accepting his losses, spitefully charges towards Xeno with the thought of the Aura Pokémon's death flaring within his mind. He fights Xeno one-on-one, only to end up injuring himself in the process, with Xeno sustaining very little from Mars's rage. Having had enough of this, Xeno cast him into the Red Sea and then swept him along the currents with SURF, telling Mars his name in the process. And upon returning to the villagers, they greeted him as a hero.

The next day, when Xeno had all of his equipment on his person, including some food from both Costas and Ian, he tells them that he'll seek his way home by wandering the world for the answer. Both Costas and Ian tell him that he should seek Eduardo, the only person who has the greatest chance of fulfilling that desire.

They describe Eduardo to Xeno, highlighting his accomplishments and attributes. Xeno asks them why he was banished, and Eduardo's brothers say that the villagers feared him for his power, blind at the heroism that he did. They don't know his present location, but Xeno doesn't mind as he took his leave from the village.

Over a month passed as Xeno traveled across the world at speeds that greatly surpass those of people, searching for Eduardo's aura signature, believing it to be a beacon compared to the human norm.

He finds himself taking a lunch break on a Solitary Tree atop a Hill, moments before he hid behind the tree after sensing the presence of a malefic entity entering this location through a black rift in space, the hooded figure as it turned out to be. The hooded figure briefly soliloquized about how he despises all of nature—from the plants to the animals to the water to the sun—just before he sensed Xeno's presence from behind the tree.

Xeno is astonished at the fact that the hooded figure knows his name, as well as the fact that he can't read the hooded figure's mind. Xeno at first thinks that the hooded figure is Eduardo, only to have the hooded figure dissonantly deny it at the moment. Then, the hooded figure recalled Xeno's entire life story, leaving Xeno discombobulated and curious as to where the hooded figure obtained his information.

The hooded figure also mentions that he's nameless, before saying that he's an emissary of the Dark One. Xeno quickly connects this person as a vital source of information to the prophecy that he knows he must fulfill. The hooded figure, after removing his hood from over his head, recalls this prophecy as well, and states how Xeno is merely an infant of his own power, one that is easier to defeat as the Dark One ordered him to.

Xeno braces himself to clash with the hooded figure, but could never prepare himself for the actions that the hooded figure initiated. The results of the hooded figure's actions left Xeno one-hundred lacerations of varying depths scattered across his body, which greatly debilitated him from the monumental loss of blood. However, Xeno still retaliated in the form of a DISCHARGE technique, which made contact with the hooded figure and roasted him to the third degree.

The hooded figure, despite his rage on the matter, decides that his injuries take priority over Xeno's death, and tells him that if Xeno survives this day, then he'll hunt him down at the earliest opportunity. The hooded figure disappears through a rift in space, and Xeno collapses under the severity of his own injuries.

He wakes up on the same day early evening—clean, fully healed from his injuries, and resting comfortable on a makeshift outdoor bed—wondering how he's still alive. He turns in bed to notice both Costas and Ian staring off at the Red Sea, discussing between each other how that body of water received its name.

They eventually notice Xeno out of bed and collapse under his temporary feebleness. They rush over to his aid and help him back to his bed and tell him that they weren't the ones that tended to his wounds. The person that did—Eduardo—was returning over here after an errand.

As soon as Eduardo landed before them after his errand, Xeno just ogled him unwaveringly, and then swiftly one-two punched him into unconsciousness. Both Costas and Ian showed great concern over this and asked him why he just attacked their brother. Xeno was about to say why, but the key word "brother" made him realize that the person he just struck down was Eduardo.

The headache that resulted from his confusion caused him to TELEPORT away from his location, over to a location a few hundred miles away. He dragged his feet at a snail's pace until the middle of the night, where he collapsed from the mental damage that his confusion hammered within his cerebrum, alongside the physical damage that he endured from the hooded figure, but has yet to fully recover his stamina from.

Once unconscious, the hooded figure appeared before Xeno's immobile state of body, and pondered how easy it would be to end him right here, right now. However, he's been given strict orders by the Dark One to not do so, because both Eduardo and Xeno are already beginning to connect as friends. He says that the two of them will become greater obstacles to fell, but that they're not the only ones that can grow stronger.

So rather than kill Xeno, he decides to make it harder for Eduardo's devices in locating him, and takes Xeno to a location that Eduardo hates the most within this world: Rome, Italy.

The next thing that Xeno knew, he awoke within an Empty Lot within the Roman capital, shackled and being failingly tortured by the Roman guards within the vicinity, under the authority of the Roman Emperor Nero. At one point, one of the guards grows frustrated with him and attempts to pry his eyes open long enough for an arrow to penetrate it, only to have Xeno brutally retaliate at him.

Nero then gets the idea that hot steel will fell this beast, and orders for a furnace to be constructed. And when the furnace is beginning to combust within, Nero places his Gladius sword within there until it is fully heated, and then retrieves it with the thought of spearing Xeno's throat in two. Xeno ponders how this might be the end of him, and also ponders how he's managed to get out of lethal situations such as this with his life intact. The reason he formulates being his goals in life that drive him through every day in his life. However, he doesn't see any hope of coming out of this situation alive.

Nero tells Xeno how the Aura Pokémon mysteriously arrived to his palace, unconscious, as well as how Mars told him of Xeno's identity, as well as some key details that Mars experienced through his battle with Xeno. Xeno reminds Nero of Eduardo, which resurfaces the painful headache that he had earlier. And with the thought of being remembered in history as the Fifth Roman Emperor that felled a great enemy of Rome, Nero thrust his sword at Xeno's neck.

Only to have Eduardo, in his dragon form, stand between the two of them and take the blow for him, directly through his abdomen.

Xeno, after accepting the fact that the dragon that saved him is Eduardo in a different state of body, realizes the type of person that I am: a person that fights for the safety of the people that he cares deeply for. And to indirectly prove that, Eduardo knocked Nero unconscious and then vaporized the Roman sentry surrounding the two of them, before they healed each other's wounds and fled from Rome, just before the hooded figure appeared before Nero when he regained consciousness.

(Song Ends)

26.3: Intertwining Crossroads

During the return trip back to Eduardo's brothers, both he and Xeno spent some of this time talking between each other. At one point, Xeno brought up the topic of my Elemental Aura abilities, and Eduardo pondered an answer to a question that was never asked to him before, alongside explaining what Elemental Aura is to him, how second nature it is to him, and how the idea that he's experienced these abilities before lingers within him.

Eduardo then says how he first thought of locating Xeno because their powers revolve around the same source of strength. Xeno denies the idea that our powers are similar, and Eduardo understands this, because Eduardo now believes that he's sealed his powers within himself, but doesn't know when or why.

Xeno then says that he originally thought of locating Eduardo because both Costas and Ian explained that he's the only person with acumen sharp enough to help with his dilemma. Eduardo just as similarly denies this, saying how multi-dimensional travel—which he now knows is possible after realizing that Xeno is from a parallel Earth in another dimension—is out of his field of reach. However, it isn't out of his field of potential in understanding, and he's willing to help Xeno find a way back home, as long as Xeno is willing to wait.

Xeno agrees to this, and apologizes for striking Eduardo earlier with zero warning, explaining that it was caused by some mental confusion that overwhelmed him. Eduardo's forgiveness was immediate, because he was pondering what bothered Xeno enough for him to choose to do so in the first place. Xeno is willing to explain to me what it is, and Eduardo tells him to wait until we regroup with Costas and Ian.

Setting that topic aside, Eduardo says that neither of them have properly introduced themselves to each other. Xeno begins by saying "Xeno Lucario, Aura Pokémon of Prophecy" and Eduardo follow suit by saying "Eduardo, Man of Bulwark". And after that, the two of them decide to not keep Costas and Ian waiting and fly over there at Mach 3.

Within the Unova region's Castelia City, Mewtwo stood on top of one of the tallest skyscrapers of the city. It looked down at the activity below, absorbing information about its surrounding like a sponge, as it has been doing so about topics of its interest for a considerable amount of time.

Mewtwo, out of boredom, then decides to recollect its entire life, from the moment of its "birth" within the laboratory to today, and everything in between. Then, it ponders locating its old colleague Xeno Lucario, albeit with doubts in doing so because of the goal it once had that never came into obvious fruition, and it would return to Xeno as a defeatist. However, Mewtwo also ponders that Xeno has spent his time looking for it.

However, Mewtwo doesn't see this as the best use of his time, and ponders that Xeno instead conducted his "Team Liberator" initiative to completion, and then train the Pokémon that he freed from Team Rocket. Mewtwo even calculated a gross estimate of time that it would take Xeno and his colleagues to accomplish their selfless ambition—just over eight-and-a-half years—and what date that they'd finish their mission—yesterday. And after Team Liberator's goals were realized, Xeno's colleagues would likely do something else, which Mewtwo ponders to be the prophecy that Wanderer Lucario mentioned resides within Mt. Coronet's Spear Pillar, one which Mewtwo and Wanderer ran out of time in accessing that area when they were both in Mt. Coronet during a capture mission.

Mewtwo ponders intercepting them at Spear Pillar, only to be intercepted itself by two hand-shaped entities by the name of Crazy Hand and Master Hand. They explain their reasons for residing before Mewtwo: to invite the Genetic Pokémon to a tournament of that is held on another planet, light-years away from this one, of highly-skilled fighters that encompass various corners of the universe.

Mewtwo finds the new information tempting, but distrusts the sources of it, mostly because it smells vaguely familiar to Giovanni's proposition to it years before. Master Hand identifies that detail, much to Mewtwo's surprise, and tell it that they've been observing its key events in life, under its radar with their psychic abilities buffering Mewtwo's extrasensory perception. Mewtwo respectfully declines the offer, even after they beg it to reconsider.

Before Mewtwo leaves however, both Latias and Latios intercept it, telling it that it is destiny for it to accept their offer. Mewtwo asks for a more specific response, which leads to the Eon Pokémon Duo to tell it of a looming crisis, one that it already being planned to be counteracted by Xeno and his party of Pokémon, and one that Mewtwo is needed in whether it be willingly or reluctantly.

Mewtwo asks both the Eon Pokémon Duo and Hand Duo for the identity of their leader. And from their uneasy responses, Mewtwo hypothesizes it to be Arceus, the Original One, stating that the crisis is great enough for the Alpha Pokémon's intervention. Because of this realization, Mewtwo decides to go with Master Hand and Crazy Hand and enter this tournament of theirs.

Before their leave however, both Latias and Latios introduce Mewtwo to a companion during this adventure, someone who's indirectly been in the Hand Duo's first tournament and understands its workings, and has a strong history with the genetic Pokémon.

The identity of that Pokémon is Mew, who immediately appears before Mewtwo's face with a charming personality and a pledge to become good friends, which Mewtwo reluctantly accepts.

Setting this aside, Mewtwo asks the Eon Pokémon Duo where Xeno and his party of Pokémon fall under this greater scheme of things. They assure him that Arceus has them covered, and if everything goes well, then they'll reunite in time. And with that, Crazy Hand, Master Hand, Mew, and Mewtwo take their leave upward and across the cosmos, leaving both Latias and Latios to ponder entering that tournament themselves.

Within Mt. Coronet's Spear Pillar, after sending Xeno into a parallel Earth to begin to fulfill his destiny, the Deity Pokémon of the Sinnoh Region reset Xeno's party back into normal time. And despite the spite that Xeno's colleagues expressed towards Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia, the three of them explained their reasoning for freezing them in time, which was to send Xeno away without any interference. They explained how they did so, and how Dialga received an injury from Xeno in the process. Xeno's colleagues feel the need to fight back at them, but they are told that there's no need for that.

Giratina then uses PSYCHIC on the fragmented pillar, bringing it in front of Wanderer and repairing it so that Wanderer could read it to its colleagues. Wanderer did so, and everybody understood that it was referring to Xeno, because no other Pokémon met its criteria. Giratina set the pillar aside, saying that the three of them merely guided Xeno towards its "Path of the Aura", to a parallel Earth where the Void of the Dark One will originate.

However, Tyranitar asks why the rest of them weren't sent alongside Xeno, and Giratina bluntly responds by saying how they're presently less than Magikarp against the Dark One. Metang asks if the three of them would fare any better, and they all state that they wouldn't, mostly because the Dark One is an entity they don't fully understand, according to Arceus's description of Him. However, Arceus might've told them that in order to protect them, alongside Itself, because if Arceus perishes, then eventually so will the entire Pokémon race.

The main hope against this looming crisis is in the form of Xeno Lucario, the Pokémon of Prophecy, who they say is still infantile in terms of strength. However, Xeno's colleagues are also able to support him, because Xeno has unconsciously unlocked the limits of sixteen Pokémon that he holds closely to his heart. Xeno's party of Pokémon immediately recognize themselves as twelve of these sixteen Pokémon and then figure out the identities of the other four: Latias, Latios, Mewtwo, and Tiny Riolu—even though the last Pokémon on the list has long since died.

With that sorted out, Giratina explains how Arceus has a task for them to accomplish, to prove that they have been unlocked by the Pokémon of Prophecy and deserve to support him on the crisis at hand. They explain Arceus's sixteen elemental plates, before saying that Xeno's colleagues should go hunt down all of them, scattered across the Sinnoh region. The locations of each of them are described on sixteen of the pillars within Spear Pillar.

All of Xeno's colleagues accept this honor, and the three Deity Pokémon of the Sinnoh Region take their respective leave, leaving Wanderer as the second-in-command to decipher the pillars' inscriptions and decide where to go from there.

Within the Throne Room of the Roman Emperor's palace, both Nero and the hooded figure—his face exposed before the leader of the Roman Empire—discussed what to do to dispose of both Eduardo and Xeno Lucario, two of the greatest threats against Nero's ambition of global conquest.

After striking down a few failed ideas from Nero's part, the hooded figure had a suggestion in mind. He proposes matching their power with equal power, with soldiers that possess the same type of power that both Eduardo and Xeno utilize. And in order to set this project in motion, the hooded figure requests thirteen of the finest military minds that Rome has to offer, preferably fresh and malleable minds from the Military School within Rome. He also suggests that one of these thirteen soldiers should already be a veteran Roman General, to act as the leader of this strike force.

Nero, content with the idea, agreed to the hooded figure's request. And before the hooded figure could make his leave, Nero asked for his name. The hooded figure doesn't have a name, and stated a purpose instead, to see both Eduardo and Xeno Lucario perish in hellfire after being sent to the source. After that, Nero dismissed him and pondered how history will view this legendary achievement of his if it comes to fruition.

The hooded figure, as he strolled across Rome's bustling streets, pondered how much easier it is to manipulate Nero than his predecessor Claudius—not needing more decisive methods in order to have his way—in order to set the Dark One's master plan in motion.

Brothers In Arms/Halo Original Soundtrack/Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori

(Song Begins)

At the point where both Costas and Ian were beginning to worry about Xeno's fate, they notice Eduardo—still within his dragon form—flying across the sky and returning before them. Eduardo lands before them after flying at Mach 3, and is immediately asked for the presence of Xeno Lucario, because they couldn't see him anywhere on Eduardo's scaly body. And it wasn't until Eduardo dropped on all fours that they notched Xeno clinging onto Eduardo's scaly hide for dear life. Thankfully, after sliding off of Eduardo, due to an earlier adrenaline high, Xeno gets back up on his feet just before Costas and Ian hugged him, and then Eduardo embraced the three of them within his massive arms.

Afterwards, a much needed unwinding of unanswered questions was in order. To start with, Eduardo asked Xeno how he received his serious injuries. Xeno mentions that his injuries were inflicted by a man in a black coat, whom his listeners pinpoint from their experiences with him as the hooded figure. Xeno then continues by saying that the hooded figure works under the authority of the Dark One, the name itself ringing no bells this time amongst his listeners.

Xeno mentions that the hooded figure told him of what the Dark One sees of him, as a liable threat to His plans of global conquest. This is taken as fact because both the Dark One and the hooded figure know of Xeno's achievements. Xeno knows that—despite their unknown strength or their hidden agenda—he's destined to counteract them, according to Spear Pillar's prophecy that he recalls before us. However, at Xeno's and Eduardo's present strength, they're likely outmatched by the hooded figure, and virtually powerless against the Dark One.

Thankfully, Eduardo suggests that the best course of action against this is to strengthen themselves beyond their present potential, in order to combat the "Void of the Dark One" before it is too late. Xeno acknowledges this plan of action, and says that both Costas and Ian—because of the great amount of aura that he senses emanating from them—are in this alongside them, after he teaches them in utilizing aura.

Lastly, before any ideas on training are pondered, Xeno has one last topic that he needs Eduardo to know about: the facial identity of the hooded figure. Eduardo asks for as much detail on the matter as possible, but Xeno knows that five words will suffice. Eduardo says that he's ready for this information, and Xeno says that he isn't.

"He looks…just like you" are the only five words that Xeno Lucario mentions on the critical subject, leaving Eduardo's body numb after hearing the truth.

(Song Ends)

"Because in the pages of this book, you and I will meet one-on-one, my mind and yours, and you will enter a world of my making and dwell there, not as a character that I control, but as a person with a mind of your own. You will make of my story what you need it to be, if you can. I hope my tale is true enough and flexible enough that you can make it into a world worth living in." —Orson Scott Card ("Speaker for the Dead") (xxii)

And there you have it, "The Path of the Aura: Intertwining Crossroads" in a condensed, streamlined nutshell. And when I wrote this before beginning "The Path of the Aura II: Brothers in Arms", I fully realized just how high I've set the bar for myself, how large my first story is, how well written I made it, and how I'll try my hardest to supersede myself from there.

I have no pressure.