"Not all monsters show their fangs, and not all monsters with evident fangs bite..."
*~*~*

The Pokemon surrounding the dark forest clearing were all chatting together in whispers. They were waiting for their tribal leaders to finish their important, private discussion. The tribal leaders were in the leaders' cave in the cliff side of the territory. The Psychic and Fighting Types kept glancing down at the center of the entire clearing.

A rather tall Lucario was sitting on the ground, his legs crossed with his paws on his knees. His eyes were closed and his head was bowed, making all the Pokemon believe he was in prayer. The wait for a verdict must be very stressful for him. All the Pokemon there had heard his tale and the journey he took to meet them. He had sacrificed so much to get the help he seeked, and his required assistance was under review.

A murmur spread through the crowd as the tribal leaders exited the leaders' cave, causing the tall Lucario at the center to get on his hind legs and stared at the four leaders. First to leave the den was a lovely Gardevoir, escorted by her protective mate, a Gallade. Then a battle scarred Lucario with a rag over both eyes stepped out next, and then an elderly looking Alakazam followed suit. The four of them all stood straight and impressively on the cliff edge.

"Regulus Ray," the Gardevoir's voice echoed through the area clearly and with authority. "We have reviewed your request for aid and have come to a conclusion. First I must express that we did not take this request lightly. Any matter involving dark aura beings is always taken very seriously."

The area had gone silent. The sound of a pin dropping and hitting the grass could've been heard. The Lucario, Regulus Ray, looked around at the area with uneasiness but said nothing.

"Regulus, our three tribes, Psi, Aura, and Emotion, are forever in your debt," a hoarse voice, the graying Alakazam leader called, moving forward while looking straight down at the Lucario. "You have ended a war that has lasted three generations. We owe you so much, but we have to refuse your request."

"What?!" Ray roared, causing the watchers to flinch and murmur among themselves again. "The whole reason I came here was to find a solution to my human's illness!"

"You cannot save your human," the Alakazam replied calmly. "His heritage won't just go away, it's apart of who he is. It's his soul that needs healing. There is very little we can do for him."

"There must be something!" The Lucario pleaded, getting on his knees and looking up desperately at the leaders. "Please! His fate is being decided as we speak! He has a sister, she needs him! I am one of their guardians, I must protect them! I'm begging you, please help them!"

The Alakazam's face was hard to read. The old Psychic Type continued to look down at Ray and did not look away.

"If you insist on helping your human," the Alakazam started more quietly, causing silence to rush through the area. "Then why don't you kill him?"

The Lucario was speechless. All he could do was gape in horror at the tribal leaders. The hushed whispers rose again, most were of fear and sympathy. On the look of some of the Pokemon's faces, it was clear that they agreed with the decision.

"I will never take that step," Ray growled, his voice shaking with rage. "Never!"

"Humans don't understand his condition, and they won't listen to you or the other child," the Gallade leader told Ray in a low voice. "They will send him away to be cured by medical means, which could make his condition worse. He would be mistreated, and he would become more animal than human. Would you rather release him to a life of suffering or freedom from the pain?"

Ray turned away from the cliff side and covered his face with his paws. A moment later he turned back and snarled, "I will never kill Skyler, never! He may be sick, dangerous even, but he's family! He's like a younger brother to me, I won't ever kill him or let anyone harm him! I will not leave until I hear another solution to help him!"

"I'm sorry, but there isn't much we can do."

The tall Lucario gnashed his teeth and suddenly formed an aura sphere between his paws. A few gasps erupted from the audience and several fighter Pokemon went into attack position. Ray was forming a dark aura. It was sky blue with black and red swiveling around it, sickening it.

He then tossed it up to the leaders, the Alakazam catching it with his own dark pink aura.

"You can read a person's memories, experiences, and feelings from their aura, correct?!" Ray snapped furiously. "Well I want you to read his aura, then come down to my level, look me in the eyes, and tell me he deserves to die!"

The Alakazam looked down at him before looking to the dark aura in his possession. He then made a hand gesture to the other leaders before turning and moving back into the den. The Gallade then looked to the three tribes and barked, "You have twenty minutes!"

Ray did not look at the bustling crowd, but kept his head down. He couldn't understand how they could be so cruel in deciding the fate of the boy he had grown so fond of. What if they still said that Sky deserved to die? He wasn't about to take that piece of advice. He would help the boy, protect him. He would try and help him anyway he could.

But he'd never kill him.

"Regulus Ray."

The tall Lucario looked up to see the blind Lucario leader standing in front of him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more for the lad," The leader told the defendant softly in a husky voice. "But now that we make decisions as a group of four instead of our own decisions, well... If it's consolation, I would've done more."

"It's not your fault, Damon," Ray sighed. "I just got my hopes up... I forgot that humans were just as much of a sore subject as dark aura beings."

"But the lad isn't just a human, he's an Aura Guardian. If it weren't for his dark aura, we'd rejoice and celebrate that one of our own human brothers has been discovered. The last dark aura being our tribes encountered started this war that you put an end to. You can understand why the others aren't so keen to help a being that's possibly like the other."

"That's just it, Skyler isn't like him! He attacked out of self defense, he was defending his sister!"

"You don't need to persuade me. Persuade Alastor. Showing him the lad's aura is the best thing you could've possibly done. Alastor may be strict, but he is fair. If the boy is as pure of heart as you say, you have nothing to fear."

"S-Sir Regulus, sir?"

The two Lucarios looked down to see a small Ralts looking fearfully up at them. This particular Ralts was the only one Ray managed to become friends with. She had always been very curious about hearing stories about humans, which were actually legends to the tribes.

Pushing aside his frustration and worry, Ray knelt down in front of the Ralts and greeted her quietly while forcing a smile, "Young Kalliope. How are you today?"

He had actually just talked to the baby a few hours earlier, but he wanted to let her know that she had no need to be nervous. However little Kalliope still looked concerned.

"I-I'm ok...I'm sorry about your human, sir..."

"It's alright, my dear, and there is no need to call me 'sir'. I told you Ray would be sufficient."

"Mother says I should still call you 'sir', sir."

"Astraea said that, did she, lass?" Damon growled with a hint of annoyance.

"Yes, but she also said that I...I shouldn't talk to you either..." Kalliope finished in a mumble.

At this, both Lucarios exchanged looks of annoyance. Astraea, Kalliope's mother, had been left widowed after the war. All she had left was Kalliope, so her overprotectiveness was to be expected. However she was going to be with the other two tribes for a long time, and telling her daughter to avoid the other tribe members just complicated things.

"Well, we don't want to disobey your mother's wishes," Ray told the Ralts, forcing himself to smile. "Run along, Kalliope. Go be with the other children."

"S-Sir, I had a question. It's been on my mind."

"Of course, what is it?"

"Are all humans like yours? Are they...nice?"

Ray was taken aback by the question. He thought long and hard before answering, "Humans have their good and bad qualities, just like Pokemon. Some aren't very nice to their Pokemon, and some even disrespect their own kind. But there are many humans like mine that are kind and generous. Maybe someday you will meet one."

"Kalliope!"

The harsh snap made the baby Ralts jump with fright. The two Lucarios looked around to see a tall blue and white Gardevoir storming toward them. Ray heard Damon wince and hiss, "Ah, Murkrow dung..."

"Kalliope, I explicitly told you not to go near the Lucarios!" The shiny Gardevoir scolded the Ralts, her voice full of a thick Kalosian accent.

"Y-Yes, mère," stuttered the little Ralts, quickly giving the Lucarios and her mother a fearful look before scuttling away.

"Good evening, Astraea," Damon greeted the Gardevoir, though his voice seemed a little stern. "I assume you and your pup are well?"

Astraea's lip curled and she hissed in a voice dripping with venom, "Well enough."

"Why will you not let your daughter be with Riolus or Abras?" Ray demanded a bit tactlessly. "She is going to be growing up with these Pokemon!"

Astraea snarled as Damon started sharply, "Regulus, I wouldn't-"

"Shut up!" Astraea snapped at Damon before stepping right up to Ray and hissing with rage. "I lost my mate to Alastor! He killed him in cold-blood, and I will never forgive him for that! You didn't fight in the war, nor will you ever understand! You don't understand what it was like to explain to my daughter that her father wasn't coming home! That he was killed without provocation!"

Regulus Ray gave a sad chuckle and said quietly, "My dear lady, that's the reason why I'm here. I'm here so I don't have to explain to my little girl why her brother isn't coming home with us and why she can never see him again."

The shiny Gardevoir didn't reply. She stiffened and wiped away from him. Ray watched as the single mother Gardevoir shooed her daughter back to the caves above.

"She's not the only one, y'know?" Damon told Ray sadly. "My mate is weary of the other Pokemon as well. The widows, widowers, and orphans all are. I lost my son because he didn't want to fight. Alastor lost his son as well, and so did Ares and Demeter."

"I realize that," Ray replied. "But eventually you will need to reunite as one. You got to let go of the past to move toward the future."

The blind Lucario opened his mouth to speak but a hushed silence had fell upon the area. Alastor, the Alakazam leader, had slowly exited the main cave. He was levitating the tainted aura in his own. The aura wasn't as restless as before, and the black and red colors of it were moving more slowly.

The Gardevoir and Gallade leaders, who were still standing on the ledge of the main cave, both moved immediately to the graying Alakazam.

"It seems that a decision has been made," Damon started in a stiff voice. "I should also go and speak with Alastor. I wish you the best of luck, my brother."

Ray nodded as Damon ran back to the leaders' den. The stranger watched as the Lucario chief was brought into the conversation with Alastor, Demeter, and Ares. Ray was unable to tell if the result was good or not.

A minute later, the Emotion and Aura leaders stepped aside to let the Psi chief levitate himself down to the main ground. The other tribe Pokemon were quiet as Alastor approached Ray. He then walked past Ray and said very quietly, "Walk with me, Regulus Ray."

The Lucario glanced back at Damon to read his mouth expression since the rest of his face was covered in the blindfold. His expression was of no emotion, but he seemed to sense that Ray was looking at him for he nodded for him to follow Alastor. Ray turned away from his friend and did as he was asked, trailing cautiously behind the chief Alakazam.

Alastor did not speak until they both exited the tribes' camp. Once they were out of sight of the camp and the noises of the area were gone, Alastor spoke up in his croaky voice, "You certainly know how to pull an old man's heartstrings, Sir Regulus."

"Sir?"

"I'm sure you know, Sir Regulus, that I am a father myself. I have five children, and as you might've heard, my oldest son went missing a weeks ago. Did you show me the aura so I could remember the feelings of protectiveness toward one's children?"

"It was the only way I could get you to understand, sir. Whitney Gropius and Skyler Azuel mean the world to me."

The Alakazam nodded, smoothing out his extremely long and thinning mustache with his long gnarled fingers. A moment later he said, "I never intended to let the boy suffer, Regulus. I wanted to see how much you truly cared for your human."

"It was all a test?" Ray repeated, feeling both great relief and anger.

"I'm afraid so. You see, the truth of the matter is that even among the Dark Aura beings, Mister Azul is an outcast. Dark Aura beings care for no one but themselves. They will kill for their own gain, and while the boy has hurt people out of anguish and fear, he protected the girl even in his most feral state of mind. Full fledged Dark Aura beings don't have that selflessness. There's also the fact that his Dark Aura is more of a duel personality disorder. Most of the time he is like an ordinary human boy, and only on rare occasions does his unadulterated negative feelings show and turn him into a human without a conscience."

"But why did you lead me to believe that I had to kill him? What if I had?"

"I wouldn't have allowed it. If you had shown signs of disowning or killing him, we would've gotten the boy ourselves and have him live we us. The reason I tested you was to test you devotion to the two human children. The task ahead of you isn't a job for a quitter. However, I wasn't too worried. You came half way around Kalos for the boy, and stopped a war so you could find treatment. You wouldn't have let anyone or anything stand in the way of your quest."

"So there is a cure?" Ray asked, hope rushing back into him.

"There is no cure for Dark Aura," Alastor corrected, shaking his head slightly. "The boy will always have this Dark Aura. It's much like sin. Only one person can take all sin and wickedness from a man or Pokemon, and that same thing goes for the Dark Aura. Unfortunately, in physical life, it can't be removed. But it can be tamed."

"How?"

"It will take lots of training, physically and mentally. The boy currently doesn't have either the physical or mental strength to go through the training, meaning he will have to wait several years to begin. For this, I suggest a mental block. If placed correctly, it will cut the boy off from the war raging inside of him, and he will not feel the effects. I can show you how, but you will need a Psychic Type's assistance.

"However, the mental block will eventually break, so it's not a real cure. A mental block can last several years, a decade at the most. By then the boy should be old enough to begin training. When the mental block begins to show signs of failing, bring him back here. While Damon tells me you are a very talented fighter, you cannot train a boy of his strength alone. It's also best for him to be trained in a semi Aura Guardian environment."

"And you're confident it will work?"

"There is no other preferable solution."

Ray felt more comfortable with this solution that the one Alastor had suggested earlier, yet he still hesitated to ask about it.

"Do you kill Dark Aura beings?" Ray suddenly asked the Alakazam bluntly.

The graying Psi chief looked sadly at Ray and said quietly, "I know it sounds harsh, but in the past we did. You must understand that all three tribes have at least once tried raising full fledged Dark Aura beings. None of them lived ordinary lives, and they lived in anguish. A Dark Aura Lucario started the civil war between our tribes for he went and killed members of all three tribes."

"So what will you do when another full fledged Dark Aura being is born?"

Alastor did not answer right away. He looked straight into Ray's eyes and answered seriously. "I don't know. I pray that if a Dark Aura Pokemon is born in our tribes, the Creator will give us the means to keep him or her from making the same choices as the Dark Aura beings before him or her."

Ray felt Alastor put his hand on his shoulder and squeeze it surprisingly firmly. The chief than told him, "Aura Guardians were shunted aside by human society for their abilities. Our human Aura brothers and sisters were persecuted for their powers, and their lives ended by execution of the most atrocious of ways. There are so little of them left that we would do anything to help the few of them there are, even if they are Dark Aura wielders. Take great care of Skyler Azul, Sir Regulus Ray, and when the day comes when he shall train with us, we will welcome him with open arms."