A/N: Another Korrina and Lucario One-Shot?! REALLY?! And I'm supposed to be getting ready for another year at College! Shame on me! Well, I suppose I can't help myself. Not completely, at least. I love these characters to death too much. I've got a writer's mind too. I'd go mentally insane if I didn't let it out. . .well, okay, not really, but you get the idea. This is probably coming out at the same time as my other story "The Tragedy/Joy of Mega Evolution." But this story is unrelated, and is focused more on Korrina's point of view. Although I'd strongly suggest reading both stories back to back. Read this one second, actually.

Rescued Me

Apparently, axe-kicks that can kick through cave walls cannot kick through steel bars.

I must have whaled away at the bars to my cell for hours during my first day in this terrible place.

I can't see the Sun, but I'm guessing I've been here for three days. Maybe even a little longer.

Without food or water.

Team Flare is sick.

That day still remains fresh in my mind even as I sit slumped against the wall of my cell; hungry, thirsty, and sleep deprived.

Lucario and I were headed to the Battle Chateau. I was talking about how great it was Marchioness, how that I only needed to win a few more times to become a Duchess, and how I hoped to add a bunch of really interesting footprints to our scrapbook. I had that scrapbook under my arm as I skated backwards through the connecting cave, with Lucario only a few feet behind.

I had spun around and was about to pick up the pace as we headed through Zubat Roost, and that's when I saw them.

Their tacky red suits, their creepy red sunglasses, their bizarrely pale faces and red hair.

They were straight with me at first. They wanted a battle. It also clear to me that weren't going to take no for an answer, especially when they sent out a Houndoom and Scrafty and ordered them to attack me right away. I wasn't too worried at first. Lucario was holding his own just fine against the tow creeps, although the fact that it was two against one really irked me.

But now I see that I should have taken things a lot more seriously.

Quite frankly, I was stabbed in the back. Not literally, thank goodness. Anyway, the first two made sure Lucario was kept well occupied while I was ambushed by whoever snuck up behind me. I imagine that they only had one grunt take me while a whole army did their best to hold Lucario down. I still remember how easily Lucario escaped from Team Rocket. Then again, he did have Pikachu's help. And Team Flare does make Team Rocket look tame in comparison.

Whatever.

After that, I woke up in here. A dark cell with bars. Then a few hours of axe-kicking. Then I suppose I just kinda. . . gave up.

I mean, it's not like there was anything else I could do. I couldn't escape. There was nothing in the cell with me. It was basically just an empty room. They didn't even have the decency to put in a window! I thought I could just skate in circles from a while, but for one thing, I was tired from trying to kick out the bars, and for the other, my attempts had left my roller-skates broken. I did my best to sleep on the cold, hard, dirty floor. I slept for about half a day before I just couldn't take it anymore.

After sitting awake in a silence that was slowly getting to me; I eventually swallowed my pride, walked up to the bars, and called out to whoever might be guarding me. I had been sitting there for quite a while, and I was getting hungry.

"HEY! HEY, TEAM FLARE CLOWNS! Get over here! I have a right to know why you kidnapped me! YOU HEAR ME?! You can at least get me a drink of water or something! Don't you want me in good condition for whatever you have planned for me? OR ARE YOU TOO STUPID TO EVEN REALIZE THAT!? YOU HEAR ME?!"

I cried out as loud and long as I could. I called out for anything. Food. Water. A snarky grunt to argue with. Something to read. Anything!

"Please! I'm going crazy in here! You gotta at least keep me alive! Can't you bring me SOMETHING!? . . .Anything. . ."

But no one ever came.

No one even bothered to yell "shut-up" or something.

I went back to the far wall and sat back down, my knees bent with my arms folded on top of them.

At first, I was puzzled. Was there some sound-proof door up the darkened hallway that kept me from being heard? Or were they just ignoring me? Well either way someone should have come down to bring me the standard prisoner's diet of bread and water by now. I had estimated my time sitting in the dark to about 10 hours!

I quickly calmed myself with the thought that Team Flare wouldn't go to all the trouble of kidnapping me just to let me starve, and then leaned back and let out a sigh, figuring that a grunt would come down to check on me eventually. I decided to not try to sleep. I figured they might figure I was okay and leave me if they found me sleeping.

As I sat that for several more hours, I slowly began to panic a bit. My voice was rested enough to give out some more shouts.

"HEY! PRISONER DYING OF HUNGER IN HERE! DON'T YOU WANNA SEE ME BEG FOR WHATEVER CRUMBS LEFT OVER FROM WHATEVER YOU'RE FEASTING ON?! HELLO!? HEL-LOOOOOOOO!? HELLO!"

My voice got hoarse again from all the yelling, which only made my thirst even worse. I couldn't understand it. I decided that maybe I should just sleep on it, clear my head a bit. Unfortunately, I had no way of getting comfortable in that place. The floor was just that, a hard floor. I was too scare- nervous to sleep anyway. And after sitting there for five more hours, I was twice as scare- nervous.What were they trying to do to me? What did they want from m-

I froze solid.

I was in the middle of lifting my hands to bury my face in them when I noticed my glove.

My Keystone was gone (a little voice in the back of my head also noticed that my footprint scrapbook was gone too, but I ignored it).

It all made sense now. It was just like what Team Rocket wanted. Team Flare wanted to use Lucario's Mega Evolution to. . .do something bad. So they must have taken my Keystone, Lucario's Lucarionite, and Lucario himself. That's why they threw me here! I wasn't of any use to them!

But why would they bother locking me up? Why not just leave me back at the cave?

They didn't want any witnesses. . .

But what could I have done? They'd be long gone by the time I woke up!

Don't you dare kid yourself, Korrina. You know you can always find Lucario wherever he is. Team Flare must have guessed that, and feared you'd bring Officer Jenny, Looker, the entire International Police force. . .

No. . .No, no, no, it's not-

Team Flare's motto is "join us or you won't survive."

Please, no, they wouldn't-

There's nothing they won't do.

I don't want to-

They must have decided to let nature take it course for you.

NO!

They didn't want to get blood on their suits. . .although it's not like anyone would be able to tell. . .

"I don't want to die!" I shouted weakly as I ripped off my helmet and hurled it at the bars with all the remaining strength I could muster.

It did as much as my famous axe-kicks did.

I passed out after that. I think a few more hours went by. Unfortunately, those hours weren't at all restful. In fact, I think they made me even more exhausted.

I thought about how I'd never see Lucario again. Or my other Pokemon. Or grandpa. Or any of the promising challenger that would come to my gym.

All because of Team Flare.

And that's how I got to this point. Sitting slumped against the wall of my cell; hungry, thirsty, and sleep deprived.

My skin and ponytail were dirty from lying on the floor, and my skirt was torn and filthy. I must have looked pathetic.

I was too scare- nervous- Alright, scared! I was too scared to cry. I was just shaken up so badly. I was mostly worried about Lucario, actually. Who knows what they're putting him through. I doubt they'll be able to make him Mega Evolve from them. But then what will they do to him? Torture him until he Mega Evolves?

Okay, now I'm crying. My best friend in the whole world. . .my closest family is probably in agony and I let it happen. I wasn't able to keep him safe.

I failed him, and now, I was going to die.

CRASH!

I was so weak at this point that I didn't jump at the sound. I just turned my head to look down the darkened hall. What could it mean? As I heard the sound of running footsteps approaching, one answer quickly jumped to mind, but I didn't accept it at first. I couldn't accept it. It was too wonderful. Too good to be tru-

He gasped out in worry when he saw me.

I will NEVER feel as happy as I felt at that moment. EVER.

"Lu. . .cario. . ." I rasped out, my throat too dry and my body too weak to say anything more.

Knowing how urgent this all was, Lucario quickly motioned with his paw for me to hug the left wall. I managed to crawl the few feet, and after one Power-Up Punch and one Aura Sphere, the bars were broken.

Lucario ran over to me, fear evident in his red eyes as he carefully held my head up with one paw and put his other paw at my back. He looked into my grey eyes. We both had tears. After the scariest three days of our lives, we were finally reunited.

He placed a paw on my chest and closed his eyes, his Aura Sensing Appendages on his head rising slightly. After a brief moment of this, he quickly lifted me up and put me on his back. He pulled my arms over his shoulders and held onto them tightly. Then, he ran.

He may be shorter than I am, but he's definitely physically stronger than I'll ever be.

The initial adrenaline of being rescued was slowly starting to wear off, and I felt my vision begin to swim. I could only keep my eyes half open as Lucario carried me through someplace I could barely see. Instead, my mind began to try to piece together what had happened.

Did Lucario just manage to break out and quickly fought his way down to free me?

My mind created pictures of Lucario bursting out of a spherical cage and taking down Team Flare Admins with Bone Rush.

Or maybe Lucario had fought off the small army of Pokemon and Grunts back in the cave, but I had already been taken away, leaving Lucario to desperately search for the secret base where I was being kept?

My mind then created images of Lucario bursting out of the cave and roaring, sensing out the direction I was in, fighting against wild Pokemon in his way, and then smashing through fences and doors as he breached the security surrounding the Team Flare base.

However, I eventually decided that none of that mattered now. I also felt a little bad about even considering that Lucario would let himself be captured, or would not be able to find me. Our bond truly is unbreakable, and not even Team Flare could scratch it.

I must have temporarily lost my sense of time, because before I knew it, Lucario had taken me back home. Soon I was on my bed, with Lucario taking off my roller-skates and setting them aside. He then turned me so I was fully lying in bed, and covered me with the soft, cool sheets. I was still dirty, but sheets can be washed.

You can imagine my surprise when he turned and left the room in a hurry.

I cried out weakly, still unable to speak properly. It sounded more like a loud whine. I hoped he wasn't upset with me for letting my guard down. This whole thing was kinda my fault. If only I had known about those Grunts behind me. Oh my gosh, the Keystone and Lucarionite! They were gone! All that work! All the training, the searching, the strengthening of our bond. Everything we did to help him control his Mega Evolution. It was all wasted.

I looked down at myself, lying weak in bed. Would Lucario ever forgive me for thi-?

My eyes caught Lucario quickly running back into the room. He was holding a large jar in his arms, and a spoon in his paw. He jumped onto the double bed with me and kneeled on his side, which was to my right. He leaning over me slightly.

"Cari-ar. . . Ri-ca . .Ar. . ." he said to me softly, his face still looking worried as he dipped the spoon into the jar. He took a spoonful of the contents of the jar and held the spoon out to my mouth. He opened his mouth and motioned for me to do the same.

I obeyed.

Applesauce.

I was so hungry and thirsty that you could've told me it was Holy Manna from Heaven taken out of the Ark of the Covenant and I would've believed you.

It was the chunky kind that I liked so much, although there was something different about it. I noticed it was slightly blue. Had he mashed up some of his Oran Berry stash and mixed it into it?

As I lay there with my eyes closed, slowly but surely satisfying my hunger and quenching my thirst simultaneously, I couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious. I was being spoon-fed, after all. I honestly wouldn't be caught dead letting anyone do this, so much so that I'd muster up the strength to feed myself normally. But as I think of how Lucario is fussing over me like this, with fear and concern for me in his voice and in his eyes, I actually feel more touched and ever.

This actually reminded me of the time Lucario was sick. It was a while ago, but I still remember it. He was bedridden and covered in aches, and I had done everything I could for him. I even fed him a bowl of Lum Berry soup, much like the way he was feeding me right now. Right now, Lucario was returning the favor. But I knew that he wasn't doing it because he felt he owed me or anything like that. He was doing this for the same reason I had.

It is because of our bond, and how we will always love and care for each other. Like siblings. Like family.

Before long, I had finished the whole jar. Lucario quickly left and came back with a second one. I got halfway through it, then I smiled and put a hand to my stomach to indicate I was full. I had to hand it to Lucario for giving it to me one spoonful at a time. If left to my own after the whole ordeal, I probably would have overdone it and eaten myself sick.

Lucario smiled back, looking relieved and thrilled beyond words that I was recovering. Tears of joy ran down his cheeks as he reached forward and brushed my messed up hair off of my face. He then grabbed a bottle of water, opened it, and urged me to drink.

After Lucario was satisfied that I finally had my fill of food and water, he began to climb off the bed. However, I quickly stopped him.

"Lucario. . ." I said softly, still smiling but still slightly weak.

My soul friend back turned to me, paying close attention to my every movement.

"Can. . .can I. . . get a hug?" I said as I turned and reached my arms out to him.

He embraced me without any hesitation, leaning in such a way to prevent his chest spike from hitting me. I felt warm, but in a good way. Getting captured had nearly broken my spirit, but being here with Lucario seemed to just piece it all back together and make it even stronger than it was before. I let the rest of my tears out, dampening his fur a bit. But it was okay, because he dampened my shoulder with his tears.

After our hug, Lucario walked over to the lights and turned them off. He then got back into the double bed, lay beside me, and held me with one arm; clinging to his big sister the way a little brother would.

Feeling comfortable, safe, and secure at last, I let my body relax, and I began to fall asleep. But before I could completely fall asleep, something caught my eye. Something that surprised me very much. On the nightstand were a collection of objects. Objects that I thought I would never see again.

My Keystone, the Lucarionite, our pawprint scrapbook, and even my helmet were all right there.

I recalled how out of it I was when Lucario carried me all the way home, and I realized that I wasn't the only thing Lucario was carrying.

Shocked, thrilled, amazed, and deeply proud, I turned towards Lucario, who had his eyes closed and was smiling. I reached over with right arm and returned his one armed embrace.

"I love you, Lucario."

"Ri Luca Lu, Cari-ar."

THEIR BOND WILL LAST FOREVER