Pokemon: Way of Life Chapter 53

Hi all,

Here's the next chapter. I will post a revised status page for Lucas at some point, but it will probably be sometime next week. I am so disorganised because everything is scattered in different word documents and it will take a while to put it all together. But there's not much difference from the old one, as I decided against making a lot of changes to the system.

1st December

Lucas opened his eyes and sat up, checking the state of his body, surprised that he felt as good as he did. There were no burns on the body caused by corrosion anymore, nor any aches or pains due to his physical exertions that had accumulated over the past few days. In fact, he felt better than he ever did. Checking his phone, he saw that it was already midmorning the next day, which meant that he had slept for almost an entire day.

A feeling of extreme hunger overtook Lucas as he rubbed his belly. It felt like he hadn't eaten anything for a week. As he dug into his backpack, he took out every last scrap of food he had left and proceeded to stuff his face with it. Because he was returning back to Cinnabar Island today, he didn't need to worry about saving food for later.

'Is this how humans normally eat?' Mew appeared in the cave, looking at him with disgust.

Lucas looked up from the beef jerky he was devouring with relish, not caring about the food crumbs on his shirt front. "I'm hungry. Besides, you are a Pokemon, so don't get sanctimonious about my table manners."

'Humans are savages compared to me.'

Lucas finished eating but hadn't fully satisfied his hunger. What was wrong with him? It was like the calories burned away as soon as they entered his body.

'Undergoing the full transformation into the Mewtwo state burns a lot of energy. Even more so, considering it was your first time. It will get better, but you will find that you will be consuming a lot of food after a transformation.'

"I figured it must be something like that," Lucas nodded. "I need to return to Cinnabar Island soon as I have no more supplies."

'There is plenty of food on this island. Even Pokemon would look appetising to you at this moment.'

Lucas looked at Mew with a horrified expression. "Do not even joke about that."

It took Lucas a while to clean up his mess, putting everything back into the pack. As he hadn't been too concerned about tidying up after himself, the cave was in disarray. Taking a whiff of himself, Lucas grimaced. Apparently, he had not been concerned about hygiene either. When he had packed everything, he placed the pack on the ground, ready for him to head out.

"I want to thank you for your help, Mew. Although you had plenty of reasons not to trust humans, you still helped me out in the end."

'Don't think I have changed my mind about humans. You are a special case. We will always share a bond because of our DNA.'

"That's right," Lucas exclaimed. " I consider us to be family now, just like we are siblings. So, you have to listen to your big brothers' advice."

'How did you come to that conclusion? And I am much older than you, so I would be your big brother.'

"I guess I can concede the big brother title. I'm glad you are accepting of your new relationship," Lucas grinned, and Mew realised he had been fooled by the human. They were evil, always using their words to deceive others.

Mew turned his back on the infuriating human, returning his attention to the mural on the wall. From what Lucas said, these Pokemon were a real family of sorts. He needed to speak to Moltres again before Lucas returned to his island. Now that Lucas gave off the aura of a Legendary Pokemon, at least to other Legendaries, he would need permission to move through Moltres territory. He didn't need a repeat of what happened before.

"Are you coming back with me to Cinnabar Island?" Lucas asked.

'Why would I do that?'

"Don't you want to see Nora? Do you realise how upset she was when you left her? Sure, her father may have been a dickhead, but you cannot blame her for her father's actions."

'What did he do to her?' Mew asked, looking interested in another human for the first time.

"Turned her into a monster. There's no polite way to put it. She has a friend looking for a cure, but she doesn't have much hope. Hey, why don't you have a look at her? You are an all-powerful Legendary Pokemon. There must be something you can do to help."

Mew didn't respond, leaving the cave without another word. Had he pushed the Pokemon too far? Lucas sat down and checked out the notifications that had been blinking at him ever since he woke up. He was certain that massive changes occurred as a result of mastering his transformation.

=====

Congratulations!

Awakened Quest 04: Awakened has been completed.

Reward: Transformation - Mewtwo Level 50

=====

Pokemon: Mewtwo | Name: Lucas | Age: 15 | Gender: M | Type: Psychic | Potential: S |

Description: Because its battle abilities were raised to the ultimate level, it is only concerned with defeating its foes.

Stats

Level: 50 | Exp Cache: (0) | AP: 0 | HP: 1250 | Aura: 916 |

Attack: 300 | Defence: 300 | Sp Att: 350 | Sp Def: 300 | Speed: 350 |

Traits

Shared Aura: Shares its aura capacity with its human counterpart.

Unbalanced Aura: May be affected by red energy in stressful situations.

Power Overwhelming: 10 aura is spent every second to maintain the Mewtwo state.

Supersensory: All five senses are amplified beyond the norm.

Special Ability

Pressure - All Pokemon opponent's moves cost double to use, besides Legendary Pokemon.

=====

Moves/Mastery

Physical

Psycho Cut: (Psychic) [Power: 70] (Cost: 24) [Mastery: 1%]

Special

Confusion: (Psychic) [Power: 40] (Cost: 14) [Mastery: 1%]

Swift (Normal) [Power: 60] (Cost: 19) [Mastery: 1%]

Ancient Power: (Rock) [Power: 60] (Cost: 16) [Mastery: 1%]

Aura Sphere: (Fighting) [Power: 80] (Cost: 24) [Mastery: 1%]

Psychic: (Psychic) [Power: 90] (Cost: 30) [Mastery: 1%]

Status

Life Dew: (Water) [Power: --] (Cost: 28) [Mastery: 1%]

Disable: (Normal) [Power: --] (Cost: 12) [Mastery: 1%]

Laser Focus: (Normal) [Power: --] (Cost: 18) [Mastery: 1%]

Safeguard: (Normal) [Power: --] (Cost: 15) [Mastery: 1%]

Amnesia: (Psychic) [Power: --] (Cost: 18) [Mastery: 1%]

=====

Affinities

Type Attack (Trainable)

Psychic ~ 70% | Fighting~ 40% | Rock ~ 40% | Water ~ 40%

Type Defence (cannot be changed}

Bug: -100% | Ghost: -100% | Dark: -100% |

Psychic: +50% | Fighting: +50% |

=====

As far as he could tell, Mewtwo was overpowered. He hadn't seen the stats of an average level fifty Pokemon, but he was sure they weren't supposed to be this high. If he ever fought a Pokemon at the same level, he was sure to defeat it easily, although that would happen after he learned to control the state better. When he transformed yesterday, he was not himself and could hardly remember what he had done.

There were two downsides to the Mewtwo state and that was that he shared his aura capacity with Mewtwo and it took aura to maintain the state. Even without using any aura, he would only last ninety seconds before reverting back to a human. If he ever wanted to get some use out of the Pokemon, he would have to increase his Aura by a lot. Additionally, he noticed that his moves were more expensive to use. Did the cost of moves increase with the Pokemon's level, or was that just him? Furthermore, where was Teleport? Was it necessary for him to learn it from a Technical Machine? Where would he find one of those?

One last thing was that he noticed he had an experience cache just like his Pokemon, which meant he would have to share the experience between his two different states. He couldn't imagine how much experience it would cost to level Mewtwo further.

Lucas continued to browse the following notifications and was surprised at the changes that had occurred.

=====

As a result of the successful transformation, the player's status has changed.

There are now two categories of skills: Human skills and Mewtwo skills. They can only be used in their corresponding state. For example, Craft: Pokemon Food is a human-specific skill, and cannot be used in the Mewtwo state. Any passive attribute bonuses from skills will still apply in both states. The total number of skills available is still dependent on the Intelligence attribute.

Mewtwo skills are different from moves in that they are usually general or support skills used outside of combat.

The following skills have moved and/or reconfigured into the category of Mewttwo skills.

Immutable.

Telekinesis 2 has been changed to Telekinesis (Mewtwo).

Shapeshifter has changed to Transform.

======

The Perk - Evolution: Stage Three has levelled up several times and transformed into Perfect Evolution

[Perfect Evolution] (Passive) [Max] (Next: --) [Cost: 10 Aura/sec]

Description: The player has mastered his evolution of Mewtwo and can now transform into the Pokemon at will, providing he has the required aura. When he falls below the minimum aura needed, the player will revert to his human state. May be susceptible to red energy and corrosion if the player's mental state is negatively impacted.

⦁ Can transform into Mewtwo Lv 50

⦁ All Attributes + 25%

=====

The Perk - Balance (Aura) has levelled up!

Balance (Aura) Lv.4: The perfect harmonisation between two opposing energies. Doubles {Aura} gained when the player increases his level. This skill cannot be levelled up conventionally and must first meet certain requirements. The player gains a new skill for every level of this perk.

======

The player has learned the skill Aura Cloak!

[Aura Cloak] (Active) [Max] (--) [Cost: 20 Aura/min] (Category: Mewtwo)

Description: The player is wrapped in an aura cloak that obscures his form from sight, and can only be seen through by Pokemon with exceptional senses. This is a Mewtwo-specific skill, and cannot be used when in the human state. Keeps the Pokemon's identity hidden from those with sinister intentions.

=====

The player has learned the skill Mind Reader!

[Mind Reader] (Active) [Level: 1] (Next: 1%) [Cost: 25 Aura/min] (Category: Mewtwo)

Description: The power of the Psychic Pokemon Mewtwo allows the player to delve into people's minds and scan their surface thoughts. As long as the player's aura remains balanced, he will not harm the target of this skill. The higher this skill level, the further he can delve into their minds. Beware that anyone bonded with strong Pokemon may notice the intrusion and retaliate in anger.

=====

Lucas reviewed the changes and was surprised that the main thing affected was his skills. It seems the system wanted to draw the line between his two states, which was probably a good thing. Although he lost the ability to use Telekinesis as a human, he had gained far more in return. The Mind Reader skill sounded useful, as long as he used it for the right reasons and didn't abuse it.

Aura Cloak would come in handy if he ever had to use Mewtwo in a public area for some reason. He was sure that the word would eventually spread that there was another legendary Pokemon out there. This might attract some unsavoury characters like Giovanni. He would have to make sure to keep levelling Mewtwo so that he would be powerful enough that no one could harm him or his loved ones ever again.

Lucas closed the menu and grabbed his pack off the ground. It was time to return to Cinnabar Island. He stepped outside and down the path towards the small clearing beneath the huge tree that claimed the title of the highest point on the island. Mew had filled in the small crater that Lucas had made when he was out of control, which made him feel slightly guilty for not cleaning up his own mess.

He looked around, wondering where Mew had gone. Did the Pokemon expect Lucas to travel back to Cinnabar Island by himself? Would he be able to fly that far before running out of aura? Could he even fly on his own? Deciding to experiment, Lucas placed his pack down and prepared himself to transform into his Mewtwo state. He was slightly nervous, afraid he would lose control again, but he was sure everything would be fine, right?

Lucas transformed into Mewtwo, and this time he was in control.

Mewtwo examined himself with fascination before moving around, getting used to his new body before he attempted to fly. His tail slapped against the ground accidentally, and he scowled in annoyance. It felt unnatural to have a tail, and controlling it consciously took concentration. He practised lifting the heavy appendage a few times before he got the idea to wrap it around his thin waist. Mewtwo purred in satisfaction. It was still a nuisance, but manageable.

After a bit more experimenting, and realising he was running out of time, Mewtwo decided he was ready to fly. In his mind, he imagined himself floating up in the air. In the blink of an eye, his feet rose off the ground and hovered a little above the ground without any effort on his part. Mewtwo continued to rise even higher until he reached the same height as the tree top. He remained there for a moment before descending back to the ground. His aura was almost depleted. It was shocking how fast it disappeared.

Mewtwo used the Immutable skill and returned to his human state.

Lucas sat down and meditated to restore his aura. Mew returned as he was nearly finished, so he stood up to greet the Pokemon.

"Where have you been?" Lucas asked.

'I had to get permission from Moltres for us to travel through his territory.'

"Right," Lucas said sheepishly. "By the way, I can't remember how long it took to fly here initially. Do you think I could return to the island as Mewtwo?"

'No, but feel free to try. I will carry you the rest of the way when you run out of aura.'

Lucas nodded and transformed back into Mewtwo. He picked up his backpack and quickly ascended into the air, following Mew to the north through the skies. Mew took it slow at first, as Mewtwo still wasn't confident about travelling at full speed. Mewtwo roared in elation at the feeling of flying through the air, the wind rushing past his face. Looking down at the blue sea below him, he wondered why anyone would want to be confined to earth against absolute freedom.

When he had used up half of his aura, Mewtwo gradually increased his speed almost to the point where he felt as if he was out of control as he flew so fast. Unfortunately, he couldn't enjoy it for that long before his aura was spent, and Mew had to carry him the rest of the way. A short time later, Cinnabar Island appeared in the distance, and Mew slowed down as he began descending toward the dock located at the southern end of the island. They couldn't approach the town directly, as not everyone knew about Mew and Mewtwo.

It wasn't long before Lucas' feet touched down on the ground, and he grabbed the backpack from the air and tossed it onto his back. "Are you going to see Nora?"

'I suppose.'

Mew flew off in the direction of the town, leaving Lucas to walk back on his own.

'Lucas, you're back!'

Dante spoke over the bond, and Lucas smiled, glad to hear his partner's voice again. Dante was soon followed by greetings from his teammates, all sounding happy that their trainer was back.

'Hi, guys. What have you been up to in the last few days?'

'Everyone has been very lazy.' Max admitted after a long silence.

'Well, don't get too comfortable. I will see you soon, but there's something I have to do first.'

Before he left, he sat down to restore his aura. Better to be safe than sorry. Now that he had transformed again, he felt intense hunger pangs again. It was seriously annoying. Lucas stood up, and headed east around the island, to have a look at the site he had picked out for his resort. He also wanted to see if the Three Enforcers were there, as he needed to talk to them about moving to another location on the island. It was something he planned to do when he got back, so may as well get it over with now.

He walked briskly for some time before finally seeing the boardwalk overlooking the beach. There were still the old shop buildings standing there as they were the last time he was here. He imagined that Sara and Mike had been through here, finalising plans for the resort. After descending the stairs to the beach, he took out the map Nora had given him. There was a crude drawing pointing out where Gideon, Charlie and Sonya were staying in the forest. Following the beach, he came to a point close to where they were located and headed into the forest.

Lucas remained alert as he walked through the trees, his eyes scanning the surroundings for the auras of any Pokemon that inhabited the forest. He spotted a few, but they scurried away as soon as they saw him. After ten minutes of walking, he caught sight of something up ahead, through a gap in the trees.

As Lucas made his way through the trees, he paused for a moment. A small clearing lay ahead of him, where it seemed there was nothing to be seen. In spite of this, he could clearly see an aura of a person, moving around the field as if it were a ghost haunting the place. The camouflage must be similar to the one used on the aircraft in order for it to be able to blend in. He increased his Sight, and he could now discern a slight shimmer in the air, revealing the contours of two distinct shapes. A square building and the distinct form of the aircraft off to its side. He had found the place he was looking for.

"Hey, can you hear me?" Lucas shouted, and the person froze momentarily before exploding into motion. A person stepped out of the building, becoming visible, and he instantly recognised it as Sonya Love, one of the Three Enforcers.

"You brat, don't scare me like that," Sonya shouted, clutching a Pokeball in her grip.

"Hi, Sonya," Lucas walked up to her. "How's it going?"

"Going really well until you showed up," Sonya groused, putting her Pokeball back onto her belt. "How did you find this place?"

"Nora told me," Lucas said. "I needed to talk to you about your secret hideaway. This place is about to be crawling with construction workers as they start work on the resort. I don't think this is the most suitable place to be at the moment."

"That could be true for the rest of the island." Sonya scowled. "Where else will we set up shop?"

"Actually, why don't you use the caldera in the volcano?" Lucas said. "It's easy to make that place off-limits. Also easier to take off in your aircraft."

"You want us to place our hideout inside a volcano?" Sonya asked incredulously.

"When was the last time it erupted?" Lucas pointed out.

"I suppose so," Sonya sighed, looking back at the building. "It's going to take a massive effort to move this building."

"Just give me a day or two before you move," Lucas said. "There's something I have to sort out first. So, where's Gideon and Charlie?"

"They have been busy searching for the cult. It's the government's number one priority at the moment."

"I can imagine," Lucas grimaced. It just occurred to him that now he had Mewtwo, he could help his grandad by tracking them down. He shook his head at his flights of fancy.

"Well, it was a pleasure seeing you," Lucas said. "I better get going."

"Hold on," Sonya grinned, turning around and heading for the building. "I have something of yours."

"What is it?" Lucas asked, following her inside.

Lucas took a moment to look around the small living space and wondered how the three of them had been able to live here in such close quarters. The place was spartan in terms of amenities, which consisted of only two bedrooms, a bathroom, a small kitchen, and a living room.

Lucas' eyes lit up when he saw the fridge, and he made a beeline for it immediately. He was so hungry that he couldn't be bothered by manners and opened the fridge without an invitation. Seeing the cold roast on the plate, he grabbed it and began devouring it ravenously.

"Feeling peckish?" Sonya Love asked sarcastically.

Lucas nodded his head, unable to speak due to the amount of food in his mouth. After the plate of meat was consumed, he placed it down and motioned for Sonya to continue, as if nothing had happened at all. The woman rolled her eyes but continued forward.

Sonya led him into one of the bedrooms, which he assumed was hers, considering all of the gadgets scattered all over the room. His attention was instantly drawn to a table where a familiar figure was standing.

"What is Giru doing here?" Lucas asked. Giru didn't reply, and he realised that his single eye was dim, not showing the usual red colour it usually would. There was a series of wires running inside the robot's back and connected to a laptop at the other end. He also noticed that Giru had increased his girth, making him look like a round ball.

"I was bored, and since Giro was here, I decided to add some additional features," Sophia explained, as she unhooked the wires from the robot.

"What sort of features?" Lucas asked curiously.

Sonya tapped some keys on the laptop, and a grappling hook sprang from Girus' middle, making Lucas jump in surprise. In that instant, the hook retracted back into Girus' body, and Lucas looked inside to see that there was a small hollow compartment inside.

"I added a grappling hook. He can retrieve small items for you that may be out of your reach or dangerous to touch."

"That's cool," Lucas nodded.

"There's another feature I added," Sonya added, as she booted Giru up. "In addition to this, he now can scan things with a 3-D scanner to get details on an object or living thing. He can access the internet to get information about the thing he scanned and present it to you."

"You're amazing," Lucas said in admiration. While it sounded incredible, it was completely useless to him since he had the observation skill. Still, that didn't detract from Sonya's sheer genius. "Hey, how about you ditch the old man and work for my company? I promise you will get paid a lot more and won't be stuck out in the middle of nowhere."

"That's tempting," Sonya said, reaching over and ruffling his hair. "But I am not in it just for the Pokedollars."

"Why do you have to be out here?" Lucas asked curiously. "It has nothing to do with anonymity as my Grandad would have me believe. There are plenty of places you could hide in Kanto, especially with the camouflage technology."

Before Sonya could respond, Giru sprung up and looked around confused. When he spotted Lucas, he flew over and climbed onto Lucas' backpack. "Giru!"

"Hello, Giru," Lucas patted the robot before turning to Sonya, waiting for her response.

"You're too smart for your own good," Sonya grumbled. "I am forbidden to say anything. If you think you can get it out of your grandad, go ahead and try."

"That's easier said than done," Lucas sighed. "I have to go. The others have probably heard from my Pokemon that I have returned. They are probably growing impatient."

"But Lucas," Sonya protested, jumping onto the bed and striking a provocative pose. "You have me at my mercy in my bedroom, and you don't want to try anything?"

"Tempting, but I have a fiery girlfriend who will neuter me if I ever cheated on her."

{0(((..)))0}

"Lucas," Faith shouted, after spotting him walking down the street towards the mansion. She had been waiting outside since Dante had shared the news of Lucas' return. Immediately his girlfriend ran towards him and leapt into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. She proceeded to kiss him passionately, her tongue darting into his mouth to tangle with his own.

"Alright, enough of that," Sophia said, stepping out of the doorway to embrace Lucas as Faith reluctantly left his arms. His mother wrapped him in a tight hug. "Are you okay?"

"After that kiss? Never been better," Lucas grinned.

Sophia huffed, "I'm talking about your situation."

"You don't have to tiptoe around the subject," Lucas said, looking around to see no one else around. "Where is everybody?"

"They are in the mansion," Sophia said. "Moltres appeared earlier on, scaring everyone into hiding inside. It has already disappeared, but they are waiting a while to see if it returns."

"Okay," Lucas said, wondering where Mew was at the moment. Then again, if he wanted to talk to Nora, he wouldn't need to show himself to the others. "I may have a solution that solves our Moltres' problem for good."

"What is it?" Faith asked, grabbing his hand.

"Let's go inside first," Lucas said.

They entered the mansion and made their way into the living room, where everyone was gathered, including the teenager's Pokemon. Faith let Lucas go with a yelp as he was mobbed by his Pokemon, with the exception of Freya, who played it cool by standing against the wall. His dad stepped forward next, along with Jason, Misty and Yuji who welcomed him back. The others waved at him but didn't get up from their seats. Lucas noted that Nora and Eve were missing, and assumed they were occupied by Mew. As for Maggie, she was not here as well, but she was not usually the kind of person to hang out with other people.

"Hi, everyone," Lucas sat down in a chair and Faith joined him on his lap. "Sorry about my absence for the last few days. I was busy exploring another nearby island. So did anything exciting happen besides Moltres appearing?"

Since Mike, Sara and Yuji didn't know about Mewtwo, he wouldn't reveal the real reason he was away. There were already too many people who knew the truth.

"Not really," Mike replied. "We got a lot of work done in the last few days until Moltres showed up. Even if you don't include the incident with the fight out on the ocean, Moltres has appeared here a bit too frequently for my liking. I can't in good conscience bring my crew out here with the threat of a Legendary Pokemon hanging over us."

"I can understand that," Lucas nodded. "I believe I have discovered the reason why Moltres is attracted to this island. If I can resolve it, it should leave us alone in the future."

"What is it?" David asked.

Lucas looked around with reluctance, and Alfred seemed to guess his mood. "Do you need me to have everyone sign a non-disclosure agreement sir?"

"Normally, I wouldn't, but this concerns something really serious. To make it fair, I will have everyone sign the agreement."

Everyone nodded, and Alfred left to fetch his briefcase. When he returned, he had everyone sign a standard non-disclosure agreement. It was probably not necessary, but it was better safe than sorry.

Lucas took a breath and explained the situation. "Nora contacted me a couple of weeks ago, telling me she had discovered something in the volcano shaft. She mined the rock until she broke through into a cavern containing a Fire Source."

Everyone exclaimed in surprise, their voices rising over each other as they asked Lucas questions, who held his hand up to silence them. "I believe this is why Moltres is interested in Cinnabar Island. As long as the Fire Source stays here, it will not leave us alone."

"You want to move it?" Sara asked sceptically. "That will not be easy. It takes special equipment to transport such a volatile item. The equipment will have to be shipped out here before you even think of moving it."

"You don't know our son," Sophia said wryly, turning to Lucas with a questioning look. "Will your dimensional space be big enough to transport it?"

"Yes," Lucas nodded.

"But what happens when the Fire Source disappears?" David frowned. "Won't that anger Moltres? How will you explain the situation before it attacks you?"

"I have a plan," Lucas said. "Don't sweat the small details. I am confident it will succeed."

"If you're sure," David seemed to realise something, so he quieted his objections.

Lucas turned his attention to Mike. "If I manage to get rid of Moltres, will you send your crew to the island to start building the town?"

"Yes," Mike said. "If we can get the proper amenities to support their living conditions, there will be no problems."

"Give Alfred a list of the number of people you are bringing," Lucas said. "Along with any specific needs they may have. I will put Maggie at your disposal to transport people and equipment out here."

Everyone drifted off at that point, with the exception of his family and friends. They ushered him into an upstairs room where they could get some privacy. Lucas knew what they wanted, so he resigned himself to being a show pony for them.

"So, are you planning to show us?" Jason asked eagerly, clutching a Pokeball in his hand. "Don't worry, if you go out of control, I will capture you to keep everyone safe."

Misty punched his shoulder, causing the teenager to flinch. "You idiot. A simple Pokeball will not catch a Legendary Pokemon."

"Will it be okay?" David asked, looking at his son anxiously.

"Don't worry," Lucas smiled, before transforming in front of them.

In an instant, everyone was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the Mewtwo which loomed over them with its six-foot-seven frame. To say they were intimidated would be a huge understatement. Only Faith wasn't scared, taking a step forward and laying a hand on his body, bold as brass.

"Just because you can turn into a Pokemon doesn't mean I am doing weird stuff with you in that form. I have heard of weirdos who love Pokephilia. Not happening, do you hear me?"

Well, that certainly cut the tension in the room like a knife. Was there such a thing in the world? Please don't say it's true. How would that even work when....best not to think about it.

So, what do you think? This chapter fought me hard, but I got there in the end. Still not totally happy with it, but its out regardless.

Thanks for reading.