Gladion's P.O.V.
Two hours later
Run. Run. I listen to the steady beat of my sneakers against the ground, the noise the only sound apart from my frantic breaths. Run. Where are they? Shouts echo behind me, making my adrenaline spike. Thoughts scattered, all I know is that I have to get out of here.
Now.
I race down the white halls, and the pounding of my desperate run and too-fast breaths consumes me, faster and faster until I disappear into the insane sound of my heartbeat.
Aether.
Where my mother hurt me and my sister.
And Null.
Aether.
Where my mother thought she knew what was beautiful.
I'm proving her wrong.
Where are they?
Where are they?
Where is Null?
Null?
I need to free him.
I can't go on knowing my mother's hurting him.
Finally the platform shudders to a stop and I vault the gate, counting the symmetrical doors. There. I shove open the door, taking in the three cages, one unlocked, one still firmly shut, one torn apart, the two creatures staring at me with their untrusting eyes, and the dark-haired girl.
Leveling a gun at my head.
Moon's P.O.V.
Pain.
Digging it's red-hot claws into my shoulder. I swear and rip the sleeves off my shirt, clumsily bandaging the bullet wound with shaking hands, from pain or exhaustion or adrenaline I can't tell. Voices. Shouting, loud, thrumming in my bones. I won't be able to defend myself with this mess of a right shoulder. Too bad I'm not ambidextrous. So everything, all the careful planning and hacking and bribing...goes to crap as I run, world spinning and plunging as I hurl myself off the empty space where the lift used to be, feeling my bones shatter and screaming, but I won't, can't give up. Dragging myself to the right door, the only thing keeping me going is by hatred of her.
Lusamine.
Who hurt the Type: Null I love.
I'm rebelling.
Door's open. See them, so untrusting because of what happened to them.
What Lusamine did to them.
What she did to Gryphon.
Gryphon the Beast Killer.
Gryphon the Type: Null.
Gryphon my best friend.
Gryphon...I'm so sorry…
All I can think is sorry before I drive the point of my stolen knife into the lock and twist, the blade falling from my hands, slippery with my own blood. Gryphon's eyes lift to mine and I extend a hand, too exhausted to do much more, and dimly, through my red haze, hear the door scrape open, and this is the end, will she know I rebelled? Will this beautiful Pokemon I love with all my heart be safe?
No.
No, and if I had stayed out of it she might have survived.
Cold realization settles on me, and I decide that I will go down fighting.
Buy this Pokemon I know I love time.
Buy her life.
A life where she can forget about the blood crusted on the bars of her cage.
I will bleed to death if they don't come in.
They will kill me if they do.
I stand and point the gun towards the door.
I promise, I will take one of them down.
At least one before I'm dead.