Hello! We're coming back in with another chapter! This one's kinda short, but it's also kinda important. Like, this could play a big part in the climax later important.

Chapter 7

When Maria entered the dining hall, Chaos instantly appeared in front of her.

"I take it that you have cooled down sufficiently?" the Pokemon inquired.

Maria gave a nod. "Yeah. Right now, though, I need to find Cap. Any idea where he is?"

"I believe he is presently testing your theory that Victini is unbeatable."

At the back of Maria's mind, a Pokemon theme song from a Hoenn season started to play, but the Reploid forced it down and out of hearing range. "Some sort of sparring field I'm guessing, then."

"Correct. I shall lead you there."

Chaos turned and started for the other side of the dining hall, which was pretty much empty except for a darkened corner where it looked like there was a huddle of some sort. Occasionally, a shadowed figure looked up in order to make side that no one might have been listening in.

I don't like the look of them, Maria mentally warned, glaring at the group.

"Neither do the others who are competing," Chaos replied. "However, they had to be brought here so that the worlds the contestants had left would remain relatively peaceful until they return."

"You could have done something to make sure they wouldn't do anything and remained there," Maria muttered under her breath. "There could be people here who are planning things that shouldn't be done."

Chaos looked over at Maria with a slightly curious expression as they reached the doors that led to the stages. He then looked over at the corner with a calculating expression.

"Perhaps something will be done tonight," the Mewtwo admitted.

The doors in front of them opened, and Chaos motioned for Maria to step inside.

"Go on. I believe you may be able to get those two to stop their spar so that you may speak with your combat partner."

Maria gave the Pokemon a smirk and a nod, then stepped through the doorway...

...and onto a familiar scene.

Tall pillars rose up on either side of Maria as she stepped though the entrance, taking note that the stone columns were clearly handmade...and spiked at the top.

"Spear Pillar," the Reploid murmured.

She wasn't able to admire the work for long, however, because she was abruptly interrupted by he sound of Victini shrieking.

Maria started to look around quickly, trying to find where the little Fire/Psychic-Type was located. If she could find him, she might be able to find Cap.

Maria's eyes scanned the ruins of Mt. Coronet, looking for something that could hint at where the two combatants were located. When Victini called out again, she tried to head out in the direction of the yell, but then she heard the call behind her. When the Reploid turned around, however, she didn't see the little Legendary anywhere in sight.

"There must be some sort of echo," Maria muttered, looking around. After a moment, she decided to move deeper into Spear Pillar.

However, before the Reploid could take even a step, a blast of fire moved across her vision, and a familiar object was thrown into it, cutting he tongue of flame in half.

"Whoa!" Out of surprise, Maria jumped back. She then followed the stream of fire, which suddenly went around a pillar and disappeared out of sight.

The Reploid blinked in confusion, then frowned. "What is going on?" She looked in the other direction, watching as Cap's shield retreated around in that direction. Maria dashed in that direction and turned around the pillar...only to get slammed into by Cap.

"Hey! I'm on your side!" Maria yelled reflexively after her back had hit another pillar.

The glare that had been on Cap's face dissipated, and a look of surprise quickly replaced it. "Maria? What are you doing here?" He backed up, allowing Maria to stand on her own.

"Chaos let me in," Maria explained. "I need to talk to you."

Victini called out again, and Cap ducked as a stream of fire came blasting at him from behind.

"Kind of busy here," Cap growled. He turned and started to look for Victini after the flames dissipated, but the Legendary was nowhere in sight.

"It looks like Spear Pillar is warping space or something like that," Maria spoke up as Cap looked around for his opponent. "Pokemon attacks just don't go around corners like that."

"Any suggestions as to how to beat Victini?" Cap asked.

"You don't, like I said this morning. Either he beats you, or he throws the match by letting you beat him." Maria moved to stand next to Cap, watching for anything that might end up coming their way.

A little red, V-shaped blur suddenly zipped into view, only to disappear out of sight mere seconds later.

"Great," Cap growled. "Just my luck."

Maria gained a slightly calculating expression. "I wouldn't say that just yet." She stepped around to stand in front of the Avenger and spread out the reach of her infrared sight as far as it could go.

As the Reploid had suspected, the space of Spear Pillar was being distorted at least somewhat - there were areas of her vision that lit up when they weren't supposed to with different levels of heat. However, there were also tracks from where Victini had flown around, showing where the little Legendary had come from...as well as where he was going.

Maria switched back to normal sight just as Victini reappeared, coated in flames and charging directly at them. All the Reploid did was hold up her left hand in what could be considered the universal "stop" motion.

Victini didn't even bother to stop. He slammed into the palm, causing flames to fly in five directions, only to become absorbed into Maria's form.

The Fire/Psychic-Type flew back a couple feet, shaking his head as he rubbed a sore spot between his ears. "Hey - what gives?"

"This," Maria replied. She moved her right arm to aim at the Pokemon, the hand morphing into her Buster as it reached the spot she wanted it to.

The bright blue blast that came out of the Buster sent Victini rocketing back into a pillar, causing it to collapse and kick up dust. When this cleared, the Fire/Psychic-Type was entrapped in a large chunk of ice.

"That won't hold him for long," Maria warned, her arm reversing the change that had been made. "He'll probably melt it and escape within a few minutes." She started forward, but Cap grabbed her arm.

"He'll probably blast you as soon as you get close," the Avenger warned.

"I've faced worse."

Cap gave Maria a suspicious look, then reluctantly let go, allowing for the Reploid to approach the block of ice with he trapped Pokemon inside.

"Listen, I need to talk to you about something," Maria spoke without looking back as she walked forward. "That's why I came in here and made it two against one." She reached the block of ice. "That's why I also stopped the match momentarily, because I need to speak with you without prying eyes anywhere nearby."

Maria kicked the ice, and it shattered; Victini fell to the ground with a surprised squeak, then looked up in confusion at the Reploid.

Maria offered him a slight smile. "Sorry, buddy, but I've got to cut your spar short. There's something I have to talk about with Cap."

Victini's ears drooped, and a disappointed look appeared on his face. "Aw... Do you have to? We were having so much fun!"

"You were," Cap corrected.

Victini stuck his tongue out at the Avenger. "Party pooper." He returned his attention to Maria. "Feeling better than you were this morning, then?"

Maria gave a nod. "I managed to get a few things straightened out, but there's one more thing I have to do."

The little Legendary let out a sigh. "Alright, fine. Go - I'll look for someone else to challenge."

Maria gave a nod as an open doorway leading to the dining hall appeared next to the Fire/Psychic-Type. "Thanks, V." She turned and motioned for Cap to follow her, then strode off Spear Pillar.

Time Break

Maria led Cap into her sleeping quarters as they came off the warp panel. "It's the only place I feel safe telling you about this," she explained to the soldier. "That is, if you don't mind the decor." She motioned to the bed, which looked better than it had that morning when the Reploid had vacated the apartment. "Go ahead. Sit. I plan on standing."

Cap gave Maria a curious look, but complied, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Maria let out a sigh, trying to force out the tension that was being built up at the thought of what she was about to say. "You remember what I'd said that first night here right? When I said that I'd had a little problem with Wily being here?"

Cap gave a nod. "Is that why you snapped at Batman the other night?"

Maria nodded grimly. "Because of my robotic form, being reprogrammed can be considered a weakness for me, like magnetics and Wolverine. That's...that's what Wily did to me."

The Reploid let out a shudder. "As soon as he got ahold of me, he stripped me of my free will and personality - or, at least, almost did. Since I used to be human, I somehow managed to keep ahold of who I was, but it was buried pretty deep. Dr. Light, after Rock had rescued me, managed to revive my original self. Unfortunately, Wily's program wasn't easy to get rid of. There's still a small around left in my systems, and it can be activated by speaking a certain code."

"Why are you telling me this?" Cap frowned. "And why can this thing still be activated?"

"Since I know a lot about you already, I think it would be fair to level the playing field so that neither of us are hiding surprises from each other," Maria explained. "As for my other reason..." She let out a sigh. "I don't want Wily getting control of me here. He could use me against the contestants here - including you. And I don't want to force anyone to be on the other side of my Buster.

"Dr. Light managed to remove most of Wily's program, and what's left makes me feel and act more like a soldier than a soulless robot. Believe me, it's a whole lot better than what Wily's original Master Control Program did to me. Unfortunately, I don't know why they made it capable of being activated."

Cap frowned, considering what Maria was suggesting. "You think Wily will try to win you back."

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Maria leaned against the wall behind her. "It's your call, Cap. Do you want to know the code or not?"

Oooh, cliffhanger. You guys can probably guess what's going to happen, though...

See you guys later!