A/N: This chapter was hard for me to write. Mostly it reflects on some of Marianns past and her current struggles. So, there's a bunch of drama in this.

Do be warned, this chapter may contain some violence.

Disclaimer: I don't anything other than the OCs and plot.

Chapter Nine

Brunt Shoulder

"Mom, look!" A young auburn haired girl shouted as she glimpsed off to see the beautiful sunset. May came scrolling over to her daughter's side to see what all the fuss was about.

"What is it Mariann?" The light-brown haired woman asked in curiosity.

"I said look!" Mariann cried once more, and May did what the child told her. She gazed out to the horizon, which was absolutely stunning. The colors orange, pink, purple and red streamed the sky. Each shade varied perfectly with one another. The sun itself peeked over the skyline, and its alluring shaft of light polished brightly and it mulled the air. This unqualified beautiful arrant scenery reflected upon the gleaming water, and which caused it to sparkle in pure bloom.

May admired at the silken backdrop. A heartfelt feeling overwhelmed her and a simple titter escaped her. "Dear, it's beautiful!" She couldn't take her sapphire-blue eyes off the setting, it was simply so divine to look upon. But Mariann pouted in frustration and tugged on her mother's clothing to gain her attention.

"Look harder!" The young red-brown haired child puckered, and she pointed firmer out to the distance. May merely listened to Mariann and glimpsed out even more, then lastly she understood what her daughter was completely stirring over. Dragonitis and dragonairs leapt out of the water and splashed in front of the astounding sunset.

"Mom what are those pokemon?" Mariann wondered in interest as she marveled at the mysterious pokemon that were presented in the outlook.

"The smaller pokemon you see are called, dragoniti and the bigger ones are their evolved forms, dragonair." May acknowledged, but she wondered what these beings were doing around in this area. Normally they're only found in the Dragon's Den in Johto, to her awareness. She never expected to see them in a place like this. Though she felt that it was quite odd, she didn't allow logic to ruin the bare moment.

"They're beautiful!" The girl stated as an over gleeful grin curled on her lips.

"Yes… Yes, they're Mariann…" May faintly smiled.

"Mom… Can I ask you something?" Mariann shyly asked. She moved her gaze from the outstanding sunset and looked down to the sandy ground. She began digging her feet into the soil. She bit her lower-lip in nervousness.

May glanced over her shoulder and looked towards the child. She gave a feeble beam. "Of course, sweetheart. What is it?"

"Do you think that Dad's watching the same sunset?" Mariann questioned her two separate colored eyes stared into May's soul with utter concern.

May quickly thought better to leave the question unanswered, however she knew that her daughter would linger with the matter non-stop. Thus surprisingly the woman provided her daughter with the most honest answer she could come up with. "I'm quite unsure, sweetie. I haven't seen the man in many years…" She paused. "But, I do believe that he's looking upon the same sunset."

"Really…?" Mariann contested and her stare swayed to one of brief. May simply nodded as a response. "Mom, do you think I'll meet him one day?" The girl asked.

May acutely sighed. "Perhaps, Mariann… I reckon that's enough questions for today. Plus we should be heading back, it's almost dark." She declared as she looked out to the sunset, with each and every passing moment the sun lowered itself deeper into twilight. The auburn haired child saw no reason to protest and argue with the woman. So she tangled her small palm with her mothers and left the shoreline, but not without taking one more look at the grand panorama and permanently printing it into her memory.

Mother and daughter left the beach and headed for home. When the two both entered Olivine City, they saw that the urban was absolutely empty and void. Which was rather odd, considering that the city was usually filled with people. The streets were effectively hollow and uninhabited, and they would have been utterly dark if it wasn't for the street-lamps. However, the light was pretty dim and cloudy, so it didn't surely ease up the strangeness. It was remarkably silent, too silent in fact.

In the silence, Mariann could hear the wind dance through the unfilled pathways. Apparently, a gush of air brooked passed her and it felt all indefinitely bitter. As a result, her hairs automatically stood up and she was granted goose-bumps. The poor girl shivered and quivered at the bare touch of the nippy wind.

May considered something was wrong, but seeing as nothing was in sight she pushed the thought to the side and continued on. Her main priority was to get home, and that was what she was going to do.

Awhile Mariann alternatively quaked in the bitter cold, rapidly her pace began vastly to slowdown. She tried to blandly keep up with her mother, but unluckily for her she was all too brisk to preserve. The grip she had on May dropped and the woman was too focused on getting home than to notice she lost ahold of her daughter. The red-brown haired child stopped in place and tried to regain warmth, nevertheless it didn't work. She was about to admit defeat, until her separate tinted colors settled upon a growlithe.

"Growl-Growlithe." The puppy pokemon barked and ran up to the girl. Mariann was harshly puzzled and unaware what to do. Her mother usually told her that pokemon were nice and kind, but they could also be dangerous and mean, especially wild ones. She was quite unsure of this growlithe, though it approached her willfully and seemed rather playful. When growlithe used its ember, a little fiery-red flare was showed before Mariann and she instantly felt reheated.

A goofily big sincere smile spread across Marianns face and the canine barked in friskiness. "Growlithe!" Immediately after a few moments, the flare faded and the girl felt all bleak and freezing again. She trembled in the cold, however that state didn't last long because the pokemon used ember another time, but with much more power fueled into it. The flare was reborn.

Mariann was rejoiced and cheered in bliss, she thoughtfully embraced growlithe into a friendly hug and began to stroke its fluffy thick fur. It felt so genuine and earnest. Yet the moment didn't stay fresh and quickly the pokemon dashed off into a dark alley.

"Hey, wait!" The chilliness coming back to her, Mariann weakly called out to the growlithe.

The dark alley stood there, long, dark and menacing. It was just a gap between two old terraced buildings built many years ago but it was cold and uninviting. It was like a cavernous venomoth just waiting to gobble up anyone who dared enter it. No one couldn't see the far end as it had been blocked off by a large heavy oak gate many years ago to stop the thieves and misfits of the area cutting through to the wastes that lay beyond the rear of the buildings, the old boarded up property. There was a story about someone being attacked and murdered in the ally for the pittance in their pocket but no one knew for sure as it happened many years ago. Other macabre stories surrounded the dark alley but over years these stories had become more horrific so the real story was lost in the tale. No one liked the alleyway. It smelt strongly of stale urine and faces and things scuttled underfoot as somebody carefully trod its length. The walls ran with slime which covered the now long forgotten graffiti brickwork. No one liked the alley. No one used the ally except for the brave and the fool hardy for someone never knew what lay in its depths. The girl walked on.

Those tales she heard did baffle her and gave her nightmares when she was younger, but Mariann wouldn't allow some freighting looking alley get the better or her. She thoughtlessly ran into the alley. She ran and ran up until she reached a dead end. The growlithe from earlier sat there glaring harmfully at her, and it wasn't alone.

A mysterious appearing woman, who was entirely clothed in dark shaded colors stood next to the pokemon. Mariann assumed that she owned the creature, but she was relatively uncertain. It was hard to officially read the woman's features, however, the thing that made most clear to the girl was her deep bloody-red eyes.

"Well, well what have we are? Hello, young one…" The bloody-red eyed female creepily smiled and took a small step towards Mariann. "…Tell me are you lost?" She whispered in an eerily yet soft tone.

The auburn girl quickly became scared. Each time the opposing woman stepped forward, she took a step back. She wanted to scream for her mother, but somehow she just couldn't muster up the courage. She was merely wholly still as stone.

Growlithe snarled at Mariann and bit the cold air. Its trainer disagreed with her pokemons methods. "Growlithe, dear please stop scaring the poor girl! She's already terrified." She objected and the puppy pokemon whined. "Oh, stop it!... Now, tell me girl what's your name?"

Mariann didn't response, she simply hesitated and remained silent.

"Don't worry, I don't bite. Well, growlithe on other hand does." The woman laughed, but the laugh instantly died out and was replaced by a bore. "My, my even at such a young age you look so much alike him… It's sad that the pervious champion's your mother… I do dearly wish you were my child…" She sighed and stepped closer to Mariann. She lowered herself to the little girl's level and cupped her cheek. "I do apologize, but… I can't let you go away unharmed…" she whispered into her ear.

Mariann panicked. "…mom… Mom… MOM!" She cried and quickly fled from the stranger.

The bloody-red eyed woman breathed. "Growlithe use ember." She commanded and the fire-type pokemon did what it was told. Growlithe shoot a flare towards Mariann and the fire landed upon her left shoulder.

"Mariann! Mariann, where are you!?" The child heard her mother call out for her. She couldn't reply or scream for her dear parent, she was too terrified and the fire on her shoulder spread further and further. It greatly pained her and it burned into her skin.

"Milotic use rain dance." Suddenly a rain cloud appeared in the star filled sky. Small raindrops poured onto Mariann, and the fire vanished. Though the threat was gone, the fire left her a brunt scar on her shoulder. From weariness she collapse onto the cold rocky ground.

"Oh, my Arceus! Mariann!" May came rushing to Marianns side. She curled her up into her arms. "Don't worry everything's going to be alright! Everything's going to be alright!"

Everything turned black

"AH!" Maria cried as she shoot out of the bed. She alertly eyed her surroundings and expected something to come out and attack her. But nothing did. So she was left in a rather awkward position.

Her two pokemon, marshtomp and numel and alongside Darricks eevee laid silently on the woodened floor sleeping. Maria glanced at the three and sighed. She gracelessly moved herself from the mattress and tried to soundlessly go to the restroom without waking anybody up. Luckily for her she made it.

Maria quietly walked into the restroom. She scrolled on up to the sink and turned on the water and allowed it to run. She then splashed some of the fluid into her face and dried it off with a waterless towel. Subsequently she drowsily looked herself in the mirror. The girl was an outright mess, her bobbed hair was all over the place, her eyes couldn't mannerly stay open, and the dark bags under her eyes made her appear as she didn't get any sleep, which was somewhat true for the most part.

The memory nearly haunted her every single night. It made her greatly lose a good night's rest many times. Especially since the day she went on journey it preoccupied her mind even more. She remembered the mysterious red eyed woman all veiled in dark colors. "My, my even at such a young age you look so much alike him… It's sad that the pervious champion's your mother… I do dearly wish you were my child…" Maria recollected every bit of the words she told her. "I do apologize, but… I can't let you go away unharmed…" Who was this him? How was it sad that May was her mother? Why did she wish that Maria was her child? Why did she apologize and have to harm her? There were many questions that flooded the teenager's thoughts that she obtained a headache.

She abruptly drew her attention to her left shoulder, she carefully slide her white tunic sleeve further down her arm, and to unroll the burn scar. The scar had been red years ago, now it was more of a brighter pink shade. It was spread across her entire left shoulder, a bit on her narrow neck and dense chest. In size it wasn't too big neither too small, but it was meager enough that she could hide it passably.

Maria stared at the mark with uneasy eyes. She gravely regretted her actions that one unfortunate night, and the scar was a reminder of that hour of darkness that she would carry into old age. The girl thought she shouldn't be too hard on herself, because stuff happen to almost everyone and she was but a mere child when it occurred. However, if she didn't follow the growlithe into the alleyway, she wouldn't have meet the woman and be wounded for life, and caused May to become too overprotect of her.

"Mother is just always so worried and heavyhearted when I see her. Maybe if I wasn't born she would be far more carefree and untroubled. For I seem to only cause her exceeding distress because of my existence." There implied to be truth in her words, yet Maria forgot she also granted May happiness, bliss, love and much more. She clasped her face in her hands and intensely exhaled, sorrow overawed her. "Mariann, you're overthinking it again…"She muttered quietly as shook her head side to side.

Unexpectedly the sound of footsteps came padding over towards the depressed Maria. The auburn haired trainer removed her hands from her teary face and saw marshtomp eyeing her with a bunch of concern and worry. She managed to give the pokemon a scrawny smile. "Can't sleep?"

The mud fish pokemon shook its head. Of course, she got a good night's rest! She resembled to be reasonably glowing with energy, unlike Maria.

"Ma-Marshtomp." The pokemon cried at its trainer and dimly pointed at Marias scar in pure shock.

"Oh, this…" The teenager faked a chuckle. "It's nothing, girl. It's but a little scratch, really nothing to worry about." She walked up to marshtomp and patted her on the head. She supposed the pokemon believed her, though it wasn't that simple.

Marshtomp dismissed Marias hand from her head and protested against her master. "Marsh-Marshtomp!" She waved her long arms crazily in the air.

"Girl, calm down! You'll wake up numel and eevee." Maria argued, nonetheless the creature didn't listen and continued to shriek in disagreement. "Marshtomp I said that's enough!" She shoot up and raised her voice.

Immediately the blue colored pokemon admitted defeat, she grunted in annoyance. Maria sighed. "Please, I need some time alone. In the meantime, why don't you wake up numel and eevee?" The young trainer turned from Marshtomp and began to fix herself up. Surprisingly Maria was put to a halt, she felt something tug firmly onto her leg. She curiously glanced over her shoulder and grew wide eyed, marshtomp was tightly hugging her. "Marshtomp…" She uttered.

"Ma!" The pokemon wailed.

Maria grumbled in lose. "Alright, alright I won't dope over it…" She puffed up her cheeks and pulled back up her sleeve. "But that doesn't mean I'll get over it to easily… This scar's brunt into my flesh!" She remarked in anger and marshtomp yanked harder onto the girls leg, it was as if the pokemon was feeling her pain and hurt.

Though Maria tried her utmost to cope up her emotions and feelings, she'll always break down in the end. Currently now, she broke. Tears scrolled down her face and the sound of sobs leaked out from her. Her entire body became extremely weak and puny, she lost her balance. She instantly grabbed ahold of the sink and tried her best to keep standing on her two wobbly legs. To no avail: she collapsed.

The young trainer rarely showed her true colors. Presently she permitted them to expose. Frequently she aimed to be tough and headstrong, but truthfully she was soft and fragile. She yearned to be strong, however, that wasn't her. Justly she really didn't know who she was.

Wasn't it the reason why young people alike her went out on their journeys? To find out who they are?

Maria had been overshadowed by and compared to May her whole life, that honestly at times she thought she was some kind of carbon copy of the champion. The red-brown haired girl understood that she was her own person, and she'll have to discover her true self and her origins whilst on her adventure. But that was for another day, Maria felt she could only curl up and cry at the time. She did just that. She shamelessly curled up into a ball and cried until her eyes became waterless.

Marshtomp wouldn't have it, she trotted on up to Maria and placed a hand on the teenagers brunt scar. The wound was a reflection of all her problems, from the anxiety and to accepting who she was. The pokemon gave her a hug, she couldn't do anything but comfort the poor girl. She felt so sorry for her.

Maria granted a sob full of pure agony as a response. "…T-thank you, for being here for me…"

A/N: If have any questions, don't be afraid to ask.