AN: I apologize for the wait. Special thanks to Coffee Craft for becoming Cadence's new beta reader!

-May-

The Auld Lang Syne was a pub located in the downtown area of Eden, surrounded by shops that sold necessities, pokemon-related goods, and even some of those fusion-killing weapons that were advertised on the fliers along the streets, buildings and lampposts. While the shops were seemingly empty, the pub was filled to the brim with Eden citizens eager for ale and buddies with whom they could share the gift of life. Glasses clanged together, hands slammed down on wooden tables and counters to the beat of jokes and stories, and a band on the small stage sung of the Human-Fusion War with bagpipes, fiddles and other highland instruments:

Some horrors cannot be fought

Some monsters cannot be killed

But we will fight for as long as we sing

For our cadence cannot be broken

Now hear the tale of the Mother of Demons

Lilith

The voice for those unspoken

She will protect our souls, she will protect our homes

And all that our fears have stolen

I swallowed and turned around in my seat, focusing on the single glass of ale I had ordered. Many people had approached me when we first entered the bar, wanting to thank me for defending the city, but I made it clear after a few minutes that I didn't want to be bothered. They respected my wishes and left me alone, though that didn't stop them from rewriting their lyrics to include me.

I still wasn't fond of the nickname "Lilith". From what I remembered of mythology and lore, the original Lilith hadn't exactly been anyone's saving grace. Yet, here I was, having just saved a city from an attack that surely would've destroyed it. Instead of turning against the Resistance, I had stayed with them, a choice that seemingly not only surprised those that had been surrounded by fusion tyranny for so many years, but the very Corporation that had started it all and assumed that anyone with fusion blood in their veins was destined to destroy with them.

Maybe it was the ale. Maybe I was crazy. Maybe I had been standing near fusions for too long. As the band continued to sing in the background, I couldn't help but smile.

I can be Lilith, Mother of Demons. I can be Jericho's worst nightmare.

I can protect your souls, I can protect your homes, and I can protect what your fears have stolen.

At that, I paused and mentally slapped myself. Yup, the ale was definitely getting to me, as was the music. I pushed the half-empty glass away and tried to tune out the band.

"Not your cup of tea?"

I looked to the side, where I met the viridian-colored eyes of Kanto Resistance member Misty Waterflower, an amused smile on her face. I had only met her a few times when I had been traveling around as a competitive coordinator all those years ago, with the first time having been during my initial journey with Ash across Hoenn. Back then, she had had her orange-colored hair in a ponytail and had been the gym leader for Cerulean City, but now she had let her hair loose and it had grown a little past her shoulders, clashing with the color of her armor, and she didn't look like a gym leader, but a soldier who had seen the pure evil of other men. Again, it reminded me of how much things had changed with time – and not necessarily for the good.

"Something like that," I said.

She sat on the barstool next to mine and rested her arms on the counter. "They're singing about you, you know."

"Yeah…"

"Don't like it?"

I sighed. When do I stop being Lilith and start being May again? "It's a long story."

"I bet." Her eyes softened. "Sorry. I didn't mean to put you on the spot there. We've only met a handful of times, but you've traveled with Ash just as much as the rest of us."

I had to chuckle at that. "He's the one who links us all together, isn't he?"

"That's definitely one way of seeing it."

I looked at Ash, who sat at a booth on the other side of the pub with another Kanto Resistance member, Ritchie, and Drew, smiles on their faces as they talked. Ash and Ritchie's pikachu danced to the music together on the table. Ash pointed to the band on the stage and patted Drew on the shoulder, evidently saying something embarrassing, as Drew looked away with a slight tint to his cheeks, awkwardly coughing.

Dawn, Paul, Lionel and Max had left the pub earlier, while Deryn had disappeared out the back door. Avarice was nowhere to be seen, either, despite that the residents of Eden didn't seem to mind his presence when compared to my other fusions. His aid in fending off the invading goliath probably had something to do with their tolerance. After all, they were calling me the "Mother of Demons" like it was a good thing, whether they were truly glad I was on their side or they just wanted a reason to laugh at Arbiter Corp.

"It's pretty amazing," Misty said, and I turned my eyes back to her. "What you can do, I mean. With the fusions. It's really helped a lot. But, I can't help but wonder how you deal with all this attention and responsibility that's been placed on you. Whether you think being a hybrid-"

"Is a gift or a curse?" I inquired.

She blinked. "Yeah."

"I just…want things to be the way they should be."

"I understand that. These powers you've inherited, the position it's put you in, I can't help but think of Ash and how he used to always get caught up in the problems of the legendaries, when they threatened life. He always found his way out, though. He always fixed everything. But this isn't something he can do by himself, or with just a handful of close friends nearby. The power doesn't even seem to be in his hands this time. If there's anyone who's determining the moves in this game of chess, it's you."

I looked down. "Like some kind of destiny."

You fought these fusions head on, Moira had said to me when she and Ellis brought me back to life with the Chimera Virus, you stopped Verdana no matter what she threw at you, and you escaped Kruismara when others hadn't. If there's anyone that can stop Jericho, it's you.

It's you.

I closed my eyes. Yeah, some destiny.

"I'm not really the superstitious type," Misty said. "Being in this war…if there is a Hell, it can't be much worse than this. But the legendaries proved to me that nothing is immune to fear. Ash was there when they fought, when they were scared, when they needed help, and he helped them, whether it was destiny or not. Now, it's rumored that the legendaries have gone into hiding to avoid infection, because they're needed for balance in the world. As you know, though, some couldn't escape in time."

"The Leviathan, for example?"

She nodded. "The sad part is, that was the very same lugia who picked Ash to be the Chosen One, when Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos fought each other a long time ago and something needed to be done to calm them. That song it sang during the invasion, that was its song, and I could recognize it even after all these years, but I knew that Lug – I mean, the Leviathan – at least glimpsed at Ash, saw his face, and it didn't recognize a thing. The Virus has completely consumed it. Its infection would definitely explain why it's so dark and stormy outside, considering that lugia influenced the weather."

The fact that the Leviathan existed did explain a lot. I also wasn't surprised that it hadn't recognized Ash. I thought of the name theory. I thought about bringing Ash to the Leviathan and having him say its real name, to see if it would spark any memories, maybe even break it free from the Hivemind's control. That way, it could at least mentally return to being Lugia again.

But…

The Leviathan was also a powerful addition to my army. I couldn't lose it. I didn't want to lose it.

Crap, what am I thinking?

"Like I said," Misty went on, "I'm not superstitious, at least not to the religious point. While many saw the legendaries as powerful pokemon, challenges that needed to be caught or faced, many other people and pokemon saw the legendaries as gods, and they relied on them to get through the day. For those religious types, a majority of them hate the legendaries now. They think that in these times, where we've needed them the most, they abandoned us. In my opinion, I don't want to imagine what a pokemon like Groudon could do if it got infected. I'd rather have the legendaries stay out of the way. Seeing what the Leviathan has become is painful enough."

And I control it, like a twisted version of a pokemon master.

But, alongside that sense of guilt, I felt a sense of…anger. The Leviathan didn't choose to become a monster, and it didn't need to be judged as such.

Misty touched my shoulder. "Are you alright, May?"

"Yeah." I brought a hand to my head. "I just need to get some sleep. It's been a long night."

"I hear you. It was nice talking to you again." She smiled. "It was also nice to see that the Virus doesn't necessarily taint everything it touches."

That tinge of anger appeared again, as if I had just been insulted. But I hadn't. Misty meant no ill-will. She just…didn't understand, like how many others didn't know what I was going through, and I couldn't hold that against her. I shook the feeling away, forced a smile at Misty, and I stood. I noticed that Drew was gone from Ash's table, having probably returned to our hotel. Misty went over and took his place, leaning her head on Ash's shoulder, earning a warm glow from his eyes as he caressed her back.

I looked at the ground, exhaled through my nose, and left the Auld Lang Syne.

The outside air was cold compared to the warmth of the pub, dark when compared to its lights, too quiet when compared to the songs, stories, and laughter that had bounced off the walls. I looked toward the northern districts of Eden, where police tape attached between two houses near the hole the goliath had made set the point that no one was advised to cross. A quarantine zone. After all, the goliath's gruesome death resulted in the Chimera Virus being spread across the ground from where its body lay. Though residents of the northern district had been allowed to return after the attack was over, no one was allowed to go near the goliath's decapitated corpse or my colossus until the bodies were disposed of and the Virus could be drained from the streets.

I swallowed hard at the sight of my colossus, a small mountain in the distance, as still as stone. I walked toward it, my eyes growing wet. It hadn't deserved this. Just like the soldiers and pokemon that had died during the attack, I had lost some of my fusions.

They weren't Arbiter Corp's fusions. They were mine. I was their head. I was supposed to protect them.

When I approached the alleyway between the Auld Lang Syne and a tailoring store, I paused upon hearing a familiar Scottish voice.

"You know what, slender-beastie?" Deryn Abraham said, leaning against the pub's wall, a bottle in her hand and a goofy grin on her face. Her uniform was disheveled in various places. "I was thinking, how boring it is to be fighting all the bloody time."

I stepped back and peered around the corner, where I saw Avarice standing not too far from her, eyeing her with nonexistent eyes. He showed no response to her thoughts, but she went on anyway as if they were the only ones in the city.

"All this barking blood, all these barking monsters, and here I am, drunk off my bum, and realizing that the only way I'm ever truly happy in times like this is when I'm drunk off my bum. 'Sodding Arbiter Corp' I would be saying, if I was sober, but I'm not." She giggled. "I'm not cursing out Arbiter Corp like I should be. I'm not cleaning fusion blood off my shirt like I should be-"

"You are intoxicated," Avarice said.

"-and I'm definitely not hating you like I should be."

Avarice looked away.

"Why're you out here anyway?" Deryn asked, her speech somewhat slurred. "Shouldn't you be with May or something?"

"She does not need me."

"And I do?"

"You are intoxicated. I wanted to ensure that you reached your sleeping quarters safely."

Deryn whistled. "Look at this, a barking eldritch abomination with a heart! Now I have seen everything."

"You have given me this suit. It is the least I can do."

"Don't think I forgot that centaur you barking bisected when he tried to trample me, either."

"…You had given me this suit. It was the least I could do."

"You operators make horrible liars." She took another swig from her bottle. "And don't you think that just because I'm seeing two of everything that I don't mean what I say. I don't hate you right now, slender-beastie. One of your kind murdered me mum, but I don't hate ya. In fact…" She walked closer to him, enough for him to slightly tilt his head upward so her breath didn't touch his chin. "I like a guy with long legs. I could get over this vendetta I have with your kind another way, you know. I could make love, not war."

She leaned in closer, her lips brushing his bare neck.

"I could completely ravish you."

Avarice stepped back from her. Over the Hivemind, I felt his anxiety, the same sensation I felt when I looked at Drew. Excitement. Arousal. Desire.

I tried to hold back a smile.

"That…" He paused, as if to compose himself. "That will not be needed. You are intoxicated."

She waved her hand at him. "Blisters, slender-beastie. I know where my quarters are. I can find them on my own." She tossed her bottle into the dumpster. Then, she looked back at him, and that sharp look returned to her eyes, as if she had completely sobered in that one second. Her voice lowered, somewhat seductive: "My offer still stands, though. 'Intoxicated' or not."

She left.

Any other operator would have tilted their head at her, like she was an anomaly they couldn't explain. Instead, Avarice looked at the ground, loosening his shoulders and trying to regain his senses. He seemed to catch sight of me in the process, as he raised his head and gazed in my direction.

I turned away and walked down the street.

I ducked under the police tape and approached my colossus. Dust and sand still filled the air from the destruction, but not to the point where I couldn't shape my fusion from amongst the rubble. The boots of my Resistance armor stepped in streams of Chimera Virus and blood, as it continued to pour from the goliath's decapitated corpse. I made my way up a series of rocks and debris until I reached the unmoving face of my colossus. My eyes grew wet again.

It looked like it was asleep, its mouth slightly open. Its jaw alone was big enough to seem like a boulder when compared to my size, but I wasn't intimidated. I wasn't scared. I didn't know if I should say goodbye, or a prayer, or anything in the hollow air around us. It was gone. There was no bringing it back. There was nothing I could do. Though I was glad I had protected the city, I wish it hadn't had come at such a high cost.

Gently, I put my hand on the colossus's cheek. It felt rough, like stone, and just as cold. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

As I looked down to let the tears fall, I saw the pokeballs attached to my belt. Blaziken. Blastoise. Venusaur. Glaceon. Beautifly. Snorlax. Delcatty. I knew they wanted to come out – I felt the pokeballs shaking against my waist – because they knew that I was sad, and, regardless of the reason, they wanted to comfort me. I placed my hand over them, to calm them.

"Can't let you out," I said. "There's too much Virus in the streets."

They shook more in protest.

"I'm fine. I just…" I looked back at my colossus, my other hand still on its cheek. What was I supposed to say? That I cared about a fusion – a monster – just as much as I did my own pokemon?

A tear slid down my cheek.

Yeah, I did. As the Arbiter Corporation had dubbed me and the band in the pub had sung, I was Lilith, Mother of Demons. I was to protect their souls, protect their homes, and protect all that their fears had stolen.

Another tear fell. "I'm fine, guys."

"You do not sound like it."

I looked over my shoulder. Avarice stood behind me, seemingly uncaring toward how the long end of his duster coat almost touched the streams of Chimera Virus and blood beneath his boots. In fact, he moved closer, but only by a few steps, giving me enough space to breathe.

"Am I supposed to be okay with this?" I asked, gazing at my colossus. It was a genuine question, as Avarice was one of the few beings I could talk to regarding the Hivemind. "This…this is a monster. Why do I care? Am I crazy?"

"I cannot answer that for you."

"Humor me?" I looked back at him, tears forming in my eyes, my voice barely above a whisper. "Please?"

"You share the same bond with your fusions as you do with your pokemon. You are one of them. The fusions look to the Hivemind for guidance and comfort, because they cannot reach it anywhere else. Fusions were built to be emotionless hunters, but what they feel as individuals, for what they feel for those who care for them, is a different case than what they are not supposed to feel for the enemy. Ultimately, your affection toward fusions is justified, in the same way that their affection for you is expected."

I had to chuckle at that. "I have to wonder if that's really true, that fusions can only care about other fusions."

"Why do you ask?"

"I saw you back there, with Deryn. I saw the way you looked at her."

He paused. "Monsters cannot love."

"But you said-"

"I am a monster for reasons in which no other fusion can relate."

I pulled away from my colossus and eyed him. I stepped forward and placed my hand on his chest. I felt the material of his suit beneath my fingertips. I closed my eyes and entered the Hivemind. Like the reaching branches of dead trees, his suit tried to block my way to his memories. I pushed through it and saw those images of women and children laughing and playing together. Then, I saw him. Gabriel. I moved closer, and his past enveloped me.

Gabriel sighed as he walked up the steps to a large corporate building. Its windows reflected what looked like Goldenrod City – which reminded how long it had been since I had seen a stable environment beneath clear, blue skies – and…the afternoon sun?

The last time I had checked into Avarice's memories, he had had an argument with his wife, Claire, and had to leave the house they shared. It had been nighttime, then. Was this the day after? Looking through Gabriel's eyes, I saw the sluggishness in his posture, the slight disheveled state of his business suit. When he reached for the corporate building's front door, I saw his reflection in the glass. His eyes were tired. This very well could have been the day after the argument. Unable to go back to his house with Claire there, he would have been forced to sleep elsewhere.

I was amazed he still wanted to go to work.

Opening the door, he nearly bumped into an ampharos carrying its trainer's briefcase. The pokemon glared at him, but Gabriel didn't care, making his way into the lobby. People and pokemon bustled to and fro, gathering near the front desk for talk or directions, or riding the escalators and elevators to the higher floors. Nearby, people typed away at computers while leaders held business meetings in rooms surrounded by glass.

High above, on the main wall, was a large television, showing what looked like politicians, business leaders, trainers, gym leaders, coordinators – every kind of person you could think of – talking about the contributions the business's products had made to their pokemon's everyday lives. A woman's voice narrated as footage of scientists working in a lab played in the background:

"For years, we have been dedicated to the top most care of pokemon worldwide. Our experienced scientists are constantly working together to produce better and more beneficial vitamins and other supplements that promote longevity, strength, intelligence, and agility in pokemon of any type or species. We ensure that every goal is within reach, that every challenge can be conquered, and that any struggle can be defeated…"

A logo flashed on the screen. A white, unbalanced judgment scale within a green circle.

My heart fell.

"The Arbiter Corporation," the woman finished, her voice echoing across the lobby. "'Promising evolution at its finest'!"

Avarice had worked for the Arbiter Corporation, before they had been connected to the Chimera Project, before Verdana and the Attack on Enfer City, before it all began. Had he even been aware of what they'd been up to then? I wouldn't be surprised if he had been kept in the dark about what the company he worked for did behind closed doors.

"Gabe!"

Gabe looked to the side, where a rugged man in a matching suit – albeit more organized – ran toward him. It was the man from the first time I viewed Avarice's memories. Dave. He stopped for a second and seemed to scan Gabe over.

"You look like shit," he said, eyebrows raised.

"Sì," Gabe said, his Italian accent warm, comforting, even with his obvious fatigue. "It's been a long night."

"She threw you out again, didn't she?"

Gabe sighed. "She didn't necessarily 'throw' me out, but…it's hard to stay when you know you're not wanted." He looked back up at the overhead projector, where that video replayed. "And yet I come back here over and over again expecting different results. Mannaggia, I'm as insane as they come."

"Well, that's why I'm single." Dave crossed his arms. "But, hey, you're insane for a good reason. Remember that promotion you've been looking for?" He grinned. "I was talking to some guys from out-of-town about your ideas on how to improve our sales in Sinnoh's markets – since, you know, your presentation a few days ago didn't go so well – and I managed to get through to the boss. Well, one of them…"

Gabe looked back at him. I felt his eyes widen. "What?"

"A-da Shard," Dave said, intentionally emphasizing the syllables. "The big leagues! She's here, man! She wants to hear your ideas!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, you insane bastard!" Dave laughed. "She's in your office right now. Better not keep her waiting."

"Mio Arceus! Dave, how could I thank you?"

"You can buy me a drink after you go talk to her."

"Definitely!" Gabe grinned and dashed toward the elevator. He met Dave's eyes again before the doors closed. "Wish me luck!"

The ride was agonizing, at least on Gabe's end. I felt more anxiety than anything else. Ada Shard. One of the heads of the Arbiter Corporation. Things were starting to piece together bit by bit.

The doors opened, revealing a long hallway. Gabe rushed past colleagues talking by the cubicles, spitting out apologies as he did so, until he reached a room near the back – his office, I presumed. There, he composed himself, rubbing the wrinkles out of his jacket, straightening his tie, and trying to regulate his breathing. When he felt ready, he opened the door. It was a small room with a desk, chairs, a computer, bookshelves, and a nice view of Goldenrod's downtown area. The afternoon sun had a cast a golden light across the carpeted floor.

He looked toward his desk, where a slender woman swayed back and forth on his chair, filing her nails as if she hadn't a care in the world. Long, black hair fell to her back in curls, most of it flipped over her left shoulder and falling across her bosom. I mentally growled. Ada Shard. She looked younger here than in the pictures Max had acquired from hacking various Arbiter Corp databases, but this memory was from years ago. Despite her youth, the high cheekbones and fierce green eyes, that viper-like look she had in all those photos, was prevalent here, too. She was dressed in classic business attire, an aura of prestige emanating from her.

She looked up at Gabe, seemingly admiring his entire stature. Studying. Comparing. I felt the intensity of her stare, as if she tried to peer into his soul, unlocking the secrets beneath. For a second, I was terrified that, somewhere, Ada was somehow viewing the same memory as me, replaying this moment in time, and she knew that I was looking through Gabe's eyes.

Then, she loosened slightly. Her thin lips curled into a smile. I almost didn't hear the single word she spoke:

"Perfect."

"I'm sorry?" Gabe said.

She shook her head. "Nothing." She put down her nail filer and leaned forward in the chair, studying him again. Her voice was calm, smooth, as if everything was going to plan. "You must be Gabriel. I'm sure you know who I am."

"Yes."

"Good, then I'm sure you know why you're here. Your friend spoke of your ideas, and I'm very well aware of the lack of sales we've been having in Sinnoh. I would love to hear your proposals on how to improve these issues."

Swallowing, Gabe reached for the chair in front of his desk-

"Not here," Ada said. She eyed him one last time and smiled. "In my private suite. Downtown. It's much better to discuss business when we're all not so tense, right?"

Gabe pulled back at that. I caught the hint as well. It was hard not to. In the reflections of Gabriel that I saw, he was an attractive man – almost the "tall, dark, and mysterious" type. But I had a sour feeling in the pit of my stomach that Ada had something more in mind than just discussing business after a quite obviously hinted one-night stand.

"Right," Gabe managed to say, as if he couldn't say anything else. Had he considered Claire in all of this?

"Excellent." Ada slid something toward him.

He caught it before it fell off the other side of the desk. A key. The key to her suite, no doubt.

She stood and walked past him, purposely brushing her hand against his hip. When she opened the door, she looked back at him.

"See you tonight," she said, with that sly smile. "Don't keep me waiting."

My vision began to blur, but I wasn't done yet. I wanted to know what happened. I had to push further. The world distorted. Everything went to black. I struggled – and I managed to get through. When I opened my eyes again, Gabe was walking down a sidewalk. A neighborhood. The sun had set. It was twilight. Had he already visited Ada?

He approached a house. His house. I heard his thoughts. He sighed, because, despite his hesitance toward Ada's proposal, he felt glad that one of the big names in the Arbiter Corporation had taken notice to him. He hoped that Ada really did want to talk to him in her suite only because she didn't like formal atmospheres, but, in the back of his mind was that nagging feeling that also ate away at mine. I could feel his excitement in telling Claire about the potential promotion, though. He stepped onto the porch and reached for the handle-

He stopped when his shoe stepped on something.

He looked down. There was a white slip of paper, neatly folded. He picked it up, feeling something move between its fold. He shook it out. It was a ring. A beautiful ring, with a black gemstone in the center. The gemstone was familiar, but I couldn't place it. I knew from the beat his heart skipped that the ring had been Claire's. Her wedding ring. He unfolded the letter.

Gabriel,

I tried to call you, but you wouldn't pick up. I didn't want to interrupt you at work. I think it's time we ended this. I can't go on anymore. I would be lying to you if I tried. The love just isn't there like it used to be.

I've left town to stay with relatives. I'll be back for my things later, and we can discuss the divorce, including what we will tell Savannah.

I know you tried, Gabriel. I really do. But, my debt was never meant to be your burden. Perhaps things would be better if you didn't have to try so hard, if the dreams you went out to accomplish were your own.

This was a bond that was never meant to be.

I wish you the best of luck,

Claire

He dropped the letter. Slowly, he pulled the wedding ring off his own finger. It matched Claire's, albeit with a slightly bigger gemstone. He put them both in his pant pocket and looked toward Goldenrod's downtown area, which flourished with lights and sounds in the dying evening.

"A bond that was never meant to be," he repeated.

His fingers still in his pocket, he felt something else. He took it out. The key to Ada's suite. He sighed and closed his fingers around it.

Then, he walked away from the empty house, toward Goldenrod's lights and sounds. Toward Ada Shard.

The real world slammed into me. I stumbled back.

"Enough!" I heard Avarice roar. Tentacles had sprouted from his back, colored black from his suit, and they were poised to strike like threatened arbok. He realized what he was doing. The tentacles shrunk into his back and he composed himself. "That is enough," he said again, with a calmer tone. "For now."

"I'm sorry," I said.

Avarice looked away. Then, he left.

After I washed the Virus from the bottoms of my boots in a nearby well, I made my way toward my hotel. Eden's air felt colder than from when I originally left the pub. It must have been two or three in the morning. I felt sluggish. With everything that had happened today, I just wanted to be with Drew, in his arms, in his bed, asleep. Like a regular couple, a sense of normalcy in all of this deviance.

I stopped when I passed by the grand doors of a church. It stood out amongst the shops and houses, a beacon in the darkness. Like Misty, I wasn't religious, at least not to the point where I figured that the legendaries determined who lived and who died. But, I felt a sense of longing, so I inhaled the cold, crisp air and entered the church.

The church's warmth was nice, an aura that reached out from the lit candles around the empty lobby. Frescoes depicting the creation of the world stretched from the ceiling to the floor, flashing with a myriad of colors. Arceus's formation from chaos, Giratina's banishment to the Reverse World, Regigigas as it pulled the continents together with ropes as thick as mountains, and even Mew as it brought forth the first mortal life with a single strand of its fur. This church was built on a polytheistic belief system that was one of the most common across the regions, where all the legendaries were deities that, well, determined who lived and who died.

I felt out of place.

I approached the pedestal where the minister would conduct worship. Above, all of the legendaries had been carved from marble, their eyes focused on the empty seats below. Arceus seemed to stare at me and only me. There was such ferocity in its eyes. It almost looked angry, confused, ashamed-

"Can I help you, child?"

I jumped in place and looked at the priest who approached me, dressed in black robes. His silver hair was pushed back, a bang or two hanging in front of his aged, but gentle gaze.

"Uh…" I swallowed. Surely he had seen my eyes. Surely he knew who I was. Surely he knew that I controlled the Leviathan, the once revered Lugia. Honestly, I was surprised I hadn't been asked to leave. In this belief system, Lilith was definitely not a saint. But the priest didn't seem to care, looking at me with loving eyes as if I was a lost soul in need and he was ready to help. I thought about my talk with Misty, regarding the legendaries. I shuffled weight between my shoulders. "I just wanted to ask a question," I said.

He took the place beside me, crossing his hands against his abdomen. He gazed at the marble legendaries above like I had. "What is it?"

"I've heard that a lot of people and pokemon hate the legendaries for going into hiding from the Virus." I looked at Arceus, at its stern gaze. "They knew that their infection would potentially lead them into destroying the world. Is it right to hate them for running away when these are times where we've needed them the most?"

The priest sighed through his nostrils, as if he had contemplated that question as well. "These are dark times," he said. "People and pokemon alike need a reason to believe, and when that reason is taken away, they lose hope."

"Do you think the legendaries hate us for not believing in them anymore?"

"Before I can answer your question, I want to ask you one." He looked at me, his eyes a deep blue. "What do you think is the greatest gift Arceus and the other legendaries bestowed upon mortals?"

"Life?"

He chuckled. "Apart from that?"

A frown crossed my face. Again, I wasn't the religious type. Whatever scriptures these guys had produced I probably hadn't read. "I'm not sure."

"Choice," he said.

"Choice?"

"For every choice, a consequence. For every consequence, a choice."

"I thought all events were the will of the legendaries."

"It was their will that we be given choice, so that we, as individuals, could decide how we perceive them, how we perceive the world, how we perceive ourselves. They gave us choice so we could agree or disagree, so we could fight or love, so we could protect life, or destroy it."

At that, I met his eyes. "Do you think everyone deserves to choose their fate?"

"Unfortunately, not everyone is given the chance. But yes. Just like I believe that everyone should have the ability to choose and accept the consequences that come with their choice."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the halved Terracotta Medal that Ash had given me.

You can either protect life…

I closed my fingers around it.

…or you can destroy it.

"That's…all I wanted to know. Thank you, Father."

The hotel for the Resistance was half-built into the cavern wall, a combination of wood and rock that glistened in the city lights. Only a few rooms were lit with activity. I had departed from the church not too long ago; I had spent more time gazing at the frescoes after the priest wished me a goodnight. While I had not felt like I belonged in that church, it still promoted a feeling of warmth and security, a sensation that amazingly existed even with the world the way it was, even with what I'd become.

I took an elevator to my floor and walked down the dimly-lit hallway, heading toward the room I shared with Drew. Everyone else had gone to sleep, it seemed.

A door opened in front of me. A person quickly stepped out, shut it quietly behind her, and then leaned her forehead against it. Her blue-colored hair was tangled around her shoulders. Her forehead glistened with sweat. She closed her eyes and breathed, as if she was too weak to stand on her own.

I blinked. "Dawn?"

She jumped, her eyes switching to me as if I was a ghost. "Oh, May, uh…"

"Is everything alright?" I looked at the hotel room she had emerged from. The number was familiar. "Isn't that…Paul's room?"

As she turned to me, as she opened her mouth to explain, I smelled it. This wasn't like with Avarice, where I had sensed his feelings for Deryn over the Hivemind. No. Dawn was mortal. The heightened senses of a fusion I had from being a hybrid kicked in tenfold with her. I smelled the sweat on her body, sweat that wasn't entirely her own. I smelled the cheap perfume she had tried to cover it with. I smelled Paul all over her, in her hair, along her skin, his breath an aroma by itself. I smelled the arousal between her legs, some desires that had been satisfied, and others that hadn't.

I felt dizzy. I grabbed the wall to steady myself.

"He remembered that kiss, didn't he?" I inquired, cutting off whatever she'd been saying.

She paused. Then, she nodded. "We've been…seeing each other, since then. Emerald Harbor, I mean." She flashed a nervous grin. "Yeah, you sort of caught me in an awkward moment."

I smiled and shook my head. "No worries. Just glad you two are finally together."

She coughed. "Uh, yeah." She stepped closer. "Listen. I've been thinking, with everything that's happened, how lucky we are to have you on the team. But…" She bit her lip. "This is a dangerous job. We all know that. Paul…he lost Reggie to the fusions. You know that already. I told you. Right. Well, I really do wish that things could go back to the way they were. I'll fight whenever and wherever Drew needs me. But sometimes, I get tired of being in this war. So do my pokemon. I'm sure we're not the only ones who feel this way."

"Definitely," I said.

"So, I just want you to promise me something." She swallowed and met my eyes.

"Sure."

"Whatever happens on the battlefield, whatever someone else says, don't…" She exhaled, as if trying to word what she wanted to say. "Don't let Ellis and Moira bring anyone back if they're killed."

My face fell. "What-"

"I just know they have big hearts. Them bringing you back really changed the tides of this war and I'm as thankful to them as Drew and Max are. But, I admire you. Not just for who you were, but for who you are now. Not everyone would be able to handle the responsibilities like you can. Not everyone would want to…"

A gift or a curse.

I sighed. "I understand." After all, bringing people back with the Chimera Virus only meant more heads in the Hivemind.

You were the lucky one, Paul had said to me once.

Was I really?

"Thanks," Dawn said. "I better get some sleep. You, too, May."

"Right."

She walked past me. I caught one last sniff of her night with Paul. The fusion inside me purred. I closed my eyes and felt the desire – the need – flourish.

I opened the door to my room and locked it behind me. I unbuckled my pokeball belt and placed it on the nearby table. The single lamp by the nightstand was on, a weak, orange glow. I inhaled, my senses sensitive, but powerful. I smelled roses and mint, mixed in with the fresh scent of running water. The shower was on. I heard Drew beneath the water, washing whatever dirt and grime he had received from fighting the fusions. He turned off the showerhead. I smelled the steam that clung to the mirror, I smelled the heat that filled the bathroom, and I smelled him, stepping out from the shower, his movements dancing among the sliver of light beneath the locked bathroom door.

He came out seconds later, a tower wrapped around his waist.

That scent. His scent. It filled my nose. I closed my eyes. I relished in it. I had known that scent for so many years. Roses and mint. Even after he had left, even with the decade with which we had not seen each other before the Attack on Enfer City, I knew that scent was his. His and only his.

He smiled at me. He had never been the type to get drunk, but he had had a few drinks at the Auld Lang Syne, and I smelled the alcohol that lingered on his breath, tasting the beer that had given it to him.

"I didn't want to interrupt your conversation with Misty," he said. "You two needed some time to catch up. I just figured I'd meet you here."

"Mm," was all I said. His hair was still wet, making it slightly darker than the chartreuse color it naturally was. I heard a water droplet fall from one of his bangs. I watched how it landed on his chest and slid down the muscles he had gained from being a soldier. It slid down the scars he had received from fusions. It slid down until it reached the towel, dissolving into its surface.

"Everything okay?"

"Mm."

I stepped closer to him and placed my hand on his chest. I felt the dust of hair below his collarbone, damp beneath my fingertips. The fusion inside me purred again. It wanted more. I wanted more.

I pressed my lips to his. Innocent, at first. When I felt him wrap his arms around me, I relaxed at knowing that what I had done during the goliath invasion hadn't intimidated him. He still saw me as May. I could be whoever I wanted to be with him. He would still kiss me with that same love and passion we shared, the same passion that had run rampant during our first night together in Enfer City and on all the occasions afterward. My senses raged beneath his touch, that fusion growling with desire.

My nose brushed across his jaw. I gently bit down on his neck, feeling his pulse beneath my tongue. His skin was hot from the shower. I tasted both sweat and water. His breath felt like fire against my ear, his fingers pressed into my back. I felt the pressure through my Resistance armor.

His pulse quickened. I held back a smile. He reached for my armor, unhooking clasps and unbuckling belts. The chest piece and gloves came off with relative ease. The warmth from his body spread to my bare skin. I almost shivered from the contact, but that fusion growled, as if to remind me to stay firm. Conscious. Dominant.

I grabbed Drew's shoulders and I shoved him back, against the wall, and I kissed him. My knee pushed into his towel, against his own arousal, and he groaned into my mouth. My tongue touched his. His taste flooded my senses. I felt explosions rage within me, gasoline that had been tipped over when I had smelled everything off Dawn and now had been set ablaze. Drew ran his hands along my back in smooth circles. No. I didn't want smooth. I didn't want gentle. I wanted dangerous. I wanted to hear him say my name, scream it, over and over and over until he couldn't speak anymore. I wanted him to squirm beneath me, attempt to fight back for control, but know that he could never get it. He was mine. He was all mine. I determined what happened in this chess game. I didn't want to just make love.

I wanted to fuck him.

I grabbed his hair, caught its damp and soft texture within my fists. He growled into my mouth. I smiled against his. Without having to look, he unbuckled my pants, the leather and armor plating on my legs. I slid out of them without having to move much. When his arms circled my backside and lifted me up, I kicked off my boots, my thighs squeezing his waist. That damn towel was still in the way. I grabbed it and threw it somewhere. I didn't care where. It was gone now. I felt him against me. I heard him groan again.

He lowered me onto the bed. He tried to tent me with his body, like he usually did when we made love, giving me a sense of security in a world where security was scarce. But I didn't need security right now. I needed him. I ached for him. And I was in control.

I flipped us over. I was on top. He stared at me with those emerald, dragon-like eyes, dark with lust. I slid my fingers into his hair, into the bangs that formed that curtain along the side of his face, and I pushed it back behind his ear. His face softened at the intimate gesture. I leaned forward, my lips pressed against his now exposed ear.

"Drew."

Just like our first night together in Enfer City, when he had moaned my name as if I was the most important being in existence. He shivered. I smiled. The fusion growled with agreement, but not satisfaction.

I was far from satisfied.

I lowered onto him. I took him inside me. He gasped, his nails digging into the skin along my hips. I chuckled. He grabbed my sides and pushed. He wanted me beneath him, so he could worship me, cherish me, show how much he loved me. But I had already made it clear to myself that tonight was not a night for proving anything. I wanted him. It was as simple as that. I fought against his control by rolling my hips. He arched back. He writhed beneath me. He panted. I felt him press his nails into my lower back, wanting so much more than what I was giving him. I was torturing him.

My fingers slipped into his hair again, grabbed the back of his head, and pushed his face toward my chest. He obliged immediately, putting his tongue to good use. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel weak from the sensation, having to grab onto the bed's frame to steady myself. When his hand slid up my back, holding me closer against him, I threw my head back and gasped. I felt him smile against my breast, as if he had found pride in managing to break me. Arrogant jackass. I pressed my nose to his scalp, breathed in that scent of roses and mint, and I grinned with him.

I rolled my hips again. He thrust upward in sync. Once. Twice. Faster and faster. He fell back against the bed. The fusion in me roared. Close. So close. I lunged and bit the flesh right beneath his collarbone, hard enough to leave a mark, perhaps hard enough to even break the skin. I wanted to give him a fusion bite he wanted to have. Despite the pain, he still moved with me. He was close, too. I could smell it.

I bit down harder. I rolled my hips one more time. My nails dug into his shoulders. And, and-

"May!"

Drew's voice drove me over the edge with him. I cried out and slumped against his form.

The fusion purred, satisfied. For now.

I rolled off of Drew and onto my side. Sweat slid down my skin. His taste lingered on my tongue. I closed my eyes with contentment. It felt too hot in the room.

"I'm sorry," I said, opening my eyes, meeting his. I looked at the mark I had left on his chest. It was bruised, a tiny drop of blood leaking out from the top. Since I was a hybrid, not a full-fledged fusion, I couldn't infect him with the Virus like regular fusions could. Still, with the fusion in me finally silent and my heightened senses calmed to their regular state, I had a chance to acknowledge everything I'd done. "I…I was too rough, wasn't I? I don't know what came over me."

Trying to catch his breath, Drew smirked. "Would you smack me if I said I liked it?"

I laughed and moved closer to him, laying my head on his chest. "No…I think I've done enough already."

Knowing what I was referring to, he touched the mark on his chest, wiping away the blood with his fingertip. "I rather it be from you than anything else."

I wanted to laugh again, but the energy just wasn't there. I closed my eyes, breathed in his scent one last time, and fell asleep.