Aamira wasn't sure how long she was asleep. When she woke up, she was still exhausted and could barely move. It took her a moment to realize where she was or remember what had happened. Memories of what had happened to Lucario and Quill finally returned. There was already no saving Lucario. Was Quill alright at least?
Aamira's whole body felt stiff and heavy. She managed to push herself into a sitting position. Her shoulders still hurt, but the injuries had been treated. She tried to rub her head to get rid of the headache while she tried to figure out exactly what had happened. She had looked through the mirror as Zoroark had told her to and she saw something. She only had a vague idea of what she had seen. It felt like she had seen a year's worth of events within a split second, which wasn't impossible. It was too much information to contain though, so now it was jumbled up and hard to decipher. It was like having a dream and waking up to find that after a few minutes she couldn't remember a thing about it. There had been a flash of red light. That was all she could remember.
What had happened when she stopped looking through the mirror was all a blur. She remembered Quill shouting and Zoroark. She hoped he wouldn't be punished for it. She remembered Zoroark thinking through his next plan. Since she was only at this point starting to regain her senses, it wouldn't surprise her if she really did go insane after looking through the mirror again.
'If this was what life was like before, I think I'm starting to understand what it would be like to want to erase my own memory…'
She looked around, as if expecting to see Zoroark standing somewhere nearby. She was alone though and felt strangely disappointed about it. Of course he was doing it again. For all she knew, Quill and Lucario were already gone. She only had him now. It didn't matter though. He was going to sacrifice her sanity to find something that would result in some sort of disaster that she didn't even remember all of the details of. Why should she be loyal to someone like that?
'My emotions don't matter much, do they? It doesn't matter if I'm happy or miserable. I'm starting to really understand that now. It doesn't matter if Zoroark's able to manipulate me if I'm not going along with this for some reason other than my emotions. Thinking along those lines, I'd even be able to sacrifice Quill and Lucario if I had to.'
Of course she wasn't about to do something like that. All she could do was convince herself that Zoroark would never completely win. Maybe that's why she wouldn't ever turn back into a pokemon. Everything she had said to Cobalion had just been for show. She could never really act on any of her resolutions.
Aamira was shaken out of her trance by the sound of the doorknob turning. Maybe just being conscious was enough to be considered strong enough to look into the mirror again. The door opened and Aamira had to squint to try to make out who it was through the light that flooded in. Her room had been almost completely dark, so she hadn't noticed until this point how blurred her vision was. At the very least she could tell that it was a human figure, not Zoroark.
"Who's there?" Aamira asked.
"Can you not see me? Are your eyes alright?" Darach walked inside and came close enough so that she could see him more clearly.
"Get out." She said flatly. She would rather be blind than even look in this traitor's general direction.
"Well that's not very nice. And here I was going to help you. Do you remember what Zoroark is planning to do? I can still save you if you wanted. Maybe I could even make Beheeyem give that Lucario's real memories back."
He was up to something. Aamira was beyond trusting Darach anymore. Still, she wanted some way rebel against Zoroark. "What do you want?"
"Just to give you an idea I had. So here's what I'm thinking. Why is Zoroark the one in charge? Normally you would have become the queen the day you turned fifteen. The only reason you're not the queen now is because everyone still believes you're missing. What if somehow a rumor was leaked that you were here in the castle and people actually saw you? What would Zoroark be able to do then? Well he could claim that you had amnesia, like you really do, and that you're not fit to rule. With me giving you the information you need though, you'd be able to fake your own memory well enough. You might even be able to expose Zoroark as the monster he is."
Aamira still wasn't about to trust him. He was up to something and the idea didn't have much appeal to it anyway. Sure he offered to give Lucario's memories back, but if he wanted to get on her good side he wouldn't have altered them to begin with.
"There is just one flaw in this plan though." This was the part Aamira had been waiting for. "You know you were supposed to get married on your fifteenth birthday? You weren't able to get married; you weren't able to take the throne. Those two things should have happened on the same day. People will be expecting a wedding, of course. That leaves you in a difficult position though, doesn't it? With Faris as your Godfather, that means that every male human you know is related to you in some way. Well, except for one."
Aamira stared at him blankly for a second before bursting into laughter. "You're joking. That's what you want? You want to marry me so you can become the next king, is that it? I don't care how smart you present yourself as being, you're such a fool. If you hadn't turned to Zoroark, I might have agreed. I really did like you and, as you pointed out, I didn't exactly know any other male humans who don't either hate me or who aren't related to me in some way already. After what you've done though, you must be out of your mind if you think I'm just going to hand you some position of power like that."
Darach smirked and even started to laugh along with her. "Yes, I know. It's ridiculous. Maybe I should have just waited to see how things played out, but I was afraid that you'd end up getting yourself killed with the rest of the rebels in some halfhearted attempt to take back the kingdom. Maybe I was just being impatient, I don't know. I don't have an eternal life like Zoroark. Either way, my choices have gotten me into a good position. Think about it. Zoroark was relying on me and my ability to make the Leuminite work to make Beheeyem to obey orders. When I make more of these devices, I'll be able to control an army. He needs me. He needs you too, but that's different. I can make more advances to his technology while the extent of what you can do will be used up once you're forced to the point of insanity. You'll be disposable, even a liability. Now with that in mind, which of us do you think is in a greater position of power currently?"
"I don't care." Aamira said simply. She didn't either. She didn't care about politics. It was all dependant on fame and appearances and never the truth. It wasn't exactly something that interested someone who had done investigations for a living.
"I don't think you see my point." Darach moved his hand slightly. It was a small movement that could have been overlooked if it hadn't moved his cloak in a way that showed the white hilt of his hidden dagger. "What I mean to say is that I'm immune. If anything happens to you, it won't have any long term consequences. Do you really think that Zoroark spent his whole life waiting for you to come along? He'll have other plans and I might even be the one to help formulate them."
"You mean to say you're practically already second in command." The sight of the dagger hadn't affected Aamira as much as it probably should have. "Then why bother saving me? I'm guessing it's because you're not satisfied with your position. Even if I went along with your plan, you'd always be second in command until I mysteriously die one night. Either way I can't see why I should go along with this. After all, Zoroark will know when I die. I've seen him lose his temper before, you haven't. You're not as immune as you might think."
"We'll find out then, won't we?" Darach grabbed the hilt of the dagger.
"Darach, what do you think you're doing here?" Darach stopped and turned towards the door. Someone else was there now. Aamira's eyes had adjusted a little so she was able to recognize the General without her needing to walk into the room.
Darach let his hand fall casually to his side so that his cloak fell over the dagger and obscured it again. "Zoroark's orders. I was supposed to check up on her hourly until she woke up."
"What a coincidence." She walked up to Darach and for the first time Aamira noticed how much taller she was. It was actually kind of intimidating. "He sent me to find you. Beheeyem is refusing to follow his orders and Zoroark wanted to use his abilities to reform some of the rebels. Apparently he'll only listen to the person who put him into that contraption of yours."
Darach sighed and walked past her. He gave a glance back to Aamira to let her know that their conversation wasn't over yet. As far as she was concerned it was. There was nothing he could say or do to intimidate her.
"I hope he wasn't bothering you too much." The General said to Aamira when he had finally left. "I know he's up to something since Zoroark actually asked me to check in on you. I thought it would be best not to provoke him though."
"Thanks, I guess…" Aamira said uncertainly. "Not that it matters, right? Just doing your job, aren't you? You won't have to put up with it for much longer though. You're going to tell him I'm awake now, aren't you?"
"Not necessarily. That mainly depends on you."
'Oh great another one.' Aamira was really getting tired of people trying to manipulate her. With Zoroark around, how much power did they think she actually had?
She walked into the room and over to the window and looked out at the sky. "Waning crescent. I never had to pay much attention to the moon before. This whole time you've been cringing away from its light."
"Do you think I'm a coward?" Aamira asked.
"No, just extremely resilient. I can't imagine being able to avoid something like light for so long." She turned away from the window and back to Aamira. "I can't get to your friends in the dungeons, but Zoroark thinks I won't be able to do as much damage around you. This might be a difficult choice for you. Would you rather leave without your friends or stay here and lose your mind?"
"I'm staying, of course! Why would you even ask that? I'm not about to give him an excuse to hurt Quill and Lucario."
"Even if Lucario's not your friend anymore? Your loyalty is impressive. I used to not understand why people made such a fuss over you. You were Anima's daughter, but so what? What had you done? I think I'm starting to understand it though." she walked up to Aamira and knelt down next to her so she had no way of avoiding eye contact. "Are you sure that's your answer?"
"Of course I'm sure." What was going on? Aamira never knew anymore. Was she an enemy or not?
The General sighed and walked closer to her. "I was really hoping you would make this easier, but maybe this way is for the best."
Her movements were so quick that Aamira could barely see them in her exhausted state. Reacting to them was beyond her ability at the time. All she knew was that the General had rushed towards her and the next second she felt something hit her in the back of the head.
The General bent down to pick Aamira up and turned to look towards the moon outside of the window. Things were going to get really complicated from this point on. She still wasn't entirely sure if this child was fit to be a queen, but now she knew her loyalty belonged to her family. At the very least, she could let Aamira sleep a little longer and take on some of the difficulties herself.
Aamira woke up slowly a few hours later to the sound of hooves pounding on a stone surface. She rubbed her eyes and noticed that her hands were tied together. She tried to move her feet and found that they were tied together in the same way. She was lying over a saddle, which explained the sound of hooves. She looked around and immediately started to panic. She was outside.
She looked up at the General who was pushing the Rapidash probably harder than it could handle. "What are you doing?! Take me back! You're going to kill my friends."
"Which is exactly why we're moving at this haphazardly pace. I had to let someone see you were unconscious or they would have thought that you had escaped on your own. Now we're being chased. It would have been easier if you had been willing to abandon them, but I admire your loyalty. I'm not taking you back and I don't think your Rapidash is going to let me anyway."
Aamira tried to lift herself up to look behind them, but Capricorn's speed and the furious pounding of his hooves along with the fact that her hands and feet were tied made it difficult. Sure enough, Houndoom was following close behind them. Hypno was standing on Capricorn's back and firing Focus Blasts at him. Houndoom, as strong as he was, he wasn't about to just jump in front of an attack like that multiple times.
They were running through the city. It was the first time Aamira had ever seen the city like this. It was late, but there were still a lot of people out watching the source of the commotion. At the speed they were moving, they must have been difficult to see. Surely someone would notice Aamira though. Would they recognize her? Her hair had grown out completely since she had cut it short in Dargan, so now she resembled her mother almost perfectly. Surely someone was going to recognize her.
Within only minutes they passed by the tracks that ran along the edge of the city. Eventually they managed to get to the edge of the forest that ran almost entirely around the city. Once they were at the edge of the tree line, Hypno used protect. Because the trees were so close together, Houndoom had to follow them in a straight line. He nearly ran right into the protective barrier as he came to a sudden stop in front of it. He managed to get around and keep following them, but between the trees and Hypno's Protect, he wasn't able to keep up. They kept running even after Houndoom was far out of their sight.
Capricorn whinnied and reared up as they reached a river. He wasn't about to cross water any time soon. The General jumped off of his back and grabbed Aamira while Hypno grabbed their bags. He even had Aamira's bag with him, which she hadn't seen since Zoroark had caught them. Hypno created a psychic barrier around them and they ran into and crossed without getting wet. The barrier was small though and Hypno had just enough strength to keep it going until they crossed. Capricorn wouldn't have been able to cross even if they were able to convince him to go under water.
They kept running for a while. It felt strange being carried by someone like this. Almost familiar even. Aamira wasn't going to argue though. The only way she would be able to escape was unwillingly, so it had to happen this way. Soon they reached a small stone hut that Aamira recognized. She had only been here once before as far as she could remember. This was the hut that Mienshao usually stayed at.
"What are we doing here?" Aamira asked.
"Mienshao let me use this place." She carried Aamira inside and sat Aamira down on the cot that Mienshao usually slept on. "The forest canopy is thick here so he shouldn't be able to see us."
Aamira sighed and stretched her arms and legs. Being draped across Capricorn's back like that hadn't been very comfortable. "I can't decide whether I should be grateful or whether I should hate you."
She smiled and untied Aamira's hands and feet. "Maybe this will help you decide. I don't really care either way. As you said, I'm only doing my job."
"You realize I have to try to escape now." Aamira said. "As you said, I'm not about to abandon my friends."
"I realize that." she turned towards Hypno, who created another barrier in front of the door. "Oh look, you're still trapped. You can walk on your own from here on, but if you try to run Hypno will just pull you back with his psychic powers. You might want to put on a good show and attempt it a few times if someone's ever watching." She opened her bag and took out a small guard's uniform. "I took a spare trainee's uniform from the barracks. I thought it would be a little more comfortable to be running around in than a dress."
Aamira got dressed and the three of them sat in the hut, waiting for morning to come or for someone to find them. They didn't dare fall asleep in case someone caught them off guard. Hypno had to stay awake since he was keeping the barrier up and the General had to stay up because Aamira wouldn't be able to tell them if someone was nearby without Zoroark thinking that she had run away on purpose. After sleeping for the last few days, Aamira couldn't have slept now if she wanted to.
"Why did Mienshao let you use his shack?" Aamira asked to break the silence.
"His partner was my cousin." She laughed bitterly. "It's almost funny. She came from a family of psychic type users and I came from a family of fighting type users. She got the fighting type and I got the psychic type. She never told anyone about Mienshao and he resented her for it. I told everyone about Hypno when we first met and my family resented me for it. Being younger than Faris didn't help, but it was mainly because of Hypno that I wasn't given the Captain's title. Our partners say a lot about us, don't you think?"
Aamira ignored the last part. She didn't want to hear anything that made her think of Zoroark. "What about Bisharp? She's not a fighting type."
"At least she acts like one and looks knightly. That's why Faris was chosen over me by our father to become the next Captain. Our father always thought I was weak. I hated him and Faris for it. I would have done just about anything that would mean I could take his job until I found out I couldn't have done just about anything. When I found you two out in the woods that first time, I couldn't tell Zoroark about it. He threatened me with a demotion after I came up with a lie to protect you and Faris. I don't know if he ever figured out I was lying or not. I had nightmares about it for a few nights after that. I couldn't figure out why I had lied to Zoroark. He scared me so much and still does for that matter. I could have gained so much by telling him the truth. Eventually I decided I didn't care what happened to me and that I cared more about protecting my family and the ones I was meant to be loyal to. That's when Hypno evolved."
"Most people wouldn't tell anyone the reason behind their partner's evolution. I'm glad you told me that though. Do you prefer to be called Lily or General? Most people I've ever heard mention you have called you General, aside from Faris."
"I like General better. It sounds tougher and I don't exactly look as strong as Faris or most of the other guards do. You can call me Lily if you want. I don't like the name because it sounds so delicate, but I've never had a problem with family members using it."
"I've just been calling you the General in my head, but I think I'll call you Lily. It sounds more personal. I don't think it sounds delicate."
"Not that it matters. After tonight, I doubt anyone would be calling me 'General' anymore anyway."
While taking the chance to rest, Aamira was able to eat the little bit of food she had left in her bag, which Lily had snuck out of the castle. It was a small meal, but it was the first one she had had in days. A few hours later the sun came up and they got ready to leave. Aamira was still scared for Quill and Lucario, but what good would hostages be without the person they're used to manipulate? Unless Aamira got caught, they would be okay. They almost had all of their stuff together when Hypno raised the alarm.
"We have company." He said. "Let's go."
Lily, who had been moving at a casual pace until then, rushed to get all of their stuff together and grabbed Aamira by the arm before running out of the hut with Hypno at her side. Aamira's legs were a lot shorter than Lily's and considering she hadn't ran in months, she had trouble keeping up. Even when she stumbled a few times, Lily's grip on her arm kept her from falling. It was more like she was being dragged than allowed to run on her own.
Aamira managed to look back at their pursuers. She was able to see Houndoom in the distance because of his size, but the few other pokemon following him were too small and far away to see clearly in the early morning light. Hypno kept up the attack as he had earlier. Houndoom, who was their closest pursuer, would take the opportunity to counter with a Flamethrower whenever possible, setting the forest around them on fire.
'He's trying to herd us somewhere with the flames.' Aamira realized. She wanted to tell Lily, but she still couldn't risk making it look like she was there willingly. 'I hope she can figure it out or we're both caught.'
It didn't look like the flames were going to be much of a problem with Hypno around though. When they were a good distance away from Houndoom, Hypno managed to push the flames out of the way with his psychic powers. The flames were climbing up the sides of the trees, making it difficult to see or breathe through the smoke. Eventually they got through the flames and they kept running until the smoke rising from the trees was far off in the distance.
Aamira had started to stumble more often. She couldn't keep up at this pace. "I can't keep up. I have to stop."
"Suck it up and keep moving. The toxins in Houndoom's smoke leave a distinct scent. We can still be followed even at this distance."
Aamira tried to keep running, but the pain in her feet was unbearable. She stumbled again and her foot got caught on something. It was probably either some small pokemon's den or a tree root, but she didn't have time to check. Hypno ran up behind her and grabbed Aamira and started carrying her on his back. He wasn't a pokemon that normally should have been able to run at this speed and Aamira slowed him down a little, but they still managed.
They finally stopped somewhere on the outside of the forest close to the base of the mountains. Hypno dropped Aamira on the ground, not doing much to make sure she was comfortable. He glared at her for a moment before turning away. The only time Aamira had ever heard him talk was when he was warning them about Houndoom earlier. Did he dislike her for some reason?
"What were you doing back there!?" Lily shouted at her. "Were you actually trying to get yourself caught? I know you want to go back and save your friends, but for now you have to escape. What don't you understand about that?"
"You think I don't understand? If you would have just listened to me for a few seconds, I would have told you!" Aamira pulled her shoes off and started rubbing her feet. As usual there were no visual indications that anything was wrong with them, but they felt almost like they were on fire. "You mentioned Houndoom's toxins before, remember? What do you think was the first thing Houndoom did the last time he caught me?"
Lily finally showed some slight hint of remorse as she sat down next to Aamira so she could rest too. "He burned your feet so you wouldn't run again."
"I got used to it after a while, but it still hurts to run for a long time like that." Aamira kept rubbing her feet and gripped her ankles when the pain would become too much. "I won't keep saying that I'm too small or that I'm just some weak human who couldn't handle a fight with a pokemon or that I can't even run away because my feet hurt too much or because I'm half starved. I don't want to be a martyr in any way. I want to go back and face Zoroark and beat him with my own power, but I don't know how I can."
"Wouldn't you become a martyr either way?" she asked. "People might recognize you and they might see the sorts of things that have been done to you. That would no doubt cause some sort of rebellion. Or maybe you could go back to fight Zoroark on your own. What would you do then? A human can't hurt their partner; it's physically impossible. Even if you managed to, you'd just end up killing yourself in the process. Who would everyone blame for your death? Zoroark, of course. You'd be dying for his downfall either way."
Aamira eventually managed to calm down and was able to become more serious again. "I need to ask you to do me a favor. It's not an order or anything, I don't even know if I technically have the authority to give you an order. If it ends up being the case that I can't do this on my own and I can't rescue my friends, I want you to do this for me. Use that sword of yours, which you once threatened a kid with when we first met, and used to on Zoroark. I can guarantee that his partner won't be coming to his defense like Mightyena did. Get him from behind if you can. I'm not asking you to do it this way because I think you're a coward; he doesn't even deserve to see the face of the one who finally puts an end to this."
Lily laughed in a way that sounded really out of character for her. It almost sounded cheerful. "You really hate him, don't you? Are you sure he's your partner?"
Aamira went silent, which was something Lily hadn't expected. It was meant to be a joke, but considering who it was about she wasn't too surprised that she had touched a nerve somewhere.
"I knew he was from the start. From the second I came back before I even knew about this human-pokemon partnership thing, there was something about his eyes that made it difficult for me to stare directly into them. When I found out about how the very lives of a human and their partner are connected, I denied it could be him. I hoped every night it wasn't. Sometimes I think that maybe he isn't. How can someone I'm supposed to be so deeply connected to be someone I hate so much? Someone told me that by finding the three knights I would be able to meet my partner. I thought that maybe that proved that he wasn't after all. Then I found out that this same person was supposed to be secretly watching over me my whole life and following instructions left behind by my mother. Anima probably told her to tell me that. Maybe it wasn't even a lie since we were caught by Zoroark right after we returned."
Lily sighed and sat up straighter. "Hypno didn't exactly choose me to be his partner. He's one of the pokemon who hates humans who would have preferred not to have one, but I'm still grateful that he didn't abandon me like some other pokemon might have. I used to think that your partner wasn't something you could be picky about. Maybe that's still true. If there's any doubt in your mind that Zoroark isn't your real partner then maybe he isn't. There might have been times I resented Hypno because I was stuck with a psychic type, but never once did I doubt him. I've never heard of anyone else that ever has either."
Aamira clasped her hands together to calm herself down. She was about to get all excited and worked up again over the possibility, but she knew it would just come back to haunt her later in one way or another. Maybe Zoroark wasn't her partner, but maybe he was. It wasn't like the circumstances were normal. "I don't have any frame of reference to work from. Can you tell me what it was like the first time you saw Hypno's eyes?"
Lily smiled; something rare for someone so serious. "Zoroark's not your partner. No one really has a frame of reference before they meet their partner. You would know."
Aamira sighed and clasped her hands together a little tighter. Maybe she would let herself be a little excited or maybe even a little relieved. What she would give to be allowed to let her guard down for just a few minutes. Zoroark hadn't been born in this world, she knew that much. He was older than any of the human or pokemon societies in this world. Before that had been one of her strongest arguments for why he couldn't be her partner. When she regained a small fragment of her ability to sense aura, she could feel that his was still similar to everyone else's in this world. Either he was still somehow born in a place where the Dragon Force existed or he had been in this world long enough for it to rub off on him somehow. It would have still been possible.
But if it wasn't Zoroark, as she was now allowing herself to believe, then who was it? Maybe Morrigan was telling the truth after all. If that was the case then where was Aamira's partner? "Is a deserter better than Zoroark? I'm having trouble deciding."
Lily stood up and reached out for Aamira's hand to help her up. "If you've rested enough we should keep going. Houndoom probably isn't far behind us."
Aamira took her hand and stood up. She wanted to rest longer. They had already been running for miles and her feet were still hurting. As she said before though, she didn't complain. They moved at a slightly more leisurely pace that made it a little easier for Aamira to keep up. Hypno seemed reluctant to carry her again, but she didn't mind running on her own.
"Where are you taking me anyway?" Aamira asked.
"Mt. Victoria." Lily shouted back to her while they were running.
Something was weird about that. What did she know about Mt. Victoria? "Why there of all places?"
"I'm not entirely sure. Some person wearing a red cloak with a Haxorus told me to take you there. Normally I'd think it was a trap, but really how could things get much worse than they already were?"
Morrigan told her? Was she waiting for her at the top of the mountain like she was that other time? Maybe at least Aamira would be getting a few answers now.
Before Aamira could think more on this, there was a flash of blue-green light and a small explosion near her legs. She was thrown off to the side and covered her head with her arms to protect herself from the fall. She knew that color anywhere. That was an aura sphere that had hit her. She looked around dazed for a moment, trying to see through the dirt that had been blown into the air. Lily already had her sword drawn and Hypno had retreated to where Aamira was in case their attacker got too close or she tried to run.
The dust finally settled enough for Aamira to see who had attacked them, not that she was too surprised. It was Lucario. Of course Zoroark would send him. He knew what her aura looked like so he would be able to find her easily. But who was this pokemon standing in front of her? He looked so ferocious, like someone who had gone through more difficulties than even Lucario had in his life. Maybe this was how he had been before meeting Aamira even. The scariest thing was knowing that he was looking right at her and didn't really recognize her. When she looked into his eyes, they weren't just the eyes of some vicious beast that had been hurt one too many times; they were the eyes of a complete stranger.
"Lucario… What did he do to you…?" She could barely stand seeing her friend like this. His eyes moved to meet hers. He hadn't even been looking in her direction after all, but rather at the one holding the sword who might actually be a threat. He had apparently heard her, but didn't look like he was about to question what she had said. Zoroark probably said something to him to keep him from asking anything that would reveal what he had done.
While Lucario was looking away, Lily attacked. Aamira screamed at her to stop and tried to run into the fight, but Hypno held her back. She didn't want this. She didn't want to see her friends fight for Zoroark or to be in so much pain. She would go back and do whatever Zoroark told her if he would just leave them alone.
Lily was no match for Lucario on her own though. He was easily able to overpower her. For a while it looked like Lucario would actually win and Aamira would go back with him to Zoroark either way.
"Hypno!" she shouted. "Focus Blast!"
Hypno pushed Aamira back to the ground hard with one of his psychic attacks so she would be too stunned to run. He ran to help his partner and attacked Lucario with Focus Blast. Lucario attacked at the same time with Dark Pulse. Hypno was hit, but not as badly as Lucario was. He staggered for a second, just long enough for Hypno to use Protect.
"Take her and run!" Hypno shouted to his partner.
Lily looked conflicted for the first time since this adventure of theirs began. She ran and grabbed Aamira and continued running towards the mountains while Hypno stayed behind to hold off Lucario.
Aamira had recovered from the shock of Hypno's sudden attack by the time Lily grabbed her. She didn't bother trying to get away though. She knew she wouldn't be able to overpower the General. She didn't have the strength in her to fight after seeing Lucario anyway.
"This is really bad." Lily said. "If his memory was altered so he believes he's an assassin or something, I could drop dead any second now."
"No, he would knock Hypno out maybe, but nothing like that!" Aamira said desperately.
"It's not the Lucario you know though. How could you say that for sure?" She felt Aamira tense in her arms and looked down to find her in some sort of petrified state. Of course she was just saying that because she herself was in denial about what she had seen. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
"I know. Zoroark sent Lucario to find me. He won't spend more time fighting Hypno than he'll have to." She explained. "I don't know what memories Zoroark gave him. Maybe he thinks he has done stuff like that before and maybe he will again if ordered to. Can I ask you something though? Why does Hypno hate me so much?"
Lily realized she was trying to change the subject or say something that would distract her from the fight happening somewhere out of sight behind them. "I wouldn't know. He hates most humans, but he's always had a stronger dislike for you, even when you were younger. Maybe he was more attached to Anima than he ever let on and blamed you for what happened. It's not like he had a special dislike for her or anything; it was about the same with any other human."
They were in the mountains now. Aamira could see the twin peaks of Mt. Victoria above them. How it had happened she would never know, but by this time the sun was already setting again. Aamira decided to run on her own again. Having some sort of destination and a goal to work towards helped her to clear her mind. At the top of the peak she would see Morrigan who would introduce her to her partner and maybe even have some miracle cure for Lucario and advice on how to fight Zoroark. She knew these things wouldn't happen, but it was all that kept her going.
The dungeon had gotten much more difficult since the last time they were there, but Lily was astoundingly able to take out all of the enemies on her own. Fortunately Garchomp recognized Aamira and let them pass without a battle and there were no Phantoms created by Zoroark this time. Actually, the lack of Phantoms made it feel wrong somehow. Even with Lucario, who had no doubt defeated Hypno by now, pursuing them, it felt almost too easy.
Finally they came out at the leveled area between the peaks. Victini was nowhere to be seen and the Bronzong were dozing on their pole. To Lily, who didn't know about them, they appeared to just be a couple of old bronze bells. It was dark now and the moon was high. Zoroark was watching them, no doubt.
"You've finally made it." A familiar figure dressed in a red cloak stepped out from behind one of the many piles of stone dotting the plateau.
Aamira took a few hesitant steps towards Morrigan. "Can you tell me one thing and give me a straight answer?"
"That depends on your question." She said.
Aamira took a deep breath. She didn't know what was going to happen next, but she knew that she had to be quick. Zoroark or someone working directly under him would be there any minute. "You said I would meet my partner if I met the three knights, right? And then right after that Zoroark caught us, so I thought it must be him. I don't know anymore though. You obviously do though, so is it Zoroark?"
Aamira wished she could see more of Morrigan's face so she could at least get a clue of what she was thinking. Maybe that's why she always wore the hood up. It obviously wasn't because of the sun like she had claimed before since it was well past sunset by now. Finally she answered. "The funny part is he actually believes it himself."
Aamira felt like a huge weight was suddenly lifted off of her and she actually managed to smile a little. "You really can't ever give a straight answer can you?"
Morrigan smiled. "Sorry, it's an old habit. I'll just make this clear so you won't ever doubt it again and you won't be able to blame me for giving a bad answer. No, Zoroark is not your partner."
Aamira gave a huge sigh of relief and collapsed to her knees. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Finally something good had happened.
"I should probably explain further. Over his lifetime he's done many experiments with altering DNA in an attempt to create servants that are both powerful and loyal. What you feel when you look into his eyes is just that and nothing more. There's no meaningful connection behind it and you're not obligated to submit to the instincts he created for you as far as your will can hold out."
In her excitement, Aamira nearly forgot the situation they were in. She hurriedly got back to her feet. "So what happens now? And if Zoroark isn't my partner then who is?"
"I'll wake up the Bronzong and have them send you to another world that you've been to before. Of course for your friends' sake you'll have to try to return. In the meantime you can find a way to stop Zoroark. If my information is correct, that device created by Darach was modeled after something, wasn't it? I'd advise you to look for it and bring it here. I don't know if it will work or maybe you'll find some other solution, but it's all I can think of for now. To answer your other question, I'll give you another of my famous half-answers. They didn't abandon you. In fact, you've already met them."
The answer to Aamira's second question, as usual, just gave her more questions. She didn't see how it was possible. Wasn't she supposed to know without about if she had already met her partner? Unless… of course. She had met her partner before. She just couldn't remember it. Now he was most likely keeping his distance in a way to somehow protect her. Maybe even on her mother's orders? That was a nice thought that she decided to accept until it was disproven.
Morrigan went to wake up the Bronzong. They weren't too happy about it, but they agreed to open a portal for Aamira. They were confused at first when they found the ones to both Atra and Quill's world closed though, so they settled for the only other world Aamira had ever been to aside from the Other world: Desolo.
The Bronzong started to ring, but before Aamira could move towards the portal that was beginning to form, she found that she and Lily were surrounded by Houndoom, Lucario, and several other Alphas that Aamira didn't know.
"We found you. Hide and seek is over; it's time to go home." Houndoom said to Aamira.
Lily blocked Aamira's path to keep her from rejoining Houndoom or forcing her to resist capture. She drew her sword, even though she wouldn't be able to do much against Lucario, Houndoom, and the rest of the Alphas.
Houndoom was about to attack, but Lucario walked in front of him and blocked his path. "Hold on, I want to fight this one."
Houndoom smirked at Aamira. Lucario had his back turned and didn't notice. "As you wish. Do as you like."
Aamira watched in stunned silence as Lily and Lucario fought. Like last time Lily was no match, but Lucario wasn't exactly allowing her to slow down. Whoever this Lucario was, he wasn't opposed to using moves on a human opponent. It was just getting too brutal for Aamira's liking.
"Lucario, stop it!" Aamira shouted. Lucario stumbled for a second and backed away from Lily, who was already barely able to move on the ground. "You've already won and I'm not going to run, so just stop already!"
Lucario stared at her suspiciously. "Do you speak with everyone so familiarly, human? I find your race to be weak and hardly worth my time. Your friend here should be honored I wasted my time with her and you should be grateful that I came to 'rescue' you from your kidnappers."
"If all you want is a battle, then fight me! I can guarantee Zoroark won't mind if you of all people broke a few limbs before dragging me back. In fact, I bet he's watching right now hoping you'll agree."
Lucario considered it for a moment and, without even giving an answer, ran to attack Aamira. He started off just using basic martial arts moves, which Aamira could just barely keep up with, but not without knowing that she would be covered in bruises in the morning. She barely had a chance to fight back and even when she did she mainly just used all of her energy to defend.
Eventually Lucario started to get bored and started to attack with moves again, which Aamira was forced to dodge. She could already barely breathe and her muscles were screaming at her to stop moving for jus a few minutes, but she couldn't risk even slowing down. Eventually her muscles did the slowing down for her and she paid the price for it. Just as one of her feet touched the ground, Lucario got her leg with an Aura Sphere and caused her to fall to the ground. He formed another Aura Sphere and ran towards her to use a close range attack.
Aamira closed her eyes and prepared for the attack. It could very well be that it would knock her unconscious and the next time she woke up, she wouldn't have enough sanity left to even register that she had been knocked out at all. The attack never came though. She opened her eyes to see Lucario standing over her, ready to attack, but for some reason he was hesitating. He looked conflicted and confused, but other than that there was still no sign of recognition or any emotion that would hold him back.
While Lucario was locked in some internal conflict that Aamira couldn't determine, he was hit by a Dragon Pulse that had come from somewhere behind her. Lucario was knocked back to where Houndoom was standing, now poised for battle. While Haxorus fought against Houndoom, Lucario, and the other Alphas and he slowly started to tire, Morrigan walked up next to Aamira. "You have to go now while the portal's open!"
"But you'll be overrun! Come with me!"
"I can't. They'll follow us if I do. Just get going!" Morrigan grabbed Aamira by the front of her shirt, lifted her up, and threw Aamira back towards the portal. Aamira had no way to keep herself from falling and had to watch as everything was blocked out by a terribly bright light and she lost sight of the battle in front of her.
Satisfied that Aamira had passed through safely, Morrigan ran over to Lily and helped her up while the Bronzong closed the portal. Aamira was safe, but now they were trapped in the middle of a bunch of angry high-ranking Alphas.
"I hope you have some other plan up your sleeves." Lily said. She couldn't think of any way they would be able to get out of this situation alive.
"As a matter of fact, I do. I'd rather not resort to this, but I have no choice. I hope you don't mind keeping a secret; this thing is more constricting in a fight than you might think." Morrigan reached up to her hood and in a single quick movement, pulled off her cloak.