Welcome back everyone, to my favorite part of Episode 11 of Pokémon Rejuvenation. Yep, it's the part where you get to play as Melia as she and Erin continue to investigate the various questions they encountered during their journey. It was a fantastic part of the game so I hope I can do it the proper justice it deserves.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, nor do I own Pokémon Uranium. They are the property of their respective creators.

Scholar District: Blakeory Atheneum

While Julius and the others were getting taken to who knows where, Melia and Erin were busy continuing their investigation at the library. Or more accurately, Erin was continuing the investigation as Melia was busy staring outside the window, gazing at the vast lake flowing through the district.

"Hey, Melia. Are you going to help me, or are you going to just stare off into space all day?" Erin called out, alerting the blonde as she quickly made her way to the empty seat.

"S-Sorry about that, I was just distracted over something." The blonde apologized quickly.

"Yeah, I've noticed. You've been acting strangely ever since we got here. It's pissing me off to be honest; are you here to work or not?" The white-haired girl asked her curtly.

"Y-Yeah, I'm here to work, I promise! It's just that this place…never mind, it's not worth talking about right now. Let's just get back to what we were doing." Melia replied, taking a book and began sifting through it as Erin gazed at her quietly. There was definitely more to the blonde's constant daydreaming than she's letting on, but for now she was grateful that the latter was helping her out now.

"By the way, did you find out anything from the receptionist?" Erin inquired.

"Yeah, Rune checked those books out a month ago. I asked her if she was acting strange or anything, but she didn't have an answer for me. Well she did, but it went like 'Ma'am, I just work here so I can get money off my tuition'. And then she sent me off." The blonde answered, making her voice a little high-pitched when imitating the receptionist's quote.

"How polite of her." The white-haired girl snarked.

"Anyway, there's something I wanted to check on, so I'm going to use the computers in the upstairs lab." Melia stated, closing the book and left it on the table.

"Fine by me. I'll be down here, reading. If anything interesting comes up, I'll give you a call." Erin replied, taking the book that Melia had closed and began reading it as the blonde hopped off her seat and began the quick journey to the computer lab, specifically the computer on the far-left as that was the one assigned to her for today. Arriving at the computer lab, she made her way to the unoccupied computer and sat down beside it, taking a few seconds to get comfortable.

"Time to find out what's logged in these databases. Surely there must be something of use to me in their archives." The blonde spoke to herself, mulling over what to search up first. "Why don't we see what they have on Madame X?"

Typing away on the keyboard, she proceeded to tap the enter button, and was greeted with…more results than she anticipated. Most of them were for unrelated topics such as TV shows, internet personalities, and even a war veteran, but there was an article for the Madame X she was looking for. Clicking on the first article that came up, Melia was a little disappointed to see how barebones the article was; asides from a police sketch of her based on an eyewitness report, there was nothing but a small blurb that read 'Leader of the criminal organization, Team Xen. Her whereabouts and goals are often speculated, but not confirmed. Any further information on her is scare; she is still at large'.

"Scarce is right, they have virtually nothing about her here…is there really no information about her anywhere?" Melia began, a small sigh escaping from her mouth before something suddenly popped in her mind. Interceptor; the term that had stuck onto Julius' back ever since they arrived to this sprawling metropolis. Madame X spoke of it briefly, but from her tone of voice, it was of great importance to the grand scheme of things. Perhaps there was something about it that could be of use to her in the long run. Opting to take a chance, the blonde began typing away and tapped the enter button, hoping it would pay off. And it did…sort of; she found a single result for the term, but it was locked behind a (classified information) barrier, indicating that this knowledge wasn't for the public's eyes. "Huh, what's this weird icon at the end of the results tab?" She commented, hovering her mouse towards the icon, which looked like some sort of old-fashioned theatre mask, a smirk plastered on its face.

"Hey, what are you doing?" A voice suddenly called out to her, catching the blonde off-guard as she soon saw an older gentleman beside her, the same one that Julius had encountered moments before he got kicked out.

"Gahh!" Melia exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh honestly, there's no need to scream so loudly." Thomas retorted.

"And there's no reason to sneak up on people either!" The blonde retorted back.

"Sneaking up on you? Lady, I've been standing here for at least five minutes now, and I've been thinking about you for the past ten minutes. I've come to the conclusion that you and I would make the most efficient power couple this entire region has ever seen. Not romantically, of course. Money is always first. Business partners, if you will. Join me and help me dominate this world with our incredible amount of partnership and money." The wealthy man offered, causing Melia to shiver on the inside. If this was his way of flirting with her, then it was the feeblest attempt she has ever seen. Besides, she already had two people she was romantically interested in, and that wouldn't change if her life depended on it.

"No." Melia answered bluntly, the older man sighing in response.

"Well, it was worth a try. I must say that you are turning down quite the opportunity, though. I always try to give to the poor, but they're never willing to take. It's that disgusting pride they all have; it's holding them back." Thomas started begging her to reconsider.

'You're one to talk about disgusting pride…' The blonde thought to herself, narrowing her gaze at the older man. "You're the one that got my friends kicked out of here, why would I want to speak to you after what you did?"

"Oh, you mean Julius and Huey? They're not worth the time and energy to fuss over. Those two will come crawling back as if nothing ever happened, a common trait between bugs like them." The older man scoffed, causing the blonde to glare viciously at him.

"Don't you DARE talk about my friends like that!" Melia yelled at the older man, attracting the attention of everyone in the computer lab.

"Now, now. No need to cause a scene, let me see what you're doing on that computer…" Thomas attempted to defuse the situation, gently pushing Melia aside as he began typing away on the keyboard, much to her chagrin.

"Hey! That's none of your business! Just who the hell do you think you are?!" She called out.

"Oh my…trying to access a restricted article? Trying to get kicked out yourself? You're doing this all wrong. I'll let you log into my account so that you can access this article." He replied, quickly typing away before pressing the enter button. "And…done! You can now read it to your heart's content."

"T-Thank you, I guess…?" Melia replied, making her way back to the computer as she soon turned to face him. "But why would you help me out?"

"There are four things I value in this world. Money, my family name, my company and intellect. When I found you, it looked like you were actually trying to learn something. That's far more than what other people can say when they walk in here. All they want to do is pass some exam and forget all that info. But you're different. Learning actually matters to you. You can say that trait of yours…captivated me. So learn, do whatever it is you must." Thomas explained, making his way to leave, but not before turning around one more time. "Hey, what was your name again?"

"It's Melia." The blonde replied. "And for someone who's a genuine asshole, you can be nice at times. So thank you."

"You're welcome. I will remember your name, Melia." He bid farewell, making his way to the stairs only for a tingling feeling to well up within his stomach. "Hmmm? What on earth is this feeling in my stomach? It feels…weird. Is it because I helped someone out? Oh my; I better make an appointment with my private doctor, I feel like there's something wrong with me…"

Watching the older man leave, Melia redirected her attention to the computer and accessed the file that had been giving her some trouble. Clicking onto it, she was soon taken back by what exactly she was reading, the article before her eyes revealing a wealth of information. "I-I have to tell Erin about this!" She stated, minimizing the page before quickly making her way downstairs to her friend. But upon arriving at the table where Erin was sitting, the blonde soon noticed that the white-haired girl was sifting through a box that looked exactly like the box from the theatre. "I-Is that the box from the Theater?"

"It's the same type of box, but not the exact same box from before. Some SPU delivery man dropped it off here, saying that it's for the both of us." Erin replied, gesturing Melia to look inside it. "As you can see, there's nothing here but a note and two medallions. The note mentions finding someone with the truth, somewhere in the library."

"We have to find someone? Who could this note be talking about?" The blonde inquired.

"No idea, but they probably know what's up with this box business. Perhaps we should go search for them now?" The white-haired girl suggested.

"Yes, but there's something I need to show you, right now. It may not be 100% related to our current objective, but I have a hunch it'll play an important role later down the road. Are you familiar with The Interceptor?" Melia began, causing Erin to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"I can't say that I have. Why'd you ask?" She inquired.

"Back when Julius and I had traveled to that alternate timeline, Madame X referred to him as The Interceptor. But this wasn't the first time I've heard that term; when Julius woke up in the hospital following his visit with the Puppet Master, he recalled being referred to as The Interceptor. However, neither Madame X or the Puppet Master elaborated on what that meant, and it's been driving him nuts, so I figured I'd help him out and do a bit of research on what it meant. What I found was so shocking, it would blow your mind." The blonde began.

"Is this another one of those 'miracle cures that doctors hate' or something? Because it's starting to sound like that." Erin quipped. "I'm in no mood to be dragged into clickbaity news sites and all that junk, so do you mind telling me instead?"

"I'll try my best, but it's best if you see it yourself." The blonde began, taking in a deep breath. "So in this context, the term Interceptor comes from Garufan culture. The Interceptor is someone who intercepts the phenomenon known as Fate's Passage."

"Fate's Passage…I've read about that before. It's the belief that everything in this world belongs to an already written destiny. Everything we do was already predestined." The white-haired girl began.

"Correct, but The Interceptor is one who lives outside that law. The one that intercepts fate's passage. But that's not all, according to the page I read, The Interceptor is usually called upon by the universe when the world is in immense danger. When this happens, the being is brought in to act as the judge of this world. They're seen as sort of a…last ditch effort, so to say. The Interceptor has the ability to send the world into peace or destruction. It's all up to their mercy…" Melia continued, with Erin taking the time to digest all the information given to her. "The page also explained that there are weird phenomenons surrounding The Interceptor. Sometimes they know things when they shouldn't and they can appear and disappear as if they were just an apparition. Reading that page, it reminded me of something that happened at Valor Mountain. I saw Julius get thrown into a pit of lava; there was no way he could've survived it. But then he appeared out of nowhere, as if nothing had happened. And then again, when he sacrificed himself to save me from Melanie and her Yveltal. Madame X says she saw me reviving him, but that's the one thing about that timeline that I don't remember. I recall falling off the castle, seeing Venam's spirit come to save me, using my power to defeat Melanie and restore the ruined planet. But I do not remember bringing Julius back to life. Perhaps…perhaps he had used his illusionary powers to make it look like I revived him, tricking everyone else into thinking I saved him. A last-ditch effort to keep his secret safe from Madame X, perhaps? Then again, I doubt he tricked me; after all he claims to have no knowledge of his role as The Interceptor. I don't know; this is so much to take in."

"Now you've reminded me of something Aelita told me. She said that when Julius was with her in Carotos Mountain, he vanished. She spent the next week looking around for him, only for him to suddenly appear in Sheridan Village, as if nothing had happened to him at all." Erin chimed in, the duo's minds flaring like crazy over this sudden revelation. "I'm sorry, there's a lot I have to think about. Please go find the individual spoken about on the note."

"Got it!" Melia replied, making her way towards the main lobby, only for Erin to call out to her. "Yeah?"

"Melia, do you trust Julius? Can you really put your faith in him now that you know what we know?" She inquired, causing the blonde to think for a moment. Erin's concerns were valid; she had just learned that her friend has the potential to either save this world, or condemn it to a fate similar to the one experienced by the survivors of that alternate timeline. However, Melia knows him all too well; he would never condemn this world to destruction, as it would ensure the suffering of his dearest allies.

"With all my heart, I trust him. I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for him." Melia smiled, a sigh of content escaping from her mouth. "He's so amazing you know? Going through all this effort to find a cure for Venam. Not to mention that he's kind, intelligent and so hand—"

"I get it Melia, he's worth trusting. Now quit dawdling and find the person mentioned in the note." The white-haired girl broke up her friend's rambling, turning to study the medallions as the blonde saw what looked like the faintest of smiles on her face. With a renewed vigor in her step, Melia began searching the library and questioned everyone she can, asking if they were the one who knows the truth. At first, her quest wasn't making any progress as everyone gave her weird looks before walking off, but then the blonde saw a young boy sitting down by a chair near the entrance, his outfit a lot fancier than one would expect a child to wear.

"Excuse me, but would you happen to be the one who knows the truth?" Melia asked, the boy turning to face her.

"Ah…you must be the one the Puppet Master told me about." The boy replied in a refined tone of voice. "Bring the Nightmare Medallions to the library tonight. That is all I will tell you, and all you need to know."

"O-Ok then, thank you then." She replied, a little unnerved over how calm and casual the boy was as she made her way back to where Erin was sitting. Truth be told, she didn't like the idea of using those Nightmare Medallions; the last time she got one, she was plagued with terrible nightmares. Additionally, that was right before Venam got petrified, but now she knew that the two events were unrelated to each other. But as she was making her way back to where Erin was, one of the librarians called out to her.

"Excuse me, but are you one of Erin's friends?" She inquired.

"Yes, I am. We're here working together on something." Melia answered, the librarian sighing in relief. "Why'd you ask?"

"N-No reason, I'm just glad that Erin finally found a friend." The clerk replied, with the blonde raising an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Erin's been sort of a…regular guest here at the library. Everyday she'd walk in here, go up those stairs and read. Alone. It was strange to me at the time. I asked myself, 'doesn't she have any friends to play with?'. So one day I went and asked her if everything was okay. She tried to shoo me away, but I was persistent and managed to get an answer out of her. She opened up to me and explained how she was bullied by her peers to the point of depression. They mocked her for everything, be it her book smarts, what she wore, the fact that she didn't have any parents, and so on…"

"Th-That's terrible…" The blonde winced, expressing sympathy for Erin over what she had endured during childhood.

"It was; she turned to books for comfort, the library being a safe haven for her." The clerk continued.

"I knew she was sort of introverted and somewhat hesitant to trust others, but I never would've thought it was the result of bullying. She always had this hardened attitude, filled to the brim of confidence. I'll admit, I was a little jealous of her in that regard." Melia commented quietly.

"Sometimes all that can be a show, or perhaps that's just what her past turned herself into. But I'm glad she found someone as nice as you." The clerk shot Melia a grateful smile.

"Thank you for telling me this." The blonde thanked, with the clerk nodding back as the teenage girl made her way to her friend. Upon arriving back at the table, she noticed that Erin was writing something down in a small book of sorts. "Erin…"

"Please, give me a moment. I'm writing down my thoughts in my notebook." Erin replied, quietly writing to herself for a moment. Once she was done, the white-haired girl closed the notebook and turned to face Melia, a look of sympathy etched on the blonde's face. "Alright, what's up? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"N-Nothing, I just wanted to let you know that I found the truth we were looking for." Melia informed her.

"Excellent, but before you tell me, may I ask you a question?" The white-haired girl requested, with the blonde giving her a firm nod. "Alright then, when we travelled through time, we ended up in the past, correct?"

"Yes, I'm 100% positive about that." She answered quickly.

"But why are you so sure about that? Is it because Spacea and Tiempa told you it was?" Erin pressed further, with Melia starting to grow a little uncomfortable.

"I mean, yeah, but the whole thing with Sheridan and Vivian…" The blonde replied, unsure on where Erin is going with this.

"I see…if that's the case, then things are starting to fall into place." The white-haired girl commented, with Melia raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "I think I've figured something out for a while now. All I needed was some more information before I could confirm it for myself. Of course, nothing's really confirmed, it's mostly just conjecture, but…"

"W-What is it? Please tell me!" Melia requested, intrigued at what Erin could possibly be talking about.

"Not a chance, I'm not going to say a thing until I'm 100% sure it's correct. Besides, if I just told you what I thought, you'd just blindly follow what I said. Get your own theory before looking at mine." Erin shot her down, her words holding some merit to the blonde despite their tone. After all, for a long time she assumed that Spacea and Tiempa were right all the time, merely absorbing their words without questioning them.

"I see…I take it that all your thoughts are in that notebook?" The blonde inquired, her gaze focusing on the closed book by Erin's hands.

"You've assumed correctly, but don't even think about looking. As a matter of fact, I'll be keeping it to myself." The white-haired girl answered, taking the notebook and tucking it away. "Now, about that truth you mentioned before?"

"Those medallions on the table are Nightmare Medallions; we have to come back at the library at midnight with them." Melia informed her, a small sigh escaping from Erin's mouth.

"They could've been original and set the time at anything besides midnight, but they decided to play it safe…" She commented under her breath. "Alright then, guess we gotta be here at midnight then."

"That's easier said than done, the library's closing at 7pm tonight." The blonde informed her, a look of intrigue forming on Erin's face.

"Now that's odd, this library is usually open 24/7. That's weirdly inconvenient. Eh, no biggie; we'll just hide here until everyone leaves. Luckily for you, I have the perfect hiding spot for us…" Erin reassured her, a small smirk on her face.

Later that night

Checking to see if the coast was clear, Erin poked her head out from beneath the staircase to survey the area. Once she determined it to be devoid of life, she quickly gestured Melia to come out, the blonde slowly crawling out of the stairs as she dusted her outfit off. "See? I told you it was easy. The people here don't really care to check the place for unwanted guests. They just see if the power's off before locking up the place and heading home." Erin told her.

"How do you know so much about this place, Erin?" Melia asked, knowing all too well why she knows so much about the library.

"Let's just say this place used to be my second home and leave it at that. You learn a few things when you're here all the time." She replied, briefly glancing at the watch she wore. "It's just about midnight, and we have the medallions, so…guess we should take a look around."

The duo opted to begin their search on the second floor, checking every nook and cranny for a hint that could lead them forward, but after 15 minutes, they came up empty handed. Though a little frustrated, they weren't ready to throw in the towel yet and took their investigation downstairs, searching all around the vast library. Just was they were about to pass the front desk, they saw what looked like a blue portal of sorts appear on the floor right in front of the door leading to the archives.

"Looks like we found our reason for being here this late…shall we check it out?" The blonde proposed.

"Well it's not like we can do anything else, so let's go already." Erin replied, the duo hopping onto the mysterious portal as their bodies were soon coated in a light blue aura before disappearing from the room. They soon found themselves in some sort of…alternate dimension, the only noteworthy thing in the white void was a set of train tracks that seemed to go on for eternity. "Well wherever we are, we're not in the library anymore."

"It's a whole lot of nothing. Nothing to the right, nothing to the left. Where do we even begin searching." Melia inquired, looking around as something started to from behind them, loosely resembling blank mask.

"It's very likely that we've fallen into some other dimension. I don't think it's a Dimensional Rift, but the vibe I'm getting is sorta similar." The white-haired girl commented, looking around the area as well.

"If this truth turns out to be a whole load of nothing, I'm going to be very upset—" Melia huffed, turning around and caught a glimpse at the mask. "E-Erin, what is that?!"

"Don't look at me, I have no idea!" Erin shot back, a face soon forming on the mask making it resemble the smirk of a menacing jester. With a high-pitched, ominous chuckle, it slowly started to chase them as the two girls ran down the tracks to escape the menacing presence.

"W-Where are we running to?!" The blonde asked Erin.

"Does it look like I know? Just keep running!" She shot back, the duo continuing to run away from the mask. They kept this up for a few more minutes until Melia noticed something…odd about this situation. Not only does it feel like they weren't moving, but it feels as if the mask isn't moving as well.

"I-I don't think we're moving anywhere." The blonde called out.

"Y-Yeah, we're not moving at all…W-Woah! Now we are!" Erin replied, the duo gaining a sudden burst of speed as they ran down the tracks, the mask in hot pursuit of the duo.

"I-I see a light at the end of these tracks! Let's head towards that!" Melia told Erin, the duo noticing a glowing ball of light hovering over the tracks as they leaped into the ball, the mask grinding to a halt right before the light. The duo soon found themselves back in the library, quickly looking around the area in a daze of sorts. "W-What…what just happened? That wasn't a dream, right?"

"I certainly didn't dream that up…I think?" The white-haired girl replied, looking around her immediate surroundings. "But we managed to end up in the restricted archives, somehow. Perhaps this is where we will find the truth we're looking for."

"Phew…that whole experience with the mask scared me. But you seemed so…calm back there. Weren't you afraid at all?" The blonde inquired.

"That was child's play compared to what I've dealt with before." Erin replied quickly, with Melia having a firm hunch on what she was referring to, her eyes soon focused on something strange; another box resting atop a table. "Melia, come take a look at this!"

"Another package from the Puppet Master?" Melia inquired, the duo approaching the box as Erin opted to open it up rather quickly. "I'm not so sure we should be messing around with those things anymore, Erin. Just look at what happened before, that wasn't normal at all."

"So? We haven't been doing normal things for ages now. Why stop here when we're on a huge lead?" The white-haired girl shot back.

"…Good point." The blonde conceded, making her way to Erin's side to see what was in the box.

"Well talk about a huge lead; a note and two tickets to the Grand Dream Ball. The note reads 'The truth shall be made known during the climax of the Grand Dream Ball.'" Erin told her, taking the note and tickets out of the box.

"What's the Grand Dream Ball?" Melia inquired.

"You know how Grand Dream City is doing it's Dream Festival? Well the Grand Dream Ball is a small dinner that a lot of higher officials get to attend. It's super formal, everyone has to show up in formal wear and everything." The white-haired girl explained to her.

"Well if that's the case, I'll have to pick up something formal at the Shopping District." The blonde stated.

"No need to bother, I have something at home you can wear. The only problem is that the ball takes place immediately after our matches at the tournament. We're gonna have to book it if we wanna make it on time." Erin stated.

"Perhaps we could fly there on Hapi? It'll be a tight fit but I'm sure we can manage." Melia offered, with Erin mulling over it for a moment before accepting it.

"That's fine with me. But if you could go all golden and teleport us there, that could work as well." The white-haired girl cracked a joke, only for Melia to go deep into thought.

"I clearly know it's a joke, but it's frustrating to think about. I've tried to activate that power multiple times, in the hopes that I could bring back Venam, but it just won't come to me willingly. It only happens when I'm in a dire situation." The blonde stated, a small sigh escaping from her friend's mouth.

"Well that's useless…" Erin muttered, peeking into the box and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? There's something else in this box. It's for you, Melia."

"For me?" She inquired, with Erin reaching into the box and handed her a file titled "Project Rapture" on it. "Hmmm…I can't say the name rings any bells. May as well check it out."

Opening the file, the blonde began to read it quietly, with Erin watching her calmly as the faint ticking of the clock could be head from the other side of the door. A few minutes later, the white-haired girl noticed her friend…trembling? Though whether it was in sadness or anger was unknown. "A-Are you okay, Melia?"

"It can't be true…" She began, throwing the file to the ground. "THIS HAS TO BE A LIE! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS!"

"Relax, Melia. If you yell, we might get caught and thrown out…" Erin replied, picking up the file and began to read it, her eyes widening at the sight. The file was deemed an S rank in confidentiality, and had a pair of images, depicting Professor Jenner and Karrina.

'This project is ranked S in confidentiality. All info included in this file should not be disclosed to any Storm Chaser besides Jenner and Karrina.

Project Rapture is the process of deceiving Melia into joining the Storm Chasers. Professor Jenner shall be given the Snag Machine by [Redacted]. He is then to notify Team Xen of Melia's presence at Goldenwood Forest.

When this happens, Melia is to escape Goldenwood Forest and return to East Gearen Laboratory. Professor Jenner would then send Melia to Route 2, where Spacea and Tiempa would appear before her. They will give the offer.

Karrina's position is to distract any companions of Melia. Anyone who decides to aid her shall be thrown off the main path. We have entrusted the TM 'Rock Smash' to her for this very reason.

[The following info should not be disclosed to Professor Jenner]
After the project is complete, eradication of Professor Jenner's status shall proceed. More info shall be noted in file 'Project Eradication'.'

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Storm Chasers were the name of the group you were a part of in the past, right?" Erin inquired.

"Th-That's correct…" The blonde answered uneasily, gazing at the file. "The file is about me. It's about the event that started all of this. Team Xen did plan to pick me up when I turned a certain age, but it looks like Spacea and Tiempa took this opportunity to manipulate me. They somehow found out about Team Xen's plan and flipped it on its head. They pushed me into a corner where saying no wasn't an option. They made it look like I had a choice, but I didn't. It was all a game to them. It looks like my dad was in on this as well, but the last few lines…"

"After the project is complete, eradication of Professor Jenner's status shall proceed. More info shall be noted in the file Project Eradication." The white-haired girl read the mentioned lines. "Looks like they were using him to get closer to you. Once the plan was complete, they planned on getting rid of him."

"And in Spacea and Tiempa's eyes, that can only mean death. He knew too much. I bet they were happy when they found out Crescent already took care of him. And then Karrina…someone who I thought was my friend…she was in on it too. She even knew they were going to kill my dad, but she went though with it anyway…" Melia continued, looking away from the wretched file. "But what is this information doing here? How could the Puppet Master get his hands on something like this? Just how many more lies have I been fed? All this time. everything I've done was exactly what Spacea and Tiempa wanted. They played me from the very beginning…I hate those deceitful women."

"Calm down, Melia. I understand your frustration and anger. You already cut ties with them, right?" Erin attempted to calm her friend down.

"Perhaps this is why Crescent went rogue. She must've found out something she wasn't supposed to, possibly a plan to dispose of her or something." The blonde mused to herself.

"Let's not jump to conclusions yet, we should do that once we gather our thoughts. For now, we're done here. Let's get out before we get caught." The white-haired girl suggested, the blonde taking in a few deep breaths to calm herself.

"You're right. Getting angry over this is dumb. But before we leave, can we visit one more place?" Melia requested, with Erin turning to her in intrigue. "I wish to visit the arena they have here."

"Very well, but it'll have to be quick." Erin agreed, the duo making their way out of the archives and towards the arena at the back of the library. To the white-haired girl, it was nothing special, but to Melia it was a most cherished sight. This was where she would've presided as the Normal type Gym Leader, eagerly awaiting any trainer who wishes to challenge her to a battle. "Well, we're here. There's nothing too special about this place. Why'd you want to visit this place?"

"This place…was supposed to be my Gym." The blonde admitted, catching her friend off-guard.

"This place? I never took you to be the studious type, no offense." She commented.

"The arena was reconfigured for Lavender's tastes. But if that day never happened, this is where I would've been a Gym Leader." Melia continued, making her way to the other side of the arena as a wave of melancholic feelings overcame her. "Do you know what my dad said to me when I got accepted into the League? He said that he would be my first opponent. We were so excited. It was his idea that I join the League. He said that it would open up so many opportunities. But then we all got mixed up in Team Xen, and apparently, he was also a Storm Chaser. He got caught up in both and died for it. I'll never know his reasons for doing what he did, but there's one thing I know for sure. He died trying to do the right thing. He tried to help us out when he was in the worst possible position. He put us before himself, and for that I will be eternally grateful. My one regret about all of this is I…I didn't even give him a chance to explain. I was so blinded by rage. I was arrogant and stupid. I thought of everything in a black and white perspective. 'You're either with me, or against me.' What a damn joke…what was I thinking? I made the biggest mistake of my life, and now I can't take it back."

"Isn't that the beauty of life itself?" Erin chimed in, walking up to Melia's side as the blonde turned to face her, a few tears streaming down her cheeks. "Mistakes build us into better people. If you never made a mistake, you wouldn't grow. Some mistakes are bigger than others, yes, but there's no use in feeling bad for yourself. What's done is done. The best thing we can do as people is to try to be better because of all that. Besides, we both read that file, right? There was something in there that didn't add up."

"Th-There was?" The blonde inquired.

"I don't remember reading about making you a Gym Leader. You said that was his idea. If he was so loyal to that Project Rapture bullshit, then why would he go out of his way to do that? This may be conjecture, but I believe he had his own plan in store for you. He wanted to make you strong so you could follow your own destiny. So that you wouldn't fall into the clutches of Team Xen or Spacea and Tiempa." The white-haired girl explained, her words soon dawning onto Melia.

"I see…thank you so much for bringing that to light. I understand now." She replied, the sadness in her tone fading away.

"Listen, I may not be your dad, but if you want I could be your first opponent. If it'll make you feel better, that is." Erin offered, catching Melia by surprise.

"B-But I'm not a Gym Leader. I don't—" She began.

"So? You could always play pretend." The white-haired girl replied, making her way to the challenger's side of the arena. "I'm ready when you are."

"Erin…" Melia replied, mulling it over in her mind before coming to a decision. "Alright then, I accept your challenge!"

"Very well then, let's start already. I'll warn you though, I'm not as impressive as the others when it comes to Pokémon battles." Erin admitted, watching Melia make her way to her side of the arena.

"It doesn't matter how strong you are. All that matters is that you're willing to do this. That is all I could ever ask for." The blonde smiled at her, with each of them reaching for a Pokéball and throwing it at the arena, with Melia sending out her Togekiss and Erin sending out her Butterfree. The two Pokémon gazed each other before giving the opponent a quick nod, the both of them ready for a friendly match. "Start off with Nasty Plot, Hapi!"

The Togekiss smiled, plotting a set of conniving schemes in her mind to boost her mental energy, while the Butterfree's eyes shone brightly, creating a wondrous wall of light that shielded Erin's team from status ailments. The Jubilee Pokémon then took to the skies, flying to the roof of the gym to gain a height advantage over her foe as the Butterfly Pokémon began flapping its wings quickly, conjuring up a glistening wind that struck the Togekiss head on. However, she was able to take the attack pretty well and retaliated by conjuring a series of sharp blades of air, flinging them towards the Butterfree as the attack struck it head on. The butterfly let out a quick chitter of pain, falling to the ground and collapsed into a pile.

"Not bad, not bad at all." The white-haired commented, recalling her fainted Pokémon before sending out her Zangoose, who proceeded to commence a frenetic yet mesmerizing dance to boost its physical spirit. Once the dance was concluded, it began climbing up the walls at incredible speeds, leaping off them to slash at Togekiss, the latter crying out in surprise as she was knocked to the ground and crashed in it. Thankfully, she was able to recover and took to the skies one more, wiggling her fingers side-to-side momentarily before breathing a stream of fire at the Cat Ferret Pokémon. The flames struck the Zangoose head on, pushing it back a few feet as it soon broke free of the fire and lunged once more at Togekiss. However, the Togekiss was able to read her foes strategy and dodged in time, conjuring up another blade of wind and flung it at the Zangoose's back, sending it flying towards Erin as it crumpled on the floor.

"I-I'm sorry Erin, do you want me to hold back a little?" Melia apologized, watching Erin recall her fainted Pokémon.

"It's fine, I've got no issue with you going all out." She replied, opting to send out her Swanna in the hopes of securing the aerial advantage. Almost immediately, the Swanna began flapping its large wings quickly to generate a tailwind and grant it an increase in speed. With this newfound boost of speed, it swooped towards the Togekiss and jabbed at her with its beak multiple times, pushing her back a few feet before following up with a blast of hot water that left a nasty burn on her wings. Wincing in pain from the burn, the Jubilee Pokémon began wiggling her fingers side-to-side for a few moments before she soon conjured up a weak bolt of lighting that struck the White Bird Pokémon, dealing a good amount of damage but wasn't able to paralyze it. Recovering from the shock, the Swanna flew back and conjured up a powerful hurricane, sending dozens of books and other loose objects flying around the room. The Togekiss took to the skies, dodging any incoming debris and charged up lunar energy in her mouth before firing the ball of pink energy at the Swanna, sending it crashing into a pile of dirtied books. The White Bird Pokémon poked its head out from beneath the books and attempted to get back up, only to collapse onto the pile as it couldn't continue fighting. "Just how strong is that Togekiss of yours?!"

"Oh, Hapi? She's my strongest companion. Fitting, since she was my very first Pokémon." Melia smiled, noticing that all the battling was starting to wear Hapi out. Taking on three Pokémon in a row was no easy feat, even for one as strong as her.

"Well I think it's about time I gave it a nice, cold nap." The white-haired girl quipped, recalling her Swanna and sent out her Abomasnow, the sentient tree letting out a loud roar as it soon started to hail inside the room, the rays of the sunrise starting to shine through the windows. Standing firmly before the Jubilee Pokémon, the Abomasnow opened its maw and spewed out a blisteringly cold wind, it's power heightened by the hail. The almighty blizzard struck Togekiss, sending her flying throughout the room and into the back wall, knocking a painting off the wall and onto the floor. Though the attack did a lot of damage to her, it also provided some small relief to her burns, so it wasn't all bad. However, this next attack of hers would be her last so it would have to count. Channeling all her remaining energy, she formed a ball of fire in her mouth, breathing a relentless Flamethrower at the Abomasnow, who opted to counter it with an Ice Beam. The two attacks collided in midair, with both combatants hoping to surpass their opponent. But despite the relenting hail, Togekiss' perseverance shone through, the stream of fire engulfing the frozen energy and struck the Frosted Tree Pokémon head on, dealing an insane amount of damage as it was sent flying back towards Erin, crashing before her feet as the super effective attack proved to be too much. The victorious Togekiss let out a weak chime of happiness before falling to the ground, too exhausted to continue battling.

"Hapi!" Melia called out, as she and Erin checked up on their respective Pokémon. "Phew, you're alright. You've earned yourself a nice rest!"

"Same here, Abomasnow. You helped save us from falling victim to a complete sweep." Erin complimented her companion, the two trainers recalling their Pokémon as the began mulling over who to send out next. Soon enough, they made their respective decisions, with Erin sending out Florges and Melia sending out Mimikyu.

"Mimi!" The Disguise Pokémon chirped, shooting a determined gaze at the calm and collected Florges. The Garden Pokémon started by collecting it's mind, eliminating any troubling thoughts to boost it's mental energy, while the Mimikyu began trimming its ghostly claws to sharpen them up and boost its power. Once it had finished preparing itself, it lunged at the Florges and slashed it with its shadowy claws, pushing it back a few feet. The Florges, managing to withstand the attack due to its impressive bulk retaliated by collecting lunar energy into a ball, before hurling the energy at the Mimikyu, who tried to stand its ground but as flung back a few feet. The Disguise Pokémon was able to keep itself in the battle, but it's disguise was busted from the attack, a cry of sadness and anger coming from the small spirit. Shooting a most vicious glare at the Florges, the enraged Mimikyu lunged at it, beating it up relentlessly in revenge for ruining its perfect disguise. The poor Garden Pokémon was knocked all over the place, into bookshelves and table before it was snatched up by the Mimikyu and was flung into the pile of books from before, crashing into it and sent the books flying everywhere. The Florges tried to get back up, only to collapse onto the floor, unable to continue battling.

"Guess the stories surrounding Mimikyu has some truth to them after all…" Erin muttered, recalling her Florges before opting to send out her last Pokémon, her first companion, Absol. With a swift movement of her hand, the white-haired girl brought out a Mega Ring and pressed it, her companion enveloped in a multicolor orb as an incredible power started to flow within it. Soon enough, the orb shattered, revealing the Absol in its mega form, the Disaster Pokémon letting out a quiet howl of power.

Lunging at the Mimikyu, the Absol slashed at it with shadowy claws, sending it flying back a few feet into one of the smaller bookshelves, the Disguise Pokémon narrowly avoiding the falling books as it stared down the Mega Pokémon. While it was fast and powerful, it's defenses were pretty low; if it could land a strong attack on it…

*POW!* Its thoughts were interrupted by a surprise jab from the Absol's paw, the Disguise Pokémon caught off-guard by the attack and was sent flying towards Melia's feet. It wearily got back up, thinking that it was all over for it, only to turn to Melia and saw the look of determination in her eyes. The duo had met each other during a hellish timeline, faced overwhelming odds and surpassed them despite how slim the chances were. It then made up its mind; it would not give up this fight, not until it couldn't keep battling. With a newfound determination, it charged at the Absol, the Disaster Pokémon watching it carefully and attempted to slash at it with its horn. But the Mimikyu dodged in time, using the slim opportunity to tackle the Absol and bombard it with a series of punches and kicks. The Mega Pokemon was taken aback by the surprise assault, unable to counter its foe as it was soon sent flying towards another bookshelf, crashing into it and slid to the ground. It attempted to get back up to continue the battle, only to fall on its side as it devolved into its regular form, securing the victory for Mimikyu and Melia.

"Not gonna lie, I figured I would lose that battle…" Erin admitted, recalling her fainted Pokémon as Melia congratulated her Mimikyu. "Still, it was a lot of fun, and out Pokémon got plenty of exercise, so I'd consider it a win for us both."

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun. This is one battle I will never forget, no matter what happens." Melia smiled, recalling her victorious Mimikyu as she saw Erin making her way to her.

"Truth be told, I don't think battling will ever be for me, but I will admit that I enjoyed myself, so thank you for battling me." The white-haired girl thanked the blonde, a small sigh escaping from her mouth as she turned to face the back windows. "I just…I don't really have many opportunities to feel this way. So whenever I do, I don't know how to act."

"I don't understand what you're saying…" Melia commented, a confused look on her face as Erin turned to face her.

"I've…I've never had real friends. I never had real parents. I've never had a real life of my own. I just did the same routine, over and over. But all of that changed when Aelita appeared. Suddenly it feels like I'm finally a part of something. Something that gives my life some sort of worth and meaning. I just want to say that I…I appreciate you all. You, Aelita, Julius, Venam, Kanon, Huey, Lavender—everyone that's been with me so far. Thank you all…for breaking me out of my own prison." She spoke quietly, expressing her gratitude in the sincerest way possible as a few small tears fell down her cheeks.

"We'll be there to break you out no matter what." The blonde pledged, resting her hand on here friend's shoulder. "Because now you're a part of our group. Our family. We have to look after each other. Because when we're out there fighting evil, there won't be anyone but us."

"Yeah…you're right. Thank you, Melia…" Erin smiled, the duo soon giving each other a quick hug, with neither of them aware that they were both shining brightly. Whatever this mysterious shine was, it could only mean one thing; there was more to Erin than anyone had expected.

That about wraps this chapter up, and what a heartwarming way to end things off. I do apologize if the battle against Erin was a little short but given how she said she wasn't that strong a battler, I figured I'd try to implement that as best as I could. Tune in next time, where we'll see where Julius and his friends end up after their surprise ride from the mysterious man on the hoverboard. Thank you all for reading and supporting this fic, I'll see you all in the next chapter!