After hammering out their personal desires and expectations of one another, Matthew and Courtney parted ways to complete their own objectives. With this task dropping down to him, the outcast Kingston could tell that Courtney was seemingly too happy to be able to complete the next phase of her plan. He didn't know or care what she wanted so long as he was able to do what he needed to. Once he was sure Courtney was gone, he quietly tried to make his way over to his and Jocelyn's campsite to try and go back to sleep for the morning, but realized that task would be impossible when his traveling partner revealed herself to be awake and sitting in the dew-covered grasses, trying her hardest to concentrate.

Matthew was at first hesitant to get her attention, but Jocelyn took a deep breath to draw in his attention. Matthew nervously turned to face her as she continued to sit and not make eye contact with him. "Well?"

"Well what?" he inquired.

"Where were you?" Jocelyn demanded. "There is no way it takes someone that long to go to the bathroom, so don't lie to me."

Matthew shook his head. "I have no reason to. Not anymore."

"Then where were you?"

Matthew shrugged. She was bound to find out soon enough, anyway. "It was Courtney. She needed to talk to me." Jocelyn made no move to acknowledge this, but simply sat in silence. With no commentary coming from her, he took a deep breath and continued. "The Grand Master-uh, I mean Mewtwo has been freed. No one in Arcana is strong enough to oppose him now." Jocelyn remained seated, no words coming out of her mouth, prompting Matthew to resume nervously. "She made a few offers to me. About joining up with the Syndicate full time if I helped them eliminate Cameron while she's apparently out of it."

Again, Jocelyn didn't answer him.

"She offered to make Claude free my Mom and even to keep you safe" Matthew pointed out nervously.

"How thoughtful" Jocelyn spat out. Though she was clearly doing her best to try and convince him that she wasn't going to be angry, Matthew could tell she was absolutely livid. She simply cracked her knuckles and resumed trying to meditate and keep herself calm.

"But I wanted to float things by you, first" Matthew admitted. "I've been doing so many things wrong, so I figured you would be the one to talk to about this."

"Why me?" Jocelyn responded flatly.

"Because you're someone I know I can trust" Matthew told her. "Because you do the right thing no matter what. And because I have genuinely no idea what I should do here."

"It's clear you want to take Courtney up on her offer" Jocelyn growled. "So, by all means, go!"

"Why would you-"

Jocelyn pushed herself to her feet and stood with her back to him. "Why should I care what you do with your life? Take Courtney up on her offer. She clearly knows what's best for you. You'll get it all with her. Money, power, fame, glory and I'm sure Addison will be made your slave again. So why even ask me? That's such an obvious win for you that I'm confused as to why you would ask me? You clearly don't care what I would have to say, because you and I both know what you're going to do!" Jocelyn shook her head in frustration. "I thought you were better than this, Matt."

"Why do you think I'm going to you?" Matthew pleaded. "I don't know what I want."

"You're going to have to make this decision on your own" Jocelyn told him flatly. "Because I'm done."

Matthew eyed her worriedly. "What do you mean you're done?"

"I'm done trying to show you there is more to life than just being the best" Jocelyn hissed. "I'm trying to show you that there is a sharp difference between people who do support you and people who don't. There are some people who will tell you something you may not want to hear, but you have to hear because it will make you a better person. Then there are some people who will tell you something you may have always wanted to hear, but will never tell you what you need to hear. But you have clearly chosen that what you want and what you need are synonymous, which means you and I have no further business together." She quickly grabbed her bag and put away the rest of their camp.

"I'm asking you for your help!" Matthew told her, coming to her side. "I need your help, Jocelyn. I don't know what I should do, here."

"You're almost a man, Matthew" Jocelyn told him angrily as she finished gathering her sparse belongings. "I can't be there to teach you the differences between right and wrong anymore. Some people just never understand it. And I'm confident you will never understand it." She seemed to be fighting back her own tears. "I'm going to find Michael and fight with him. You can go and inform your master of that, now." She made her way to leave Matthew behind.

Matthew scurried over to her side and pleaded with her to reconsider. "Jocelyn, please! I can't do this alone."

"You've already made your decision" Jocelyn reminded him. "Now, we're just parting ways for what I hope will be the final time. I don't want to see what Michael and the others will do to the Syndicate when they find out all that's been going on here. Do what you do best and continue thinking only of yourself, Matt."

"No!" Matthew cried out, falling to his knees in front of her. "I don't know! I want to do the right thing, but I don't know what it could be."

"Yes you do" Jocelyn insisted. "You've always known. But you don't want to make the decision for yourself. And do you know why?"

"Because I'm afraid!"

Jocelyn was about to slap him down, but paused herself. "Actually, that's right."

"I'm afraid, Jocelyn" the boy insisted as he pounded the ground. "I'm afraid I'm going to make the wrong choice. I'm afraid of going back down that slope and doing those things that made me feel strong but hollow. I'm afraid of what happens if I have to go up against someone like Michael or Chris or Cam or you. And I'm afraid of what will happen if we go to stop the Syndicate and we lose."

"Part of growing up means understanding that things won't always go your way" Jocelyn told him as she continued to ensure her things were packed. "You keep trying to find ways to avoid you coming out on the short end. You can't prevent losing all of the time. Sometimes you have to accept that life isn't fair and move from there. You seem to be unable to do so. Which is why you change loyalties more often than some change socks." Jocelyn walked forward several paces before finally turning to face Matthew. "If you ever want to get over your past and move on, you need to stop trying to change what is and start focusing on changing what can be. Learn to live with defeat and you'll find that no one can truly harm you."

"Jocelyn..."

"Matthew, I am going to fight for Michael" she declared. "You need to figure out for yourself right now who you are going to fight with and why you are going to fight. Courtney and The Grand Master will not tolerate betrayal and neither will Michael. Before you rush off and make any decision you might regret, Matthew Kingston, you need to ask yourself this question you've been dodging since your journey began two years ago! Who are you? And what do you want? Answer these things and follow your heart to it's conclusion. Be it victory or defeat." With that, Jocelyn ran off on her own into the still dark forests of Mirage Island, leaving Matthew alone to ponder her words.

The lost son of Alison and Robert Kingston now stood in silence, contemplating everything that had just unfolded in front of him. Jocelyn was making her stance known to all. She would fight with Michael and the others, regardless of the odds or fears of failure. Despite Mewtwo's return meaning that the entire world was going to enter an age of complete and unyielding darkness. Despite the current mental state of Ryan. Despite everything stacking up against Michael and his brother. She would stick by her guns, no matter the immeasurable darkness that awaited just ahead of them.

While he? He was terrified to end up the same way as Cameron or Ryan. Broken by the Syndicate or broken by Darkrai. If he lost, he would never get the chance to prove to the others that he was trying to change and do the right thing. To get back into the good graces of his parents, Michael, Addison and Holly. To rekindle a lost sense of camaraderie with his cousins, his friends and even his brother.

His brother. Ryan was at the center of all of this. Their rivalry had caused some of the most colossal damage this world had experienced in some time. Addison, Holly and plenty of others were caught in the crossfire. Could Matthew put aside his jealousy and anger towards Ryan to understand there are bigger and grander problems in this world? Could there ever be any kind of salvation of what the two could have and should have had after all they had been through? Could Ryan ever see him in a positive light again? Would Jocelyn? Would Michael? Would Addison? Would anyone on the Kingston's side see him as anything more than just a traitor?

While Matthew feared for the worst that would befall anyone who did not support Mewtwo, he recalled some sage words he had heard what seemed like a hundred years ago: You can't just do good things to seek gratification or credit. You do them because they're the right thing to do. Words told to Matthew when he was younger that he never truly understood until this very moment. Words from a man he had hurt and betrayed for his own personal glory. Words from someone who, as Ryan had said, did truly care for the both of them equally, but Matthew allowed his fear to drive a strong wedge into their relationship.

And now, Matthew had to make the most important choice of his life. To fight for someone he feared or for someone he feared he would lose. Fighting for Mewtwo would mean he would likely come out on top, but he would lose what shreds of humanity he had left in him. All of the things Jocelyn had helped him find. But if he fought for Michael and Mewtwo came out on top, he suspected he would receive no mercy from the all powerful Pokémon. He would be throwing his plans and his dreams on the fire for a losing cause.

In the end, it came down to quite simply the most important thing he could say: was he doing what he did for gratification or because it was truly the right thing to do? He frowned and looked himself over one last time as the conclusion came into his mind as clear as spring water. And he had made his decision.

{Meanwhile}

After hours of little but distressful fears of losing more of his memories, the sight of the gorge Avery had mentioned filled Ryan with a new sense of optimism that he hadn't felt for quite some time. Ryan looked over the edge of the cliff he now stood over and gulped at not only how cavernous the gorge was, but also the dense sea of thorns that loomed at the bottom of the canyon. Though the task of wading his way through the sharp and deadly plants was not something he considered ideal, the fact that he and Avery were as close as ever to finding a way to fix the nightmares that Darkrai had forced them and their friends to endure was more than enough salvation for him. He would be able to regain his memories, rescue his friends and restore Avery's family to her. It seemed almost too good to be true.

Ryan scoped out the gorge to see if he could find a way down into the thorny patch without having to jump, ultimately locating a few rocks that seemed in place to be a makeshift staircase down into the ravine. Shaymin, who floated nearby, looked down into the gorge and yipped in fear, doing his best to keep Ryan from thinking about going in there. The Arcanan Champion picked up Shaymin and gently pet him on the head.

"I can't just back down here, Shaymin" Ryan told the Pokémon as Shaymin licked his nose. "We need to save our friends and get my memories back." He gently lowered Shaymin to the ground. "Stay up here and watch after Avery for me, okay? This shouldn't take me too long." Shaymin looked crestfallen, but ultimately agreed to defend his friend and stood firmly at attention.

"I don't think this is a good idea" Avery admitted. "What happens if you get into trouble down there?"

"What's a bit of trouble in the grand scheme of things?" Ryan asked confidently. "I can take whatever I'll find down there. Even Darkrai if I have to."

"Are you sure you can handle things down there on your own? Maybe I should-"

"We don't know what to expect down there" Ryan told her. "If only one of us goes down, that means the other one can stay here and get help if needed. If you went down on your own and someone like Darkrai was there to capture you, I don't know what I would do. My job is to keep you safe, Avery. And so long as I've done that, I think anything else that happens is just icing on the cake."

"Ryan..." Avery gulped.

Ryan wrapped his arms around Avery to try and give her some of his own confidence. "I'm going to be fine, Avery." But while he clung to Avery as tenderly as he could, he could feel something was off about this whole situation. When he looked at Avery, she seemed to be changing right in front of him. The blonde haired girl he had been pining for since their reunion was turning, in flashes, into a girl with soft peachy skin and the most gorgeous violet eyes he had ever seen in his life. But whenever he would begin to wonder who this other girl was, she would turn back into Avery and prompt Ryan into forgetting what he had just seen.

Avery, though, seemed to understand something was amiss. "Is something wrong?"

Ryan rubbed his head and defiantly kept his confidence. "Nope. Nothing. I feel fine."

Avery's frown only deepened. "Well, if you say so."

"Trust me on this" Ryan told her reassuringly as they came apart, "there is nothing down there for me that I can't handle. I'll be back, I promise." He turned to head down into the gorge itself, but paused when he thought he could hear someone calling out to him. He looked around for the source of the voice, but could only hear it echoing all around him.

Don't go in there, Ryan! If you do, you'll never get your memories back! Stop chasing the lies!

"Who's there?" Ryan asked as his head whirred from direction to direction, but no one appeared. It was strange. The voice was so familiar to him, but so foreign at the same time. Her voice was one he had not heard from in some time, though he could not remember much else about her. Even at this late hour, his own mind was still intent on playing tricks on him.

You'll fall into the abyss if you keep going! Turn back now!

"Unless you show me who you are, I have to keep going" Ryan insisted aloud before beginning his descent into the gorge. He climbed down from one ledge to another until he could almost feel each of the thorns pricking him before he had even dropped into the maze. He stood over the sea of spiked plants and wondered to himself if this truly was the smartest thing he could do. When he didn't have a concrete answer for himself, he lowered himself into the only safe part of the thorn patch and looked around for any signs of life or where Cresselia might be. When he didn't see any immediate danger or clues, he lowered himself onto his stomach and began the long process of crawling his way into the sea of thorns.

The bristles would scratch up the back of his leg and entangle themselves in his bag, but Ryan could easily wriggle his way free and continued to crawl as best as he could into the unknown. After several moments of evading the spiny plants and going as far as this road would take him, he paused when he thought he could hear the unmistakable whirring of a machine. He searched in vain for the source before crawling a few paces forward and finding a secret tunnel. He quickly tossed the barbs and plants covering it aside before jumping down a small chute. As his body tumbled down the chute, he could hear the whirring getting louder and louder the further he slid down. He pushed himself to a stop when the sounds of marching feet went past the end of the chute.

That was close, he thought to himself. He gently pushed his body forward until he was near the end of the chute. He was in a small room of some kind. The walls were made of well-polished and sturdy steel, no doubt preventing them from being able to figure out where Hunter and his cronies were operating from. If he was indeed correct about how this was Hunter's base of operations, he might get more answers than he was expecting here. So long as he was able to freely go through the base undiscovered, he might not only get the answers he needed about where Cresselia might be, but how deep into all of the world's inner workings his old Syndicate enemies truly were. Once the coast was completely clear, he leaped out of the chute and to the floor below. He quickly snuck out of the room he was in and looked for any signs of Cresselia or the fate of his missing friends, hoping that the shadows did not indeed creep up on him as the voice he had heard was making him feel.

When he had exited the first chamber, he could hear the whirring getting louder and louder. He knew he was getting close. But to what, he was almost afraid to find out.

{Meanwhile}

Deep within the chamber that held within the Shrine of Jirachi, Lizzie did her best to tinker with her now essential goggles with which she used to only use primarily for combat in the skies when she served under Michael Kingston as Champion. Ever since the Taghwan Hall attacks, she had become more and more reliant on these goggles for more than just visualizing weaknesses in buildings and security that the Syndicate might be using. Now, she needed them just to be able to see clearly. With her eyesight irreparably damaged by the flames of Taghwan Hall, her goggles now became vital for her to even see what she was doing for basic things. But they were lately becoming more easily fogged up by pretty much any moisture, prompting her to try and figure out he reasoning for this. Moisture buildup for such an advanced piece of hardware she and Mark had constructed basically from scratch following their acceptance of posts in Michael's Elite Four was definitely not a good thing. It could short out the goggle's more advance features or even prevent her from seeing the most basic things that were just ahead of her.

While her Pokémon played about in the Shrine, she did her best with her small little kit of tools to figure things out for herself. Without Mark or anyone else there to help her get things figured out, she was on her own. She spent a good amount of time cleaning the lenses as well as tinkering with the computer chip that allowed all of the systems to work properly.

I really should have thought this through when Mark and I made these goggles in the first place, Lizzie thought to herself. We could have made these things somewhat more simple to work on. The MP3 Player was a little much, though. I'll probably have Mark help me remove it when we go to Arcana, if we have to. The thought of returning to Arcana did not entice her that much, but only because she knew that with the World Tournament going, Hoenn would need as many trainers as it could to prevent another group like Team Magma or Team Aqua from rising up. It had to be her, as the young Brendan and May were simply not experienced at dealing with crises as she was.

When Michael first informed the group of his plans to hunt down the remnants of Elezar Aced's Syndicate and either capture them all or push them out of Arcana altogether, he assigned everyone their own personal task with which to assist him. Cameron was his second in command, serving as one who followed his orders without a second thought or moment of hesitation and would carry out any command to the letter. Chris was the muscle who had no qualms with outmuscling any of the thugs Cassius or Elezar might have employed. Mark and Lizzie were to be his eyes in the sky, knowing things before even he did. While Mark could play the game of espionage and tracking well, Lizzie was unsure of herself. Mark encouraged her to find a way to make this task more agreeable to her and thus helped her to invent the very goggles she was tinkering with to this very day. A state of the art pair of goggles that had infrared sensors and could read everything down to the electrical output of a building. After weeks of trying to track Cassius down to his Abomosnow Lab, it had been her goggles that allowed for a speedy victory over Cassius and his capture. If only the rest had been so easy.

Now, Lizzie needed them for more than their initial intended purpose. She wasn't exactly blind, but her eyesight was damaged by the flames of Taghwan Hall and she would not be able to progress particularly far at anything without the ability to see. She needed to fix these goggles of hers, even if it meant she just got to help herself see again.

Once she had polished her goggles to the point of spotless shine, she put them atop over her face and looked. Though the fog was gone, she was certain that her goggles were retaining moisture from being as close to Meteor Falls as they were. She looked to her Pokémon team and sighed contently to herself. If it wasn't for them, this whole isolationist thing would be almost impossible for me. She then one by one recalled all of her Pokémon. First her Electrike, then her Marill, then her Zigzagoon, then her Salamence, then her Umbreon and finally Jirachi. The Mythical Pokémon nodded contently as the Poké Ball snared it. Lizzie then proceeded to hook each and every Poké Ball back onto her belt and prepared to get ready to nap for herself.

And that was when the cave began to shake violently. She looked quickly around for the source of the rumblings, but a blast from just above her at the roof of her hidden cavern. Any hopes that this was from a Poké Battle between trainers in the caves above only proved fruitless when she heard orders being barked down to men above her cavern.

"Take out that floor! NOW!"

Lizzie frantically rushed to find some place to hide and avoid falling debris and ultimately chose to hide around the Shrine of Jirachi. As the cavern's stalactites crashed onto the floor and pinned Lizzie inside the Shrine, she hurriedly packed up all she could and went to call back her Salamence. The Dragon Pokémon emerged from it's Pokémon Ball, but did not immediately sense the danger until a boulder nearly fell and struck Lizzie in the head, missing by mere inches.

"Crush! I need you to fly me out of here!" Lizzie pleaded. Her Salamence nodded proudly and lowered his wings to allow Lizzie to climb up his back. She quickly reared her Dragon Pokémon back and sent it flying high into the air above her current location. The Dragon artfully dodged the rocks and collapsing cave roof and prepared to shoot itself into the hole that the explosion had made.

How did they find us so quickly? No one else knows about this place! I don't even think Hunter knew about it. Lizzie quickly thumbed through her own personal memories as her Dragon soared into the skies to dodge the quaking cavern, trying to think of anyone who might have known about the location of the Shrine of Jirachi. But before she could think of anything that might help, a strange and extremely hot-looking boulder fell through the hole in the roof and struck Crush in the head. The Salamence's back flung Lizzie forward enough so that she could reach for the hole on the cavern roof and clung to it by her fingers. She looked down to see her Salamence crash into the nearby wall and cause more shaking.

"CRUSH!" she cried out.

"Oh I think Crush is the least of your problems, Lizzie" a voice called up to her from above.

Lizzie looked above her position and would have shrieked if she wasn't using all of her strength to cling to the wall. "Hunter? You're alive?"

Her old arch nemesis bowed mockingly to her. "Don't sound too disappointed, Liz." He gestured towards two men who were standing behind him. "Are you boys just going to make the poor girl dangle like that? Help her up!" The men standing behind Hunter reached down towards her and grabbed her arms, hoisting her up to their level. But any hopes of this being a civil conversation between them ended when her arms were wrenched behind her back and she was forced onto her knees in front of Hunter, who enjoyed every single moment of her being at his mercy. "Don't worry, princess. This should only take a moment."

"How?" Lizzie asked.

"How what, Lizzie? Be specific or else I'll never-"

"How are you still alive?" Lizzie snapped. "How are you back in Hoenn? And how did you find me?"

"I'm running on a fairly tight schedule" Hunter admitted, "so I'll have to be brief with you, Liz. You deserve more of an answer, but I just don't have the time considering Claude's idiots made me leave Mirage Island for this."

"Mirage Island?" Lizzie asked in confusion. "No, you weren't invited to the-"

"Hold on" Hunter smirked. "I'll answer your questions in due course." He turned his back from her and stepped deeper into the cave as if to contemplate how best to inform her of her situation. "Let me think. Which way would be the finest way to inform you. I suppose I'll have to answer your questions directly in order. First and foremost, I'm back because The Grand Master isn't done with me yet. He sees some untapped potential within me that I will open up and gladly take for myself and all the rewards that come with it."

"Grand Master?" Lizzie asked as she tried in vain to free her arms.

"Bingo" Hunter replied arrogantly. "You didn't actually think he'd just lay over after being humiliated by Ryan, did you?"

Lizzie grunted. "We should have-"

"Correction. YOU should have made sure that The Grand Master's Master Ball was hidden better. Or, that you hadn't have let so many people in on the secret."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say that in the few years since you and Mark left Arcana that the Kingston family has gotten a little slow" Hunter explained. "Sure, some of them are bigger pains in the neck than I thought they'd be, but it has been amusing to watch such a stalwart trainer like Cameron buckle under pressure so easily."

"What did you do to Cameron?"

"She's being taken care of as we speak" Hunter revealed. "But not before she spilled such vital information to the Syndicate. Information that has made the last 24 hours possible."

"You're lying" Lizzie defiantly spat. "Cameron would never do anything like that!"

"Perhaps you didn't know Cameron Kingston as well as you thought you did" Hunter smirked. "I mean, it was bad enough trusting her with the location of where The Master Ball was, but to tell her all about the Shrine to Jirachi too? Come on, Lizzie. You just made your grandfather roll over in the grave I put him in."

Lizzie gasped. Cameron sold us out? But why? "She couldn't have-she wouldn't have-"

"She can and she did. All for a little canoodling time with someone who wasn't actually the real Cynthia!" Hunter returned his gaze back towards her and he made his way back towards her. "You should have fled to Arcana while you had the chance. You probably could have made it to Kingston Castle and eluded me. But I knew you, Lizzie. I knew you would never let your Grandfather's legacy be tarnished and fled here. Right where I've always wanted to be." He looked down into the now ruins of the Shrine to Jirachi and scoffed. "Well, above where I wanted to be."

"You got Mewtwo freed and you've got plenty of trainers trapped on Mirage Island! Isn't that enough?"

"Enough? Enough?! Come on, Lizzie. You know me better than to accept that I never settle for anything. I want it all. I always have and I always will." He fell to his knee in front of her and inspected her belt for each of the Pokémon, taking the one she was secretly pleading for him not to notice. "And I guess I'll have to settle on Jirachi. After fifteen years of hunting for this thing, I finally have Jirachi at my beck and call."

"Fat lot of good it will do you" Lizzie laughed nervously. "Jirachi won't grant wishes to a monster like you."

"Oh, I know that" Hunter smirked. "Jirachi has special enchantments bent on ensuring the people who manage to wield it's extraordinary power cannot use it for evil purposes. That's not why I want Jirachi." He examined the ball for a moment before addressing Lizzie again. "Tell me something, Liz. Do you know anything about The Realm of Arceus?"

Lizzie eyed him in confusion. "You want to open the portal to Arceus? And you really think Arceus will listen to you?"

"A Pokémon can be persuaded to do anything" Hunter insisted. "Especially one as kind and virtuous as Arceus. And that Pokémon will answer to me. Especially when I complete the ritual for opening that path in the first place. Thanks to you and Claude's thugs here, I now have two of the six Mythical Pokémon needed to access Arceus myself. To have the very God of existence at my beck and call is something worth exploring, don't you think?"

"I hope you've run this plan past Mewtwo" Lizzie growled. "I know how much he needs a wretch like you."

"Back on Mirage Island" Hunter grinned, "once we've dealt with the remaining stragglers, I'll have all six Mythical Pokémon under my control. You never had a chance to defeat us, Lizzie. None of you did. So long as The Grand Master is the brains of our outfit, we're invincible." Hunter looked below Lizzie and saw that the molten ore they had dropped into the chamber was doing what it was expected to, continuing to descend until it hit a pocket of rushing water, causing a massive upstream of water to burst into the ruins of the Shrine of Jirachi. He snickered at the sight of it. "And now, Old Man West's legacy has been destroyed, by the very person he entrusted it to to begin with. Hope you're Grandfather is hanging his head in shame while plucking away at that harp of his."

Lizzie tried to rush forward, but was held back by the thugs gripping her arms. "You won't get away with this!"

"I already have, Lizzie" Hunter replied coldly. "Now, the most important thing to figure out is what to do with you. You're worth nothing to me as a hostage, plus there's the possibility you might get Jirachi back. And I can't let that happen." He paced in front of her. "I could just cut your throat right here and now. But you've been a worthy opponent, Lizzie." He grinned down at her. "So, I'm going to leave your fate up to chance."

"Chance?"

He pointed past her into the Shrine of Jirachi. "Your Grandfather's legacy is being washed away as we speak. But I'm going to give you a sporting chance to fix it. If you fall when the water isn't deep enough, you'll not only shatter bones, but your organs might collapse. On the other hand, if the cavern fills up with water and seals you in, you'll drown for sure." His eyes lit up with the makings of a perfect plan. "I've got it. Completely leaving your fate in the hands of Arceus himself." He reached into his bag and pulled out a grappling hook gun, which shot into a stalactite which hung precariously over the hole Hunter had blown into the Shrine of Jirachi. He tugged on the rope to ensure it was fitted in place and wouldn't snap under pressure and gestured for his men to bring Lizzie over to him.

Lizzie tried to fight off the men holding her, but they were too much for her. Within seconds, her wrists were tied behind her back and a coil of rope was wrapped tightly with more rope that was then secured to the Stalactite above her. While the men finished securing the ropes that bound her, she looked above her and gulped. "No. You can't do this, Hunter."

"You'll always have the chance to get out of here" Hunter grinned. "Just not one that'll be too generous."

A thunderous roar shook the cavern they now all dwelled within. With a burst of surprising speed, Crush reappeared from the cavern below and snarled at Hunter angrily. The Salamence launched a Dragon Pulse at Hunter, who had to leap out of the way of the blast. The two remaining goons picked up cattle prods that they would not hesitate to use to harm Crush. Lizzie knew she could not endanger her Pokémon just to save herself. When her Pokémon turned to try and free her next, Lizzie vehemently shook her head. "NO! Go out to Meteor Falls and get help, Crush! GO!" Her Salamence seemed conflicted, but bowed his head and flew down the cavern path that Hunter and his men had brought in.

Lizzie looked over towards her current situation and saw Hunter's thugs flying up to the stalactite using their Fearows and planting an all too recognizable detonation device. Hunter also eyed their work and when they were completed, he looked down at Lizzie and almost pitied her. "Well, I'd say it's been fun. But you have been too much of a thorn in my side for too long. I'll repay Mark and Michael in due time. You've got two hours to get free, Lizzie. Good luck." He then brought his bag closer to him and looked in it for the finishing touch. He plucked a cloth and a scarf out of his bag and briskly shoved the rag into her mouth before tying the scarf around it and keeping it tightly knotted behind her head, preventing Lizzie from crying out for help. To complete his victory, Hunter tugged sharply on the rope that tied her to the rock and forced Lizzie's body to rise above the ruined Shrine of Arceus. As she dangled and shouted muffled cries for help, she saw Hunter waving mockingly at her. "And so passed a worthy opponent." With that, Hunter and his men made their way down the path with his prize.

Lizzie did her best to wrench herself free from the ropes and reach one of the Poké Balls on her belt, but failed to even touch one of them. With the ropes keeping her secured and her gag preventing her from crying out to anyone, she lowered her head as she could only await the inevitable and her demise. She lowered her head in shame and thought of her Grandfather and her failure to protect Jirachi. She thought of her family and how she might never see them again. She thought of her friends and wondered if they even knew she was in any danger. She thought of her brother and how she wouldn't be able to uphold her promise to see more of him. And she thought of poor Jirachi, in the hands of that maniac that had haunted her footsteps since the death of her Grandfather.

I failed, Lizzie said to herself as she let her body slump as it swayed every so slightly. She could hear the ticks of the time bomb above her and hung her head even lower as she contemplated her failure. I failed everyone. Please. Someone. Anyone. Save Jirachi. Don't let Hunter abuse him. Please.

{Meanwhile}

As the skies darkened above the ravine she had just seen Ryan descend into, Avery paced nervously near the edge of the cliff, doing her best to not look down into the thorns and fear the worst had happened to Ryan. She was a bundle of nerves, shaking worriedly as even Shaymin could not help but peer down into the ravine with the hopes that Ryan would reemerge and find nothing down there worth mentioning.

But Avery knew there certainly was something down there for Ryan to find. And it was the last thing Avery wanted him to find. Oh Ryan. Even if you find Cresselia, what will happen then? You'll just be lost to the abyss. Never allowed to waken up. At least not if they have anything to say about it. She looked down into the gorge and began to clasp her hands together, praying to anyone who would listen to protect Ryan. "Please. Anyone. Just help Ryan. He means everything to me. Don't let anything bad to happen to him."

"If nothing bad was meant to happen to him" a woman's voice giggled, "you wouldn't have been dispatched to meet him in the first place."

Avery jumped back and saw a familiar lavender-haired woman standing just behind her. She quickly scrambled back to her feet and nervously fidgeted in front of her. "Courtney? What the-what are you doing here?" She looked to her side and saw Shaymin growling at Courtney, but the Syndicate Administrator could not have been less interested in Shaymin.

"Checking in on you" Courtney insisted, eyeing her suspiciously. "Making sure you weren't getting as cold-footed as you were back when Ryan was battling those two idiots from Sinnoh."

Avery shook her head. "No. Never. I didn't know you were-"

"Yet you still hesitated to call Darkrai there" Courtney hissed. "Don't think that went unnoticed."

Avery shook her head. "You don't understand. All of them are my friends. I care about them. Dawn, Lucas, Ryan. I love-I love them."

Courtney shook her head and condescendingly patted the frightened girl on her head. "Did you forget? You don't have any friends. None of them even know you for who you are. You're living a million lies at once. What actual friends can someone get by living in the shadow of somebody else?"

Avery frowned. "Don't remind me."

"Don't you sass me" Courtney snarled. "Or did you forget just what we've all done for you?"

Avery shook her head. "No."

"No what?"

Avery gulped in fear. "No, I didn't forget, M'am."

"Just to make sure" Courtney glowered, "let's check to see if we've got a firm understanding of one another so we don't have this kind of mistake happen again. Tell me, which of us was the miserable wretch lost and alone on Mirage Island, with naught but a silent Dark Pokémon for company?"

"Me" Avery squeaked.

"Which of us was so desperate for even the idea of human interaction that they came to us offering a blank check for her services?"

"Me."

"And which of us is the one who is running out of time to fulfill their end of the bargain?"

Avery gasped. "What?"

"The gift that our beloved Grand Master has offered you is not permanent until you complete your end of the deal" Courtney reminded her. "It will end tonight at the Stroke of Midnight. You'll lose everything you've gotten. All that you hope to keep. You'll revert back into nothing more than a memory. A faded one, too. After all, what would the great hero Ryan Kingston want with a penniless urchin like yourself, when you can't even be there for him to hold and to love?"

"What more do I have to do?" Avery cried out. "I've already sent Ryan down there. What else do you want from me?"

Courtney looked down into the gorge. "Ryan's truly down there?"

Avery nodded shamefully. "He thinks he'll find Cresselia down there."

Courtney looked back at Avery and smiled a twisted grin. "Well done, Avery. I'm so proud of you." She pulled Avery close to her and kissed her forehead. Shaymin, upon realizing the truth regarding the girl who had betrayed his friend, raced off down the path to find help for Ryan's sake. Avery was about to call Shaymin back, but Courtney stopped her. "Don't bother. There's nothing it'll find that will tip the scales. We've set this entire game board up so that no matter what happens, we can't possibly lose. Matthew Kingston is going to finish off Cameron. Giselle Odelia has already been taken care of and within minutes, Ryan will be taken care of as well."

Avery looked at Courtney in confusion. "How can I get Ryan to love me if you're going to make him another just like the others?"

"Did I say you could talk?" Courtney growled, prompting Avery to shrink. "Now, you have one final job that I expect of you, my pet. Do this for us and The Grand Master shall keep his end of the deal. You'll be able to fulfill all of those dreams of yours and earn the love of Ryan Kingston."

"But how-"

"Before long" she interrupted, ignoring her pleas, "the final pieces of the puzzle will fall into place. Ryan's most treasured hero will come charging to the rescue and so too will the real love of his life. And they're going to come for you to make sure you tell them where Ryan is being kept. Your job is to capture Michael Kingston and remove Addison Tenton from the equation. Make sure Michael is delivered to me personally. Leave the others for The Grand Master to pick off himself."

"How do you expect me to capture the most powerful trainer in the world?" Avery barked out, surprising even herself with her tenacity.

"Avery" Courtney sneered gesturing to the entire landscape they both stood in, "isn't all of this because of your dreams? Your imagination? Simply use your imagination and Mirage Island will answer to you."

"I don't control it completely anymore" Avery insisted. I can't hurt Ryan anymore than I already have. I love him too much.

"Do you really think The Grand Master won't allow you to complete your task?" The Syndicate Admin inquired. "Or is this another excuse for you to back our of our deal? Because if it's the latter, need I remind you that at the Stroke of Midnight, you will lose everything you are and go back to being nothing more than another wayward soul? Do you want to be alone again? Withering away to nothing because no one remembers you?"

"No." Avery chirped.

"Never to feel love or warmth ever again?"

"No."

"Never to be together with the boy you love and to see him leave this island arm in arm with Addison Tenton?"

"No!"

"Never to remember your pathetic being ever again?"

"NO!" Avery cried out as she fell to her knees in front of Courtney.

The Syndicate Administrator pat her on her head as if she were a pet. "Good girl. You know who the master is, here. Remember, Miss Frost. Capture Michael Kingston. Eliminate Addison Tenton."

"Eliminate?" Avery shuddered.

"Maim, torture, kill, I don't care what you do to her!" Courtney snarled. "I just want her out of the way!"

Avery closed her eyes and nodded, looking down at the ground as she did, feeling her tears beginning to well in her eyes. When she looked up to see if Courtney had more to say to her, she was gone. Avery clutched at her heart and wept quietly as she sat all alone. Oh Ryan...what have I done?