Arinia kept walking towards Mauville, but on the way there she couldn't help thinking about how nice Mark had been to her. She also couldn't believe that he had told her that she battled like someone, who had been a trainer for several months. To Arinia that seemed almost unreal. On her way to Mauville City, she had to duck out of sight behind a bush to avoid being seen by some more Team Magma members. From where she was hiding, she overheard most of their conversation.
"So an Aqua Admin chased you off?" Maxie asked the grunt.
"Yes, he did." The grunt replied.
"What happened after that?" Maxie asked.
"A girl, I don't know her name, crossed the bridge and had to wait for us to clear the trail. Then I challenged the girl to a battle in hopes that if I won, that I could bring her to you. I lost. That girl is incredibly well skilled." The grunt replied.
"Can you describe her? This might be important." Maxie asked.
Arinia stayed low to the ground.
"I sure can. She had black hair and blue eyes, and she wore a blue skirt with a blue vest over a white shirt." The grunt replied.
"Hmm….. This girl could be a threat to our plans….." Maxie said.
"What should we do?" The grunt asked.
"Find her. That's what." Maxie replied.
"It wasn't too long ago since I saw her. So I think that she's somewhere nearby. She might even be hiding from us." The grunt said.
"That's true, search the area. I want this girl found. I want to have a word with this girl." Maxie said.
Now the rest of the grunts, who had been listening said, "We'll help find her, if that's okay."
"Yes, sure. Help find her. The more people looking for her, the sooner she'll be found." Maxie said.
Arinia thought, "Oh, great…… How am I going to get away? I can't stay in one place, or they'll find me for sure."
The grunts split up to look, and Maxie began looking too. Arinia crawled on her hands and knees to a patch of tall grass that was close the trail, and began waiting for Maxie and the grunts to turn away from her. So that she could make a break for it, to get away from them. Maxie and grunts turned away from Arinia's general direction, and Arinia seized her chance and made a break for it. However, Maxie heard her, and he turned around and saw her.
"There she is! Surround her!" Maxie yelled.
The grunts were swifter runners than Arinia, so they easily got ahead of her. Thus, cutting off any more chance of escape. The grunts surrounded her, like Maxie had told them to, and two grunts stepped forward and grabbed Arinia. Arinia struggled to get out of their grasp, but it was no use. The grunts dragged her before their boss.
"Ah! So you're the girl I've heard some things about. I heard that you beat one of my grunts in a battle." Maxie said, while looking at Arinia.
"Why is that important?" Arinia asked.
"My dear, it's important because you interfered with our plans. You shouldn't have interfered." Maxie said.
Now he said, "Tell me your name, I'm Maxie."
Arinia didn't want to reply, so one of the grunts twisted her arm behind her back causing her to yelp in pain.
"I suggest you tell me, unless you want him to do that again….." Maxie said.
"Fine. My name's Arinia."
"That's better." Maxie said.
"Now let's see……. What am I going to do with you?" He said.
"You're going to let her go, that's what!" A voice said.
Maxie and Arinia turned their heads in the direction that the voice came from. The voice came from the Aqua Admin, who had offered Arinia a ride to Petalburg.
"What! Me let her go? I don't think so! She's coming with us!" Maxie said.
"No, she's not." The Aqua Admin said.
The grunts holding Arinia loosened their holds on her without knowing it, while they were watching these events unfold. So that when Arinia struggled to get free, she was able to. Arinia ran away from them, and stopped behind the Aqua Admin.
The Admin turned to Arinia and said, "Run back to the Weather Institute. It's your only chance, if you don't want to get captured."
Arinia nodded, and ran back towards the Weather Institute. When she arrived at the Weather Institute, she saw that Mark was still there. Mark looked up, saw her, and motioned for Arinia to come over to him. Arinia walked over to Mark.
"What happened? Your skirt has dirt all over it!" Mark asked.
"I was heading towards Mauville when I saw some more Team Magma members. I hid from them, and from what they said, they were after me!" Arinia said, her voice shaking.
Mark threw his arms around Arinia in a comforting fashion and said, "Shh….. It's going to be okay….."
Arinia started to cry, and Mark continued to hold her, trying to comfort her as she cried.
Mark thought, "Poor, girl…… She doesn't deserve to be targeted by Team Magma……."
Mark patted her on the back, and kept telling her that things were going to be okay. The grunts thought that it was so cute that Mark was comforting Arinia, and they thought that they made a good couple. If Mark needed them, they were willing to help get the two together. Mark continued to hold her, and everyone hoped that she would get over her encounter. Thus, allowing them to get to know her better, and that was exactly what they wanted to do.