Waking up to an alarm wasn't pleasant, the Trainer groaned loudly before flicking her wrist to turn it off.
Blinking, she could feel the bed had another occupant, Pina snoozing close to her side, Jolt right next to her head, having fallen off Silvius while sleeping. Hela was napping on the floor, waking up quickly.
Anna got out, waking the Pokémon from their naps with all the movement. "Sorry guys," she apologized without remorse, "But time doesn't wait for anybody."
Packing up wasn't difficult with magic, so she canceled her transfigurations, recalling everyone back to their pokéballs, and set out. She also left the room key in the reception, going back into the world.
The night was somewhat quiet, with a few people walking here and there. The trainer went into a deserted alley, pulling out the card Grindelwald had given her, Anna glanced at the card, reading the words that would activate the portkey.
"For the Greater Good."
The portkey's method was as unpleasant as usual, but it did the job. She was now in the mausoleum, surrounded by other wizards appearing. It was really crowded, but she was able to worm her way to the back of the masses.
Slight muttering filled the room, wizards and witches conversing with each other. It looked like all of them were Grindelwald's followers, or those willing to listen to him. Anna could feel the dark cores around her, reigning in her own and her aura to hide herself from them. Looking around, she could see Queenie, her blonde hair standing out in the crowd of dark colors.
A wall had opened, nearly straight across Anna's line of sight. A half dozen people slipped into the dark room, and the Trainer could recognize the ruddy red hair on one of them.
Newt Scamander. What was he doing here?
Why was he at a rally of Grindelwald? Was he going to join him like she was? What was he playing at? Didn't he know how much danger was afoot?
She also recognized Porpentina Goldstein and Leta Lestrange from the newcomers, but she didn't know the other three. They consisted of a rather heavyset man with a mustache, a skinny boy, and a similarly skinny woman. Or was she still a girl?
Either way, none of them looked like they belonged in one of Grindelwald's rallies. There was something fishy going on.
Anna was jolted out of her stupor when the whispers came to a halt, but she kept her eyes on Newt, following him with her gaze. She discreetly released Jolt, holding her in one hand.
"Stop Newt if he does any funny business. Don't be seen," she whispered to the tiny bug, and set him onto the stone beneath her feet.
Already small, Jolt was exceptional at espionage, fully aware of her surroundings. She was also useful as a little thief, crawling speedily in between their feet. With the wizards quieting, Anna squeezed passed some of them to get closer to Newt, sometimes locking eyes with Grindelwald's 'fanatics', but they let her pass.
Before long, she was already halfway towards Newt, but it didn't look like he noticed her. Good.
In another minute, her attention shifted to the center of the room after she heard the sound of clapping and quiet cheers.
There was Grindelwald with Rosier, looking like a man on a mission. She didn't listen to his spiel, watching Newt, her green eyes dark as she drank in his appearance.
The man's briefcase was tightly clenched in his hands, and Newt looked very uncomfortable. His friends had dispersed into the crowd, and it looked like the man with a mustache had found Queenie, standing beside her.
Leta Lestrange had disappeared near the large corvid statues that lined the walls, while Tina Goldstein was boxed in by Grindelwald's acolytes.
Anna saw Jolt crawling a few people away from Newt, her tiny body slightly obscured by people's legs.
Newt squinted, and she knew that he had seen the pendant that Grindelwald had pinned proudly to his lapel. He fiddled with his suitcase and pulled out a small creature she could recognize as a baby niffler, even in the low light.
Linking her thoughts to her little agent was no issue, and Jolt had zipped towards the niffler when it was a few feet away from Newt, attaching to the small mammal with tiny claws, then shocked the niffler with a sharp Thunderwave, paralyzing it.
It did the trick, and Anna could see Newt look surprised with recognition.
He scanned the room, and eventually, their eyes met. A smile had spread on Anna's face, her aura singing in her bones, but the man looked confused, if not a little hurt. She then made the niffler and Jolt Vanish into her arms to avoid letting the little creatures be trodden on, cradling them both while also wishing strongly they'd go to sleep.
It was okay. He'd understand. Eventually.
About now, her attention diverted to Grindelwald, who had Rosier bring him what looked like a skull shaped bong, to be honest.
The man said something about seeing the future (she kind of forgot he was a Seer), and then smoked the bong, blowing out white smoke.
A vision similar to what Anna had Seen encompassed the whole room, the noises of gunfire and explosions loudly echoing in the room. Then, there was a bright light, a great explosion of white smoke that looked like a mushroom cloud.
"That's the second Great War," she whispered, watching the vision as it faded away.
Movement along the walls took her attention, and she could recognize the face of Theseus Scamander and various Aurors. One of them made her pause, breath catching.
Percival Graves.
That man needed to go. Even thinking about him made her want to shift into her Animagus form, to tear into him, but it went against her pacifistic nature. It wasn't quite worth it.
None the less, Grindelwald had obviously noticed the Aurors present, and called them out, talking about MACUSA's torture. It was a noticeable sob story, but it was true. Gellert Grindelwald was a master manipulator, after all.
Anna watched as the Aurors walked down the pathways that led towards the center of the room, as Grindelwald was slowly provoking the wizards and witches gathered, using his words like poison. Clever, and charismatic to boot. A dangerous combination.
She barely noticed the Auror kill that red haired woman, but she did notice how the other wizards reacted. Short screams were loud in the room, people moving so the woman's unmoving body could be seen.
Anna could feel the auras in the room change, some with horror, some with caution, and others with satisfaction. The last one wasn't expected. She watched as Grindelwald approached the dead woman's body, touching the corpse gently as he acted concerned.
Sneaky sneak, Mr. Grindelwald. A point to you.
At a call to spread the word of what happened, there were wizards Apparating left and right, filling the room with black smoke. As more of them left, Anna made one last glance at Newt lingering before she made her way down the steps, the room much emptier than before.
With a sweep of his wand, Grindelwald created a wall of blue fire, challenging the Aurors.
Anna skipped down a few steps before looking back at Newt, grinning.
"Hello, Newton!" she called out, and he looked at her, "I didn't expect to see you here, my dear. And you, Auror Graves! How delightful. It's like a reunion. And I didn't forget you, Miss Goldstein and Misses Scamander. Or is it Lestrange, I don't think you've tied the knot yet."
Her gaze shifted to Percival Graves, locking eyes with the older Auror.
"It's been months, Auror Graves," she said softly, "I've learned a lot. Like the Dark and the Light, the Forbidden and the Free."
Anna stepped down the last steps, reaching the blue flames, and walked through it. She was confident that she was making the right choice. If it took her soul to keep her Pokémon safe, she'd gladly pay the price.
"So this is where you scurried off to," Graves sounded suspicious, but also had an air of 'I knew it'. "Joining Grindelwald the first moment you had, Miss Ride?"
"I saw this world how it really is. Humans here are base and foul. Crawling over each other like insects, petty and small. I don't care who's blood one has. Pureblood, half-blood, muggleborn, muggles. Categories mean nothing to me. It's the ability that makes people selfish," Anna frowned, ice forming in her eyes. "Humans can't be trusted."
She stood a few feet from Grindelwald, glancing at him once.
"Newton Artemis Fido Scamander," she called out to Newt, "I've been thinking about you since the day we met. Why don't you come with me? Then, we can shape a new world. Once where your creatures don't have to hide. Where magical creatures, Pokémon, and humans can live in peace. It's my ideal world."
"Anna…" Newt gulped, "I can't…" What could Anna possibly gain from joining Grindelwald? What happened to the shy and awkward yet passionate woman who blushed after talking about how Pokémon eggs were made? Why was she here?
"Do you think the almighty Albus Dumbledore will mourn you? That he cares about you? I met him a week before our encounter in Diagon Alley. I see what terrible things he will bring. Yet another Dark Lord will rise in the next fifty years because of his actions. Sending you to America and revealing Grindelwald wasn't a coincidence," she cocked her head.
"The only reason you recognized that Graves wasn't who he said he was is because you met him before, through your brother. Does it hurt, to think that your old crush is marrying your brother? The someone who had you expelled for her mess?"
Anna knew what she had to say. Newt had to come with her.
"I don't take sides!" blurted Newt, an answer well known, "And I will stop you."
"Oh, Newt…Hela, Charlie, and Hadriana, I choose you!" Anna slipped the sleeping niffler still in her arms into her pocket, and threw her pokéballs, red lights streaking in the air as the Pokémon reformed.
"You know what to do," she commanded her team, and pointed her wand at Lestrange.
"Portus," she thought, overpowering the spell so it flew out of the flames so fast it knocked the woman into the wall, her earrings glowing blue for a moment, and then the woman vanished.
"It's either that or death," Anna grimaced, watching to her Houndoom chase after Graves.
Graves appeared to be a quick study, learning that his spells weren't affecting the Dark/Fire type hound. The Hydreigon on the other hand was busy snapping at the Aurors, sometimes biting them.
"Charlie, grab Newt," Anna ordered, "Don't hurt him, please. I'll take care of the rest." She took a step forward, wand in hand.
"I have no intentions of fighting you," she tells the Aurors who remained, unscathed from the Protego Diabolica and her Hydreigon, and left the safety of the blue flames, "Portus trio," she casts onto the clothing of those Aurors, setting their location to be just outside of the Parisian Ministry. "Zekrom," she says the code word, and they disappeared from sight.
"I told you when we first met that I won't let selfish humans make Pokémon suffer, Mr. Graves," she reminded the man, "Oh, and don't let Hela burn you. Or you'll get a nasty surprise."
"Anna, please, why are you doing this?" Newt pleaded, worried for the baby niffler Anna still possessed, but also trying to battle the blue flames. "What do you have to gain by joining him?"
"I'm not looking for a perfect world, Newt," the Trainer said steadily as she approached the Magizoologist, "I'm looking for a world I'm happy with. I told you that I don't care about what's Dark and Light, what's Good or Evil. I'm fighting for my Pokémon, and for the right to live without hiding! Without looking over my shoulder so no one sees me make my wishes come to life! Even if I love you, I won't let you take it away from me!"
Her mouth snapped shut as her last sentence escaped her lips, and red spread on her face.
"Love?" the man whispered as bewildered as the Trainer. He had no idea…
"I-I," tears started to form as she grew embarrassed, "I don't want to fight you! I just want you to see me!"
Raising her wand, she shouted out, "Expecto Patronum!" The Ironbelly flew out of her wand tip, the miniature dragon silently roaring as it flew.
The dragon shot silvery flames, flapping its wings as it circled the room. Eventually, the Patronus landed a few feet away from its conjurer. Its wings were spread proudly, as if it was real.
"I've never loved a human before," she confesses, "I've never known how to. But I'm willing to learn by loving you. Please, Newt! We can make a better world, with him. Trust me."
It looked like every word was hurting her, the red still spreading on her cheeks.
"If your Pokémon stop attacking Auror Graves, I'll consider it," Newt bargained, and Anna whistled without hesitation. She turned to see Hela still chasing Graves, flames licking the hound's mouth. It looks like the Houndoom has made the chase into a game, keeping a few feet of distance between her and the Auror.
"Heel," she orders, and the hound halts her assault. The Houndoom then bounds through the magical flames, approaching her Trainer's side. The dragon glances at the Houndoom, then looked back at Anna.
"Newt please," Anna is fully crying, tears running down her face. "Did you know Leta was going to die tonight? I stopped it from happening, because I know what it'll do to you. I altered history for you."
She held out a hand, reaching towards Newt. "I swear, I'm doing this so I can protect my Pokémon. Of all people, you understand, don't you? Humans can't be trusted, we cannot-no, I cannot let them be in unnecessary danger."
Anna closed her eyes, waiting to be rejected. Newt was too good for her, and she knew it. Every delusion had to end eventually. How could someone love someone like her? Someone who only cares for non human beings?
Her eyes snapped open when she feels a warm hand in hers, tearful green eyes looking into a steady blue.
"I'll walk with you," he says, and her heart feels like it stops. Forgetting all about the room, the Trainer's lip wobbles, then more tears fall, one hand rubbing away her eyes.
"Thank you," she sniffles, and pulls Newt into the blue flames, deaf to how Newt's brother screams his name, stepping onto the circular platform. The dragon Patronus takes flight before dissipating into the air.
Hand clenched tight, Newt looked back to see Tina with a broken look in her eyes, Jacob looking similarly stunned. Even looking at Theseus hurts, but he's made his choice. Anna was still like a child in this world, and he couldn't let Grindelwald corrupt her soul. Perhaps, the Pokémon Trainer could have her ideal world, but with how the MOM and MACUSA saw creatures, it would never happen.
From what he'd seen, from what he recognized, the younger woman had been harmed time and time again by those she trusted, and now here in this world, was even more alone than ever. He couldn't...he wouldn't allow such a caring person be corrupted.
Even Tina didn't know how deep his love for creatures ran. Anna's somewhat bizarre behavior while they were in her basement and how she acted afterwards had connected the dots. Even her Patronus had, presumably, changed to the dragons he'd trained in the War, and it could only happen through an intense connection. He could see the fears and terror the Pokémon trainer held in her eyes, only cementing his decision.
Whilst holding hands with the red haired man, Anna glared once at Graves before recalling all three of her Pokémon, replacing their pokéballs on her belt.
"I will spare you, tonight," she says, her tears dried from the heat of the blue flames and looking as grim as ever. "Until next time, Auror Graves."
The two joined Queenie, who looked just as surprised as the others, but smiled sweetly and sadly at them. In an instant, she Apparated, and with Anna touching one of Grindelwald's hands, both Trainer and Magizoologist Apparated.
A look towards a new day.
"Knowledge, emotion and willpower are what drives the human race.
To see the world as shades of grey, we must live in peace and create our days,
and when we go to sleep tonight, we fight the dying of the light."
