The warmth that surrounded Lilac never left, even as she slowly drifted off. She felt that warmth carry her away for a while before it gently set her down. The warmth also placed something in her mouth. Whatever was placed in her mouth soon sent bounds of energy throughout her body, allowing her to wrestle herself back into consciousness. When Lilac woke up, she realized she was placed against a dead tree. In front of her, looking between her and the distance with a worried expression, was Fennix.
"Fennix?" Lilac asked.
Lilac's voice allowed Fennix to realize she was awake, turning her attention instantly. When Fennix saw Lilac awake, she instantly buried her face in Lilac's chest. Lilac heard a constant stream of sniffles and felt tears dampen her fur and Fennix pressed herself as close as possible, ignoring all standards of personal space.
"Fennix?" Lilac asked again.
"Ooo, Lilac, I was so worried!" Fennix cried. "This place is scary, it's filled with so many ghosts, this weird scary voice keeps talking to me, telling me stupid scary lies, telling me that you guys abandoned me, I can't find Light, I couldn't find you, more and more ghosts keep appearing and attacking me, they were hurting you, I thought you were d-d-d-d-d-d… and if you were, I don't know what I would do, I don't want to lose one of my best friends!"
Lilac paused for a moment at hearing Fennix's whimpering. She could tell that Fennix was scared to death. Despite her fear, though, she still helped Lilac out without any other thought. Lilac was still alive thanks to her. And here Fennix was, looking towards her for comfort and strength. Calling Lilac one of her best friends. While the stinging fact that Fennix would be doing the same if she found Light was still present in Lilac's heart, seeing how close Fennix was helped lift her up a little.
"It's…all right, Fennix," Lilac said. "We're…together now. We're fine."
Fennix took a few steps back and sniffled a little. She walked over to a small bag that was laying on the ground that Lilac recognized as Light's bag. Fennix reached into the bag, grabbed out a Pecha Berry, and placed the pink berry on Lilac's lap.
"Here, eat up. It'll help with the poisonous air."
"Thanks." Lilac quickly gulped down the berry and she felt herself able to breathe easier immediately. When she was able to, she asked, "But if you have Light's bag, then where is he?"
Fennix shook her head before pointing her snout to the ground. "I don't know. I couldn't find him. All I found was his bag lying on the floor."
Lilac wasn't entirely sure if Fennix was worried about the same thing she was, but she decided to stamp out any doubts before they came in. "Light is stronger than that. He wouldn't give into the voice, just like we didn't!"
Fennix looked back up and smiled. "Y-yeah, you're right! Light's better than that! He's probably out there kicking scary ghost butts and is looking for us too! W-we should probably look for him too."
Lilac got up and walked over to Light's bag, picking it up and wrapping it over her shoulder. "Fennix, I tried telepathically calling out to earlier. Did you hear me?"
"N-no, but something told me where you would be," Fennix said. "M-maybe Light'll be the same?"
"I personally doubt it."
For a moment, Lilac had almost forgot about the malevolent voice. When Fennix hear it, she glanced around with a nervous expression. Lilac wasn't pleased to hear it once again, however this time, she was furious. However, with Fennix here, she was able to keep herself calm enough to reasonably talk to it.
"Hey voice. What happened to you already having Light and Fennix?" Lilac asked calmly with a confident smirk on her face. "Despite her 'having already joined you' she seems very much alive and well."
"I never told you that they did. I just asked you what made you so sure they didn't. I may have implied it, but I never outright stated anything. If you interpreted that as them having joined us, that's your fault."
"Your nothing but a big, fat liar!" Fennix yelled. "So shut up! We're going to find Light whether you want us to or not! And that will show you!"
"I really don't need to prove myself to a bunch of children. However, I'm feeling nice today."
"I personally doubt it," Fennix snarked in her best impression of the voice, which brought a smile to Lilac's face.
The voice continued as if it wasn't interrupted. "If you keep going the direction your facing, you'll find a small stone building from the old times. Come on in and then we'll see how strong your resolve remains. You might even find your 'friend' there. Or you can decide not to go. Your resources will dry eventually."
The voice was silent for a few seconds. At the voice's silence, Lilac and Fennix both faced each other. Clear on their faces was the question of whether they wanted to follow the voice's 'advice' or not.
"I think we should ignore it," Fennix bluntly stated.
"I've thought about that too…but I think we should follow it." Lilac glanced in the direction they were told to go. "To be blunt, we're lost. We have no idea where this bog leads or what's here. If the voice is leading us somewhere, at least it's some direction as to where to go."
Fennix took a step back, her eyes wide and snout open. "B-but it's…!"
Lilac calmly nodded. "A trap, no doubt about it. I don't trust that voice farther than I can throw it. But we don't have anywhere else to go. Nor do we really know what this trial entails. If we don't go somewhere, we might end up running out of resources. At the same time, though, I think the voice is worried."
"'Worried?'" Fennix repeated.
"We're together, so we're going to be much harder to break and much stronger in combat. The voice knows this. It hasn't even bothered sending ghosts at us for a while now, and this is the first time it's tried talking to us. Therefore, it's obviously planning something desperate. We might find the owner of the voice if we head that direction. And if it is a trap?" Lilac stretched her arms out wide, feeling the psychic energy flow through her body. When she was done, she gave Fennix a determined look. "We'll just deal with it."
Fennix examined Lilac for a few seconds before a smile crept on her face. "Yeah, that's right! Some creepy voice isn't going to stop us! And maybe we'll find Light on the way! He'd probably go after the first landmark he sees!"
Lilac wasn't as sure about that as Fennix, but she decided to keep it off for now. "I'll keep trying to telepathically communicate with him, like I did with you. Hopefully we can join up with him before entering the ruin."
"Alright, let's go!" Fennix quickly turned and walked confidently in the direction the voice led them in.
Lilac nodded before following quickly at Fennix's side. She kept a vigilant eye around the area, calmly examining for any sign of enemies. As they were walking, and with no signs of enemies as Lilac expected, she thought about how calm and collected she was now, compared to how nervous and depressed she was earlier.
It's amazing, when I think about it, Lilac thought, her eyes instinctively turning to Fennix. Just having Fennix here by my side has calmed me down considerably. Let me think much more clearly. I don't know whether it's just knowing she's alive and well or if it's her strength despite how scared she is, but I'm glad we're together again.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want, but what did the voice tell you?" Lilac asked as they walked.
Fennix was silent for a few seconds. "It…wasn't fun."
"I can imagine. It wasn't fun listening to what it told me. Again, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"…Lilac, back when we were younger in Serene Village, did you think I was annoying like everyone else?" Fennix asked.
"…Honestly, in some ways, yes. You could be very overbearing back then. I was never as bothered with it as Pancham was, but I wasn't really interesting in spending too much time with you." However, Lilac quickly shook her head. "But you've changed a lot since then. You're a lot more willing to slow down and take the time to listen to other Pokémon. Your definitely not the same Pokémon you were back then."
"Thanks. That's…nice to hear." Fennix paused for a moment. "Also, do you think I…talk about myself being Mew a bit too much? Like, do you think I put too much stock in it?"
Lilac shrugged. "Honestly, it's like thinking of Light as a human. When I look at either of you, I only really see a fennekin and a pikachu. You do mention it a little much at times, but I guess I'm so used to your boasting that I don't think of it much. At the same time, though, even if you were born from Mew's spirit…"
"I'm still just a fennekin," Fennix finished for her. "I…know. I want Mew's legacy to live on in me. That's why I want to become Mew or be as close as I possibly can. B-but the voice kept telling me that I'm just doing it because I want to be someone special. And that I'll just end up causing trouble for you and Light all over again. That I'm nothing special and you guys only put up with me."
"So…that's what it said," Lilac mumbled under the breath. A bit louder, so Fennix could hear, Lilac said, "I wouldn't worry about it, Fennix. As I said before, I don't think of you as Mew much. Whether you're Mew or Fennix, you're my good friend, okay? As for living Mew's legacy, I don't think you really need to worry about that either. Just be yourself, and things will turn out fine."
Fennix smiled. "Thanks, Lilac. What'd the voice tell you?"
Lilac faced away from Fennix at the question. "…It told me that I was destined to be alone," she answered after a long pause.
"WHAT?!" Fennix's mouth hung open for a few seconds. "B-but, why would you think that?"
Lilac paused for a moment as she tried to think about how she wanted to explain herself. The guilt and the selfish feelings that prevented her from talking before surfaced once again and she had half a mind to just brush off her thoughts once again and tell Fennix that everything was fine, but she knew that wasn't possible anymore. If it was harming her this much, she knew she needed to tell her friends. However…
"I'll tell you later," Lilac promised. "I want both you and Light to hear this."
"Gotcha. I understand." Still, Fennix gave Lilac the largest smile she could. "But I don't think you'll be alone! You've got Light and me here with you, and we aren't going anywhere!"
Lilac took a deep breath. "I…know that. Mentally I tell myself that. But I still have my doubts. But let's save this for later. Again, I want to explain myself to both you and Light."
"Alright." Fennix accepted without another word, continuing forward with a contented look on her face.
That, and frankly, Light's the one I trust a bit more with listening and understanding me, Lilac thought. No offence, Fennix. You have your own strengths. And I'm glad to have you as a friend.
It was a bit of an uneventful walk for the next few minutes until Lilac and Fennix finally reached the small stone ruin that the malevolent voice told them about. They couldn't find Light on the way, which did worry Lilac a little, but they kept going regardless in the hopes that they'd find him afterwards. Lilac also tried sensing the inside of the ruin, but found nothing, as usual.
The ruin was large, about ten times the size of the two Pokémon looking into it and was in the shape of a large cube. Covering various areas was a greenish moss, the only sign of life in an otherwise dead place. The ruin itself was old and decrepit; upon closer inspection Lilac noticed stones missing all around the front side to the roof of the building. Finally, there was an entrance that was half covered by rotted wood, and the other half didn't let enough light in for anyone to see anything inside of it.
"You ready?" Lilac asked as they investigated the entrance.
"J-just stay close to me, okay?" Fennix asked. Lilac could see her slightly quake.
"If it comes to a fight, I can't promise that, but I won't move too far away while we're walking in." Lilac looked in, mustering up all her courage as she could. "Let's go in."
The two Pokémon walked into the ruin, going one by one to avoid the wooden cover, and had to wait for a few moments for their eyes to adjust. While they were waiting, Lilac tried to look around in the areas she could see. The roof itself seemed to be around the same height as the outside of the ruin would suggest, and the left and right walls looked to be as well. So, from what she could see, the ruin had only one room.
However, her search through the room ended very quickly as her eyes adjusted enough to see the center room and she saw the first bit of color. Fennix soon saw the same sight, and upon seeing it her eyes widened and her mouth creased into a smile. Lilac, meanwhile, couldn't take the sight as anything more than a sign of apprehension. The sight was a pikachu with their back turned to the two of them. A pikachu wearing a significant green-striped scarf. A pikachu that was unmistakably Light.
"Light, you're here!" Fennix called as she rushed up to greet him. "Thank goodness you're here! Now we can finally get out of here!"
Lilac followed behind Fennix a lot more slowly and wearily, and her caution became more and more justified as she noticed significant details surrounding the pikachu. His fur lacked the vibrant shade of yellow it usually had, instead being much grayer, as if Light aged up several years. He also had a strange black ethereal glow surrounding him. Finally, Lilac noticed that she could just barely see the other side of the room through him, making him look transparent.
"W-who are you?" Lilac asked, her body tensing up as she got ready for a possible fight.
Fennix glanced back at Lilac. "What are you talking about? This is Light, remember? Did getting scared cause you to forget him?"
"Look closer for just a few seconds," Lilac warned.
Fennix faced back towards Light, getting a closer look at him. As soon as she saw what Lilac already noticed, Fennix took a few nervous steps back. "W-w-what?!"
Light eventually turned around, giving both Lilac and Fennix a calm and peaceful smile that was unnerving for how normal it looked. Aside from the transparency, there was nothing specific about Light's face that suggested anything was wrong. And that very thing sent a shiver down Lilac's side.
"Hello Lilac, Fennix," Light addressed them. "It's good to see you two finally made it."
It was certainly his voice coming out of his mouth, but Lilac couldn't help but feel like something was off about it. It has the same calmness his expression suggested it would, but it also lacked the warmth and care that Light's voice normally had. It almost seemed too impartial to the world around him.
"Who are you?" Likac asked once again.
Light tilted his head. "I know I look different, but I'm still Light. Of course I am. You guys haven't forgotten your best friend, have you?"
"W-what proof do you have that you are Light?" Lilac asked.
"Simple, we're within a dungeon created from an Entercard inside a tomb," Light explained. "We're on the job from the Expedition Society. Mawile and Ampharos are both outside right now, trying to communicate with some dungeon researchers. Is that enough for you?"
"W-what's going on here?" Lilac asked.
"It's simple. I joined the ghosts here."
"W-what?!" Fennix yelled. "N-no! Th-that's impossible!"
Light shook his head. "I'm sorry, Fennix. But I'm at peace now. All the pain I was holding, all my guilt, it's all finally gone. I feel so free now. You guys don't know how great it is to just let it all go." Light extended his right paw out towards his friends. "So please. Will you give in already and join us? The ghosts here will keep making it painful for you guys, if you don't. And I don't want you guys to get hurt anymore. I want you to be free."
"Y-you gave in?" Lilac asked. "H-how could you?"
Fennix responded, not with words, but with fire. She burst out a large Flamethrower in Light's direction, almost without hesitation. Lilac and Light both reacted in pure shock from the attack, Light just barely being able to dodge out of the way of the attack.
"Shut up, you stupid ghost thing!" Fennix yelled, her eyes filled with tears. "Light would never give up like that! Stop lying and give Light back!"
"Fennix, I understand how much you want to believe me, and I'm grateful for it," Light said. "But to be honest, I've been hiding a lot away from you. There's a lot I've never told you about."
Light stepped forward. "Like, honestly, I hate that I'm a human."
"What do you mean?" Lilac asked. Fennix tempered her fire for a while, and Lilac hoped she wouldn't attack rashly so quickly.
"Nothing much more than that. I hate being human. I hate having this past weighing me down. I've always wished I were nothing more than a Pokémon. Nothing more than your average pikachu. And now, I finally don't have to worry about it. I'm finally free."
Light extended his arm again, as he was within arm's length of Lilac. "Lilac, please. I know the pain you're going through now. You have so much pain in you. So please, join us and let all that pain just float away."
Two Psybeams came after Light, both knocking him back and away from Lilac. Lilac flinched as she saw the attacks hit him. She wanted to believe Fennix that whatever they were looking at was not Light. However, she sensed his pain the entire expedition. She knew that he was having problems with his memory, and she knew that he tried hiding something about the vision he had of Clover and Puriah. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, she knew that what Light said was the truth.
"Ow, Fennix," Light moaned. "That one…kinda hurt." Light quickly pulled himself back up off the ground. "Lilac, could you stop her for a bit? Fennix is so terrified she isn't in her right mind."
"Lilac, come on!" Fennix whined. "You can't let him get to you like that! This isn't Light!"
"H-how do you know?" Lilac asked.
"Come on, Lilac! I told you that you're our friend!" Fennix yelled. "Don't let that fake or whatever the voice said tell you otherwise! Lilac, you know Light! You know exactly why that thing is a fake!"
"I can't believe you'd say something like that to me," Light said, his voice still calm. "After all the times we were together, after everything I went through to bring you back after you disappeared, when I'm finally free this is how you react? But it's fine." Light smiled. "You're my friend, Fennix. So I still want you to join us. I want you to finally be free, just like I am. This way, we can both be together forever. We don't have to worry about losing each other ever again."
Fennix stomped a paw. "Don't you dare say something like that! Y-you're not Light! So don't you dare pretend you know what Light is feeling!"
Fennix believes completely that this Light is a fake, Lilac thought. But how? Is it blind faith? Does she believe in Light that much? Or is it something else? Am I…that terrible of a friend that I haven't seen the signs?
Lilac felt a sudden voice speak to her head. It was the same voice that she previously heard when she saw that fennekin. However, this time, she felt something else. There was something else about the voice that she couldn't quite put her paw on.
"She is strong, but she is also wavering a bit. If she were completely sure, she wouldn't hesitate to attack. She has her reasons, but those reasons lack confidence behind them. A confidence you can give her, if only you see the signs too. You spend too much time comparing your relationship. How about instead, you create your own unique relationship with both of them? You have your chance, now carve your path."
Carve…my path? Lilac glanced over and saw that Light was reaching his paw to Fennix this time. And it was at that time that she finally realized something. It was something she noticed before but didn't give much note. Light was reaching his right paw out. But that couldn't be.
Realization washed over Lilac, and after realization, anger. Her anger pulsed through her, sharpening her Psychic powers. She had a pure, righteous anger at whatever being was taking the visage of their friend to trick them.
"Fennix, Light prefers his left paw over his right, correct?" Lilac asked.
Fennix turned her gaze over towards Lilac. "Y-you see it too? D-does that mean?"
Lilac nodded. "You're right. This Light is a complete sham! I also noticed something else! Just give me a second."
Lilac pooled her Psychic energy together and easily blasted Light into the wall on the other side of the room with his Psychic power. "Yes, I was right," Lilac mused. "I thought your Psybeam looked like it did a lot more damage than it should have. And I was right. Which means he is weak to Psychic-type attacks. As you can imagine, even if we assume that he somehow gained a Ghost subtype after joining the ghosts, Light still wouldn't be weak to Psychic-type moves. Whoever this is, this is not Light."
Fennix smiled at Lilac before she faced Light once again, anger back on her face. "Give up you stupid ghost thing and give us our friend back!"
Light growled as he pulled himself off the ground. "I wish you guys didn't do that. I hoped you'd come in peacefully. But if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get."
"He isn't seriously keeping up this act, is he?" Fennix growled.
Lilac didn't take her eyes off him. "Keep on your guard."
Light rushed forward towards Lilac, his right paw wreathed in electricity. He was so fast that Lilac was only able to slightly tilt her head away before Light reached her, and therefore his attack hit her on the right side of her head instead of square on the forehead. Lilac clenched her right eye from the pain and the sparks passing across her head, but she didn't let the pain stop her. Instead, knowing full well that the fake was unlikely an Electric-type, Lilac charged electricity between her paws and shot a Charge Beam at Light. The fake was able to quickly dodge out of the way of the attack, though.
"A Charge Beam on me?" Light asked. "Really? Lilac, you're smarter than that. I don't want to fight you either, but if you really want this fight, you should give it your all."
"You can stop calling me Lilac, now," Lilac growled. "My family name is only to be used by those I'm close to. Not by whatever shadow creature you are."
Light shook his head and sighed. "Lilac, would you just liste-"
He couldn't finish that statement, however, as Fennix shot a series of Psybeam in his direction, hoping to hit him while he was busy talking. Despite her efforts, though, Light was able to dodge the series of attacks just fine with small, quick bursts of speed. Lilac found it frustrating that Light kept going how he did, but Fennix glanced at him with a smirk.
"If you were Light, you'd know how stupid it is to talk in the middle of a fight," Fennix smirked. Lilac decided not to tell her that she was also talking in the middle of a fight.
After speaking, Fennix shot off a Flamethrower at Light. Light was able to still dodge out of the way of the attack rather easily. This time, though, instead of trying to 'explain himself', he took Fennix's words to heart and rushed over towards her, paws glowing white. Thanks to his speed, Fennix wasn't able to do much more than gasp as he hit her with Brick Break. The attack sent Fennix sliding across the ground a few feet.
Fennix got back up with a grunt, a smirk still on her face. "Not pulling your punches, huh? What happened to 'not wanting to do this?'"
Despite Fennix's confident air surrounding her, Lilac could tell that the fake was putting power behind his punches. And his speed meant that most of their attacks have been missing and would probably keep missing if this kept up. Lilac knew that they needed to do something to even the speed gap, and fast. Fennix's Flame Charge could help if only she made the initial hit…
Lilac's eyes widened as she thought of something to do. Before either Light or Fennix could get off another attack, Lilac opened her mouth wide and let out a loud shriek that sent several blue shockwaves at Light. Light was charging up a Thunderpunch at the time, but once the Disarming Voice hit him, Light stopped what he was doing and covered his ears out of instinct.
"Fennix, hit him with Flame Charge while he's distracted!" Lilac commanded Fennix telepathically.
Fennix complied immediately, rushing towards Light as flames swirled around her. The Flame Charge hit true, knocking Light back a fair bit while Fennix was able to move slightly faster. And, since Light was still dazed from both attacks, Fennix hit him with another Flame Charge to boost her speed even further. Light was finally able to attack after both of those assaults, but when he tried hitting her with a leaping Thunderpunch, Fennix masterfully dodged a few inches back from the attack, forcing Light's Thunderpunch to impact the ground instead. Fennix, naturally, had the world's largest grin on her face.
"Who's faster now, huh?" Fennix teased. Light tried to hit her with another Brick Break, but Fennix just ran behind him in a split-second. "You know, Light has this move he can use called Agility." Another Thunderpunch came at Fennix, but she dodged out of the way again. "He doesn't use it much at all, but the real Light would probably use it right now. So go ahead. Become faster than me again!"
Light pounded the ground with his right paw, his anger at his inability to hit Fennix reaching a breaking point. "That's it! I'm done with this stupid game!"
The Pokémon pretending to be Light melted into the shadows suddenly. Neither Lilac nor Fennix had anticipated that attack, so as such the Pokémon was able to uppercut Fennix at the bottom of her snout with a Shadow Sneak attack. This launched Fennix in the air, but she was able to regain enough control to land on her four paws.
"Heh, done pretending to be something you're not," Fennix snarked despite the impact.
The fake answered by sinking into the ground once again. This time, though, instead of using another Shadow Sneak, the fake came back out of the shadows in it's true form. The form of a wispy black, shadowy Pokémon.
"You're going to regret this," the shadowy Pokémon growled.
"You're a…Marshadow," Lilac breathed. Fennix walked to Lilac's side as they both examined the Pokémon.
Marshadow sighed. "I'd pretend to be surprised by you knowing what I am, but I got in your mind. I know that you're the insufferably smart type. Not that it really matters. I'm done playing this stupid game. I'm doing to do what I should have done in the first place."
Marshadow closed his eyes and brought his paws over his head. Between them formed a black sphere of energy, one different than a normal Shadow Ball. Lilac and Fennix both recognized the sphere of energy instantly, and Lilac felt her heart sink inside her chest as she saw it.
"Run!" Lilac yelled as both her and Fennix dodged out of the way of the attack.
"You're one of Dark Matter's minions?!" Fennix yelled.
"And you two will soon become more fuel to make us invincible," Marshadow responded, though his bored expression and dead tone suggested he didn't particularly care either way. "Now would you just go to the Voidlands already? I'm done with this."
"Lilac, what do we do?" Fennix telepathically asked. "One hit from that thing, and we're done!"
"Can you Solarbeam?" Lilac asked quickly, seeing Marshadow charging up another attack that could turn them to stone.
"Yes, but…"
"Then dodge his next attack and start charging!" Lilac commanded before she dodged to her right and out of the way of the attack. When she looked back, she saw that Fennix had also successfully dodged and was beginning to charge up for the Solarbeam. Of course, this left her sitting and Marshadow exclusively chose her for his next attempt.
Big mistake, Lilac thought, a smile on her face as she prepped her psychic energy. Before the Marshadow could launch his stone attack onto Fennix, Lilac grabbed onto him with Psychic, pinning him to the ground.
"Urrg…grr…w-why can't I…move," Marshadow grunted.
"Typing 101," Lilac calmly answered as she kept her focus. "Your part Fighting, right? And I'm using a Psychic attack. Since you're weak to it, that means I can hold you down much better than I could other Pokémon. You can try and break out of it, sure. But I highly doubt you'll do that before my friend over there hits you with her strongest attack."
Fennix smiled as well. Fully charged, she opened her eyes and gave Marshadow a triumphant glance.
"This is for my friends, you jerk!" Fennix yelled before she fired off her Solarbeam attack, hitting Marshadow with all the power she's worth. The Marshadow was blown back because of it and sent crashing through the wall of the ruin, leaving a hole in his wake. Lilac had to admit that she was impressed by the sheer power of the attack.
"Let's go after him and get him to tell us where Light is," Lilac suggested.
Fennix nodded, so they both hopped through the hole in the wall Fennix's Solarbeam made and followed the trail of destruction for a few yards until they reached where the Marshadow was lying on the floor. Lilac got ready to hold him down once again, so he couldn't turn anyone to stone as they interrogated him. However, the same black mist that was used to turn Pokémon to stone was surrounding him. Lilac recognized that sight, having seen it during the encounter she had with Dark Matter's minions in the real world.
"Where is Light?!" Fennix demanded from him before whatever happened to him happened.
"Heh…don't worry about that stupid rat," Marshadow groaned. "He's fine. I just trapped him in my shadow, so I could take his form. He'll be released once Dark Matter turns me to stone for failing him."
"You don't sound too bummed about that," Lilac pointed out.
"Heh, I stopped caring a long time ago." Marshadow focused his gaze on Lilac. "I meant what I said earlier, you know. I do pity you. You remind me of myself."
"Lilac is nothing like you!" Fennix yelled.
However, Lilac herself was much calmer. "What do you mean?"
"We're both shadows," Marshadow answered. "Be honest with me. While they were alone, how many times do you think Light and Fennix called out for each other compared to when they called out for you. As 'friendly' as they are to you, you're just a shadow to them."
"That's not…!" Fennix stomped, but Lilac held out a paw to stop her.
"I don't know what you've been through, but I figured something out during this time. You're not wrong, I've kept comparing my relationship to Light and Fennix with their relationship to each other and I am nothing but a shadow in that respect. But that's my problem. I keep comparing myself to them."
Lilac took a deep breath before continuing. "I can never be the Light that Fennix needs, nor can I be the Fennix that Light needs. I already know full well how important those two are to each other, and that I can never match that. And if I keep trying to, I might become something like you: a Pokémon so cold to the world that I want to send others into despair as well. But now I know that I don't need to be that. I can't be Light or Fennix, so I'll just be Lilac. I'll carve out my own relationship with the two of them. My own way of being important, that way our relationship stays forever strong. And I already know one way I can do that."
Lilac looked back at Fennix. "Fennix had trouble fighting you at first, despite knowing you were a fake. And I'm sure Light would have gone the same way. I can think and analyze in ways neither of them can. And that already gives me a role neither of them can have."
Lilac turned her attention back at Marshadow. "So no, I will not be a mere shadow to them. And I will never become like you."
Marshadow laughed a few painful wheezes. "Well, didn't expect that. You guys are all full of surprises. I guess…I should have expected as much. Even after getting in your head, even after these illusions kept attacking, you still never gave up. I really should have…turned you to stone when I first had the chance. My mistake. Too bad…I'm never going to get a chance to make it again."
And with those final words, Marshadow's body solidified and he became nothing more than cold stone.
"Wonder what his story was," Fennix mused.
Lilac could only shrug. "At this point in time, we can only guess. Maybe Mr. Carracosta knows something, but we don't. But…I have a few ideas."
Before any of those ideas could be stated, however, a dark pool of shadows appeared next to Marshadow's body. That pool rose up and formed the dark shape of a pikachu. Eventually, the shadows melted back down into the ground, leaving Light lying on the ground, unconscious. The ruins behind them also lit up with a bright light.
"I guess…that's another trial complete, huh?" Fennix asked.
Lilac nodded, focusing on Light. "Help me carry him so we can get out of this poisonous atmosphere."
Fennix nodded and together they lifted Light up, put his forpaws over each of their respective shoulders, and dragged him into the light.