Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or its characters.

In sheer magnitude, the emerald dragon king is three times as big as either Groudon or Kyogre in their awakened form. However, in power… there is a reason why the skies rule over both land and ocean.

Green metallic scales lighten darkened clouds in all extension above the dormant isles. Rayquaza's immense body drifts peacefully yet exhaling dominance overall. "Once, thousands years past, I watched as mountains crumbled and the sea boiled within freezing waters. Once, I halted your needless squabbles…" Shining yellow eyes, surrounded by deep shadows, emerged from behind the storming chaos in the sky. Its piercing gaze ever so focused, ever so frightening. "NOW YOU DARE TO START ANEW?!" The dragon's roar echoed in the sky, exploding upon Hoenn like a furious thunderclap.

His words resonated between the other two beasts. Kyogre flinched at the roar, Groudon groaned with impatience. Thousand years past, the dragon has conquered them. Thousand years past, they had been confined into a prison. Which with their own nightmarish cage. In a picture-perfect reenactment of the past, primals exchanged glances. They know where they stand, how impossible is the task to face their tormentor alone, but together…

Groudon was the one to move, smashing his giant foot against the floor under him; smoldering stone flying to the sides. "You boast about your merits of a hollow victory, usurper." The red beast taunted. "Assaulting me after five moon cycles of battles against my nemesis, a coward's way. But not again, not this time." He opened his mouth as wide as he could, a molten furnace flaring up at the back of his throat.

"For only this once, I shall concur with the fiend." Kyogre swan next to the border, reaching closer to his hated rival. He too prepared his entire being to unleash any hell he could against that foe. "You, who cheated a victory, is worthless of any gift… imagine having control over nature."

Rayquaza stood impassive, his gaze just watching the two. "Utter ignorance merits the greatest of punishments. Alas, your cages now remain in shambles. Your once 'glorious' forms returned to you." With a flicker of his head, the dragon king cleared the sky of any clouds or pollution from the previous battle. His entire form showing, like a never-ending slithering form towering over everything under his domain. "Cometh forward those who wish to challenge me. I shall squash you as the paltry rubbish that you are."

The usurper's affronting words served trigger to it all. Groudon would pop a vein if he could, instead, the red primal forked his entire upper body forward, unleashing a beam of pure fire. His molten attack, however, grazed the nothingness at the sky for before he could even warm the air around Rayquaza, the dragon had descended from the sky faster than a meteor.

Kyogre lowered his aim, targeting the incoming monstrosity flying at them. Taking extra power for Groudon's presence, the blue primal unleashed a burning steaming geyser at his front. Water hotter than Groudon's fire traveled faster than Latios ever could. In his valiant effort, Kyogre managed to graze the dragon's tail with the steam right before Rayquaza flung his body to the side.

At this point, no one can say that they didn't try. Kyogre even swallowed his pride in taking a bit his nemesis' power to strike down a greater foe. But they failed. An emerald blue flashed across the sea, faster than the wind, faster than sound itself.

"Yet again. You shall bow before me or brake like a sturdy twig against the storm's winds." Rayquaza's words were not a threat nor were they a request. As his eyes landed on the raging titans before him, the dragon opened his mouth and from within the fury of the sky was unleashed. As if a storm had been broken loose on top of that small piece of land, a massive shock wave exploded. It first exploded itself against Kyogre who was the farthest away from safety, he had no chance to even protect himself; his consciousness disappeared as his body cried loudly in pain. Trashed like common rabble, the lord of the deep simply disappeared in a flash of light, being pulled back to his cerulean Poké-Ball.

Standing mere paces away from his rival, Groudon was stormed second. Still, in his never-dying rage, the molten creature resisted the excruciating pain tearing him from inside. He took a long, painful step forward, his bleeding eyes glaring murder at his tormentor; he tried to raise his hands, to unleash hell once more. Still, he also gave him in the end, disappearing back to his black Poké-Ball.

Not only were the giants blasted away by the attack. Any other lingering Pokémon, from the previous heated battles who managed to stay safe within the sandy grounds, suffered from the insane assault coming from the winged deity. As the dust settled, as the flash of lights from Pokémon being called back, only Brendan and Spiegel remained standing at the aftermath. The two now being under the watchful gaze of the dragon.

He who was fully poised to leash out foolish humans for their transgression stopped in awe. Rayquaza didn't say a word, he only hovered just above the little island, staring at the two identical men.

With the high flow of adrenaline fading from his body, Brendan sighed heavily, feeling his legs going soft. His butt crashed down at the sand as his hands moved past his back, holding his upper body up by taking support on the ground. He eyed the legendary deity staring at him, a lot of words popping in his head so he could berate the dragon, but none of it passed through the lock in his throat.

However at Brendan's side… "Have you come to kill me? ARE YOU HERE TO END MY LIFE AGAIN?!" Spiegel roared at the sky, his eyes never leaving the sight of the dragon. Contrary to Brendan, Spiegel is furious, trembling furiously. Instead of falling down in the fallout of Rayquaza's wrath, the young man exploded from inside with rage. "I'm not afraid of you, Rayquaza! Come, beast. I will face you on my own."

Surprisingly enough, Rayquaza didn't explode Spiegel to bits after his outrage. Other than giving in to the ramblings taunts of the tiny human, the dragon just floated in closer, a lot closer. Rayquaza practically pressed the tip of his face against Spiegel, always staring unfazed at him.

The mockery of this action pushed Spiegel to the edge of his self-control. In another fit of anger, his left arm swung forward pushing his clenched fist against Rayquaza's face. A muffled echo sounded from the hit, Rayquaza, of course, felt nothing more than a tickle at his cheek, while some skin of Spiegel's knuckles ripped out, more blood dripping down from his already bloodied hand. "I. Am not. Scared of you." He repeated, pressing his hurt fist even more against the diamond-hard scale of the dragon.

"It seems so." Rayquaza replied with an amused tone. Before the young man could unleash any more insults or heated words at the deity, which would greatly endanger his life, a powerful physic pulse blasted from within the dragon's shining yellow lines.

As if his power switch had been turned off, Spiegel shut down. His glowing blue eyes lost their luster and his lips sealed tight, with a loud thud his body fell on the sand; back against the ground and his chest, slowly rising and falling, facing at the sky.

Quietly watching the scene unfolds, Brendan slightly jumped in his spot when he saw his other-self fall like a lifeless object. He then sighed, drifting his eyes away from the unconscious body onto the white clouds, tinged with a subtle tone of dark orange as the dim sunlight is rising from the horizon. Just now, Brenda noticed that even after Rayquaza has descended, the sky remained brighter than before.

"For how long… were we fighting?" He asked with a low voice, still glancing back to Rayquaza.

"For long enough." The dragon replied with a deep, unapprovingly voice.

"He… said that you two met before. That you killed him?!" With his blood cooling down, his body starting to feel the tool of their heated dance. He traced two fingers down his right cheek, hissing, and wincing at the touch. "You know him? Who is him?"

"For someone so smart, you're often too clueless. Do tell me, Brendan, when we ascended to beyond my realm, past the sky… What did we stop?" Finally tearing his gaze away from the unconscious man, Rayquaza moved over next to his chosen guardian. "Do tell me Brendan, who did we face on that day?"

With that, Brendan frowned, his gaze shooting back to his look alike. A grim air mood settled in him, as his mind processes what has just been thrown at him. "Deoxys?" He said, repulsed beyond belief as he said that name. "But how?! That's… That's impossible. Deoxys is a Pokémon, no, he is a being from outer space. How the hell can that be him?" He pointed very intensely at Spiegel's lying form, Brendan's red eyes shaking wildly.

"That, I do not know. For his conception is not for me to know. Nevertheless, he is Deoxys no more. That man is just as much Brendan as you are…" Slowly, unsure, Rayquaza returned his gaze to Spiegel, the great dragon turning his head just slightly. "He is now my guardian as much as you are."

"THE HELL WITH THAT!" Brendan lost his cool. He jolted up, flipping his hands in the air. "He is not me, he will never be. But you can shove that guardian role as far up as you want in his-"

"LOWER YOUR VOICE!" The Dragon roared in a tempest, blowing sand and water everywhere. "Know your place, human. I am not your pet, I am your sovereign."

"You're my fucking nightmare, that's what you are." Brendan spat back, eyes flaring up in anger just as Spiegel did before getting knocked down. "You just tossed Groudon onto my lap. ORDERED me to watch over him, and just vanished to whatever hole you plunged yourself in. No advice, no guide, no fucking nothing." Pacing hastily, the young champion marched up towards the dragon, stopping right in front of him, pointing an accusing finger at the deity. "That monster nearly shredded my mind apart! Every day mining my sanity, threatening to destroy everything I love… You call me your guardian, but the only lessons I ever got in this stupid guardian thing came from Ethan, not from you."

To say that Rayquaza as baffled is an understatement. He purposely raised his voice up high and released some of his power to quell the rebellious actions of the trainer, yet it only served to fire him up even more. Somewhere deep inside, Rayquaza felt a little proud of his chosen human, for weakness is the trait he despises the most.

"Ethan?" Rayquaza repeated the name, sounding ever so confused. He then raised his upper body high, staring far away to some point distant in Hoenn. "Certainly I can feel another presence here, the golden spark of that phoenix." He then jerked his head back, eyeing ever so distressed to the young person below him. "You sought help with the fearless buffoon? The one with my will, seeking approval of someone lesser… such humiliation…"

"Say whatever you want, at least the 'buffoon' helped me with something." Spitting out the anger piled up inside of him, Brendan felt deflated and exhausted; He dropped down again, his butt crashing against the sand, the upper part of his face hidden behind the shadow of his large bangs. "Everything is such a mess right now. Rayquaza, what should I do?"

"Your duty." Brendan was not expecting much from the elusive dragon, still his straight detached response rubbed wrong on him. Rayquaza, ever so observant, noticed the pained growl escaping his protégé. "Hoenn is bleeding and that is your fault. As a guardian, you are not only the holder of my will but also an extension of myself upon these lands. Therefore, the present states of affairs are only and exclusively your fault." For someone thousands of years old, wise and powerful, Rayquaza apparently sucks at comforting anyone. His good-minded speech served only to make Brendan growl even louder, dropping his back on the ground. Nevertheless, the dragon continued. "Ahem… What you need to perceive is that if you are at fault, you are also the one capable of fixing matters. Brendan I did not give you the undying flames of courage nor the sight to peer inside one's mind. In you lies the strength to impact hearts, the will to change it all."

"If you have the power to change everything… Can't you, you know, fix all this mess?" Brendan eyed the dragon with fleeting hope, deep in his heart, he knows the answer yet his eyes shine with the wish that it all can end this easily.

"What is the point of having a guardian, if I do his job for him?" Rayquaza replied in his stern way, but with a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"Ohh, I'm shocked. Helpful as always." Brendan scoffed, grasping his head with both hands.

"We cannot wield our powers against humanity at each mistake they make. That is not how it is supposed to be, hence our need to choose our guardians. Hence the need for you to fulfill your role."

"Fulfill my role… be a guardian… Rayquaza, how I'm supposed to do that when I don't know what a guardian is supposed to be, what guardian is supposed to do."

"That is… another trial in your path. Only you can guide your feet in the journey to find your true self."

Brendan wants to dig down a hole and stuff his head in the sand with so much frustration echoing inside of him. "Can't you answer anything without saying it in a riddle or something?" A devilish smirk curving the sides of his lips, Brendan raised his head to glance at the dragon. "I guess… I will just have to ask Ethan about it."

That impish grin paired together with those words caused the dragon's eyes to twitch. "Your provocation is unneeded and not appreciated. The boy with golden eyes will not guide you down that path. If he taught you anything about your role, he must have told you that he cannot give you the answers that you seek."

Frowning for a moment under the rising sunlight, Brendan echoed the disappointing answer Ethan gave him when asked about this. 'I can show you the ropes of the job. However, I cannot, I repeat, I cannot teach you what exactly you need to be. It's kinda the obligation of your deity to teach you that.' Remembering that Brendan clenched his eyes as he stared at Rayquaza.

"Compose yourself, child." Rayquaza loomed closer, quietly he rested over the sand. His gigantic body slithering in a tight round roll. Poising his head high, calmly facing the young man, the dragon spoke out. "We have much to talk and time is of the essence."

Heavy chains dangled in the air, their metal base nailed at the ceiling making a weak sound. A weak whimper faintly sounds around with the eerie sound of blood dripping on the cold floor.

"Lugia, where is it?" A large muscled arm swung wildly, a rock-hard fist exploded on the thin side of someone's abdomen. "Spill it out!" Raz roared madly as his fist flew right back at his victim body again.

Ethan groaned quietly in pain. Having his arms chained up against the ceiling, he felt his world swing around at each hit. "U-Up… in your… buttocks…" Even with pain almost driving him crazy, the raven-haired champion mustered enough of his will to give his captor a weak defiant smirk.

As much joy he took in despising the giant mass of muscles that is the other man, his answer caused him another wave of pain as Raz punched him right across the face. The hit not well aimed, luckily enough for Ethan, as even being a graze, that punch managed to open some of the wounds that were just closed on his left cheek.

In reality, Ethan's state went from bad to worse; his body suffered multiple injuries from a surprise attack he received from a Tyranitar, then he found himself subject of the torture from two different members of Rainbow Rocket. First, Leyla with her needles in her inquisitive questioning, and then when that didn't work well enough to brake him, Raz came in with his boulder knuckles, punching away without remorse at each question he made. In truth, the brute more punched than asked for anything.

Taking him as a prisoner, the criminal gang had the 'decency' to patch him up in most of his injuries, most particularly on the nasty big cut he got in his face. However, thanks to Raz and his method, some of those wounds ripped themselves open again.

Gritting his teeth in anger for something that not even himself knows. Raz prepared his left arm, raising it far back, just to explode it against Ethan's chest again.

"STOP THIS! You are going to kill him." An older man shouted from his corner. This person, a second prisoner on this improvised cell, is watching in horror without being able to help as his arms are tied with the same kind of heavy chains that are restraining Ethan up in place.

"Shut up, old man. If he dislikes being beaten to a pulp so much, he just needs to open his beak." Raz turned his head in a frenzy, throwing a enrage look at the chained person glaring at him. As if making a show for him, Raz raised his arm right in view of him, grinning all the way.

"Raz, stop." Josh's impassive voice sounded from the side. The red-eyed man has been watching everything from his spot, casually sat on a metallic chair next to the wall.

"I will make him give in. He can't have much left on him." The burly man spat back, drifting his gaze to his aloof comrade.

"Or he will die and not tell anything." Josh stood up. His façade changing into a warning scowl. "What was the point of taking him back here if you're just going to punch him to death?"

Raz growled, then growled again now louder. He looked at Ethan, the gauze and white bandages pressed against his cheek, now turning to a tone of red; then he looked back to Josh, a shiver running down his spine as those peculiar red eyes stared at him as if they were looking directly at his soul.

"FINE! You'll be the one going to talk with the boss about this. I'm done with this crap." Fuming in anger, Raz stormed out from the small room.

"You have to pardon my friend. He is very simple-minded." Cooing with a friendly voice, Josh slowly marched his way next to Ethan. Without much care in his action, he broke open the chains around his arms, letting the wounded trainer fall harshly on the floor.

"I always declared that Giovanni was the worst of all those criminal masterminds. But this?! Torture?" The older man roared in scorn if a glare could kill the one he is giving Josh would do the job twice fold. "You people are not even humans anymore."

"Oh please, Mister Looker. Life is not a fairy tale, bark all that you want it will change nothing." His red eyes glanced for a moment to the old police officer lying on the ground, then disregarded his presence altogether. "Ethan, Ethan… You really inspire my curiosity." He kneeled down next to Ethan, curiously enough, he gently helped the other trainer sit up, resting his back against the wall. "I have to say, I couldn't handle that. Sure, Raz nonsensical ramblings and assault is a boring chore to be a part of; but Leyla is quite skillful with those needles of her. How do you do it?"

Breathing slowly in a haggish way, Ethan slightly tilted his head to the side, taking his eyes at the man's features. He opened his lips to say something, but only a low whistle of a voice came out.

"Sorry, what did you say? I couldn't hear you." Grasping his blood-dirtied cheeks with one hand, Josh leaned in closer, basically pressing his left ear against Ethan's face.

"Piss… off…" He managed to spit the words out, groaning loudly in pain right after.

In the first moment, Josh looked dumbstruck. His eyes looking at nothing and his mouth hanging open. Then he pulled himself up, his back bending in a funny way. "Hahahah, amazing to no end. Most people would be pissing in their pants with fear in this situation, but not you… NOT YOU." Having his fill of whatever he wanted from Ethan, he completely stood up and turned to leave. "I expected nothing less from the man who defeated my father." Letting out a loud chuckle, Josh walked out, slamming the heavy door behind him.

"Hey, kid. Are you alive?" Looker pulled his chains in a desperate attempt to free himself, but only managed to burn a red mark on his wrists. "Dammit, Team Rocket… Giovanni, what are you planning?"

Responding to Looker's pleas, Ethan slowly raised his right arm. He clenched his hand and raised his thumb. In his bruised face, he wore a silly little grin, a pained one. As his voice is betraying him right now, he replied in the one manner he could.

Somewhat baffled by the unusual sight, Looker smiled back. "Don't worry kid. Somehow, we will get out of here..." He glanced down to the watch on his right wrist, frowning at the frozen pointers. "We will escape this place."

Spiegel growled in the hush of his low breathing. His eyes are foggy and his head is heavy, almost forcing his chin to rest against his chest. He can feel his knees bent in front of him, in a way his legs serving as a support to his body. It's tiresome, to breath and to think is tiresome. A little itching appeared on the base of his neck just above his collarbone. And by everything that is sacred that itching is getting more annoying by the second.

Clicking his tongue to show his annoyance, Spiegel moved his arms to scratch the feeling away, but his hands didn't move, they couldn't move. He tried to tug his arms forward again but to no avail, they are stuck behind his back, tied with a firm rope.

"The hell is this…?" He complained in a low voice, moving his head a little to the side, trying to peek behind him. He couldn't do that too, the way he is tied right next to a wall is making impossible for him to do anything other than just sit there and feel nauseated.

"Took you sweet time with that nap, huh?" A familiar mirroring voice sounded in, Spiegel's eyes finally settling down at the darkness around him. With a somewhat discernible vision, he noticed Brendan sitting in front of him, while a few paces away with his legs crossed. The same position he always uses when he wants to meditate as his father taught him.

Seeing his nemesis right there, Spiegel could only hiss at him. But seeing the hopeless situation he finds himself in, he decided to rest his back properly against the wall and take a glance around him. "Where are we?" He asked after not being able to recognize anything within that poor lighted room.

"Hiding… in my secret base." Brendan replied with a stern voice. He clenched his eyes as he darted his vision towards the other man.

"Route 111? Hah, takes me back a couple of years." Now knowing exactly where he was, Spiegel's eyes scanned the room with a newfound familiarity with the place. Even with the lights out, he can now see ever little nostalgic detail that surrounds him even those parches of grass on the ground. "I really loved this place when I was a kid."

"You never had an infancy, Deoxys." Brendan spat out without much thought.

"Don't… EVER call me that again." Spiegel thrashed wildly in his spot, almost breaking his arms as he tried to swing him at Brendan. "That is not my name."

"Then, what should we call you?"

Spiegel's heart almost stopped beating. He jolted his head to the side in a violent turn, and then, he saw her. Sitting on the stupid kid's chair he got as a child, Zinnia is looking at him, looking at them both. Oh how beautiful she looks, wearing the same clothes, her hair messy as always, everything about her is casual e ordinary as ever, still she is radiating and breathtaking anyway.

"Why… is she here?" He asked Brendan, feeling a strange tingle in his eyes. Just looking at her pretty, uneasy, eyes was enough to mellow any anger Spiegel had boiling inside his chest.

"I asked Zinnia to help me carry you away from that place." Brendan said right back, sparing a glance at his girlfriend that glanced right back at him. Even though she smiled, the way she is holding her hands together is telling how nervous she is. "And she deserves to know everything about this. Now, if you don't want me calling you Deoxys-" Spiegel frowned again at the mention of that name, somehow seeing his other-self reacting like this made Brendan himself frown. "What should we call you? Because I will not be calling you by my name."

"Why didn't you kill me?"

"Just answer the damn question!" Brendan raised his voice, making Zinnia jump at his sudden outburst. Spiegel on the other hand, just stared at him, studying him with curious eyes.

He pondered the possibilities, weighed the consequences inside his head. In the end, he just sighed and said. "Spiegel… I've chosen the name Spiegel."

"Spiegel… Mirror?" At first, Brendan scoffed and rubbed his forehead, and then he chuckled lightly. "Leave for me to think of something so cheesy."

"Better than Brendan number two, don't you think?" Spiegel chuckled right back at Brendan, the tense mood between them dimming for a bit, yet ever so slightly.

Pacing calmly towards the other man, Brendan kneeled in front of him, resting his arms on top of his knees. "So, Spiegel, here is the deal. Rayquaza passed something to me… something that you also need to know."

"And why didn't the dragon kill me?"

"Shut up, jeez." Brendan sighed heavily. "Look, we did something… bad. Really bad. Kyogre and Groudon, they cannot be allowed to roam free. However, we destroyed the only thing that was holding their powers back." Just remembering what Rayquaza told him gave Brendan a migraine. "The fact still remains, they need to be controlled. To make this short, I will give you the ugly truth straight out." With a sorry smile, Brendan pushed his arm forward, tapping Spiegel on the chest and then tapping himself on the chest. "We, you and me, are their prison now. In a way, we now function just like the orbs did."

Spiegel felt his shoulders drop, his eyes lowering in a thoughtful manner. "Rayquaza?"

"Yeah… He was the one." Brendan shrugged. "Apparently we synced with the primals, not in a healthy manner."

"Power always comes with a prize as people say... I guess mine is that." He lowered his arms even more, the friction of the wall and his back pulling the shirt away from his shoulder, showing his pale skin. "Even though, I failed in the end."

"We both did. I stand here breathing, Rainbow Rocket still out there… We both gambled with fate and with both lost." Brendan sounded extremely frustrated in that last bit; he took his gaze upwards, facing the ceiling above them. "All that is left is to deal with it and move forward." Saying that he darted his red eyes back to Spiegel, watching carefully the reaction coming next. "To do that, I need to know… Why? Why you want so badly to kill me?"

As much as Brendan tried to gauge the intentions of his mirrored-self, he couldn't. With Spiegel starting at the ground, eyes hidden by his long hair, body frozen without any trace of movement coming from it. This man still as much as a puzzle as he was before waking up.

That, until his body began to shiver, his fingers, locked together, gritting against the dirty on the ground behind his back. "Imagine…" He started. "One day you woke up to the cruel reality that you are not really you…" His voice came out more shaken, rugged. His shoulders trembling more and more at each long breath he takes. "Your life is not really yours, nothing is truly yours." A sob, resembling one of a hurt child, slipped from him. As he threw his head upwards, crystalline tears jumped from his eyes, dropping next to his feet. "Your family, your friends… your lover." Spiegel glanced at Zinnia, who averted her eyes away from him. She bit her lips ashamed of doing that, but she couldn't return the gaze he is giving her. "I wanted it all back. To take everything always from you, because… They're mine too."

"No. They are not." Brendan replied coldly without any reprise in his tone.

"See… that's why." Spiegel said back with a little grin curving the side of his lips. "I told you before, Brendan. I feel the same as you do, even now we are the same. And before you argue to differ, this is not only echoes of memories we share." He rested the back of his head against the wall, tears still sliding down his pale skin. "Holding the little body of our sister… I felt so warm, so fluffy inside my chest. That was my emotion, my own love for her."

Brendan fixed his eyes at Spiegel's own blue shining orbs. He waited, but the other man said nothing more, so he scoffed and shook his head. "Only one problem there, friend. I don't have a sister."

Spiegel grinned, now wider and somewhat triumphantly. "You haven't spoken with Mom or Dad, have you?" That look in his face took Brendan by surprise, taking the champion down a few notches. "Go home, Brendan. Fly to Littleroot. You're losing way more than I am by secluding yourself in that stupid mountain you call home."

A thousand thoughts run at full speed inside Brendan's head. He wanted to shout, to yell how much of a liar this person is. How wrong he is and always will be. But another side of him was pulling him back, pulling him away from Spiegel, away from his secret cave, towards his old town. Brendan almost tore himself in two so he could yell at Spiegel and run home at the same time, feeling angry and confused he decided to agree with the side of his that screamed louder. He stomped his feet at the ground and marched to the door.

"Brendan." Zinnia called out to him.

"I need to check it… We need to go there." He replied with a frantic response, his chest pumping wildly as to how fast his heart is beating.

In any other situation, Zinnia would have jumped on her feet and trailed right after her boyfriend. But now, here… She just pressed her hands against her tights, looking down at her feet. "I want to talk to him… Please, Brendan." She begged with puppy eyes, a look that always manages to bend Brendan's will in two sides.

"I… understand. Just wait for me in Ever Grande, I will return there, after confirming what he said." Brendan didn't like the idea of leaving Zinnia alone with him of all people, but his trust in her is infallible. If she asked for this, she has her own reasons and he has no time to argue on that. So instead, he just agreed, reluctant, but agreed. Giving her a quick kiss on her forehead, Breandan darted right after the door.

Zinnia watched as he left the secret base. He stormed out of the place ready to fly on his own if he could, but strangely, he stopped right outside, staring at his left. He stood there for a few good seconds, and then glanced back at her. With one last smile, he waved at her and closed the door.

Swallowing hard, she drifted her ruby eyes all across the room. He is looking at her, silently, just watching her with a few tears still running down. "You are… the same Brendan from that night, right?" She asked him with a hesitant voice.

Spiegel chuckled at her shy behavior. "How many Brendan's do you know?" He noticed how she flinched at his comment, which made him feel bad for teasing her under these circumstances. "Sorry… Yeah, that was me. That was the same day I came to exist."

"Oh? You came to… exist?" The confused look she gave him made Spiegel smile.

"I guess this is complicated to explain. Just forget about it for now."

"Okay… then answer me this. Why didn't you told Brendan about… that night?" She eyed him with cautious eyes, retaining their distance. "Even after today and everything you to did, you never told him about what we did."

"When I realized that he had no idea… I felt in a bliss." Spiegel confessed. "I had the perfect weapon; I could smash his heart right then and there. But I couldn't." He took his eyes away from her. "When I realized what that meant, the words died before I could say anything."

His answer eased a few of her worries. Lifted some of the burdens on her shoulders, at least enough of it to allow her to get on her feet and walk right next to him.

"It's true, you know. All that I said to him. I feel the same as he does, which means I know who much it hurts when someone that you love betrays you." Spiegel said looking directly at her eyes. "I couldn't do that to him… I couldn't do that to you. Zinnia, I love you."

"That day, I thought you were Brendan. You had the same eyes he has… the ones he had when he was younger, unscarred by life." She gave him a sad look, biting her lips as he was about to say what she wanted. "I only did what I did… we only shared that night, because… I love Brendan." Her words cut deeper than any blade, digging in on his chest, carving at his heart.

Spiegel watched in horror as the woman he loves turned on her heels and walked away. "These are not his feelings… I love you, Zinnia. I truly do. I LOVE YOU." He cried out, desperately trashing himself against the wall, doing anything to brake himself away from those binds.

She stopped and glanced back at him with the corner of her eye. "Sorry… But I don't know who you are." Her voice cracked as she replied, her head turn away from him just as tears flooded her shining orbs. With her shoulders trembling, her sobbing quietly, Zinnia opened the door and walked away.

"Zinnia… ZINNIIAA!" His chest flared up as his voice clawed up from his chest. He forced himself up, pushing his back against the wall, Spiegel got up in his feet. He tried to walk forward, tried to run after her. However, at the second step he took, the ropes binding his feet together toppled his legs, shooting his face against the ground.

The metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth; his upper body throbbed in pain. He did not stop. Not being able to stand up and walk, Spiegel squirmed against the ground, pulling his weight against the dirt, desperately reaching for the door. As his hopes began to fade away, the pain in his heart getting unbearable, the sound of the door opening up echoed inside this damp cave.

"Zinnia?!" He called out, hopefully. Gritting his chin against the ground, he forced his head up.

"Ah… no, sorry. She left." A tall man with a fuzzy blond hair stepped in. He looked down at Spiegel with eyes full of pity. Still, inside that melancholy, a fire burned up inside of him. "But hey, I need you. That's still a win, right?" Max raised his thumb, smiling silly at the other man.

The faint glint of hope that flourished inside of him came crashing down when he saw that she was not there anymore. Sadness sinking in, his head hanging low and chest aching. Even all through that, one sentence resonated with him. 'I need you.' Those words worked on him, pulling him out of the dark hole he was slowly falling in. In that sadness turned to anger, anger to rage. His head, which was hanging low, shot right up, his eyes fixating on the man. He opened his mouth and roared. "Who the fuck are you?"

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Mallory S Nocturne chapter 25 . Aug 27 – Hail to the King! You really like Rayquaza, huh? Haha.

DOOT76 chapter 25 . Aug 27 – "I am thou, thou art I. The time has come. Open thy eyes and call forth what is within."

Well... as much as pains me to say this, I never played Persona 5 =/. I really want to, but it is a bit impossible for me at the moment. Aaaanyway, I had this idea of using P4's theme for their battle a long time ago. I'm really glad that you liked the choice and I hope the fight itself was good too.

At the Persona topic, P3 is my favorite, like miles ahead of all others Persona games. Makoto Yuki is the best protagonist for me, just like Zack Fair… X… They sure share a strange similarity between them, huh?

And of course, lastly but not least, Linoone has his own thing he needs to do. He couldn't be there for Spiegel's 'big day'.