Hybrid: Aurora Edition

by SairaCrystaline

A story in the Pokemon world with a trans protagonist who lives through some of the worst life has to offer, but refuses to back down and always does their best to do the right thing. Lots of hurt/comfort, comedy will be in places, don't expect much hetero stuff to happen. And plenty of filled in holes the canon of the games leaves.

9. Chapter 9: Blundered Boulders

And the monsters beneath the earth claim another victim. Yet this has not sated their cruel overseer's lust for blood. This selfsame lust has gotten her stripped of her position, now following orders akin to those she thought her underlings. And all the while, my kin refuse to fall. They take advantage of every scrap, every moment their captors falter, to further their escape. The road ahead is a long one, yes. But every step, no matter how small, gets them ever so closer to once more seeing the skies above. And in the middle of this do-or-die struggle, a young girl continues to learn about the world with her family. Being taught by the life she was forced into, what others help shape it into, and what she herself decides. Where shall her path lead? Let us observe more of her steps today.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Solacei 19th~~

"I'm amazed you're still standing," Jean said, a worn out Paris leaning on her shoulder a bit with Legolas on her other side. "Those collars aren't… nice, to put it lightly."

We were walking back from the battle we'd just had, and Paris standing up to Spinel. Grunts gave us a wide berth, especially with Legolas or Mama giving them a glare. She felt exhausted, but we both knew what Spinel had felt like. She hadn't gotten what she wanted. And that was always a good thing.

Paris just chuckled. "Me and Legolas have been through…" She hesitated a moment. "I don't know if I'd say worse, but we've certainly had our fair share of close calls before. Many of which could not be alleviated with some simple rest and sustenance."

I wanted to ask what she meant, but Mama's words echoed in my head. The walls have ears, my child. Do not let them listen. Until my ears perked up, remembering something.

I tapped Paris' arm lightly, and she looked over. I began to sign. [What do you mean, things were almost worse?]

A small smile crossed her face, before it was replaced with her usual serious look. She signed back. [Legolas and I have been through our fair share of battles to reach where we are now.]

Now I REALLY wanna know.

But we didn't have time for that right then, because we'd reached Rhodo's office. The door slid open and Rhodo came out. He had a tray all prepared with lots of creams and potions. And a smile on his face. It was fueled by admiration towards Paris and spite towards something else…

Prolly Spinel.

"Now as your 'doctor' I've gotta say doing all that could've seriously messed you up… but that was badass!" He cheered. "I can't imagine how that must've felt and you just withstood it all! And Spinel's reaction!? Love a little evil meltdown to start the day. Come on, let's treat that neck so we can celebrate. No champagne, but apple juice will do."

While Rhodo led us inside, I noticed Jean and Indra's smiles.

They definitely feel the same, they just can't say it like that 'cuz something bad would happen to them. But they like seeing Spinel eat shit all the same.

"I can tell you it wasn't a pleasant experience, but it was more than worth it," Paris said with a hint of satisfaction in her tone. "I was not expecting her to attempt to utilize ghost energy, but that proved to be quite the mistake on her part."

"No one besides Aurora and Hazel have managed to use their powers like you did back there. How do ya feel? Any different, besides the obvious pain," He asked as he led her to sit down. Rhodo took out a brush, dipped it into the cream and began applying it on Paris' neck. And around the collar.

"Yes and no. It's… difficult to describe." Paris stayed still while he was applying the cream, taking a moment to formulate her words. "I've felt spectral energy within myself before. Legolas and I have trained so we may best assist each other in battle. I suppose… the closest approximation would be if you were used to having someone hold your hand while wading through a shallow pool, compared to being thrown into the deep end and being told 'swim'."

"I see… not as easy, but at least you can do it…" He muttered as he continued applying it carefully. "They say the channelers of Lavender Town are the best at utilizing spectral auras. Ever train with them?"

Paris suddenly felt a lot like when we were making weapons; choosing her words carefully. "I have been to pay my respects alongside Legolas. At the time, I did not have the liberty to train under any of them for any significant period of time."

Rhodo and Paris exchanged eye contact for a moment. Like they were having a silent conversation. Like sign language, but with eyes. It didn't last very long before Rhodo began speaking again.

Benny didn't teach me that, but it feels like that's a thing people know how to do. I wonder if I can learn that too? Maybe it's got something to do with eye movements or something...

"It's still amazing how you managed to make a bow right off the bat. Manipulating spectral energy ain't easy. Your powers awakening will serve you well in the future fights, but now Galactic will take an interest in you," Rhodo warned seriously before smiling. "But I doubt Cyrus will let lil ole Spinel to lead without legitimate supervision anymore. So I think things will be a bit more… sane."

Paris chuckled. "We are being recorded at the moment, yes?"

"Always. Privacy is an illusion in this lovely establishment," Rhodo joked.

"Then I do hope Spinel checks this particular section of footage; I still cannot produce spectral energy without intense pain breaking concentration. However, with spectral energy ever so generously being fed to me and no need to worry about generating it? I simply needed to focus on channeling it into something familiar. The tech she's so fond of is a tool. And she isn't the only one who can make use of it," she said with a smirk.

Rhodo smiled, even wider than before. "I will personally ensure she hears that statement just so I can see her reaction."

Paris smiled right back. "Inform me of it, if you would. My currently nonexistent money is on her throwing another temper tantrum."

The two laughed at Spinel's expense. And that was always a good expense. Rhodo sounded like he hadn't laughed in such a long time. Not like that anyway. The pain, the grief that was ever present in his heart was gone for a moment. He looked more peaceful for a moment as he wiped a happy tear from his eye.

Mama gave me a smile, nuzzling me gently. Even Legolas felt happy about the whole thing.

And why wouldn't we? Apparently Spinel's gonna go away! Cyrus is definitely evil, but he didn't feel like he cared at all. Which means he's not gonna try and get any one person killed because he doesn't like them for stupid reasons.

The door hissed open, and me and Mama turned to see who we thought was gonna be Jean and Indra. But instead, it was a lady Grunt human. With the same stupid outfit they all had, the dumb colored hair that smelled awful and a G on their outfit. She had a small case thingy in her hand, and some of the little capsule thingies I'd seen around.

"Mr. Rhodo, I have your supplies…" She trailed off as she looked at us. "Is now a bad time?"

"Not at all, right now is perfect. Thank you, Katherine." Rhodo got up to take the supplies, turning towards us. "I've been doing a lot of reading when I'm not cooking to learn how to treat you guys better and I ordered some more specialized meds to treat you. On a lighter note, I got more baking supplies!"

He took the case and opened it, putting the capsules inside in different places while opening others. Katherine, after watching him a moment, glanced over to me. She felt… I wasn't sure. Something negative. I couldn't tell if it was bad yet, but either way? She was a human suddenly looking at me.

I retreated into Mama's tails, Mama looking at me before giving a very pointed look to Katherine. She immediately turned her attention to the ground and began shuffling her foot. Now she felt uncomfortable, but she stole a glance towards me as if I wasn't still looking at her.

What does she want? Does she think I'm just not gonna notice suddenly? I'm not stupid.

{It seems someone isn't quite as unflinching as their superiors,} Legolas murmured to Paris.

"Indeed," she whispered back before shifting her arms slightly, drawing Katherine's attention. "You seem invested." She let the statement hang in the air, Rhodo glancing over slightly.

Katherine slowly shifted her eyes towards her, but when they fell upon Paris' eyes? She flinched. Her uncomfortableness grew, but she maintained her statuesque pose.

"I am just here to deliver goods," Katherine replied.

"Do you happen to have a deck of cards, or some other manner of entertainment you have access to?" Paris felt as serious as ever, but outwardly she looked… a little friendlier? It was harder to tell what people were trying to do if they were faking something. "The entertainment system Jean and Indra brought is welcome, but only so many can use it at once. Several of the younger ones would appreciate any sort of toy to play with, rather than staring at a blank ceiling and counting the rivets."

Like that thing Koko did once. She was SO bored.

Katherine seemed to ease up ever so slightly. "...I suppose it must be dull in there without any recreational utilities."

"Dull is a word." Paris looked at me. "You would enjoy something to play with, I am sure."

Mama felt like something important came to mind, but I just nodded. "{It'd be nice… Not somethin' red though…}"

Katherine was rushed with a wave of sympathy. Her gaze turned towards me before she looked away and gulped. A new feeling was settling in: guilt.

"Master Cyrus does not permit us to bring you goods without permission…" She looked at me once again. "But if you can have a game system, a deck of cards is more than serviceable."

A small smile crossed Paris' face. "Much appreciated."

Katherine nodded before she gave me a quizzical look as she began muttering to herself. "Maybe the girl would like something fluffy… working with Master Spinel can be intimidating. Especially nowadays..." She trailed off.

A small fire began burning in my heart. I don't like how she keeps saying master. Nobody should be anyone's master. Ever.

Rhodo walked back in as she was muttering to herself and got right up in her face, but she was too busy looking down and muttering to notice.

"Ummm, Katherine? You're good to leave. I took everything out of the case."

She looked up at Rhodo slowly before realizing she had been talking to herself. "Oh! Yes. My apologies, I'll be on my way. Expect another visit from me in the near future."

She hastily left, a smile lingering on Paris' face as she did. Rhodo watched as she left and turned back to us. "She didn't say anything Eloise-like while I was away right?"

Paris shrugged, feeling more serious and only showing that to Rhodo with a look. "Not at all. I was simply asking if she could bring us some toys for the younger ones among us. The more people helping keep our spirits up, the better after all."

A spark of understanding clicked within Rhodo's heart, but besides a smile he didn't betray why. "That's good. Jean told me everyone enjoyed playing Sonic 3, so just a little bit more to do would be nice."

He turned towards Legolas. "You were born in Alola, right Legolas?"

He nodded, the same kinda smirk on his face from earlier making a return. This time though, it was less defiant and more just… happy.

"Excellent!" Rhodo clapped his hands and turned to address all of us. "Since you're already here, care to assist me in baking? I want to make Alolan donuts called malasadas. They are divine, but I only make them with very specific dough and good ole Kathy was able to get enough for everyone! The donuts in Sinnoh have their merits, but as a donut connoisseur I must say few have been on par with my family's recipe."

{It would be my pleasure,} he replied as he walked over to Rhodo. Paris followed, looking at me and Mama.

"Will you join in?"

I looked at the stuff Rhodo was getting out. A big, smooth wooden stick, some bowls, stuff like that. I had no idea what to do with any of it.

I shook my head, Mama looking at me for a moment before looking at Paris. {She would like to simply watch and learn at the moment. It is unfamiliar, after all.}

Paris smiled. "Of course." She then looked at Rhodo. "Perhaps we can show Aurora the process?"

"Absolutely!" Rhodo knelt down in front of me and smiled. "No worries, kiddo, I'll teach ya all the steps. The family secret to momentous malasadas! Once they're done you can share them with everyone in the back and tell them you helped make it this time."

I nodded, a small smile forming. I'm gonna learn how to make Rhodo food!

Paris, Legolas and Rhodo all made malasadas while me and Mama watched. They were like little muffins but round, and with stuff inside. Fruit or 'chocolate' (which I really liked) and lotsa other stuff! They also gave me the bowl they made stuff in and said I could lick it, which I didn't understand at all. Until I licked it. And then I totally got it.

We brought back a whole bunch with us, enough for everyone to celebrate Spinel getting fucked over. Guinevere made sure everyone got enough, especially Ron and Rush. They were trying to be happy for everyone else, but… I could tell things still hurt for them.

Some other people were playing on the console thingy, so me and Mama were sitting away from it. Hazel and Vivian were there with us like always, and Guinevere was helping Eclipse and Yuna with… something, while Koko sat with us. Leanne and Yvonne were close by, and Ron and Rush were with us, munching on malasadas.

Sometimes someone would say that the malasadas were nice, or that they liked how Spinel had gotten fucked, but for the most part we were quiet. We… didn't really know what to say.

Owain and Sue were closest with Ron and Rush… I wanna help them feel better, but how do you even do that?

"...You can talk about it, you know." Hazel's face was still aimed at her malasada, but she was looking at Ron and Rush with worry written all over her face. "We… we know it's hard. You can talk with us… i-if you want! If you want…" She trailed off.

Vivian put a paw on her hand before looking at Ron and Rush, a worried smile across her face. {We're here for you. We just want you to know that.}

Ron smiled a Rhodo smile, holding his malasada close. "I… I dunno what to say except thanks," he chuckled awkwardly.

Koko stopped eating and stared at her malasada with a solemn expression. "Before we got here, Eclipse and I lost our parents and our oldest sister, Onyx. It was… really hard for a long time, but when we were traveling we got to meet her pokemon, lots of weird people and see amazing places. We could smile again. It never gets easy, but…" Koko halted in her words, trying to push back the nostalgia. She looked up to smile at them once she felt calmer. "It can get easier. I'm here for you guys too."

{As am I,} Mama said softly. {I have had my own experiences with losing those close to me. You are always welcome to seek me out for comfort, and I will do my best to provide.}

A small spike of anxiety flared up in my heart. Everyone else has lost people super close to them… I can kinda remember my blood family, and they're not dead… I think. They're not here at least. They've lost loads more than me… so maybe I can't help them like they can help each other, but I can still do my best.

"{I uh…}" I hesitated. "{I can give hugs? I dunno but I wanna help however I-}" I coughed a little. "{-however I can.}"

The pair's smiles grew a bit wider. "Being you already does that. And, y'know, bringing muffins and these back from Rhodo." He chuckled a little to himself. "I'm not as good at the emotion feeling thing as Aurora, but… you don't have to worry about me faking smiles, if that's it."

"I wish Owain and Sue got to eat these too. Even when eating, Owain made lots of funny faces. He was like a really big kid!" Koko thought fondly of him, holding back the pain. "They didn't get to see it, but… I'm glad Paris stood up to Spinel today. Owain and Sue would've written a play about how the valiant archer stood up against the wicked old witch in the tower!"

"We just gotta enjoy stuff for them." Ron looked at all of us. "Since they wouldn't want us to be sad, right? They wanted everyone to be happy, and they were happy too. So now we gotta be happy for them, like they would've wanted. We gotta make our own lives a story. That's what I think, at least."

Rush nodded, nuzzling into Ron. {Right. And we can't let our stories end here!}

"Yup! 'Cept it'd be a lot easier to be happy if they gave us more fun stuff to do. I never knew I'd be so thankful to be able to play a video game even just for a little bit, but I think Sonic 3 rebooted my brain and now it wants to do all the fun things. Ughhh." Koko bit into another malasada and groaned.

{There's not exactly a lotta 'outside' to run around in and find flowers in right now,} Vivian huffed, {And I don't think making flower crowns out of pillowcases would be as fun. Or even a good idea.}

Hazel hugged her close. "At least we have each other… in our arms or in our hearts."

"Awww Hazel," Koko leaned over to hug her and Vivian. "You say the sweetest things. Even sweeter than this mola- musa- masamune-… donut."

Ron laughed, him and Rush joining in on the hug. I wasn't totally sure if I should join in until Mama gently nudged me towards them. And when I got there, Ron and Koko basically dragged me into the hug.

"Ya know… this place really sucks, but I'm glad we all became friends," Koko spoke up, her tail wagging.

I nodded, hugging them all a bit closer. "{We're all a big family now… right?}"

Ron nodded, smiling. "Of course we are! We're here for each other, and we're not gonna let the baddies win!"

Rush squirmed in the middle of the hug. {The power of hugs will defeat them!}

Hazel chuckled lightly, leaning more into the hug. "I think Spinel would hiss angrily if you tried, so you might be right."

Vivian poked her head out. {Are you kidding? She'd shriek and that smoke would come burning off her. You try and show her niceness and she goes all blaflagshhh.}

"That's what I was thinking!" Koko exclaimed. "Same brain!"

Vivian blinked, then looked up at her forehead. {But I thought we had different brains?}

Koko leaned forward and whispered mischievously. "We've become such good buddies that I can read your mind now. It's my secret skill."

Vivian looked very confused while Mama chuckled softly. {I was under the impression your secret skill was confusing those who take statements very literally.}

"That's my secret arte. Totally different," Koko nodded with absolute confidence as she got up and finished her malasada. "Any who, I've eaten way too many muramasas. Who wants to play tag?"

Ron and Rush shot up immediately. Vivian hopped up excitedly, while Hazel smiled and stood up. "I suppose if everyone else is going to, it couldn't hurt."

I got up with them. "{I-I'll do my best! My lungs might make it so I'm not as fun to play with though…}" I trailed off, my ears tilting back a bit.

Koko shook her head. "You're always fun to play with, don't worry about it. If you feel your chest start hurting we can go see Mabel and Haley and they'll fix ya right up!"

"{You're sure…?}" I asked tentatively. They all nodded, feeling very hopeful that I'd join in. "{Well… I guess I'm ready, then!}"

I'm glad they want me around, even if I can't totally get everything they do. It's nice to be part of a family.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Radinam 20th~~

|And do you remember what this symbol is?| Benny made a sign with his hands after he'd signed his sentence.

Uh… oh!

|Defiance, right?|

His smile was clear to see, even through his forming beard. Bors nodded approvingly while Mabel watched happily, and Haley clapped. [Exactly. You're getting quite good at remembering signs.]

He was teaching me more about sign language, which was even more helpful now that my throat was messed up. And with them all around, plus Mama around me? It felt even more like I had lots of parents all around me. Since they were!

They're my dad, papa, riri and… pops? And then there's Clive and Elpis and Leanne and Yvonne and everyone… I'm gonna need more names for parents.

|Are you ready for the next one?|

I nodded, smiling.

|Alright, what about-|

Right at that moment, I felt it. I felt the same cold, emotionless husk of a person close to the door of the room we were in. I whirled around, hiding in Mama's tails but looking right at the door. My ears went flat against my head, my tails bristling up.

Why's he here? What's going on? He doesn't come this way! Is something happening?

Mama had immediately turned to look at the door on high alert. She didn't say anything, just watched it and me. And waited.

He walked closer to our door… closer…

And then walked past.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, and Mama relaxed a bit too. She looked at me worried. {What was it, my child?}

Mabel came and sat on the bed, concern written all over their face. "Did your chest start hurting again?"

Benny came and sat with them, while Haley came closer in case I needed help and Bors stood guard. I shook my head. "{N-no, my chest's okay, it's… Cyrus walked past the door.}"

Immediately all five of them understood and were more guarded. {Did anything else happen?}

I shook my head again. "{No… I-I just got scared. I thought…}"

That he was gonna open the door and let Silas rip everyone to shreds, that he was about to come in and kill Leanne and Yvonne or Hazel and Vivian, that they'd found out about the weapons and the escape and we were all doomed, that…

"{I thought we were gonna die…}" I trailed off quietly.

Mabel rubbed my back gently while Mama kept me close. {It is alright my child. Humans typically walk around their strongholds, repulsive as an individual may be. It likely had relatively little to do with us."

Mabel nodded, smiling. "And besides, we're here. We'll do our best."

I leaned a bit more into their hand, then looked at him tentatively. "{Can… can I call you Riri?}"

They raised an eyebrow for a moment before their smile deepened. "Of course, so long as Benny can be your pa too."

I nodded quickly, before my ears tilted back sheepishly. "{I'm gonna run outta parent words though… Would Bors be papa, then?}"

|I think papa fits Bors. He's already used to it, after all.|

Bors smiled to himself, eyes closed while Haley chuckled. {I guess Romeo has an older sister now, huh?}

Mabel nodded, continuing to rub my back. "I can't wait for you to meet him."

Me neither. I wanna see more family. But… I'm probably gonna need more names for nonbinary parents than just Riri.

A while later, when Pa was teaching me more sign language, I felt Cyrus again. A shudder went down my spine, but I wasn't as freaked out as last time. He came by one way, it made sense that he'd go back the other way.
Except he didn't just go back the other way.

He stopped, a little to the left of the door. Not in front of it, but there.

My ears swiveled around, Pa and Papa noticing the change in my demeanor just after Mama. |What's happening?|
"{He… stopped. A little away from the door…?}"

Mama looked towards the door oddly. {How far, my child?}

Uh… I dunno about how specific it is, but I'll try.

"{Like…}" I held up my hand, pointing at the door and then moving around a bed length to the left of it. "{There, kinda…?}"

{Perhaps he is speaking with someone…?}

After a moment, he moved again. But further left. My ears swiveled in that direction. And then he moved again. This time, a little to the right of the door.

What the fuck is he doing? The thingy that opens the doors isn't where he's gone, is it? Maybe they're moving it or something? Or is he checking for cracks in the walls? Can they hear the games through the wall? Why would-

My blood chilled. Silas just popped up next to him.

{My child?}

"{S-Silas…}"

Immediately everyone was super on guard. Riri looked at Pa, concerned. "I'll get Paris."

He nodded, and they and Haley- pops didn't feel right, I needed a different word- briskly walked off to go get Paris. Meantime, I could feel that the other random people blobs were keeping a berth around Cyrus and Silas now.

And then Cyrus moved to the other side of the door, Silas staying where he was. My ears swiveled in both directions.

And then they swapped positions.

What's going on? What're they even doing?!

I could hear footsteps coming over, though not quite as good as usual. I wouldn't move my ears away from where they were.

"Cyrus and Silas?" Paris asked quickly.

"{Just… standing there? And changing positions?}"

Silas went above Cyrus, and then down to where his feet probably were.

"{And going up and down…?}"

Paris and Legolas looked at each other, before Legolas spoke. {I doubt they intend on entering, at the very least…}

And then they both moved right in front of the door.

I hid in Mama's tails immediately. Everyone knew what that meant. Paris and Legolas got on guard as well, and…

Nothing happened.

They just stood there.

What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck?!

And then… they walked away. They moved to the right of the door and out of where I could feel their emotions. Or lack of them.

"{Th-they're gone…?}"

Mama gave me a worried look. {Are you unsure?}

I shook my head. "{N-no, they left, but… why?}"

Paris thought for a long moment. "I would surmise it was to gather information of some kind… of what and why in this manner, I do not know. At least it appears to be over, whatever the intention was."

And it was. But the rest of that day and for a while after, I'd flinch a little every time someone I didn't recognize walked past the door.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Tenebrice 23rd~~

"Let's hope it goes alright for them…"

I nodded, moving more into Leanne and Mama. She and Yvonne were with me and Hazel, watching the screen. Eclipse, Yuna and Koko had all been called in for a fight. Why, we didn't really know. We just knew it probably wasn't good, especially because Spinel was standing there. And alongside her, Gothitelle, Bronco and… someone else. Someone new.

She was a Galactic admin with bright red eyes and a crazed grin, barely held in check to resemble some kinda fucked up typical smile. She was wearing the same kinda suit as other Galactic people, but with more black on her upper body, sleeves and from the top half of her knees up. She also had a gray skirt thingy that looked kinda like a ring at the bottom edge.

Her hair was short and red with two curled spikes of it going down and sideways away from her head, and another backwards fin spike at the top. She looked… way too excited about a fight. Her enthusiasm seemed to bother Spinel, but she didn't seem to care.

There was also a gigantic cat at her feet. She looked like the Glameow from before, but if they ate fifty pillows. There was a lot more white fur than before, and she had purple fur-finger thingies at the end of her ears. Her curly tail was resting on her back, her ears tilted back lazily. For now, she was napping. I really felt like I didn't wanna see her awake.

Do they all gotta look evil? How does anyone not think they're the bad guys?

As soon as Eclipse, Yuna and Koko walked in, Eclipse noticed the new additions. "Oh good, ya brought friends. What, are they here to stuff a cork in your mouth if you start leaking again?"

A small vein appeared on Spinel's head. "This is Commander Mars, she's here to see if you're worth keeping alive so endeavor to prove yourselves. You and your sister are young, #159, dig deep and unearth your potential. I can assure we will continue making the battles more difficult until you do."

Yuna sat down next to Koko while Eclipse crossed her arms. "Yeah yeah, back up. She's the one calling the shots now? I thought you were supposed to be this 'big bad bitch' who was gonna 'show us our place' or some shit. Did yer last tantrum piss your higher ups off?"

Mars' grin spread wider into a giddy cackle. "Oh like you wouldn't believe. Master Cyrus has such a good handle on his emotions to where they're essentially gone! Now if only Spinny over here could amount to half that, maybe she wouldn't be getting reassigned. But, y'know," she grinned cheekily at Spinel. "Sometimes you're not as good as you think you are, huh?"

Spinel's head turned robotically, almost jerkily, towards Mars. You could practically see her trying to contain a maelstrom of chaos, evil and bitch from unleashing upon Mars. Instead she forced a smile.

"I would say I am still far superior to you, considering without me we wouldn't have a single fusion and you would be a useless hussy chasing after your 'Master's' coattails. Of course you still are, but at least on occasion you do something beneficial. Now, shall we proceed Commander Mars or would you like to indulge the test subjects further?"

Mars shook her head and waved her hand dismissively. "No, I'm good. I'm nowhere near as upset by 'indulging them' as you are. Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on you. I'm sure this will be something Master Cyrus will love hearing about."

Me and Mama looked at each other. Something happened. Something MAJOR happened. Apparently Spinel made Cyrus mad? I thought he didn't care what happened to us? Scratch that, I KNOW he doesn't care what happens to us. Then why did Spinel going all smokey on Paris and Legolas get her… knocked down, or something? Whatever it is, it sounds like she's not as in control as she used to be. Rhodo was right.

"You tell Cyrus whatever you please, just remember that unless you suddenly gain a complete understanding of fusions and the fusion process then remember my position within Galactic is secure," Spinel rounded off.

"I-I do not believe you're replaceable, Professor Spinel," Bronco spoke up.

Both Spinel and Mars looked at him like he was a living pile of gruel and he immediately looked away.

{Another fine start to a match… we should just avoid talking to the subjects all together,} Gothitelle sighed.

Spinel turned away while rolling her eyes as she reached into her coat pocket and removed a white pokeball with a red ring. Mama whispered and told me it was a 'premiere ball'.

Premiere what, shiny techno cage?

"Let us get on with this. I summon you!" Spinel opened the ball, the now familiar white light lancing outwards and down. I was expecting some new Pokemon I'd never seen before, but… their shape was familiar. As it continued to form, a pit of dread filled in my stomach.

Elpis growled. {That bitch.}

Standing before Eclipse, Koko and Yuna was a Pokemon like Elpis… but only almost. Instead of white, their fur was gray. Their fan was shackled down, and their head… you couldn't see it. The entire thing was encased in this brown, blocky helmet-thingy with four little spikes coming out in an X on it. As soon as they fully formed, their head sagged too, like the weight of the helmet was almost dragging them to the ground.

"Enter Type: Null, another one of my favorites," Spinel smiled, this one noticeably genuine. I could tell because it made me want to retch at the wretch. "I've gauged all three of your battle data for quite some time, and I've determined that Lycanroc is a suitable opponent for my Type: Null. They are the perfect pressure for you two to awaken to your abilities, #158 and #159. As spiteful as #068 is, she played a key role in this. The data we collected almost excused her rebellion. Almost."

The way Spinel said 'data' made my skin crawl. It was like she'd love if we just became… whatever it was she thought we were. How she looked at Eclipse, Koko and Yuna… all they were was this 'data' thing. That's all she wanted. She didn't care what, or who, she had to go through to get it.

Spinel took out a remote and pressed a button, causing brown energy to flow out from Koko and Eclipse's collars. Except it didn't hurt them at all. In fact, it looked like it felt good to them.

"Stone energy will be flowing through your bodies during the course of battle. Figure out a way to manipulate it and manifest your powers," Spinel demanded.

Like it's that simple. You can't do it, you're a fucking maniac every time you try.

{Stay behind me, Koko,} Yuna muttered softly.

Koko quickly ran behind Yuna. "W-Why do they look like E-Elpis with a h-helmet? What's a Type: Null?"

{A Silvally, shackled by humans afraid of what they brought into the world. Born with a chain around their neck.} She glared at Spinel. {A chain forged by the most putrid of humanity.}

Eclipse clenched her fists, glaring them down. "So now you're showin' off how cruel you are. Great. What's this supposed to do, make us hate you more? Because it's working."

"The Type: Full, aka 'Silvally' in your ranks is a rogue copy, but has provided me ample information to apply to my own, unfinished Type: Null. I could use any pokemon, yes, but I need data for you and them, so why not collect both simultaneously?" She casually stated as though it were obvious. Silvally remained silent, just stood still, breathing heavily underneath their metal mask. "Unfortunately, the RKS system is still unstable and thus the helmet is required."

Koko peeked out from behind Yuna. "Um… maybe if we try talking to them they'll be nice to us like Elpis?"

{Perhaps…} Yuna took a wary step forward. {My fellow, there is no need for us to fight. You need not listen to the humans who enslaved you so,} she said softly.

I remember Elpis saying sounds hurt a lot when the helmet was stuck on her… she's trying to not make it hurt worse.

Silvally didn't speak; they just groaned, growled at her as the breathing intensified, an almost scraping sound coming from the helmet.

{Enslaved? Peh, it is a tool fabricated by science. It will be wielded by its master as its programming intended,} Gothitelle scoffed.

Spinel and Mars chuckled from above.

"I told you they would try. How adorable," Spinel muttered to Mars.

"It'll just make the aftermath all the sweeter," she chuckled in response.

They were just arguing and now they're bonding over our pain!?

{You are... my targets…} The imprisoned Silvally muttered slowly. Almost as if it was something they repeated over and over to themselves. Or had been repeated to them. {I… will finish… mission. Need pain… stop.}

I could feel Elpis' rage, her sorrow, at seeing them like this. Especially when they didn't hesitate to attack.

Unlike Silas, who'd bolt over to whoever he was gonna cut, or Rhyperior where she didn't need to move a ton? They looked like they needed to get in close. But they weren't quick at all. They had a hard enough time just standing with their helmet, forget about running. It was more like they were quickly walking towards Eclipse and Yuna as best they could.

Yuna stood protectively in front of Koko while Eclipse glared at Silvally. "Okay, rocks, I'd really like a hammer about now," she muttered to herself. Nothing happened.

She growled, then quickly sidestepped. Silvally got a grazing hit on her while she shot out her hand, grabbing one of the spike rod thingies on their helmet. Using their surprise and momentum against them, she sent them barreling right into a wall. It shuddered, but didn't flex or crack.

"Yuna!" she yelled over her shoulder. "Any tips on earthbending?!"

{It's easier to use the ground around you than create it,} she relayed quickly. {Envision the process of what you want to happen. That should help.}

Eclipse glanced over quickly to Silvally. They were still picking themselves up, trying to get back their balance. The helmet wasn't making it easy. "Okay, take two," she said to herself before closing her eyes.

At first, nothing happened. Then the ground began to ripple upwards, little bits of stone slowly, excruciatingly slowly, forming into a big rock with a rock stick attached to it.

It was slower going than Silvally getting their balance back.

Yuna glanced at Koko quickly. {Stay here. I'll be back.}

Koko only had time to nod, shivering a bit, before Yuna sprinted off, brown energy glowing around and gathering in front of her. Silvally had begun to lumber towards Eclipse, who was still standing still trying to make the hammer thingy. Before they could get too close though, Yuna barreled straight into their side blisteringly fast with a cone of stone in front of her. A series of crunches and shattering rang out as it knocked them off course and made them stumble.

Before they could get their footing, Yuna howled, energy burning around her and making her claws and stones shine. Then she crouched, hackles in the air, and formed huge boulders to go careening towards them.

They turned around quickly and, rather than trying to dodge the boulders, faced them straight on. Before they were obscured by stone, I saw swords start spinning around them.

{We've got to help them,} Elpis growled.

Clive looked at her. "Of course, but how? We can't exactly stroll over and ask them to be released."

Elpis pawed the ground anxiously. {I know that, but I can't just stand here knowing they're right there and not try to help them!}

Paris and Legolas walked over, Paris putting a hand on her shoulder while Legolas inclined his head. "We'll help them. I promise."

I could feel how badly Elpis wanted to bash down the door, go help them right now, but we weren't in any kinda position to do that. She slowly nodded, sighing sadly to herself.

Legolas shook his head. {Do not lose heart. We need to conserve our strength at the moment. Ensuring you are well enough to ensure their escape is not selfish.}

Elpis stayed silent while Clive felt grateful, then stroked Elpis' side gently.

Me and Mama looked at each other. We gotta help figure out how to get them out too. Somehow. It's not just us who're trapped here.

Just then, Silvally broke through the avalanche of stone. They were swinging their helmet around like a weapon, bashing through the boulders and rubble to get to Yuna.

She quickly leaped out of the way, but they ignored her and kept lumbering towards Koko. She yelped, looking around for where to run.

She didn't need to. A huge hammer made of stone crashed into their side, sending them sprawling away from Koko. Eclipse glared at them furiously, prepping the hammer for another swing. "Don't you fucking touch her."

Clunks and cracks drew her attention back to the hammer, where the bit that had hit Silvally was crumbling. Little bits of rock were falling onto the ground below it. "Oh come on," she groaned, breathing harder than before, "It took ages to make the damn thing and it crumbles immediately?!"

{Surprisingly fragile, it seems it wasn't a perfect construction,} Gothitelle noted.

"It's progress, but she can do better. Increasing #159's stone energy output." Spinel tapped a button and more mineral aura exuded from Eclipse's collar. She winced a bit in response and glared back for a moment, but said nothing.

Gothitelle frowned. {It has reached uncomfortable levels. Hmmm. Her tolerance is far below average of any pokemon. That or she can't grasp how to utilize it efficiently.}

Spinel nodded. "Something to look into afterwards. For now we observe, analyze and press on."

Yuna grimaced, but kept her attention on Silvally. Eclipse quickly turned hers back to them, which was good. They were running right for her. She went to dodge out of the way, but the hammer she was holding, trying to keep it together and clearly tiring out from making it at all, ended up with her getting hit.

The handle she tried to block with shattered as their helmet hit her in the stomach, knocking her back and up a bit into the air before she fell back down. She nearly crumpled to her knees, but held herself up on the remnants of her hammer. "Not yet," she growled, "Not if I've anything to fuckin' say about it."

She pushed herself to her feet, Yuna glancing between her and Koko. "Make sure she's safe!" Eclipse yelled. "I'll be fine."

As Silvally charged, she picked up what was left of the hammer while Yuna ran back to Koko. There was still a lot on the big ball area left, and a small handle. She held it with both hands behind her head, like she was about to do a huge side swing.

Silvally didn't say anything, probably figuring they'd be able to take it given the rocks Yuna had thrown. Instead of waiting through, Eclipse swung the hammer way before Silvally got to her. In fact, so far beforehand that she had time to whirl around twice, the hammer making a low whooshing noise through the air.

Right as they were about to charge into her, she slammed the hammer into their helmet with a sickening crack. They didn't get knocked off balance this time, but it did knock them way off course and send them barreling into the wall again. The helmet looked just the same as ever. The hammer, meanwhile, had shattered into dust and pebbles on impact.

Elpis wasn't kidding about how strong that thing is. And it only breaks through loving people… I guess friendship is magic or something.

"Considering what Null is capable of, I expected them to be able to pressure children better than this. This is just sad," Spinel grimaced.

{At the very least they don't appear to be inflicting any meaningful damage. It seems the helmet doesn't reverberate physical attacks as powerfully anymore thanks to upgrades. All that head smashing and it hasn't whined about a headache yet. That or its learned to suck it up.}

That did little to appease her. "I worry about Galactic's pokemon if they cannot handle these simple tasks. Just barely meeting my standards… Bronco."

"Yes, ma'am?"

"You were hired for your renowned skill as a trainer, yet your results have begun to dwindle. In the coming battles prove to me that you aren't some dimwit bloke who got lucky in a few high stakes fights and train these damn pokemon!" Spinel pinched the bridge of her nose. "I have seen more combat ingenuity in the younger subjects than I've seen from some of your finest combattants."

Mars chuckled and shook her head. "Cyrus talked about this, remember? Maybe it's not everyone else who's messing up. It might be that your pet project didn't go as well as you thought. Did you think about that one?"

{Nothing worthwhile comes easily, Commander Mars. I assure you Type: Null is worth the trouble. It just cannot function at full capacity yet, including mentally,} Gothitelle interjected.

She gave him a look, spinning a knife between her fingers casually. "Clearly. And it'd be stupid if I didn't ask; why didn't you try and modify the helmet before just slapping it on it? It's not like the unintentional downsides aren't painfully obvious."

"The helmet regulates their DNA, keeps the RKS system in check and allows for easy updates to their body. It can handle the pain it induces, it has to. Its predecessors have and so shall it," Spinel eyed… some kinda screen before focusing on the fight.

Silvally turned around, shook themselves off, growled and went right back for Eclipse. Rather than try and make another hammer, or run around like I probably would've, she picked up some of the larger rocks from earlier and hucked them at Silvally. Even if they didn't do much, they did slow them down.

Once they closed in through, she stopped throwing rocks and started throwing hands. It was super clear hitting the helmet would hurt her more than them, so she didn't even try. She did her best to dodge around, slamming blow after blow into their side. Even though they easily had two or more feet of height on her, and way more bulk, she didn't give in.

It wasn't like they were just taking it, though. They were constantly whirling about, trying to smack her with the helmet, rake their claws across her or slam directly into her. And Eclipse was clearly getting frustrated.

"Just go down already, will yo-"

She stopped mid sentence, biting her lip. Silvally had moved their helmet right where she was about to punch, and she hit the helmet square on with a dull thud. She involuntarily shut her eyes and held her fist in agony.

"Bloody motherfu-"

She was cut off again by Silvally's body glowing with white light as they slammed right into her. She went flying through the air, slamming into the wall with a crack as her head hit, then falling face first onto the floor in a daze.

"Eclipse!" Koko shouted before she ran over to her sister. Yuna sprinted alongside her, keeping a careful eye on Silvally the whole time. Koko leaned down and held Eclipse's head.

"Eclipse? Can you hear me? Are you alive?" She asked.

Eclipse's eyes shut tighter before she opened them slowly. "Ko… ko…?"

"I'm here! Yuna is here too, you hit your head, but you're gonna be okay," Koko promised before she started looking around. She touched her collar a second before she laid Eclipse down gently and walked towards the balcony where Spinel and the others stood.

"So you just need us to use our powers right!?" She asked.

"Was my intention not clear?" Spinel crossed her arms. "The more you demonstrate, the sooner you may leave."

I narrowed my eyes. That's a fucking lie. She doesn't care. She just means the sooner they satisfy her stupid data the sooner they can go.

Koko and Spinel glared at each other for a second before Koko turned her attention to Silvally, then Yuna. "You said it's easier if I use the rocks around me right?"

Yuna nodded slowly. {Yes, but… stay behind me, alright?}

Eclipse looked over, straining to push herself upright. "Don't…"

Koko turned around and grinned at Eclipse. "J-just keep your eyes o-open or you'll miss my new s-secret art!"

As soon as she turned away from Eclipse, Koko's grin vanished and was replaced with a look of intensity and fear. She moved behind Yuna and began touching the ground. "So, I just have to think about what I wanna do?"

Yuna nodded again. {And focus on how you want it to be formed.}

Koko gulped. "Welp… uhhh… what would Tails do?" Her face scrunched up in thought before she shook it. "Bleh, I'm not as smart as Tails, this'll have to do!"

Koko's body glowed brown as the broken stones from the battle began to congregate around her hands. It was slow and her brow was sweating, but she was moving faster than Eclipse. After a few more seconds she picked up two hatchets made of stone.

"I-I did it!" She cheered. Genuine joy etched across her face for a split second till her eyes fell upon Silvally again and she returned to reality. "Well… I don't wanna get too close so…"

She pulled back and tossed each hatchet directly into Silvally's helmet. Both shattered upon impact while Silvally didn't budge an inch and just continued staring.

"Okay, I did it! Can we go now?" She asked Spinel and the others.

"She manifested the energy faster than her sister. I wonder what else she can manage," Spinel muttered to Gothitelle, ignoring Koko.

Silvally started slowly walking towards the duo while the assholes kept watching.

{I believe that's a no,} Yuna growled. {Do what you can, and stay away from them. I'll hold them off as long as I can.}

Koko grimaced a bit, glanced at Eclipse who was struggling to push herself up, and nodded. As soon as she did, Yuna was off like a bolt of lightning. She slammed directly into one of their legs, only just knocking them off balance. They glanced at her.

{I'm your opponent.}

They slowly looked up at the balcony, and then began walking towards Koko again. This time, Yuna slammed into their side at full tilt, some rocks splintering away on impact as they struggled to regain their balance. Koko threw another stone hatchet, which kept them off balance long enough for Yuna to send an avalanche of rocks tumbling towards them and bowling them over.

{I said,} she growled threateningly, {I'm your opponent.}

As Silvally slowly picked themselves up and out of the rubble, Yuna's eyes glowed red. She gave them a sneer reminiscent of something Mars would do, blowing a raspberry at them. The shadows around her seemed to darken for a moment, before they went back to normal with her eyes.

"Taunt, huh." Mars spoke up.

They stood up, glared at her, and started on their way to her. They didn't have to wait long, as Yuna closed the distance before you could blink. Rocks shattered out on impact again, but this time Yuna didn't just go past them. Her claws shone white as she raked them across Silvally's hide, darting underneath them before they could retaliate. As they attempted to swipe at her, another hatchet from Koko distracted them long enough for Yuna to leap on top of them.

Her fangs shone black as she opened her maw, biting into the back of their neck just behind the helmet. Something in me told me that was supposed to be a decisive blow. But they just flinched slightly, turned, and slammed Yuna between them and the wall.

The impact forced her to let go, but instead of falling down she spun around, landed on her feet and growled. And then she was off again, forming a large rock in her mouth before she slid under their belly and fired right up into it.
Again, it didn't do much but make them shake themselves off a bit.

While Yuna kept darting around, Silvally slowly stopped trying to attack and simply watched. If she got close enough they'd swipe at her, but they weren't pursuing her much anymore. For just a moment, I swore I saw a muted white glow in their restrained crest, turning a couple hairs from dull gray to white for a second. And then it faded, but this time? Instead of trying to catch her, they slammed the ground.

Bits of rubble and stone fragments flew into the air, then hanging at the apex of their arc. Energy gathered around them until all around Silvally was a ring of yellow stars, slowly spinning. They began to spin faster and rocketed after Yuna.

"Excellent, it learned Swift! Null is adapting! If it cannot match your speed physically, it will learn a move to do it for them! This is the power of a pokemon created to defeat beasts beyond your comprehension!" Spinel gloated.

Mama rolled her eyes. {I still do not know if it is the several tons of earth above us that blots out the sun, or your ego.}

Probably both.

Yuna, instead of zigzagging or trying to dodge or anything, just went faster. She bolted around the arena and zipped right under Silvally, the stars following her the whole way. Even with a swarm of their own attack coming after them, Silvally just lowered their head. Some of the stars passed harmlessly by, still following Yuna, but a bunch slammed right into the helmet. And just like everything else, they didn't do anything.

Yuna came to a stop, taking the few stars that remained rather than let them hit Koko. Koko managed to break a couple of them with her hatchets before they reached Yuna, but she was clearly getting tired from making them. Silvally stopped for a second, then slammed the ground again. More shards turned to stars, and shot towards Yuna.

This time though, when she darted away, they didn't follow her.

Instead, they were all locked right onto Koko.

Yuna skidded to a stop, swiveled and leapt back in front of the stars just before they hit her. The first couple knocked her off balance. Then backwards. And soon she was tumbling backwards through the air, barely managing to catch herself instead of falling flat on the ground.

Silvally, though, wasn't done.

Just as soon as she'd stood up again, she saw Silvally charging right towards her with the helmet down. Just in time for her to see what was happening before they swung their head to one side and then back, slamming the helmet into her like a club.

Yuna went flying through the air, much like Eclipse, and slammed into a wall. She didn't seem to be knocked out immediately, but she was very clearly dazed and having a lot of trouble getting up.

"I take back my previous statement. Null is functioning just as intended. Adapting and learning. Of course it was a cute attempt on their part to try and gain the upperhand," Spinel boasted.

{So Type: Null has improved, but what about the child? She's almost out of stamina,} Gothitelle reminded her. {This is primarily about her.}

"Hmmm, you're right," Spinel agreed. She reached into her pockets and threw some bottles into the arena by Koko, Eclipse and Yuna. "Drink the ethers and potions. We're not done yet."

Before they could protest, Spinel turned up the output on Koko's collar and more stone aura began flowing through her. She nearly fell to her knees in pain and held her arms as it began choking her. Eclipse was trying to push herself up and grab any of them, get up and help, but she was still too injured.

Koko looked up and uncomfortably ran towards Yuna to apply the potion. "Y-Yuna, it hurts. How do I make it stop?"

She dragged her head up. {Vent it. Like Aurora.}

She grit her teeth, glared at the balcony, Silvally and then nodded.

"N-now that I c-can do," Koko growled, vaguely like Yuna.

She turned to Silvally who watched them patiently. Koko focused and the rocks around her began to float before turning into little star shaped rocks. She began throwing them like wild, but instead of aiming for the helmet they arced around Silvally's body and hit their flanks.

Silvally barely seemed to notice them as they began walking towards her. Yuna was struggling to get up, so Koko started making more stone weapons: Hatchets, throwing stars, boomerangs, bricks, dolls. All sorts of things she told me about that she used to watch on TV shows.

"She's doing better than before, but of course a weakling such as herself cannot hope to damage Type: Null," Spinel gloated once again.

Gothitelle squinted at her. {I believe we're getting distracted. Wouldn't you say it's time we moved on?}

"So soon? But look at the technique she's applying! What little stone manipulation she has has allowed her to curve the rocks just enough to hit the flank of Null! She's exhibiting potential only #001 has shown, we can't waste this chance," Spinel argued. "Besides, Null is learning speed counter tactics, why waste the learning opportunity?"

Mars snickered to herself. "Cyrus was riiiight~." she singsong whispered to herself. Spinel didn't even notice.

As Yuna began slowly pushing herself up, Silvally kicked the ground. Another volley of stars shot up around them, several impacting right into Yuna. They sent her reeling, tumbling back and away from Koko. Meanwhile, just five or six stars were enough to send Koko flat on her back, yelping in pain. Before anyone could get up, they lumbered over and pinned her to the ground with their right leg.

She winced as their claws dug into her torso, and then they stepped forwards again. The other leg went right on top of Koko's left arm.

And then through it.

Pure agony flashed across her face. Her eyes widened all the way, her scream piercing the air. Her arm was cleaved into three segments, all apart from her shoulder. But instead of blood, something else came shooting out the stump.

All the stone energy flowed immediately towards it, causing a veritable avalanche to continue cascading away from her.

People screamed, but it was oddly muted. My blood ran cold, colder than it'd been even when the ghost flew through me, as I looked in terror. I could feel Hazel and Vivian's horror, while my mind was racing.

Does that kill her? It looks like it'll kill her. Will she be happy if she lives and wakes up without an arm? Can she do the things she wanted to do? Is she gonna be alive to even try?

Without even realizing it, tears had begun to stream down my face.

Silvally, meanwhile, flinched at the noise and leaned forward. {Q-quiet.}

She didn't stop screaming.

Their eyes glowed as they began clawing at their helmet, backing away, as if she was one the who hurt them. {Stop it. S-stop it right n-now!}

She continued to scream because her arm got cut off. She tried to move, but it caused her to scream louder. The tears wouldn't stop coming. Her eyes were beginning to roll back into her head. Blood was getting everywhere and coating the avalanche rushing from her gaping wound.

{S-shut up! Shut up! Y-you're too loud!} Silvally barked as they banged their head into the ground in rage.

Right as they made to push their claw through her chest, Yuna's body shone with orange light as she forced herself upright and slammed into Silvally, sending them flying back into the tide of stone. She was barely able to stay upright, but looked at Koko and her arm in a panic.

Silvally, meanwhile, was almost instantly swallowed up by the waves of rock that were quickly filling the whole arena. Koko's eyes rolled back completely and her scream died out as she passed out. I hoped.

"What the fuck is it doing!?" Spinel shrieked. Her eyes had turned pitch black. Everyone around her took a step back in shock as she screamed at Silvally. "Type: Null, what have you done!? I said pressure the subjects, not maim them! It was a simple task!"

Null didn't listen to her as they kept clawing at their helmet and the rocks around them, ignoring everyone. {S-stop yelling… too l-loud.}

"Koko…?" An empty potion bottle was rolling where Eclipse had been, some of the liquid leaking out as she was looking at Koko in abject horror. There wasn't any anger or calculated hardness in her face. She was just terrified.

She ran over, nearly stumbling over herself, then actually stumbling over herself. She ignored it and kept going.

Yuna ran over and helped her, shaking. {I-I tried-}

Eclipse just nodded, not even really paying attention as she held Koko close to her chest. "Koko? Koko, c'mon, speak to me. You're… y-you're the only one I've got left… Koko? Ko-"

Her voice cut off sharply. She coughed once, blood lurching out as her eyes rolled back in her head. Her skin looked like it was boiling for a moment before dozens of small stone spikes shot out of it, blood covering them all. She fell forwards, still cradling Koko. Despite the myriad of stony daggers jutting out from her as more slowly popped up.

"Stones are coming out of her body!?" Bronco yelled.

{The collar is outputting more energy than her body can cope with which is causing it to seep out in unorthodox ways. I suspect the trigger was tied to her emotional turmoil at her sister's situation. Cut off the connection.} Gothitelle ordered. His voice was calm, but rushed.

Spinel deactivated both of their collars, and the rocky avalanche stopped coming out from Koko. She was bleeding in even more places now. Meanwhile, the stony daggers in Eclipse crumbled to dust. That just left loads of open wounds for blood to pour out of.

"Damnit," Spinel pressed multiple buttons on her remote. "We need a gurney and medical, stat. #158 and #159 have sustained heavy damage. The battle is over, prioritize #158's recovery. I authorize use of the healing chambers if required."

She removed Silvally's Premier Ball and pointed it towards them. "Return," She said darkly.

The red beam cascaded towards Silvally, but they hid behind a boulder blocking it.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

{N-not my f-fault! No hurt!} Silvally begged.

{They expect punishment,} Gothitelle elaborated. {Its terrified.}

"They have good bloody reason. Return!"

Silvally dodged the red beam again.

{No hurt! I do better!} They begged.

{Refused direct orders again. Do you think it's defective?} Gothitelle inquired.

"The girl's screaming has made them inconsolable… Null, you won't be punished, just return to the ball," Spinel lied. Silvally dodged the next beam.

"This useless piece of- Mars, do something!" Spinel demanded.

"I am doing something," she said through her wheezing, "I'm dying of laughter! You thought you could handle this?! I can't wait to see Cyrus' face when he sees the mess you made!"

Spinel's face blanched at the realization. "I am surrounded by ineffectual, useless mongrels! Gothitelle, forcibly knock them out."

{Spinel, like I told you before, my psychic powers are not adept at neurological disruption-}

Spinel buried her face in her hands. "Why do I even bother!? I should've trained a fucking Elygem! Or even a Solosis!"

At that Gothitelle looked genuinely offended and vaguely upset.

Right then, a huge section of the stone wall was blasted outwards with a thunderous roar. Silvally yelped in pain as they kept clawing at the helmet, while Jean and Indra came in flanked by a lot of grunts with bed sheets taut between two sticks and lots of medical supplies. With them were two Chansey. She glanced across the battlefield before turning to Indra, who was flapping beside her.

"Disorient Silvally! Keep them away from the kids!"

He nodded, flying into the air and letting out huge blasts of sonic waves right towards them. The rubble on the ground shuddered while Silvally yelled in pain, continuing to scratch at the helmet. The grunts beside Jean looked way too scared to get in the middle of that.

"Are you- follow me if you don't want to let children die!" Jean ordered the grunts as she pulled one of them onto the battlefield, causing everyone else to follow. After jumping through the debris and carnage, Jean managed to lead them to Eclipse and Koko. The medical people and Chansey immediately got to work while Jean stood close by, keeping watch on the battle and comforting the girls.

Spinel gripped the railing. "I did not call for you, Jean!"

Without taking her eyes off the fight, Jean shot back. "And I'm pretty sure you're not gonna be my boss by tomorrow morning, so-" She picked up a rock and blocked an arcing star from hitting Eclipse. "-so can it!"

"This insipid fucking bitch-" Spinel paused in her tirade to collect herself. "You know what? Indra is perfect for this task. Subdue Type: Null with loud sound waves, they will overwhelm it and allow for easy retrieval."

"I'd worked that one out, thanks!" Jean yelled back while watching the fight. A vein nearly popped in Spinel's forehead. "Indra, Supersonic by that curled bit!"

Without hesitation Indra turned and shot several rings of energy into a curled over funnel of stone, amplifying them and nearly knocking Silvally onto their feet by that alone. While they tried to get their balance, he shot another sonic pulse at a boulder and shattered it to dust.

Spinel took out the pokeball again. "Return!"

As they were about to dodge again, Indra shot out another blast. It stunned them just long enough for the beam of light to hit them. Both he and Jean cringed a bit as he was recalled, but they couldn't stop.

"Right. One problem delayed, now for the next." Jean muttered before looking back at the doctor Grunts. "We'll clear the way, follow quick as you can and prioritize their well-being over all else!"

Spinel was quiet a moment as she eyed the premier ball Silvally was in. "...come along Gothitelle, we have data to review and errors to correct."

Gothitelle turned to her as if she were mad. {T-that's it?}

Spinel looked at him as though it was obvious. "The subjects' fate is out of my hands, but Silvally's is not and there's work to be done. Bronco, bring me my dinner. Mars, go choke on Cyrus' unmentionables."

Both of them looked over at a little bit of commotion by the entrance. There were a bunch of doctor Grunts with stretchers standing awkwardly by the door, having just arrived. Jean rolled her eyes. "Did your job already, shoo! Clear the way!"

They quickly stepped back while the doctor Grunts Jean had apparently brought with her followed after her. After they'd ran out of sight, the Grunts Spinel had called looked up at her awkwardly for orders as she squinted at them.

"I have now memorized all your faces. In the future do not expect mercy if you do not respond with haste at a direct order. Get out of my sight," She waved them away and they ran like the wind. Spinel scoffed and made her exit.

Bronco looked at her and Gothitelle leaving, then to Mars. She was holding herself up on the wall, doubled over laughing. He slowly scooted to the side around her before following after.

Mama nudged me a little. {My child?}

I started, looking at her. "{W-what?}"

She gave me a solemn look. {I am here.}

I nodded, hugging closer to her. I just stared at the screen. Blood covered the floor, bits of dust and rock scattered everywhere. There were red footprints where Jean and the Grunts with her had been. A huge, misshapen, looming wall of rock took up a quarter of the arena on one side, shadows at odd places where the uncontrolled torrent had formed strange shapes where light died. Half ruined boulders, several of which with large indents, sat throughout the arena.

I didn't know what to say. No one did. The quiet sobs throughout the rest of the room were drowned out by Mars' uproarious laughter. Long after everyone else had left, she was having trouble keeping herself upright. Cackling at the carnage in front of her.

That laughter echoed in my head long into the night.

~~?, Year 8520, ?, ?~~

As I opened my eyes, the first thing that I noticed was the flickering lights. Usually they were always on or off, but right now? They were flashing on and off, sparks hissing from up above.

"{Mama, what's happening?}"

There was no response.

"{M-Mama…?}"

I looked around. It was still the room everyone slept in, but… it wasn't. Not anymore. Beds were overturned and broken, large gashes in metal lined the walls, impacts in the ground like someone had slammed them loads. I could smell the dried blood.

Something in me screamed to hide. Now. So I did. I dove under the bed, ears perked up. I looked at where the door was. It was still there, but broken and mangled. There was enough space to get through. The question is what was waiting on the other side.

Soon, I heard a faint, quiet hissing. Even as it grew closer, it barely grew louder. My tails curled up as I tried to cover my mouth, make myself as quiet as I could.

Slowly, what was making the hissing came into view. The Dusknoir with Spinel when she was slamming my face against the ground floated into view, and then into the room. The mouth on her stomach was hanging open lazily, the same mist from before pouring out of it.

As it washed over me, it took everything I had not to cough.
And I waited.

So did she.

When I felt my lungs about to explode, she floated back through the door and away, the mist evaporating behind her.

I covered my head and tried to cough, breathe as quietly as I could.

And then I waited.

Only when I was sure I couldn't hear anyone, did I gingerly crawl out from under the bed. I looked around quickly, to make sure no one else was hiding in the room. Like me… or to bring me to wherever everyone else was. There wasn't.

I peeked out the door. The hallways looked… fine. There were no Grunts walking through them, but everything was as pristine as it always was. The only thing that was wrecked… was where everyone was supposed to be.

I had a sinking pit in my stomach as I ran through the halls, making absolutely sure to not make a sound. Not even my footsteps.

I did my best to find my way to Rhodo's office. I was sure he could tell me something about what was going on.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the flickering lights seemed to be following me. Like something was following me.

Left, right, straight, right, left, left… When I got to Rhodo's door, it wasn't… as messed up as the door to the room we were usually in. It just looked like it was stuck open, little sparks coming from where Jean would usually swipe her card.

I walked in slowly. "{R-Rhodo…? A-are you there?}"

His office looked… okay. Not super messed up. I could still faintly smell the berries, and the lights still weren't as harsh as the ones everywhere else. But I could also smell blood.

I looked over to the back, where we usually went to rest. I saw his legs, peeking out from the side, like he was laying down.

But blood was pooling. And I couldn't feel him. At all.

My breath hitched and I gulped, nearly making me cough again. Something told me it wasn't just him there. And I couldn't feel anyone.

I turned to leave. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe everyone was okay, just somewhere else.

And Mars was right there.

I yelped and fell backwards, scrambling away from her. She just laughed. "You're really trying to not get found, huh? Failing miserably, but still trying."

I pushed past her and sprinted through the halls. She started laughing. "Go on, run! Run as much as you want! You can't hide. You have no idea how to get out of here!"

Her laughter echoed after me as I ran onwards.

The door to where Eloise took me for weird tests was broken open. I looked inside.

Paris, Legolas, Riri, Pa, Papa, Haley, Sue, Owain, Arvis, Mango, and so many more broken corpses I could barely recognize lay within.

I threw up.

And then I ran again.

There was some crackling from places high in the walls, all around. "They outlived their usefulness, and were disposed of," Spinel's voice said over the intercom. "But you, #001… you, we can still utilize."

I ran past the arena. Hazel, Vivian, Leanne, Yvonne, Ron, Rush, Eclipse, Koko, Yuna-

I couldn't.

Tears were streaming down my face as I kept running. Rhyperior rounded a corner, with Scolipede. I could see Cookie, Kutsa, Maya, Dojima-

I couldn't.

I nearly fell over with how quickly I turned, scampering the other direction. I could feel Silas behind me. I couldn't see him, but I could hear his hissing cackles getting closer and closer.

When I tried to look, all I saw behind me was sadistic scarlet eyes and a shining toothy grin, cackles echoing relentlessly in my ears.

I screamed and leapt into the closest door, shutting it behind me.

For the briefest moment, I thought I was safe.

"Thank you Silas," I heard from behind me as my heart stopped. "You corralled it perfectly."

I had just enough time to turn and see Cyrus' cold, unmoving face. The Pokeball in his hand. The pain machine, and the piles of goo that used to be people. Mama, broken and unmoving. Before a red light shot over my body, burning me inside and out.

"I have plans for you, #001," he said as everything around me faded to nothingness and pain. "And they will be realized."

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Lurina 24th~~

{My child, please wake up…}

My eyes shot open, my heart racing as I nearly leapt out of bed. I was in the room with everyone else, the lights off. Not flickering. Off. Hazel and Vivian were close by, and Mama curled around me like always.

I held her tightly and bawled into her chest.

She nudged me closer with her head, curling her tails around me more. {You are safe, my child. I am here. You are not alone.}

I slowly calmed down, registering that I could feel other people around. Leanne, Yvonne, Clive, Elpis, Guinevere, Chestnut, Lucia, Arden- they were all alive. Sleeping, but alive.

I couldn't hear any sparks. No faint hissing. Just the dozens and dozens of breaths in the room as people slept.

"{M-Mama…}" I choked out. I couldn't manage anything else.

{It's alright,} she repeated gently, {I am here for you. As I will always be.}

Eventually, when my sobs turned to hiccups, she began softly singing the lullaby Guinevere often sung for me, Hazel and Vivian. It was only because of Mama that I got back to sleep.

That was the first time I woke up with tears in my eyes. It wouldn't be the last.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Solacei 27th~~

"Aurora dear?"

I looked over to see Guinevere coming over, a box of muffins in her arms and Chestnut walking right beside her. "How are you feeling today?"

"{Mrf…}" My shoulders slumped as Mama kept me close.

Guinevere gave a sad, knowing nod as she sat down with us. Chestnut hopped up onto the bed as she gave muffins to me and Mama. "I think I have some news you'll be happy to hear," she said soothingly.

One of my ears tilted to the side as I looked at her curiously. Did Rhodo tell her something good? Unless Spinel was assaulted by Chao and she got sick from all the happy. That'd be good too.

"Rhodo will be watching over us more often, and is now going to be in charge some of the time."

Me and Mama both perked up at that. Wait, but doesn't Galactic hate Rhodo? He's not become a bad guy, right? There's no way. Then why would they let him make decisions…?

{I presume there are caveats to this change in management?} Mama asked warily. It sounded too good to be true.

Chestnut nodded. {Yeah, but they're not as bad as you might think. Apparently Cyrus didn't like that people kept dying when Spinel was in charge. So on some days, when Cyrus is busy, Rhodo is gonna be in charge. He said there's limits, like he can't just let us all go, but that means there's gonna be nothing bad happening on a bunch of days. No fighting, no tests, nothing. And he said he'd try and get us some better food when he can!}

I heard Ron inhale sharply when he said that. Even though he was definitely out of hearing range, he still just knew. And I'm glad he's got something to look forward to.

"There's more," Guinevere continued. "Eclipse, Koko and Yuna are all going to be alright."

A weight in my heart just melted as soon as she said that, covering it in a warm, calming feeling that we didn't get to have often here. "{Really…? Koko's arm and everything…?}"

She nodded, smiling. "From what Rhodo knows, they'll have to fix her arm in some way other than just healing it, but she'll be able to use it again just fine after. They're all going to be okay. He doesn't know when they'll be able to rejoin us, but they will."

I relaxed against Mama and let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. They're gonna be okay… Koko's gonna be able to do stuff with her arm and they'll both be alive right with Yuna and she won't be lonely. They're all gonna be okay…

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Radinam 28th~~

My ears flicked, and I looked over towards Paris, Legolas and two other people. They were the Noctowl and his partner from the other night, and they were walking towards Paris weirdly. They were trying to figure out how to get out, right? Then why do they feel so… angry? Is it angry? Haley told me the thing that Mango felt was stress induced panic, bordering on insanity. Is… is this that?

{What is it, my child?} Mama asked gently as she lifted her head, turning to look where I was looking.

"{The two walking t' Paris an' Legolas… they feel weird.}"

She narrowed her eyes in concern, not looking away from them. {Weird in what capacity?}

"{Like they're mad an' sad an' anxious.}"

{Mmm... not too unusual considering our situation, but dangerous if unchecked. Stay close, my child.}

I nodded slowly, watching the hybrid walk… quickly? It wasn't stiff, like scared Grunts. But it looked like if you poked him from behind, he'd freak out. I'd noticed him before in passing and he'd been like that for most of the time we've been here. Paris and Legolas, meanwhile, had noticed their approach and were entirely calm. Waiting for them.

"You're P-Paris, right?" He said, shaking a bit.

"I am. Who's asking?" She replied coolly.

"Ah- right, I'm Keaton and this is Twili," he said quickly, gesturing to his partner Noctowl who'd landed beside him. "You have an escape plan, right?"

At that, several people gave him a weird look. Mama sighed. {Ah yes, blatantly inquiring about methods of escape with cameras about in broad light. Perfectly logical.}

He's gotta be scared, but… everyone's gotta be careful and quiet if we're gonna get out okay. Wouldn't this mess things up for everyone?

Paris and Legolas didn't bat an eye, but they did take half a second to respond. "While I do not intend to sit idly by while Galactic has their way, I also do not have anything resembling a concrete plan of escape at the moment. However, even if I did, I would not simply speak it aloud for all the walls to hear."

His fear spiked as his voice suddenly hushed. "Sorry! But you do have a plan, right?"

She shook her head, speaking in the same even tone. "I was being truthful. There are simply too many unknown factors to form a concrete plan of escape, even ignoring how any such plan is likely to be thrown up in smoke as soon as it begins. Rarely do plans go so cleanly as to not account for that."

He started shivering worse. "But- but you saw what happened with those girls! What they keep doing! If we stay here any longer, they're going to kill us all! Especially that evil little shadow demon…"

"I do not believe so," Paris continued. "If their intention was wanton murder, then not only would we all already be dead? They would not be going to such lengths to keep us alive in any capacity. While their motives are not yet entirely clear, the likelihood of us being slaughtered is slim."

His heart rate began to slow a little. "But… don't you want to get out of here? Before anything else happens? I-I'm not anything special. Even the ones they like aren't safe! T-they're gonna make me fight a Manectric or G-golem and they won't stop if I get too h-hurt! They'll just write me o-off as another failure! I can't die, you see, I just got promoted at work. If I'm late for too long they'll demote me and dying isn't an excuse. Nope nope nope. Plus I gotta pick up my mail before I die and I left the o-oven on-"

Keaton's ramblings became more incoherent the longer he spoke, the insanity creeping in the more he spoke. His emotions felt like they were about to explode from panic. Twili looked jittery, but unsurprised by his outburst. I felt nauseous just by sensing it.

Paris calmly gripped his shoulder and squeezed it hard, bringing his attention back to her. She gazed right into his eyes and his focus returned to reality.

"I believe it goes without saying that out of all possibilities, dying here is very low on the list of where I'd like to meet my end. But I would rather risk my own death to help as many people here as possible escape, than take myself and my abilities out of the equation by attempting prematurely. Succeed or fail, I could not help anyone here directly on my own. Better, then, to wait and assist."

"Right…" He nodded after hesitating. "Right. I'll… be going then." He walked away, much less anxious than before but with it still lingering in his heart. His shaky steps were clear to all. Several people breathed a sigh of relief as he left, and Paris and Legolas went back to… probably planning how to get out.

Mama sighed in exasperation. {At least that did not escalate…}

I moved closer to her. "{W-why didn't he think 'bout all those things Paris said…?}"

She looked at me, pondered a moment, and responded. {Most people are inclined to save themselves before others. Despite their best intentions, in stressful situations they can forget themselves. Not unlike what happened with Mango.}

I nodded slowly, staying close to her. It makes sense that he wants to get out right away, but… I wouldn't wanna get out if it meant everyone else couldn't. And I dunno how much I can help, but I wanna help as much as I can. If I got out before everyone else and they couldn't make it out because of me…

I shuddered. Mama gave me a concerned look. {Are you well, my child?}

I nodded. "{Jus' don't wanna escape if it means fuckin' everyone else over…}"

A small smile crossed her face. {You never cease to make me proud.}

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Umbrum 29th~~

The next day, some other people had been brought in for a kinda strength test we could see on the screen. Four pairs were there, a lot of weights and pull-thingies and Mars. One of the pairs I'd seen with Paris and Legolas before, and they were lifting the most weights.

Vika, the Hybrid, was lifting a ton of stuff. She was tall like her partner and really buff, a lot like Benny was. Her hair had these two little points poking up from an otherwise short haircut, all spiky with a couple black streaks and ends. Her clothes were some jeans and a yellow tank top, and she had dark blue boots on. She didn't have tails though, unlike her partner.

Proton, who was apparently an Electivire, was as tall as she was but buffer. Or fluffier. It was hard to tell. All I knew is that he was lifting more, and encouraging Vika the whole time. Yellow fur covered his whole body, with some black parts. Like a band that went around his head and over his eyes, around his wrists and ankles, and a black coat-looking part around his body. His two tails were waving slightly through the air, small sparks jolting around the red tips every so often.

For the most part, everyone was just picking up heavy things. And things were calm until one of the other Hybrids in the room mentioned something in idle conversation between lifting stuff.

"So wouldn't she die if we so much as chucked these at her? There's a reason they've got us lifting these things and her watching, right?"

The moment they finished their sentence, Mars' red eyes snapped open, a crazed grin spreading across her face. Her hair and skirt thingy bounced as she whirled to look at the guy who spoke, who had noticed and was now attempting to look smaller.

The gargantuan Glameow at her feet (which was apparently a Purugly) opened one eye, glaring at them. Her curly tail was resting on her back, but her ears had swiveled to face them.

"I'd love to see you try," Mars exclaimed as she flicked her wrist, a knife sliding out of her sleeve into her palm. She began spinning the knife around her hand, looking gleefully at everyone in front of her. "It's so boring just watching a stress test of how much you can lift. Try and fight me, make this fun! I'm the one who decides just how severe measures to keep you experiments in line are, so go ahead! I'd love a new corpse to dissect. Spinel getting chewed out entertained me, but it's wearing off. Gimme something new!"

The poor guy from before was quaking at this point, and looked so very thankful for Vika and Proton both walking over and standing in front of him. She glared calmly back at Mars. "There's no need for that. It was rhetorical, and there's no intention to fuck around here." She glanced back at the guy. "Right?"

He nodded so fast I thought his head was gonna fall off as Vika looked back at Mars. "We actually quite like when your job is boring, so you can go back to… not threatening our lives. Whatever it is you do in your spare time."

Mars sighed, slipping the knife back up her sleeve as she rested against the wall again. "Could've at least tried something, made my day…" she muttered while Purugly huffed, closing her eyes and going back to napping.

A shiver had run down my spine as everyone with me looked around at each other. One thing was very clear. Not giving her reasons to cut us into ribbons wasn't enough. We needed to give her reasons to not do that. Whatever those were. Otherwise… she'd cut throats if someone coughed aggressively.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Umbrum 29th~~

Later that night, when we were about to go to bed? I overheard the same group that was talking about escaping whispering to each other again.

"Did she agree to help?"

"N-not… exactly…" The voice I recognized as Keaton's was hesitant. "She… made a lot of good points on why we should wait, though. B-but I dunno, I wanna get out so bad."

"You know we can't stay any longer! That knife woman was ready to cut us to shreds if we breathed too hard. With or without her, we need to get."

"W-what about everyone here, though…?"

"It'll be okay. We get aboveground, get to the Ranger station, get help and everyone'll be fine. We're not just leaving them behind. And it'll be a lot easier for a few people to go unnoticed than everyone."

There was silence, when the same guy continued. "It'll be okay. We just gotta go for it."

They stopped talking after that. Me and Mama just looked at each other. We didn't need to say anything. She just curled her tails around me more, and I laid my head on her chest.

I know it won't work… but I hope it does. For their sakes, at least.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Tenebrice 31st~~

We didn't have to wait long to find out.

In the middle of the night, a couple days later, a piercing, echoing blare woke me up. Dull red lights were flashing, and all of it hurt my head.

Mama quickly covered my ears with the blankets, along with hers. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Guinevere doing the same thing for Hazel and Vivian. If anyone said anything, I couldn't hear it. The sharp ringing in my ears drowned out everything else.

I could definitely feel what everyone was feeling though. And they were worried. Scared, nervous, concerned… nobody was all that hopeful. We all knew why the alarms were blaring. We just hoped the worst wouldn't happen.

And we waited.

After what felt like forever and no time at all, the lights stayed off and the alarm stopped blaring. Once my head stopped spinning, I looked around. Everyone was still there, shaking their heads and looking around.

Well. Almost everyone.

The door looked like it'd been forced open, but another one had slammed down. And it looked even sturdier than the first one. There was also a small pool of blood at the bottom.

I looked at Mama. I didn't know how long they should or shouldn't have been going, what human buildings were like, if maybe there was some secret passage other people knew about that I didn't. I was hoping she had some idea.

She just shook her head solemnly.

My heart sank, my ears drooping as I curled up in her tails. Even though I knew there wasn't a chance… I was hoping they'd be okay. Now… I couldn't know.

We waited a little while. Even if the alarms had stopped, maybe there was some way they'd gotten out. Maybe some Grunt would come in, freaking out because they escaped, and Paris would pull out the weapons and we'd break out too.

Nothing happened.

I doubt I could've gotten to sleep if it wasn't for how exhausted I was from… everything.

~~Dream World, Year 8520, Taflinal, Tenebrice 31st~~

When I woke up again, it was in the bed Rhea had made for me. Mama was curled around me, and when I looked outside? There were a couple other houses being built. Spiri was cuddled up happily close to me, and I looked around.

The dream world felt… different, somehow. The sky was still pink, it was still snowy with trees around and it didn't feel like anything bad had happened… but it felt like there was more there, somehow.

"Aurora?" Rhea said quietly as the door creaked open. "How are you?"

I cuddled closer to Mama. "Mmmh…"

Her face fell as she sat down, Mama looking at her for a moment before going back to resting and keeping me close. She felt different from Rhea and Spiri. Rhea gently stroked my back. "I know… I know."

"Could… Could I have done anything? To help them…?"

Mama looked up and shook her head. {No, my daughter. They were set in their intentions, and if you had attempted you more than likely would be in a far worse situation right now.}

Rhea nodded sadly and kept rubbing my back. "You know what's good though?"

I looked at her curiously, and she had a Rhodo smile. "You're still here. Your mama is still with you. And you're not Galactic's. You're you. Also… I think someone has something to tell you."

My ears tilted a bit as I cocked my head. She gently moved across the bed and opened the window. "Don't you have something to say to her?"

"Of course!"

My eyes widened, my ears perking up as I rushed to the window and looked out. Owain was standing there, Sue right beside him. And he had as big a grin on his face as ever. "Hello, Aurora! Our fates have crossed paths once more!"

I just stared at him in shock, my mouth hanging open. He laughed. "Don't be alarmed! I'm not quite sure how I made my way here, but Sue and I have arrived nonetheless! We even have our own lodgings!"

He gestured towards an unfinished house behind him. "The gracious woman with you said we could create a home of our liking here, and so we are! I hope this isn't imposing on your… brain… space…" He looked around for a moment, and then asked in a loud whisper, "Is there limited space? Are we imposing?"

Rhea thought a moment. "I don't know about the space… but as for if you're imposing, you'll have to ask Aurora that. ...Aurora?"

I whirled around, hugging Rhea tightly while Spiri trilled. She smiled brightly and called back. "Does that answer your question?"

"Indeed it does, fair maiden! And I have something to tell the kind soul you're holding, just as you anticipated."

Rhea nudged me gently. "He means you, don't worry."

I slowly let go of her and turned around to look at him. His smile wasn't quite as big as before, but it felt a lot… deeper, somehow. "Remember what I told you, and everyone? The show must go on! While rehearsing a performance, some might get stage fright. And that's no fault of their own; whoever dealt this hand was giving out cruel and unusual punishment. But even those who leave before the big day play their part. We all live on in the hearts of our audience, and our fellow actors, actresses and those in the beautiful rainbow betwixt the two. I'm sure Paris has already learned something vital from this. So take heart, young Aurora!"

He and Sue pointed straight up. "I swear on whatever form I have taken here that you shall see the sky! And while I may not be able to perform alongside you all out there, rest assured that you can see us perform in your heart at any time!"

I wiped away the tears from my eyes and nodded, smiling back at him.

That's right. Leanne said they're gone, but not forgotten… and she's right. No matter what happens when I wake up, things are gonna be okay eventually. We just gotta be strong, and even stronger the less of us there are. Galactic can't beat us all. We won't let them.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Lurina 32nd~~

Hazel sat next to me, with Vivian on her lap. Ron and Rush were close by with Pa, Riri, Haley and Papa. Leanne was holding us while Yvonne sat right next to the bed. Mama, of course, was right with me.

And we weren't the only ones. The screen wasn't on yet, but we all knew something was gonna happen. Everyone was sat together, huddled with family and friends, watching. Waiting to see what was going to happen.

Nobody had come back last night. The pool of blood at the bottom of the door was gone. The only sign anything had happened was the different door was still there.

Suddenly, the screen flashed to life. We could see the arena, but it was from a different angle. Usually, where Bronco was and whoever was with him was in view. But this time, it wasn't. Instead, it was a different balcony we saw, with loads of buttons and panels. The one Spinel used to be in, before she watched the fights closer up. There were some Grunts there, but that wasn't who I was looking at. Cyrus, his arms folded behind his back, stood there. Staring down at the arena with the same blank, emotionless face he always had.

Silas wasn't with him.

In the arena, everyone who'd tried to escape last night was sprawled on the ground. Some of them looked like they were just waking up. There were twelve of them.

Once they'd all begun to wake up, he spoke.

"If your plan was to wake up within this arena this morning, you did splendidly."

Noah, with his partner Typhlosion, staggered to his feet and shook his fist at Cyrus. "You can't keep us here forever! We got further than you'd ever let us be, and that was just us! With everyone, you'll-"

"Not be remotely worried." The statement sent a chill outwards. "Regardless of how… ineffective you were at concealing your plans to escape, you still did precisely as I predicted. All you did was give Mars something to do."

He shuddered, but shook his head. "That can't be right, we broke out! And even got far!"

Cyrus' expression never changed. "Mmm. How far, exactly?"

Noah paused. "Lots of hallways…?"

"Indeed. And I take it, then, your plan was to fight your way out of dead ends twice and be accosted in the third? You never even made it off the first floor."

Their faces blanched. "Floor…?"

Keaton fell to his knees and curled up into a ball. Twili begged and shook him to stand up again, but he was sobbing to himself now.

Cyrus shook his head. "There are multiple, yes. As well as security doors installed throughout them all. Your companion experienced one of them firsthand before you had even truly begun."

I noticed Ibya, the Toxapex Hybrid, was hiding her forearm. Bile rose in my throat.

"Did it not occur to you that perhaps there were measures in place, and you simply were not deemed worthy of engaging them? Or, perhaps, that such an attempt had been expected from the moment you were brought here."

Noah stumbled back. "You couldn't have-"

"No?" Cyrus interrupted him. "All of you are here in service of a brilliant future. The beginnings of a superior species, destined to be the only sentient beings in a new world. But you would never see it like that. Your scope is far too narrow. Any cornered animal would fight or flee. And due to your failure, the comparison is apt."

He raised one hand, as though he was holding a sphere up to someone, forwards. "But you should take heart. Your sacrifice is not in vain. You fall so that others may walk, then run, then soar. You could have continued to forward life itself." He shook his head in what was clearly mock sadness. "But no. You thought only of yourselves. And while your fellows are correct in that I cannot allow you all to die, there is one simple caveat to that.

"I cannot allow you all to die, so long as you can forward reality itself."

Keaton began pulling on his hair, sobbing too loud to ignore. Varying levels of despair began to sink into everyone's faces. Twili stepped back from Keaton causing him to sob for his partner to return to him. Twili's face was filled with unrecognizable anguish as he ignored Keaton's cries and stood by the others preparing to fight for their lives.

A crazed grin and beady red eyes flashed from the ceiling, right down towards Noah. "But your usefulness has ended."

Mama covered my eyes with her tail as Noah's scream split the air for just a moment. I… didn't need to look. I knew Leanne was hiding Hazel and Vivian's eyes too. And I knew what was happening with Silas. The screams that filled the air, Keaton's sobs vanishing in an instant, told me everything.

Once there were no more, I slowly pushed away Mama's tail. I… didn't see anyone. Just Cyrus, the Grunts on the balcony, and crimson. I shuddered. You couldn't see through the glass. There was just red everywhere, and some scattered bumps in it. Along with the ever gleeful Silas, cackling to himself and coated in it.

"To all of Galactic, and those watching this, wherever or whenever it may be." Cyrus spoke aloud. "Those before you were sacrificed for a greater cause. A cause greater than all of us. The world is dying, riddled with rot and infested with foolish, self-serving creatures. To save reality itself, we must sacrifice this world to build one anew. One with only superior beings, Fusions, that walk its pristine lands. One where wanton strife and chaos, precisely like that of the Tohjo war, will never happen. Nay, never cross the minds of a single soul."

He swept his hand to the side. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Steel yourselves, for all that is done here is done for the good of all. Misgivings are expected, but there will always be an answer to your worries. And the answers I provide will guide this world to a better one. For our goal is not confined simply to this earth. Our goal is of Galactic proportions. And every one of you is pushing us all forwards to that goal. To our new world!"

The grunts behind him started chanting jubilantly. "To our new world! To Leader Cyrus!"

None of us said a thing. Except, amidst the cheers for insanity, Paris.

"Every card you play is another show of your hand, Cyrus. And you don't have them all."

Entry Log:

-Rhodo requested I specifically watch a certain section of footage for my own benefit and... The day that I can dispose of #068 will be a day of rejoice. While informative of her limits, her remark at the end incensed me far more than it should've. I've never met so many incorrigible heathens.

-Cyrus has returned and he is… displeased. It seems now that I've given him fusions, he's weighing if it's worth keeping me around, as he's elected to rescind some of my privileges. My direct contact with fusions has been cut drastically, meaning I cannot partake in the battles in any way nor verbally communicate with them. He said I was 'easily agitated and provoked'. He does not understand how irritating these test subjects are.

In relation however, on the 23rd he said he must return to the mainland to keep up his appearance as the renowned engineer and CEO of Team Galactic. Our base at Veilstone requires its head to make appearances, I suppose. Considering how many people we've kidnapped, he is trying to avoid drawing any suspicion to our group at all, but I wonder how long that will last in a region like Sinnoh? This is not Unova, there are only so many major corporations with the funds to hold this many people.

-He also had the gall to imply that I need to earn my station back. I am to have access to my prior station's privileges in his absence, and they 'may be reinstated' if he returns and nothing catastrophic has happened. Apparently if he deems my work insufficient, Rhodo of all people will be in charge of the Fusions' activities while he is away. He's grown rather incommodious of late, but we won't have a problem here as due to recent events I have quite a lot of work to do.

-I noticed that when Cyrus walks past the compound, #001 becomes afraid. I requested he continue walking back and forth and even bringing out Silas to see her reaction. Considering her panicked display it is quite clear that she has become more attuned to her sixth sense and its tracking ability. His passive remark that he prefers tests of this variety that do not end in the premature death of subjects, however, was thoroughly unnecessary.

-Considering the first thing Cyrus did on his return was call myself, Jean and Indra to his office? It was clear he was distinctly displeased. I simply did not know to which extent. He began by praising Jean and Indra's performance at the failed match the other day despite her OBVIOUSLY being untrustworthy, and is granting Rhodo more privileges despite making it avidly clear he'd sell us out at the first opportunity. I brought him here because he is an adept socialite with medical experience who would be beneficial to the fusions' deteriorating mental health, not for him to TAKE MY JOB.

-The list of grievances continues, but now Cyrus has gone too far. My immediate subordinate count has been reduced, Type: Null is no longer under my direct charge, he's micromanaging my experiments and forcing me to address him before making any relevant decisions. My productivity has staggered considerably as I must deal with bureaucracy AGAIN.

Mars, of course, has received no punishment for her uselessness. I-I don't believe I can do this again. It's just like with Rowan and the Rockets. I've tasted freedom and now I'm being treated like a Rockruff on a leash.

My emotions are even more unstable, Juliet's spectral energy continues to empower me still, and yet… I feel miserable. The only thing that keeps me going is my data. There is still much to go through and it keeps me distracted.

I… I just need to figure out my next step. I've already begun writing a statement suggesting why several of my perks be returned to me. No one else can handle Null, and frankly I would like my subordinates returned to me. Useless or not, they've finally learned how to make my coffee just how I like it. It took five of them to do so, but they've managed to not make me gag at their attempts now.

-Gothitelle is moody as of late and not in his usual fashion. I had enough of it, and he essentially asked where we stood. Unfortunately, he asked me right after I contacted Saturn to deliver me an Elygem to train which was admittedly quite awkward for me. I tried to assuage him, but judging by his expression he did not believe me. Lying to a psychic is truly a feat. Regardless, we are continuing our work, he's just a bit more testy lately. It's like raising a teenager and I've had my fill of child rearing. He'll get over it eventually when I make another breakthrough.

-#168 and #169 survived. They'll be fine. Eventually. #169's body dispelling rocks through her skin was unexpected, but fixable. We are already doing measurements for #168's new cybernetic arm. It is not a cheap investment, but it will be required if we wish to use her for future battles. Her arm was segmented yes, but there is more than enough tissue to function with the new arm if I handle the techwork. Cyrus at least knows he can trust me with this task.

-I would never deem myself an optimist, but there have been some boons to this situation. Type: Null's mental functions are adapting pleasantly. Outside of battle is mostly a mess, but within battle it can put aside its trauma and continue on. I might be able to loosen the helmet now…

The fusion sisters demonstrated that with a slight boost thanks to the collars, they can use their powers. They just cannot become too emotionally overwhelmed or damaged lest they lose control. I am looking into it deeper to see how I can innately boost their capabilities without such immense detriment. Further research onto #001 will be necessary for this. #033, due to being Fused with an Eevee, is not as consistent as I require.

-This outcome also inspired me to create something that Cyrus needed next to no convincing was worth the investment. I have begun working on an augmented exoskeleton for #001. The prototype will be a small design that more easily meshes with her existing combat tactics. She has demonstrated herself to be an agile offensive battler with proficient use of fire and ice, so anything too cumbersome will not do. Her defense is terrible enough at this point, might as well bolster her strengths. I already know it will not be received positively, but it is merely a prototype for the eventual fusion soldiers we will be creating.

-I've been looking deeper into #068 because I do not trust her in the slightest. As far as I can see she doesn't seem to be planning anything, but I've underestimated her before. That woman HAS to be working towards something. The defense mechanisms held out this time, but I wonder if they'll continue in the face of her.

-On another note, her Alter DNA may be benefitting her now. Her body has been steadily adapting to the changes made by the fusion process. It makes me wonder how my own DNA would respond…

-Did they HAVE to attempt an escape during the midnight hours? Mars made their detainment take longer than necessary, simply because she enjoyed having something to do. Which, of course, meant that blasted alarm cut further into my beauty sleep. As if I needed MORE stress. At least Silas put on a good show cutting them to ribbons. After that I slept soundly.

-I find it quite interesting how I maim a few subjects I face ridicule, am demoted and am gossiped about behind my back. Meanwhile Cyrus slaughters 12 subjects and he's lauded as the new messiah. Silas didn't even leave anything for an autopsy. If I were a weaker woman I would call sexism… or maybe it truly is just sexism? I suppose that's how he became so successful, for someone who wishes to be emotionless he's quite good at manipulating them. Truly, I wonder if he meant a damn thing he said during his little speech. How much of what you said do you truly believe, Cyrus Akagi?

-Saturn finally pulled his weight and has delivered the baby Kanto-Alola Vulpix mix. Quite honestly I'm amazed it was managed at all. Just like their personalities, Ninetales DNA is enigmatic and difficult to alter. While a certain degree of luck was involved, we were successful in artificially creating a male pup and it is now old enough to see some use. Male vulpix are less common and while I would've preferred female in this case, I shall make do.

There were certain traits I wanted to enforce in their genes such as loyalty and combat ability, but I decided against it. This will do as the perfect partner for #001. It's still a baby though, so I think I'll have Rhodo tend to it. Something to consider.

#001 Fused Kalolan Vulpix (Aurora) & Kalolan Ninetales (Ivane) Status: Recovering

#006 Fused Pyroar & Pyroar Status: Nominal

#011 Fused Magcargo & Slugma Status: Deceased (Failed Fused)

#019 Fused Carnivine & Carnivine Status: Deceased (Failed Fused)

#020 Fused Furret (Guinevere) & Furret (Chestnut) Status: Nominal

#27 Fused Toxapex (Ibya) & Toxapex (Shoal) Status: Deceased (Pitiful Escape Attempt)

#033 Fused Eevee (Hazel) & Eevee (Vivian) Status: Recovering

#043 Fused Hydreigon (Paul) & Hydreigon (Tobias) Status: Deceased (Unstable, reverted to feral instincts, used for dissection)

#048 Fused Whimsicott (Arvis) and Whimsicott (Mango) Status: Recovering

#053 Fused Flygon (Leanne) & Flygon (Yvonne) Status: Nominal

#068 Fused Decidueye (Paris) & Decidueye (Legolas) Status: Nominal

#072 Fused Swampert (Zacharias) & Swampert (Elvis) Status: Nominal

#078 Fused Phantump (Razin) & Phantump (Urie) Status: Deceased (Failed Fused)

#079 Fused Glalie & Glalie Status: Deceased (Failed Fused)

#085 Fused Blissey (Mabel) & Blissey (Haley) Status: Nominal

#086 Fused Bewear (Benny) & Bewear (Bors) Status: Nominal

#090 Fused Krookodile (Corporal) & Krookodile (Sargeant) Status: Deceased (Pitiful Escape Attempt)

#095 Fused Greninja (Naoko) & Greninja (Shio) Status: Nominal

#102 Fused Bibarel (Hugo) & Bibarel (Baltasar) Status: Nominal

#111 Fused Stantler (Dusk) & Stantler (Comet) Status: Deceased (Pitiful Escape Attempt)

#123 Fused Female Gallade (Lucia) & Gallade (Arden) Status: Nominal

#132 Fused Pachirisu (Ron) & Pachirisu (Rush) Status: Nominal

#134 Fused Silvally (Clive) & Silvally (Elpis) Status: Nominal

#143 Fused Electrode & Electrode Status: Deceased (Failed Fused)

#147 Fused Sunflora (Garland) & Sunflora (Dijon) Status: Drained (lack of sunlight)

#158 Fused Rockruff (Koko) Status: Nominal

#159 Fused Dusk Lycanroc (Eclipse) & Dusk Lycanroc (Yuna) Status: Nominal

#163 Fused Spiritomb & Spiritomb Status: Deceased (Failed Fused)

#171 Fused Emolga (Noemi) & Emolga (Danica) Status: Nominal

#180 Fused Samurott (Owain) & Samurott (Sue) Status: Deceased (Finally)

#188 Fused Typhlosion (Noah) & Typhlosion (Charcoal) Status: Deceased (Pitiful Escape Attempt)

#193 Fused Noctowl (Keaton) & Noctowl (Twili) Status: Deceased (Pitiful Escape Attempt)

#199 Fused Breloom (Lola) & Breloom (Etter) Status: Deceased (Pitiful Escape Attempt)

Author's Note: Well, it was quicker than a month and a half this time! Heckuva heavy chapter, though. If it's any consolation, it used to be even sadder, but there's a limit to what I can write. And we're almost in the double digits! I'd say an occasion merits some big event in the story itself, no? So look forwards to next time, when hopefully I don't have a whole ass novel as a chapter and it can come out quicker.