Chapter 26: Please help me, Marie

"Darn it...!" Lucian slammed his fist on the cafe table between him and Marie. Lucian's coffee mug shook upon the impact while Marie slowly took a drink of her own coffee. They were in the middle of Veilstone City, by the supermarket. It was one of the nicer places in Sinnoh, and closest to the forest where Quinton and Beatrice were training. "I hate this! Why doesn't Quinton not want us to be there while he trains his daughter? What if he tries corrupting her? Telling her stuff she isn't supposed to hear?"

"I doubt that's what's going on." Marie replied.

Lucian sighed as he crossed his arms. "Still… it bites that we have to wait. It's only been two days since those two started training, but it's all the more reason why we should watch over them. In case the Quinton foundation-"

"Crimson foundation," Marie corrected.

"Whatever! What if those Crimson guys find Quinton somehow and tempt him with power!?"

"Beatrice and Quinton have our numbers," Marie said.

"I know… but I wish that we didn't have to wait for the Crimson foundation to make a move...I just wish things were better. I'm anxious about what'll happen next, and all we can do is wait. And you know what ticks me off even more? That guy from earlier, the one who broke Anastasia out of captivity... I don't even know what's happening with him. Y'know, the guy you said was your hero?"

Marie silently placed her coffee mug on the table. Her eyes were completely closed as she let go of the mug handle and held the cup with her whole hand.

"He could be… ugh. I don't even want to think about it." Lucian sighs. "How are you doing? I mean, I hate to bring it up, but, I just want to check on you, to make sure you're fine. You haven't talked about him the entire time."

Marie lowered her head enough for her eyes to be cloaked in shadow.

"...Everything okay, Mari-"

Marie's cup shattered into a million pieces as she clenched her fist. Lucian's eyes widened in sheer shock.

"I think about him. All the time." Marie said. "I've never stopped worrying. I don't like it as much as you do, so, I'm distracting myself until the time comes to face them. But if I knew where they were, right this second.. And met the people who could have hurt him…. I'd smash them without a second thought."

"M-Marie..?" Lucian asked Marie moved her hand and stared at her coffee-soaked hand.

"Huh.. I'm going to need another coffee." Marie said. She didn't even laugh at her own joke. Lucian stood up at that moment.

"I'll buy you a new one," Lucian said. Marie said nothing as Lucian turned around and went straight to the supermarket behind them. He sighed deeply.

What were those Quinton Foundation guys doing, anyway?

Zennon was typing away on a keyboard in an isolated room in a laboratory. The lab workers and scientists were all bunched up in the corner with their hands tied and tape on their mouths. In front of the keyboard were holograms of sorts, showing status and numbers about a device named: 'The Anti Invoker device.'

Behind Zennon was a door that opened- out of it came Aldrich and Aiden.

"How's the progress?" Aldrich asked.

Zennon spun his chair around. His glowing red eyes sparked as he grinned an evil grin.

"It's going swimmingly," Zennon said. "Just a few more adjustments, and I will be able to create the world's first Anti-invoker device."

"How exactly will it work?" Aiden asked.

"Well, with one push of a button, it will activate the weights of anyone who activates their invoker." Zennon said.

"You mean the weights that activate once their linked Pokémon faints?" Aiden said. "You said 'anyone'. Wouldn't that also include us?"

"That's what I'm trying to program into this device- so its signal ignores our invokers."

"I see.." Aldrich said. He snickered. "That means anyone with an invoker will be forced to bow down to us. If their armor is useless, they'll be forced to fight us without it, which would make it childsplay to fight them. It'd be like swatting flies. No one, not even the Champion would be able to stop Quinton...! Our god... will decend upon the earth..!"

"...Right." Aiden said. "Anyway, we should hurry up and capture Kyogre and Groudon." Aiden said. "And have them fuse into our invokers with that technology of yours."

"Yes…" Aldrich said. "And… Arceus as well. We should move out. Prepare to capture Groudon and Kyogre, then we move onto Arceus."

"That girl, though," Aiden said. "The one you fought to protect us from… what was her name?" Aiden snapped his fingers and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Uh... The blonde one. You told her about her plans. Wouldn't she be a problem if she told the champion?"

"Even if that former champion, Marie, had told the rest of her friends about our plans.."

The moment Zennon heard the name, Marie, his eyes widened.

"M-Mari…Marie..?" Zennon said. His entire body began to tremble. "Marie..!? MARIE..!.." Zennon clutched his face and stood from his chair, screaming Marie's name like a mantra. "MARIE..?! UGH..!"

Zennon's glowing red eyes began to dim.

"He's fighting against brainwashing...!?" Aiden screamed. "Tch...!" He approached the still screaming Zennon, grabbed him by the back of his head and slammed him onto the ground with immense force.

The scientists and lab workers watched in sheer horror.

"I don't want you fighting back against the brainwashing.." Aiden said. "

"Ugh!..! Help me..! Marie-... Help-..!"

"Who… is.. Your.. king?" Aiden asked. "Who is it!?"

Zennon's fingernails grinded against the floor as he bent his fingers. The brainwashing began to take control of him again as his eyes shined red once again.

"Who is your KING!?" Aiden asked, slamming his head against the floor again.

"You.. are…" Zennon said. His resistance began to fade. "You are… my king.."

"Good."Aiden said. He let go of Zennon's head and stood up. "Now. Continue working on that device for us. You're doing a great job. I'd like things to stay that way," Aiden turned to Aldrich. "Don't mention that woman's name again."

"All right then. As I was saying, the-one-who-must-not-be-named may know of our plans, but it won't matter. They don't know where we are at this moment. And as long as we capture Groudon and Kyogre without fail, and gain their primal power, then we've already won."

"Precisely. And if you can handle that man, Zennon, then he may wield the power of Kyogre along side you, with Groudon's power."

Aiden snickered.

"Good. I'm glad you're giving me that power. Zennon and I are going to find that woman- the one who must not be named and defeat her together. It'll be hilarious to pit those two against each other."

"That's devious. I like that." Aldrich said. "All right. Let's begin. You capture Groudon, I'll capture Kyogre. Do you still have that Master ball I gave you?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Let's go." Aldrich turned around and left. Aiden turned around to see Zennon moving like a robot toward the chair.

"Aiden.. Is my king.." Zennon repeated those words like a mantra as tears flowed down his cheeks. "Aiden... is my king.."

Aiden grinned in satisfaction and turned away.