When he first stepped back onto the grounds of Mirage Island, Matthew was horrified at how much things had changed in just six months. The land was dying and quickly. The trees were drying up, the grasses were lifeless and there was no signs of life anywhere on the island. If this was how Mewtwo's view of the world was supposed to be seen, he knew that they would be getting little more than desperation from Mewtwo. And desperation was often where monsters thrived. Not afraid to show where their powers limits lied.
But Mewtwo would ultimately be Addison's to deal with, unless Giovanni was true to his word and meant to seal him inside of the Master Ball. Matthew had an ulterior motive to returning. Well, two. The first, his most recently attained objective, was to possibly cozy himself up to this gorgeous new Pokemon Trainer he had just met and was in the process of unintentionally sweeping him off his feet. He hardly knew Annette, and yet he was certain she was the girl for him. Anywhere he had once held Addison in regards, now had a mural of the red-haired young Pokemon Master.
His second mission: to find out what happened to Jocelyn. She was last here, sending him off with the others to escape while she held off Mewtwo. He swore to her that he would come back for her. And he meant it. Here was his quite possibly one and only chance to bring her home. And he intended on doing just so.
He was not alone in his assertion that Mirage Island had taken an ugly turn for the worst. Addison shuddered at the state of disrepair the island was in. "This is awful."
"Let's just hope that when we knock Mewtwo out, that this place can be brought back to whatever Avery said it was" Matthew agreed.
"I'm glad I didn't come here the first time" Holly groaned. "I don't like this place."
"It was a lot better looking the last time we were here" Jeremy assured her. "But this is not something I like."
"Why is the Island like this?" Annette asked as she made it to the head of the group.
"Avery told us that Mewtwo and his flunkies hijacked the island for their own purposes" Addison explained. "They used it to lure all of the world's best trainers here. To sedate them and let Mewtwo's plans go into effect."
"They failed, considering I wasn't invited" Giovanni brashly replied as he stepped around them and surveyed their surroundings.
"Why would Lance have ever invited you?" Matthew replied bitterly.
"I once served under Lance as a Gym Leader" Giovanni replied coldly. "He knew of my power and even feared it enough to know not to trifle with me." He glared around for a sign of Mewtwo, but scowled when he didn't immediately appear. "Alright, where is this little fiend?"
Addison closed her eyes. "He's...he's everywhere."
"How is that possible?" Holly asked.
"I can feel his energy all around us" she explained, wincing as she felt the sheer rush of absolute power. "The island is fueled by his energy."
"What does that mean?"
Matthew glanced around. "It means we're going to-LOOK OUT!" The ground beneath the group began to shake. While everyone staggered to find some place safe, Matthew realized that the earthquake was rocking the entire island. He looked towards Addison, his first intention to get her to safety, but she was trying to ward off the earthquake. She proved unable to as the ground finally fractured. Jeremy and Holly leaped out of the way, but Annette and Addison were nearly caught in the rubble. Matthew bolted down after the two, but failed to notice Addison had warped them to safety. He would have plummeted into the earth if his ankles weren't caught by Jeremy. After a tense moment of tugging, Matthew was back over onto normal land, just as the quaking finally calmed down.
"Well, that was incredibly stupid of you" Addison replied teasingly.
"I thought that-"
"Next time look before you leap" Annette scolded.
"That's not how I do things." Matthew insisted.
"What's going on?" Jeremy asked worriedly as Holly clung to him.
"The island is terraforming" Giovanni warned. "Changing at the will of it's master."
"Mewtwo is that powerful now?" Holly shuddered.
"Which is why my plan of capturing him is the only way forward" the Rocket Boss declared.
"We'll see about that" Mark argued as he and Lizzie caught up to the group. "We still need to figure out where Mewtwo is."
"He's all around us, according to Addy" Jeremy told them.
"I can feel his energy even here" Addison corrected. "And he's nowhere to be seen. He must be getting even stronger as the moments pass."
"Or he's succeeded in making clones" Annette theorized. "Which means we may already be too late."
"We can't think so negatively" Matthew spoke optimistically. "We need to hold onto what little hope we have."
"Since when did you become an optimist?" Lizzie asked Matthew.
"I...well...you know..."
"Forget it" Addison interjected. "We need to get moving."
"In what direction?" Mark inquired.
Addison pointed her scepter towards the deepest part of the island, in the general direction of where the Temple of Dreams was located. "There. The heart of his power is coming from the Temple." While the rest of the group prepared to keep moving, with Mark and Lizzie keeping an especially close eye on Giovanni, Addison grabbed Matthew's arm and pulled him back for a private word. "Listen, I know you're doing your best to be helpful and stuff, but getting yourself killed to try and impress Annette isn't going to help anyone."
Matthew was flustered. "Who said I was trying to impress her? And besides, my duty is to the White Mage, not some Fiveroux girl."
Addison smiled and patted him playfully on the cheek. "Your red face at my mentioning of her name gives me all the answers I could ever need." She then strode along ahead of Matthew.
He slapped his face to try and will away his feelings, but found himself only feeling more foolish than he ever did before. Realizing he needed to exact his feelings before they got someone put in danger, he raced forward to try some small talk with her. She was keeping her eyes focused on everything else around her and paid him no attention. This got him enough time to try a new approach with trying to woo her. "So...Annette. How come I didn't see you on the trainer's circuit in Arcana?"
"Really overprotective brother and parents" she replied, still keeping her focus on the matter at hand.
"But to finish in the Final Eight in your first ever tournament?" he gushed. "That's pretty impressive."
"Do we really have time to talk about this?" she snapped.
"Sorry, I just-"
"Forget it. Just make sure you're focused more on Addison and less on making small talk."
Dejected, Matthew began to slump further behind, almost bumping into Jeremy as he did. Sensing his woe and failure, Jeremy rose up to the occasion. "I've known Annette my entire life, Matt" he whispered. "As far as I know, she's only ever liked one person. And that person wanted to know her for who she is and not what she's tried to accomplish as a trainer. Maybe focus on something besides that."
"Who was the guy she liked?"
"I don't think you're ready to know that" he replied coyly.
Matthew's mind began to race through possibilities of who Annette's potential crush had been. Was it Jeremy himself? Ethan Clarke? Someone much bigger and stronger than him? It couldn't be Ryan again...could it? Any hopes of getting an immediate answer were dashed when the ground began to shake again. A massive rift in the earth began to form as Mirage Island began to tear itself apart. Mark and Lizzie leaped out of the way, finding themselves immediately separated from the others. Giovanni blocked the way before any of the kids could try to make the leap of faith across the chasm, which was growing wider by the second.
"How do we get across, now?" Holly shrieked.
"We'll have to find another way" the Rocket Boss warned.
"If you think we're going to leave you with these kids alone-" Mark hissed.
"You honestly think I'm dumb enough to go against Michael Kingston on this island? Give me some credit, Lionel."
"We don't have a choice" Lizzie told Mark. She eyed the others. "We'll find a way to the Temple. When we find it, we'll contact you."
"Can't you guys just fly over here?" Jeremy remarked. Before either of the former Elite Four Members could react, a nearby tree fell in front of them, prompting Lizzie to yelp in shock and Mark to drag her out of the way. "Okay. I get it. Trees can crush us."
"Hold on a second" Giovanni interrupted. "Perhaps we can work with this. Get your Pokemon out to move this tree. We'll use it as a bridge to get across."
Matthew was about to call out his Marowak to hold the log in place, but Addison simply used her telekinetic powers to move the log in place on her own. He shrugged at the now common place powers his friend was showing. "Or that could work."
Testing it for the others before they tried to cross, Giovanni walked slowly across before leaping to the side without much of a hassle. Jeremy then took the initiative and followed Giovanni, landing with a surprising amount of style. Holly slowly crossed herself, keeping her eyes almost latched closed until she caught Jeremy's hand and he helped her across. Matthew moved quickly across the makeshift bridge and landed forcefully. He barely had enough time to react as Annette moved swiftly herself, before taking a bad step and falling towards the ground. Matthew caught her and pulled her up onto the land. He felt himself shaking in her presence and knew for sure his face had brightened as she latched onto his arms to stay in tact.
"Uh, thanks" she replied.
"No prob" he grinned. "I'm sure you'd do the same for me."
"Uh, Matt? You can let go now."
Realizing he was still holding her, he gently let go of her and did his best to dust her off, all while she looked at him like he was the single strangest boy she had ever come across. Realizing she could do little more than giggle, she simply patted him on the arm in accommodation before moving to stand beside Holly. The two girls exchanged some whispers, but nothing Matthew could discern from so far away. He simply waited for Addison to cross. She did so without much effort, just as the log was beginning to roll out of place. Matthew was at her side and grabbed her hand, pulling her onto the land immediately afterwards.
"Glad to know I can keep counting on you" she replied playfully.
"As always, m'lady."
The ground began to shake once more. Giovanni glared ahead of them and saw the very earth itself changing forms. Two small hills shot into the sky and became cliffs the group would have to scale to keep moving forward. "Well, it would seem we are in a bit of a situation."
"How does the land keep shifting like this?" Jeremy inquired. "This is truly bizarre."
"Not quite, lad. Not when you can tell how often it is happening" the Rocket Boss warned. "Part of me thinks that Mewtwo knows we're here. And he's doing everything in his power to keep us from reaching him."
"Do you think he knows our plans?" Lizzie wondered.
"I wouldn't put it past him" Addison answered as she made her way to the front of their group. "He does have far greater mental prowess than anything we've ever faced." She looked to her group, that was already beginning to lose confidence. "But we have to keep going. The last thing we need is for Mewtwo to discover how we separated as a means to defeat him." She glared up the rockface. "We have to climb."
Matthew was at her side in an instant and echoed her. "Let's go!"
{}
Avery, despite her fears that Mewtwo had long since stripped the Black Knight of everything that made Ryan who he was, pursued him as closely as she could to learn more about their plans. She could only hope that Mewtwo was running out of options and would rise to the occasion to face Addison on her terms in Arcana. Perhaps Addison could free Ryan from his clutches that way? But she knew better than to remain hopeful. She needed evidence. Hard facts. Faith wouldn't be enough this time.
She peered from behind the doorway of what had been Professor Wong's lab and watched him kneel before Mewtwo, who was doing all in his power to will his clones to life. Two of the clones seemed to be almost completely grown, but the constant quaking around the island was knocking out power. To her horror, she looked past the Knight and saw there were dozens of pods being hooked to life support machines to will life into them. Mewtwo was not going to be taking any chances, after all. He would go at Addison with an army of clones of himself if he had to. An idea that petrified her.
"What is thy bidding, Master?" the Knight graciously called.
Mewtwo did not look at him and instead kept his focus on his work. Surely you have sensed the tides turning?
"Our enemies?"
They are here. On Mirage Island!
Avery gulped. "What are they doing here?" she whispered to herself. "Coming here was suicide!"
"Do they mean to make their stand against us, Master?" the Knight asked, remaining calm under the circumstances.
They are here to enact the final part of their schemes, Knight. To destroy me and render you without your Master. And what will happen to you if your Master is destroyed?
"I cease to exist" the Knight concluded.
You'll revert back to being a ghost, little more of a shell of a boy. Another Avery Frost lurking around Mirage Island. And I doubt you will have Darkrai and Cresselia to take sympathy on you.
"I understand what is at stake, Master."
Then you know what must be done? When the Knight did not immediately answer, Mewtwo turned and towered over his pupil. Surely, you know what must be done, then? You are to go out onto Mirage Island. You will not allow the White Mage to counteract you, this time. The boy must not be freed. You will face the White Mage and you shall defeat her and these treacherous humans who have aligned with her. When she has been dealt with, we shall return to Arcana and reap the rest of mankind into the inferno of Hell! I will not tolerate failure, Knight. Comply with my demands and you shall rule over Arcana as my subordinate. Fail and you shall suffer a fate far worse than Courtney ever did! Is that understood?
The Knight lowered his head. "The Mage shall be destroyed, as you ask."
Then we are finished. He turned towards the two clone pods that were almost complete. I need more power than this wretched base can provide me with to complete my clones. These others shall use the power the base supplies. These two shall be coming with me. There are more forces in this world than those of good and evil. And I shall have them all at my beck and call! Mewtwo floated over to the pods of clones, put both his hands on top of them, and vanished out of sight with them.
The Knight rose to his feet and turned back towards Avery. "This is your final warning, Miss Frost."
Avery stood her ground. "You're actually going to stand against Addison?"
"Stay out of my way" he warned. "Or else I shall destroy you as well!" He took in a deep breath and vanished into the darkness. Avery tried to pursue him, but he was long gone.
She frantically tried to conjure a plan on her own to figure things out. What should her next path be? Where would destiny take her next? She realized there was one final thing she could do. She needed to lead the group here. To the base. To erase these clones before Mewtwo could accelerate their growth. She sighed as she realized it was too late for the other two. Mewtwo had corrupted them to completion. These others needed to be saved before it was too late. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to be taken in once more by spirit of Darkrai.
What use is my humanity if I can't stop Mewtwo or save Ryan? she asked herself. Her human desires and goals would have to wait. The fate of the world hung in the balance.
{}
Having been separated from the remainder of their group since arriving through the Rainbow Gate, the group bent on sabotaging Mewtwo's cloning moved far more quickly to their defined point. After all, they weren't trying to locate Mewtwo, but where his cloning experiments would take place. And if Professor Wong could be trusted, that was deep within the base many of their friends and some present had been held hostage at one point. As she was the only one in the group without Pokemon to defend herself with, Wong stayed in between the others in their group, while Dawn, Lucas and Giselle took the initiative. With a Luxray, Pachirisu and Liepard at their call, they would fend off any attackers, assuming there were any left.
Michael stayed at the center of the group, his Arcanine Mufasa at his side, sniffing around for any trouble that might come. Behind him walked Professor Wong, Julia and Piper, who themselves were being protected by Bella the Sylveon and Piper's Galarian Rapidash, who echoed after the Arcanine by trying to sniff out any troubles before they came. She would occasionally whinny a sound of warning, but Piper would calm her and they would keep going. There didn't seem to be anything left on the island besides Mewtwo and this Black Knight for them to worry about.
Chris lagged the furthest behind. While the others were hellbent on their mission, his mind was muddled. He still grieved deeply over the death of Cameron, but he also found himself getting further frustrated by his own actions, including those of allowing himself to believe Cameron wouldn't have become prey to Courtney. He had chosen to protect his wife over her and it was gutting him deep inside. He would never dare tell Piper this, but he even felt the slightest bit of resentment towards her over this. He loved her too much to admit this, so he simply brooded in the back while the others kept their guards up. If anyone asked his opinion on something, he would simply nod and return to his thoughts.
With the island still terraforming, they knew locating the base would only prove more complicated from this point on. The area around them would shift, rising some hills into cliffs, turning others into valleys. Trees would rise and fall right around them. Lightning would strike and set fire to small portions of the wood, where there was little to no signs of life. The trees all appeared to be dead. Not a single speck of life on the island. Professor Wong seemed to theorize that this was because Mewtwo held such sway over the islands, that they acted as he felt. And if he was feeling dead inside, this could mean the island would collapse alongside him.
The group paused at the entrance to a cave. Chris eyed the cave and went white. He knew this one all too well. This was the cavern he had tried to pursue his sister into after she had inadvertently helped Courtney and Claude free Mewtwo. It was also where they found out Michael had been abducted by Courtney and had left Team Arcana in his hands. But Chris knew he wasn't the leader that Michael or his sister were. He had to find a way to set one of them up for success, which meant sacrificing himself to save Michael, ultimately failing. He slept for months, dreaming of Piper and his siblings, who had been torn apart by his absence. Now, he felt as much their pain with Cameron gone. And there wouldn't be a Cresselia to wake her from the slumber she was in. Hers would last forever.
"Wasn't there a way into the Syndicate Base from here?" Piper asked Chris.
"Does it matter?" he glumly replied. "Any place should get us in there."
"Chris, that's not very helpful" Julia told him gently.
"What do you want from me?" he snapped. "I'm here to help as needed, but right now, my mind is in a bit of a different place."
Piper came over to his side. "Chris. Honey?" She reached for him, but he pulled away. "Don't shut me out. We can help you."
"No. No you can't. I need to be alone." He brushed past the group and walked off on his own. Piper called out to him to come back, but he didn't listen. He couldn't bring himself to. He simply walked over towards a small boulder and sat down on it to mope. What did they not understand about how he felt? His sister was gone. The last part of Jane Kingston in this world that wasn't a memory to him was now a memory herself. And he had not been there for her when she needed him. He grunted in anger and cursed himself for his weakness. Why did Michael get to avenge Cameron and not me?!
He heard footsteps coming up behind him and he shook his head. "What part of 'alone' do you people not understand?"
"Your sister really is dead?" a woman's voice asked her.
Chris was stunned to find that Giselle, of all people, had been the one to come to him first. He kept his back to her as he fumbled out a response. "Huh? Oh...yeah. Courtney finished her off."
"To be honest" she revealed, "I wanted to come back and chew her out for what happened here. For the whole betraying me and having me knocked out, thing. But I heard how much she had beaten herself over it and I realized it wasn't worth it. She made her mistakes. She tried to improve from them and if what I heard was true, she made up for it in a multitude of ways. She may be gone, but her impact on people is everlasting. I don't think she'd want you making the same mistakes she did. Pushing away the people who want to help you and trying so hard to blame yourself for something that was beyond your control."
"I COULD HAVE SAVED HER!" he roared back.
"Were you the one who she was struck down trying to save?" Giselle replied as calmly as before.
"No, but-"
"No, you weren't. And I don't think Cynthia should feel any blame for what happened, either. Cameron chose to save Cynthia's life at the cost of her own. And Courtney got what she deserved in the end."
"I'm her big brother" he argued. "I have a duty to protect her."
"Chris, I've seen your sister. She definitely never needed your protection. She could fight on her own. And she was damn good at it, too. She didn't need you or Michael looking after her. Michael saw that, which is why he gave her all the control he did. Of course he's still hurting over it. He's lost a lot more than you, if you think about it. But do you see him throwing tantrums about it?"
Chris looked past her and spotted Michael. He was looking down, petting his Arcanine while Julia wrapped her arms around him. Chris could tell Michael was in immense pain, both physically and emotionally. And yet, here he was. Ready to do what he always was. Fight until the bitter end.
"No, you don't" Giselle went on. "He looks at his life and realizes that at this moment, there are more important things than grief. Because if we don't find a way to stop Mewtwo, there are going to be even more people grieving than before." She placed an awkward yet calming hand on his shoulder. "If we don't stop Mewtwo now, Chris, then your sister died for nothing. Do you really want to mourn Cameron forever, while potentially losing much more than that?"
Chris looked towards Piper, herself mouthing words to the effect of "I'm sorry" to herself. "No. No I don't."
Giselle hoisted Chris up. "Then get up and let's keep moving! We still have clones to destroy."
Chris would have replied, but his eyes caught an immense flash of lightning in the heavens above. "What the hell?!"
The lightning bolt, the size of a Wailord, struck the center of the island with such force, a rush of energy knocked everyone down. Dawn fell back several feet, but Lucas and her Luxray caught her. Giselle and Chris barely held their ground as the others faltered. Michael grabbed Julia and held her close to him, while Piper and Professor Wong were nearly ragdolled about. The skies became a blinding white before the light slowly began to revert back into the night skies of Mirage Island. Once everyone was calmed, Chris and Giselle rushed forward to catch up to the others.
"What caused that?" Dawn shrieked.
"That was no natural lightning bolt" Lucas remarked, glancing back towards Julia and Professor Wong. "Was it?"
Julia shook her head. "That had to be Mewtwo."
"That couldn't have been him" Piper argued. "There's no way Mewtwo is that powerful now."
"It wouldn't surprise me" Michael cautioned. His Arcanine was howling angrily as another bolt of lightning split the dense, cloudy skies open. "We can't waste anymore time. We need to move, now!"
Chris pointed towards the cave. "Then that's where we need to go."
"How do you know?" Julia asked.
Chris glanced towards his young wife and gave her as heartfelt a smile as he could. "Because it was in that cave that I realized who I was in love with. I would never forget a cave like that." He put his arm around Piper and kissed her on the cheek while she blushed profusely at all the attention they were getting.
"Absolutely magical" Giselle taunted. "Let's go!" She led the way into the cave. Dawn, Lucas, Professor Wong, Michael and Julia followed.
Chris and Piper remained behind. Piper clutched at Chris's arm. "If I did something wrong, Chris-"
He shook his head. "No. I've been-I guess my head and my heart weren't in sync for a while. Now that I've got them working together again, I feel stronger right now."
"Is it about Cameron?" she asked.
Chris took her hand in his. "Of course. I'll always want her to be there in my life, but we can grieve her when we make sure she didn't die for nothing. We need to end this fight. For Cameron, for everyone in Arcana and finally...for you and me." The two then raced into the cave after the others, their relationship stronger than ever.
{}
One by one, Addison watched as the rest of the members of their group climbed up the cliff to get a better viewpoint of Mirage Island and hopefully find out where Mewtwo was lurking. She attempted to hone in further on where Mewtwo's presence was, but his power was now so strong that she could not possibly get this done. He seemed to be everywhere on the island. She could not tell if this was exactly what the terraforming meant or if this was something else entirely, but she needed to find him before it was too late. The latest clap of lightning, that had nearly caused Lizzie to fall off the cliff and for Mark to help her get back up, had shown the colossal power she would not be up against. He was stronger than she could have even imagined. But she was ready, one way or another, to meet her destiny.
Giovanni made it up behind her, with Matthew scrambling up third. While Giovanni tried to find out the source of that tremendous bolt of lightning, Matthew went about helping the others up the cliff. Mark then joined in and they began assisting the others up one at a time. Mark had helped Jeremy up first then nearly had to slide down the cliff to make sure Lizzie got up. Once they were good to go, Matthew set about helping Holly and Annette up. Much to Addison's amusement, while Holly seemed thankful for his help, Annette hardly seemed to notice Matthew's growing affection towards her. If anything, considering she could tell that Annette had never been the one to receive the affection and simply doled it out to those she cared for, she was mildly annoyed by it. So when she saw Matthew was the one to help her up, she tried to brush it off and make it up herself. Nevertheless, he ignored her and pulled her up. She wanted to help Matthew sort out his emotions, but she knew there were other more important affairs coming now.
"What's that over there?" Holly asked, pointing her finger into the distance.
"The Temple of Dreams?" Matthew recalled.
"The Temple of what?" Jeremy inquired.
"I had a battle with Ryan there. It has some importance to the Island, I know it."
Addison pointed her scepter at the island, it's gem shining with an immense amount of light. With Rosemary's many lessons echoing in her head, she did everything she could to clear her mind and focus it on what was going on atop the Temple of Dreams. The lightning was striking the island with tremendous force. It had to be caused by something. She then felt it. An almost cosmic black hole of relentless energy being drawn to the roof. Nothing was escaping it. All of the energy of the Realm of Dreams was being focused at this lone spot on the island. "It's him. Mewtwo!"
"What's he doing?" Mark asked.
"Harnessing all of this power, but for what?" Lizzie wondered.
"I have a bad feeling about this" Annette gulped.
"Then don't fret" Giovanni replied coldly. From a Poke Ball at his hip came a Rhydon. The Mighty Ground Pokemon let out a snarl as if he were ready for battle. The Rocket Boss glared back and smirked at the group. "Wait right here and let me finish what was always meant to be!" He and his Rhydon then began to walk towards the Temple of Dreams.
Mark was in front of him in an instant. "Hold it! We're a team, remember?"
"Out of my way!" Giovanni snarled, smashing the butt of his handgun into Mark's face. Mark fell to the ground as the others gasped in shock. Lizzie rushed at her friend to try and help him, while the Rhydon slammed his tail into the ground. Addison, who had seen this coming, quickly corralled the remainder of her friends to move several feet away and back near the edge of the cliff they had just climbed. The earth shook violently, before the same cliff they had just climbed on began to split. Addison tried to use her powers to keep them in place, but she lost her footing and the group slid back down the cliff to where they had begun. Once she was sure her friends were unharmed, Addison and Galatea again linked their Bond Phenomenon together and warped back up to Giovanni.
"What was that stunt all about?" she demanded.
Giovanni, who stood on the other side of the cliff from her, snickered evilly. "Surely you saw this coming, didn't you? Why would I need you people slowing me down?"
She glanced over to where Mark and Lizzie were, finding them stuck on a precarious perch of stone above a pit that led to who knew what. Addison could sense there was solid land mass beneath them, but she could tell the fall would kill them. She pointed her scepter accusingly towards Giovanni. "You mean to capture Mewtwo for your own personal use! You want him to be your weapon!"
"Make sure you give the King my regards" Giovanni replied as he and his Rhydon began to descend the mountain. "After all, it was his blissful ignorance that let me achieve my goals!"
"YOU ACTUALLY THINK I'LL LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS?!" Mark roared.
Giovanni turned around and grinned coldly. "You're in no position to stop me. I have ambitions and my own destiny to worry about."
"You really want to test that?!" the former Kantonian Champion threatened. He leaped the gap on his own and prepared to face off against Giovanni. Lizzie tried to do the same, but the rock nearly gave way so she remained stuck. She reached onto her belt for the Pokemon Ball containing her Salamence and called him out. Giovanni's Rhydon swung his tail at Mark. He knocked Mark back over the cliff and he and Lizzie collided with one another, tumbling over the rock face and down below.
"MARK! LIZZIE!" Addison spun around and glared at Giovanni. She could sense the Salamence flying down to save them, but that did not quell her anger.. "You're going to regret doing that."
The Rocket Boss looked past her and chuckled. "I'd be more worried about yourself at this moment, than your friends or me" he warned.
Addison's mind tried to warn her, but he moved with such speed that she could not counter in time. Addison spun around and saw an arm steeped in Poisonous energy strike her in the face and force her to slide down the cliff. She landed hard on the ground and winced in pain as she could feel the poison inside of her beginning to take form. Jeremy and Matthew were by her side immediately, picking her up and hoisting her back to her feet. She leaned heavily on the scepter. The gemstone had gone from being supremely bright to shining the same color as her eyes, amethyst. The color of poison.
"I don't feel so good" she admitted, feeling herself about to wretch.
"What happened?" Jeremy cried out. He reached into his bag and gave Addison a Pecha Berry to heal her. She bit hard into the berry and felt the energy restoring itself to her. The poison left her system, but the feeling of dread returned to her for the first time before Lucas and his team had done the unthinkable. When she saw all of her friends encased in stone. The same dread of realizing who was up against her.
Addison looked behind her at the culprit of her attack. The Knight leaped down from the cliff above them and landed, his tonfas already glowing with tremendous energy. He spun around and glared coldly at the group. "You shall not take another step forward, Mage!"
"Addy?" Holly cried out. "Is that-"
Addison could only nod. "Yup. That's Ryan."
The Knight scoffed at this. "I am not weak like him! All I need is the power the Master has given to me, which is more than enough to destroy his enemies!"
"So strong that you need him to survive like a parasite?" Matthew replied angrily.
"You have no idea what pain drives me" the Knight spat out. "That pain will continue to fester until she is gone!" He pointed at Addison.
"Did Mewtwo tell you that?" Addison asked.
"I warned you to stay away. But you did not care to listen. Now, you shall suffer the consequences!" He lunged at her with all of his might, his tonfas only being parried back by Addison's scepter. Though Addison had managed to push the Knight back, she felt her resolve crumbling as she realized she would indeed have to fight Ryan once more.
"I don't think I can do this" she admitted to herself quietly.
I understand your reservations, but the power that controls our mates must be quelled if the world is to go on, Galatea's voice echoed in her head. If they shall not relinquish said power, we must eliminate them. No matter how much we do not want to.
Though Addison wanted to argue, she couldn't. The Black Knight would not stop until his Master's demands were met. And she could not let her friends get picked off again. She raised her scepter and angled it onto the defense. "Do your worst!"
"ADDY?!" the others screamed.
The Knight lunged forward and began to hammer at her scepter with his tonfas, but Addison sent a Fairy Wind his way to give some distance between them. The Knight tumbled backwards, before leaping back to his feet and snarling with hate. She braced herself for his next attack and knew she could do little more than guard as he lunged at her with yet another Poison Jab. Her telekinesis managed to redirect the attack to the ground, where the blow struck the earth with such force that it caused a slight tremor. He tried to do another attack to catch her off guard, but she slammed the scepter into his head, launching him back several feet.
"Release Ryan now or suffer the consequences!" she demanded.