A/N: Alright readers here we go. Lots of stuff going to be revealed this chapter so enjoy.
The group of players all stood across from Yui, who was currently veiled in a black shadowy aura. Her Zoroark had the same type of aura around it. Both pokemon and trainer had a terrifying look of bloodthirst in their eyes.
"No… not Yui… not her…" Asuna said. "How could this happen?"
"So what exactly are we supposed to do?" Sinon asked. "We need to beat Yui to move on ahead, but we can't just go and kill her."
"And I highly doubt any dumb pokepuns are gonna work on her." Liz added.
"Ok, first of all screw you. Second of all, couldn't we just take down Zoroark?" Akio suggested. "Maybe if we kill it, Yui will be free of the mind control?"
"No! We can't kill Yui or Zoroark!" Asuna shouted. "That Zoroark… it means too much to Yui."
Akio let out a groan. "Well then what do we do? Reprogram her? I don't exactly see anyway of us doing that."
"We need to do something." Kirito said, not willing to hurt Yui either. "Asuna do you have any ideas on how we could-" Kirito stopped as he saw the empty look in Asuna's eyes. "Asuna! Hey! Asuna!"
Asuna didn't respond to Kirito's calls. Her mind was in a state of panic right now. All she could remember was the little girl she had known since the early days of PWO.
"Oh yeah! Did you see me in that battle?!"
"Yes Liz, we saw you. And I'm pretty sure EVERYONE between Striaton and Nacrene City heard you." Asuna said with a sigh.
"You were so cool Liz!" Silica told her friend.
The three girls walked together, making their way to the second gym of the Unova region. Liz was currently gloating over the battle she had won against a trainer that had challenged her.
"It's official, my new Roggenrola is the coolest." she stated.
Asuna rolled her eyes. "And it's got nothing to do with the fact that you were using a rock type against a flying type?"
"Don't ruin the moment, Asuna."
Asuna sighed, not knowing what to do. She wasn't particularly knowledgeable about pokemon when she had first logged in, but she had managed to memorize the type chart provided in the guidebook given out to players. And she knew that type advantage was a huge plus in battle.
As the three girls continued on their journey, Asuna's ears picked up a small sound. "Do you hear that?"
"Hm?" Liz and Silica stayed quiet for a moment to listen. "I don't hear anything."
"Me neither." Silica added.
"Weird. I could have sworn I-" Asuna was cut off as she heard the same noise again, something sounding like a quiet moan. "There it is again." She took off running towards the sound.
"Asuna?! Hey, wait up!" Liz called out as she and Silica ran after her.
Asuna ran through the woods next to the road they had been on. She soon stumbled upon the source of the sound she had heard. A little girl, lying unconscious on the ground. She looked worriedly at her and tried to shake her awake. "Hey, are you alright? Wake up!"
"Asuna, what are you-" Liz cut herself off with a gasp when she saw the little girl in Asuna's arms. "What the heck? Is that kid alright?"
"I don't know. She won't wake up." Asuna said.
"Did she get hit with a sleep status by some wild pokemon?" Silica asked.
Asuna shook her head. "It doesn't show anything like that on her cursor."
"So what should we do?" Liz asked.
Asuna stood up, holding the young girl in her arms. "Let's get her to the next town. At least she'll be in a safe zone and we can wait for her to wake up." she suggested.
Liz and Silica nodded in agreement and the three girls quickly made their way to the next town as fast as they could. They were lucky to avoid any overly strong wild pokemon or any other trainers for that matter. It was only a few hours before they reached Nacrene City, just as the sun was beginning to set.
Once inside the city, Asuna, Liz, and Silica immediately purchased a room at the pokemon center. They got the young girl they had brought with them into a bed and watched her continue to sleep.
"I don't get it. What could cause a player to fall unconscious like this. Her HP bar seems fine." Liz said.
Asuna shook her head. "I don't know. All we can do is hope she wakes up soon."
Night soon came over the Unova region. Even after Liz and Silica had both fallen asleep in their beds, Asuna stayed awake, watching the girl. She couldn't help but be worried. What was a child that young even doing in a VR game all alone? Eventually, the chestnut haired girl couldn't fight off the allure of sleep any longer as she passed out on her bed.
Asuna didn't know how long she slept for, but the rays of the morning sun shined through the window of the room she and her friends were in. Slowly blinking her eyes open, Asuna could hazily make out a figure standing over her. As her vision cleared, she began to make out more and more of the person, soon recognizing it as the little girl they had brought with them.
'Oh it's just her…' Asuna thought as she closed her eyes again. 'Wait… She's awake!' The thought made Asuna's eyes shoot open again as she sat up from her bed.
"You're awake! Thank goodness!" Asuna exclaimed.
"Mmmm, Asuna can you not be so loud. It's so early." Liz groaned from her bed above Asuna's. She leaned over and looked down at what had her friend so awake already. Seeing the little girl awake and standing next to Asuna's bed made her gasp. "Holy cow, you're awake!" Liz quickly tried to collect her bearings but ended up falling off her bed and crashing down onto the ground, making Asuna cringe at the sight. "Owww…"
"Are you alright Liz?!" Asuna gasped.
"Sort of…" Liz moaned.
The commotion woke Silica up as well. She gasped at the sight of the little girl being awake as well, though she managed to climb down from her bed without falling off like Liz had. The three girls surrounded the little one, making sure she was alright.
"Ok let's start with something simple." Asuna said. "Can you tell us your name?"
"My… name…" Yui spoke. "My name is… Yui."
"Yui. That's a sweet name." Asuna said with a gentle smile. "I'm Asuna. These are my friends, Liz and Silica." the two girls waved to Yui at Asuna's introduction. "We found you unconscious in the woods and brought you here. Can you remember what you were doing out there?"
Yui thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "No. I can't remember anything."
"Nothing?" Silica asked. "You mean you have amnesia?"
"Is there anything you can remember?" Asuna asked. "What about your mom and dad? Any siblings? Do you know where they are?"
Yui was silent for a bit, telling the girls that she really couldn't remember anything. Finally, to everyone's surprise, Yui slowly raised her finger, pointing to Asuna.
"Mama."
The three girls all widened their eyes, left completely speechless as Yui said this. Silica and Liz both slowly turned their gazes towards Asuna.
"Asuna… I know speaking of the real world is kinda taboo, but… is there something you'd like to tell us?" Liz asked.
Asuna shook her head. "I don't know what she's talking about Liz, I swear!" Asuna said.
"Mama." Yui said again. "Asuna is Mama."
Asuna looked nervously at the girl. This was in all honesty very awkward for her. But at the same time, what was she going to do. Yui had no memories to speak of. She couldn't very well deny the girl the sort of motherly love she needed and abandon her in this state. Especially with how she knew the feeling of having no parental love all too well.
"Alright Yui. I'll be Mama then." Asuna said with a warm smile.
"Mama!" Yui said happily, hugging Asuna tightly.
Asuna hugged the girl back. "That's right. Mama's right here Yui. I'll protect you."
'Why… Why did this have to happen to Yui… It's not fair!' Asuna screamed in her mind.
"Zoroark, use night slash." Yui said in a demonic sounding tone.
The dark type obeyed and lunged towards the group with its claws ready to cut down them all. As it neared them, Ryota quickly threw out his Torterra. "Use protect!"
Torterra appeared right in front of Zoroark and created a barrier that blocked Zoroark's attack. The dark type furiously tried to slash away at the barrier, but to no avail.
"Unfezant, let's go!" Sinon called out as she threw out her pokeball. As the flying type appeared, she called out to her partner. "Mega Evolve!"
Unfezant became cloaked in light as it changed form. It's tailfeather became even longer, and its feathers were suddenly shiny, almost with a metallic sheen to them. It was now Mega Unfezant.
"Use aerial ace!" Sinon commanded. Unfezant zoomed past Torterra, colliding right into Zoroark and knocking it back.
"Sinon, what are you doing?!" Asuna gasped.
"Asuna, I know this is hard but right now we have to fight." Sinon told her friend. "We can't save Yui if we just sit here and let her kill us."
"She's right." Kaede said, grabbing a pokeball of her own. "Maybe we can bring her back with a battle, like with me." She tossed out her pokeball and her Dragonite appeared with a powerful roar. She tapped the rainbow colored stone on her wrist. Kagutsuchi had unlocked her power to mega evolve when she was brainwashed. Hopefully it would work now too. The glow that came from the stone soon told her that her hunch was right. "Dragonite, mega evolve!"
Light enveloped the dragon type pokemon and mega evolved it, creating Mega Dragonite. Others in the group reached for their pokeballs, knowing their only option was to fight.
"Everyone stop!" Asuna's shout caused the room to fall silent as all heads turned towards her. The chestnut haired girl silently walked past them all and stood solely in front of Yui. Grabbing a pokeball from her belt she tossed it into the air, bringing out her Jolteon. "Let me fight this battle."
"Asuna, are you sure?" Kirito asked.
"I'm sure, Kirito." Asuna said. She wasted no time in mega evolving her Jolteon, proving her seriousness. "If anyone can bring Yui back to her senses, its me. This is my responsibility as her mother."
The group all looked at each other and collectively nodded, returning their pokemon to let Asuna fight this battle. The mother and daughter stood across from each other.
"Yui, I know you're in there." Asuna told her. "It's me. It's Mama. Remember me?"
"I have no mother." Yui spoke. "I am a program, faithful servant to Lord Kagutsuchi."
"That's not true!" Asuna shouted. "You're Yui! Not some slave to Kagutsuchi! And I'm going to bring you back!"
"Lord Kagutsuchi is my creator I must serve him." Yui said. She called out to her pokemon. "Now Zoroark, mega evolve."
The dark type let out a howl as it mega evolved. When the transformation was finished, Zoroark was born anew. It's face, arms, and legs were all a white color now. A black and red tail grew out from its rear, with a violet flame at the tip. A similar flame was seen on both of the pokemon's shoulders.
"So that's a Mega Zoroark…" Misaki said. "It sure looks powerful."
"Be careful Asuna…" Izumi prayed.
Yui was the first to call out an attack. "Wil o wisp." At the girl's command, multiple blue flames emerged in front of Zoroark and flew towards Jolteon.
"Dodge it!" Asuna called out. With its impressive speed, Jolteon dashed out of the way. "Quick attack!"
With a burst of speed, Jolteon lunged at Zoroark. The attack never hit its mark however as Jolteon simply phased through it.
'Quick attack had no effect. So it becomes part ghost type after mega evolving.' Asuna deduced.
"Night slash."
Unable to dodge in time, Jolteon was hit by the painful slashes of Zoroark's claws. It let out a cry of pain as its HP fell.
"Thunderbolt, Jolteon!" Asuna ordered.
Quickly discharging its electricity, Jolteon fired a blast of electricity at Zoroark. Standing so close to the electric type, Zoroark was hit by the attack in full.
"You remember this Jolteon, don't you?!" Asuna called out to Yui. "Remember Yui!"
Yui held her head in pain as memories fought their way back into her subconscious. They all clawed at her, trying to make her remember her time with everyone.
"You're so cute, Eevee! I know Mama will take good care of you."
"You're Jolteon's so cool Mama! It's super duper fast!"
"Mama, can I take care of this Zoroa? It's so cute!"
"No…" Yui moaned in pain from the headache. "I am… faithful to… Lord Kagutsuchi…"
Asuna could see she was starting to get through to Yui. "Yui, snap out of it! You're not a slave to Kagutsuchi! You're your own person!"
"Ma… Mama…" Yui muttered. The little girl shook the thoughts out of her head. "Kill her Zoroark! Kill her!"
Mega Zoroark let out a howl as it sped towards Asuna. Jolteon appeared quickly to intercept it and protect its trainer.
"Thunderbolt!" Asuna ordered.
Jolteon obeyed and let loose a blast of electricity at Zoroark. The dark and ghost type was hit and felt the electricity jolt its entire body.
"Kill…" Yui uttered. "KILL HER!"
Zoroark endured the pain from the thunderbolt, going into some sort of berserker state similar to Yui. It swung its arm and knocked Jolteon to the side, then lunged at Asuna.
"Asuna!" Misaki exclaimed.
Asuna gasped as Zoroark closed in on her. Suddenly, she saw an Aegislash appear in front of her and block Zoroark's strike. Asuna quickly recognized it as the one Kirito had.
"Yui, come to your senses!" Kirito shouted. "This isn't you! Come back to us!"
"Mama… Papa…" Yui muttered."I…"
"You're stronger than this Yui." Liz added in "Remember all the good times we had traveling together."
"Yeah, you're part of our family. You're not just a program." Silica said.
"You can't give in." Sinon told her. "Asuna and Kirito need you, just like you need them."
Yui cried out in pain as her head started to feel like it was going to explode. More and more memories came flooding in.
"Emolga's so cute. And it can fly too."
"You were awesome in that gym battle Liz. Boldore's super strong."
"Wow Sinon, you and Unfezant are amazing! It's speed is so cool!"
"Yay! Papa won the league! He's the champion!"
"Mama. Papa. I love you."
"Mama… Papa…" Yui spoke. "Please… help me…"
"Yui?!" Asuna gasped. "Yui, is that you?! Are you back?!"
"I… I…" Yui suddenly gasped as glass walls suddenly rose up around her.
"Sorry, but I'm not letting you all break my slave of mind control again." Kagutsuchi said through a speaker. "So the good news is you won't have to wait any longer to see me. The bad news however… little Yui won't be going with you."
Asuna gasped in horror as she saw the area of the ceiling above Yui begin to fall slowly. "YUI!"
"You coward!" Kirito shouted out to Kagutsuchi. "Just how low will you sink?!"
"Excuse me? That program there is my creation after all. It's only fair that I get to decide her fate."
"Yui!" Asuna screamed as she ran towards her daughter. She pounded against the wall. "Yui!"
Yui could barely make out Asuna's voice as he held her head in pain. The ceiling above her lowered closer and closer, threatening to crush her.
Suddenly a loud howl was heard from behind Asuna. She turned just in time to see Zoroark speeding at her. She leaped out of the way as Zoroark crashed through the glass barrier, tackling Yui away just as the part of the ceiling came down.
"Yui?!" Asuna exclaimed. She looked over in the distance and saw Yui under Zoroark, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief. The bloodlust look in Zoroark's eyes had faded, meaning that it most likely wasn't under mind control anymore.
"Ugh…." Yui moaned. She looked up at her pokemon standing over her. "Zoroark…?" The pokemon leaned in and licked her on the cheek, causing her to giggle. "Hey, that tickles! Hahaha!"
"Yui…" Asuna muttered, praying that the little girl she knew was finally back.
Yui looked over at Asuna, tears forming in her eyes. "Mama…" She stood up and ran over to her. "Mama!"
"Yui!" Asuna cried, hugging her tightly. "Thank goodness you're ok."
"I was so scared." Yui muttered.
"I know." Asuna nodded. "But it's alright now. I'm right here."
Kirito walked over and joined in on the family hug. Everyone smiled at the heartwarming sight. They were all glad to see that Yui was back to her old self.
Ryota clenched his fists tightly. "I'm never going to forgive my father for this. He's going down, that's a promise."
Ren nodded his head. "He's going to pay for everything he's done up until now."
"Speak of the devil." Misaki muttered as she saw the ceiling open up and the floor they were all standing on begin to rise. "Looks like he had the same thought."
Akio cracked his knuckles. "Let's do this. I can't wait to kick some ass."
The floor continued to rise until they were all at the next floor. At first, everything was dark. The computer monitors turned on, illuminating the room bit by bit. Standing over by the largest of the computers was the one they had all come to take down once and for all.
Kagutsuchi sighed to himself as he shook his head. "Everytime. Every single time I think I've dealt with you brats, you find a way to push on and continue to be a nuisance to me."
"We'll take that as a complement." Ryota said.
"To think I could be pushed this far by a bunch of kids. Well it doesn't matter anyway." the man said as he turned to face them. "Because finally, my goal is within sight."
"You're goal?" Ren asked. "Just what is your goal?"
"Yeah, we deserve to know!" Kaede said in agreement. "Why did you trap us all in this death game?!"
"You want to know the reason for why I created PWO? Very well." Kagutsuchi said with a chuckle. "Tell me, what do any of you know about the human brain? Very little if I had to guess. Well did you know that there are ways to tamper with it. Ways that will make it impossible for a person to feel pain. Ways that can take away a soldier's fear on the battlefield? Can you imagine the possibilities of such technology?"
"Get to the point." Kirito said impatiently.
"The Nerve Gear actually has a hidden function besides causing death. One that nobody has even discovered up to this point." Kagutsuchi explained. "It's constantly sending signals of every player's brainwave activity to a supercomputer in a hidden location. It measures everything you can imagine, especially which parts of the brain are stimulated through various situations."
"So the true purpose of PWO is an experiment to measure people's brain activity?" Misaki asked. "That makes no sense. Why would you have to make it a death game then?"
"Quite simple. Out of all the brain activity experiments, there is one that is nearly impossible to find willing test subjects for." Kagutsuchi explained. "How a person's brain looks like when they realize they're about to die." The gasps that followed caused him to grin. "Yes, I have so much data on the human brain throughout the year that PWO has been online! Can you imagine all of the data I have obtained on people's minds as they die! The hopelessness! The despair! I can practically map it out almost! Think of how much I can sell this research for!"
"You toyed with people's lives just for this?" Ryota glared. "You are unforgivable."
"Say what you will, but it won't really matter in the end." Kagutsuchi said. "But guess what? Thanks to the time those Laughing Coffin fools and dear Yui were able to buy for me, I can finally start my grand design finally."
"What are you talking about?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Do you all remember the two month deadline I mentioned at the start when everyone was brought to Kalos?" Kagutsuchi asked with a smirk. "It was a deadline for the death of every single player still alive in PWO."
"You can't be serious…" Asuna gasped.
"Oh yes! And to be precise, there's only three days left in it!" Kagutsuchi said with a laugh. "It's a bit early, but why don't I allow you all to see how hopeless your situation is right now?!" Hitting a button on the computer, Kagutsuchi laughed madly. "I can't wait to see how your brains will all look from the fear you're about to witness!"
The monitor behind Kagutsuchi showed the message 'Final Initiation Process'. Ren and the others all charged at Kagutsuchi, but a blinding white light shot out from the computer and engulfed them all. Their vision went white as they all blacked out.
"Ren! Ren, wake up!"
"Ugh…" Ren groaned as he slowly came to. "What happened?" His vision began to clear up, showing the person calling out his name. "Misaki?"
"Thank goodness." Misaki said with a sigh of relief as Ren sat up. Clair was also awake with them, as was Ryota. Everyone else that was with them was suddenly gone though. But they could also see hundreds of random players also lying on the ground, some just starting to wake up.
"Where are we?" Ren asked. He opened his menu and took a look at their location, widening his eyes. "Sunyshore City?! Why are we back in Sinnoh?!" Taking a look at his map, something else caught his eye. "What the?"
"What is it?" Clair asked.
"Well the map suddenly shows every single region on it." Ren said. "Look, they're all around in a circle."
Misaki, Ryota, and Clair all took a look at their maps to confirm it. It was true. Each of the regions were spread out in a giant circle with nothing but ocean separating them.
"What is Kagutsuchi planning?" Ryota asked.
As if to answer their question, someone shouted out. "Look! Over in the distance!"
Ren and the other players currently awake all looked towards the ocean. They all gasped as a giant structure seemed to rise out from the depths.
"What… What is that?" Misaki gasped.
The structure rose further and further up, showing a giant tower. It rose so high that it seemed to pierce the clouds themselves. There was no way to tell exactly what the structure was, but Ren and the others knew almost certain what its purpose was.
"That's Kagutsuchi's endgame." Ren said grimly.
A/N: This is it readers. The final battle is coming up. Lots of pokemon action is gonna be happening soon so hope you're all excited for it.