The automatic sliding doors opened as Octavia stepped inside the Zuheimer police department for the third day in a row. Unlike the previous two days, she opted for a more casual outfit. Gone were the blouse, skirt and dress jacket. In their place, a light blue tank top and jeans.

Her attention was drawn to Captain Max who was sitting on a nearby couch. He was drinking from a tall thermos. As she walked closer to him, she noticed the bags under his eyes. He likely hadn't slept.

Max stopped drinking and looked over at Octavia. His expression shifted slightly but mostly stayed the same.

"Early bird type, are you?" he mumbled.

She looked up at the clock, 7:15am. "I wanted to make sure I wasn't late, sir," she replied.

"Sir, huh?" He chuckled to himself and took another sip from his thermos. Octavia suspected it was coffee.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, just wasn't expecting to be respected this early." Max put the thermos down on the table in front of the couch and looked at Octavia. "The only respect I get is from my squad, and they only give it to me because I can kick their asses and keep 'em alive."

"But aren't you my superior officer?"

"Respect is something that can be given and something that can be taken away. One of my superior officers just got ten years for drug trafficking, you think I still call him sir?"

Octavia had no response to this. She silently nodded and walked over to the couch Max was on, sitting on the opposite end from him.

Max picked up his thermos and took another swig. As he was about to put it back on the table, he paused, looking at the thermos thoughtfully, and turned to Octavia. "Hey, kid. Listen here."

She turned to him, "What is it?"

"If you're planning on going into this line of work, here's a tip," he said, stretching his back against the couch. "You can figure out what type of person you're working with just on how they get their coffee."

She was skeptical, "I beg your pardon?"

"It works, at least for me. What's your name, kid?"

"Octavia."

"Octavia, right. What does your morning cup of coffee look like?"

She crossed her arms, "I don't drink coffee in the morning, I prefer to wake up naturally."

"And you got here this early?" Max shook his head, "Whatever. If you got one from a coffee shop, what would it look like?"

She pondered the question for a moment. "A little cream and sugar, that's it."

Max's eyes lit up and the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk. "So you don't like the bitter taste but you're not gonna put too much unhealthy shit into it, right?"

"I guess?"

"And there it is. With just that, I can tell your likes and dislikes. What someone likes and dislikes makes that person who they are. Remember that, Octavia."

She simply nodded at his response, feeling like she had taken one step too far in the deep end. There were more important things to focus on than what Max had said, like whatever today would hold for her. She felt tempted to ask Max about it but dismissed the thought, no need to get into another conversation like the one she just had.

And so she waited.

7:24

And waited.

7:32

And she began to feel deja vu creeping up on her.

7:49

Max suddenly spoke up. "Fuck, it's because I forgot to tell everyone yesterday. Higher ups are gonna kick my ass for this. Damn it."

She gained a little smile from his nonchalant response to the situation. It was troubling though. What would happen now? If there was another test, it surely would be canceled. At least then she and Ace could spend some good time together.

She touched the pokeball on her belt and felt warm. It seemed like today would be easy going. Maybe I should treat myself and Ace to some nice food, she thought. Then we could go sightseeing or something like that. Poor guy's been bundled up in his pokeball for the past couple days from me doing this internship stuff. Maybe if-

Her thoughts were cut off by the automatic doors opening.

She took immediate notice because the person who walked in didn't have any signs that they were a police officer or even associated with the police. He wore jeans and a brown hoodie with the hood up so it obscured his face. The most Octavia could see of it was a shock of black hair sticking out the front.

The stranger walked over to the receptionist, Xinnia. Octavia couldn't hear their conversation from where she was sitting although it appeared like he was asking her questions.

Max had also perked up at the newcomer. "Fucking finally. About time someone else shows up. At least I managed to get two of you here, eh Octavia?"

But something was wrong. Very wrong.

She could feel it in the air. A tightness. Something that she couldn't shake off. And although Xinnia's expression had barely deviated from the placid smile that Octavia had encountered the day before and the hooded man seemed to be acting very casual, the tightness remained and held strong.

Xinnia stopped talking and raised her head up, looking around the room. Octavia followed her eyes closely, feeling the tension tie itself in a knot inside her.

Xinnia's eyes locked on and she pointed. "He's just over there, by the hallway," she said, pointing at a police officer. The knot inside Octavia tightened.

The hooded man nodded and began walking over to the officer standing by the hallway. His walk, which had been relaxed as he came into the police department, now had gained some purpose as he made his way over.

The knot was getting too tight. Octavia found herself standing up on instinct. She didn't know what to do but she couldn't allow herself to stay still.

A hand grabbed her shoulder and she jerked her head back to find Max. His eyes were serious. The nonchalant demeanor was gone, she was looking at the captain of the brass squad now.

"I don't like this either but don't you dare make a move," he whispered, taking his hand off her shoulder. "If worst comes to worst, you need to get out of here. Got it?"

She stared at him for a moment and nodded slowly. Her eyes went back to the hooded man.

The officer that Xinnia had pointed at seemed like he was in the middle of a nervous breakdown. His hands were trembling despite them being balled into fists and fidgeted around as if he were reacting to the slightest changes in the air. The officer hadn't yet seen the man walking toward him; his head was tilted down towards the floor.

"Excuse me," the hooded man said.

The police officer looked up. There were heavy bags underneath his eyes, as though he hadn't slept in a week. He licked his lips, "W-What do you want?"

"You're officer Jones, correct?"

Octavia felt her breathing slow. Max took a cautious step towards the hooded man and the officer.

"Yeah? Who are y-?" Officer Jones cut himself off. His eyes widened.

"Vicke," the hooded man said, "And you know why I'm here."

Vicke reached into his pocket and drew a pokeball. He threw it to the ground. A massive flash of light engulfed the room. The air ripped apart and a towering Steelix appeared. The Steelix roared and lunged forward, crushing officer Jones under its head. The cracking of his bones reverberated in the waiting room.

Octavia stood frozen. Her senses were shot. The cacophony of terrified screams of the waiting room and the cry of the Steelix were drowned out by the monotone tinnitus. Her vision blurred, her mind not accepting what was before it. Only one thing stood out in her melting pot of thoughts. A single word, written in black imposing letters.

Death.

Her vision was beginning to come back to her. She could see it now. Death. The Steelix loomed above her, its eyes staring directly into hers. Officer Jones's blood coated the underside of its head. Her reflection on the shiny metal shimmered. It lunged towards her. Death. The metal snake reared its head and sent it downwards.

Her limbs were still.

Her expression was blank.

This was the end. Death.

Or rather, it would have been, had Max not tackled her out of the way.

The pair tumbled on the ground, Max's arms tightly holding Octavia against him. They stopped just short of the entrance door. Her senses came back in a rush and she found herself hyperventilating, struggling to get a breath with Max's snare around her body.

Max let go and stood up quickly, hoisting Octavia up with him. "Get out of here, now!" he yelled, using one hand to turn her to the door.

She took two steps, feeling the light breeze from outside against her. Every ounce of common sense screamed at her to keep going, to get as far away as possible. But her instincts betrayed her and she looked back.

Max had drawn his gun, beginning to fire bullets at the beast. The few police officers that were in the waiting room had already begun to do the same. Xinnia was hiding underneath her desk, the only giveaway being a bit of ginger hair sticking out the top. Vicke was nowhere to be seen.

The Steelix whipped its body around, slamming its tail into a police officer which sent him into the wall. It bolted toward the downed officer, seeking to strike the final blow. Max fired a bullet, directly hitting the beast's left eye. Its metallic screech was like buzzsaw grinding against an unbreakable chalkboard. The Steelix stopped its assault on the police officer and eyed down Max, a stream of blood coming out where its eye once was.

She couldn't stand by.

She wouldn't stand by.

Her eyes scanned over the scene, eventually settling on the corpse of officer Jones. It was difficult to make out from a distance and the blood covering it but there was no mistake. There was a gun. That was her ticket.

She took one step back inside. The Steelix looked over at her, ferocity raging in the one eye that remained. Max, seeing the beast lose focus on him, turned to Octavia.

"Kid! I told you to fucking get out of here!" he yelled, his gun still pointing at the Steelix.

Octavia ignored his words. She darted forward, her eyes locked onto the gun. The Steelix swung its head down, narrowly missing her. It followed up by sweeping its tail at her feet. She dived over it, feeling the wind generated by the motion blow over her chest.

Her body crashed into the floor, sliding a bit due to the blood that had pooled from officer Jones's body. She looked up. The gun was right there. Her arm shot out, taking the gun with an iron grip. She rolled over to face the beast.

The Steelix's face was mere feet away from hers. It screamed at her, its metallic breath shoving the smell of copper up Octavia's nose. Fear ran up her spine. Trembling, she aimed the gun at the Steelix.

Its mouth was open. This was her chance. Her finger touched the trigger but she faltered.

A small white glowing ball had begun forming in the Steelix's mouth. Octavia shuddered as the orb of light grew. It would swallow her whole.

Her senses began to fade again as her mind began focussing once more on the word she could see. Death.

And yet, there was something more.

In the Steelix's skin, her reflection was distorted. Not so much due to the inherent roughness of the Steelix but rather it was flickering. It was as though the reflection were trapped beneath the metal skin.

The illusion snapped Octavia out of her hesitation and she fired. Time slowed down. She was horrified to see two pins with wires attached fire out of the gun's muzzle. It wasn't a handgun that she had grabbed, but a stun gun. The pins pierced through the forming flash cannon, distorting its shape, before digging into the soft flesh of the Steelix's mouth.

The beast jerked its head away, yanking the gun away from Octavia by the wires. It screeched as electricity coursed through its insides, causing a paroxysm of spasm in the pokemon. The flash cannon prematurely destroyed, the only thing the Steelix could spout was a tirade of agonized screams.

Octavia scrambled to her feet. Her legs were shaking from the adrenaline. She watched as the beast thrashed around, its movements beginning to become less erratic. Had the stun gun worked?

Finally, she thought. It's over.

The Steelix whipped its body around in a rage, striking Octavia in her chest with its tail.

Breath gone. Body flying. Something broken.

The impact launched her back into the hallway. She tumbled uncontrollably, banging her head every few moments that sent her further and further into a daze. Still that word. That one word made it through. Death.

Her momentum slowed and she stopped tumbling, coming to a rest with her glazed over eyes meeting the ceiling. Everything felt weak. Her vision was barely staying with her, only giving a fuzzy image with impending grayness beginning to take over. She raised her arm, feeling each tendon scream in protest, and dropped it. Shock was beginning to take over. The pain in her body started to fade and the grayness in her eyes grew. Her head felt light, like someone had injected helium between her ears.

Her hand moved just slightly, brushing against her belt. The one pokeball attached barely moved to her touch. In her haze, death was no longer the one word that made it through.

Ace…

No.

No.

No, she refused.

She was not going to leave Ace like this.

Summoning the strength, she broke through the shock and rolled herself onto her stomach. Every fiber in her body was on fire. Her ribs felt like hot rods of metal, two of which she could feel were broken and sticking where they weren't supposed to.

It doesn't matter what I have to do. I am not leaving Ace.

She placed her hand on the ground and brought herself onto her feet once again. Her left leg buckled but she held steady, giving herself time to regain balance. She turned her head up to the Steelix far down the hall. It had seemingly forgotten about her and had gone back to attacking those in the waiting room.

That thing is not going to stop me. I refuse to let it stop me.

Octavia took a step forward, feeling pain rush through her body. She grit her teeth and took another step. And another. And another. Her pace started slow but began picking up speed.

I have nothing but my strength. That's all I need.

Her thoughts had never felt so certain. Each step felt lighter than the last. Her pace was a jog, then a run, then she was sprinting as fast as she could. Her body's cries for her to stop fell on deaf ears. The pain felt so far away. Nothing was on her mind except taking down that Steelix.

Ace, I will be there for you.

The Steelix, hearing her footsteps approach it, turned down the hallway and screamed at her. It charged forwards into the hallway, breaking the ceiling and walls around it as it did so. Its only eye was wide and ablaze with rage.

Octavia's pace didn't waver. She felt her hand ball up into a fist. The distance between her and the Steelix was closing fast. Every single one of her body's self-preservation instincts was kicked into overdrive, yet she still ignored them. Nothing could stop her.

The Steelix was right in front of her.

Octavia raised her fist.

Time felt like it slowed again as her fist made its way to the Steelix. The illusion from before made itself known again. Her reflection in the Steelix's skin. It was more clear than it had ever been before. No longer shimmering, it was a perfect mirror. And yet…there was something more.

Was it?

It couldn't be.

It was smiling.

Her fist collided with the Steelix's head.

A blinding white light filled Octavia's vision. She felt a shockwave push her back and barely had time to brace herself before she crashed onto the floor. The energy that had pushed her to keep going left in an instant and she felt faint.

The light before her began fading, drawing her attention to it. She couldn't believe what she saw.

In between her and the Steelix, now shedding its last rays of light, was herself. The reflection.

It was no longer trapped in the skin of the Steelix. It was physically there, its feet touching the floor. Every detail matched Octavia to the smallest subtleties. The only exception were its eyes, which opened to reveal deep red voids.

The Steelix, who had also been pushed back by the shock wave, screamed at the reflection. It opened its mouth, another flash cannon beginning to form.

Octavia couldn't move anymore. Every bit of her strength had been used just to try to hit the Steelix, and all for nought. She looked at her twin, feeling desperation come upon her. It could still move, she knew it could.

She didn't have any strength to speak, but for reasons beyond her understanding, she knew her reflection would understand.

Please , she thought, The one thing I want is for that Steelix to be gone. I want it more than anything else.

Responding to her desire, the reflection turned around and launched itself at the Steelix. Its speed was inhuman, coming face to face with it in an instant. Without pause, it unleashed a torrent of punches against the beast's head.

Octavia's senses were fading but she could still make out the screams of pain from the Steelix and the chilling sound of metal being broken. The reflection wasn't simply punching, it was destroying. Each impact of a fist shattered the Steelix's skin like glass, giving way to more metal for her twin to destroy. It screamed.

The reflection launched its last punch. A coup de grâce. It drove its fist far into the beast's remaining eye.

The Steelix struggled, slowed, then ceased.

The reflection, having fulfilled Octavia's desire, faded away. In a twist of situational irony, Octavia could feel herself fading away. The encroaching gray around her vision had been replaced with black.

Her finger was still on the pokeball on her belt. She mustered a small smile. Ace… I'll always be there for you.

The black took over her eyes and she lost consciousness.

Vicke opened the car door and got into the driver's seat. He shut the door and exhaled, gripping the steering wheel tight.

It was supposed to have been simple. Nothing more than a standard assassination. Everything had gone so well, too. He had made contact without suspicion, eliminated the target, and left with no one noticing. It was nearly perfect.

But then there was that girl.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he was quick to grab it, knowing who was on the other end.

He accepted the call and put it to his ear.

"Is it done?" a calm voice asked.

"Yes, Father," he replied. He bit his lip, "But there's been a new development." "What is it, Vicke?"

"There was a girl at the station, and today she just awoke her aura ability."