"Do you know how long it's been?" Morai growled. She wasn't going to negotiate. She moved, but Ava was fast, and even though she didn't feel them, Morai still had injuries. She roared in frustration as the Team Rocket grunt used her stolen keycard to run out of the room. Morai took the guard's card and ran after her, tearing down anyone who was in her way. She had been given a new burst of energy, and the thrill of the chase only heightened it. If anyone she passed happened to look her in the eye, she added them to her chain of puppets and had them follow her, fighting her other foes off if she didn't take them down herself.

It wasn't long before the familiar sound of the alarm came over the loudspeakers throughout the building and the halls were bathed in flashes of red. In the chaos of sights and sounds, Morai was thrown off of the chase a little, but it didn't stop her. Ava led her into a part of the prison she hadn't been to before and she nearly stopped out of habit, especially as the chase led the both of them to an elevator. The prisoner pushed herself a little harder to make it in before the doors closed behind Ava. Just as the Team Rocket grunt was nearly safe behind the steel doors, Morai stuck her fingers through and pushed them back open. Ava readied her electric baton, using its handle to push the button for the proper floor.

"We use these for animal control," she said with a slight grin. "Do you deign to have such a title?"

Morai didn't care to answer. She went straight for the neck instead, and Ava held her weapon in both hands so that it received the bite, struggling to push back. Morai landed a couple of punches before the doors opened, allowing Ava to let go and run out. Morai followed right after her, running through a thick door Ava had the keycard for, grabbing her arm and throwing her to the ground.

"Wait!" Ava yelled, dodging drops of sweat and saliva. "You need me. For one, I'm the only one who can get you the serum. Two, I know this layout better than you do. Look around you."

Morai obliged. She was in a completely new place. Like other parts of the building, the ceiling was much higher and the room itself was circular, or at least it appeared to be so. It appeared to be a dungeon, with a few floors of cells lining the walls. Her hypnotized guards arrived through the doors.

"This was meant for you," Ava said, nudging Morai to get off of her and standing up. "Well, actually, there was one specific place made for you somewhere else. This was made to keep someone like me in the event of an infiltration, but it was also made to keep people under your hypnotization that couldn't be freed for whatever reason. If you happened to hypnotize a portion of the guard, they'd be taken here and locked away so they'd be useless to you."

Morai laughed.

"Idiots," she said with a grin. "They've provided a place for me to keep all of them."

"Right," Ava said. "And they're coming any minute. I'd get ready."

Pollie had been consoling Maria on the garden bench when the alarm went off.

"I don't think she loves me," Maria sniffled. "I don't think she can."

"She risked her life for you," Pollie said. "That's something."

The commotion inside followed by the sounding of the alarm caused both trainers to jump up. This alarm was specific. The pitch and timing of its beeps coupled with the red flashing of lights meant one thing.

"Oh no," Sheridan whispered alone in her office, standing up from her chair. "She's somehow gotten ahold of the serum."

"You think you can take them all?" Ava asked. "You're still not in the best of shape."

"As long as I can avoid getting shot," Morai answered confidently.

"Luckily for the both of us, rules don't apply to me," the grunt said, pulling out a Pokéball and releasing Hypno. "I can keep that from happening."

Sure enough, the doors soon opened, and Sheridan was the first to cross the threshold. The guards behind her, equipped with riot shields and batons, didn't advance.

"Morai," she calmly greeted. Pollie came to stand beside her with a disappointed frown. "We can work this out before it ends badly again. You're still injured already. It's not too late to turn around despite what the serum running through your veins is willing you to do."

Morai laughed again.

"I had nearly given up," she said. "You almost broke me. Now it's my turn to break you."

The battle started. Hypno created barriers around Morai as she moved, protecting her from incoming shots. She tore through people like paper, slashing and fighting whilst collecting the minds of those who happened to look her in the eye. She licked the blood from her hands as she went, tasting it for the first time in weeks. It sent shivers down her spine, like drinking water after hopelessly wondering around a scorching desert. Ava fought as well, using an Arbok and her electric baton.

"You slipped through the cracks," Sheridan said to her as they came face to face. The anger boiling inside of her didn't show through her cold exterior. "How?"

"The same way the rest of them did, actually," Ava answered. Sheridan got the upper hand, throwing her to the ground and handcuffing her. "Just like them, I have no idea where we are or how we got here."

"Then how do you expect to leave with her by your side?" the warden asked, dodging Ava's angry Arbok and shooting it with a sedative.

"I don't," the grunt answered.

It wasn't long before more than half of the group was either under Morai's control or incapacitated. Sheridan and Pollie were among those remaining. Sheridan stopped and turned to her newest guard.

"You need to leave," she said. "And take everyone you can with you."

"What?"

"A plan was made in case this happened," the warden explained. "Go to my office and get the notebook I've set out. It has a unique word for every day and every group of four hours in the day that only I know. I've memorized enough for the next couple of weeks. If anyone contacts Interpol without the correct code, no one is to speak to them. Every mode of transport will be locked down unless authorized from the outside, but not without the correct code."

"Mrs. Sheridan, I don't understand," Pollie said.

"You will. There's a pilot already waiting. The second group of guards waiting outside will understand when they see you, and they will go with you. Take my daughter. I will stay here. The hope is that we will be able to overtake her at some point. Now, go. And take this one with you."

The warden pushed a struggling Ava toward Pollie.

"I can't leave you here," Pollie said.

"You can. You have to. This is your job," Sheridan quickly said. "It's in the plan. Take Yvette and tell her I love her. Now go. That's an order."

"But—"

"Goodbye, Pollie."

After a final moment of hesitation, Pollie began to make her way to the doors leading to the elevator, Ava struggling to break free from her hold.

"Morai!" she finally screamed. The prisoner heard her and ran to face them both, leaving her pawns to fight the remaining guards.

"Where are you going?" Morai said. "You're no coward."

Pollie raised her gun to shoot, but Hypno created a barrier between them.

"I'm leaving you to self-destruct," Pollie said, not looking at her eyes.

"She's going to—!" Ava was cut short by the guard, who knocked her out with the butt of her gun. Morai tackled her and knocked the weapon from her hand, grabbing it before it slid too far away and taking it for herself. She looked up to find herself, however, at the end of another one.

"Don't move," Sheridan ordered. Morai looked to Hypno, who was trying to wake its trainer up. She saw the glimmer of black amidst the weapon.

Morai begrudgingly let Pollie move out from under her and take her weapon. Now she was at the end of two barrels. Sheridan and Pollie looked at each other, silently questioning who was going to do it.

She's my monster, Sheridan thought. I'll do it.

She began to pull the trigger before a Fearow swooped down and grabbed her target. Pollie took the opportunity to shoot and would've made it had Hypno not put up a barrier.

"You shot yourself in the foot by not having Pokémon!" Ava said, a gash on her forehead. "How does it feel?"

Fearow brought Morai to safety across the room before flying off to help in the fight. Sheridan turned to Pollie once more.

"Go," she said again. "Don't worry about the grunt. Just get everyone not inside this room out of here."

Pollie ran through the double doors after scanning her card and made her way to the elevator. Morai pursued her, unsure of what she was trying to accomplish. She once again managed to stop the doors from closing.

"Let her go!" Ava yelled, trying to pick the lock in her handcuffs. "We have plenty to deal with here!"

Pollie stood in the back of the elevator, gun in hand. She was out of ammunition, but she was ready to fight nonetheless. Morai stood in front of the door, staring her down, caught between letting her go and fighting. She couldn't spare one of her guards to take her place.

"Morai!" Ava called. "Be logical for one second and focus on the bigger picture! We'll deal with her later!"

"Goodbye, Morai," Pollie said. "I hope that, when all of this ends somehow, we emerge from it as friends again. We're still due a sparring match."

The guard took advantage of Morai's hesitation and push-kicked her out of the elevator before closing the door. She sighed deeply as she rose to the main floor, the doors opening to a group of guards.

"She said you'd know the plan," Pollie said. Silently, they all nodded. Pollie assumed the reasoning behind having a perfectly healthy group of guards evacuate was because the guards they were leaving behind would be of less use to Morai. Battered and bruised from fighting, they couldn't fight as well on her behalf. It seemed cruel to leave them behind, but it was for the best.

Pollie rushed to retrieve the book and hand it off to one of the guards.

"I've got to find Yvette and Maria," she said. "Evacuate everyone who wishes to leave in the meantime."

Pollie finally found her target sitting in the garden. She seemed unbothered by the chaos unfolding around her.

"Yvette!" Pollie yelled as she burst through the door. "What are you doing?"

"There's nothing I can contribute at the moment," Yvette calmly answered. Pollie grabbed her hand and tried to lead her away, but she stood firm.

"We have to go," Pollie explained. "A group is evacuating and you need to go with them to safety."

"...No," Yvette said.

"Your mother ordered it," the guard retorted, trying to pull her. "She—"

"I don't care what she said. I'm staying here. Ultimately, the choice is mine to make, is it not?"

Pollie was dumbfounded, and it was clear in her expression.

"Morai's gone," she said. "The one we know is. If you stay here, she'll come for you."

"I know this Morai," Yvette replied. "She doesn't scare me anymore."

"That's great, but if you don't come with me I'm going to pick you up and take you to the rest of the group."

"I'm staying," Yvette simply replied. After a frustrated groan, the guard tried to grab her and take her by force, but she fought every step of the way before taking out a gun. It wasn't clear what it was loaded with.

"This is what I've chosen, and the path is mine to take," she said. "My mother has controlled me all of my life and it left scars on my face. I'm taking my life into my own hands."

Pollie finally let her go. She was going to have to get a few guards to retrieve her while she looked for Maria.

"Thanks for the shooting lessons," Yvette called as she left. Pollie searched frantically through the halls, but Maria was nowhere to be found. She ran into the doctor on her way to the medical wing.

"Have you seen Maria?" she breathlessly asked.

"No, I haven't," the man replied.

"Right, well you need to go to the entrance if you want to leave."

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere."

"Why is everyone so intent on staying all of the sudden?" Pollie asked with a groan. "Why don't you get to safety? Go home?"

"My home lies wherever the most scientific opportunity is offered," the doctor replied, holding his cane. "And that is here. There's a chance that I can still fix things, or at least help."

"Fine, the choice is yours," Pollie sighed. "Good luck. I have to find Maria."

One of her teammates came over the radio to warn her that she had ten minutes before their departure. She searched every hall and room, but Maria was nowhere to be found. She endlessly called her name, screaming it at the top of her lungs, but no one answered. It was like looking for a ghost. When another guard's voice came to warn her that only two minutes remained, she made her decision.

"Go without me," she said. When pressed, she shook her head. "I failed. No one I swore to protect is safe, so I'll have to protect them from here."

Morai stood amidst what had become a bloody battlefield, her pupils mere pinpoints amidst a sea of red. Only one enemy remained conscious. Sheridan stood, a sprained ankle, no more ammo, and full of deep wounds. Morai laughed.

"Finally," she said, covered in blood that was both her own and the blood of others. "The tables have turned."

"Yes, they have," Sheridan said, leaning onto her good leg so much she was on the verge of falling over. "What are you going to do now, Morai?"

"I'm going to leave."

The warden shook her head.

"I think you'll find that hard to do," she said.

"How so? I have no one to stop me this time," Morai said as she looked to Ava, who apparently knew more about the prison layout than she did. The warden looked at her, too, as if they both knew something Morai didn't.

"We need to get things under control here first," Ava said. It wasn't a complete lie. Morai had her guards strip their un-hypnotized but incapacitated opponents of their cards and weapons and put them in cells. As she mentally took note of them all, she realized that there weren't enough.

"There's more of them somewhere, lying in wait," she said.

"They're gone," Sheridan replied. "They left while we were fighting." To Morai's surprise, she appeared to be telling the truth. Nonetheless, she didn't entirely believe her.

"Sweep the place," she instructed her guards. "Bring everyone you find here."

Sheridan quietly groaned as she carefully lowered herself to the ground, stretching her injured leg out so that it sat straight and undisturbed. She watched along with Morai and Ava as people were brought in. A handful of Aether Foundation employees had stayed behind, which Ava was secretly thankful for. The doctor was also brought in. It seemed he realized that he was outnumbered and decided to save himself the injuries. One of Morai's guards handed her the cane that had been taken off of him. She playfully swung it around with a smile.

"I believe I'll keep this," she said. "You've always had trinkets that I found interesting. This one's a trophy of sorts. A testament to your failure."

"It's not entirely too late," the man replied. "Things can still be turned around if you'll allow it."

Morai laughed again, a dramatic and drawn out laugh.

"No," she said, suddenly cutting it short. "Now that everyone's out of the way, I'm leaving. Goodbye, everyone!" she called, taking a bow. She reached the threshold when Sheridan eyed Ava again.

"Wait," the Team Rocket grunt said. "You...can't leave."

"Why not?"

"...We're on an island," Ava explained. "You're not leaving unless you have a plane and can fly it."

Morai took a moment to process everything before her face twisted into anger. She ran and leapt forward, taking hold of Ava's throat and pushing her into the wall, her nails digging into her skin.

"You trapped me here on purpose!" she roared.

"I-it was the best way," Ava choked, pulling at Morai's hand. "We didn't h-have the skills to hijack Interpol's plane. T-Team Rocket will come get us all out of h-here, t-then you'll be free. T-They just have to find us."

Morai held on for a few more seconds until Ava lost consciousness before letting her fall to the ground, then she went for Sheridan.

"You're coming with me," she snarled.

"I can't walk," the warden said.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't strong enough to carry another person," Morai answered, lifting her onto her back. "I know you could choke me from there, but if you try I'll tear through your arms until your bones show."

"What do you intend to find?" Sheridan asked.

"I'd be dull to blindly listen to anyone in that room," her former prisoner answered as she stood with her in the elevator.

"There's a car in the shed a ways outside. It's impossible to get there otherwise. I'll tell you where it is."

Morai took the exit through the garden and realized that she could stand there all day, if she wanted. No one was coming after her. She stopped for a moment to breathe the chilly outside air.

"How does it feel?" Sheridan asked.

"What do you care?"

"You haven't felt freedom in a long time. For the first time in nearly a year, you're bound by no rules. Simply leaving the garden without being chased after is foreign."

Morai didn't say anything else and followed the warden's directions to the shed, unsure of whether or not she was being led into a trap. When she scanned Sheridan's keycard, the garage door opened to reveal the same car she had been taken back to the prison in after her escape. Otherwise, it was completely empty. She set Sheridan in the passenger seat and sat herself behind the wheel.

"Do you know how to drive?" Sheridan asked.

"Of course I do...although it's been a while."

Once she got the hang of it, Morai sped down the lone dirt road leading somewhere she had never seen. Neither her nor Sheridan spoke a word, and after several minutes had passed she began to speed up. It was as if she were in her dream again, running toward no end. She continued to pick up speed until the road suddenly cut off, causing her to slam on the breaks. Sheridan grunted as she braced herself and winced as her ankle took some of the impact. They ended up just short of the edge.

"I can get out myself," she said. Morai opened the door and walked to the edge, staring at the vast sea of nothingness that stretched beyond the horizon. It was true. Her efforts to run were all in vain, and every attempt she could've made would've failed. Sheridan limped to join her, grunting as she sat down again.

"We had to put you somewhere where you were incapable of touching society," she said. "Somewhere far away, safe from the outside and the outside safe from you."

Morai couldn't describe what she felt. It was like she was still trapped in a dream. Suddenly, she yelled at the top of her lungs, her scream traveling only a little farther out into the vast expanse than she could before drowning in the waves below.

"I wanted to leave!" she yelled, clawing at the ground, her angry silhouette illuminated by the car's headlights. "I wanted to go home! I wanted it all to be over! You! You know where we are. Where are we?"

"At this moment you know as much as I do," Sheridan answered calmly. "I have no more information that would help you leave. That Team Rocket grunt back there was right. They're trying to find you."

I'm still imprisoned. I'm grasping metal bars that aren't there, looking longingly at freedom.

Morai sped home silently with a frown. She carried Sheridan back down to the underground level and put her in a cell before freeing the Aether Foundation employees.

"Tend to the injured enough so they don't die," she ordered. "If any of you step out of line I'll happily tear you to pieces."

"The faster they recover, the more people you'll have that can rise against you," Ava said. Her neck was bruised and still a little bloody despite trying to wipe it off. The blood vessels in her face had burst, leaving clusters of red marks behind.

"I can control them all," Morai retorted. "When I'm done, I'll have used their minds for so long that they'll fall unconscious once back in their cells."

The former prisoner heard shuffling at the doorway and immediately rushed to confront it and rip whatever it was apart. She found herself at the barrel of a gun.

"Another Sheridan," she growled, looking at Yvette. "I'll take you up on that offer now."

"Nice to see you too," Yvette answered. Morai was faster than she could pull the trigger, clawing the gun from her hand and taking her to the ground.

"Yvie!" Sheridan screamed.

"Wait," Ava interjected. "You might want to thank her instead of maiming her. She's the only reason you and I are here."

"What?" Sheridan asked. Morai shared the sentiment.

"That's right," Yvette said. "You've got me to thank for all of this. Interpol was too late in scooping me up and bringing me here and when they did they brought their downfall. I brought the serum in and I would've been the one to shoot you with it on the night of the ball. You're welcome."

"...Yvie? Why?" her mother asked, betrayal written across her bruised and bloodied face. Yvette pushed at Morai until she let her stand up and turned to face her mother.

"I told you not to call me that," she said rather calmly, dusting herself off. "All of my life you've kept me from growing. You kept me from defending myself and weren't around to defend me yourself when I needed you the most. While you and Dad were off fighting monsters, you left me in their path. Now you're in theirs."

"...I'm sorry," Sheridan simply replied, taken aback. "I can't fix the damage that's been done, but this is no way to retaliate. You're putting countless people at risk."

"No, you already did, by being terrible at your job!" Yvette retorted, her voice finally breaking into anger. Her mother looked hurt, but didn't respond.

"You can work your family problems out together," Morai said, walking towards Yvette, who ran for the gun and took it in her hands. She pointed it at her attacker.

"You were pathetic half a day ago," she said. "I made you whole again and this is how you repay me?"

"A Sheridan's a Sheridan. I'm not going from the commands of one to another," Morai shrugged. "I can sense your fear, but the difference now is that it doesn't stop you. Your mother should be proud."

"We should be working together," Ava said. "The three of us are on one team, and we need each other if we're going to keep this whole place in check and keep the rest of Interpol off our tails."

"I don't need either of you," Morai snarled, her eyes jumping back and forth between the both of them. "I've got psychic powers and—"

Morai fell to the ground, unconscious.

"That's better," Yvette sighed. "If that serum is supposed to make her act like an asshole, it's doing its job."

"I don't think we were actually supposed to do that," Ava said.

"She can take it."

"She's the one that actually hurt you," Sheridan said. "And you're helping her whilst making sure I can't protect you this time."

"She'll get what's coming to her," Yvette answered, tucking her weapon away.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see. Morai will pay for her crimes in a way Interpol was too cowardly to execute."