Interceptor's Wish

by Masterdude21

Many decades after a great calamity tore the Aevium region apart, a dark and sinister organization threatens to destroy what little peace the people have left. It's up to a small group of individuals to defend the land against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed. But who can prevail when fate itself seems set against you? - Novelization of Pokemon Rejuvenation.

8. Keta's Resolve

Chapter 2: Redemption

Keta's Resolve

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

---

They had stumbled into a hidden Team Xen base in an active volcano with nobody to back them up. Aelita had no clue, Will was all out of tricks, and the fighting had yet to start. Oh, and Sheridan's Sensei likely worked for Team Xen.

Will didn't see this day getting any worse.

"I don't understand," Aelita said. "You saw the Sensei before? What were you two involved with"

"If I'm not mistaken, Keta is involved with a group called Team Xen. They're…" As much as he wanted to spare Aelita's feelings in this situation, sugarcoating it would only put her into more danger. She had to know what she was up against here. "They're terrorists, Aelita. They've killed people."

"No…" Aelita muttered, her voice small and weak. "He wouldn't. He would never."

"You can't be here. It's dangerous."

Aelita's brow furrowed, and her expression turned into something solid once more. "I'm not leaving the Sensei, Will. If it's too dangerous for you, I won't ask you to help."

"I'm not worried about me," Will said. "You could get hurt down here."

Aelita crossed her arms. "I'm not leaving the Sensei behind."

Yeah, that was what he was afraid of…after all, he'd been in this exact same situation before.

And look how that ended, an unwelcome voice spoke in the back of his mind.

Shut up.

"Fine. We're going together. Do you have your Pokemon on you""

She patted the bag at her hip. "Always. I've got revival herbs and lot's of lemonade too. Here, let me help heal your team…"

Together, Will and Aelita began making their way deeper into the volcano. The stone pathways above the lava were lined with guardrails. Strange, red pipes led across the wall, coming from the lava below in one direction and ending in the lava in a different direction.

The heat was immense. Sweat poured down Will's back as they followed the narrow path forwards.

"This wouldn't have happened if the Sensei had just opened up…" Aelita said. "Why does he always have to be so goddamn stubborn?"

They passed underneath a series of those same red pipes. Up ahead, a small metal plate slid backwards and a red, tentacle-like object shot up from the ground. What looked like a mechanical, black eye rested on top.

"Eugh?! What is that thing?" Aelita exclaimed. "It's gross and creepy!"

The black camera flashed a red light.

"Uh…it's looking at us. I don't like this…"

"And now they know we're here," Will sighed.

They took a right at the intersection. Slowly, the stone pathways made way for a more solid, broader base, with empty barrels of what looked like fuel or chemicals scattered around the place.

Two more of those tentacled cameras burst from the ground. They followed Will and Aelita with their empty gazes as the pair reached the other side of the cavern.

There, an orange disc had been grafted onto the ground right in front of a stairway.

"Uh…what is that thing on the ground?" Aelita asked.

As if on cue, two more of those camera-things shot from the ground, focusing their attention on her.

"Where do these things keep coming from?!"

"Yes, yes, I am a weird instrument in the ground," a mechanical voice came from the orange disc. "SEC heard you call him disgusting and creepy just moments ago!"

A complete machine shot up from the ground, more than three meters tall and cylindrical in shape. An old-fashioned television was built into its center. A digital face appeared on that screen.

"Nice to meet you!" That face said. "I am SEC. Security Enforcer Component!"

"An AI…" Will muttered.

"An aye what now?"

"Model number 3567, this model, was placed under the authority of subject: Madelis."

Madelis.

A lance of anger stabbed through Will's thoughts. It was her! The same woman who had driven Melia away from the lab, the same woman who had hunted her across the city and…

"Can SEC please see your ID?" The computer continued.

Will took a deep breath. Focus. He needed to focus. Exploding across Madelis' security systems would get him nowhere.

"ID?" Aelita replied. "Uh, I don't have anything like that…"

"No worries. I shall use SEC's access to the roster to confirm your identity."

Aelita's expression fell. "Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut, ahah."

It took SEC all of two seconds to run through the roster. It's expression, which had been so happy before, turned into an angry scowl. "YOU WRETCHED PIECES OF GARBAGE!" SEC shouted. "You are nowhere to be found in Team Xen's roster! Which means you two are considered intruders! No Team Xen complimentary pudding for EITHER of you!"

"Ehm…Will? The computer is looking angry."

"Combusken, clear us a path," Will ordered. Aelita followed suit, sending out her own Staravia.

A metal cage shot from the ground and surrounded SEC's inner casing. One of its tentacular arms produced a Poke Ball and sent out a sick-looking Ponyta, its flames flickering in a dark, purple coloring.

More shadow Pokemon.

"What is that?" Aelita exclaimed. "Why does it look so wrong?"

"Keep it distracted. I have to capture it!"

"Capture it? Will, it came from a ball already, it clearly belongs to someone!"

"I'm not wearing this thing for fun," Will replied, readying the Snag Machine.

Aelita shot him a questioning look, but the Ponyta didn't give her time to think. It reared back on its hind hoofs, then charged towards their Pokemon.

Combusken leapt aside and Staravia took to the sky. The Pomyta snorted wildly, blowing hot air and flames from its nostrils. It whirled around, snapped at Staravia, then spat fire at Combusken. It stomped the ground with savage hoofs and screamed. It was a horrible sound.

"What's wrong with it?" Aelita said. "Why is it acting like that?"

"It's a Shadow Pokemon. Team Xen takes Pokemon and strips them off everything except for anger and hate," Will explained. "These things are dangerous."

"Staravia, hit it with a Wing Attack!" Aelita ordered.

Faced with two foes it could not harm, the Ponyta drove itself mad with rage. Will threw a Poke Ball, wondering just how many times he'd have to repeat this process. How many Pokemon did Team Xen have, anyway? How many members? How many Shadow Pokemon?

"I can't believe it," Aelita murmured upon seeing the Ponyta disappear. "You captured a trainer Pokemon? Will, just who are you, really?"

"Wowie…you two beat SEC at his own game! Impressive!" The machine exclaimed. "I suppose this means SEC is out of a job right now."

"You attacked us first!" Aelita snapped. "We could have just snuck past you!"

"And how exactly did you expect to do that? You stupid grape."

Will blinked. For an AI, this SEC had a lot of personality.

"H-Hey!" Aelita sputtered.

Enough of this. "Combusken, take that thing out – "

One of SEC's limbs planted a stick of dynamite atop its head.

In an active volcano.

"Is that - ?" Aelita exclaimed, but Will grabbed a hold of her shoulder and pulled her along.

"Run!"

All the while SEC kept sputtering about its regrets, its wife, its purpose in life –

The dynamite detonated in a flash of thunder. Shards of metal pinged throughout the cave. Aelita and Will, having taken cover behind a large rock, remained unharmed.

All the better, because Will didn't feel like having to explain to Sheridan's healer how he got himself a whole new shrapnel-related injury.

"Man, what was all that?" Aelita said. "I don't even wanna think about that thing. Staravia, come back. Right. We should just – "

A second, more feminine voice echoed through the cave. "It seems you have just murdered my husband in cold blood."

From an alcove above, a square drone drifted down towards the scorched remains of thin was shaped like a flatscreen television with additional armored plates and a pair of mechanical limbs. It too possessed a large screen with an electronic expression.

"Not only did you break my husband, but also my heart," the drone continued. "An impressive feat considering I have none. Ha. Ha. Ha."

Aelita stared up at the drone.

"I am evil."

"Are you now?"

"Well, since you stole my family from me, it only make sense that I pick you as a replacement." More mechanical limbs erupted from the drone's frame – arms, whips, more metallic tentacles – "Eeny…meeny…miny…moe." She lunged for Aelita. "You are now my daughter."

"What!" Aelita yelled, but the drone moved too fast. It wrapped its limbs around Aelita's wiry frame, pinning her arms to her chest and jerking her up in the air. "Will! Augh! Help!"

Will leapt for Aelita, but the drone effortlessly pulled her up in the air. "Goodbye!" It said, before disappearing back into the alcove it came from.

Taking Aelita with her.

"Damnit," Will hissed. Whoever had programmed these things knew what they were doing. Inscribing them with a quirky, happy, funny personality to mask their true function. Stalling, interfering and neutralizing intruders.

And now, Team Xen had a hostage.

Will stepped over the scrapped remains of SEC and headed up the stairs, towards the black door at its top.

When he passed through the door, it became obvious to him just how serious his problems really were.

Team Xen hadn't just built an outpost in a volcano; this was a full –blown laboratory, a complete base. Cool air buffeted his face when he entered the facility. Cold, black tiles covered the ground, the wall and the ceiling. Rows of delicate machines and expensive-looking computers lined the wall.

Will sent Combusken out again, and this time he wouldn't recall her for anything. Drones could be hiding in every shadow. Xen grunts could lurk around every corner. Keta was walking down the corridor towards him –

Wait, Keta?

To his surprise, Will saw the Sensei strolling down the hall, taking large, purposeful strides as he moved toward him.

Will readied himself for a fight, but Keta stopped in the middle of the room and just glared at him. "Following me here was a mistake, Will. You would do well to turn around now."

"They have Aelita," Will said.

Keta's dark eyes widened. "What?"

The next second, that damnable drone from before started speaking. "Turning around now would be dumb, and in fact, stupid!"

Will sighed as the drone descended upon them once again. Keta watched it approach, his expression as unreadable as always.

"Good news!" The drone exclaimed. "That girl I abducted was happily accepted by Miss Madelis."

There went their chances of saving Aelita out the window. Will felt his heart sink, realizing that he'd have to fight through the entire facility and take out another Xen Admin to get Aelita back.

Because he wasn't about to abandon her.

"One moment! I'm getting a call!" The drone said, seconds before its face fizzed away and turned into the disapproving glare of a familiar, red-headed woman.

"Ah, good to see you Keta," Madelis said. "What are you doing in my lab? A rebellion, perhaps?"

"I won't let Team Xen control me any longer," Keta said. "So yes. You've thought of the right answer in that void you call a brain."

Will looked at the Sensei, surprised at the sudden fire in his voice. He hadn't realized Keta still had that in him.

Madelis coughed awkwardly, "I wouldn't be talking to me in that way. Not in your situation."

Keta frowned. "My situation?"

"I have a very special someone in my possession. I believe you know her as Aelita?"

"So it's true," Keta said, whirling on Will with a furious expression. "It wasn't enough to meddle with this yourself? You had to bring Aelita too?"

Madelis snickered. "Make no mistake Keta. She came by herself. We all saw it through the security cameras. Don't blame William for your bad decisions. Which, by the way, you seem to have made a lot of."

Keta gritted his teeth.

"No matter! We'll be waiting for you in my throne room!" Madelis continued gleefully. "We'll settle things there. Until then!"

Without further ado, the drone surged back towards the ceiling and disappeared into a small opening.

Will watched it leave, putting together what he had just heard. Why had Madelis cleared the air between him and Keta? Sowing division between enemy forces was a basic tactic, wasn't it? Letting Keta pop off at him would have been in Madelis best interest.

Was it…just so that Madelis could gloat? Rub Keta's mistakes in his face?

She'd spoken about her throne room.

Her throne.

Like she was a queen.

"This is the absolute worst case scenario," Keta said. "But there's no use worrying about it right now. We need to work together. William…we'll save Aelita, shut down this factory, and drive Team Xen out of my village. No time for questions, and certainly no time for answers."

"One condition," Will said.

Keta stared at him like he'd just lost his mind. "What?"

"Don't call me William."

"Of all the stupid – "

"It's Will."

"You are an absolute idiot," Keta hissed. "Very well."

Together, the two of them began exploring the facility. Madelis had her goon squad on standby, and the grunts began spreading throughout the area.

One of them came running around a corner, his shoes skidding across the dark tiles underneath. "Keta, Sensei of Sheridan Village! Your betrayal won't be forgotten!" He yelled

"That's fine with me," Keta retorted, sending out Lucario. "In fact, I want you to remember this."

Xen's people meant business. Their Pokemon were stronger, too, and Will began seeing evolved forms among their ranks.

But Keta battled with an aggression and determination that Will hadn't seen during their own fight, He didn't throw himself at his enemy like Venam did. Keta picked his target, found out where it was the weakest, then concentrated all his force there. Together, Combusken and Lucario made short work of the first Grunt's team.

"It doesn't matter," the Xen thug spat. "We'll stop you!"

As Keta and Will ran through the base, battling Grunts and searching for the way out, Will began to notice what he could only describe as stone monuments to display Madelis' glory.

"Are these…statues? Of her?" Will asked.

"The vain and the superficial require constant validation," Keta replied. "You will find Madelis fits those, and many other aspects befitting a narcissist."

They made it through to the next chamber ahead. There, Will saw more of Madelis' statues scattered across the place, together with what looked like turbines and even more piping scattered across the ceiling.

Keta took him through a door to the left, heading into a library of sorts.

"What is this now?" Keta said, frowning as he glanced around. "No enemy here."

Will saw that one of the books bulged out of its spot somewhat. Thinking that perhaps Xen had built a secret entryway into this library, he plucked it from the bookcase.

Nothing happened.

"We don't have time to be reading," Keta said.

"A moment," Will replied. He flickered through the tattered pages of what seemed to be a diary. Paragraphs of technical text about Shadow Pokemon, some powerful Pokemon that Madelis had somehow acquired, and a very weird bit about Ether energy.

And…he saw something else, too. Something that brought him back to that day in Goldenwood Forest, staring down an abomination in a dimension of darkness.

"Come on," Keta urged him.

"This diary…we have a situation," Will breathed.

"What?"

"Apparently, Madelis acquired a Volcanion in this mountain. She…she turned it into a Rift Pokemon. To use as a power source." Disgusted, Will flicked the page. "It's unstable and produces immense heat. That's why this place is so hot. It's not a volcano at all. She…this other Pokemon she got her hands on, it's still being turned into a Shadow Pokemon .They have to keep it encased in armor, since it's so violent."

"Does knowing this help? It changes nothing," Keta said.

"No," Will said, slamming the book shut. "But maybe it will help."

Through the library, across a main room and towards a lab to the right. There, Will and Keta came across what could only be described as a lab dedicated to Shadow Pokemon.

"This place…" Keta said, warily checking his surroundings. "It cannot remain standing."

Row after row of large, podlike chambers littered the chamber. Will counted at least thirty of them…so many Pokemon.

So many more to face down.

Together, Keta and Will beat the solitary guard, and then made their way down south to check the room for anything of use.

And…Will would hesitate to describe it as useful, but he did run into a familiar face. The orange-haired woman stood in front of one of the pods, her hands a blur of motion as she pried, tugged and pulled at every centimeter.

"I know you," Will said, approaching the woman. "Back in the forest…"

"Oh hi," Sharon casually said. "I have no interest in stopping you or whatever. See, Eli were only here to pick up a new batch of Shadow Pokemon. But somehow, Eli got himself trapped in one of these machines and is now in danger of becoming shadowfied. Is that even possible for humans?"

Will peered inside of the machine and sat, indeed, the outline of a man through the glass.

"Either way, I didn't see you, you didn't see me," Sharon said. "How's that sound?"

Letting them go, to become strong enough to attack him later again? It sounded unfair and unreasonable, but…Will really didn't have the time or energy to waste on these two. He shook his head at the pair and walked away, wondering how on earth people like these had ended up among Team Xen.

It mattered little. They forged on, and soon, they fought their way through a long hallway that ended in the largest chamber yet. Another pair of Madelis statues decorated the far wall, while a series of pipes pumped an unknown fluid through the floor at the far left and right.

And, up ahead…

"Aelita!" Keta shouted.

Madelis waited for him, seated on a actual throne. Aelita sat on her knees at the woman's side, her hands tied behind her back.

Will sighed in relief. She was alright-!

"it sure took you two long enough to get here," Madelis called out. "But now that you're here…the show can finally begin!"

"Show?" Aelita spat. "Everything is just a game to you…"

"Yes?" Madelis said, cocking an eyebrow, as if she were surprised that Aelita hadn't realized that yet.

"Let her go, Madelis!' Keta shouted. "Aelita has nothing to do with this!"

Madelis shrugged. "Maybe half an hour later that would have been true. But now she's a playing piece, just like the rest of us! But you don't see her that way. Of course you wouldn't…because why would a man refer to his own daughter like that?"

Oh.

Oh.

Will hadn't realized. How hadn't he realized?

Aelita looked up in surprise. "…How?!" She sputtered.

"Oh come on, we were all thinking it, right?!" Madelis exclaimed. "And with that response, I'm confident enough to say that I'm right! With that info everything starts to line up and make sense."

Another father who had been working for Team Xen all along. Another daughter caught up in the mess, paying for her father's sins. Another –

Will clenched his fists. It wouldn't end that way. Not again.

"What are you talking about?" Aelita demanded.

Keta spoke up, and for the first time, Will heard what the Sensei of Sheridan sounded like when he pleaded. "Don't. Please."

Madelis grinned. "I'm going to tell you a secret, girl. Your father is nothing but an irredeemable traitor to you and your village. The purpose of this facility is to create Shadow Pokemon, yes, but there's another small little part of it that you don't know about. In truth, Team Xen could have taken Sheridan over a long time ago, but in exchange for peace…" Her grin widened and a wave of repulsion washed over Will. "Keta gave up the lives of everyone in Sheridan Village…except for you."

"…No…" Aelita whimpered.

"But yes!" Madelis exclaimed with manic glee. "When production is complete, the factory here will be shut down. But the problem is that the amount of energy generated here cannot be moved or contained. So once production here ends…the mountain will explode. And Sheridan Village will be wiped out in a volcanic eruption."

Cold shivers ran down Will's spine. A plan like that would result in the deaths of thousands of people. It would be a complete ecological disaster. Tens of thousands more would suffer.

And Madelis. Was. Laughing.

"Is this true?" Aelita demanded.

Will looked at Keta. It had to be a bluff. Madelis had to be lying. There was no way – it couldn't be true!

But Keta didn't reply.

"Of course it's true!" Madelis laughed.

And why else would he ask them to spare her? Will realized with a start.

Keta's silence was an answer in itself. Madelis wasn't bluffing. "You truly are the worst kind of scum," Will growled at the woman. He'd heard enough. He'd seen enough. "Combusken. Let's go."

He hadn't even taken more than five steps before Madelis put a knife to Aelita's throat. Aelita gasped, but she knew better than to struggle with the cold steel pressed against her skin. "Ah ah ah! Not so fast William! Try to approach me, and we'll get to see if blood really is thicker than water."

"Will stop!" Keta ordered.

But he didn't need Keta to tell him that. He halted, then gestured for Combusken to stand down. His mind raced. He couldn't allow her to stall and get more reinforcements in, or activate her trump card. The faster they ended this mess, the better. However, a raging narcissist like Madelis would probably cut Aelita's throat from ear to ear and feel nothing afterward. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't expect mercy, or leeway, or sympathy.

But…he could meet force with force.

"Okay," Will said. He steeled himself. "Combusken, if you see a single drop of Aelita's blood, burn Madelis' face off."

Aelita went pale…and Madelis' expression became one of rage.

"How dare you threaten me! ME! A beautiful, perfect goddess!" She shrieked. The hand holding her knife trembled.

"Will…" Keta warned in a low voice.

"This doesn't have to turn ugly…" Will said, struggling to keep his voice calm. He slowly wiped every emotion off his face, presenting Madelis with a steely mask of calmness. "You don't have to risk it. But if you do, even if you survive, it won't be pretty."

Madelis bit her lip. She flicked a look over her shoulder to the room behind her.

"I've seen Combusken melt rocks with her flames," Will said, putting volume and force into his voice to hide his massive, massive bluff. "Do you think surgeries will fix you? Do you think anyone will want to look at you again?"

Rage overcame the Xen Admin. She withdrew her knife, leapt to her feet and planted a boot between Aelita's shoulders, before kicking her off the platform. "You have her back! Keta and I have a score to settle. You will follow me, William. You will bear witness!"

With that, the red-haired monster stormed off, and Keta rushed towards his daughter, "Aelita, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

She'd taken a nasty fall, but even with her hands literally tied behind her back Aelita knew how to break a fall better than Will did. At the last moment, she'd sank through one leg and rolled across her shoulder, dissipating the momentum of the fall as much as she could.

She looked battered, but that was much better than having a broken leg.

Or worse.

"I…I don't want to talk to you right now," Aelita murmured as Keta undid her bindings. "My feelings towards you now are…tough."

Keta took that blow on his chin. "I don't expect you to understand, but I had reasons to do what I did."

"That doesn't make it right!" Aelita yelled.

Keta flinched a little. "You're right. It doesn't. I have a lot of sin in my soul. And I have caused a great number of people pain. But in this moment I am trying to make it right – however I can."

"I know," Aelita sighed. "I still believe in you. I always have."

Father and daughter together. As it should be, Will bitterly thought. If Professor Jnner had had an ounce of integrity…if only he'd found his spine before sending his daughter to her death, Melia might still have lived.

This wasn't ideal, but goddamnit Will was going to fight tooth and nail to keep this instact.

Keta shook his head. "You were always too pure for your own good." With a heavy sigh and an expression of heavy resolve, he rose to his feet. "Will, Aelita, I want you to go back to the village…"

"No way!"Aelita started, but she needn't have bothered.

"…is what I would usually say. But in this situation, I cannot guarantee success alone. I know what Madelis has waiting for us, and it's going to be extremely dangerous for all of us. But if we don't stop her here, then just delaying the inevitable."

"We're with you!" Aelita said.

Keta nodded at her, then flicked his gaze to Will. "What about you?"

"Do you have to ask?" Will replied.

A hint of approval flickered across Keta's eyes. "Let's face Madelis."

Together, Keta, Aelita and Will rushed up the stairs towards the back of Madelis' room, where she stood in front of a giant pool of lava. Red and black tubes fed into the boiling mess, no doubt related to the Volcanion Madelis kept entombed here.

"As I said before, this lab was created to produce Shadow Pokemon," Madelis said. "Most of the Shadow Pokemon are just ordinary Pokemon and such. But I, the gorgeous and genius Madelis, went well beyond that scope! I have created the most powerful Shadow Pokemon there is! Clara!"

That drone drifted down towards her. "Ma'am."

"Call it!"

"As you wish!" A mechanical whirring echoed through the ceiling.

Keta took a breath. "Brace yourselves," he muttered.

The ground shook. Somewhere above them, Will heard the sound of metal scraping across metal.

"It's coming this way!"

A creature dropped down from above. Plated head to toe in black armor with pink hardpoints, Will couldn't have identified it if he wanted to.

"Isn't it beautiful," Madelis exclaimed. "This is the culmination of all of my brilliant research and team!"

"This Mewtwo," Keta said. "What's with all of that tech on it?"

A Mewtwo? What was a Mewtwo?

"Well, we had trouble keeping it obedient, especially when it became a Shadow Pokemon. It inhibits its power a little bit, but still blows everything away just fine!"

Keta stepped forwards to face Madelis' trump card. "Will, with me. Aelita, we need you for backup. Can I trust you with this?"

"O-Of course!" Aelita said.

"Oh, one more thing!" Madelis said. "Don't think I haven't heard about that stupid little thing on your shoulder, you miserable little psycho! System! Deactivate the Snag Machine!"

Will gasped, his right hand snapping up towards the shoulder pad of the Snag Machine, but it was too late.

"SNAG MACHINE DEACTIVATION PROTOCOL ACTIVATED."

A burst of blue light flickered from one of the machines towards the Snag Machine. Electricity coursed through the device and Will jerked as the machine delivered a shock to his body too. He gave a cry of pain, and he heard the systems within the machine crackle and pop. Smoke burst from its servo. Suddenly, the Snag Machine was no more than a piece of metal strapped to his arm. Dead weight.

"Not good," Keta hissed. "I was sort of banking on taking that Mewtwo back. But the plan hasn't changed! We can take this thing down together!"

Madelis uttered a high-pitched laugh, then her expression hardened into a merciless scowl. "Fall," she spat, and sent out her Pokemon to assist the Mewtwo.

And the storm broke loose.

Madelis began sending her own team into the fray to cover Mewtwo. She started out with a floating little Fairy-type, Floette, which began conjuring a hail of razor-sharp leaves to attack everyone in the room. Keta kept his own Pokemon focused solely on the Mewtwo, which meant that it was up to Will to take care of Madelis team.

Adrenaline roared through his body. His mind, which had felt so hazy during his confrontation with Volcanion, felt sharper and clearer than ever.

"Nidorino, get in close!" He ordered. "Counter with Poison Sting!"

Nidorino roared and returned fire on Madelis' Pokemon. Mewtwo, as a Shadow Pokemon, was filled with nothing but seething hate and mind-numbing aggression. It launched wave after wave of purple energy across the room, blindly lashing out at everything around it.

Farfetch'd was light on its feet and nimble, but it wouldn't last through that storm very long. In a fight of attrition, they stood no chance.

Full force ahead, then.

It became obvious that Floette was a ranged-type attacker. It lacked the mobility it needed to make full use of its strengths, and the closer Nidorino came the more frantic its attacks became

Glass-like leaves shattered against Nidorino's hide. With his horn, he knocked those leaves that came too close to his face out of the sky. As Farfetch'd came close enough to Mewtwo to land his first attack, so did Nidorino. The tough Poison-type leapt towards his foe just as it tried to evade, and grabbed a hold of the red leaves around its neck. His weight carried him back down, the Fairy-type clutched in his large canines, and the two smacked to the ground.

Floette bounced once, its body too light to truly feel bothered by the impact. That merely gave nIdorino the chance to drive his horn deep into what served as the Pokemon's sternum. A single jab was all he needed to deliver his lethal payload.

Farfetch'd had less success. He struck Mewtwo with his leek, one, twice, then suddenly froze as the Mewtwo extended his arm, pinning the Flying-type in place with his psychic powers.

The next second, Farfetch'd flew up against the ceiling, then down against the ground with bone-crushing smack.

Madelis retrieved her Floette again and sent out a Cufant next.

Will recalled Nidorino, then sent Combusken out. Next to him, Keta's Machoke entered the fray as well.

It was chaos. Mewtwo casually slung around power at a level that none of them could match, but in a way that made it difficult for Madelis to assist it. In its rage, Mewtwo was as liable to lash out at her Pokemon as Keta's. With its psychic powers it targeted everything that moved. At one point, Keta's Combusken had to take a blow that was clearly aimed at Aelita. At another, Mewtwo casually sent Madelis' Cufant flying across the room because it had dared to move too close to it.

"Watch where you're fighting!" Madleis shouted at it.

But Mewtwo did not care. This was the price of using a Shadow Pokemon, it seemed. Uncontrollable power lived up to its name.

Will maintained his focus. Machoke and Combusken swapped positions. Madelis' Houndoom snarled at the muscle-bound Pokemon and the Machoke met him in kind with a Thunder Punch straight to the face.

Combusken rolled underneath a blast of energy and slammed her entire body against Mewtwo's sternum, her body blazing with flames.

Mewtwo growled and shoved her back with a psychic blast. Aelita's Staravia came from behind and slammed its wings against the back of Mewtwo's head. The Shadow Pokemon uttered a shriek of frustration and whirled around, throwing blades of psychic energy that carved deep troughs across the floor.

Mightyena ripped into its right leg, drawing blood.

Mewtwo exploded into a sphere of raw, purple energy that sent both Staravia as Mightyena flying.

Keta's Machoke wrestled Houndoom to the floor. It blasted a cloud of hazy smoke in its face and the Machoke backed off, clutching at its eyes.

Combusken came from the side, slamming her leg into the back of one of Houndoom's knees. It whipped around and caught Combusken's arm in a vice grip.

Keta's Lucario threw an Aura Sphere at Mewtwo, which it stopped in midair and directed at Aelita's Staravia.

Chaos.

But through that chaos, Will saw the Mewtwo physically growing tired. Slowly, as Madelis was forced to pull back one member of her team after another, the three were able to focus all their effort on Mewtwo.

It culminated in Pidgeotto graping Madelis' Salandit in its claws and ragdolling it across the ground, after which Combusken was free to send the crippled Houndoom packing.

Lucario, meanwhile, struggled to remain standing. its determination in the face of Mewtwo's overwhelming power was admirable, but Will wasn't sure if it would be enough.

Will watched Mightyena take down Madelis' last Pokemon by literally dragging her Golbat to the ground and mobbing it.

Together with Keta's Lucario, Mightyena began focusing all his strength on the Mewtwo.

The grueling, desperate struggle ended when Lucario broke through Mewtwo's psychic defenses and slugged it across the face with a mighty hook. That opened him up for Mightyena to sink his darkness-infused canines into Mewtwo's neck and sling it to the ground.

"My my, Now this is a surprise," Madelis said, staring at the struggling form of her most powerful asset. "I knew the suit of armor inhibited Mewtwo's abilities, but I couldn't imagine this outcome. Too bad…that's not enough to stop Mewtwo."

The Mewtwo uttered a low snarl. It repulsed Lucario and Mightyena with a blast of psychokinetic energy, then rose back to its feet.

"Impossible!" Keta breathed. "Even after that entire fight, it's like it didn't take any damage at all!"

"I can help," Aelita said. "My Pokemon are still healthy!"

"…no, you two need to leave, right now," Keta said.

"But, you said – "

"I know what I said! Just listen to me. I – "

"Why don't you just listen for once?" A familiar voice spoke, and Will felt a cold, sickening chill settle within his bones.

A Gothitelle appeared into the fray. It cried out and brought its hands together –

"No!" Will yelled.

A flash of light consumed his world.

~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~~

---

It was her. It had to be. Keta could have recognized that creature from miles away.

"You are not getting away!" Madelis spat.

But she was too late. Gothitelle brought its hands together and teleported Will and Aelita away. Where the girl took them, Keta did not know. He only knew that their current location had to be safer than their previous one.

"No!" Madelis snarled. "I wasn't done killing them yet! Dammit! Mewtwo, let's look for them!"

"Not a chance!" Keta exclaimed. "I'm still here."

Madelis eyed him, recognizing his intention. "Very well. Clara, find them."

"As you wish," the drone confirmed, before hovering away to chase Aelita and Will down.

His team might have been nearing their limits…but he himself hadn't yet.

"You will not step by me," he declared.

Madelis crossed her arms. "Mewtwo and I will destroy you."

Keta rolled his shoulders, getting rid of the stiffness he'd been feeling before. 'We shall see about that."

~~~~~~~(III)~~~~~~~

---

Will landed flat on his back. Nausea and pain shot through his body in waves. Before he could even begin to get his bearings, he rolled onto his stomach and puked.

Almost instantly, he felt someone's hands underneath his shoulders, keeping him steady, gently pulling him up so he wouldn't be vomiting all over himself.

Aelita's voice sounded like it came from underwater. "Hey…Will, you okay?"

Will gasped for air.

"Come on, please tell me you're not hurt?"

He held up a hand, closing his eyes and trying not to heave. His head was still throbbing from the sudden teleportation. He felt like someone had pulled his guts from his abdomen, tied them into three knots and then dumped them back upside down.

"I…hate…teleport…" he groaned.

"It's…definitely not the most pleasant, no," Aelita said. "But I didn't feel…eh, never mind. Can you stand?"

His knees felt like jelly, but he knew from experience that would pass.

Aelita helped him back on his feet. "There you go. Steady does it."

"T-Thanks," Will muttered, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Crescent. Why is she here?

"Don't sweat it! I wouldn't be a good friend if I let you fall in a puddle of your own puke, right?"

He looked around, not surprised to see that Crescent's abominable little Gothitelle had dumped them in…well, a freaking dump. Discarded vats and drums everywhere. Green chemicals spilled across the floor, oil dripping into cracked rock. Black, filth-covered walls and metal fences that must have been painted centuries ago…

"Where are we?" Aelita asked as she slowly took in her surroundings. "We were fighting that Mewtwo, and then…suddenly this strange Pokemon appeared and then there was this bright light...anyway, we seem to still be somewhere in Madelis' lab…I think. Let's team up again and find our way out."

She began to take the lead, but then she came to a stop. "Hey, Will, I uhm…I want to thank you, for getting that crazy woman off my back when she pulled that knife, but…uhm…would you really have gone through with that you said?"

Ah. That. His first confrontation with Sharon and Eli came to mind. "No. Not that. Never. She had to let go of you herself; anything else would have been too dangerous."

She nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer. "Okay. So you were bluffing?"

"In a way, yeah."

"Yeah, of course you were! I shouldn't have…never mind."

"I never knew Keta was your father," Will said as Aelita and him began looking for a way out.

"I don't like talking about it that much," Aelita admitted. "He's the leader of our village and I don't want people thinking I get special treatment. Even then, he's my father, but he's still the Sensei of our village. In a way, that makes him responsible for all the people, not just me." She halted, then cast him an uncertain look. "Do you…think less of him now you know the truth?"

In a way, he did. Will didn't know the specifics, but Keta had effectively thrown his village under the bus for his daughter.

But compared to the likes of Jenner, who had thrown Melia under the bus as well as Gearen City…Keta was back there, alone, fighting against what could only be a Shadow Legendary Pokemon. Jenner had cowered in his seat when Madelis came visiting him for tea. "Keta is trying," Will said.

"He's trying, but…sometimes there's a point where you just go too far, you know? This is clearly too far?"

Will couldn't disagree.

"I should hate him," Aelita hesitantly continued. "I should be so angry at him that I couldn't even speak his name…but it's not like that for me. Deep down I still believe in him. It's like my very soul is telling me that he's doing this for everyone."

"You know him better than me. If you believe in him, I have no reason to doubt that."

"Sorry," Aelita then said. "I didn't mean to…waste your time like that. Let's find a way out!"

They continued making their way through the labyrinthine underground waste, jogging through narrow corridors and creeping past what could only be toxic waste.

Eventually, Will spotted a sign hanging ahead.

GENERATOR ROOM.

It pointed left at the next intersection.

The generator room…

Madelis' Rift Pokemon.

"That place powers the entire facility," Will said, pointing at the sign overhead. "It's a Pokemon, but…warped. Worse than a Shadow Pokemon."

"How could they make something even worse than a Shadow Pokemon?" Aelita asked.

"I think you're about to find out," Will grimly said, before pressing the button next to the door to open the entrance. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll be…"

Together, Aelita and Will entered the generator room.

It was a cavernous chamber surrounded by enormous energy turbines. A dozen massive pumps all fed into a basin that contained another abomination, separated by a thick wall of glass.

Will didn't recognize what Pokemon this had been before. He stared at a quadrupedal creature covered in black, metallic plating, its eyes mere burning spots of crimson. Two round arms stuck out of its sides, coming together to hold up a massive glass orb containing water as well as magma, somehow. Pipes fed into that dome, constantly pumping liquids in and out while the creature below…its four stocky limbs seemed to feed into those pipes.

No, its limbs were all part of the piping system. The poor thing was completely immobile, stuck in a hellish existence of constantly generating energy for the people who had captured it.

He heard Aelita gasp. "God…that poor thing!"

Will didn't have the time to explain what this thing truly was. Reddish tentacles burst from the tiles around them and that drone – Clara it had been called? – drifted down from above.

"Well, I've found you," it said. "You two have done a very, very good job of making it this far. That last party trick where you teleported had me like – "

"Answer me Clara!" Aelita snapped. "Where are we/?"

"This is the V.G.C.R. Room. Also known as the Volcanion Generator Control Room. The being you see here is the generator of this facility. Its appendages are strewn throughout the mountain. This Volcanion has been altered to become a literal heart for Madelis' laboratory. As long as it lives, this facility and Mewtwo shall be forever powered."

"What!" Aelita yelled. "That means that no matter what father does, Mewtwo cannot be beaten!"

"Very. Good! There is one perk of the suit that Madelis failed to elaborate on. It receives energy directly from Volcanion whenever it falls in battle. Reviving it instantly. The drawback in its power is rounded out by its immortality.'

"What can we even do about this?" Aelita said, panic creeping into her voice.

"We break the glass." Will said with a heavy heart. "And we kill the Volcanion."

"You could try that!" Clara replied. "Try shattering the glass. I will give you one shot."

Aelita charged forwards, throwing herself into a spinning kick and slamming her heel against the window.

Her leg bounced off of the frame with a little thump.

"OW!" Aelita cried. She clutched her foot and hopped on her other leg. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"BRO I cannot believe she even tried it!" The drone laughed. "Imbecile. The glass is reinforced and cannot be broken. If it were that easy, the sheer temperature would be enough to melt the whole pane."

"I had to try something," Aelita grumbled.

"Try this instead."

A familiar cylindrical frame shot up from the floor. "What is up losers! SEC has returned! Technically, SEC never went anywhere. There are thousands of SEC units. Today this SEC will have the honor of murdering you annoying brats!"

"Oh. What a hunk," Clara said dreamily. "Of metal. What a dreamy. What – "

"You idiots are in our way! Aelita yelled. "Come on Will, let's wreck these bastard!"

"Murder these teens, honey!" Clara yelled.

"I will rip them apart sweetie!"

SEC then proceeded to send out another Shadow Pokemon - a Quagsire according to the Pokedex. It was a tough Pokemon, capable of taking a large amount of hits and dishing out solid Water-type attacks, but it was just one Pokemon against two teams of well-trained, experienced Pokemon.

With the Snag Machine disabled, Will had no choice but to knock the Quagsire out. Mightyena pinned it down long enough for Aelita's Staravia to deliver a knockout blow.

"Man, what is the deal with you!" The machine cried out. "Does SEC disgust you? Perhaps you have a SEC destroying kink? Is it a desire to dominate?"

"This time, it is Clara's turn!"

"And SEC will just explode himself into very fine pieces of orange metal. Maximum shrapnel!"

Will's patience with these stalling antics ran out half an hour ago. He couldn't handle this anymore. "Combusken, does Clara kinda look like a flyswatter to you?"

Combusken shrieked, then launched herself at the floating Clara. She leapt atop its back, sliced the propulsion devices off and then took a good, firm grip on one side of the sputtering drone.

"Wait! What is the hooligan doing with SEC's wife?"

Combusken slammed Clara's frame against the SEC unit with enough force to send it flying across the room. It slammed into the reinforced window and broke in half under at the impact. Its upper half promptly detonated.

"Holy shit I thought that thing would never shut up," Aelita said. "I found the console, it's right over here!"

Will quickly made his way through the debris-strewn tile and looked over Aelita's shoulder. "Three commands…shut down, transfer and feed…try shut down."

"It needs a password," Aelita said. "We don't have time to go looking. Transfer?"

A message flashed across the screen. "VOLCANION SHALL BE TRANSFERRED TO: THRONE ROOM. IS THIS ACCEPTABLE?"

"If we put Volcanion in the throne room, we might put father in a really bad position…" Aelita protested. "Is there anywhere else we can put this thing?"

"There, Carotos Mountain," Will said, pointing at one of the options below.

"Oh, yes!"

"TRANSFERRING."

The glass panes that separated the poor Pokemon from the rest of the room darkened.

"Carotosm mountain could be anywhere around us, but at least we have a shot at taking it down now," Aelita said. "You said we needed to kill it. Do we really have to? Is there no way to peacefully return it to normal?"

Will sighed heavily. "I wish. I've had to put one of these things out of their misery before. I hated every second of it."

"You've faced these things before?!" Aelita gasped.

"If we make it out alive, I'll tell you all about it," Will promised.

"Deal."

Will took the lead. He made his way back to the junk-strewn hallways –

- only to catch a glimpse of Crescent's back as she wandered down a corridor, a pale light flickering on the ceiling above her.

"Huh? Is there someone else down with us?" Aelita said, but Will barely heard her. His legs almost moved on his own, and he started running. She was here, he knew she was! Why? What was her business with Team Xen, why did she oppose them?

"Will!" Aelita yelled. "Wait, you might run into a trap!"

His feet skidded to a halt when he reached a dead end. A metal ladder led them back into the mountain, almost right next to the entrance where that drone had originally abducted Aelita.

"Will, hold up!" Aelita said, grabbing his shoulder. "Shouldn't we go together?"

"She…" Will protested. He caught himself before he could say anything that might get Aelita into trouble. "I…I think that was Gothitelle's trainer."

"The one who teleported us to the generator room?" Aelita replied. 'But they're on our side, right?"

Something told Will it wasn't that simple. "I think?"

Aelita took a moment to check out their surroundings. "I don't see her anywhere, but…oh. Oh! Will! There!"

Will frowned, then followed her gaze to a section in the caves upper right. It took him a moment, but then he saw it.

"That's Volcanion!" Aelita exclaimed. "It's exposed now. This is our chance!"

But as they ran towards the stationary Volcanion, something strange happened. The air began to shimmer and warp, and the overwhelming heat of the smoldering stones faded away.

It was a familiar sensation to Will, but he didn't understand where it came from – where was the Rift, where was the person giving the orders?

Within seconds, reality just shifted. All of a sudden, both Aelita and Will found themselves in a completely different location altogether. Gone were the heat, the molten rocks and the dry air. Replacing all that was a tranquil little grove, but pure and uncorrupted.

"Where'd we end up? Inside that Rift thing you mentioned?"

Will shook his head. Wherever they were, it wasn't inside of a Rift. Nut how - ?

"Mommy?" Someone whispered.

Will turned around, but he only saw Aelita.

"Mommy…are you there?"

It sounded like a child. The voice sounded like it echoed around Will's own thoughts – it didn't originate from anywhere around him.

Was…someone talking to him telepathically? Some Pokemon had the intelligence to share their thoughts with their trainer, and the human mind was generally flexible enough to translate those telepathic thoughts into something their minds recognized as human speech.

But who…?

As he made his way towards the center of the grove, walking through patches of flowers and bright, tall grass, the voice continued drifting amidst his thoughts.

"Mommy…I miss you…"

"Please come home…mommy…"

"I'm scared…alone…mommy?"

The only other living being inside this grove, besides Aelita, was Volcanion. It rested amidst a pair of protruding rocks inside of a shallow pool of water. Its disfigured limbs stretched in every direction, the pipes now empty and inert.

Yet the engine atop its back kept churning.

"There it is," Aelita said. "It's just sitting there. Do we…what do we do?"

"Oh…you're that trainer from the mountain. Trainer, will you take me to my mommy? I don't want to be here anymore. I just want to go home."

A feeling of sickening self-disgust rolled through him as he realized what was happening, what he was about to do. His eyes grew hot and a growl of frustration escaped his lips.

"Madelis didn't take some Volcanion from the mountain…" he said. "She took its baby. She took its child and turned it…" His voice nearly broke at the end there. He turned what might have been a sob into another groan of frustration. "She took a baby. This thing's just an infant."

"Oh god," Aelita muttered. "Oh that foul, evil, bitch."

Volcanion's mother was likely dead.

"Will you take me to my mother?" The Volcanion cooed inside of Will's mind, and the unfairness of it all nearly became too much.

"Yeah," Will said, biting back his tears and wrestling down his emotions. This had to be done. "I will."

"Thank you! Please take me home!"

The Rift Volcanion let out a languid grumble. It opened its mouth, and a pale stream of boiling water leaked out of its throat. It didn't look like an attack yet. It was more like the poor thing couldn't control itself. It had no control over its actions, no ability to handle the unnatural changes Team Xen had forced it to go through.

The mind of an infant stuck in a body warped by the Rift.

Will sent out Pidgeotto to assist Aelita's Staravia from above and Combusken because she knew what this thing was, knew what the stakes were and how to fight in here. He would have sent out his entire team if he could have, but he couldn't concentrate on more than two Pokemon while simultaneously avoiding the crossfire.

"Hawlucha!" Aelita shouted. "Help us!"

She too sent out a second Pokemon - an avian creature with red wings, a sharp beak and a green pattern of fur covering its face.

"Take the lead Will, I'll cover you in whatever way I can!"

A shudder ran through the Volcanion. Its gaping maw opened even further, beyond what should have been possible, and it spewed a torrent of water across the field. The thick stream blasted across the landscape, scything through the foliage and trees alike.

Their Pokemon scattered. A fine mist of hot water descended upon the grove as the Volcanion bit off its attack and shuddered again.

"Now!"

Combusken darted towards her immobile foe, Hawlucha and Pidgeotto joining her overhead. She slammed against the Volcanion's blacked head, lashing out with her claw-tipped leg and landing several hard-hitting blows in the span of half a second.

Pidgeotto came down on the Volcanion from above like a feathered missile. He slammed into the boiling engine atop its body with all her strength, but the impact only served to daze him. Not a scratch was visible on the glass dome.

Hawlucha followed a moment later, slamming a feathered arm against the Volcanion's face in the same spot where Combusken had struck it.

The Volcanion uttered a moaning bellow that rattled Will's bones. Red fluid began leaking from its mouth, and the temperature began rising.

"Watch out!" Aelita cried.

The Volcanion screeched and spat a torrent of white-hot flames. It whipped its head back and forth as if the very act of attacking pained it. Combusken dropped into a slide and narrowly avoided the flames. She closed the distance again, then cracked the Volcanion across its skull with another hard violent kick.

Meanwhile, Pidgeotto and Staravia rapidly batted their wings at the approaching stream of fire. Air buffeted the flames, blowing them off stream long enough to keep Will and Aelita safe.

Sweat began forming on Will's forehead. Slowly, the combined Water- and Fire-type attacks began taking their toll on the grove.

Hawlucha's wings glowed a bright white, and he struck the Volcanion's ever-burning engine with such force that the sound of the impacts resounded across the field.

Volcanion violently shook its head. It uttered another high-pitched groan, flames leaking from its metallic lips.

Its head…if it was that mobile…

While Volcanion continued spewing fire and water everywhere, Will rushed to Aelita's side and told her what they had to do.

"If…if that's what it takes to put it to rest…" She said with a pained expression.

They changed their tactics.

Pidgeotto and Staravia came down on the Rift creature fast and low. Staravia landed a solid hit against the side of its face, while Pidgeotto raked the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust and sand directly into the Volcanion's eyes.

Combusken used the Volcanion's split second of disorientation to scramble onto its back. She brought her elbow down on the base of the Rift Pokemon's neck to stun it temporarily, then wrapped her arms around its head completely.

Hawlucha was on top of her in an instant, mimicking her gesture from the other side of the Volcanion. The Rift Pokemon opened its mouth for another attack -

Simultaneously, Combusken and Hawlucha pushed and pulled respectively.

And Volcanion's neck snapped.

Slowly, it closed its mouth again, and everything went very still.

"Thank you…" Volcanionsighed within Will's mind, before its knees gave out. It collapsed, blinked a few times, then closed its eyes.

The tranquil little grove shattered. Carotos Mountain snapped back together around them. Will grit his teeth so hard that his jaw hurt. If Tram Xen ripped apart one more family, he would lose it.

"Rest in peace, Volcanion," Aelita whispered. "Hopefully you're in a better place now. Will, let's go back to the Throne Room! With Volcanion down, maybe we can make a difference!

She was right. It wasn't too late. They still had a chance!

They double-timed it back through the base's exterior. No more grunts stood in their way. No more drones and AI platforms came to stall them down.

"Come!" Aelita said, taking the lead as she began sprinting. "Come on! Nearly there!"

Through the empty hallway, underneath one final, open door…

And Keta lay at the bottom of the Throne Room, face down. He wasn't moving.

"No!" Aelita shouted, sliding down next to him and grabbing his shoulders. "Father! Oh…oh thank goodness, he's still breathing. He's just knocked out. He's going to be okay!'

"Oh, I wouldn't get my hopes up."

Will turned his gaze towards the upper section of the room. There, Madelis had retaken her throne. She'd crossed one leg over the other and leant forwards in bemusement. "The annoying little teens have returned. And just on time too! It seems Clara failed in taking down both of you. Tch."

"We thrashed that stupid robot and took out your precious generator!" Aelita shouted.

That took Madelis aback. "What are you talking about? That's impossible!"

Will let Aelita do the talking. If he opened his mouth now, he wasn't sure he would be able to control his emotions. Better to reign in what he felt, stay as rational as possible for as long as he could.

"It's true! Volcanion is no more! Your facility is done for!"

"Huh…" Madelis said, nodding to herself as if everything made perfect sense. "So that's where you ended up. Sorry to say that Volcanion wasn't the only source of power here. Come, Mewtwo."

Out of nowhere, the suited Legendary they'd struggled so hard to hold back appeared in the center of the room. Its mere landing shattered the tiles beneath its feet.

It didn't even have a scratch on it.

"No…" Aelita stammered.

"Oh but yes!" Madelis all but squealed in delight. "Oh how I'll enjoy this. Mewtwo, eliminate both of them!"

The suited Pokemon slowly raised its head. It raised one, threatening arm and began gathering power.

Will braced himself.

Mewtwo flicked its wrist in contempt and the armor around him just…shattered. It broke into a million pieces and the million pieces disintegrated like snow underneath the sun.

"What?!" Madelis shrieked, leaping to her feet.

"You were so preoccupied with these teens that you didn't consider the possibility of a third party?"

Crescent sat down to Madelis' left. Over to the right, Gothitelle mimicked the gesture. Will didn't think he'd ever understand what made that girl tick, but her timing was as good as ever.

"And that was your biggest mistake today," Crescent said.

"Wh-what did you do!" Madelis sputtered.

If showing someone contempt was an art, then Crescent was its undisputed master. Neither she nor Gothitelle bothered to even look at the Xen Admin as they casually sauntered down the stairs, both of them keeping their gazes locked solely on Will.

"It's simple, really. We took the time to thrash around and destroy the three hidden generators around the mountain. They were quite simple to find once we found their general locations. Then one by one, Gothitelle tore them apart."

"It doesn't matter!" Madelis screamed. "It's still a Shadow Pokemon and Shadow Pokemon obey my command! Mewtwo, enough messing around! Destroy them all! Psyshock!"

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed. It visibly struggled, if only for a second, then enveloped itself with an aura of deadly psychic energy.

"Crescent," Will said.

Crescent kept her crimson gaze on him.

Mewtwo gathered energy, a whole lot of it, enough to turn someone inside out with a flick of his fingers. If he got around to releasing that, everybody would die.

"Crescent!"

Crescent stood there, unmoving. Staring.

What the hell was she doing? Didn't she realize, didn't she see - ?

To hell with it!

When it happened, it didn't come as sudden as Mewtwo's arrival, or with overwhelming confidence like Crescent. It didn't come with spite or a plan like Will.

When Keta got back to his feet and threw himself at Mewtwo, it was solely because of his resolve. No matter what Team Xen had done to him. What they had taken from him. What they had made him do. His soul was still his. Where his strength came from, it was likely nobody in the room knew but him.

The Sensei of Sheridan Village threw himself at Mewtwo, clutching the Legendary Pokemon's wrists and forcing his arms up. The look of shock on Mewtwo's face suggested it was the only one who thought this should have been impossible, because Keta sure didn't look like he thought that.

"S-Sensei?" Aelita cried out.

"I've done…a lot of wrong things in my life…" Keta groaned. Mewtwo increased the pressure of its psychic aura, but Keta did not yield. Not an inch. "So many people have lost their lives…because of me…their suffering and their burden will stay with me for my entire existence. But if there's one thing I can do! It's to atone for my sins by saving you two!"

"No!" Aelita shouted, tears flowing down her cheeks as she began to realize what would happen next. "Don't be stupid! We can all return together"!

"Aelita…" Keta groaned as the pressure began to push back against him. "Please forgive me…but I've been a terrible father." He groaned in pain. He did not let go. "And I wouldn't blame you if you decided to resent me. But…do one last thing for me. Please…run from here. Allow me…to atone…for me sins!" His groan morphed into a scream of defiance as he pushed back against mewtwo with everything he had.

"W-We just can't..." Aelita stammered. She stared at the sight of her father fighting for her life, and it rooted her to her spot.

She wouldn't move. Not on her own. Will knew that, if he tried to force her now, he would only fail. And she would hate him for trying.

"You there…girl…" Keta spat out the words. "Please…"

Crescent rolled with her eyes. "Gothitelle."

"No!" Aelita screamed.

And Crescent's Gothitelle teleported both her as Will away from there.

~~~~~~~(IV)~~~~~~~

---

Gothitelle giggled to herself. She rarely did that.

"What's so funny?" Crescent asked.

"Thank you…" Keta stammered. Whatever kept his dying body standing upright must have been nothing but willpower.

Crescent turned away from the man. "I wasn't doing it for you," she quietly replied. "And by the way, we'll be leaving you here. Gothitelle and I have a lab to trash."

"I know…" Keta forced out the words, blood dripping from between his lips. "I'll accept this fate."

Crescent did not look at him. "Foolish," she quietly said.

Gothitelle gathered her power once again, and teleported her out of there before the entire lab caved in, and thousands upon thousands of tons of rock and metal destroyed everything.

~~~~~~~(V)~~~~~~~

---

"Can you please explain to me what's going on, Nastasia?!" The man demanded of his college, who simply sat on her velvet couch, still tinkering away on her personal laptop. "Ever since your idiotic attack on the S.S. Oceana, we've been on a massive decline! We've lost Melia! Do you understand what this means for us? Not only that, but Zetta has been captured by Crescent. Please tell me how we're supposed to operate now!"

Nastasia did not reply.

The man balled his fists. "Zetta is the only one out of all of us who is capable of creating Dimensional Rifts!"

"Yeah, I'm gonna need you to tone it down by three notches…" Nastasia offhandedly said.

"Tear it down? You're in no position to scold me after all this! And guess what? We got notice that Madelis failed her mission too. That worthless trash heap of an Admin…I don't understand how you all can be so calm?!"

As if on cue, the bitch herself came running back to the headquarters. Madelis, looking like hell, came striding into the place like she owned it. "I see Geara is actively working on giving everyone in the facility a migraine," she said, glaring daggers at her black-haired colleague.

"If a migraine is what it takes for any of you morons to take things seriously, then fine," Geara said, walking around the glass table in the middle of the living quarters.

"…it is good to see you, Madelis," Nastasia finally said. She flicked a strand of purple hair out of her eyes. "It is unfortunate that it has to be under these circumstances. We're all very curious on how you were defeated so embarrassingly. Care to give us some insight?"

Madelis stomped towards the bar, where Neved kept to himself, polishing off the old crystal glasses. "Alright. I need a freeing drink. There's your insight. Neved, one margarita on the rocks please~!" She sang.

The scarred man did not look up from his work. "I think it would be wise to answer Nastasia. Rather than run away to the bar for a cheap out."

Madelis groaned in exasperation. "Why are men so complicated? All I asked for was a drink." She buried her head in her arms for a moment, "Well, if you really wanna know what happened, it was because of that fiendish TRAITOR."

Nastasia finally tore her gaze off her computer. "Oh? A traitor? Now this is interesting…"

"It was that sniveling Sensei of Sheridan Village, Keta!" Madelis spat. "Everything was going perfectly, I just needed a few more days…and because of him and that stupid fucking PSYCHOPATH of a William that Mewtwo was lost…oh, but don't worry! I got my just desserts soon after. Keta of Sheridan Village is no more!"

She struck a pose and Geara almost gagged. "So pathetic. I would've never let this happen in the first place."

"Then why don't you try being useful for once?" Madelis shot back. "Maybe instead of playing video games all day, you could actually contribute to something! That's just a thought though, dearie."

"Talk all you want, failure."

"…tch. Oh, I forgot a crucial detail of my failure. Crescent was there too, and she caused a lot of problems. How would you fare against her, I wonder?"

To that, Geara had no response. It was likely none of them did.

"Crescent? Again?" Nastasia mused. "Hm…"

Before she could finish her thoughts though, a swirling mass of black energy materialized right in the center of their living area.

"What the?" Nastasia muttered.

"What's wrong?" Neved asked.

"…I'm gonna need everyone over here, now," she said. The rest of the Admins rushed towards her. At that point, none of them needed an explanation.

"Can someone tell me what this blob is doing in our lounge?" Madelis demanded.

"Oh, you know. We let it in after we asked nicely," Geara sneered. "Of course no one can tell you what this thing is, idiot!"

"Settle down," Neved said, always the voice of reason. "Whatever this thing is, it's about to do something."

It sure began to do something alright. The swirling blob of dark energy shattered like broken glass and spat out a random guy. His middle-length brown hair looked disheveled and messy. His green and black jacket was covered with dust and ash and had a blood stain above their hip on the left side. One side of his face was marred by a cut, which gradually transitioned into a black spot around his eye.

The blob spat out this teenager like a random bag of thrash. He crumpled to the ground, clutched his stomach and then heaved so miserably and aggressively that Geara was surprised they didn't puke all over their nice carpet.

Madelis uttered a cry and pointed her finger at the intruder. "THAT's William! How did they get into our facility!"

"Well look at this," Geara said. Looks like things are finally falling into place for us." He didn't know why the guy was so disoriented and he didn't care. He shot towards this thorn in their side far faster than the others. He managed to sling one arm around WIlliam's throat and began jerking him back.

Stumbling, the meddler still managed to ram his elbow into Geara's ribs. Pain blossomed across his chest and he jerked back, clutching his stomach. "Agh…" He groaned. "You little shit!"

William nearly fell over the glass table, his expression frantic and scared. Nastasia stayed on the couch, watching it unfold even as Neved charged into the fray.

Disoriented as he was, it came to nobody's surprise that, when William swung his fist at Neved, the big guy ducked underneath and body-checked the bastard. He slammed the guy through the glass table against the floor, Glass went everywhere and Madelis spat a curse as her favorite table got wrecked.

"I"m sorry," Neved said as he wrapped his large, muscled hands around Wills' throat and began applying pressure. "This is where your journey ends, boy."

"Crush his larynx Neved! That'll teach that cockroach!" Madelis cheered him on.

Nastasia folded her hands underneath her chin and leant towards William. She watched as the boy choked and gasped. He feebly struck Neved's face, but he didnt go for any weak spots, and Neved had one hell of a chin.

"I believe we've met before?" Nastasia said. "I'm sure you remember? It is quite unfortunate that you ended up here. How that's possible is another matter. As for me…my name is Nastasia. I am not sure if you can even understand me, what with my colleague choking the oxygen out of your lungs…is that necessary, Neved?"

"Stop. Resisting," Neved growled.

William gagged. His eyes lost focus. His legs kicked at empty air.

Neved was a goddamn pro at this kind of stuff. He knew the exact ins and outs of inflicting pain without permanent damage.

As Neved leant in even closer, that same swirling mass reappeared around William's body. As sudden as that twerp had appeared, he disappeared.

"Damnit!" Madelis scoffed. "So close."

"That is so unfair, Neved nearly had the guy," Geara said. "Nice moves by the way."

Neved got back to his feet, brushing the leftover shards of glass off his arms and knees. "I apologize for the table. It was a spur of the moment decision."

"Don't worry," Nastasia said. "There will be plenty more opportunities. I am sure of it. Just know that the game is on, William. Let's see who bests who."

~~~~~~~(VI)~~~~~~~

---

With a heavy heart, Aelita returned to the Eldest. At the foot of the Sensei's abode, right below the arena, the Eldest sat upon an improvised seat. patiently and stubbornly keeping up hope.

Aelita approached the Eldest, who immediately got up from her seat, clutching her staff tight. Silently, hating herself for it, Aelita shook her head.

The Eldest's expression fell. "Still nothing from Will?"

"No," Aelita dejectedly replied. "I've asked everyone around the village and no one has seen anything today either. Eldest…it's been too long. What if…" Her eyes grew hot at the mere thought of the worst-case scenario. "What if Will didn't…"

The Eldest placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Aelita, you can't think that way. I'm sure Will will turn up when you least expect them to."

"How would you know" Aelita asked. "It's been so long, and our escape was so damn narrow…what if I saw it wrong? What if that girl does hate Will and left him to die, just like…" She bit back the rest of her words. The pain was too fresh, too much.

"Keep up hope," the Eldest insisted. "Do not fear. There is nothing more I can say."

Aelita sighed in frustration. For the thousandth time, she felt her frustrations boil to a scream, and she wrestled down the desperation, the uncertainty. "As long as Will shows up, I don't care how he does it," she quietly said. "Will…where are you?"

The very next second, a black portal-swirl-thingie appeared in the center of the arena, right where Will and father had done battle.

And the black-hole-mess spat out Will.

"What…how…" Aelita stammered. She leapt across the stream that flowed at the arena's side, neary lost her balance on the other side, then ran towards Will and wrapped her arms around his chest, hugging him tightly against her body.

"What happened?" He croaked, his voice sounding like he'd just inhaled twenty liters of whisky and then smoked an entire tree. "How long - where - how - "

"Will! Just where have you been? I've been worried sick, you know! Why - ouch. Ouch! What is that, is that…glass?"

She pulled her hand back to see she'd pricked her finger on a sharp piece of glass that was embedded within the back of Will's jacket. She looked him over. That was definitely not how she'd left him. "You are a mess! Eldest? What did you do? What happened to you! ELDEST!"

"Long story," he said. Well, it came out as a pained rasp. Aelita guessed smoke inhalation. "You're safe. Where…Sensei?"

Aelita blinked a couple of times. He…didn't know? "Will. The Sensei is…gone. We held his funeral rites."

Will closed his eyes and sighed wearily. "Sorry."

"Will…from your perspective…how long do you think it's been since we fought Madelis?"

"Hours." He absentmindedly rubbed his throat. " Minutes."

Oh. Oh. Oh no. "After the fight with Madelis, when that girl teleported us out, I woke up back in Sheridan Village. But that was about a week ago!"

His eyes widened.

"Today is August 6th, so about a week, yeah. You've left us in the dark for a week, but as long as you are fine, that's alright with me!" She smiled,

"A week…" he murmured.

"Yeah…it's been tough, putting the pieces back together without the Sensei…we don't exactly have a good successor for him, so there's that, too." Aelita paused. A dozen questions rushed to her mind. Who was this Crescent girl? How was Will involved with Team Xen? What was the deal with the Rift business and where did he even get that device he used to steal those Shadow Pokemon?

But if Will felt anything like how she'd felt when she teleported back into the village, he had to have been about to drop. While he possessed a kind of strength that Aelita knew she didn't have yet, he wasn't as fit or strong as her. Odds were that he really was about to drop.

"Did you…see anything before you came here?" Aelita asked. "When that Gothitelle teleported you away…where did you end up?"

He looked at her with tired eyes. "Just here," he croaked.

Aelita craned her head to the right, still seeing the glass shards clinging to his clothes. A few of them dripped with blood. "Uh-huh?" She said. Welp, if he didn't want to talk about it, who was she to push? "Come on, let's get you back to the inn. You need a shower or three and some pick-me-ups."

Finally, the Eldest made it up the stairs, and she casually strolled towards Aelita and Will. "Ah, Will, how nice of you to drop by!" She said.

Will cracked a goofy grin.

"Aelita, if you would please return to the inn and prepare my medicinal herbs?"

"Ah, of course!" Aelita said. She could've smacked herself; how had she forgotten? They'd been running around that filthy chemical mess together, then subjected to that weird Rift energy and…and Will had puked his guts out after the first teleport. He needed some serious purifying, in- and outside!

"Don't take too long, see you soon Will!"

She ran off, leaving the Eldest and Will together in the arena. No doubt the Eldest had some words of wisdom for him. A little bit of privacy never hurt anyone.

~~~~~~~(VII)~~~~~~~

---

When Aelita was outside hearing range, the Eldest turned towards him. "Aelita brought you up to speed?"

Will nodded.

"How long has it been for you?"

"Moments," Will truthfully said.

The Eldest nodded. "Aelita told me about this young woman…Crescent, you called her?"

Another nod.

"It is very fortunate she fought for our side today. Tell me, do you know why your journey to return to us took you so much longer?"

He honestly, genuinely did not have a clue. "No."

"I see. Tell me, what did you witness before you returned to us?"

Will looked at her in surprise. How did she know?

The Eldest chuckled to herself. "You do not become the Eldest of Sheridan Village by actually living the longest. I have lived a long life and seen many things."

"...their base," Will said. He coughed and rubbed his throat again. If he didn't wake up tomorrow with two hand-shaped bruises on his neck he would be very surprised. "Different base. Their admins. Madelis…one familiar…two unknown."

"That girl must have teleported you there for a reason," the Eldest mused. "You have seen the faces of your enemies, Will. What else did you see?"

A close-up of a man determined to pull his head off, but not much else. He shook his head again.

"I see…well, enough questioning for now. You look like you are in need of serious cleansing…" she covered her nose for a second. "And you smell like it too."

Will rolled his eyes, but the Eldest simply laughed again. Come boy. Let me make you some rejuvenating herbal tea."

He followed the Eldest back to the inn. Along the way, she told him that neither she nor Aelita had been sitting still. Aelita had told her everything, from the Shadow Pokemon to the Rift entities, and the Eldest had - somehow - found a way to deal with them.

"It was said that Sheridan Village had the power to open one's heart and mind. That power is indeed hidden somewhere in Sheridan."

"Hidden?"

"Indeed. The power is crucial. People have tried to steal it in the past, which forced us to close it off in a hidden area. We will get to that first thing in the morning. For now, you must recover your strength. Rest, eat, sleep. Reflect."

Will just hoped that the reflecting and the sleeping wouldn't be coinciding. The past few days had given him a lot to think about. Just nothing he wished to dwell on.

When he got back to the inn, he wasted no time in hauling his exhausted body to his room. He stripped his clothes, then paused to inspect the wound that nurse had patched up.

Miraculously enough, it hadn't reopened during all that fighting. Even his tumble through Xen's coffee table hadn't busted the stitches.

What it had done was create a couple of new gashes in his back, where the glass shards had poked through his jacket. They'd only bled a little bit, and he couldn't see or feel any leftover shards of glass when he felt around them.

Which, as the prize for breaking Xen's stuff, was a net win to him.

Will stepped under the shower head and turned the water on. He jumped slightly as the ice cold water washed over him. After the suffocating heat of Carotos Mountain, the cold water was a refreshment. It woke up every nerve, every muscle.

Under the shower, Will took the block of soap and began washing the sweat and grime off his face. He slowly worked his way down, scrubbing his limbs, cleaning the cuts on his back. The day's events played through his mind. He thought about Keta. Keta, who had betrayed his village to save his daughter. Keta, who had lived in the deepest pits of despair and sorrow for twelve months. Keta, who had stood by and watched as Team Xen murdered Melia.

Keta, who had given his body and his life to save Aelita and Will. He'd found the resolve to do the impossible.

A man who had fallen so very deeply, but gotten back up at the very end. A man who had effectively burned up his soul, his body and his very life to protect the one he loved.

Crescent had left him to die. And Will understood why she did it. Had the choice been his, would he have done it differently?

Yes, he realized. I would have.

Had he been able to, he would have tried to save Keta as well. But why? So that Aelita would not suffer the pain of losing her last parent? So that Keta could continue to atone, continue to fight against team Xen and right his wrongs?

Simply to spite Team Xen by robbing them of their own vengeance?

Look at me reflecting, he thought.

He grabbed one of the towels and dried himself off. The fabric felt fluffy and warm and soft. Aelita had placed at least three of those things in his room, as well as a fresh set of clothes, a bottle of water and a toothbrush.

A girl who didn't flinch from a knife at her throat, who took a fall from three meters like a champ and who had seen her father die before her eyes, yet still possessed enough force of will to take care of others first.

That's your legacy, Keta, Will thought. He tightened his shoes, fetched his Poke Balls and headed downstairs. If nothing else, you can be damn proud of that.

He joined the others downstairs. The inn had a communal dining hall with a dozen large, wooden tables evenly spread throughout. Aelita and the Eldest were already hard at work serving the other guests, but Aelita still managed to find the time to immediately rush to Will's side.

It was funny, seeing Aelita in an apron.

"Will! Welcome to our little restaurant. How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Better," he hoarsely said. "How do I look?"

She ran her eyes across his body. "Still like someone jabbed you in the face, but also like you're ready for round two."

Will shrugged. Good enough for him. "You?"

"Hmm. Given the circumstances, I don't know. I've had a week to reflect and I still have to wrap my head around all of this. In the end, I chose to believe in my fath - in the Sensei, and that belief paid off, I think. His memory will continue, and I'll be strong enough to carry his legacy for him."

"He gave his life to set things right. He did. Saved you, too. For what it's worth…I'm sorry."

Aelita grimaced, then lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Sorry? For what? For giving the Sensei a reason to fight again? For saving my bacon? Or for stopping the Rift and giving the Sensei the chance he needed to finish it all?" She shook her head in playful disbelief. "You helped save Sheridan, Will. For that, you'll always be welcome here."

"Really?"

"Of course! Now sit your butt down, you need to eat and rest."

With that, Aelita took off again, and Will found himself a quiet corner to sit down. The Eldest brought him tea. It was absolutely horrendous, but she was so eager to pour it for him that he couldn't bring himself to pass.

It was only when one of the other inn-workers brought him a steaming plate of food that he realized he was starving. He scarfed down the entire meal in about eight minutes, profusely thanked Aelita and her colleagues for their generosity and finally retreated to his room.

The next morning, after a fitful sleep plagued by strange dreams, Will got ready to meet up with the Eldest and Aelita. They waited for him by the massive wooden gate he'd seen when he first entered the village. He took the Shadow Snorunt from his box, hoping that the Eldest had been right, then went to meet them.

"Even though I've lived in this village my entire life, I have never seen what lay behind this gate," Aelita said as the Eldest took them with her. "This is new territory for me too!"

The Eldest casually approached the gate. "Hah!" She shouted, striking the edge of the gate with her cane.

It promptly retracted and disappeared into a hidden alcove in the rocks above it.

"There we go, thank goodness," the Eldest breathed a sigh of relief. "I was worried that the old gate would be stuck after all these years! I'm happy to say it still works. Now, children, this passageway leads to the Purity Grove. This place holds a vast amount of spiritual energy so it would be wise to be respectful at all times. You might see or hear things that could seem out of place."

"Is it really fine to keep this gate open then?" Aelita asked, nervously eyeing the cave entrance."

"I believe it will be fine. If anyone truly wanted the power, this gate would not stop them. It's merely here to stop ignorant passersbys from mistakenly entering."

"I see…" Aelita said, still not looking convinced.

"Come now. Will, did you bring the Pokemon like we discussed?"

Will patted his pocket.

"Good. There is much to do."

Then, she led them into the Spring of Purification.

The Spring was more alive than any other place Will had seen before. It wasn't alive in the sense that it hid a lot of Pokemon, or that the trees were blooming. It felt alive like it had a will of its own. As if the Spring itself had opinions on how matters ought to be run and expressed them across the face of reality.

"Who would have thought that a place like this was hidden in Sheridan" Aelita said as she looked round.

Will silently agreed. This place almost felt like a Rift dimension in its own right.

Will…

He stopped to listen. Had someone just called his name?

"WIll, you coming?" Aelita said.

"Y-Yeah."

The Eldest took them through the forest towards the grove. A small, circular pond of water with trees and an abundance of water flowers gently sticking from the surface of the water.

At the center of the spring stood a statue of a small Pokemon, posed like it watched over the grove.

"Welcome to the Spring of Purification. This is the Sacred Grove Sheridan Village has protected for hundreds of years. The spring isn't as powerful as it once was many years ago, however…this is where you'll be able to purify any Shadow Pokemon you come across. But before we do that, we must bless this area by calling the Voice of the Forest."

"The Voice of the Forest/?" Aelita asked.

"Yes. The Voice of the Forest is a temporal being that shares its power to purify evil beings. It is the reason why this place exists."

"What do we have to do to call it?"

The Eldest smiled. "I'll show you." She reached out with her staff, tapped the side of the small water fountain at the edge of the stone path, and then spread her arms. She uttered an incantation in a language Will didn't understand, and then waited.

And waited.

A minute went by. Nothing happened.

"Uh…Eldest? Nothing seems to be happening."

"You must have patience, Aelita. The Voice of the Forest isn't native to the Floria District of Aevium. It will take a little time for it to get here, even through its temporal abilities."

Then, not even ten seconds later, the voice of a shrill Pokemon cry shattered the stillness of the grove. Will spun around, trying to determine where it came from, but he wasn't able to pin it down to any particular direction. It sounded like it came from everywhere at once.

"Edest, was that it?" Aelita asked. "The Voice of the Forest?"

"Looks like it's finally here! Celebi!"

In a flash of light, a Pokemon appeared in the middle of the grove, right on top of the little stone statue. A smaller Pokemon with large, curious eyes and a blue with white skin.

"Celebi, Voice of the Forest. Please, bless this shrine!"

The Celebi zipped around for a moment, before settling down on the altar in front of the grove. A faint pulse of energy emanated from its tiny frame and crept into the rocks, which began humming faintly. The strange energy made WIll's teeth hum.

Will…

He frowned. What was that?

"Thank you for your hard work, Celebi," the Eldest said.

The Celebi wasted no time. It gave a little cry, then disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"Wait, it's gone just like that?" Aelita said.

"Celebi cannot stay in one place for long. It looks after Aevium with its power to travel across time. Will, send out the Shadow Pokemon."

Will did as the Eldest asked and sent forth his little Snorunt. Its circular, purple eyes darted across the grove. It plucked at its furry cloak with frustrated fists. Its breathing became rapid and violent. With no targets in sight or orders to attack, it was feeling restless and frustrated.

"Look at that little thing," Aelita said. "To be left with nothing but your worst feelings and emotions…unable to even feel a hint of positivity. That's no way of living. Are you sure you can purify it here, Eldest?"

"With its trainer at its side, this place can undo the curse placed upon its heart and mind," the Eldest confirmed. "Go ahead, Will."

Hesitantly, Will knelt down next to the Snorunt and tried to place his hand on its head.

The Snorunt snapped at him, its beady eyes wild with anger.

"Come on Snorunt, this is for your own good," Will said.

"The altar. Touch the altar," the Eldest urged him.

Will snapped Snorunt up in his arms and the little ice Pokemon went wild. it began thrashing, flinging its little hands in every direction - though mainly at Will's face - and even tried to spin around to bite his neck.

But the Snorunt was still just a small little thing and Will was able to get a grip. With the squirming Snorunt in his arms, he half-stumbled, half-stepped towards the altar until he was able to put his back against it.

"Yes!" The Eldest urged. "Now, observe, Aelita."

Snorunt shrieked and cried out. Its breathing was fast and shallow. Will swore he could have felt its heart pounding in its little chest. A low moan escaped its throat and something in its demeanor seemed to crack. It began crying. wet, semi-frozen tears dripped onto Will's hands. Its resistance slackened, and the arms that had been violently slamming into Will's chest began gripping his jacket. It curled into a little ball and cried its heart out.

Will held onto the little Snorunt. He did not know how long it had lived like this, with only its own howling anger and artificial hatred to keep it company. No joy. No happiness. No sorrow. No hope.

All for a little boost in power.

Will absentmindedly rubbed Snorunt's head. He didn't see the change happen himself. What he saw was the Eldest beaming down on him and Aelita staring in wonder and bewilderment.

"I think it worked," Will quietly said. He held on to Snorunt until its crying turned to sobbing, and its sobbing turned into little, broken hiccups.

"The closing off of one's heart, mind and soul is an ugly thing," the Eldest said. "Reopening it is an uglier matter."

Team Xen had robbed him of an effective weapon to combat their Shadow Pokemon, but the Eldest had given him a new weapon to defend himself with. A way to undo the crimes that they had committed, if only a little bit.

"Aelita…Eldest…thank you," Will said.

Aelita smiled. "That's great to hear! Now you're that much more powerful, Will. Aren't you glad you met me? Heehee." Her smile faded when she realized something. "But…that's it for you here, right? You came to warn the Sensei and then fight him. You'll be leaving soon and continuing your journey, your…your fight." She hesitated, then she reached out and took Will's hands in her own. "I just want to wish you the best, okay? I'm sure you'll visit a lot to purify Shadow Pokemon, but…oh, wait, I forgot something!"

The eldest cast her a questioning look.

"Will, didn't Madelis ruin your Snag Machine? Ugh, I remember now! She ruined it with that jamming signal thingy!"

"Hmm…I may know a solution to that problem," the Eldest said, "T have heard that there's a famous engineer visiting Akuwa Town at the moment."

Akuwa town -!

The place where his mother and him were supposed to settle down, before everything went wrong.

"I believe her name was Saki Blakeory. Bah, Blakeory. That's a name that I hate to hear. Regardless, Saki Blakeory might be able to help."

That name sounded familiar, but it didn't ring a bell.

"Oh, you're a genius Eldest!" Aelita exclaimed. "Will, if you head for Akuwa Town next, you might be able to get that thing fixed!"

"Aelita, this is just a suggestion, but why don't you tag along with Will?" The Eldest then said, prompting both Will as Aelita to turn and stare at her incredulously.

"Do you really mean that? I can go?!" Aelita said. "What about the village, without a Sensei - "

"We will survive. We always have. I will look after the village until you return."

Aelita wrapped her arms around the frail old woman and hugged her. "Oh thank you Eldest! You won't regret this decision!"

Will could barely believe it. He'd expected to set out again and travel across Aevium alone. Confront Team Xen with only his Pokemon by his side.

Having someone like Aelita by his side…it was more than he could have ever dared to ask.

Yet…"It will be dangerous," Will said. "Xen considers me an enemy. They won't show you mercy."

"That just sounds like another reason I should tag along! Someone to watch your back and protect you as you keep up the good fight!" Aelita exclaimed.

Will smiled. How could he argue with that? "In that case, I'd be happy to have you with me."

Aelita pumped her fist. "Oh yeah! This is going to be epic! Although…Eldest, how do we even get to Akuwa Town?"

The Eldest chuckled. "Will, you have a map, do you not? Let us take a look."

Will took out his Cybernav and showed it.

"Yes…look, this is where we are, Sheridan Village. Akuwa Town, your destination, is up north. Right about here."

"Huh? But I don't see a road there? Do we…have to take a boat or plane or something?"

"Once upon a time, you could take a train from East Gearen City, but that line no longer exists. Nowadays, I hear that there's a way you can get to Route 4 from Goldenleaf Town! Look, it is down there."

Will felt a stab of discomfort upon seeing how close that town was to the Goldenwood Forest. He doubted he could ever enjoy the sights there again without being reminded of what had happened. What everybody had lost because he hadn't…

No. Because of Team Xen.

"From Sheridan, you'll need to make your way through Route 3. It's a straight shot, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting there."

"Got it! We'll get there without any problems!"

"The road will be a long one, but that is not where I foresee the problems. You see - "

"Sorry Eldest, gotta go prepare our stuff!" Aelita interrupted, before promptly running off. "I'll hear it later, gotta hurry!"

"Aelita…we…oh, there she goes again," the Eldest sighed. "Once she sets her mind to something, there's no stopping her. She reminds me so much of Vivian…"

Her shoulders sagged, and suddenly she looked ten years older. No mean feat, but it was noticeable. "Are you okay?" Will asked. "And…who's Vivian?"

The Eldest gave him a tired smile. "Yes, deary. I'm just fine. Thank you for looking out for me. As for Vivian…well, you will find out about her soon enough. It's not important right now. I was trying to warn you about Goldenleaf Town. While Sheridan and Goldenleaf Town are on solid terms, erm…the people of Goldenleaf Town are not keen on visitors."

"Sounds like Gearen to me," Will said.

"No," the Eldest sharply replied. "Gearen is apathetic. Goldenleaf is hostile. You should do well never to confuse those two, Will."

Will frowned. If it was important to the Eldest, then it had to be a serious issue. "We'll be careful."

His answer seemed to please her. "Good. For now, I shall return to the inn myself. Farewell, and good luck."

With that, the Eldest took her leaf.

Will lingered. He looked around the grove again. "...yeah?"

WIll…can you hear me?

"I can."

That voice…

You've done well, Will. I wish for you to visit me in Amethyst Grotto. With the power embedded in me, I can bring you here, but only once. Do you wish for this?

"I…okay, sure."

Brace yourself.

WIll closed his eyes, hoping to Nim that this next teleport wouldn't result in him dumping the contents of his stomach again.

What felt like a great wind rushed through him. A gentle warmth lit up within his chest, and a faint sensation of…he wasn't sure.

But when he next opened his eyes, the Spring of Purification was gone. Instead, he was back in that underground forest, where he had first spoken to Keta's spirit.

Keta's humanity.

Now knowing what to expect, Will made his way forward, past the mechanical structure on the ground, past the six pedestals, until he stood face to face with Keta's spirit.

At least, he guessed that was Keta's spirit.

"Will," Keta said, offering him a welcoming smile. "It's been some time since you last visited me. Although, while I was invisible to you, I was with you every step of the way."

"You were? Then you saw…?"

Keta nodded. "Everything, yes."

"I'm…sorry I wasn't able to do more."

But Keta shook his head. "This is fine. This is the outcome the both of us prepared for long ago. Now that Keta has passed, I can no longer exist within this realm. I suspect I shall disappear soon. But, before I do…please, take this with you."

Will stepped towards him. Keta held out his hand, then turned his palm up, revealing a Gym Badge. "The Diamond Punch Badge. Take it, Will. You have earned it."

"Thank you." Will took the badge, marveling at how solid Keta's palm had felt. "How do you even…how is this possible?"

Keta smiled at Will like he'd asked a question he already knew the answer to. "After everything that happened to you, that is your question? Consider yourself a guest in a realm where you do not entirely belong. Some time ago, I think shortly before your battle with me…my other half came here for the first time in ages and left me with a box. It seems he wanted to prepare a gift, just in case you were able to do the impossible."

Will remained silent. Even back then, back when Keta had been running around with half his soul…

"For now, Will, I think it would be wise to rest up. You have the power to defeat Team Xen. I know you do."

He met Keta's eyes. Even after the things Xen had done to Keta and his people. To hear such praise from a man like him…

It was as if Keta knew exactly what he thought. "I leave everything in the hands of you and the next generation."

"Thank you," Will said. "Thank you for - "

He blinked. Keta was gone.

Carefully retrieving a metal casing from his bag, Will placed the Diamond Punch Badge where it belonged. He hesitated, then closed it.

It was time to leave.

The second he stepped on the mechanical triangle in the ground, a tremor ran through the grove. One of the spheres in the triangle's corner lit up, glowing a faint hint of blue. And…

Will couldn't believe his eyes. There, on the leftmost pedestal, a statue of Keta's likeness appeared. It was Keta as he had been before all of this. Healthy, strong, determined.

His humanity intact.

"Rest in peace, Sensei," Will whispered, before turning his back to the grove and heading back to Sheridan Village.

~~~~~~~(VIII)~~~~~~~

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AN: And so ends Chapter 2!

I think I've found a decent balance between focusing on the fights that demand full detail and going through the fights that are less important to the story. Anyway, wrapping up this chapter was a lot of fun. Next update will bring us to the third story chapter of Rejuvenation.

Please let me know your thoughts after this update. If you've got feedback or criticism or something like that, don't hesitate to let me know. Until then, I'll see you all next time!