Interceptor's Wish

by Masterdude21

What started as a young man's search for his abducted mother spirals out of control. Soon, he is fighting a desperate war for survival against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed. The enemy is everywhere and allies are far too few. With the entire region at stake, who can prevail when fate itself seems set against you? - Novelization of Pokemon Rejuvenation.

10. Marianette's Remembrance

Chapter 3: Tainted Light

Marianette's remembrance

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

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"Willow! Slow down! You're running too quickly!"

Will paused mid-stride to see what Marianette lagged several meters behind him. He slowed down enough for her to catch up with him again.

He hadn't been thinking straight. For every anger-driven step he took, Maria had to make two, and she had to constantly wrestle down her fear instead of letting her anger burn away her exhaustion.

"Sorry," he said."

"You must be careful! Father can change the layout of this world to what he wants. I don't know how, but he can…he might still place traps around."

Well…that was hardly fair.

They'd made it out of the mansion without encountering any trouble, back to the forested area outside. It had started raining in the meantime, and already little puddles were starting to form around them.

"There, up ahead," Will said, pointing at a wooden plateau illuminated by two torches. Beyond that lay a wide chasm with dozens of pedestals floating in the air, held aloft by nothing but Indriad's will, apparently.

"That must be the trial," Marianette said. "It looks like a summoning board. Try standing on that plate!"

Will did as she did. When he stepped onto the elaborately carved pressure plate, two statues appeared on the floating sections.

Both of them seemed to be women. One with shoulder-length hair and a tiara and of sorts and the other with long hair tied in a ponytail of sorts, clad in a long dress.

"They look familiar?" Will asked.

Marianette shook her head. "No. Fath – err, Indriad lived an entire life before I came into his. There are many things I do not know." She looked over the floating pedestals again and then clapped her hands. "I know this game! The goal is to get both of the pins to hover over the markers at the same time. The pieces will choose in a direction of your choosing. Good luck, Willow…"

Will had never thought he'd be telekinetically moving statues across a floating game board before, but here he was.

Marianette was half right. The pieces moved like they were linked together. When he gestured up, they both hopped one tile up. When he gestured left, they both hopped to the left.

"What happens if I drop one?" He asked.

"I…am not sure? I have never seen one drop before. Knowing father, they would simply reappear. Making us lose on a technicality is not his way. He wants us to give up hope and surrender of our own volition."

Indriad wanted them to despair, then? He could get in line.

Will directed both statues to the left, until one had reached the leftmost tile. He gestured again…

And the pin remained there, teetering on the edge but stable. The other pin did move to the left and suddenly, both statues were that much closer.

Ah.

"I get it," Will said. "And a hop…"

A couple of pushes to the left and then one up and to the right saw both statues land on the right tiles. Will grinned –

Only for the pins to suddenly reappear in different spots, with two other pedestals turning into the marked tiles as well.

Damnit.

"Looks like there are more games to be played," Marianette said. "You did it before. You can do it again."

Will observed the board again, mentally counting the amount of pushes and directions he'd need to get the pins to line up. If he boxed the leftmost statue at the edge, he could freely steer the other until that one was boxed near its ledge, and then…

"Okay, I think I got it."

Left. Up. Up, until both statues were one tile to the left of their target. Then a right…

In a flash of light, they disappeared and reappeared in different locations again.

"More puzzles…when will these end?" Marianette wondered.

But Will didn't see the patterns change. The difficulty didn't change either. The tactic remained the same; box one in, move the other, then finish both.

He saw a way to get them into their places within another minute, so he did.

And this time, they didn't disappear.

"So…was that…"

The ground rumbled. Behind them, the wooden plateau suddenly split apart, sliding open to reveal a hidden entrance.

"Will!" Marianette exclaimed. "You did it! You solved all of them! The first trial has been completed! Let's save one of your friends!"

They entered the hidden tunnel and descended into a room so white, so well-lit, that it wouldn't have surprised Will if Indriad had personally scrubbed it with chalk.

At the very end of the ritual chamber stood a crystal statue with a green candle.

"Is it just me…or is the air really thin down here?" Marianette said. "I don't think there's much air down here at all, actually.

Considering Indriad had left a candle burning in a sealed room, that came as no surprise.

"We've made it to the end…" Marianette then said, approaching the candle with the reverence of a priest approaching the altar of their deity. "Willow, do you see that green flame? That's a soul. The soul of one of your friends who Father kidnapped." Her eyes reflected the fire oddly, and she spoke with a veneration he hadn't heard in her voice before. "And perhaps they are reborn as another."

Will watched with amazement – and no small amount of fear -as Marianette reached out and took the flame, gently lifting it from the candle and guiding it between her hands. "Let's welcome them back home with hope."

She smiled, opened her hands –

A flash of light blinded Will. By the time he blinked the whiteness from his eyes, the flame was gone, and Lenny lay on the floor. Tears stained his eyes as he stared up at Marianette with a fearful gaze.

"Ah…I'm free…" he muttered. "Finally…finally…"

Will stared at the girl as well. Handling Lenny's soul seemed to come as natural as breathing to her. Like manipulating someone's soul was just something she did.

"Willow and I saved you," Marianette told him kindly. "You were – "

"Trapped as a soul, I know," Lenny whispered. "I could…see everything. I couldn't move…couldn't speak…it was horrible. Thank you, Will, and…uhm…"

"It's Marianette."

Lenny nodded. "Thank you, Marianette. Shit, Venam, Luca and I bit off more than we could chew." He looked away. "This was way out of our league…"

"Perhaps," Marianette mused. "But Willow and I are going to fix things. We'll save your city too, just believe in us!"

"Willow, huh?" Lenny said, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "Sure, I can see that. The others…did you save them? Are they okay?"

"We'll find them," Will said.

"Okay…alright…" Lenny said, sounding more like he was trying to hype himself up than actually replying to Will. "I'll get out of your way and wait in the courtyard. When you save the others, send them there."

"Y-You can count on us!" Marianette said.

Lenny ignored her. He turned away and left without looking back.

Looking dejected, Marianette lowered her gaze to the floor again. "Father…Indriad really went through great lengths just to imprison these people? Why would he do such a thing? I don't get it."

Will took a knee, bringing himself to the same eye level as her. "To instill fear," he said. "You can't plot against someone if you're scared to death, not knowing when or how he'll hurt you."

She looked up at him. Tears were already starting to form in her eyes. "Willow…if you're right, and he controls people with fear…then he wants us to fear his power."

"Sometimes, the only way to fight power…is with more power," Will said.

"How?" She questioned. "How do I…how do I stop the fear?"

"It's different for everyone. Some focus on a better emotion. Others can put that fear aside."

"And you?"

He smiled wryly. "I've found anger is more useful than fear. Never forget Marianette. Indriad is the lowest type of scum. He doesn't deserve your fear. Only your rage. Come on."

"The lowest type of scum…" Marionette repeated. "I…I see!"

Will led Marianette back to the surface. He was about to head back down the path to the mansion when he spotted one of the maids standing in a patch of shade in-between a pair of trees. It would have been far too easy to miss her there.

One of the three rebellious maids, he supposed.

"Are all his servants female?" Will asked.

"Uh…yeah. Is there such a thing as a male maid?" Marianette asked.

Will scoffed. Of course Indriad would have surrounded himself with an all-female cast of servants. "Why do they serve him"

His question seemed to puzzle Marianette. "It's…what they're here for."

Then he hoped their secondary working conditions were stellar. "Their dental plan better be good"

"I…I don't get that."

He ruffled her head absentmindedly, keeping his gaze solely on the threat in front. "That's okay."

With Marianette by his side to scoop his soul back up in case things went wrong – god what an insane idea to even think about – Will stepped towards the maid. "Are you part of our trial?"

Slowly, a wide grin began to distort her features. Without another word, she sent her first Pokemon out, giving Will his answer.

They did battle under the falling rain as Marianette silently watched. Will sent out Combusken to take care of the maid's first Pokemon, a Nosepass. Her Nosepass wasted no time scorching the grass with jolts of electricity, forcing Combusken to stay on the constant move. She leapt across the battlefield, slipping and sliding across the wet grass. Glancing misses still stunned her, and the constant downpour only made things worse.

But every evasive maneuver brought her closer to her mark, and the Nosepass was far from mobile. Combusken struggled against the paralyzing blows, got close enough to land a crippling blow and kicked the Nosepass halfway across the field.

It was close, far too close for Will's liking, and he swiftly withdrew Combusken when the maid sent out her next Pokemon.

How on earth a woman like her had managed to get her Togepi to evolve when Melia hadn't, Will would never know. But she did own a Tegetic, and it did fight for her.

"Snorunt, time to show them what a mistake shadowfying you was," Will said, before sending out his newest Ice-type team member.

Snorunt shivered in the pouring rain, grabbing its cloak and pulling it across its little body. Sparkling bits of snow blew from its mouth every time it exhaled.

It glanced at its trainer nervously.

"You can do this Snorunt," Will said. "Look around you. You're surrounded by water. That's how you're going to win."

"Go, Togetic," the maid said. "Use swift."

Togetic sprang into the air, beating its wings rapidly to gain altitude. It spread its arms and star-shaped rays of energy came into existence behind its head.

Under Will's orders, Snorunt retaliated with Icy Wind. The frozen wind howled through the air, snap-freezing the falling rain mid-air and glazing the ground with a thin layer of frost. Half the star-shaped projectiles either lost their charge, or clashed with the sudden hail in the air.

Nevertheless, the remaining stars slammed into the ground around Snorunt, several connecting with his body in the process.

Snorunt fell to the ground, uttering a pained cry, covering its face with its little arms.

"Stay strong Snorunt!" Will said. "You have to keep attacking!"

Togetic deftly flew through the hail, getting into a better firing position and readying itself for another shot.

"Snorunt, it's the only way!" Will urged. "We have people to protect! Get up!"

Trembling, shaking, Snorunt climbed back to its little feet. It spun to face the Togetic, then exhaled another Icy Wind.

The sub-zero blast of frigid air buffeted the Togetic and it cried out in pain and surprise. Its wings glazed over and suddenly, it couldn't keep itself aloft, couldn't maintain its position. It began spiraling to the ground.

A perfect target.

A third blast of frigid, hail-charged air was all they needed. Togetic slammed to the ground, frost covering its limbs and its joints, and the maid wordlessly recalled him.

After that, Will called Snorunt back to him as well. He didn't want to subject the little guy - girl? - to too much fighting, not after the time it had spent as a Shadow Pokemon.

Mightyena took down her last Pokemon, Misdreavus, and ended the battle.

"And thus, I was defeated in battle," the maid said with nary a hint of regret at her loss. "And thus, a part of your trial has been completed."

Loathe as he was to let such a threat remain at his side, he didn't have much of a choice. What was he supposed to do to her anyway? Her Pokemon were too weak to defend her, let alone get in a cheap shot at his back.

Nevertheless, Will kept Mightyena by his side. Nobody would be getting a cheat shot in past him.

"Oh," Marianette said, shying away from the large canine Pokemon. "A Dark-type…"

"And the bestest of boys," Will replied. Mightyena shoved his maned head underneath his hand, his fuzzy ears standing up straight and alert.

"I…I see."

Together, they set about exploring the courtyard. None of the gates were shut. It was very likely that they never needed to be closed off in the first place. Perhaps, simply setting foot into this cursed place had sealed their fates…

"I never noticed how large this place was," Marianette said, constantly looking around as Will led her through the gardens. "I-I usually stick to my room and the library..."

"You're not getting much fresh air, then," Will replied.

"Oh, the flower garden is one of my favorite places, but I'm not allowed out here too often…Father forbids me from being out here without his supervision."

Which suggested that either Indriad was scared that Marianette would run away, or he feared her discovering something useful in the courtyard.

It was something to keep in mind.

Mightyena came to a stop. His body went rigid and his black fur began to rise, making him look half again as large as usual.

Will soon spotted one of the maids standing in-between two rows of flowers. She stood out in the open, getting soaked in the rain while staring down at the pink flowers.

He didn't want to needlessly approach these creeps without a good reason, but beating three of the more rebellious maids was part of their trials now. Will wasn't about to believe a single word these people said, but he also wasn't about to give Indriad a reason to disqualify him or Marianette from this game.

"Number two," Marianette followed his gaze. "Are you ready?"

Will didn't respond, opting to simply square off against the maid.

She looked up.

"Let's go," Will said.

Fighting these servants made Will begin to notice something odd. Nidorino and Arbok clashed amidst the rainy grass, and the servant had that same creepy grin on her face as the others, but it was as if she carried her emotions only at the outside. Will was by no means an expert on the subject, but even the Team Xen grunts had fought with more passion than these women had.

Nidorino proved to be too much for her Arbok to handle. Its spiky body was far too dangerous to engage in close combat and the serpent's tricks didn't work on a fellow Poison-type. Their clash culminated as Nidorino rammed his horn home several times in succession.

After that, Pidgeotto took care of her Ribombee and Mightyena made short work of her Hypno.

"Dang, I was defeated," the maid said, never letting up on that crooked smirk of hers. "Thus, a part of your trial has been completed."

"Let's keep moving to the second trial, Willow," Marianette urged him.

Whoever designed Indriad's mansion had been a big fan of symmetry. The east wing led to the same kind of forested path as the west wing had and it ended in the exact same kind of wooden platform dotted with lit candles as the other.

Instead of a floating game board, however, the entrance to a sprawling hedge maze confronted the two of them.

"The Soul Labyrinth," Marianette breathed. "I have heard whispers of this place."

"Sounds like a happy place," Will sarcastically said.

"No! It is not!" Marianette answered him with the utmost seriousness. "Uhm…father sometimes releases guests in the maze to…lose sight of them. I have heard the servants say that one must follow the roses to preserve their soul."

Follow the roses…that sounded like the painful kind of metaphor the Eldest would use in her evening tea sessions.

Will slowly walked into the maze, Marianette clinging so close to him that he could literally feel her at his back.

At the very first intersection, Will felt a sudden chill creep down his spine. The hairs in the back of his neck stood upright.

"Um…Willow, is there something wrong?" Marianette asked.

Will brought his finger to his lips and shushed her.

Something is in here with us, he thought. He began looking around, searching the tall walls of the maze for any irregularities or disturbances.

Mightyena whirled to their rear. He pulled his lips back to reveal his razor-sharp canines and he began growling something fierce.

"Stick close to him," Will whispered.

"But – "

"On my life, he will protect you."

The urgency in his voice snapped her out of her fear and Marianette took several trembling steps towards the snarling Mightyena, "What is going on?" She stammered. "P-Please tell me!"

A shadow moved at the entrance of the maze, not more than half a dozen meters away from them. A black orb materialized into thin air and a large, ghastly Pokemon crawled out of the orb. Large and bulky, with a singular eye and only two large, shadow-wreathed arms, this thing looked like it was about to ruin their entire day.

"Th-That's a Dusknoir!" Marianette exclaimed. "Th-That thing is known for stealing people and Pokemon alike and dragging them into the nether world…Willow, I don't know why it's here, but considering what it's known to do…I don't know if we want to find out! Run!"

As if spurred on by her fear, the Dusknoir began surging towards them.

Will's arm shot out and seized Marianette's wrist. He pulled her along as he began sprinting, Mightyena hot on his heels.

"Go, go!" Will shouted. He spotted a crest of red flowers growing alongside the rightmost path at the upcoming interception.

Follow the roses.

"Mightyena, follow the red flowers! Clear us a path!"

Mightyena barked in affirmation and shot forwards like a shadowy missile, his four paws barely making contact with the ground as he flew forwards.

Dusknoir was right behind them. The Pokemon uttered a ghastly wail and Will felt it in his neck, felt its immaterial hands clutch and tug at his heart.

Marianette's breath came in ragged, panicked gasps. Her panic mixed with Will's own, the adrenaline pumping through him so intensely that he couldn't register his own breathing and nearly missed it when Mightyena suddenly took a sharp left.

Marianette did miss it and if Will hadn't clutched her wrist in such a vice grip, he would have lost her then and there. He all but pulled her him with through the sudden opening and suddenly the Dusknoir was there, right in front of them, wailing manically as it surged towards them spread-out arms –

Will dug his heels into the ground and skidded to a halt a mere meter away from the soul-snatcher. "This way, run!" He shouted, shoving Marianette ahead of him

A heavy, ice-cold hand clasped his shoulder and it was purely because of the sheer amount of adrenaline driving his body forwards that the intensity of the chill it brought with it didn't completely paralyze him.

Mightyena materialized from the shadows and lunged at something behind Will. He heard a frustrated growl and double-timed it, easily catching up to Marianette and pulling her along to the next intersection.

"Roses!" She yelped.

"I see it!" Will shot back. They pulled a sharp right and ran through a long, narrow corridor. Will saw another intersection up ahead – a left and a right way to go, but he didn't see the roses from there. He'd have to be quick - !

His feet skidded over the wet grass as he slid to a halt, frantically searching the corners for the roses.

They weren't at the intersection at all! Both were dead ends, they had to keep moving –

Marianette's scream tore him from his focus and he whirled around just in time to see one of those damn maids had emerged from the shadows and had seized Marianette by her waist.

"Are you lost?" The maid giggled. "So am I! Let us be lost forever together!"

Will's body moved before he even realized it. He took three large strides towards the maid and drove his fist into her stomach, then swiftly followed up by punching her across the jaw.

The muscles in her stomach were as tough as iron. He'd bloodied his knuckles on her cheekbones but it hadn't even fazed her.

"Lost," she laughed, clutching Marianette even as she trashed and fought against her grip. "All of us, lost!"

Without thinking, Will threw himself at the maid. Her body was much stronger than that of a normal human, but she still had the stature of a woman. The three of them crashed to the ground in a tangled heap of limbs and frantic yelling.

Her hand found his throat, her grip as strong as Neved's, as cold as Crescent's –

A snarl, a flash of Mightyena's teeth. A sickening crunch and a spray of blood and Will was free. He shoved himself to his feet, scrambling to pull Marianette away from the lunatic.

The maid sat there on her knees, staring at the bleeding stump of her left arm in confusion.

"Move!" Will shouted.

"Up ahead!" Marianette yelped. "I see light!"

"Go for it!"

Marianette ran for her life, her small shoes kicking up grass and mud as she built up as much speed as she could. Will was inches behind her, not daring to look behind him, not knowing when the next maid would interfere and try to take Marianette back, back into that mansion with that monster that dared called himself her father…

And then they emerged into a clearing, and the immense pressure was gone in an instant. Marianette dropped to the ground in a panting, sobbing mess, and Will bent over forwards as well, fighting to catch his breath.

They stayed like that for a minute. Mightyena patrolled the entrance to the maze, anxiously stalking back and forth as he kept watch.

"Oh…oh my…that…was…something…huh?" Marianette panted, fighting back her tears and her panic before his eyes. "Will! We made it out of the labyrinth! Oh my goodness…you saved me! He – Your Mightyena saved us both!'

"Goodest…boy…" Will gasped.

"I don't think I've ever run that fast ever! You were so cool Willow, the way you nearly carried me through the hedges! I haven't ever seen someone stand up to his servants before! You – they – I– " she sputtered, searching for words. "You're so cool!"

Cool…yeah, that was one way to describe it…Will sure didn't feel cool. He felt cold and scared as hell.

But…what Marianette didn't know couldn't hurt her. If that raised her spirits, who even cared?

"Too much credit," he replied, subconsciously rubbing his throat. That fight had bruised his ego more than his actual body. Aelita would have laughed him straight out of that maze if she'd seen how pathetic his punches were. To be unable to even faze someone occupied with attacking a little girl…

"You and Mightyena both deserve every credit! All the credit!" Marianette said.

Mightyena's ears perked up. He whirled around at once and shot towards Marianette, who yelped and pulled her hands in front of her faze in a reflex –

The Dusknoir materializing mere inches behind her stopped moving the instant Mighttyena shoved her aside. She staggered against his flank, her hands clutching his bristling fur as he forced himself between the Ghost Pokemon and the girl.

"B-But we completed the labyrinth!" Marianette sputtered. "What more does it want from us?"

Another maid materialized beside the Dusknoir, stepping out of the same dark blue and red portal as the rest of her kind had back when they ambushed Venam and her friends.

"It's not done with you yet," she said, folding her hands in front of her stomach like she was awaiting someone's orders. "Let's see if you can survive my Dusknoir head on."

"Willow, this thing might be too strong for you and Mightyena alone!" Marianette said. "I-I'm helping too!"

Together, they faced off against the Dusknoir. Marionette sent out a small, furry Pokemon Will had never seen before. As the Dusknoir surged towards them with malicious intent, Marionette's Pokemon leapt in the air and began to spin. As it spun, its body began glowing a dark shade of pink.

A wave of energy slid down its body and suddenly, a second Dusknoir floated beside Mightyena, glowering at its foe.

"What?" Will breathed, shooting a curious look at Marionette. There was no time to question it, though, as the Dusknoir was upon them then. It wreathed its right arm in shadows and struck, but Marianette's Pokemon surged back, narrowly avoiding the blow.

The next second Mightyena leapt forwards, sinking his teeth into Dusknoir's arm.

Its singular eye narrowed and it swung its limb backwards, flinging Mightyena off

The illusionary Dusknoir lashed out, clawing at its foe with a hand covered in dark energy. They clawed at Dusknoir's face and the massive Ghost Pokemon huffed, retaliating with a crushing blow of his own.

As he swung, Mightyena snapped at his back. He immediately sprang back when the Duskmoir surrounded himself with a corona of frigid ice and drove his fist at Mightyena.

Mightyena spun with the blow and rolled across the ground. Ice began forming across his body and he shook himself wildly.

Zorua, still disguised as another Dusknoir, swept at his foe again, drawing its aggression back onto itself. Mightyena, still lying on the ground, opened his maw and Snarled, sending pulses of dark energy directly into Dusknoir's back. They splashed across its ghostly hide and sent ripples across its body, and it missed its next blow.

"Move, get out of the way!" Will ordered when the Dusknoir created a dark blob of energy between its hands and flung it in his direction.

That left the Ghost open for Zorua to press the advantage, which it did. Marionette went on the offensive with a gusto Will wouldn't have sought behind her, but he approved.

Taking its eye off Mightyena proved to be a big mistake. The Dark-type hurled himself back to his feet, shook off the remnants of ice and then bounded towards his foe. Just as the Zorua struck a gnarly hit at Dusknoir's chest, Mightyena leapt at its back and seized the Dusknoir's shoulder in its maw, kicking and swiping with his four paws to keep himself from falling off.

Dusknoir frantically reached for Mightyena as he savaged him, but that merely left him an easy target for Zorua.

"Now! Charge your Hyper Beam!"

The Zorua landed on the ground and stayed there, focusing on gathering an enormous amount of energy.

"Keep him pinned Mightyena! Don't let him get away!"

Mightyena snarled through his clenched teeth as he clung to the Dusknoir, enduring several blows until Zorua was finally ready.

"Give him all you have!" Marionette ordered.

And that, Zorua did. He opened his tiny maw and blasted the Dusknoir from close range with a beam of intense energy that tore a deep, gaping wound across his chest.

"Wow, well done," the maid said, and it was the first earnest thing Will had heard any of them say that day.

The Dusknoir clutched the gaping wound in its abdomen and then burst into a cloud of smoke and shadows that quickly faded away.

"My my, what power." The maid actually stepped aside, gesturing for Marianette to advance. "Please, proceed."

Will glared at the maid in suspicion, but Marianette all but bounced forwards, before twirling around and curtsying towards him. "We did it, Willow! We actually did it! That stupid Dusknoir was all like "I'm going to drag you to heck" and we were like "Not without a fight!"

Watching her be this excited after such a harrowing fight was like a breath of fresh air. Will watched in amazement as Marianette happily recounted the fight, jumping and gesturing wildly like…well, like a kid.

"You were a great help," Will admitted.

She gasped, her ears and cheeks flushing red within seconds. "R-Really? I was a g-great help? I…I tried my best! I just wanted to help is all! I'll work hard to keep being useful! We'll do this together, Will!"

"You've mastered this round, but will you survive the final trial?" The maid said when the pair headed down the next crypt.

The underground room was an exact replica of the previous one. The little candle that awaited them there was a different hue, but Will couldn't sense any difference.

"We've made it to the end of the trial," Marianette said, and every trace of humor and joy had left her voice. "There is another soul on that pedestal. We should free them before it's too late."

"How did you free me?" Will asked her as she reached for the flame with all the tenderness of a mother reaching for a baby. "Was I…?"

"…I had to complete a puzzle of a mural to free you," Marianette replied. "The blond young woman in the room you woke up in…she is not me. But she held your soul nevertheless."

When she turned around, she had the blue-colored flame in her hands – between her hands – and a look of awe and wonder spread across her face. "Let's welcome them back home with happiness."

Another flash of light. Will felt a sudden sense of confusion and…loss? But…why?

When he opened his eyes again, he saw Luca lying on the ground. She blinked her eyes in confusion, then looked up at Marianette.

Will didn't know Luca very well. Somewhere, vaguely, he could imagine someone like Indriad seeking retribution against Venam for slighting him. Against Lenny, for threatening him. Against Will, for resisting him.

But why hurt someone like Luca?

"I…" She muttered. She looked so confused, so puzzled, so…pained. "Where am I"

"Willow and I saved you from my father's grasp," Marianette said. "He destroyed your body and left you in a state of a lost soul."

"Oh…" Luca said. Her voice was distant and slow, like she didn't understand at all what Marianette had just told her. "Well, I'm safe now, so that's cool…but…I didn't want to be here." She blinked. Silvery tears welled up on her eyes. "I didn't want to be here at all. Venam said we had to stop the chaos unfolding in East Gearen, but this is too much!"

Marianette grimaced. "Your friend just tried to do the right thing, but…I…I can't change how you feel about the situation. All I can do is apologize."

"For what?" Luca snapped. "You didn't do this to me!"

Her words, though likely not intended to be harsh, still made Marianette flinch, and she shrank in on herself. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"…you're too timid," Luca said. "Where are the others?"

"We…we haven't rescued everyone yet, but –"

Will placed a hand on Marianette's shoulder. "We will. The courtyard is safe, Luca. Find Lenny, and stay hidden. We'll get Venam out."

"Yes…" Luca said, still sounding confused. "Yes…I think I will do that."

She wandered off. Will hoped that the girl still had enough of herself left to make it out.

Venam's friends seemed like good people, but in a situation like this…they lacked something. Something important. Something that, in a normal world, people should be glad not to have.

But in Indriad's twisted world, people like them were the first to suffer…and perhaps the last to recover, if ever.

"My soul…" he heard Marianette mutter. "The type of soul I have…is it really a timid one?"

"What's in a soul?" Will said. "Just a bunch of stuff. It changes every day. You can change. You can grow."

"Y-Yeah! You're right! I won't be this way forever!" Marianette said. "I have to work to become brave…I won't give up! Come on Willow, let's go gettem!"

When they made their way back through the maze towards the mansion, it was still raining heavily because of course it was.

"How is Indriad doing this?" Will asked after a few minutes of heavy silence. "Taking people's souls, creating doorways to other worlds…"

"Some people are powerful, Willow. Some are weak. Some gain power. Most never do. My fath – I mean, Indriad, said he was born strong, and grew stronger."

"That's not really an answer."

"I'm sorry, I don't really have an answer. He is strong because…because he is."

It reminded him of that insane woman back at the docks. Magic…it seemed that she wasn't the only one with strange abilities.

Damnit, there had to be a way to defend against that! "Do you know if people can protect themselves against it?"

Marianette shook her head. "If you are weaker than Father he will dominate you."

"And if you are stronger?"

"S-Stronger than him?"

"Yeah."

"I…w-well, it stands to reason that someone stronger…would be able to resist, right? But what makes someone weak or strong? Who decides that?"

Will wished he knew. Something told him that it wouldn't be as simple a matter as having more firepower.

Crescent would know, wouldn't she? If someone was strong enough to resist Indriad, it would be her. Nim definitely could, too.

Because they both wield psychic powers, he realized.

He hadn't been able to hurt that servant, while Mightyena had been able to cleave through her body without an issue. Could a sufficiently powerful Pokemon stand against Indriad? Could Crescent's Gothitelle do it?

"We've fought on the left…we've fought on the right…" Marianette pointed at the large structure with the Absol statues atop. "I think we will fight in the middle…if this counts as middle?"

Central enough for him. "Let's check it out," Will replied.

Like at the other two trial locations, an entrance had opened up in the floor. A set of stone stairs leading down into the depths. Unlike the other two spots however, they hadn't actually overcome anything to get there.

That in itself was suspicious enough. When Will made his way down the stairs and saw not another chalk-white crypt but the beginnings of what appeared to be an underground maze, the alarms started going off. This underground crypt wasn't a natural formation but an entire underground structure, complete with wall-mounted candles and strange tiles on the floor.

"This place is confusing. Just what are we supposed to do?" Marianette said, looking around with a little frown.

Will walked deeper into the room. He heard a chime behind him and Marianette cried out. "Oh! Stepping on this tile did something!"

He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Marianette had stepped on the black tile at the entrance of the room. She pointed a finger at the floor beneath his feet, saying, "Willow, do you see that tile on the ground there?"

"Yeah."

"Please step on it! I think it'll make something happen!"

Will did as she said.

The ground shook. Dust rained from the ceiling. Suddenly, a massive wall slammed down in the space between Marianette and him, separating the two and locking Will inside of a space the size of a small living room.

"Will!" Marianette yelled, her voice barely audible from the other side. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Will shouted back. He was grateful that he'd never been claustrophobic. No reason to panic. He had air, he had space and he still had his Pokemon. Busting out should be no problem –

An opening the size of a man's torso appeared in the wall behind him. Water began pouring into the room, gallons of it.

Okay. Maybe now he had a reason to panic.

"I-I hear water, is everything okay?" Marianette frantically yelled.

Indriad's voice drifted through the air, as sharp and clear as if he stood in the room with Will. "Marianette, Will, can you hear me? This is Indriad Theolia. For your third trial, I have prepared something quite special. Currently, the water is filling up in one of the rooms. If you wish to save this person, you must go through the room adjacent to this one and rummage your way to the end."

As Indriad spoke, the water reached Will's shoes. It didn't look like it had any way to go but up.

Well. They'd found the trial alright.

"There, a switch to free the other will be present. Good luck."

He heard Marianette cry out in panic. "Wh-What do we do?! What – wh-what do I do?!"

Will sloshed his way to the wall. "Slow down. Stay calm. Can you see the door?"

"Y-Yes, I can! You're right, I just have to stay calm and be brave! This is a trial after all, I can fix this! Hang in there Willow!"

Will shoved his hands in his pockets. He literally had no other option than to hang on. Well, maybe once the water got high enough, he could go with the flow.

…this was really bad.

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

---

Panic swelled through Marionette as it dawned on her that Will might be minutes away from drowning.

"Oh gosh, oh no," she breathed, shoving the door open and sprinting for her - for his - life. Her footsteps echoed through the dark hallways sas she ran, passing through labyrinthine hallways and corridors.

Father had blocked the first room with more statues depicting women she didn't know. Frustrated, she threw her body against one of them and yelped with surprise when they both crashed to the ground.

These things…they suddenly weigh a lot at all. She could do this!

Marionette began shoving the strange statues out of the way, throwing her body against them in her desperation to get them to move.

Slowly, one by one, she cleared them out, and the door to the next room became visible.

"Keep thinking," she muttered to herself as she stared at the next puzzle. "He wants you scared…he wants you afraid…"

She forced herself not to think about the consequences of failure. She struggled to keep the horrible fate that awaited them all out of her mind.

He couldn't know. Willow couldn't know -

But he deserved to know. He'd been so strong, so brave - he'd saved her. He was selfless, while she still carried all these selfish thoughts with her…

Marionette labored on, struggling to complete the trial the way Father wanted to. She pushed the strange-colored statues where they belonged, she kept running away from the animated statue that would certainly hurt her if it captured her, and she continued to fight against the mounting panic in her mind.

"Hang in there Willow…" she muttered as she ran for the button at the end of the room. "Please…oh please!"

She made it.

"Good!" Marianette exclaimed as she slammed her first against the button. "Free Willow right now!"

The button slammed into place with a satisfying CLICK and remained stuck. The sound of roaring water suddenly cut off.

Her heart beating in her throat, Marianette hurried back towards the room she came from, her tiny feet carrying her as fast as she could. "Will!" She cried out. "Are you okay? Oh please! Please be okay!"

She threw the door open and pulled the door open with all her might –

And a flood of water slammed into her, knocking her off her feet. Gallon after gallon of fountain water streaked through the open door, spreading out into the hall and soaking her to her bone.

"Bah," she coughed and hacked, spitting up the water she'd almost accidentally swallowed. "Willow?"

There he stood, leaning against the wall with the air of someone who hadn't just almost drowned. He too was utterly soaked, with only the upper half of his face still dry.

Willow waved at her, and Marianette threw herself at his waist. "You're okay!"

"Well done," he said, and the earnest praise made her heart skip a beat.

"Hehe…I tried my best!" Marianette happily said. "I wouldn't let you die in here! Now that's done with, we've completed all the trials! I wonder where the last soul is though…I didn't see anything like that where I was, and they are hard to miss."

Even as she spoke, an opening appeared in the wall of the other room. It appeared Father had heard her, or…or his game simply moved along.

It didn't matter! They had won!

"Come on Willow!" Marianette said. "We've done it!"

"…before we go, there's one thing you should know," Willow replied, his voice serious and grim.

"Huh?"

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

---

Shaken, Marianette took a trembling step back. "N-No way! H-He wouldn't, w-would he?"

"It's something we need to prepare for," Will said. "You know him best. Would he accept his loss and keep his promise?"

He saw Marianette recall what she knew about the man. He saw her blond eyebrows furrow and her mouth slowly fall open in realization. "N-No…father has never let his victims go before…h-he…he will never let me go, either."

"That's it, then," Will replied. He knelt down in front of Marianette again to bring himself at the same eye level as her. "If – when – he betrays you, we need to be ready."

"H-How?" Marianette whispered.

Will sighed. He didn't see any alternative to this. "Violence. Marianette. We have our Pokemon, and you are strong. Stronger than me. Strong like him."

"Like him?" She slowly shook her head, clearly not understanding.

"You saved me, and the others, and what effort did that cost you?"

"I…"

"When you guided our souls back into our bodies, how difficult was that?"

"It…" she stared down at her hands. "It wasn't…wasn't difficult at all. It just…comes naturally."

"Okay." Will rose to his feet again. "Then do what comes naturally."

"I…I will! I promise I will be brave!" Marianette said. Though her voice shook, Will saw the determination in her eyes. "Come, let's free your last friend!"

Together, Marianette and him entered the final crypt.

"We've made it to the final trial…" she said, approaching the last pedestal. "But…before then…Willow, you've been so honest with me…so there's something I should say."

Will looked down at her, surprised. "Yeah?"

She clenched her jaw, and she didn't meet his eyes. "Will…everything's that happened up to this point has been all my fault. I think…I was the one to open the paths to our worlds. I've been trapped in here for so long that I couldn't take it anymore. One day I wished someone to come rescue me. And the next day you all showed up…"

"Marianette..."

"But that's not all! I've…I've been using you as my last chance of escape. That's…that's the only reason I freed you, back then." Tears glistered in the corners of her eyes, and an expression of pure anguish wiped the determination from her face. "My motivations were not pure, and I wanted you to rescue me above all else! I was a scared girl who was fearful of her fate...I tried so hard to be brave, and you…you showed me that I shouldn't run, but that I should fight! Even so…"

He saw her fight to get her words out, as if she didn't dare usher them. When she finally strung them together, her voice was fragile and soft. "I ask…I ask that you forgive me, please?"

Will sighed. Oh, Marianette…

What did it matter that a scared young girl wanted to think about herself for once? What healthy child would possibly put their own life and wellbeing above that of a stranger they'd just met?

That wasn't anything she needed forgiveness for. It was normal.

"It's okay, Marianette," he said. "I promised I'd save you, didn't I? I will. I'll get you out of here."

Tears freely poured down her face as she flung herself at him again. "Oh, Will! Thank you, thank you thank you! I…I promise I'll make this up to you! Come on, let's free the last soul!"

She took the last flame in her hands and gently did her thing. Will closed his eyes in time this time as Indriad's curse shattered.

He felt more than heard Venam's soul snap back into existence. Her body appeared on the floor and she leapt to her feet like it had only been mere seconds for her.

"What the hell?" She snapped. "Where am I?"

Will crossed his arms and eyed the girl. Luca and Lenny had been hurt, deeply so, when they came back. He was elated to see Venam was in a better condition, but…why?

"Ah, it's Will and…" she glanced down at Marianette. "Blonde gremlin."

"I am not a blonde gremlin!" Marianette snapped back. "Willow and I saved you, you know? Please, don't be rude!"

Venam chuckled. "Got a new nickname already, Will? Cute. But anyway, I wasn't being rude. Was just poking fun, is all."

Will and Marianette exchanged a look.

"What do you remember?" Will asked. It came out like a demand.

Venam turned her back to him. "Last thing I recall is being snatched up by those Servants. There was a flash of light…now I'm here."

…that was it? Either Venam could lie with the best of them, or somehow Indriad had spared her the agony of consciousness as he ripped her soul from her body. Judging by the chipper way she leapt back to her feet, already messing with people she didn't know again, it might be that she was actually telling the truth.

Will frowned. He was relieved that she hadn't been hurt, but…why? She'd been the one to insult and provoke Indriad, why had he spared her the pain he'd inflicted on Lenny and Luca?

On him?

"Ah, wait, where are Lenny and Luca, anyway?" Venam said, as if she just realized that she hadn't come alone.

"We already saved them," Marianette answered. 'With you, we've saved everyone. Now we can leave this place!'

"Uh, no, we can't?" Venam said, cocking an eyebrow at Marianette. "We're back together, but East Gearen is still in chaos. As long as the portal to this world is open, then we're screwed!"

"It's part of the game. Since we won, Father should allow us to leave and close the portal, but…Will said that he might not take the loss well."

"Loss?" Indriad's voice reverberated across the chamber mere seconds later. "What loss?"

Marianette gasped and nearly jumped out of her skin. "Father!"

"You!" Venam snapped.

"So, you've done it," Indriad said, casually leaning against the pedestal that had only recently been Venam's prison. "You've saved three of the souls I've laid out. Congratulations. There is much to respect for such a feat."

"Yeah, and now that we've done it, you should follow through!" Marianette demanded.

"Hm? But aren't you forgetting something? You said that all souls must be saved before you claimed victory. But you've only saved three."

There it was. The betrayal. Even though Will had seen this coming, Indriad's words were like a punch to the gut. "Always a justification with men like you," he growled.

"There are no men like me!" Indriad snarled back, and the strength of his voice was like a white-hot barb in Will's mind. "And there is no justification, but words. Words bind. You inserted yourself in this game too Marianette, you put yourself up as a lost soul too."

"Don't try and loophole your way through this!" Venam shouted. "Will and I will beat you to a pulp if we have to!"

"Ah-ah-ah!" Indriad said, condescendingly wagging his finger at Vnnam. "Save your strength for the final trial."

"Final trial?"

"Precisely!" Indriad said, smirking cruelly.

Twin portals consumed Marianette and Venam alike, leaving Will alone with the madman.

Something snapped inside of Will, like something just blew a fuse. A red haze dangled before his vision. He threw himself at the piece of shit before him –

An invisible battering ram slammed into his body and flung him across the room. The ceiling and the floor flashed in rapid succession, before his body hit the ground hard. His head smacked against the ground and for a moment, everything was red, from the coppery taste in his mouth to the faint ringing in his ears to the painful haze before his eyes.

"…admire your resolve, I really do, and for that reason I am willing to forgive that," Indriad said, his face hazily appearing in Will's vision. His words came from far away and it took Will far too long to process what he said.

Will gasped and his chest unclenched. Fresh air flowed into his lungs. "If you hurt them…" he spat, and all the air in his lungs was gone again, and nausea and dizziness nearly overwhelmed him.

Indriad chuckled. "You? Now that is an amusing thought. Save that for the final trial. William, do you remember the dual doors on the main floor of my estate? It is there that the final clash between us will commence. When you wake, we shall be there, waiting. Be prepared."

Blackness swirled around his vision again, and Will fought to cling on to consciousness. His vision alternated between blackness and redness. He drew in a shuddering breath. It hurt.

Darkness swam across his eyes. His head pounded oddly.

Oh, your name shall now be Willow! The man who cannot break!

His exhale came out more like a groan than anything else.

Don't forget, I'm always watching! I'm like your guardian angel!

"Indriad…" he growled. He slowly pulled his hands back to his body and placed them against the floor. "Nim…" He pulled one knee to his chest, then shoved himself back to all fours. The room spun dangerously as he did that. His stomach felt all weird. "This asshole…" he gritted his teeth and pushed himself back up again. "…is not…stealing … Marianette!"

He didn't know how much time passed as he staggered his way back to the mansion. His mind wasn't occupied with that. It wasn't occupied with much of anything. Thoughts and memories and whispers flickered through his mind, some more coherent than others.

Will kept up a determined pace, putting one foot in front of the other until the ringing in his ears and the dizziness finally became normal enough that he could take them and shove them to the back of his mind.

He shoved open the front door. Ik took him much more effort than before. The maid who sat on the couch looked up. She did not look at all surprised to see the disheveled trainer walking back inside.

Will stopped in front of her. "Got your three," he mumbled.

"Very well. You will find the locked door in your own room to be unlocked now. It might be worth paying a visit, hmmm?"

Will blinked away his confusion. Something about that was very off.

"When you do attempt to visit her, you might use these codes." She produced a trio of hand-written notes from her pocket. "May it not avail you at all."

He snatched the papers from her fingers and moved on.

His room…the room Marianette had found him in was just up ahead. The mural was still there, unchanged, but the double set of doors at the end of the room were unlocked, just as the maid had said. They led him into the courtyard at the back of the mansion, taking him across a large river all the way to a cellar in the middle of the woods.

The doors were made of steel. Next to them stood a computer terminal with four images. It took Will a moment to recognize them as numbers. Four zero's awaited his input.

Was this where Indriad had locked Marianette and Venam?

Will put in the first code.

The screen flashed with words: CODE ICE RECOGNIZED.

He put in the second.

CODE GUARDIAN RECOGNIZED

Finally, the third.

CODE ANGEL RECOGNIZED.

He frowned. That…was strange.

The cellar doors flung open by themselves. Cold air surged forwards, embracing him in a freezing hold.

Will descended into the strange shelter.

It was a crypt, but not like the crypt he'd almost drowned in. The architecture was the same but the colors were gray and blue instead, and the atmosphere was…chilling. A coldness seeped through his clothes, bled into his skin, stilled his blood and then bit into his bones until it surged out into his marrow.

"So cold…" a feminine voice reached out. "So cold…I feel a visitor. ..who has come to entertain me?"

At that point, Will was willing to ally himself with a literal grenade mid-detonation if it meant getting the upper hand against Indriad. He continued on, fighting against the bitter coldness that began worming through his marrow and into his soul.

"Trapped…trapped…can't breathe…can't b-breathe…"

Deeper he went. He descended another pair of stairs, then suddenly found himself staring at the back of a woman. She sat cross-legged in the middle of a living room, complete with icy-blue furniture and carpets.

"How long has it been?" She spoke with a voice that was so serene and yet, so unsteady. Not in its strength, but in its tone. A serene voice that whispered promises of violence and retribution. "Years? A couple of decades? It is all the same to me. Are any of my friends still alive? My precious friends…Vivian…Nymiera…Will I ever know the truth about them?"

Will swallowed. He didn't need a functioning instinct to know that this woman was very, very dangerous.

"Is this what you enjoy?" She said without ever turning back to him. "To see my suffering as some sort of entertainment? Is this the price to pay for failure?"

Will remained silent. What was there to say to something like that?

I'm not the asshole who put you here, I'm just the idiot he put here as well...

The woman sighed listlessly. "So cold…so cold…Do you want to feel…the cold too?"

A change in her honeyed voice was all the warning Will got. He felt the buildup of energy this time and scampered backwards, the effort of it nearly making him dizzy enough to collapse again.

A split-second later, the ground exploded into jagged pieces of blackish, reddish, ice.

She whirled on him, fury and hatred burning in her eyes, but that dimmed when she actually saw him. "What? What is this?" She demanded. "Just who are you?"

The woman was…absolutely beautiful. Her icy blue hair was tied into a long ponytail, tied at three spots with white ties. Her dress, as blue as the furniture in her room, cascaded down her body all the way to the ground. It looked spotless and pristine, as if it had been woven just the day before.

"W-Wait, have we met each other before?" She said. "I…I can't remember."

Will knew the feeling.

"Please, come this way," she bid him. "Do not be afraid. I will not harm you."

Despite wanting nothing more than to leave back the way he came, Will's legs carried him towards her. "Who are you?" He whispered.

"My…my name is Anju. At least…I believe it is. Forgive me, I am having trouble remembering things clearly. Please…allow me to ask you some questions. How is the world now? Has it been destroyed?"

"I…" Will stammered. Who was this woman? Why had Indriad locked her down here? Why did she think the freaking world could possibly be destroyed? "It's fine."

She sagged with relief. "Oh thank the heavens. The world isn't in shambles? The world is alright…it's gone on without me…I am so happy! What about Sheridan Village? Do you know if they made it out okay?"

"S-Sheridan's fine," Will said, his mind spinning. "It is protected."

"Of course it is…it is a place of heart and strength. If there were any place to survive such a cataclysm. It would be Sheridan."

Cataclysm? What was she going on about, who was she?!

"One final question. And I beg of you to answer…truthfully. What is the current state of Hiyoshi City"

Will didn't know that place. Didn't ring a bell, and it wasn't on the map. "It's destroyed," he said, his lips moving on their own, speaking a truth he didn't even know he held.

Anju pursed her lips. "It's as I thought. There was no saving that city. There was nothing that could be done. We all tried our hardest. We tried…"

"Who are you?" Will whispered. The room seemed to spin around him. Everything made perfect sense and that made no sense. It did and it didn't. He knew and he didn't. "What did you do?"

His heart hurt. A bright light pounded in front of his eyes. The ringing in his ears…it wouldn't go away.

Goddamnit, how hard had he hit his head?

"I appreciate you answering my questions truthfully. Oh, I wish I brought more useful information with me…" her eyes narrowed. She glanced at a spot on the floor somewhere behind Will's feet, then her icy eyes glided back towards his head. They narrowed, and in the weird lighting of the room it almost looked like they glowed for a moment.

Any information at all would be better.

"The door is open," Will said, unable to tear his gaze off Anju. "You can leave…"

She shook her head. "No. I cannot leave this place yet. As much as it pains me…as much as I want to see my son…my friends…my loved ones…I must…stay in order to protect someone. So you must leave without me, but not without this, and not without knowing."

She handed him a pendant. As cold as ice and completely unfamiliar.

"Please show this to my loved ones. They will know that I'm alive once you do. This pendant has been passed down my family for generations. It is a symbol of our loyalty and wellbeing. Thank you…and I am sorry."

"Sorry?"

"I do not know you, but everything I do know tells me that you will suffer greatly. Nothing can be done to prevent that. This is all I can muster. And for that, I am sorry."

Keta's words surfaced within his mind.

Then perhaps, fate intends something far crueler for you instead.

Will turned away and fled from the frozen prison.

As he ran back to the mansion, it struck him that the painful haze that had been clouding his senses seemed to have faded somewhat. The dizziness wasn't as bad anymore and he couldn't hear the ringing in his ears either. His head still pounded, but he felt sharper. A deep chill had settled within his bones, but it wasn't painful. It didn't distract him.

He wouldn't question that. He'd need every edge if he was to save Marianette.

The final set of doors in the mansion had been unlocked just like Indriad said. Beyond them lay a road that covered an endless, black abyss, with maids lining said road every few meters. All of them kept their gaze solemnly to the ground and all of them had their wrists crossed in front of them, like they were awaiting their next orders.

Their final orders?

Will crossed the strange road, putting together tactics and ideas and plans for attack, but none of them truly stuck. He could only think of Marianette's shocked face and Indriad's smug, wry little smile.

And the mysterious woman in her icy prison.

Why did these people know him?

"Ah, there you are," the last maid at the end of the road said. "Master Indriad has compiled one final trial for you. And that would be a final battle between you and Marianette. Master Indriad has also instructed me to issue you a warning should you choose to accept – "

Will brushed past her and continued onwards.

"So be it," her bitter words drifted after him.

It looked like the road ended in a tactical vantage point for trainers to oversee their Pokemon in battle. It overlooked a massive, floating arena, with more observation platforms to the left, the right and opposite of him.

And…Venam and her friends stood on the leftmost platform, silently watching as Will approached.

Indriad stood on the right platform, his expression inscrutable.

"Where is she?" Will demanded.

Indriad gestured with his head.

Up ahead, Marianette walked down a path equal to Will's. She came to a halt atop her own observation post opposite of his.

These positions…they simulated a Gym Battle.

Surely Indriad wasn't serious about this?

"Willow…you actually came…" Marianette said with a pained, hollow voice.

"What's going on here?" Venam shouted. "Let us go, you freak!"

"You will be let go when the game has been completed," Indriad replied calmly and evenly. "These are the terms Marianette and I have agreed on. The final trial is for the souls of you four or Marianette."

…what?

Oh. Oh god.

"So what, you're going to destroy our souls if we lose, or Marianette if she does?" Venam shouted, her voice quivering with rage. "What kind of rigged game is this?"

Not a game I will play. Will thought. He couldn't. He wouldn't, Pitting his own life and the lives of his friends against the lives of an innocent little girl who only wanted to be saved, whom he had promised he would save? There was now way. He simply couldn't.

"This is life," Indriad said, spreading his arms in finality. "A game where one falls to the bottom and the other reaches the very top. It is only human nature to fight for your survival."

What did he know? What did a man like Indriad even know about human nature?

"What if I refuse?" Will said.

"Then I shall take that as a forfeit, and you automatically lose," Indriad sneered. "When one is drowning, what does choosing not to swim mean? When you are under attack, and you do not defend yourself, you will die. It is as simple as that."

Will stared into Marianette's eyes, shaking with the impossible choice. Because…it wasn't quite as impossible as he wanted it to be, and Marianette knew that.

"Marianette!" Indriad roared. "How strong is your desire to leave this place? Decide the fates of everyone here! Using your power and your power alone!"

"Willow…we've been through a lot, you and I,' Marianette said, silent tears running down her face. "Even if it was a short time, I treasure the time we spent together. You've shown me how to be brave. I'll prove that to you."

Neither of them wanted to lose. Both of them had too much to lose. So neither of them could hold back.

Of course, Indriad knew this as well.

"It's okay, Marianette," Will quietly said.

"Please don't hold back. I don't want you to hold back," she continued. "This is a trial after all. We need to give it our all. Will…please!"

Marianette and him sent out their Pokemon together, at the same time. Pidgeotto erupted from his ball and her Zorua landed on the floor, shaking its fur.

An instant later her Zorua had transformed, but suddenly Pidgeotto was fighting another Pidgeotto. The two clashed in mid-air, Pidgeotto's razor-sharp claws raking his foet's body and suddenly the other Pidgeotto was gone, and Zorua was running across the ground to put distance between them.

Marionette suddenly pulled her Zorua back, then sent out her Indeedee. The Psychic-type wasted no time and began blasting Pidgeotto with near-invisible arcs of psychic energy. Pidgeotto managed to avoid the first two attempts to strike him and folded his wings against his body, shooting down at the Indeedee, his claws extended.

But the attack put him in a straight line towards his foe, making it easy for the Indeedee to line up his next shot. Twin rays of psychic energy arced through the sky like lighting. They slammed into Pidgeotto with immaculate accuracy mid-strike, throwing off his attack and forcing him to take more evasive maneuvers.

Will recalled Pidgeotto before he could take more damage, thinking fast. He sent out Houndour next, reasoning that his Dark-types had always been solid counters against Psychic attackers.

Houndour growled, then blasted the Indeedee with searing bolts of Ember. The Indeedee staggered backwards, throwing up its limbs to shield itself from the flames before…

Reality tightened and warped in on itself. Something massive rebounded through the dimensions as Indeedee glowed with power and thrust its arms towards Houndour. The pulses of energy shot through the air, disappeared into nothingness, then reappeared from all around Houndour. There was no dodging it, though Houndour tried.

The sudden attack slammed into the little Houndour from all directions, pummeling him, throwing him back and forth without mercy. The last bolt slammed into his side and threw him across the floor. Houndour landed in a small heap and didn't get back up again.

"Yes, Marionette. Arceus has blessed you with the power to maim your enemy," Indriad said. "Use it."

What…what was that/ Will dazedly thought as he recalled Houndour. That wasn't Psychic energy or it wouldn't have affected Houndour. It was something else. For a second there, it looked like the world itself had warped to ensure those pulses hit.

That kind of firepower was insane…but it had still come from a distance.

Mightyena's paws slammed into the battlefield and he took off running, sprinting to close the distance between him and his foe.

"Indeedee, use Multipulse again!" Marianette said.

Indeedee began gathering power, intently focusing on the rapidly approaching Mightyena.

"Mightyena, Swagger!" Will ordered.

Mid-sprint, Mightyena's eyes glowed crimson, befuddling energy trailing after him as he shot towards Indeedee like a shadow.

With the way it had been concentrating its power on its focused target, there could have been no way for Indeedee to avoid that. It cried out as its knees wobbled, and the energy that reverberated through reality was a clear miss.

The very next second, Mightyena slammed into with such force that they both tumbled end-over-end. His shadow-wreathed teeth clammed around Indeedee's neck like a vice. His momentum carried him onwards, and he whipped himself back to his feet, slamming his foe into the ground by his throat. The Indeedee cried out in pain and pain, throwing its arms around and launching blasts of energy in all directions, but Mightyena had him. He began shaking his foe violently, thrashing the Indeedee across the ground, tightening his grip until the resistance slowly ceased.

Wordlessly, Marionette recalled her Indeedee and sent out Stantler next. Large and heavily built, that Stantler looked like the kind of prey Mightyena usually took on packs. Knowing that Marianette would have an ace up her sleeve, Will recalled Mightyena as well, before sending out Combusken next.

Their fight continued on, brutal and merciless as Indriad laughed. Stantler engaged Combusken in a vicious close-quarters fight, leaping back and forth as it caused the very ground underneath their feet to shake and break apart.

Combusken was fast, and when struck, she did so with force. Her clawed feet landed blow after blow against the Stantler, which wasn't fast or agile enough to dodge them. Mid-fight however, Marionette recalled her Stantler and sent out a smaller Flying-type instead. The Chatot immediately took to the air, and Will knew he was in trouble.

He recalled Combusken, sending out Snorunt instead. As the battle raged on, the wind picked up, howling through the canyon. Snorunt froze the moisture in the air as he kept the Chatot at bay. Droplets of water instantly froze to snow, then hardened into solid clumps of ice that buffeted the Chatot as it attempted to pick up speed.

Will's voice kept Snorunt's fear at bay long enough to get the attacks in he needed. Marionette ordered Chatot to use Multipulse as well, but Will wouldn't let her. To him, this wasn't just a fight for his own soul, or even the souls of Venam, Luca and Lenny. This was a fight to break Indriad's will, weaken his resolve. When the opportunity presented itself, Will would strike at him with everything he had in overwhelming force.

If the man could avoid the firepower of one Pokemon, he would come at him with ix. If the man could survive fire, he would attack him with fire and ice and force and claws and teeth.

Nobody would die here. Nobody.

Snorunt managed to take Chatot out, but the effort cost it dearly. Marionette sent her Zorua out again and suddenly, Snorunt found himself facing another Snorunt in an ideal environment.

Its fear struck again, and its next Icy Wind was too slow, too weak. Zorua darted at him, wreathed in a corona of darkness and slammed into Snorunt with wicked force.

Will wordlessly recalled Snorunt, then sent Mightyena back into the field.

So it went, back and forth, the advantage constantly shifting between them. Mightyena was not fooled one bit by the Zorua's illusions and transformations and shrugged off Zorua's ranged attacks. His body slammed into Zorua's own and the illusion shattered, revealing the little furry Pokemon for what it was.

What it was, was a Ghost-type Pokemon four times smaller than Mightyena, standing within mauling range. It sent out a final, defiant pulse of black energy, but Mightyena darted through its attack and tackled the Zorua to the ground.

In turn, Marionette sent out a Delcatty, and she fought Mightyena to a standstill. Will was forced to recall Mightyena, not knowing if Delcatty was capable of using Multipulse like the others, and sent out Pidgeotto again.

Pidgeotto, however, was still weakened by the direct hits he'd taken from Indeedee. He landed several solid hits on the Delcatty before Marianette ordered another Multipulse.

The dimensional attack followed Pidgeotto as he tried to avoid it, but there was no avoiding this one. Blue flashes of light struck him from all directions at once. Too weak to stay aloft, Pidgeotto fell, and Will only barely managed to recall him before his unconscious body slammed into the ground.

This was lunacy. They were burning all their energy against each other, leaving nothing behind to take out Indriad.

But what choice did they have? If they didn't play by Indriad's twisted rules, they'd both lose…and then everybody lost.

Mercilessly, Will and Marianette kept fighting each other, kept hurting each other. Mightyena wrestled Delcatty to the ground the same way he had Indeedee. In turn, Stantler managed to nail him with a Multipulse that froze the very air around them, rendering him unable to run. Nidorino stood his ground against Stantler and managed to take him down by keeping him at bay with Poison Sting, before forcing him into a close quarters match Stantler couldn't win.

One by one, Will and Marianette whittled each other down, until only Combusken and Nidorino were left to face her ace.

"Your strength is amazing…" Marionette said. "You must be brave now, too, Will."

Her last Pokemon was her ace. A well-built, bipedal Pokemon with thick fur and rippling muscles. A Bewear.

The fight broke apart into a brutal slugfest. Bewear blocked a flurry of stabs with a meaty forearm, which it then brought down against Nidorino's body when the Poison-type came in for another attack. In turn, Nidorino got in a quick hit of Poison Sting, but the massive Bewear didn't even register the stings, walloping Nidorino out of the way with another mighty swing of his arm.

This isn't working, Will realized as Nidorino struggled to get back to its feet. That thing was too strong. Nidorino didn't have the force to turn this around.

Damnit.

"Nidorino, that's enough," Will said, recalling his exhausted partner. "Alright Combusken. It's all down to you now."

He hated how accurate that was.

Their strongest Pokemon clashed. Combusken turned her run into a sweeping spin intent on taking Bewear's legs out from underneath him. When that didn't work, she darted backwards to dodge the retaliation and sprain up, driving her knee against the Bewear's broad chest. She followed up with a swiping glance at his face, snapping his head sideways.

Bewear spun on his heels and backhanded her. then charged to close the distance. It swept a massive claw at Combusken, who ducked underneath the blow and swept at its chest. Her claws barely got through its thick skin, and the Bewear lashed out with its other arm. Combusken barely got her hands up time to protect her face and even then, the blow sent her skidding backwards across the field.

We have to hit harder..

She ducked, dropping her weight below the Bewear's shoulder and pivoting behind him. She jammed a clawed foot in the back of his knee, then leapt at the back of his head to drive her elbow home.

We have to move faster.

She ducked or blocked the bewear's next raging swipes, swerving and pivoting.

A single opportunity.

She lashed out with her leg and Bewear caught it mid-air. Immediately, Combusken shoved herself to the ground, caught herself on her claws and drove her other foot into the Bewear's chest.

Huffing, her foe tossed her across the arena.

She rolled with the impact, spun on her feet and blasted the Bewear with Ember. Fire streaked across her body as her Blaze invigorated her body, sending power and flames pouring through her limbs.

But the power would only last so long. She was one, maybe two hits away from fainting.

Marionette's strongest Pokemom came barreling through her flames, preparing for another mammoth blow -

And Will saw his opportunity. As the Bewear brought his muscled arm down on Combusken's head, she moved, blurring away and sliding between his legs. She rolled to her feet on the other side and moved again, performing an Aerial Ace up into the sky, a meter above and behind Bewear.

In that moment, at the right angle to land her blow with the right force, Combusken poured all her strength into the next blow. He saw the corona of fire explode around her, saw her spin through the air as her leg snapped out and struck the Bewear in the corner of his jaw right as he turned his head to locate her.

She landed on the ground, barely. On her feet. She swayed, the immense demand for energy catching up to her.

But Bewear's arms dropped to his side and he toppled, his unconscious bulk slamming to the ground.

He went down and Combusken remained standing.

As Marianette's final Pokemon fell, she drew herself upright. "Through the light of your Pokemon you have transcended the evil that lies within the dark," she said, casting her silvery eyes to her father. Then, she smiled, and she hopped over the fence, landing on the arena below.

"What are you doing?" Indriad said, leaning forwards to observe her closer.

"Will…this was meant to be…" Marianette said.

Will hopped his railing as well, landing opposite of her. "I won't let him take you," he snarled. He grabbed two Poke balls - knowing full well that they were in no condition to fight - but he sent them out anyway. "Mightyena, Houndour, on me!"

The two Dark-type Pokemon rushed to his side. Mightyena brushed up against Marianette and shot a glare at Houndour, before gesturing with his snout to Will's other flank.

Houndour uttered a little bark and then limped to Will's side.

"Will…this is okay," Marianette said, smiling sadly as she reached into her pocket. "I want you to take this. Please, it is important.

She…she handed Will a badge. A Gym Badge. What…what was she doing?

"You are a sad fool," Indriad spat. "If you think your feeble creatures can stand against me, I will not hesitate to disappoint you!"

Will glared up at Indriad in defiance, but Marianette's voice pulled him back to her. "During our battle, I remembered something. Someone…someone told me that I shouldn't dare lose hope. That I shouldn't lose who I was, and above all never to forget what would happen…"

Marianette stepped towards Indriad, away from Mightyena's protection, and glared up at the man just like Will did, but there was no mistaking the confidence and the power in her little frame. "Maria…I remember now. I remember who I was!"

Indriad scoffed. "A disappointing outcome. For you all, that is."

In a flash, Venam, Luca and Lenny found themselves on the battlefield as well.

"What is the meaning of this?" Marianette – no, Maria – demanded.

"Shut your mouth you vile girl!" Indriad roared, rising to his full length as he glared down at them with all the authority of a king about to order someone's execution. "You've done nothing but disappoint me more and more! This game is in shambles. I declare it null and void."

Furious, Will opened his mouth, but then he felt Maria's hand brush against his arm and the words just…died in his throat. The coldness that had been keeping him distracted from his exhaustion melted away. The strength he'd felt during his battle with her faded, and suddenly he struggled to even remain standing.

"Even in the end you're always a cheating, disgusting excuse for a person!" She snapped.

"How dare you speak to me in such a way! This is a punishment you've brought upon yourself. Not only is this a battlefield, but it is an altar as well. This is where your souls will meet their end."

Again, defiance and hate and pain coursed through Will's exhausted body and again, Marianette placed her hand on his arm and the surge of desperation in his mind just…stilled.

"You have done all you must and more," she said, her voice so soft that he barely heard her at all. "Be at peace Willow." Then, she raised her voice, and she spoke with a certainty and authority Will would have never expected from her. "No, Indriad, this is where I make my stand, finally."

Will felt it then. The same he'd felt before – a corona of power and purpose and force emanated from Marianette, invisible yet tangible. A warmth emanated from her body like he hadn't ever felt before – it wasn't a warmth he felt with his body, but he could feel it in his soul. If Indriad's power had been a clawed gauntlet tearing into his chest, then Marianette's was like a reassuring embrace, something that eased his pain and calmed his frayed thoughts.

"Willow…thank you for everything. But…I won't be able to go with you."

"No…" He whispered. "No, I promised – we go together,"

Marianette smiled sadly.

"There's no way we're going to leave you with this psychopath!" Venam spat.

"Thanks Venam…but there's something I must do. Will…and Venam too. Please let me assure you that I won't forget you. Not again."

"Again?" Venam repeated.

"And don't worry about your world. I will close the portals connecting them. You will be safe."

"Maria – " Will stretched out his hand to her. "Come – "

But Maria merely smiled at him as she raised her hands, and Will felt her embrace on his soul tighten. Warm arms wrapped around soul, holding him tightly, protecting him from –

"No!"

"Goodbye," Maria whispered in his ear.

And then she was gone.

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

---

It was done. They were gone now. Beyond Indriad's ability to hurt.

His pain would not cripple him. She had made sure of that. And…for all the strength he had given her, there was something else she could give in return. It was small, but far from meaningless. For showing her the way, the least she could do was keep him standing.

Indriad glared at her, his body shaking in rage. "MARIANETTE!" He roared, tightly gripping the railing in front of him.

Maria looked up at him. Intent flowed through her body into the air around her, and that intent enveloped Indriad's reality, wrenching it from his grip and bending it to a new will.

Hers.

Suddenly, he no longer stood above her, but in front of her on the arena. No longer as a master, but as an equal.

"Th-This power…No, that is not possible!" He breathed.

And Maria felt something from him she had never felt before. Fear.

Sometimes, the only way to fight power…is with more power.

Maria smiled. "Thank you, Will. My hero," she whispered. Then, she turned the full might of her focus to bear on Indriad. "Indriad Theolia! You are truly the worst type of scum…ever! What you put everyone through just to fulfill your sadistic need for power…"

"No…" Indriad gasped.

Maria called for power and power answered her. It coursed through her body and along her limbs like it had been with her this entire time, like it was a mere extension of her soul. It filled her being, burst from her skin and enveloped the air. A brightness and warmth she had never felt before roared to life around her like in a corona of light.

Suddenly it all came roaring back to her. Who she was - what she was.

"Indriad Theolia! I remember who I am!" She said, her voice trembling and echoing with the raw potential of her rediscovered gift. Before her, Indriad's authority shattered completely. "I remember who I was!"

"M-Marianette?" He muttered, feebly, weakly.

Amidst the torrent of emotions and memories and potential, Maria focused on one little sentence, the one her mind told her was the perfect instrument to channel her discontent through.

He doesn't deserve your fear. Only your rage.

Maria brought the full force of her rage down upon Indriad Theolia.

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

---

When it was over, he was back. Back in Gearen's sewers.

The doorway was gone.

"No…" Will whimpered. "No…I…"

"Holy shit, that was so disorienting," someone nearby exclaimed, and her voice was like hot iron applied to exposed nerves.

Maria…where was she? Was she safe? He couldn't believe they'd left her like that…left her with that monster.

Alone.

Oh god…

"Yo, Will, can you hear me?"

Will blinked, slowly, before tilting his head towards the voice. His vision was blurry at the edges, which was wrong, he knew, because his vision was usually pretty good...

"Hey, Gearen to Will, you hear me?"

He sluggishly looked down again. He sat on his knees in front of the doorway. He had one hand outstretched, reaching into nothingness. He could still feel the spot where Maria had clasped his hand…it tingled and burned, but it didn't feel uncomfortable.

"Maria," he croaked.

The back of his head…that felt uncomfortable. It throbbed with an intensity that nauseated him. The room spun dangerously around him and he felt the muscles in his legs suddenly give out. The walls and ceiling suddenly shifted position and the floor rushed up to his head -

Someone clutched his arm. Her grip was tight and her fingers dug into his muscle. Venam began to pull him back to his feet, but then she stopped. "Hey, what's…that…"

She released his arm and it dangled uselessly by Will's side. He felt someone's hands at his shoulders, keeping him from sagging.

"Holy shit Will, you're bleeding. Where'd that come from? Lemme look."

She reached for his head. He tried to push her arm away, but his body didn't have much left. "Maria," he said again, louder this time.

"Stop fighting me! You…oh fuck, you're bleeding from your head. It's…oh that's a lot of blood. This is bad. Lenny, help me out here!"

"Holy shit, that's gnarly."

"Yeah no shit! We need to – Luca, do you have a bandage? Something? Lenny, you have to get help! There's people above the sewers, tell them we need first aid now! NOW!"

Hands reached for him, tugging him in different directions. Someone's long hair brushed past his skin as they propped him up against something soft.

And…something pressed against his chest. It was warm and pleasant but…Will didn't see anything. Still, the sensation wasn't bad…in a way, it was even familiar.

WIllow, someone whispered in the back of his thoughts.

Will blinked. He knew that voice.

The man who will not break.

WIll smiled tiredly.

Things got blurry after that. Someone pressed a cloth against the back of his head. Warm liquid trickled down his hair and into his neck. He felt hazy and dizzy and so tired, but not that much pain.

Not much pain at all.

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

---

"Welcome to Gearen News! I'm your host, Volta. The mysterious trees that plagued East Gearen City have disappeared! The residents of the city are returning and life is getting right back on track! Four individuals were reported to have been at the site when the phenomenon finally quelled. Law enforcers were quick to try and arrest these individuals, but a fiery lass from Sheridan made sure these charges were quickly dropped. After a quick explanation and immediate medical attention for the more wounded members, these four have been deemed as the city's "little town heroes'! Luckily, Gearen News was able to locate these heroes before they could disappear! When we asked about the identity of their decided MVP, they merely told us that he went by "Willow". Willow has declined all interviews and refused to comment on the situation. Doctors would not go into details regarding the severity of their injuries, but the rest of the gang informed us that they were certain everybody would have a speedy recovery. Regardless, the city of East Gearen City cheers you on, Willow! Thank you for your hard work! I've been your host, Volta, and this has been Gearen News! See you next time!"

The woman sighed and shut her television off again. This…this might be the opportunity she had been waiting for.

"A little town hero…" she murmured to herself. "I suppose that's what this town needs…this Willow person. One day, I wish to meet them."

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

---

Author's Note: And that wraps up Chapter 3!

I had a blast writing this chapter, although I really struggled with the fighting scenes. Sometimes I just cannot for the life of me string together a creative, interesting Pokemon battle. Not really sure how to fix that.

I digress. A big shoutout to my consistent group of reviewers. If i haven't said it already, you guys are a big part of the reason why I'm motivated to keep churning out these chapters. Thank you!