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.

37. The Mystery of a Family

AN: When the going gets tough, we can always depend on Masterdude21 to update. This chapter won't be fluffy - more fluffiness awaits in the next part - but I think it will be pretty interesting regardless.

~~~~~~~(0)~~~~~~~

Chapter 9 – No Time Left To Lose!

The Mystery of a Family

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

---

Nausea swept into his stomach and strangled up his throat. Something in his chest lurched. His legs went weak.

"There's no doubt about it," Venam said, her voice coming from miles away. "It's the same one. I'd remember that place for sure."

He struggled to suck in air. How was this possible? Maria had closed the gate, she'd saved them all!

"Nu-uh," Venam said. "I've lost my appetite, this is too uncomfortable."

They couldn't say here, he couldn't be here! This was wrong, all wrong!

"Is…something amiss?" Anathea asked, looking concerned.

"Oh, uh, no!" Venam said. "I was just talking about your kick-ass yard! Wish my front yard was as nice as this place!"

Shaking. He was shaking. Or starting to. He couldn't. He had to stay calm. He…he couldn't freak out now.

Anathea smiled. "My…you sure have an interesting vocabulary, don't you? But thank you for the compliment! This garden means a lot to my husband and i!"

"Husband?" Venam asked.

"Yes! He's waiting for me inside. He'll probably be as red as a tomato after he figures out that I left home."

The second Anathea turned around to enter the house, Venam positioned herself in-between the mansion and Will and looked him dead in the eyes. "Okay Will, don't freak out! You hear me? You can't panic and do anything rash! Obviously this shit is way different!"

Different. Way different. Yes. He couldn't panic. He had to think.

"I don't remember her from before. Maybe this is before we ran into Indriad all the way back when? In that case, do you think Marianette would still be here?"

Maria. The poor…but this was fifty years ago. Fifty years…or was it? What had Melia said again? Safe this place is safe we got you -

He couldn't do this, but he had to do this. Maria had saved them. They had to take this chance to bring her back, save her this time.

Stiffly, slowly, Will clenched his shaking hands into fists. He railed against the buzz of panic in his mind.

"Will…We know that Indriad was capable of. I'm not screwing around here. We have to be prepared for anything. We have to go in there and check things out. We might even be able to restore your memories! Wouldn't that be fucking awesome? Hey, I have your back, do you have mine?"

Will unclenched his fists again, taking solace in the fact that his body still obeyed him. It did what he wanted to.

They were stronger this time. Their Pokemon were much stronger as well. He knew the game Indriad would play, knew how the monster would try to hurt him.

"Y-Yeah," he shakily said.

Venam grinned. "Thanks Will. Don't be scared; we should be fine."

But he was. He was really, really scared. He knew he had no reason to believe that this time would be the same, or that there even existed an Indriad Theolia anymore. But the panic was there regardless of the facts, looming in the back of his head, and it took all of his strength to keep it at bay.

"You coming?" Venam said, already bounding ahead.

Will took one hesitant step forwards. Then another. Slowly, he managed to followVenam inside.

"Welcome to my abode!" Anathea, who had been waiting for them, said. She took them through a long hallway lined with dark tiles and covered with a gray carpet. The hallway ended in a large living space and Will felt the similarities between this place and the actual mansion even though its interior was nothing alike. He saw two sets of steps leading up to an elevated room ahead, but he also saw a massive piano to their right, which seemed entirely out of place.

The air didn't feel heavy. Didn't feel foreboding. No pressure, no looming sense of impending death.

"This is a pretty damn suite abode. Get it? Suite?" She coughed awkwardly. "Anyway…"

Anathea laughed, and her voice was warm and soothing, genuine and kind. "Your humor can be quite charming!"

"Mommy?" The voice of a young girl echoed from further into the room. "Mommy, are you finally home?"

The doors to the elevated section flung open and Maria came running out, looking as if she hadn't aged a day or even changed her shoes. "Mommy! I knew I heard you!" She clamored, a healthy little blush on her cheeks as she hurried downstairs and practically flung herself at her mother to embrace her.

It was her. She was here. If she was here…

Indriad couldn't be far either.

"M-Marianette?" Venam exclaimed.

Anathea shot her a questioning look. "Maria-nette? Close, but the "nette" part is incorrect. This is my daughter, Maria."

I remember who I was!

This was Maria as she had been. Before the monster calling itself her father had ruined her life.

"It's nice to meet you!" Maria said, her silver eyes gleaming with curiosity.

Will tried to speak, but his throat felt too tight. He couldn't muster a response.

"Wha…? Maria?" Venam muttered.

"My pride and joy," Anathea said, ruffling Maria's blond hair. "My beautiful daughter, Maria. Please, would you entertain your guests with some of your music?"

Maria nodded vigorously. "Okay! I got this!"

The little girl proceeded to climb atop the piano stool and began playing. Her little fingers danced across the keys with practiced ease, and the number she played sounded hauntingly familiar, as if he'd heard it before, but he couldn't place it, didn't know it.

"Ah, wonderful!" Anathea cheered. "Bravo!"

"Thank you! I've been practicing every day" Maria said with that cute, high-pitched voice as the one that had greeted him after Indriad had torn Will's soul from his body. It was her, but she was so happy and carefree and she had her mother…this was the past. Before everything went to hell.

…if they destroyed Indriad here, now, would that change the future? Would that spare Maria the agony and loneliness that awaited her?

"I love music, Maria," Venam said, kneeling down next to the little girl. "I can sense talent, and I've gotta say, you've got it."

"Alrighty, that's enough for today Maria," Anathea said with a proud smile. "It's almost time for tutoring."

"Got it!" Maria dutifully replied. "I'll be right back!"

With her boundless youthful energy, Maria sprinted up the stairs.

Will watched her go, feeling angry, hollow and frightened. His brain was torn between lashing out in blind fury and shutting down completely. As it was, he'd managed to steer his body to the third option between fight or flight.

"Cute, but tutoring?" Venam said. "Isn't she a bit young to be tutored?"

"Oh, you misunderstand!" Anathea enthusiastically said. "Maria is the one tutoring. Specifically, her best friend."

"What?" Venam exclaimed.

"It's why Maria is so good with the piano. As mathematics and the piano overlap."

Venam turned away with a particularly horrified expression.

Will was about to think back to the puzzles Maria and him had solved back in the mansion when a male's voice rang out, and every thought in his head slammed to a halt.

"Anathea, what is with the racket? Please keep it down."

The man's voice, Will noted with a twitch of his fingers, was as smooth as it had been the day they first met. Neither threatening nor mild. It was simply there. Commanding. Present.

For a few seconds, his brain didn't register what happened next. The sounds of Venam and Anathea talking grew dim, while something inside of Will's chest began rattling. His hands shook, shook shook. He tried to clench them again but they wouldn't listen, wouldn't obey.

Indriad Theolia walked into the room. He was clothed as casual as a normal man, but Will knew it was a ploy, a deception. The monster standing in front of him was as inhuman as they got, and he knew, he knew that he had to destroy him before he had the chance to command his servants.

Anticipation scratched beneath his skin, lighting a fire within his soul. Burn it down. Burn everything. Tear it all down to the ground. Burn, like Nim had, like he had -

Trembling fingers found Blaziken's Pokeball.

Enough enough -

Suddenly all Will saw was Venam's back. She interposed herself between him and the monster that had found its way into the living room.

"Terribly sorry," Indriad's voice slithered through the room. "I didn't realize we had guests."

"Vitus, this is Will and Venam," Anathea's voice came from so, so far away. "They saved me from feral Pokemon in the woods."

"Anathea!" Shock in his voice. "You know how I feel about you going out in the woods alone. You know how Pokemon are. They're savage! They're not to be played with!"

"I understand…but I promised these two desserts as thanks."

Maria was here, Anathea was here. He couldn't. He couldn't

He tried. He tried so hard to stave it off.. With incredible effort, Will forced his fingers open. The little ball slid back into its satchel.

"Very well then." A reluctant sigh. "I suppose I can allow this - "

The doors on the other end of the room flung open as well. A Pokemon glided through, a black dress flowing around its body like a gown. Bipedal and humanoid, its raven-colored hair curled over its pale face and down the sides of its head. It regarded them all with cold, cold eyes. A moment later, a feminine voice emanated from the Pokemon and echoed within his mind, so vividly and clearly that it was as if they were audible words instead.

"Why must you insist on accepting trivialities such as this, Vitus."

The sound of fabric ruffling against the tiles. "Gardevoir."

It was sheer, animalistic instinct that forced Will to tear his gaze off Venam's hack and direct what little rational agency he had on this new threat. Indriad would condemn him, but this thing…it would tear him apart. He saw it in her eyes, felt it in the aura she exuded. Heavy. Oppressive. Murderous. This thing would rip him apart, limb from limb, bit by bit, and she would enjoy it.

The Pokemon glided further into the room. "Anathea, you must finish your obligations first. Dessert isn't an option right now." Her blood-red eyes shifted towards Indriad. "Isn't that right, Vitus?" She spoke again, her telepathic voice gaining an oddly affectionate edge.

"Hmph. Yes, well, if there's work to be done, then it can't be helped."

Anathea turned away unhappily.

"Speaking of work, I have business in town," Indriad continued. "Do you need anything?"

"Please take Maria to her tutoring session down by katsu's place. That's all."

"Maria, we're leaving now. Are you ready?"

"Yes I'm ready!" Maria's voice sounded from above.

Her voice snapped Will out of it. He saw her skip down the stairs, not a care in the world.

"I'm sorry Princess, but your mother cannot tend to you for now," Gardevoir told the girl.

"...okay!" Maria happily said, so blissfully painfully unaware of the pain and horror that would await her in her future with these people. "Bye Mommy! Bye Gardevoir!"

Indriad took the girl by her hand and Will almost lost it. He clawed at himself, fought down the immense, almost maddening desire to attack. His heart shredded itself against his ribcage as he watched that monster take Maria with him - and there was only one thing he could do to stop that.

The sliver of rationality left in his thoughts howled at him to stay his hand, and he tried so very hard not to think about how much power it would need to tear this mansion down to the ground. He had that power. He could end this before it began.

It doesn't work like that.

He couldn't imagine caring.

What would Nim think?

Nim was dead.

Gardevoir's crimson eyes narrowed momentarily. "I will be seeing the both of you very soon," she said, and Will wasn't sure if her voice was affectionate or gleeful, but it promised suffering nevertheless.

Her promise delivered, Gardevoir turned and glided back where she came from, pulling the doors shut with a casual display of psychic power.

The pressure in the room lifted, and Will nearly sagged. He tried to force his breathing ro remain relaxed and calm, but it was slowly growing wheezy and superficial and an all-too familiar haze was building up inside of his head.

He barely heard Anathea when she apologized. His lungs were trembling now too. Breathing hurt.

"Don't worry about it," Venam said. "That was kinda awkward and I wish to go."

"I understand," Anathea said with a small bow. "I bid both of you farewell. thank you once again."

"Thanks," Will stammered out, the single word coming out high and strangled and fuck this was it, this was the moment he'd fall apart, he couldn't stay here, he needed to get out get outgetoutofhere!

Before Venam could say anything else he spun on his heels and fled and somehow, he managed to keep his body from running, but only because he couldn't breathe, couldn't get a single fucking breath in his lungs -

He shoved his way through the doors and staggered sideways, falling to his knees in the garden as he gasped for air. He clawed at the straps of his backpack. Pulled it off. Hurled it away. Didn't help. The world tipped. He gasped for air but he couldn't get it into his body, he couldn't remember how to breathe -

"Whoah, hey, Will, are you okay?" Venam's voice came from underwater. Dimly, he registered her kneeling down next to him. "We made it out, no need to freak out."

Panic clawed at his chest as he dropped his head between his knees and took a shuddering, wheezing gasp, which came out like a wounded choking sound, he still couldn't breathe, he still couldn't remember how to draw a breath -

"Holy shit, you're fucking choking," Venam gasped. "Fuck, ah, crap, how do I help you?" She shook his shoulder and the panic blossomed throughout his body because he didn't know, he couldn't tell her.

Count. Count things you see. One -

"Melia would know, Melia could tell me," he heard Venam say. "Fuck, why isn't she here? Will, what do I do?"

Venam. Venam. Shut up. Need…need to focus.

The fountain. And…and the grass underneath his hands. "Two…" he gasped out.

"Two? Two what?"

His discarded backpack. "T-three - "

He couldn't panic. They were in danger. They were all in danger.

What else? What else? "F-F-Four."

Lock them up and take their souls.

"Will I'm freaking out here."

The mansion itself. "Five."

There is a real danger here.

Things he could touch. The grass. It was wet. Cold to the touch. Like the dead-eyed maids Indriad surrounded himself with. Like the eyes of the Gardevoir that hadn't been there before. "S-Six," he choked out.

Melia thinks you're safe here.

"Will? Do I, like, throw water in your face or some shit? There's a fountain right here?"

He imagined the trees would feel the same as the ones in Aevium. "Seven."

But you're not.

"Eight." He could reach out and touch Venam, too. She wouldn't appreciate that, but he could. So it counted.

Count. Keep counting.

"Nine."

None of us are safe here.

Slowly, the fist squeezing his windpipe relented. Cold air began flooding his lungs. "Ten…"

You cannot go to pieces. You will not go to pieces.

He took deep, grateful breaths of air. The immense red fog on his head began lifting. He continued counting.

They depend on you for protection. To do that, you have to fight.

Will lifted his head from his knees. His limbs felt weak and heavy. His muscles ached.

Embrace resilience. And get up.

He wrenched himself out of the memories. Pushed them aside. Back into the leaking boxes.

Get up.

He did. His limbs trembled, his chest burned, but he knew how to breathe. It would come to him. His body would wind down eventually.

"Ah, you're back?" Venam said. "Fuck dude, what was that?"

"I…"

"Never mind, look, I know this is difficult, but that was Indriad, right? The guy who tried to kill us?"

Give me a fucking second, Will wanted to say. What came out, instead, was a quiet, "Yeah."

"Something's bothering me though. He wasn't acting like the guy we knew. I dunno, he seemed almost normal. Besides that Gardevoir that was totally strange. The color of that Gardevoir was different. It wasn't shiny or anything…it just exuded evil."

It had. I will see you two very soon, she had told them. Something along those lines. Something was going to go down very soon.

"Anyway, you think we should follow him around? I mean, he's dangerous."

He felt his body jerk a little. "I…I can't," he stammered.

Venam shot him a puzzled look. "Whaddya mean, you can't? I know the dude scares you, but since when has that ever stopped you?"

"It's…this is different." It wasn't that, it wasn't just that. He tried to tell her but he couldn't get the words he needed.

"Yeah it is! He's got Marianette - "

"Maria."

"And Melia is out there! You wouldn't want a guy like that walking around in the same fucking area as she lives, right?"

No. No he didn't. He couldn't have a threat like Indriad get anywhere near Melia.

Back in Teila Resort, he had spared Neved's life because he loved Melia more than he hated Team Xen. That hadn't changed. Her well-being had to be more important than…than this.

"No," he replied. "I don't want that."

Venam's grin told him that she knew she had him. She thrust her hand out to him. "Care to be my partner in crime for a bit, then?"

"Fine," Will growled. He slapped his hand into hers. "Let's do this."

"Hell yes dude! We're going to make sure this asshole doesn't do anything shady! Now Anathea said she wanted him to take Maria to Kugearen for some tutoring session. The place belongs to someone named Katsu. Shouldn't be too hard to find, yeah?"

It wasn't. Indriad had to move at Maria's walking speed, while Venam and Will could both pick up the pace and run through the adjacent forest to keep track. The plan, as it was, was simple. Venam would hurry after Indriad and Maria and "catch up" with them, citing the dangerous and unpredictable Pokemon around them as a reason to want to walk them back to the city.

Meanwhile, Will stayed at a distance, both because he wanted to maintain a position where he could interfere without getting caught by surprise if something happened, and because he didn't trust himself to look at Indriad's face and not lose himself.

Some twenty minutes later, he saw Venam accompany the two into another expensive manor. This one had the same type of sign in its lawn, with the words "Katsu's Estate" written on them.

No handprints to be found there.

In hindsight that should have been a warning sign.

The moment he saw Venam, Indriad and Maria walk into the building together, he started running to cover the fifty or so meters separating them. Venam had held the door open long enough for him to catch it before she had to let go.

He slipped inside.

Katu's Estate was more of an improvised laboratory than an actual house. Instead of a living area, Will felt like he'd felt into the lobby of some big-name corporation's headquarters.

"...brought Maria for 'Tasia's tutoring session," he caught Indriad telling the short-haired woman inside.

"That much is clear, Mister Theolia," Katsu said with a stern tone.

"Please, call me Vitus."

Will tried to ignore the involuntary shivers the best he could. He focused on the man's words, not his voice.

Vitus, Vitus…why would he call himself that? It felt significant somehow. He'd heard that name before, but where?

"Very well Vitus. If that's all, I must ask that you leave. I am a very busy woman."

"Sorry, but there's more. Maria, why don't you go to 'Tasia? There's things I must disclose with Katsu."

"Okay! I will!"

From his vantage point around the corner, Will couldn't exactly see the others, but he heard their voices clear enough. Something in the bastard's voice almost sounded human as he said, "I wanted to speak about the manner of how you educate 'Tasia."

He could almost picture the look of annoyance on this Katsu's face as she snapped back, "With all due respect, Vitus, I don't think it's your business telling me how to raise my daughter."

"Pardon my rude behavior. I did not mean to impose."

What the hell did Indriad care about other people's children? He'd been a cold-hearted abusive prick to his own child.

"I just suggest that you give her a break every now and then. A child also requires freedom and leisure to succeed."

He didn't get it. He just didn't understand. What was the point of keeping up this facade of humanity? Was it because of Anathea?

"Anastasia is not an ordinary child. She is a genius, and I will not have her waste her potential."

"Sure, her intellect is high, but her social skills are suffering," Indriad protested, and Will found himself feeling some sort of kinship with this little Anastasia. Minus the intellect part, he seemed to be having the exact same problem lately.

"That's enough Vitus! You're pissing me off. Learn your place. Give your daughter all the breaks you want, but when it's time for entrance exams, mine will be on top."

Yikes.

"We'll see just how well your "breaks" do for you, then. Now, as I've reiterated many times, I am a very busy woman with an agenda. I don't have time for this, Mister Theolia. If you would go now, that would be lovely."

Will had heard enough. Silently, he snuck back to the front door and cracked it open.

"I tried," he heard Indriad say to Venam. "She's a brick wall. A lost cause."

"If it means anything, I'm on your side," his friend said. Despite knowing it was part of the plan and understanding that Venam was simply acting, hearing her speak those words to that scum sparked something like a car crash within his head. "Kids need breaks."

It took Will a moment to gather his wits again, and when he did he realized he'd missed a part of their conversation. Something about little Stasia and her mother? He didn't know.

"Be that as it may, I'm done here. I have a meeting with Mister Blakeory down at Blakeory Co."

"Oh, right. Do you mind if we - uh, if I tag along?" Venam cautiously asked. "I always wanted to see the Blakeory building from the inside, but those people never let me pass."

Venam's ability to bluff and lie at a moment's notice was impressive.

A sigh. "I suppose there's no harm in that. But I must warn you that this meeting isn't exactly…joyous."

Unseen and unheard, Will slipped out through the door and stalked back into the forest. He circled around the first big tree he saw, put his back to it and quietly slid down to the ground, pressing his palms to his…well, his eye.

Singular.

Why? Why did he have to run into Indriad Theolia when he was this vulnerable? How had Melia not seen this, how hadn't she realized this before? She'd told him it was safe, but it…he couldn't…

Will grit his teeth, wrapped his arms around his wounded chest and rested his chin on his knees. Stormchasers. Souls. Crescent rogue. Anathea. He didn't get it.

"I'm trying," he whispered, and he didn't even know who he was trying to justify himself to. "I really am."

You had your break, he told himself when he felt the fuzzy edges of panic creeping in on him again. You had your fun at the Resort. It's time to get to work.

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

---

Venam almost couldn't believe she was thinking this, but that Vitus guy? He almost seemed down to earth. She was having a really hard time seeing him as the bastard who traumatized her friend. What had happened to turn him into such an asswipe?

She would figure that out soon enough. Will would be out there, somewhere, keeping a close eye on her. Normally, knowing that he was around would be a reassuring thought, even if he had tried to give her shit over Charizard.

But seeing him lose his shit had been freaky. Way freaky. Scary, too. Legit, she thought he'd been about to pass out or something. She'd never seen something like a public freakout or a panic attack before in her life. Until she met Will, that was. How could people just stop breathing? It didn't make sense.

She knew that Indriad had fucked him up, and she knew that somehow, the bastard had left a big fucking scar in Will's mind when he decided to be extra douchy and take his fucking memories, but…how was she supposed to deal with this? She wasn't Aelita, she wasn't Melia, she didn't get how his mind worked.

All she could do was accompany Indriad Fuckhead Theolia into the…the freaking Blakeory Co building and hope for something useful.

And if Vitus decided to be an extra big fuckhead, she'd just scream her head off and hope that Will could get his shit together long enough to…like, blow the fucking building apart or something. It was downright scary what levels of destruction that guy could cause when he locked in.

…shit she hoped Will locked it the fuck in today.

"Ah, Mister Theolia," the big old fart in charge of the Blakeory building said about fifteen minutes later when she and Vitus popped up in his stupidly-big and pompous office. "What brings you back into my establishment?"

"Mister Blakeory, you know why I'm here," Vitus said with a hint of impatience. "I'm here to settle our little dispute."

Venam caught the old asshole scoff at that beneath his grey moustache. He got off his comfy chair and walked up to the nearest building like the pretentious prick he was, even crossing his wrists behind his back as he did. "Hmph, I see. Yes, this is very much an unfortunate predicament. I'm sorry, Mister Theolia, but I don't plan to change my stance."

"So…is anyone going to fill me in?" Venam asked. "What's going on here exactly?"

Blakeory turned around and gave her an almost pitying look. Fuck him. "It's quite simple. Mister Theolia here built on property he did not own. I purchased the unclaimed territory with plans to expand Kugearen City further"

Furious, the Theolia slammed his palms on Blakeory's desk. "That's ridiculous! I have lived here far longer than the people of Kugearan City. I allowed you to build Kugearen City as long as you didn't disrupt my family's personal life! But I see that doesn't matter to you. There's no respect here."

"Allowed me?!" Blakeory demanded. Angrily, he walked back to his seat and plopped down, shooting Vitus a nasty glare. "What nonsense is this? I do not require permission from an off-grid family! In fact, you lack any ground at all. This land was earned by me. Your plot of land is under my ownership as well."

Holy fuck this guy was the mother of all fuckheads. "Eat my ass, Mister Blakeory," Venam spat. "You're really going to put a family out on the streets for something so greedy?" She scoffed at hte old bastard. "But I guess I expected this selfishness coming from a Blakeory."

Feigning shock, the old fuckhead replied, "My word…I'll have you know that I had no such intention. I gave them a deal. Once Kugearen City is expanded, they can own an apartment free of charge. Isn't that a fair trade off?"

"I mean…that's a sweet deal, but that's still not…" Venam sputtered. Alright, the bastard's reply had taken her completely by surprise. She'd expected some petty shit, but this was actually more like a business deal and she didn't know jack shit about those. "Whatever! We don't accept it!"

"Precisely," Vitus agreed. "I do not intend to move my family anywhere."

Blakeory sighed. "Mister Theolia, you do just make everything so difficult…do what you will, but you'll regret this someday."

"So that's all, then?" Vitus scoffed.

"That's all," Blakeory replied, waving at them dismissively.

"Well fine then," Venam said, already wracking her mind for a way to get back at this stupid son of a bitch. "We're leaving."

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

---

Something strange was going on.

Venam and Indriad had split up, with Venam heading to the general store and Indriad heading back into the forest, towards his mansion. He wasn't the only one. Only a few minutes after Indriad started going back to his home, a squad of policemen started gathering at the forest entrance. They spoke to each other in quiet, hushed tones, their heads on a swivel as they started heading into the forest.

Thinking that didn't exactly look like dependable police behavior, Will started following them into the forest. Stalking a bunch of jumpy officers of the law was a completely different beast than walking after a talkative Venam and inattentive Indriad, which meant Will had to give these guys a huge head start. So much, in fact, that he almost lost sight of them.

Almost.

"Five humans, all male, heading in that general direction," Will whispered at Kirlia. "Can you sense them?"

Kirlia looked up at him with her uncanny red eyes, then swept her gaze across the forest, the singular functioning horn on her head radiating a warm, reddish glow. Then, her head snapped towards the south.

Gotcha.

"Lead the way," he whispered. "But don't get seen."

Together, Kirlia and him moved silently through the forest. She ran through the forest with a weightlessness and grace that belied her small frame. Her thin, white legs parted the foliage without making a sound, and despite her tiny stature, she was quick on her feet. They made good progress.

Will wasn't sure what Venam and Indriad had spoken to the Blakeory CEO about, but with the day he;d been having, he could not believe that a pack of police officers sneaking their way towards the Theolia Mansion could in any way be a coincidence.

If this was the past, then it stood to reason that Maria shouldn't have been born yet. But she was. The most logical explanation was that the Maria and the Indriad he had encountered before were simply a few years older at most. Just a bit older in their timeline. That meant, some time from now, Indriad would do something that caused the collision of this world with that of the Aevium in the future. Had that been Gardevoir's doing? If so, why hadn't she been at the mansion before?

WIll was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost ran out into the open, in plain view of the police officers. He instinctively took cover in the shadow of a tree and froze. He spotted Kirlia doing the same thing a few meters away, melting away in the shadow of a different tree.

The officers hadn't spotted him. They gathered around the ominous, black and white form of Indriad's Gardevoir. She floated with her back towards them, but her voice echoed through all of their minds nonetheless. It was likely she used her telepathic abilities to project her thoughts in a bubble around her.

"It certainly took you all long enough to get here," she said. "You made sure you all weren't followed, correct?"

"Yes ma'am," one of the officers replied. "We are alone."

Ma'am? What was going on here?

For a second, it looked like Gardevoir turned her head to look at the exact same tree Will had taken cover behind. His heart stopped.

It was only a split-second though, before her voice rang out again. "Hmph, are we now? Very well then, if you insist." And she turned her head to regard the four blue-clad men before her.

"You weren't clear on this before," another man spoke up, sounding hesitant and apprehensive. "What exactly is it that you want us to do?"

"It wasn't clear because the timing was inappropriate," Gardevoir replied impatiently. "You four are aware of the dispute between the Blakeorys and the Theolias, yes? My master, Vitus, is being too stubborn and refuses to use his power to stop all of them."

His power. Power. For some reason, Indriad had taken to calling himself by a different name, but he still possessed his terrible supernatural abilities.

Then, so did Maria. Was Anathea like them as well? No, that couldn't be. She wouldn't have left herself at the mercy of four savage, wild Pokemon if she could have simply swept them aside like that.

"That damn Anathea," Gardevoir seethed. "She's ruining him. She's ruining everything."

Two of the four officers exchanged a nervous glance. "So…what does this have to do with our team?" One asked.

"I need you to apprehend Vitus. Keep him in captivity."

Will shot a look at Kirlia. If Gardevoir cared about her "master" this much, what was she thinking siccing a group of police officers on him?

"Arrest him? That's what you brought us here for?" Another officer laughed. "This is literally our job."

Gardevoir's head snapped towards the hapless officer. Her rage and hatred crashed around them all, sending a spike of pain through the center of Will's skull and leaving him fighting back a wave of nausea and terror. He clasped his hands in front of his mouth even as he heard the men in the opening cry out in agony.

"You'd do well to hold your tongue, worm," her voice pierced through the veil of pain, and the hatred that she exuded was like a physical force, a burning wave of energy that almost felt solid enough to touch. Will grit his teeth and bit his tongue, stifling the scream of pain that threatened to rip itself out of his throat.

One of the officers started groaning in agony. Another began begging Gardevoir to stop.

"I'm very aware of what your assigned task is. Do not cross me."

As sudden as it came, the burning wave of hatred lifted, and the silence left in its wake was like cold water over a second-degree burn. Will's chest rose and fell rapidly as he fought to put the utterly foreign sensation of someone else's emotions into place.

Judging by the gasps of relief and the sounds of men climbing back to their feet in the clearing, it hadn't been just him.

"I need you to crush Vitus' spirit," Gardevoir continued. "I want you to destroy the need to be so soft. I want you four to destroy the Marble Mansion. Vitus will be a witness to this deed."

The mansion? That was it? Gardevoir's tactic of turning this supposed mild-mannered Vitus into the cold, vindictive, abusive monster that was Indriad…was destroying his home?

That couldn't be it. There had to be more to this.

"H-Hold on there!" One of the officers protested. "We're police officers, not a demolition team!"

"You don't need to be part of a demolition team to destroy something!" Gardevoir said, fluttering a meter towards the men as if eager to teach them. "You have Pokemon, do you not?"

Another officer turned away, looking very uncomfortable with this whole thing. "We all have Pokemon, but…that's not really the issue here."

"If you're afraid of the consequences that may follow, don't be. You have my protection. Besides, the reward is still on the table. A glorious bounty of relic treasure…after this deed, you four won't have to work another day in your lives."

Money.

Sometimes, it was the simplest things that damned people.

These four idiots couldn't have known what they were about to cause, but cause it they would, and it was all because of greed. Simple, stupid greed was about to make a man decide he would rather be a monster. Fuck, Will would have laughed if doing so wouldn't have revealed his position.

After a moment of whispering among each other, the officers made up their minds. "Fine. We'll do it, but after this we don't know each other."

The reserved giggle that emanated from Gardevoir was somehow more unsettling than all of Froslass' manic laughs put together. "Of course. In fact, I don't think you all will ever see me again."

Was that why she hadn't been in the Theolia Mansion? Because she'd been satisfied with wreaking havoc and decided to leave?

"Or anything, really."

Oh. Well, never freaking mind.

"What?" One of the officers said, as if he hadn't heard what Gardevoir said last. Which, Will realized with mounting horror, might as well have been the case. So…why had he heard it?

"Oh, don't worry, I was just thinking to myself," Gardevoir replied.

You stupid fools, Will thought, fighting back the urge to yell at the poor, dumb bastards that they were about to gon a suicide mission. You poor dumb imbeciles.

Gardevoir spread her arms and black, swirling mass of shadows appeared beside her, looking more like a freaking black hole than anything else. "This way, quickly, we shall start immediately."

One by one, the stupid bastards entered her portal. When they were all through, Gardevoir lowered her arms and the black mass disappeared.

He'd seen enough. Heard enough. Something was about to go down at the Marble Mansion. If he could get there and interfere, he might be able to prevent whatever Gardevoir wanted to do from happening. He could foil her plan and…would that change the future? Would that somehow undo the suffering and loneliness Maria was about to undergo?

Eh, he'd leave that line of thinking to the professionals. It was time to leave and get -

"There's no reason to be so coy," Gardevoir's voice sounded within his mind, a sick mixture of maternal affection and something like pure disgust burning in her tone. "I'm always open to talking."

Blackness enveloped him before he could run. The next second, he fell to his knees in front of Indriad's wicked Pokemon.

Bad, bad, bad -

"Well, well, well," Gardevoir chirped. "Look at what we have here. A mole."

Freaking. Teleports. Every. Damn. Time.

She turned to face him, leveling a burning red gaze and staring him dead in the eyes. There was a moment of confused quietness before he felt Gardevoir, a burning, vibrating presence in the back of his mind. It was a physical thing - a thrumming feeling at the base of his skull, like someone had poured hot liquid over his brain - as well as a mental one. He felt the Psychic Pokemon winding herself through his mind, through his very thoughts, an unfamiliar, intrusive feeling.

It was as alien to him as anything could ever be. He tensed up, immediately trying to steel his thoughts to shake her off, but how?

"Now what are we to do with you?" Gardevoir continued with her pleasant, almost loving tone, and that she did not bother to hide the utter repugnance and hatred she felt for him as hse spoke so lovingly to him was utterly horrifying. "You've heard everything."

"Not a mole," Will forced himself to speak, if only to break the grasp Gardevoir held on him with her voice. Helplessness was one of those emotions he would never accept. There had been helplessness when he thought he'd lost Melia, when Team Xen had beaten Mightyena to death and when Madame X had murdered his mother. There had been helplessness when they shot down Jenner, murdered Nim and then left him to burn in the lava. Not again.

Something like puzzlement colored the miasma of hate that Gardevoir exuded, and Will latched onto that like a drowning man reaching for flotsam.

"Eavesdropping," he corrected her.

Puzzlement turned to the barest hint of bemusement. "Irregardless. This is just a bad case of wrong place, wrong time."

On his own, no Melia, no Venam. At the mercy of a Pokemon who could quite literally think him to death, and the second he reached for his Pokeballs she would likely turn him into a wet stain on the floor. Not ideal.

"It's unfortunate, really," Gardevoir said in the kind of tone that suggested she was enjoying this a great deal.

He had to think. There was a way out. It wouldn't be through talking. Violence was the answer here. Violence great and shocking enough that he could force a gap and start putting some distance between himself and this thing.

"I do appreciate what you've done for Anathea."

"Even though you think she's ruining things?" Will blurted out.

"Both thoughts can coexist. Both are true. I shall not regale you with the details. It is really. Truly. Unfortunate."

The pleasure in her voice reached a breaking point and Will wasn't about to sit there and take it. He signaled Kirlia to attack, feigned to the left and then darted to the right, reaching for Froslass' Pokeball at the same time.

Something like a multi-colored laser blew through the foliage. It speared the air and struck Gardevoir, but the attack seemed to bend away at the last second, deflected as if swatted aside by an invisible wall.

"Oh my…so you've chosen to fight back?" Gardevoir cooed in his mind even as Will ordered Froslass to start throwing Shadow Balls at their foe. "Very well then." Three Shadow Balls splashed across Gardevoir's body in quick succession with all the effect of a snowball impacting a speeding bullet train. "I'll play along."

Kirlia burst through the bushes, purple energy crackling across her body as she began willing the air around Gardevoir to crackle and distort. Multiple Confusions rippled across Gardevoir's body, the very reality around her warped and shattered.

Gardevoir waved her arm and the array of Confusions fell away like water.

"Let's just see what you can do," Gardevoir said, something longing and very dangerous slipping into her voice right before her eyes glowed with lethal intent. She uprooted a pair of trees and a great force shaved every last branch and leaves off of them, turning them into massive makeshift spears. "If you impress me…"

The improvised spears shot towards him like arrows loosed from a bow. By the time Will registered that they'd even begin to move, they would have already smashed into him, had it not been for Froslass and Kirlia combining their efforts to blow them off-course. One tree plowed into the ground half a meter next to him and the other sailed mere inches over his head, slamming into a tree behind him and completely tearing it in half.

"Who knows?"

"Froslass, use hail Turn this entire forest into Angie's backyard!" Will shouted. "Kirlia, Light Screen! Give her all the cover you can!"

"I might just let you live!" Gardevoir laughed.

Froslass bled energy into her surroundings and Will backpedaled away, keeping his distance from the sheer coldness his Pokemon began exuding. Already the sky overhead grew greyer and dark. The water in the air began freezing at seemingly random intervals.

Gardevoir raised both hands and an inky blackness gathered around her limbs. She gestured at Froslass with her right arm -

"KIrlia, block it!"

And emitted a horrible aura in the shape of black and purple light. It boiled through the air and splashed against the array of mirror-like screens. Kirlia put her everything into holding back that attack but Gardevoir ripped through them like tissue paper. Will shouted an order for Froslass to evade and she only narrowly managed to twist out of the way as the Dark Pulse split the sky.

"Stick and move, keep mobile," Will ordered, keeping a close eye on Gardevoir. "Kirlia, keep her pinned down! Use Psybeam!"

Kirlia's eyes glowed red. A crackle of purple energy bled from her shattered horn a split-second before a muli-colored beam of light slashed towards Gardevoir.

Gardevoir, meanwhile, simply raised her other arm and the Psybeam, strong enough to blast through steel and carve through rocks, seemed to collide with something invisible. It didn't miss, it wasn't blocked, but it was as if Gardevoir simply blocked the beam of light with her bare limb.

The next second she released the aura of darkness and made a gripping motion with her right arm. Kirlia was suddenly lifted off her feet, her own arms going up to her throat as she kicked and struggled.

"Froslass, Icy Wind!"

His ghost answered immediately. She materialized out of the falling hail somewhere behind and to Gardevoir's left. She drew her two "hands" together and swept them up to her mask. She breathed a wave of chilly, frozen air at Gardevoir's back. The foliage around Indriad's Pokemon froze over in an instant, the air around her grew shimmery and smokey and frost began coating her black dress.

Gardevoir turned around and fired another Dark Pulse at Froslass, who was forced to break off her attack and evade it.

She did so without letting Kirlia go. As she drove Froslass off, Gardevoir slammed his little Psychic-type into the ground with an earth-shattering force. The sound of her impact made Will's ears ring.

"Froslass, Blizzard!" He yelled. "Kirlia, psychic attacks won't work! Start throwing things at her!"

Gardevoir raised her arm higher and pulled Kirlia up in the air again. At that point, all of their breaths came out in steamy clouds and the ground was starting to freeze over. It wasn't so much snowing as frozen chunks of ice came falling out of the sky. Vaguely, Will was aware that he was likely the least resistant to the cold of all four of them, but he'd been here before. If it came down to it, he would send out Blaziken as well and order her to keep him alive. She seemed to be really good at doing that.

As Froslass repositioned, Kirlia began using her telekinesis to start throwing stuff at Gardevoir. Branches, stones, the very hailstones that dropped out of the sky, everything was flung her way.

As Gardevoir shielder herself from the makeshift barrage, Froslass materialized back into view and everything became a blur of whiteness and sheer, utter cold. The intensity of it was maddening, and Will fell to the ground, curling up to shield his face with his arms. He heard branches whipping around, trees snapping and a staccato burst of ice shattering with all the violence of gunshots.

Gardevoir's expression was contorted into something vicious as she launched another beam of black and purple energy at Froslass. Ice coalesced into a thick, rounded shield that blocked the attack. The overwhelming power that Gardevoir could bring to bear was insane, and the frozen shield exploded into a steamy mess of frozen fragments and clouds of vapor that instantly flash-froze at the epicenter of Froslass' blizzard. In turn, Froslass uttered a furious snarl as she pulled together an orb of inky blackness and threw it at Gardevoir.

The hateful Psychic-type easily blocked the Shadow Ball, but it exploded into a cloud of dark energy, obscuring her vision. Almost immediately her arm cleaved through the seething mass of blackness, dissipating it forcefully with her own power. They continued attacking each other in a manic dance of frozen weapons, psychic shields, icy walls and invisible lances of lethal intent.

Again, the utter scale of the power some Pokemon could bring to bear was staggering. It happened so fast, a constant barrage of exploding lights back and forth through the forest. Trees fell, patches of ground exploded in geysers of dirt, vegetation and frozen mass. White and black blasts of energy tore the forest asunder.

Will kept up with them as best he could. He directed Kirlia to exploit openings, called out to Froslass whenever Gardevoir was going for a dirty trick or a different attack. They battered Gardevoir with everything they had, battering her with every possible weapon, attack and move they had.

It wasn't enough.

He caught the barest hint of Gardevir suddenly smirking before she wrapped her arms around her abdomen and seemed to double over as if in pain.

Then, she uttered a hellish scream and everything exploded for a second time. It wasn't so much a wave of sound that cascaded through the forest as it was a pulse of sheer, destructive energy that tore the ice from the ground and the air, toppled trees and threw Will, Kirlia and Froslass off their feet.

The scream or pulse or explosion or whatever-the-hell it was spread through the entire forest, a hellish sound that existed as more than noise, more than physical energy. It was defiance and hatred and fury. It was disgust and pleasure and something more abstract, something Will knew he wouldn't feel with his human senses.

What he did know was that Gardevoir really, really hated being on the backfoot.

"My, my…" Gardevoir said, and if she hadn't been inside of Will's head he wouldn't have picked up on the barest hint of approval in her tone. "You do possess some amount of strength. I"m impressed."

His worldview tumbled. Something like a laugh echoed through his thoughts. His nerves were screaming at him that they were on fire. Everything else told him that he'd landed in a heap in a patch of grass.

This was not good. He didn't see Froslass, but he couldn't imagine she'd come out of that one unscathed. He saw Kirlia struggle to get back to her feet.

"Kirlia, can you move?" Will muttered.

Her legs buckled. She fell to the ground again.

"But I'm sorry to say that it's futile," Gardevoir continued. "While we had our little encounter, the plan has been set in motion."

"Why?" Will demanded numbly. Somehow, Gardevoir had managed to reverse Froslass' blizzard. The ice was melting. The cold was receding. "What is the point?"

"Oh, poor child, it does not understand its own role to play," Gardevoir chimed. "Fate is cruel. Fate is unkind. Nevertheless…fate is under no obligation to make sense to you. Even still, I cannot have you interfering." Again, her voice assumed that horrible, twisted maternal hue to it. "Sleep now, my child."

She raised her arms.

"And enjoy the sights."

Gardevoir raised her arms. Darkness took him.

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

---

With her shit-list officially up to date, Venam made her way back through the forest to the weird-ass mansion. When she strode back into the Marble Mansion, however, she noticed something was off.

Will wasn't there.

Now that on its own wouldn't be such a big deal; her guy had issues with this place and for a good reason. If he reasoned that he couldn't be inside here without freaking out, then she wasn't going to drag him in against his wishes or anything.

But she hadn't noticed him outside, either. She knew that Will hadn't chickened out. He wasn't like that.

It was weird though. He could have gone full ninja mode and concealed himself somewhere in the forest or even in the courtyard, but…she'd told him to stay close.

Eh, whatever. Will was easily the strongest of the three of them. She knew she could depend on him if shit hit the fan. Speaking of…

"So I've come up with a plan to disrespect Mister Blakeory," Venam told the confused-looking Vitus. "The way he walked over us in that office was inexcusable."

With a slight frown, Vitus disagreed. He shook his head at her. "I'm not about disrespecting anyone."

"Just hear me out," Venam replied. "I got these three rolls of toilet paper, right? We're gonna TP his establishment! We're going to let him know that he's shit and we're here to wipe."

Vitus looked at her with just the barest hint of pity. "You have several problems that must be addressed one day."

Which, to be fair, she couldn't disagree with. "Yeah…"

There was no time to think about that though, as the next second the freaking building shook. "What the hell?" Venam snapped. "The fuck was that?"

Together with Vitus, she rushed to the front door.

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

---

Will woke.

That was the good part. He was still alive, he still had all of his limbs.

Of course, life being the way it was, the bad parts were equally as huge. He didn't have his Pokemon on him anymore and he had no clue where he was.

His surroundings were draped in a thick, heavy fog, making visibility horrendously low. The soft soil beneath his feet suggested he was at least somewhere in the forest but…he couldn't be sure. The ground was darker, like the sun had set, but the foliage itself was lighter in color. More yellow. Wind rustled softly as it passed through the forest, but he couldn't heat anything else.

By some miracle, he could make out the shape of a path just a few feet ahead. Following it seemed like a better idea than simply walking blindly into some forest, especially without his trusted partners.

With nothing else to do, he started following the path. It wasn't that long before he realized that he wasn't actually in the forest anymore. He saw some bushes and sometimes the outline of a tall, broad tree, but nothing actually overhead.

The boxy outlines of a car loomed in the distance. White and decrepit, it looked like this thing had been abandoned quite a white ago. But who abandoned their car in the middle of nowhere like this? Chances were, it was someone who was just as lost as he was.

He turned around, scanning his surroundings. He tried to pierce the fog, but it was no use. It was simply far too thick to see through.

'You are lost,' a quiet, feminine voice spiked within his head.

Will paused. He glanced back at the decrepit white car he'd just passed by. A small, familiar form rested atop the hood, her white legs dangling over its edge. She tapped one of her feet against the crumpled metal in irregular intervals, as if silently enjoying a cadence only she could hear.

"...how do you know?" He asked.

She turned her head, her green hair falling in front of her scarred eye as she gazed at him. ' I am inside of your head.'

"Are you now?" Will replied numbly. "So now you talk."

She tapped her leg against the car's bumper again. ' You never listen.'

Was…was that true? He…"That doesn't matter," he replied. "How do we get out?"

She continued silently moving her legs to a rhythm only she could hear. 'Out? Is that what you want?'

"We're not in the forest anymore," he replied. "Gardevoir must have teleported us somewhere. So, we need to find our way back."

' Back.'

"That's right."

Kirlia kept staring. It was a bit uncanny.

She…likely had a lot going on inside of her head. Which was fine. He knew the feeling. "Come on. We're going."

Will turned, picked a direction that seemed promising and started walking. Without any sense of direction, or any point to focus on, he felt like he was just blindly walking into a fog.

Fog. Funny. He hadn't ever experienced anything like a fog this heavy in Aevium. It didn't just conceal his surroundings, it actively twisted them. It was blurry. It lay across his surroundings like a heavy, ghastly cloth. Indriad's mansion could have been five meters ahead. It could have been a sheer cliffside for all he knew.

After perhaps half a mile or so of following a barely-visible dirt path through the milky haze, a large wrought-iron gate seemed to just materialize out of nothingness. Old and covered with rust, it looked like the kind of thing that the Theolias would install in front of their oversized yard. Maybe he was on to something?

He leaned against the gate. He didn't spot a lock. In fact, the damn thing wasn't even locked at all. It didn't give easily, but eventually Will was able to push it open. He squeezed himself through the gap, looked back to see that Kirlia was still following, and continued on.

It wasn't the Theolia Courtyard he found and Will really, really wished he had. Instead of the well-kept, flowery gardens and fountains of their courtyard he wandered into a dark, unkempt clearing with dozens of angular shapes sticking out from the ground.

It took him all of one second to realize that he was standing in a graveyard.

"Kirlia…where are we?" He asked, keeping his voice low and quiet.

'A journey's end. We are nearly there,'

Silently, Kirlia began heading deeper into the graveyard. Will started following when suddenly, he heard something. He immediately stopped moving and listened. Wind rustled through the trees and shrubbery that enclosed them from all sides, coming in like a deep, hollow moan.

Vaguely, distantly, he heard something like an actual rustling noise coming from the way he'd just come from.

But there was nothing back that way, right? Just the gate.

He listened for a solid minute, but when he didn't hear the rustling noise again, he slowly began following Kirlia.

Not even four steps forwards, he heard that same noise again. More distinctly this time. It sounded like a branch being dragged across the dead leaves scattered across the ground. It could have been the wind, but…somehow he refused to believe that it could be that simple.

He hurried onwards. As he moved, the fog seemed to lift, revealing a dark, bleary sky devoid of moonlight or even any stars above him. It was night already? But it had been clear as day when he fought Gardevoir!

Where was he?

A singular tombstone protruded from the gray, muddy ground ahead. Kirlia sat atop, her red eyes casting an incandescent hue as she stared at him.

'This is it,' Kirlia told him.

Will knelt down in front of the grave. The headstone looked old and weathered. It had to be decades old. The text was worn and faded, but…something was wrong. It looked like someone had etched the wrong name into the headstone…half a dozen times over. A total of six names had been carved into the stone. Someone had taken a sharp object and obliterated those names, rendering them completely unreadable.

But the seventh name…that one, he could read just fine.

William.

That sent shockwaves of ice through him. "Hey…Kirlia…what is this?" He asked. His voice sounded small and shaky.

'It is yours.'

"I can see that," he snapped. He dragged his gaze down the headstone. The grave was freshly dug and open. He hadn't noticed that before…had he? He was squatting down next to an open grave. How could it be open?

He heard movement behind him and it made him jump. He rose to a half crouch and scanned his surroundings. "Kirlia, did you hear that"

'I did.'

Somehow, the mist seemed to be receding further. It steadily crept away from the open grave with his name on it, pulling back to reveal a dark, decrepit forest surrounding him on all sides. Their gnarly, black branches swept towards the graveyard like limbs with a mind of their own.

Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. More movement.

Will's head snapped up in the direction of the movement. It didn't take him too long to figure out that something had just stuck its head around from one of the trees. A black and gray head peeked out at him. Blank, beady eyes stared at him.

Frozen in place, Will couldn't do much else than stare back. Slowly, as the seconds ticked by, he started to make out individual details. A pair of fuzzy ears. A maw of sharp teeth, half open. A pair of black, shaggy stripes running cross its eye sockets.

"Kirlia…what is that?" He whispered.

'He is waiting for you.'

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Will found out a few seconds later when the creature flew up into the air. Or rather, its head did. Just its head. It sailed in an arc towards him and landed in the mud mere feet away from him.

Frozen in shock, Will couldn't do much more than stare. He opened his mouth to say something. No words came out. He tried again. "Hello, Mightyena," came out, numbness and hysteria melting together into something dissonant.

A figure stepped out from behind the tree. Will tore his eyes from the small, furry object lying on the ground and looked up again.

From behind that dead, gnarled tree, a figure clad in armor stepped into view. A blood-soaked cape hung from her shoulders, billowing in a non-existent wind. A pale, slender sword rested in her right hand. Her gauntleted fingers were wrapped around its handle. Even from that distance, Will could see the blood dripping to the ground.

"...what do I do?" Will whispered, frozen in place. Fear and indecision swam through his head.

'What can you do?' Kirlia replied. 'What could you ever have done?'

The armored figure stalked closer. She took her time. Why wouldn't she? There was nowhere for him to run.

Will searched for his Pokemon on pure instinct, but he couldn't find them. Of course he couldn't. He didn't have them.

That was when the horror really struck. No friends. No Pokemon. Just Kirlia and him, facing down an unstoppable force.

What could he ever have done?

She closed in on him, and there was nowhere to run. Not a second later, Madame X suddenly stood right in front of him. Even as she raised her sword to deliver the lethal blow, Will flinched away on instinct, throwing up his arms to protect himself while backing away. He lost his footing and accidentally backed into the grave.

He fell.

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

---

"Alright, what's going on!" Venam snapped as she and Vitus stepped out to confront the four douchebags standing in the courtyard. Police officers, she noted. One of them had his Tangrowth out and it looked like he was looking for trouble.

The rightmost officer stepped forwards, cleared his throat and loudly announced, "Mister Blakeory has placed charges on you and Mister Theolia!"

Ayo, what the fuck? "You're placing charges on us?" Venam said, shocked. "What did we do?"

"Mister Blakeory has claimed that you all barged into his office and threatened his well being." Without even giving them a chance to defend themselves from that crap, the officer swiftly followed up with the next line of total bullshit. "Following this apprehension will begin the demolition of this illegal household as well."

"D-Demolition?" Vitus gasped. "My wife and child live in this establishment! You cannot! Arrest me, do what you will, but spare this girl and my family!"

…demolition, huh. That Tangrowth…

"Orders are orders, and we're being pressed to follow them," another policeman joined in.

"Please!" Vitus said.

Well, fuck them. Venam snatched Seviper's ball and sent him out. "Come closer," she hissed, almost hoping that these stupid fuckheads would give her the chance. "I dare you. I'll be difficult too."

Seviper snapped at the nearest man and he jerked back, nearly stumbling over his feet as he backpedaled away.

"My snake will tear you all apart, so be my guest!"

"Are you resisting arrest?" The lead asshole snapped. "In that case- "

Then, she felt Vitus' hand touching her elbow. "Venam," he pleaded. "Please, stop."

"What?" She shouted, incredulous. The man was about to lose his house if they didn't shut this shit down here and now! "Why? This is bullshit and you know it!"

Again, he shook his head. "Let's just go peacefully. We'll get through this."

"Mister Theolia…"

The four policemen roughly shoved their way past them and for one angry, frustrated moment, Venam wanted nothing more than to throw caution to the wind and lay these fools out. But…she couldn't. That would get Melia into trouble as well.

But she swore, if these four assholes were the reason Will wasn't around…

"Please, I must at least ask for you to wait until Mister Blakeory and I discuss this once more!" Vitus urged the men, but they didn't listen. That big fucking Tangrowth happily stepped forwards.

"I…I hate that I have to just sit here and do nothing!" Venam cried out in frustration.

"Venam." Vitus then said, dropping his voice to a whisper. "I'm going to ask you to do something that may get you in a vast amount of trouble. I'm not going to let these hooligans take my house away from my family. Just look for my signal."

Fuck yeah.

"Got it," Venam whispered back. Those four assholes were too focused on finding the perfect spot to start tearing the Marble Mansion down, they wouldn't see it coming.

"Tangrowth!" The lead officer ordered. "Power Whip!"

Tangrowth raised its arms. Large, sturdy tendrils erupted from its mass, uncoiling themselves until they were as long as the house was tall. It tensed up, reared its tendril back for a crushing strike -

Venam heard Vitus sharply inhale. "Now - "

The front doors opened. Anathea stepped out. "Vitus, is something happening? What's with - "

Tangrowth couldn't stop in time. Its vine cracked through the air like a whip. It tore through the frame of the front door, caught Anathea in her side and she just…crumpled. Even as the officers began shouting and yelling, even as Venam felt her blood turn to ice in her veins, those steel-like vines blew the doors off their hinges and sent them, along with Anathea's limp body, down the hall.

The crunch of flesh and bone against steel resounded through the courtyard for far, far too long.

"...Holy shit…" Venam whispered.

"What just…happened…" Vitus said, staring with disbelief at the scene. That disbelief didn't last much longer than a couple of seconds though. "Anathea…Anathes!" He muscled his way past the lead officer, who had gone fully slack and didn't bother resisting. "Out of my way!" Vitus snarled. "Anathea!"

Venam watched the man sprint towards his house and through the ruined entrance. She felt numb. Had she…had she just watched someone die? Did these stupid assholes just murder someone? Right in front of her?

"We were assured that only Vitus Theolia was present on the ground!" One of the officers stammered.

And that was the spark that lit her mind on fire. "You fucking idiot!" She yelled. "That clearly wasn't true because I'M LITERALLY STANDING RIGHT HERE! If you had any brain cells you would have put two and two together right then and there! This is all because of Mister Blakeory's greed for this land!"

"N-No!" The officer protested. "This wasn't actually an order from Mister Blakeory."

Wait, what the hell? "What are you talking about?! You just said - "

"It was someone else," another policeman said unhappily. "Someone…someone unrelated."

That was when the laughter started. A slow, feminine laugh of mirth and joy and it was horrible, just horrible. It was the laugh of a monster, of a demon, fell and terrible. "Fantastic! Marvelous! You've all done very well!"

Then the fucking Gardevoir materialized into existence, floating several meters above the ruined entrance.

Despite her anger, despite her outrage and fury, Venam still had to take a few steps back. That thing was just not right.

"To think you would've failed at your job, but as a result, did something far more useful!" She laughed, and Venam didn't know if that bitch was talking inside of her head or not.

The Tangrowth was the smartest of them all and it lumbered backwards, hiding behind the policeman as if its trainer would protect it.

"Anathea was nothing but a virus in this household," Gardevoir said as she floated down to the courtyard. "Now that she's out of the way, Vitus can do what he was always destined to. I am eternally grateful!" She giggled and holy crap that was the scariest fucking thing Venam had ever heard in her life. "Let me be a proper host and give you your just reward!"

"Forget the agreement!" One officer yelped. "We're out of here!"

"Agreement?" Gardevoir said, putting her hand to her mouth as if trying to remember. "Hm…I can't seem to recall such a thing!"

She raised her arms. Venam felt something like a wind rushing through the courtyard and suddenly, the officers were just gone. one by one. Teleported away.

"Gardevoir you bitch!" Venam shouted. "Did you set this up?"

The corners of the evil bitch's mouth rose in a smile. "I don't think you should be focusing your strength on me," she said pleasantly. "Perhaps you should do something more productive, like finding your friend?"

Venam gasped

Will.

Oh God. What had this fucking thing done!? "You fucking monster, what did you do to him?"

"It is not what I am about to do to him," Gardevoir said. She began laughing again. Mad, totally genuine, roaring laughter that shook the sky.

Fuck this shit, Venam thought, and she started running.

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

---

Down and down he went, forever and ever. Darkness enclosed him on all sides. He couldn't see. Couldn't hear. Couldn't feel. He plummeted into an abyss from which not even light could escape. Thoughts of Kugearen City and the Marble Mansion drifted away as he fell into an impossible place.

When he hit something solid, it wasn't the bone-crunching halt or organ-tearing impact that he expected. He didn't feel his insides rupturing against the floor, didn't feel his bones splintering or his muscles tearing. His body tumbled across a cold, hard surface until he came to a rough and jarring halt against a massive, vertical object. The impact was more shocking than painful, which should have been impossible given the maddening length of his fall, but there he was. Alive.

He crawled back upright, pressing his bare hands against the cold, moldy stones of the tunnel's floor. The object he'd just slammed into was a door. A freaking metal, rusty door placed at the bottom of the tunnel.

With nowhere else to, Will pushed the door open. Slowly, taking even more force than the iron gate at the graveyard had, the door swung open on hinges so ancient and rusty that the noise hurt his eardrums.

There, he found himself in a freakishly long hallway. The path ahead was framed in iron bars and beyond them, he spotted a tall ceiling with flickering fluorescent lights. Several metal doors led away from the hallway at four-meter intervals, each door a sturdy, metal frame with an opaque sheet of glass at face height. Some of them had been cracked open. Others didn't have visible doorknobs.

What looked to be a piano stood in the very center of the hallway. Compared to the dirty floors and the rust-covered walls, it seemed to be brand new. No damage in its wooden frame nor any visible dust or dirt covering its keys.

With slow, hesitant steps, Will headed in.

'Where are you going?' Kirlia asked. She'd materialized atop of the piano without actually pressing down on any of the keys. It was the first considerate thing she'd done this entire trip; if she'd stomped down on the keys while he was still getting his bearings, he would have probably died of a heart attack.

"Ahead," Will replied. Going ahead. Coming ahead. Staying ahead. Of what? Not a clue. A recurring theme these days.

'For what reason?' She questioned.

"To get out." He forged on, forcing himself to start walking through that endless, dark hallway. With some luck - did that door just move? Ahead, on the left, the fourth one, had he just imagined it, or did that thing just creak open an additional inch?

'And then what? Do you even have a way forward? Do you even have the desire to go forward?'

"No, and yes," Will admitted. Now that he took the time to look closely, it was almost as if all the doors were moving. Slowly opening. Slowly closing. Maybe it was just him. "We can't stop. Of course not."

'Why?"

"Because…" And he stopped talking because he didn't know how to answer that. Why not? Why not? He felt like there was an answer there, he should have been able to tell her why, but it was as if he had lost it. Like it had just…fallen out of his thoughts.

'Why do you continue? What is the point?'

Her words weighed heavily on his mind, but they shouldn't, they shouldn't affect him so heavily. What was the point? Well, that was simple. He had people he needed to return to…didn't he?

'Do you?'

Yes, he did. It was important, they were important. They were the most important! They -

A sound followed in the wake of his thoughts. It sounded like an inhalation of sorts, not coming from any direction in particular. It sounded more like…like the hallway itself drew in a heavy breath, as if a distant ventilator suddenly switched on.

Will stopped dead in his tracks. His heart was beating like a jackhammer. That noise…it didn't sound like anything threatening, but…he'd been wrong in that regard far too often.

Cautiously now, he continued deeper into the hallway. It looked like this could have been a prison ward at one point. Perhaps a medical wing in a rather…unsanitary location. Words had been carved into the solid steel doors. Not all of them, but some. Strange messages. Gibberish, mostly, but some of them almost seemed like uplifting words.

Keep going.

The clanging sound of metal striking metal echoed through the hallway…coming from the gate he'd just passed. Not as soft as the previous sound. Louder. Sharper.

Don't listen.

'I ask again. What is the point of forging on even now?'

A brush of metal against metal became a shrill, groaning noise. Louder. Louder and closer.

Wake.

He'd just made it to the piano, too. He wheeled around.

'There can be no future where you are victorious. You know this.'

Will felt his spine go numb. A horrible cold spread itself from the base of his neck all the way down his legs. It was her.

Oh no. Oh now, not now not now NOT NOW -

'There was never a point in running.'

Will broke from his stupor and sprinted a second before Madame X began advancing. In three fell swipes Madame X sliced the steel gate between them asunder. She stepped through the opening with an almost contemptuous ease. Her helmeted face shifted a fraction as she tracked his movements.

She never ran, yet she was always right behind him. Her sword was a constant blur of motion as it sang over her head, dicing and carving through whatever lay in her path. The piano. The doors he swung open in her path. Whatever pieces of rubble and thrash lay scattered around. Nothing so much as slowed her down.

There were too many fucking corridors in this hallway, too many sudden corners to take! A singular, dark hallway had turned into a maze, one where Madame X had seemingly memorized the freaking map because she was always just a few steps behind him. He sprinted for his life, narrowly keeping himself from slamming into the walls because of the sudden and angular corners that kept looming in front of him.

How was she this fast? Before she'd at least made an effort to be fast! He didn't even hear her run; her armored boots clattered through the steel corridors with a stupidly-calm rhythm. She wasn't even running, just walking, so how was she doing this?

Will rounded another corner and suddenly, the twisting, mazelike ended. What stretched out before him was just another hallway, long and dark, but without any straight angles.

'She would always catch up with you.'

He listened to Kirlia a fraction of a second too long. A gust of wind, the faintest fluttering of a cape was all the warning he got. With inhuman force, Madame X thrust her sword at him and it was only because of a bucketload of adrenaline and perhaps the first stroke of luck he'd had in Aevium that he caught her motion and acted accordingly. He ducked and threw himself in a sideways roll and he felt the blade pierce the air he'd just inhabited. It missed his back by a hair's breadth and struck the wall with such tremendous force that sparks cascaded down its length.

Will sprang back to his feet in a sluggish, awkward affair. Kirlia's words rang through his mind as he watched the armor-clad woman pull at her weapon, She'd stabbed at him with such inhuman strength that she'd buried her sword partially in the wall, and she was pulling on it to wrench it free.

'It was always a matter of time. Prolonging the inevitable means prolonging the pain. Prolonging the suffering.'

Her words froze him in place just long enough for him to watch his enemy pull her blade free. Whatever instinct or hazy reflexes had allowed him to ignore Kirlia's telepathic words, allowed him to shake himself out of his stupor. He stopped watching Madame X rip her weapon free in dumb amazement and instead started sprinting.

He didn't care where he was, or why he couldn't remember the important bits, or why Madame freaking X was somehow on his trail. All he knew was that if he tripped, or slowed down, or gave into his burning lungs and trembling legs and stopped running, she would kill him. She would paint the walls with his blood and she would feel nothing.

With her speed and her agility, it should have been easy. He remembered how deftly she'd pursued his mother in Blacksteeple Castle. He remembered how she'd caught up to her. He remembered, oh god he how he remembered, how she'd blitzed his mother at the last second, how she'd plunged her sword straight into her back, and how she'd stole for her life. He remembered the blood. He remembered watching his mother go limp and fall.

That memory was seared into his mind. Nothing could change that. Nothing could undo what she had done to him.

He could not do anything else but run. He ran for his life and it felt like Madame X was right on his tail every step of the way. For three eternities he poured everything he had into a mad dash for the final door at the end of the hallway. When it came within grasping distance, he was almost overcome by a sweet wave of relief. He shoved at the door with his full weight, half expecting it to be locked.

It wasn't. The door practically flung open and he stumbled inside. He uttered a wordless screamed as he labored to get it close -

Madame X was gone.

The hallway was empty.

Will stared down the long, dark, empty corridor. He didn't see a thing.

What the fuck?

Panting, confused and alone, Will slumped to his knees.

Do you even have a way forward anymore?

He didn't know where he was.

Do you even have the desire to go forward?

What was the point of going forward if he didn't even know what the future held?

What is the point of forging on even now?

He didn't know. Was she right? He was tired and battered and cold and alone. He just didn't know anymore.

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

---

Kanon stared down at the unmoving body of Melia's friend. He had expected to find the girl. Instead, it was him. What had his name been? Will, wasn't it? Yes, that was it. Will.

Peculiar. His surroundings suggested it had been an enormous battle. The damage to the forest was severe, yet the boy did not appear to be physically hurt.

It would have been prudent to leave him there. The enemy would not wait around. But…this was one of Melia's past friends. She obviously cared a lot about them if she had brought them here. What was more, despite his misgivings about the pair, he felt a certain amount of kinship with this boy. He could not imagine the bandages covering his face to hide anything less than battle scarring.

Looking around again, Kanon remembered what the boy had told him. Shit happens. A crude, but well-meant piece of advice.

He stepped closer

The Kirlia that lay curled up on Will's chest reared her head. She leveled a glare at Kanon that could have stopped a Focus Blast in its tracks. Her blood red glowed brightly, visible even in the sunlight.

Kanon stopped. He heaved a sigh. "You will not permit me to look him over?"

The Kirlia remained silent. Her species were capable of using their Psychic powers to project their thoughts and, at later stages, their very voice, inside the minds of humans. He would have expected reason from this Pokemon, demonic as it looked.

"How careless of you…" Kanon said. "I thought it was suspicious to see all of those officers guard this area. But for it to only be for you?" Again, he surveyed the extensive damage that surrounded him. The blasted-apart trees, the upheaved earth, the scorch marks and craters. "I have to wonder…I can't save you just yet. I ask that you accept this selfish favor and wait for me to finish things."

If she understood, she gave no indication that she cared. Kirlia glared. Kanon stared back. He would not be intimidated by the likes of her.

"I will put my training to the test," he continued. "Just sleep tight here for a bit." At the very least, he could take solace in the knowledge that Will's unconscious body would not remain unguarded. His Pokemon, misguided as it seemed, appeared to care about her trainer.

Very well then.

Kanon unleashed Salamence and set out towards the Marble Mansion.

~~~~~~~(IX)~~~~~~~

---

Tired. He was starting to feel so, so very tired, and it was starting to become easier not to move than it was to drag himself along. Somehow, at one point, breaking out of dreary dark halls had turned into numbly shambling onwards.

It was still dark outside. No stars to be seen. Getting colder, too. When Will finally shoved open the last rusty metal door to escape that fucking underground hellhole hospital/prison/loony bin he'd been running circles around inside of for what felt like fucking days, the first thing he had waiting for him there was a faceful of old, frigid air and snow.

Snow.

Snow.

He took a wordless scream of frustration and turned it into the next closest thing. A sort of dark, tired laugh.

He was tired, he was hungry, he was hurt and he wanted to go home. Since he didn't have a home to return to, or even a last name to call his own, this was the best next thing?

Will shoved onwards. He appeared to have ended up on the side of a river bank in the middle of a gentle snowfall. The river ran along his right side. Something like the skyline of a distant city sloped upwards, but it could have been miles away.

The snow muffled all sound to a degree. He could barely hear the sound of the river running along the right side. With it being night, he could just stare up into the vastness that the water mimicked.

It was quiet. The sight barely put any strain on his eyes. Barely able to feel anything, he slowly turned towards the nearest place of rest. A cold bench facing the river. He sat down. Everything felt as heavy as lead.

It felt oddly peaceful.

'Go ahead,' Kirlia's voice rang quietly in his head. Was it just him, or did she sound more distant as well? 'You did what you needed to do. Take a rest.'

The desire to just give in to the feeling of falling asleep was alluring.

' You know just as well as I do, that you want this to end,' Kirlia continued.

There was a memory of him standing in the howling dark, surrounded by the cold, gazing into the abyss.

Did I really want to die back then?

'Yes,' Kirlia whispered in his ears. 'And…you still do.'

Did he?

He felt so tired. The cold felt welcoming.

'It is okay to want to give in. It is okay to want to surrender. Nobody can reach you here.'

Will watched the snow between his feet. Huh.

He thought back to the steel doors he'd seen in the penitentiary. The phrases carved into their surface, so out of place, so at odds with what Kirlia was trying to tell him.

He thought back of the things he had seen in here. What Kirlia had shown him. What she'd told him. Slowly, it started to make sense. Little pieces of a puzzle, clicking together. The familiar feeling of steel braiding itself in his chest welled up inside again.

'It will be easy.' Kirlia continued whispering. 'It will be peaceful. I can help you.'

"How?" Will asked.

Kirlia hopped down from the bench. Her body looked pale and dark at once. She brought her hands together. Wisps of shimmering blue flames erupted from her hands. Slowly, she began pulling her arms away from each other. The wisps coalesced into a line of light, which began flickering and reshaping itself into something thicker. something solid.

As Will looked, Kirlia shaped and drew a dagger into reality.

So it would happen like that.

It seemed fitting, somehow.

She cradled the weapon like a mother would her newborn child. Then, she levitated herself back onto the bench. 'It has to be you,' she said.

He didn't doubt it. That, too, made sense. In a weird, twisted way.

She raised one pale arm at him and Will felt something akin to a burning finger drawing a line across his wrists. Surprised, he pulled the sleeve of his right arm up. Kirlia had traced a glowing, bluish line from the palm of his hand down to his forearm, stopping about halfway.

Kirlia handed him the knife.

Wordlessly, Will took it. He stared at the glowing, blue line she had traced across his major arteries, feeling something like horror bubbling up inside of him.

'Do it,' she whispered.

"I'm scared," he admitted.

'We all are, in the end.'

He clutched the knife in a tight-knuckled grip. It felt so real. Everything felt so real. He stared at the snow. Pretended not to see what lay there between his feet. Pictured what he was about to do. He envisioned the moment in minute detail.

"One last thing?" He whispered.

Kirlia looked at him.

Will took the knife, brought it up swiftly and drew it across Kirlia's throat. Her eyes went wide as black ichor poured from the wound. The dagger dissipated in fiery blue wisps before he even reached the other side of the Pokemon's frail neck, but the damage was done.

"Kirlia is mute," he informed his foe.

Her expression of shock became one of absolute fury.

"...Will!" He heard, now clearer than anything, a woman's voice clamoring in the distance. "Will! Wake up, please! Will!"

The gash in her neck oozed a black, viscous liquid that dripped to the ground like mud. Despite what should have been a lethal injury, Gardevoir's projection did not seem to care at all. 'It would have been swift and painless. Now suffering shall be yours.'

The holt of sheer and utter satisfaction and relief that welled up in his guts was so powerful that not even she was not able to keep him from tearing himself free.

"That's it! You're waking up now! Just a bit more!"

Will finally woke, jerking wildly as he realized that something heavy lay on top of his chest. He nearly went slack with fear when he saw the bundled-up shape of a Kirlia lying atop his chest.

Then, she reared her head and looked at him, and her scarred, knowing eyes were the best thing he had seen all day. Her horn stopped glowing and Will pushed himself up on his elbows before sweeping the little Psychic-type in his arms. He embraced her, holding the confused Pokemon tightly as he fought to contain his emotions. He shuddered with emotion. The horror at that Gardevoir had tried to make him do clashed with the unbridled relief that he had beaten her back.

"I knew that wasn't you," he whispered. "You did reach me. She never saw it. I did. Thank you." He held her tighter. "Thank you."

Kirlia went rigid. Her expression, which had always been a mask of impassiveness or concentration, became one of surprise. Mild surprise, but still. It was something.

"Hello!" Venam said, bowing over him as she peered at his face. "I finally found you! Do you understand how many people I had to go through to get here?! I was…" She broke off, biting her lip as she turned away again. "I was so…"

"Taking your time to find me?" Will said. He gingerly put Kirlia down again. How long had it been? How long had he been out?

"Tcch, shut up!" Venam bit at him. Her expression softened. "I may have taken a bit longer than I wanted to…pfft, yeah. You're right though. I could've been a little faster. Now that I found you, I gotta tell you something." She took a deep breath and then said, "Anathea's dead."

Will struggled to his feet. He was dizzy, but he remained upright. The dizziness would pass. He had to stay on his feet no matter what. "How…how?"

"Gardevoir," Venam spat. "She plotted behind the scenes and indirectly got her killed. I'm assuming you ran into Gardevoir before all this right?"

"Ye-Yeah," he haltingly said.

"Are you good? She said that…are you okay?"

Yes. No. He felt weak and nauseous and more than a little pissed…but he also felt something he hadn't experienced in quite a while.

A sense of victory. As small as it was, as meaningless as it might be, Gardevoir had tried to kill him, and he had foiled her. He had seen through her lies and her deceptions and he had shrugged off her attempts at emotional manipulation.

He pulled back the sleeves on his arms. No lines tracing his wrists. No signs that…that Gardevoir had compromised him in any way. She had been inside of his head and he had won. "Good to go."

"Good," Venam said with a sigh of relief. "Do you have any idea how long I've tried to wake you up? I thought you'd slipped into a fucking coma! And with Kirlia curled up on your chest like that it was…like…look, it was really fucking scary, okay?"

Venam had no idea how right she was. "Gardevoir had recruited a bunch of policemen to start ripping down the mansion," he explained. "She wanted Anathea out of the picture so that Indriad could lose his shit."

"I saw them. Bunch of assholes started tearing down the place. Why the fuck would the fucking police work for that monster?" Venam demanded.

"Greed," Will sighed. "Just greed."

"Oh." She didn't look like she had considered that. "Well, fuck those guys. What about you? What happened?"

"She knew I was there," Will said. "We fought, and she said that she wanted to see how well I could hold my own. After that she…" He paused. Maybe it was better if he didn't tell Venam about the rest. "Didn't keep her from trying."

"You fought and beat a Giratina, a Groudon and a freaking Kyogre!" Venam said. "How did you not kick her ass?"

There was nothing in her voice that indicated she blamed him for that, but Will couldn't help but feel like he had to defend himself, to somehow justify why he had allowed such a massive threat to walk away from him. "She's…stronger than them. By a lot. She could…she tried…" His throat felt dry all of a sudden. "She's different."

"Yeah, I fucking bet…" Venam muttered, looking crestfallen. "Everything that's happening…I just…" She shoved her hands into her pockets and turned her body away from him. "We should just drop this, find Melia, and just ditch this time."

"Ditch it?" Will said. "Why?"

"Because a woman just got fucking killed right in front of me!" Venam yelled. "Like…fuck it was so sudden, I couldn't do anything! Anathea's dead, Vitus is going to lose his mind. Nothing else we can do."

Ah, shit…that meant Venam must have been right there when it happened. That couldn't have been pleasant.

That was on him. If he'd been smarter about it, fiercer about it, he could have struck while those officers had yet to step into Gardevoir's portal. He could have knocked them out before…well, before losing in the end anyway.

But goddamn it, they were here and they could still fight! "We can't just stop now," Will said, itching to get back into the fight. "What about - "

"This is way beyond all of us!" Venam replied hotly. "We know what Vitus is capable of! I just…I feel so bad for Anathea…she didn't deserve it…"

"She didn't," Will agreed. "But now Indriad and Gardevoir are on the loose. We can't let them hurt anyone else."

"How?" Venam said. "You weren't able to beat that Gardevoir. If she wanted to, you'd be…"

"She had the initiative there," Will argued. "But if we go after her, together, we - "

"No!" Venam said, and the raw emotion on her face gave him pause. "This isn't on us. I won't let you get yourself hurt over this."

That's not your call to make! He thought furiously. Now? Now Venam wanted to call it quits, after she'd all but dragged him inside of that freaking mansion to begin with? What was wrong with her! Didn't she see how dangerous this was? Didn't she get that they had to act now or risk this getting out of control? Didn't she…

Will almost missed how shaken-up the girl looked. He bit back a furious response and looked at her, really looked.

Venam was about to cry.

That gave him pause.

"Let's just get back to Kugearen," Venam quietly said. She didn't wait for him to respond and started walking off. Gone was the spring in her step, the confident and even arrogant tilt of her head. It was as if she didn't have any fight left in her at all.

Had she given up?

Will watched her leave. He didn't see any point in arguing. What was there to say? They'd lost the battle. The future seemed set in stone after all and what did they have to show for it? A brand new source of nightmares for Venam, that was it.

Damnit, there had to be a way to get above this crap, find a way to hit back at Gardevoir without getting them all killed. Leaving now, at the height of the enemy's success, seemed like a form of surrender. It felt like giving in.

But if there was a way to mitigate their loss, he didn't see it.

Something touched his leg. He looked down and saw Kirlia pressing her left arm against his calf. She looked up at him. It took him a few seconds to realize that something levitated in the air behind her. It trembled dangerously in the air, as if her control over its position was tenable at best, but there it was.

A key.

He cracked a smile. "Well done, Kirlia," he said. He reached out to snatch the key from the air and Kirlia's control snapped. The purple hue of energy keeping the key afloat vanished and it dropped down in his outstretched palm.

A damaged little label read, Apartment Keys.

"Where did you get this?"

She looked back at the spot where they had first fought Gardevoir.

Huh. Well, that had to be an invitation of sorts. A new lead to pursue? Maybe. More likely it was some sort of trap, a way to get him isolated from the others so that Gardevoir could finish what she started.

…he'd look into that when he'd gotten some rest. No sense running headlong into a trap without proper preparation. If Venam didn't want to fight, then so be it. He'd go back at it alone.

But before that…

Will hoisted his backpack into position and started following his friend back to Kugearen. He caught up to her within a minute. "Venam."

She shot him a glare.

"Thanks for helping wake me up."

She looked at him for a little while longer, her eyebrows furrowed as if she hadn't heard him right. "What the hell else did you think I would do?"

"That doesn't matter," he said with a firm shake of his head. "I'm just grateful you were there."

"Well. You should be."

They headed back to the city together. Will didn't plan on being there when Venam told Melia about the mansion. The absolute last thing he wanted was her knowing that he still didn't have his stuff together. That, and the last time they discussed this topic had gone quite poorly. He'd grab a shower, see if he could finally take off those freaking bandages and see the damage for himself and afterwards he would -

"Kyaaaahh! Maria, no!"

Venam froze. "That's - "

Will started running. Hearing a little girl scream in horror when he knew that monsters were on the prowl was one thing. Hearing her scream for Maria was a giant red flag. Something was going down and they needed to be there yesterday.

As he ran after the scream, it didn't take him long to realize where it had come from. Katsu's Estate, where Maria and little 'Stasia were supposed to be doing math or piano or something.

Much to his surprise, Venam instantly started running after him. They hurried through the city's residential district together until at last, Katsu's lab-estate came into view.

Will sized up the situation with a practiced eye. No smoke or fire, no errand blasts or energy discharges. No further screams or explosions. Whatever had happened had already died down.

A group of people crowded around the estate's entrance. Will spotted Katsu and the little purple-haired 'Stasia and even a couple of policemen, but…no sign of Maria.

"What's going on?" Venam shouted. "What happened?"

"Maria…she's…she's…" 'Stasia sobbed, her voice barely understandable as she bawled her eyes out. Sobs wracked her body as she trembled like a leaf caught in a storm and her mother barely seemed to notice. She didn't even have a hand on her girl as she spoke in concise, annoyed tones to the police officers.

Will felt his hackles rise upon seeing the blue-uniformed men and he only barely stopped himself from sending out his Pokemon to break their legs to put them out of commission. Instead, he turned his attention to the weeping girl standing all by herself. "'Stasia?" He asked. "Where is Maria?"

"Hey, what's going on!" Venam demanded.

"She's…I'm so useless…" 'Stasia wailed and it was just the most horrible thing to witness. There was something about the unbridled sorrow and pain that a child could put into their crying that just stole the breath from him. He wanted nothing more than to kneel down, sweep the girl into his arms and tell her that they would fix this, whatever this was, and that things would be alright.

But her mother rounded on them before he could do more than think about comforting 'Stasia. "We don't know where Maria is, that's the problem!" She snapped. "I left Maria to study with Anastasia so that I could finish my own work. The next thing I hear is Anastasia crying to herself with Maria nowhere to be found."

Will had the horrible, horrible suspicion that he knew exactly what had happened.

"Fine then!" Venam bit at the woman. "Anastasia, do you know what happened to Maria?"

It took the little girl an almost inhuman effort to bite back her sobs long enough to stutter out, "M-Maria…she was…s-she was taken!"

That got their attention alright. "Taken?" One of the officers cried out. "How?"

"Anastasia," Venam said, getting the girl's attention back again. "What do you mean she was taken? By whom? We're friends of Maria too. We want to help her, so please explain what happened."

"M-Mom and I were studying when…when suddenly this P-Pokemon appeared out of th-thin air…Suddenly sh-she just grabbed Maria an-and they vanished!"

Venam and Will exchanged a dark look. "Gardevoir," he spat.

"That had to have been her," Venam said.

"I couldn't do anything!" 'Tasia cried out. "It all happened so fast!"

"That's okay, we - " Will started.

Katsu cut him off. "You useless child!" She snarled at her own daughter. "Why didn't you just tell me this earlier?"

She could have whipped her girl and produced a less catastrophic response. "D-Don't yell at me!" Anastasia screamed. Wailing in agony, she ran away.

"How dare you, Tasia!" Katsu shouted after her, taking off in pursuit with the two policemen on her heels. "Don't run away from me young lady!"

Will looked at the forest. He thought he knew where Gardevoir would have taken Maria. Her home territory. If she'd been a menace in the forest - neutral ground - she would be a downright terror in her own mansion. Going inside on his own without a plan was liable to get him killed. it would take him about fifteen minutes to get back to that mansion if he hurried, which meant fifteen minutes of planning.

This was going to be difficult…

"Chasing after them would be a waste of time…we got our info…" Venam said with uncharacteristic quietness. "Will…I know I just said that we should drop this and not get involved, but…we can't just let her be taken like that." She met his eyes. "I know I can't ask this of you. In fact, I would understand completely if you can't do this - "

"You're going back to get her, then?" Will asked. "You'd do that on your own?"

"This shit is dangerous, I know that, but GODDAMNIT I'm not going to be able to sleep at night if I don't at least try!" Venam argued. "So yeah. I will."

Despite everything, Will couldn't help but laugh. For all their differences, they were both idiots who believed that they could fix this on their own. "Good. Let's tear that mansion apart, then."

Venam turned to face him again, looking as shocked as he'd ever seen her. She opened her mouth in response, but no words came out. It took her a second try before she forced out, with painful disbelief, "You're coming?"

"Of course," Will said. It was the simplest thing in the world. His friend needed him. A girl he'd once vowed to protect needed him as well. He had the power to get her back. He just needed the resolve. He believed he could muster that resolve.

Venam almost wilted in relief when she heard his reply. "Even after what - "

"We'll find Maria, and we'll get her to safety," Will said. "So come on. Let's do this."

"Y-Yeah! Let's fucking do this!"

~~~~~~~(X)~~~~~~~

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AN: Dark Gardevoir really lives up to her name in this chapter, doesn't she? Considering the themes of this story, I wanted to try my hand at something different.

Both parties were very lucky in this regard. Gardevoir found Will when his mind wasn't exactly doing well in the resilience part of things. It was relatively undefended and vulnerable, in a way. Meanwhile, she was unable to dig deep enough to find much else to screw with his mind with. In part, that's because of Kirlia stubbornly embracing the "resist" part of "Resist and Bite".

Anyway, we have officially reached the 10,000 views!

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