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.

16. Emma's Gambit

Chapter 5: Imprisoned

Emma's Gambit

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

---

Emma followed the dark tunnel that had been hidden behind the bookshelf. As she headed deeper into the secret part of the facility, she began to hear the grinding, working noises of machinery. Drills, most likely, although it could have been anything. Neved and his people had installed an entire underground logistics system to fuel his activities. What were they really after? What was the point of imprisoning all these people?

Finally, the dark hallway opened up into a cave of sorts, albeit one reinforced with the same walls and pillars she had seen in the castle proper. She slowly walked forwards, taking in the sights of many lanterns, criss crossing rail tracks and purple crystals. She was so preoccupied with looking around that she nearly stumbled into a clearing with people.

She gasped and quickly backpedaled, pushing herself up against a wall and just out of view.

A trio of women stood in front of a large console, too preoccupied with their work to spot her.

"Really? You can't do this? This should be easy for something like you," an angry voice snapped.

"I'm sorry, but I'm just not the same as the others," a timid voice answered. "I wasn't made for something like this."

"You should be familiar with this sort of thing. After all, you're both from the same manufacturer," a third, calmer voice went.

"There's nothing that can be done."

A sigh of frustration. "Nastasia, this is what you got yourself in trouble for? One unauthorized mission after another. It doesn't end with you."

That woman, Nastasia, answered, "I don't have to prove or explain myself to anyone. "Especially you."

"Alright, alright," that same snappy voice fired back. "No need to get so defensive!"

"Whatever. Let's just keep things moving."

Emma heard the two Xen Executives walk away, heading into another office of sorts. It was just like she suspected. Blacksteeple Castle was a Xen-run facility!

She rounded the corner, intent on taking a closer peek at what those three had been looking at –

She froze. Just as she stepped into the clearing, that third woman walked into view. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and Emma froze up.

The woman looked to be in her early forties. Medium-length, pink hair framed a feminine face with soft, kind features.

Whoever she was, the woman froze as well. Her eyes bore into Emma's with wonder and surprise, but miraculously enough, she remained silent.

"What's holding you up!?" Nastasia yelled from inside the office. "Get in here now!"

"I, uh, nothing," the woman said. "I'll be there in a sec."

She turned away from Emma and headed into the office as well. Emma braced herself for a fight, but nobody burst from the office to confront her, nobody activated any alarms or sirens.

"Why didn't she rat me out?" Emma muttered to herself. Was she a prisoner too? What was this place?"

With nobody around to stop her, Emma made her way deeper into the cave. She wandered past strange, creepy drones that floated around with single-mind focus, shoving mining carts filled to the brim with purple crystals.

Every now and then one of the carts came soaring down the rails and a large, black door would open up, allowing the cart to race deeper into the facility.

"Hapi, I need your help," Emma said, sending out her Togekiss. "Do you see that door? It opens every time a mine cart passes through. I need you to carry me through before it closes again!"

Hapi confirmed her request with a happy little cry, and the two began planning things out. When another minecart came racing down the corner in the distance, Emma hopped onto Hapi and the Togekiss immediately took off. Her timing was perfect; Togekiss soared right behind the mine cart and the two of them made it through with seconds to spare.

"Job well done!" Emma quietly cheered. "Thanks, Hapi. Okay, now let's see what else this facility has in store!"

Emma headed deeper into the Xen facility.

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

---

Zoroark sat his human-disguised body down on the chair and began shoveling handfuls of delicious food into his maw, uttering happy little growls as he finally sated his rumbling stomach.

"Emma? Are you awake? I need to speak to you for a bit?" The voice of the scarred human drifted from the outside and it took Zoroark a moment to translate the human's noises into something he could work with.

The man would disturb his dinner!

His trainer's orders echoed through his head.

Keep eating?

Zoroark knew how to handle this situation.

The scarred human wandered inside. "I wanted to – "

Zoroark snapped one of the bones in half to suck out the marrow inside. With his other hand, he grabbed several potatoes and shoveled them into his mouth.

"I…I see that you are very hungry," the human said. Zoroark heard a tremble in his voice. "I was going to give you your first mission, but, is this a bad time?"

"Bbbbrriiii!" Zoroark snarled. No, no, he had orders and he would obey them!

"C-Could you repeat that?" The man slowly asked, taking a little step back. "Uh, actually, I think I'll let you just eat. I'll…speak to you in the morning."

Zoroark did not know what that was about, but the scarred man left, so he was happy. He cooed happily as he continued emptying the plate.

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

---

Emma was close, maybe even too close. Up ahead, the two Xen Executives had taken their pink-haired captive with them to another room. A massive machine dominated its center, packed to the brim with those purple crystals Neved had his prisoners mine free their every waking hour.

"The machine is rejecting the gems," the woman calmly explained. "They won't supply the energy needed to power the Sigils."

"You do understand what's going to happen once the Sigils stop functioning?" That Xen Admin – Emma recognized her now, that was Madelis! – said.

Oh, Emma knew what would happen once those Sigils stopped working. It would be a mass breakout event! A prison riot! And knowing Will, he would be at the very center of it!

"Well, if you want to get technical, it'll be an unstoppable armageddon," Nastasia said. "Unstoppable, that is, until Madame X arrives."

Emma felt her blood freeze in her veins. Madame X would be coming here? Why, when?!

No, she reasoned a moment later. They'd only call for her when all other options have failed them.

"That's a lot of faith in Madame X," Madelis questioned. "Why is that? Not to pry, but you were the only one who hasn't explained why they're here. When all the other Xen Executives got together, you remained awfully quiet the entire time."

Nastasia didn't immediately answer that. "Like I said, I don't have to explain to anyone. Especially you. We wouldn't even be in this situation if you were just slightly more capable back at Carotos Mountain."

Madelis audibly scoffed. "That cuts deep Nastasia, but whatever."

"Uhm, so yeah, there's nothing I can do," that timid woman spoke up after a moment of silence. "I can't fix it."

"Oh, that's right, you're here," Nastasia said. "So boring that I forgot you were even a thing. If you can't fix our problems, then we're going to have to find a different approach. As for you, go back to your cell. Madelis and I have some brainstorming to do."

"Yes ma'am."

Emma heard them disperse. It took her a moment to collect her courage to continue on. If Madame X arrived there with the Sigils still intact, everything was over. For all of them. She couldnt let them call for help if this thing went bad. What to do, what to do?

She emerged from her cover again and approached that massive machine. If it controlled the Sigils from there, it might be the key to disabling them. Some sabotage might even break them permanently!

Emma began working with its controls. It didn't take her long to realize that something was very wrong there. The computer wasn't running properly. Not in the way she expected, either.

Someone had plotted a little sabotage before she had even gotten there. It was as if the machine was killing itself in some way.

That woman with the pink hair…she was the one they asked to fix the machine. Could it be…?

The woman hadn't ratted her out before. She'd disappeared into the left hallway, while Nastasia and Madelis had left for the right one.

Perhaps a little chat was in order?

The left hallway took her right back to the cell blocks of Blacksteeple Castle. There, Emma carefully tiptoed through the hall, peeking into every cell to see if she could find that woman again.

It didn't take her long. The very second cell she checked out was the right one.

"Um, excuse me?" She said, raising her voice somewhat to gain the woman's attention.

"Wh-What?" The woman sputtered upon seeing her there. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here, if Nastasia finds you – what if I were one of them? This would get you into so much trouble!"

"I don't think you would be behind these bars if you were with them," Emma pointed out.

"Yeah," the woman conceded, and she smiled sadly.

"Why are you locked up down here? What's the purpose of separating you from everyone?" Emma asked.

"It's not just me down here," the woman explained. "Everyone who was captured on the S.S. Oceana was placed down here."

The S.S Oceana?

Emma felt a chill run down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold air. "You…you came from the S.S. Oceana?"

It couldn't be. A coincidence like this ending up in her favor? She couldn't lose her focus, she shouldn't lose sight of the mission.

And yet…she had to know. "Do you know someone named Will?"

The woman's eyes lit up with recognition. She sucked in a breath of air, and for a second, she looked so vulnerable, so shaken, that Emma felt her heart ache.

But the next second the woman clamped up, and Emma could read her intentions perfectly.

Friend or foe, nobody would be getting her to divulge information about him. Not even if they tortured her.

That in itself was the answer Emma sought. "You don't have to say it out loud, I understand," she said. "I came here to this island to save everyone, him included. He's a friend of mine, an old friend."

"He's here?" The woman whispered and the corners of her eyes grew moist. "They've taken him too?"

The pain in her voice was hard to bear. "I don't know when that happened," Emma admitted. "But he's alive. He's pretty banged up, but he's doing…okay. Knowing him, he fought like hell."

"Yes…" the woman – Nancy, Will had said her name was – muttered. "That sounds like him…how do you know? Who is he to you?"

"Well..." Emma said, looking around to check in for any guards. "It's a bit of a long story. You see…"

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

---

There was a first time for everything and for the first time in Will's life, he wondered if his brain had started to liquefy out of his orifices when he woke up. The thought should have alarmed him, but the combination of bad sleep and even worse dreams left him feeling numb…and glued to his pillow.

He peeled his face off the bloody fabric, then stared at the large blotch of dried blood. Tired, he brought his finger to his nose.

Bingo.

Will sighed and struggled upright, before sauntering over to his faucet. When he opened his mouth to take a large gulp of water, he felt the gash in his lips split open painfully.

"Shit," he murmured. It didn't bleed a lot, but it was an annoying kind of pain that he wasn't used to. He did his best to clean up, but there wasn't a lot he could do about a split upper lip. Luckily, whatever caused him to start bleeding again seemed to have fixed itself.

Fine. He didn't feel like opening his mouth that day anyway

A couple of hours later, Saki came to pick him up.

"Yo Will, here's the beez," she explained as they made their way to the Dining Hall for some breakfast. "I met up with Val and Adam last night and we decided that we want you to meet a new friend!"

"…Susie?" Will asked.

"Nah bro, Susie's dead to me! No, this new friend is hidden! I left a clue for you at the library upstairs! Check the bookcase with the purple books! Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Get it?"

"I do."

"Yeck heah! Alright, bring on that stale bread, I wanna chew on some mold."

The morning proceeded like the previous two had. Angry guards glaring at them, hopeless prisoners working their way through old bread with lukewarm water and a large basket of sour apples, which Will couldn't eat anyway because he'd tear his face open if he attempted to bite down on anything larger than a grape.

Good times.

He passed his apple to Adam. He was a big guy, he needed the vitamins more than him anyway…

"Hey, Will," Valarie said, catching up to him in the main hall afterwards. "Saki tell you about our little thing this morning?"

He nodded. "New friend?"

"Yep! She's a friend we've had here on the island, but we kept her existence a secret. But if we want to get together and devise a plan to get off this wretched island, we're gonna need all of us to do that."

They kept her existence hidden…meaning the guards didn't know about her? Then how had she even gotten here? How did this friend stay fed and hydrated?

Normally, Will would have set his thoughts to start cracking that particular puzzle immediately, but he just felt numb. Well, that wasn't entirely true. His mind was numb, the rest just ached and throbbed painfully like usual.

Valarie studied him for a moment. "You're kinda pale. You're not coming down with anything are you?"

"Just a bit tired," he said.

"If you say so. Well, as I was saying, she – "

Valarie suddenly cut herself off and looked aside, her expression hardening.

Will followed her gaze, only to see Emma standing there in the hallway. His stomach did a little flutter when he saw her.

Their hooded mystery girl had shed her cloak. Now, she wore some sort of white dress that parted just at her left hip, revealing smooth skin and long, red stockings ending in high-heeled boots. Her arms were bare this time, save for a pair of armbands around her wrists. Her dark blond hair flowed freely down her shoulders and back, nearly reaching to her waist.

"Morning Valarie, Will," she said, smiling pleasantly and warmly.

Will wanted to smile back, but since he couldn't, he settled for politely waving. "Morning," he mumbled.

Valarie glared at Emma, who noticed her steely gaze and met it in kind.

Will looked back and forth between the two girls, feeling like was missing something.

After fifteen seconds of tension-filled silence, Emma finally spoke up. "Is there a problem?"

"Were you aware of the rumor going around about you?" Valarie asked. Something in her voice made Will feel a bit on edge. "The one that says you're working for the Warden?"

"…that much is true," Emma conceded. "It's not a secret."

"We don't talk to people like you," Valarie then said with thinly veiled aggression. "Please go away."

Emma simply took two steps aside and stepped closer to Will instead. "Anyway Will, have you considered signing up for the tournament at the Battleground? I think it could be fun. I'll be signing up as well. The bed there is heavenly. I bet you could catch about twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep the moment you laid your head down."

Sleep…that sounded like something he could use. Especially the uninterrupted kind. What he wouldn't give to just be able to put his head down and close his eyes without the dreams…

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Valarie snapped. "We're not interested!"

"I'm not talking to you," Emma coldly told her. She took another step towards him, and he felt Valarie tensing up. "The food is good too. With the day off and a proper meal, that would revitalize just about anyone here."

It began to dawn on Will that he might not look like the healthiest worker of the bunch at the moment. Why did Emma care? Heck, why did he care that Emma cared?

"How about you back off?" Valarie said through clenched teeth. "We don't want you here."

Emma sighed, looked away for a moment, before shooting an annoyed look at Val. "Can you please go away? You are making this much more difficult than it needs to be."

"Sure, we'll go," Val snapped. Her hand found Will's upper arm – her fingers dug uncomfortably into his biceps – and she pulled him with her. "Come on Will, let's go. We've got things to do."

"I…but…" Will sputtered. Figuring out a way to escape this place was priority number one, yes, but…he didn't mind Emma. Valarie was clearly uncomfortable around her, but he didn't feel that way. Emma knew him and for some reason, she seemed to care about him. Even if her words were all lies and part of some scheme on Neved's part, it was very hard to fake a genuine emotional reaction. The way she'd looked at him when she first saw him…that hadn't been fake, had it?

Nevertheless,…he wasn't going to squander Valarie's trust by resisting. Maybe that was what Neved wanted. To sow disunity, make them more miserable. Maybe that was why he'd sent Emma. To pretend, lie and cheat, and drive them apart. Nothing crushed a spirit quite so thoroughly as loneliness.

As Valarie began to pull Will away, he saw Emma cross her arms underneath her chest and flash him a smug little smirk. "Whatever, you didn't stand a chance anyway."

Her words seemed to cut Valarie like a knife. He saw her eyes narrow and her whole posture tense up. She squared her shoulders, and then whirled around, her eyes furious. "What?" She demanded.

"I said, Will wouldn't stand a chance anyway," Emma continued. "Look at him. The guy can barely stand. No way in hell he would he offer any challenge. Only weak people get stuck here as prisoners. I mean, just look at me. I'm strong and now, I'm on top."

Emma was more right than she knew. Before, her words would have probably lit a fuse underneath his feet, but after Akuwa Town…would a strong person have led their own Pokemon to his death? Would someone strong have…gotten hurt like that?

…would a strong person wake up every night, shaken and scared?

Valarie let go of his arm, then wrapped her arm around his shoulder and pulled him towards her. "Change of plans, Will. You should sign up and beat her into embarrassment. That thing we've arranged can wait."

He couldn't meet her eyes. "I don't know," he whispered. "I'm not…exactly…" He struggled with the words. "Whole," he eventually settled for.

"Huh? But – "

A thoughtful expression crossed Emma's face for a split-second before she wiped it clear, and her face became smug again. "Hmm. To think Neved was nervous about you. Guess he won't have anything to be concerned about then, here. He'll like that."

Nervous.

Nervous.

Neded was nervous? Concerned about his presence?

That bastard had been the one to give the order to get him here in the first place. Team Xen and their psychopathic, murderous plots. Neved was out there keeping Aelita isolated from the rest, completely alone, and then he just sat back and enjoyed his life as the Waden?

Will took a breath. Hot anger burned away his exhaustion in seconds. He'd rather actually see his brain liquefying out of his ears before giving Neved a freaking millisecond of something to like.

Not on his watch.

"Fine," he snarled. "Bring it."

Valaria gave a little cry of victory, but Emma smiled with satisfaction as well. "So it's settled then? Good. I'll be waiting for you, Will."

She tossed her hair over her shoulder, then calmly walked past the two of them before disappearing around the corner.

"Let's go Will," Valarie hotly said. "I'll help you sign up. It's easy."

After he'd signed himself up for the tournament, Will returned to his daily routine. The tournament would take place late in the afternoon like it always did, so he had plenty of time to kill and keep himself distracted. He went to the mines with Adam, working on his quota just in case. He'd vowed to beat Emma, but he wasn't going to be complacent about it.

After a couple of hours of backbreaking work, they all joined back together for a quick lunch break. Afterwards, Will headed into the library to read up on some things.

He hadn't expected to find much information on Blacksteeple Island, but Neved must have purged the entire library from anything the prisoners could use to their advantage. Not a single book on the island or even its surrounding waters.

Instead, Will began looking up information about the Dawn Stone he'd found. He didn't expect anything useful out of it, especially not with the kind of luck he'd been having, but…

Will frowned. Among the Pokemon species that were known to evolve was…Snorunt?

He double-checked his surroundings, didn't see any guards around and then let Snorunt from its Poke Ball.

His little Ice-type emerged from its ball and shook itself. Snorunt peeked around the library, realized how open and exposed it was, and then huddled closer to Will.

"I don't even know what gender you are," Will admitted, scooping the little Snorunt up by its sides. "So, I've found…this," he continued, producing the Dawn Stone he'd pocketed the other day.

Snorunt instantly focused its gaze on the stone and stopped shivering.

"I'm…not sure if it will work. If that hurts your feelings, I'm very sorry…but if this does work…would you want to?"

He put Snorunt down again, then placed the Dawn Stone on the floor in front of it.

Snorunt stared at the bright, blue stone for a minute, before slowly looking up at Will.

"You've seen I can't protect you…and things might get even more dangerous," Will continued on a soft note. "You would change. But you would also become stronger."

Snorunt blinked.

"It's your choice," Will said.

Snorunt hesitated. It looked around again, then waddled towards the Dawn Stone and picked it up. Seconds later, a bright, white light erupted from its – her – body and the Dawn Stone shattered. The fragments it left behind glowed with an incandescent white glow as well, before melting away into nothingness.

The temperature plummeted, and Will's breath began emerging in little white clouds

When Snorunt finished evolving, she had changed dramatically. Where her body had resembled a pyramid structure before, she now had a more humanoid, streamlined shape. Her body resembled a floating dress, lacking feet but with pronounced, sleeved arms. A red stripe ran around her waist, resembling a belt or sachet of sorts.

Her head had changed dramatically as well. It reminded Will of an artist's depiction of a raindrop, but sideways. Two horns protruded from her head, shaped like ice crystals. It was as if her face was a white, frozen mask, with two openings that revealed amber eyes moving underneath

She spun around in the ir and the temperature dropped even further. The library became misty, which made Will especially grateful that there weren't any guards around.

His new partner – a Frosslass according to the Pokedex – danced amidst the misty air, before vanishing from his view completely.

A short moment later, she materialized behind him, and tapped against his torn lip with a slender, icy finger. The throbbing pain his wound eased up, replaced by a strange, cold static-laden sensation.

Will had no clue how she did it, but he was very grateful. "Thank you," he said. "Wanna see the outside? It's freezing. You'd love it."

Froslass uttered a haunting, hollow laugh that sounded disturbingly human. The sound reverberated through the empty library a little too long. Will decided that the shivers that ran down his spine were due to the temperature and absolutely nothing else, before taking Froslass out for some fresh air.

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

---

When she was out of earshot, Emma exhaled a quiet sigh and struggled to shake off what she'd just seen.

Doubt. Hesitation. Defeat.

Emotions that should have been alien to Will. Everything had nearly fallen apart because of that.

Something had happened to him. Something terrible to make him just flinch away from a public challenge like that. Did it have to do with the state he was in? He looked like the guards had beaten him hours. What had they done to him? Did Neved know Had he ordered it?

She was very, very fortunate that this place hadn't broken his spirit yet. Bringing up the Warden had been the lowest of a series of low blows, but she needed to get him in that tournament and into that Prestige Room. Everything depended on it.

For now, she couldn't afford to become complacent anymore. She'd just achieved the easiest part of her plan. The rest was yet to come.

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

---

The rules to the tournament were simple. It was a series of three on three fights between everybody who wanted the right for the Prestige Room until only one remained.

Will anxiously waited until his turn came. Because the participants weren't allowed to see the others fight to prevent any unfair advantages, he'd been locked into a little windowless room until his time came.

Now he wasn't claustrophobic, but something told him that the guards simply wouldn't have given a damn had he been.

Anxiety built up within his chest like it was a damn pressure cooker. By the time the sounds of the battle died down and the guards opened his door, his heart felt like it was beating at the end of a training session with Aelita.

He took a deep breath, winced when his chest twinged in pain, then stepped onto the platform. He found Saki, Adam and Valarie easy enough. They'd taken up position to the left of the arena where they usually hung out. All three of them were cheering for him.

The first two matches went easy enough. Though Will loathed showing off his team and his tactics to Neved, he didn't have a choice here. If he lost in front of that son of a bitch he would probably drown himself in the communal shower.

Blaziken and Nidoking had a killer combo together, a perfect combination of ranged and close quarters attackers that could switch tactics on a dime. If Blaziken got up close and personal, Nidoking could support her with powerful ranged attacks that had the arena shaking in its foundations. If Nidoking decided that the only solution was to tear things apart from up close, Blaziken could back him up with searing flames.

It was difficult to beat an offense that didn't depend on any one range, and none of these combatants seemed to have much fighting experience.

Between each victory, Will took a moment to look up and glare at Neved. Taking a shot at him would have been so easy. One missed burst of flames or errand poison spike and that would be the end…

But no. For Aelita's sake, he had to keep a low profile and play it cool.

Finally, they released Emma from her waiting cell, and the atmosphere shifted. The cheers died down as the crowd recognized her. They stared at her with all kinds of emotions – disgust, fear, trepidation, anger, especially in Valarie's case – and the whispers were loud enough that Will could hear them atop the arena.

"Did you hear about that Emma girl?"

"I heard she's working for the Warden…"

"She's a traitor. An enemy."

"We should take her down when we get the chance."

"I dunno, She seems pretty strong."

"We'll see."

And then Valarie screamed, "Knock her off that high horse Wiiiill!"

"The battle for the Prestige Room will now commence!" The guard declared.

"Don't hold back Will," Emma taunted him. "Or you'll lose."

No…it wasn't a taunt. It was a genuine warning. Why?

Will didn't answer. If he didn't concentrate a hundred percent on the battle, his mind would lose track of things and then he'd lose.

Her first Pokemon was Azumarill. Recognizing the threat the Water-type posed, Will sent out Nidoking to rush it down.

However, rather than immediately pelt Nidoking with water attacks, the Azumarill met his charge in kind. It sidestepped a sweeping claw with much more grace and flexibility than its bulky, rotund body should have allowed, then struck with a clawed attack of its own.

Will watched with amazement as the Azumarill enveloped herself with a dark, shadowy aura, before clawing at Nidoking's face. Its round limb left three marks across his spiked cheek, drawing little lines of blood.

What the hell?

Nidoking roared, a bone-quaking noise, then whipped his tail at the Azumarill. Again, it leapt aside with supernatural speed, then quickly flung itself backwards and blasted Nidoking with a pulse of dark energy.

Its attack splashed across Nidoking's chest and threw him off-course, and his own Poison Jab attack was a complete misser.

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

Will pulled himself out of the memory and withdrew Nidoking. He sent out Blaziken instead. "Blaziken, I need you to hit that thing with Ember," he quietly ordered her. "Disregard the damage. Just hit it."

Blaziken didn't waste a second. She began hosing the battlefield with little bolts of flames, weak in power but immense in number. A horizontal rain of Embers washed across the battlefield and although "Azumarill" attempted to doge them with that uncanny speed, it wasn't able to avoid them all. One of them struck its leg, another two sailed against its round torso and a fourth impacted its tail.

A flash of purple light, a smoky haze and suddenly, the Azumarill was gone, replaced by a bipedal, black-furred Pokemon that glowered at Blaziken with dark eyes.

A Zoroark.

With her true foe revealed, Blaziken could begin putting in the work. She blurred across the battlefield, crossing several meters with every dashing step she took, and gathered fire around her firsts. Zoroark leapt away, just out of range, and began blasting her with a quick series of Dark Pulses.

Blaziken, ducked, weaved and rolled across the floor, firing another quick burst of Ember flames. Zoroark covered its face with its arms, and wasn't able to get out of range again. Blaziken slammed a burning first into its abdomen, making it double over in pain, before landing a wicked hook that would have taken any human's head clean off.

Zoroark stumbled backwards with uneven, trembling legs, and Blaziken didn't strike a third time. She watched Zoroark clutch his head and collapse to his knees, upon which Emma recalled him.

Will could have guessed her next Pokemon before it emerged on the arena. Azumarill - the real one - boldly stepped towards Blaziken, slamming its round little hands together in a challenging gesture.

Knowing Blaziken, Will decided to nip that one in the bud before he could mess this up. He recalled Blaziken and sent out Nidoking again.

Within seconds, the two came to blows, and the mutual advantage they held over each other only made the fighting that much more savage. Azumarill's limbs alone couldn't have hurt Nidoking through his thick layers of armor and muscle, but Emma wasn't born yesterday. As it ducked underneath a quick claw sipe, Azumarill struck Nidoking with a quick Water Gun.

Nidoking snarled and struck again, but Azumarill had quickly created some distance and began firing off a thick, powerful beam of explosive bubbles.

Will ordered Nidoking to roll aside, just in time to doge the majority of the bubbles. He covered his face with a thick, armored limb, then retaliate with a sudden burst of Poison Sting.

Azumarill flinched as the poisonous barbs slammed into its body, but Emma ordered her Azumarill to power through and strike with an Ice Punch.

Protecting its eyes with a floppy arm, Azumarill enveloped its body with a watery aura, which it then promptly froze and gathered around its fist. Coated in frigid ice, Azumarill then charged.

"Nidoking, grab it with Poison Jab!" Will called.

Nidoking arm's began oozing with a deep, purple aura, poison dripping from his clawed fists as he readied himself. At the apex of Azumarill's punch, Nidoking surged forwards and grabbed its frozen, ice-infused fist, using his superior strength to bring its punch to a halt. He pulled Azumarill off its feet, having understood Will's intentions perfectly, and then used his free limb to land a solid Poison Jab at Azumarill's exposed face, knocking it out.

That brought Emma down to her last Pokemon. She sent out a large, quadrupedal reptilian Pokemon with green skin, a pair of friendly eyes and a beautiful crest of pink flower petals encircling its neck.

Will saw Nidoking lean forwards, his body trembling as he began breathing heavily. "Uh oh. Nidoking, stop, don't - "

Too late. Nidoking's bloodlust became too much. For whatever reason, Nidoking was unable to keep himself under control and he uttered an ear-splitting shriek, drool flying from tis open maw.

Will and Emma both covered their ears against the piercing noise. Then, Nidoking charged. He flung himself to all fours and sprinted towards Emma's Meganium with a frenzy Will hadn't ever seen him before.

"Use Leech Seed, then avoid contact!" Emma ordered

Meganium flung a cluster of green seeds Nidoking's way and he couldn't avoid them. They slammed into his broad chest and immediately erupted into a tangled mess of little vines and roots quickly enveloped his body.

Undaunted at first, Nidoking threw himself into a double-clawed sweet at Meganium, but it slammed its own vines into the ground and hopped aside, narrowly avoiding what could have been a knockout blow. It began pelting Nidoking with a cluster of razor-sharp leaves as it backed away.

The knife-edged leaves buffeted Nidoking's body and limbs, further slowing him down as the Leech Seed began glowing red. Nidoking thrashed and twisted in their thorny grip, but he couldn't get them off fast enough before Meganium began attacking him from range again, forcing Nidoking to spent his time and energy protecting himself rather than getting those vines off.

In turn, the Leech Seed vines began sipping his energy and strength away. That, combined with Meganium's renewed offensive and Emma's quick thinking, kept Nidoking from going on the offensive.

Will realized that this match wasn't going anywhere with Nidoking all frenzied. He was forced to recall Nidoking once more, knowing that he wouldn't be sending him out again this match.

In turn, he sent out Blaziken again. "Watch out for that Leech Seed," he said. "If you get hit, burn them off as soon as possible."

Once again, Emma and Will's Pokemon clashed. As he expected, Emma ordered her Meganium to land another cluster of Leech Seeds. As she would have expected, Blaziken had to cross the battlefield to get within melee range. She had a limited window of opportunity to take Blaziken out and then hope that she could knock out his final Pokemon as well.

Blaziken was fast and agile, but Meganium had plenty of chances to get off a good hit, which it did just meters before Blaziken could begin throwing kicks and punches. The cluster of seeds sailed straight and true and then connected with Blaziken's right leg, lodging themselves into her fur and sticking.

Before they could erupt into those energy-draining vines, Blaziken shifted her weight to her other leg and lashed out at Meganium's direction with her seeded leg. Flames erupted around her legs as she did, incinerating the seeds and sending a torrent of superheated air and flames at Emma's Pokemon.

Meganium flung her vines out to protect herself, but the sheer heat of the Blaze Kick, even from a few meters away, was too painful for a Grass-type to simply block. Smoke billowed from her vines as she retracted then, crying out in pain and flinching.

Blaziken got closer, and Meganium inched backwards, getting closer to the edge of the arena, where she wouldn't be able to maneuver at all.

"That's enough," Emma's voice suddenly rang out. "I forfeit. You win."

"Hold your fire,' Will ordered, and Blaziken immediately released the corona of flames that enveloped her limbs, extinguishing the fire at her wrists and shins.

Emma recalled her wounded Meganium. Even as the guard yelled that the match was over and that he had won, Will stared at Emma. He could respect the choice to stop fighting and prevent further injury to her Pokemon, but…he'd guessed that she was more…merciless? No, that wasn't the right word.

Ruthless. Everything Emma had said and done painted a picture of a confident, powerful and ruthless young woman, willing to do whatever it took to come out on top. He'd expected her to fight to the bitter end.

So what gave?

"Hmm…guess I lost," Emma said, seeing him stare at her. "It was a good battle."

And the way she took her loss…he certainly wouldn't have been so relaxed if he'd just lost in front of the Warden, as well as this crowd. Why didn't she care that he'd just basically barred her from the Prestige Room? She just lost in front of everybody, now people might get weird ideas. They might think she was vulnerable and try to attack her when her guard was down.

"Hah! Not so tough now, are you!" Valarie exclaimed.

Emma closed her eyes and made a gesture of futility. "What can I say? Will is an extraordinary trainer. I wasn't good enough and I lost. That's how it goes."

With that, Emma took her leave. She calmly strode towards the exit of the arena, then suddenly slowed down when she passed by Will.

"Underneath the candelabra in the Prestige Room," she whispered, "I've left something for you there. Don't forget. The candelabra. It's important."

Her expression…it was dead serious. Dire, as if this was a matter of life or death for her.

Will didn't understand why, but he did grasp that this was important to her. He nodded, almost imperceptibly, but he saw a flash of relief in her eyes and knew that she understood.

Like always, the guards cleared the arena. Like always, they didn't seem to care about the stragglers. Like always, Saki flung herself at the victor who left the arena.

Unlike always, that victor wasn't Val this time, and Saki got within a literal inch before Adam got to her.

Will, who just saw his entire life since the Oceana flash before his eyes, gasped in relief when he saw Adam snake a muscled arm around Saki's neck and pull her away. "Damnit Saki, think before you act!" He said. "You could have hurt someone."

"My scrawny ass ain't hurting a freaking champion like that!" Saki exclaimed. "Holy shit Will, that was the coolest shit."

Valarie joined the others as well. "Haha, Will, you are my hero. Just the way you bodied her was just…it filled my spiteful heart with glee~. And now you get to stay at the Prestige Room for a night!"

"You deserve a good night's rest," Adam said. "Although you did all that work for nothing."

"Eh. Give the quota to someone who needs it," Will replied.

"Don't get too comfortable in that room Will! We're not staying!" Val warned him. "Also, don't forget the purple books at the library. I'll meet you at our spot."

Right, right. The library. Maybe he should have gone looking for the book back then. Oh well.

Back to the library it was.

Saki had actually been subtle for once in hiding her secret message. It took Will at least five books with purple covers before he found the one she'd worked with. He flung it open, flipped it through and then found a handwritten note directed to him.

"This letter is for Will. If you're not Will, then heck off!"

Smooth.

"Take a stroll through the garden and walk north of the pond. A secret waits behind a wall of green. If you don't get it, then yikes, but you should!"

Well, time to heck off to the garden then.

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

---

Taking a deep breath, Emma steeled herself before entering the Warden's office. "Is there something you need from me?" She asked.

Neved regarded her with a grave expression. "I wanted to speak to you last night, but you were…hungry."

Emma waited a moment for him to get to point. When she realized that was the point, she cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"I-I see, we're just not going to talk about that," Neved said, looking shaken up. "Fine."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but okay."

"I want you to keep an eye on that William and his group. You have seen them before. Valarie Kersey, Adam Might and Saki Blakeory."

"Okay," Emma said, feeling her pulse quicken. "What have they done to warrant such a thing?"

Neved took a moment to respond. "I just have my suspicions, that is all."

"…alright, if you say so." Emma hesitated for a moment, then decided to test the waters. "You do not know William's last name?"

"Our information on him is…limited."

"I…see…does that have anything to do with his physical appearance? He looks like…well, to be frank, like someone beat him. For information, perhaps?"

Neved scoffed. "We are not monsters, Emma. William was brought before me like that." He paused, then amended, "Arguably, it was worse. The people I sent to obtain him were…overzealous. They lost comrades due to William's continued resistance and lost themselves in the moment."

Emma's stomach cramped together in anguish. The Xen members lost themselves? "W-Worse? What did these people do to William?"

Neved turned to look at her. He pulled up one corner of his mouth in what Emma could only interpret as a wry little smirk. "It was as you said. They beat him within an inch of his life. That is not an exaggeration. He barely survived the journey to the island and required immediate medical intervention. Blood transfusions, the resetting of his bones…unsightly business."

Oh god.

Oh god.

Emma fought so hard to keep herself calm. She feared Neved would notice her tumultuous feelings, and turned away to hide her expression. "That explains what I saw," she said. Her voice trembled. "I…don't think he's having an easy time walking, much less…working in the mines. Why have you not made his quota for working in the garden? Or the kitchen? Is that not where you send the vulnerable, or those who are not strong enough to work in the quarry?"

"It is simple. William has proven to be resilient. He does not want to let things go, so we treat him like the others."

That sounded like a spiteful, evil thing to do. Emma supposed she should not have expected anything better from the likes of Team Xen. "I see. He did possess enough strength to defeat me today."

"As I said. Resilient."

"I see." Emma decided to quickly change the subject. "Before I leave, I would like to ask you something. More of a continuation of a past question."

"You want to know why we allow battling at the prison? Why we don't just confiscate what they own?"

"Are you going to answer that?"

"Let me put it this way: it doesn't matter how the end of this castle plays out. Whether a riot breaks out, or complete compliance, we'll get what we want."

That made absolutely no sense to Emma. "A riot is fine? At a prison? What?"

"Humor me for a moment," Neved said, turning his back to the fireplace. "What happens when a riot breaks out?"

"Lot's of people get hurt," Emma flatly said. "Most of the time, innocent."

"Oh, it goes much further than a few more innocent people getting hurt. People die in the most brutal ways. That's just how things go."

Emma didn't understand. At least, she hoped she didn't understand. "You want your prisoners to die in a riot?"

"Whether they die or not is irrelevant," Neved calmly said.

"You're confusing me, but I'll just think about it," Emma said, eager to get far away from that man. He was dangerous. Possibly deranged. He hid that behind a stoic mask of reasonableness and calmness, but today, he'd let it slip.

"You do that. You're dismissed."

Emma turned on her heels and left.

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

---

One…two…three…five…seven…

Will drew his gaze along the far wall. Eight with the guy near the Sigil. Nine, with the guy in the guard tower.

Nine guys to oversee the garden. Granted, it was a big garden. More like a Pokemon zoo, with up to eight different areas that each contained their own little variety of flora to go with the Pokemon enclosed there. Will walked past a Scyther garden, a patch of grass and trees with a Pinsir, a massive statue in the center of the garden depicting an Absol…

Of all the places where Will would want disaster to strike, Blacksteeple Castle was right there at the top of his lift.

The garden ended at a large river, which snaked off into a thick forest and probably emerged into the sea. He'd have to swim to get to the other side and he'd probably freeze to death in the process.

That would be his Plan C.

Will knew he should have taken the position of the guards to heart, start planning for their inevitable escape, but…he just felt tired. Day three of mind-numbing labor, bad food, worse sleep and no Aelita. He wasn't sure if he was healing or getting worse and his mind wouldn't stop going crazy at night. It wouldn't be long before he dreaded going to sleep, he could feel it.

He sauntered towards the upper section of the garden. He had already forgotten about the puzzle, but he did remember it had something to do with a section north of the pond there. Well, he'd found the pond. Wasn't big.

Will turned his back to the pond and took a closer look at the tree under the guards' walkway. It was small and thin – had to be to fit there – but it hadn't been planted in an alcove or anything.

It was a passage. To another part of the garden?

"Eh," Will muttered, before squeezing his way past the tree.

It was another part of the garden. Covered with snow just like the other one, but much worse maintained. In fact, this place looked like it hadn't seen a gardener in a year. The only reason it hadn't been overrun by plants was because the biting cold had killed most of them.

When he saw Saki's raven-haired head peeking out from behind a tree, he knew he'd found the right place.

"Oh mah gawww, finally," she hissed. "That riddle I gave you, if you can even call it that, was made in like five minutes! But you solved it! You're a genius!"

"Yeah, had me stumped," Will mumbled.

Saki laughed. "I knew it was pretty good! Had you fooled! Hah, even if it was just bad, thanks for telling me it worked. 'Preciate it. C'mon, everyone's waiting! Let's go!"

Saki led him through the undergrowth to a little clearing that surrounded a bridge, letting them cross what Will felt for sure was the river he'd seen before.

And up ahead, a large shack stood nestled against a large, rocky wall. Someone had removed the plants surrounding it, making the shack easier to access.

Was this their secret hideout? And the guards didn't know this place?

"Guys, I brought him!" Saki called out as she flung the door open.

Will followed her inside, glancing at the various bookshelves, tables and even the stone pillars that made up the interior design. It didn't look like much from the outside, but this was actually a well designed building. At the very least it was a lot sturdier than its sorry state on the outside would have indicated.

"Okay, Will, meet Braixen! Braixen, meet Will!"

Will spotted Valarie lying on the couch – no surprise there – and Adam sitting on a chair, engrossed in a book.

A second later, a bipedal, furry Pokemon peeked from around a bookcase. Its body was mainly yellow, though its legs were covered black fur, and its arms, shoulders and face were white. Long, wavy tufts of red fur poked out from its ears. A blue little ribbon was secured to her right ear.

"A Pokemon?" Wil said, somewhat underwhelmed. They had Pokemon. The lack of firepower wasn't a concern.

"Pleased to meet you!" A feminine and decidedly human voice emanated from the furry Pokemon. "My name is Braixen!"

"Hey Braixen, I'm – " His voice died in his throat as he realized that something was off. "Will. Did you just - ?"

Braixen smirked mischievously. "Surprised that I can talk? This is all possible because of Saki's invention!"

"Yeah, Braixen and I have been friends for a long time," Saki affirmed.

An invention. Wasn't sure what that meant. He was too tired to overthink it. "So why are you hiding out here?"

"Well, you see…when Team Xen kidnapped us, Saki returned me to a Poke Ball so I wouldn't get hurt. When we arrived, I felt really weird. The Sigils were affecting me negatively. Luckily for me, Saki found this secret place while being nosey."

'Noseyness can be helpful!" Saki protested .

Will found himself agreeing. "Nobody knows?"

"No, though that makes it lonely sometimes. I don't know what's going on in the castle."

"You don't have to worry for too long," Adam said, slamming his book shut. "We brought Will here because we want to discuss a plan of escape."

"That's right," Valarie spoke up. "So…to start off, we're going to have to find a way to disable those Sigils."

"When Saki messed with the one in the mines, a panel asking for a passcode showed up," Adam explained. "I'm sure that's the way to do it. There may be others."

"Finding out that password seems near impossible, though," Saki said. "I've skimmed through some of the bookshelves in the library and did find some numbers, but I don't think any of them have any use here."

"Make sure I'm not there when you try them again," Will said.

"Wait, why would those numbers not be helpful?" Valarie asked.

Saki plopped down on one of the chairs. "They had more characters. The passcode only accepts five numbers."

Will did some quick math. That meant they only had a hundred thousand possible codes to try. He wasn't sure if the guards were up for that many security alerts.

"So, what do we do then?" Adam asked.

For a moment, everybody was silent. Will picked a chair and sat down as well. Saki had invented a language translator that was small enough to fit around a Pokemon's neck, it looked like. If they could find some sort of weak point in the Sigil system, she shouldn't have any problem capitalizing on that.

"One of the Sigils in the Garden is malfunctioning," Val suggested. "Maybe we can start there?"

Adam grunted with disapproval. "Maybe. There's a guard stationed there."

"Oh!" Saki exclaimed, leaping up from her chair. "If you need a distraction, I'm your gal!"

Braixen looked at her trainer with concern. "You sure that's safe?"

"No!" Saki happily said. Before anyone could stop her, she leapt to her feet and just bolted right out the door.

"Seriously?" Val snapped, jumping to her feet as well. "Right now?"

"Ah, we better make sure she's safe!" Braixen groaned. Together, they all hurried out of the shack back to the main garden, where Saki went about doing her usual thing.

Causing mayhem and anarchy.

"Miss Blakeory!" A rough voice barked. "Stop running around this instant!"

Following that was Saki going, "Awww, what's wrong Mister Guard? Am I causing a scene? Sorry, but I can do whatever I want! I don't care what you say!"

"Stop this, or you'll regret it!"

"Tell that to my boney Sinnohian ass!"

Following that came something that Will was certain would be very indecent, not to mention cold in this weather.

Amazingly enough it worked! A pair of guards sprinted after Saki and Valarie, Adam and Braixen wasted no time in sneaking to the now-unguarded Sigil.

"Saki is good at being annoying and causing a scene," Braixen whispered in a hurried tone. "Fortunately for us, that's just what we need!"

"Do you think we can get anything from this?" Adam asked.

"Saki used to tinker with programming, machines and all that. Most of the time I had to be there too to watch her do all that boring stuff, so I picked up a thing or two," Braixen said as she began poking around the machine. "From what I can tell, these Sigils are being powered and controlled from elsewhere. These panels…appear to only change the local settings."

"Local settings?" Valarie asked.

"Yeah, like the intensity of the signals, how aggressive the controlled Pokemon should be…all that dark stuff. Real dark."

Will shook his head. Technology like this shouldn't exist. They'd have to completely demolish these things when they struck.

"So, what you're saying is that we can't do anything from here," Adam summed it up.

Braixen thought about that for a moment. "Maybe if we change the intensity to the lowest setting, some of us can break free. But that can be changed at any time, so it's unreliable. How annoying!"

"Hmm…" Valarie shot a quick look over her shoulder. "Maybe we should stop messing with this now. We don't want to be caught and Braixen needs to go back to her house."

"Yeah, I'll get going," Braixen replied. "It was nice meeting you, Will!"

The rest of the day went by in a bit of a blur. Will mainly just followed his new friends around. Eventually, they headed to the Dining Hall for their food for the day. The hall was already packed when the three of them entered, but Valarie still found them a little spot at the far right of one of the tables where they could sit with room to spare.

Will spared a glance to one of the people sitting on their own. It wasn't an uncommon sight. Plenty of the people here didn't have anyone to spend the time with. The majority of the prisoners weren't like Adam. They didn't seem to know how to deal with the lonely, the stragglers, those left behind in Team Xen's screwed up little hierarchy,

What was unusual was seeing it was Emma. She looked fine. At ease, even. Given how strong she was, people would likely think twice before attacking her. Nevertheless, Will felt a strange sense of relief upon seeing her. He didn't know why, but something about Emma was just…calming. She exuded an air of confidence and control. Her sense of control in this situation was admirable, though her methods were obviously questionable.

"Be right there," He murmured to Val before breaking away from the group. He sat down opposite of Emma, who seemed to snap out of her thoughts and regard him with a warm expression.

"Nice battle today," she said. "I'm impressed. Guess I'll be sleeping in your cell tonight."

"Uh…don't turn the pillow over," Will warned her.

She arced a slender eyebrow. "Why not?"

Because some idiot bled all over it.

"It's…old…and dirty," he said, shame spiking through him like a slow, creeping…thing. He couldn't bring himself to look Emma in the eyes. It was gross and disgusting, but he hadn't exactly had a chance or means to take care of his personal hygiene yet. There was only so much he could do with water and toilet paper when his wounds kept reopening at night. He also hadn't bothered to clean up the dried blood that caked the floor of his cell.

"I'm sure I'll manage," she said, her voice not at all unfriendly.

Will nodded. "The, uh, quota. In case you need it…" he struggled with his words for a moment. Emma patiently waited for him to scrape his sentence together. "I filled mine today. Won't need it tonight, so…"

"That's very nice of you Will, but you don't have to worry," Emma told him. "It is part of the work I do here. I do not need to fill a quota."

"Okay." That information should have angered him. Yet…even with the funk in his head weighing down his thoughts, he had the suspicion that there was more to Emma than being a selfish collaborator. What she wanted, he had no idea, but his gut told him that it wasn't as simple.

But what the hell did his gut know? It had led Mightyena straight to his death, and Aelita to a solitary imprisonment at the hands of Neved.

So what did he know? Maybe Emma really just wanted to help Neved crush their souls. He wouldn't be able to tell the difference anymore.

"Right. See you around, Emma," he murmured, before getting up and heading back to Val and Adam.

Val shot him a dirty look when he sat down next to Adam. "I don't get why you're being so nice to her," she hissed. "She's not an ally, Will. She's part of the enemy! Part of the people who imprisoned you here!"

Right. Like Emma could be blamed for his bad decisions. Like Emma had ordered the Death Wings to…to…

"Gimme a break," Will quietly said, feeling his throat tighten again at the memory. Every fucking time his thoughts traveled back to Akuwa Town, his whole composure just fell to pieces…

"Val…" Adam quietly said.

It looked like Valarie had more to say to him, but she simply sighed in exasperation. "And you look like shit, too. I wanted to ask about this yesterday as well. Have you been resting well? Getting enough sleep?"

"…not really," Will admitted.

Adam arced a curious eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"What's the matter?" Val continued. "Something we can do to help?"

They stared at him. Curious. Open. Questioning. Will couldn't bring himself to meet their eyes. "I uh…had a few…bad nights."

"Is it the cold?" Adam suggested. "We can find extra blankets."

Will shook his head. "No, I…left people behind. When they…took me." He shook his head. "Just worried about them."

"Keeping you up at night?"

Wordlessly, Will nodded. "I…yeah."

"Hmm…not smart. You need to be at your best, Will, if you're going to get out of here," Val said. "All the more reason to put that Prestige Room to good use. "

The guards opened the kitchen shutters and the prisoners began forming up in a loose queue.

"Uh, it's not great, as usual," Val said as she looked at the stale soup and undercooked potatoes. "I'm saving a bit for Saki since she's been forcibly placed back into her room with no dinner for the night."

Adam chuckled.

"Not funny! She took one for the team here!"

Adam seemed to consider that for a moment. "No, still funny."

When they'd all gotten their portions and made their way back to the table, Val shot another look at Emma. "Hey, so apparently Emma's been in here ever since she lost the tourney."

"I fail to see why that is such an issue?" Adam said in-between inhalations of food.

"Don't you find it weird that she's just sitting there? Doing nothing? Not even eating? Almost as if she's waiting for something to happen?"

"Val, I think you're being a litttleee bit paranoid."

One of the guards emerged from the kitchen holding a tray. They spoke amicably, but then Emma pointed to something behind the guard. He put the tray down and looked behind him and Emma…did something at his shoulder.

He didn't like that, but Emma pleasantly explained…something and the guard eased up again.

And then the second the guard returned to the kitchen, Emma sprang to her feet and left the Dining Hall with quick, hurried steps.

"Okay, that was very strange," Valarie said. "You can't say that it wasn't."

"There's something up with her…but we knew that already," Adam conceded.

"I dunno, I just have this feeling about her…" Val insisted.

Will almost, almost outran his brain again. He already had a quip at the ready regarding Val, Emma and the concept of jealousy, but what little reason still clung to his concussed brain told him that was a really, really bad idea.

And they said he wasn't a people person…

He finished up his dinner, rolled his apple to Adam and then rested his head on his arms, waiting for time to pass.

People finished up. They left. Val and Adam left as well. Adam gave him the tiniest of nudges to shake him from his lack of thoughts, and Will looked up as one of the guards approached him.

Ah. Right. The Prestige Room.

"Alright William, let's get some things clear," the stern-faced man in black explained as he escorted him through a previously-locked hallway. "You've only won this room for tonight. If you wish to stay here longer, you'll have to win more matches. Dinner has been set on the table. We'll clean up in the morning. Leaving this room is prohibited, just like your regular cell. Don't leave a mess. We'll be waking you up at eight in the morning to escort you out. Don't give us trouble."

The man droned on and on about the rules that Will began to find it difficult to keep ignoring him. When the guard shut him in the Prestige Room and finally locked the door behind him, Will felt relieved to be alone again.

He scanned the room for things he could use that evening. He doubted he'd be able to produce anything useful from the television for Saki, and the guards would likely not appreciate any acts of vandalism, no matter how…noble his intentions.

Dinner looked nice. Something with wings, freshly roasted. Some pudding. A large goblet filled with what looked like ice-cold water. The bed was easily twice the size of the one in his cell and looked immaculate. The bathroom…

Holy crap. A bathroom.

Will kicked off his shoes and his socks and then shut himself inside. It was even better than he expected; a large, walk-in shower with all kinds of soap and shampoo. A massive, white bathtub that looked large enough to fit two people, strangely enough, stood on the far side of the bathroom, right next to a toilet.

…were those even more shampoos, soaps and toiletries he spotted? Gels and powders and things he needed a lighter for and stuff meant for the skin and not the hair and stuff meant for the hair and not the skin –

Will stared at the massive collection, then grabbed a bar of soap and placed it into the glass dish in the shower. A bottle of shampoo was next, and that was all he needed. At that point, he would have been satisfied with some laundry detergent.

He took off the rest of his clothes and threw on the shower. Hot, steamy water erupted from the golden facet, and Will nearly yelped when it hit his skin.

Hot, hot, hot –

After dancing around like an idiot and fumbling with the far too complicated heating system, Will managed to get the water to a comfortable temperature. Then, he began inspecting the damage.

Holy fuck.

Will's breath hitched in his throat. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't. His eyes were glued to the many, many, many bruises and markings the Death Wings had left him with. It took him a moment to even find the scar in his abdomen from when he'd fought the Rift Gyarados. A little medal of pride among this display of sadness.

Slowly, Will began undoing the dirty bandages, wincing as he revealed raw, bruised, torn flesh to the hot water. The warmth of the shower rinsed off the dried sweat, blood and grime, but it did nothing to wash away the angry wounds that covered more than sixty percent of his body.

Scratches. Welts. Bruises. Sometimes, he could recognize the faint shape of a boot, or a fist. It was a miracle he still had all his teeth. Maybe that was why they hadn't gone for his head too much. That would have risked breaking his skull to little pieces and the Warden wouldn't want that, would he? Another hero would step up for Madame X to crush. Wouldn't want that, would she?

Finally, Will blinked and pulled his gaze away. He began scrubbing his head, getting the leftover caked blood out of his hair. He felt his tense and sore muscles slowly start to uncoil and relax. He rolled his neck in slow circles, easing away the stiffness below his skull.

He wished the water would invigorate his mind, but it didn't. It only made him feel more exhausted.

Nevertheless, he had to put his scattered thoughts back together. Inventarise.

What had changed?

"Nothing," he whispered.

Everything.

What was stopping him from continuing with the plan to escape?

Incompetence, weakness, fear -

"Nothing," he whispered more forcefully.

Emma, then. Whose side was she on?

…his throbbing mind failed to provide a truthful answer.

Only one way to find out.

Will shut off the shower and began getting dressed. Compared to the amount of soap and shampoo he'd used to scrub himself completely clean, his clothes smelled and felt like they'd come straight from the garbage bin. Nevertheless, they were his. One of the very few things he'd had with him on the Oceana. Since Indriad had slapped the memories out of his soul, he didn't have a lot to connect him with his previous life.

Garbage bin or not, they were his.

Okay Emma, he thought as he laced up his shoes. Time to see what you're up to.

He pulled up the candelabra and found a note. If this is a knock-knock joke then so help me –

"If you are reading this, then you took my advice. Hopefully this is Will and not someone else. In the event this is someone else, there's nothing I can do."

She could tell them to heck off.

"If this is Will, have a read in this room! If not, just go to sleep and don't mention this to anyone."

…a read? He was supposed to have a read in this room?

…how the hell would a read help him achieve anything? He'd be better off with an actual knock-knock joke, at least then he could have a laugh.

A read, a read…

His brain was filled with cotton, he couldn't get it to work. Emma was smart. This had been important to her. She'd risked a lot to put that note there.

Have a read…

What he wouldn't have given to have Aelita or Ren with him. They would have known…

At a loss, Will approached the large bookshelf in the back of the room. He looked around and didn't see anything weird.

Frustration bubbled up in his stomach. He sat down at the dinner table and took a few quick bites, hoping that some actual food and calories would jump-start his brain again.

If he were Emma, and he wanted someone to learn something important, where would he have hidden that information so that nobody else could find it?

Somewhere out of sight, obviously.

Have a read.

Will stood up, wiped his hand on the pristine tablecloth – screw you Neved – and began plucking books out of the closet, hoping to find another note hidden somewhere around them.

Normally, he would have been against any form of violence against books, but desperate times called for spiteful measures. He began pulling the books from the shelf by the handfuls, tossing them aside the moment he confirmed that Emma hadn't hidden anything underneath them.

With half an empty shelf to his front and a big pile of books to his left, it began to dawn on Will that he was being a complete moron.

She said have a read, not have a shelf, imbecile, he chastised himself. Next, he began flicking through the books. They were old and heavy and some of them were absolute doorstoppers, but eventually he found another note lodged between the pages of a really weird-looking book.

"Yes!"

"Remove the third book from the bottom," Emma's note read.

"Way ahead of you," Will said as he began plucking the books off the bottom half as well.

And…holy shit, a secret door fell away at the back of the shelf.

A secret entrance hidden behind a shelf.

Giddy with excitement, Will was about to waltz on through when he realized that he was about to make an enormous fuck up. "Not falling for that again," he growled, before sending Houndoom out.

Houndoomraised himself to his full length, dark eyes scanning the room for enemies. He blinked, then turned to look at Will.

"Let's take his easy," Will told him. "Secret entrance, possible assholes standing in our way."

He blew out an angry puff of hot air.

"We're not cracking skulls yet. I need you to be my eyes…and ears, I guess. "

Houndoom uttered a little whine, then began scampering through the entrance.

Will followed closely behind him, trusting in Houndoom's superior hearing to guide them through whatever nonsense Neved had built behind the Prestige Room. If…if the worst came to pass, at least Houndoom had a way to defend himself from physical violence.

As it turned out, Neved's nonsense was another big freaking Xen base, completely devoid of guards and even grunts.

Will knew that a chance like this was extremely rare, and if he screwed things up he'd lose it forever. He suppressed the desire to go smash everything in his sight and kept his head as cool as he could.

Houndoom and him navigated through the rocky base, passing by automated rail carts and strange robots and bucketloads of those ugly purple crystals.

Will spotted a door straight ahead, right next to some weird console. Again he wrestled down the desire for violence and he asked Houndoom to listen for any stragglers.

Houndoom pressed himself against the door, his long, spade-tipped tail idly sweeping back and forth as he listened.

Then, he stepped back and shook himself.

"Nice," Will said. "Come on."

He found himself in the same sort of prisoner complex as the one he'd spent the last nights in, but this one was different. All the cells were empty safe for one.

That one cell –

Will's entire body went slack. Everything fell away but the woman in that cell. Caution left him. Subtlety went with it. He found himself running towards the barred cell and the woman inside turned around and she saw him and her eyes widened with shock and relief and warmth and love and she stuck her arms through the bars to embrace him and –

Hot tears burned in his eyes as he embraced his mother for the first time in months. "You're alive," he croaked. "You're alive…you're alive…oh god you're alive…"

"Will…" Mom said, and she caressed his cheek with a gentle hand. "It's you…it's really you…my sweetheart, what have they done to you?"

They hurt me, mom. They hurt me and they took him…they took him…

Tears rolled down his eyes before he could catch himself, but he didn't tell her. God, he couldn't. Not yet. If he gave in now, he would not be able to pull himself together again.

"You should see the other guy," Will said after an enormous struggle, his throat constricting. as he fought back the urge to break down. "A-Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

His mother reached for the bruised, damaged part of his face, cupping his cheek like it was made of porcelain. "I'm doing just fine, now that you're here…Emma was right. You are here…and you are thinking of me…"

"Of course I'm thinking of you," Will said. A sob had lodged itself in his throat and he struggled to swallow it. "I've looked for you…god, I did! I couldn't find you…I fought a-and I l-lost p-people and T-Team Xen…they d-did things…" More tears fell to the cold floor below as he struggled to stammer his words out. He took a deep, shaking breath.

"It is not your fault…" she whispered at him.

Her words knocked the air out of him more than anything the Death Wings had done to him. They left him floundering amidst the guilt and the pain and the sorrow that had been eating him alive the past couple of days.

It was. It was his fault. he'd made the call to go in, he'd made the decision to stay and investigate. This was on him. All of it.

His mother…with her kind, wise eyes, her halo of pink hair and her unending well of sympathy…she didn't blame him.

It made him feel lighter.

"I've always thought about you," he whispered.

"We didn't have much time before, so…I didn't think you loved me…" his mother continued. "But…seeing you again…hearing you again…"

"Of course I love you," Will breathed, too shaken to even think about the utter absurdity of those words. "I'm going to burn down this whole place to get you free. I…I found people like you said! I've made friends, they can protect you! They can help us!"

"Will…" She rested her hands on his shoulders. "I need you to remain calm sweetie. We have little time. Emma found her way down here and told me that you were here. She told me that she was working for the Warden, but I think we can trust her."

"Emma's good people," Will said. "She told me how to find you."

Mom smiled wearily. "She has good intentions. Now, as for our situation...we're going to need to act quickly. This is how we can save everyone. Please listen closely…"

He did.

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

---

In Emma's cell, Zoroark threw the loudest fit. He babbled angrily, snarling in frustration and making no effort to hide his discontent.

"Shhh! Be quiet!" Emma urged him. "You're going to get me in trouble! Listen, just sit in there and pretend to be me. Don't make anymore noise! I'll be back later, just…just behave!"

Zoroark, disguised as Ammea, folded his arms and shot her a pretty good imitation of a human pout.

"I promise!"

Emma hurried down to the docks, hoping to whatever deity still watched over them that the Xen Battleship was still there. Time was running out. If the battleship wasn't there, none of them would be escaping this hellish island.

Thankfully, its massive hull loomed in the distance the second Emma reached the docks. She headed to the bridge, grateful that she didn't encounter any guards on her way there. Her status granted her privileges, yes, but she wouldn't like to have to explain this breach of curfew to Neved.

"There is the command console," she breathed, running a quick check on the console. "Oh for - of course it needs a key. Okay, think, think…"

This ship belonged to Neved. He wouldn't just leave the key to his prized ship on board. It would be either on his person or in his quarters."

Emma sighed. "Of course…"

Back to the castle she went. If she understood the layout correctly – and she had no reason to doubt that – his room would be on the third floor. He usually stayed up late and spent his time at the pinnacle of the castle. If she was very lucky, she could get away with a little bit of snooping.

The trip through the castle's interior was nothing short of harrowing. It was past the curfew, so guards patrolled everywhere. She stuck close to the shadows, grateful that the guards seemed bored out of their minds. They didn't muster more than a cursory checkup of their surroundings before continuing their patrol, complaining to each other about their lack of sleep.

Emma made it to Neved's room without a problem and found the doors unlocked. She slipped inside.

"Alright Neved, where are you hiding this key?" She whispered. She didn't get more than a few minutes to herself before she suddenly heard a cry of pain.

Alarmed, Emma spun to her right. That sounded like it came from one of the adjacent rooms!

She silently twisted the doorknob and pushed it open just far enough for her to slip through. She tiptoed to the intersection, then peeked her head around the corner.

There, standing behind some sort of command console with glass separating him from the rest of the room in front of him, stood Neved. He had his back to her and seemed too preoccupied with…wait, what was he doing?

"I'm sorry, but that's the wrong answer, yet again," Neved said. "My hand has been forced."

He pressed a button.

And the girl in the room screamed as electricity coursed through her body. It lasted mere seconds, but the sheer intensity of the shock sent the girl crashing to the ground, twitching weakly.

Emma clasped her hands in front of her mouth in shock. The inhumanity. The savagery! "That is enough!" She shouted.

Startled, Neved spun around. "Emma?!"

Furious, Emma marched down the hall, shoved right past the sickening psychopath and checked up on the girl he'd been torturing. How long? How long had he been tormenting this girl? And why? What on earth drove him to do this to her, but not the person who was his actual enemy? Who was she?

Emma looked her over. She was still breathing. The two large anodes on the wall seemed to have projected the currents straight through her body without the necessity for any…attachments. Save for a few burn marks, she would live.

"What on earth are you doing Neved?" Emma demanded.

"I was just giving our little prisoner a little taste of revenge," Neved said. Calmly. Deliberately. Without a shred of remorse or shame. "Not on any fault of her own, but her father, Keta."

"I don't care who she is or who her father is!" Emma screamed. "No one deserves this! I thought you were above torture, you monster!"

Neved looked at her like she was the one who didn't understand. "Normally I am, but a certain phrase her father told me long ago rings in my head, and suddenly…" He turned away, his face contemplative as he recalled whatever it was that had driven him to this madness. "There is nothing beneath me, but Keta who rests on the ground."

A pathetic, weak excuse! How dare he! How dare he! "Putrid man!" Emma spat.

Neved snorted. "Call me what you like, but if you're so concerned with this random girl, then escort her back to the cell. And then promptly back to yours. If I recall correctly, you're supposed to be there right now."

"I'm glad I wasn't," Emma hissed. She gave that vile monster no more heed and simply turned to the poor girl he'd been tormenting. "Hey, I'll take you back to your bed. Don't worry, I have you now."

The purple-haired girl could barely muster a response. Emma struggled to get her to her feet, pulling the girl's arm around her shoulders and heaving. Thankfully, the girl wasn't very heavy, so she was able to support her weight without her knees buckling.

Somehow, she had remained conscious throughout that horrible treatment. She was fit and strong, and she helped to carry her own weight somewhat.

She remained silent as Emma helped her to her cell, then tenderly placed her down on her bed.

"I'm sorry about Neved," Emma said. "He…I didn't know."

The girl didn't answer. She looked so tired, so hurt…her long, purple hair hung around her face like a curtain. How long had Neved kept her in these conditions?

"You don't have to answer me," Emma said. "I just want you to know that…this won't last much longer."

The girl leveled a furious glare at her. "Who are you to even say that?" She spat, her voice weak and shaky. "Just go away."

Emma nodded. "Alright, if that's what you want, I'll leave. But know that I'm here to help. I'm going to get everyone off this island."

The girl blinked a few times, cocking her head aside in confusion. "What? Aren't you working with Neved?"

"For now. But once I get what I need, I'm out of here." She paused, then took a closer look at the girl. "Wait…are you…are you Aelita?"

The girl looked up in surprise. "Yeah. How do you know? What do you care?"

Aelita…she'd been traveling with Will this entire time. If her sources were correct, Will and Aelita had even fought Team Xen together.

Will was…fiercely protective of his friends. If he discovered what Neved did…

…it would bring back that spark of his in an instant. It would certainly shake him out of his misery. Neved had inadvertently worsened things for himself. There was justice in that, Emma liked to think.

"You were with Will," Emma said.

"So what?" Aelita challenged her. "What about him? Did you see him, too?"

Wordlessly, Emma nodded. "I've seen him."

"He…" Aelita pulled herself further up the bed. Suddenly, she looked a lot more fragile, a lot more vulnerable. With a small voice, she asked, "Did he…is he…?"

"Will's alive, Aelita," Emma said. "He has people who take care of him."

She saw her words striking Aelita hard, far harder than she had intended. The girl closed her eyes and took a moment to collect herself again. "And what is it you're looking for?" She asked.

Emma sighed. "That's a secret, sorry."

With a scoff, the girl turned away again. "Figures…" She said bitterly.

"I'll be back for you," Emma promised. "Just be safe. I will get you out of here as well."

With that promise, Emma took her leave. She had failed to get the key she'd been looking for in this horrible development, but the night was young, and she wasn't going to give up just yet.

They had told her that this castle was old and filled with secrets. Hidden passageways, sealed-off rooms, underground routes nobody even remembered anymore...nobody but them, it seemed.

So Emma knew exactly where to look for it.

In the library, she didn't need more than a couple of minutes to find what she'd been looking for. She dusted off the old tome and placed it down on the table.

"Architectural Secrets of Blacksteeple Castle – A Mystery, A Wonder," she read to herself. If that didn't tell her what she wanted to know, she didn't know what would.

That book…it contained blueprints and descriptions of ten different versions of the castle. Something didn't add up though. The blueprint of the library…there should have been a door where now stood a bookcase.

Emma felt around the bookcase, muttering to herself about the lack of originality when it came to hidden entrances.

"Really?" She sighed, searching for whatever mechanism would move the bookcase. "A secret passage hidden behind a bookshelf? Come on…"

"Well well. Look who it is, everyone's lovable mole, snooping around."

Alarmed, Emma spun around, coming face to face with one of the prisoners. "What are you doing up?" She demanded. "You should be asleep?"

"So should you, mole. I heard that conversation you had with Neved."

Emma's brow furrowed. "You were eavesdropping?"

"I got ears all throughout this castle. You'll never see me, but I'm there. An invisible beast that feasts on others."

"Weird, I see a rat in front of me," Emma coldly said. "So much for being invisible."

"You think you're so clever. But I'll have the last laugh! Just wait until the Warden hears about the secret passage there."

"You wouldn't," Emma hissed.

"Try me," The woman shot back.

Emma bristled. She was so close, so close to getting everyone out. She wasn't going to let anyone stop her here.

"Bed time," she snapped, before sending her Pokemon out.

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

---

That morning the guards came to get him from the Prestige Room. Will waited for them at the dinner table, warmly greeting them with the best disdain-filled glare he could muster.

Not that it did him any good, it just felt nice to get that out of his system

He'd spent a significant portion of the night at his mother's side, telling her about Tesla and Venam and Ren. He'd told her about Melia and Team Xen's obsession with her. He'd told her about the desperate battles Ren, Venam and him had waged to save her…before ultimately failing.

He'd told her everything. How Nim had picked him up, how he'd met Aelita and Keta, how he'd helped them save Sheridan Village. He'd told her about Maria and Indriad Theolia. About the maids, Maria's strange power and ultimately, how she'd sacrificed herself to save them.

So much to tell, so much he hadn't even reflected on himself. It had been one thing after another with barely any time to process it all.

Goldenleaf, Narcissa, Wispy Tower, Giratina and Geara, the gym match and the journey through Route 4…and the ambush.

The ambush.

Will hadn't told her everything. He…had lacked the courage to tell her. At the time, he'd rationalized it as not wanting to harm his mother with the story, but honestly…he couldn't. He just couldn't. If he had tried to recall the details of that cursed day, it…he just. Couldn't.

It was cowardly. It was weak.

But he didn't want to relive those moments, much less force his mother to suffer with him. She'd suffered enough. Everybody here had suffered enough. It was time to kick things into gear.

He hadn't gotten more than four or five hours or sleep, but those hours had been the real deal. Four hours of dreamless, uninterrupted sleep.

What a mother's embrace wasn't good for…

Will made his way down to the cells, but Saki wasn't there. Strange.

He found a letter on his pillow though.

A feeling of trepidation began to spread through his stomach as he unfolded it. Saki had written about some trouble arising at their usual spot.

Trouble…

"Shit," Will hissed, quickly crushing the sheet of paper in his fist and shoving it in his pocket. If those assholes had found their safe haven, they might lose their only chance to plan things through in peace! He had to get there!

Will spun on his heels and ran. He ran for the first time since Akuwa Town and his body did not appreciate that. Knowing that it wasn't just Aelita who depended on him now, but also his mother, had changed everything however. He simply bit on the insides of his cheeks and endured it. What was a little bit of pain, anyway? His mother had been cooped up here for months! She'd endured, and so should he!

Will skidded to a slippery half in front of Braixen's home, his fingers already clutching Blaziken's Poke Ball. He flung the door open and rushed inside –

Only to see Saki, Valarie, Adam and Braixen in some sort of standoff with Emma of all people. The air was charged with tension as they nervously eyed each other, with Val in particular glaring up a storm. Everybody had their Poke Balls ready for a fight.

"Will!" Saki said, bouncing up and down nervously as she saw him enter. Emma's eyes flickered towards him, but almost instantly went right back to Val. "As you can see, we have a small problem! Um, actually, a big problem…"

"She just walked in here last night," Braixen unhappily said. "Out of nowhere. But they're not letting her explain!"

"Explain what!" Val snapped. "She's already explained herself by joining Neved."

Will rolled his eyes. He placed a hand on Val's shoulder and tried to very gently pull her back. When she angrily jerked away, Will decided that enough was enough and shoved his way past her. "Val, take it easy. Emma's with us."

Valarie's eyes widened in disbelief when Will proceeded to put himself in-between her and Emma. "Will, I appreciate what you're doing," she said, trying and failing to keep her voice calm. "But you're out of your mind with sleep deprivation. Fuck, you could be walking around with a concussion for all we know. Now come back over here before she hurts you."

"Hurt him!" Emma snapped, furious. "You have no idea what you are talking about! I would never hurt Will! In fact, I'm here to help all of you!"

"She's here now, hearing her out might not be a bad choice," Adam said.

Val pointed a threatening finger at Emma. "Fine. Talk! But if we're not convinced…"

"You will be," Emma said. "Just gimme a sec." She sighed, then ran a hand through her hair. "Okay, we don't have time to sit around asking questions so I'll get to the point. I'm a double agent. I'm only working with Neved so that I have free roam of the castle. My goal is to get everyone off this island. Before it's too late."

Valarie crossed her arms and set her expression to extra stubborn. "That's a cute story, but I don't see any evidence."

"No, she's right," Will said. "Emma showed me a secret passage in the Prestige Room. Those people I left behind? They're being kept in a separate wing through there. Val, Emma showed me."

"I can vouch for that!" Braixen quickly chimed in.

"Really?" Adam said. "How?"

"She showed me! The secret passageway Emma came through to here led directly to that area! The person Will left behind when they took him? It's his mother! I spoke to her myself, for reference!"

Will turned to stare at Braixen. "You talked to my mom?"

Braixen nodded vigorously, her large ears flapping as she did.

"Fine, I'll trust you for now," Valarie said. "But if you show even an inkling of suspicious behavior – "

"I understand," Emma said. "Do what you must, but I'm serious."

"In that case, how will you go through with this?" Adam asked.

Emma smirked, but Will saw it wasn't without nervousness. "I have a plan, but it leaves no room for error. That's just the nature of our situation, isn't it?"

"Go one!" Saki urged her.

"A few nights ago I snooped around the docks. I saw a huge ship that will hold all of us. The…the only problem is that it requires a key to turn on. I suspected that it might have been in Neved's possession, but…"

"Wait, you snooped around?" Will said. "Emma, did you…did you happen to find someone? A girl, Aelita, she's – "

Emma looked at him with a pained expression. "Aelita's alive, but…Neved has been torturing her with electricity," she said. "When I…"

The rest of Emma's words fell away in a haze.

Neved had tortured Aelita?

A thick, burning pulse of nausea slowly began to spread through his body. Somewhere within the deepest recesses of his thoughts, that single word Emma just spoke had set something alight. It spread like a wildfire.

Neved had tortured Aelita.

Will exhaled a shaky, little breath. He was vaguely aware of Adam's hand taking a hold of his shoulder, just like he was vaguely aware of Emma explaining how she'd failed to get that key because she'd interrupted him.

He heard it. It didn't register with him.

Will felt it creep up on him like it had with Indriad. With Geara. It was a burning, seething rage. He felt it take his thoughts, flush his body with adrenaline and heat.

This wasn't the time. Seething rage would not get him anywhere right now.

"What will we do now?" Braixen asked. "We need the key to that ship."

He would keep his calm. He would shove those emotions somewhere deep, where they couldn't go anywhere in the short run. He'd leave them aside until he got to Neved.

Then, he would set things right.

"Don't give up hope!" Emma urged her. "I've re-thought my strategy. Here's what I've thought of…"

~~~~~~~(XI)~~~~~~~

---

AN: Unless things really escalate, I think the upcoming chapter will mark the end of the Blacksteeple Arc.

Staying faithful to the source material and fleshing out the characters while humanizing them and emphasizing the amount of crap they go through is a careful balancing act. So far, I think I've managed to do that decently okay. I can't stray too much from their core character aspects, but I think accurately depicting what these events would do to their psyche is one of the most fun parts of writing this novelization. That's the beauty of the written format over the game format; we get to feel what these characters feel, see what they think and experience the story through their eyes.

With everything said story entails.

Anyway, please remember to drop a review to let me know what you think of the story! Best way to support me is to tell me what you like or dislike, and possibly leave a favorite/follow in the process. Take care everyone and I will see you with the next update!