Life of Flareon and Eevee 8

Eva barely had time to realize what was going on, when the twins intervened. While Lilly grabbed her trainer’s shirt and pulled her backwards, Blaze jumped in-between her and the approaching Blizzard. He activated his Protect and moments later the whirling Blizzard collided with the green bubble. Briefly after, the bubble disintegrated, leaving no trace of the arctic assault the woman had unleashed.

“FRIA!” The girl shouted angrily. “What do you think you are doing?”

“That woman… you don’t know her, mistress, but I do. She is one of them. She is one of the people that worked at that place.” The woman growled angrily, her icy blue tail swinging agitatedly back and forth.

“That place?” The girl asked confused, not making the connection.

“Hello G471.” Eva called out. “I’m glad to see you too managed to escape the lab.”

The woman growled upon hearing her old name. “Say that name one more time and I swear I’ll rip you apart ~eon.”

“You won’t harm mistress ~leaf!” Lilly called and stepped in front of her trainer.

“And you’re going to stop me?” Fria asked. “Don’t make me laugh. I’ll blow you to pieces in a second, grass type ~glace.”

“Only if you get me first ~flare.” Blaze growled. “Dare to harm either imouto or mistress. Dare to even lay as much as a single finger on them, and I’ll boil the blood in your veins before you know what’s going on.”

The woman was about to return the threat, when the girl silenced her. “Well, I don’t know what’s going on here. And I’d very much like to know.” She glanced expectantly at the woman, before curiously examining Eva and the twins.

With a low growl in their general direction, the woman explained: “I told you about the place I was before I found my way into your village, yes mistress?”

The girl nodded with a look of deep sympathy on her face. “You mean the lab. The place where you…”

“Yes, mistress. I don’t remember much about the time I had to spend there and it’s probably better that way. I do however remember the faces of the people that tortured me. And I remember hers.” Growling, she turned to Eva again, causing the twins to step in front of her, determined to protect their trainer.

“She was one of those people that did this to you?” The girl inquired.

“Yes, mistress.” The woman answered.

A look of repressed anger on her face, the girl turned to face Eva. “Explain yourself!” She demanded.

“Mistress does not have to-“ Blaze wanted to answer, but Eva waved him off.

“It’s alright, Blaze.” She focused on the girl. “Yes, I was one of the scientists at the lab. And yes, I too am at least partially responsible for what happened to G471.” Upon hearing the low growl from the woman behind the girl and seeing her darkened expression, she corrected herself: “Apologies, Fria. Even if the only thing I really did was not interfering and keeping my mouth shut, I do feel responsible for what happened to her.”

“You don’t have to feel responsible, mistress ~leaf.” Lilly said. “You rescued us after all. Without you we would have remained stuck in that place forever.”

“True ~eon.” Blaze nodded.

“She rescued you, hah!” Fria growled. “More like, she’s using you for her own devices ~eon.”

“You take that back right now or-“ Blaze growled as flames formed around him.

“Or what?” Fria challenged him, the air around her turning white as the moisture in the atmosphere instantly condensed from the sudden drop in temperature.

“Say, Fria,” Eva called, while stepping in front of Blaze to prevent him from attacking. “How did you escape at the end?”

“I’m not obliged to answer you ~glace.” She growled.

“So it wasn’t because your Regulator Collar failed?” Eva inquired.

“How… how did you know ~glace…?” The woman mumbled, absolutely taken aback.

The girl next to her crooked her head and examined Eva curiously.

“I was unable to get you out in the same fashion I got Lilly and Blaze to safety. It was hard enough getting those two out anyway, since Giovanni cut off almost all my privileges and access to the database a few days before our escape. I did however manage to get Emolga into the storage room for the collars. As far as I was told, it disrupted most of their sensible electronics, so I was counting on the fact that one of them would malfunction sooner or later, allowing you to make an escape on your own. Regulator Collars only have so much battery after all and have to be switched every now and then.” Eva explained and smiled apologetically.  I always regretted not being able to do more, so it’s a huge weight off of my mind to see you free of Team Rocket’s influence.”

“That… that… you… y-you’re lying ~eon!” Fria stuttered unbelieving.

“Can you prove this?” The girl asked with a thoughtfully.

Eva merely took one of her Pokéballs and released the barely conscious Emolga. She cradled it in her arms and whispered softly: “I know you’re tired and just want to sleep, sweetie. But could you please tell these two ladies what you did in the chamber back in the laboratory? That one time before we ran away, remember?”

<~Molga… m-molga…> The Pokémon croaked out, before once again falling unconscious.

“I’m sorry.” Eva said as she recalled the unconscious Pokémon. “Emolga suffered quite a bit during our last battle. I’d be grateful, if that was enough for you for now. As soon as it has recuperated, you can ask it all you want.”

Curious, the girl looked at Fria. “It… it says she tells the truth, mistress ~eon…”

“And do you believe that?” The girl asked.

“I… I don’t know what to think anymore, mistress. I always thought the collar malfunctioned because of those… training sessions… I didn’t even know that they were switched out every now and then…”

“Well, then let’s go with believing her for now. Besides, judging from how those two defend her, I doubt that she forcefully made them her Pokémon.”

“You’d be surprised, what the Pet-Matrix can make one do, mistress ~glace…” Fria mumbled.

“It’s more a basic instinct.” The girl explained. “I just feel like they’re honest in their defense and not forced to by any means.”

“We too believe that Miss Stone actions are honest.” Lance stepped in again. “She has provided some valuable insider information about Team Rocket’s experimentations.”

“So we’ve heard.” The girl replied. “Fria was quite hooked on E. Marble’s article. She’s a bit of a fangirl in this case.” She added with a grin. “I’m assuming that Miss… Stone…? Was responsible for providing the information for it?”

“More than that ~leaf.” Lilly said. “Mistress wrote that article herself.”

“Oh?” The girl asked. “So E. Marble only published it?”

“Nope. Mistress published it under an alias.” Blaze replied.

“Wait… E. Marble… is an alias…?” Fria asked with wide eyes.

Eva nodded. “I’ve been using it as a means to keep corporations from finding out who I am, so they can’t bother me. It’s hard to sue a nonexistent person after all.”

“Mistress’ whole time at Team Rocket was only to gather information about Team Rocket’s activities ~eon. Rescuing us was more of a side note.” Blaze added.

“True.” Eva confirmed. “Though I am glad that I did.” She softly ruffled Blaze’s head for a few moments, before focusing on the girl again. “We never got around introductions, did we? My name’s Evangelia, but just Eva is enough. Those two here are Blaze and Lilly.” She indicated the twins who answered with a nod and a small curtsey from Lilly’s side.

“I’m Lissandra. Well, you know Fria already. The other hybrid with me is called Morgana.”

“Morgana?” Karen inquired confused. She and the woman in black had been watching the exchange between Eva, Lilly and Blaze and Lissandra and Fria. They hadn’t spoken much so far. They had simply held each other in their arms, incapable of speaking much due to their happiness of finally being reunited again.

Lissandra nodded. “Yup. That’s what she told me at least.”

Karen looked at the woman in black. “You… changed your name…?” She inquired shakenly.

The woman blushed heavily and looked at the ground, tears forming in her eyes. “G-g-gio… h-he… he renamed m-me… f-forced this n-name on me…”

Karen hugged the woman and softly petted her back. “It’s alright sweetie. You’re safe now.” Over the woman’s shoulders, she studied Lissandra. “I take it that you are her current trainer?” She asked with a cold voice.

“Not by choice, but yes.” Lissandra shrugged. “During the short battle with the Jolteon and Sylveon hybrids that attacked us alongside her, I accidentally caught her in one of my Pokéballs. Why I don’t know, since I understood that you are her original trainer.”

“Team Rocket grunts invaded my home and destroyed her Pokéball. Probably to allow that bastard to capture her completely.” Karen growled.

Again, Lissandra shrugged. “Fair enough. As far as I’m concerned she is free to choose her own trainer. In fact, we came all the way down here to return her to you, Miss Karen.” She rummaged through her bag and quickly produced a Pokéball. She then tossed it over to Karen who caught it with the hand she had been petting the woman with. “There you go.”

“You… you’re simply letting her go like that?” Karen asked somewhat confused.

“What good would it do me to keep her? I’m uncomfortable locking humans into metal orbs. Fria is an exception, but even with her it didn’t feel right at the beginning.” Lissandra answered with a smile. “Pokémon, hybrid or not, should be free to choose their own trainers.”

“Thank you…” Karen smiled, tears flowing down her face. “You don’t know how much this means to me, little girl.” She looked down at the woman in her arms. “I’m so glad to have you back, Luna…”

“M-mistress…” The woman whispered and clutched close to Karen.

“It’s good to see her back safely.” Lance said and indicated some of the open chairs. “Please, have a seat.”

Lissandra took the offer and quickly jumped onto one of the comfy looking leather chairs. Eva followed suit and sat down opposite of her. Lilly, Blaze and Lilly positioned themselves behind their trainers. Each of them was still wary of the opposite party, especially Fria, yet they chose to follow their trainer’s path of peace for now.

“Well, well, well…” Will rubbed his head. “I thought they only experimented with two people so far. Now it looks like there’s a whole army of hybrids around.”

“Not to mention that there are others that developed this technology.” Koga added. “If I remember that group called the rogues were also hybrids.”

“A group?” Eva asked. Behind her, the twins exchanged a curious glance. Did the mysterious man and his hybrid companions also show up here?

Will nodded. “If I recall correctly, they were eight in total. A Sylveon girl, four men, a Hypno, a Serviper, a Haunter and a Serperior, as well as three women, a Magnemite, a Parasect and an Exeggutor.”

Koga nodded. “Correct. Apart from the Sylveon girl, who seemed to have been created by Team Rocket, all others followed Team Plasma from the Unova region. Considering the fact that two groups developed the technology necessary to create hybrid beings simultaneously, it is not unlikely that there are others that too possess this technology and that we don’t know about.”

“It’s quite unsettling. Especially after seeing what hybrids are capable of.” Will added and glanced at the twins.

“This whole matrix thing…” Bruno said as he studied the data Eva had provided. “How exactly does it work again?”

“It denies us our own will.” Fria commented dryly. “It locks our thoughts away and binds us to the person, who’s DNA was used to create the matrix.” Softly, Lissandra brushed against her arm.

“It denies your will?” Koga inquired.

“Fria was bound to that man Giovanni for some time. She said that even though he tortured her without end, she could only feel happiness whenever he came to her.” The girl explained and once again brushed against the woman’s arm to give her support.

“I wanted to kill that bastard. I wanted to shatter every single cell of his body. To repay him for what he had done. But I couldn’t. I could only do as he commanded me whenever he was near…” She clenched her fists and growled quietly.

“It’s alright, Fria.” Lissandra comforted her. “You’re safe now. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Will, Koga, Bruno and Lance nodded. Karen was still too busy comforting Luna and thus only listened with half an ear. “Say, Miss Lissandra.” Will started after giving her some time to gather herself again.

“Hmm?”

“You said Miss Fria was bound to Giovanni for a while. So she is not anymore? Or did I misunderstand something?”

“I’m not anymore ~glance.” Fria answered instead of her trainer. “I’m bound to mistress instead.”

“So your matrix is sealed by Miss Lissandra?”

Fria nodded.

“You managed to break an applied matrix?” Karen asked out of the blue. All eyes in the room swung towards her, however she only stared at Lissandra. “You can do that?”

It was impossible to not hear the hope in her words. The hope of maybe having a way to release Luna from her fate. A moment later all her hope was crushed when Lissandra shook her head. “I have no idea what I did. It was more of an accident. Plus, Fria’s matrix was never sealed. Due to some freakish stuff happening it’s sealed now, but I wouldn’t know how to do it again.”

“Breaking a sealed matrix is impossible ~eon.” Fria stated.

“Oh…” Karen’s shoulders sunk downward and Luna’s ears flattened as they realized what this meant for the Umbreon hybrid.

“It’s not.” Eva said.

“What?”

“It’s not impossible to reopen a sealed matrix. It’s highly risky and could potentially mean death for the hybrid, but it is possible.”

“R-really ~eon…?” Luna whispered, her vision blurring with tears of happiness.

“What are the risks?” Karen inquired.

Eva crooked her head in thought. “Let me think, what was it…?”

“Memory loss, physical injuries or in the worst case death ~flare. Though it’s unlikely for that to happen, as long as the hybrid is in a good physical and mental condition.”

“How does it work ~umbre…?” Luna asked. “Does mistress simply wipe off the mark and draw a new one?”

“No, it’s not that easy.” Eva answered. “The mark is implemented into your DNA, so it requires a bit more than ‘wiping it off and drawing a new one’. You also have to follow a certain procedure.”

“Three requirements have to be met ~leaf.” Lilly explained. “First, the hybrid must want to have the mark removed so they can be with someone they hold dear. Second, said person has to break the old and apply the new mark personally. Third, the new mark has to be applied within… what was it again ~eon?”

“Six minutes and six seconds ~flare.” Blaze helped her out.

“How do you know all this?” Karen asked suspiciously.

“A friend helped us out.” Eva explained in a tone that made it obvious that she did not want to elaborate further.

“So you can help us to remove this cursed mark from Luna?” Karen asked after a few moments.

“Maybe.” Eva said. “I don’t know entirely how it works, but I think I could figure it out if given time. The only thing we will need is the machine that applies the marks in the first place.”

“Where could we get such a machine? I never saw one before.” Karen sighed and softly pet Luna.

Eva crooked her head for a moment, before turning to Fria. “Say, Fria… is the island still intact?”

“How would I know ~eon.” The woman growled. “I don’t care if it is. I’ll never return there anyway.”

“What island are you talking about?” Lance inquired.

“There’s an island on the south coast that was used to hide the lab I worked in.” Eva explained. “If Fria didn’t destroy everything during her escape, we might be able to find a machine there.”

“You can use the heli to get down there.” Lance said. “Will, Bruno, would you go and ready it for takeoff?”

“Of course.” Bruno replied and together with Will he left the room to prepare the helicopter.

“I assume you still know how to pilot a heli, Karen?” Lance asked once the two men had left.

The woman nodded and raised herself from her seat. “Let’s go.”

“I won’t go there again. Ever!” Fria growled.

“Not even to help your fellow hybrids?”

“I will not return there.” Fria replied with a murderous glare. “If mistress wants me to, I will show her where she can find it, but I will not set a foot on that island. Not in a million years!”

“I would like to see the place you were born.” Lissandra said softly. “I want to see what it was like.”

“Please, mistress ~eon…” The woman whispered. “Don’t make me go there…”

“I won’t.” Lissandra said and smiled. “You can wait here, if you want to. But I really want to see that place.”

“I don’t want to leave you, mistress…”

“You could always stay in your Pokéball ~flare.” Blaze said. “Both me and imouto probably will. I don’t long to see that place again, but I won’t let mistress go there unprotected.”

“Neither will I ~leaf.”

“B-but…” Fria stuttered. “You… you willingly enter a Pokéball?”

Blaze nodded. “If mistress wishes us to yes ~eon.”

“Or if we need to for protection ~leaf.” Lilly added.

“W-wow…”

“Could you please decide?” Karen impatiently called from the door. “I would like to leave anytime today if possible.”

Fria growled and wanted to snap at her, but Lissandra stopped her. “She just wants to safe her friend, Fria. I would be impatient too, if I were in her position.”

Fria sighed and glanced at Eva ash she recalled the twins into their Pokéballs. “That woman will come with us, right ~glace?”

“Probably. I mean, I have no clue about marks or matrices or anything. I just want to see with my own eyes where you were born, Fria.”

“I know, mistress…” The woman sighed and lowered her head. “Would… would you take me with you in the Pokéball?”

“Are you sure?” Lissandra asked. “You said it hurts you. And you swore you would never enter it again.”

“I know… but I can’t let you go on your own, mistress ~eon. I will stay with you as your Pokémon.”

Lissandra smiled. “Alright then.” Softly she pressed the button on the Pokéball, causing it to snap open and emit a beam of crimson light. Moments later the light concentrated around Fria and disintegrated her, before the Pokéball swallowed her entirely. With a soft smile, Lissandra stowed the Pokéball in her pocket and turned to the waiting women and Luna. “I’m ready.”

***

“So this is it then…” Karen said after leaving the helicopter. In front of her was a large building accompanied by an arena about half the size of the tournament arena on the Indigo Plateau. Somewhat behind the building she saw several container stacked on top of each other, temporary living quarters as Eva told her. Together, the two women, Lissandra and Luna approached the front door of the laboratory building. The front door itself was completely blown apart and shards of it were spread all over the area.

“My, my…“ Eva mumbled. “G471 sure didn’t mess around.” When she noticed Lissandra glaring at her, she corrected herself. “I’m sorry, Fria.”

Led by Eva, they entered the building only to find even more destruction. They also found the first of many skeletons.

“What…” Karen whispered when she saw two skeletons close together in a corner. One of them still wore a large, formerly white, now stained, lab coat.

Eva crouched down next to it and softly ran her fingers over the fabric of the lab coat. “Hydrophobic plastic…” She mumbled. “Worst idea ever in my opinion since it just burns stuck to your skin in an accident.” She raised herself again and looked at the horrified expressions of her companions. “If any of you still wasn’t convinced that Giovanni is trying to create an army, I’d advise you to get your brain checked.”

“~umbre…” Luna whispered and clutched tighter to her trainer.

“Fria… did this…?” Lissandra whispered with big eyes.

“Most likely.” Eva nodded and continued down the hallway.

Shocked, the other three followed her, Karen petting Luna’s back to calm her down again. They passed several windows built into the walls so one could watch the experiments conducted inside without disturbing the scientists working inside. Almost every single one of these windows had been shattered to pieces, much like the equipment inside the rooms. Every now and then, they found more skeletons, mostly lying in corners or leaning against the walls. Karen and Luna stuck close together, while Lissandra clutched the Pokéball holding Fria. Only Eva seemed to be unaffected by the death around her. Her expression had turned completely emotionless, much like her expression during a Pokémon battle. After several minutes of quiet walking with only the occasional cracking of small bones when someone stepped on them, they reached a large circular room. As before the entrance, its door was completely shattered to pieces that were spread through the hallway in front of it. Eva entered the room and quickly looked around, ignoring the group of maybe seven skeletons close to the exit. Eventually her eyes narrowed as she examined the skeleton of a machine standing in the middle of the room. With several swift steps she crossed the distance to it and examined it. Karen, Lissandra and Luna were waiting at the entrance, too scared to enter.

“It must be this one…” Eva mumbled to herself. She reached into the inner pocket of her jacket and released all four of her Pokémon.

<~Molga!>

<~Cro!>

Only the twins remained quiet after being released. After a quick glance around, Lilly inched closer to her brother who put his arm around her. “Mistress~ flare?” He asked.

“This is the same machine that we used in the other laboratory. But it’s broken beyond repair. I’m pretty sure there was a backup of it somewhere, so we need to find it.” She turned around and faced her Pokémon. “Crobat, Emolga, I want you to split up and check the other major labs if you can find it.”

<~Cro!>

<~Molga!>

Both Pokémon screeched and dashed off to the far end of the room to exit through a small side door. After watching them for a moment, Eva turned to the twins. “I know you’d rather not walk these halls again, but I fear that I have no choice but to ask you to, if we want to get out of here as soon as possible again.”

“We understand, mistress ~leaf.” Lilly said, managing to keep her shacking voice in check.

“Thank you.” Eva smiled. “I want you to check Wilson’s office. With any luck, his computer still works and you can search it for data on how to remove a mark. If that’s not the case, you should search the drawers, if he has any papers on the matter. Or maybe you can find some information in other offices.” She took out her PokéNav and handed it to Blaze. “In there you’ll find a map of the building back from when I worked here. I marked Wilson’s on it.”

“Hai, mistress.” Blaze answered as he took the device. Together the twins made their way back towards the exit of the room, past Lissandra, Karen and Luna. A few moments later they were gone.

“Is… i-is it safe to just let them go like that…?” Karen asked.

Eva nodded. “Yes. They can handle themselves should anything happen. Besides, this facility is empty.” She began searching the room to see if she could find anything of interest. While Lissandra wandered around the room to inspect the shattered remains of machines, Karen and Luna remained at the entrance, the Umbreon hybrid clutching tight to her trainer.

<~MOLGA!> All of the sudden the Pokémon came screeching back into the room, quickly followed by Crobat. In its claws it carried a folded piece of paper. Once it reached Eva, it dropped the piece of paper into her hands.

“What is it?” She asked as she unfolded the paper.

<~Molga, molga!> The Pokémon chirped agitatedly.

“Huh? What?”

“It… i-it says that there were other people here. Three of them.” Luna translated shyly, before hiding behind Karen again.

“Other people?” Karen asked concerned.

<~Molga!> The Pokémon stated and everyone present turned to Luna.

“They left that paper and disappeared.” She translated.

“And you didn’t follow them?” Eva asked. “At least one of you could have.”

<~Cro!>

“It says there was a huge sandstorm the blocked their path and moments later the people were gone.”

“A sandstorm?” Karen asked. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Quite the contrary.” Eva smiled as she unfolded the paper. Quickly she scanned over the lines and her smile widened into a grin. “For your situation it’s probably the best that could have happened.”

“And why might that be?” Karen asked somewhat annoyed.

Instead of answering instantly Karen turned to Emolga. “Would you please get Lilly and Blaze back here? They don’t have to keep searching for information anymore.”

<~Molga!> The Pokémon chirped and quickly dashed off.

“We’ve met those people before.” Eva answered Karen’s question. “They helped me to apply the marks to Lilly and Blaze.”

“Oh?” Karen asked surprised. “May I know who they are?”

Eva raised an eyebrow and was about to tell her no, when the twins and Emolga returned to the room.

“What is it, mistress ~leaf?”

Eva held up the paper. “I know where we can find a machine. I also know how to destroy an applied mark.”

Blaze smiled. “Emolga told us. Ro-“

“Quiet.” Eva said with slightly more force than necessary, causing the boy and Lilly to flinch. “Sorry… that was too much. Anyway, follow me.” Eva quickly passed the twins and exited the room. Moments later all followed her. Again they walked through the hallways, though this time there were less skeletons present as Eva lead them further into the building. After two minutes of walking, they entered a small room. The walls were stacked with wooden boxes of different kind, however Eva ignored them. Instead she focused on the large bundle that stood in the middle of the room. Quickly she untied the bonds around its base and pulled the canvas cover down to reveal a similar machine as the one in the main lab. Only this one was still in one piece and functional. After a quick search around the room, Eva determined that there was no electrical outlet strong enough to power the machine. “Dammit…” She cursed.

“We can’t carry it somewhere else, right ~leaf?” Lilly asked.

“It’s too heavy for that, imouto ~eon.” Blaze answered.

“I thought so…”

“Hmm… this puts us at an impasse.” Eva stated.

<~Molga?> Emolga chirped from the top of one of the boxes.

“Are you strong enough for that ~flare?” Blaze asked. When he saw his trainer’s questioning expression, he translated: “She says that if it’s not for too long, she could power the machine.”

“That might be an idea…” Eva mumbled. “Are you sure, sweetie?”

<~Molga!>

“Alright then. Sit down there.” Eva said and indicated a heavy black plug next to the machine.

<~Molga.> The Pokémon chirped and sat down on the floor, leaning against one of the boxes. Blaze helped it to pull the plug close and hold on to it, while Lilly drew upon her own powers to use her Helping Hand to amplify Emolga’s electricity.

“Good thinking.” Eva said as she began calibrating the machine. “Let’s see… this one there and this option on zero…” She mumbled on for a few more moments, before turning to Karen. “What kind of symbol do you want to use for the mark?”

“Uhm…” Karen reacted surprised. “I don’t know…”

“What about your symbol, mistress ~eon.” Luna asked.

“Her symbol ~leaf?” Lilly asked confused.

“As a member of the elite four, mistress has her own symbol. Well, it’s more of a logo ~umbre.” Luna explained.

“That would do, yes.” Karen stated and took out her PokéDex. She turned it upside down and showed the back to Eva. Inscribed into the red cover, was an image of a blood moon. The inner two thirds of the moon were covered by a large crimson K. Eva took the PokéDex and returned to the machine. It took her a few moments to activate the scanning function, so she could upload the image into the machine. As soon as she was done with that, she returned the PokéDex to Karen.

“Alright, I think I’m done.” Eva announced after a few more minutes of changing different settings. She turned to Luna and Karen. “Now it’s your turn.”

Both women nodded with a serious expression. “What do we have to do?” Karen asked.

“Luna only has to sit down and endure until everything is over. I don’t know exactly what will happen, since I didn’t get to experience it for myself. Blaze and Lilly said that it’ll sting a bit, but nothing more.”

Luna nodded and sat down on the machine. While Lilly kept helping Emolga to keep the energy going, Blaze crouched in front of Luna and softly explained what exactly was going to happen. Meanwhile, Eva used a small needle to poke Karen’s thumb and extract a large drop of blood. Then she told Karen what she had to do: “First you need to insert your blood into the machine. Press that red button, so the tube opens.”

Karen did as she was told and allowed the machine to absorb the blood. “Like that?”

Eva nodded. “Yes. Next, you flip those two switches. Then we’ll have to wait.” Again Karen did as told, before turning to watch Luna.

With a soft click, the handcuffs and leg restraints snapped shut, causing Luna to yelp in fear. Moments later another metal ring snapped around her forehead to prevent her from trashing around while the mark was being erased. The poor girl was completely frozen in fear when the telescopic arm began to hum and vibrate, while moving towards her. A sharp sting surrounded by several smaller spikes extended downwards and pierced the flesh at the back of her neck, right into the middle of her old mark. Seconds later the arm, and with it the entire machine, began to vibrate heavily, sending shocks of pure pain all through her body. At the same time she felt her energy being drained from her, causing her to become absolutely unable to do anything against the machine anymore. Her vision blurred out and a metallic taste entered her mouth when she bit her tongue. Images of her time at Giovanni’s side flooded through her mind, beginning at the latest scene of him sending her, Sienna and Sybil to capture Fria and quickly speeding backwards throughout the entire time she had spent as his pet. After what seemed like an eternity to her, and a few seconds to anyone else present, she reached the scene of Giovanni forcing his mark upon her. A split second later her vision went dark and she blacked out.

“LUNA!” Karen cried out when she saw her slip and wanted to rush to her aid, however Eva grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked her back. At the same time Crobat popped up in front of her and drove her back as well.

<~Cro!>

Karen spun around and hissed at Eva: “What are you doing?! She needs my help!”

“You can’t help her right now!” Eva screamed back. In a calmer tone she continued: “You can only help her by completing the process. If you don’t apply a new mark within the next few minutes, she’s going to die!”

Shocked Karen stared at Eva, who indicated the screen next to her. An overlay had activated, featuring a countdown backwards. Right now it had reached 5:57 and steadily moved towards zero. “You need to apply the mark before the countdown reaches zero, otherwise your friend dies.” Eva repeated.

Karen threw one last glance at the unconscious Luna, before taking a deep breath. “Alright. What do I need to do?”

Eva indicated a button. “Click that. Then highlight the symbol you want to use and confirm it.”

Karen did as she was told and anxiously watched the telescopic arm come to life again. Once more it began to move from its standby position, that it had retreated to after Luna had fallen unconscious and the old mark had been erased, towards the girl’s neck. Slowly the sting extended again and moved closer to her flesh, however, a split second after its tip had pierced her, it froze.

“What happened?” Karen asked somewhat scared. With half an eye she had been watching the screen and the countdown on it. It had taken about thirty seconds for the arm to move down this far, causing the time to drop from 5:57 to about 5:25. Right now however, the screen was completely black.

Concerned Eva tried tapping on it to see if it maybe had entered some form of standby mode, only to realize that this wasn’t the case. “We lost power.” She stated flatly.

“WHAT?” Karen screamed, however Eva ignored her. Instead she walked around the machine towards Lilly and Emolga. She crouched in front of the exhausted Pokémon and softly petted its head.

“We… we’re almost at our limit, mistress ~leaf…” Lilly panted completely drenched in sweat. Emolga wasn’t looking much better and was panting frantically.

“Can you keep going?” Eva asked softly.

“M… maybe… ~eon…” Lilly panted and sunk to the floor.

Blaze crouched next to her and examined her. “I don’t think imouto can continue, mistress.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ‘CAN’T CONTINUE’?!” Karen screamed.

Blaze snapped around and glared at her. “Both she and Emolga are completely and absolutely at their limits. We should have rested before coming here ~flare. The battle and the pressure were too much. If they push any further now, I don’t know what would happen.”

“LUNA’S GOING TO DIE IF THEY DON’T!!” Karen screamed and lunged at the boy, however Crobat held her back.

“So might they ~eon.” Blaze returned coldly.

“U-uhm…” Lissandra started, causing Eva to look up. “She… L-Luna can still make it, if that machine continues, right…?”

Eva nodded. “Theoretically yes. However, I fear that what Blaze said is correct. Right now, neither Lilly, nor Emolga are in any state to continue supplying power for the machine.”

Lissandra rummaged through her bag and retrieved a Pokéball from it. “I might be able to help.” She mumbled, while pressing the button. A crimson beam shot out and focused on the floor in front of her. After a few moments, the beam formed the silhouette of an Eevee, before completely releasing it.

<~vee?> The Eevee asked and looked at Lissandra.

Lissandra crouched in front of it and softly ruffled its fur. “Sorry for bothering you, but… could you use Wish to help those two?” She indicated Lilly and Emolga.

<~vee!> The Eevee called and jumped around to focus on its targets. <~Eevee-vee!!> It roared, causing its body to light up in a pure, almost painfully bright light. Tiny stars whirled around it as the light surged through the room in circles, before eventually concentrating on the exhausted Lilly and Emolga.

“~leaf…” Lilly mumbled astonished as she felt her strength returning to her. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, her tiredness and exhaustion were washed away by a flood of warmth. A glance sideways told her that Emolga was experiencing the exact same thing. After several moments, the light faded away again, leaving both her and Emolga strengthened and ready to go again. “Wow…” Lilly mumbled and glanced at the Eevee in admiration. “Thank you ~eon…”

<~Molga!> Emolga agreed.

With a soft smile, Lissandra pet the Eevee’s fur. “That’s all we can do… I hope it helps.”

“It will ~leaf.” Lilly replied softly, before glancing at Emolga. As one they nodded and once more drew upon their powers. Moments later the machine buzzed back to life again and after a few seconds the sting continued its way downwards to pierce Luna’s neck.

Nervously Karen stared at the screen. When the overlay appeared again and continued its countdown from where it had left off, she breathed a sigh of relief. However, only a second later, the timer skipped from about 5:20 to only 1:30 remaining. “No…” She breathed as she watched the timer continue to tick down each second. At about 1:10 the sting had completely sunken into Luna’s neck and the second phase of actually applying the mark activated. Vibrating heavily and sending waves of pain all through her unconscious body, the three small spikes surrounding the sting began inscribing the symbol onto Luna’s neck. At the same time, the skin utilized the DNA from Karen’s blood to create a bond to Luna’s Pet-Matrix that would Karen her one and only true mistress.

About halfway through the process of applying and linking the mark to Luna’s DNA, the machine began to falter once more. Angry, Karen glared at Lilly and Emolga, both of whom were panting and sweating heavily again.

“No… use… ~leaf…” Lilly squeezed out as she forced herself to keep her Helping Hand active. “Almost… can’t… go on… anymore… ~eon…”

Karen wanted to snap at her, however Blaze’s fiery stare made her back down again. “But why…?” Lissandra asked confused. “Eevee healed them, didn’t it…?”

“It healed their physical fatigue.” Eva explained with an unreadable expression. “What it cannot heal is the mental strain these two have had to go through today.”

Karen anxiously watched the timer drop. By now it had reached 0:30, causing the machine to emit a loud beep and the counter to turn crimson red. “Come on…” She mumbled to herself, not daring to say it out louder.

“I believe in you, imouto ~eon.” Blaze said as he crouched in front of her. Softly he reached out to pet her head, before turning to Emolga. “Both of you. I know you can do it. Just a little bit more ~flare.”

<~Mo-molga…> The Pokémon whispered and clenched its eyes shut. <~M-mo… E… E-m-mol-ga!>

A huge wave of electricity surged through the room hitting Blaze, Lilly and the cable of the machine. While the twins clutched together to endure it, Lilly still keeping up her Helping Hand, the machine began to hum again and continue the process of applying the mark.

“Five… four…” Karen whispered fearfully as she kept glancing back and forth between the counter, Luna and the sting in her back. “Three… two…” She clenched her fists so hard that her nails cut her skin, causing it to bleed. “One…” A split second before the counter switched to zero, the machine beeped twice. The counter disappeared from the screen and was replaced by a large, green ‘PROCESS COMPLETED!’ all over the screen. At the same time, the telescopic arm retreated back to its resting position and the restraints that had held Luna snapped open.

Karen immediately dashed around the machine to prevent the still unconscious Luna from crashing to the ground. A few moments later, her eyes fluttered open and she did a huge gasp for air. “M-mistress ~eon…” She whispered. “Did… d-did it w-work…?”

After a quick glance at the back of Luna’s neck, Karen nodded. “Yes, sweetie… it worked. You’re safe now… No one can hurt you anymore.”

“M-mi-mistress…” Luna whispered again, thick tears dropping from her eyes. “Th-thank you…”

The two remained sitting in embrace for several minutes. Only the sound of several Pokéballs closing shut caused Karen to look up again. With a soft smile on her face, Eva stowed away her four Pokéballs. “Let’s get going.” Eva announced. “I don’t want to remain here longer than necessary.”

Both Karen and Lissandra nodded. The girl stooped down to pick up the Eevee and cradle it in her arms, while Karen supported Luna so she could get back up on her feet. After a few steps however, she faltered and Karen only barely managed to save her from crashing into the wall and slowly lowered her to the ground. “S-sorry, mistress…” Luna whispered. “I’m j-just a l-little sick ~umbre…”

“It’s alright, sweetie.” Karen answered. “I can carry you.”

“Y-you don’t have to, m-mistress ~eon…” Luna smiled. “You c-can just use the P-Pokéball…”

“Are you sure?” Karen asked quietly. Luna only nodded, too weak to answer. “Alright then.” Karen whispered softly and activated Luna’s Pokéball. Moments later the exhausted girl had been swallowed by Karen’s Dusk Ball.

Karen briefly stared at the ball with a soft look in her eyes. Then she stowed it away in her pocket and rose from the ground to follow Eva and Lissandra who had been waiting slightly further down the hallway. Together they exited the laboratory building and walked back to Lance’s helicopter. A few minutes later Karen started up the engine and the downwash spread dust everywhere as the helicopter rose into the air. A few moments later it sped off towards the Indigo Plateau again.

***

“So they’re gone again ~dra.” A hooded figure commented when the helicopter reached the horizon and became little more than a black dot against the upcoming night.

“Yes. And the transitioning of ownership seemed to have been successful.” A male voice commented. Its owner was hidden beneath a large, black cloak with a hood drawn over its head.

“Do you still believe it was a good idea to leave them the instructions on how to break a mark, master ~fly?” A third figure asked.

“I do.” The male voice replied.

“You don’t think that information might fall into the wrong hands ~gon?”

“I highly doubt that. That woman seems smart enough to be careful with such information. I’d say she destroyed the paper already. Besides,” He turned around to face his companions. “It won’t be long before that information will be useless and unneeded anyway.”

His companions nodded. “Indeed ~fly.” The second one answered.

Suddenly a small bundle at her feet rustled and a young girl with bright orange hair poked out from under a cloak it had used as blanket. Sleepily it rubbed over its eyes. “Daddy? I’m hungwy ~Trapinch.”

“I figured, sweetie.” The man stated. “Over at the beach is a small village. I’m sure we can find you something to eat there.”

“Yay ~traa!” The girl squealed and ran over to the man to clutch against his leg. “Can I get fwies ~traa?”

“Maybe.” The man smiled. “But only if you behave yourself and don’t let anyone know what you are.”

“Got it!” The girl grinned and tugged on his pants until he gave in and picked her up.

“Alright, let’s go.” He nodded to his companions and turned around to walk towards the small boat hidden amongst the rocks of the island. Once there he put the girl down in the back, before pushing the boat out onto the water. When it was swimming steadily on the waves, he climbed aboard as well and grabbed two coils of rope from under one of the benches. Quickly he tied them to a large iron ring at the bow, usually used to secure the boat at a pier, and then tossed the open ends into the air. Instead of dropping down, both ropes remained hanging from above.

“Ready, master ~dra?” A female voice inquired.

“Just a moment.” He replied and settled down at the back of the boat with the girl on his lap. “Ready.”

Moments later the boat shot forward, towed by two winged silhouettes above.