Inyssa blinked, confused. "W-what?

"Are you going to attack me with the rest of your Pokemon?" She pointed to her partners with the scythe, looking bored. "I'm sure you could eventually restrain me, but how many of them do you think I'd be able to kill by then?"

Inyssa didn't reply, mostly because she knew the truth. Not only was Shadi severely wounded but the rest of her partners were still exhausted from their previous training. And if Mars could turn her limbs into those of any Pokemon…

"You seem very attached to that Kricketune, too. It would be a shame if something were to happen to her."

She tried to contain a sob. It didn't matter how much she wanted to beat Mars, it didn't matter how strong her hate burnt. She wouldn't put any more of her friends in danger, even if…

"I'm sorry…" She raised her head and smiled. "I hope you won't hate me for this."

When realization hit her partners, it was too late. All four of them tried to get out of the way but were caught by the red beam of their respective Pokeballs, turning into light and returning to them.

She could see Hao's face in the device on her wrist, eyebrows knit together. She read his expression perfectly, and knew he would be willing to help even if it could severely hurt him. She shook her head lightly.

"That was a smarter decision than I expected from you." Mars smiled as she effortlessly turned her arm to normal. "Now, I'm gonna need you to follow me. All right?"

She felt herself lighter and faded as she got to her feet, eyes fixated on the ground and strands of hair covering most of her face. With weak fingers she detached the strap of her belt and let it fall gently to the ground, next to her white backpack.

"Don't do anything to my Pokemon," she ordered, voice whisper thin. "And call off your grunts. Don't hurt anyone else."

What the hell are you doing!? the gnawing voice inside her mind screamed in frustration, You can't just give up like that! Fight her!

Mars nodded. "Fine, I'll do that as soon as we're out of the city. Now get in front of me and start walking. Hands behind your head."

Inyssa fulminated her with her gaze as she walked forward just like she'd been told, disgust growing in the pit of her stomach. The forest lay in front of them, looking a lot darker than she remembered it.

An idea crossed her mind. Just because she had no choice but to comply it didn't mean she couldn't try to find another way out.

"I get it," she said through the soreness of her throat. "You don't want me to send a distress signal with my Pokétch."

Mars raised an eyebrow. "My, what a smart kid you are."

Inyssa really hoped Hao would pick up on her suggestion, as daft as she'd learned the ghost to be. She started to get nervous after a few seconds of nothing happening, but then a jolt of electricity hit her wrist and she smiled. If she could just hold on for a few minutes…

The path they followed took them deep into the forest, and Inyssa discovered just how hard it was to keep her balance and not trip over roots or rocks while having her arms raised behind her head. Mars followed from behind, her footsteps almost completely silent. Finally, they arrived at a small clearance in between the large trees, not too unlike the one she'd lost Enma in that night. Thick shadows fell over them, with only the rare ray of light filtering through the leaves above. Rushing water could be heard from afar.

She instinctively recoiled when Mars walked past her, though the woman paid no mind to her. The thought of turning around and making a run for it crossed her mind, but that was quickly placated by the fresh memory of that grim looking Scyther arm.

"You can come out now," Mars said to the forest, hands on her hips.

Two figures appeared from behind the trees, and Inyssa wondered how she hadn't noticed them before. One of them was tall and broad-shouldered, and the other one was a short, lanky girl with a face that seemed made to be constantly frowning. The wrath in her expression hadn't changed a bit.

Mars turned her head towards her. "You remember my associates, yes?"

She shifted in place, her mind going through every possible escape option she could think of. She needed to make time, needed them to talk for as long as possible.

"Yeah, maybe. They look familiar."

She expected Pyxis to yell at her, but all she got as an answer was a cold grimace.

Orion took a step forward, avoiding looking at Inyssa. "Commander, should I notify the squadron to fall back? I have our escape route ready."

"Yes, tell them to retreat," Mars nodded. "However, we're not escaping just yet."

Pyxis spoke for the first time. "But, Commander, our orders were to capture the objective and bring her back for… processing."

Inyssa did not like one bit the tone she used for that last word.

"As soon as we enter the base they will take her away from us, and I'm not finished with her just yet."

She did her best not to falter under the gleam of her eyes. A gust of wind hit her in the back, carrying something more than cold with it.

"Do you know why our boss wants you?"

The question caught her off guard, though she wouldn't have replied even if she knew. She wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

"From what I've been told, you have something that belongs to us." She leaned in and out on the ball of her feet, looking bored. "One of Charon's experiments. I believe its name is Rotom."

A painful spasm shook her hand and Inyssa had to stop herself from gasping. Luckily, Mars didn't seem to notice it.

"The boss also said you've been interfering with our plans too much, so by processing you we could eliminate two problems at once." She continued to walk around Inyssa. "But... there's something there that doesn't make sense, and I was hoping you could shed some light on it."

Judging by the way Orion and Pyxis knit their eyebrows she figured they didn't know what Mars was talking about either.

"You see, when someone becomes a hassle, we tend to get rid of them…" She leaned forward, almost whispering in her ear. "Processing someone is a complicated and risky procedure, so why would the boss resort to that? Why not simply order us to retrieve Rotom and kill you? The idea that he could feel anything even remotely close to mercy is laughable, so then… Why?"

She turned around and addressed her two underlings. "Well, how about you two? Any ideas?"

Orion's voice wavered as he spoke. "I… no offense, Commander, but is that really important? We have to follow the boss' orders no matter what, right?"

Mars raised her left hand and showed him what appeared to be a peace sign, raising two fingers.

"You're wrong about two things," she declared jovially. "First, you don't work for the boss, I do. You work for me, which means you must follow my orders no matter what. And second, only a mindless slave would do what they're told without even considering it." A sour look flashed through her face as she said that. "Are you a slave, Orion?"

"I…" He stared incredulously at her. "I… no?"

"How about you, Pyxis?"

The unwavering fury in her eyes didn't falter as she replied. "I don't care what I am, as long as I see all brats like her get what they deserve."

Inyssa stared her down without blinking, heat growing from the pit of her stomach.

"Still sore about last time?" she asked, forming a lopsided smile. "Maybe if you hadn't been such an incompetent trainer this wouldn't have happened to you, ever think of that?"

Pyxis' nose flared up, and without hesitation she took something out of the holster on her hip and pointed it at her. She recognized the barrel of a gun, and her smile died.

Ah, shit.

Orion hurriedly ran towards his partner with a look of urgency.

"Whoa, wait!" He grabbed her shoulder. "Our orders! Saturn said…!

"He said bring her back alive!" she roared, hands trembling over the gun. "A bullet in the foot won't kill her, right?" she asked, although she didn't sound as confident as she probably believed she did. "Well? How about you apologize for what you just said?"

To say she was quaking in her boots would've been putting it lightly, and yet at no point did she show that outwardly. She opened her mouth and did her best to infuse as much confidence into her voice as possible.

"You chose to be part of Team Galactic," she declared. "I have no sympathy for you."

Pyxis' nose flared with anger as her finger hovered over the trigger. Shaking, uncertain.

"..."

Finally, she pulled it back, breathing in deep as she put it back into its holster.

"You'll get your punishment soon enough," she said, shoulders dropping.

Orion let out a sigh of relief, and Inyssa felt tempted to do the same. The sound of hands clasping together startled all of them as they turned to look at Mars.

"Alright!" she yelled, smiling. "And now that we resolved that, how about we get back to our previous discussion? Anyone have a complaint?"

No one said anything, as she'd probably expected.

"Wonderful. Now, Inyssa…" she said. "Care to hear my theory about why the boss wanted us to capture you?"

Her voice came out rough and bitter. "I don't care."

"Oh, I'm sure that will change very soon," she assured her. "You see, I believe the boss needs you alive, and there are only two explanations for that. First!" She raised a finger towards the sky. "He could be interested in your potential as a trainer. I'd be compelled to believe that were it not that our plans are close to completion, and there is no way you could improve so much in that short a time."

She almost felt offended by her comment, until she realized that was probably the least horrible thing she'd said or done that day.

"I'm more inclined towards my second theory." She raised a second finger, and smiled deviously. "The boss needs you alive because someone else wants you alive. Someone he doesn't want to trifle with, and someone who's interested in your continued well being." Her lips stretched so thin they became a line on her face. "Any idea who that might be?"

She frowned, not sure what Mars was getting at. How the hell would she know that? She didn't know anyone who was working with Team Galactic, not even tangentially.

An uncomfortable shiver ran up her spine. An idea came to her, and a face appeared in her mind. No, that was ridiculous. There was absolutely no way…

"You know, I didn't recognize you the last time we met." Mars' voice showed the slightest hint of anger, which startled Inyssa. "What with how dark it was and all. Your eyes did remind me of someone, but… I just figured it was a coincidence."

Her eyes widened as realization hit her. Her legs lost strength and felt like they turned to jelly.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

No…

"And then I saw your fight against Fantina. After your miraculous victory you pointed at the camera and declared your name, for the entire world to hear," Mars said wistfully. "Inyssa Dawn. I felt like such an idiot for not realizing it sooner."

Cold emerged from behind the trees surrounding them, covering the entire clearance they were in. Slowly she looked up at Mars, and their eyes met.

She barely restrained herself from gasping in terror. Her face was plain and emotionless, but the sheer anger and hate her eyes exuded could be felt by everyone around her. It was leagues above anything she'd ever felt before, making her previous outbursts look like the tantrum of a child. It was bottomless, as wide as cold as winter itself.

How could she have considered fighting her before? All she wanted to do now was run until she was as far away as possible. Mars opened her mouth to speak, and Inyssa sincerely feared her words might kill her.

"You're the spitting image of your sister, you know."

The utmost disgust dripped from her every word. Inyssa had never seen the woman show anything even close to anger before, and such a change almost left her unable to speak back.

"H-how… how do you…" Her own words seemed scared to come out. "How do you know Shadi?"

Before she could reply, Orion took a tentative step forward, barely able to look at his boss.

"C-commander, if I may. Shouldn't we… start our escap-"

"Orion, if you interrupt me again I will kill you."

What scared her the most was just how nonchalantly she'd said that. Like she was telling someone their shirt was white or the sky was blue. None of them had any doubts about the veracity of her threat; she was completely serious.

"Now, for your question," she addressed Inyssa again, and the girl froze. "It makes me a little sad that after all this you still don't remember me. All I can say is that I still feel the sting of the knife your sister drove into my back."

Mars took a step towards her, and she took a step back accordingly. The entirety of her willpower fought against the waves of fear washing over her.

"I… I have no idea who you are," she said, raising her chin. "B-but, whatever Shadi did to you, I'm sure you deserved it."

It happened in a blink. Mars lunged forward with inhuman speed, and before Inyssa could do anything the woman was on top of her. She barely caught the glimpse of her left arm making an arc towards her, and the impact against her cheek stole the air from her lungs.

It felt like she'd been hit in the face with a hammer. Before she knew it she was on the ground, eyes barely focused on the leaves above. The pain flared a couple seconds later, and its intensity made her eyes water.

"A-agh!" She took a hand to her cheek, body shaking. Her vision was blurry. "Aah…"

"My god that felt good," Mars chuckled above. "You do look like her, after all."

Still dazed, she rolled to the side and tried to lift herself with her hands, but fell again as a wave of dizziness washed over her. The ground under her face felt cold.

"I hit you hard enough to throw your balance off, so I recommend you stay down for a while. I'd also recommend not arriving to conclusions when you have no idea what happened," said Mars. "I'm not skilled enough to control my strength when I'm angry."

Her fingers dug deep into the soft earth. She felt the dull ember of rage under the daze that covered her entire body.

"Shut up…" she whispered, trying to drag herself up. "You know nothing… about her."

Mars broke into laughter, sudden and high pitched. She held her face in her left palm and shook her head.

"Oh, you poor thing," she said. "You have so much faith in her, even though she abandoned you. Do you really think she died that day? As hard as I tried, I couldn't quite finish the job, I'm afraid."

"W-what!?" Desperation alone made Inyssa finally get on her knees, one hand still holding onto the ground. "What happened!? Did… did Team Galactic…?"

The faint sound of cicadas accompanied Mars' laugh, turning the sound unbearable.

"You're still in denial?" she asked. "I just told you my theory, didn't I? Shadi wasn't attacked by us. She and the boss have the same enemy after all, and I'm sure she's the reason we weren't ordered to kill you."

"That's not true." The words came out before she could stop them.

"Trust me, I'm just as unhappy with the idea as you are," Mars continued. "After all, the boss promised he would help me find her. It looks like we've both been lied to."

With great effort, she put one foot on the ground, supporting her weight on her knee. "You're… crazy. Shadi would never work for Team Galactic."

"Shadi is capable of so much more than you could possibly imagine," Mars replied. "And I'm not just talking about what she did to me. To us. If only you knew the depths of her being like I do... But of course, you don't remember, do you? She made sure of that."

"Go fuck yourself." Inyssa finally pushed herself to her feet, and the entire world seemed to blur around her. "I… don't care about your lies. My sister is a good person, and nothing you say will change that." For a moment her legs faltered, and she had to put a hand against a nearby tree not to fall. "I'm sure you're just a selfish bastard who wants revenge for something you had coming to y–"

Mars moved faster than her dazed eyes could follow. Her foot clashed against Inyssa's stomach and as she flew backwards before tripping. She felt as if a cannonball had just hit her.

She landed on her butt first, and soon after the back of her head bounced on the cold dirt beneath her. Shapeless lights of brown and green danced in front of her eyes. She opened her mouth to breathe and the pain turned unbearable, as if she had a stake through her gut. She tried to contain the first heave, but by the second she couldn't hold it in and threw up with a ghastly sound, her entire body shaking.

She heard Mars' voice through the haze, and the sheer fury behind it made her shiver.

"Don't you dare say I'm doing this for myself!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, all semblance of her previous calm demeanor gone from her voice. "He's the one she has to pay for! He's the one she killed!"

Her words didn't make any sense to Inyssa, not that she'd be able to express that with the state she was in. The horrible taste of blood and vomit stuck to her gums and teeth, and only with herculean effort she willed herself to move away from the small puddle under her.

She knew she couldn't even stand, and her thoughts were more scattered than ever, what with the nausea and the excruciating pain in her stomach. Through half-lidded eyes she saw what she thought was Mars pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Didn't I tell you not to make me angry? Then again, I know you're not one to follow instructions easily." A small opening appeared between two of her fingers, showing one of her eyes. "That really was rude of me. It's not your fault you believe so strongly in Shadi; she's always been good at manipulating people."

Barely registering her words, Inyssa made a sound halfway between a growl and a hiss. Dark appeared at the edges of her vision every time the pain flared up, which it did almost at the rhythm of a heartbeat.

Mars kneeled in front of her and smiled. "I wanted to meet you, Inyssa. I had to make sure that you really were her little sister and…" She shook her head and laughed. "I guess I had the vain hope that you wouldn't be as stupid as I was at your age. Fat chance, right?"

A familiar sound reached her, that of flesh and mass twisting itself and changing into something new. She'd never paid attention to the sound of Mars' transformation before, but now that she concentrated on it she realized just how gut wrenching and disgusting it was. Her eyes barely registered her new arm, which was a familiar green and silver in the shape of a scythe. Mars lowered the blade until it was next to Inyssa's cheek.

"It's funny… even though this played out just like I expected, I still find it sad," the woman said, shoulders dropped. "It's not like I care about falling as low as she did, I have no pride left to lose. This is the part where I was planning to kill you, after all."

The cold, plain of her statement turned her veins to ice. Fear crept up from her heart outwards, turning her into a shaking mess.

Orion's voice startled her.

"Commander!" she heard the man yell from afar, his voice full of fear and confusion. "You can't… we can't kill her! The boss said…!"

He ceased to speak the moment Mars turned towards him. She stared him down for a few seconds, and without any fanfare grabbed onto the Team Galactic symbol adorning her chest. She effortlessly ripped it from its seams as if it were paper. Orion and Pyxis's gasp was the only thing Inyssa heard as she saw the logo slowly falling to the ground.

"Commander…" Pyxis' voice was thin and weak. "Why…?"

"I have no more reason to be a part of Team Galactic," she stated plainly. "Which means you two don't have to take orders from me anymore."

The two grunts were too surprised to speak, which she took as a cue to elaborate.

"Well, what will it be? If you're still loyal to Team Galactic you will stop me from killing this girl." Her blade drew even closer to Inyssa's face, who struggled to even move. "Unless you're too scared to fight for your ideals…" Her eyes went from Orion to Pyxis, "or too eager to get revenge to care."

The two exchanged looks, and a plea could be seen on Orion's face. Pyxis deliberated for a few heartbeats, sweat running down her forehead and lips quivering. She held the silence for what seemed like an eternity, but finally lowered her head in shame. She would let her die. Mars seemed to arrive to the same conclusion, and looked satisfied with it.

"This is the true nature of people," she declared, smiling widely. "You can be as brave and smart as you want, but when faced with overwhelming power there are very few who can stick to their guns and die standing up."

She felt the tip of her scythe arm just under her chin, and the pressure forced her to look up at Mars.

"And that's the way it should be. The idea of the human spirit is a sickness, one that spreads with the words and actions of those suffering from it. In the end, self preservation is the only thing we need as a species." Her voice got more ragged and loud as she spoke. "Fortunately for you, I'm here to rid you of that sickness before it's too late."

A thin line of blood coated the silver blade as she pushed just a bit stronger, causing Inyssa to wince. She couldn't move, couldn't even open her mouth to speak.

"However, if you're willing to beg for your life, to show me that you're not that far gone yet…" She paused for a moment, expression unreadable. "…I'll let you live. It's your choice, and trust me when I say this: it will be for your own good."

Her words caused a storm inside her. She would've almost preferred not to be given a choice, to just fall under her blade and that would be it. Her entire body shook with in fear, and the sweat which fell down her face was a good indicator of what her body thought of the offer. Someplace inside her mind a voice screamed desperately, it urged her to do anything she could to save her own life. She couldn't die here, she couldn't leave Barry and everyone else…

She swallowed hard, and tears started to run down her face. She couldn't do it, and she'd known that from the moment Mars had delivered her ultimatum. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she begged for her life against someone as wretched as her.

Their eyes met, and she parted her trembling lips to reply.

"I'm... not gonna give you the satisfaction," she stated, voice barely a whisper.

Mars sighed. "How disappointing."

The pressure under her chin disappeared, and Inyssa's head almost fell from the nausea alone. She saw Mars raise her scythe towards the sky, and in that single, frozen moment she was ashamed to admit that she regretted her choice.

"Stop!"

Both women turned, startled, towards the man who'd just yelled. Inyssa could barely make up the shape of Orion as he took a step forward, both hands grasping something small. A gun, pointed directly at Mars.

Pyxis was the first to react, and for a moment it looked as though she would point her own gun at her friend, but her hands froze in place

"W-what the hell are you doing!?" she asked. "Drop the gun!"

"No!" His yell was a lot stronger than his friend's, and Inyssa could feel the determination behind his voice. "Pyxis come on, you know this isn't right! We can't just… we can't just let her kill a kid in front of us! This isn't the reason we joined Team Galactic!"

Pyxis' eyes went wide, a few stutters leaving her lips before she could speak.

"W-who cares about her?" he asked, pointing at Inyssa. "She's just a spoiled brat like all the other…!"

Orion stomped the ground with one foot. "She doesn't deserve to die for that!"

They stared at each other for what felt like a long time, until Mars finally spoke.

"Well, would you look at this," she said. "It looks like the sickness is spreading."

And with just those words, their wills cracked. The whole weight of Mars' malice fell on top of everyone around her.

It was the worst thing Inyssa ahd ever experienced, worse than Fantina's strange aura and even worse than the painful cold emanating from the man she'd met in Lake Valor and Eterna city. Every nerve in her body screamed in terror, and she would have gladly screamed if she could move any part of her body. Orion and Pyxis froze, the sudden realization of their coming fate paralyzing them completely. Mars' footsteps were the only sound any of them could hear as she approached, scythe brandished.

Then it disappeared, just as fast as it had fallen over them. Mars' eyebrows perched up, and her gaze veered left towards the trees leading to the city. She lowered her arm and sighed.

"What terrible timing."

A blue shape jumped from the darkness of the forest, a buzzing blur which threw itself at Mars.

Somehow, impossibly, Mars caught the punch with her free hand, stopping the beast in place. Pyxis and Orion jumped at that, and without thinking the former grabbed onto his partner's arm and pulled her away, toward the thick of the forest.

"W-what are you...?"

"Come on, let's go!"

They were gone in only a few seconds, but Inyssa barely noticed that, too focused on the creature currently holding his own against Mars' strength. Her eyes went wide as she recognized the shape of Maylene's Lucario.

B-but... then...!

"Good thinking with the emergency beacon, Inyssa."

The Gym leader emerged from behind a large, crooked tree, her words giving Inyssa the closest thing to hope she'd felt in a long time. Two other people appeared at her side; a woman she'd never seen before and Marco, the man which had welcomed them to the Gym.

Both of them rushed towards Inyssa and grabbed her under the shoulders, lifting her body without difficulty. Maylene walked slowly behind them, fingers curled into fists.

"Take her to the hospital," she ordered, her voice as firm as steel. "I will take care of this."

Inyssa tried to protest, but the only thing which came out of her mouth was a couple of dry coughs. It took her a few seconds to finally form the words and get them out.

"W-wait." she struggled against the arms holding her, still dizzy. "Y-you can't fight her, she… she can…"

"Transform, I know."

Surprise was clear not only on her expression, but on Mars' as well. The woman's lips curved slightly upwards, one eyebrow arched.

"Barry told me," Maylene said as she cracked her knuckles. Then, as though reading her mind, she added: "He's fine. They will take you to him."

She tugged again to free her arms, though strength had long since left her body. "She's a monster… you can't fight her, she'll…"

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't underestimate me," Maylene cut her off. "I wouldn't be much of a Gym leader if I couldn't defeat a wretch like her, would I? Lucario and I will take care of the situation, so don't worry about it anymore."

Mars' high pitched laugh echoed through the forest, sending waves of terror through Inyssa's body.

"An entire Gym leader just to myself? Oh, how you spoil me." She smiled widely, and raised her scythe to the side. "Very well Inyssa, I'll let you go. I'll come looking for you once the time is right though, so I suggest you make a habit of jumping at shadows. It's what it'll take for you to survive me."

She wanted to protest more, wanted to scream and free herself so she could fight as well, but she couldn't bring herself to. She was too scared, too weak to even consider it. Shame filled the pit of her stomach as she lowered her head.

Maylene turned to her, and the sudden harshness in her voice startled her.

"The Association's forces will arrive soon, so you shouldn't worry," she said. "Also… I found your backpack and belt. Next time you might stand a better chance if you let your friends fight with you."

She gulped, and slowly raised her gaze towards the Gym leader.

"They… they would've been killed," she whispered, voice broken.

"Perhaps, but fighting was their choice. Stealing that from them is not what a true trainer would do," she said, her back to Inyssa. "Now go, and apologize to them. I'll take it from here."

She felt her body being carried backwards. All willpower had evaporated from her soul, and she could only stare as the shapes of both women grew smaller and smaller in front of her eyes, and her vision became blurrier.

Her head bobbed slightly, too heavy for her to lift it anymore. As her eyes were glued to the ground she felt tears running down her dirt covered cheeks.

She parted her lips ever so slightly, and the whisper that came out was immediately extinguished by a weak gust of wind.

"I'm sorry…"