The alarm sirens shook the ground under Sarah as she ran. The balcony which led towards the west tower stretched frustratingly long in front of her as she made her way towards Mars' cell.

Growls, screeches and the persistent sound of gunshots boomed through the air and into the clear sky around her. Dozens of Pokemon flew around the building, pelting the outside with attack after attack while the guards and those in charge of security tried their best to neutralize them.

For some ungodly reason no one could open their Pokeballs, not even Lucian, which meant about ninety percent of their security had gone down. In the confusion, the Team Galactic members piloting those Pokemon had attacked the east wing of the prison, collapsing the walls and letting free a few dozen inmates, all of whom had joined the chaos in their desperation to escape.

This is a trap, she'd told Lucian as soon as they saw footage of the wall breaking down. They're trying to distract us while they free Mars.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much personnel to spare, and as such the task of preventing such a break-out fell on Sarah. She kept her eyes focused on the ever-growing tower in the distance as she ran, her own heartbeat booming in her ears. If she could get there on time…

"Fearow, Hyper Beam!"

She saw the creature at the edge of her vision, its enormous wings slashed forward as it held itself afloat for a moment. From its beak grew a pulsing, blinding ball of light. Sarah barely had time to inhale before the attack was on top of her.

Her body moved automatically, as it had done so a hundred times before. She threw herself at the ground, landing on the meaty part of her shoulder as her momentum made her roll forward. The beam of energy flew past her, phasing into the air. She pushed herself up with one hand while grabbing the gun from her holster with the other.

She straightened her back, aimed at the creature, and inhaled once. Then the boom of the shot broke through the air, followed by the Pokemon's screech of pain as a hole appeared in its right wing, blood starting to pour out not long after. Fearow tried to keep itself on the air, pathetically flapping its wings as fast as it could, but the wind made it crash against the side of the building.

Both it and the Galactic grunt piloting it began to fall, and Sarah did not stick around to see them land.

Hope you have good health insurance, jackass.

She practically flew down the steps down the spiral staircase as she reached the tower, knowing that she had no time to lose. As she breathed she could feel the familiar, stagnated scent in the air which –in her experience– signaled that something was wrong. Instinct, some would call it, though it'd been a long time since she'd had to rely on it.

Jumping over the last three steps, she landed on the base of the lowest floor. The hallway turned into a blur as she ran through it, screams and echoes taunting her from the nearby cells. She ignored them; all that mattered was getting to Mars. She only needed to go right in the next corner and left in the other one and she'd be there.

So focused she was on getting there that she didn't notice the dimness of the lights hanging from the ceiling. They barely illuminated a round patch on the ground, plunging the rest of the hallway into darkness.

Perhaps such was the reason why she didn't see Mars coming.

As Sarah reached the next corner, a shadow jumped at her. She threw herself back, planting her feet on the ground to slow herself, but couldn't avoid the hand as it grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. Another one closed around her wrist and turned her around. Her cheek crashed violently against the nearest wall, followed by the rest of her body.

She couldn't move, her vision going momentarily blank from the impact. She felt a pair of lips brush close to her hair, followed by that familiar voice:

"Hey there, Sarah." Mars' voice sent chills down her spine. "Crazy running into you here."

Sarah acted instinctively, throwing her head back as fast as she could in an attempt to head butt her assailant. Unfortunately Mars saw it coming and veered to the side, all the while pulling harder on her arm, almost strongly enough to break it. She bit her lower lip as an explosion of pain shook her and spots appeared on her vision.

It didn't help that something sharp then pressed against her neck, forcing her to raise her chin.

"Nice one," said Mars. "People don't usually expect to be headbutted, so it's always a good trick to pull at the start of a fight. Too bad you're not as fast as you used to be."

The blade pressed harder, forcing Sarah to stand on her tiptoes as to not have her throat slit. Mars had probably predicted that her next move would be stomping on her feet to make her loosen her grip and had taken precaution against it. Maylene had not exaggerated when she'd spoken of Mars' experience in battle.

"What's wrong? Not gonna ask me how I escaped my cell?" she whispered into her ear. "You could indulge me at least once, you know."

Sarah winced. Her gun had fallen to the ground as soon as she'd been pinned against the wall, but she had another one on the holster of her left hip. If she could stretch her arm enough to reach it...

Mars' knee drove hard into the back of hers. The sudden pain and loss of balance would've ended in her neck being sliced in half, were it not for how she holstered herself up with her other leg. Still, she could feel the warmth of blood running just above her collarbone.

"Ah-ah, not falling for that trick again. Certainly not after your son pulled it on me," she snickered. "Now I see where he gets it from."

Sarah set her jaw, eyes narrowed into slits. "What... do you want?"

"I can think of... eight things, off the top of my head. Nine if you consider how shitty the food of this place is," she said, tone contemplative. "Though if you mean right now... I'd like you to step aside and let me walk off this prison."

She tried to push her body back, even knowing how pointless it was. Sweat was beginning to form on her forehead.

"You're not getting away," she snarled through her teeth.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disagree. I will very much escape this prison in the next... let's say ten minutes? Five, if we're being optimistic?" she said. "That is, unless you want to stay here with me until Jupiter and her posse come."

There was a short, heavy pause. "W-what?"

"Jupiter... you remember her, don't you? Ran into her in Eterna?" Sarah's eyes went wide, the memory of that day coming to her. That purple-haired woman with the dispassionate eyes? "She came to my cell a few minutes ago to... relieve me of my duties, let's say, and I didn't take it very well. My point is, she and other seven Galactic grunts will be here any second, and they're all packing heat. I might be able to get away, but you?" She heard the smile on her voice. "You're good, Sarah, but not that good. I'd hate to see you full of bullet holes."

Sarah bit her lip, the searing pain on her shoulder making it difficult to think with a clear head. Could Mars be lying? No, she had no reason to. With a blade to her neck she could easily kill her and escape, which meant that she was actually trying to save both of them the trouble. She ruminated for a few more seconds before speaking.

"Then? What do you propose?"

Mars' grin grew a bit bigger, the corners of her lips forming wrinkles on her cheeks.

"Easy, I'll let you go if you let me go. We both live to fight another day." Her tone was rather calm and matter of factly, considering the situation. "I like you, Sarah, the fact that you shot me notwithstanding. I'd rather you live for now."

The thought made her sick to her stomach, but Sarah knew she didn't have a choice. Maybe if her death were the end of it, she would've considered saying no. However, even if she took Mars down with her, that still left the rest of Team Galactic. That still left Barry and Inyssa, both of whom would be eager to avenge her even at the cost of their own lives.

Sarah's eyelids fell, heavy. She would not put them in any more danger, even if it meant swallowing her pride and taking orders from a terrorist.

"Fine. I'll let you go," she said. "Hurry up."

There was no more sass or mocking as Mars let go of her wrist and withdrew the blade from her neck. She felt her hand entering her pocket and taking her remaining pistol while walking back a few steps.

"Nice to see that at least one of you has their priorities in order," she said. "I'll be heading up now. Wait twenty seconds before following me."

She turned around to leave, and Sarah chose that moment to speak.

"Siffa?"

Mars' shoulders stiffened. She lay still as a statue for a few breaths, one foot on the first step of the stairs.

"Yeah?"

Sarah stared at her back, holding her aching wrist with one hand. Her eyes were sunken and tired.

"You don't have to be… this," she said, tone bitter. "This could be your second chance."

Mars lowered her head ever so slightly, one of her hands pushing against the nearest wall. Her shoulders shook, and she let out a laugh that sounded strained and weak.

"I've already had my fair share of second chances," she said. "And I've proven time and time again that I can't be trusted with them. Sorry, but I don't think it's gonna happen."

She began to walk up the staircase, and the faintest echo of her voice carried one last message towards Sarah.

"...still... thank you."

----------------------------------------

As Metchi ran face first toward what she figured was her certain death, she felt something change inside her.

A fleeting ember, nary more than a few sparks joined together. Growing, breathing, turning into something far beyond physical. Something pure and cleansing and incredibly destructive. She could feel it tearing her apart from the inside, and–

Drapion made an arc with her arm, her gleaming pincers aimed at her torso. Metchi's body moved on its own; she threw herself down and felt it going over her. She spun before falling, slashing at her arm with one of her knives. The edge connected, but it bounced off as if she were wearing some kind of armor. Slashing wouldn't work, she realized. She needed to stab her in between her segmented body parts, then–

As she inhaled, the heat extended from her chest outwards, enveloping all of her. It was as if she'd never breathed before. She could see the wisps and embers rising from her skin and under her clothes, as if she were burning alive from the inside. It was the most wonderful feeling she'd ever experien–

Stolen story; please report.

The scorpion Pokemon was unrelenting, and part of her knew that if she hadn't been ordered to hold back, Metchi would be dead already. There seemed to be no correct angle to approach her from. A frontal strike would get her smacked around by her long arms, and going at it from the sides seemed like a bad idea as well, considering the enormous tail slithering behind her, its pincers looking twice as sharp and deadly.

Perhaps if she could reach the head… but no, she'd seen her rotate it 180 degrees, so that wasn't likely to work either. The only parts of her body that didn't look dangerous were her legs. If she could find a way to pass through the arms and head and make it to her belly–

A long while ago, when she was still a brat, her dad had told her the tale of the legendary titans of the earth and sea, Groudon and Kyogre. How their powers were inherently destructive, yet a core and even indispensable part of nature. Floods and volcanic eruptions, torrential downpours and scorching sunlight, they rolled over the land of Hoenn destroying all in their path, yet paving the way for further life to grow in the future. Like volcanic soil being made fertile by the rain. Life for life. It had always made sense to Metch–

Drapion stabbed one of her arms into the ground to block her path, the cloud of dirt the impact raised serving as camouflage for her second strike. Metchi saw it coming, but her body wasn't fast enough to react. She hit her with the armored part of her arm, sending her flying backwards as a sharp pain erupted on her ribs. A couple of them had probably been broken.

Then the glow enveloped her side. It coalesced around the wound like a pool of liquid light, and a moment after the pain completely disappeared. Her ribs healed. A look halfway between surprise and excitement crept up Metchi's face.

Nice.

She rose to her feet again, knives shaking along with her hands, and ran toward the beast once more. If only she could distract her somehow…

Spirit. Will. Purpose. Even as Azelf's chosen one, those words had never meant much to her. They were sacred, they had a spirituality to them that Metchi would never be worthy to attain. She was purely a physical being, after all. Blood and meat and bones and sweat and hormones; she'd never aspired to be anything more. But now, at the height of her and Azelf's shared power, she could finally feel it.

A scream echoed through the cave, not of pain but of raw anger and pride. Metchi turned her head to the side, catching glance of Bronzong's severely burnt body falling backwards, the ground shaking as it welcomed it. Next to it stood Monferno, eyes glowing red and completely covered in a mantle of flames.

As he turned toward his last remaining opponent, Metchi noticed the storm brewing inside him. He was struggling to control himself, to keep his conscious mind on the forefront instead of the rage and fear tearing him apart from the inside. He seemed to be on his last leg, too, only sheer willpower keeping him moving against a vastly superior enem-

For the first time in her life, Metchi felt herself free. So what if there was almost no chance of her succeeding or even surviving past today? That had never been her goal, even if she wanted to pretend it was. All she'd ever been good for was burning every bridge she encountered and now –as the fire spread all around her– it was her time to burn as well.

She smiled. This seemed like a good place for that.

"Hey, Mon'!" she called out, voice reverberating all through the cave. "Give me a hand here, will you?"

Her and Monferno's eyes met, and that alone seemed to ease part of the storm inside him. Taking a moment to breathe, he closed his eyes and nodded to himself. There was nothing in the world he wanted more than to ignore her and keep fighting his opponent, who'd done nothing but humiliate him so far. He wanted revenge, he wanted to grab him by the neck and incinerate that smug grin of his.

But, unfortunately, there was a favor that needed to be paid back. And he was determined to make it happen.

He feinted lunging forward, and instead stopped and rotated on the ball of his feet, whipping the air with his tail. An arc of flame flew through the air, momentarily blinding the Toxicroak as he ducked under it. When it flew over, his gaze fell on the spot where Monferno had previously been, but there was nothing there.

"FREEAR!"

An ear-splitting screech filled the cavern, making all heads turn towards its source. Monferno –having jumped to almost the ceiling of the cavern– hung in the middle of the air for a moment that felt like an eternity. Fiery wisps emerged from his fur as his body was completely engulfed in flames, making it seem as if he'd turned into a miniature sun.

He clenched his fists, inhaled as deeply as his lungs allowed, and focused every ounce of his power into a single point before releasing the attack.

A pillar of swirling flames exploded from his mouth, twice as big as his own body. It swallowed Drapion whole as it fell, creating a shock-wave of heat all around the point of impact. The ground, walls and ceiling shook violently as her shrieks of agony bounced off them. Metchi smiled, the heat of her partner's attack not affecting her in the slightest. The pillar evaporated along with what remained of his power, and from it emerged the scorched and smoking Drapion, eyes wide open and body momentarily paralyzed by pain. Just the chance she'd been looking for.

The Pokemon began to move as she approached, but by then it was too late. She swatted at the air with her claws but Metchi slid under it, throwing herself to the ground. She landed on one shoulder and rolled once, lifting herself with one knee. As she raised her head she was met with the sight of Drapion's stomach, along with the opening between two of its armor segments. She drove both knives into it with all of her strength.

They slid in easily, the soft flesh making a wet and unpleasant sound as Metchi buried them to the hilt. Her opponent froze, a gasp stuck on her throat. Her entire body shook as she let out a scream of fury and agony, flailing her arms and tail in all directions.

Satisfaction flooding her, Metchi's fingers grasped the handles of the knives and pulled back. However, she wasn't quite able to get them out, as if something were keeping them trapped there. The smile died on her lips.

S-she's trapping them with her muscles!? But…

Momentarily stunned, she was not able to dodge as Drapion's tail appeared from behind her shoulder and slammed into her. The back of her head connected with the ground, turning her vision blank for a moment, and a sharp pain followed as the tail's pincers closed around her torso.

The world became a blur, and she was violently thrown towards the other side of the room. She landed on her shoulder, which made an awful crack as it connected with the ground. A few seconds after –or possibly more, considering her stupor– she heard another body fall next to her, and felt the familiar heat of Monferno's flames close.

"Metchi."

She rolled to the side and tried to push herself to her feet, something warm and wet staining her shirt below her rib-cage. She swiveled in place, Saturn and his Pokemon's silhouettes blurry in the distance. The familiar glow on her eyes and body hadn't disappeared yet, but she could feel the power weakening with every second that passed.

"I'm f-fine," she whispered, trying to form a smile. "I can keep going."

"Metchi, listen to me!"

She shook her head strongly, as if that would drive the voice out of her head. As her vision became more stable, she could finally make out Saturn's expression at the other side of the cave. He looked… scared? No, something else. Concerned, maybe? His Pokemon, while beaten up, weren't in that bad a condition, which meant he was concerned… for her. She narrowed her eyes in confusion; why the hell was he worried about her? She was absolutely fine, just because she'd hit her shoulder and was now bleeding a bit didn't mean she was out of the fight, far from it. She'd keep at it until her body was unable to move, and maybe beyond that. A simple hit from a Drapion wouldn't be enough to…

Something inside her chest tightened, and she suddenly found it difficult to breathe. A paralyzing numbness started growing from her wound outwards, and the pain all but disappeared. She felt cold. So, so cold…

Tentatively she raised the hand pressed against the wound, and looked at it. The dark red of her blood was tinted slightly purple.

The world around her began to blur. In the back of her mind she heard Saturn yell something to his Drapion. He sounded angry, and fearful.

"Metchi!" Azelf's voice broke through the numbness of her mind, forcing her back to reality. "T-that Drapion's tail was covered in venom! I'm trying to slow it down but…"

All eyes were on her, she could feel it. She looked up at Saturn, whose face had gone as pale as bone. He looked terrified, more than she'd ever seen him. And yet he said nothing, his lips pursed so tightly they formed a thin line over his face.

"Metchi, please…" Azelf's voice was pleading. "If you keep fighting you'll only make the venom run faster through your veins. We need to retreat and…"

"Just give it up."

With a rather nonchalant motion she wiped the blood off against her shirt, taking a step forward. Every muscle in her body protested at the motion, but she pushed past the numbness and took another one, fingers curled into fists. Her expression was calm, but resolute.

"We all knew how this was gonna end."

"But…"

"Ursa, stop!" Saturn was unable to keep quiet any longer, his voice reverberating through the cave, which echoed the tinge of desperation and fear it carried. "Y-you said you were going to stop us, right!? What the hell do you think you'll accomplish by throwing yourself to die!? If you live to fight another day…"

She raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want me to do that? Don't you wanna stop me?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. He looked down, lips wavering, as tears began to well up in his eyes. The sight made her chuckle. She shook her head and spoke again:

"I already told you two dipshits; I'm not a hero, I just break shit." With difficulty she tapped her temple with one finger, still struggling to keep up her smile. "And if the last thing I break is myself then so be it."

She focused every ounce of willpower still left in her, and turned her eyes golden one last time. The numbness was driven back somewhat, and she could breathe slightly better. Still, she knew it wouldn't last.

"Azelf…" she whispered. "… I know it's selfish, but can I ask you a favor? Before I die, let's just go all out, one last time. All right?"

When it finally replied, its voice was so strained and wrung out that Azelf sounded more on the brink than Metchi herself.

"V-very well."

She nodded to no one as she lowered her knees, ready to pounce forward. She didn't have her knives anymore, but that didn't matter. She would just–

Her thoughts ceased. Something pushed against her from the depths of her mind, with such incredible force that she almost lost consciousness on the spot. The world swam around her, eyes flashing intermittently between blue and gold.

She recognized the feeling instantly. It was the same from every time Azelf had taken control of her body.

"W-wait, wait!" she stuttered, eyes going wide in terror. "Azelf, d–"

Another push, and her consciousness faded.

For a moment it seemed as if she'd fainted, but then her legs moved and she swiveled back and forth, torso slightly bent forward as a curtain of pink hair fell over her face. She stood still for a moment, took a deep breath and stood up straight.

Her expression was wildly different from before, taciturn and full of regret. Her golden eyes burned silently.

"I'm sorry for tricking you." Azelf's voice came out of her mouth, echoing off the walls. "I hope you won't hate me for this, once you wake up."

Its gaze fell on Saturn, whose shoulders stiffened as if something cold had ran down his back.

"Azelf?" he asked, barely a whisper.

"Saturn, we can't waste time. Listen to me." Its tone was serious and urgent, with a tinge of fear mixed in. "I propose a deal; I will turn myself in if you let Metchi go."

It took a few moments for its words to set in, mostly due to how unbelievable Saturn found them to be. He parted his lips to reply, but it took him two tries for him to find his voice.

"Y-you'd do that for her?" he asked, tone full of disbelief. "Even knowing what we're planning to do with you?"

"I'm the one who roped her into all of this. She does not deserve to die for my foolishness." Metchi's lips curved up ever so slightly, her shoulders down. "Despite what she thinks of herself, she still embodies the aspect of Will better than anyone I've ever bonded with. I'm sure that, even without me, she'll find a way to stop Team Galactic. "

"Even then…" Saturn bit his lower lip. "…I have my orders. The papers she stole…"

"She entrusted them to her Pokemon, and ordered her to take them to Professor Rowan in case she doesn't come back," said Azelf. "If you let her go, that might not happen. You'll still have a chance to retrieve them."

That was all the incentive Saturn needed. As he took one step forward, a tiny smile breaking through his pained expression, it became clear just how grateful he was for the deal Azelf had offered.

"Then… yes. I will accept," he nodded, shoulders still stiffened. "Y-you just need to get back into your body. I have a Master Ball ready, so…"

Azelf nodded, and turned his gaze down and to the right. Monferno was still on one knee, breathing heavily as he saw everything unfold. Worry was clear in his expression.

"As soon as I let go of her, she'll fall unconscious," Azelf told him. "Take her to where Lyserg is. Fly towards Pastoria, and look for someone who can treat the venom. You won't have much time."

Monferno simply stared for a few seconds, regret and shame reflected on those dark eyes of him. He gave a tiny, sorrowful nod, and rose to his feet.

"Well, then. I suppose this is goodbye."

The golden light in Metchi's eyes evaporated, and her body went limp. Monferno caught her head before it could meet the ground, putting one of her hands around his shoulders as he lifted her up. Normally he would've been strong enough to carry three people with ease, but the previous battle had left him weak and he could feel his muscles flaring in pain. Still, he bit down on his exhaustion and began running towards the exit, the light of his tail disappearing as he headed up the stairs.

Saturn returned his two remaining Pokemon to their balls, leaving only him and Azelf inside the cave. The latter could be barely seen, the shade of its spirit still looking back towards the exit where Metchi and Monferno had gone to. After a few seconds it lowered its head and began floating towards its body, expression unreadable.

It stopped just before reaching it, tilting its head to look at Saturn. The young man held a Master Ball on his hand, and stared back expectantly.

"Saturn… you're a good man."

Judging by the way his eyes went wide, that was not what he was expecting to hear at all.

"… I can see it in your eyes," it said, words cutting through the air like a knife. "You know that what you're doing is wrong. No one who truly believed in Cyrus' plans would suffer so much making it come to fruition." There was a pause, and a sigh. "You still have a chance to get out. Don't end up like me."

And, without saying another word, Azelf closed its eyes and merged back with its body. Saturn only activated the Master Ball by reflex alone –still stunned by what he'd just heard– and saw as its body was swallowed by the red light, trapping it inside.

The device shook three times in his hand, and stopped. The silence that followed was deafening, devouring the cave whole as Saturn stood in the middle, alone.