White as Bone - Sun and Moon Fanfic

TRUE END - PART 4​

I woke up the next day, looking to see that it was mid-morning. I chuckled to myself a little, realising that this was the first time in a while that I'd actually had a full night's rest.

After I reunited with Anabel, she took me back to her apartment, which I used to share with her. It was already pretty late when we got there, so we headed straight ti bed. All of my old clothes were way too small for me, so I just stripped my suit, while Anabel changed into a plain nightdress. Then we got into bed, with my lying closer to the wall and Anabel resting her head on me. She made me tell her everything that happened while I was away, and I did so until she fell asleep on me, where I fell asleep soon after.

I attempted to get out of bed, but Anabel was still clinging onto me. I decided to hum quietly until she woke up, so I chose the song "Heart-Miracle", which is one Anabel had taught me. I wasn't even at the chorus when her eyelids started to flutter open.

"Good morning." I smiled. She reached up and poked my nose.

"We're going shopping today." She said in a flat tone. I remembered her being like this when she woke up; flat, yet still demanding.

"Alright, but why?"

"You're lying here in the nude."

"Because I have no clothes, which means I can't go out to buy any since I'd still be naked."

"...Wear the suit."

I laughed. "I can't wear the suit, it'll be so awkward."

Anabel looked up at me, her sleepy glare causing me to choke on a chuckle. "You're wearing the suit." She said, before getting up and heading to the bathroom. I sighed in defeat, and also got up to put the suit back on.

As I predicted earlier, it was extremely awkward to walk in my suit at the mall. Everyone kept looking at me, probably because I looked like a pervert walking around with Anabel, who was wearing this really cute lilac dress. Once we reached the clothing store, I picked out a few that I liked and tried them on, eventually settling on a white hoodie, cyan jeans and some white sneakers, as well as a pair of thick-frame glasses without lenses, because Anabel said it was important for us to conceal our identities.

"So, what do you wanna do know?" I asked Anabel as we headed back home.

"Well, I wanted to do some more stuff in town, but we should get your suit back before we decide on anything. Oh, I can take you to my favourite café!" Anabel smiled.

"That sounds great, let's bring our Pokémon as well." I agreed. We reached our apartment, so I dropped my clothes off, took Anabel's Poké Ball and my Premier Ball, and we made our way back into town.

 

TRUE END - PART 5​

"So, what Pokémon do you have?" Anabel asked, eyeing my Premier Ball. As part of the International Police, we weren't allowed to use Pokémon on missions until we were 16, even if we had them prior to joining. Personally I didn't, but I remember that Anabel used to have an Eevee.

"Who, this?" I asked, letting the Premier Ball rest in my hand. Caitlyn popped out on her own, landing on the ground. Anabel gasped.

"She's adorable!! And look at her fur; purple! It's just my colour~" Anabel cooed, before bending down to introduce herself.

"Hello, my name is Anabel. What's your name?"

"Hi, Anabel! My name's Caitlyn~"

"She said her name was-" I began, but Anabel cut me off.

"Caitlyn, huh? That's a very nice name." Anabel smiled. I was shocked.

"U-Uh, how did you know that?" I asked.

"You're not the only one who can communicate with Pokémon, y'know." Anabel giggled.

"B-But I thought I was..." I said, siting down on a bench. Anabel joined me, while Caitlyn prodded her nose into a flower than began to frost over.

"Well, it's not exactly the same as your ability. After you... left, we didn't have anyone that could talk to Pokémon, so some research was conducted, and we found the source of your power." Anabel explained.

"Oh, really?" I said. Anabel nodded, continuing.

"It turns out your powers come from your lineage. Of course,we were both orphans, so we don't know our families, but they traced your DNA, and found that you have some connection with ancient tribes of Viridian Forest."

"Viridian Forest? Like, in Kanto?"

"Yeah. The people who lived there eons ago were so in-touch with nature that they began to develop powers. Most of them had the ability to heal, while others gained things like telekinesis or superior intellect. The rarest power of them all was the ability to communicate with Pokémon."

"Wow... I knew my power was special, but I didn't realise it was that special!"

"After doing some more research, we found that the powers differed by the area of Viridian Forest that the people were in. Turns out you're not the only one with these types of powers. Lance, the current Indigo League Champion, was one of the few remaining descendants of the Healers. Another was a mysterious girl name Yellow, who actually grew up in Viridian Forest as a child and also has these healing powers."

"I see... So, did they find any other people like me?" I asked. Anabel frowned a little.

"N-No. Like I said, your power was very rare. But, they did find out something because of it."

"Oh?"

"It turns out that the powers can be passed by blood. However, the powers only appear if the giver and the recipient of the blood share a blood type and a birth year."

"That seems really confusing... hold on." I said, looking at Anabel. "We're born in the same year..."

"...And we happen to share the same blood type. So, they performed a transfusion with the samples they had back at HQ, and I've been able to talk to Pokémon ever since." Anabel smiled, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Even though you were gone, I felt closer to you after the transfusion. It's like there's a physical part of you inside of me now..." Anabel said quietly, blushing. I could feel my cheeks growing warm as well.

"So, that's it? You can talk to Pokémon now, just like me. Speaking of Pokémon, I remember you had an Eevee... Is that who's in that Poké Ball?" I asked.

"Well, kinda." Anabel smiled. She held out the Poké Ball and her Pokémon phased out; an Espeon.

"This is Soleil. He evolved from the Eevee you once knew." Anabel explained. Soleil seemed to sit there, a bit confused.

"Anabel, who is this boy? I do not recognise him..."

"Soleil, this is Aura, the boy that disappeared all those years ago." Anabel explained, motioning towards me. Soleil's eyes seemed to shoot open at the aound of my name. I gave a polite wave.

"Nice to meet y-" I began, before feeling my neck tighten up. I looked down at Soleil, and saw he was using Psychic... to choke me!

"Listen here, Aura. You caused Anabel so much suffering when you left, I don't think I can ever forgive you. Don't think for a minute that just because Anabel trusts you, I do too." Soleil said, coldly.

"Soleil, stop! You're hurting him!" Anabel cried out. I felt the psychic grip around my neck loosen, and air rushed into my lungs causing me to go into a coughing fit. Soleil just glared at me, turned, and went to sit by Caitlyn, who began to pester him with questions.

"Aura, are you OK? I'm so sorry, I had no idea he'd act like this..." Anabel sighed.

"No, it's not your fault, it's mine..." I replied, my voice all raspy.

"Let's just go, I'm sure something to eat will help with your throat." Anabel smiled. We stood up and continued walking, with Soleil staying next to Anabel and Caitlyn jumping onto my shoulder to lick my cheek.

 

TRUE END - PART 6​

Once Anabel and I had arrived at the café. It was a pretty fancy establishment, and I felt a bit under-dressed, but Anabel seemed to be a regular, so they turned a blind eye to my hoodie-and-shorts combo. In the corner of the cafe there was a playpen for Pokémon, so we left Caitlyn and Soleil there to get acquainted, whilst we sat at a table near a window.

Anabel ordered herself an ice-cream sundae and an iced coffee, while I just had a lime soda. I sipped on it absent-mindedly, my gaze fixed on the outside world. Anabel placed a hand on my arm, snapping me back into reality.

"Is everything OK? You seem... distracted." Anabel asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." I sighed.

"Was it what Soleil said? Because I'm sure he didn't mean-"

"No, it's not that. Well, it kinda is? I dunno, I guess I'm still getting used to the fact that I had a whole life I didn't know about. I mean, so much happened to me in the time we spent apart, but so much more happened before that... It's just a bit hard to take it all in." I admitted.

"Did... Did you want to talk about it? About your life after the incident, I mean." Anabel suggested. I nodded.

"Well, I don't remember much of the smaller stuff, but the first thing I remember was waking up in Alola, near the base of Team Skull. They instantly took me in, and I ended up working for them."

"You worked for Team Skull? I can't imagine you in those uniforms, especially the blue hair." Anabel giggled. The way her face lit up made me feel a bit better.

"Yeah. Anyway, I was there until about six months ago, when I got transferred to Aether Foundation. On my first day I was picked on, beat up, and left outside in the nude. But the president, Lusamine, she took me in like her own child. She was so kind..."

Anabel didn't say anything, and looked down at her iced coffee intensely. I knew she was hiding something.

"Anabel, is there something you know about her? About Lusamine?" I asked.

Anabel looked up and gave a hesitant nod.

"She's... not all peace-loving like she claims. Lusamine is a twisted, evil woman."

"What? No, that's not possible." I chuckled nervously. Anabel gave me a serious look.

"Aura, she's insane. She's obsessed with her perception of keeping Pokémon safe from harm, and now she's after Ultra Beasts too." Anabel said.

"B-But how... How do you know this?" I asked.

"Her name is Lillie..." Anabel whispered. "...and she's Lusamine's daughter."

 

TRUE END - PART 7​

Back at HQ, Anabel lead me down a series of corridors and through several doors, until they finally came to a stop.

"She's in there." Anabel said, nodding at the door. "I'll go in first, you wait out here."

Anabel slowly entered the room, shutting the door behind her as she went in. I couldn't help but press my ear against the door, however it was too thick for sound to go through it. After about 5 minutes, Anabel opened the door again.

"Alright, she's ready." Anabel said. I nodded and walked in, seeing a young girl sitting on a bed, a bag in her lap. She looked almost afraid to see me.

"Lillie, this is Aura, the boy I told you about." Anabel said, sitting herself down on a sofa near the bed. I sat beside her, closer to Lillie.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Lillie." Lillie said quietly. I noticed that the bag seemed to move a little on it's own, but just told myself I was seeing things.

"So, Anabel told me that you used to work at the Aether Foundation?"

"Yeah, for a few months before I came here. Before that I was with Team Skull, and before that I was here, but that was before I was sent through the Ultra Wormhole." I explained. Lillie looked up at me, her mouth opening and closing a bit before she managed to ask her next question.

"H-How is... How is the president?" She stammered.

"The presi... You mean your Mother?" I asked. Her eyes went wide, as if she'd been stabbed in the back with my voice. I decided using that word wouldn't be very good for her mental state.

"The president is well. She is, um, well I'm not sure... Last time I saw her, she was talking about Ultra Beasts..." I explained.

"I see... She's still doing it, then..." Lillie said quietly, clutching her bag and looking down.

"Aura, I think it'd be best if you left for today." Anabel advised. I nodded, taking Lillie's hand.

"It was nice to meet you. Maybe we can talk again some other time." I smiled. Lillie nodded, still looking down. I sighed a little, but Anabel cheered me up by pressing her lips against mine with a soft kiss.

"I'll see you later, OK?" She smiled, her cheeks red. I nodded, standing up and leaving Lillie's room, heading back to my own.

 

TRUE END - PART 8​

It had been a while since I'd left Anabel and Lillie. I was in the bedroom at the apartment Anabel and I shared, bored out of my mind. I could hear Caitlyn and Soleil chatting in the next room, smiling at the fact that Soleil seemed to be warming up to Caitlyn. I just hoped that he'd eventually get used to me too.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. I slowly got up from the bed and opened the front door to see Anabel standing there.

"Oh, you're done?" I asked.

"Yeah, I helped Lillie calm down, we spoke some more, and then she fell asleep." Anabel giggled.

"I'm glad she's feeling better." I smiled, before yawning. I didn't realise how late it was.

"Aww, is someone feeling a bit sleepy?" Anabel teased.

"S-Shut up, I'm allowed to be tired." I pouted.

"Alright, alright, I think it's time for everyone to go to bed." Anabel smiled.

-​

I woke up the next morning, the sun blinding me through the curtains.

"Hnn, what time is it...?" I moaned, sitting up. Anabel, who had been using my chest as a pillow, slid into my lap, her eyes fluttering open.

"Ah, sorry Annie. I didn't notice you there." I apologised. Anabel smiled.

"It's OK, no harm done. I'm gonna go wash up." Anabel said, getting out of bed and heading to the adjoining bathroom. I chuckled, recalling the events of the night before. (Author's note: At one point there was supposed to be a sex scene here, but I decided to remove it. As for what they were doing now that I've removed it, they were Googling memes) Sighing, I grabbed my phone from the floor, where it had fallen during the night, and noticed it had a few missed calls. It was also almost midday.

"Oh geez, how late did we stay up last night?" I smirked. Unlocking my phone, I saw that the missed calls were from HQ. I dialed the number, which lead me directly to the boss.

"Agent Aura, I'm glad to see you've finally decided to answer your phone."

"S-Sorry, boss. Annie and I were... up late last night..." I trailed off.

"So you and Agent Anabel are both awake and ready?"

"Awake, yes? Ready... not so much." I sighed.

"Well, get ready and head straight to the Aether Foundation."

My heart stopped. My palms got sweaty. I felt lightheaded and sick to the stomach. I had a feeling I knew what was going on.

"It's Lillie... she went back to see her mother, didn't she?" I asked. The boss was silent for a moment, before he spoke again.

"I'll be sending Agent Looker along with our field-ops specialist from Hoenn. Your task as a group is to retrieve Lillie, then you and Anabel must go undercover and conduct an investigation on what the Aether Foundation are up to. I'm sure you have no problem with these orders?"

I did. I did have a problem. And that problem was that, if I returned to Aether, I had no idea what would happen to me if I was found out.

"No, sir. I'll inform Anabel and we'll be on-site shortly."

"Good. That is all." The boss finished, hanging up. I sighed.

"Annie! We've gotta head into work, hurry up in there!" I called, flopping back onto the bed.

 

TRUE END - PART 9​

​

As Anabel and I made our way to the mission briefing room, Anabel made some small talk with me.

"Do you know what's going on?"

"Apparently Lillie ran away after you left her last night, back to Aether. We have to go in after her, with Looker and some field agent from Hoenn."

"Hoenn? Oh no..." Anabel said, shuddering a bit.

"W-What do you mean, 'oh no'?" I asked.

"...You'll see." Anabel sighed. I felt my gut drop to the floor.

-​

"Ah, welcome agents." A familiar voice called from across the room. It was the same man I spoke to on the phone, and the same old man who showed me my past when I first got here.

"Sorry, we were up late last night." I explained. I looked around the room and saw Looker standing with the other agent assigned to us, his back turned towards us. He was shorter than anyone else in the room, and he had bright green hair. He turned to look at us, and his eyes lit up.

"Big Sis!!" he called, running over to Anabel and tackling her into the ground with a hug.

"S-Sis? You have a brother!?" I gasped.

"No, no." Anabel giggled, standing up. The boy was still latched on to her.

"Aura, this is Wally. I was his mentor when he first joined." Anabel explained, before turning to Wally.

"Wally, this is Aura. The boy I told you about?" Anabel said. Wally's eyes lit up again, and this time he tackle-hugged me to the ground.

"Big bro!" He smiled, nuzzling into my chest. I felt my heart explode - if there was one thing I've always wanted, it was a little brother. I wrapped my hands around him, squeezing him as hard as I could.

"I have claimed his child as my own his my child now I will take care of him my precious cinnamon roll child he is mine." I whispered to myself. The boss and Looker looked at me, concerned, but Anabel just burst out laughing. She also knew that I'd wanted a younger brother for the longest time.

"Alright, alright, settle down." The boss said. We all stood in a line, straight, still, and attentive... except Wally, who was rocking back and forth on his heels and humming some pop tune I'd heard once before.

"Now, as you all already know, Research Subject AF-01, code-name 'Lillie', has escaped from this facility during the night, probably with the use of the powers from the begin she calls 'Nebby'." The boss explained.

"Nebby?" I asked.

"Yes, 'Nebby'. 'Nebby' is the nickname she has given to the Pokémon she carries with her, a Cosmog. Our research shows that, if Cosmog is put under the right amount of pressure, it can evolve into the Legendary Pokémon Solgaleo or Lunala, depending on the time of day. It is also the only Pokémon that we've recorded evolving into something considered 'Legendary', however we also have reason to believe that Cosmog is not from this world, but in fact from the dimension where the Ultra Beasts come from."

I felt my heart skip a beat. Anythign to do with Ultra Beasts and I did not go well together.

"The President of the Aether Foundation, Lusamine, is seemingly aware of this fact as well, and wished to use Cosmog to summon Ultra Wormholes on command and flood our world with Ultra Beasts. Lillie was able to escape the Aether Foundation with Cosmog, and was under the care of Professors Kukui and Burnet until a few months ago, where we took her in for questioning."

Even though we were all standing to attention, I could feel Anabel stiffen up beside me.

"Your task, as a team, is to infiltrate the Aether Foundation and retrieve Lillie, if she has in fact returned there. Regardless of the outcome of that mission, Agents Aura and Anabel are to then stay in Aether Foundation undercover, in hopes of finding out if our theories about Lusamine are true. We have contact on the inside in the form of Wicke, a scientist working at Aether. She will give you more orders upon your arrival. Is your mission understood?" The boss asked.

"Yes, sir." We all responded.

 

TRUE END - PART 10​

​

"Annie, are you OK?" I asked Anabel as we sat in the helicopter, along with Wally and Looker, heading towards the Alola region. After our mission debriefing, I had noticed that Anabel had been oddly silent, but since we were in the helicopter, and we had special headphones on, I took the chance to talk to her privately. However, it wasn't as private as I thought, because Wally and Looker could also hear us through the microphones.

"It's just..." Anabel trailed off. "I don't like the way they treat Lillie... You heard what the boss called her! 'AF-01, codename Lillie', he doesn't even care that she's a real person with real feelings. To him, she's just a way for us to get into the Aether Foundation."

"Well, I mean... That is his job. He's just trying to protect everyone, and in his perspective, one person is probably not as important one billion people." I explained.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Anabel asked. I was struggling to find an answer.

"Well, uhm, let's see, err... It's kinda like, uhm... Well, keeping Lillie in captivity could be useful for us to get into Aether... somehow...? Like, erm, he sees that saving one life at the cost of billions of others isn't a risk he's willing to take? I dunno, I'm not really sure..."

"If that's the case, then why did he choose to save you. You're just one person." Anabel said bitterly, before switching off her microphone and turning away. I definitely wasn't expecting that.

"It's OK, Big Bro, you know she didn't mean it. Big Sis just cares about Lillie a lot!" Wally said with a smile. I smiled back, but I was really hurt to hear that.

"Agents, we'll arrive at Poni Island, Alola shortly. Please be ready for departure." The pilot said suddenly. We all responded with 'yes', except Anabel who was still silent as she faced the window. Nobody dared to speak to her.

 

TRUE END - PART 11​

After we had landed on Poni Island, Anabel, Looker, Wally and I boarded a small boat and headed straight to the Aether Foundation. On the boat there were outfits for us to change in to that matched the outfits of the other employees. I was supposed to wear one of these when I first joined, but after getting beat up in the showers and then meeting Lusamine, I got to wear the other clothes she got me. I remember thinking about how uncomfortable the uniforms looked, and I was right - white spandex wasn't a good look on any of us. The whole way over, I tried to talk to Anabel, smiling at her and complimenting how good she looked in the uniform. She either sighed at me, turned away or ignored me entirely, and I ended up having to help Wally into his outfit. At one point while helping him put the top half of his outfit on, I touched his naked side, and he screamed "skinship" at the top of his lungs. I have no idea what "skinship" means, but apparently everyone else did, because Looker shot a look of disapproval at Wally while Anabel tried to hold a giggle down. At least I was glad to see her somewhat smiling.

Once we arrived at the Aether Foundation, I felt my heart beating quite fast, and I kept glancing around nervously. I was afraid of being found out. To top it off, the employee who came to greet us was none other than Zara.

"Hi guys! My name's Zara, and I'll be your guide for today." Zara smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Zara. My name is Hank." Looker said, shaking her hand. We were all tasked to come up with fake names for ourselves to hide my identities, although I knew this was mostly directed at me.

"I'm Wally!" Wally smiled, running into Zara with a tackle-hug, nuzzling into her chest. I felt my jaw drop - how was this kid an agent for the International Police!?

"Sophia. Nice to make your acquaintance." Anabel nodded. Then, it was my turn. Zara walked over to me and held her hand out for me to shake it, but stopped when she saw my face. I was wearing a wig and coloured contacts and glasses, but was it possible she recognised me under all of that?

"I'm... Nise. It's nice to meet you." I smiled, shaking her hand. She shook back, but didn't take her eyes off of me. Ironically, the name I'd chosen, 'Nise', is the Japanese word for 'fake'.

"Alright, let me show you all to your quarters." Zara said, plastering a smile onto her face. I gulped audibly, sticking to the back of the group.

-

"...And you two are sharing a room here." Zara said, pointing to the room that Anabel and I were assigned. I remembered that employees couldn't share a room if they were of opposite genders, but I guess the organisation had managed to make an exception for us, considering our relationship. I looked at the number on the door, and felt my stomach drop. It was the same room I had been in when I first got here. Zara led us inside, and I saw that all the furnishings were still in there, along with a few of the things I had added.

"Oh, does someone live here?" I asked stupidly. Of course nobody lives here, I lived here, and why would the give us an occupied room!?

"Well, yes and no. One of our members, a friend of mine, used to have this room, but he's disappeared and we can't locate him." Zara sighed. "The President didn't want the room to be cleared, she was very close to him... But it's the only spare room we have at the moment. I hope that's not a problem?"

"Oh no, not at all." Anabel smiled. "Now if you'll excuse us, we'd like to unpack."

"Of course. Just come see me at the front desk if you need anything." Zara said. She looked at the bed I used to sleep in one more time, sighing, before she left the room, waving with a weak smile as she left. Anabel instantly made her way to the bed that I slept on, flopping onto it.

"I, uh, was planning to take that bed." I said quietly.

"Too bad." Anabel said back, not turning to face me. Then, I heard her sniffing softly, and she slowly got up, walking over to the other side of the room and taking the bed that had been placed there. When I was here last, there was a chest of drawers there that was then replaced with a hospital bed that my Pokémon slept on. I noticed that Anabel was looking at me.

"...You changed your mind?" I asked.

"The bed... smells like you. You were the employee, weren't you?" she asked back. I made my way over to her bed, sitting down next to her. At first , she stiffened up, but then she allowed herself to lean on me.

"I guess I didn't really tell you much about my life here, did I?" I sighed, stroking her hair. I went on to explain everything that had happened while I was at the Aether Foundation last time.

-​

"Miss President..." Zara said, walking into the living room of Aether House. Lusamine was sitting alone in front of a fireplace, holding a picture in her hand.

"I thought I told you not to come here unless-" Lusamine began, before Zara interrupted her.

"He's back. He's... Aura's back."

Lusamine spun around.

"Where? Where is he?" She asked.

"He's... with the 'other side'. He just checked in with 3 other agents who came here for Lillie." Zara said.

Lusamine sat there, her heart broken. Then, her face twisted into an evil grin.

"Well then, why don't we organise a little something-something for him? To make sure he doesn't leave us again?" Lusamine sneered.

"Yes, Miss President." Zara said, walking out. Lusamine turned back to the photo. It was one of her with Aura standing next to her in his special uniform. They were both smiling. Lusamine stroked Aura's figure.

"Welcome back, my sweet Aura..." she said, standing up. She tossed the picture into the fireplace, its form contorting and wasting away as the flames licked at it.

"Let's see how ugly you've become."

 

TRUE END - PART 12​

"Aura that's... that's so horrible..." Anabel said softly after I'd finishing explaining everything to her. I sighed.

"It was hard for me to jump from so many lifestyles in such little time. Skull Grunt, Aether Employee, returning to my true self..."

"No wonder you felt so hurt when I said what I said in the helicopter, I'm... I'm sorry..." Anabel sniffed. I pulled her in close to me.

"It's OK, I'm fine. You didn't know everything, and that's my fault."

Suddenly, there was a knock at our door.

"Nise, Sophie? It's me, Zara. I need to borrow Nise for a bit, is that OK?"

My heart jumped in my throat. Anabel looked at me. I leaned really close, making sure my mouth was right beside her ear.

"Listen through the door. If you hear something that sounds like I'm in danger, don't come out, no matter what it is. Wait until there's nobody around, then go get the others."

I pulled away from Anabel, and she gave me a small nod.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" I called, going to the door. I didn't once look back at Anabel - every move I made from now would make myself suspicious.

"Hello, Nise, or should I say... Aura." Zara said as I faced her.

Well, never mind that.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Like I'd ever forget that pathetic face of yours. Also, Nise? Seriously? It literally means 'fake', I'm not an idiot. You almost had me fooled, until you went and said something stupid like that." Zara snapped.

"Zara, what's wrong with you?" I asked, feeling a little frightened. I hadn't seen this side of her before, ever. Zara's eyes went wide with shock for a second, before she stepped back and sighed.

"S-Sorry, it's just that... I missed you so much, and you're trying to avoid me... why?" Zara asked. I didn't notice that she was inching closer towards me, or that I was backing away from her.

"Well, I just... I didn't think I'd be running into you here so suddenly, I-"

"Oh, I see how it is. You wanted to find me somewhere we could be private, yeah?" Zara whispered. That's when I realised that she had somehow backed me against the wall, and was pressing her body against mine in... a very specific manner.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it? That purple-haired bitch doesn't love you like this, does she?" Zara said. Before I even had the chance to respond, Zara rammed her face into mine, locking our lips together. her tongue invaded my mouth, and I felt something hard slip down my throat. I almost choked it back up, but Zara made sure I swallowed. Then, she pulled away. Instantly, I felt the effects of whatever she had given me, most likely a drug of some-sort.

"W-Why... Why w-would you d-do this..." I stammered, my vision fading. I wobbled around, clinging to the wall for support. Within seconds, I came crashing to the floor. The last thing I remember was Zara standing over me, a flat expression on her face.

"Your mother wishes to see you." She said, before I felt a sharp pain in the side of my head, and everything went blank.

 

TRUE END - PART 13
​

I woke up, my head spinning. I couldn't feel my face for a few seconds, but then I manage to move my lips and mumble softly. Slowly, feeling came back into my body, and I noticed that I was tied to a table, with thick straps over my wrists, ankles and neck. The table was upright, so I could see ahead of me, but the room was too dark for me to make out where I was.

"W-What's... What do you want? Why am I here?" I stammered. Suddenly, the room lit up. I had to squeeze my eyes shut, since my hands were bound to the table and I couldn't shield my eyes. Eventually, I got used to the light, and I could see where I was. It was some sort of laboratory, everything was sickeningly white, as if the room was designed to be too pure. There were shelves at the back of the room, lined with countless books and folders. A desk with a computer sat in front of them, but the screen faced away from me so I couldn't tell if it was on or off. Not that it mattered.

I heard a door behind me slide open, and a set of footsteps followed. They were clinking against the tiled floor, and I was shocked to see who it was.

"Hello, my sweet Aura..."

~
​

Anabel was listening through the door, just as I had told her to. She heard everything that went on, including Zara drag my drugged body down the hall. She sat there, her demeanour calm and collected, but tears escaping her eyes. She didn't even realise she had been crying until she moved away from the door. For a moment, she just sat against the door, letting more tears fall from her face. She didn't want to have a sudden emotional attack while with Looker and Wally, so she let it all out while she was alone, sobbing in silence. Eventually, she pulled herself together, and made her way to the room where Looker and Wally stayed. Knocking on the door, she was let in straight away.

"Anabel?" Looker said as she walked in. "What a surprise. Wait, where's Aura?"

"Kidnapped. That girl who guided us earlier, she knew him while he was here. She... she did something to him. He fell, she took him away." Anabel said, her voice getting progressively quieter.

"Why didn't you do something, say something to us? We could have come and helped him." Wally asked.

"He asked me not to." Anabel replied. "He knew it was dangerous to talk to her alone, but he took the risk. But now, we have to go find him."

"How are we supposed to do that? Did you hear where she was taking him?" Looker asked. Anabel shook her head.

"No, she didn't say anything. All I know is that she dragged him away, but she couldn't have done that for long. She probably had some other members waiting to carry Aura, or some sort of vehicle. Let's split up and look for him - I'll go to the observatory and ask all the Pokémon if they've seen him. Wally, you stay around here and ask other members if there were any suspicious-looking pieces of cargo, or something similar, carried around. Looker, you go and find Zara. From what I heard through the door, she doesn't know that we're all with him, just me. But if she starts trying to hide that she does know, break the conversation immediately." Anabel instructed. Wally and Looker nodded, before the three split up.

~
​

"Lusamine... I should've known that it was you..." I said, looking at the woman in disgust. Her face was twisted, nothing like the sweet smile she carried before.

"Oh, Aura, why did you run away from me?" Lusamine said. Her voice was soft and sweet, but her expression was the complete opposite. I could see the pure hatred for me in her eyes. "The outside world has tainted you, it's made you ugly. You've forced me to do this..."

"Do what? What are you planning to do with me!?" I yelled. Lusamine pressed a finger against my lips, then lowered her hand to the restraint around my neck. She undid it, and walked to the left. Since I could move my head, I was able to see more of the room. That's when I saw a large glass cylinder, with something floating inside of it. Lusamine flipped a switch at the cylinder's base, and lights underneath it lit up, revealing a horrible sight.

"Y-You... what did you do to her!?" I cried out. Lusamine stroked the glass lovingly, but her expression was sad. Inside the tube was Lillie, floating in the liquid without consciousness, but she wasn't by herself. There was something attached to her, taking over her body. It took me a while to realise what it was.

"You remember this Ultra Beast, right? It was the first one you encountered, Nihilego. Your organisation has given it a code-name - UB 01 'Symbiont'. Nihilego attaches itself to living organisms and uses their power as its own. Now, my children will be beautiful..." she sighed.

"C-Children?" I asked, noticing the use of the plural. That's when she made her way to the right, and I turned to see that there was another cylinder, identical to the one on my left. Lusamine didn't even wait to turn the lights on, and I was shocked to see that there was another person, being infected by a Nihilego.

"Gladion..." I gasped. "How could you do this to them? They're your own children!"

Lusamine shot me a glare. It seems th

"Pah, children... The people that these two were before this weren't my children. The son who took my Type: Null and the daughter who stole my Cosmog, both of them had become tainted by the outside world. And now, my sweet Aura, you're next."