WARNING: The following chapter contains typos, odd sentence structures, and who knows whatnot as the silly writer of this story decided to make last minute changes, increasing the word count by 1,000+ words. How that was possible is unknown, but please keep in mind as I wanted this chapter up before things got crazy.

Oh, and this chapter contains dark themes mentioned at the beginning of the story, so read at your own risk. From now on, I'll be making these announcements of dark themes before the chapter starts.

(-o-)

Clyde Damion wasn't joking when he said Celestic Town would be nearly impossible to get away with the operation if there wasn't a gigantic distraction. That distraction would have to be me. The man was clever enough to be working with Team Miasma on this project, or else there would be no way he'd pull it off.

People came from all over the Sinnoh region for this. I could tell as there were a few Gym Leaders and Sinnoh celebrities I've seen in newspapers and online articles I came across when researching Lantana's whereabouts. Whatever this Celestic Town Festival was, it was by far the biggest event I've ever seen. It was hard to even see where I was going. People's shoulders brushed against one another as crowds tried to move to particular events going on. It made me wonder why a big event would happen in such a small town. Sinnoh had other places that could hold a big event far better than here.

The only good thing that came out of the crowd was that I was able to lose the other members of Team Miasma for a moment. Without anyone watching my every move, I allowed myself to sneak on the outskirts of the town. It was there I let out a Pokémon I felt would enjoy herself the most here: Plusle.

Every part of me wanted to let out Rudi's Braviary, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not now. Who knows where they could be hiding. This is why I let out my Plusle. She was a small little cream and crimson colored Pokémon with little plus signs on her cheeks. Seeing that she was outside her Poké Ball and wasn't in the bedroom like she normally was, Plusle squealed in excitement and ran around in circles for a moment.

I smiled. Plusle was the one Pokémon I could never use in battle. She was just a hatchling, or at least, I think she was. The poor Pokémon didn't know how to use any attacks, but that didn't matter. There was more to a Pokémon than battling. Being that she originated from Hoenn, it would make more sense to have her out than any of my Pokémon. Any Unova-native Pokémon would cause a huge riot.

While she stretched her legs for a moment, I walked over towards a bush that had some berries on it. They seemed like they didn't belong to anyone due to the open area around it. I took this as an opportunity to pick a few. The berries that I had found just so happened to have a healing quality to regain strength, which could come in handy.

"Okay, now why don't you tell me what's bothering you?" I heard someone ask.

I slowly turned around to find a seventeen year-old girl with long pink hair hanging down to her waist walking out of the crowd, ushered by an eighteen year-old with dark brown hair. My eyes widened as they became clearer, and when they did, I didn't think twice as I dove behind the bushes, feeling the branches scrape against my bare skin. My lips pressed together to prevent any sound from coming out while I held my breath.

I shouldn't have to worry about anyone recognizing me. Before coming to this thing, every member of Team Miasma wore a disguise to blend in with everyone. For me, I wore a long brown wig, with prescription sunglasses over my eyes. It helped that it was a nice day out that I could use that to hide my gray eyes. A flowy pink tank top and a blue skirt with white leggings replaced my usual black leather suit I wore as Swanna Girl. Well, the Team Miasma version of Swanna Girl that is.

Despite looking different, I couldn't risk being seen, especially by these two people. After seeing my younger brother and telling him to go away, I thought he would've listened. That obviously didn't happen. Through the branches, I watched as he wrapped his arm around a familiar pink-haired girl with sapphire eyes. They walked side by side until they sat on a bench that was too close to the berry bush I was hiding in.

Part of me hoped this pink-haired girl was just a random Joy from the Sinnoh region; however, when she slouched into the bench, throwing her head back, I knew that wasn't true. Then again, how many Joy's—who were in the nursing profession-family—had the courage to do a different hairdo? The answer: the Joy who used to be my assistant.

"He doesn't like me," Joy's voice whispered. "I took your advice. I—I finally pulled the courage to ask him how he felt, and—and Connor only saw me as a friend! We were close friends before I left Sinnoh."

My heart broke for Joy. I wanted to run up to her and wrap her in my arms. Instead, I just watched as Lethe turned to look at Joy. His steel-gray eyes softened. He kept an arm around Joy, and because of that, I couldn't see what her expression she wore. I could only see the back of the bench.

"I told you to keep an open mind," Lethe told her. "The guy just hasn't seen you in over a year. Surely, the guy is just surprised to see you. I mean, you've been friends with him for how many years?"

"Enough to be stuck in the friend-zone," Joy cried as she shook her head. "Why do I always have to be put in the friend-zone with guys!"

Lethe smirked before he took his free hand and messed with Joy's hair. There was a small laugh that escaped Joy's lips, even though I could tell she tried so hard not to laugh. I smiled, seeing how he was being so kind to her. Every part of me still wanted to join them, but at the same time, I wasn't going to interrupt this. Even if I wanted to say "hi," I could be throwing their lives in danger.

The smile on my face slipped as I recalled the countless times I've forced Joy into a dangerous situation. Any moment now, I'd be getting a call from Gila to start the attack. There wasn't enough time to get Joy out of here. All I could do was watch from the small bushes I was hiding in.

"They're just intimidated by your beauty," Lethe complimented. "One of these days, the right guy will waltz up to you and everything will work out for you."

Joy looked at Lethe as she swatted his arm—the one that had tossed her hair from side to side—away from her. It's only been four months, and in that time, she had already grown up so much. Her pale face was blotched in red as I started to realize her sapphire eyes were bloodshot as well. Despite that, she gave Lethe a small smile.

"What did I do to deserve a friend like you?" Joy asked.

The little color that was in Lethe's face disappeared, his eyes darkened. As soon as I caught this change, Lethe dropped his head.

"You didn't." Lethe's voice was dark, with a bit of an edge to it.

"What do you—" Joy started to ask when I started to see the gears working in her mind. She had already caught what my brother was alluding to, which made me wonder what he was talking about. "No. Don't you dare hold that over your head. You deserve happiness too."

Lethe took a deep breath. "You're just saying that cuz you refuse to see my bad side. If you knew everything I've done, you wouldn't be talking to me."

Joy should've known everything Lethe did. After all, he worked for the organization that kidnapped her seven months ago. It was their fault that she was thrown into who knows what kind of situation because of them.

Then I remembered that day I did get her back. Joy asked if there was a possibility that not all of them were bad. The answer should have been simple. Team Oblivion kidnapped her from us. Lethe was a part of that, but his intentions weren't completely evil as he let her escape. At least, that's what he had always claimed.

Lethe wasn't a good guy, but he wasn't a bad guy either.

I watched as the girl laid her head on his shoulder, scooting closer to him. Lethe flinched at the sudden gesture, but he slowly laid his head on hers. Their conversation moved into softer whispers for a moment. As they did, I felt something pressing into my side. I thought it was a branch, but the touch was much more gentle than the branches sharp bark.

When I looked down, I saw Plusle tilting her head to the side. I smiled, almost forgetting that she didn't know Lethe or Joy. She only knew them through the stories I told her. Seeing as I was spying on them, I'm sure she was curious if I was working or hiding.

"That's my brother," I whispered as I pulled her closer and pointed towards him. Plusle's eyes widened as though she couldn't believe she was finally putting a face—or back—to the name. My finger moved slightly so I was pointing towards Joy. "That was my assistant, Joy. We have to stay hidden though. They can't know I'm here."

Plusle gave me a questioning look. Despite not being able to understand what she was saying, I could read her thoughts clearly. I shook my head, dismissing her silent question.

"Do you fear that Sylvia will turn bad for good?" Joy's voice inquired.

Plusle's ears twitched at the name while I flinched. Joy was talking about me? True, I wasn't able to hear their conversation for a moment, but there was no way my name should've been brought up.

Didn't Joy hate me after all I've done? She should've after all the mistakes I've made. If I didn't leave her alone in that Pokémon Center for a day, she would've never faced the horrors of Team Oblivion. If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't have nearly died in their hands who knows how many times. If it wasn't for me, she could be learning so much.

I was about to hear her answer when my Holo Caster started to ring, notifying me that it was time. Even if I didn't want to, I had no other choice. I turned around in the bush and crawled out. When I stood up, I looked back at the bench with the two Trainers sitting there. Neither of them realized I was there. I sighed in relief.

My hand grabbed the regular Poké Ball from my belt as I returned my Pokémon inside. As I did, my Holo Caster rang once more. I sighed, answering it after I got out of ear-range of the two.

Gila's upper torso projected in a light blue hue. She was no longer in her disguise, showing off her blonde hairdo. Her scowl was still present.

"Tardiness isn't acceptable. Report to your post pronto. It's time you've made a spectacle," Gila's voice was short.

"Yes ma'am," I whispered. "I'll get to it right—"

My answer was cut off as the Holo Caster flashed off. Gila didn't want to hear my confirmation that I would comply; she wanted to see it. I tucked the Holo Caster into my pocket before realizing what had to be done next.

I only had one goal, a goal that I realized I didn't have until that day I saw Joy for the first time in months.

Looking back at Lethe and her sitting on the bench, I just hoped he would do what he could to protect her. The teenager meant everything to me. I've failed her as a mentor and guardian. That was my fault. If there was a way I could fix that, I would. I just knew I was far from it.

But, I was going to protect her if I could.

(-o-)

"You're late," Gila scowled when I dropped off of Swanna and onto the roof of the building she stood on, already changed in my leather one-piece, with a black feathery mask over my face.

No one seemed to have noticed us throughout the festivities booming around. From the rooftop, I could see the various Pokémon battles taking place while others watched or looked at the many different stands going on. Everyone seemed entertained by the many activities they could participate in. None of them seemed worried about anything that could happen.

It made it easy for many members of Team Miasma to gather in multiple areas. I was one of three that were on this roof. The third being a random grunt who walked away from Gila and to her next post.

"I'm here now, aren't I?" I asked.

Gila walked towards me. Each step she took scared me. If that wasn't enough, it was the death look in her eyes. She would have fainted an elite team of Pokémon with that look. I held my breath as she came closer, afraid of what she'd do.

While I was shaking on the inside, I lifted my chin and acted as though nothing she was going to do would faze me. I had to do this. The moment Gila saw me falter, she'd have me pay for it later.

All I was to her was this emotionless tool to use at her disposal.

"Don't get cocky. You're still late, and you will pay for your tardiness later. You know the plan. No one gets out alive," Gila smirked.

My heart stopped. We had talked about this plan before. Over and over again, we had discussed what I would need to do, but nothing was said on what the fate of Celestial City would be. Surely, killing everyone in sight would be too far. I thought Gila would at least draw the line there.

Then again, this wasn't the first time an order like this was made. The last region we were in, I had to burn down Prism Tower just to erase evidence that Team Miasma was there. I don't get why. No one saw us go in or out. Paranoia just ate Gila up inside that I had no other choice but to listen to her, burning the building down to the ground.

Deliberately killing everyone? That was too far. As if realizing this, Gila's malicious smile grew as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"What is it? Don't tell me there's a reason for not wanting to go through with your orders. Wait, did you see someone you know here?" Gila questioned.

I took a deep breath as I made the mistake in looking down at Swanna. He wasn't even paying attention to me as he started to growl at Gila. My hand grabbed his Poké Ball and quickly returned him back inside to prevent him from attacking Gila. That was the last thing we needed.

During that time, Gila caught onto what was going on. "So there is? Well, think about it this way. You've done much worse than take the lives of everyone that's going to be here."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Gila interrupted me, knowing my rebuttal before I could even say a word. "Do you really think that those friends of yours will take you back in? Because you were once a hero? That's the only reason why they liked you in the first place. You were too innocent, but once that blood was spilt, they won't look at you like that. Surely they know of all the crimes you've committed, so why would they want you back? If anything, they'll just serve as a reminder of the mistake you've made, and they'll remind you of it everyday."

My head dropped. Gila was right. There was no way my friends would want to see me. Even though I saw Lethe a few days ago, he probably only did that to appease Rudi's last wishes.

Besides, Lethe worked for the International Police. There was no way he was going to be friendly with me. Not after all I've done.

What kind of hole have I dug myself into this time? No matter what I do, everyone would just see me as a villain.

"Go, and get it done and over with," Gila ordered.

I nodded my head as I grabbed two dark capsules from my belt. Turning away from Gila, I walked towards the edge of the roof and looked down at the crowd of people below me. A gust of wind brushed against my spine as I realized what had to be done. I frowned. These people were enjoying the festivities of story telling of the Legendary Pokémon in Sinnoh, battling one another in good fun, and even selling little trinkets that would probably be tossed out within a month. None of them had to worry about any harm coming their way.

As a member of Team Miasma, I had no choice but to cause chaos. There was no way out of it. When I looked back, I saw Gila watching intensely. She wasn't going to let me out of this one.

Taking a deep breath, I looked down at the people below me. None of them would see this coming. That's how Team Miasma always planned things. They strike when no one was expecting it.

My stomach tightened at the thought.

Knowing I couldn't stall forever, I took a deep breath as I dropped the two smoke bombs down to the ground. They fell from my hands, and I knew wherever they'd land, smoke would cause everything to dissipate into a dark fog. Everyone would be distracted as to who would do such a thing, causing every member of Team Miasma to attack. The worst part was that it would look like it was under my orders.

At least, that's what was supposed to happen. It wasn't planned for anything else to happen, but a quick jet of red and blue swooped in out of nowhere. I whipped my head around, watching as the blue and red streak turned around and landed on the building Gila and I were standing on.

I froze.

Gila was no longer on the roof. In the distant, I could see a brown Pokémon with a bone on her head flying away. It was a peculiar Pokémon that only Gila had. By the looks of things, Gila didn't want to be seen as the one behind this attack. Because she left, she was missing what was going on right in front of my eyes.

My eyes widened as I watched the man hopped off of his Braviary. He flipped his blond hair to the side and glared at me with piercing, icy-blue eyes. His outfit looked familiar, but at the same time, it wasn't. The stretchy material had a similar blue and red pattern that I remembered an old superhero had once wore. The difference was that his outfit was darker, making this man's skin look pasty white. The coat looked like the color of blood while the blue accents on it nearly looked black.

Still, despite all that, the man standing in front of me almost looked like a spitting image of Unova's old superhero, Braviary Man. Almost.

The man held out the two smoke bombs in front of him, and dropped them to the ground. They didn't have enough force to go off, but that didn't matter right now. His Braviary took a step in front of him and let out a low growl.

"You have failed Unova, Swanna Girl," the Braviary Man imposter said. Even his voice was nothing like the superhero I once knew as it was much deeper, darker than what I was used to hearing.

"Who are you?" I questioned.

He smiled. "I'm finishing the job Braviary Man couldn't." That didn't answer my question, but it didn't matter as he had his own agenda to fulfill. He pointed his finger out in front of him. "Braviary, use Aerial Ace."

My eyes widened as I realized I had returned Swanna into his Poké Ball earlier. There was no other target besides me.

If he wanted to finish the job Braviary Man and I had started, then he needed to realize attacking people wasn't the way to go. We never intended others to get hurt. Yet, this man didn't think twice about responding in violence. Seeing his Braviary bolt towards me, I realized he wasn't going to be happy until I felt some sort of pain.

I did the only thing I thought was reasonable. I turned around and jumped off the building. My hand reached for Swanna's Poké Ball and threw him out. He flew out of his Poké Ball and quickly came to my aid as he flew underneath me, catching me on his back. My arms wrapped around his neck tightly as I felt my heart race at a fast tempo I didn't think was possible.

Someone screamed on the top of their lungs. Looking down, I noticed people running far away from me as they could, even though I was well above them. Members of Team Miasma jumped out of their hiding places and started attacking people. It didn't matter whether they had Pokémon to defend themselves or not, Team Miasma would just attack the innocent people around here.

"Don't think you're going to get off that easily," a voice sneered from behind.

Swanna swerved around, finding that imposter flying on his Braviary behind me. He glared at me as he cracked his knuckles. I tried catching my breath, but I couldn't, not when this was the guy who tried to kill me moments ago.

"You don't just attack people like that," I squeaked, before clearing my throat. "What would've happened if there were people below me?"

The man rolled his eyes. "Don't try to play innocent, you villain. Braviary, use Hyper Beam."

My eyes widened. He wasn't going to think twice about getting rid of me. I tugged on Swanna's feathers, signaling him to dive down. Swanna ducked his head and barely dove in time to dodged the attack. I could feel the heat of the Hyper Beam brush against my back.

Looking back, I tried to see where the attack landed. My eyes widened as it hit this gigantic wooden picture of a Legendary Pokémon on the side of a mountain. The amount of force that went behind the Hyper Beam was powerful enough to tear the wooden picture off the mountain, falling towards a small group of Trainers.

One of those Trainers had long pink hair, with her arms wrapped around a pink and purple Unovan Pokémon.

"Joy!" I screamed.

She didn't hear me over the shouts and screams among the crowd. Even at a distant, I could tell what her top priority was. She was healing a small Pokémon that I nearly had mistaken for a small hot air balloon. Meanwhile, the Trainers around her didn't care as they ran away, saving themselves.

Swanna must've known what was going on with that single word. While Joy didn't hear me, Swanna took action. He shot through the air as fast as he could to get towards Joy, but it wasn't enough. I watched as the board came crashing down faster than Swanna could fly.

"Joy, look out!" I screamed.

The young girl didn't even notice my cries. Instead, she let go of the small Pokémon she was taking care of and wrapped her arms around Musharna. It was then that I knew the board was going to squash her, and there was nothing I could do.

While I knew I needed to take action, I couldn't help but listen to the people around me who cowered in fear.

"Look, it's her!" someone yelled.

"What's she doing here?" another voice asked.

"Run for your lives!" someone screamed.

All eyes were on me the moment the board stopped moving anywhere closer to Joy. A breath of relief escaped my lips as I realized she was going to be alright. She was alright because there was a pink light wrapping itself around the board, forcing it to freeze in place.

There wasn't a Psychic Pokémon in sight, except for the one that she held in her arms.

Joy finally looked up. When her eyes met mine, she looked back at the board hovering above her. The girl squeaked in horror as she stumbled away from it.

When she looked back at me, her scared expression turned into an expression of betrayal. She didn't need to say a word to make me realize this was all a misunderstanding. After all I've done, I could tell she thought this was all my fault.

"Musharna, use Psychic!" Joy yelled as she released her Pokémon.

The pink and purple Pokémon looked at me, trying to make sense as to what was going on. I could tell she wasn't going to attack me, but that didn't mean her new Trainer wouldn't try.

"Braviary, Hyper Beam once more," I heard that imposter call from behind.

As much as I wanted to tell Joy it wasn't my fault, I didn't have time. I had bigger issues to worry about. Either I could let this man continue to harm others while he fought me, or I could take the hit.

My Pokémon turned around. As he did, I could see a beam of blinding light hurtling towards us.

"Swanna, slow it down with Ice Beam!" I yelled.

While my idea of an attack was idiotic, Swanna listened. His Ice Beam flung from his mouth, beginning the battle between the imposter and me. While they attacked, I looked at Joy. She looked at me with pure anger. It was an expression I've only seen once before.

It took a lot to anger Joy. The first time I witnessed Joy being angry wasn't when I got frustrated with her over a small procedure when I was teaching her the simple things around the Pokémon Center. She didn't even get mad at me when I told her I was Swanna Girl, which was my biggest secret I had to keep from everyone. The first time I saw her get mad was when I hurt someone she cared about.

Now, that I seemed to be hurting everyone around me, I realized that was going to be the way things were from now on. Gila was right. My friends weren't going to accept me for who I am, not with the damage I've caused.

At the same time, I was still going to do everything in my power to keep them safe.

"Run!" I screamed. "Get out of here, now!"

Joy stared at me for a moment before her Musharna took control. She nudged her Trainer away, but she just looked at me in disbelief and confusion.

"Joy! You have to—" I started to scream before a force bumped into me, causing me to fall off of Swanna, landing onto the concrete ground.

My arms braced for the fall, feeling the ground scrape against them. I hissed in response, more because of the shock more than the actual stinging feeling burning against my arms. The pain was there, but I was use to it. After all, the Krait twins would force me to battle against their Pokémon on a daily basis.

Battle as in me versus them.

"Nurse Sylvia, watch out!" an innocent voice yelled amongst the crowd.

I raised my head to see a blinding light flashing towards me. My body froze as my breath stop. Everyone around me grew silent as I the sun disappeared and was replaced with a dark sky. The buildings beside me grew into the city-like structure of Castelia City. It was a scene I only saw at nights, and there was nothing that would prevent me from seeing the past replay in front of my eyes.

It was all my fault.

"Swanna!" a squeal came out of nowhere as a protective barrier dropped in front of me, stopping the attack. My eyes widened in fear as I watched it for a moment, not sure what was going on as everything returned back to the small town of Celestic Town, with the sun shining brightly above.

It should've been me.

"Joy get out of here, it's too dangerous!"

I whipped my head around to find a brunette running towards Joy, who still froze as everything was going on. There was an Umbreon by his side, who looked my way and jerked her head towards me. Her Trainer didn't seem to notice as he wrapped his arm around Joy and pulled her away.

She looked back at me with fear in her eyes, probably scared I was going to come after her. It was then I tore my gaze away and looked up at the imposter who flew above me on his Braviary. He scowled down at me, clearly upset that I didn't take the attack.

"It ends here, Swanna Girl," he announced.

I shook my head as I felt a nudge on my shoulder. My hand quickly wrapped around the head, feeling the soft feathers underneath my fingertips. His feathers were so still underneath my shaking hands.

You need to be strong, I told myself as I took a few deep breaths. That wasn't real. You're okay. Just got to do what he would've done.

I've got this. I have to do this.

When I looked up the man, all I could see was Rudi. His costume, hair, and eyes were a slightly different shade, but I had to do this.

He's not him. He's not Rudi. I reminded myself.

I shook my head. "Attacking people isn't justice," I told him. "You can't just—"

The imposter didn't listen. He cut me off by throwing his arm out and calling for another attack. While he did, I heard people cheering for him to end my life. It was as if they didn't see him attack Joy earlier.

If anything, I needed to make sure she and the rest of my friends stayed safe, even if they'd never see it. I drew in a deep breath and called for Swanna's next attack.

I needed to make sure they and everyone else stayed safe.

Author's Note:

Before I get into the question of this chapter, I need to thank you all for your continued support. I can't tell you how happy it makes me.

Even more-so, I'm so happy that some of you have incorporated a little SGBM into your books. It's because of this, I'd like to give a quick shoutout to ZelTheWeavile  for the reference in her book, Pokémon Platinum: Set in Stone that happened over the weekend. She did a wonderful job with the tidbit inside that it literally made me laugh (in a good way, of course, as the scene was very comical).

Okay, that out of the way, what do you think of the new Braviary Man? After all, you can't have Swanna Girl without a Braviary Man (Sorry Rudi).

Oh well, cya next time. Bye!