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There was little to be done this evening: hardly a soul walked the lonely halls of the Team Rocket Headquarters, and it was the perfect time for Lilith to talk a little stroll about. It gave her both a chance to stretch her legs and think to herself - perhaps she could figure things out on this rare constitutional.

First thing that came to mind was her Pokemon. She had to train them more often, she knew, and she felt like perhaps they were lacking the proper exercise to stay in tip-top shape. If they were not in prime condition for any given moment, she might be totally unprepared for a sudden attack on the HQ. She could get hurt, or they could get hurt, or maybe they would all get injured or perhaps die, and if they survived, she would get her Pokemon taken away and she would get demoted...!

Lilith slowed her pace and blinked. She was rambling in her head. A hand reached up to scratch the back of her neck, and her feet began to move again, quickly making their way up to their normal walking pace.

In any case, that was her Pokemon. What about herself? She had so much going on... though it didn't really seem it. She had to keeping trying to do whatever she could to finally get herself promoted, she kept having to go to Isadora whenever she could, she had Sorano... Ah, yes. Right there was a key point: Sorano. While she might not dare admit it out loud, just thinking about him and that day on the beach only a few days ago made Lilith's heart go a-flutter. She chuckled to herself as she walked. Oh, what would she do without Sorano? ...What would she do without Sorano?

That sudden thought only made Lilith think of one thing: Lennyka. Sorano did mention her when they were on the beach the other day and how she might... kill him. Would she really do that, Lilith had to wonder. Would she kill her only brother? ...Wait, was Sorano really her only brother? From the way Lennyka seemed to cling to him when she and Lilith first met, she supposed so. But still... She had threatened bodily harm on Sorano and on her. What was she supposed to do? Keep looking over her shoulder every time she walked down the halls...?

Lilith stopped. She suddenly had the idea to do as she just thought and look behind her. After a moment of silence, she shook her head and chided herself in her head. She shouldn't be so paranoid. What Len said... They were just empty jokes, right? Of course, there was a fine line between jokes and threats.

At that moment, all time seemed to slow. Lilith felt a hand reaching up to grab at her collar, but both of her hands were still. A sharp tug followed, making Lilith cry out and stumble back, back, back into an open, abandoned room behind her. The sound of the door shutting made Lilith look up in fright from her fallen position on the floor. Her own hand trembled as it delicately grasped her stretched collar. Lilith was able to only make out one shaky word.

"L-... L-Len?"

No doubt about it: Lilith was terrified. Her eyes were opened wide, the green in them shrunken down to small sparkling gems. Her breath and heart pace significantly quickened as her body turned her fight-or-flight response into high gear. Her fingers began twitching and a huge amount of adrenaline surged throughout her. Yes... Yes, she would fight against Len if she had to - if she absolutely had no other choice. She made a promise to Sorano, and by Arceus, she would keep it.

But, alas, would Arceus protect her here, in the darkest of places? Did his divine light shine down on this small little room in the headquarters of one of the most unholy places on the planet Earth? Oh, how Lilith hoped so. Unconsciously, her mouth began to form quick, silent words of prayer to her deities, but her brain strained for the words to stop. Eventually, she willed them to cease their flow, but the words instead gushed through her mind. She did not believe that speaking prayers out loud would be wise in her current situation.

Lilith raised her eyebrows in surprise at Lennyka's own prayer that she recited into the cell phone. That was the prayer of Arceus himself - one that she knew well, having been forced to have it drilled into her mind as a child. But... Why? It made no sense! This made no sense! Len made no sense!

As soon as Lennyka mentioned Sorano's arrival, Lilith became very wary. Slowly, she gathered herself into a sitting position with her back against the side wall. Her eyes had narrowed - not quite into slits, but enough to make her suspicions about Len's motives clear. She spoke hesitantly, but tried to make her voice steady. "And why exactly do you want Sorano here...?"

Lilith's mouth twisted slightly into a small snarl. What was Len playing at, dragging her into an abandoned room and calling Sorano to find them for who knew what? She took a chance to look up at her abductor and was amazed to completely see her face - without the glasses. Lilith blinked in her surprise. Why, without her glasses, Lennyka looked... womanly. Mature, one could say. This was not the Len that Lilith had first met crying her eyes out in the library. No, here was a woman who meant business.

Lilith quickly recognized another one of the main prayers of Arceus, but this one was only spoken under certain circumstances: grave circumstances. She realized that she had almost forgotten that particular prayer, and the words and the meaning behind those words rang and resonated in her mind. They carried among them a deep feeling of guilt, one that penetrated Lilith to her core. She shuddered and felt her throat choking up. A urge to cry out in shame and fright welled up in her heart, but she bit it down violently. She would not give Lennyka the satisfaction of seeing her in pitiful, unyielding pain and agony.

At Len's casual comment, Lilith merely gave a bitter chuckle. "Scream? You won't break me down to that level, Len. Despite yourself, I have faith in Sorano."

"Humph." Lilith looked away, preferring to direct her attention to her feet than meet the eyes of her current tormentor. Sorano would surely reach her in time, yes? Yes, of course he would. He had to. What on earth would Len do to her...

Lilith stopped. Wait... Lennyka hadn't done anything to her. Nothing but lock her in a closet to wait for Sorano. She stifled a gasp by quickly covering her mouth in alarm.

Oh, Gods... This was a trap. And she was the bait.

"...Brilliant." Lilith was, for lack of a better word, awestruck. Len was letting her... gaudy ring tone lead Sorano right to them. But then what? Oh, Arceus, why couldn't she get a sign?! Why could she do nothing to help? She couldn't warn Sorano away - if she succeeded in doing that, she would be left to Len's devices - and she could do nothing to Lennyka.

All she could do was wait. Wait in horror.

The pounding on the door screamed in Lilith's eardrums, and her heart simultaneously lifted and sunk like a stone. It was Sorano - it must be! He was here to rescue her! But...! He was playing right into Len's trap! Oh, Gods...

The door opened and Sorano rushed in. The sight of him made Lilith try to scramble to her feet to meet him. Her eyes were beginning to tear up with fright and relief. "Oh, thank Arceus, Soran-" Her words of elation were cut short when her savior got deftly punched in the face. She gasped sharply and rushed to his side.

"Sorano, all you all right?!" Panic began to set in. Lilith turned to look at Lennyka, who was rubbing her knuckles. Two and two clicked together in her mind, and Lilith quickly became enraged.

"How... How could you!" Lilith gritted her teeth. Oh, this was personal now. ... Figuratively speaking.

Despite herself, Lilith flinched away at the harsh tone spoken by Len. What was her problem? Hurting her brother like that and yelling at her? This girl had some serious-

"What?" Lilith gaped at Sorano for a second, unsure as to what she had just heard. How could he be sure? What...?

Slowly, reluctantly, Lilith backed away from Sorano, looking down. She was defeated. There was absolutely nothing to do; nothing but just do as Len said and listen. But what exactly would the confrontation of the two siblings reveal?

Tears began welling up in Lilith's eyes as she stepped back against the wall. She had willed herself - oh, how she willed - not to cry in front of Lennyka, but she was too weak to prevent their passing, and the salty droplets cascaded down her face.

Silently, curiously, Lilith watched the drama unfold here in the abandoned closet at the basement of the Headquarters. There was nothing for her to do but sit and listen. Hell, she could probably even leave now without being stopped. She was just the bait, and the bait had been eaten up. Her usefulness had ended. Still, Lilith could not consider just leaving Sorano here alone with that crazed woman.

She watched as Lennyka pulled out something from her pockets; something that reflected the dim light of the old closet, but seemed to have the consistency of thick paper. The first thing that came to Lilith's mind was that it was a note, but it looked too shiny to be a note. Perhaps it was a photograph...? Considering what Len was saying, that was probably her most reasonable guess.

Lilith flinched as she saw Sorano tighten his face in pain. She ran her hair through her long brunette hair, at a loss for what to do.

The glassy-green eyes that Lilith called her own went open wide - very wide - as she attempted to comprehend what Sorano had just said. Lennyka was... his half-sister? Not his true-blood sister?

"Oh, Arceus..." Lilith could not help softly speaking out loud at the revealing of this obviously forbidden secret. Is this what Len wanted her to hear? And Sorano... He had known all along? And he had never bothered to tell his own girlfriend?

Lilith felt like she had just been slugged in the gut. Hand clamped over her mouth, she shuddered and clutched her stomach. She was hurt. Very hurt. Perhaps not as much as Len might be at that same moment, but she felt like her trust had been betrayed. How could he...? How could anyone...?