Broken Dolls

Warnings: This is an M rated fic for extreme violence, murder, and dark themes. Do not continue reading if you are below the age of 16, or are easily disturbed. All characters in this story are fictional original characters, including Lana, who coincidentally shares a name with a character in the Pokémon games.

I've always been intrigued by Banette's Pokédex entries. I decided to write a horror story based around that central concept as a challenge, since horror is far from my strong suit. Writing this was hard. My mind isn't used to working in the patterns required for this genre. Every line and paragraph was hard earned, and editing was difficult to stomach.

I personally think this one shot is best read while listening to the instrumental soundtracks which partially inspired it. The link is on my profile for anyone interested. :)

~o~

There is no power in this world stronger than the dark hatred of shattered love. Marinette knew, because hate was the only reason she was able to exist at all.

Hate kept her alive, hidden from view by her sightless button eyes, as she rotted in the trash under the unforgiving sky. It burned in her soul quietly as the maggots crawled through her cotton stuffing and wriggled out the seams of her knit mouth, and as her pretty checkered dress became increasingly stained with mold and filth. She lived, and she hated, the darkness within the only emotion strong enough to exist in a stuffed body without so much as a heart. Nothing mattered, not the dance of the seasons or the cruel decay of time, nothing…except for Lana.

Thoughts of Lana's laughter twisted themselves into grotesque mockeries of happiness in Marinette's mind. Oh, how Marinette had loved her! How she still loved her! So much she wanted to rip out her fingernails one by one, and gouge out her pretty green eyes, because that's what friends did, didn't they? They betrayed and hurt the ones they loved! Threw them away to die! She loved Lana, as much as Lana had loved her, and she longed to return the kindness she'd been shown! There was no other meaning to life but hate. Existence itself demanded the scales of fate be balanced. Marinette could not scream with horror as she rotted, trapped in a body of fluff…

But Lana could. She could scream and scream, as if life was torture and hell, and perhaps then she would understand Marinette again. Never again would Marinette feel happiness and love, so Lana would need to meet her in darkness, until her screams ran out and her blood ran cold, leaving her a dead and broken doll, rotting in the trash. Just like Marinette.

Sweet nightmares consumed her every thought, for a doll could never find escape in sleep, while she moldered on the mountains of junk beneath the dismal sky…

And then, the others came, as cold hearted and restless as Marinette herself. They moved like whispers of shadows, scraps of darkness animated by hunger and evil, their bodies hidden by shrouds of spectral grey silk. They circled her stuffed corpse, drawn to the growing hatred of the little doll, tasting her bitter grudge and sweet anguish with the spiked horns atop their ghostly heads. The Shuppet stared with unblinking, multi colored eyes, their curiosity drawing in more of their kind, until dozens of ghosts whirled lazily above Marinette, casting fleeting shadows on her decaying face in the light of the silver moon.

A Shuppet struck, diving into Marinette's chest, and her stuffed arms jerked as if shocked. But the ghost passed through into the trash below, leaving her cold and wanting.

Closer still the Shuppet flew, gravitating towards her dark desires. Another daring ghost struck, filling her soul with a flash of burning emotion, and then it was gone. The others laughed in response, eagerly whirling above the little doll as her agony grew sweeter, resonating with the wicked bliss of the ghosts. A darting shadow tore away her button eye, popping the seams until decayed cotton burst from the socket, and Marinette's hatred surged. The Shuppet whirled faster, frenzied over the delicious tang of her pain.

Another cold ghost gave in, diving into Marinette's empty heart, but she wasn't strong enough! Her hate paled in comparison to Marinette, and she was cast out without mercy. A fourth drove into her head, and he was nearly compatible, the dark grudges he'd eaten from human souls nearly on par with her own anguish. Marinette's stuffed body spasmed and shone with ghostly power, and his expulsion was met with groans of defeat. They tasted her feelings in the stale air with their spiked horns, comparing them to each other's thoughtfully.

Marinette wailed inwardly. Thoughts of Lana rose to a fever pitch of hatred, the stimulation of the Shuppet's grudges bringing every bloody desire her small body had ever felt to the surface of her existence.

And a Shuppet high above shuddered in response, tasting her perfect pain in resonance with her own empty soul. She melted into Marinette's stuffed torso with abandon, merging her ghostly power with Marinette's hate. Like two halves of the same agony, they fit together like a knife in Lana's throat, perfect and right. The ravenous hunger of the Shuppet was sated at last by the violent ambition of the abandoned doll, and Marinette knew power, felt it coursing like cold fire through her mind!

The horde of Shuppet backed away, watching with breathless anticipation as Marinette's head lifted from the trash to stare back at them with ghostly power gleaming in her ruined button eyes.

She rose into the air in a graceful whirl, the dirty curls of her plush hair peeling away from the filth below. Darkness rippled and burned over the rotting fabric of her pretty checkered dress, outlining her smile in sudden, wicked vindication. Her button eye hung by a thread. Marinette floated in the moonlit junkyard, drunk on a surge of hatred and power. The gathered Shuppet stared, feeding off her complex new epiphanies as shadows surged and deepened around her form.

Marinette shone with dark power, the barriers between herself and the Shuppet vanishing until they were one and the same. New awareness broke over her shadowy arms, and she felt the warmth of the air, and tasted the filth of the night! Pure hatred gathered and grew in her body until there was room for nothing else. It burned with sweet pleasure, but if she screamed it would be gone, vanished forever, and Marinette would be nothing at all. She held it in, holding herself to the burning stake of her hate, reveling in the searing bursts of pain, because she could feel, properly feel! Only then did she understand the limitations of the emotions of a doll, compared to the glory of being able to fully sense and interact with the physical world!

Marinette opened her shining scarlet eyes, and saw for the first time in her life as the shadows of her ghostly evolution faded, leaving her strong and new. She laughed behind her zippered mouth, reveling in the sweet evil of her power, a new Banette born under the light of the full moon among the mountains of junk.

Lana…

The cloud of Shuppet hung in place catatonically, drinking in the hatred of her crooning whisper. That was the moment Marinette struck.

Dark power tore through the nearest Shuppet, rending him to tatters of feeble darkness. He had no time to cry out as she ripped him to shreds. Pleasure surged through Marinette's hollow chest as she felt him die, the pretty image of Lana flickering to a mutilated corpse in her mind!

She felt the surge of terror from the gathered Shuppet. Beautiful eyes stared at Marinette by the dozens, shaded with a stupor from being exposed to her hate filled evolution and her wicked lust for death.

That moment of stillness cost the lives of three more Shuppet as Marinette whirled, wielding her dark, new strength in a deadly dance, reveling in the sensation of movement and killing.

When the moment broke, the Shuppet attacked each other with eager abandon, drawn into Marinette's frenzied battle fever. Ghostly fire burned and shadows tore through the chill of the night. Heedless of their own lives, the living specters laughed and screamed and died, as fog rose from the earth.

The emptiness where Marinette's heart should have been yawned dark and terrible. And though the hatred inside her mind shrieked and burned, she wanted more. And she knew where to find it.

Marinette's zippered mouth held in her vengeful grudge, but she knew it could not escape in a single moment. Her clawed hands pulled back the zipper just enough to let her emotions tear free in a terrible blast, dazing a cluster of empathic Shuppet just long enough for Marinette to eat them. The first, blissful taste of that delicious envy sparked across her empty mouth, more than replacing the energy she'd lost by opening her zipper! She shuddered at the taste, tearing into a second, crunchy with congealed and broken despair, and a third, the bitter hate tasting sweet to her undead soul! It was euphoric. If Marinette concentrated, she could see the memories of the humans the Shuppet had fed on!

She'd never known such different flavors of hatred existed in the world. It permeated life itself, tainting the cloying light of happiness with evil. Though none could compare to what she felt towards Lana, it was satisfying indeed to know that despair existed in all hearts and minds, and that the world belonged to the night.

She lost herself in the dance. Only when the screams faded to nothing, and scraps of shadow littered the earth did Marinette realize the battle was won. They'd torn each other apart until nothing remained, nothing but Marinette, glutted with shadowed corpses.

Her laughter echoed chillingly through the mountains of junk, bewitched by the glory of her new life. And for just a moment, her scarlet eyes shone brighter in the darkness, a whisper curdling through her heart...

Lana!

~o~

Every day she didn't kill her stabbed at her sanity like rusty nails being hammered slowly into her skull. But weeks turned into months. Marinette tried, oh she tried! But she couldn't remember where they had lived. She hadn't had eyes to see, or ears to hear! The memories of being a doll were foggy and indistinct.

The only image she truly knew was Lana. The fixation of her existence. The only thing which ever mattered in those days before she gained life. Her image was branded in Marinette's very soul.

She could never forget the clever glint of her green eyes, or the silken wave of her fine, blonde hair. She'd worn it short back then, a soft bob around her ears. Her secretive smile, cheeks still bearing the roundness of youth…. Marinette remembered how her hair had grown to her shoulders, and their playdates grew shorter every day.

Until she'd never been picked up again.

She hunched over with agony, her claws clutching her sides until pain screamed through her body, but it was nothing, nothing at all to the searing hatred in her own mind! But no, Marinette had to control herself, Lana still lived! She had to exist and keep moving to find HER again!

"Wow, a Banette!"

Marinette dragged her sullen eyes to look up at the intruder. He was disgusting; barely a child, with ruddy dimpled cheeks and a mop of brown curls. He stared at Marinette with brazen wonder in the fading sunlight filtering through the trees.

"I've never seen one before! C'mon, Jolty, let's catch it!" the enthusiastic young child suggested to his partner, a jagged furred Electrike with a keen gaze, who barked sharply in answer and pawed at the ground. Blue lightning crackled over his body in a shroud, and he charged with an eager howl at his master's command.

Reeling from the unexpected blow, she spun back to the shadows, suppressing the blinding surge of rage which threatened to immobilize her. Darkness condensed with purple ghostly fire into a whirling sphere of power, and Marinette unleashed her Shadow Ball, her soul thrilling with satisfaction when it struck true and blasted the little Electrike back first against a tree. He didn't rise again, whimpering with pathetic pain.

Marinette giggled, her hand held daintily over her zippered mouth.

Her delight was short lived. "Return, Jolty!" the boy called out, drawing his injured partner into a Poke Ball. He turned his hat backwards, somehow more determined than before. "Go, Zalem!" he shouted, unleashing a snarling Mightyena into the still forest air. "This thing is strong, so be careful! Use Bite attack!"

The first blow was easy to dodge, and Marinette scoffed with contempt. Her overconfidence was her downfall. Mightyena turned on his hind legs, leaping towards her with saliva dripping from his wicked fangs, and for the first time, Marinette's mind crumpled under the agony of an attack. Darkness overtook her mind in an endless moment. The boy shouted something indistinct, and a flash of light was the last thing she remembered…

She awoke to the boy's grinning face. "I caught you!" he said with unjustified pride. "My name is Benjamin. Let's be friends from now on, okay?" Marinette stared at him with disgust, but Benjamin didn't seem to notice. He turned to his Mightyena excitedly. "Big brother is gonna be so proud of me! Banette are really strong! Just watch, we're gonna beat the next gym no problem!" He laughed out loud, scratching Zalem's ears energetically, who yipped and wagged his dark tail in obvious appreciation.

And though she narrowed her scarlet eyes with disgust, the murderous Banette saw the opportunity for what it was.

Revenge. And free passage through the world of humans.

Every day she reminded herself why staying with Benjamin was useful, as they traveled across the land she barely knew. Marinette battled when called, telling herself to be patient over and over and over and over, until the thoughts screamed and bounced in her mind, because she hated him but could not leave yet!

She set aside her revulsion for the boy who called himself a trainer for her goals. Everything he did grated at her patience, from his cheerful laughter to his endless optimism. But worst of all, he thought Marinette was his friend.

To keep herself sane, she fantasized about ripping out his tongue whenever he spoke, and Benjamin mistook her smile for friendship.

Every time they entered a city, Marinette would not stay in the darkness of her Poké Ball. She floated around Benjamin's head, watching every face they passed for a trace of Lana and squinting in the harsh glare of daylight despite the pain. Twice she saw little girls who strongly resembled her, and it took every ounce of strength she had not to rip them to shreds for daring to have unbroken fingers.

Benjamin had laughed, and commented that she must really like crowds of people. No one questioned the cursed Banette's presence with her trainer by her side, despite the demented obsession on her face.

Her trainer spent his days laughing with friends and overcoming challenges, in his quest to become a Pokémon Master and prove himself to his older brother. But as time dragged on, and Lana's face never appeared in the crowds of the human cities, Marinette's patience began to grow thin.

Until one night, in the middle of a forest much like the one he'd caught her in, the Banette could stand it no longer.

She broke free of her Poké Ball quietly, unseen in the dying embers of the fire. Two other humans dreamed in their quiet camp, companions her trainer had befriended along the way. Neither of them woke as the dark shadow of the Banette loomed over her young trainer, a grin on her zippered mouth.

She savored the moment, her scarlet eyes gleaming brighter as she raised her clawed hands-

And flew backwards, as the vigilant Mightyena knocked her aside with a howl of fury. Marinette recoiled with shock, avoiding Zalem's crunching fangs and deadly claws with inches to spare. She struggled to fight back, but the dark creature had always been stronger than her, and this time he fought with the intent to kill. He tore at her shadowy body, until she could feel pieces of herself being ripped away….

Benjamin woke with a start at the rumbling snarls and the sounds of battle, and scrambled to his bare feet. He stared, not comprehending at first. "Zalem! No!" Benjamin shouted, throwing himself forward to separate his brother's Mightyena from his prey. "What are you doing? Leave Stitches alone!" The curly haired boy pulled his Mightyena away from Marinette bodily, ignoring the savage snarls rumbling in his chest. "Bad! I know you don't like her, but she's our teammate! Stitches, are you okay?" he asked anxiously, peering down at her.

She couldn't move. Slashes gaped wide on her puppet's body, exposing darkness within. The side of her face had been bitten away, fading to feeble shadows at the edges.

But she could still hate.

She could hate the tears on Benjamin's face, and the panic in his voice. She could hate the Mightyena, even as he was forced into his Poké Ball by the girl they'd met a few months ago. She could hate how tenderly she was picked up, and their desperate flight above the moonlit forest towards the light of civilization, and the tug of strange thread as it pulled her wounds closed. But when the healing glow washed over her dark body in a tide of pink, even she couldn't stay awake any longer. Marinette faded into unconsciousness, clinging to her burning animosity for as long as possible before nothingness claimed her thoughts.

Her next days were filled with a haze of white, and shifting memories. She never woke fully. But beside her was Benjamin, day after day, his worry and love seeping into her twisted mind like a plague. She didn't care about him! Only Lana mattered! Marinette would kill Lana, and show her the hatred that had long since replaced her heart!

Healing was weakness. Marinette needed her hate. It was the only reason she was alive…the only reason she had ever lived. Without it she would be nothing but a doll, forgotten in the filthy junkyard, just a little doll who yearned to hear Lana whisper tales of adventure once more…and to hear her say she loved Marinette!

She nearly died when that thought rocked through her, knocking away the crutches of hate that kept her alive. She clung to the evil in her own mind like an anchor in a howling storm, reminding herself why she lived.

To kill Lana. She'd been abandoned, didn't Marinette remember? This was all part of the game, which Lana had started so long ago by loving her and then throwing her away! Surely Lana must be laughing at Marinette, laughing and laughing at the doll who had fallen for the terrible lie that she could ever be loved.

She consoled herself with these thoughts, fanning the flickering flames of her hate until they scorched like hellfire, bringing her mind back to a reality where everything made sense once more.

Marinette woke at midnight in a strange facility, her wounds aching but nearly gone. The shadows of her torn face were regenerating slowly, the gashes held together by sinewy strings of dark energy. She was on a makeshift bed of cloth on a metal table. Benjamin slept on a cot by her side, his dimpled cheeks flushed beneath his still puffy eyes. Her trainer shifted in his sleep, mumbling the ridiculous name he'd given her.

Marinette stared down at him coldly. They were alone.

She hated him still, but now she had a new insult to avenge.

A ghost did not win through sheer power alone! Marinette was hatred, destruction, and pain incarnate! She was the terror that lived in the night, the invisible blade in the shadows! The Mightyena was powerful, but she didn't need to prove her strength in battle to win the war. No mortal could survive an attack they never saw coming.

Marinette would prepare.

In the morning, her trainer celebrated her recovery with happy tears, which his friends teased good naturedly. And though he radiated joy that left a bitter taste in her mouth, Marinette did not doubt again. She knew what she was, and her wide smile was genuine as she schemed.

Weeks passed. She was a picture of happiness and friendship, never dropping her act for a second. Benjamin kept his Mightyena well away from her, and kept an eye on both of them whenever they were in the same area, but of course neither made a move. Mightyena could not kill her with Benjamin watching or his young trainer would send him away for good, and she knew it. She would purposely sit in Benjamin's lap, or hover near his head of curls, taunting Zalem with her smile.

It was months before the Mightyena's protective hostility faded, but the wariness in his lupine gaze never vanished entirely. Whenever Marinette was free, Zalem joined her, keeping a vigilant watch over his master. This suited her just fine.

And little by little, Benjamin began to believe their feud was at an end. He stopped watching so closely when they were out together, trusting them to behave.

"C'mon, keep up you two!" he called, laughing to himself as he dashed over the rich loamy earth in the wake of his Mightyena. Sunlight filtered through the canopy of new leaves above, casting dancing shafts of gold through the secretive shadows of the woods.

Marinette soared faster, seeming to vanish in the shadows as she followed her trainer, the long evolved Manectric loping at an easy pace at her side. Brief glimpses of yellow flashed through the trees above, streaking away from the pursuing Mightyena with speed that defied imagination, but Zalem couldn't be deterred. Little by little, they gained on the fleeing Pikachu. Zalem dodged a flash of lightning without missing a step, howling with victory as their prey began to tire, sparks fizzling from her red cheeks.

Finally she stopped, whirling to face their group in a desperate last stand, her small body shining with lightning in an obvious warning. Zalem stopped, tearing the undergrowth with his paws, snarling eagerly in response.

Benjamin caught up, flushed with exertion. "Way to go, Zalem! Let's finish this!"

Marinette watched idly from the sidelines as the exhausted Pikachu was imprisoned in a cute pink Poké Ball after a brief battle. She was a gift for Benjamin's little sister, Lucy, who was turning ten in three days. Pikachu were rare in all regions, but especially in Hoenn. They'd travelled far from civilized pathways chasing the rumor of one living in the wild.

Benjamin laughed out loud, rumpling his Mightyena's shaggy fur. His little sister was the most important person in the world to him, and her smile was worth more than diamonds in his eyes. And despite the incident with Marinette's injuries months prior, the Mightyena his brother had given him was Benjamin's best friend. They celebrated together, a picture of joy and accomplishment.

It was a perfect moment, until Manectric's elongated claws ripped deep into his trainer's exposed back, tearing through fabric and muscle alike.

Benjamin's scream was terrible in the stillness of the woods. Blood sprayed from the sickeningly deep wounds, painting the new green moss with crimson gore. Strips of muscle tore loose as the boy jerked away, exposing white glimpses of his ribs and spine beyond the destruction. He fell with an expression of terror and shock on his face, his screams never ceasing as he contorted horribly, his sister's present slipping from his fingers.

And Marinette laughed! Laughed with utter delight, for never had she heard such a sweet sound! Even filtered through the perceptions of the puppet she'd possessed, it was music to her dark soul! She drank in every moment, and urged Manectric to strike again, to tear into his friend and rip away chunks of muscle and bone!

Zalem knocked Manectric away with an enraged, demented howl, a blaze of fury in the dark pits of his eyes. The Mightyena tore into his opponent with slashing claws, his snarls tearing savagely through the clearing. Marinette didn't even try to fight back, waiting until her host had sustained terrible injuries before she escaped into his shadow, unseen and unnoticed by her dear teammate!

Manectric's mind returned, bringing light back to his dull eyes, but it was too late. Zalem was beyond reason, mindless in his murderous rampage. The blood spattered Mightyena clamped his terrible fangs down on the cowering Manectric's throat. His jaws locked and his opponent's struggles became increasingly desperate.

Blood seeped from Benjamin's lips as he lay dying on the moss. His brown eyes widened slightly as Marinette's head emerged from the shadows in front of him, her scarlet eyes gleaming with pleasure. He didn't understand, staring without comprehension.

Marinette dove into his soul, and then he knew.

As their thoughts merged, he finally understood her! Finally saw the storm of hate howling endlessly in her mind! His body jerked as if electrocuted, lips parting in a silent scream, as he realized the evil of the creature he'd been treating like a pet. Her memories washed over him, all the fantasies of slaughtering his family, the murders of fourteen innocent people spread out over their journey, and every dark torture she'd devised for killing Lana once and for all.

He screamed in his mind as he was finally introduced to the monster named Marinette, but his body laughed quietly instead, standing with jerky movements to stare at Zalem.

The gore spattered Mightyena stood over the dying Manectric, who gurgled and twitched as his lifeblood pulsed serenely into the moss, but he stared with terrible comprehension at that chilling laughter.

Marinette smiled at him with Benjamin's mouth, the gesture horribly disjointed and wrong, and broke a finger with a purposeful crack.

Zalem's howl was fury and death incarnate, but there was nothing he could do! The Mightyena clawed at the ground helplessly as his beloved trainer snapped another of his fingers, and then another, and Marinette laughed and laughed.

This. This was what she had been waiting for!

Marinette brought Benjamin's broken fingers to his mouth, and bit off his thumb savagely while Zalem watched.

For all those long months, she'd waited until they were happiest! She'd been patient, oh so patient, but her moment had finally come!

Blood rushed hot and metallic over his tongue, and she chewed and crunched while she broke another finger at the joints with a sickening pop, and swallowed noisily.

But it was worth every moment, to force the Mightyena to witness the unthinkable, with no living soul around to stop her!

She gloated with every movement, breaking and snapping until all of Benjamin's bruised and bloodied fingers jutted in different directions, spears of bone piercing his flesh. His big brown eyes cried with helpless pain, but Marinette didn't let him scream, oh no…not yet! Her revenge was only beginning!

Marinette stared at Mightyena with gleeful anticipation, and her shadowy power made Benjamin's crying eye bulge. It popped out of its socket with a sickening squelch, and dangled against his cheek, held on with a strip of sinew. He cried weakly, producing tears despite the gaping pit where his eye had been.

And though Zalem's howls were terrible, even that was not her true goal.

Benjamin could feel everything she did to him, despite his possession, and his death would be long and slow! She'd keep him standing until he bled to death, keep hurting him until there was no part of him left unbroken!

And there was only one way to stop it.

Finally she let Benjamin scream, his agony twisting the sound into something inhuman.

She saw the moment Zalem made his decision.

Marinette made no move to dodge when the Mightyena leapt forward, tearing out Benjamin's throat with a howl of despair that had her shuddering in ecstasy.

The boy's death seemed to drag on for an eternity. Blood gushed from his torn throat, his terror and agony fading away to nothingness as the pulse of his heart slowed and died. Marinette's laughter continued in his mind, even after his body could no longer produce the sound. She sent a surge of power careening from his arm, and the Mightyena snapped the bone between his teeth, trying to hit Marinette.

Giddily, she let blackness seep from Benjamin's chest, as if she were exiting his body into the physical world. Zalem clawed chunks of flesh and bone away as if digging, snapping and snarling until he was covered with his trainer's blood, but she was not there!

Marinette wondered if she would ever stop laughing, as she reappeared from the shadows of the earth at the edge of the trees. The once peaceful clearing was splattered with blood and strewn with savaged corpses. Even Marinette was covered in bloody red, close enough to her skin to phase with her when she entered the shadows.

Benjamin was barely recognizable. The ugly mess of his fingers and arms paled in comparison to his gaping torso, ripped open to expose a colorful jumble of organs. Blood matted his curls, dripping down his still terrified face, and Marinette thought fondly that he had never looked more perfect.

She waited until Zalem saw her before she fled.

She laughed delightedly, allowing the deranged Mightyena to almost catch her before she melted into the shadows, only to reappear a short distance away. She taunted him with mocking delight, fleeing deeper into the woods as the light of the sun faded into twilight, always an instant ahead of his snapping jaws.

Marinette played with Zalem until the wonderful high of Benjamin's death began to fade, and decided she'd had enough. She faded into the shadows, for good this time, abandoning her pursuer behind her.

The poor Mightyena had lost his mind. She'd driven him completely mad! He deserved everything she'd done to him and more, for daring to strike at her all those months ago! If only he'd let her kill Benjamin in his sleep the first time, things wouldn't have gotten so messy!

Really, it was his fault, if one looked at it rationally!

She chuckled to herself, shaking her head with bemusement in the shadows. It was then, in the wake of her gloriously dark satisfaction, that Marinette sensed her.

She froze, every thought within going still as the whisper of Lana curled through her mind, as unmistakable as it was unbelievable.

She was here. In this very forest.

The Mightyena forgotten, she surged towards the whisper, her entire existence consumed with the obsessive urge to see her face! She was here, right here in front of Marinette, she was-!

The Banette froze midflight, staring with disgust at the girl who was not Lana. Her blonde hair was nearly the same, and the lilt of her laugh sent a stab of hunger through Marinette's soul, but she was only a child. How many years had it been? Lana would no longer be a child.

Disappointment seared through Marinette like acid. She wasn't surprised. Twice before, Marinette had sensed women whose souls were nearly the same as Lana's, and twice more seen girls who resembled her. This girl was infuriatingly similar in both regards, but was not her.

It took Marinette a moment to realize the girl was staring right at her with horror, and belatedly remembered she was covered with Benjamin's blood.

"Oh!" Not-Lana cried out, her ugly blue eyes tightening with anxious worry as she tugged on her companion's sleeve. "This Banette is hurt! Jay, we have to help!" Her compassionate voice brought a grimace of disgust to Marinette's zippered mouth.

She stared at the girl's face, picturing how it would look if she screamed in vivid detail, surprised at how much she enjoyed the fantasy. She wasn't her, but she was close. Close enough to make her fantasies of Lana seem almost real.

Killing Benjamin had been enjoyable, but if this girl were to die screaming, Marinette would surely experience happiness beyond anything she'd imagined before. The thought was intriguing. But before she could explore the idea, the sound of snapping branches distracted her.

She'd forgotten about Zalem!

"Stay back, Ava!" the one called Jay commanded, holding a protective arm in front of his shorter companion. His dark eyes scanned the trees, every line of his leanly muscled body tense. Sharp cracks broke through the stillness of the dimming trees, and Marinette could sense killing intent.

"Do you think that howling earlier was the same monster that hurt this Banette?" Ava whispered fearfully, gripping Jay's arm in a white knuckled grip. "Jay, I'm scared! Lucky is our only Pokémon who can fight, and she's-"

"I know, Ava," he said in a strained hush. A dull Poké Ball maximized in his hand with a quiet hum, and the humans fell silent, waiting for the monster in the dark.

Wind sighed through the warm woods. Ava stared with huge eyes as the rustling grew closer, her fear so thick Marinette could taste it congealing in the air. The humans held their breath.

Silence fell in a heavy shroud.

A single paw scraped over the earth, so quietly it was almost mistaken for the shifting leaves. Time seemed to stand still for an endless moment, while they waited with thundering hearts for a glimpse of the predator….

None of them saw the Mightyena's contorted muzzle staring up at them through the low bushes, until Ava caught sight of the unholy gleam of his deranged eyes. His dark pelt gleamed wet and red, matted with chunks of meat and skin, which only brightened the terrible white gleam of his fangs, bared by a silent snarl of true hate.

Ava's pounding heart literally missed a beat. Her horrified scream was the only warning they had when Zalem hurtled from the brush towards Marinette, his silver claws drenched in blood. His full throated howl resounded with blind hate and hollow pain.

But Marinette did not care, couldn't even move, because Ava's scream was everything she'd ever needed.

It echoed through her broken soul, singing new life to the hollow daydreams of Lana, sending a shudder through the very fabric of her being!

She was vaguely aware of being thrown to the side, and warmth invading the chill of her being from Ava's embrace. They hit the mossy earth hard, and the girl's whimpering gasp sent a thrill humming through Marinette!

Ava stood, her jeans covered in dirt and leaves, screaming for Jay. Marinette lay catatonically on the ground, staring in drunk fascination.

The remnants of Zalem's sanity were well and truly gone now. The once proud Mightyena snarled with berserk fury, his fangs clamped down on Jay's right arm, tearing savagely to either side. The tall boy beat at the crazed demon with his other fist without effect. An injured Roserade blasted Zalem with a hurricane of slicing leaves with a reedy cry.

Jay stumbled backwards as his arm was freed, the long sleeve of his blue shirt drenched and tattered, and Zalem fell on the Roserade with savage fangs. The bitter tang of sap filled the air as bits of leaves flew from Mightyena's claws, though Marinette couldn't see exactly what was happening….

"LUCKY!"

Ava's scream broke Marinette's return to rational thought, jolting pleasure through her mind like a drug. Jay managed to return the critically injured Roserade with his one working arm, bracing himself as he nearly fell. "Run, Ava!"

Marinette stared, as the terrifying Mightyena turned towards the short blonde girl standing in between him and the ghost who had tortured his trainer to an early grave.

Zalem surged forward before Ava could move. She seemed frozen, staring without comprehension, and that was when Marinette found the strength to move.

With speed she hadn't known she possessed, Marinette dove through Ava's chest to tackle the Mightyena away. Fear and surprise lanced in her mind. She hadn't intended to join this fight! Marinette couldn't defeat him in open battle, she knew that, and yet…!

And yet she couldn't let the disgusting creature kill Ava!

The very thought was repulsive to Marinette!

She wanted to hear her beg for mercy, and cry with hopeless agony, wanted to choke the life out of her with her own hands! For that pleasure to be stolen from her by the crazed Mightyena was more than she could bear! Marinette fought, though the cold agony of Zalem's fangs tore a glancing blow through her arm, fought because she finally had something she wanted to protect!

She battled like she never had before, locked in a match to the death which neither of them could back down from.

Zalem's terrible howl broke off in a flash of light, as he was drawn into the sphere Ava pitched desperately from the sidelines. He broke free in a moment, whirling to leap at Marinette, only to be struck by an Ultra Ball from Jay, which shook violently in the grass…and went still with a hollow click.

Ava rushed forward, wrapping her arms around Marinette with a sob. "You saved me," she cried, holding the stunned Banette as if she were the most precious thing in the world. Like Lana once had. Her tears burned hot on Marinette's deathly cold shadows.

"Step away from that thing."

She looked up at Jay's strained voice, her blue eyes uncomprehending. "What are you talking about?" she asked, honest confusion reigning in her silvery tone. "She's a victim too, Jay, just like us! If she hadn't been here, we could have died!"

"I don't think so," Jay responded quietly, his expression sick with cold fear. He held his broken arm carefully, though hot drops of blood spilled over his fingers. "Banette are evil, Ava. Come here. Please."

Ava's soft lips pursed with defiance, a crease appearing between her pale eyebrows. Marinette sensed her stubbornness with delight, as if noticing a new quirk in a favorite painting. "No. I'm bringing her back with us! I think she'd be a good partner! And that Mightyena hurt her, Jay! She needs help!"

"That thing was covered in blood before the battle! Or did you forget?"

"She was injured by the Mightyena!" she protested hotly, holding Marinette tighter.

"Ghosts don't bleed, Ava!"

That silenced her for a long beat. "I'm sure there's an explanation," she said weakly, casting her gaze down with uncertainty.

Marinette rolled her eyes, floating out of Ava's arms before her lanky companion could seize on her hesitance.

Her claws scratched a simple image in the dirt with a graceful flourish. Marinette didn't know the written language of the humans, but a picture would suffice.

A smiling boy with a Banette took shape in the dust, with a dark Mightyena by his side. Marinette circled the simple image of Zalem, and slashed the boy with finality.

"The Mightyena killed your trainer?" Ava whispered stupidly, staring at the bloodied claw prints with nauseous realization. Marinette nodded once.

A simple lie, but not far from the truth. She didn't intend to let Ava walk away from her either way!

"Ava," Jay began tiredly, but she'd heard enough.

"No. I believe her, Jay. When she passed through my heart, I saw what she was thinking for a split second!" Marinette froze, cursing herself inwardly for her slip, but Ava wasn't done yet. "She only wanted to protect me! The thought consumed her! She's good, Jay, I just know she is!" The blonde girl smiled at Marinette, stroking her shadowy head with a hand that shook. Her faint dusting of freckles stood out in stark relief on her ashen face. "I just want to go home. Please, Jay? We'll tell the rangers about the whole thing…and this Banette can stay with me. She just saw her trainer die. I'm sure she needs a friend after something so awful!"

Jay stared at Marinette with weary suspicion, to his credit. But Ava's confidence, and his own exhaustion seemed to sway the dark haired teen. "Fine. Just…be careful. Does this Banette have a name?"

Ava beamed as she picked up Marinette fondly, her smile so similar to Lana's it sent a giddy surge of anticipation through the murderous ghost. "I saw that, too. Her name is Marinette!"

~o~

Travelling with Ava was a perfect drug, addictive and intoxicating.

After Benjamin's death was confirmed to be the work of a Mightyena's fangs and claws, Marinette was declared a victim of circumstance, though the rangers puzzled over the boy's broken fingers. In the end it didn't matter, once they found out the Mightyena had a previous history of sudden violence. She wished she could have been there the day they put Zalem to death, but she had a new source of entertainment now.

Every day, she dreamed of killing Lana while admiring Ava's features. She imagined her pretty little neck snapping whenever she smiled, and fantasized about peeling her soft skin off in strips to expose the muscle below while they walked. Ava was oblivious to her dreams, but loved how Marinette always wanted to spend time with her.

They were both happy, the smiling angel and the sadistic serial killer, though neither understood the other.

Every day Ava brought her on adventures, and every night Marinette hovered over her sleeping body and fought the urge to kill her. She resisted every night, though it seemed impossible to do so. But no…Ava was irreplaceable. Marinette would never find another so similar to Lana, until she found Lana herself! Her days filled with imaginary tortures were far more satisfying over the long term than a single night of murder!

Ava's blonde hair was nearly the same shade as Lana's, though it was too thick, which Marinette hated. Her eyes as well – baby blue, instead of perfect soft green! And though the curve of her lips and the slant of her nose were achingly familiar, her face was too angled to be Lana's.

Ugly. Such a pity, when she'd come so close. But she was not Lana. How hideous. Marinette sneered with disgust, but forced herself to dwell on the similarities instead, so she could lose herself in her daydreams of severing her spine with a rusty hacksaw.

She never did figure out when exactly she began to change.

But one dusty summer afternoon, Marinette found herself genuinely laughing at one of Ava's jokes. She caught herself with horror, and spent the next several hours locked in a grisly scenario so appalling it drove away the happy memory for a time.

Weeks later, she went to sleep thoughtlessly, completely forgetting her usual struggle over murdering Ava, and awoke rested and refreshed.

And then, horror of horrors, she realized in her distraction she'd gone an entire day without thinking of Lana!

Once she began noticing the signs, they seemed to be everywhere!

Marinette no longer hated Ava's blue eyes! She didn't despise her heartbeat! Even the torture scenarios brought her less pleasure, as she began to wonder if it might not be better to see Ava's smile than her grimace of agony!

Oh, but it was horrible! Poor Marinette had never been so confused and lost. She didn't know who she was anymore, and every night she reminded herself forcibly that Lana was the enemy to prevent herself from fading away into nothing!

Confliction warred in her soul, as she began to love Ava. Yes! It was love! Marinette could admit that, why shouldn't she? Was it so wrong for her to care about a human a tiny fraction of an amount, when she hated Lana so much more? It wasn't as though she'd given up on Lana, oh no! If anything, her hatred had grown brighter! Marinette would never let go of her grudge, never in a hundred years, because if she did she would vanish forever, and Ava would be left alone!

A Banette could not exist without hate, not ever. But Marinette hadn't known they could feel other emotions at the same time. So she held onto her hatred, because Ava needed her, and Marinette needed Ava. She'd never had a proper friend before….

The murders stopped. Marinette didn't seek out lone humans to maim, or small Pokémon to torture. She forced herself to see the good qualities in the faces of passerby, instead of sneering at their ugliness. She abstained from killing until her arms shook and her very soul ached with desire, but she fought through it, because she knew that's what Ava would want.

She had a new drug, one that didn't require her to deal in death and fear.

Marinette was happy.

When Jay proposed to Ava in a swirl of white flowers, she decided he wasn't so terrible either, since he'd brought such a blissful smile to the face of the second most beautiful girl on earth. That night, Marinette locked herself in a dark room and forced herself to remember the joy of breaking Benjamin's fingers until the sick smile returned to her face.

If she hadn't, the joy she felt would have turned Marinette back into a doll forever. Yes, she was a contradictory creature, but she'd long learned to balance the two halves of herself. Hatred animated her body, but Marinette had something else to live for now.

She'd even learned to hum. Singing was a no go, since opening her zipper would allow massive amounts of hate energy to escape, which she frankly didn't have enough of to spare these days. Marinette hummed the song Ava had written for her, though she wasn't as good at bringing the notes to life as her beautiful trainer, while she ghosted around the little attic room in Ava's house.

The wedding was in two weeks. They'd decided to live in Jay's city flat, to be closer to his family. Ava had even found a job with a publishing agency in the city. Half packed boxes sat around the dusty attic, filled with junk and memorabilia alike, not important enough to be showcased in the house, but too sentimental to throw away entirely. Marinette hated throwing things away.

She was the only one still awake, so she'd decided to be useful. It wasn't as though Banette needed much sleep in the first place! Scrap books and old talent show trophies were packed with care in old cardboard boxes, ready to be moved to their new home. Marinette laughed at an embarrassing photo of a young Ava covered in ice cream, before nestling it carefully in the box marked 'fragile'. She'd even learned to read a little, though she didn't much care for stories.

Knickknacks, heavy books, and old shoes made their way among the packing peanuts, along with ornate boxes and a carved flute, treasures of years gone by. She finished sorting the stack, and moved on to the newer items Ava had pulled from her expired storage unit weeks ago in anticipation of the move. Marinette eyed these items with interest, many of them new to her, and each carrying a whisper of Ava's emotions like a tantalizing glimpse into her thoughts.

A photograph she'd bumped fell face down on the floor, and Marinette jolted as if shocked.

She stared down at the back of the frame, a familiar whisper curling in her shadowed soul, reminiscent of the deathly dance of her evolution so many years ago. A strange premonition rang in her mind, growing to a fever pitch as Marinette picked the photograph off the floor.

She would know Lana anywhere.

Her soft green eyes still held a hint of mischief, and her smile a mystery. Amber blonde hair hung in a soft haze around her face, but no, Marinette realized, her face was wrong, IT STILL HAD SKIN ON IT!

Hatred flared to a burning inferno in Marinette, because she'd been wrong, her grudge had never gone away, it had only simmered in the bottoms of her mind like embers, but Lana was alive and within reach, and Ava knew her! She had met Lana, talked to her, and seen her in the flesh! They might even share blood!

Marinette screamed behind her zippered mask, her tight grip shattering the glass of the photograph, glaring with scathing hatred at the teenage version of the girl who had created her own murderer.

No! She fought back the hate with an anguished sob, shaking her head back and forth. Ava loved her. Marinette loved Ava! She couldn't kill her friend, what would Ava think of her? She would cry with those blue eyes, cry and cry and cry and cry and-!

Empty eye sockets stared out from Ava's face, while she clawed her skin to ribbons with her own fingernails, trying to reach Marinette while she laughed in Ava's mind-

If only Lana's eyes weren't green! Then it couldn't really be Lana, couldn't couldn't couldn't, not if her eyes were gone forever, and then Marinette wouldn't have to do this to Ava, dear sweet Ava whose screams were music to the demon in her soul! She wielded shards of glass like daggers, stabbing and crushing them into the wooden floor over and over and over, but it still wasn't enough, and her claws peeled curls of wood from the floor instead of Ava's ugly face, because she hated her!

She sobbed brokenly, hunched over the broken photo of Lana on the ground, but then she was laughing, and had she ever truly cried at all? Marinette couldn't remember, though it didn't seem like her, but Lana was real, she'd really existed, except perhaps Ava was more important? She couldn't tell, didn't know, but the voices in her mind screamed for a decision, or it would be Marinette who died instead, torn to shreds by her own thoughts!

The door creaked open slowly. "Marinette?" Ava asked uncertainly, her honey hair mussed from sleep and a yawn in her voice. "Is that you?"

The cursed Banette sat hunched over the shattered photo of her in the middle of a jagged symbol clawed into the wood floor, surrounded by shards of glass. Lana's green eyes were scratched out so savagely two holes gaped in the glossy paper above a smile carved wide.

Marinette tilted her head towards Ava without raising it all the way, her scarlet eyes gleaming with emptiness as a smile crept over her zippered mouth in the circle of moonlight filtering through the window.

It was all Ava's fault.

Elongated claws of black power erupted from Marinette's body, slamming Ava into the wall, and for once her cries weren't enough to stun Marinette into stillness. She'd meant to slice off her arms, so why then did Marinette's ghostly power grip Ava's shoulders instead, holding her tight so she could not move? Confliction warred in Marinette like a storm, but the emotions were too much, she needed to tear them out or she'd shatter into a million pieces!

"Marinette!" Ava gasped, whimpering with shock as grip of the shadowy claws became crushing in response. A tear broke from the side of her disbelieving blue eyes, streaking down her cold cheek. Her bones creaked, and already her skin was bruising and breaking, and a part of Marinette thrilled at the sight! Two more clawed limbs tore from Marinette's back, pinning Ava's ankles tight! And oh, but her scream was glorious!

Marinette surged closer, until she was level with Ava's crying face, drinking in her pain like a sponge. Why had she ever resisted this? There could be no other pleasure in life than killing. Happiness didn't compare, nothing compared.

Nothing…except killing Lana!

Marinette froze at the thought, sickened realization slamming shut the doors of hate in her mind. She was killing Ava! Her head swung back and forth in denial, a moan escaping behind her zippered lips, but she didn't let go. Her emotions were too much, they burned Marinette, danced and surged and screamed!

She could stand it no longer! The Banette tore her zipper open in a vast scream of hate, yawning emptiness gaping behind the rows of shadowy fangs!

Marinette's confliction and hatred struck Ava in a distorted blast of sound and emotion, blowing her hair back from her crying blue eyes. Her trainer went very still.

The claws binding her ankles and shoulders dispersed into nothing as the zipper closed. Marinette moaned, falling to the floor, holding her torso tightly as if restraining her own hate.

It was all over now. Ava knew. Not everything, but she knew how Marinette felt. She must have seen Lana, must know the truth!

Marinette sobbed helplessly, wishing for death.

Ava walked slowly towards the ruined photo, her bruised ankles nearly giving out. Glass tinkled on the floor as she moved.

She stared down at the picture of Lana with quiet realization.

"I always knew the stories about Banette," Ava whispered after an eternity of nothingness. "How they used to be dolls, who came to life for revenge against the child who threw them away. I knew you still carried hatred, or you would have vanished…but I was so happy you were here with me! Oh, Marinette…why did it have to be Lana?"

Before she'd even finished saying her name, Marinette loomed in front of Ava's face with lurid light shining from her eyes and shadowed claws waving behind her by the dozens, choked hatred in her throat.

"Just meet her, Marinette!" Ava begged, stumbling back with instinctive terror. Her bare feet scraped on glass, and warm red smeared the photo. "She's so kindhearted and wonderful! I'm sure she never wanted to hurt you!"

What did Ava know?! Years Marinette had rotted in the trash! Endless, terrible years of agony and loneliness! Lana had toyed with the strings in Marinette's heart, pulling and tweaking until she danced and danced, and cut them so savagely she'd never stopped falling into nothingness!

"I know you don't want to do this!" Ava screamed, shielding her head with her arms as junk soared into the air and wind howled around them in a mad whirl, glittering with shattered glass. Her breath fogged in the sudden graveyard chill of the air. "Marinette, please! You've come so far! I believe in you! Please, I just want you to be happy! Come with me. Meet Lana, without killing her, or you'll never be free of the past!"

Happy?

Ava flinched as junk came clattering back the floor. She lowered her arms slowly, looking up at Marinette with tears smudging her cheeks. Though years had passed, Ava still looked so very young.

Marinette stared back at her with an odd expression of wonder, and astonished even herself by nodding 'yes', though she didn't know if she meant it.

~o~

They left that very night, at Marinette's unyielding insistence. Ava slipped out of her house like a ghost, bringing only a simple trainer's pack and her small team, with Marinette in her arms. Not a living soul walked the eerie streets save them, the blanket of night broken only occasionally by the steady orange glow of the streetlamps. Ava limped slightly, her thin shoes leaving a smear of red despite the bandaging around her foot. She seemed to be in shock at the revelations of the night, staring forward with a haunted gaze, though every muscle was tense with determination.

Their journey would take about a day, Ava explained distantly, fighting back a yawn as they bought a ticket on the midnight train. Marinette could hardly wait, her emotions howling and bouncing around her skull, though Ava's warm arms kept her grounded.

She still couldn't decide what she felt, but Ava was with her, Ava would help Marinette, so surely everything would be okay?

Cities and endless forests flashed past the cold windows of the train under the brilliant extravagance of the star dusted heavens. And Ava told her about Lana, her voice a hush despite the empty train car. Her father had died, and Ava couldn't stand to be in her own home, which was haunted with his memory. She'd run away to travel with Jay a few months before she'd met Marinette, leaving all her old friends behind.

Lana was the only one she still talked to. Ava spoke at length about her kindness and support through her rocky relationship with Jay, though their contact was all long distance. She was coming to the wedding. If Marinette had seen her so suddenly, it would only have ended in a bloodbath.

In a way, it was fortunate Ava had learned the truth when she did.

More details came. Lana had gotten married two years prior, and was very happy with her new husband and her infant son. But Marinette couldn't help but feel there was some secret Ava was keeping from her as they travelled, though she didn't know what. It didn't matter. She was going to see her, soon, soon, soon….

Ava's phone rang several times after the sun rose, but she didn't take the calls. Eventually, she turned her phone off. She and Marinette sat in comfortable silence, switching trains once, and then boarding a ferry.

It was in the middle of the second train trip that Marinette realized they were being followed.

She smiled, sensing the rigid emotions of Jay, and made a show of stretching as she snuggled deeper into Ava's arms. He couldn't know what they were doing, but he was watching over Ava all the same. He was worried about her…how pathetic! Marinette was sure he'd caught up on his Flygon, though how he'd found them was a mystery.

Ava didn't notice him, walking as though in a dreamy haze. She hadn't slept, and dark smudges were already beginning to bruise beneath her sleepy blue eyes. She brushed off the passersby who asked if she was alright with a laugh. Of course she was fine! Marinette nodded in vigorous affirmation in her slender arms, and they left her alone.

It was hard to focus on such minor details. Ava talked out loud while they walked in the dark streets of the new city, an entire day gone in a flash. She was still out of sorts, but Marinette didn't mind her chatter.

Jay was still following further behind. Really, his behavior was terribly creepy! Stalking Ava like the pervert Marinette had once slaughtered for the same crime, for shame! He should have a little trust in his fiancée! She shook her head in annoyance.

Soon the little town gave way to long driveways and isolated little houses. Ava kept walking, her shoes crunching on the dirt road.

"-and when we get there, we can ask why she threw you away," Ava continued hazily, a smile on her face. "Who knows, maybe it wasn't her fault! She could have lost you, or maybe you were stolen from her, we don't know! I'm sure she'll be surprised when she hears about you. I know I would be! You know, I don't actually know what happened to my old dolls. I wonder if another Banette is looking for me." If there was, Marinette would kill them. Ava was hers.

Ava stopped under the trees in front of Lana's driveway, a crease forming between her eyebrows. "Marinette?" she said quietly, honestly confused. "I didn't call, did I? Why didn't I call Lana to let her know we were coming? I didn't call anyone, anyone at all."

Marinette hummed soothingly in reassurance, stroking Ava's cheek, but the blonde teen was staring forward with horror as if waking from a long dream.

"It's dark…why did we come when it was dark? I didn't eat today, did I? Marinette…I don't feel well, something's wrong with my head!"

Ava moaned, nearly falling over as Marinette's control cracked! She reached for her Dusk Ball, but the Banette was too quick, striking the human girl with a Hypnosis before she could recover.

Marinette caught her before she fell, levitating with ghostly power to support her weight, and laughed out loud because it was too late! The mind control was subtle, and only worked when Marinette was touching Ava's skin. Easily broken by awareness, perhaps, but it served its purpose….

She cursed inwardly as crunching gravel betrayed Jay's sudden sprint towards them, his voice a furious snarl. "Let her go!"

In a flash she was behind Ava, her claws pressed against her pulse, staring at him with malevolent red eyes in the dark of night.

He froze, outrage and terror warring on his chiseled features. "Let her go," he begged, in a hush this time. He moved with exaggerated slowness, setting his Poké Ball and phone down on the ground, and rose with equal slowness, his hands held up in clear surrender. "Marinette, let's talk about this," Jay said steadily, though his voice was strained. Sweat beaded on his temples, but his brown eyes were clear.

Marinette had never noticed before.

Jay had dark curls, almost like Benjamin.

The comparison made her smile.

~o~

Marinette had made her decision when Ava told her to be happy.

Happiness was death for a Banette! Ava wanted her to forgive Lana and heal…which meant she wanted Marinette to die. Ava had shown her true colors at last, betraying Marinette, but she shouldn't be surprised! If Ava had known the depths of her evil, she would have run screaming and abandoned Marinette just like Lana had!

That was the true danger of love, Marinette decided, while she painted swirling lines on Ava's skin with bloody claws. Love granted others power to hurt you. Even if Ava had never truly known her, Marinette craved her love.

She surveyed her work critically. Crimson swirls and jagged lines covered every inch of Ava's exposed skin, and stained her once pretty clothes. Only the most recent patterns were fresh; she'd spent ages on the project, killing time until the girl woke. She breathed deeply, collapsed into deep slumber on the ground, her blonde hair fanning over her face.

Marinette was growing bored. Just when she'd decided to start breaking Ava's fingers to wake her up after all, the short girl shifted in her sleep with a soft moan.

The true test came now. Doubt had been planted in her mind, after all. Marinette needed to know if murdering Lana would grant her more happiness than love.

She would find out with Ava.

Marinette hung in the still night air, silhouetted in front of the full moon, and watched, her terrible eyes gleaming like rubies, while Ava stirred.

The blonde girl sat slowly, kneading the bridge of her nose. She stared at the lines of blood on her hand without immediate comprehension, her memory hazy.

Ava held out her bloody arms suddenly, her breath short with panic when she saw the runes. The cold blood soaking her clothes stuck to her skin oddly as she moved, half scrambling to her feet as she turned, coming face to face with the decapitated head of Jay's Flygon.

Marinette jolted, arching her back as Ava's terrible scream rocked through her, the taste of horrified pain sparking like sweet lightning through her being!

Ava fell backwards, scrambling away from the destroyed corpse, but her palm slipped in blood, and she fell onto a pile of rubbery intestines.

By then her eyes had adjusted to the gloom, and she could see the little clearing was neatly arranged with dissected corpses and purposeful swathes of blood, with Ava in the center of it all. It was a beautiful symbol, if one could get past the severed limbs and gore!

It was Marinette's masterpiece! And oh, how difficult it had been to create! She'd possessed the Flygon to kill the others, striking for the throat so they could not scream before they died! Quietly, quietly…she hadn't wanted Ava to wake before it was finished! But it had all been worth it, because her agony and terror were greater than any Marinette had ever inflicted on a human!

Ava saw her then, and her face twisted with horrible rage as she realized what she'd done! She screamed Marinette's name, the word hitting her with a delirious haze, and maximized a Poké Ball with her etched hand. Marinette watched with hungry anticipation, unwilling to miss a single second of this show!

Ava's Poké Ball released a spatter of gore and guts, the remains of her beloved Charmander. The sight struck her like a punch to the gut. Marinette laughed delightedly at that! It had been difficult to return a dissembled creature to the spheres, but worth the effort! She reached for her bag, but Marinette had taken it, giving her nothing to use against her.

Tears streamed over the bloody pattern painted lovingly on Ava's contorted face, diluting the curling lines in streaks. The blonde girl stared at Marinette with such hate she was sure to try and kill her with own bare hands!

Shadows whirled behind Marinette in the shape of dozens of clawed limbs, casting a writhing shadow on the silver washed clearing, her bloody eyes gleaming brighter in the center of it all, daring her to try!

She was rewarded when Ava's anger broke, revealing true fear as she stared at the Banette silhouetted in front of the moon.

She ran.

But she didn't get far.

Because right behind her, hanging from the trees with arms outstretched, was Jay's mutilated corpse, where he'd been waiting the whole time for her to turn. His warm brown eyes had been gouged out, and his nose and lips removed, but Marinette had stitched up his eyes and mouth with dark thread! His intestines hung down in a slimy curtain, nearly brushing the slick pile of his removed skin on the earth.

Ava's screams weren't human anymore. She fell, overwhelmed by loss and agony, and Marinette had never felt such sweet pleasure! Never again would she doubt the thrill of murder and pain, never again would she be tempted by the overrated warmth of love!

If Marinette hadn't been convinced, she would have eaten Ava's memories of this night. She would have found another Jay in time.

But Marinette had her final confirmation.

She would wait no longer.

With a delighted laugh, the dark Banette soared down the long drive to the house hidden in the trees, vaguely aware of Ava screaming for her to stop, and knowing nothing would get in her way! Perhaps a human had heard Ava's anguish despite the late hour and the scattered houses, and called the authorities. Marinette had no time to waste!

She could sense Lana sleeping before she even reached the house, the sensation urging her forward! Marinette phased through the locked door, and heard Ava's fists strike the wood bare moments later, pounding and pounding while she screamed. The doorknob rattled, but she didn't have the key, and the terrible impact of her shoulder crashed through the still house.

Ghosts struck from the shadows. Marinette knew she must not battle! There would be no more interruptions tonight! Her smile stretched unnaturally wide, giddily drunk on hate, because Lana was here, she was here!

But how to kill her? Marinette was determined to hurt her as much as possible, but she had no time for a lengthy torture!

A small laugh made her stop.

Marinette turned her gleaming eyes toward the sound. She ghosted through the wall into room painted in soft pastel blue.

A baby sat in his crib, awake when he should be sleeping. His chubby hands could barely hold the plush doll he played with.

Marinette loomed closer, her shadow dark on the wall.

So focused was she on the infant, she didn't notice Lana's husband attack her from behind.

A gunshot cracked through the house, the bullet piercing Marinette's head from behind; a perfect kill shot.

For a creature with flesh and bone, that is.

Marinette's head twisted all the way around to stare at him with a disjointed smile. She surged forwards as the gun roared again and again, the bullets punching neat holes in her shadowed body! The baby wailed in the background, as Marinette dove into his father's soul.

The man was strong. He resisted for several seconds, clawing at his head as he tried to cast her out. His glasses fell to the floor, but his grip on the gun was a vice.

While Marinette grappled with the man, trying to force him to drop the gun and strangle the life out of his own son, Lana snatched up the child and ran from the room. Marinette only caught a glimpse of her, but she knew who the woman was in her very soul! Even if her blonde hair hung long to her waist, there was no doubt!

Power surged through Marinette, stronger than any she'd ever wielded before! The husband was subdued in a moment, and they ran after his fleeing wife together. Nothing could stop Marinette! This was why she'd been born, the only reason she'd been able to stay alive!

Lana was here, and she would finally pay!

Ava's scream cut through the night like glass as she beat her bloodied fists against the door. "MOM!"

Ignoring Ava's frantic shouts and her host's desperate prayers, Marinette slammed Lana to the ground with her own husband's fist.

She skidded across the tile floor of the kitchen, the wailing baby bouncing on the ground. She snatched him up in a second, scrambling backwards, and Marinette stared in breathless wonder at her green eyes.

She was beautiful. Utterly perfect.

Or at least, she would be once she died.

Marinette lifted the gun, and shot Lana's husband in the head right in front of her. He collapsed in a heap, leaving her floating where he'd been, bathing in her scream. She didn't bother picking up the gun…it was far too merciful! She selected a butcher's knife from the rack, turning to Lana with murderous anticipation.

Darkness rippled and burned over her shadowed body, connecting her to Lana's heartbeat in a move she'd been saving just for this night.

Marinette slashed her own face with the knife, opening a neat slit on Lana's perfect skin at the same moment.

Crimson dripped down her lips, welling up from the thin slice below her eye.

Another slash, and Destiny Bond inflicted the same wound on Lana! Marinette didn't even feel the pain, hacking and slashing at her own shadowed body while Lana begged for mercy at her feet!

Blood stained her gorgeous blonde hair, until it was slick and filthy….

The butcher's knife cleaved through Marinette's arm. Stuffing flew, and Lana wailed with unthinking agony splintering through her mind, her arm thudding against the tile! Still she clutched the child with her other hand, still she tried to run from Marinette, crawling away on the blood slicked floor!

Glass shattered as Ava broke a window, and lights flashed outside in crimson and blue, but Marinette was beyond caring about anything else! Lana was all that mattered, Lana was dying in front of her eyes!

This was everything she deserved!

Marinette screamed giddily, the bliss of her vengeance searing brighter than the hateful sun! She dove forward, snatching the child from Lana's arms with her shadowy extra limbs, and reveled in the pure joy of her anguish!

The front door splintered, and Marinette heard authoritative shouts and blaring sirens.

She looked Lana in the eyes, and ripped off the baby's head.

Marinette had heard many different flavors of screams that night, but all of them paled to the true agony of Lana's horrified shriek.

She tossed the two halves of the infant aside carelessly, lifting the butcher's knife to rest above her chest with her one remaining arm.

Marinette stabbed her own chest, and felt the moment Lana's heart was finally pierced, as uniformed officers flooded the room.

There were no words to describe her perfect ecstasy. Marinette threw back her head and wailed with overwhelming bliss, driving the knife deeper still into her own chest! It was too much for her! Marinette's body smoked with dark power, and her hatred for Lana reached a fever pitch of perfection.

She exploded into shadow, her dark vengeance finally complete!

And from the darkness of her being fell a rotten doll, landing in the arm of Lana's bloodied corpse.

Reunited at last.

~o~

Author's Note: My first, and probably only horror fic. This was an awful experience writing wise. I decided to write a story for every genre on the site to develop a wider range of skills, and wanted to get horror/supernatural out of the way first. It was more difficult than I anticipated to get this finished. I have a much higher regard for those capable of writing horror stories after struggling to put together this story.

There are a few small things I felt I should go over briefly in regards to this piece.

Maggots: Yes, this is a story set in the Pokémon universe, but small, non-Pokémon insects exist in canon. There are several references to small prey insects in Pokédex entries, and flies are seen and heard a few times in the show/manga. It's the only reason I can get away with mentioning the maggots crawling through Marinette's stuffing in the opening scenes.

Shuppet's Evolution: This isn't explicitly canon, but it is my favorite theory. Banette is said to be a pitiful plush doll who became a ghost, but Shuppet is not, despite being a pre-evolution. Shuppet are drawn to dark emotions and the desire for vengeance, and will roam the night searching for evil to feed off. Ergo, if an abandoned doll is tainted with feelings of vengeance, Shuppet will be attracted to it, and they can fuse for evolution. This idea is similar to how Slowpoke evolves into Slowbro by fusing with a Shellder. Pokédex entries are notorious for not always making perfect sense, so I used my own interpretation for the purposes of this story.

Call the Cops: Jay should have called the police before he ever confronted Marinette. He didn't, because he wasn't positive she was actually controlling Ava. There was a chance Ava simply decided to go visit Lana without telling him about it. When she didn't pick up several times, he followed her using the location sharing feature on her phone, just in case. He followed from a distance because she was acting oddly, and holding Marinette in her arms. It wasn't until she collapsed that he knew something was wrong, and he prioritized confronting Marinette over completing the phone call to the police. (Mistake.) I had this all figured out in advance, but unfortunately couldn't find a place to feature it in the story organically. It's not quite important enough information to break the flow of the plot.

Marinette's Transformation: If a Banette learns to let go of their grudge, they actually die, turning back into a doll, according to the Pokédex entries. They literally cannot exist without hatred. Every Banette you see is consumed with the desire for revenge against the child who abandoned them. Without her demented hatred towards Lana, Marinette had no purpose in life, and could no longer exist. Thus, her transformation back into a normal doll.

Banette's Moves: Granted, this is the kind of thing most readers won't pay attention to, but I like to know the details. Marinette knows a move right off the bat that can only come from specific breeding. (Destiny Bond.) This is possible because the Shuppet she bonded with was bred by a trainer, and released later.

If there are any other questions you have, feel free to ask! I'll add the best ones to this section, to clarify for other readers as well.

~o~

Thank you for reading. The dedicated theme songs for this story can be found under the Broken Dolls section on my profile. Submissions for music themes are allowed, but are subject to approval before they'll be credited with the others. These will include the pen name of the person who recommended them, unless requested otherwise.

If you read this far, please leave me a review, everyone! :D

~Little Miss Firebright