Mary could feel her whole body shaking as she stood there. She knew she would have to face the Akuma again, but Mary didn't think it would be this soon.

Realizing they couldn't hear Mary's footsteps, the two adults turned around.

"What's wrong Mary?" Maria questioned, concern etched on her face.

"Ah..." Mary stumbled with her words. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"A-Akuma." She said. Just saying those words frightened the girl to her very core.

The adults' eyes widened.

"Where?!" Georges asked.

As if to answer his question, they heard nearby an explosion.

"Tch!" Maria scowled. "Georges, take care of Mary!" she yelled, rushing towards the site of the explosion, leaving Georges with Mary and Ur-Canpy.

Georges grabbed the young girl's arm.

"We need to get to a safer place." He said.

Past all the buildings they ran. Mary heard the distant sound of screams. She attempted to block out the noise.

The Finder spotted a mostly hidden place and dragged himself and Mary to it. He breathed heavily, tired from running so quickly.

Mary frowned.

"Will Maria be ok?" she asked, grabbing Georges's sleeve.

"Don't worry, she's the least of my worries. I'm much more afraid about us." He said between breaths.
Just then, several Akuma appeared before them.

"You can't hide from us!~" One said.

"Not again!" Mary yelled.

"Calm down!" Georges yelled back.

"How can I calm down when we're about to die?!"
Suddenly, an idea popped into the girl's head. She had an innocence, right? Then maybe she could use it to fight back!

But there was one problem.

But Mary didn't know how to activate Therion.
The crowd of Akuma came closer to the two. Swiftly, she turned her head towards Georges.

"Georges, how do I activate my innocence?" She asked, shaking him.

His eyes widened.

"Surely you're not—"

"Just tell me!" She yelled.

Realizing that they had no other choice, Georges gripped her shoulders.

"Honestly, I'm not sure if this will work, but—"

"We might as well try, right?"

"Yes— yes, you're right." He gulped.

"Take a deep breath and call out to your innocence. Tell it to activate."

Mary did what he instructed, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Then, she looked at the Akuma and opened her mouth.

"Innocence, activate!"

A bright light engulfed the area. Blinding not only Georges but the Akuma as well.

Mary felt funny. To move on all fours and be so tall (compared to her small human self) was a brand new experience. This was the first time she was truly conscious while using her innocence, after all. To her surprise, though, transforming wasn't as painful as she thought it would be.

An unfamiliar sensation spread throughout her body.
Power.

"It's a wonderful feeling, isn't it?" A voice— Therion's voice rang in her head.

'Therion!' Mary thought.

"It's been a while, kid." She said.

'How are we talking to each other?!' Mary questioned.
"Telepathy, of course," replied Therion.

'Tele- what?' Mary wasn't sure what that word was and made a mental note to ask Maria later.

"Ugh. You should focus on attacking those Akuma."

Mary looked at the Akuma standing before her. There were a few bomb-like Akumas, which Maria had told her were Level 1s— the lowest level of Akuma, but there was also another Akuma, one Mary had never seen before. It looked like a gigantic sunflower. With long, leaf-like arms and a hideous face. Super creepy.

"Oh, my~ if it isn't Innocence!" The Sunflower Akuma said. "This will be funnnnn!~"

With haste, Mary lunged at the Akuma. If the young girl were to be very honest with herself, she did not know how to fight the Akuma. She was merely going off her instincts.

It also didn't help that Therion had gone silent. But the Innocence's silence was the least of her worries. Right now, she just wanted to make sure she and Georges stayed alive.

The Sunflower Akuma swiped at Mary, but she dodged the attack, albeit narrowly. She had taken out some of the Level 1s (much to her surprise), but fighting the Sunflower Akuma felt like fighting a brick wall. No matter how much she tried, there was never any progress. The young girl was getting exhausted. Activating her Innocence took more energy than she expected.

To make the situation even worse, Mary wasn't so fortunate with the Akuma's next attack, getting slammed into a wall.

"Mary!" Georges yelled, running towards her now de-transformed body.

"Unng..." she sat on the hard floor, groaning in pain.
Georges held her hand, a worried look on his face.

"I'm sorry." She said weakly. "I couldn't defeat it."

"You did well." Georges gave her a sad smile. "Much more than anything I could've done."

Ur-Canpy circled the two, worried.

"Return to your master," Georges said. "You shouldn't stay here."

But as he said those words, the two heard a voice. A voice that was singing. Mary's eyes widened. Georges gasped.

"Lady Maria!" He exclaimed. Hope returned to his and Mary's eyes.

"Huh! Where did they go!?" The Sunflower Akuma yelled in annoyance.

"He can't see us?" Mary asked.

"No. It's one of Maria's abilities: Magdala Curtain," replied Georges. "It makes an illusion that conceals our presence."

"Magdala Curtain..." the young girl muttered.
As the song ended, the two became visible again. However, the Akuma weren't focused on them.

The platinum-haired woman walked towards the mass of Akuma. She grinned.

"They're gone now, so keep your eyes on me!"

She sang once more, this time a different song. A song that made the Akuma screech in pain, and fall to the ground, turning into dust. Leaving behind only silence.

"Wow..." Mary looked at the woman in awe.

"She's amazing, isn't she?" Georges said. "It's terrifying how powerful she is."

Maria walked through the rubble towards the two. Unlike Mary, she had no injuries. In fact, she looked better than she did before, somehow.

With ease, she lifted the young girl into her arms and looked at her apologetically.

"My sincerest apologies. Are you alright? I should've never left you two."

Georges cleared his throat. "I agree it wasn't a good idea- no, it was a horrible mistake, but at least we are all still here in one piece."

Maria laughed nervously.

"Yes... I will give more thought before I make a decision next time."

"That's what you always say, but it never happens that way." He replied, shaking his head in disapproval.

Mary giggled at Georges' scolding.

"Don't worry." She said. "I don't feel too bad."

Georges and Maria were odd... but she liked them anyway. They were kind to her and didn't judge her by her appearance. They also gave her hope that she could move on from the fire. That she could live a life with purpose.

"Are you sure?" Georges asked, frowning. "You took a beating fighting those Akuma."

Mary grinned, giving him a thumbs-up, albeit a weak one.

"I can feel myself getting better already!" She said.
The Finder sighed, giving her a soft smile.

"Awfully positive for such a situation, aren't you?" He said.

He was right, but Mary hated being sad. She hated feeling negative and wallowing in sadness. She was sick of being unhappy. Absolutely sick of it.

"Well," Maria fixed her glasses. "Now that's settled, shall we go?"

Mary nodded.

"Yes!"