Purple Twilight

"Captain!"

Drowsiness threatened to paralyze his body, but Harris fought against the hypnopompic daze with Denyen's help. When his eyes finally opened, he witnessed the apparent massacre in the grand hall. Citizens and soldiers alike littered the floor as if the hall were struck by an explosion.

"Are you alright, Captain?" Denyen offered to help Harris to his feet, but the first attempt failed as Harris's legs were still afflicted with atonia.

"Give me a moment," Harris requested.

"What happened here?"

"The Professor was here. And that woman summoned some powerful, unknown pokémon from thin air. I've never seen such magic. Are the citizens well?"

"They're alive," Denyen assured him. "It seems they've been asleep. You are the first to awaken."

Harris was able to reach his feet when he tried a second time, though he nearly tumbled if Denyen had not helped him steady himself. His legs still felt like jelly from the haunting, unnatural way to be put asleep. He'd never felt such effects before. The Professor and his wife were surely among the most powerful foes he'd met, though he recognized the honor within them.

"Why are you here?" Harris finally asked Denyen. "You were charged with accompanying Penta through today. Where is the prince?"

Denyen immediately dropped to his knees and placed his forehead to the floor. "Greatest apologies, Captain Harris. Penta confronted the new pokémon in the temple with the bravery of an emperor. The pokémon reacted poorly, however, and they did something to him. He disappeared into thin air."

"He disappeared?"

"Yes, sir. We failed in our assignment and await your punishment."

"Is he dead?"

"As far as I know, sir. The unknown pokémon appeared furious with his request for power. They froze his rhyhorn to death." He was getting difficult to understand while speaking into the floor. He looked ready to receive the ultimate, dishonorable punishment for his failure.

But Harris wasn't interested. The thought of Penta's death overwhelmed all other thoughts. With Penta dead, the plot was truly a failure. Even as Oliver and Asher awakened and rose to their feet, Harris was ready to dismiss Denyen and pardon the failure. If those unknown pokémon were really so powerful, there was nothing Denyen or his cohorts could have done to protect the ambitious prince.

"What happened?" Asher asked.

Oliver appeared furious. He shouted to an unconscious room, "Where are the prisoners?"

"The prisoners no longer matter," Harris insisted. "Penta is dead, killed by the unknown pokémon in the Temple of Alph. We must release Jomon."

"We will not!" Oliver argued. "Jomon is under arrest for murdering his father."

"Jomon is the rightful ruler. He is Emperor Usimare Alph III's only surviving heir."

"Without Penta, the Empire's rule will fall to the regency. That was always the plan!"

Harris rejected the notion. "Political greed prompted that decision. Penta would have allowed easier manipulation to ensure the longevity of the empire, but Jomon is already strong without us pulling the strings. The Empire will thrive under his rule."

Oliver glared and approached Harris with clenched fists. "After all the planning and what we've sacrificed for this plot, we cannot back down now. Jomon will not make an effective puppet. The only way to ensure the true destiny of the Empire of Alph is under my rule! My wisdom will make this empire great again!"

Harris recognized something in Oliver's eyes. He did not possess the eye of a man seeking to protect the people, but of one seeking to enrich his coffers. As the politician of the trio, leaving of the empire in the hands of the regency would place all affairs of state in Oliver's hands. Neither Harris nor Asher possessed the political intellect to combat his decisions. Clearly, the arrangement left Oliver feeling greedy and lustful.

"Denyen," Harris spoke.

"Yes, sir," the samurai replied into the floor.

"Rise to your feet." Denyen was reluctant to do it given the gravity of his infraction, but he was also unwilling to violate a command from his captain. As soon as he looked like a soldier again, Harris added, "Now take the chamber chief into custody."

Denyen's eyes went wide behind his mask. He was awestruck by the request.

Oliver gritted his teeth and snarled, "How dare you!" As he threw a punch toward Harris's face, the samurai captain sidestepped the assault and retaliated by using the butt of his palm to pop Oliver's nose upward. While Oliver was stunned, Harris contorted his arm behind his back and demanded of his soldier, "Are you deaf, samurai? Detain this man at once for conspiracy to murder the royal family."

"Yes, sir," Denyen replied, still uncertain about his captain's decision. Daniel, one of his protection cohorts, still had binds with him and assumed custody of Oliver from Denyen. Slowly, the unconscious soldiers awakened in time to hear Harris's next command.

"Soldier, release Jomon from custody immediately and make arrangements for the coronation ceremony that will allow him to ascend the throne as Emperor Alph IV. Finally, take me into custody next."

"You, sir?"

"Of course. The charge is the same: conspiracy to murder the royal family. The same is true of Dr. Asher and Ariel. All others worked at our commands as they are honor-bound to do. The regency is at an end. Jomon will replace us from among the trusted members of society."

Denyen looked dazed and confused behind the mask. "Sir…"

"Do it, soldier. I am part of a plot to disrupt the empire's balance. Your honor compels you to detain me, just as my honor compels me to accept my judgment at trial."

Reluctantly, the soldiers bound Harris's arms and prepared to escort him to the dungeon. Before he was taken, Dr. Asher, likewise bound, asked, "Where is Iset? Did the Professor kidnap her?"

"Do not harm the Professor or his wife," Harris commanded. "They merely put us all to sleep when it would have been just as easy to kill us. They were protecting Iset from the conspiracy we put in place." Speaking softly to Denyen, he added, "You will want to find Tilly. She must know her son has been killed."

"Captain, Tilly was there. She witnessed the event when the pokémon killed Penta. Daniel and I left her at the temple under Jared's protection."

"She's still there?"

Looking guilty, Denyen hesitantly replied, "She refused to leave."

Suddenly the walls of the palace shook. Scrambling to the mezzanine overlooking the courtyard, Denyen and the bound Harris caught sight of an explosion far to the south. The blast was great, focused, and unnatural, blocking out the setting sun and leaving the sky tinged deep purple.

"Oh, dear," uttered Denyen.

"I admire the ingenuity, Claire, but wouldn't another Grass Whistle suffice just as well?" the Professor stated as they wandered through the dungeon halls.

"Doesn't a time-traveling professor like you have some understanding of three-dimensional physics?" Claire countered. "O'Connell is only four feet tall and weighs about a hundred pounds. It's difficult enough for him to carry Iset's dead weight over his shoulders and maintain our pace. Jomon is significantly heavier."

"Still, was it necessary to tase all of the guards like that? A few of the poor sods wet themselves."

"Not my favorite side effect, either, but they should have just stepped aside like we asked them to. At least they aren't terribly hurt." She lifted her small pachirisu in the palm of her hand and stroked his tired head. "More physics: Chan simply doesn't have the capacity to do much more than offer fifteen men a little zap." He squeaked pleasantly, but otherwise his motion was reserved as testament to his exhaustion.

"Well, a pachirisu can be quite deadly if you're not careful."

"Stop worrying," Claire insisted as she withdrew the pokémon into its pokéball in a flash of light. "Chan is not a battling pokémon. He spends his training time helping me excavate ruins." She motioned to the cell on the far wall. "Besides, isn't that him now? Why don't you do your sonic screwdriving thing and open the cell?"

Jomon's condition wasn't terribly worse than the last time Claire saw him. He still appeared reasonably healthy—the guards must have treated him well as the son of their emperor—but he wore the clothes of a commoner instead of royalty. He reacted with surprise as he caught sight of Claire and the Professor.

"Why are you here?" he asked. Then he noticed his mother's unconscious body draped over the arms of a sudowoodo. "And what happened to my mother?"

"She's fine," the Professor said as he aimed the illuminated blue geode at the lock on the cell door. "She's just taking a dirt nap." He stopped and tilted his head as if to consider his word choice. "Or does that mean something else? Bah! Regardless, she's alright. We just need to hurry and get you out of here."

"I cannot leave," Jomon argued. "That would be dishonorable. I must stand trial."

"You must escape and clear your name," Claire mocked him. "Sorry to say your father's advisors set up a conspiracy to kill him and frame you for it."

"That sounds preposterous. Why would a good man like Oliver wish to lie to the people? He is unable to ascend the throne. My brother is the next in line, and my sister after him."

"Maybe he wants your brother on the throne," the Professor suggested. "You have already come of age and proven yourself as a warrior. Your brother is still young and will need close advisement from his viziers. That is as close as Oliver can come to taking the throne for himself."

Jomon looked baffled, but he acknowledged that he was imprisoned for murdering his father—an act he most assuredly would never dream of committing. "If there is a true conspiracy, then what is our next step? Surely we cannot simply confront Oliver and expect everything to work out for the best."

"You must prove your inheritance of the throne," the Professor said. He extended his hand, and after a moment's hesitation, Jomon accepted it. The Professor put on a goofy grin. "But first, we must run!"

"Run? Why?"

"Because I always run."

Jomon was still baffled, but Claire was intrigued. With the Professor in the lead and O'Connell in tow, the party escaped the dungeon rapidly, an easier task than breaking in with all the guards unconscious already.

Once they broke out into open air, Claire asked, "Where should we go? The TARDIS?"

"No, the TARDIS can't help us set things right here," the Professor replied, "and it won't be good for us to leave things like this."

"Then where?"

"We should head toward my father's temple," Jomon suggested. The Professor and Claire both looked to him for an explanation. "I may not be able to prove my innocence in my father's death, but I can prove that I am the rightful heir to the empire. The pokémon respond only to members of the royal family. Specifically the rhydons can only be commanded by a true leader."

Claire had to remind herself that this was a different time. In her home, a pokéball was all it took to command the pokémon; here, pokéball technology was centuries away from development and perfection. If these people believed that only the royal family could control the pokémon, then maybe that was exactly the right approach to take.

"Good. Let's go then," the Professor agreed. Straight south away from the palace and through the city they ran, hoping to make good time getting to the temple. The sooner the situation got cleared up, the safer the empire would be.

In the distance, a massive form appeared in the sky. As it descended closer to the ground, its appearance was easier to discern. It was a long, flying serpent, its body slate in color with a red-and-black underbelly. Golden bones arched over its midsection and protruded along its slender body like spikes. Six heavy streamers, spread wide like wings, trailed through the air as the mighty creature drew nearer.

"Oh, my," the Professor uttered.

Claire was able to recognize a pokémon as well as any, but she had never seen such a beast before. "Professor, what is that?"

"Giratina, the Renegade Pokémon," he uttered. "How can it be here?" He drew his sonic screwdriver into the air, but as Giratina flew close overhead, the downdrafts from its wings shoved all bodies into the ground and dropped the sonic screwdriver from the Professor's hand.

Giratina wasn't targeting the Professor, however. Once it passed, it continued straight into Violet City, its tail dragged low and sweeping the second layer straight off one of the homes. Every flap of its mighty wings toppled the people on the streets, crushed weaker structures, and spread dust through the skies. And that was only on the first pass. Turning in the air, Giratina readied another strike. Sweeping through the city again, whirlwinds of dust thrust people into walls and dropped debris on many innocent witnesses.

Flapping its wings to hover overhead, Giratina released a barrage of aura bursts as rain on the city. Each collision with the buildings below collapsed walls, and falling debris caused even more damage. Whether beneath the aura spheres or the walls, the body count rose rapidly among the people unable to find appropriate shelter.

At the end of the pass, Giratina stooped briefly on the mountain cliff just to the south of town, overseeing everything in the city with the Violet Palace jutting most prominently. Its serpentine body reared up, and its eyes began to draw in shadow energy from the sky. Its body shimmered with the influx of energy. When the light reached the tip of the tail, Giratina braced itself and lunged the entire distance across the city straight through the Violet Palace, splitting the castle in half. It moved so quickly as to be invisible.

"That creature is destroying the city!" Jomon exclaimed. "Where did it come from?"

"It came from another dimension, one parallel to our own world and yet simultaneously the very antithesis of this world," the Professor described.

"I don't understand," said Jomon, having only a rudimentary understanding of the world outside of Johto.

"Think of the universe as a coin," the Professor suggested. He made a face as if to struggle with that very analogy. "A shapeless, ever-expanding coin. No, that's a dumb idea. The universe isn't a coin. Forget it. But our world might be located on one side of such a coin, and on the other side is another world that is the complete opposite—up is down, black is white, short is long. And the culmination of that antimatter is a beast powerful to destroy everything it comes into contact with simply by coming into contact with it. That is the power of Giratina."

Claire looked confused. "Do this coin…?"

"Forget the coin!" the Professor insisted. He was obviously not a fan of trying to explain extradimensional physics to people who could only understand the third dimension.

"Fine. Then this antimatter… How does it work? You said it destroys simply by coming into contact with things. So matter and antimatter can't coexist?"

"That's correct. Every contact results in an explosion at the atomic level."

"Okay. So if antimatter and matter always destroy each other, then how is it able to stand on the mountain or fly through the air without destroying itself? Is antimatter stronger than matter?"

"The two forces are mutually destructive and would destroy one another completely if the two forces were in equal opposition," the Professor said. "The fact that Giratina has not been destroyed means the matter present in the air and the earth does not overwhelm the antimatter within its body, which suggests that this very version of Giratina we see is either a shadow representing itself in this dimension, or else it's something different altogether."

Claire narrowed her eyes at him. "Different how?"

"We should go," the Professor decided.

"Go where?"

He looked from Claire to Jomon and back. "Believe this: If we confront Giratina head-on or even in ambush, we will lose and the empire will crumble. There is only one place Giratina could have come from—one place where we will find other pokémon that have access to another dimension and might infuse Giratina with the Griseous particles that sustain it. That place is where we will find a solution."

Jomon pointed out, "I cannot abandon my empire. That creature appears to be resting, but it will strike again."

"Then we'd better hurry."