"What could possibly make you think I want to see him?!", Kira said defensively.

"Kira, we know you don't want to, but we need someone to verify Darkrai's programming.", Ella said, "You've always been the best at working with the sensors."

Kira sighed as she stood up, "Fine, let's get this over with."

Kira followed Ella and Perry until she came face to face with Darkrai.

"Kira, it's an honor to...", Darkrai began.

"Shut up and let me see your code.", Kira snapped as she walked toward the computer terminal.

"Well, now that we're done with the pleasantries, would you like me to explain the plan?", Darkrai said.

"Sure."

"I presume there's still a temporal sensor at the guild building?"

"Probably."

"Good. We'll need it. We'll reconfigure it into a temporal interface just like last time, and we'll need to run this script on it.", Darkrai pointed to the monitor.

Kira scrolled through the tall column of machine code, "You want to isolate the time stream around the Temporal Observatory and send an inverse displacement wave through it? Basically you're trying to disable Barrett's temporal interfaces?"

"Just long enough that he will no longer be a threat."

"I mean, if, and this is a huge if, we time the inverse displacement wave to hit the sensors at the exact same time their emission of temporal radiation changes phase, and calibrate it well enough to match the exact phase constant of the temporal radiation that Barrett is generating, then it should work."

"Seems simple enough. We'd still should be able to get close to the temporal observatory through the same blind spot in the security system as last time.", Ella commented from behind Kira.

"There are still a few details to work out in the machine code, so I need one of the temporal researchers to assist me."

Kira looked at Ella.

"Kira, you're the expert on that kind of low-level sensor programming. I mean, if you don't want to do it, I can but I really think...", Ella began.

"I'll take care of it.", Kira finally said.

Ella patted Kira's back with her feeler, "Thanks, Kira. I owe you one."

"Ella, Darkrai has told the Security Service what exactly how he temporal sensors to cause temporal decohesion, why don't you help with determining how to reverse it? We'll have the room Darkrai is in under surveillance and post guards outside.", Perry said.

Ella looked at Kira, "Will you be okay by yourself?"

"Hopefully.", Kira replied.

Ella nodded and followed Perry out of the room, leaving Kira with Darkrai.

Kira rested her head on her left paw while using her right paw to scroll through the script that Darkrai had provided.

"I mean, everything you wrote here checks out.", Kira said.

"I'm glad you think so.", Darkrai said.

"Judging by the harmonics your displacement wave, we could also intersect a dark energy wave with the temporal displacement wave. That would cause a persistent temporal resonance with the same properties and we wouldn't have to worry about timing the wave with when Barrett's temporal interfaces phase shift. Granted, it would cause an explosion and billions of temporal distortions in a forty something meter radius, but..."

"Do we have something that generates dark energy?", Darkrai asked.

"I was just thinking out loud. No, we don't, not readily. Dark-type Pokemon moves rely on dark energy but none of them have a forty meter range... wait, is there one?"

"No.", Darkrai replied.

"So that's out of the question since we'd kill the dark-type Pokemon emitting the wave."

"That's not acceptable, I'm sure."

"Darkrai, tell me this.", Kira said suddenly, "Why did you insist on coming here?"

Darkrai sighed, "I already told you. Because I feared that you wouldn't be able to carry out the plan in time, or otherwise fail without me."

Kira scoffed, "So you're actually worried that the temporal decohesion, which you caused, would become permanent?"

"I realized that if it did, the Pokemon world would be left at that Greninja's mercy."

"As opposed to yours?", Kira asked without looking up from the computer.

"I'm not sure if you can understand this, Fennekin, but I wasn't planning on becoming the ruler of Pokemon! I simply wanted to encourage all Pokemon to return to and remain in the gloried days where Pokemon lived for the battle!", Darkrai said defensively, "Can you understand that I, who wishes for a world where each Pokemon wields their true power in battle, would want to prevent a tyrant from controlling the lives of Pokemon just as much as you?"

"I... I suppose."

"Then will you cooperate with me just this once, if for nothing else but to stop Barrett?!"

"Darkrai... I want the truth about this next thing."

"What?"

"Why did you kill my family? What really happened?"

"Are you sure you want me to talk about this?"

Kira thought for a moment before speaking: "Yes."

"Your father, Kira, wasn't just a farmer. He never told you because he probably wasn't allowed to, but he was employed by the Pokemon Security Service. At the time, Barrett, some of our recruits and I had set up a base of operations near your farming village, where we performed the preliminary planning for the temporal decohesion event. Your father was tasked to track us down. He got darn close too, almost uncovered our entire scheme. We knew that if we got rid of him, it would slow down the Security Service's efforts. I had commanded Barrett and his team to only take out your father, but at the last second he muttered something about how your entire family knew too much, and he didn't stop after your father was dead. It was difficult to convince him not to go after you, telling him that you were far too young to know anything."

Kira sighed and shuddered, once again fighting back tears. She had wished for closure about her family all her life, but hearing Darkrai explain why her family was dead, why she had to be adopted, why her entire life progressed the way it did, caused a flood of emotions that she had so carefully suppressed for so many years. She felt dizzy, as if she was about to faint.

"Kira?", Darkrai asked after a minute of silence.

"So my family is dead because it suited you?", Kira said with a shaky voice, burying her head in her paws.

"For what it's worth, it was not an easy decision for me to make. Even before the days of the it being enforced by the law Pokemon had an unspoken rule that ending your opponent's life in battle was not acceptable outside of hunting for food. I have always followed that rule, and I took no pleasure in your family's death."

Kira shook herself from her daze, "Darkrai... you know that I despise you for what you did... but thanks for telling me the truth... the truth about what happened."

"I know you'll find little comfort in this, but I want you to know that I have never rested easy after what I did. You were correct when you addressed me during the video conference. Another reason that I am helping you is... indeed because my conscience has caught up with me."

"Really?"

"After defeating Barrett and leaving the Temporal Observatory, I began to think about the freedom of individual Pokemon. I realized that I cannot free Pokemon from their stagnant lives by forcing a new lifestyle of battling upon them. If I do, I am no better than a a tyrant like Barrett."

"I'm glad you finally realized that."

"It is still my wish that Pokemon never abandon the art of battling, but each Pokemon have the right to choose whether they adopt that art."

"Darkrai, you are right about one thing. Pokemon are powerful creatures, and that power is underutilized if a Pokemon doesn't battle, but that doesn't mean it'll always be that way. Pokemon innovate. We'll find other uses for our abilities."

"I hope so. I hope you'll get the chance to."

"We will if we finish programming this thing."