Category: Pokémon
Rating: M
Couples: ?/OC
Warnings: AU, hint of rape/character death
Chapter: 15
Copyright: Characters & places © By Game Freak, Plot © by me
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"Yes, one of my witnesses is a member of the Hearthome-delegation, though I am not permitted to tell you more than that." Allortan confirmed when next he met with Steven and Diantha. "The… incident ruined her mentally and she sought sanctuary in the doctrine of a foreign church. She is certainly not the only one who fled her old life, so to speak. Now that things are public, more former victims are approaching me. They recognize him, particularly after Malva and… Viola's sister – forgive me, I forgot her name – published that article last Monday where Fantina went as open as she could legally."
Diantha flinched a bit. From what Cynthia had told them, Fantina had been in a state afterwards. Apparently, she had not come through the mess as mentally unscathed as Allortan and she would have everyone believe.
"On that note, I received a letter for you two." The lawyer pulled the sealed envelope from a drawer, offering it to them. "It arrived Tuesday, so I have my suspicions about who it is from."
"Lombardt?" Steven accepted it, opening it smoothly. His mien darkened as he read, before offering it to the woman sitting beside him. She reacted likewise.
"Well?"
"He wants to make a deal to drop all this." She put the letter on the desk. "I guess he realized exactly how badly this can go for him."
"I am not surprised." Allortan took the letter on the table as an invitation to read it himself. "Will you take it?"
Both hesitated at that. On the one hand, it would mean all this mess could finally be finished and put behind them, but on the other both of them felt just the slightest bit… vindictive. Yes, mistakes had been made, but they should never had led to this to begin with.
"What do you suggest?" The silver-haired male finally counter-asked. "Should we take it in your lawyer's opinion?"
"I am not sure I can be a good judge of that." The dirty-blond-haired man answered smoothly. "I am aware of more of his case than you, I cannot be unbiased against him." He closed his eyes briefly. "Recall when you were here, Diantha, that one time my father was here? The old case of his that had come back is this one." He fastened her with a cold look entirely unfamiliar to her. "As a human, I say do not take it. He does not deserve the mercy of a quick exit. As your lawyer, I would say take it. A victory where the opponent fled the battle is still a victory and no doubt do you prefer a quick, relatively clean end to these proceedings. And trust me, if you do not take it, things can get very ugly, very quickly."
She looked at the man beside her. "You pretty much voiced my opinion as well. I want this to be over, but he has done so much damage, to the image of the League, to ours..."
"And to Fantina as well from what I gathered from Cynthia..." Hoenn's Champion added. "She claims her Gymleader much changed over this."
"No doubt." The lawyer mused. "Calculate her age when it happened. She is what… 38ish now? Twenty-five years ago she was thirteen. Not to mention that now all those old hurts are being dragged up again. She has been spending time with both victims that have consented to giving witness if the need were to arise and fears for their mental well-being if her word fails. That is a lot of mental pressure to handle." He ran one hand through his hair. "No doubt it is taking everything she has not to absolutely destroy him by breaking the law and giving more information than she is allowed."
"I figured. How much is it taking you, if you are this well-versed in the trail?"
"A lot as well, my dear Diantha, but I have learned control during my tenure as lawyer. Fantina, bless her, never did and if what they say about how Gymleaders embody their type, I doubt she ever will."
"Ghosts are rather bad at self-control." Steven conceded with a chuckle. "Before I give my decision as to whether to take the offer, I want to ask; legally, how quickly could you solve this?"
The other man laughed at that, leaning back into his seat. "I see you have watched Diantha's films well. I cannot do it as quickly or cleanly as the lawyers in movies, but depending on how messy you want it to be, quickly none the less." He considered the letter for a while. "Mind, the quicker I do it, the messier it'll be so think well about your request."
"I have half a mind to request as messy for him as possible, but I do not want to subject innocents to this any more than necessary." Diantha rose from her seat to walk over to the side-table to refill her drink. "Is that possible?"
"I can certainly do that, or my father's genes never arrived in me." Allortan pulled out his Holocaster, scrolling through it quickly. "Some innocents however must be involved. The laws bind me in how much I can reveal, particularly since this is not a court-case. I'll see if Therese is willing to attend. Her word is the most damning of all, save perhaps his minion's. Granted, it will probably bring out her friend as well, but I'll try to keep her from interfering." Having found what he was looking for, he looked up at the both of them. "You two are in accord on this? Bu sure of your answer, because once I start this, it will not be stopped."
"We are." Perhaps it was overly vengeful, perhaps it did not befit them at all, but both Diantha and Steven gave little concern to that now.
"Then your will be done, so to speak." Allortan typed a quick message. "On the next meeting, just let me do as I will, back me as necessary and we'll see how messy it'll get." He frowned a touch. "Who is the representative of the Kalosian Gymleaders? I recall that Lady Olympia acted that one time, but it seemed to me that she was not meant to."
"Unless a specific Gymleader – or Elite, for that matter – has been delegated, like Fantina and Lucian for Sinnoh, it falls to the last to be faced; in Kalos' case that's Wulfric." Diantha answered.
"Tell him to take his cues from Fantina, if you will. Perhaps also your Elite. For all that she'll hate me for this, she will go along with things."
"I'll do the same to my delegation." Steven assured him. "Sinnoh will no doubt also take their cues from Fantina in this matter. The other regions will hopefully mostly follow us three."