"What the heck was that?" Cameron snapped at her cousin. Wasting no time in fleeing the ArcTV Studios after their explosive session with Walter O'Hara, the Elite Four and their Champion managed to regroup at the Pokémon League HQ just outside of the Arcana Colosseum. Cameron, her fury flinging in all different directions, paced around the roof of the HQ Mark and Lizzie stood on opposite sides of the building, their backs to each other and to Cameron's fury. Chris laid back on his back, his eyes closed, deep in thought. Michael looked at no one, his back to everyone as he was lost in a sea of his own inner turmoil, ranging from his outburst and near assault of Walter O'Hara to the words that Courtney had said to him. The prophecy she had foretold was echoing in his head, though his anger was beginning to focus on his equally angry younger cousin, who's tirade had been endless since they returned to the HQ. "I mean, honestly Mike. I asked you to do one simple thing and you couldn't do that. Do you have any idea what kind of mess this puts all of us in?"
"I'm well aware of what kind of a situation this puts us in" Michael growled. "Do you think I don't?"
"Then why couldn't you keep yourself calm or quiet?" Cameron replied coldly.
"Do you think that I planned on losing it?" Michael shouted, rising to his feet and turning towards Cameron. "Do you think I can control this rage inside of me?"
"Don't try to pone this off on the Crimson Fury" Cameron snapped. "You learn self control when you're a child!"
"It's not like you were perfectly calm during the interview either" Chris pointed out to his sister.
"Really?" Cameron snapped, turning towards her brother. "Every time I take a stance on something, why do you always have to oppose me? You! My own brother!"
Chris rolled his eyes. "I'd help you if you were right about something."
"And I'm not here?"
"No, you aren't!" Chris snapped. "Now, unless you plan to own up to your collective responsibility for this, then shut your mouth and let someone who knows what they're talking about speak." Cameron seemed intent on arguing more, but she held her tongue. When he was certain his sister wouldn't interrupt him, he continued. "We all screwed up, here. Not just Mike. All of us."
"I messed this up for us" Mark said solemnly. "If I hadn't let Audrey convince me to-"
"It's called collective responsibility for a reason" Chris told his friend. "We all have some part in this. If we're blaming each other-" he turned towards Michael, "-or ourselves, how can we call ourselves a team?"
"I didn't see any of you losing your cool on TV" Michael said mournfully.
"You're the only one of us that got branded, Mike" Chris assured his cousin. "And when one of us isn't strong enough, we need to be there to pick up the other's slack." He looked back towards his sister. "All of us. Not just you. Not just me. Not just Mike. Not just Mark or Lizzie. Am I coming in clear enough?"
Cameron lowered her head. "Yeah."
"Chris is right" Lizzie agreed. "We're the ones that the region looks to for security and safety. How can we call ourselves The Elite Four and the Champion if all of us are quick to blame all our problems on something else. We're a team. And we not only reap in the rewards of what that leads to, but we also band together to accept the consequences." She put her hand on Michael's shoulder. "We can't go blaming ourselves for every little thing."
Michael, too lost in his own thoughts, only nodded as if programmed to. "Ye-yeah."
"Now" Chris looked to the others, "we need to set about doing some damage control."
"What can we do right now, though?" Mark asked.
"We can do plenty" Cameron answered. "Mark, you should use your connections at ArcTV to try and get us another interview, preferably someone that looks less like a potato." She then turned towards her brother. "I hate to say it, but after Mike, you're the most popular member of the team. If you go off and pull off some good deeds, it might keep public opinion at least a little balanced."
Chris gave his sister a thumbs up. "Easy."
"Lizzie" Cameron said, turning to the Hoenn Trainer, "you can keep an eye on how we're trending online. Do whatever you can to make sure our reputation doesn't completely bottom up." She then turned towards her cousin. "Mike, I know you don't want to have to do this, but I think there's only one person who can help us here."
Michael sighed. "You're probably right."
"What do you mean?" Mark asked Cameron.
Cameron folded her arms. "He's going to Kingston Castle."
"Grandma?" Chris gasped. "Oh boy."
"As for me" Cameron said, "I need to make sure this doesn't have any blowback on our trial for Cassius."
"Do whatever you can" Michael told her. "But don't give an inch to Claude unless you have to."
Cameron nodded. "And you make sure you lay low at the Castle. The last thing we need is for Grandma to have a freak out over having you there."
"I'll keep my distance from the media" Michael assured his cousin.
"And defer all questions to me?" Cameron asked.
"Whatever you think will help" Michael said, almost dismissive.
"Okay, then we're good?" Lizzie asked.
The five all looked at each other and put out their most optimistic smiles, though Michael certainly couldn't reach the same levels of joy. One by one, the Elite Four left the Pokémon League HQ. Cameron and Lizzie went back into the building to accomplish their tasks, while Mark and Chris called out their Charizards and flew off into the distance, leaving Michael by himself atop the roof.
Despite his cousin's passionate speech about their collective responsibility, Michael couldn't help but continue to blame himself for what unfolded during their interview with Walter O'Hara. What hurt him the most wasn't the fact that he did nearly attack Walter, but the fact that everyone wasn't truly understanding why he did what he did. He could feel something in his heart, something that made his heart want to burst whenever he was slightly emotional. Something's wrong. I can feel it inside of me. The Crimson Moon is coming, or something worse. Far worse. He couldn't imagine what else could be worse than the Crimson Moon, but as the days rolled by, the pain inside of him only got more and more profound. There needed to be some kind of explanation for it, but the only people who knew what he was truly going through were the ones who put him through this. And with Cassius in custody, Elezar in hiding and Giselle in prison, he was on his own in these regards. Unless...
No. I can't. Courtney can't be trusted. I don't care what she has to say. She's one of them! But as one of the Syndicate, she could perhaps know of a way to counteract it. But what would she want in exchange? Simple enough. For Michael to join her and overthrow Elezar. Why would he want to simply replace Elezar, though? He put his head in his hands. "What a mess' he remarked.
His Poké Gear suddenly started buzzing in his pocket. He reached into it and pulled it out, accepting the call without seeing who it was. It's not like it mattered who else was mad at him anymore.
"Hello?" he barked.
"Mr. Kingston?" a voice called out.
"Yes?" he replied.
"Hello, Mr. Kingston. This is April from Taghwan Jewelers."
In a flash, his mood suddenly brightened. "Yes, April."
"I was calling to inform you that your order is ready. You can come and pick it up at anytime you want."
"Yes, perfect!" Michael said, almost giddy. "Thank you. I'll be right over."
"You're welcome. Have a great day." With that, the connection ended.
Michael heaved a more wistful sigh as the conversation ended. Finally, something is going right for once. Now, all I need to do is arrange some kind of date night for us. He hadn't talked to Julia since the interview, but he figured she was too busy with her studies to reply to him, so he opted to leave her be for the moment. But now, if he had her engagement ring, he was determined to make their next date night the most memorable she would ever have.
His mood dipped again when his Poké Gear began to buzz again. He answered it, once more, not interested in who was going to blast him for losing his temper on television.
"Hello?"
"Mike, what the hell was that?"
Ordinarily, Michael would be keen to argue with whomever was ridiculing him, but now, he quite simply rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself. He knew all too well that she was just teasing him, like she always did. "Come on, Piper, what did you expect? That I can hold my temper?"
"What happened? Seriously?"
Michael frowned. "He got under my skin. There isn't much else to it."
"Mike..."
"I don't know what else to tell you, Piper" Michael said. "I screwed up. I blew it when it mattered most."
"Well, what are you going to do about it?"
Michael laughed to himself. "I'm going to have to eat some humble pie."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm going to take some time at Kingston Castle" Michael told her. "My Grandmother will pull some strings and we'll see if I can make a recovery."
"So you'll be here for the Ball, tomorrow night?"
Michael paused. I completely forgot about the Ball. This may be a bad idea. "I guess I am. Have you heard from Julia?"
"Not since before Walter O'Hara's show" Piper told him. "The press has been hounding her for a while now."
That, I didn't want. Curse those wretched vultures! "I was planning on bringing her to the Ball, but if it's going to be a thing-"
"Julia wouldn't want to go" she replied. "She's running behind on her work. She was in Alchemiburg with me the last few days, so she needs to catch up on it. Besides, the press is going to be there."
"Guess it'll be another Kingston Party where I'm hiding away from everyone" Michael laughed.
"That's not the only reason I called, though" Piper said. "Of course, I wanted to check on you. But I also wanted to thank you."
"What for?" he asked.
"You didn't have to say what you did for me during that interview" Piper said. "Usually, the tabloids is all over something like this, but you put a stop to it just for me."
"If I was going to be on that pink potato's show" Michael assured her, "the only one I'd want him to criticize is me."
"So you'll definitely be at Kingston Castle tomorrow night?"
"Tomorrow night?" Michael asked. "I've got to head to Taghwan City to run an errand and then I'll be there tonight. I don't want to cause Julia more trouble."
"Okay" Piper said happily. "I'll see you tonight then." With that, Piper hung up the call.
Michael sighed, a more reserved and thankful sigh. What would I do without the Pines Family?
{Meanwhile}
Once more in her private chambers at the Syndicate Stronghold on Mt. Heatmor, Courtney admired the flowing magma that drained from the constantly spewing volcano. The fiery substance would often lazily drip down the side of the volcano like hot fudge poured over a scoop of ice cream, something she had always been fascinated by and spent any free time she had studying and admiring.
But now, her fascination was drawn to something else. Her meeting with Michael had gone far better than she could have imagined it going. He was far more interesting a specimen than she had believed him to be. The sheer power he emitted was awe inspiring, even without the Crimson Fury beneath it. She could only imagine how much stronger he would get once the infamous "Crimson Moon" came to pass in a few months time. Not only that, but he also had a strong moral fiber to him. Testing him was not only going to be difficult, but also amusing.
Michael might be more intriguing than anyone I've ever encountered, even Maxie, she thought to herself. It's truly a shame that we're the only people who can truly understand him, yet he hates us because of what Cassius and Elezar put him through. I wouldn't make him put shackles on who he is or make him fear the consequences should he give into it. I will encourage him to use his gift and to trust in the people that truly want him to be himself, not those who want him to be 'normal' Normal is overrated anyway. It won't matter, though. In a manner of time, Michael will be mine!
The doors to her chamber opened and she could hear someone approaching her. "Courtney!"
Courtney giggled to herself. "Another visit from the daughter of Elezar?" She glanced down from her balcony and saw Jocelyn glaring at her from the doorway. Clearly, Daddy's little princess didn't get to have her nap today. Oh well. Courtney came over to the rail and gave her undivided attention to her guest. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Jocelyn?"
"I should think it's obvious, Courtney" Jocelyn snapped.
"Then I do believe you should speak your piece, then" Courtney said, leaning on the rails as if she were a gossiping schoolgirl.
"I know about your little meeting with Michael Kingston" Jocelyn grumbled.
"Oh do you?" Courtney answered slyly. "Were you hiding behind a rock on Iron Mountain?"
"No, but our intelligence indicates that the Elite Four and Michael know about your involvement with us. You can understand how suspicious this looks, right?
"Intelligence?" Courtney asked coyly. "Oh dear, whatever am I to do with your intelligence on patrol."
"You are plotting with Michael to overthrow my father, aren't you?" Jocelyn accused.
Courtney decided the time for fun and games was over. "For being the daughter of Elezar Aced and the granddaughter of Lord Balthazar, you certainly aren't a bright girl, are you? How disappointing."
"How dare you!" Jocelyn growled. "I am-"
"You are clearly not as informed of your father's plans then, are you?" Courtney asked the girl, which immediately silenced her. "Remember that just because you're Elezar's daughter, it doesn't mean that I answer to you or have to explain myself to you." Seeing Jocelyn's confident demeanor vanish, Courtney smirked. "As it happens, I was following your father's orders to the letter. He ordered me to throw the Champion off balance. To keep his attention divided on many other things while the rest of our organization can enable our plans without fear of retribution from him."
"And to do this, you needed to try and forge an alliance with him?" Jocelyn questioned.
"What better way to keep someone as trusting and bighearted as Michael off balance than to make him question who was truly on his side? And more importantly, what the real battle was all about? You may disapprove of my methods all you want, my dear, but they are nothing if not functional. Michael, in time, will begin to make more costly errors than losing his temper on some media mogul. He will make error's in judgment, push friends and family away. And when he does, he'll either be ripe for the taking, or no longer a threat to us."
The fifteen year old daughter of Elezar shuffled her feet. "Well, then you should keep in touch with us about it then. And don't get any ideas about defying my father. Especially not when The Grand Master is coming."
This, Courtney was not expecting. "The Grand Master? The mastermind behind the Syndicate? He's coming to Arcana?"
"He will be here tomorrow" Jocelyn told the Admin. "My father says that he will oversee the final stages of our plan to conquer Arcana personally. And we need to be sure that no one will stand in our way again."
"Very well" Courtney said. "I thank you for this wealth of information you have supplied to me, Jocelyn."
"My father expects as many of the Admins to be here as possible, so unless you're going to continue my father's orders regarding Michael Kingston, make sure you're present when The Grand Master arrives."
"Do not fret, my dear" Courtney assured her young colleague. "I wouldn't miss an opportunity like this for anything."
Jocelyn nodded and departed, leaving Courtney alone with her thoughts again. She couldn't help but grin a sinister smile. Things are going even better than I could have imagined. The Grand Master, said to be the most powerful telepath in history, will be coming to oversee the final stages of Elezar's plans. And Michael Kingston's immeasurable power with the Crimson Fury will soon be descending into my welcoming embrace. It's almost too easy.
{Meanwhile}
After healing his Pokémon at the Alchemiburg Pokémon Center, Ryan made his way back to the Chateau to catch up with Holly and Addison, as well as to hear what his aunt had to say to him about the favor she was going to request of him. He made his way up the winding road that led to the Chateau and Erin's Gym and already saw all three standing by the main gates. Erin was giving the girls final tips before their Preliminary Contest Debuts at Kingston Castle tomorrow evening.
"Remember, Addison" Erin told her pupil. "Poise and Grace. Keep those in the back of your head and your instincts will take you the rest of the way."
Addison smiled contently. "Thank you again, Lady Erin. I promise I won't let you down."
"I hope not" Erin laughed. "I do have a reputation to maintain." She then turned to her other pupil. "As for you, Holly, the only thing I can tell you that you don't already know is to understand that there is more to these contests than just looking the prettiest and being the best choreographer. Many forget that there is more to being the Queen of Arcana than just smiling and looking pretty. Piper was always charitable and kind before she became the Queen."
Holly nodded. "Yes, Lady Erin. I'll remember everything you've taught me."
As Ryan finally made his way towards the three, Erin looked at him. "Ah Ryan. Good to see you're back again." She then returned her attention to the girls. "Would you excuse us for a moment? I need to talk to my nephew about something." Holly and Addison nodded and stood idly while Ryan followed his Aunt back towards the Chateau. Ryan could tell that something was wrong, but he wasn't sure if this was something he'd be told the whole story about. Tori's words echoed in the back of his head, when the two first met in Craft Terrace. Eh, you don't have to worry about it. It's grown up stuff. What could his Aunt Erin be upset about?
"Is something wrong, Aunt Erin?" Ryan asked.
Erin frowned. "Well, yes, you could say that."
"What happened?" the boy asked. "Did something happen to Anthony?"
Erin shook her head. "No, he's fine. I need to talk to you about something important. I have a favor to ask of you. Something that's very important to me."
Ryan nodded. "Of course. What is it?"
"A long time ago" Erin explained, doing her best not to relive the pain she clearly held back inside, "I-I did some things that I now deeply regret. I made mistakes when it came to my son. Nothing would please me more than to go back in time and right those wrongs I made with him. But I fear that time has come and gone. I will always love my son, but I can't deny that what happened between us may have completely damaged our relationship."
"You mean Mike?" Ryan asked.
"Michael now carries a mountain of seemingly difficult tasks on his shoulders" Erin continued, a twinge of sorrow in her voice. "And when we in the family try to help him, he refuses us. I don't know if it's because he wants to be strong or if he still harbors some anger towards us for what happened to him. But there aren't many in the family he can turn to when he's in trouble."
Ryan's eyes widened. "You think Mike is in trouble?"
"That's just it, Ryan" Erin said. "I don't know. If I reach out to him, he usually insists he's fine and never feels like he can talk to me. I brought this up to Julia over the past few days, but she says that there are even things he will likely never be able to make peace with when it comes to her. All of us made terrible judgments when it came to Michael, even Julia. Maybe that's why he tries to do so many thing on his own. But I want him to be able to see that he can count on his family again. To trust us, the way we trust in him to be the Champion of Arcana."
"What can I do to help, Aunt Erin?"
"Michael loves you and your brother" Erin said kindly. "More than I think you two could imagine. When he looks at you and Matthew, he sees a life he could have once lived before-well-in any event, Michael will be going to the Ball tomorrow night at Kingston Castle. I won't be attending, as I have to run the Gym here, but I know Grandma and your uncles won't make things easy on him if he's there. Ryan, if you see him tomorrow, and he looks a little sad, could you please do whatever you can to make him smile again?"
So that's it? He needs to smile some more? Ryan puffed up his chest. "Of course, Aunt Erin. I'll do everything I can to keep him smiling all night."
Erin smiled. "Thank you, sweetheart." She kissed him on his head. "Ah. You, your brother, Chris and Cameron. If it weren't for you four, I would have lost my son forever. Seeing you four keeping him smiling through the cloudiest days gives me hope that the boy inside will one day come back." She cleared her throat. "Now, you kids better be getting along. And I have a Gym to run. Take care of the girls, Ryan and good luck in Terra Town with Greg." With that, Erin returned to the Chateau.
Ryan, alone with his thoughts, was perplexed. What could have possibly happened to Mike that would make him feel so sad? He's the greatest Pokémon Trainer in the whole world! He's a hero who stopped Giselle! Maybe he will tell me when I get to Kingston Castle. He wondered if his brother would be attending the Ball. The last time he had spoken with his mother, she had told him Matthew had finished training at Iron Mountain and was headed back towards Craft Terrace to rematch Tori. Though they were still intent on rivalling each other, Ryan couldn't help but miss his brother. They always pushed each other to exceed their limits and to support one another. Why wouldn't Matt let him help boost him up back almost a week ago? He would only have to wonder if his and his brother's paths would cross again.
"Ryan?" Addison called to him. "Are you coming?"
Ryan looked back towards her and Holly. "Yeah. I'm coming."
"We need to get to Kingston Castle before dark" Holly said. "I'm not so sure about this whole camping outdoors thing."
"It's something you have to get used to" Addison said. "That's why I slept outside of the Research Facility before we met with Professor Julia. Now, I can fall asleep anywhere."
Ryan stretched his body as he made his way to his friends. "I don't think I'm going to need to sleep for a long time."
"You slept like a log for three days" Holly laughed. "I'd imagine you won't have to sleep for a few weeks now."
"At least it was for a good reason" Addison smiled. "If it weren't for you, we may very well still be in that Banette's Nightmare Realm. You saved us."
Holly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I have to agree with that. How could we be competing at Kingston Castle if we were locked in an eternal slumber by a Ghost Pokémon. You did good, Ryan."
"Thanks, Holly" Ryan said. "But I do agree with you guys. We should see how far we can get towards the Ruined Tunnel before dark. Otherwise, we may have to trek through the tunnel in the middle of the night."
Holly paused. "Wait, we're not going to go over the Ruined Tunnel?"
Addison shook her head. "It will take too long to scale the tunnel and then travel over it. Besides, if we go through the cave, we might be able to catch some new Pokémon to add to our teams. What do you say, Holly?"
Holly shivered. "But there's going to be-creepy crawlies in a cave-."
"And if they come near you" Addison teased, "then Ryan can scare them away with his Pokémon. Right, Ryan?"
"You know it."
Holly sighed. "Looks like I'm gonna get out voted here, so I guess we should make our way to the Ruined Tunnel. But if I get scraped up and dirty, I'm blaming you two."
Addison and Ryan looked to each other, shrugged and proceeded down the road towards the next route.
{Meanwhile}
After landing in Taghwan City to pick up Julia's engagement, Michael makes his way towards the Jewelry store, but pauses when he sees hundreds gathering inside local buildings to see the news of what has transpired. Confused, Michael made his way into a local diner in Taghwan and saw that the bartender had put on the news of what had happened. He was initially afraid that it was going to be coverage of his blowup at Walter O'Hara, but it was something far worse, once he heard the context. He listened hard as the news reporter told the story.
"...and as they moved to return to the shuttle, the engineer reports that the lines that tethered the astronauts to the moon snapped in two and the astronauts then floated off into the space, towards their inevitable demise. Astronauts Malcolm Tress and Ava Eighern were both only 24 years old. Though a rescue attempt is being planned, it is unlikely that the two will manage to be rescued."
Malcolm Tress? Michael asked himself. Isn't that Annie's brother? His cousin Jon's fiancé, Annie Tress, had two brothers who were in the Space Program in Taghwan City. I'll reach out to them once I make it to Kingston Castle tonight. What else could go wrong?
"Despite the tragic losses of the two astronauts" the report continued, "the exploration team was successful in locating what appears to be a mountain of Moon Stones, which can be used in Pokémon Evolutions. They will be brought back down to earth with the shuttle as soon as they make the calculations to land once more."
Moon Stones? I'm pretty certain that Moon Stones don't actually come from the moon. When the news report flashed to a picture of the stones the astronaut had collected, his eyes widened in terror. No. No. It can't be! There's MORE of them?
"The stones are a pale pink color when exposed to the light, but in darkness, they shine a deep shade of red. This can no doubt perhaps be a part of why Arcana's infamous 'Crimson Fury' takes place. For more about this, we turn to-"
Michael stepped out of the bar, his face wearing nothing but concern and alarm. The stones were shaped in almost the exact same way as the stone Cassius had used to brand him with. He began to breathe heavily. He frantically reached for his Pokemon Gear and called his cousin. Though he was expecting her to be in conference with Leonard about the trial, Cameron picked up immediately. "What's up, Mike?"
"Are you not watching this?" Michael asked, clearly on the verge of a panic attack.
"The thing about the astronauts?" Cameron asked. "I know. It's too bad about Annie's brother."
"Those stones they have!" Michael snapped.
"What about them?"
"That's them!"
"That's what, Mike?"
"Cam, it's THEM! The Crimson Stones. The same ones that Cassius branded me with!"
"Okay, calm down, Mike. They could just be plain old Moon Stones."
"I know what I saw, Cam!" Michael argued. "It's the Crimson Stones! It's happening again!"
Cameron was silent for a moment. "Mike, there's no way the Syndicate has the power to make this happen. Cassius is in prison and Elezar is in hiding. You need to stop thinking the world is out to get you. What Cassius found came from the meteorite that hit by the Ruined Tunnel almost sixteen years ago. It has nothing to do with these."
"Cam!" Michael snapped, looking around to ensure there were no eavesdroppers. "We need to act, now! Get Cassius to spill whatever it is you can and put him under surveillance! We can't risk the Syndicate regrouping itself!"
"Mike" Cameron said, almost sympathetically. "I know you're upset. But this isn't anything we have power over. If the Queensbury Space Center thinks those stones are important, they're going to take them back with them."
"But Cam-"
"No, Mike!" Cameron snapped back. "We are not going to stand in their way. We've already got enough bad publicity going our way. Just go to Kingston Castle and lay low for a few days. This will all be sorted out, Mike. I promise. Look, I have to go. Take it easy for the next few days, or else your going to kill yourself." With that, Cameron hung up the call.
Michael shook his head. "This isn't happening. This can't be happening." The Moon will Blind you, while it takes from others. Courtney had known this was going to happen. She saw it in her vision she told him of back on Iron Mountain. No. She's the Syndicate. Of course she knew it was going to happen. They're behind it. I don't know how, but they are! And if Cam isn't going to help me prove it, I'll have to do this myself. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the device Courtney had given him. Almost tempted to touch it to see what would unfold next, Michael told himself not to and put it back into his pocket. "Maybe Cam's right. Maybe I just need to get a few real rest days." Though as he walked towards the jewelers store, where Julia's engagement ring was, the pain in Michael's heart would not subside. With every beat of his heart, Michael could feel the pain growing inside of him.