It was early the next morning in the city square, and the sky was covered in gray clouds. Giovanni, Persian, Ash, and Pikachu were standing in front of four lines of soldiers, including Butch and Cassidy, holding their spears in the middle of the square with their Pokemon beside them. Ash and Pikachu felt upbeat with Serena and Sylveon no longer stuck inside Lumiose Cathedral, while Giovanni was still in a foul mood. The soldiers waited until they spotted Markenel heading toward them on his Rapidash. The captain ordered, "'Tension," and they all saluted just as Markenel stopped his steed in front of them, smirking.
"Good morning, sir," Ash greeted.
"It is indeed a good morning, Lieutenant," Markenel chirped.
Giovanni, Persian, Ash, and Pikachu looked at each other, confused with the judge's energy and praise for the cloudy day.
"Are you feeling alright, sir?" Giovanni asked.
"Never better, Captain Giovanni," Markenel replied. "Today is going to be a day of purification."
"Purification, sir?" Ash asked.
Markenel reached into his robes and took out a scroll, saying, "The time has come for us to search for the fugitive, Serena and her Pokemon. I have with me leads to citizens potentially hiding Arceans. We are to investigate and arrest them and any Arceans they are hiding."
Ash and Pikachu frowned, and the former asked, "Do we have warrants to do that?"
"There is no need for warrants," Markenel said. "This mission is blessed by the Lord himself, who is above our human means of justice. There will be no rest until the fugitive, and her Pokemon are found."
Ash and Pikachu became ill at ease with the justice minister's claim while Giovanni grinned. Whether Markenel was telling the truth, he did not care. All that mattered to the captain was that Markenel gave him free rein to do whatever he desired with no legal limitations.
"That is splendid to hear, Your Honor," he said. "With such a blessing, I believe we will capture that Arcean she-demon in no time."
"That's the spirit, Captain," Markenel said. "Now, follow me."
"You heard him, soldiers. Move out," Giovanni ordered.
"Sir!" Ash, Butch, Cassidy, and the rest of the soldiers said.
Thus, everyone followed Markenel down the street to their first destination. Ash and Pikachu's unease grew as the raven-haired man reluctantly marched with his partner on his shoulder. Citizens and their Pokemon moved away from the judge and his minions, afraid of the dark presence they felt around them. Finally, Markenel stopped in front of a bakery and held his hand up for his soldiers to halt.
"We will start here," he said.
"You think there are Arceans inside the bakery, sir?" Ash asked.
"I know there are," Markenel answered. "There have been rumors of sympathizers who will sell food to the Arceans, and it's time to find out if they have been hiding them too."
"Agreed," Giovanni said before turning to Ash. "Lieutenant, you and I will take the lead. When I break the door open, Persian and Pikachu will charge in and stop anyone inside from trying anything funny while we search the place."
"Yes, sir," Ash said before sadly turning to Pikachu and whispered. "Sorry, buddy. I don't see a way around this."
"Pika," Pikachu said with its ears down.
The mouse Pokemon hopped off Ash's shoulder and stood next to Persian, who readied its claws with a sinister grin. Giovanni and Ash drew their swords, and the former took a moment to prepare himself before he broke the door open with a powerful kick. A woman inside the shop with maroon hair in baking clothes gasped as she and her Vuplix had only a moment to react before Persian and Pikachu raced toward them and held them back with Persian's jewel glowing and sparks coming out of Pikachu's cheeks. Giovanni and Ash went in with five other soldiers and began searching the shop.
"What is the meaning of this?" The baker asked.
"Your shop is under inspection," Giovanni said. "Stay where you are. Failure to comply will result in an immediate arrest."
The baker and her Vuplix stood in fear as soldiers knocked down cupboards, cabinets, and tables of bread and pastries. Ash pretended to be looking, hoping that they wouldn't find anything, but his hopes were dashed when he heard Butch calling out to Giovanni.
"Sir, I found something!"
The blood drained from the baker and Vulpix's faces as Giovanni and Ash turned their head to find Butch moving a barrel away from a mat lying down under it. Giovanni grinned and walked over to take the carpet off to reveal a secret door on the floor.
"Ah, how clever," Giovanni said.
He pulled the handle up, and the door opened to reveal a secret room of Arceans and their small Pokemon. The Arceans gasped and screamed as soldiers went inside to grab them and drag them out of the secret door. Giovanni grabbed the baker by the wrist and pulled her out of the shop. Persian grabbed Vulpix with its mouth and followed its master outside. Ash and Pikachu followed behind as Giovanni, and the other soldiers put the people in chains and the Pokemon in cages. They forced the prisoners to stand in a line, where Markenel waited for them on his Rapidash.
"My, my, my, what a catch already," Markenel whispered to himself before speaking to his prisoners out loud. "You are under arrest for crimes against the state, including, but not limited to, entering Lumiose City illegally, partaking in pagan practices, and hiding illegal immigrants. The penalties for all of these charges are imprisonment and if deemed necessary, thrashings." He reached into his pouch strapped around his waist, took out ten silver coins, and held them out to the baker and the Arceans. "However, if any of you tell me where the Arcean woman, Serena, and her Sylveon are, I will let that person and their Pokemon go with ten pieces of silver."
The judge waited for the baker and the Arceans to say something, but no one said a word. Some of them and their Pokemon were afraid of going to prison, but they had no idea where Serena could be, while others just glared at Markenel, refusing to be intimidated. People and Pokemon on the street hid as they watched what was happening, while some ran away.
"Sir, is the minister really going to let one of them free if they talk?" Cassidy whispered, standing behind Giovanni.
"I doubt it," Giovanni said, smirking.
Markenel waited another minute for good measure before he accepted that no one was going to talk. He put the silver back in his pouch and said, "Captain Giovanni, lock them up."
"With pleasure," Giovanni said before turning to several of his soldiers. "Take these criminals to the dungeon and report back to the square."
"Yes, sir!" The soldiers replied.
The soldiers grabbed the people by the arms, picked up the cages of Pokemon, and began making their way back to the Palace of Justice. Citizens and their Pokemon backed away and hid from the soldiers escorting their prisoners, afraid that they could be arrested too. Markenel smirked, taking sadistic pleasure in what was happening until he noticed a wagon moving across the street from the corner of his eye. The wagon was being pulled by two Ponyta with a young man carrying the reins and his wife sitting beside him. The wife noticed Markenel from a distance, and her serene smile immediately disappeared. She whispered into her beloved's ear, and he immediately felt a prick of fear. He ordered the Ponyta to move faster, but the action was all Markenel needed.
"Captain, stop that wagon!" He commanded.
Giovanni nodded and turned to Persian and Pikachu and the other soldier's Pokemon, shouting, "After it!"
Persian and the other Pokemon immediately sprung into action while Pikachu hesitated before it followed behind. They raced toward the wagon until they were standing in front of the Ponyta, threatening to attack. The Ponyta panicked and stood up from their hind legs, giving Markenel and his soldiers the time they needed to catch up. Butch, Cassidy, and a few other soldiers pointed their spears at the couple, who held their hands up.
"W-w-what's going on?" The man asked.
"Don't play innocent with me," Markenel said. "Search the wagon!"
Three more soldiers opened the back door to the wagon and tossed crates of supplies until they saw a stout Arcean man holding his wife and two children on their knees and a Mime Jr standing in front of them. The Mime Jr. prepared to use Psychic against the soldiers before a soldier's Ninjask flew inside the wagon and hit it with Fury Cutter. The Ninjask's partner stuffed it onto a cramped cage, and the rest of the soldiers tore the family away with the wife and children kicking and screaming. Butch and Cassidy dragged the young couple off the wagon and cuffed them while four more soldiers grabbed the Ponyta by the reins before they could escape and tied ropes around their muzzles. The soldiers lined their captives up in front of Markenel just like before, and the old man on the Rapidash took out the silver again.
"Ten pieces of silver for the Arcean, Serena, and her Sylveon," he said. "Anyone who gives their location will go free with ten pieces of silver."
Once again, the prisoners refused to speak. The children were fighting the urge to cry, and the young woman wanted to hold her husband's arm for comfort. Markenel grew impatient and took out more money from his pouch.
"Very well, how about twenty pieces of silver?" He asked."Come now, I'm offering you freedom. Surely one of you is willing to trade one person and her Pokemon's life for your own."
But instead of saying a word, the Arcean man spat on the ground in front of Markenel. Markenel glared daggers at the man, repulsed by his act of bravery, and put the money back in his pouch.
"Take them away," he commanded. "And make sure they each get separate cells."
The soldiers took their captives and began dragging them away. The children kicked and screamed for their parents, the mother crying for her children, the father threatening the soldiers not to harm them, and the young couple begging not to be separated from each other. The Mime Jr. and the Ponyta were being taken away behind them. Ash and Pikachu's hearts grew heavy as they watched, and Markenel moved his Rapidash in front of the raven-haired man, smirking again.
"Not a bad beginning, is it, Lieutenant?" He said.
"Oh, yeah. Not bad at all," Ash replied with a forced grin.
Markenel's smirk grew, and he said, "Let us move on. We have much more ground to cover, and our little wagon of criminals kept us from our next target long enough."
"Sir, yes, sir," Ash said.
The judge walked ahead on his steed, and Giovanni, Persian, Butch, and Cassidy, and the other soldiers and Pokemon followed. Ash's fake grin disappeared as soon as no one was looking, and he looked down to see Pikachu worried.
"Pika," It said glumly.
"I know, Pikachu," Ash said. "What Minister Markenel is doing is cruel, and what's worse is he's claiming that God is giving him permission to do this."
"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked.
"I don't know what we're going to do," Ash said. "I hope we somehow don't find any more of Serena and Sylveon's people and Pokemon, or that they will be caught for that matter. Maybe Minister Markenel will see that he's in the wrong somehow."
"Pikachu," Pikachu said with its ears hanging low again.
"Lieutenant, get over here!" Giovanni shouted from a distance.
"Yes, sir!" Ash said.
Pikachu hopped back onto Ash's shoulder, and its partner ran to catch up. As they returned to Giovanni's side, the raven-haired soldier whispered a prayer that the hunt would end, but deep in his heart, he knew that the judge wouldn't back down and that it was only the beginning.
For the next several hours, Markenel and his troops continued to raid on Lumiose City citizens. One by one, they broke into shops and homes and arrested any Arceans and their Pokemon along with their sympathizers. Some places weren't hiding any Arceans, and the judge and his forces simply left without a word. Markenel continued to try and bribe his convicts to tell him where Serena was, but still, no one would talk. He grew restless as he was running low on leads as it appeared likely that Serena was hiding in the Court of Miracles.
Finally, Markenel and his force were at their last lead. Four miles away from the city walls, a small miller farm, where the house and the windmill were merged into one building. The gray sky had grown darker, for it was almost evening. Many farmers and other citizens gathered near the miller farm, whispering among themselves as soldiers and their partners stood in front of the building with Markenel, Giovanni, Persian, and two soldiers had let themselves in.
"Poor Karsten and Joy," an old man said.
"Why are they doing this?" A woman asked. "They have never harmed anyone."
"I hear the justice minister has been purging people all over the city," another man said.
"Markenel's gone mad," a third man said.
"I hope they don't harm the girls," a second woman said. "Marnie and Paige must be scared to death."
Meanwhile, amid the crowd, Serena, Sylveon, Miette, and Slurpuff were watching in secret. Miette was disguised as bearded old men in a brown hood and cloak, while Serena and Sylveon disguised themselves as slouching old man with Sylveon pretending to be the head again. The blunette looked at all of the soldiers on the property and grew unsettled.
"We should get out of here, Serena. It's not safe," she whispered.
"I can't," Serena whispered back. "Karsten and his family took Sylveon in and me before we entered the city. I won't leave until we know they're okay."
"Serena, no one targeted by Markenel is going to be okay," Miette said. "They're hunting down anyone associated with us, and if we're not careful, they might find us here."
"We're not going to abandon them," Serena said.
"Sylveon," Sylveon agreed.
Miette became more nervous with her friend's refusal to leave. She turned to Slurpuff, who shared her feeling of dread before turning back to the scene. Miette then noticed Ash and Pikachu standing guard in front of the entrance to the house and pointed her finger, asking, "Serena, isn't that the guy you were talking about last night?"
Serena and Sylveon looked where she was pointing, and their hearts skipped a beat at the sight of the raven-haired soldier and his partner. For a brief moment, they smiled before they looked closely and saw the looks of dread on Ash and Pikachu's faces that they were hiding from the other soldiers. It was painfully clear to Serena and Sylveon that the lieutenant and the mouse Pokemon were tormented by what they have been ordered to do throughout the day. The honey blonde woman wanted to hold Ash, and Sylveon wanted to wrap its feelers around Pikachu, but they knew they could do nothing to comfort them.
Meanwhile, inside the house, Markenel, Giovanni, and Persian surrounded a heavyset man with short brown hair. Two soldiers were pointing their spears at an Ampharos and a woman with two little girls, all three with pink hair. The man was on his knees in front of Markenel, who was interrogating him while holding a necklace carrying the gold wheel of Arceus.
"This Arcean necklace was found in your property," Markenel said. "Have you been harboring Arceans?"
"Our home is always open to the weary traveler, Your Honor," the fat man named Karsten replied, trying to hide his fear of the judge.
"You do know that Arceans come to the country to come into Lumiose City illegally, do you not?" Markenel questioned.
"We do not ask about the business of our guests, Your Honor," Karsten answered. "We treat them with kindness and compassion no matter who they are, just as the Lord commanded."
Markenel scowled, disgusted by the way Karsten used the Lord to justify his deeds, and said, "Is that so? Very well. I'm placing you and your family under house arrest until I get the bottom of this. If what you're saying is true and you are innocent, then you have nothing to fear."
Karsten's wife Joy, and their daughters, Marnie and Paige, began to tremble as the soldiers left the house with their spears still aiming at them and the Ampharos. Karsten's heart sank, and he stood up while Markenel, Giovanni, and Persian exited.
"Your Honor, please see reason," he pleaded. "My family and I are innocent. I assure you, we don't partake in any illegal activity with the Arceans."
The miller farmer took a step to his front door before Persian threatened him to back away with his claws and a sharp hiss. Markenel closed the door in front of Karsten and took one of the soldier's spears to put it between the door handles to keep the family from getting out. He then took a torch from one of the guards and held it out to Ash, who was standing beside the entrance with a concerned look.
"Burn it," Markenel ordered.
"What?!" Ash shouted.
"Pika?!" Pikachu shouted beside its partner.
"Until this place smolders, these people and their Pokemon are traitors and must be made examples of," Markenel said.
"With all due respect, sir, I was not trained to kill the innocent," Ash said.
"But you were trained to follow orders, Lieutenant," Giovanni pointed out with a warning tone in his voice. "Now do as the minister commands."
Ash furrowed his brow and turned to Pikachu. The soldier and his partner silently agreed that the line was crossed and knew what had to be done. Ash took the torch from Markenel and looked around until he saw a barrel of water. He stared at the judge and his father as he tossed the torch into the water, and his superiors glowered at him.
"You insolent coward," Markenel growled.
"I'm not the coward who can't treat people fairly like a mature human being," Ash said.
Markenel's anger grew, and he signaled three of his soldiers to hold their spears toward Ash and Pikachu. He got on his Rapidash, took another torch from one of the soldiers, and held it up to the tip of one of the spinning windmill sails. The sail instantly caught fire, and within seconds, the house and the windmill were set ablaze. The crowd gasped, and Serena covered her mouth with her hand as she, Miette, Sylveon, and Slurpuff watched in horror. One of the sails broke loose, forcing Ash, Pikachu, and the soldiers guarding them move away before the blade fell on top of them. The raven-haired man heard the screams coming from inside, and he held out his arms to Pikachu for it to hop onto his shoulder before he jumped through the window into the burning house.
"Ash!" Serena cried out.
"Sylveon!" Sylveon shouted.
With Sylveon still wrapped around her back, Serena took a step to run toward the farm, but Miette grabbed her by the waist to hold her back.
"Let me go!" Serena screamed. "We have to save them!"
"There's nothing we can do!" Miette shouted. "If you go after them, they'll catch you, and there's no way we can get to them in time!"
Serena tried to break free from her friend until she reluctantly accepted that she was right. Sylveon whimpered yearning to help Pikachu. The honey blonde woman's mouth quivered, and she clasped her hands together in prayer. Whether to Arceus or God, Serena couldn't decide, nor did she care as long as one of them would protect Ash, Pikachu, and the family.
Finally, the house's door broke to pieces, revealing Pikachu using Iron Tail from the other side. The mouse Pokemon rushed out of the building, followed by Ash holding Marnie and Paige in his arms, and Karsten, Joy, and Ampharos running behind. They ran past Markenel and the soldiers until they were thirty yards away from the house just before it collapsed. The citizens cheered, and Serena and Sylveon sighed in relief as Ash handed Marnie and Paige to Karsten and Joy.
"Lord bless you, sir," Joy said with tears in her eyes.
"How can we repay you?" Karsten asked.
"Don't worry about that," Ash said. "Just get out of here and find a place to hide."
Karsten and Joy nodded and ran away with their children and Ampharos running behind. Ash and Pikachu turned to each other and smile until Ash felt the bottom of Butch's sword hit the top of his head. He fell down on his front, and Pikachu only had a moment before Persian pounced on it and held it to the ground with its paw on the mouse Pokemon's neck. Butch held his sword to Ash's neck while Cassidy took out her sword and held it to Pikachu's neck. Markenel moved his Rapidash until they were standing in front of them, with Giovanni standing beside his superior.
"The penalty for insubordination is death," Markenel announced. "Such a pity, Lieutenant. You threw away a promising career."
"Consider it my and Pikachu's highest honor, sir," Ash said, looking up at Markenel with no fear in his eyes.
"I won't," Markenel said before turning to Giovanni. "Anything to say to your son before his execution, Captain?"
Giovanni looked down at Ash with a cold, condescending look in his black eyes and said, "I have no son."
Markenel smirked, satisfied with Giovanni's answer, and raised his hand for Butch and Cassidy to raise their swords. Ash and Pikachu looked at each other with sad smiles, silently telling each other goodbye. Serena frowned and had Sylveon get off her back before they sneaked through the crowd until they were several yards behind Markenel. Serena took out a rock and pointed at Rapidash. Sylveon nodded and, with one of its feelers, took the stone and threw it like a sling.
The rock hit Rapidash in the flank, and with a loud neigh, it went up on hind legs, making Markenel fall off. With Butch, Cassidy, Giovanni, and Persian distracted, Ash sprung up and punched Butch and Cassidy in the face while Pikachu used Thundershock to free itself from Persian. Giovanni began to draw his sword before he was interrupted by Pikachu jumping up and hitting him in the face with Iron Tail. The mouse Pokemon hopped onto Ash's shoulder before he got on Rapidash and began riding away. The citizens screamed and cheered for the heroes.
"Fly, Ash! Fly!" Serena shouted amid the cheering.
"Sylveon!" Sylveon shouted.
Markenel clenched his teeth and turned to his soldiers with bows and arrows, yelling, "Get him and don't hit my Rapidash!"
The archers released a volley of arrows at Ash and Pikachu, but none of them reached them. Serena and Sylveon beamed as it looked like they were going to escape. Unfortunately, Giovanni looked at Ash and Pikachu fleeing with a bloodthirsty look in his pitch-black eyes. He snatched a bow and arrow from one of the archers and aimed the arrow high. The captain aimed and waited for the right moment before firing just as Ash was crossing a stone bridge. The arrow zoomed high into the air and pierced through Ash just a few inches away from his heart. Pikachu screamed as they fell off Rapidash and into the river down below.
Miette and the citizens gasped and screamed so loud that Markenel and the soldiers couldn't hear Serena yell "No" and Sylveon crying out to Pikachu again. The archers ran over to the bridge and began firing at the lake until Giovanni halted them.
"Don't waste your arrows," he commanded. "Let the traitors rot in their watery grave."
The archers stopped firing just as Markenel, Persian, Butch, Cassidy, and the rest of the troops with their Pokemon caught up with them. One of the archers helped Markenel back on his Rapidash, and the judge turned to Giovanni, who was standing beside his steed.
"What do we do now, Minister Markenel?" Giovanni asked. "That miller was our last lead."
"We return to the city and continue finding the woman," Markenel answered. "Leave no place unturned. If we have to burn all of Lumiose City to the ground, then so be it."
"Understood," Giovanni said before turning to his soldiers. "Form up and move out!"
"Yes, sir!" Butch, Cassidy, and the other soldiers replied.
The troops formed into two lines with their partners standing beside them and followed Markenel back to the city with Giovanni and Persian taking point. When their enemies were far enough, Serena, Sylveon, Miette, and Slurpuff came out of their hiding place inside the crowd and ran down the slope to the river just in time to see Pikachu emerge from the water.
"Sylveon!" Sylveon cried out.
"Pika! Pika, Pika, Pika!" Pikachu shouted, pointing down below it.
"What is it doing?" Miette asked.
"It's saying that Ash is down there," Serena said.
Without another word, Serena jumped into the water and swam over to where Pikachu was. The mouse Pokemon dived down, and Serena quickly followed to find Ash at the bottom with the arrow still through him. Serena tried to lift him up, but the armor was too heavy. She went up the surface to take another breath before she dived back down, broke off both ends of the arrow, and took off Ash's armor. She lifted him up to the surface and swam toward the shore with Pikachu until Slurpuff lifted them up in the air and laid them down on the shore using Psychic. Miette handed Serena a long piece of cloth, and the honey blonde woman wrapped it tightly around Ash's wound. She pressed her ear against Ash's chest and could faintly hear him breathing.
"He's still alive," she said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu sighed in relief.
"He won't be for long unless we do something to really fix that wound," Miette said.
"We need to find a place to hide him and treat his wound," Serena said.
"But where?" Miette asked. "The Court of Miracles is too far away, and Markenel is probably going to find all of our other hideouts in the city."
Serena's heart began to sink, realizing Miette's point. She turned to Pikachu, who was staring at Ash's face, scared for its friend's life while Sylveon stood beside it. She then turned to Lumiose City's walls, struggling to think of something until her mind was on Timothy and Lumiose Cathedral.
"I know where we can go."