Security Alarms blared all around the cellar where Julia and her friends were working in Kingston Castle. Piper panicked as she thought at first she had pressed a wrong button while working on her research. Amanda did her best to close off all of her work to safeguard it in case of a Syndicate attack. Big Mike clenched his fists and called out his Machamp, who also roared in anticipation of the coming attack.
"What's going on?" Julia asked.
"The Castle is being attacked!" Amanda said, as she accessed the security cameras. She watched as an unknown dark-clothed figure atop a Dragapult was dismantling Lady Kingston's personal guard. "It's a Syndicate Agent!"
Julia clutched at the chest with all her strength. "They're after the chest?"
"I'd like to see them try and take it!" Big Mike growled in anger.
"We have to hide all of this evidence of the work we have" Piper told her friends.
"Already on it" Amanda said, working quickly to close all files and work and put them back on the External Hard Drive. As she did, they could hear whoever the person was had already stormed the castle and was taking care of Lady Bonnie's servants and guards.
"Hurry, Amanda!" Julia cried.
After an additional second of worrying, the files were completely scrubbed and Amanda slipped the device into her pocket and ran over to Julia's side. Piper wheeled herself over to her bag. "If these jerks want to fight, I'm not afraid to fight!" She pulled out a Poké Ball and called out her Starmie. The Starfish Pokémon spun around in anticipation.
Julia closed her eyes. "This isn't happening right now. Not when we're so close!"
"Whoever this punk is" Big Mike assured Julia, "she won't get past me!"
The elevator finally came down, with Gerard hurrying towards the group. "Quickly! Lady Kingston wishes for you to have this! Open it! NOW!" He handed her a golden key that matched the style of the chest. While more blasts and sounds of skirmish could be heard upstairs, Julia fumbled with the key in her hands as she pushed it into the tumbler and caused the lock to be undone.
She quickly flung the chest open and gasped. "I don't believe it!"
"What is it?" Piper asked, wheeling herself over to see. Her eyes widened in surprise. "What the heck?"
Amanda put her hand over her mouth. "Those are-"
"HERE THEY COME!" Big Mike warned the girls.
Julia hid the chest behind her back as the elevator once again returned to the cellar. The doors were flung open and a young woman who looked similar to Elezar Aced himself strode into the room, eyeing the last line of defense with serious interest. She was flanked her Dragapult, who growled at the attacking "Professor Pines. We finally meet."
"GO! MACHAMP!" Big Mike roared. His Machamp rushed forward to throw an endless volley of punches at the Dragapult, who simply shot one of the little Dreepies that clung onto it at the Machamp, knocking it out easily. The Syndicate woman took another step forward. Big Mike, pent up with rage, rushed at her, but she dodged the blow and allowed Mike to crash into the elevator, which unintentionally rose with the unconscious old man going up the steps.
She looked back at Julia with a serious look on her face. "We have some business to discuss."
Julia, Piper and Amanda recoiled at the implicit threat flung at them. With Piper's Starmie in place and Julia calling out her Sylveon, the three were determined to defend their last chance at stopping the Syndicate to their last breaths. Julia took a deep breath.
I guess I'll be seeing you soon, my Michael.
{Meanwhile}
Iron Colosseum was very different from all of the other Gyms he had seen so far on Ryan's journey. For starters, it looked like the kind of stadium you expected colossal Pokémon battles to take place in. It was tall, wide, and from outside the stadium, he could hear the cheers of thousands of fans. The Colosseum also had a silvery tone about it. where it shined against the sun in the skies and almost blinded Ryan. The shiny gloss given to the stadium's overall look made the aspiring Pokémon Master think of the Steel Type Pokémon he would be battling that his cousin wielded so effectively.
Steel is a really tough type of Pokémon, he told himself. They have a ton of resistances and are almost impervious to damage from most of the elements, save for Fire of course. I may need Simba to step up for this fight. So Simba is a given. What else is Steel weak to? Ground? Yeah, Ground! That means Terra is my second choice for a Pokémon. What about #3? What else works well against Steel Types? Fighting, was it? I guess then I'll go into this match with Simba, Terra and Achilles. With that, Ryan took a deep breath and made his way into the Colosseum.
He walked over to the secretary's desk. "I'm here to register to challenge Billy?"
"Your name?" she asked absentmindedly.
"Ryan Kingston."
The secretary paused and looked up and over the desk at Ryan. "Oh my Goodness, Ryan!"
Ryan gasped. "Jenna?"
His cousin raced over to hug him. Jenna was a fairly pretty girl with long brown hair, a short pair of glasses and a sweet smile. She had the female Kingston looks, just like Tori and Madeline. "Oh my goodness. It's been so long. How are you?"
Ryan shrugged. "I'm fine. Just getting ready to challenge your brother."
"Billy's been dying for a tough opponent" she told him. "He pulled his punches against your brother and now he wants someone who will give him the match he's been craving. He hasn't lost since."
"I thought you'd be away at Nursing School, Jenna" Ryan acknowledged.
"I'm on Holiday Break for two weeks" Jenna told her cousin. "But Mom and Dad said that I needed to either help around the house or help Billy run the gym, now that his secretary is on her honeymoon." She shrugged it off. "It's paying for my tuition though. So, let's get you all set up." She immediately signs Ryan into the system. "We don't have any challengers lined up for you, so you can just go right on inside."
"Really?" Ryan asked. "That's...ominous."
She winked at her younger cousin. "Let's just say that Billy has been dying for a challenge for a long time. Remember, he hasn't lost in a few weeks. Good luck." With that, she went to back to work. Ryan sighed and made his way for the long escalator that would lead him to the Colosseum. He took a moment to soak it all in as the escalator climbed higher and higher for him. But as he tried to psych himself up for it, he could hear the cheers getting louder and louder as he neared the top. And just when his nerves didn't think they could take much more unneeded pressure, an announcer's voice echoed all over the Colosseum.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages!" he called to those in the stands. "I am delighted to announce that we have a Trainer bold enough, strong enough and dare I say it, crazy enough to challenge our uncontested Gym Leader, here in our fabled Iron Colosseum!"
The eruption of applause was something that caught Ryan completely by surprise. "Just how many fans are here?"
"And boy, do I have a matchup for you all to enjoy" the announcer continued. "This is the stuff of legends here. Because we've got a Royal Rumble set for all 79,000 in attendance!"
Ryan nearly choked on his own saliva. "Seventy-what?"
"A Royal Rumble, folks" the announcer continued. "Because we don't have just an ordinary challenger today. No, today we've got some bad blood as we've some feuding cousins ready for an absolute shebang! First, let me be the first to introduce to you, the challenger!"
As the escalator came to a stop, he found a platform waiting for him. Ryan took a deep breath, his nerves already getting the better of him.
"Hailing from the quiet village of Parlor Town, this one has been through the ringer before folks, with five gym badges at his disposal already. Raised by two former Championship Contenders, groomed to be a trainer by the likes of Professor Julia Pines and the late Michael Kingston, and already a slowly growing legend in his own right. Weighing in at approximately 104 lbs."
"HOW DOES HE KNOW MY WEIGHT?" Ryan cried out as the platform suddenly rose and began to take him into the heart of the Colosseum itself.
"Please, Ladies and Gentlemen, give it up for the Brother with Thunder, RYAN KINGSTON!"
Ryan's platform rose and he soon found himself in the middle of a crowd of thousands of onlookers. His nerves were not relaxed when he heard the thousands cheering for him. He looked around, hoping to spot Addison, Holly and Tommy, but there were far too many people for him to pick them out immediately. With nothing else to do, Ryan simply waved to as many people as he could, which only drew him more cheers and applause.
"Annnnd Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the distinct privilege of presenting to you our Gym Leader, who has not lost a Gym Battle in 26 consecutive attempts! Hailing from our good old fashioned Iron Village, born raised and bred, a true-blue Arcanan! Raised by the legendary James Junior, trained under the likes of Michael, Christopher and Cameron Kingston and our reigning Iron Mountain Gym Leader for these last three seasons! Weighing in at 157 lbs. I present to you, he of the 119 wins and 19 losses, the boyish bruiser, the Stupendous Steeler, the incomparable young man with the Will of Iron! GYM LEADER BILLY!"
Though the cheers Ryan got were quite loud, the crazy chants and cheers Billy got were almost causing the ground to shake around the challenging trainer. Until he realized the ground was in fact shaking. He could hear the sounds of massive stomps in the ground. From the other side of the Colosseum, two huge doors flung open and sure enough, his egomaniac of a cousin came in, already riding one of his most powerful Pokémon: a Metagross, a teal-colored robotic tortoise who made loud earsplitting roars which Billy's fans tried and failed to imitate.
Billy himself was a handsome young man with hair as black as coal, emerald green eyes and a smile that made most teenaged and young adult women swoon. He eyed his cousin and told his Metagross to lower him to the ground. "Well, well well. Look who finally showed up?"
"What he heck is all of this, Billy?" Ryan asked him, gesturing to the whole Colosseum.
"Most people who challenge the Pokémon League tend to choke when it matters" Billy explained, wiping his hand through his thick mop of black hair atop his head. "They usually break under pressure when it comes to playing in front of huge crowds. This is to show proof to me and the rest of the Pokémon League that you indeed have what it takes to battle in front of crowds that are bigger than just your friends." He raised his hands, causing his fans to cheer wildly. "I bet you couldn't find your friends in the stands if you tried."
Ryan looked around for Tommy, Addison or Holly, but he could not see any of them. He thought he could hear the cheering of Tommy or someone shouting his name, but it was all drowned out by the eruption of cheers that came from Billy's fans. Despite not seeing them, Ryan grinned towards his cousin. "I don't need to see them. I know they're cheering for me. I can feel it in my heart!"
"Are you sure that's not your fear?" Billy asked. "Because I'd totally get it if it was just your fears."
Ryan shook his head. "Why don't you battle me to see just how much I'm afraid of you."
Billy chuckled. "Bravado. I like that. Show me what you've got, Ryan!"
"This will be a traditional 3v3 Battle" the Announcer proclaimed. "The last one standing with a Pokémon on their side will be declared the winner! And now, Ladies and Gentleman! Let's get ready to BATTLE!"
"BATTLE!" the fans screamed in approval.
Billy looked back towards his ace Pokémon. "Oh, Metagross? Time to go to work!" The enormous Metagross stomped his way onto the battleground and let out a ferocious roar of dominance.
"Go! Terra!" Ryan sent out his Sandshrew, who was spun about proudly and determined to do his share and win Ryan his sixth Gym Badge.
Billy nodded. "A Sandshrew, eh? Well that's all fine and good. Metagross could use some fresh meat for his grinder! Metagross! Use Agility!" The Metallic Pokémon began to move about rapidly, drastically increasing its speed. The audience burst into cheers as the Metagross showboated for them.
"Terra, head underground!" Ryan told his Sandshrew. The Sandshrew nodded and burrowed itself out of sight.
"A Dig Strategy?" Billy sighed. "And here I was expecting something I couldn't handle. Metagross! Use Earthquake!"
The Metagross began to shake the entire stadium, causing everyone to burst into cheers for his name. When there was no sound of struggle, Billy laughed. "So much for your Sandshrew."
"That move didn't even hit him" Ryan said proudly.
"What makes you think that?"
"Because he's not underground."
"What?" Billy asked. He looked on the ground around the arena. His Earthquake had shaken the entire playing field, but there was no sign of the Sandshrew. The burrow the Sandshrew had created, shot out only a few feet away from where it initially burrowed. Completely bewildered by his cousin's strategy, Billy looked all around for the Sandshrew, until he saw the little Ground Pokémon, hanging from below the base of his Pokemon, his claws dug deep into it.
"Terra! Use Drill Run!" The Sandshrew drilled into the Metagross with great force, causing the Metagross to roar in pain and fury.
"Metagross! Use Body Press!"
"Terra! Burrow Underground!"
The Metagross tried to crush Terra with his own body weight, but the Sandshrew let go of his opponent and burrowed underground, The Metagross was dazed by it's absolutely brutal crash into the ground, allowing Terra to take the initiative.
"Earthquake" Ryan called to his Sandshrew. The small little shrew caused a massive tremor in the ground that rocked the Metagross and ultimately caused it to double over and collapse on itself. With it completely fatigued, Ryan sent his Sandshrew in for the kill. "Now, use Drill Run one last time!" The Sandshrew rushed forward and drilled more holes with his arms into the Metagross, completely knocking it out.
The audience, despite realizing that their hero was losing, erupted in applause on Ryan's behalf! "RYAN! RYAN! RYAN!"
Billy couldn't help but smile. "Now that was impressive. It's not everyday a Sandshrew can take down a Metagross. You used your Pokémon's small size and stature to your advantage. But I don't think that's going to help you much longer." He pointed towards the Sandshrew. Like Marahute had done earlier that day, the Sandshrew was glowing as it began to transcend to its next stage of evolution.
Ryan cracked a smile. The tiny Sandshrew he had raised since it hatched from an egg was finally evolving into it's final form of Evolution: Sandslash! Terra grew slightly bigger in size, while growing a head and back full of dark brown spikes. His claws also grew exponentially in size. The Sandslash only barked in approval as Ryan cheered his new Pokémon's evolution.
"I hope it enjoyed evolving" Billy warned Ryan, "because my next Pokémon is going to make him wish he'd stayed a Sandhrew! Go! Empoleon!" From out of Billy's second Poké Ball appeared a massive blue and black penguin with a crown atop it's head.
'And Billy counters the newly evolved Sandslash with his trusted Empoleon!" the announcer proclaimed.
"Empoleon! Use Surf!" The Aquatic Pokémon called up on the raging tides of the ocean to crash onto the Sandslash, who instinctively burrowed underground to avoid the attack. But the water quickly followed Terra and uprooted him from the underground and launched him back towards Ryan like a geyser. Ryan looked at Terra. He was completely exhausted, with barely the strength to stand.
Ryan shook his head. "Come on back, Sandslash. It's time to send out the big guns!" Ryan recalled Terra to his side and reached for his second Poké Ball. "Go! Achillies!" From out of his own second Poké Ball appeared his trusted Gallade, eager to prove himself in battle since Ryan chose to evolve him.
"The Challenger Ryan counters with a Gallade!" the announcer revealed. "Though he has the type advantage, will Billy be driven scared by this? I don't think so!"
Biased much? You could at least pretend to be a little happy for me.
"I'm not afraid of some glorified mushroom with swords for arms" Billy grinned. "Empoleon! Use Drill Peck!" The Emperor Penguin Pokémon rushed at Achilles, bearing it's sharp beak at the Gallade.
"Just what I've been waiting for" Ryan insisted. "Achilles! Use Close Combat!"
Achilles waited for the Empoleon to be right near it and then unleashes the full power of his most powerful onslaught on him. With a series of ferocious punches and kicks, the Gallade sent his foe launching backwards at almost triple the speeds, causing it to tumble backwards and dazed. Despite the blows, Achilles was heaving a bit after the onslaught. That's the price you pay when you use Close Combat. It drains your defenses and makes you more vulnerable to a counter attack.
The Empoleon staggered back to its feet, fatigued and worn to it's last legs, but still capable of dealing one final and ferocious blast. The Empoleon took a deep breath and spat out an immense Ice Beam directly at Achilles. The Gallade did his best to withstand the blow, but was turned into a block of ice by the blast. The blow took the last gasp of energy from the Empoleon, who fell over and fainted.
With his Pokémon completely frozen, Ryan could only watch as Billy recalled his Empoleon and looked to him. "Well, I'd say that blow takes us to the home stretch. I'll say I haven't had such an exciting match in a long time, Ry. You should be proud you've come this far."
"Thanks, Billy" Ryan said. "And you're definitely one of the toughest Gym Leader's I've faced too."
"Unfortunately, I do have a reputation to maintain, Ryan" Billy cautioned. "I have a perfect one hundred more wins than losses and I plan to keep it that way or improve it. And there's one Pokémon on my team that has never let me down. I think you'll find he has an aura of victory."
"An aura of victory?"
"This could be it, folks" the announcer spectated. "We may finally get to see Billy's most fiercely loyal and dangerous of all his Pokémon!"
"Go! Lucario!" From out of Billy's third and final Poké Ball sprung out a Lucario. As Ryan had watched many of Cameron's matches in the League Championships, he knew all too well the dangers and capabilities of a Lucario.
"Just like Cameron" Ryan remarked.
"She needed someone to train with when Mike and Chris were off goofing around" Billy shrugged. "And for me, I think it's all paid off very handsomely. Especially when I do this!" He pressed a small device on is wrist.
I thought as much.
"THIS IS IT, FOLKS! WE ARE IN FOR A TREAT TONIGHT! GYM LEADER BILLY HAS JUST MEGA EVOLVED HIS LUCARIO INTO MEGA LUCARIO!"
The Lucario that now faced Ryan's frozen Gallade was slightly taller than before and now had the tips of his ears as well as the entirety of his front and hinds paws were the color of blood. Ryan paused, some kind of memory flashing from in between his mind's eye. He could see his view going red as did the eyes of his Pokémon. His Sandslash roared in rage and unleashed a massive earthquake on an unknown assailant. Then, in a flash, he was back in the Iron Colosseum. He couldn't tell if what had happened was just a dream or some kind of vision, like the ones he'd had with Achilles before, but he didn't know or care. All that mattered to him now was his match in person.
"Lucario!" Billy called to his Pokémon. "Use Nasty Plot!" The Lucario snickered to itself and began to gather incredible power for himself.
Achilles was still frozen solid by the Empoleon's Ice Beam.
"Lucario!" Billy ordered. "Use Flash Cannon!" The Lucario took a deep breath before unleashing an almost endless stream of light energy directly at the frozen figure of Achilles. The Energy Beam struck Achilles head on in his skull and shattered the ice simultaneously. By the time Achilles was able to completely thaw out, he was KO'd by the might of the Flash Cannon.
Ryan recalled Achilles and realized how backed into a corner he was. "Looks like I'm running low on options."
Billy folded his arms. "Let's see what's the last surprise you have."
"Go! Simba!" Ryan called, sending out his little Litleo for the last bout.
"A Litleo?" Billy said, surprised his cousin had found one. "Well, you don't see them every day. But you're in for a rude awakening if you think that little cub is going to make a difference." He sent his Lucario forward again. "Go! Use-"
"Simba!" Ryan shouted, disrupting his cousin's flow. "Use Heat Wave!"
The Litleo growled, causing the temperature in the dramatically increase. With one ferocious gust of winds, the flames scorched the Lucario and smashed it against the ground. But as quickly as it fell, he jumped right back up.
"Lucario! Use ExtremeSpeed!" The Lucario moves with supersonic speeds, smashing the Litleo into the ground. The cub tried to squirm out of Lucario's grip, but Lucario's grasp on his throat was strong.
"Simba! Use Crunch!" The cub sank his teeth into the Lucario's paw, causing it to drop the cub and fall back, rubbing it's bite mark.
"Alright, I'm ending this now!" Billy declared. "LUCARIO! USE GIGA IMPACT!" The Lucario buffed itself up and lunged at Simba and completely crushed it with it's absolutely ruthless physical power. When the dust cleared from the blow, Simba was KO'd completely.
"AND WE HAVE A WINNER, FOLKS!" the announcer declared. "Fore the 120th time, the winner is-"
"It's not over yet!" Ryan shouted, causing the stadium's crowds to quiet.
Billy looked at his cousin. "What are you talking about? My Lucario thrashed your last Pokémon. You have none left to fight. I won."
"Did you beat all three of mine?" Ryan asked. "Because I'm only counting two."
Billy eyed his cousin in complete confusion. "What are you talking about? I won."
"You only took down two of my Pokémon" Ryan warned him, "Achilles and Simba are down. But you seem to have forgotten about someone."
Billy gulped. "The Sandslash?!"
Ryan nodded. "Go! Terra!" The Sandslash reemerged from his Poké Ball, drained of most of his energy, but still capable of delivering one final attack. Lucario, still drained by the power of the Giga Impact, could only stand on one knee as if kneeling to the Sandslash that loomed before it. The Pokémon, as if sensing the end was coming near, sighed and closed his eyes.
Billy was speechless.
"TERRA! USE EARTHQUAKE!" With one final explosive tremor that rocked the entirety of Iron Colosseum, Lucario was flung around the arena like a piece of popcorn, until crashing hard on the ground beside Billy, knocked out completely.
The audience was at first as speechless as Billy had been. However, as if stirred on by Addison, Holly and Tommy's cheers, they began to clap and roar. Within seconds, the entire Colosseum was thundering down on Ryan with cheers and applause. All Ryan could do at that moment was wave as the fans went from constantly cheering for Ryan's unexpected and outstanding victory.
Billy shook his head. "I took things too easy on Matt. But I threw everything I had at you and you still beat me." He shrugged. "That's the way it goes, I suppose. Congratulations Ryan."
"WHAT SPORTSMANSHIP!" the announcer proclaimed.
Billy recalled his Lucario as Ryan recalled his Sandslash and the two cousins made their way over to each other. Billy put out his hand. "You earned this victory."
Ryan shook his cousin's hand and the audience burst into applause. "Thanks Billy."
"And to commemorate your victory here in Iron Colosseum" Billy proclaimed for all to hear, "I'd like to present to you two gifts. The first, is the Iron Badge." He handed Ryan the Iron Badge, a badge in the shape of a short sword. "And the second, is this Technical Machine." He handed his cousin a Technical Machine to go along with his new badge. "This is the TM for the move Flash Cannon, the move that knocked out your Gallade earlier. Use it well." He watched as Ryan placed the Iron Badge beside his other five badges: The Aroma Badge, the Peace Badge, the Tectonic Badge, the Frost Badge and the Wiccan Badge. "Six Badges down, and two to go Ryan. Even though you beat me, don't think it means I won't come looking for a rematch."
Ryan nodded. "I expect as much."
"And if you gave it your all here" Billy said, leaning close to his cousin to whisper, "make sure you give double the effort to Jon in Cauldro City."
Ryan laughed. "You know it!"
"LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE WINNER! RYAN KINGSTON!"
"RYAN! RYAN! RYAN! RYAN!"
Ryan took a moment to soak it all in and made his way down to the platform that would lead him to the Colosseum's main lobby. As the platform lowered down to him he shook with utter excitement. He only needed two more badges and he would be able to qualify for the Pokémon League, with an endorsement from a Queen of Arcana contestant, of course.
Even as he took the escalator down to where he had met with Jenna, he could still hear the cheers echoing from the Colosseum. Upon seeing the bottom of the escalator, he could see dozens of people waiting for him. As they were about to swarm him, Jenna stepped in and stood in front of them. "Back it up, people! Let the Pokémon League's Contender get some air."
"What the heck is going on?" Ryan asked his older cousin.
"You're becoming quite famous, Ryan" Jenna told him, as she ushered people away from her cousin. "And I've got enough of a job registering people. I don't need these fans going crazy!" She then turned back towards the fans. "You'll be able to see plenty of Ryan Kingston if you all attend the Faire in Cauldro City."
The fans all cheered and cried out Ryan's name as if he were a rock star. Realizing she wasn't going to get much done, Jenna grabbed her cousin's hand and pulled him into a private waiting area. Inside, there was a Healing Machine to allow his Pokémon to recover and a place to sit and rest. She put him down in a chair. "Wait here, Ryan. Is there anyone I should be sending your way?"
"Their names are Addison, Holly and Tommy" he told her.
"Excellent" she then hurried out the door to chase off the mob.
While Ryan sat back and relished in the fact that he had just won his sixth Gym Badge, his Pokémon Gear began to ring. He reached into his pocket to pull it out and gulped nervously. "Eleven missed calls. From Mom and...Matt?" He quickly redialed his Mom's number and sat there, waiting until she could pick up.
"Where are you, Ryan?" his mother asked him. She sounded distressed.
Alarmed by his mother's tone, he calmly told her what she wanted to know. "I just got my Gym Badge from Iron Mountain. I'm sorry I missed yours and Matt's calls."
She took a deep breath. "Thank goodness you're safe. That's what matters."
"What's going on? Is something wrong?"
Alison took a deep breath. "Sweetie, your father was just attacked by the Syndicate."
Ryan was speechless. He had just spoken to his father barely an hour earlier. First Mike and the Elite Four, now Dad?
"Your brother found him" Alison cried. "He's being taken to Titanio Hospital. He's in pretty bad shape."
"I need to get there" Ryan said, trying his best to contain his anger and fears.
"There are plenty of Kingstons to look after him, sweetheart" she told her son. "I'm going to be there until they throw me out. And you can expect your uncles and aunts to be there as well. You kids concentrate on your journeys. Come to see us when you're headed for Titanio City. Until then, I'll keep you posted. Please, just be careful." With that, Alison ended the call.
Ryan's jaw dropped and his heart sank alongside it. Just when his joys were reaching heights he never thought possible, his world had to come crashing down again.
{Meanwhile}
As many Syndicate Admins as possible had been gathered at their base on Mt. Heatmor to commemorate this outstanding occasion. Victor, Lily, Lena and Walter O'Hara were not present, but Elezar, Cassius, Claude, Hunter, Nadine, Archer, Courtney and The Grand Master were present for when Jocelyn would return with the pay load of the golden chest James Kingston bequeathed to his Grandson upon his death. Now, all of the remaining secrets of the Kingston Family were going to be theirs. And soon, perhaps even the absolute power of their family would be quashed.
The door to the Assembly Hall slid open and Jocelyn entered, a dark look on her face. In her hands, was the Golden Chest that had been haunting The Grand Master and Elezar's meetings. She put the chest on the table as her fellow Syndicate Admins burst into applause for her actions.
"Well done" Claude applauded. "You've done us a remarkable service, my dear."
"You never cease to amaze, Lady Jocelyn" Nadine groveled.
"I expect no less from the daughter of Elezar" Cassius added.
"Your actions will be long remembered, Jocelyn" Archer praised.
Jocelyn passed the chest along towards her father and Cassius. "Here. I thought you'd like to see for yourselves."
Elezar laughed. "At last. Our moment is here!"
"Don't get your hopes up, Father" she told him bluntly.
"What do you mean?" Cassius asked.
"James Kingston proved to be little more than a charlatan after all" she hissed, sliding them the key to the chest she had been keeping. "See for yourselves! See what all of this wasted effort was for!"
Elezar took the key and opened the chest. As he opened it, his mood turned to anger. "This is-this is-"
"A bunch of junk!" Claude scowled.
The only thing within the chest were drawn pictures and written letters to James from his many grandchildren, all from well over fifteen years earlier. Pictures drawn by his eldest grandchildren: Jon, Tori, Michael, Madeline, Chris and Jenna. Infuriated that he had been led to believe this chest was worth anything, Elezar hurled it to the side of the room. "Curse those damned Kingstons!"
"I guess James thought he'd get one more over on you both" Cassius snickered at Claude and Elezar.
"This entire side quest was a complete and utter waste of our time and energy" Jocelyn snapped. "As well as for the health of my Pokémon! If you'll excuse me, I have to go and heal them." She made for the exit, though she could tell the piercing blue eyes of The Grand Master were on her.
Is there anything else to your mission we should know about, Jocelyn?
Elezar gasped. "Yes. What is left of Professor Pines? Did you exterminate her?"
Jocelyn growled. "I had a choice to make. Take the box from them or kill Professor Pines."
"And you chose the box?" Hunter asked.
"I chose the Syndicate" she responded angrily. "Professor Pines is no threat to us."
"Did you forget that-" Claude began.
"Julia only stopped our plans because Michael Kingston was still alive" Jocelyn fumed, turning her attention towards them. "She is nothing to us without the Champion to hide behind!"
"Then by leaving Professor Pines alive" Nadine professed, "you have done us another service."
"How so?" Cassius asked.
"Why reunite the lovers so soon?" Nadine asked coldly. "I think Professor Pines should be the last one to fall. Let her watch as we rip apart the Kingstons, bit by bit, until she is the last person left opposing us. If we sent her to Michael too quickly. what kind of lesson should she learn?"
Elezar cackled. "I hadn't thought of it that way. Well put, Nadine." He turned to his daughter. "Thank you, Jocelyn. You are dismissed."
Jocelyn looked towards Courtney and The Grand Master, who eyed her curiously, before departing from the room.
"Now" Cassius said, clearing his throat. "To business of the important variety."
"There was an attack on Robert Kingston earlier this afternoon" Courtney said. "As far as I know, I don't believe we authorized such an attack?"
"Victor confirmed his part in it" Nadine told Courtney. "It was more of a spontaneous effort."
"It's a welcomed attack as far as I'm concerned" Hunter sneered.
"I authorized it" Elezar said bluntly. "We have many irons on the fire. This attack on Robert Kingston did more than just put into the Kingstons another droplet of fear. It also served as a reminder to our enemies that they need to be put in check and we will gladly do our part. And thirdly, it served as a bit of an act of orientation."
"Orientation?" Claude asked.
Elezar snickered. "I am pleased to announce that we now have a thirteenth Administrator being brought into our Syndicate."
"When do we get to meet whomever you've chosen, Elezar?" Cassius asked.
Elezar deferred to The Grand Master. "Whenever our plans see fit. Until then, I want our newest recruit to get their feet wet first. No use bringing in someone that's too green and not yet ripe."
The Grand Master was silent for a moment before he let his word be known. We will accelerate our plans. I want my army of Crimson Fury soldiers."
"And you will have it, Grand Master" Cassius assured his superior. "I will be returning to The Compound to oversee the developments."
The Grand Master turned towards Nadine. Go out there and enjoy yourself, Nadine. With the Kingstons embroiled in their own turmoil, you and your Snatchers now have a golden opportunity to strike at the heart of the matter. Bring me as many as you can get your hands on.
"And if the Kingstons intervene?" Claude asked The Grand Master.
Let them. There is no power that can stop us, save for our own.
