Chris was immediately alarmed when he saw that Michael and Rui were no longer in the hovel when he woke up the in the wee hours of the morning. Piper was asleep on the other side of him, keeping herself toasty by the still bright embers of Elezar's cauldron, while Addison and Tommy were also sound asleep. But his missing cousin and Rui could only mean something was happening and he needed to find out what it was. He gently tried to make his way past Piper, but she seemed to stir herself awake alongside him.
"Hmmm? What happened?"
Chris gently shushed her. "Go back to sleep, Pipe. I've just got to check out something."
"Okie dokie" Piper responded before drifting back to sleep. Chris bent down and kissed her on the cheek before making his way out of Elezar's hovel. It was supposed to be daybreak outside, but the clouds were not showing any signs of life. The only trace of light in the morning air outside was coming from the weakening fire Elezar had made for them. Which was being mostly blocked off by Michael and Rui who sat in front of it and simply stared into the flames. Chris sauntered his way over to sit opposite the two of them and eyed both of their faces with curiosity.
Rui's face was hard to read. She seemed concerned about what was going to transpire this day, but she also appeared to be the one of the two that seemed to have some kind of hope for their situation, a far cry from the woman he had met again after so long just a day ago. Michael's face was unreadable. He was transfixed on the fire as if it was telling him something that only he could comprehend. And whatever it was was making his cousin go pale with either fear or disgust. The latter wouldn't make sense for Michael. He was hardly ever grossed out by anything. So that would mean...
"He's back, isn't he?" Chris asked bluntly.
Rui sadly nodded. "And now, we're in a rough situation."
"How rough is it, bud?" Chris asked Michael.
"Not too long ago" his best friend began, "we were the ones who Arcana was counting on to come to the rescue. The shoe might be on the other foot now. With Mewtwo free, that means that no one on Mirage Island is safe."
"To be fair" Chris pointed out, "no one anywhere is safe if that monster is running amok again."
"Michael's right" Rui argued. "Mewtwo will be coming for us, now. After all, he has all of the trainers of the World Tournament at his mercy here."
"And his arch nemesis" Michael added.
"Man, it's always got to be you going up against the forces of evil, isn't it" Chris laughed.
"I was talking about Ryan" Michael reiterated. "This isn't a time to joke, Chris. If Mewtwo gets his grubby little mutant hands on Ryan, we might never get to see him again."
"Which is why we sent Giselle out to track him down, right?" Chris reminded him. "And if she fails, we've got Cameron and Cynthia looking out for him. Nothing is going to happen to Ryan."
"And who's watching after them?"
Chris shrugged. "You really think Cameron is someone in need of watching?"
"When something like this is unfolding right before our-" Michael began, prompting Chris to wave his arms.
"Alright, alright" Chris gave in. "If it will make you feel better, I'll reach out to Cameron and figure out what she's up to." Chris rose to his feet and went back towards Elezar's hovel to grab his Pokémon Gear, which should be fully charged now. He took his up from right next to his charger (as Michael seemed to be using his portable one) and went to check on his sister, when he noticed she had already messaged him twice since his Poké Gear battery died. He opened up the messages and read them, his concern for their situation as well as his sister slightly growing. The first one was fairly straightforward:
[Code 748 Emergency! Dawn and Lucas downed by Darkrai! Location verified by slits in trees]
Chris was caught off guard by this. Wait a minute. Darkrai? Dawn? Lucas? What the hell is going on here? Whatever had happened while they were focused on getting the Spirit Keys had apparently rocked the worlds of the other half of the island. Ryan, Dawn, Lucas, Avery and apparently his sister had been through a nightmarish situation and now there was proof of the Syndicate's plan in action. Dawn and Lucas were cast under the spell of Darkrai and Cameron's reaction didn't even begin to factor in the possibility that Ryan might also be in danger.
He knew he needed more information and continued on to the second message she sent him. This one sent his worry for his little sister skyrocketing:
[Don't bother coming to look for me. I failed you all. Get off of Mirage Island now while you still can]
Now, Christopher was alarmed. Why would his sister send a message like this? Why would she ever think that he would leave this island without her? What had happened to her? He desperately punched in her number and tried to get in contact with her, only for Cameron to reject his calls three different times before ultimately turning her Poké Gear off. Chris could feel his heart beating faster in worry.
"What the hell?" Chris remarked aloud, prompting Tommy to stir in the other room and yawn.
"What-what happened?" The boy rolled over and perked his head up. "What's going on?"
Chris ignored the boy's questions and made his way out of the door and back to his cousin and Rui, now completely not caring if the others would wake up at this point. He rushed to where he had been sitting beforehand and flung his Poké Gear at Michael. "What is this?"
"Look, I'm sorry I needed to charge my-"
"Read the texts!" Chris yelled. "Something happened on the other side of the island."
Michael took a moment to read both messages, but to Chris's astonishment, his cousin's attitude did not change. Michael simply studied what had been sent to him and then gently tossed the device back to his younger cousin. "The Syndicate is on the move. Then that means we need to be, too."
Chris grunted in anger. "You're not thinking of taking Cam's words seriously, are you?" When Michael did not immediately answer, Chris walked in front of him and glared down at him. "We started out this journey together, Mike. The three of us. We can't abandon her like this." Chris kicked some dirt onto the weak fire to put it out in frustration. "She's my sister! She was supposed to be the person you groomed to succeed you as Champion. She is as important to us as Julia and Piper and my Mom and everyone that means those things to us, Mike. If you tell me for even one minute that we should respect her wishes, I will knock your lights out right here and now!"
"Do you honestly think I would abandon Cameron here?" Michael asked him.
Chris sighed. "I've been wrong before about people."
"Even me?"
Chris shook his head. "No. Not you. But Cameron needs us."
"So does Ryan" Michael admitted, rising to his feet to properly address him for the first time that day. He put his hands on his dearest friend's shoulders. "Look, I know you're upset about what's going on. I am too. But losing our cool over it is exactly what the Syndicate wants us to do. If we make a mistake on our own, they won't have to force us to make one. And we're in no position to be able to afford to make mistakes, bud. Not with Mewtwo hanging like an anvil over Arcana."
"What's the plan, then?" Chris asked. "There is one, right?"
Michael was strangely silent again for a long while before properly addressing the two. "We don't have many options. I don't know if we'll only have one shot to open up the Spirit Gate or not. I don't know what Mewtwo is planning. I don't know what Courtney and Hunter are still after on this island. But if Dawn and Lucas are down for the count and Cameron is MIA, we should start out search for answers there. Get to those two and find Cameron. The rest should become easier from there."
"She seemed pretty sure she didn't want to be found" Rui cautioned both men. "Looking for her could take a while."
"And draw out Hunter and Courtney" Michael added.
"What about Ryan?" the still half-asleep Tommy Queensbury asked. The boy stumbled out of the hut, with Addison and Piper not far behind him and all six were now waking up to the sobering news of their situation. Tommy stretched himself out and looked at Rui, Chris and Michael strangely. "What's wrong? Did something happen while we were asleep?"
Michael took a deep breath. "We are now in a dangerously serious position, guys. No reason to sugarcoat it or hide facts." He looked directly at Addison and sighed. "Mewtwo was freed last night."
Piper gasped. "What?!"
Tommy shivered with fear. "Not him again!"
Addison, though, seemed strangely intuitive as Michael was, Chris could only guess it was something to do with the Crimson Branding both had received in the past. Deidre's daughter simply nodded and looked to the rest of the group. "Then what's our plan? Or, should I put as, what's their plan now that Mewtwo is free?"
"We don't really have one because we don't know what they're after" Chris admitted. "But that wasn't all that happened last night. Apparently, some time in the night, Lucas and Dawn ran smack into the Pokémon called Darkrai and both have been put to sleep by it's powers. And something happened to Cameron and she's gone off the map. She isn't eliminated, but she clearly does not want to be found. That means Cynthia, Ryan and Avery are off on their own somewhere on the island, which means that basically we're going to have to search the whole island for four people."
"What about getting off the island ourselves?" Tommy asked. "Don't the people in Arcana need us?"
Piper shook her head and stepped forward to address their group. "I genuinely have no clue what we should do. No matter what choice we make about these things, there is always the chance that we're going to mess things up and someone is going to lose out. Mewtwo being free might mean that everyone we have back home is in mortal danger. But if we leave Ryan and Cameron here, they could end up just like everyone we've lost since getting here. Not to mention you guys said Matthew is on the island."
"We need to get to Dawn and Lucas first" Michael theorized. "Those two are completely helpless on this island."
"What about Giselle?" Addison asked.
"I think we're going to have to assume that she's gone too" the former Champion admitted. "Not a notion I like to entertain, but with no word from her, it's going to be all the more improbable that she's still with us."
Chris looked on his Poké Gear's tracking application and nodded sadly. "She's gone, alright. No sign of her anywhere."
"Her Poké Gear might have lost battery" Rui suggested. "Giselle is a strong trainer. I'm sure she can handle herself."
"Giselle will turn up" Michael answered. "One way or another, she'll turn up. But Dawn and Lucas need to be priority one. Then, we need to figure out how to open the Spirit Gate or even where the Spirit Gate might be. Finally, we'll go in search of Cynthia." Michael gasped. "Wait a minute!" He rushed into Elezar's hut and grabbed his Poké Gear and Chris's charger. One he had found it, he exited the home and tossed Chris his battery pack before rejoining the group. He quickly attempted to dial out to Cynthia. After a few rings, she answered.
"Michael?"
Michael heaved a sigh of relief and put it on speakerphone. "Cynthia, thank goodness. Something bad has happened."
"You're telling me" Cynthia responded. "One minute Cameron and I are trying to catch up to Ryan and his team and the next thing I know I find myself alone in some random part of the island. Dawn and Lucas are gone, Ryan and that Avery girl are gone and Cameron's missing. She won't take my calls, either. How bad are things on your end?"
"We have an idea of where Dawn and Lucas are" Chris spoke up. "But that pales in comparison to knowing that Mewtwo is back."
"I thought as much." Cynthia sounded distraught on the other line. "It's a terrible choice to make, but we don't have a choice. We have to get to the Spirit Gate and get out of here."
"Not without my sister" Chris declared.
"I promise you we won't abandon her here" Cynthia explained. "Though, I should warn you that there's this kid who's hunting after you now. And he looked kind of like Ryan. Don't tell me Ryan has an evil twin."
"You could say that" Piper answered bluntly. "Do you think you'll be able to find Ryan and Avery?"
"Shouldn't be too hard, but what about Cameron?"
"We'll have to look for her on our own time" Michael said sadly. "I need to get to Dawn and Lucas before Hunter and Courtney pick them up."
"What if they've been eliminated?"
"Cameron said in a message that they only passed out" Chris recalled. "If we can get to them, we might be able to prevent them from getting eliminated as everyone else has. If you can concentrate on finding Ryan and Avery, we'll take 4/5ths of our trainers we need to find out of the way immediately. Then, we'll all try to find Cameron."
"Just be careful, you guys" Cynthia cautioned the group. "I will be too, but if Mewtwo is back, there's a chance that we could be attacked when we least expect it." With that, Cynthia ended the call and Michael put his Pokémon Gear away to address the rest of the group. Chris could see him eye everyone with sincerity to try and gauge what their next moves might be. When he noticed a very distrustful look on Addison's face, he saw it best to go for her first.
"What's wrong, Addy?"
"I don't trust Avery being alone with Ryan" she grumbled.
"You don't have to" Piper assured her. "All we need to do is count on Cynthia to find Ryan. If any funny business happens, we'll hear it first from her."
"I guess you're right" Addison admitted. "But we really should find Dawn and Lucas first."
"Then let's set off for the rescue!" Tommy proclaimed.
Michael gestured towards Elezar's home. "Go grab your stuff and let's be ready to leave in a few minutes. Chris? Pipe? Would you two stay out here for a second? I need to talk to you guys about something."
This caught Chris's attention and he eyed Piper with a sideways glance before the two stepped forward as Rui, Tommy and Addison went back into the home to collect their belongings. Once the three were out of the way, Chris saw fit to ask his cousin what else he hadn't told the group. "Okay, Mike. What gives? You've been way too quiet and reflective this morning. What's wrong?"
"Did something else happen?" Piper asked.
Michael closed his eyes and shook his head before addressing them. "Cameron is probably mentally shot right now. Ryan as well. And with Giselle currently MIA, you two are the only ones I can trust to know this information."
"I don't like keeping secrets" Piper admitted. "Especially when it could be game changing news."
"This isn't something the others will want to here" Michael told her, "but it's true. Piper, do you remember Courtney?"
Chris saw Piper recoil at he name. "That crazy girl who nearly kidnapped Julia?"
"That's the one" Michael answered. "She's very obsessive. And has set her sights on completing two goals for herself in life. The first was to serve Mewtwo faithfully. And the other goal is...well...me."
"You?" Chris asked.
"She did say she won you over before Taghwan" Piper recalled. "But I knew you would never care for some whackjob like her."
"Whether I care for her or not doesn't seem to matter" Michael admitted. "She's been obsessive with me since we met. I thought it was an act at first, but she truly does have some kind of crazed need to possess me. And with Mewtwo freed, there probably isn't anything stopping her from coming after me."
"I'll chase that glossy eyed freak out of here" Chris assured him. "That's my vow to you, Mike."
"It may come down to me needing to face her" Michael told the two of them. "If it does come to that, I want you two to promise me you will get everyone you can to the Spirit Gate and get them off of this island. And don't come back for me."
"What?" Piper gasped. "That's absurd. Of course we're coming back for you!"
"I'm asking you, Pipe" Michael pleaded. "If anything happens to you guys, I would never forgive myself. Just promise you'll get everyone out of here and-"
"No!" Chris growled. Now he could feel himself getting angry. Michael seemed to already be resigned to the fact that he might not leave the island with them. To remove himself from their lives completely. A notion that Chris was quite certain he could not bear to suffer through again. "Not going to happen!"
"You're not going to have a choice in the matter."
Chris did his best to restrain himself from punching his cousin right in his jaw. "I don't give a damn what you think. I will have a choice in the matter. And I will say it's not going to happen! What part of that don't you understand?"
"Why can't you-"
"NO!" Chris snarled, prompting Piper to jump back in shock. "You shut up and listen to me for once, Michael!" He wiped his face clear of his anger, finding it quickly fading into grief. "I don't care if Aunt Erin and Big Mike are your parents. You grew up with Cam and I. My Mom and Dad were your Mom and Dad. You are my brother! My best friend! I lost you once when we were kids and I vowed that when you came back that I wouldn't lose you again! So drop this stupid notion that anything is going to happen to you. Because I WILL NOT LET IT HAPPEN! GOT IT?!" Chris suddenly flung himself forward and hugged Michael the same way the two had when they were younger. Back when things were simpler. Chris could only manage to calm himself when Michael embraced him back and patted him on the back, feeling the tears falling out of his eyes. He eyed Piper and nodded to her and the trio joined in an embrace that Chris pleaded would last forever. Because the fear of losing both Cameron and Michael now gripped him the same way his protective nature of Piper did. None of them would be stuck on this island, or all of them would.
{Meanwhile}
Ryan woke up with a shiver down his spine. He looked at the skies above where he and Avery were lying down and could tell that something was wrong with the distinct lack of any genuine sunlight. While the clouds were certainly showing that they might start storming at any time, Ryan could tell that the clouds were much darker than they had any reason to be. While he could not be sure if it was morning or not where they were, he was completely sure he had gotten enough sleep throughout the night to know that it was time to get up. But what was going on? Something had changed, that's for sure. He looked down at his chest and saw that Shaymin had already sensed it and began to patrol around the area they were resting in. If Shaymin could sense something was up, then he knew his feelings were in tune.
He sat up and tried to ensure that what few memories he had retained were still with him. Let me see...where do I begin? My name is Ryan Kingston. My mother and father are...my mother and father are...UGH! NO! He could visualize both of them as if they stood in front of him, but their names had finally begun to leave him. His mother, kind and gentle whom he inherited most of his looks from. His father, dashing and strong, was certainly a prototypical a father as one could have. But their names were gone to him now. So too were the names of those closest to him. His friends and loved ones. He could vaguely remember everything up until his clash with Dawn and Lucas over their fears of them being abandoned on the Island. He remembered joining forces with Cameron to fend them off, but that the duo was felled by Darkrai. He remembered that he was helping Avery return to her family and save them. But beyond that...nothing. Why he was supposedly on the island to begin with, what the island he was on even was and even the people beyond the few he knew that he had come to the island with. He was sure Cameron had a brother, but he couldn't think of who he was or what he looked like. He remembered another woman, kind and absolutely beautiful, but that was basically it for him. Wasn't there some kind of hero leading the way too, or was that him? Did it matter?
The rest of it was gone. Like a brisk gust of wind. Nothing of his home town, his friends back home or even a fair chunk of his past before this moment he was currently in. Basically, his memories showed him little more than Avery. When he asked himself who the most important person in his world was, he got shown his blonde-haired close friend. When he wondered to himself why he was on this island, he got shown Avery. Ordinarily, he would have thought that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him and that Avery was in fact the key to everything. But some sliver of mental strength he possessed left was warning him that something was wrong. Not particularly with why he was thinking about Avery, but that he had lost as much memory as he had already. Losing memories of his mother and father, his siblings (if he had any), his friends and his home were positively jarring experiences for him to endure. And as far as he knew, he was enduring it alone.
Avery stirred in her sleep beside where he sat. It's not her fault she's gaining her memory back and I'm losing mine. But I wish I had something to cling onto besides her. I know I have them, but I can't help but feel so alone. Even just one memory. Or one person. or just anything.
And then, he got it. He knew one who might be able to help him get his memories. He reached onto his belt and took up the Poké Ball containing the last true hope he felt he had left of recovering his memories before it became too late. With one press of his index finger, Achilles appeared in front of him, though his Gallade appeared to also be suffering from memory loss as his eyes were squeezed shut and he seemed lost in thoughts. The recovery of his own memories was also going to be quite important for them if they hoped to accomplish anything else in life.
"Achilles?" Ryan asked. "What's wrong?"
I...I'm sorry, my friend. My mind is scattered across the plains of oblivion. He waved his arm as if to create some sort of telekinetic power, but sighed when hardly a spark came out of his gesture. My power is almost gone. I can feel myself regressing. As if I'm fading into nothingness. What does this all mean?
Ryan frowned. "I'm not sure. I was hoping you would know. I can barely remember anything."
I don't understand. My power is not supposed to be this weak. I thought I could recall being a strong Pokémon thanks to your training and other influences. But no. It seems my powers were greatly exaggerated. Though I do have a strange sense that I am missing out on something in life. Perhaps another climactic battle? No, I am not a firm believer in violence for it's own sake. The Gallade opened his eyes and looked up to his trainer. I am afraid, my friend. I do not know what to expect from this point on. If my powers are fading-
"I know" Ryan gently soothed his Pokémon. He put his hand on the Gallade's shoulders. "I don't want to put you in a situation you can't handle. If you're feeling your power is waning, maybe you should just keep resting and leave the rest of this up to the rest of the team?" Although he could not be sure if they too were succumbing to power decreases as well, he knew that Achilles was in no condition to be battling if he could not even muster the strength for one demonstration of his powers. "Trust me, Achilles. Your health matters more to me than your battling shape."
Achilles seemed to be placated. If that is the will of my friend, than so shall it be. If you will ask me to rest, I shall take you up on that offer. But please, Ryan. Be careful. This unknown feeling I am enduring is suspicious. I have a feeling our enemies will reveal themselves soon enough. With that, Ryan recalled his faithful Gallade before noticing that Avery was waking up from her own slumber. She seemed at first eager to almost break out into song about her happiness, but paused when she saw the distress on Ryan's face.
"Ryan? What's wrong?"
"I'm almost out of all my most important memories" he admitted. "I can't even remember much about my Mom and Dad."
Avery sighed. "We're running out of time. If we don't find Cresselia soon, you might have nothing up there soon." She began to rise and let Ryan pull her to her feet. To Ryan's confusion, she seemed to have lost that idea of joy she had had only a moment before. "Ryan. Please, just do everything you can to hold onto those last memories. I don't know what might happen if you run out of them."
"Why are you the sad one?" Ryan laughed nervously. "Aren't I the one who's running out of stuff to forget?"
"Because you've been doing so much for me" Avery continued, her eyes unable to meet his. "Because I feel terrible that you've lost all of this because of me. And because I feel guilty that I'm the reason why all of these things have been happening. If you had just stuck to your friends and the original plan for the island, you would have been okay."
"Come on, Avery" Ryan tried to soothe her. "You needed me."
"And now look what's become of you?" she cried out, close to weeping. "You have no idea how terrible I feel for what's been happening to you."
"I would not miss this for the world" Ryan assured her. "If my friend needs me, I will be there in a flash."
Avery turned her back to Ryan and held her hands close to her heart. "Oh, Ryan. No one deserves you for how kind you are. I am so thankful I have you in my life." She seemed to whisper something either to herself or to him, but Ryan shrugged it off. After another moment of silence, Avery turned around to face him. While her face was still showing deep signs of remorse and worry, she seemed to have resolved herself to whatever was on her mind. "I had a dream, Ryan. Hopefully it's prophetic one. I think I know where Cresselia is."
Shaymin hopped back over to the two of them and the Mythical Pokémon landed on Ryan's shoulders and chirped at him. Ryan gently pet his ally on the head before turning back to Avery. "Where would it be?"
"Do you remember that valley of thorns I mentioned before?" Avery asked. "Well, that was where it was. You and I ventured into the thorn bushes and when we came out in the end and there was some kind of mysterious building being protected by them." She gently grasped her left arm with her right hand and seemed to pale at the idea of following through with her vision. "It may be our only chance to find Cresselia. But at the same time-"
"Then we have to keep moving" Ryan proclaimed. "We'll find Cresselia and get our memories and the power to wake up your family."
Avery looked back at him and smiled faintly. "You seem very confident in us."
"Why wouldn't I be? This is the closest we've been to getting where we need to be. We have to take this chance, Avery." Shaymin again chirped at Ryan, prompting him to gently pet his Mythical Pokémon friend again. "Don't worry, Shaymin. We'll be moving soon enough." The Mythical Pokémon flew around the two of them, repeatedly yapping wildly as if to get their attention, but Ryan was more inclined to seek out this thorny gorge Avery had mentioned.
I'm going to get everything set right. Avery and her family, my memories, Lucas and Dawn will be woken up and any of the bad guys responsible for this will be stopped! And there isn't anything that's going to make me think otherwise. So come on, Darkrai! Just try to take us on, you monstrous freak!
{Meanwhile}
In what felt like the same time it would take for one to turn on the light in a room, Claude found himself being transported from the burning Parlor Town to just outside what Mewtwo had meant when he said was James's second home: the Pokémon League HQ just outside of Titanio City. Now dormant thanks to the Pokémon World Tournament and the removal of Daniel Kingston from the equation, this building was more than just a secondary home and main base of operations for those who had been recruited by Ryan Kingston to join in his Pokémon League. It was also said to house many important secrets for both the Kingston Family and Arcana in general. To acquire said answers, it would take both the kind of power Claude did not have to annihilate the defenses both Mark Lionel and Cameron had spent so much time building up, but also a hacker to break into the famed PLHQ Mainframe which was said to serve as a technical guardian for all of Arcana. Just what The Grand Master hoped to find there, Claude was unsure himself, but he would not step in the way of someone who had just fossilized both Warren Tenton and Daniel Kingston.
While the two awaited the arrival of Claude's business ally in the hacker known only as Johnson, the elder statesman nervously tried to keep out of the way of the increasing impatience of Mewtwo. The mighty Pokémon simply floated in the air behind him, his piercing eyes no doubt lowered directly on Claude himself. This so called friend of yours is taking quite a long time to get here, Claude. I trust he realizes the magnitude of what is needed to be done.
"I assure you, Grand Master" Claude responded curtly, "Johnson will get be here in a matter of moments. Perhaps we should focus on finding a way into the Headquarters instead of waiting for him to arrive first."
Mewtwo looked back towards the building itself and nodded. Perhaps you are correct. Your friend had better arrive by the time I am done. The Pokémon's eyes flashed the color of sapphire, prompting Claude to feel the ground shaking violently beneath him. He glanced back towards the building and noticed the very foundation around it quaking just from The Grand Master concentrating on it. If the most secured and sturdy building in Arcana was not safe from his power, was anything capable of resisting his awesome prowess?
"So that is The Grand Master?" a weaselly voice called from behind him. Claude turned and found himself face to face with an old friend: Johnson the Hacker. Claude was thoroughly disgusted by Johnson. He was nasally, bedraggled and had no sense of decorum or decency within him. He never wore suits, acted like the common street trash he sought to purge from Arcana and had no redeemable qualities about him, save for his intellect. Claude could respect that, which is why he did business with the hacker to hide all of his personal funds and enterprises from the prying eyes of Arcana law when he threw his lot in with the Syndicate. He had not only embezzled plenty of his personal capital away from those who would be likely to seize his assets, but he also had the ability to paralyze all of the world with just a few ingenious hacking methods he himself had engineered. Sometimes, it was important for the elite to tangle with the vermin of society. Unlike someone like Julia Pines, Claude could see use in someone of his stature involving himself with the rabble. Johnson was simply motivated by financial gain. And that was more than enough for Arcana's new overlord.
"Quite an intriguing Pokémon, isn't he?" Claude responded. "I suppose at this point he has transcended beyond the ordinary levels of Pokémon. He might as well be considered a god at this moment. No being in the known universe has the power to match him."
Johnson simply pushed up his thick glasses and snickered. "Who would have guessed a Pokémon was capable of such power?"
Claude was about to respond, when he and Johnson were flung to the ground when the entire wall of the Pokémon League HQ Building came down and Mewtwo hurled it directly into the seas in the distance. With his work done, Mewtwo turned towards the two men. You two are up. Access the vital computer mainframe that connects the entirety of Arcana. Your task will reveal itself to you, then.
"You won't be staying?" Claude asked in confusion.
I am needed elsewhere. To ensure another who has served me well is amply rewarded. Now, complete your tasks. I will return to Arcana shortly. Before anyone could say another word, Mewtwo had vanished into thin air.
"Don't you have the Poké Ball that thing was contained in?" Johnson asked. "Why wouldn't you demand he stay?"
"Only a fool would make demands he wasn't prepared to pay the consequences for" Claude sharply rejected. "The Grand Master is many things, but to consider him foolish would be a death sentence. I was promised overlordship for Arcana in exchange for my tasks being completed, which includes my need for you to complete your tasks."
"How much money are we syphoning?" Johnson asked, rubbing his hands greedily.
Claude shook his head. "Finances and accounting mean nothing to The Grand Master. Purging his enemies from the face of the earth is what matters. But to do so with force would not only be messy, but as Ryan Kingston pointed out, was not possible. The Kingstons are simply too strong and too lucky to face head on. In war, Johnson, you must break your enemy before you engage them. And we are going to do just that here. Thanks to the work of both of my oldest and dearest friends, Arcana is about to fall with one simply stroke of the keyboard."
"We're not talking money?" Johnson inquired, showing great disappointment. "Not gonna lie, this was how I was going to buy one of the Sevii Islands."
"Trust me, Johnson" Claude assured his ally, "once we are finished here, you will easily become one of the most powerful men in the world." He gestured for the weaselly hacker to follow him into the now torn apart Pokémon League HQ Building. Since the building was dormant for several days thanks to the World Tournament and Daniel Kingston's fossilization, most of the threat of outsiders trespassing within the building was long gone.
"Where is the central computer?" Johnson asked.
"In the basement" Claude gestured towards the elevator. The two men made their way over to the elevator, but the doors refused to open for them. Without waiting a second, Claude took one of Corey's ESD devices and placed it on the elevator doors, causing them to short circuit and open immediately. Once the two men strode into the elevators, they awaited the next security protocol.
"Voice Identification" an electronic voice called to the men in the elevator.
"What do we do now?" Johnson asked.
Claude simply reached into his pocket and pulled out a recording device and played back what was on there:
[This is James Kingston requesting a Manual Override of the League HQ's Security Systems.]
After a moment of waiting, they could feel the elevator begin to shift. "Welcome, Lord Kingston."
Claude rolled his eyes. "James might have been a good friend, but he was still a pompous fool." He then touched the device again to play more of the recording he had of his old friend:
[Access Code JVMMCJCW. Immediate Access to the Central Computer Room Required!]
The two men heard the elevator shift again and turn itself on with the help of James's access code. The lights suddenly activated in the elevator and illuminated the two men. The computer voice chimed in once more. "Please Provide Override Access Codes Alpha and Gamma."
Claude rolled his eyes. "Access Code JVMMCJCW Alpha! Access Code JBCB Gamma!"
Johnson eyed him as if he were speaking in some foreign language with his access codes. "What are those codes?"
"James Kingston was all about friends and family" Claude explained. "The first code was of the Grandchildren he had prior to Balthazar Aced's downfall. The second is the code of his four closest compatriots. Himself, myself, Bonnie and Balthazar. My old friend was too easily predictable. Had he kept the hard edge nature he had when he was first named Champion, he might still be alive to this day. But instead, his worthless family is here to pester us instead."
The elevator finally began to descend to the basement level and both Claude and Johnson simply stood in silence until the elevator stopped and opened in the Central Computer Room. Without waiting a second, Claude grabbed Johnson by the scruff of his shirt and loomed down over him. "Now, remember. You are to access only the systems I tell you to. No backdoor deals. Do as you are told and you will be amply rewarded. Fail and you will suffer The Grand Master's wrath."
Johnson wriggled out of Claude's grasp and nodded nervously. "You don't need to tell me twice. What systems am I accessing for you?"
Claude grinned a most wicked smile as he prepared to enact the Grand Master's will once more. "The Pokémon Storage Systems."