A/N:

It's definitely been awhile since I last updated. College right now has me very busy, so that would be the reason why. But I'm going to try to manage my time better so that hopefully I can avoid gaps between updates this large. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Soon after this, there will be an update to The Reaper, so for those of you who read my other story, be sure to be on the lookout for that.

Of course, thanks to Orthros for the proof reading services.

"…" - Spoken dialogue

Italics - Character thoughts

'Italics' - Telepathic dialogue

. . . . . - Time skip

/\/\/\ - Lemon Scene

Chapter 9

— — — — —

Liam

— — — — —

The lines stretched throughout the town, each and every face illuminated by the large torches aligning the road. There were more officers present than the lucario had ever seen in a single place. In just a few hours, the results would be known. All of their hard work would either have paid off… or the town would be in serious danger. Liam didn't regret the measures he had taken to ensure Treasure Town's survival for one moment, but he did wish that things hadn't come to this. But that wouldn't stop him from doing it all over again if he needed to.

After tonight it would all be over. One more day until they could resume their usual line of work - only this time, they would be one member down. But Tristan had been willing to accept what would become of his victory from the very beginning, and it hadn't swayed him in the slightest. Liam was just secretly glad that it wasn't him. His place was out in the field with Selina.

"I'm not liking the looks of these lines," a voice said from behind Liam. He already knew who it was from the moment he spoke.

"I'm sure they'll go quickly. There's three of 'em, after all," he replied.

"Sure hope so. I have other plans tonight," said Timothy. The noctowl had served as one of Liam's most important assets throughout the campaign, as he had relayed to the lucario just which individuals had been making unwelcome appearances. Had it not been for him, Liam wouldn't have been able to counter-bribe the opposition.

"The young ones again?"

"Yes. They've just about got it down, but it's taking longer than I expected…"

"I'm sure they'll get it soon. I'm not exactly a bird, but it seems like it's a lot harder than learning to walk…"

"One could say that." There was a momentary pause, to which Liam inspected the lines for what had to have been the tenth time. Many of the people present were individuals that he could count on as far as the votes were concerned. But the town had grown large enough to the point where there was no chance that Liam could memorize everyone's names. Most of the others present were complete strangers to him. "Are you feeling well about this whole thing?" the noctowl asked, albeit quietly so that only the lucario could hear.

"Yeah, I think so. I all but own a third of the town, so it's not like we didn't have a safety net of sorts. That and our history here…"

"If everything goes accordingly, it shouldn't even be close. Hoping that it does - that we can keep that monster out." Upon mentioning their opponent, Timothy looked around again to make sure no one was listening in. Even though the line was fairly lengthy, the person behind him was about seven feet away and was focused more on the banners to the side than on anything else. But he spoke in a whisper just to be sure. "Have you gotten everything in order?"

"For the crew?" Liam asked, receiving a nod in response. "Yeah. They're fired up and ready to go."

"Good to hear." The line had progressed enough to the point where the Liam was a few turns away from casting his own ballot. He had already seen what they looked like: the name Damian on the left, and Tristan on the right. There was an option to write in another candidate at the bottom, but those two were the only ones with a realistic chance of winning. Each person would walk into the tent they had lined up behind, and in front of an officer, would place their paw or hand into ink and stamp their candidate of choice.

Throughout the lines were also the other members of Retribution. All but Tristan. The two candidates were not allowed to be anywhere near the polls in order to prevent any sort of pressure being exerted upon the thousands of voters present. Not that they had seen Kraven over the course of the night anyways. Liam's attention shifted towards the situation at hand. Looks like I'm up…

— — — — —

Eleanor

— — — — —

Having been one of the first to cast her vote, the legendary kept watch of everything from the skies, hoping to ensure that everything went according to plan and without any more questionable actions. Arceus only knew how sick of those she was. The cresselia could hardly believe the measures that both Kraven and even Liam had taken to ensure the election had gone in their favor - all in the matter of a single month. And even though the lucario had finally provided some answers, she sincerely doubted he was telling the whole story. Odds were there were twenty more underhanded deals made for every one he had admitted to.

But I can understand… she thought to herself. Their enemy stood for everything that Retribution hated: selfishness, cruelty, and a clear lack of any morals whatsoever. Liam had simply done what he had felt was the lesser of the two evils; rather than sitting back and allowing Kraven to advance, he had undermined him every step of the way, using both his position in the town and his sheer wealth to do so. But she felt sorry for Tristan. The luxray would never be allowed to know that had it not been for all those crooked deals made on behalf of his leader, he would not be holding his own. And she was proud of him for all the progress that he had made, but it still didn't change the fact that he would easily be losing if Liam had not intervened like he had. I swear… you better never tell him a thing. It would crush his very soul… Silence would be the least Liam could offer to make up for all this trickery.

The coolness of the night breeze brought her out of her negative thoughts. With how high up she was, everyone looked to be the size of insects, and the entire town encompassed her vision. Still she was able to recognize the group below. Liam, Selina, and Flora were all off to the side, waiting on the others to finish. The male lucario had taken a seat against one of the town's numerous totems, with Selina reclined back right beside him. Silly girl. If you don't get it by now, I doubt you ever will…

But perhaps that was also what made Selina the chosen one to access the Hidden Land. It wasn't the cresselia herself - it wasn't Liam - it was her. Selina may have been a tad bit on the naive side, but her heart was more pure than anyone else the legendary had met in all her years. Never give that up, dear, Eleanor thought to herself. Even despite her occupation with Liam as one of the most accomplished bounty hunters in the continent, the umbreon was simply pure of heart. Hopefully she would continue to remain that way.

And as much trouble as he had been lately, Liam had the best intentions too. Once everything was said and done, then they could put all of this behind them. But until the last vote had been counted, Retribution would have to remain alert. And when their opportunity came, Eleanor was certain that they would need to deal with Kraven. Little did she know how soon that opportunity would be.

— — — — —

Tristan

— — — — —

The luxray watched the slow but steady process from a distance. The majority of the people in line had not yet cast their votes, meaning this whole thing could still take hours. The constant pressure in his chest weighed down on him as he paced back and forth. Flora tried in vain to get him to calm down, but the truth was that he was terrified. The future of this town was riding on his success.

"Tristan," the shaymin said, "look here." He glanced in her direction. "It's going to be okay. All of the people I saw around me chose you. You've been backed by the most respected team in the continent, and you're local. What do you have to worry about?"

"There's still a chance, Flora," Tristan spoke up. "I messed up that first time, and he drove me into the dirt."

"But that was then. You more than held your own in the other two debates. I doubt he'll even come close to stopping you." He appreciated her encouraging words, but it still didn't shake that horrible feeling in his gut that something was about to go wrong. Tristan had taken all the preparations, he had studied all the policies, and he had made himself far more public than he would ever have dreamed of before. But that one question still loomed over his head. Will it all be for nothing?

If that were the case, then Retribution would have to resort to Plan B - something that they were desperately hoping to avoid. Liam had mentioned it a few times but had not dwelt on the topic, instead shifting his and the others' focus on what they could do to secure control over the town this time around. But if the worst case scenario came true… then Retribution was ready to do what they needed to to keep the town from being exploited and destroyed. He just hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that. There was no doubt in his mind that it wouldn't go over well with the residents of Treasure Town if they forced out a fairly elected official. Then again, he sincerely doubted anything along this process had been fair on their opponent's side - not with his past.

Eleanor glided towards them from the sky, catching both of their attention. He had figured that the cresselia's shift would just about be up by now, to which Flora would replace her in keeping watch over the events below. "You're up," the legendary said to Flora.

"Alright. You try not to worry so much, alright Tristan? We've got this." He nodded, receiving a heartfelt smile from her in response. She took off, leaving him with the psychic-type.

"I've never seen her not be optimistic," Tristan muttered, "no matter what's going on. It can be reckless…"

"Maybe," Eleanor stated, "but it can also be a great benefit to one's own state of mind. I think you would do well for yourself by being a little more so."

"Probably. But I prefer to remain cautious."

"Well I guess that's some of Liam rubbing off on you," Eleanor said. "He's like that. It's how his mind seems to be programed to work. I want him to change, but it doesn't seem like he ever will. You on the other hand… you've just started acting like this - ever since the election started. It will be okay Tristan - you have to believe that."

"I want to believe that," he said, "I swear it. But until that scum has taken his rightful place on the chopping block I refuse to drop my guard."

"I'm not saying to be unrealistic," Eleanor countered. "There absolutely is a chance that he could win. All I'm saying is that you have to have more faith in your friends, but more importantly, in yourself. The others may have helped you on the campaign, but you did this. These people aren't lined up to vote for Liam or me or anyone else. They're here because you resonated with them. Why can't you see the value in your hard work?"

"It… doesn't feel like I did all that much. We all made the policies together, and you helped me review them. Flora made all the propaganda, and Liam secured probably half of my votes with his connections…"

"Maybe so, But it was you that stood up in front of everyone and spoke. And you seem to think that just because you have a team that supports you, that undermines what you yourself have brought to the table. Nobody can do it all on their own - that's why Retribution even exists in the first place. But it still requires a leader, and that's what you've become."

"I just hope that I can be the leader the town needs me to be," he replied.

"Well we will always be right here to support you if you need it. You're never alone. Always remember that."

"You know, you're quite the motivational speaker," Tristan joked, despite his predicament. "Why didn't you run?"

"Being the Advisor is not my place. I'm here to rid the world of darkness - that is my purpose." She looked out over the town, the event having reached its third hour. And still the line stretched across the road and out of sight. Eleanor motioned towards the crowd. "But you are here to protect and take care of them. That is your mission."

"Hope I was the right choice then… I can't afford not to be."

"I know you were," she stated. "You just make sure to be the person that you always have been. That's what this town needs." The cresselia sighed. "All those years I was pursuing Darkrai… I got to know him. He wanted a world of darkness, and he was even willing to destroy both the fabrics of time and space to obtain it. He didn't care what kind of misery he would bring on others, or what would become of the planet. As long as he got to rule, Darkrai would have been satisfied." She paused, shaking her head. "It's no different now. Kraven is the exact same in nature. I only pray that we stop him before he gets as close as Darkrai did."

"And if he does? You made your resolution back then - you were willing to do what it took. Are you able to now?" Tristan asked. "That is… if he wins…"

"I… hope not to. I don't want to take the law into my own hands. Liam has said that he will if need be… and I don't like that idea. But if it comes down to it… I will help him. We have to stop him."

"Why do you want to avoid it? He's absolutely despicable. He's a murdering thief that preys upon the innocent."

"Yes… but he is a person, and he is someone's child. Even as he is, Arceus loves him just as much as he does me and you. We need to love even those who are cruel - especially those types of people."

"Maybe. But he can't escape the consequences of what he's done," Tristan replied. "Even if society won't uphold the law."

"That is true. But that does not mean we should seek vengeance. We will fight for what's right, but we will do only what is necessary and nothing more. If you seek to destroy monsters, then you best make sure that you don't become one yourself. Back then… I dreaded with every passing hour what I would need to do in order to stop Darkrai. But I never hated him, despite his sheer evilness. Somewhere deep down there was a person - a scared one at that. I'm sure you would be more sympathetic towards Kraven if you knew more about him. Maybe if things had gone differently over the courses of our lives, any of us could have been in his place."

"But we aren't, and he needs to be taken care of…"

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to show a little compassion. Wouldn't you agree?" He rolled his eyes, but ended up flashing a slight grin.

"Oh, alright. You win. Are you happy now?"

"Elated," she replied with a laugh.

— — — — —

Selina

— — — — —

Finally the end of the lines were in sight, though it might take another hour for those unfortunate individuals. The umbreon was admittedly shocked by how many people had turned out; it had to have been at least three quarters of the town's population - a town whose population was around ten thousand. But then again, the concept of an election was such a new idea to everyone here, so nearly everyone was interested in participating. She actually liked the idea of playing a part in selecting the leader, though she had a few qualms with the way in which they had voted…

Selina had all but dug a small trench in the ground in an effort to remove the long-dried ink from her paw. Not that it was too noticeable, given her color, but it was still a bother. She didn't like anything on her paws. Oh well… she thought. Guess I'll just have to wait until I bathe tonight…

It was already very late at night, as evident by the gentle snoring to her left. There was no way that they could leave Marvin alone over the course of the entire day. Lapras had a life too, and wasn't their adoptive child's babysitter. As such, he had tagged along with them and was currently sleeping on Liam's lap. It always humored her to see someone such as him - a person so able to unleash such violence - acting as calm and fatherly as he was.

"Great," Liam murmured.

"What?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah…"

"What?" The umbreon looked out over the dwindling crowd, but wasn't seeing any negative signs.

"My legs fell asleep…" Ugh.

"Oh no, whatever will we do?" she asked teasingly. "Will the big mean bounty hunter ever be okay?"

"Nope," he stated. "After all this, to be taken out by a child…"

"Tragic." But despite their joking tone, the look of affection for the young manaphy was clear as day on the lucario's face.

"It's weird… A former human, and here I am with an adoptive child that isn't even my own species…"

"At the end of the day… what difference does it make?" asked Selina. "You love him just like I do, right?"

"With everything in me."

"Then leave it at that. Human or not - that shouldn't matter, right?"

"No, it doesn't."

"Good. Not to change the subject or anything…"

"But you're totally going to," Liam added.

"How much longer do we need to be out here?" the dark-type asked. While the voting had not yet concluded, the umbreon couldn't figure out for the life of her why Liam had insisted that they remain here for such a long period of time. The two of them had been stationed here nearly the entire event, and she was ready to go home.

"Until the last person leaves," Liam stated.

"Ugh," she said, shooting him an annoyed glare. "Why?"

"To watch for any signs of tampering."

"With all those police around? Please, let someone try to do anything. I doubt that'd go well."

"Oh it wouldn't. But I wouldn't be surprised if Kraven had tried something at the last minute. Can't be too prepared - not when the whole town is at stake."

"I guess so," she replied.

"On the bright side, we won't ever have to do this again, so that's a plus." She certainly hoped that was the case. This entire process had been nothing short of draining as the entire team contributed all of their time towards it. But from what it looked like, their efforts had definitely paid off. Nearly every business that was sporting any sort of political banner had Tristan's colors.

"Hope so. I'm worn out," she said. They had all been up since very early in the morning in order to take care of all last minute preparations for the election. And though her species was naturally nocturnal, Selina had always abided by the same sleeping schedule as her teammates.

"Tell ya what, you go ahead and head home. I doubt the both of us really need to be out here," Liam said. "Just do me a favor and take him back with you." She wasn't about to argue with that as a yawn threatened to force its way out.

"Alright." She slowly got on her feet and positioned herself so that Liam could easily put Marvin on her back. After he had done so, he immediately stretched out his legs in relief. "I'll see you in the morning Liam."

"Goodnight, Selina," he said with a smile.

— — — — —

Brenton

— — — — —

The breloom had lifted the final satchel full of ballots into the back of the wooden cart, relieved that the task was now finished. There still was a way to go with the others until they reached the station, where all of the votes would be carefully counted.

Brenton had been on the force for about two years now. It hadn't been his first choice in terms of a job, but it covered the costs of living. The grass-type had honestly been looking for a more relaxed job, but until that opportunity came along, he'd need to stay put. Though the force had originally consisted of members of the magnemite line, a great deal of other species had joined them over time. One of which was Brenton's friend Pierce, an absol that had joined shortly after him. Right now, the dark-type wasn't exactly thrilled, being the one pulling the cart. Not like he's ever happy, anyways…

With only four hours until sunrise, the officers would need to work quickly to count all of the ballots, which easily exceeded six or seven thousand. Nobody involved was looking forward to that part. Magnezone would be watching everything to ensure that the process went accordingly.

"Fuck this," Pierce said as he came to a halt, gasping heavily. "I didn't sign up to be their fucking pack mule…"

"At ease," Hawthorne, one of the magnemites, said. "We do not have much further." Truth be told, Brenton could understand where Pierce's frustration had come from. The absol hadn't exactly been treated fairly ever since he'd joined the force - a fact that he had definitely made well understood. But nothing seemed to be done about the unjust treatment that Pierce had faced. Even after all this time he was generally left to do the heavy lifting. Brenton felt sorry for him. Yet the breloom couldn't help but feel even more so for Tristan. But the money was hard to turn down, and if they didn't do it, then someone else likely would have.

Once they had approached the station, Pierce freed himself of the constraints of the cart. The two magnemites went forward to unlock the gate, giving them about twenty seconds to do what they needed to do. It would have to be enough. Brenton hurriedly hopped on top of the cart and tossed the bags silently off into the brush, where Pierce had already nudged the three new satchels - identical in appearance - towards his partner. The officer wasted no time in scooping them up and heading back. I'm sorry… he thought to himself as he gently set the bags onto the cart.

Brenton took his spot from before as if nothing had happened. The gate now being open, the two magnemites levitated back towards the cart. "Where is Pierce?" Hawthorne asked. Brenton confusedly looked around, not seeing his friend anywhere.

"Over there!" the other magnemite stated in alarm. Brenton turned around, finding the absol to be right where he had swapped the bags. But he was unconscious. What the… Immediately both of the electric-types created the sharp screeching sound that they used as a form of alarm, signaling the other nearby officers to come. He got in his fighting stance as they all drew closer to investigate. Blood was training down the absol's face, originating from his busted lip. His heart feeling like it was about to leap from his chest, Brenton heard the faint yet rapid sound of light footsteps behind him.

He spun around only to receive an open-palmed strike to the face. As he stepped back, a harsh kick had been launched by the aggressor into the back of his knee, causing for him to lose his footing and land on his back. As the taste of blood filled his mouth, the rest of the fight looked like a blur. The bolts of electricity did not land on their foe, who flipped over each of the wicked strikes and launched a fierce blast from each paw. He tried to stumble to his feet, but he was again too late. An iron thorn was pressed harshly into his throat, and the fear flooded through every fiber of his being. The other officers, having heard the loud noise, had rushed out of the station and surrounded the perpetrator.

"Unless you want his throat slit, I suggest you stay the hell back!" she shouted.

"What is the meaning of this?!" shouted Magnezone. The sheriff almost never displayed aggression on such a level, but the sight of his officer before him on his knees had easily pushed him over the edge.

"You tell me! Your officers just swapped the bags!" she stated. Magnezone made eye contact with the horrified breloom, then looked back at her.

"Do you have any proof of this?"

"Other than the fact that I just watched it happen? Yeah. The other three are right over there." The sheriff motioned for a couple of officers to go check the designated spot, and the breloom found himself immensely regretting agreeing to this action in the first place.

"She's right," one of the magnetons stated.

"How do I know you haven't planned this?" Magnezone asked. "That you didn't bring those bags yourself. You have a vested interest in winning, with your partner being one of the two major candidates."

"Well obviously someone here forged a lot of votes. I thought there might be some sort of interference, so I planned ahead. I marked the top corner of my ballot." Brenton's final hope of getting out of this with his job had just gone to hell.

Magnezone had the police pull out the unconscious absol, as well as the three bags. "There is a change of plans," the sheriff simply stated. "We are going to investigate every single ballot in each bag. If she's right… the two of you are going to pay…"

— — — — —

Liam

— — — — —

The commotion throughout the town had become more than a little bothersome to the lucario as he sought to get this over with. Nothing was open - no shops or restaurants. Everyone was present for what would likely be a two minute announcement. Yet despite the brief nature of this event, nobody could deny the importance of it for the future of the town. The two candidates stood on opposing sides of the stage, not making much eye contact with one another as they too awaited the news. Tristan tried to hide it, but it was pretty evident to anyone that knew him that the luxray had not slept much the previous night.

Eventually the police arrived, and the crowd fell silent. All that the team had worked for over this past month simply had to have paid off. If not… then Liam was ready for their alternative plan: to take through force what they had failed to gain democratically. Such a move would strike a massive blow to his reputation, but he'd be able to live with that. After all, if the town knew exactly who this person was before them, then they'd be ashamed of the fact that he'd even gotten this far in the electoral process. But they were about to learn.

"I appreciate everyone's patience and cooperation these past few weeks," Magnezone started. "This event was completely unexpected, but it was a necessary process following the passing of the former Advisor. This election was very experimental in nature, but the citizens of Treasure Town have reacted to it very well. We over at the force are very grateful for the civility and maturity that all of you have shown despite the controversial nature of this occasion." The mechanical creature's eyes gazed out amongst the inhabitants of the town, and then back towards the two candidates. "I do not feel like dragging this out any longer than absolutely necessary. I figure that all of you have had your fill of lengthy speeches." That gained a light chuckle from the crowd.

"But before I announce the new Advisor, I want to ask each of you a single question." The two candidates remained focus on the sheriff, each apprehending the following moments. "Tristan, Damian… will you be willing to accept the results of this election, and will you each uphold justice so as long as you hold the position?" The question took Liam by surprise; neither of them could answer 'no' to that question and expect to be seen positively by the public. And if Tristan agreed to that proposition and they lost… then not only the luxray, but also the entire team, would be seen as hypocritical for doing what they were about to do.

"I do," Kraven stated.

"Yeah," Tristan said, as Liam's mind began to swarm with what-ifs, "me too." There's no backing out now. We will do what we have to do…

"Good," the magnezone stated. "Now I believe it's time." Liam looked at Selina and Eleanor, receiving a nod of confirmation from the legendary. One of the officers - a flygon - made his way from the others from the side of the crowd towards the center of the town square. He handed the sheriff a small, folded-up piece of paper, before returning to his place. As he did, the male lucario noticed that Rachel was standing among them. What the hell is she doing over there? But he would have to inquire about that later; the crowd was silent as everyone awaited the news.

"The new Advisor," Magnezone stated, "having earned sixty-three percent of the popular vote… is Tristan."

"Yes!" Liam yelled as the crowd broke out into applause. The luxray on stage looked as though he were about to break out into tears of joy, and his beaming expression was well-earned. Selina hugged him tightly.

"This is amazing!" she said, overcome by joy. "We did it!" Liam returned the gesture, and among the celebration, started to shift his focus to his final objective.

"Yeah… but this isn't over yet…" he stated. Kraven remained on stage, maintaining a professional appearance and even going so far as to congratulate Tristan on his victory. All for show.

"Oh… yeah…" the umbreon said.

"I will leave you and your allies to take care of that part," Eleanor stated. "But do only what is necessary and not a thing more. We are better than him." The fighting-type nodded, and began to head out of the crowd. Rachel must have seen, as she was at his side before long.

"What were you doing with the officers?" he asked loudly over the thunderous masses.

"Kraven tried to steal the election last night." Liam looked at her in shock.

"Just in one night? How?"

"He paid some crooked cops to falsify a hell of a lot of ballots. I caught them in the act." He shook his head; that had been far too close. Though he had remained vigilant this past month, this time he had been caught with his guard down.

"Thanks. I owe you one." Just to think that after all of this work, one simple action like that would have rendered it all useless. "How did the force react?"

"They were pretty pissed. We have their support in the matter. But they couldn't flat out arrest him in front of everyone like that. It wouldn't look good."

"Guess that explains why Magnezone was acting like nothing was wrong. So then I assume the cops are staying out of it?"

"They know you've got things under control. We just need to get to Kraven before he tries to flee out of town," Rachel said.

"He's being watched at all times. Their telepath will inform me of his next whereabouts. He's not going anywhere."

"Good," the female lucario said. "It's about time he faces justice for his crimes."

"Yeah," Liam said as stopped on the side of the road. He knelt down by the out-of-place bush and reached inside, grabbing the hidden item. His sash. He buckled it around his waist, and immediately felt the power of the Space Globe flowing throughout him. "We're putting an end to this now."

"Will you need help?" she asked.

"No. It's looking like it'll be four on two. Maybe three. They don't stand a chance. You join the others in celebration. You've earned it for all that you've done."

"Well… alright then. You be careful, okay?" He nodded.

"It's not my health that you'll have to worry about."

Soon after the two of them had parted ways, the signal had come. Liam heard the voice as clear as day, and he broke out into a run towards the specified area.

— — — — —

General

— — — — —

"What a waste of time and money," Kraven murmured. "The whole fucking thing goes to hell, and I can't rely on one person aside from you."

"We'll worry about that later sir. Right now we need to leave. You take flight and we'll meet up where we said we would." Juggernaut tried to ignore the loudness of the town in the peak of its excitement, but it was a troubling task. "I think we should just count this one among our losses. You can't win them all."

"I wanted this one. I wanted it badly," Kraven murmured. "Much more than that pathetic Retribution puppet. But you're right. We can't waste any more time here. If those two failed, then they may be onto me." The honchkrow took position, ready to escape the site of one of his largest failures yet. But it had been a good learning experience; he needed to be far more hands on in his future endeavors. "I know I pay you a shit ton, but thanks for always being there."

"Not a problem. Now it's best that you get going before—."

"Before you're caught?" Liam stated from behind them. The two criminals squared off against the lucario, who didn't seem to be following suit. Rather, he was very calm and collected, despite being in the presence of two of the most powerful outlaws in the continent. "Nice to see you again, Juggernaut. I get the pleasure of seeing you put away once more."

"You stand no chance of catching him," the rhydon snarled. "And you'll have to go through me first, anyways."

"Wasn't a problem last time. Took me all of three seconds."

"That's all the time we need." Juggernaut looked at Kraven. "Get outta here! Now!" Without warning, the honchkrow propelled himself into the sky. But soon another creature joined him in the air, having remained hidden until the perfect moment. From the orange blur came a scorching blast, and the second it contacted the dark-type, his wings collapsed to his side, causing him to spiral back towards the earth.

Liam ran towards the site of the impact, ducking under a rushed strike from the rhydon. "I'll kill you all for that!" He shouted as he stampeded towards the lucario. He was caught off guard by the brutal front-kick to his unguarded side. He groaned as he rolled over, clutching his aching ribs as the tyranitar began to come closer. He hurriedly staggered back onto his feet, trying to get himself back into the fight. But as strong as the rhydon was, he was completely outmatched against his larger, more experienced foe.

"Don't make me hit you again. Give up before I break you." Juggernaut, ignoring his injured side, charged at his larger opponent, launching a powerful hammer-arm attack. Tyranitar stumbled back as the strike landed in his midsection, but regained his composure nearly as quickly as he had lost it. "Fine…" Tyranitar grunted, "have it your way!" The rhydon followed up immediately, only to find his arm caught before it could land on the larger foe's face. A swift and violent movement, and wicked crack sounded. Juggernaut yelled out in pain as he clutched his snapped forearm.

As Tyranitar subdued the criminal, Liam had begun to close the distance between himself and Kraven, both his paws flaring with aura. "You thought you could get away with it all, didn't you?" he asked the honchkrow. "That you would just march in here and take over, after all you've done…" Charizard landed next to the former human, intent on providing support, but the lucario shook his head. "No… I want to be the one. After what he tried to do to my home… to my friends…"

"Don't overstep your bounds, Liam," Charizard stated, "his sentence is to be carried out back at our continent. Not by you." Nevertheless, the dragon held off.

"That's not going to happen," Kraven stated. "You'll have to kill me if you want to take me back!"

"No," Liam said, "but you're about to wish you were dead." He extended his paw, and before Kraven could take any measures to avoid the attack, the lucario hurled a brutal aura sphere towards him. The criminal was sent rolling, a sight which Liam relished greatly as he ran forth. As Kraven attempted to pick himself up, he was once again at the mercy of Liam's sheer speed. The dark-type's world was turned upside down, and his vision blurred as a result of the swift kick delivered to his head. The taste of blood filling his mouth, Kraven had long since begun to panic. His past actions had caught up with him, and this time, there was no way out.

"Your life of crime has come to an end," Liam stated to the fallen enemy. "I hope the last thing that goes through your mind is all the pain and misery that you've caused others."

"F…fuck… you…" Kraven said, a sickening gurgle coming from his throat.

"You're just lucky that Team ACT has orders for your arrest. If you came from this region, you'd have a kill on sight bounty placed on your head." The lucario planted his foot on Kraven's back, then knelt down and grabbed each of his dark, dirt-covered wings. Liam violently pulled his arms up, snapping both joints clean out of socket. The sounds of his victim's screams were drowned out by him, though, as he stood up and passed off control of the situation to Team ACT.

"Was that really necessary?" Charizard asked.

"He won't be flying away. That makes your job easier."

"We have a fucking cage."

"Oh. Should've mentioned that before."

"You never asked," the fire-type stated in annoyance. But nevertheless, he fulfilled the business end of the bargain. "Here's the bounty for your part in bringing him in." Charizard held a large bag in his extended claws, which Liam took. It would cover nearly half of the expenses that he had gone through to ensure Tristan's victory - a massive sum of cash for the capturing of an outlaw of this caliber. But the money came second to seeing the criminal broken and subdued before him. He would have done that for free any day.

"Alright. I'll leave the rest to your team. All I ask is that you send me word when it's done," Liam stated. He looked back over towards Kraven, knowing fully that this would be the last time he - or anyone else from Treasure Town, for that matter - would ever lay eyes on the honchkrow.

"Fine." The charizard slowly started towards Kraven's heavily breathing form, showing no signs of aggression. There wasn't any need for it at this point. The final member of Team ACT had made his presence known, with a swarm of unfamiliar police officers. Whatever Kraven had done in other lands, it had definitely been significant to warrant such a force. Among the protectors was a set of metal cages.

"It took us six years to find you," Alakazam stated, "but it looks like our little chase has come to an end." The psychic joined his teammate in front of the criminal, looking down upon him with nothing short of disdain. "For someone of your intellect, I would never have expected you to try and live life as a public figure. But perhaps your plan was to hide in plain sight." Charizard carefully lifted the bleeding figure and walked through the crowd, the police parting to make way towards the cage.

His work being done, Liam started off, that former sense of dread now having subsided. Everything was now as it should be. The lucario had to divert his path around the rhydon, who had managed to take an even worse beating than Kraven. Blood was everywhere, but it had been by the criminal's own choice. Liam looked over towards Tyranitar, who looked completely unapologetic. As he should.

He left the chaotic scene behind him. Though Treasure Town had narrowly avoided a catastrophe, it was time for everyone to move on. And move on they would. With Kraven out of the picture, Liam looked forward to everything that would be accomplished. Retribution would be able to assume its regular duties, and Tristan would begin his role as the new Advisor. And now the lucario could rest easy, knowing that those horrid visions would never come to pass. The future had been changed forever.

Of course, that left him to uphold his promise. He'd ensured Eleanor that he would come forward to the town, now that the so-called "Damian" had been arrested. Truth be told, Liam wasn't really looking forward to that part, but he knew what to tell and what to leave unspoken. Tristan could never know that the debates had been rigged, and word would never hit the luxray's ears. Liam had only made arrangements with people that he knew he could trust, and as a result he wasn't worried about them speaking out about the pre-planned questions. But he would be bringing up Kraven's past history and the opponent's attempts at bribing voters, as well as what had become of him.

And yet he'd have to be careful about how he disclosed that information as well. He didn't want to shift blame solely towards the dark-types, even though that particular group had been the majority of those that the criminal had bribed. But given who he was, Liam was confident that everyone would understand - and likely show great appreciation for what he had done. His actions had not been influenced by greed, or a desire for control; he personally had little to gain from Tristan's victory aside from peace of mind. The lucario's daily life would be the same as it had been these past years, and he would pay the exact same percentage into the Guild.

As he entered into the outskirts of town once again, he stopped in front of the four-way intersection. Propaganda for the two major candidates - and that of many of the smaller, more obsolete ones - still was stationed everywhere. He stood in front of the large black and red feather on one of the larger banners. He disliked the very sight of it, but it would make for a nice keepsake of this whole endeavor. And Arceus only knew how many spare banners for their own side were sitting within Liam and Selina's house at the time…

He took the supporting pole from the ground and carefully removed the banner from it. Folding it up, Liam tucked it underneath his arm and headed back towards the others, his thoughts being those of the uncertain, but undoubtedly positive, future that was in store for Treasure Town.