Hey everyone! Welcome back to the story, this is Chapter 34 of the Chosen One's Wrath. If you're new, please follow and favorite if you enjoy it! Sorry again for another later-than-usual upload, but real life has unfortunately struck me down quite a bit. As I'm typing this, well, let's just say there's not a lot of time left before the one-month time limit hits. In any case, I hope this doesn't take me too long to type, but as I usually struggle with time, I suppose most of my upcoming chapters will suffer the same fate of delays.
But enough delaying, let's get into it. Thank you to everyone who's shown their support as of late, it's for you that I type in the first place! Let's get started!
LegionZ Presents… The Chosen One's Wrath… Chapter 34
Last Chapter…
Said leader shook his head, signaling that Abel was still wrong about one thing. "No, I said he lost his life… but… contrary to what everyone believed that day…" Ghost took a seat next to Abel once more.
"The man once known as Ash Ketchum is still alive."
Abel's reaction was a choked gasp mixed with a startled jump in his bed. The boy was looking at Ghost for any shred of joking manner within his eyes or on his face. He saw neither. It was all business for the champion, who looked to be nothing short of dead serious. "You… Y-You can't be suggesting that Ash Ketchum is still out there?"
"Oh, he is. He's alive. But, as I said, he lost his life." Ghost nodded seriously. "The world believed him to be dead. His so-called friends believed him to be dead. And thus, because of this, Ash Ketchum had to become dead. When Ash Ketchum fell, a new name rose. A new era began under a new name. That person swore to use his second chance to rise to glory, to lead his people to glory, and to get revenge on those who betrayed him."
Abel said nothing as Ghost stood up and walked to the door slowly, shoes gently clamoring against the floor. "W-Wait? That's it? Ghost!"
"Oh… by the way…" Ghost opened the door and turned back to him, a small grin on his face. "Don't call me Ghost anymore, little brother." Abel's eyes bugged out at that, knowing very well what that meant.
"Call me Ash."
A few seconds droned on before Axel got a screen to appear. The leader of Alola got a glimpse of the photo and frowned. It was a picture of a woman on her toes and hunkered down close to the ground. She was wearing a mostly black uniform of sorts, but her face was blocked. "Who is she? Where is this taken, and why is it impossible to get a clean look of this picture?"
The blonde boy explained. "This was taken directly outside the east corridor of the league a few days ago. That's when we had a massive storm, and the storm temporarily took off the power of the entire league. It's why the quality of this picture is bad."
"Hoping you have good news then?" Ash spoke expectantly.
Axel clicked the 'next' arrow key on the computer and began to scroll through pictures. "Bail gave this to us while you were in your meeting with the leaders. They'd just been able to collect all the pictures from this, and we matched the location outside. It's undoubtedly real."
"But who is it?"
The electric specialist clicked one final button that turned the picture again to a clear photo. This time, Ash could clearly see the person's face. He paled profusely when he immediately recognized the girl. "W-Wha… I-I don't…"
"You always trust your gut Ash; it seems that it wasn't wrong."
Ash stared at the picture, which clearly showed a pink-haired girl staring away at something as she continued her work. Despite the black outfit, she was clearly attractive. Ash muttered softly, "Malva." Sure enough, the picture indeed showed the missing elite of Kalos. It took a few more seconds to settle in, but then Ash recalled a statement that had been spoken from the beginning of their conversation.
Max snorted. "Of course I can. I'll make him pay for picking me out in front of all those people during that party. He's going to wish he was never born!"
A voice cut in from their little tirade. It was Iris. "Oh my god!"
Cilan's voice was heard next. "W-What… G-Good heavens…"
The voices continued until the two females and singular male made their way into the common room where the television was located. The Unova duo had similar looks that seemed to mimic utter terror. It was the main ALT City news channel that was on. The other three took in the headline of the television and gradually, one by one, they each paled and felt their hearts drop into the pits of their stomach.
On the screen, a squadron of Pokémon and officers dressed in blue were seen escorting a young blonde woman out of what was almost certainly her house. She had tears streaming down her face, and a woman with short, brown hair was sobbing at the home's entrance. The woman was presumably her mother. The group of five recognized the girl immediately, as well as the woman behind her. The headline of the news channel was clear as day:
"Serena Yvonne, Pokémon performer, Coordinator and Poke-Puff specialist taken into custody for murder of former Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum."
Max could hear his heart pounding in his ears, as though time was slowly down entirely. He could barely make out the other people of the group around him exclaiming in disbelief or letting out frantic whispers of terror at what they'd just learned. Max wasn't sure how long he'd stared at the screen, but the reality of the situation was still settling in. Ghost had said he was there that day. He claimed to have proof. It was undoubtedly Serena that was shown in that video. It was undoubtedly Mrs. Yvonne, Serena's mother, in the video. The outfits of the police officers even matched that of Kalos.
It was as though the young boy had been doused profusely with a bucket of ice water.
'Ghost wasn't bluffing.'
Present…
"You don't scare me, Ghost." The woman smirked at him arrogantly, as if daring him to try and break her.
"We know it was you. What we don't get is how you came to be here in the first place." The man spoke critically, frowning as he took in the woman's lack of emotions.
"I already told you."
"And I told you, I don't believe you."
An exasperated sigh escaped the woman's lips. "You won't take my word for it, and it's the truth. I don't know what else you want me to say."
"The. Truth."
(24 Hours Prior…)
Outside the Alola Battle Stadium, fans were whooping and cheering at the tops of their lungs; in just two days' time, they would be witness to the first semi-finals match of the tournament, which would finally be a six-on-six. Their beloved champion would face off against an underdog of the ages in Max Maple, the brother of the girl their champion was dating. The news stations would be hyping this match up for as much as they could possibly afford given the current situation. It also spiced up the battle given the skirmish at TPS weeks prior, where Ghost flattened Maple with ease.
Now, Ghost was out to do it again, while Maple seemingly bumbled his way into a top spot in the tournament. Of course, nobody had put two-and-two together, yet that Max wouldn't be winning the tournament in any case. Nobody was expected to, obviously. But from Ghost's perspective, he could not reveal anything he knew about Max's betrayal… yet. Not until he was thoroughly crushed and disposed of on the battlefield.
He could leave no doubt that he himself, the Ghost of Alola, was the most powerful trainer in the world. Ghost devoted his time into three sections these days: A third training for the tournament and for all contingency plans, a third of his time for stopping Flare and assisting/leading his league, and finally, a third of his time for May and Abel.
A month ago, saying to himself that he would befriend Abel Winchine enough to the point that he was a consistent factor in his everyday life sounded nothing short of Ludacris. After all, he'd beaten some of the best trainers Ghost knew. The boy was young… but far from a pushover on the battlefield. In fact, Ghost would've wagered Abel stood a chance to upend some of the champions of the world if the youngster put his mind and soul into it. He was certainly a better trainer than Diantha.
But now, in the present, he and Abel were seemingly meant to be close to one another. Aside from being literal half-brothers that never met one another, Tracey had somehow found and bonded with each of them. Tracey had pushed the two of them together even when it seemed impossible. No… it seemed like fate that the two had met. And they did share quite a few things. Ash himself had pointed this out, to which Abel had waggled his eyebrows and said cheekily, "Our similar love and respect for our women?" Only because his woman was standing not so far away speaking to Abel's respective other did Ash laugh awkwardly and agree while scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
Outside of that though, their shared love of battling, adventuring across regions and shared hatred Max Maple and his posse were what began to enable them to bond as brothers should. Abel himself was back at the league, getting acquainted with the surroundings and preparing to spend an extended stay with his half-brother.
However, said half-brother was not at the league, despite the fact that his battle in the semi-finals was just around the corner. Nobody was busier than Ghost, but today would hopefully be a day that would prove sweeter than victory itself. Despite knowing the Yzerlock was in Flare's hands and despite knowing the lives that were at stake, Ghost was not in ALT City. Where was Ghost you may ask? Well, that's a story for later.
As for the traitors, Serena's arrest in Kalos had rightfully sent them into a frenzy. Ghost's seemingly hollow words from days and weeks prior had fallen on deaf ears. Now, his wrath was striking down them all. All of their Pokémon had been instructed on what to do if anyone came to take them away; fight back. They wouldn't be arrested for something that happened so long ago.
However, Max had pointed out a problem; as long as Serena was in jail, it was that much time she would be there before she cracked and gave up everyone she was with. That, of course, wouldn't be long, especially since Serena was under duress when committing the act. But since Max had a battle to train for, Dawn's contest circuit and Bonnie's need to remain back and support her boyfriend, it was decided amongst them that Cilan and Iris would go to convince Serena to remain silent, while the trio remained back and prepared for the next two days.
Times were crucial for the traitors, who were once on the offensive of putting Ghost in his place. Now, they were on the run… Ghost was coming for them.
Camphrier Town Jail…
The two longtime companions who hailed from Unova looked grim as they were escorted through the jail. The town that Serena was imprisoned in was a small one, definitely not one that they expected to be holding someone who was capable of murdering one of her best friends. Iris had asked as much when they were brought in, but the guard has simply stated she was awaiting transport to another, more secure facility. The guard asked if they wanted to be walked by the other inmates, but before they could respond, another guard nearby stated it was undergoing cleaning maintenance and wasn't allowed for civilians for the time being.
They were forced to take a separate path to the communication room, as the guard put it. After following the man for what seemed like ages, they reached another door with two desks on either side. Two guards manned each desk. However, it was a dark-skinned female guard who held out a bin in front of her and spoke in a polite manner; "Your Pokémon, if you please." Next to her, a Growlithe watched the two visitors carefully, its legs tightened and ready to defend its trainer if need-be.
The ex-gym leader looked over to Iris, who looked a bit miffed to say the least. "Why do you need our Pokémon?"
Tension in the room was rising, though the guard seemed to have a bored look on her face. "Ma'am, this is a jail. You're going to see a prisoner. Connect the dots."
Iris opened her mouth to argue that it was unjust seeing as there were security cameras rolling consistently, but Cilan cut her off by whispering in her ear. "It's not this woman we have our fight with. We don't want to attract more attention than we have already."
Silence for a moment. "… Alright… fine." Iris took out her minimized pokeballs as Cilan mimicked her actions. They were all placed into the outstretched bin, and the lady smiled politely. "Thank you. Enjoy your visit." Her faithful fire-type did something similar, relaxing and showed no signs of ill-intent. Iris breathed a sigh of relief at the diffusion.
The guard who led them there opened the door for them and in they went. He spoke gruffly. "Thirty minutes." The door slammed behind them, and the moment it did, another door across the room opened. It was behind a glass window that covered the complete width of the room. A young woman walked in, eyes darkened and seemingly devoid of life. A bright orange jumpsuit was her attire.
She looked more than a little surprised to see that anyone had come to visit her, let alone it being people she hadn't spoken with or been on good terms with for… well, ever.
Serena sat down at the chair and picked up the phone from the other side. Both Cilan and Iris picked up their phones on the opposite side. Silence reigned for a few moments before the blonde decided to break the sweet sound of nothing.
"I'll be honest, if I was told you two would be the first to visit me, I don't know if I would've believed it."
Cilan merely scoffed. "Serena, you know why we're here."
"Of course. You're—"
"Shut it, Serena. We're not here to just chit-chat." The dark-skinned girl spoke angrily.
"Oh really?" The girl gave them a look of mock-surprise. "I suppose you travelled across the regions, away from your little band of nitwits, and got all the way here, just to say hello to someone who was never your friend in the first place? No… you don't say."
"Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Ms. Yvonne." Cilan spoke acidly.
"You're wearing a waiter's outfit to a prison; do you hear me complaining about incorrect decorum?" The girl dryly remarked. For what it was worth, Cilan looked authentically surprised by the snide jab she had sent his way, but Iris wasn't amused.
"Say it any way you want Serena; we're out here… free, while you're stuck in a stylish-orange jumpsuit. How fitting for an actor to spend the rest of her life in the least-stylish attire you could come up with."
The blonde merely huffed. "You all know what you did. You took my mother from me and cost me everything. The police won't believe me if I said anything, and my mother has no proof. You're here to gloat that you weren't caught and yet I was. And I'm the only one of you that was truly innocent. The irony must be giving you all some sort of good laugh."
Iris and Cilan exchanged glances. Serena looked authentically angry; it was a strange look for her. It was the green-haired man who broke the silence this time around. "We know who did this to you." The woman across from them leaned closer, her face unreadable. "It was Ghost… the Ghost of Alola. He figured out what happened. He went after you to get to us to confess, but we won't do it. We'd rather run than spend life in jail."
Serena was almost hissing. "Except he doesn't know that I was under duress! My mother's life was at stake. What was I supposed to do, let you all kill my mother?"
Iris waved it off with a swing of her arm. "You had your choice, and you decided. That wasn't us who made you pick to betray Ash."
"But you forced my hand! I was either helping his old friends commit murder, or watching my friend die andlose my mom in the process! Do you deny doing it?!" The girl was enraged. Cilan merely shrugged, not really paying attention. "We were given an offer and we accepted, it's as simple as that. You had a choice, and you decided. It's as simple as that."
The girl stood up and paced the room for a moment before she sat back down. She had a grin on her face. "So, you're not here to gloat… you're here because you're worried I'll spill the beans about what you and your group did all those years ago. You killed Ash, and you thought you would get away with it?"
"Ghost has no proof. He may have gotten something on you, but he can't tie anything to us, not unless you open your fat mouth." Iris spoke with malice, daggers in her eyes.
The blonde frowned, carefully considering her next words. She leaned in and spoke calmly. "You need to confess, maybe Ghost will go easy on you. He didn't go easy on me; you can avoid the worst by simply coming forward."
Cilan sighed and pinched bridge of his nose irritably, as if was speaking to a child. Iris shook her head and started laughing. The green-haired man looked over, a silly smile on his face. Iris couldn't stop her stream of giggles until finally she got out her sentence. "Serena, honey, we're not going to be arrested. We may have tossed Ash in that volcano all those years ago…"
"True, true as it goes… but…" Cilan added with a smile.
"… Ghost could have arrested us before and yet he didn't. That means he doesn't have evidence to put us away. We're going to keep walking free." Iris spoke with confidence.
"What if I tell them all that I know? That's why you're here, isn't it? To make sure I don't squeal like a dying pig?"
Cilan got close to the glass this time, a small grin on his face. "But you're not going to do that, are you? After all, we can always go grab your mother again… how do you think she'll feel? Knowing her daughter is in prison while she's kidnapped again. We'd disappear and so would she. We did it once… we can do it again."
Iris nodded firmly, a steely look in her eyes. "He's right you know. You know that in the back of your head, you're just a single moment away from being all alone. You're a loner, and you still have your mom. We can take her away again too. But if you want to protect her, you'll say nothing, is that clear?"
No words were spoken for a moment. Then Serena burst out laughing, tears streaming down her cheeks. She seemed… ecstatic. Seconds inched closer and closer to a minute as the girl unashamedly cried in joy. The looks of confusion began to morph into one of uneasiness as both Cilan and Iris watched the incarcerated female show positive emotion for the first time in their entire conversation. Her laughing was restricted to giggling, and before long, she was back to normal. "Ahhh… well, that was fun."
"What was fun?"
Serena laughed again. "You know, when you reminded me about being an actor of sorts, I'm kinda surprised you didn't catch on then. I'm honestly surprised this all worked as easy as it was said to work."
The tension rose. "W-What was supposed to work…?" Cilan spoke nervously.
A cold laugh this time. "See that box at your feet?" The duo looked down and saw a small black box located at their toes. "That's a recording device. Even if you were to talk as quietly as possible, you'd still end up with your voices as clear as day. And see that camera?" She gestured towards the security camera in the corner of the room. Both their heads turned on a swivel to see a black camera stealthily hidden in the cover of darkness in the corner of the room. "While it's true the camera doesn't catch audio, it can be pieced together what was said since the start of this conversation."
Both Iris and Cilan had mutual looks of terror on their faces. There was still something off, but neither one of them caught the outlier in the room. However, Cilan nudged the box with his foot and was stunned to find it wasn't lodged to the ground. "Iris! It's not locked! Help me destroy it, quick!"
Within seconds, both visitors were attempting to destroy the black box, only to find it was quite invulnerable. Seconds of kicking left no marks. Cilan resorted to more drastic action, throwing the box against walls repeatedly, hoping for any progress. Iris watched the scene hopefully, but as time droned on, it became obvious nothing was happening.
It was then that an idea struck Iris. "Dragonite, I need you to—" She reached for her Pokémon and promptly felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. 'Oh no…' A look of dread came across her face, and Cilan knew what it was time to do.
"Iris… we need to go, now!" The two rushed for the exit. That feeling of dread only amplified when the door did not budge whatsoever. It was locked from the outside. "W-What's happening!?" Iris cried in horror.
"I wasn't expecting that to be so straightforward." The duo whirled to the sound of the voice, knowing it all too well. Across from Serena, who was sitting in the chair smiling, the glass panel separating them was dropping. The door behind her was opened. In walked the most powerful man in all of the Alola region, very far from home but seemingly quite happy with the situation at hand. By this point, the glass panel had completely been removed.
Iris practically snarled the name out. "Ghost."
"Iris. Cilan." He looked around the gray room humorously. "Nice room, seems well decorated… you like?"
The duo didn't talk, unsure of what exactly they could say. Ghost nodded a few times and looked to Serena, who nodded her approval. "Well, I'll be straightforward with you both about one thing; Serena here is the key to why I was able to successfully do anything."
Cilan stepped back as though he were struck. "Huh?"
"You see, she came to me in ALT City with a most outlandish tale—the story of how a young man deemed a hero by others was killed by those closest to him, and how she needed revenge to ease her conscience and his memory. How people could do something so heinous and believe they would get away with it forever is nothing short of baffling. Your time is officially up, killers."
The door burst open. In ran four police officers along with their Pokémon. One of the guards was the female guard from before. Officer Jenny stepped in right after, an Arcanine hovering on her left and another officer on her right, tightly gripping two pairs of handcuffs. The next person to speak however, was Ghost.
"You two are under arrest for the murder of Ash Ketchum. You will also be investigated for attempting to destroy evidence, attempting to use Pokémon in a non-combatant zone, and kidnapping, along with other charges. Your titles will be immediately revoked, your Pokémon will be contained in a secure facility until your trials are over, at which point they will be released into the wild to search for a trainer that is not a criminal. Officer Jenny…?"
The officer nodded. "You heard him, take them away."
As the four officers yanked them out of the room, Cilan's protests and Iris' screaming could be heard from even all the way down the hallway, the cries echoing off the bars and walls for miles. Ash vaulted over the desk, which was now the only thing separating both sides of the room. Serena slowly vaulted over, following suit. Officer Jenny saluted the champion. "Sir, you had it right on the money." Serena entered the conversation at that moment. "Is it enough?"
"More than enough to get those two convicted. They line up with exactly what you said they would say, and they said all the right things to get placed behind bars a long time. We also now can confirm you were indeed under duress, which clears you for anything that happened on that day." Serena breathed a sigh of relief at that and a moment later gave Ghost a massive hug. After a moment, she released him, cheeks tinted red.
Ghost kept his composure. "What would you say about the last four that need to be arrested for their actions?"
Jenny was silent for a moment then spoke. "Well, they didn't use names when referring to a group. That being said, Ms. Yvonne's eye-witness testimony combined with what we have in audio and video could be enough. Granted, it may not be. We may need more to put them all away for good."
Ghost nodded slowly. He opened his mouth and then closed it suddenly. After another moment, he spoke. "Serena, go back home. I'll handle Mr. Goodshow and Diantha if they decide to come after me for making a fake-international crime scene to catch two real criminals. But there's something I need to do first." The girl nodded and bounded off, high-fiving one of the authentic guards who was sitting there on the way out.
Jenny watched the girl go with mild curiosity. "What're you thinking?"
"That she needs to be with her mom right now. Though she knows the fiasco was a fraud, now they can begin to put what happened behind them. As for me…" He turned to the attractive police officer. "May I please be given permission to interrogate Cilan and Iris for their wrongdoings in privacy?"
The woman raised an eyebrow. "That's… oddly specific. May I ask why?"
"I have a hunch on something, but I'd prefer to test my theory alone… if that's alright with you of course."
The woman seemed to be debating on whether or not her morals came into play, but eventually she decided. "… Alright then. I'll turn a blind eye just this once; if you didn't just catch them red-handed in the first place, I'd almost always say no. Hang around for the next hour or so. We'll have them tossed into an interrogation room and you can go at it from there. Just give us a little time to book 'em."
Ghost had the gratitude to look grateful. "Thank you Officer Jenny, that means a lot to me, and will go a long way to help my crusade of bringing all of them to justice."
The woman smiled. "I truly hope it does too."
Interrogation…
"LET ME OUT OF HERE! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" A dark-skinned girl was yelling at the security camera in the room in a blind outrage.
Approximately an hour had occurred since the duo of ex-elite trainers had been taken away, their Pokémon long gone and reputations in the dirt. Cilan had tried to calm his companion down, but the girl who desired to be a dragon master could not be calmed. In fact, she was practically feral with how often she was lashing out at everyone, regardless of whether or not they were friends. She was almost in a hunched position, ready to throttle anyone who walked through the doorway next.
"Iris, please calm yourself. Remember, we shouldn't say anything until our attorneys arrive. We'll only be dooming ourselves further. This is a massive move by Ghost; he knew we'd come here because of what Serena told him. He's willing to come all this way less than 48 hours before a major battle to throw us in jail. We need to bide our time and warn our friends that Serena's fighting back against us over what happened those years ago." The connoisseur spoke as rationally as possible.
"It doesn't matter! It shouldn't matter! Why couldn't we say we were coerced or under duress or whatever!?" Iris spoke exasperatedly.
"Because in court of law that wouldn't hold up. We just admitted to as such, which not only confirms Serena was telling the truth, but gets her out of any potential hot-water scenario. We need to stop, think, and come up with a plan." The man spoke as though he was stating the obvious.
"How about we tell our lawyers to contact Max, Bonnie and whoever else they can scrape together, and tell them to burn ALT City to the ground! That'll teach Ghost to mess with us, he won't know wha—" Iris was cut off by Cilan smacking her upside the head, a vein bulging from his forehead.
His patience was clearly wearing thin with his companion. "Think before you speak; Ghost had us fooled from the start. We cannot underestimate him; we believe it can't get worse, but it can most certainly get worse. He clearly had more influence than we originally believed. We must stay on alert, and asking our lawyers to give our friends a message to begin attacking his most-defended city isn't exactly a plan that sounds smart, now does it?"
Iris still looked as though she were about to go ballistic. "I don't care Cilan, it would be worth it. He needs to suffer for what he's doing to us."
"I'm sure things will work out, but again, we need to consider simply letting someone else fight this battle instead of rushing headstrong into another fight we may not be ready for."
Just then, the door opened and both Iris and Cilan rushed to the corner, prepared to face whatever or whoever came through the doorway next. To the surprise of neither, a man in a red vest walked in, flanked by a purple cat on his left side. The duo imprisoned had the decency to look intimidated and cowered back.
Without saying a word, Ghost motioned for them to sit down at the small table in the center of the room. One by one, they took their seats as Ghost followed, the Espeon perching up on the chair next to him. It became clear that, as odd as it was, Ghost didn't seem arrogant or confident or snarky, nor anything else that could be considered a negative trait. In fact, he almost looked… exhausted.
However, that changed the moment he began to speak. A smile morphed onto his face. "At long last… I have you."
While Cilan managed to hold his tongue, Iris wasn't able to do so. "You have a massive tournament matchup just around the corner, and yet you're more fascinated with us than adding to your legacy?"
Ghost leaned in, a cruel smile on his face. "This is adding to my legacy; making sure a group of murderers is forever placed behind bars. This goes a long way to show everyone that I am not to be trifled with."
Iris still wasn't deterred. "Screw you, Mr. Champion. I hope you can live with yourself knowing you've messed up so many lives."
For a moment, all was silent. Then Ghost let out an ominous chuckle. "You say that, yet don't see the irony of your words. How pathetic."
"Stop your all 'high-and-mighty' act Ghost, you're nothing more than a big bully." That was the last straw. Ghost rose out of his seat and slammed his palms into the table in outrage. Both Iris and Cilan jumped in a start, clearly not expecting Ghost's patience to abruptly wear thin while in conversation. "Let's make one thing very clear. I defend my region, my honor, and my people from any and all threats. You all are murderers. You took an innocent life for your own gain, and then lied about it for years. Did you honestly believe that if you just waited a few years it would all just go away, and people would forget?"
Iris opened her mouth to speak but Ghost spoke before she could open her trap again. "Espeon, psychic."
The surprised girl was thrown into wall next to her, the chair she had just been situated in getting launched across the room with her. Cilan looked too stunned to move, merely cowering in his chair in shambles. Ghost stood up and stalked over to the terrified girl. "Since you're hanging around…" He snarked with a laugh. "I'll let you in on a little secret. I've already informed your lawyers of the situation, and how there's only ironclad proof we have against their clients. We have an eyewitness testimony. We have audio and video backing up precisely what she said. We have you attempting to destroy evidence. We have you attempting to escape confinement. That's more than enough to give a jury impression of guilt. And of course, it helps that you are guilty of the crimes you've committed."
The girl looked like she was somewhere in between crying and screaming in rage. Ghost merely grinned, a smug look plastered on his face. "It does not matter what you say anymore; you're going to jail for the rest of your life."
He stepped away and motioned for Espeon. The Pokémon's eyes stopped glowing and Iris slammed into the cold ground. Ghost looked at Cilan and spoke calmly. "Seeing as at least one of your has been able to keep their wits, I'll instruct my offer towards you."
Iris, who was now on her feet, was outraged. "Excuse me, but I'm not—" Ghost merely flicked his finger at her, and she was back in the air hovering. The champion spoke as though she hadn't spoken at all. "The facts are this; we have ironclad proof of what you two did. You said all the things we needed to hear. We have a spoken and written statement from an eyewitness you both confirmed was under duress, which as it so happens, is also in the statement. Therefore, as everything lines up, it doesn't matter if you had the best defense lawyers in the world; you will be spending the rest of your days behind bars, in all likelihood."
Cilan looked like he wanted to prune but was realistic enough to realize he was stuck and had run out of cards to play. He folded, "What do you need from us?"
Ghost merely smiled. "Here is my offer; I will give it to you two and you two only. I want your complete verbal confessions to the acts you both committed along with your group. I want you to fully cooperate with the police as they continue to interrogate you, as well as anyone else in the investigation. Finally, I want to know what the connection between Drew Saiga and Dawn Berlitz."
Both Iris and Cilan looked more than a little stunned. Cilan's head darted to the wall where Iris still hovered. When he saw the similarly befuddled look on her face, he was speechless. "H-How do you know about D-Drew?"
"A contact told me of an exchange between the two of them some time ago. I haven't been able to figure out what the connection is, but I'd be willing to bet you two know. So, that's part of my offer."
'Not entirely untrue…' Ash thought, mentally smiling at the thought of telling Paul he'd cracked the strange handoff from the two.
Cilan still looked unsure. "And what do we get if we cooperate?"
Ghost looked critical. "As it stands, you'll be going down for premeditated murder, premeditated kidnapping, along with another plethora of smaller charges. I wouldn't think that life in prison and likely solitary confinement to be out of the picture." Seeing the panicking looks graze across each of their faces brought him great joy; if only they knew the man sitting across from them was the man they condemned to hell.
"If you cooperate and tell us everything we want to know without question, I will personally tell the courts you helped us and did not attempt to resist questioning. This would potentially reduce your sentence, though admittedly, that's not likely. It would, however, increase the chance you would be able to see your Pokémon one at a time throughout the days in order to not lose the connection you've built up, should they choose to remain your trainer."
"W-Wait!" Iris cried from the wall. "If we get put in solitary confinement, we'll never be able to see our Pokémon!?"
"That's correct. With the proof we have and the eyewitness testimony, I see no reason why it won't be inflicted. Which is why… you will tell me all you know and all I want to know. If you choose to decline, you'll all be tried and convicted anyway. Now… make your decisions. Should one of you choose the opposite of the other, the one who cooperates will stay, while the one who chooses not to will go, simple as that."
"How will you know if we're telling the truth?"
Ghost motioned to his companion. "She'll be able to tell. Now, make your decision." The two exchanged glances for a moment, as if they were trying to get a gauge on their odds for each decision. Finally though, it seemed like reality won out against false hope. "… Alright, fine… I'll tell you everything you want to know."
The man nodded and from seemingly nowhere, brought out the papers needed to confirm the agreement between the two groups. With Iris now hovering close to the ground, the papers were reluctantly signed and witnessed by a police officer in the jail. Giving a small salute, the man took the papers and accompanied Officer Jenny out to confirm the paperwork. Once they left, he turned back to the now-seated companions in the room.
"Now then, onto business. We can get to confessions and what-not later, but for now, let's start with question number three; Drew Saiga and Dawn Berlitz… what's the connection?"
Letting out a heavy sigh, Cilan began to speak, a recording device or two planted out in the open and nearby. "It's all related to contests."
"He's a coordinator and so is she. There's obviously more to it." Ghost spoke in a bored fashion.
"Of course there is." Iris snapped before she stopped herself by taking a sharp breath of air. Gathering her wits and controlling her temper, she carefully spoke her next words. "Nobody has found it weird that Dawn always performed on such a high level… like, a level that seemed to be one of legends. And yet, prior to meeting Drew, she never won a grand festival, and struggled to simply get far in competitions. Even today, nobody's found out that she's, well… essentially cheating in contests."
Ghost blinked. Her words held true, but it still seemed like a longshot. "She's cheating in contests? How does one exactly cheat in a contest? Is she paying off a judge every competition or—"
"Nothing like that." Cilan interrupted. "Nobody has a clue she's cheating in her contests except us; it's all related to Drew as well. Have you heard of a drug called Steroids?" Ghost leaned back and got thoughtful. He was no pharmacist, but it did sound vaguely familiar. Where he knew this word from though, was a mystery to him. "The word does have some familiarity to me, but I wouldn't know what it does. Care to elaborate?"
"Imagine this; there's a Pokémon version and a human version as well. Both work the same but are just administrated to the respective species for different reasons. Some steroids are given to people and Pokémon for medical reasons. This could be because their body isn't functioning correctly, or they need them to survive for whatever reason or another." Iris narrated.
Ghost shook his head. "I take it that's not what Dawn is using them for, so if they can be used for medical reasons which seem honorable, what dishonorable reasons are there to use them?"
"Because they also act as performance enhancers."
Ghost turned to Cilan, authentically surprised. "What?"
Cilan bit his lip but spoke nonetheless. "Drew fell off as a coordinator, everyone knows it. So, in order to keep up his game, he would give his Pokémon poffins laced with these medications. That's what he's always delivering Dawn; the steroids needed to keep their Pokémon's game up. Of course, we don't really know if the Pokémon are aware that they're being given these doses, but it's not exactly ethical."
"And now you decided to grow a conscience?" Ghost said in disbelief.
The silence from the two was deafening. The champion continued slowly. "So, Drew is giving Dawn the steroids for the poffins, which she's using to drug her Pokémon so they perform better in contests? What does he get out of it?"
Iris scratched the back of her head. "Well, that's another thing… she's the one who makes those poffins. She gives them to Drew for his Pokémon too. I've seen them make the exchange a couple of times."
Ghost's eyes were wide. If that was true, they'd both be hammered with fines and likely be prohibited from contests ever again. Dawn would still be arrested too. Now that would be sweet. Next, another big question.
"Do you have proof of the steroids and the connection?"
One exchanged glance between the two told him all he needed to know.
ALT City, some hours later…
Ash had gotten all he needed from Cilan and Iris. The two were effectively imprisoned, with the rest of the traitors seemingly clueless about the status of their two friends. With Dawn out of the region and Cilan and Iris locked up, it was just the two lovebirds in ALT City, blissfully unaware of the looming strike that was coming to beat them down.
But for the time being, Ash didn't act. He wanted the pleasure of whooping Max in battle in front of the entire world, who wouldn't? This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, after all.
Now though, even with a battle of titanic proportions at his doorstep, came the difficult task of paperwork, and a boatload of it. The hours were slowly ticking down until his semi-final's matchup, but he wasn't particularly worried about that. Now that he knew very well what his plan would be to bury Max, he was hyper-focused on the finals, which presented some interesting situations.
Regardless, it wasn't what he was currently up to. That was, again, paperwork. Usually, he didn't have a ton as league champion. However, as he'd put it off for a handful of additional days than he usually did, Ash felt obligated to do something about it. Shuffling through the first few pieces was easy enough and to the point. However, something caught his eye on the last letter. It was from one of his gym leader's. He opened the letter and carefully began to read it letter by letter. After a moment, he let out a breath of air he didn't know he was holding in and slumped slightly in his chair.
"Well… damn."
"Something up?" Ash looked and saw Axel and July walking into the room, strange expressions on their faces. The champion bit his lip and shook his head.
"I was just informed that Mathis, Enshire Town's Gym Leader, will be retiring in approximately a month. I'll need to find and hire a replacement."
The two looked at one another uncertainly. Ash noticed this nearly immediately and got suspicious. "And something tells me that either you two knew about it, or it's not the biggest piece of news I'm going to receive today… is it?"
"Well… no, I had no clue about Mathis, but I wanted to give you a heads up about something else that was decided on." The blonde boy spoke nervously.
"That we both decided on." July added firmly.
The champion nodded. "Alright… let's hear it."
Another deep breath. "July and I have decided to take a hiatus from the league's duties. If this means we permanently lose our spots, we both understand and are willing to surrender our positions to worthy successors. We believe this is best not only for our physical health but for our mental health as well, possibly more-so than physical health."
July didn't allow the sentence to take complete form. "We're looking to take, at minimum, a two-year leave from the league to travel and explore the world. We understand that until the end of the tournament we're firmly set here, and we'll make sure to not leave any work for whoever comes in after us."
Utter silence came from Ash. The two elites looked at one another with sideways glances, clearly unsure of the situation. Then, Ash let out a hoot of laughter. "Well, if you wanted to be more direct with me and explain that you want to further explore your relationship as well, I'd appreciate that." The utter shock that morphed on both of their faces was nothing short of comical. Axel's face burned bright red, while July looked like she was trying to find the right words to Ash's unexpected response.
"W-Wait, you're not upset with us leaving?" It was Axel that had spoken.
Ash merely shrugged. "At the end of the day, you're doing what's best for you. Some people call that selfishness, but not me. You're not aiming to purposely hurt others by your decision. You're granting them an opportunity to make a name for themselves, and I respect that. So long as you remain until the replacements have been chosen and at minimum, the end of the tournament, I will grant your request."
The duo was mutually surprised by their champion's reasonability given the situation. "Thank you… I don't even know what to say." July's voice was quiet.
"Again, it's no problem. Be advised, once you begin on hiatus, in order to reclaim your spot in the league, you must defeat your replacement. Now, if you want to give me a hand with some work here, I need you both to compile a list of potential suitors that may be fit to lead a gym leader." The champion spoke briskly.
The blonde nodded. "Got it, anything in particular you're looking for?"
"Potential connections to Alola, past time as a Gym Leader, hell, even currently a Gym Leader in another region who'd rather be here is fine with me. I want a hard worker above all else, who's a role model to those around them."
The couple nodded and made to walk out. The doors slammed behind them as Ash fell deep into thought. Now he had three people he needed to replace… and he rarely trusted anyone more than he trusted those in the league. And even if there were people he trusted more than those at the league, there was no chance they were stronger battlers. Thus, finding superb replacements would be far from easy.
His pokegear rang just then, lurching him out of his thought-train. He opened it and spoke gruffly. "This is Ghost, speak."
"Uh… sir?"
"Arch, what is it?"
"Sir, I have a Malva Keenfire here at the league entrance. She was unconscious when we found her."
Ash was out of his seat and sprinting within a moment, Pikachu hot on his heels. "Give me the details, everything. Don't leave a single thing out."
One Hour Later…
To say Ash was bewildered was putting it lightly. Ash found himself staring at a chained Malva in the league's private dungeon. Whether or not he could trust her, he was completely unsure. Video cameras showed some masked person dumping Malva's body in front of the league and hightailing it out before anything could be done by the league's officials. How long she'd been there was a mystery.
She was awake and conscious, looking around the room with an unreadable expression drawn across her features. Ash didn't know what to make of the whole situation, but gave his orders to Bail and Arch nonetheless.
"If you see Xavier, keep him away from the dungeon for now. Do anything but let him down here. As for the other elites, tell them to keep it under wraps for the time being. I need to ensure the safety of the league, alone." The duo nodded, Arch following the dark-skinned male out of the room.
He turned to the chained prisoner behind the glass panel and frowned, contemplating his next move. But surprisingly, it didn't take him long to make it. Finding himself moving on his own accord, Ash stalked into the room and slammed the door behind him, startling the girl. She was dressed in all black clothes and a black hat of some sort to go with it.
"So, tell me, how does a Flare operative like yourself come to be knocked out just outside one of the most heavily-guarded facilities on the entire island?"
Malva scoffed. "Please Ghost, no need for sarcasm or quips. We both know why it is I'm tied up in your little cavern of chaos here. I was sleeping with Xavier, and even after you tried to warn him, I still had him wrapped around my finger. He was adorable; for a man who's called the player, what's truly ironic is how the player was played. Hm… and played he was; that poor boy was likely scampering around like a lost puppy looking for me."
Ghost found himself snarling. "He treated you like a queen, and you were nothing more than a witch. Was anything the two of you had real?"
"I'm sure he believes it was… a tragedy that his heart was shattered into a million little pieces. I only wish I had been there to see it all unfold." The girl spoke uncaringly.
The man growled. He carefully stalked around the table, Malva laughing softly. "You can't break me Ghost. You're nothing but a big softie nowadays. I know how you slaughtered all those Flare grunts and those Pokémon. We call it the Great Massacre in the Flare Organization. Even though those innocent troops and their Pokémon were cut down in their prime by you, we never forgot who took all those lives from us. We took that adversity and turned it into fuel."
'Huh? But I thought that…' Ash's mind stopped working for a moment, nothing more than perplexed for a moment or two. He didn't dare show that confusion on his face though. The champion spoke ominously. "And what makes you believe I've gone soft?"
"Because, you don't torture people to get information anymore. That day of slaughter haunts you. You fear that if you take another step into the pool of blood, it'll consume you whole. I don't blame you for thinking like that, it's only natural to have second thoughts about taking hundreds, if not thousands, of lives in such a short span. It's almost… impressive." Malva spoke, a smug smile dancing on her lips.
But this time, it was Ghost who was smiling. "Oh… it was glorious." Malva looked surprised by his words, and before she could say anything, he spoke again. "I don't torture anyone anymore… what you say is true… mostly. What you're wrong about is, given the appropriate situation, I have zero trouble exterminating those who stand in my way. Flare threatened my region at the base of my time as champion. I had no trouble slaughtering them then. And while I do question my decision of mass slaughter today, you can bet every fiber of my being that I will do anything to defend Alola from parasites like you."
For what it was worth, Malva did attempt to hold her appearance. "You don't scare me, Ghost." The woman smirked at him arrogantly, as if daring him to try and break her.
The man stayed quiet for a moment before chuckling darkly. "Oh… But I will. One bone at a time."
"Bone?"
Malva didn't have time to think as Ghost grabbed her wrist and twisted. A sickening crunch came from the girl, who cried out in agony, clearly not expecting the man to be so cruel so fast. The girl attempted to hunch over and hide her now-busted wrist, but the chains around her prevented such movement.
"Now, I'm sure multiple bones were just broken there, so what can I say? I'm a proactive-sort of champion." Ghost snarked. The girl merely whimpered.
"Onto more pressing matters Ms. Keenfire. I am unsure of why you were dumped at my doorstep, but I plan to take advantage of it. Now, tell me—"
"I-I'll tell you whatever you want to know! Just, no more broken wrists! Or anything else! Please!" She begged.
'Hm… how curious…'
Silence reigned for a moment. "Very well." A flash filled the room, and Espeon appeared. "Be prepared to tell the truth on everything Ms. Keenfire. My first question is a simple one; who is the leader of Team Flare?"
The girl looked hesitant for a moment, carefully looking at Espeon before speaking in a very shaky tone.
"O-Okay… the l-leader of Flare… is…"
Ghost waited expectantly for the words to come out. She opened her mouth and the words he'd already known came out.
"Professor Samuel Oak." Ghost's eyes darted to Espeon, who merely nodded. He exhaled softly; that could likely confirm that everything in Oak's diary was the truth and should be taken as such.
"Alright… I assume you're telling the truth. After all, you were found here. So, next question, why were you taken here?"
Malva stole another glance at Espeon and grumbled. "Because I betrayed him."
Now that wasn't what Ash had expected. "What?"
"I was abused. He's used me as his guinea pig ever since I left this crud-hole. Why do you think I didn't come back when Xavier was found? Why do you think I left when Xavier was taken by Flare? Oak wanted me back and not flirting around with an ally of his enemy." Ash's eyes went to Espeon, who shook her head. Malva paled.
"I already know what she's lying about." He turned to her and smirked. "You weren't abused. When you got here, there wasn't a scratch on your body, and the medical report says you were in perfect health. Which means, you may have been knocked unconscious. But something tells me something else is up. In addition, if Oak worked you to the bone, why would he drop you off here, to reveal a secret that he believes is safe and should be concealed?"
Malva huffed. "Fine! If you must know, I trusted a friend to bring me here unharmed. They were, mostly good to their word. I split enroute to a mission. I support Flare, but I don't support Oak. He's nothing more than gum on the bottom of my shoe." Espeon nodded, confirming that what she said was true.
"Yet you still serve under him?"
The beauty grimaced. "I support the message, not him." A firm nod from Espeon told Ash all he needed to know.
"So be it. Next question: why were you caught in video outside the league not long ago? What were you doing here?"
The young woman spoke evenly. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I don't know what you want from me. Perhaps you can be more specific or perhaps it was someone else you were seeing through this… video?" The pink-haired girl said, emotion seemingly gone.
"We know it was you. What we don't get is how you came to be here in the first place." The man spoke critically, frowning as he took in the woman's lack of emotions.
"I already told you."
"And I told you, I don't believe you."
An exasperated sigh escaped the woman's lips. "You won't take my word for it, and it's the truth. I don't know what else you want me to say."
"The. Truth."
Ash got up and took a step towards her. She hunched over, prepared to absorb whatever came her way. But then, the hairs on his neck stood up. He turned to doorway and sure enough, it swung open. He wasn't overly surprised to see Zandra walk in, a snarl on her face. "I take it the boys upstairs spilled?"
"Do you even need to ask?"
"Hm… guess not. Even after I asked them to keep you out, I didn't expect them to be able to. Not exactly a surprise from this end."
Something perked Zandra up. "Speaking of, those two wanted to see you. The said something about a visitor of some sort."
"A visitor? Alright then… mind watching over the fresh meat here? Espeon, continue helping out." The cat trilled loudly as Zandra was seen cracking her knuckles. He called out to her before the door slammed behind him, "If you're going to break her bones, make sure it's for a good cause, yeah?"
She never did respond to him, seemingly to enthralled with the opportunity to get some payback on the girl who played the player. Ash moved swiftly out of the dungeon, up some stairs and within a minute or two, found himself talking with his two-most trusted guards yet again. They had the decency to look guilty. "Sorry for, well…"
"Don't sweat it. I didn't expect you all to stop her when she's on the warpath. In any case, Miss Commando herself told me there was a visitor for me? Where are they?"
Bail motioned to the league's main entrance. "They told us they would wait at the front of the league."
"Cams are clean?"
"As far as we've seen, yeah. There's nothing out of the ordinary, everything's quiet." The long-haired man responded.
"Sounds good, I'm out to meet them then." The champion saluted them before turning on his heel and walking to the league's entrance. He wasn't sure exactly who was supposed to expect, but if he had any prediction, it was likely a member of the Aura Guardians or maybe someone else he used to be acquainted with. He got to the entrance and, with Pikachu on his heels, walked through the entrance.
He nearly fell out of his shoes when he saw the person standing there. They were wearing an orange and black sweatshirt, along with gray pants. They had light green hair and light green eyes. To say Ghost was stunned would be putting it very, very lightly. The man turned and walked up to him, holding out his hand in a simple gesture of respect. Ash shook it almost robotically. The first words were officially spoken between Ghost, and the mystery trainer.
"Hello. My name is Trip Craggier. I'm a trainer that, well, maybe you'll face this tournament. I made it to the final four, and if we both win, we'll face in the championship. Granted, I… I-I can't put it off anymore. I just can't take the guilt o-of what I did all those years ago anymore."
Ghost didn't respond, he merely watched as his old rival held out both of his hands and looked down to the ground. Ash could hear him sobbing, which only added to his bafflement. "I…I killed a Pokémon trainer. I took his life. My… once-acquaintances, reached out to me and told me they were being hunted for what they'd done. I don't deserve to win the league when I screwed up so many people's lives. I… I couldn't even associate myself with them anymore. When I heard you were beginning to arrest all of them… I figured I'd make it easy on you. I deserve this, I don't know why I did what I did all those years ago, but I need to begin healing, and this is where it begins."
Ghost couldn't move, he was too shocked to believe what was happening. The young man looked up, tears in his eyes. "I killed the Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum. I'm so, so sorry… I just… can't…" The teen broke down, tears streaming from his face as he collapsed into the dirt.
The champion just watched the spectacle, never once feeling as uncertain in his entire life as he did in that moment. A rival turned killer, wanting penance.
What was the man who he supposedly killed to do?
AN: Anddddd that's it folks! I hope you enjoy this chapter. If you're new, please follow and favorite so you never miss an upload! Consider following my author account to get additional updates for when I begin posting other stories.
If you're reading this, I'd like to apologize for the extreme delay. In the past two weeks, I've had work weeks of 79 and 73 hours. I've been working from 5 in the morning to midnight multiple days a week, courtesy of my new job. As you can likely guess, free time is essentially non-existent for me at the moment. I hope y'all didn't forget about little ol' me, because again, I'm seeing this story to the end.
Now onto that topic; how about this wild chapter? Cilan and Iris fell for Ghost's trap, Dawn's connection with Drew has been revealed, Malva's been taken in, July and Axel are leaving the league, and Trip wants to begin the path to healing for his past crimes… or does he? Well, you'll just have to come back next time to see how it all pans out, as the traitors begin to meet their fate and Ash steps onto the battlefield for the semi-finals again a certain pest.
Thanks again guys and girls for all your support, until next time!
LegionZ