9 The Conclave
The huge marble table that filled the center of the room seated eighteen people. The cushioned chairs that surrounded it were all filled, save two, which Ash and Lotus took. Ash glanced nervously around the eerily silent room. Each of the other sixteen people in the room stared back at him, some directly, others sideways. Of the people assembled, seven of them were women. Ash recognized Aldaris from the night before, but now, dressed in his sorcerer's robes, he seemed much more commanding than the overworked, unorganized bookkeeper he remembered. Despite himself, he began to tremble slightly under the careful scrutiny of his hosts. He glanced at Pikachu quickly, hoping to draw some confidence from his companion.
After a long moment, Lotus cleared his throat, prompting the council to begin. Slowly, Aldaris rose to his feet.
"The meeting of the conclave will now commence," he announced, his powerful diction filling the air with an aura of formality. "The council will excuse the absence of Judith Fawson, who has fallen ill and could not be present. The council also will acknowledge the attendance of Ash Ketchum, who has been invited by Lotus to speak on the matter at hand. Before we begin, is there any other business we should discuss first?" After a brief pause, Aldaris continued, "Very well then. Mikhail will brief you."
A stout man with dark hair rose. His penetrating gaze moved around the room, taking note of everything before he began. His entire face seemed to carry the weight of the world as he drew in a heavy breath of air.
"We are here," he began in a deep, resonating voice, "to discuss an issue which we had believed to have already been resolved. In light of new evidence, however, we must readdress this problem and come to a more complete solution, as well as solve another dilemma that now faces us. Ash Ketchum," he paused, allowing Ash to stand, "present Cerebral to the conclave."
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he withdrew the medallion, holding it out in the light for the others to see. Mikhail motioned toward the table with his head and the boy set it down, quickly taking his seat again. There was a moment of nervous whispering among the council. One of the councilmen, a tall, red-haired man, rose and leaned over the medallion.
"Is this really the Sentient?" he asked in a slightly nasal voice.
Curiously, he reached out toward Cerebral. As his hand began to close over the artifact, a flash of electricity leapt from it, followed by an echoing crackle. The startled man jerked his hand back with a cry of pain and surprise. Shaking his numbed hand, he sat back down.
"Cerebral has chosen this boy as its possessor," Lotus stated, leaning toward the other in an intimidating manner. "So long as he is alive, the medallion will not allow any other person to take it. You all must see the danger this presents to him."
"You are speaking out of turn," Aldaris interrupted. "You will have your opportunity to speak, but only after you have been recognized."
Lotus leaned back quickly. A reverent silence fell over the room. Seeing he was no longer the center of attention, Ash felt his nervousness ease slightly. All around him, the council members stared in fear and shock at the tiny medallion sitting on the table.
"Boy," Mikhail demanded, breaking the silence and startling Ash for a moment, "explain to the Conclave how you came to possess this artifact and everything that has transpired since then. Be as precise as possible."
Once again, all eyes turned to Ash. His mouth went dry and his thoughts fell into disarray. Lotus put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, calming him a bit. Legs quivering, Ash stood up and began to recount the events, beginning with the morning he and his friends had started for Blackthorn City. Several times during the story the members of the Conclave stopped him to ask questions, which he answered as best as he was able. Once he had finished,Aldaris and Mikhail talked quietly among each other for a moment.
Mikhail turned to Ash. "The conclave thanks you for your testimony. You may be seated."
Gratefully, the young boy took his seat, letting out a relieved sigh. Lotus patted him on the back and complimented him with an approving nod. Mikhail rubbed his temples sullenly, groaning quietly.
"Lotus," he asked, "can it be confirmed that the man who attacked this boy was indeed Artemis Jin'ei?"
Lotus nodded gravely. "I can assure you that it was Jin'ei. With his white hair and his fancy clothes and his unbridled arrogance, he is not easily mistaken. Not to mention those dark glasses, which he wears even in the middle of the night." The aged sorcerer paused for effect. "I found out why he does that, too. When we fought, they slipped down and I saw his eyes. They run red with blood; proof that he has not only been using his greater powers, but using them often."
Several shocked gasps filled the room, followed by quiet murmuring. Mikhail silenced them with a gesture of his hand.
"This is a serious violation of his restrictions," he remarked. "A grave offense, indeed."
"Are we going to debate this?" asked a red-headed woman seated opposite of Ash. "I think we have enough evidence here to show what Jin'ei is doing. If he's determined to be a thorn in our side, then we should pluck him out before he can get his hands on the Sentient."
"You can't know for sure that Jin'ei is after Cerebral," Amelia protested. "We don't have any solid proof of what his plans are, only guesses."
"What else could it be?" came another voice from the council.
"We aren't really coming to a quick conclusion here," the nasal-voiced man added. "I think we all knew from the time we threw Jin'ei out that this would happen. He was never secretive about his desires. We'd already decided that he had to die, we just didn't want to go through with it."
"No," Amelia said harshly.
"Enough!" Mikhail commanded. "We have many things to discuss, let's not start bickering. Amelia, you were the one who trained him and it was your vote that allowed Jin'ei to advance to the rank of Esper. Do you have anything you wish to say?"
A few voices whispered to each other while everyone waited for Amelia to speak. Slowly, as if her body was weighted down with loads of concrete, Amelia stood. Once again, Ash recognized the painful sadness in her face.
"When Artemis was first put into my tutelage," she began, her voice laden with grief, "he already had incredible control of abilities. He had a bit of an inflated opinion of himself, as could be expected from someone of his background, but he possessed great skill and potential. I was very impressed by his ability to improve."
"And infatuated by his good looks and masculine charm," came a voice from the crowd.
"Out of order, Carlos," Mikhail admonished. "Please continue, Amelia."
Amelia glared bitterly at the bony, dark-haired man sitting next to her.
"Perhaps I was attracted to him, but, if anything, it was his dedication that I found attractive. I had never before seen anyone who was willing to work so hard for his skills. Even though his character was questionable, I thought that if I could work with him, I could help him overcome his egoism."
"The young are always foolish," Carlos muttered, louder than he had intended.
"Out of order, Carlos," Mikhail snarled. "And do not be so quick to say such things. You have made your own mistakes, need I remind you?"
Carlos's gaze fell down to the table.
"Jin'ei had high aspirations," Amelia asserted, angrily. "He didn't need my help to gain the necessary skills to achieve them; he would have easily achieved them on his own. Instead, I tried to show him humility, the essential trait he lacked to attain his goals. He had so much talent and so much passion. I wanted to help him. As the time passed, however, his true nature became apparent. What I mistook for dedication was, in truth, an obsession and his desires were born solely from a need to satisfy his selfish pride. That pride would not allow him to be content with anything but the highest position of power that he alone commanded. I feared what he would do when he discovered that he could not attain that power with his impure motives. I could see only one possible solution."
Under his breath, Carlos scoffed, "Odd that you came to this conclusion only a few weeks after he announced his engagement to that whore."
Too late, Carlos realized that he had crossed the line as Amelia, red-faced with anger, thrust her palm into his face and released psyonic bolt that hurled both him and his chair to the ground.
A terrifying stillness fell over the room as everyone, including Mikhail, stared at her in shock. No one had ever seen Amelia strike out at anyone; she had always been too composed.
Trembling with rage, Amelia lowered her hand, glowering at the prone man on the ground. Carlos stared back up at her like a whipped dog, wiping the blood from his nose away. Slowly, he lifted his chair back into place and sat down, sliding his chair away from her.
Mikhail was the first to recover from the shock. "Out of order, Carlos," he said with absolute finality. "We are not here to question the motives of one of our most faithful council members. I suggest you give your thoughts a little more contemplation before you act on them, or else remain silent for the remainder of the meeting." Unconcerned with anything Carlos had to say, he turned to Amelia. "What do you recommend?"
Amelia remained quiet, her head turned downward dolefully as she considered her own words. She had known from the moment Jin'ei had been mentioned what would happen. More than anything else, she wanted to escape the truth, but, in her heart, she already knew what she must do.
"Jin'ei," she began gravely, not even looking up to face the others. Her voice faltered for a moment. "Jin'ei must die."
Mikhail nodded and Amelia collapsed wearily into her seat. Ash found his eyes beginning to moisten in sympathy for her. More than just the attraction Carlos implied, he realized, she had truly loved Jin'ei; still loved him in spite of everything that he must have done to her. And now, against everything that she wanted, she had just sentenced him to death. Unintentionally, he sniffled, drawing curious looks from those sitting closest to him. Amelia glanced up at him, almost smiled and then looked back away.
After a long pause, Mikhail rose.
"I have made my decision," he announced. "As head of the Esper Conclave, I declare Jin'ei guilty of conspiring against the order and order his immediate execution. Amelia, as is our law, you must find and bring him before me so that his sentence may be carried out.
"Now, what remains to be done about the Sentient?"
There was some whispered discussion amongst the council for a few moments. Ash tried to hear some of it, but, too hushed, he couldn't make any of it out. Lotus sat back with his arms folded, refusing to participate, while Amelia did not seem to notice much of the world around her.
"I say we take it," proposed a short, balding man. "It rightly belongs in the hands of the council."
"Need I remind you that Cerebral has already chosen a possessor?" Lotus put in tersely.
The other man shrugged. "He can give it to us," he replied. "It will let him do that. Once we have it . . ."
"We misuse it," Carlos interjected, cutting the speaker off. "We eye it for a time, let our thoughts dwell on it and ultimately fall to desires we never knew we had. Have you learned nothing from history?"
"Of course we have," came the red-haired woman's voice.
"We've seen it happen many times," the balding man argued. "We won't make the same mistakes; we know better than that."
Carlos spat onto the table in disgust, drawing a few startled looks. Rolling his eyes a bit, Carlos took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped up his saliva as he continued.
"Don't be ridiculous," he said. "If you've really learned something from history, then you know that few people can resist the lure of power. It's already taking hold in you."
The balding man leaned back, his face turning red in anger. Before he could say anything in reply, the nasal-voiced man spoke up.
"We hide it again. Burry it deep in the bowls of the Earth and never speak of it again."
"That's already been tried," came another woman's voice. "Someone will find it again, unless we come up with a better solution."
"Destroy it," Carlos firmly proposed.
A sudden, deathly cold passed over Ash, filling him with fear. Before he realized what he was doing, he shouted, "No!"
The room plunged into silence as the council regarded the boy and his outburst. The color draining from his face, Ash leaned back in his chair, his eyes shut tight as he waited his horrible demise. After a moment, he dared open his eyes a slit, peeking out at the others.
"Boy," Mikhail said. "Was that you, or was that the Sentient?"
Ash managed a nervous smile and a weak chuckle. Shaking his head slightly, he tried to speak, but no words found their way out of his mouth.
"Why don't we let the Sentient decide for itself what it will do?"
The council looked toward Amelia, confused by her statement, relieving Ash of the attention. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he shrank back, as though trying to disappear into the chair.
"We all know that Cerebral has its own will," Amelia explained. "It will solve its own problem if we give it the chance."
"Preposterous," the balding man replied.
"Not so," Lotus said, a slight smile finding its way to his face for the first time since he had entered the room. "The only threat is that Jin'ei will get his hands on it. No one else knows that the artifact has even been found. Once we deal with Jin'ei, the real danger will pass. From there, Cerebral will let its influence push things in the way it wants. If we wait and watch, the solutions will present itself."
"What about the boy?" someone asked.
Lotus waved an unconcerned hand. "Cerebral chose Ash. It trusts him and, from what I've already seen of him, I think we can agree with its judgment. It knows what it's doing, even if we don't. If we meddle in its plans, we can only make it worse."
Several voices rose up to argue, but all fell silent as Mikhail held up his hand.
"I've heard enough," he stated resolutely. "Lotus, I agree with you. This is all far beyond our control and our knowledge. Rather than shoot in the dark, I think we should let things play themselves out a bit longer and watch them unfold before we decide to take any action. We can do no good by rushing into things. For the time being, we will focus all of our efforts on finding Jin'ei. Once he has been dealt with, then we can focus all our attention on this problem, as we should."
"Then the decision is made?" Aldaris asked.
Mikhail nodded.
"Very well, then. We will wait." Turning to Amelia, he added, "Set out immediately; we have no time to waste. Capture Jin'ei at all costs. If he resists, kill him. This meeting is adjourned."
"Not quite," Lotus interjected. "I'm afraid there's another issue I must bring to point."
All eyes turned on the old man.
"The hunter, Lupus, has come out of hiding," he explained. "I have made some rather startling discoveries concerning him."
"Go on," Aldaris prompted.
"Lupus is under a Bestial Curse," Lotus explained, drawing shocked gasps from the council. "As you know, that spell is forbidden. An immediate inquiry must be made to find the one who has done this. Furthermore, in light of other information I have gathered, I believe now is the appropriate time to end Lupus's hunt for good."
The color drained from Aldaris's face. "Do you realize what you're saying?" he asked. "If Lupus is under a Bestial Curse, he can't beaten. A direct assault is suicide, who would dare attempt it?"
"I will," Lotus replied firmly. "It must be done."
"Impossible," Aldaris said. "Your experience is too vital to the conclave for me to allow you to simply throw your life away."
"I will go," the old man asserted.
"How will you succeed where hundreds before you have failed?" Aldaris demanded.
"I will use Shimmerblade," Lotus replied.
Aldaris was awestruck. "You know the dangers of the Celestial Sword. If it proves to be too much for you, what then? Even if you fail to gain control of it, the strain of its trial will most likely kill you."
His eyes closed solemnly, Lotus reached into his pocket and withdrew a sealed envelope. He placed it on the table and slid it to the younger man.
"I have already prepared for that. Inside that envelope you will find my last will and testament, as well as all the information concerning the hunter that I have gathered. Whether by my hand or another, Lupus must be stopped. I am willing to die for that cause."
As Aldaris took the documents, he realized that Lotus had already decided on the course before he came. He looked at Lotus with a forceful expression, hoping vainly that he could dissuade him, but the old man merely returned the stare, equally forceful. For a moment the two stared at each other in silence. Finally, Aldaris conceded.
"Do as you will then," he stated. "I will trust your judgement, old friend."
Aldaris took a step back away from the table, holding out his hand. He spoke a word of command. The air around the sorcerer's hand thickened, slowly loosing its transparency until it took the form of a sword.
"Unlike the Sentient," Aldaris warned, "The Celestial Sword cannot be dominated. It must choose its owner, or be freely given by its owner to another. The last person to use this weapon is dead, so you will be forced to endure and overcome the sword's trial. May God be with you. This meeting is adjourned."
