Pokémon Chronicles - Web of Lies

by Eric566

Three years after the disbandment and defeat of Team Uncario, the members of Team Star find themselves thrust back into stardom after a succesful mission in dealing with an unexpected menace. However, the fall of the last of the Dark Eons and this new achievement has stirred new enemies from the ends of the world, and re-ignited the fires of an empire best forgotten. Sequel to AHR.

3. Chapter 1 - Cunabula

And we're back for another exciting episode of Web of Lies! (Some stuff came up and I couldn't work on the chapter as much as I could, hence why it came out a few days later, but I think it'll be alright!) Anyways, this chapter has a lot of stuff in it too, so you guys better pay attention!

Anyways, now onto the reviews:

First of all, Luchux was the first one to review in this chapter, and your review is pretty short, but the answer is pretty interesting. While there must be some parallels between the two, the main source of inspiration for their methodology and beliefs was the Spanish Inquisition. The Klu Klux Klan is still one of the best example of religious fanaticism as of recent, but the Judges of Arceus are different, and soon you'll see why.

Next up would be my trusted friend, WesternFail! And you bet it's good to be back, you better friggin' believe it! But Team Star isn't having such a great return, now are they? Things are definitely different, this is true, and regions like Hoenn certainly don't make the picture any better. However, it isn't all bad, there are still places where pokémon conserve their usual life style, mostly in Sinnoh.

You are doing well paying attention to what the Drapion in saying, though take it with a grain of salt. If you've read Shackles of Servitude, then you know exactly who is at the other side of the story in this case, and you truly start wondering who is the bad one in this situation. Still, it does not justify the lies nor the violence.

Even though the Human Eric (Or Heric) has died, his presence still lingers in this world… perhaps for better, or maybe for worst. We shall see.

And come on, I can't kill Serge. He's the Tyrion of this fic: you just don't kill them. (yet at least).

And we've only just started Hjof, we haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg.

And finally, my partner Ray. I know just how difficult these elements and concepts in fics are for you, but still, there are things that must be said. You can't consider that a wound that isn't stitched back together properly won't end up being infected, right? Because of their haste during AHR and their disappearance in FotW, the wound has festered. The Judges of Arceus, as they are now, are a byproduct of that.

Anyways, I don't intend to sound somber, because there's no reason be like that! So let's enjoy this next chapter, alright? Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1

Cunabula

No matter where they come from, they walk the same path.

Dawn had just broken, but almost all of Team Star was already waiting outside, wearing some clothes for the cold thanks to Elly, who'd woven everyone something during her spare time: Eric now had an additional winter cap and gloves, and of course his signature scarf, and was feeling quite warm.

Meanwhile, everyone but Jake seemed to envy the Riolu. "I swear to Arceus… why don't I have cloves for myself!? My paw pads are freezing!" Nox complained, only wearing a winter hat and trying his hardest to warm himself by letting tiny embers spark from his paws and mouth. Serge, who had a striped scarf with the colours of his feathers, tried to stick close to him, shivering uncontrollably.

"This wouldn't be happening if we weren't waiting on someone! So much for being the fastest pokémon alive if you take forever to dress up!" The Pidgeot's taunts were only responded by grunts and groans from inside, and Zed was the first to walk out, only wearing a scarf as his fur was thick enough to keep him protected for the most part, whilst Lucy took a bit longer. She and Elly wore matching winter hats: black, yellow and blue stripes.

"Shut up! This wouldn't have happened if we didn't put away all the clothes to the bottom of the drawers!" She came out of the house fuming, adjusting the hat on her head.

"Hey, don't look at me. Your drawer is your responsibility." Elly quickly defended herself, predicting her friend's glare.

"Yeah yeah… but I swear, it's like it grew a pair of legs and got itself to the bottom. It was stuck between the drawers and fell down to Jake's." At the mention of this, the Sneasel grew alarmed. "Don't worry, we didn't touch anything! We just nabbed the hat and left it as it was… anyways, are we ready? This cold's gonna get to me, and I've got the sea to deal with after this shit…"

"Oh stop complaining already Lucy, sun's not even up." Eric's remark was answered by a snarl, but he didn't continue that conversation and tried to remember if they'd done all their preparations. "Well… yeah I think we're done… Oh wait, the mail!" His words earned a collective groan from the group.

"Come on, really?!"

"For the love of…"

"I thought you said you'd already checked it?" Elly's inquisitive tone told him not even she was happy.

"I know, I know… I forgot alright? Let's just…" He quickly walked over to the door and opened the box from the inside, pulling out a bunch of letters. He quickly skimmed through the senders… and stopped at the last two, letting out a laugh.

"What? What happened?"

"Of all times…" He showed her the letter: it had been sent by the Judges of Arceus, requesting her assistance in Cunabula. "What a bunch of assholes." The situation did bring smiles to their faces, if anything because of the irony of it all. The second one however, made him go a bit more serious. "Huh… this one's for you, Lucy."

The Shinx rose an eyebrow and grabbed the letter with her maw, opening it with her tail and unfolding it… she read it pretty quickly, but she remained absolutely silent and still, her full attention absorbed by that piece of paper. Once she was done however, she sighed and closed her eyes, thinking for a bit, before a bitter chuckle escaèd her throat and crumpled up the letter. "I swear to Arceus… These people just have a talent to be a pain in the ass."

"Who?" Since it didn't seem to be too important, Eric shrugged and looked the house's door, making sure that Jake, Elly and himself were carrying the copies before walking off.

"Oh, just those fans writing the weird letters that Nox loves oh so much… this time they paired me and Elly up." The Eevee blushed and looked at her friend.

"Wait, really?! I need to read this…"

"Yeah same here…" She and her mate were interested in the text for obvious reasons, but Lucy turned both of them down.

"Atatata! No peeking! I'm destroying this as soon as we're out on sea! I swear, the nerve of you people! I can't risk Nox getting his paws this."

"As if! You're the least sexy pokémon in the team! Even Jake has more charm than you do!" Everyone but the aforementioned pokémon and the Shinx hissed and "Ooooh'd" at the insult.

"Damn… that's cold." Surprisingly enough, Serge's comment was what sparked the Sneasel's fury.

"Alright, that was completely unnecessary, mind you." The Pidgeot faced the ice type and asked what the problem was, and so the two got wrapped up in another argument. With the door locked and with Lucy stashing away the letter in her bag, the group set off for the docks. It was extremely early, and the morning fog coated everything, bringing Jake some memories he would rather forget, ending the argument between Serge and himself rather swiftly.

Toothache was waiting for them, as they'd arranged, though this time he had more reasons to go to Johto than just his immeasurable debt to Team Star. "We be carryin' some merchandise today. Excuse the mess." Sure enough, they were carrying berries and spices exclusives from Sinnoh, and probably for some merchants in Flumerc Ars. Once they were all aboard, the Golduck lifted the plank, placed it on the floor and lowered the sails. Team Star helped him in any way they could, but the pokémon was already used to working alone on those projects. Whilst everyone was busy and the ship started moving however… Lucy sneakily looked overboard, resisting the nausea and tossed the paper into the sea. As the paper became soaked, the ink vanished and the message was lost to the great sea, the last legible word was "father."

---

The Judges of Arceus remained immobile when their newest contributor left the room. There were no windows, and only the dim light of a candle allowed them to see what was inside: a simple armchair with red velvet opposite of a desk, on top of which were many papers and reports, and at the other side a much more luxurious armchair, where a figure sat. Behind them, yet another shape waited in the shadows, seemingly listening from the corner.

"So… if the information we just obtained is to be trusted, then this means we've finally found what we were looking for." The shape laid back on his chair, holding their head with a hand and staring off at the painted landscape to the left, over a cupboard: grassy fields overseeing a great chasm, a river flowing down in a waterfall to the bottom, where a lush, green and life filled valley awaited.

"We have yet to corroborate this of course… but we do know that they will not give up this information easily, so it will be difficult to prove."

"Indeed…" They looked back at their subordinates. "But let us consider that what they said is true… and the fact that they're coming here means we have the perfect chance."

"Sir, are you suggesting we kill her?" The Gallade tensed up at the idea, as their leader seemed to be considering it. Tharmius then finally leaned forward, the light showing the features of a Kommo-o, his scales unseen underneath the complicated robe he wore, and yet one could see the bulges underneath it as he moved around.

"No… but I have thought of a way to kill two birds with one stone, as they say." A wicked smile spread across his face and glanced at the landscape again…

---

"So… does anyone else think we didn't spend nearly enough time in Flumerc Ars?" Elly inquired as they kept walking on the dirt path through Kanto. They'd arrived at the region two days prior, spent half of the first day in the aforementioned city and had been travelling the rest of the time.

"Indeed… the white buildings were ancient, and yet their architecture is remarkable to the point most have stood to this day without much need to rebuild sections. Those white domes and blue frames just fit the sea perfectly too, in my opinion, the streets were nicely kept… and I do not know if any noticed the presence of those iron grates on the sides of the streets."

"Oh, oh, I did!" Lucy called the Sneasel as he said this. "What are they for?"

"A sewer system. A system of tunnels dug underneath the earth that connect to every building through the which waste is disposed, mostly what is produced in the bathroom. It is very much sanitary, and projects to create one for Treasure Town have been put into motions, albeit the progress is slow because of a lack of personnel."

"Oooooh, so that's what you were talking about last reunion!" Eric chimed in as the Sneasel's words brought back memories of said reunion. "Well, if that's the case I might put my vote towards it again should it be brought up. The streets were very well kept."

"Yeah, and also just the sheer size of the city… how big was it again?" Zed asked, feeling a little worn out because of the pace they were keeping up.

"Around a kilometre. Pretty big relatively speaking, and it was a joy to see from the sky: the older buildings near the centre were a lot lower and irregular, and the further away you started to see the same shapes being repeated and stuff…" Serge seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood. "Finally, I'm so excited to leave Sinnoh for a bit and go back to adventuring… this is the life man! Even the air feels different here!" He breathed in, making the rest of his friends chuckle, though he wasn't entirely wrong: there was something novel about being in a land you'd never gone to before, and every sight was exciting and new. Forest and trees with shapes and scents they'd never experienced, greener hills under the overcast sky above, a contrast to Sinnoh's drier expanses and clear skies.

"The only thing I don't like is that it looks like it's going to start raining any second… like, it's been like this for quite some time." Of course, Nox was the only one concerned about the rain, or at the least the only one voicing his worries. Neither Elly nor Zed were looking forward to getting their fur wet.

"Wouldn't surprise me… we just started November, so let's just hope we get to Cunabula before that happens." Eric looked around, spotting yet another carriage not too far away from them. They'd walked by one a few minutes ago, and again they saw another, and right in front of it three more. "Looks like a convoy…"

"We must be getting close then. Perhaps after he gets over that hill we shall be able to see the city?"

"Well, I'm not gonna be left behind! Last one there is Muk!" Lucy sped by the Sneasel after he'd made his observation and earned a groan of annoyance from him.

Nox was the only one who fell to the taunt, and took off after Lucy, determined to try and beat her. And after him was Serge, who shouted at the two to not go out of sight. Everyone else eventually hastened their step, excited to see what lay ahead… and finally, as they caught up to that convoy and looked over the hill, they could see it. The capital of Kanto, cultural and political centre of the current world and without a doubt most powerful city in the known land: Cunabula.

It was a sight to behold too. Unlike any other city in the world, Cunabula was incredibly ancient, having been built at the beginning of the Checkered Age, back to where records of history are vague. Said to have been built amidst the brutal clash of the Aura Knights and Dark Eons, the city was a marvel architecturally speaking. After all, it had been built over a massive chasm in the earth and the valley underneath. A large pillar of stone had been erected from the centre of it, and rose up to the sea's level, and from there the rest of the city had been built, sustained by the pillar itself and stone arcs which acted as both supports and sewers to dispose of waste and keep it from falling to the valley underneath.

The city's borders were marked by tall stone pillars, acting as some sort of massive fence that defined the crescent moon shape of the city itself. On top of each pillar was a pyre, guarding posts between them. They could see tiny shapes, the size of ants, moving back and forth on them, no doubt the Cunabular Guard, protecting the city from the evils of the outside world. Large, tall buildings rose in the city itself, each of them unique in some way, be it the shape, the colours, the architecture… even the balconies themselves were unique, as they'd later see. But what definitely stood out among all else was the castle.

More of a political institution than a monarchy, the castle had been kept for various reasons, though mainly because of how important it was culturally speaking: millennia of history were stored away deep in those halls in the form of paintings, books and sculptures, and while the structure was rather simple, there was a part that they could not see from that angle. From the main chambers of the castle came out a stone bridge, which led to a platform with a building which had once been used as the chapel. With the new government, it had been repurposed as the Congress, where all of the elected pokémon from each of the cities in the world would come to represent their people and their region.

The stone platform on the which Cunabula had been built was, as said prior, in the shape of a crescent moon, connected to land by the stone arcs and the main bridge, which was overcrowded with caravans and pokémon, whilst the castle was built in the deepest part of the city, it wasn't perfectly centered over the chasm, but the Chapel was right above the Lake of Origins. The valley underneath was inaccessible, with guards positioned on the sides of the chasm, and any kind of entry to the beautiful gardens underneath could be punished with fines of astronomical amounts.

The earth underneath, which they only saw as they approached the chasm, was a lush, green vibrant forest, full of life no matter where one looked: the waterfall broke at the other end, a rainbow barely visible over it as the water crashed down on the ground and flowed to the lake. Around it, trees of various sizes had grown over years, with the exception of the front part of the lake, where one could see a large field of roses of various colours. Though hard to spot from such a long distance, one with good eyes could appreciate hints of red, yellow, white, purple… It was difficult not to stay behind and gaze, and many pokémon along the bridge were doing just that, even if they were ordered to hurry and move along by the guards stationed on it.

"Wow… this place is… stunning." Eric's observation really felt short of the beauty around them, but he was so surprised he was at a loss for words. In fact, the only ones who weren't surprised were Serge and Jake, who'd been to Cunabula before on various endeavours.

"Alright people, let's not get sidetracked here… we came to Cunabula for one reason and one reason only, and it wasn't sightseeing." Elly assumed control, since her mate was currently distracted gazing at the scenery.

"Yeah, but we can surely look around for a bit after we're done, right? Right?" Lucy's plea was supported by Nox and Zed, and even Eric joined in. The Eevee rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Sure… but first, let's just get inside." She was on a mission, and nothing was going to stop her from doing what she thought was right. The group made their way across the bridge, and already they noticed just how different things were there. For starters, every single last pokémon around them wore clothes. Simple garments, brownish, beige colors that at least showed some acquisitive power, to pompous and oversaturated dresses, colorful as the valleys below, made of delicate silk. However, a constant was that, no matter what it was, be it clothes that seemed to be made out of potato sacks or luxurious seamwork, they all wore something.

Which in turn made the group stick out like a sore thumb among that sea of clothing. Everyone was glancing at them, whispers of indecency and laughter reaching their ears, which made them extremely uncomfortable as they approached the first city checkpoint. It was in the middle of the bridge, and was formed by guards that inspected and checked the pokémon coming in and out of the city, be it in carriages or on foot.

Serge leaned closer to Jake to whisper in his ear."Why all the security? Don't remember all of this from last time I came here…"

"It is merely a preventive measure to keep undesirables from infiltrating the city."

"Too bad the undesirable ones are already IN the city…" Serge responded as he went back to his spot. The duo was already up to speed with Cunabular customs, and among the latest fads was the idea that wearing clothes was a sign of power and culture, as opposed to what everyone else did normally, which was to not wear them.

"Is this what everyone talked about regarding the clothing thing?" Since they were surrounded and didn't want anyone to listen in to their conversation, Elly decided to ask through their psychic link.

"Indeed… Cunabula is a powerful city, capital of culture… and as such, it's inhabitants suffer from a severe case of pride and elitism."

"So in other words, they're dicks to absolutely everyone that doesn't meet their standards." Nox cut in to summarize the Sneasel's explanation. The others chuckled, though it wasn't really a laughing matter, as they were the object of those pokémon's amusement. As they came up to the checkpoint however, they noticed a mob building up in front of two of the guards.

"What's going on over there?" They all ran with Elly's question, pushing and shifting through the mob until they were in the front. Slowly, but surely, they started to hear voices and shouts coming from the checkpoint itself…

"What do you mean that I cannot enter the city? This is preposterous! A violation of my rights! Why… Why this is horrible! Do you see, my good people, the way a respectable citizen like myself is treated?" The voice sounded male, and yet the accent was strange, and not even Serge could place it. As they came to the front, the pokémon speaking was revealed: a Roselia with no flowers around his wrists walked back and forth, a simple cloak over his body, probably to protect him from rain.

"Respectable? You look barely decent in those drapes of yours!" The guards, bipedal pokémon clad in heavy armor and a Serperior with plates over specific segments laughed at his words. The Roselia stood still and clenched his fist, looking extremely angry.

"Drapes?! I'll mind you sir that I am wearing this cloak for protection from the rain! How dare you judge me by my physical appearance!"

"Hit the road pal, you don't look presentable enough to be admitted in town and you don't have any documentation either, so why don't you go away before I toss you over the b-" The Serperior's advances were interrupted by Eric, who stepped forward and pushed the smaller grass type back.

"Now now, what did we say about confronting the guards, mister? Don't worry, we'll take care of this." The Riolu turned to face the guards, who were sneering at the fighting type.

"Oh, and now we've got a nudist, fantastic. Hit the road, you're n-" The Serperior was promptly silenced as Eric showed him his explorer's badge, which, at first didn't have much effect, but as he noticed the unique star emblem and the name, he took an even closer look and checked the number underneath… "Sir!" He straightened and returned the badge in a hurry with a vine. "You may pass! And your team members as well!"

"Thank you! And the Roselia will be coming with us, he's our client after all. Also, remember what he said about judging pokémon by their appearance, and if I catch you denying access to Cunabula to any pokémon because of their clothing, I'll notify your superiors. Understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Star!" The mention of the surname brought about a wave of gasps and 'Oooohs', and the team in its entirety thought it was high time they moved along. They covered the rest of the bridge, the Roselia sticking close to them and thanking them constantly… though by the time the guard reached into his pocket out of custom and realized his small coin purse was gone, it was far too late, looking around for quite some time and coming to the conclusion he'd lost it.

"Phew… now that was some help! Million thanks, my anonymous benefactors! But… may I ask why you took the liberty to help me? You could have very easily left me behind to struggle for entry against the guards, which I assure you, I would've eventually won, as my charms know no end… but I am getting ahead of myself. I am Vincent, traveller extraordinaire, at your service!" He bowed as his introduction finished. Now that the transit of pokémon was much thinner, they could inspect him more closely. The roses on his hands were absent, the leaves on his shoulders were orange leaning to brown in colour, and the small bit of the line on his chest that was visible was purple.

"Well… glad to meet you Vincent. I am Eric, that's Elly…" The Eevee smiled at him, and Eric named the rest of the members whilst they greeted and said hello to the traveller. "As for us helping you… we just couldn't stand some guard shoving you away just because you weren't wearing some fancy silk-made dress."

Vincent chuckled "A pleasure to meet you all, and trust me, I wouldn't wear one of those things, even if I had the money! There's nothing that our natural beauty simply cannot top." He brushed the top of his head.

"Amen brother!" Serge responded and extended his wing, and even though the grass type was slightly confused at first, he high fived the bird. "Besides, you don't look too shabby in that cloak!"

"Oh, do you mean it?" The Roselia inspected himself from head to toe, then posed with a hand on his neck and one on his hip. "Well… it is only natural, I'd look good with anything on." The sound of a certain Shinx gagging reached his ears. "Is something the matter?" It was then when he noticed the glances they were all giving him, and decided to stop, wearing a sheepish smile. "Oh… forgive me, I tend to get carried away."

"That's something you and Serge already have in common… Anyways, we should go into town, we've got quite a lot of things to do here." Elly said goodbye to the grass type and turned around, and he did the same as the group walked off to their destination, though Jake looked back a few times to check on Vincent. He reminded him of someone, though with that smile and that coin purse in hand, he couldn't really put his finger on it. Once inside the city the fact they weren't wearing clothes asides from their cold protection wasn't such a huge deal, as the amount of pokémon around them made it hard to spot them. "Okay so… I know not everyone's gonna want to come over to where I'm being interrogated… which I believe is the prison."

"The prison? Geez… that's comforting. I think I'll pass, my wings don't do well in dark, gloomy places like those." Serge, as expected, wasn't going to tag along, and obviously Nox declined the invitation too.

"I'd go but… I kinda want to see the rest of the city." Lucy shot an inquiring look at Zed, but the Zorua shook his head.

"I want to go with Elly. I don't think it's fair we leave her to face the Judges alone." The Shinx closed her eyes and thought about what her mate was saying, but she ended up shrugging and said she was ok with it. Eric placed a paw on the dark type's shoulder and laughed.

"Thanks. Jake and I will be tagging along too, so you won't have to worry about anything." He looked at the three that weren't to come with them. "If you're going to go sightseeing do something useful while you're at it and look for somewhere we can stay in, like a hotel or an inn. It's likely that this whole affair will take longer than a day. and we're definitely not sleeping in the streets."

"Now that I can get behind. Alright, see ya guys later!" Serge crouched down so Nox and Lucy could get on and was about to take off… but the crowd around him made it really hard to even do so. "Oh… yeah, can't really fly with all these pokémon around… guess we'll have to go on foot." The complaints rushed in, not even two seconds after he said. "Hey, shut up it sucks for me as well! Besides, I'm not some bandwagon, I'm a pokémon! With feelings and…" Their conversation was lost to their ears as they melted into the crowd. The four pokémon that remained turned to Jake, who had been in Cunabula a couple times before, and lead them to their destination.

The building he took them to did indeed look like a prison. A large structure made out of several blocks, which looked very modern. Some of the prison cells had windows that lead to the outside world, and there was a steady stream of pokémon walking in and out: Judges of Arceus, sternly looking at all those around them while clad in their signature white robes, guards whose suits of armor danced with their every move, and normal pokémon that either had other jobs in the faculty or were simply passing by.

Either way, the Eevee's presence there was already attracting the attention of some, but she didn't pay their whispers any mind: they could call her indecent for all she cared, she was there for a reason and she wouldn't leave until she had a long nice talk with their leader, the "great" Tharmius. She stormed into the main hall, a reception with a long line of pokémon, chairs stacked up and littered around tables, where pokémon talked in soft voices. Elly walked up to one of the receptionists, a determined glare on her face.

"Hello, and welcome to the CPD. Can I help you?" The receptionist was an elderly looking Wynaut, its eyes narrow and almost imperceptible, and yet they could clearly see Elly, as they were staring right at her.

"Yes, I am Elizabeth Star, and a few days ago I was called here by the Judges of Arceus to undergo interrogation. I am here to do so willingly, and have a talk with their leader, Tharmius." The receptionist nodded as she said this, and once she was done, they turned to the others.

"We're here to accompany her… and also visit a prisoner, miss Ana." Jake walked up to the counter and was recognized almost immediately.

"Aaaah, mister Jake, what an unexpected surprise! So these are your team mates you kept mentioning to me, are they?" The Wynaut's face relaxed from being stern to friendly. "I'm sorry I tried to talk with you so formally, please excuse me."

The sudden change in attitude surprised Elly, who smiled and shook her head. "No no, please, it's alright, it's your job, you don't have to feel bad about it." The Wynaut was still very much apologetic, and she introduced herself as Ana, a gentle old soul who'd been working behind that counter ever since that building had been built.

"It's always so nice to meet youngsters like Jake… so respectful with their elderly, and even if he tries to appear cold and distant, I know better…" She chuckled, which in turn flustered the Sneasel a little bit, who turned his head. "It's really sweet for you to come visit that man. Why, I honestly think the poor soul doesn't belong in this place…" She sighed. "Then again, you could say the same for all those poor pokémon the Judges have thrown in here."

This revelation confused the group, though Jake coughed and took it as his chance to explain the situation. "This is one of the main prisons in the region, the other being in Fanum, so they throw those poor pokémon in here when they see it fit. It is difficult to look at, behind bars when just a few minutes away they were free as a bird in the streets. I do all I can however, and deliver the mail from their families to them. It's the least I can do for the poor souls." This only made Elly angrier at the organization.

"How can they even… I swear they're going to pay for this!" Elly didn't let her anger get the best of her, but even she couldn't hold back the exclamation, though it was barely audible in the mess that was the reception hall.

"Now now, don't let them get to you hun." The Wynaut chuckled. "I was like you when I was younger: full of vim and vigor, ready to pounce on the first thing that I thought was unjust… but it doesn't help, trust me on this. Besides, you're not the only one who's fighting back. We hav-"

Her conversation with the Eevee was interrupted as someone ran into the department. "Goood morning! Is everyone ready for yet another exciting day defending this city of evil!?" They all turned to face the newcomer: a Blaziken with a killer smile, a glint in eye, well groomed feathers on his head and wearing a plate of armor and greaves. "Because I sure as hell am!" His shouts earned him the cheers of essentially every guard and pokémon that wasn't a Judge of Arceus, as he walked around and high fived them all with a smile, cheering up the ambiance in an instant. What was before a cold, serious room had now turned into a scalding boiler of activity and conversation.

Team Star in its entirety was beyond confused at his sudden entrance, and they were flabbergasted at the way that someone that was completely unaccounted for before had all of a sudden become the centre of attention. His endless quest to cheer up absolutely everyone in the room eventually lead the Blaziken to the group, who greeted the receptionist first. "And good morning to you, miss Ana! What a lovely day to help pokémon, right?!"

"Oh yes, indeed, Mr. Alakarn, of course!" She had been caught in the middle of a giggling fit. "Your entrances are always so peppy and unexpected, I wasn't sure of what was happening for a second!"

"Peppy and unexpected seem synonyms for annoying and overblown in this woman's dictionary." Came Jake's voice into the Team Star's members heads, and… they could see where he came from. Still, there was something about the way he moved and smiled that also made you want to smile.

The Blaziken let out a hearty laugh and looked at the newcomers. "Oh, and who might they be? Why, I recognize the Sneasel! Hello again, Jake! You remember me, right?"

"Oh, do I remember you indeed, Alakard… My migraine is not yet gone, and I fear it might be related to the voyage here, so I'd prefer it if you weren't so loud…"

"My apologies then! It's such a shame that the trip here makes you seasick… but alas, that is why I must redouble my efforts to help you!" Once again, he smiled and rubbed the Sneasel's head, forcing him to put his feather back in its place.

"No, no it's quite the contrary…" His mutters were silenced as he turned his attention to the other three pokémon.

"And you must be his team mates! He speaks highly of you, so you must be avid defenders of justice like myself! Let us unite by greeting eachother! I am fantastic, imitated but never duplicated… Alakard!" He even did a magnificent pose, pointing at himself with a thumb. "Lead investigator here in Cunabula and criminal apprehender extraordinaire!" He bowed afterwards. "At your humble service."

His presence was quite literally too much for them to handle properly, and already nervous chuckles were creeping up their throats whilst Jake kept his hand on his face, and Zed was incredibly embarrassed, as the Blaziken's eccentricities were attracting the gazes of everyone in the hall, and subsequently, he was also in the focus of the attention.

"Riiight… Well, I'm Eric Star, and that's Elly Star and that's Zed. It's a… pleasure to meet you, Alakard sir." He extended his paw… only for the Blaziken to grasp it with both hands and shake it so much that he feared he was going to rip his arm out of its joint.

"No no no no no! The pleasure's all mine! And not that kind of pleasure mind you… Hello!" He laughed at his own joke, which hadn't get registered in their minds. "Well, it was definitely nice to meet you lot and see some old faces again, but I must leave now, I have some suspects to interrogate and pokémon to get out of jail!" He turned around and waved goodbye before running down the hallway, leaving a trail of charm and good feelings wherever he went.

Once he was gone and Team Star could process what had just happened, they turned to Ana again. "Umm… What was that all about?"

Ana was still too busy chuckling. "Oh that man makes me feel so much younger… That was Alakard Jhou. He's one of the lead investigators for the Cunabular police and… all around he's just a joy to be around."

"I still wonder how someone like him can still work in this institution…" Jake's migraine magically disappeared when the Blaziken was out of sight.

"Well… he isn't actually an ace detective. After all, we're all pokémon, but everyone likes to keep him around. He contrasts the Judges very well and keeps everyone from going insane at their eccentricities… even if his own are just as insane. However, he does something which not many brave souls dare to: he is the one I was telling you about, the one helping those poor condemned pokémon out of their jail cells and back with their families."

"Pardon me?!" Out of all pokémon that was most surprised by these news, it was Jake, who turned to Ana in a mixture of bewilderment and surprise. "Surely you jest! This individual is the one helping those wrongly accused?!"

"Now now, mister Jake, what did I say about judging pokémon by their appearance!" She got stern with him for a few seconds before going back to her usual kind self. "But yes, that is him. He has been very hard at work and has managed to get a few pokémon out, or at the very least, improve their situation and prospects. There's still much to be done, but… he's the living and breathing proof that not every believer is as wicked as those Judges."

"And he believes in Arceus' return too?" Elly's smile vanished as the Riolu asked this, and turned to face the religious extremists, reminding her immediately of why they were there to begin with.

"Well, that's all fine and dandy… but we're here for the same reason, remember?" She cut the conversation short, and looked at Ana. "I'd like to clean my name in front of these Judges and order an audience with their leader, Tharmius." The look on her face displeased Ana, but she nodded and reached into a crystal to relay the message.

"They…" Her eyes widened. "Huh… they say they've been expecting you, and that there's a room prepared for you. It's down the hallway, turn right at then the fourth door on your left. However, they say that Tharmius had to leave because of personal reasons, so I'm afraid you won't be able to reach him today." Ana's response was almost automatic, which was quite sad considering that she'd been so warm and open just a few seconds ago.

Elly ignored the frown on Eric's face and nodded. "Well… let's not keep them waiting then."

"They also said that if there's anyone with you they must stay in the hall." Everyone faced the Wynaut, who had a frown on her face. She was relaying the message, but… it was clear that she was also altering it slightly. The tone of her voice implied an imminent danger that not even she was aware of. "Be careful." Was all she could say before she returned to her duties. The three males accompanying Elly looked at her.

Zed was the most anxious out of them all. "This smells like a serious trap, we should…"

"No, we're not leaving. Not until I ask them a few questions."

"And get locked up here?" Eric asked, though didn't receive an answer. She turned around to head into the prison area… but he grabbed the neck of her fur and pulled her back. "Elly listen to me!"

"No!" She broke free from his grasp and slapped his paw away with her tail. "I can't sit idly and look at those innocent pokémon get locked up one by one! I need to know! I need to know why all of this is happening so I can stop it! So I'm going to get my answers one way or the other!" She turned around and headed down the hallway, even as Eric shouted and tried to get her to come back to his side, but she ignored his cries and disappeared around the corner.

"Elly… what the hell's her problem?!" He vented his frustrations by huffing and facing away, rubbing his head. "I don't get it, she's been like this ever since the Judges appeared in town and she won't tell me!"

"You must calm yourself, Eric. Perhaps it is because she doesn't want to worry you further."

"Not worry me?! Well, it's having the exact opposite effect, Jake!"

"Well… maybe… she's got her doubts." Zed chimed in, stuttering as he spoke up. The two bipedal pokémon faced him. "I mean… she said you needed to know, right? Well… it sounded like she had her suspicions that way, and… she's treating all this like it's some sort of personal matter, so perhaps she just really wants to know the answer to those questions?" Not even Zed's words comforted the Riolu, but for the moment all they could do was sit down and wait for Elly to come back.

---

The Eevee had no trouble finding the door. Most of them were closed, albeit some were open and were insights to bureaus and offices with investigators and Judges hard at work. The door she'd been told to go was the only one wide open, and when she looked inside she found a familiar face: the Gallade, albeit hoodless, was waiting inside. His office was completely white, and was kind of unsettling, albeit the window to his side which showed the city exterior eased her mind, the sun shining in and illuminating the room. Still, the lack of colors, his white and golden robes

"Ah, miss Elizabeth. Surprised you actually came." He turned to face her, leaning back in his wooden chair. "Come, sit down, get comfy. This will take a long time."

"I hope so, mister…" She came into the room and walked over to the chair opposite of his desk, a small stool with a cushion on it. The desk was mostly bare, asides from papers, ink and quill and a large book with a black cover and golden letters.

"Martin." He finished the sentence for her, the reveal of his name confusing her as she reached down and pulled out clean papers and dipped the tip of the quill in ink.

Whilst he did all of the above, she decided to ask him something that had been eating away at her ever since she'd come in that room. "Your attitude is quite different from our encounter a few days ago… any reason?"

Only once he finished placing everything and was ready to begin the interrogation did he answer his question. "I had expected to have to drag you out of your hiding hole and forcefully bring you here, like all the others… but instead you decided to come here out of your own volition. While you and I might not see eye to eye…" His choice of words made Elly grab the pillow beneath her in anger. "But I must admire your bravery in confronting us like this, so directly, which in turn will probably help clear your name of any false accusations."

"Before we begin however… I must make something clear: everything you say and do from this point onward will be used against you in a hypothetical case of trial in a court of law, overseen by not only our normal law, but also our lord Arceus'gaze, and as such you must swear you will say the truth and nothing but the truth. Am I clear?" She could feel the gravity of the situation coming down on her, and understood his strategy: he was trying to intimidate her with the prospect of a trial… and while it was certainly an unpleasant thought, she wouldn't be deterred so easily.

"Crystalline." She shifted in her seat and gave him a confident smile. And the interrogation began. The questions rained upon her from that moment onward: her name, her background, her education, her history as an explorer, etc… They wanted to know everything she'd done, what she'd eaten and where she'd slept for the last twenty years. She answered as honestly as she could, though change the story a bit for obvious reasons: instead of spending the first five years of her tender childhood with her mother and father, she was already hatched with the Kecleon brothers, a claim Klec would have no problem supporting. Her motivation for being an exploring was changed from revenge on her father to simply wanting to see the world. From here on out, the story remained faithful, with the exception of the more family centered encounters with her mother and father and specific details they'd decided to keep secret from the rest of the world.

An hour and a half later and after retelling most of the story, they were nearing the end of the interrogation, or so Martin told her. "Very well, last few questions then… I need you to be absolutely truthful about these."

"I've been doing that so far… so sure, let's do it." The Gallade nodded and looked at his papers.

"What was your relationship with Blake?"

"Didn't know him. He became interested in me and Eric after we got rid of one of his subordinates."

"Petrae the Golem, correct? This event and your subsequent kidnapping were separated by a whole year."

"A Lucario by the name of Virkov helped Eric destroy another. This happened mere weeks before I was kidnapped." His frown grew, but since he couldn't prove she was lying, he continued.

"How did you get your powers?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. The Human Eric explained it might've had something to do with Clades and himself, but never elaborated much on it. We just woke up one day and we had them." She wasn't about to tell them where and what the Sanctuary was, and to be fair her explanation wasn't that far off from the truth.

"Well… it is a shame he died then."

"Shame indeed."

Martin stood up and put his quill back in the ink pot. "Very well… I see no need to continue this interrogation. Everything you have said will be thoroughly analyzed, and you will receive notice of our decision when Tharmius himself has inspected these notes. From the look of it, it seems your story does not have any contradictions or holes in it… but we will have to corroborate and confirm some of these declarations with other witnesses."

"By all means, do so. I have nothing to hide, mister Martin… though I have to ask, why is it you're so passionate about incarcerating innocents?" Since they were done, she found there was no reason for her interrogation to not begin. The psychic type slowly rose his eyes and stared straight into her's.

"Innocents? Miss… I am afraid you don't understand: we judge based on the declarations these pokémon give us, and they are found guilty or innocent in a court of law."

"Which you control."

"Are you implying we lock away all those we disagree with or simply don't agree with us, take their belongings and then leave them to rot in dungeons?"

"I'm not implying it, Sir Martin…" She stood up and slammed her paws on the table. "I'm saying it. There's no way you can find so many guilty pokémon in such a short period time and everywhere you go. You take what belongs to them, and in search of… what? What exactly is it that you want to achieve through this? Find a terrorist organization that is probably hiding somewhere else? Your actions are too loud, too noticeable for you to be looking for some terrorists. So what is it? Why the need of the flair, the publicity, the coverage your institution has garnered, if you're trying to hunt down pokémon that are experts at hiding?!"

These were the questions that had been burning away inside of her: why look and search so freely instead of following solid leads if they were trying to hunt down terrorists? How come they only targeted specific groups and types, and the fact that almost everyone they'd interrogated had owned up to being somehow related to the attacks? She had to know, because she had her suspicions, and she wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully until she knew for sure who or what they were looking for.

"There are…" He sat down. "Many reasons for that, Miss Elly. There are far more pokémon that are guilty of helping in attacks and other attempts at destabilizing the public order. We are here to guarantee pokémon that were once primal don't threaten normal citizens, we're here to ensure there aren't any Dark Eons plotting to initiate yet another Time Freeze… but our top priority and target, Miss Elly? Well… That is classified information, albeit… considering your team was the one that took down the dark one, I might as well give you a hint." He gave her a wide smiled which chilled her to bone: it wasn't a smile of complicity, but instead one of self-indulgence and confidence. As if they'd already won.

"We have found information regarding the possibility that Blake, at some point in time… had a mate." And there it was. Her spirits dropped to the ground and her eyes narrowed, panic settling in as her worst nightmares were realized. "And… because of this, there is a chance that the dark one might have had offspring… that still roams the land. Considering that their father was assassinated in such a manner and that he became public enemy number one… we can't risk them wanting to avenge him. And, in all honesty, this is incredibly positive for you, miss Elizabeth, and your mate and friends too. After all…" He leaned in closer. "You were the ones that killed him, correct?"

The horror on her face was impossible to hide, and she could feel the cold sweat of fear washing over her, her paws weakening and trembling in her position as she returned to her position. "I know it is a terrifying thought, Elly, but this is exactly the reason we need your cooperation: your life, along with countless others, is at a remarkable risk."

"I…" She couldn't properly answer to something like that. She'd gotten her answer, but it was the last thing she'd wanted to hear, especially from someone like him. She kept looking at him nervously, trying to scan the look in his eyes: he knew, he definitely knew, he must know… but how? And how come she hadn't been detained right there and there? Why hadn't he tried to attack her or throw her into a cell? What was happening? The world was spinning round and round, and all colour drained from her face, growing as pale as the walls around her as the ground got colder and colder, a headache suddenly taking over her brain's processes as she began hyperventilating, captured by panic.

"No, we'll… be fine, Martin. We killed him once we'll…" She swallowed hard before saying her next words. "We'll do it again if we must." And with that, she opened the door and left the room, slamming it behind her. The hallways twisted and bent around her, now filled with pokémon and guards that contorted and took on different, scarier and sometimes demonic shapes. She felt like she was fourteen again. Fourteen, alone and scared, stuck inside that the cave and defenseless. Any pokémon she looked at or bumped into was enormous to her, staggering giants that intimidated her, and when they looked down she felt murderous intent. She felt as if her eyes were going to pop out of their sockets, hitting the wall as she basically ran into the reception hall… and that was when she felt her consciousness start fading away, her body growing heavier and her legs ever weaker until…

"Elly!" Eric swooped in with arms and quickly grabbed her before she dropped down. His voice snapped her out of her stupor and she looked around. Some pokémon were looking at her, confused, worried or a mixture of the two. She looked around, relaxing in her mate's embrace as she rested her head against his chest, breathing into his fur.

"Oh Eric… I… I don't know… No no… They're…" She was still panting heavily, and felt incredibly tired, but the fear and panic were now replaced by a sense of relief as she gripped his fur tightly. He didn't know what was happening, but he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her passionately, hushing her and patting her head to try and calm her down. Jake and Zed were baffled at what was happening, but decided to leave the Eevee to the Riolu whilst they looked around at the pokémon that happened to glance at them. And because of this they also noticed someone approaching from where Elly had come from.

Martin walked out of the hallway, approaching them at a slow pace, and everyone recognized him. The Riolu put two and two together and hugged the Eevee closer to him, growling at the psychic type… but the taller pokémon did something that none of them expected: he crouched down, staying a few feet away from them, and showed concern. "Is she alright? Perhaps I was too harsh on her…"

Eric however, didn't buy it."You son of a b-"

"Hey, what's happening over here?!" Before the confrontation even begun, a familiar face intervened: Alakard burst into view and stepped in between the group and the Judge, a wide smile on his face. "Now now, let's not be aggressive, we can always solve these conflicts with words and talking! Now… let's hear what the offended party has to say!" He gave Eric the turn to talk…

"What the fuck did you do to her?!"

"Alright, alright… I should've specified we shouldn't use bad words…" Jake groaned audibly when the Blaziken said this.

"Now now… there is no need to get violent. I interrogated her as was accorded, but I answered her questions and the answer shook her to her core it seems… and I can understand it: the prospect of a pokémon chasing after you in order to avenge a wicked one like Blake is doubtlessly a horrifying thought, especially when considering what he was capable of." The other three understood what he'd explained to the Eevee, and subsequently why she was freaking out so much.

Alakard, however, took it much better. "Oh, that 'target' you are following? Well… perhaps if you stopped locking up pokémon at random you would've found them sooner, y'know?" He wasn't happy with their actions, but he still didn't dismiss that smile he had on his face constantly. "So, instead of me having to bust them out… how about we work together and save this poor Eevee? She's a pretty important pokémon too!" He extended his hand in friendship… but the Gallade refused it.

"We judge these pokémon basing our accusations on the clues we've gathered thanks to your men, Alakard… We give them fair trials too."

"But nine out of ten times they are found guilty, but then I step in and… look at that, this person never even knew who Blake was!" Alakard shook his head. "I don't wanna start pointing fingers and blaming you of foul play… but you're being mighty suspicious! But anyways, I'm seriously willing to forgive all of that if you guys stop and collaborate: for realsies this time!" He extended his hand once more, and again it was denied.

"There will be no 'realsies' for our cooperation: we seek the same goals, but we will achieve them through different means. Time will tell which of us was in the right. Now, if you'll excuse me…" He bowed, looked at Elly one last time and left the hall, going back to his room.

"Well… at least I tried…" Alakard looked a bit discouraged, but his smile soon returned and faced the pokémon behind him. "Oh well, maybe next time! Will you need some help, you two?"

Elly was still visibly shaken, but at least the Gallade wasn't there anymore, whilst Eric seemed just as angry as before. "No, we'll be fine, thank you."

"But you look like you need h-"

"We don't need it." The Riolu's voice changed drastically, and the fire type backed away, looking afflicted.

"Alright then… I'll… be around if you uuuh… need some help?" He walked backwards and turned around, unsure of what to do, whilst Eric kept trying to comfort Elly as best he could.

"So… they're looking for Blake's offspring… That indeed explains it all." Jake sat down and ruminated, talking with himself.

"I don't think this is the best time and place to discuss this… should we go and find the others?"

"No… I know of a better place where we won't be disturbed and we'll be surrounded by allies." The ice type got up and looked at the receptionists, walking over and speaking with Ana once more. She nodded, grabbed her crystal and then smiled, telling the Sneasel something that shocked him. When he returned, he asked the trio to follow him closely, Eric holding Elly close to him with his paw as they walked side by side. The Sneasel lead down the hallway on the opposite end of the hall, which lead to the prison cells area. Most of them had pokémon in there, but few looked hardened enough to deserve being behind bars: the majority sat in the back of the cells, looking at the ground or laying on their beds and looking at the ceiling, sobbing or silently accepting their unjust punishment. As they raised however, and got to the second and third floor, they ceased being so innocent and become much more violent as they walked by, and they even recognized Team Star, either cowering away or lunging at the bars, trying to take a bite out of the pokémon that had locked them up there.

Luckily, they arrived at their destination as they once again reached an area with much more calm pokémon: the area where political criminals were locked up, an area Jake essentially ran past to approach a much cleaner area with a steel door at the end of the hallway, two guards positioned either side. The door had no other cells beyond it, just a long pristine corridor with yet another door, which was slightly ajar and revealed the room inside, from where they could hear several voices.

"...And after all of that, we still didn't get any food! And we had to go down to the reception hall and say that a Machoke had just broken down the door… It was just a mess, just an absolute mess." Eric and Elly's ears perked up at the voice they'd just heard, and same with the giggle and chuckled that responded to it. They hastened their pace and pushed the door open… and inside they saw a trio of pokémon that they recognized immediately.

Dusknoir, Grovyle and Celebi were having an amicable conversation inside, sitting around the round table next to the right wall. The room itself was pretty bare asides from the bed, the waist high bookcase, the table and chairs they were sitting around and the flowerpot in the barred window frame. They turned around when Team Star walked into the room, and their eyes lit up for a second, especially Celebi's, who flew up from her chair and lunged at Eric and Elly together, hugging them.

"Eric! Elly! Oh my gosh, how are you~!" She couldn't help but squeal, Elly's earlier distress being temporarily replaced by glee as she returned the hug, trying to greet the legendary too before Grovyle walked over and helped get Celebi off of them in order to get some breathing room. "Hehehe… sorry. It's been ages though, where have you been?!"

"Oh, we've been… different places." Eric had to be intentionally vague about it, lest the story that they'd been stuck in another world for almost a full year get out.

"For a whole year? You had us worried sick!"

"Oh come on, you thought we would've kicked the bucket so easily?" Eric faked to be wounded, which made Grovyle laugh.

"Not really, but we thought you'd retired, specially after those fakers popped up. Boy was I glad to read about you on the news the other day, good job on that magnet in Hoenn!" Even though the news had been silently put under the rug, their friends everywhere knew what they'd done, and Eric was glad to see the grass type again, high fiving him.

"What a pleasant surprise to see you too, Grovyle, Celebi. Were you also visiting Dusknoir?" Jake cut into the conversation the only way he knew how, but neither were offended. If anything, they were glad to see the ice type as well, greeting and shaking hands with him. Celebi tried to hug the Sneasel, but he wasn't too keen on such a formal greeting, and instead she turned her attention on Zed, who she didn't know all that well.

"My, where's everyone else?" She asked as she floated up to Zed and hugged him to greet the dark type.

"They're walking around town… they didn't want to tag along." Eric's explanation confused everyone and almost made Dusknoir sad.

"They didn't want to visit Dusknoir?" Grovyle's inquiry was answered negatively.

"No… we had other reasons to come here, and after we were done with that, we decided to come over here. I'm sure that if we'd said we wanted to visit Dusknoir first they would have tagged along." Elly's attempt to cheer them up worked, albeit the laughter that came from Dusknoir was also slightly bitter.

"There is no need to lie Elly… but still, I appreciate you visiting me. How have things been?"

"Oh, you know… hunting criminals, locking them up in jail, the usual." The Eevee's response was as sincere as she could make it, keeping her cool and trying to not break down in front of so many friends. The last thing she wanted was to sour a sweet reunion like that, and instead made small talk with Celebi, who was already asking her how she and Eric were doing. "Oh, we're doing perfectly! We officially got together when he finally came back from… quite literally, the dead, and we got a new house just recently that we're sharing with everyone!"

"Oh, a new house? Well, don't be surprised if we show up one day then, now I really want to go back to visit Treasure Town!" Her excitement was extremely effective at cheering the normal type up, and for the time being she forgot about her woes. Meanwhile, Eric turned to look at Grovyle and approached him.

"And how have things been for you two? We haven't seen you two since… well… then." Grovyle's face went slightly somber.

"Yeah, it's been like… three years since then. We decided to go on a honeymoon to Unova, and after that we got wrapped up in legendary pokémon affairs. Apparently a legendary marrying a normal pokémon is somewhat unheard of, but… we actually got off the hook! After that we heard you guys had gone missing, we helped search for you and… one day you just showed up again! Seriously though, where were you? If I know you guys at all, you sure as hell aren't the type to leave like that for a whole year!" Grovyle's reasoning was correct, and there really wasn't much he could say to shake the suspicion off of him… so he came out clean.

"We… got warped to another world." The grass type rose a finger to say something, opening his mouth… only for his jaw to fall and his eyes widen. "Yeah, tell me about it. If you don't believe me, ask Palkia. Also! Whenever you see him, tell the guy that we're still waiting for an apology!" He and Grovyle started laughing.

"That's going to be difficult… he rarely shows up anyways, too busy keeping reality together to grace us with his presence. But I'll remember it just in case we do happen to come across him." While the two keep on talking and laughing together, Jake introduced Zed to Dusknoir.

"It's… uh… a pleasure to finally meet you properly, Dusknoir, sir." He couldn't help but stutter in the face of someone so big and imposing, specially after having heard so much about him from Jake and the others.

"Please, there's no need for you to call me sir. Either way, it is a pleasure to meet you as well, Zed! Jake has brought you up many times during our conversation, and is always mentioning your superb cooking."

"Wait, he does?!" He turned to face the Sneasel, who simply glanced at him and nodded.

"Was there ever any doubt? Not once have I left anything on my plate, now have I? Just because I have not expressed my thoughts on your dishes does not mean that I do not find them delicious." As always, the tone of his voice was kind of plain, albeit there was an undertone of surprise that was perceptible to at least Dusknoir, who couldn't repress a chuckle as Zed profusely thanked Jake for saying those things.

"Well well…" He stood straight and looked at everyone. "It is definitely nice to have everyone here once more… I would lie if I said I hadn't missed this." He said it without thinking, and silence befell the room, everyone's thoughts floating over to the same person.

"Well… almost everyone…" Grovyle sighed as he said this. "More than three years now, thank goodness I took care of the grave while you were gone."

"So it was you that left those flowers, eh?"

"Yeah… Couldn't leave my friend's grave untended, right?" Elly held her breath as he said this, then breathed out.

"Well… We've been trying to live our lives as best as we can, and all thanks to him… So we won't be forgetting what he did for us anytime soon."

Dusknoir sat down on his bed and leaned back, giving the Eevee an intense glare. "But sadly it seems the rest of the world has… Or at least a large portion of it has." He was still very much imposing, even as he sat down. "Perhaps we should discuss the reason you've come here… you are all extremely busy pokémon, and coming here to simply visit me is strange."

"Well… yeah, that's true. We came here becaus-" Eric couldn't even begin his explanation before he was interrupted by a commotion outside, and the sound of guards marching up the road. Everyone turned to face the window, though Jake was the fastest there, followed by Grovyle.

"What's going on?" Celebi remained still, torn between checking the window and listening to Eric. What Grovyle said next however, called her attention to the outside.

"Hey, isn't that your friend?" He inquired, looking at Jake, who's eyes widened considerably.

"What in the world… what is Serge doing?!" Eric, Elly and Zed looked at the Sneasel, and before anyone else could add their two cents to the conversation, Eric ran out the door, followed by Jake.

---

5 minutes earlier…

"Are you sure it's this way?" Lucy repeated her question for the fifth time, which made Serge stop and groan in annoyance.

"Yes, yes I'm sure! We were told the police department was down the road, then turn right and then turn left at the end of the avenue, so we have to be close!" It wasn't long before they began discussing, something that Nox ignored, as he was too busy looking at the trees and flowers planted along the sides of the walkways, separating the pedestrians from the central road where carriages drove. It was extremely different to anything he'd ever seen, either in Treasure Town or back home. In fact, it was the exact opposite of his home: clean and safe roads and streets, fresh air, the lively colors, the flowers… It was anything but home.

His musings were interrupted when Serge directly asked him something, snapping him out of his thoughts. "What?"

"Oh come on kiddo, pay attention! I said if you honestly think we're lost!" Nox looked around, and didn't find any building that resembled a police department. "Well?"

"I think we're lost, yeah."

"See?! I told you! Now what are we gonna do, genius?!" Lucy chimed in from behind his back, jumping onto him and screeching into his ear. "I told you I was right and you didn't listen, and now we don't even know where we are in a city we've never been in!"

He shook her off and threw her to the ground. "Calm your tail, Lucy! Just lemme ask for some directions and that'll be it… Oi! Excuse me! Sir! Oh come on don't ignore me!" Try as he might, his pleads and proper requests for directions fell on deaf ears. "Geez, I don't remember these pokémon being so disrespectful when I was last here!" He scoffed. "Is there no one in this city willing to show me how to get to the police department or what?" This situation was beyond frustrating for him… but it all took a sudden turn from the worst.

"Planning on turning yourself in?!" A voice taunted the Pidgeot from behind, quickly turning around to face the source. Pokémon were already stepping away, confused as to why this figure was shouting in the middle of the street: It was a bipedal creature with a long brown cloak, a tiny bag tied around their belt and a bulge around their right arm. "And here I thought I'd have to fight you! Can't believe you're willing to make my life easier."

Lucy and Nox looked at the Serge, who in turn was looking around, before finally pointing at himself. "You talkin' to me?"

"Of course! Who else here would be guilty of the following crimes?" The figure pulled out a list, and read a name none of them recognized. "Masaru Kaze! Crimes committed: arson, public indecency, robbery, exhibitionism, sexual deviancy, violence… and murder." They made a dramatic pause before they said the last of the charges. The voice sounded female, but at that point it was impossible to determine whether or not that was true.

Serge kept quiet through all of that, and started chuckling when she finished. "Wow… that sounds like a nasty piece of work! Good luck on hunting that guy down, sister, but we sure as hell aren't going to help you today!"

"Or perhaps you will… Mister Serge, if that's the name you go by now." This got the Pidgeot to stand still, and turn to face the cloaked pokémon.

"Right… and I'm the king of wonderland. Get lost dude, you're not making sense and you're starting become a pain in the ass, so if you don't have directions for the police department, fuck off." He tried to flip off the creature, but they remained immobile.

"Did you honestly think you could outrun your debts by just changing your name? It's hard to hide those feather, Kaze. There is quite a large bounty on your head, and I find myself in need of income. Furthermore, even though they say to not mix business and pleasure, I will take personal pleasure in beating a Kaze in combat." Halfway through her speech he started chuckling.

"Hold up, hold up… you're a bounty hunter? Me? Oh come on, I already paid all of my debts to all those loan sharks! They've got nothing on me, and they ain't gonna give you a cent! But that's alright, there's bigger fish that need frying… that's always the case for you bounty hunters, isn't it?" He turned around to face his companions, who were confused at this turn of events. "Come on guys, let's…"

"There're some debts that can only be paid in blood, Kaze… especially when it comes to a cold hearted murderer like yourself." He halted as they said this, but the bounty hunter didn't stop there. "I think I should also mention misogyny, substance abuse, sexism… or do you want me to mention who it was you killed? There's a very specific word to refer to it."

"Wha- Serge, what are they…"

He clenched his wings, and slowly turned around, shaking his head and chuckling. "Boy oh boy… you're barking up the wrong tree here, pal, lemme tell ya… You've got the wrong guy, ok? So… why don't you just stop spouting bullshit and we go on our merry ways before I turn around, lunge at you and cut off that tongue as punishment for lying so much?" He outstretched his right wing, which gave off a silver sheen, most of the pokémon around them stepping back, scared.

"Serge, what are you doing?! Just let this guy go and let's move!" Lucy tugged on his talons, but he simply shook her off, pointing his wing at the bounty hunter, who simply threw their head back and laughed.

"Alright… make me." A taunt was their only response. They looked at each other, the tension in the air so thick one would be able to cut it with a knife.

However, Serge was the first aggressor, a strong gust of wind blowing from behind as he launched himself at the offender, shouts from Nox and Lucy trying to stop him, but it was too late, as he was already right on top of the robed pokémon, screams coming from the crowds as his wings whistled through the air back and forth, attempting to harm his opponent and intimidate them. But they were too quick ducking and weaving around his wings like they were a pop-up from a kid's book, even as they nicked the ground and cut cleanly, they dared hit his left wing as he moved back and threw him off balance, plucking a feather before quickly retaliating with a swift kick to the Pidgeot's chest, knocking the wind out of him before grabbing onto his head, smashing their knee against their beak and then delivering a swift kick across his face, a gush of blood coming from his face as he pun backwards, a small bloodstain having appeared on the stranger's lower cloak.

The Pidgeot slid across the ground slightly, stopping halfway across the road, and quickly got up, bleeding from his nose, wiping the blood and chuckling. "Alright then… if that's how it's gonna be then…" He crossed his wings, which started glowing, and a gale picked up and threatened to blow his opponent off the ground, but they stood their ground, though with difficulty. They put their hands together, bubbles surging from their sleeves… but stopped halfway through the motion and looked past the Pidgeot. "Come on! Show me your tricks, you bastard!"

The only response he got was the figure flipping him off and turning around, which effectively angered him even further, lunging once again…

"Serge!" Eric's booming voice stopped the flying type on his tracks, turning on a dime for the face the Riolu, though immediately remember where his opponent was and turned back… and they were no longer there. Gone as quickly as they'd appeared, lost in the crowd most likely. And to top it all off, they'd left right as Eric appeared, most likely knowing that if the stayed any longer they ran the risk of fighting the Riolu himself. He sighed and turned around, forcing a smile.

"Yo!"

---

"What were you thinking, fighting in the middle of the road like that?!" They were back inside Dusknoir's cell. Eric, Elly and Grovyle were chastising the Pidgeot for his imprudence, while the others sat around the chair or the bed and drank tea or ate pastries that Dusknoir had asked for them. For being a prisoner, he could enjoy quite a few luxuries during his imprisonment. Eric was the one currently shouting at the Pidgeot, letting go of all the stress from the morning onto the poor flying type.

"Hey hey, I already said I apologized… besides, what was I supposed to do, go away and let that bastard ruin my reputation?"

"You honestly thought that fighting in the middle of the road would do any better?!"

"...I admit it wasn't my best plan so far."

"Well… your not so great plan could've ended up with you getting locked in a cell for a month or two Serge, and it would've attracted the attention of bad press to the rest of the team too. We're already on thin ice as is, the last thing we need is bad rep." Elly decided to become the voice of reason this time, stashing her own worries in the back of her head for the time being.

"I know as better as anyone how it feels to be taunted time and time again… I've been called many things by both normal pokémon and also legendaries, from simpleton and weakling to primal, which is apparently an insult too… But still, point is, you need to learn to fight back that temptation. You're the oldest member of their team, so you should act accordingly, you know." Grovyle crossed his arms and looked down at the Pidgeot, who usually towered over him, but since he was sprawled out on the ground against the wall it wasn't the case this time.

Serge let out a sigh and muttered something under his breath, only Elly catching the words 'So tired of this shit'. "What do you mean 'this shit'? What, tired of us telling you how to stop ruining your reputation? We could stop and instead let you go of the team if that's what you want."

The flying type rolled his eyes. "I'll say no to that, thank you. Still, that wasn't what I meant. This isn't the first time this shit's happened to me."

"You mean you've had someone walk up to you and start accusing you of crimes you didn't commit?" The feathery pokémon nodded. "Why?"

"I don't fuckin' know! If I did I would've made stop before, trust me! Guess they just get a kick for ruining my fuckin' name or something… bounty hunters man, all you are to them is a figure. That's it." He drew his finger across his neck as he said this. "They don't care about anything other than the money some fucker's put on your head."

"Well, who do you think would've gone ahead and put such a target on you to begin with?"

"No clue. I paid back all of my debts from the olden days, so there's literally no one else out for my head… so I'm betting they either picked up an old mission and aren't going to get jack shit from whoever sent it, or it's just a bounty hunter salty they lost their initial reward. I don't know and I don't care." That last sentence really didn't leave any room for further conversation, and even though Eric and Elly had more questions to ask him, they had other things to worry about.

"So… that's what they're after? Blake's daughter… You?" Lucy noticed the discussion was over and wanted to confirm she'd gotten it right. Elly nodded in response, confirming everyone's fears. "But… that's so horrible! They're hunting down someone that they don't know and are pinning it on everyone they dislike?!"

"Apparently so… So that explains why Eevees and Eeveelutions are the ones getting it worse." Nox swallowed as he said this. "And by extension, dark types have been getting it pretty bad too…"

"They won't come after you, you're too much of an idiot to be targeted by them." Lucy's insult was downright uncalled for, and Nox got heated up quickly, but even the Shinx herself was told off after this.

"The last thing we need is for a fight between you two to break out again Lucy, so please… just stop." Zed's words were the ones that convinced her, and everyone went mute for a while. Dusknoir stood up and decided to speak.

"While I am most certainly out of the loop with the entire situation… I've been here for quite a long time, and in contact with some of the other inmates at times. Rumors spread fast, and stories of the Judges' questionable methods are hardly a secret. The issue here is that they've got a staggering amount of support from a large portion of Kanto and Johto's population, and it's difficult to push laws against them in the parliament when they have such overwhelming presence in public opinion."

Grovyle stood up. "And who can blame them: even if it's been three years, the Time Freeze left a huge impact on everyone, and the government has done a poor job at trying to fix the situation: there had to be laws put in place so that recovering Primals weren't immediately fired and treated as monsters, but there're still incidents when they fall back into it. And with what happened in Flumerc Ars a few months ago…"

"So? They're just feeding off of the people's fears and using them for their own gains? Or do you honestly think they have some other purpose than enriching themselves? Because as far as we know, they get all the properties owned by the pokémon they imprison if they don't have any relatives." Eric interrupted Grovyle's turn, and he in turn was interrupted by Elly.

"No, the way Martin said it makes me believe that at least a portion of their organization is actively looking for me. Maybe there's a portion that wants to get filthy rich and that's it, but there's still a huge portion that isn't after that…"

"Whatever the case." Dusknoir recovered his turn. "The fact of the matter is, it will be difficult to bring them down, but I believe that we have more allies than we think in this fight. Asides from the government and several ETF officials calling out the Judges, there's also another group that has publicly denounced them: The Church of Arceus." Only Grovyle and Celebi remained in their spot when he said this, the news shocking absolutely everyone, who asked if he was being honest. "Yes, and have confirmed the rumors that the Judges are lead by a maverick who was once part of their inner Sanctum."

"Tharmius…" Elly muttered.

"Exactly. However, they've shown that they are not like them repeatedly: they were the first to answer to the attack in Flumerc Ars, and sent doctors, priests and as much money as they could in order to soften the attack as much as they could. Not only that, but by now you've probably met that Blaziken called Alakard, correct?" They all nodded. "He and I have spoken at large about this situation, and he's expressed his distaste for it all repeatedly. I deem that he's trustworthy, and you should try and know him better because of it… but keep your guard at all times. I feel like the worst is yet to come in reference to the Judges."

That was a feeling that they could all relate to: the Judges had gained an immense following after the attack in Flumerc Ars, where twenty pokémon, most of them dark types, waited for the weekly Saturday street market before attacking pokémon indiscriminately in the middle of the day in broad daylight. Even with the intervention of the authorities their coordination was such that it took considerable manpower and time to take them down, but by then the damage was done: reports concluded the death toll was around the hundreds, and the wounded were even higher. They'd planted bombs in specific areas to maximize the damage and attacked innocents for at least two hours before finally being brought down, having broken into the nearby buildings and slaughtered whatever was inside.

Nobody knew how they'd gotten their resources and who their leader was. More pokémon were apprehended later that week, among the which was the supposed leader of that operation, but not a single criminal organization claimed authority over the attack, which had left the ETF at an impasse. This type violence hadn't been seen since Team Uncario, and they were severely underprepared because of it, which had in turn hurt their reputation. It had been all over the news and it was still a very hot topic of discussion in pubs.

"God… what is the world coming to…" Celebi put her hands and fingers together and looked at her lap. "We all did our best and sacrificed so much for a world everyone thought was lost… we won the battle and things went back to the way they used to, and yet… not even three years later they've gotten just as bad, if not worse!"

"Truth be told, the Judges of Arceus didn't appear out of thin air." Dusknoir spoke up once more. "Long before the Time Freeze, five years prior even, there were already rumors of religious extremists attacking settlements and villages all over the world, so I'd bet that we're talking about the same pokémon here… but this time they'd decided to separate themselves and show their true face, where as before they hid themselves within the Church." At the mention of these attacks, something strange happened: Nox and Lucy went incredibly somber and looked away, details that the rest of their friends didn't miss.

"Either way, I believe this is much too big for us to tackle currently. If Tharmius was here and Elly could've gotten into contact with him, I dread to think of what could've happened." Eric voiced his worries for the Eevee, who'd been greatly affected by just speaking with Martin.

"And what are we supposed to do then?" Serge finally spoke up after being silent for so long. "Stand still and look at how more lives are ruined?"

"Well, what do you propose we do? Our reputation is at an all time low. Whatever we say to try and sway the public opinion away from them will just fall to the ground."

"Well… when it comes to what we can say, that is true… but there is someone else who can help us." Elly interrupted the discussion between the two, and immediately Grovyle, Celebi and Dusknoir exchanged a look of worry.

"No. He cannot." Dusknoir suddenly spoke up, knowing exactly who they were talking about, and his negative caught them off guard. "There are other pressing matters he must attend to and…"

"More pressing matters?! More pressing than trying to keep innocents out of jail?!" Elly got extremely angry with the ghost type, and pressed him to try and know what it was that kept this other pokémon so busy.

"I… cannot say why. I apologize." Elly didn't give up immediately, but after her interrogation net her no results, she resigned, feeling utterly defeated. "I am deeply sorry. I have no doubts that you will find a way to right this situation… but for now he won't be able to help you, there are other things that are taking up his priorities."

"Still…" Celebi cut in, and earned herself looks from both of her companions. "I was just about to say that you shouldn't give up hope! Maybe if you think hard enough something will come up. It's too late to do anything today anyways, so you should probably head to your hotel and wait for tomorrow."

"So you're just telling us to go to bed and hope that all our problems magically disappear?" Lucy violently inquired, but instead got a look of scorn from Jake.

"I believe what they're saying is simple and understandable: we should go to sleep, think about this whole situation with a cool head and decide what we'll do afterwards." He faced Dusknoir when he said this, his gaze not relaxing one bit. "But do not think I am happy about this decision… none of us like being left in the dark about these issues." The trio of taller pokémon looked at Team Star, and Grovyle sighed.

"We are just as hopeless as you guys are, don't look at us as if we hold hey key to solving your issues, alright? We've been doing all we can on our end too, and we've talked with him before: we're just telling you what he told us, that's all." A few more seconds of silence transpired before Eric got up.

"Fine then. We'll get going then. We've been travelling non-stop for two days, some rest will definitely help us clear our thoughts." He finally conceded and gave up… or at least he did so verbally, because they all got a different message through their psychic link.

"And first thing in the morning, we'll go find Ferrus and ask him for help." They all agreed with this, hiding smirks of reassurance. They waved goodbye to their friends and left the room one by one, the last one out being Jake, who shot Dusknoir one last saddened look before closing the door behind him. They waited until the door closed and they were long gone before speaking again.

"They're going to try and find him themselves, you know that right? Especially now that you've mentioned it." The grass type turned to face the bigger pokémon, who sighed and sat down.

"I know… but I needed to try. They've already got enough on their plates with the Judges to get wrapped up in this."

"I just…" Celebi cut in. "I just don't know why I keep getting this feeling that… either way, it's all connected. The Judges, the legendaries and them… I can't be the only one that feels like this, right?" Her sense of dread spread to them once she said this, and they were unsure of what to answer. They could only hope that she wasn't right.

---

"So… that day is approaching."

A figure clad in a cloak leaned forward and opened the doors before him. One of the most hidden locations in the world, very few knew of its location… and none but him and two others were privileged to know its function. Still, there were more than three pokémon in that room then, all standing around a large hole in the ground, an empty pool. They wore nothing, and yet in their hands were knives and daggers, looking on into infinity, even as the pokémon walked into the room.

"Then we must put everything into motion. They will be ensnared in our trap." The pokémon rose their knives to their neck… and slashed across them, lifeless bodies plummeting into the pool one by one, until it was full of both flesh, bone and blood. The blood seeped through indentations in the ground, making out patterns on the floor, flowing around a pedestal where a golden fragment lay, a deep green glow emanating.

"We must sacrifice to advice… to progress… a sacrifice of flesh and blood…" The blood started glowing as the bodies decomposed and sunk into the muddy crimson liquid, tiny trails of energy flowing from the fragment, through the blood and into the pool, which started bubbling, shiftling with energy… with life.

"To create the one we need… of flesh and blood." A single limb rose from the pool as he said this. And he smiled.

He was satisfied.