"So tell me boy, tea, or coffee?"

The duo sat together in an isolated corner of the bar, facing each other, it is probably now very late at night, given how sparsely populated the bar actually is, the only few that are left besides themselves are the bartender that lead them up from the wine cellar, who is currently serving drinks to a ragged looking man at the bar stand, a few drunken Pokémon and human littered here and there within the interior, not paying any attention to anything besides the drinks in front of them.

A stereotypical bar, he thought to himself, nothing like the bar the Alan owns, but again, his bar is an exception in the first place. Gone are the beautiful paintings that lined the walls, the soothing piano playing in the background and the general cozy and homey feeling, replaced by a strong smell of stale beer and body odor in the stagnant air, the random blabberings coming from various minds intoxicated and numbed by alcohol and a faint sense of despair, lingering in the air, radiating from the drunken individuals, this place is nothing but a den of corruption and alcoholism, no healthy man would come here, only the ones who wish to seek solace in drinking, trying to run away from reality and their depressing lives, trying to hide from the problems, because they are fearful, fearful of facing the problem, so they ran and ran, until they simply have nowhere to go.

The hooded figure took a puff of his cigar and blew the smoke out from his nostrils as he waited for Alger's response, letting it join the already polluted air. He took notice that his eyes seem to be drifting from place and place, looking around the bar, "Not the prettiest of all places, I will gladly admit that, but it has its charm if you are in low tiers of society, affordable drinks, and many more who probably suffered a similar fate to you, certainly an ideal place for some to visit regularly. But enough about that, you still have not answered my first question, tea, or coffee?"

Regathering his thoughts from the trance, he refocused on his current situation, "...I would take water if you don't mind, really not a fan of those kinds of beverages, especially the side effects, it changes how I behave, making me more hyperactive and more prone to make rushed decisions, two things that I would like to avoid if possible."

The stranger nodded, "I understand completely, as the old saying goes, different strokes for different folks." He then called out to the human bartender on the other side of the room, "A glass of water for this gentleman, and a cup of cappuccino for me, extra cream please. Thank you for your service, Mr. Zhang." The human bowed slightly in response, before disappearing behind the counter.

"Now, with that all settled, we can focus on your case, what is your plan now, Mister…?" He paused, asking Alger for his name.

"...The name is Alger."

"Alright then, Mr. Alger, what do you plan on doing now? Of course, I will help you to the best of my ability."

Alger leaned forward slightly, staring straight into the shielded eyes of the stranger Umbreon, "...I have some questions that need to be answered, now. First, tell me more about this… Mafia Boss that I resemble, if you even know him."

The figure chuckled at his inquiry as he removed his almost burnt out cigar from his mouth and tossed it into an ashtray, "Wasn't expecting anything else from you really. To answer your question, of course I know him, I told you, Mr. Alger, I know everyone. It is no wonder that you are being hunted down by almost everyone, because you look like an identical replica of him, well, except for the little pouch on your sides, don't recall he ever carrying those around. He is one of the greatest Mafia Bosses that ever lived, only know by the others as, Godfather, and almost a legendary figure amongst us. No one knows where he originally came from, was he a lowly thug at one point? Or was he a foreigner that happened to be the right place at the right time? No one knows for sure, we only know that he rose to power 15 years ago, and united the two main Mafias in the city at that time, not through violence, but through negotiation and compromisation. He was never one for violence, at least not anymore, his mind is his weapon, and it is effective to say the least, hence why he is able to stay alive for all this time, with so many people after his head."

"...Do you work for him?" His eyes narrowed in on the stranger, if he is working for him, he is not willing to take any chances.

"Who? Me? Of course not Mr. Alger, I am not that lucky to be working under such a talented individual, I am simply a businessman, nothing more, nothing less. He did, however, graced this property with his appearance plenty of times, he is rather fond of this bar for some reason, as I told you before, it has its charm. But I don't think you will have a chance of meeting him today, just arrived a tab bit too late for his usual schedule." He finished just in time for the bartender to arrive with the drinks he ordered, one glass of water for Alger, and one cup of cappuccino with extra cream for him, with a delicate heart pattern made up of milky foam, in contrast with the pale brown coffee beneath as the pleasant aroma of coffee beans began to mask over the unpleasant smells in the air, taking a small sip, he broke a faint smile, "Still as good as always, Mr. Zhang, you sure knows how to make coffee. Anyways," He set the coffee cup back down on the table, "Is there anything else you would like to ask me?"

"...Yes, one more thing," Alger ignored the glass of water in front of him as of now, not only is he not thirsty, he is also being cautious, he does not trust the person right in front of him completely, and it is possible for him to order the bartender to add in toxins into the water. "How do I find him? And most importantly, is it possible for me to bring him down?"

The stranger seems to be surprised by his question, "Why in the world would you want to bring him down? He did nothing to you, or at least none that I know off, it is not his fault that you look exactly like him."

"...He is the head of a Mafia, correct? That means he is a criminal, and needs to be taken down and arrested."

The shock that his words brought soon faded as the stranger gave a light laugh, "You are really not from anywhere around this city, aren't you? Or else no one in their right minds would wish to take him down, he is the greatest gift that Arceus has gifted this city with. Not only it is damn near impossible, but do you know what his Mafia did for this city? I believe there seems to be a bit of… stereotype about what Mafia's are like. No, they are not some thugs wandering around the streets, they have codes, and they have honor. There are things they do and things they don't. And things they fought against. But to the Government, they are all the same, vermins of the city no matter what they did, and must be eliminated for the sake of something they call justice, something long lost in their system from corruption and bribery. There was… a time period where this city suffered from a severe narcotics problem, it ran rampant among the middle of lower classes of the city, deaths due to shootouts and overdose were common, and the Government did nothing to stop it, or at least they tried and failed. You know how the police are, they cannot arrest anyone without evidence, combined that with the corruption within the force itself, then you got yourself a recipe for disaster." He took another sip of his coffee before continuing, "Then… he took action, not for himself, but for the city he loved, for the people he wished to protect. Himself and his Mafia waged wars against the drug cartels and eventually chased them out of the city, either alive, or in a body bag, anonymous donations were then made to hospitals and rehabilitation centers, he never confirmed or denied if these donations were made by him, but we know they are. It is all because of him, that this city exists, and is at the place where it is now."

A moment of silence followed as Alger took a minute to go through and think about what the stranger just said, what the Godfather did is indeed noble, but he doesn't know if this person is telling the truth, at all. He might just be spurting lies all over the place, hoping to blind him. "...How do I know that you are telling the truth?"

The figure responded with a flat tone, "It is simple, you don't. Risk taking Mr. Alger, life is all about risk taking. I know what you are thinking right now: 'Is this phony of a guy telling the truth or just flat out lying to me?' But think this way, what do I have to gain by lying to you that Godfather is a good guy when he is in fact not? If he is a villain, I only have things to gain if he is taken down. You might presume that I am someone who just wants to watch the world burn, but I can guarantee you that I am not someone like that, since that will be very, very bad for the business, won't you agree Mr. Alger? I am just a businessman after all, and I will do what is best for my enterprise."

However, Alger is not convinced at all, there are just too many questions left unanswered for him to trust this person, who is he really? How did he show up at the right exact time at the same alleyway that he was in? He doesn't know, nor does he expect him to give a straight answer to these questions, "...I still don't have the reason to believe you, one possible scenario is that he is actually providing protection for your enterprises, so that you may operate without the officials coming after you."

The stranger doesn't seem to be enraged by his words, in fact, he is unnaturally calm, not showing any major movements, "A very good guess, Mr. Alger, but sadly not the truth, far from it actually. You have made your point that you are doubtful of my words, I don't blame you, I wouldn't trust a stranger fully whom I just met hours ago, as the saying goes, for those who believe, no proof is necessary, for those who don't believe, no proof is possible, we could sit here all day with me trying to convince you that Godfather is not a villain, but that would be pointless, nothing but a waste of both of our's time. Now..." He paused the Bartender came by and removed the empty coffee cup from the table, "Even if I wish to aid you to take down Godfather, I am afraid that I am powerless to do so, Godfather keeps his tracks well hidden, no one knows where he is. However, if you still wish to talk about getting out of this city, I believe that ca-"

"Hey… Hey! I know you! You were… you were that Umbreon from that alleyway!"

This abrupt yelling from behind surprised both Umbreon.

Alger instantly jumped back onto his paws and sprung around to see who is talking. At the entrance of the bar, there is a very familiar looking human, the same messy and uncut beard, the same scarred face, and the same greasy, grey tipped hair, albeit this time around they are slightly tainted by blood oozing from an open wound on his forehead, he still have his leather jacket on, but now it looks like someone dragged that thing through a car wash, wet and torn, the man was shaking, while pointing his finger right at Alger.

The man stumbled forward, finger still pointed at Alger, "That is - That is him! Godfather! That is your impersonator right there! Kill him! Kill hi-" But the poor man never got to finish his sentence, a figure seems to have materialized from the shadows behind him, towering over the man, the figure is cloaked by a brown trench coat, reaching all the way past his waist, with the belt fastened around his middle, his face is hidden from view, protected by the shadows cast by his rather large brown fedora.

The figure grabbed the man by his neck and yanked him back like he weighs nothing, proceeding to slam his face right up against the wall, a sickening noise of flesh being squashed could be heard before the man flopping down onto the ground, unconscious. As this event was unfolding, nobody in the bar seems to have paid them any attention, not the bartender, not the customers, almost like this was of the ordinary.

The cloaked man soon gained a more formal composure after that brief violent encounter, he folded his hands behind his back, now looking at the direction where the two Umbreon were situated, or more accurately, in the direction of the hooded Umbreon, as if waiting for further instructions. He unnerved Alger, greatly, not only because how fast he managed to knock out another human being, it is also due to his shadowy appearance, night vision is something that all Umbreon possesses, allowing them to see through the darkness as if it weren't there, but… he cannot see this man's face behind the shadows, almost like he has no face at all, replaced by a permanent cloud of shadows.

"He is not something that you should be worrying about as of now." He mentally scolded himself for being distracted from what is obviously a bigger threat… His friend over here."...I believe you have some explaining to do, a lot of explaining." His whole body begin to tense up, readying itself for a fight if there is one to come, the recharge on his ability should be finished by now, if he could not defeat him, escape is indeed an option.

"Good grief..." The stranger sighed and tipped his hat even lower, "Just as I thought everything was going according to plan… And the irony that individual who foiled it was one of our own, instead of you. I believe this is one of those accusations, where you planned your every move, analysis everything, consider every single possibility and rem-"

"...You have five seconds to give me the explanation I demanded, anything that happens after my time limit is none of my responsibility." Alger interrupted him,

"Please, take it easy there, Mr. Alger. There is no need for a threat." The hooded Umbreon motioned him to calm down, still maintaining the same composure, as if he is not worried about the possible dangers that Alger might impose. "Wouldn't want you breaking anything here, bad for the business, of course customers would be hesitant if they saw a room full of broken glasses and smashed furniture. But as per your request, I believe an explanation is in order, or it would be otherwise unfair to you. So… where shall we begin? How about we start from the beginning? From the first question you asked? About my name? I have many names, Mr. Alger, most of them given by other people, the Government calls me a criminal," He brought his front paw up again, this time reaching for the tie that held his cloak onto him.

"The people calls me a Saviour." The black cloak slipped off his body, revealing the rest of his sleek form, his glowing rings slowly returning to their original brightness, the same cyan blue, just like his.

"My friends call me Godfather." He reached up and tossed his fedora to the side.

The stranger looked up as his eyes met Alger's, the same pairs of yellows eyes lined with strips of blue, staring into one and other, "But to me, I am, Alger, what a pleasure to meet you. Mr. Alger."

(Line Break)

The duo stared at each other in silence, not because they are fearful, each has their own reason for staying silent. In the background, everyone in the bar went on with their own business, not paying them anything attention, maybe they don't care, or they don't dare to.

Alger is practically on the edge of leaping out of his seat, nothing about the past events adds up, how did he know that he will go in that alleyway? If he did know, why did he go in himself after sending in his own agents? What is his goal of bringing him here? He doesn't know, all he knows that he is not planning on killing him, at least not now, he is better off getting some answers out of him rather than panicking. "...You answered my first question, now for the following, why? What are you planning on doing with me?" he closely scrutinized his look-alike, trying to see if he has shown any emotion that might be helpful in identifying his thoughts, but to no avail, the Umbreon kept a stern face on, staring back at him, though he is almost certain there is a light smirk hiding behind that emotionless mask of his, enjoying his reaction.

"Of course Mr. Alger, I believe that could be arranged, but before that, please allow me to dismiss my own men. Dext," He called out to the human in the brown trench coat, still standing motionless behind them. "You are dismissed for the day, make your free time productive, and call our ambulance for the man, if he were just a little bit brighter, he could have saved himself the suffering. And please remind me tomorrow to inform our Underbosses to recruit members that are actually competent."

The man nodded and muttered, "Yes… Godfather..." Before grabbing the ankles of the still unconscious agent and dragged him out of the bar through the front door.

"Now, with that all taken care of," He turned back to Alger who haven't moved a single muscle, "Is that what you wish to know? Very well, then you shall know. I was notified this morning that a couple of my Underbosses engaged in a shootout with the Police trying to save an Imposter who is pretending to be me, just as I was readying myself for my morning stroll along the streets, but I will be honest here, you didn't really even make the attempt to conceal yourself, one of our agents had eyes on you as soon as you ditched the police and reported your position back to me, I order two of our agents to follow you to and make contact if possible, while myself took the path down in the sewers for concealment, we both know what happened next." Godfather took notice of how tense Alger actually is as he made the attempt to reassure him that no harm will be done to him, "Please, Mr. Alger, there is no need to be so tense, harming you was none of our intentions."

"...Then please explain, why am I here? What is your purpose of bringing me here besides eliminating me? My existence is not exactly beneficial to you, so taking me out of the picture would be the best thing to do." Alger responded, hoping to render his look-alike speechless

However, his wish was not granted as Godfather only shook his head and responded swiftly, "Good grief, Mr. Alger, you really didn't listen to anything that I said, is being an honorable Mafia the same to you as being an ordinary thug? Perhaps, if I put it in this way, you would have a better understanding. From the moment we have met to where we are now, there has been a total of 11 different opportunities which I could have taken to end your life in mere seconds, but I didn't, evident by that you are still alive and well, and not missing any body parts." He paused for a moment before suddenly reaching forward, causing Alger to jerk back a little, he grabbed the glass of water meant for Alger, who still haven't taken a single sip out of the cup, and brought it forward to his lips, "I know why you are hesitant to drink this water, Mr. Alger, you are afraid that it might be poisoned, I certainly cannot blame for being cautious, after all, that is how I managed to stay alive all these years. But-" He drained the glass to the bottom in one gulp and set it back down on the table, "What we fear, are not always what is real."

This has to be the third or fourth time when he didn't answer his questions directly, and changed the subject to something related to his question, but not really of his concern, in this case, it only served to further confuse Alger, "...I still have my doubts about your intention, but tell me, if you didn't bring me here to kill me, what do you want from me? Answer directly to my question, please." Alger responded, getting a bit impatient with Godfather constantly dodging his inquiries.

"Not a big fan of my ways of giving answers, I presume? Since you demanded me to give a straight answer, it wouldn't be appropriate for me continue to be vague. The truth is far simpler than what you might have imagined, , I simply wish to know more about you, to see whether you are a friend or a foe, excuse me for a moment." Godfather paused the conversation between them and begin digging through the underside of his cloak, soon producing a pack of cigars and a lighter. Alger watched him light up another as he inhaled deeply, letting the smoke seep into his body, before exalting out, letting the smoke blend into one with the air, "Old habits die hard, even when it is detrimental to my health." He said to Alger, flicking the filter as ashes sprinkled across the ashtray. "Another reason why I wish to know you more is to consider the possibility to recruit you into our ranks, you will be a very valuable asset, having identical looks with me, but it has become apparent to me some time ago you are obviously not fit for our line of work, a shame really."

"...Then what are you going to do with me now?" Alger asked, silently preparing himself for what he might say.

"You are not an enemy, and we could become acquaintances if you wish, in other words, you are not a threat, you are free to leave if you wish, but please, stay in places where the Police cannot find you if you are planning to remain in this city for any extended periods of time." He dropped his formal stance and laid back into the couch, "My door is always open if you ever need anything, Mr. Alger, it has been a pleasure talking to you."

"...I would say the same to you as well." Alger gave Godfather a nod before hopping off his seat on the couch, trotting away to the entrance of the bar, until he finally disappeared through creeks between the glass doors.

One fading figure brought forth another one to take its place, "Should I… go and keep an eye on him, Godfather?" The human, whom Godfather referred to as Dext, stepped out of the shadows behind him, almost like he has always been there, watching everything.

But he dismissed his suggestion with a wave of his paw, "There is no need, Dext, it is not that I doubt your ability, it is just I don't like to take unnecessary risks, if he somehow managed to find out that you are tailing him, our credibility will plummet." Staring at the glass front doors, he took another puff of his cigar, "It is best for him to find out for himself, whether we are telling the truth, or the lies."

(Line Break)

The sun has long faded from view as the moon rose up to take its place, its pale light pour through the narrow openings of the cloudy sky, outlining the drifting clouds with a silvery frame. Unlike its counterpart, the moon brought forth no warmth, only cold breezes that push against the Shiny Umbreon as he made his way across the paved path.

The park appears to be wholly abandoned, like a building that fell into disrepair after its inhabitants left it, gone were the clean cut lawns and trimmed bushes, replaced by a tangling mess made up of moss, weeds, and the intertwined roots of the great oak trees. Despite all of this, the streetlamps lining the path are still in working condition, providing this swirling vortex of chaos with some sense of order.

Alger is in no way at ease, even if the bar is way behind him, his ears perked up for any sudden noises, his eyes scanning the messy hedgerows for any sudden movements, he doesn't know if all of this is just a bait, that he intentionally let him go for him to be assassinated here, it is entirely a possibility, and with the amount of control he presume that he has over the city, he could simply manipulate the police to ignore this case entirely, but so far, he hasn't spotted anyone tailing him.

He tried again, seeking that flow of energy within him that would be his only path of escape, it is surely there, but not strong enough, he just need a little bit more time for it to replenish itself, how long that might be, in his current situation, every prolonged second means an increased chance for him to encounter danger.

Eyeing further down the path, he noticed an empty bench right under one of the metal lampposts, a rather inviting sight to the tired Umbreon, he supposes resting a bit won't hurt, and he does need some time to regather his thoughts.

The Godfather… he gave him too much to think about, a figure that gives him a mixed feeling. Can he be considered as a friend? Alger doesn't know, even at this point he still can't figure out statements he made about his own past are true or not, there are no clear indicators if he is lying or telling the truth.

But what would he have gained by lying? Godfather did mention at the end that his original intention was to recruit him into their ranks, and how he realized he isn't fit for their line of work, but at what point did he realize that? Before the retelling of his story or after? Alger closed his eyes in mild annoyance, he shouldn't let his words get to him, maybe this is what he is trying to achieve, to confuse him, it is probably the best for him to just leave all of this behind and forget about it.

Reopening his eyes, he stopped dead in his tracks as he was greeted with something he did not expect to see, the empty bench isn't so empty now, a figure that wasn't there before is now sitting on it, casually reading a piece of newspaper like nothing is out of place, the man is wearing a white baseball bat, pulled down far enough to cover half of his face,a shoddy looking blue winter jacket covered most of his torso, he doesn't recognize his outfit, but he recognizes his face, or rather the lack of facial features, clouded by a permanent block of shadows.

It is Dext.

Not willing to take his chances and deal with him now, Alger begin to slowly back off, the night is his playground, but fighting a battle without knowing your enemy's capabilities is dangerous, if he could get away without a battle, why fight?

"There is no need to flee, Mr. Alger, I am not here on Godfather's orders, in fact, he specifically ordered me not to follow you, I am merely here on my own accord." His escape attempt was thwarted as Dext already knew he is here, the bizarre human remained on the bench, still flipping through the pages of the newspaper.

Alger stopped as the human called out to him, preparing himself for the worst outcome, "...Then tell me, what are you here for? I thought I was free to go."

"Well yes, you are, just uhh..." He closed the newspaper and set it aside, "I just want to talk to you about something, that is all. I guarantee you I am not armed, normally I would have knives lining the inside of my jacket and more stored in various different pockets for use, like this front pocket on my jacket," He motion towards the pocket in question and reached into it, "Normally I would have pocket knife in here for backup uses, but now it… Should be...empty..." He trailed off his sentence as a small pocket knife is brought out of the pocket, for a few seconds, neither of the two parties said anything, only staring at the knife in silence.

Dext gave a nervous chuckle,"Ok… Maybe I was slightly armed after all, this is uh… quite awkward… on my part, but you have to excuse me, with so many knives, you are bound you lose track of a few until they turn up in the most unexpected of all places… Like the time where I found one in my- I think we are getting off topic here…"

Alger doesn't know if he should feel amazed, puzzled or just downright confused, he didn't imagine Dext to be someone quite like this, given how he acted in front of Godfather when they first encountered, "...Would you mind explaining why you are acting so different now and back in the bar?"

"Ah, yes, that." After placing the knife back into his jacket, Dext leaned back into the bench and stared up at the night sky, "Well, you see, Godfather doesn't like agents who talks too much or just spent too much time yapping around and doing nothing, and he is my boss, so to make a boss happy, you will have to go by his standards, hence the reduced speech while I am with him. When I am off work, I am basically like this."

"...Very well then." Alger shifted a bit on the spot, "...So what do you wish to talk about?"

"Oh, it is nothing," He said dismissively, still not looking at Alger, "If you are expecting some preaching of the good ways or things that will leave you deep in thought, then you will be wrong, I am not that kind of people. I can tell from your reactions back then that you didn't believe anything that Godfather said, or at least not fully, therefore I can make the presumption that you are not going to believe anything that I said either, so I am not going to even bother with that, instead, would you like to hear a story, Mr. Alger?"

"...Sure." Alger replied in a flat tone, slightly curious at what this human is trying to pull off.

"Alright," He cleared his throat, "This is a story that… two very strange individuals told me some time ago, and I wish to share it with you. Long long ago, there was a group of people that existed within a cave, ever since they stepped into this world, they lived their lives chained to the cavern walls, all they could do was to stare at the walls of the cave in front of them, looking at the shadows of trees, animals and other humans on the wall reflected by the fire, they thought that is all the existed, because to them, that is the truth. But one day, one of them was taken out of the caverns, onto the surface, he discovered more than he thought is possible, humans, animals plants, they are all real, existing and breathing, dancing in front of the fires, not just some shadows on the wall. Now the caveman has known the truth, of what is truly out there. But once he returned to the cavern, and told his companions of what he has seen... no one would believe him, for they do not know the truth because they know nothing else."

Alger narrowed his eyes, "...Are you attempting to imply something?"

"Of course not, Mr. Alger." He only smiled, "It is just a stupid little story that I wish to share with you. However, it seems like my time is up, as much as I would like to stay and converse more with you." Dext got up from the bench and straightened his jacket, tipping his hat at Alger, "Until next time, Mr. Alger." With that, he turned around as the Umbreon watched his form slowly disappear into the darkness of the night, leaving him alone under the streetlight.