While Avery patrolled the coast for any wayward spirits that came to Mirage Island and Elezar and his Scizor scouted out the areas nearby to ensure their safety, Christopher and Amanda were left to their own devices in the abandoned village on the eastern side of the island. Amanda took the time to try and reacclimate herself to the situations they were all in, still very much confused over how everything could have changed so quickly after she had been abducted by Hunter. She tried on several occasions to reach out to people off the island with her Poké Gear, but the cellular service was completely down. She also tried to reach her friends though some secretive means, but they too seemed to be dried up. She could only sit there and try to process what had happened.

Christopher, meanwhile, was getting himself back into shape. His Pokémon were jogging in place or sparring with one another, while he himself was busy with his push ups, sit ups and crunches to make himself ready to help out his friends and loved ones however he could. Amanda not only admired Chris for his tenacity and courage in wanting to help, but she had always had a bit of a soft spot for him as a potential match for herself. Not that she was interested in him. Chris was, according to himself, firmly involved with Piper and she herself was in a loving and strong relationship with Billy Kingston. But there would be times when she could not help but be in awe of the sheer physical presence Christopher had. He looked so much like Michael in his prime that it was jarring. And like Michael, he was a forbidden fruit she could only dream of being involved with. The Pines girls had an edge over her in this department.

Amanda didn't pine for Chris, though. Or Michael for that matter. In truth, she missed Billy dearly. The two had kept a very quiet and low profile relationship with each other over the course of two years, but from Chris's testimonial, Billy had almost the entire Arcanan Coast Guard out looking for her before they had departed for Mirage Island. It was clear that Billy thought of her and was worried immeasurably about her well being. This made her feel good. Billy, while not as pure and reverential as Michael nor as physically well built as Christopher, was still quite a fine stud of a man. Handsome, smart, strong and certainly a powerful Pokemon Trainer. It would not surprise her if someone tried to muscle their way into his arms and woo him. She knew Billy would never give up on her unless he knew for sure she was gone. So long as he held true to the idea that they might get back together one day, Amanda could be very well placated for it.

To keep her mind off of her loneliness, she continued to try and piece together all that had been slammed into her head since she had woken up from Darkrai's Dark Void. "So let me see if I've got this straight. Elezar is alive, but he isn't. Avery is also dead, but she could also be alive. But Elezar is in a human form and Avery is that Darkrai thing?"

"I think that's as close as we're ever going to get" Chris told her plainly as he finished his last sit up and made it back up to his feet. "I'm still confused myself."

"You'd think after all the things we've seen and been involved in, we'd be able to adjust and move on" she laughed.

"The longer you're involved in the nonsense that is our lives, the more likely even we stop understanding it all." Chris looked around for any signs of their alleged protectors. "I take it Elezar truly was sick of babysitting us."

"I think it's to prevent us from doing anything stupid" Amanda pointed out.

"You mean me?"

Amanda nervously waved her hands. "No no no no no! Of course not!"

"Only kidding ya" Chris snickered, but his tone shifted again to more serious. "But Avery not being around is a touch concerning."

"Where did she go that would take so long?"

"I think she's checking in on Ryan. The silence we've had on that has unnerved her."

"Couldn't she just reach out to him in his dreams?"

Chris shrugged. "Beats me. Like I said, I know just as much as you do about all of this." He looked up to the dark skies above them. "But if it can help us get closer to getting back home, she can take all the time she needs." He clenched his fists. "They need me."

"Piper?" Amanda asked playfully. "I'm sure she does. She's been crushing on you for a long time."

"Her too" Chris answered seriously, "but I also mean Cam and Mike. I mean, don't get me wrong. I love my Dad and Shannon. Katrina and Renee are also great stepsisters. All of them have been awesome to me. But those two are family. Nah, they're more than that. Those two mean...they mean everything to me. We grew up together, we learned together, we played together, became trainers together and dominated together. All of it. They're my brother and sister." He lowered his head stoically. "I can feel like they need me."

Amanda nodded. "I know what you mean. When I was sleeping, I dreamed a lot about my family. But I also dreamed a lot about Billy. I could feel like he's losing it. And I just want to see his smile one more time. That ought to keep me going for a bit." She gently massaged her head. "And Julia too. She's not just my mentor. She's one of the greatest people I've ever known. A true friend."

"That I agree with" Chris grinned. "She sure is something else."

Now, it was Amanda's turn to giggle. "Oh really? I should have known Piper wasn't the first Pines girl to catch your eye."

Chris sighed. "Just don't tell Mike, okay? I don't know how he'd react to knowing how-well-close we got after he was exiled."

"My lips are sealed" Amanda winked. "But I'd gladly do it if I knew we could get off this miserable rock."

To both of their dismay, Elezar was the first to return, his frustration with their present situation growing. His Scizor echoed his sentiment by slamming his sharpened claws on a nearby tree, only stopping when Chocobo threatened him in combat. While he calmed down, his trainer did not. "I've had enough of this! My daughter is trapped in the hands of that infernal Mewtwo and I have to keep waiting here for the 'go ahead' from a wretched little ghost?!" He growled as his attention turned towards the two. "And guarding two who helped sabotage my plans is not very high on my happiness level. Especially you, Lord Kingston!"

Chris brushed off his old foe's arrogance. "I'm not the one who chose to do evil deeds under the guise of pleasing the fake memories of my daddy. You don't have anyone to blame for your miserable existence but yourself, Elezar."

"Ah, that old fashioned Kingston arrogance" Elezar seethed. "Fat lot of good that arrogance has done you!"

Sensing a conflict ready to explode, Amanda stepped in between the two of them. "Can we just remember we're all on the same side? The anti-Mewtwo side?"

"And you're the reason the rest of us are even here!" Elezar accused.

"Me?" Amanda gasped. "What did I do?"

"It's not what you did, it's what you didn't do! You and Michael's precious little tramp Julia kept important notes written by my father off of the database. Even when the Kingstons and their allies have noble intentions, they feel the need to hide it."

Amanda lowered her head. "You mean those pages about the Fury Relapse?"

"The Fury what?" Chris asked in confusion.

Amanda shook her head. "The research was never finished! If we released it out to the public, we'd never know how it-"

"What were you hiding?" Elezar snarled. When Amanda didn't immediately answer, he cursed the both of them. "Damn you both. Had you simply not tried to be conniving and sneaking, none of us would be here right now!" The former Syndicate Leader turned on his heel and stormed off to tend to his frustrated Scizor.

Amanda looked over to him and shook her head. "I guess Piper was right. We should have revealed this much earlier."

"What's going on?" Chris asked. "What is he talking about?"

The future Professor took a deep breath before she explained herself. She never thought that she would be explaining this to anyone, but she knew it needed to be done. "While we were going over the notes written by Balthazar Aced, you know, when you guys were out of commission? Anyway, we were going over all of his notes, diagrams and equations for trying to find a way to prepare them to upload onto the database. Piper and I uncovered some rather disturbing notes in Balthazar's last journal, particularly dating to a few weeks prior to his death. Julia was so alarmed by what was written in it, that she ordered that I keep it from the database. Piper asked why and all she could say was that she was protecting the memory of her love. Even when Ryan defeated Mewtwo and all of the Crimson Brands were removed, she refused. At that point, it was because of how petrified she was to lose Michael again."

"But what did it say?"

Amanda shrugged. "I don't remember completely. I haven't seen it in two years. All I remember was it had something to do with what he was calling 'Fury Relapse'."

"Fury Relapse?" Chris asked worriedly. "Do you mean that even with the Brands removed, someone exposed to the Fury could still suffer from it?"

"Anyone exposed to the Fury in general. Remember, the Brands weren't a thing until after Balthazar had died. And not just in the light of the Crimson Moon. It could happen at any time." She looked worriedly at the moon above them, which was fortunately as pale as it had ever been. "If Balthazar was correct, everyone we know who has been exposed to it can just as easily slide back into it. Michael, Addison, Holly, Ryan and all the rest."

"Why wouldn't you guys let us know?" Chris demanded. "We could have tried to get some kind of failsafe installed, or-"

"What kind of failsafe could you get that would help? It was Ryan's relationship to Addison and Julia's to Michael that saved them from falling deeper. If Ryan had succumbed to it alongside them, that wouldn't have happened. The Fury isn't something we can control so easily. Julia was horrified of this becoming a reality."

"So she chose to suppress it and pretend it isn't happening? That's not the Julia I know."

"Argue all you want with her when we get back" Amanda snapped. "But she felt it was the right thing to do. I wouldn't have done it, but she was the Professor. And she is the Lady of Arcana."

Chris folded his arms and grumbled to himself. "Why does Julia keep all these secrets from everyone?"

"Because she's a scientist who wants to protect people and a hopeless romantic?" the young scholar theorized. "Don't pretend you haven't kept your own share of secrets from people. Michael included."

"Me kissing Julia once and potentially damning information about the Fury are two totally different levels of secrets though" Chris argued. "What was she thinking?"

"Do you know how distraught she was when she thought you all were dead? She lost five friends that day and nearly lost Piper as well. She was holding together as best as someone in her position could. But she was blaming herself for what happened and everything else that unfolded afterwards. When you guys came back and Michael kept to Julia's insistence on breaking up, she was even more disturbed." She moved closer to Chris and put her hand on his shoulder. "Chris, she loves Michael. The same way you feel about Piper and I feel about Billy. She wants to keep him safe the way he kept her safe all these years."

Chris frowned, though he seemed less angry at this. "I still don't like what she did, but that's at least believable from her. She's always loved him."

"Love can make you do unexpected and crazy things" Amanda pointed out.

"It sure can" Chris admitted, finally letting a grin appear on his face.

{}

"So tell me again why we're here" Lizzie grumbled as she and a small retinue waited at Titanio Airport. She hadn't been told exactly (or maybe she had and just ignored it or didn't understand) why they were headed to Titanio City, but Julia had insisted it would help out their cause and would hopefully stir Michael out of his depression. Lizzie had not been privy to the deeply forlorn state of her old friend. as he had isolated himself from everyone following the deaths of Ryan and Robert, but to hear how terrified Julia and Cynthia had been definitely made her worry as well. Anything to keep her friend happy again. Even if she had no idea what was going on.

"There's supposed to be some special guest or something coming to Arcana" Madeline Kingston informed her. "Julia didn't say who, but it's supposedly someone important for the upcoming Council Meeting."

"What is this whole thing supposed to be about?" Mark wondered aloud. "I guess we have to be in the know."

"I don't know either" Madeline admitted. "Junior and Michael are being very tight-lipped on the matter. Apparently, this is the first gathering of the Thirteen Families in almost ten years. Not since Grandma retired has there been one."

"Eleven" Lizzie corrected the two, while she casually tried to focus on the music coming from her MP3 Player.

"Eleven what?"

"Eleven Families" she repeated. "The Aceds and Jacques Families won't be there."

"Well, it's easier to call it the Thirteen" Madeline shrugged.

"I just hope this makes things more clear for us" Billy Kingston added, himself standing with his arms folded just outside of the runway that the plane was supposed to be flying down on. "Things have been way too gloomy around here. One can only hope that this will begin our reversal of course."

"One way to find out" Mark replied, pointing in the air above them. "Here it comes."

The quartet all gazed into the cloudy skies of morning in Titanio City where they could see a plane slowly gliding it's way down to bring the newcomers to Arcana. Lizzie, irritated by the roaring of the engines, simply blasted her music louder. It didn't occur to her until Mark tapped her shoulder just how loud she was listening to it.

"If you're going to try and tune us out" Mark grinned, "maybe you should pick a better song than 'Rumba of Love'."

"Rumba of Love?" Billy laughed. "That song's ancient!"

Lizzie glared at Billy for a moment before resuming listening to her music. I don't make fun of his music. Why would he do it to me? Billy, prior to all that had gone down almost seven months earlier, had hosted concerts aplenty at Iron Colosseum in the Iron Village. His most popular guest performers were Roxie and the Blackhearts (though Lizzie guessed that was because of her previous 'friendship' with Chris), but there would be plenty of small time and popular stars from all around the world that would play there. And Lizzie had once been given a VIP suite at the Colosseum to go to concerts, but she found the music so loud and annoying that she simply let Chris use it as a way to...well...you get the idea.

The plane landed without much of a fuss and a portable staircase was wheeled in so that those on board could climb off. Lizzie could tell by the writing on the side of the plane that whoever had been invited or was coming had hailed all the way from the Alola Region. It also helped that a tropical logo was splattered on both the wings and near the tail of the plane. The four waited with baited breath for whomever this very important dignitary might be.

Lizzie was in tune with her music as the songs changed, but she did notice someone coming up to them from nearby to speak with them. She simply paid the new arrival no mind and continued to listen away. But she was unable to keep the curiosity inside of her at bay for long and lowered her volume enough to hear Billy speaking to him while both Mark and Madeline remained focused on the people descending from the flight.

"Look, bud" Billy responded as politely as he could, "I can sign an autograph in a bit, but we're kind of busy at the moment."

"I'm terribly sorry" the arrival spoke eloquently. "I'm not a fan. I mean, I'm sure you're a fine-er-whatever you are, but I actually need someone's help in looking for someone. Actually, a few someones, as in a plural sense. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ramble like that."

"We're going to have to ask you to take a few steps back, citizen" Billy ordered. "This is official Arcana Business." He looked to his cousin and Mark. "Anything?"

"We don't even know who we're looking for" Mark reminded him. "What makes you think we'd know for sure who we're looking for?"

While Mark and the others bickered among each other, Lizzie looked at the newcomer and studied him. He was tall, almost a foot taller than she was. He had neatly combed brown hair and was wearing what had to have been the most tattered and travel-stained clothing she had ever seen someone wear. He had a large suitcase in his hands, no doubt holding all he possessed in it. Despite being sure she had never seen this man before, Lizzie could not quite tell why he felt so familiar to her. Was it his facial features? Well, he had a bit of a hooked nose and hooded eyes, but she had been dealing with so many people with those traits that she'd lost count. More than half of the Syndicate could qualify for that. As he desperately tried to get help from the group for whatever he needed, Lizzie finally took enough pity on him to lower her earbuds and listen to what he had to say.

"Sorry" Lizzie apologized. "This is just a really important errand we're on for Lord Kingston."

The man's eyes widened. "Lord Kingston? Well, gosh. That's the man I was sent to find."

Lizzie paused. "Wait, what?"

The man looked himself over and realized just how much of a schlep he looked like. "Oh darn it! I was hoping to make a better first impression than this. But, this will have to do." He offered a handshake to her. "Hello there. The name is Justin."

Lizzie raised and eyebrow, but shook his hand nonetheless. "Well, Justin. I'm Lizzie West."

"Didn't I tell you to move back?" Billy snapped.

"Would you relax?" Lizzie fired back. "He doesn't mean to harm anyone. Besides, he's here to see Michael about something."

Mark and Madeline turned to see the newcomer. Though Mark wore a face of genuine surprise, Madeline's face went at first deathly pale, then her eyes grew wide and bright and her cheeks shined a bright pink. She shoved both Billy and Mark out of the way and walked her way up to the man, flirtatiously playing with her hair. "Well, if he's here to see Michael, I think we should help him however we can."

"We don't have time for this" Billy argued. "This plane that just landed is bringing someone of great importance to Arcana and we can't just-"

"Oh, but I arrived a few hours ago" the man interrupted.

Madeline nearly squealed like a schoolgirl at the accent he spoke with. "Ahhhhhh."

"You mean to tell me you were the one we were sent to pick up?" Mark asked.

"My name is Justin. Justin Jacques."

This caused all four parts of the retinue to drop their jaws simultaneously. Billy was just perplexed by the whole situation and Mark wore a look of inquisitive curiosity, but both Lizzie and Madeline seemed in awe of him, but for completely different reasons. Lizzie was amazed that Claude still had family members beyond Arcana, but Madeline was blushing profusely at something. Lizzie couldn't tell what and simply spoke on behalf of the others.

"Jacques? As in Claude Jacques?"

"That would be my Great Uncle" Justin revealed. "My mother informed me that he had died recently and I was sent back to Arcana to...what was it? Oh yes, to make amends for the trouble he caused us."

"The trouble he caused us we're still cleaning up from!" Billy scowled, but Madeline pushed her cousin hard to the side again.

"Oh, just ignore Billy. He's not always this much of a pompous ass."

"Pompous?!"

"I don't wish to cause any trouble" Justin assured the group. "But I was told I needed to come back to Arcana now that Uncle Claude was dead and to make amends as well as to...claim some sore of inheritance he left me. Well, he didn't exactly leave it to me, but someone has to take over the family business here, right?"

Lizzie was now just as confused as Mark. "You don't seem like much of a lawyer though."

"No" Justin revealed. "I actually try to run my own video series on social media."

Madeline giggled and stepped in front of Lizzie, showing off a lady-like persona that Lizzie had never seen before. "Oh, I just love that accent, Justin."

Mark grinned and folded his arms. "Seems that the Love Bug has claimed another victim."

Billy calmed himself and snickered beside him. "Yeah, but I think the guy's too dense to realize it."

"You're both being asses" Lizzie hissed. "Madeline is just being polite." Then again, Lizzie had only recently spoken with her family about the concepts of love. Could Madeline actually be falling for someone who was...at least in comparison to others out there...just a random looking man?

"Come along with us" Madeline offered, extending her hand out to him. "We've got a Double-Sized Corviknight Cab waiting to take you to meet with Lord and Lady Kingston."

Justin scratched the back of his head and nervously agreed. "Well, I wouldn't want to step on anyone's toes or anything-"

"Great!" Without warning, Madeline yanked Justin's suitcase from his hands and tossed it over to Mark, who nearly fell over trying to catch it and hold it. In another rapid movement, she grabbed Justin's hand and began to walk away with him towards the Corviknight Cab, but not before looking back at the trio and winking. "Oh, everyone. Just make sure you get his belongings packed nice and tidy for us." She then led the flustered and confused nephew of the dead lawyer away.

"Does she think we're chauffeurs?" Mark grunted as he regained his footing.

Billy rolled his eyes. "All this nonsense is making me sick. Just bring the suitcase along with you so we can get this guy to Mike and out of our lives!"

While Billy raced to catch up with Madeline and Justin, Lizzie went over to Mark's side and helped him carry the massive suitcase with them. Mark did his best to hold his end. "Well, I thought I'd seen everything when it came to love. But even someone as hard-edged as Madeline can fall for someone given the right circumstances."

"What do you mean?" Lizzie asked, herself trying in earnest to keep the case at the same height as Mark.

"We saw Michael and Julia have the most genuine relationship we've ever seen" Mark recalled. "We saw Chris and Piper go from being snippy with one another to falling in love. We saw two best friends Addison and Ryan grow up and fall in love. And Greta and I are-" His face went a little red as he tried to clear his throat. "Well, uh, let's just say we may approach that at some point. Now, we're seeing Madeline, who definitely took more after Byron than anyone, falling head over heels for someone. It's just strange, you know?"

"If you say so" Lizzie shrugged, completely indifferent to the potential romance blossoming in front of her. The two finally caught up to the Corviknight Cab and put the suitcase in a lower compartment as the Corviknight squawked loudly. Once they were packed in, Lizzie prepared to enter the Cab, only to get Justin taking her hand and helping her into the Cab. Confused by the gesture, Lizzie simply sat back on one of the benches and watched Mark leap in after her and sit to her right. Billy was already losing his patience with the situation, crammed up against the wall of the Cab while Madeline squirmed nervously in between her cousin and Justin, who took his seat once all were prepared to go.

"I was raised a gentleman" Justin explained. "That means holding door's open, helping ladies into and out of things, all that sort of thing."

"I'm not a lady" Lizzie replied. "I'm just Lizzie West." She closed the door behind them and whistled. The Cab took off, with Madeline pretending to swoon in worry and earn the gentlemanly approach from him herself, but Justin seemed surprised by the sudden take off from the Corviknight and didn't notice.

"She and Mark are friends of Michael's from abroad" Madeline explained, once more reaching for and holding Justin's hand. "The only Lady around here is me."

"And Jenna, Cameron, Tori, Katrina, Julia and-" Billy snickered, before earning a kick in his shin from his cousin.

While Justin seemed flattered by the unexpected attention, Lizzie could tell that he was actually just as uncomfortable with the amount of affection coming his way from Michael's infatuated cousin as everyone else was just watching it. Though his gentlemanly upbringing would prevent him from voicing his displeasure aloud, especially from a lady, prompting her to realize she would have to come to his rescue. "So Justin, you're the nephew of Claude?"

"Mother told me he was a wicked old prune" Justin answered, trying to subtly free himself from the grasp of Madeline, who clung to him incessantly. "I never met him, so I'd have to think that she was probably correct about him."

"In more ways than one" Mark added. "Your Uncle caused a lot of trouble around here."

"Yes, from what I've heard, he seemed like a very uncouth individual. But considering that he's no longer alive, my mother believes that my return might be able to act as a soothing balm to try and restore relations to what they were long ago."

"You already have a negative opinion of your Uncle?" Billy laughed. "You'll fit right in here!"

"How can you be a beneficiary to Claude's estate, and the Jacques family fortune for that matter, if you never met him?" Lizzie inquired. "Seems a little odd, right?"

Justin frowned. "Well, we did meet once, apparently. On the day I was born."

Madeline only clung to him more, as if sensing where this story could be going. "Oh, you poor thing."

"I wasn't even able to know any better" Justin reminded the group before continuing. "But mother told me that Uncle Claude had come to see me and found out something. I never knew what, but it was so bad that he told my mother that I would be better off if she drowned me in the ocean."

"That's awful" Lizzie gasped.

"My Grandmother and he had a falling out after that and Claude never came back to us. I only was told recently about him when I was told he died. And apparently, an old Jacques family rule decrees that only a male heir can inherit Jacques lands and titles. If only female heirs live on, the name goes extinct." He finally managed to wriggle free from Madeline and reached into his pocket, taking out a silver key. "This is said to be the key to the Jacques Family Fortune. I show this to Lord Kingston and make my apology on behalf of my dead uncle, and I get to take over his estate."

"What would you do after that?" Lizzie wondered aloud.

"I guess it will depend on how things go here" he responded. "I hope the Lord of the Castle likes me."

"You may not get to see much of him, unfortunately" Billy answered glumly. "There's-a bit of drama in the family right now."

Justin gasped as if he had just forgotten something important. He quickly looked to Madeline and Billy and tried his best to bow while the Cab rocked wildly with the unexpected movements. "Please accept my condolences for the-whoa!" Both Kingston slammed hard into each other and the inner wall of the cab respectively. Mark and Lizzie grabbed hold of their seats as the Corviknight squawked outside, prompting Justin to stop what he was doing and sigh. "There I go again."

"It happens" Mark comforted. "No big deal."

"What did you want to offer your condolences for?" Madeline asked, once more trying to show her affection for the handsome yet awkward new Lord.

Justin's frown only worsened. "For the deaths of the Pokemon League Champion and his father."

Billy, as if understanding Justin in a whole new light, nodded politely. "Thank you."

Madeline lowered her head and stopped trying to latch herself onto the new young man like a leech. "Losing them has been a devastating blow."

"Aunt Alison has been as strong as one in her position could be expected to be. Matthew's now the head of their household now, which is worrisome. But I highly doubt the rest of their family would turn their backs on them."

Lizzie looked out of the window as the Cab soared through the skies above Arcana. "No one would. But if the Head of the Family feels he's the reason for their deaths, it causes the situation where we are today."

"I don't understand" Justin interjected. "If he wasn't responsible for their deaths, why would he feel he was?"

"Because that's always been who he is" Mark answered. "Always putting others before himself, his own future be damned. It's saved my life on occasion. It's saved Lizzie's."

"Me too" Madeline added.

"Yup" Billy nodded.

"How can he feel like he failed, I mean, if you all could be there to tell him he didn't?" Justin asked.

No one found the courage to respond to him. Billy and Mark both felt they had something to explain their silence on the matter, but couldn't bring themselves to do so. Madeline awkwardly tugged at her shirt and looked away. Lizzie simply kept looking out the window as if searching for the answer in the skies. It only dawned on her now that none of them (with the exceptions of Julia and Cameron as far as they knew) had gone out of their way to try and compel Michael to see that what had happened on Waypoint Island wasn't his fault. She hadn't. She was still trying to process what had happened personally when she learned from Julia that Michael had isolated himself in his Grandfather's Study. She was sure no one judged her for it, but were they wondering why no one else had reached out to Michael? Or were they concerned that they were not in the same positions he was emotionally to speak with him?

"It's because Michael feels the need to do things by himself" Lizzie concluded. "At least, that's how he is now. He used to have us to calm him or help him see straight."

"What's changed?"

"Chris" Billy replied. "He was the one who kept Michael on point. Kept him smiling in dark times, kept him focused in difficult times. Always had his back. Now, Chris is just one of many people being held hostage on Mirage Island. And Michael has been slowly sliding into a darker place. No matter how much any of us tried to be closer to him, we're not the ones who can keep him positive. Not even Cameron."

Justin's eyes looked out the window towards where Lizzie was looking. "Well, I would like the Lord of Kingston Castle to know that I do not intend on causing trouble or being a nuisance. If I cannot communicate this point to him directly, I will do so with his wife."

Sensing a moment to brighten the moment, Madeline again threw herself at Justin, wrapping her arm around his and once more holding his hand. "And I will be sure to introduce you to her. She and I are very close you know."

Lizzie eyed Mark with a wry look. "You ever even see Madeline and Julia talk at all?"

Mark shook his head. "Nope."

{}

"Are you sure?" Julia asked the ArcNet team upon receiving the news of their success. She had just finished putting her children down for a nap and dispatching her confidant Annie to properly educate both her husband and Piper on what they would have to do for the inevitable meeting of the Arcanan High Council, when she was suddenly ambushed and whisked off by the ArcNet trio to see their work on deciphering the flash drive found on the body of Archer. While Amber led her around the castle, both Corey and Dylan were peppering her with scientific and completely oblivious babble (coming from Dylan) about what they had discovered. And it might be the greatest bit of news she had heard since Gerard had told her and Annie that a part of Team Arcana had returned from Mirage Island. "I mean, are you absolutely sure?"

"We wouldn't be bothering you if it wasn't conclusive" Corey confirmed. "Lord Kingston asked for results and we got them for him."

"This is where all of those stolen Pokemon were hidden" Dylan assured her. "We've got millions of folders for even more Pokemon all sealed on this External Hard Drive."

"I'm still having a hard time believing it myself" Amber cautioned as she pulled Julia into the elevator to go down into the Cellar and see the fruits of their labor. "But it's true. All of the world's stolen Pokemon are here. Claude was probably planning to ransom them off or give them to Mewtwo."

Julia took in a deep breath of relief and fatigue as the elevator descended. "Finally. We may not be able to get those other Pokemon back at this moment, but this will help us exponentially."

"Those poor Pokemon being trapped in boxes" Amber cried. "How could Claude do this?"

"Well, what matters is being able to get them back to their trainers somehow" Corey comforted his friend. "That's where we're hitting a snag." The elevator doors opened and Julia spied exactly what Corey had meant. All of the Pokemon were encrypted not as living files to be able to be sent to any Computer willy nilly, but simply as data. The computer screens were flashing with warnings about extraction and processing that to even someone as high minded as Julia was a bit confusing. Corey and Dylan stepped to the side as Amber once more took Julia's hand and brought her over to the computer. Julia looked at all of the flashing messages as she and Amber approached the screen.

"How in the name of Arceus are we going to get these Pokemon back into their original forms?" she asked aloud.

"We've been trying to find a solution to the problem" Dylan revealed. "But so far we have nothing. Whoever this hacker of Claude's was had to be very tricky."

"The only thing we haven't tried is a proper extraction" Corey went on, "but if we do that, it could take up all of the processing power this computer has. It's the most state of the art computer I've ever worked on, but even this has to have limitations of some kind." He looked worriedly to Julia as he noticed her reading and rereading the messages. "What should we do?"

Julia studied the messages carefully. "I don't think we have a choice. Extract all of the files. I'll be sure to shut down any non-essential devices in the castle."

Amber tugged at her hand. "It's not that simple."

"Extracting the files could take days" Corey warned. "It could take weeks. I don't know how long it could take. These files are absolutely colossal."

"They'd have to be if they're containing Pokemon" Dylan added.

Julia shrugged. "This is all we can do, for now. Do everything you can to get these files extracted. We'll worry about how to dole them out and back to their proper trainers as soon as we've gotten them all." When both Corey and Amber showed signs of being eager to argue, she gently hushed them, "If that hard drive can contain the Pokemon, so can these computers. You have my permission to go through everything you can and I'm sure my husband would agree with me." She patted Corey on the head and pulled her hand away from Amber, before making her way back towards the elevator and allowing them to resume their work.

This could be the key to everything, she thought to herself. If those kids can somehow do the impossible and free those Pokemon, it would give us a very much needed boost and some chance to take the fight to Mewtwo. As the elevator doors closed though, Julia's hopes diminished. This would have been where she confided the information to either Amanda or to Ryan and his friends. But both Amanda and Ryan were gone, with her protege being missing for months on end and Ryan's death tearing a hole in their family. The only people who might truly be happy about this news, even if the odds were low, were currently preparing themselves for the nightmare of the Arcanan High Council meeting.

She stepped out of the elevator and was surprised to receive a call on her Poke Gear. She looked at the number and shuddered in horror. No! Not now! Why do you have to call me now?! She cursed underneath her breath and pressed the ignore button on her device. She was only recently on strong terms with her husband. There was no way she was going to let Peter come in and ruin her happy family at this moment.

To her frustration, he called her again. She ignored the call once more, only for him to call a third time. Fed up with his constant clogging of her Poke Gear, she picked up the call. "What is it, Peter?"

"Julia" her old flame called to her on the other line. "I've missed you."

"Peter, this has to stop" Julia growled. "Calling me once in a blue moon is one thing. But you need to stop calling me for this! I am a happily married woman. What we had was a one night stand and nothing more."

"You can't possibly believe that" Peter demanded on the other line, though Julia could tell something was off about his voice. It was almost as if he was intoxicated by something. "We had everything together. We would have made the best power couple in all of Sinnoh. Even my uncle believed so."

"And when I told Professor Rowan that Michael and I were together, he backed off" Julia snapped, shaking her head angrily. "If you're not going to stop contacting me, I'm going to block your number. I love my husband and my family and I will not give it up for anything."

"You can't possibly believe that muscly jerk is the one for you!" Peter growled. "He's a dense dolt! I was the one you could have intellectual conversations with. I was the one who-"

"Goodbye, Peter!" Julia snarled before ending the call and moved to block his number, when she received a message from him. She moved to delete it, but paused when she saw what was written in it:

[I am coming to Arcana for you! It was a mistake for me to leave when I saw that jerk Kingston! I swear I will be there for you and we'll be together! One way or another!]

"He's stubborn and stupid" Julia laughed to herself. "A terrifying combination." She then quickly tapped on her Poke Gear to block his number, ending all communications from her old colleague and former lover. She had her true love and nothing Peter could do would change that.

{}

Courtney opened her eyes after the most intensive meditation she had ever undergone. Her success and the growing positive mood the Grand Master was in was giving her enough time to delve deeper into his powers. Mental manipulation was the key this time. If she could somehow manipulate someone else's mind into doing her bidding, perhaps she had even a fraction of The Master's power inside of her. The Singularity helped, as did the fact that Hunter had gone radio silent since confirming to them that Ryan Kingston was dead. She was initially keen to find out more about Sora and Celina's past with each other, but had decided on an alternative route for her to take. To get a more personal goal accomplished long before her destined one.

For too long, that brown-haired bitch had stood in her way. Manipulated her beloved against her. Twisted his feelings to her own advantage and even compelled him to have children with her. So long as Julia Pines was alive, she could not have her goals of attaining Michael as her own. To truly seize the moment and claim her prize, Julia had to be removed from the equation. And thanks to information found within Michael's mind, no longer closed to her as part of the Singularity, she found the perfect puppet to exploit in her goals.

"So, Julia" she giggled. "You don't want to let your tramp heart lead you astray? Oh well. Looks like I'm going to have to do this the hard way." She moved her hand in a circular motion. "Hear me, my puppet. Your task is to take Julia for your own. If she will not be yours, you are to destroy her!" As her hand finished it's motions, she closed her eyes and let out a sinister cackle. "All too easy..."

{}

Though she swore she was only going to aid the Kingston's cause in the memory of the boy she loved, Addison found herself thoroughly researching the Laws of Arcana and how it could possibly be used to fix their current crisis. Any tricks of the trade and hidden truths within the bowels of a meeting of power-hungry adults would be useful to her. She skimmed through book after book, looking for anything she could find that might help her understand how this entire Council Meeting would go. After all, she had spoken to no one about it since she had found out about it. She couldn't exactly approach Dawn and Lucas about it, nor was she sure that Holly or Tommy were in the know. Their father would be there, but she didn't have that luxury. She was the only Tenton who could be there. And she would serve the memory of her father well.

She thumbed through any book she could get her hands on about current politics, but found that Lady Bonnie's library on the subject was quite dated. Her scavenging through the entire library reminded her of the Haunted Library of Trickton, where she had inadvertently gotten herself involved in an encounter with a powerful Ghost Pokemon while trying to gain information about Shannon's Gym Location. But fortunately, there would be no ghosts haunting her here. Just the ghosts that already haunted her heart.

"Grandma didn't have the best collection of current event books" a voice chimed in nearby. Addison spun around to see her Matthew walking over to her, his hands open and walking about as if trying to give himself a reason to be speaking to her.

"What do you want, Matt?" Addison asked. "I'm busy here."

"You're looking in the wrong places" he warned her. "You keep looking for current events, but forget that my family was the ones cleaning up the messes and dominating Arcana for almost a decade. There would be no major current events for any Thirteen Families meetings." He leaned on the table she had her rows of books on. "The last meeting between them had several members of Arcanan Society who are either not living here anymore or are dead. I'd be shocked if anyone who was at the last one would even be here for this one."

"Why would I look for ancient history?" Addison grumbled. "That's just a waste of time."

"Look, just because you're emotional doesn't mean you should be dense" Matthew smirked. "Arcanan High Society is cultured and rigid. That's why I hate it so much."

Addison paused. "Look to the past instead of the future."

"It's the only sound place to go."

"And why would you want to help me get through this?" She folded her arms and glared at him. "This had better not be about-"

Matthew's mood dampened and caused Addison to lower her guard. He turned his back to her and leaned on the back of the table. "I-I-you can't be alone right now."

"I work better alone" she replied.

"Then I can't" Matthew insisted.

Addison lowered her arm and eyed Matthew in a way she hadn't in years. "You can't be alone?"

"You're the only one who can feel what I am that I feel I can talk to" he admitted. "My Mom is literally broken right now. My sister doesn't understand what's going on and asks me when Dad and Ryan are coming home. No one in the family trusts me." He rested on the table, Addison seeing how deeply affected by the loss of Ryan and their father he was as his body shook uncontrollably. "I'm trying to hold together for Mom and Kayleigh. For all of Arcana. But I can't do it anymore."

"You expect me to be able to help you with this?" Addison argued. "How can I help? I'm just as devastated."

Matthew shook his head. "I should never have fallen for you. We shouldn't have competed over you. It was what drove us apart." He looked back towards Addy and showed a deeply revealing and emotional face. "If I hadn't been so selfish...so focused on me...I wouldn't have lost you to begin with. I wouldn't have done the things I did." He pounded the table in frustration. "He would still be alive!"

Addison sighed, holding her hand close to her heart. "What's done is done, Matt. We can't change that. And considering all that's happened, I doubt you and I will ever be as close as we were before. But, I do know how much it's hurting you. And if you need me to be there for you, I will be." She bobbed her head towards the bookshelf. "If you want to help me, help me get this famed historical book you keep prattling on about."

Matthew finally cracked a smile. "Aye."

The duo set about looking through the historical texts (at least the ones Lizzie hadn't taken off the shelves already) and tried to find something that existed over the last six hundred years. Matthew pulled with all his might until a large tome slid off the shelf and he was able to plop down on the table. The book was so ancient, it's name was either indiscernible due to the amount of dust on it or the book was made before titles were considered important. Within the tomes, to Matthew's surprise, was proscribed everything that his long-dead ancestor Arturius Kingston and his vizier Rupert the White had done as they transitioned Arcana from a monarchy to a more democratic form of government.

"Get a load of this" Matthew called to Addison as she came back to the table. "All that stuff Countess Rosemary was talking about is in here."

Addison came to his side and looked at it. "It's all written in faded ink. It's almost like when we found all those old journals from Balthazar Aced in the Haunted Library. I can barely read it." Matthew seemed to get it though, which made Addison continue to try. "The Ninth Truth? Does that mean the next Truth in her Prophecy is coming to pass?"

Matthew shrugged. "I guess so. What does it say the next one is?"

Addison eyed the text as best as possible. She squinted her eyes and tried to remove as much dust from it as possible, but it was the ringing voice of Galatea in her head that gave her the true path to clarity:

The Arcane Crown shalt once more be donned.

"The Arcane Crown?" Addison wondered aloud.

"Does that mean that-"

Addison nodded. "It means that Arcana is about to have it's first King in a very long time."