TW: This chapter will have mentions of abuse. Also, I hope that this doesn't need to be said, but I don't condone criminal activity of any kind. The story is fake, the characters are based on the characters and plot of DPPt.

"So, Cyrus, tell me. What drives you," the court appointed psychiatrist asked him.

"You know the Creation myth?"

"The one where Almighty Arceus creates the world?"

"Yes."

"Yes. I do know that myth."

"Do you know the Lillipup and Cutiefly version or the original version?"

"Erm… what's the difference?"

"The Lillipup and Cutiefly version is watered down. Arceus creates Palkia and Dialga. The world gets created. The end. But in the original myth, Arceus creates Giratina first."

The psychiatrist glanced at Cyrus nervously, "Erm… I'd be careful with saying names out loud like that."

"Why?" Cyrus gave him a blank stare, "Not saying His name won't make him any less real."

"There's already a large crowd gathering," Cyrus's lawyer, Mr. Jung, muttered as he glanced through his client's file.

"Hmmm…"

"Everyone has a strong opinion about you. It might be hard to build a case."

"Hmmm…"

The lawyer sighed and threw his client's file onto the table, "You are facing serious charges, Mr. Akagi. This is not a situation to be taken lightly."

"If we're being realistic, there's only one way out of two ways that this will end: either jail or a death sentence. Nothing that a court appointed lawyer can help with."

The lawyer stiffened, "I was actually hired."

"Oh. By whom?"

"Your mother. She called me personally as soon as she heard the news."

Cyrus scoffed, "Right. So that she could guarantee my demise."

"We don't have much time to come up with a defense," the lawyer snapped, "So either tell me something that could be useful or accept your fate."

"What could I possibly tell you?"

"Anything that could paint you in an even somewhat positive light. Any traumatic event. Drugs to blame this on. Something about your childhood."

"It was great. Too sunny. But people tend to like that."

"Fine. Tell me what brought you back."

The first person called to the stand was Gym Leader Volkner Noreen. Cyrus glanced around the courtroom. There were many strangers. But there were also people that he recognized, different people he's met on his journey: Dr. Rowan, Cynthia, Cheryl Momi, his own grandfather, Dr. Akagi…

"So you grew up with Mr. Akagi?" the prosecutor, Mrs. Yung, asked.

"I knew him at one point in my childhood," Volkner responded awkwardly, "And met him again in Eterna while I traveled during college. Wouldn't say that I grew up with him."

"How would you describe him? As a person?"

"Truth be told, we weren't that close," Volkner admitted, "I was surprised that you called me here. We got into some argument when we were little and didn't speak again until Eterna."

"What was the argument about?"

Volkner stiffened and muttered, "I don't remember the details. Something about a toy?"

"A toy?"

"Yes," Volkner frowned, "It was something silly. I'm not sure if it's exactly relevant."

"Well, are you sure that the two of you weren't close? You know, we were wondering why Cyrus never attacked Sunyshore."

"I'm not sure," Volkner shrugged, "Sorry I can't be much help."

"No further questions your honor," the prosecutor went back to her seat.

The judge at the case, the Honorable Judge Westhorn, sighed heavily. "This will be a long trial," he muttered to his security guard.

"This isn't good," Jung whispered to his client, "I told you to tell me about yourself! I don't have any questions for Volkner. And she didn't ask you a single counter-question.."

The Sinnohvian court was, in theory, meant to work around dialogue. Before the defendant speaks, the jury (and any audience) first hears the testimony of witnesses, relatives, friends, and acquaintances of the accused to learn about their character. After everyone speaks, the defendant is finally called to the stand. However, during the testimonies, the defendant can counter, or agree with, anything that the aforementioned parties have said. Each lawyer can also question the defendant at any moment they deem appropriate.

"There is nothing to say," Cyrus said flatly, "I don't have friends. And the argument was over Volkner being a complete imbecile."

"Oh very nice. You should say that out loud, I'm sure that the jury will be just willing to empathize with you then," Mr. Jung snapped.

Cyrus didn't recognize the next man at the stand. He was tall, well-groomed, and handsome.

"So, Mr. Albert Alaister, please tell us. Why are you testifying today?" the prosecutor asked, "You've never met Mr. Akagi personally."

Where'd I hear that name before? Cyrus thought to himself.

"I'm here for my son," Albert choked out a sob, "This monster ruthlessly attacked him."

Oh… that's who you are.

"You're right. I've never met him. I've worked with his father but, truth be told, didn't even know that he had a son," Albert continued, trying to hold back his tears, "I've never met him. I don't understand why he would attack Justin. It just doesn't make sense. Thankfully, recently we were able to get an Alakazam to visit Justin in the hospital. The Pokemon telepathically spoke with my son."

"Interesting," Mrs. Yung leaned closer to the stand and looked into the audience, staring directly at Cynthia, "And what was it that your son communicated with us?"

"That the defendant is the father of the Champion's daughter."

A single person gasped but otherwise there was a deafening silence in the courtroom. Dr. Akagi glanced at Cynthia triumphantly, almost as if to say, I knew it! Cynthia buried her face in her hands.

"But you discussed with your son why they did this?" the prosecutor added.

"Yes," Albert said darkly, "He believes that… because he's the favorite to be the next Champion… Celeste had to get rid of him."

The courtroom again gasped but Cynthia rolled her eyes and muttered to François, "According to whom? I rarely heard of the kid before this whole fiasco!"

"'Celeste had to get rid of him'... because she wants to be the next Champion. She wants to follow her mother's footsteps and the glory that comes with it," Mrs. Yung turned to the jury, "Why else would she attack Mr. Alaister?"

"Objection," Mr. Jung groaned, "Speculation. Also, what the hell does this have to do with my client?"

"It appears that Mr. Akagi infiltrated the next generation… Oftentimes, these so-called leaders of criminal organizations have a protégé in mind to continue their plan. For example, Giovanni Sakaki had his son. It's obvious that, before leaving for the Distortion World, Mr. Akagi colluded with Miss Shirona to do his bidding."

"This is ridiculous!" Cynthia snapped from the audience, "Celeste was five when Cyrus was taken into the Distortion World. There's no way that he could collude with her."

"So why did Celeste attack my son?" Albert cried.

"I don't know! Did you bother asking her?"

"Celeste didn't do anything," Cyrus muttered, remembering his conversation with Cynthia, "I ordered the attack."

The courtroom became quiet once again. Mrs. Yung smiled victoriously.

"And was this an act of collusion?" she asked.

"No," Cyrus scoffed, "The kid was annoying me. So I asked Giratina to teach him a lesson… clearly he didn't do a very good job…"

The smile faded from Mrs. Yung's face. Everyone stared at Cyrus, trying hard to absorb what the man just said. Fear hung in the air. Finally, once the words were absorbed, Albert angrily rose from the stand and tried to run to Cyrus, his hands extended, his fingers curled, ready to attach to Cyrus's neck. Court security caught him before he could reach the defendant.

"You son of a bitch!" Albert spat, "I'll kill you! Why the hell would you attack my son?!"

"I told you, he was annoying me," Cyrus responded calmly. In the audience, Cynthia once again buried her face in her hands.

"It's because you want your daughter to be the Champion! So then she can pardon you and let you return to Sinnoh, you freak!" Albert's accusations echoed in the room.

"I have no interest in receiving a pardon," Cyrus shrugged, "And I could have returned to Sinnoh whenever I wanted to."

"You're a monster, you know that, Akagi? A fucking monster!"

"...Is that not why I'm here?"

"Cyrus, for the love of the gods above, why did you admit to attacking that boy?" Mr. Jung whispered to his client, "Let the court believe it's the girl. Her mother could easily get the charges dropped. You already have enough accusations on your plate."

But Cyrus ignored his counselor's advice. He stared directly into Albert Alaister's eyes, making the man forget about his anger and nervously twitch.

"Why?" Albert finally sobbed, "He was my son. My only son. He was a good kid. I raised him well."

"Clearly not," Cyrus grumbled, "He tried raping my daughter," he paused for a moment then added mockingly, "my only daughter."

The judge banged his gavel and ordered a recess.

The next witness was Lucian Goyo, a member of Sinnoh's Elite Four. Lucian approached the witness podium nervously. He cleaned his glasses, cleared his throat, and clasped his hands.

"Remember what I told you during the recess," Mr. Jung whispered to Cyrus before the prosecution could ask Lucian any questions, "Deflect as much as you can. Use whatever memory you can. But for the love of the gods above, do not admit to doing anything again."

"Will he be arrested?" Cyrus asked, uninterested in what his lawyer had to say.

"...Who?"

"Jayden, or whatever that kid's name was."

"...Justin Alaister? Cyrus, be serious. No one will arrest a comatose burn victim."

Jung scoffed and looked at Lucian. Cyrus gently smiled to himself.

"State your name and profession to the court," the Judge ordered Lucian.

"My name is Lucian Goyo. I am the final member of the Elite Four," Lucian said meekly.

"So, Mr. Goyo. It appears that Mr. Akagi has had a lot of influence within the Sinnoh League," Mrs. Yung said.

"Not really," Lucian shrugged, "I knew him when we were little. And I didn't know that Cynthia knew him, much less had a child with him."

"You know, a lot of psychopaths show criminal behavior during their youth," Mrs. Yung walked by the jury, "Tell me, Mr. Goyo. How was Mr. Akagi when he was younger?"

"...Like any other kid? He was pretty quiet. Maybe a little strange. But it's not my place to judge."

"So why did you both fall out?"

"People just do," Lucian frowned, "I only saw him when he visited his grandfather over the summers. Then he stopped coming," the Elite Four member paused for a moment and cleared his throat, "I mean… There was one incident that was strange. His and my grandparents decided that there would be no point inviting me over after that…"

"What was the incident?" the prosecutor pressed.

Lucian took a deep breath, "We were… about to enter high school I think? I would try to talk to Cyrus but he just blew me off. He spent all his days inside his grandfather's house, building. One day, I entered the home and offered to play catch with my Ralts. He snapped and attacked me. I left after that."

"And you didn't think that this was a major event to mention?" Mrs. Yung raised an eyebrow.

"It's not like that's how he usually acted," Lucian shrugged, "We were friends the summer before. I didn't understand what was wrong. Or what I did."

"He touched my machines," Cyrus mumbled and his lawyer shushed him.

"In hindsight, I figured that he must have been going through something because he's never acted like that."

The next person called to the stand was Cyrus's grandfather, Mr. Herman Ikari. Cyrus was surprised that he even lived this long. He was obviously old and looked very frail. He didn't look at the jury, the prosecutor, or anyone else. Just stared down and looked at his own trembling hands.

"Mr. Ikari, tell the jury, do you remember the incidence that Mr. Goyo described?" Mrs. Yung asked the old man.

"Yes," Mr. Ikari continued staring at his knuckles.

"And do you agree with Mr. Goyo? That this was out of character for Mr. Akagi?"

Mr. Ikari sighed heavily. His bloodshot eyes looked down. His skin appeared yellow under the court lights.

"Mr. Ikari, it's a yes or no question," Mrs. Yung prodded the old man.

"The truth is that it's not a simple answer," Mr. Ikari finally said.

For a moment, Cyrus felt as though an electrical impulse fired off in his brain. There was something in his grandfather's voice that made him… angry? No, not angry. He learned how to remove his emotions a long time ago.

"For a long time, I suspected something," Mr. Ikari added, his voice trembling, "I remember when Cyrus first visited me, he seemed… small. He scarfed down food within minutes and wanted to spend his time… studying? It was summer, I always thought that it was strange that he'd rather do that than play."

"Was it out of character, yes or no, Mr. Ikari?"

"And he would always play these strange games and would rather spend time by himself than with anyone else, men and Pokemon alike-"

"Mr. Ikari."

"No, but his behavior has always been… different," he let out a heavy sigh, "Look, I need to come clean about something. I've had my suspicions but… This all might be my fault…"

"Way to make this about yourself," Cyrus muttered.

"Uh, erm, what do you mean?" Mrs. Yung asked. The judge raised his eyebrow.

"I remember that day that the Elite described because… after Cyrus… became angry. I tried talking to him. I found him on the floor of his room, crying, begging me to kill him."

"...I don't think I understand. Can you clarify your comment to the jury?"

Mr. Ikari sighed again. This time, tears appeared in his eyes, "I had… suspicions. That Cyrus's parents were abusing him. I couldn't believe it. I don't believe that my daughter would be capable of such an atrocious act. She must be a victim in all this. Dr. Akagi must have had something to do with this. There's no way that Celestie would have hurt her son… I don't believe it…"

During the next recess, Mr. Jung was ready to pop champagne open.

"Yes!" he cheered in Cyrus's cell, "Now this is how you win a case."

Cyrus was handcuffed and seated at an iron table. He looked down onto its surface that reflected very little light in the dim room.

"Listen up, Akagi," he slammed his hands on the table, "Your father and mother will be called to the stand next. You have to play up the abuse victim. You got it?"

"This seems a little… disingenuous."

"'Disingenuous'?!" Mr. Jung repeated and burst out laughing, "Are you seriously going to lecture me on moral philosophy right now?! You're under arrest for fucking terrorism and treason! What's disingenuous is starting a cult to overthrow Almighty Arceus with the goal of being the next God the Creator!"

Mr. Jung was right. The next person called to the stand was Dr. Sora Akagi. As with the previous witnesses, he began by stating his name and profession.

"Tell me, Mr. Akagi, how was Cyrus as a child?" the prosecutor, Mrs. Yung, asked.

"Just awful," Sora said, "I truly believed that, with the right instruction, he could become someone great. But clearly it was all in vain."

"And what about the allegations from Mr. Ikari?"

"That old drunk? They're preposterous! Cyrus was never abused. He had it good. He was incredibly privileged. The problem was that he was too spoiled!"

"Too spoiled?"

"Yes," Dr. Akagi sighed, "I tried to discipline him but… he was bound to end up like this. Oh well."

"And how did you discipline Cyrus?"

"Just the usual methods. Took away his toys when he misbehaved. Punished him when he was bad. The usual."

"And what sort of bad things did Cyrus do?"

Dr. Akagi paused for a moment, "He'd just always give us trouble. I remember his grades slipped at some point. Another time he got into a fight with someone at school. Once he got suspended because of another situation, I knew that he was a lost cause."

"That's not how I remember it," Cyrus muttered under his breath.

"You have something you want to say?" Dr. Akagi snapped, his face turning red, "You're on trial for a very serious crime. Would do you good to be quiet."

"Erhm, Cyrus, don't speak," Mr. Jung cleared his throat, "Dr. Akagi. First of all, it's an honor and a pleasure to be in the same room as you. Now. What kind of punishments did you give Cyrus exactly?"

"...just, you know, punished him."

"Did you ever lay your hands on him?"

Dr. Akagi sighed, "He was out of control. Speaking to him didn't work."

"And what was it that made him out of control?"

"Like I said previously, he attacked other people. He had no self control."

"Could it be possible that he attacked other people because… you hit him?"

Sora shook his head, "No. He has always been a trouble maker."

"You know, I looked over your son's file and… he didn't get in trouble until… middle school. Up until then, he was a straight-A student. His teachers described him as quiet but very intelligent. In middle school, he got detention for the incident that you mentioned but… that was it. He went to a very prestigious and, I'd imagine, difficult high school. Yet he was still ranked as the top scoring student. And in the high school entrance exam, he tested in the top 10. That's quite an accomplishment. He received the fourth highest score in all of Sinnoh."

"Yes. Because my parenting methods worked," Sora stiffened.

"I guess, I'm confused. How has he always been a trouble maker?"

"...Just at home. He never listened to us."

"Maybe it's because he feared you. Maybe it's because he knew that you would hit him if he did something wrong."

"I never did anything that Cyrus didn't deserve," Sora hissed, "What in the hell are you accusing me of?!"

"Oh, I'm not accusing you of anything. But there seems to be a pattern in your life. Tell me, Dr. Akagi, how come you go through so many Pokemon in a year?"

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"It's strange that you show up to Pokemon contests each time with a different Pokemon. Where do you keep them all?"

"...I give them away?"

"To whom?"

"To other contest enthusiasts…"

"Like whom?" Cyrus piped up, smirking.

Sora's face turned red. He glared at Cyrus.

"That's none of your business, Cyrus," he finally answered.

"It's not like you ever had any friends to give them to," Cyrus pressed, "Why do you even bother hiding this? It's not illegal to release your Pokemon."

"Cyrus. Stop speaking."

"...Unless you're keeping them in inhumane conditions. Then it's animal abuse. But you release them. Because you have no need for them."

"Look," Sora snapped, glaring at Cyrus, "My business model may be uncommon, but it wins those stupid contests. And I stand by what I said and did. Cyrus was, is, and always will be out of control. He was destined for this. There's a reason why Giratina chose him."

"You need to speak," Mr. Jung threw down a pile of papers in front of Cyrus. The defendant was once again handcuffed in his cell.

"Your mother is next. You need to tell me everything that your parents did to you. We can win this case," the lawyer added.

"'We'?" Cyrus asked curiously.

"Yes. I've overheard the jury. They love sensational shit like this. If we can pro-"

"It doesn't matter what happened," Cyrus said, "I've come to peace with my childhood."

Unsurprisingly, Mrs. Celestie Akagi was next. Cyrus almost didn't recognize her. The woman looked old and exhausted, almost as if her past was weighing her down.

"State your name and profession," the Judge sighed.

"Celestie Akagi. Homemaker," she responded quietly.

"The prosecution rests," Mrs. Yung mumbled and went to her chair to finally sit down.

Mr. Jung smiled. If the prosecution had no questions, they knew that it was futile to question the witness because the witness's testimony will only help the defense.

"Mrs. Akagi. It is a pleasure to meet you," Mr. Jung greeted the old woman, "I'm guessing that you also would describe Cyrus as a troublemaker?"

"Objection! He's leading the witness," Mrs. Yung exclaimed.

Mrs. Akagi ignored her and began picking her nails, "Yes," she said emotionlessly, without looking at the lawyer.

"...Even though neither you nor your husband can name a single bad thing that Cyrus did to label him as so," Mr. Jung continued, "Okay, great. Tell me Mrs. Akagi, did Dr. Akagi ever beat you? No? But he hit Cyrus?"

"Cyrus needed discipline."

"So Dr. Akagi hit him. Only because he needed discipline?"

"He didn't know how to control himself. Cyrus, I mean."

"Dr. Akagi didn't know how to control himself? Or he didn't know how to control Cyrus?"

"Cyrus had no self-control," Mrs. Akagi clarified, but refused to look up.

"Okay. So his solution was to mercilessly beat my client."

"He was gentle."

"Yet Cyrus's pediatrician once referred him to a social worker?"

"It was a mistake," Mrs. Akagi brought her hand to her mouth and began biting her nails, "She overreacted. That's all."

"Right. I know that you weren't at the trial earlier, Mrs. Akagi, but your father spoke today. He said that Cyrus always looked small. Skinny. And he seemed hungry. Can you tell the court why this is?"

"I had to teach him to be self-sufficient. He shouldn't expect people to just give him things for free."

"...This is a child that we're talking about. You know that, Mrs. Akagi, right?"

"Yes. Since he was little he's always been self-sufficient."

"Can you please tell the court how you made sure of this?"

Mrs. Akagi sighed, "I encouraged him to clean his own room. Make his own breakfast. I still would make dinner."

"Not all the time."

"Excuse me?"

"I said, 'not all the time'," Mr. Jung repeated, "Cyrus said that one of his punishments was that he wouldn't be allowed to eat dinner. Is this true?"

"It wasn't a punishment," Mrs. Akagi grumbled, "Sometimes he stayed out late. It's not my fault he didn't come home in time. I wasn't going to waste the time or energy making a whole meal again."

"Right. What about when he did poorly on his exams? What'd you do then?"

"Nothing!"

"Okay. What did your husband do?"

Mrs. Akagi sighed, "We needed Cyrus to stop making trouble for us. He talked to him. Told him to study more."

"Ah, is this why your father testified that Cyrus wanted to spend his summers studying?"

"He needed the discipline!"

"Tell me, what was the lowest grade that Cyrus received?"

"I don't know!"

"It's alright; I have it here. An 83. Though his average was still quite high. His lowest class average was a 95. So the problem does not seem to be his grades, or him making trouble for you. Tell me, what did you do when your husband beat him?"

"Stop," Mrs. Akagi said stiffly.

"Oh, I know!" Mr. Jung turned to the jury, "You didn't do anything. No matter how much your son begged, pleaded, cried… you folded your arms and remained apathetic. In rare cases, you held him down. But usually, you watched as your husband hit your son, sometimes hit him until he bled. You also watched as your husband insulted your son and forced him into his room to study more, didn't you?"

"Stop it," Mrs. Akagi repeated.

"Because you also did that sometimes," Mr. Jung continued, "You hated Cyrus. You still hate him. And you couldn't hide your resentment for him. You told him that he means nothing to you, that he's worthless, that you didn't want him."

Mrs. Akagi folded her arms. In the audience, her father put his hand over his mouth.

"But you weren't as aggressive about it as your husband. Sure, your husband was the physical one. But you were the neglectful one. You said and did anything to make sure that Cyrus wasn't near you. You were the one who told him that he can't have dinner, or that you won't make him food."

"He needed the discipline," Mrs. Akagi insisted, but the rims of her eyes were quickly turning red, "I knew that he would be a troublemaker from his conception!"

"So you let your husband beat him? Humiliate him?" Mr. Jung extended his hands, "Mrs. Akagi… I just don't understand. How can a mother let her son's own father treat his child like this? How can a mother let her son's father push his child around? How can a mother just stand and watch while her father's child so barbarically punishes his child? How can a mother let her child's father-"

"Because Sora isn't Cyrus's father!" Mrs. Akagi shouted and started sobbing.