Too Many Pieces
"Let's run through the possibilities while we have some quiet time," the Professor requested, pacing around the morgue's autopsy rooms. "We've determined the good Emperor was poisoned, as was this concubine. That means Dr. Asher clearly played a role in Emperor Alph's untimely demise."
"Was it?" Claire asked. She wasn't pacing. She simply watched the Professor as if he were a child who needed to spend some excess energy before settling.
"Was it what?"
"Was it untimely? Alph was supposed to die, wasn't he? Unless we've actually changed the past…"
"Don't be fooled for a minute, Claire. Everything we do influences everything around us. There are certain fixed points in history—events that must occur regardless of the specific circumstances—but everything else is just like living in the day. Now, before we lose track of the point entirely, there must be more to this situation than just the doctor. For starters, there is no time he would have access to this concubine. The harem is sacred ground under strict control at all times in order to avoid desecrating the women."
"Plus there's no motive," Claire added. "Or at least not one that we know of." She was checking out all the ancient tools and other odds and ends while she listened.
"Right. No motive. So maybe Asher wasn't involved. Surely someone else could have access to the morgue. Or perhaps whoever poisoned the concubine also made sure to cut off her hand before Asher ever saw her body. But that doesn't explain why the doctor would try to lock us in here."
Lightly tapping the nidoran corpses on the table with a pair of forceps, Claire suggested, "Do you think he derived the poison from these? That sounds like something only a medicine man would know how to do. Another tick mark in the 'Asher Did It' column."
"Yes, but there's still the matter of the sacred harem ground. No men can go there at all. And how would this woman get poisoned without the harem supervisor's knowledge? Nothing happens inside the harem without the supervisor's knowledge. But what if the harem supervisor was involved? The probability of a successful crime diminishes with increased involvement. Dr. Asher and Ariel the Harem Supervisor would need to have perfect timing to be sure this girl ended up poisoned and with the Emperor before the poison could kill her or even present symptoms."
"Didn't you say Jomon was the most likely suspect? Maybe he co-opted the doctor into poisoning his father."
"Maybe so," the Professor said. He looked at Claire sideways out of curiosity. "You seemed taken with him yesterday, yet now you accuse him of murder."
"To be fair, you accused him of murder. And I didn't get attached to him. We're going to be gone soon, and it's not like I'm looking to pick out curtains."
Looking a bit flustered, the Professor said, "Yes, now I do seem to recall building the initial accusation. Well, what say we get out of here now and find out how people react to our suspicions? That might point us in the right direction."
Dropping one of her pokéballs, "I'm okay with that approach, but I'm bringing protection in case I was right about the samurai." Her pokéball opened and released a creature that looked like a four-foot-tall tree with two legs, a forked head, and three leaf-like fingers ending each arm. "Johto pokémon draw less attention, right?"
"I don't think a sudowoodo will be necessary for defense."
"How about for opening a door?"
The Professor grinned. "Also not necessary." He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the door and activated it. The geode resonated for two seconds when Claire heard the door click again as the bolt slid back the other way. The Professor pushed the door open. "Shall we?"
"You are such a show-off," Claire scolded as they walked through the door, her sudowoodo walking close behind.
"You were gonna knock the door down," the Professor teased back. "What does that make you?"
"Uncreative but effective."
Gathering everyone together took much longer this time. Oliver had the staff preparing to move forward with the coronation of the new emperor and couldn't be bothered to grant the Professor's outrageous requests. But when the Professor mentioned he knew who murdered Emperor Alph, Oliver quickly changed his message. He summoned the other two members of the regency, several of the servants who attended to the Emperor, and the family members.
"My friends," started the Professor, "I believe we have uncovered the identity of the man who caused the murder of our late Emperor Usimare Alph III."
"Is that so?" Oliver asked a little too pompously for Claire's taste. "By all means, Professor. Please regale us with your account of these events passed."
"Very well," said the Professor. To the entire room, he announced, "Emperor Alph was poisoned! The evidence of that is visible upon his body. I believe the poison was derived from the blood of a pair of nidoran, a task requiring an understanding of blood and toxins which could only have been completed by Dr. Asher. But the Emperor was not the only person afflicted with this poison. One of the concubines also suffered, and it was through her that the poison spread to the Emperor. Given that the poor woman is also a resident in the morgue, I suspect she was unaware of the poisoning, and that implicates Ariel, the supervisor of the harem."
The story spurred several uncertain glances around the room. Everyone wondered if Dr. Asher could really be responsible for the Emperor's death. The only that bothered Claire was motive. Asher seemed to have none. She tried talking to the servants, but all of them indicated Asher had a good relationship with Alph, leaving little obvious reason to want him dead. She didn't know enough about Ariel to determine a motive, either. General scuttlebutt indicated Ariel was chosen because she was physically strong enough to manhandle any soldiers who violated the sanctity of the harem ground.
"An interesting story," Oliver suggested. "But I have another."
"What do you mean?" asked the Professor. Claire didn't like the tone in Oliver's voice.
"You are an old acquaintance of Emperor Alph. That put you in a prime position to cause his death."
"That's absurd!" Claire protested.
"I'm not done!" Oliver's countenance hardened immensely as he continued. "You obviously possess the knowledge for poison. A man as well traveled as you is not only in a position to develop the poison, but also to point the accusation toward the scapegoat of your choosing. You brought into the Emperor's temple an army of unknown creatures as you prepare to take over the empire."
Claire couldn't understand why the Professor didn't argue. Obviously Oliver's assertion was false. Why would a time traveler have any desire to kill an emperor whose legacy was only beneficence? But the Professor didn't defend himself. He simply watched and listened patiently as Oliver grew more eloquent and his story grew more grandiose.
When Oliver finished his accusation and asked for a denial, the Professor replied, "You're working with them. Perhaps even the mastermind."
Oliver sneered, and then he commanded the guards, "Arrest them."
"To what end?" continued the Professor. "What do you gain from killing the man who built this most glorious empire? The one empire standing erect among those dragged down by their own armaments—one whose flag is loved where all others are feared. Emperor Alph built such an empire destined to reign and evolve its peoples, yet you chose the grave for him. Why?"
Receiving no answer, the Professor didn't resist as the guards pulled his arms behind him and dragged him across the floor. As two guards moved for Claire, they found her less cooperative.
Particularly, her sudowoodo took it personally when his trainer was attacked. He stepped in between Claire and the two guards abruptly. They instinctively drew their katana and held the blades in offensive stances. The sudowoodo did not respond to the threat except to stand firmly. Two more guards approached from behind, and when the sudowoodo turned to look, the first two guards attacked.
"O'Connell!" Claire shouted.
The swords clanged loudly off O'Connell's rocky skin. The ringing traveled down the blades, through the hilts, and into the palms of the guards, bringing with it immense pain and the urge to drop their weapons. Trained never to relinquish their weapons during battle, the guards endured the pain instead, forcing all of their willpower into maintaining their grips and none of it into defending their faces from Claire's fists. O'Connell deflected strikes from the other two guards and pushed them to the ground, generally leaving them unharmed.
"Ow!" Claire moaned as she tried to shake the pain from her hands.
"That's good. You made your point," the Professor assured her as he gently put his hands on both of her shoulders and pulled her away from the dishonored guards. "Elevate your hand. It'll help diminish the pain."
Claire raised her hand over her head while the Professor entreated with the rest of the court.
"I know this is a difficult situation for all of you. On the one hand, you have the regents chosen simply by default as temporary heads of state to lead and protect you in the event of a crisis. On the other hand, you have a pair of interlopers who witnessed your former emperor's rise and were personally invited as trusted guests into his home. Knowing who to trust is more of a puzzle than a Rubik's cube." When he saw the expressions on his audience's face, he flinched. "Right. Too early for that. Just ask yourself whose judgment held you in the highest esteem: your emperor who created this peaceful nation or the state that mandates a specific regency in the event you were left without a leader."
People began to steal glances at one another, but none spoke up in agreement with the Professor.
"Well, that's disappointing," he admitted softly.
Finally Iset stepped forward and spoke louder than she had since Claire met her. Wearing her purple robes and traditional makeup and looking every bit the part of the emperor's first wife, she informed the congregation, "My husband accepted the Professor as his oldest and wisest friend. His trust for the Professor knew no bounds. My husband believed him incapable of treachery of any magnitude."
More glances were stolen, but still none spoke in defense of Emperor Alph's wishes.
"What you have just heard," Oliver explained, "is a desperate tale told by a treacherous woman on attempt to protect those who attained her goal for her. As first wife, her son stands to take the throne upon the Emperor's death. No doubt she wished to expedite the process. Arrest her."
"Now hold on!" the Professor exclaimed. He was shocked by the insinuation that Iset was involved in any kind of conspiracy to kill her husband. But no one held on to await his words. Two guards apprehended him from behind while a third aimed the tip of a katana to his throat.
Claire hadn't considered that traveling to the actual time of Emperor Alph might put her in jeopardy. Taken up in the romantic allure of knowledge and anthropology, she failed to stop and consider the very real danger she put herself in by investigating the death of one of history's strongest leaders. She was no fighter, nor was she even much of a trainer. She never had a real interest or need for battling pokémon with her career. O'Connell could offer her some protection, but he could only do so much for her without endangering the lives of all the people gathered nearby.
Struck with an epiphany, Claire looked at her sudowoodo with amazement, allowing her brain to formulate a plan. "Johto only," she repeated softly to herself.
When the first guard struck at O'Connell, Claire dropped another pokéball. A flash of light ensued and produced the silky form of Croft, her roserade. With bouqueted arms, sepals flowing like a gown, and white petals adorning her head, Croft stood beside Claire as a vision of beauty. And being a native pokémon to the Hoenn region but more commonly found in Sinnoh, the citizens of the Johto region were awed by the mysterious new creature.
"Grass Whistle," Claire requested. Croft lifted her arm to her mouth and began to blow through the sepal. The air filled with a melodious buzz akin to a bamboo flute. The buzz was airy and perfectly pitched as the eerie melody haunted the grand hall, bouncing along the marble structures and filling the heads of all present. Claire knew the trick to ignoring the tune through mental focus, but everyone else suffered from body-numbing comfort. The guards, the servants, even Dr. Asher and Oliver slumped over as the melody took effect.
Claire took the opportunity to slip past the guards with O'Connell, who ran with his hands over his ears.
"Have your sudowoodo grab the misses," the Professor requested.
Claire was stunned by his movement. He didn't look drowsy at all. "Why isn't Grass Whistle affecting you?"
"It just takes mental focus. Not very difficult to muster for one whose brain never really shuts off. Now grab her and let's go!"
O'Connell removed one arm from his head, scooped up Iset by the waist, and followed his trainer through the door of the grand hall. Croft glided elegantly across the floor, her melody flowing as elegantly as her sepal gown until after she crossed the threshold and left the room. As the acoustics of the room reverberated with the song for an extra moment, Croft took off at a run to catch up to her trainer, who hadn't made it terribly far because O'Connell was not a nimble creature.
"Where are we going?" asked Claire.
"We'll make a brief stop in the dungeon and then flee the Violet Palace."
"What's going on?"
"Jomon is still under arrest, and now the guards moved to arrest us and Iset. Obviously the conspiracy against the emperor spread farther than I realized. The entire regency is involved, and they have the support of the servant staff and the military. We must rescue Jomon, who is the rightful ruler, before he is executed unjustly."
The people here didn't have regular use of pokémon the way she did, and so Claire didn't predict much difficulty in creating Jomon's jailbreak. "What happens after we break him out?"
"We must exercise caution while we locate Penta."
"Because he's the reason Alph was killed and Jomon was blamed?"
The Professor smiled that impressed smile. "Let's hurry."