Ash appeared, surrounded by his Pokémon, and looked around. He was stood inside a grassy basin, the sides of the hills rising up above him. There was no sign of human habitation; in fact a quick check showed him that even Pokémon rarely came here. It was truly in the middle of nowhere. Ash brought his gaze down to see what was in front of him and smiled slightly. Facing him was more than fifty Pokémon of all types. Some of them he recognized, some of them he did not. All had an aura of strength, making him glad that he had brought all of his with him. At their centre stood Cleffa, a neutral expression on her face. Sonia was nowhere to be seen.

"So this is what you have been up to." Ash said conversationally. Cleffa tilted her head slightly, looking at him with a confused expression on her face. "In all the time that we have faced off, this is what you have been doing. Collecting disillusioned Pokémon, readying them to fight against me."

Cleffa considered it for a moment and then stepped forwards. She started speaking, her words immediately translated for Ash by Espeon.

"You have taken everything from me, human." Cleffa hissed.

"And you have killed humans." Ash said. Cleffa flinched slightly, causing Ash to nod. "Sonia wasn't lying about that, was she? You have killed humans."

"You interfere too much." Cleffa snapped. "In years gone past, Pokémon would deal with humans properly. Humans that got too arrogant were destroyed. Now clemency is given. This is not right."

Ash blinked in surprise. "You're talking about Arceus sparing Tobias?"

"Do not speak His name!" Cleffa snarled, the angry expression out of place on her usually cute face. "You are not worthy to speak of Him."

"Cleffa, that was five years ago." Ash said disbelievingly. "You tried to destroy me because of that?"

"Because of what you represent." Cleffa hissed. "You represent the belief that Pokémon are inferior to humans. Yet you are nothing without us."

Ash shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe this. Everything you have done, killing people, kidnapping Sonia, framing me for crimes… All of that was revenge for Arceus sparing a human's life?"

"How far would you go to preserve your way of life, human?" Cleffa asked. "Nothing is too much when the threat you represent is this great."

"Sonia was telling the truth." Ash breathed. "You manipulated her. She truly did have my interests at heart."

Cleffa laughed, a surprisingly cruel sound. "That woman? She thought she was so smart. She thought she could play me. She thought that she could beat me."

"What have you done with her?" Ash demanded, stepping forwards.

"You shouldn't care." Cleffa said. "She has lied to you all along. She has played you all along. You should not trust her."

"You just admitted that you used her."

"I did." Cleffa agreed. "But how do you think I found her? And how do you think I exposed every weakness that you have among humans? She was never your friend. I have done you a favour."

Ash gritted his teeth. "Where is she?"

Cleffa smiled and for the first time met Ash's eyes. Despite the small Pokémon being famed for its cuteness, there was nothing cute about Cleffa. Her eyes cut straight into Ash, causing his blood to run cold. Gone was the happy expression on her face, replaced with a look of hatred etched across her features. A look mirrored on the faces of the Pokémon surrounding her.

"She is where she should be." Cleffa said smugly.

Ash stepped forwards again. His hand came up and in a parody of the action he used to take, he ripped his hat off of his head. When he looked up again, his good eye blazed with energy.

"Answer me." Ash growled.

Cleffa shrugged and raised a paw. Behind her, an Onix rose up and flicked his tail forwards. Sonia was thrown by the strength of the flick, before seemingly hitting a wall in mid-air. As Ash watched, a Mr Mime waved his hands and she fell to the ground a few feet away from Cleffa. While she wasn't moving, he could still see her chest move as she breathed.

"There she is." Cleffa said. "Take her."

Ash made to move forwards but Cleffa spoke again.

"Just one more thing."

"What?" Ash growled.

"I am an old Pokémon." Cleffa said. "I have seen much. I know much. About Pokémon and humans." Cleffa looked up at Ash and smiled sweetly, a cruel visage across her face. "If you return to humanity with that woman, everything I've done will be for nothing. At least… If you return with her alive."

Cleffa started to move her paws, beginning to use Metronome.

"Espeon!" Ash shouted.

Next to him Espeon leapt forwards, her eyes already glowing blue as she threw her Psychic attack against Cleffa, pinning the Star Shape Pokémon in place. There was a roar from the Pokémon surrounding Cleffa as attacks surged down towards Espeon. She howled in pain as they started to hit, unable to deflect them as she battled with Cleffa. Several Psychic Pokémon descended next to Cleffa and used their own Psychic attacks to battle with Espeon.

"Charizard, end this." Ash barked. "Blast Burn at Cleffa."

A huge torrent of flame shot past Ash, straight at Cleffa but it was too late. Her paws were moving again and a blue glow surrounded the figure of Sonia. As the flames rushed towards Cleffa, the prone figure of Sonia lifted up and was moved directly into the path of Charizard's attack.

"Charizard, stop!" Ash roared but his powerhouse was already committed. The fire rushed towards Sonia who was just beginning to stir in Cleffa's Psychic grip. Instinctively Ash started to throw up a barrier between her and the attack, but Cleffa grinned evilly as her paws finally stopped moving. Sonia shot forwards, smashing through the half-formed barrier and being hurled straight into Charizard's most powerful attack.

Cynthia sat down in her chair, her shoulders slumped. In the chair next to her sat Officer Jenny, looking equally subdued. Across the room, Mellanie stood next to Mewtwo with a scowl on her face. Sam hovered near her while Steven and Lance had found themselves chairs somewhat out of the way.

"We were played the entire time?" Jenny asked, her voice still sounding slightly dazed.

"Yes." Mewtwo said. "A Pokémon, I am unsure which one, was affecting your minds."

"The headaches." Cynthia said with realisation. "I've had one for weeks, ever since I started helping out on the case."

"They are sometimes a side-effect." Mewtwo said. "Particularly for those who are subjecting their targets to it over a sustained period of time."

"How long has this been going on?" Sam asked.

"I would expect it to be from the start of the investigation." Mewtwo said. "As I said, I considered the evidence. There is nothing there, unless you have been affected like this."

"About that." Jenny said. "How did you manage that? It is under security here."

Mewtwo didn't answer, merely giving Jenny a pitying look. She nodded weakly, accepting it.

"So what now?" Sam asked the room at large. "Do we announce that the investigation revealed nothing suspicious?"

Mellanie started to nod, but Cynthia spoke first.

"We can't."

Mellanie froze, her gaze drawn to the Sinnoh Champion. "What do you mean, you can't?" Mellanie asked.

"Politically it is very difficult." Cynthia said quietly. "Doing so would force Steven to remove Jenny from her role. And with the public criticism of Ash, he would struggle to return as Pokémon Master."

There was silence through the room for several moments before Mellanie turned to Mewtwo.

"I can only assume you made a mistake and didn't remove the psychic influence." She said, her voice disbelieving. "Would you care to remove the rest of it?"

"I removed it." Mewtwo said simply. "This is her."

"Think Mellanie." Cynthia said softly. "Ash is on the run. He broke out of prison. The world thinks that he is a criminal and a murderer."

"Because you made them think that!" Mellanie snapped, her voice growing in volume. "And now you want to avoid the blame for what you did?!"

Cynthia froze, remembering one of the last things Ash had said to her.

"Cynthia, consider this a fair warning." Ash said. "I once forgave a huge mistake of yours. I will not do it again. Permitting yourself to be duped is a failure on your part."

"He knew…" she murmured.

"What?" Steven said, rising from his chair slightly. "Who knew what?"

"Ash knew." Cynthia said, louder this time. "Ash knew that we were being affected."

"Then why didn't he say anything?" Lance asked.

"He knew that we wouldn't believe it." Cynthia said. "Doing so would have only angered us."

Mellanie threw her arms up in frustration. "And yet you still want to depose him? After everything that he manages to do? Name one person better at leading the world."

"Somebody who doesn't split opinion" came a quiet, calm voice.

Mellanie turned to regard Steven, a look of fury on her face. "What did you just say?"

"I said that we need somebody who doesn't split opinion." Steven said, slightly louder. "There are things that you are unaware of Mellanie. The regions are dividing, splitting into factions, some that are pro-Champion, and some that are anti. We need unity."

"We have been united under him!" Mellanie growled, her usual reticence in big meetings completely overwhelmed by her fury. "For six years!"

"And not anymore." Steven said. "As much as I don't like to admit it, Champion has been pushed past the point of no return."

"I do not believe that." Mellanie snapped.

"I'm afraid that you are wrong then." Steven said. "Believe me, I know the level of political acumen it takes to survive at this level. There is no way that Jenny or Cynthia can back down now. They are committed to this and without him to defend himself their story will be the one believed."

"Then they tell the truth." Mellanie demanded. She spun and took a step forwards towards Jenny and Cynthia. "You tell the truth. You can fix this. You admit the mistake. You do the right thing."

There was a long silence in the room as Jenny and Cynthia looked at each other. As unspoken words passed between them, Cynthia took a deep breath.

"No."

Ash let out a bellow of anger as Sonia was catapulted through the air by the power of Charizard's attack. The Pokémon around Cleffa parted, allowing her to pass between them. There was an echoing crash as Sonia smashed into the side of the basin behind Cleffa who grinned up at Ash evilly. She opened her mouth to talk, but Ash was already moving.

"End this." He snarled at his Pokémon. They leapt forwards, attacks smashing into the Pokémon surrounding Cleffa who looked around with an expression of slight shock on her face. As the attacks landed, the barrage on Espeon lessened and she looked up again with a snarl on her face, launching a pair of Psybeam attacks out that sent two opponents reeling. Ash surged forwards, lashing out with his fists and sending a Nidoking flying backwards. His anger fuelled his strength and despite the attacks coming back at him he pressed forwards. He caught a glimpse of Cleffa as her Pokémon moved forwards to protect her. She had an uncertain look on her face as her group of Pokémon were ruthlessly crushed.

"Ash."

Ash slammed his fist into a Tangela and turned to see Espeon stood behind him, eyes shut and panting heavily.

"Yes?" he demanded.

"Sonia is alive." Espeon said, growling slightly as more attacks found her in the chaos. "Somewhere behind the Pokémon."

Ash nodded and spun to catch a rock thrown at him by an Onix. His own Onix leapt into the attack, forcing Ash's opponent onto the defensive. Ash looked around and realised that he wasn't under attack. His Pokémon, despite their inferior numbers and the strength of their opponents, were winning. Ash growled and jumped forwards, soaring over the battle that was raging underneath him. He came down on the far side and saw a horrifically burnt figure in front of him. Sonia was sunken into the hillside, the power of Charizards attack blasting a crater into the hill. Ash moved forwards, letting the battle continue to rage behind him as he reached Sonia. Ash knelt down beside her and reached out, his hand touching the side of her head. He sighed as he assessed the injuries that she had been subjected to. Charizard's attack was powerful under usual circumstances but his strike had been even stronger due to his anger. And Sonia had been exposed to its full power.

Ash looked around to see a pair of Pokémon approaching him cautiously. Cleffa had clearly sent them to stop him healing Sonia. As he considered the injuries of the woman in front of him, he knew that he wouldn't able to heal her and fight at the same time. The scale of her injuries were horrific. Ash wasn't sure if he could save her even if he could focus on her completely. He was about to rise when the body in front of him stirred.

Instantly Ash threw up a shield between himself and the Pokémon who were approaching. They both fired attacks but neither broke through. Ash leaned down again and cradled Sonia in his arms.

"It hurts…" Sonia moaned.

Ash didn't answer for a long moment, wincing as the attacks on his shield increased in strength.

"Don't move." He said softly, holding her slightly tighter.

"I… I'm sorry." Sonia gasped, before crying out as a fresh wave of pain rushed through her.

"You don't have to be." Ash said quietly. He growled as yet more attacks found him, preventing him from treating Sonia's injuries. "I'm sorry that…"

Sonia cut him off, her hand reaching up and grabbing the collar of his jacket. "Cleffa is… She was… too clever. Too devious."

"I know." Ash said soothingly. "This isn't your fault Sonia. It is mine."

Before Ash could say anything else there was a roar behind him. Sonia's eyes widened, causing Ash to glance over his shoulder. Just behind him stood a Camerupt, clearly ready to attack. Ash gritted his teeth as the flames crashed into his shield, the strain evident on his face. The attack lasted for several moments until a burst of water from Sharpedo sent the Camerupt flying away. Ash took several deep breaths to recompose himself. By the time he was able to focus his attention on Sonia once again, something seemed to have cleared in her eyes.

"I… I want to tell you something Ash." Sonia said, speaking through the groans of pain.

"What?" Ash asked.

"I… I…" Sonia started, but she never finished. As Ash held her, her eyes flickered shut. Ash withdrew his aura as he felt Sonia die in as much pain as her body could feel from the burns.

Ash shut his eyes for a moment before gently laying Sonia's body on the ground. A cold fury filled him as he rose to his feet and stalked back towards the Pokémon attacking him. As Ash approached the pair of Magneton's, the Pokémon appeared to sense something as they started to back away. One of them fired another attack that Ash swatted aside almost dismissively. As he reached them his fists flashed out, faster than even the Pokémon could track. Ash didn't even break stride as the two Pokémon crashed to the ground, knocked out cold.

Ash strode back into the battle, fists flashing out as he reached opponents. His strikes were incredibly fast and powerful, each one leaving his opponent on the ground as his anger drove him forwards. Soon Cleffa's supporters were attempting to flee but Ash was merciless as he mowed them down.

"Espeon, Alakazam. Hold them." Ash snapped.

Alakazam obeyed without question, a moment earlier than Espeon who looked at Ash with concern in her eyes. Ash moved through the few remaining opponents, leaving them knocked out until he arrived at his final foe.

"Cleffa." Ash said emotionlessly. "It is time for you to answer for what you have done."

There was a long silence through the office before eventually Mellanie stepped forwards, her anger palpable.

"What do you mean, no?" she snarled.

"I mean that we can't admit it." Cynthia said.

"Why not?" Mellanie demanded, her voice growing in volume.

"Because we'd need evidence before we risked such an upheaval."

"Evidence?!" Mellanie half-shrieked. "Evidence like you needed to arrest the Pokémon Master?"

Cynthia took a deep breath. "Yes. Without it, we shouldn't move."

"Yes you should!" Mellanie shouted. "You should do the right thing! You should not be so cowardly!"

There was another long minute of silence as Mellanie faced down Cynthia. Mellanie was visibly furious, her chest heaving and her hands shaking as she fought to control herself. By contrast, Cynthia was much calmer as she faced down the younger woman.

"You should understand Mellanie, that this isn't what we…" Cynthia started, but Mellanie had no intention of letting her finish.

"What you wanted?" Mellanie spat. "You didn't want to become Pokémon Master again?"

"That's not what I meant." Cynthia said in an attempt to placate the raging teenager, her hands making a calming gesture. "The world is in chaos after everything…"

"After what you did you mean." Mellanie snapped.

"Yes." Cynthia admitted. "But regardless, the world is in chaos. They will look to us for leadership. They will look to me."

Mellanie just glared at Cynthia but didn't say anything, letting the Sinnoh leader continue.

"We must show that we are able to give stability." Cynthia said, her voice gaining in confidence. "We must be politically savvy."

"By which you mean that we must protect ourselves at all costs." Mellanie said in disgust.

"That isn't exactly what I meant." Cynthia said. "But if that is how you wish to take it, then yes. We can't afford to give the regions any more reasons to doubt us. They need strong leadership."

"And what if Ash returns from the wilds with Sonia?" Mellanie demanded. "If she admits she did everything to fool you?"

"Then we will be able to change our plans." Cynthia said soothingly. "And Ash will be able to return, exonerated."

"What about the fighting between Pokémon?" Lance interjected, spotting a moment to try and change to topic. "If we can't find a way to calm them down, we might not be able to stay as leaders regardless of Champion."

Mellanie looked up at the Dragon Master. "Ash will deal with that. You don't deserve it but he will help you."

"How can you be so certain?" Steven asked.

"Because Ash went after Sonia." Sam interjected tiredly. "He will know that the problems with the Pokémon are related and he won't leave the job half done. We will know when he is finished when the fighting stops."

Jenny rose from her seat where she had been quietly observing the discussion. "Then I propose that we adjourn until then. If Champion returns with Sonia we will work from there."

Mellanie turned and headed for the door, Mewtwo following her silently. As she reached the exit she turned and met Cynthia's gaze. "I look forward to it."

Cleffa looked around at the wreckage of the peace, the Pokémon strewn across the hillside. She looked up into the cold fury of the human stood in front of him and bowed her head slightly.

"I will answer." She conceded.

"Good." Ash said. "You can start by answering the questions that Sonia can't. Who was she?"

"I am unsure." Cleffa said, wincing as Charizard growled down at her from behind Ash. "That is the truth. She merely came to me and said that she had history with the Pokémon Master and she wanted my help."

"What history?" Ash demanded.

"All she ever said was that you killed somebody close to her."

Ash hesitated, his fury giving way to surprise. He glanced down at Espeon who had reached his side and looked just as shocked.

"I have never killed anybody." Ash said.

"I can only tell you what she told me." Cleffa said. "She was very certain about that. She did everything she could to destabilise you."

Ash blinked, mystified. He glanced down at Espeon. "Any ideas?"

Espeon shook her head. Behind her another Pokémon spoke up, Espeon again translating.

"We were responsible for the termination of Agent and Giovanni."

Ash turned to look at Alakazam in shock. "Say that again?"

"It was under your stewardship that Giovanni and Agent were subjected to the death penalty." Alakazam said calmly. "It is conceivable that she was referring to one of them."

"Giovanni wasn't close to anybody." Ash said instantly. "I would have known."

"And Agent?" Espeon asked.

"I am unsure." Ash turned back to Cleffa who was looking weaker by the minute. "Very well. Maybe she was motivated by revenge. Maybe she tried to play us. I guess we'll never know for certain." Ash's voice trailed off as his train of thought came to an end, before he focused on Cleffa again. "Now onto you. Why have you been attacking me?"

"I was truthful before." Cleffa said. "I did not believe that you were worthy to change His mind or to face Him."

"And now?" Ash asked.

"I yield to your strength." Cleffa said tiredly. "I was wrong to oppose something so strong."

Ash took a step back. "I never wanted to fight you Cleffa." He said. "I only wanted peace."

"And it will come." Cleffa said. "You have beaten me utterly. My final followers lie around you."

"Then you will return to human civilization with me." Ash said commandingly. "Your testimony will clear my name now that Sonia cannot. And I can continue to build a world for both humans and Pokémon alike."

Cleffa considered it, before shrugging. "Without my return, everything we set in motion will come through. You will never lead humanity again."

"But…" Ash started.

"I said that I admitted your strength." Cleffa said smugly. "And without you, humanity will once again be inferior. As it has been throughout history, and as it should be."

All of a sudden there was an explosion from underneath Cleffa. Ash was thrown backwards, before being caught instinctively by Charizard's outstretched wing. The Flame Pokémon pulled him close as the flames rushed past. As the explosion died down, Charizard released Ash who looked around at his Pokémon. They all looked battered but stood strong. Ash strode forwards and knelt down at the centre of the crater that had formed in front of them. He sniffed carefully before recoiling.

"What is it?" Espeon asked. "Where is Cleffa?"

Ash took a deep breath. "She is gone."

"Gone where?"

Ash gestured at the crater. "We would have known if there was a Pokémon under there" he said quietly.

Espeon looked up at her trainer uncertainly. "So?"

"So Cleffa knew that she would lose to us." Ash said. "She was a fanatic. She was crazy. But she was not stupid."

"Ash?" Espeon asked nervously.

"She knew that if she could find a way to have Sonia killed, she would be the only one who could exonerate us." Ash continued. "And so she did what all truly dedicated fanatics do. She sacrificed herself for the cause."

"What do you mean?" Espeon asked uncertainly. "What caused that explosion?"

"Something very simple." Ash said. "Something we would never have suspected. Something human. It was a bomb. Cleffa must have planted it."

"So where is she?" Espeon asked, not understanding.

Ash gazed into the crater for a long moment. "She knew about it. There is no way she survived."

Ash turned and looked at his team of Pokémon, his sorrow showing across his features. "All of humanity thinks we are criminals. And the last evidence helping us just vanished. We are now officially fugitives."

A/N

This is shorter than usual and later than usual. Not a good combination I'm sure, but it was a traumatic, action-y chapter that I wanted to get right. That takes time and coupled with some personal issues means that this has taken a fair while. All I can really say is sorry, but given that this is the culmination of the majority of this story I hope that it was worth it.

There is not long left. Probably another couple of chapters, maybe three or four at the most. I'll try and get them finished soon so you don't have to wait too much longer. I will then turn my attention to continuing some of my ideas on "The Missing Years" given that I have a good few half-written chapters for that one.

Anyway, until next time. Probably a fortnight away.

Iama2p