Operation GEAR: The Angel of Reckoning

by The Great Butler

A girl and her friends set out on a search for truth in a land torn apart by political and religious strife. However, they are unaware of what they are stepping into: the grasp of a terrifying, inescapable enemy that aims to bring down mankind's greatest achievement, the Pokemon League. Soon, the truth becomes clouded, and a desperate struggle for survival begins.

19. The Weight of the World (Part 1)

And now what you've all been waiting for.

Just be warned, this chapter gets pretty intense. People don't all make it out okay.

-:-

CHAPTER 19: The Weight of the World (Part 1)

-:-

Isolated deep within the Sinjoh Ruins, a single chamber of the cave had been turned into a relatively furnished room. Though it still had the general appearance of a cave, the occupant had made a sort of home there. The floor was covered with a blue-and-white rug and a bed, table and bookcase had been set against the walls. A bowl of fruit on the table and two posters hung above the bed's headboard contributed further character. One poster depicted a Heatran on a volcanic landscape, while the other had a full-length picture of a silver-haired woman in a ruffled red-and-white dress and matching bonnet, over which the words "My Sweet, Sweet Lady" were printed.

For the Prophet, this room had been her home for some time, and would continue to be for the foreseeable future. It didn't bother her much; even in her peoples' ruined holy land, the room was like a retreat from reality, one that she would withdraw to for long hours of reading when not leading the group or caring for her child.

Her child. His cries snapped the Prophet back into reality, after she had spent several minutes standing and reflecting on the comfort the room provided. She glanced over to the posters for a brief moment, then left and descended a short, narrow staircase.

The next chamber at the end of the stairs was a small prison with a single cell. Sylpha was sitting in front of the bars, while Looker and Jacob were jailed behind them. As soon as the Prophet entered the room, Looker jumped up.

"Please, be telling me why we are imprisoned like those who have committed…"

Looker was cut off when the Prophet's son cried out once again. She glared at the detective from under her cloak, then started to approach Sylpha.

"Not too good with kids, eh, Detective?" Jacob quietly joked from the back of the cell.

"But, but, I…"

"Sylpha, there is something I need you to do," said the Prophet. "I ask that you remain here with the others and watch these two along with my son. I know you would like to be out there on the front lines with the rest of us, but you're only a child yourself. I can't ask you to throw away your life like I can do myself."

The younger Tenganist's face sank slightly, but she still carefully took the Prophet's son into her arms. She gently rocked the infant, soothing him. "I don't understand, though," she said to her leader. "What are you planning to do? What's happening?"

"We are going to war with Polaris and Ghetsis," the Prophet explained, her voice flat. "There aren't any guarantees in war. Ideally I will return here having killed Ghetsis and put an end to his cause. If things go wrong, though… I can't let kids like you get wrapped up in this. I want you to protect my son, because no matter where he came from, he's still mine and I can't deny my mother the right to see her grandson after all that's happened."

"Your mother?" Jacob piped up, sitting with his arms crossed.

"You know her, most likely. She's far away from here battling in that big tournament all the Champions were invited to. I'd like to see her again, but… I don't think she could forgive me for what I've become." The Prophet stepped closer to the bars and grasped them before continuing. "And please, Looker, Jacob, I want you to forgive me for locking you up. I just can't take any risks right now, so I need to wait and verify whose side you're on. Please understand…"

"I am having a lot of questions for you someday," Looker growled.

"I completely understand. One more thing, though… if the worst happens, if we all die and Polaris somehow finds this place, escape. Please, escape with Sylpha, the others and my son… flee to Emeraude Island. It's where the last completely isolated community of Tenganists in the world is hidden away in the Sevii Islands. Keep the memory of our people alive."

Leaving behind her awestruck prisoners and equally-stunned follower, the Prophet snapped her fingers. On cue, a gray, horned Pokémon materialized in the air next to her. Its body was doll-like, and golden rings were hung around its horns as well as around the bottom of its shape. It had huge, golden eyes and a mouth twisted into a sneaky grin.

"Hoopa, come," the Prophet said to the Pokémon. "We must be leaving now."

-:-

"He wants me, but only part of the time, he wants me, if he can keep me in line…"

The muffled sound of music accompanied by a vibration somewhere beneath her roused Nekou from sleep. She groggily glanced at the clock next to her bed, then groaned.

"Fuck… I hate when people send me shit this early in the morning…"

Nekou fumbled around in the impossible tangle of sheets she was wrapped up in. Two beer cans fell out and crashed to the floor before she could finally locate her still-ringing phone. When she finally managed to rub the sleep from her eyes and take in what was on the screen, she blinked several times in confusion.

"This early in the morning, Maman? You know I like to sleep… this better be important."

After pulling herself from the bed, Nekou collected her coat and quietly left the room.

-:-

The air in the room where Ghetsis had been holding his prisoners was as cold as it was outside of the temple. He hadn't provided them with cushions, blankets or any other items for comfort, so they had all been shivering as they snatched what little sleep they could on the hard wooden floor. Elm had attempted to turn his coat into a makeshift pillow, but when he saw how cold Anthea and Concordia were, he gave it to them instead.

"It's been quiet…" the professor said to his cellmates, though he couldn't tell if they were listening. "Too quiet… neither Ghetsis nor those ninjas he's with have been in here for a while."

Elm waited for a response, but none came. He held back for as long as he could before speaking again, and when he did, it was a whisper through gritted teeth.

"We should try to escape."

"Escape is impossible." Anthea instantly, automatically responded, her voice cold and flat.

"Lord Ghetsis will find us no matter where we go…" Concordia added in a similar tone.

"You can't talk like that!" Elm snapped. Realizing too late that his tone was far too harsh, he softened it as quickly as he could. "I'm sorry. What I mean is… Ghetsis has done so much to us all. We should fight back, no? He's just one old man. How can he handle three people attacking him at once?"

"You underestimate him," Concordia said, finally turning her dead eyes to Elm. "He possesses more strength than you would think. And he has only gotten more powerful as time goes by… I've known it ever since we fell back into his hands, he can…"

When Concordia trailed off and stopped speaking, Anthea immediately picked up the slack. "And even if we did overwhelm Lord Ghetsis, the Shadow Triad would kill all of us."

"I refuse to believe that there's no hope. There must be some way to…"

Elm was cut off by the sound of a door creaking open. He turned his head, and when he saw Ghetsis entering the room with the Shadow Triad behind him, stumbled backward several feet. His determination to escape had been immediately replaced by an overwhelming fear that Ghetsis had heard everything he'd said. Anthea and Concordia, for their part, barely reacted to Ghetsis's appearance.

Ghetsis approached them with heavy, deliberate steps, slamming his cane against the floor to further intimidate his captives. When he stopped, he stood still and did not speak for several tense moments.

"It's time for you three to do your jobs," he finally said, glaring down on them.

Elm relaxed slightly, thinking that Ghetsis had not heard of his escape plan after all. That relief was short-lived, though. Ghetsis started walking toward the three prisoners again, and Elm's fear returned.

"I don't think I need to explain any further what will happen to you three if you don't do as you're told," he continued. "You three have very specific roles to play in what is about to happen. Refuse them at your own risk."

Elm felt words welling up in his throat, and before he could check himself, he blurted out, "And then you'll let us out? Let me see my family again?"

Almost instantly, Ghetsis laughed. He continued to walk toward the three, and Anthea and Concordia slowly turned to stare at Elm as he began to fear what Ghetsis would do to him. When Ghetsis stopped right in front of him, the professor looked up at him with wide, trembling eyes.

Instead of flying into a rage as Elm feared he would, though, Ghetsis remained calm. Balancing carefully on his cane, he reached down and gripped the top of Elm's head, eliciting a shocked yelp from the man.

Ghetsis lifted Elm until they were eye-level with each other, then said through a wide grin, "Be a good boy and I'll think about it." Looking back over his shoulder, Ghetsis then directed the Shadow Triad, "These other two… string them up."

-:-

Some time later, Matt, Olivia and Bunny were searching the Pokémon Center's lobby for Nekou. She had disappeared sometime before they had woken up, and with no immediate evidence of her whereabouts, they had no other choice but to look for her.

"At least there's not too many people around…" Matt thought to himself, noting what was going right. That was only so much of a blessing, though, since Nekou was still nowhere to be found.

When Olivia saw the nurse returning to her desk, she immediately went over to it. "Excuse me?"

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center," the nurse recited in a mechanical manner. "How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for my friend," Olivia explained. "She has long black hair and wears a coat with silver buttons."

"Is her name Nekou?"

"Yes!" Olivia exclaimed, her eyes brightening at the nurse saying Nekou's name. "Do you know where she went?"

"She went out some time ago, but she left a message." The nurse maintained a steady gaze into the eyes of the girl before her, nonchalantly flipping a pen around her fingers as she continued speaking in her flat voice. "I assume you're Olivia?"

"That's…" The robotic manner the nurse was carrying herself in made Olivia shift uncomfortably where she stood. "That's me."

"Your friend said that she had to go out for a while, and that she wants you to meet her at the Dance Hall."

"Did you guys hear that?" Olivia called out over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Matt answered. A slight sigh of relief filtered through his words; after their conversation the night before, he had found himself wanting to talk to Nekou more.

"I didn't," Bunny replied.

"Bunny, the nurse just told me that Nekou wants us to meet her at the Dance Hall."

Once she had heard Olivia's information, Bunny relaxed slightly. "Alright, that sounds good. Should we get going?"

A round of nods met Bunny's suggestion, so the group started to walk for the exit doors. On their way, they passed a large television, around which a number of people had gathered.

"As you can see behind me," the male reporter on the screen said, gesturing behind himself, "quite a crowd is developing in Ecruteak City's Central Square. They're all here in anticipation of the speech to be given by Ghetsis, the spokesman of the Polaris organization. With the current level of discussion regarding social issues, there is quite an energy in the air here."

"How many people would you estimate are gathered in Central Square right now?" the voice of an unseen anchorman asked.

"We don't have a clear number yet, but estimates put it in the hundreds."

-:-

One individual within the crowd, if she heard the reporter's estimate of there being hundreds assembled in the square, would have agreed in a heartbeat.

"It's funny," Rowena thought to herself, "Usually when there's so many people around you get warm just from how closely packed in you are. I don't think I was in the mood to freeze and be crowded to death today."

Sighing, Rowena tightened the scarf around her head as much as she could while still leaving an opening for her headset camera to film.

-:-

With so many people gathered in the square, the rest of the streets were largely empty. Even if there had been a thousand people around her, though, Nekou never would have noticed them. She was standing rigidly still near the entrance of the Dance Hall, staring straight ahead into thin air and clutching a beer can so tightly she was nearly crushing it.

"How could you…" In her head, she was sobbing, even though she was mostly stoic on the outside. The only sign of the storm going on inside her mind were her glassy, watered-over eyes. "No, not you! Me! How could I have failed you after all you've done for me? I know I could have saved you if…"

"Do you understand now just how powerless you are?"

Even though the voice was hers, Nekou knew instinctively that the thoughts she heard weren't her own. The sudden presence of the other entity inside her head brought on a wave of anger that caused her to fully crush the can in her hand.

"I'm not fucking dealing with you now," Nekou said out loud. "fuck off."

"But you know I'm right," the voice cooed, carefully measuring its words. "Did you really think you could cure her? Do what no real doctor could do?"

"But I had Rosalie…"

"When it's your time, it's your time. You know that, I know that. We know that." Nekou could feel the foreign presence invading herself, melting into every corner of her body like hot butter. "Look at yourself. Look at your… our hands. Look at them."

Before she even knew what she was doing, Nekou let go of the now-crushed can and raised her hands in front of her face. It was an instinctual motion, and when she realized what she was doing, she drew in a deep, distressed breath.

"You know what you have to do with them. Take everything that's yours or before you know it, it'll be you in the ground."

"Nekou, there you are!"

Nekou had opened her mouth to say something back to her other self, but when she suddenly heard Olivia calling out to her, she snapped out of her daze. It was then that she finally noticed blood dripping from where the can had cut her hand, but as she turned to look toward where she heard Olivia's voice, she saw the cuts healing right before her eyes. Her eyes widened at this, and she felt her body suddenly become weak.

"Nekou?"

When Nekou was finally aware of her surroundings again, she realized that Olivia, Matt and Bunny were standing right in front of her. Olivia was tilting her head, while her older companions stared at Nekou with worried looks on their faces.

"Did you take care of what you had to do?" Olivia asked.

Nekou didn't answer. The words registered in her brain, but no response would come out, as if her throat was completely locked. She could only stare down at Olivia, and eventually, she managed to weakly nod her head.

Matt and Bunny looked from the corner of their eyes at each other. They didn't say anything, but even without words, they knew what the other was thinking.

Perceiving that Bunny was hesitant to speak and wishing to interact with Nekou himself, Matt questioned, "Are you alright?"

The stare that met his question was one that Matt instantly knew he'd never forget. While he hadn't known Nekou for that long, they had been around each other long enough that he had picked up some clues into her moods. What he saw in her glazed-over gaze was unlike anything he'd seen from her before.

"Let's just go inside and get this shit done," Nekou finally said. Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she spoke far more quickly than she usually did.

Nekou suddenly pushed Matt and Bunny aside, storming past them and toward the entrance of the Dance Hall. They could only follow her with Olivia at their sides, dumbfounded by her erratic behavior.

By the time they caught up with her, they were already well into the hall's bright interior. Bill, his two sisters and Nando were all already present.

"And so you have finally arrived, my friends," Nando greeted them in his usual sing-song manner. "Just in time. I have been eager to get started."

"He's not kidding, you know," Mako remarked, grinning. "He's been telling us stories all morning to keep us up for this."

"I can believe it," Olivia said. "I can really believe it."

While many of her older friends shared a laugh, Audrey got up from where she was sitting and approached Olivia. "Is your friend okay?" she asked, gesturing at Nekou with slight motions of her head.

"I think she's just stressed out," Olivia whispered in response while running her hand nervously through her hair. "It does seem weird though…"

Matt stepped forward and slightly raised his arm toward Bill, then said, "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Well, our mother used to be a Kimono Girl years ago," Bill explained, a proud glimmer in his eyes, "so this is our history too. What kind of a brother would I be if I didn't try to teach my little sister about our past?"

"A bookworm like you would say that," Mako remarked from behind Bill's head.

Bill's face flushed, and he started to turn around to express his frustration with Mako's snark. Before he could speak, however, Kuni emerged from the back of the hall. Her sandals crashed loudly on the wooden stage with each step she took, and the sounds attracted the attention of her guests as she approached.

"Well, here goes nothing," Bunny thought to herself. She didn't realize it, but she was rocking slightly back and forth where she stood.

"We've been waiting," the blue-clad Kimono Girl coldly addressed them, standing right on the edge of the stage. She extended her hand in their direction and said, "Come. Join me here."

Bill and his sisters were the first to scale the stairs, followed by Nando, Bunny, Matt and Olivia. Nekou dragged herself behind the others, still barely alert of her surroundings.

While they came up onto the stage, the other Kimono Girls emerged from the wings. Two of them, dressed respectively in black and purple, were carrying several implements each that they began working with as soon as they sat down. The yellow and red Kimono Girls stepped past them and sat down on both sides of Kuni, then set out the large scroll they had held on the floor before her.

Seeing the wide, curious eyes most of her audience were regarding the scroll with, Kuni gestured for them to sit as well and explained, "We spent the previous day preparing it… it's an illustration of the tale you came to hear. But first…" Kuni looked over her shoulder to her colleagues in black and purple, who were mixing herbs in a container filled with hot water. "Would any of you like some tea? It is one of our customs to offer it to guests."

A smattering of affirmations met Kuni's question, prompting her to say to the two Kimono Girls behind her, "Naoko, Zuki, please distribute the tea as requested." She then turned forward again and said, "Thank you, we always appreciate when guests partake in our customs."

Naoko and Zuki nodded respectfully to Kuni, then carefully poured the tea out into smooth, cylindrical cups. Zuki, the Kimono Girl dressed in black, brought cups to Nando, Olivia, and Bunny, while the purple-clad Naoko distributed them to Matt, Bill and Audrey.

Even through his gloves, Matt could feel the heat from the tea radiating into his hands and up into his arms. Though it was far too hot to drink, he still enjoyed the feeling, especially with how chilly the air was that day. While he waited for it to cool slightly, he glanced over to the side and noticed that Nekou was not holding her own cup.

"That's not like you to turn down tea," he blurted out without thought.

"I don't want any," Nekou flatly replied, her eyes firmly planted on the ground just in front of her. "Just start the story…"

"Very well… Miki, Sayo, if you would."

The Kimono Girls dressed in red and yellow nodded in silent agreement to Kuni's request, then slowly opened the scroll and returned it to its place in front of her. The first portion of it depicted a tall man dressed in regal clothing, standing among a vast sea of flowers. All around him were strange, unfamiliar Pokémon, many of which held flowers somewhere on their bodies.

"This story begins three thousand years ago," Kuni began explaining, to the rapt attention of most of her audience. "In those ancient times, there was an eighteenth type of Pokémon, one beyond the seventeen most know of today."

"Is that not impossible?" Nando immediately questioned.

"He's right," Bunny said in agreement. "Where did they go?"

"That is what this story will tell you. These Pokémon… they were considered creatures of myth. Those of more contemporary generations know these creatures as fairies. The king of the Kalos region at that time, the man known as AZ, was regarded as the king of these Pokémon. He was most close to a particular flower Pokémon that was gifted to him by his mother."

Kuni gestured to one of the Pokémon in the image; it had a tiny, white-and-blue body and clutched a flower with a black bulb on the end. None of the other Pokémon held flowers similar to it.

"AZ was seen as the king of the fairy Pokémon because of the large numbers of them that gathered in his palace's garden. They were drawn there by the power of a great treasure AZ possessed. It was a Life Plate given to humanity by Arceus itself, one from which the power of the fairies flowed."

"That makes sense," Olivia said, "if they really were a type we've never heard about before."

"Right," Audrey added, scratching her chin with one finger. "One Life Plate for every type except Normal, there'd have to be one for this fairy type."

"You catch on to this stuff quickly," Mako gently joked to her sister, prompting Audrey to flush.

"With the power of the Life Plate and AZ's care for them," Kuni continued, "the fairy Pokémon lived in a paradise. However, that would not last. The king had a younger brother adopted from a tribe not of royal blood. This brother coveted what AZ had, and one day, he betrayed the family that took him in and returned to those whose blood flowed through his body."

When Kuni nodded to them, Miki and Sayo worked the scroll to move it onto another image. This one depicted many humans and Pokémon locked in combat, with fires burning around them. Even Nando couldn't stop his eyes from widening, albeit less than most of the other onlookers. Nekou was the only one who didn't react, instead remaining rigidly fixed on staring at the scroll.

"The people who rebelled against the kingdom sought any advantage they could obtain to win the war they began. Recognizing that the fairy Pokémon represented a great asset to the king, they stole AZ's great treasure." Kuni brought her eyes up from the scroll, but her voice remained stoic. "When the rebelling army damaged the Life Plate, the powers of the fairy Pokémon disappeared. No longer could they use any of their special techniques, and their unique traits gave way to normal, nondescript attributes."

Before continuing her story, Kuni paused for a sip of her own tea. Matt, Bunny and Bill all took the chance to take some of their own as well, though they continued looking at the scroll with rapt attention.

"The war was a horrific tragedy. Both sides fought viciously, with terrible losses for both. Eventually, AZ's beloved flower Pokémon was forced to join his kingdom's military. They were separated for several years, until one day…" Kuni closed her eyes and lowered her head, and Olivia thought she noticed a tear glinting in the corner of the Kimono Girl's eye. "A small box was delivered to AZ. Inside was the body of his beloved Pokémon."

"No…" Audrey gasped in dismay. Next to her, Mako looked away but remained silent.

At that point, Miki and Sayo brought the scroll to its next section. The tall man from the first image was in this one as well. His clothing and hair were far more unkempt than they had been before, and he was holding out an orb toward a giant, flower-like structure. The body of his deceased Pokémon was suspended over the opening at the structure's top.

"What's that?" Matt wondered.

"Overcome with grief, AZ built a machine to restore his Pokémon to life." Kuni's tone remained flat, even when most of her audience gasped in shock at her words. "Besides being the king, AZ mastered the sciences of the Tenganist people and was able to create a Jewel of Life from the Life Plates, something no man had been able to do before. With that Jewel of Life, he built a device to tap into the life energy of the planet and harness it, thus bringing his Pokémon back to life. Not only that, he succeeded."

"Wait, this is the same story Jacob told us," Matt realized. "But when he told us it, he said that AZ powered the device using the life energy of other Pokémon."

"There is much contradictory information in records of these events," Kuni clarified, "but our job is to preserve the truth. Now, I shall continue…"

Miki and Sayo rolled the scroll forward once more. Now even more ragged than ever, the tall man was standing on a cliff overlooking his flower-like device, tightly clutching the orb as his cape blew in the wind around him.

Matt shrank back slightly, working within his mind to reconcile the different versions of the story he'd heard. The idea that Jacob's story might have been even a partial answer all along made his heart sink.

"AZ managed to restore his Pokémon to life, but the influence of the overwhelming energy caused his mind to deteriorate. Unable to cope with his overwhelming despair and anger, he decided to seek revenge on those who had taken his beloved Pokémon from him. AZ modified the device, powering it up further by allowing it to draw energy from Pokémon through special stones, thus transforming it into an ultimate weapon. With the weapon combining the powers of the Jewel of Life, the planet's energy and the life energy of the Pokémon, AZ became a harbinger of destruction that wiped out both sides of the war in an instant. Both AZ and his Pokémon faded into history after these events. Modern works based on this tale gave them the names 'Oberon' and 'Titania' respectively, in an effort by the writers of later eras trying to create a clearer fictional narrative. They mean 'king and queen of the fairies.'"

"This doesn't make any sense," Nekou grumbled toward the floor, barely loud enough for all the others to hear her. She was careful to measure how she spoke in order to avoid tipping them off that she knew more than she'd let on. "I thought Oberon was an object based on what I'd heard. But you're telling me it's definitely a person?"

"Wait, don't get so far ahead of yourself," Bunny quickly said. "I think I might have an idea of what's going on here." She put her hand on her chin, then continued, "The story said that AZ was given that name in reference to how he was the king of the fairies. But why was he the king of the fairy Pokémon? Well, they said that it was because of his bond with and influence over them. And what enabled him to have that power?"

Matt, Olivia and Nando, all realizing what Bunny was suggesting, slowly widened their eyes.

"It's the Life Plate he had, wasn't it?" she gave as an answer to her own question. "And the story also said that the Life Plate was damaged, not destroyed. In other words…"

"It still exists," Bill said, finishing Bunny's sentence for her. He turned to Kuni, who had been sitting quietly by, and asked, "Is that possible?"

"Certainly," the Kimono Girl quietly replied. "The whereabouts of the king's treasure are not clearly documented over time. It is very possible that it still exists in this day and age."

Nekou stared down at the floor, considering what she had just heard. "If it's the missing Life Plate and Polaris has it, we're fucked," she thought, tightening her fists. "And with Maman in the shape she's in, how am I supposed to…"

"He wants me, but only part of the time…" The sound of song lyrics rose from within Nekou's coat, accompanied by the buzz of her phone vibrating. "He wants me, if he can keep me in line…"

While Nekou fumbled to get her phone out, Olivia asked her, "What is it?"

"Let me read it…" Nekou quickly scanned the message she'd been sent, then put the phone away and said to the others, "Ghetsis's speech is going to start soon. I think we should be heading back to the Pokémon Center."

"If that is what you are going to do," Nando said, "I hope we will meet again soon. I shall be staying here a bit longer."

Olivia couldn't immediately manage any sort of response to her friend's words. She was too disoriented by Nekou's continuing strange behavior, and by the time she snapped out of her daze, all she could do was nod silently to him.

-:-

Jacob and Looker watched quietly from their cell as Sylpha gave attention to the Prophet's son in his nearby cradle. He had started crying a few minutes earlier, so she went over to cradle him in his sky-blue blanket. That act of affection calmed him considerably.

Eventually, Sylpha carried him over to her chair outside the cell and sat down, still cradling him in his arms. Once he had completely relaxed, Looker decided to speak up.

"Good at that, you are," the detective said, his face bearing a weary smile. "Surprising is it for one who is as young of age as you."

"I think that's why he likes me," Sylpha responded, not lifting her eyes from the child in her arms.

"You shouldn't even be mixed up in all of this," Jacob grumbled while staring down at his crossed arms. "You're still a child. People your age should still get to live your lives."

"I wouldn't have any life to live at all without her. Helping her in our cause, and in what life she has… it's all I have left."

"You shouldn't talk like that. There has to be something else out there…"

As Jacob spoke, Sylpha hung her head. Once he had finished, she sadly said, "You don't understand. I don't have anything to go back to. It's still fresh in my mind as if it happened yesterday…" As memories flooded over her, Sylpha tilted her head back to face the ceiling and took a deep, tense breath. "I lived in a village in the borderlands between Sinnoh and Johto with my parents. It was a small place, very quiet… everything was peaceful until the day when Ghetsis and his three servants appeared."

Looker and Jacob shared a dire glance between each other before Sylpha continued.

"In an instant my peaceful village turned into a hell on earth. Ghetsis and his men did not hesitate to use their Pokémon to tear everything apart. Buildings, people, Pokémon, it didn't matter…" Sylpha felt her hands starting to tighten, and had to take another breath to ease them. "A Hydreigon, an Accelgor and two Liepard. As they laid waste to our town, I became separated from my parents. I searched through the chaos for them, but when I finally found them again… it…. it was too late."

A tear rolled down Sylpha's face, forcing her to stop talking briefly.

"I found them cornered by the Liepard, and before I could stop them… I watched them kill my parents without any mercy."

"But clearly you managed to accomplish the feat of escape," Looker said. A chill ran over his skin and he raised his eyebrows as far as they could go, but neither of these registered to him consciously. "I have failing in my understanding. How were you able to…?"

"When I saw those Pokémon kill my parents, I turned and ran. I knew they were chasing me…" As Sylpha spoke, each image she described played over in her head like a recording. "I ran as much as I could, but I knew the Liepard and their trainers were right behind me. I don't know how long it was that I fled through the streets, but I was crying and tired. Before I even realized what was going on, a thick fog had rolled in. It was so thick that I quickly became lost. That was when she appeared from out of the fog, extending a hand to me even though we had just met… I didn't know what to do, so I accepted it. The Prophet took me through the fog to a place far away from my village, and I've been with her ever since."

Words failed both Looker and Jacob. They slowly brought themselves to gaze at each other, and Looker thought he saw tears welling up in Jacob's eyes. That suspicion was confirmed when the old man fell forward off his seat, collapsing to his hands and knees as water rolled down his face from his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice breathy and shaking. "I'm so sorry… I could have done something… it's my fault…"

"I don't understand why you're blaming yourself," Sylpha said back, raising her eyebrow at his words.

"Your people could have hidden here in this land from Ghetsis, but since it no longer has any life, the time you can spend here is finite. This place just cannot provide for survival forever anymore."

Sylpha brought her finger up to her mouth and bit down on the nail, then asked, "How is that your fault?"

"You… you might be too young to really know about this." Jacob was struggling to speak without choking on the overwhelming emotions that were now flowing freely from deep within his heart. "What do you know about Saeko Oryo?"

Sylpha's mouth slowly fell open as her body became rigid. "We aren't supposed to talk about her…"

"If Saeko Oryo didn't swallow that Jewel of Life and cause this land to lose all of its life energy," Jacob continued to explain, seemingly unaware of Sylpha's reaction, "your people could hide here from Ghetsis forever, sustaining yourselves with ease. But… but you can't, not anymore. And I could have stopped it. I knew what Sutter was doing with her, I could have stopped it… but I was too blinded by the excitement of our discovery, and he was too blinded by his passion for it... "

While remaining silent, Sylpha pushed her hands into her forehead. Jacob was a trembling mess on the floor in front of her, and she was just as profoundly disturbed by that as much as she was by his actual claims. She had picked up on the wording of what he told her, but even if what she thought he meant was actually true, she struggled to believe that it was the whole story.

"When she comes back here… I'm going to have to find out the truth."

-:-

The stage prepared for Ghetsis's speech separated where he was standing with his followers from the crowd that had assembled to hear him speak. They could not directly see the crowd, and likewise could not be seen.

"You hear them out there?" Ghetsis said out loud. Zinzolin and the Shadow Triad all knew that despite him acting like he was asking a question he was actually being purely rhetorical to stroke his own ego, and accordingly, they did not answer. "I haven't even said a word to them yet and they're wrapped around my little finger."

"Yes, of course, Lord Ghetsis," Zinzolin promptly said back, his words accompanied by a slight bow. "Everything's just as you expected it would be."

"As if there was any doubt." Raising his head so he could look down his nose upon Zinzolin, Ghetsis ordered, "Go to Bellchime Trail and meet up with Archer so you two can prepare for my arrival. And Zinzolin? Don't lay a finger on him until my plan has reached its final phase. I'm not taking any risks."

"As you wish."

Zinzolin straightened up, forcing a slight cracking sound from his back. He cringed, but quickly suppressed his discomfort and flashed a pained smile at Ghetsis, hoping it would fool his leader, before walking off to the northeast.

"Now, as for you three…" Ghetsis said, turning his attention to the Shadow Triad. "You will remain back here and wait for my signal to do what we planned."

"Yes, Lord Ghetsis!" all three members of the Shadow Triad instantly responded.

"Very good. Now…" A wry smile worked its way onto Ghetsis's gnarled visage. "I have a date with my adoring public."

Ghetsis's cape billowed around him when he pivoted on his cane and started walking. He stopped briefly at the stairs to take in the crowd's noise again, then slowly began to ascend them. As soon as he came into the crowd's range of sight, they broke into a roaring cheer. He closed his eyes and grinned broadly beneath the high collar of his cape. This was his moment, the time when all his years of work would finally pay off.

When he reached the center of the stage, Ghetsis slammed his cane decisively into the floor and glared eagerly over the crowd, his fiery passion burning in his eyes. He allowed the crowd a moment more to cheer, then gestured for quiet.

"You all warm my heart, you really do." Ghetsis had to actively push down his more self-aggrandizing urges to continue portraying himself as supportive of the people spread before him. Just for a little longer, he thought. "If you don't let me talk, though, I can never get to what I've come here to discuss with you today."

Ghetsis took several steps to the right before continuing. "As you know, my name is Ghetsis Harmonia, and I've come to speak to you on behalf of the Polaris organization." Just saying the name 'Polaris' instead of his own name or that of Team Plasma caused acid to rise in Ghetsis's throat. "If you've heard any of my speeches on television, or if you listened to my assistant when he spoke in Goldenrod City, you have some idea of what I've come before you to talk about." Ghetsis started shaking his fist to accentuate his words. "You've come today because deep down in your hearts, you know the corruption of the Pokémon League. You know the corruption that keeps you under the thumb of the rich and the privileged!"

The crowd erupted in response to Ghetsis's words once more. From within the mass of people, Rowena cringed from the ear-splitting noise she was surrounded by, but something else was bothering her. She felt as if Ghetsis was inside her head, somehow speaking directly into her mind instead of her hearing him through her ears.

"Cinccino?" she whispered, prompting her Pokémon to pop up next to her head. "Scratch my neck, would you?"

"Cin," Cinccino said in agreement, before gently running her claws over the back of her trainer's neck as requested. The sensation helped Rowena clear her head so she could focus on continuing to film Ghetsis.

"Now let us begin with a quick overview of the beginnings of the Pokémon League, so that we may identify the roots of the evil gripping this world." Ghetsis was wearing the same holographic prompter Zinzolin had used earlier, and reached to his cape's collar to activate it. "The origins of the Pokémon League can be traced back thousands of years to the ancient Kalos region. In those times, warriors would ally themselves with wild Pokémon and compete in vicious matches at places such as the Battle Chateau. This system, originated by the Tenganists of the era, evolved over time. The number of facilities at which battles could be fought expanded, and they came to be in every town and city throughout the Tenganists' lands. Eventually, as the years passed, Pokémon battling went from being a blood sport fought by hardened warriors to something the public became encouraged to take part in, as you know it today. One thing that has always remained consistent is that these battles are fought for the entertainment of the rich and powerful."

Ghetsis paused his speech momentarily, allowing a murmur of intrigue to pass through the crowd. He could tell, not only from just the sounds but from their enthusiastic expressions, that they were already in the palm of his hand. He clenched his fist as if to tighten his grip on them and smiled, then continued speaking.

"Maybe some of you are wondering just how these things could be true. After all, does society not provide health care through the Pokémon Centers? What about supplies via Poké Marts? Food? Housing? The middle-class son of public workers, the daughter whose family lives paycheck to paycheck, the wealthy siblings who have never wanted for a thing in their lives… as those pulling the levers of society would tell you, all of them would have the same opportunity to indulge in the dream of Pokémon training, a dream glorified and given the image of national heroism by those very same people who tout its supposed equality. When you consider how your own lives have gone, ask yourselves, have you gotten a piece of that pie? Have you?"

Some of the audience members began turning to each other, talking quietly to themselves about Ghetsis's question. The vast majority, however, responded with forceful affirmations that their answer was no.

"As I thought, as I thought!" Ghetsis beamed, rocking against his cane to keep his enthusiasm in check. "Now, we have a brave volunteer who has come forward to share her story with you. Welcome her to your stage!"

-:-

As the figure stepped onto the stage and approached Ghetsis, Rosalie found her mouth reflexively tightening around her pipe. She was watching the speech on her wheelchair computer's holographic screen, and she recognized the young woman entering the scene. Ghetsis's 'guest' was wrapped in a plain, heavy green coat, her shoulder-length brown hair peeking out from under her hood.

"Looks like our theories were right," Rosalie said into her communicator, addressing the other members of Team Rocket who were assembled elsewhere. "There's that Lucky girl, right on schedule."

-:-

As Lucky came up next to him, Ghetsis gestured off to the side of the stage, prompting Darkness to briefly appear and hand him a microphone.

"State your name and hometown for the crowd, please."

Ghetsis lowered the microphone toward Lucky's face, and she responded, "My name is Mimi, and I'm from Goldenrod City."

"I must tell you, Mimi, you're very courageous to come and stand before the public and tell us your story." Ghetsis looked down on her and grinned slightly, so subtly that nobody but her could even see it. "Would you be so kind as to tell us the story from the beginning?"

Lucky hesitated. She fidgeted in place and glanced out nervously toward the crowd, prompting Ghetsis to set a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I understand that this is difficult for you," he said, moving the microphone in front of her face once more. "We're not here to judge you. This is a place where we want to hear what you've been through."

"Okay…" After taking a deep breath, Lucky began her story. "I was the oldest of three children. Our parents found work where they could, but it was a struggle to get by. My father was an electrician who worked maintenance on the Radio Tower, and my mother worked as a janitor at Goldenrod Department Store. We didn't see them together very often, so I was usually the one taking care of my siblings."

"That's very noble of you," Ghetsis praised her, firmly maintaining his modest yet warm smile. "Am I correct in assuming you would have done anything to help them?"

Before speaking, Lucky briefly shot a glance over to the crowd, seeing that they were almost universally listening intently to her words. "One day… one day, our father fell off a platform while working and was badly injured. Since he couldn't work anymore, our mother had to get a second job, and we saw even less of her. I couldn't let my siblings keep living like that."

"So what did you do?" As he asked this question, Ghetsis's face gradually turned more serious.

"One thing we always shared, the three of us… we'd always watch Pokémon battles on the tiny old television our parents owned. I realized that was the way. I had to become a trainer myself and create the opportunity we never had before."

"She had to become a trainer to try and support her family in a time of desperation," Ghetsis boomed, pivoting on his cane to address the crowd. "Tell me, how many of you have a story like that? Entering the world of the Pokémon trainer to improve your lot in life?"

A healthy amount of agreement emerged from the crowd in response. Ghetsis nodded, then turned back to Lucky.

"You're among friends here, as you can see. Tell us about the next part of your story, Mimi."

Once again, Lucky hesitated. This time, before she could speak, she tightened her hands into fists and gritted her teeth.

"I took what savings I could muster and applied to receive a starter Pokémon from Professor Elm." A murmur from the audience briefly interrupted her, the voices of people who had been in the same situation. "It took what felt like forever, but I eventually found out that I would be accepted."

"And what happened?"

"I couldn't make it all the way to New Bark Town right away. I didn't have the money. In order to raise it, I got a job myself, working the food court at the Department Store. It took several months but I finally managed to pay for my trip."

Ghetsis couldn't help but smile again, knowing what was surely coming next. "So you made it to New Bark Town and met Professor Elm. What happened next?"

"I got to Professor Elm's lab and I found out… I… it was all in vain."

"It was all in vain, you say." If one wasn't paying complete attention, they could have easily mistaken Ghetsis repeating Lucky's words for a question. It wasn't, though. In reality, he was amplifying what she said and directing it toward the crowd, who responded exactly as he hoped - with shouts of dismay and anger. "What happened to cause that?"

"I took so long to get the money for my trip that those… those people who could afford to travel there right away slipped ahead of me in the line. By the time I finally managed to make it, there were no starters left for me."

"Did you hear that, ladies and gentlemen?" Ghetsis said to the crowd. "Because of Mimi's need to live like one of you, her need to work for the funds necessary for what she wished to do, her opportunity was denied! Denied by the rich who could go anywhere at any time they wished!"

The anger from the crowd escalated rapidly, turning into rage. It got so loud that Ghetsis actually had to gesture for calm, though he allowed himself the indulgence of listening to it for a minute first.

"I can hear your raw emotion, and I can more than understand it. You all now realize that for the first time, someone is here listening to you, the ordinary public who are always ignored. Mimi is you! She represents all the dashed hopes and dreams this system called the Pokémon League has cruelly denied you! I believe you now understand the true meaning of this day. This is your day, the day that all the debts you are owed finally come due!"

A roar of joy met Ghetsis's words, one so intense that Lucky actually cringed slightly on the stage. Ghetsis, on the other hand, drank it in. He lived for moments like this, and when he thought of what he was about to do next, he finally found himself unable to fight back a wide, satisfied grin.

"Mimi," Ghetsis said, returning his attention to her once more, "you've been a very courageous young woman today. You're not the only person I wish to bring before the public today, however. I have secured the presence of someone not only you but everyone here on this day will want to see. Ladies and gentlemen, our mystery guest!"

Darkness and Pestilence were several steps up the stage's stairs before the crowd could see the limp man they were dragging. As soon as they did, a blast of anger so intense it could be heard throughout most of the city shattered the air.

-:-

Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Olivia were in the Pokémon Center's lobby, watching the speech on television like several others around them were. Their mouths all fell open when they saw the man being forced into view by the two members of the Shadow Triad.

"No way…" Matt gasped.

"So that's where he was all this time…" Olivia said in kind.

Nekou's thoughts, on the other hand, were much more blunt. "Shit."

-:-

"Identify yourself to the world," Ghetsis demanded, pushing the man's chin up with his cane before bringing the microphone to his lips.

"P-Professor… Jason Elm…" Elm wheezed and fell onto his hands and knees, looking up at his captor with fear in his eyes. His face was bruised from the beatings he'd taken during his time in Ghetsis's clutches.

"Hear the voices of the public, of the people you've worked to harm!" roared Polaris's spokesman, guiding all the fury of the audience onto Elm's head. He then took a step back and gestured toward Lucky, who was fighting to restrain her own anger. "Look into the eyes of the ones you've betrayed!"

"It's all your fault…" Lucky fumed. "It's all your fault what happened to me! You sold what was rightfully mine!"

"I don't even know you!" Elm countered.

Refusing to allow Elm even a small chance to redirect the narrative, Ghetsis intervened, saying, "And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! He thinks so little of people like you that he can't even remember you!" Immediately gesturing for quiet again, Ghetsis said, "Mimi, please continue your story. What happened after this cold, heartless professor denied you the tools you needed to bring yourself out of poverty?"

"I had been planning to take the Pokémon from Professor Elm and go out into Route 29," Lucky explained, her voice becoming raspy from emotion. "My goal was to win as many battles as I could on my way back home in order to win money I could use to help my family. When Professor Elm denied me the starter Pokémon that should have been mine, I had to spend what little I had left to buy Poké Balls and catch my own Pokémon. With what I had I managed to capture a Pidgey, but I struggled just to make it even as far as Violet City. Those routes around there… there are so many people like me trying to get started from nothing in those areas. Not only did we try to fight each other, those privileged, spoiled people who took what we deserved… they came through and destroyed all of us! We never had a chance!"

"And as you know," Ghetsis said, raising his voice above the continuing noise of the crowd so they could hear him, "the losing trainer in a battle must pay an amount of prize money to the winner! To the victor goes the spoils, but what goes to the loser? Mimi, why don't you tell them?"

The shouts of the crowd were steadily growing in volume again, and as a result, Lucky cringed. She didn't speak until Ghetsis gestured for quiet once more.

"My money ran low very quickly." Lucky's arms shook as she spoke. "Before I knew it, I was in even worse ways than I was at home. Pidgey and I had to live on what we could salvage, if we were lucky it was berries, but sometimes… sometimes…"

At that point, Lucky could take no more. She broke down and began crying, trying in vain to block her tears by pushing her hands into her face. In an attempt to comfort her, Ghetsis again set his hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to," he gently informed her.

"Sometimes we had to eat like starving wild Pokémon, pulling scraps out of the trash…" she sobbed. "My life only got worse as a result of leaving home."

"That's enough, Mimi. You've been very brave today." Ghetsis turned fully to face the crowd, punctuating his movement with a single jab of his cane into the floor. "Now you know. Every one of you who have gathered here today, you came because you wanted your suffering to be validated. You wanted to know that you weren't alone. Now thanks to this young woman's courageous confession, you have gotten exactly that. Never again will you all be suffering alone! We of Polaris will stand alongside you in your fight for justice!"

The response from the crowd rose to a whole new level, their noise filling the cold air in the square with electricity. Ghetsis couldn't stop himself from smiling broadly and tossing his cape open with his right arm.

"And now there is only one thing left! In order to fight for justice, we must identify who the enemy is. This wicked man…" Ghetsis gave a stiff kick to Elm's leg, then continued, "He is only one part of a much larger whole. At every level, this bloated, diseased system is riddled with corruption that oppresses you while allowing those who already have wealth and power to ride on your shoulders from birth until death! Many nations of this world, including Kanto and Johto, are ruled by governments in which the Gym Leaders participate, even while they still sit in the ivory towers of their Gyms and suppress those trying to give themselves a leg up in life! These individuals collaborate with willing members of the public to create the societal mechanics keeping you, the masses, down! Just look at how this very city is divided. One half overcrowded and struggling to get by day by day, one half populated comfortably by people who have little need to worry about their future. Or perhaps we could look at Mimi's hometown of Goldenrod City, which is a booming futuristic metropolis ringed by slums. It's an apt metaphor for how this world has become, a small number of wealthy people living luxuriously on the backs of the majority. Will you just stand by and accept this any longer?"

The crowd responded with another forceful rejection of what Ghetsis had asked of them, filling the air with deafening noise. Their feedback filled his ragged body with life, a kind of rush he hadn't felt in years. His goal was close, and he knew it.

Reaching into his cape, Ghetsis produced a Poké Ball and held it out before the crowd.

"You all know this shape. This Poké Ball, held up to society as the symbol of the Pokémon League itself. It's the tool that makes the bonding of human and Pokémon happen, and without that, none of what we've discussed today would be possible. The Pokémon League as we know it would not be able to function! Imagine a world where Pokémon could not be sealed in these spheres… I would dare to say that the bureaucrats running the Pokémon League would fear such a world! If joining the ability of a person to that of Pokémon didn't require commercial products, the ability of the trainer to truly befriend their Pokémon and become allies would be all that matters, not who can afford the most expensive and effective Poké Balls along with basic services! If this system was entirely abolished, speaking not only of Poké Balls but the entire thing including Pokémon Centers and Poké Marts and everything in between… if all economic barriers were removed, anyone would be able to rise up and accomplish the dream that is held up to the public as what all should aim for! If that was how society operated, someone from modest means like our brave guest Mimi would have the same opportunity as a spoiled brat raised in luxury. And once anyone from any background can wield the same power, the ability of the people to control their government will grow! No more will you, the majority of the public, be fed unrealistic dreams by an establishment that profits on your struggle to reach that sunlight!"

A great roar, the loudest one yet, greeted Ghetsis's latest declaration. After returning the Poké Ball to the inside of his cape, he raised his fist into the air, inciting them further. Deep within the crowd, Rowena found herself being jabbed and shoved from all sides by the increasingly raucous people around her. Despite this, however, she kept her camera focused on Ghetsis with a dogged sense of determination.

"Of course, there are others that play parts in this corrupt, bloated society. The Silph Company, for one. The Pokémon League government long ago granted them a contract to produce the consumer products that I described previously - Poké Balls, medicines, exploring equipment, the list goes on. The industrial efforts necessary to create these goods were a source of employment for many who could not make their way as trainers. But then in an effort to cut costs, production in Kanto and Johto was decreased, with much of it being sent overseas to facilities such as the Poké Ball Factory in Kalos. Hundreds if not thousands of jobs here were lost. For the factories that remained, many ordinary workers - such as those you all know in your day to day lives - depended on the Magnet Train to commute between homes in Johto and the industrial facilities in Kanto. Or should I say, those workers used to depend on the Magnet Train. That vital transit service now lies in ruin, the victim of a half-baked terrorist plot that has severed convenient access between Johto and Kanto."

As he continued to speak, Ghetsis turned slightly and began to slowly walk forward, though he kept his eyes locked on the crowd.

"And what of the Frontier Society? It may not be the oldest thing around in this country, but it's tied to the same people responsible for everything else. When the Pokémon League came together with those who devised the plans for the Frontier Society, they hatched a scheme that would irreversibly change this country. Look around you. Look at the state of this city! Look at the state of cities all across this nation! Johto, Kanto… they were already spiraling uncontrollably toward the sterile, soulless urban sprawls you see today, but did the Frontier Society's construction help? Of course not! For such an ambitious project to be built as fast as it was, many, many workers had to be brought in. These new jobs were quite precious to those who held them, yes… but what do you think happened when the time came to move on? Those jobs moved on too, and the result…" Gesturing toward the urban half of Ecruteak, Ghetsis thundered on, "Countless individuals, good people who worked on the construction of the Frontier Society facilities to earn money for their families, crushed into the same space with those already left destitute by the corruption of the Pokémon League! And those facilities claim to be for everyone, but once again, if you actually want to be able to compete at the level they offer, you have to be able to fund your preparations, just like the Pokémon League tournaments. The picture I am painting for you is quite clear, when everything is added up. No matter where you look, every aspect of this society is built on the same corruption, the same lies, that oppress you. From top to bottom, this society is built to suppress and silence the lower class that the wealthy and powerful have grown comfortable on the backs of, all while throwing periodic bones to those same lower classes in the form of the false dream called 'Pokémon Master!'"

Once again, the crowd began to roar in response to Ghetsis's words, but he promptly cut them off by slamming his cane against the stage and raising his arm into the air.

"Let me finish, I urge you!" Once the noise subsided a few moments later, he continued, his voice starting to quiver. "The one question that still remains is, who do we blame for all these problems? We can and should turn our eyes to the Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, the professors, everyone else involved in the administration of this system. They should and will all be held responsible! But if these issues are truly to be resolved, simply eliminating those in the middle will not be enough. In order to truly dispose of these injustices once and for all, the root of this evil must be destroyed! And where, pray tell, does that blame fall? Think back to my words earlier - the ancient Tenganists of the Kalos region first initiated what can be recognized as the earliest form of competitive Pokémon battling. What I didn't mention before is that they've also been involved since then in shaping their creation into the boot that you are all ground under. Over the centuries, Pokémon battling took a slow course of evolution. That all changed after the failed Firestorm Rebellion of 1850. This continent, from Olivine City to Lavender Town, was consumed with unrest after that attempt to overthrow Caitlin the First, the Tenganist ruler of this land. In order to soothe the people and thus protect her own rule, she created a new institution. Each city in her kingdom was assigned a knight trained in her court to serve in it, and decreed that anyone who could best eight of those knights in battle would be rewarded with a fortune great enough to last a lifetime. Now does that sound familiar to you at all?"

Some in the crowd shouted their agreement, but Ghetsis continued on.

"Of course it does. Now let's fast forward around a hundred years, to Kalos in the early 1960s. The Tenganist rulers of that region had long since turned their eyes to Caitlin's empire and realized the effectiveness of her methods in managing it, so they had imitated what she did. By that time, though, those fools were wise enough to know that things needed a little refreshing, as they weren't working as well at pacifying the populace anymore. A revamp of the system was initiated. The government-trained warriors who once filled the positions of authority in each city were replaced with civilians who passed certain standards, and facilities for both medical and supply needs were constructed, all with the stated goal of bringing greater accessibility to the masses. Of course, you all know that that wasn't really the case at all! When Kalos introduced the very first modern Pokémon League, the world was sent on a collision course with the destiny we now face today! And who was it at the controls when that destiny was set in motion? The same people who were there three thousand years ago, and who were there a century and a half ago, the Tenganists! Even today, as we speak, they are everywhere, pulling the puppet strings on this corrupt, diseased society! And like all who grow too decadent in their positions of power, they fear the change that Polaris is bringing. That is why…"

Before continuing, Ghetsis clenched his teeth. A spasm went through his arm down to his hand, causing his grip on his cane to tighten until he began shaking.

"Because they fear our goals," Ghetsis snarled, "a terrorist organization calling itself the Tenganist Liberation Front has formed. They were the ones who bombed the Magnet Train's line, in an attempt to kill several high-ranking Polaris members… their attempt on our organization's members' lives failed, but they still destroyed that vital economic link between regions! Now that they see that their grip on control over you is slipping, they have resorted to terrible acts of violence to keep exerting dominance! Well, let me tell you, that will not happen! I am here to exact justice upon the Tenganists, beginning right now with our next special guests!"

-:-

In the forest off to the north of Ecruteak City, Ada, Trevor, Proton, Petrel and Ariana were waiting with Rosalie for their part of the operation to begin. Ariana, her face flushed and dripping with sweat, was leaning against one of the trees while Petrel and Trevor tended to her and Ada and Proton stood awkwardly nearby. All of them turned their heads, however, when they heard Rosalie slam her fist down on the arm of her wheelchair.

"It's a damn good thing Pierce is with the boss," the scientist said out loud. "If he was here we wouldn't be able to keep him from going crazy…"

-:-

The reasons why Rosalie worried were the two women Ghetsis had brought up onto the stage with him. Anthea and Concordia, both tied up by their wrists to crosses in the same shape as the helm of Ghetsis's cane, were being pushed forward by Darkness and Pestilence to a deafening chorus of jeers from the onlookers. Some members of the crowd even threw pieces of trash at them, but no life returned to their dead eyes as they walked. It was as if they didn't even notice the trash at all.

"Allow these two Tenganist traitors to hear the rage in your voices as emblems of their order!" Ghetsis thundered, stoking his audience's anger. "That's what they are, emblems! Their people have worked to oppress the masses for far too long, but that ends today! Today, I will take these two witches and go there!"

Turning his back on the crowd, Ghetsis pointed into the distance, up toward what could be seen of Bell Tower over the rest of the city. It glistened in his uncovered eye, which he widened with eager anticipation.

"I will go to the top of Bell Tower with these two, and once we've arrived, I will use them to unseal the power that they have kept hidden from you there. And once that power is in my hands, I will bring about true justice and free you all!" The audience began cheering again, but Ghetsis turned back around and once more gestured for quiet. "That is the role I will play. As for you, I call on you all to take this cause into your own hands!"

-:-

Up in the sky over Ecruteak City, Colress's airship descended until it was within sight of those in the square. Seated at the control keyboard, the scientist had been watching Ghetsis's speech with a smug sense of amusement, waiting for his turn to play a role in the event to begin. When he saw Ghetsis raise an arm into the air on his screen, he knew that his time had finally come.

"That was just the opening act," Colress said out loud, grinning widely as he typed rapidly on the keyboard. "Now get ready for the headliner!"

-:-

From her vantage point within the horde, Rowena had seen Colress's airship descend into view and immediately trained her lens on it. The zoom function her camera had allowed her a better view of the ship than the people around her. She could see an iron hatch slowly open up on the bottom of the ship, and once it was open, dozens of spherical drones flew out one after the other. These drones followed each other in a neat, arcing line which ultimately closed in on itself and took up a formation encircling the edges of the city. They then shot brief flashes of bright red light both upward and downward.

Seeing that his audience was looking at the sky, Ghetsis regained their attention by announcing, "This city is now sealed off from the outside world! Our barrier will prevent anyone from leaving… and anyone from entering! Now…" After slamming his cane against the stage, Ghetsis lowered his head slightly, allowing shadows to spread over his gleeful, grinning face. "As of this moment I proclaim the liberation of Ecruteak City from the control of the Pokémon League and its return to the hands of its rightful owners, the people! Now, I call on all of you to stand alongside me in starting the fire that will burn the rest of this society to the ground! While I exact justice at Bell Tower, I urge you all to take your anger to the streets. Nobody will interrupt your taking back of what is rightfully yours! The one thing I ask is that you get started with the Pokémon League's main representative in this city. March to Ecruteak Gym and tell the traitor Morty that he serves you, not the corrupt, bloated bureaucracy that pulls his strings! Today is your day, your date with destiny! Take back the control that is rightfully yours! Tell the world that you will never again labor under the boot of oppression! Show them all what is coming for them!"

The most mighty cheer of the day erupted from the crowd, one so loud that even the outskirts of Ecruteak City could hear it. Rowena cringed and raised her arm to shield herself from the people around her. She tried to hold her camera on Ghetsis for as long as possible; before she was pushed away by the crowds moving toward the Gym, she managed to record him standing with his fist up in victory for a moment before turning and starting to leave the stage.

There was one thing she recorded that made her wonder about what she was seeing - for a brief time, Ghetsis stopped and pulled Elm to his feet, then said something quietly to the ragged, beaten professor.

Within minutes, the square had largely cleared. Much of the assembled audience for the speech had followed Ghetsis's instructions to go to Ecruteak Gym, while Ghetsis himself disappeared behind the stage with Anthea, Concordia and the Shadow Triad. Only two people remained.

"Your performance this time was pretty impressive," Dino said, leaning against the side of the stage with his arms crossed. Lucky turned to face him as he continued, "Eating out of garbage cans? That one was a nice touch. Did you or Ghetsis come up with that?"

"Leave me alone," Lucky coldly replied, "you know I don't like you or any of your friends over in Athleta's section. But since you asked, Ghetsis did."

-:-

"If you're just joining us now, let's recap the events we've just seen unfold. Following a speech by Ghetsis, the spokesman for the Polaris organization, a crowd estimated to be in the hundreds is on the move, apparently heading southwest toward Ecruteak Gym. Stay with us as we continue to cover this breaking news…"

The air in the Pokémon Center's lobby was deadly silent. All the people in the room, Matt's group included, could do nothing but stare at the available televisions, trying to grasp what they had just seen.

"Was… was what he said really true?" Olivia quietly stuttered, clenching her fists and staring into her own lap. "I've got things so easy compared to the people he was talking about, and the Frontier Society… is my mom really a part of this?"

Matt found his words caught in his throat. He had to mentally shake his head at himself when he realized how he'd lied to Olivia all the times in the past, yet could not even force out a half-truth to comfort her this time.

"Olivia, you know your mother better than any of us. Do you really think she'd do those things, let alone deliberately?"

"Yeah, listen to Ne…" Matt suddenly caught himself and froze. Because of how used he was to Nekou soothing Olivia's nerves, he immediately thought that she was the one speaking this time, when in reality it was Bunny. "Bunny, I mean. Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it," Bunny said, casting a brief glance toward Matt before returning to Olivia. She felt her heart sink when she saw that her words were not getting through to the girl, whose mood remained dour. Though she wished to do something to try and lift Olivia out of her spiraling depression, though, Bunny could not think of anything suitable to say.

Bunny bit her lip and drew a slow, deep breath. She recalled the events in and immediately before Violet City, and how she had been unable to gain Olivia's trust. Back then, Nekou was the only one Olivia responded positively to, but with the sort of mood Nekou was presently in, Bunny knew that she would not be able to help console Olivia at the moment either.

"Olivia? Matt? There you are!"

Monroe's voice was a welcome interruption for everyone at the table, thanks to its piercing the uncomfortable mood hanging over them. He approached the table with Avril following closely but remaining quiet.

"You're unusually loud today," Olivia mumbled at him.

"It's…" Monroe flushed, having returned to his usual state of self-consciousness thanks to Olivia's words. "Well, uh… I'm kind of scared. You saw that speech, I'm sure…"

"He wants to join back up with you guys. You know, strength in numbers and all." Though she seemed to be joking at first, Avril's face quickly turned rigid. "In all honesty, I think that's a good idea. I'm not so proud I don't know when to get help."

"So what do we do now…?" Olivia wondered, still not lifting her stare from the table.

"I'd say that we have to do the smart thing," Bunny said. "This city isn't safe. We have to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Didn't you listen to what Ghetsis said?" Matt pointed out, his breathing becoming quicker each time he drew in air. "Those drones are keeping us in. Nobody enters, nobody leaves."

Bunny lashed her head around to face Matt, fire burning in her eyes. "You seriously believe him? It's a bluff! It's got to be!"

"No, he's telling the truth." Nekou bitterly muttered. Her shoulders and arms hung loosely as she sat slouched in place, barely gripping the coffee in her hand. "Those machines… I've seen them before."

While she took a brief break from talking to sip her coffee, Nekou did not meet the questioning gazes of her companions. She knew they were looking at her, though, and she knew what they were wondering.

"I know because this isn't the first time I've seen them," she coldly explained. "Several years ago, in a forest in northeastern Unova, that Pokémon called Mewtwo was seen." Just like she had correctly guessed what the others were thinking moments earlier, Nekou was well aware that the mere dropping of Mewtwo's name made their eyes go wide - especially Matt and Bunny due to their encounter with Yung and his Mirage Mewtwo. "It had been captured by Polaris and experimented on even further than ever, but it escaped from them like it escaped from Team Rocket. They weren't going to give up, though, and hired a Pokémon hunter to recapture it. He tracked it to that forest and used those very same drones to pin down and attack it, but he was stopped by a combination of Mewtwo itself and the efforts of a Pokémon rescue team." Finally turning her eyes to her audience, she finished, "That's how I know there's no way out of this city."

"How do you know all of that so specifically?" Matt immediately questioned.

"Now isn't the time for that!" Olivia interrupted. "Nekou, please, what can we do? What do we do if we can't escape?"

"We should go hide somewhere safe, then…" came Matt's quiet suggestion.

"No!" Nekou accentuated her proclamation by slamming her hands down on the table, making Matt and Bunny jump in their seats. She scoffed, then rose to her feet and walked to the head of the table, facing all of the others including Monroe and Avril. "We have to do something."

"W-What do you mean, N-Nekou?" Monroe stuttered, biting his lip as soon as he finished speaking.

"If all we're going to do is stand by and let Polaris do whatever they want, what's the point of even living…" Nekou's voice was low, a near whisper, but her despair was evident between how she spoke and her staring downward. "You listen to me, I'll tell you what life is. We're born, we eat, we sleep, we fuck and we die. And after we die we go in the ground and rot into fucking bones. There's nothing more after that, no great beyond, no paradise, no fucking garden of Eden! Nothing! All that matters is what you do with that brief moment you're breathing, otherwise, your life is meaningless." Stopping to take a breath, Nekou raised her dark, dull eyes to her dumbfounded friends. "If we stand here today and allow Ghetsis to burn this city to the ground, what does that say about our lives? We have a chance to do some fucking good for once. This is bigger than us. There's no higher power that will judge us for what we do, but we will be judged by the people standing on this planet right here and now."

A collection of open mouths and wide eyes greeted Nekou's vicious outburst. Several tense moments passed with the air around them dead silent, disturbingly so. She kept staring in the direction of the others with the same dark, sunken look she had from the start.

"And what makes you think this is even really about some misguided sense of social justice or whatever the fuck he says it is?" she continued. "It's never been about that. Ghetsis doesn't give a shit about any of the people he claims he does. This is all a distraction, and we're fucking stupid if we fall for it."

Finally, Matt decided to speak, slowly raising his trembling right arm as he did so. "I'm… I'm not sure what… What are you talking about? Are you even okay? I'm not sure that was going to help righ…"

"No, she's right," Olivia cut in once more. "If we run and hide but leave everyone else behind, that only proves that Ghetsis was right about us… and me."

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?" Monroe questioned.

"Probably," she replied, tapping her heel against the floor. "Ghetsis sent his fans to the Gym for now, but who says they won't come here next? This city has the Battle Hall, which is practically a fortress. We should have everyone in this Pokémon Center hide there until this is over."

Having been listening silently to the others for some time, Bunny glanced over to Matt. When she realized that he had nothing to say, she sighed irritably and rubbed her forehead with her fingers. "Fine, I'll say it. That's not a bad idea, but we have to think of ourselves too."

"Right," Olivia said with a quick nod. "I'll go talk to the nurse right…"

"Wait, there's something else."

"Now you decide to talk…" Bunny thought following Matt's interruption. "What is it?"

"Think about it…" He slowly turned in Bunny's direction, but stopped halfway and simply stared off into space, his exposed eye hazy and unfocused. Also, his voice was quiet and hollow. "Ghetsis's speech… remember that he blamed the Tenganists for everything. And if you're right about this whole stunt being a distraction for something else, wouldn't the logical conclusion be that his real target is…"

"...the Tenganist locations here!" Bunny exclaimed, pounding her right fist into the palm of her left hand. "He's already going for the Bell Tower right now, but the next place he'll probably go is the Dance Hall!"

"We have to get the Kimono Girls and everyone else out of that building before Ghetsis can get to them," Matt continued. "We owe them that much."

"Then have the evacuation here started while we go get them," Nekou quietly added.

With the group in agreement, Olivia began heading for the Pokémon Center's front desk. Before she could get far, though, Avril blocked her way. The two looked into each other's eyes, seemingly angrily, until Avril suddenly smiled and put her hand on Olivia's head.

"I was wrong about you, kid. You're tougher than I thought."

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a blessing or a curse," Olivia responded. She pulled Avril's hand off of her head, but then smiled slightly herself.

"Hey, Monroe," Bunny said as she watched Olivia walk off with Avril. "What's with her?"

"S-she's just kind of… insecure. F-feels like she has to… c-compete to stand out, you know?"

"I sure do," Matt answered, his mouth curling slightly downward. "We better get ready to go so we can get started as soon as they get back."

"Wait!"

For the second time, the conversation was disrupted by the sudden arrival of a familiar face. The new presence was easily identified, as his half-black, half-white checkered coat and long green hair stood out.

"I want you to take me with you," Nikolai demanded, again fiddling with the empty air in front of himself much as he had when the group first met him.

"Why should we trust you?" Nekou growled at him.

"I do not understand why you wouldn't. I have nothing to hide… simply, I have a feeling that something terrible is about to happen, in the deepest parts of my heart. I don't even understand why I can feel it, I just know…"

Matt looked over his shoulder at Nekou, who was still looking as miserable as ever. "We need all the help we can get."

Nekou didn't reply in any fashion.

-:-

For some time, Rowena found herself following the crowd in order to avoid being trampled, but she finally managed to break away and began sprinting back to the Pokémon Center as fast as she could.

"This… what we've got is electrifying!" she gasped to Cinccino, who was still sitting on her shoulder. "We'll put them right in the middle of the biggest media event in years!"

Cinccino cheerfully voiced her agreement, but she quickly noticed something nearby and tapped Rowena on the shoulder to alert her trainer to it.

"Cinci?"

"What's that, Cinccino?"

"Cino, cino."

Following her Pokémon's gestures, Rowena spotted Matt's group, as well as Monroe, Avril and Nikolai, running north from the direction of the Pokémon Center. Seeing this prompted her to quickly blink several times.

"Now where are you off to in such a hurry?" she said out loud. "Looks like I just found the next trail to follow…"

Rowena adjusted her scarf, then began following after Matt's group toward the Dance Hall. She didn't notice that she was herself being followed.

"Reep…" the wild Mareep growled to herself before continuing her pursuit.

-:-

A cold wind blew through the rust-colored trees sprawled north of Ecruteak City, not far from Bell Tower. The Prophet pulled her coat tightly around herself to shield her body from the chill. Several of her followers, two of them women locked in prayer for their own Transcendence powers, were nearby.

"Alesia," the Prophet said, beckoning the brown-haired young woman to her side. "We're going to get started very soon, so please be ready to heal anyone who needs it."

"I'm prepared." Alesia replied, giving a short nod. At that point another breeze flowed through the forest, making her shiver.

"I don't like that wind." The Prophet moved her eyes away from Alesia as she spoke, soon settling for staring downward at the dirt. "I have a bad feeling about-"

"Leader, someone's passing the bridge!" one of the meditating women, whose green hair was tied into a long ponytail, suddenly exclaimed. "I think there are… eleven individuals."

"Looks like your radar Transcendence was as useful as I hoped, well done." Looking over her shoulder to the rail-thin, bald man standing behind her, the Prophet stiffly ordered, "It's time. Set it off."

"Yes!" came the man's sharp reply. He set the suitcase he was holding on the ground, then kneeled and opened it, revealing a laptop within. After scratching at his shoulder - a useless gesture due to the stitched-together, heavy material of his clothing - he began typing in a string of characters into a terminal prompt.

Meanwhile, the Prophet clenched her own hands together in prayer. "Please forgive them for their actions," she whispered. "What they do is not their fault. Place all their sins onto my shoulders, I made them do all of this…"

-:-

Beneath the bridge connecting Bellchime Trail to the city proper, the Tenganist Liberation Front's bomb emitted a steady beeping sound. Moments later it detonated, the explosion violently throwing the stones that once made up the bridge in all directions.

High above the blast site, Ghetsis smiled as he looked down at the aftermath. The three-headed, blue-and-black dragon he rode on slowed to allow him a better view of the flames and smoke on the ground, which had consumed the man he'd been watching cross the bridge.

"They fell right into my trap…" he gloated to himself.

Behind Ghetsis, the Shadow Triad along with Anthea and Concordia were following using Pokémon to fly as well. Pestilence was holding onto a pair of Honedge-like swords that normally dwelled in the gray coat of arms mounted to his back. The others were all accompanied by some of Ghetsis's other Pokémon; Darkness and Chaos were being carried by their leader's Cofagrigus while his Metagross carried the crosses Anthea and Concordia were strung up on.

Satisfied with the progress of his plan, Ghetsis smirked and pressed a button on the top of his cane. Almost instantly after he did this, the sound of a second explosion rang through the air.

-:-

"There was a second detonation," the thin, bald man informed the Prophet. His breathing increased in speed as he rubbed his hand over his head. "There were two detonations. Why were there two detonations…"

"Ghetsis…" she mumbled, turning her icy eyes toward Bell Tower. "He got one step ahead of us again…"

"Uh, we have a problem," the green-haired woman said, her breaths quickly becoming short. "A big one…"

-:-

The Team Rocket members in the woods were also aware of the second explosion, thanks to the readings on Rosalie's computer screens. All of the others were clustered around her wheelchair, staring at the projections with her.

"What's going on here?" she said, her lips closed around her pipe. She took a long drag from it, then exhaled and continued, "Two explosions… do you think the Tenganists went out of line on us? And why put it there of all places?"

"Now we could have used Pierce being around with us," Trevor replied. "Since he's the middle man for us and the Tenganists and all."

"Look on the bright side, at least we…" The small smile that Proton had been wearing faded when something on one of Rosalie's screens caught his eye. He leaned in close to it and said, "Wait, something isn't right."

"Yes, I'd say you're quite surprised right now, aren't you?"

The Team Rocket members were already caught well off guard by the sudden interruption of an unexpected voice, but the fact that it was one they recognized only made them turn to it even faster. Petrel had to support Ariana, while Rosalie spun her wheelchair around so fast that she nearly ran over Ada's feet.

Though they all knew the voice, they still were horrified to see Archer emerging from the deeper part of the forest with Zinzolin alongside him.

"What did you do…" Ariana growled.

"Not sounding so good, are we, Ariana?" Archer taunted her, spreading his arms out wide. "I take it your time is running out after all these years. You're the lucky one."

"You watch your mouth, you rotten bastard!" Trevor snapped back. "To think you betrayed us and went over to Ghetsis's side…"

"You sad little fool," the traitorous former Executive replied, tilting his head back slightly so he could look down his nose at his former teammates. "You thought I was one of you, but in reality, I was always loyal to Polaris's cause. It's just too bad we had to meet here like this today… had everything gone as planned at the Radio Tower, your pain would have ended."

"W-What do you mean?" Ada stuttered.

Archer closed his eyes and grinned while holding his chin with his right hand. "I guess I'll make it simple. The Radio Tower was rigged to blow, so all I had to wait for was Giovanni answering our call. At that point, I pull the trigger and the entire Team Rocket leadership blasts off for good. While I'm making my escape in a chopper I prepared, obviously."

When Archer opened his eyes, he could see those he had betrayed glaring back at him; Rosalie had her hands over her mouth in shock, while Trevor, Ada and Proton all were staring him down with fire in their eyes.

"Of course," he smugly continued, turning his body slightly as he spoke, "that doesn't matter now. We're finishing up what we started. It began at a tower and today it's going to end at a tower."

"And what do you mean by that?" Proton snapped.

"You mean you haven't figured out why you detected eleven marks crossing the bridge but ten still remain after the bomb?" Zinzolin scornfully said. "What fools. Haven't you realized that we knew every step of your little plan?"

Ariana coughed, then demanded with as much strength as she could muster, "How would you know?"

"The insight given to us by our shepherd guides everything," Archer replied, raising a single finger next to his grinning face. "How could we be lost when we have that?"

"And in this case," Zinzolin continued for Archer, "it means that Lord Ghetsis didn't cross the bridge, they all flew over it on their Pokémon. Are you wondering exactly who that eleventh person was? The one who did get killed?"

Zinzolin stopped speaking for a moment, offering the members of Team Rocket the chance to guess the answer to his question. When none did, he picked up again.

"Why, you and your Tenganist friends just blew away dear old Professor Elm. Ghetsis told him he could go be with his family again if he walked over that bridge, and I guess he wasn't lying…"

"You lot involved innocent women and children in this?" Trevor growled, clenching his fists. His look of anger matched those worn by his teammates. "Is there any level you won't…"

All of a sudden, Proton interrupted Trevor by throwing a Poké Ball and calling out, "Pangoro, go now!"

As the hulking panda bear Pokémon took shape from the insides of Proton's Poké Ball, Ada nervously turned her eyes to him.

"What… are you…?"

"Think about what he said!" Proton roared, looking back over his shoulder at Ada. "If Ghetsis and the rest of his team flew over the bridge, that means they're heading for Bell Tower themselves!"

"That's right," Archer taunted them. "I told you, we know everything. We knew Giovanni would be going off himself to intercept anyone who split off from Ghetsis, but you never thought he'd be seeing Ghetsis face to face!"

"We don't have time to waste here," Petrel declared, "we have to save the boss!"

"You might have to…" Archer said, crossing his hands behind his back, "...but you won't."

Before the Rockets could do anything to stop him, Zinzolin tossed four of his Poké Balls into the air, releasing his Cryogonal, Jynx, Glalie and Vanilluxe. They were then joined by a Sudowoodo that emerged from a Poké Ball Archer opened himself.

"Our well-equipped forces versus what remains of your ragtag band of misfits," he continued, bringing his right hand to his chin and grinning deviously. "I know who my money is on."

-:-

As soon as Matt and the others arrived at the Dance Hall, they began trying to convince the people there of the danger they were in. It wasn't just the Kimono Girls that were present; Nando was there as well, observing a battle between Audrey and the Flareon-using Kimono Girl in red, Miki. Bill and Mako were watching the battle with him, too.

Matt had spent several minutes explaining what was going on to Nando and Mako, while Monroe and Avril did the same with Audrey and Olivia. As Bunny spoke to the Kimono Girls themselves, Nekou and Nikolai simply stood away from the others and remained in an awkward silence.

Their respective conversations came to a violent, abrupt end when the entire building was rocked by a nearby explosion.

"That was a bomb," Matt said to Nando, Bill and Mako as he struggled to regain composure after the blast, his voice carrying a hint of breathy hysteria. "That was a fucking bomb! I just know it…"

"And it was close…" Mako listlessly added.

"What do we do now? What do we do now?" Bill continued repeating his question out loud, anxiously looking around as he paced back and forth with his hands shoved firmly in his pockets.

"In light of what has just happened, I think we should listen to Matt. " Nando tightened his grip on his harp and continued in a voice that was now tense and breathless, "Going to the Battle Hall will give us better shelter than we would have here."

"Then let's get moving!" When Olivia and Bunny approached him, Matt turned to them and asked, "Well? Are they coming or not? We don't have time to wait any longer!"

"They're on board, all of them," Bunny confirmed. "We should start moving out now while we can."

"Good, I don't want to spend any more time here than I have to." By the time Matt moved his attention to Monroe and Avril, they had come to him with Audrey alongside them. " I see you're ready too. Let's just get out of here before things get any worse…"

"You don't have to tell me twice," Olivia said.

Matt sharply pivoted around and began leading his increasingly large group toward the exit, but just as he put his hand on the door, it flew open and crashed into his face. He reeled back, just barely managing to remain on his feet.

"Oh no, Matt!" the woman who had entered the hall exclaimed, raising her hand to her mouth. "Are you alright?"

"Rowena…?" As he recovered, Matt pinched his nose and shook his head slightly. Once he fully regained his composure, he took full notice of the raven-haired journalist standing before him. "What is…"

"Do you know about what just happened in the square?" Rowena asked, anticipating his question. "A bomb just…"

As soon as she heard where the explosion was, Nekou suddenly started talking again. "The fuck? There was a bomb in the square? As in, where Ghetsis's speech was?"

"I'd have to be blind to have not seen it. Nekou, you seem like you…"

"Fuck what I seem like!" Overwhelmed with frustration, Nekou swung her fist toward the wall, cracking the wood upon impact. Her hand remained almost entirely uninjured, aside from a few small cuts. "If we don't get out of here right now, we're fucked!"

Between the sweat running down Olivia's forehead, Matt opening and closing his hands as his fingers trembled, and Bunny simply staring and breathing heavily, fear was overcoming the group. Nekou's behavior wasn't helping with what they already felt.

-:-

The Pokémon Center was rapidly emptying out as the nurse filtered through its guests. There was one man, however, who was completely unaware of what was going on.

Dante's room was filled with the music of an old record he had playing. The phonograph piping the music through his quarters was meticulously well kept, its golden horn glittering in the light despite its age of at least half a century. It sat atop one of the many crates in the room next to a large bag, the containers all filled with the same type of lab equipment spread out on the table before their owner.

"Ah, this never gets old," Dante wistfully said out loud to himself, adjusting the magnifier on the microscope he was using. He glanced over to the photograph next to him on the table, the same one of himself with his family that Matt and the others had seen before. "Do you remember, Amina? This is what we always listened to together. It was your favorite…"

Dante returned to inspecting the slide he had on his microscope. While working, he suddenly let out a wheezing cough. Once it subdued, he once again looked at the picture.

"Don't worry, my love, you won't be alone for much longer."

-:-

The audience of Ghetsis's speech had largely made their way to Ecruteak Gym, just as he had instructed. Their cacophony of angry chanting accompanied by the occasional tossed rock or piece of trash went on for some time, but it came to an abrupt end when the sound of the bomb going off reached them. A nervous murmur quickly arose among the crowd.

Watching this from a nearby alley, Dino placed his hands in his pockets and smiled. "Looks like it's time to move forward."

"Back off," Lucky sullenly said, lurking in the shadows a few feet away from her fellow Polaris member. "This is Ghetsis's work, meaning it's my work."

"Of course, of course," Dino dismissively replied, waving his left hand at her and grinning. "I won't rob you of your glory. You better get into character, though."

Lucky took a deep breath, intending to act on her annoyance over Dino's patronizing tone. She thought better of it, though, and instead used the breath to focus her mind. For several long moments, Dino watched as she stood in silence.

Abruptly, Lucky snapped her eyes open, almost as if she had entered a trance, and started running toward the crowd. Dino just looked on, continuing to smile in amusement at how deeply Lucky got into her persona.

"They just set off a bomb in the square!" she screamed to the mass of people before her. "There was a huge explosion!"

The most immediate reaction to this news was a collective gasp from the members of the crowd closest to Lucky. Those further away questioned what was going on, and word about the bombing quickly circulated through the horde. Within minutes the message had mutated as it passed from one person to the next, and the deafening volume of the protest returned with a vengeance.

By that time, though, the somewhat restrained chaos of the earlier protest turned into madness. Where the shouts had been mainly insults directed at Morty and the Pokémon League as a whole, they were now cries of unrestrained rage. They cast blame upon all the parties named in Ghetsis's speech - Gym Leaders, the administration of the Pokémon League, the Tenganists and so on - and as the crowd slipped further into complete turmoil, the idea rapidly emerged that the bombing was a failed attempt at killing Ghetsis and, more importantly, his audience themselves.

Looking on, Lucky contorted her face into a wide, wicked grin. "There you go. Now isn't that exactly what you want to feel?"

-:-

When Ghetsis's feet touched down on the balcony of Bell Tower's top floor, the wooden floor creaked ominously. He slammed his cane down to balance himself, then turned around to see the Shadow Triad arriving as well, followed by his Metagross dropping Anthea and Concordia onto the balcony.

"Keep your Doublade at the ready," Ghetsis said to Pestilence while recalling Metagross along with Cofagrigus and Hydreigon. He then removed a new Poké Ball from within his cape and opened it, releasing a golden, single-eyed sword that hid her body and blue-and-black arms behind a golden shield. "Aegislash will assist you. Now come."

"Yes, Lord Ghetsis!" all three of the Shadow Triad answered in unison.

The Shadow Triad faithfully followed Ghetsis into the building, bringing Anthea and Concordia along with them.

Inside was a spacious, dark chamber given only a modest amount of light by the lanterns scattered around its edges. It was empty aside from the lanterns and a single pedestal right at its center. Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad walked several feet into the chamber before stopping.

"Give me the Clear Bell," Ghetsis ordered, gesturing with his hand toward his servants. Darkness quickly complied, handing over the small, glassy item. "And now the fun truly begins."

While the Shadow Triad waited with Anthea and Concordia, Ghetsis approached the altar. He took the Clear Bell and attached it to the hook on the pedestal, then took several steps back.

"And now, hear my voice, Bell Tower!" he thundered, swinging his cane upward. "Open and reveal your secrets to me!"

In response to Ghetsis's chant, light began shining from within the Clear Bell and it started to ring on its own. The entire tower shook, forcing Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad to brace themselves. With a great, deafening creaking sound, the tower's pyramid-shaped roof started to open up like a four-petaled flower. Ghetsis looked up at the increasingly unobstructed sky, his body filled with an electric excitement and his eyes filled with glee he was barely able to contain.

"It's finally come, the time I've been waiting so long for…"

Once the roof fully unfolded, the Clear Bell released one more bright flash, triggering a circle of light in the same shape as Ghetsis's cane to draw itself on the floor of the now-open tower.

Ghetsis pivoted around on his cane and commanded the Shadow Triad, "Put them where the lines meet." He indicated with his hand the places he meant and added, "There and there."

Pestilence stayed back to continue following his earlier direction to stand guard with his Doublade, leaving Darkness and Chaos to collect Anthea and Concordia. They forced the restrained women forward into the glowing array, positioning each of them on one of the intersections between the straight crossing lines and bottom half of the circle.

"Now onto the next…"

All of a sudden, something from the air caught Pestilence's eye. He interrupted Ghetsis, crying out, "Lord Ghetsis, watch out!"

"So they came after all," Ghetsis calmly said, not even bothering to turn around. "Finansielle was right. Aegislash, use King's Shield."

Ghetsis's Aegislash moved to block her master, then held up her shield. A blue light emerged from it and took on the shape of dozens of interlocked hexagons. The object Pestilence saw careened into the barrier and bounced harmlessly off. It could briefly be seen to be a bone before it disappeared.

"You finally showed yourself, Giovanni?"

Up above the tower, Giovanni hovered on a flying scooter. The Marowak that had thrown the bone was at his feet, the bone back in the Ground-type's hand. Pierce was alongside him, using a glider with Team Rocket's logo branded onto it.

"Go forth, Marowak," Giovanni directed, ignoring Ghetsis's taunt. "Use Bonemerang again!"

"Doublade, Sacred Sword!"

Pestilence's Doublade intervened by using his swords to knock away the bone after Marowak threw it again. Darkness then took a Poké Ball of his own off his belt and dropped it, causing a Greninja to appear in a burst of shining light. Unlike the Greninja Matt had fought at the Battle Factory, this one was colored mainly black instead of blue.

"Greninja, take down the one on the glider!" he ordered.

Greninja immediately complied, lashing his long tongue out. Pierce saw it coming his way and activated a small rocket launcher attached to his craft, but before it could fire, Greninja wrapped his tongue around the glider and yanked it toward the tower.

When it crashed into the tower, Pierce's feet separated from it. He rolled across the floor while the glider fell aside. Before he even recovered enough to bring himself to his feet, Darkness and Chaos grabbed him, restraining his movements.

"Unhand me!" he fumed, even though he knew quite well that his demand would be ignored.

"Giovanni!" Ghetsis called out, pointing his cane upward at his team's enemy. "Come down here and we will settle this like men! You and me!"

"And why would I trust you?" Giovanni countered. "I'm quite happy right here where I am."

"Sure, you could stay up there. Wouldn't that be a comfortable seat to watch Doublade pierce your friend's throat?"

Giovanni clenched his teeth, but he kept his lips shut in order to hide it. Though he still didn't believe Ghetsis's words, he was unwilling to sacrifice a useful agent like Pierce, so he landed his scooter on the tower and stepped off.

"I see you haven't lost that sense of humor of yours," he said to Ghetsis, crossing his hands behind his back.

"And your wit is as dry as ever," Ghetsis replied. "It's just like old times, isn't it?"

"Don't lose yourself in nostalgia. Getting driven too hard by your emotions… that was always your problem. Marowak, Bonemerang!"

"Greninja, Mat Block!"

Marowak threw his bone at Aegislash again, but Darkness's Greninja jumped in the way and pressed his hand against the floor, creating an orange rectangle of energy that solidified into a mat shield. The white spots on Greninja's legs turned a shade of brown accordingly. Just like what had happened with King's Shield, the bone bounced off the mat and vanished before reappearing in Marowak's hand.

"And you're just as much of a liar as you always were," Giovanni snarled. His eyes widened, though, when he saw what Ghetsis did next.

Gesturing dismissively toward Greninja, Ghetsis said, "Darkness, you stay out of this. I said this fight would be just me and him."

"Yes, Lord Ghetsis!" Darkness faithfully answered. He tightened his grasp on Pierce, while Greninja lept back out of the battle.

Giovanni raised an eyebrow at this, but he didn't think about it for long. "Marowak, use Bonemerang once more!"

"Be patient, Aegislash…"

With no hesitation, Marowak sharply threw the bone at Aegislash yet again. This time, Aegislash made no effort to put up any sort of defense, instead opting to allow Marowak's weapon to strike her shield once, loop back around and hit her again before returning to him.

"Now, strike when you have the chance!" Ghetsis shouted, slamming his cane against the floor. "Shadow Claw!"

Aegislash pulled her body out from behind the shield, which she then took up in her left hand. Dark energy then formed the shape of sharp claws around her right hand, and she used them to rake across Marowak's body with vicious force. Four parallel wounds were cut into his body, and he was thrown back near Giovanni.

"Don't lose your composure!" Giovanni ordered as Marowak got back onto his feet. He thrust his hand forward and said, "Bonemerang again!"

"You know what to do, Aegislash," Ghetsis said through a wry grin. "King's Shield!"

In a flash, Aegislash got her body back behind the shield and generated another barrier of light. Marowak had jumped forward while throwing in order to put some more force into his attack, but the King's Shield rendered it useless once more.

Giovanni growled and attempted to focus his mind, but before he could do anything, a voice from behind him disrupted his thoughts.

"Greninja, Water Shuriken!"

Darkness's Greninja suddenly jumped back into the battle, clutching several throwing stars made of water in his hands. Giovanni could only gasp and stare wide-eyed as Greninja assaulted Marowak with them, Greninja's leg spots changing to a blue color as he attacked. By the time all five of the stars had hit him, Marowak collapsed.

"Just me and you, eh?" Giovanni quietly fumed. He lowered his head slightly, causing his hate-filled eyes to become partially obscured by the brim of his hat, then recalled Marowak. "I should have known better."

"You're right," Ghetsis taunted him. "You should have."

Before Giovanni even knew what was happening, Aegislash loomed right in front of him. She had shifted back into her offensive form and had a Shadow Claw at the ready, but this time, her target wasn't a Pokémon.

"Boss!" Pierce cried out. He tried to fight against Darkness and Chaos's restraint, but their combined strength was too great for him.

For both Giovanni and Pierce, time seemed to slow to a halt as Aegislash brought her Shadow Claw towards Team Rocket's leader. He took a single, stunned step back, but he didn't have the reaction time needed to think of an actual escape route. He felt a sharp, searing pain tear across his head and his vision ran red. It didn't take long for him to realize as he felt warm fluid coming down his face that it was blood that was distorting his vision - specifically, his blood pouring out of a gash Aegislash sliced across his face.

All of the sudden, his body felt extremely weak, and Giovanni fell backward. The last thing he could think before he blacked out was curse after increasingly incoherent curse upon Ghetsis for his actions.

"Boss, no…" Pierce whispered, his voice shaking. He had watched the entire thing through wide, horrified eyes. He abruptly stopped breathing, however, when he felt the cold steel of one of Doublade's swords against his neck.

"No!" Ghetsis called out, stopping Chaos from cutting Pierce's throat. "That one, I want him alive. He has to watch this."

Chaos sheathed Doublade and backed away from Pierce, while Ghetsis took several steps forward before turning back around and putting his finger to his ear.

"Colress, I've got something I want you to take away. A trophy."

Pierce shot a panicked glance toward Colress's airship, which had been holding in the air within eyeshot of Bell Tower after releasing the drones. He spied a pair of green blobs float out of the hatch that the machines emerged from earlier; when they got closer, he realized they were two Reuniclus.

The Reuniclus floated over to where Giovanni was lying and positioned themselves alongside his body. They stretched out their arms and hummed as they activated their psychic powers, using their minds to lift Giovanni's still form up into the air. They then flew off with Giovanni in their grasp, back toward the airship.

"What are you… doing with him?" Pierce shouted at Ghetsis, his panic leaving him barely able to breathe.

"To the victor goes the spoils, ever heard that saying?" Ghetsis turned his head up slightly so he could look down on Pierce. "Of course you have, you Tenganists know plenty about war. Now it's time for you to find out how it feels to be on the losing side. Pestilence, the book."

Pestilence immediately approached Ghetsis and produced the book of mythology that Anthea and Concordia had been studying. Once he had taken it from his minion, Ghetsis shot a brief glare at Pierce before moving to a point directly between Anthea and Concordia.

"You two, do exactly what I ordered you to. Sing that song and unseal the true power of this place!"

Unable to take any more, Pierce forced himself against Darkness and Chaos's restraint. What he saw playing out in front of his eyes horrified him, and being so close to it yet unable to stop it felt his body feeling completely broken to hopelessness. He screamed out, "Stop it! Please, Mother, don't give him what he wants!"

Hearing Pierce calling out to her caused a brief flicker of life to return to Anthea's eyes. "P...Pierce…"

"Ah yes, this is quite the family reunion, isn't it?" Ghetsis grandly said to all those around him. "It's been decades since you were all together, hasn't it?"

"You're the one who took Mother from us in the first place!" Pierce could feel his entire body burning from the overwhelming emotion flowing through him. He strained his neck to push his head toward Ghetsis. "After everything we've been through…"

"Always so hung up in the past… it's sad. Shouldn't you be thanking me for bringing you back together with your dear, sweet mother? I'll lay this out for you. If she and her friend here sing the song I want them to, they get to live. They disobey, well, you felt what that Doublade is like."

"That's the exact same lie you just told Giovanni!" Pierce countered. "You'll just kill all of us like you did to him!"

For a moment, Ghetsis did not answer. When he did, though, he just grinned and said, "You're right. Not like it makes any difference for you right now." Turning away from Pierce and back to the Clear Bell altar, Ghetsis opened the book and demanded, "Sing the song right now!"

After only a brief hesitation, Anthea and Concordia complied with Ghetsis's orders. They both started to sing a haunting song, their despair evident in their sad, hollow voices. Ghetsis broke into a wide, toothy grin, and the circular array under their feet started to glow brighter.

"Wait…" A realization had come over Pierce, and he trembled in the grasp of the Shadow Triad members. "That song… I know it…"

"That's right," Darkness confirmed. "It was thanks to what you Team Rocket people did back in Unova that made this possible. If you hadn't uncovered Meloetta's song and what effect it had on the Reveal Glass, we of Team Plasma would never have found its connection to this place. You and your beloved boss gave us exactly what we needed to pull this off."

"No, it can't…" Pierce stared wide-eyed up at the sky, where rings of rainbow colors were beginning to form over the tower. The Shadow Triad did the same, but their looks were ones of excitement.

As the array got brighter, the rainbow rings spread out further from their epicenter above the tower. Colress's two Reuniclus returned, accompanied by ten more that also emerged from the hatch in the bottom of his ship. They surrounded the tower in a circle and then joined hands, forming a ring.

"When Reuniclus join their hands, their psychic power multiplies," Chaos commented. "With a dozen of them helping each other, they can completely stabilize the portal that's opening. And what's behind there is what we want."

The rings soon reached their full width, spread over nearly the entire city. A black circle hung over the tower, and from within it, a bright light shined out.

His plan now nearly fully realized, Ghetsis raised his arms toward the sky and stared directly into the portal. He almost wanted to jump up and down due to how intense his excitement was.

"Hear my voice and the voices of your people cry up to you!" he thundered, addressing the being within the portal. "Golden light of salvation, descend upon us and rescue those you call your own! Ho-oh, come to me!"

The entity got closer to the threshold, prompting Ghetsis to take a deep breath and prepare his next words.

"Transcend the confines of time and space!"

-:-

Even though the Sinjoh Ruins were far, far away from Ecruteak City, the figure soaking in the underground lake there could still sense what was happening at Bell Tower. It slowly opened its eyes, but otherwise remained still in the water.

"Ho-oh is endangered now," it thought. It then visualized Ghetsis and the Team Plasma logo on his cane. "And by the same people who harmed me. Polaris… Ghetsis is different from the rest of Polaris, but he is still one of them..."

The figure closed its eyes again, and memories flooded into its mind.

Some time in the past, it had been placed into a tank in a laboratory. The fluid filling the tank was cold, yet something about the situation felt strangely familiar to the being. When it awoke, it became aware of several technicians clothed in identical Polaris uniforms, seated at computer consoles surrounding the tank. With them were a pair of white-coat-clad scientists, one a portly, gray-haired man and the other a black-haired woman holding a tablet computer. All of them also had matching visors covering their eyes. Hexagon-shaped hologram screens brightened and faded all around the lab.

Before long, another man joined the scientists. Unlike all the others, he was cloaked in a black cape, and his face was obscured by a mask the creature recognized as its own face. He walked up to the tank and put his hand on it, then spoke to the creature of his hopes. He claimed that they shared a common enemy, one that had stolen things from them both, and offered that they could work together to get revenge on that organization - Team Rocket. When the creature repeated those words back to him, something about its voice alarmed it.

A different memory then came up. This time, the technicians had the creature restrained using energy generated by four of Colress's drones. The power they generated caused the entity great pain, but a sudden swell of power allowed it to overpower the machines and escape.

"Polaris… you gave me this new power, but you thought you'd get to use me as a weapon once I had it. But I do not take orders from anyone. What I do from now on is my choice… and I will not allow any Pokémon like me to be hurt by anyone like that again. I do this because I will save Ho-oh, and protect the humans who actually have protected me…"

Having steeled its resolve, the figure levitated up out of the lake and spread its arms. The cocoon of light signifying Mega Evolution surrounded it, causing it to emerge with a different shape before disappearing.

[b]END of CHAPTER 19[/b]