With Matthew having gone to pick up the pizza from Pocus Town's famous pizzeria, Annette found herself in the unenviable task of trying to settle down Kayleigh for the evening. The toddler seemed to be laboring under the delusion that a sleepover meant that she could be as wild and adventurous as she wanted and fought every attempt her brother's girlfriend made at trying to settle her down. She chased the toddler all around the Kingston residence until finally catching her curiously rummaging through Jocelyn's things. She carried the grumpy girl back to her room before putting her in bed. She fought and yelled so much that Annette knew she had to compromise and thus agreed to read the girl as many bedtime stories as she asked for.
Annette picked up the book by Kayleigh's nightstand and began to read to the girl. She hoped a few of the shorter stories would placate the girl, but every time she would finish a story, Matthew's sister looked like she was still about to explode in excitement. She thus went over to one of the longer stories, one her own parents had read to her as a little girl: La Primarina. It was about a Pokémon who had fallen in love with a human and desired strongly to become one themselves, going through many dangerous and impossible tasks with the hopes of achieving both of their dreams. She had always resonated with that story, as she felt like her parents kept her from exploring most of the world at an early age due to her many childhood illnesses. But she strove to surpass their and her brother's fears and had become a Pokémon League Champion, her dream aspiration. The story was true...from a certain point of view.
Now, it was her turn to pass the story onto the next generation of kids, hopefully to inspire them to strive for their dreams as well.
"La Primarina had made it to the lair of the peculiar Pokémon in the Cave" Annette read in a theatrically playful way to entice her audience. "She knew what the price to be paid would be: her wonderful singing voice. It was only by surrendering that which she most treasured that she could perhaps one day walk among the humans on the surface. But she was determined and accepted the terms the witch offered her. She would be human for once moon cycle and if she were able to win the love of her human prince, she would remain human for the rest of all time. If not..." She paused and looked to her charge, who had finally drifted to sleep, sucking on her thumb. Annette put the book to the side and gently folded the blanket over the tiny form of Kayleigh.
She thought she could hear movement downstairs and nodded. Matt's back. She bent over and kissed the toddler's head. "Good night, sweetie" she whispered before turning off her bedroom light and slipping out the door, shutting it behind her.
She'd done all she could to ingratiate her into the heart of Matthew's little sister, but seemed to be in a similar position to how Addison was viewed when it came to Ryan: an obstacle between a little girl and the brothers she adored. Addison seemed to ignore it for the most part, but Annette knew she wasn't as mentally fortified as her friend was. So every time she was called 'Net Net' or given a mean look, it did hurt her a bit despite Matthew and his mother's assurances that it wouldn't last. Kayleigh was just clingy of her brothers, especially Matthew since the forces of evil took her father and Ryan from her. Their family, while full of love, was still fragile. And until Addy knew for sure if Ryan could be found, it fell upon Annette and now Officer Richard Benson to keep them from splintering further.
She slowly made her way down the stairs, confused as to why she couldn't smell pizza, but chalked it up to Matthew having put it in the oven to keep warm. She stretched her arms and let out a yawn before calling out to her boyfriend. "I don't think we should be up too late. I imagine we'll have to be out on patrol with Giselle in the morning." When she didn't get an immediate response, she continued down the stairs until walking her way into the kitchen. "Matt, seriously, I think we need to-" She froze where she stood.
Five men, covered in thick black clothing and wearing masks of what appeared to be the heads of Hydreigons, all stood at attention, seemingly staring directly at her.
Burglars?! she thought immediately. Recalling what her brother told her about facing dangerous situations, she began to analyze everything she could about them for potential police reports. They were not of similar heights, with the one in the center being about her height and the others being various heights taller than him. The one on the far right of her seemed to have one of his arms in a sling, heavily bandaged. And despite being the shortest, the one in the center seemed to be the one in command.
"She the one?" the middle thug commanded.
"Roger" the one between him and the injured man spoke. "The Champion."
Annette's mind was racing. She knew she had but an instant to make a choice before all men fell upon her at once. She could either rush upstairs and hide with Kayleigh, waiting for Matthew. Or she could make her stand and chase the thugs out immediately. But the moment her hand reached for her Hawlucha's Poké Ball on her belt, her vision was robbed of her. A thick burlap sack was put over her upper body and her arms were pinned to her side by a sixth assailant, likely the one who had covered her. She found herself being picked up and fought for her freedom, kicking and trying desperately to pinch, bite or slap her way to safety.
"She's feisty" the man holding her grumbled, trying to restrain her.
"We don't have time for this!" the middle thug demanded. "Tie her up and bring her to the rendezvous point!"
The men pushed the rest of Annette's body into the sack before tightly tying what had to be ropes or cables around her arms and legs, rendering her struggle worthless. She began to panic as the ropes constricted her movement, but quickly tried to calm herself so her asthma wouldn't cause her to faint.
"Let's go before that Kingston bastard returns!" the fourth man insisted.
Though she could not move her arms or legs, her hands were still free. Annette knew she needed to make her move quickly before her captors realized this. She fumbled at her Poké Balls, but couldn't reach one, opting instead to reach desperately for her Poké Gear. She was able to grab it and made a quick flip as her captors led her out of the house. She texted as rapidly as she could, hoping she didn't botch the security protocols Giselle and Chris had taught her. She then sent the message into the group chat, hoping everyone understood the situation. As the men carried her out into the night air, she prayed they answered quickly and prayed harder that Kayleigh remained asleep inside.
{}
"I was thinking of whipping up some homemade Castelia Cones for you guys" Giselle informed her boyfriend Atticus Waters as the two made it back to his and his daughter's apartment with weekly groceries. Though he had inherited a multi-million dollar company from Big Mike due to his children's declining of the offer to run it, he and his daughter remained in their simply apartment in Terra Town, which Giselle was thankful for. Money and success wouldn't change one person in her life at the very least. "It's really not that hard of a recipe, just needs a few flakes of a special ingredient I have to go to Castelia City to pick up."
"Can you afford to take time off of work?" Atticus inquired as he opened the door for them.
"I'm the Champion's trusted Auntie Giselle" she teased. "I think I have a fairly long leash. Besides, Lexi hasn't seen Unova yet, has she?"
Atticus chuckled. "You want it to be a vacation for all of us?"
"When was the last time you took any time off?"
He sighed as he put his groceries down. "I haven't been able to since before my daughter was born. I need to save for the future."
Giselle smiled as she came to his side. "I love that you care about her and her future so much. But remember, she won't always be your little girl forever. Make the memories that last." She was about to try and convince him further, when her Poké Gear began to buzz wildly. She reached into her pocket and saw a few unread messages. She opened her chats and went pale. "747?!"
Atticus looked up to her in great concern. "What does that mean?"
Giselle frowned worriedly. "Something's wrong. I need to go." She leaned up and pecked Atticus on his cheek before rushing out the door and into the halls of the apartment building, desperately trying to forward the messages to Chris and Matthew. With Jeremy in Kalos and Garret away, the safety of Annette fell upon the remaining members of her Elite Four to protect her. And if Annette messaged her this kind of an emergency message, she knew she needed to hurry. Once she'd sent her messages, she went from running into a full-on sprint towards the exit.
{}
Matthew was already fed up with the amount of time the pizzeria had wasted getting their pizza done, his frustration only amplifying when he kept getting numerous messages back-to-back from various numbers on his Poké Gear. He was initially intent on ignoring them, but he knew deep down no one would message him so rapidly without needing to do so. And while the people behind the counter fumbled around trying to remember who ordered what, Matthew stepped outside and looked at the messages he'd received.
"Hmm. Annette, Giselle and Chris?!" Matthew expected it to be some kind of security briefing, but his blood ran cold when he saw the only thing his girlfriend had texted were the numbers 7-4-7. The Pokémon League had an emergency code system to use in case of danger. While many kinds of emergencies from Mt. Heatmor erupting to weather anomalies all had their own codes, the ones to worry the most about were the specific codes for each member. Jeremy's was 645. Giselle's was 999. His own was 700. Chris's was 969. And Annette's own was 747.
If Annette had messaged her own code, that meant something was horribly wrong back in Parlor Town. Without a second thought, he called out to his Noivern. "We've got trouble, girl." His Dragon Pokémon lowered her wings and allowed Matthew to climb onto her back. "Let's go!" His Noivern let out a shriek of approval before rocketing off into the twilight skies and heading like a bullet towards his hometown. It didn't take his rapid flying Dragon long to make it to town, where he saw the situation as clear as day. Five men in dark clothing were hurrying out of his home with a very human shaped sack in their arms. And all five men wore masks that reminded him of a Hydreigon. He grunted in anger. "No you don't!" He sent his Noivern forward until she spat out a Flamethrower to block the way out of town towards Parlor Beach to the south. The five looked up in astonishment as Matthew and his Noivern landed to cut off their secondary escape.
"Kingston!" one of the thugs holding Annette hostage snarled.
Matthew paused. The voice sounded familiar, but he had no time to recall who. "You losers have something of mine. I suggest you hand her over before I make you regret meeting me!"
"We have to go!" one of the other grunts insisted.
"No dice" the man who had snarled at Matthew argued. "I'm here to settle a score!"
"Forget your petty revenge" a third man spoke. "We have orders. The Tri Drago does not break a contract! EVER!"
"I'm not a part of your stupid group! Take the girl and go! I'll deal with him!"
Matthew dismounted his Noivern and looked to her. "Don't let them get anywhere with Annette!" His Pokémon flew around and began to pepper the ground surrounding the thugs holding Annette with fire balls, prompting them to call out Pokémon of their own to defend themselves. A Tangrowth appeared and used its vines to ensnare Annette, who cried out in pain from the tightness of the constriction. Two additional Pokémon, a Mandibuzz and a Cryoganal, took to battling the Noivern while Matthew faced off against the foe who clearly had an ax to grind with him.
Matthew called out his Marowak to face his next opponent. "Let the Champion go now or face my wrath!"
"The only one who's getting their wrath is me!" the man fired back, calling out an Exeggutor to face him. The Exeggutor tried to conjure a Leaf Storm to eradicate his foe, but the Marowak used its Fling attack to hurl its Thick Club at the head of the Exeggutor, managing to knock it onto its backside in one shot. His opponent recalled his Exeggutor and sent out a second Pokémon: a Starmie. But it was also quickly dispatched by the Marowak using its immense strength to cause a Stomping Tantrum that knocked it aside.
Before his opponent could call out a third Pokémon, Matthew rushed the man and knocked him to the ground. He removed the mask with his left hand and made to wail-on him with his right but stopped himself when he saw the man who had attacked him and tried to kidnap Annette. It was the same man who had confronted him in the TV Studios weeks ago. "Mr. Sartori?!"
The man pushed Matthew off of him and made to attack him. "You took my daughter from me, Kingston scum! And now, you're gonna pay!" Matthew's Marowak used its club to trip up his attacker and Matthew was able to bounce out of the way. He glanced over towards his Noivern, who was desperately fighting to keep them from escaping with Annette but could not fight 2:1 for long.
Fortunately, he did not have to wait for long, as a familiar growl of a Charizard and shriek of an Aerodactyl assured him he and Annette were safe. Chris and Giselle flew right past him and Mr. Sartori and proceeded to thrash the other four fighters, Giselle taking a particular interest in one who seemed to only have one functioning arm. Chris rushed for the one who was currently holding Annette, swiping up the bound form of the Champion from him with his Charizard slamming into the thug. As the battle turned into a rout, Matthew turned his attention to the man who had blamed him for his daughter's abduction and death at Cassius's hands.
"Two wrongs don't make a right" Matthew declared as he rose over the winded form of Mr. Sartori. "Especially when the wrongs I did were nothing to your daughter."
"You were a part of that evil band!" the broken old man cried. "Cassius, Elezar, Claude! All of them! And now, you'll feel a bit of the pain I've endured for years!"
Matthew shook his head. "No. Annette's free. You and your little friends lost. And I suspect that you'll all be going away for a long time." He glanced behind him and saw some kind of commotion going on with the other thugs. He looked to his Marowak, who leaped onto Mr. Sartori to pin him down and then rushed to support the others. Chris was tussling with one of the men, wrestling him and trying to get something out of his mouth. Giselle was trying to do the same with the other two, with the fourth thug with an injured arm trying to slink off. Matthew rushed forward and stomped on his wrist, prompting the man to roll over and accept defeat. He was curious as to why the man made no sounds or noises but couldn't think of it for now.
"GET HIM TO SPIT IT OUT!" Chris snarled to Giselle.
"I'm trying!"
Matthew raced over towards the duo and shuddered. Both of the men in Giselle's custody had lost their masks and were foaming at the mouth with wicked looks on their faces. Their dull eyes and lack of movement all but affirmed they were dead. Chris was trying to keep the one in his control from doing the same. Matthew came over to assist him, but the thug pushed Chris off and bit hard into something in his teeth.
Matthew came down to his side and punched him in the face. "WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!"
He eyed Matthew with the same evil look before grinning. "Long-long-long live...the...tri-tri...Tri Drag-drag..." His mouth then began to foam as the others had, signaling his death.
"DAMNIT!" Chris roared.
"What did they want with Annette?!" Matthew asked.
"That's why we were trying to keep him alive!" His cousin glanced over to Giselle. "They dead too?"
"All but this one!" Giselle replied, standing over the one Matthew had stomped on the wrist of. "And I doubt he'll be of much use to us." She ripped the mask off of the last of the five and nodded in disgust. "Yep. Thought as much. Kelvim of Lentimas Town."
"A friend of yours?" Matthew asked in confusion.
"That's the little prick that tried to kidnap my nephew!" Chris said in astonishment. "Michael should have had his guts splattered!"
"We needed one of these guys for information!" Giselle replied angrily. "And with this one a mute, he can't say anything." She glanced over towards Mr, Sartori, still pinned to the ground by Matthew's Marowak. "Guess that one will have to do." She looked to Matthew. "Check on Annette over there. We'll wait for Madeline to take these two into custody."
Matthew nodded and rushed towards his Noivern, who was curiously sniffing the sack as it flailed wildly, trying to escape from the ropes and sack keeping its prisoner inside. Matthew let his Noivern singe the ropes as he removed the sack and took a panicked and rattled Annette into his arms. He did everything as he had been accustomed to doing for her. He held her with his strength but not tightly, patted her back and coached her to take long breaths so as not to aggravate her asthma. "Easy. Easy does it. I got you. I always got you."
Annette let out soft breaths as she clung to Matthew, her hands tightly wrapping around his arms. . "I thought they were...gonna get me."
"And I promise you they won't" he gently told her. "We've got 'em. No one's going to take you tonight."
"Thank you, Matty" she purred.
Matthew gently helped her rise to her feet. "Annette, I need you to tell us what happened. Who these guys are and if they said anything to you."
Annette nodded worriedly. "One minute. I was coming downstairs after tucking in your sister, when these-" She looked at the three bodies behind them and then to the two Giselle and Chris held in custody and she shuddered. "Those guys!"
"It's alright, sweetie. I've got you."
"You're missing one" she chirped worriedly.
Matthew's mind went blank for a moment. "What?"
"There were six of them" she insisted. "Five of them in the kitchen and the sixth one that grabbed me!"
"Are you sure?!" Matthew asked worriedly. Where had the sixth one gone? "Completely sure, I mean?"
She nodded. "Absolutely."
Without another word, he took his girlfriend's hand and brought her over to the others as they awaited the Police. "Guys, there's one missing."
"One what?" Chris asked.
"One of the thugs. Annette claims there were six of them."
"We'll flush the little weasel out" Giselle assured the two. "He probably ran off into the woods or something."
Annette looked around worriedly for any sign of the sixth masked man. Matthew tried to keep her calm as he held her beside him, but there was little he could do as she frantically looked each way she could. "Annette, you need to relax. Take deep breaths. We'll find him."
"Where exactly did they grab you?" Chris asked the Champion.
She gestured towards the Kingston house. "In the kitchen."
Giselle and Chris looked to one another and then back to their fellow Pokémon League officials, with Giselle taking charge. "It's possible he could still be inside. Chris and Matthew should go inside and find him while we stay outside. I can look after Annette til she's no longer rattled." Matthew could tell she too was on edge about the situation, far less calm than he'd ever seen her.
"You think he's looting their possessions?" Chris asked. "Come on, these guys definitely targeted Annette."
"And there's still a sixth one missing" Annette worriedly reminded the leader of her Elite Four.
"And we'll take care of him when we find him. We'll have the whole town looking for this little runt. He can't hide forever."
Giselle shook her head. "Why come to the Kingston Residence if Annette lives in Magenta Grove?"
"What's here in Parlor Town that someone could be so desperate to steal?"
Matthew went ice cold. Almost as if through some kind of mental connection like Addison had to Galatea, Matthew immediately saw his nightmare appearing right before him. The voices ridiculing him the world splitting off in two directions, Annette being dragged in one direction and his sister the other. His sister...his sister? "KAYLEIGH!" he cried out.
Chris was about to ask why Matthew had said his sister's name when he glanced some kind of flying Pokémon rapidly away from Parlor Town towards the sea. "There's our sixth." He was about to call his Charizard to pursue when all four heard the unmistakable scream of a little girl.
Without another word, Matthew snapped his fingers towards his Noivern, who appeared by his side in an instant. As if summoning some inner reserve of strength from Kingstons past, he looked to Giselle and Chris with an unexpected amount of authority in his voice. "Stay here with Annette!"
"Matt?!" Annette asked worriedly.
"Hold on a sec" Giselle snapped, but Matthew would not listen. He mounted his Noivern and flew off in rapid pursuit of the sixth and final person who had attacked his family. This wasn't just an attempt to kidnap Annette. It was for his baby sister as well.
He thundered into the skies, doing all he could to keep pace with the rapidly flying Pokémon in the distance. It appeared to be a Staraptor, but he couldn't be too sure or care less, as his sole focus was rescuing his sister. He could hear his sister's frantic cries and screaming, feeling as if with every cry, a knife was piercing him in the heart. He doubled his efforts to catch the kidnapper, their chase leading them over the seas to the south of his hometown, the coastline becoming further and further out of sight the deeper they went.
Upon making it close enough, he could tell it was indeed a Staraptor the perpetrator was flying on, with Kayleigh wrapped up tightly in his arm despite desperately trying to kick her way to freedom. Matthew guided his Noivern until they were below the Staraptor before he could make his move. He quickly angled her backwards and sent her using an Air Slash. The wind currents whipped and lashed at the Staraptor and the kidnapper, temporarily stunning them. Matthew seized the moment and rushed in, ripping his sister free from the clutches of this masked enemy.
"I've got you" he told Kayleigh.
"MATTY!" she screamed. "BIG BIRDIE!"
"What?!" Matthew asked, before seeing a shadow fall atop the two of them. He glanced behind them and saw a positively enormous Pokémon flying above them. It looked nothing like any he'd ever seen. It was a flying type with a wide wingspan. a long and slender beak and an underbelly which seemed to be a long bedsheet of some kind for carrying things. Matthew sent his Noivern back towards the land, flapping as fast as it could, cradling his baby sister as tightly to him as he could without hurting her. "Hold on, Kayleigh! This is where we lose 'em!" His Noivern shot forward like a bullet, but he could tell both this massive newcomer and the Staraptor were hot on his trail.
"I WANT MOMMY!" Kayleigh pleaded.
"Keep your head down!" he urged her. "I've got you!"
The Pokémon behind them let out a squawk of anger before ascending into the skies above them. Matthew was confused by this until he saw on the reflection of the seawater something hurtling down towards them. Matthew spun around to see a massive series of rocks dropping from the skies down on top of him, his Pokémon and Kayleigh. He sent his Noivern through the incoming onslaught, dodging rocks and boulders as best as he could. He thought he had evaded the worst of it, when he almost collided with a massive rock that nearly caused the three of them to crash. He skidded his Noivern to a stop, only for the Staraptor to strike at them with a powerful Brave Bird, which prompted Matthew and his Noivern to spin out of control. Matthew tried to keep his sister in his arm, but the toddler was wrenched out of his hands by the kidnapper.
Matthew spun around in anger and glared at the masked figure, who was already taking off into the distance with his captive screaming for Matthew. He sent his Noivern into the skies after them, but both were clearly rattled by the blow from the Staraptor and could not fly fast enough. Matthew knew of only one way they could catch them.
As the Staraptor seemed to dock itself inside of the strange bedsheet that the larger Flying Pokémon was carrying, Matthew looked to his Noivern. "Girl, we need to catch her. Use a Tailwind. The biggest you've got in you." The Noivern obliged, calling forth a massive wind current to carry them back into the skies with a tremendous boost in speed. But as his Noivern began to flap with exhaustion, Matthew gently pet her neck. "I've got it from here. Just lay low and keep an eye out for us." He then shocked both himself and his Pokémon by leaping into the current itself. It carried him with a surprising amount of speed until landing right where the kidnapper had fled.
"MATTY!" Kayleigh cried out, now being held in the beak of the Staraptor by her pajama bottoms.
Matthew scrambled his way up into the blanket like part of this Pokémon in an effort to save his sister from the assailant. But he stopped when he realized the kidnapper was not in his immediate sight. He made several glances in all directions until he saw someone coming at him in a flying kick of sorts. The last thing he saw was the underside of a boot before he lost consciousness.
{}
When Matthew Kingston crumpled down onto the floor of the Bombirdier Titan's flap, Simon Seissuon knew that his revenge had finally come. Matthew's girlfriend and baby sister had been bait enough. And now, with Matthew at his mercy, he could finish the job. As Kayleigh Kingston shrieked and cried for her brother to save her, he walked over to the unconscious Kingston who had helped ruin his life and grinned a merciless smile before removing the mask he'd been given for this operation. He hadn't wanted to wear it, but Natalya insisted. And since she hadn't steered him wrong yet, he felt obligated to.
"Well, Matt?" he smirked. "This is where you meet your end." He pushed Matthew's body with his foot over towards the edge of the silky sheet they were inside and looked down at the ocean hundreds of feet below. "I was hoping I'd be able to steal Jasmine from you, but you even let her go too. You're so damn worthless. May as well feed some Binacles down below." With another forceful kick, he pushed Matthew over the edge to what would be his death. As Matthew fell, Simon laughed a wicked laugh. "Good riddance, Kingston bastard!"
"MATTY!" the little toddler cried. "YOU MEANIE HEAD!"
Simon glared at the girl. "Oh shut up. You'll probably be joining him soon-"
With a ferocious shriek, the Bombirdier suddenly began a rapid descent, prompting Simon to lose his footing. He would have started sliding down had he not grabbed onto the sheet. He was confused about the fall, until he realized that Matthew may have brought the rest of the Elite Four as backup. He wasn't ready to reveal himself yet, and if Christopher Kingston saw him, he knew he was a dead man. His uncle's former lieutenant clearly knew his face. And would likely show no mercy to him.
But as quickly as it had descended, Simon found the Bombirdier righting itself. He was confused at first until he saw something tucked within the wing of the Titan of the Air. He was flabbergasted. "WHAT?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" It was Matthew Kingston. Still unconscious but safely tucked within the wings of Natalya's beast she'd given him. He glanced up at the Bombirdier and noticed its eyes were glowing through some powerful Tera Power. He was incensed. Why was Natalya saving Matthew?!
Simon angrily reached for his Rotom Phone, eager to give her a piece of his mind. He quickly dialed out to her and the moment she answered, he let her have it. "ARE YOU INSANE?! YOU SAVED HIM?! I HAD HIM SET UP TO BE THE NEXT KINGSTON TRAGEDY AND YOU FRIGGIN SAVE HIM?! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T INTERVENE WITH-"
"LOOK YOU LITTLE-" Natalya screamed on the other line, before taking a minute to calm herself. Even he was caught off guard by his ally's unrelenting anger. But it seemed to slide off of her as she continued. "Ah, my dear Simon. Still thinking that the only way to revenge is by killing. How naive you are."
"He was going to end up a broken heap of bones and-"
"What did I tell you when we first agreed to help one another?" Natalya reminded him. "Killing him would be too easy."
"The easy way is-"
"You told me you wanted to make Matthew Kingston pay the same way you did. Did something change?"
Simon cursed under his breath. "No, but-"
"Then let me put it to you this way. Killing him when he's trying to save his baby sister will only make him a martyr. All of Arcana will be trying to hunt down the one who abducted Kayleigh Kingston and killed Matthew. He'd be a rallying point. A way for that uncle of yours to circumvent the law and hunt you down like the vermin he thinks you are. All it would do is get you the same thing your parents have: a tombstone with no writing."
"But saving him?!"
"Saving him allows Matthew Kingston to do what he does best: doubt himself. You and I both know the long list of bad deeds our little friend has committed. The less positive things he has in life, the more he'll slide back down to evil. We won't have to lift a finger to watch as your pal completely ruins his own life. We will still do so, but at least we can sit back and watch him squirm for a bit. By the end of this, Simon, Matthew will have destroyed every bridge and connection he has left in the world. And, when that's done and the world hates him as it did you, then you kill him. Send him to Giratina where he belongs."
Simon nodded in defeat. "Fine. But what about the others? And this brat?!" He gestured towards Kayleigh, who was still crying in the beak of the Staraptor he rode.
"The other five know their place. Mr. Sartori, the one you recruited at the last minute, will be the perfect fall guy. He thought we were just kidnapping Annette and has no idea about you, me or the Tri Drago's involvement. He'll keep the Police and the King going around in circles. Kelvim is a mute from Lentimas Town. The other three were directly from the Tri Drago. They know what the price of failure is. They will die before talking, No one will be able to trace this to anyone in Arcana, least of all someone they expect is dead." She let out a brief snicker before continuing. "As for the girl, bring her to your home and keep her safe and fed. Should our situation change, it might be prudent to make sure she's a hostage we can return."
Simon seemed repulsed by the idea, but knew that Natalya was probably right. "I'll play along. She'll be safe and sound. What happens next?"
"Things are happening here and in Paldea as we speak. I need to focus on dealing with things there. Once we're set here, I'll contact you for the next step in our plan. All I ask is for you to be patient. It won't be long until you get everything you want. Revenge, power and your life back. Maybe even some more you haven't even thought of yet. What do you say?"
Simon glanced back at Kayleigh. who's exhaustion seemed to finally be kicking in and she passed out in his Pokémon's beak. She would be the key to the unraveling of Matthew's good reputation, if Natalya was right. She'd steered him right so far. Could he really risk ruining their alliance now? "Very well."
{}
"Hold on, he's coming to" a voice sounded.
"I hope he's okay" a more panicked girl's voice added.
"He took a nasty fall."
Matthew's eyes slowly blinked open, his vision being blocked mostly a few people who now stood over him. He felt the cold ground beneath his body and massive bruise on his head gave him a headrush every time he tried to move. It took him longer than he'd care to admit to recognize those who were surrounding him. Annette, Madeline Kingston and Richard Benson, his mother's date for the night.
Annette, upon seeing Matthew waking, tried to hug him, but Madeline held her back. "Hold on a sec. We need to let him recover for a minute."
Matthew grunted in pain. "Ugh. What-where-where am I?"
"Parlor Town" his cousin explained. "Chris and Giselle found you about an hour ago on a rock out on Waypoint Island with your Noivern passed out beside you."
"Matty" Annette cried.
Matthew shook his head. "How did I get-" As his senses came back to him quickly, he darted looks in all directions for his sister. But the little toddler was nowhere to be found. He tried to get up in a panic, but fell onto his sides as the pain in his head kept him down on the ground. "Where is she? Where's Kayleigh?!" When no one gave him an immediate answer, he glared at the trio and felt anger rising inside of him. "WHERE IS MY SISTER?!"
Annette looked away in shame, while Madeline and Officer Benson were both surprised by his outburst. "Matt, you need to calm down."
"CALM DOWN?!" he roared, finding enough strength to get to his feet, but finding himself unable to stand properly due to exhaustion and his clearly still injured head. "You expect me to calm down when some creep ran off with my sister?!" He made to call out his Noivern, but Madeline and Annette stopped him by each grabbing his arms and forcing him to sit back down on the step that led into his house. "Let me go!"
"Chris and Giselle are out there trying to find her" Annette pleaded. "They'll call in as soon as they have an update."
"You took a pretty nasty blow there, son" Officer Benson insisted. "You need to settle down for a bit."
"I need to find her!" Matthew insisted. "She needs me."
"You are in no condition to be looking for her out there" Madeline argued. "You're lucky I'm not sending you to Titanio with that lump on your head." She received a message on her radio and rushed off to answer it, leaving Annette and Officer Benson alone with Matthew.
"Where's Mom?"
"At the Precinct in Titanio" his mother's date explained. "Once we got word of what happened, I brought her there for safety."
"She needs to-" Matthew tried ot get up again but fell onto his knees in front of the others. Annette helped keep him upright.
"You can't go anywhere, Matt" his girlfriend told him gently. "Please, wait until we're cleared."
Matthew could not believe everyone was acting so nonchalantly about Kayleigh going missing. "CLEARED?! THAT COULD TAKE HOURS! I NEED TO BE LOOKING FOR HER NOW! EVERY MINUTE THAT PASSES IS ANOTHER WHERE SHE'S PUT IN MORE DANGER!" Both his girlfriend and the Officer were caught off guard by his anger and took a step back. "I'VE WASTED ENOUGH TIME!" I NEED TO GO FIND HER AND PUT A BEATING ON THE GUY WHO TOOK HER!" Without another word, he rushed past both of them and into the night of Parlor Town. He glanced around for a starting point and found two rookie cops keeping an eye on one of the restrained thugs who had attacked Annette and his sister. It was Mr. Sartori. He rushed angrily towards them. The rookie cops tried to reason with him, but were pushed aside when Matthew slammed the surprised man to the ground before jumping on top of him. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?!"
"Your sister?!" the man asked in surprise. "No. We were supposed to-"
"DON'T LIE TO ME!" he snarled, slamming his fist into Mr. Sartori's face. The rookie cops finally recovered and grabbed Matthew to pull him off of the older perpetrator. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?! WHERE IS MY SISTER?!" When Mr. Sartori, clearly too dazed from the blow, did not answer, Matthew spat in his direction. "IF YOU GET FREE FROM THIS, I SWEAR TO ARCEUS I'LL-"
"ENOUGH!" Madeline fired back, pushing her cousin backwards. "Matt! I get you're upset, but making threats in front of a dozen on duty cops isn't a wise thing to do." She dragged her cousin back towards his home, where Officer Benson was trying to console a crying Annette. Upon seeing his superior coming, he rose and came over to address her. "I'll take things from here, Richard. I need you to take my cousin to the precinct to see his mother. And keep them there until we get word from the King."
"I don't want to go anywhere until-"
"What about me?!" Annette pleaded, hurrying up to Madeline. "I'm not leaving Matthew!"
"Your security is important, Champion" Officer Benson reminded her. "Until your brother returns to Arcana, you're going to be placed under the protection of Giselle and Chris. When they return from their search, you'll be brought to the Pokémon League HQ and kept safe there." He bowed respectfully to her. "Rest easy, milady. Matthew will be in good hands."
Annette wanted to say more, but lowered her head. Fighting back tears, she walked slowly back towards the Kingston residence. Matthew, unable to fully process what was going on, could do little as Office Benson took him aside and called a Corviknight Cab for them to fly off quickly to where his mother was. He made one hopeful look out into the night skies to see if Chris of Giselle would return, but when neither showed up, he lamented and walked with his mother's date down the road.
{}
While he awaited the arrival of Penny and "Clive" negotiated the surrender of the Schedar Squad's base, Tommy could not help but feel alone. The last time he'd had victory over a Team Star Boss, he had Morgan there to exchange banter with. But now she had gone missing or decided not to leave the Academy following whatever was going on back at the school. No word from Nemona since she left him to face Katy on his own and no word from Addison or Cole since Morgan left them. He'd even take some stern talking to from Billy or Bridgette at this point. But instead, he was on his own, facing an ever-growing mountain of things to worry about. And being the youngest of all the Arcanans in Paldea and probably the youngest person involved in all of this, he expected things would continue to go over his head.
He tried to make sense of all that was going on, from this Natalya woman causing all of this trouble for Cole and his friend Paige to Mela's intense opposition to the idea that Team Star were bullies, but his fatigue began to settle back in for him. He was tired from a long day and needed to get some sleep before he began to start seeing things that weren't actually there. Using too much of his brain power would weaken him further, thus prompting him to elect to simply await for Penny to show up.
He finally spotted her making her way to him, a surprising bit of pep in her step as she came down the pathway to greet him. Well, as much pep as Penny could show. She was energetic, at the very least.
"Man, those energy drinks really do work for you" Tommy joked.
Penny shrugged. "I've been downing at least one a day for the last three years. To me, it's like you getting a glass of water." She looked around and saw how quiet things had gotten with the Schedar Squad's surrender. "I take it you did your part again?"
"Thanks to you" he admitted. "If you hadn't shown up when you did, I'd probably be napping back in Cortondo."
"Your girlfriend really put you through the ringer" she teased.
Tommy waved her off. "She's not my girlfriend, Penny."
"You sure? That's all the school servers are talking about."
"I'm pretty sure Nemona doesn't even know the difference between boys and girls" he laughed.
Penny seemed content with this response, but pushed ahead to the focus of their conversation. "Because you did so good, I've been instructed to give you some of these special drop items to boost your TM pool. That should help you complete your mission here. I mean, if that's what your treasure hunt is about." She held out a bag of various Pokémon materials for him to use. Tommy took it in his hands and looked it over for a minute before returning his attention to Penny. "I imagine you'll be almost done with this before you know it."
He shook his head politely. "Nope. Not until I help all of my friends. That includes you, too."
Penny seemed surprised. "Since when did we cross over from acquaintances to friends?"
"Since I decided we were friends." It was as simple as that to him. He'd been looking at her as a friend since they met in Paldea a few months ago, but she'd kept him at a distance for long enough. It was time they at least got to consider the other as a friend.
Instead, however, Penny looked almost sad. "Tommy, I-"
"There you are!" a voice called from nearby. Both Tommy and Penny spun around and spotted two familiar looking security guards making their way towards them. The same duo who had nearly stopped him when he returned to Mesagoza earlier. Penny seemed to think at first that they were after her and backed away, but Tommy stood his ground and even took a step forward, almost instinctively protecting her. But neither of them needed to worry. The two girls were after him.
"Tommy" Penny tried to speak up, but Tommy didn't hear her.
"I told you guys I was helping friends" he dismissed the duo. "I don't need to be celebrated for a couple of dumb victories."
"You don't understand" the light-haired woman insisted. "La Primera insists you meet with her. It's urgent."
"You don't want to keep Miss Geeta busy, do you?" the darker haired twin added. "It's rather rude, don't you think?"
The puzzled and tired Arcanan folded his arms. "Why would she want anything to do with me?! It's not like I'm special or anything."
The twins looked both flustered and frustrated as the light-haired twin tried to take charge. "Just come with us and let her explain for you."
Both security guards held out their hands to Tommy, as if expecting him to let them escort him somewhere. However, Tommy was in no mood to go along with anyone else until things were explained to him. Before he could get a response, however, a hand pulled him backwards and spun him around. Tommy was surprised to see a serious look on Penny's face. "What's going on?"
Penny seemed to be struggling with coming out with what exactly she wanted to say, until she finally found the words. "Listen, I don't think you should go anywhere with those two. For one thing, those guard uniforms are from a few years ago. You can tell from the way the Academy Logo on their arms is less violet. Why would security guards be wearing old uniforms?" When Tommy didn't immediately follow her, she pulled him closer and began to whisper into his ear. "Cassiopeia saw Morgan talking to those two back in town. No one's seen her since."
Tommy's senses quickly dialed back in. "What?"
Penny looked at the two fake guards and went pale. "Okay, we need to go now." She grabbed Tommy's arm and started pulling him back towards the Schedar Squad's base. Tommy was initially uncomfortable being brought back to the same place where Mela was still seething from her loss, but if it meant he got to get away from these two oddballs, he'd be fine with it. Besides, he got to hang out with Penny a bit more.
"Ah to hell with this!" the brunette sneered.
"LENA WAIT!"
Tommy froze in his tracks. Lena? WAIT! LILY AND LENA?! His eyes finally fell back on the duo and it all flooded back to him. The two who had caused all sorts of problems for Holly and their friends back in Arcana. The two who had kidnapped his sister and let her get branded by the Syndicate. The two who had somehow escaped the fall of the Syndicate and Claude's collapsing empire and now found themselves here of all places. In a place no outsiders had been able to get into for fifty years...and hadn't Penny said Morgan was last seen talking to these two? What if this had something to do with...
"LET'S GO RUNT!" Lena snarled, grabbing Tommy and yanking him out of Penny's grasp. Penny tried to get her to let him go, but Lena pushed her hard to the ground before dragging Tommy back by his shirt towards where they were standing. Tommy managed to wrench himself free for a minute and turned to face his would be captors.
"Lily and Lena?! Shouldn't you two be in a ditch somewhere by now?!"
"Clever words from a runt like you!" the brunette hissed. "But clever won't be enough to save you."
"Save me from what?! You two? Ryan said you were more of a threat to a bowl of cereal!"
"That was before our upgrades. We're no longer Syndicate, obviously. But we're employed with someone better."
"Lemme guess. Natalya?!"
Lena seemed surprised he knew who Natalya was, but recovered quickly. "Guess you're a fan of hers. No matter. You'll get to meet her soon enough." She glanced behind her shoulder and saw Lily approaching with a pair of Cyclizars. Without warning, Lena grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close to her. "Let's go, kiddo. You've got a very important meeting with Natalya tonight." Tommy tried to rip himself free from her grasp, but Lena's grip remained firm.
"We've got to get a move on!" Lily pleaded as she pulled up alongside them. "They might be onto us at any second."
"Then what are we waiting for?!" her sister asked before bringing a still struggling Tommy to her sister's side.
"GET OFF ME YOU-" Tommy shouted, before Lily quickly shoved a balled-up piece of cloth into his mouth. He tried to spit it out, but Lena's hand pressed hard against his mouth kept it inside. Lily quickly ripped off two pieces of tape and plastered them over Tommy's mouth, allowing her sister a moment's reprieve. Lena then harshly spun him around, still holding his upper body and smirking down at him as her sister grabbed his hands and wrapped them in the same tape before ripping it off.
"You're a lot nicer to deal with when you're shut up" Lena smirked. "Let's move!"
"HELP! SOMEONE! KIDNAPPERS!"
Tommy glanced over and saw Penny screaming for help, hopeful that someone would get the message nearby, but Tommy was again grabbed and put onto the Cyclizar, with Lena's arm wrapping around him and the other gripping the Pokémon, all but shattering any hopes Tommy had for a rescue. "Let's go! We need to vanish before anyone notices!"
"What about her?" Lily asked, pointing towards Penny.
"If she's seen as a threat, we'll come back for her! But for now, we have the kid! We have to report to Brick!" The two revved up their Cyclizars and took off down the road with an anxious Penny still crying out for someone to get the message. Tommy tried to wrestle himself free, but Lena's grip only tightened. The two were well up the road and bound for what appeared to be a pathway leading towards Mesagoza of all places.
Lily led the way on her own Cyclizar, looking around anxiously for a sign of someone coming to stop them, while Lena brought up the rear trying to keep their prisoner calm and cooperative. Tommy bucked and tried desperately to loosen her grip on him, but only got squeezed tighter and tighter. Oddly enough, he could still hear Penny's cries getting louder. She was still trying to help him.
"Get into contact with Brick!" Lily called back. "Let him know we-AAAAAAAAARGH!"
Lena brought her Cyclizar to a screeching halt when she saw what had happened. Tommy tried to look over and was surprised. Lily's Cyclizar had been completely blasted aside by a newcomer. And infuriated Steelix emerged from a burrow in the ground and slammed both Pokemon and trainer aside. Lena leaped off of the Cyclizar, allowing Tommy to finally break free and try to roll away.
"GET BACK HERE!" Lena demanded.
Tommy hurriedly tried to make it back to his feet, but another unexpected arrival appeared by his side. A Lucario grabbed him and in a dash of Extreme Speed, the two were well out of range of the twins. A bit of the power of Aura also singed the tape around his hands, allowing Tommy to rip the tape off his mouth and spit the cloth out afterwards.
"Steelix?!" Lily cried out, recovering from her crash into the ground. "They're not supposed to be here!"
"And neither are you!" a voice called from nearby. Tommy glanced up and spied Billy in the skies above him on the back of his Skarmory. Billy called out a Metagross and with his four Pokemon, they formed a perimeter around the two would be kidnappers. His Skarmory landed down to cut off their last chance of escape as Tommy's savior in the Lucario rushed over to seal them in. The twins were herded into the ring and left at the mercy of one of their long lasting enemies, whom Tommy could tell was in no mood to banter with them.
"Billy Kingston?!" Lena gulped. "What are you-what are you doing here?!"
"I should ask you two cretins the same question. How did you get to Paldea from Arcana?! And where did you runts go after Claude fell?!"
Both sisters, realizing the jig was up, panicked and fell at Billy's feet, begging for mercy. "PLEASE LORD KINGSTON, SIR!" Lily pleaded. "Have mercy on us. We're just pawns in all of this. You have to believe us! Don't send us back to her!"
Billy was caught off guard by this. "Huh? Who?"
"Show us mercy!" Lena begged. "Don't let them get us!"
"What are you talking about?!" Billy demanded, kicking both girls off his feet. "And don't grovel. It looks pathetic on two grown women. What were you planning to do to Tommy?!'
"Kidnap him" Lily shuddered. "Bring him to-"
"I'll take it from here!" a voice called from behind the two. All eyes fell upon Geeta herself, who had arrived with a few Academy Security Guards and walked past the ring Billy had set to prevent the girls from escaping. The guards immediately hauled Lily and Lena to their feet and restrained their hands with handcuffs, as Geeta approached Billy. Tommy made his way over to Billy's side, prompting Billy to put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You know these women?"
"They're from Arcana!" Tommy revealed. "But what are they doing here?!" He expected Billy to add something, but found him observing Geeta closely, as if studying to see if something was as off about her as Penny had seen Lily and Lena were at first.
"What indeed" Geeta responded coldly, her eyes staring daggers at the twins. "Paldea is not a place that harbors people like you, especially criminals from a foreign region!" She glanced to the men who now held Lily and Lena in their custody. "Take them to the Pokémon League. We'll be dealing with these two personally." As the guards began to haul off the crying and panicking Lily and Lena, La Primera returned her attention to the two welcomed Arcanans. "I'm thankful you two are safe. Rest assured we will ensure that these two are processed and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Knowing Billy was too focused on Geeta's actions and mannerisms to respond immediately, Tommy took charge. "Thank you, La Primera, ma'am." Geeta nodded respectfully before turning and following her men away from the scene. Once she was gone, the boy turned his attention to his chaperone. "Billy, sir. Thanks for saving me."
Billy remained silent for a moment, but patted Tommy's arm. "Well, I'm thankful you've been the more well behaved of the kids here."
Tommy shook his head. "Don't believe what they said about Morgan and Addy. There's something wrong here. Really wrong."
The leader of their expedition to Paldea folded his arms in contemplation. "You're absolutely right, kid. There is something wrong here. Now that we're done here, we need to head back to Mesagoza and meet up with Bridgette and Amanda."
"What about Addy?"
"Bridgette said she's safe for the night, but we'll have a good talk with her tomorrow. We need to focus on those we can do something for, most notably Morgan."
"My friend told me Morgan hasn't been seen in a while. The last people she spoke to were Lily and Lena."
Billy looked back towards where Geeta and the men were leading their prisoners away and shook his head. "I wish I'd known that before I let Geeta take them away. Now we have to let them know in the morning after they've been locked up." The serious look on his face kept Tommy on his guard. "We need to head back to town, before anything else happens."
As Billy set about recalling all but his Skarmory, Tommy prepared to join him on the Flying Pokémon but paused when he saw someone running up to them. He hadn't known Penny to be on the athletic side of things, but the speed she was using to run towards him must have rivalled Nemona. He was expecting her to try to keep it cool and say something along the lines of being glad he was safe, but when she threw her arms around him and seemed to be breathing rapidly, Tommy was completely caught off guard.
"Uh, Penny?"
"You're okay!" she whispered worriedly. "I thought you were a goner."
Tommy was initially unable to move, frozen in shock by this unexpected soft side to Penny. But realizing it was awkward of them to stand like this, Tommy slowly put his arms around her and held her there. The two stood there in silence, hugging out their feelings or relief, until Billy came over to them and gave a teasing yet commanding clearing of his throat.
"Ahem!"
Both Tommy and Penny quickly pulled away from one another, with Penny doing all she could to hide her face in her hoodie. "Yeah, um. Well...I, uh...I'm glad you're safe, Tommy. Um...I'll...uh...I guess I'll...see you around?!" Without another word, Penny bolted away at the same speed she had run towards him with. He watched on with Billy eyeing him with a sly and devilish look on his face.
"Did you need to scare her off?" Tommy grumbled.
"If I don't get to propose to Amanda yet, you don't get to ask a girl out on my watch" Billy joked. "Besides, what happened to Nemona?"
"What happened to figuring out what your heart wants, Mr. 'I'm Gonna Date La Primera'?"
For the first time since arriving to save him, Tommy saw a bit of a smile appear on his temporary guardian's face before he gestured for Tommy to come along with him towards his Skarmory. "Alright, let's go kid."
