Author's Notes/Replies:

Navit: Were you trying to write a Fallen Messiah Crossover? Yes, the story will include P3, 4, and 5.

Haziq: King of Swords can be both a description, as well as describe someone in the reader's life due to being a court card. Fool reversed in older meanings can also mean "a literal fool." but this reading can have many meanings.

ultima-owner: if the Velvet Attendants trained pokemon, they would easily conquer most region championships.

Jason Wu: Tarot readings are fun a fun way to foreshadow what comes next, yes.

Smoke billowed from the burning building, spraying thick ash against the night sky. From the chaos, panicked shouts littered the air at the helpless scene that was unfolding in the city. Orange flames rose from burning wood as the structure fell, collapsing after decades of history. The restaurant that once graced the historical distinct of Castelia disintegrated, crumpling into nothingness, taking with it numerous lives. The charred cinders of what once was scattered all across the city as Blake stepped out of an unmarked police van. The light from the fire reflecting off his windshield, dancing ominously in that dream like darkness. A haunting nightmare had finally come to life.

"Scan for signs of life and recover any untouched files from the fire." He ordered the officers he had on hand, watching the building burn. Age old bricks crumpled, dropping to the floor, and as each one fell, it was as if the structure was rewinding to a previous state of history, reverting back to a skeletal exterior. What set off this fire was not a freak coincidence, but a report by nearby neighbors of a huge explosion that caved in the basement of the restaurant, entombing the underground in mountains of debris.

Icy blue eyes scanned the area for evidence, as Blake stopped. Soon, he found a folded note on the ground.

"Everyone! Hurry! We have to help find any survivors!" A group of volunteers arrived, some in white knight uniforms. The twin tailed girl who frequented his restaurant shouted, directing a few of her colleagues to start digging through the disaster zone for survivors. Both Interpol and Team Plasma would work together hand in hand until emergency services would arrive. One by one, Blake saw them unearth only rubble, shaking his head, knowing it was already too late. His order was given more out of courtesy than for an actual command to locate any survivors. Right now, it was three in the morning, so there would have been no one in the restaurant, however, there were at least twenty officers working underground. From the way the explosion was set off, it collapsed any walls from the inside, causing everything to fall in on itself in a sick crush, meaning they were now all buried under hundreds of tons of concrete, of which not even the toughest pokemon could escape.

"B-blake! I'm so glad you're ok! Are you hurt? Any burns? What about your family? Anyone who was inside?" The girl from Team Plasma came up to him, her face dirty from digging through the rubble. Rosa worried for the carefree boy who always welcomed her at his family restaurant that was now up in flames. Her sad eyes flickered with emotions at the tragedy, her Snivy hurrying over with a burn heal.

"Ummm, Blake? Are you doing alright…?" She tried to get his attention, to no avail. Instead, she saw him engrossed in thought at something, until she noticed a small scrap of paper in his hand. Little did she know its contents on the other side, yet the look in the boy's eyes told her it was something ominous. Five simple words scribbled in pen bore back at the young officer, revealing the motive behind the incident.

You have a traitor, Superintendent.

"And that concludes our report regarding the recent Castelia city gas explosion." A news anchor read off the report as multiple emergency headlines flashed across the screen.

"You know Frank, despite the disaster, I'm thankful there weren't any casualties," The anchor's colleague said, trying to lighten the mood of the room.

"Yes, it was said that the explosion happened early morning. Since the area was a bustling business district during the day, luckily no one was around when it happened." The two bantered on, their conversation airing across the region. Little did they know the real story behind the incident, of which was reported as a freak accident.

Minato's blood was as cold as ice, already knowing the cover up that likely happened. The helicopter footage of the caved in restaurant proved even more that there were people buried underneath. The massive underground complex Blake had built would never see the light of day, which meant no one would acknowledge the full extent of the disaster. Such was the nature of running a secret operation.

"Aren't you interested in who blew up that place?" The person sitting across him chuckled in amusement, two pairs of monstrous yellow eyes bore at him, taunting him, provoking him. Minato directed his attention back to the Shadow, an otherworldly entity in that quiet Gym lobby. Every other figure stood still as a statue, their eyes empty as the two conversed.

"You did, didn't you?" Minato growled, locked into a deadly confrontation with the dark entity.

"That's right! I'm very good at planting explosives. Didn't I tell you, Min?" Black, or rather the creature before him spoke in a cheery tone. His voice echoed, traveling across empty corridors and down several unlit halls. White, Cheren, and Bianca sat slumped with a few other trainers, unmoving, stuck in a strange trance.

"Tell me what you want." The creature held his friends hostage, one wrong move and it promised him another fire. One where the Messiah wouldn't be able to save everyone in time. Minato gritted his teeth, he could try to take out the enemy now, beheading the Shadow in one fell swoop, however what would happen then? Because if he did, everyone would return to their senses, to see he had just slashed someone in broad daylight. The situation was set up in a way, where he would lose no matter what he did. Of course, his last resort would be to teleport them both to another spot, however, that would still run the risk of this freak killing one of the hostages in retaliation before he could complete the transfer.

"I'm lucky to have you as a good friend, Min." It taunted him once more, ignoring his question.

"How long are you going to hold us here?" He pressed once more, earning another annoyed frown from the monster. Minato hid his true anger, regretting not getting rid of this imitation on sight. Once White had reunited with her 'brother', she had dragged them to register for the Gym challenge after securing their hotel, before anyone could put a word in. It happened so quickly that it was impossible to find an opening to question this freak before it had somehow caught the entire building in a large range charm attack.

"Not for long. I have places to be too, you know? My Lord doesn't like waiting around."

Wait, did it just mention 'Lord'?

Wasn't that how Team Plasma referred to its higher ups? The Shadow smirked, knowing it peaked the bluenette's interest.

"You're a product of Team Plasma, aren't you?"

"Yea. I work with them, so what?"

A sinking feeling brewed within Minato, this thing was giving out answers a little too easily. In fact, it felt like it was deliberately answering his questions for another purpose entirely. Just then, his suspicions were confirmed as a stray razor shell shredded the table between them in half as Blake smashed open the glass door of the Gym with multiple other Interpol agents.

The shadow remained grinning, as Minato realized what its true goal was. No wonder it answered so many of his questions, opting to threaten him in such a public place. The sprinklers of the Gym sprung to life, showering the building in a clear coat of water as Blake sprinted with full riot gear, tackling Black.

"Interpol agent, Black. You are under arrest for suspicion of aiding the enemy." He then shifted attention to Minato who saw the wrathful intensity in his superior's eyes. "You're coming in with us too, agent Arisato."

"But he isn't…"

"Any words you speak now will be recorded for the investigation." Blake warned, then gestured to the knocked out Gym challengers, "We will be sending medics to attend to everyone here and create a fake cover story. Now move it!"

"Mina…? Black?" Abruptly, the officers were cut off by a stray voice, White awoke from her trance to the chaos of a brewing storm. Her mind barely registered the insanity of the situation as her brother was pinned to the ground by the police, her childhood friend being forced away.

"Dewott!" Blake ordered, the blue otter jumped from his position, ready to knock out the girl with the dull chop, its tiny body sprinted faster than she could react. On reflex, she braced herself by lifting her arms in, shielding her face, closing her eyes.

"Ek!"

Crackle

Electricity surged, throwing the pokemon away from reaching its target, receiving a thundershock like attack to the face. Tumbling, its small body yelping in pain, being surrounded by the pooling water from the sprinklers, leaving the officers stunned.

"How in the world…?"

The superintendent's eyes widened, watching the shock on the girl's face as she realized what she just did.

"Arisato, did you just-"

"That wasn't me." Taking this chance, Minato was able to at least explain himself. "And that thing you just arrested isn't the real Black either."

He knew he would sound crazy, insane even to the residents of this world, but the aura he had sensed from that thing gave away that it was a Shadow. Although it was a much more intelligent human mimic, it still gave the same gross energy as its Tartarus counterparts. Whether it was a cowardly Maya, or the Reaper, Shadows always had this distinct scent about them once they made themselves known. At first, Minato wasn't sure the mimic was a fake, until it released its foul, rotten aura for all to see in the Gym's lobby, that was when he had no doubt the thing was an imposter.

"Is he going crazy?"

"He was weird to begin with." Two officers exchanged whispers in the back, already doubting the veteran.

"Mina…please tell me what's going on. What's happening to my brother? What happened to the Gym…?" White shivered in that downpour, seeing her knocked friends and her brother being held down by the police. She was scared, waking up to a bizarre nightmare, one where everything had suddenly turned upside down. When she arrived at the Gym, they were about to register for the challenge when everything went to black. The next she knew, she was suddenly jolted awake by a strange voice. Now she was witnessing an exchange between who she recognized as her brother's roommate Blake, in riot gear, as he was taking her family away. Her best friend too was being ordered around by this guy, who she barely knew.

"I'm sorry White." Minato apologized, "But everything will be cleared up soon." He hoped things wouldn't get worse from here, and he still needed to find the location of the real Black. All he needed to do now was to get the Shadow to talk and explain things to Blake, however that was easier said than done. Catching a stray glance of another grin by the imposter, the veteran understood its intentions, it knew he would fall for its trap, it knew it would make him sound like he had lost his mind from emotion.

"As I said before superintendent, that over there isn't the real agent Black."

To say officer Blake was a strict leader was an understatement. He was the type to cut through all bullshit, the type to quickly brush away the opinions of others if it meant accomplishing an important task. Thus, if Minato's comment was made by any other in their force, then Blake would have easily dismissed their assessment, however the veteran was a special case. And so, the superintendent nodded, giving his subordinate a hidden confirmation before going on with their new theatre act.

"Cut the bullcrap, Arisato. Let's move before anyone else finds out what's happening."

They were first ushered into an unmarked vehicle, then a quiet drive later arrived in another city. Dark skyscrapers reached towards the sky of what was once a tranquil, grassy plain, known as the second economic hub of the Unova region; they were now entering an unremarkable building in Black City.

Blake ordered Minato and White to follow him down a hallway, separating them from the Shadow which was escorted down another corridor. White protested, but Minato held her back, promising an explanation. Eventually, she let go, following everyone into a wide open office, where they were greeted by a seated man.

Although this was their first time meeting, Minato could tell the person they were facing now exerted an extreme presence. One that was not obtained through supernatural means, but from years of experience on the police, someone with enough power and authority that would rival the Kirijo's in prestige. He sat silent, gauging the bluenette and the girl beside him, as if mentally weighing their worth, before ultimately introducing himself.

"I apologize for meeting under such extreme circumstances, but I was only able to free up so much time. I am the police chief of Interpol." The man said, his voice cold yet stern. His demeanor mirrored Blake's in that they both operated in an eerily indifferent manner, no matter the crises. "However, I am quite intrigued by this recent series of events." His grey eyes fell between Minato and White.

"Agent Blake and Arisato reporting in, we've brought in the suspect for interrogation." Blake saluted, causing White to flinch at his words. Just what had her brother done to deserve this? Just what had Minato done to involve himself with the police?

"Excellent, superintendent. I see you have once gone above and beyond what we ask of you. However, this still won't excuse you of your mistakes."

Mistake? What had Blake done to warrant such a curt reply from the boss of Interpol? In fact, he appeared quite disappointed in the young officer. Then, the man gestured for Minato to step forward.

"Agent Arisato wasn't it? Is that what Blake has been calling you?"

"Yes, sir." The bluenette nodded, as White's confusion grew deeper.

"Perhaps you are familiar with these transactions?" He tossed a stack of papers, earning a nervous chuckle from the veteran, as he side eyed Blake. Looks like whatever strings his boss pulled lead right back to the chief. Oh no, they were in hot water now. White saw the brunette officer's eyes close, bracing himself.

"My boss merely conducted the transfers, I was the one who supplied the gold."

"Hm, you are quite the honest fellow. For a moment, I expected you to lie, Arisato." The chief was impressed, "So is it also true that you were the one to single handedly take down Tornadus and Thundurus by yourself?"

There was a poignant pause, the tension in the room was much like a pressure cooker, pressing down on the lone Messiah. Hearing the question, White let out a surprise gasp. She was trapped in that storm, knowing just how dangerous being in that downpour was, and yet…

"How can he-"

Blake shot her a glare, silencing her. She was a formidable foe in battles, even having the courage to go toe to toe with Team Plasma, but right now the people she was up against held the world in their hands. For a young, and inexperienced child that had yet to fully see the world, being trapped in a room full of adults was a suffocating thing.

Blue eyes lit up, plunging the room into a sudden heat wave, as Minato slammed hand on the Police Chief's desk, causing tiny sparks. "I won't tolerate any disrespect toward my friend, chief. Reel your officer back now…"

"Agent Arisato! What are you…" He lost his voice, every bone in his body told him to shut up before the Messiah would burn him alive. Blake backed off, visibly annoyed.

Witnessing the scene, the man chuckled, still relaxed in his seat. "No wonder you were able to push back those powerful beings. I had no idea why my superintendent didn't bring you in earlier." Raising from his seat, he bowed to both White and the bluenette in an honest apology. "As I said before, I'm sorry to have brought you in on such short notice, and for dragging you into this Ms. White."

"N-no it's fine…" White was scared out of her mind, how did he know her name? They've never met before.

"However, we don't have all day so how about we get back on topic, shall we?" He returned to his seat, "As I recall from the recording, you mentioned quite the intriguing statement? So tell, what could you mean by the suspect not being the 'real' Black?"

Minato could feel the keen eye of the man scrutinizing his every action, analyzing him for any trace of a lie. In a way, he resembled a much more seasoned version of Mitsuru's father. "What I said was the truth, police chief. What Interpol arrested wasn't the real agent Black."

"And do you have any proof?" Interested, the man had an X-transciver delivered to his desk.

"I want you to have our technology team analyze the location data from this chat log. I'm sure an officer as level headed as Black wouldn't have dropped such a panicked text if something hadn't gone wrong…" He carefully picked his words, knowing White was listening. She gulped, her stomach dropping at the unfolding scene. Minato shot her a glance that said to 'please wait a little longer', but how long, she wouldn't know.

The man took in the information, before handing it off to someone who quickly disappeared from the office. "Very concerning indeed. Knowing his character, even I would be shocked at his recent acts."

"Yet we have undeniable evidence of his wrongdoings." The police chief then turned to White, "Ms. White, I recommend you wait outside for what we are about to discuss."

"But it's about Black, isn't it…? I'm his family, I deserve to know." She mumbled, putting up her brave face.

"This is classified evidence, disturbing at that." With all the empathy in the world, the man pleaded with the girl. Or maybe it was a test?

"With all do respect sir…."

Minato silently encouraged her, for the truth she was about to uncover. She faced the two officers in the room. Balling up her hands tight, White stepped forward.

"You brought me in too with Minato. If you truly wanted to leave me out, then this guy here would have left me back in Driftveil." She pointed to Blake, who remained silent.

With that, a slight glint of amusement passed the boss of Interpol's eyes, finally acknowledging the young hero of truth. "Ah, perhaps it was our mistake to have taken you along."

"Which is why I want to sit in on this conversation too, old man. It's what you can do to compensate me for my troubles…or…or I'll call my mom and sue you guys! This can be c-considered kidnapping!" She crossed her arms, now more determined than ever, a tiny, electric spark flashed her eyes, of which only Minato registered.

"Hhahahhaa. You've got guts, young lady. Fine, I can work with that." Besides, Interpol could always use some fresh, young recruits at the end of the day. Pulling up a display, the Chief showed footage of a young man that resembled Black planting bombs inside the Castelia base. The figure moved fast, before disappearing. What happened minutes later horrified the girl as she clasped her mouth to force back the bile that was threatening to exit her throat.

"Twenty human casualties and ten pokemon buried under that rubble. Not only did the perpetrator know the exact weak points of the structure, but detonated it where they could maximize the amount of deaths." Shadow casted over the chief's eyes, his words were haunting as the scene of the collapse played on the scene. One moment, the footage had a set of officers and pokemon working throughout the night, and then the next minute earth around them started to shake, before the walls came crumbling down like paper. Buried alive in that dark place underground, White was shocked at the brutality of the crime.

"But the news said there weren't any casualties." Her voice trembled, already knowing why as the cold eyes of both Blake and the man gazed back at her. Neither said anything, when Minato came to comfort her, his reaction being more compassionate. Yet he kept his cool, unlike her sudden panic. How was he able to stomach such horrific footage without breaking down? Before their arrival here, White had once proposed a similar question to Bianca, who reasoned the boy liked to keep his emotions to himself. Although here, even that explanation felt too far-fetched as she realized just how different Minato was from her other friends. What types of tragedies could he have possibly witnessed to remain so…calm?

"I'm sorry you had to see this White, but this is the nature of our work." All this time, she had seen the other two address her childhood friend as one of their own. Minato was just as much of a steeled officer as they were. Which meant he too was also in on their lie.

She pulled away from him, unsure of what to do next. He reached out, but she only backed away more.

"White, I'm…"

"How are you able to remain so calm, Minato?" She trembled, reaching for her pokemon in her bag. The footage, even if it was done by someone that resembled her family, shocked her. Since the bluenette knew them since childhood, why wasn't he reacting as he should? Having only lived a happy life in comparison, the girl could not comprehend her friend. All kinds of emotions swirled in her mind as a sudden surge of white lightning crackled from her body, stunning everyone around her.

"Ouch!" She felt the burn from the currents traveling throughout her body.

"White!" Minato reached out as she panicked over the bizarre phenomena. More sparks flew as her emotions went with them, tears welling up in her eyes from the pain, unable to control what was going on. The veteran wrapped his arms around her, absorbing the shocks with his own body.

"M-minato! What's going on? Why is electricity surging all over the place?" She embraced him back, closing her eyes from the pain, forgetting about her freight. The sparks only grew brighter, as Blake and the chief backed away, the ball of white energy expanding in the area.

"Deep breaths, White. Deep breaths!" He cautioned her, comforting her.

"B-but it's only getting worse! It's burning my skin!" Hot lava-like sensations boiled across her body, like she was dropped into a boiling vat of liquid. Like a storm brewing on the inside, she held onto him tighter, petrified as hot tears streamed from her eyes. Where was this strange power coming from?

"It's ok, everything will be fine." He gently assured her, yet it only made things worse.

"H-hhow I be sure that isn't lie again? Both you and Black have been going around everyone's backs and…and!" She wanted to say more, wanted to scold them both for going off on such dangerous places without her. All this time, from the interrogation to the footage, she had put on a brave face, yet she was at her breaking point. Lost and confused, she felt like she couldn't trust either of these fools for hiding such big secrets.

"Because what you'll see next is the true me." The Messiah pressed his forehead against her's, diving into the sea of her soul. Traveling through the depths, he encountered a persona shrouded in mist, its shape undefined, the source of her current distress. He summoned Orpheus playing its harp, the music ushering in a wave of flames to stop the rampage. However, this persona was stubborn, repealing back the fire with its white lightning, ready to attack the veteran when he caught it, beating it with his fist, forcing it back.

"Stop terrorizing her!" He commanded, unleashing his aura, waves of blue energy weaved in and out of the darkness, surprising the unknown persona.

"..."

"Huh?" Upon releasing the wave, the spector appeared quilled by his presence. Going back to a dormant state, it stopped releasing wild sparks, facing him. How odd…

"..."

"Do you recognize who I am?" He waited for the misty figure to answer, but nothing came. Not a voice, nod, or headshake. Instead, it stood still, watching him.

Trying a few more times, Minato was unable to converse with the persona, which made him retreat for now. The mystery of how it reacted to him will be visited in another time, because he had to get back to reality.

"Ari…. Arisato. Arisato!" He jolted awake in the office once again, hearing Blake wake him with a team medics behind him. A pair of Audino checked him in concern as he felt the unconscious figure of White pressed against his chest.

"Boss…" The veteran blinked. Because of them, Minato could hear people scrambling left and right, all over the building.

"We thought you were both going to drop dead! What was that power just now?"

"I have a lot of explaining to do." The bluenette said.

Summoning Orpheus in the crack of blue card, Minato presented the police chief and the superintendent with his true power in the arena. The sudden manifestation of the figure made the two both widen their eyes.

"As you can see, boss and big boss, this was how I was able to take down those two legendaries." Waving a command with his hand, Orpheus plucked his strings, engulfing a nearby training dummy in a scorching hellfire, enough to melt it away to its base.

"What incredible power…" The man said, noting the training dummy was built to be fireproof. It was specially commissioned to train fire type pokemon, but it couldn't withstand just a single attack from the Messiah.

"What else are you capable of?" Blake inquired next, "The last time you were able to teleport all the way from Castelia to Plasma Castle without detection."

He didn't want to give away all his cards, but he would have to take on a big bad soon with his arsenal so the bluenette would have to at least showcase the basics. Switching personas to a man dressed in norse garb, holding a long spear, he zapped the next set of targets with electricity. After this, he performed an ice attack with another summon.

"Don't tell me you can conjure every type in existence." The chief was dumbstruck for the first time in his life, witnessing the monster before him. Minato was more akin to an ancient beast than an actual human in his eyes. In fact, he'd bet, he's just another pokemon in disguise if he had to.

"Not quite. I don't have equivalents for water or ground." For now, he'll get them to think he has limitations so they don't completely label him an uncontrollable weapon of mass destruction. Seeing the spark in the older man's eyes, Minato felt like he had said something the Chief favored. They now had possible counters, the two officers exchanged looks of understanding. Oh how wrong they were, there was a reason why he will never show them almighty attacks. One megido was enough to crack through any form of defense they had, pokemon or not.

"Aside from your combat capabilities, you said that you could perform medical attention as well?" The chief beckoned over an injured pokemon, Archen called weakly through its broken beak, wrapped in bandages.

"This pokemon suffered on a mission in a far away region. We were unable to recover the officer who was paired with it." Blake read out the report, the weak creature shifted around, looking for its partner to no avail.

"Ar…? Archen?"

The Messiah could tell it was in pain, having gone through hell on earth for this organization. He felt sorry for it, as the doctors on duty were only able to do so much. From Blake's report, the little one would suffer from restricted movement its entire life even if its injuries weren't healed, due to it missing a part of its beak. Gently, he hovered a hand above the bird, chanting one phrase.

"Salvation."

Just as he had recovered Woobat's wings, everyone was awestruck as the beak of the Archen began to grow back at a remarkable pace. Its other wounds also healed in the process, until all scars were reversed, taking it back to a time where it was healthy.

"Archen? Archen!" The pokemon sat up, freeing itself from its bandages, jumping up and down.

"Incredible…"

Seated in a quiet conference room, the police chief mentally compiled the facts.

"So you're telling us you are from another world?" He cut straight to the point. Examining Minato's powers and hearing his story, it was hard to believe. If he hadn't experienced the bluenette's freakish demonstration just an hour ago, he would have labeled him a madman.

"Yes." Minato simply answered.

"You must have been a warrior then. I can't imagine someone who is as steeled as you lived simply as a normal civilian." He was sharp in deducing bits and pieces of the veteran's life, something Minato didn't feel like revealing fully. The last thing he wanted was Interpol knowing every little fact about him. Rule number one of staying alive was to never give away your weakness. As it remains now, Minato exposing himself was more so due to being backed into a corner than Interpol earning his full trust, so he chose to be fairly cautious in his approach, and since he was a long ways away from Earth, he was free to make up his story as he wished to get these people to his side.

"I was enlisted into an organization called SEES to fight off these entities called Shadows." He spun his tale, embellishing some parts and sprinkling bits of truth in others. At the moment, he got them to buy that he worked for a group similar to Interpol, fighting to keep peace for the public. A righteous organization compared to what it really was, a secret group formed by the current Kirijo heiress to clean up after the mistakes of her late grandfather. What made it worse was how shady they really were now that he thought back. A bunch of super powered child soldiers given weapons and forced to climb up a green tower or else the world would end, while everyone else enjoyed a blissful peace, what kind of twisted hell was that?

"Can these shadows take the forms of others?" The man studied the boy for any hints of a lie. However, Minato simply switched to a persona of the Empress Arcana to mimic Mitsuru.

"During our extermination missions, we had a few run-ins with Shadows who would take on the form of our comrades. In addition, some of these creatures can exhibit higher intelligence than others." He lied, having never seen such things himself, yet here, the Shadow they arrested would surely prove his point.

"And these mimics, do they retain the memories and emotions of the original?" The man mentally noted the shift in the bluenette's tone.

"When my team was dealing with them, they appeared to have copied some of those yes. However, they remain as creatures that are hostile to humans either way." Minato explained, needing a way to turn Interpol against the Shadow's plans.

Hearing this, the Chief chuckled, bubbles of frustration swirled in his mind. He asked all types of questions, yet he had yet to crack. No lead, no weaknesses to speak up, it was almost a little too perfect for his liking. Beside him, Blake stood at attention, sharing a similar feeling.

"Pardon me, but our interview session has been…quite dry." He spoke, throwing a hint that he wanted to pry more. "It appears all the information you have given us would put you at quite the advantage."

From the traits of how a Shadow worked, to how they operated. In addition, Minato had also spoken a bit about his Persona powers, where they greatly outclassed what Interpol had on hand. The officers understood his abilities originated from his very soul, so it was impossible to copy and spread them to others, but they were also informed how destructive they could be. During their chat, Minato had really claimed he could flatten Twist Mountain in one blow and had demonstrated enough in the arena for everyone to believe me.

Blake held in his annoyance, all this interview amounted to was Minato showing off how much of a monster he was, as a way to bargain with Interpol. His powers would be enough to solve most of their issues, sending him out would have nuked both Team Rocket and Galatic to the ground. Then again, from the way the Messiah was looking at them now, he could feel a shiver run down his spine at how bad it would be if this freak would turn against them. The message was clear, even to his boss:

I can be your best friend or your worst enemy, so choose wisely.

"My apologies chief, but I have a friend to save and little time for discussions. I'd like to know if you guys are done tracing the location of my Xtransciver." Minato crossed his arms, throwing out his first demand.

"Well, I guess we can't leave our field agent hanging now can we?" The man joked, acknowledging the threat in front of them. Minato revealed himself as not a way to show weakness, but to strong arm his way into a solution. When the technology team sent over their results, everyone in the room paused. From the time and location, the real Black must have ended up in the Driftveil cool storage.

"Blake, send a few people to search for evidence in that area." His boss commanded. Apart from this, he also tried to access the GPS tracker planted on their spy, but what was more surprising was how it supported the Xtransciver data.

"What sloppy work." Blake cursed out loud, now more convinced of Minato's story. Whoever this Shadow double was had only tricked them in appearance, however the real Black was fully trackable with their equipment. Which meant the whole Castelia explosion was only there to draw their attention away from the real one. Meaning whoever was behind this wanted them to be distracted, but to what end? If it was really Team Plasma as the Shadow claimed, then they could have easily ambushed the officer while he was at their home base, so why go the long route here?

Moments later, another report came of no bodies being found in Cool Storage.

"As if they wanted us to arrest that fake…" His boss added, putting the pieces together in his head. Some of the camera footage from the Cool Storage was conveniently missing.

"And perform a switch that would brand him a traitor, where no one would bother to look for the real one…" Minato finished their deduction. Clenching his teeth, his fists curled until they were bone white as a dark aura seeped from the edges of his frame.

"Indeed. Under normal circumstances, we would have marked his infiltration a failure if he were exposed and assigned a replacement. Failure breeds success after all." The man's reply only angered the Messiah more, having no more sympathy than the cult they were opposing. Whatever Black did wrong would be thoroughly studied as Interpol would prepare an even better agent next time but a betrayal instead would shake them to their core.

"Since that Shadow knew enough about the inner workings of the Castelia hideout, he must have copied information about the area from agent Black through an unknown method." Blake followed up. "We were fortunate to catch on to their ruse. Didn't you warn us how these creatures could copy the memories and behaviours of the target, Arisato?"

Minato cursed under his breath, it was too late to take back that lie. Perhaps he had played right into that mimic's hand by giving Shadows more credit than they were worth. Whoever created that thing must have known about Black's infiltration and family relations somehow. His blue eyes widening, he realized he made a grave mistake. In reality, he had a fifty-fifty chance of being correct as the Shadow could either have learned or copied the information, but he did not know which. He was so desperate to get Interpol on his side, so threw in as much evidence to convince them as fast as possible of the fake to clear Black's name. Of course, he didn't know of a shadow that could mimic a human, but Shadow Black was proof enough, yet his existence didn't confirm that his hypothesis was correct. Either way, his mind was clouded by that desperate message his friend sent, who knows where he was now? Who knows how White would react if he actually died? She might just go after whoever it was and die in the process too.

"Arisato?"

"Tell White I'm leaving for a while."

"What are you talking about? You want her to wake up and let us tell her you left after some wild goose chase?" Blake snapped.

Minato held back his words, preparing to teleport to that place. Yes, he needed to check that place before anywhere else, as he was in a race against time.

"Wait Arisato." The police chief stopped him, shaking his head in a serious frown. "I know where you are going, and it might as well be a trap."

"I know, I can handle it."

"Do you really? You might be beyond powerful, however if the enemy came out in the open to even deceive you, then they might have something just as freighting up their sleeve." For the first in a long while, Minato was close to losing his cool, as the Chief reasoned with him. He planned to travel to Plasma Castle and look around to see if Black really ended up there. In reality, this all could be a setup as the pain of losing another friend dug at him. The memories of helplessly watching Shinji fall from a damn bullet rushed through his mind, one where if he had the powers he did now, would have easily healed the delinquent back to health. And he was not about to relive that trauma again.

For a moment he thought he was reborn into a world free of despair, where he spent his time traveling with his friends. Yet, he was snapped back to reality, to those words Elizebath spoke back then, a grave warning of a rancid, horrible force eating away at this place. Try as he might, whatever entity must have known of his presence here long ago, having now made its first move. What was more frightening was how it knew of his one weakness as if it peered into his very soul. Enveloping himself in a blue energy, he prepared to teleport to confront whatever this monster wanted with him. When he felt someone grab onto his waist, essentially tackling him as they both disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

Moments later, both White and Minato landed in an empty room of Plasma Castle.

"White, what did you-"

She clung to him, refusing to let go. "I'm not letting you go die on your own."

"You overheard our conversation? Then you'd know this place is super dangerous. Come on, I'm teleporting you back." He reached for her but she slapped his hand away, furious.

"If you want to shield me from whatever big bad is out there then, you're welcome to get destroyed on your own, Minato. I said it before and I'll say it now, I deserve to know the truth." She reached for her pokeball, releasing Claudia. "I'm taking you and my brother back regardless." She was beyond angry when she eavesdropped on their meeting, knowing her best friend and brother had been lying to her face for years. One was a cop ready to throw away his life for whatever the world deemed as world peace and the other one was secretly some kind of overpowered lite novel protagonist facing down the demon lord. She was worried to death when Minato was possessed by Honedge, so to learn he had the power to flatten mountains made her question how the guy struggled at all, not to mention convince that ghost blade to join him so easily.

"Yamask ya!" Claudia agreed, knowing her grandchild was in danger.

"But we don't know if he's even here or not. I only traveled here to look around." Minato snapped back in a hushed whisper.

"If he isn't, then I'll follow you wherever else to drag that stupid idiot back home. Then I'll make both of you answer for your crimes!" She pointed at his chest, forcing him back. "You know how much I cried when I woke up?" Her voice shook, losing its edge, "Knowing that either of you might disappear…? I saw those sad pokemon and people recovering in that hospital ward…some of them will be crippled for life or worse…"

"..."

Hot tears formed from her soft blue eyes, remembering the despair of those who gave their lives to Interpol to fight 'evil'. "I…I heard there was a girl who lost her life and…and her Archen looked so broken when it realized its trainer was dead…and over what? A stupid band of idiots stealing from a warehouse…I just…I can't bear to see either of you leave me behind." If they were to leave her just as her dad, then she didn't know what she would do.

He comforted her, letting her shed her tears at their situation. It wasn't easy, death was never easy, the Messiah mused. When he lost his parents on that burning bridge, he had cried for days as a child, unable to comprehend the grief. Here, he could do nothing but give her a moment to breath, to air out her unprocessed grief from years ago. Her father was gone and that gave her a crippling fear of anyone else leaving for the afterlife.

"Yamask, yask, yasmask." Claudia stroked her back, as if saying to have more hope.

"I'm here, don't worry, White. I promise I won't disappear on you. We'll get Black back and then everything will go back to normal…I'll end whatever threat is eating away at this world. And I'll come back, once I do…"

"You aren't lying this time are you…?"

He hesitated for a moment, before making a choice to speak the truth, "I speak the truth." There was no Nyx this time, so hopefully he can return alive and not leave his friends behind once more, a promise he could never make to Elizebath, or SEES back home. Before he left, she promised to reunite with him once more, being someone he had grown more than close to. He was sure he left her heart in pain more than anyone else's when he became the seal, and here, he assured himself he won't do that again.

"Ummm, am I interrupting something here?" The door to the room creaked open a jar, a sheepish Ryoji peered through.

"No…" White squeaked, cleaning the tears and snot from her face in a terrible act of being fine.

"...I have blueberry pie if you aren't feeling well…"

"I'll take two slices please…..." She sniffed.

Opening his eyes to a white ceiling, Black shot up from his hospital bed, feeling a sharp jolt travel across his entire body.

"Ow!" He let out a yelp clutching his chest, before he drew the attention of a nurse.

"Are you alright, Captain Hilbert?" Dressed in a lite version of the Team Plasma uniform, she calmed him down. The Audino beside her squeaked worriedly.

"I can't say I'm not in pain…" Swiftly, he scanned his surroundings to realize he was back in Plasma Castle's hospital, in a private room no less.

"A-aren't private rooms usually reserved for the Sages and royalty?" The place was fancy, surrounded by state of the art equipment where one could be treated and make a full recovery in record time. The nurse smiled, assuring him.

"We were told the beds were full so Lord Ghetsis allowed us to treat you here instead."

"Are the people who ran with me ok?"

Taking a minute to collect his thoughts, he now remembered passing out in the Cool Storage. The biting cold sunk its jaws into his skin, freezing his blood as he was sure he would die there with the rest of the Plasma folk. Then, he awoke here, to be treated quite well, although usually Ghetsis would consider this a massive failure and send them all to hard labor. Everyone was scared of disappointing that man in the organization, and whenever people would mess up, he would break them.

"They are recovering. What you went through was an unexpected ordeal, so our Lord has pardoned your team from any punishments." It was as if she'd read his mind, yet the way she conveyed the information felt robotic, almost unnatural as she waited for his response.

Black gulped, his stomach slowly dropping as her next word made him realize he was good as dead.

"As a thank you for your hard work, Captain Hilbert, Lord Ghetsis would like to personally congratulate you for your efforts."

"Oh…I'll be honored." Like hell he was, wearing the best smile he could, the one he practiced to blend in with this crazy cult, he reflexly reached for his pokeball when the nurse left the room. However, he realized he was stripped of all of his gear, including his hidden tracker, hearing the footsteps approaching from the other side, he clicked his tongue, too late to climb out of the window.

"How are you doing, Captain Black." Ghetsis opened the door, wearing a kind mask. His voice was warm, no akin to an elderly grandfather. Following behind him was N, who gave him a more curt greeting.

"You've done a shit job." The greenette said, uncharacteristically rude, munching on a Pecha berry, glaring at the Interpol spy like he was shit stain on the ground.

"Now, now, my King, we can't be rude to our subordinates. As the face of Team Plasma, I'm sure you are well versed in what makes a good ruler." Again, Ghetsis was weirdly nice, making the scene even more bizarre. Black paled, blood draining from his face with the old man mentioning his real name. Now he knew why they had treated him so differently compared to the others.

"Just cut the crap of being cryptic." N sneered, then shifted his attention back to the Interpol officer, "Come with us, or I'll have Zoroark drag you along."

Suddenly, a frightening pokemon appeared from the shadows, its aura radiating an otherworldly malice. Dark fur paired with piercing yellow eyes burned daggers through the brunette's mind, threatening to sink its claws into his flesh.

"Arkkkkkkk…" It growled like a wild beast.

"It's as he says Capitan Black. We were quite impressed by your actions. Although you did betray us, I promise we're not here to bring harm to you or your family." Reaching a hand to Black, Ghetsis waited for the boy's reply. Understandably cornered, the officer had no choice but to respond with a nod, his entire body shaking. This would be the end, he was sure of it. Their little act was probably the two toying with him in his final moments.

"Now let's get out of here. I'm sick of this hospital…" Bitter were the King's last words, as if they held in some mysterious weight. His irritation stemmed from something, yet one could not tell what.

Deep down, Black prayed his family would receive his Will. Before he set out for his infiltration mission, Interpol would make every agent arrange their death plans just in case they don't come back. He was always cautious, however, he never expected to be caught red handed like this. Without his pokemon, Interpol, or Minato to bust him out, he was as good as dead.

Giving up, wearing a sad smile, he followed them to what he expected to be his end.

Somewhere in another place, in another time.

Click clack.

Click clack.

The sound of a bullet train zooming across the city filled the air. Rocking back and forth against its rhythmic motion, Akira Kurusu typed away on his laptop, authoring another script. Ignoring the world around him, preferring to focus on his mental escape, enjoying the quiet atmosphere. Hours later, he would arrive in Tokyo, being sent away by his parents to a tiny cafe to live out his probation.

Days would pass and he would be embroiled in a supernatural game of changing people's hearts, which would only fuel his written works.

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Yu Narukami would rent an apartment and officially start his investigation into the mental shutdowns.

Welcome to the game, Akira Kurusu.

Welcome to the game, Minato Arisato.

Author's notes:

This chapter originally went in a different direction but I rewrote it about 2k words in because I just wasn't feeling it. It involved Clay and a whole guessing game of "pick the right cool storage." Blake didn't have his building burn down in the first draft so rip to his hideout as the Shadows will not fuck around. The big bad controlling them will make Team Rocket's terrorism look like a bad joke.

Minato was pushed pretty hard mentally as you saw him make some rushed decision, and Shinji's death partially fueled it because he really didn't want to relive losing another friend. There was also the added factor of White finding out about everybody was lying to her this entire time which pressured him even more. Interpol was well impressed by his Persona powers but he was smart enough to once again use that to his advantage in negotiations.

Another thing to address is the Police Chief's character, as we never get to see him much in the manga, nor even get a name drop so I'll just pretend the guy just hides behind his title to protect his true name for now.

Black is being put through so much shit lmaooooo, my original direction for him was less intense but you'll will see why he ended up the way he did. You ever just get a really good plot point when you're supposed to be working? Will now we throw him to the wolves and hope he survives.

White's "awakening" is also another mystery that will be addressed eventually. Persona readers, you likely know. Pokemon onlys, keep reading.

Last and but not least, Akira Kurusu appears and he starts his P5 journey with Yu going to Tokyo as well. Chaos ensues as always.