Chapter 100: Chapter 100

International Ranger Force HQ - Just South of the Kalos Region

Zander Grey had made a few mistakes in his life. Until recently though, he literally had been unable to understand them. When Alex Redwood psychically unblocked his ability to feel empathy, he understood how badly he'd messed up, and how wrongly he'd acted. He still didn't like Rattata, but now he understood killing was wrong, and more importantly, why.

Geralt Redwood had also helped him, but in a very different way. While initially salty about his cousin dumping Zander on him, Geralt had proceeded to turn the determined teen into a proper Ranger, alongside his other trainee, Ciri. Zander had spent weeks up in Lantea City on the dark side of the Moon, trapped in Pegasus' HQ until Geralt finally let them back onto the Earth itself, but naturally, that was just so they could experience the authenticity of The Killer.

Ciri was gorgeous, kind, and a great fighter. The kind of student Zander aspired to be, but in time that admiration had turned into something else. In Ciri, that had been lust, but for Zander it went beyond that. Or at least he hoped it did. As he snuck out of her room in the HQ, down the hall, the napping form of Ghost, Geralt's Dawn Lycanroc, raised his head, ears perked up. His wolf eyes narrowed suspiciously, as it was not Zander's room that Zander was emerging from, but being a Pokémon, he could put two and two together. He also smelled like Ciri, which completely gave away what they'd been up to.

"Hiiii Ghost…" Zander waved, "Byyye, Ghost…"

The wolf gave him a slow nod, and Zander promptly went to sleep, cuddling his Zoroark. He and Ciri reported the next morning for training, not seemingly treating him any differently, but Geralt naturally sensed a shift between them. A disturbance in the status quo. He was quiet all day though, and didn't mention anything.

Several weeks passed before one day, Geralt called Zander off training on the Killer, and into his office. "Zander. You're being given a Mission." Geralt started, as soon as he entered the room and stood at ease. "The Dragon Emperor asked for you specifically, so we're sending you to the States as a sort of…proving mission, with your former hallmates. A test of whether you're ready to be out from my watchful eye. You're to do what your team leader says, you are to stay with the group, and if you try running off, I Will have Ghost hunt you down."

Zander nodded. "Sure thing."

"Don't break anything…don't kill anybody…or any Pokémon…good luck." Geralt tossed him something then, and Zander caught it, eyes going wide as he realized what it was. A Pokémon Ranger's Styler. "Congratulations, you're a Ranger…" He was also given a Ranger outfit, namely comfortable, durable clothes suited for traversing nature.

Zander tried it out as he left the HQ's grounds, "Styler Styler, let it rip!" He had no idea why he said that, but the Teddiursa he tried it on didn't seem to mind as the styler surrounded it and temporarily bound it to him. "Ursa?" It tilted its head at him, and Zander shook his own.

"You did help me, little guy. Thank you. Be well." He released the cub after the Styler successfully worked, gave the cub a berry, and then quickly left it be before its parents showed up. Even the most well-intentioned Rangers would be attacked near an Ursaring's cub, but his gear worked, and he knew how to use it now. The lessons Geralt had drilled into him stuck.

Harmonia Interregional Airport, Main Departure Terminal - New Tork City, Unova Region

"Vell hallo, how have you been? I haven't seen you in a vile…"

Zander smirked at his former hallmates, as they approached him in Unova's largest airport, situated to the east of Humilau City, and quite close to the Empire's military headquarters. He was already dressed for the mission, but he also kind of stood out from the general masses of the world's largest city. "It has been awhile…"

Adrie continued, loudly, "Have you fvinally finished…doing vhat you used to? Because I am tired of hiding it…"

Jade, Viggo, Elena, and Zander cringed as the fae german teen shamelessly brought up the Rattata murdering.

Zander nodded. "I've definitely stopped it, yea…"

"Good, good! If I find you doing it again, I vill beat your Ass."

"Glad to see you're alive…" Viggo muttered, as they waved. Awkwardly.

"Sooo…" Zander started, "What is our mission, exactly?"

The others shared a look. Jade Drachenfel stepped forward, and Zander's eyes widened as he saw the freshly forged plasma sword on his hip. "We're going to, stealthily," He glared specifically at Adrie, "Infiltrate a subterranean Arcean city, report back on any other entrances and exits, and gather intelligence, particularly about their scientists, if we can. The Emperor said they had some sort of 'mad genius' creating Shadow abominations, like the ones that attacked Elena."

The former Imperium scientist looked downwards, and frowned. That thing burrowing into her spine was not a fun memory. Nor was the blinding pain of the Light that followed.

Adrie frowned, and gestured at his outfit, which was bright pink today, straight from Fire Topic. "I don't really…do stealth…"

Jade nodded. "Yea…you're gonna have to…can you just like…not be bright pink and sparkly? Like, what were you even thinking, Adrie."

"It vas a good day to vear pink, I regret Nothing." The fairy typed femboy crossed his arms.

Viggo chimed in again. "You have illusions, don't you? Fairy magic?"

Adrie's eyes widened. "Oh right, I have illusions…vait, how do you know about mein illusions?"

Viggo smirked and said, "The Moon. I'll tell you about it later."

As the group chatted, another traveler noticed them. He was in green clothes, had dark green hair, and green eyes. Those who had recently acquired plasma swords with him in the Chargestone Caverns recognized Isamu, as he'd also been gathering Chargestones, and had been tasked by Redwood to accompany the new blood once their extradimensional training had finished. "What are you guys doing here? I have a Mission…wait, do you have a Mission too!?"

Still enjoying the jar of Green Monster Isamu had shared with him, Adrie answered first. "Ja! Vhats yours?"

"Umm, I have to go to the Lorule Region, because their King, Ganon, has been…showing signs of Shadow Infusion. You guys are going…where?" He looked around, making sure no one was listening in. Thankfully, most New Torkers, and tourists, were too wrapped up in their business to do more than double take the strange group before hurrying on.

Viggo once again spoke up with the accurate information. "The uhh, midwest."

"I'm surprised you have a Mission already, you guys started…pretty recently, right?" Isamu looked over the group. Maybe three of them, Adrie, Jade, and Zander, looked like they could handle themselves, and only Adrie and Jade had full teams. He looked at Adrie and Jade specifically. "Did…the Emperor train you with those…? You know how to use them?"

Adrie nodded, confidently. "I know how to use a sword, yes."

"Okay, but a plasma sword…" Isamu continued, brow furrowing, and he turned to Jade who was quietly looking away. "And it seems like you…don't know how to use it."

"Yea, I'm…not gonna use it. It's a stealth Mission, and the Emperor hasn't had time to train me fully." Jade answered.

Isamu nodded in relief. "Probably a good idea… Yea, it sounds like he's testing you, if he's giving you minimal training, and…a job."

Viggo nodded. "Yea…that sounds about right."

"Well, good luck guys, I'm gonna go uhh…hopefully not die to a Shadow Infused King." Isamu said, as his Rotom Phone beeped urgently. The group bid their goodbyes and told him to stay safe. Isamu reassured them. "I'll be alright. I have my Earthbending. Later!"

As Isamu departed, Viggo looked around, and suddenly noticed. Their former Imperium scientist had disappeared. "Uhh, guys? Where's Elena? Does anybody have a way to track her?"

"Ohh Muk." Jade muttered.

"Scheiße." Adrie agreed, looking around for their wayward defector.

"Maybe try calling her? She has a Rotom Phone, right?" Zander said, also looking around.

Viggo nodded, already on it. "I got through! Elena! Where are you?"

Her voice answered unsteadily. "Ohhh…y'know…the bathroom…nothing big."

"What?" Viggo's eyes narrowed. "I don't like that tone…"

Jade muttered, "Hoboy…not again."

Viggo continued. "Elena! Where are you?"

Her voice came through again, more panicked. "Uhhh, I gotta go." And the call was cut.

The group panicked mildly, but Viggo was furiously tapping their Rotom Phone. "Don't worry, I have a…find my Rotom Phone app…"

"You know, I have a Gardevoir…" Adrie said, but nobody seemed to listen, as Viggo was furiously tapping past the app's login mechanisms, recovering their forgotten password. It took a solid three minutes, but eventually, they got in. Only to see that the exact location just listed the Harmonia Airport building's location and not specifically where inside Elena might be. As Jade, Viggo, and Zander bickered, Adrie repeated himself. "Guys! Mein Gardevoir!"

Viggo looked up, hearing them this time, and nodded. "Alright, sure. Let's use Gardevoir."

Zander nodded. "That is a good idea." Adrie facepalmed, and hit the button with a psychic press.

With a bright flash, and that trademark sparkle, Adrie's freshly trained and evolved shiny blue Gardevoir appeared in the middle of the busy airport, immediately drawing attention. Like most, they assumed Gardevoir was female, but this one was actually male. Verstand didn't care either way. They were their Trainer's psychic type, a vital lynchpin in their combat strategies. In a second, they located the sketchy human from the Imperium.

"I…kind of sense her…but, it's weird…she's surrounded by like…holes, in reality. It feels like she's surrounded by Dark Types, but they're not Pokémon, I know that much." Verstand said, in Common, in Adrie's mind.

Out loud, the pink fairy teen said, "Velp. Zats bad. Do you have a vay for us to…get to her?"

"Uhh…I can Teleport?" Verstand shrugged.

"Iz zat like, a group thing, or…" Adrie started, and Verstand reached out, touched him, and then with a bamf, they were gone.

"Great." Viggo said, as the fairy boy caffeine dealer vanished. "That's great."

Zander chuckled in disbelief. "Should we call him?"

Harmonia Interregional Airport, Bathrooms - New Tork City, Unova Region

Adrie's phone started humming, as he took in the scene before him. No less than ten black clad men were standing around Elena, and a tall, red robed figure standing before her. Their face was hidden from this angle, but Adrie could see the long white hair dangling from it. In the red figure's hand, was something Adrie recognized immediately, something that sent the cold tingle of fear up his enlightened spine. Spewing eternal flames from its crown, they surrounded the iconic two-headed Ho Oh that marked this man as Malcador. The Sigilite. First Lord of the Imperium, and arguably the second most powerful human psychic on the planet. Right hand to the Imperator of Mankind.

The men around him, Adrie realized, could only be agents of the Assassinorum. He was speaking, as Adrie appeared, in an ancient, gravely voice. "Elena…it's time for you to return…to the fold. Come peacefully…or don't." The head turned slightly, as Adrie and Verstand materialized. Malcador raised his free hand, and two of the Assassinorum turned on Adrie and immediately started shooting. Needle-like projectiles filled with poison that would affect even Adrie's Astartes constitution flew past them by a margin of inches. Both the fairy type and fairy boy dived in opposite directions, and Verstand nodded at his Trainer as they both created fairy energy enhanced versions of Double Team. By this point, the other Assassinorum agents were firing as well.

Adrie and Verstand managed to reach Elena in the confusion though, thanks to the Double Team warping the assassin's perception, and as they did, Verstand Teleported both of them at once, back to the group. "Ja hallo!"

"You're back!" Viggo stammered, "What…what happened!?"

Before Adrie could say more, a massive psychic presence appeared in front of them. Gravity became heavier, and everyone in the group, as well as the people around them, were violently forced to the ground, and held there. Some, were held with more force than others, and it was Adrie and Elena's group that had Malcador's focus.

"We…need the…Emperor…" Viggo grunted.

Jade focused, agreeing, and reached out psychically to the Dragon Emperor. "There's a uhh, massive psychic presence, at the airport. I have a feeling the Imperium has something to do with this."

"Yea, I felt that too." Came Alex's voice, following another bamfing sound. Already armored, eyes flaring a deep bluish purple under the horned dragonbone helmet that shamelessly evoked Skyrim's protagonist, Alex Redwood strode through the increased gravity with ease, looking around as he did so. By the time his eyes came to rest on Malcador, he was frowning. He snapped his fingers, and gravity returned to normal, while people were returned to their feet. Immediately they started to panic, but Alex spoke, and thanks to his Words, everyone heard him.

"Everyone stay calm…we have a danger, in the airport. Report to…somewhere safe. Just, hide."

Viggo stared in disbelief murmuring, "Somewhere safe!?"

The people looked at the source of these words, saw the leader of their country, and then started running in the opposite direction. Some, recognized Malcador as well and sprinted away dropping their luggage even, just to get away from the collateral damage a battle between two psychics on that level would cause. Some ran to the safety rooms the airport had in case of intense storms, or terror events, but many, the majority, ran to their flights, hoping to find safety in leaving, and also for the chance to get where they intended on going.

The Dragon Emperor turned to the group. "I'm going to get you on your flight. Do not do anything."

Viggo nodded. "Yes sir!"

Alex snapped his fingers, and with a bamf, they were gone. In that same moment though, Malcador had summoned his guards back to him, leaving the Dragon Emperor seemingly alone, surrounded, and at Malcador's mercy.

Malcador spoke quietly, with disturbing calm. "Quite a first meeting, this. You're…different than I expected, face to face…but I think perhaps you've gotten stronger." The Gravity increased, focusing on Redwood, but his armor was already on, and its energy was Infinite. Redwood stood strong, and yawned, slowly raising his arm to sell the gesture, as the sheer weight almost became visible. Then, all at once, it was gone. "Strong indeed." Malcador inclined his head.

"Send your murderers home. For the sake of diplomacy, I'm going to assume they're not the squad you people sent to attack Galar." Alex said, as the old man complimented him.

"They aren't." Malcador said so casually, so matter-of-fact, Redwood almost believed him. With another bamf, they disappeared, and Alex sensed their destination had been somewhere in Imperium territory.

By this point, the airport's security finally arrived, barking Arcanine and Lucario in tow. They paused, as they saw or sensed Alex raise a hand towards them. "Stand down, Officers. The Sigilite is not here to cause violence. He's officially a visiting diplomatic guest of the Dragon Empire. Go calm the people, and resume business as usual. Make sure you notify people in the bunkers before you start letting flights leave." About five of them saluted and ran off, while the other ten stayed, Pokémon out, watching intently.

Malcador glared at the officers, and then looked back at Redwood. "Walk with me, Dragon Emperor."

And they did, down one of the many long corridors in the airport. The automatic walkways were currently frozen, so it would take them quite some time to reach the end of it. Malcador continued. "Your intentions with Elena Grimwood. What are they?"

"She's defected from the Imperium as you know, and has since become an important asset to me personally. Her unfortunate history with Shadow Infusion makes her useful to have around when the Shadow's Champion starts creating…multiple flesh horrors with Shadow. She hasn't said anything of note about the Imperium, and after this, I don't think she will."

"Mm. I want to thank you for returning Horus. And allowing Guilliman to participate in your Tournament, even though he arrived too late to place highly, he claims to have had several enjoyable Battles. He also insisted that I inform you; he desires a Battle with you as well, when the Tournament is concluded. He wishes to see which of your Salamence is stronger." Malcador's staff thunked every third word, and the sound continued as Alex pondered his words.

"A son of the Imperator deserves a proper Battle in the World Tournament. If Guilliman is amenable, we may have a…one on one exhibition, on one of the day's openings. I know four years is nothing to immortals…but it would be rude to invite the Imperium to participate, only for your one participant to not have time to grind his way into the top thirty two. I have no doubt he would have, had his undoubtedly busy schedule allowed him to start sooner."

Malcador smirked. This kid was quite smooth with his words, and yet, though it was subtle, he sensed power in his speech. That, he knew, would be of great interest to the Imperator. For eons, He had sought the secrets of Enuncia. The language of Creation. He had, personally, tracked or chased down every hint of those who could use it without ruining their throats, mouths, or minds, and the surest sign of an Enuncia user, was by the Imperator's own account, the subtle power of their words, often mistaken as natural charisma. Malcador's sources had also confirmed the Dragon Emperor's word-based powers, but experiencing it would ensure he did not waste the Imperator's time.

Malcador's mind raced, as they continued to walk. If Redwood had learned to harness the awesome power of the Language of Creation, he had to have learned it from one of his mentors. Immediately, he discounted the Leaf-addled Oranguru in the swamp. That left the Legendary dragons…not least of which was the Original.

"Hmm. That's inconvenient…" Alex muttered, and Malcador followed his gaze.

They saw crowds in the distance, and as they approached the general masses of humanity, Alex Teleported them far, far away from the airport, on the far edge of Undella Bay. Technically, they were right where Long Island began, and the view was impressive. The Empire's navy was historically anchored here, and the proximity to the military base and airport made it an ideal spot to have their navy, protecting the beating heart of the Empire that was Unova. Ahead of them, was the end of an airstrip, naturally, the same one that Alex's squad was on. He was keeping his enemy close, so that if he did try something, he might be able to react fast enough to stop it.

Yet, as they Teleported, and before the Sigilite could even register it, let alone attempt to stop it, his vision was, for a split but entire second of time, filled with a pair of massive, piercing, pupiless golden eyes. As they flashed, his most recent thoughts concerning the Language of Creation were eradicated by, arguably, its most fluent speaker, all without the world's second strongest psychic even noticing. To Alex's eyes, Malcador didn't seem to care about being Teleported. He continued walking as if nothing had happened. His ancient gravelly tone filled the air.

"We will leave Elena Grimwood in your care. She knows nothing your Empire does not, and she seems to have highly oversold her importance in our Imperium. She was a low level scientist that blew up her lab, and her career, by experimenting with Shadow Energy. Keep her." The Sigilite finished, as the reached the end of the strip. Malcador stopped walking, and still holding his blazing staff, stood there, staring at the oncoming plane.

Alex watched him closely, ready to react, but he sensed no malice from the Sigilite. The plane rose into the air on humanity's understanding of physics, and roared over them as it accelerated and climbed to cruising altitudes. Naturally, even Alex didn't try talking while two jet engines roared above them. They both turned to watch the plane, and Alex finally said, "Your intentions with Adrie. What are they?"

Malcador chuckled. "I wasn't entirely convinced he'd lived, until I saw him myself. He's coming along well, for being…unfinished." Malcador knew probably better than anyone else, save the Imperator himself, what fate awaited Astartes candidates that never finished the process. Adrie in particular, being naturally part fairy type, had reacted badly to the steel and mechanical augmentations the process required. But, he'd survived, and that made him worthy enough to be made into a scout. He hadn't been one very long, before he'd made his escape from the Obsidian Keep.

Malcador turned to face Redwood, and he did the same. "Keep the unfinished, short-lived Astartes. Keep the Drachenfel's heir. Hells, you can even keep Cirilla, with your cousin Geralt. It's not going to matter, young Redwood. If the Imperator ever decides you are a threat, you will cease to be one. You, and all the others you've created and given plasma swords."

"I have no reason to be a threat to him, or his Imperium. We're at peace, Malcador. And Muk ," He gestured to the airport, "Is how peace unravels. The next time you decide you want to attempt to recover an asset in my territory, just contact me. You could've had a more civil, not to mention longer conversation had you just treated my government as worth speaking to, instead of subverting it, and bringing along multiple assassins into a Mukking airport."

Malcador was quiet for a long moment, but eventually, he remembered how young Alex was, and resisted the urge to psychically remove his skin before he could blink. "Fine. In the future I will contact you directly…but you had best answer, Redwood. I will not waste my time waiting to speak with the likes of you to make decisions."

The Dragon Emperor's eyes narrowed. "If those decisions affect my people, in any way, you had better speak with me first, Malcador. I'm offering you peace because I know what a war with the Imperium will turn me into. You won't enjoy the measures we take, if things turn hostile. We're not nearly as barbaric, or unarmed, as your Imperium likes to assume. The difference in our power is not insurmountable. Now, respectfully, get the Muk out of my Empire."

Malcador tilted his head downwards, hiding his face, as his aged body heaved with what Alex realized was laughter. It sounded painful, but genuine. Apparently, Alex had managed to make him genuinely laugh. "Until next time…Dragon Emperor." With a bamf, Malcador vanished, and though Alex found he couldn't track where the Sigilite had gone, he hoped the Imperator's right hand had enough sense to return to his business.

"So vait, you're telling me… zat zere is a secret hidden base on ze dark side of ze Moon, and ze Dragon Empire knows about it, but is covering it up from ze public. And you have been zere. For veeks. Studying."

Viggo nodded. "Yup! Zander was there too, for a while but uhh…he was in training. Geralt Redwood is…intense."

Adrie continued, in sheer disbelief, "And you are also telling me zat Doctor Colress of Team Mukking Plasma is running zis operation, zis Pegasus?"

Viggo nodded again, excitedly. "It seems like most of the Scales know about it, and are actively working with them to deal with natural disasters, rampaging Pokémon, and Pokémon Poachers around the world. It's like a global organization nexus hidden where nobody can reach them, coordinating efforts to keep the planet and its inhabitants safe. Technology really is…just incredible. I wish we had more in Norstad."

Adrie just shook his head, opened his Rotom Phone, and subscribed to the conspiracy theorist on Chatter who was, apparently, completely correct. He could tell when people lied, and Viggo was almost too honest. He looked at Elena, once he was done.

"Elena, I have a question fvor you. Umm. Did you ever create a new identity for yourself after fleeing here, or did you use your original name?"

"Umm…my original name…? They already knew it." She said, quietly, still shaken by surviving a face to face encounter with the High Lord of the Imperium. In her culture, Malcador was a myth, a Hero, a human who had lived for ages, and had faithfully served the Imperator through all of them. His psychic might, advanced technology that nobody else had, and willingness to get his hands dirty made him equally feared and worshiped by the Imperium's masses. She didn't say it, but the Sigilite's words had been clear: she would rejoin the Imperium, or she would have an unfortunate 'accident', before she ever helped the Dragon Emperor, or the Imperium's numerous enemies, grow stronger.

And yet…as the plane started moving, she was fine. Her brain didn't melt through her nose, her organs didn't suddenly compress, her mind remained intact, and unharmed. She agreed absently with Adrie as he rambled on in that high speed accented tone, and then started arguing with the group over who could Teleport people to safety in a combat situation . Adrie had learned fairly quickly, as Teleport was part of his fighting style, but Jade had yet to understand the connections between all people. He knew enough to open his chakra, but actually connecting to more than two people, psychically, and then Teleporting them all through space, intact and unharmed, was still beyond him.

Jade was in a window seat, and was looking out of it as the plane began moving. Though he had to press his face into the window, he did manage to see two figures standing at the end of their runway strip. They looked suspiciously like Malcador, and the Dragon Emperor. He stayed quiet as Adrie kept rambling, and mentally contacted Alex.

Alex answered, promptly. "Everythings fine. Just a slight…misunderstanding, and some miscommunication. Everything is good now. Umm….keep Elena in line…"

"Noted." Jade answered.

Alex continued. "I've managed to convince the assassins not to assassinate her, so, that's something. Apparently there's nothing she knows about the Imperium that we don't already know anyway, so…her being here doesn't seem to be an issue. But yea. Probably best to keep a low profile for a while. Good luck."

Several hours later, their plane finally landed, and as the group left the airport in Auraria City, Utado to find nobody waiting for them. As they entered the city proper, very quickly, Zander in his military Ranger outfit, Adrie in his vibrant femboy pink, and Jade were all standing out pretty obviously in the more generic looking crowds of the Empire's heartland.

Adrie attempted to disguise them as blonde haired, tanned, blue eyed Arceans, but only Zander's disguise was passable, as at a distance he could pass as an Arcean Security Force member. Jade's classic handsome looks and Germanian height made him tower over most of the people around them.

Finally, Adrie spotted a familiar sight, a safe haven in this city of dirty looks and Arcean prejudice: Fire Topic. "If anyone can help us vith zis...stealth mission, it iz Fire Topic." With that, he dragged Zander and Jade right into the store, and the rest of the group followed. Zander immediately found a shirt depicting Giratina using Shadow Claw on a white Arceus, and decided to buy it, though after thinking it over, he chose not to wear it, given where they were going.

Elena decided on a lowkey outfit that matched her Haunter, and stowed her lab coat for the mission, while Adrie interfaced with the bored female teenaged clerk who very easily pegged them as being from out of town. Viggo also removed their black lab coat acquired from Pegasus, leaving them in a dress shirt and turtleneck, which fit in perfectly with the local style.

About ten minutes into crafting outfits that bordered on stylish but also subtle, another man walked into the store. He was well dressed in a white suit with light gold and blue accents, tall, thinly built, pale, with platinum blonde hair and a knowing smirk that only grew as he spotted Adrie. Adrie looked up, sensing someone like him, naturally inclined to fairy energy, and turned to examine the newcomer. Then decided to walk up to him, projecting 'I work here' energy. "Oh, Hallo, do you need anything?"

The blonde man didn't seem to buy his vibes. "Oh, y'know, I'm just shopping like all of you. It is interesting seeing someone like you here, though."

Adrie smirked. "Ze feeling is mutual, ja?"

"Ja." The man responded with a smirk. The two 'mmmed' and nodded for an awkward beat before the stranger said, "Tell me…what's your favorite kind of tree?"

Adrie stared at the man for a moment. The Dragon Emperor hadn't said they were supposed to meet anyone, but then, it'd be weird if they had nobody around in the city to help them out in case the Muk hit the Fan Rotom. "I vould say…Redvood trees are…quite nice, ja. Very tall. Sturdy."

The man nodded. "I see. Come with me, if you would. I want to…discuss something." By this point, Adrie sensed a barrier of 'fairy BS' obscuring his group from noticing the man, or indeed himself, and where they were going. They stopped in the empty back area of the Fire Topic, full of changing rooms. Picking one they could chat in comfortably, he drew the curtain, and looked at Adrie. "I…have a feeling you're all here on a Mission."

Adrie shrugged. "Ve might be."

The man nodded. "I'm…friends is a strong term…I'm acquainted with your…Employer. He told me a group might be coming through this area…looking rather conspicuous, and Lo, he was right."

Adrie shrugged. "Vell, zat is vy ve are here."

The two chuckled, and Adrie relaxed some. There were no lies being spoken here, of that much he was fairly certain. The man continued. "He asked a favor of me, which I just love, I love having Emperors in my favor, anyway, he asked me to teach you something that he can't teach you, a…Perception filter…trick. One that we…Fairy boys are pretty good at doing."

Adrie manifested a can of Monster Energy (of which he was an affiliate) out of thin air, and took a sip. The man nodded. "Not bad, not…wait, I knew I recognized you! You're that…oh what do they call them these days…Influencer? The one sponsored by Monster. I knew I recognized that face. Anyways. What I can do is on a much larger scale, for multiple people. I call it…Passing Without A Trace…in Style."

He then proceeded to show Adrie how to apply illusions to others, not just himself and objects, while simultaneously maintaining a perception filter. Adrie, naturally, picked it up quickly, and with his favor procured, the man who'd finally introduced himself only as Percy vanished in a puff of pink smoke and sparkles.

Adrie then proceeded to change himself into the ideal Arcean, with the classically handsome jawline as well. He almost looked too perfect, but his new outfit of a gray sweatshirt and baggy sweatpants, like a jogger in winter, detracted from his aesthetically pleasing visage. Elena hid her feminine features, and Jade and Zander both decided to buy the only two long black trenchcoats in the store. They were a bit edgy for standard Arcean attire, but at a distance, and with some fairy magic, they were able to pass as believable security.

With their disguises finally handled, they started looking around the city for entrances to their target, the supposedly secret underground city where the Arceans were residing. Their main objective was to determine if they were still a threat to the Empire, though Alex had made it clear that they'd be broken up either way. Sedition would not be tolerated, and he would not allow their evil to spread again.

Viggo and Jade took to the skies on their Charizard and Altaria respectively, while Adrie had Ribbons and Panzer, his Sylveon and Carbink, scouting for large underground man-made areas, and minds inhabiting said areas. Panzer was quite distracted however, as most of the locals had never seen a Carbink before, and the littles they passed on the street were instantly smitten by his innate fairy cuteness. Panzer seemed quite happy with the attention.

Eventually, they spotted what looked like a subway tunnel entrance conspicuously flanked by two large, muscular men dressed in black, with black glasses, and full belts of Pokémon. Upon finding this and assuming it was what they were looking for, the group rendezvoused nearby. With Adrie promising to help him with what to say psychically, Zander was nominated to approach the conspicuous guards. He himself had been altered with fairy energy to resemble the Arcean's security forces, and thankfully Fire Topic had the required sunglasses to complete the look.

"What business do you have here, boy?" One of them asked, once Zander was close enough.

"I'm heading down." Zander said simply.

The fair skinned guard shared a look with his darker toned compatriot, and looked back at Zander. "Identification."

Zander flinched, and realizing he was deep in the Muk already, and before Jade could stop him, Adrie strolled out of hiding, and joined him. "What's taking so long? We should be in by now. Are you slow?"

Zander rolled with the abrupt change in plan. "Uhh, sorry sir, I uhh…forgot my ID."

Adrie, and both guards spoke simultaneously. "You forgot it?"

Zander just shrugged and looked at Adrie. "Do…You have it?"

Fate smiled upon Adrie, as he pulled out several pieces of paper, blank paper, and made them look convincingly like IDs with his fairy tricks. "You need to stop giving that to people, even people on your team." He tutted, and then addressed the guards in his near perfect Dragon Empire accent. "I have several other people in my party, they'll be coming down with me."

The two guards nodded, completely fooled by the illusions at work. "Very good, sir."

The team descended into the tunnel, finding themselves on a subway platform, with no clear indication of where to go. Viggo murmured to their possessed phone, Mimir, once they were out of earshot. "I want you subtly peeking out of my sleeve to take pictures as we go. Don't get spotted." The Rotom winked in acknowledgement, grinning as they went full stealth mode. "Now, scan the room!" Mimir did so, but found nothing.

"Panzer. Find ze vay." Adrie ordered. His Carbink appeared in a flash, and slammed into the concrete of the subway platform, leaving a large, obvious dent. Jade facepalmed. Panzer leapt up then, and excitedly pointed down the subway's tracks. Instead of leading to more tracks, it led to a stone chamber of sorts, barred by a door and guarded by a bored receptionist, who looked up in surprise as the entire group walked into their space. From behind the out of place desk, the blonde haired, blue eyed, tan suit wearing receptionist, Kaleb judging by his nametag, spoke.

"Ahh. New…people? What can I do for you gentlemen…?" He said peering closer at Elena, who turned away and started scrolling on her Rotom Phone. The group exchanged silent looks, as nobody said anything, then, finally, Adrie said, "Our mission is complete. We're heading back into the city."

Kaleb's blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Mission? What mission? Sir, I've never seen you or any of these people before, and I have a list of all the missions we're currently doing…" He started reaching for something under the desk, and that, was when Adrie decided to punch him. In the face. Or tried to, anyway. Kaleb, expecting something, dodged backwards, and then hammered a button under his desk. Alarm sirens started blaring.

Viggo jumped forward with their Oddish, but Caleb was ready with his Golduck. "Gary! Use Ice Beam!" As the blue feathered duck Pokémon manifested, it launched the attack at the Oddish, even as his sly, intelligent eyes looked around its new surroundings, trying to place where he currently was. Oddish noped away from the beam of icy death, and fired off a Sleep Powder at its Trainer's command. For a moment it seemed like the pale blue cloud of spores would land, but the Golduck simply narrowed his eyes at it and sprayed it with water, neutralizing the attack.

"Anyone wanna back me up!?" Viggo shouted, grimacing. They hadn't even gotten a special training session with the psychic world leader, but Jade had only a single word response.

"Zis situation vould benefit from a large Dragon." Adrie said, grinning deviously, as his contribution would be the finale of this SNAFU.

"Right." Jade said, as he started panic-fumbling for a Pokéball.

Zander's contribution was to raise his Styler at the Golduck. He didn't know if it would work on a Pokémon that wasn't wild, but if they could safely subdue the Golduck, they could handle the receptionist and go from there. He aimed, took his stance, and fired, but the shot went wide, and the beyblade shaped projectile bounced off a rocky wall, scattering uselessly back down the tunnel they'd come from. Zander swore, and recalled the Styler.

As the Golduck and its Trainer dodged the projectile, Adrie saw his chance, and leaped, dropping the illusion as he focused on the presentation that would, in his mind, pit the Imperium against the Arceans. He appeared in full Imperium Militarum officer garb, complete with the shoulder cape he'd taken from the corpse of the Librarian that had trained him. "ZE IMPERIUM SENDS ZERE REGARDZ!" He brought out his Imperium crafted and modified Genesect, who he'd liberated when he escaped and had since spent quite a lot of time training, and the modified war bug unleashed a Thunder Wave against Caleb and his partner. They fell to the ground, completely immobilized but still conscious.

The sound of heavy boots filled the room from the opposite side of the only other exit. Adrie and Jade pushed everyone up against the wall behind the desk. Zander's Zoroark took on the appearance of the secretary, and as the fairy boy explained his plan to his teammates, of making their enemies think the Imperium was behind this incident, he realized Caleb was still conscious. Viggo ordered Oddish to hit them with Sleep Powder, but Those Guys then learned that only one status could be applied at a time to a target. Mixing Sleep and Stun Powder was a common tactic, but those hit by it either became paralysed or fell asleep, not both.

Still pinching his brow, Jade said, "Zander, your Zoroark can speak Common, right?"

Zander looked at his partner, now an Arcean secretary, who shrugged, and in Caleb's voice said, "Zoroark?" Zander nodded, and turned to Jade. "No, we uhh…couldn't afford those training classes. And that's not something every Zoroark can do."

"Just…just recall him." Jade said, and Zander did so. "Adrie, can you use your Fairy BS to alter Caleb's memories slightly?"

Adrie frowned. "Zat's more…Psychic…but ja, I could do it vithout harming him. A slight change should be fvine." Both he and Jade had both had the importance of not psychically messing with people's minds drilled into them by the Original Dragon, and his Tamer, but this was essentially the equivalent of a mind trick, a genuinely harmless redirection and muddling of specific events. The fairy boy was sweating as he very slowly and precisely used his power to alter Caleb, but it didn't take long to accomplish.

Ten similarly muscular guards like the two out front came charging into the cavern to find Caleb and his Golduck in total paralysis on the ground, unable to move even their eyes, thanks to Genesect's power.

"What the Muk is going on here?"

"Hey, look, it's Caleb! Get'im!"

They swarmed around Caleb, balls still at the ready, as Adrie and Those Guys slowly Passed Without A Trace, In Style through the now open door, and into the tunnel beyond. Behind them, Adrie tried not to chuckle as they heard, loudly, Caleb saying, "I don't know, they all had…Germanian accents, and one of them was like 'The Imperium sends their regards!'"

"What? The Imperium? Out here? Not the Dragon Empire?"

"Nope, they said Imperium." Caleb continued convincingly. Silently, without anyone noticing, via a trick similar to what Adrie had used, Caleb's Golduck slowly crawled after Those Guys, clinging to the rocky ceiling as they entered Subterra proper.

It was a city of prefab housing, typically used for exploring dangerous or remote areas, like Paldea's Area Zero. Someone had decided to make a city out of them, and hanging above all them, right in the center for all to see, was the Arcean's symbol, the dharmachakra typically associated with Arceus, over an iron cross. Several of the prefab units had been stacked on top of each other, while others were just larger models, and had yards, or offices. One building stood out from among the others though, painfully obvious in how different it was.

Capped by a half circle glass windowed top, tinted purple, the top of the building read: Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. The building could've been a normal skyscraper shape, if not for the chunk that seemed carved out of it, and what was apparently a balcony or landing pad of some sort jutting from the building's left side.

"Vell? Mission accomplished." Adrie said, gesturing at the giant, obvious symbol. Viggo's Mimir snapped a pic, after taking a panoramic shot of the entire 'city' by slowly rotating.

"We need to find all the other exits." Jade said, "The one we used is occupied, and we'll have a better chance of leaving unnoticed through a different one. We're going to sneak along the perimeter, slowly, quietly, and scope out where each exit lets out. That way the Emperor can send in the Scales from multiple directions, all at once."

As they reached the first alternate and very obvious exit from the city, they remained undetected, but also noted that almost no one was going out to the world above. There were maybe one or two people every few minutes using an exit, and they were always dressed like higher ranked Arceans. After a brief discussion, Adrie hid the group in Hallucinatory Terrain, a move of his own creation, which had helped him with his totally legitimate and not at all illegal selling and cutting of his own natural fairy dust, mixed with berries, and Monster Energy. The potent, stimulating caffeine based concoction had become quite popular at BBA.

As he quietly slipped past the secretary for this entrance, he went unnoticed, though there was a moment when she looked up, as he had to open the door. He'd rolled away past her, and despite looking around, she sat back down soon after muttering, "Must've been the wind."

Adrie continued completely unnoticed up to the exit itself, this one having no obvious guards present. He focused on hiding his Rotom Phone from people's perception, and then sent it skyward to take a three hundred and sixty degree shot of the area around the exit. Then, after retreating back into the apparently long abandoned or unused subway tunnel, he Teleported back to the group and shared the data with Viggo.

They repeated this two more times.

On their sweep of the perimeter, they noticed a tunnel heading even deeper under the city in what seemed to be the central plaza for foot traffic in the city, guarded by four men with the exact same absurdly muscular build as the others, guarding the entrance with their Pokémon out.

A Rhydon, Seismitoad, a Malamar, and a Grimmsnarl stood sentinel with them, and the group agreed going near them, even in disguise, was a bad idea. The Malamar, despite being a psychic, was just openly out, and in its Mega Form, hissing at anyone that passed by too close to it. It seemed in pain, eager for a fight, and while they all empathized with the poor squid, there was a solid chance it was enjoying this lifestyle, if not perhaps the Shadow Infusion.

The others were similarly infused with Shadow, and actively trying to resist going berserk in the middle of the city.

With the sweep done, the group decided to spread out among the people of the city, and after a solid hour of talking with them, the group reconvened, and agreed…these were just people. Deeply, deeply stupid people, who believed that Emperor Redwood was infringing on their right to worship Arceus, which was something he was not doing. The Empire had drawn a clear line between worship, and sedition, but naturally all remaining Arcean houses of worship in the Empire were monitored. So far, none in this new sect had deviated from teaching the tenets of their faith deemed non-seditious by a council of Arcean clergy and Imperial Scales.

Looking around at all the Pokémon, for there were many out and about, they seemed downcast, frowning, and generally unhappy. There also seemed to be very few that didn't have a Trainer. What had become very apparent to each of them, was the almost desperate propaganda regularly playing on every other street corner. They had to pause in their talking, as a very loud advert started playing behind them.

"Your Church needs your donations now, more than ever. The Dragon Empire has devastated Fornia's land…" An image of Redwood himself, Earthquaking away through the Great Mohave Desert played across the screen, and then a satellite image followed, one that had gone viral thanks to Arc News, showing the initial 'damage' from the Earthquakes. " today, so that the Arceans of tomorrow will be able to live in a world free of the control of Psy-" and it was there that the ad had been shoddily edited, "the Dragon Empire. Plant your seed of Faith and hope today."

Despite initial concerns in only a short time since the terraforming, Fornia's Pokémon population was exploding, and with them, the land's health. It was being globally recognized as one of the fastest natural recoveries in recorded history. Down here of course, people didn't have that information.

While the others chatted, Viggo slipped off towards one of three churches within stone throwing distance of each other, eager to question one of the more zealous Arceans. The one they found had a…greasy, untrustworthy vibe to them, a natural ick, and yet, they seemed to be a priest of some sort. The blonde haired and green eyed balding man was dressed the part, and had enough charisma to succeed at his profession. Viggo quietly hoped he wasn't one of the ones that had gone after kids, though given where they currently were, the odds were not good.

"Of course I can answer your questions, my child, in the name of the Alpha, for I am his humble messenger on this good Earth. Ask away."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Viggo, still in disguise, said, "I…have unfortunately misplaced my book of scriptures, and I'm freaking out a little bit, and I was wondering if I could borrow one of yours."

"Worry not, my child." The priest said, putting a hand on Viggo's shoulder, as he gestured out at the pews. "There are books all over, and the Word of the Alpha is, of course, free."

Viggo just tried not to react, or to wonder why he smelled faintly of baby oil. "I also misplaced my Work & Prayer Schedule, you see, cause I was using it as a bookmark-"

The priest pulled his hand back. "You…used our Church's holy text to hold your work schedule?"

Viggo panicked slightly, but managed to recover. "Yes, well, you see, I read it so much, and using my schedule as the bookmark helps me make sure I don't miss any work tasks…or Masses."

"I understand. I'll have one of the acolytes fetch a fresh one for you, that you can fill in with your current work tasks. Go in peace, my child." And he placed his gross hand on them again, as he intoned Arceus for a genuine Arcean blessing. As Viggo watched the acolyte in question though, a young boy with blonde hair and dark circles under his blue eyes, they struggled not to vomit, and focused on the mission. The Empire was coming. Rescue and freedom from this…was imminent. All Viggo had to do was get the information to the Emperor, and the Scales would make sure whatever this man was doing, if anything, was stopped.

Viggo left casually while quietly hating that they had to just leave, but the priest didn't seem to notice their discomfort. They headed towards Zander, who had apparently also wandered away from the group. Adrie kept insisting, mentally, that they should leave, but Zander smelled food, and for the price of enduring Arcean fake kindness for a solid thirty seconds, he was given a free meal in what seemed to be some sort of public mess hall.

As he was wished a blessed day in the name of the Alpha, Zander found himself looking for a place to it, and thanks to his disguise as one of the Security Force, very few people even made eye contact with him. It had also made gathering information rather difficult.

Not long after he began eating, Zander was joined by a tired looking man in a lab coat. His hair was spiky and red, his eyes had bags under them, but he seemed to radiate an aura of inherent nerdy goofiness. Zander's eyes widened, as he realized the intel potential of a still-employed Arcean scientist. This opportunity was too good to ignore. Psychically, he pinged the group. Adrie immediately decided to head for Zander, not waiting for Jade's orders.

"Hello there." Zander said, "What's your name?"

The old man looked up, realized someone else was sitting at his table, and grinned. "I am…DOCTOR PROFESSOR HEINZ DOOFENSHMIRTZ! THE GREATEST INVENTOR…IN THE TRI-REGION AREA!" He chuckled, and started eating his meal. "WHO ARE YOU, MY NEW LUNCH FRIEND!?"

"David Grayson." Zander answered with no hesitation, as he tried not to react to all the glances his way from the Doctor Professor's rather loud pronouncement. Most seemed to ignore it, and it seemed was probably a regular occurrence from Doofenshmirtz. "Do you mind speaking quieter?"

"UNFORTUNATELY, I CAN'T. I WAS WORKING ON MY…ON AN IMPORTANT PROJECT, AND THE VOICE AMPLIFICATIONATOR WAS SITTING BESIDE THE SANDWICH MY DAUGHTER VANESSA GAVE ME, ANYWAY, AS YOU CAN SEE, I HAVE SWALLOWED MY VOICE AMPLIFICATIONATOR, BUT I'M SURE IT WILL RUN OUT OF BATTERIES SOON. PROBABLY. NOW BEHOLD! MY ENLARGINATOR!" And with a flourish the mad scientist brought out what seemed at first like a firearm, but the projectile it emitted was electrical in nature, and as he pointed it at Zander's pudding cup, it quadrupled in size, and pudding. "WITH THIS, WORLD HUNGER WILL ACTUALLY BE SOLVED, AND WE CAN ALL STOP PRETENDING WE LIKE DRAGON BURGERS! NOTE TO SELF, MAKE A SHRINKINATOR."

"I see." Zander answered, thrilled at having more pudding. "What other 'inators' have you invented?"

The Doof sighed, heavily. "WELL…THEY'VE ALL MOSTLY BEEN DESTROYED, BY THAT CURSED GARY THE GOLDUCK! HE'S A SECRET AGENT OF THE DRAGON EMPIRE, LIVING AMONGST US! I KNOW YOU ARE OUT THERE, GARYYY!!!" As Doctor Professor Heinz Doofenshmirtz shouted into the aether, and Gary the Golduck compressed his semi-aquatic body to better hide in the rafters of the mess hall, the Voice Amplificationator finally ran out of batteries.

"You know, I have not seen either of your faces around here before. You must be part of that…new group, they were bringing in. I wonder who is supposed to educate…vell, I guess that's me, I'm here." By this point, the rest of the group, not so subtly tailing Adrie, arrived at the mess hall, and within moments were blending in. "Once we are done here, we will begin the tour of…The Tri-Region Area! Also known as Subterra, but I lobbied hard for The Tri-Region Area! It just sounds better, ya?"

The group nodded in agreement, and seemed to be immediate fans of the Doctor Professor. Adrie spoke first, as they finished their lunch with companionable silence and nothing but the sound of good noms, and occasionally the Food Enlarginator being fired. Once they were on the streets again, the tour began. Adrie spoke first, because of course he did. "So, Doctor Doo-"

"Doctor Professor Doofenshmirtz to you, newbie." The Doctor Professor interjected.

"Doctor Professor." Adrie corrected. "I was wondering, what made you decide to join the Church, and their science division?"

Doofenshmirtz glanced around, before ducking into a spacious alleyway that didn't connect to any hab entrances, and thus was unused. "Well, uh, you know the Church, they uhh, raise us, recruit us, and- I didn't have a choice." He said, flatly, looking at the ground. The group quietly empathized as the Doof sighed, heavy with the weight of the sheer genuine evil he'd been forced to inflict on innocent Pokémon, but then met Adrie's gaze again, after composing himself. "But, I like it here. It has kept us safe… The work is…work. But the commute is very manageable, and we get free dental coverage." He chuckled humorlessly, as he stared into the middle distance and his expression became neutral. He'd definitely seen some things, and given that the Arceans typically infused Shadow into Eggs to make perfect Shadow Pokémon, that was likely part of what weighed on his conscience.

He seemed like a man who preferred inventing to whatever his actual job here was supposed to be. He also seemed to have a 'quiet quitter' vibe, which would make sense given he was apparently certified, intelligent, and smart enough to know the Arcean Church, or at least the Subterran sect of it, was not long for continued existence. Naturally, the Doof had figured out how to fake his logged work hours ages ago, and they couldn't really be argued against, as he rarely left Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc.

Eventually, the tour concluded after a depressing showing of the rather cramped conditions and absurdly long work hours the Church required of the people who had willingly come to live in Subterra. Doofenshmirtz led them to the large building they'd seen on their arrival, and as they entered the front entryway, they were greeted to black panel flooring, and an interior deco style that suggested the Arceans didn't really have the materials or knowledge to properly make tall buildings underground. The walls were rusting sheet metal, and the lighting was poor, but functional, even if it regularly flickered. The reception desk was three poorly made slabs of wood, and had no chair.

The Doof turned to the party. "Welcome, to-" "Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated!" A jingle interrupted him, playing automatically as they entered what appeared to be some sort of computer room/laboratory. "Norm! Nooooorm!" The Doctor Professor started shouting, randomly. A giant robot shaped and painted to resemble a man in an Arcean suit came stomping into the room. "Greetings. Guests. I am Norm. Initiating Guest Protocol. Would you like. Some refreshments?" His right hand turned into a tray, and offered tiny cardboard cups of scalding dark tea, and lumpy, but chocolate covered and clearly homemade cookies. Viggo took a cookie with zero hesitation, and Elena did the same a moment later.

"So. This is my home. This is where I live, and where the tour ends. Welcome to Subterra. Remember to tip your tour guide." He said, eyeing the group for a long moment. There was something almost too perfect about them.

Jade spoke up then. "Doctor Professor, is there anything new you've been working on lately?"

"I can't show you my official work, but I do have…the Tomato Cruishinator 2000! It takes Tomato Berries, and crushes them down into…a kind of goo. Then, I add a small amount of sugar, and suddenly, even those disgusting Dragon Burgers everyone seems to be choking down become palatable. Mildly."

Jade stared at him, deadpan. "Sir…that's…that's just Ketchup. It's already been invented."

Undeterred, the Doof continued on to the next closest invention. The Thread Weavinator. Which was just a loom. Most of his inventions already existed, though they did to his credit seem hand built, they weren't exactly innovations, and the ones that were, were largely useless. After twenty examples of things that typically already existed in modern societies, the Doof said, proudly, "I think that's enough of a tour of my secret personal laboratory. Well, new arrivals, this was fun. Where are you staying? It would be nice to hang out again."

Adrie stepped forward. "Well…I would like to ask a question of you." He looked around the rusty lab. "Is this location secure?"

The Doof chuckled, and nodded. "Oh, so secure. I have the Location Securinator on the job. And if anyone gets in…" He held up what looked like an off-brand handmade Pokéball, "I have the Pocket Space Encapsulinator ready to go! Works on Pokémon, and enemies, especially Pokémon enemies. LIKE THAT MUKKING GARY THE GOLDUCK!" Doof started shouting at the ceiling. "I KNOW YOU ARE HERE, GARY! I VILL FIIIND YOOOUU!"

In the background Jade muttered, "That's…literally just a Pokéball…" Frustrated, Jade leaned into the intelligent Arcean but with a streak of Edge vibe he'd gone for with his disguise, and the Doof blinked, startled, as he said, "Do you have anything that you're most proud of? Surely this can't be it. Doctor Professor, I know you're not an idiot, I know you know that Ketchup already exists. There was some in the Mess Hall!"

Adrie picked up what their 'leader' was putting down. "Yea…if this is all there is 'round here, we might as well leave. Who knows if we'll be coming back." Norm and the Doctor Professor shared a look. The Doctor Professor had discovered cooking as his secondary passion hobby, and somebody had to eat the baked goods, because Vanessa had stopped completely, and the Doctor Professor's medical officer had warned that he was gaining too much weight. The Food Enlarginator hadn't helped with that either.

The Doof took a deep breath, and spoke with a tinge of seriousness in his tone. These 'new arrivals' were also quite intelligent, which meant there was a greater than fifty percent chance they were spies. "If you are that interested, there is one more invention I have made that uses the…dimensional engineering found in my Pocket Space Encapsulinator. It doesn't have a name yet, but it's…like its own relative dimension in Time and Space…let me just show you. Nooorm!" The giant robot came stomping over. "Push the button, and send us to…the Secret Basement!"

Norm pushed a button, and a trapdoor opened under him, sending him into a hole in the floor. "Error. Wrong button. Apologies. Doctor Professor." His giant arm reached up and hit the right button, sending the group down, as Norm climbed free of the booby trap.

The Secret Lab was even messier than the one up top, white sheets covered most of the half finished madness the Doctor Professor had created and someone had written, in chalk, 'Remember to take breaks!' on a piece of wall that seemed to have been ripped out and moved, probably by Norm. In the center of this chaos was a large monocolored metallic blue box, with rounded edges. "Behold! My Magnum Opus! The to-be-named-inator that, when finished, will be able to traverse the very Vortex of Time itself! Take a look, new friends, let me know what you think." The Doctor Professor crossed his arms and stood before the open door.

Viggo naturally ran in first, then back out, then in again as they looked at the dimensions. "It's…wow, it's bigger on the inside! Doctor Professor, could I get the schematics for this?"

The Doctor Professor gave them a look of disbelief. "Can you have the schema…" Doof trailed off and burst into brief, fake laughter before shouting, "Nein! This is MY Magnum Opus. I am…using this device to get myself and my daughter out of this place. Don't…spread that around, but, yes. That is its purpose."

"I believe we have a way out for you." Adrie started, quietly, yet somehow gained the entire room's attention. Apparently, it was time to let Doof in on the secret, and offer a place to run to. "If I'm being honest with you, we were never the new arrivals. We're here on a reconnaissance mission."

Doofenshmirtz's eyes widened slowly. "Reconnaissance for whom?"

Adrie bluffed. "That's currently classified information, I can't tell you tha-"

Doof cut him off. "So the Dragon Emperor." Adrie kept his face impassive, while Elena and Viggo tried not to giggle in the background. "Who the Muk else would send you here? The Imperium? I'm not an idiot."

Adrie continued, undeterred. "Honestly, Doctor Professor. The things you have managed to recreate down here away from others and modern science…imagine what you could do as part of the nation's Science Corp. Genius like yours is wasted on perverting Pokémon Eggs."

"Why would I waste my life working for mister Brain Melty Glowy Eyes?" Doofenshmirtz replied. "I am taking my daughter to a better time zone, one that properly worships the Alpha Pokémon." He started to go off then, and the group stared as they saw the results of indoctrination in real time.

"Besides, your entire government is controlled by Malamar, and who the Muk knows what else. Psychic Types rule your entire society. Why would we ever stay there, under the rule of some mind-controlled Raltspawn when we have all of Time and Space open to us? Besides, I have funding here, this can be a place to fall back on, if I need it. I'll just say some experiment gone wrong made me unavailable or something, I don't know if you've noticed, but there aren't a lot of Scientists here. They were all blown up by a Groudon, or in Ein's case, incinerated by Ho Oh, under the command of your Dragon Emperor's evil Psychic powers! They'll take me back, they're that desperate."

"Aren't these the people that stole you away?" Adrie asked.

"Stolen away…given everything I asked for…secured a future for my daughter…that's more than you're offering. We won't be slaves to Psychic mind control! How would you even transport us, and all my inventions? We're surrounded by the finest Arcean security, or what's left of it."

"Ve have our vays." Adrie said, dropping the fake accent, and surprising the Doof once more. "Listen. Ze Imperium will vant this machine. Badly. Ze Imperator vill stop at nothing, once he learns of it-" Adrie paused, and suddenly seemed to space out.

The Doof, nor anyone else, didn't seem to notice. "I doubt the Imperator even knows of my inventions, and even if he did, it's not his Mukking business! By the time the likes of him learns what I've made, we will be Gone. Probably forever."

In Adrie's head, two words thundered, impossible to be ignored. There was only one speaker they could've come from.

He didn't have to ask who was speaking, every Imperium citizen had heard the Imperator's voice before. There was no mistaking it, nor replicating it. His intent in this moment, seemed to be to speak to Doofenshmirtz directly. Through Adrie, and whatever connection they shared. Adrie's eyes narrowed though.

The Imperator did not ask for permission, and from what he had been taught, and seen, his brain would be turned to goo for even contemplating denying the Imperator's will. Despite this, in his head, he said, "Nein! Absolutely not!"

The massively powerful presence faded as quickly as it had appeared, with an air of disappointment, and Adrie was left shaken.

"You good?" Viggo asked quietly.

Adrie sighed heavily. "So…Unfortunately, Doctor Professor, the Imperator does know…about your machine."

Doofenshmirtz waved a hand. "Impossible. We're very secure down here. The heart of a hidden, heavily fortified city that nobody, until I guess today, was able to confirm existed. That is your mission, ya?" The group shared an uncomfortable glance.

Adrie shook his head. "You don't understand…I vonce…lived in the Imperium. I vas trained to be an Astartes, a Librarian, specifically. Through…vatever connection I have vith ze Imperator, he now knows…of your Time…Vortex…Traversinator..."

"...Not bad. And not surprising!" Doofenshmirtz said, as he peered at Adrie. "You know, you do have that Imperium jawline…you do know how they make Astartes, yes? It's not surprising the Imperator can connect to you. Judging by your body, you survived the Gene Seed. That's your connection right there. All Astartes have a piece of the Imperator's genes within them. Specifically his sons…which makes me wonder, they didn't tell you who your gene sire was, did they?"

Adrie grimaced. "Zey did not."

Doofenshmirtz smirked at him. "With that accent, I would say…Fulgrim. Definitely. You have that…dramatic flair of the Phoenician." The group just stared at him. "What? I keep track of the Imperators sons. It's good to know what super powerful super beings are doing, at any given point in time."

"You seem to…know…a lot about zis…" Adrie started, turning on the fairy boy charm. "Ze Empire's best Professors told me zat these modifications will kill me, in time, because I am of the Fae. Mein body is naturally Fairy Typed, and all the steel and genetic engineering is reacting poorly. Even vith…my training, I vill likely not live very long."

Doofenshmirtz nodded, suddenly quite serious. "I am aware. Many Astartes candidates do not survive the surgeries."

Adrie stared at him with the eyes of a teenager who'd seen too many dead bodies in his time. "Zey do not. Please. Come vith us. Ve can get you a lab, und funding-"

"Ya, from your imperial Unovan government controlled by the Psychic mafia!" Doofenshmirtz started up again.

Viggo chimed in as well. "Doctor Professor, please, you seem to know about this…Gene Seed. For my friend's sake. Please. Come with us."

"I am an EngD, a Doctor of machines. I do not know the biological sciences, and what little I do know…I am unfortunately able to do because I am the only one who can operate the machine properly, anymore. And keep it functioning. I do not know about Gene Seed, all I know is they take a piece of the Emperor, specifically his sons, and put it in their Astartes. I do not know how, I do not know the long term ramifications, though clearly they are quite bad, if not completed."

Adrie tried again. "Look, if you…come vith us…"

"And join your Psychic cult!" Doofenshmirtz interjected.

"You wouldn't necessarily have to join…" Viggo tried.

The Doof whirled on them. "I would join whether I wanted to or not! It's not a choice! They control everything you do, the very thoughts you think!"

Adrie tried again, determined to win the power of Doof's brain to their side. "What if you built some kind of…helmet, to protect you from Psychic control?"

The Doof smirked at the disguised Imperial spy. "Oh, I already have the Psychic Foilinator already!" And he scurried over to a nearby workbench, and lifted up a literal hat made of tinfoil, complete with radio frequency sensing antennae. "It detects Psychic wavelengths, and shields me from their Evil!" He focused on Adrie, then. "I do not think this would hold up to your Dragon Emperor. I do not know what he did to achieve that power…but it is unnatural. And wrong. I am not comfortable serving such a man."

Viggo tried again, stifling the quiet rage at the reality of the kind of people he Did serve. Willingly. For years. "You don't have to serve him."

"But I will, if I run away with you." Doof countered. "He will take one look at my life's work, and say 'that's Property of the Unovan Government now'. That's what Emperors do. They take."

Viggo countered back. "Look, the Emperor is quite distracted right now, we can get you in without ever being near him."

The Doof nodded. "Ahh yes, the World Tournament. You know, he did alright in that, I saw his match. It was a good Battle, I'll give him that." In reality, it had been pure catharsis to see Gary Oak absolutely thrashed by his own team composition in varied and exciting ways. Cathartic enough to ignore who the opposing Trainer was entirely.

Adrie joined in again, "You do not even have to be anyvhere near him. I vill pull some strings, und set you up far avay from any…Imperial entanglements."

The aged Doctor Professor looked at Adrie's disguise, a young ideal Arcean, with disbelief. "I do not believe you have that power, my friend. You are a Spy. He is an Emperor. He will take all that I have, and then his Psychic Overlords will take all that I am!"

Jade and Zander just quietly facepalmed in the background and tried not to laugh, respectively. Viggo continued. "Doctor Professor, we're technically separate from the Imperial government."

"Ohh ya, separate. Tell me then, who was it who sent you here?"

Viggo stumbled, on that one, as Doof had them there. "So…so, you know how like, private building contractors can…take jobs from companies? They're still separate though-"

"You're dodging my question, and not very well. Minus points. Say. The. Name. Of. Your. Employer." The Doof insisted.

Adrie chimed in, as Viggo struggled, utterly defeated. "Your employer, when he had a head, used a Gallade on his team."

"Which he infused with Shadow, as an Egg." Doofenshmirtz countered. "That is how he controls the Psychic powers, and, Gallade is not the strongest of the Psychic Types. Malamar. Alakazam. Metagross. The greatest of these control every aspect of your eastern society with their pawns, and now, they have an Empire. And likely, the Original Dragon as well."

Viggo was nearing exasperation at this point. "Can…can you at least show me the evidence that this Psychic cabal even exists!?"

The Doctor Professor chuckled, and devolved into a full blown cackle. "They want EVIDENCE!? HAHAHAHA!" He leaned in close to Viggo, giving them an intense side eye. "What do you know…about Area Fifty One?"

Adrie looked at the Doof in disbelief. "Ze…old Unovan military base in ze north of Orre? It's a base zat tests experimental aircraft…"

The Doctor Professor cackled again. "Experimental aircraft! My Germanian friend…your Empire's darkest sins are buried in that base. Area Fifty One was where the Unova Government conducted mass Psychic experiments, for the purpose of controlling multitudes of Human minds! And they succeeded."

"If only we could go there ourselves…" Viggo muttered, knowing the truth about the base. Pegasus' files on the Moon, while largely redacted, only listed low level scientific experiments, and the testing of experimental aircraft.

"You can't." Doofenshmirtz said, "They burned it down. Buried the secrets, when Fornia finally closed in on their location. Paved it over with a parking lot, and two handicap spots. Suspicious."

Adrie smirked. "If only ve had a time machine, ve could go back and see ze truth for ourselves."

Doofenshmirtz grinned darkly. "Then it's decided. You will help me complete my Magnum Opus, we will take my things, and my daughter, leave this place, and go to Area Fifty One! And there, I will prove that your government is Mukking EVIL!"

Through Adrie and Jade's psychic abilities, Those Guys decided that traveling through time to convince a mad doctor to join the cause was a good idea, and somehow within the scope of their mission. They weren't overdue yet, and they could always come back before that point anyway.

Vanessa Doofenshmirtz looked at her father worriedly, then around at the whole Mukking dimension he'd apparently been working on longer than she'd been alive. "Dad…you still haven't told me who these people are…or why we're apparently leaving?" After being retrieved by Norm, he'd announced they were abandoning Subterra, and she'd been roped into helping pack up all her father's garbage without any real explanation. Amidst all the packing, nobody noticed the super stealthy Golduck slip into the alternate dimension in time and space. Gary knew immediately though, that this 'inator' was the one he'd been looking for. The rest of Doofenshmirtz's inventions were jokes, but Imperial intelligence had claimed he was working on something big, something that made their Kadabra and Xatu wince and recoil in pain when they tried to use Future Sight to divine Doctor Doofenshmirtz's intentions.

"These people…" Doof started, oblivious to their new passenger, "Are going to get us out of Subterra. The Church is…no longer what it was, and what it was…was a facade, my daughter. You were right to be skeptical. Just…go to your room for a while, Pumpkaboo, we're making a brief stop, and then we're going to land at our new home! And let me know how you like your room, I did my best!"

Vanessa glanced at the too-perfect strangers helping her father again, but the lure of what he'd done to what was likely going to be her new living space was too much to ignore. The interior was absolutely covered with pictures of Vanessa, younger, mostly, and her father. Her mother had once worked directly for Caleb Pavus himself, but then, one day, out of nowhere, she didn't return home. Her father had been too busy on some personal science project for the Prophet to even notice, and by the time he was allowed to come home, weeks had passed, evidence had been buried, and Charlene Doofenshmirtz was simply gone, disappeared, and never heard from again.

Caleb Pravus had told them that she'd disappeared while on a mission in the northern States, but her father hadn't accepted that. He'd tried bringing up her disappearance with Caleb Pravus several times, and the last, marked their move to the Subterra project, which ironically ended up being one of the safest places during the war.

Back in the central hub of the contained relative dimension in both time and space, Doctor Professor Doofenshmirtz grinned. "We are ready! Strap in, little spies! We're going back fifty years! To the height of Area Fifty One's Psychic experimentations. Gather around the console, and on three, grab your respective levers…and punch it!"

Vanessa finally looked up from her phone, and grabbed her lever. Then, her brows furrowed. "Uhh, Dad? It says the parking brake is on…"

The Doof was undeterred. "It does not matter! We go!"

And with a loud transdimensional screeching noise, Those Guys plus the Doofenshmirtz family left behind Subterra, their native Time Zones, and went hurtling through the twisting, winding curves of the Time Vortex in a pocket dimension the mad Doctor Professor had made in his basement.

For one brief, awe-inspiring moment, through the small window the Doctor Professor had put on the door, the glory of Time itself unfolded before them in a cascade of blue light around their Earth. Somehow, they'd started orbiting it, then, as the time machine reached the input coordinates on the time axis of its internal navigation, it started hurtling through space, down through the atmosphere.

They landed with a loud thump, in another place, and another time.

Area 51, Somewhere in the Stoney Mountains - North Eastern Orre Region, 50 years from the Present Day

Doctor Professor Heinz Doofenshmirtz stepped back from the console, which was lightly smoking, but well within operational parameters. As the group stepped outside, there wasn't much to see. A large, flat expanse, surrounded on all sides by the Stoney Mountain range, aside from a few Cacturne, the only thing of note was a large square complex of buildings in the distance, surrounded by high concrete walls and topped with barbed wire. The Doof put on his Psychic Foilinator, and handed another one to Vanessa. "Here, daughter. Wear this."

Vanessa grimaced. "But this style is…so not it…"

Doofenshmirtz sighed in exasperation. "Just put it on so the Psychic waves being used here don't fry your Mukking brain! Arceus above. Teenagers." His daughter sighed, but put the tinfoil hat on anyways, the fear of psychics thoroughly embedded in her psyche.

"So Doctor Professor…" Viggo began, "Do you have a way to get us into the facility? Because they had…very high security…"

The Doof gave them a grin. "Behold! The Light-Bendinator! With this, these Psychic fools will never see us!" He held up what looked like a laser pointer then, and as he pointed it at Viggo, their body slowly became invisible to the naked eye. Once everyone was hidden, he continued. "Now…we can only communicate by speaking, and by holding hands. If we lose each other…that won't end well. The invisibility does have a time limit, and if it runs out while you are separated from us…the Unovan Government will capture you. We are not going back for strays." With that, he grabbed Vanessa's hand, and Zander's, and then slowly, seven pairs of footprints in the sand left the conspicuous blue box, and started trudging towards Area 51.

When they reached the wall, unnoticed and intact, Doofenshmirtz spoke quietly. "Hold on…I have something for this." In a stage whisper he brought out another device that looked quite a lot like a firearm. "The Matter Liquifierinator! Take this, stupid wall!" He shot the concrete then, and its consistency went from durable as stone, to something more akin to gelatin. One by one, the party stepped through, and luckily, nobody seemed to notice the wall shudder seven times, before starting to sag.

Jade mentally contacted Adrie, as they entered the facility. There was a low, undeniably psychic buzz in their heads, but those without psychic abilities didn't seem to be noticing it. Adrie confirmed that he felt it as well, and the pair privately wondered if the Doof wasn't as full of BS as he seemed. The best conspiracy theories always had a grain of truth after all. Viggo confirmed that, in this time period, the Unovan government was paranoid of Beheeyem, as they didn't know what it was, where it came from, where it lived, or the capabilities it possessed. The closer they got to the base, the weaker their psychic powers became.

As they approached the entrance to what seemed to be the largest building on the base, they noticed a lack of personnel, aside from the two machine gun wielding guards dressed entirely in black, sweating balls in the desert heat. "So what do we do?" Doof hissed, and with that, the two guards stood up straighter.

The other tensed, then exhaled in disappointment. "Nah, it's nothing. Must've been the wind."

Zander quietly moved his hand from Doof's, up to his mouth, a signal to stay quiet. The group rearranged themselves then, silently, but one of the guards spoke again. "Jack, is it just me…or is the dust moving?"

"The heats getting to you, man." Jack replied. "I'm telling you, it's just the wind."

"I heard something." The other guard insisted. "And now the dust is getting randomly kicked up. Weird stuff is happening."

"Weird stuff always happens here." Jack muttered. "Just…relax and guard. Seen any good movies lately?"

"Yea, I was really into the PokéTrek remake. They got some good actors for that one."

The party internally struggled for a solid ten entire minutes as Doof was signaled to not speak, and not move. He assumed they had some sort of spy plan, but after more useless mental bickering, what Adrie landed on was trying to make the guards so invested in their small talk that they didn't notice the door they were guarding was opening. First, he had to make the small talk more involved, and he intended to use the prejudices of the guard that was not Jack to do so.

"You know who was fine in PokéTrek? Uhura." Jack said casually.

His partner snorted, and Adrie influenced him into saying things he'd usually keep in his head. "Really? The Darkie? You wouldn't catch me messin' around with one o' them."

Jack blinked a bit, but was undeterred. "Nah man, she's got curves. Skin tone doesn't matter, she's still Fine."

"Of course it matters!" The other guard retorted, "Where's your loyalty to your race, Jack?"

"My race is Human, brother." Jack answered calmly, as he discovered a new side of his coworker. "I can appreciate beauty, I'm not gonna let something as meaningless as skin tone detract from that."

As Not Jack launched into a tirade about the 'purity of the white race', Zander signaled to Doofenshmirtz to use the Matter Liquifierinator on the door. Despite the flash of energy, neither guard noticed, caught up as they were now in a devolving racial argument, successfully blinded by Adrie's fairy BS.

"We've been guarding this place for five years, and you're telling me you were the entire time!?" Jack continued.

"I'm jus' sayin'," The other guard continued, unable to use the filter that normally kept these kinds of thoughts restrained. "You won't never catch me layin' down with one o' them."

As the group slid through the now jello-like door, they noticed a camera pointed directly at it, though as they moved past, it did not follow them. Anyone paying close attention would probably see the door sagging a bit, but the effect didn't last very long before the affected matter resumed its prior shape.

As they made their way into the base, they passed several rooms, but eventually, Doof found what he was looking for. A room with banks of computers that was empty. As the invisibility wore off, he locked the door, and turned to the nearest computer. "And just like that…we are in. Now, let us find some…juicy Unovan Government secrets." He adjusted his Psychic Foilinator hat, before his long knobbly fingers flew over the keyboard as he hacked his way past the outdated security protocols with his futuristic tech, and skills, leaving not so much as a trace of his presence in the machine's logs. "AHAH!" He proclaimed after a few minutes. "Project… Cerebelelium… Cerebereum… augh, who Named this? It's terrible!"

The actual file name was Project Cerebrum.

It detailed a number of human subjects, being exposed to psychic phenomena, and sure enough, the subjects proved malleable to control. "And see? The Pokémon responsible for these Psychic waves was…AHA! Beheeyem. The Unovan Government's own secret artificially made Psychic Type that they got the other idiots to think came from space! Now, do you see? I was right!" Googlᴇ search novel_fіre.net

Vanessa frowned. "Dad, what are we even doing here? We know this already…"

Doof took that moment to bring his daughter up to speed, and as he did, she inched away from Those Guys. He finished with, "...so you see, we are proving to them that they are ruled by a Psychic Cabal. A Beheeyem ranked over seventy in terms of power level, which would only have grown stronger by our time, successfully controlling the minds and wills of over thirty participants, at the behest of the Unovan Government!" He turned to Those Guys with a victorious grin. "I was RIGHT!"

Adrie moved into the chair then, and Doof let him, confident his victory was solid. "Doctor Professor…I am seeing Many other experiments, mostly related to aircraft, ze potency of Leaf, advanced radar und sonar technology…zis test vas done maybe vonce-"

"Once was all they needed!" Doof proclaimed, "Once was more than enough proof! And sure, maybe the Unovan Government itself didn't use this data, but when they reformed into an Empire? Who do you think drove that? Because it was not the People!"

"You know…he does make sense…" Zander muttered.

Doofenshmirtz clapped with genuine joy. "Ha! You see? The lies are being revealed!"

Adrie finally lost his patience at this point. "You have one experiment fvrom half a century ago, zat does not prove ze Unovans actually Did anything! You vant to talk about secrets? Your Arcean Cult is full of zem!"

Viggo once again chimed in. "Infusing Shadow into Eggs. The rampant pedophilia. The maiming and experimentation upon multiple Legendary Pokémon. And that's not even bringing up the completely unnecessary war you all started on two different fronts!"

Doofenshmirtz frowned slightly. "Look, I know infusing Shadow into Pokémon Eggs is…morally not the best, but better to have them angry and powerful, than brainless and dominated by some Mukking Malamar from Unova! We infuse them to protect them!"

"From vhat!? We are not being mind controlled!" Adrie practically shouted now, exasperated.

"From the Psychic Cabal running your entire Mukking government so well, you can't even notice their manipulation. It's not your fault, it's by design. We are going in circles, my friends. This is one argument you are not going to win. Just admit I was right about your murderous puppet government, and we can leave!" Doof replied.

"Doctor Professor, I know you're a decent person," Viggo continued, "But you have to know that Shadow Energy causes Pokémon intense pain. All these 'perfect' Shadow Pokémon are is variants that can gain experience. They're still in massive pain and rage their entire lives! It's not like you cleanse them of it."

Adrie tried again, as he refused to give up on recruiting Doofenshmirtz, and Jade was doing nothing to stop him. "Look, I don't like governments either, none of zem, bu-"

The Doctor Professor cut him off. "Don't like them! Hah! You work for them! Neither of you answered me earlier. WHO. SENT. YOU. Say his name. I already know it."

Adrie sighed, "Redwood…"

"AH HAH! Redwood." Doof crowed, his victory further cemented. "I Mukking knew it."

Zander, who was watching their exit, as he'd been taught, coughed loudly. "Invisible! Now!" He hissed.

"We can argue about this later!" Doofenshmirtz whispered at the now revealed Germanian femboy as he fired the Light-Bendintator at each of them. A pair of silhouettes were walking down the long central hallway towards them, and the group quickly and quietly Passed Without A Trace In Style right back through the once more gelatinous door. Strangely, neither guard from earlier was at their post. In the distance, what seemed like two more guards, new ones, were approaching the post, but once again, the party headed for the far wall, turned it into gelatin, and then silently scooted their way back to the Time Vortex Traversinator.

Once they were safe, Doofenshmirtz activated their camouflage, and shifted their position slightly, to the true middle of the desert, and even further from the base. The 'natural camouflage' was, of course, made to make their exterior look like an Alpha Wobuffet, something even top tier Trainers did not approach without good reason, and preparation.

Once they landed, the Doctor Professor whirled on his group of Unovan spies, and admittedly, decent new friends. Zander and Viggo appreciated his inventions. Adrie was fun to spar with, though clearly he needed some rest before he'd be worth arguing with again. And Elena, the quiet one, was becoming fast friends with Vanessa, as she finally looked up from the science book she'd been reading and noticed they shared a vibe.

"I think we can all agree at this point…that neither me or Vanessa will be joining your Dragon Empire. We are Not interested. You now have the proof you asked for, proof that your government has experimented on people with Psychic Pokémon, that the lies you've been told are not as solid as you once thought. Since we are friends, I will drop you off at the location of your choice, but then, my daughter and I will be leaving for a Time Zone that appreciates the Alpha Pokémon properly."

Adrie opened his mouth to start again, but Jade put his hand over it. "Enough, Adrie. He's made his choice. Let it go."

Unable to deny that, the fairy boy deflated, nodded, and moped his way to his room. Similarly disheartened, Viggo and Zander retired as well, leaving Elena and Vanessa alone to chat, while the Doctor Professor made dinner. Vanessa tried to introduce the former Imperium scientist to Arcean indoctrination, via her pocket holy book, and Elena introduced her to the power of modern drug use, namely concentrated Leaf chemicals, in a vape pen.

After the day he'd had, and since piss tests were no longer mandatory for him, the Doctor Professor partook as well, and they spent the night eating, giggling, and empathizing when the old man told them depressing stories from his youth.

"...but Balloony eventually came back to me! Didn't you, Balloony?" The Drifblim, who'd been chilling with Elena's Haunter, floated over and nuzzled his Doof. In the corner, Norm sat, deactivated, as his power source, a Bidoof who was, naturally, nicknamed Bidoofenshmirtz, was having dinner as well. Vanessa had an Umbreon, and Doofenshmirtz also had his Turtonator, Turtinator out of his ball. He was munching on some carbon buildup he was carefully clawing from the Doof's oven. "I think that's enough reminiscence for me. Sleep well, ladies."

The doors leading from the pocket dimension's central core area slammed open, and the Doctor Professor himself joined everyone else as he announced his arrival. Loudly. "Good morning everybody! I have made, for the breaking of our fast, a specialty from my own home Region; Doonkleberry Pancakes!"

Viggo wiggled with excitement, as they had lowkey noted the Doctor Professor's rather delicious culinary creations. They'd never heard of a Doonkle Berry, but they were willing to try the fluffy circles of deliciousness. Vanessa was first, as her father set the tray down in front of her, and the rest of the group soon swarmed the tray, while several of their Pokémon watched on with big, hopeful eyes. The Doof had made three stacks, so there was enough for everyone. He shambled over to the Vortex Traversinator's core, and started tinkering, and performing general maintenance. After its maiden jump, everything seemed to be working correctly.

About twenty minutes passed, and when all the humans and Pokémon were full and sated, a massive rumble, worthy of an Earthquake, shook the Vortex Traversinator, knocking everyone on their backs and into objects. Doofenshmirtz's brows furrowed, as he stared at the window on the door. "That's…weird. We shouldn't be feeling anything in here. Our camouflage is still active…"

The Doctor Professor hobbled over to the door, and peered out the window, as the others slowly got back on their feet. It was only a moment before he crowed, "Ahh. It's a very large, very angry Time God!" The group shared a look, but the Doof was opening the door already, and stepping outside. They sprinted to join him, only to find exactly what he'd described: The Legendary Guardian of Time, Dialga, and striding away from it's titanic blue and gray form was a man.

He had deep crimson hair, and the light smirk on his handsome features was nearly always present, because of that fact. He looked over the group with sharp blue eyes, before settling on the Doctor Professor as the likely leader, and cause of this current mess. "Hello there." He started in a light, warm, but unmistakably masculine voice. "Doctor Doofenshmirtz, I presume?"

"Doctor Professor Doofenshmirtz." He corrected, glancing up at the titanic form of Dialga, and then back at the man. "Y-you must be the Doctor. Heheh. The Doctor and Dialga." He turned to Vanessa. "I used to tell you their stories, remember? Always thought they were just myths. But here you are. Please, come in." He turned back to the Doctor, who took the invitation eagerly, and looking far too excited, entered the Time Vortex Traversinator.

The others followed, but Jade was focused on Dialga. It's power was…incomprehensibly vast, it made even Redwood look like a baby in comparison, and though Jade couldn't fully understand it, he did recognize the emotions in its eyes, particularly as they had taken in Heinz Doofenshmirtz, and his daughter. Noticing the Draconid hatchling's stare, Dialga blinked at him, and he hurried in after the others.

The Doctor looked around, impressed. "A relative dimension in Time and Space…borrowed some engineering tricks from Pokéballs, I see. Clever boy." He turned to the group, then. "Unfortunately, your…meddling has had some…repercussions." He raised a wrist then, and above what looked like a watch, several images started to play, snippets and short, soundless recordings of time, now displayed for them to see. "That man you encouraged to ignore his racist tendencies? That compulsion stuck. It followed him the rest of his life. Cost him his job. His Pokémon. His family. His choices were his own, however, since this resulted in an…unforeseen death, I'm required to inform you of the cost of your meddling. Dialga has deemed this knowledge punishment enough for you."

Those Guys did look quite mortified. Viggo was having an internal freak out. Adrie was looking at the floor, frowning. His compulsion should've ended, not stuck around. Jade was more unreadable, and was staring at Doofenshmirtz, who muttered, "Heh. Racist." And then hobbled over to the central controls. Jade turned back to the Tamer of Time as he spoke again.

Adrie spoke, then. "Vell, you see, ve came here because ze Doctor Professor…" He gestured at the console, but the Doof was no longer there. No longer anywhere. He was absent entirely from the room, but Adrie continued, assuming he was around somewhere. "He thinks ze Dragon Empire is controlled by some sort of…Psychic mafia…"

The Doctor nodded, cringing. "Oh. He's an Arcean. Great. I love cultists."

Adrie nodded in agreement. "Ja. So, you see, ve vere trying to convince him to come back vith us to Unova. I understand vhat ve did is…wrong. Suicide is…an awful thing, but…"

"His choices were his own…but this is the cost of meddling with people's minds." The Doctor finished. And Adrie nodded.

The moment lingered, quiet, heavy. Until it was suddenly broken, as the doors to the central hub slammed open, revealing Doctor Heinz Doofenshmirtz, smiling warmly, and holding a tray of fresh Doonkleberry Pancakes. "Good morning everybody! I have made, for the breaking of our fast, a specialty from my own home Region; Doonkleberry Pancakes!" He set the tray down then, directly on top of the other one from earlier, and then hobbled over to the central control console of his Magnum Opus.

Adrie and the others stared in shock, but Viggo giggled, thinking there were more pancakes to be had. Adrie however, recognized immediately that this was exactly what the Doctor Professor had done before, down to the slight mannerisms, and where he placed his feet. "Oh…Scheiße."

Adrie immediately decided to do exactly as he had the first time, and grabbed a pancake. Everyone else did as well, including the Doctor. Viggo started quietly, as Doofenshmirtz began working. "So umm…Doctor was it? He…did this before…"

Adrie furrowed his brow. "Doctor Who?"

The handsome redheaded man smirked at Adrie. "Exactly." He looked back to Viggo. "Did what before? Pancakes?"

Viggo nodded. "You can see the tray under this one…he did exactly this…"

As the Doctor's eyes widened, Doofenshmirtz drew their attention to him as, much quicker than last time, he shook, gripping the console and shouting in response to an earthquake tier vibration that just wasn't there, this time. Doofenshmirtz's brows furrowed, as he stared at the window again. "That's…weird. We shouldn't be feeling anything in here. Our camouflage is still active…"

The Doctor Professor hobbled over to the door once more, and peered out the window. It was only a moment before he crowed again, "Ahh. It's a very large, very angry Time God!" He opened the door, and stepped outside again, and they heard him repeating what he'd said then, too.

The Doctor just stared at the open door, eyes wide, a piece of syrupy pancake falling off his fork onto his plate. "Oh…oh no…" He immediately dropped his plate and ran over to the center of the Time Vortex Traversinator, and began frantically searching around inside of it.

Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz was now watching a video feed that was no longer playing, muttered, "Heh. Racist." And then walked back towards the console, where the Doctor was. Then, mid-step, he simply vanished.

Vanessa shot up immediately, "DAD!"

Elena calmed her new friend, and Adrie and the others walked over to the central core. "It's interesting zat he disappears right here, by ze Core…"

"He's…not disappearing. It's…worse than that." The Doctor said, as he crawled out of the wiring of the core. He looked at Vanessa then. "You. You're a Doofenshmirtz. Does your dad have some kind of…Time Anchor? A…timeline…save…inator?"

Vanessa was becoming more and more distraught. "I…I don't know what that is. I don't know what Dad does with this stuff, I didn't even know this existed until like, yesterday!"

"Right…that's fair…well…we Could ask him." And as he gestured to the door, it burst open again.

Once more, Heinz Doofenshmirtz entered the area, tray of Doonkleberry Pancakes in hand. "Good morning everybody! I have made, for the breaking of our fast, a specialty from my own home Region; Doonkleberry Pancakes! Ohh…there's already a tray here. I'll put them here. Enjoy!"

After registering the other trays without really noticing them, and heading back to the core, Vanessa shouted and ran over to her father, grabbing his coat, just to affirm he was real, and in that moment, he was. "Hey Dad!"

"Yes, Pumpkaboo?" He answered, looking up, and smiling warmly.

"Do you have a…a Time Anchor…inator?"

The Doof paused in his tinkering. "Time Anchor… Time Anchor…like an anchor in Time?" He patted her head. "Silly Vanessa. One does not simply anchor Time itself. That's…not how it works."

Vanessa slowly turned to the Doctor. "Is…is he going to be okay?" She asked, as a few seconds later, Doofenshmirtz reacted again to Dialga's landing, and proceeded through the rest of the loop.

The Doctor sighed heavily. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…he isn't. It seems…that from working on this unprotected core, for years, and then traveling through time, and performing more maintenance on it, he has…destabilized his personal timeline. I…I can't save him. He's already too degraded."

Unwilling to give up, Adrie tried his fairy BS, by grabbing the Doof's shoulders and sending a pulse of fairy energy through his body. "The Doctor Professor's eyes glazed over. "Ooooh…thank you, fairy boy…that was…rather ni- Woah!" He suddenly wiggled in Adrie's grip, reacting to a landing that had already happened. "That's…weird. We shouldn't be feeling anything in here. Our camouflage is still active…" He wriggled out of Adrie's grip, and made his way towards the door. "Ahh. It's a very large, very angry Time God!"

Jade muttered, mostly to himself. "Could we appeal to Dialga? If anyone could save him, it'd be them…"

The Doctor turned his head to look at Jade. "Every life, is worth saving. Or at least trying. If you want to appeal to Dialga to save him…do it while he's outside, Jade Drachenfel."

Without hesitation, Jade walked out of the machine, and grabbed Doofenshmirtz by the sleeve. "Ohh, hello quiet one. Where are we going?"

"To chat with Dialga." Jade said, approaching the God of Time. And in its presence, it seemed whatever loop Doofenshmirtz was caught in, paused. "Great Lord Dialga…" The massive, ancient dragon blinked at him, a sign to continue. "Is…there anything you can do, for him?" He gestured to Doofenshmirtz by raising the hand he'd snagged, and Doofenshmirtz waved it, at the God of Time.

Dialga looked between Jade, and its Tamer. The Doctor only had two words for him.

Dialga began glowing with intense blue energy and its posture shifted as it crouched and prepared to take off. The Doctor's eyes widened. "Everyone back in the TARDISinator! We're going back where you all belong!"

Instead of the basement of Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc., they appeared in the upper lab, as that was where Dialga could fit itself, as long as it didn't move. The jingle played again as the door opened, and the Doctor exited, immediately scanning the area with a small blue device.

As the Doof loop went through the pancake bit again, the team's Pokémon were filling up, except for Jade's dragons, particularly Galien, his Garchomp. He alone had taken all three stacks of the last loop, and Hegemol, his Archaludon, was eating the trays, ensuring there was more room for pancakes.

As the echo of the Doctor Professor came out, Galien lunged for the fluffy deliciousness. "Good morning everybody! For the breaking of our- OH! That is a very hungry Garchomp! Here you go, hungry one. Yes. Enjoy. I ran out of Doonkleberries somehow, so these are Oran Berry Pancakes… or, they were." Galien had already once again chomped through three entire stacks, and Hegemol munched down the tray. The Garchomp shifted places then, waiting by the door, legs crouched in a sitting position, wings in, as he prepared for more delicious food from this infinite loop.

Doofenshmirtz shrugged, and went to do maintenance on the console. At that point, the Doctor returned. "I found…a sort of time scan that the Doctor here made himself…it's…not my quality, or anywhere near the level of my people, but it Might be able to restore him." He looked specifically at Vanessa, who noted she was now unable to get the echo of Doof to look at her. He was occupied, once more reacting to a landing that wasn't happening, before heading over to the door, and repeating himself. "I can't promise anything, miss Doofenshmirtz. But we can try."

She nodded, holding back tears, and the Doctor moved quickly, grabbing the Doof while he was outside again, and guiding him to the lower lab. He set up the Bio Time Scaninator MK II, and set Doof into the beam, before turning back to the group, who'd followed him down. "There's…not much left of him to save. However, it could be possible to merge him with one of your Rotom Phones. Like yours, Vanessa."

"Roty…" Vanessa said softly, and her phone buzzed awake, displaying a selection of her preferred apps. "Not this time, little one. Umm…" Her eyes teared up, and Roty frowned as she floated before her Trainer. She looked to the Doctor for help, and he stepped in, explaining the situation to Roty.

Somehow, the Rotom seemed to understand perfectly. They'd actually become rather fond of Doctor Doofenshmirtz, who would play Solitaire and Forest Sweeper on them when Vanessa was sleeping, and he still had work to pretend to do. Those Guys had tears in their eyes, as the little Rotom fearlessly, selflessly offered itself up for fusion of consciousness, and with that consent, the Doctor channeled the power of Dialga, and guided the temporal fragments of all that was Heinz Doofenshmirtz into his daughter's Rotom Phone.

Then, suddenly, the lights on the Bio Time Scaninator MK II began to fade, their power levels draining rapidly under the stress of a Legendary's power. "No…nonono…" The Doctor murmured quietly to himself, focusing harder, as he felt all that Doctor Professor Heinz Doofenshmirtz was, is, and ever would be, slipping away into the unyielding swirl of Time. Roty was willing, all the pieces were there, but the Doctor Professor's invention burned out a moment later, and the Tamer of Time stumbled, then slowly, solemnly composed themself. He turned to Vanessa Doofenshmirtz, and shook his head sadly. "I'm…I'm sorry. I tried…but he's gone."

Vanessa nodded quickly, and then turned away, breaking down as she ordered the elevator to rise. Up above, they heard Norm try to console her, but she was already gone.

Back in the underlab, Adrie poured out a can of Monster in front of the Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. sign hanging below. Viggo was crying quietly, and their own Rotom Phone, Mimir, was consoling Roty, who was crushed at not being able to save their friend Heinz.

At that moment, the Dragon Emperor decided to check in. "Heeeyy Jade. It's been a while. You guys haven't checked in. How's your first mission going?"

Jade looked at his team, in a state of emotional turmoil. Elena was heading upstairs, following after her friend, and swearing at the incredibly slow elevatorinator. "Oh, y'know…about as well as expected. We've found the underground city, mapped out the locations of the other entrances, and even…almost recruited one of their Scientists. He umm…he actually just passed away. I'll debrief you in my report, it's…a long story."

"Well…does he have a scientific relative? Recruit them. If you can. And then get back here. We can't raid the place until You Guys leave, and debrief us."

Jade just nodded. "Right, sir. We'll be back soon, with a new ally, probably."

A few minutes later, Vanessa returned to the main lab, and entered the time machine again. "I…I found his Last Will and Testamentinator…he left it all to me." She broke down in tears again, as she collapsed into one of the comfy chairs that made up the eating area of the command hub.

Jade tried doing the convincing, this time. "You know, Vanessa…the safest place now for you, your father's inventions, and this machine would be the Dragon Empire."

She shook her head, still sobbing, and Elena chimed in for the first time. "I know you're questioning what you've been taught. I know how badly you want to see what's out there. New Tork City is…incredible. The Dragon Empire, is incredible. They literally solved world hunger. You can still worship Arceus, too. All the Dragon Emperor asked the Arceans for was to follow the Alpha's teachings, and not glorify a man over Arceus. The only one who can claim to really be Arceus's Prophet is the one worthy of Taming them. And there hasn't been anyone like that…for a very long time."

Vanessa cleared her eyes. "A-and you're sure you're not all controlled by Psychic Types?"

Adrie spoke next. "I am not fvrom ze Empire, but since arriving I still remember all my memories, zere are no blank spots, no cognitive fuzziness. Ze Dragon Empire does not use Psychic Types in ze way you have been told."

"But the evidence at Area Fifty One…"

The Doctor spoke up now. "You mean the experiments with Beheeyem?" The group nodded. "Those were done with willing participants, guys. And a Beeeyem with a Trainer. The Unovan Government wanted to measure how many minds it could influence compared to, say, Alakazam or a Malamar. The result was…not many. Their policy, last I heard, was to make sure cabals of Malamar didn't form within the populace. Besides, most Malamar are not evil, just…self-serving. In the wild they will sway the minds of other Pokémon to get food for them, but beyond that they do what every other Pokémon does. Survive and reproduce." He spoke to Vanessa specifically, then. "The only real danger is a wild Malamar, or an Alpha, that manages to Mega Evolve on its own, without a Trainer. In that state…its darker impulses are free to run rampant. But there are organizations that track that sort of thing, especially for species like Malamar."

"Alright, alright, you've convinced me…" Vanessa finally agreed. "My Dad would've hated it…but I have nowhere else to go…and I don't want to ride in this machine again."

Imperial Military Base, Long Island - New Tork City, Unova Region

With Dialga's help, the Time Vortex Traversinator was moved to a safe location, and after explaining the situation, debriefing the Dragon Emperor, and getting Vanessa Doofenshmirtz to renounce the Arcean Cult, he ordered the various inventions moved from the time machine.

"I vould like ze Inators to go into a museum for ze Doctor Professor." Adrie started, as he talked with Redwood. "He had a brilliant mind, und it is ze least we can do fvor him."

Redwood sighed, heavily. "The problem with that, Adrie, is that building memorial museums to Arcean Scientists is…not a good look right now. Y'know? Most of them were pedophiles, or infusing Eggs with Shadow Energy. Or both. His…Inators, as Jade calls them, will be put in a…Doofenshmirtz corner, in the base, but this…" He gestured at the time machine, "Needs to be destroyed." Behind him, Dialga rumbled a thunderous growl of approval, while its Tamer watched the exchange quietly, but with interest.

"But vhat if ve vere to repurpose it?" Adrie started, clearly desperate to keep some aspect of the time machine intact, no doubt for fairy BS. "Ve could no doubt fvind another use fvor it, no?"

Redwood wasn't having it. "Every single invention Humankind has ever made, has been turned into a weapon." He gestured again. "This will not become one. I won't let it. Even if it's My weapon…I don't trust it with the people who'll come after me. The answer is no. We're destroying this. Now. Dialga, if you would?"

All too happy to comply, Dialga raised a titanic foot, and brought it down with the slow, unyielding pressure of Time and steel, crumpling the Time Vortex Traversinator into smoldering circuity. Then, for good measure, the God of Time fired a focused Hyper Beam at the remnants, reducing them to atoms.

The time dragon's Tamer stepped forward then, with a tone of charismatic finality. "Well, as fun as it was to run with Those Guys…it's time for Dialga and I to move on. Miss Doofenshmirtz, again, I'm…I'm sorry I couldn't do more. If I'd detected his machine before he took off, I'm sure we could've kept him intact, but…yea. Agents of the Uprising, otherwise known as Those Guys. Dragon Emperor. It's been a pleasure meeting all of you. And I have a feeling we'll meet again. Until next time."

The Doctor had a lingering look at Alex Redwood in particular shook his head as he quietly chuckled, and then he and Dialga shot into the air as he shouted a word none of them could quite make out. It was either 'excelsior' or 'geronimo'. Alex turned to the group then. "Alright, Agents of the Uprising. Well done. Your first mission was…kind of a success. Now…performance review time. Let's start with the Fairy Boy, the one I was most concerned with…how'd he do?"

"He…didn't kill anyone, didn't get us discovered, he…kind of convinced the Arceans that the Imperium had infiltrated them instead of us…" Jade stalled, struggling with words, and speaking in general.

Redwood nodded, mercifully. "How about everyone else?

"Viggo was very helpful, definitely the smartest one here. Zander…tried to be helpful, but his Styler missed. He did watch our backs though. Elena…read her book the whole time."

Viggo came to their friend's defense. "In her defense, she did scouting during the actual mission. She only started reading once we…got sidetracked with Doofenshmirtz."

Redwood nodded. "And what about you, Jade? Any areas of improvement?"

The Draconid heir thought for a moment. "I…could talk more. Actually take the lead more. I let Adrie and Viggo spend way, way too long trying to convince Doofenshmirtz to join us…"

Redwood nodded again. "Sounds like you've all learned a lot. Your next Mission…will be taking you further abroad. Viggo. For this one, you are going to be their…person in the chair. You're going to provide your team lore, maps, and pertinent information on local customs or history that pertains to the mission from the safety of our command center in Liberty Tower."

Viggo nodded, excitedly. "I'm…much more suited for that, honestly…at least until I get my team together properly."

"Your Mission…is to investigate the local Imperium King, Ganon, for signs of Shadow corruption. Some of you might recall I had a brief chat with Malcador, well once he left, he used the proper channels to ask if we could investigate this for the Imperium, since we're all friends now, and I have stealth forces that won't immediately kill him on sight. So, we have permission from the local authority to investigate…quietly. We're not there to depose the Imperium, though if they declare independence I certainly won't be complaining…"

He refocused, and continued. "Those of you who will be on the ground, in Imperium territory, will be given your armor. You've all proven worthy of it, you have a choice of Light, Medium, Heavy, or Super Heavy. Report to Unity Tower once you've decided on which set you want, and we'll get it ready for you." Adrie opened his mouth with a flood of questions, but Redwood held up a finger. "All the stats and information about the armor sets are at the Tower. One final thing. Someone…a Human being…recently managed to Mega Evolve himself. You know him, actually. And with a snap of his fingers, Redwood teleported in Roy Kent, their old hall mate at BBA. He was quite different, now. Bigger. Buffer. Blonder.

He chuckled as he saw everyone, and then looked at his free meal ticket. "All that Mega Evolving made me hungry! Can we get some food!?"

Redwood spoke again. "Lux. Update them." His black and white possessed device floated out, as did the other Rotom Phones from each of Those Guys, and they pulsed with waves of ghostly power. "Your phones now have an Active Camouflage app, specifically for our Scales. Record as much of Lorule as you can, we know…strangely little about it." He threw a Timer Ball then, and from it came the Black Salamence himself, who'd become somewhat of an icon amongst the Scales and the military. "Shruikan will be flying you over personally, and he'll be on stand by for strafing runs of dragonfire, lightning, whatever you need, really. He fly below even the Imperium's sensors, and they have a hard time pinging him thanks to his Mega Form's shape." The Black Salamence assumed his Mega Form with a flash of light, and exhaled flames from his nostrils as he eyed his passengers.

Carefully, without making sudden moves, Adrie, Zander, Jade, and Roy climbed atop the massive Salamence, and found a grip that would hold at the ridiculous speeds a Mega Salamence could reach. Redwood wished them luck, and with a low whistle through the air, Shruikan took off. Alex then bamfed himself, Elena, and Viggo to Unity Tower, and their command stations. "Elena, you'll be assisting Viggo this time, since your team is uhh…just a Haunter. And we wouldn't want to interrupt your reading."

"How considerate." She snarked back, kicking her feet up on her console and opening her science related book once again.

Redwood turned to Viggo. "Keep them alive, keep me apprised, and if you see a…handsome, pale, white haired man talking with Ganon in a…superior tone? Call me in. Immediately. Or your team will die. Nod if you understand."

"Handsome. Pale. White hair. Evil vibes. Stronger than Ganon. Got it!" And Viggo nodded and gave him a crisp salute.

Alex smirked. "Alright. I have other things to attend to. Good luck."

Viggo turned to their new command station, which did in fact come with an instruction manual, and as they read the manual, they turned on the Team Tracker, and the display shifted from a Yin Yang, to a real time depiction of the team crossing the Atlantican Ocean. "No pressure…this'll go fine…" Viggo muttered, as the team rapidly closed in on Lorule.