PEFE Inquisitorial Court - 12/9/14

-Lawrence throws a dark glance back at Matthew as he strides towards the exit.-

Lawrence: If there is a question you need to ask me, save it. Right now I need to go and talk to my son.

-He steps through the courtroom doors, allowing them to slam shut behind him.-

Somewhere in Oblivia - 30/10/14

-A raven-haired teenager is wandering through a secluded glade on one of Oblivia's many islands, muttering loudly to nobody in particular.-

Lucius: Ugh, I am not keen to go through all of that again... apparently two whole months of community service is enough to make the most hardened of vigilantes into a model citizen. I wonder where everyone's got to... can't imagine they stuck around to wait for me...

???: That they didn't. Fortunately for you, I did.

-Lucius blinks and turns around to find a white-haired boy of the same size and age as him following behind, a mug of steaming brown liquid in his hands.-

Lucius: Who are... wait, I think I remember you. Abel, right? Kieran Abel?

??? Abel: The very same. Care for a spot of tea? I find it helps soothe the nerves when going through a stressful period in life, and you appear to be enduring such a period at this very moment.

Lucius: Well, normally I'm more of a coffee person... but seeing as I haven't been allowed to drink anything but tap water over the last couple of months, I'm willing and eager to chug down pretty much anything.

-He takes the mug of tea from Abel.-

Lucius: So, what's the deal? I talked to you about twice, months ago, and yet here you are waiting for me to finish giving back to society. There's got to be something you want from me.

Abel: Quite the opposite, actually. I came here to offer you something. Namely, the whereabouts of your mysteriously absent friend Alice O'Sullivan.

-Lucius almost spits out the sip of tea he was drinking.-

Lucius: Wait... you know where she is? I haven't heard from her for an age. You'd better not be pulling my leg here, because if you've got any idea where she might be, you've got to tell me what's happened to her.

Abel: One thing at a time, dear friend. I can't divulge everything I know at once without compromising your sweet companion's safety. All I can promise you is that I would never lie to anybody about a matter as serious as this.

Lucius: Hrm... I don't like this, but his Aura suggests he's telling the truth. Besides, not being trusting enough was what got me doing two whole months of community service in the first place... Alright, let's say I believe you. What can you tell me?

Abel: Why don't we walk for a while? I can explain as we go along.

-Lucius nods, and starts to walk away, only to find that his legs suddenly feel like lead weights. He stumbles and nearly falls in his attempt to take a step.-

Lucius: Ack! What the-

Abel: Ah, that would be an unfortunate side effect of one of the tea's ingredients, I'm afraid.

-He suddenly throws a punch at the bridge of Lucius' nose, sending him crashing to the floor.-

Abel: Yes, side effects of Sleep Powder can include drowsiness, disorientation, and loss of balance. I am impressed that you managed to stay standing after such a large dose, however. Almost compensates for your inability to sense my little white lie earlier... although that wasn't really a lie at all, when you think about it. After all, telling you everything I know would put her in danger... once the two of you are in one place, then there's nothing keeping you safe anymore...

-The rest of Abel's words dissolve into meaningless murmurs as Lucius' world fades into darkness.-

Illusion Outpost, Almia - 30/10/14

-Somewhere in a subterranean base once operated by the original Illusion, a certain masked Admin has been in hiding. It's hard to say how long she's been down here, surviving off of canned food and obsessively poring over old documents, but even with her armour on the deterioration in her condition can easily be seen. One of her mask's lenses is cracked, her gauntleted hands are shaking, and the skin around her neck is pale and blotchy.-

Shard: ...Cowards, traitors, killers, thieves, all of them... none of them cared about the Project. None of them but me. Not even Echo... we followed a leader too weak to stand by her own ideals. Now the rest have gone... gone to form their own band of criminals without a cause. No purpose, no motive, just senseless conflict and strife and death... all for NOTHING! All of it! But not me. I... I have a goal. The Project's goal. We stood against the monsters hailed as heroes, the ones who forced the world to accept them via brute force alone... and the rich, decadent leeches who feed off the suffering of those beneath them. We can't let that happen... we can stop them... I can stop them...

-She takes a moment to steady herself, then gets up and strides upstairs to the exit with surprising purpose, Obsuric mist billowing around her like dark stormclouds.-

??? - 30/10/14

-After an indeterminately long period of unconsciousness, Lucius groggily forces himself to open his eyes and survey his surroundings, despite the pounding pain in the back of his head. A feeling of dread comes over him as he realises that he is tied into a chair so tightly that he can barely breathe, with a blinking camera light sitting in front of him. He groans loudly.-

Lucius: Where... where am I?

???: I'm afraid I can't tell you that. We have to keep some secrets, don't we now?

-Lucius scowls darkly, and cranes his head to see a masked figure clad in black standing nearby, a Sableye lurking by his side.-

Lucius: ...Abel.

??? Abel: Is it really so obvious? No, don't answer that, I'm aware that my pattern of speech is quite distinctive. You've already seen my face, so it does no harm for you to see it again. Quite a handsome face, if I do say so myself, and it seems a shame to keep it covered up.

-He pulls up his mask and fixes Lucius with his pleasant half-smile.-

Abel: I hope you don't bear any ill will against me for the Sleep Powder. Consider it an alternative to blindfolding you and forcing you to endure a rather tedious trip out to the middle of nowhere.

Lucius: And where have you taken me?

Abel: Why, to the place where your delightful Gracidea has been taken, of course.

-He points at something in the room, and Lucius follows the gesture to see Alice sitting across from him, bruised, gagged, and tied to a chair in much the same manner as he is.-

Lucius: Alice!

Abel: Such a sweet young thing, isn't she? We've been enjoying her company for quite a while now. Tragically, she refused to cooperate when we asked her to help us bring you here... as a matter of fact, she even went as far as destroying her phone rather than allowing us to use it. As a result, we had to bring you here the hard way.

Lucius: But why? Why are you doing this to us?

Abel: That one simple word poses a very complicated question. Allow me to explain, if you will.

-He leans in closer to Lucius.-

Abel: As you already know, I am fortunate enough to be a Heart of Gold. I experience emotions more deeply and more richly than others... regardless of whether those emotions are positive or negative. Some might see such an ability as a curse, but I personally regard it as a blessing. Pleasure and pain are simply two ends of the same spectrum. Your pain gives me pleasure, and so I savour opportunities such as this whenever I am given them. You aren't the first person I've taken my pleasure with. You likely won't be the last. You are, however, rather... special to me.

-He runs a hand gently down Lucius' cheek, causing the boy to recoil.-

Abel: Unlike you, I never had a father. I was an orphan, and I grew up in a place where you had to take what you wanted by force in order to survive. I've never forgotten what it was like to be weak, and nor have I forgotten how good it feels to turn the tables on your tormentors, but I've also never tried to dress up what I did - what I still do - as the right thing to do. Yet one day I see this Auric Avenger character on the television, trying to make the world bend to his will by force and calling it justice. That made me angry. So I decided that my next victim would be this Avenger. I scoured the Ranger Regions and stalked you and your J-Team, hoping to find some lead that would take me to my target. And then when I met you in person, simply by chance, all the way back in Fiore... oh, you were even more despicable than I could have possibly imagined. When I was watching your trial, seeing you unmasked in front of all those people, I had to fight to stop myself from laughing with glee. It all worked out so perfectly. For all I knew about the Avenger, he could simply have been misguided - too ignorant to realise how foolish and petty he was being, perhaps. But to know that it was you, the most hypocritical, self-righteous, stubborn, holier-than-thou individual I have ever had the displeasure of meeting, who seems to believe that two living parents are an affliction rather than something to be cherished... why, I almost feel like I'm doing the world a favour.

Lucius: You... you're disgusting... you're a murderer and a sadist and I'm going to put you down...

Abel: And so it would be in this fantasy world of yours. The gallant knight defeats the evil sorcerer and rides off into the sunset with the beautiful princess. But you see...

-He suddenly grabs Lucius' chin and forces it up until the two are practically nose-to-nose.-

Abel: This isn't your story anymore. You can try to impose your own values on the world all you please, but it won't bow to your whims any more than a mountain bows to the wind. You're not the one writing this story. You're just watching it unfold, turning the pages and hoping against hope that you'll get the ending you want. Well, I'm sorry to say it... but we've just opened the last chapter. That's why this is happening to you. It's a demonstration. A little exercise to illustrate that contrary to what your loving father may have taught you, you are not the focal point around which this wonderful world of ours revolves.

???: And that's only half the story.

-A second masked figure steps out of the shadows, this one distinctly feminine in build. She pulls up her mask to reveal a face that Lucius only dimly remembers.-

Lucius: I... I've seen you before...

???: Yeah, you have. You were trying to kick the crap out of my boss at the time, despite everyone and their Lillipup telling you that it was a dumb idea. The name's S, by the way.

Abel: If you're wondering how we met, I ran into her not shortly after Illusion collapsed. Like any reasonable gentleman would, I attempted to comfort this fair young woman following the tragic loss of the place she had called home for so long... and as it turned out, we soon found that we had several interests in common.

??? S: By which he means that he used his creepy empath powers to suss out my life story within fifteen minutes of meeting me.

Abel: You wound me, my lady.

Lucius: I don't care... about any of this... you still haven't told us why we're here, remember?

S: Don't you worry, you'll care eventually. We'll make sure of that. As for the why, I've already explained it to your friend here, so I'll let her recount the story so far.

-She tears the gag off of Alice's mouth, taking several long strands of red hair with it.-

Alice: Lucius, don't tell them anything. No matter what they do to you, we cannot let them break us. If we had been able to make contact before your capture, we may have been able to formulate an escape plan, but for now I have to insist that we refuse to cooperate as long as we-

S: Quit the babbling and just do what I asked, will you?

Alice: Neither of them can be trusted. The woman is ex-Cipher and the boy is-

-S sinks her fist into Alice's stomach, interrupting her sentence with a wheeze of pain.-

S: Yeah, I'm ex-Cipher. And if you call me that again, I'll kill you right here and now rather than saving it for later. Like I told you, I didn't end up there by choice. Don't suppose either of you are wondering why I'm called S, rather than some normal-person name like "Beth" or "Madeline"?

-Both Lucius and Alice refuse to answer.-

S: Whatever, I'm going to tell you anyway. It's 'cause I can't remember my real name. I was number nineteen out of twenty test subjects, so they called me subject "S". They were trying to repeat the Shadowing process on humans, you see. Before you came along, they tried a hundred times to get it right, and each attempt backfired more badly than the last. I was lucky. I only lost my memory. Some of the poor bastards lost a lot more than that. Still, being stuck in a hellhole like that with no past and no chance for a better future... I probably would've asked them to shoot me if I didn't have something worth sticking around for. You have a girlfriend, kid?

-Lucius remains in sullen silence... then screams in pain as Abel's Sableye digs its claws into his thigh.-

Abel: The lady asked you a question. You ought to have the common courtesy to answer it.

Lucius: Y-yes...

S: Should've figured. Fifty Pokedollars says it's Green Thumb over there.

Alice: We are not-

-Abel silences her with a lash from a spiked Obscura tentacle.-

Abel: Did she ask for your input? If she did, I'm afraid I didn't quite make it out. Otherwise, only speak when spoken to.

S: As it so happens, I had somebody I cared about once. Her name was Cass. Typical Unovan girl from a typical Unovan family. She was the sweetest, shyest thing you ever did meet... but Cipher snatched her away whilst she was vacationing in Orre. They mutilated her parents and forced her to finish them off herself. Y'know, to toughen her up. She never did give up hope, though, not even when they Shadowed her starter and had some Commander beat her for bringing food to some of the test subjects down in R&D. I guess it was that innocence I fell for. We used to while away our nights lying in our bunks and talking about the ranch we'd get once Cipher went down. And it did, eventually... but she never got to see it. I want you to ask me why.

Lucius: I'm not... not playing your game...

-Abel backhands him.-

Abel: Oh, but you are. And I'm afraid you've been losing since the very first turn.

S: Lemme say it again. Ask me why.

Lucius: -spitting out blood- F-fine... why?

S: Why? Because some fucker decided to turn her inside out and put her on display for the world to see. She'd never hurt him. She'd been planning to drop her gun and desert the convoy first chance she got. But he butchered her anyway, nice and slowly, and met with thunderous applause from half the world.

-Lucius' eyes widen.-

Lucius: But that... that could only have been...

S: See? Now you're starting to get it. We didn't pick your name out of a hat and decide to bump you off. You're a J-Teamer and a so-called superhero. We're killing two birds with one stone here.

-She jabs a thumb at Abel.-

S: Abel here wants you dead, and I can see why. You're angry. You're not interested in doing good, you just want to destroy evil, without being held back by society's rules. I used to hate people like you. Then I became one for a while, and I realised... there's no point in getting angry at a world that's not going to change. You'll only burn yourself out. Shard was delusional enough to think she could fix the world. I just want to get back at it.

Lucius: Look, I hate Tagg and the rest of the J-Team just as much as you do, you don't have to-

S: I don't care. Look, this ain't nothing personal. You're too hoity-toity to imagine killing someone without knowing their name or what they've done. Trust me, it's easy. Once you stop thinking of the enemy as human, you stop thinking about all the friends you'll devastate, all the families you'll destroy, all the orphans you'll create.

-She kneels down to look him in the eyes.-

S: Of course, I am thinking of the effect your death will have. It's not going to change anything. The people you hang with will get mad. They'll cry for a few days. Then they'll get over it. There'll be one or two who'll have a hard time of it, unable to fill that big moron-sized hole in their lives, but most of them will forget about you in a week. That doesn't matter. Unlike your ogre of a friend, I'm not out to send a message. All I want is a little payback. Even if it's only for a moment, I want the people you hold closest to know what it feels like to lose somebody just because a stranger never stopped to think about what a life is really worth. And if I happen to inspire somebody else to follow in my footsteps, or show your crowd exactly what'll happen if they carry on carving up whoever they feel like whenever they feel like it... well, that's a bonus.

Lucius: You... you're mad...

S: Mad? I'm the only sane person left. Sane as you can be when you understand just how crazy the world really is.

-She gives a grin, pulls down her mask, and presses the "record" button on the camera.-

S: Smile for the camera, kids.

Cain Industries - 30/10/14

-In a conference room on the top floor of the building, Leonard Cain is sat with his father and one of Almia's Ranger Chiefs, watching them enjoy their drinks with a frown on his face. His Gallade is stood near the door, idly levitating an ashtray.-

Laurent: I must say, I have to applaud you for finally resolving that whole legal case. It took an unforgivably long time, it must be said, and your fee will be adjusted accordingly... but at least you managed to keep Interpol's nose out of the whole affair. If they'd discovered that we were manufacturing that vile purple goo for that Io woman and allowed it to be stolen, the damage to our reputation would have been catastrophic.

Ranger Chief Stryker: No problem, old buddy, no problem at all. Though of course I'll be expecting some compensation...

Laurent: And you'll get it. The Cain family is generous to those that serve them well, you have my word on that.

-He turns to Leonard, who is still scowling into his glass.-

Laurent: Is something bothering you, Leonard?

Leonard: Not as such, no... this sort of meeting simply makes me rather... uneasy.

Laurent: Uneasy? It's just business, my boy. Trust me, what the de Niles discuss behind closed doors is a hundred times worse. We built ourselves an honest fortune, and to preserve it we may have to-

-There is a banging on the door, causing Gallade to look up.-

Stryker: Perhaps we should save this little chat for another time? It sounds like we've got guests.

-He gets up, walks over to the doors, throws them open... and is impaled by an inky black claw of Obscura, killing him instantly.-

Shard: Get out of the way.

-She tosses him aside and strides into the room. Gallade charges her, striking her straight between the lenses of her mask and shattering it with a Brick Break. Shard curses and responds by stabbing at Gallade's neck, sending him falling to the floor, then tears off the broken remnants of her mask and lets Laurent and Leonard see her face. Only then do they finally find themselves able to speak.-

Laurent: ...L-Lucille...

Shard Lucille: Of course. Don't sound so surprised.

-She starts advancing on Laurent, who hastily backs into the corner.-

Laurent: W-what are you doing? I thought I told you never to let others see you create those monstrous shadows!

Lucille: That's your concern? I'm about to kill you and you're still worried about me ruining your precious reputation? You fat fuck, did it ever occur to you that beating me like Poffin mix might not make me "normal"? Obscura's not something you can get rid of with a few harsh backhands. Mother would've understood that, and yet you have the balls to blame me for her death-

Laurent: You killed your mother when you came into the world! Cains should produce proud Aurics, not violent and unstable Obscurics like you. Had I known what an unnatural creature you were then, I would have drowned you like the runt of a Houndoom's litter. Instead, I did my best to raise you into a respectable young lady through any means I could, and yet you spurned my every attempt to do so! For nineteen long years you have been nothing more than a blight upon our family's noble heritage, and now-

-An Obscura claw raking across his throat silences him.-

Leonard: FATHER!

Lucille: And now you've wiped out the family you worked so hard to preserve. Funny how these things work out, isn't it?

-She turns to Leonard.-

Leonard: Sis...

Lucille: Sis? If I was ever a sister to you, those times are long gone. When Father decided that I was some kind of freak to be beaten and shunned, you didn't stand up for the girl you'd grown up playing with. No, you did your duty like a good little Cain and hoped that someone else would grow a spine so you didn't have to. Don't you get it? We were never Laurent's children, we were his pets, and you were his pride Furfrou. I should've killed you when I took your Mega Ring.

Leonard: I... I never knew... about the Obscura, about the beatings... I'm so sorry...

Lucille: Sorry? You think "sorry" is enough to make up for over a decade of being treated like an animal worthy of only abuse and scorn? I want blood, Leo. Father's... and yours.

-There is another slash of the shadowy claws, and a muffled scream.-

Elco Desert - 31/10/14

-Atop a dune somewhere in the boundless sands, with no outpost of civilisation to be found in any direction for hundreds of miles, Abel and S are stood in the desert with shovels in their hands. Two shallow graves lie at their feet.-

S: ...You finished uploading the video, then?

Abel: Indeed I did. Our collaborative effort depicting the unmasking and execution of the vigilantes known as the Auric Avenger and Gaia is now hosted by every video-sharing site on the web. I suspect we may be fortunate enough to start a trend, even if we cannot truly claim credit for pioneering the genre. And the finest part of it is that we will get away scot-free. The world doesn't punish wicked people, you see. It waits for wicked people to punish themselves, something which I have no intention of doing. The murderer you set out to take vengeance on will never be punished, but nor will we. We will simply blend into the crowd, never to be heard from again.

S: Right...

-She sighs and looks down at the grave in front of her. Abel cocks an eyebrow.-

Abel: Something on your mind?

S: Just thinking.

Abel: Come now, you know that such an answer is hardly enough to sate an empath's curiosity. What precisely are you thinking about?

S: ...Someone I never got to say goodbye to.

-She scowls.-

S: I bet the bastard who killed her never bothered with a proper burial.

Abel: Another of life's many injustices, I'm afraid. It destroys the decent people by wearing them down through tragedy after tragedy whilst monsters such as ourselves, who have grown accustomed to man's inhumanity to man, thrive in the dark corners of the world. Justice is an idea rooted in fantasy. The strong impose their will upon those around them and the weak are crushed beneath their heels. Those who are willing to debase themselves, those who are willing to sink to depths that would sicken so-called civilised men, are the only individuals that will enjoy success in this life.

S: What are you going on about? "Monsters such as ourselves"? I'm not a monster.

-Abel tuts.-

Abel: My dear S, please don't try to delude yourself. We're all monsters at heart. The only difference is the extent to which we try and conceal it. You got the revenge you so dearly desired, did you not?

S: ...Yeah.

Abel: And are you happy now that you have enacted vengeance?

S: ...I 'spose so.

Abel: My point exactly. There is nothing more that life can take away from you, so your actions can bring you only gratification. You are free to enjoy your existence. The people close to those we killed have everything left to lose, and the deaths of their friends will serve to remind them of how fragile their illusionary peace of mind truly is. They may well be happy for a time, as their ignorance allows them to forget what they have lost, but even a single reminder will be enough to shatter their false sense of security. All it takes is just one bad day to drag even the sanest human being to the brink of madness. I've been there before. So have you. Eventually, we all end up at that point. We chose to embrace the cruelty of the world and in doing so we stayed sane. To try and deny the harsh realities of reality itself? That is true insanity.

-He turns his gaze towards the graves, his signature smile disappearing for a moment.-

Abel: ...Strange, I think to myself, how we have seen so much death in conflict and we know that so many have fallen in vain - how come we are so stirred up by this one man and have almost forgotten the many? But that's just how it is, because one man is always the dead and the many are always just a statistic.

S: Hmm?

Abel: Just a quote I happen to be rather fond of. It seems quite fitting, considering the present situation.

-His smile soon returns.-

Abel: Moving on... I do believe that this is where we part ways. Working with you has been a pleasure, S.

-S remains silent, looking down at the two shallow graves as Abel disappears into the desert sands.-

PEFE Rescue Team HQ - 31/10/14

-In a small, dimly-lit dorm room in one of the remote corners of the world, an aging man with stark grey hair and a Infernape in a wheelchair are idly watching the morning news, their expressions dull and their thoughts elsewhere.-

Newscaster: ...In our lead story this morning, one of Kalos' most prominent noble families has been torn apart by a devastating triple homicide. Millionaire businessman Laurent Cain, 48, his son Leonard, 22, and Ranger Chief Damian Stryker, 65, were all found dead in the Cain Enterprises building in Almia. Laurent's daughter Lucille, 19, was arrested at the scene of the crime on suspicion of murder. Lucille is believed to have been working with the terrorist group known as the Illusion Project under the alias of "Shard". She insists that her father was one of Team Neo-Galactic's primary sponsors, a claim that police investigators have dismissed as "patently absurd". Cain Enterprises has refused to comment on the case. The trial is currently being scheduled, with Lucille expected to face a life sentence should she be found mentally fit to stand trial. In other news, the Neo-Galactic Administrator known as "Io" has been arrested following a daring raid on her hideout led by Interpol officer Detective O'Sullivan. Io was believed to be in possession of dangerous biological weapons which she planned to deploy against-

Omega: <Turn it off.>

Lawrence: Hm?

Omega: <I asked you to turn it off. We shouldn't be watching this after the news about Lucius... and I can't reach the remote, remember?>

Lawrence: Oh, yes... of course...

-He leans over, grabs the remote, turns off the TV, then slumps back down into his chair, giving a small sigh.-

Lawrence: So many young lives wasted... and to think that my son's is now one of them. It is a terrible, terrible fate to outlive one's own child. My actions caused the rift between us... and now any chance for reconciliation has died with him...

Omega: <...You could still fight for him. He had his ideals, remember. I may be as good as dead for all the help I would be, but you're still fit. His killers wouldn't stand a chance against->

Lawrence: No. No more revenge. No more death. I must reap what I have sown, and a lifetime of violence and misery is my harvest. This cycle ends here. My son's memory will not be soiled by the pursuit of further senseless suffering in his name.

Omega: <I don't know if I would call it senseless... but he was your son, so it's your decision. It's not as if I could go after them myself. I can't even scratch my nose without your help.>

-She gives a sad grin.-

Omega: <We must make for quite the pair. The cripple and the mourner, each just as pitiful as the other. I always knew I wouldn't die fighting... but I still didn't think it'd end like this.>

Lawrence: End?

-He shakes his head.-

Lawrence: Nothing ever ends, Omega. You should know that better than anyone.

-He stands up, every one of his fifty-three years written across his face.-

Lawrence: Come. There is a new morning ahead of us. It is our duty to face it, to try and make a better tomorrow... no matter how empty our future may be.

-Omega nods, and the childless father wheels her out of the room in order to help with PEFE's latest rescue operation.-

Cocona Village - 31/10/14

-Near the outskirts of town, a boyish-looking girl is sat on a rooftop with a Scizor by her side, a laptop on her lap, and a sword on her belt. She seems to be watching a video, her expression deeply conflicted. Eventually, she turns to the Scizor by her side.-

Lillianna: ...It would appear that our purpose here has been fulfilled, without any intervention on our part. Lucius lies dead, and neither of us had to bloody our hands doing the deed. The fact that we are still here confirms that the timeline has been successfully altered without causing any manner of temporal anomaly. An ideal outcome on all fronts, it would seem.

Future!Bishop: <...Indeed. Though I doubt any outcome could have been truly ideal, least of all one as gruesome as this...>

-Lillianna arches an eyebrow.-

Lillianna: Is something the matter, Bishop?

Future!Bishop: <...I simply wish that I had taken the chance to say goodbye to the boy I once knew.>

Lillianna: Ah. Truth be told, I... my father was a monster in my own timeline, that much is undeniable, but I have heard much about the good he did during his youth. When we crossed blades, I could not help but admire his swordsmanship. It seems a shame that his time came before I had an opportunity to converse with him... as a friend and a daughter, rather than as an assassin.

-Future!Bishop nods sadly, keeping quiet for nearly a minute before finally speaking up again.-

Future!Bishop: <So... what do we do now? Shall we seek out Celebi and return to our own time?>

Lillianna: What would we return to? A broken mother and a barren future? No, the timeline has survived our intrusion for this long. It will endure us for a while longer. There is still a purpose here that remains unfulfilled, and I mean to see it completed.

-She hops down from the roof and starts heading out of town. Future!Bishop follows behind her, intrigued.-

Agate Village - 31/10/14

-Having been abandoned in the desert by their captors prior to the execution of their trainers, Alice and Lucius' mons are now gathered in a semi-circle on the outskirts of town, expressions of shock on all their faces.-

Arsenic: <I never thought I'd end up being relieved of duty this soon...>

Shrike: <This isn't how it's supposed to end... heroes are supposed to have heroic last stands, aren't they?>

Fulgrim: <The kid was bound to get himself killed eventually. At least it wasn't his own stupidity that did it in for him.>

Oracle: <The chances of this happening were only zero point one zero five nine two four three per cent... I must have miscalculated somehow.>

Kerrigan: <Question is... with our trainers dead, what are we supposed to do now?>

-All of the mons descend into heated murmurings until Bishop - who up until this point has been sitting in grey-faced silence - gets to his feet.-

Bishop: <...I can't speak for the rest of you. I know that many of you never got a chance to see the sort of kindness that Lucius showed me, and the compassion he displayed in helping me escape from a dark and bloody period of my life... to see him gone at such a young age is a failure that will haunt me for the rest of my days. But we cannot afford to forget that Lucius would not want us to waste away mourning. He always strived to find a purpose in life, something that was worth fighting through all the hardships for... and now that my purpose has gone, I will make it my mission to go find another. Lucius had a half-sister, a girl named Zoe. If her life is to be anything like her brother's, she will need people to keep her safe, and more importantly, people to keep her sane. I may have failed Lucius... but I hope that I will not fail her. You can either come with me, or find your own path in life. Either way, we need to choose our future, and endeavour to make the best of it. That's all we can do.>

-There is silence for a long moment... and then Kirk stands up, his head bowed.-

Kirk: <The last time I thought Lucius was dead, I walked out on him... I won't make that same mistake again. I might have been an arrogant, stuck-up jerk in the past, but I want to change that. For his sake, and for Zoe's. That, and I don't think I can imagine life without you, Bish.>

-Bishop smiles, and soon more mons are standing up to announce their support.-

Revan: <I've followed the Cains for my entire life and for my entire death. Travelling with someone from a different bloodline might be a pleasant change.>

Falchion: <Eh, what the hell. Edge's orders only bound me to Lucius till he died, but I'll be damned if I'm going back to Challenger's Cave to act as a glorified babysitter for several hundred brain-dead Pawniard.>

Cyanide: <Sure, I'll tag along. Just as long as I get fed.>

Maul: ~Might as well.~

-The group soon reaches a consensus, and all of them - Bishop, Kirk, Maul, Falchion, Revan, Samus, Leia, EDI, Oracle, Kirk, Shrike, Kaylee, Fulgrim, Arsenic, Belladonna, Cyanide and Delphinium - head off in search of a way back to Sinnoh.-

Rasp Cavern - 31/10/14

-Lillianna and Future!Bishop are descending into the section of the cave that Lucius used as his superhero headquarters, now long since abandoned. The disabled security systems give them no opposition as they wander through the cave.-

Future!Bishop: <What are we doing here? I thought you wanted nothing to do with your father's alter ego.>

Lillianna: When I was younger, my mother would often regale me with tales of her adventures with my father. She would tell me about the boy he used to be, and the boy she wished he still was. The ideals he once fought for stayed with me, even when the man himself twisted them into something unrecognisable. And now that he is dead, the burden of upholding those ideals falls to me.

-She approaches the stand where the Auric Avenger's costume is still being kept and takes the mask in her hands, looking down at it.-

Lillianna: I'll continue his work as it was meant to be done. From the shadows, without thanks or recognition. The face behind the mask may change, as may the name given to the mask itself, but the ideal remains the same. Protecting the innocent not through fear, but through hope. Hope that even in the bleakest of times, a hero may emerge from the most unlikely of places. Not an avenger, but rather a protector. A watchful shadow whose purpose in life is to defend those who cannot defend themselves.

Future!Bishop: <...You'd need a name.>

Lillianna: I will take whatever name they give me. Nobody cared about Lillianna Cain in my own time. I should not even exist - not in this future, and not in my own time either. My name, my face, my personality... they all are sacrifices I am willing to make, as long as the ideal survives.

-She pulls on the mask, then turns to Future!Bishop.-

Lillianna: And if it should emerge that I am not strong enough to maintain my ideals... if I start to walk the same dark path as my father... I know that I have someone who will return me to the shadows from whence I came. Someone who has stood by me in spite of all hardship. Would you be willing to do this for me, Bishop?

-Future!Bishop is silent for several moments, before finally giving a single, solemn nod.-

Future!Bishop: <...Yes. Yes, I would.>

Lucius: ...Ugh...

...

...

...

Lucius: What happened to me? I feel like... I feel... urgh...

...

Lucius: Where... where am I...?

???: There is no easy answer to that question, I'm afraid.

Lucius: Huh?

-Lucius looks up to see a raven-haired man approaching him, a long black cloak billowing behind him.-

???: This place is everywhere, and it is nowhere. It is the end of all things, and the beginning of everything that has yet to be. All men visit here eventually, and you and I are no exception.

Lucius: ...Lucanus?

-The raven-haired man nods.-

??? Lucanus: That was the name I was given in life.

Lucius: But... if you're here... then that means that I'm... I'm...

Lucanus: Indeed you are.

-It takes a moment for the realisation to sink in. Lucius stares, then he starts to clutch at himself frantically, before finally looking down at his hands with a blank stare.-

Lucius: ...That's it, then. After everything I survived, everything I had yet to do, I'm now... dead?

Lucanus: No man can choose the manner of his passing. Only how he decides to face it.

Lucius: No... no no no no, I can't die. Not like this. There's so much I still need to say, so many people I never said goodbye to! I need to be there for Sarah, Duke, Samantha, Crewe, Lyuri, Sakura, Joseph, Jason, all the others-

-He grabs at Lucanus' collar.-

Lucius: You can do that, right? You can help me go back? I need to go back! Revan did it, and so did Edge, and I know that they're not the only ones. Please, you have to understand, it can't end like this, it can't-

Lucanus: Enough.

-His tone cuts through Lucius like a knife.-

Lucius: Enough... enough of what?

Lucanus: Enough of this pathetic grovelling. I know you have looked death in the eye before and faced the propsect of your own mortality with courage. Do not grovel at my feet like some mewling child. You claim you want to return to the mortal world, yet if you were simply to stop and think you would realise that nothing is further from your desires. You speak with the selfishness of mortality, concerned only with your own short life and its abrupt end. Passing on may be painful, but it is nothing compared to the pain of being left behind. If you were to return, you would be forced to watch all the friends and allies that you are so desperate to see again grow old and die, whilst you yourself remain irrevocably bound to the world. A little patience, and you may have eternity with those closest to you.

-Lucius stares at Lucanus for a second, struggling for a response, before becoming suddenly angry.-

Lucius: And what gives you the right to talk about this like you're some sort of authority, huh? The only thing that makes you an expert on death is the amount of people you killed whilst you were alive! What do you know about pain? What do you know about being left behind?

Lucanus: ...My daughter and my closest companion chose a life amongst mortals rather than face what lies after death. They are beyond my reach... lost to me forever. But I still cling onto a remnant of hope.

-A tear starts to form in his eye as he looks down at Lucius.-

Lucanus: You are not the only one who fears what lies after death. It is cowardice that has kept me here in limbo for nearly six centuries. Not only am I afraid of what awaits a sinner such as myself beyond the veil, but I am also afraid that by crossing over, I will lose any chance I may have to reunite with Lucy and Revan. So I remain here, to guide lost souls such as yourself and keep you from rushing to a fate that you would soon come to regret.

-The anger seems to drain from Lucius as he listens to Lucanus talk. All that remains is a scared, lonely-looking, seventeen-year-old boy.-

Lucius: ...I... I think I understand. And... if I really do want to go back... you can show me how?

Lucanus: In time, child. In time. For now... it is time for you to rest.

-He puts his arm around Lucius' shoulder, and the two walk off into nothingness.-