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Description

The Hargreave estate was lit up like a carnival. A small fleet of luxury vehicles was parked in the driveway as bright lights and loud music blared from the backyard, occasionally punctuated by a loud yell or cheer. However, the house itself stood dark and silent amid the ruckus going on in back. The only visible activity being the half a dozen armed guards patrolling the grounds of the estate.

Sam and Luke crouched near the front gate of the estate, hidden in a large clump of bushes. They were both dressed similarly in head to toe black pants and T-shirts with ski masks ready to be pulled down over their heads at a moment's notice. At Luke's suggestion they also both wore surgical gloves on their hands so as not to leave any fingerprints.

While Sam got his Pokemon ready to infiltrate the grounds Luke used a pair of binoculars to try and get a feel for the guard's patrol routes. To say the least he wasn't happy about it.

"You never mentioned anything about armed guards Sam. For that matter what does Wilson need with armed guards? Sure he's rich but don't most rich people just install a state of the art security system and a panic room and then leave it at that?" Sam gave a light shrug. "Search me. However, I think that it is more proof that he has something to hide. Either way they won't be a problem." Sam turned to Jake. "I need you to distract them while we head for the mansion. Once we're in they won't be an issue." Sam turned back to the gate and quickly picked the lock, slowly sliding the gate open to avoid making too much noise.

Once the gate was open he slowly turned to look at Luke as he pulled his ski mask down. "Last chance to back out Luke." Luke looked at the mansion and then back at Sam before pulling his mask down. "Let's get this over with."

Sam and Luke both entered the grounds and quietly closed the gate behind them as Jake vanished into the shadows.

Luke watched the Sceptile vanish before turning his attention to the armed guards. "So...mind cluing me in on how Jake is going to get us past those guards?" Sam just raised a hand for silence. Luke complied and waited with Sam. He looked down at his watch. It was 8:30. They had three and a half hours before Matthew would be executed.

Sam continued to sit perfectly still as the minute hand on Luke's watch moved at what Luke thought was an agonizingly fast pace. Each minute they spent waiting for Jake was another minute that brought them closer to Matthew's death. Finally after a good ten minutes of waiting Luke started to speak up but before he could utter a single syllable a massive burst of light appeared on the far edge of the estate grounds. All of the guards immediately turned and started running in the direction of the blast.

Luke was so transfixed by the scene that he barely felt Sam tap him on the shoulder. Luke turned and Sam indicated for the two of them to start moving towards the mansion. They crossed the grounds swiftly. Using trees and shrubs for cover but not spending any time dawdling. From the time of the explosion to reaching the side door of the mansion had taken them all of two minutes. By this time the guards had all congregated by the edge of the grounds but as far as Luke could tell they hadn't found anything and were just as confused as he was. Luke watched as Sam went over to an electrical box which he promptly opened and after a minute with a wire cutters returned to the side door and started to pick the lock.

Luke stayed silent for several seconds, not wanting to disrupt Sam's concentration but finally his curiosity got the better of him. "Umm, Sam what the hell was that flash of light?" Sam didn't look away from the lock he was picking as he answered. "Jake's solar beam. Takes him awhile to charge it up at night but the effects, as I'm sure you saw, are quite spectacular. And apparently enough to lure away half a dozen bored rent a cops." The lock suddenly opened with a resounding click and Sam waited a second before opening the door and slowly walking into the mansion's kitchen. He looked around for a second before taking out a small flashlight and handing another to Luke.

Luke switched the light on revealing Jake standing right in front of him. Luke jumped back in shock as Jake gave him a smug look. "Damnit! Almost gave me a heart attack there." Sam just smiled at his Sceptile's antics as he took out two more of his poke balls and released Shadow and Ace. Luke released his Typhlosion Tobias and Weavile Todd. The six of them congregated in the living room as Sam took out two set's of floor plans he had found online.

"Alright I don't know how long we have before those idiots outside figure out what happened. Or before the party in back decides to move into the house. So we are going to have to split up and do this as fast as possible. Luke you and your team take the first floor and I'll take the second floor. We'll meet back here in an hour unless we find something in which case we call the other person on our cell phone. Shadow is going to be on the roof keeping a lookout. If anyone comes towards the house she'll let me know and then I'll call you. Either way if we have to get out fast we go to the second floor and fly out on Ace. It's not subtle or ideal but it beats getting caught."
Luke nodded as he studied the blueprint in front of him. "What about security systems that weren't linked to the building's power?" Sam looked over his own blueprint before shrugging. "We'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it. Right now it's all about time. We have...just over three hours to find evidence, bring it to the governor, and hope that it get's Matthew's execution canceled or at the very least postponed. Now let's get to work."

Sam and Luke along with their Pokemon quickly spread out and began a frenetic search of the mansion. Knowing that time was indeed not on their side.

............

After an hour of searching the second floor of Wilson's mansion Sam had come up empty handed and was starting to get a little concerned about his prospects. So far the only evidence that he had been able to find was proof that Wilson was a pompous jackass. The only pictures that were visible in the house were of Wilson and Tiberius, not to mention the screen saver on his computer which was simply a montage of selfies. This hadn't stopped Sam from looking through his computer which had been easy enough to enter, the password had been Tiberius. Wilson sure loved that furball.

However, this had been a lost cause. The only thing on Wilson's computer were hundreds of videogames and several gigabytes of porn. Not one single reference to his business or finances or even what his parents did for a living. Sam shut the computer and rubbed his eyes. He and his Pokemon had already checked every room from top to bottom and hadn't found a single thing linking Wilson to any kind of foul play. He had hoped that the office would be different but as far as he could tell it was nothing more than another part of the playpen belonging to a rich spoiled brat.

Sam let out a deep sigh and looked at his watch. He hadn't heard from Luke which he assumed meant that he hadn't found anything either. This was all nothing but a pointless waste of time.

In his frustration Sam angrily slammed his fist into the wall behind him in frustration, and to his great surprise it smashed clean through. Sam immediately took pause. He hadn't hit the wall that hard. Slowly he retracted his hand and to his even greater astonishment a good square meter of drywall came off the wall. Sitting behind it reflecting in the glow of Sam's flashlight was a safe with a combination lock on the front.

Of course. He had been an idiot for not thinking of it earlier. Wilson never would have been stupid enough to leave anything incriminating out in the open or on his computer. He would have locked it away. And seeing as how neither he nor Luke had been able to find a safe it was a logical conclusion that it would have been hidden.

A smile came to Sam's face as he looked the safe over. It would be very difficult to crack it, literally. While his Dragonite Sean might be able to smash it open they didn't have that kind of time.

He was thinking about the possibility of removing the entire safe from the wall when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Sam quickly removed it and answered before the end of the second ring.

"Luke listen before you say anything I just found a safe in Wilson's office. I don't know how we are going to open it but I think that you should get up here." There was a pause on the other end that seemed to drag on before Luke finally answered. "Alright, but...I think there’s something a bit more urgent here. I'm on the edge of the woods in the backyard, and I really think you need to see this." Sam waited to see if Luke was going to give him anymore to go on and when all he heard on he other end was silence he gave an imperceptible shrug. "I'll be right down. But I really want to get into this safe and see what Wilson has in there."

Sam hung up and called his Pokemon to him. He left Jake with the safe to try and figure a way to get it open while he headed back downstairs and out the patio door to where Luke was sitting.

"Okay what's this all about? Did you find something that we can use?" Luke shook his head and Sam's expression immediately turned from optimism to annoyance. "Then why the hell did you call me down here? We are on a very tight schedule Luke and that safe up there is our best bet to-" Luke cut him off and indicated his Weavile Todd sitting on the ground. "I sent Todd back towards the party in the woods to scope it out and let us know what was going on there. He just came back a few minutes ago and...I don't know what he saw but he is demanding that I follow him back there. He knows the stakes we are under and he wouldn't want us to follow him if it wasn't important."

Sam sucked in a breath and slowly let it out before turning to Todd. The Weavile had a look of shock on his face, a look that Sam had seen many times before, it was the look of one who had seen death.

"Alright let's get going. Jake is working on the safe and hopefully he can figure something out by the time that we get back."

The two humans stood and followed Todd as he led them back through the woods. As they got closer to the sound of the party Sam could hear loud yells of excitement as loud music blared and lights flashed. Then he heard another sound. One more guttural and definitely not human. It was like the roar of an angry Luxray which was quickly followed by a scream of agony. Sam looked over at Luke and then two of them quickened their pace. The lights of the party were now almost blinding after being in darkness for so long and Sam hoped that they weren't accidentally seen.

Ahead of them the trees parted and Sam and Luke were finally able to see what had caused Todd to want them to follow him back there. To say the least, they were horrified.

The clearing ahead was roughly half the size of a soccer pitch. But rather than a field a small Colosseum had been built, complete with raised seats in a circle all facing down towards a central pit. On the seats about a dozen people laughed and drank heavily while looking down into the central pit, cheering and booing in equal measures while yelling various barely discernible yells of profanity and screams of anger.

But it was what was in the pit that sent a shiver up Sam and Luke's collective spines. The pit was an almost perfect circle that was sunk about three meters into the ground and had a diameter of about fifteen meters. The bottom of the pit was covered in coarse sand that was stained with numerous rust colored splotches. The walls were lined with countless claw marks and appeared to be painted an off red color. No, they weren't red, they were just stained that color, the same color as the stains in the sand. Dried blood.

The source was quickly evident. Two Pokemon were present in the pit. One Sam immediately recognized as Tiberius, his muzzle and front paws coated in a thin layer of blood, his eyes had a slightly manic look to them and were filled with what could only be described as an unquenchable bloodlust. Across from Tiberius was a bloody and bruised female Ampharos wearing a soothe bell around her neck. Barely able to stay on her feet as she tried to stare down Tiberius. She was covered from head to toe in various cuts and bruises, dying her normally yellow fur a dark shade of red.

Scattered around the two Pokemon were the bones of various other Pokemon. There were enough bones in the pit that Sam estimated several dozen Pokemon had met their end there.

As the two watched Tiberius charged forwards and slammed his shoulder into the Ampharos, throwing her back into the wall of the pit and making her cry out in agony as a sharp crack was heard, her arm was broken.

The crowd cheered loudly as Tiberius strutted around the badly wounded Ampharos. He was taking his time with the kill. Prolonging it for the enjoyment of the crowd.

Standing next to him Sam heard Luke suck in his breath. "My god. What the hell did we just walk into?" Sam remained silent for a second before answering, barely able to believe what he was seeing either. "I think we're looking at a Pokemon deathmatch. You would be surprised how common they are. It's become a rather successful and disgusting underground sport. People go and bet on who will win and then they throw them in and see what happens. It's basically gladiatorial combat with Pokemon." Sam spat in anger as he reached around to his lower back.

Luke continued to stare on in shock as Tiberius slapped the Ampharos across the face, leaving three red lines from his claws. His shock quickly replaced with anger. "Wilson. That bastard is probably in charge of this whole thing. Come on let's-" But before Luke could finish Sam had already stepped out of the woods and was quickly headed towards the arena. He moved a quick and deliberate pace, a poke ball in one hand and his pistol in the other. Luke quickly took two of his own poke ball off his belt and also came forward, Todd following behind him, his claws unsheathed.

No one noticed the two as Tiberius stood over the half dead Ampharos. Her breathing was coming in ragged gasps and it was obvious that she had no fight left in her. She slowly raised her head and looked up at Tiberius, a pleading look on her face. Tiberius just smirked and slammed his paw down onto her head as he lowered his head, ready to tear out her jugular.

His teeth were mere inches away from her neck when suddenly several bright flashes of light lit up the clearing. Tiberius looked up just in time to see a massive Dragonite with horribly shredded wings flying towards him. Tiberius started to turn and run but before he could take more than a few steps the Dragonite was on him. Turning at the last second before it's enormous body impacted with the Persian the Dragonite slammed it's thick muscular tail into Tiberius with a sickening thud.

Tiberius was thrown back and hit the wall with a crack. His body slumping to the ground, whether he was unconscious, in a coma, or dead was anybody's guess.

The sudden attack took Wilson's guests by surprise as they all stared in shock into the arena. This lasted only for a few seconds before Wilson, who had been sitting in the middle of the group, stood up and pulled a small pistol from an ankle holster which he proceeded to point at the Dragonite who returned the threat with a death glare.

"What is the meaning of this!? How dare you-" Wilson didn't get to finish as a single gunshot sounded. Everyone ducked down and looked over in the direction the shot had come from. Sam was standing there, his pistol in hand pointed directly at Wilson and his guest's, his eyes burning as he took a step forward.

"I'm only going to say this once. Drop the damn gun."

Wilson looked back at Sam. True fear evident on his face stared back at the masked man holding a pistol on him. His guests didn't seem to know what to think. They were either too drunk or too afraid to try and interfere in anyway. This suited Sam just fine. While they were far enough away that the guards probably wouldn't be able to discern the gunshot, if Wilson's guests ran for help Sam wasn't going to kill them. Sure, he would kneecap Wilson, but as much as he wanted to beat to death every single one of the sick bastards sitting before him he knew, deep down, he couldn't do it.

Slowly, after looking between Sam and the Dragonite, whose skin he was pretty sure his pistol couldn't pierce anyways, Wilson dropped his gun to the ground and took a step back.

Sam quickly approached them, covered by Shadow and Ace along with Luke's Pokemon who had also materialized out of the woods. He quickly turned to Luke and indicated the barely breathing Ampharos whom his Dragonite Sean had taken out of the pit and was holding gingerly in his claws. "I think that you'd better check on her and see if you can help." He then turned to Wilson and his guests. "As for all of you. Get in the damn pit."

The guests all looked at each other before Wilson stepped forward. Apparently having gained a touch of courage knowing that he wasn't going to be killed on the spot. It was obvious that he was drunk but that did nothing to diminish his anger as he started towards Sam. "And just why the hell would we do that? And who the hell do you think you are interrupting this private party and waving a goddamn gun around like some kind of maniac? Do you have any idea who I am or who you are messing with?"

Sam calmly leveled the gun at him, glad that he couldn't see the sweat rolling down his face. "I'm the guy who's breaking up this little blood-sport of yours and making sure that all of you get what you rightly deserve for this." He indicated the Ampharos as Luke checked over her injuries and tried his best to stem the blood flow using a small first aid kit.

Wilson scoffed. "Blood-sport!? This is no different from what Pokemon do in the wild. Or what trainers do. We just take a step farther and bring it into it's natural state. None of those silly rules and regulations that you trainers think makes you all high and mighty and beacons of morality. Face it, deep down you are just the same as me and my friends. Now get the hell off my property and I might just forget about all of this and let you live. You're as naive as the rest of those pompous douchebags in the Pokemon League or that bitch Jenna-"

Sam's temper snapped. With a swift lunge he leapt forward and rammed his fist into Wilson's gut, putting his not inconsequential weight behind the punch. Wilson's breath came out in a gasp as he sank to his knees. He wanted to pistol whip Wilson terribly, but he knew that with his strength and temper he very well might kill him if he did so. Instead he launched a front kick that threw Wilson onto his back where he lay, gagging in pain.

Wilson's guests didn't need further coaxing and they all quickly climbed down into the pit and huddled together in fear. Sam ignored them as he turned off the lights around the pit. Plunging the whole area into darkness and leaving his guests whimpering in fear.

"Oh shut up. Wilson's lackey's will be along in a few hours to get you out. Until then enjoy the primal state of nature that you are all claiming to exemplify. Just hope a Mightyena doesn't wander along. I'm sure you would all make wonderful appetizers." With that Sam grabbed Wilson by his lapel and started dragging him back towards the mansion with Luke following behind doing his best to treat the wounded Ampharos while Sean carried her.

Sam dumped Wilson in a lawn chair by the pool side while Luke took the Ampharos inside and laid her down on Wilson's leather couch, staining the furniture with her blood. He watched as Luke began to work on her before turning to Wilson who was slowly beginning to come back to his senses after the brutal punch.

Wilson looked back up at Sam with rage burning in his eyes. "I don't who you are, but you have no idea the shitstorm that you just brought down on yourself. You think that you can just break into my home, interrupt my party and then walk out of here without any consequences? You're going to die! And it's not going to be a slow death either, I'll make sure of that! Maybe feed you to a hungry pack of Mightyena's. Or maybe dump you in a tank full of half starved Croconaw's and let them do the job. Oh the possibilities! And I won't stop there. I'll send you to your grave knowing that I'm going to destroy your family and do to your Pokemon what I was going to do to that bitch Ampharos. I'm going to..." Wilson kept on talking, continuing to spout off while Sam just stood there. Totally ignoring his angry tirade and recognizing it for what it was. The empty words of someone who was used to being in control of things suddenly being forced into the position of the controlled.

Sam waited several minutes until Wilson was done before speaking. "Are you done yet? Because if you are I have things that I need to take care of. Chief among them are a couple of questions that I need answered. The first of which is, what is the combination to your office safe? And please don't bother lying about it's existence because I already found it behind the fake wall panel."

Wilson's eyes got wide at the mention of the safe but he quickly hid his shock and was about to start into another bought of threatening Sam when Luke suddenly came out the door and approached Sam. His clothes were stained with blood and Sam could see the tension apparent on his eyes as he looked back at Sam.

"Can I talk with you a second in private?" Sam nodded and the two of them walked into the house while Sean kept an eye on Wilson.

"What is it Luke? Is she going to be alright?" Luke looked down at the Ampharos and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Not if I don't get her to a Pokemon center in the next half an hour. She's lost a lot of blood and has numerous internal injuries. She needs emergency surgery and frankly I can't do that here. Also, there’s something else I think I should show you. Here’s the soothe bell that she was wearing. There’s a name on the collar. Look familiar to you?"

Sam took the bloodied collar in his hands and looked at the name on it. "Bell." He then turned the collar over. "From Elisa." Sam looked back at Luke. "Is this supposed to mean anything to me?"

Luke took the collar back and indicated the Ampharos. "Remember a the trial that girl who testified, Elisa Kälviäinen? Well, during the recess Jenna told me that Elisa and she spoke to each other. And during that time Elisa mentioned to her something about her Ampharos Bell being in danger if she talked to her."

Sam's eyes got wide. "So that Ampharos… Oh crap. Wilson kidnapped her Ampharos and forced Elisa to testify. Then he went and tried to kill Bell anyways."

Luke just nodded in agreement. "Yeah that's what it looks like. At any rate it won't matter if I don't get her to a Pokemon center. I'll see if I can get a hold of Elisa once I get to the center and see if maybe we can use this against Wilson. Not that it would do anything to help Matthew this late." Luke looked over at Wilson who was sitting as low in the lawn chair as he could, terrified of the huge Dragonite looming over him.

"Get Bell to the Pokemon center Luke. I'll see what I can do about Matthew. Do you have Nellie with you?" Luke shook his head. "I left her back at my ranch." Sam looked over at the Pidgeot who was standing in the living room with them. "You can take Ace. He should be able to carry you and Bell at the same time. Just make sure that Bell is taken care of."

Luke saw the hard edge in Sam's eyes and let out a deep breath. "Alright. Just...don't do anything crazy. Our goal is to save Matthew's life. Not to get revenge on Wilson." Sam didn't respond for a second before a small smile came to his features which were hidden by the ski mask. "Don't worry about it. Now get going. We're running low on time." Sam turned and walked back outside as Luke and Ace went outside. Sam watched as the two of them took off with Bell held loosely in Ace's talons.

Wilson had watched the scene with an expressionless face until Sam returned and the anger once again returned to his eyes.

"So now you're stealing my Pokemon from me now? And you accuse me of being a criminal." Sam controlled his temper to the best of his ability. Right then the only thing that he wanted was to smash Wilson's face into the pavement repeatedly but he knew that wouldn't solve anything.

"It's not stealing when said Pokemon was already stolen from it's master. I believe you are familiar with miss Elisa Kälviäinen."

Wilson's eyes seemed to bulge out of his head at the mention of Jenna's friend and he opened his mouth to say something but before he could a large scaly claw reached around from behind him and covered his face. Wilson tried to scream but didn't have a chance as his entire world went black.

..............

Elizabeth was running out of time.

By now almost every single member of the ranch had been brought to the prison, given time to speak with Matthew, and been returned to the ranch. The only ones remaining were Elizabeth, Marlowe, Sibelius, Veruka, Leopold, and to everyone's great surprise Zorro. The Mothim had practically demanded that he be allowed to stay which Elizabeth found to be rather suspicious. She had never known the two to get along and as far as she was concerned Zorro had no right to be one of the six ranch Pokemon that Matthew got to spend his final moments with. Still it ultimately wasn't her call and Matthew had been fine with it. Still...something about Zorro's demeanor was bothering her.

She pushed these thoughts aside and looked over at the clock on the wall. It read 10:50 PM. She only had slightly more than an hour before Matthew was due to be executed. If she was going to tell him it was now or never.

Elizabeth took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Her breath came out as a ragged wheezy sigh and she could taste blood in the back of her mouth. Not like she cared. Once Matthew was gone her only solace would be that she would eventually join him. The sooner the better in that case.

With one last glance at the clock Elizabeth turned towards Matthew who was in the middle of a conversation with Veruka and lightly touched his wing to get his attention. Matthew turned and looked over at Elizabeth. His eyes still contained a strength that most Pokemon would have lost days ago but Elizabeth could tell that it was waning fast. Still there was not a single sign of fear in his eyes. At least none that he would let show.

"(Elizabeth? What is it my dear?)"

Elizabeth nervously tapped her pincers together. Terrified to say what was on her mind for fear that it would make his final hour even more painful than it already was. On the other hand she knew that if she didn't tell him now she would regret it for the rest of her life.

"(Matzew...I....I need to speak vith you in private for a minute.)" Matthew looked over at Veruka and indicated Jenna with his wing. "(Veruka would you give us a minute please and check on master for me? I'm a little concerned about her.)" Veruka nodded and got to her feet, going over to check on Jenna who appeared on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Once she was out of earshot Matthew returned his gaze to Elizabeth.

"(Alright Elizabeth what is it that you wish to discuss in private?)"

Elizabeth took in a deep breath and sat down next to Matthew, taking his right wing in her claws and looking deeply into his eyes. "(Matzew I...I have never quite known how to say zis and many times I have vundered if I vould ever say it but...now I know zat if I don't I vill regret it for ze rest of my life. Matzew… I… I love you...please forgive me. Not just as a friend but...in ze same way zat Angel loved you. Matzew I have felt zis vay almost since ze day ve first met. I have always vanted to tell you but I vas always afraid of vhat you might say. But now...I'm afraid I've taken too long. Matzew… please forgive me.)" Elizabeth hung her head as tears fell from her ruby eyes. Terrified of what his response would be.

Matthew looked at her for several seconds without saying anything. Finally after a good half a minute Matthew slowly reached his other wing out and placed it on top of Elizabeth's claws. They stared deeply into each other's eyes for several more seconds before Matthew spoke. "(Elizabeth, my dear sweet Elizabeth. You needn't have been afraid to tell me something such as this. I can understand why you would have been afraid but...Elizabeth you know me better than anyone. Did you honestly think that I would be mad or even upset by this news? No my dear. I'm just sad that it's taken you this long to finally come out and tell me your true feelings.)" Matthew removed his wing from her claws and before Elizabeth knew what was happening Matthew had wrapped both of his wings around her and brought her into a tight hug. She buried her face into his shoulder as she continued to cry.

"(Oh Matzew...I'm so sorry.)" Matthew gently nuzzled her head with his beak. By this time the others had come closer to see what was the matter, although they kept a respectful distance after a terse glance from Matthew. Matthew held her like that for a few minutes until she looked up at him. Her eyes still moist from tears Elizabeth looked deeply into his and brought her face mere centimeters from his beak. "(Matzew. I need to know. Do you...feel ze same vay I feel about you?)" Matthew looked into her eyes and thought hard about her question.

Matthew looked into her eyes and thought hard about the question.

On one hand he was still deeply in love with Angel. He knew that with every fiber of his being and he knew that he would never stop loving her no matter how long she had been dead. She was still a part of him, a part of his very being and soul. Also, bird and bee? The very idea was folly, something that went against anything that could be considered natural

On the other hand, Elizabeth had been his friend and companion for as long as he could remember. They had been through so much together and even when Angel had died she had been there to comfort him in his grief. It occurred to him that he probably should have seen her feelings for him then, but he had just been so caught up in Angel's death and his own grief he had almost totally oblivious to the world around him at the time. And...as Marlowe had reminded him on more than one occasion, Angel was gone. She would have wanted him to move on and continue with his life. Not spend his remaining years buried in his grief and mourning her.

And frankly who did he care for more than Elizabeth in the world? Just Marlowe and Sibelius. The answer to her question was as simple to Matthew as it was painful to admit. He did have feelings for her, buried under his doubts, buried under what he considered correct; buried under the mountain of grief over Angel's death that he had never fully been able to let go of. And now it was finally time to let go of that grief and accept the love that he had been too ignorant to notice until now.

Matthew thought for only a few more seconds before answering her, knowing in his heart of hearts that what he was about to tell her was the absolute truth that he had denied himself for so many years. "(Yes Elizabeth, I do. It has taken me far too long to realize it, but I do. I love you.)" He leaned down and without a regret pressed his beak to her lips.

Elizabeth was slightly taken aback but was quick to get over it as she fell into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Matthew as the two of them shared their first truly passionate moment together.

Marlowe let out a deep sigh of content as he watched. "(You finally picked the honeysuckle Matthew)" Everyone looked over at Marlowe in confusion. Marlowe just shrugged. "(What it's poetic.)" Veruka just rolled her eyes as she began to usher the others back to give Matthew and Elizabeth some space.

The two of them held the embrace for what seemed an eternity when suddenly their world was shattered by the sound of a heavy metal door opening. Matthew looked up and saw that the guard had returned with four Magnezone and Calcifer standing right behind him. Matthew looked over at the clock and swallowed hard. He had half an hour left, what the hell were they doing here?

The guard stood to the side as Calcifer stepped in and looked over at Matthew before turning his gaze towards his family and friends. "(Alright visiting time is over. All of you can either get out or go to the viewing station.)" Elizabeth immediately stood up. A fire burning in her eyes that Matthew had only seen on a few occasions before.

"(And just vhy ze hell vould ve be required to leave now?! Matzew isn't to be...taken avay until midnight. Zis is our last chance to see him. Vhy can't you just give us a few more minutes!?)" Calcifer growled and walked right up to Elizabeth. Matthew didn't know what he would do if he struck her but he was certain that it would end with him getting shot. He knew that he had to stop this before Elizabeth did something foolish and quickly placed a wing on her shoulder. "(Elizabeth please let me talk to him.)" Matthew turned to Calcifer. "(Calcifer all I'm asking is two minutes to say goodbye to my loved ones. Surely you can give me that.)" Calcifer growled but as he looked over Jenna's Pokemon he knew that if he didn't do what Matthew wanted this could get ugly fast. "(Two minutes and I'm timing it.)" Calcifer took a step back as the others quickly grouped around Matthew to say their goodbyes.

Elizabeth couldn't help herself and broke into tears, shortly followed by Sibelius, while Marlowe did his best to control his emotions. Matthew embraced each of them in a tight hug and spoke to them briefly. Finally after releasing Jenna from his embrace he turned to Elizabeth.

"(Elizabeth our time has been cut short. But I don't want you to live as I have. Don't let my death engulf your life. Please Elizabeth. Keep on living)" And with that Matthew took a step back and was once again manacled and led off. Elizabeth yelling after him the whole way. "(Matzew please don't do zis!!! You can kill zem and escape!!! Please no!!!!!)" Elizabeth collapsed to the ground and sobbed uncontrollably as Marlowe and the other surrounded her while the door that Matthew had been led through slammed close with a resounding bang.

.................

The cold air rushing past his face brought Wilson back to his senses as he slowly came to. It took him only a second to remember everything that had happened at his mansion with the two masked intruders and their Pokemon and he immediately snapped his eyes open. Only to wish that he hadn't.

Wilson let out a deafening scream as he found himself dangling over a thousand meters above the ground. Below him he could make out the lights coming from the grounds of his mansion which appeared as nothing more than a dollhouse from this altitude. He continued to yell out in horror as he looked up and saw the Dragonite that had earlier knocked Tiberius out cold gripping his arms tightly as it held him while gently flapping it's wings to maintain its altitude.

The Dragonite took notice of the fact that he was awake and gave him a death glare as the taller of the masked intruders leaned his head over the side of the Dragonite's back and looked down at Wilson, malice evident in his eyes.

"Oh would you shut up already. It's not like I'm going to have him drop you...well yet anyways." He leaned over so that he had a clear view of Wilson as he tried his best to struggle out of the Dragonite's vice like grip to no avail. After realizing the futility of his actions Wilson finally relaxed and stared back up at Sam.

"What the hell do you want? There's plenty of shit you could have stolen from my mansion already and I can assure you that I can pay you any ransom demand that you want if you just let me down." Sam just clicked his tongue in an annoyed manner. "Sorry not really interested in any of that. However, I would really appreciate it if you would be so kind as to give me the combination to the safe in your office."

Wilson looked at Sam in shock. "How do you know about that safe?" He blurted without thinking, quickly realizing that it would have been better to feign ignorance regarding the issue. Sam took advantage of his mistake and pressed the issue. "That's not important. What is important is you giving me the combination. You do that I drop you off at the nearest rooftop and we can pretend this entire night never happened. Sound good?" Wilson's eyes narrowed and the insolent tone that he had used back at the mansion quickly returned to his voice.

"And why would I give you that combination? It's not like you're going to kill me if I-" Wilson didn't get to finish his sentence as Sean let go of his arms and Wilson plummeted towards the ground.

Wilson let out an ear splitting scream as he fell. The ground quickly coming up to meet him as he shut his eyes against the wind rushing past his face. He didn't want to see the ground right before he hit.

Suddenly, he felt his descent come to a sudden stop as he had the wind knocked out of him by the near instantaneous deceleration. He looked up and was shocked to see that the Dragonite was holding him in it's claws again as it soared back up to a higher altitude. Looking down, he realized they couldn’t be more than fifty meters off the ground. Wilson was so shaken by the event that all he could do was shake in terror as Sam once again leaned over and looked down at him.

"You know, what has always shocked me is how afraid people are of death by falling. Sure the initial fall is terrifying, but when you hit the ground, provided that you started from a high enough altitude, you will die so quickly that you won't feel any pain. And yet people are still so terrified of the event." Sam continued to stare at Wilson for a few more seconds before shrugging. "At any rate let me explain to you how this is going to work. You are going to tell me the combination to the safe in your office. Every time that you refuse I have my Dragonite drop you. Each time he catches you at a lower and lower altitude until either: A, you tell me the combination; or B, it gets so low that he fails to catch you and you drive yourself into the ground and save the undertaker the arduous task of digging your grave. So what's it going to be?"

Wilson continued to shake in fear as he looked up at Sam and his Dragonite, his eyes nearly bulging from his head. Yet despite all of this Sam could still see the defiance evident in his features. After almost a good minute he got himself recomposed and without preamble looked Sam straight in the eye and said; "Go to hell. You aren't a killer. If you were you would have shot me back at the pit. So why don't you set me down and we can all save a ton of time and effort on both our parts."

Sam looked down at Wilson for a second before giving him a half hearted shrug, "Your choice. Drop him."

Sean grinned and did as he was told. Wilson didn't scream this time, certain that the masked man wasn't going to let him die. However, as the ground got closer and closer and he still saw no sight of the Dragonite he started to get concerned. When the ground seemed a mere hundred meters below him he let out an earsplitting wail. At the very last second the Dragonite swooped in and caught him before dragging him back up again. He couldn’t have been more than five meters off the ground this time.

Wilson nervously looked up at Sam who stared back at him with a glacial stare. "Alright enough games. I don't have time to play around with you all night. Next time I let him drop you he's going to grab you by your balls and drag you back up here! And we'll do that over and over again until you are either castrated or you give me the combination to your safe!! I was being nice earlier but I'm out of time. Now it's your choice whether or not you walk away from this intact or not!"

Wilson looked into the man's eyes and could almost feel the cold malice emanating from them. He had misjudged him. While he might not outright kill him this man was willing to have his Dragonite break his body apart bit by bit until he got what he wanted.

With a resigned look Wilson lowered his head and gave a slight nod. "Alright...I'll give you what you want." Sam nodded and Sean turned and flew back to the mansion. He deposited them on the back porch at which point Sam grabbed Wilson by the scruff of his shirt and dragged him to his office where Jake was still waiting. The Sceptile tapped his wrist where a watch would be on a human, indicating that he had been waiting for awhile.

"Sorry we took so long. It took a little more persuading than I had hoped to get him to give it up." Sam pushed Wilson in the direction of the safe and stood off to the side of him. "Alright what's the combination?" In a low voice tinged with venom Wilson rambled off a numerical sequence that Sam quickly spun in. The lock clicked and Sam pulled the heavy steel door open. Inside were rows of folders stuffed with papers. Each one was labeled and Sam quickly scanned them before removing two folders. One labeled "Business" and the other labeled "Private"

He began to read through both folders at a rapid clip as his eyes got wide in horror as he read the contents. He stopped several times to give Wilson a withering gaze before returning to the material. The entire time Wilson just stood in the corner of the room and sulked as Jake kept a close eye on him.

After five minutes Sam snapped the folders shut and looked up at Wilson. His eyes felt like two laser's burning into Wilson's as he slowly set the folder down and walked over to him. Without warning he grabbed Wilson by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground, ramming his body against the wall.

"You son of a bitch." Sam hissed between clenched teeth. "So that's your dirty little secret? You run every single underground fighting ring in the Sinnoh region? Taking a cut from the bets and then harvesting the organs of the dead and barely alive Pokemon from the fights? To sell on the black market? No wonder I couldn't find anything about your legitimate businesses, they're just fronts! Aren't they? A ruse to keep the cops from sniffing around a rich kid! A rich kid who...as far as I can determine from what I just read in the other folder...isn't what he appears."

Sam let Wilson fall to the ground and walked back over to the folder that was labeled as "Private" and tapped it with his finger. "Isn't that right Wilson. Or should I call you Giovanni?"

Wilson's face took on a dark look as he glared at Sam. "So...you know now. You know who my father was and what I am?"

Sam nodded. "Pretty moronic keeping a copy of your birth certificate and a picture of you with your father in that safe. Eventually someone would have found out that you were the bastard son of the worst criminal in the history of Kanto."

At that phrase Wilson exploded. "CRIMINAL!!? My father was a great man! He had a vision that no one else could see or even begin to understand! Least of all those League trainers, specially that bitch Canelli! When Team Rocket tried to rise again in Johto to contact my father they were the ones who drove them from the radio tower. They were the ones who prevented them from contacting him! If it wasn't for them my father would have returned to lead Team Rocket to new glorious heights. With his leadership Team Rocket could finally have come to control Kanto and eventually the world! Pokemon would have been put in their rightful place as the servants of humanity and a new golden age would have come for mankind!! But thanks to them I was forced to scrounge by on money from pit fights and organ harvesting to try and rebuild his organization. I swore that one day I would find a way to destroy them for what they did to my father and his loyal compatriots. And now, after so long, it's finally happening! No one is going to get in my way..."

With surprising speed Wilson reached under the coffee table sitting next to him and removed a short barreled revolver, pointing it at Sam.

Sam was in too much shock from what he had just heard from Wilson to react but to his credit once he relaxed enough from the surprise reveal of the pistol he didn't move or flinch. Instead he simply leaned back against Wilson's desk and let out a deep sigh. "Nice move there Wilson. I didn't find that gun when I was turning your office over earlier. But tell me this. How did you manage to ensure that Jenna lost that trial? I mean it's obvious that you set up the whole thing by having Tiberius take the fall against Matthew in that battle but you had no assurance that you would win in court against her. And for that matter why not just pay someone to shoot her? This whole thing seems like a huge waste of time on your part to me."

Wilson grinned wickedly as he cocked the hammer on the revolver. Jake made a move to attack but Sam held up a hand as Wilson switched the sights to him.

"Outright kill her? And make her and her Pokemon martyrs? I think not. Much better to first destroy her reputation and the reputation of her Pokemon. Then take everything that she holds dear and finally when she is nothing left but a bitter husk then have her die in a tragic accident that almost no one cares about. And as for the trial I never had any doubts I would win. Helps when the judge and Canelli's lawyer are in my pocket. Not to mention her own Mothim. Turns out Tiberius was able to turn him over to my side very easily. Not that it matters now. Tiberius will take care of him when this is all over. But I'm afraid that you won't be alive to see it."

Wilson tightened his grip on the pistol and without a second of hesitation pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

Wilson looked down at his pistol in shock and pulled the trigger again. And once more nothing happened. He continued to pull the trigger continuously with the same results. Finally he opened the cylinder and gaped at the five empty chambers. He looked up at Sam and silently cursed as he saw him reach his hand into his pocket, pulling out five familiar-looking bullets. Wilson's took a step back in fright as he dropped the gun to the ground. At the same time Sam reached into his pocket once more and took out his cell phone. Wilson looked at it for a second and he saw that the light indicating it was recording audio was on.

"Two things Wilson. Number one you really should learn to tell the difference in weight between a loaded and an unloaded gun. And two learn not to spout your mouth off. You never know who might be listening." Sam tapped the screen to turn the recorder off and pocketed the phone before taking the folders and putting them into his backpack. "Well I've had a very enjoyable evening but I'm afraid that I have to be off. But don't worry I'm sure that the police will be here in a little while to clean things up for me." Sam grabbed Wilson's desk phone and dialed 911. When the operator came on Sam yelled something incoherent and without preamble drew his own pistol and fired five shots into Wilson's wall before putting a sixth into the phone. He holstered the pistol and looked outside to see Wilson's security guards running towards the house.

He gave a mock salute to Wilson with two fingers before returning Jake and turning towards the large window and opening it. Just as he was about to jump out he heard the sound of pounding feet. Before he had a chance to turn around Wilson’s arm was around his neck, the pressure around it growing strong by the moment. Sam gasped as his self defense training kicked in. He reached for Wilson's wrist and ripped it hard while pulling his head under Wilson's weakened arm, twisting it around. Unfortunately by doing so Sam's mask was caught on Wilson's sleeve and pulled inside out, coming off his head.
Wilson looked up at Sam's face in recognition as Sam laid his fist down onto Wilson's elbow, Breaking the bone with a sickening sound before slamming his fist a second time into Wilson's face.

Wilson collapsed to the floor as he continued to stare at Sam. His face fully visible in the moonlight. Sam looked down at him and suddenly realized that his mask was gone. The two continued to stare at each other. Neither moving a muscle. Sam knew that this man would do everything he could to kill him after this was all over. If he took him out now it would be safer for both himself and anyone close to him. On the other hand if he shot Wilson in cold blood he would be no better than him. Nothing more than a common thug and a murderer.

He contemplated the decision for a few more seconds before making up his mind. He launched his boot out and kicked Wilson in the jaw, sending a spray of blood and teeth into the air. He then turned around and jumped out into the night air through the open window, landing on Sean's back. The Dragonite swooped in just above ground level, knocking several of the guards with a powerful gust of wind before shooting up and launching himself forward.

Sam let out a deep sigh as he leaned down so that he could speak to him. "Head to the governor's mansion in Veilstone City Sean!! I have what we need to end this!!" Sean nodded, knowing the dire urgency of their situation, and shot forward at full speed as Sam looked down at his watch.

They didn't have much time.

Description

The Hargreave estate was lit up like a carnival. A small fleet of luxury vehicles was parked in the driveway as bright lights and loud music blared from the backyard, occasionally punctuated by a loud yell or cheer. However, the house itself stood dark and silent amid the ruckus going on in back. The only visible activity being the half a dozen armed guards patrolling the grounds of the estate.

Sam and Luke crouched near the front gate of the estate, hidden in a large clump of bushes. They were both dressed similarly in head to toe black pants and T-shirts with ski masks ready to be pulled down over their heads at a moment's notice. At Luke's suggestion they also both wore surgical gloves on their hands so as not to leave any fingerprints.

While Sam got his Pokemon ready to infiltrate the grounds Luke used a pair of binoculars to try and get a feel for the guard's patrol routes. To say the least he wasn't happy about it.

"You never mentioned anything about armed guards Sam. For that matter what does Wilson need with armed guards? Sure he's rich but don't most rich people just install a state of the art security system and a panic room and then leave it at that?" Sam gave a light shrug. "Search me. However, I think that it is more proof that he has something to hide. Either way they won't be a problem." Sam turned to Jake. "I need you to distract them while we head for the mansion. Once we're in they won't be an issue." Sam turned back to the gate and quickly picked the lock, slowly sliding the gate open to avoid making too much noise.

Once the gate was open he slowly turned to look at Luke as he pulled his ski mask down. "Last chance to back out Luke." Luke looked at the mansion and then back at Sam before pulling his mask down. "Let's get this over with."

Sam and Luke both entered the grounds and quietly closed the gate behind them as Jake vanished into the shadows.

Luke watched the Sceptile vanish before turning his attention to the armed guards. "So...mind cluing me in on how Jake is going to get us past those guards?" Sam just raised a hand for silence. Luke complied and waited with Sam. He looked down at his watch. It was 8:30. They had three and a half hours before Matthew would be executed.

Sam continued to sit perfectly still as the minute hand on Luke's watch moved at what Luke thought was an agonizingly fast pace. Each minute they spent waiting for Jake was another minute that brought them closer to Matthew's death. Finally after a good ten minutes of waiting Luke started to speak up but before he could utter a single syllable a massive burst of light appeared on the far edge of the estate grounds. All of the guards immediately turned and started running in the direction of the blast.

Luke was so transfixed by the scene that he barely felt Sam tap him on the shoulder. Luke turned and Sam indicated for the two of them to start moving towards the mansion. They crossed the grounds swiftly. Using trees and shrubs for cover but not spending any time dawdling. From the time of the explosion to reaching the side door of the mansion had taken them all of two minutes. By this time the guards had all congregated by the edge of the grounds but as far as Luke could tell they hadn't found anything and were just as confused as he was. Luke watched as Sam went over to an electrical box which he promptly opened and after a minute with a wire cutters returned to the side door and started to pick the lock.

Luke stayed silent for several seconds, not wanting to disrupt Sam's concentration but finally his curiosity got the better of him. "Umm, Sam what the hell was that flash of light?" Sam didn't look away from the lock he was picking as he answered. "Jake's solar beam. Takes him awhile to charge it up at night but the effects, as I'm sure you saw, are quite spectacular. And apparently enough to lure away half a dozen bored rent a cops." The lock suddenly opened with a resounding click and Sam waited a second before opening the door and slowly walking into the mansion's kitchen. He looked around for a second before taking out a small flashlight and handing another to Luke.

Luke switched the light on revealing Jake standing right in front of him. Luke jumped back in shock as Jake gave him a smug look. "Damnit! Almost gave me a heart attack there." Sam just smiled at his Sceptile's antics as he took out two more of his poke balls and released Shadow and Ace. Luke released his Typhlosion Tobias and Weavile Todd. The six of them congregated in the living room as Sam took out two set's of floor plans he had found online.

"Alright I don't know how long we have before those idiots outside figure out what happened. Or before the party in back decides to move into the house. So we are going to have to split up and do this as fast as possible. Luke you and your team take the first floor and I'll take the second floor. We'll meet back here in an hour unless we find something in which case we call the other person on our cell phone. Shadow is going to be on the roof keeping a lookout. If anyone comes towards the house she'll let me know and then I'll call you. Either way if we have to get out fast we go to the second floor and fly out on Ace. It's not subtle or ideal but it beats getting caught."
Luke nodded as he studied the blueprint in front of him. "What about security systems that weren't linked to the building's power?" Sam looked over his own blueprint before shrugging. "We'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it. Right now it's all about time. We have...just over three hours to find evidence, bring it to the governor, and hope that it get's Matthew's execution canceled or at the very least postponed. Now let's get to work."

Sam and Luke along with their Pokemon quickly spread out and began a frenetic search of the mansion. Knowing that time was indeed not on their side.

............

After an hour of searching the second floor of Wilson's mansion Sam had come up empty handed and was starting to get a little concerned about his prospects. So far the only evidence that he had been able to find was proof that Wilson was a pompous jackass. The only pictures that were visible in the house were of Wilson and Tiberius, not to mention the screen saver on his computer which was simply a montage of selfies. This hadn't stopped Sam from looking through his computer which had been easy enough to enter, the password had been Tiberius. Wilson sure loved that furball.

However, this had been a lost cause. The only thing on Wilson's computer were hundreds of videogames and several gigabytes of porn. Not one single reference to his business or finances or even what his parents did for a living. Sam shut the computer and rubbed his eyes. He and his Pokemon had already checked every room from top to bottom and hadn't found a single thing linking Wilson to any kind of foul play. He had hoped that the office would be different but as far as he could tell it was nothing more than another part of the playpen belonging to a rich spoiled brat.

Sam let out a deep sigh and looked at his watch. He hadn't heard from Luke which he assumed meant that he hadn't found anything either. This was all nothing but a pointless waste of time.

In his frustration Sam angrily slammed his fist into the wall behind him in frustration, and to his great surprise it smashed clean through. Sam immediately took pause. He hadn't hit the wall that hard. Slowly he retracted his hand and to his even greater astonishment a good square meter of drywall came off the wall. Sitting behind it reflecting in the glow of Sam's flashlight was a safe with a combination lock on the front.

Of course. He had been an idiot for not thinking of it earlier. Wilson never would have been stupid enough to leave anything incriminating out in the open or on his computer. He would have locked it away. And seeing as how neither he nor Luke had been able to find a safe it was a logical conclusion that it would have been hidden.

A smile came to Sam's face as he looked the safe over. It would be very difficult to crack it, literally. While his Dragonite Sean might be able to smash it open they didn't have that kind of time.

He was thinking about the possibility of removing the entire safe from the wall when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Sam quickly removed it and answered before the end of the second ring.

"Luke listen before you say anything I just found a safe in Wilson's office. I don't know how we are going to open it but I think that you should get up here." There was a pause on the other end that seemed to drag on before Luke finally answered. "Alright, but...I think there’s something a bit more urgent here. I'm on the edge of the woods in the backyard, and I really think you need to see this." Sam waited to see if Luke was going to give him anymore to go on and when all he heard on he other end was silence he gave an imperceptible shrug. "I'll be right down. But I really want to get into this safe and see what Wilson has in there."

Sam hung up and called his Pokemon to him. He left Jake with the safe to try and figure a way to get it open while he headed back downstairs and out the patio door to where Luke was sitting.

"Okay what's this all about? Did you find something that we can use?" Luke shook his head and Sam's expression immediately turned from optimism to annoyance. "Then why the hell did you call me down here? We are on a very tight schedule Luke and that safe up there is our best bet to-" Luke cut him off and indicated his Weavile Todd sitting on the ground. "I sent Todd back towards the party in the woods to scope it out and let us know what was going on there. He just came back a few minutes ago and...I don't know what he saw but he is demanding that I follow him back there. He knows the stakes we are under and he wouldn't want us to follow him if it wasn't important."

Sam sucked in a breath and slowly let it out before turning to Todd. The Weavile had a look of shock on his face, a look that Sam had seen many times before, it was the look of one who had seen death.

"Alright let's get going. Jake is working on the safe and hopefully he can figure something out by the time that we get back."

The two humans stood and followed Todd as he led them back through the woods. As they got closer to the sound of the party Sam could hear loud yells of excitement as loud music blared and lights flashed. Then he heard another sound. One more guttural and definitely not human. It was like the roar of an angry Luxray which was quickly followed by a scream of agony. Sam looked over at Luke and then two of them quickened their pace. The lights of the party were now almost blinding after being in darkness for so long and Sam hoped that they weren't accidentally seen.

Ahead of them the trees parted and Sam and Luke were finally able to see what had caused Todd to want them to follow him back there. To say the least, they were horrified.

The clearing ahead was roughly half the size of a soccer pitch. But rather than a field a small Colosseum had been built, complete with raised seats in a circle all facing down towards a central pit. On the seats about a dozen people laughed and drank heavily while looking down into the central pit, cheering and booing in equal measures while yelling various barely discernible yells of profanity and screams of anger.

But it was what was in the pit that sent a shiver up Sam and Luke's collective spines. The pit was an almost perfect circle that was sunk about three meters into the ground and had a diameter of about fifteen meters. The bottom of the pit was covered in coarse sand that was stained with numerous rust colored splotches. The walls were lined with countless claw marks and appeared to be painted an off red color. No, they weren't red, they were just stained that color, the same color as the stains in the sand. Dried blood.

The source was quickly evident. Two Pokemon were present in the pit. One Sam immediately recognized as Tiberius, his muzzle and front paws coated in a thin layer of blood, his eyes had a slightly manic look to them and were filled with what could only be described as an unquenchable bloodlust. Across from Tiberius was a bloody and bruised female Ampharos wearing a soothe bell around her neck. Barely able to stay on her feet as she tried to stare down Tiberius. She was covered from head to toe in various cuts and bruises, dying her normally yellow fur a dark shade of red.

Scattered around the two Pokemon were the bones of various other Pokemon. There were enough bones in the pit that Sam estimated several dozen Pokemon had met their end there.

As the two watched Tiberius charged forwards and slammed his shoulder into the Ampharos, throwing her back into the wall of the pit and making her cry out in agony as a sharp crack was heard, her arm was broken.

The crowd cheered loudly as Tiberius strutted around the badly wounded Ampharos. He was taking his time with the kill. Prolonging it for the enjoyment of the crowd.

Standing next to him Sam heard Luke suck in his breath. "My god. What the hell did we just walk into?" Sam remained silent for a second before answering, barely able to believe what he was seeing either. "I think we're looking at a Pokemon deathmatch. You would be surprised how common they are. It's become a rather successful and disgusting underground sport. People go and bet on who will win and then they throw them in and see what happens. It's basically gladiatorial combat with Pokemon." Sam spat in anger as he reached around to his lower back.

Luke continued to stare on in shock as Tiberius slapped the Ampharos across the face, leaving three red lines from his claws. His shock quickly replaced with anger. "Wilson. That bastard is probably in charge of this whole thing. Come on let's-" But before Luke could finish Sam had already stepped out of the woods and was quickly headed towards the arena. He moved a quick and deliberate pace, a poke ball in one hand and his pistol in the other. Luke quickly took two of his own poke ball off his belt and also came forward, Todd following behind him, his claws unsheathed.

No one noticed the two as Tiberius stood over the half dead Ampharos. Her breathing was coming in ragged gasps and it was obvious that she had no fight left in her. She slowly raised her head and looked up at Tiberius, a pleading look on her face. Tiberius just smirked and slammed his paw down onto her head as he lowered his head, ready to tear out her jugular.

His teeth were mere inches away from her neck when suddenly several bright flashes of light lit up the clearing. Tiberius looked up just in time to see a massive Dragonite with horribly shredded wings flying towards him. Tiberius started to turn and run but before he could take more than a few steps the Dragonite was on him. Turning at the last second before it's enormous body impacted with the Persian the Dragonite slammed it's thick muscular tail into Tiberius with a sickening thud.

Tiberius was thrown back and hit the wall with a crack. His body slumping to the ground, whether he was unconscious, in a coma, or dead was anybody's guess.

The sudden attack took Wilson's guests by surprise as they all stared in shock into the arena. This lasted only for a few seconds before Wilson, who had been sitting in the middle of the group, stood up and pulled a small pistol from an ankle holster which he proceeded to point at the Dragonite who returned the threat with a death glare.

"What is the meaning of this!? How dare you-" Wilson didn't get to finish as a single gunshot sounded. Everyone ducked down and looked over in the direction the shot had come from. Sam was standing there, his pistol in hand pointed directly at Wilson and his guest's, his eyes burning as he took a step forward.

"I'm only going to say this once. Drop the damn gun."

Wilson looked back at Sam. True fear evident on his face stared back at the masked man holding a pistol on him. His guests didn't seem to know what to think. They were either too drunk or too afraid to try and interfere in anyway. This suited Sam just fine. While they were far enough away that the guards probably wouldn't be able to discern the gunshot, if Wilson's guests ran for help Sam wasn't going to kill them. Sure, he would kneecap Wilson, but as much as he wanted to beat to death every single one of the sick bastards sitting before him he knew, deep down, he couldn't do it.

Slowly, after looking between Sam and the Dragonite, whose skin he was pretty sure his pistol couldn't pierce anyways, Wilson dropped his gun to the ground and took a step back.

Sam quickly approached them, covered by Shadow and Ace along with Luke's Pokemon who had also materialized out of the woods. He quickly turned to Luke and indicated the barely breathing Ampharos whom his Dragonite Sean had taken out of the pit and was holding gingerly in his claws. "I think that you'd better check on her and see if you can help." He then turned to Wilson and his guests. "As for all of you. Get in the damn pit."

The guests all looked at each other before Wilson stepped forward. Apparently having gained a touch of courage knowing that he wasn't going to be killed on the spot. It was obvious that he was drunk but that did nothing to diminish his anger as he started towards Sam. "And just why the hell would we do that? And who the hell do you think you are interrupting this private party and waving a goddamn gun around like some kind of maniac? Do you have any idea who I am or who you are messing with?"

Sam calmly leveled the gun at him, glad that he couldn't see the sweat rolling down his face. "I'm the guy who's breaking up this little blood-sport of yours and making sure that all of you get what you rightly deserve for this." He indicated the Ampharos as Luke checked over her injuries and tried his best to stem the blood flow using a small first aid kit.

Wilson scoffed. "Blood-sport!? This is no different from what Pokemon do in the wild. Or what trainers do. We just take a step farther and bring it into it's natural state. None of those silly rules and regulations that you trainers think makes you all high and mighty and beacons of morality. Face it, deep down you are just the same as me and my friends. Now get the hell off my property and I might just forget about all of this and let you live. You're as naive as the rest of those pompous douchebags in the Pokemon League or that bitch Jenna-"

Sam's temper snapped. With a swift lunge he leapt forward and rammed his fist into Wilson's gut, putting his not inconsequential weight behind the punch. Wilson's breath came out in a gasp as he sank to his knees. He wanted to pistol whip Wilson terribly, but he knew that with his strength and temper he very well might kill him if he did so. Instead he launched a front kick that threw Wilson onto his back where he lay, gagging in pain.

Wilson's guests didn't need further coaxing and they all quickly climbed down into the pit and huddled together in fear. Sam ignored them as he turned off the lights around the pit. Plunging the whole area into darkness and leaving his guests whimpering in fear.

"Oh shut up. Wilson's lackey's will be along in a few hours to get you out. Until then enjoy the primal state of nature that you are all claiming to exemplify. Just hope a Mightyena doesn't wander along. I'm sure you would all make wonderful appetizers." With that Sam grabbed Wilson by his lapel and started dragging him back towards the mansion with Luke following behind doing his best to treat the wounded Ampharos while Sean carried her.

Sam dumped Wilson in a lawn chair by the pool side while Luke took the Ampharos inside and laid her down on Wilson's leather couch, staining the furniture with her blood. He watched as Luke began to work on her before turning to Wilson who was slowly beginning to come back to his senses after the brutal punch.

Wilson looked back up at Sam with rage burning in his eyes. "I don't who you are, but you have no idea the shitstorm that you just brought down on yourself. You think that you can just break into my home, interrupt my party and then walk out of here without any consequences? You're going to die! And it's not going to be a slow death either, I'll make sure of that! Maybe feed you to a hungry pack of Mightyena's. Or maybe dump you in a tank full of half starved Croconaw's and let them do the job. Oh the possibilities! And I won't stop there. I'll send you to your grave knowing that I'm going to destroy your family and do to your Pokemon what I was going to do to that bitch Ampharos. I'm going to..." Wilson kept on talking, continuing to spout off while Sam just stood there. Totally ignoring his angry tirade and recognizing it for what it was. The empty words of someone who was used to being in control of things suddenly being forced into the position of the controlled.

Sam waited several minutes until Wilson was done before speaking. "Are you done yet? Because if you are I have things that I need to take care of. Chief among them are a couple of questions that I need answered. The first of which is, what is the combination to your office safe? And please don't bother lying about it's existence because I already found it behind the fake wall panel."

Wilson's eyes got wide at the mention of the safe but he quickly hid his shock and was about to start into another bought of threatening Sam when Luke suddenly came out the door and approached Sam. His clothes were stained with blood and Sam could see the tension apparent on his eyes as he looked back at Sam.

"Can I talk with you a second in private?" Sam nodded and the two of them walked into the house while Sean kept an eye on Wilson.

"What is it Luke? Is she going to be alright?" Luke looked down at the Ampharos and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Not if I don't get her to a Pokemon center in the next half an hour. She's lost a lot of blood and has numerous internal injuries. She needs emergency surgery and frankly I can't do that here. Also, there’s something else I think I should show you. Here’s the soothe bell that she was wearing. There’s a name on the collar. Look familiar to you?"

Sam took the bloodied collar in his hands and looked at the name on it. "Bell." He then turned the collar over. "From Elisa." Sam looked back at Luke. "Is this supposed to mean anything to me?"

Luke took the collar back and indicated the Ampharos. "Remember a the trial that girl who testified, Elisa Kälviäinen? Well, during the recess Jenna told me that Elisa and she spoke to each other. And during that time Elisa mentioned to her something about her Ampharos Bell being in danger if she talked to her."

Sam's eyes got wide. "So that Ampharos… Oh crap. Wilson kidnapped her Ampharos and forced Elisa to testify. Then he went and tried to kill Bell anyways."

Luke just nodded in agreement. "Yeah that's what it looks like. At any rate it won't matter if I don't get her to a Pokemon center. I'll see if I can get a hold of Elisa once I get to the center and see if maybe we can use this against Wilson. Not that it would do anything to help Matthew this late." Luke looked over at Wilson who was sitting as low in the lawn chair as he could, terrified of the huge Dragonite looming over him.

"Get Bell to the Pokemon center Luke. I'll see what I can do about Matthew. Do you have Nellie with you?" Luke shook his head. "I left her back at my ranch." Sam looked over at the Pidgeot who was standing in the living room with them. "You can take Ace. He should be able to carry you and Bell at the same time. Just make sure that Bell is taken care of."

Luke saw the hard edge in Sam's eyes and let out a deep breath. "Alright. Just...don't do anything crazy. Our goal is to save Matthew's life. Not to get revenge on Wilson." Sam didn't respond for a second before a small smile came to his features which were hidden by the ski mask. "Don't worry about it. Now get going. We're running low on time." Sam turned and walked back outside as Luke and Ace went outside. Sam watched as the two of them took off with Bell held loosely in Ace's talons.

Wilson had watched the scene with an expressionless face until Sam returned and the anger once again returned to his eyes.

"So now you're stealing my Pokemon from me now? And you accuse me of being a criminal." Sam controlled his temper to the best of his ability. Right then the only thing that he wanted was to smash Wilson's face into the pavement repeatedly but he knew that wouldn't solve anything.

"It's not stealing when said Pokemon was already stolen from it's master. I believe you are familiar with miss Elisa Kälviäinen."

Wilson's eyes seemed to bulge out of his head at the mention of Jenna's friend and he opened his mouth to say something but before he could a large scaly claw reached around from behind him and covered his face. Wilson tried to scream but didn't have a chance as his entire world went black.

..............

Elizabeth was running out of time.

By now almost every single member of the ranch had been brought to the prison, given time to speak with Matthew, and been returned to the ranch. The only ones remaining were Elizabeth, Marlowe, Sibelius, Veruka, Leopold, and to everyone's great surprise Zorro. The Mothim had practically demanded that he be allowed to stay which Elizabeth found to be rather suspicious. She had never known the two to get along and as far as she was concerned Zorro had no right to be one of the six ranch Pokemon that Matthew got to spend his final moments with. Still it ultimately wasn't her call and Matthew had been fine with it. Still...something about Zorro's demeanor was bothering her.

She pushed these thoughts aside and looked over at the clock on the wall. It read 10:50 PM. She only had slightly more than an hour before Matthew was due to be executed. If she was going to tell him it was now or never.

Elizabeth took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Her breath came out as a ragged wheezy sigh and she could taste blood in the back of her mouth. Not like she cared. Once Matthew was gone her only solace would be that she would eventually join him. The sooner the better in that case.

With one last glance at the clock Elizabeth turned towards Matthew who was in the middle of a conversation with Veruka and lightly touched his wing to get his attention. Matthew turned and looked over at Elizabeth. His eyes still contained a strength that most Pokemon would have lost days ago but Elizabeth could tell that it was waning fast. Still there was not a single sign of fear in his eyes. At least none that he would let show.

"(Elizabeth? What is it my dear?)"

Elizabeth nervously tapped her pincers together. Terrified to say what was on her mind for fear that it would make his final hour even more painful than it already was. On the other hand she knew that if she didn't tell him now she would regret it for the rest of her life.

"(Matzew...I....I need to speak vith you in private for a minute.)" Matthew looked over at Veruka and indicated Jenna with his wing. "(Veruka would you give us a minute please and check on master for me? I'm a little concerned about her.)" Veruka nodded and got to her feet, going over to check on Jenna who appeared on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Once she was out of earshot Matthew returned his gaze to Elizabeth.

"(Alright Elizabeth what is it that you wish to discuss in private?)"

Elizabeth took in a deep breath and sat down next to Matthew, taking his right wing in her claws and looking deeply into his eyes. "(Matzew I...I have never quite known how to say zis and many times I have vundered if I vould ever say it but...now I know zat if I don't I vill regret it for ze rest of my life. Matzew… I… I love you...please forgive me. Not just as a friend but...in ze same way zat Angel loved you. Matzew I have felt zis vay almost since ze day ve first met. I have always vanted to tell you but I vas always afraid of vhat you might say. But now...I'm afraid I've taken too long. Matzew… please forgive me.)" Elizabeth hung her head as tears fell from her ruby eyes. Terrified of what his response would be.

Matthew looked at her for several seconds without saying anything. Finally after a good half a minute Matthew slowly reached his other wing out and placed it on top of Elizabeth's claws. They stared deeply into each other's eyes for several more seconds before Matthew spoke. "(Elizabeth, my dear sweet Elizabeth. You needn't have been afraid to tell me something such as this. I can understand why you would have been afraid but...Elizabeth you know me better than anyone. Did you honestly think that I would be mad or even upset by this news? No my dear. I'm just sad that it's taken you this long to finally come out and tell me your true feelings.)" Matthew removed his wing from her claws and before Elizabeth knew what was happening Matthew had wrapped both of his wings around her and brought her into a tight hug. She buried her face into his shoulder as she continued to cry.

"(Oh Matzew...I'm so sorry.)" Matthew gently nuzzled her head with his beak. By this time the others had come closer to see what was the matter, although they kept a respectful distance after a terse glance from Matthew. Matthew held her like that for a few minutes until she looked up at him. Her eyes still moist from tears Elizabeth looked deeply into his and brought her face mere centimeters from his beak. "(Matzew. I need to know. Do you...feel ze same vay I feel about you?)" Matthew looked into her eyes and thought hard about her question.

Matthew looked into her eyes and thought hard about the question.

On one hand he was still deeply in love with Angel. He knew that with every fiber of his being and he knew that he would never stop loving her no matter how long she had been dead. She was still a part of him, a part of his very being and soul. Also, bird and bee? The very idea was folly, something that went against anything that could be considered natural

On the other hand, Elizabeth had been his friend and companion for as long as he could remember. They had been through so much together and even when Angel had died she had been there to comfort him in his grief. It occurred to him that he probably should have seen her feelings for him then, but he had just been so caught up in Angel's death and his own grief he had almost totally oblivious to the world around him at the time. And...as Marlowe had reminded him on more than one occasion, Angel was gone. She would have wanted him to move on and continue with his life. Not spend his remaining years buried in his grief and mourning her.

And frankly who did he care for more than Elizabeth in the world? Just Marlowe and Sibelius. The answer to her question was as simple to Matthew as it was painful to admit. He did have feelings for her, buried under his doubts, buried under what he considered correct; buried under the mountain of grief over Angel's death that he had never fully been able to let go of. And now it was finally time to let go of that grief and accept the love that he had been too ignorant to notice until now.

Matthew thought for only a few more seconds before answering her, knowing in his heart of hearts that what he was about to tell her was the absolute truth that he had denied himself for so many years. "(Yes Elizabeth, I do. It has taken me far too long to realize it, but I do. I love you.)" He leaned down and without a regret pressed his beak to her lips.

Elizabeth was slightly taken aback but was quick to get over it as she fell into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Matthew as the two of them shared their first truly passionate moment together.

Marlowe let out a deep sigh of content as he watched. "(You finally picked the honeysuckle Matthew)" Everyone looked over at Marlowe in confusion. Marlowe just shrugged. "(What it's poetic.)" Veruka just rolled her eyes as she began to usher the others back to give Matthew and Elizabeth some space.

The two of them held the embrace for what seemed an eternity when suddenly their world was shattered by the sound of a heavy metal door opening. Matthew looked up and saw that the guard had returned with four Magnezone and Calcifer standing right behind him. Matthew looked over at the clock and swallowed hard. He had half an hour left, what the hell were they doing here?

The guard stood to the side as Calcifer stepped in and looked over at Matthew before turning his gaze towards his family and friends. "(Alright visiting time is over. All of you can either get out or go to the viewing station.)" Elizabeth immediately stood up. A fire burning in her eyes that Matthew had only seen on a few occasions before.

"(And just vhy ze hell vould ve be required to leave now?! Matzew isn't to be...taken avay until midnight. Zis is our last chance to see him. Vhy can't you just give us a few more minutes!?)" Calcifer growled and walked right up to Elizabeth. Matthew didn't know what he would do if he struck her but he was certain that it would end with him getting shot. He knew that he had to stop this before Elizabeth did something foolish and quickly placed a wing on her shoulder. "(Elizabeth please let me talk to him.)" Matthew turned to Calcifer. "(Calcifer all I'm asking is two minutes to say goodbye to my loved ones. Surely you can give me that.)" Calcifer growled but as he looked over Jenna's Pokemon he knew that if he didn't do what Matthew wanted this could get ugly fast. "(Two minutes and I'm timing it.)" Calcifer took a step back as the others quickly grouped around Matthew to say their goodbyes.

Elizabeth couldn't help herself and broke into tears, shortly followed by Sibelius, while Marlowe did his best to control his emotions. Matthew embraced each of them in a tight hug and spoke to them briefly. Finally after releasing Jenna from his embrace he turned to Elizabeth.

"(Elizabeth our time has been cut short. But I don't want you to live as I have. Don't let my death engulf your life. Please Elizabeth. Keep on living)" And with that Matthew took a step back and was once again manacled and led off. Elizabeth yelling after him the whole way. "(Matzew please don't do zis!!! You can kill zem and escape!!! Please no!!!!!)" Elizabeth collapsed to the ground and sobbed uncontrollably as Marlowe and the other surrounded her while the door that Matthew had been led through slammed close with a resounding bang.

.................

The cold air rushing past his face brought Wilson back to his senses as he slowly came to. It took him only a second to remember everything that had happened at his mansion with the two masked intruders and their Pokemon and he immediately snapped his eyes open. Only to wish that he hadn't.

Wilson let out a deafening scream as he found himself dangling over a thousand meters above the ground. Below him he could make out the lights coming from the grounds of his mansion which appeared as nothing more than a dollhouse from this altitude. He continued to yell out in horror as he looked up and saw the Dragonite that had earlier knocked Tiberius out cold gripping his arms tightly as it held him while gently flapping it's wings to maintain its altitude.

The Dragonite took notice of the fact that he was awake and gave him a death glare as the taller of the masked intruders leaned his head over the side of the Dragonite's back and looked down at Wilson, malice evident in his eyes.

"Oh would you shut up already. It's not like I'm going to have him drop you...well yet anyways." He leaned over so that he had a clear view of Wilson as he tried his best to struggle out of the Dragonite's vice like grip to no avail. After realizing the futility of his actions Wilson finally relaxed and stared back up at Sam.

"What the hell do you want? There's plenty of shit you could have stolen from my mansion already and I can assure you that I can pay you any ransom demand that you want if you just let me down." Sam just clicked his tongue in an annoyed manner. "Sorry not really interested in any of that. However, I would really appreciate it if you would be so kind as to give me the combination to the safe in your office."

Wilson looked at Sam in shock. "How do you know about that safe?" He blurted without thinking, quickly realizing that it would have been better to feign ignorance regarding the issue. Sam took advantage of his mistake and pressed the issue. "That's not important. What is important is you giving me the combination. You do that I drop you off at the nearest rooftop and we can pretend this entire night never happened. Sound good?" Wilson's eyes narrowed and the insolent tone that he had used back at the mansion quickly returned to his voice.

"And why would I give you that combination? It's not like you're going to kill me if I-" Wilson didn't get to finish his sentence as Sean let go of his arms and Wilson plummeted towards the ground.

Wilson let out an ear splitting scream as he fell. The ground quickly coming up to meet him as he shut his eyes against the wind rushing past his face. He didn't want to see the ground right before he hit.

Suddenly, he felt his descent come to a sudden stop as he had the wind knocked out of him by the near instantaneous deceleration. He looked up and was shocked to see that the Dragonite was holding him in it's claws again as it soared back up to a higher altitude. Looking down, he realized they couldn’t be more than fifty meters off the ground. Wilson was so shaken by the event that all he could do was shake in terror as Sam once again leaned over and looked down at him.

"You know, what has always shocked me is how afraid people are of death by falling. Sure the initial fall is terrifying, but when you hit the ground, provided that you started from a high enough altitude, you will die so quickly that you won't feel any pain. And yet people are still so terrified of the event." Sam continued to stare at Wilson for a few more seconds before shrugging. "At any rate let me explain to you how this is going to work. You are going to tell me the combination to the safe in your office. Every time that you refuse I have my Dragonite drop you. Each time he catches you at a lower and lower altitude until either: A, you tell me the combination; or B, it gets so low that he fails to catch you and you drive yourself into the ground and save the undertaker the arduous task of digging your grave. So what's it going to be?"

Wilson continued to shake in fear as he looked up at Sam and his Dragonite, his eyes nearly bulging from his head. Yet despite all of this Sam could still see the defiance evident in his features. After almost a good minute he got himself recomposed and without preamble looked Sam straight in the eye and said; "Go to hell. You aren't a killer. If you were you would have shot me back at the pit. So why don't you set me down and we can all save a ton of time and effort on both our parts."

Sam looked down at Wilson for a second before giving him a half hearted shrug, "Your choice. Drop him."

Sean grinned and did as he was told. Wilson didn't scream this time, certain that the masked man wasn't going to let him die. However, as the ground got closer and closer and he still saw no sight of the Dragonite he started to get concerned. When the ground seemed a mere hundred meters below him he let out an earsplitting wail. At the very last second the Dragonite swooped in and caught him before dragging him back up again. He couldn’t have been more than five meters off the ground this time.

Wilson nervously looked up at Sam who stared back at him with a glacial stare. "Alright enough games. I don't have time to play around with you all night. Next time I let him drop you he's going to grab you by your balls and drag you back up here! And we'll do that over and over again until you are either castrated or you give me the combination to your safe!! I was being nice earlier but I'm out of time. Now it's your choice whether or not you walk away from this intact or not!"

Wilson looked into the man's eyes and could almost feel the cold malice emanating from them. He had misjudged him. While he might not outright kill him this man was willing to have his Dragonite break his body apart bit by bit until he got what he wanted.

With a resigned look Wilson lowered his head and gave a slight nod. "Alright...I'll give you what you want." Sam nodded and Sean turned and flew back to the mansion. He deposited them on the back porch at which point Sam grabbed Wilson by the scruff of his shirt and dragged him to his office where Jake was still waiting. The Sceptile tapped his wrist where a watch would be on a human, indicating that he had been waiting for awhile.

"Sorry we took so long. It took a little more persuading than I had hoped to get him to give it up." Sam pushed Wilson in the direction of the safe and stood off to the side of him. "Alright what's the combination?" In a low voice tinged with venom Wilson rambled off a numerical sequence that Sam quickly spun in. The lock clicked and Sam pulled the heavy steel door open. Inside were rows of folders stuffed with papers. Each one was labeled and Sam quickly scanned them before removing two folders. One labeled "Business" and the other labeled "Private"

He began to read through both folders at a rapid clip as his eyes got wide in horror as he read the contents. He stopped several times to give Wilson a withering gaze before returning to the material. The entire time Wilson just stood in the corner of the room and sulked as Jake kept a close eye on him.

After five minutes Sam snapped the folders shut and looked up at Wilson. His eyes felt like two laser's burning into Wilson's as he slowly set the folder down and walked over to him. Without warning he grabbed Wilson by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground, ramming his body against the wall.

"You son of a bitch." Sam hissed between clenched teeth. "So that's your dirty little secret? You run every single underground fighting ring in the Sinnoh region? Taking a cut from the bets and then harvesting the organs of the dead and barely alive Pokemon from the fights? To sell on the black market? No wonder I couldn't find anything about your legitimate businesses, they're just fronts! Aren't they? A ruse to keep the cops from sniffing around a rich kid! A rich kid who...as far as I can determine from what I just read in the other folder...isn't what he appears."

Sam let Wilson fall to the ground and walked back over to the folder that was labeled as "Private" and tapped it with his finger. "Isn't that right Wilson. Or should I call you Giovanni?"

Wilson's face took on a dark look as he glared at Sam. "So...you know now. You know who my father was and what I am?"

Sam nodded. "Pretty moronic keeping a copy of your birth certificate and a picture of you with your father in that safe. Eventually someone would have found out that you were the bastard son of the worst criminal in the history of Kanto."

At that phrase Wilson exploded. "CRIMINAL!!? My father was a great man! He had a vision that no one else could see or even begin to understand! Least of all those League trainers, specially that bitch Canelli! When Team Rocket tried to rise again in Johto to contact my father they were the ones who drove them from the radio tower. They were the ones who prevented them from contacting him! If it wasn't for them my father would have returned to lead Team Rocket to new glorious heights. With his leadership Team Rocket could finally have come to control Kanto and eventually the world! Pokemon would have been put in their rightful place as the servants of humanity and a new golden age would have come for mankind!! But thanks to them I was forced to scrounge by on money from pit fights and organ harvesting to try and rebuild his organization. I swore that one day I would find a way to destroy them for what they did to my father and his loyal compatriots. And now, after so long, it's finally happening! No one is going to get in my way..."

With surprising speed Wilson reached under the coffee table sitting next to him and removed a short barreled revolver, pointing it at Sam.

Sam was in too much shock from what he had just heard from Wilson to react but to his credit once he relaxed enough from the surprise reveal of the pistol he didn't move or flinch. Instead he simply leaned back against Wilson's desk and let out a deep sigh. "Nice move there Wilson. I didn't find that gun when I was turning your office over earlier. But tell me this. How did you manage to ensure that Jenna lost that trial? I mean it's obvious that you set up the whole thing by having Tiberius take the fall against Matthew in that battle but you had no assurance that you would win in court against her. And for that matter why not just pay someone to shoot her? This whole thing seems like a huge waste of time on your part to me."

Wilson grinned wickedly as he cocked the hammer on the revolver. Jake made a move to attack but Sam held up a hand as Wilson switched the sights to him.

"Outright kill her? And make her and her Pokemon martyrs? I think not. Much better to first destroy her reputation and the reputation of her Pokemon. Then take everything that she holds dear and finally when she is nothing left but a bitter husk then have her die in a tragic accident that almost no one cares about. And as for the trial I never had any doubts I would win. Helps when the judge and Canelli's lawyer are in my pocket. Not to mention her own Mothim. Turns out Tiberius was able to turn him over to my side very easily. Not that it matters now. Tiberius will take care of him when this is all over. But I'm afraid that you won't be alive to see it."

Wilson tightened his grip on the pistol and without a second of hesitation pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

Wilson looked down at his pistol in shock and pulled the trigger again. And once more nothing happened. He continued to pull the trigger continuously with the same results. Finally he opened the cylinder and gaped at the five empty chambers. He looked up at Sam and silently cursed as he saw him reach his hand into his pocket, pulling out five familiar-looking bullets. Wilson's took a step back in fright as he dropped the gun to the ground. At the same time Sam reached into his pocket once more and took out his cell phone. Wilson looked at it for a second and he saw that the light indicating it was recording audio was on.

"Two things Wilson. Number one you really should learn to tell the difference in weight between a loaded and an unloaded gun. And two learn not to spout your mouth off. You never know who might be listening." Sam tapped the screen to turn the recorder off and pocketed the phone before taking the folders and putting them into his backpack. "Well I've had a very enjoyable evening but I'm afraid that I have to be off. But don't worry I'm sure that the police will be here in a little while to clean things up for me." Sam grabbed Wilson's desk phone and dialed 911. When the operator came on Sam yelled something incoherent and without preamble drew his own pistol and fired five shots into Wilson's wall before putting a sixth into the phone. He holstered the pistol and looked outside to see Wilson's security guards running towards the house.

He gave a mock salute to Wilson with two fingers before returning Jake and turning towards the large window and opening it. Just as he was about to jump out he heard the sound of pounding feet. Before he had a chance to turn around Wilson’s arm was around his neck, the pressure around it growing strong by the moment. Sam gasped as his self defense training kicked in. He reached for Wilson's wrist and ripped it hard while pulling his head under Wilson's weakened arm, twisting it around. Unfortunately by doing so Sam's mask was caught on Wilson's sleeve and pulled inside out, coming off his head.
Wilson looked up at Sam's face in recognition as Sam laid his fist down onto Wilson's elbow, Breaking the bone with a sickening sound before slamming his fist a second time into Wilson's face.

Wilson collapsed to the floor as he continued to stare at Sam. His face fully visible in the moonlight. Sam looked down at him and suddenly realized that his mask was gone. The two continued to stare at each other. Neither moving a muscle. Sam knew that this man would do everything he could to kill him after this was all over. If he took him out now it would be safer for both himself and anyone close to him. On the other hand if he shot Wilson in cold blood he would be no better than him. Nothing more than a common thug and a murderer.

He contemplated the decision for a few more seconds before making up his mind. He launched his boot out and kicked Wilson in the jaw, sending a spray of blood and teeth into the air. He then turned around and jumped out into the night air through the open window, landing on Sean's back. The Dragonite swooped in just above ground level, knocking several of the guards with a powerful gust of wind before shooting up and launching himself forward.

Sam let out a deep sigh as he leaned down so that he could speak to him. "Head to the governor's mansion in Veilstone City Sean!! I have what we need to end this!!" Sean nodded, knowing the dire urgency of their situation, and shot forward at full speed as Sam looked down at his watch.

They didn't have much time.