Chapter - 4

"Elezar? ELEZAR! Answer me! Quickly!"

Finally, the screen flickered in to reveal Elezar, sitting on his throne

inside the Syndicate Base located somewhere in Arcana. While his

father had been plump and relatively jolly, Elezar was thin, pale and

bore no signs of any emotions on his sculpted face. His hair was

much shorter than his father's had been, and despite their close

proximity to their goals, also showed clear signs of recession.

Despite this, Elezar remained intently focused on Cassius.

"What is it, Cassius?"

"They've found us!" Cassius panicked, flailing his arms worriedly.

"Michael and those other pests have tracked us here. They have the

entire Arcana Police Force with them."

Elezar remained stone-faced. "So, it seems that our enemies are

finally on the move."

"You don't have to tell me that" the scientist squirmed.

"Calm yourself, Cassius. While Michael's movements are a surprise,

it is a welcome one. It means we merely have to accelerate our

plans."

"Accelerate our plans?" Cassius asked, bewildered by Elezar's lack

of concern. "We don't have enough Crimson Stones to test our

hypothesis! And if those miscreants manage to capture me, you

won't have anyone capable of utilizing them to their fullest potential.'

"Which is precisely why you will allow them to capture you."

Cassius's jaw dropped. "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR SENSES?!"

Elezar shook his head. "You claim to be a scientist, but your mind

tells me otherwise. Cassius, we are closer to achieving our goals

now than we have ever been before. Our numbers are still growing

in spite of the theatrics of the Elite Four. True, we currently lack the

needed Crimson Stones to achieve our goal. But that will not be for

long."

"And you just want me to surrender myself to them?"

"Your capture will dull the idea that the manhunts need to continue"

Elezar commented coldly. "It will compel the rest of those accursed

Kingstons to have Michael to begin the Arcana Pokémon League

season and it will allow the rest of our plans to unfold without a

hitch."

"Forgive me for not seeing things the way you do" Cassius cried out,

wiping sweat from off his forehead.

"Ever since my father was killed, Cassius, you and I have dreamed

that one day we could complete his research and use it to seize

complete control of Arcana. We have taken every precaution

possible to ensure that our plans do not fail. We have allies and

agents placed in every corner of Arcana. Do you honestly think that if

you are indeed captured, your internment would be permanent?"

Cassius heaved a sigh of relief. "For a moment, I suppose I did."

Elezar shrugged. "Think whatever you want, but the truth is the truth.

Your sacrifice will not only be the ultimate gambit to our plans, but it

will also be the moment that we have been waiting to happen for

over fifteen years." Elezar leans closer to the camera and did his

best to hide his smirk. "The Grand Master is coming back to Arcana."

In those eight short and simple words, all of Cassius's doubts and

fears left him. Now, there truly was no way for the Syndicate to lose.

With his research, Elezar's wealth and the mythical powers of The

Grand Master on their side, not even the mighty Elite Four would be

able to stop them. Cassius allowed himself to smile. "With that news,

it would be my honor to be captured on behalf of the Syndicate."

"Do be sure not to doubt me in the future" Elezar warned plainly.

"Once you are in their custody, you are to demand that you speak

with your attorney and that you will no say a word to the authorities

until he is at your side."

"And my lawyer would be?"

"I know a guy" Elezar spoke softly. "Now, play your part well, and

soon you'll be able to brand yourself an entire army of loyal soldiers."

With that, Elezar ended the communications.

Cassius straightened himself out and sighed, before he began to

guffaw loudly. Within seconds of his finished conversation with

Elezar, the doors to his private study were beginning to be pounded

on by his enemies. And yet, all Cassius could do was cackle as if he

were a witch in children's cartoons. The bookshelf that he had used

to keep the doorway sealed was blasted aside as a Lucario rushed

inside and glared at him. Behind the Pokemon came Cameron and

Michael. When his eyes met Michael's, Cassius once again could

only laugh.

"It's been a while, Cassius" Michael spoke coldly. "The last time I

saw you, I warned you that I'd get you back for what you did to me."

Cassius laughed more. "Oh, by all means, Michael. A pragmatic

scientist like me knows when to give up."

Cameron glared at him. "You better not pull anything, weirdo!"

"Not at all, my dear" Cassius remarked. "A defeat is a defeat."

Within an instant, the Lucario pinned Cassius down on his own desk

as Cameron put the handcuffs around his wrists. She then yanked

him back up to his feet. "If you're lucky" she mocked, "you can get a

cell right next to Giselle."

Michael grabbed his radio and made the call out to his uncle. "We've

got him. The base is secured and we have Cassius Sinclair in

custody. It's over."

Cassius looked back towards Michael as Cameron began to lead

him out of the room. "Over? Did you say that it was over, Michael?"

He laughed to himself and turned away from him. "This is far from

over, Michael. We have barely even begun." Cameron and Lucario

then push the scientist out of the door and back up the pathway

After the battle had ended and the remaining Syndicate peons were

flushed out of their hiding places and captured, Michael met with his

Uncle in the courtyard of the Abomasnow Labs.

"Thanks again for leading the campaign, Uncle" Michael confided to

his Uncle. "We couldn't have done it without your leadership."

Byron yawned an old man's yawn. "Well, I figured I'd rather my last

raid be one for the record books. And so it was. 300 Syndicate

goons rounded up and one of the most wanted men in all of Arcana

is now behind bars. I think that is a pretty good last assignment for

Captain Byron Kingston. Now, I can retire and spend some more

time on my cooking shows."

"You don't want one of those cushy Pokémon Gym jobs?" Michael

joked. "We need someone to cover for your brother while he

recovers from his knee surgery."

"Nah" Byron laughed. "I'll leave that stuff to you kids. Somehow, I

think I'm just not on the same level as you all."

"Can't say I didn't offer."

"No, I cannot."

Byron patted his nephew on the shoulder, before departing to

conclude their reports on the raid. Michael's attention then turned

towards his friends and cousins, who were grouped together by the

Main Gates of the lab, tending to their Pokémon. He approached

them casually, as Lizzie was reverting her glasses back to normal

and the others were feeding and nursing their Pokémon back to full

health.

"I'd say that's a job well done" Michael proclaimed.

"Yup" Mark agreed. "I think we did pretty well, considering how many

of them there was."

"We did better than well" Chris boasted. "That was the stuff of

legends right there. We stomped out the Syndicate. I'll bet Elezar is

on the next boat out of Arcana now that he knows we've got his lab

Rattata."

"Finally" Lizzie exclaimed, "we get a chance to rest and take a break

from all this raiding."

"Just in time for the Pokémon League to start" Cameron reminded

the others.

"Why'd you have to dull our good moods?" Chris asked his sister, a

hint of whining in his voice.

"She's right" Michael told his friends. "We don't really have much

time to relax. Not when we have to open up the League in a few

days." Michael walked past his friends and looked out onto the

horizon as the sun began to set in the distance. "It won't be long now

before we can put this whole Syndicate mess behind us and just

focus on the League."

"Hey Mike" Mark called to his friend. "Have you heard from Professor

Krane yet about that operation he was working on?"

"No" Michael remarked sadly, "and I think we're going to have to wait

a bit longer than I would have liked to."

Lizzie, as she finally managed to fix her glasses, looked to Michael.

"He'll get it done as soon as he can. But, with Cassius behind bars

and Elezar on the run, you shouldn't have to worry about the whole

"Crimson Fury" thing for a long time."

"Not quite, Lizzie" Michael replied, his mood darkening.

Chris turned to his cousin in confusion. "What do you mean, Mike?"

Cameron lowered her head. "Has it been 15 years already?"

"In a few months" Michael warned, "the Crimson Moon is going to

come back. The exposure I've had to it comes directly from the

branding Cassius and Elezar gave to me. Imagine that kind of power,

but without any semblance of reason. If Professor Krane doesn't get

that machine up and running soon, I can't begin to know what will

happen."

"We'll get through it like we always do" Chris told his cousin. "You got

to stop thinking so negatively, Mike. I swear, Cammie's rubbing off on

you."

Cameron glared at her brother, but said nothing to him. She turned

to her cousin. "The bum that we're related to does have a point,

Mike. You really should think positively.'

Michael nods in acknowledgement. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Chris recalled his Alakazam and looked to the others. "Come on, you

guys. Let's head out on the town for the night. Like we used to."

Cameron shook her head, though this time with a smile on her face.

"As much as I'd love to watch you strike out with women all night, I'm

gonna have to say no. Aunt Erin wants all the female Kingston

grandchildren in Alchemiburg for brunch and I'm not missing out on

Uncle Anthony's cooking."

"I'm gonna say no too, Chris" Lizzie replied. "I promised my Mom I'd

talk to her online. Sorry."

Chris laughed. "You ladies would have ruined the time anyway. I

guess it's we boys out on the town then-"

"Sorry, Chris" Mark apologized, "but I need to get some sleep. I'm

due in Titanio City tomorrow morning for another day of shooting for

Let's Have a Chatot "

Chris then worriedly looked to Mike. "Come on, buddy. Don't you

leave me hanging too."

Michael shrugged. "Sorry, Chris, but I can't either. I made a promise

that I need to keep to someone in Parlor Town."

Chris moaned. "Come on, Mike. I'm sure Julia can wait a night

before seeing you."

Michael laughed. "Have you ever wondered why you're still single?"

Chris frowned. "Bunch a party poopers you guys are."

Michael rolled his eyes as the others laughed. "As it happens, the

promise I made wasn't to Julia."

"You made a promise to the boys?" Cameron asked.

Michael nodded. "Yup. Tomorrow morning, they set off on their own

Pokémon Journeys. They want someone to see them off and give

them a few pointers along the way. And I'm just the kind of nice guy

who will oblige by their wishes."