"We are all clear!" Krane's voice sounded out from the earpiece.
The four Aura Users in the Team surrounded the Pokemon Mansion from four directions and scanned the area with their Aura Sight. To their surprise, there were no signs of life in the Mansion or even in its immediate surroundings. Even the wild Pokemon seemed reluctant to venture near it.
After Krane's call, the Team arrived on the site, and they witnessed a Mansion that was in ruins.
"It looks like there was a battle." Riley grimly spoke as he saw the devastation. It was very similar to what he had seen in the images of the aftermath of Aizen, Joseph, and Bill's encounter with Mewtwo.
Krane used some drones to scan the debris and tried to collect some data. All they managed to find was that a battle took place here nearly half a year ago. They even found some evidence of planned explosions to destroy any vital information that must have remained in the Mansion after the battle.
The Anti-Teleportation Device was still in effect, and they guessed that it was left by Team Rocket. The energy levels in the device indicated that it had been planted exactly three and half months ago, and it could only go on for another fifteen days.
"A battle of this scale would not have gone unnoticed by the Guardian of this Island." Cynthia severely looked at Lance, and the Kanto Champion frowned at her words.
Aizen ignored the discussion that was now taking place and called out Sky and Aerius.
"Take the sky, and scan the Island. If you find anything peculiar, send a signal to me."
"Sky..."
"Preee!"
Mega Salamance and Mega Pidgeot shot up in the sky in a blur and soon disappeared into the clouds.
Aizen then telepathically asked Dexter to return to the side of the girls, and the Psychic Tank silently teleported away.
Joseph had also sent his Mega Metagross to search the Island, and now he was solemnly staring at the ruined Mansion.
"We are taking Blaine in custody." He said, and the discussion that was taking place suddenly stopped. Seeing that Lance seemed uneasy, he looked him in the eyes. "His past can no longer be overlooked. A battle of this scale took place on the Island he is responsible for, and he did not report anything to your Council in these months. And this was Team Rocket's hideout according to the information we have received. He needs to answer some questions now."
The Kanto Champion sighed and nodded his head. As the Champion of the Region, he was responsible for all Ace Trainers, Elite Four, and Guardians under him. And if Blaine was guilty, he was partially guilty too.
Blaine was the Cinnabar Gym Leader, and the Guardian of Cinnabar Island, however, before he became the Gym Leader, he was undercover in Team Rocket and was once best of friends with Giovanni.
Some people in the Indigo Council were against Blaine's appointment as the Gym Leader of the Island because of the suspicions surrounding him, but no one could deny his accomplishments, what he had done for the Council, as well as his prowess as an Ace Trainer. He had borne pain and hardships and lost a lot in serving the Council.
They could not simply turn their backs on him after Giovanni's betrayal. There were also fears that his mistreatment might force him to join his once best Friend in the Criminal Organization, handing another lethal blow to them. The decision was made, and the Council had not doubted their decision even once in over a decade.
When Lance took charge as the Champion, he allowed Blaine to continue as the Guardian. It was because he had done his job brilliantly. The Island had thrived under his care, and there were no serious incidents reported. All the Pokemon on the Island were safe from the Poachers, and the Cinnabar Gym was rated very highly by nearly all the Trainers that challenged it. And now, all of a sudden, the evidence was pointing against him.
Glacia, Krane, Riley, and Bill stayed back to scout the area, and Aizen, Sabrina, Cynthia, Joseph, and Lance teleported to the Cinnabar Gym to capture Blaine.
The bald old man was not in the least surprised at their sudden arrival in the battle Arena, where a Gym Match was in progress.
Blaine calmly finished the match, which resulted in the challenger's defeat, and instructed his assistant and referee to call off the rest of the day.
"Lance." The old man brilliantly smiled at the Kanto Champion, and then looked at the group that was behind him. "My, my, what a pleasant surprise. It's been a while, Joseph."
"It has." The head of the House Stone lightly smiled at his old acquaintance, who was once his rival. "But I am afraid I am not here to reminisce about our old days."
"I am always in front of you, but I can never be seen. Think of Tomorrow, and you'll know what I mean." Blaine spoke happily. "What am I?"
"The future," Joseph answered the riddle and looked the old man in the eyes.
"So you have your answers." Blaine chuckled. "Funnily enough, I saw this day coming months ago."
"And yet you did not run away." Cynthia brightly smiled at him. "Have we fallen into your trap, old man?"
There was a tense silence after her question. Lance's heart was in his throat, and his Aura was ready to burst out to defend against any surprises.
"There are no traps." Blaine finally spoke and helplessly sighed when he saw Joseph's Mega Metagross lock him in place with its Psychic. "Ask what you have you ask."
"Did you know there was a Team Rocket hideout on the Island called the 'Pokemon Mansion'?" Lance got to the point, and to his dismay, Blaine nodded his head but did not say anything. "You..."
"I am not a Traitor." Blaine looked him in the eyes and said.
"Then why would you allow a Criminal Organization's hideout on the Island?!" Lance was losing it now.
"Their presence here was not as a Criminal Organization. The Mansion was a lab where scientific experiments were held, and the Dr. in charge of them was my friend."
"Ronan?" Aizen curiously asked, and Blaine showed surprise for the first time.
"I am surprised you know that madman's name, but no, he was not my friend." Blaine curiously looked at the Orayen Prince. "Where did you hear that name?"
"You are the one being interrogated here, Blaine," Joseph interjected and heavily spoke. "Who was your friend, and what was he working on?"
"My friend was Fuji Kenta."
As soon as he spoke the words, everyone's eyes widened in shock.
"President Fuji's younger brother? But did not he die fifteen years ago in an expedition to the northern Kanto Mountains?" Aizen frowned.
He had met the old man Fugi back in Lavender Town and knew that he once had a younger brother who was also a great scientist. However, the world thought him dead for the last 15 years.
"No. He died six months ago, at the hands of his own creation." Blaine shook his head and sighed.
"What did he create?" Lance grimly asked.
"A Monster." Blaine tiredly smiled. "A man must never think of himself as the God, and Kenta made that mistake. He was obsessed with bringing his late daughter back to life, and Giovanni lent him a hand to fund his research on cloning. He failed, of course, but by then, he had gone mad. And one day, Giovanni sent him something that changed everything."
"What was it?" Cynthia narrowed her eyes.
"Mew's DNA." Blaine grimly spoke. "I don't know how my old friend got his hands on it, but Kenta was ecstatic to work with it. He thought that if he could create another Mew, perhaps that Mew could bring back his daughter to life."
"But Mew has no control over Life and Death." Cynthia frowned.
"Tell that to a madman." Blaine sighed.
"You knew he was mad, and yet you did not inform the council!" Lance shouted at him. His Aura flared, which pressed heavily on the old man who could not even fall because he was locked in the Psychic of Mega Metagross.
"Lance..." Joseph placed his hand on the shoulder of the Kanto Champion, asking him to calm down.
Blaine started panting heavily after the pressure wore off.
"He was a friend, and I owed him my life." The old man regretfully said and looked Lance in the eyes. "I know it is my fault. And I am ready to serve the sentence of my crime."
"You..." Lance wanted to shout at him again, but Joseph strengthened his grip on his shoulder.
"I get it that you did not inform the council about his attempts to bring back his daughter to life through cloning because you owed him. But you knew he was mad, and yet you allowed him to experiment with Mew's DNA. Tell me Blaine, what are you still not telling us." The head of the House Stone glared at the old man. "Please, do not force me to read through your mind." He warned him.
Blaine did not dare to look Joseph in the eyes and kept his head lowered. He stayed silent for a good minute before he revealed the true reason behind his silence about Pokemon Mansion.
"Kenta was also working on helping Humans evolve by using Mew's DNA. Giovanni wanted to see if Aura and Psychic Users could be created through it, enabling us humans longer lifespans and powers to contend against people like you." He wryly chuckled, but his voice was filled with regret. "But those experiments never succeeded."
Lance's face was burning red in his rage, and the rest of them were mad too. The greed of humans knew no bounds, and even if they understood it, they still could not help but feel sad and enraged at yet another example of such greed.