Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 111: Bad Omen

Second-degree murder was one of the most serious charges Jamie faced. It couldn't be easily glossed over. Lindsey's cross-examination of Ryland continued into the afternoon and the following morning, until she squeezed out every detail of the events leading up to the murder and the incident itself.

'The defence once again calls Ardos Luvaro.'

This was Ardos' last appearance. It was probably the last time members of the public would ever see him. The barriers outside tipped as journalists scrambled to snap photos of his arrival. Now they were no longer covering sexual abuse, ONBS reporters were allowed back into the courtroom. The VCP offered bribes in exchange for taking secret cameras in for them, but they refused.

Hiding under a wig and hood in the crowds outside was Natalya. When her child was born, there was a chance she could take it to meet its grandfather, but Ardos was 95. There was also a chance he would die before she gave birth. Her eyes overflowed as she held her stomach.

'There, my child... your venerable grandfather.'

Piruzi thought her mother was insane. At least the Ardos she knew and appreciated was the real Ardos, before his indomitable spirit was finally crushed by Jamie. If anything happened to Natalya, that was the man Piruzi would teach her child about.

Everyone's eyes and minds were on the trial. Natalya was just another face in the crowds taking off on her Charizard. In the courtroom, Harper began to question Ardos.

'Where were you on the night of 23 December, prior to the murder of Brynlee Booth?'

'In my office in Obsidian City.'

'Where was the defendant?'

'He returned to his own office from his lab with a plastic bag, ready to progress with our world domination plans.'

'What was in the bag?'

'A plush doll of himself as GoD, made by his schizophrenic brother Naaji.'

'Did that cause him to hesitate?'

'Yes. It appeared it upset him greatly. I mistakenly thought there were two possibilities: that he was hurt by the gift, or upset that his brother was not with us in Obsidian City. I thought the appropriate action was to capture his brother. So I sent Brynlee and Ryland, knowing they were competent enough to capture him.'

'You say you "mistakenly" thought of those two possibilities. What do you think the truth was?'

'Since rescuing me from Gatas, the defendant repeatedly asked me to teach him not about world domination, but to stop feeling. It is clear to me now that the thoughtful gift, given without judgment, made the boy realise he would never stop feeling, but that this was not a bad thing. He was, in fact, glad to find he was loved and that he was capable of loving in return. For this reason, I take full responsibility for Brynlee's murder. I made an incredibly irresponsible and foolish mistake when someone that I should have protected, as an adult, was most vulnerable.'

There was absolute silence. Ardos couldn't be lying or exaggerating.

'In fact... my behaviour since I was rescued has been a series of mistakes. Upon finding that my rescuer was a child who was unlike me, yet also similar to me when I was his age... I should have deterred him from following my path, rather than encouraging such a thing. I had enough authority to keep the abusers away from him, or to continue to enforce his rules, if he left Cipher.'

Ardos had no reason to lie now he would inevitably be jailed for the remnants of his life. Even if he wasn't, he was too old to revive Cipher. He could only be saying such things because he truly believed them.