Chapter 10.5: The League's Decree
The High Council chamber of the Kalos League was a tomb of cold marble and suppressed power. The air was thick with the scent of 120 bHz dampeners heavy lead plating designed to keep "Glitches" from tearing the room apart.
Ash, Serena, Goh, and Clemont sat at a long stone table, they had just woke up. Across from them sat the Elite Four and Champion Diantha, their faces masks of grief and political exhaustion. To the side, two empty chairs draped in black cloth stood as a silent, agonizing reminder: Meyer and Bonnie were gone.
"Let’s address the elephant in the room," Diantha began, her voice a cold, sharp blade. "Professor Cerise is dead. His laboratory is a crater. And two of our own a Gym Leader’s family were vaporized when the Ultimate Weapon discharged. The charge brought against you was murder, Ash and Goh. Murder of a Professor, and the catastrophic negligence that led to the deaths of your own friends."
The doors at the back of the hall slammed open with a sound like a thunderclap. Champion Lance stepped into the light, his dragon-scaled cape whipping behind him. He didn't wait for an invite. He marched to the table and stared down the Council with eyes that mirrored Ash's intensity.
"I’ve reviewed the black-box data from the Cerise Lab," Lance barked, his voice a draconic bass that rattled the dampeners. "Cerise wasn't a Professor at the end; he was a cancer with a PhD. He was harvesting bHz signatures from his own staff. He was too insane to begin with. As for the charge? I say good riddance."
The room went dead silent. The "Murder" charge was dismissed with a single sentence from the Dragon Master.
"The League has reached a verdict," Diantha said, leaning back as she looked at the teenagers who now looked like war veterans. "Geosenge is in ruins, but the 'Light of Ruin' didn't take the whole region because you cracked the core. We aren't stripping your licenses. Instead, we are designating you as the first authorized Vigilante Unit in history: The Obsidian Heroes. You have full jurisdictional immunity... and the blood of the innocent on your hands to remind you why."
Ash didn't smile. He didn't thank them. His eyes were a steady, matte brown, but the air around him still distorted with a 850 bHz hum.
"I was too busy battling AZ to see them running toward the light," Ash said, his voice deep and final. "I was locked in a 15,000 bHz clash with an Ancient King. I did my job. Now, I’m going to finish it."
Suddenly, Clemont stood up. He wasn't the nervous "Science Bro" anymore. His glasses reflected the dim light, hiding his hollow eyes, and his hands were steady as he reached for the central console.
"Diantha," Clemont said, his voice cold and vibrating with a new, dark resonance. "I don't want a medal. And I don't want your sympathy. I want every restricted file in the National League archives. Every bHz signature, every Team Flare remnant, every shadow AZ has stepped in for 3,000 years."
Diantha hesitated. "Clemont, those are 'Black Files-"
"I'm not stopping until we take payback," Clemont interrupted, his voice cutting through her like a blade. "My sister didn't die for a 'Not Guilty' verdict. She died because we were blind. I’m going to map every vein of corruption in this world, and then Ash and Goh are going to cauterize them."
Lance pulled an encrypted drive from his belt and slid it across the stone table toward Clemont. "The files are yours. But be careful. When you stare into the Abyss... sometimes the Abyss stares back with a 100% Sync."
Ash stood up, the Obsidian Resonance flaring for a split second, blowing the heavy oak doors open without him even touching them.
"Give us the files," Ash commanded, the King’s authority final. "The League failed Bonnie and Meyer. We won't. It's time the shadows learned that the 'Heroes' have arrived."
"The League failed them. We won't. This is the official start of the Obsidian Heroes arc. Payback isn't just a move it's a decree. #Anomaly246 #RIPBonnie #ObsidianHeroes"
TO BE CONTINUED
The end of chapter 10.5
