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"You certainly have a fair few ideas, don't you? You appear to believe I am completely adversarial to you, that I only have the worse intentions. While I care not what becomes of you and the rest of the Dark One's...acquaintances...I do care what becomes of him and right now his well being is tied to all of you. If you wish to help yourselves, by proxy of him, you will take my well intended advise and seek out the Cult." The person Reno dubbed 'Mister Mushroom' immediately responded to him in his mind, his tone more serious than before with a hint of resentment.

"All-in-all you are free believe what you will, as misguided on certain things as you might be. And of course you're free to do as you wish, but destiny will arrive right on schedule all the same. The only decision you get to make is whether or not you'll live to see that beautiful day of metamorphosis. Oh and...please don't dead name the Dark One, it's rude. Au revoir as they say in Kalos." And with that he not only stopped talking but the mushroom on Reno's person withered away, 'Mister Mushroom' intentionally severing the connection. Looks like he wasn't feeling chatty anymore.

"Ah." A flicker of what looked like disappointment crosses Cruxias' face as he sighs. "Dommage. So you're saying you yourself felt empowered to make that decision. To decide, per your testimony earlier, that you were forced to end his life of your own volition rather than allow him to face justice in a courtroom. I pose the question then, mesdames et messieurs of the jury," He waggles his staff towards the jury box with an exaggerated flourish as he continues. "Whether or not a group that operates with so little scruples as to allow its individual agents to decide whether or not murder was justified and then, as exemplified by their presence here, continue to allow them to operate with no consequences. C'est ce que je te demande. No further questions, your honor." With that, he made his way back over to his prosecutor's desk, moving papers around as the young man adjusted his laptop, scrolling through his notes as he began considering the next Snagem to call to the stand.

"Well, mister L-excuse me, Sub?" Judge Jenny would look up from her own notes, adjusting a pair of rather well-worn spectacles on the bridge of her nose as she appraised the Snagem leader. "The floor is yours to question the witness."

Of the defendants, there was one who had little recourse but simply to listen to Odd's explanation of the Dull incident. She hadn't been born yet. She wasn't even in this reality yet back then. As a result, Monique felt like she was getting a crash course into nooks and crannies of Snagem history, history to her that was far more ancient. Ten years ago? No, that was nearly sixty in her brain. But she was of no use as a witness to Odd's arguments. Unless the topic at hand changed to more recent events, that was not going to change.

She spent the time observing not only Odd but Cruxias. His demeanor and manner of carrying himself got under Monique's fur. She was reminded of King Faba and his lackeys. The Aether Foundation liked white just as much as this guy, which she knew to be true in this reality just as in hers, but behind the dazzling exterior definitely did not lie a soul to match. She could see it plainly. Cruxias was a prosecutor and an interrogator whose questions were designed as bright, luring neon signs, as if they belonged in Nimbasa or The Under, every arrow pointed toward Sub.

She didn't know what line of argument they would lob at her, but it was clear Cruxias would be a formidable foe when she took the stand. And if that was hours away, it was clear today would be a long slog.

Odd quickly rose to his feet as Cruxias began to ask clearly loaded questions. “That’s not what happened and not what I said.” He calmly replied. “Do not twist my words.” He asserted. “You’re bound by the laws here the same as we are.” He reminded Cruxias before sitting back down.

“I told you my life, as well as the lives of others, was being actively threatened and we defended ourselves. It was no choice of mine or anyone’s in Snagem that killing our attacker was the only way to stop him. You think I chose to end a man’s life, Mr. Cruxias?” He asked. “I am a man of the cloth, raised by nuns and priests to be pious and just. I do work as an exorcist outside of Snagem. I remove troublesome spirits from entrapment here in the mortal world either by sending them to the other side or relocating them to more suitable locations.” He explained in his defense. “Dull was a displaced Gengar hybrid. If he had allowed me to help him, I would have done so. But his madness had reached a point where nothing was getting through to him and all he wanted to do was kill and destroy. As he was at his end, his very existence was a miasma of hate and destruction upon the world around him. My skills as a ghost Channeler allow me to sense the negative emotions that dwell within the soul rather than the heart and at Dull’s end, there was nothing but a cloud of those emotions wherever he was: Hatred, envy, a lust for death and destruction, among others, all horrible.” His voice cracked as he spoke here.

He could never know, now, what might have happened if they could have helped Dull. But the hybrid’s Mega Stone had been tucked away ever since that day. He almost wished he had learned to make use of it, now, but it was almost certainly in the hands of SWIPE after they’d raided HQ and taken practically everything that wasn’t nailed down.

Then Sub was called to question him. As the Snagem leader approached him, he wondered just what Sub would -could- ask that would work in their defense? This was no typical trial, not that he had much experience with “typical” trials in the first place. He did know it was unusual for the accused to defend themselves and even more unusual for those in that position to win, however. And then Sub spoke and he understood. A sort of “trial by fire”, so to speak. Strike at the hearts of the jury and public, all watching, likely with bated breath, to see what they had to say and decide the fate of the infamous Team Snagem on both a legal and social level. “We’ve been called to deal with so many Shadow Pokemon at this point, it’s hard to say what the first one was anymore, to be completely honest.” He began. “But I believe it was a pack of Poochyena in Hoenn, before anyone even knew what the Shadow Virus was. We were called by Professor Birch, I think, to help investigate a particularly aggressive pack of the Pokemon. His assistants were either unable or unwilling to aid him due to their aggression, I don’t remember which anymore.”

He began. “I’ll never forget that day, whether it was my first encounter or not.” He admitted. “Those Pokemon, while normally territorial, are jovial, playful pups when left alone. I’ve seen them many times while traveling and they’ve never been truly dangerous to anyone. They often aren’t even that good at hunting for their own food, relying on the Mightyena in their packs to catch prey for them.” He continued. “But that day? Those Poochyena were out for blood.” He shivered for a moment as he thought back to it. “They threw themselves at anything and everything that moved until their bodies were bruised and broken. Some of them were barely clinging to life by the time we saw them and they were so full of rage and hatred for everything around them that even my then-fledgling-Channeler self could sense it.” He recanted, his voice cracking again before he paused, took a deep breath, swallowed hard to steady himself. “They weren’t the only ones, though. Some of the Mightyena in their pack had also been infected. The larger ones were a far greater threat. They fought everything they could. And the local wildlife suffered for it. What even survived their attacks was left with a broken body and a rapidly spreading infection but most things they chose to attack were killed nearly immediately. It was pure luck that Professor Birch escaped, I think. “ He admitted. “Even with Snagem present to assist, we barely managed to fend them all off. I can’t speak for anyone else but I was overwhelmed not just by their power but by their raw emotion. Underneath the rage and the hate, there was fear and heartache and pain. So much pain.” His voice cracked again as he said this part. “It was the most heartbreaking emotion I’ve ever felt, even from the spirits I’ve aided. Those poor Pokemon were acting against their own true desires, attacking anything and everything they could until both their bodies and spirits were broken. Those we were unable to reach in time, the ones already beaten to the point that no help could save them… I could feel their souls crying out for relief. I’ve held onto that memory all this time, letting it drive me whenever we’ve had a Shadow Pokemon to deal with.” He pused for a moment, taking a breath.

Was that even a proper answer to the question? “My own feelings in the moment are still a bit hard to filter out of everything I could feel from those Pokemon.” He admitted. “But there was one thing that I’ll never question: The fear.” He admitted. “I was terrified. Of those Pokemon. Of what they could do - to me and to anyone else. Of what was happening to them, unknown as it was back then.” He hung his head at this point. “And the feeling of helplessness as we were forced to run from them at the time. I wanted to save them. From themselves, each other, whatever was causing them to feel the kind of pain they were in. I didn’t know what it was or how, though. No one did.” He took another calming breath as Sub thanked him before ceding his remaining time to himself.

Ensuring he had been granted the freedom to speak, first, he stood on the witness stand and began to speak from the heart. “Your honor. Members of the jury. People of the public who are watching.” He greeted those gathered. “We of Team Snagem are no war criminals. We are ordinary men and women, just like all of you. We come from varied backgrounds and have very little in common with one another beyond a desire to help people who are unable to help themselves.” He stated, speaking from the heart. “As I stated to Mr. Cruxias not too long ago, I come from a religious background: An orphan raised by nuns and priests in an abbey far from civilization. My husband comes from right here in the heart of Kanto, raised in Celadon City. One of our numbers was once a gym leader’s apprentice in Johto, I think.” He pointed out. “My order’s beliefs state that we cannot be absolved of sin. We must live with our wrongs and do the best we can to avoid them if we wish to stand before Arceus when our final day comes. Ask yourselves this: Why would a man with such beliefs be part of a group that has done the things we have been accused of?” He posited to the gallery before sitting back down, waiting until he was spoken to again, likely to be dismissed, he felt.

~~~

When Leslie questioned their identity, Clare waved their hands in front of themself. “It’s true.” They insisted. “I’m a Nihilego hybrid, after all. Nihilego can regenerate from near-complete destruction as long as their core remains intact.” They explained. “I never wanted to test that before but it seems I got lucky enough to inherit the ability.” They tried to explain. Clearly their memories were more intact than they had been before. “Unfortunately, I need silica to regenerate and I didn’t have enough to reform my normal body. Give me a few days and access to some sand and I can prove I’m Clare.” They would just show off their Pokemon but sadly, they had none of them available. Whether SWIPE had confiscated them after their body had been shattered or if they had been left behind in the team’s flight from captivity was unknown at the moment.

There was some muttering - assent, dissension, it was hard to tell with the acoustics but Odd's words had left some kind of a ripple in the courtroom and made an impact of some kind.

"Your next witness please, prosecutor Cruxias." The judge asks, looking back to the man dressed in white.

"Bien sûr, your honor. The next witness to the stand we would like to call would be the Articuno hybrid Snagem member who goes by Blizzard." He gestures out to the gallery where Blizz was seated, indicating him with a wave of his cane.

There's some adjusting as Surge moves out to the gallery to collect Blizz and escort him to the stand but after a few moments he would find himself facing the rest of the court room, Cruxias gliding towards him for the first question.

"Monsieur Blizzard, it would please the court if you would introduce yourself to everybody here and give a little run down of your current role and responsibilities within the organization known as Team Snagem." The question lingered in the air as the prosecutor leaned on his cane, his triangular prosecutor's badge winking in the court light as he did so.


Ogerpon hadn't been around for the incident with Clare directly, having been shut away in her ball (angrily) at the time, but Darts sure had been and his thoughts echoed that of his teammates. She... sounded like Clare but with how weird things had been lately this sudden introduction lent itself to distrust. Even though she was only a child, the Snagems knew how much of an impact a problem on the inside could be. The Giratina hybrid steeled himself to keep an eye on her.

No question from Ogerpon, she was suspicious of just about everyone as she hovers near the edge of Darts' jacket, glaring out from behind her Teal mask at Clare. "What's the move?" He asked Aile, finally, turning away from their newest recompositioned member.

"Ahh, very good." Cruxias comments idly, examining the top of his ivory cane as he seems rather unflapped by the information Blizz was giving him, his walking stick clack-clacking again as he rounds the prosecutor's desk to stand before the court proper.

"So would you say, Blizzard, that your current duties include child caretaking by any chance? Élever la jeunesse, so to speak." The comment was clearly barbed, and Blizz would have to be a fool to not be able to see who he was talking about.

"Ahhh, merci." Cruxias responds with a short bow, continuing onward with Blizzard's short statements as he presses onward with the prosecution. "So, tell me about this one ward. How did they come into your care? And, following that, please tell me what about your status as 'shield or spearhead' as you so aptly put it, qualifies you to put this child into clear harm's way? We have just heard the testimony of your teammate, Odd, about the inherent dangers of Shadow Pokemon. On top of that this is an international trial due to the alleged warcrimes the lot of you have comitted in combat and non-combat situations. Elaborate for the court how this child came into your care, and, if you care for them as you allege to, comme tu dis, why you made the decision to stay with the team as opposed to removing them from what appears from the outside to be a very dangerous environment, presque démoniaque, in nature as opposed to retiring and living a normal life with them somewhere?"

There's a rumble that rolls through the court at the idea that there were children present in this team, being exposed to the alleged horrors that Odd had already touched on and Cruxias had only just begun to dig into. Clearly that wasn't a very popular revelation as the gallery and jury, even Jenny herself, turned to Blizz to hang on his every word.

Aile silently listened to the others talk, wondering when this child that identified themselves as Clare got there? No matter, as long as they could keep her safe for now. “Sounds like we go to the desert if we get back then,” Aile finally replied, taking a glance back. “Tati wouldn’t mind it out there, either.” And, if it was some sort of ploy, there were plenty of Pokemon there that Tati could kindly ask to assist in burying this threat. Still, hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, and that this Clare was indeed telling the truth.

Her attention then went to Freth, frowning. “If I had to guess, since Giovanni hasn’t made any sort of power plays like the leaders of other groups have, please correct me if I’ve misremembered, I would assume that they weren’t extremely worried about him trying to make a move in. There’s other avenues of his, and judging by the sprawl of where I wound up, the gym probably wasn’t the main hub. Going over to how we’re getting in…” She’d bring out the SNAG again and check for any sort of notes on where in the cave this was located. The ground channeller was confident she could find where they needed to go without it, but any sort of notes would make things quicker. “I’d assume there would be another false wall within the tunnel hiding the warp pad. Probably powered off until they needed it, so that any long term electricity power flow wouldn’t be detected. It only functions when the spin tiles are off, anyways, which if they’re using that gym for the trial, they probably are.”

Her attention would turn next to Darts, nodding as they got close to Diglett Tunnel. “We make sure the coast is clear, clear it if we have to. Doubt that they’d have the main lot here, but I won’t rule out they sent some amount of people here just to make sure that this escape route was covered. We get in, find our warp pad and make sure that it works, then possibly gather the others. It’s why I’ve had Poggle out, to find his way back to anyone left in the forest if we need to.” Aile would close her eyes and focus for a moment, focusing on her tremor sense to see if there were any soldiers or agents above ground near the tunnel. Like hell she was going to let them get caught off guard if she could help it.

------

Crystal sighed as she listened to Odd, her nerves not abating at all during Cruxias’ interrogation of the man. He was willing to twist what the Snagem had said to fit his narrative, and the prosecutor seemed to be good at that. It took every ounce of self-control to keep her nails from piercing the hem of her skirt, in lieu of any sort of fidget toy. She only began to relax slightly when Sub counterquestioned, and Odd gave his final statement. Hopefully, those words would land in some sympathetic mind.

Then Blizz would be called up. Was this guy going to just call up all the Snagems? Were they all the witnesses he needed? She was skeptical. There was something about making the Snagems hang themselves by their own rope, but that couldn’t be the only plan… could it? That would mean that they didn’t have a snowball’s chance in summer, and this was all rigged. That would be… Well, not out of the realm of possibility, depending on who was pulling the strings against them in the background. With their luck the way it’s been, it wouldn’t actually surprise her as much as she may have expected earlier in all of this.

Light, she felt awkward and exposed. The whole world was watching them, not unlike how the World Championship was. She didn’t like it then, either, and that wound up being the absolute worst day of her life, bar none. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be repeated, but knowing that that Robin guy was here too, for whatever reason… She didn’t trust that hybrid half as far as she could throw him. Sure, she only met him the once. But again, he talked about that… that… Ziton thing right before everything happened and her body died, and her very nearly along with it. At this point, it was a coin’s toss on wherever things went so far south they could only go north from there. If they had the capability to do so at that point.