Matthew's Trial Chapter 1

Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:7

It was a beautiful midsummer night in the Sinnoh region. The air was alive with the sounds of bug Pokemon chirping while nocturnal Pokemon hunted for food. All other Pokemon were fast asleep in their nests, confident in their safety and at peace. At a large ranch in southwestern Sinnoh a large Pokemon stood by a lamppost lost in thought as he stared at the stars.

He was a large black bird Pokemon with a tuft of white feathers on his chest and red feathers on the undersides of his wings. A large clump of feathers that looked like a hat extended from the top of his head and contrasted sharply with his pointed yellow beak. What set him apart from other Pokemon of his species was the cross around his neck and the metal anklet on his left leg.

Matthew the Honchkrow took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. This was the first time in weeks he'd had to himself to just sit and think. The last few months had been utter torture for him, hearings, psychological checks at various Pokemon centers, meeting with other Pokemon he had battled long ago but could no longer remember. It had been a lot to take in, and all for what he deemed to be a fool's errand.

It had all started when his trainer, a woman named Jenna who owned the ranch, had received a letter telling her she was being sued for something Matthew had done. Apparently he had violently attacked and nearly killed some rich trainer's Meowth, something he would not dispute. The Meowth's trainer now wanted revenge on not only Jenna but Matthew as well. So he was suing her for an absurd sum, as well as demanding Matthew be put to death.

When Jenna had first informed Matthew of the situation his first reaction had been anger, pure and uncontrolled rage towards this rich spoiled brat who was bringing such misery upon his trainer and his family. But as the months wore on and Jenna's attempts to prove his innocence all ended in failure Matthew had begun to accept his fate. In his mind he had brought all of this on himself through his obsession with power and longing to be the strongest Pokemon on the ranch.

Matthew sighed and looked up at the stars. It had never really occurred to him before just how beautiful nights like this were, cloudless with the stars shining brightly against a dark background. As he continued to stare at the stars his thoughts turned to his friends and family living at the ranch. When first informed of his plight everyone had been extremely helpful and had tried their best to cheer him up. But as time went by the strain began to affect the them all just as it had Matthew. Things had never been more tense at the ranch before, conversations with the other Pokemon were always short and terse, meals were quiet affairs, and no one really talked about what was happening.

It broke Matthew's old heart to see everyone like this, but none so much as a particular Vespiqueen. Elizabeth, she had taken the news harder than anyone else, becoming increasingly distant and short tempered over the previous months. To make matters worse she was smoking more and Matthew could tell her health was starting to deteriorate as a result. He had tried his best to console her and tell her that everything would be alright but she simply wouldn't listen to him.

Matthew looked down at the ground and felt a tear fall from his eye. It was all his fault, he had brought all of this suffering down on the ranch, and Elizabeth…it was due to him that she was so distraught. He had failed her, just as he had failed his wife all those years ago. The thought of his wife brought back a host of painful memories and Matthew couldn't take it any longer, he fell to his knees and did something his teammates had never seen from him before, he wept. Months of emotional strain and anguish finally catching up to him and he just couldn't take it any longer.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but after some time he heard a voice behind him. "(Matthew are you alright)"

Matthew immediately stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes before turning to see who had disturbed him. Standing behind Matthew was a small orange and brown mouse Pokemon with a collar around his neck and thick bandages on his cheeks. It was Ross, Jenna's Raichu.

The last few months had been rather difficult for the small Raichu. He had nearly killed his mate Saria, almost committed suicide as a result, and had undergone surgery on three separate occasions to decrease the size of the electrical sacs in his cheeks, the most recent of which had been last week. On the other hand the egg he had had with Saria had recently hatched, giving him a wonderful son who was getting along quite well with the other Pokemon on the ranch.

Matthew looked at Ross for a second before responding. "(Ross? What are you doing out here, you just had surgery, you should be inside resting.)"

Ross nodded his head. "(I know but those pain pills master has me on keep me up, so I decided to go for a walk and when I saw you I thought you might want some company. But if you want to be alone I understand.)"

Matthew stared back at Ross for a few seconds before shaking his head. "(No, no it's perfectly alright, I could actually use some company.)"

Ross slowly walked over to Matthew's side and sat down on the grass. They sat in total silence for a few seconds before Matthew finally spoke up. "(So Ross how have you and Saria been doing lately, I would imagine that Benjamin is keeping the two of you quite busy with his antics.) Matthew was referring to Ross's recently hatched son who had been somewhat of a trouble maker over the last few months. Playing practical jokes on other Pokemon, dumping a bottle of laxative into a batch of cookies that Vincent had then devoured, pouring water on Veruka's head flame, it was all good fun to him.

Ross nodded his head. "(Yeah he's a real handful, but Saria just loves being a mother and taking care of him. Personally though I'm really worried about him and his attitude, I'm concerned about how he's going to turn out with the way he's been acting lately. The worst part is I'm not sure what to do, should I punish him, talk to him, or just let him go along, it's driving me nuts. Maybe I'm just worrying about him too much, still I can't stop thinking about it, I guess it's just part of being a parent.)" Ross sighed and looked down at the ground. Matthew comfortingly placed a wing on his back and looked down at him. "(You needn't worry Ross, I'm certain that you will be an excellent parent for Benjamin, after all if Napoleon can be a good father then you will most certainly be one as well.)"

Ross looked up at Matthew and smiled. "(Thank you Matthew, that really means a lot coming from you.)" Matthew somberly nodded his head and the two went back to staring at the stars for a few minutes before Ross broke the silence. "(Matthew I've been meaning to ask you, how have you been doing lately with everything that's been going on? I mean the trial is only in three days.)" Matthew turned his head away so Ross couldn't see his face. He hadn't forgotten about the trial, months of work had led up to this, one chance for Jenna to prove his innocence, or lose everything. Matthew quickly banished the thought from his mind before answering Ross. "(I would rather not talk about.)" That was it, he didn't say anything else. Ross stared at Matthew's back for a second before standing up and walking over to his side.

"(Look Matthew I know your afraid, who wouldn't be, but perhaps if you talked about it things wouldn't seem so bleak. I mean it's not like you've been condemned to death already or anything it's-)" Before Ross could go any further Matthew turned to him with a very serious expression. "(Ross, you don't understand, I don't fear for my own fate, but rather for the fate of everyone living on this ranch.) Ross blinked a few times in confusion. "(Matthew what do you mean, your not afraid you might be killed?)"

Matthew sighed and shook his head. "(No, I learned a long time ago that death is an inevitable part of life that should not be feared but instead accepted, what concerns me is the effect all of this has been having on the ranch. Certainly you have noticed it, the somber nature of everyone, the feeling of dread and uncertainty, and everyone constantly asking me if I'm doing alright.)" Matthew punctuated that by slamming his wing into the ground. Ross took a few steps back out of fear. Matthew noticed and shook his head.

"(I'm sorry Ross, I don't know what came over me, I've just been so frustrated lately with everything that's been going on while at the same time I'm terrified of what might happen to the ranch and everyone living here.)" Matthew stopped for a second to take in a deep breath before continuing. "(If master loses she will have no choice but to sell the ranch to pay off that rich spoiled brat and then my death will be the least of everyone's concerns. Everyone will have to be split up and sent to the storage system or released, I'm certain that you realize the kind of traumatic impact that would have.)"

Ross nodded his head in understanding. Matthew wasn't the only one who had considered the consequences of what might happen. Ross slowly walked back over to Matthew and placed a paw on his wing. "(You don't have to worry Matthew, everything is going to work out just fine, it always has before, why not this time?)" Ross knew how hollow that had sounded but it had been worth a try. Matthew on the other hand was quite grateful for the comment and responded by placing a wing on Ross's back and managing a slight smile.

"(I appreciate your optimism Ross but I'm afraid that this time the good fortune that this ranch has been blessed with may have finally run out.)" Ross didn't respond to that, he could see that Matthew had his mind made up and Ross knew that once that happened there was very little that could change it. He continued to sit with Matthew for several more minutes, his eyes starting to get heavy as the medication he was on wore off. Matthew took notice and gently nudged Ross to keep him awake. "(Ross perhaps you should head back in, it's getting very late and you need to sleep if your ever going to heal.)"

Ross slowly nodded his head and groggily sat up. "(Okay, what about you, aren't you coming in?)" Matthew shook his head. "(I will be along in awhile, goodnight Ross.)" And with that one phrase Matthew ended the conversation. Ross didn't press any further and turned back to the ranch house, more uncertain than ever of what the future would hold.

...

The next morning Jenna was sitting at her kitchen table looking over a massive stack of legal documents. Like everyone else on the ranch the last few months had taken a serious toll on her physical health. Her long red hair was a tangled and unwashed mess while dark circles ringed her eyes from lack of sleep. Sitting next to Jenna was a young man of about twenty three with short brown hair and a pair of glasses perched precariously on the end of his nose.

Luke was a Pokemon nurse and also a good friend of Jenna's, often coming over to either take care of one of her sick or injured Pokemon or just to say hi. Recently he had personally taken it upon himself to monitor Ross's recovery and had been coming over every week to check on him. But this day his task was far more important, he was helping Jenna go over everything she had collected over the last few months to try and prove Matthew's innocence. Luke had also volunteered to help represent Matthew at the trial, having known her and her Pokemon for several years he hoped that his past experience would be able to help. But so far he had come up with very little that would be able to assist Jenna in defending her case.

He sighed and set down the stack of papers he had been reading before turning to Jenna. "Well I've finished going over the psychological tests given to Matthew and they all say the same thing, he's perfectly sane and not abnormally temperamental for his species." Jenna didn't say anything but instead just nodded her head. "But, and I'm sure your attorney already told you this, these don't mean that much." Luke punctuated that by slapping the folder full of papers down onto the table. "It doesn't matter how sane a test says someone is the courts only look at the facts, and the facts are he beat this trainer's Meowth to within an inch of life, that's all the jury is going to see. Pictures of a half dead Meowth and testimony from other trainer's who battled Matthew and can attest to his violent style of battle. After seeing that it's unlikely that they will be swayed by a piece of paper that says he's non-violent."

Jenna nodded once again but still didn't say anything. "Look Jenna I'm sorry but there's only so much that medical science can prove, and in the end you have to remember this little prick is going to play on the jury's sympathies. No matter how much physical evidence you have to the contrary when they see this little beat up Pokemon they're more than likely going to side with him. Of course it's not like you couldn't do the same thing, I mean if you brought in Sibelius or Marlowe maybe that would help to-"

Jenna finally looked up and Luke could see tears starting to form in her eyes as she looked at him with a mix of anger and fear in her eyes. "I already know all of this Luke, my cheap attorney has gone over it with me a hundred times. He's going to show pictures of his beat up Meowth in the hospital, give testimony from other trainer's who Matthew battled, bring in his Pokemon in a wheelchair, have him freak out when he sees Matthew, I know what's going to happen, what I need is a damn solution!" Jenna couldn't hold it back any longer and started to cry, like Matthew the night before the strain of everything that was going on was finally catching up to her.

Luke was taken aback at Jenna's outburst but he could understand how she felt. He had seen similar reactions several times before at the Pokemon center when a trainer was informed that their Pokemon might not make it. The usual reaction was fear and anxiety followed by anger that there was nothing they could do, which was what Jenna was going through at that very moment.

Without thinking he reached across the table and handed Jenna a box of tissue which she graciously accepted. After several minutes she finally managed to calm down and loudly blew her nose before turning back to Luke. "Luke I'm sorry for yelling at you, I know your just trying to help but it just feels like everything I'm doing is in vain, that not matter how hard I try I'm going to fail to save Matthew and the ranch." Jenna looked like she was about to cry again and Luke was on the verge of going over to her when the doorbell suddenly rang, interrupting everyone's thought process.

Jenna groaned and laid her head on the table. "Ohhhh, who could it be now, I swear if it's another trainer wanting a battle or my idiot lawyer I'm going to have Veruka use them as a punching bag." Jenna stood up to answer the door but Luke held up a hand and stopped her. "Don't worry about Jenna I'll take care of this, why don't you go get a soda or something." Jenna wasn't in a mood to argue with him and frankly a sugar high sounded pretty good right about then.

So while Jenna went to the fridge Luke went over to the front door and opened it, expecting to have to deal with either a young trainer or Jenna's bowling ball of a lawyer. Instead he found himself staring back at a massive young man standing in the doorway. He looked to be about twenty one and stood well over two meters tall with short cut brown hair and a red goatee on his chin. He was dressed in tan shorts and was wearing a white T-shirt with a picture of a blue eyed robot wearing a green dog costume. But what really caught Luke's eye was the large Pidgeot standing behind Sam with a small Sneasel sitting on top of it's head.

It took Luke a second before he realized who he was looking at. It was Sam. Sam was a trainer who had saved the life of Luke's Typhlosion earlier that winter and had almost bested him in a battle shortly after. Luke had promised him a rematch which they still hadn't gotten around to, in fact Luke hadn't even seen nor heard from him since they parted ways at Mt. Coronet.

Sam had a similar reaction to Luke upon seeing him and the two just stared at each other for a second before Luke finally broke the silence. "Sam! What are you doing here?" Sam snapped out of his stupor and immediately answered the question. "Me, what are you doing here Luke, last time I saw you was the base of Mt. Coronet after our battle…wait are you here to challenge Jenna to a battle?" Luke shook his head. "No, is that why you're here?" Sam nodded. "Yeah, I've collected all the Sinnoh gym badges and defeated the elite four so now all I have left to do is defeat the champion, hence the reason for my being here. So is she around or will I have to wait for her?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah she's here but…now's really not a good time for you to be asking her for a battle, maybe you should come back later, like in a few weeks." Sam cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "A couple of weeks? What's going on Luke, wait are you and Jenna dating or something like that?" Luke immediately shook his head no. "No, I'm just a good friend of hers and I'm telling you that this is not a good time to be asking her for a battle, she's under a lot of stress right now and just doesn't have the time for a battle, alright!"

Sam stared back at Luke for a few seconds before nodding his head. "Alright I get it I'm a patient guy I can wait for a battle, but uhh, just out of curiosity, what's going on that she can't have a battle with me, is something wrong with one of her Pokemon, is that why you're here?" Luke shook his head, he didn't have the time to explain the entire situation to Sam and frankly he wasn't in the mood to either. "You know what it really doesn't concern you and you'll probably hear about it later anyways so could you just please leave and come back some other time?" Sam sighed and nodded. "Okay, I can tell when I'm being a pest, sorry to have bothered you, come on guys let's go."

Sam turned to go but was suddenly stopped by a voice behind him. "SAM!? Is that you?" Sam slowly turned around to find Jenna standing the doorway next to Luke with a can of soda in her hand and a shocked expression on her face. Sam stared back at her for a second before smiling. "I think so unless there's another six foot eight Hoenn League champion around here somewhere." Jenna couldn't help but smiling at his pathetic attempt at humor. Luke on the other hand was even more shocked than before. "Wait a minute, Jenna you know him?" Jenna nodded. "Yeah he saved Ross's life last fall around Mt. Coronet, why do you know him?" Luke slowly nodded and adjusted his glasses. "He saved Tobias's life last winter, interestingly enough, around Mt. Coronet."

All three trainer's looked at each other for almost a full minute in stunned silence before Jenna spoke up. "Small world huh." Luke and Sam just nodded in agreement. "So Sam what are you doing here. Sam opened his mouth to speak but Luke beat him to it. "He's here to challenge you for the title of Sinnoh champion but I told him you were busy, and he was just about to leave." Jenna turned back to Sam and he nodded. "Yep, that's pretty much it in a nutshell, but I'm still curious as to what's going on, Luke has been kind of sparse on the details."

Jenna looked between the two for a second before motioning for Sam to come in. "Come on in I'll explain everything that's been going on, it's the least I can do after you saved Ross's life." Sam smiled and followed Jenna and Luke back into the house with the Pidgeot and Sneasel following close behind. He walked into the kitchen and was immediately taken aback at the stacks of documents littering the table. Jenna noticed Sam's expression and indicated for him to sit down. "Sorry about the mess, do you want anything like a soda or a glass of water?" Sam shook his head. "Nothing for me thanks, Ace Shadow, you two want something?" The Pidgeot and Sneasel sitting behind him both shook their heads no as well.

Jenna looked over at the two Pokemon Sam had with him. It was the first time she had seen Ace and Shadow them since parting with Sam at Mt. Coronet and they hadn't changed a bit. Shadow, the Sneasel, was still very timid and it didn't look like she was leaving Ace's side anytime soon. Ace on the other hand was a very brave Pidgeot and as far as Jenna could tell was still acting as Shadow's bodyguard. In fact if it hadn't been for Ace Jenna was almost certain that Ross would not have survived, he had been the one who had flown Jenna to the Pokemon center just in time to save Ross's life, if it hadn't been for him and his trainer, Jenna didn't know what would have happened.

But now was not the time to reminisce about the past, there was work to be done. Jenna turned back to Sam. "Okay so you were curious what was going on, well your looking at it." Sam looked down at the piles of legal documents on the table and then back at Jenna. "I don't think I follow, you need a paper shredder?" Jenna groaned. "No, it's just, it's a long story." Sam shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Well I don't have to be anywhere, tell me everything."

Jenna and Luke spent the next half an hour explaining the entire situation to Sam in detail, Matthew's violent history, Jenna's efforts to prove his innocence, and how everything she had gathered was more or less useless. By the time they were done Sam's demeanor had changed dramatically. His normally calm eyes had turned angry and Jenna could see raw fury burning in his pupils as he continued to listen to her story. When she was finished Sam just sat quietly for a second, his jaw firmly set and his hand balled into a fist. After a minute he turned back to her with a very serious look. "Jenna this is one serious mess your in." Jenna nodded her head but Sam wasn't finished. "Now, I realize that it's none of my business but I would like to offer you my help in any way I can, that is if you would allow me to."

Jenna looked up and stared at Sam for several seconds before speaking. "Sam as much as I appreciate-" Jenna didn't get to go any farther as Luke's cell phone suddenly started to ring. Luke cursed and looked down at it. "Damnit, Jenna can you hold on a second I have to take this." Jenna nodded and Luke opened his phone. "Hello...Yeah I'm with Jenna…No, it's not an emergency…WHAT!…Alright I'll be right there…Yeah you do owe me." With that Luke ended the call and turned to Jenna. "Jenna I have to go, there's been an accident in Veilstone city and the Pokemon center needs all the help they can get, I'm sorry."

She just shrugged. "It's alright I understand, I can take care of this by myself just fine." Luke nodded and walked over to the door. "I'll be back as soon as I can, which will hopefully be in a few hours, Sam, good to see you again." Sam gave him a quick wave as he walked out the door.

Once he was gone Jenna looked down at the table and sighed. "Well that's just great isn't it, now what am I going to do?" Sam nervously cracked his knuckles and shrugged. "Well, I could give you a hand if you want, if you just show me what to do I can get to work." Jenna looked at him for a second in confusion before responding. "Sam, I have a question for you, why, why are you helping me? I mean you showed up here only an hour ago looking for a battle but when I explain my situation to you your first response is to offer your help, why?" Sam shrugged. "That's what friends do, they help each other out. Not to mention if there's one thing I can't stand it's people like this rich little jerk who's suing you. Using all his money and power to manipulate the system just to get his way because he's too weak to properly accept defeat. I just can't stand that kind of injustice and if there's anything I can do to stop it I will, it's that simple." Jenna nodded and handed him a large pile of papers. "Okay if you want to help then I need these categorized by date and then I need this other pile put into alphabetical order and I could do with a pizza if you don't mind."  

Sam looked down at the pile and let out a low whistle. "Okay, not exactly what I had in mind when I offered to help but I suppose it's a start." Jenna smiled back at him and they got to work. They had only been working for about five minutes when suddenly they both heard a loud ruckus coming from the living room. All of a sudden a Pachirisu and Chatot ran out right past Sam and out the front door before he knew what was happening. Right behind them was a green eyed Eevee and a small black and grey fox like Pokemon Sam recognized as a Zorua.

They to ran out of the front door after the Pachirisu and Chatot. A moment later Ross the Raichu ran out of the living room as well, albeit much more slowly. He was almost to the door when he suddenly tripped on his tail and fell to the floor. He just lay there for a second before a Leafeon rushed out to help him. The whole incident had only taken a few seconds, leaving both trainer's stunned.

Sam shook his head in shock and turned to Jenna. "Jenna what the hell was that all about, and was that a Zorua I saw there?!" Jenna groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Sam, I am begging you, please do not tell anyone about her, don't ask just promise me." Sam nodded. "Okay, I understand, but who were the others, and what happened to Ross that his cheeks are all bandaged?" Jenna looked down at Ross as his mate, Saria, helped him up while Ace and Shadow walked over to say see if they could help. "Those were the youngest Pokemon on the ranch, Ross was babysitting them but apparently they staged an uprising, as for the bandages he's recovering from surgery, and supposed to be taking a nap."

Ross got back to his feet and nodded his thanks to Saria before he noticed the Pidgeot and Sneasel standing in front of him. His first response was to pull Saria back behind him to protect her but once he saw who it was he was more surprised than anything else. "(Ace, Shadow, what are you guys doing here?!)" Ace just smiled at the small Raichu before responding. "(Well our master came here to challenge Jenna for the title of Sinnoh league Champion but once he heard about her little predicament he decided to stay and help her out. So I believe that you'll be seeing a lot more of us lately. But enough about that, how have you and Saria been doing lately, I can see that you two took Jake's advice and confessed your feelings to each other, that little Eevee from before is evidence enough of that, or is that someone else's?)" Ross blushed a little and was about to say something but Saria beat him to it. "(Nope he's ours, cute little guy isn't he, I think he mostly get's that from Ross though.)" She nudged Ross playfully and he blushed even more.

"(Yeah, yeah I guess so, look Ace I'd love to stay and talk but I have to go and get those four back before they cause any more trouble, so if you'll excuse me.)" Ross started to go but was stopped as Jenna grabbed his collar from behind. "Ross there is no way your going to go chasing after those four only a week after surgery, besides how much trouble could they get into anyways?" Ross looked at Jenna as if she had just asked him why the sky was blue and she slapped herself on the forehead at the realization of just how stupid a question that had been. "Okay your right, but I just don't want to see you get hurt, alright?" Ross nodded and was about to head out when Sam spoke up. "Hey Jenna, maybe Ace and Shadow could go with Ross, there both pretty good with kids and I'm sure they wouldn't mind getting some fresh air after being cooped up in their poke balls for most of the day." Ace and Shadow both nodded in agreement.

Jenna looked at Ross and Saria, both of whom didn't seem to mind, and then at Ace and Shadow, both looking eager to get out and do something. "Alright then, I don't have a problem with it, but I'm counting on you two to keep Ross out of trouble, do you think you can do that.?" Ace and Shadow both smiled and quickly followed Ross and Saria out the front door after the kids.

Once they were gone Jenna sighed and leaned back in her chair. "What a day, and it's not even lunch yet, I wonder what else is going to happen." Sam didn't say anything and idly looked through a stack of papers when his eyes suddenly got wide as he remembered something he had forgotten. He immediately dropped the stack he was holding and looked at Jenna. "Oh crap I almost forgot, Jenna you just had a birthday a few days ago didn't you?" She looked over at Sam and nodded. "Yeah, what of it?" Sam grabbed his backpack and started to rifle through it. "I know it's in here somewhere because I put it here this morning, ah there it is."

Sam pulled out a packaged wrapped in simple brown paper and handed it to Jenna. "Sorry I didn't have time to properly wrap it but, I hope you like it anyway, happy belated birthday Jenna." Jenna took the gift and slowly unwrapped it to find a T-shirt with a picture of an Aye-aye in a white dress holding a pair of revolvers with the words "CAN I GUT SHOOT SOMEONE" written underneath. Jenna just stared wide eyed at the shirt for a second before looking back at Sam. "Sam, where did you get this, and how did you know I liked this movie for that matter?" Sam shrugged. "I read your blog online, as for where I got that, a friend of mine made it, so what do you think."

Jenna just continued to stare at the shirt for a few more seconds before smiling. "I absolutely love it, this has really made my day." Sam smiled. "Well I'm glad I could cheer you up a bit, now let's see what I can do to help you with Matthew." They both got back to work, neither realizing the terrible cost coming events would have on everyone involved in the coming days and weeks ahead.  

...

Matthew was sitting under the oak tree overlooking the beach that formed the northern border of Jenna's ranch. He was far more relaxed than the previous night and was just enjoying the beautiful view of the ocean. He had calmed down considerably after the previous night and was simply enjoying the beautiful scene before him, the ocean was a calming shade of light blue this morning and the only sound was the waves lapping against the shoreline and the wind blowing through the trees. It was a scene of utter tranquility that was just not meant to last.  

"(UNCLE MATTHEW!!)" Matthew winced as the peaceful scene was brought to a crashing halt by his nephew's shrill voice. He slowly turned his head to find his nephew Sibelius, a Chatot, and his best friend Scratch the Pachirisu running over to him. Behind them were a small Eevee, Ross and Saria's son Benjamin, and a Zorua, Cotton and Napoleon's adopted daughter Morrigan.

Matthew sighed and shook his head. "(I should have known this wasn't going to last.)" The four young Pokemon ran right up to Matthew and all started talking at once so he couldn't understand a word they were saying. Matthew slowly closed his eyes and gritted his beak before holding up his wings for silence. The gesture was all that was needed to silence the young Pokemon before him, all of whom were now staring wide eyed at Matthew as he slowly lowered his wings and looked at each Pokemon before speaking. "(Now, would one you please tell me what's going on?)"

Scratch and Sibelius looked at each other and were about to say something when Morrigan spoke up. "(Well you see Ben and I were watching Apocalypse Ponies on the TV but Scratch and Sibelius wanted to watch Naruto. So we were wondering if maybe you could decide who get's the TV.)" Matthew cocked his head to the side in confusion. "(I'm sorry I've never heard of Apocalypse Ponies before, what is it?)" Benjamin quickly spoke up. "(You know, it's that really popular show with those ponies, and that catchy theme song. 'Apocalypse Ponies, Apocalypse Ponies, it's punishment time.' Yeah you've heard it right?)" Matthew shook his head. "(No, but it doesn't matter, why couldn't you just ask Ross, I'm certain he's fully capable of deciding who get's the TV?)"

Morrigan was about to answer when Scratch pushed her to the side and spoke up. "(Yeah we did ask big brother but he said whoever had the TV first got to watch their show. But Ben and Morrigan have had the TV more than us lately and big brother is obviously just saying that because Ben is his son. So we needed a neutral third party to decide, so what's the verdict, who get's the TV?)" Matthew looked between the four Pokemon before rubbing his eyes and sighing. "(Well at the moment it is Ross's job to be watching over all of you so I will stand by his decision, whoever was there first can watch their show.)"

Benjamin grinned and stuck out his tongue at Scratch who growled in anger. Before anyone could stop him Scratch lunged at Neal out of anger. "(Think your so tough huh, well Captain Scratch is going to give you a lesson!)" Sibelius and Morrigan quickly jumped into the fray as well to help their respective friends.

Matthew ground his beak in anger and immediately spread out his wings and yelled. "(ALRIGHT! Enough is enough, no more TV for any of you, instead your all going to go sit in the stable until I figure out what to do with you, now get out of my sight!!)" Matthew looked at the four terrified Pokemon in front of him and instantly regretted what he had just done. Morrigan slowly looked up at Matthew and he could see she was holding back tears. He sighed and was about to say something else when he saw Ross and Saria running up with a Pidgeot and Sneasel behind them.

Ross ran right up to the kids and started to speak while trying to catch his breath. "(Matthew, I'm sorry, I told them, not to, bother you, but they got away from me, whew, oh boy I think I'm about to pass out here.)" Ross leaned against Saria for support and took in several deep breaths before he noticed Morrigan crying. He leaned down and placed a comforting paw on her side. She looked up at him and sniffed a few times. "(Hey Morrigan, what's wrong, why are you crying?)" Morrigan looked up at Matthew and gritted her teeth. "(Matthew…he's mean and cruel and, and-)" She didn't go any further, instead she quickly stood up and started to run off but after only a few step's she bumped into something.

Morrigan slowly looked up to find Shadow standing in front of her. The two looked at each other for a second before Morrigan just hugged Shadow and started to cry into her fur. Shadow was slightly taken aback but returned the hug and started to speak soothingly to the little Zorua in an attempt to calm her down. Ross stared at Morrigan for a second before turning back to Matthew. "(Matthew, what happened?)" Before Matthew could say anything Benjamin spoke up. "(Matthew got angry and yelled at us for no reason, he hurt her feeling's, that's why she's crying.)" Ross once again looked back at Matthew. "(Do you want to talk about what happened?)" Matthew just grunted a no and turned his back to the group.

Ross sighed, he knew that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Matthew so he just took the kids and indicated for Ace and Shadow to come with him. Ace hesitated for a second, intrigued by the large Honchkrow before him. He continued to stare at Matthew for several more seconds before turning and going with Ross, not sure what to think of Matthew.

Matthew just continued to sit quietly on the cliff for several minutes before finally turning back around. There were tears in his eyes, not of sorrow but of anger, anger at himself for losing his temper like that, especially with the kids. He was supposed to be a role model for them, supposed to be patient with them, but instead he had let his temper get the best of him, and that scared him. This was the exact reason he was being tried, because he was supposed to be a dangerous and uncontrollable Pokemon. Matthew had long believed that chapter of his life had been closed long ago but after what had just happened, he wasn't so sure anymore.

He shook his head and took in several deep breaths to calm himself down. Right now he just needed to talk with someone who understood him, and there was only one Pokemon who fit the bill. Matthew slowly stood up, brushed the tears from his eyes, and went off to find Elizabeth.

...

The secluded area behind the stable was one of the favorite hangouts for Jenna's Pokemon. Cotton and Napoleon, her Floatzel and Lopunny pair, often went back there to get away from the hassle of being parents while Rupert the Toxicroak could often be found reading the latest copy of PokeChic magazine while downing a six pack of PokeCola. But today the only Pokemon back there was one particular Vespiqueen who wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

Elizabeth was Matthew's oldest friend and, in her pessimistic opinion, the only one who really cared for her. They had been together since they were both children and were rarely seen apart. However, since learning of Matthew's current plight Elizabeth had become more distant, cold, and pessimistic than usual. When Matthew had first told her what was going on it had felt like her life was over. Matthew was her sole reason for living and if he died, well, she knew she wouldn't last much longer. It felt to her like they were both trapped in an hourglass and the sands were slowly burying them, slowly eroding away what little time they had left.

Elizabeth had told all of this to Matthew and had begged him several times over the last few months to flee the ranch and get as far away as possible and every time Matthew had told her he would not abandon his family like that to save himself. But Elizabeth just didn't listen and continued to beg him to leave, going so far as to say that he didn't care about how she felt, didn't care what effect all of this was having on her. It had been a low blow and the two of them hadn't talked since that argument. More of their precious time together wasted in a useless fight that had accomplished nothing.

Elizabeth sighed and held a cigarette up to her lips. She had been smoking a lot more lately to try and deal with the stress of what was going on and it was having a serious impact on her health. Elizabeth clicked her claws together, producing a small flame which she held up to the tip of the cigarette to light it. Almost as soon as the smoke entered her lungs she went into a coughing fit and spit the cigarette out of her mouth. She continued to cough for almost a full minute before finally catching her breath and leaning against the side of the stable. Elizabeth slowly looked down and noticed a few specks of blood on her arm she had coughed up.  

She just stared at the blood on her arm for a second before shaking her head and pulling out another cigarette. If Matthew was going to die soon what difference would her death make, at least they would be together.

Elizabeth was just about to light up her second cigarette when a voice interrupted her thoughts. "(Why hello there my precious.)" Elizabeth quickly stamped out her cigarette and spun around to find a Mothim with half of it's lower left hand wing missing. It was Zorro. Zorro had had a crush on Elizabeth since they were both children but she had never taken any interest in him, preferring to spend her time with someone like Matthew who truly understood her. This was something that Zorro had never been able to understand, how a bug type like Elizabeth could be in love with a bird like Matthew. This had created quite a rift between Matthew and Zorro, which had come to a head when Matthew tore off Zorro's wing.

As soon as Elizabeth saw who it was she turned his back to him. "Vhat do you vant Zorro?" Zorro looked at her for a second before responding. "I was just wondering what you were up to, I haven't seen much of you lately." Elizabeth didn't turn around and shrugged. "(It is none of your concern.)" Zorro floated a little closer and saw that she was trying to hold back tears. "(Your thinking about Matthew again aren't you?)" Elizabeth didn't say anything but that was as good as a confirmation for Zorro. "(I just don't understand what you see in that old bird. I mean it will never work out between the two of you, not to mention he is way to violent a Pokemon for anyone to get close to, even another Pokemon of his own species, his wife was evidence enough of that.)"

Elizabeth gritted her teeth and clenched her claws. Hearing Zorro insult Matthew like that made her blood boil, but she managed to control her temper, for the time being. "(I mean it's his fault that she died, if he had been a better husband she would still be alive. I just don't want to see the same thing happen to you. But fortunately that shouldn't be a problem, the ranch will soon be rid of him, a good thing to as-)" Before Zorro could say another word Elizabeth had spun around and grabbed him by the neck, rage burning in her eyes. "(How dare you speak of Matzew zat vay you vittle bastard, he's tvice ze Pokemon you vill ever be, now get ze hell out of here!!)" She threw him to the ground but Zorro floated back up, furious at being attacked by Elizabeth.

"(Why you…your going to pay for that bitch.)" Zorro's entire body started to glow and Elizabeth felt herself being pressed up against the side of the stable as Zorro used psychic. "(Let me go zis instant!)" Elizabeth growled. Zorro cocked his head to the side as if he was thinking and then moved a little closer to her. "(Okay, but only if you give me a kiss.)" Elizabeth's eyes got wide and she fired a hidden power at him out of anger. The fireball just barely missed but it was enough to break Zorro's concentration so that he dropped Elizabeth she hit the ground and was about to attack him with another hidden power when he used psychic again to throw her back. He was about to follow that up with another attack when he was pinned to the ground from behind.

Zorro looked up to find Matthew's foot on his back, his right wing glowing a sickly purple. "(Zorro I'm only going to say this once, if I ever see you attack Elizabeth or any other Pokemon on this ranch again I will personally take the rest of your wings, now get out of here before I lose my temper.)" Zorro's eyes got wide, he knew his psychic powers would have no effect on Matthew so he quickly got up and flew off without a word. Matthew then turned to Elizabeth and helped her up. "(Elizabeth are you alright, what happened?)" Elizabeth placed an arm around Matthew's shoulder and pulled herself up. "(I'm fine, but zat vittle jerk, he…never mind.)"

Matthew decided not to press the subject and placed a wing on her back. They both sat that way for a few minutes before Elizabeth took out a cigarette and lit it up. Once again she went into a coughing fit and Matthew shook his head. "Elizabeth please stop it, I can't bear to see you hurting yourself like that." Elizabeth took the cigarette out of her mouth and scowled. "(Zen you know how I feel, seeing you suffering all ze time, I can't take it. It's tearing me apart Matzew. Please, for my zake, please just run.)" Matthew sighed. "(Elizabeth I've told you before why I can't do that, the repercussions for Jenna would be too severe, it would look like she let me go and then what do you think would happen, she would be in even more trouble, and the last thing this ranch needs is more trouble.)"

Elizabeth turned to him and he could see tears started to well up in her eyes. "(I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT VHAT HAPPENS TO ZE RANCH, all I vant is for you to be zafe Matzew!)" Elizabeth finally broke down into tears and without thinking she hugged Matthew. Matthew returned the hug and held her close. "(Shh, Elizabeth, I know how you feel, you don't need to try and explain it to me, you don't need to worry though, no matter what happens to me everything will work out.)" Elizabeth sniffed. "(Your wrong Matzew, I can just feel it, feel our time slowly ticking away, like grains in an hourglass, I can't take it Matzew, I just can't take it!)"

Matthew just held her close and continued to comfort her until she calmed down enough for him to talk with her. "(Elizabeth, I know what your talking about, because I have experienced that same feeling many times over the last few months, it is as if I can feel my own life slowly trickling away. But you, you still have a long life ahead of you, don't waste it like this.)" He took the cigarette she was about to light and threw it away. "(Don't waste your life obsessing over this, if I should die then so be it, nothing last's forever, everything must end, but nothing is set in stone yet, so why should you be upset now?)" Matthew knew he was being a little hypocritical, especially considering his conversation with Ross the previous night, but at the moment the only that mattered to him was Elizabeth's well being.

Elizabeth looked back up at Matthew and he thought he saw a hint of a smile on her face. She didn't say anything but instead placed an arm around his back and huddled up close to him. There was no need for words. The two of them just sat and looked out at the ranch, both enjoying what was undoubtedly one of the last peaceful moments they would be able to enjoy together for some time to come.