"Tatiana. Tatiana. Tatiana, wake up."

A young woman moaned softly and opened her eyes to see a wooden boat's rear side and an Eevee napping next to her. She moved her brown cloak that she was using as a blanket, revealing her dark blue dress and a tiny, oddly-shaped figure wrapped around in cloth lying next to her that she was spooning in her sleep. She sat up from her seat on the boat and looked at her surroundings while scooping the covered figure in her arms.

A heavy-set man with streaks of red hair on his bald head was gently rowing the boat, and a Golbat was standing at the bow, keeping watch with its wings wrapped around its body. Sitting beside the woman on the right side of the boat was a man and woman in their seventies, and a little Flabébé sitting on the older woman's shoulder. The couple was also covering themselves with cloaks and sitting close together for warmth. Tatiana looked ahead to see the light at the end of the dark tunnel.

"Are we there, Gray?" The young woman asked.

The old man named Gray gave her a kind-hearted smile and said, "Yes, my child. We are in Lumiose City."

Tatiana smiled with her heart full of hope and turned to the Eevee napping next to her. She gently nudged the evolution Pokemon, and it whimpered before it stood and yawned cutely.

"We made it, Eves," Tatiana said. "We're at Lumiose City."

"Eevee," the Eevee named Eves said happily.

"Be quiet!" The fat man hissed. "Soldiers could be anywhere. Do you want to alert them?"

"Sorry, Xerosic. We'll try to keep it down," Gray said.

Xerosic sniveled and looked away, still rowing. The passengers looked down at the wooden floor with Gray's arm around his wife, eager to reach their destination. The wind blew harder, and Tatiana heard whimpers coming out of the bundle she was carrying. The figure wrapped in cloth started to cry, and Tatiana gently shushed it while using her cloak to protect it from the wind.

"Hush, little one," she whispered. "It'll be over soon. We're going to be safe in the Court of Miracles. I promise."

The figure kept crying, making Gray worry that it would upset Xerosic. Tatiana held the figure close to her chest and began humming a soft melody while moving her upper body back and forth. The cries slowly died down, and Tatiana closed her eyes, whispering, "That's it," with a serene smile before kissing the figure's head. Gray, Eves, Gray's wife, and Flabébé smiled as they watched Tatiana before the older woman sighed.

"I hope they really will be safe," she said. "I've heard that the soldiers have become persistent in finding the Court of Miracles."

"Not to worry, Florence, my love," Gray said. "Madame Magnolia has kept our people and Pokemon safe here for many years. Tatiana will worry about the little one for nothing."

"Arceus willing," Florence said, holding a small golden cross-like wheel hanging around her neck. "Still, it'll be good to see Madame Magnolia and her little granddaughter, Sonia, again."

Gray smiled and hummed in agreement.

"Sonia must be a tween by now," he said.

"Flabébé," Flabébé said.

The boat became quiet again, apart from Tatiana humming. Eventually, the boat made it to the end of the tunnel under the docks of Lumiose City. Tatiana looked around to see dark clouds covering the night sky, and there was a faint breeze blowing at the snowflakes falling down. Further down the river were countless wooden houses covered in snow. No light could be seen from the windows inside the homes, for it was past midnight. Xerosic rowed the boat to the shore on the river's right side, and his passengers got out. Gray, Florence, Tatiana, Flabébé, and Eves smiled, knowing that they were so close to their destination until Xerosic cleared his throat.

"That will be four guilders," he said.

"Four?" Gray said. "But we agreed to three guilders."

"That was before you revealed that the young woman was coming with her Eevee and that horrid creature," Xerosic said.

"He is not a creature!" Tatiana shouted.

"Eevee!" Eves barked.

"Easy, Tatiana. Lower your voice," Florence said.

"But we don't have four guilders," Gray protested.

"Then you leave me no choice but to take what you have and have my Golbat take care of you," Xerosic said.

Golbat opened its wings and flapped into the air, giving the passengers a menacing glare. Gray, Florence, Flabébé, Tatiana, and Eves quivered with the young woman holding her bundle in a protective embrace.

"You...you wouldn't," Gray said.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" Xerosic challenged with a sadistic grin. "The soldiers here in Lumiose City are always trying to hunt down you Arceans. I wager I would be handsomely rewarded for delivering you lot to them."

"That won't be necessary."

Before Xerosic could react, an arrow pierced through his pole. Gray, Florence, and Tatiana gasped and turned around to find that they were surrounded by archers wearing black tights and gray armor. Gray pulled his wife close and stood in front of Tatiana defensively as though she were his own daughter. Golbat screeched in fear and began flying away.

"Golbat, get back here!" Xerosic shouted.

His command didn't stop the bat Pokemon from abandoning its master, but before it could escape, a pink beam of energy with bright white energy around it suddenly hit Golbat, and it plummeted into the ground, unconscious. Xerosic looked at his fallen Pokemon in shock before he heard the sound of someone laughing maniacally. Xerosic, Gray, Florence, Flabébé, Tatiana, and Eves, turned to the right side of the shore to see a tall man with short brown hair proudly dressed in golden armor. Beside him was a Persian, whose pink gem was still glowing after using Power Gem on Golbat. The man and his Pokemon looked at their captives with twisted grins.

"Why should I reward you, bargeman, when I can capture these Arcean swine myself?" The man with the Persian asked. "It doesn't take much to predict that they would try to sneak their way here, thinking the night is their ally."

"Uh, well, b-b-because it was my plan to bring them to you all along," Xerosic stuttered. "As God is my witness, I never would willingly associate with the Arcean -"

"Silence, you sniveling coward," the man with the Persian said. "You aren't the first bargeman to make that claim, and you won't be the last. You better pray that the minister won't do to you what he did with the last bargeman."

Xerosic's fear grew, and he whimpered, "N-n-no, please! D-d-don't send me to him!"

"I don't have to," the man with the Persian said.

Xerosic's blood drained from his body, knowing what the man meant. At that moment, the captured Arceans and bargeman heard the heavy sound of hooves stepping on the snow. The man with the Persian's grin grew as he and his Pokemon moved away to reveal a man riding on a Rapidash.

The Rapidash's fiery mane and tail were burning bright and healthy, and the hair on its body was black as night, a rare color for a unicorn Pokemon's coat. The man was nearing his 50s with his black hair turning gray. He was dressed in a black and purple robe, a purple jumpsuit, and black shoulder pads with red stripes. He had a purple and black striped tricorn hat with a red tassel attached to the bottom that hid his bald spot on the top of his head. When he made his Rapidash halt next to the man of the Persian, he held his hands holding the reign up to reveal golden rings with sapphires, emeralds, and rubies on top that were on his fingers. Gray, Florence, Flabébé, Tatiana, and Eves huddled closer in terror, with Florence clinging on to Gray, knowing full well who was riding the Rapidash.

"Judge Markenel," Gray whispered.

Markenel looked at the captives with a condescending look in his cold blue eyes. He smirked as he turned to the man with the Persian and said, "Three Arceans and their Pokemon trying to sneak their way into my city. Well done, Captain Giovanni."

"Thank you, Your Honor," Giovanni said. "I hope these fools will prove more willing to reveal the location of the Court of Miracles than the last group."

"I'm sure the Lord will guide us to find the answers we need this time," Markenel said.

"Never!" Gray shouted. "We will tell you nothing!"

"We shall see," Markenel said. "Take them to the Palace of Justice."

Giovanni turned to his men and nodded. Five archers put away their bows and took out shackles and two iron cages. First, they tore Gray and Florence away from each other and bound them and Xerosic, and then they grabbed Flabébé and Golbat and put them in cages. Tatiana turned her back on the soldiers, hoping that they somehow wouldn't notice them, but one of them grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around.

"What are you hiding?" The soldier growled.

Tatiana held the bundle closer to her, covering it with her cloak. Markenel scoffed and said, "Stolen good or tools for pagan practices, no doubt. Take them from her."

The soldier reached out and wrapped his arms around the bundle. Tatiana tried to break the soldier's hold, but the man was too strong. She felt the small figure beginning to slip from her grasp, and she turned to Eves in desperation.

"Eves, use Flash!" She shouted.

Immediately, Eves' body began to glow and with a loud cry, it created a flash that blinded everyone except for Tatiana. The young woman raced past Markenel and Giovanni and ran as fast as she could while holding her bundle close. Eves tried to follow Tatiana, but it wasn't long before Persian recovered from the blast and scratched the little Eevee so hard that it was instantly knocked unconscious. Tatiana stopped for a moment and turned to see Persian about to chase after her.

"Flabébé use Grass Knot!" Florence shouted.

Flabébé's eyes glowed green, and two large pieces of grass emerged from underneath Persian and wrapped around its body, trapping it. Tatiana took a step run back for her Pokemon partner before she heard Gray shout, "Tatiana, forget about Eves! Just run! Run, and don't look back!"

"Run, Tatiana!" Florence shouted. "Get to safety! Don't worry about us!"

"Flabébé!" Flabébé shouted.

Tatiana hesitated, not wanting to abandon Eves or the old couple before she turned and ran as fast as she could. The young woman had no idea where she was going, but she knew she had to find a place to hide from Markenel and his soldiers and somehow find the Court of Miracles by herself. She turned from one street to another, hoping that going in different directions would keep the soldiers from being able to track her once they recovered, but she didn't consider the footprints she left in the snow.

Eventually, Tatiana heard the sound of hooves racing toward her and dared to look back and see Markenel catching up with her on his Rapidash. Tatiana tried to run faster, but human legs could never outmatch the speed of a Rapidash. As the minister grew closer, Tatiana saw a narrow alley ahead and went in right before Markenel could catch her. Markenel's Rapidash neighed and stood up by its hind legs, its master holding on the reins to not fall off. Tatiana kept running through the alley, not willing to risk Markenel possibly getting off his steed to chase her on foot.

At the other side of the alley, she found herself at Lumiose City square. On the other side was a cathedral twenty-one stories tall. There were three portals at the front of the cathedral; each one had a pair of tall, iron doors. The building walls contained countless religious statues, and the top of the cathedral were two towers standing on opposite sides of the building. Seeing the church as her only hope, Tatiana ran over to the cathedral and began banging on the center doors.

"Sanctuary!" She screamed. "Sanctuary! Sanctuary! Please, give us Sanctuary!"

The young woman slammed her fist onto the door as hard as she could, but the doors remained closed. The sound of Rapidash neighing could be heard from the other side of the square, and Tatiana's heart dropped as she turned around to find Markenel charging toward her with his steed. She started running again, desperate to find another way to escape, but it wasn't long before Markenel caught up with her, grabbed the bundle she was holding by the garment, and started yanking it away from her.

"No! No, please!" Tatiana begged, trying to hold on to the bundle.

"Let go!" Markenel commanded.

"Please, don't take him!" Tatiana cried with tears in her eyes. "He's all I -"

"I said, let go!" Markenel roared.

With that last word, Markenel lifted his leg and slammed his foot onto Tatiana's face. The young woman's head moved back farther than it should with a snap, and she fell down, head first on the stone pavement. With Tariana's possession in his arm, Markenel sneered and spat on the woman's face while a red puddle appeared on the back of her head. He grabbed the reins to ride back to his soldiers until he heard something crying from inside the bundle.

"A baby?" Markenel asked. "So, that's why the Arcean wretch was so desperate to -"

As he talked, he moved the cloth covering the child's face, and he gasped in horror. The baby boy had an upside-down rouleaux triangle-shaped head topped with brown hair, a rectangle lump above his left eye, a large nose, heavy arms, and a large, curved hunch on its back. It was crying with its mouth wide, revealing it's two front teeth sticking out almost like that of a beaver. Markenel covered the child's face again, feeling his stomach turn at the sight of it.

"It's a monster. A demonic Arcean spawn," Markenel said.

The judge looked down in thought, wondering what to do with the child. He considered trying to perform an exorcism or perhaps having one of his soldiers cut off the child's head or Giovanni's Persian mauling the ugly thing. But then, Markenel saw a well at the corner of his eye, and he turned to it with a sadistic grin. The old man ordered his Rapidash to walk over to the side of the well, and he leaned to the side to see how deep it was.

"Perfect. No one would ever find it at the bottom," he thought as he lifted the child up by its cloth and held it above the well. "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, it gives me great honor to -"

"STOP!"

Markenel turned his head and saw two figures coming out from the center doors of the cathedral. The first was a thin, middle-aged man, with black, curly hair, bluish eyes, and some facial hair under his ears, wearing white robes with maroon and golden edges, a golden cross necklace, a purple hood, and cloak. Behind him was a nun with green eyes and long blue hair covered by her hood. The man glowered at Markenel as he and his companion marched over to him and his Rapidash.

"Archdeacon Sycamore, Sister Sophie, refrain yourselves from interfering with my business," Markenel said. "This is an unholy demon, and I'm sending it back to hell, where it belongs."

"You think me a fool, Markenel?! I can hear that child's cries from the entrance of the church!" Archdeacon Sycamore yelled.

"This is no child, Your Excellency. It is a hideous beast," Markenel claimed.

"A disfigured child is still a child of God!" Archdeacon Sycamore barked. "Now, in the name of our Lord, I command you to hand over that baby at once!"

Markenel paused. His hand longed to drop the baby to its doom, but he could not defy a man of God. With a growl, he begrudgingly handed the baby to Sister Sophie. The nun removed the cloth covering the boy's face and flinched at his appearance before rocking the child and shushing it. Archdeacon Sycamore sighed, relieved that the child was safe, and then turned to Tatiana's body. With crestfallen faces, Archdeacon Sycamore and Sister Sophie walked over to the woman's side, got down on their knees, and the archdeacon crossed himself

"Lord, please forgive us for not coming to this woman's aid in time," he prayed as he closed Tatiana's eyes.

"Amen," Sister Sophie said.

Markenel scoffed and pulled Rapidash's reins, driving it to walk to the archdeacon and the nun.

"Really, Your Excellence, how can you bear to kneel beside an Arcean?" He asked.

Archdeacon Sycamore lifted his head to glare at the judge on the Rapidash and said, "A person with pagan beliefs does not justify murder."

Markenel scoffed again in amusement and said, "My deeds are justifiable. She is a criminal who entered the city illegally and resisted arrest. It is within my right to pursue her, and if she dies in the process, that is her fault."

"She was a woman protecting her child with no weapon or Pokemon to defend herself!" Sister Sophie shouted.

"And I am the justice minister!" Markenel roared. "Anything I do is in the name of the Lord, and thus nullifies all transgressions!"

Sister Sophie stared at Markenel, astounded, while Archdeacon Sycamore yelled, "Your position nullifies nothing! You can trick yourself and your soldiers that what you've done is right with no remorse, but you are still a murderer, and no worldly title will save you from the eternal judgment of our Lord and the Apostles!"

As he said the last word, the archdeacon pointed up at the statues standing above the portals. Above the right portal stood Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Simon, and Matthew. Above the left portal was Thomas, Bartholomew, Phillip, James, the son of Alphaeus, Judas, the son of James, and Matthias, the follower who replaced Judas Iscariot as the twelfth disciple. Between the apostles was baby Jesus held by the virgin Mary, commonly referred to as Maria in the Lumiose City church, with two angels standing beside them.

But though Archdeacon Sycamore was talking about Jesus who forgives and his followers who will judge the dead, Markenel's eyes were on the statue of Maria. She stood above the other figures in fine robes, holding the Son of Man in one arm and holding a scepter with her free hand, and wearing a large crown on her head. The judge feared how the carving looked down upon him, as though the real Maria's opinion mattered above all others. He began to imagine her looking down at him in disgust for what he had done and, with one word, would have his immortal soul cast into hell. The idea of losing his chance for the blessings of heaven terrified Markenel, and he turned to the archdeacon.

"What must I do to redeem myself?" He asked.

"Are you truly sorry for what you have done?" Archdeacon Sycamore asked.

"Yes, yes, I repent of my wrongdoing," Markenel hastily claimed.

Archdeacon Sycamore and Sister Sophie stood up, and the former said, "There is only one thing you can do: care for the child, and raise it as your own."

"What?!" Markenel shouted. "You dare tell me to be settled with this misshapen Arce -"

The archdeacon gave Markenel a warning glare, and the judge flinched as though a dagger suddenly came close to his stomach. Markenel sighed in defeat but then thought up an idea to compromise with Sycamore's command.

"Very well," he said. "But if that's how it must be, then let him live with you in the church."

"Why should we do that?" Sister Sophie asked.

"If I am to treat the child as though it is my own, then he is to be protected," Markenel said. "You two may be willing to look past its hideous features, but there are people and Pokemon who won't be as kind. He must be kept away where no one can see him."

"And how do you plan to raise him if you keep him here while you live in the Palace of Justice?" Archdeacon Sycamore asked with a suspicious tone.

"I will regularly come to tend to the boy," Markenel said. "I will feed him, clothe him, change him, bathe him, and educate him with the word of the Lord."

The square was silent after Markenel made his claims. Archdeacon Sycamore continued to look suspiciously at Markenel, but the judge kept a calm face. After half a minute, the archdeacon pointed at Markenel and said, "God will hold you to your word, Markenel. Starting tomorrow at dawn, before you begin your duties, you will come here to feed the child his first meal."

"Understood," Markenel said. "In the meantime, I must return to my troops."

Archdeacon Sycamore furrowed his brow, knowing that Markenel was eager to leave. He decided to let it go, knowing that the justice minister will carry out his demands for the sake of his soul, and said, "Very well. I will see you in the morning."

"You shall," Markenel said. "Until then, I bid you both a good night."

Archdeacon Sycamore and Sister Sophie gave Markenel brief nods before he rode away on his Rapidash. The holy man took a deep breath through his nose and turned around to pick up Tatiana's body. He began walking back inside the cathedral with the nun walking behind, holding the baby close to give it warmth.

"Your Eminence, where should we keep the child?" Sister Sophie asked.

Archdeacon Sycamore stopped walking and looked down in thought. He then lifted his head and looked at the cathedral's two towers, and nodded.

"We have a spare room up in the south tower. He will be secluded from society up there," he said. "When he's old enough, he will serve the Lord by replacing Brother Ramos as the bellringer."

Sister Sophie hummed in approval until she realized something and said, "What should we name him?"

"That will be for Markenel to decide as his father," Archdeacon Sycamore replied.

*****************************************************************************************

By the time Markenel returned to the Palace of Justice, Giovanni and his soldiers had already imprisoned Gray, Florence, Flabébé, Xerosic, Golbat, and Eves. Markenel commended his captain and ordered him to schedule a trial in the morning. He then bid his men good night before leaving Rapidash in the palace stables and went inside the palace to his bedroom.

There was a single bed that was nicer than what most people in Lumiose City had at the right corner of the room, with a wooden bed frame that had carvings of angels and the cross of Christ. A chest containing his nightclothes standing in front of the bed frame, and a large window beside it where he could see Lumiose Cathedral from afar. On the left side, there was a writing desk with the same carvings, a wooden chair, and above it was a large painting of Maria hanging in a golden frame. Markenel stared at the picture before he grabbed his chair and threw it against the wall in a scream of rage.

"Why?!" He screamed at the painting. "Blessed Maria, why did you allow this to happen?! Surely, there has to be a better way to atone for my mistake than treating a hideous, Arcean creature as though it were my own flesh and blood!"

The judge growled again and began to pace.

"I know our lord is just, not fair, but this is hardly a punishment worthy of my misstep!" Markenel shouted. "I'm lucky I convinced that imbecile, Sycamore, to keep that thing away from my home! I would rather die than for anyone to learn that I have an Arcean child for a son! The very thought of raising it with the holy word disgusts me!"

Markenel slammed his fist on the wall with another yell and turned around to lean his back against it. He covered his face with both of his hands, and his heavy breathing died down. After a few seconds, he moved his hands away from his face to reveal a look of realization. His face lit up, and he began to laugh triumphantly, shaking his fists in the air.

"Of course!" He shouted happily, turning back to the painting of Maria. "That's why you let this happen. This is an ingenious disgrace to the heathens. You gave the Arceans' most vile offspring to guide him to the Lord instead of letting it grow up to worship Arceus. God must have a plan that you know about that involves using the foul creature to destroy the heathens. It would be crueler than any imprisonment, torture, or execution I have ever sentenced to the Arceans or their Pokemon that I have captured."

Markenel laughed again before he put his hands together and bowed his head to the painting.

"Oh, forgive the Lord's servant for his outburst, Maria," he said. "Now, I understand what must be done. I will raise the creature to fulfill the role of the key to the heathens' destruction. It will be like the Apostle Paul taking Saint Timothy, born from a Jewish mother and a gentile father, to be taught the Lord's word and use him to rid places of the world of evil."

Markenel's eyes widened again, and he lifted his head with another look of realization. After a few seconds, he grinned and looked at the painting of Maria, saying, "Yes. Yes, that's perfect. A bible name to add insult to the fatal wound awaiting the Arcean vermin. Henceforth, if it pleases you, Maria, the child, will serve me under the name Timothy."