When Aizen reached the hideout, his heart tensed up as he sensed the rage of Riley and Phoebe, whose Auras were going wild, and when he teleported next to them, his heart too turned cold.
However, he managed to control his emotions after Sabrina planted her hand on his shoulder, asking him to keep calm.
There were children, seven of them, barely ten years old, who had been experimented upon with Shadow Energies.
And there were a few girls and women, who had been subjected to rape and other tortures, left starving in their cells.
The Hideout was underground, and it was massive.
And there was a morgue where the bodies of human children and Pokémon, who had died during the experiments, were kept.
This entire hideout was a morgue where research on dead bodies was also being conducted.
In their rage, Riley and Phoebe had killed every Cipher Agent and Thug they came across, and the two were still mad as hell.
The Moonheart was thankfully calm, and she had kept them in check, whilst also recording the visual evidence of the hideout they would have to submit to the Order if they planned on taking these rescued kids, ladies, and a few men to a safe place.
As much as Aizen hated to do it, with the help of Sabrina's Mega Alakazam, he broke into the minds of all the survivors and made sure that they were not rescuing someone dangerous.
Afterwards, with the help of Diancie, he spent three hours cleaning the bodies of the children, eliminating Ghostly Energies with his Aura and her Fairy Power, which was heightened thanks to Lyla's blessing.
Riley and Phoebe were shocked as they witnessed an Aura of Malice taking the form of a sphere above Aizen's head.
This was all Aizen's Aura, which had absorbed the Malice and Ghostly Energies from the bodies of the kids, and their hearts slowed down when they saw how pale the Prince looked.
He managed to clean all their bodies and then asked Sabrina to use her Steelix to dig a large hole in the ground. And he threw the Dark Aura Sphere inside the hole before the Steel Serpent closed it.
"Don't contact the Order. We must not contact the Order and send messages as long as we are in this region," Aizen took a deep breath. "I will contact them after entering the bounds of Unova."
All three of them understood what he meant.
Sabrina called out her Mega Alakazam, Delphox, and Mega Gardevoir, who telekinetically carried the people in the air after climbing on the backs of Aizen's Aerodactyl and Mega Pidgeot.
"Riley, Phoebe, return to Krane's side. Don't leave the place. Sabrina will be back in a few days, and I will spend a couple of weeks in Phenac City," Aizen ordered the two, and both knew that he was telling them to keep low because they had lost control over their emotions tonight.
They needed a week or two to clear their minds and hearts and truly prepare for this mission.
Neither of them asked him where he was taking the survivors. They just knew that he had some plan for them, and given their condition, they needed to keep their minds clear.
And Aizen did, in fact, have a plan for the survivors.
After flying up all night, carrying all twenty survivors, they finally reached Nuvema Town in the southeastern Unova and landed at Juniper's Estate.
Aurea Juniper was waiting for them there with her assistants, Doctors, and two Nurse Joys. He had contacted her a few hours ago, and she had already made all the preparations.
Aizen felt relieved when his old friend took charge of things and sent him and Sabrina inside her house to freshen up and get some rest.
The Moonheart, however, did not join him and decided to visit the Juniper Corral to meet her Pokémon who lived there.
When Aizen came out of the bath, having changed into a set of Pyjamas that his friend had arranged for him, he found her in his room, sitting at the coffee table, preparing some tea.
"Aurea." He smiled at her.
"Aizen." And she smiled back before pouring him a cup.
When the Prince sat down at the table with her, she served him tea and then leaned back in her seat.
Folding her legs, she looked at him as she took a sip, and nodded her head, appreciating the flavour.
"Mind telling me now what is going on?" She asked, and he took a sip, then another, and finally took a deep breath and sighed.
"We found them on a mission in Orre."
As soon as Aurea heard his words, she tensed up.
"Mission in Orre? Is it related to Team Doom?"
Junipers were part of the Arcane Creed even though they did not come from an Arcane Family. Their family had served the Order for centuries, and it was no surprise that she knew about Team Doom.
"Yes," he nodded his head and watched her frown.
Aizen, then to her horror, informed her about what Team Doom and Cipher were up to in the Orre Region.
Aurea went pale when he informed her about Shadow Lugia and what Team Doom planned on doing with the DNA of the Regional Guardians.
And later, they sat in silence even after they finished all the tea in the kettle.
"Did you kill them?" She whispered the question, fearing the worst, and seeing him nod, she sadly lowered her head.
"I am fine, Aurea." He gently said to her, knowing well that she feared he had lost control.
"When do you plan to go back?"
"Not for the next few days. We need to keep a low profile and see the reaction of Cipher. I will be heading to Phenac City next and trying to understand the current affairs of the region and the underworld."
"You should send Lily and her children here."
"That's what I plan to do, but Krane needs Lily's help with the Purify Chamber, and Michael and Jovi can not bear staying away from her. The two are holding themselves well after their father's death, but they won't be able to hold it if they are separated from their mother."
She sighed at his words and nodded in understanding.
"Don't hesitate to ask me for any help."
"Have I ever?" He smiled at her, and she smiled back.
"Congratulations on the win at the Indigo Conference, Aizen."
"You didn't come." The Prince teasingly said, and she grinned at him.
"I was working on something with my father. I will let you know about it when we are ready to share the information." She said, and then hopefully looked at him, quickly changing the subject. "When do you plan on journeying through Unova?"
"I don't know. I just want to finish things up and return to Ilene's side on the Blanc Island, and then spend some time with her and my child until the end of the year." He smiled. "Anira initially planned on starting her journey in Hoenn right after getting her Licence, but her plans have changed."
"Oh?"
"She plans on winning the Silver and Indigo Conferences next year," he informed her. "She has already asked Sabrina to win the 199th Edition this year, and then she will win the 200th Edition next year. She wants our names together in the Hall of Fame. Professor Birch's daughter, May, plans on participating in the First Silver Grand Festival, which will be held next year. Lily Williams, sister to Daisy and Violet Williams, intends to win the first Indigo Grand Festival next year. Violet Williams is also planning on challenging the Kanto and Johto Battle Frontier and taking on the Orange League Challenge. The four of them will likely be journeying together."
"Didn't she want you two to journey together through Hoenn?"
"She does, but we will not be taking part in the Ever Grande Conference in the same year. She says she does not want to harm my record, and she wants her name right next to mine on the Ever Grande Hall of Fame" He smiled. "So, I will just take a year off and relax, accompany her and May on our travels, and will participate in the Ever Grande Conference after Anira wins it."
"Aww..." Aurea laughed at the antics of the Orayen Princess. "So, what will you be doing next year?" She hopefully looked at him.
"You want me to win the Vertress Conference?" He smiled at her.
"Yes," She nodded. "I will find you a cute travelling companion too, maybe two if the other doesn't accept my offer to become my assistant."
"Oh?" He raised his brow at her, trying to guess her intentions.
"My cousin, Hilda, and her friend Bianca. They haven't started their journey this year, but plan on embarking on it next year."
Aizen recalled a brown-haired chubby girl, who was four years younger than him. He had met her about four years ago when he spent a few months here with Juniper. As for Bianca, he guessed that it was the other chubby blonde girl who always stuck close to Hilda.
"Travelling with you will benefit them a lot. They will get to learn from you, find out what they truly desire from life, and Hilda has also made this request." She playfully said. "She admires your student Leaf Green a lot."
"Student?" He chuckled. "Well, she is my Assistant."
"She's very talented." Juniper sincerely said.
"Yes. And she is participating in the Silver Conference this year."
"Do you think she can win?"
"Yes," he nodded to her.
He really did have faith in Leaf. He had seen that craze in her eyes. The obsession with winning. She was destined to become one of the finest Pokémon Trainers in the history of the world.
"So, Unova?" She smiled, again looking at him in hope.
"No. I plan on heading to Kalos next. A new format is going to be introduced next year. Mega Pokémon are being limited to Top 8, and that too only if both Trainers agree to using them. Trainers have been getting discouraged lately, and there have been protests, calling it unfair."
"I heard, and it is unfair." She sighed, shaking her head. "Fine. Kalos then, and I am sure Hilda would love to explore it with you. Take her along."
"What do I get in return?" He playfully asked, and his heart skipped a beat when Aurea slowly stood up and started taking off her clothes.
As much as he wanted to stand up and help her out of them, he frowned.
She was his good friend, a very good friend, and also the first woman he had bedded. He was her first too, but the circumstances surrounding them at that time were ambiguous.
Even though they had slept together multiple times, he knew that she had a crush on Professor Sycamore, and that was why she had strictly kept their relationship as just friends with benefits.
Maybe if it were a couple of years ago, he would have decided to continue their relationship, but he was getting a little mad at her right now.
"I am sorry Aurea, but we can not continue with this."
Even though he made it clear to her, she did not stop and took everything off her.
"Why?" She finally asked. "You don't desire me anymore?"
"That's not it. I am just not comfortable sleeping with you, knowing..."
"I have never had any relationships with him or any other man." She smiled.
"But you desire him."
"No, I don't. Not anymore. Not since you left me all alone here and did not even visit me once." She walked over to him and pulled him up by his collar. "Why?"
"Cynthia found out about our relationship, and she was not happy that you were sleeping with me even though you..."
"I figured it was the case." She lightly said, cutting him off, and then looked right into his eyes. "You have always known if someone is telling the truth or lying. So, tell me, is it a lie when I say that..."
She proceeded to kiss him, closing her eyes, and then slowly separated from his lips.
"I am in love with you." She told him when she opened her eyes and looked at his face again.