Questionable Ethics (Colosseum One-Shot)

Author's Note: Done for the LiveJournal prompt community, 50Passages. The prompt was, "And sooner or later as he lurked and pried on the borders he would be caught, and taken – for examination."


The dark of night lay thick, just after the setting of the moon. That hour was the cold, dead hour when the nocturnal creatures lay silent and half-asleep while the beings of the day were less than an hour from stirring with the first light of dawn. At the edge of the orchard, a faint, yellow glow appeared. It darted along the edges of the field to lead the shadow behind it. When it stopped, so did the shadow, and yellow eyes gazed at the fruit dangling from the dark branches.

It had been months since Wes had stolen anything, and he could tell his movements were clumsier than they had been during those earlier months. For that, he hesitated at every slip of his hands and every twig he snapped with his feet to listen carefully, and even when he remained perfectly silent, he hesitated now and then, ears straining to in an effort to make out some sound that didn't belong in the silent night. The fear that, as he lurked and pried on the borders of the field, he would be caught and taken – for examination – pulsed incessantly in his brain.

With one last glance into the darkness, he stooped down to put himself level with the umbreon standing next to him. His hand rose in a small sign to the dog before he stood and watched. Umbreon, ever-obedient to his master, relaxed, and his ring lights slowly dimmed. Then, with as much stealth as he could muster, Wes darted between the trees. His careful hand reached between the thorny branches to pluck a fat, pink berry dangling just next to his head. He brought the pecha berry to his nose to take a careful whiff of the sweet, earthy scent of the skin. Gingerly, he bit into it to taste the sweet, cool juices and soft, slippery flesh. A grin spread across his lips as he wiped juice from his chin with the back of his sleeve. One of his hands fervently plucked more fruit from the branches to stuff his pockets while he used the other hand to bring the first berry to his mouth until he finished it off and tossed the pit on the loamy ground. Partway through his raid, a yellow light fell on him. Umbreon barked once loudly and then fell silent.

"Umbreon," Wes hissed, "do you want to wake up the—"

He turned and found himself face-to-face with the old, rough farmer, standing side-by-side with a tangela and a pikachu. As the pikachu's cheeks sparked with enough electricity to light the area, the tangela ensnared Umbreon, who squirmed with his legs flailing through the air as he hung several feet above the grass-type. Meanwhile, pointed at Wes' chest was a shotgun, wielded by the farmer with a finger over the trigger.

"Damn it," Wes muttered as he raised his hands.


Light filtered through the tiny, square window of the holding cell. Even in the shadows of the town jail, the Orrean heat climbed with the afternoon sun. Wes sat back on the bench-bed with his hands behind his head and his back against the brick wall. His yellow eyes were closed as he lulled in a bored stupor. Finally, a door opened, and slowly, he lifted his eyelids to throw a gaze towards the bars of the cell. A few moments later, a thin and unshaven old man approached. Wes narrowed his eyes at the sheriff's badge that glinted on the man's chest as he approached.

You've got a visitor," he said. Then, he walked away, only to stand beside the door.

Immediately, Wes stood when he saw Rui step towards the bars. A smirk played across his face as he stuck his hands into his pockets. She, meanwhile, curled her hands around the bars and frowned.

"They say you stole half a dozen pecha berries out of a farmer's orchard," she said.

"Yeah," Wes said with a shrug. "It was going to be breakfast."

Rui sighed. Already, she knew this conversation was going to be difficult. "You said you wouldn't do that anymore."

"Do what?"

"You know..." She made a motion with her hand. "Steal."

"It was just six berries," Wes said with narrowed eyes. "There were hundreds in the same orchard. Besides, they could've been stolen by something else if I didn't take them."

"Like what?"

"Wild pokémon."

The frown on Rui's face deepened slightly. "Wes, there haven't been any wild pokémon in this part of Orre for months."

Wes shrugged again. "Other thieves."

"Why do you think he had Tangela and Pikachu?"

"Well, anyway," Wes said as he sat down on the bench, "it was still only six berries."

"That's not the point," Rui said with a desperate shake of her head. "You said you wouldn't steal anymore! You said that part of your life was behind you!"

"They would've only gone to markets anyway," Wes said. "I think it's a shame that man is trying to control nature by keeping us from taking what should be growing in the wild, don't you?"

"Wes!" Rui gave him a stern look. "Don't start with me on that!"

He completely ignored her. "After all, the pecha tree is a plant, right? Plants are part of nature, and they were free a long time ago. But...!" He paused to think of where he was going with the statement. "But now, human beings are trying to take what was free to everyone a long time ago and making a profit off of it. Now, I think that's not right."

Rui's eyebrows knitted in a combination of exasperation and embarrassment. "Wes!"

"People should be able to go back to nature and take something that was free and wild if they want as long as they don't take too much." He crossed his arms and wagged his index finger of the hand closest to Rui from side to side. "It's not stealing, Rui. It's taking what's rightfully free."

He sat with a triumphant grin on his face for a long moment as Rui stood with her hands wrapped around the bars of the cell and her knees touching each other. Her mouth hung open with a mortified expression until her companion finally looked at her. Then, she bowed her head, the top of her forehead coming in contact with the cool bars with a resounding clunk.

"Oh Ho-oh," she whispered. "Whatever happened to my shining knight?"

"Good you see it my way," Wes said as he stood up and approached her. "So, did you post bail or something?"

Rui pushed her head away from the bars to glance at him oddly. Her mouth curved into a frown as one of her eyebrows rose. Wes tilted his head as he tried to make sense of this reaction.

"I am getting out of here, right?" he said.

"Actually..." Rui pushed herself completely away from the bars. She stepped back, just out of Wes' reach as she smiled and clasped her hands behind her back. "I don't have enough money. I just came to ask if it's okay to borrow your pokémon so I can go to Agate Village. You'll be here for awhile, but they'll keep me safe. They've already agreed to come with me too, Umbreon especially, so it shouldn't be a problem. Maybe when we get to the village, we'll be able to convince the villagers to donate enough money to bail you out of jail, but until then..." She stopped to give him a wave. "Good luck with the trial!"

With that, she turned and began walking towards the door. Behind her, Wes stood with his own hands wrapped around the bars and an equally mortified expression on his face. As Rui neared the sheriff, Wes snapped out of his daze to reach towards her.

"Hey! You can't leave me here!" he said.

She turned. "It's not punishment, Wes. It's dealing with what's rightfully the consequences of your actions. Be nice to the sheriff, and you might even get out on good behavior before I get back!"

With another grin and a wave, she disappeared through the door as the Orrean spat a string of curses from the holding cell.