A/N: This is a short, slightly rushed, and supposed-to-be suspenseful chapter. Mostly, though, it's just a filler chapter so there's not too much to cover in Chapter 10, therefore stressing me out ;-)

This is pretty much the climax of the story, though I'd say there's a good five or six chapters left here. This is really the beginning of the chapters that begin to piece everything together. Thank you so much to anyone who's read this far. Hope you enjoy the literature!

Apolo

I wasn't really able to sleep, but I slipped in and out of a light sleep, still aware of everything that was going on. I heard when Aria stood up, pacing the hallway back and forth, I heard when Laila rolled into Riley, who nudged her gently away from him, and I heard when Aria walked over to me, nudging me gently.

"Julianne. Julianne," Aria whispered. The end of her braid tickled my cheek, and I looked up blearily. Aria's grey eyes were exhausted. "I think we should get a move on. I don't…" Her voice trailed off, ending with a shiver. "I don't like staying in one place for too long. I think someone knows we're here."

I grunted softly in agreement. The exhaustion from the day was beginning to sink in, and I felt like a Graveler wrapped in blankets.

Aria lifted her head. "I'll wake up Laila and Riley," she offered, scooting over towards the rest of our companions.

I sat up, blinking groggily. The constant dim lighting was disorienting; I didn't know whether it was midnight or mid-day. I grabbed for my backpack, realizing suddenly that I hadn't changed out of these clothes in days. Oh well, I thought, wondering with amazement how I had gone from being a bit of a prissy teen to…well, what I am right now.

"S' wha's the plan?" Riley asked, his voice slurred with sleep. He shook his head like a wet Poochyena, and seemed to wake up a little. "Do we get breakfast, Ari?"

Aria rolled her eyes, handing everyone a slice of bread. I jammed mine in my mouth and almost choked on it, realizing how hungry I was. Aria nibbled at the crust of her own breakfast. "I think we should keep moving," she announced finally, gulping down a bite of bread. "We're headed somewhere. I just don't know where."

Laila crumpled her blanket into her backpack, her eyes round and troubled. "I don't know what to expect anymore," she said finally. "I'm really nervous, you guys. I mean…" she paused meaningfully, "…what can we expect?"

Riley's response was dry and a bit sarcastic. "An extremely pissed-off murderer, of course," he snorted.

The look on Laila's face made it clear that she didn't take Riley's comment as lightly as he did.

Aria stood up, swallowing the last little bite of bread. "I want to get moving," she announced. "We need to get out of here. I think something's on to us."

I folded my blanket neatly, tucking it into my backpack. Aria and Riley had moved on ahead, but Laila was waiting for me, fidgeting with the straps of her backpack.

"I can't believe we're here," I said finally, speeding up a little to match pace with the twins. "And I can't believe I don't know where we're headed."

Laila nodded. She was giving off an extremely serious vibe, out-of-character for Laila. With a jolt, I realized exactly how horrible a situation I had gotten my friends into. I actually gritted my teeth to brace myself for the wave of guilt coming to me. God, oh God, I languished. Please, get us out of here!

The hallways kept twisting on. Laila was stone-faced, staring ahead, though I noticed that she had pulled a Pokeball out of her backpack and was tossing it from hand to hand like a juggler. We traveled in a tight pack, so close together that my shoulders brushed Laila and Aria's. I felt safe, but at the same time I felt like we were headed towards some unknown doom.

Somehow, the temperature began to rise in the hallways. Aria wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, taking a turn down a corridor leading to the right. "Is it just me," she asked, "Or is it really hot in here?"

I combed my hand absentmindedly through my hair. "Humid, too," I agreed. This struck me as extremely odd. From what we had gathered yesterday, we were under the ocean. Where're we headed? I wondered, shuddering at the thought.

Riley crinkled his nose. "I think we should get out of here," he said briskly. "It doesn't feel very safe. Not that I felt safer back in the hallways that way"—he pointed his thumb in the direction we had come from—"But there's a certain something about hot, humid heat underseas that doesn't seem right."

"No joke," Laila added tersely.

We passed an unlabeled door; Aria gave it a suspicious glance and quickened her pace. "I'm not sure," she said uncomfortably. "I hardly remember which way we came…"

Riley was insistent. "We could backtrack," he said, like there was no other option. "Really, something's off about this place. I want to get out."

The curiosity I had felt when we first entered this labyrinth was gone. I was sweating, and not just because of the humid heat. All I wanted now was to get out.

Laila closed her eyes, though I could see tears gathering at the edges of her eyes. "I want to get out of here," she panicked. Her voice wobbled a little, and she sank onto Riley's shoulder. "I—I just want to leave."

I bit my knuckle so hard that I actually checked to see if I'd drawn blood. "We have to get out of here," I assured her, though I didn't feel so sure myself. "We're going to get out. We have to."

Riley put his hand on Laila's shoulder. As we continued, an eerie red light began to bounce off the walls, turning Riley's hair into a brilliant flame and Laila's aglow. There was no question of the moisture and heat in the air; I stopped trying to wipe the sweat off my face and neck. Deep sounds echoed from the walls, loud, growling sounds that sounded almost supernatural. Laila's breathing was quick, tears and sweat streaming down her face.

The sounds became louder and louder; the light stronger and stronger. I held my breath, tears welling up out of my eyes. Aria was poker-faced, though she, too, looked tense and scared.

It all happened at once, almost a blur in my mind. The endless maze of tunnels suddenly stopped, opening into a high-walled cave. There were lots of things to notice, but the first thing I noticed was that Laila was sobbing onto Riley's shoulder.

The second thing I noticed was the light—red and blue, bouncing off the walls. I also noticed the red and blue pools of liquid in the center of the cavern.

The noise was deafening. The third thing I noticed made me blink and rub sweat out of my eyes. I couldn't believe what I saw. Still, I trust my eyes.

I saw Groudon and Kyogre.

I stared, barely aware of tears trickling out of my eyes—mixed emotions, predominantly fear, but also amazement and shock. I hardly noticed that there were four people headed towards us, who I could barely identify as Gym Leaders—Winona, Wallace, Liza, and Tate. Winona and Wallace exchanged glances, and Winona took a step forwards.

I had a lot of questions about to bubble to the surface, but amazement froze my voice. Winona's voice was loud, but it was barely audible over the battle cries of the two deities battling in the pools of red and blue. There were a lot of questions I'm sure they wanted to know—what four teenagers were doing in a cave chock full of legendary Pokemon among them—but the question was exactly what I wanted to know myself. "What the hell are you doing here?"