Operation GEAR: The Angel of Reckoning

by The Great Butler

A girl and her friends set out on a search for truth in a land torn apart by political and religious strife. However, they are unaware of what they are stepping into: the grasp of a terrifying, inescapable enemy that aims to bring down mankind's greatest achievement, the Pokemon League. Soon, the truth becomes clouded, and a desperate struggle for survival begins.

21. Father

This chapter won't be anywhere near as intense as the previous chapter, you'll probably be glad to hear. I should mention, though, that this is going to touch (albeit vaguely) on that character who was raped that I mentioned way, way back at the beginning. It's not going to be intensive but the subject is going to be touched on so I'm going to be fair and warn for it up front.

-:-

CHAPTER 21: Father

-:-

"Now, please, let this council remain in order," Father declared, raising his arms to bring a hush over the rest of the Sacred Helix. Ghetsis' stunning fall from power had raised a storm of chatter among many of the attendees. Father and Finansielle shared a knowing glance between each other before he continued, "We have much more business to attend to during this meeting. For that reason, I immediately call for the consideration of a new Chromosome to replace the traitor Ghetsis Harmonia."

"Let's see him, then," Finansielle said. She leaned back in her chair and turned her head upward so the others couldn't see the self-satisfied grin she gave herself.

The lights in the chamber dimmed, leaving the Chromosomes illuminated in a ghostly glow while the center of the room filled with shadows. A portion of the floor then promptly opened up, allowing an elevator platform to rise up into the darkened space. Its passenger's identity was nearly completely obscured, save for a tiny piece of black, leathery clothing that caught the light from one of the Chromosomes' booths.

"I now declare this hearing on the approval of the new Third Chromosome open," Father announced. "Questions one at a time."

"I'll go first, if I may," Mercury announced. Hearing no objection to her request, the Chromosome cleared her throat, then asked the shadowed figure, "What is the reason you want to join the Sacred Helix? What do you want Polaris to accomplish?"

"I despise what this world has become," the man responded in a deep, resonant voice. "The rich stockpile more and more resources for themselves, leaving most people to struggle for the scraps. And then there's overcrowding and pollution, turning pristine landscapes into filthy cities full of people suffering… I cannot accept it when I know what beauty this world is capable of! Look at what's become of Celadon City! It was once a beautiful city, an example for the world to follow… what is it now? With the uncontrolled expansion of development and complete disregard for wise resource consumption, it's now nothing but a slum district of Saffron!"

"Have you done anything to remedy this in your life before Polaris?" Getriebe spoke up in his usual flat, bored tone. "Talk all you want, if you take no action…"

"I started a foundation with my wealth, the goals of which were to aid the poor and assist in the recovery of the environment."

"Don't just stop there," Geminus urged while resting his chin on his clasped hands. "How'd it go?"

The man in the center of the room audibly huffed in frustration at the question. "I learned that those two goals clash with each other. The people I tried to elevate through my foundation just became selfish and tried to take more and more, the same way those who stood on their backs had done, consuming resources with wild abandon. My efforts were completely fruitless."

"And what exactly brought you to us? Not just that, can you tell us how you came around to our way of thinking?"

"I will never forget the day my life, and my world, changed forever," the man replied to Jeunes' question. "There was a town that was besieged by a Gyarados. I traveled there and managed to subdue the Gyarados with my own Pokémon. After I captured it, I brought in my foundation to assist the people whose lives had been... " The man's voice abruptly took a dark, mocking tone. "...ruined by Gyarados' rampage."

"That's not why you're here before us today, though," Praeses ventured. "Not by itself."

"As my foundation aided the townspeople," the shadowy figure continued, "they quickly came to expect that we would take care of them forever. In time, it became apparent to me why Gyarados had gone on a rampage in the first place. Those people, in their infinite greed, were destroying the lake Gyarados called home with pollution and resource extraction. They brought disaster down upon their own deserving heads!" By that point, the man had his hands held in tightly clenched fists and was trembling in both body and voice. "When I realized it, when I realized that those selfish people caused their own suffering and actually had the nerve to expect me to hold their hands through their entire lives, without any remorse for their greed… something in me snapped. I felt pure, unbridled rage flare through my body, the same kind Gyarados surely felt. To punish those humans for their greed, I used Gyarados and extinguished them. As I stood in the ashes of their town, I felt something… for the first time, I felt like I had true power, the kind that would allow me to reshape this world into a beautiful, peaceful place."

The Chromosomes looked on their interviewee with varying emotions, but none of them spoke up before he continued.

"To this day Gyarados stands by my side as the symbol of my hatred for what humans have done to this planet. I realized, though, that to make my dreams of eternal peace and beauty come true, I would need much greater power. I threw myself fully into the study of the arcane science used by the great king AZ in the hopes of learning how to recreate his ultimate weapon. I was soon approached by Polaris representatives at the café I own in Lumiose City. At that time I was beginning to put together my own organization for the purpose of changing this world. They had learned of what I was working on and told me that Polaris could help me accomplish my dreams. Once I fully understood Polaris' purpose, I knew I needed to be a part of it."

"Such passion!" Finansielle exclaimed.

At that, Athleta addressed the figure. "You've done a lot of talking about what you want from Polaris. What are you able to offer us?"

"Well, as I mentioned earlier, I have vast amounts of my own resources available to me. Not just money, either. My company can provide just about any sort of technology or machinery your organization could ask for. We've also entered into a contract to join our media outlets with the media division of the Angel Corporation, and that sort of global access would be well suited for spreading Polaris' message."

"And you're sure about your decision to join us?" Finansielle asked, allowing her lips to form a very slight smile. "Management of such a large operation is already a large burden with its own pitfalls. Are you really ready to completely devote yourself to our cause and set those matters aside if the situation calls for it?"

"Of course!" the man shouted in response, his voice cracking under his emotion. "All of my wealth, all of my business interests… none of it is worth anything if I cannot save this world!"

"Well, I think we have a fairly clear picture of our candidate," Father said, intervening with a slight raise of his hands. "There is still much business for this meeting to discuss, so I propose that the approval process be expedited through unanimous consent. Are there any objections to this new Chromosome?"

No voices met this question. Father slowly turned his head, first to his right, then to his left. Some of the Chromosomes weren't looking back at him, but the majority of them met his glance. Behind their masks, he could sense that they looked to him with hope in their eyes. They were relying on him to lead them, to make their dreams come true. Knowing this, he gazed down at the man in the center of the chamber and raised his staff into the air.

"As they say, the silence says everything. Congratulations on your appointment. Now please, inform us of what name you will be taking."

The shadowy figure reached to his ear and tapped a button on a device behind it, triggering a visor to cover his eyes. Once it was fully closed, six glowing, horizontal orange lines lit up across it. He then rose to a tremendous height, allowing the lights in the room to finally reveal his appearance. Dressed entirely in black leather fringed with orange that matched his cravat, wild hair and pointed beard, he stood tall enough to nearly level with the Chromosomes' desks.

"It shall be Excan," he declared confidently.

"So it shall. Excan, take your seat at the third section…" As he spoke, Father gestured to a narrow set of stairs between Finansielle and Séduire's seats. "We have a lot of work to get done tonight."

While the newly appointed Chromosome walked to his seat, Athleta asked Father, "What's this urgent matter that's brought you back and is moving us along so quickly?"

"It's unusual to be hearing from you," Father said, his voice reflecting a tiny bit of amusement. "It's a question you all deserve the answer to. The truth is, one of the most major signs of Polaris' true purpose has finally appeared. It has been discovered that a new Coronet Rosary has been born."

Almost immediately upon the words 'Coronet Rosary' leaving Father's mouth, most of the other Chromosomes shot forward in their chairs. The term was all they needed to hear to understand the exact reason for the hurried pace of the meeting. In fact, the only ones not reacting with shock to the announcement were Excan, who'd just reached his seat, and Finansielle, who merely sat back, crossed her arms and smiled.

"I didn't think this day would even come in my lifetime," the awe-struck Mercury remarked. "Who is it?"

"See for yourselves," Polaris' leader replied while manipulating the keys in front of himself.

The hologram generators around the room blinked back to life, giving form to multiple screens containing various data feeds. At the center of all the charts, animated helixes and other information was an image of the person in question. The moment she saw it, Mercury shrank back in her seat, regretting having had any interest in the subject.

Long blue hair spreading behind her, and big eyes reflecting both bitter determination and haunted memories. There was no doubt about it - the image was a photo of Olivia.

"For those of you who don't already know, this is Olivia Mistbloom," Father announced while briefly raising his staff once more. "She's the daughter of the Frontier Society's commissioner, and I have been able to confirm that she is the one who will help us unlock the gate to our world of true justice."

"That little…" Séduire growled to herself, clenching both her teeth and her fist.

Geminus shot a glance over to Séduire, then to Mercury, before finally smiling and clasping his hands together. "I don't doubt your judgment, Father, but please do explain more about this. Some of us are not entirely up to speed with things."

"I must say that I agree," Excan concurred. "For our actions to be most effective, we should all be on the same page."

A chuckle slipped from Father's lips despite his best efforts to stifle it. "My, my, you are both quite enthusiastic. That's very good. Very well." A quick swipe of his hand over the controls brought some of the holographic charts in the room's center to full prominence. "Our intelligence brought Olivia to my attention as a potential candidate for being the new Coronet Rosary, so I acquired a sample of her blood via one of my Pokémon. Analysis revealed to me that her genes are mutating as a result of repeated exposure to temporal energy, such as the power of Dialga and the Time Gates in Argyros Town and Ilex Forest. She had the latent potential within her due to her having connections to the ancient Tenganists in her maternal heritage combined with her father's descent directly from the Sootopolitans of one thousand years ago. It's exposure to that energy that brought her potential to life. As these changes occur, she will ultimately develop incredible cognitive abilities that we need to make use of. Not only her brain is being affected. Her every cell is changing, passing through time at an abnormal pace. These abilities are what make her crucial to us."

Pausing his explanation briefly, Father stretched his free hand straight out toward the holograms, his palm facing upward.

"She is the one that will give us the ability to utilize the device built by the ancient Tenganists to survive the end of everything. When the Day of Reckoning arrives, we will ride out those events with our adherents in this ark and travel into a new era." To accentuate his point, Father tightly closed his outstretched fist. "It will be a time where all the suffering and loss so widespread in this world disappears, and she will bring us into that future!"

"Ooh, how exciting," Jeunes remarked.

"Indeed," Getriebe said in agreement. "If she is so important to our cause, then I propose we move to capture her immedia-"

"Absolutely not!" Finansielle interrupted, so loudly that Getriebe visibly jumped in his chair. She noticed this and quickly calmed herself. "It's not time yet. We have far too many things to accomplish in preparation for the Coronet Rosary's arrival. And if I'm not mistaken, she hasn't come close to finishing her transformation, has she?"

"That is correct," Father confirmed, maintaining his straight, steady stare. "If we were to bring her in too soon, the stress could disrupt her change and cause her to become unstable. At that point there is a risk that her transformation goes out of control and destroys her."

"But if we leave her out there with Matt Chiaki and that Nekou woman from Team Rocket, she could end up totally against us. Do you not worry about that?"

Getriebe's plea didn't draw out an immediate response, but when the answer came, it was full of Father's anger. "This is not up for discussion!" he roared, pressing his clenched fist into the desk. Getriebe had no idea just how much his earnest words had upset his leader. "When it comes to Olivia, we remain strictly as observers for now. Do all of you understand that?" He did not wait for an answer, instead rapping the bottom tip of his staff against the floor to emphasise his words. "Now, moving on, we have another matter to attend to. Doctor Colress, please enter."

"I'm already here. Wouldn't want to be late."

Much to the surprise of the Sacred Helix, Colress had slipped into the meeting chamber during the heated exchange moments earlier and waited to be called. His sudden appearance elicited annoyed groans from several of the Chromosomes. Even though he heard them, he kept smiling to himself.

"Who let you in here like this?" Getriebe demanded.

"When one has ideas as brilliant as the ones swirling around in this head…" Colress pointed to his own brow as he spoke, "...doors tend to open up for you."

"I understand you have quite a bit to tell us," Father said to the scientist, raising his voice slightly to overrule an irritated growl from Getriebe. "Get busy."

From his pocket, Colress produced his tablet and unfolded it. His fingers glided across its surface with the grace of a dancer's movements, almost appearing as if they weren't even touching the screen. Around him, the hologram screens shifted their positions, surrounding the scientist with his research.

"I've been working on a few things," Colress explained to the Chromosomes, while certain projections came to the forefront. "Chief among them is this. It's a cutting edge bio-computer system whose capabilities will continually evolve as more and more data is plugged into it."

"What sort of data?" Mercury asked.

"Data on Pokémon battles and the individual capability of the Pokémon themselves, of course," Colress replied. He tilted his head back, smiled broadly, and continued, "We're going to take in data from all sources and create the ultimate repository of information on the hidden potential of Pokémon. And as that database evolves, we will use it."

"I don't fully understand what you mean by that," Séduire interjected. She was hurriedly scanning the information on the holograms, but couldn't absorb it. "What's the real purpose of this?"

"The answer to that actually leads right into my second project." Colress swept his fingers across the tablet again, calling forth even more information. "With the aid of the staff at the Adenosine Base, I've finished work on what I was hired by Polaris to create: a new strain of Pokérus. Now, as you may or may not know, Pokérus enhances the growth of infected Pokémon. Now, the catch there is that it can only accelerate that Pokémon's growth to its existing maximum potential. With this new Pokérus, that isn't the case. The key is combining the DNA Splicers with the radiation from the Meteonites, which is similar to the energy given off by Mega Stones and Key Stones. With those additions, the new Pokérus can bond so thoroughly to the DNA of a subject that with my bio-computer, altering a Pokemon to reach its maximum conceivable potential will be child's play! And that's where the evolution of the database comes into play. As the system's database grows, what it will be able to do will evolve as well. Eventually, we might even be able to push Pokémon beyond their natural potential, making them even stronger and allowing them to learn moves they never could have before. Truly a miraculous creation, I would dare to say."

"Once we're able to mass produce these altered Pokémon, we can bring true justice into this world," Finansielle mused. "Not only will our own military power grow dramatically, those who join us and fully commit to our beliefs can have their own Pokémon strengthened as well."

"Once they're out in the hands of people who rightfully deserve them, the imbalance between them and those who can afford to breed and train large numbers of Pokémon to find the strongest will disappear," Praeses added. "Not only true justice, but true equality as well."

Colress took a brief time to stand at the center of the room and basked in the praise he was hearing before speaking again. "And if you thought that was good, the rest of the Adenosine Base and myself are ready to move ahead with our experiment using the Meteonite and the Oberon…"

"On that subject," Father abruptly interrupted the scientist, "please, wait until I give you a go-ahead, Doctor."

"As you wish, my leader." Colress said, putting his hand over his heart.

With that, Father slowly rose from his seat. His movement was slow but steady, and he visibly put his weight on his staff as he stood. Once he reached his full height, he spread his arms out with his staff in his right hand. The entire Sacred Helix fit into his wide, welcoming embrace.

"As we close this meeting, my children, allow me to tell you that your dedication to our cause will soon bear the fruits you have awaited." A number of smiles from around the panel greeted this proclamation. "All of you joined for your own reasons, but the worlds you dream of will soon come into reality. With the necessary tools all falling into place, Polaris stands at the gateway to history. We will soon destroy the Pokémon League and reshape this world into one void of the corruption and injustice its society has created! No longer will anyone suffer as we have. Our blood, sweat and tears will build the road into a world of hope for all who wish to reach out and claim it! Now, Chromosomes, you are dismissed. Please await the next step we take toward our promised land!"

Ignoring the other Chromosomes, Mercury immediately stood up and headed for the exit. As she walked, she clenched both her fists and her teeth. "Of all the people the key could be, it had to be Olivia… Now I'll never convince either of them that this is for the best. If I can't save them, none of this was ever worth it…"

-:-

As the hours passed and the war in Ecruteak City unfolded far away from the Sinjoh Ruins, Jacob kept Looker and Sylpha occupied with stories from his travels over the years. He'd always enjoyed an audience, and the detective and the young Tenganist sat in rapt attention as he spoke.

"...so Sutter and I never did manage to find the oasis where Hoopa supposedly hid its treasure, but that really was a fascinating one. Somehow, wandering around searching for something with virtually no clues to where it is can actually be quite enjoyable. You know what they say, it's about the journey, not the destination."

"Wow…" Sylpha said in awe. "You think our Hoopa has a treasure like that, too?"

"Who knows. Maybe you'd want to ask your leader about-"

"I don't know if our Hoopa is connected to that story, I'll tell you that right now."

Much to the surprise of the three in the cell room, the Prophet descended the stairs, having overheard the very end of their conversation. She was alone, and her arms hung loosely at her sides.

"You're back!" Sylpha exclaimed. "Does that mean everything went okay?"

"Not entirely," the Prophet weakly answered, "but we survived, so I guess the details can wait for another time."

"In that case, then…" Hesitating, Sylpha glanced toward Jacob, who gave her a reassuring nod. She took a deep breath to gather her courage. "Can I ask you about something?"

"What is it?" A quick survey of the faces looking at her quickly led the Prophet to realize something was amiss. Her voice took on a harder tone when she said, "What's going on?"

Again, Sylpha hesitated to ask her question. Even at her young age, she had quickly learned that certain subjects weren't to be discussed, including the one currently on her mind. In spite of this, Jacob's breakdown and subsequent explanation of why she deserved to know kept urging her on to say something. With no other idea of what to do, she took several steps toward the Prophet, making the hooded woman move back in confusion.

"...Sylpha, what…?"

Sylpha froze in her tracks and took another deep breath to compose herself. After finally working up enough courage, she asked, "Can you tell me the truth about what really happened here? About Saeko O-"

The change in the Prophet's attitude was nearly instantaneous. Before she even heard the entirety of Saeko's name, her confusion gave way to very obvious anger. She shoved past Sylpha and stormed over to the cell where Looker and Jacob were held.

"Jacob, I know you did this!" she shouted, clutching the bars of the cell so tightly her knuckles turned white. "You knew that she is not to be spoken of, and yet you plant these ideas into the head of someone innocent-!"

Instead of backing away, Jacob walked right up to the bars himself. "I understand what happened here isn't something you want to talk about. I witnessed it, you know that. But if you're going to lead these people, they deserve to know the truth. If what happened between Sutter, Saeko and myself all those years ago didn't happen, you would all be able to live here in peace! You'd be safe from Polaris forever because this land would be able to sustain you! Whatever you're fighting for, you have to accept and understand the past or you'll never be able to escape it."

A long, tense silence followed Jacob's impassioned plea. The Prophet didn't flinch or back away from the bars, and neither did Jacob. They just stood still, each of them staring the other down, while Looker and Sylpha watched. To the onlookers, it felt like forever before the Prophet finally turned away from the bars.

"Some things should never be spoken of," she said, causing Jacob to preemptively slouch in disappointment behind her. "But you're right. I'm in a position of having to uphold our customs now, as the leader of what remains of us… but that's also why I have to be a good leader to them. You're right. For what we're fighting for… I will tell all three of you the whole story."

"I… really?" Though he stood up straight again, Jacob was dumbfounded by this turn of events.

"Thank you!" Sylpha exclaimed, unable to stop herself from clapping her hands together once. "I'm happy you trust me enough to tell me! Can we get started?"

"No, not now," the Prophet responded while looking over her shoulder. "I need some time to get everything prepared. This story is much longer than any of you can possibly think."

The Prophet said nothing more before leaving the room. In the cell, Jacob could only watch while feeling his heart sink.

"It isn't just basically what I already knew? There's that much more to it?"

-:-

The next day, the sky over the Sinjoh Ruins was clear and the air was still. Sunlight glistened on the snow, but did little to make the area warmer.

In her room, the Prophet's mood was as cold as the weather outside. She sat on her bed, staring down at a crude wooden Arceus figure in her hand.

"How much more of this do I have to go through?" she said to the object. "Please, Arceus, tell me… how much more will I be tested? Wasn't going back in time enough?"

The Prophet continued to stare into her palm, considering the figure. For a prolonged time the room was silent. This was eventually broken, however, by her child crying out. She gasped and nearly dropped the woodcraft Arceus as her reverie was broken. After quickly returning it to its place on the table next to her bed, she stood and hurried over to take her child into her arms from his cradle.

"There, there, it's okay…" she said to him in an effort to comfort him. As she gently rocked him back and forth, a realization entered her mind. "I can't feel sorry for myself anymore… I'm not the one that matters now. I have to be strong for you… and for everyone following me. They have to believe that what inspires them is real…" She then thought of Sylpha, Jacob and Looker. "Even if it's something that was forbidden… Jacob's right... I owe them something that justifies their belief."

-:-

In the woods of Route 38, another kind of leadership crisis was beginning to develop. With Matt, Bunny, Monroe and Avril watching, Olivia stood before her Pokémon sans Mareep. She nervously rolled the Poké Ball containing her newly-caught Electric-type around in her hand while staring toward her existing team. Drops of sweat rolled from her brow all the while, as the young trainer reluctantly moved her finger over the release button.

"You guys…" she said, haltingly. "I want to formally introduce you to your new teammate. Mareep, come out."

Olivia's grasp on the Poké Ball slipped a little as she turned the button on it toward her fingers, the result of her skin becoming lightly damp from sweat. She managed to avoid dropping it, though, and pressed the button to pop it open. Mareep materialized from within the sphere and shook out her wool as soon as she appeared.

Cinccino and Herdier were the first of Olivia's other Pokémon to react to Mareep. The latter slowly but steadily approached the Electric-type Pokémon and sniffed at her, attempting to determine as much as he could about her. Cinccino, on the other hand, held no such restraint. Seeing some dirt on Mareep's wool, she darted forward and began trying to clean it off.

Mareep grit her teeth and started to tense up, having quickly grown tired of Cinccino's work on her coat. Sensing that an electrical outburst was imminent, Krabby ran up to Mareep and clicked frantically, trying to talk her down. The shock was delayed long enough for Krabby to grab Cinccino by its scarf-like fur and pull her off of Mareep. Krabby then turned his chattering to his Normal-type teammate, offering an explanation of the situation that brought Cinccino out of her confusion and got her to apologize to their new teammate.

Roselia and Mr. Mime were the next to approach; the latter guardedly hung behind the slow yet deliberate and elegant movements of his diminutive companion. The Grass-and-Poison-type Pokémon extended the red rose on her right arm toward Mareep, who only stared at the flower indifferently.

Then Mareep looked up and saw Dewott.

The Water-type hadn't moved an inch from where Olivia had released him. He'd just stood there scowling with his arms crossed. Mareep walked past Roselia and Mr. Mime, her wool brushing against the pair with pops of static. She boldly went right up to Dewott and bleated aggressively at him, puffing up her wool to exert physical dominance.

"What's with Mareep?" Monroe wondered, standing next to Olivia.

Mareep continued her verbal assault on Dewott, her belligerent noises growing louder and louder until Dewott finally hissed back at her. He held one of his shells in her face, clearly threatening her. The Electric-type took a tiny step back in surprise, but this quickly turned into Mareep running to Olivia's side. Once she reached her trainer's side, she bleated at Dewott again, but instead of her earlier aggression, her voice carried a self-satisfied smugness.

Dewott immediately became even more enraged and rushed at Mareep, brandishing his shell. He was stopped when Krabby blocked his path, causing a collision that sent the two Water-types tumbling over each other. While they untangled themselves, Mareep snickered to herself.

"If you ask me, Dewott doesn't like the new blood taking your attention," Avril said as she joined her brother at Olivia's side.

"You're probably right about that… none of the other Pokémon ever tried to be this dominant, now that I think about it." Leaning down, Olivia directly addressed Dewott, "Is that right?"

The Water-type Pokémon barked in response and then jumped into Olivia's arms, surprising her and nearly knocking her off balance. He wasted no time in turning to Mareep and making a face at her. For a moment, Olivia braced herself for the possibility of the sheep leaping on top of her to get at Dewott.

"Those two look ready to kill each other," Avril observed. "Come on, I'll help you train so this gets sorted out."

Both Olivia and Monroe looked to Avril in complete surprise; they were both expecting her to say something completely different.

"Why are you helping me?" Olivia stopped briefly to consider her words, then said, "You're the last person I'd expect to-"

"Because what kind of a rival are you for me if you're not at the top of your game?" Avril snapped, cutting Olivia off. She then shoved her hands into her pockets, turned away and bitterly added, "And if you don't get yourself together, the new Gym Leader in Olivine City will absolutely destroy you. Trust me on that. Come on, let's go."

Avril's words prompted her brother to give her a long, knowing stare, though he said nothing. Olivia did not notice this. Instead, she just looked down at Dewott, who was still taunting Mareep from the safety of her arms.

"I think… this is my fault," she said to herself as she rose to follow Avril and Monroe into the woods.

Meanwhile, next to HR-E, Matt turned his head down and kicked at the dirt, then reached into his bag and took out his pocket watch.

"I'm so afraid she'll end up being hurt like everyone else…" he admitted to Bunny, his voice flat and hollow. He stared at the pictures in the watch and said, "Eleanor, Agenta, Sheena, Anabel, everything I touch just…" Trailing off of that thought, Matt turned his head in Bunny's direction. "You too. After what we just went through…"

"You don't have to worry about me." Bunny's assertion was as firm as the determined expression on her face. "I can take care of myself."

"I guess, but…" Giving up on his words, Matt weakly looked back over his shoulder. "Nekou would be able to connect with her and help her right now. She'd know what to do. But she's not okay either…"

-:-

Inside, Nekou's situation had improved, if only marginally. She'd recovered enough to get off the couch, and was searching through a nearby bookcase. A stack of beer cans was on the table, guarded by some of her Pokémon, namely Marie, Dalian, Edgar and Lenore, the four who had been with her the longest. The younger Zorua and Pumpkaboo sat near the others, watching Nekou as she browsed the shelves.

Her eyes eventually settled on a book that was significantly older than those surrounding it. Its leathery cover was tattered slightly, and when she pulled it out of the shelf, she could see that its pages had begun to yellow. In spite of that, she thought to herself that it looked remarkably well kept for its age.

"The Prince and the Soul-Heart…" she read off the book's elaborately-illustrated cover. "I didn't think we had books like this on this bus…"

With the thick volume in her hands, Nekou threw herself back onto the couch and opened one of her drinks, then started to read.

-:-

The air in the spring beneath the Sinjoh Ruins was almost totally silent, interrupted only by the soft sound of gently flowing water. Pierce sat on the edge of the spring, hypnotized by the glistening of its pristine surface. He exhaled a small puff of vapor and pulled his trenchcoat closer to himself.

Nearby, Anthea and Concordia soaked in the spring, wearing light robes given to them by the Prophet to replace the rags Ghetsis forced them to wear. Pierce broke his trance to look over at them.

"We're almost there…" he thought to himself while he watched them stare blankly into the deeper parts of the cave. "It won't be long before all of us are finally back together…"

Suddenly, the silence in the cavern was broken by the sound of steady footsteps. Anthea and Concordia didn't react, but Pierce quickly stood up and reached for a Poké Ball. He stopped, however, when he realized that the intruder was Kristos.

"How are they doing?" Kristos asked Pierce, gesturing with his shoulder to the two women in the water.

"The Prophet told me we'd have this time alone," Pierce sharply replied.

"She sent me here, and is on her way herself." Kristos's firm words and stern facial expression made Pierce shrink back slightly. Memories of when he and his wife Lotus were brought to the ruins by the Prophet soon surfaced, the reminiscence of their own fortunes prompting Kristos to soften up. "I apologize, I should have been a little nicer. I must remember that everyone who takes refuge here has suffered at Polaris's hands…"

"They've been tortured for so long…" Pierce turned bleary-eyed back to his mother and aunt, who had not moved an inch. He lowered his eyelids, almost unable to look at them as they sat in the water. "It's been decades for them. I'll never forget that day they were torn away from me and my sister right before our eyes… she was too young to remember it, but I know how lucky we were to escape." Fully closing his eyes, Pierce tightened his fist. "I spent my entire life trying to find and save them. It's been so long for them that I'm shocked they survived…"

Suddenly, Anthea spoke up. Her voice was barely a whisper, but in the relative silence of the cave, Pierce and Kristos could clearly hear her.

"It's over… we're free…"

"Mother!" Pierce exclaimed, water already starting to well up in the corners of his eyes.

Even though Anthea heard her long-lost son's voice, his words failed to register with her. She instead turned to her more immediate companion, the one who had been with her through the best and worst of the past decades - Concordia. Watching her golden-haired friend, who was unable to do much more than stare down at herself in shock, Anthea recalled the time they'd spent together in Virbank City in southeastern Unova.

Back then, they'd both been aspiring actresses, finding work at Virbank's Pokéstar Studios where they could. Their friendship formed fast after they met at an audition, and not long after, they moved into a shared apartment not far from the Virbank Complex industrial area. Her young son Pierce lived with them and for some time they were the closest thing possible to a family, one that grew when Anthea had her daughter. Those happy times wouldn't last, as one day the man who would become their long-time tormentor, Ghetsis, arrived at the bar they worked at to make ends meet. He soon abducted them, tearing them away from the life they knew to imprison them in an underground castle where they were held hostage to his whims. The exact circumstances of their kidnapping had long since vanished from Anthea's memory, forced out by the decades of horror their lives stretched into.

After everything they had been through, when Anthea looked at Concordia in the underground spring, she felt like things were at long last going back to normal. Concordia, finally coming out of her state of shock, looked back at Anthea and smiled ever so slightly.

"Anthea… we really are…"

Concordia didn't bother to finish her sentence. The two women who loved each other like sisters instead tearfully embraced in the water, barely able to contain their excitement over their long-sought freedom. On the edge of the lake, both Pierce and Kristos smiled as well.

"You did well for them, my friend," Kristos said. "Our people need these small miracles where we can get them."

"Thank you." Pierce raised his arm and called to Anthea and Concordia, "Mother! Aunt Concordia!"

"It's been so long," Anthea said, wiping away her tears, "but I know your face when I see it, Pierce. You've grown into a fine man."

"I don't deserve that respect," Pierce insisted, his mood dampened by a sudden wave of regret that washed over him. With his lifelong dream accomplished, the reality of his actions was starting to catch up with him. "I've done a lot of things a fine man wouldn't do, all to find you and then get enough power to rescue you. There are a lot of people who have been hurt because of me."

"You can still start over," Concordia suggested.

"We can start over," Anthea corrected her friend, setting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You, me and Pierce… there's time now. We can go home and all of us can start over."

"Mother, I'm sorry, but there's no starting over for us now." Pierce tightened his fists as he wrestled with the anger and despair he felt at having to explain what he'd done on his way to rescuing them. As much as he now wished his time with Team Rocket didn't exist, he had willingly and even enthusiastically served Giovanni in return for the organization's help for his goals. "The world is a different place from what it was back then, thanks to Ghetsis and Polaris. We can't just live our lives the same way anymore."

All of a sudden, an angry, indignant voice echoed through the cave. "To think you, a member of Team Rocket, complains about your life being irreversibly changed! After what you did to me, you have no right!"

Pierce was so startled by the voice that he stumbled backward against Kristos, then staggered forward and nearly fell into the lake. He managed to right himself in time, but when he looked up to see who his accuser was, he found Mewtwo's icy purple eyes cutting him to the bone. The Psychic-type Pokémon floated in the air over the spring, its tail flicking back and forth at a rapid pace while its fingers trembled from rage.

"M-Mewtwo…" Pierce stammered, "You were in Ecruteak, you should understand…"

"I understand what I must!" Mewtwo roared in response. "Outside, I will fight Polaris with you. But that is because we share an enemy! Team Rocket has no right to be here in this refuge!"

An Aura Sphere crackled to life in Mewtwo's right hand, but Pierce made no effort to escape. He just stood still, casting his eyes toward the ground.

"Mewtwo, if it's ultimately my fate to be destroyed by your hand, I can accept that. But please…" Pierce turned upward, looking straight at Mewtwo with an uncharacteristically desperate expression on his face. He looked like he was about to start crying, his lip quivering from his emotions instead of the cold. "Please, let me at least have some time to bring my family back together! I beg you, let me have that!"

This display of emotion caught Mewtwo by surprise. Haunting memories of a certain group of Pokémon flooded into its mind, triggered by Pierce's words.

"Family…" Mewtwo's arm briefly trembled, though the clone soon regained composure. "Hypocrite! Team Rocket took my family from me! We lived in peace and you came to destroy that! You have no right to grovel to me now!"

Mewtwo brought its left arm around, surrounding the budding Aura Sphere with both of its hands. The orb flared with greater power than ever. Pierce still didn't try to get away, his initial crushing guilt having since been replaced with a paralyzing fear. It wasn't the mortal peril of the Aura Sphere that kept him fixed to his spot; it was instead the mere thought that after all his decades of work to find and rescue Anthea and Concordia, he would have the consequences of Team Rocket's actions catch up with him before he could bring his whole family back together.

While Pierce just stared at Mewtwo in anticipation of his fate, Anthea and Concordia got out of the water and hurried over to put themselves between the two. They stood with their backs to Pierce and spread their arms to partially shield him.

"Don't hurt him, please!" Anthea pleaded to the Psychic-type.

Mewtwo froze at the sight of Anthea and Concordia protecting Pierce, stirring up more of its memories. When Team Rocket invaded their isolated mountain home, it sacrificed its own well being to protect the group of clones it cared for. They weren't genetically related to Mewtwo, but Mewtwo created them with similar technology to that which it was born from itself, so they were like children to it. It would have done anything to protect them.

"Just as they are doing now… Mewtwo thought to itself as it considered these memories and its current situation. It didn't dispel the Aura Sphere, but it stopped advancing on Pierce.

"Mewtwo, what are you doing? Stop this!"

The confrontation had been so intense that none of the humans in the spring noticed the Prophet enter the cavern with Sylpha, Jacob and Looker. Not even Kristos noticed despite being sent there by her. When she saw the scene that was unfolding, the Prophet immediately rushed forward and extended her hand toward Mewtwo.

"Spare me your Transcendence," Mewtwo said, its voice making its agitation quite clear. "Tell me why he is here. Why is an agent of Team Rocket in this refuge?"

"Because he is one of my people, and this place is a refuge for all of us. When he is here there is no such thing as Team Rocket. He is only Pierce, a young man whose family was torn apart by Gh…" For a very brief moment, the Prophet's resolve weakened. "Ghetsis… He and Polaris destroyed this family and while they are here, they are just that, seeking shelter here like all of my people. This is not going to be a negotiable point."

Frustration overcame Mewtwo, making it shake in the air as it wrestled with what to do. Its indecision ultimately led it to scream and fling the Aura Sphere down into the water, where the orb of energy burst and created a small wave.

"I will respect your wishes… under one condition. I want to know what your objective is. What you are truly up to."

"That is a fair request," the Prophet immediately replied. "You'll get that answer along with everyone else." Turning to the others, she then said, "Pierce, I see you and your family have already gotten acquainted with him, so Looker, Jacob, allow me to introduce you to Kristos."

"It's a pleasure," Kristos said in greeting, quickly shaking hands with both men.

"That it is," Looker said.

"I thought you were going to tell us what really happened to this place and Saeko Oryo," Jacob complained. "What part does he have in this?"

"I also told you this story was much bigger than you think," retorted the Prophet. "Sylpha, I want to impress upon you the importance of your position. This is knowledge so few of our people are aware of that even I only learned it relatively recently."

"I'm ready." Deep down in her heart, however, Sylpha felt a growing sense of apprehension. Since the Prophet knew about the Shadow Triad killing her family and destroying her village, whatever was coming had to be even more severe. Subconsciously, Sylpha joined her hands tightly together behind her back.

"Very well," the Prophet said. "Kristos, let's begin."

"Where do we even start?" he said with a sarcastic chuckle. "Well… this place, the Sinjoh Ruins, were once the Tenganist holy land and now we take refuge here. You know all of that already."

Kristos waited for his audience to nod in silent understanding before he continued the story.

"We came here from all over, mostly because of Ghetsis and his men destroying our homes." He gestured to Sylpha to emphasize his point. "In my case, my heritage comes from where Argyros Town once existed. My ancestors Althea and Catherine were once the guardians of the shrine there, but the town was abandoned long before I was born."

"I'm sure you're wondering what that has to do with everything else." The Prophet shot a glance at Jacob, who was visibly shifting around uncomfortably, as she said this. "Keep it in mind. What's really going on here begins eons ago, in the land of Michina. It was there that Arceus saved the planet by destroying a giant meteor over five thousand years ago. It suffered terrible injuries from doing so and was left near death due to the loss of its Life Plates in the collision. However, Arceus was saved by a man named Damos, whose Transcendence let him touch the hearts of Pokémon."

Turning away from the others, the Prophet walked to the edge of the spring and stared into its pristine water.

"To thank him," she continued, a hint of sadness in her voice, "Arceus used some of the Plates to form the Jewel of Life, assisting humans at the cost of diminishing its own life. It gave Damos the ability to harness the life energy of the earth and revitalize the land. That energy goes by many names… Gaia, Dragon Force, the Voice of Life, different Tenganist sects call it different things, but it's a power that can give life and is the source of Transcendence itself. With the Jewel of Life, Damos could directly harness the Gaia energy and turn Michina from a desolate, ruined wasteland into a fertile paradise. Because Arceus' life force was diminished, however, Damos was to return the Jewel of Life on the day the moon covered the sun."

"A solar eclipse… I'm well aware those are very important for you," Jacob commented.

"Indeed," Kristos confirmed. "Our people used them to mark the passage of time since when Damos led us."

The Prophet began talking again, but stayed firmly in place looking down at the spring. "As you may know, not all was well. One of Damos' advisors, Marcus, feared that once the Jewel of Life was returned, Michina would be ruined once again. He intended to force Damos to betray Arceus, but a group of individuals empowered by Dialga managed to defeat Marcus and save Arceus' life."

"That can't be it… can it?" Sylpha wondered.

"If it was, that would be great," Kristos answered. "Michina did in fact revert to its previous state, but Arceus taught Damos how to fix things. To replace the Jewel of Life, Arceus gave him a device containing its knowledge… the Life Orb. Once they were done using the Life Orb to bring Michina back once more, Damos sent another of his lieutenants, Kratos, to lead a group of Tenganists tasked with spreading the Life Orb's knowledge worldwide. In their travels they brought our ways of life to many lands, but when they reached the Tohjo Continent, things took a terrible turn."

"Is this where it gets bigger than I ever knew?"

"Jacob, be patient." Even while directly addressing Jacob, the Prophet didn't turn around. "It wouldn't be wrong to say that here, but I said it about… something else."

With Jacob sufficiently quieted, Kristos continued his part of the story. "When Kratos and his group reached the place where Argyros Town would later stand, they made a terrible discovery."

"There was a village there already," the Prophet said, picking up where Kristos left off. "The people of the village worshiped a demon called Azrael-"

At the mere mention of the name Azrael, Pierce's eyes widened and he turned as white as a sheet. He immediately became dizzy and felt as if he would collapse, but nobody noticed and the Prophet continued talking.

"-which they were introduced to by a supernatural force we call Dark Matter. Dark Matter induced horrific visions and fed off their negative emotions such as fear, hatred and especially despair like a parasite. It drove the villagers to believe that this entity Azrael would make their dreams come true if they managed to bring her into this reality. To make that happen the villagers sacrificed one of their own to act as Azrael's host body, and Dark Matter took her over. Her human body couldn't survive absorbing all the Dark Matter at once, so until the time when her transformation could be completed, the remaining Dark Matter took the form of a Zoroark."

"Wait!" Looker exclaimed. "The story you are telling to us is of the events Matt Chiaki took the time to tell me! Argyros Town, Zoroark, I am aware of these things!"

Though she didn't reply until Looker was done speaking, the Prophet turned back around when he mentioned Matt's name and walked closer to him and Jacob.

"He doesn't know about Dark Matter, as far as I know, and I want it to stay that way. Anyway…" Once again, she turned her back to the others. "Kratos tried to save the villagers, but they were too far gone under Dark Matter's control. War broke out, and ultimately the village and its residents were all destroyed. Kratos managed to drain the Dark Matter from Azrael's body, but she died in the process as it was bonded too securely to her being. They finally managed to seal Dark Matter away in a stone tablet using the Life Orb, but to keep the seal in effect a sacrifice was required each time the moon covered the sun."

"A sacrifice…" Sylpha quietly repeated to herself, turning her head away from her leader.

"During the war, Kratos and his followers experienced horrible visions of their own," the Prophet continued. "They saw that one day in the future, the sun would cease to shine and space would collapse in on the Earth, leading to the end of all life. In order to prevent this, they constructed an incredible machine to harness the power of the Pokémon that first sent Gaia flowing through the planet. They called their creation the Coronet Rosary."

"So that's what it is…" Jacob said to himself. "I wonder why exactly Sutter didn't want me to know…"

"It both is and isn't," the Prophet replied. "We'll get back to that, though. What happened next is not completely clear, but it is believed that the Coronet Rosary's creators realized that it might not save all existence like they intended. In fact, they are thought to have realized that what they built would bring about the destruction they were fighting to prevent."

Jacob, Looker and Sylpha all felt their blood run as cold as the cavern air when they heard this. Their outward reactions remained muted, but internally, all three felt like they had just been dropped off tall buildings, and even Mewtwo seemed to have a twinge of discomfort flash across its face. Pierce, Anthea and Concordia felt similarly but remained silent, awaiting what would come next.

"My leade...uh…" Sylpha found speaking difficult and stumbled over the words she could manage. "But why? Why… for what reason would they build it if that was possible?"

"I am agreeing with that!" Looker suddenly shouted, his restraint swiftly breaking upon Sylpha providing motivation. "Doing so would be a mistake most foolish!"

"That would be true if they were fully aware of the consequences of their actions," said the Prophet. "What is written tells us that Dark Matter works its way into your mind in the most devious ways. If it wanted, Kratos and his followers would be blind to the truth the entire time."

"And they'd never know it…" Concordia mused. As the last of her words left her mouth, a realization hit her, causing her to subconsciously reach over and grip Anthea's arm. "If that was the case, why did you say they realized the truth?"

"Maybe the Life Orb opened their eyes," the Tenganist leader blandly responded, "or maybe that was what Dark Matter wanted to happen. Whatever the reason, they went insane from these revelations. To prevent it from ever being used, they sealed the Coronet Rosary away somewhere and spread conflicting myths about it to obscure its true meaning."

"No wonder Sutter tried to hide it from me," Jacob thought to himself. "And I ended up involving Bunny…"

"As for the Life Orb," Kristos added, "it was returned to where Dark Matter was sealed, the land of my ancestors. Argyros Town was built there, and we continued to guard the Life Orb for many years. After the Firestorm Rebellion in 1850, however, it left our possession and vanished into history. To this day, it hasn't been recovered."

"I don't understand what this all has to do with Saeko Oryo though," Sylpha said. The Tenganist punctuated her question with a forceful step, prompting the Prophet to turn her attention back to her audience.

"Remember how I said Kratos and his followers spread conflicting myths about the Coronet Rosary across the world?" The Prophet reached up and gripped the leather strap that held her cloak across her shoulders. "One of those rumors was that the Coronet Rosary was a person, someone who would be born with a Transcendence that would open the door to the future. Saeko Oryo, who could see the past and future, was believed to be that person, and thus was treated with great reverence. That reverence came with many responsibilities and rules she chafed against. So it was for much of her life, but things went downhill when she brought two outsiders here."

"Sutter and I?" Jacob asked, certain he already knew the answer.

"Yes. You think you know the events that took place here, but trust me, you have no idea. It was already forbidden for her to have been involved physically with Sutter as she was, due to his outsider status and her being the Coronet Rosary. That was not what made the people turn on her."

Confused and apprehensive of what would come next, Jacob tried to conceal his emotions by hiding his twitching hands behind his back. Looker, meanwhile, stared intently at the elderly historian, searching for any sign of Jacob knowing the truth. He couldn't help doing so, as his detective instincts were just too strong. Despite his best efforts to deduce what had happened, Jacob gave no obvious clues to it.

"In a way I pity her," the Prophet continued, standing and facing the spring more rigidly than ever. "I understand why she would do what she did next, even if it was against our beliefs. That need to survive for someone else, no matter what… I'm a hypocrite to stand in judgment of her. Saeko's sin that turned the people against her is the same as mine."

At first, Jacob let out a sigh of relief, feeling the weight of his worst fears lift from his shoulders. "It's basically what I figured," he thought, "I should have stopped Sutter from-"

Jacob's mental dialogue stopped abruptly when he noticed the Prophet gingerly brushing her hand against her abdomen. Her words flashed through his mind again - "That need to survive for someone else, no matter what… I'm a hypocrite to stand in judgment of her. Saeko's sin that turned the people against her is the same as mine." In an instant, the dread was back upon him, weighing ten times more than before.

"That someone else wasn't Sutter, it was their…" Jacob trailed off.

"Needless to say, the Chiaki family tree would have been vastly different if our people weren't so strict back then," the Prophet coldly said, confirming Jacob's suspicion. "And you never knew."

Behind the Prophet, while the realization forced Jacob to take a step back in horror, Sylpha cocked her head. "I don't understand…"

Kristos lowered himself to Sylpha's height, put a hand over her ear and whispered to her. The man's words made Sylpha freeze before suddenly gasping aloud.

"D-did Sutter know?" Jacob finally stammered.

"Who knows? If he did, he must have lived the rest of his life with the burden of it kept a secret." The Prophet brought her hand to a rest against her stomach, her voice starting to waver.

"You all know how it went from there. In the eyes of the leaders of the time, a Coronet Rosary bearing the child of an outsider meant that she was completely corrupted, an absolute fall from grace. Jacob, while you and Sutter were exiled from this place, they were going to punish her for her sin," she said. "She escaped prior to her judgment and, in a desperate bid to survive, she broke into where a partial Jewel of Life was kept and swallowed it. The backlash from this caused massive amounts of corrupted Gaia to flood out, burning her from the inside out and turning the Tenganist holy land into the frozen wasteland you see today."

By this point of the story, Sylpha had become overwhelmed and started sobbing into Kristos' side. Jacob remained frozen in shock, while Looker stuffed his hands deep into his pockets and turned away. Pierce shook his head silently, deeply affected by what he heard, and pulled his mother and aunt closer to him.

Even Mewtwo seemed moved, although its response was significantly more muted. "I admit that I feel I understand you more now," it said to the Prophet, its eyes closed and tail flicking behind it.

As soon as he heard this, Jacob gasped and stumbled backward, his mind struck by something. Only Pierce noticed, and even then, he thought nothing of it.

"Now explain to me what your goal is."

The Prophet barely moved. She only acknowledged Mewtwo's demand by lifting her hand over the water before she spoke.

"As Kristos said earlier, the Life Orb is currently missing." Her voice sounded nearly soulless and her audience other than Mewtwo had to struggle to hear her. "I want to find it and bring it here. This temple was built for another purpose."

"That purpose, which is?" Looker asked, his interest piqued by the Prophet's claim.

"Very few people throughout history have had the ability to create even a tiny piece of a Jewel of Life, and they all needed to have at least slivers of Arceus's plates to do it," she explained. "This place and the Life Orb are our way around that."

The Prophet moved the fingers on the hand she was holding over the water, and in response, a gentle green light emanated from deep within the spring. All the others, even Mewtwo, stared at the glow in surprise.

"This temple was built directly on a wellspring of Gaia," she continued. "It taps directly into the energy flow, which lives on in this place even though it is currently minimized here by Saeko's actions. We may not have the plates, but the Life Orb was also created by Arceus. My dream… we will recover the Life Orb, bring it here and use the temple's mechanisms to turn it into a genuine Jewel of Life. With that, we'll bring our holy land completely back to life and build a permanent sanctuary where all Tenganists can live in safety forever."

"We would really be able to start over in that kind of place," Anthea said in awe. "Pierce, you and your friends must help make this happen."

"That would be a great thing for us," Pierce admitted, immediately realizing the hope the Prophet's goal meant for them.

Mewtwo, meanwhile, looked down from midair at the Prophet, its features softening. "I must acknowledge the nobility of your aims, even if I cannot agree with some of your methods. You wish to set right what went wrong here so you can protect those like you…just like I did..."

Back on the ground, Looker scratched his chin and glanced at Jacob. He recalled the meeting between the elderly archeologist and Matt's group in Goldenrod City, where he'd personally first heard the Saeko Oryo story. Back then, Jacob had become unusually violent when he believed Matt and Nekou were searching for the Jewel of Life, but now, standing before someone who clearly stated her direct intent to obtain it, he was just staring slack-jawed at her. It was as if his mind had simply stopped working.

"Jacob?"

Instead of answering or even acknowledging the detective's question, Jacob extended his right arm and began slowly walking toward the Prophet, visibly trembling from head to toe.

"I can't believe I've been so blind," Jacob uttered. "All this time and I only realize it now… Whatever happened to you after we last met, something kept you alive since then. I get it now. Even after everything you went through, you still want to put this land back to the way it was. You really are the hero they hoped you'd be when we first met. I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner, Saeko. I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

The others watched as Jacob put his hand on the Prophet's shoulder, stunned at his suggestion that she was, in fact, the figure they were supposed to never speak of.

"How would that even be possible?" Kristos thought. "Wait… the Jewel of Life she swallowed… if she survived that somehow…"

Several increasingly tense moments passed while the Prophet remained completely unresponsive to Jacob's words. He wasn't entirely surprised at her lack of reaction, but it quickly dawned on him that revealing her identity, even among trustworthy people, might have been a mistake.

Feeling remorseful but unsure of what to do to fix it, he said, "Saeko, I'm so-"

Jacob never got a chance to finish his apology. He was cut off when the Prophet suddenly lashed around to him and punched him squarely in the face, knocking him down with her surprising strength. All around the pair, a flurry of gasps broke out, while Mewtwo shut its eyes and once again became silent. Looker immediately ran to Jacob's aid and helped him sit up.

"That's right, you should be sorry!" The Prophet's voice was raw and strained, her screaming clearly reflecting the collapse of her facade of composure. All Jacob could do was stare up at her, totally lost as to what was happening. "You think I'm her? You seriously think I'm her?! After I brought you here and helped you recover from the train crash, this is how you thank me?"

"But, I don't… I don't understand…" Jacob stammered. "Even if you're not her, Saeko was innocent… if you're like her, then so are-"

"I'm nothing like her!" The anger in the Prophet's voice was becoming tainted by desperation. "Nothing!"

The Prophet pulled her leg back, but before she could kick Jacob, Sylpha and Kristos rushed to her side and pulled her away from him. She didn't struggle against them, but continued shouting.

"You can't tell me I'm like her! You don't know anything about what I've been through! You blame me and yet-"

"Please calm down!" Sylpha pleaded.

"It's not my fault! It's… it's not my fault…" When her anger gave out, the Prophet was fully consumed by her despair. She went limp, slipped from her followers' grasp and collapsed to the ground. "It's not my fault… she chose. Saeko chose to do it. She had a choice... I didn't. I was never given a choice, I didn't get a choice… Ghetsis…"

Quickly understanding what the Prophet was saying, Kristos pulled Sylpha over to him and tried to cover her ears. Pierce, meanwhile, felt his blood run even colder when he realized the implications. His face contorted into a look of sheer horror much like Jacob's and Looker's, though the two of them said nothing.

"He didn't…" Pierce said in shock.

"When he came to Michina…" Tears rolled down her face, eventually dropping off to make tiny spots on the ground. "I was the only one he left alive. I wish he would have just killed me like all the others… I felt like I died that day… why could I not just… I shouldn't even tell you this. This is not your burden to shoulder…"

"But…"

Kristos' attempt to intervene in the Prophet's breakdown proved fruitless, as she started crying even harder.

"I made all of you take my pain onto yourselves!" she sobbed, further lowering her head and tightening her fists in the dirt. "I lied. I lied to all of you! I brought you all together to get my own revenge on Ghetsis, not to make a sanctuary! I only told you that so you'd want to help me! I have to pay the price for my actions, not any of you…"

All of a sudden, the Prophet felt the sensation of someone embracing her and stopped crying with a sharp breath. Sylpha, having slipped from Kristos' grasp after hearing much of what her mentor confessed, was tightly hugging her.

"We've all suffered because of Ghetsis," Sylpha gently said, a compassionate smile joining her words. "You saved us, now we'll save you. You don't have to do this alone."

"S-Sylpha…" The Prophet wasn't crying anymore, but she was still overwhelmed by what she was hearing. "I can't ask you to do this…"

"It's for all of us," Pierce said, "so we all should shoulder it."

"He's right!" Anthea piped up.

"Revenge on Ghetsis just makes fighting even more worth it!" Concordia forcefully added.

Looking around herself, the Prophet could barely believe what she was hearing and seeing. She had expected her own people to turn on her when they learned of her duplicitous motives, yet all around her she saw supportive, understanding faces.

"It's like… home…" she thought. For the first time in what felt like forever, she thought of the familiar comforts of her hometown instead of the horrors Ghetsis carried out there. The support she found in Sylpha, Pierce and the others made her remember all her friends she'd grown up with. "They're gone now, but… I can do something to honor them, too…"

After wiping away her tears, the Prophet felt her strength returning and stood back up. She immediately went to Jacob and extended a hand to help him up.

"I apologize for what I did," she said to him. "Are you injured? I can ask Alesia to heal you if you need it."

"It's… fine, don't worry about it." As he said this, Jacob curled his nose several times. It did still hurt, but not badly enough that he wanted to bring it up. "I still don't understand what's going on here. If you're not Saeko, how do you know so much about the Jewel of Life and how to use it? Only someone who's held one could possibly know such things."

"I haven't held one, but I've seen one up close, and I was raised with a more intimate understanding of it than most. The leader of our people who received the first Jewel of Life, Damos, was my ancestor."

Before speaking any further, the Prophet reached up and held the sides of her hood. She hesitated for a brief moment, but slowly lowered her hood, revealing her face to her followers and associates.

Though her brown hair was long, unkempt and not in the buns she once always kept it in, her appearance had otherwise not changed much since Matt painting the picture of her in his pocket watch. The fire in her wide, blue eyes was still there.

"Looker, it's nice to see you again. Everyone else, I'm pleased to meet you all. My name is Sheena." As soon as she said her name, Sheena looked slightly away from the others and smiled to herself. "That felt really good, saying that…"

"Sheena," Pierce addressed her. His prompt interruption silenced the others. "I need to speak to you about a rather urgent matter."

"What is it?"

Instead of stating his concern out loud, Pierce quickly walked over to Sheena and leaned in close to her head.

"This isn't the first time I've heard the name Azrael," he whispered, causing Sheena's eyes to widen when she heard it. "There is someone I think you should speak to as soon as possible."

"We'll move to a more private area," Sheena replied, her tone turning completely serious again. "I want to talk to this person right away. Kristos… take Anthea and Concordia to get something to eat. Looker, Jacob, I'm taking you two with me."

"What about me?" Sylpha asked. "Don't leave me out!"

At first, Sheena did not respond. She was so torn over what to do that she couldn't even look at Sylpha. "You're still just a child," she finally said, "and you are one of my people. I have a duty to protect you."

"You trusted me with the truth about Saeko Oryo and you told me all about Dark Matter," the young Tenganist countered.

"That is fair enough," Sheena acknowledged. "You can come."

The humans soon departed, leaving Mewtwo alone in the cavern. Once by itself, it deftly landed on the edge of the spring and gazed out over the life-giving water.

"Dark Matter…" it mused, narrowing its eyes as it did so. "A force capable of infiltrating minds like a parasite…"

-:-

"...the prince left his kingdom behind and was never seen by the people again. Where did he go? None of us ever knew. What we did know was that wherever he had gone, the creature was with him. That which so many of us feared, he loved and protected. We knew that for as long as he lived, he would always stand by its side."

Nekou wasted no time in turning to the next page, only realizing then that it was the last one. She did not find the words she expected, however. Instead, what greeted her was a vivid illustration of a strange, translucent creature. It looked like a squid or jellyfish, but with star shapes lining its head.

"That thing…" Nekou said to herself in surprise. "That's what the story was about?"

For a time, Nekou kept the book open and examined the illustration, trying to memorize every detail of the strangely enticing image. Marie and Zorua nudged at her arm and broke her from her reverie.

"Oh, sorry, you two," she apologized to the pair, petting each on the head to their pleasure. She then closed the volume in her lap, took a sip from the beer can she had open, and peered out the window.

When she saw the orange evening sky, she did a double take.

"Have I been doing this all day?" Nekou asked herself, her eyes moving back to the book in her lap. "That doesn't usually happen… and I didn't…" Her words caught in her throat when the incidents of the previous day came back to her mind. "...I didn't worry about all that shit today…"

Once again, her attention turned to the world outside the window.

"I have to thank him… his book, after all."

-:-

After leaving the underground spring, Sheena brought Jacob, Looker and Pierce to her personal quarters, where they awaited Sylpha's return from her own task. To pass time, Sheena started recounting her own stories.

"That's right, Jacob, Looker and I first met five years ago. Back then, it was Matt and I traveling with Olivia and her parents."

"So much has happened while I've been inside," Jacob said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"And going back in you are, at the earliest opportunity," Looker sternly warned him.

"I never said otherwise," Jacob countered, recoiling from the finger Looker thrust in his face. "You don't have to worry about that…"

A sudden giggle interrupted them, and the two men turned to see Sheena doing a poor job of hiding a smirk behind her hand. Though stunned at first, both Jacob and Looker soon found the levity too much to resist and laughed as well.

Sitting nearby with his arms crossed, Pierce commented, "Lady Sheena, I've never seen you laugh like that. Your sense of humor is darker than I thought."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Sheena said, waving her hand dismissively. "I know it's a bit of gallows humor. I just couldn't help myself… I haven't felt like having a good laugh in such a long time."

Just then, Sylpha entered the room, carrying a tray with a teapot and several cups on it. "It's teatime!" she cheerfully announced.

Sheena stood and gestured for Sylpha to join the others. "Thank you, Sylpha. I'm sure they will enjoy it." Peering over her shoulder, Sheena said to Pierce, Looker and Jacob, "Teas are something that cross boundaries throughout our culture, but Sylpha makes some of the best I've tasted."

"Aw, thanks…" Sylpha said, a hint of redness flaring up in her face.

"It's true," Sheena complimented, smiling. She then looked over her shoulder again and said to Pierce, "You don't have to call me 'lady.' Just Sheena is fine."

"You're our leader," Pierce replied, "but if you say so…"

"Anyway, now that we're all here, it's about time you introduced me to this contact of yours."

Even as he followed Sheena's directions and moved to stand before his audience, Pierce felt dizzy. His anxiety had been building ever since the conference in the underground spring over what he knew was coming. He truly wished against all hope that he would learn his fears were unfounded, but he knew quite well that wouldn't happen.

After one last glance back at Sheena and the others, who had all collected their own shares of the tea, he reached into his coat pocket and produced a small cube. Upon activation, a holographic keyboard was projected from its front, allowing Pierce to enter more intricate commands.

A second hologram materialized, this one projected from the top of the cube. It showed Team Rocket's insignia, which soon gave way to the scruffy, aged face of Dr. Zager.

"Doctor," Pierce addressed him.

"Pierce," Zager acknowledged. He sounded tired and far from comfortable. "I read what you reported…"

"Yes, well, let me introduce you to the leader of the people I belong to."

Pierce gestured for Sheena to step forward, and she did so without hesitation.

"My name is Sheena," she announced. Jacob and Looker were both struck by how strongly she did so. Only a relatively short time had passed since she first said her name to them. "As Pierce said, I lead the Tenganists opposing Polaris."

"And I am Dr. Zager, Team Rocket scientist."

An awkward silence settled over the room as, for a time, neither Zager nor Sheena knew what to say.

It was Sheena that finally broke the impasse. "I heard Pierce mention a report. What did he tell you?"

Before he answered, Zager exhaled deeply. He avoided looking directly into the camera on his side of the call even when he began speaking.

"Pierce told me your people once fought against an extra-dimensional force called Dark Matter, which tried to end everything by fusing with a human to create a prophet called Azrael. Is this all correct?"

"Five thousand years ago, yes," Sheena affirmed.

"Tell me then, young lady, what is Dark Matter? Physically, I mean. As the leader of your people, you ought to know. Am I wrong?"

Pierce watched Sheena carefully to see how she would react. Unaware of his attention, she lowered her head.

"There are only writings now. With how much time has passed, it's not clear just how literally descriptions of these events can be taken, at least in a physical sense."

"What do those writings say, then?" Zager pressed her.

"Even if I quoted them directly, it would be difficult to answer that," Sheena admitted. "There is no clear physical description that I can point right to. The most common theme among the writings is that of an amorphous dark substance, sometimes like a mist or cloud, others a mold-like mass or a hard shell."

Immediately upon hearing this, Zager shut his eyes. "From the moment I read Pierce's report, this is exactly what I was afraid of."

"What are you saying?" Sheena demanded. Behind her, Pierce had since turned away, while Jacob, Looker and Sylpha listened nervously.

"I…" Zager finally looked straight into his camera, allowing Sheena and the others to see his eyes directly. They were mirrors of his shame and fear, giving him the look of a man haunted by something truly horrible. "I was once a member of Polaris, decades ago. They recruited me out of the Pokémon Institute while I was a student hungry for funding and attention. I was all too eager to do what they tasked me with as long as I got what I wanted… Sheena, what they made me do was nothing less than create life. What was I given as base materials to work with? Genetic material from a human subject, female, maybe about fourteen years of age or so. They never told me who she was. That, and a small container… I was told to mix the contents of that container into the genetic sequence I was to create. I never understood how it was meant to work, but it did, and that was the key… that accursed dark substance, Polaris' Azrael Project needed it."

"No," Sheena had started mumbling over and over, even before Zager was done. The end of his statement brought stress-fueled pacing onto her as well. "No, no, no, no… this cannot… this just can't be real…"

"It is," Pierce chimed in, his voice as icy as the wasteland beyond the temple and caves. "I first heard the name Azrael long ago, but I did not know its true significance until today."

"Dark Matter wasn't totally gone after the war five thousand years ago…" Sheena concluded out loud for all in her increasingly fearful audience to hear. "Not if Polaris somehow got even a tiny amount of it to give to you… if there was only a sliver of it, it might not have sentience, but even that much could be enough to taint a human if fused with their genes… and if creating Azrael was their goal, then she is alive right now…"

Sylpha pulled at Sheena's arm, unable to cope with the terror she was experiencing. After everything she'd already heard about Dark Matter and Azrael, knowing that they existed in the present forced her to cry. She didn't know what else to do. "What's going to happen to us? Are we going to..."

"Ssh. Don't say such things." Sheena tried to reassure her, not only with words but by embracing her and gently patting her head. Even while doing this, she was torn up internally, unable to decide if it would have been better to hide truth from Sylpha. To force her scattered thoughts into some sort of order, she set her attention squarely on Zager.

"We must make preparations to destroy Azrael at once," Sheena declared.

"I thought of that long ago," Zager wearily countered. "We cannot kill her. I fear that if she were to be killed, only her humanity would perish. What would remain would be nothing but Azrael…"

"You speak as if you know the new Azrael personally."

"I do. Not only did I create her, I was tasked with raising her. Around the time of her fourteenth birthday, I managed to erase her memories, escape Polaris and spirit her away. Ever since then, I have seen to it that she is under Team Rocket's protection. I have always believed that if we keep her comfortable her programming may never activate."

"It's a risk, but it does make a certain amount of sense," Sheena conceded. "Even saying that, though… there will always be a risk that Dark Matter could return due to her existence. There's only one course of action I can think of… we have to get the Life Orb now even more than ever. Five thousand years ago, Dark Matter was sealed away using it, so at worst we can do the same thing again. If we can turn it into a Jewel of Life, we may even be able to destroy Dark Matter. Then everyone wins."

While Sheena and Zager talked, Jacob found himself increasingly disturbed by what he was hearing. "I don't understand any of this," he thought, reflexively pressing his fingers into his temples due to an intensifying headache. "Dark Matter, Azrael, the Jewel of Life… how did I get mixed up in all this? It was bad enough before I knew these things…"

Looker, meanwhile, shifted uncomfortably where he sat. Jacob glanced over at the detective just in time to see him scratching his chin, as he was so often wont to do when lost in thought.

"What do you make of this?" Jacob asked him.

"If Polaris is indeed searching for a way to bring this Dark Matter into a state of revival," Looker reasoned aloud, "then it is my impulse to guess that their desires are the same as those of it. Beginning I am to think that Polaris wishes to hand over the world to the Dark Matter for destruction, not anything involving a revolution against the Pokémon League. And if that is the case… the Team Rocket, the Tenganist Liberation Front, we of the International Police, we all oppose the same thing. Our enemy is a common one, taking the form of Polaris." Looker stood and planted his hands deep in his coat pockets. "I do not have the knowledge of what to do. If we are all on the same side, I am possessing the ability to see that, but my apprentices… caught in the middle they will be, and unwilling to compromise as well."

-:-

A short distance from his mobile home, Matt was seated on a tree stump next to a campfire, with which he was cooking something in a small pot. The late evening air was still and quiet, so much so that the crackling of the fire was the only sound to hear.

With time to fill, he reached into his bag, retrieved his pocket watch and opened it to the painting of Sheena.

"If I hadn't let my obsessions consume me you might still be alive," he mused in a voice completely devoid of emotion. "It's all my fault… again…"

The near silence was broken by the sound of leaves crunching beneath someone's feet as they approached the clearing. Matt heard them, but didn't react at all right away, instead choosing to simply continue considering the painting.

"Hey."

Matt finally reacted once he heard Nekou's voice addressing him, closing the watch and putting it away.

"What is it?" he asked without facing her. "Looks like you're feeling better."

"That's kind of why I came looking for you," Nekou responded. Starting toward where Matt was sitting, she continued, "Where's Olivia and everyone else?"

"Still out training I suppose."

"Keeping busy, it sounds like," she said as she sat down next to him. When she saw the pot on the fire, her eyes lit up. "What's on the menu?"

"Just some Mauville Ramen," Matt glumly replied. "Ate the stuff non-stop when I was in school, so I'm still pretty hooked on it. I can share if you want some."

"I'd like that."

"Okay then." Once he had a chance to think about the conversation, Matt stopped and finally turned to Nekou. "You don't sound like yourself… are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm better than I would have been if I didn't get to spend all day reading."

At that, Nekou took the book, which she'd had her arms wrapped around, and pushed it toward its owner. Seeing it brought Matt out of his stupor, and he eagerly snapped it up.

"Of everything you could have found in there, it was this…" Even though it belonged to him, he couldn't tear his eyes off the book's cover, as if he'd never seen it before. "This is… something very important to me."

"I spent all day reading it," Nekou told him with a sincerity unusual for her. "Kept my mind off all the shit from yesterday. So… thank you."

"That's more like the Nekou I know," Matt said, laughing gently to himself.

"The Matt I know isn't the type to love a story like this so much." Nekou adjusted her glasses as she spoke, and found herself unable to resist a small smile of her own. "Enlighten me on what I clearly don't know."

"My grandfather gave me this," Matt explained, still unable to look away from the tome's ornate cover. "It's an older translation directly from the original language… he gave it to me when I was still young. The story always fascinated me, and it wasn't just me. Amanda used to love when I read it to her… the time I got to spend reading to her is one of the few completely happy memories I have from back then. That's why that book is so important to-"

Matt stopped talking mid-sentence when Nekou put her head on his shoulder. He couldn't see that her eyes were closed or that she was smiling, but he could imagine it. Though he was initially surprised by her actions, he quickly relaxed and made no effort to move her.

"Who knew you had this side?" she said. "I want to find out more."

"It looks like you've got some secrets of your own." Matt shifted himself, but still did nothing to move Nekou's head. In fact, after he moved, she settled in even more comfortably than before.

Their peace did not last long, however. Mere moments later, loud rustling in the bushes ahead of them caught both of their attention. Even that didn't get Nekou to move, despite her becoming much more alert.

"Who's there?" Matt called out toward the noise.

Multiple possibilities of who was approaching cycled through Nekou's mind. Members of Team Plasma. The Shadow Triad. Other agents of Polaris. All of them sounded to her like candidates for who could be about to emerge.

It ultimately turned out to be none of them. The shape of a rotting tree appeared from the brush, and both Matt and Nekou recognized it immediately.

"A Trevenant?" Nekou exclaimed. "But why the f[u]u[/u]ck is one here?"

When the Trevenant stopped approaching them and stared at them with sadness in his eye instead of menacing them, Matt realized what was going on.

"When I was at the Battle Hall, I overheard that scientist, Colress, talking to one of my other opponents, Dino. I heard Dino say he was going to release the Trevenant he used against me because it didn't pass their experiment, or something." Addressing the Trevenant directly, Matt asked, "You're that Trevenant, aren't you? And you want me to help, right?"

Plating his root-like feet firmly in the ground, Trevenant grumbled an affirmation to Matt's questions.

-:-

A bright sun hung in a clear sky over Route 38 the next day. The same clearing where Matt and Nekou had their conversation was far less peaceful than it was the previous evening, having become the site of a heated battle between Olivia and a camper she'd encountered while heading out to train with Avril and Monroe. Sparks flew from the clash of Olivia's Mareep's Thunderbolt and the camper's Mothim's Silver Wind, making the siblings shield their eyes as they watched.

"You're doing great, Mareep!" Olivia shouted in encouragement, eliciting a self-satisfied snicker from the Electric-type. "Use Thunderbolt again!"

Another bolt of electricity sparked to life from Mareep's wool. Before it could arc through the air and strike Mothim, the camper called out to him, "Dodge it with Lunge!"

Mothim twisted around in the air, managing to barely avoid Mareep's Thunderbolt. He then threw himself toward her; his tackle scored a direct hit, but the electricity in Mareep's wool spread into his body, paralyzing Mothim.

"Static!" the camper realized, his recognition of Mareep's ability coming too late.

"We can win this now, Mareep! Iron Tail!"

There was no hesitation on Mareep's part to follow Olivia's direction. Before Olivia had even finished speaking, Mareep's tail had taken on a metallic shine, and she whipped around to strike Mothim down with it. Before either Olivia or the camper could react further, however, Mareep pinned the nearly-fainted Mothim to the ground and began gathering energy for another Thunderbolt.

In an instant, Olivia's excitement turned to dismay. "Mareep, that's enough! You don't have to do that!"

When it became apparent that Mareep wasn't listening, Olivia was forced to take out her Poké Ball and recall her. The camper went to his Mothim's side right away, and Olivia soon joined him.

"That Mareep of yours is really strong," he said to her while helping Mothim up. "But why is it so aggressive?"

"I… I don't know, really," Olivia admitted, frowning. "I'm trying to work with her, but we only recently connected and she loves fighting and…" Finding herself running out of words, Olivia sighed. "I'm sorry, please forgive me."

"Mothim, are you feeling fine?"

Mothim nodded to his trainer, and to further demonstrate his recovery, he fluttered his wings enough to rise into the air. What strength he had only kept him aloft for a short time, and he shrank back in disappointment when he returned to the ground.

"Don't worry yourself too much, Mothim," the camper said to his Pokémon while petting his head, which cheered him up. Shifting his attention to Olivia, the camper took some money from his pocket and handed it to her. "Here, you and Mareep earned it. Have a good one."

The camper lowered himself and allowed Mothim to climb onto his head. When they left, Olivia watched them disappear down the path. A feeling of guilt nagged at her, and she looked down at the paper money in her hand. Ghetsis' thundering words reran in her head.

"And as you know, the losing trainer in a battle must pay an amount of prize money to the winner! To the victor goes the spoils, but what goes to the loser?"

Olivia frowned. She knew she hated Polaris, hated Ghetsis, Team Plasma and everything else related to them, but what they said still ate at her.

-:-

"Say what?!"

Had Jessie, James and Meowth screamed any louder, they could have woken the dead. It certainly was a good thing that Team Rocket's base was in a busy area of Olivine City; had they been in a quieter neighborhood, those in their immediate surroundings would surely have heard them. As it stood, only their colleagues in Team Rocket's secret bar were aware of their reactions. The air in the room was thick with emotion, but the trio of agents were the only ones openly exploding.

"You heard what we told you," Stacia said, her voice even more frigid and emotionless than usual. The light from the secretary's computer filled her glasses, hiding her eyes from those speaking to her via hologram.

"He's not gone! He can't be!" James cried out in desperation.

"With Giovanni gone, the only thing we can do is continue his work." Sitting against the bar, Proton crossed his arms, only to immediately uncross them again. He remained fixated on the curves in the wood grain floor the entire time. "And for us to do that we should act like he's still here."

Jessie sharply turned and yelled, "Shut up!" Her blatant act of insubordination made Ada, Trevor and Petrel stare, agape at her disrespect for a superior, but Proton mostly ignored it himself.

"Yeah!" Meowth added. "No way did that pointy-haired, black cloaked musical demon really take our boss out!"

"You are going to have to accept reality," Pierce firmly said, addressing the bar from the Sinjoh Ruins via a second hologram. "I witnessed it with my own eyes. Giovanni is gone."

"Giovanni is gone…" Ariana emptily repeated. She was sitting away from the others, her back turned to them. "He's gone, so we must look at the continuation of our leadership. Stacia… you were his closest advisor and aide. You are in a better position than any of us to take his place."

"I can…" For an incredibly brief moment, Stacia's voice faltered. "I can only do so much from where I am. You are the one out in the field, Ariana. I trust that you can lead in executing the next anti-Polaris operation that's been drafted. I'll see that you promptly receive all the information so you can begin coordinating with Dr. Zag-"

Stacia's hologram vanished in the middle of her sentence. Unbeknownst to the others, the Rocket's finger had slipped over the button to hang up, leaving most of them to presume that her terminal malfunctioned. Jessie, however, immediately felt slighted and stomped her foot on the floor.

"Well we don't take orders from any bob-haired four-eyes either!" she spat, her sharp declaration directed at no one in particular, before turning around and storming out of the room. James followed her without a word.

"Only the boss is the boss!" Meowth added before joining his human companions in leaving.

"I'll go get them," Proton bitterly said. He started toward the door only to be stopped by Ariana extending a hand in front of him.

"Don't bother," she told him. "They'll come back. For now we have to just work on planning the mission."

"Ariana, wait. I have something to say."

Pierce's unexpected interjection brought the attention of not only Ariana but all the other Team Rocket members in the room to his hologram. Seeing this, he had to look away from them. What he had in mind was something he'd spent considerable time thinking about since hearing Sheena's story, but he knew his allies might have trouble understanding.

"It has to be said," he finally decided. Clearing his throat, Pierce directly faced the rest of his team, though he trained much of his attention on Ariana directly. "The leader of the TLF, Shee…" Pierce quickly stopped himself before revealing Sheena's name. He masked his error with a cough to buy time for choosing his words more carefully. "...she has told me of her group's objective. They aim to obtain the missing Life Orb and transform it into a Jewel of Life so that they may restore their holy land and build a sanctuary state for all Tenganists there. For now, their mission intertwines with our own, but when the time comes that such a refuge is established, I wish to resign from Team Rocket and live there with the rest of my family…" The next words represented a concept so alien to Pierce that he found himself having some trouble saying them. "...in peace."

"What are we supposed to do if we lose even more members?" Ada wondered, her face twisting into a look of pure terror. "We already are low on manpower for dealing with Polaris…"

"Don't worry about that," Pierce said. "As I told you, our goals overlap. I won't be going anywhere until Polaris is destroyed."

Trevor sighed and shook the glass in his hand. "Rosalie, you've got to have something to say about this."

"What is there to say, exactly?" the scientist said between draws on her pipe. "Destroying Polaris is all that matters right now. We all saw what Ghetsis did in Ecruteak City, and that was just him. Can you imagine what they can do when they act at full force? If Pierce wants to leave after this is over, who are we to keep him from his family?"

"You're certainly right about that," Ada conceded, though she continued to fidget nervously. "I guess we can't worry about what happens afterward, but…"

-:-

Meanwhile, in Giovanni's headquarters, Stacia pushed herself away from her computer and leaned back in her floral patterned chair. The large screen was the only source of significant illumination in her room, casting light on her ornate furniture and poster-lined walls.

Her solitude was interrupted when Persian pushed her door open and meowed loudly. Giovanni's beloved pet had been sent to Stacia's care prior to the final stage of Operation Atlas for his safety, and he knew something was wrong.

Stacia slowly turned her chair around. With the glow from the monitor no longer reflecting in her glasses, her eyes could be seen. They were dull and almost completely devoid of life, yet when she saw Persian a broken smile appeared on her face.

"Don't worry, Persian, everything's going to be okay. Once I finish this report and file it with Mister Giovanni, everything will be back to normal." She cocked her head and repeated, "Everything will be back to normal…"

-:-

With Olivia, Monroe and Avril busy elsewhere, Matt, Nekou and Bunny took some time to rest. They turned to a news broadcast looking for information on anything else possibly taking place.

"And now we move on to the news electrifying the media world right now," the anchor read, "the announcement of a new international network by Lysandre Labs president Lysandre Flordelis and Angel Corporation head Gabriella Bouchard."

"What's this now?" Matt said, pausing between sips of the coffee he'd prepared for the three of them. "I never knew she was working on this…"

"I don't think any of us did." Nekou was stretched across the couch again, but in far more comfort than before, allowing her to be more like herself. "These businesses always do their big deals undercover."

"Another big expansion…" Bunny mumbled into her cup. "Clean energy and now a huge mass media expansion? I don't have a good feeling about this. Matt's in the middle of it, too, so all of us are too by extension..."

Up on the screen, the broadcast continued. "We caught up with the two masterminds of this new project to get their thoughts."

The image changed to one of Lysandre and Gabriella walking in a huge, ornate room alongside the camera filming them. A reporter, partially out of view, was following them with a microphone.

"We are very excited to tell the world about Flare Network," the broadly smiling Lysandre explained.

"That's FlareNet for short," Gabriella interrupted, barely able to contain her visible excitement. "We had to have a snappy brand name for our big new project, right? Everyone will remember it!"

"Well she's the same as always," Matt dryly observed.

"Yes, yes, of course it's memorable," Lysandre said, waving his hand in Gabriella's direction. "We are planning to officially launch in five days, and there will be an inaugural broadcast from the plaza outside Angel Tower. I will be giving a speech then, in which I intend to announce some other very important new projects our newly joined companies shall be developing for the good of the world."

"Do you have any statements on the nature of these projects, Miss Bouchard?"

"Cat's got my tongue!" As if demonstrating her point, Gabriella playfully stuck her tongue out at the reporter. "You'll find out everything in five days, just be patient."

The reporter couldn't resist a tiny laugh. "You're as entertaining as ever, Miss Bouchard. We'll look forward to it. Now, one more question if I may, Mister Flordelis. Your company, Lysandre Labs, has multiple markets cornered in Kalos. Broadcasting, computer technology, high fashion, those are just three examples. What prompts a man with such influence to come all the way across the ocean to Kanto and merge with a company based here?"

"To put it simply, the Angel Corporation has the resources to help me make my own dreams come true," Lysandre explained. He gestured grandly at his surroundings, a palatial, cavernous lobby cut largely from black marble. "Look around you. The Angel Corporation built this great complex using wealth accrued doing good for the health of this world. The pharmaceutical wing of this company allowed it to grow and provide other things needed to improve the planet, like cleaner energy resources. You see, my dream is to create a world that exists in a beautiful and peaceful state. By joining my own resources with those of the Angel Corporation, we can accomplish that goal together. FlareNet is one part of that. By bringing the world closer toget-"

Bunny abruptly shut the television off and slammed the remote on the table, startling Matt and Nekou. "I don't like this at all," she grumbled, scowling,

"What do you mean?" Matt asked her.

"The Angel Corporation getting deep into so many different fields, I don't like it. They're involved with a huge share of the world's energy supplies, they have significant holdings in the financial sector, I could lose myself in listing it all. And now it sounds like they've created a monopoly over the media? You know what they say about absolute power, it corrupts absolutely. And after we met him in Goldenrod, I don't trust Lysandre at all. I think something bad is happening with the Angel Corporation and we're being pulled into it."

"I can't say I disagree with what you say," Matt mumbled, staring into a sketchbook he'd taken out, "but Lysandre isn't in charge of it, Gabriella is, and we both know she wouldn't hurt a fly. If any corruption begins to unfold, though, she has the business sense to crack down on it. She didn't get to her position by doing nothing."

Bunny silently glared at Matt from the corner of her eye. "He means well, but he's always so naive… I guess he never changes." Sighing, Bunny stood up and started toward the door. "I'll go check on Olivia. If she wants something I'll tell you."

"Okay, Bunny, thanks!" Matt called after her as she left.

As soon as she was alone with him, Nekou pushed herself up off the couch and swayed over to Matt's side.

"I hope you like it," he said to her when he noticed the coffee in her hand.

"It's alright, but you know Sonata Coffee? I love that. Drank it all the time in Unova, just like you and your ramen. Get that."

"When we get to Olivine City I'll get some, don't worry."

Returning his attention to the sketchbook, Matt started drawing in it with a pencil. Intrigued by what he was doing, Nekou sat down on the arm of his chair and looked over his shoulder. He continued working without reaction to her presence, so she watched him draw quietly for some time.

"What'cha drawing?" she finally asked.

"Where we ate last night. Remember, the clearing?" Matt held up the book so Nekou could better see the sketch. "I want to paint it, so I'm planning things out first."

"Is there a reason for that?" When Matt didn't answer, Nekou realized he wasn't taking her question seriously and grew visibly frustrated, driving her free hand into the arm of the chair. "I mean it, I really want to know!"

"You know I paint, you've seen me doing it."

"But why?"

"Honestly…" Matt put down his pencil, leaned back and closed his eyes. "I started painting things for Amanda."

~:~

The world was a very different, much more peaceful place over a decade earlier. In times of trouble the regional Pokémon Leagues were trusted to restore order, and as far as the public saw, they did. There was crime and there was unrest, but without Polaris' open provocations, most lived in a state of blissful ignorance.

So it was for the Chiaki siblings as well. Enrolled in the Rustboro School under the care of their grandfather Sutter, their lives were quiet and uneventful then. Many might have found it boring, but after running away from home and the ordeal that unfolded afterward, the peace gave them the closest thing to happiness they could get.

One night after classes ended, they had traveled from the school to a convenience store in the city, searching for snacks. Their quest ended with Amanda waiting in her wheelchair for her brother, holding a pile of small plastic bags in her lap. Matt was nearby, fumbling for change to feed a vending machine. He eventually found enough to get a pair of drinks and returned to Amanda.

"Amanda," he said to get her attention, "here's your Moomoo Milk."

She took the bottle from him, but frowned in his direction and said, "Matt, please tell me you got something for yourself too."

Amanda's concern was well placed, even if she was wrong in that specific instance. Matt's uniform, though similar to hers with its blue colors and diamond patterns, hung on him. At that time he was remarkably frail, and even though his complexion was less pale than in the present, his poor care for himself made him generally look sickly.

"Don't worry," he assured his sister as he sat down on the bench next to her wheelchair, "I did."

"I have to worry about you. Viktor told me you haven't been eating when you work late in Dr. Graceland's shop sometimes."

"I wish he'd just let me be," Matt sighed. "Right now I just want to relax and enjoy these Lava Cookies."

"He means well." Leaving it at that, Amanda held one of the bags toward Matt. "Let's dig in."

The siblings sat together and ate their cookies in calm silence. Though she had no idea about it, Matt couldn't stop himself from watching Amanda while she cheerfully enjoyed the snack.

"You won't have to ever suffer again," he thought, "I promise. I'll protect you and fix everything...:"

"It's such a nice night," Amanda said, making Matt jump as he was snapped out of his thoughts. "So warm…"

"Yeah...yeah, it is." Matt sipped at his bottle of milk and lazily turned his eyes toward the sky. What he saw awed him.

A figurative galaxy of stars spread out in the crystal-clear sky. The glowing 'Thrifty Megamart' sign over them and the street lamp near the bench could not dilute the sight, nor could anything else, even the lights from the rest of Rustboro City.

"It's so beautiful…" The moment these words left Matt's mouth, he knew he had made a mistake. Seeing Amanda facing him, visibly confused, only crushed him further. "I'm sorry, Amanda… I'm so sorry! Please, forgive me!"

"Matt, please! I'm not upset! Just tell me what you're talking about, that's enough for me."

"It's… it's…" The shock of what he blamed himself for doing left Matt unable to directly answer Amanda's request. "It's just… the sky, it's so clear and full of stars. I haven't seen a sky like this since before we left Snowpoint. I shouldn't have said anything… it's not fair to you. I can see it, you can't…"

"It's okay for me to hear you talk about it. Don't beat yourself up." While carefully holding down the pile of cookie bags on her lap with one arm, Amanda reached over and felt around until she found Matt's hand. "You know what? It doesn't bother me because I can remember all those times I saw the stars before the accident. They don't change even while we do… so I know that what I remember is still there."

~:~

"What she said to me that day has always stuck with me." Matt had long since stopped drawing, instead tightly clutching the sketchbook while talking to Nekou. "I think about it all the time… to have things you can hold onto with certainty, knowing that they'll be there no matter what happens to you… I paint things because images don't change, and I started because I swore I'd figure out some way to restore her sight. Until then I paint things so she can see them one day."

"That's really sweet of you, I mean it. You keep surprising me." Nekou slid off the armrest into the seat of the chair, pushing herself directly into Matt's side. "Think you can paint me sometime?" she asked with a wry grin. "You can keep me around so she can see me any time, after all."

"Something tells me you want me to have a painting of you."

"Maayyybe…" Nekou's grin widened into a full-fledged smile. "I guess you know me more than I expected."

-:-

"You can see that Ghetsis and Polaris anticipated some of our moves, lessening their effectiveness. Overall, though, in terms of results the competence level of our operatives must be rated at an above average level." Stacia held her body rigidly still, bending her arm at the elbow to push her glasses up. The lights in Giovanni's office filled their lenses, obscuring her eyes. "Each of our squads performed well in keeping their opponents in check, though it cannot be ignored that outside forces intervened in our favor. For that reason, I am proposing that a plan be developed to continue keeping Matt Chiaki and the circle of people connected to him under our influence. Admin Lalume should be useful for that purpose."

Stacia stopped, took a breath, and allowed herself a tiny smile.

"Do you agree, Mister Giovanni?"

No response.

"I understand you need time to think, but we must quickly approve a plan to continue combating Polaris, sir."

There was still no response, only silence. Dead, bone-chilling silence.

"E-Everything's all right, sir?"

Stacia tilted her head slightly, her composure starting to crack. It was inevitable that she'd fall apart eventually - she couldn't go on talking to an empty chair forever. The harsh reality it represented could not be escaped. As the weight of Giovanni's demise crashed down on her, she crumpled to the floor and started to cry.

"What am I supposed to do?!" she wailed. "I don't know what do on my own! What am I supposed to-"

Stacia was abruptly cut off when an unseen force seized her body. She slammed her eyes shut and brought her hands to her head, desperately trying to fight it off.

"No, not again! Not now! Just let me go… let me…" The force soon won out over her attempts to control it, and when she slowly reopened her eyes, they were glowing. "I see…" she droned, "...what I have to do."

-:-

As Matt slowly roused from his slumber, he was greeted by the sound of a downpour on HR-E's windshield. He blinked several times to focus his vision. Some movement in his sofa bed had woken him.

"Just go back to sleep." It was Nekou, as he'd already realized. "I'm not bothering you."

"You sound pretty bothered yourself, though."

Nekou's restless shifting around confirmed his thoughts. Something was wrong. He'd known her long enough to tell.

"I wish I could get one fucking night of peaceful sleep…"

Hearing the distress in her voice got him to roll over and face her. "Want to talk about it? You sound pretty upset…"

"Lying here listening to the rain is nice enough." Nekou's attempt at evasion left her unsatisfied, and she sighed, frustrated by it. "I had a nightmare, but it felt so real, almost like a memory. I was on the streets of Lumiose City being chased by… something. I… I don't know, it felt like escaping was a matter of life and death."

"I've had nightmares like that before. Usually it's Snowpoint and-"

"No, dipshit, you don't understand!" Nekou snapped. "Lumiose is the capital of Kalos. I've never been to Kalos in my life! The dream felt so real, it was like I was reliving a life I've never lived at all!"

"I…" Matt suddenly understood exactly why Nekou was so troubled. Just thinking about the idea disturbed him. Living someone else's life reminded him far too much of what he'd gone to terrible lengths to escape himself. "I'm sorry I didn't understand. It's actually kind of funny… I guess we're more alike than either of us wants to admit."

"Guess so."

"You don't have to worry about it, Nekou," Matt said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "You know, there's a hotel in Lumiose all the travel magazines say is one of the best of the best. After all this nonsense with Polaris is over, let's go there and replace those nightmares with real memories, you and me." Matt reached out and put his hand on Nekou's shoulder. "Alright?"

There was an awkward pause in the conversation, the silence broken only by the harsh rain. Nekou stared face-to-face at Matt, for what seemed like an eternity before violently turning her back on him when what he was saying sank in.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" The anguish in her voice was palpable. "You know what doing that would mean! Why would you want to be around me for that long?"

Matt's response was automatic, almost instinctual, but had he stopped to think he would have said something else. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I'm a monster!" By this point Nekou was using Matt's sheets to dry her eyes. "Do you know what it's like when that shit happens to me? What happened when I was stabbed? Fuck the voice in my head!" Nekou rolled over to face Matt again and made a fist against her chest. "When that shit happens, I… I can feel my bones and muscles moving around under my skin, like… like they aren't even mine! This isn't even me, I'm a parasite in my own body…"

"You aren't a parasite or a monster," Matt said softly. "If there's anything I know it's that."

It took all the strength Nekou had to not lash out at him. "Did you not fucking listen to what I said?!"

"I heard you, but…" The weight of what Matt was about to admit made him unable to look Nekou in the eye anymore. "If you're a monster, then what does that make me? I… lied about what was done to me. It's not just limbs and an eye. I should be dead but instead I'm a corpse animated by machines… if you're a monster, so am I…"

Nekou suddenly threw her arms around Matt and embraced him as tightly as she could, burying her face in his shoulder. "If there are two monsters then maybe neither of them has to be alone… tell me that's true. Please…"

"It sure is."

Matt made no effort to separate himself from Nekou. The two of them remained as they were as the pouring rain again became the only sound to be heard.

-:-

Deep within the Polaris temple complex, Father sat at his desk, staring at a photograph in an elegantly carved frame. Outside of the glowing double helix statues lining the slate gray path from the office's entrance to the desk, his cavernous surroundings were largely empty. Behind him, a wall of glass revealed a giant aquarium, populated with all manner of Water-type Pokémon including many Milotic, Alomomola, Relicanth, Corsola and others.

The sound of a door sliding open behind him made him put down the photo and swiftly reach for the inkwell nearby. With pen in hand, he made an effort to look busy working on the document before him.

"I already saw you," the woman entering the office said while drying her bobbed, blonde hair in a towel. Her thin form was wrapped in a lily-white robe that stood out vividly against the dreary decor, and she had no reaction to her bare feet touching the cold floor. "Don't worry yourself, dearie, I'm not mad."

"It is difficult to focus sometimes," Father explained to her as she approached. "I find myself getting lost in thought about them."

"We can't have that, now can we? Not when there's so much important work to do."

Father didn't answer, but he took notice when the woman took his staff, which he had left leaning against his desk. He watched as she walked away from him, planted the staff firmly into the floor, and began dancing with it.

Feeling uneasy with where the conversation was heading, Father took the opportunity to change the subject. "How are you feeling?" he asked of his collaborator. "You were in there for longer than usual this time."

"Having to travel to and from Angel Tower for my media spot didn't do me any favors," Gabriella said without stopping her twirling around the staff. "You know I always feel like I'm burning up. But the water gives me so much relief, I wish I could stay in it forever!" Gabriella struck a dramatic pose, using the staff to hold herself up while she kicked up a leg and threw back her head and arm. "If there wasn't so much to do, I might stay in that aquarium even longer. Being able to breathe in there is such a blessing. I love it."

"It's fitting you feel that way, considering the oceans are the cradle of life," Father observed.

"Fitting, considering we're going to create life in a cradle of our own," Gabriella replied, finally halting her dance. She started walking back to the desk with the staff in her hand. "That's why your role is so important right now. The people only see Polaris as what Ghetsis represented. It's up to you to bring them into the light."

"You're right," the masked man admitted. "I have to focus…"

"That's right you do." Having reached Father's side, Gabriella placed the staff back against the desk and lovingly nestled his head in her arms. "You are so, so precious to me…" she whispered. "Do you remember where you were when I found you? Near death, torn away from everything you loved… never forget that I lifted you out of that, gave you hope where you had none…"

Behind his mask, Father frowned and shut his eyes in a fruitless attempt to resist his escalating emotions. "I… I remember. How could I forget…"

"I promise that you'll get them back. You know that the Oracle shows me what will happen when she speaks to me...you'll get them back, but we need to create chaos first so Dark Matter will have a feast of despair when Azrael reawakens." Gabriella released Father, allowing him to slouch in his chair, and started for the exit. "I have to go have a word with Lys. Finish your speech."

"Color me surprised Lysandre already knows who Finansielle is," Father said as Gabriella walked away. "Oh, Gabriella? I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I liked your long hair better."

Gabriella stopped, but did not turn around. "Funny you'd say that, considering your wife."

"That was her taste, but my daughter shares mine. You've seen her."

"Touché." With that, Gabriella left the office, a wicked smile creeping over her face as she slipped outside of Father's notice.

-:-

By that afternoon, the rain over Route 38 had not relented. If anything, it had grown even more intense. It pounded on the HR-E with such force that the television inside failed to completely drown it out.

With their plans for more training sidelined thanks to the downpour, Olivia and Avril had taken to watching a Pokémon Baccer match, joined by Monroe and Bunny. One of the competing teams comprised a trio of avian Pokémon, somewhat similar to each other in appearance; one was yellow and had pom-pom shapes at the ends of her wings, another pink with a feathery skirt around her body, and the third purple with fan-shaped wings. Opposing them was a Lunatone, a Solrock and a Claydol.

"Here it comes, this is what I've been telling you about!" Monroe excitedly shouted to his sister and their friend, neither of whom quite shared his enthusiasm. On the television, the three bird Pokémon arranged themselves at different angles in relation to the game ball as it neared them. "Watch this!"

Once the ball reached a certain point, the trainer overseeing them thrust her hand forward and issued a command. The yellow Pokémon responded by waving her pom-poms and releasing a wave of electricity. This was only the start, as her action triggered reflexive reactions from her teammates, making them wave their arms and produce waves of energy matching their colors as well. The ball rocketed from one Pokémon to the next, their coordinated action leaving their opponents helpless as it shot into the goal.

"Goal!" the announcer cried. "The Hau'oli Songbirds put another point on the board with their signature triple threat Revelation Dance! The Fallarbor Meteors never knew what hit them!"

"Those Oricorio are impressive," Bunny said as the broadcast shifted to a commercial.

"Yup," Monroe agreed. "Mele the Pom-Pom Oricorio, Aka the Pa'u Oricorio, and Poni the Sensu Oricorio. Each of their Revelation Dances are a different type, but thanks to their Dancer ability, just one of them using it prompts the others to use theirs immediately. You saw what that lets them do. Olivia, isn't it great?"

The frown he was met with completely caught Monroe by surprise.

"Olivia?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. They're great, yeah…" Olivia showed her friend the slightest of smiles, but her gaze remained fixed at an angle just below the television and her emotions began to boil over. "I just… I just remember how my mom and dad and I used to watch Pokémon Baccer together. I miss when we were all together…" When Olivia lifted her head, her friends could see that her forced smile was betrayed by the glassy look in her eyes. "You guys have each other," she said, gesturing to Avril and Monroe. "The closest I have to that is Nekou, I guess?"

"You've got Matt and me, too," Bunny added. "Trust me, Olivia, you aren't alone against everything."

"That's not what I meant!" Olivia snapped back, before becoming apologetic almost immediately. "I'm sorry, Bunny, I didn't mean to…" Once she saw that Bunny wasn't upset, she went back to gazing at her balled-up fists on her lap. "I meant siblings. I feel like… having someone like that, they'd understand you on a different level, right?"

"I wish…" Avril mumbled to herself.

Olivia failed to notice Avril's reaction and continued to talk herself. "It… really hurts to think about," she confessed. "I almost had… brothers or sisters, they never told me which. My mom… she got really sick before they were born, and… I can't have brothers or sisters now."

"Forgive me," Bunny said. "If I realized what you meant I wouldn't have said that."

"You've seen what our family's like," Monroe mused aloud, "at least a little bit. We get really competitive, the three of us, but I wouldn't trade Avril and Helena for anything in the world."

"I've seen the two of you battle, but I don't remember seeing Helena yet. How does she stack up?"

Before Monroe could answer, Avril abruptly changed the subject, seemingly ignoring Olivia's question. "I'm not okay with this," she complained while watching the rain outside the window. "I told myself I'd be working 24/7 training all the way to Olivine, but with weather like this, it isn't happening."

Remembering Avril's similarly terse behavior talking about the Olivine Gym Leader days earlier, Olivia silently looked over at Avril as she continued to sulk.

"If I can't get ready, there's no way I'm winning there. No way you will, either. And if we both get stuck there I don't think I could ever live it down."

-:-

Polaris' temple was a somber place, a place of reflection riddled with heavy stone hallways lit under the faint glow of lamp light. Excan didn't know what to expect as he followed the instructions of the paper in his hand to one of the deepest parts of the complex, but when he saw a Polaris member guarding a roped-off doorway beneath a blue neon arch, he began asking silently asking himself questions.

"Come here for my… induction? They already voted and approved me, what is all of this?"

Without a word, Excan passed the note to the guard, who read it and pulled back the rope, allowing him to enter the arch. A narrower, darker hallway waited beyond, leading him to a destination he could only question even further. As he walked he could hear the sound of casual conversation and soft music, making him work even harder in an attempt to solve the puzzle. Yet, in all of his ruminations on where he was being led, what he ultimately discovered was something that never entered his mind.

At the end of the hall was a bar, where a number of the Chromosomes were lounging and waiting for him to arrive. Besides the bar itself and a few booths, a pool table and a jukebox sat under the soft chandelier lights and blue neon. The members of the Sacred Helix that were assembled all turned to their new ally when he stepped inside, giving him varying degrees of greeting. Of all of them, it was Praeses who stood up to meet Excan.

"Welcome!" he cheerfully said to the new Chromosome. Seeing that Excan was scanning the room, carefully examining his surroundings, Praeses spread his arms and gestured around. "What do you think? Glad I put together the invite for you?"

Behind his glowing mask, Excan's eyes were darting around. Something about the bar and its mood struck him as suspicious, almost like a trap. He tried to parse his words carefully, but ended up saying, "This is not what I expected. It's different from what I thought Polaris was about."

Praeses laughed, much to Excan's surprise. "We hear that just about every time someone new gets in. They always think the Sacred Helix that approves them is the only one, and they're always so surprised when we bring them in here for the induction!"

"You can say that again," Mercury commented from her table, where she was nursing a mixed drink of her own.

"So come in, come in!" Praeses urged Excan, beckoning him into the bar. The towering man followed his direction, albeit reluctantly. "Tell us, what makes one of the richest men in Kalos come all the way to our door?"

Excan immediately froze, shocked that he had been so openly identified. "I-I'm still masked…" he stammered.

"We wear them to symbolize how we discard what we are in this world so we can embrace the promised world," Praeses explained, "but that doesn't mean we don't know each other's' identities either."

"You always make it sound like we all know each other," Getriebe complained. He leaned against the wall and said, "There are a few who stay under wraps no matter what."

"That's true," Praeses admitted while bringing Excan up to the bar itself. "None of us know who Father is, but we don't need to. What matters is that his guidance to us is correct, which it always is. Other than him, the other ones not all of us know are Finansielle and Geminus. The rule usually is that if a Chromosome has their identity revealed to another but requests it be kept hidden from those not privy to it, that request must be honored."

"Is that so," Excan replied. He lowered his head and smiled, taking note of the fact that while the other Chromosomes in the room knew him and he knew most of them, he had knowledge not all of them did - that Finansielle was actually Gabriella Bouchard. His pleasure at this realization made him more comfortable, and he settled in at the bar. "To answer your earlier question, it is essentially what I told you in the meeting. I despise what this world has become. Driven on by modern society, foolish people are destroying each other and their environment. Their greed will continue to destroy everything until they are put back on the right track, and I intend to make that happen."

"I thought you'd say something like that. Talk to Athleta, his story's pretty similar."

At Praeses' urging, Excan turned to the pool table, where the Dragonite-masked Chromosome was chalking a cue. Athleta sighed, put the cue against the wall, and set his right hand down on the table.

"I'll admit that I admired what I heard from you the other day." As he listened, Excan imagined that Athleta was rolling his eyes behind his mask. "The environment must be protected. My home of Blackthorn has been lucky to avoid the worst of it. But when I look to the rest of the country, let alone the world…"

"You feel angry?" Excan guessed. "Enraged that no matter what you do, it's not enough to prove to the fools out there that their greed, their inability to stop themselves from taking more and more is destroying this entire planet? I understand how that feels. I've spent most of my life watching them destroy themselves and fighting to stop it."

"Absolutely!" The annoyance in Athleta's voice was gone, replaced by a passion very similar to Excan's. "When the Pokémon League here started, I tried to use my position to act as a role model for the public. All they took from it was the exact opposite of what I wanted. No matter what I did as an Elite Four member, as a Champion, no matter how much I've fought, they've destroyed more and more in their need to overthrow me, just as you said!"

"I'm hearing you there," Excan said, crossing his arms. "I'm sure we'll be able to accomplish something, the two of us." Athleta merely nodded in response to this and went back to his game, so Excan asked Praeses, "What about you though? You've been eager to get me talking to them, but you haven't said anything. What gets someone with power like yours into this?"

"I have a responsibility to use the power I have to make this world a better place, to put it simply." Praeses brought his hand to his chin. "I was given the power I possess for a reason, but for a long time I questioned what that reason was. When Polaris approached me I finally came to understand it… I am strong because I must lead as many as I can to be strong as well. It's evolution, just like the process Pokémon go through. In order for both humanity and Pokémon to advance, I am here to help filter out the strong from the weak. It's why I still battle when politics isn't keeping me busy. I do have to admit that it's not a pretty process, but the beauty we create when this is over will more than make up for it."

Excan took some time to consider what he'd been told. It was true that building the beautiful world he dreamed of would require the destruction of the current one. The kind of destruction he'd planned on, though, was of a different sort than what Praeses described to him. He'd fantasized about wiping the slate clean in one swift, terrible motion, utilizing the weapon built by the ancient Tenganist king to eradicate all but his chosen ones so they could inherit a beautiful world. The slow, messy collapse of society that he was hearing of now struck him as uncomfortably close to what he wanted to fight against in the first place. Yet he also had to admit to himself that Praeses and the other Chromosomes seemed genuine in their desires to see that same beautiful world, and their passion made him willing to consider their approach. Even though she wasn't present in the bar, Finansielle's extreme interest in his ideas made him content, regardless of what happened. If this crude approach proved fruitless, Excan knew she'd back him up in a more elegant plan.

"Don't get the wrong idea, newbie," Getriebe grumbled from his table, where he'd sat down with Jeunes. He did not speak loudly, but the others were able to hear him. "Praeses makes it sound like we all joined for these noble causes. Some of us want nothing more than payback."

"Payback, huh?" Excan stroked his beard as he looked down on Getriebe. Calmly he asked, "for what would that payback be?"

"Surely someone who operates a business like yours is very familiar with the Silph Company," Getriebe immediately replied, putting a hand up to keep Jeunes from talking. "Right when I should have experienced success for the first time, Silph came in and stole everything from me."

Before he reacted to Getriebe's words, Excan down at the smaller man's hand, which was gripping a glass so tightly it was shaking. Seeing this made a tiny smile creep onto Excan's face. "I do know plenty about Silph and their unbridled corporate greed. It's not surprising they would…"

"When I first graduated from the Rustboro School, I had a great invention that was supposed to be my ticket to success," Getriebe bitterly said, picking up on Excan's lead without looking at him. He reached the pouch to his belt and removed a metallic device, which he then set on the table. "You probably know it… my data-analyzing machine. I invented it to record and analyze battles so they could be studied. Sounds like something a lot of people would want, right? Of course it is. A graduate just out of school couldn't market their creation independently, so I approached Silph and proposed it to them. They turned me down, then tweaked a few things, branded it as the Vs. Recorder, and dumped it on the market. To this day I've seen not a penny of its earnings nor any of the credit I deserve for creating it. I want Silph and all their successes destroyed. I want to take away everything from them just like they did to me."

"What an arrogant, selfish fool!" At that moment, the mask covering Excan's face helped prevent an argument, as it hid the fury burning in his eyes. He curled one of his gloved hands into a tight fist, and very nearly put his thoughts into words, but Getriebe noticed neither. Managing to check his disgust at Getriebe's true motives, Excan pivoted to Jeunes, who by then was just sitting by and waiting.

"What I want will probably be more to your taste," Jeunes said, correctly perceiving Excan's opinions of what he'd just heard.

"I hope it is…" Excan thought, though he again refrained from speaking.

"It's Team Rocket I want to destroy," Jeunes went on to explain. "They destroyed my life when I was just a young boy. Both of my parents were scientists who worked on a team that was personally hired by Giovanni for a top secret project, to clone the DNA from a certain fossil and alter it to create the ultimate living weapon. Of course, it's not so secret now. You know it as Mewtwo."

"I do," Excan reflexively replied, before realizing the implications of this statement. "That means your parents were…"

"I'll never forget the day Team Rocket came to our estate to give us their fates." The bitterness in Jeunes' voice was so intense that it made Getriebe sound joyful by comparison. "That woman, Ariana, her face has been burned into my memory since I first saw it. It was from that moment that I came to live with only one purpose: to finish my parents' work and use it to kill Giovanni, Ariana, and everyone else responsible for what happened. I joined the Pokémon Institute and developed my Mirage System there, but by the time I was expelled, Team Rocket's agents there had already noticed me, and they brought me in. I thought that would be my chance!"

Jeunes slammed his fist on the table, and the sudden noise made Getriebe and Mercury jump.

"I thought that would be my chance," he repeated, "but just as I finished the development of the system, before I perfected my Mirage Mewtwo, they took my research and kicked me out. Polaris found me right after that and helped fund my reconstruction of the Mirage System. I'm more than willing to use it to destroy this world if it will destroy Team Rocket too."

Excan shoved his hands into his pockets and frowned. "These two shortsighted fools fail to grasp the nobility of this cause!" he angrily thought. It occurred to him that an awkward silence had settled over the room, so to alleviate it, he put on the most sincere smile he could. "The cause of peace would be greatly advanced if organizations like Team Rocket were destroyed, with that I agree. Any weapon that can be used to that end should be utilized."

Seeking to change the subject, Excan searched the room. His eyes settled upon the one Chromosome present he hadn't yet spoken to - Mercury. Unlike many of the others she had remained largely silent since his arrival, tending to her mixed drink alone at a corner table.

Approaching her, Excan asked her, "And on that note, a former member of Team Galactic? I fail to understand how a servant of that delusional lunatic Cyrus ends up here."

"You assume I believed in his nonsense," Mercury flatly said. Even as she spoke with him, she remained fixated on the drink in front of her, slowly stirring it as she gazed into the glass. "Where did it even start?" she mused aloud. "I still remember my life before all of this. Back then all I needed was all the mythology in Sinnoh. Then I met that miserable Charon, and before I knew it, our son and daughter were born and Charon's ego was already starting to spiral out of control…"

"So it was family trouble that brought you to Polaris?" Excan reasoned.

"You have no idea." Mercury stopped mixing the drink, leaving the ice cubes to clink together. "Cyrus recruited both Charon and I while he was putting Team Galactic together. We both had our roles, but it wasn't long before Charon thought Cyrus was favoring my research over his. That really rubbed him the wrong way, and he started pursuing more and more dangerous experiments to overtake me. One of those experiments blinded our daughter, and our son got fed up and ran away from home with her."

Mercury set her drink down and reached up to pinch her brow. Taking notice of her emotions, Excan idly stroked his beard before answering back to her.

"After everything you've been through, it makes perfect sense that you'd be here," he said. "You want to change this world for a truly noble reason. You're driven by the pure intent to heal the harmed and bring your loved ones back together."

"You flatter me," Mercury remarked in response. "I actually don't care that Charon is gone. He was a thorn in all of our sides and the world is better off without him. Matt and Amanda, on the other hand… they've been through so much that I want to free them from their pain, but I know they'll never forgive me and accept my help now. That's why I'm here. Polaris first approached me after Cyrus started tricking Matt into working for him, and they revealed to me that Cyrus's claims about making a world without strife really meant he was going to rob us of everything that makes us human. I couldn't go along with that so I joined Polaris and worked from within Team Galactic to take it down… it wasn't long after that that I discovered Cyrus's plan for a secret project in which he was going to have Charon experiment on our daughter… I leaked the existence of that project to Matt, and it opened his eyes and got him to escape Team Galactic with her. I rescued one of the only two survivors from that project and brought her into Polaris as well, and since then, I've been trying to do something that will finally help my son and daughter."

"To protect your loved ones is the pure wish I've been searching for." Finding himself surprisingly moved by what Mercury told him, Excan reached out and put his hand on her shoulder as a show of support. "The greed of people like Charon and Cyrus, the ones whose egos drive them to pursue superiority for selfish ends…" Excan trailed off, his mind drifting to Getriebe and Jeunes as he continued to speak. "They are the ones who are driving this world to collapse. They are the ones who drove you apart from your children. You have noble intentions. Your rescue of the test subject from Cyrus's custody shows that. Fumika Chiaki, I promise you that together, you and I will destroy this imperfect world and replace it with the peaceful utopia your family deserves."

Mercury could do nothing but stare up at Excan towering over her. She hadn't expected her story to provoke his sudden outburst of passion. His immediate knowledge of her true identity didn't surprise her; it had been plenty publicized during the multiple investigations of Team Galactic by the International Police. What she truly never thought she'd hear was his genuine willingness to ally specifically with her. She'd long since resigned herself to a life of relative isolation within Polaris, her dreams of reuniting her family kept quiet from the others, especially Finansielle, who she always thought acted strangely whenever Matt and Amanda's names came up. There was Séduire, the girl who she rescued from Team Galactic and had always imagined as an ideal daughter-in-law, but aside from her Mercury had no other allies.

"Sounds like things are going to get busy." With that, Mercury brought her glass to her lips and drank a significant portion of it in one dramatic sip.

Meanwhile, near the bar, Praeses smiled to himself and took out his phone. With a single tap on its screen, he brought up a text message to Finansielle. While Excan and Mercury continued talking to each other, he typed in a message.

"Looks like Excan's 100% on board with us. He's really connecting with Mercury, as you thought he would."

-:-

That night, on a large jet sailing over the dark, peaceful ocean, a young woman and young man were wide awake even as most of their fellow passengers slept.

"Passengers, this is the captain," a voice said through the cabin's speakers. "Carmonte Air flight 36 will be reaching its destination, Olivine Airport, in approximately one hour."

"Looks like I'm working all the way to the hotel," the woman muttered to herself. She stopped typing on her laptop, took a pen out of one of the pockets on her heavy black coat, and began spinning it around with her fingers. On the computer's screen were pictures of Matt, Nekou, Giovanni and Ghetsis, all over a wallpaper of the International Police's insignia. "Matt Chiaki, Team Rocket, Team Plasma, Polaris, and the Tenganist Liberation Front… how do you all fit together? What is the connection?"

The more the woman stared at and considered the pictures, the more quickly she rolled the pen between her fingers. She eventually lost control of the instrument and dropped it into her seat, a slip that made her sigh in frustration.

"I hate flying…" she thought as she retrieved the pen. While doing so she bumped into the arm of her ash blonde partner, who was wrapped up in watching the television in the next seat with his earphones in. "Stay on your side, Silva. We've been over this."

Her partner didn't hear her words, and he barely reacted to her touch aside from slightly moving his arm away from her. He was too engrossed in the news broadcast he was watching, and once his fascination became apparent to his associate, she started watching it as well. That was when he finally took notice and turned to her.

"Mitsumi, listen to this," Silva said, passing his right earphone to her. She took it, lifted her long green hair from over her left ear and put it in.

"...we are aware that the victim was a resident of northern Viridian City. Local police are not providing any further information to us at this time, pending the involvement of the International Police in the investigation. Authorities are putting out a warning, however, that men in the area should exercise caution with the Kiss of Death killer's return."

"This happens as soon as we get sent out to find Mr. Looker," Silva grumbled. "I hope they don't send us right off to Viridian as soon as we touch down…"

"The higher-ups aren't going to pull us off this case," Mitsumi assured him as she returned the earphone to him. As soon as her hand was free, she went back to twirling the pen between her fingers. "Finding Looker isn't our only mission, did you forget? We were assigned to hunt down the members of Team Plasma missing after the Ecruteak City incident. Silva, please try to stay focused on all the details of our operation."

"Of course, of course," Silva said with a wave of his hand. "I'll make you and Mr. Looker proud."

"Good." Mitsumi smiled at her partner, then reached under her seat, where her bag was. She took out a pair of heavy, noise-canceling headphones and slipped them over her ears. "Now if we're an hour out from landing, I have to block that all out and get this work done."

-:-

Four hundred and sixty seven.

There was water dripping in the dark room where Nikolai had been placed following his delivery to Polaris' temple by the Shadow Triad. He'd always been fond of numbers and had expertise with them, so counting the drops helped keep his mind busy. Not only did it soothe the boredom he felt, it helped distract him somewhat from the injuries the Triad inflicted on him.

When the cell's iron door opened, it broke Nikolai's concentration. The frustration he felt about having his counting disrupted was quickly replaced by a surge of pain, and he grabbed the cast around his left arm with his hand in a futile attempt to soothe it. Finansielle entered the chamber, moving in a strange, swaying manner, with two ordinary Polaris members behind her.

"How nice it is to meet you, my precious angel," she said to him. Her eyes wandered to the cast, and seeing it led her to pout. "I'm sorry for the rough treatment that foul Shadow Triad put you through."

"That means nothing coming from someone they work for!" Nikolai spat back.

Finansielle brought her hand to her mouth and gently laughed. "You may be the only person on Earth who's forgotten about Ghetsis' habit of betraying others, ironically enough. They worked for him, but we'll be resolving how they feel about Polaris soon enough. As for you…" She took several steps closer to Nikolai, who pushed himself back away from her. "You can't remember who you really are right now, nor your true purpose. Tragic…"

"What are you going to do to me?"

"I'm going to help you become what you really are, something beautiful…" Turning her head upwards and spreading her arms, Finansielle allowed herself to smile at the plans lurking within her mind. "Recover for now, my angel. Soon you'll be what you were born to become…"

-:-

Many hundreds of miles away from what was unfolding in Johto and Kanto, the Orre region was experiencing prosperity far removed from what the other regions faced. Once a barren desert wasteland filled to the brim with criminals, the work of police, business and charity had brought it back from the brink. Orre's environment was improving, and with it the population of wild Pokémon was increasing. The cities, meanwhile, were leaving behind their collective past as dens of crime, recovering enough that a Pokémon League of Orre's very own was seen as being in the region's near future.

The symbol of Orre's newfound prosperity was also the crown jewel of its nascent Pokémon League. Looming over the central desert area like a great ivory monolith, the Realgam Tower had once been the headquarters of an international crime group, but upon their dismantling it was repurposed for legitimate business. The tower's base, by itself a building of impressive size, housed restaurants, gaming facilities, shopping centers and just about every other form of entertainment one could imagine. The next floors served as a luxury hotel for the tourists drawn in by the tower's other attractions.

What brought in most of those tourists sat at the top of the tower, nestled among giant, geometric pillars. The Realgam Colosseum was seen by the general public - those unaware of the secretive Orre Colosseum - as the site where Orre's greatest battles were held for all to see, and that day was no different. On the colosseum's Poké Ball-styled battlefield, an alternate-color Metagross and a Hawlucha clashed for the thousands of spectators in the hexagonal audience pods surrounding them.

"Metagross, Zen Headbutt!" the Steel-and-Psychic-type's trainer called out to it. His silver hair matched the color of his Pokémon, but clashed against the dark colors of his formal clothing.

With a mechanical-sounding growl, Metagross locked its legs into its body and flung itself forward utilizing its magnetism, the cross on its face glowing a bright blue. Still reeling from the last blow she suffered, the Hawlucha barely managed to stand up before her foe collided with her and threw her across the field.

"Diantha's Hawlucha is down!" the announcer declared over a roar from the crowd. "This battle of champions could not be any closer! It's now down to Steven's ace Metagross against Diantha's last Pokémon, and we all know who that is!"

Diantha, the trainer of the Hawlucha, smiled peacefully as she held up a Poké Ball to recall her Pokémon. Though clothed entirely in gold-fringed white instead of the frilly red and white dress Sheena memorialized her in, she was in fact the same woman who was on the poster for "My Sweet, Sweet Lady" that she kept in her room.

"I'm enjoying this battle quite a lot, Steven, I must admit that…" she said while putting away Hawlucha's Poké Ball in her handbag and preparing another. "The spirits of your Pokémon are in top form."

"A compliment like that from Kalos' champion isn't something you get every day," Steven responded. "Of course, we're not through yet, are we? Metagross, are you up for this?"

Though its body was showing wear from its previous battles with Hawlucha and other Pokémon, Metagross gave an energized grunt of affirmation to its trainer.

"I would expect nothing else from you, Steven," Diantha said, still retaining her gracious smile. Instead of throwing the ball in her hand, she simply opened it and gently said, "Gardevoir, come out."

Diantha's last Pokémon took shape on the field, and the response from the crowd was deafening. "It's a battle of champions and their aces!" thundered the announcer. "Gardevoir versus Metagross! These two titans are going to have a fierce fight to the finish and nothing will stand in their way!"

"He has a point, Diantha… should we give them what they want?"

"Yes, let's."

Diantha reached up to her golden pendant, while Steven removed his lapel pin from his suit. Both items had Key Stones attached to them, much like Kate's headset; Diantha activated hers merely by holding it in her hand, Steven was more theatrical, drawing out his stone's power by touching it to his lips. Bright lights emerged from the two Key Stones and joined with the Mega Stones worn by Gardevoir and Metagross in their necklace and leg brace, respectively. The two Pokémon were enveloped in cocoons of light, which they soon tore out of to reveal their Mega Evolved states, to the pleasure of the crowd.

Of the two Pokémon, Gardevoir changed to a lesser degree: her gown had become longer and more flowing, her hair shortened, and the horn in her chest split into a two-pronged shape. Metagross, on the other hand, underwent a dramatic physical change. It roughly doubled in size, and its legs turned sideways to become giant, clawed arms. The four arms it already had faced forward, while four new smaller arms pointed backward. Completing its transformation, the cross on its face turned from gold to blue, and a large spike emerged beneath its mouth.

"There they are, folks, what you've been waiting to see! The signature Pokémon of these two legendary trainers - Mega Gardevoir and Mega Metagross! Two have entered our arena, but only one of these Mega Evolved Pokémon will come out!"

"Ready to find out which one of us will be that one, Diantha?" Steven asked with a mischievous grin.

"I am, but don't assume you know the answer already." Diantha returned Steven's expression.

"Oh, I won't." Extending both of his arms and opening his hands wide, Steven called out, "Metagross, Meteor Mash!"

Metagross locked all eight of its arms into its body to streamline itself, then propelled itself at Gardevoir while enveloped in blue light. In the face of Metagross's speed and power, neither Diantha nor Gardevoir flinched. They simply waited for Metagross to draw close, then, with an unspoken cue from her trainer, Gardevoir swiftly moved aside and avoided the collision.

"It's our turn now, Gardevoir. Shadow Ball!"

-:-

Though the storm had passed, much of the sky over Route 38 was still overcast. Not that this mattered - Olivia and Avril were more than willing to make up for the previous day's lack of training in the gloomy weather. With Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Monroe sitting nearby and watching, the pair went through their exercises with their Pokémon.

"Krabby, use Bubble Beam!" Olivia called out, getting a fierce, gurgling hiss from the Water-type's bubble-filled mouth as he faced his foe, Avril's Eevee.

"Stop it with Swift!"

Avril's Eevee met the flood of bubbles sent his way by Krabby with an equal flood of glowing stars. The two swarms negated each other with some force, creating a burst of wind that shook the water from the plants around the area.

"You know two can play that game, right?" Avril taunted.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Olivia said with a smile.

With that, the two and their Pokémon went back to exchanging their attacks. Off to the side, Matt picked up the plate next to himself and turned to the Trevenant, who was standing alongside him fixated on Olivia and Avril.

"I get the impression when you were with Dino things were very different than this," Matt said to the Pokémon, whose single eye did not waver. "I overheard him talking to that Colress guy, calling you a failed experiment… I don't know what that's all about, but we don't see things that way. Here."

Matt offered the Trevenant one of the fried pastries on the plate, and its scent got him to finally turn away from watching the training. He stared at it, very plainly surprised and unsure of what to do.

Seeing the Pokémon's unease, Nekou leaned over and snatched one of the pastries off the plate herself. "See, they're delicious!" she exclaimed before taking a huge bite out of the pastry and barely chewing before swallowing it. "I just wish he'd make them more. I haven't had one since the nineteenth century!"

"Wh-" Bunny needed a moment to absorb what Nekou had said and understand it. "Yeah, I guess that's technically true…"

Encouraged by this, the Trevenant took the pastry into his hands and started to eat it. He chewed on it slowly, deliberating on its flavor while the humans in front of him looked on. The Ghost-type toyed with the pastry in his woody claws, before suddenly putting the rest of it into his mouth, drawing a collective sigh of relief from the gathered trainers.

The peace did not last long. Unbeknownst to the trainers, a pair of presences were lurking in the bushes nearby, creeping forward with the faint rustling of the leaves. The beings paused, and before anything could be done, they suddenly lunged out. One of the presences struck the back of Matt's head with enough force to make him drop the plate. Marie, who had been asleep against Nekou's leg, woke up the moment the pastries hit the ground and made a beeline for them, but she could only collect two before a pink-and-white blur collided with her.

-:-

With his battle against Diantha resolved, Steven retired to one of the many restaurants within Realgam Tower to unwind. The silver-haired man absentmindedly took sips from a cocktail in his hand while watching the television mounted on the wall behind the bar.

"The Orre Region is set to receive another gift from one of its biggest benefactors," the red-suited news anchor stated. She gestured to the space next to her, where a stylized golden insignia was briefly displayed. Its presence was followed by the image of a glamorous woman draped in her blonde hair standing alongside a scruffy man of large stature, both dressed in lily-white clothing. "The Aether Foundation has announced a further investment of thirty-five billion dollars for the continuation of Orre's restoration and development. In a statement provided to us here at ONBS, Aether Foundation president Lusamine and vice president and chief scientist Mohn said: 'We are impressed with the progress the Orre Region has shown. Crime rates have continued to decline as the health of Orre's environment has improved. These positive steps have already made Orre a much better place for both humans and Pokémon. We have decided to continue the Aether Foundation's investments in the region because we believe it will one day evolve into a paradise where Pokémon can freely flourish alongside humans."

"That Lusamine is something else, isn't she?" At some point, Diantha had come up behind Steven and joined him in watching the broadcast without notice. "It's good to have passion for something, I suppose."

"Her passion is so intense it's almost scary." Steven downed more of the drink and then said, "At least it's for something good. Last time I was in Orre this place was still pretty bleak. Now I almost don't want to leave."

"About that…" Diantha reached into her handbag to retrieve her phone, tapped its screen several times, and held it next to Steven's head. "Listen to this message."

Of all the voices that could have come out of the phone, it was Sheena's that Steven heard. "Mom, it's me. I'm sorry I haven't called in so long. Life's been… a little crazy lately. Don't worry about me. I saw your win today against Steven… you're amazing. You always are. Mom, listen to me. Keep winning. Beat everyone in your way, no matter who they are. Keep winning so you can stay in Orre. There's a lot going on in the world right now, and I think Orre might be the safest place to be. I know that's going to alarm you, but please, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I just want you to not get mixed up in everything. I love you, Mom. Let's see each other soon."

Steven's demeanor was visibly far less casual by the time the message ended.

"That's the kind of thing that would have me on the next plane home if my child left it for me," he muttered.

"You're telling me," Diantha replied, putting her phone back in her bag. "As a mother it panics me beyond belief, but as a woman I want to trust her judgment. I know she's tough enough to handle herself, but when I hear about what's going on in the world and then I get that message, the urge to drop everything and rush to her can't be denied."

"I'm leaving Orre tomorrow," Steven revealed after pivoting his seat to face Diantha. "My father wants me to head back to Hoenn… there have been some incidents at Devon facilities he wants me to check out. As soon as I've finished seeing about that, I'll look for Sheena, I promise."

Diantha breathed a sigh of relief and set her hand on Steven's shoulder, patting him several times as a silent show of appreciation for his help. His reputation of reliability was exactly what she needed to start calming her mind.

-:-

By the fifth day after Ghetsis' war on its citizens, Ecruteak City was in the very earliest stages of recovery. The fires were finally out, and the police response brought temporary shelter to the displaced survivors. Unrest fomented by Ghetsis' rhetoric still smoldered, but for the time being, it was being kept in check by the police with the aid of allied trainers they'd recruited.

One of the trainers working with the police was Silver. Tasked with keeping tabs on activity in the less developed half of the city, he and his Feraligatr were patrolling the streets near the Dance Hall when his Pokégear began ringing. He stopped walking, sighed, and took the device out of his pocket, but his annoyance turned to surprise when he saw who was calling.

"Why are you calling me now, Lance?" Silver wasted no time in demanding.

"Always so touchy," the leader of the Tohjo Elite Four replied, earning another irritated sigh from Silver. "How is the situation in Ecruteak?"

"Boring, but I guess that's a good thing." When Lance didn't immediately say anything back to him, Silver began to grow suspicious. He straightened, then asked, "What are you not telling me?"

"Silver…" Lance's words were slow, measured. "It's about your father."

"I've told you again and again," Silver snapped, "I don't want any part of my old man's business."

"No, listen… your father, he didn't survive Ghetsis' rampage. He's gone."

There was nothing Silver could say in response to this news. His mind simply went completely and utterly blank. All he could do was tighten his grip on his Pokégear, so much so that he nearly cracked it.

"Do you expect me to feel sorry for him?" the young man asked, his voice now little more than a strained growl.

"Whether you feel sorry or not isn't up to me to decide. Listen. The travel embargo in and out of Ecruteak City is going to be lifted soon. When it is, I want you to come meet me in Viridian at the earliest opportunity. We need to discuss what your father left behind."

-:-

Not far from where Silver was patrolling, Rowena sat at a table in a café and busied herself with her laptop. The building had survived the riots and presently provided free beverages to both civilians and relief workers.

"Getting through that was scary, but it's amazing watching it play back," she said out loud to herself. As she tapped her fingers on the laptop's keys, scenes from the riots and the battle with Ho-oh she'd recorded flashed across its screen. "When this is done and I get it off to ONBS, Secc might pay me enough to live the luxurious life for years!"

-:-

With all of the activity that had come to pass through Olivine City, it was only natural that numerous hotels sprang up to serve its visitors. One of them in the city's north, not far from the airport, was where Mitsumi and Silva ultimately ended up. It wasn't exactly luxurious, but their accommodations were satisfying nevertheless. Plus, the International Police were footing the bill, so Mitsumi and Silva didn't need to worry about money.

While the two of them prepared for their mission, they had the full length windows at the end of the room open, allowing a cool night breeze to circulate. Mitsumi had laid her red tactical suit on one of the beds in the room, and was busy attaching different pieces of equipment to it. Silva, meanwhile, was lying on the other bed with a high-tech helmet and visor on his head. Three of his Pokémon were playing on the floor; his Plusle and Minun bounced a rubber ball back and forth while the third, one who wore a rag with the features of a Pikachu crudely drawn on it over her shadowy body, was drawing on a piece of paper using crayons scattered around her.

Once done with the rest of her equipment, Mitsumi returned to one of their suitcases to retrieve a small box. The small brown crystal nestled within glistened when she opened the container. With great care, she carried the crystal over to the suit, where she set it into a larger stone on the left wrist.

"There we are. Eevium Z, all set to go."

Meanwhile, the Pikachu-disguised Pokémon jumped up onto Silva's bed, carrying the picture she had drawn with an arm extended from under the rag. To get his attention she jumped up and down on his chest, but to no avail.

"Here, Mimikyu, I'll take care of that for you," Mitsumi said, coming over next to her partner's bed. She gently lifted Mimikyu off of Silva, set her down next to him, then pressed a button on the helmet. "Time to wake up."

"What…?" The shock of Mitsumi shutting down the device left Silva plainly confused. Even after Mitsumi removed it from his head, it took him some time looking around to completely return to reality. "I wasn't goofing off this time, I swear! I really was training! The VR simulation was going great!"

"I'm proud of you for showing some real work ethic, but it's time for a break. Here, Mimikyu has something to show you."

Mitsumi lifted Mimikyu up once more, bringing her into her trainer's full sight. Without hesitation, Mimikyu brought a second arm out from her rag and unrolled the paper.

It was a crayon drawing of Mitsumi, Silva and Looker.

"Did you draw this for me, Mimikyu?" Silva knew the answer already, but he knew how much it meant to Mimikyu. Her excited, chattering response was all he needed. "I love it. Thank you."

Silva sat up and reached out to rub the cheeks of Mimikyu's disguise. She squealed happily, then used one of her arms to meet his hand in a high-five that excited her even further.

Suddenly, a new sound joined Mimikyu's squeaks and Silva's amused laughter. Only Mitsumi heard it at first. While her partner and his Pokémon kept on with their cheerful exchange, she quickly inspected the room, her nerves on end.

The source turned out to be her laptop, presently sitting open on the table near the window.

"That sound…" Mitsumi said, setting Mimikyu down again so she could dedicate her full attention to the laptop. "It's a call, but…"

"Only Mr. Looker's calls use that ring!" Silva exclaimed. He sprang to his feet, almost falling down off his bed as he did so, and rushed to straighten up his appearance. Mitsumi, seemingly paying no mind to him, starting walking toward the computer, prompting him to shout, "Mitsumi, wait! I have to be presentable!"

"The fact that Looker's alive and able to call us precludes any concerns we could have about appearance," she returned, "and besides, I truly doubt he cares about what we look like when we're not on-mission."

With that, Mitsumi tapped her finger against the blinking square on the laptop's screen that heralded the call. It disappeared and was replaced by a static-filled but still distinguishable image of Looker. Silva stiffened into a formal pose, and despite her words Mitsumi couldn't help standing at attention as well.

"Looker, sir, it is good to hear from you. Are you alright?"

"Mi...sumi…" The audio of the call was also cracking with periodic static, but Mitsumi and Silva could still understand their superior when he spoke. "You tw… don't have w...rry about me. You two must give me y...r attention and list...n. What orders ...re you two hav...g?"

"We're in Olivine now," Silva explained. "Our mission is to start mopping up the remnants of Team Plasma and Team Rocket…"

"Have most rapturous att...tion to me!" Looker's image briefly distorted even further when he shouted. "Whate...r orders you are having, I am overr...ding them! I have learn...d much si...ce being rescued from the Magn...t Train. You two, how...ver, you will not have much satis...ction in what I must tell you."

"What are you saying, sir?" Mitsumi had been under Looker's tutelage long enough to have a fair expertise when it came to his oddities. This was outside of how she knew him to act, and all she could do was raise an eyebrow at him.

"I am saying that you two must m...ke some diff...lt compromises to deal with your n...w mission. What you two beli...ve, it must be put aside. The tr...th between Polaris and Team Ro...ket... the reality of what the Ten...anists call Dark Matter, it is all connected…"

-:-

By that night, Matt's group had reached the turn where the wooded paths of Route 38 gave way to the plains of Route 39, heading south toward Olivine City. It was particularly dark, allowing HR-E's lights to be seen for quite some distance.

Matt sat alone in the craft's cockpit, his only light coming through the door to the back and the screens in front of him. He stared at a small box in his right hand, lost in the memories its contents brought him. He was so preoccupied, in fact, that he didn't notice Nekou enter the room and sidle right up next to him.

"A ring already?" she teased, grinning mischievously with her eyes half open. "Don't you think you're going a little fast?"

"I know better than that. You're not the type of person to go for that kind of thing." Matt raised the box up to his shoulder so Nekou could see inside of it. "Here, look."

When Nekou saw what was in the box, her reaction was more extreme than it would have been if it really did contain some piece of jewelry with emotional weight attached to it. It took all her strength to not dive over the back of the chair and grab it immediately.

It was a round, white stone with a red and blue Mega Evolution symbol inside of it.

"Do you know what this is?!" Nekou shouted, throwing her head forward so forcefully that her glasses started to slip off. When Matt didn't immediately answer, she continued, "This is the stone that lets Salamence Mega Evolve! How have I never seen you use it?!"

"That's what it is?!" This information finally got a reaction out of Matt, where Nekou's teasing failed. "I… I had no idea! To me it was just a precious stone… I found it on a trip my grandfather took me on to Meteor Falls a long time ago. I kept it as a memory of that…"

Nekou climbed over the back of the chair and crawled across Matt to reach the keyboard in front of him. As she typed, she said, "Salamencite, the Mega Stone that enables Salamence to become Mega Salamence…"

Matt squirmed, trying to see over Nekou, but before he could she threw herself back on the couch. A video of a Salamence had appeared on the screen in response to her work. It was quickly enveloped by the cocoon of light emblematic of Mega Evolution, and emerged soon thereafter visibly changed. Its body was noticeably slimmer and streamlined, and its eyes burned with a golden glow. The uppermost of the fins framing its face had grown much longer, and the gray ridges on its underside also lengthened, forming a harness-like shape. Its wings had undergone the most change, each one forming half of a giant, red crescent going across its back.

All Matt could do when he saw this was fall back against the couch himself. His grip on the box never weakened. "I had no idea this stone could do something so amazing… my grandfather told me everyone should visit Meteor Falls at least once. He was right about that. I wished Amanda could come with us, but back then it wasn't realistic for her… over all this time, I thought when I caught Sally there, she was the only result of that trip I'd be able to show Amanda. Yet, this stone…"

"Here, watch this…" Nekou said quietly to him, pushing herself up against his side and smiling as she gestured at the screen. On it, the now-Mega Evolved Salamence tucked its front legs into its harness, then shot up into the air like a comet.

"Salamence, Hyper Beam!" an unseen male voice called out.

Matt's visible eye widened when a light-blue aura surrounded the Mega Salamence as it charged up its energy. When it fired its attack, the usually purple-and-black beam was surrounded by the same aura.

"What is that?" Matt uttered.

"Aerilate," Nekou replied, getting even closer to him. "Salamence gets that ability when it Mega Evolves. All its Normal-type moves become Flying-type, and those same moves get a pretty big power boost, too." She put her head on his shoulder, where it so often seemed to end up. "I bet you can't wait to use that stone now."

"I would use it if I could." Once again, Matt turned his gaze down to the Salamencite in its box. "Even knowing what this is, I don't have a Key Stone. There's no way I can activate it."

"Well we'll have to see about fixing that, now won't we?"

-:-

"In international news, the cleanup in Johto's Ecruteak City continues following the sudden appearance of Ho-oh there five days ago. The attack of the legendary Pokémon came following a speech given by Ghetsis, the representative of the Polaris organization, which itself set off riots on the city's streets. Domestic authorities are working with the International Police to determine the threat posed by Polaris activity here in Hoenn."

When the driver of the truck sighed, his passenger immediately reached for the radio and turned it off. The pair sat for several minutes without exchanging a word between them, leaving only the hum of their vehicle's engine to fill the air.

"You'd think they'd talk more about what's been happening to our guys," the truck's driver complained. "Not all this stuff happening over there."

"It could be that the attacks have something to do with Polaris," the second man reasoned. "Clearly someone doesn't like Devon, but do you really think they're acting alone?"

"You've been listening to the news, right? Polaris says they're for the average working man like you and me. What would they have to gain by attacking us?"

All of a sudden, a blast of fire shot down from the sky and spread out over the road. The driver slammed his foot down on the brake pedal and twisted the steering wheel as far as it would go, making the truck spin out as it ground to a stop. The two Devon employees barely had time to compose themselves before they heard the sound of something large swooping over their vehicle.

Somewhere overhead, the sound of a voice rang out, screaming, "Transcend the confines of time and space!"

Before the men in the truck even knew what was happening, a wide beam of pink light came down and swept over them. The last thing they saw was their entire world completely consumed by the blinding glow.

The light came from the hands of a young woman flying on the back of a Mega Salamence. Her red eyes glowed brightly until the light reversed and came back towards her, the backlash causing her to begin convulsing.

"...Mum?" the Whismur riding next to her murmured.

Salamence, feeling his trainer's thrashing, descended to the road and landed, allowing her to roll off his back. The Whismur jumped off right after her and ran to her side, while Salamence reverted back to his original form.

"Mum?"

"I'm… I'm alright, Aster," the young woman said, gradually regaining her composure. "Don't worry about me."

Regaining her strength, she stood up and brushed the dust from her gray shorts. A gust of wind blew through, rustling her cropped black hair and tattered, cream-colored cape. She stomped up to the now-empty truck and put her right foot up on its bumper, allowing the Key Stone set in her anklet to glisten in its headlights.

"You stick-in-the-muds from Devon are getting what you deserve, using that abominable technology the old man created for your own profit! It's true what they say, those who refuse to learn history are doomed to repeat it, but you'd think three thousand years would be enough for you to see the truth…" Something clicked in the young woman's mind, and she threw another of her Poké Balls over her shoulder, releasing a rotund, lavender-colored dragon whose entire body dripped with slime. "Oh, right, I better take care of that fire. Goodra, use Muddy Water to put it out."

Goodra nodded to her trainer, then faced the fire, raised her arms up and howled, sending a wave of brown water cascading over Salamence's flames. At the same time, the young woman stormed to the back of the truck with Aster tagging along closely behind her and threw the doors open to reveal its cargo.

"Meteonites… just like all the others. What kind of terrible machine could they want to build with these?"

"...Mum?"

"We'll be taking them as always, Aster. Better we take 'em home with us than Devon use them to profit off Gaia themselves. But let's have a little fun first."

-:-

The next morning, Devon's president was in his office at the top of the corporation's Rustboro City headquarters, carrying on a meeting with Steven via videophone.

"Another one last night, Dad?" Steven incredulously said. "Is it linked to the others?"

"Same exact circumstances as every other attack, Steven. Our employees vanished without a trace, and the truck's cargo was stolen. And like all the others, the culprit spray painted flowers and the word 'Aster' all over it."

"Flowers and the word 'Aster'... they must be a message from whoever is campaigning against Devon, but what does it mean? Is it a threat? Telling us what they've done with our people?"

"Unfortunately, we have no clues as of yet," Devon's president said with a grimace. "Hurry and get back here as soon as possible. I will redouble security at all our facilities but I need your skills to solve this mystery."

"I'm on my way."

On his end, Steven disconnected the call, making his image disappear from his father's screen. The president silently considered his next move for a few minutes, then pressed another button on his desk phone.

"Rebecca, hold my calls, would you?"

"Of course, President Stone." his secretary replied.

"Thank you."

After taking his finger off the phone button, President Stone turned his chair around to face a blank screen behind his desk. He reached into his blue business suit and produced a visor, which he put on before pressing another button on his chair. In response to that cue, the screen flickered to life, revealing Finansielle.

"Right on time as always, Joseph," she said, mockingly.

"Another Devon cargo transport was hit last night," he revealed to her. "But you already know that, I'm sure."

"I know you have your son coming back from Orre too," Finansielle countered.

"I couldn't keep him there when he knows about the campaign against our company. It would attract too much suspicion, and the boy is smart. He might have figured out our connection to you."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. Keep him on his investigation of the attacks and everything will work out just fine. The loss of the Meteonites there won't affect our plans too much. Just continue your work on Infinity Energy and the Angel Corporation will fill in the rest. It's how to use that life energy in everything that we need to perfect."

-:-

"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer…"

Back at the HR-E, the hours wiled away, along with Nekou's few lingering strands of propriety, as she sprawled out drinking from her usual stack of beer cans on the sofa bed. Matt sighed and put his hand down beside her, listening to her slurring her words slightly as she sang out loud.

"I don't know what's more frightening," he said to her, "you singing that song to the end or you drinking all the way to the end of it."

Nekou stopped singing for moment, considering what he said in silence, then quickly downed the entire rest of the can's contents before throwing it at Matt and taking another. "Take one of that, throw it at Matt, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall."

Other than waving his hand in front of his face in a futile attempt to deflect the can, Matt didn't react to Nekou's provocation. He just sat down on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor.

"Come on, that was fucking funny," she argued, sitting up to talk to him. "Even you would laugh at that."

"I'm not in the mood," Matt said back, remaining still and not looking back even when he felt Nekou crawl across the bed to his side.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"I shouldn't lay my problems on you, especially when you look like you're enjoying yourself right now." Still no physical reaction.

"Come the fuck on, do I look like someone who can't take things laid on them?" If Matt had been paying closer attention he would have noticed that Nekou actually seemed genuinely offended to some degree, even as she continued teasing him.

Ignoring the attempt to bait him with a double meaning, he instead just blurted out a single question. "What's this Maman person like?"

Nekou gasped and fell back, caught completely off guard by what he said. "Why you… why would you ask me that?"

"You've always been talking about how important she is to you," Matt explained, his voice remaining flat, empty. "I wish I knew what that felt like, having someone like that."

"Maman is…. Maman, I guess." Nekou's lighthearted attitude was gone, and although she was still slightly drunk, she was now completely serious. "I don't know who I'd be without her. Actually, fuck it, I do know. I was so unhappy and miserable before she took care of me… She made me who I am now. She taught me how to enjoy life and have fun…"

Nekou's words trailed off by the time she finished, getting caught up in the emotions rising inside of her. Matt noticed this, but before he could do more than raise his head, he felt her move to sit with her back against his own.

"But as much as I love Maman, I don't know where I really came from. I don't know! At least you know where you came from even if they were pieces of shit… I want to at least know who I should hate!"

"I'm sorry," Matt said, finally turning around and putting a hand on Nekou's shoulder. "I shouldn't have brought this up."

"No, it's fine. Fuck it. Remember I told you I dream about this screaming woman sometimes?"

"Yeah."

"Sometimes I think she might be my real mother… but if that's true, how do I… no, nevermind. Why did this suddenly come up?"

"I don't know… I guess… I was thinking about how my father died and I never really cared. That's not right… what's wrong with me?"

"I already said it, that old man was a real piece of shit. You don't have to be fucking sentimental if the guy didn't do anything but hurt you."

"I guess that's true…" Matt pivoted around and returned to staring at the floor, leading Nekou to put her hand on his shoulder. "Still, what am I doing? What did I do this to myself for?"

"You're asking the wrong fucking person there," Nekou said, allowing a slight, bitter laugh to slip from her lips. "You know how I am. I do whatever I fucking please to feel good. That's how I live my life. But don't you dream of anything? You did kind of strike me as the type who's not satisfied with the average day to day shit."

"There's nothing for me here, not anymore," Matt answered with a sad shake of his head. "When I was a kid I thought it would be nice to go to space one day, I guess. But I've long since given up on that… now, it's find Reshiram to learn the truth behind everything else that happened, and then…"

Nekou narrowed her eyes and frowned. "And then what?"

"Well, like I said, there's nothing for me here anymor-"

Before Matt even knew what was happening, Nekou grabbed him and threw him down onto his back. She then pinned him down with every ounce of her incredible strength, using her hands to hold down his shoulders while stabbing her knee into his stomach.

"Why do I have to keep having this fucking conversation with you?!" she screamed at him. "I know I've fucking told you this before! There is nothing after you die! Nothing! How can you keep being so casual about doing that to yourself?! What about Amanda? What would she say?"

"Amanda would be better off," Matt mumbled, making Nekou gasp in horror. "She's got a nice peaceful life without me involved in it. Haven't you noticed how well she's doing? She doesn't get dragged into all the drama around me..."

"Then what about me?" Nekou sharply countered. "I don't give a fuck about all your so-called drama! You made me a promise, remember? We're gonna get through this shit and go to Kalos, remember saying that? Just you and me, remember? And do you remember me saying I would be your bodyguard? How could I do that if you fucking kill yourself? How?!"

All Matt could do was stare up at Nekou's face as he absorbed her outburst. He knew what she was saying about his promises was true, but somehow, through his depressed state the meaning of her words didn't fully register until he noticed tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes. That was when it all hit him at once. For all her bizarre behaviors and the strange circumstances around her, Nekou actually did genuinely care about him. Everything he'd said and done in the past had been under the assumption that she didn't take any of it seriously, that she would just move on from him. But at that point, there was no way he could think anything else. She did take it all seriously, completely seriously.

Without thinking, he managed to push his arms upward and pull her down into an embrace. "I'm sorry. You're right. And to be honest, maybe the drama around you isn't so bad either."

When she realized he was embracing her more and more tightly instead of letting go, she uttered, "What are you…"

"Right now I feel like you're the only thing that's consistent. I don't know what I'm saying… everything is so fucked up right now, yet you're always the same by acting like you."

Nekou took a moment to absorb what Matt said to her, then settled in with her face against his shoulder. "You're right, things must be really fucked up if you're relying on me."

-:-

Meteor Falls, situated on Routes 114 and 115 on Hoenn's western coast, was a site travelers frequently visited all year-round. It wasn't just Hoenn residents like Matt and his grandfather who went hiking there. Yet, for such a popular location, it held a secret even Sutter may not have known.

Deep in the mountain range, far from the prying eyes of outsiders, was an ancient, underground village. This was the destination of the Mega Salamence trainer crusading against the Devon Corporation. Using one of the secret tunnels known only to her people as an entry, she flew over the village on her Salamence's back with her Whismur at her side.

"Grannie! Grannie!" she called out. The echoing of her voice earned annoyed stares from some of the other residents on the ground, but she cared only about one of them, an elderly woman wearing a cape much like her own. Seeing the village elder near a stone house that stood above the others, the young woman guided her Salamence down to land near her.

"Zinnia, it's good to see you back safe," the elder said to the young woman as she dismounted her dragon. "Are you sure you weren't followed?"

"Those Devon doofuses won't ever find this place," Zinnia dismissively replied. "I'm like a ghost, they're never gonna see me."

The elder laughed mildly, then walked to Salamence's side, where she opened the bag slung over his back. "More of these stones…" she listlessly noted upon seeing its contents. "Devon shouldn't be searching these out so actively. I fear they are aware of the powers these Meteonites contain."

"Roger that," Zinnia said in agreement. "You think they're trying to recreate that horrible weapon the fallen king used?"

"I don't know, but that's exactly why we have to keep going. If the ultimate weapon fell into their hands it would be an unacceptable risk for the entire world."

"And to think they're trying to do this when we have to destroy that meteoroid up there!" Zinnia angrily dug her heel into the light-colored dirt. "They're so eager to repeat the sins of the past, but they only want to hear about the parts they can use for profit. We need the Meteonites for Lord Rayquaza, but Devon just can't stop getting in the way."

"We need to figure out what their bigger picture is," the elder concluded.

-:-

On the evening of the final day of their trip toward Olivine City, Matt and the others gathered around a table outside HR-E. He'd prepared a homemade pizza for the entire group as a sort of celebration for their imminent arrival, its aroma and mouthwatering flavor proving so delicious that there was little conversation among the group as they ate it.

Nearby, all of their Pokémon were having their own feasts Matt prepared for them. Dewott and Mareep, having spent the past week fighting relentlessly, ate separately from each other, the former with Mr. Mime and the latter with Monroe's Greninja and Steelix. There were also two additional Pokémon in the crowd - one was a blue crab with a partially-closed eye and claws that resembled boxing gloves, while the other was a pink-and-white bear cub who bore a small, tag-like growth beneath its tail. The pair had a bowl piled high with the pastries from earlier, which they were wolfing down with wild abandon.

"This pizza is so good!" Nekou exclaimed after swallowing a huge bite of one slice. "I could eat all of it!"

"Good thing I saw ahead and made enough, then," Matt deadpanned back at her.

A hearty laugh went up among those gathered at the table. When it died down, Avril looked toward the Pokémon, specifically the pair of new ones, and sighed.

"I'm going to need you to give me the recipe for those pastries," she said to Matt. "I can already tell Stufful is going to kill me if I don't give them to him."

"Stufful and Crabrawler already did try to kill us for those," Bunny clarified. "Granted, Matt was the one who got it the worst…"

"There's a saying about not biting the hand that feeds you," Nekou added, "but hitting them in the back of their head must be different."

Matt grimaced, then turned to Avril and said, "Sure, I can do that. I'm planning to do the same with Crabrawler, it's understandable."

"You guys, it's time." Olivia had been quietly using her Pokégear during the meal and turned it to show the screen to the others. "That big broadcast is starting soon."

"There's too many of us to watch on that screen," Matt said, standing up. "Hang on, let me get something ready…"

Matt walked to where his bag was sitting and searched through it, quickly producing his tablet. Setting a stand to hold it up on the far end of the table, he pointed it toward the side of HR-E, allowing it to act like a projector on the mobile home's wall. He rejoined the others just as a pink-haired woman wearing red-tinted glasses and a high-necked black sweater came on the broadcast, sitting behind a desk and microphone.

"Welcome, everyone of Kanto, Johto, and the rest of the world, to the inauguration event for the Flare Network." An 'F' symbol stylized to look like a flame appeared next to the anchor. "My name is Malva, and I will be your host for this evening's events."

"Isn't she that model and fashion designer from Kalos?" Bunny wondered out loud. "I remember that name."

"You're right!" Olivia exclaimed. "I've been into her stuff for a while, but seeing her like this didn't click right away."

"So aren't you asking yourself why she'd come so far from Kalos just for this?" Bunny put her hand on her chin. "She said 'people of Kanto, Johto and the rest of the world.' If she was in Kalos why wouldn't she say Kalos?"

-:-

Bunny's deduction, even if based on little more than a gut reaction to Malva's words, was entirely correct. She was broadcasting from a studio in the Angel Corporation complex, speaking to cameras manned by staff wearing the symbol of Gabriella's company, not Lysandre's.

"We will be bringing you a live speech from Angel Plaza in Viridian City, presented by FlareNet founder Lysandre Flordelis and Angel Corporation president Gabriella Bouchard, shortly. Following the speech we will present analysis and news highlighting all the different options for information and entertainment that FlareNet can offer. Before we are joined by Lysandre and Gabriella, here is a statement made previously by President Bouchard."

The Flare Network symbol imposed next to Malva in the broadcast was removed and replaced by footage of Gabriella speaking on the day her company acquired Lysandre's.

"The acquisition of the media holdings of Lysandre Labs now gives the Angel Corporation ownership of a majority of the world's media channels. We now have access to all major markets worldwide, with the exception of the Orre Region…"

While the footage played, Malva rested her head on her hand and allowed herself to daydream. She recalled her first meeting with Lysandre at one of her earliest fashion shows. From the moment she entered the industry she knew what kind of people might approach her, which made him even more unusual in her eyes. When he proposed that she join his company, he did it with an impassioned speech about beauty in the world.

"His favorite topic," she chuckled to herself.

It was odd, she had to admit. Yet his overwhelming passion for what he believed ultimately won her over.

"Well, that and the great career opportunity."

A voice spoke to her through her earpiece, snapping her out of her memory. "Malva, you're back on in three, two…"

"Alright." Malva clasped her hands together on her desk to help regain her mindset for broadcasting. When one of the Angel Corporation staff pointed to her, she looked to the camera and said, "I am being informed that Director Flordelis and President Bouchard are about to join us, so let's go live to Angel Plaza."

As she watched one of the monitors within eyesight switch over to a view of the plaza outside the complex, Malva smiled. Lysandre had long talked about his dreams of a beautiful world, and she'd followed him all the way from Kalos to see them begin to come true.

-:-

As Lysandre stepped onto the stage with Gabriella following closely behind, he waved to the crowd assembled to see him. They were a mix of journalists - all now working for his network - and civilians who'd paid to attend the event.

The journalists would be necessary, that he would admit. They'd take his message back to their respective regions and help cultivate it so it could grow and spread. The civilians, on the other hand, were the ones he hated. Spending their money on tickets just to see a speech that would easily be seen via broadcast only reinforced his beliefs about their entitlement. Even as he smiled at them, he silently seethed with rage, thinking of how that money could have gone to help the needy instead. He knew a good number of them had paid higher prices to scalpers for those tickets, too.

When he reached his mark on the stage, he managed to tamp down his anger by focusing his mind on his speech. "Thank you!" he said in response to their applause, though his words lacked sincerity. "People of Kanto, Johto, Kalos… indeed, people of much of the world, I thank you and welcome you to this most important day. Allow me to also thank our host and partner in our new endeavors, President Gabriella Bouchard of the Angel Corporation."

Lysandre walked towards Gabriella and led the crowd in applause for her. She timidly waved to them, then gestured to him to continue.

Taking her cue, he headed back to the center of the stage, saying as he walked, "This new endeavor Gabriella and I have created, the Flare Network, is as of now linking most of this planet together." To emphasize his point, Lysandre spread his arms out in a gesture of size, then brought his hands closer together. "Television, radio, web media, and everything in between. Our world has become closer than ever thanks to FlareNet. But, you may be asking yourself why we need this extensive communication so urgently. Why is now the time?"

The giant screen looming over the plaza flickered to life when Lysandre gestured to it, displaying scenes of urban sprawl and industrial logging clearing trees away, among other things.

"The truth is that this planet has reached a tipping point," Lysandre continued, his voice cracking with the rage he was barely managing to contain. "Humanity has grown more and more prosperous by the year, and with that, the population has exploded. We can see the results of this unchecked growth all over the world." Continuing to gesture widely with his arms up in the air, Lysandre elaborated, "The middle of the Kanto region is now a massive metropolis grown out of Saffron City, having consumed the once-beautiful Celadon and turned it into a slum full of pollution and crime. Its Gym Leader even abandoned it and moved to Lavender Town! And just north of where I am speaking to you from now, Route 2 and Viridian Forest are being torn down! Ripped from the earth and discarded like garbage to facilitate even further development!"

Lysandre clenched his fists and turned back to the crowd before him, taking a heavy step that made his shoe crash against the stage. Nearby, Gabriella simply watched in silence and smiled, unnoticed by the eyes of the world.

"Well I will not stand by and watch as this happens," he forcefully said, briefly closing his eyes. "Gabriella and I will show, via FlareNet, the path to a new world. A world where resource depletion is left in the past. A world where we stop destroying our planet before it fights back and Mother Nature destroys us! You might be asking yourself how we plan to accomplish that. The world will still need resources, that is without a doubt. Well, my friends…" Lysandre had to force those two words from his throat, he loathed them so much, "...I ask you, what if there were a way to travel beyond our planet, to reach into the vast sea of stars and find their bounty so we can bring said bounty back to Earth for ourselves? That, ladies and gentlemen, is what I am here to announce this evening!"

Lysandre stood near the screen and spread his arms out wide, while on it, an image of a satellite materialized.

"I give you AZOTH!" he declared dramatically. "The AZOTH space program, short for Astral Zone Objects for Terrestrial Healing, is a joint venture of the Angel Corporation and Lysandre Labs. We are funding the research and development of a new type of remotely-operated probe system, which will allow us to access celestial bodies and harvest resources that will then be brought back to this planet. And I will tell you where our project will begin."

The image on the screen changed to display a rock of significant size, and Lysandre continued speaking.

"This is a meteorite recovered from near Mt. Moon. It is made of a largely unknown, primordial element we have dubbed "Meteonite." Our research into this element has shown it has great potential for generating and harnessing energy. It truly could prove to be the resource of the future where mankind is liberated from its dependence on the resources of our planet! We have been discovering small amounts of Meteonite worldwide, but in order to use it to create the energy source we envision, we will need a vast supply of the element. Now, do not give up hope yet. It just so happens that there is a tremendous supply of Meteonite relatively not far from Earth as we speak!"

Lysandre's bold claim elicited murmurs from not only the civilian members of the crowd, but the media as well.

"It will surprise you, but the meteoroid Persephone-2213, on track to make its closest pass to Earth in one thousand years, is composed entirely of the Meteonite element. Persephone will be the first celestial object AZOTH will visit, and we will mine what Meteonite we need from it remotely, allowing us to obtain its bounty without endangering a single human life on a mission into space! With the AZOTH program, we will guide mankind into a new era of true prosperity while preserving our planet at the same time!"

With his speech mostly done, Lysandre faced the crowd and spread his arms again, seemingly anticipating applause. Of course, the attendees had no way of knowing that it was all an act, that he already knew very well what was causing them to react with uncertainty instead.

Behind him, the giant screen had filled with static. Gabriella, feigning surprise, turned around to look up at it before allowing an evil smirk to twist her face.

-:-

"What's going on with this?" Mitsumi said to Silva, gesturing to the television in their room, which was also filled with static.

"We didn't get our TV service disconnected from the room, did we?"

Mitsumi pondered the situation for a second, then walked over to her laptop and began working on it. She pulled up a window from a television streaming service, only to find that it too was consumed by the static.

"There is something very wrong taking place here…" she said, her voice hollow.

-:-

Matt's group reacted with similar surprise to the interruption of the broadcast, though no words were spoken until something changed. The static suddenly disappeared, replaced by a single, chilling image.

It was Polaris' helix logo, but different from before. Wrapping around the helix and ultimately surrounding where the loop of the 'P' formed, were a pair of serpentine Pokémon.

Ones frighteningly familiar to Olivia in particular.

"Why are there Milotic on there…" she murmured into the edge of her cup.

-:-

With nearly all of the world looking on, the Polaris logo soon faded, allowing the masked visage of the group's leader to replace it. He was sitting in an ornate, sculpted throne with a vivid painting forming a vast backdrop.

"To all those across the world watching this," he declared, "I am Father, the shepherd of Polaris. I am here to speak to you directly as the traitor Ghetsis Harmonia tried to pervert our message to increase his own power. His treason against Polaris, and more importantly against you, the people, has been dealt with. With him out of the way, I am now able to bring the truth of Polaris directly to you.

The world is indeed at a tipping point. Why has it been brought to such a place, however? I will tell you. In nearly every corner of the planet, society is controlled by a corrupt system that exploits the people for a select few. You know it as the Pokémon League."

Behind his mask, Father had to grunt in anger before he could continue.

"They tell you that the life of a Pokémon Trainer is a life of comfort, a life of glory. They fill the heads of your children with fantasies of fame and fortune that pull them from your homes with the siren song of the open world. Nowhere do they speak of the many trainers lacking the blessings of the lucky few to find success, but those are the ones who Polaris and I are here to fight for! Like so many of you listening to my words now, I have lost my own child to the seduction of the Pokémon League. Even as I speak, they are out there exposed to the harm this society so cruelly puts upon them… I will not allow it to continue any further!"

By this point, Father's voice had begun to crack under the weight of his emotion.

"From the beginnings that would grow into the modern Pokémon League, this system has had blood on its hands. The empire that once ruled the Tohjo Continent created it in its earliest form as a gladiatorial sport for the entertainment of the masses, meant to give ordinary people a distraction so they would stay compliant with their rulers. A century later, during the first Pokémon League in the Kalos region, the administration ignored warnings of the dangers of disease. Their arrogance led to an epidemic that destroyed many, many families by claiming the lives of countless traveling trainers. We are here to avenge those who were lost by dismantling the corruption that took their lives."

With that, the Polaris leader lifted up his staff, displaying that like the insignia shown when they first hijacked the broadcast, it had a pair of Milotic wrapping around the top.

"This Pokémon is Milotic. It's revered as being the most beautiful Pokémon in the world, and it shall be symbolic of what we hope to achieve. We will restore the true order of this world and tear down the decaying institutions that have led it astray. To prove my words, allow me to reveal the first of our truths to you all: there is a lost eighteenth type of Pokémon! This lost type disappeared during the great war of Kalos three thousand years ago, when the rebels against King AZ's rule damaged the Life Plate given by Arceus from which its power flowed. Even today Pokémon of this type exist, but they have lost their true attributes because of the Life Plate's damaged state. However, we have obtained this damaged Life Plate ourselves, and now, to prove the validity of our message, Polaris will restore this type into the present day!"

-:-

At the Adenosine Base aboard the Angel Corporation's oil rig, the scientists were watching the speech on multiple monitors in a laboratory. Even though they were Polaris members themselves, they were enraptured with their leader's words. Just as Father finished describing the lost type and his plans for it, Colress entered the lab, dressed in a new and heavier lab coat that had computer terminals installed on its arms.

"Looks like it's time to get the show on the road," he said, grinning in excitement as he tapped at the screen on his right arm.

In response to his prompts, a mechanism lowered from the ceiling of the lab, containing the large portion of the Meteonite from the Ruins of Alph. The rock was loaded into a gun-like device, pointing downwards at the coffin-shaped object that had been dubbed the Oberon, itself held in place by four metallic arms. Three holographic screens appeared in front of Colress so he could monitor the activity that was about to take place.

"And now, here we go!" he announced to the other scientists, before decisively slamming his finger down on a button on the terminal on his arm. "Pixie Plate, awaken!"

The Meteonite sparked to life and began to glow brightly. Cables connected to it and flowing down throughout the mechanism soon filled with similar light as its power was siphoned into the gun. Three rings of decreasing size went down the barrel of the device, and each one lit up in turn as the Meteonite's power passed through them. All the energy clustered at the end of the gun for a brief time before firing down into the Pixie Plate, creating an incredible flash of light as the relic's power began to reawaken.

"Yes, yes!" Colress cried out. "Let their true power shine once more!"

-:-

Unbeknownst to Colress or the other Polaris members aboard the rig, as the power of the awakening Pixie Plate surged through the base and into the outside world, one of the Poké Balls in their very own storage chamber was also affected by it. The sphere shook and fell off the pile it was on, causing itself to burst open. A ring-shaped Pokémon wearing several different keys on his body emerged and looked around the room in confusion.

"Klef…?"

-:-

One of the few places not watching Lysandre's speech, and therefore not seeing Polaris hijack it, was Zinnia's village beneath Meteor Falls. Their people did not concern themselves with modern technology, instead choosing to live a simplistic existence by the traditions they'd observed for millennia. Because they had no idea of what was taking place outside their village, when Zinnia collapsed while assisting her grandmother in transporting the small Meteonites, it alarmed the elder even more.

"Zinnia!" the elder shouted to the younger woman, running to her side as quickly as her aged body would allow her. "Zinnia, what's wrong?!"

"It… it hurts!" Zinnia shrieked as she convulsed on the ground. "It really, really hurts!"

"Mum?" Aster said in worry.

Zinnia couldn't meet her Whismur companion's concern with any further words, merely choking up vomit into the dirt and continuing to violently spasm.

-:-

On Route 39, Mr. Mime was having a similar reaction to Zinnia's, though not as violent. He fell over while eating and began to convulse, and when Olivia took notice, she panicked.

"Mr. Mime?" she cried out, jumping up at the table so quickly she almost knocked it over. Her jostling caused the projection of Father's image to briefly break up. "What's wrong? Mr. Mime, what's wrong?!"

Before Olivia knew it, Nekou was alongside her, putting an arm around her shoulder to lend her friend some strength. Nekou didn't quite know what was going on either, but her instincts told her to support Olivia, so she did. Matt, Bunny, Avril and Monroe got up and began to follow, but stayed back from clustering too much around the pair.

"By now the effects of what we have done will be felt worldwide," Father declared as he began to speak once more, pulling the group's attention back to the projection. "We have reawakened the power of the Pixie Plate, the one of Arceus' Life Plates long since considered dead! With the revival of the Pixie Plate, all Fairy-type Pokémon, both purely typed and dual-typed, are regaining their true characteristics and power! This step in evolution will be a scary one for many, no doubt. But Polaris' message is proved valid. We will restore the world to its natural state and this is the first step! Have no fear at all, as Polaris will be here to help guide you through this new change to what you know. This is merely the first step toward the paradise we promise you. We will foment the development of the new world, giving it the purity of the water that life first emerged from in ancient times. I ask you, no, I beg of you, stand alongside me and the rest of Polaris! Join us and march into the promised future! Join us and be saved!"

With that, the broadcast briefly returned to static, then disconnected completely, leaving the group both dumbfounded and fearful.

"What… what just happened?" Monroe stuttered.

Olivia drove an anguished fist into the earth beneath her and said out loud, "Dad, why are you doing this?"

The magnitude of what Olivia was claiming hit all the others nearly instantly. Despite Nekou getting it first, though, it was actually Bunny who put words to her thoughts before anyone else.

"That doesn't make any sense, Olivia. It can't be Rich. He's…"

"Dead?" Olivia snapped, turning around so quickly she threw Nekou's arm off her shoulder. There were tears starting to form in her eyes. "I spent five years trying to trick myself so I didn't have to deal with the fact he was dead, but you look at what you just saw! Don't you think it's just a little bit weird that there were Milotic all over that message? Milotic wrapped around the 'P' symbol… his throne had Milotic carved into it… the painting behind him had Milotic in it… and he had a staff with two Milotic on it and wants Milotic to symbolize this pure new world he came up with? And on top of all of that, you heard what he said. His child was taken from him and is out doing the Pokémon League right now! He's talking about me, he's looking for me! He's looking for me after all this time!"

-:-

A significant crowd had gathered around the television in the lobby of Blackthorn City's Pokémon Center to watch Lysandre's speech and thus been yet another captive audience for Father's appearance. Most of them were still clustered in that area as Malva came back on the broadcast and acted as if she was as surprised as everyone else by what had happened, but there was one young man who separated from the onlookers as soon as Father vanished.

"I knew it!" Renzo growled to himself, slamming his fist down into one of the Pokémon Center's tables. "I knew he wasn't really dead, that he was just hiding… he's going to pay for abandoning us!"

-:-

Several hours later, Matt was back sitting in HR-E's cockpit, the space illuminated by both the moon and the artificial lights installed in the craft. When the door behind him opened, Matt didn't even have to turn around to know it was Nekou entering the room.

"Did you finally get Olivia to go to sleep?" he asked.

"Yeah, but it was a real bitch," Nekou replied, flopping down on the sofa bed next to Matt. "I don't think we can convince her that this Father isn't Rich. She won't listen."

"Neither of us are the only person who can help her now," Matt said. He entered a command into the control keyboard, causing a window showing a telephone to pop open on one of HR-E's screens.

While they waited, Nekou asked Matt, "What do you think? Do you think it's him?"

Before he could answer, the video call connected, and the image of the telephone was replaced by a live feed of Anabel in her penthouse at the Battle Tower. She was visibly tired, with bags forming under her eyes and her long hair fairly unkempt.

"Matt? Nekou?" she uttered as soon as she picked up the call. "Why are you calling me now?"

"Anabel, I'll cut right to the chase," Matt forcefully said. "Did you see that Polaris pirate broadcast during the FlareNet presentation?"

"How couldn't I? Pretty much the entire world saw it."

"Olivia thinks that the 'Father' who gave the Polaris speech is her father," Nekou wasted no time in revealing. "She's utterly convinced it's Rich."

As soon as she heard this, Anabel turned even paler than she already was. "How… that can't be possible… it shouldn't be…"

"It shouldn't be possible, and yet she's convinced it's him." Matt leaned forward and braced himself against the keyboard. "I was there when Rich died five years ago, and I know what happened afterward. You had his body burned, right? I'm sure you still have the ashes."

"They haven't left my mantle, so it can't be him," Anabel responded. Her voice then turned low, and she asked, "Do you think it could be him?"

Matt shut his eyes and put one of his metallic hands on his chin. "You have Rich's body, that much isn't in doubt. But I'm thinking about something Sheena once taught me about Tenganist beliefs… she told me about what they call Gaia, the energy that flows through the planet and gives it life. From what she taught me, many Tenganist sects believe that when one dies, their consciousness becomes a part of Gaia's flow, making their experiences and personality - really, their soul itself - part of the world itself, allowing Earth to keep evolving. I guess what I'm saying is that Rich's consciousness still existed within the flow of Gaia, if those teachings were correct."

"Then there would be two questions," Anabel reasoned. "One, how would they be able to pull him back out of the energy flow? And two, how did they give him physical form when I still have the ashes of his body here?"

"I can answer that second one," Nekou blandly said while sarcastically raising her hand. "Polaris is into some super fucked up science shit. You want to talk about how they gave him physical form, they could very well have cloned him from even a little bit of DNA or put his mind into a robotic body or… fuck it, you get what I'm trying to say. I'll let him answer the other one."

"I'm not sure I should appreciate that," Matt said to Nekou before turning back to Anabel. "The only thing I can think of that might explain how Polaris could take Rich's consciousness out of Gaia is if they have a powerful Transcendence user on their side. I suppose it wouldn't be impossible that there could be someone whose skill is communicating with the souls within Gaia, and from there it wouldn't be much of a stretch to think someone could pull one of those souls back out."

"So what you're saying is that there is a credible chance it is him…" Anabel listlessly concluded, though she suddenly gained a surge of energy when she continued, "He can't be doing this of his own free will. There's got to be someone else behind the scenes manipulating him. There's just no way he really leads Polaris himself…"

"I didn't know him but I think you might be right," Nekou said to her, "but we can't conclude that yet. Right now, we need you to meet us in Olivine City tomorrow. Before we can unravel any of these fucking secrets, we need to help Olivia."

"I agree," Matt concurred. "We can only do so much to help her. Beyond anything else, right now Olivia needs her mother."

-:-

On the other end of the call, Anabel absorbed everything that Matt and Nekou had told her. She took a considerable amount of time to respond to what the pair caring for her daughter said. When she finally did, though, her face turned serious - a deadly, confident type of seriousness that was once extremely common for her. A fire had reawakened in her heart, one that was buried for a long time.

"I'll be there," she declared. "The Pokémon Center in Olivine City."

END of CHAPTER 21