Saylee Pokémon: 20 Deaths: 7

Key Pokémon: 29 Deaths: 2

"This brew will help give you strength," Juan said, gently handing a large mug full of tea to Wally. "It did wonders for Wallace."

"Thank you," Wally said quietly, sipping his tea.

"You may be right that Marc did not deliberately kill Father," Juan continued. "Marc and Father were surveying a volcano together, and there was a collapse that buried Father. Archie claims that Marc came out of the cave laughing, which in his overwhelming grief drove him to the belief that Marc murdered Father. As I understand it, Marc spent some time in a psychiatric ward afterwards, however… not something that is really a matter of public record, of course, but as a gym leader I have my sources. Marc has not always been a necessarily stable individual, and Father's sudden death could well have been as traumatic for him as it was for Archie. By the time I'd discovered Marc's hospitalization, however, I was well out of touch with Archie, and he would take no convincing that Marc was not to blame in any case."

"Marc wouldn't," Wally said insistently. "Rayquaza told me she chose him and Adrian because they were so close. She's never let Kyogre and Groudon choose their own avatars, not since suggestions of avatarization started spreading among the gods. When Adrian died, she chose Archie because his spirit was most like Adrian's, but…"

"But he swore revenge on Marc, huh?" Perun said. "Is that the whole reason for all this Aqua-Magma fuss?"

Wallace shook his head. "I don't doubt that 'revenge' might've been one of the things that drove him, but that wasn't the only reason he made Magma's downfall his personal goal." He turned to look at Juan. "What was it that he said about the police again? That they couldn't be trusted?"

"No, it was the quite opposite," Juan replied. "More accurately, Archie claimed that 'the police would never believe him or take him seriously if he shared the full story'. From what I could guess at the time, Archie had found some documents in our father's Aqua office pertaining to some of the more 'secret' goals that Magma had, but he never gave any details on what these goals aimed for. However, looking back at it after recent events..."

"You think Archie knew about Marc's plan to awaken Groudon all along, right?" Wally asked, leaning forward a little in order to look at Juan. "Until what happened not too long ago, I don't think anyone would've taken him seriously, so he was probably right in thinking that the police would've probably just shooed him away and told him that they have more important cases to take care of."

"A murder is still a murder, and whether gods were involved or not, Archie could've easily had them going after Marc for that at least," Saylee pointed out in a slightly bitter tone, crossing her arms. "Whether or not Marc killed Adrian, if Archie believed that he did and wanted him punished, Hoenn has perfectly legal channels for him to use. He could've insisted that the police investigate it as a potential murder rather than let them think it was just an accident."

"Well, now the police get to go after the both of them instead," Wally said, a little sullenly.

"You don't sound very happy about it," Wallace noticed. "Juan and I are extremely concerned about Archie for obvious reasons, but what about you?"

Wally frowned, staring at his knees. "I don't...know how to explain it," he started uncertainly. "I feel kinda... I dunno... responsible...?"

"Kyogre and Groudon have always been Rayquaza's responsibility, according to all the stories about them," Key said, "so I guess it makes sense that they feel like your responsibility too."

"You said Rayquaza chooses Groudon an' Kyogre's avatars, aye?" Mary ask. "Can ye no' pick new yins? Wans that arenae wanted criminals, ken?"

Wally shook his head. "I don't think so," he said somewhat uncertainly. "I don't think new ones can be picked until Marc and Archie die…"

"Which, for preference, will not be any time soon," Juan said firmly. "We must speak to both of them while they are sane and healthy and relatively calm to discern the truth of all that has passed between Magma and Aqua since Father's death."

"They're both in a sub together somewhere, and it's a submarine that can go deeper than even most Pokémon can go," Saylee sighed. "Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll clear things up instead of killing each other, but in the end they'll only be found when they decide to surface. Until then, there are thousands of injuries and casualties that need dealt with, cities that need rebuilt and plenty of Aqua and Magma foot soldiers who need arrested and processed. Thanks for the tea, but I'm going to go out and help deal with things." She stood up, trying not to sway.

"As should I," Wallace said, standing up. "I am the Champion, after all. I have responsibilities." He put a hand on Wally's shoulder. "Rest here, young one. You have saved a great many lives by stopping Groudon and Kyogre's battle. You need a rest."

"We should prob'ly find oot whit happened tae that Steven, tae," Mary pointed out. "Whit the bloody hell'd he do, anyway?"

"If we see him, we'll ask," Key suggested. "What happened when you were underground with him, Saylee?"

"Well, when I woke up, I was alone with Shelly…" Saylee began, walking back down the hall.

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"Current estimate is eight thousand dead across the nation with well over five hundred thousand injured," Saylee groaned into her phone as she curled up next to Nadia's side. She and her Pokémon had elected to sleep on the roof of the gym in order to keep watch; Saylee was feeling edgy and paranoid about Wally being there overnight. I don't know how much use I'll be with my whole body aching, but at least a Camerupt makes a good heating pad… "The majority of them died in ships that were sunk or when Pacifidlog went down, but buildings have collapsed everywhere from the earthquakes, and Sootopolis in particular… Tsunamis hit Mossdeep and Lilycove, too. That number is padded a bit by the missing-presumed-dead, but…"

"Fucking hell…" Blue muttered. "That's… fuck. Those Aqua and Magma fuckers better be getting the full rap for this shit. This wasn't just a natural disaster, after all. They set this shit off by waking those titans."

"Yeah, there's no way in hell they're ever getting anywhere near those gods again if I have anything to do with it," Saylee declared. "I'm worried about the fact that they still have the Orbs, but even they can't be stupid enough to try and use them again…"

"Never underestimate how stupid people can be. As soon as regular ships are running out there, I'm coming out to join you and help out if I can. Right now, with about six major criminals loose in a submarine and Pallet being both a seafront town and in my jurisdiction…"

"I understand," Saylee assured him. "I just…" she sighed heavily, flopping back. "I feel like I failed every step of the way here. I tried to stop them stealing the Orbs, failed and got Polly killed. I went to stop Marc from awaking Groudon, failed and got Teddy killed too. I went to stop Archie waking Kyogre and failed there too, and as a result nearly ten thousand people and Pokémon are dead…"

"Really, Saylee, dear, you did everything you could," Molly chastised her.

"And what if we hadn't stopped them at the Museum before, huh?" Zac asked. "They would've stolen the submarine much sooner and done all of this sooner, when we were weaker and couldn't have stopped 'em!"

"An' what about when Marc was trippin' out and tryin' to blow up the space centre, huh?" Sanborn added. "We sure fucked that shit up for 'im!"

"It could've been so much worse, couldn't it, darlin'?" Skye said, snuggling her wings around Saylee. "We made sure it weren't. Be proud of that."

"I'm sure your buddies what got iced are real prouda yous for avengin' 'em and takin' down them criminals," Oberon reassured her. "I mean, we still gotta catch 'em, but…"

"We will," Eric said firmly. "They'll turn up sooner or later. Until then, we can just keep repairing the damage that's been done."

"Awww, ceez… there's so much that needs done," Perun groaned, looking up at the half-ruined city of Sootopolis.

"Just keep doing it and eventually it'll be done," Nadia said placidly.

"You've got some hella good Pokémon there with you," Blue said. "Hey, you lot, I'm counting on you all to look after her for me, got it? And somebody give her a hug from me, she needs one."

"Covered!" Zac cried, wrapping around Saylee. Saylee giggled and hugged him back.

"Thanks, Zac," she sighed. "I'll talk to you again soon, Blue. I'd better get some sleep… I just wanted to let you know I'm alive and as alright as I ever am."

"That bad, huh? I love you anyway. Get some rest, you idiot."

"Love you too, jerk," Saylee said, blowing a kiss into the phone and hanging up. "Hey, has anyone seen Toby and Mary?"

"Mary is on her way with Charlotte right now," Tobias said, swooping out of the darkness with Key on his back. "She and I are going on first patrol. We'll come back and swap with Charlotte and Eric in a couple of hours." He perched, allowing Key down onto the roof.

"Thought we'd join you," Key said, releasing her Pokémon. "It's not like it's cold, after all…" she shivered as she watched a boat go slowly by, sweeping the water with a searchlight. A large red Pokémon that reminded Saylee of a Kingler, though the claws were in the wrong place, surfaced and lifted something limp up into the boat. "Just pretty eerie."

Saylee could feel how heavy her eyes were. "We need to get sleep so as soon as it's light we can get out there and help with the restoration work," she murmured, closing her eyes and leaning into Nadia's side.

"…Good plan," Key said with a yawn, joining her.

"Good night, Lee," Tobias said softly. "We'll wake you if anything happens. Eric, we'll wake you when Mary and I finish our patrol…"

"Hey, Saylee?" Key whispered. "Why do Toby and your other older Pokémon call you Lee?"

"Just a nickname," Saylee murmured. "When Toby was born and learning to talk, he called me Lee. It kinda stuck later as a nickname when I was looking for Team Rocket in Johto, when I was using a false name to make it harder for them to notice me. Lyra. Lee still worked as a nickname. Nobody human calls me it."

"It's a good nickname," Key said, her voice trailing off sleepily. "G'night, Lee…"

Saylee smiled. "Goodnight, Key."

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"The readings for this chamber look stable," Marc explained as they descended into the tunnel, "but much more stable than they should be for a chamber containing a magma pool this size…" Adrian reflexively straightened his heatsuit.

"Only someone as obsessive as you would actually enjoy wandering around in these places," Adrian huffed. "And frankly it worries me that you're trying to convince me to go somewhere that you're thinking isn't as stable as it looks."

"Nonono, it's stable," Marc reassured him. "But it shouldn't be. Scientifically, it seems impossible. Which means something in there is defying the regular laws of physics concerning volcanoes."

"Again, I'm worried about putting 'defying the laws of physics' and 'volcanoes' in the same context," Adrian said as Marc led him down a steeply descending path. "You see why I wanted Archie and his friends to wait outside?"

"…not really, it's stable," Marc insisted. "It'd be educational for them."

"Marc, I know where you're going with this," Adrian said, noticing that the tunnel ahead of them glowed. They must be nearing the magma chamber.

"I'm going to a magma chamber," Marc said, looking slightly annoyed at having to state the obvious.

"No, I mean… you think you've found it, right?" Adrian pressed, lowering his voice even though there wasn't another living thing in the tunnel with them. There weren't even any wild Pokémon down here, which was as telling as anything else, though Marc probably hadn't noticed. "Groudon. If we've found it…"

"Seventy percent of the planet is water, Adrian," Marc said. "People and Pokémon both need more space. New land. Clean land without poisons and pollution sunk into the soil. Properly controlled, Groudon could even cleanse and enrich the topsoil of the planet…" He stopped, wringing his hands a little. "The water around Kanto is still too corrosive to sail into, in a radius too large to fly over. We could build a land bridge, find out what happened to… everyone. Anyone."

He started scurrying forwards again, into the chamber.

Adrian thought that the chamber was far too small when they first stepped into it, until he realized that the floor dropped off ahead of him and that the bulk of the chamber was below their feet. He edged over, looking down and instantly jerking back when he saw the vast pool of boiling magma below.

"The heat updraft won't hurt you. That's what the heatsuits are for," Marc said, lying flat on the floor and peering out over the edge. Thanks to the masks Adrian couldn't see his face, but he could imagine the way the younger man's eyes were glowing. Marc wasn't very expressive, or at least didn't look it unless you knew him very, very well. "Look at the size of that. Active and bubbling too. Yet this volcano hasn't gone off for three thousand years. Why?"

"Don't these things get more dangerous the longer they go without erupting?" Archie asked. "What if it erupts when you wake Groudon, if that is what's down there? What if erupting is what's needed to wake it?"

"All I need is its DNA," Marc said, getting back to his feet. "Just a sample's all I need to work from. I'm sure it's down there, Adrian. I can feel it."

Adrian felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck, as if a cold wind had brushed him in the middle of the volcano. He grabbed Marc's arm and started dragging him back up the path.

"Adrian, what are you doing?" Marc asked, sounding confused. "What's wrong?"

"You just said that you're sure that Groudon is down there because you had a feeling about it," Adrian pointed out. "You have never said anything like that in your life. The first time I told you I had a gut feeling about something, you asked if I had a stomach upset and needed to call a doctor."

"I simply meant that this volcano fits the criteria for a hiding place for Groudon better than any other location in Hoenn or Orre, making it the likeliest location for Groudon to sleep," Marc insisted. Adrian dragged him into a side tunnel, not wanting to go back to the surface until he'd finished this conversation with Marc. The other path was a dead end, carved out by some magma flow and then collapsed in long ago, but he didn't care.

"No, if you meant that you would say it," Adrian pressed. He could feel himself slipping into his 'Dad Voice', the tone intended to tell Juan or Archie that he was serious now and they had to tell the truth or obey instructions. He'd never talked like this to Marc before, and wasn't sure if Marc would even notice the shift in his tone, but Marc had always been a completely honest open book. It wasn't just that he was honest—he was blunt. He didn't even use metaphors and often didn't understand them. He was an incredibly methodical, logical scientist, and him getting excited and having gut feelings about something was so out of character that if the temperatures weren't too high for it to be safe Adrian would have ripped his mask off to make sure it really was him. "You're not acting like yourself, Marc. Whether it's Groudon or not, I think something in here is affecting you. We should leave."

"Adrian, I don't understand what you're talking about," Marc said, now starting to look upset. "With Groudon's DNA—I can make something controllable, I know I can. The problem on Cinnabar was that we tried to make it stronger, dangerously so. I can easily make something weaker, and a Pokémon with even a tenth of Groudon's power would still be powerful enough to do so much good!"

"I know, Marc, I know, just… maybe you're right, I'm overreacting," Adrian sighed, stepping back and winding up running his hand over his hood as he tried to run his fingers through his hair. "I just feel bad about this whole thing. Like it's all going to go wrong."

"The results cannot be the same as at Cinnabar," Marc said. "Groudon's powers are entirely different to Mew's. This can be successful, and I know I can do the same for Kyogre, if we find it." Marc's expression was invisible, but he did visibly stiffen a little. "Are you jealous that we found Groudon but haven't found Kyogre yet?"

"No, but—Marc, you're still talking like it's a certainty that Groudon's here, and it's not," Adrian said, exasperated. "It's not proven. Like I said, it's not like you. We really should go." When Marc didn't move, he reached out and grabbed his arm. "Come on…"

"Let go!" Marc shouted, jerking his arm away—angrily. That really wasn't like him, and even he seemed to realize from the way he froze. "What… what was that?"

"I don't know, but it's why I'm sure we need to leave," Adrian pressed.

"No, I have to find out what that was," Marc said sounding extremely distressed, pushing past Adrian. The ground shook under their feet.

"Do you feel that? We need to—" he began, grabbing Marc's arm. Marc pushed him off again, shoving him with a strength Adrian hadn't expected the skinny scientist to possess. The ground shook again, more violently, causing Adrian to fall backwards as stalactites started falling from the ceiling.

Adrian screamed as one smashed into his leg and a larger one pierced into his chest.

"A-ADRIAN!" he heard Marc shout.

"MARC, GO!" Adrian yelled, struggling to breathe as he felt his lungs grow heavy and fill with fluid with every weak breath. More stalactites were smashing off of the floor around him. The whole volcano was shaking. "GET ARCHIE AWAY FROM HERE! GO!" He tried to shout again, but his lungs were too full of blood to draw breath. Then he heard another crack and felt a brief crushing sensation before

Nothing

"Morty? Morty!"

"I'm okay, Eusine," Morty said, realigning himself to the present. At one moment, the ground was shaking under his feet and Eusine was shaking him, Marc was shouting and so was Eusine, and then Morty left the past entirely, kneeling on the floor of his library with his husband's arms around him.

"You're back?" Eusine said with concern, looking closely into his eyes. Morty nodded and kissed him briefly to prove it.

"I'm back," he said. "Was I away long?"

"A few hours," Eusine sighed, sitting back, keeping one hand on Morty's shoulder. "You know I hate it when you let your mind wander like that."

"I'm getting better at it… I used to be gone for a week, remember?" Morty said encouragingly.

Eusine shook his head. "Doesn't mean that there isn't a chance that you won't go wandering one day and not find your way back," he said with concern. "I almost like it better when you physically wander. You keep track of yourself easier when you do, plus I don't need to figure out how to keep you fed and hydrated."

Morty laughed and stood up. "I needed to see something," he said. "The moment where Adrian Irving died. I needed to see what really happened. It was a focal point, I'm sure of it. It was a moment in time that started so much."

"And who is Adrian Irving?" Eusine asked, standing up himself and crossing his arms. "Or was?"

"He was Kyogre," Morty said, looking around the paintings he kept on the wall until he located a print of a twenty-eighth century piece about Groudon and Kyogre battling. "And he trespassed in Groudon's lair."

"Morty! Come quick!" Makai called, drifting through the wall. The Misdreavus smiled when Morty reached up to run his fingers through the shadowy tendrils of his hair before growing serious again. "On the news. There've been thousands and thousands of deaths in Hoenn, and the newscasters look like they think they're insane for saying it, but the security camera footage from Sootopolis City shows Groudon and Kyogre fighting."

"This is what it began," Morty said softly, hurrying from the room. "And how it ended. Makai, gather everyone. We must hold a vigil for these lost souls."

"Didn't you call up Saylee a few months ago about dear old Chronos predicting this?" Eusine pointed out.

Morty nodded, getting out his pokégear. "Ten to one she was involved," he said, scrolling through his contacts, "and that she's the one that needs to know about my vision."

"Why am I not surprised that that poor girl would get mixed up in the potential end of the world?" Eusine muttered under his breath.

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