Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Author Notes: So, the chapter is finished! It took me a bit longer than I would have liked, but hey, it's here. Perhaps my most anticipated chapter ever after the massive cliffhanger I pulled off in my previous update.

Anyway, I want to give out my sincerest thanks to every single one of my readers for sticking with me for so long. My FanFiction has so far been a long ride throughout the years, and you have all been amazing for continuing to read it through it all. So, thank you! I love you all and hope to continue counting on your support for the remainder of my storytelling!

On another note, for those that were curious, there is a detailed description of Team Aqua's Airship on Chapter 9 of A New Chance For Adventure. It's on the segment towards the end of that chapter.

Without any more comments on my part, onto the chapter!


Chapter 24 – We Are Legendaries!


Fear.

Helplessness.

Disappointment.

Failure.

It all formed part of the unbound torrent of distressing emotions that coursed through the minds of Latias and Latios in what seemed like a never-ending moment, along with the harrowing realization that this was it. They had reached the end of the road of life, and the end would be forever marred by a crushing defeat.

The once lively ocean was shredded in half and the peaceful sky distorted into an unnatural shade of ghastly orange as the energy beam fired by the main cannon of Team Aqua's airship made its way towards the city unabated. An apocalyptic scene of biblical scale befell the once-bustling metropolis of Rustboro City as it was basked in an infernal orange afterglow, which reflected upon the windows of the myriad of skyscrapers that dotted the city skyline and further amplified the sinister light that ran through the hapless city.

As it stood, there would be no salvation for the thousands upon thousands of innocent souls of both humans and Pokémon alike who called Rustboro City their home, and the few still outside on the streets could only watch in horror as death itself approached them.

There was just no stopping it.

'Because we failed,' Latios noted dejectedly, his eyes closing as he reflected on what he was certain were going to be his last seconds of life. He could feel it all too well. The feathers at his chest, side, and neck were burnt off and the flesh underneath scorched away from where the beam had struck him. 'I'm sorry. Latias, Ash, Bianca, Pikachu, Brock… everyone. I'm very sorry. I did my best, but it wasn't enough. I failed you all.'

"You didn't fail alone, both of us did. Together," Latias' telepathic voice said, weakly drifting into his mind like a distant whisper. "Bye, Latios. I love you."

As he felt his world grow dark and hazy, Latios reached out to Latias' fading mind to offer his own farewells. "I love you too, Latias. Goodbye."

Then, something snapped.


Elsewhere, earlier that day…

The sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky, bathing a large and lush island paradise in the warmth of its sun rays. The vibrant sunshine's only interruption was the imposing shadow cast by a gigantic serpentine dragoness levitating just shy of a mile over the island's tallest hilltops.

A thick and muscular black-scaled tail serenely swayed back and forth through the air, making the wind blow and stir across the vast landscape in perfect accord with its firm movements. The skillfully crafted breezes made the ocean's waves that broke on the island's beaches form at a precise rhythm, as well as rustle the island's abundant vegetation and gently caress the surfaces of its lakes and rivers. Every sound formed part of a lovely chorus that created a pleasant and harmonious natural melody.

Skailyn watched over her island fondly, her sharp gaze moving between the numerous Pokémon inhabitants and lingering for a few seconds on each of them before glancing elsewhere. She let out a soft snort of bemusement when her eyes settled on Silver. The young Lugia was having the time of his life playing what seemed to be a combination of tag and hide-and-seek with some of the local Pokémon.

Skailyn's lips twitched into a slight smirk, and she made a small swipe with one of her claws. A breeze kicked up where the toddler was, shaking the bushes that he had been hiding behind and alerting the numerous Pokémon he was playing with of his whereabouts. The toddler squeaked in alarm and awkwardly dashed away, only to be chased by them. Silver dove into a nearby river with a small splash, causing those that could swim to dive after him and those that could not to run along the riverbank while laughing the whole way.

Seeing that Silver was clearly enjoying himself, Skailyn glanced away and focused elsewhere. Her expression turned into a saddened grimace when she looked over some of her island's newcomers. Thankfully, most of them seemed to be at ease with their new surroundings. She let out a pleased hum, making her tail pick up the pace in its gentle sways to move her melody along in a different yet still very relaxing rhythm.

"Hey!"

Skailyn let out a content rumble and shifted to the side, coming face to face a purple flash of magic that had suddenly fizzled to life near her. "Hey, Ailith," she greeted warmly.

The flash swiftly faded away into violet wisps to reveal a tiny doll-like Pokémon with a dark grey-colored body, a Banette. She possessed deep and captivating red eyes, a bright yellow zipper-like mouth, and notably, a black and golden Rayquaza-shaped runic mark circling her waist. Ailith looked around briefly. "Where's Phaedra? I thought she was here."

"She went out to swim and exercise for a bit." Skailyn paused, briefly tapping into the wind to sense her surroundings. "She's already on her way back."

"Got it. Anyway, I finished distributing the first groups of Pokémon that you rescued. About half of them decided to return to Hoenn's wilderness. Those that didn't feel comfortable returning to the wild, I talked to some Legendaries whose homes would be suited for them to see if they were willing to take them in," Ailith reported. "Thankfully, all were content with doing you the favor."

Skailyn let out a heavy sigh and looked down again. "Thank you. That takes care of the least affected ones… if that's even the right way to call it."

"It does." Ailith followed her gaze, frowning as she did so. "What about the rest, those that had it the worst?" she asked.

"I'm still not sure," Skailyn responded honestly, letting out a noise as she thought for a brief moment. "Emerald Paradise isn't that big, so I can't exactly house a large population here. For the time being, I think it's best to let them stay for a few more days so they can wind down from their ordeal, and then we'll take them to Sky Pillar for their long term recovery."

Ailith nodded slowly. "Then, I presume, it's up to me to find them new homes?"

Skailyn smiled. "If you'd do me the favor. That's assuming they don't permanently settle in Sky Pillar, to begin with. Regardless, I'm tied here at the moment so I can't exactly see to it myself."

"Sure, no problem," Ailith replied with an easy-going shrug. "Just let me know when."

A potent ripple in the island's shielding caused the pair to turn around and notice Phaedra flying into the island's airspace at a leisure pace. As she approached, Phaedra dipped down towards a nearby lake while broadly spreading her wings as she descended. Her eyes flashed with a faint glint of blue in the process, causing a single circular wave to spread across the lake the moment she landed on it. Her feet touched the water's surface and, as if it was solid ground, did not sink at all.

Phaedra roosted down comfortably and smiled affectionately as Skailyn and Ailith approached her. "Hey, what did I miss?" Phaedra asked, stretching her great wings a few times before folding them on her sides.

"We were discussing some things, that's all," Skailyn responded while lowering herself until she was beside the Lugia and a few feet above the lake, lazily coiling until only her upper body remained upright.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Your rescued charges." Phaedra frowned. "You haven't told me about it yet, what happened to them?"

Skailyn's nostrils flared, and her face turned to a bitter scowl. "Humans happened." She rolled her eyes. "What else?"

"Figured," Phaedra replied with an unsurprised tone. "It must have been really bad if you interfered."

"Well, the fact that the very first Pokémon that brought this entire thing to my attention was a ghost didn't help at all. Yeah, I was pissed off and couldn't stop myself." Skailyn shook her head in disgust. "It's just… horrifying."

"I think you may need stronger words for that," Ailith commented. "Horrifying comes up painfully short in this case."

Skailyn sighed drily. "Yeah."

Phaedra glanced to the far side of the lake, where she took note of an Arcanine timidly approaching the water. The fire-type looked ahead warily and froze on the spot, not taking her tense gaze off the two titanic Pokémon at the lake as if making sure they were no harm. Phaedra cringed, noting she didn't even need to expand her psychic senses to feel the barrage of psychological problems rolling off the traumatized Arcanine.

Phaedra looked away and focused on her friends again, hoping the troubled canine wouldn't feel any more discomfort due to being watched by such a gigantic Pokémon. Sure enough, once Phaedra's attention was off her, the Arcanine timidly reached towards the lake's surface, took a few quick drinks, and then scurried back to the bushes to hide.

Ailith looked somberly at the scene. "See what she meant?"

"Yeah," Phaedra answered with a dismayed nod. "What happened exactly?"

"Those humans kept female Pokémon imprisoned and had them raped for days on end so they could mass produce eggs. Then they'd raise those children from birth to be slaves, nothing but mindless fighters, who were then sold for profits." Skailyn growled at the mention, her teeth baring slightly as she did so. "I was infuriated. Worse when I found many dragons and ghosts trapped under their repulsive scheme."

Phaedra looked at the black Rayquaza with a disgusted expression. "That's so… disturbing. Very much a justified intervention, then. I presume they're no more?"

Skailyn nodded faintly, a faint snarl escaping her jaws. "Took great pleasure, too. Killed them all and rescued the Pokémon they had in captivity with Latios' help."

"Sounds like you. So, what are you going to do with them?" Phaedra asked with concern, thinking back to the badly traumatized Arcanine she had seen just a minute ago.

"Find them places where they can recover and hopefully return to a normal life. All the dragons have already been taken to Sky Pillar and all the ghosts to the Distortion World for their recovery," Skailyn responded. "The least-affected ones have been taken to Hoenn's wilderness. Now we're just left with the worst cases."

"By the way, Phaedra," Ailith spoke up, clapping her hands together. "Your parents were so generous in agreeing to house all the water-types caught up in this, including the ones in the worst conditions. They'll have their own communities see to their nurturing and healing." Ailith smiled. "So, we're very grateful for that."

Phaedra laughed heartily and then threw the Banette a knowing look. "With 'your parents' I'm fairly certain you mean my dad?"

"Of course, I totally mean your dad," Ailith replied with a cheeky grin and a mischievous wink. "Didn't even ask Kyogre."

"Yeah, seems about right," Phaedra noted, snorting. "Why am I not surprised?"

Skailyn chuckled in amusement. "As for the rest of the worst cases, we'll have Sky Pillar's community nurse them back to health. Then, we'll see where we can drop them off once they're good enough to go about on their own accord."

"Hi!" Silver suddenly chimed in, splashing out of the water between the three Pokémon. "Phae!" he called out excitedly, grinning up to his older sister.

Phaedra smiled fondly, dipping her long neck down to lovingly nuzzle the toddler. "Silver, having fun?"

Silver nodded enthusiastically, and then took note of Phaedra's current posture. "Hey! When will I be able to stand on water? It's so cool!"

"Soon, Silver. Soon." Phaedra tilted her head. "How about I help you? Dive and then jump," she instructed kindly.

"Okay!" Silver replied energetically and then dived underwater. He moved in a loop to gain speed before swimming up as fast as he could. He splashed out of the lake, only managing to propel himself a few feet above the water. Phaedra's eyes glowed briefly as Silver began to fall. Silver landed on the surface and didn't submerge, much like his older sister.

"There we go!" Phaedra exclaimed playfully. "Look at you! You're standing on water!"

Silver looked down, focusing on his feet and how they stayed on the surface of the lake without sinking. "This is so cool!" he shouted with a wide grin. He began to jump up and down eagerly, beaming in delight.

Ailith grinned good-humoredly, extending one of her arms forward. Three wisps of purple flames materialized nearby, immediately catching the toddler's attention. Silver looked at them with mirthful eyes and crouched down to what could be described as a poor attempt at a predatory stance before lunging towards one of the wisps with a roar. It daintily moved out of the way, causing Silver to tumble across the surface to an awkward stop. Silver growled and then lunged at it again, with Ailith making it move out of the way once more.

Phaedra watched her younger sibling play around with a fond look before focusing back on Skailyn. "Anyway, still go—" she began to speak out, but then froze mid-sentence. She let out a long gasp and raised her neck, turning her head to look into the distance with widened eyes. "Wait, what!? This… there's no mistaking that."

Skailyn tilted her head, looking in the same direction as the Lugia. "Oh. I didn't expect this. You're right, there's no mistaking it."

Phaedra frowned. "What's happening?" she questioned sharply, clearly worked up due to what her senses were telling her.

Skailyn's eyes remained locked on the horizon as she began to speak. "The twins and their human friends got involved in a very big fight. I've been keeping track of it."

"Okay, if they're fighting something that means what we're feeling is actually happening! The locks on their powers, they're breaking." Phaedra grimaced, drawing a sharp breath. "That's bad. That's really bad. I can't tell if it's a partial tear or a complete failure, though."

Skailyn rumbled as she closed her eyes. The golden runes that ran down the length of her serpentine body began to glow in a soft purple hue as she connected with her shield. "It's a partial tear," she responded, slowly opening her eyes. "A very big partial tear, but it's not a full failure. The locks are barely holding on."

Phaedra spread her wings and crouched down while tensing the powerful muscles in her legs, preparing to jump so she could take off. "We've got to go help them! If the locks are breaking to begin with, that means they're in grave danger!"

Skailyn twisted around, swiftly uncoiling her body and flying in front of the Lugia to obstruct her path. "No, Phae. We're staying here."

Phaedra blinked in confusion, completely taken aback. "We're staying? Why?"

Skailyn's eyes narrowed. "Think about it. Their locks are breaking. Yes, that means they're in danger. However, I don't sense any supernatural entity within my shield. Whatever has them this worked up is just a mortal threat."

"Mortal threat or whatever, that doesn't mean we shouldn't go help them if they're in danger," Phaedra argued, glaring at the larger dragoness with an incensed expression.

Skailyn shook her head. "That's not the point." She chuckled darkly, slightly baring her sharp red teeth in the process. "I have to admit, I'm very impressed of whoever or whatever managed to push the little twins this far." Her chuckle faded into a savage smirk. "But, guess what? Whoever pushed them this far is now going to die because they just succeeded in pissing off two gods past their breaking point and now have all of that unbound rage and power solely focused on them. Trust me, Phaedra, our intervention isn't needed."

Phaedra growled, a scowl coming to her features. "Yes, I understand that. However, that doesn't justify us standing down and letting them handle what could be a very dangerous situation all on their own. They're way too inexperienced for that, and you know it."

"They are," Skailyn admitted. "But I trust them. I have faith in them. I know they don't need us to babysit them at the first sight of danger. They have an amazing drive and the strength to fight on no matter what." Skailyn's grin faded into an expression of confidence and her voice shifted to a proud tone as she said, "They have the blood of one of the best of us coursing through their veins."

"Yes, they do, and I'm not entirely sure she'd be too happy with this!" Phaedra argued with a snarl, standing up and rising to full height while glaring challengingly at the Rayquaza.

"Phaedra, let them face and overcome their problems and struggles on their own." Skailyn's eyes narrowed as she stretched to full height while baring her teeth with an irritated growl. "Let them earn their victory."

Phaedra glowered at the black dragoness, the water under them churning in direct reflection to the Lugia's attitude. "Skailyn."

Skailyn met Phaedra's challenging glare with an icy glare of her own, making the air around them turn to a creepy standstill. "I'm not going to back down on this. Don't start a fight over my decision."

Silver and Ailith looked between the two, relatively unsurprised and unconcerned expressions on their faces. "Same as always, they haven't changed one bit," Ailith muttered under her breath. Silver giggled slightly at her comment, prompting Ailith to stroke his neck.

After several tense seconds of posturing, Phaedra scoffed in annoyance and roosted down again. "Fine. But it's on you if something happens to the twins."

"Nothing bad will happen," Skailyn responded with confidence. "Whatever it is they're facing off that pushed them past their breaking point, they will defeat it." She smirked viciously, her eyes and the runes running along her body beginning to glow in a pale green light. "So, sit back and enjoy the show." She closed her eyes, spreading her senses and consciousness into the wind around her to 'see' what was happening far beyond the horizon.

Phaedra looked at the Rayquaza unhappily and then sighed. 'You two can do it, stay safe, and win.' Her eyes began to glow in a deep shade of blue just as she closed them. The water under her rippled with a faint sapphire glow that rapidly spread through it and then shot up the river that connected it to the ocean, enabling Phaedra to spread her senses and consciousness to watch the scene that was unfolding far out on Hoenn's coastline.


They felt something happen. Very deep within them, as deep as their very souls, something they had no knowledge of or knew how to describe or even begin to comprehend was happening. It was as if the intense emotional anguish the twins were experiencing from the current life-threatening situation had snapped something in them. Driven by their need to save their friends, strength they didn't know they had in them suddenly burned intensely inside the two dragons.

Latios and Latias' eyes snapped open abruptly, all traces of impotence and fear gone from their now determined gazes. The feeble thoughts of failure and giving up that had plagued their minds in what they believed were their final moments completely vanished, ripped apart by a powerful newfound resolve. An intense light spread over their fierce glares, with Latias' eyes glowing vibrant red and Latios' eyes shining in ferocious teal.

Back on the rooftop of one of the Devon Corp. skyscrapers, Steven's Mega Metagross watched the orange-colored beam of pure energy soaring over the ocean with a hardened gaze. In an instant, their minds calculated the most optimal way out of the blast zone that near-guaranteed their odds of survival and then turned to face where Ash and Steven were standing. The moment Metagross moved, Mawile instantly dashed towards them and jumped, cleanly landing on their back. Skarmory swiftly spread his metallic wings and took off, flying towards them just as Metagross psychically forced Ash, Pikachu, and Steven onto their back.

Joseph Stone watched Metagross' action out the corner of his eye with a saddened smile, and then wearily let out a crestfallen sigh while closing his eyes. "Avenge us, Steven. We're all counting on you," he whispered, peacefully coming to terms with his fate.

Just as Metagross whirled around to rocket away from the imminent ground zero, they suddenly froze on the spot. "What?" they whispered in a skeptical tone. "What… is this I'm sensing?"

"Metagross, hey! What gives!?" Mawile questioned sharply, impatiently tapping her foot on their back. "Don't stop now!"

Steven looked down at them with a frown, concerned by Metagross' very uncharacteristic action. "Metagross, what's wrong? Why did you stop?"

Metagross turned around, looking towards the ever-closing beam as it continued on its way to the city. "Latios and Latias are still alive, and they're currently emanating an immense amount of power."

Ash's eyes widened slowly, his breath pausing ever so slightly. Wordlessly, he leaped off Metagross' back and ran towards the rooftop's edge. He grabbed the security railing and leaned forward as much as his balanced allowed, and then screamed at the top of his lungs, "You can do it, Latias! Latios!"

"Come on! We believe in you!" Pikachu yelled out as loud as he could, echoing his trainer's avid support.

Latios and Latias snarled, their bodies trembling as waves of pure power coursed through them and a deep growl slowly rose along their throats. The agonizing pain of their burning feathers and torn flesh at their front and sides subsided when a thick veil of radiant light pierced through the scorching energy harming them and protectively began to spread across their bodies.

Latios' eyes narrowed in defiance, his stern expression mimicking the thick veil of fierce teal-colored draconic power that completely coalesced around his body. "No, this isn't the end!"

With her eyes brimming of willpower, Latias scowled as an equally mighty veil of vibrant red psychic energy erupted around her. "I agree. This isn't it!"

Back on the rooftop, Ash watched through gritted teeth as the beam began to approach the city's beach line. His hands instinctually gripped the railing tightly, with beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead and trailing down the sides of his face. Pikachu looked on with a tense expression while taking quick and shallow breaths.

Steven slowly slid down Metagross' side. "Metagross, recalculate their chances of stopping that beam!" he urged with an anxious frown.

Metagross' eyes flashed faintly. "With their current power output, they have about a twenty percent chance of success. However, even as we speak, said power output is still rising at an astonishing rate."

Joseph's eyes opened, his jaw dropping slightly as he gazed at the approaching blast with incredulity on his elderly expression. "You mean—"

"There's a chance," Steven finished disbelievingly.

"Recalculating. Their power output is still not diminishing. Fifty percent chance of success," Metagross stated, their eyes glowing in a soft blue hue once more.

"Amazing," Steven whispered breathlessly, taking note of the two barely visible shines of teal and red coming from within the orange blast that grew brighter and brighter with every tense second.

"We've toughed out a rough and lonely childhood at Alto Mare," Latios said as the draconic power encasing him let out a potent burst that vastly increased the forward force of his levitation.

"We've faced many challenges and have prevailed over all of them," Latias added, with the veil of psychic power that had encased her flaring vividly to boost the strength of her levitation.

A booming sound akin to that of a mighty thunderclap caused everyone bar Metagross to jump in surprise at the sudden fright. In the accompanying tremor and gale of battering wind that emanated in all directions from the two young dragons, windows across the city broke and the already torn ocean's surface rippled violently.

"Recalculating," Metagross spoke up, even if those around them were too awestruck to acknowledge their speech any longer. "Seventy-five percent chance of success," they said, their voice astounded as if shocked by their calculation. "Their power output is still not diminishing."

"We aren't just normal Pokémon. We are Legendaries. Our father created Alto Mare by moving an entire ocean and kept it safe for generations," Latias stated boldly, her mind surging as much of her newfound psychic power ahead in the form of a whirl of lively red light.

"We're special, and our story won't end here. We are Legendaries. We stopped a giant tidal wave to protect our father's creation and save everyone in it," Latios boasted, the teal draconic power surrounding him firing ahead aggressively in a fierce maelstrom.

Everything suddenly fell into a chilling silence as the airship's gigantic cannon blast began to slow down noticeably, with only one voice echoing in the frightening standstill. "Recalculating. One hundred percent chance of success," Metagross droned out telepathically, eyes wide and expression stunned. Ash, Pikachu, Steven, Joseph, Mawile, and Skarmory froze in response, watching the scene with bated breath and complete incredulity.

"We are going to stop this…"

"Because…"

In a joint roar that resounded across the heavens, ocean, and city, which conveyed through its deafening boom every single bottled-up emotion and experience, as well as their perseverance to succeed against all odds and protect their loved ones, the two young dragons bellowed with all their might, "WE ARE LEGENDARIES!"

Two colossal bursts tore through the blinding beam of orange energy, creating two shining pillars of divine light, one teal and one red, that shot skywards to the heavens above. Immediately, the airship's deadly attack was ground to a complete stop right above Rustboro City's harbor.

As fast as the pillars had flashed and illuminated the landscape with hope, they faded into the distorted sky and left the twins fighting to contain the attack from progressing any further into the city. Latios gritted his teeth at the immense effort he was undertaking and then briefly glanced at Latias, an unspoken command in his gaze. Latias nodded at him, instinctually knowing what her role would be. She pulled back and left Latios to fight the beam alone, easily exiting the ongoing clash of power with her heightened levitation.

Latias flew back while the potent red glow in her eyes shone brighter. Coming as naturally to her as if she had known the move for ages, an immense outburst of scarlet light surged from her in all directions and began to spread across the air. The Psyshock attack began to harden the deific light she was emanating into a dense wall of solid red psychic energy across the entirety of Rustboro City's beachline.

As Latias did her part, Latios roared and let the draconic power around him flare to such intensity that for the first time since their ordeal began, he began to fly forward. Slowly, the dragon's violent rush of power began to push the airship's beam out of the city's boundaries and back into the ocean.

Almost as if acting instinctually, Latios opened his maw and let a swirling mass of draconic power coalesce into a powerful orb that pulsed and rippled aggressively. Latios' Dragon Pulse kept growing in size, with the sphere morphing in shape until it grew what resembled a long neck, wings, and a tail. The wyvern-shaped mass of power soon dwarfed Latios himself and began to cleanly cleave through the beam's orange energy with each overwhelming pulsation, allowing the dragon to push ahead even further.

Back on the bridge of the Sea Titan airship, Aqua Admin Amber watched with widened eyes and a horrified expression as the beam began to falter against a maelstrom of teal light, and a colossal red shield formed between it and Rustboro City. "How? This… this is impossible! That thing should be unstoppable! Why is it stopping now!? Why isn't it blowing the city up!? I thought this cannon was designed to kill the false god Groudon!"

"It was indeed designed for that, yes," the ship's grunt helmsman confirmed dutifully while doing his best to hide his relief that the city wasn't going to be destroyed.

"But… it's being stopped by two lesser Pokémon," Amber grumbled, his hands balling into fists while an exasperated sigh escaped his lips.

The helmsman nodded. "That means—"

"Either those two are more powerful than that stupid Groudon, or Groudon is far more powerful than we estimated and the cannon came up painfully short," Amber mumbled with a dejected shake of his head. He turned around, facing his crew. "Brace for impact, this is going to be a rough one! Prepare the ship for combat, I suspect we're in for some action, boys!" he barked, and then watched with a sharp glower as his crew frantically got to work.

Meanwhile, back at the tower, everyone watched with dumbfounded expressions, as if barely believing what they were witnessing. "They're doing it," Ash whispered, jaw dropped and eyes widened with admiration. "They're actually doing it!"

Pikachu looked on from his spot on Ash's shoulder, a proud grin forming on his lips. "Yeah, that's our friends!" he exclaimed energetically, pumping a fist in the air.

Joseph smiled while leaning into Metagross' side for support lest his elderly legs buckle under him. His features showed a flood of relief as if new life had been breathed into him. "It seems the heavens have decided today isn't our final day."

"Those two are amazing," Steven admitted breathlessly, his silver eyes filled with respect. Mawile, Metagross, and Skarmory silently nodded in agreement. "Everyone, brace yourselves! That thing will blow up any moment now!" Steven called out, making sure the imminent blast didn't catch anyone off-guard.

By now Latias' Psyshock-formed shield had finished settling itself across the city's coastline, leaving a dense red wall that began at the beach and extended almost as high as the eye could see into the sky, leaving much of what was happening beyond it shrouded with a heavy red tint for everyone within the city.

When Latios sensed Latias' shield had finished forming, he let out a ferocious roar and then detonated his mighty Dragon Pulse. The attack exploded with a destructive blast that also ignited the orange energy he had been holding off up to that point. The first thing that happened was a blinding flash of incandescent light that lasted for several agonizing seconds of pure silence.

Everyone on the Devon rooftop gasped as everything beyond Latias' wall went white and had to use their arms to cover their eyes from the striking radiance. The ominous silence was violently shattered by a muffled yet still resounding blast that forced them to cover their ears as well. The flash slowly faded, revealing an enormous explosion that grew into a colossal ball of fire that rose miles into the sky. The explosion set off a strong Earthquake that shook Rustboro City harshly, and the ensuing shockwaves pushed the sea away in the form of a large wave that tumbled outwards to the ocean.

The massive detonation collided against Latias' psychic shield with devastating force, pushing back against it with an immense amount of heat and relentless shockwaves. However, despite noticeably fizzling down in some parts and cracking on others, it held as strong as Latias' willpower and fulfilled its purpose of shielding the entirety of the city from certain destruction.

Everyone watched anxiously as the shield held strong, even though it was pushed back slightly from the strain of containing an explosion of that magnitude. Occasionally, severe cracks would form that would let small embers through, but the wall would recover almost immediately to prevent anything more from bypassing it.

"Simply astounding," Steven murmured once he could uncover his eyes and ears, watching the explosion behind the wall with horrified awe. He reached up to his face and wiped the sweat off his brow, no doubt formed from the drastic increase of temperature in the environment. Ash and Joseph nodded slowly in agreement, their jaws hanging open slightly.

The massive column of fire gradually faded into nothingness, leaving behind an imposing and intimidating mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke that stretched miles into the sky that was still clearly discernible behind the heavy red tint provided by Latias' psychic shield.

Ash blinked incredulously a few times as he struggled to grasp the fact that a blast of that scale could have gone off in the center of a large city like Rustboro. He gulped, realizing Latias and Latios were still at the forefront of dealing with that explosion. "Hey, Metagross?" he asked fretfully, glancing at the Iron Leg Pokémon.

"Yes?" Metagross answered curtly, acknowledging the young trainer.

"Are Latios and Latias safe?" Ash asked, concerned. Pikachu glanced at Metagross, paying attention to what he would answer.

Metagross' eyes flashed briefly. "They are alive. Their power output has stopped increasing, but it's still holding out at an immense quantity."

Pikachu let out a sigh of relief and looked up as the mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke rose and billowed in the wind. "They did it. They… did it."

"They saved us all," Ash surmised with a smile. "They actually saved us all!" he exclaimed ardently.

Latias' shield began to crackle noticeably and then started dissipating into an enormous shower of endless red sparkles that shone in the sunlight and harmlessly vanished into thin air. The gigantic mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke, the final inkling of the fate that almost befell Rustboro City, was abruptly pushed outwards and torn apart by a massive red wave of telekinetic energy, revealing a very much safe and alive pair of dragons right in the middle of it. The twins were still coated in a thick and vibrant veil of their respective powers, with defiant glares predominating on their determined faces.

Aqua Admin Amber scowled at the two dragons in the distance from the safety of the airship's bridge. "Prepare the cannon again!" he angrily barked to his subordinates. "Half-reactor ignition!"

"B-but sir, they just stopped a full-reactor ignition, how is a half-reactor ignition going to do anything?" one of the grunts questioned, glancing up from her control panel with incredulity.

"There's no way they'll give us enough time for another full ignition, a halved one charges much faster and is still very deadly. Besides, they could be tired and thus unable to meet it as they did earlier. Plus, a full ignition means all power has to be diverted to the cannon, and I have a feeling we'll need our secondary weaponry this time around," Amber explained sharply. "Have all the guns across the ship ready!"

The airship's main cannon began to buzz again, with an orange light emanating from its depths. Its engines flared as it got into position and took aim towards the two dragons. Numerous hatches across the upper hull and its large fin-like structures opened to allow dozens of laser turrets and missiles launchers to deploy.

"Looks like they're going to do it again," Latias noted with a frown. "They didn't learn."

Latios growled. "Well, I won't let them!" The dragon flew ahead and opened his mouth. A whirl of draconic power violently flared in front of him as he readied another Dragon Pulse. The dragon's red eyes glowed with a blinding flash of blue, which swiftly spread across his body. His Luster Purge attack began to feed into the Dragon Pulse he was creating, causing both moves to rapidly coalesce together into a wyvern-shaped figure that kept growing and growing in size. The wyvern of both vibrant blue light and fierce teal energy ferociously spread its wings, which crackled with limitless wrath. Latios let out a deafening roar as the attack kept growing until it had become several times his size and prominently dwarfed him.

"Sir! Our sensors indicate we can't shrug off an attack of that magnitude!" a grunt called out in alarm, numerous red lights flashing on his screen. "What do we do!?"

Amber turned around and faced his gunners, extending an arm to point towards Latios in panic while frantically yelling, "Fire all secondary weaponry towards that thing, now!"

The airship's myriad of turrets and missile launchers buzzed to life and aimed, immediately homing in on Latios. The airship was blanked in a cloud of smoke as dozens of small air-to-air missiles and laser blasts were fired from it.

Latias narrowed her eyes and flew to her brother's side. Her eyes pulsed with red light as she fired a powerful wave of telekinetic energy. The massive psychic attack cleanly intercepted all the incoming lasers and missiles, detonating them in midair before they could reach Latios in a flurry of blasts that stained the entire space between the airship and the dragons with countless wisps of smoke and fire. The red wave continued, impacting against the ship and rocking it slightly. Latias focused her attack on the airship's missile canisters and laser turrets, immediately crushing them into scraps and rendering them completely useless.

"Sir, we just lost all defensive weaponry!" a grunt cried out in alarm while tugging at his hair, looking in horror at the numerous messages of 'weapon systems offline' flashing across his screen.

"That dragon will fire any moment now and the main cannon is still a couple of minutes away from firing!" another grunt exclaimed in horror, desperately looking at Amber. "Orders, sir!"

Amber's eyes widened as he realized the entire situation had turned against him, badly. "Quick! Close all hatches and windows, lower all blast doors, and turn off the main engines!" he commanded urgently. "Fast!"

Latios slowly reared his head back and then thrust it forward, firing off his gigantic Luster Purge and Dragon Pulse combined attack so aggressively that he recoiled a dozen feet backward as a result. The teal and blue wyvern-shaped projectile pulsed ominously as it flew towards the airship with a searing screech, soaring over the ocean's surface with such speed and intensity that it cleaved a clean fissure across the waves.

The airship's now destroyed gun emplacements began to lower inside of it and close off, while the ship's numerous openings such as the hangar bay and its hatches began to seal shut. The ship's main engines located at its Kyogre-shaped 'fins' stopped spinning and powered off, causing the airship to sharply lose altitude as gravity took hold of it.

All the Team Aqua personnel on the ship's bridge watched with horror as the dragon's immense attack soared towards them, and then held onto their consoles for balance as the force of the ship's steep plummet caught up to them. A metallic plate slid down over the bridge's windows, cutting their view of Latios' incoming attack and leaving them to wait and pray in the dark.

Thanks to Amber's emergency maneuver, Latios' giant projectile almost overshot the airship. However, it still found its mark. Instead of colliding against the airship head-on, the attack slammed against the top-left section and its main cannon. A massive onslaught of draconic force and psychic energy tore across the ship's upper sections, setting off a colossal explosion that rocked the ship and caused it to fall into the ocean while tilted on its side. The ocean's surface was pushed out in a huge wave due to the large quantity of displaced water, which was then blemished by hundreds of flaming pieces of debris landing on it from the now torn airship.

"Whoa!" Ash gasped, watching as the once-mighty airship collapsed into the ocean with an explosion almost as big as itself coming from its upper fuselage and a thick plume of smoke rising from it. He flinched as a faint boom echoed in the distance and a light shockwave reached them, both no doubt greatly weakened after traveling for several miles.

Joseph smiled, extremely impressed. He raised his hands and applauded briefly. "Well, that thing is out of the picture now. The city is truly safe."

"Indeed," Metagross agreed. "The ship's main cannon has been destroyed in the explosion, and now poses no harm. They have been defeated."

"It's finally over," Steven commented wearily. "This ordeal is finally over."

Back on the main bridge of the Sea Titan airship, Amber shakily struggled to stand up. He was clutching his head as the powerful blast and its ensuing turbulence had caused him to fall over and hit himself roughly. He removed his hand and looked at it, scowling at the stains of blood on it. He glanced back, noting the sheer amount of red lights flashing across the few screens that remained functional, with many of the equipment shooting out sparks from damage and short-circuiting. "Damage report!" he called out as his crew unsteadily got back to their seats.

A grunt glanced into a screen and frowned as she took in the information displayed on it. "…I think it's going to be easier for me to list what parts of the airship aren't damaged, sir," she reported awkwardly.

Amber growled in frustration, hitting a metal panel next to him and staining it with blood. "Total loss?" he questioned angrily.

"Total loss," the grunt confirmed with a wince.

Amber looked down, wondering what was next for them. 'Those two dragons are still out there and could come to finish us off any moment now,' he realized in alarm. "Everyone! Turn the ship around if it still can and sail away from the coast. Program the ship to scuttle itself! Load the stolen goods from Devon into the Explorer One submarine! Sound the order to abandon ship!" he ordered as he walked towards the bridge's exit along with his overgrown Crawdaunt. The grunts frantically got to work, with those who had no role in Amber's commands abandoning their stations so they could evacuate.

The airship at this point was damaged far beyond salvation. Its upper hull was a torn scrapyard of twisted metal and debris, with numerous fires and towers of smoke rising from it. The entire left side of the ship had been blown open and the fin-like structure that once adorned it slowly sunk below the waves, having been ripped off by the explosion from Latios' devastating attack. Water rapidly flooded into the ravaged airship, which began to slowly turn around by igniting the still functioning engine on its right fin and its rear engines.

Latias tilted her head, taking note of its lumbering movements. "Looks like they're retreating," she pointed out.

"Yeah, they are. Well, they're not getting away!" Latios shouted. He opened his mouth, creating another powerful swirl of draconic energy in front of him.

Latias frowned, looking between the airship and Latios several times. She knew the destroyed vessel wouldn't be able to sustain another assault by her brother, and she knew that he knew that. It was painfully obvious that he was set on killing everyone within the airship as retaliation. Her gaze hardened as she flew ahead, levitating directly in front of him. "Latios, stop it. That's enough, we've won already."

"Latias, move out of the way!" Latios ordered telepathically as his Dragon Pulse began to grow into a wyvern-shaped pulsing mass of teal energy.

"Listen, Latios. I know you're angry at them, I am too. However, killing them all isn't the right thing. So, drop that attack, now," Latias responded firmly, her eyes narrowing defiantly.

"Latias, why are you defending them!?" Latios questioned disbelievingly. "They were about to kill us all just a minute ago!" he added, the ire in his voice increasing with every word.

"I'm not defending them nor do I intend to let them get away, but I won't allow you to just execute them like you plan to. Listen, we have this amazing power right now. Let's just go, tear that ship open, take every person inside and hand them over to Rustboro City. Let the city decide their fate, not us," Latias said back, her voice calm to not provoke her brother any further.

Latios growled, glaring at her through his now fully formed Dragon Pulse attack. "I do—"

"I know you don't like it," Latias interrupted sharply, her amber eyes beginning to glow a bright tone of red. "Remember I have a power similar to yours right now, and I don't plan to move. You shoot that Dragon Pulse and I will fight you. So, I repeat. Drop that attack."

Latios grumbled in frustration, looking at her for several long moments. He closed his mouth, letting the Dragon Pulse dissipate into a harmless burst of teal embers all around him. "Fine. But I'm not happy about this."

Latias smiled gently, flying forward to nuzzle him affectionately. "Thank you for seeing it my way. Now, let's go and get Team Aqua out of that thing. As I said, Rustboro will decide their fate."

Latios rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Fine. Whatever."

Both dragons flew ahead for a bit before suddenly freezing in midair. "Aaah!" Latios screeched, doubling down and wincing in pain while shutting his eyes closed. The powerful aura of draconic energy around him began to recede into his body and slowly disappear.

Latias cringed, closing her eyes as she let out a short cry. Her red aura began to fade away, disappearing until it too was gone completely. She recoiled back from the pain. "That hurts!" she shrieked.

"Y-yeah," Latios agreed weakly, slowly opening an eye while letting out ragged breaths. "But, it's going away. The pain's going away," he wheezed out. "I'm having a lot of trouble maintaining my levitation, though."

"Me too," Latias answered through heavy panting. She let out a gasp as an immense wave of exhaustion befell on her, causing her to almost fall out of the sky. "Oh, I feel completely beat."

Latios flinched as he felt his eyelids grow unbearably heavy and his body almost going numb from the intense fatigue that suddenly overtook him. "I feel really, really tired right now."

Latias remained still for a short while, winding down while reflecting on what had just happened. "Whatever… whatever happened back there, I don't feel it anymore, Latios. I… I feel normal. Like I've always felt." Latias glanced back as if making sure Rustboro City was still there, which thankfully, it was and looked perfectly fine.

Latios followed her gaze, frowning in the process. He looked between the city and Latias, and then looked at the giant crater close to the beach line that was slowly filling back with seawater. His eyes widened slowly as the full realization of what the two had just done dawned on him. "Wait, did we just do that?" he asked doubtfully.

"Seems like it," Latias responded, also looking at the city with disbelief. She looked back at Latios and gasped. "You're no longer injured!" she blurted out in shock. "I could've sworn that blast would leave a mark."

"Huh." Latios craned his long neck sideways to look at himself, gratefully finding that his feathers were perfectly fine and without a trace of injury. He immediately looked at Latias and closely examined her, and found to his utter relief that she too was uninjured. "You're not injured either!" he announced, pleased.

Latias smiled faintly, also checking herself over just in case. "That's good." She paused, closing her eyes briefly before weakly opening them again. "I'm extremely tired, though. I feel like I'm about to drop at any moment."

"Yeah, me too," Latios agreed. "Whatever is it we did back there, it left us completely drained." He sighed, moving to face the destroyed Team Aqua airship. "Should we still go and get those thugs out of that thing?" he wondered. "I'm not sure we can anymore, we're tired and without the power that we had back there, it's going to be a lot tougher."

"And, a lot more dangerous. That ship could still have hundreds of Team Aqua grunts inside of it for all we know," Latias pointed out. "Let's just forget it, they're not worth risking ourselves when we can barely fly."

Before the two dragons could debate any further, they let out a startled jump when a pair of potent booms tore through the air. Two explosions rose from the airship, rocking it violently on the ocean's surface. With the deadly blow delivered and with water flowing in at an unstoppable rate, the ship began to sink beneath the waves.

"Oh, it looks like they're sinking their vessel. That means they probably already got away," Latios commented with an annoyed huff. He rolled his eyes at his sister. "You just had to stop me, didn't you?"

Latias scoffed. "Okay, listen, I couldn't have known we'd go back to being powerless at this precise moment, so don't give me any of that."

"Fine, I guess. It's a shame it didn't last any longer," Latios murmured as he turned around. "Come, let's fly back to our friends. We need to rest, and they're probably worried sick."

Latias nodded in agreement while turning around. "Yeah."

The twins began to fly back to the city. They didn't speak to each other throughout their flight, feeling perfectly content to let a peaceful silence settle down between them. The two exhausted dragons took way longer than they expected to reach the city, due to them flying at a very slow pace. After what seemed like an eternity, they entered Rustboro's boundaries and headed straight towards the Devon Corp. headquarters. The pair felt immensely uncomfortable as everyone's gazes instantly fell on them upon their return.

"Okay, before any of you ask anything. No, I don't know what we did or how we did it," Latios said awkwardly.

"How?" Ash asked, speechless and struggling to come up with anything else to say.

"…I literally just said 'don't ask' because I don't have a clue," Latios repeated, holding out his claws in protest.

Latias flew towards Ash and tackled him, causing the youth to fall on his back. Unable to contain herself any longer, she let out a sob while pressing her head into his chest and letting tears freely flow down from her eyes. Ash silently wrapped his arms around the crying dragoness in comfort, and Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder to place a soothing paw on her long neck.

Latios quietly looked at them and then nervously glanced at Joseph, Steven, and his Pokémon out the corner of his eye. He turned around, his gaze falling on the ocean and the distant horizon while he silently pondered what he and Latias had just done.


Chapter 24 End


Author Notes: And thus, there ends what is perhaps the most impactful chapter I have ever written! This chapter will leave plenty of inklings and clues to you all on just what exactly the twins are. Once again, thanks to all my readers for sticking with me for so long and for being there for me. You're all amazing!

On other notes…

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