Chapter 97: Dawn and Dusk
"I can't believe I'm actually doing this."
Cyrus hadn't directed that statement at anyone in particular. It was just one of those sudden realizations that formed in his mind and left through his lips before he could even process them, and it was only by coincidence that Cynthia was close enough to hear him.
"Hm? Doing what?" she inquired, looking over her shoulder. "Sitting on a log? Seeing me train? Eating a popsicle?"
"N-no, that's… those are all quite believable."
A small battle raged while they talked. What Cyrus had previously thought of as one of Cynthia's many flights of fancy was in fact her usual method of training; going to the middle of nowhere, having her Roselia use Sweet Scent and then defeating the hordes of Pokemon that came crashing down on them in waves. Many, many waves. It had been quite nerve-wracking the first few times. And even now, two weeks into their journey together, he couldn't stop himself from freezing up at the sight of dozens –and sometimes hundreds– of angry Pokemon stampeding toward them.
Right before Cynthia's team fell them all in one fast swoop, that is.
"Well? Spit it out, then!" Cynthia sat right next to him. "What is it that you can't believe?"
Cyrus shrank into himself at the sudden closeness. Synn above, why couldn't this girl understand personal boundaries? Why couldn't anyone?
"It's… I guess I haven't fully internalized it yet," he admitted, looking away from her. "That I'm here, with you. That I ran away from home."
He took a lick of the pink popsicle, and Cynthia did the same with hers a second after. For a moment, they just looked as bursts of flame and arcs of electricity flew through the air, each attack taking out at least a dozen wild Pokemon.
"Are you having regrets?" Cynthia finally asked.
Cyrus shook his head. "It's more complicated than that."
"Heh. When is it not with you?"
Her words were met with an icy glare.
"You're the one that dragged me away from Sunyshore for some god-forsaken reason," he spat out angrily. "The least you could do is listen to my thoughts."
Cynthia sighed. "This again… I didn't drag you anywhere, the final decision was yours, wasn't it?"
"Yes, because you twisted my arm something fierce."
"Hmph. That's ridiculous," she replied. "I gave you a way out and you took it, that's all. You're always over thinking everything."
"Maybe I wouldn't have to think twice about everything if you thought about them once yourself," he muttered. "And you still haven't told me why you went out of your way to have me come with you. Why do you even want me here?"
The face that Cynthia made just then might have been funny, had Cyrus not felt so frustrated. She leaned forward, eyes half lidded with frustration, absentmindedly licking at her popsicle.
"Why must there be a reason for everything? Do you want me to write you up an explanation in the style of an academic paper and have it signed by three different experts on the field every time I decide to do something?"
Cyrus scoffed. "You're dodging the question. And at least that would make it feel less like you're just toying with me."
That got Cynthia's attention. Her popsicle froze halfway toward her mouth and she just stared ahead for a moment, pensive, before glancing sideways toward him. The look on her face was one he hadn't seen since their time in Sunyshore. Since she'd overheard his parents arguing.
"Is… that what you think I'm doing?"
Cyrus looked away. He always had trouble looking people in the eye, but with Cynthia it was exacerbated tenfold.
"You're on your way to become the Champion. To stop this war," he said. "But what am I doing here? What am I supposed to do when your journey's over, when you don't want my company anymore? After that letter I left in mom's house, I can't go back anymore. So sorry to be blunt but yes, it does feel a little like I'm just a souvenir you found in Sunyshore and thought would be nice to bring along with you."
It was a long while before Cynthia found anything to say. Normally he wouldn't have been sure if she was still looking at him, but somehow he knew that she was. He could feel her eyes on the side of his head.
"Do you not like traveling with me?" she asked. "Are you unhappy?"
Cyrus grunted. "I'm not, that's kind of the problem. How do you not understand that?"
"I… just don't," she said. "I'm sorry but I don't get it. You wanted to come with me, so you came with me. I'm really not seeing the problem."
"… Never mind. It's fine, just–"
Cyrus stood up, feeling a crackling anxiety in his stomach, but a hand closed around his wrist before he could walk away. The feeling was like a bucket of cold water being dumped on him. There was a sudden, illogical panic, but also something else, something warm and confusing. He turned around quickly, finding himself face to face with Cynthia again.
"I like you," she said, with a determination firm as steel. "I want you to be my friend. It's been… really lonely, before this. Before I met you."
Cyrus' mouth gaped. "I…"
"There's your why, your reason," she spat out. "I'm bad at saying things with words directly, so I wanted to show you with actions. I'm sorry if it felt like I was toying with you."
He felt a pang of guilt at those words, and once again had to look away.
"I'm… really bad at reading between the lines," he admitted. "It's hard for me to understand things unless they're told to me directly. So I guess that means we're a pretty lousy pair."
Despite his downcast tone, Cynthia didn't take that as a bad thing. She smiled, and Cyrus could tell that she did even though he was looking away. There was something radiant about Cytnhia, something that was impossible to ignore.
"Or maybe it means we both have things we can learn from each other," she offered. "Doesn't that thought feel nicer?"
And it did, as much as Cyrus wanted to deny it. Hope felt nicer. He did like Cynthia, he did like traveling with her. And he did want to believe that this would all turn out alright. It was only every single other life experience of his that cautioned him otherwise.
Yet something about Cynthia's face, about her smile, always made him look back at her. Always managed to convince him, despite the odds.
"Yeah… it does."
At some point that day, the passage of time had slipped by Inyssa. She remembered what happened, of course. She'd talked with a lot of people, both in person and over the phone; Lucian, Fantina and Johanna, all of whom had assured her that the Sarah situation was in capable hands. And finally Cynthia, who met her on the outskirts of Pastoria (for safety reasons) and offered her a ride to Sunyshore, though it wasn't as much an offer as a polite order. Inyssa had agreed, and after saying her goodbyes and giving her contact information to the hospital so they could update her on Pyxis' condition, they were off.
It was evening by the time they set foot in the brilliant city. Inyssa remembered some awe breaking through the exhaustion sitting heavy on her shoulders at the sight of the setting sun cutting a straight white line over the endless ocean, its fading light mixing with the many reflective surfaces of the city to create a blinding landscape.
But she could barely remember that feeling, in retrospect. It felt blurry, like someone else's memory, the sheer weight of her dissociative state making the entire day pass by in a hazed blur, like a reel of still, dead images scrolling through her eyes.
She'd spent some time with Barry, and started to feel more like herself once she met with him and Metchi later, but her relief at that paled in comparison with her guilt. Her shame. She didn't feel like she deserved it, not after what had happened back in Pastoria. Not after she'd failed to stop that tragedy from taking place.
The two of them, of course, objected in their own ways, and despite her best efforts to the contrary, they did eventually manage to pull her out of that dark, cold place her mind had stumbled back into. As impossible as it had seemed a few minutes ago, she did smile again. Laughed once or twice, even. It brought her back to her senses enough to remind her that she hadn't eaten or drunk any water in almost a day. Once she did, she felt so much better that she couldn't help but feel frustrated at herself.
That warmth, that fleeting sense of peace she'd found for only a few hours back in Pastoria, was back, as though it'd never left. But it had, and it would again and again. Why couldn't she hang on to it? Even just a small piece, just the memory of it, a reminder that there existed something beyond these colder, harsher days. A reminder of what she was fighting for. Even as little as remembering to rest or feed herself would've helped, and still…
Why can't I just remember? she thought. Isn't that what I'm supposed to be good at? Why do I have to make things harder for myself?
In the end, though, even those frustrations sunk down to the bottom thanks to Barry and Metchi's company, and through a blur of food, conversations and bad jokes, she eventually fully came to herself. It was only then that she realized how much of a haze the previous hours had been.
They were on a fancy hotel room Volkner had reserved from them, sitting on comfortable leather couches around a small table full of booze that Metchi was downing by herself. She sat on the floor across from them, back resting against the enormous body of her snoring Tropius, Lyserg.
Inyssa blinked a few times, and realized she was resting her head on Barry's shoulder, one arm linked with his. Her other hand was busy petting Steven's head, the Staraptor having fallen asleep on her lap a while ago. The rest of their Pokemon were strewn around the room, sleeping or eating or just playing with each other. She vaguely remembered airing concerns about letting a bunch of Pokemon out in here, to which Metchi just shrugged and asked what else were they supposed to use all the space for.
She gulped, the sudden clarity coming with a hint of guilt as well. Her left arm tightened around Barry's, which made him look her way, a quizzical look on his face.
"Barry, I'm…" She gulped, and was pleasantly surprised that her throat didn't hurt anymore. "I'm sorry, I–"
"Again?"
The amusement –and small amount of irritation– with which Barry said that caught her off guard. She hung there for a moment, unsure of what to say.
"You apologized like fifteen times already," he pointed out.
Inyssa gulped. "I… did?"
"Yeah. And every time I told you the same; it wasn't your fault."
"I… maybe if I'd complied, neither Pyxis nor your mom would've–"
Metchi let out a groan. "Dear tap-dancing fuck, are you really gonna get like this again?"
Heat rose up to Inyssa's cheeks. She shot Metchi a cold glare. "Hey, I was talking to him, not you."
"He's probably thinking the same, but is too polite to say it," shrugged Metchi. "And I'm sure Lyserg and all the other Pokemon here would say the same, if they could talk."
"Well…"
"Here, how's this? How about you two dipshits stop blaming yourselves for things that your shitty family members have done?" she offered. "Wild, I know."
"M-Metchi!" Inyssa pursed her lips, glancing from her to Barry. "That's…"
"It's fine," said Barry, sighing. "I… she's not wrong."
Both women looked at him. He shrugged and looked away, trying to keep the sadness out of his expression.
"I always knew mom was a little… unstable, in some ways. Especially after the war. Dad used to say that she wasn't so intense before that, so… overprotective," he explained. "He said she used to be a lot more… nuanced, I guess. More willing to compromise. But because I never knew that part of her, I didn't notice something was really wrong when I talked to her after the funeral. And even if I did… I don't know what I could've told her to make her snap out of it."
Inyssa nodded. She'd had the same feeling a few times before, had seen that dangerous fear behind the woman's eyes, that over protectiveness that could have –and eventually had- so easily turned to grief and a rage so potent it would burn down everything around her.
"You should be glad that nobody died, at least," said Metchi. "And that thanks to Lucian covering it all up, your mom's not going to prison, even though she probably should." Inyssa opened her mouth and was about to call her out for her lack of tact, but Metchi cut her off. "Anyway, thank you for saving Pyxis' life. I always did like her. We should all pay her a visit once all this end of the world business is done with.."
Again, that heat rose to her cheeks and Inyssa could do little but look away.
"Yeah..."
"I'd like that," smiled Barry. "And… I think we should get some rest now," he said, looking up at the clock that indicated it was already 2 a.m.
Inyssa nodded. "Cynthia said she wanted to take us somewhere tomorrow, but I figure we can try and get Volkner's badge before that."
The three of them nodded. Metchi, letting out a mix between a yawn and a groan, pushed herself to her feet and made her neck click before returning Lyserg to her ball.
"Yeah, sounds good," she said. "I'll head to my room, leave you two lovebirds alone."
Inyssa pursed her lips, her cheeks reddening. "Don't call us that."
"What, am I wrong?" she said with a sly smile. "You've been glued to him all day. And don't think I haven't noticed that oversized shirt you're wearing under your jacket. It's Barry's, is it?"
"S-shut up," muttered Inyssa, hugging Barry's arm even tighter. "It's… therapeutic, alright? I think I've earned it by now."
The next day, Inyssa and Barry set out for the gym first thing in the morning. They would've asked Metchi if she wanted to accompany them, but judging by how much the woman had drunk last night, she probably deserved a couple more hours of sleep. It wasn't like she was a big fan of Pokemon fights, or Volkner, or Cynthia for that matter. They could pick her up on their way back.
The building itself wasn't nearly as impressive as Inyssa had imagined for a city like Sunyshore. It looked… fine. It was certainly one of the biggest she'd seen yet, and the multitude of enormous light bulbs and strange rods which shot beams of electricity at each other made for impressive scenery, but it lacked… something that had been present in the other gyms. It was like someone had told Volkner to make the building electric-themed and he'd done so reluctantly, putting in the minimum required effort.
Makes sense if he's disillusioned with his job like I heard, she thought. Not many can give him a proper challenge.
Hopefully that would change today. It'd been some time since she'd engaged in a proper Pokemon battle, and the same was true of Barry, but they'd been keeping up their training regardless, even if one of them was no longer a League challenger. She doubted they could win against Volkner in their first try, but they'd at least give him one hell of a fight.
Said Gym leader was waiting for them in the middle of the deserted arena, and he was not alone.
"Ah. Inyssa, Barry, it's nice to see you again." Cynthia smiled as they approached, her voice soft yet powerful as usual. "How's the morning treating you?"
Inyssa and Barry exchanged a quick look. It always felt awkward exchanging pleasantries with the ex-Champion, especially after everything that had happened. She mumbled something under her breath and Barry replied with a smile and a comment about how comfortable the hotel beds had been.
"That's good to hear," nodded Cynthia, then she looked at Inyssa. "I… heard about what happened in Pastoria. You both have my condolences."
"What?" muttered Barry. "Oh… yeah I mean, it's not like it was your fault. It's fine."
"Where've you been these past few days anyway?" asked Inyssa. "You said you had some things to take care of, yeah?"
"I… yes. I've been here and there, taking care of things, making sure all is ready," she explained, tone heavy. "I spoke with Fantina just last night, and she told me we might have an easier access point into Mt. Coronet thanks to a potential new ally, but that is for her to worry about. The important thing is that Lucian has secured me a secure, stealthy route to a certain spot in Lily of the Valley island. As I told you through call earlier, I'll need the two of you and Metchi to accompany me once this battle is over."
The Fantina thing was new, but Inyssa figured from the impatient look on Cynthia's face that there wasn't much time for explanations. Besides, that was their mission. She, Barry, Metchi and Cynthia had their own task to worry about, and it was a pretty hefty one as is.
"Right," she nodded. "Then, should we start?"
Volkner let out a sigh, the first sound he'd made yet, and with lazy movements he grabbed the back of his neck and made it click. He then shot them a sharp look and lowered his hand to his belt.
"Yeah, about that," he said. "Original plan was for both of you to get your turn with me, but miss ex-Champion here says time is of the essence, so she came up with an idea."
"An… idea?" frowned Inyssa. "What do you…?"
Simultaneously, almost as though they had planned it, both Volkner and Cynthia produced a Pokeball from their belts, and the combined weight and power of their gazes falling upon them sent shivers down the young trainers' spines. Inyssa's breath hitched. Next to her, Barry's eyes went wide with awe, his mouth forming an excited 'O'.
"W-wait, you mean…?"
"Indeed," chuckled Cynthia. "We're all here, aren't we? It'd be shameful to waste such a wondrous opportunity to test each other's mettle."
"The two of us against the two of you," Volkner explained. "Sound good?"
The two young trainers barely needed a second to recover, their reactions identical. They took a step back and grabbed a ball from their belt each, raising them forward to meet their opponents. Mixed looks of fear and excitement crossed their faces.
"This is the best thing ever," whispered Barry, his voice going thin.
"A battle against the two strongest in Sinnoh?" asked Inyssa with a hungry smile. "I'd be an idiot to refuse."
"That's the spirit," smiled Cynthia.
Volkner sighed again, shoulders sloped. "I'll be honest, I wasn't all that stoked when I heard I'd have to fight you two, but hey, you did rank right under that Reiko girl in the annual trainer evaluation, and she wasn't bad at all. Still took her eight tries before she beat me, but she got the badge in the end." For the first time, the boredom disappeared from his face, replaced with something much more intense. "This might just be worth my time, even if one of you is no longer a challenger."
A crease formed in Inyssa's forehead at those words. Of course he'd mentioned that, and now everyone's eyes were on her, equally curious, even if Barry was trying to hide it. She hadn't told him her reason for throwing away her badges yet. Hadn't felt like talking about it. But he'd been patient enough, and it wasn't a feeling she could bury forever.
Besides, what better place to melt the icy doubt gripping at her than in the flames of battle?
She looked down, closing her eyes, and spoke.
"I was… a different person when I started my journey. Or at least I'd like to think so," she said, forming a tiny smile. "I am still a trainer; that will never change. My blood will always rush and boil whenever I find myself in a battle, and I wouldn't have it any other way. My ultimate aim is still to become the Champion of Sinnoh… but now I realize it's not a goal worth losing my life, or my happiness, over. I'm done desperately chasing after the shadow that's tormented me all my life. After all of this is done, I will give myself time, something I haven't done since setting foot outside of Twinleaf. And then…"
Inyssa pressed her free hand against her chest, and looked up at Cynthia with a calm smile.
"Then, I'll begin my new journey. And whether it's here or someplace else, I'll make sure to learn from the mistakes of my previous journey. I'll take my time and enjoy every little moment and distraction along the way, instead of rushing on ahead as fast as I can, ignoring everything in my path." She gave a decisive nod, her hand closing into a fist. "And when I come back to claim the title of Champion, it will be on my own terms."
There was silence when she finished speaking. She could feel Barry's wide stare on her, and even Volkner seemed somewhat impressed by her words. Cynthia's face, however… there was something oddly controlled about her expression. A tightness to her lips and cheeks. It almost looked like shame.
"I see…" whispered Cynthia. "That is entirely reasonable. I promise I will do everything in my power to secure a future in which you can accomplish that goal."
After a few seconds, Volkner gave a vague nod, his gaze down on the floor.
"…I can dig that," he said. "Battling for the love of it, huh? There is something to that."
"I… wish I could be that sure of myself, ha," smiled Barry. "But yeah… you're right. We'll have time to figure things out later, and now… it doesn't matter if this battle is pointless, if we're gonna get the badge whether we win or not! We're still trainers, and that means that when our eyes meet, we fight!"
Inyssa shot him a loving smile. If she'd been able to take hold of his hand, she'd have done it. "Couldn't have said it better myself. Now, you two geezers ready?" she asked, glaring at their opponents. "We'll show you what this new generation of trainers is capable of."
Volkner, hand in his pocket, and Cynthia, arms folded, exchanged a quick look and a smile before taking a step back as they opened their Pokeballs in unison, the shared burst of light making the already well-lit room pale in comparison. What emerged as the glow disappeared were two creatures that sent nervous, yet excited shivers down Inyssa and Barry's spines.
The large, brute-looking Electivire and the lithe, beautiful Alolan Ninetales stared them down, immense power exuding out of their bodies.
"Been a while since I felt the need to go all out," smiled Volkner, a hungry look on his face. "Try to last more than a couple minutes before losing, alright?"
"It was the eve of winter when we last fought, that morning of the Festival of Spirit," said Cynthia. "You fell against this very Pokemon, yet later on succeeded in saving my life and that of countless others, winning a battle I was not able to. I want you to show me that boundless determination again; fight as though your lives depend on it!"
She threw her hand forward, and her next command echoed throughout the walls of the gym with the force of a storm.
"Inyssa Dawn, Barry Paladino, succeed where before you fell short!" she ordered. "Show me what you're truly made of!"
The trainers' yells echoed with the same strength as they threw their Pokeballs up in the air.
"Yes ma'am!"
Lines of black and red and purple were painted onto the ground of the arena, smoldering carvings of the mere aftershocks of the bursts of energy swirling around at hurricane speeds. A cacophony of explosions and yells and crackles boomed through the air. Each impact reverberated through the air down to the ground, and up to the four trainers' bones, like a rhythm only they could hear, a rhythm their blood followed with every rush, every heartbeat.
Enma rushed forward like a bullet, but the Electivire dodged instead of countering for the first time, jumping back a great distance as his partner shook off Alakazam's assault with a slam of her tails. She lowered herself, legs growing slightly apart as she took in a deep breath, the white of her fur glimmering a brilliant blue for a moment.
"Niss!" yelled Barry, alarmed. "She's going to–"
"No time to dodge," she said. "Enma, that better not take you out! Melt that ice!"
Cynthia yelled out the order. Ninetales opened her mouth, the storm compressed within exploding in a massive, swirling cone of frozen wind just as Enma raised his own hands to shield himself, body bursting aflame. The tail-end of the miniature blizzard passed by Inyssa and it was already enough to make her shiver violently, so she couldn't even imagine how cold it must have been where Enma stood. Yet still she kept her smile firm. This would not be enough to bring him d–
"Now!" Volkner yelled out, sounding uncharacteristically enthused. "Cut them off!"
The smallest glimpse of a strand of lightning caught Barry's eye, and he looked up sharply as the enormous Electivire appeared in mid air out of nowhere, much faster than the size of his body would've allowed him to. The gold of his fur glistened strongly, a spider-web of lightning emanating from every strand of his fur, extending outwards throughout the arena. He barely had time to catch that sight before he disappeared again. One of the crackling strands of lightning suddenly lit up, and Electivire phased in at the end of it, a mere stone-throw away from Kitsune.
This must be the same trick Niss uses with Kuro, he thought, frowning. Letting his instinct move him through the electricity instead of his body or brain. That means…
His thoughts were cut off as Volkner yelled out another order.
"Discharge!"
It was only a couple moments. Barry squinted at the sudden brightness of the energy surrounding Electivire. This had been their plan; for Ninetales to momentarily immobilize Enma so that he could be hit from the back; and Kitsune wouldn't be able to help, not if he wanted to escape the attack unscathed himself.
Barry knew he had little more than a second to think, which is why he didn't. Much like his opponent, he let himself be moved by instinct as he raised his hand and yelled out.
"Rush him!"
The sheer surprise Electivire must've felt at his opponent doing the equivalent of jumping face first into a ticking bomb might've slightly delayed the attack going off, and that fraction of a second was all Barry needed. Kitsune didn't raise his spoons, didn't ready an attack. From the outside it looked as though he intended to take it head on, but that was only because he could read his trainer's mind, and knew of his insane idea.
Barry waited until the last possible instant before giving the order.
"Skill Swap!"
A weak, pinkish glow simultaneously enveloped both Kitsune and Electivire, only to condense into their chest before shooting toward each other in the form of spheres of light. Barry saw as Kitsune's sphere entered the electric Pokemon, and right before the opposite happened, he yelled out.
"Ally Switch!"
"Protect!" yelled Cynthia.
It happened just as Ninetales' attack was beginning to dissipate. In the infinitesimal moment before the sphere of light entered Kitsune, he and Enma vanished into a puff of light before reappearing in each other's locations.
The light entered Enma's chest, and the literal next second a flash blinded them all as Electivire's Discharge went off. It covered the arena in an instant. Hundreds, maybe thousands of bolts of electricity flew off in every direction, bouncing off every surface and lighting up the entirety of the battlefield, drowning all the combatants in its light. Through the corner of his eye, Barry saw that both Ninetales and Kitsune had been swift enough to raise a quick barrier to protect themselves, but of course Enma hadn't. Normally, tanking such an attack head on would've put even someone like him out of commission.
And yet, as the glow dissipated, the Infernape could be seen standing mere inches from his opponent, not a single scratch on him. The electricity seemed to coalesce around him, in fact. Bouncing off his body in small arcs, making his arms and legs shift rapidly, almost vibrating in place by the sheer kinetic energy suddenly stored within him.
The beep of two Pokedex filled the air, followed by their electronic voices booming at the same time.
"Motor Drive: Activated."
An almost deranged smile forming on her face, Inyssa punched at the air and yelled.
"Close Combat!"
Enma was upon him in the blink of an eye, before she'd even finished speaking. Body leant forward, arm wound back, the flames bursting from his fist taking on an unnatural, almost electric golden glow.
"Block and jump back! Get some distance!" Volkner yelled, then he looked to his side. "Cynthia!"
Electivire raised his arms in an X in front of him just in time for the first dizzying blurry of kicks and punches, only the glowing, fiery afterimages of the arching flames recognizable as the Infernape moved faster than he'd ever done before, his entire body a blur. It was like a machine-gun of blows. The electric Pokemon grunted and jumped back, one of the strands of lightning connected to his back starting to glow as he phased into it, but his opponent wasted no time in following him.
"Rhaaaaaa!"
Flames bursting off his feet, Enma left a burning crater under him as he jumped, crossing the entire arena in only a moment and catching up to Electivire as he reappeared on the other side, not far from his companion. He wound back his arm in mid-air, not intending to give him a second to think.
Just then Cynthia yelled out. "Ninetales, use Power Swa–!"
"Taunt!" Barry cut her off.
Kitsune was much faster, and with a quick flick of his spoon he sent an odd wave of dark energy that crashed into the Ninetales, nullifying the move she'd been about to use. Behind her, Cynthia clicked her tongue, yet a second after a smile formed on her face.
The first punch landed against Electivire's shoulder, sending him a few inches back. Eyes narrowed in pain, he growled and threw his tail-tendrils forward. They started to coil around Enma's arm but he quickly spun on the ball of his feet and freed himself at the same time as he readied a burning kick.
"Block and use Brick Break!" said Volkner.
"Don't let him get any distance!" Inyssa ordered. "We can't let him use his signature move!"
Barry gulped. Both of them had heard of it. A special technique known only to Volkner's strongest Pokemon; a way to send the kinetic energy of his punches through the electric field left behind after he used Discharge, intensifying it further and further as it bounced each stray bolt of lightning, until it finally crashed against its opponent with unfathomable power and speed. They'd both heard it described as being hit by a thousand punches at once.
That technique required distance for it to be effective, they both realized. They could not give Electivire even an inch of space.
"Keep it up!" bellowed Inyssa. "Put every ounce of strength into it!"
Barry followed with a wave of his hand. "Keep Ninetales at bay!"
Enma and Electivire were like shooting stars, burning, crackling trails of flames and electricity being left behind as they traveled the length of the arena from side to side, a flurry of kicks and punches echoing through the air by the force of their impact. Before, the Infernape's speed wouldn't have been much greater than that of his opponent, and with his power being clearly inferior outside of his Blaze ability, a one on one fight would have meant sure defeat. But now, with his foe's electricity fueling his own speed, they could go toe to toe.
In the middle of the arena, Kitsune did his best to ensure that the two would be uninterrupted, the silver of his spoons glistening as he created barrier after barrier around the hopping Ninetales, trying to trap her in place. She wasn't nearly slow enough for it to work, but she was too busy dodging to be able to interfere in the other fight.
"Ha! Now this is what I'm talking about!" they heard Volkner laugh from the other extreme, a wild smile on his face. "You kids aren't bad! I can't wait to see how much I have to turn it up to take you out!"
Inyssa scowled. "Sorry, pretty boy, but I didn't come all this way to serve as your warm-up."
"I must admit, I'm quite enjoying myself too," said Cynthia, the grey of her eyes flashing like a storm. "That was some quick thinking on your part stealing Electivire's ability. I'm impressed."
"Heh, don't know how much I believe you," smiled Barry. "You haven't used Hail once yet. You knew that Kitsune knew Skill Swap, and that I could use it to steal your Ninetales' Snow Cloak."
"My, my… you two truly have matured," Cynthia snickered to herself. "However, that little trick meant that Infernape ended up with both his ability and his opponent's, while your Alakazam now possesses none. Wasn't that a bit reckless on your part?"
A cocky smile stretched across Barry's lips. He raised his hand forward and yelled for Kitsune to jump back. The Alakazam did as he was told, landing a small distance from his opponent, giving it a moment to breathe but not much more.
"Kitsune and I are more than just a one-trick Mudsdale." Then he yelled out, his voice booming. "Now, like we practiced!"
Their opponent's eyes went wide as Kitsune extended his hand to the side, every wisp and pane of psychic energy vanishing into mist, only to swirl back toward the gleaming spoon, coalescing and growing around it, a hilt forming on the base and a long, rapier-like blade extending out the top.
The sword of psychic energy made a sound like a buzz as Kitsune lowered it, the air shifting and shimmering a bright gold, as though reality itself were breaking around it. It exuded a pressure that all could feel, like an invisible weight upon the room.
Across from them, the awe in Cynthia's face changed to realization, and she let out a soft laugh.
"I see… a concentrated variant of Psycho Cut, is it?"
Barry smiled and closed his eyes, trying to look cool even though he was practically squeeing from joy on the inside, his dream of seeing one of his Pokemon wielding a cool energy sword finally realized. Everyone in the arena seemed to share his sentiment. Even Enma and Electivire had stopped for a moment, maybe to take a quick breath, maybe to admire Kitsune's weapon. In any case, it gave both Barry and Inyssa's Pokemon a chance to stand next to each other, one donning a crown of flames like a king, the other wielding a sword of light like its holy retainer.
"That is El-Prado, the Auric Blade," declared Barry as he opened his eyes, his gaze falling upon his opponents. "And it's gonna be the advent of your defeat."
Next to him, he could've sworn Niss almost swooned, though it could have been just a sigh.
"I love you so much," she whispered under her breath. Then, she cleared her throat and followed his example, raising her hand as she bellowed. "Enma, now's the time! Let your flames go wild!"
"Cut them down to size, Kitsune!"
All four Pokemon threw themselves forward at the same time, their power overflowing from their bodies and their trainer's yells echoing throughout the arena, only to be drowned out by the boom of the following impacts.
An hour later, Inyssa found herself grabbing onto Metchi for dear life as Cynthia's Togekiss flew them through the skies at dizzying speed, the ocean a white and blue blur far beneath them. The darker shape of Garchomp flew slightly ahead, carrying Barry as well as her master.
"God dammit," Inyssa muttered.
"What?" asked Metchi, her voice barely hearable over the roar of the wind. "Still mad about the battle? What the hell were you expecting, honestly?"
"I know, I know. It took trainers better than us almost ten tries to beat Volkner alone, there was no way in hell we'd win with Cynthia joining in. But for a second there I swore we almost had it." She sighed, disheartened. "We forgot to account for Taunt's time limit. Enma activated Blaze and Cynthia had her Ninetales use Power Swap immediately. It was a rookie mistake on our part."
"Well if it makes you feel better, I didn't understand a single word of that," said Metchi. "Sounds like a bitch, though."
Inyssa narrowed her eyes at Metchi, though she knew the woman couldn't see her.
"Thanks for the consolation," she said sarcastically. "Why am I even flying with you? I should be holding on to my boyfriend right now."
Metchi laughed. "Yeah, sorry but there's no way I'm holding on to Cynthia, or have her hold on to me. Just being near her is bad enough. She's so beautiful it almost makes me forget how much I hate her."
"…Yeah. I know the feeling."
After a few more minutes of flying, they finally made it to Lily of the Valley Island. She could only glance at it from the side –since they were headed for the back of it where the League building stood– but still she couldn't help but be mesmerized.
Its shape was almost unnatural, like a crown of earth and stone having risen from the ocean bed, holding within a valley so full of life it overflowed and climbed up the sharp spires framing its outer circumference. Just as the name suggested, the entire surface was covered in those white, bell-shaped flowers, which seemed to make waves upon the island as the ocean wind filtered through, moving them along its rhythm.
There were only a few buildings in the island. The most distinctive was, of course, the palace of marble white that was the Sinnoh League, inaccessible by land through any means except crossing Victory Road. The others were a bunch of small, fancy looking villas arranged into what looked like a small neighborhood on the north of the island. Though Inyssa didn't get much of a chance to look at those before they headed down, toward the eastern side of the island.
She pursed her lips, and felt something tighten in her chest, completely unrelated to the vertigo of their drop.
If I hadn't thrown my badges away, would I have come here to…
She closed her eyes and shook her head. No, there was no point in thinking about it. She'd made her decision.
Now she had to stick with it.
After infiltrating the League building from a secret entrance Lucian had provided for them, it was only a few minutes of scurrying around a mostly empty building until they made it to their destination.
Inyssa's heart almost leaped out of her chest at the sight of the majestic Hall of Fame, but Cynthia barely paid it any mind as she walked past it and opened up a panel that was barely noticeable on the wall. There, they saw something odd. Eight slots arranged in a circle, each one in the shape of...
"Barry, the badges."
"Wh-oh, yeah! Here."
Cynthia inserted the eight Gym badges onto the slots, one by one, and after insertin the last one, a beep was heard. The walls whirred and opened up into an entrance that was not there before. Inside, an elevator waited for them.
It might have been the tenseness of the situation, but Inyssa could've sworn the trip down lasted a lot longer than it should have. Her hand was strongly closed around Barry by the time their descent stopped. There was a moment of silence, and then the doors opened again, into blackness. The sudden lack of light made Inyssa blink rapidly, though it took her eyes a few seconds to adjust.
"We're here," said Cynthia.
She strolled forward with no hesitation, but the two trainers and even Metchi followed with careful, premeditated steps, looking all around as though waiting for something to jump at them.
The room narrow but long, similar to the Hall of Fame, though there was no white or gold marble or pictures of previous Champions to meet them as they walked through the path between the massive stone pillars, only cold and darkness. The atmosphere down her felt… heavier. Denser. It reminded her of something, but–
"It's just like the cave we entered in Celestic," Barry muttered.
Yes, that was it. And just like inside that cave, what they found at the end of the path had both trainers with their mouths agape, a dumbfounded breath leaving their lips.
"What…" Metchi swallowed, voice shaking slightly. "The hell is that?"
The wall before them –illuminated by blue-flamed torches perched on each side– was not made of bricks like everything else in the room, but black, smooth stone, as though someone had stopped right before covering it up. It was the same material they'd seen on the fresco inside the Celestic ruins. The same material most of the houses in that town were built with. Yet the material itself was far from what caught their attention.
Something was… carved or inserted into the stone. Thick, glowing veins of pure gold in the shape of a circle centering an X, with a pair of arcs framing the sides. The same shape as the ring Caroline had lent them. A shape every Sinnohan knew by heart.
Arceus' holy ring seemed to welcome them as they stepped closer, humming with a brilliant, warm glow.
"W-wow…" Inyssa swallowed, only them remembering to breathe and blink. "It's beautiful"
But there was something more. A small difference from the normal, religious depiction of said ring. At first Inyssa though they were holes carved into the length of the golden material, but on closer inspection they looked more like small, square slots. One in each of the outer arcs, two in each of the lines intercepting them, six in the inner circle and one in the very middle, for a total of seventeen.
Wait… The gold of her eyes itched, sparked. Seventeen…
Most of the slots were filled with familiar-looking stone tablets of different colors, only four of them absent, one in the inner circle and three in the diagonal lines.
Realization hit both Barry and Inyssa at the same time.
"T-t-the mural! The thing we saw back in those ruins!" Barry yelled out.
"The seventeen pieces… the keys," whispered Inyssa.
"Those tablets we found!" Barry nodded, almost shaking with excitement. "They're…!"
"What the fuck are you two talking about?" frowned Metchi.
"Allow me to explain."
Everyone's eyes fell on Cynthia as she walked forward, nearer to the mural, and then turned around to face them. From where she stood, it almost looked as though the holy ring of Arceus were the woman's wings.
"This is one of the holiest places in all of Sinnoh, second only to Spear Pillar. One of our clan's greatest secrets. It was here long before the League was built, and it will continue to be here long after it's gone," she explained. "Here, the seventeen pieces of a broken god can be made whole once more, forged into the key to the Hall of Origin."
Metchi looked about as confused as one could get, but the two young trainers gave almost identical nods of recognition.
"The world created, the Original One hid itself in the Hall of Origin," Inyssa quoted. "Its door was locked. Its key was hidden; shattered into seventeen shards. Its duty fulfilled, the Original one took to unyielding sleep."
"That's what the mural in Celestic said," whispered Barry. "The book we found, too."
Cynthia folded her arms and nodded. "Words written in our most ancient language, only decipherable to our clan… or to those carrying the spirit of the lake siblings," she said. "The same applies to finding these… plates."
Metchi shook her head, frowning. "Could you… back up or something? I'm literally not understanding a word y'all are saying."
A tiny smile formed on Cynthia's lips. "Of course. I'll start from the beginning, though I'll skip the parts everyone already knows about.
"Long ago when Arceus, the Original One, created our universe, its power… its physical form was shattered into many pieces, each one of which would be inherited by his first children, the creatures we know as Pokemon," she began explaining. "This became their strength, their vitality. That which fuels the still unexplainable power that all Pokemon possess. After this, only small pieces remained of Arceus' body. Seventeen shards, seventeen stone plates, each a miniscule distillation of the many primordial forces that once resided within it."
Metchi nodded absentmindedly. "Right, that'd be the… types, right? Like, the types Pokemon usually have?"
"Yes. Seventeen pieces of a whole, only pale imitations of what they once were, together," she said. "All that remained of Arceus then was its soul, its Spirit. But even by itself, separated from body and strength, it was an entity so massive, so bright that it could have eclipsed even the sun. An immortal flame…" She closed her eyes for a moment, lost in thought. "Arceus knew its creations couldn't bloom and flourish with such power hanging over them. As such, it decided to split itself once more, giving its children three final gifts. Emotion. Valor. Wisdom. From these three, humanity was born.
"But with humanity came ambition, and hunger for power. Even with most of its soul divided amongst all living creatures, Arceus knew it could not remain in this world. Besides the many guardians it had already left behind for Pokemon and the world itself, it also created a few more, which would look over humanity, and steer it in the right direction. Three of these guardians were the lake siblings; Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit, and those they chose became the champions of humanity itself; the heroes of Sinnohan legend."
She didn't look around, but Inyssa was pretty sure all three of them made faces at that comment. Champions of humanity… yeah, right. Not even counting herself, the more she learned about those that carried the mantle before her, the more she doubted this was a lineage of heroes at all.
Maybe it's not, she thought, frowning. Maybe they weren't the most heroic, they were simply the most human.
"And… once this last task was completed, Arceus left this world," Cynthia continued. "What remained of its Spirit ascended to the higher planes. There it still remains to this day, in the form of what one could think as… a primordial flame of sorts. A wellspring of Spirit. That which we are born from, and that which our souls return to after death… if legends are to be believed, at least."
Cynthia stopped, and looked over her shoulder at the golden ring etched into the mural behind her, an odd gleam in her eyes.
"This higher plane is known as the Hall of Origin," she finally said. "It can only be accessed from Spear Pillar, and only with an object forged by the seventeen remains of Arceus' physical form. The seventeen plates."
Inyssa swallowed, feeling a violent spark behind her eyes. It was as if all the scattered pieces in her head had come together, bound again by what she'd just heard, by the remains of Uxie's power inside her.
She knew…
"That's what you've been after this whole time."
All eyes turned toward her, although Cynthia's lacked the surprise present in the other two's.
"Shadi told me… that she was trying to stop something. Someone. And it wasn't Team Galactic," said inyssa. "She found two of those plates. She was studying them before she… before her disappearance. So…"
She left the sentence hanging, a cold and heavy silence following. Cynthia said nothing for a few seconds, simply staring ahead at Inyssa, her expression indescribable.
"Yes," she finally said. "I… used your sister, just as I used the two of you. Just as I've used all promising trainers I've come across since becoming Champion."
"U-used?" asked Barry. "What…?"
"You encouraged us. Nudged us in the right direction. Tested us." Those last two words left Inyssa's mouth with some venom on them. "You were after the plates, but you couldn't find them all, so you figured we could succeed where you failed."
Cynthia nodded. "It is not the only reason… but yes. I've been looking for these plates my whole life, ever since I learned of their true nature, and that of the mural behind me," she said. "Six were already here, probably collected in the past by someone just as foolish as me. Nine I was able to find on my own, though I gave two of them away – the Specter and Flame Plates– to Shadi and the two of you respectively." She looked toward them and smiled. "In Shadi's case, it was a vain attempt to make her go after the last two I couldn't find, the Draco and Dread Plates. She did find the latter, though ended up keeping it for herself while she hid the other away. And in your case, Barry, I knew that you'd already found the former as well as the Specter Plate hidden in the Old Chateau, probably thanks to Mesprit's presence inside of you. I hoped having three plates in your possession would somehow lead you closer to the final one. Though of course, I did so under the assumption that Shadi was dead. I never could've imagined she still had it with her."
"You thought wrong," Inyssa said bitterly. "Though you're not alone on that one."
"But… why?" Barry asked, forehead creased with confusion. "Why do you want them? To get into that Hall of Origin place? Then…"
Mechi snorted. "Don't tell me you wanna become god or some shit like that. We already got enough megalomaniacs running around causing trouble."
A labored smile formed on Cynthia's lips. She looked over her shoulder again, eyes gleaming with nostalgia.
"Me? A god?" A weak laugh left her lips. "What a rotten world that'd be. No, my goal was… well, I hesitate to say less selfish, especially after all that's happened. Either way, it's me wanting to play the savior."
She raised one of her hands to her chest unconsciously, and after a long moment she began to explain.
"I've always been fascinated with the tales and legends of old. Heroes born of circumstance, wrought in fire and steel, carrying the fate of the world itself on their shoulders. People whose spirits burned so brightly it was impossible to look away. Those who –even without the aid of the lake siblings– could do… things. Incredible things that no human being today would be capable of, no matter how hard they try. Like poor Maylene for example, vainly chasing after the power her ancestors once wielded."
Inyssa scowled. "Maylene? What?"
"No matter how you look at it, humans of old were capable of so much more than us." Cynthia ignored her and kept going. "And it's all thanks to the strength of their Spirit. But no matter how holy, how powerful the flame might be, it is still a flame. And fire… fades."
Cynthia turned around fully, facing the mural. She raised a hand tentatively and gently brushed a finger through the circumference of the inner circle.
"A long time ago I came to the conclusion that what remains of Arceus, the primordial source of all Spirit, has been slowly weakening with time. And I… perhaps foolishly, convinced myself that this was the root of all the world's problems." Even though they couldn't see her, Inyssa could fell that the woman was frowning. "I… simmered with anger and hatred toward those who would dare attack our region, my hometown, all that I held dear. I told myself that they simply lacked in Spirit. That all the greed and cowardice I'd seen, all the suffering my people had endured, had been caused by this gradual weakening of the primordial flame."
She laughed bitterly at herself.
"Deep down, I think I knew I was wrong. People have always been at war. Even in ancient times, greed and pride and ambition have been the ruin of endless civilizations. I didn't even need to look past Nyss, one of our three legendary heroes, to see that. The heroes of old, they were no more virtuous than any of us; they were just as human, just as flawed. They… simply had more power at their disposal.
"But I was stubborn. I convinced myself of a truth only I could see, and set forth on a task I believed only I could complete. I would fix things. I would cultivate my own Spirit, breath by breath, day by day, until it grew into a flame that towered above all others. Until even Nyss' own eternal soul paled in comparison. And then, I…"
There was a small pause. Cynthia swallowed, lowered her head.
"Then, I would gather all seventeen plates, and open the way to the Hall of Origin. I would offer myself as kindling for the primordial flame in order to return it… and all of humanity… to its former glory."
A heavy, tense silence set in the room as soon as Cynthia finished speaking, as though the air itself had been taken from the room. No one spoke for what felt like minutes, though not for lack of trying. About a million questions and statements were buzzing around Inyssa's head, but the weight of the realization, of what Cynthia had told them, weighed heavily on her tongue, making it impossible to air them out. Judging by Barry's face, he was faced with a similar dilemma.
In the end, it was Metchi who broke the silence.
"You're fucking delusional."
Cynthia turned around, facing Metchi with an amused smile.
"So I've come to realize," she said, then looked at Inyssa. "This… is what Shadi wanted to stop, if I had to guess. She probably figured out my intentions somewhere along the way. If you see her again, could you…" She pursed her lips. "Could you tell her… 'Congratulations'?"
Inyssa blinked a few times. "W-what?"
"These plates… it took me my entire life to collect them, and even if I had the last one, even if I still wanted to, I couldn't achieve my original goal anymore," she explained. "I have no choice but to use this as a last resort, should either us or our friends in Mt. Coronet fail in their mission. So in a way… Shadi got what she wanted. I'm sure she'd be happy to hear that."
"She…" Inyssa looked down, lips pursed. "No, she wouldn't."
"Hm?"
"It was never about stopping you," said Inyssa, shrugging. "That's the reason she gave me, but it's just as bullshit as anything else that's ever come out of her mouth. She was just a sore loser. She hated you for ruining her dream of becoming the Champion, and used that excuse to justify going after you. It's as simple as that."
Beside her, Metchi laughed.
"That does sound like her, yeah."
Cynthia opened her mouth, then closed it. "I see…"
After a few seconds of silence, it was Barry who spoke.
"Then… this last resort. You need all the plates that are missing, right?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at his backpack. "I have them with me. The Flame, Specter and Draco plates. But the last one…"
"Yeah," said Metchi, looking at Inyssa. "Didn't you say you broke it in your fight against Shadi?"
Inyssa nodded. "It shattered, then… disappeared into the air, like smoke."
"Then…"
"It hasn't disappeared."
Cynthia finally stepped away from the mural, and walked down to where the three of them were, a tired look on her face.
"The plates can't be truly destroyed," she said. "Even if broken, they'll coalesce and reform back in the spots of power where they were originally found. In this case, it would be the place where Shadi originally ran into it. A place that only her teacher… only Fantina knew about. A place I was not aware of, until very recently."
Realization dawned on Inyssa and Barry, and on Metchi a second after.
"Wait, you mean…?"
"The Fourth Lake. That is where the last plate is," nodded Cynthia. "And it is why I'm coming with you, when the time comes."
The night before:
Sanbica sat atop one of the rook-like towers of her mother's residence, feet dangling from the edge above the darkness, barely a sliver of moonlight bathing her back. An inky, barely recognizable Hearthome stretched out before her, not a soul to be heard, not a sight to be seen. Even the ghosts were quiet tonight. They probably felt the unnatural pressure behind her too.
"Are you planning on going back to the Institute?"
As she asked the question, she looked over her shoulder and what she saw behind her was –for the briefest of moments– vast and incomprehensible. Though all it took was for her to blink and it was gone. In its place stood the Third Stigma's most prominent mask; Riley Ordine. He looked toward the distance, gaze lost, arms folded.
"Can't yet," he said, tone taciturn. "I have to return what I borrowed from Cynthia before I go, so I'm here until the whole thing blows over."
Sanbica's eyes moved from his face down the ring finger on his left hand, which was now occupied. The ring was unlike any she'd ever seen. A small circle with four lines jutting out of it in an X, which pierced yet another, broken circle. Its gold gleamed even in the darkness of the night, as though it were absorbing the moonlight from above.
The Artemis family's most precious relic. Cynthia truly must have been desperate to have loaned it to them in exchange for the Griseous Orb.
And yet, I've not a clue as to what he intends to use it for, she mused. It is concerning… but I'll take what little uncertainty I can here and there, I suppose.
"Then I guess you'll have even more time to loiter around Sinnoh before the day comes," she said.
"Yyyep, gonna make the most of it," he said with a smile. "It's not every day we get an extended vacation. And speaking of loitering…"
He glanced over his shoulder, azure eyes narrowing.
"Think it's time I bounce. Wouldn't wanna get caught by the woman who raised a freak like you."
Sanbica smiled. "Don't let the door hit you on the way ou–"
The door leading to the roof of the tower was snapped open, and through it came Fantina, Pokeball in hand and looking a lot scarier than she had any right to, considering she was wearing a flower-patterned nightgown. She took a step forward and opened her mouth, but then froze. The man she'd sensed a moment ago was no longer there. Only Sanbica remained.
"Hi, mom," said the young Dusk, still looking onto the distance. "Sorry for interrupting your sleep."
Fantina walked closer toward her, but she didn't say anything for a while. Still, Sanbica could feel the shadows bubbling and boiling around her; her ghost Pokemon? Or maybe…
"How long has it been since we last saw each other?" Fantina finally asked, trying to keep the emotion from her voice. "And this is how I find you, like a Houndour digging through the trash in the middle of the night."
"Come on now, would you have done any differently in my place?"
No reply came. A cold silence stretched between them for what felt like more than a minute, after which Fantina took a few tentative steps forward, stopping barely a few inches from her daughter, who still sat on the edge of the tower.
"What are you doing here, Sanbica?"
A smile of pursed lips formed on her lips. "It's very nice to see you after so long too, mom."
"Don't play the guilt game with me now. You're the one who's been avoiding me all this time," Fantiina chastised her. "You wouldn't be here if you didn't want something from me:"
"No need to worry, I already have more from you than I'd ever want," Sanbica was quick to reply. "And I'm not here so that my mere existence can ruin your relationship with that woman again, either. So don't worry about me overstaying my welcome."
Fantina frowned. "You sound bitter."
"Perish the thought." It's not like I'm a living reminder of what you were never able to obtain until now. "Why would I ever be bitter at my dear, caring mother?"
"You know, we would have been able to resolve this… complex of yours, had we confronted it together," Fantina pointed out. "Instead you ran away, for some forsaken reason."
Sanbica let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, maybe I was overwhelmed by all the positive reinforcement."
"We could have talked things out."
"If those talks ended up being anything like this one, then I'm glad I ran away," said Sanbica. "It's okay, really. Why pretend like cutting each other out of our lives wasn't the best decision we ever made? I have a new family now, and so do you. We're both happier this way, aren't we?"
A pained look crossed Fantina's face, and for a moment her hands curled into fists.
"You're always assuming you know how others feel," she whispered. "I wouldn't be so angry at you if I didn't care. We could have fixed things. Could have been a family… all of us."
"Funny words, coming from someone who didn't even attend her own mother's funeral," said Sanbica. "It's fine. I've… heard of her. My… step-mother." She pronounced the words sarcastically, between clenched teeth. "She's nice. Same for her daughter, though she likes me about as much as you do. Funny, how our family's path keep crossing, despite the odds."
Once again, Fantina said nothing, simply casting her head down, face scrunching up with guilt. Sanbica never turned around, never bothered looking at her mother's face.
"Dawn and Dusk," whispered Sanbica. "Together, they keep the night at bay. Perhaps it is appropriate to…"
She paused, then shook her head. Then with a grunt of effort she pushed herself up to her feet and stood there at the edge of the tower, her violet hair swaying with the wind, hiding her face from view.
"I came to Sinnoh a few months ago. My stay here was to be brief. Even a threat like that of Giratina or Team Galactic wouldn't have been enough to keep me," she explained. "But… there have been certain distractions. Irregularities whose origin I can't pinpoint; small, but maybe significant enough to avoid my farseeing."
Fantina perked up at that. "What… kind of irregularities?"
"Insignificant shifts; changes to the flow of fate, things that should not have been there… suddenly appearing," she said. "There's been three of them so far. The first occurred somewhere in Sandgem, not long after I came here. After seeing Inyssa leave the city in the dead of night, I realized she'd been the origin of that irregularity, but I couldn't pinpoint what it was or who had caused it.
"The second took place a few weeks after, following the destruction of that Galactic building in Eterna. This time, I felt the irregularity, but couldn't pinpoint its origin. Only some time later did I realize it was because Metchi had been at its center, a woman who is even more inscrutable than the Champion herself," she explained. "And lastly, again a few weeks later, was the irregularity in Veilstone. This time, I saw it first-hand. It's what allowed Barry and I to meet." She stayed silent for a moment, then drew in a long breath. "I haven't noticed any more since."
Fantina folded her arms, a pensive look upon her face. "And not even you could discern where these… irregularities came from?"
"Hard to believe, but it's true," she said. "And the more time passes, the more I feel the effect of such insignificant changes. I'm no longer sure of the accuracy of the prophecy I cast that day…" Her voice trailed off for a second. "It's dangerous. Fate is not something you can mess with and get away scot free."
"I see… and what do you intend to do about it, pray tell?" asked Fantina. "I assume that's why you're here."
Sanbica sighed heavily, her shoulders dropping. Then, for the first time that night, she looked over her shoulder, her gaze meeting with her mother's, one pair a cold, purple abyss, the other the same shade but lit up like the night sky during a full moon.
"We of the Institute are not to interfere with these matters," she whispered. "But I'll take the punishment should it come later. And considering you probably won't see me again after this… I figure we could spend our last moments as mother and daughter working alongside each other.
"Just this time, I'm willing to help."
The next few days passed by like a blur. Looking back on them, Inyssa could hardly distinguish between them, though in all honesty she didn't feel like trying all that hard. Those days were like a happy haze, a shining jewel in her memories that she wanted to leave pure and untarnished. A beacon that might help light her way in the fight to come. They might very well have been her last days alive, so she made sure to live them to the fullest.
And in what felt like the blink of an eye, the day which preluded the moonless night came.
Inyssa stood atop the roof of the SIT, the highest building in all of Sunyshore, leaning against the railing as she watched the sun slowly lower itself in the horizon, painting the sea a beautiful mix of purple and orange. Metchi sat not far from her, silent, pensive. She kept opening and closing a small metal lighter in her hand to calm her nerves.
After a minute of silence, they heard steps behind them. Barry came out the door leading to the roof and walked toward them, the look on his face not much different than Inyssa's.
"Sure took your time," said Metchi, closing the lighter for good. "But for good reason, I see. I'm digging the jacket."
Inyssa would've aired a similar comment, had she found her voice. She was very much aware of the flush in her face as she kept staring gormlessly at Barry's new outfit, a number of thoughts running through her head.
"You think so?" asked Barry, smiling nervously. "Wasn't sure if it was too much."
It was just the right amount, in Inyssa's opinion. Barry's new jacket bore similarities to that his father had used –mostly the 'King' kanji stamped on the left sleeve– but it looked a lot more modern, with darker green highlights and a white fuzzy collar, not to mention the rolled back sleeves which did a fantastic job at emphasizing his forearms and–
Okay yeah, you can stop staring now.
She cleared her throat. "It… looks really good on you."
A similar blush rose up Barry's cheeks.
"Thanks… the black and purple really suit you too," he commented. "And um… you look really cool and handsome with that side ponytail."
Inyssa had gone with a simpler look this time, ditching the jeans and sweater for high-waisted pants and a simple black shirt with rolled-back sleeves, as well as a long purple neckerchief-scarf. And of course, the piece that brought them all together, which she had tucked under her arm.
With a smile, Inyssa unrolled the blood-red coat and raised it high, staring at it fondly.
"I might've grown out of the hat, but this…"
The last one remaining out of all her childish fancies. For a moment she closed her eyes and saw it clearly; a small, skinny Inyssa with her nose almost glued to the screen while her favorite show played. She remembered that scene where the main character looked up at the rising sun on what could very well be the world's last day, and with a calm, resolute look on his face, he put on his signature red coat and got ready to work.
She'd always admired him. Identified with him on a personal level. And after watching that episode, her biggest dream aside from being a Pokemon trainer had been to acquire a cool red coat just like his so she could wear on her journey. So she could emulate who she believed to be her greatest hero.
But he wasn't a hero, was he? Inyssa smiled sadly. He said it himself… in the end, a simple human's all he's ever been.
She stared at the coat for only a second more before throwing it over her shoulder and putting it on, giving the collar one last tug to put everything in place. It felt right. No piece of clothing had ever fit her so perfectly. Now, with the end of the world falling upon them, with the understanding of everything she'd done wrong weighing on her shoulders…
We're no heroes, she thought. We're only human. But we'll see what we can do.
She turned to look at Barry and smiled.
"Gotta keep the tradition alive, right?"
"Y-yeah… damn. It's a really good look, Niss," he said, returning the smile. "I'm…"
"Dear god, would you two get a room already."
Barry blushed. Inyssa looked over her shoulder, shooting Metchi a cold glare.
"You're still wearing that tacky 'No God' shirt, I see," she said. "And those jean shorts… aren't you gonna be cold?"
Metchi chuckled. "I've got legs that the world needs to see," she explained. "And I'll travel to hell and back before I get rid of this shirt. It's my favorite."
"Well–"
A loud, persistent beep rang out throughout the roof, and at the same time all three of them looked down at their wrist. The same message had appeared in each one of their Poketch.
Inyssa raised her hand to read it, and then smiled.
"I've got good news for you then," she said, looking down at Metchi. "We're about to do just that."
Barry gulped. "Cynthia says something happened up there in Mt. Coronet. She's on her way; we're leaving right now."
The three of them stood up and checked their equipment, weapons and Pokeballs one last time, before they ran out of things to do and had to simply wait there, wracked with anxiety, for Cynthia to arrive. Inyssa looked over toward the horizon. She thought she could see a black speck approaching in the distance.
"That's her," muttered Metchi.
Unconsciously, Inyssa's hand moved to take hold of Barry's. Their fingers pressed tightly against each other, their thrumming heartbeats echoing through them.
"H-hey," she said.
"Yeah?"
She hadn't planned on actually saying this. Not now. But then again, her mouth had a good track record at betraying her brain.
"If… no, once we get through this," she whispered, avoiding his eyes. "I'd like you to… come with me. In my new journey. And after that, if you want… we could keep traveling together. For as…"
She swallowed hard.
"For as long as you'd… like."
There was a nerve-wracking moment of silence, and then she felt his fingers pressed more tightly against hers.
"Yeah… I'd like that, Niss."
A/N: This is it, folks. The last chapter before the start of the climax. Next chapter will take slightly longer, but I hope y'all are ready.