A bit of a breather chapter this time, as it'll have more of a focus on the plot as opposed to Pokémon battles. However, it'll be a pivotal moment in the story, so it should be an enjoyable read for everyone.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Insurgence; it is the property of its creators.

Following her outstanding victory over Harmony, Natasha had made her way to the Pokémon Center for a quick check-up. Once the check-up was completed, the purple-haired girl thanked the nurse before taking her Pokémon back and quickly made her way to the hospital that Nora had told her about. After all, if someone was tampering with the power there, it would spell trouble for all the patients there. Sure enough, she arrived at the hospital, only to be greeted by a familiar face.

"Hey Natasha, I figured you'd make your way here!" Damian called out to her, the duo giving each other a firm handshake.

"How's it going Damian? I hope you're feeling alright after…" Natasha smiled at him.

"I know where you're going with this; truth be told, I'm not quite ready to forgive her just yet. What she said to me was really painful after all. However, I'm willing to put it aside for the moment in order to solve the problem at hand." The white-haired boy replied calmly, the duo making their way inside the hospital. As the purple-haired girl had expected, the building was pitch-black what with the power being sabotaged. "I saw Nora and that other woman, Harmony I think, go down into the basement. Let's proceed with caution; we don't know who could be behind this."

"Got it." The purple-haired girl answered firmly, the duo walking slowly down the stairs before stepping into the basement. From there, they joined up with Nora and Harmony, the group of four on high alert as the sound of footsteps made their way towards the heroes.

"I should've known that you'd all come here; heroes tend to be the most predictable people of them all." A voice sneered at them, the figure standing before the heroes as they saw that it was Taen of the Perfection Cult.

"You! You're that creep who assaulted Orion back at Suntouched City! You've got some nerve showing your face around here…" Harmony narrowed her eyes at the blue-haired man.

"Tch, you're still upset about that? And I thought Natasha was the one hellbent on revenge. Speaking of which, it's a pleasure to see you again…" Taen replied, his greeting laced with sarcasm.

"I'm charmed as well to see you again…" Natasha opted to reply sarcastically as well.

"I don't know why you're tampering with the hospitals power supply, but we're gonna put a stop to your twisted scheme!" Nora declared boldly.

"Don't worry young lady, we'll turn the power back on." A second voice called out to the heroes, the group turning to see Reukra approaching them. "All we want to do is have a discussion with you."

"R-Reukra?! What are you doing here? Why are you doing this?!" Harmony exclaimed in surprise, taking a step back. Based on her tone of voice, Natasha suspected that they knew each other before this whole cult business began.

"A pleasure to see you again, Harmony. I want to make a deal with you…" The well-dressed man began.

"A deal?! You're using the lives of the people here as a bargaining chip to further your agenda? How could you do this, Reukra? You weren't like this before. You used to be—" The brown-haired woman began chewing him out, only for the older man to raise his hand in the air.

"Save the chit chat for another time, I've yet to explain my terms of the deal. I'm not the person that you knew back then; I'm the leader of the Perfection Cult and I'll do anything to achieve my goal." Reukra stated, his former friend opting to listen to his terms despite everything inside her telling her not to. "Anyway, the reason we're here is that we wish to make contact with the patient named Malde."

"That's my father's room, Reukra; there's no chance in hell I'm letting you near him!" Harmony retorted viciously.

"I figured you'd say that. However, we have your father's best interests at heart, believe it or not. We know he's sick, and we know what his condition is. We can help each other this time around. Don't believe me? I'll turn the power back on as a gesture of good faith." The well-dressed man stated, putting the various plugs back in and flipped the switch, the basement lights turning on as the hospital was illuminated once more. "There we go; the power's back on like you wanted. Now we can talk about helping your father out."

"Alright, I'll take you to his room. But I'll be keeping a very close eye on you, got it?!" The gym leader conceded, narrowing her eyes at him as the duo went up the basement stairs, with Taen following behind them.

"Am I the only one who wants to know how Harmony knew a cult leader?" Nora inquired out loud.

"Well I do remember Professor Sylvan mentioning that Reukra was a former classmate of hers back in university. Perhaps Harmony was in their class as well." Natasha deduced.

"Sounds pretty likely. Come on Natasha, we should offer support just in case they turn on her." Damian called out, shooting Nora a quick glance before making his way upstairs.

"H-He's still upset with me after what I said back then; can't say I blame him. I just hope that we can put this sordid affair behind us soon..." The green-haired girl commented sadly, with Natasha resting her hand on her shoulder.

"Give him time, I'm sure it'll work out for us in the end." She consoled her friend, with Nora shooting her a small smile before quietly making her way upstairs. But just as Natasha was about to follow suit, she heard what sounded like a mesmerizing wail, the sort that a ghost would use to lure its next victim. Turning to the side, she saw what looked to be a Chandelure hovering before her, the Pokémon having been obscured by the darkness before. It's body resembled that of an antique chandelier, colored an alluring gold as its candles shone brightly in the light. Additionally, there was a large flame burning brightly inside the glass casing that made up its head, with various jewel-encrusted pendants hanging off its limbs. It was evident to her that it was a Delta Species, but what exactly was it doing here? Eying up the girl calmly, the Chandelure extended one of its arms towards her as its flames made contact with her cheek. But rather than burn her, or destroy her soul, it…cleansed her of any and all lingering doubts welling up inside her.

"Thanks, I guess I needed that…" The purple-haired girl chuckled lightly, amused over the irony of the situation. Regular Chandelure were banned from hospitals due to the supposed rumors about their soul-destroying fire, whereas the Delta Chandelure had fire that could heal humans. In any case, she wouldn't say no to another companion. "Hey…you want to tag along? I'm sure you'd fit in well with the others." She offered.

"Chan~" The Chandelure chirped happily, accepting the offer as it entered a Pokéball that the purple-haired girl held up. Pocketing it safely, Natasha quickly made her way upstairs to the second floor to join the others, only to see that Taen was nowhere in the room. Whatever the case, she was glad that she didn't have to put up with that insufferable twit.

"Are you crazy?! There's no way I'm letting you inject some weird chemical into my father! Who knows what concoction a psychopathic cultist like you would've created!" Harmony chewed out her former friend once more, with Natasha noticing the syringe full of red fluid in Reukra's hand.

"Very well, you can do it. as a matter of fact, I'll even let you analyze it." Reurka conceded, handing over the syringe to the gym leader as she took the time to study its contents. "Do you know why we wish to use your father, Harmony? It's because Malde was around during the original Delta incident in Hoenn."

"Delta incident?" Damian inquired.

"It was an incident that occurred around thirty years ago in Hoenn. After Deoxys was defeated by Mega Rayquaza over Mossdeep City, the people started to grow sick with strange fevers. Everything ended up being fine, but the test results showed that everybody's DNA was slightly tainted. Not enough to pose any significant risks, but enough to be noticed if you looked closely." The cult leader explained, shooting a quick look at the elderly man sleeping peacefully in bed. "The point I'm getting at is that Malde's body may react differently to viruses. One that I have particular interest in would be—"

"Wait a minute, this is just the HP strain of Pokérus." Harmony stated, having finished her analysis. "We've known about this for years."

"Exactly. In terms of infections, Pokérus is the most unique of them all. Rather than hinder the host, it provides a great benefit to them by enabling them to grow stronger. A case of mutualism, as the scientific world would call it." Reukra replied. "As you've deduced, the vial contains the HP strain of Pokérus. Normally, the virus wouldn't affect ordinary people, but it might help your father out on account of his tainted DNA. If my prediction is correct, it could heal him and even lengthen his lifespan. With some more testing, it could even be the key to achieving immortality!"

"I-Incredible…" Nora commented in awe. As much as she hated to admit it, Reukra's idea sounds very clever on paper.

"How do I know you're not spinning some pretty tale for us all? How do I know you're not lying?" The brown-haired woman narrowed her eyes at her former friend.

"You don't. I owe you Harmony, and our interest happen to cross at the moment. You want your father healed, and this could be a breakthrough for our cults' research. Consider it a business transaction if you will. Besides, if it works on him, it may work on you as well." The cult leader attempted to convince her.

"Well, you're right about the DNA thing. My father told me that a long time ago. I'm willing to try this out, but if you dare think about double-crossing me…" She narrowed her eyes at him, quietly approaching her father as she took the time to inject the virus into his bloodstream.

"S-Sorry, but I've never been good around needles…I'm gonna wait outside." Damian admitted sheepishly, quietly making his way out the room. Once he was out the room, Harmony proceeded to continue the procedure, injecting the virus into Malde as he continued to sleep peacefully. Soon enough, it was over, with Harmony proceeding to dispose of the used syringe safely as she saw her father slowly get out of bed.

"Dad, you're awake!" The brown-haired woman quickly rushed to his side. "Are you okay?"

However, he didn't respond to her question, a low gurgling noise escaping from his mouth as the young woman stepped back in surprise. From there, the old man's body began twisting and contorting, as he began the slow process of morphing into a half-human, half-Deoxys creature. The sight was both mesmerizing, yet sickening at the same time; half his face was warped into that of a Deoxys, his left arm morphed into a pair of tentacles while his right leg was morphed as well. Natasha quickly covered her mouth so as to not regurgitate from the grotesque sight, while Harmony was horrified at what she was witnessing. But just as she was about to scream, Reukra quickly made his way to her side and hushed her up.

"Shhhhhhhhhh! We must talk quietly, lest we provoke him." He told her.

"What did you do to my father?! This wasn't supposed to happen!" She whispered harshly at him.

"I'm not sure myself, but he looks a bit like Deoxys. It makes sense when you think about it. After all; Deoxys is said to be a virus from outer space, perhaps it was the origin of Pokérus?" Reukra replied.

"You better fix him, or I'll—" Harmony demanded.

"I think he's been healed, and he should live longer. The problem however, is that his mind may've been impacted by the virus. Seems the experiment needs some fine-tuning." The cult leader cut her off, keeping an eye on the creature as it surveyed the room and it's occupants, thankful that Natasha and Nora were smart enough to keep quiet. "As long as we're quiet, we can—"

"Hey guys! Did the needle go in okay?" Damian called out, entering the room once more as the creature was alerted by his presence. Before the boy could even do as much as scream, the creature lunged at him, scooping him up in his tentacles and quickly fled the area.

"Damian!" Natasha called out, the purple-haired girl taken aback by what she just saw.

"Tch, what an idiot…" Reukra scoffed, seemingly unfazed by what just happened.

"This is all your fault, you know! You better find a way to fix this!" Harmony scolded him.

"This didn't go as I had hoped it will, but it was still quite the breakthrough. If he really is immortal, then I'm sure we can find a way to use it without the drawbacks." The cult leader continued.

"Do you not care at all that a young child was kidnapped?! What about my father? What did you do to him?" The gym leader continued to chastise him.

"Your father is fine. In fact, he's the healthiest he's ever been. As for the boy, I'm sure he'll be fine. Sure, he may get infected, but the Pokérus helps, not hinders. And with that, I'll take my leave. I've got an important appointment with another Gym Leader after all." Reukra brushed off her concerns, opting to leave the room as Harmony shot a glare at the figure.

"That jackass. After all Sylvan and I have done for him, you'd think he'd be a bit more appreciative." She grumbled to herself, before making her way to the teenage girls. "Listen, we'll find your friend, I promise. Come with me, Nora. We'll try to figure out where my father took him."

"I'd…I'd like that very much." Nora replied, a little shaken up over what had happened.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Natasha offered.

"As a matter of fact, there is. That Gym Leader Reukra mentioned might be my friend, Anastasia, the leader of Kepler City. She's a brilliant mechanic, but she's always been willing to take any commission if it provides her with sufficient money for her research. I'm worried that she may have gotten herself into something dangerous, so I'd greatly appreciate it if you could check up on her." Harmony requested.

"Sure thing, it'll also give me a chance to win another Gym Badge." The purple-haired girl accepted the offer. "Good luck you two; if I find either of them, I'll let you know right away!"

"That'll be appreciated, thank you very much. Come Nora, we should get started." The gym leader told her, exiting the hospital room as the green-haired girl gave her friend a solemn look.

"We're going to save him, no matter what! I just know we will." Natasha replied firmly, holding her friend's hands firmly. She saw what looked like the faintest of smiles appear on Nora's face, as if she believed what she was saying.

"Thanks Natasha…" She replied, promptly exiting the room with Natasha following behind, the duo about to separate once more as the purple-haired girl continued her journey.

0000

The journey to Kepler City was fairly easy for the most part; apart from the odd trainer battle, there was nothing that proved to be a challenge for Natasha. Then again, the road to Kepler City was shorter than she expected. Route 10 was just like the last couple of routes she traversed through; lush patches of grass, tall trees and crystal-clear lakes populated the area. But it was the part afterwards that caught her by surprise, a large patch of water dubbed Maelstrom 9. Supposedly, it was named that due to the abnormally high number of storms that populate the area, though nobody had an idea why they're such a common occurrence. Thankfully, today was one of those rare days where the weather was clear, with very few clouds in the sky. Natasha spent the next ten or so minutes traversing over the calm waters, taking the occasional glance at the sky in the event that the weather takes a turn for the worse. Luckily for her, it remained calm and tranquil as she made her way to the other side and hopped off her Inflatable Lapras.

"Alright everyone, we're nearly there. Why don't we take the time to stretch our legs and relax before entering the big city? Just don't stray too far, okay?" The purple-haired girl suggested, taking out her Pokéballs and sent out all her Delta Pokémon, the rambunctious horde of Pokémon making the most out of their free time. Natasha paid notable attention to her Delta Golem, Raichu, Reuniclus and Pidgeot, the four Pokémon having evolved during their training session before the battle against Harmony. The Delta Golem was considerably larger than it was as a Graveler, with four sturdy arms that could shatter rock as well as two pairs of legs that held up its heavy figure. The right side of its body was a light-brown, while the left side was a pitch-black, the two colors mixing well with each other. Its big blue crystal continued to shine brightly in the morning sun, the bulky Pokémon opting to sit idly and watch its companions frolic with each other, including Delta Raichu. The Flying Mouse Pokémon was playing tag with Drifblim, Weezing and Vespiquen, its innate speed giving it a slight advantage. It's two tails were spinning rapidly in a circle like a helicopter rotor, while its big, fluffy ears helped it locate its opponents. It had what looked like a natural set of lenses over its eyes that provided them with sufficient protection against high winds, while wearing what looked like a scarf made from its navy and white fur.

While those four were minding their own business, the Delta Pidgeot was busy preening its own feathers, removing and specks of dust and grime that got caught in them. It now sported a magnificent red crest atop its head, no doubt a way to intimidate its foes. Its long, reptilian tail swayed calmly in the air, the tuft of feathers at the end making a light 'swish' with every flick. Its chest was covered in a thick brown fur of sorts that it took special care in keeping clean, as if its appearance were vital to finding a suitable mate for it. But as Natasha opted to lie back and begin thinking to herself, she was soon joined by Delta Reuniclus, the Reanimating Pokémon opting to meditate as well. Its body was now considerably larger than before, it's two rocky hands connected to its body by a pair of long arms made out of small brown pebbles. Its intelligence has tripled upon evolving, enabling it to think up a series of calculated plans to ensure its victory. The purple-haired girl noticed how her Lotad, Munchlax, Golett and two Clamperl have yet to evolve, but she could always sneak in a private training session before the battle against Anastasia.

Natasha spent the next hour or so thinking to herself about her journey so far, and how she was always presented with more questions than answers. It was while she was thinking to herself that she stumbled onto a question that cropped up in her mind recently; what happened that had made Reukra desire perfection, to the point that he would alienate his closest friends in the pursuit of his dream? A theory that she had developed is that he attempted to challenge the Champion of Torren for their position but was defeated in a humiliating manner. If so, then that would explain a lot of his actions, between the Delta Species and new Mega Evolutions. But her thoughts soon shifted to that of Damian, an immense sadness welling up inside her. Despite only knowing him for a short while, he felt like a younger brother to her, always looking to her for a solution to their problems. Not to say that he couldn't pull his own weight; after all he was able to befriend the mythical Shaymin. But the events of that day at the library still played in her mind; if only Nora didn't snap at him in fear, then this whole affair could've been avoided. But now wasn't the time to dwell on the past; Nora is going about and beyond to atone for her transgression, and she needed her friend to back her up when the going gets rough. "Okay everyone, our break's over! Time to finish out journey to Kepler City." She called out, her companions chirping happily at her as she took the time to recall them all to their balls. Brushing the loose blades of grass off her outfit, the purple-haired girl put her balls into her bag before picking it up and began the final leg of her trek to Kepler City.

When she arrived at the city, she was taken aback by its sheer size. As the third largest city in the region, behind Suntouched and Helios, it served as the technological and scientific heart of Torren. There were various factories and laboratories throughout the area, were new discoveries were made for the sake of improving the lives of Torren's residents, both people and Pokémon. Additionally, there were also a few recycling plants in the city where scrap metal and the like were recycled for the sake of keeping the region clean and healthy. Standing in the back of the city, atop a sizable hill was the Kelper Gym, with what looked like a sizable observatory to the left of the building. Going under the assumption that Anastasia was inside the observatory, Natasha began the quick trek to the building, entering through the sliding doors as she saw what looked like a mild commotion inside.

"…I get what you're saying ma'am, but you should take a break once in a while. Between working as a Gym Leader, a researcher and an engineer, it's a miracle that you haven't collapsed from exhaustion." One of the scientists was arguing with her superior.

"I can't take a break right now, I'm in the middle of a side-project that's worth a lot of money. I'm sure you know how important it is that we keep our main project as well-funded as we can." The second woman brushed off her subordinates concerns. She appeared to be middle-aged and was fairly tall, had dark brown skin and medium length black hair that reached below her shoulders. Her outfit consisted of a yellow set of overalls with a long-sleeved white shirt underneath them, with splotches of oil and grime coating the overalls. Additionally, she wore black, steel-capped boots that kept her feet safe in the event that a hunk of metal fell onto the floor.

"I understand. Just, be careful, alright?" The scientist requested.

"I'll keep it in mind." The middle-aged woman chuckled lightly, turning to see that a newcomer had arrived at the observatory. "Why hello there. The name's Anastasia, young lady."

"A pleasure to meet you ma'am, the name's Natasha. I'm an acquaintance of Harmony." The purple-haired girl introduced herself.

"It's been quite some time since I last saw her; oh, I still remember what the two of us would get up to back at university…" Anastasia sighed whimsically, as Natasha raised an eyebrow in response. Could this mean that she was also a classmate of Reukra's? If so, then that would explain why he asked for her help on a project. "…Now then, what is it you came here for?"

"Two things; firstly, I'd like to challenge you to a gym battle, but that can but put aside for later. The second and more important matter is that Harmony wanted me to tell you that the Perfection Cult could be after you, who knows what they plan on doing to you." Natasha alerted her elder.

"Don't get me wrong, I appreciate your kind gesture, but I'm more than capable of handling myself…" The older woman replied, though Natasha had a feeling that she was hiding something. "As for your challenge, I'm more than happy to take you on now. I'm a little exhausted from working my side-project, and a battle could help reinvigorate me."

"In that case, let's not keep you—" The purple-haired girl called out, only for a loud burst of thunder to interrupt her. "W-What the?! Where did this storm come from?"

"I don't know, but we better check it out…" Anastasia suggested, the duo making their way outside the observatory and were taken aback by what they were seeing. The entire city was assaulted by a relentless storm, the reservoirs overflowing with water as the citizens quickly retreated back to their homes. "T-This isn't right…usually the storms stay around Maelstrom 9 instead of approaching the city. It can't be a natural occurrence."

"You're right, Anastasia. This storm isn't a natural one…" A familiar yet sinister voice called out, the duo turning to see the legendary Lugia descending to the ground, with Audrey sitting atop its back. "It's been a while, hasn't it Anastasia?"

"Audrey…I can't say I'm surprised you're the one behind this." The middle-aged woman hissed at the cult leader.

"Can't you see it, our plan has officially been put into action. Soon, my Lugia's storms will flood the entire world." Audrey declared boldly, only for Natasha to shoot a glare back at her.

"What does flooding the entire world do for you? What would be left to rule over once your plan succeeds? Did you think any of this through?!" She shot back, attracting the woman's attention.

"You're an inquisitive little snowflake, aren't you? I didn't come this far only to reveal my plan to you that easily." The white-haired woman smirked back at her.

"I don't understand…I thought your little group worshipped Kyogre." The black-haired woman commented.

"Oh, we do worship Kyogre, but it's true value is only revealed in specific circumstances. Those conditions are being created as we speak. I'd call upon you to stop me, but you'd be too wrapped up in saving the townsfolk to stop me." Audrey replied, briefly turning her head to face the overflowing reservoirs. "Tell me, have you heard of thalassophobia?"

"I think I have…isn't it an intense fear of the ocean?" Natasha answered.

"Very good, my little snowflake; thalassophobia is an intense fear of the deep blue sea. Soon…I shall remind humanity where that very fear came from." She warned the duo, gesturing her Lugia to take flight as the massive beast took to the skies and flew towards Maelstrom 9.

"Well that's fantastic…Audrey decided to make her big play and I can't do a thing about it. after all, I've got to keep the townsfolk safe." Anastasia muttered to herself.

"Then let me take her on; I've defeated her before, and I can do it again!" The purple-haired girl declared, catching the older woman off-guard.

"You can't be serious, how could a kid like you defeat a cult leader?!" She exclaimed in surprise.

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's the truth. It was a life-or-death situation for me and winning was the only way out." Natasha stated, gazing at her elder with determination in her eyes.

"Well you don't have the eyes of a liar, so I'll let you go after her. You may need this in case things get dicey." Anastasia stated, handing over a scuba suit and oxygen tank to the purple-haired girl. "My gut tells me that she's probably gone to the Abyssal Cult's hideout, and I think that's somewhere within Maelstrom 9. I don't think I need to tell you about how dangerous it'll be down there."

"Don't worry, I won't let you down, I promise!" Natasha pledged, opting to make her way to Maelstrom 9 as a series of thoughts crossed her mind. Today, she was going to finish things between her and Audrey. If she fails here, then Torren—no, the entire world would be doomed to drown under a never-ending storm.

That's about it for this chapter, the next one will cover the infiltration of the Abyssal base as well as the final confrontation with Audrey. I hope you're all looking forward to it when it gets released. Thank you all for reading and supporting my story, I'll see you all in the next chapter.

Acquired Delta Pokémon:

D. Venusaur

D. Charizard

D. Blastoise

D. Dugtrio

D. Crustle (Cake)

D. Golem

D. Ambipom

D. Muk

D. Reuniclus

D. Scizor

D. Volcarona

D. Sunflora

D. Gardevoir (female)

D. Gallade

D. Quagsire

D. Raichu

D. Hydreigon

D. Pidgeot

D. Golett

D. Plusle

D. Minun

D. Lotad

D. Heatmor

D. Emolga

D. Drifblim

D. Roserade

D. Munchlax

D. Haxorus

D. Weezing

D. Dunsparce

D. Clamperl x2 (one male, one female)

D. Vespiquen

D. Chandelure