A/N: Alright, time to try and dig myself out of the hole I put myself in by making a bunch of changes to the story. Time to finally start getting (some) questions answered!

"Please, please! Make yourselves comfortable!" Rose said enthusiastically, ushering us into a large board meeting room a couple of stories down. He flicked a couple light switches, which clicked ineffectively. He frowned. "Oleana, see if you can't re-redirect the power lines, will you?"

"The power is down throughout the whole city," Raihan growled, folding his arms.

Rose grimaced. "Ah, unintended consequences. Perhaps you can find some sort of auxiliary power source?" Oleana blinked a couple times as if trying to process everything, then gave a curt nod and exited the room. Rose paid her no more mind and instead walked to the far end of the room, where large panels of thick glass stretched across the wall from floor to ceiling. The red sky was slowly fading to a more standard black of night, and soon the room would be cast in darkness as well. He turned back to us and smiled warmly. "I do believe I told you to make yourselves comfortable! Here, let's get some light going, what say you all?"

I frowned and pulled out Rapidash's Pokéball. In a glimmer of light, she appeared, her long mane casting a faint glow around the room. "Stay near us," I said softly, "and if you could glow any brighter at all?" Rapidash pursed her lips and shook her head and the glow from her mane grew so that all of us were once again in the light. Rose had already seated himself at the far end of the board meeting. Next to him sat the brothers Buckingham. Leon had also made his way to a seat, closer to Rose at the other end, and Raihan chose a seat closer to our end of the table. Another woman in a black bob, one I didn't recognize, wearing a white lab coat and carrying a stack of notebooks, took a spot next to Raihan. Hop and I remained standing, wary.

"Gloria, Hop," Leon said gruffly, and then jerked his head to the two seats closest to us. Hop gave a sigh and pulled a chair for himself, but I remained standing.

"So, what's all this, then?" I asked bluntly.

"I do quite admire your frankness, miss Dixon," Rose said.

"I'd admire yours as well," I shot back. Rose blinked in surprise, and I saw the faintest smile appear on Raihan's lips before he immediately looked down to his hands, resting on the table.

Rose composed himself and fished in his pockets, pulling out the Master Ball and setting it gingerly on the table in front of him. "First, as I'm sure you recognize, this is a Master Ball. A high-powered Pokéball that can capture any Pokémon and keep that Pokémon safe and away from any danger."

"Right," I nodded.

Rose smiled and leaned back. "So, you may all rest easy knowing that Eternatus is safe and will not be able to break out of it. It is, effectively, my own Pokémon."

"But what even is Eternatus? It's a Pokémon?" I asked. "We thought you were trying to—"

"Bring about the Darkest Day again?" Rose interrupted, his smile growing. "Well, in a sense, I was. That's correct. Tell me, Miss Dixon. What do you know of the legend of the Darkest Day? Mister Nambarek?"

Hop and I exchanged glances. "It was a huge tragedy, where for a day, the sky turned black, and giant Pokémon ran rampant through Galar," I said. "There was a 'Black Hand,' a monster that was, I dunno, controlling all the giant Pokémon?"

"The Black Hand was defeated by the Ancient Galarian Hero, a champion who brought Galar into one kingdom that spanned the whole region," Hop continued.

"It's a good summary," Rose replied. "But I assure you, there is much, much more to it." I decided to hold my tongue. Something was telling me that I shouldn't inform him of Zacian or Zamazenta. Hop mentioning a single champion implied he had felt the same. "You see," Rose continued, "I personally have always felt rather fascinated by stories and legends passed down from generation to generation. The legacies of those who've long passed. And I often wonder how much has been gained, and how much has been…lost in the centuries these stories have been told.

"For example, did you ever notice that the earliest recording of Dynamax Pokémon was actually the story of the Darkest Day? An interesting coincidence, no? Originally, most scholars thought that it was an ancient myth that explained how the Dynamax Phenomenon came to be, much like how Arceus has shaped the very world itself, or that Palkia and Dialga have shaped Space and Time to their very whim. That was until the esteemed Professor Magnolia began her research on Dynamax Energy at the start of her career. You see, myths were fine and all, she seemed to think, but there had to be more to it. And so, she began to dig. Sure enough, she began to find out more and more about it and was able to not only prove that the Darkest Day was just as real as any other day in this world but was able to form a very sturdy hypothesis there was a connection between Dynamax and the Darkest Day. As technology improved rapidly over the past forty or fifty years, her research delved deeply into what exactly makes Dynamax Energy operate. What creates it, how to sustain it, and most importantly, how to utilize it. And that's where my father came in.

"Miss Dixon, I believe I told you how we utilize Wishing Stars for energy, much like the coal Galar used in its ancient days, no? You can thank my father and Macro Cosmos for that. Professor Magnolia was able to deduce that Dynamax Energy was stored in the stars, and with the help of some smart investing on my father's part, we were able to find a way to utilize that latent energy for the true potential it had. It was cleaner than coal, and far more efficient than that or any other alternative. Not only that, but it was in abundant supply all over Galar, and especially in the Hammerlocke region. Almost unlimited power, and we were able to tap into it. Quite the boon for both Magnolia and Macro Cosmos, wouldn't you say? Over the years, Wishing Star Energy grew in popularity, and it is now the most common source of all Galar's electrical power! Not to mention my tweaking of the Pokémon League to bring Dynamax into the forefront of official battles."

I frowned, but slowly made my way to the chair next to Hop. "Okay, but what does this all have to do with this Eternatus thing, or bringing about the Darkest Day?"

"I'm getting to it," Rose insisted. "Remember all the way back when we had our little chat in Hulbury? After your gym battle with Nessa? Well, as I pointed out to you, Wishing Stars are also a finite resource, and eventually, much like coal, it will be completely used up. And as the head of a company whose foundations are in supplying electrical power, that's hardly good for business! Nor is it good for anyone. All of Galar demands energy to maintain itself."

"Didn't you also say that was, like, eons away?"

"A thousand years or so," Rose said dismissively, waving his hand as if batting the physical embodiment of the idea away. "But the way I see it, why put off until tomorrow what can be done today? I can't just let Galar sit and do nothing while she uses up all of her precious energy!"

"But it's a thousand years away!" I cried. "That's hardly a pressing matter!"

"That's what I said," Leon grumbled. I glanced over to see him not making eye contact with anyone, instead choosing to stew in his own thoughts and opinions.

Rose's eyes narrowed. "Scientific innovation goes beyond 'solving a problem.' It's about solving a problem before it even arises. But that is neither here nor there. As I told you, I've been searching for a newer, cleaner source of energy. One that will not die out. A way of harnessing the natural, infinite energy of the planet."

"We've already got solar power and wind power, don't we?" I sneered. "Couldn't you just innovate them to be better?"

Rose took a deep breath and exhaled. "Solar power, wind power, coal power, none if it has nearly the potency of Dynamax energy. A stiff breeze can't turbocharge your Pokémon, and a sunny day can hardly keep the lights on once the sun goes down. The fact is, examining the research of my father and Professor Magnolia brought me to a conclusion: Dynamax Energy, if I could find out how to create it, could provide an eternal source of energy, and if I could find a way to harness it, I could find a way to strengthen it.

"Back to the Darkest Day. Jumping off Magnolia's theory that the Darkest Day and the Dynamax Phenomenon shared a common origin, I quickly began to pore through all accounts of that time period. My research team looked all across the region for any hints, but alas, there was nothing truly solid that could connect the two. Tech was so primitive in that time, so there was no way the ancient people of Galar would have been able to understand what was truly happening, let alone write it down for us in the modern area to find it. All I had to go on was one enigma: the black hand. Originally, I thought it code for some ancient evil society or magical force, but it turns out, it's this right here: A single, and incredibly powerful dragon, which I've decided to name Eternatus. And thus, project Eternamax was born." He gestured to the Master Ball in front of him for emphasis. Suddenly, there was a small click, and the lights flickered on, and everyone was bathed in a cold, fluorescent light. I blinked and looked around at everyone. Hop, Leon, and Raihan all looked exhausted, but surprisingly Rose looked the most tired of all. In the insanity of Eternatus' revival and the dark shadows we had been enshrouded in, I had missed the deep bags under his eyes. It was only now that I was in the same room that I noticed his hair, usually slick and pushed together fashionably, was frizzy and a bit overgrown. His eyes still gleamed the way they did before, but now they gleamed in a way that reminded me of a mad scientist. "Excellent," Rose continued. "Oleana must have redirected the power. The city at large should pop back on the grid. Now, no doubt I will have Oleana organize a new press release. Now that Eternatus has been revived fully, we can begin phase two of Project Eternamax, and—"

"Hold on, hold on," Hop interrupted. Everyone in the room looked over at him. "You still haven't told us anything."

"What else is there to say?" Rose asked with a smile. "I revived Eternatus, and we will study it to find out how we can generate natural Dynamax Energy, Macro Cosmos creates a revolution in sustainable energy, everyone wins."

"You don't know that!" Raihan shouted. "I dunno jack-all about the Darkest Day myth besides what was in the stories, but I do know a thing or two about dragons, and—"

"And that's why you'll assist me in taming Eternatus before any serious efforts are made to study its power or create our own Dynamax Energy," Rose shot back quickly. "I know my history; I don't intend to repeat it."

"But how did you even find out about Eternatus?" Hop asked. "Or how to go about reviving it?"

"Yeah," I added, standing back up and pounding my fist on the table. "Not to mention, there's more to the Darkest Day story than the Black Hand."

"Well, I'm saving that up for my memoir," Rose muttered, "but I suppose I can give you the shortened version, at least. If it'll keep you from being thorns at my side. I found out about the true nature of the Black Hand when I visited the Royal Archives in Wyndon. These two, Edward and Herbert, were so gracious and generous when they heard of my plans. In fact, their investment into the project is largely the only reason any of this got done at all!" Herbert and Edward puffed their chests up at the mentioning, but their expressions soon soured when we didn't pay them any more mind than a quick glance.

"What about Sonia?" Hop asked.

"Who?" Rose asked. He pondered a moment and snapped his fingers. "Ah, yes, the Magnolia girl. Unfortunately, she just doesn't have the sort of analytical mind that her grandmother does. Kept getting distracted from the actual science by fairy tales and a certain group of gym challengers. Not that I blame her for that, of course. You two, as well as your brother Victor, have been tearing up the gym circuit this year! It's not every year you get three prodigies!"

"Four," I said bluntly.

"Of course, Miss Dixon," Rose chuckled. "You and Marnie, Galar's own Volbeat and Illumise. Or would you both be Illumise? Regardless, the young Sonia's only real contribution came from being at the right place at the right time, but we'll get to that. So. The Royal archives in Wyndon are not quite as well known as the archive here in Hammerlocke, but they do have material that particularly involves history, and the long lineages of the royalty of Galar. Edward and Herbert come from a dynasty that has remained unbroken since the foundation of the Kingdom."

"Unbroken," Herbert interrupted, "Since the Darkest Day. In fact, we are direct descendants of Galar's noble Hero himself."

"Precisely," Rose said. "And that is exactly what my research team needed. It was thanks to them that we were able to figure out that this 'black hand' was our key into discovering the true origin of the Dynamax Phenomenon. This mysterious Pokémon that had never been seen before and has not been seen since.

"Now, at the same time, Macro Cosmos has always been studying Wishing Stars. Their composition, their properties. But the most interesting thing about these gems is that they are truly unlike any other gem on this planet. You know that?"

"Yeah," Hop said. "And they're only found in Galar. It's why we're the only region that can naturally Dynamax our Pokémon, right?"

"How astute!" Rose replied. "But they're even more unique than you'd think. You see, they're comprised of entirely organic material. They aren't real stones at all, at least not on a molecular level. And when we discovered that the Black Hand was truly a single entity, all the pieces started to fall together. Those wishing stars are crystallized Dynamax Energy created by Eternatus itself and scattered across the sky and in the ground after it was smitten by the Hero all those years ago."

"But there's so many of them!" I said with shock. "Eternatus was big, but not that big. How could there still be so many left over?"

"Precisely what I'd like to know," Rose replied. "And if it could generate this much Energy in one day thousands of years ago, think of how much it could generate in a controlled environment!"

"So, what, you hook it up to a bunch of wires and use it like a generator?" I asked.

"That's inhumane!" Hop cried, aghast.

"It is a demon that nearly destroyed the region thousands of years ago," Rose countered harshly. "I think it can withstand a couple standard checkups that are standard practice at Pokémon Centers. And Raihan, as you're here, I'd like to talk to you about overseeing. It does share a lot of characteristics with Dragon types, and I would like an expert to make sure we are being as careful as possible with Eternatus, for both its safety and our own."

"Hey, leave me out of this," Raihan exclaimed. "I have a gym to run, if there's any bit of it left after tonight."

"We have a facility for Eternatus here in the power plant, and I encourage you to assist us," Rose insisted, his voice and expression darkening to a much more serious and threatening tone. Raihan gulped and sunk down a bit in his chair.

"Lay off him," Leon grunted. "I'll be around anyway; I'll do it." I looked over to him. His face was stone as he flicked his eyes between Rose, Raihan, and the Master Ball on the table. "Isn't that why you wanted me here tonight anyway? To keep things under control?"

"There's much to discuss with both of you," Rose said, his tone indicating that he would not take the conversation further in that direction no matter what either of them said. Raihan and Leon both slumped a bit further into their chairs grumpily, while Rose turned back to Hop and me at the far end of the table and cleared his throat before speaking again. "Now, as I was saying, once we had discovered the true nature of the Wishing Stars, the only thing left to do really was find a way to study any remnants of Eternatus itself. And, speaking of studying remnants, I don't think I've formally introduced you to Dr. Liss!"

Rose waved a hand over to the woman who had still been seated silently this whole time. She waved brightly, and smiled, her lips stretching a bit further than I had expected to and revealing a row of too-perfect white teeth. "A pleasure! You can just call me Cara. Not really one for formalities!"

"Right," Rose chuckled. "Dr. Lis—Cara Liss here has quite the track record with fossils. As you know, reviving fossilized Pokémon is somewhat a recent phenomenon, but Cara has quite an interesting skill with fossilized Pokémon."

"That's right!" she said, her voice moving quicker than Boltund could run. "I've actually been called a bit of a wunderkind from my days at the Rustboro Institute. Done a lot of work at the museum there, and in Pewter, even the ones in Kalos and the library in Unova. All over the place. Most of these professors just use the DNA remnants in the fossils to recreate the Pokémon, but often times, no useable DNA is left! But I've figured out a way to nearly completely bypass that, and—"

"We can spare you the details," Rose interrupted, silencing her with a wave of his hand. "But her work on the fossils found naturally in Galar is second to none! So of course, I brought her into the project right away. So really, all we had to do was find Eternatus and let her work her magic!"

"Science—"

"It's a turn of phrase, Dr. Liss," Rose said. "That, of course, was the hardest bit, figuring out where the damned remains even were! Naturally, our first guesses were the mines, but that was fruitless, and…" He trailed off as the door to the board room opened up behind us. "Ah, Oleana. Thank you again; I do not know where I would be without you. And I see you've brought some friends."

I turned around to see Oleana, who did not even acknowledge me, but instead walked right to Rose's right side As she passed by me, I noticed that she was guarding a nasty rip on her blazer pocket thanks to Sneasel. Behind her were a handful of embarrassed looking Macro Cosmos Guards, and after they filed in, Marnie and Victor appeared, and the moment they saw us they lit up.

"Gloria, Hop, you're okay!" Victor cried, rushing forward and swinging an arm around each of us. "We saw the giant star explode and feared the worst."

I felt a set of fingers slide into mine and the warm scent of autumn embrace me on my other side. "I thought I'd never see you again," Marnie said softly. I squeezed her arm as she sat down next to me.

"Takes a lot to kill me," I bragged, and then shot an icy look at Rose. "Not for lack of trying, though."

"Please, sit! All of you! You came just in time for the best bit," Rose said warmly, ignoring my remark entirely. "Now as I was saying, we had everything we needed but Eternatus' remains. Sorry, for those of you just joining, behold the Black Hand, safely stowed away thanks to the power of science." He gestured cheekily at the Pokéball.

"You WHAT?" Victor cried.

"Surely Sonia told you about why you were researching Dynamax energy, did she not?" Rose said. "She said so many good things about you and your skills as a researcher.

"Oh, well, thanks, Sonia," Victor mumbled, a blush coming to his cheeks. "But no, not exactly. She just said that you were trying to have her find high densities of Dynamax Energy."

"And she never put two and two together," Rose chuckled. "As I was saying, not quite her Grandmother, eh? But yes. A simple theory, no? The more energy and wishing stars in an area, the more likely we'd find our dragon. I'm sure you remember my boy Bede?"

"The one you threw under the bus?" I sneered, raising my eyebrow.

"Odd you're defending him," Rose said sharply. "He was never too fond of you, you know. But at any rate, I did not throw him under the bus. In fact, he ended up being more useful to our research than Sonia was! Shame how he went about it of course, would've made for terrible press. I understand Opal has taken him under her wings. I think once this season winds down I'll be able to reconcile with him and we can rekindle our relationship. Oleana, could we put a pin in that and come back to it on a later date? Thanks. Now, Bede. I gave him his endorsement on the provision that he would do a bit of fieldwork for Macro Cosmos. He went around collecting all the Wishing Stars he could find and told me where they were and how many there were when he found them. He has a natural flair for sensing the energy, and a drive that is unlike many I've seen. He was most insistent that there were wishing stars tucked away in Stow-on-Side's mural, and I'm sure you know where I'm going with this, don't you?"

I nodded slowly. "Behind the mural. Zacian and Zamazenta."

"Who?" Rose said, cocking his head ever so slightly. To his left, Edward and Herbert both gave a start, and glared at me ferociously. "Do you mean the wolf statues? I didn't know they had names."

"Lycanroc," Herbert said quickly, not taking his eyes off me.

"Our family raised them as guard dogs and hunting companions; they were with us always," Edward added, his voice dripping with malice. "Those two were the names of the Noble Hero's Lycanroc."

"Why were there two men behind them, then?" I shot back.

"One is the hero, a valiant knight, and the other his squire," Edward scoffed. "Do you know nothing of our history?"

"Such a commoner," Herbert scowled. "Thinking she knows her family's history better than us? Preposterous."

"I know more than you'd think," I growled.

Leave this, Zacian's voice echoed in my head. Do not consort with heresy. I leaned back into the chair and gripped Marnie's hand a little tighter.

"Well, it turns out that Bede was right on the money, though not in the way he thought. As it turns out, those statues are not a memorial. They are a grave. Eternatus' skeleton, in all its entirety, lay completely exposed once Bede tore through that wall. Then it was just a matter of bringing the skeleton to Hammerlocke and finding the correct amount of power for Dr. Liss to revive it!"

"Turns out you need a lotta juice when the Pokémon is so big!" Dr. Liss said, her grin somehow growing wider and more sinister.

"And on top of that, the molecular structure of Eternatus' skeleton was so foreign, normal revival practices wouldn't work. The remains only seemed to react to pure Dynamax Energy, which as I'm sure you've noticed, can be quite volatile when uncontrolled.

"So those storms really were your doing," I said shakily.

"We did posit that something as powerful as the legendary black hand itself would require something of a much wider scope to work," Rose continued, "so yes. The storms were technically the fault of Macro Cosmos. But the damage caused will be completely paid forward in less than a year once Project Eternamax has concluded and Eternatus will be powering the entire region!"

"Scumbag," Marnie spat.

"History will vindicate me," Rose retorted. "Far more than whatever mud Spikemuth throws at me, at least. We all have to make sacrifices for the greater good. I'm sure we can agree on this much?" Marnie stared him dead in the face, not blinking. Rose flicked his glance over to me. I didn't say anything; most of this was far above anything I could process quickly. "Well," Rose concluded, with one more smile. "If there's no need for any clarification, I think we can all go our separate ways. Oleana, I know it is late, but see to it that these four valiant trainers have accommodations for the night, maybe at a nice hotel nearby? Raihan, Leon, I would have you two stay back with me and Dr. Liss. We need to monitor Eternatus; ensure that it remains stable. I am relying on you two and your combined knowledge of dragon types."

Slowly, and with some amount of confusion, we all got up off the table and were quickly corralled to the board room doors. I caught Leon's eye. He looked humiliated and furious, but when he saw me, he jerked his head at Hop and pulled out his phone. I couldn't see him further as another pair of guards began to get a little more forceful.

"Oh, and you four!" Rose called out suddenly, stopping the whole procession in its tracks. "I know some of Macro Cosmos' actions tonight seem a bit…unsavory, but I would ask that you keep an open mind as we go forward. I'd hate for word to get out about how four of the top trainers of the league were caught trespassing at the power plant right before the power went out across the city."

"You fucker!" Marnie roared, suddenly losing her temper entirely. "You absolute piece of—"

"Marnie, let's go," Hop said suddenly, glancing at his phone.

"Don't tell me what to do," she spat. "Gloria, you're with me, right?"

"Rose, you can kiss my whole arse," I said defiantly.

"It pains me that you do not share in my vision for a better future," Rose said simply.

"We'll tell 'em what you're doin' here!" Marnie growled.

"Oh, don't worry, part of the next phase is going public about it all," Rose said. "I'm sending word immediately about it, in fact! And then you'll see how much good will truly come from this! You'll see. Good night, you four!" And with a final push, the guards and Oleana pushed us out of the board room and into the dimly lit hall.

Oleana waved the guards away and looked at me. "Keys?"

I handed them over and she swiped at them viciously. "Looks like you need a patch job on that blazer there, Oleana."

"You need that Sneasel put down," she said under her breath. "Come along, then. I will…book you four some rooms but consider this the last act of good will on the part of Macro Cosmos."

"I don't want anything from you ever again," Marnie spat.

"Three rooms, then," Oleana said, unfazed. She walked to the elevator.

"We'll take the three!" Victor piped in, elbowing me hard in the ribs before I could say a word. I glanced at him, and he nodded over to Hop, who waved his phone at me. I nodded and pulled Marnie to my side and while Oleana was walking away, Hop showed the three of us his phone screen. On it was a text from Leon.

We'll talk about this. Soon. I promise.

"How soon?" I asked but Hop only shrugged in return and jogged after Oleana, whose walking pace had already put her at the elevator bay, where she was waiting impatiently. We followed suit and were soon on our way back down the tower.

A/N: Timeskip incoming! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I also hope I covered all my bases in writing and rewriting this sucker constantly this past week.

NEXT WEEK: BACK AT POSTWICK