The leader of Team Galactic sat in a darkened room, fingers tented, meeting with his four commanders.
"And all weapons are ready for deployment?" Cyrus asked. "It is imperative that we construct the Red Chain as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir!" Mars replied, saluting. "My captains are readying themselves for the operation as we speak."
"Good. Jupiter."
"Just as well. Those Legendary Pokemon won't know what hit them."
"Saturn."
"Operatives in Jubilife are ready to move out."
"Good. Charon, head to the labs and be ready for transfer."
"Eh, yes, Cyrus."
The stoic man nodded. "Soon."
A Mid-Sinnoh Night's Dream - XXVI - To Persuade A Prince To Do His Duty
Hilbert woke up, falling through the air, with the sound of glass shattering echoing in his ears.
"Teach me to boil an ocean!" He shouted as he started falling.
"Yeah, I forgot how explosions work. I heated up the water way too fast. Went up instead of in."
Like a cat, he managed to land on his feet, and slid down the wave rather than into it. He was still soaked though, as it was still pouring rain.
"Ack. Where are the others?"
"You blew them up."
"Ah, right. Shit."
He closed his eyes and started scanning the water. A few hundred feet off, he saw a massive glob of aura standing out against the specks that were the local Water-types. Running over the waves a mile a minute through the pouring rain, he got the large glob right below him before he took a deep breath and plunged right in.
He sank for a good few seconds before he realized that he actually had to swim, and started doing so. Sure, the water was biting him and he was probably going to get hypothermia, but that was nothing really crazy, was it?
Eventually, he fell through a bubble and onto someone wearing a lot of green.
After exclaiming their shock and getting themselves out of that incredibly compromising situation, Hilbert looked up at Golurk, who was rapidly repairing the hole he'd just blown in their rocky dome of protection. The seawater he'd let through quickly seeped into the gravel.
"Hey, sorry about that."
"You're lucky I got this shield up in time. Swampert couldn't have handled it by themself."
"Yeah, sorry, Cheryl, Tobias. So, funny thing… we're not going to see Cresselia or Darkrai. I just met them, and they don't technically exist in the real world. Yet. I dunno."
"Can we talk about this later?" Cheryl asked, shivering from the freezing dampness he'd just thrown on her.
"Oh. Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Everyone, get on Golurk's back, we're goin' up!"
Hilbert explained the situation to Tobias after they'd gotten to open air, and the man nodded along regretfully before summoning Latios with the flute. They'd shared contact information, so if either ever needed help, the other would be able to.
Cheryl was not having a fun time on Golurk's back, as she was still freezing cold and as he'd learned before, Ice Heals don't work on humans.
"I'd rather not use the same solution as I had to for Dawn… maybe I can convince her to do it instead."
He then had to focus on not giving himself a nosebleed; Teenage boy and all that.
Figuring that everyone would still be on Iron Island, and not comprehending just how long they'd been out, Hilbert decided that they ought to fly there.
Golurk touched down just past the beach and docks, on the watery gravel. Hilbert lifted up Cheryl before jumping off, just before Golurk returned himself and the kicked-up mud began to settle.
"Y-y-you don't have to c-c-carry me. I'm fine-ne," she chattered, face too pale to betray any emotion.
Hilbert shook his head. "I'd do this for any of my friends," he said as he began walking towards the only source of light, the top of a building behind a massive pile of boulders.
"Well, the princess c-c-carry is k-k-kind of embarrassing-g."
"It's windy." The weather demonstrated this by blowing against his back, throwing water against it but sending a chill down his spine but blocking it from touching Cheryl. "The chill will get to you if I just throw you over my shoulder."
"I supp-p-pose. Aren't you c-c-cold?"
"No. Well, maybe a little bit. Not important." He went around a bend, allowing him to see the entirety of the lodge. Two stories tall, relatively (In his experience) wide, and almost inexplicably emanating with coziness. That may have been the hypothermia setting in.
He tapped on the door with the ball of his foot and waited for a reply.
A boy with a very forgettable face opened the door for them, giving them a weird look but let them in to get out of the rain regardless.
"Have you seen a group of four around here? One with blond hair, another looks like a Byronic Hero, another looks like a pop star and the last one dresses like a doll?"
"Uh… yeah, the girls are in the left wing, I think."
"Thanks."
He walked over to one of the corridors, thanking Arceus or whoever that he kept his cross-transceiver in his bag instead of on his wrist before he blew himself up.
And that was what a pajama-clad Dawn answered the door to, a disheveled, thoroughly soaked pair, with Hilbert having his clothes in tatters and Cheryl looking the slightest bit blue.
"Arceus, Hilby, it's the middle of the night, what did you drag her into?"
"I'll explain later, she's probably got hypothermia."
"And you brought her here instead of a Pokemon Center?"
"...Yes?"
"...Ugh, fine, just get in here. You're lucky these rooms have a communal bath."
Hilbert's all-encompassing sense of dread reached him in his final moments.
"Can you take care of her? I'll go find Lucas and Bar-"
"Oh no, mister, you're taking responsibility for this. Whatever you two got up to, you're going to help fix it."
"It's f-f-fine, really, I can do it myself-"
Dawn shook her head, "No, look at you, you're going to need some help. Now, I probably can't carry you, but I know Hilbert can, so what we're going to do is-"
The editors in the publishing house have decided that the ensuing scenes, though not incredibly graphic compared to other stories, are not meeting of the constraints set by the Workers Encouraging Tasteful Bowdlerization of Lewd Actions N' Kissing in Entertainment, Television, and other forms of Storytelling- Also known as the WET BLANKETS- And as such, will not be included in the final product.
The group (The FULL group), reassembled the next morning, with Hilbert claiming that he had to take care of some other things which was why he didn't tell them he had arrived the night before. He had the good sense to leave Dawn's (And Cheryl's, though there was only one bed) room beforehand.
"Catch any Legendaries?" Their resident blond asked in the lodge's common room.
Hilbert shook his head at Barry. "Couldn't. Wouldn't. Both of them pissed me off."
"You saw two?"
"It was more of a dream than anything else," he shrugged. "Now that I think about it, we keep making a lot of dream metaphors. Wonder what that's about?"
"Well… whatever. Can we head into the caves now?"
Lucas sighed, "He was bugging me about it all night," he exposited. "Why'd you take so long to get back?"
"Not important. Let's go."
"You know, if you're our leader, you need to be more transparent."
"What am I, a Solosis? If it's important, I'll tell you."
"Sure, sure, but what's not important to you is probably a life-changing event for anyone else. There are professors who are probably dying to ask you about Shaymin, but you treat them like a common Glameow or our mascot, depending on the day."
"Hey, shut up, it's common courtesy. Everyone deserves the same level of respect."
"But there are intrinsic differences in history there. You're right, but you have to acknowledge that Shaymin is infinitely more special than a… what's it called, Whirlipede?"
"Hey, don't diss Whirlipede."
"I'm not, but my point is that you see everything on such a one-dimensional level that you can't comprehend scale. Because Heal Pulse works on you, you think of a Tackle the same way as a Blast Burn."
"That's definitely not true, I nearly pissed myself when Moltres tried to hit me with one."
"See what I mean? Hell, I knew something went down when that mountain exploded, but an actual Blast Burn? You didn't even mention that afterwards!"
"Well, I was fine…"
"Exactly. Just because you can get better really quickly doesn't mean the danger isn't there. Your priorities and perspective are skewed towards the negative. You don't worry about yourself, and switch between being a demi-god amongst men and just a trainer from Nuvema Town."
"A little early to be calling me a god."
"Didn't you punch Zapdos in the face? I'd say that qualifies you about halfway."
"I think I did. It might need to be retconned in later, it might not actually be in the text."
"What the hell are you talking about now?"
"Not important."
"We just had this discussion!"
"Not important as in, I have no clue either."
"Ah. Right, one of those. Well… we can talk about this later."
"Onward ho!"
The interior of Iron Island's cave system was not musty, but rather damp, and every bit as cold as the water had been the previous night. Hilbert was, of course, walking in his usual clothes while everyone else was pulling out the winter gear. His blood ran hot enough that it just didn't occur to him that he might need an extra jacket.
The sound of clattering rocks was ever-present, though the other trainers they passed seemed used to it.
Garchomp and Tyranitar took the opportunity to walk alongside them, enjoying the environment as much as they did each other's company. Hilbert took special care to not listen to them whatsoever, as he'd start hearing their mushy conversation if he focused even a little.
Everyone's Pokemon took the opportunity to hike as well, meaning that they had to stick to the larger tunnels that could actually fit all of them.
Given the stalactites alone were a dozen feet long, they didn't have many issues.
As they descended, Garchomp and Tyranitar seemed to be having a competition to fight off the approaching waves of Geodude and Zubat, creating an odd tornado effect where the trainers were in the eye of the storm, and given quiet moments between all the roaring and rock smashing.
They didn't talk much though. They were focused more on keeping warm than conversation. Hilbert was quiet as well, having not come up with a monologue yet.
Eventually, they reached one of the deeper floors, signified by a Golbat being blasted into the rocks behind them by an Aura Sphere.
Two Galactic Grunts were in combat with someone in a tank top, spiky blue hair, and with an Aura Sphere in their hands, along with a Mega Lucario.
Hilbert got that signature gleam in his eyes, everyone else backed up, and you know how it went from there.
Two Croagunks were trying to fight the Lucario, while the remaining Golbat was swooping in on the aura-user.
Said aura-user took a page out of his book and punched it in the jaw with a left hook, plastering it into the gravel.
"Hey, don't you think we should retreat?"
"You know what? That sounds like a fantastic idea."
They managed to return their Pokemon before Hilbert appeared behind them.
"Gentlemen."
He cuffed them by the collar, and started dragging them off towards the surface of the island, at speeds that could probably match a golf cart, but a very fast golf cart, you know? He had extra cargo, so he couldn't go any faster.
Hilbert dropped them off near the dock, left a sticky note for the confused Officer Jenny stationed there, and ran back down, running a lot faster and thoroughly confusing the other trainers he passed when a wind nearly ripped their bags from their backs.
When he got back, the aura-user was taking a water bottle from Lucas and nodding. "Again, thanks for the assist. Who was that guy that ran off?"
"Name's Black," he said, scaring Barry out of his skin.
"AGH! Dude! That was less than five minutes! We've been walking for an hour!"
"Ah… really? Uh… guess I'm faster than I thought?"
He attracted the attacked person's attention.
"Name's Riley. Nice to meet you." They blinked. "Oh, cool. You're that other Aura User I heard about from the council. Thanks for digging out those Mega Stones by the way." They pointed with their thumb at their reverted Lucario who had a jeweled collar on its neck. "Was seriously cool to get one for myself."
"No problem. Glad to meet someone who gets it." He offered a hand, which Riley shook. "What are your thoughts on drills?"
"Wish I had one myself."
"...What?"
"What?"
"Like, the spinning kind."
"Oh, I thought that was a euphemism."
"...Okay. Moving on, what was the deal with those guys?"
"They saw me punching a boulder in half and decided I would be a good target for robbery."
"Ah. That sounds about right. Team Galactic's not the smartest bunch."
"Being unintelligent and being incorrect are two different things," Lucas interjected.
"Yeah, sure, I'll wait for them to prove it."
"Do you deal with them often?" Riley asked them.
"Well, of course, who the hell do you think we are?"
"..."
"Team Black?"
"Might have heard something in the news…"
"Shaymin?"
"I've heard of the myth; Why?"
"You don't get out much, do you?"
"I got bullied a lot in Trainer School before I ran away," they said, nervously tugging at the edge of their cloth top. "So it's me and Lucario most of the time."
"Why's that?"
"People don't see me the way I see myself."
"Ah. Sorry to hear about that. How do you see yourself?"
"I'm a guy."
"Cool, then I'll do it too. You wanna join our party? One of my partners is a Lucario too, so it's like, twinsies, or whatever."
"...That doesn't sound too bad."
"Awesome! Seven is symbolic, or so I've heard, so that means we'll have better luck from now on!"
Man, if only you knew.
Does that count as foreshadowing?
It's not very good foreshadowing if it does.
After that conversation, they all spent nearly a week together on Iron Island, training, but not doing much else of note, until Hilbert got a call from Professor Rowan.
"Hilbert speaking. Pseudonyms include Black, that kid with the Golurk, and regrettably, Aura Guardian-"
"Good, you picked up." The old man steamrolled past his extensive introduction. "I will be in Canalave for an academic conference on the fourteenth, one o'clock. I thought I would let you know."
"I'm not the most intelligent guy, you know that, but I might stop by. What's the topic?"
"General review of progress in the scientific world. However, Professor Juniper and Augustine Sycamore will be present. I believe you are already aware of the former, and the latter is something of a prodigy in the field of Mega Evolution, if I do say so myself."
"That actually sounds pretty cool. I'll be there. I mean, I don't know about everyone else, and I don't know if the boat schedule works, but I can run on water and stuff, so it's fine."
"...Excuse me, what was that?"
"Just something I picked up, don't think about it too hard."
"That would be antithetical to my lab's mission statement," the aged professor mused. "In fact… If you wouldn't mind, I think we could use a bit of audience participation."
"Uh-huh. Good luck with that. Need anything else?"
"That will be all for now. I'll have to talk with the other speakers beforehand, but I truly would appreciate your presence."
"I'm not a square, yeah? I'll be there, trust me."
Click.
The day after the day after, Hilbert waved to everyone as he approached the beach. The boat had left the mainland, but would only reach the island around two, meaning he would have to find an alternate path.
Because they were there for training, it seemed entirely appropriate to give himself a workout by not cheating with Fly.
And so, by the time he reached the mainland, his undershirt was entirely soaked with sea spray and sweat, though his grin never left his face. He had the good sense to put his jacket away until the conference began, at which point it would resume being his most recognizable trait. Even Lucas was less of an Everyman than he was, and he had the personality of sturdy cardboard when they first met.
People gave him weird looks as he passed, as you normally don't see people with steam billowing from their clothes, but it was mostly inconsequential. His bag stay dry at least. The things seemed to be made of Phlebotinum, the way they only broke when it was convenient to the plot.
The conference was going to take place in the Canalave Library, which was something of a multicultural center for the port town.
His clothes were dry and probably too hot to safely wear by anyone else when he arrived, let Shaymin out of their Pokeball and pulled on his jacket. Strangely, he barely felt a difference in internal temperature. Probably something about his aura preserving homeostasis, or however Lucas would put it.
The library itself was comparable in scale to a church, with high-reaching ceilings and multiple floors. One section, mostly free of bookshelves, was arranged like a lecture hall, and had busybodies in business suits and lab coats.
He suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious, due to being incredibly out of his depth. He was by no means an academic, even if he had been invited. People were again, giving him weird looks, not aided by Shaymin perched on his shoulder, but none of them seemed eccentric enough to ask him about it. It was nearly time for the speakers to start, after all, so they were more focused on getting their notes together.
At the front of the secluded hall, Rowan walked onto the stage, and dressed in a simple gray waistcoat and slacks, unlike his more sciency-looking compatriots. He recognized Juniper, as the woman barely looked like she'd aged a day, though he didn't know the other, just as young Professor Prettyboy, though that's not a type of flora and is therefore ineligible to be the name of a professor. There were a few others, but they didn't stick out much. He took notice of a girl his age with a really… round orange ponytail, who otherwise seemed incredibly bored. It was odd, but nothing to get worried about.
One of the older scientists near the center table on the stage tapped her microphone. "Testing, testing, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres. This begins the 108th Interregional… you know the drill. We have very many advances to consider and examine. Please, turn off all sound-generating devices and keep camera flash to a minimum. We would like to reassure all guests and speakers that they are not in danger of being attacked by the terrorists currently plaguing the Sinnoh Region, and that many police departments across Sinnoh have sent manpower and resources to ensure the safety of all involved."
"Hmph. It's really that bad around here and Granny still made me come? I have Gym Battles to fight back home," he heard the orange-haired girl mutter among the ensuing chatter of lecturees.
"Everyone, please, it's only a precaution. First on the agenda… Sycamore, for the last time, you may not have a grant to hire more assistants. Your track record of only hiring attractive young women is disconcerting as it is."
"It's not my fault that all the most qualified people happen to be beautiful, is it?" Sycamore replied, sighing with a noncommittal shrug. "And my research necessitates the assistance- Mega Evolution is still an incredibly vague field to study, with most of the knowledge being spiritual at best and superstition at worst. I am putting my heart and soul into solving the mystery of Mega Evolution! You wouldn't discount a prodigies' efforts so easily, would you, Professor Magnolia?"
"You're lucky we allowed you your doctorate in the first place. As such a vague field, even with the evidence of its existence, it does not have reproducible results."
"That's only because it has a human element! Humans and Pokemon working together, that's the basis of the world. It has to be accepted as a legitimate force."
"A legitimate force, possibly, but not a quantifiable and reproducible one. Your annual raise to budget will be granted, as your results are satisfactory, however you shall receive no more. Denied."
Sycamore sunk back in his seat, murmuring nonsense and he returned to scanning over the agenda.
"Next, we have…" The elderly woman's eyes widened slightly, though it was difficult to tell from behind her glasses. "Professor Rowan, do not seriously tell me you believe in auras? Krane is already bad enough, going on as if Shadow Pokemon are caused by dark energies and not a lack of proper nutrition."
"I'm right here, you know."
Rowan adjusted his glasses, leaning forward onto clasped, gnarled fists. "I do not see why I shouldn't. After all, Aura Sphere is a widely recognized move by Leagues worldwide, as well, in most Pokedexes, including the model you designed, Lucario are listed as the Aura Pokemon, are they not?"
"That is a sound point, however… Aura Sphere is simply a name, and Lucario have that title due to superstition. We do not classify Arcanine as a Legendary Pokemon for the same reason. They are listed as such due to folklore, and will be given more appropriate names when that folklore is proven to be… inaccurate."
"But you see, what if aura were proven to exist outside of Pokemon, proving the folklore to be accurate? If life force can be quantified in the absence of typing, then it can be said to be aura."
"You speak hypothetically, I presume?"
"Oh, not at all. You see, in the last six months, I have become aware of a fascinating specimen of the human variety who is able to mimic the abilities of Pokemon."
There were more mutters among the crowd at that.
Magnolia shook her head. "I would not have expected you of all people to fall for such magic tricks. We've all seen the stage shows. A magician uses some sort of cloaking to hide his Pokemon and puts up the illusion of performing their moves as his own."
"Do not take me for a fool. In my sixty years of life, I have seen many things, and lived a life that because of which I can fairly say I am not one ounce as naive as a common child."
"Where is your proof, then? We are scientists, after all. Underneath all the snobbery and intellectualism, we do have a code to uphold."
"Naturally, I asked him to be here today." He laid his hands flat on the table and leaned into the microphone. "Black. Please begin the demonstration."
Hilbert sat up from where he had nearly fallen asleep, nearly knocking his chair over. "Uh-wha-ha? Oh. Demonstration? Should I come up there, or…"
"Please create an Aura Sphere. Do not fire it, or you are liable to be paralyzed by the police."
"Right… uh…" He stood up, clenched his arm, splayed his fist into a palm, and got really motivated to help the professor prove his point. Soon enough, energy began glowing and swirling in the center of his hands, forming into a globe.
The muttering, once again, grew louder.
"This young man is my evidence. Those well versed in the mythology of Sinnoh, please turn your attention to the Shaymin on his shoulder."
The sound was starting to reach a crescendo, with the scientists at the head table scribbling furiously and Magnolia rubbing her chin in thought.
Rowan spoke over everyone else, demanding attention. "I move to enter the study of aura as an official objective of our committee, and nominate Professor Krane as the project head."
"...I believe we will need to reconvene to discuss this at a later date. While fascinating, notability is a concern. Dedicating an entire sect of our committee to the study of humans that can use aura would be a dramatic misuse of funds."
Hilbert spoke up, "Actually, I'm not the only one. I've learned to use it, and I'm probably above average compared to them, but I've met tons of people that can become like me. I learned from the Lucario Kingdom, personally, but I'm sure it can happen to anyone else, anywhere else."
Rowan took the figurative baton, "As well, if we wait to discuss this, it will be pushed back another year. This young man happens to be an upstanding citizen, however, what if someone with dubious morals was empowered in the same way? We cannot be unprepared."
"We do not prepare for criminals, we are not the International Police. We do not deal in theoreticals, you know this, Rowan. Science is the study of the observable world."
"Of that much I am perfectly aware, and I can observe that this young man is endowed with aura. There is footage of this as well. I should have prepared it for showing, I apologize."
"Oh, and if it's important, there's a lot of other stuff I've gotten involved in. I met a girl that had ESP via combining with her Abra."
"...Can we push that last subject back to a later date, Rowan?" Magnolia pleaded.
"I hadn't heard of it either, is that so?" He asked.
"Well, I'd like to keep it anonymous, but yeah. Also, there's literally another aura-user on Iron Island, like, right now."
Through the thick volume in the lecture hall, few noticed the people in jumpsuits slipping in until the first table was blasted over.
One of the Galactic members with green hair, black sunglasses, and knee-high boots, stepped onto a table near the entrance.
"My name is Haumea, Team Galactic First Captain. Kindly hand over all personal notes, belongings, and other such items. We have the building surrounded. Unfortunately for you, we arranged for that dreadful Aura Guardian to be stuck on Iron Island for the next few hours, so I suggest you comply. The police will not protect you. They have already been disabled, and I encourage you to avoid meeting similar circumstances.
"Excuse me!" Hilbert stood on his own table.
"Get on the ground!" A herd of Croagunk and their trainers turned towards him. The ceiling was spotted with dozens of Golbat.
"No, see, thing is, you've got some of your facts wrong." A wispy blue aura began flickering around his arms. "I figured I'd be more recognizable with the jacket. Thing is, I am that... ugh... Aura Guardian. I'm the mighty trainer, Black." He pointed directly at her, across the hall. "And you're done for!"
In the blink of an eye, he tapped Golurk's Pokeball. The golem exploded into the air, flashing silver and rocketing into the center of the small airspace.
"Let's not damage public property." He ducked a swooping Golbat, grabbing it by the wing, stopping it in its tracks and dropped it to the ground. "That's like, lame and stuff." Shaymin bounced off the table and back into the air, forming two boomerang-shaped Leaf Blades.
Haumea threw out a Gengar, and the ghost near-immediately disappeared from vision.
Hilbert responded by letting Honedge out of her ball as well, swinging it in a wide horizontal arc, feet above the heads of the wise scientists who'd dropped to the ground and surrendered.
Gengar fazed temporarily back into vision, crying out in its high-pitched screech, before disappearing.
"Can't hide from me!" He saw the Ghost-type's aura as he blinked, and jumped into the air to match its ascent with another slash.
Almost off-handedly so, he landed right next to Haumea, who attempted a judo throw on him, but found herself unable to move him.
"I don't know how aura converts to mass, but if Golurk can make himself lighter, I can make myself heavier." He placed his thumb and forefinger on her forehead, and flicked her off the table.
Gengar approached again, screeching as it sped towards him. He remembered that Dark-type was supposedly super effective, charged some energy into his foot, and kicked it in the approximation of its crotch area. Definitely fighting dirty, definitely underhanded, definitely the definition of the Dark-type. Definitively.
He looked up at Golurk, who was cheating by Shadow Sneaking behind the flock of Golbat, confusing a few, then punching them out of the air. Shaymin was flying from one Croagunk to another, spitting seeds and throwing Leaf Blades and sending Team Galactic into a bullet hell.
Within minutes, all the Pokemon were knocked out, the police were administering Antidotes to their Pokemon, and Haumea was being taken into custody.
"Damn my luck. Oh well. At least the real mission is going well."
"Wait." He stopped the Jenny that was carrying her away. "What mission?"
"You didn't hear it? The windows broke, I'm surprised. Jupiter would be upset if your eardrums didn't burst."
He looked past the blasted-open pathway to the lecture hall, and saw that the eastern windows were indeed completely broken, and the world outside was layered with smog.
"What the…"
"A better world will emerge soon. It simply gets worse before it gets better." The green-haired captain began laughing to herself as she was carried into the smoky outdoors.
Hilbert returned his partners, looking around in confusion. He expected Looker to be there by now, but the detective was nowhere in sight.
"What happened?" He asked a police officer who had just come in.
"Team Galactic… They blew the lakes sky high! Satellites can't read anything!"
"What? Shit! Who's where?"
"I got radio chatter that said Cynthia was at Lake Verity, and that Maylene and Candice are at Lake Acuity, but Lake Valor's got nothing! Entire force was concentrated in Canalave to protect the conference."
"Damn! It was a distraction!" He clenched his fist. "Clear a path. I need a straight shot."
When the sonic boom hit Iron Island, Lucas had rushed outside to figure out what it was. Three plumes of dust and fog were spiraling upwards, combining and fanning out into a rapidly approaching smog.
"What on earth…"
The sky darkened as the winds blew past his face, and the afternoon sun was cloaked by shadow.
Barry had followed him at this point. "Jeez, it's like the end of the world. What do you think happened?"
"I'm not getting any coverage on my cross-transceiver. Whatever it is, it's bad."
The very color seemed to be leeching out of the world around them, all except the darkest lights being absorbed by the plumes of destruction. It felt as if the heart of the world itself was screaming, its wisdom, its spirit, its willpower… all being sucked away.
"Hilby…" Dawn and Cheryl were supporting each other in the whipping winds.
Riley walked up to the other two boys, and Marley stood against it without budging or betraying emotion.
"...And the seven seals shall be broken, the seven trumpeters will perform, and the seven bowls of plague shall be poured upon man."
Lucas glared at him. "What's that from, some Helixian text?"
"Paraphrased from some old book, but sure. Describes the end of the world."
Lucas chuckled, though the serious expression never left his face.
A bolt of light pierced through the fog, accompanied by the roll of thunder across the world. A ring appeared to flash above Mt. Coronet, eighteen sects shining a flash of violent feeling over the region. Red, the color of fire, violence, gray, the color of cold, indifference, blue, antipathy, tales of the drowned, and on and on.
"Be careful, Hilbert."
Codeword: Cerebus
ACCESS GRANTED.
Shit is about to get real.