…
Chapter 2
Abraham's Daughter
"Do you even know what the hell you're doing?"
Giselle sighs as she looks over at Joe. "Yes, honey, I know exactly the hell what I'm doing."
She gathers her Poké Balls and some supplies, things she has in her refrigerator that is one of the very few luxuries of the cave.
"Giselle, just stop this madness," Joe says. "You can stay here and be safe-"
"Safe? Safe? Joe, my daughter was stolen out of this very cave just last week. And you mean to tell me that we're safe if we just stay here?"
Joe sighs. "Fine, but make it clear what you're planning to do."
"Simple!" Giselle replies. "I'm going to take our six Pokémon and subdue Sabrina."
"And what do you mean by 'subdue'?" Joe asks. "Are you going to try to kill her like Cynthia tried to? You know that won't work. She's a psychic; she already knows you're coming for her."
"She also already knows that I'm going to beat her!" Giselle says. "I'm going to cause enough chaos that she has to give up on this whole plan to take our daughter."
Synneva looks confused. "Mommy? Daddy? What is going on?"
"That's exactly what I plan on finding out," Giselle says. "When I return home, you'll have all the answers. In the meantime, you stay with your Daddy. Don't let go of his hand for even a moment. If Sabrina dares to come after you again, there will be hell to pay."
Giselle then climbs out of the cave, then gets out Pidgeot to fly on.
Flying over all of Hoenn is a melancholy moment for Giselle. She sees Mount Chimney completely crumbled, with ashes covering all of the land. It is especially difficult for her to see Rustboro City in pieces, including the Pokémon Trainers' School.
"The second best school in the world," she mutters to Pidgeot. "Second only to Pokémon Tech."
As she flies over, she notices something shining, and she quickly pulls Pidgeot down to have it land. She comes down right on top of what appears to be the roof of a building. She looks over to see a person shining a very bright light.
"Oh, thank heavens you saw me," the person says.
"Who are you?" Giselle asks, shielding her eyes from the light.
The person turns off the light, revealing herself to be none other than…
"Roxanne!" Giselle says. "I haven't seen you in… well, forever."
Roxanne runs over to Giselle and hugs her. "How's Joe?" she asks.
"Oh, no, no, no," Giselle says. "I know you had a crush on him. I'm not letting you anywhere near him."
Roxanne giggles. "Relax, I've been living with Brawly in the Dewford Islands. Under the sea, so to speak."
"Then what are you doing here in Rustboro, or what used to be Rustboro?" Giselle asks.
"Looking for hope," Roxanne replies.
"Hope?"
"That's right, hope. Right now we have none. But Arceus promised me…"
Roxanne's eyes tear up, and Giselle reaches out an arm to comfort her.
"Arceus promised me… promised me… right before Judgment Day…"
Roxanne breaks down in hysterics, unable to finish her sentence. Giselle tries comforting her, while also attempting to get her to spit out the answer.
"What is it?" Giselle asks. "You've got to tell me!"
Roxanne gains her composure. "Arceus promised me that salvation would come, in the form of a child. This child would save the Pokémon world. Bring back all of our Pokémon, restore all our cities. And Giselle – that child is yours! She is our salvation, and I know it, because I became one with Arceus! She is the only one who can-"
Giselle laughs. "Nonsense!" she replies. "I don't even believe that Arceus cares about us."
"Don't say that!" Roxanne snaps. "Arceus may punish you!"
"What the hell, Arceus already has punished us," Giselle says. "Why Judgment? Why Judgment Day? Why any of this?"
"Giselle, listen to me," Roxanne says. "Your daughter – she is the one who can save us from all this."
"And how?" Giselle asks. "By getting hooked up to a machine with tons of wires sticking out of her head? Because we've already tried that – more specifically, Sabrina did."
"I don't know how she's going to save us," Roxanne replies. "But I know she will. Arceus does not tell lies!"
Giselle sighs. "You really mean I've got to let Sabrina use my daughter as a guinea pig? No thanks. She is my daughter, not yours."
Roxanne wipes away tears, before grabbing Giselle's arm.
"What does she look like? I've always wanted to know."
Giselle pulls out the old Poké Gear Joe had kept all these years. She pushes a couple of buttons, causing Synneva's picture to come up on the screen.
"Long brown hair, dark green eyes," Roxanne says. "She has a lot more of Joe than you."
"Don't insult my daughter," Giselle replies. "She may not inherit as much of my natural beauty, but she is still amazing just the same."
Roxanne smiles. "If I know you and Joe well enough, then she's become a great human being."
"You know Joe a little too well," Giselle says. "Well, I guess it's time to-"
"Where are you going, anyway?" Roxanne asks. "Scouring the land for food?"
"That's Joe's job," Giselle says. "Right now I'm going to Sabrina to take her down. So my daughter never faces her again!"
Roxanne looks thoughtful. "Why don't-"
"The answer is no," Giselle states sternly.
"Why don't you allow me to come with you?" Roxanne says, finishing her previous sentence. "If Sabrina hears the prophecy, maybe she'll know what to do."
"What, like sacrificing my daughter on the altar of Arceus? Don't be stupid," Giselle says.
"No, no, quite the opposite," Roxanne says. "Maybe she won't want to sacrifice her if she knows her importance."
Giselle shakes her head. "I've already allowed you to slow me down this much, I've got to get going."
Roxanne grabs Giselle's right arm. "Please," she says. "For Arceus's sake."
"Then it's a definite no!"
"Fine, then, for Joe's sake," Roxanne says. "Joe would never say no to me."
Giselle sighs. "Indeed he would not," she says, relenting. "That doesn't mean he's yours, though!"
Roxanne giggles. "I already have my Brawly," she says. "Now come on, let's see Sabrina!"
Giselle's Pidgeot lands in the middle of the once-active, now-dormant volcano on Akala Island. They find the ladder to the cave that Sabrina lives in, and they slowly climb down.
"The two students, I presume," a passive Sabrina says, before they even reach the bottom. "I had a vision that you would appear."
"Yeah, sure," Giselle says upon reaching the floor. "Man, this place stinks!"
Sabrina stays emotionless. "The machine I have set up might be the cause of that," she says.
"Yeah, about that machine," Giselle says. "I have come to do something about it."
"And just what is that?" Sabrina asks, getting a little miffed. "You should know by now that my machine is the only hope we have left."
"That's what I want to talk to you about!" Roxanne exclaims, with her red eyes lighting up. "The prophecy is that-"
"Synneva shall save this world," Sabrina finishes Roxanne's sentence. "The daughter of Joe and Giselle Gravelpot."
Roxanne looks stunned. "How do you know?" she asks.
"I'm a psychic," Sabrina replies. "If I didn't know, there would be a problem."
Giselle looks frustrated, with her hands on her hips. "If you're so knowledgeable about everything, why don't you go home to your husband Will and reconcile with him? You have a daughter, too, don't you know? Go and get her and use her for this experiment."
"Roxette was never prophesied," Sabrina replies. "She is not the one to save us. Your daughter is."
"Any more of this talk, and your machine will be no more!" Giselle yells. "I'm about to send out my Pokémon!"
"If you intend to battle, I will let you know that I have six strong Pokémon all with a barrier around my machine," Sabrina states. "Your daughter will be mine. She will save this world."
"Shut up!" Giselle says, tossing out a Poké Ball. "Cubone, go!"
Cubone runs over to Sabrina and tries to club her in the head, but Sabrina simply teleports to another part of the room.
"There is no reason to fight it any longer," Sabrina says. "Relinquish your daughter to me."
Before Giselle can say anything, Roxanne breaks in. "Sabrina, I am sure now that you know the prophecy related to Giselle's daughter. But are you sure the only way she can save us is through this machine? What if there is something else, some other way?"
"If there was, I would have already thought of it," Sabrina states. "I am sure my machine is the only way."
Giselle is about to yell at Sabrina, when Roxanne again interrupts her. "Fine, then, could we at least see the machine in action? So we know what it actually does?"
Sabrina relents. "Come with me."
Giselle continues to look disgusted as Roxanne and her follow Sabrina into the back of the cave. She then sees the machine, which has thousands of wires all attached to it, as well as a power generator keeping it active.
"What the hell?" Giselle says. "You're wasting all this energy on this?"
"My Pokémon provide the energy," Sabrina says.
"So you're basically tormenting them?"
"It is up to you to decide whether that's the case."
Roxanne puts her index finger on her chin. "Okay, tell us how it works," she says.
"Pretty simple," Sabrina says. "Hook up these wires to the machine, then pump the energy into this tube here. With the right amount of energy, I can create a distortion in the atmosphere strong enough to summon Giratina. And once I have Giratina, I can distort this universe back to the way it was pre-Judgment Day."
"But why her?" Giselle demands.
"That, I cannot share."
"Maybe if I choke you, you'll share!" Giselle says, reaching her hands out to grab Sabrina.
"Fine, you want to know?" Sabrina says. "It's hard to me to believe, but this is the truth."
"Truth?"
"The truth is," Sabrina says, "your daughter is completely pure of heart."
Giselle looks puzzled. "Huh? What is that supposed to mean?"
"Remember the Elite Eight?" Sabrina asks.
Giselle thinks about it for a moment. "You mean, those of us who teamed up to defeat Giovanni?"
"Exactly," Sabrina says. "Who was part of those eight?"
Giselle starts counting on her fingers. "Let's see… there was me and Joe. There was Jasmine… and that loser Silver. There was Whitney… and that dumb guy Gold. And there was… you and Will."
Sabrina gives a wry smile. "Exactly," she says. "Now, tell me which couples had children."
"Myself and Joe… and let's see… I don't think Jasmine and Silver ever did. Nor Whitney and Gold. That leaves us… and you."
Sabrina nods her head. "And you know why we won, right?"
"Because I was the greatest Pokémon Trainer of all time?" Giselle replies.
Sabrina allows herself a laugh, while Roxanne looks on inquisitively.
"No," Sabrina states. "Because we had pure hearts."
Giselle stares at Sabrina blankly, while Roxanne puts her hands together and smiles. Giselle keeps her eyes fixed on Sabrina, without making a reaction.
And then… she laughs hysterically.
"That might be the funniest thing I've ever heard!" Giselle says in between guffaws. "Like our pure hearts were the reason we defeated Team Rocket! Yeah, right! Like that mattered! And me, having a pure heart? Come on, now! That's so stupid!"
Sabrina looks serious. "According to the prophecy…"
Roxanne cuts Sabrina off. "That's right, the prophecy said that eight pure hearts would bring peace to the land! I found that out when I became one with Arceus!"
"And as I was around Arceus when Cynthia began her reign of terror, I became aware of the prophecy myself," Sabrina says.
Giselle crosses her arms. "Prophecy, schmophecy," she says. "What the hell does it matter, pure hearts, black hearts, red hearts? And why would the prophecy only count my daughter? Wouldn't it also get yours?"
"My daughter is illegitimate," Sabrina states coldly.
"Illegit – what?" Giselle says.
"Roxette was born of Karen, Will's former lover," Sabrina states. "I adopted her and kept it a secret that she wasn't mine. That's the real reason I refuse to go back to Will. His daughter is not mine. But I kept that charade for a long time."
Roxanne's eyes light up. "So…" she says. "This means that since Giselle and Joe are the only two pure hearts to have a child together, their child is the only truly pure-hearted one and thus the only one who can fulfill the prophecy! It all makes sense now!"
Giselle rolls her eyes. "That would be a nice story, if I didn't know my own heart," she says. "But I'm far from pure-hearted. To think of me as such would be delusional."
"No, you really are pure-hearted!" Roxanne says. "Just look at the sacrifices you made to save this world! If you and Joe hadn't done what you did – defeat all those Giant Pokémon – Giovanni would have destroyed the whole world!"
"Well, guess what?" Giselle says. "The whole world was destroyed after all! So it's not like anything I did ever mattered. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm headed home."
"Wait!" Roxanne says, grabbing Giselle's arm as she turns to leave. "Shouldn't you at least consider bringing your daughter here? Maybe Sabrina can make this work without her being hurt."
Sabrina shakes her head. "Sorry," she says. "Synneva's life must be sacrificed completely in order to make this work. She will be sent off into the Distortion World."
Giselle turns to Roxanne with a look of disgust. "And you wanted to know why I hate Sabrina? Come on, Cubone, let's get going."
"The prophecy, the prophecy," Roxanne says. "You can't overlook it."
"And kill my daughter? Nonsense."
Giselle climbs out of the cave using the ladder, and Roxanne sadly follows her. She takes a look back at Sabrina, who seems as emotionless as ever. The two then take off on Pidgeot.
"Where do you want left off?" Giselle asks Roxanne. "I was personally thinking the sea, but if you'd rather be left off in a volcano, that would be fine too."
Roxanne chuckles. "Take me to your home."
"Why? So you can steal Joe?"
"I just need to see him again."
Giselle sighs. "This is the very last thing I ever do for you," she states. "After this, I hope I never see you again."
Roxanne tries to stop herself from breaking out into laughter. "I know you too well to believe that. You really a pure-hearted one!"
"Would you shut it about the pure heart?" Giselle yells.
"Look, Daddy!" Synneva exclaims. "Mommy has somebody with her!"
Joe sees Giselle entering their underground living quarters with another person, and he is overjoyed when he sees Roxanne coming down.
"Teacher!" Joe exclaims. "It's so good to see you again!"
He immediately embraces Roxanne, causing Giselle to cross her arms, annoyed.
"And why don't I get that same reaction when I come home?" Giselle asks.
Joe laughs. "I love you, Giselle," he says. "But I haven't seen Roxanne since Judgment Day!"
"Is that right?" Roxanne says. "I can't believe it's been that long. Oh, and let me see your daughter!"
Synneva walks over to Roxanne, who gives her a hug.
"I was your Daddy's teacher at Pokémon Tech," Roxanne tells Synneva. "When he graduated from my class, he finished with the highest scores ever – even higher than your Mommy's."
"Oh, shut it," Giselle snaps.
Synneva breaks the hug for a moment, going to stand over by her father. But as she does, Roxanne immediately notices something.
"Her hands… they're glowing!" Roxanne shouts. "It's really happening!"
Synneva looks down at her hands, which glow blue.
"What's happening, Daddy?" Synneva asks.
"I… I don't know," Joe says. "Giselle, do you know?"
Giselle keeps her arms crossed, still annoyed. "Roxanne is playing some sort of trick on us," she says. "I should have never let her down here."
"No, no!" Roxanne exclaims. "Don't you get it? I became one with Arceus at one time. Because I still have some of Arceus's power in me, your daughter is reacting to his power. She's showing her true power! It's all true, Giselle, it really is! Your daughter is the chosen one! She is our salvation!"
Giselle bites her lip. "Or maybe she just got blue hands for a few minutes," she says. "You remember what happened to me, don't you? I discovered myself to have Dark powers, only for them to disappear after Judgment Day."
"Giselle, Joe, you two need to listen to me," Roxanne says. "I know the prophecy. You must let Sabrina use your daughter to save civilization. Can you imagine what would happen if your daughter restored everything back to the way it once was?"
"And I lost her forever?" Giselle adds. "Would that be worth it? Lose my only offspring so you and Brawly can go surfing out in Dewford Town? So Sabrina can go rake in the cash in Saffron City? So Silver and Jasmine can make love in the lighthouse in Olivine City? So Gold-"
"Giselle," Joe says, putting her hand on her shoulder. "We're not giving up Synneva. I will move heaven and earth to keep her alive. But if there's a way of working with Sabrina-"
"There's no way of working with Sabrina!" Giselle shouts. "Sabrina wants Synneva's life, plain and simple. Are we willing to give up our only daughter for what might only be a shot in the dark that she might be able to fix our world?"
Joe's eyes begin to tear up. "I don't know, Giselle, I really don't know."
"Mommy, what is all this about?" Synneva asks Giselle, as Joe breaks down crying. Roxanne tries to calm down Joe, while Giselle talks plainly to her daughter.
"You know how you're not allowed to go outside?" Giselle tells her. "Our old friend Sabrina thinks that she has a way of making the world back to the way it was before you were born. Then we could go outside all we want. But there's one problem."
Even the mighty Giselle's voice quavers as she tells Synneva the truth.
"Your life must be sacrificed for that to happen," she says.
Synneva looks down at her hands, which still glow blue. She sees Joe crying and Roxanne comforting him. And she sees Giselle barely keeping herself from crying.
"Okay!" Synneva exclaims.
Giselle looks over at Synneva in confusion. "Huh?"
"Okay, I'll do it!" Synneva says. "If I can save this world, I will."
Joe stops crying for a moment and stares in shock. "You'll what?"
"I'll go! I will give my life so I can save all of yours."
Giselle immediately walks over to Synneva and grabs her arm. "No, you won't," she says. "Not over my-"
Synneva smiles. "I'll make you proud," she says. "I will make you proud to be my mother."
Giselle tries to wipe away tears as she hears her daughter say this. Joe walks over to Giselle and puts an arm around her shoulder.
"I am proud of you," he tells his daughter.
Roxanne smiles. "She has a pure heart," she says. "The only offspring with a pure heart. She is the only one who can save us."
"Maybe a little too pure," Giselle says, as she tries to keep herself from crying.
Joe hugs Giselle tight. "Everything Roxanne has told us is true. Now we just need to fulfill the prophecy."
"Let's go!" Synneva exclaims. "The sooner the better, right?"
"Synneva, you will die!" Giselle says. "Your life will be over!"
"But you'll be happy again, Mommy, won't you?" Synneva asks.
Giselle sighs. "No," she says with a tear. "Not without you."
"I know you will," Synneva says. "Come on, let's go."
Roxanne leads Synneva up and out of the cave, with Joe and Giselle following along slowly.
"Is this the right choice?" Giselle asks him.
"We won't know unless we try," Joe says.
Giselle takes a deep breath. "Sabrina, you better know what you're doing," she says.
The four of them board Pidgeot, then begin their flight toward Synneva's sacrifice.
