~ Chapter 86 ~
To Mt. Coronet
"Everyone was right. We couldn't stop Cyrus before he had departed for the mountain. But we gave chase, with our friends freed and by our side. Our small army managed to capture many of the Team Galactic grunts stationed in Veilstone and shut down their Headquarters. We were even able to capture Saturn, though he surrendered once we overwhelmed his HQ. We left some of the Gym Leaders and the Snowpoint Volunteers at Veilstone to help out and keep an eye on the Team Galactic captives there, while the rest of us charged up the mountain, led by the Hiker Brothers and Nilama, to reach the Spear Pillar. Unforunately, the only way there was through the tunnels inside the mountain near Hearthome City. Once we reached the shattered mural that hid the ancient path to the top of the mountain, we had to scale several steep sets of spiralling stairs and slopes that eventually led us to the snow-capped peaks and sides of the mountains in the chain. That last part of the trek was the most treacherous and dangerous, fraut with peril, and filled with enemies, but we refused to give up."
Once Cyrus left Veilstone, the battle turned even more in the favour of Sam and his "volunteer army."
Sam had exited the HQ to find the Galactic Fleet in flames, and the Snowpoint Army working with Sam's friends to push the Galactic grunts from the docks and the city, and back towards their headquarters.
The battles last another three hours before Team Galactic surrendered.
Charon fled, Saturn signed the truce, and Team Galactic was placed under arrest by the local police force, returned from their exile from the city.
Most of Sam's "army" remained to keep them under "house arrest" within their Headquarters as Looker awaited the arrival of Interpol.
The Gym Leaders remained behind in Veilstone City to assist with the clean up and helping the populace recover—lead by Maylene no less.
Palmer and Lou were put in charge of the remainder of Sam's "forces" including Dawn, Lucas, Barry, and the Snowpoint Army.
Valentina, Cynthia, Nilama, the Hiker Brothers and Professor Rowan went with Sam and his friends to give chase to Team Galactic.
They had commandeered a Galactic Helicopter which took them to the entrance to Mt. Coronet outside of Hearthome.
From there, the remainder of the journey to the top would be on foot.
The helicopter wasn't built to scale the mountain and was slowly running out of fuel.
According to Nilama, and the Hiker Brothers, even Team Galactic and Cyrus would have to go by foot from here on out.
The curse placed upon the mountain and the protective wards would've destroyed anyone trying to get to the top using technology.
As they entered the mountain, they saw they were right, as everyone could see the Galactic One in a clearing far from the mountain, and a myriad of tire tracks and tank treads that likely belonged to rock-burrowing drills.
According to Nilama, the stone seal that protected the ancient path to the top would have to be shattered.
The drill was probably just for that.
Most people couldn't find the proper place to drill—or even knew of its existence—and yet, because of Nilama's extracted knowledge, Cyrus had learned of its existence and location.
No one blamed Nilama for giving in, to her, the most important thing was protecting her people, going back to lead them, and following the will of the Creator Pokémon above.
In her mind, she had acted in the will of fate.
No one quite understood—but no one knew that Sam and his friends were chosen to be the champions of the Legendary Pokémon about to summoned above Mt. Coronet at the Spear Pillar.
The closer everyone got to the seal, the more somber Nilama grew.
"Humans have not walked this path in thousands of years," she explained, "Even I, the High Priestess of the Creator God, have only heard stories and whispers of this place."
"A damn shame that Cyrus and his goons got to walk it first," sighed Alexander.
"Not for long," reassured Sam, "We'll stop them."
"We shall see," sighed Nilama.
The group stopped as they reached where their goal.
It was desecrated, and what must have once been a beautiful wall carving was shattered, strewn about the illuminated-by-crystals cave floor.
It would have been beautiful had it not been destroyed.
"Explosives and drills," noted Anthony, "A shame…it could have been studied."
"It could have been worshiped!" hissed Nilama, "It should have been…"
"Now's not the time for that, grandmother," Cynthia said comforting her grandfather, "Let's get going, up these stairs."
Cynthia pointed towards the carved stone stairs into the tunnel caverns.
They sloped up towards the top of the mountain, and likely led all the way to the Spear Pillar—if the legends were correct that is.
The led through a dark hallway, stairs leading up and up.
It felt like hours, and their legs started to burn.
The light of the cavern's crystals had gone away, and their only source of light were the flares and flashlights they brought with them.
The group was silent as they walked, keeping quiet in these somber halls.
The air was stale and tense, and the weight of the history and the current situation mingled in it and almost made it suffocating to breathe.
Sam, Niya, Jeremy, Pikachu, and Alyssandra walked together at the head of the group, crowding around a single flare.
The Lucario were the only ones ahead of the group, keeping an eye out for dangers, or Team Galactic grunts hiding in the shadows.
Even they were on edge in this place.
Everyone was, and it wasn't hard to see why this place was considered cursed.
"Do you really think we can stop, Cyrus?" asked Jeremy.
Sam nodded. "It's not stopping Cyrus. It's getting there in time we should worry about."
"I'd be more worried about what we're going to do when the Creator Pokémon laugh at a bunch of kids pretending to be heroes," she snorted, "Because I have no idea what I'm doing with these relics here."
"I'm not so worried about that," added Sam, "We've got these just in case."
He handed a Master Ball to Jeremy, Niya and Alyssandra each.
Pikachu looked at it in confusion.
"What are these?" asked Niya.
"This is what we found in Team Galactic's HQ," explained Sam, "They're made by Silph Co."
"In Kanto?" asked Jeremy.
"The same," confirmed Alyssandra.
"What kind of Poké Balls are these?" demanded Niya.
"Master Balls," explained Sam, though he whispered the next part even lower than before, "They're…meant to catch any Pokémon without fail."
"How?" hissed Niya, "What sick bastard would make something like this. It's not right!"
"No…it's not," agreed Sam, "And I'm convinced they brought these in, just in case the Red Chains fails."
"So, essentially, we need to use these before Team Galactic does?" asked Jeremy, "That's…crazy."
"Well, I was thinking, once we shatter the Red Chain, we can distract and or control the Legendary Pokémon with their relics," explained Sam, "And then while they're distracted, we use these—only if we need to. Because, I'll be honest, my faith in myself with a relic I've never used before."
"If Nilama hears us, she's going to smack us," noted Niya, "But…until she can give us proper instructions with these gems, I'm not saying your plan is wrong. Just…bad."
"What else do you have?" asked Sam.
"Nothing," snorted Aurelio, appearing again.
"Nothing," replied Niya, defiantly.
Sam laughed, for reasons he could not explain to Niya.
"Master," called Lucario in Sam's mind, "We've found an exit."
"Are we at the top already?" asked Sam, pausing the conversation with the others.
Lucario mentally shook his head. "No, sir," he continued, "The first of many breaks in the passage, meant to throw off the unworthy and opportunistic. The path from here clings to the mountain side, it seems. But will return to the inside of the mountain soon enough—provided we don't get lost, die in a horrible accident, or freeze to death."
Sam paused. He held back his response.
"Sam?" asked Lucario.
"Your description does not give me much confidence," Sam answered finally."
"I apologize, but it's the truth," stated Lucario, "We will await your arrival at the exit, then we'll continue once you arrive."
Sam cut the mental connection and turned to the others.
"Almost there," he stated before explaining Lucario's information to everyone.
"Just like the legends," Nilama stated in awe, "Finally…our bloodline returns, Cynthia."
"Yes, grandmother," stated Cynthia.
"I can't believe…all these years, and Alexios was right," said Rowan sadly, somberly, and out of nowhere.
Everyone stopped and looked at him.
"We called him mad, we called him insane and cast him out for dabbling in things that were not science," explained Professor Rowan.
"You're not wrong," added Nilama, "This is spiritual, this is historical, this is cultural. It is not a science."
"I can't help but wonder…if we made him what he became," continued Professor Rowan, "If by calling him mad, and casting him out…we made him into the very thing we said he was. He might have been zealous, but he was never the type to blow up a protected Pokémon enclave with civilians inside."
"We knew him as children, and we never would have imagined the head of our Pokémon School would have done that," added Valentina in agreement.
"I mean, I used to get in trouble for fighting all the time," laughed Sam, "He told me non-violence was the answer."
"And then he killed fifty people, injured another twenty one, and caused extensive, countless damage to the Great Marsh and killed innumerous Pokémon there," added Niya darkly.
No one said anything past this.
The small pinhole of light peaked out through the darkness.
Eventually it grew as they neared, and without hesitation, they followed the dooway into the exposed mountain side.
Snow blew, wind howled, piling up to people's waists.
It would be a hard trek up a path that could not be seen without following the Lucario—who followed the haphazard trek of Team Galactic.
They could see the clouds below them, sitting on the horizon like a sea. They were high above Sinnoh now, higher than any human had been in thousands of years.
They were returning to the ancestral homes of everyone native to the Sinnoh Region.
They could see the remains of villages and homes to their left, buried by snow and rubble and falling rock.
"We should mark this on our map," added Anthony, "For future research."
"Priorities, brother," laughed Alan, "But yes, for future research."
They had come so far, and still had so far to go.
The trip up Mt. Coronet had only just begun—the danger had not even truly presented itself.
This was but the first of many milestones.
Bravery was needed beyond here; bravery and resolve.
Something that everyone who had gathered here today possessed.
