That night, Calreath dreamed of Diana. She was in her Gym, writing a poem.

"Is it about me?" Calreath teased.

Diana didn't smile back. Her sea-green eyes bore into him like an omen. "Danger awaits in the pit of hell. Wake up and be alert, Calreath."

Calreath startled awake just as an earthquake shook the Infernal Cult base. A trickle of dirt fell into Calreath's dress shirt and he shivered.

Nazeer rolled up their blankets and collected what remained of the rations while Zenith shook Rathai awake.

"Get away from me, you monster!" Rathai bellowed, pushing the younger man away.

Nazeer stepped toward them. "Hey, now's not the time to be picking a fight—"

"Definitely not," Calreath agreed. The floor seemed to tremble, and more of the ceiling sprinkled down on them. "We need to get out of here!"

A horrible sound broke through the shaking supports. Something had given way, and an entire portion of the base was collapsing above them.

Zenith sent out one of his Pokémon, the red plasma materializing next to Nazeer and Rathai. "Excadrill, use Fissure!"

"What the—" Calreath began when the supports gave way and Rose Crater caved in on them. He threw himself over Zenith, tackling both of them out of the way as the volcano fell on their indoor camp site.

"Fissure?!" Calreath exclaimed after turning on his phone's flashlight and checking to make sure they were both alright.

"I train my Pokémon well," Zenith retorted. "Excadrill would have made sure they were okay."

"What about us?"

"I figured you'd take care of that."

Calreath wasn't sure whether he was honoured that Zenith trusted him or annoyed the Infernal leader had essentially doomed them. Annoyed, he decided. Definitely annoyed.

He pressed a hand to the rockfall that split the group. "Can you hear us?" he called out.

"Yeah," Nazeer shouted back. "We're nice and cozy in the Fissure that Excadrill created. Thanks, Z. Rathai won't admit it, but he's grateful, too."

Calreath snickered at Zenith's nickname while Rathai insisted that he'd rather have died than be saved by a cultist. He glanced at the red-haired trainer. "Can Excadrill burrow a path for them through the rocks? My Pokémon can help, too. I just don't like the idea of splitting up our group."

Zenith shook his head. "If we disturb the volcano any further, it might cave in."

"It's already caved in!"

"Part of it. All the earth is connected, Cal. As long as we're in my base, Groudon's lair holds dominion."

Calreath leaned against the rockfall. "Did you catch that, Nazeer? Rathai?"

"Good riddance!"

"Yeah, we heard," Nazeer said. "We'll find our own way to the surface. We have Excadrill with us."

"I'll see you at the top," Zenith agreed.

Nazeer shushed Rathai before he could utter another "good riddance", and then the other side of the rocks was silent.

"We should go, too," Calreath said, though Zenith kept staring at the rockfall. He understood. As a Pokémon trainer who conducted frequent rescue missions, he hated when he had to be separated from one of his Pokémon. "You'll see Excadrill again. Nazeer will take care of him."

Zenith didn't reply, but he started walking away.

After a minute of walking in the dimness, Calreath spoke up. "I can't be the only one between us with a flashlight. Just saying."

"You want more light?"

"It's almost pitch black!"

"Chandelure, cast a flame for us," Zenith ordered, sending out what Calreath considered his creepiest Pokémon. According to the Pokédex, the ghost-type devoured human souls!

But he couldn't deny that his flashlight was now obsolete, its dimness nothing compared to Chandelure's bright flames.

They continued walking in silence until Calreath couldn't stand it anymore. "What's your favourite colour?"

Zenith blinked at him. "Red, but how is that relevant?"

"Figures," Calreath muttered. "Mine is blue. It's relevant because the only thing scarier than being alone with an Infernal cultist and his fire-type Pokémon is being alone in silence."

His hand flew to his mouth. He could bite his glove off in embarrassment. "Sorry—"

"No, it's—well, I figured Rathai and your Politoed couldn't be the only ones who hate me."

Calreath wanted to take back what he'd said. "Goodra likes you. Well, Goodra likes everyone, but Dragonite likes you. And so does Nazeer. And..."

He drifted when he ran out of Pokémon and people who tolerated Zenith, but the other trainer filled the silence. "When did you start rescuing people?"

Calreath smiled at the memory.