[Chapter 4]
For a moment, Wallace is too stunned to move. He can only stare in disbelief. Phoebe can already see the words forming on his lips before he screams their friend's name. It's a desperate scream; one that sends a chill down her spine. Mercifully, the echo from the empty city walls is cut short as Wallace crashes next to Steven with a frantic splash.
"Steven! Steven! Wake up! Oh god, wake up!"
By now, Wallace has hauled Steven's still form into his lap where he cradles his head with trembling hands. Steven is no more than a rag doll, limp and lifeless, eyes closed. Wallace is too busy wiping the soaking hair from Steven's face to bother checking for a pulse. His voice is hysterical.
"Steven, wake up! You can't be—!" The word won't come out. "You can't…"
But Steven doesn't answer. His hands are cold when Wallace plucks them from the water. Wallace tells himself the chill must be from the sea; he refuses to accept the alternative. Frantically, he tries to rub the warmth back into them, as if it somehow would solve everything. He stifles a sob.
"Steven… no…"
Suddenly, the earth lurches beneath their feet, bringing Cradily's mournful wail to an abrupt halt. A deep rumble rattles the Gym roof, and Wallace reflexively holds Steven's body tighter against his chest. The shaking sends Armaldo cowering even tighter beneath its claws, and jolts Aggron from its shocked stupor. It even seems to startle Kyogre, as its circling comes to a halt overhead and it screeches, eyes upturned to the horizon.
Something is happening. Phoebe can sense it too. A great omen, an immense power… The spirits are no longer crying for death; they are crying for salvation.
She is startled from her vision as the PokeNav in Steven's pocket crackles to life with Sidney's static-filled voice.
"Steven, what the hell is going on here?!"
Wallace jumps at the sound, but he waits, hoping that maybe Sidney will accomplish the miraculous and wake his friend, but Steven doesn't move.
Sidney's voice crackles through once more, and his panic somehow outweighs Wallace's own. "This giant pile of rock just broke open and I think… I think there's something inside. Holy shit, there is something here and it just moved!"
Wallace gives in and digs the PokeNav free of Steven's jacket. Someone has to answer Sidney. But as he toggles the voice reply, he doesn't speak, he can't. Breath caught in his throat, he's too distraught to think straight. Not that he would even know what to say to Sidney if he could find the words.
But Phoebe knows, the spirits imbuing her with their powers, and she stares straight ahead and whispers, "They're awake."
Wallace's head snaps towards her, and it's at that moment that Steven's body lurches in his hands with a choking gasp.
He nearly screams as Steven's arms flail wildly, hands grasping for something to anchor himself back in reality. They find purchase on the soaking fabric of Wallace's cloak, and Steven takes a ragged breath, like it's the first breath he's taken in years. His eyes are wide and frantic, panicked as if he just clawed his way back from the abyss. Wallace has never been so scared in his life.
Sidney's voice cuts through the air again, blissfully ignorant of the miracle Wallace has just witnessed.
"Steven what the —" A burst of static that sounds like the rusted gears of a train car jars the speaker. "— we supposed to be doing? What is this thing?!"
An icy grip grabs Wallace by the wrist, and he sees Steven staring at him, face betraying the agony of the Regi's price.
"Tell him…" His voice is barely a croak. "Tell him to lead it back here. Glacia and Drake, too. Do whatever it takes."
Wallace nods because he doesn't know what else to do, and shakily toggles the button again.
"T-this is Wallace. He says to lead it back to Sootopolis however you can."
"Wallace?" It's Glacia's voice this time, and for once she sounds just as harrowed as the rest of them. "What happened to Steven?"
"He's…" Wallace wants to say fine, but nothing about the pale and shaking person in his arms is even close to fine. "...He's here."
"Well, put him on!"
And Wallace panics again, because he can't tell Glacia that Steven almost— he still can't say it.
But Phoebe steps in, and somehow her voice is strong and steady. "Just get here as soon as you can. All of you."
A flood of reassurance washes over Wallace as Phoebe gives him a nod. He mouths a silent thank you to her, and she smiles thinly. She may have no idea what's going on either, but they can't falter now.
But the reassurance is all but gone when he feels Steven stir in his arms, weakly, listlessly. Phoebe rushes to his side in an effort to help Wallace prop him upright. Steven's breathing is shallow, and Phoebe fears he might collapse again any minute.
He's nearly made it to his feet when Sidney pipes up again. "This better not be one of those 'easier said than done' things."
Steven weakly shakes his head, answering the PokeNav now back in his hands. "No… they'll follow you easily. They just… I just…" He stumbles, nearly falling from Wallace's grasp, clutching at his midsection with the arm that Wallace isn't clinging onto for dear life.
"Well it ain't listening," Sidney grumbles. "I even tried asking nicely."
Steven's face pales even further, but then a realization hits. "Wait. The tablet. Where's the tablet?"
He tries to straighten and search for it in the rising water, but he can't, and as he doubles back over with a groan, it spurs Wallace to finally speak.
"Steven, we need to get you out of here. Somewhere safe."
Steven brushes his friend off, too focused on trying to find the ancient tablet. "No, Wallace, I have to stay."
"Steven…! But you—"
Phoebe can see the hurt clearly written on Wallace's face, and as much as she agrees with him, she has to believe Steven knows what he's doing. So she swallows her conflict and leaves the pair's side to begin to scan the waves. The tablet can't have gone far, and it's not long before she spots a faint glow a few yards away. She is already running towards it when Steven's shout freezes her in place.
"Phoebe, wait! Don't… Don't touch it. Just show me where."
She's startled by the sudden outburst, but she obeys and points it out for Wallace to guide the two of them over.
It's agonizing to watch how the Champion has been reduced to such a helpless state. He's barely upright and leaning on Wallace so heavily that at this point it's almost better if the Gym Leader outright carries him. But his expression—she's seen it before back at the League, that look of steely-eyed resolve—is still so determined that it leaves Phoebe in awe.
Wallace lowers him down to the ground, and as Steven scoops the tablet into his arms a palpable flood of relief courses over him. The faint glow of the carvings increases in strength, softly pulsing in and out, and Phoebe notices the rhythm is eerily close to matching the rise and fall of Steven's own breathing. The tablet pulses in and out again, and the tension melts from Steven's posture, imbuing him with a fresh breath of life. He's no longer hunched over, and as he sits back, he's already concentrating on the next line of the scripture.
Fingers tracing the ancient text, he spares a glance toward where his pokemon stand, ever obedient despite the mixture of fear and confusion in their expressions. Armaldo is shaking, but puts on a brave face next to Aggron's hulking form, the latter of which hasn't budged since his trainer's command to do just that. Steven knows it's torturous for the overprotective steel type to do nothing but watch, and he hopes his lingering gaze is enough of an apology. It has to be, because Steven can't bring himself to meet Cradily's anguished stare. Her cries have softened now, though she still quivers from her distress. Even without looking, the guilt makes his heart clench. Despite all of his regret, he is endlessly proud of them. He hopes that after it's over, Claydol relays as much to the rest of his team.
They've done their job. Now it's time for Steven to finish his. He focuses back on the tablet in his hands.
At first, his voice is shaky and uncertain. But with every word, it grows in strength. Phoebe feels some of her fear wash away, as Steven is slowly sounding like his old self; confident, composed, in control. Wallace is still hovering at Steven's side as the ritual continues, unsure whether things are going to finally be alright or not. The sight of Steven collapsed in the cold, gray waves still chills him to the bone.
Blissfully unaware of his friend's inner turmoil, Steven recites another part of the incantation. Turning his gaze skyward, determination finally outweighs the pain in his expression. The ghost of it still remains though, and he can't quite hide how much effort it takes to do anything more than read the tablet aloud. But continue to read he must, and as he reaches the end, his voice carries such strength it can be heard even over the din of the storm.
The command of Steven's last line sets the air abuzz, the spirits murmuring in Phoebe's mind. Ancient energy is converging on Sootopolis, and it's all channeling through not only the tablet, but Steven himself. Feeding off this new surge of energy, Steven finally moves in an attempt to drag himself to his feet. She lets out a sigh of relief as he nearly manages to stand under his own power. Wallace is there to help him the rest of the way, but it's still such a marked improvement, she can't help but feel a faint glimmer of hope.
Except it's snuffed out in an instant as overhead, Kyogre screeches, and there is no sign of Metagross anywhere. All eyes watch as the leviathan slowly turns in its path and fixes its gaze on them.
Phoebe's blood runs cold. Next to her, she hears Wallace make a quiet choking noise. The air feels too heavy to breathe, and even the rain is frozen in time as the god of the sea stares down with all of its menace.
Sidney's voice bursts through the PokeNav's speakers with a whoop of victory and confirmation that the titans are finally on their way toward Sootopolis just as her lips form the words:
"It knows."
And then it's like a bomb goes off. Kyogre roars, and Wallace panics, and Steven is turning toward his pokemon with orders for every defensive move that they know.
In a flash, Phoebe's own pokemon are out, and Dusknoir and Sableye are standing in front of Steven's team with their hands out, barriers rising in tandem with Claydol's. She meets Steven and Wallace's gaze with a nod and an unspoken vow; they are Elite, they will not wither in the face of danger. Not when Hoenn needs them most.
Steven gives her a knowing look and draws himself up enough so that Wallace can fish out his own pokemon. The Sootopolis Leader is still shaking, but Steven knows that his friend has the same steadfast resolve to protect that which he loves. As Wallace's prized Milotic materializes alongside his other partners, Steven allows himself a moment to muse; his friend really would make a good Champion…
With their pokemon assembled behind an array of shimmering barriers, Steven turns his gaze skyward where Kyogre is seething with rage. His heart is hammering in his chest and his grip around the tablet tightens. Summoning as much strength as he can from where he hangs from Wallace's shoulder, he issues their ultimatum.
"We must last until the Regis arrive. Hold the line at all costs!"
Sidney clings to Mandibuzz so tightly he fears he might yank out a handful of feathers. Adrenaline is still surging through him, his limbs tingling and a giddy smile plastered on his face. He's not sure he's supposed to be laughing in the face of the clanking, screeching monster charging across the landscape in his wake, but the momentary terror is drowned out by the sheer thrill of not having been crushed to death in the creature's steel grip.
Getting the thing's attention when it first emerged from its rocky tomb had been the hard part. At ground level, Registeel towered over him, its featureless face impossible to read. Steven said to get it to follow him, but how was he supposed to know if it even had been paying attention to him? It had seemed to be confused at first, grumbling and grinding to itself while the glyphs of its face blinked to life. Even Mandibuzz's dark pulse hadn't spurred it into moving. It had been content to just thrash blindly until Sidney made probably the dumbest decision of the day and directed Mandibuzz to hover directly in front of the thing's nose. ...Or, what Sidney guessed was its nose.
Turns out, he had guessed right.
When the the creature's fist closed in and nearly swatted them from the sky, Mandibuzz's panicked dodge must have triggered some annoyance response; like a giant swatting a fly, and Registeel finally gave chase as Sidney and Mandibuzz turned tail and ran.
Mission accomplished. Now all he has to do is stay on course and keep the thing angry enough to keep chasing them all the way back to Sootopolis. Easy peasy! So Sidney hurls another insult over his shoulder and urges Mandibuzz to keep up its pace, keeping them just out of reach of Registeel's angry grasp.
"All aboard the Save Hoenn Express!" Sidney whoops to the sky, and Mandibuzz screeches in unison. "Next stop, Sootopolis!"
Wallace grimaces as the roof of his Gym creaks and groans as another volley of Kyogre's attacks rains down from above. The building is barely standing under the assault, yet every time he urges Steven to evacuate to higher ground, his friend refuses. So instead they stand by their partners, seawater now waist deep and climbing as their platform slowly disappears into the waves.
Claydol is so tired it can barely keep its feet above water, and Cradily's petals are straining to keep Relicanth in line as the waves batter them back and forth. Milotic has put on a brave face, but the way her tail droops and her scales have lost their lustre tells Wallace she's reached her limit. Their defenses have held so far, and yet he can't shake the feeling that the next round will be the one to break the Camerupt's back...
Overhead, Kyogre roars as Metagross slams a flash cannon into its flank, its assault on the Gym momentarily halted. In the brief respite, Wallace can see that Aggron's labored breathing has steadily gotten worse the deeper the water has gotten, and its trainer is faring no better.
"Steven—" he starts, earning him the same weary glance every other time he's tried, but he continues anyway. "I know, I know. We have to 'hold the line'… But if the Gym collapses, what does it matter if we're all swept under in the end?"
"Wallace…" Steven hugs the tablet just a bit tighter. "I can't…" His gaze trails up to the lip of the crater where Kyogre dodges Metagross' sneak attack by slipping into the clouds above. "I don't know how much longer it'll be, but I have to stay here."
Beside him, Phoebe can barely keep from trembling as she nods. "We understand."
Wallace catches the look in her eyes, so distant and full of pity, and he don't bother trying to hide his frustrated scowl. "No, we don't understand. Steven, this is insanity. It's fine if you don't want to tell us everything, but it's not safe to stay—"
Milotic's shuddering wail is the only warning before Kyogre's attack hits its target. There's no time for Wallace to finish his thought. He becomes weightless as the Gym roof gives way beneath their feet.