[Chapter 5]
The first thing that greets Sidney as he crests over top of Sootopolis' walls is the sight of his friends hunkered atop the Gym's roof, alive and kicking. He begins to call out to them, waving frantically from Mandibuzz's back, but a thought stops him cold.
Why didn't he see Kyogre?
A quick glance side to side reveals nothing but empty air space. But before he can question the beast's sudden hide-and-seek skills, the cloudbank in front of him explodes in a burst of light.
Sidney yells and shields his eyes, not that that will save them from the point blank attack. But the attack never comes. Still alive and in one piece, he lowers his arm. Mandibuzz squawks a question and Sidney blinks in confusion.
"If the attack wasn't aimed at us…"
Frantically, he looks past his partner's wing just in time to see his friends disappear beneath the waves.
"Oh shit."
A pokeball is in his hand before he can think twice. "Sorry, Mandibuzz, but I'm gonna go do something really stupid." He gives his partner a pat on the neck and rolls off its back.
The rushing in Sidney's ears drowns out the churning of his stomach as he falls, but the sensation doesn't last as he calls out his pokemon and grabs hold of its fins. Sharpedo's skin is rough and firm, and it grounds him from the panic of freefall. He squints through the wind and takes aim, tongue poking out askew as he concentrates.
"There!" He points just past his partner's snout toward the remnants of the Gym. "Lower your head and it'll protect us on the dive! At least, I hope!"
Used to its trainer's half-cooked plans, Sharpedo obeys with a sharp cry, the wind parting as its skull bash forms around them. Sidney's fairly certain Sharpedo has never flown before, but the pokemon's aerial grace doesn't show it. They slice through the water's surface right on target with only a slight jolt to show for it. They burst back to the surface in an instant, Phoebe clinging tight to Sidney's arms.
"Sidney?!"
"Fee, oh man, you're okay! I gotcha!"
"Sid, wait! Steven… He needs help."
Sidney blinks for a second, but Sharpedo is already scanning the sea for the Champion. "Wait, isn't Wallace with him?"
Phoebe shakes her head. "Yes, but he's—"
A splash startles them both as something lands in the water right next to Sharpedo's fin. A platform of ice bobs in the waves beside them. It's nearly doubled in size by the time Phoebe realizes Glacia is standing at the edge, offering her a hand.
"Hop on! It's probably not as comfy as a Gym roof, but it should do the trick."
With Phoebe safely in Glacia's grasp, Sidney is just about to climb aboard himself when another splash sounds from the far side of the platform.
"Wallace!" Phoebe shouts just as Sidney spots a flash of white that disappears back under the surface.
"Sharpedo, let's go!"
His pokemon turns to head for where they last saw Wallace in the churning waves, only for the Sootopolis Leader to burst to the surface before they arrive. An exhausted Milotic shoves both her trainer and the dead weight in his arms toward Glacia's ice floe. Quickly, Sidney clambers aboard the floe himself to assist Glacia in hauling the pair aboard.
"Take him!" Wallace shouts, practically shoving Steven into the Elite's arms. He bobs under the waves at the motion, but Milotic shoves again, and Wallace resurfaces in time for Glacia to grab his hand.
Sidney is too busy dragging Steven over the edge to notice that Milotic herself doesn't come back up. Thankfully Sharpedo is on the case, and he lifts her tired body on his snout high enough for Wallace to recall her to safety.
Still catching his breath, Wallace gets to his feet with Glacia's help. Whatever gratitude that washes over him for her timely arrival is cut short as he overhears Sidney's failing efforts to help Steven up.
"Whoa, I gotcha, Boss."
Sidney has to hang on tight as Steven's legs give out and he sits down hard on the ice. Phoebe is already rushing to Sidney's side and together they manage to prop Steven upright. It's at this point that Sidney understands just what Phoebe meant earlier. He can't hide his shock at the sorry state of their leader. Steven is barely a shell of his usual self, skin deathly pale and hands trembling as they anchor the ancient slab to his chest as if it was the only thing grounding him in reality. Sidney's expression is tight as Steven stares off into space for a moment with a distant expression, and Phoebe can only offer a solemn shake of her head.
"Hey, uh, Boss?"
The sound of Sidney's voice seems to jolt Steven back to the present, and he finds the younger Elite's eyes with a shocked look of his own. "Sidney? Wait… If you're here, then…"
On cue, a thunderous impact rocks the city's walls. And then another. All eyes turn up to the crater's edge where two titans are standing tall, their silhouettes glowing bright against the stormy clouds. Regice and Registeel stare down into the crater bowl, their faces impassive as they stand stock still. The sky rips apart with furious lightning, and the rain is driving like needles. Somewhere behind them, Kyogre's cry is laced with unbridled rage, and the maelstrom increases in intensity.
Tearing his gaze from the two legendary titans, Steven finally spots Glacia through the storm, but he has no time to offer a greeting. He's wheeling his head, almost frantic, searching for something. "My pokemon, where are they?"
There is no reply; the ice platform is empty of anyone but the Elite, and Wallace's eyes widen in realization as Phoebe utters, "The line."
The water is getting rougher by the second, and Steven begins to panic. "We need to—" He doubles over with a cough. "They have to—"
A nasty wave breaks over the edge of their platform, and everyone stumbles from the impact. The ice floe tilts dangerously, but just as suddenly as the ice begins to rock, it stops. Wailord has the edge of the floe clamped in its mouth, and Armaldo slides down from its head and onto the platform, soggy and shaking, but unharmed. Claydol hovers down along side Armaldo, also having sought shelter on Wailord's back. From the other edge of the platform, Cradily hoists herself onto the ice with a boost from Relicanth. The ancient pokemon had towed her back to the surface after the collapse. She shakes herself once and then spots Steven and the rest of her teammates, and lets out a joyful squeal.
But Steven is not ready to celebrate just yet. "Where's Aggron?"
Wailord whines an uncertain note and Claydol echoes it. They don't remember seeing the big steel pokemon in the chaos.
Suddenly, the waves explode, and in a shower of salty spray, a pair of metal claws latch themselves into the ice. Like a drowned Delcatty, Aggron drags itself onto the floe, its hindquarters lifted up by a Kingdra's bony crown. Aggron is haggard, panting heavily and barely conscious. But Steven knows how stubborn the steel type can be, and with every team member accounted for, the line remains unbroken.
Steven deflates with relief, a giddy smile arranging itself on his face, and he covers his face with his hand. "Thank the gods."
Glacia shares a puzzled look with Sidney at the Champion's outburst, but inquires no further as a gust of wind swirls overhead.
"Not sure it's the gods you should be thanking, lad," Drake quips as he slides from Salamence's back. His partner lands heavily, allowing the weight of its other passenger to slump to the ground. Metagross creaks and groans as it tries to rise from where it collapsed upon landing, no longer supported by Salamence's sturdy frame. Its hide is so damaged there are visible cracks through the steel. The cross above its left eye is caved in, rendering the eye almost useless. One leg doesn't even respond as it struggles to crawl toward its trainer. Steven can't tear his eyes away.
"Metagross." It's barely a whisper, whether it's all he can muster, or the breath truly has frozen in his throat. He can feel his heart racing, the adrenaline starting to kick in. They're both still alive. He never thought he'd see his partner again. He never thought Metagross would see him again.
With a burst of strength, Steven lurches to his feet and stumbles as far as he can before falling to his knees at Metagross's side. He leans his head against its crest, the steel cold against his feverish brow. There are no words exchanged, the emotion pouring from Steven is all Metagross needs to know. The sound it makes is halfway between a wheeze and a sob.
However, the reunion is short lived as another resounding crash echoes across the abandoned city. Sootopolis's white stone crumbles down into the crater as Regirock lands atop the city's walls.
Three titans— one of rock, one of ice, one of steel— encircle the city, and Kyogre roars with outrage.
As the beast's cry echoes into nothingness, Sootopolis falls silent save for the howling of the storm. Everyone from human to pokemon alike is waiting, watching, as a wave of unease sweeps through the ruined city.
Steven slumps back against Metagross's leg, desperate stare fixed on where the Regis stand, unmoving. There is no scripture left to read, no command left to spur the titans into action. So he closes his eyes and hopes. He pours everything he has into a final plea. That maybe, just maybe, he can convince them that humanity is worth saving.
A hand falls on Steven's shoulder, and he opens his eyes to Wallace's concerned gaze. The water-type trainer is a complete mess. His hat long since lost to the bottom of the sea, the unspoken question in his eyes is as clear as day. If this is everything they could have done, would it truly be enough?
Steven doesn't have to answer. A rumble grows out of the silence, increasing in strength until it drowns out the hammering of the rain and the wailing of the wind. The walls of the city begin to shake. Buildings crumble to dust, leaving Wallace in wide-eyed terror. It's as if the very earth itself has decided to make this their grave. Kyogre screeches once more, rising higher into the stormy skies, ready to leave Sootopolis for the ruin it has become.
And then the Regis move.
The titans bring their arms to bear as one, a white energy growing and dancing between their hands. There is something terrible in that energy; everyone can feel its overwhelming presence. All eyes are turned to the sky as the Regi's power grows. Phoebe whimpers, and Sidney wraps his arm tighter around her shoulders, expression tight. Glacia and Drake share a tense look, but say nothing. Even Wallace cannot suppress a shiver where he kneels next to Steven's side. They'd been nothing in the face of Kyogre's awakening. They'd thought there was nothing left that could oppose the sea god's wrath. How wrong they were.
Kyogre, too, seems to realize its mistake in trying to run, as now it's nearly face to face with the Regi trio at the crater's edge. As it draws near, their energy cracks and sparks before leaping forth, creating a chain from one titan to the other that blocks Kyogre's path. The sea god freezes in place, startled for a moment by the Regis' display of power. Kyogre glowers at the three titans before it starts to charge an attack in its maw, content to blast a path through the titans' perimeter. The Regis make no attempt to defend themselves, and Kyogre allows itself a toothy smirk. It roars in triumph as its beam reaches full power.
The attack dies on its jaws.
In an instant, the titan's power slams into the sea god full force, drowning the beast in blinding white energy. Kyogre's pained howl tears through the night, clouds rippling and scattering from the force of the Regi's attack. The beast plummets from the sky, slamming into the crater's wall on the way down. The blow seems to jar it from its agony, and it lashes out, firing beams indiscriminately in an attempt to free itself from the Regis' hold.
Attacks rain down across the ruined city, destroying what little is left standing and churning the sea into a frenzy. Steven feels Wallace cling tighter to his arms as their makeshift platform lurches and bucks under the onslaught. Neither titan nor god cares what happens to the tiny specks of humanity caught in the crossfire. Bursts of light dance across the Regi's forms, mixing with the sparking flashes of their own power. The glyphs of their faces expressionless, hauntingly stoic in the face of such chaos.
They have seen ages and eons, and they know that the sea god does not have dominion over this world. Like the spires of an ancient church, they stand unflinching, staring down at the creature that dares to claim Hoenn as its own. Under their guard, Kyogre would not triumph. It had never triumphed as long as they had kept watch, and they would not allow it to happen this time either. Hoenn will persist.
It's magnificently terrifying to see Kyogre writhe and wail as the titans' energy pours over it. It struggles harder, but it's to no avail. Their arms outstretched, the Regis' expressionless faces belie nothing as they are battered with the wind and rain. Only once does Regirock stagger when one of Kyogre's beams strikes it dead center, but it's very clear: the god of the sea is losing.
Slowly, the beast is pushed lower and lower into the crater where the city walls rumble and quake. Wallace watches breathless until he sees just where the Regis are forcing Kyogre to go. He's on his feet with a gasp, wheeling to face Steven with an incredulous stare. "The Cave of Origin! They're pushing it toward the Cave of Origin!"
Weakly, Steven can only nod. It's been his plan this entire time. If not the orbs, then his hope was that something else could seal Kyogre's power within the cave's walls. He wants to explain as much, but he can't. His limbs are like lead, every breath is a battle. He can feel his strength waning with every inch the Regis gain. Still, he holds Wallace's gaze, hoping his stare can offer all the explanation for him.
The conflict is clear in Wallace's face. He can see Steven's waning condition, and he cannot bring himself to leave his friend's side. Not after everything they've been through on this horrible day. But he is Sootopolis's guardian, the protector of his city, the keeper of the Cave of Origin and all its lore and power. With a frantic gesture that he'll be right back, Wallace dashes toward the edge of the platform, harrowed stare fixated on where Kyogre is now being forced into the Cave's yawning opening, still screeching and thrashing, its fins gouging chunks from the ceremonial doors as its pushed deeper into the darkness.
Steven watches him go and tries to call out for Wallace to wait, but it comes out feeble, lost in Kyogre's angry roars. But for Steven, the roars are muffled, and everything feels further away. He can feel himself slipping, fading… Wallace is too far away now, he'll never be heard over the storm.
Resigned, Steven's head rolls back against Metagross's leg. The steel type whines a low note, and Steven feels a weight settle in around the two of them. There's a finality in their solitude, and as the thought of goodbyes hits him, he remembers one last thing. He uses his last strength to pull his PokeNav out, just to check. He toggles the screen and his gut sinks.
'Message failed to send. Retry?'
The message for his father. It never made it. In a panic he fumbles for the button, but his strength is gone, and the PokeNav tumbles from his hand and clatters across the ice, landing out of reach.
Steven struggles to move his tired body. His breath is coming in short gasps now, but he can't leave his father in the dark like this. He can't. If he could just… hit… send…
As he's reaching for the device—weakly, futilely—a voice echoes in the back of his mind. The same voice he heard in the chamber of rock and steel and ice, and he freezes.
"It is done. The pact is complete."
It's only then that he's faintly aware that the chaos of the storm has vanished. The drumming rain is only a patter now, and the air is quiet and still, no longer filled with the sound of Kyogre's final throes. From the top edge of the crater's walls, sunlight peeks through, the first rays of morning sneaking through the thinning clouds. In a way, the peacefulness almost feels mocking, the comfort foreign, like it knows he's leaving soon. He very nearly smiles at the thought of enjoying the sunrise one last time. The plan has worked. The beast has been sealed away. But he's just so tired...
"We shall take what is owed and leave this place."
Steven always imagined he'd made peace with his decision, that he'd be ready in the moment. But he's not. He wants to beg, to plead for just one more moment, he can't go yet. But he can't ask for more time, not from the beings who restlessly slumbered for so long. What was his existence against the centuries they'd spent imprisoned? Watching... Waiting... He can't even feel his trembling fingers anymore, stretched as far as they can go, and his PokeNav is still out of reach.
He can't go yet.
But the titans wait no longer. As Steven feels the icy presence take its leave, his last breath leaves with it. The strength leaves his limbs. The world around him is just so dark... He slumps forward. He's exhausted. He doesn't even feel it when his he hits the ground.
Beside him, the ancient tablet has broken in two, the voices of the spirits nothing more than a whisper in the winds. The seal is lifted, the Regis are free, and in the eerie calm left in the aftermath of Kyogre's rampage, Steven Stone gives his life in return for the region he loves.
It has been just over a week since the incident that should have swallowed all of Hoenn, yet only claimed one life. Sootopolis stands quiet, empty, and flooded. Too damaged to allow her citizens to return to what's left of their homes, and too unstable to attempt to repair her just yet.
There is nothing Wallace can do except wait and hope. The same agonizing uncertainty as that day, when he could do nothing but helplessly watch. So he sets about burying his grief in something other than solitude, and busies himself with the rest of the Elite. They work in silence save for what's necessary. There's not much left to be said that can close the hole left from that fateful day. There's not much they want to say because that means it's time to fill it, and no one's ready for that just yet.
He travels to Pacifidlog with Sidney and Drake to help stabilize the battered floating colony. Then to Slateport with Phoebe to hand out provisions and aid to the refugees. And then Lilycove to do more of the same with Glacia. Last, to Mossdeep, alone, where he can't bring himself to even set foot on the northern part of the island.
Not because he knows that's where Steven's house sits, as empty as it's always been even when he was alive. Not because it would dredge up too many reminders of what would be missing from within its walls forever. But because Aggron, in its grief, refused to let anyone come near the home unless they were Steven himself. It had become so fiercely territorial that the road to the small cliffside cottage was blocked with barricades to keep accidental passerbys safe from its rampage. No amount of consoling or pleading would calm it, so Wallace turns on his heel almost as soon as he arrives, and takes its empty pokeball with him to Ever Grande, to be placed with the rest of Steven's belongings.
It's there, as he's tucking the pokeball into the last box left in the barren Champion's office, that Wallace sees the message that was never intended for him. He only notices because the notification light of Steven's PokeNav is blinking— low battery. He almost doesn't check the screen; it's not his place to look. But he does. Perhaps it's guilt. Perhaps it's grief. The reason why doesn't matter when he sees what's on the display.
He's not sure why he feels compelled to read it, and he certainly doesn't feel better after reading it. But he reads it all the same. And when he's done, his finger hovers over the 'Retry' button, and he pauses.
Has it been long enough for the wounds to close? Will this message tear them back open again, fresh and searing? Or do they fester still with the unknown knowledge contained in the letter's text, meant for the one who is suffering the most?
He hasn't seen Joseph Stone since the funeral. In fact, even at the funeral he openly avoided Steven's father the entire time. It hurt too much to see the unspoken question in his eyes: "You're his best friend. Why didn't you stop him?"
Wallace could never think of what to say to that. "I'm so sorry for your loss" was not the answer Mr. Stone was looking for. "I didn't know" felt too hollow to even try. So he'd settled for a happier truth, one that filled him with as much guilt as it did pride.
"He saved us all, Mr. Stone. Steven was a hero."
Except now… Now he knew the real truth. The awful, horrible burden that Steven took upon himself.
And with that knowledge, Wallace almost can't bring himself to face Joseph again. His eyes that are so tired. Tired of life, and all the misery it brings. Tired from having seen the burial of not only his wife, but his only child. Tired from seeing the faces of sympathy time and time again, and Wallace is just another one of those faces in a parade of empty tragedy.
Joseph had given him a shattered smile, and those tired eyes drifted off to some part of the room, far away and out of focus. "He always did have a knack for doing what he thought was right."
Wallace withdraws his hand from the button. Mr. Stone deserves to have his son's final words delivered to him by another human being. Not by some cold, emotionless screen. Maybe, just maybe, he then might find some peace. It's all Wallace can hope for, at this point.
Steven's PokeNav is tucked safely in his pocket as he drifts westward toward Rustboro on his Gyarados' back. It's not a short trip; Ever Grande is on the other side of the region. Wallace isn't sure if he's thankful for the extra time, or dreading how many times he can play the conversation over in his head before he arrives.
But he has to. He has to do what's right. For Steven.
Wallace's cheeks are wet, and he can't even blame it on the rain. He tilts his head to the clear blue sky, because he wants him to see. To see all of the beautiful and wondrous and broken things he left behind.
"I have never been more angry with you, Steven Stone, than I am right now. I just want you to know that."