"How many times do I have to tell you that it's not your fault" Michael said gently to his wife. The couple had found one another after the horrifically stressful dinner with Michael's family and together put their children to sleep before retiring to their chambers to see if they could add to their growing family. But it soon became clear that Julia was more worried about her husband than she was letting on. For some reason, to Michael's confusion and amusement, she was blaming herself for the ordeal that had befallen them. He continually reassured her as he held her close to him in their bed, with only the blankets and bedsheets covering them. He put his arm around her and kissed her head as she rubbed his chest lovingly.

"I can't get it out of my head" she told him. "I should have told them all to piss off!"

"At least I held back for the kid's sake" Michael replied jokingly.

"You think those two will remember this?" Julia gulped. "I hope not."

"I was thinking about Olivia's son, Jules. Our two may not remember, but he might."

Julia sighed as she walked her fingers up towards her husband's nose before bopping it. "Well, that won't matter to us unless something happens to her. Which it won't." She rolled over until she was on top of her husband, looking down on him with the same adoring eyes she had since they had reunited in Orre. "But, the only silver lining to that fiasco at dinner is that I get my husband's full and undivided attention."

"Did you really think it would go any other way?" Michael replied flirtatiously. He put his hands to her head, his right going through her long dark hair and his left cradling her cheek. Here, as the two lay in bed with one another, not for the first time, did he realize how much he truly loved his wife. "How did I go through my childhood not being able to see you like this?"

"Like what?"

"See you as the most gorgeous creature on this planet. Maybe if I had seen you the way I do now, we wouldn't have been through the hell we've been through."

Julia playfully giggled. "Oh really? You'd be treating me like you do now?"

"I would have built monuments for you" Michael declared. "I may not fancy myself being a King, but I'd do it just so I could call you a Queen."

"The only monuments that matter to me are the two living ones you gave me" she assured him, before she glanced down at her almost naked body. "Well, and whatever comes after. And the only titles I need are being Professor Julia Pines-Kingston, wife of Lord Michael Kingston and mother of his children." She plopped herself onto him and rested her head on his body, her arms wrapping around him. "I wish I could know now. I wish it could be now! UGH! Why can't we be parents again?"

"Patience is a virtue only true mothers can have. If it were in my power, though, I'd make you a mother in a heartbeat." He kissed the crown of her head once more. "But since I'm not a god or a djinn, I think we need to be a little patient. That's all."

Julia sighed. "After seeing what Tori and Greg have gone through to have one kid, I know we can't take what we have for granted. Especially if Jon and Annie return from their honeymoon with a bun in the oven as well." She looked up towards her husband and gave him the same smile as he had given her. "Fortunately, unlike you, I can safely admit I've seen you the way I do since we were kids." The couple came together and shared another passionate kiss, cradling the other in their arms and relishing the time they shared.

Which was, of course, when Julia's Poké Gear went off. She untangled herself from her husband and grunted at her electronic device. "Now what?! If it's Sonia again, I'm going to fly all the way to Galar and give her a piece of my mind!"

"It's important to keep friends, Jules" Michael teased. "Especially at this-" He paused when his own Poké Gear started to vibrate wildly. He reached onto his own nightstand and thumbed his way up to where he had been called. But he wasn't getting a call. He scratched his head in confusion. "I thought I told those kids to focus on the Flash Drive. But by gum, they got the KERN working?"

"Oh, so it's a test?" his wife asked, letting her device fall onto her table and sliding back towards her husband. She eyed him endearingly. "Come on, honey. We don't need to worry about some test run of the-"

Michael did his best to remain calm, but his inner anxiety reached higher levels when he realized this was a true emergency. The KERN was not being activated from Kingston Castle. It was being activated from Waypoint Island, by Alison Kingston of all people. He accepted it and turned it on, with his aunt's message blaring loudly in their chambers:

"Attention! This is Alison Kingston with a Code ICE Emergency from Waypoint Island. There is an emergency situation here on the Waypoint Island! All Kingstons, please respond! We need your help!"

Michael took up his Poké Gear, with now even Julia becoming worried. "This is Lord Michael and Lady Julia Kingston answering the Code ICE Emergency. Aunt Alison? What's going on?"

"There's some kind of storm surge on the island, Michael" Alison cried out. "There was an explosion and Robert and I have lost the kids!"

Michael was out of bed in a moment, throwing some of his old clothes on, as he had quickly raced off to bed with Julia and had not yet changed into evening wear. Julia followed in suit, quickly buttoning up her blouse and picking up her own Poké Gear to make the necessary calls. "Don't worry, Aunt Alison. We're getting a dispatch out to you guys. Just remain calm. Where are you right now?"

"I'm on our boat, but Robert went out to get the boys and Kayleigh. I'm scared, Michael."

"Stay right there" Michael told her. "I'll keep you appraised on what goes on."

"Please hurry! There were sounds of angry Pokémon around here, too!"

"I promise I will" Michael said as he got his pants on. He looked towards Julia. "Get in contact with the Emergency Techs at Titanio Hospital. We need an emergency rescue effort on Waypoint Island!"

"Way ahead of you" Julia said quickly. "You should call Billy and Cameron to get them in position. Without an Elite Four, it falls on you guys to look after the region."

Michael was about to respond, but their bedroom doors suddenly opened. Countess Rosemary entered, walking passed the couple's bed and out onto their balcony. Her scepter was glowing and she had a look of awe and terror. While Julia made the calls, Michael strapped his belt on and followed his Great Aunt out into the night skies. He went white when he saw the colossal storm surge surrounding the far southern portions of Arcana. The winds were not too terrible at the castle, but he could only imagine what Alison and the boys were enduring out there.

"I hope they make it in time" Michael opined.

"It's too late" Rosemary responded sadly. "The storm surge is no ordinary one. It reeks of Mewtwo. The jaws of darkness are closing on Waypoint Island."

"What are you talking about?"

"I warned you, Michael. Tears will be shed twice as long when two stars blink out. The Eighth Truth is coming to pass."

Michael, in no mood to argue any semantics about the Prophecies with the Countess, tried desperately to riddle out what the eighth truth could possibly entail. Tears will be shed? Well that's obvious. Something terrible is going to happen. Twice as long? Two stars? Two things are going to be lost? But what two...

And it hit him like a freight train. His eyes widened in terror and his he could feel himself shaking violently. He had taken the two of them for granted since he had met them after returning from exile. They had idolized, adored, rivaled and even opposed him, but there was no doubting that the bonds between the three of them, no matter how strained, were still strong. And when he realized those two were now the targets of Mewtwo's ruthless crusade to wipe out mankind, he simply had to make one decision. Were their lives worth losing? Or was his? And he had his answer in a second.

"The boys!" Rhaegar's Poké Ball was in his hands in a matter of seconds. His Dragonite roared and glared worriedly at the storm in the distance, barking at Michael to hurry and get on his back.

"There is nothing you can do" Rosemary reminded him. "Getting involved-"

"You're not all that wise if you think I'm going to let anything happen to those two!" Michael roared as he made it up onto Rhaegar's back. "They are like my sons!"

"And risking it all for them-"

Michael would have contemplated striking her if he wasn't already on his Dragonite's back. "How dare you call yourself one of us if you're willing to let more Kingstons die? Wasn't my grandfather and my Mom not enough?!"

Rosemary sighed and stepped back. "Do as you will, then. But you are not invincible, Michael."

Julia was out onto the balcony when she saw her husband call out Rhaegar. "What's going on?"

Michael grasped his wife's hand. "Get the Emergency Techs out to Parlor Beach. I'll get them off the island, or die trying!"

"DIE?!"

Michael's hand slipped out of his beloved Julia's as he steered Rhaegar towards the heart of the darkness engulfing his family. Not even the desperate screams of his wife could compel him to turn back. Though he had always cared for his aunt and uncle, those boys were worth more to him than almost anything in the world. If anything happened to them...

{}

Clutching his bawling little sister as tightly to him as he could, Matthew did his best to stay as close to the wall of the cavern as possible, but the rampaging Gyarados were making that a taller and taller task. The smoke still surrounded them, making breathing even more difficult and visibility almost impossible. He would occasionally call out to his Noivern, but that would attract more unwanted attention for themselves and he would have to dodge and protect Kayleigh for an even longer time. His blind fumbling finally paid off when he reached the higher level of the cavern and the exit once more.

"We're almost out of here!" Matthew cheered. "Ry, we're-Ryan?" There was no sign of his brother anywhere.

"Broboo? Where Broboo?"

Matthew propped Kayleigh back up into his arms. "Don't worry. I'll find him!" He was about to rush out of the cavern and get his sister to safety, but a pile of rubble had barricaded them inside of the cave. "SHIT!" He fingered the Poké Ball containing his Marowak, but a rumble from the other side made him take cover instead. Spotting her trainer from a distance, the Noivern spat a Dragon Pulse at the Gyarados she was battling before soaring down to his side. Once they were reunited, the rock pile gave way and a raging Charizard stormed into the cavern.

"DADDY!" Kayleigh cried.

Robert Kingston followed the Charizard into the fray and spotted the two huddling nearby, his eyes wild and dangerous. "Get to the boat! Both of you! NOW!"

Kayleigh tried reaching for her father, but Matthew put her arms down. "You don't have to tell me twice. Just make sure you-DAD!" Robert and his Charizard did not react quick enough for a wicked torrent of Hydro Pump to strike both of them and send them hurtling towards the cavern wall. The Charizard was seriously harmed, but okay. Robert winced in pain as he got back up to his feet, dazed and pale.

"Where's your brother?" Robert asked as he braced himself against his exhausted Charizard.

"We lost sight of him in the cave!"

The thrashing Gyarados in the water slammed into the cavern walls, causing heavy boulders to fall from the ceiling. Realizing what was to come, Robert desperately pushed his son and daughter out of the way as a stalagmite fell and struck him in the head. Robert did not stagger as he fell to the ground. The Charizard smashed the boulders on top of his trainer and let out a snarl before charging recklessly at the Gyarados in a fit of fury.

"DAD!" Matthew screamed.

"DADDY!" Kayleigh echoed in horror.

Matthew put his little sister down on the ground. "Kayleigh! Run out of the cavern and back to Mommy! I'm gonna get Dad out of here!" The toddler scampered out of the cave as Matthew put his arm around his father's body and propped him up. The two slowly made their way out of the cavern after the petrified Kayleigh. Robert was completely unresponsive to his son's inquiries, prompting Matthew to realize how serious their situation was. He made one last look back into the cavern and frowned to himself. "Hold on, Ry. I'll be back for you in a minute."

The moment the trio found the mouth of the cave, they were nearly whipped up by a rushing storm. Matthew put his father down and lunged for his little sister, but she was scooped into the air by the air. "KAYLEIGH!" He whistled for his Noivern, who flew to his side in a heartbeat. But before he could mount her, there was a familiar roar in the air around them. A large shadow fell over the mouth of the cave as Rhaegar the Dragonite descended. On his back was Michael, and in his cousin's arms was the utterly mortified Kayleigh. Matthew called over to Michael. "MIKE! IT'S MY DAD!"

Michael steered his Dragonite down and hopped down to check on his uncle. The look on his face made Matthew turn white. "We need to get you guys back to Parlor Town. And your Dad to the hospital." He handed Kayleigh to Matthew before he picked his uncle's limp body up and led the way towards the wildly rocking boat. Alison, who was panicking atop the boat, desperately reached down for Kayleigh. Matthew handed his sister over while he helped Michael bring their father aboard.

Alison looked aghast at the sight of her husband. "What happened?"

"Can one of you pilot this boat?" Michael asked either of them.

"I'll have to" Matthew volunteered.

"Matthew-" his mother began.

"We may not have another choice" Michael replied. "Matt, pilot this thing back to Parlor Town and get your father to the medics waiting there. Do not stop, do not come back for me or your brother." He and his Dragonite looked at the swirling vortex around them and at the still raucous cavern of Waypoint Island. "I'll get him out of there." He then rushed with his Dragonite into the mouth of the cavern. Matthew leaped onto the boat and ran up to the helm of their boat. He quickly ignited the engine and decided he would put everything he could into the motor to speed it as far away from Waypoint Island as possible. Alison carefully brought Robert and Kayleigh into an enclosed part of their boat while Matthew piloted them to safety.

Matthew gripped the helm as tightly as he had ever gripped anything. The boat could not get away from the storm surge fast enough, and the choppy waves made his job even more difficult, but he could not afford for either himself, his parents or his little sister to be swallowed by the seas. Realizing there was a necessity for help when they got there, Matthew decided to radio in their position. His mother had already activated the KERN, which would make the situation all the easier.

"This is Matthew Kingston with a Code ICE Emergency! I need medical teams to meet us at Parlor Beach immediately! I'm inbound on boat to Parlor Beach! My Dad is seriously hurt and so might Ryan. I need anything you can get your hands on! Please respond! This is Code ICE Emergency!" After a moment of tense waiting, he got his response.

"This is Jenna Kingston with the emergency tech team headed for Parlor Beach!" his cousin exclaimed. "Matty, hang on. We'll be there soon!"

Matthew gulped as lightning flashed across the heavens and the waves became more dangerous. "Please, hurry!"

{}

"Achilles!" Ryan cried out to his Pokémon as the Gallade was slammed hard into the ground by the raging Gyarados. Achilles staggered back to his feet and used a powerful Stone Edge attack to strike the Gyarados in the head and buy the duo some time to escape. His Gallade was at his side in a moment, propping him up on his arms. The Pokémon looked down at his leg and frowned.

You have a fracture of your ankle, his Pokémon warned.

Ryan winced as they tried to make it as far from the flailing Gyarados as possible. "I know. I can't put any weight on it!" He paused when he saw his father's Charizard fighting with all it's might to drive back the Gyarados. "Dad's here. Where is he?" The two began to frantically make their way towards wherever Robert Kingston was inside the cave, with the smoke still making their sight almost impossible. "DAD! DAD! WHERE ARE YOU?!" The yelling drew the attention of a Gyarados, who spat another Dragon Rage attack at them. The blast knocked most of the path forwards into the waters, leaving Ryan and his Pokémon trapped on the cliff.

Ryan, we need to find a way out of here. If I had enough strength, I would try to teleport us-

Ryan took up Achilles' Poké Ball and showed it to him. "Go back inside, Achilles. I can protect you that way!"

And what happens to you in this scenario?

"Don't worry about me" Ryan snapped. "Just go in."

How can you expect me to-

"I've lost too many Pokémon and friends since Mewtwo came back!" Ryan reminded him. "I am not going to lose you, too! Get inside!"

Achilles did as Ryan pleaded and vanished within the Poké Ball. His father's Charizard was grabbed by a Gyarados's fangs and launched against the walls of the cave, causing the entire cavern to begin to rock. Ryan put the Poké Ball back on his belt and tried to brace himself up against the wall. But a Gyarados floated towards him, bearing his sharp and deadly fangs. From within it's gaping maw, Ryan could tell that the Pokémon was preparing some sort of attack for him. And when the mouth shined with a bright light, Ryan's face contorted in frustration as he realized a Hyper Beam was imminent. But unafraid of what would happen, Ryan simply stood and stared down the Gyarados as the Hyper Beam was fully charged for him. "Sorry, Addy. Sorry...everyone. I failed."

The Gyarados was suddenly felled by a large shadow slamming hard into it's head, prompting the Hyper Beam to blast several feet to the left of Ryan and rip a hole through the cave. Ryan looked up in astonishment, finding Rhaegar the Dragonite utterly demolishing the wild Gyarados in a fit of unrelenting fury. Before he could react further, Ryan was picked up and placed on the shoulders of the person he was most happy to see in the world at the moment. "MIKE!"

"I've got you, bud" Michael told him. "Keep your head down. We're getting out of here."

"But my Dad-"

"Your brother has him" his cousin explained. "But we can chat more when you're out of here." He whistled for Rhaegar, who flew to their side in a flash after forcing he Gyarados into submission. He took both trainers up onto his back and took off for the lone exit they could see: a hole in the roof of the cavern. Michael put Ryan in front of him on Rhaegar and clutched at him. "Hold on!" The winds were becoming more and more powerful the higher they got into the cave, until a titanic gust of wind ripped through the mouth of the cave, launched them off of Rhaegar's back and sent them plummeting towards the water.

Ryan tried his hardest to cushion the blow, but crashed hard into the water, his leg contorting in a way it could not normally. He let out a scream as water rushed into his mouth. He tried in vain to reach for something, only for Michael to grab his hand and haul him up to the surface. Ryan struggled to regain his breath as Michael clung to him. "Mmm-Mmmik-Mike!"

Michael did not answer him, noticing the Gyarados coming on for the attack. He scrambled his way up the side of the cliff, dragging a useless Ryan alongside him. He just barely managed to fling Ryan out of the water and to relative safety when he was set upon by Gyarados. One attempted to devour him whole, but he got in the way of it's teeth and prevented them from closing down on him. He punched the roof of the Pokémon's mouth, prompting it to spit him out and onto the side where Ryan was. Ryan could not help but be in awe of Michael.

"You're amazing."

"Not until I get you out of here" Michael insisted, clearly winded and hurt from his experience with the Gyarados. He whistled for Rhaegar, who was currently blasting Dragon Pulses at the Gyarados to distract them. He was about to rush to their sides, when another Gyarados fired a Hyper Beam from the other side of the cave. Rhaegar leaped in front of the blast, causing him, Michael and Ryan to be blasted out of the cavern and nearly into the ocean surrounding Waypoint Island. Michael and his Dragonite were struck hard by the blasts, with Rhaegar taking the worst of it and laying on his side, breathing heavily. Michael was struggling to push himself back up, himself dazed by the blast.

Ryan tumbled along towards the edge of the cliff, scrambling to grab a hold of something, but found his body weighing him down. As he felt part of his body begin to slump down towards the raging seas, he let out one desperate cry. "MICHAEL!" The rest of his body slumped over the side, but Michael was there in an instant, grabbing his arm and pulling him over, screaming in pain as he did.

"ARGH!" his cousin roared, before using all of his remaining strength to fling Ryan on top of him and push him to the side.

The waves began to cause the rocks they were trapped on to shake and rock wildly. One massive tidal surge slammed hard into them, with Ryan grabbing hold of the wall to prevent himself from sliding back into the water. Rhaegar shook himself out of his stupor and flew into the air to prevent any of them from sliding into the water. Michael was clutching at his side and doubled over in pain. One more wave crashed into their part of the island, prompting the ground beneath Michael to give way. Ryan leaped to grab at him, but Michael caught the edge of the cliff as the winds and rain lashed at his face. He dug his feet into the side of the cliff and looked up towards both the storm and at his young cousin.

Ryan's face was full of terror. This was the first time he had ever seen his cousin so vulnerable and weak. He tried to grab his cousin's hand and pull him back up, but to his confusion, Michael stopped him. "But Mike! You'll-"

"Listen to me" Michael coughed out. "Listen to me. You and-ugh-you and Addy are going to grow up. Grow up, get married and have a bunch of kids."

"What are you talking about?"

You have a future in front of you. A whole one, where I know you'll find a way to stop Mewtwo and save everyone like you did the last time." He looked up at him, his breathing growing heavy. Ryan dared a look down and saw blood coming from his cousin's midsection. "I am-I am so proud-so proud of the man you're going to grow up into, Ry. You've got this, bud. Just-just promise me you'll-you'll take care of-take care of James and Arya for me. Julia too." His feet gave way, prompting him to be clinging to the cliff with only his fingers.

"But Mike! You can't go now! Not when-"

"What did I tell you it meant to be a hero?" Michael asked. "I need to protect you. And I will, until my last breath."

"There's no way I'm going to let you miss out on them growing up, Mike!" Ryan cried out. He grabbed his cousin's wrist. "No way! No how!"

"And there's no way I'm going to let you die" Michael countered.

One more, Avery's words loomed in the back of his mind. Was this truly what the Syndicate had planned? Was he the intended target? Why him and not Michael? No. It had to be Michael. Despite his cousin's efforts to keep him safe, he knew this had Courtney's dirty little hands over this. She had used Ryan as bait to snare Michael before. Why not now? He could not let Michael die for him. Not now, not ever.

"Take Rhaegar and get back to shore. Let Julia-let Julia know that-" An ear-splitting roar, followed by a Gyarados chomping at Michael's legs, caused him to slip and fall below and out of Ryan's sighed. The Gyarados dragged Michael down into the depths of the seas around the island.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Ryan screamed. Rhaegar fell to the side behind him and barked at him. Ryan staunchly refused. "No! Go and save Michael, Rhaegar!" The Dragonite seemed eager to argue, but Ryan grabbed the Pokémon's face as he barely mustered the strength to stand on his own. "Rhaegar. What matters to you more? Me or him?!" Rhaegar seemed to get the message and dove into the water after his trainer and the Gyarados. Ryan braced himself against the cliff as the storm caused the waves to grow more and more intense. One such wave crashed into him and his ledge, causing more of the ground to give way. Ryan grabbed the rockface and couldn't dare a look back down, not only out of fear it would result in him losing his grip, but that he would see what had become of Michael. Michael had just gotten back into his life. He wasn't going to lose him again.

The winds swept and whipped at his face, causing Ryan to bury his face into the cliff. Finally, the rest of the rock face they had been on a moment earlier gave way and Ryan was left dangling from the cliff. Determined to find a way to flag down someone or something for help, Ryan pulled himself up entirely with his upper body and one leg. He gripped the wall and slowly inched his way higher and higher towards the peak of Waypoint Island's tallest cliff. As if they were approaching the eye of the storm, a single ray light shined down on him as he desperately pulled himself higher and higher towards the peak.

A form shot out of the water like a bullet. Ryan looked back in delight as he saw Rhaegar had succeeded in rescuing Michael, but was himself almost out of gas. The Dragonite hovered slowly from Waypoint Island. Ryan let out a cry of relief. "Thank Arceus." Now, all he had to worry about was getting himself out of harm's way. And the peak seemed to be the only way for this to become reality. He stumbled and clawed his way up towards the heavenly light that shined above him. His fingers grabbed a hold of the top of the cliff, just as a tall shadow fell over him. Ryan looked up. Hunter stood over him, his face unreadable.

As Ryan's feet began to lose strength, he could not help but mock his old foe for his failed scheme. "Sorry, Hunter. But you failed, again."

Hunter did not respond.

"Don't you get it?" Ryan laughed weakly. "There's no way I would ever let you take someone else from me again!"

Again, Hunter was silent.

"And your plan to kill Michael failed" the Champion proclaimed. "What will Mewtwo think of you, now?" Ryan coughed in pain, but still managed to ink out a bit of a laugh. To his amusement, Hunter joined in. "Guess your failure is sinking in, eh?"

"Not really" Hunter smirked.

"Huh?"

Hunter's boots came crashing down on Ryan's right hand, causing him to scream in pain and lose his grip on the cliff. Another boot fell on his left hand and began to squish his fingers. "Hate to burst your bubble, kid, but you're the guest of honor today. You see, The Grand Master thinks you're the only thing that stands between him and total victory. And, as I'm a contracted employee of the most powerful being in the universe, you can see the bind I'm in." He glared down at him. "Give me Shaymin."

"What?"

"Give me Shaymin, kid. Let someone who knows how to use his powers hold onto him!"

Ryan spat up at him, though the spit only fell on the ground. "Sorry. Shaymin's not here. You should just give up now and run back to Mirage Island with your tail between your legs!"

Hunter stomped harder on Ryan's fingers, causing him to grunt in pain. "WHERE IS IT?!"

"Burn in hell" Ryan snarled. "You'll never have Shaymin or Victini. Run away now, before Michael hunts you down." His grip on the cliff slackened as his fingers began to feel the pain of his foe's boots.

"To admit defeat and run away?" Hunter feigned. "Or to do as I was told? Oh, what to do?" He looked down coldly at Ryan. "Tell Lizzie's Grandpa I said hi." He then kicked Ryan's head backwards.

Ryan's grip now gone from the cliff, Arcana's champion was free falling from the side of the cliff. Avery had been right. This was all about him. And he had just let Mewtwo snare him up and take him out of the equation. He had truly failed everyone. As he fell with his back to an abyss he knew he wasn't ready to see, his entire world flashed before his eyes. He saw Dawn and Lucas laughing together, he saw Holly and Jeremy holding hands and sitting together in a shaded part of the neighborhood, and his parents and Kayleigh watching him have a match with Cameron from the Champion's Box. He saw Cameron and her intense stares, Chris and his lackadaisical laughter, Daniel and his confident smirks and Giselle and her sharp focus. He could see Michael and Julia, each holding one of their two beautiful children. He saw Piper dancing before a crowd of thousands. He saw Galatea and Achiilles protecting their egg. He saw a rush of his precious Pokémon coming to greet him with kisses and hugs. And lastly, one of the strongest and most powerful memories he had, he saw himself, Matthew and Addison promising to look after each other and keep their friendship strong. All of it would be taken from him in a matter of seconds.

Matt...take care of them...

Even as Achilles emerged from his Poké Ball and wrapped his arms around his trainer, Ryan simply closed his eyes and braced himself for the end. The icy waters seemed to pull the two of them in as they landed into it. And the universe around him and Achilles went black.

{}

Once his prey had vanished without a trace into the shadowy depths below, Hunter snapped his fingers. The storm clouds surrounding Waypoint Island rescinded until there was nothing but a blood red sky to signal the coming dawn. His Forces of Nature had done their job, as had his explosives. He recalled the Forces of Nature and took a moment to relish in his own glory. This would be a loss their enemies would never be able to recover from. He spied the fading image of Rhaegar in the distance, flying with all his strength back to Parlor Town, but it mattered little to him. Now, as far as he was concerned, he and Courtney were even. He had stolen her helm to ensure The Master wouldn't be able to intervene with his desires. Now, he had just spared the life of her twisted love.

He touched the mark on his forehead. "Hunter to the Master. Master, the deed you have requested is done."

He is dead? Are you certain?

"Feel for yourself" Hunter boasted. "The only source of life around here are the rampaging Gyarados and me. Ryan Kingston is dead."

After a moment, as if he were indeed probing the situation for proof, the Master responded. You have done us a valiant and remarkable service, Hunter. Your reward is waiting for you. Though I suspect that you'll be needing to find the body to acquire Shaymin.

"The Kid didn't have him" Hunter explained. "That means I'll be paying either little Matthew or Ryan's girlfriend a visit very soon. And I'll get Victini after I've taken care of the last of Arcana's precious Pokémon League."

Do not make a scene, Hunter. Those Pokémon are valuable in your hands and dangerous in someone else's. Get your prizes and report back here, at once!

Hunter ended their call by removing his finger from the mark on his head and reached into his knapsack. He held Courtney's helm in his hands and placed it on his own head and smirked. "Nice try, Master. But I won't let you use these ones for your twisted little cloning tricks. I'll be the one who makes it to the Realm of Arceus. I'll be the one who makes even the God of Pokémon bow to me." Four of the Mythical Pokemon were already his prisoners, sealed within Pokemon Balls on his belt. Mew, Jirachi, Celebi and Manaphy. Only two more to go.

A newfound confidence springing inside, he pressed the button on the side of his new helm to activate it. Within an instant, any of the Master's thoughts and words vanished from his head. His smile was the most devilish he'd worn since he'd killed the protector of the Shrine of Jirachi all those years ago. One of malice and purely evil intent.

{}

The farther he steered their boat away from Waypoint Island, the smoother and calmer the waters surrounding Matthew and his family became. It was almost as if the winds and storms weren't indicative of anything naturally occurring. But Matthew did not dare to take a moment for granted. With his knuckles going white from gripping the helm as tightly as he was, he was too worried about his father to let anything but making it back to Parlor Beach somehow cross his mind. The only residue from the storm was the thick fog that surrounded them. He reached for the radio to signal to his cousin that they were on their way.

"This is Matthew. The fog out here is too thick! I need something to help us guide our way in."

"Loud and clear" a voice chimed in on the other side.

"Uncle Byron? Are the medics there? Dad's in pretty bad shape."

"We're on standby on the shores of Parlor Beach. Just keep piloting until you hear the sirens. They'll be blaring until we see you."

Matthew nervously piloted the boat as straight as he could, pleading and praying to whatever was out there that they could somehow begin to hear the sirens. Moment after moment passed and the boy could feel his nerves breaking. Not only his own life, but the lives of his mother, father and sister were in his hands. He was thankful that Michael had gone in to rescue Ryan. Any more on his shoulders and he might have a nervous breakdown. Finally, from out in the distance, he could hear the blaring alarms of the ambulances and police cars. He steered the boat along until it finally began to skid and bump from hitting the dunes of Parlor Beach.

As he heaved a long and heavy sigh of relief, Matthew looked back to see medics climbing on board to take his father to the hospital. He was shaking with fright when he saw how pale and bloodied his father had become from taking that blow to his head. But no matter how much he tried, he could not get his hands off of the helm. His mother climbed up beside him and gently pried his hands free before showering her son with kisses.

"My brave little trooper" she cried. "I'm so proud of you. You saved us!"

"Why am I still shaking, then?"

"My poor honey" she whispered. "Come on. I've got to take you to the hospital as well."

"But what about-"

"Shhhhh" his mother shushed. "Come on, Matty." She helped him down the steps and off the boat.

He slowly descended down the ladder, where he found almost half of their entire friends group and family waiting for them. Notably, Addison and her mother were missing. But it quickly became clear just how worried everyone was about the entire family when both Holly and Tommy were the first up to him and peppering him with questions. Seeing that he was struggling to even get calm, Holly pushed her brother aside, grabbed Matthew's arm and helped him to sit down and calm for a few moments. Dawn and Lucas also hovered nearby, worriedly looking to one another as they saw just how shaken Matthew had become.

"Matt?" Holly asked gently. "What happened?"

"I have no idea" Matthew responded, breathing heavily. "One minute we were trying to find Kayleigh, and another we were being attacked by Gyarados. My Dad was almost crushed by a rock and Michael only barely got there in time to save my sister." He looked over to his mother, who cradled the sleeping Kayleigh in her arms as she reported what she knew to Byron Kingston. "But Dad...and Ryan..."

"Your Dad didn't look too good, but I'm sure he'll be fine when he gets to the hospital."

Dawn looked worriedly into the fog. "But even Lord Kingston isn't immortal. What happens if-"

"We have to believe he'll make it to Ryan" Lucas assured her, taking her hand. "The alternative is too scary to even pretend."

"Where's Addy?" Matthew asked.

Holly shrugged. "No idea. I messaged her, but I guess she's sleeping through it."

A few medics came over to Matthew to check his vitals. When they realized he was having trouble breathing, one of them hurried to grab a respirator to help him breathe. The lead medic, who just happened to be his cousin Jenna, looked down at him. "Matty, we're gonna have to bring you to the hospital if we can't get your breathing under control."

"I'm trying" Matthew insisted. "A little hard to do when I'm worried."

"Good thing you're on our side then" Tommy pointed out, before he got a bop on the head from Holly.

Jenna hooked her cousin up to the respirator, giving him a mask to breathe clean and fresh air into. "Take long and deep breaths. Once your Mom is done talking to Uncle Byron, she'll be coming over-" Jenna paused when she saw both Julia and Piper walking past their group and towards the edge of the shore. Though Piper looked deeply worried, Matthew could tell Julia had seemingly aged several years over the last few moments, no doubt horrified over the possibility that this was one adventure that Michael wasn't going to come back from. Jenna walked over to comfort both women, but Julia did not want to hear anything and walked away from her. She paused when she saw just how shaken Matthew was and knelt down in front of him.

"Matty?" she asked. "What happened?"

Matthew slumped back in the chair, coughing vigorously. He took the mask off of his face and took in a deep breath. "Where's Mike?"

"I wish I knew, too" Julia said quietly, the fear oozing out of her voice.

Matthew tried to get out of the chair he had been placed in, but his arms wobbled. "I need to-"

"Matt, you shouldn't-" Dawn began.

"I think he wants to be there when we find out what's going on" Julia explained. "I'll be with him. You kids try to get in contact with Addison." As the worried group dispersed, Julia pulled him to his feet and let Matthew cling to her as the two slowly made their way down to Piper on the edge of the shore. She glanced back, but she was too engrossed in the search for her to greet them. Julia continued to keep Matthew standing while she addressed the Queen of Arcana. "Nothing, yet?'

"Nothing" Piper replied. "I'm scared."

"I'm about to have a panic attack" Julia answered. "And this one's already had one."

Matthew tried to stand on his own, but he only slumped further. "I'm not-"

"We're not teasing you" Julia told him. "You legitimately had one, Matt."

Matthew slumped against Julia. Perhaps she was right. He was having trouble breathing, his worry over the wellbeing of his family permeating every movement and his body shaking violently and involuntarily. A panic attack was certainly a possibility. He just never imagined he'd be the one having it.

"At least this proves you're definitely on our side, then" Piper said playfully. The trio's attention was drawn as a lone object was seemingly floating through the skies towards Parlor Beach. She let out a sigh of incredible relief. "It's them. It's Rhaegar!" She rushed over towards the medics. "WE NEED A MEDIC HERE! LORD KINGSTON IS COMING!"

Julia and Matthew remained planted as the Dragonite floated into their into their line of sight. He looked in worse shape that Matthew had ever seen his cousin's best Pokémon. And on his back, Michael looked even worse. The Dragonite fell into the shallow waters, unable to fly another flap. Julia left Matthew on his own as she hauled her unconscious husband out of the water and fell onto him to listen for a heartbeat. "Michael! Don't you dare do this to me, Michael!" She listened silently for a few seconds before she fell onto her rear end, a relieved smile on her face. "He's okay. He's still breathing." She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a Hyper Potion, giving it to Rhaegar. The Dragonite slurped it up and pushed himself back to his feet, nuzzling his trainer worriedly. Julia held the Pokémon's hand and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Rhaegar. You saved him! You-"

Matthew looked out into the water. "But he's alone. Where's Ryan?"

Julia looked out onto the horizon, coming to same realization the boy had. As the medics and Byron Kingston hurried over to assess the situation, Julia turned to her husband's uncle. "Byron, how soon do you think we can get a search party out to Waypoint Island?"

"Who's-oh no...Ryan?"

"Get every available eye you can out there to comb the island and the waters around it" Julia ordered. "Please. I need to get Michael to the hospital."

Byron nodded and began to radio the call in. The medics brought out their stretcher and put Michael on top of it. He coughed out a bit of water and slowly opened his eyes, hardly acknowledging those around him before he passed back out. Knowing they would not be able to pry Lady Kingston away from her husband, the medics let Julia come with them and ride in the ambulance as they took the roads to Titanio Hospital.

Matthew now stood by himself at the shore line, himself realizing what everyone else would soon enough. He's...he's...it's going to be too late. Ryan...To his surprise, he found his arms being grabbed and placed on the shoulders of both Dawn and Lucas. "What are you guys doing?"

"Getting you to the hospital" Dawn snapped.

"I can walk by my-"

"No you can't!"

"Seriously, Matt" Lucas warned him. "We may not get along much, but we're definitely going to need each other over the next few days. Let us help you."

Defeated, Matthew let the two lead him away, with him only able to make one last look back towards the ocean in a vain attempt of hope that Ryan would be right behind him, ready with a mocking yet playful ribbing. But the sun's rising only meant that the nightmare of his life was just beginning.