Morgan found it hard to wrap her head around just how fast Raikou must be moving, leaping from one flimsy excuse for a foothold to the next with effortless ease, though their ability to cut through the off-limit wilds did not hurt their ability to make incredible time. A journey that took days on foot was cut down to perhaps an hour upon the thunder god's back.
As Sera explained, according to legends, Raikou lacked the physical strength of Entei or the defensive prowess of Suicune, but it was the fastest of its brethren without question, racing like the very lightning it commanded. Which meant they arrived not long at all after Aqua caught up to Magma. It seemed both teams had had reserves waiting in the wings, as the mountain's summit was now crawling with grunts from each.
Raikou was wise enough to slip in discreetly rather than announce its presence, and as their passengers slipped off their back, they awaited a plan of action.
One thing about it: while before, Tabitha seemed willing to ally with Shelly to dispose of their mutual distraction before continuing their real battle, this time Magma and Aqua were thoroughly involved with each other already. Which meant Sera and Morgan could let the grunts take care of themselves while they focused on the big guns.
"I think I should take care of Maxie and Tabitha," Morgan said. "Considering some of us apparently can't decide whose side we're on."
Sera cringed. "I- I'm sorry. I-I told you before, I… was supposed to try to earn their trust if I thought I was able, s-so…" Morgan didn't look like she was buying it, but Sera steeled herself and shook her head, then. "A-anyway. Cerberus is the best bet we have of taking out Aqua's stronger Water-types, and Tank's gonna be best against Magma's Fire."
Morgan grimaced and made a skeptic sound, but admitted, "All right, that's true. Regardless which we feel might be the lesser of two evils, we have to play to our strengths and remember that any evil is still too much. Are you sure Tank's up to fighting?"
Sera bit her lip so hard she thought she may draw blood, but finally she nodded. "Yeah… I used every potion I had left on the ride over here, so all our Pokemon are as good as they'll get…" She hesitated, then added, "And… besides. You've been accused of Aqua sympathies, and if even you're doubting me about Magma after the Falls, then the best way to clear both our names is going to be to take on the team we're suspected of siding with."
Morgan made an affirmative sound. "Also true. So…"
They peeked out from their hiding place to survey the battleground. Archie and Shelly stood back to back, surrounded by a slew of Magma grunts, who seemed to serve as a defensive line. Tabitha stood guard behind them, an Arcanine poised and alert at his side. Maxie stood out on a dangerous-looking catwalk that extended over the mouth of the volcano, fiddling with some sort of machine. Far across the summit, Suicune and Entei were locked in a ferocious battle no other participant of the feud dared get close to.
They were moving so quickly that it was hard to tell, but Sera thought she could make out some sort of mechanical contraption adhered to Entei's face, and as her heart went out to the Pokemon, her anger welled. "Raikou… Can you stop your siblings?"
PERHAPS, their resonant voice echoed. I DO NOT WISH TO SEE HARM COME TO THEM, BUT I MUST TRY.
Sera nodded. "In that case," she climbed back up and motioned Morgan to do the same, "get us to that spot over there, then do what you can." Raikou lighted around the summit's edges, dropping the trainers between the Magma line and Tabitha. "Good luck," Sera said, and Raikou growled affirmatively before bounding off, the sounds of thunder soon joining the rest of the battle.
Morgan held her ground here, ready to help Sera if absolutely needed, or more likely to catch and further stall Archie and Shelly when they broke the line. Meanwhile, Sera headed toward Tabitha.
"-What?" he hissed as he saw her. "How on earth did you brats make it here?"
"Determination," Sera said flatly.
From behind her, Morgan piped up, "Turns out your gods like us."
Tabitha's eyes flashed to where the beasts were doing battle, widening when he caught sight of Raikou in the fray. "I-I see." After a moment, he shook that off and turned his attention back to Sera. "D-d-do you really intend to get in our way again?"
The Arcanine at Tabitha's side shifted into an aggressive stance, but Tabitha's hand on its side quickly calmed it, though the Admin's fierce eyes remained locked on her.
Sera's nerves all stood on end, and she couldn't tell if it was that or the overwhelming heat causing her to sweat, but she kept her face calm and took a few defiant steps forward. "I'm afraid I do."
Tabitha snarled and huffed a frustrated growl. "You…" He stepped forward in turn. "Are really…" He balled his fists so hard his hands shook. "Really really really…" He closed the rest of the gap between them as he continued, growing more and more frustrated by the second. "Really really really-" there were mere inches between them now- "really really really really-" Sera found herself unable to resist stumbling back a step or two as he leaned down even closer- "really!-" he began to stamp his foot- "really! REALLY! REALLY! The MOST obnoxious child, AREN'T you!"
Sera's mind raced. Some part of her knew that tantrum was ripe for calling out, but she couldn't seem to-
"Hello pot, meet kettle!" Thank the gods for Morgan's banter honestly. Sera would ask her to stay out of it and keep an eye on Archie but- no, this was more than fine.
Tabitha's eyes widened at the remark, his sneer becoming a bit more unnerved as his face slightly reddened. His eyes then darted around as he searched for a thought. "Ah… Uh…"
And still he stayed so uncomfortable close, looming over the small girl. Sera refused to give any more ground, but wanted him to back up, and for reasons beyond any rationale, her brain suddenly decided the best way to achieve that was to snap at him like a feral Pokemon to make him.
He didn't, or not quickly enough- not until after she actually bit his cheek, at which point he did jump several feet back, hand flying to his face as he barked, "What the hell?"
Sera did her best to pretend she didn't want to die of embarrassment right then and there, hoping her expression was suitably haughty as she replied, "You needed a lesson in personal space."
"I- AUGH!" Tabitha threw a Pokeball as he yelled, "I will crush you!"
Another Koffing materialized, and Sera's heart almost stopped. Tank, Flash, Wings, Pelt, Zuma, and Octillery- if Koffing's ability could be neutralized, Tank's Mud Bomb would work, but as it was she had nothing super-effective, which meant her best bet was, unfortunately, speed.
Tabitha was already giving orders by the time Flash materialized, but to Sera's great relief he did not plan on sacrificing the Pokemon right away this time, it seemed. Despite knowing from ample studying that Koffing's normal gases were not especially flammable, a deep fear still rose in Sera with every hit of Flame Charge.
But that one! That should have- shit. She was so sure that would take the Koffing down, but although it was deeply pained and drifting toward the ground, it seemed to be holding on by a thread.
"Eugh…" Tabitha spat. "Very well. Self-Destruct."
"No!"
Sera was able to brace herself better this time, keeping her feet, but she could hear Tabitha coughing as hard as she was, and Arcanine sounded none too pleased either. Sera fumbled for her Pokeballs, and released Pelt. "H-hey," she choked. "I know we haven't practiced it, but could- do you think you could manage just one weak Razor Wind for me to clear this gas?"
Pelt thought it over a second, but nodded firmly. Had this been an attack, it would have been deemed a pathetic failure, but he managed just enough wind to get the job done… and to Sera's great relief, an only mildly banged-up Flash still stood firmly. He shot her a grin and his best approximation of a thumbs up. No need to worry about me, beautiful, he said smugly. Then turning a more serious leer Tabitha's way, he added, It'll take more than that for this asshole to get the drop on me again.
As their battle continued, the Grunt line was finally broken, and Morgan stepped out to greet Archie and Shelly. "Hahn!? My, my. You really are quite the persistent little trainers, aren't you."
With a deep sigh, Archie ordered, "Stand aside, scamp. Our fight's not with you."
"No," said Morgan. "But if you just end up repurposing whatever Maxie's trying for your own ends, it will be."
Shelly sneered. "Has anyone ever told you your existence is annoying?"
Archie just repeated more slowly: "Stand. Aside."
"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."
"... It's. It's Archie," said the Aqua Leader.
"I-... I know, it… It was a reference. And… You know, like. Davy Jones? Since, you guys are all…"
"Ah." … Archie took a moment, but finally chuckled. "You know, you're not half bad, Morgan. Truth be told, I've had a strange feeling about you since the first moment I saw you." Shelly's eyes flashed with concern and darted to Archie, but she did not move otherwise and said nothing. "Yeh sure you won't join us? Ya know you could always change your mind if we started gettin' inta any business that didn't agree with ya."
That gave Morgan paused, but she finally shook her head. "Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to take that chance…"
Archie sighed. "I see. Afraid that's mighty unfortunate, then. Because ya see, scamp, from where we're standing, you're a dirty villain standing in the way of justice."
Morgan began to protest his choice of words, but Shelly interrupted before she could. "The world we're trying to create would be a utopia for Pokemon! All we're trying to do is fix everything human projects like Devon destroyed." Morgan held her tongue, but barely. Shelly huffed. "Guess the time for words is over. Very well."
Each side chose their Pokemon.
Back on the Magma side, Tabitha's Numel had put up quite a fight, but Tank- despite his fresh scars- handled the situation readily. Now even the Arcanine had been called to the battle, but it was pretty clear who was winning.
"...Stop," Tabitha said at last.
"What?"
He recalled the Arcanine. "Team Magma values practicality too much to sacrifice an escape plan for a futile cause. I, Tabitha, concede defeat. Leader Maxie should have no trouble finishing you off, assuming he's not already finished his work." He leaned back and crossed his arms, smirking. "Go ahead, if you must."
"... O-oh." Sera wasn't sure how to feel about that. "Th...anks? I think?" Tabitha shrugged, and as she started to walk past, she stopped and looked to him again. "Can I ask you something?"
"I have a feeling you'll do so either way." ...She'd take that as a yes.
"How-..." Her eyes fell away, then hesitantly came back to him. "...How can you stand to wear that heavy outfit up here?" she asked instead. "Even I'm sweating like crazy."
Tabitha frowned. "I suggest you move on to Maxie if you're going to," he didn't answer.
"Right…" Well this wasn't awkward. ...No? No actually, it really wasn't. She had no reason to expect him to be amiable. This was a man- a Team- that would sacrifice Pokemon's lives to get what they wanted. She didn't want to imagine what that mechanism on Entei's face was, or how such vicious people enlisted the aid of a minor god. She could grant that Maxie had charisma, and that at the core of all this there may have been some sound theories. But, she reminded herself, these were mad men taking them much too far, and they needed to be stopped.
As she marched up to Maxie, determination reforged, and shouted, "This has gone far enough."
The Magma Leader turned to look her over, smirking when he got to her face. "Ahhh, it's good to see the fire back in your eyes, child. When I saw you in such pitiful shape back at the Falls, I thought it may have been extinguished."
"Shut up," barked Sera. "Or if you have to run your mouth, tell me what you think you're doing with all this." ...Oh gosh, oh gosh she wasn't used to sounding that commanding and this was a little nervewracking. She knew she was entirely justified and her rage was definitely not so easy to quell at this point, but some small part of her inside was still starting to panic.
But Maxie let out an uncharacteristically hearty laugh, which came off all the more condescending for its rarity. "I believe you're mistaken. You seem to have confused me for some cartoon villain who is prone to expository monologues. As if I, the Great Maxie, would divulge Team Magma's secrets so readily." Sera cringed; he had a point… "Suffice it to say that in a few minutes, if all our calculations were correct, the meteorite you helped us obtain will be far more than a mere hunk of space rock."
"N-not if I stop you."
"Then by all means." He adjusted his glasses and smirked. "Your efforts will be no more than a diversion while our machine finishes running its course."
… Right. If the machine was the important part… "Wings," she called as she released the Swellow. "Boomburst." The bird followed his trainer's point and zipped by the machine to create a thunderous wave, promptly destroying a good chunk of the machinery.
"YOU FOOL." In an instant, Maxie's cool exterior was gone. "You pathetic little waste of breath! How dare you rip this dream from our grasp this close to fruition! I was content to humor you, but you had to go and ruin! EVERYTHING!" As he raved, Sera found herself growing numb- she could say nothing, do nothing, save hold a straight face while she mentally cowered in the echoes of his words. When Maxie stopped for breath, then shifted instead to manic laughter, it actually came as a relief. "Fine. It would seem you've forced my hand." With a glare that would make Death quake, he seethed, "The time for the purge has come."
Immediately Sera's nerves stood on end again. "P-purge?"
Maxie released a few Pokemon and simply pointed them in the direction of Sera's before moving toward her himself. "I will bury you by my own hand."
Aside from the fact that Kitsun refused to battle with so many Poochyena around, Morgan was handling her foes with little issue. Shelly's last Pokemon had just gone down, and only Archie's Sharpedo now remained, not counting the Suicune still caught up in a battle of his own. Though fast in the water, the shark was quite out of his element here, and Cerberus's Mega Drains had kept him in good shape.
"All right, scamp. It looks like I'm really gonna have to let loose here, so don't come cryin' or sayin' I didn't warn you."
Morgan scoffed. "Awful big talk there, don't you think?"
"Oh, I don't think," Archie said. He held up the small anchor that hung from his neck and called, "JETSAM!" Both the anchor and the Sharpedo began to glow, but this was different than when Morgan's Pokemon evolved. Rather than slowly changing form, there was just a burst, and in one blinding instant, Jetsam was bigger, stronger, bulkier, and surprisingly more agile. "Ice Fang!"
"Ah shit."
Meanwhile, Tank and Wings fought off Maxie's Mightyena and Golbat, while Sera struggled to block and dodge Maxie himself. At one point, he managed to grab hold of her cloak, and she was forced to abandon it to get away, though this did grant her a fair amount of distance. To her horror, he immediately discarded it- right over the side of that catwalk. "No!"
A victorious cry from Wings brought Maxie's attention briefly back to the Pokemon to see that both Pokemon lay struggling for breath. "Hmph. It seems you are more formidable than anticipated." He abandoned his attack on Sera then to recall both Pokemon, then took on a terrifying smile. "I can say this much, child. You certainly do keep me entertained. But now allow me to return the favor, by showing you my true power!"
He let loose one more Pokemon now, calling, "Camerupt!" As he touched his glasses, it underwent the same burst of transformation, standing now as a small volcano atop a volcano. Sera debated if this was too much.
Cerberus was hanging on, thanks to Mega Drain, but Jetsam was far tougher than expected- quite possibly the single strongest Pokemon Morgan had faced thus far. And Maxie's Camerupt seemed to just rudely ignore the level of weakness it should have had against Tank. The battle was coming down to the wire.
Then a spark of realization hit Morgan. Jetsam was managing to bounce around and maneuver pretty well for a fish, but with him being the last Pokemon standing…
"Cerberus! Just keep 'em busy." And with that, Morgan ran to join Sera, unleashing Manowar. "Bubblebeam!"
The attack hit in near unison with Tank's Water Gun, and the combined force with the element of surprise caught both Camerupt and Maxie off-guard.
As Camerupt let out a wail and fell over, Maxie jumped so hard his glasses fell off, and he lost balance, stumbling at the edge of the catwalk. Sera's heart nearly leapt out of her throat as she desperately grabbed his arm and leaned back, pulling him to safety by means of dragging them both to the ground.
Maxie struggled to process what just occurred and stared bewildered down at her. Sera, meanwhile, just found herself focusing on his face, and musing that for perhaps the first time since she'd met him, his dark gray eyes neither held ill will nor masked a deeper intent. For once, in those few moments of confusion, he looked vulnerable. Genuine.
Sera offered a small smile, and Maxie finally scrambled to his feet, straightening his clothes, fixing his glasses, clearing his throat, regaining his composure, and fighting a furious blush.
As Sera pushed herself into a sitting position, she realized that Morgan had already commandeered her Pokemon, and with their help was now delivering Archie's own finishing blow. She breathed something a little too small to be a laugh, then started to move to stand, but found a hand extended down to help her up. Smiling at Maxie again, she took it with a "Thanks."
He said nothing in response, but turned to head back to his machine.
Following at a distance, she hesitantly asked, "Is there… any chance you want to tell me now what it was meant to do?"
Meanwhile, Archie seemed more amused than shocked by his own defeat- though the fact that his rival had been stopped already may have contributed to that. "Well, well. I knew you were the real deal. Ain't that something?"
Maxie sighed. "You know of the ancient gods, Groudon and Kyogre, said to have made the lands and seas of Hoenn, yes?"
Sera thought over her recollection of lore and answered, "Yes, I've heard of- … Wait." It all clicked into place now. "So when you talk about expanding the land, you-" She would have said something about how ridiculous it was to try to change the world by hunting down myths, but three of them were still fighting not a hundred yards away. If they were all real, and still alive, here today, was this plan really so crazy? "So you're trying to… find Groudon?"
Maxie chuckled softly. "No, my dear. Finding it isn't the issue."
Archie walked over to Morgan now, all remaining Pokemon on alert should he try anything, but all he did was clap her on the shoulder. "I can't say I'm gonna stop aiming to achieve our dreams or come quietly with ya today, scamp. But by Arceus, I'll admit I'm impressed. Couple o' good folks like you just might be able to change this place for the better without the need for all our complicated plans. I'm sure not gonna count on it, but I hope you do."
At first touch, Morgan had weakly tried to shrug his hand away, but she had oddly stopped minding the contact quickly. "Honestly, I wouldn't count too much on me, either," she admitted. "But I guess I've been surprised before."
Archie chuckled, and Shelly finally stopped fuming long enough to rejoin them. "Should we cut our losses and go, then, hon?"
Archie sighed as he spoke. "I s'pose so." Just then, the modified Nav on his belt rang. "... Ah. Hang on just a second. I'm afraid I have to take this."
"We've known for quite some time exactly where it is," Maxie went on. "But awakening it is another-" His Nav rang as well, and he immediately and unceremoniously abandoned the conversation to answer it. "Report."
"That you, Matt?"
"And you're sure it's-?"
"That certainly would change things, yeah."
"...Is that brute there with- Nevermind. Hold position and await instructions."
"Ehehe, yeah, you too, bro."
Maxie looked back to Sera. "Change of plans. It seems Team Magma no longer has need of this meteorite." He removed it from the machine. "But of course, as particularly ripe for Mega research as this one is, well... If Team Magma cannot be the ones to possess it, no one can." Sera watched as a dark shape flew from his hands into the volcano below. Well, better than falling into wrong hands?
"Seems we'd best be going, so best of luck to you again…" Archie grinned and winked as he added, "Captain Morgan." … Wait what exactly was he implying? Morgan didn't know whether to take that as a symbol of respect or a suggestion that she should start drinking.
Again, Shelly's eyes glowed as she commanded, "Boreas, let's go." Without a second's hesitation, the Suicune abandoned its battle and picked up the Aqua leaders to bound into the sunset.
Maxie bumped into Sera rather purposefully as he pushed past to rejoin Tabitha. Speaking into his Nav, he ordered, "Pele, retreat." The Entei, too, abandoned the Raikou now, picking up her own passengers and leaping down the mountain. The summit remained littered with Grunts from both sides, many injured, but rounding them all up seemed a task beyond their current capability.
Moreover, Sera found herself somewhat distracted by the strange lump she suddenly felt in her pocket. Cautiously reaching a hand in, but not pulling it out, she felt to realize it was almost certainly the meteorite. … but why? She didn't know what Maxie had actually discarded in its place, or why he'd go to the effort of putting on such an impressive sleight-of-hand show to make everyone think it was gone, but she especially didn't understand why he would give it to her at all, secretly or otherwise.
As Morgan and Raikou both approached, however, she just shifted her bag to cover the protrusion until she could remove it from her pocket and hide it more carefully.
"I can't believe we really pulled this off," Morgan said. "You lose anyone?" Sera shook her head.
IT SEEMS MY WORK IS NOT YET DONE, HUMANS, Raikou boomed to Sera. I MUST ATTEMPT TO DISCOVER WHERE MY BROTHER AND SISTER HAVE GONE, BUT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION, AND FOR DELAYING DISASTER FOR A WHILE LONGER, I WOULD BE PLEASED TO CARRY YOU TO THE TOWN AT THE BASE OF THE MOUNTAIN.
Sera nodded. "Yes, please."
"What did they say?" asked Morgan.
Climbing on their back, Sera answered, "Next stop: Lavaridge."
Meanwhile, in a more tropical location, a mountain of a man sat fuming. "I cannot believe you blatantly ripped off my report like that, sis."
A small girl stared blankly at him. "I am not your sister. … And one cannot 'rip off' factual information. I merely… relayed the same facts."
The man growled. "You still gotta stop following me like this. It's so not-cool."
"My aim is not to be 'cool'. It is to be… efficient."
"Uuuuuugh." He rolled his eyes with disgust. "You Magma stuffed-shirts are all the same, it's infuriating."
The girl offered a small, stilted laugh. "Thank you. ~"
A/N:
To the wonderful guest who left such a great review this afternoon: Thank you so much for all the encouraging words about everything.
To everyone else who's made it this far: I see you lurking out there and I appreciate you too~ Thank you so much for sticking around and allowing me to share this vision with you.
(Side note: I'm so upset that doesn't allow music notes, so I guess a tilde has to suffice. 8( )
