It was almost cute that Matt and Shelly thought they stood a chance. Almost, except for the fact that between the two of them they were hanging on just enough to be a thorn in Morgan's side. With six Pokemon each to her six total, they had no chance of winning, but were managing to do just enough to stall.

As Bloke deflected a Crobat's Wing Attack, a Mightyena lunged in for a Fire Fang. As Kitsun attacked the Crobat with a Psychic blast, a Sharpedo managed to latch onto his arm with a powerful Crunch. Morgan had long since lost track of whose was whose.

In the background, Morgan could see Archie climbing up to board the sub. "Not so fast!" she called, and ordered Mithril to break through the line, but four of the remaining nine Pokemon shared between the Admins swarmed xir.

Archie stalled at the hatch and looked back at the battle. "What's your status?" he called.

"GO!" Matt yelled back. "We're holdin' her as best we can but GO. Make our dream a reality!"

Andraste panicked even more than the rest, trying to dart through only to have one of the Sharpedo grab her neck and drag her down. No, no, no! she cried. Why did you delay outside!?

Well a lot of good scolding does now! Morgan snapped back.

"A-Archie," Shelly called, far weaker than Matt, voice shaking. For a moment, it wasn't clear if Archie even heard her, but then he leaned in. "I believe in you."

Archie was quiet a moment, but then nodded solemnly. He'd have loved to take them both with him for this momentous occasion, but knew they were counting on him. He also knew, depending on how things went, this could be the last time he saw either of them. "...Matt! Shelly!" he called.

"Sir!?" Both snapped to attention as much as they could without entirely taking their eyes off Morgan or the battle for long.

Archie hesitated a moment. "See you on the other side." Of life or history, one way or another. He started to climb down, but stopped and added, "... I love you both."

Both were simultaneously touched and pained, and Matt shouted back, "Love you bro!" Shelly couldn't speak for the vice her tears had suddenly put on her throat, but her eyes said enough as she gave Archie a last long look. The sub hatch closed, and again Morgan had to watch as it made its descent.

"Bro... It's all...on you now…" Though Mithril took out two more of xir attackers and Morgan's other Pokemon were finishing off three more, Matt was grinning. "...I have only one hope… For my bro Archie to finish doing what he set out to do… That's all… Archie... is everything to me… I live to serve my bro…"

Fleur the Serperior unleashed a Leaf Storm that cut at both trainers in addition to knocking out- actually, one of those Sharpedo might have been dead. Oh well. Matt seemed too delirious and Shelly too in shock to care, or maybe just to register it. Whatever the case, he was weakly laughing and she was staggering toward the closest wall to lean on.

Morgan grit her teeth. "You two are really just gonna let him leave. Un-fucking-believable." Neither particularly reacted, which only made her angrier. "You especially. You call yourself a scientist. You're seriously still supporting him, knowing what you know." That much got a slight wince from Shelly, but no more, and as Morgan recalled two of her Pokemon that were getting pretty woozy and let the others finish off their final two, she let out a derisive sound. "The fuck kind of lovesick schoolgirl puts one dude above the fate of the world, even friends and partners. And you know I'm without one of my favorite partners now because you were a bitch and abandoned yours!"

Shelly's eyes sharpened at that, her attention returning to the present. "...Don't."

"What are you gonna do? Beat me up? Oh, wait." They had no Pokemon, and four still surrounded Morgan in half-decent to fairly-good health. Turning to Andraste, she asked, "See if you can find and track him." The Latias nodded, and dove into the water. She wasn't half as fast at swimming as flying, but it was the most direct course out of the base.

Turning back to Shelly, then, Morgan went on, "No really. Humor me. Explain how the fuck you managed to befriend a minor god and then saw fit to leave him to his own devi-"

"SHUT UP," Shelly lashed, tears she'd been fighting now springing forth. She ripped herself from the scene and started to head who-knew-wear, but Matt caught her and pulled her in to comfort her.

Morgan started to open her mouth again, but was cut off by Matt. "She said stop," he demanded firmly. They couldn't make her, but Morgan supposed this really was just spite talking. "You think she wanted this!?" Morgan didn't know how to answer that, but had already decided continued criticism was probably unnecessary. Almost as unnecessary and Matt letting go of Shelly to stride toward her, what? Uh-

He grabbed her arm, and two of three Pokemon came to attention- but the third was Mithril, who beat them all to the punch, very literally, Bullet Punching Matt hard enough to puncture his skin and send him flying over the edge into the water below. "Holy shit?" Morgan hadn't expected that, and she and Shelly both wound up hurrying to the edge to look over. His movements were a bit erratic and struggling, but he was managing to swim toward the ladder well enough.

Mithril began heading down. What are you doing? Morgan thought at xir.

He does not deserve mercy, Mithril explained. Left unchecked, he will continue to be a bane. We can prevent further problems. We must simply erase him.

Ah. Yes, that made sense. ...What? Was she really agreeing to-

What happened? That was Andraste, returning, her voice alone causing Morgan to rethink her consensus. It apparently didn't matter, though, as the Latias lifted the admin up and set him back on the floor above. Morgan quickly explained that he was knocked off when he tried to attack her, leaving out the part where Mithril suggested they kill him. Now that Andraste was back, Mithril was holding xir tongue about that.

Matt coughed and sputtered, and Shelly fussed over him as he caught his breath. Meanwhile, the Latias filled Morgan in that she'd been attacked several times in the water and had to retreat. Morgan growled under her breath, but couldn't blame her; none of them were gonna last long if they didn't stop Archie, but her best source of transportation (sans her mysterious sporadic teleportation she supposed, ha) going and getting herself killed right now would not be conducive to stopping Archie overall.

She recalled all her Pokemon save Bloke; Mithril would have been her first choice, but xe didn't move well in the tighter corridors of the base, so her Gardevoir would do instead.

They admittedly got a little lost going through warp pads and had to backtrack once or twice, but that wouldn't have been a major issue- except once, Matt was waiting for her. "Hey. Cm'ere, I wanna show you something."

Morgan's eyes flashed to Bloke, and she took a moment to assess her own strength. She was still pretty worn out, but probably had enough energy left for one pretty strong psychic burst without too much worry, maybe two if she really needed it, and Bloke assured her he would be on-guard as well. "Whatcha got?" she asked skeptically.

Matt said nothing, but turned and signaled for Morgan to follow as he headed toward another warp pad. She sighed, but having lost Archie's trail meant she had the entire ocean to search now, and a few minutes wasn't exactly likely to make or break her ability to track him. Maybe Matt would let slip some clue as to where she should look.

So she followed, and in time they came to a bedroom, more conventional than Matt's but not nearly so grand as Archie's. Morgan barely thought before muttering, "I'm flattered, dude, but you're not really my type."

Matt seemed genuinely confused for a moment before chuckling. Only then did Morgan notice his breathing was still a bit staggered, or see the cloth he'd been holding to the wounds Mithril left on his chest. He hadn't even really taken the time to patch himself up before coming to find her, huh?

"I hope you know, she'd kill me if she knew I was doing this." If that and the array of Pokemon plushes littered about didn't confirm enough that this was Shelly's room, the picture Matt grabbed off a bookshelf left little doubt.

Framed to preserve it in a frame much too large, the actual picture was an old Polaroid of two kids Morgan would not have recognized if not for the writing along the bottom. Faded to a point of being difficult to read, she got enough to guess 'Archie and' a name she could only assume belonged to the Pokemon pictured, 'July 7, 1996'. One arm of Archie's extended out of the frame, in what must have been a terribly awkward selfie, while the other arm wrapped around the Pokemon and a grinning girl who Morgan imagined from context had to be Shelly.

"You know what that is?" Matt asked in a way that made Morgan feel like he expected her to know.

"A photograph," she answered.

Scrowling, he snapped, "It's Jirachi, smartass." Morgan's blank expression conveyed that this name genuinely meant nothing to her, and Matt frowned. "Oh. Well, it's a Pokemon so rare some say it's just a myth. And it's the reason people make wishes on stars, because Jirachi grants them."

Morgan raised a brow. "Uh-huh." Not that she was terribly sure about that, but he was telling her this because…?

Matt set the picture back on the shelf, eyes remaining on it. "She was 12 when they met Jirachi. He was 15. Just kids, but they already knew what they wanted in life. They've never wanted anything more than to protect the Pokemon of the sea." Morgan wasn't entirely convinced that Shelly didn't more just want whatever Archie wanted, but she supposed that still technically qualified. More solemn than she could remember seeing him, he went on, "She wished… she could be friends forever with a Legendary water Pokemon, so they could protect the sea together..."

Now gears started to turn, and Matt turned to her to see Morgan's eyes slowly widening. Back home… wish-granting entities were the stuff of legend as well. Some swore they were real, but while evidence was flimsy at best, everyone, believer and skeptic alike, subscribed to one bit of advice: be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.

Often, so very often, stories about wishes detailed how the wish went horribly wrong. Wishing for a sunken treasure and finding oneself underwater with it, forced to use another wish or drown. Wishing for a war to end, accomplished via the sudden deaths of countless soldiers.

Shelly wished for a connection to a Legendary Pokemon. "Boreas?"

Matt slowly nodded. "Since that day, they've been linked. Even at great distance, she feels his pain-" Morgan thought of Boreas locked in a cage, periodically drained by Cerebus to keep him subdued- "and even if she didn't she'd try to protect him, because she knows his heart." His eyes burned into Morgan now. "Never… Never think she'd abandon him to his fate."

Morgan could certainly argue she had, whether she wanted to or not, but she realized what he was trying to say, she guessed. "...Did Archie make a wish?"

Matt glanced back at the photo and sighed. "After seeing what happened with Shelly and Boreas, my bro said… his only wish was to always have the courage to do what was right, protecting the sea with those he loved by his side."

"...I see." She really, really hated how hard it was to completely hate Archie. Dangerous madmen were supposed to be egotistical pricks, not… that.

"Do you see now?" Morgan looked to him and raised a brow quizzically. "Archie only wants what he knows in his heart is right. Please… Don't stand in his way again."

Morgan frowned. "...Humility is a nice color for you, and don't think I don't appreciate it. But like? Dude? I'm not gonna stand back and let someone stab me just because they ask politely, and I'm not gonna let him wreck the world just because he means well." Matt scowled, but before he could say or do anything, Morgan held a hand up in warning, prompting him to freeze lest she make him or worse. "Now, if you don't want your brain scrambled, I suggest you show us the quickest way out of here." She didn't actually have that level of power yet, nor did she know if she'd ever reach it. Bloke probably could have done it, but didn't seem super eager to get his hands dirty. Though if she brought out Mithril… Mithril could take care of everything.

Fortunately for everyone, there was no need, as Matt was compliant and quiet from then on.

The moment she got outside and got a signal, Morgan contacted the League, sharing what had happened (minus the little detail where her own arrogance might have been what allowed Archie to get away). She suspected Matt and Shelly would be long gone by the time authorities arrived at the base, but suggested they raid it anyway to see what they could find, and in the meantime, she took to the sky on Andraste, soaring out over the sea and scanning for any sign of Archie.


Sera was never going to figure out the warp panels in this place. And worse, even wearing her new Magma cloak, everyone knew who she was once she spoke to them, and while she found even fewer wanting to battle than before, and most were quite friendly in other regards, none would help her find Maxie.

She was near tears of frustration now, her exhaustion from such a long day and poor short-term memory in general both working against her and leading her back to the same room for the fourth time now. She ached all over, and worse, she kept having to worry she'd run back into Tabitha. When she came to what she quickly realized must be his bedroom, judging by the documents laid out, she couldn't get out fast enough.

At last, she came to a hallway she was certain she hadn't seen yet, and found at its end a single room. From the sheer size and a few details, she suspected it had to be Maxie's, but unfortunately it seemed he was still out working on things.

Somewhat resigned from the futility of her search so far, she opted to have a look around. Various interesting or Fancy things in glass cases, protected and pristine, certainly seemed like the sort of decor she might expect from Maxie. A large model ship that looked to have been recently polished, however, was not. Did Maxie have a secret love for (whatever amount he planned to leave of) the sea? Did he keep such a thing for ironic enjoyment, or was it a relic of a bygone time? She had to wonder.

A massive armchair in front of a screen held an open laptop, password protected just like the one on the desk unfortunately. Still, she wondered if this was where Maxie gave his daily morning speech from? It seemed likely. Which meant… if she waited here, maybe Maxie would eventually come to her? No, no she couldn't delay. If she waited, he might-

Courtney said- the grunts had said- he expected her. He'd call for her. Right… And she'd hardly be much good if a gust of wind could blow her over by that time, so… She eyed the couch near the desk, and… realized from the slight shaping of it, it looked like Maxie had probably spent many nights sleeping there himself. She didn't see a bed, either, and supposed this could just be his office rather than his sole room but… Maxie did strike her as the sort of person to work until he passed out, didn't he. … This did not bode well for the whole 'maybe he'll come to me' angle.

He'll call for me, she reminded herself again, firmer. Everything she'd seen thus far, from talking to him the few times she had to hearing about him from Tabitha, all suggested that he was someone who made very thorough plans and stuck to them like glue. Or like… some… more science-y thing that was sticky. Yeah.

Trying to relax, she brought out Tank to stand guard, and curled up on the couch, slipping her Magma cowl off to bundle up for a pillow and wrapping her normal cloak around her. Sleep overtook her like an eager pack of Mightyena.


Sera awoke to the sounds of battle, scrambling and falling off the couch. When she found her bearings, she looked up to see two Electrode failing to electrocute Tank.

Before she could order a move, the ground began to shake with the force of a mighty Earthquake, knocking over a number of shelves and cases, causing one of Maxie's laptops to clatter to the ground, and even cracking a few places along the walls. Sera flinched, mentally apologizing for the office damage.

The move took out only one due to a remarkably fast evasive maneuver by the other, but it knew it could not last long and began to glow bright white. Sera ducked down and braced herself, and Tank hurried to turn the large table up on its side to shield her from the blast. The explosion blew one leg off the table and further broke many object. Miraculously, the model ship remained largely in-tact, but some debris had put some noticeable holes in the sails. The walls closest to the Electrode were in particularly bad shape.

Sera highly doubted the base was so poorly planned as to have significant risk of cave-in right now, but she still preferred to get out of this room soon just in case.

A grunt would come in before she got out, however. "There you are! What are you doing in here?" The emphasis made it sound more like her behavior was more unexpected than clearly intrusive? As the Grunt looked around and took in the damage, though, he did pale a bit and add, "On second thought, don't answer that, I don't wanna be associated with this. Have you not heard the PA or what?"

"PA…?" The grunt explained that Maxie had called for her twice now, when the grunts he'd initially sent to retrieve her couldn't find her, and that they were starting to worry she'd left. "O-oh. Sorry I… Sorry. ...Can you take me to him now?"

"Please. C'mon." Sera slipped her Magma attire back on before allowing him to lead the way, and found she couldn't help but marvel at how effortlessly he navigated the warp pads. She supposed if she had a layout map to study and memorize, she'd pick it up quickly, too, but even then it felt strange to see him do what she'd struggled so much with like second nature.

In time, the rooms they passed through became less refined, until they were passing through little more than a thoroughly reinforced tunnel, the natural earth still visible between the beams and rafters. At the end, Sera could see Courtney waiting in front of a large door.

"This is as far as my clearance goes," the grunt- excuse her, Ace Grunt- explained. Bowing briefly to the Admin, he acknowledged, "Miss Courtney."

Pink eyes lit up as they looked over Sera. "Affirmative. Dismissed~" she told the Ace Grunt, who took his leave. Courtney's attention locked solely on Sera then. "Are you excited? "

Though there were other questions Sera wanted to ask, she settled for, "Excited for what?"

"To see… Leader Maxie's dream… To see… the instrument of… salvation."

Sera clenched her jaw. To see Courtney talk about it like this… If she didn't know, could she be reasoned with? "It's an instrument of destruction," she tried to correct. "If Maxie fails to fully contain the power he's trying to awaken, it could destroy all life as we know it. Is that really what you want?"

Courtney just smiled and tilted her head. "Leader Maxie is always right~"

That jarred Sera, and she wondered briefly why it sounded familiar. She shook it off. "Look, I know you care about him, but that doesn't mean he always knows best! We- you could stop this! With your strength-"

"What…" Courtney interrupted. "What would… you know… about Leader Maxie?" Sera grit her teeth. This wasn't working… "He… made me… who I am. … I owe… everything… to Leader Maxie."

Sera huffed. "Do you… have… to talk… like that!?" she mocked to demonstrate.

A slow blink and a curious expression followed. "What… do you mean...?"

"Seriously!? For fuck's sake." This may well have been the most critical conversation Sera had ever been a part of and Courtney seemed like she was only half paying attention, like she kept spacing out. It was infuriating. "The pauses. after. every. other. word." She realized that was every word just now but shut up.

Yet another pause followed before Courtney answered, "Ah. My apologies… if it inconveniences you. I'm afraid… I do have some… delays sometimes… in processing information, and then… formulating my words correctly." Sera pursed her lips. If that was true she sort of felt like an ass, yet that didn't make it much less frustrating.

"I- Whatever, just. Please, try to think logically about this. Maxie is going to put you, this team, himself in danger. Don't you care abou-"

"All my hope… is in Leader Maxie. " Sera let out another frustrated noise, but Courtney seemed to be done discussing. "Come. He's waiting for you."

"Fine."

Courtney leaned in for a retinal scan, and mechanical noises echoed through the chamber as the large doors opened. The heat from the other side hit Sera in a wave, nearly knocking her back, and only then did she see that the door had opened only to another smaller chamber, equally sized doors on the other side.

Courtney moved over to a rack of protective suits hanging on one wall just inside the door, and found one roughly Sera's size to give to her. "You'll want this." Sera nodded and began slipping it on over her clothes. In the meantime, Courtney directed her attention to a screen, where a few options were tabbed through before bringing up some thermal readings. "Do you see it…~?"

Sera squinted at first, but realized there was a figure slightly hotter than its surroundings in the middle of the screen. A figure whose silhouette matched storybook depictions of… "Groudon…"

Courtney let out her odd chime. "For months… all we've had were these readings. But… now… at long last, Leader Maxie…" After another brief pause, she broke into a delighted fit of giggles and chime sounds.

Sera almost asked about them, but instead was prompted to question, "Wait, don't you need protective gear too?"

"My current attire is sufficient… I do not experience… discomfort from heat." Uh. If you say so.

She opened the next door, and an even hotter heatwave rushed in. Sera refused to believe this didn't bother Courtney, but the Magma Admin just strided in cheerfully, signalling Sera to follow.

The reinforcements were gone here, and if Sera had to guess, she'd assume this last stretch of tunnel was very freshly dug. Ahead stood Maxie in gear similar to Sera's, overlooking a ledge into some brightly lit area. As she moved closer, her eyes grew slowly wider until she was sure they would burst.

There it was, clear as day, right in front of them, down not fifty feet in a pool of magma. The titan of the land, the beast whose power created the continents for Regigigas to drag into place, the incarnation of earth and sun and fire. Groudon… was right here…

"Aren't they magnificent?" hummed Maxie.

Sera had no words, just slowly moving step by step past where Courtney had stopped to join Maxie at the edge, gaping in awe and terror.

"Such an annoying turn." He sounded more amused than annoyed, and Sera looked at him questioningly. Kneeling down, he found a loose rock on the ground, and she thought her heart might leap straight out of her throat as he threw it toward the beast.

No sooner had it left his hand, however, than it bounced off what seemed like thin air. Some sort of barrier? A seal? Maxie simply smirked. "I suppose this makes my calling you down here a little premature, but I wanted you to see it regardless."

She swallowed. "Did… you only just…?"

"Not half an hour ago. We've been able to detect it for some time, but digging has been a tedious process to ensure the safety of the base, and once we got close, we didn't want to risk waking it until we were ready, so we waited, patiently." He let out a low chuckle. "Of course, had we taken the final plunge sooner, we would have discovered and likely been prepared for this seal." He shook his head. "It matters little, though. I'm sure that fool Archie will be running into a similar problem, if he even knows where his beast is. And with Magma's resources, we should be able to crack this in, shall we say, two or three days tops. Hopefully far sooner."

Maxie's confidence was nearly as tangible and suffocating as this heat, yet Sera had to try. "Please… Maxie. There has to be another way."

He hummed. "Dear child. Do you still feel some misguided need to oppose us, even as we stand on the precipice of victory? Even after the months you spent offering your quiet support?"

Sera backed away slightly, shrinking in on herself. Had she not offered what little she had… would it have made a difference? Would she and Morgan be storming Aqua's base together now rather than dividing our forces this way? "...Things changed," she said. "Tabitha… must have told you. If the Primal power gets out of hand-"

"Silence," he barked.

"Yes sir," came the involuntary squeak in response, before Sera shook herself and tried to muster her courage. "N-no, not-"

"I am very aware of the risks!" His earlier levity had been replaced by irritation. "You far underestimate my ability to plan for such possibilities."

Or you overestimate yourself, Sera thought bitterly, but Maxie was still going on.

"As for that would-be usurper, don't think for a moment I haven't noticed his desire to take my place!" What? "Were it not for his years of service and the goodness of my heart, I'd have disposed of him without a second thought! As it stands, however, you'd do well not to encourage any traitorous idea. Tabitha knows he's on very thin ice." A very slow smirk spread across Maxie's features. "Which I must say, is not a wise place for Magma to be."

… Was. Was that a pun. Now?

Sera took a deep breath. Reaching for her PokeBalls, she declared, "If you won't listen to rea-AH!"

Her arms were pulled back and locked behind her by Courtney, and Sera found all her struggling didn't so much as budge the Admin, as if she were a solid stone statue. "It is considered rude… to interrupt..."

"Dearest Serafeyna," Maxie all but cooed, though the softness of it gave Sera chills rather than reassure her. "I know deep down we want the same thing. You believe in Team Magma's goals. You, too, can see the magnificent vision of the future that I, the Great Maxie, desire for all mankind." She… did… But not like this. "Why not give up this futile fight and join us?"

Not like this. Not like this. "Why do you want me anyway? Why show me all this?"

Maxie tilted his head, and Sera couldn't help but get the impression he was somewhat disappointed. "Professor Birch's daughter can't figure out why her support would be useful to me. And here I thought you were a reasonably intelligent child."

Sera flinched. "Y-you just-?"

"Don't mistake my intent. You've proven quite the asset on your own. But the public support of someone such as yourself would help us finally expose Devon for the criminals and the League for the sham they truly are."

Sera tried further to wrest herself from Courtney's grasp, but she was only tiring herself. Seeing little choice but to keep talking, she asked, "What do you mean by criminals?"

But Maxie shook his head. "I'm afraid stalling won't work, and I need to get back to examining this seal. But I'd be delighted to tell you the full story over dinner, if you. just. join us. This is your final opportunity, child. It's now or never."

Sera bit her lip. If she was killed here, or held captive, she'd be no good to anyone. "O-okay."

Maxie raised his brows. "'Okay' what?"

She shifted. "Okay, I'll join you. I'll do whatever I can to further Magma's goals."

Gray eyes looked her over, scrutinizing. "...Very well." He smiled smugly. "In that case, you won't mind if Courtney takes your Pokemon just to be sa-"

"NO!" Had she had a free hand, it would have covered her mouth.

"As I thought. As ever, you underestimate me." He scoffed. "Courtney. Escort our friend to the surface."

"Sir?" Ah, no, best not to question orders. "Shall I still… take her Pokemon?"

Sera thrashed harder at hearing this, but Maxie replied, "No. Let her struggle in her final hours, and truly know the futility of opposing Team Magma!"

"Maxie please," Sera begged. "Please, there's still time, you can still-"

"Order confirmed." Courtney dragged her effortlessly, literally kicking and screaming.


Sera was physically thrown out, hitting the mountainside and a very unpleasant angle and finding herself scraped and limping when she got to her feet. But the time she got close to the entrance, it had already closed. After a few seconds of useless searching for a way to open it, she brought out Sapphron to try his luck at scanning while she pulled out her Nav to contact the League. They'd get everyone. They had to. They'd dig if they had to. They-

SERA, MOVE. Panicking, the Latios scooped her up in his arms and headed away from the mountainside just as a faint distant roar hit Sera's ears. The earth began to rumble, and moments later lava began bubbling slowly from the top of Mt. Chimney. "No…"

Sera's call had just gone through, and the League official on the other end was asking, "Miss Birch? What is it, what happened?"

Frantic, Sera did her best to explain. About Groudon, about the base, about the eruption, the danger faced by the cable car employees and trainers and Pokemon on the mountain and maybe Lavaridge depending how bad it got. But soon she realized too: once hardened, the lava would seal Magma in.

She...

They'd have to worry about that later. It would just be that much more digging to do. Right now, there were evacuations to handle. "I'm heading up top," she told the man on the phone. "I have to do what I can."