I couldn't help but re-produce some "Day after Tomorrow" drama with New Years. Enjoy the chapyer.

"It's New Years Eve," I grunted. "And I'm out here shoveling all this crap."

I dumped the snow onto a pile beside the restaurant and looked up. More snow was coming down, and already, a thin layer was starting to cover what I had already shoveled a few minutes ago. I groaned loudly, some of the others shoveling heard me and did the same.

"It doesn't even snow in this city, what's going on?" I ditched what I was doing and walked back into the restaurant. "Danielle, turn on the news."

She picked up the remote and turned on the flat screen hanging from the ceiling. The news was on; in fact, it was on every channel, with severe weather advisories.

"I'm coming to you live from Lilycove City, in Hoenn," The news reporter said. "As you can see, and I know you're not going to believe, but it's snowing. Here!" He picked up a handful. "This severe weather pattern that's stretching all across the globe is not only affecting parts of the world that are normally subject to snow, but it's happening in tropical climates as well. It's bitter cold, and as you can see behind me," The cameraman turned towards the docks. Danielle and I gasped. There were ships stuck abruptly in the ice-covered ocean. "Ships have been stranded out there since Christmas, and it's not just here. Slateport City is also suffering similar problems. Water transportation to and from Hoenn has been suspended."

"That was live, from Hoenn," The Anchorman continued. "These are satellite images directly from Mossdeep City, and as you can see," The satellite images showed what looked like a planetary weather pattern, covering a majority of the three continents. Sinnoh wasn't seen. "The only good news is that the only region unaffected by this weather appears to be Sinnoh, but that is expected to change later on in the week."

A couple of people, including restaurant employees, and customers, were all watching this. I turned to Danielle.

"Hoenn is isolated without its docks," I turned to everyone else. "Listen, if anyone has any family in any of these regions, you're welcome to call."

The lights started to flicker. After a couple of seconds, they went out. The digital age wasn't looking all that good right about now.

"Strike that," I picked up an old telephone from under the counter. "Okay the power is out, but that doesn't mean the telephones don't work."

'You sound like you're going somewhere.'

"I am, I'm going to go check up on Molly and my Mother," I said. "No electricity, no heat."

'This is the worst New Years Eve ever,' I thought.

When I got back home, I found the house to be very warm, eventually finding out that Typhlosion was the cause, walking around, and emitting heat and keeping the place from freezing. Caitlyn, Matthew, his Bayleef and his Dragonair, Molly, my mother and all the others were in the living room when I walked in. There were candles all around. Molly got up. "Dad, what's going on?"

"Storm," I said. "Snow is good for one thing. But when it covers two-thirds of the planet from Kanto to Hoenn," They all gasped. "It can be a real pain in the ass."

"So that's what cut out the power?" I shook my head, and asked Molly to come with me to the kitchen. "What is it?"

"Since I'm very familiar with the Eon Dragons now, I took notice of something," He continued. "All these years I've lived in this city, and I have not witnessed not one power plant, or generator. Nor are there any wires, but they could all run through the houses, since this city works like a maze. The city, in theory, is powered by aura."

Molly looked at me, as if I had just lost my mind. "Did you just say…aura?"

"Remember when they used the soul dew to power the DMA?" She nodded. "A defense mechanism meant for an entire city…that could also mean that the soul dew is a power source for an entire city."

"And if that power source is disturbed…"

"Then light's out," I looked around. "And I think I know why. When we went to go see Latias, she had the soul dew with her to keep it warm, because you can't emit energy in the cold, and it could've died. Doing so might have kept the power on for maybe a few weeks, if not squandered, but since it was done so discreetly and since people have lives to live, they needed the power, draining what energy we had left."

"Well where can we put the soul dew where it can generate power?" She asked.

"It's not that simple," I said. "It has to be in a specific spot or it will not work. Like the fountain in the garden."

"But the fountain's frozen over…"

"And that's where I come in," I turned and walked her back to the others. "I'm going to see Latias. I have to get to Arceus."

I went up to my room and got the sword, then walked to the front door again. I turned to everyone. "I'll be back before the countdown."

"I'm so sorry, Calvin," Latias said. "But I couldn't let anything to happen to him…"

Rayquaza and Latias were still in the small cavern we uncovered. He didn't want to leave her, because he was still worried about her well-being and still guilty of what he did, although he wasn't fully responsible.

"It's okay, Latias, really," I rubbed her forehead. "We can survive a few days without power."

She nodded. "You're covered in snow. How bad is the weather?"

"Planetary."

"Oh my…is there anything I can do?"

"No, it's safer to stay inside," I said. "Protect the soul dew. But I need Rayquaza's help."

"What? But…who will keep me company?"

"Well there's always my house," She smiled, and hugged me. "Just let Molly know before you get there. Matthew and his mother are there with him."

"Okay."

I urged Rayquaza to come, and he and I left the cave, shivering when we stepped foot outside.

"Damn, I never knew it could get so cold," He said.

"Well come on, then," I climbed onto his back. "Up and above the snow."

The doorbell rang. I got up to see who it was.

'Hi, Molly!'

"Latias?" I welcomed her in and brushed the snow off of her shoulders. "What are you doing here?"

'Your dad said that I could join you for New Years, since he and Rayquaza went to see Arceus,' She rubbed her arms and followed me to the living room. 'That left me all alone.'

Matt's mother was sitting on the sofa knitting a blanket. His Dragonair, which at the moment, was watching her knit while Matt was working on her new name.

"How about Sarah?"

"Think outside the box, Matthew."

"Okay," He scrolled down the list. "Altaria?"

"I believe, that's already taken, no?" Latias giggled at the effort. "Oh, welcome back, Molly. Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is…um…" I never thought I'd ever have to describe her in public. Now I was at a loss for names.

"Amy."

"Amy?"

"Oh, hello there, Amy," After telling Matthew's mother that we were childhood friends, we all gathered in a group on the floor.

"You can speak?" I whispered to her.

"Not much," She replied. "It's still hard to pro…noun…ce big words, but I got it down."

"Okay," Matt picked up his notepad again. "Do you mind helping me pick out some names for my Dragonair, Amy?"

"I'd love to!"

"Of course," I rolled my eyes.

"You don't know what's wrong?" I asked.

Arceus lay by the edge of the hall, looking out at the weather mass that was starting to approach Sinnoh. It's dark clouds flashed with lightning, and unlike any other storm it looked as if it was intent on shrouding the world.

"Unfortunately not," She said. "But it's giving me a headache."

"Huh?"

"This storm is disrupting the balance of nature," She went on. "I can feel what others cannot, and I know it's causing pain for the humans, pokémon, and natural life around the planet. I've been repelling this storm from the shores of Sinnoh for three days, but it is becoming stronger, and I'm afraid that it will eventually break through. Calvin, I entrust that you can handle this?" I nodded, but then realized something and turned to her.

"You're still recovering from that incident, aren't you? You can't control this storm?" She let out a deep sigh. "Fine, I'll handle it, but it's not making things easier between you and me."

I climbed up onto Rayquaza's back and we left the hall. I asked him to go higher, just so I could know what we were dealing with.

"Calvin, you can't breathe up in the troposphere," He said. "Plus you could die from the cold."

"I'll take my chances," I took a deep breath, as the air thinned and we ascended into the troposphere. Rayquaza, apparently unaffected by the sudden air loss, topped out and looked back down.

'Oh my god…'

I couldn't see land anymore. The earth was covered in a massive cloud, with great flashes of lightning, and what looked like hurricanes, but larger. I was worried about everyone, including my family. This had to end now before it could get a chance to succeed. I tapped Rayquaza's head, and got him to return to a breathable atmosphere.

"We need Groudon," I said to him. "He's the only one with enough power to dissipate these clouds. Where is he?"

"I can usually find him when he and Kyogre are engulfed in battle, but after that his aura disappears," In the first few months as Arceus's Aide, there was a rumor being passed around that there was an orb somewhere in Hoenn that could awaken him from anywhere on the planet.

"Rayquaza, what do you know about an orb?"

"You mean the ones they use to lure the two out? They're atop Mount Pyre."

Hopefully that mountain was just tall enough to be seen above these clouds. Over an hour of flight, and we managed to get back to Hoenn. Mount Pyre was covered up by the storm, but the volcano had survived, repelling the snow with its molten hot lava. Rayquaza pinpointed the mountain's location, and dove down to its peak. I slid off of his back and landed in the thick snow. Looking back at the landmass, Hoenn was just about ready to be put out of its misery. We had to work fast.

"There they are," Color-coded. How convenient. "Now all we have to do is use the orb and call out Groudon."

"Make it quick," Rayquaza shivered. "I hate snow."

As a dragon, he was forced to hate something so harmless and simple. But with snow all the way up to my waist, there was no excuse for it now. I walked up to the stand. "Aww, come on!" They were frozen to the stand. I pulled at it, but the ice was thick and it wouldn't budge. "There's got to be some way I can—uh oh."

Something cold and round was held up to my neck. It felt like the end of a barrel. I placed my hands in the air and prayed that whoever this was had some remorse.

"Look, I know what you're thinking," I said slowly. "I'm not here to steal the orbs. As you can see, they're frozen to their stands."

"Then what do you want with them?" A male voice asked.

"I need to summon Groudon."

"The last time that happened," A female voice said, anger in her voice. "It almost destroyed the balance of nature!"

"And we're not going to let that happen!" I heard a clicking sound, and I quickly jumped out of the way before a shot could be fired. I landed in a large pile of snow, but there were no shots. Instead, there was laughter.

"What the?" I looked up. An elderly man and his wife were standing where I was, indulged in laughter. "That wasn't funny!"

"It works every time," He said to his wife "I don't suppose you expect me to shoot you with my cane. But getting back to more serious matters," I got up, and brushed the show off of my coat. "What is your purpose for coming here?"

"I need the red orb to reawaken Groudon," I said. "He is the only one who has the power to stop this weather."

"I know," He said. "But why are you so intent on doing so?"

Since they were elderly and had probably seen and heard far worse that what I was about to tell them, I told them about Arceus, and my personal alliance with the legendaries. I showed them the sword, which they took notice of, and finally agreed that I could have the orb.

"Really?"

"We believe you," The lady said. "There have been many legends that Arceus would entrust a human to do what you do…after all, it's not uncommon for a legendary pokémon to trust a human with such tedious tasks."

"Calvin!" Rayquaza roared, causing all of us to jump. "Did you get the orb yet?"

"Um, I'm in kind of a hurry."

The old man whistled, and a Houndoom came running up the path. It thawed out the red orb and I picked it up. It started to glow at its center.

"Finally!" Rayquaza landed in the snow beside us. The elderly couple looked at the sky dragon, and then back at me. "Let's go."

"I have to go now, but I promise that I will return this orb," I climbed onto Rayquaza's back. "Thanks!"

They waved me off with a smile.

Rayquaza and I flew a short distance over to the mainland. As we drew closer, the orb started to glow brighter. I looked down. Cities that were once bustling and prosperous had almost vanished in the snow. I had really hoped that there were no casualties in this mess.

"Is something burning?"

"No, it's just the—" The orb was glowing so brightly that it was actually heating up. "ORB! OW OW!" I dropped it, and it rolled along Rayquaza's back. I tried to catch it but it fell out of my reach, and towards the ground. "Dive!"

I held on as Rayquaza nosedived in an attempt to catch the orb. But as it fell, it grew hotter, and when it fell to the ground it melted all the snow around it. There was actually grass under all of that. I jumped of his back and used my hat to hold the orb, but it was no longer hot. We had reached our destination; there was a cave entrance to my left, which led into the bowels of Mount Chimney. I walked inside as Rayquaza strode in behind me.

"Groudon…Mount Chimney…Lava," I put all the pieces together. "That's not a clue, that's a billboard."

"A billboard that apparently you, couldn't decipher," Rayquaza chuckled. It subsided, and he revved up to ask me something.

"You're still worried about Latias, aren't you?" I asked.

"…she hasn't said much to me since we escaped," He said. "I know it wasn't my fault, but I'm getting the feeling that she's mad at me."

"Rayquaza, what were you expecting?" I asked. "Rainbows and a happy ending? It's only been a week since we escaped that place. It takes time…trust me, she's not mad at you, she's just gathering her thoughts."

"You've dealt with this before, haven't you?"

"With Molly, with Latias herself, with Danielle, and even with Emelina."

He sighed. "I hope you're right."

The mountain got hotter as we made our way down to its depths. I took off my coat and swung it over my shoulder. If it wasn't the unbearable cold, it was the blistering heat. Rayquaza was unaffected by this, so I hitched a ride. Magma started bubbling up from cracks in the walls.

"There he is."

"Already?" I wheezed. Groudon was sitting on the magma at the bottom of a massive pit. He was breathing, and it looked as ifthe magma was moving up and down with every breath. "Wait…what are we here for?"

"The heat must be making you lightheaded," Rayquaza lay his head down, and I climbed up. "We need Groudon to reverse the weather, remember?"

"Hm? Oh! Oh yeah…" I took the orb out of my hat and held it up. Almost immediately, a wave of red light flashed from it, engulfing the entire room and when it disappeared, Groudon was awake, annoyed.

"How dare you awake me?" He yelled. "What is the meaning for—"

"Ah, cut the crap," I said, fanning myself with the hat. "Look we need you, alright? The weather has gone completely out of control. It's snowing in Hoenn, the seas have frozen over, and I know you're not a morning person, but hey, it beats having another ice age."

"Kyogre…" He growled.

"AAAAAT. Wrong."

Rayquaza looked at me, curiously. "Um, Calvin, do you know who you're talking to?"

"Yeah, it's my dad, right?"

"Okay, I need to get you out of this heat," He spun around and flew back out of the cave. The cold air and the windy weather knocked me back into my senses, while giving me a run for my coat. I shivered.

"My head…" Everything started to spin. "Where's Groudon?"

He eventually followed, melting mounds of snow as he passed to get to us.

"If this isn't Kyogre's doing, then who's is it?" I shrugged.

"Maybe it's just the Earth. But either way, we can't let it happen."

Groudon looked up. "I must find the center of this storm," Then he looked down at me. "And if you ever talk to me in such an insolent tone again…you will not be protected from Arceus. I will kill you."

I nodded vigorously. He burrowed underground.

"Where's he going?"

"Well, you know the Earth is just one big rock," Rayquaza said. "He can burrow underground and come up anywhere on the planet. Now that he's awake, I can follow him."

The sun was setting, as Rayquaza followed Groudon's path from above the clouds. I checked my watch. It was 7:32.

"Come on, Rayquaza," I said. "New Years is in less than five hours."

"I know," He said. "But I'm confident that we will find the center of the storm in time…like right now."

He pointed down to a swirling void. Lightning was viciously branching out from it, so he spiraled down into the clouds. It was raining heavily, and the oceans were producing violent waves as much as fifty feet high. Still, Groudon apprared, and the water seemed to circle around him.

"Isn't water his weakness?" I asked.

"Yes, but his skin is so hot that it vaporizes before it can touch him," Rayquaza replied. "This is why he and Kyogre are engulfed in endless battles."

Waves like these would succeed in disabling him, so we circled to make sure that wouldn't happen. The markings on his body started to glow, and he began to roar incredibly loud. I covered my ears. Suddenly, the light from the top of the void intensified, and soon rays of sunlight started burning holes in the clouds all around us. The rain stopped falling and the seas calmed.

"That was it?" I blurted out. "I went through all of this just for one roar?"

"What were you expecting?" Groudon lashed back.

"Oh, I don't know…maybe some fire action, a volcano perhaps."

We stopped in midair next to him as the sun reappeared. The storm clouds had started to retreat, meaning that this New Years was saved from an otherworldly storm.

"I will be returning to Hoenn," Groudon said, burrowing into the small island that he created to stand on. "The snow will not melt itself."

Rayquaza waved him goodbye even though he did not see it, and we flew towards Alto Mare.

"So what's your New Year's resolution, Ray?" I asked.

"I hadn't thought about it much," He replied. "Regain Latias's trust, for starters. You?"

I shrugged. "I'll think about it after we return this orb."

It was nightfall again, in the city. The candles were on their last bits of wax when I noticed that the snow had stopped falling. I rushed to the window.

"Yes! He did it!"

I grabbed Matt's arm and walked out onto the terrace. There was snow on the ground, but much of it had melted away from the weather, which turned out to be incredibly warm after the few days of bitter endless snow.

"Wow," He pointed up to the sky, and I could spot millions of stars. Since there was no light from the city, the sky replaced it with its beauty. "Look at it, it's so beautiful."

He looked back at me. "I've never seen a night so peaceful…wait, that's it!"

"What?"

"Quick, what's another word for 'peace and quiet'?"

"Um…tranquil?"

"No, that won't work," He started to think. "Anything else?"

"Uh…Serene. Matt, what's this all about?"

"Serene…Sere…na…Serena!"

He took off back into the house. I followed, utterly confused until I found him again, sitting in front of his Dragonair. Oh, I get it…he had found a name for her.

"Serena," He pronounced. "You're quiet, and peaceful. The name suits you."

"Peaceful…yeah, I'll bet."

Dad returned some ten minutes later, with Rayquaza tagging along. Latias was quickly informed that everything was okay, and she went back home to replace the Soul Dew. We wouldn't see her for the rest of the night, because she wanted to spend New Years with Latios. Rayquaza followed, probably to keep her company, and about 15 minutes after their departure, the lights came back on again.

"Calvin," Grandma called. "Where have you been?"

"At the restaurant," He lied. "It's been a hectic day, you know, with no electricity and all."

I sat on the floor next to Matt, while Grandma, Dad, and Matt's mother sat on the sofa. He turned on the TV.

"In what appears to be a miracle," A news reporter said. "The severe weather pattern that has been plaguing the continents of Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto with snow, rain, and ice, has ceased this New Years Eve. Just around 7:30 this evening storm clouds were reported to have broken up, and an hour later, things returned to normal. I am live in Kanto, and the temperature here is mind boggling. It appears that this evening's weather is warm and humid, with a record temperature of 82 degrees. The waist-high snow is nothing more than puddles of water now."

"That's not the best part," Matt said.

"And the best part," The reporter continued. "That as you can see," The cameraman pointed his camera towards the sky. "It is a beautiful night. In my experience, I have never seen a night sky so clear and beautiful. It's a perfect evening to celebrate New Years. Speaking of which, now that everything has returned to normal, live from Mauville City, is the New Years countdown."

The cameras were switched to Mauville. I checked the clock on the wall. 11:59 already? There was a large crowd in the center of town, watching a big screen that read 11:59:48. As soon as the seconds reached 50, It started to count down from 10, and there was an echo from the people as they chanted it. I looked back. Dad had drawn closer to the TV.

"So long, 2009," He said quickly. "Thanks for the award!"

I shook my head as the chanting continued.

"7…6…5…4…3…2…1…"