Chapter 39: Spinning out of orbit

Early morning

Hoenn

Cave of Origin, Whi-2's bedroom

"..."

The scenes on her portable computer could've come out of one of the fantasy movies she and her friends loved to watch. Except that it was real and very definitely happening. After bugging Archie's room with button cameras, Whi-2 spent all her free time holed up in her room. Fortunately Shelly didn't ask any questions and thus the little spy was free to do what she wanted. A week had passed and the events slowly unfolding before her left her bewildered. Her understanding finally cleared up when she observed the series of events. This morning, Archie was presented with a small silver case from one of the scientists working for Team Aqua, when it was opened, Whi-2 gasped. Nestled in folds of black velvet, a half-sphere glowed with an ethereal blue light. The hemisphere was cracked, the edges sharp, glinting and uninviting. Seeing the blue orb, the leader of team Aqua cradled his treasure with care and after sending Shelly (who was visibly concerned about him) out of his private chamber, he stabbed himself with the half-orb. Disturbed, Whi-2 forced down the hot cocoa she was drinking and put the cup away...She had lost her appetite. To the young girl's shock, the crystal started sinking down on the back of Archie's hand, the commander endured the pain with gritted teeth and a few swear words. From where the glass ball was being assimilated into him, electric blue lines began spreading, over his hands and even flashing across his face. Once the orb stopped merging, it was barely visible, just a small window of blue on Archie's hand. The man himself laughed maniacally, his eyes wide with insane mirth; he howled and came to a stop before Kyogre's tank. The two stared at each other and with a cruel, sick grin, the Aqua leader swiped his hand...And to Whi-2's horror...

Kyogre did the same.

She watched with morbid fascination, when Archie walked, Kyogre followed, when he spoke, the mythical creature listened to him attentively. It was madness. The legendary beings are known not to associate themselves with humans, whether they be trainers or the like and here was the ruler of the seas doing somersaults in its gigantic tank simply because a criminal minded man was waving his hand's about. With a forefinger, Archie began tracing lines on the tank, his eyes lidded, seemingly lost in a pleasure only he was aware of. In response to him, Kyogre began bashing its head along those lines and fissures appeared. A thunderous crack announced the end of Kyogre's confinement, the glass split into many sections and tons of water gushed out, momentarily flooding Archie's room before flowing away to create havoc in other areas. Man and beast were alone when suddenly Shelly barged in unannounced.

"Archie!" she gasped, her uniform wet, "this is bad! This is very bad...the weather is going out of control! The waves around this cave are towering high and if we don't escape this island soon we will..." she stopped when the man merely chuckled.

"Kyogre must be hungry" he rasped and Whi-2 shivered, "ever since we recaptured her, I didn't feed her. I suppose a good meal will stabilize its emotions and the ocean around Cave of Origin would calm down don't you think?" Shelly shuddered at his words, her body had spasmed when bloodshot eyes leered at her.

"Sir...What are you-"

Team Aqua's admin did not finish her sentence. The last thing she saw was Kyogre's cavernous mouth looming up and a set of pristine white jaws. Pain did not even register when she was suddenly bifurcated at the waist. In Whi-2's room, a scream tore through the air and the youngster violently shoved the laptop away, she was sweating heavily and gagging. Swallowing thickly, she gingerly picked her smashed laptop and stowed it away whilst being acutely aware of a gurgling sound rushing down the corridors.

It was time to evacuate.

Taking a split second to reach this decision, the young Unovian crammed her damaged computer in a back pack and shouldered it, after giving the chamber a sweep; she stepped out only to see a wall of water bearing down on her.

"Frillish" she called, "use surf!" at the same time, the wave crashed down and she leapt onto her pokemon's back, the swell of water propelled them outwards and she clung on to dear life as they haphazardly shot out of the entrance of the cave. When she beheld the circumstances outside, her mind refused to believe it. Towering tornadoes of wind and water were raging on the surface of the ocean as were giant whirlpools. The sky was thick with pregnant clouds and she watched mute, as terrified pokemon fled. Bobbing helplessly in the middle of the ocean Whi-2 felt the energy drain out of her. It began to rain. It began to pour and hail, the chunks of ice hitting her face. Her listless swaying was broken when the cave behind her collapsed. A giant whirlpool began sucking the tiny landmass in and after it was taken under, Kyogre emerged with Archie on its back. The trainer felt numb with fright...Was she supposed to engage this man? Would she even survive a fight with a legendary? Out of nowhere, an arm roughly grabbed her by the waist and she felt her breath punch out of her.

"You okay kid?" It was Brawly; he was surfing at high speed on some kind of motorized surfboard, his turquoise spikes whipped around in the wild wind. "You better recall your mon, or else it might be gobbled up." It was awkward to do so whilst he was carrying her but after fumbling for a bit, her frillish was safe in a pokeball. Holding her securely, the gym leader weaved himself between cyclones and howling tempests.

"Where are you taking me?" Whi-2 was grateful for the body heat seeping out of the older adolescent; at least she won't freeze to death.

"Mauville, Police headquarters" The fight type gym leader sharply angled his head away when a particularly large bit of ice fell from the black sky. "You will be safe there...And stop wriggling! It's taking all my concentration just to keep my balance on this board." The girl in his arms shifted restlessly.

"No..." Brawly looked at her quizzically, "Please not the police..." once again, fear cloyed in her throat and Whi-2 found herself shedding tears involuntarily. A heavy weight constricted in her chest and not for the first time did she find herself cursing for the predicament she fell in. At first the boarders between her normal life in Unova and her new one in the Dex-criminals had been very defined. Sharp. Now the lines were all blurred and she couldn't remember where she was more content. The thought scared her and it was at times such as these that she internally lamented at her situation...how did her seniors do these things on a regular basis without losing their minds? She often wondered. The load on her chest was suffocating...She wanted friends who understood her...however she didn't want to be a criminal.

She didn't want to do this.

"I'm part of the Dex-criminals" she shouted over the tempestuous winds, her salty tears mixing with ocean spray and rain, "If you take me to the police...My life...My life" briefly she pictured herself behind bars and the realization of how close she was to being captured brought on a wave of nausea. "Don't take me to them please" she pleaded, "I just...want to go back safe and sound."

The surfing trainer noticed how she did not mention home. He opened his mouth to ask a question but at that moment a loud synthetic tone added to the cacophony assaulting his ears. The occupant in his arms stilled, dug her hands in her pockets and brought out a fancy communications device. Without missing a heartbeat she answered it, her previously wavering tone firming into one of relief.

"Ms. Blue!" Whi-2 sobbed happily.

A few days ago, morning

Sinnoh

Mount Coronet

Three pre-teenagers gazed upwards and saw an airship descending from the skies. Platina was at first apprehensive when she noticed the large blimp bearing the crest of Team Galactic however, when the airship lowered, she spied Blue waving behind the large front windows, Ruby was with her and Emerald was manning the controls. Constellate's commander looked fashionably out of place with a pair of reflective goggles covering half her face and a tight fitting, fur lined parka. She jumped out of the hovering vehicle wearing silver stiletto boots and Ruby followed her. The male was dressed similarly to his leader, Platina noticed he missed his hat; instead, a striped bandanna was used to cover his forehead. Pulling off the goggles Blue flashed the trio a grin, winked at her subordinate and after shaking her glossy mane of hair backwards, she entered the abandoned base. The Sinnoh trio and Ruby followed behind whilst Emerald stayed back in the ship lest they needed a quick getaway. Inside the base, Blue wrinkled her nose and blinked. Somehow, someone (her suspicion fell on Diamond) managed to cram a small but functioning kitchen inside the empty base. Makeshift stoves powered with tree branches, an igloo type thing which served as a refrigerator and a hollowed out boulder doubling as a basin all surprised her. Smiling, she turned her attention to the captives who were bound and tied, the three Dex-holders clearly kept their distance from them. The Galactic members were bound tightly and their injuries were left untreated. Mars, who was stabbed in the gut, was in a coma and her wounds were turning a ghastly purple. The other members who were conscious all glared at her and the blue eyed female found her lips stretching in both pity and sadism.

"I suppose you remember how you injured Platina when we were snooping around your base in Veilstone huh?" she asked, her voice a whisper near Cyrus' ear, "payback...You should feel humiliated to be upended by a bunch of brats" The man didn't twitch at her words. He stayed still as a rock, his cobalt stare apathetic. Blue's sharp gaze travelled over the bedraggled group and settled on Cyrus and Charon. "Ruby, Platina...Round the leader and his old crony up. Team Galactic has been doing research on the creation legendries for a long time now and I'm very sure they have information that is of use to us. Since we can't lug the merry group all the way to Johto, we will have to leave the rest. Only the once who score top marks are allowed to board the Galactic express Airship~" she trilled a laugh, "anyway, we need to head back to base and commence the creation of the red chain immediately." The Kanto native noticed how Charon went frigid and Cyrus inhaled abruptly. "Of course our new...Comrades..." she spoke the word with thinly veiled disgust "will be the one doing the actual work. And there is no use trying to wriggle your way out. I know you people have a method of creating the red chain. Don't worry; you will be rewarded for your efforts." Ruby snickered at his commander's antics and began to haul the two adults with him, when Charon started sputtering; the teenager's milotic slammed a stiffened tail in the small of his back. Jupiter watched as her commander and Charon were taken away, the brown haired woman imparted another vile simper before tossing a card at her feet and marching away with her head held high. The executive's eyes lingered on the card, her vision filled with an image of a cluster of dark blue stars.

Evening

Johto

Mahogany Town, Dex-criminal's hideout.

Following their mission, the three of them had separated again. Pearl didn't know how to feel about that. After the harrowing battle with the Galactic commanders inside Mount Coronet's base, Platinum had suggested that the assaulting adults be tied up. She immediately called Blue who, understandably, threw a fit. The flushed woman scolded them for not contacting earlier and her tone dripped with concern when she was briefed on the events. Blue then told them to sit tight as she herself would come retrieve them, true to her word, she arrived a day later in a jaw hanging fashion. Two of the Galactic commanders were taken prisoner and once they landed in Johto after a day and half's journey, a meeting was called. Right now, Pearl flanked Green and watched his two best friends do the same with their commanders. Dia was as usual, stuffing a an article of food in his mouth and Red who sat on a plush couch next to him, rested his cheek on a fist and stared off into space, his cap low and jaw set. Blue crossed her legs and tapped on her arm rest and standing beside her, Platina was as motionless as a statue. Three pairs of eyes locked on to the two new occupants sitting on the floor of the chamber. Cyrus' wrists were raw with rope burns.

"Cyrus and Charon, leader and vice-leader of Team Galactic..." Red's monotone broke the suffocating silence in the opulently decorated room and very slowly his mouth stretched into a diabolical smile "Dia did a number on you people, I wish I was there to see it." His loud exhale was heard by everyone in the room and Green curbed the urge to roll his eyes.

"So what are we going to do with them Blue?" The spiky haired commander asked.

"Hmm I-"

"Use them to create the red chain Green...Dialga's sake aren't you supposed to be the brains in our group?" Red retorted and swiped a cupcake from Diamond, when the cyan eyed boy blinked and looked at him; he got a pat on his head and a kind smile in return.

"Your ingenious streaks are really annoying..." the brown haired adolescent sighed, "go bash your head when you train with your snorlax or something. Hopefully you'll return to your dumb, goofy self."

The desire he kept buried deep inside was casually blurted out and Green inwardly swore. He needed to keep his emotions under control.

"...As Red mentioned, I'm going to use them to create the Red chain" Blue replied.

"Commander" Platina spoke up with a respectful nod of her head, "what if they refuse?" At this point, the younger generation collectively gaped when all three of the seniors sported mildly disturbing smiles.

"We" Red began

"Have" Green continued

"Our ways" finished Blue.

Cyrus trembled. He now knew the meaning of fear.

Mid-morning

Hoenn

Gnarled Den

"It's finished" Maxie announced, his face alight with glee. Tabitha, Blaise and Courtney all watched as the inorganic Groudon shifted and roared. The metallic screeching was horrible to the ears but the leader of Team Magma cared naught. His only concern was the smooth functioning of this monstrosity. A small cage dangled out of Tabitha's plump fingers, he lifted the pen upwards and observed the anguished expression on Victini's face. The victory pokemon was squeaking loudly and trying to free itself, its large eyes were wide with what the obese male assumed as dread. It kept on glancing at the pseudo Groudon and thrashing frantically. Maxie grabbed the cage out of Tabitha's hands and stared at the beast.

"We don't need it anymore" he said, "this pokemon has served its purpose...as much as I'd like to put an end to it so that it does not fall in other hands, I'm not that cruel. After all its thanks to Victini we will finally be able to reach our GOALS!" A resounding cheer was thrown up by the executives in the circular chamber, the humming of psychic pokemon got louder. Maxie undid the bolt on Victini's gilded encasement and at once the small monster flew out at an astonishing speed. The occupants in the room watched it go and the orange furred pokemon did not look back. Once it sped out of sight, the attention refocused on Groudon. The movements of the mechanical beast were slow and clunky, nevertheless it was the type of horror Maxie envisioned and wanted.

"Sire" Courtney spoke up, her thin voice slicing through the vibrations, "please give it a command, I'd like to see how it reacts to you." Her eyes were shining with admiration.

Trepidation.

Maxie felt it. When he first proposed the creation of a fake Groudon to Archie, his plan was lauded by the dark skinned man, the two decided on a temporary truce. The original continent pokemon was in the hands of the Dex-criminals and the boss wanted to avoid a tangle with them at all costs. He knew that if he crossed swords with them, it will only end up in his detriment. Finally, the goal of creating a synthetic legendary was put into motion and it required tremendous amounts of energy. The rocket fuel he and Team Aqua stole so masterfully was not enough, eventually he was forced to break into the weather research institute and abduct the powerful psychic pokemon inhabiting the place. Seeing the success the psychic type brought to his ambitious project, he sent out his grunts and commanders to get some more. A special chamber lined with alcoves and niches was constructed for them and it was here he embarked on creating his brainchild. The alloy used to create Groudon was mined from several regions, most notably Sinnoh and Hoenn, the raw material was extracted, hammered into sheets and artfully welded together to create a body. As for the internal organs...Here Maxie was stumped. After much research, he concluded that the mythical being only needed a heart to make it come alive; the rest of its internal functioning could be handled by illusions and the psychic type monsters. Around this time, he commanded Tabitha to bring him Victini. The tiny pokemon was insurance and it served well. A heart was grown in the labs and due to its size, it was interleaved with metal. After many months of painstaking work...It was finished.

But a knot still formed in his stomach...Trepidation.

Exhaling and glancing at the admiring looks his underlings gave him, Maxie worded out a command: "Groudon, use Earth power."

In his last moments, he would come to regret ever making this cyborg.

A roar ripped through space and the chamber's floor cratered, plumes of red-white fire erupted from the cracks and he watched as his underlings burned, the fire continued to spread, engulfing the room in a hellish blaze. The only people spared were Courtney and himself, his lilac haired subordinate's clothes were singed and he was perfectly unharmed. She made a small noise as the bleached bones of her co-workers, began falling to the cracked floor.

Thud

Thud.

A femur splintered into dust.

The earth began rocking; swaying like it was made of liquid. Courtney yelled in fright as the entire cavern started shaking. An earthquake was taking place, splitting the already cracked floor wider. Huge fissures snaked outwards from Groudon.

"Earthquake Boss!" the only living member screamed with fright, "please evacuate immediately...Huh?"

The pseudo legendary had teleported.

Maxie stood, awestruck.

It teleported, the continent beast was not capable of teleportation. That was a fact. Seconds later, the leader himself felt a pulling sensation and within moments he too had vanished.

Silver was outside the door when chaos broke loose. When he woke up, he discretely observed Courtney and the others making their way down here. Silently he tailed them and stood guard outside the crested door. He noted the mark on the gateway consisted of a single ancient letter. The letter O which was broken up at the bottom with the edges turned outwards. He took a picture of and cross referenced it. Omega, the symbol on the door was one denoting greatness. While he waited, he heard the fake mythical monster emit growls and the sounds sent shudders down his spine. At last, when the creature fully woke, it bode well for no one. An earthquake swept through the base and it only increased in magnitude. Without further ado, he ran from the place, his mind leading him to a single destination. He abandoned everything else and flew through the twisting corridors in an attempt to get outside. His sister needed to be informed immediately. He was well aware of Team Aqua's plans and if the two clashed, Hoenn, no, the face of the Poke-verse will be dramatically altered with heavy casualties of course. Dodging confused grunts, he weaved himself between bewildered soldiers and outright knocked the ones barring his way. Weavile was shifting in its ball and the red head spared it a comforting glance. He will not bring out his partners in such danger. Just as the mouth of the cave loomed up to him, a stalactite dislodged from the roof of the cave and came crashing down. The trainer gasped in pain as it went through his stomach and pinned him on the floor.

The Johto native couldn't move. A red stain was spreading from the stabbing point coloring his maroon uniform a fire red. It was agony and never in his wildest dreams did Silver think that being impaled in the stomach will hurt this much. He flopped helplessly on the floor, smearing his blood on the dusty earth. Grimacing, he tried to reach for the deadly projectile, but was unable to. Feeling the strength ebb from his limbs he began digging in his pockets for his gear, at least he could inform Blue. As soon as he held the device with both hands and dialed his sibling's number, a wedge of rock rained from above and smashed downwards. He screamed in pain and fury as his hands were crushed along with his pokegear. Tears pooled at the corner of his eyes and he lost feeling in his arms. Breath hitching, he tried to move, instead any motion sent him tethering to the edge of his consciousness. A stampede of grunts bellowed behind him and Silver went slack.

That's it. He thought.

He was going to die.

Afternoon of the same day

Hoenn

Sootopolis

To Steven it was the ultimate humiliation and he wondered how Falkner and Anabel were feeling. True to what the man standing before them predicted, an apocalyptic war was taking place. Right at the crack of dawn, the young champion was roused from his sleep by the insistent ringing of his PokeNav. On reading the message, he rushed to Sootopolis' meeting chamber and was put off by the feminine appearance of the individual waiting for him. To his surprise, Norman and the elite four were also present. Immediately he knew something grave was about to happen and when the noble, who identified himself as Ranmaru spoke of an apocalyptic weather disaster, understandably Steven had a difficult time believing him.

"It's going to happen" Ranmaru, dressed in the formal garb of ancient times insisted, his pleasant voice commanding attention. "You have to put defensive measures in place, my Lord; Nobunaga will not be pleased if the geography of the Poke-Earth is changed in anyway. Hoenn will be destroyed if you allow them to fight."

"Yes we understand Lord Ranmaru" Anabel inhaled and shifted in her seat. The room they were in was one of the most lavishly decorated in all of Hoenn. When she got word that a noble from Ransei was going to grace them with his presence, she pulled strings to get this meeting chamber. Unfortunately, Ranmaru remained unfazed when he walked in, followed by his lucario who wore jeweled bracelets and anklets. The noble merely sat on a throne-esque chair and began briefing. "We need confirmation before the police are allowed to act." The man simply smiled and to his disgust, Steven found himself captivated. He saw Norman turn his face away with a twitch of his lips. At that exact moment, the windows of the chamber burst inwards, shards of glass whizzing past like bullets. The steel haired champion whirled around along with the rest of the gathering to witness pandemonium.

"See?" Ranmaru continued calmly, "I told you" he got up from his chair and dusted off several glass pieces from his elaborate clothes, "I'll be taking my leave now..." his lilting voice instilled a measure of fear, "Please try and save your homeland. Those criminals must be punished." And with a swirl of white and blue silk, both he and lucario were gone.

Anabel rose from her seat and looked at Steven squarely in the eye. "This is your responsibility" she voiced, "you are the champion of Hoenn and you should put down this crisis." He nodded solemnly, "of course, the other police officers are not going to sit idle. I'll be responsible for the paperwork and other behind the scene nonsense." The pink haired officer bit her lip, "having warlord Ranmaru here was a subtle warning to us all. If we don't stop this disaster, we will have more than a damaged Hoenn to think about."

"I'd appreciate it if they helped us" Steven worded, his face betrayed no emotions. "The noble told us that Groudon and Kyogre are going to fight. If I remember correctly, Groudon is in the hands of the Dex-criminals..."

"He said it was not the original" Falkner cut in "even so, the energy signatures are on par to the real one."

"Team Aqua and Team Magma...I didn't think they would rear their heads like this..." One of the elite four muttered. Norman didn't speak; instead he strode to the shattered windows and viewed the proceedings outside. The sky, thick with grey clouds was swirling and flashing with thunder. Before his very eyes, the wall of clouds parted and harsh sunlight filtered through. Within moments, the raging winds and heavy rain pour had ceased and the very air, which was humid, had begun to dry. The powerful rays of the sun burned away the clouds and the heat intensified to unbearable proportions. Before long, steam rose from the ocean. All this happened so fast it left the normal type gym leader wondering if he was perhaps witnessing the end of the world.

"It started" he spun from the window and stated. Steven tugged on his collar and several others fanned themselves, the sun was scorching.

"Rayquaza...Is the only one capable of stopping them." The champion breathed "how are we going to solve this crisis?"

"Stevie" Wallace squeezed the younger male's shoulders comfortingly "you can do it...lead us and we will fight. Hoenn is our home and we have to protect it." The grey haired male took a moment to compose himself and when he opened his eyes, determination gleamed in them. The group smiled at each other and moved.

Groudon had teleported near Kyogre and Maxie found himself slipping off his beast's head. The two leaders eyed each other. Archie was standing serenely on Kyogre's back, in perfect control of the mythical monster supporting him. He was livid; the arrival of Groudon had put an end to the storm his Kyogre had cooked up. Forget the truce he and Maxie had drawn up a year ago, the pokemon universe needed more seas and oceans to provide a living space to water pokemon and thus he decided to act as a savior to them. The world shall drown...there was too much land. He leered at his co-worker and spoke, his guttural voice sounding more broken that it usually is.

"The truce is dissolved, from here onwards; we fight for our own goals and ideals." Maxie's gaunt face registered shock, "step aside or face the consequences...As marvelous as your creation is...It is only a duplicated fake."

Pseudo Groudon roared at the insult.

Shockwaves blew the waves back and it lapped over Kyogre, soaking the bottom of Archie's skin tight suit. The mechanized beast was rooted on a little island it created for itself, the land was still fresh and had lava running down the sides. In response to it, Kyogre fired a pressurized stream of water which instantly evaporated when it collided with a ball of fire. The area around the sea beast was steaming, the skies had turned blindingly clear and it was intolerably hot. Sweat clung to both men's skin and surface of the ocean was bubbling. To his alarm, Archie noted that the sea was boiling. Overhead, a dozen or so helicopters started circling them like flies. Maxie looked up and his mouth curled in distaste, he had to admire the media's tenacity. At first though, he wanted to burn them all down but after a bit of contemplation, he decided to allow them to record history. After all, if he succeeded, he would be hailed as a god. The choppers circled around and camera crews were already filming the war taking place. It was extremely dangerous to be in such close proximity to these legendary beasts but who could ignore an exclusive scoop? Several cameras zoomed up on the weather duo, capturing the overwhelming hatred and energy. The lava around Groudon's islet came in contact with water and solidified into new land, slowly but surely, the landmass began expanding outwards, pushing the lord of the seas away. Kyogre caused a tidal wave which swept its advancing nemesis several meters backwards.

As usual, it was several hours before Steven and his crew were given the get go. In the meantime, the chief of police and her vice worked tirelessly, assigning police officers and gym leaders to evacuate civilians from problem areas. The steel eyed man paced on the floor of the decorated chamber, the atmosphere was tense. Once in a while, he would glance at a flat screen television which showed news. He watched as a gigantic tsunami crashed into Slateport city, the surge of water was akin to a living beast, it uprooted trees, overturned cars and demolished low rise buildings. Panicking people, their forms tiny, ran helter skelter through the city. Elsewhere, Mount Chimney had erupted and surrounding towns, such as Lavaridge and Fallarbor had been pelted with boulders exploding out of the active volcano. Ash rained down like snow. Inhaling, the champion tore his gaze away from the screen. He already knew from here on out, there will only be announcements of death and destruction.

The door the chamber flew open and Falkner along with Anabel strode in, the chief's cotton candy pink hair streamed out behind her and her visage was one of strained worry.

"You are can go" she hastily informed the motely group, "there is a silver helicopter waiting for you outside, it'll take you to the location of the fighting legendries." Steven was already walking past her, "be careful" her voice rose an octave, "and come back safe all of you." The door slammed shut and the sound echoed ominously through the vast room. Alone with Falkner, the woman emitted a deep sigh.

Above the two fighting mythical beasts, the silver vehicle hovered and Steven waited, observing with bated breath. For the first in a long time, he felt scared. He wished someone older than him had taken charge, unfortunately being a champion meant that the weight of responsibility fell on him. Sneaking a peek at Norman, who appeared deceptively calm, he leaned out of the open door and surveyed the area. There was a small island around Groudon...Perhaps they could land there. Taking another deep breath, he scoured the skies for Rayquaza, no such luck. Summoning metagross, he leapt on to his beast and floated down. The others faithfully following him, halfway through their descent, the two legendries took note and in tandem roared furiously. The silver copter dented and whisked away whilst metagross threw up a shield to counter. Maxie and Archie watched in disbelief as new occupants jumped down on the still warm earth.

"You will cease this at once" the leader of the strike team spoke, his words forceful, "at the rate you are going, Hoenn will be destroyed."

There was a momentary lull in the area; the two bosses were unable to believe what they were seeing.

"Cease this at once huh?" Team Aqua's leader growled..."try and stop me brat! Kyogre! Ice beam!"

"Flygon, fire back" a low voice spoke from behind Steven. A stream of flames dissolved the ice heading his way and elite four member Drake stepped forward and crossed his arms over his scarred chest.

"I have already warned you" the champion stated again, "stop this at once or we will force you." This time, the mechanical lord of the land swiped his tail and the group took a collective step to the side to avoid the attack. Norman was running out of patience, articulating a low snarl, he attacked.

"Kangaskhan, Fake out"

The parent pokemon launched itself at Groudon and tried to strike it with both hands, however as it lumbered across at high speed, the cyborg rotated its head and fired a mass of condensed energy. It hit the normal type and completely incinerated it. Norman gaped, one moment his partner was there and the next it was gone. Seeing this, the others stilled, horrified by what they witnessed, in the background Maxie grinned evilly. There was nothing that could stop his mecha-beast.

"We need to work together" Steven called out sharply, "if we attack all at once, it will be to our advantage. Listen well, none of you are allowed to attack alone! You will be putting your pokemon in grave danger!" As he was speaking, Archie nudged Kyogre closer to the island, he and Maxie shared a look and mutual understanding passed between them. In tandem, the legendary duo began glowing with power, the seas acted up again, choppy waves threatening to submerge them, on land, the ground began to heat up and the male could see how the earth smoldered, as Kyogre and Groudon fired elemental blasts, the resisting group gracefully scattered. Most took to the skies, a few surfed the seas. Norman and Steven stayed on land and glared. The steel type champion tapped metagross once and instantaneously it fired flash cannon. When the light died down, instead of counter attacking with the mythical beast under his command, Archie leapt on the island and barreled straight towards him. Too late Steven saw the glint of silver in his hand as it came up across his face. Pain exploded in his head and the grey haired man blinked, he shuffled backwards and heard Norman fend the criminal away from him. Gingerly he touched his eyes which were oozing blood and opened them.

Black.

All he saw was a void of nothingness stretching out endlessly in front of him.

A/N: For anyone who didn't play Pokemon Conquest, go Google Ranmaru…the dude's feminine appearance is a force to be reckoned with. Poor Stevie though is he going to be okay? At Eevee: Reading a tired Eevee's (dead of the night) contemplations are pretty interesting I really enjoy your reviews, so go ahead and hog the review section…on second thought…everyone can hog it. The more the merrier right? Saph doesn't really keep her mouth shut; she's that kind of person, Ruby dressing Green up…hehehehe. Well, I was considering your tumblr proposition except that I don't really know how it (tumblr) works. Sorry, I'm not into social network sites. But yeah, I'd be happy to interact. The only time I go on there is when I need pictures for my story and to read material for inspiration. At Jack54311: Whoa, I guess I wrote it pretty convincingly, the dying scene that is. Ominous vibes? The instincts don't lie. At AceTrainerLeaf: I'm not from Malaysia but I do live in Asia somewhere. Malaysia is nice; maybe I can go live there once I'm done studying. The formation thing just popped in my head when I considered that Dia and his friends will probably loose against so many executives (I mean in the games a single player can pound all them… but let's be a bit more realistic shall we?) so I decided to make the battle different. I'm you liked it because I really enjoyed writing that scene. At Silver: You have quite a few theories there and I must say, they are all well thought out (thumbs up) Meh, I'll start saying Congratulations already. Read on to see how many came true!

Heartfelt gratitude to ADUAN II for favoriting my story. Please keep on reading and reviewing, they are food for the soul. Virtual food for the soul to everyone supporting! Silver, here's your cake :D