Ehehehe y'all have no idea how long I've been hinting at the identity of Commander Neptune.

When I told Looker, he cursed and went to find Dawn, Lucas, and Thomas immediately. I gathered my pokemon.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Trust asked me.

"I should be fine. There'll be plenty of us. Besides, I've already been discharged from the hospital."

The business of teleporting us all across the region when Looker only had one natu was a little tricky, but given that Lucas and I could teleport with our own pokemon, it wasn't so bad. We arrived at the Pokemon Center and headed off through the dusk toward the gym.

"It obviously wouldn't make sense for me to contact the IP," Looker said as we speedwalked, "but I've contacted the local authorities, and I'm hoping the four of you can back them up as far as firepower is concerned."

It was such a strange experience to be back here, but with Thomas this time. I didn't have time to linger on the strangeness, though, because we quickly arrived at the shiny new gym that Volkner had put so much time into renovating.

In front of the gym stood Volkner's best friend.

"Hey there!" Flint greeted us cheerfully. "Glad to see you're doing better," he said to me.

"Thanks."

"We're here to transfer the Key to the next person," Looker let him know.

Flint nodded. "Okay. I'm just waiting for V, we're heading to a bar after this."

"What's all the ruckus?" Volkner said, coming out of the gym's front entrance.

"Good evening," said Looker. "We're here to transfer the Key."

"Ah." Volkner glanced as his poketch. "Now's not a great time; could I ask you to come back in the morning?"

"I'm afraid right now is the only time that works," Looker said.

"Okay. Well, I'll have to go and get it, if you'll just give me a moment–"

"You don't have it on you?" Looker cut in.

"I consider it more secure under the protection of my pokemon than hanging out at a bar," Volkner said dryly. "Now if you'll excuse me–"

"I'm afraid I can't."

"Hm?"

"By the power vested in me by… no one, anymore, I pronounce you under arrest."

As unthreatening as that was, his statement was backed up by about a dozen local police officers jumping out of hiding, batons at the ready. "Freeze!" shouted one. "Gym leader Volkner, you are under arrest for your participation in the criminal organization Team Galactic!"

"What's happening?" Flint yelped, looking to Volkner for answers.

"What are you talking about?" Volkner said, continuing to sound aggravated.

"It took us too long to figure out," Looker admitted, "but we got there in the end. You did insist no one could get through you to Sunyshore's electricity, did you not? Yet only Sunyshore's electricity could have powered the last several Galactic bombs. Not to mention Galactic was able to scan for Spear Pillar seemingly without the key, during the time when – who was guarding it? – ah, the eighth gym leader, who was training at Iron Island at the time. Perhaps just your technical prowess and former affiliation with the IP should have tipped us off. Wouldn't you say so, Commander Neptune?"

Volkner was silent through Looker's accusations. Flint turned his head back and forth between the two of them like it was a tennis match. "Tell him off, V," he begged. "You didn't do anything, tell him."

Volkner shook his head. I heard a wry chuckle. "Oh, Flint. You poor, innocent soul."

Volkner took a step forward. The cops brandished their batons. Despair shot through Flint's eyes.

"This has been a lovely charade, but I must get going. Farewell."

I reached for Trust's pokeball and tossed it in the air, but it didn't open. Neither did anyone else's pokeballs. Volkner didn't even reach for one, but in my periphery I saw a flash on the roof of the gym, and suddenly my damaged nerves were on fire again, hurling me instinctively into a softer world where nothing could hurt me–

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground outside the gym, surrounded by my friends, Thomas holding me. "I'm so sorry, I should have given you Oliver beforehand," he stammered.

"…'skay, we didn't know…" I mumbled.

"The police captain didn't deign to tell me he'd be blocking pokeball capabilities," Looker said, his face stony. "Evidently, he assumed we'd only get in the way of them arresting one of the top pokemon trainers in Sinnoh with their wooden sticks."

"…I'mma b'real with you," I said, my words tumbling together, "this's how we saw the IP."

The cops in question had vanished – and so had Volkner, and so had the Spear Key, the last thing Galactic needed to open Spear Pillar. All that was left was us and a dazed, heartbroken Flint.

"As long as I don't lose him in a way that matters, I'll be fine."

"Y'kay?" I mumbled at him.

"I…'m gonna need a minute," he said, turning and walking away.

Preparations sped up, now that we knew we were short on time. Reports of Galactic sightings concentrated around the Mount Coronet area had us pulling all our resources together at once.

Looker pulled me aside when the day drew near. "If Galactic fully succeeds, this may not be worth anything, since the world as we know it will likely be destroyed," he began.

"Awesome. Good start. Keep going."

"But," he continued, "it may be worthwhile for you to… take a break first. Perhaps go home. See some loved ones."

He didn't need to say what he really meant. The worst case scenario nullified everything, but the second-worst case scenario…

So I went home. I spent the day at my house with Megan and Tricia and my mom, and as much as I tried to enjoy it, I felt a bit fake laughing with them in the face of… uncertainty, and death, and the end of the world.

But then again, what else would you be doing at the end of the world? I asked myself.

I thought about it. And this was mostly it.

"I love you guys," I said out of the blue to Megan and Tricia.

"I love you too," Tricia said, making a heart with her hands.

"I love you both," Megan said, mirroring the heart. I made a heart with my hands so that we all matched, and we giggled like you do when you find yourself turning into a little kid again.

There we go, I thought, satisfied. That's what else I'd want to do.

And when she left, Tricia hugged me a little tighter than I expected. And when it was her turn to head out, Megan said softly, "You're going to fight them soon, aren't you?"

I nodded. "Day after tomorrow, we're heading into Coronet."

"Stay safe," she said, her gentle brown eyes shining.

I smiled sadly. "You know I won't."

"I know," Megan said. "But I have to tell you anyways."

I folded her into my arms. Part of me wanted to tell her everything – that she was beautiful, that I'd wondered for months what this was, that I loved her, I loved her, I loved her. But I still wasn't sure if I did. The wondering wasn't over, and it felt dishonest to say it was.

So instead I held her as long as I dared, and held off the urge to kiss her cheek, and let her vanish into the night.

Our final preparations wrapped up a little early the next day, leaving some time for the three of us – sorry, four of us again – to relax before the big day. We ordered pizza and boba and held a board game night.

Because we all knew the high likelihood of impending doom in front of us, the atmosphere hanging over our game night was a sort of optimistic nihilism. Nothing matters and we all know it; let's explore a haunted house.

Thomas and I were still shy around one another, but it didn't feel quite so tense. Less avoidance and more uncertainty. But we were able to coordinate passing cards and room tiles to each other just fine.

Looker knocked and entered our room in the Oreburgh Pokemon Center. "Hey, I just… oh, you're all here."

"Wanna join?" I offered. "We're betraying a house on hill."

"Betrayal at House on the Hill," Dawn clarified when Looker appeared obviously confused.

"Come betray the house with us," I repeated.

"You've already started," he pointed out.

"Doesn't matter. Lucas has lost, like, three speed already, so you're coming in ahead of him."

Looker hesitated. "All right," he said with a shrug.

"He should be the old man," Lucas said.

"I'm already playing the old man," Thomas protested.

"That's all right. Looker, do you wanna be a five-year-old girl, or…" I picked up a tile and read it. "Peter Akimoto, age 13, likes bugs and basketball."

"Peter Akimoto it is."

He settled himself cross-legged on the floor with us, setting his coat to the side. Dawn moved her character through an open door in the basement, continuing forward with the game.

Betrayal at House on the Hill is the kind of game with a storyline to it – you go explore a haunted house, and you find items and omens and fall into the basement and take damage, and then at some point, _.

It changes each time. There's about a million different ways the Haunt could go, depending on what artifact you pull from where and who did it. There's no guaranteed way to fully prepare for it – you could do your best to become the mightiest player and then end up with a knowledge-based Haunt.

But you think on the fly. You try to figure out what the enemy's goals are so you can thwart them. Chance may or may not be on your side. Not everyone will necessarily make it out alive, even if you win. You do your best.

We'll do our best.

We met outside the Oreburgh Pokemon Center the next morning.

"Hey!" Dawn greeted me, turning away from Lucas. "How'd you sleep?"

"Shockingly well, all things considered, but the pain meds probably had something to do with it," I admitted. "How'd you sleep?"

"Terribly," she said cheerfully. "I kept feeling like I forgot to pack something." This was shocking, considering the size of her bag.

"You kept waking me up," Lucas grumbled.

"From across the room?"

"You're noisy when you're stressed."

I spotted Thomas standing quietly at the edge of the road. He caught my eye and gave me a wave and a smile. There was a little ache in my chest as I waved back, but also a sense of relief.

"Evelyn! Hey!"

I turned – Ashley was waving me over.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she said when I came to join her and her friends. "That was terrifying, dude, we thought you flaked on us but then you went missing."

"Nah, I actually did flake," I said with a silly little shrug. "I told Galactic I didn't wanna do lunch, and they said, 'We can help you with that.'"

Kyle laughed; Ashley pretended to give me a shove (my still-healing body appreciated the pantomime). "Well, we're glad to finally help out with this whole operation."

"Yeah, imagine there being a secret plot to save the world and you only find out, like, six months in," AJ said.

"If only Looker quit his job sooner," I said, shaking my head in dismay.

"You should go check in, by the way," Tejal cut in. "They're asking for trainers with teleporting pokemon."

"Ooh, okay."

I left them and wove through the crowd, trying to spot Looker. He was on the far side of the crowd, almost blending in with the trainers apart from his greying hair.

"Evelyn, hey!" said Sean Obi when he spotted me. "Where do I…? Good to see you, by the way – Where do we check in?"

"Over there," I said, pointing. "I'm going right now."

"Okay, can I come with?"

"Yeah, for sure."

We headed over to Looker – I waved to Emily Wu and Matthew Tian on the way.

"Ah, there you are," Looker said, making a checkmark on his clipboard. "Definite is your only teleporter, correct?"

"Yup."

"Okay. I'll likely ask him to help me familiarize the other psychic types with the landing point."

"Sounds good. Do you need him now?"

Looker waved me off. "Later."

I left Sean Obi to check in and meandered through the crowd, saying hello to all the trainers I recognized – Michelle Wolfe and Axel Tokuyama and Tim Raines and Kaitlyn Cabot – and eventually someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Long time no see," Maylene said. "You're in better shape than I expected!"

"Thanks to my gallade for his healing abilities," I said, nodding. "How've you been?"

"Somewhat overwrought with guilt over destroying your friendship, but what's new?"

"Thomas and I talked it through," I said, not sure if this was what she was referring to but wanting to update her regardless. "We're on speaking terms again."

"Agh, good," Maylene said in relief. "I'm so glad to hear that."

"And I'm glad to see the gym leaders among us at last," I said, surveying the corner of the crowd where the majority of the Pokemon League had gathered. They'd begun to diffuse into the rest of the crowd – Fantina was talking to Renée Fournier, Byron exchanged a revive for a paralyz heal from Angelica Flores, Crasher Wake laughed boisterously at something Ethan Tsai had said. Roark was directing the crowd of trainers into spaces where we wouldn't block pedestrians. Candice, who was talking to Bertha, winked when she saw me looking her way.

"Yeah, no, we're thrilled to actually do what the Pokemon League is meant to do," said Maylene.

"Protect the region?"

"Mhm. If nothing else, Sinnoh's lakes have been the target of environmental terrorism twice already. We've been wanting to fight; we just needed to know where to direct our attention and firepower. Also, I can't wait to punch Volkner in the face," she said with a kind of dark glee in her eyes, punching her left palm in emphasis.

There was one person who seemed less thrilled about the prospect of facing Volkner. I went up to him.

"Doing okay?" I asked Flint.

He sighed. "Not really. I'm just sorta compartmentalizing and hoping that'll get me through it. Sorry my ex-best friend sucks."

"It could happen to anyone," I said with a shrug. "Not your fault."

Flint smiled sadly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lucian pull Aaron towards us. Lucian smiled at Flint. "Hello, friend. Fine weather we're having today; shame we'll be in caves."

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Aaron protested. "That's Flint, he'll blast a hole in the ceiling in no time.

Flint let out a surprised laugh, and I slipped away, knowing he was in the company of people who knew him well and could help him through this.

I passed by Riley, who asked how Coeur was doing (I told him she'd been teaching all my other pokemon to use aura and he beamed). Andrew Nguyen and Gardenia were taking inventory of the healing division's supplies. Zeke Ren and Etana Bing had started a session of morning stretches with a few other trainers and their pokemon, but they waved when they saw me.

"Did you actually take my advice?" Omar Knight said when I came up to him. "About looping the trainers in on what's been going on?"

I shook my head. "Looker took mine. I'm relieved, though. It's such a different vibe from last time."

"Last time?"

I hesitated, then laughed and told him. It had been such a big deal, telling people about time travel before – now it was a thing I could tell a person in passing.

"Wait, so what was it like last time?" he said, wide-eyed.

I glanced up the mountain to the north. "It was rough. I was the only trainer there. Looker was with me most of the way, but I was still grieving the loss of another trainer."

"And now we're a full army."

"It makes more sense this way, to be honest."

A few more trainers trickled in late – I was all for us getting things started, but Looker wanted to wait for everyone.

"'Friendship: All lives touch other lives to create something anew and alive.'"

I turned – Cynthia was standing next to me, gazing across the crowd.

"The ancients claimed the power of the spirit could conquer even space and time," she said. "We're putting their words to the test."

Looker stood on a boulder. "Trainers," he said in a barely-louder-than-normal voice. The crowd kept chattering. "Your attention, please."

I climbed up next to him – he tried to help me, but I didn't need my bad arm. I shouted, "When I say 'Fuck,' you say 'Galactic'! Fuck!"

"Galactic!" yelled some people.

"Fuck!"

"Galactic!" yelled more of them. I for sure heard some giggles before the crowd quieted.

"Aight, listen to Looker!" I said, jumping down and almost falling on my face.

Looker cleared his throat. "Thank you all for being here. Without further ado, here's our plan of attack:

"To start, we'll be teleporting as far into the caves as we can. This will take some time to set up; I'll need those of you with teleporting pokemon right after this, so we can familiarize them with the landing point. Meanwhile, our Veilstone strike team will infiltrate Galactic's headquarters to rescue the Lake Trio, and will join the rest of us when they return."

I glanced Thomas's way – he was heading the strike team, which consisted of him, Kaitlyn Cabot, Tim Raines, Angelica Flores, and Axel Tokuyama. This was probably for the best; him being amidst the fray in Mount Coronet would have been a major distraction. That said, waiting for him to return wasn't a ton better.

"Beyond that, we'll begin fighting our way up to Spear Pillar. I recommend having pokemon out ahead of time, in case of pokeball blocks. We're anticipating seeing a lot of grunts, which means a large melee situation. This will turn chaotic quickly, so try to stick to your tag team."

I clocked a fair few trainers locking eyes with someone else – their closest friends, their rivals, the people whose battle style they knew best.

"If your pokemon faint, feel free to retreat to the healing unit in the back, but use the closest available supplies if someone is in immediate danger. Galactic will be fighting dirty – this is their last stand, and they have been known to attack trainers directly in the past. Do your best to keep yourself and others safe."

"Once we reach Spear Pillar, the intent is to defeat Galactic's administrators and take them into custody if possible." ("Custody" is a strong word for "hostage," but Looker was used to working within the law rather than as a vigilante. Although I guess we were sort of working within the Sinnoh League now? I digress.) "The goal is to stop them from proceeding with a ritual to summon Dialga and Palkia at Spear Pillar. Points of attack to focus on include any red crystals you see, including gloves with said crystals on the back." He hesitated before saying, "In the worst case scenario, you may have to fight Dialga and Palkia."

A few faces in the crowd paled at the prospect. Others, I saw, lit up with hunger.

"We need you all to know that in being here, you are inherently putting yourself in mortal danger," Looker said. "I encourage you, if you have any second thoughts, to turn back now."

No one moved. I smiled – of course they didn't. These were the strongest trainers Sinnoh had to offer. What pokemon trainer backs down when offered the chance to save the world?

"All right, teleporting pokemon to the front, and let's get going," Looker concluded.