This is the final chapter of the book, so see more at the bottom. Let's get on with Chapter 23!
Chapter 23
A Crystal
"Move any wounded into the infirmary at once! Miss Tyme, if you could reach out to Geeta, though I'm sure she's aware something's happened here!"
"Any Home Ec students, please join me and Miss Serena in making some food."
"If everyone could get inside, please. Director-" Juliana looked up, the cavalcade of sounds finally cutting itself off in her head. Reality roared back to her in color as she was finally able to take note of where she was.
"Yes, I'm aware. We'll initiate the protection plan. I'll need to make an announcement," Clavell said, walking through the crowd that was stationed outside the Academy.
Juliana reached up and rubbed at her temples. She'd been stuck in far too much of a fugue to realize that things had been moving forward around her. With the disappearance of Volo and the remaining Phantom members, all of the teachers snapped into action. She had registered a few things of what they were doing, like Penny being lifted on a stretcher and taken inside the building, but she hadn't realized quite the extent of the devastation wrought by the one who had twisted so much.
Even the sky itself seemed to weep, a ghastly pall of red and blue that only accentuated the horrific shapes swirling within it.
"Hey, get your arse moving." Juliana jumped at the hand that slapped her back. Gloria was there, looking bruised, and more than a little pissed off, but she was fine all the same. "Leave your Pokémon with one of the Nurse Joys and let's help on the inside. It's a right mess."
"Y-yeah…" Juliana stood, finding she had nothing better to do. The longer she looked at the carnage outside, the worse she felt. Part of her felt like all of it was her fault. That if she hadn't run away from Team Star, they would have never been driven here. Then Volo wouldn't have-
"It doesn't do any good thinking like that," Gloria said, continuing to usher her inside. Juliana was surprised that she wordlessly understood, but looking in her eyes, she had to figure Gloria had once experienced that sense of doubt, herself. "The only one to blame here is Volo."
"No, it's not," said a voice just inside the Academy. Juliana turned, noticing Ash there as he, Pikachu and an Infernape helped to lift a bookshelf back into position. He dusted his hands off, and pulled his cap lower on his face. "I failed, too. I wasn't able to stop them from getting here."
"Pikapi," Pikachu said. He was filled with worry and his own sense of failure. Juliana's fist tightened, glaring into a nothingness of space.
"Ash, you know you're the strongest trainer ever," Gloria said. She strode up to him, clapping a hand on his shoulder before hugging him. "If you couldn't stop them, who could? I'm just glad you made it out. I'm sure Serena's even happier. Plus Hanna's safe, so that's a plus."
"Yeah, but…" Ash sucked in a breath and let out a deeper sigh. "I couldn't stop Rika from being hurt. Couldn't protect people. I failed."
"Stop beating yourself up." Ash slammed his fist against the wooden bookcase, splintering it further. There were no words that could console him, and Juliana didn't think it prudent to even try. She stepped away, trying to find something, anything she could do to not stew in her own thoughts.
"Gloria, what's the point of being a Pokémon Master if I can't even-?" Ash went silent, but the following banging and movement suggested he was trying to keep moving at all costs instead.
Juliana shook her head, delving deeper into the entrance hall, a place that had been wrecked and ruined by whatever battle had taken place there. Near the elevator shafts, some workers were present, as well as a couple of Gloria's Pokémon, each of them repairing the massive cleft that had formed.
"We need some welding here! Who has a Fire type that can help?!" Some students immediately offered their assistance, though given their Fire types appeared to be Fletchinder and the occasional Torkoal, Juliana wasn't sure how much help it could be.
"Heave ho!" The call of more students, pushing up another bookcase, one that looked three times their size put together, caught Juliana's attention. Seeing the disaster waiting to happen, she ran for them, bracing her own hands against the case and pushing with them until it was in an upright position. "Thanks, Juliana."
"Yeah, no problem. Be careful." They were already quick to move on to their next project, their Pawmi, Shroodle and Flamigo running after them. It was hardly the depiction of strength, reminding Juliana of what she lacked, as well. She huffed and turned away, only to catch sight of Ceruledge, looking uncomfortably awkward in the middle of the bustling repair and activity. Swallowing, she walked right up to him. "Feeling lost?"
"Sera…" Ceruledge's head hung.
"That's me, as well," she said. The pair stared out at the working students and Pokémon, some better suited to the task than others. In a corner of the hall, she could also see Serena and Mr. Saguaro whipping up some food for the hard workers. To Juliana's surprise, Arven wasn't there with them, the older boy nowhere to be seen. It brought into sharp relief how hard everyone else was working; how all had their part to play in the world at large. Then I have to, as well. "Ceruledge, why don't you help by the elevators?"
"Sedge?" he asked, his flaming eyes wavering in confusion.
"Might not be the battle you like, but they could use some welding flame. We have to expand our world a little, yeah?" Her own words felt conflicted, but she knew she believed in them nonetheless. Ceruledge didn't look convinced. He eyed it with a wariness that only served to enhance how awkward he felt. Knowing they wouldn't get anywhere like that, Juliana moved behind him and pushed him straight towards the elevators, where the workers greeted him with sudden enthusiasm.
"Hey, Juli! Some help!" The shout came from Nemona, herself stumbling through the entrance hall with a giant box full of books. She looked like she was aiming for the stairs, but couldn't quite see where she was going. Juliana rolled her eyes and made her way to help Nemona prop up the other end of the box. "To the second floor, amiga."
"Not…your friend!" Juliana said, barely restraining the grunt as they started to climb. It was sparsely populated on the second floor compared to below, but was still a mess through and through. They moved forward until they found an empty shelf and placed the box down. Doing so allowed Juliana the first chance to get a good look at Nemona.
She was surprised to find the girl's eyes so serious.
"Maybe you're not," Nemona said, bending down to pick some books and place them back. "But I want you to be. Or maybe I just want to understand you. I guess seeing Team Star and Penny must have really hurt, no?"
"What are you getting at?" Juliana asked. She suddenly wanted to get away from the conversation as fast as possible. Nemona stopped, hand halfway to putting a book back.
"Battling's all I know. Makes me feel alive. Connected." Nemona shook her head, finishing her action before looking back at Juliana. "To me, that's how I belong. But battling didn't help you. If I'm just battling to battle, am I really protecting anything or am I running away? Battling and moving on, you know?"
"Never thought I'd hear you so tortured."
"Guess that whole thing gave me a lot to think about." Nemona resumed her activity with a fervor Juliana thought she only reserved for battling. "Couldn't protect you or Arven. Makes me wonder what all my battling is for."
"Arven, huh?" If she didn't know any better, she'd say Nemona blushed at the mention. "Have you seen him?"
"Checked up on him a bit ago. I'm surprised how well he's holding it together, considering that Volo targeted him."
"Arven's pretty strong. Maybe not in battles, but he's got a will to do what's right. I admire him for that." Nemona nodded, as if to agree, though Juliana felt their sense of admiration was different from one another. "Where did you see him?"
"Over by the temporary Center we have set up." Juliana nodded, turning heel as soon as the word "Center" was mentioned. After everything, she wanted to see him. "Hey, Juli! I still want to battle you, you know."
A pause was put in Juliana's step, enough that the pair of them watched each other. There was something different about the way she said it. Something about the way their experiences had collided. Zapapico had changed things. The battle here had changed things.
Juliana wanted to battle her, too.
But she wasn't ready.
"Another time," Juliana said, waving Nemona off. Before another word was spoken, she took off, racing through the hall until, at last, she reached the Center, where a pair of Nurse Joys had set up a temporary healing station. She couldn't find Arven, though.
"Can we help you?" The Nurse Joy's soft voice reminded Juliana of where she was, and of the beaten, bruised Pokémon still at her side. Her heart went out to them, apologizing for leaving them battered for so long.
"Yeah, if you can take care of…" She finally saw him, sitting in a corner next to a resting Crocalor. There was barely a moment where she registered her Pokémon being taken with the promise to restore them. Her feet already moved straight towards Arven, noticing the brightly colored plant turning over in his hands. "Not using it?"
"Juli?" Arven looked up, the Herba Mystica almost dropped from his hands. Its glow danced around the entrance hall, all the way to where Koraidon was, curled in a ball and resting. She felt a pang, realizing she hadn't even considered him since everything had concluded. Arven noticed her watching. "He's scared, I think. Don't really blame him, either. Those creatures were just like the ones from the desert, you know? Probably has some history with them if they come from Area Zero."
"I think losing so badly to Kingambit doesn't help, either," Juliana said. She plopped herself down right next to Arven, breathing out. Her hand extended, petting Koraidon's scales, the two sharing a moment of silence in a sea of hammering and banging. "But still, that's no reason to not use the Herba Mystica. We worked so hard for it."
"Yeah, we did," Arven said. His lips were turned in a frown, and he shook his head. "But now doesn't feel like the right time. I think Mabosstiff would agree."
"But you-"
"I wouldn't want him to move again in a world that feels like it just turned itself upside down." She couldn't fault that logic. Just a glance outside the window told everyone how screwed up things had become in Paldea.
"You're telling me…"
"Got something on your mind?" Arven asked. He wasn't even looking at her, but Juliana could sense how much he cared. The fact he stowed the plant away, as if readying himself to listen, said everything. Juliana leaned forward, sighing.
"I'm not sure." She watched everyone continue to work, Ash and Gloria seeming the most restless of them all in the distance. "Maybe I'm just not sure how to move forward. Or maybe I always thought I was moving forward, but really, I was just running away. Certainly feels like that now."
"What makes you say that?"
"Penny, Team Star, this whole thing. Like every time I get close, I run away. I convinced myself it was because I knew what I wanted and that was the only thing that mattered, but…" Juliana felt prepared to bury her face into her hands. Instead, she looked over to Arven, like she was pleading to him. "But then every time I feel like I let it slip away. Or that I walk away from it for something else. Put those walls up to… Maybe I don't know what I really want."
"Maybe none of us do. But that's what the Treasure Hunt is for, right?" Arven reached over, taking her into a hug. "We're not just searching for what we want, but finding ourselves along the way. Only so much we can learn in a classroom."
"You really think there'll be a Treasure Hunt after this?"
"Maybe not. But I think we can still make it happen!" Arven stood, patting Crocalor and walking towards the working students. "We just have to start with what's right in front of us. Make this our world right now."
He spoke sense, and Juliana nodded. She gave Koraidon another pat and joined Arven, the two shedding off their current doubts for a moment to give their all to reconstruction.
It didn't stop them from creeping back in, of course, but for a moment they allowed them to vanish in the haze of restoration. So they threw themselves into repairs, from bookshelves to the elevators to the very windows that needed to be sealed. None of it stopped the air of foreboding outside, or the calls that sounded too unlike Pokémon to be real, but their exhausted bodies forgot about all that at the end of the day, finding sleep.
Juliana only woke when she found herself being shaken awake by none other than Serena. The woman quickly shushed her before she said anything.
"Director Clavell wants to see everyone who was involved in his office. Champion Geeta is here."
If anything was able to get her up quickly, that was it. She wasn't the only one, either, as Serena quickly made her way to Arven and woke him as well. As she did, Ceruledge watched, and when they began to move, he joined them. In no time, the group had made it to the repaired elevators, riding their way up (albeit shakily) until they reached the director's office. Juliana was surprised by who she found inside.
"Penny, you're awake already?!" Juliana's shout took Penny by surprise, the girl jumping in her chair and then looking backwards with a pained grunt.
"I was having Miss Penny fill me in on her role with Team Star. Or perhaps I should say Cassiopeia." Penny pursed her lips and hung her head at Clavell's assessment. "It's an unfortunate action, though less important by what took place here."
"Yes, though such actions are still in need of discipline." Those were the cold, hard words of Geeta, enough that just about everyone in the room flinched at them. It might have just been the usage of the word "discipline" that did it, though. Registering the reactions of everyone, from Juliana to Ash to Gloria and Nemona, Geeta finally sighed. "You'll be on bedrest for some time, but given your skillset, I have an appropriate task."
"T-task?" Penny asked. She grunted again, clutching at her chest where the wound was still fresh. She looked ready to pass out, but Eevee soon crawled into her lap to give her comfort.
"Zero Prison, right?" Ash blurted out. Geeta's look of alarm at him so brazenly naming something Juliana didn't even know existed said everything. She looked ready to fume, the breaking of such an important rule resonating in the air. Cynthia chuckled, then placed a hand on Geeta's shoulder.
"I don't think it's much of a secret at this point," the woman said. Her face soon hardened. "Still, to imagine a man like Volo was still alive and active in this world…"
"You know of him, Cynthia?" Gloria asked. Her journal was back in her hand, absentmindedly flicking through its pages.
"Barely. Even amongst my ancestral records, there's very little mention. Though perhaps I just never looked," Cynthia admitted. She heaved a heavy breath. "Maybe I need to look deeper. Perhaps it's time I headed back home to Sinnoh."
"Be that as it may, Paldea is the issue that needs dealing with here," Clavell interrupted. His response mollified many, but Juliana continued to stand next to Arven and Serena feeling completely nonplussed. "Yes, Miss Penny, while you're convalescing, I'll have you look into the Zero Prison system and what occurred there."
"What about Team Star?" Nemona asked. She was blurting just as much as Ash, and Clavell was looking more frustrated by the second at being unable to speak. "They were a part of this, and Penny a part of them, so…"
"Team Star, it would appear, has sequestered themselves behind the Glaseado Gate." Juliana's eyes narrowed, only to meet Penny's. "At the moment, I've no intention of having anyone pursue them. They made mistakes; however, it was my failure as a Director to not see the pain they were in. If I had, perhaps much of this would have been avoided. And besides, with the Pokémon out there, I'd find it difficult to approach.
"Which is why I've made the decision to postpone the Treasure Hunt."
"What?! Postpone?! Why?!" Though Nemona sounded borderline incredulous, Juliana felt it made all the sense in the world. With the strange skies and the stranger forms of Pokémon, the safety and security of all the students no doubt came first.
"This wasn't a decision the director made lightly," Serena said, finally throwing her own thoughts into the mix. "It's too dangerous out in the wilds now. Not without an escort. Of course, strong trainers like yourself can handle things, but for a greener student, we don't want to put them in harm's way. And we have little ones like Hanna to consider…"
"Least she's sound asleep. Probably just think's the sky is creepy," Ash muttered, more distracted by the second.
"Serena has the short of it." Clavell was already rubbing his temples, the clear frustration of everything mounting up inside him. Geeta was no different, the Champion looking like she hadn't spent the night sleeping whatsoever. The longer Juliana looked, the more it seemed like the case for every adult in the room, if each for different reasons. "I've begun making preparations. On Serena's recommendations, the trio from Jessie's Beauty School have offered to help bring whatever students are out there back."
"For a price."
"One I'd gladly pay, Geeta, if it means my students are back here, safe." She nodded in agreement, as if she just wanted to clarify the nature of the arrangement. "I'll make the official announcement in a few hours, but as those most directly involved with the incident, I felt it best to make this known to you. I've also been in contact with our sister school, Blueberry Academy. As I understand it, a friend of yours works there as a Field Director, and is more than happy to accept transfers, if it means keeping the children safe."
"Sounds like you have it all figured out. What do you need us for?" Ash sounded surprisingly bitter. Though she didn't know him well, Juliana had figured he didn't have a bitter bone in his body.
"Defense of the school is top priority. I want to discuss a…" Juliana began zoning out. She wasn't the only one. While Nemona appeared quite interested, fervently talking about protection and battle and all that nonsense, Juliana and Arven stepped back, having no part to play in any of it. Nor did Penny, any longer, the girl standing up and planning to leave.
She didn't make it very far down the room before she nearly collapsed.
On instinct, Juliana was there to pick her up, shuffling them both over to one of the desks and the computers sitting there. Eevee cried out, looking up at her in concern, and received a scratch behind the ears for her troubles. Once finished, Penny slumped.
"You're in pain." Juliana didn't need a nod to know the truth. She flopped into a seat right next to the girl, silence filling the space between them, no matter how loud the world was around them. She sighed. "I didn't…think things would end up this way."
"I didn't, either," Penny admitted. She clutched to her wound, the reminder of what she'd done for Juliana. "I just wanted my friend back."
"Cass-er, Penny, we…" Juliana didn't know what to say. That they were always friends? That things had changed? She, herself, didn't even know. She barely even knew what she wanted anymore. That left only a few words. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Penny's taken-aback countenance didn't stop Juliana from speaking.
"I ran away. From you. From Team Star. Like I said, I didn't want people to walk away from me, so I kept running and running. I was a coward. And you got hurt because I was a coward. Because I refused to…engage."
Penny pursed her lips, unable to say much of anything. She seemed to be stewing in her wounds, but eventually found the words to speak. "It hurt, you know. You leaving. I thought we had a real friendship, the seven of us. Something real. But when you left, it just tore open the already gaping wound of Team Star."
"You started to wonder if it was real at all. Sounds familiar."
"Started to think our bonds were weak. It rocked me, and I left. And when I came back, saw you again, I felt like I had to confront you. To make you realize. Maybe if I pushed you towards them, we could all feel those bonds holding us together again!" Penny looked like she was getting inspired, but the flash of pain reminded her of her body and she slumped once more. A breathless chuckle escaped her. "Maybe I was the one running away. And then seeing the way Des just twisted us round his finger…"
"Makes you really wonder if the bonds were real, or just manufactured."
"Of course, it was real," Arven said. He came close to the two girls, and before they knew it, he'd taken them in a hug. Penny winced, but otherwise let him. "Even if someone like Volo guided you towards each other, the bond you guys had was real. And hey, what's a little fighting between friends?"
"Friends…?" The word sounded foreign on both their lips, but when their eyes met again, it was the indisputable definition of what existed between them. Juliana started to laugh. Penny was quick to follow.
And it felt good. To stand in the same place as friends felt right.
It felt genuine.
At the same time, Volo's sneering, smirking face rose in her vision, and Juliana stopped laughing. Penny and Arven looked on at her in concern. "Now the question is what's next. Volo made it all feel like a lie, everything we did. Like we were all just dancing to his tune."
"Ser…" Ceruledge's acknowledgement, a startling one from the corner of the room, joined her own doubts. He was staring at his blades, as if wondering what good they were for, and Juliana's heart went out to him and all her Pokémon.
He wasn't the only one whose attention Juliana had gotten with her statement. "Maybe we were just manipulated by him, but that doesn't mean it was a lie, or not worth it. Juliana, nothing is-"
"A waste of time, I know." Juliana turned her gaze skyward, huffing out. "Guess I just don't know what to do next. Can I really keep pursuing answers when the world around me is falling apart? I can't keep pretending there's just me."
"Juli…" Penny's voice was as soft as Arven's, and both reached out to pat her on the shoulder. It gave her some small comfort. One broken by Gloria's heaviest sigh in the room.
"You're right. We can't keep wasting time pretending." Gloria snapped the journal shut. That was a sign for others to stand. "Ash, Champion Geeta, Serena, Cynthia, you all know what brought me here. Now that we know for a fact the words in this journal aren't fairy tale, but in fact a very real and present threat, I think it's time you see it for yourselves.
"All of you."
"All of them, Miss Gloria? What are you intending?" Clavell asked, his toupee shifting and his glasses almost falling from his face. Gloria frowned and smacked her lips.
"Director Clavell, with your permission, I'd like to take everyone in this room to Cabo Poco, soon as possible."
"Cabo Poco? Mi casa? Por qué?"
Gloria began to walk from the room with purposeful strides, and when she reached the end, she looked back. "I'm taking you to see her."
Storms crashed and wailed over Paldea, the odd pall cast over its skies covering up the sun. That didn't change with the party setting out south, each of them keeping a weather eye on the horizon for whatever threat was lurking. The quakes had reduced to nothing, but the unsettling air reached all the way to Los Platos.
"There's nothing to fear," Geeta assured everyone there, the lot of them turning to her and Clavell for some guidance in the trepidation consuming the region. Juliana just kept herself in her own head, watching Gloria for any hint of what they'd discover at their destination.
Nemona was no different, though the reason was undeniably the fact they were heading so close to home. It had the same effect on Koraidon, the giant lizard now jumpy, as if a turn around every corner held danger. This only got worse on leaving Los Platos and heading for the coast. Juliana didn't need three guesses to why, as even from the path, she could spot the shoreline leading to where they had first met.
"Gloria, where are we heading?" Ash asked as the sun was starting to set. Pikachu was atop his head, looking as confused as his trainer. The other Pokémon traveling with them were no different, and their trainers weren't much better.
Unlike the other million times Ash had asked, though, this time Gloria pointed in the direction of a lighthouse. "There. You'll see why."
"That lighthouse…" Arven muttered. He didn't elaborate, not until they got closer. "Wait a minute…I know this place. Something in my memory."
"You should. It's an abandoned lab that once belonged to your parents. Come on." Gloria hitched her bag, showcasing the gravitas befitting her position. Serena all but laughed at it, but followed her.
As the darkness seeped in around them, the lighthouse lit up, casting its mighty glow around the area. That made it feel as if it were a welcoming beacon, asking them to approach. Gloria showed no problem with that, soon reaching the side of the lighthouse, where a building had been built in. There was a keypad there, and a scanner.
"Okay, how do we get in?" Nemona asked, leaning forward.
"Could have Penny hack it," Juliana suggested, holding up her phone to suggest the girl not with them could assist. Gloria lowered that same phone.
"I have a code. But Arven, could you?" Arven pursed his lips. The conflict of emotions that had appeared since the battle yesterday rising in his eyes. It was almost as if she was asking him to confirm what Volo believed, and that was a scary thought in and of itself.
Gloria refused to take no for an answer, waiting expectantly. With no way out, Arven approached the door and pressed his hand to it. He quickly winced, as if something pricked his finger, but moments later a green light shone, and a lock clicked on the door. It swung open. Gloria led them inside.
It certainly lived up to its name of being abandoned. Dust and cobwebs covered the space like sheets, and many books had fallen from shelves in their disuse. Some spots looked as if a Dedenne had gotten in and chewed through things, while the computers next to the moth-eaten couch had certainly seen better days.
"What do we expect to find here?" Arven asked. He was halfway to biting his lips, holding his pricked finger while he observed the dilapidated lab.
"Not here. Lower." Gloria walked over to a bookcase, pushing at it. She strained, and soon found help from Ceruledge and Ash, managing to shove it aside to reveal a chrome door behind it. There was another keypad, and this time, Gloria entered the code. It earned more than a few incredulous looks for how she knew the secrets to Sada and Turo's lab. "I had someone change the code, if that's what you're wondering. One of the best tinkerers I've ever seen."
The door slid open, revealing an elevator. With a gesture, she ushered them all inside, making a tight fit. There was a shudder and a grinding, as if the elevator operated on a rusted crank that would send them plummeting to the depths. Juliana held on to Serena as they dropped, wondering if this was more threatening than Phantom Zero, only for the elevator to stop and the door to slide open.
A salty sea breeze hit her nostrils at once. Following that, the sound of waves lapping on docks could be heard. She wasn't the first one out of the elevator, but when she was, she was amazed by what she saw.
"It's a shipyard!" Nemona exclaimed. The three teens stepped forth, soaking in the true revelation of what existed under the lighthouse. Docks stretched out towards a small inlet, secluded from all but the most experienced seagoers. Computers were set up along the walls, monitoring something unseen, something that Juliana guessed was connected to the cables in the area, snaking across the concrete floor.
"My parents built all this…?" Arven asked, astonishment apparent in his wide eyes and slack-jawed mouth.
"Most of it, at least. I get the feeling they believed their research into Area Zero could also be tied to the sea. After all our research, I can understand why they dabbled in it for a bit."
"Hop!" Ash and Serena cried out. Everyone turned, catching sight of the young man dressed in a striking white lab coat. He had purple hair, shaped like an acorn of sorts, but Juliana didn't need any of that to recognize the brother of the former Champion of Galar. Well, that and who seemed to be Gloria's boyfriend, given the way she draped herself on him. Ash was quick to approach, clasping the young man's hand. "It's good to see you! Gloria rope you into her zany scheme?"
"Hey, I'll have you know half of this was Hop's idea."
"Not the disappearing part, you numpty." Hop flicked his girlfriend on the nose, and she responded with a peck on his lips. "Was surprised to hear you wanted to show them, though."
"Show us what?" Juliana asked, her voice joining the chorus of her fellow students.
Gloria removed herself from Hop and shoved her hands into the pockets of her battered cardigan. She turned away with a jerk of her head to follow the cables. "The reason I came to Paldea."
That was tantalizing enough, and everyone followed in step, moving over the cables towards what looked like a massive ship that took up most of the docks. It was a wonder they had been able to get such a barge inside, much more that no one had even managed to notice it after all this time. Hop, who was quick to keep up with them, was the first to explain it all.
"I know, looks barny. Must be asking how we managed to get it here."
"I'm amazed it's here at all."
"Pika…"
"Sera…" Juliana almost laughed at Ceruledge's sudden interest. It was almost like being around the Starmobiles and working on the elevator had somehow gotten him interested in mechanicals. That didn't matter to the issue at hand.
"Clemont and Sophocles had to help altering some manifests, and Clemont's been helping out with monitoring the situation. If it wasn't for his invention, we'd be no closer, and we definitely would have never thought of Paldea."
"Clemont's here?" Serena asked, surprised by the tidbit that Gloria hadn't shared. She still wasn't particularly forthcoming, their large group now reaching the ramp up to the barge. There were some crewmen about, each saluting Gloria like they were bound in her secrecy. Gloria saluted back and began to talk.
"A few months or so ago, I was called to the Crown Tundra by a research team," she explained, beginning the climb up. As they ascended, Juliana could see the boat didn't contain much in the way of amenities. Likely some bunks down below, but most of the deck was taken by a conspicuous warehouse to which the cables led. "What I found there was something beyond imagination. That's where the journal came from. Of course, I thought it was all legends and fairy tales, in some respect. Rather, I thought it was a warning for the future about legacies these two forces left behind.
"I could have never guessed that the Volo mentioned in the pages was the actual threat. After all, this journal is last dated fifty years ago."
"Fifty?!" Ash sounded like the number would make his brain implode.
"And yet, you kept it hidden."
"I'm sure she had her reasons, Geeta." Gloria allowed Clavell's benefit of the doubt to help the situation. "Now, truly, Miss Gloria, what is it you wish to show us?"
"The one we'll need. If Volo is real, only she can help. Just…get ready. She may be a wee bit of a shock." That was enough to make them all tilt their heads as they arrived at the hangar doors, soon shoved open.
Light flooded the hangar, blinding all of them for but a moment. Then, as the hangar doors locked into place, the light receded and Juliana got her first glimpse at what lay beyond there. Her mouth fell wide open. None of it matched the reaction on Ash, who ran forward, almost tripping over himself and Pikachu. Serena covered her mouth.
It was a crystal. One that shined with a radiance not dissimilar to Terastallization.
Juliana felt her body begin to shake, the concept fueling her bones with possibility. It was almost like reaching out to touch it would provide her with all the answers. She took a step forward, the opaque, blue surface shifting to reveal the contents within. Juliana's hand dropped.
Sealed inside was a girl, looking at best like she was stuck at the age of seventeen. Her hair was long and flowing, rooted into the crystal, as if its long sojourn had led to them blending together.
"Dawn?" Ash questioned. He reached the crystal, and put a hand out to touch it. Whether it was warm or cold, Juliana couldn't tell from his expression, but he asked the most pertinent question when he pulled away. "Is she alive?"
"By our estimations," called a new voice, and from behind the crystal emerged a young man, bedecked in glasses. Serena waved to him, and Juliana figured he was this "Clemont" the others had mentioned. "Every single thing we've monitored says she's alive inside the crystal. Has been for fifty years."
"So, it's not Dawn?"
"Pika, chu pika."
"Not Dawn," Gloria said. She leaned back, touching to the crystal and looking up at the sleeping face contained within. "Her name's Akari, and she's the best chance we have. I came to find a way to break her free. And now, with Volo up and about, we need her more than anything else."
As the adults broke down in fascination and reunion at the concept of all of it, Juliana found herself stepping forward. Her own hand touched the crystal, staring to that which could not stare back. There was a definite warmth there, and an unyielding determination inside the very foundation of the object that transcended time.
A pure grit and ability to move forward that put all of them to shame.
Juliana's hand dropped off, as if that thought shamed her. It brought to mind all that had transpired, from Team Star, to Phantom Zero, to her running away. Orthworm flashed before her eyes, and she remembered screaming at them to run. Yet here was incontrovertible proof of her dream, crystallized and showing a woman who possibly had never run.
"No." Her one word put every eye on her, including those of Hop and Clemont, stunned by the boldness with which she spoke. "No, Gloria. This isn't just about her. Even if you manage to bring her out of that crystal, the best chance Paldea has is…us."
"Juli," Nemona said, walking around to peer at her, "you sure?"
Juliana swallowed, her other hand reaching the crystal and grasping until she feared she would crack it. "No. But there's no more running. The world's here. That Volo, Des, whatever, brought it here. So, if we're going to help Paldea, if he's waiting for us in Area Zero, then it's us who has to go."
"Area Zero?" Arven said. He was almost incredulous, but the fire in his voice said everything about his intentions. "The place filled with bloodthirsty Pokémon and dangers the likes of which we can't imagine? You really think we can handle it?"
"It is, indeed, foolish as a thought," Geeta said. She wasn't as entranced by the glow of the crystal, nor who was inside it. "But, if this Volo is as deep a threat as you believe, Champion Gloria, then an expedition is necessary. And Arven, you may be key to that."
"How did I know you'd say that…?"
"What are you suggesting, Primera?" Nemona asked. The woman looked at her, eyes lidded as she considered her response. It was Clavell who managed to give it, however.
"The strongest of the strong, no doubt," he said. He chortled, his own eyes magnetically drawn to the woman in the crystal. "A final expedition to flush out the threat now presented to Paldea."
"It would make sense," Gloria said, breathing out so loud, the air thrummed with the energy. "Volo is heading for the heart of Area Zero. If we want to stop him before he lays waste to Paldea, if we want to free Akari, we need to get to that center, wherever the crystals lie. Wherever-"
"Where the truth at the center of Terastallization, the strange Pokémon and…Koraidon lies." Juliana looked back, glimpsing Koraidon as he beheld the crystal with equal parts awe and fear. She felt so close, closer than before. But inside, doubt overtook her in great measure. Her head fell.
No sooner had it than Serena placed a hand on her shoulder, and she tilted her head back up. "Juliana, are you scared? Or are you-?"
"I'm not scared," she said. Juliana took a quick breath to steady herself. She reached both hands, clenching them in a way that seemed to put the attention back on her. "Or maybe I am. Maybe I spent so long avoiding things that the thought of confronting Volo, of reaching the actual truth scares me. But…
"I can't keep running. Not when everything that's important is right here in front of me."
Serena smiled. Juliana wanted to emulate it, but found she couldn't, her lips instead set into a line of pure determination. Eventually, Serena echoed that. "That's what it means to be a trainer."
"Then that's what we have to do. What I have to do, at least," Juliana said. She gave another look upwards, drawing from the well of strength that was Akari and her crystallized form. "But it can't be just us. Because dangerous or no, all of us were involved, and so were the students. So was Team Star."
"Juli, you're not saying what I think you're saying, are you? Because getting to Team Star would be tricky."
"I'm not saying it'd be easy. But when has easy ever been right? This is probably the most difficult choice I've ever made."
"It certainly is a gutsy plan," Clavell admitted, looking amused at the concept. Arven agreed, shaking his head and looking about ready to laugh. Gloria's eyes twinkled with the thought.
"It's a foolish plan," Geeta chastised. Yet her words didn't deflate their sails. If anything, it made them soar higher, especially when Ash spoke.
"But it is a plan, Geeta. And right now, I want that more than ever."
"Pika! Chuuuuuu!"
"Sera seredge!" The combined fire and electricity caused some panic in the room, but most laughed. Juliana, however, watched Geeta and waited for her decision.
It was a while, waiting for her to react. For a moment, Juliana believed she'd turn them down wholesale. Yet after a few moments, she cracked, letting loose a chuckle. "A plan it is. And we have no other options left. It'll take some details to work out, but I think we can set a date to make our move. After all, Volo is waiting, so I think we can afford the extra effort.
"So, Director Clavell, let us work together with our teachers, students and Liaison to put together the Final Zero Expedition. In two weeks, we move out!"
That led to cheers. A sense of hope that had eluded them in the last forty-eight hours. They were moving forward. There was no turning away.
Juliana glanced once more up at Akari, and yet again grasped that hope. She raised her fist up, as if trying to let her see it.
No more running. It's time to step forward to the world around me.
I will get stronger.
Her promise greeted the dawn that slipped through the cracks.
Paldea was finding hope.
"Access denied."
"Typical," Volo sighed out. His feet shifted on the ground, the cracking and crunching of the crystal underneath his steps audible in that void of sound. There was the occasional cry emanating from above and from the depths, but the voice of the monitor denying him access to one of the facilities had been the only human contact he had experienced within. "What a paradise, hm?"
Not finding worth in taking his aggression out on the stand, Volo turned away, walking to the edge of the path. Great crystal structures stretched downward like a spiral, and the longer he looked, the more Volo could see them converge at but a single point. He scoffed. The very design felt deliberate and evocative of what he sought more than ever.
Still, it remained beyond his reach. He kicked some of the crystal refuse off, sending it tumbling until it hit a barrier below. As it did, a horrible cry screeched out from below.
Agiaaaaas!
"So, this is where you roost," he said, now finding himself amused. He cast his gaze around but was unable to find the source. Curious, he chose to take his feet in that direction, only for the hiss of a door to echo. Volo turned, and a wicked smirk cracked his face. "Well, well, look who decided to join the party. Here to eliminate me, Professor Sada? Professor Turo?"
Standing, framed in the doorway were the two professors, each watching and observing him until one, Turo, stepped forward. "For what purpose are you here?"
Volo raised an eyebrow, finding the question yet more amusing. Finding no harm in it, he relented. "I think we both know what I want: I'm here for the anchor of crystal that is tied to the gods."
Sada creaked forward, eyes flashing as they narrowed. "And why do you strive for it?"
Volo fully turned, and after a passing observation, found a plinth of rock to lean himself against. His smirk stretched wide, enough that any person would shiver. Yet his words were for two, and conviction filled them as he spoke, their declaration ringing across Area Zero.
"I want it so that I can see," he said, slouching as though sitting upon a throne. "I want to see, all to rend a mighty blow against the fabric of reality they've stitched for this world. I want to end their designs once and for all, and usher in a new era.
"And then, the era of the gods will be over."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: I struggled with this book. Is it obvious?
In the middle of writing this book, I gave up. I was about mid-Chapter 11 and I just…stopped. For six months I didn't write anything at all. Then I picked it up and finished the trilogy. I apologize if it led to a decrease in quality to past books, but I've simply been having a hard time with the series of late.
But that's not what anyone cares to talk about. Instead, we have some things revealed here at last: Akari is alive and sealed in crystal. I think this will answer a great many questions, while continuing to create more. That said, we have a goal moving forward for our heroes as they find some hope and we have a clearer picture of Volo's goals, one he hasn't abandoned for two hundred years: he wishes to topple the gods.
And with that, we set the stage for the final book of the Paldea Trilogy, Love in the Time of Tearing, which will arrive on Thursday, August 15th. I know that's quite a wait, but I need some time mentally. Instead, enjoy a small summary.
Love in the Time of Tearing
Ancienverse Book 13. Paldea has changed. The revelation of the Phantom's identity has washed over it, bringing with it disaster and confusion. Yet in this, it begins to find hope. Hoping to bring Team Star back and confront the one who twisted all their fates, Juliana takes a step into a wider world. And what she finds erupts beyond imagination.
The final adventure begins here.
And so, I take my leave. If you enjoyed or didn't, leave me a review or comment, but until next we meet…
Dare to Be Silly,
Epicocity