A shorter chapter, but one no less fraught with danger and mystery. Into Chapter 18 we plummet!


Chapter 18

A Lie

No one wanted to answer Juliana's question. The sheer implication of what it could mean, even when the truth was staring them in the face, was something that couldn't be answered aloud. Most of all was Arven, his breath turned shaky as he stared at the silent, lifeless forms of his crystallized parents.

For all the times he'd called out to them since he'd arrived, the realization that they hadn't even been speaking to the professors was a horrifying one.

"Y-you are sp-speaking to the pr-pr-professors." It was the same voice as before, Turo's voice, but now something seemed off about it. Perhaps it was a result of them calling the bluff, or maybe their position, or just being aware of the discrepancy. Arven, most of all, picked his head up. His forehead was creased with worry and terrible revelation.

"I thought it was just a bad connection," he said, unable to tear his eyes away from his parents. Mabosstiff and Crocalor both approached, tackling the crystal as if they could budge it. The surface remained intact, however. Koraidon offered a low, doleful whine in his own stare at his former caretakers.

"Area Zero does have bad connection," Penny said. She removed her glasses and tried to clean them as some sort of nervous tic. It did her no good. "It's why we're using the MIRCS."

"I know that!" Arven snapped. "But this was… Juli, you heard it, too. All the times they called."

"We can't say for sure," Juliana said. Arven gave her his most exasperated look, begging her to agree with him, to make some sense of whatever was going on here. She wanted to, as well, and she approached to grab his arm, giving him some comfort. "But it was odd how they always seemed to know the perfect time to contact us. There's no way as people we could have managed."

"So, like you said: who have we been talking to?"

The building suddenly shook, a rumble passing through that was neither natural nor wanted. Nemona's whole body seized up, her eyes turning to the ceiling for a brief second. When the vibrations ceased, she turned back to the others. "Whatever the answer is, let's get looking."

"Leave it to me," Penny said. She cracked her knuckles, approaching the computer that was half covered in crystal. Eevee slapped her tail against it, breaking off the parts they needed. She paused a moment. "I can say your parents must have been alive until recently, though. This setup is way more modern and far less disused than the other one."

"But is there anything worth looking at?" Juliana asked. Penny gave a shrug and started to access the computer the best way she knew how. Leaving her to her own devices, Juliana looked up to Arven. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Don't know," he answered honestly. Koraidon padded up to him, nuzzling his snout against Arven, but the boy responded with a mere pat. "It's not like my parents were ever around, so that doesn't change things. But I thought if I could talk with them…"

"I'm in!" Penny's shout interrupted Arven's musings. With a shake of his head, he banished all negative thoughts, turning towards what needed to be done. Juliana couldn't fault him for it; she was doing the exact same thing. They both approached Penny as she began to swipe through files. "This has way more detail. They must have locked a lot of their key research here. There's only one file I can't access: Lab Logs."

"Must be a bigger laboratory at the bottom, considering this is just a research station," Juliana said. She leaned on the console, eyes roving over all the different files and datapoints that existed. It was a veritable maze of documents. "Where do we even start?"

"The beginning, maybe?" Arven suggested. It wasn't what he actually wanted, but no one sought to challenge him on it.

"How about this one? Looks like a hefty file size. Dated…fifty years ago?!"

"Wasn't that the last expedition before the one Sada and Turo led?" Nemona asked. They all jumped as the building shook again, raining tiny fragments of crystal dust over their heads. Not wasting any more time, Penny was quick to click on the file, finding it to be little more than a digitized archive of the journals at the time.

"More boring observational logs, though it does note that the first patch of crystal seemed to have started deep in the depths, and it didn't grow for a long while." Penny flipped through the pages, giving Juliana no time to peruse them for any explanations. Most of it seemed rather dry from a glance, though, until Juliana caught a mention of the expedition team and slapped out her hand to stop Penny. "Ah, good catch. Looks like this was when the crystal started expanding. The researchers at the time theorized that whatever the fragment of whatever was started resonating with increased volatility. Volatility in what?"

"The world, maybe?" Juliana suggested. She took over, scrolling through the documents for any further elaboration. There was none, the researchers taking as much of a shot in the dark as the rest of them. "I remember the adults all talking about tipping points and stuff. Maybe, if this was connected to that, whatever was here started unconsciously setting up defenses."

"Or maybe something made it," Arven said. His finger pressed to the hologram of the information, piercing the light to bring mention to a single phrase: "sole survivor".

Juliana leaned in, absorbing as much of the information surrounding those words as possible. She didn't realize it, but her mouth started rambling off the information, though she wasn't sure if it was paraphrased or verbatim. "The last expedition was a team of twenty. They made it all the way to the bottom and were the first ones to build the lab. They used the Scarlet and Violet Books and found Heath's 'Indigo Disk', or a fragment of it. Tested it. Then…"

Juliana let loose a shuddering breath. Penny turned to her in alarm. "Then what?!"

"Something came through." Koraidon whimpered, providing them with all the explanation they needed. "There was a battle, but no details. Just that by the end of it, there was only a single survivor left to tell the tale. The creature was sealed away."

"Until my parents let it loose."

"I don't think they intended to, but then, we don't know what they were doing with their research, do we?"

"Maybe it's time we found out," Penny said. She clicked away, and in bright words she hovered over those that read "Research Logs", dated over the last couple years. The thought of piercing the minds of the professors was daunting, but Nemona's look of alarm when the building shook again convinced them all to click.

A video appeared, a slightly younger Sada holding a camera while Turo worked in the background.

"Early days still," the woman said. She already looked tired, rubbing at her eyes. "We've managed to gain access to the lab, but there's been no sign of the creature that attacked the previous team. Though most Pokémon live longer than humans, it's likely decomposed by now. But the disc is fascinating. It's a property unlike anything I've ever seen. Likely part of some Pokémon. If it's been here for so long, I'm curious if it has some memory of its own."

"Memory? Honey, it's more likely giving us visions of the future." Sada rolled her eyes on the screen.

"Not this old debate again. Turo, I-" The video ended, parts of it looking to have been erased by the creator, herself. Arven had drawn closer, and Penny clicked on a different video log.

"We've expanded the research team," Turo said, now his face on the monitor. "Looks like there's been a lot more research than we thought, and a lot more interest. There's no surprise. An alien creature like that Eternatus appearing leaves things ripe for speculation, especially with the potential connection to a place just as alien.

"Everything here lives and thrives on its own terms. Time, memory, it all pools here. You could spend what feels like minutes down in the crystal, absorbed in its reflections and find years have passed on the outside. It's fascinating…and such a waste. Though if there was a way to warp that reality…return that time…"

"Turo, hon, are you coming to bed? I want to call Arven before we turn in!"

"Ah, coming!" Another message ended.

"What happened to them down here…?" Arven asked. He turned back to the crystallized form of his parents, his body starting to shake at whatever disturbed portents were settling in his head. "What madness did you two discover?"

It certainly sounded like a growing madness, and when Penny clicked on the next log, that madness was all but confirmed.

"We finally figured it out. Or Turo did. I just posited the theory, but he's making it actually happen." Sada's smile looked waxy, drawn on days or perhaps weeks of no sleep. There were rings around her eyes, wide and glowing with an escalating madness. Juliana found herself almost tripping backwards over Koraidon. "This place is everything. A cocoon shell for the very center of the world. Time, space, memory, it's all anchored here. Has been for centuries! That's how those creatures could slip through. Haphazard and unwelcome, but the Paradox Pokémon emerged here all the same.

"Turo is hard at work, though. Around that crystal core, he's building the machine. If we can get a glimpse of both past and future, we'll be able to uncover all the secrets. Everything. Terastallization! Tipping Points! The possibilities are endless!"

Penny clicked over to the next, almost frenzied in how much she didn't want to hear spewing from the professors' mouths.

"We got it to work, called a Pokémon from the past. I can't be sure it actually is from the past, though. It could just be the disc's imagination of one. But it's very real so long as the core is here." Turo looked on the verge of laughter, one all too maddening. Koraidon backed up, whimpering as he heard the source of his own origins. "We have to keep the machine safe, monitor its usage. We'll use Arven's DNA to-"

"They're all dead," Sada sighed, her voice emanating from another video. "But we can't stop."

"Okay, that's enough," Arven said, his voice raising in pitch.

"To ensure a future that doesn't repeat the mistakes of the past, we need to protect the machine. We need to study it. But our lives are at risk down here. Turo has a plan." The video glitched in and out, Sada's face distorting with every line said. "The crystal is only harmful to living organisms. It draws them out, seeking to eradicate anything it doesn't desire. We're basing our own protection protocol on it, using Koraidon as a basis. But we must keep the Paradox Pokémon locked up, especially that beast.

"It will not stop hunting Koraidon until either it subsumes it, or it returns home. So, we need to do this."

More glitches. Juliana started shaking her head, all of the successes and failures the professors had managed coming out. Everything that had led them here. Everything that allowed Volo to get his foothold in this place. Her fist tightened.

"We're going to see Arven. It's all we have left. His last visit. I only hope it's a safe one before the art-"

"I said enough!" Arven roared, tears streaking down his face. Penny's hand slipped, accidentally clicking on one final video.

This one didn't have Sada immediately. Instead, it showed a wreckage of metal and flames. The screen soon moved, and on it appeared an ashen Sada.

"Arven…" she gasped out, her throat gravelly. "I hope you're well. Please be well. We want to see you again. We want to-" She sucked in a breath. "Be careful, Arven. Tell the League to be careful. Tell them…the Phantom is here. You need to know. But most of all, you need to know…we need to see you again. We need to tell you that we lo-"

The video ended, replaced with nothing but static.

No one said a word, letting the maddening logs and Sada's final, tearful address hang in the air. Juliana swallowed, wanting to find the words, but managing nothing.

It was Nemona who stepped forth, her shoes crunching on the crystal. She stopped behind Arven, placing a hand on his back. He did and said nothing. A moment longer passed, and Nemona leaned in, wrapping her arms around him. "They loved you, Arven."

Arven scoffed. "They went crazy, by the end."

"Maybe," Nemona said, her words becoming careful whispers in his ear. "But in their last moments, they used it to tell you that they loved you. That you were all that mattered."

Arven clasped her hands, squeezing them. He started to shake, unable to stop the tears that fell on Mabosstiff's fur. Juliana approached, burying her own grief so that she, too, could hug Arven. He tried to hold back his own tears, sniffling.

"I know." He held them all close, taking a step towards the crystal of his parents. "I know they did. That's why I… It's why…

"I wish I had so much more time to tell them everything!"

Arven's fist raised, beating the crystal but making not a single dent. He looked like he wanted to keep beating it, trying to impart those feelings. Those of frustration, anger and abandonment, but also ones of understanding and love. Juliana held tighter.

"They hear it, Arven. They hear everything." She bit her lip, keeping her own tears locked tight. "That's why we keep going. Because even if they're not here, they know, and that's…that's where we have to find our strength."

"The strength to do what needs to be done," Arven said. He nodded, reaching up to wipe away his tears. "The strength to stop Volo and make sure everything my parents were trying to protect stays that way." He reached out, hugging both Juliana and Nemona, holding them close. "Thank you."

"If we're looking for how to stop Volo, I think the answer is pretty clear," Penny said. It broke the group apart, each of them detaching from Arven and facing the girl as she continued swiping through the more written logs. There were blueprints and calculations, things that none of them could make sense of in the time they had. "This machine is the key. It sounds like a kind of time travel device powered by this crystal core. There's little doubt that Volo wants to use it, and it's also powering the Paradox Pokémon."

"And only Arven could access it…" Juliana tapped a finger to her chin. "You up for it?"

"We stop it, we stop the crystallization, the Paradox Pokémon and Volo. I don't see this as anything but a win-win," Arven said. His fist reached out, bumping against Juliana's. Their path was set.

Then they were tackled by Nemona. "Look out!"

"GIAAAAAAAAS!" The roof caved in with a roar. Stone, metal and crystal rained down. Through it came a slicing green blender in the form of Miraidon, eyes turned an angry red and focused on the only thing it appeared to care about: its counterpart.

"Block it!" Juliana and Nemona shouted. From the corners of the room, Ceruledge and Pawmot dashed, throwing their blades and fists against the angry green Dragon Claw. Penny stumbled back from the force of the collision.

"Agia!" Electricity consumed Miraidon's body, and with a spin, both Ceruledge and Pawmot were shot to the sides.

"Evui!" Penny's Eevee ran forward, hunkering down and forming a shield between Miraidon and the recovering group. It was certainly weaker than Sylveon's shield, and the sight of it made Juliana's heart clench with fear. Serena wasn't there.

"I'm sure she's fine," Nemona said, pushing up. She had another Poké Ball in her hand, tossing it as she tightened her armbrace. "Serena's tough. This thing probably only has eyes for Koraidon, though. Which means, so long as he's here, that thing'll chase it down."

"N-not if we hold it back! B-buy t-time." Penny was crawling over the computer as she said it, her legs barely helping her stand. Nemona quirked an eyebrow at her.

"You sure, Pen?"

"We're not r-running. Arven needs to get down there, and if Koraidon needs to go with him, to get away, then Juli-"

"Agia!" Miraidon dove. Nemona tossed her Poké Ball, Tauros appearing and charging head on with a shield of Protect bolstering him. He clashed with Miraidon, the result cracking crystal and parts of the lab around them. Koraidon whined, backing up against the wall as it shined with visions in their reflections.

"Que bueno, Pen. Juli, you and Arven get moving! We'll catch up!"

"Are you mad? That thing'll churn you both up!" It wasn't far from the truth; already, Miraidon was pushing them back, requiring both girls to prop Tauros up. The slitted, red eyes continued to stare right at Koraidon.

"Kooor… Kor…"

"This is no time to freeze up, buddy," Arven said, patting Koraidon on the head. He still refused to move. The pure fear that had paralyzed him on Glaseado returned, all of it carried by Miraidon.

Of course. It's the thing that beat you. Juliana inhaled, and stepped close. "I know, you're scared. We all are. Now that we know the truth, it's scary. But Koraidon, if anyone can beat that thing it's you. So be brave. I need you to be brave now. Cause we're right by your side.

"Fight, Koraidon!"

His feet stamped, his breathing gone shallow. Yet Juliana could hear everything. Every snort. Every breath. Every fight taking place here and now, elsewhere and even fights she never could have imagined. The crystal reflected them all. Ash and Gloria battling hordes of Paradox Pokémon. Serena running down a crystal path with a broken arm. Jessie, James and Meowth issuing orders to Team Star. Cynthia and Garchomp knocking down a prehistoric Misdreavus. Geeta and her Elite Four clearing out the skies. They were all there, each fighting the same battle.

The battle that could only end if they stopped Miraidon and got to the bottom.

Koraidon blinked, his eyes widening, and the truth set in at last: he wasn't alone.

"Kor!" He took a step forward, just as Miraidon pierced through. Nemona and Penny dodged, spinning around on the crystal as they prepared another attack to hold the enraged, futuristic dragon back. Meowscarada appeared, but she was too slow. There's was no chance of stopping Miraidon. Not before Koraidon did something at least.

He stood on his hindlegs, summoning the crystal energy he had fired before. Scales along his tail crystallized further, Juliana realizing that they hadn't faded from the last attempt. Before she could observe further, Koraidon fired, a short blast that nevertheless seared the air and shot straight across Miraidon.

The metal lizard fell, part of its armor smoking. Where it hit, more cracks in the floor appeared. Koraidon fell back on his front legs, snorting.

"AGIAAAAAAAAAAAS!"

"Oh crap. I think we made it angry!"

"JULI!" The tandem call of the other girls alerted Juliana to both threats. She backed up, gripping Arven and Koraidon tight, while before them, Miraidon loomed.

Its eyes became slits, unseeing and unthinking. All it did was react, seeking to destroy everything around it. Light vanished before them, being absorbed into the floating form of Miraidon to coalesce at its mouth. Even breath seemed to disappear as it did so.

It's a creature cut off from its own time, Juliana thought, seeing its unbridled rage prepare to smite all around them. All it knows is death and destruction and the need to win over its counterpart. To protect its own existence because it doesn't have anything but that. It won't stop until Koraidon is-

"GYAAAAAA!" The Tera Blast fired, haphazardly cutting around the entire lab. Computers exploded and crystals cracked, sending a resonating snap all the way through the spine of Area Zero. The floor became unbalanced, but Juliana had no time to find purchase, too busy ducking under the bright beam that had no set target.

The floor was split in two. Nemona and Penny ran for them, their arms extending.

They were too late, however. With one last crack, the floor of the research lab gave way, ripping the house of crystal apart. Juliana, Arven, their Pokémon and Koraidon fell, tumbling into the abyss as Miraidon razed the world above.


"More over this way!"

"Of course, there's more! Whenever we're in a battle like this, there's never not more! Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Ash dove into a slide across the lake's surface, splashing water all over Gloria. As he did, Pikachu launched himself from one of Cinderace's kicks, summoning a bevy of electrified orbs that he fired across to the mechanized Tyranitar.

Water was churned up on the other side, a familiar metal Donphan speeding its way for the pair of trainers. It bounced up the line of jagged crystals, screeching through the air. "Ugh, we do not have time for this. Cinderace!"

"Cindah!" With a mighty leap, Cinderace spun through the air like a corkscrew, his flaming feet impacting with the Donphan and sending it crashing into the wall. Some of the crystal veins cracked off, shuddering Akari's crystal, but the object remained as immoveable as ever. Gloria stood, feeling soaked but with enough energy to put her back against Ash's.

"Where the heck do they keep coming from?" Ash said, clearly fed up with the whole situation. He looked up, and on his mark, Charizard came sailing down, unleashing a torrent of flame on all the metal Pokémon that were attacking. "It's endless!"

"Pikaaaa…" Pikachu shook his head, taking the breather that Charizard provided. He slapped his cheeks, sparks raining from them, and then lowered himself on all fours.

"There's gotta be a source," Gloria said. Her mind was only half there, though, mostly focusing on the crystal above. "Source of these Pokémon. Source of all this crystal. I'd say if we find it and wreck it then we can hit both our goals at once."

"Problem, Gloria," Ash shouted. He gripped her, dragging her down. Pikachu and Cinderace flew over their heads, each striking a metal Volcarona and the Pokémon known as a Roaring Moon. It only deterred them somewhat. "We don't know what that is and we're in a tight spot of getting there!"

"Then let's just burn it all down!'

"Oh, come on! We don't even know what 'it' is!" The pair ducked together, under a swinging pair of scythes from the Iron Valiant. Pikachu leapt from Cinderace's head, cracking his Iron Tail and beginning a midair duel with the stubborn creature. Gloria grimaced, knowing Ash was right but not wanting to admit it.

She ended up validated just seconds later. As the Iron Valiant was pushed back, the crystal began to act up, displaying images across its surface, right down to the very surface of the lake. Like horrible magic, a voice echoed with it, sounding eerily akin to Penny's.

Probably because, as Gloria quickly realized, it was Penny.

"If we're looking for how to stop Volo, I think the answer is pretty clear," Penny said, her voice producing an echo that made it sound like the voice of legion. Other flashes showed Juliana and the others with her, but they didn't notice the duo nearby, continuing forward. "This machine is the key. It sounds like a kind of time travel device powered by this crystal core. There's little doubt that Volo wants to use it, and it's also powering the Paradox Pokémon."

"That's it!" Gloria remarked, grinning. She cracked her knuckles, more inspired than ever.

"But could you risk it?" The pair backed up again, their elbows knocking against one another as they made a swift three-sixty around the crystal lake. They only stopped when they saw Volo, looking strange, as though he was seated. The only normal thing about him was the smirk stretching his features. "You could destroy it, but that would be riskier than leaving it be."

"Like I believe that," Ash snapped. At his snarl, Pikachu and Cinderace skidded right in front of them. At the fringes, Charizard played defense, allowing them to focus on Volo's illusory form and the large crystal framed behind him. "Those Pokémon are attacking Paldea. If we leave it, then we'd never forgive ourselves."

"And that's a choice you have to make. Sacrifice is necessary to build a new world. And if you destroy the machine, the anchor, you are making a sacrifice."

"Like what, exactly?" Gloria stepped forth, sloshing through the water. The ground beneath her feet thrummed, pulsing up the crystal veins all the way to Akari. "Your precious little future that you manipulated and poisoned people for."

"A future," Volo stressed. "When you destroy a point, a future is forever lost to the ether. And that is the loss of something most precious."

"You only think that way because all you can do is take from others!" Ash shouted back. That made Volo twitch, annoyance creeping up his face.

"And the gods have taken so much more. But I am willing to wade through blood and sacrifice to reach my goal. Are you?" Volo still didn't move, but neither Ash nor Gloria tried to strike at him, knowing how pointless it would be. "Can you make the choice to sacrifice? If you destroy that core then yes, you'll probably get rid of the Paradox Pokémon, but you'll be obliterating a future and likely damn your precious Koraidon to oblivion."

"So what? If that's the case, we'll make our own future!" Gloria countered. Loud metal tromping could be heard, and horrendous screeching. The Paradox Pokémon were closing in on them once again. Volo chuckled.

"Of course, you'd say that. You'd know more than anyone, the girl who led the charge against Eternatus. You saw those infinite futures and know how they can be attained." Volo's body flickered, the ground rumbling again. His eyes went cold, boring into the pair. "But I will only have one future."

"Then we'll stop it!" Ash argued back. Pikachu's cheeks sparked, ready for another battle. Underneath, the rumbling reached a peak, threatening to tear the crystal apart from underfoot.

"Then you still don't understand what it takes. Akari understood. She gave it all. Stopping at nothing, sacrificing everything. Can you?" His repeated question was the last before he vanished, though it seemed not out of want. His words still echoed their ominous portents, causing Gloria to growl.

The growl didn't last long, though, as right beneath her feet, the ground swelled and began to crack. She and Ash backed away from another. Mere seconds later, she was glad they did. A giant, crystal beam ripped its way out through the ground, haphazardly razing the air around them. The pair ducked, diving into the shallow surface of the water and keeping low.

The beam continued wildly overhead, ripping through the Paradox Pokémon and cutting along the crystal that covered every inch of the walls. Some of it sliced apart the lake that remained, revealing the depths below until it finally stopped. Having a chance to catch her breath, Gloria looked up. A wicked grin crossed over her face.

"So, there is a resonance," she breathed out. Her hand reached out, grabbing to a crystal spine in order to lift herself up. She smashed her fist against her palm. "Cinderace, new plan. Break every crystal surface you see."

"Gloria?" Ash's confused question was answered only by her pointing forward to the only thing that mattered. His eyes widened, seeing the reality laid bare.

Akari's crystal had begun to crack.


Author's Note: I enjoyed writing those maddening logs. There was something fun about it. Though obviously Area Zero hasn't given up all its secrets quite yet. That said, this finally filled in a lot of the context surrounding that first chapter and raised the stakes yet higher. And with Akari's crystal beginning to crack, we're getting so close to the core of it and what Volo's ambitions truly are.

So, with all that said, I'll leave you until next time. Please remember to review and comment and, until then, Dare to Be Silly.