Author's Note: This chapter took a little longer than I would have liked, but that was because I was writing it concurrently with Chapter 45. As a result, 45 is nearly done! I hope you're all ready to head into the Hoenn arc's finale! Please let me know what you think, and enjoy!
Chapter 44: Messenger from the Heavens
Everyone was frozen on the spot, staring in awe as the serpent spiraled downward. No one dared to speak. No one dared to breathe. It was like the entire earth had gone still, all eyes watching the emerald ribbon twisting gracefully through the air.
Rayquaza was here. It could put an end to all of this, just like last time.
And then out of nowhere, a piercing Ice Beam crashed against the serpent's body. Rayquaza snarled in pain, falling backward in midair as ice crystals coated its scales. Curling its body inward, the dragon shattered the ice into bits before jerking its head in the direction of the beam.
"*What is the meaning of this?*" it demanded, the words echoing through the still air.
A sound echoed in reply. Wingbeats. Then Articuno soared into view, snow trailing from its long, ribbonlike tail. Seeing it was a cold, jarring crash back into the reality of the situation.
Articuno fired again, but this time Rayquaza was ready. The serpent looped out of the way as smoothly as wind, then steadied itself and roared at its attacker.
"*Explain yourself!*"
It didn't know. It had no clue what this attack meant.
Articuno leveled its flight, staring down the serpent. And then, with a roar, the entire fleet of airships shot into view at top speed. Over a dozen of them—flying, mobile ALRs, all zeroing in on Rayquaza.
"We've gotta stop them!" Rudy yelled, climbing back onto Moltres's back in a hurry. Not even a second later, Moltres launched into the air, sending a rush of warmth through the street.
Lugia and Ho-oh glanced at each other briefly before taking off after the firebird. Mew had already begun to transform, growing horns, a tail, wings… she'd become a Charizard! Ajia hopped on her back, and the two immediately took off after the gold and silver birds.
"I've gotta help Lugia," I muttered, turning to run back toward the town square, where I'd find my team still helping with the evacuation. But then my eyes fell on Starr and Darren, and my heart sank.
"You guys…"
Neither of them had flying Pokémon available. I had to go, but they couldn't come with me. Not unless either of them rode one of my Pokémon. But that meant none of us would have a backup flyer and that was just insanely risky and—
Darren folded his arms behind his head. "Hey, I get it. My team and I are gonna keep working down here. I get the feeling this place is gonna go down in flames soon. Gotta help out where I can."
I turned away from him, to where Starr was very deliberately avoiding my eye.
My throat clenched. "Starr…"
"There's no point in repeating all the things I've already said," she cut in. For a few seconds, she didn't say anything else. But then she turned sharply toward me, jabbing a finger in my direction. "You've got a Legendary at your back, right? Use it. And tell Lugia that if it gets you killed, I will figure out a way to make it regret it."
Relief washed over me. "Right. Okay. Good luck down here!" I yelled before taking off in the opposite direction.
I sprinted down the stone streets of Sootopolis, scanning the airspace overhead for any sign of my Pokémon. I found Swift first and flagged him down. With his eyes, it didn't take us long to locate the others. Then we took off for the center of the crater, where the airships were rapidly closing in on the Legendaries.
Articuno was still doggedly focusing on Rayquaza. Lugia rushed in, flapping its wings to stir up a fierce whirlwind and knocking Articuno's flight askew. The ice bird regained itself within seconds, firing back with a blinding Ice Beam. Lugia folded its wings in front of itself right as the beam struck, exploding into a vicious flurry of snow and ice with way more force than I expected. So much force that it sent the dragon-bird reeling backward. I winced as Lugia shook the shards of ice from its wings, jolts of frustration piercing its thoughts.
[That hit was far stronger than usual from Articuno. What have the humans done to them?]
I blinked. [What? Some kind of battle enhancements?] It never would have occurred to me to use those on Legendaries. But of course the Rockets had thought of it. They knew they'd be having to fight us.
An uneasy feeling crept down my spine. The airships had arranged themselves in a large circle around Rayquaza, slowly drawing inward. There wasn't much time left. Lugia glanced back and forth hurriedly before flapping hard to gain altitude.
[The Rockets are closing in! Get Rayquaza out of there!] I yelled.
Lugia hesitated, jolts of anxiety dancing through its mind. [That's right in the middle of their forces. They'll have units ready to capture us.] I felt wisps of… fear? What? It was afraid?
[And? Do you want them to capture it?!]
The fear melted into anger, a smothering wave of it, flooding my brain from all sides. I wanted to curl into a tiny corner of my head where I didn't have to feel it. But… no. No, I couldn't let myself care about that, not right now, this was too important. And so, fighting back every instinct screaming at me to just let Lugia do whatever it wanted, I snapped back with, [Look, do you want them to catch it? Just do it!]
The anger broke for just a moment. I was sure it was going to round on me, unleash some kind of psychic fury on me for yelling at it. But then, without another word, it turned and folded its wings back, diving straight into the center of the ALR circle. Lugia fired a burst of water that knocked Articuno aside and then turned to Rayquaza, who was currently sizing up the circle of airships.
[You need to leave this place!] Lugia yelled.
Part of me half expected the emerald dragon to ignore Lugia, just like the other two had. But no, it circled back toward Lugia, fixing its golden eyes on the seabird.
"*So long as the land and the sea continue their dance, I must be the one to calm their spirits,*" Rayquaza stated simply.
[The humans are trying to catch you! Do you even know what that means?! Do you even pay attention to what happens beneath the clouds, or are you too busy reigning from on high to—]
"*Leave me be, sea guardian!*" Rayquaza snapped. "*Your input is neither wanted nor needed!*"
Lugia's wordless scream of frustration echoed throughout my head.
I couldn't really say I was surprised. [Groudon and Kyogre didn't understand what you were talking about either,] I pointed out.
[Those two have been asleep all this time,] Lugia countered. [That one doesn't have that excuse!]
A sudden Thunderbolt fired at Rayquaza. I turned in its direction to see… Raikou? Standing on the back of an airship! A second bolt fired, but Rayquaza was ready for it this time, looping out of the way in one smooth motion before retaliating with a vicious blast of dragonfire. With a mighty leap, Raikou arced through the air, landing on the next airship over while Rayquaza's attack enveloped its previous ride.
The ship didn't swerve or make any effort to move. Almost like it wanted to…
It wanted to get hit. That was the energy they needed!
The ship's shield projectors crackled with sparks. Waves of energy rippled outward, linking with the rest of the ships, forming a web, slowly encircling the sky battle in an enormous bubble.
[The barrier is forming! Get out of there!] I yelled.
Lugia flapped its wings, powering itself forward at top speed even as the waves of energy shot from airship to airship all around it. Ho-oh flew after it in a hurry, zeroing in on the spot furthest from the barrier's origin point, the web slowly encroaching. Only a few seconds left before they were trapped. Come on!
Folding its wings inward, Lugia shot through the opening like a missile. Not even a second later, Ho-oh slipped through, the wall of energy catching on its tail feathers with a small jolt of sparks. I almost collapsed with relief. They'd escaped… although now they couldn't defend Rayquaza. It was trapped inside the barrier with Articuno and… a Charizard? Wait—Mew and Ajia were still in there! They'd stayed behind to protect it! Two Legendaries against one. But Articuno was stronger than usual. And still, Mew had to fight, which meant she couldn't protect Ajia at the same time. What if she got hit?
Rayquaza jerked its head back and forth, apparently realizing that it was completely surrounded. Then its attention snapped to Articuno right as the ice bird began gathering icy energy in its beak. Mew swooped in front, countering with a blast of white-hot flame that totally overwhelmed the oncoming Ice Beam. Way stronger than any real Charizard's flame, that was for sure. Meanwhile, outside the barrier, Lugia was circling restlessly, firing blades of wind from its wingtips, one after another. But it was no use. With that barrier up, the ALR circle could just absorb anything Lugia could dish out.
[It's no good, attacking the barrier like that won't work,] I told Lugia.
[How are we meant to break through, then?]
[We'd all need to attack together—that's the only way to overload it. Surround it from all sides, while Rayquaza attacks from the inside.]
Attacking from the outside wouldn't be so easy though. Not with Raikou and Entei patrolling the perimeter by leaping from ship to ship. The two beasts were perched on platforms atop each ALR, almost like the platforms were designed for them. We'd never had to attack ALRs that were being guarded by Legendaries. Usually it was the other way around. How the hell were we supposed to get at them?
Both beasts had riders, too. Raven was glaring daggers at Rudy and Moltres—we'd stolen Moltres from her, of course she'd want it back. And Lexx… he actually waved upon looking toward us, and a burning anger welled up inside me. Just what the hell was Lexx doing, playing like he was our friend every time we saw him. He'd ruined the Aqua's forces. It was his fault that the Rockets had gotten the Blue Orb and Matt had been stabbed and… and Jet…
Raikou opened its mouth and lazily fired off a Shadow Ball at Lugia. I pointed forward and Swift swept a wing outward to block it, the ghostly energy streaming over his feathers harmlessly.
Lexx put a hand to the side of his mouth. "Might wanna stay back!" he called out. "Gonna get pretty chaotic in a bit!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" I yelled back.
But before he could answer, I caught a glint of flames in my peripheral vision. I spun around and—
"Look out!"
A blazing Flamethrower shot past us. Swift cried out in pain, his wing completely scorched. I hurriedly grabbed a Full Heal from my belt pouch and reached out as far as I could, spraying down his wing while he struggled to keep our flight steady. Where had that even come from? I threw a frantic look over my shoulder, and—oh crap. Entei, leaping toward us, already gathering more flames in its mouth.
"Quick Attack!" I yelled, and Swift put on a sudden burst of speed. Just enough that the next Flamethrower went sailing past. Chibi fired off a narrow string of lightning behind us, but by now we were far enough that Entei had plenty of time to leap aside.
"Save your power, we're not fighting Entei. Not again," I warned him.
Chibi gave a small huff but didn't protest.
"How is your power, anyway?" I'd never asked how much he used up during the fight to protect the Aquas.
Chibi turned away, avoiding my eye. "*It's low. Used a lot of it in the last fight. Haven't had enough time to charge back up.*" It was obviously hard for him to admit, since he was supposed to be the team powerhouse.
"We gotta get you more. Just need to find a source of electricity and…" Hang on—Raikou was here. Where was Entei… Okay good, Entei was distracted by Moltres right now. We had a clear path.
"Let's get you that power. Swift, fly close to Raikou."
Our flight path veered closer to the airship. Chibi tensed up, ready to leap at any moment. Lexx glanced in our direction.
"Now!"
Chibi leaped from my shoulder, falling straight at Lexx, tail glowing like he was going for an Iron Tail. Would he realize what we were playing at? For just a second, I could have sworn I saw him crack a smile right before Raikou unleashed a Thunderbolt at Chibi. The lightning struck, enveloping him. The Pikachu clenched his teeth, screwing his eyes shut. Then all his fur stood on end as the energy was pulled into his body.
He was falling now. Swift dove down just in time for me to throw my arms up and catch him. I immediately clutched him to my chest, feeling all my hair stand on end from the static charge. As we flew past Raikou, I caught sight of Lexx, still smirking. He knew exactly what he'd done.
I looked back down at Chibi. His breathing was erratic, sparks coursing through his feathers.
"You alright?" I asked.
"*Fine. Better now.*" he said with the tiniest trace of a grin.
I grinned back. "Alright. Let's save Rayquaza."
Swift flapped powerfully to gain altitude before circling high above the barrier. We could see most of the Legendaries below us, and they most likely wouldn't notice us up here. Inside the barrier, Articuno and Rayquaza traded blows, with Mew still breathing out streams of fire to limit the ice bird's mobility. I didn't want to believe for a second that they'd be okay just because it was two-on-one. Articuno had a massive advantage, and… now that I was paying attention, I could see that the ice bird was wearing some kind of orange goggles. For protection? For enhancement? I wasn't sure. All I knew was that Articuno was blazingly fast. And those Ice Beams? Too bright to even look at. Lugia was right—this level of power was not normal.
Outside the barrier, flames tore the air. Moltres was targeting an airship with massive bursts of fire, engulfing it in a raging firestorm, but the flames just clung to the barrier before melting into rippling light.
We had to unify everyone. Attack together, just like when we'd saved the birds.
"Ajia! Tell Rayquaza to attack the barrier!" I shouted at the top of my lungs
I honestly wasn't sure if she could hear me from in there, but seconds later, Charizard looped closer to Rayquaza, roaring to it. The serpent jerked its head in surprise. I wasn't sure if it was going to listen, but then raging pink dragonfire flared up across its scales. With a low growl, Rayquaza turned around and hurled itself at the barrier, tearing and clawing at it in a frenzy.
[Lugia, it's time. Make sure Ho-oh and Moltres are ready.]
If the Legendaries were all focused on all-out offense, they'd have no way to protect themselves. I turned to the Pikachu clinging to my shoulder.
"*Chibi, we'll need you to defend them from—" I paused. He'd need to be able to let out a sustained blast—no way he could do that sitting on my shoulder. Not with the way his body generated lightning.
I grabbed Aros's ball and let him out. I was just about to let out Firestorm too, but then the memory from yesterday flashed through my head. Swift mortally wounded. Falling. No, Firestorm would have to stick with me as backup.
"You two are getting paired up again," I said nodding to Chibi as he leaped over to Aros's back. "I know it's airships this time, but it's the same old ALR tech we've dealt with before." I forced a smile and added, "Just like old times. The Legendaries are the all-out offense. The rest of us need to protect them. Let's go."
We had the raw firepower. They only had so many legends on their side. We just had to keep up the offensive and hope that none of them got captured.
Banking his wings, Swift took us closer to Lugia. Squads of flying Pokémon were deploying from the airships that hadn't formed the barrier, already converging on the Legendaries. Had to keep them back. Slow them down. Anything.
"Tailwind," I muttered.
Swift swept his wings forward and a powerful wind current formed, pushing out from us and against the oncoming Pokémon.
"Follow up with Double Team and then use Air Slash on anyone who gets too close," I added. We didn't have a shot in hell at defeating that many opponents. Just had to keep them distracted with a barrage of fast, light moves.
To our left, Ho-oh was struggling to keep the pressure up while Raikou's lightning rained down on it. Way worse than the lightning that had taken down the Aqua fleet. I caught a flash of red as one of the bolts glanced off Latias's barrier. Aros managed to intercept a second one, and Chibi used the energy to strike down three fliers at once.
To our right, Moltres was struggling to find an opening to attack the barrier with Entei cutting it off at every turn. Raging streams of fire collided between the two, Entei's far brighter, bursting straight through Moltres's blaze. The firebird pulled back, letting its flames dissipate. My heart jumped into my throat as Raven snapped her arm forward and fired a Master Ball. But then a small jolt knocked the ball aside—Raichu. She was actually riding Moltres. Rudy had switched to riding Fearow, currently struggling to fend off a red and green-winged blur. Her wings glowed with the light of Steel Wing, blocking the Flygon's Dragon Claw with a metallic clang.
I clenched my teeth. Rudy didn't have much of an answer for Flygon—at least not while in the air. But… he'd be okay. Had to tell myself that. Had to focus on protecting Lugia.
I held on tight as Swift swerved into another Shadow Ball's path. He followed up with an Air Slash, nailing a Gengar right in the face and darting away before it could regain itself. It was that pattern, over and over. Swoop in, Air Slash, dart away before the counterattack. All around us, afterimages from Double Team zipped in and out of the Rockets' forces, preventing them from landing a hit on us.
We couldn't draw all their fire, though. A wave of Dark Pulses hit Lugia in the back, and I whirled around to see another squad of Rocket Pokémon approaching from the side. Another wave hit; Lugia's eye twitched. I could feel it resisting the urge to turn around and knock them all back with a single devastating blow. But it held fast, striking the barrier with piercing beam attacks repeatedly. Meanwhile the barrier was… still going strong. No flickering or weakening. Too many interruptions.
"Go for a Whirlwind," I ordered. Needed to push them back from Lugia.
The wind whipped into a frenzy, tossing a squad of Crobat aside while a wave of Pokémon led by Honchkrow circled around to approach from the other side. I flattened myself to Swift's back as he dove under them before swooping up from below, launching an Air Cutter upward. I flinched as a Thunderbolt fired, but it missed, hitting one of the copies. Most of the copies had been struck down by now, but there wasn't an opening to make new ones. Not with this many opponents crowding the skies.
A sudden burst of speed and I almost lost my grip. Another Thunderbolt, then a burst of dragonfire—no time to strike back, had to keep moving. Swift ducked and weaved around enemies with flawless precision. Then Gengar cut us off in the front. He pivoted to change direction, but two squads closed in from the sides at once.
"Dive!" I hissed.
Swift pointed his wings back, and I clung to his neck for dear life as a hail of attacks shot over our heads. The wind rushed past us. I buried my face in his feathers, focusing on nothing but holding on. Slowly, the crackle of lightning and ice and dragonfire faded into the background. I dared to throw a glance over my shoulder. The Rockets hadn't pursued—the Legendaries were a much more obvious target. Swift flared his wings to level our flight once he was sure we'd lost them. But when I nudged him to fly upward, he didn't move.
"Swift?" I asked.
"*Look down there,*" the Pidgeot said.
I leaned over his side, gazing down at the lake below us. It took a few seconds for it to sink in—the water was still. No bursts of lava. Groudon and Kyogre had stopped fighting. They were just sitting there, eyes trained upward on the emerald serpent twisting and turning through the air in the middle of the ALR barrier. How long had they been like that? Had I seriously not noticed?
"They've stopped?" I muttered, hardly daring to believe it. "But why?"
"*Was it because that one arrived?*" Swift asked, glancing up at Rayquaza.
"I'm… not sure." All I knew was that this changed everything.
[Lugia, they've stopped. Groudon and Kyogre have stopped.]
[What?] The seabird whirled around and threw an incredulous glance down at the two Legendaries sitting motionless at the center of the lake. Confusion and disbelief flickered through its thoughts.
A glimmer of hope took hold in my mind. [I think we might actually be able to get through to them now.]
Lugia hesitated. [I'm a little busy right now.]
Of course it was. I really couldn't blame it. But someone had to do it. The lake wasn't a raging hellscape anymore. It'd actually be possible to get close to them without getting totally annihilated.
I took a deep breath to steel myself. [I'll do it, then.]
Lugia jolted. [Wait, are you crazy?]
Maybe. Had to do it anyway.
I pointed downward, and Swift dove. The air rushed past, the sounds of the battle now well behind us. My heart thundered in my chest. We were actually approaching Groudon and Kyogre. Sure, the space around them wasn't a death zone anymore, but they'd easily be able to… No. No, I couldn't think about that.
A sudden rush of air swept alongside us, and I looked over to see Lugia diving as well.
[What are you doing here? Weren't you attacking the airships?] I asked.
[Ho-oh's taking care of it.]
I threw a glance upward to see the phoenix assaulting the barrier with explosive bursts of blue flame. I couldn't imagine any Rockets being able to get close enough to those plumes of fire without getting incinerated. Not to mention that I could see the glimmer of red wings darting around it—Latias still trying her hardest to protect everyone. They would… probably be okay.
I focused back on the water below as we descended. Down to where the last remnants of steam slowly drifted up from what had once been ground zero. Where Groudon and Kyogre sat watching Rayquaza motionlessly.
Lugia's mind was tense. It obviously didn't trust those two not to lash out. But even as we neared, the duo remained calm, eyeing us silently. Lava pulsed lazily at Groudon's feet; waters churned softly around Kyogre.
Swift leveled his flight before landing on a patch of cooled rock. I could feel the warmth drifting upward, but it was gentle. Hard to believe that this place was a raging inferno not even half an hour ago.
I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
"Groudon! Kyogre!" I called out at the top of my lungs.
For several seconds, nothing happened. Then the great red beast blinked. I could actually feel those burning eyes shifting to me. It opened its mouth—Lugia tensed, ready for anything—and let out a deep, reverberating rumble of a growl. The sound tugged at my mind, almost like there was some meaning there, just out of reach. It rose and fell with the rhythms and tones of Pokéspeech, and the patterns were… familiar. But putting meaning to them felt like trudging through mud.
"Is it… saying words?" I asked.
[Yes,] Lugia said. [It's a downright ancient form of Pokéspeech, though.]
My heart was racing. It was actually talking to us. We could explain everything!
"Can you translate for me?" I asked. Something told me these two weren't going to understand modern Tohjoan.
Lugia concentrated, its focus sharpening. And as Groudon spoke, I could feel the understanding drift across our mental link.
"*Why do you wish to speak with us, small one?*" Groudon asked.
Lugia's eyes slid to mine. It had addressed me? Not Lugia. Me. Then again, Lugia was the one who'd been attacking it all this time. And getting addressed by a human had to be a strange experience for it.
I swallowed hard—the idea of saying something back was overwhelmingly intimidating. But what else had I come down here for?
"We've… been trying to talk to you this whole time. Why wouldn't you listen?" I said as Lugia repeated my words in its voice.
Groudon slowly blinked. "*Our dance would not allow it,*" it said, as if nothing were more true or obvious.
"Your… dance?" Was it referring to… their fight? I still couldn't get over them standing calmly, side-by-side, without a hint of malice toward the other. Not after the way they'd been tearing into each other previously.
"Why were you two fighting?" I asked. "And what do you mean by 'dance'?"
A rolling thunder echoed from Groudon's chest, and it took me a second to realize that it was laughing.
"*It must be joking,*" Kyogre spoke up, its voice a low hiss that chilled the air.
"*Perhaps the beings of this time do not know,*" Groudon mused. "*How easily the old tales fall into myth.*"
"*It's disgraceful,*" Kyogre spat.
Groudon gave the sea beast a tired look. Then it lowered its gaze to me once more and said, "*Our dance is the ceaseless urging of our souls. It is an eternal cycle of beginning and ending. At the dawn of this world, I settled the molten surface of the planet into solid land and set the continents into motion. They settled the waters of the planet into seas and carved out the oceans. It was eons of creation and destruction, back and forth. I have no idea how long our dance lasted. I don't even remember how we were set into that path to begin with.
"*At some point other living beings came to inhabit this world as well. And then the messenger from the heavens came to tell us that we were done. We had to sleep for life to continue, for our dance brought balance to the earth, but it would be an unending hell for any others. And I was so very tired. So I buried myself under the skin of the earth, allowing myself to sleep, and in my dreams, I have guided the flow of the earth's blood and the journey of the continents ever since.*"
I stared at Groudon. Its words felt like a heavy weight settling onto my chest. All this devastation, and it wasn't even something they'd chosen to do? Was it really just… nothing more than instinct?
"So it's not even like you wanted to fight each other?" I said, unable to keep the incredulous tone from my voice. "Couldn't you refuse? Couldn't you decide not to?"
As Lugia repeated my words, Groudon shook its head softly, almost with an air of disappointment.
"*I cannot expect one like you to understand our dance. It is why we exist. Even now, it calls to me. It is my purpose.*" It exhaled long and slow, causing a wave of warm air to wash over me. "*But it seems the messenger does not wish it this time. They have already come to end it. And so soon?*" Its words held a wistful, almost sorrowful air.
"Don't you wish you had a choice?" I found myself asking.
Groudon considered me carefully, something shifting in its eyes. "*The burden of decision has never been ours to hold. We have our purpose. You have yours. How can I lament that?*"
Maybe it wasn't something I could understand after all.
I let out a breath, struggling to think of how to word my next sentence. "You said the messenger had come to end your dance. Well, the only reason it started this time was because of humans. They awakened you because they wanted to steal your power. You're both in danger."
Kyogre let out a sharp, broken exhale—a laugh? Groudon tilted its head ever so slightly, gazing at me curiously. "*They believe they have the power to harm us?*" Though it was impossible to tell, something told me that it wasn't trying to be condescending. That it was genuinely confused as to how such a thing could happen.
"They have the power of the legends on their side," I said slowly. "They could actually do it. And they're attacking the messenger right now."
Groudon was silent for some time, its head held low.
"*Then… we must not hold back,*" the volcanic beast finally said, a low sorrow in its voice.
"*They must pay,*" Kyogre echoed.
"You'll help us?" I asked, daring to let the glimmer of hope rise within me.
Groudon was about to answer, but then Kyogre suddenly cut in with, "*We could do much more than that if we had our true power.*"
I blinked at the leviathan. It stared back, its gaze cold and unrelenting.
"Your true power?" I asked. "What does that mean?"
"*The orbs,*" it replied immediately.
The orbs? The Red and Blue Orbs that had awakened these two in the first place?
"*I can feel it even now, the orb,*" Kyogre went on, an undercurrent of… desperation in its voice. "*I feel as though it houses a piece of my soul. One that was ripped from my body ages ago. I must have it.*" It gazed up at the airships longingly. I couldn't help but notice that its eyes were following… one ship in particular.
"That airship? The orbs are there?" I asked. The beginnings of an idea were taking hold. If we could get the orbs to them… they could destroy the ALRs, and then…
Groudon fixed me with a serious gaze. "*You require our strength to save the messenger. Let us regain our true might, and we can easily do this.*"
I blinked. "You'd really be able to do it that easily?" I said incredulously.
Kyogre stared me down. "*Our true might would let us destroy them all.*"
A twinge of unease flickered in the back of my mind. But we weren't in any position to turn them down, were we? We needed their power.
"Can you fire all your power at those ships? That'll drop their defenses, and then we can get the orbs."
Groudon nodded deeply. "*Of course.*"
Was this a huge mistake? I still wasn't sure. If they'd really be that powerful, then… after we defeated the Rockets…
I clenched my fists, struggling to push back the doubts. "If… if we do this for you, you have to promise to go back to sleep afterward. For the sake of the world."
Groudon regarded me for some time. Part of me worried that it wasn't going to agree, but then the volcanic beast turned its head upward, staring at Rayquaza, twisting and turning within the barrier overhead.
"*The messenger has already arrived. Our dance, it has been broken,*" Groudon said simply.
Lugia flexed its wings angrily, drawing itself up to full height. [Look. I don't give a damn about your dance, if you don't hold up your end of the deal, you're going to be sorry. There's a lot more of us than there are of you. I don't care how powerful you'll be. You will regret it.]
Groudon chuckled. "*Do not be so sure of that, sea guardian. But there is no reason to go back on our word. After all… the messenger's true glory could easily smite us all.*"
The messenger's true glory? What did that mean?
"*Enough of this,*" Kyogre barked, the veins on its body glowing a vibrant red. "*You wished for our help. Let us do this.*"
I traded glances with Lugia. "Alright." We could worry about that later. After we'd gotten the orbs.
Swift and Lugia both spread their wings and took off. Below us, the air began to shimmer, the thick, sludgy lava under Groudon's feet glowing with renewed life. The surrounding waters began to churn, slowly at first, but quickly growing more vicious. Rayquaza's arrival may have swept the hellish weather clean from the sky, but the power hanging over these two was still so thick it was almost tangible.
With a roar, both earth and water erupted at once, lava plumes and waterspouts shooting into the air and crashing mightily against the ALR barrier with an explosion of sparks. Raikou and Entei both leaped back, retreating to the ships furthest from the impact point. The entire barrier flickered and shimmered, struggling to absorb the flood of energy.
[Well, those two might be total nutcases, but at least they're finally on our side,] Lugia said with a bit of satisfaction. It gave me a sideways glance and added, [Good thinking.]
I blinked. A compliment? Coming from Lugia? Well, I wasn't complaining.
The airships started pulling upward, trying their best to get out of Groudon and Kyogre's range. If they gained too much altitude, we'd never be able to keep up the pressure.
"We've got to force them back down!" I exclaimed.
Lugia flapped harder, powering itself upward while Swift and I rode the slipstream behind it. We reached the top of the barrier, where Ho-oh and Moltres had joined forces, unleashing a barrage of white-hot flame. Lugia flew over to join them, already charging up an Aeroblast in its mouth. Gale force winds and raging fire combined to form a swirling firestorm, tearing into the barrier and sending shock waves all across its surface.
Something caught my eye—Raven and Entei, quickly converging on Moltres. Couldn't let her get a clear shot, but couldn't put us within range of Entei.
"Stay behind them. Keep up the Whirlwind and be ready to dodge."
Swift circled the beast in a wide arc, stirring the wind into a frenzy. Entei was barely fazed, but it sure got Raven's attention. She flashed a murderous glare toward us, but didn't order an attack. She just gripped Entei's mane tighter and pointed for it to target Moltres.
A piercing yellow beam shot from nowhere, and Lugia only barely managed to block it at the last second. I spun in the direction it'd come from and saw one of the airships that hadn't joined the barrier circle now advancing on us. Moltres broke from the attack group, razing the ship with a vicious Fire Blast. Without any nearby units to form a shared barrier, it was forced to pull back. Then a second beam struck from behind, and Moltres fell forward, screeching in pain.
Raven pointed her arm forward to fire a Master Ball, but the winds around Entei were too vicious—she couldn't keep her arm steady, her hair kept whipping into her face. While she struggled to get her bearings, Raichu fired a Thunderbolt into the ALR beam's path. Small, but just enough of an interruption that Moltres managed to pull itself free.
By now the Rockets' forces were advancing all around us, including Raven's Flygon and Gengar. Latias was knocking them back left and right, but there were too many of them to handle on her own. Maybe we needed to switch strategies—have one of the other Legendaries back her up. With the added power from Groudon and Kyogre, we didn't need to have all our legends attack the barrier at once. Rudy, where was Rudy—there he was! Still riding Fearow, currently keeping Honchkrow busy.
"Rudy! You and Moltres can deal with the Rockets, I'll stick with Lugia and Ho-oh!" I yelled.
He flashed a thumbs up and pointed Fearow toward the oncoming crowd of flying Pokémon. Without him saying or doing anything, Moltres followed—he'd gotten a handle on the psychic link, hadn't he?
Inside the barrier, Rayquaza was a searing ball of raging dragonfire, flailing against the energy shield with all its might. Mew grappled with Articuno, holding on tight with flaming claws while the ice bird thrashed against her hold, unable to reach Rayquaza.
The airship circle dipped lower. Sparks cracked as a plume of lava collided with the barrier from below. A torrential waterspout followed, and it flickered from the strain. I knew that look. It was almost at the breaking point. Too much power for it to handle.
We were close! Just a little bit more…
Out of nowhere, a thunderous lightning strike rained from above, striking Lugia with a deafening crash. I clapped a hand to my ear, screwing my eyes shut as my whole body went numb. That was way too close. When I opened my eyes, I caught a glimpse of something yellow leaping up to the highest airship.
Raikou. I'd forgotten about Raikou.
Lugia was struggling to keep itself airborne. That gave the airships the opportunity to fly higher. Groudon's next lava plume fell short, hitting nothing but open air.
Dammit. We were so close! We couldn't give up now!
A high-pitched whistle suddenly tore the air. I jerked my head upward and felt my insides dissolve. Meteors—just like the ones that struck down the Aqua fleet.
[Look out!] I cried.
Too late. Lugia screeched in pain, molten balls of red and blue dragonfire scorching its feathers before it had the chance to raise a barrier. Ho-oh struggled to fight through it, keeping its flames going even as the meteors pummeled it from above. Whatever launched these was strong enough to hurt those two?
Another piercing whistle sounded, and this time I caught a glimpse of the ball of light as it shot high into the air above us before exploding into a second wave of meteors. My stomach curled inward—this time we were in the line of fire.
Swift didn't waste a second. The Pidgeot immediately swept his wings in front of us, and the white light of Protect appeared just in time for the first meteor to crash against it. I clung to his neck, teeth clenched as the shock waves shot through us. First one meteor, then a second—the barrage just kept coming. The Protect flickered. Then it shattered. Swift fell backward, fighting to keep his flight steady, swerving awkwardly to the left as a meteor clipped the edge of his wing. I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder only to see one headed right for us, and—
The meteor crashed against a barrier that flared up from nowhere, exploding into flaming shards that fizzled into nothing. Swift took that moment to regain control of his flight, and we both stared in shock at our savior.
"Latias! I… thanks," I said breathlessly.
"*Hang in there,*" she said with a hopeful smile. "*We can do this, I know we can!*" And for a moment, I actually believed her. I nodded, and she held up a claw before shooting off just as quickly as she'd arrived.
I sat there, breathing heavily, heart pounding a million miles a minute as Swift kept us at a level soar. Okay, we weren't dead. Time to focus. I turned in every direction, trying to take stock of the aerial battle. Lugia and Ho-oh had landed along the crater rim, letting a healing glow wash over them with Roost. They'd both taken a lot of damage from that last attack. Lugia's pure-white feathers were scorched all over from the dragonfire. But where had the meteors come from?
No sooner had I thought it than something caught my eye overhead. A jetlike shape high above us, silhouetted against the sun. I squinted, struggling to make it out. It was a sleek, cobalt dragon with pointed wings. Cloth billowed from the rider on its back.
My breath caught in my chest. Riding on the dragon's back—it was him.
I felt the blood rush to my face. Stalker. The one who'd strung us along all day, playing us for fools. At least this time he wasn't even pretending to help us. Better for him to just outright attack us rather than what he'd been doing before.
"Shepard! Fashionably late as always," a voice drawled.
Cloudlike wings soared into view, and there was Ender, riding on his Altaria. As he stared down Stalker, something about his demeanor felt distinctly… hostile.
Stalker said something into a communicator. A low hum followed, and the barrier started flickering. Then, in an instant, the wall of energy spanning half of the airships fizzled into nothing. The barrier—they'd just straight-up deactivated it? Rayquaza wasn't trapped anymore! Why on earth would they do that?!
Ender cocked his head. "Oy! Shepard! What do you think you're doing, friend?" he asked with a dangerous edge to his voice.
Rayquaza let out a cry that sounded almost excited before blasting a stream of violet Dragonbreath at the closest airship, melting the shield projectors. The serpent rushed in and tore through the armor in a blaze, but not before the adjacent ship rotated and fired a beam at it. Mew swooped forward, grabbing the fins on Rayquaza's back.
"*Come on, we've got to get out of here!*" she cried.
"*No,*" Rayquaza hissed. "*This is unacceptable.*"
Ender snapped his fingers and Articuno fired an Ice Beam, stopping the dragon's rampage cold. It couldn't move. It was frozen solid, claws buried in the ALR armor, tail dangling limply.
Then, without warning, Sebastian pulled back his coat sleeve to reveal a Master Ball cannon, pointing it straight at Rayquaza.
"No!"
Time slowed. The ball shot toward Rayquaza; the dragon couldn't move. Then Mew darted forward, deflecting the ball with a well-aimed blade of wind from her wingtip.
Ender turned to face Sebastian, smirking. "Ah, so that's how it is? Think you're clever, do you?" Ender pulled out his own communicator and said something into it.
Entei leapt into view, already charging a Shadow Ball in its mouth. The beast launched the orb at Latios, but the cobalt dragon put on a burst of speed and avoided it easily. Ender motioned to Articuno. The ice bird dove, zeroing in on Latios, but he was too fast for it. Then, without warning, Articuno abruptly put on a burst of speed and fired an Ice Beam directly at him.
A burst of flames from above collided with the Ice Beam, cutting it off. I threw a glance upward and saw the unmistakable silhouette of a Charizard. Not Mew this time. Stalker's Charizard. Then a golden blur shot out of the blue, slashing at Altaria's underside with flaming claws. A Dragonite. Articuno was still tailing Latios, but a bolt of lightning fell from above, striking the ice bird with a thunderous crack.
Ender spun around. On the closest Johto airship, Raikou stood sparking.
"Oh look, the Sakari brat's involved in this too, why am I not surprised?" he called out.
"Just keeping things interesting!" Lexx called back.
Seconds later, a Flamethrower from Entei poured over the spot where Raikou had just been standing, engulfing the airship. The thunder beast had leaped aside, retaliating with a vicious lightning strike. Entei only had a moment's notice to raise a Protect to keep itself—and its trainer—from being electrocuted.
It was chaos! Johto Rockets firing on Kanto Rockets, attacks tearing through the air left and right, striking both airship and Pokémon alike. In the midst of it all, Mew had set to work thawing Rayquaza with her fire breath. She'd gotten about halfway before the serpent had the leeway to shatter the remaining ice. Without even acknowledging her, Rayquaza launched into a spiraling Twister. Vicious wind currents ripped through the air all around it, knocking the combatants back. All the while, Latios circled the airships like a hawk, just waiting for an opportunity. We couldn't let him get one.
I felt it before I saw it—Lugia flying back up to meet us, flanked by Ho-oh. Both of them fully healed after roosting. I could feel the confusion drifting through Lugia's mind as it observed what had happened in its absence.
[They're… fighting each other?] Lugia said incredulously.
[This isn't the first time they've been at odds,] I replied.
Lugia tilted its head, observing the ongoing chaos. [I see. Well, this is convenient, isn't it? Let them destroy each other,] it said, sounding rather too satisfied with the idea.
Maybe we wouldn't need to get the orbs back after all. Maybe the Rockets really would just destroy each other. Then again, it still didn't seem like a good idea to leave them alone, not when either side could make a move on Rayquaza at any time.
"*They're fighting each other now?*" a voice asked.
Latias had reappeared at my side, staring at the ongoing chaos with a perplexed look. "*I don't understand, why are they—*" She froze sharply, eyes wide with… fear? No, anger. I'd never seen that kind of expression on her face. It was actually chilling.
I followed her gaze to see her staring straight at Latios. Or rather, straight at the human riding on his back.
Oh no.
"*Latios!*"
"Wait—" I began.
"*He's right there!*" she exclaimed with a desperate look. "*I'm going to get him back this time!*" she cried, folding back her forelegs and shooting off.
"Wait, don't go!" I yelled, reaching for her. But she was already gone.