Mr. Stone walked into the Mossdeep Space Center's underground lab. Here in this lab, there were a few people he had called for this important project.
First was Mr. Briney. They were old friends from years ago, and he was part of the mission too. Next was Elite Four Drake, and the last person was someone he had called a while ago, but she had only now arrived: Ultima.
All of these old heads had been friends a long time ago, and Mr. Stone hadn't talked to any of them in a long time, much to all their annoyance. In Briney's own words, "You ghost us for five years and call us when the world is ending!"
He couldn't blame their reaction. Also, he would have called Steven here but...he wasn't sure if Steven was still mad at him after he found out the truth. He would not blame him if he was. He deserved it. He deserved far worse than just the cold shoulder from his son.
"So why did you call us here?" Drake asked, crossing his arms. He should currently be out there helping with the issue, but Joseph had called him in saying that this was important, and that he might have a way to stop this disaster.
Joseph nodded and gestured for them to follow him. As he walked down a hallway, a figure quickly stopped the door from closing secretly while staying hidden, and none of them immediately noticed.
Joseph led them even farther down into the basement. They were at least 100 feet underground, but when Joseph opened the door, they saw something that surprised them all.
In the room there was a large device with a glowing rock in the center, and when they saw it, Briney and Drake immediately looked shocked, while Ultima looked like she wanted to hit Joseph over the head with her staff.
"Joseph, what is this?! You said you would stop trying to harness the Infinite Energy device!" Ultima exclaimed, "There is no such thing as true Infinite Energy. That's coming from somewhere, and you don't know what you're doing!"
Yes, this device was known as the Infinite Energy Generator. You see, many years ago Joseph's grandfather, the previous president of the Devon Corporation, researched the Ultimate Weapon from Kalos and wanted to use the same energy to help people and Pokémon, and that led to the creation of this.
But of course things like this came at a cost, though neither Joseph's grandfather before he passed, nor Joseph himself, understood what that cost was. That's why when Joseph became president, Ultima, Briney, and Drake all told him he should drop it. It wasn't worth continuing, and he listened...or at least they thought he did.
"Listen," Joseph tried to explain, though even he knew he should have talked to them first. There had been many warnings. He had even gotten another letter from the mysterious sender threatening him to never use Infinite Energy ever again.
But he took a breath, "I had to turn it on for this!" he said, pointing down below, where researchers were working on a small handheld device while a rocket was also being developed nearby.
"Eh? What's that, a replacement part for a ceiling fan?" Ultima asked.
"No," Joseph shook his head, "I call it the Dimensional Shifter."
"Eh…" the three said in unison.
Joseph explained, "The Dimensional Shifter is something we created that may allow us to open portals to other dimensions. The downside is it needs a lot of energy, but with Infinite Energy we can—"
"Stop," Drake cut in, "So you plan to use this to send Groudon and Kyogre to another dimension?"
"Only a dead world," Joseph cut in, "One with no life on it, so that they stop fighting while we find a way to contain them," he explained.
"And the rocket?" Briney asked.
Joseph's voice lowered, "Because…" he sighed, "you all would learn anyway, but...something is coming. A meteor is heading toward Earth, and it's going to destroy the planet."
Immediately they were all taken aback by this, "Why would you not start with that?! What do you mean?!" Ultima exclaimed.
"And more importantly, why are you hiding this?" Drake asked.
"We're not trying to!" Joseph tried to clarify, "We never meant to keep it hidden, but we were developing this device to send the Dimensional Shifter and the meteor to another dimension," he explained, "We were going to inform the League a year in advance, but something happened. The meteor sped up. It's coming even faster than before."
The entire situation was hard to believe, and when Drake was about to say something, a voice suddenly spoke up behind them.
"Ah, what is this? For the sake of their own goals, they'll exploit humans and Pokémon. That's the Devon Corporation for you."
They looked up quickly, and there they saw a red-eyed girl, and behind her was a small army of Team Magma and Team Aqua grunts all standing ready.
"What? Who are you?!" Drake asked.
"Who am I? Hmm, that's a difficult question," Zinnia pretended to think about it for a bit, "Just who in the world am I?"
"What...what are you on about?" Ultima asked.
Zinnia dropped the act and laughed before straightening up and cheerfully pointing at herself with her thumb, "The name's Zinnia, and I'm one of the Draconid people!"
As soon as they heard the word Draconid, Joseph and Drake's pupils widened in shock. After all, they remembered the incident that happened all too well, and not only that, but the innocent girl they killed was also a Draconid.
"Draconid…" Joseph muttered, then put the pieces together in his head, "Ah, so were you the ones that sent the warning letters!"
"Warning? Ha! You say it like I'm the shady one," she said, but then when she looked around and saw the machines, her cheery face fell, replaced with a cold one, "Well, I see you didn't stop using Infinite Energy...so you clearly didn't listen to my advice."
She pulled out a Poké Ball.
In a flash it opened, and a Goodra jumped out and immediately shot a [Sludge Wave] at Mr. Stone, making him fall back in pain while Ultima quickly supported him. Drake and Briney stood in front of him ready for a fight.
Zinnia raised her arm and looked back at the grunts, "Everyone, let's put an end to Devon's wicked actions!"
The grunts cheered and all threw out their Pokémon at once, while Drake, Briney, and Ultima, the only ones who could really fight here, sent out their Salamence, Whiscash, and Dragonite respectively.
As they fought, Zinnia pointed at Mr. Stone, "These are the grunts who I told about the meteor disaster. They're the ones who, no matter the faction, are going to save the planet from Devon's hands!"
"Please," Joseph coughed out, "I know you might be mad, but this isn't the way. I'm sorry for what happened, and I'll accept any revenge you want to take on me. Just stop this…"
With Zinnia confirming that she was the one who wrote those letters, Joseph could piece together what happened five years ago.
That led to the death of that girl, and for her clan to be massacred on the same day. He thought she was only here for revenge.
"Really?" Zinnia's voice got colder, "And letting you do this is better?"
Then while the fight was going on, no one paid attention to the Dimensional Shifter until they heard a scuffle. When they looked over, they saw a small Whismur grabbing the device.
Zinnia clapped happily, "Nice job, Aster!" she said far too cheerfully.
Only now did they realize this wasn't some evil mastermind. This was just a young girl, fourteen at most. She was just a teenager.
The little Pokémon managed to jump back to her and drop the device into her hand, and as she did, she shook it slightly and a small stone rolled out of it, a Keystone that was being used to power the device.
"Hm, perfect," Zinnia said cheerfully.
While everyone was fighting around them, Joseph managed to stand again, "Why are you doing this?!" Joseph shouted over the chaos, "If you know about the disaster, then why are you interfering?! In order to save this planet from the disaster, we put all our efforts into this technology! It's humanity's only hope!"
Zinnia stopped and slowly turned her head to look at Joseph.
"Humanity's only hope?" she repeated quietly.
Then suddenly she snapped, "Not only are you committing the same mistake from thousands of years ago," Zinnia shouted, her voice echoing through the lab, "but you'll also take away countless lives!"
"I won't allow you to continue using and mistreating humans, Pokémon, the land, seas, and sky!" she yelled while pointing directly at Joseph, "And I won't allow you to just send it somewhere else without caring where it ends up!"
Joseph clenched his fists tightly, "You don't understand—"
"No," Zinnia cut him off sharply, "YOU don't understand!"
Goodra slammed its tail into the ground as another wave of Team Aqua and Team Magma Pokémon surged forward.
Drake's Salamence roared and intercepted multiple attacks at once while Ultima's Dragonite blasted several Golbat out of the air with a [Thunderbolt]. Nearby, Briney's Whiscash slammed the floor with [Earthquake], knocking several grunts off their feet.
Zinnia was about ready to finish what she started and have Goodra shoot another blast at Joseph to kill him and cross his name off her list, but suddenly they felt the lab shake.
From the roof, a small explosion burst through the wall, and there in the smoke stood two figures in the hole they made, alongside their Pokémon: a Golem and a Nidoqueen.
"Phew, finally found this place," a girl's voice rang out cheerfully as she looked around, "But looks like they started the party without us."
"It's your fault! Why did you want to dig a tunnel? We could have just walked in!" a boy's voice complained.
"But that's not as fun, and Ash gave us this mission so we have to go above and beyond~" the girl said again.
As the smoke cleared, standing in the hole they made were Green and Gary. When Ash called them, he explained the situation and told them to find Mr. Stone to figure out what his plan was, and specifically said if it was stupid, stop him.
But now that they were here, everyone, even the Pokémon, stopped fighting for a moment and looked up at the two newcomers.
And when Green looked around, her eyes landed on Ultima and she waved, "Oh hi, Granny!"
Ultima snapped out of her shock and got annoyed, "Brat, I said call me Ultima! I'm not that old!"
"Eh, you know her?" Gary asked.
"Yeah, remember when I told you I was doing secret training in the Sevii Islands? I was training with her," Green said proudly, "So I say we help her side!"
Gary sighed as he looked around and saw Mr. Stone, then Zinnia and her Goodra ready to blast him, so he snapped his fingers.
"Fine. Let's do this, then get answers after."
From behind him a blur moved, and just as Zinnia continued her command for Goodra to attack, Gary's Umbreon appeared and blocked the hit before turning and blasting Goodra with a point-blank [Dark Pulse].
Goodra took a step back in pain as Gary and Green jumped down, standing with Ultima, Drake, and Briney as they joined in pushing back the grunts.
Meanwhile Gary helped Joseph back onto his feet while the underground lab continued shaking around them. Sparks burst from damaged machinery overhead while Pokémon cries echoed through the chamber.
"You okay?" Gary asked sharply.
Joseph nodded weakly, "I'll survive…"
Green crossed her arms while standing beside Ultima, "Alright, somebody explain what's happening already, because we walked into what looks like the world's worst family reunion."
"You have no idea," Ultima muttered while gripping her staff tightly.
Meanwhile, Zinnia's eyes darted around the room. Between Drake, Ultima, Briney, Green, and Gary, the odds had shifted heavily against her.
"Tch." She clicked her tongue softly.
Aster the Whismur immediately reacted, hopping onto her shoulder while Goodra backed up protectively.
Gary noticed instantly, "She's trying to run."
"Yep!" Zinnia suddenly grinned.
Then she spun around and bolted for the exit tunnel at full speed.
"HEY!" Green shouted.
Several Team Aqua and Team Magma grunts immediately threw Pokémon forward to block the path behind her.
"Golbat, use [Air Cutter]!"
"Mightyena, [Crunch]!"
The hallway exploded into chaos again as Drake's Salamence smashed through multiple attacks while Ultima's Dragonite blasted open a path with another [Thunderbolt].
"She's getting away!" Briney barked.
Zinnia sprinted down the corridor while clutching the Dimensional Shifter tightly under one arm. Her cloak whipped behind her as Aster held on for dear life, "Sorry folks," she called back mockingly, "but I've got important world-saving business to do~!"
Gary narrowed his eyes, "Umbreon."
Umbreon immediately blurred forward through the hallway shadows.
Zinnia glanced back just in time to realize they were catching up too quickly.
"Tch...fine then." She suddenly skidded to a stop and raised the Dimensional Shifter over her head, "I won't let you use this evil device!"
"What?!" Joseph shouted from farther down the hall.
Zinnia slammed the device downward toward the floor, but before it could hit, Umbreon vanished into a shadow and reappeared underneath it instantly. He grabbed it in his mouth before jumping back and skidding next to Gary's feet again as they caught up.
Zinnia blinked, "…Okay, that was actually impressive," she admitted.
Now cornered at the end of the hallway, Zinnia slowly straightened up while Goodra growled beside her.
Green pointed directly at her, "Alright, your turn. Start talking."
"Who are you really?" Drake asked seriously.
"And why are you so desperate to destroy this thing?" Gary added while carefully holding the Dimensional Shifter.
"And can we also get an explanation from the start please? I feel lost here," Green huffed.
Ultima pointed her staff directly at Joseph without looking away from Zinnia, "Because this idiot apparently decided secretly restarting the Infinite Energy project was a good idea."
"I told you already, I didn't have a choice!" Joseph snapped back, "If we don't stop the meteor—"
"And if you do this wrong, you doom another world instead," Zinnia interrupted coldly.
Drake narrowed his eyes, "What are you talking about?"
Zinnia clicked her tongue in annoyance, "Ugh, seriously? He still hasn't told you?" she asked mockingly while gesturing toward Joseph, "Typical Devon."
But then she smirked, "Alright then," she said quietly, "How about you ask him something interesting."
Joseph's stomach dropped as Zinnia pointed directly at him, "Ask him how he knows where the wormhole leads."
Drake slowly turned toward Joseph, "…Joseph?"
Ultima's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Briney's expression darkened.
Joseph opened his mouth slightly, but no words came out.
Zinnia laughed bitterly, "That's what I thought."
Then her eyes shifted back toward Joseph again, "He told you all this was humanity's only hope," she said coldly, "That he was going to send the meteor, Groudon, and Kyogre to some empty dead world, but he can't even control where the wormholes lead to, and he lied to all of you."
"We would have been able to tell," Joseph tried to defend himself, "But if we just had—"
"Oh shut up. You don't care where these things end up. You don't care if there's life there or not. You just care that it isn't your world, so it's not your problem."
She looked around, seeing she was surrounded, but she could at least hear the grunts on her side running down the hallway to come help her, making her smirk as she spun the Keystone in her hand and put it in her pocket.
Then she looked back toward Joseph one final time, "I have more important things to deal with right now than an old fart like you," she said while stepping backward toward the hallway again, "But hear me clearly."
"If you dare use that machine," Zinnia said coldly, "if you try to sacrifice another world just to save your own…" Her eyes sharpened with pure hatred, "I will kill you."
Then Zinnia's expression darkened even further, "Just like you killed my sister."
Joseph's pupils widened instantly as the memories of that day hit him all at once, but before he could say something, Goodra shot a [Dragon Breath] at the ground, forcing everyone to jump back so they wouldn't get blasted.
And at that same moment, the grunts following her reached them and launched their attack while Zinnia began running. They couldn't really chase after her because they had to deal with the grunts.
"Hold the line!" Drake barked as Salamence smashed through a charging Mightyena with a brutal [Dragon Claw], sending it skidding across the floor.
Ultima slammed her staff against the ground, "Dragonite, [Thunder Wave]!"
Electricity exploded down the corridor, locking up multiple Golbat midair before they crashed into the walls.
Meanwhile Zinnia sprinted through the smoke while clutching Aster close to her shoulder.
"Move, move, move—!" she shouted as several grunts covered her retreat.
Behind her, Gary narrowed his eyes, "Umbreon."
Umbreon's red eyes suddenly glowed brightly...but then stopped glowing.
Meanwhile everyone kept fighting the grunts while Zinnia managed to get away. Not for lack of trying, but whenever they tried to follow her, the grunts literally blocked the hall with both themselves and their Pokémon, shouting about how they were going to stop Devon's evil ways.
Eventually the fighting died down. They managed to capture some grunts while others escaped, since fighting in a tight hallway was difficult, especially with large Pokémon.
"Cowards," Green huffed while dusting herself off.
Drake considered chasing them before exhaling heavily. He was getting too old for this.
Briney looked back at his old friend, "Joseph...what the hell were you thinking?"
Joseph looked down again, not daring to look any of them in the eyes.
Gary held up the Dimensional Shifter, "So are you gonna explain everything? I don't know what this is, but based on what she said, and the fact that you didn't deny any of it, you aren't exactly helping your case."
Green crossed her arms immediately, "Yeah, you need to start explaining."
"Agreed," Drake said firmly.
Briney nodded, "No more secrets, Joseph. You asked us to come here, so tell us everything."
Ultima rubbed the back of her head slightly, "After she got away, we need anything we can get, since all we got out of this was capturing some random grunts."
"Actually," Gary smirked, "there is one more thing we have."
Gary reached down toward Umbreon, and the fox dropped what looked like a scroll into Gary's hand, "Turns out Umbreon managed to steal something before she escaped."
Drake's eyes narrowed immediately.
Joseph looked stunned, "What is that?"
Gary shrugged, "I don't know yet," he admitted, "Originally I was trying to have Umbreon steal the Keystone with [Thief]," he said while looking toward the tunnel Zinnia escaped through.
Yeah, the way [Thief] worked in this world was a bit different. When [Thief] is used on a human, it steals what they consider most valuable, and if Umbreon got this instead of the Keystone, then that must mean that in Zinnia's opinion this scroll is more valuable.
"What is it?" Joseph asked.
"We'll get there eventually," Gary said, putting the scroll in his pocket. Then he crossed his arms, "But first, you're going to tell us everything and leave nothing out."
Gary's stern face made Joseph gulp, but seeing everyone against him, he finally relented.
"Okay...let's start from the beginning. Five years ago."
—
{Back at the Sea}
Amber stirred before taking one huge breath and sitting up, finally revived. He coughed hard and took a moment to process the fact that he was alive...just, you know, alone.
He fell back onto the metal debris, still breathing heavily, trying to process the fact that Archie had just betrayed him. He left him to die...and he almost did.
"…That assh—" Amber muttered weakly, though a cough stopped him halfway.
His chest tightened painfully as the memory replayed in his head, the way Archie looked at him as he sent them away. It wasn't like the man he remembered.
He reached up, grabbed his bandana, and pulled it off, revealing his bald head. Then he looked at the symbol on it and clenched his fist.
Maybe if things had been different...maybe if Archie hadn't sent him to his death...he would've called it a mistake and stayed loyal anyway. But after everything, after all the things that happened, he had finally been pushed past his breaking point.
He pushed himself up and stared at the bandana before tossing it into the water. After the changes that happened, he had only stayed for his friends Shelly and Matt.
Then he looked around at the chaos surrounding him, the waves crashing against what used to be towns before they were flooded.
Was this really the so-called great future Archie promised them? He pushed himself up and checked himself over, and then his heart sank.
His three Volbeat...they had been left behind in the cave. He couldn't bring them with him.
Amber looked down at the water and quietly mourned the loss of his three little buddies.
And as he remembered a simpler time back when he joined Team Aqua, or as it was back then, the Aqua Association, when the only plan was to bring more water to the world so dry places could thrive, and so Water Pokémon could live happily…
Originally Amber had only been a fisherman, and Archie's words convinced him to join. Since he was the director of Hoenn TV, Amber had no reason not to trust him.
But that was enough of that. Other things took priority now, starting with his friends Matt and Shelly.
He remembered how Archie said he would punish Matt, so first he quickly tried using his communicator to call him, but there was no signal.
He cursed under his breath and went for the next option, Shelly.
—
{At the Weather Institute}
Shelly was hunched over the computer screens, rapidly running calculations to analyze what would happen. Originally, when she arrived, the researchers had to be moved out of the way, but none of them were trainers, so the grunts she had with her guided them out.
But then, when the flooding started, all the researchers immediately ran away, or at least wanted to, and Shelly allowed the grunts to let them leave. She wasn't trying to send these people to their deaths. They were just researchers doing their jobs. She could relate to that.
While she worked, her mind wandered back to when she and Tabitha were both researchers in the Devon Corporation, working under Mr. Stone. They spent countless nights working on research together. He used to complain constantly while working.
Saying random things about how the coffee was terrible but he needed it to survive, and that she needed some hobbies. Usual things like that. They were friends, after all.
But then came the incident.
Tabitha was the first to resign, and Shelly followed soon after. They couldn't work in those conditions after what they learned.
After that, they continued trying to do their own independent research. Small projects or environmental studies, things like that. Sometimes they even worked together.
But over time they started drifting apart, and they found fewer reasons to spend time together outside of work. They tried to stay in contact, but eventually that fizzled out too. She didn't even remember who sent the last text or who stopped responding first.
But she did remember a red-eyed girl approaching her one day and telling her that if she wanted to learn more and make the world a better place, then she had to join the Aqua Association.
Now, she didn't question it too much, since the Aqua Association was led by Archie, the director of Hoenn TV. She even thought there was no way she could actually get an interview there, mysterious girl or not.
But somehow she was allowed an interview, and she passed with flying colors...or at least that's what she told herself. In reality, she had been a nervous mess, but Archie seemed to find it endearing and let her try again. After that, she calmed down and did the interview properly, and he approved her.
He told her they were looking for a scientist and researcher because his dream was to one day expand the sea. Because think about it: what's more important than water? Everyone needed water to live. Pokémon needed it. You needed it to grow food. It could even be used to create clean energy.
If they could expand the sea in a safe and controlled way, they could solve many of the world's problems. And the way he said it convinced Shelly that he truly wanted to help the world. So that was when she joined the Aqua Association as a researcher.
She was actually the last of the trio to join. When she did, she met Amber and Matt, who she found...interesting, to say the least. But she quickly got used to them and became friends with them.
As far as she knew, Matt was actually a really old friend of Archie's. They had even grown up together. Then there was Amber, and finally her. That was their trio, and things were simple back then. Archie was kind to them, giving them jobs meant to help the world.
Then Audrey arrived. Amber was the first one to meet her, and by "meet," it meant he was delivering papers to Archie and found her sitting on Archie's lap.
Amber had immediately turned around and walked away pretending he hadn't seen anything.
Ever since then, Audrey joined the Aqua Association. Archie said she was an incredibly smart person, though of course she worked as his secretary.
Shelly had to question how Audrey managed to seduce Archie, because let's not sugarcoat it, it was absolutely seduction. Archie never seemed like someone interested in that sort of thing. I mean, he never made a move on Shelly, not that she wanted him to, it just confused her.
But anyway, ever since then Archie and Audrey spent a lot of time together.
Amber and Shelly didn't trust her immediately, but Matt just cheered Archie on, saying he finally had a girl, and kept poking him asking when the wedding was. Archie never answered, instead he got a shorter temper
And after that, his mood became less warm. He started becoming more ruthless, and sometimes when they had to deliver papers or reports, they would find Audrey whispering things into Archie's ear.
Eventually Audrey stopped working as Archie's secretary and became a normal member, but by then the changes had already started to show.
That was when they learned about Team Magma, and Archie grew colder, changing his peaceful plans and turning the employees into fighting machines. That was when Team Aqua was born.
Originally Shelly had been against most of it. Though she would admit that going after Mr. Stone was something she partly did for personal reasons. But other than that, she didn't want to hurt people who didn't deserve it.
Sure, the Mt. Chimney incident was bad. She wouldn't deny that. But to be fair, the original plan to destroy Mt. Chimney wasn't supposed to directly hurt anyone. And she also wasn't the one who attacked Flannery or even suggested the plan in the first place. That was Matt.
Matt himself, unlike her or Amber, was willing to hurt people. But she could tell it was less because he wanted to and more because he wanted his friend back. He thought that if he followed Archie's orders perfectly, maybe they could go back to hanging out like they used to.
Now obviously that did not excuse what he did to Flannery. Not even close.
She even told him to just tie her up and leave her there instead of hurting her further, but Matt's temper got the better of him.
He ended up dragging Flannery along to use her as a hostage, which resulted in him being thrown off and crashing into the ground, leaving him badly injured.
Again, that didn't excuse what he did, not even remotely. But Shelly still felt bad for him. Despite everything, they were still friends.
As for her, she never wanted to hurt anyone or cause pain to innocent people, but she hadn't always been able to stick to her ideals. She knew the things she had done were wrong, but she kept going, hoping the ends would justify the means.
That was why she came here to the Weather Institute to run simulations on what Kyogre would do if they succeeded, or more accurately, if things continued as they were, since she could already feel the tsunamis outside.
But what she found horrified her.
She ran the simulations over and over again. She spent hours alone in this room, rerunning every possibility, but the outcome was always the same.
If Kyogre remained unleashed, all living things would eventually end up beneath the ocean. There would be nothing left.
Any dream of a utopia was nonexistent, "This...wasn't the plan…" she muttered weakly.
Outside the windows, gigantic waves crashed against the lower levels of the city while the sky above remained split between endless storms and burning sunlight.
Kyogre and Groudon were out there, and simply by being awake, they were destroying the region.
As she sat there lost in thought, her communicator suddenly buzzed violently on the desk beside her.
Shelly blinked and grabbed it quickly, "Amber?" she asked in surprise as the call connected.
The line crackled heavily with static before Amber's exhausted voice came through, "Shelly...thank goodness…"
Shelly immediately sat upright, "Amber?! Where are you?! What happened?!"
"I almost drowned," Amber answered bluntly.
Shelly's eyes widened instantly, "WHAT?!"
"Long story," he coughed, "Archie betrayed me."
For a moment Shelly thought she misheard him, "…What?"
"He left me to die underwater," Amber said.
Shelly slowly tightened her grip on the communicator, "No," she whispered instinctively.
But even as she said it, she already knew it was true, because lately...Archie had become capable of things she never would have imagined before.
Amber exhaled shakily on the other end.
"I kept trying to tell myself he'd snap out of it," he admitted, "That maybe once all this was over, things would go back to normal…"
Shelly closed her eyes painfully because she understood exactly what he meant, "They won't," she answered quietly.
There was silence between them for a few seconds before Amber finally spoke again.
"Shelly...what's actually happening out there?"
She took a breath and looked out the window, "I checked every simulation," she continued weakly, "There's no version where this works out. No paradise, and no better world."
Then Amber's voice grew more serious, "What about Matt?"
Shelly's expression fell again, "I don't know," she admitted, "I haven't been back to base. I think he said he was going to wait near where Kyogre would appear so he could meet Archie."
"Even now he still thinks that's the same Archie," Amber clicked his tongue, "He hasn't been the Archie we knew ever since Audrey joined."
"I know," Shelly said as she took a breath, "I...we need to find a way to stop this. If this keeps going, first Hoenn and then the other regions...everything will be destroyed."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Amber asked, "We can't even beat Archie normally, and now he's gone completely insane."
"I don't know either," Shelly admitted, "But first we need to find Matt. Maybe we can convince him Archie isn't the same friend we remember anymore, and if we can't then…" Shelly didn't finish that sentence.
"Fine," Amber sighed, "but I'm still stranded on a piece of metal in the middle of the ocean, so tell me where we're meeting and I'll try to make my way there."
"Mm, okay," Shelly nodded even though Amber couldn't see her, "I'll meet you there. But stay safe, please." Then the call ended.
Shelly slowly lowered the communicator and looked back toward the screens. None of this was what they wanted.
But she wasn't going to sit here and do nothing. Because if she did then Audrey would win, And Shelly refused to let that happen.