The underwater tunnel leading out to sea was longer than Natsui had expected.
Fortunately, thin LED strips ran along both walls, keeping the passage from turning pitch-black and outlining the route ahead.
Milotic drove forward through the water with unwavering focus. The current it displaced washed over Natsui and Courtney in steady surges.
They had only been in the tunnel moments when a deep, muffled boom rolled through the water behind them. The underground harbor had collapsed—buried completely. They had escaped at the last possible moment.
The shockwave reached them like a sudden tremor, shoving hard at Natsui's back. It barely mattered to him; the blessing on his body made pressure and cold far easier to endure than they should have been.
Courtney, on the other hand, was still keeping her eyes clenched shut, her body tense with panic and unfamiliarity. The impact startled her. She jerked—and lost her breath.
Bubbles slipped from her lips.
Natsui tightened his hold around her and urged Milotic onward with a low, urgent voice. He could stay underwater longer than most people ever could, but Courtney was already at her limit.
He didn't have time to dwell on why. Still, moments like this made him quietly grateful to Maya.
At last, the narrow tunnel opened. The water brightened. Sunlight pierced down in wavering beams, and the space ahead widened into open sea.
Hope—too late.
Courtney coughed involuntarily. Water rushed into her mouth.
She was drowning.
Milotic surged upward.
A heartbeat later, it burst through the surface in a clean leap, scattering spray. Natsui kept Courtney pressed against Milotic's body and hauled her head clear of the water. She was limp in his arms.
Deoxys rose from the sea a moment later, drifting up on psychic force. It couldn't swim, but it could push through the water by sheer telekinesis—far slower than Milotic, yet unimpeded.
"Up there," Natsui ordered, nodding at the cliff. "Now."
Without any visible effort, Deoxys spread a psychic field around them. The invisible force lifted Natsui, the unconscious Courtney, and Milotic together and carried them onto the rock shelf above the waves.
They landed on the cliff—by chance, the same stretch of coastline Natsui had scouted before entering the base. He even spotted faint traces of their earlier footprints. He'd searched the rock face for a hidden entrance, but he hadn't thought to look beneath the waterline. That was why he'd missed the tunnel entirely.
Natsui laid Courtney flat on the stone and pulled her soaked cloak aside. He loosened her collar and tugged the front of her uniform open just enough to keep the fabric from constricting her breathing.
Gengar floated out of Natsui's shadow and clicked its tongue.
"Bold timing," it said. "Is this 'first aid,' or should I give you two a moment?"
Natsui shot it a flat look. "If you're done being stupid, watch the perimeter."
Gengar held up its hands. "Sure, sure. 'First aid.'"
Natsui ignored it and rolled Courtney slightly onto her side. Supporting her forward, he pressed firmly beneath her ribs and along her upper abdomen—controlled, deliberate. Not violent. Just enough to help clear water and trigger a cough.
Courtney sputtered.
A stream of seawater spilled from her mouth, followed by another rough cough. Her breathing hitched, then steadied into shallow, uneven pulls of air.
Natsui exhaled once, slow and controlled, watching her chest rise and fall.
After a few seconds, Courtney's eyes fluttered open.
She didn't move at first—only stared, dazed, her gaze shifting from Natsui to the sky. Her expression was blank, as if her mind had not yet caught up with the fact that she was alive.
A breeze slid over the cliff and across her damp skin. Awareness returned in a sharp jolt. She glanced down, realized her collar and uniform had been loosened, and yanked her clothes back into place with a sudden burst of strength. She sat up abruptly, breathing hard, still trembling.
Before she could speak, Natsui said, calmly and without softness:
"You should be dead."
Courtney froze. "What…?"
"If I hadn't pulled you out," Natsui said, leaning back against the rock, "you'd have died in that base—or in the sea. Call it what you want. You owe me your life."
Her brows drew together. "Do you think that will make me betray the Leader?"
Natsui didn't flinch. "Then what's your plan? Repay a life with silence? You don't strike me as the type to take and pretend it's nothing."
Courtney's jaw tightened. She had no immediate answer.
As Natsui had suspected, her nature wasn't cruel. Even within Team Magma, she was an instrument—following orders, enforcing plans, rarely acting out of personal malice. And now, after brushing death in the dark and choking on seawater, she understood something with uncomfortable clarity:
She didn't want to die like that.
Not trapped. Not helpless. Not senseless.
Her earlier obsession had cracked.
And then—without warning—another image tore through her mind.
A jagged island of volcanic rock. Groudon, wreathed in molten heat, rearing from stone as if the earth itself had opened its eyes. A roar that shook the horizon. A surge of energy that shattered surrounding islets and stained the sea red. Fires everywhere. Pokémon scattering in terror.
Then Maxie's submarine, surfacing. Maxie and Team Magma stepping out—confident, prepared.
Groudon opening its jaws.
A beam of ruin lancing forward.
Courtney jolted as if struck.
The vision vanished, replaced by sunlight, salt air, and Natsui watching her intently.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
She swallowed, her throat still raw. "I…"
Her hands curled against her knees. She didn't understand why these images were coming. She wasn't someone with psychic abilities. Yet the premonition from the underground dock had returned—clearer, worse.
"Why am I seeing this?" she whispered, half to herself.
Natsui's eyes narrowed. "Seeing what?"
Courtney hesitated. What if it was nothing? A stress-induced hallucination?
But if it wasn't—if it was real—then it wasn't just Maxie at risk. It was everyone.
Natsui's voice stayed even. "You told me your life isn't yours to throw away. Don't waste it on silence."
Courtney's expression twisted with something conflicted and bitter.
In Team Magma, even as a Commander, she had been a disposable piece. Maxie hadn't chosen to save her. He'd chosen to leave her behind.
And this man—her enemy—had dragged her out anyway.
A strange, unfamiliar feeling stirred in her chest.
If it had been the Leader… would he have saved me?
"I think I saw something," she said at last.
"Saw something?" Natsui glanced around automatically, then back to her. "What kind of something?"
"A vision," Courtney said, voice low. "In my mind. The Leader… they'll be attacked by Groudon soon. They'll be wiped out."
Natsui's brow lifted. "A premonition? Or a hallucination? You've never had this before?"
Courtney shook her head, unsettled. "Never. I don't know why it's happening. It feels like… a warning."
Natsui didn't dismiss it. He seized the opening immediately.
"Then you already know Maxie's plan isn't guaranteed," he said. "If you're worried about them, tell me where they're going. We get there, we confirm what's happening, and we stop it before it becomes irreversible."
Courtney fell silent again, trapped between loyalty and fear. Giving up the destination meant betraying Team Magma.
But if her vision was true…
A ringtone cut across the moment.
Natsui's phone.
He had upgraded it long ago: rugged casing, waterproof seal, satellite capability. Even out here—remote coastline, empty sky—it could still connect.
He answered without hesitation, right in front of Courtney.
"Shelly," he said.
Her voice came through immediately, impatient and sharp. "Did you figure out where Maxie is going?"
Courtney's eyes widened. She recognized the voice at once—Team Aqua's second-in-command. What she couldn't understand was why Shelly was speaking to Natsui as if they were allies.
Natsui glanced at Courtney and spoke into the phone. "Not yet. I have Courtney with me. She hasn't said a word."
There was a pause on the line. Then a long exhale.
"Put her on," Shelly said.
Natsui switched to speaker and held the phone out toward Courtney.
"Courtney," Shelly said, steadier now. "Listen to me."
Shelly summarized what had happened at the Weather Institute and later at the Seafloor Cavern—how far the situation had already spiraled, and what it had taken to keep disaster from breaking the surface. She didn't embellish. She didn't need to.
Then she said, clearly, "Groudon and Kyogre are the same in one respect: if either undergoes Primal Reversion, it won't create a better world. It will destroy this one."
Courtney's breathing tightened as the implications landed.
Shelly had left Team Aqua?
Archie had failed to control Kyogre?
And Natsui—this man—had been the pivot point.
If Shelly's assessment was true, then Maxie wasn't building a future. He was dragging everyone toward ruin.
Natsui watched Courtney in silence, giving the words time to do their work. When he judged the moment right, he spoke.
"So," he said evenly, "are you willing to cooperate?"
Courtney stared at him, eyes sharp, searching for the lie—and finding none.
She didn't answer immediately. Then, finally, she exhaled, as if making peace with something inside herself.
"Fine," she said. "I'll take you to the Leader. But whether it's truly as you say… I have to see it with my own eyes."
Natsui shrugged, unconcerned with her lingering skepticism. He had what he needed.
Courtney gave a set of coordinates.
Shelly went quiet for half a beat—then hung up without another word.
Natsui released Dragonite.
"Let's move," he said. "Now."
He climbed onto Dragonite's back and extended a hand to Courtney. For a moment she looked at it as though it didn't belong to her reality. Then she clenched her jaw and took it.
Natsui pulled her up. She sat behind him, still stiff, still wary.
Dragonite sprang into the air and shot upward.
As they climbed, Natsui messaged Misty. She and Phoebe had managed to put out the fire on Mt. Pyre and were heading his way—but on foot, in remote terrain, they were moving too slowly to matter in the next few hours.
There was no time to wait.
He told Misty to head for Lilycove City instead and meet him there once he was done. Misty replied quickly: she understood, she couldn't help immediately, and she would wait in the city. She told him to be careful.
Natsui put the phone away.
Under Courtney's direction, Dragonite angled southeast.
Maxie had a head start, but submarines were not built for speed—especially not with the kind of design Team Magma favored.
Dragonite, on the other hand, flew like an arrow loosed from a bow, covering distance in a blink.
------------------
Currently on Patreon: 870 chapters available.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LIZBETH1242
Coming soon: up to Chapter 1000 will be available in 7 days