The moment Infernape struck, the cavern lit up like the birth of a star.
Fire spiraled through the water—not flames, not exactly, but aura-charged heat so intense it shimmered like molten light. The cavern walls reflected the blaze in bright strokes, and for a heartbeat everything looked suspended: Gyarados bracing against the shock, Roserade pulling its vines tight, Hydreigon's shadow rippling above the surface.
Then the node retaliated.
The carved crystalline core pulsed hard, sending a jagged wave of energy through the chamber. It slammed into Infernape mid-strike, forcing the flames apart in a spiraling shock that rattled the rock.
Alex staggered back.Even underwater, he felt the impact vibrate through his ribs.
Infernape snarled, pushing forward again. Its golden aura thickened, the familiar glow of controlled fury rising from deep within its chest.
"Again," Alex ordered, voice steady.
Infernape obeyed instantly.It always did.
This wasn't just a Pokémon.This was family—older than his rebirth, older than his time with the League, older than the scars on his hands.
And right now, it was the only thing holding the cavern together.
Infernape struck the node again, this time unleashing a spiraling arc of flame-wreathed aura that wrapped around its fists. The cavern's heat spiked, water vibrating from the clash of opposing energies.
The node screamed.
Not audibly.Not physically.But the sound echoed inside Alex's skull, vibrating through his bones like a psychic shriek.
"Alex!" Kai's voice blasted through the communicator. "The ridge is destabilizing—your area is spiking past safe thresholds! If the core ruptures at the wrong angle, we could get a chain reaction—"
"It won't," Alex said. "Not while I'm controlling it."
"That's what I'm afraid of!" Kai snapped.
Another shockwave burst outward from the node, shaking the cavern. Bits of rock peeled off the walls, clattering to the seafloor. Roserade flinched, shielding Alex with a shimmering green barrier. Gyarados planted itself firmly, tail coiled, roaring through the pressure.
The node pulsed again, faster now, like a frantic heartbeat.
Sariah's voice cut in next, all calm urgency. "Alex—we're picking up multiple signatures. The energy readings aren't just rising. They're tracking you."
Alex glanced at the core.Inside the red glow, runic symbols began shifting—realigning into new patterns.
Lila's voice trembled through the comms. "It's adapting to your strategies."
Alex didn't swear.He didn't break focus.He simply exhaled once and said:
"Infernape—shift pattern."
Infernape immediately changed stance.Instead of direct attacks, it charged aura into a concentrated sphere around its hands, letting the flames coil inward like a tightening helix.
The node reacted seconds later.The runes shifted again, adjusting their output to counter.
Alex narrowed his eyes.
"They're waiting for us to push it too hard. They want a rupture—just not one we control."
That changed everything.
A controlled strike would shatter the core.An uncontrolled one… would funnel energy straight through the volcanic channels.
Lila understood instantly. "Alex, stop hitting it! You're feeding its adaptive grid!"
"We don't have the luxury to stop," Alex said. "If we wait, the secondary nodes come online."
"And if you keep going, we might lose the ridge entirely!"
Alex didn't flinch. "Then I break it faster than it can react."
Sariah muttered something too quiet to hear.
Kai's voice was sharp with disbelief. "You're planning to outpace an adaptive geothermal node!?"
Alex didn't answer.Because Infernape already knew what he intended.
Their eyes met—through hot water and haze, through pressure and fear—and something passed between them. A shared memory. A shared instinct. A shared promise.
And Infernape's aura ignited.
Not golden.Not red.A brilliant, radiant white mixed with burning orange—its highest, fiercest state.
Alex felt the heat on his face even underwater.
"Infernape," he said softly, "flare surge."
Infernape roared—a sound so primal it shook the cavern walls.
And then it moved.
Flame-wrapped aura spiraled around its limbs, accelerating until the water around it foamed in turbulent spirals. A vortex of heat formed, drawing in energy, compressing it, refining it.
The node reacted in panic.
Its runic glow sharpened, pulsing at triple speed.The cavern shook violently.Cracks splintered through the walls, sending shards tumbling.
Roserade shielded Alex.Gyarados lashed its tail, anchoring itself.Hydreigon screeched above, firing dark beams into the open sea to help vent pressure.
And Infernape struck.
The vortex collapsed into a single, devastating point of impact—like a star condensed into a fist. The blow connected with the crystalline node, and the resulting explosion of heat and light ripped through the entire cavern.
Red light flared.Golden light burst outward.The cavern screamed.
For a moment Alex couldn't see anything—just blinding radiance and a shockwave that nearly threw him back into Gyarados.
Then—
The node cracked.
A hairline fracture first.Then five more.Then the entire stone webbed with splitting lines, glowing brighter with each second as the internal energy destabilized.
Alex recognized the pattern instantly.
It was going to blow.
"Kai," he barked. "I need an exit route. Now."
"Left tunnel—twenty meters behind you!" Kai yelled. "Ridge stability is crashing! You have maybe sixty seconds before the chamber collapses!"
"Thirty," Sariah corrected grimly. "If that core ruptures fully, pressure will spike."
Alex grabbed the ridge wall and shoved off, signaling his team.
"Gyarados—move!"
The serpent dove downward then curved sharply toward the tunnel. Roserade kept Alex shielded. Infernape swam beside him, flames dimming but aura still bright, even strained.
The node pulsed again—the largest pulse yet.
The glow became blinding.
The cavern floor split.
Pressure surged.
Kai's voice cracked. "Alex—it's going critical!"
Alex didn't need the warning. He felt the heat spike against his skin, the violent change in the water's density, the imminent collapse.
"Infernape!" he yelled. "Barrier!"
Infernape threw itself between the core and the escaping team, aura flaring in a shield of molten gold, pushing back the collapsing energy as best it could.
The core erupted.
A shockwave tore through the cavern.
The ridge walls buckled.
Water blasted outward in a violent burst that sent Alex flying into Gyarados' side. The world spun, pressure slamming into every part of him.
Roserade wrapped vines around Alex's chest to steady him. Gyarados took the brunt of the impact, roaring in pain but pushing forward with relentless strength.
Alex forced out one word:
"Up!"
Gyarados surged for the surface, body cutting through the churning water like a shot from a cannon.
Behind them, the cavern collapsed in on itself.
The shockwave chased them—an expanding force of boiling water and volcanic pressure that threatened to swallow everything.
Infernape struggled to keep the barrier alive behind them, pouring every ounce of aura into the shield.
The tunnel ahead narrowed—too narrow.Gyarados crashed through, tearing rock aside with its horns.
The surface neared—light shimmering above.
The shockwave caught them.
Alex's lungs tightened.His vision blurred.Everything shook.
Then—the world broke open.
Gyarados burst through the surface in an explosion of water and steam, launching Alex into the open night air. Hydreigon swooped down, catching him by the shoulders before he fell back into the boiling sea.
The shockwave erupted behind them, sending water towering into the sky like a geyser.
For a second the entire coastline glowed red.
Then it dimmed.Then it died.
The primary node was gone.
Alex dangled from Hydreigon's grip, dripping, exhausted, breathing hard—but alive.
Infernape surfaced moments later, aura fading, flames flickering weakly. Alex grabbed its arm, pulling it closer, relief washing through him like warmth.
Roserade bobbed up on the waves, battered but alert. Gyarados rose behind them, growling in triumph and pain.
The communicator crackled.
Kai shouted, "Alex! Readings dropping! The node's gone—you did it!"
Sariah added, breathless, "The ridge is stabilizing. Secondary nodes are weakening. You bought us time."
Lila's voice broke slightly. "Alex—are you okay?"
He looked around the steaming sea, the night air filled with mist, his team alive but winded.His arms trembled from exhaustion, his lungs burned, his heartbeat echoed in his ears.
But he smiled.
"Told you," he said softly.
"We break it."