"Zoey..." She's unresponsive. Catatonic. Her eyes have been glued to the screen for the past fifteen minutes, not even blinking. "Zoey, let's sit down over there."
My legs fell asleep ages ago, stinging and itching. "Zoey?" But still, she doesn't reply.
When I slip my hands underneath her butt to lift her up, she gives a near-imperceptible nod and hugs me again, hiding her tear-stricken face within my shirt. Her body moves on its own with my lead. She presses her legs against the ground, but she's hanging onto me with every step.
We reach a chair, and Zoey settles into my lap, turned to the screen, and it saps all of her attention again. Nothing has changed for almost an hour, but then stuffy people dressed in suits and greasy-haired people wearing lab coats arrive at the scene on top of a Dragonite's back. Then a Corviknight brings heavy equipment that dangles from its talons.
Pokeballs pop open, and psychic pokemon - Mr. Mime, Kadabra, and a Grumpig - form a blue, shimmering sphere around the camp, woven from overlapping segments of psychic force.
More and more pokemon arrive: Fearow, a flock of five Doduo and a three-headed Dodrio, and two Staraptor, each ferrying new people into the operation.
That's Dad on the larger Staraptor and Professor Rowan on the smaller one. I didn't notice when he arrived, but Tonio is here too - hunched over his computer at a folding desk, already deep in work.
Dad's Alakazam pops free and joins the psychic team maintaining the barrier, while Karla Kolumna whispers into the camera, reporting on the ongoing activity. The way she speaks, it's clear - she's not meant to be here. Maybe she was nearby and came to investigate? "They're working on bringing them back."
"I hope she's right." Zoey quietly mutters.
I hold her tighter, feeling her tense stomach and her rapid breathing. Dawn holds Zoey's hand. She has drying streaks of tears on her face while she stares at her, lost for words with worry and heartache.
A heavy wave of powerlessness floods the pokemon center. We're not the only ones watching the screen - everyone not rushing about is frozen, staring. Dread hangs thick in the air, a sickening miasma. Every time the news worsens, people glance at Zoey with quiet pity.
Tonio mutters to himself while he works, and the camera picked up that twenty percent of the mass had already disappeared. The pace accelerates.
Something about the space between worlds behaving like a vacuum, where the particles that form mass dissolve at the edges, becoming energy, trying to equalize the pressure. Or something like that.
Dad barks orders, intimidating scientists and grunts alike into moving faster. He calls out more of his pokemon, helping haul strange, heavy machinery. The camera pans around, following him as Nidoking carries a strange metal device resembling a satellite dish to a lab-coat-wearing scientist who waves his arms around.
Alakazam follows him and provides a personal psychic bubble for them.
Dad talks, inaudible from the distance, but the scientist listens and calls out a Solosis. The small, green, cell-like pokemon pops free from its pokeball, then does its best to take over Alakazam's job.
The camera pans again.
"Why me?" Zoey whispers, barely audible - yet clearer than anything else in the absolute hush of the pokemon center. So many people, and not one dares to speak as they watch the unjust horrors unfold on the screen.
"They--" Should I even say that? I don't think Dialga and Palkia care who they hurt, but does my opinion help her at all? "I'm sorry."
I just don't know what to do... How do I even fix this? What if they fail? What if almost all of Zoey's family is already dead, and she's just waiting for the verdict?
How could I fix it then? How can anyone fix what Team Galactic already tries but fails? Team Galactic saves them, the artifact saves them, or nothing - game over.
Sweet Mew, this is terrible. "I'm sure they will come out of this alive."
Dad returns after hauling two more devices. Eight machines now ring the enormous crater, all aimed at the center. Each is manned by a scientist and a grunt, shielded by a psychic pokemon's barrier.
"Progress report." His voice, quiet and distorted by the distance, causes Tonio to flinch.
He taps the keys of his laptop, pushes his face closer to the screen, and takes off his glasses. He slowly shakes his head. "Their energy readings are down to 50% already. At this rate, their sub-dimension will collapse before we have anchored it. Not to mention the de-phasing process--"
"Fix it."
"Sir? We can't. Our prototypes are too primitive and inefficient. We can only hope to gather new data from this so we can succeed the next time."
"There will be no next time if we fail. We need to recover--" Beep "-- or else humanity is--" Beep "-- Do you understand? Fix. It. Now! Tell me what you need."
He was about to say doomed, wasn't he?
"I-I... I don't know... More power? If we feed the stabilization array a stronger supply, maybe the process will finish faster? But the generators are already at full capacity!"
"Ampharos, go."
Dad's pokemon understands, pressing her electric bulb at the end of her tail against a part of the generator that's hidden from view.
"It's not enough, sir. Not nearly enough."
"Ampharos, give it your all."
Karla Kolumna whispers to her camera. "Rotom, I'll take over; go and help them."
The screen flickers to static before the electric ghost pokemon appears in front of the lens, returning to its original shape. It salutes with its electric arm, buzzing a high-pitched tone before it zips through the air. Merging with the generator, more electricity crackles over the machine.
Professor Rowan's Luxray joins the other electric pokemon.
"We're... we're still short, sir. Only 20% of the sub-dimension remains, and stabilization is still 60% from completion. I'm sorry, sir. We've failed."
"Don't give me that--" Beep "We're not failing today. Think of other solutions. YOU!"
"Me?" A grunt asks.
"Yes! And you next to him too, get to the other side of the crater and demand the pencil pushers send over any pokemon that knows any electric moves. MOVE IT!"
"Yes!" - "Yes, sir!"
"Rhyperior, use Thunderbolt." Dad's pokemon bursts from its ball, immediately springing into action. More and more pokemon join the task.
A scream echoes from one of the satellite dish-shaped devices, but the voice is too distorted to make out. The camera signal deteriorates as powerful electric currents surge wherever one looks.
"We can help!" The camera pans left to reveal Daisy ripping off the golden hypothermia blanket she's wearing. "Piloswine can use Powder Snow to cool it down!"
The camera shifts back to the machines. Snowflakes occasionally land on them, hissing and evaporating instantly. When Powder Snow strikes, it's like a drop on a hot stove - melting immediately and turning to steam.
Dad calls out commands, and other ice type pokemon join - Lapras, Snorunt, Vanillish, Eiscue, and many more.
Tonio orchestrates them towards the pieces of equipment that need it the most while advising which to avoid to prevent short circuits, but then the cables themselves start to steam and smoke.
Thick wires, as wide as a leg - their insulation bulges where the heat is most intense. The snow beneath them has already turned to steam, but every pokemon is preoccupied with the machines. The cables might fail at any moment.
"10% remaining. Stabilization at 80%. Heat has reached critical levels."
Suddenly, the snowstorm intensifies. A majestic screech echoes from the mountaintops as a shadow streaks across the sky. Snowflakes as thick as saucers hail from the sky, assaulting the equipment with much-needed coolant.
Another screech follows, this time with a raven-like tone, and another shadow joins the first in the sky as lightning crackles, streaking through the rapidly darkening clouds.
Then, a column of lightning strikes the generator, white static flooding the TV screen as thunder overpowers the speakers. Slowly, panicked voices break through the noise.
Tonio screams, repeating it over and over again. "They're stable! They're stable! We did it!"
Beep "-- yeah!" Someone else yells. "I knew we could do it!"
The video transmission has been fried. Where the thunder struck, the pixels are all completely black, and the surrounding area only shows afterimages.
Dad shouts over the chaos. "Everybody! Now's not the time to celebrate! Get back to work! We need to recover--" Beep "You!"
"Me?"
"No, the other identical grunt next to you. Run around the crater and get me a damage report."
"Actually, sir." Tonio speaks up. "I have reason to suspect the dephasing process is already underway. I have no idea how, but according to these energy readings, they should reappear in... three, uhm, no, two seconds."
"Brace for--!!!"
The TV feed suddenly cuts off. Only a black screen and silence remain.
Then, a newsroom appears, with two reporters seated at a desk, staring ahead - just like everyone in the room, eyes locked on the screen.
"It..." The wide-eyed female stammers, shaking her head as she recovers from her stupor. "It looks like we've lost connection with our live reporter, Karla Kolumna. Jubilife TV is working diligently to find out what happened as we speak."
The pokemon center remains silent. Not a soul dares to mutter a word. Not even when a minor earthquake briefly shakes the room.
Did it work? Is Zoey's family safe?
---
"Th-th-they are safe, right?" Zoey's voice wrenches at my heart.
"Of course." Why did the camera have to break? "Dawn, you agree, right?"
"O-of course! You heard what they said near the end. Everything's fixed."
Some voices in the room agree. Every one of them sounds unsure, and with each repetition of the lie, Zoey shrinks further into herself. I rub her shoulder, but she just flinches at the touch. "Zoey, listen to me."
She doesn't. She almost curls up on my lap, burying her head against her knees and gripping her stump tightly.
"Zoey..." I brush red strands from her face, trying to glimpse at her eyes. "I know they are safe. I am certain of it."
She shakes her head. "You don't... I can feel your aura. You don't believe that."
Fuck. "I'm a paranoid mess. My mind works better than my heart."
Her teary eye glances at me, briefly flickering with a hint of a smile before looking back at her feet.
"Why wouldn't they be fine? We heard the last words before the connection broke off. They were simply right next to the convergence, so they probably just got blasted off their feet or something."
"Then why can't you believe that, if you're so sure?"
"Like I said, I'm paranoid. For some reason, I don't think this is over yet. It was too fast and too simple, you know? Well, anyway, I'm certain I'm right. I'm always right, you know?"
"You're wrong like half the time."
"That's so not helping, Dawn."
"Sorry..."
Zoey chuckles, revealing her snotty, runny, and teary face in the process.
Dawn too. Her mascara ran down in streaks. Overall... "You both look awful." I probably shouldn't have said it out loud.
Their eyes turn to me, anger building quickly. Dawn sticks out her tongue. "Yeah? Well, why didn't you cry?"
"Someone's gotta stay stoic. I can break apart some other day."
"And now he's already joking around. Can you believe this guy, Zoey?"
She wipes her face, laughter escaping. Then, with a stone-cold, straight face, she looks me in the eyes. "I cannot believe him, Dawn. How inconsiderate is he? Do men even have feelings?"
"Wow."
"I know, right? What an ass, he wouldn't even shed a single tear."
"I was projecting confidence to help you."
"My sisters warned me of these types. They just have zero tact."
"I'm the most empathetic guy around."
"I bet he thought he'd appear cool like that."
At that, Zoey laughs out loud. "I bet he did. Look at me, I'm so tough and stoic."
"I am tough and stoic. What the fuck?" Some strangers chuckle as well. "The most tough and the most stoic guy around."
"I bet he just didn't know what to say the whole time." Dawn hit the nail on its head with that one.
"Can you blame me? It's not like there's a book I could use to teach myself how to console my girlfriend when literal gods are targeting her specifically."
"... Touché."
"Nerd." Dawn flicks my forehead before receiving a flick in return. "Ouch!"
"You guys are a riot." Candice suddenly appears behind us, startling us with her presence as she puts her arms around mine and Dawn's shoulders. She smirks. "I bring good news, and I bring bad news. You know the game; which one do you want first?"
One should always choose the good news first, since it could contain hints towards the solution of the bad news. That way you don't need to worry over the bad news while you wait to hear the good ones. "The--"
"The bad ones." Zoey mutters, the hints of joy deflating from her face in an instant.
Not even Candice expected her to choose that. "A-are you sure?"
"I need to know..."
"Alright, alright, Zo-zo. The bad news is that we don't have any electricity except in the pokemon center. We're also near the end of our fuel stockpiles because the next cargo train for import and export was supposed to arrive tomorrow. So, it's going to be real cold real soon."
"Huh... then what's the good news?"
"Well, you see, I really thought you wanted them first..."
"Spit it out already!"
"Ahh, sorry! I will hurry! I won't delay this essential and important piece of information any longer."
Sweet Arceus. Is she doing this on purpose?
"You see, I was in my emergency call with the other gym leaders and the princess, and then Cyrus joined the meeting, and he told us - you won't believe it... Everyone survived."
"E--"
"Yes! Everyone! Your mom and sisters are fine! A bit battered from the fall, but falling isn't deadly, so they are fine!"
"E-everyone survived?"
"Yes, Zo-zo, like I said. Everyone survived - except the two Team Galactic grunts in the truck. The missing land was returned - well, a small part of it - and everyone survived. Even your house still stands - kinda."
She holds up a tablet showing an image of the crater and a tiny piece of land in the center, at the very bottom of it. On top of the land stands their family house, a gaggle of shaken and distraught Team Galactic grunts, a herd of Swinub and Piloswine, a total of five Mamoswine, and a large group of redheads, plus one who dyed her hair black.
A Piloswine can be seen running down the edge of the crater with another red-headed girl riding on his back. Her house has a collapsed wall, and around a third of it looks uninhabitable.
"Everyone survived... haha."
"Right. Except for the two grunts in the truck."
"Candice?" She looks me in the eyes. "Why exactly did you do that good news, bad news game?" I'm gonna beat her up - in a pokemon fight - if the answer is to mess with Zoey.
"Oh! Right! I actually wanted to segue this into an escort mission for one of you three. I have a few electricians who need to go to the site of the convergence and repair our connection to the Valley Windworks power plant."
She zooms into the image, showing a thick cross-section of an underground cable in the side of the crater.
"Someone needs to escort the electricians to your home, and I'm fairly sure you would want to see your family right now. The guys are filling the truck with equipment as we speak. You'd be able to see them in person before nightfall."
"OMA! Thank you, Big Sis Candice!"
"Haha, no problemo, Lil Sis Zo-zo."
Zoey jumps up from my lap, stumbling briefly but righting herself before pulling Dawn up and then me. "Come on, let's hurry and get to the truck! Maybe if we help, we can get there faster!"
"Let's go!" Dawn agrees.
"Let's--"
"Hold your Ponyta!" Candice keeps hold of Dawn's and my wrists. "Erm... I need you both here."
"What?"
"After an earthquake like that, wild pokemon are easily agitated, and Snowpoint City isn't big or threatening enough to keep them from attacking us in their panic. I've already requested help from the league, but..."
She fidgets with her fingers. "Help won't arrive this far north until the trade train comes tomorrow. I need all the help I can get."
"No deal." She looks at me in surprise. "I'm not letting Zoey travel alone. Not after that."
What if they're really targeting her? She needs support. She needs me!
---
Dawn nods firmly and grabs Zoey's hand. "Alright. We've found a decent compromise. I will go with her to make sure she stays safe."
Zoey mutters about not needing a babysitter.
"Thanks, Dawn. And I will support Candice with the defense of the city." I give her a kiss on the lips. "Don't get lost on the way."
She punches my shoulder, but I ignore it and give Zoey a kiss on her lips as well. "Make sure Dawn doesn't stumble off-track and get lost."
"Will do. And Candice, please make sure he doesn't go on dangerous adventures while we're away."
"Haha, I can't promise you that; he's here specifically to defend the city!"
The truck honks its horn, and one of the electricians hollers for Dawn and Zoey to hurry up.
"Looks like our time's up. Don't worry, girls, I will make sure to stay alive, and I will await your return with open arms. One last kiss for luck?"
They each smooch a cheek at the same time before running off, Empoleon waddling after them. Dawn had called him out to clean their faces with Bubble, but he stuck around to play guardian.
Dawn and Zoey hop into the back of the pickup truck. Empoleon - far too large - clambers in after them, prompting a chorus of complaints. Through the rear window, I catch glimpses of their wrangling behind the heap of equipment in the truck bed.
Empoleon wins a round and plops down on Dawn's lap. She lets out a muffled scream - "You're too heavy!" - before shoving him off. The scuffle resumes as the truck's engine roars to life.
A flash of red light ends it; Empoleon returns to his pokeball. When the truck passes a corner, my eyes linger on the tracks it left in the snow.
I turn to look at Candice and spot her absentmindedly waving goodbye. "What now?" She's obviously miles away. "Candice?"
"Hm? What now? Uhm, nothing, I guess. We did everything we could, and now we wait."
We're out in the middle of the streets, with nothing at all to do. Not a soul wanders from their homes or the pokemon center. Only a few wild ice types linger nearby, drawn to us for safety after today's earthquakes.
"Are there any pokemon rangers who can scout around the city to warn of aggressive pokemon?"
"Are you kidding?"
"No?"
Candice shuffles her feet, and I wonder how she's not feeling the cold with her skirt. "Oh. Well, to be honest, we can't afford rangers."
"How come? Even small towns can afford them."
"Because our city maintenance is too expensive. We need to clear the roads every week, or else the snow will bury us."
They have teams of fire pokemon. I've heard of them before.
"Energy and food are very expensive up here too. We have to import almost everything. My grandpa and gym leader Byron built the train tracks to Veilstone City, but it didn't help much. We can't even afford gym assistants, and almost every trainer leaves the city when they grow up. I shouldn't vent to you... sorry." Her shoulders slump.
"I don't mind. I actually love that type of politics, but I never get to talk about it with my friends, haha. Can you tell me some more? What about Snowpoint City's success stories? Zoey had promised a town tour, but that started and ended with the school."
Everyone likes talking about the cool things going on in their hometown. I'm sure this will cheer Candice up.
Her shoulders slump even more. "That's because my city doesn't have anything besides the school. We have some platinum mines in the north, but that's pretty much it. Tourism is at an all-time low too; nobody wants to ski right now, and all our literal prehistory heritage means nothing to tourists when the world is ending."
"Oh."
"I hate to say it, but the loss of the Evans' farm might mean the end of Snowpoint City. We just don't make enough money to keep afloat."
Her voice turned quiet at the end. Nothing remains of her bubbly persona as her posture sags into itself.
"... Let me get you a coffee, alright? I can pump your economy a little."
She chuckles a dry laugh. "Plus a cake? And you're paying?"
"Sure."
"Sweet. That's 2₽ into the tax coffers; besides, I'm freezing! Let's go get out of the cold!" Candice jogs ahead with Glaceon, Weavile, and Jynx hot - or rather cold - on her heels.
I honestly thought she didn't feel the temperatures. She's definitely more resistant than a normal human, though.
As I follow in her wake, a warm breeze caresses the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine. It was Lopunny, blowing wind. ~"Let's cuddle at the café so I can keep you warm."
"In public, Lopunny? Right there with Candice in front of us? No way." Unless I use the cold as an excuse? "Actually, sure."
We reach a quaint little shop with wood log walls and tiny windows cut into them. Candice waits at the door, keeping her hand on the handle but only twisting it open once I'm close enough to step in after her.
The inside is cozy and rustic and reminds me a lot more of Zoey's family home than a coffee shop. The aroma of smoke and the warm glow of flames pull my attention to a fireplace burning at the end of the shop.
"Oh! Miss Mayor, my dear, what gives me the honor?" An elderly lady sits by the fireplace, slowly pushing herself out of the seat.
"Hi, Granny Hannelore. We're just here for some liquid gold and some cake to fight off the cold."
Hannelore, who looks a lot like an older version of Maria, lets out a long, drawn-out sigh. "Sigh... nobody ever comes to visit me. It's always my cakes everyone's after."
I look at her cakes-- Ahhh! Nooo! Old lady butt! Yuck! She disappears behind the counter.
"It'll take a little longer today. These strange machines broke again, and Houndour isn't quite as spry anymore."
Did she not notice that the electricity is off?
Houndour slept in a little bed until she petted him awake. They share a few looks, gestures, and words, and then Houndour gets to work firing up a pot of water.
Candice shuffles into a seat, and I take the one in front of her with Lopunny squeezing herself into the same seat. When she begins petting and hugging me, Candice just chuckles.
In the meantime, Hannelore cracks a few eggs and mixes them together with flour. "Miss Mayor, I wouldn't want to bother you, but I fear there might be some mischief happening in town."
She speaks while kneading the dough. "I woke up from my nap today, and the whole place was a mess. I don't wish to suspect anyone, but I think the children were having too much fun today."
"Don't worry, Granny Hannelore. It wasn't the children, and we've already found out what it was."
"That's good." She puts the mini cakes into an oven, and Houndour fires it up. The pair seamlessly swaps places, and Hannelore continues preparing the coffee. "Heinrich-- Ah, your guest is from out of town, right? Heinrich is my husband. I met him 70 years ago at the town's school when we were children."
"80 years ago." Candice corrects her, accepting her mug of coffee in the process.
"80 already? Time sure flies, doesn't it? He woke up with a terrible dream today."
I thank her politely when receiving a cup.
"He said, Hannelore, you need to go to school today and stay there! Can you believe it? He still thinks we go to school, the silly Swanna. And he said, the city's in grave danger! Now where did Maria run off to this morning?! She always plays with that neighbor's boy, Riley. Good lad."
The coffee slowly burns my tongue as the scalding liquid rests within my mouth. The words echo in my mind, and it becomes clear.
She sets down the mini cakes - really more like oversized cookies - and looks at me with concern. "Are you alright? If you're worried about the price, don't be. They're on the house."
But what about Candice's taxes? Never mind, not important. "Hannelore, I think your husband saw a vision of the future."
"Nonsense. He lost that ability years ago." Huh? "He used to be the temple warden, you know? The whole town held him in reverence."
Lopunny stops cuddling when she feels my whole body tensing up.
Candice takes over, her skin slowly paling. "He actually used to have visions?"
"Of course. It comes with the territory of being the chosen protector of Regigigas. I was so proud when Maria took up the mantle."
It's an actual, mystical role and not a job... The vision was most likely real. "Where is Heinrich now?" We must know what will happen. "And why aren't you in school if he told you to stay there?"
"Oh, I forgot."
"Granny Hannelore," Candice tries again. "Where is Heinrich?"
"Heinrich? My husband? Why? He didn't cause any trouble, did he, Miss Mayor?"
The damn world is ending. We're in grave danger... But Lopunny's presence keeps me calm.
Hannelore goes off on another tangent about how she met her husband 80 years ago. I start eating the cookies while Candice deals with the old lady.
They are very soft and fluffy. Baked to perfection, honestly. Better than I could manage. The seriousness of the situation gnaws at the back of my mind, but these mini cakes keep me distracted enough.
They are smooth and buttery when chewing them, and they have hints of... some finely shredded fruit. Wait, is it candied Aspear Berry? It tastes so well baked into the dough, I didn't even notice at first. Perfect against the freezing cold weather.
Maybe we should just go look for Heinrich? She said he's wherever Maria ran off to smooch Riley, but that could be anywhere. What does he even need her for? To resolve the prophecy?
The coffee has a very smooth taste. Akari's is still better, but I think that's just bias. Objectively, both are extremely well prepared, with only hints of the usual unpleasant bitterness of coffee.
How does Akari know to brew coffee so well? Weren't coffee beans a rather recent import from Alola?
I can't believe Hannelore still talks Candice's ears off. "Oh. Candice, look out the window. There he is; Heinrich."
An old man strolls down the street, dragging Maria along by her ear and leaving trails of footprints behind in the thick layer of snow.
"It's him! Come on, Swole!" Candice jumps from her seat and rushes out the door.
"Goodbye, Grandma Hannelore." I say and receive a smile in return.
"Goodbye, young man. And do drop by anytime - I love baking for guests."
"Will do--"
"Hurry up, Swole! It's an emergency!"
"Bye!" I rush out of the door, closing it on my way out.
---
"Come on, Slowpoke! We need to get to the temple!" Candice shouts, already moving together with Heinrich, Maria, and Riley along the street.
Maria nurses her sore ear after she managed to free herself during the brief moment of distraction.
"Do we know what exactly is going on?"
Heinrich leads the group at the front with long strides. "Regigigas wants to break free from its prison."
"What?"
"The overseer of all Regis has been imprisoned within our temple for as long as humans have existed to keep it contained. It's a powerful pokemon, a force of nature, built to shift and shape the world. No one knows who made it, only that it will resume its endless toils if we allow it to awaken."
Wait - wait, wait, wait! That would be really fucking bad!
"The world as we know it will come to a destructive end. Volcanoes will erupt. Earthquakes will split the land. Tsunamis will swallow cities whole. Civilization will crumble, and the planet will stay that way. Our world would become unlivable for any kind of civilized life - until a trainer strong enough rises to stop it. The earlier event cracked its prison. Now, it wants out."
"How do we stop it?"
Maria huffs. "You're not seriously believing that, are you? Grandpa, just tell them you're making it up already."
Heinrich buries his head in his hands, muttering as he marches ahead, one steady step after another. "It's all that spineless father's fault. And that TocTic junk."
Suddenly, he spins around, bringing the group to a halt, bearing down on his granddaughter. "Listen up, Maria, I've had it with your attitude. Start acting like you've got a shred of honor and self-respect."
"Hey--"
"Silence, Riley! Maria, you're a temple maiden, just like your mother was and just like I had been a temple warden before her. Act like it!"
"But I never wanted to be one!" Maria tries to rip herself free from his hold, but he remains motionless, and his vise grip around her arm remains steadfast. "I just wanted to go on a pokemon journey with my friends! Why did I have to be a stupid temple maiden?!"
"Because it's who we are." Heinrich resumes walking, pulling Maria along. "Your mother failed to raise you right. Your father was as cowardly as they come."
"He wasn't!"
"It was he who caused their demise. Nobody had the guts to tell you, but the tracks in the snow were clear. Your father ran from Ursaring, and that's why they attacked."
"What?"
"His body was found far away from your mother's. She stood up against them while he ran. But Ursarings never attack like that; they are cowardly pokemon who only hunt those who turn their backs to them."
Run from Teddiursa; stay your ground against Ursaring.
"It's how they hunt. Your father got her killed."
"No..."
"Yes. You ignorant girl... Today, I will show you the truth."
We've reached it: a massive monument of stone, reminiscent of the underground temple, only differing in size and color. Gray stones stacked high form the walls at the edge of a cliff.
Heinrich unlocks it, presses open the massive doors, and walks inside. As we pass the entrance, I keep my eyes open for seams in the floor, any sign of a trap, but find none.
At the end of the dark room stands an enormous statue of the legendary pokemon Regigigas, sitting on the floor, its hands slack. Light spills inside from the entrance, casting the hall in an eerie shine, our shadows dragging long.
A deep crack trails down the middle of its gray face.
"Do you see it yet?" Heinrich asks, pulling his granddaughter up to the front. "Can you hear it? These dissonant sounds whenever one of his eyes lights up?!"
I can see it. Cracks web the statue's surface, and now and then, a red glimmer pulses through them where its eyes would be, each time accompanied by a sound like a dozen piano keys struck at once.
"It's the startup sequence, and Regigigas will awaken once it's complete! But not with us around."
Heinrich approaches a small altar right in front of the pokemon, its gigantic form wrestling for attention. Five meters tall, its head nearly brushing the ceiling. If it stood, it would burst straight through.
He presses against a brick within the altar, and stone begins to shift, scraping against rock and rumbling through the floor. The recognizable sound of gears grinding against each other vibrates from underground, and a wall on the side opens up, revealing a pair of items on a display.
A white marble basin, decorated with dozens of colorful gemstones, and a golden dagger. He retrieves both, setting the basin into a matching slot within the altar and holding the dagger high.
He's not about to stab himself, right?
"Grandpa?"
"Maria. We're built different. This is why the town reveres our family." He holds the dagger to his wrist. "When fate knocks, when time comes, we stand firm. We are humanity's bastion."
With a swift cut, he slices deep into his wrist. Blood streams into the basin, soaking into the material and vanishing. No grunts of pain. No sounds but blood splattering into the bowl - silence drags on except for Regigigas' startup sequence grinding on.
"Grandpa!"
"Do not be afraid, and do not fear for me either, Maria. This is fate."
That's a lot of blood. "Shouldn't we help him?"
Candice's wide eyes lock onto his bleeding wrist.
How much blood does it need? He keeps pouring, hand trembling now, but the basin just drinks it down, greedy and silent.
No, I see it now. There are six large, round gemstones set into the wall behind Regigigas, a column of three on each side. The lowest pair slowly begins shining white.
Heinrich falters, stemming himself up with his good arm while the knife clatters to the ground.
"We need to stop him!" Riley shouts. "He's killing himself!"
"Don't!" Heinrich's deep voice echoes within the temple. "It must be done!"
He's barely filling up one pair of gemstones. "It won't be enough."
"It will be! A blood sacrifice is only as valuable as the life you offer - as soon as I pass the point of no return, it will be enough."
"Stop joking around!" Maria jumps into action, rushing to her grandfather and pulling at him without success.
He mutters as the blood keeps flowing. "You just don't get it."
"Riley! Help me out!" Maria pushes with all her might, but he doesn't budge at all.
"It won't work."
Even with Riley pulling, Heinrich doesn't budge. He can move himself freely - yet it looks like they're trying to drag a mountain.
"I won't move until my role is fulfilled." His voice has a finality that cuts to the bone. "I just wish you understood why I'm doing this, Maria."
His body falters again, yet his legs stay standing.
"Well, then I'm just going to help!" Maria picks up the dagger.
"Don't. Only one of us needs to die."
"Too late!" She slices across her forearm, balls her fist, and screams in pain as the blood starts flowing into the bowl.
"Maria!" Riley pulls at her arm but finds himself powerless once more. With a second stream of blood, the first pair of gems quickly lights up completely, illuminating Regigigas' back in a bright white shine.
The second set begins to glow a pale blue.
"Maria... you didn't need to."
She winces in pain but speaks through gritted teeth. "Grandpa, you don't need to either! We've got enough people to help you out! Nobody needs to die today! Right, Riley?!"
"R-right..." He eyes the dagger, then Maria, lingering on her wide-open wound, the sinew and bone, and the crimson tainting her paling skin. He takes a deep breath. "Right!" He slashes across his forearm. Blood gushes out, the first heartbeat spraying red across the stone. He shifts, angling his arm over the basin. The blood pours in and vanishes.
Much faster than before, the second row of gemstones fills up with power. And once they shine just as brightly as the first, the third row glimmers red.
"You can stop now, Grandpa."
He grits his teeth.
Riley pats his shoulder. "She's right. We've got this. Leave it to us."
"... Will you ever understand?" Tears squeeze through the corners of his eyes. "I won't leave. I will never turn my back on my destiny. And I will not let you fend for me... If I die, then so be it. Better now than on some bed."
"B-but what about your wife?" Candice keeps her eyes away from the sight, her face pale as snow.
"Hannelore... she's never left the house, has she?"
"N-no." She turns her head when his knees buckle, only to quickly look away again.
Heinrich might be close to death, yet he keeps his arm above the basin. His life keeps sapping. I... I don't understand it either.
"She's smarter than you think... I told her about the vision. Regigigas will crush our home in a single step. If I fail, she fails with me."
"But you're already winning." I point out the last pair of gems, almost filled with power and glowing at the same intensity as the rest. "And if you die, you're leaving her behind."
"..." He remains quiet. Did he pass out?
I pull out my emergency potion and approach the group. Their faces are just as pale as Candice's.
Suddenly, the ground shakes, and Heinrich falls to his side. The gemstones rapidly blink in a disorganized pattern.
Maria and Riley retreat from the saturated bowl, blood now pooling at the bottom. They clutch at their wounds, holding them closed.
As fast as I can, I treat Heinrich's wrist with the entire content of the potion, hoping to Arceus that he's still alive.
From the corners of my eyes, I watch the light show. A slit of light appears behind Regigigas' back before the cracks begin to seal themselves up. First the small ones--
The flashing lights of Regigigas' eyes suddenly increase their frequency. The dissonant noises tear at my ears, rapidly speeding up. Faster and faster. Louder and louder!
A deep, slow, and LOUD voice rumbles with mechanical tones. "REEGIGIGAAS!" It shakes the air and vibrates deep within my heart.
Lopunny pulls me back by my shoulders, pushing herself between me and the giant.
Yet the crack down the middle seals up as well. The lights turn off.
All at once, silence.