Cain and Drake entering Team Aqua's ship was like putting a tiger among sheep.
When they penetrated the vessel, Cain and Drake no longer hid their presence: they released their Pokémon and launched a full-scale assault.
The instant Salamence and Tyranitar appeared, the alarm blared throughout the ship.
Numerous Team Aqua members rushed toward Cain and Drake's position.
In the control room, the one in charge of navigation ordered the ship to proceed in the indicated direction, but suddenly every alarm light on the bridge turned on at once.
The control room immediately plunged into confusion.
Those who had been resting—Matt, who was fiddling with a knife in a corner, and Shelly, who had been gazing absentmindedly at the vast sea through the front glass—were startled by the roar of the alarm.
"Boss! There are intruders on the ship!" shouted one of the Team Aqua members watching the cameras, standing up.
Archie's face was somewhat pale; on closer inspection, his dark circles were more pronounced: he had clearly gone a long time without sleeping well.
"Show me the cameras," Archie said in a deep voice.
His subordinates complied and projected on the large screen the footage of the room where Cain and Drake were.
On the screen, Cain and Drake were unleashing a relentless assault; the Team Aqua members who rushed to stop them couldn't withstand a single hit.
If it weren't for the fact that they were members of the League (and therefore not allowed to kill at will), it would already have been a bloodbath.
But even without deploying their full strength, Cain and Drake were above ordinary members, captains, and the like.
Put plainly: both officers and grunts, facing the Pokémon of the two, were mere pawns; food served on a platter.
"Drake! Cain! You never give up... wherever you show up, it's always you two," Archie muttered through gritted teeth, furious.
If Archie knew that in the past Cain had almost been captured by Team Aqua, he wouldn't know what to feel.
Back then, the most valuable thing on that ship wasn't what they'd bargained for, but Cain alive.
Seeing Cain and Drake on the screens, the three Team Aqua Executives felt a great unease.
They had dealt with the League more than once and knew Drake's strength; Cain was now one of the new Elite Four, and they had even witnessed his battle against Steven—they had to admit Cain had improved a lot. They weren't sure they could win.
The appearance of those two imposed tremendous pressure on them.
Especially Shelly: seeing Cain made her immediately think of the dream she had had earlier.
So far, everything shown in that dream had come to pass; details could vary, but the main line matched.
Coupled with Archie's current state, Shelly already believed in the "prophecy" Cain had shown her by about seventy percent.
She also understood how Cain and Drake had appeared there: Cain had left something in her mind, and through that psychic connection she could pick up on certain things.
Thinking this, Shelly's face darkened with bitterness: it seemed she could not get rid of Cain in this life.
She had seen Cain's fight with Steven: it was similar to her own earlier battle, but far superior, and Cain had fully integrated a dual-core tactic.
Shelly still used a single-core tactic; the raw power of her Pokémon only slightly exceeded Cain's. In a one-on-one, she very well might lose; the probability was not small.
However, no one noticed the change in her expression, because all eyes were fixed on the screen.
Archie stared intently at Drake and Cain, wanting to annihilate them right then, but an inner voice urged him: "Find Kyogre as soon as possible!" If he could awaken the great sea god, nothing in this world could stop him.
"Boss, what do we do?" asked Matt, broad-shouldered. He didn't fear Drake and Cain so much: to him they were only two people, while they had four; no matter how strong the enemy, together they could handle it.
Archie kept a serious face and ordered in a low voice: "We leave."
Saying that, he led the way out of the bridge.
Matt and Amber immediately followed; Shelly hesitated for a moment, but in the end joined them.
The situation was already out of their control; there was nothing to do but go along and see how events unfolded.
What neither Shelly nor Matt expected was that, after leaving the bridge, Archie would not head toward where Cain and Drake were, but instead enter an escape pod.
"Boss, what...?" Shelly couldn't help asking, surprised.
Archie looked at her with a frown; since she was one of his closest subordinates, he explained: "We are close to finding the great sea god. We don't have time to waste on them. If we awaken Kyogre, all enemies will be pulverized."
Having said that, he pressed a switch on the wall and boarded the escape pod.
Matt and Amber were also bewildered, but Archie was their leader; they were subordinates and would simply obey.
Shelly gritted her teeth and also entered the pod.
Team Aqua's ship's escape pod was a specially designed mini-submarine; in speed and safety it surpassed ordinary submarines.
Upon entering the control room of the small pod, Matt deftly sat in the pilot's seat and prepared it to leave the main ship.
That massive ship: Team Aqua had invested years of effort and resources to build it. To install systems that blocked League detection and accommodate thousands of people inside, they had spent about a third of everything they had earned throughout their history.
As one of the dominant powers in the region, their accumulated funds over the years were unimaginable to most.
While Matt maneuvered the pod away, Archie approached the console, opened a red cover, and revealed a conspicuous button.
"Boss! That's the ship's self-destruct button! There are still a lot of people on board...!" Shelly cried out upon seeing his action.
"I know!" Archie replied, turning to her.
His expression was so terrifying that Shelly was left speechless.
"To have the League lose two of its Elite Four and have them join them in death would be a glorious end," Archie said coldly. "Drake! Cain! Today you will die here!"
Without hesitation, he drove his finger into the red button on the panel.
(End of chapter)