*

"Damn, I was close. So close!"

He tried, yet is efforts were in vain. He had a chance. Which he failed to exploit.
Even his cold, calculating mind was prone to faults. Now, the environment caused him to make more and more mistakes with every moment. It was something just unavoidable now. A mission that progressively got more and more complicated didn't help at all. Now, seeing his past actions and opportunities that he missed to use properly caused him to wonder whether he's making yet another mistake now, and how many more mistakes he'll make in the foreseeable future.
Now he saw his carelessly plotted intrigues in the full light, and although seeing all the nonsense that he used to fill the holes in the makeshift plan made by him and his superior, he already passed the point of no return, and all that was left was to push further, as there was very slight chance that he would succeed.

"Update the status, I want to know." This was spoken in a somewhat aggressive tone that demanded fast response.

The metallic voice responded. So far away, yet with the technology it seemed so near.
"Latias still on the shore. The locations of Darkrai and Cresselia are unknown, can't detect them. Since Coronet mountain I don't detect their lifewaves at all, as if they disappeared somewhere out of my sensors reach. Your nearest threat is Shaymin, I detect her in her comfy, unspoiled by the war 'Flower Paradise'. The rest of legendaries locations are either unknown or far away to be of any concern to you. Now, tell me once again, what was that chance you've spoken of?"

"Joshua was defenseless. Kidnapped by the few pseudo-team-rockets. I could've stolen it. But I freaked out. Pity me."

"What, you were afraid Darkrai and Cresselia? Or Latias to boot? I know you've got to work in shadows but you are under pressure. You have the Aurora Energy Transferral Weapon at your disposal! Two out of destined three batteries are now in place. Enough to at least hold them while you flee were you to be intercepted by them. Or by anyone."

"But then, I've got an idea."

"Explain."

"You know the saying about Moses and the mountain, right? Joshua's interested in ruins. From what I've got to know from my spy drones he guessed correctly about the library."

"Library? Talking about the Karei Library, right?"

"Yes. He as for now knows where the library is, but doesn't know what is it, as he only got his logical assumptions to why the military got the area where that battle tower was to be built secured. Well, he can think sometimes, I gotta admit. He knows where Lagoon Par La Mer is, but he don't know how to open the doors. Idiot. He heard about the Borealis Technological Institute, but he'll know about the location or what's inside after he visits the Lagoon's Stream."

The ConstructAI's voice was of a person who was dreaming about goals that were near completion.

"What's inside... Artificial Life... The thing we have to destroy. But that's strange. Joshua is heading southeast, and he is above Hearthome. That Pokemon Battle Tower building site is in another direction."

"You forgot, right?"

"My data banks don't work properly. Will repair them in a moment."

"He's on a mission to get to Veilstone. Then, probably he'll visit Sunyshore, but I don't know. Then he'll go where he wants. And where I want, as his path and mine just appear to be identical. And I wonder, is there a way to use him to get Latias to the Subject C, as she is not really willing to move anywhere for a while, and that guy is still a vegetable in the wheelchair the survivors found?"


***************************


The sound of pickaxes and shovels reverberated in the underground tunnel where miners dug deeper and deeper, driven both by gratitude towards Joshua and sheer curiosity.

As they dug in both ends of the corridor where Michael's skeleton lied, it soon became obvious that one side lead into nothing but earth, while the other was but a minor cave-in, and after a few meters of digging the rest of the complex was accessible again. However, many parts of that catacomb-like dungeon were proven problematic to get in, as doors rusted shut, many other small collapses and damaged structural integrity in many parts that seemed extremely dangerous slowed down their efforts to get further.

However, these miners were more than experienced enough to deal with it, and soon they went even deeper. While digging, they found the details of the place, a plexiglas plate, a map and it's legend etched on it, which was screwed on the wall. Although the descriptions told these miners nothing more than they were now in the part which was called 'Isolated Laboratory B | Isolate Chambers F to J', as these names meant nothing to them, the outline of that place became clear.

As for now they tried to unearth the maze of corridors, aiming to check the rooms later, after they cleared all the passages. After some time they found yet another obstacle, although easy to get through, so unexpected that it's presence baffled, confused and alarmed the miners.

A barricade, sort of. A mish-mash of hospital beds, shelves and various medical equipment thrown in a pile that blocked the corridor. Although at first alarmed, the miners soon threw their fears away, as they already established this place to be at least a few thousand years old, and what kind of evil being could stay there for all these epochs? Also, maybe these weren't barricades at all?

Soon, they were proven wrong, as more and more barricades obscured their path. And the fact that each was stronger and bigger than before made them wonder what really happened there all these years ago.

It wasn't long before they found the first skeleton, lying on the floor. Although knowing nothing about anatomy, they felt something was wrong with the fact that one of the bones in arm was very badly broken, small splinters near the place the bone broke. Because the remains of that poor soul were covered in some white rags, resembling lab coat, and due to their unwillingness to disturb the dead they examined it to no more extent than that what was visible already.

Although they were no detectives, their assumptions told them that the person lived after he or she broke it's arm somewhere in the complex and tried to get as much away from that place.

For some time, they found nothing worthy of any interest, just the usual stuff anybody would expect from an underground dungeon - corridors, doors which lead to the rooms shown on the map and barricades.

And skeletons. With each meter the probability of finding one was bigger and bigger, and now there were many of them. Many of them were human, many of them purely pokemon, although they could only guess which species they were, not because of their lack of knowledge as it was more than easy to guess, but because many of them were badly damaged. However, some of these looked like neither of them. As if something was wrong with them, on the most basic level. As if they were half human and half pokemon. Miners however blamed the poor light from their lamps and their eyes playing tricks on them, as it just seemed more than surreal. For them the whole place was nothing but an unknown, a joke made by nobody knows who and for nobody knows what purpose. Who'd make a hospital in the middle of the mountain? And when it was built? Their experience told them it was well aged as they could barely date it, but their memory of things learned in school made them confused, as the history textbooks told them that the past ages were of brave knights, which were predated by ages of bronze and stone.

Looking at the map, miners established they were close to the admission room, where they expected to find some clues about the place. Maybe there they'll find some answers about the nature of the place, it's exact age and what exactly happened?

And as they came closer and closer to the admission room, they found more and more skeletons, pieces of clothing and some personal belongings scattered on the floor. However, they found nothing that could give them any information, as they found no ID's, no driver licenses, no diaries or newspapers, nothing worth of any interest.

Whatever happened there, it sure was a massacre.

Although the reasons and who was shooting at who were now unknown, all signs pointed that the defense sure was well organized, as many weapons were lying among the dead. Ranging from small pistols to automatic rifles. And something that confused the miners even more.
A few grenade launchers. All of it on the defending side.

"For a hospital, it sure was WELL equipped", joked one of the miners under his breath, as they came closer and closer to the biggest barricade they've seen, on the other side of which the admission room was. It would take them some time to break through it, so they called in a break and relaxed themselves, while regaining strength for their next task.

***************************

The church survived, although the damage made the structure vulnerable. The rest of the city just weren't there, save for a few still standing shells of the buildings, gigantic heaps of debris everywhere and still visible lattice of asphalt and cobblestone streets. Before he got to that place, however, Joshua passed the ground zero. The place above where the bomb exploded and the place Joshua was now standing looked vastly different. At the epicenter there was nothing. The blast and the heatwave purged the place, turning it into a big void, where not even a single brick showed it's presence. The southern part of the city, however, was still recognizable, with the church as the most notable example.

But whatever hit there, it aimed at making the place unhabitable for a long time, as the radiation levels were extremely high. But that was more than expected, Hearthome was the capital of Sinnoh, and all the attention in that war was focused on its destruction or, if any chances were given, sieging, conquering and taking the territory.

It took some time to find the entrance to the cache, which in fact was an underground garage located deep in the ground, with two entrances, one leading into one of Hearthome's numerous single-family detached houses and the second being a tunnel which lead to the south, near the Coronet's eastern hillside, on Hearthome's edge.
The purpose was simple - it wasn't just a mere magazine to store some small but important goods, but also the way to get in and out of the city unnoticed, which helped Team Galactic greatly in their misdemeanors.

After finding the entrance, which now laid buried under some debris, it took Joshua only ten and a few minutes to clear it and open, and it would take even quicker if Kyle weren't a cyndaquil, but, for example, a machop. Afterwards, it was just a flight of stairs to take, and not even a blink of an eye passed when Joshua and Kyle were in a quite large room, in which they found their promised car. It was a small coupe utility of a make unrecognized to Joshua, although with a very large trunk space ("Probably to transport many dead bodies with cement boots to the sea", thought Joshua) and good engine which was fuel-efficient.

Then, seeing as he could just sit down and do nothing in this safe haven, he scoured the place, looking for anything that could prove useful in his journey, in an attempt not to get lazy there.
At first he found nothing, just many documents detailing what Galactics were doing and such other now useless information. Before the war, these documents would be very valuable for any law enforcement forces, as these papers could easily imprison many people. Now they were useful only as kindling. And with such intentions Joshua packed them in the car.
Next locker contained something more interesting. Drugs. It was no secret, as every mafia, gang, or other type of criminal team had their shares in worldwide and local drug trade. Some marijuana, packets of cocaine, sheets of LCD. Nothing that was interesting for Joshua, so he only made a mental note where to look were he in need of these unholy items as he closed the locker.

More documents, more drugs, nothing interesting. However, last locker he opened was filled with things he considered not only interesting, but also useful. Weaponry and ammo. He knew he didn't knew how to use them, although he learned how use his pistol by now, so he took all of it, as little excess would hurt nobody. Except his enemies.

As Joshua packaged all the useful items to the car he noticed a small inconspicuous item. Metal box, lying on the bottom of the weapons locker. Curious, he took it, put on the table and tried to open it. It was closed, although this was no obstacle to Joshua's curiosity, as he took a hammer from the toolbox and smashed the lock.

The content was more than strange. It was a jet injector and some vials of a strange orange'ish liquid in a protective foam. Even though the foam was securing it, one vial shattered due to the shock when the lock was broken. Trying to identify the liquid Joshua smelled it. The smell was strange, although similar, so a few seconds later he identified it. Salted chesto berries. The smell of salted chestos reminded him of how he'd kill for a packet of these now. Kyle also smelled it, although he didn't like it, as expression of disgust formed on his muzzle.

"Smells good, doesn't it, Ky..."

And then Joshua felt something strange. As if he couldn't finish the sentence. His body also became numb. Joshua tried to move, but he couldn't, as if he was a tree that took root there. When he finally felt he could move his petrified body, he tripped and fell face down on the concrete floor. Although that effect passed quickly, the feeling made him very nauseated. Even though he ate practically nothing today, the feeling made him wonder how strong had that substance to be to make him react in such a way. Looking at Kyle, who hopped off his shoulder before he fell, he noticed that cyndaquil was acting strange, somewhat dizzy. And hyperactive, as Kyle was now running in uneven circles, as if he had an excess of energy to burn off.

Leaving him alone, Joshua slowly began to ascend to the surface. He had some questions to ask, and with the satellite phone he took off one of these people whom saved him from the hands of these TR rogues he could do it now, without waiting until he'll finally get to Veilstone, or if something bad happened there to Eterna.

Head still dizzy, world spinning like ferris wheel, Joshua sat on one of these stones he himself moved to open the entryway. The vertigo he was experiencing at that moment made even such a simple task dangerous, as he almost tripped over when trying to sit down.

"Hello Saturn, Joshua 'ere.."

"I'm glad you finally came there. Still no news from Veilstone."

"Can guess, else you'd recall my services... Listen, got a question to ask, rather important one."

"Shoot"

"I found something interesting. Except these documents you stored there. A jet injector. And some vials of strange shit. Goddamn, one broke, and the smell was enough to kill me. At least almost. And I dunno what it is. Tell me, I gotta know what the fuck was it."

For a while there was no answer, nothing.

"Saturn? You here?"

"Listen. Forget about it. Forget. You saw nothing. Nothing at all."

"Too late, I saw it."

"Listen. This shit is no ordinary narcotic. This was an experiment that..."

Cutting in the middle of sentence to ensure that Saturn couldn't conceal something important Joshua asked about the last word Saturn said.

"Failed or successful one?"

"Ehhh... Seems like you like to know more than you should. The answer is both. Look, were you forced to take it, at least do it when it's your last chance to live. One vial in the neck. That's all you got to know. I'll tell nothing more. Now go, Godspeed, whatever. Just forget about this shit."

"Whoa, too much words, not enough information. What it does? Calm the fuck down!"

Saturn's voice was somewhat aggressive to this point, but at Joshua's remark he got a grasp on his mind.

"Eh, okay, will tell you some."

"At least you're talking."

"Remember these elites that saved you yesterday?"

"Yes, I do. And what with it? They didn't looked drugged, they seemed perfectly normal."

"Even though they came so quickly to your rescue?"

This remark puzzled Joshua a little bit. He couldn't tell how long he was unconscious. At first he guessed it wasn't so long, as it was still night when it all happened. When these people came, he corrected himself it was at least a day, as nobody could get there from Eterna so fast. Although something didn't play right in that version as well, as this would mean he was drugged with a very potent tranquilizer, the type one could use to knock a gyarados.

"How quickly? A day is not very quick for such a distance, it would be more along the 'normal' rating, yanno."

"It was the same night. The day you got to that stream to shave yourself, and the night when you were rescued... only a few hours passed."

As Joshua felt, he was right at first. Although this made no sense to him.

"Impo-fucking-sible. How?"

"I knew you'd be confused. So, guess. How these people got there so quickly? Or rather, a person?"

"A person? No idea what you talking about? There was more than one man in the field, so what..."

"Oh, forget I said that bit. So, you have a few people. They have to move from point A to point B quick. They have no means of transportation, except their feet. A to B is a long way. So then. How?"

"Flying pokemon?"

"For a person who is not the trainer this was a very trainer-minded answer. But no, not this time. Also, they have no means of transportation, I remind you. Pokemon included."

"So, I really have no idea how could anybody travel so quickly without tiring themselves. Also, I've yet to see the connection between it and these dru... Drugs! They were drugged!?!"

"Yes, they were 'high', as these hippy youth could say."

"And this thing I have is that drug! Somewhat cool, I have to say."

"Actually... No, it isn't. They were drugged with special agility, endurance and hemoglobin kickers. They could just run to you and feel no exhaustion."

"Ok, and then, what I have?"

"Experimental drug. Something similar, but better. Better, as in, it tried to be... It improved all the things in the body. Strength, agility, endurance, kardio, sensory feelings and brainpower. One shot and you're a superman."

Then, Joshua realized something.

"Hey, you didn't need me at all. You'd just pump one of your guys, and let him power-trek all the way to the finish line! Yesterday, you recalled your men with no hesitation, even though they were close to the destination. Why?"

"Actually... no. We needed you BECAUSE you couldn't use these drugs."

"Let me guess. That thing is not exactly OK, has some nasty side-effect. So awful it was it made you more than happy to use my services to get to Veilstone."

"That's totally right. At first, that was what I thought, to, as you said, 'power-trek' them all the way there. But there's a catch. That drug they used was an already tested formula. You can guess what it means, right?"

"Still following you there..."

"We call it Enhancer α. Developed by our pharmaceutical companies for you-know-what kind of deals. By years it was stabilized and tested. It doesn't matter how grand the effects are, you can't just exclude the very basic facts about human muscles..."

"They tire."

"Exactly. Seems like you've got the initiative... This drug improved the 'usage', but not stability. My men had to retreat yesterday, or else they'd pass out in dangerous place. Now they're in Coronet, resting, with muscles so sore they can't move a finger without feeling the strong pain. Even now a single rattata could just eat them for breakfast. Literally."

The last word was heavily accented by Joshua. Noting that in his mind, Joshua could finally ask him about what he possessed now.

"And what I have now is...?"

"Enhancer Σ. Makes you even more of a superman. But your muscles tire even more."

"So, how good is it exactly?"

"Ten minutes of action, circa eight hours of being blocked, about a day or two of convalescence."

"Block?"

"That's the reason we were to dump that, as it was just a blind alley in our research. That cuts your nerves after the effects fade. You'll be nothing more but a vegetable in that state. Good it's only a temporary effect. If you don't finish what you have to do in ten minutes, you're dead. If you have nobody to take care of you during these hours, you could choke on your tongue."

"Gross."

"Couldn't put it in words better, Joshua. Also, one more thing. It makes testosterone levels to spike suddenly. And it itself contains a load of it. After all the tests on pokemon one woman volunteered to take it. She had... big problems with facial hair for a while, but luckily it quickly ended. That was even more gross, I assure you."

"Volunteered... Hope I can trust you on that one..."

"You can. Even now. Well, we're not an evil corporation anymore, I've changed, you can tell that, and even way back then, we had our... 'guidelines', as to say.

"Only thing I can tell is that you're panicking. Seems like it's the normal state of the mind nowadays. However. Seems like I've got all the important answers. One more thing wanders in my mind, though..."

"Yes?"

"You said that it was only one person who came here, then you corrected thyself. I don't catch that bit."

"You know, these pokeballs aren't designed for storage of pokemon only. Silph, Devon... It's only a software and hardware protection they put, and which was imposed by an order by the authorities. Unlock that, and you've got an army at your belt. One person ran from our base, near you the rest of the team was released, all of them took that drug to ensure swift victory, and voila!"

"You know what Saturn...?"

"Yes?"

"After all I've heard today... That last revelation didn't surprise me."

"Really?"

"Not at all. It was just... expected."

***************************

The sound of the engine was nothing but the worst sound Kyle ever heard. As he covered his ears, trying to block the cacophony, he noticed that Joshua's opinion was vastly different, as for him the sound was nothing but a pure ear-candy, the sound of the engine an orchestra playing in an ideal harmony. Joshua showed his excitement only by his expression, he would be jumping around weren't it for the fact the anti-radiation suit was somewhat too heavy and uncomfortable for such task.

Finally, he could travel quickly around the world. Although it was too late to help these poor souls trapped still in the ruins, he could at least still carry on his covenant of helping others in these lands. The world probably needed his knowledge, and probably he'd gather a good deal of goods for his living. It was a win-win situation he was in right now.

And were he to secure his future he'd have to do here just one more thing...

Only one person and his cyndaquil heard the loud "BOOM" that collapsed the tunnel entrance to the cache, and the same team heard the sound of heavy stones moved onto the entrance to the stairwell, to secure and hide the entrance to the cache.

"Man, just think... So many drugs... And I have 'em! Too bad I don't have the required voice or I'd just laugh, like the madmen in the movies!", said Joshua to Kyle, who didn't share his enthusiasm, not because he thought drugs are bad but because he was simply tired.

Now, seeing as he was almost free to go everywhere he would, he threw one last glance at Hearthome ruins, and drove away, to Veilstone.

Now, with the car, it would take him a few hours in safety to get there. Joshua didn't even dare to try to think how long would it take were he to go on foot. Not because it was so far away, but because he could cross a path with another one of these mutated eevees, and such an encounter would be rather dangerous, considering his current state.

***************************

The sun was slowly setting down when Joshua and Kyle, both donning their anti-radiation suits came to Veilstone.

Their travel was rather event-less. It was both a good sign, as they found no predators, be it those mutated eevee's or other radiation-affected pokemon, as god only knew what exactly wandered the wastes, or human gangs, as such things were more than likely to occur in such environment, but also a sad sign, as they saw nobody alive. Since that accident with these rogues they saw nobody alive. At least, there was still one city that was still ok. Celestic. Saturn now knew about it, although he said they will try to move there only if conditions in Eterna don't improve enough to establish a settlement in next two weeks, although, seeing as scouts found some uncontaminated and radiation-free soil patches north of Eterna their perspectives for the near future were more than promising.

That knowledge calmed both of them, for they at least had somewhere to go.

But now, they had to find Team Galactic's Headquarters. Although, with directions given to them by Saturn it was more than easy. He said it was on a high cliff in the northern part of the city. And that's where Joshua found a big pile of rubble, which could be called a building a few days ago. There was no doubt it was the Galactic's Headquarters. As the pile overlooked the sea, Joshua and Kyle sat for a moment, enjoying the view. And for them the sight was more than surreal. The beauty of the calm sea, compared to the ugliness of the surface world behind their backs made them wonder whether there were still places completely untouched by the war. But quickly they dismissed their thoughts as there was simply no time for inane pondering. For they were sitting on the entrance to the vault. The vault whose important inhabitants gave no signs of life since the bombs fell.

Preparing mentally for work Joshua noticed there was too much debris to be removed in any reasonable time, so he opened his backpack and took the explosives and the detonator.
There was enough for this job, but he was running dangerously low on these, so he made a mental note to return to Oreburgh and 'borrow' some more from the miners. Luckily, he still had enough food, so there was no need to raid any survivors, were he capable of performing such a hideous task.

As he set the explosives he thought whether it would do the job. He had no knowledge about how to set it properly. Truth to be told, it was nothing but a miracle to him that he could open the Oreburg mine's adit by nothing but guessing how to set these correctly, without making it even harder to open the entrance by further damaging the structure. Now, he had time to think whether the setting could collapse the tunnel or it would clean the way. But, seeing as there was no time to learn, and no materials to learn from, he just hoped he was correct.

When he set it all, he called Saturn, and told him he was to enter the tunnel that lead to Veilstone Vault. The response was "Ok, I see" and "By the way, you should check Sunyshore, I saw a large group of people flocking there.". So, there were some alive people somewhere near, and after he was all done with that place he was going to get there as fast as possible.

The explosion was rather small, as it served only to crush the bigger pieces of debris, but it gave a huge boom nonetheless. And some rocks went flying, luckily none of them hit Joshua or Kyle, hidden conveniently behind a part of a still-standing wall.

It took them some time of removing the debris to get the entrance open once again, and when Joshua did it he was literally swimming in his sweat in his suit, although it was almost two to midnight, and the night was merely cool, not even warm.

//

The tunnel that led to the vault was full of light, the lamps lit. It could be perceived as a good sign, as usually that would mean the generators inside were working, activated by someone inside, although there was a small probability that the generators were turned on before, and nobody was inside now.

Being prepared for such possibility by Saturn, who have given him a keycard, he didn't try to use the intercom, which in this case was effectively nothing but a complicated doorbell, but opened the doors by himself.

After he got inside to the buffer room all that was remaining was to press a button which closed the exit and opened the entrance to the rest of the vault. And when Joshua did it, he saw many surprised faces looking at him.

However, when compared to Eterna, the place seemed emptier.

"Uhmmm, what to say, what to say... Where's your leader?"
"Quiiiii!"

Nothing, no answer. As if the inhabitants of that place still tried to digest there was still something outside.

"I don't really want to repeat myself. Really. Mars, Jupiter, Cyrus? Names ring-a bell?"

The murmur that was present when Joshua asked that question suddenly became a cacophony of shouts and cheers. It was as if they witnessed a miracle.

And Joshua witnessed a Deja Vu, as it was just like a few days ago, when he blew open the entrance to the Oreburgh mine. It was just the same scenario, only in different parts of the world.
As if the world decided that such a joke was suitable.

***************************

"So, you say you were sent by Saturn, right?"

However, for Mars it was more a statement of fact than a question. It was pretty obvious that Saturn was the only person who could give Joshua all the needed information and the keycard to the underground shelter they were now in.

"Well, yes. It seems so."

"What was the reason? I guess it was because we didn't try to go outside, right?", asked Jupiter, although it wasn't a question, but another statement.

"Exactly. Now, explain. Why?"

Mars was quicker to answer than Jupiter, so she carried the whole discussion while Jupiter was nodding to every word Mars said.

"Well, There's a problem that I'm a trainer..."

"More like a gangster, technically speaking." Joshua thought he thought it, unaware that in fact he said it quietly under his breath.

Luckily, neither of them heard it, but only saw his lips moving lightly, so they ignored it.

"...Not a technician. Nobody here is."

"Oh yes, explain. Eterna had twice the quota. And here? It's pretty spacious. Like, you can simply lie on the floor here. And, knowing that Veilstone was much bigger than Eterna... Something wrong happened here."

"Well, it's not exactly that something wrong happened here. We ran out of time."

"Too sad. At least, some got here in time."

"At least, that's what matters. Tough that nobody's capable of operating these devices here. There were some scientists on the way there. Only two minutes."

"Even if... You couldn't get to the surface. You couldn't believe how much debris I had to move. I even had to use explosives!"

Mars's was shocked at the last statement. Seeing it, Joshua added.

"So, you didn't know?"

"We didn't even try to get outside! We didn't even opened the doors! We decided to wait here a while seeing as nobody had any interest of moving outside. And given all the food we have in the stockpile..."

"So, better be very gratuitous. Weren't it for me, you'd die here. You were trapped. Literally."

Dropping the subject, as he had enough for now, Joshua asked.

"So, how's Cyrus?"

"Still in coma. Although the chances are less than slim."

"Hard to hear. Hope he will be all right."

"We also. So, what about Saturn? Or wait, who exactly are you? You don't seem like one of our grunts."

"Now, that was quick! Like, as quick as a rapi..."

"Drop it."

"Okay. So, Saturn is in the Eterna, got some overpopulation problems, and his troupe's preparing to move out. And I'm a random person who found himself near Eterna when they decided to set the communications gizmo's outside. And don't ask, but watch out for eevee's. They learned it hard way."

"Eevee's?"

"You know, those cuddly little bastards..."

"I know, after all I'm a trainer!"

"Radiation working on them in the other way than on other pokemon. Normal pokemon get cancer, and them... Well, they aren't cuddly anymore."


***************************

After explaining the events of past few days Joshua and Kyle rested in Veilstone, ate some food from their storage, took some more of it and packed themselves. Looking at what exactly was the reason for their quietness Joshua couldn't help but smile. It was so trivial. He imagined god-knows-what happened there, but it was but an imagination. The reality was so simple. But also saddening, knowing that they hadn't so much time as those in Eterna. And also because weren't it for him they could've been trapped for longer.

In a week, a scouting party would arrive there and move all the survivors to Eterna, as Saturn hoped that they'll establish an outside base near the clean soil they've found. And Joshua hoped he didn't by chance helped them re-establish a new Team Galaxy. Saturn seemed pretty sincere, though, so he took it as a good sigh.

Then, he remembered the trio way back from Jubilife. They said they were going to Sandgem. Joshua made yet another mental note, the one saying to check Sandgem to see how they fared.
However, these plans were of least importance, as he knew they were safe now. Now, he had to check Sunyshore. Then, at last, he was free to go where he wanted to go - north of Floaroma. And stop by Oreburgh for a while, see what these guys dug up.


***************************

It was three hours of driving to Sunyshore, the place where Saturn's satellites found some survivors trying to establish a base. While driving, Joshua wondered. Why Sunyshore? Hearthome had at least thrice the population, ergo, the chances of anybody surviving were higher. But then, it would mean that whatever hit Sunyshore wasn't as effective in manslaughter as a standard a-bomb, or by some miscalculation the missile got lost on the path, resulting in some parts of the city being unaffected.

But there was nothing to think about. What's done is done, now all that mattered was finding as much people as it was possible. Sandgem, Celestic, Eterna, Veilstone, now Sunyshore - There were humans. Also, some off-road travelers that had the luck of being far away from any human settlements.
The world didn't seem so empty anymore to Joshua and Kyle. Such settlements were now probably established all over the world, in Johto, Kanto, Hoenn, and other regions, as humans stitched parts of their shattered lives together again, while rebuilding their homes and lives from the scratch.

The time passed like a blink of the eye while driving, and not even a moment has passed when they finally saw some buildings still standing on the horizon. Not much of them, a few. And to the right of them there was nothing. The scenery looked like as if the blast stopped there, thus not destroying these few buildings.

//

There weren't as many survivors as he imagined. But nonetheless, there were some people. They needed no help, they got their problems already solved.
Except one...
When the bombs hit, one person got hurt badly. Having his spine broken, he was now sitting paralyzed in the wheelchair. Also, he was uncommunicative. Although his story seemed more and more strange by each second, as the person who found him relayed the story.

"So, I was going down that corridor, right..."

"Tell me again, where was it?" Joshua asked, curious about the details, as Kyle was playing with pebbles on the ground.

"Conference bureau. The time for these championships was coming, and many trainers were submitting their documents..."

"Ok, continue..."

"I was relatively OK. To tell the truth, I came out of that ordeal unscathed. And I was confused. I was looking for anybody who could tell me what the fuck happened. And then I saw him. Lying on the floor, near toilet, in a twisted pose, blood everywhere, he was slowly trying to get to these two, probably his friends..."

"Twisted pose... You guessed he had the spine broken by that point, right?"

"It's now I'm recalling these things. Way back then, I saw nothing, I thought nothing. There was no time for it."

"And you reached him, right Eric?"

"Right. Tried to talk to him. And that's where it get strange... Creepy somewhat. He was, well, communicative. You could talk to him. Somewhat. I tried to talk, but he kept on repeating something quietly. I could not understand what he was talking, but I catched four words. 'Friends' 'help' find' and 'courtyard'. Well, these two near him were already dead, and I was pretty sure he had some other friends nearby. As I was guessing he was a trainer like me, and seeing as people treat their pokemon as close friends I looked for anything alive, not only humans. And I found nothing. He said courtyard, but all I saw was fire, as the building was going to hell. So, I returned to him, and I told him I found nobody."

"I guess... Post traumatic stress disorder, right?"

"Right. When I told him it, he just... lost it. Now he's not reacting to anything. He can eat what we give him, but other than that you'd see no other movements. He just sits here, god-knows-what happening in his mind."

"Rather severe case, to be so 'locked' at these news. It's not like I'm a heartless bastard, I also lost everybody I knew, but to act in such way... Guess his mind was more than fragile."

"Yes."

"Any more information? You haven't called him by name."

"Well, all trainers give in their ID's when submitting these papers. You know, the procedure. Give in the filled papers and ID, and in a few hours they give it back after some lady inputs their entries to the database, probably at the overwhelming speed of one word per minute... Anyway, the building got on fire. Now all the data is gone. Weren't it for the fire it would be more than easy to find and match the document. It was still one month till, only people like me who like to get things done in advance were there..."

"And these two? That boy and the girl?"

"I was going to tell it, you cut in the middle. So, I was disgusted, The fire was nearing, and one critically injured but stable guy, and I was going to check whether they had any ID's. And I found something. That guy had a wallet, girl also had something..."

"Robbery of the dead? I got... used to it..."

"Not asking for any more details."

"Anyway. So, you got some information. What were their names?"

"I don't remember the surnames, sorry. I didn't took their ID's. Well, they were useless anyway. But I remembered their names, and to tell the sad truth, names only. Brock and Dawn. And I put these ID's back where they were."

"Too bad you acted on an impulse. You should have taken it. It would be easier to find any relatives or people who knew him. Now, everybody trying to do it on their own hand. And he can't..." As he said the last word, Joshua stood up, and came closer to the person on the wheelchair, who was listening to their dialogue all the time, while the rest of the commune was near, minding their own businesses.

"Crap... Battery running dry. And there's no power anywhere. Lucky I know some people who might have the delicious electricity I desire." Joshua said as he took a photograph of that person. While traveling he collected quite a large stock of photographs that documented how the world looked like now. That picture was yet another one, but much more important than the rest.

Then, Joshua made a remark as he looked at the face of a nameless person on a wheelchair.

"You know what Eric? I have this weird... Hunch. As if like I saw him. Somewhere, long ago."

"Me too. That's funny... All these people recall that face. They remember him, but from where? Nobody knows."

"Probably TV. Guess, like I'll be going and asking all over Sinnoh. You people seem sure to stay there after that encounter with that mutated eevee."

"We aren't going anywhere. You might, but it's too dangerous, you know. You also got a close call when these eevees near Eterna said 'hi!' to you, as you mentioned."

"Yes. Anyway. So, what happened next?"

"Nothing, really. I got him, I found these people, they scavenged a wheelchair from somewhere in Sunyshore. Now we're sitting on our asses."

"And I won't. Guess I'll be packing."

"Going where this time?"

"Oreburgh. I got some... business matters to attend to."

"I wish you luck. We'll take care of ourselves, you go and try to find anybody who might know him after you recharge your battery."

"Thanks."

And with his next destination in mind he packed his stuff and some more things he found in Sunyshore and drove away to Oreburgh, expecting miners to give him more information about Karei National Hospital. He knew he'd need that information later, when he'd finally arrive in that foundation dig he heard about some time ago, where he expected to find some more ruins of that ancient civilization.


***************************

As Latias was resting on the beach, still weak from all these events she though about the moment when she submerged into the sea to avoid the blast. For her, something was definitely wrong in what she did then.
At first, she though it was nothing but an instinct that she did this. But then, as time passed, something in her mind tried to tell her it wasn't an instinct, but rather, a knowledge.
As if she did something like that a long time ago, and then she erased that memory from her mind.


***************************

"One... Two.... THREEE!"
And a sound of a hammer hitting the barrier. It was the last hit, as after that the barricade just broke, and after getting the parts out of their way miners were able to get to admission room, where they expected some clues. Although checking the rooms in the complex would've given them some tidbits of information, they aimed for learning as much as it is possible very quickly, and without any confusion that would have occurred were they to check the rooms first.

Now, having cleared the way they were able to see the full extent of massacre that happened there.

The room was very big, but it was just empty. No decorations on walls made it look clean, and there were no chandeliers on the ceiling, only a set of fluorescent lamps. On the contrary, all the interesting stuff was on their eye level.
This place would easily qualify as catacombs, or at least a mass grave, as every square meter of the floor was covered with bones, and the remains of their clothing. Many of these clothes were lab-coats, but many of them looked more civilian. And some of these couldn't be mistaken for anything other than the military.

And in the middle of the admission room, there was the sole cause of massacre.

"Words fail me." Said one of miners as he couldn't find the needed words in his vocabulary to describe what he was looking at. That thing looked somewhat like an exoskeleton, a giant chromium combination of kabuto and humanoid shape, one-and-a-half the size of a tall human. Standing on two legs, with arms, one ending in what looked like a Gatling gun, and the second in what could be effectively described as twin-linked rifles with grenade launcher add-ons. On one leg "RoadRunner" was written, so the miners now knew how that thing was called in the past. On it's back it had a strange cylinder, the purpose unknown. And it's torso housed the pilot's seat. On which somebody was sitting. Or rather, what had left of that person.

That person's cause of death was visible at the first look - a big, gaping hole in the middle of the skull which looked like it was caused by the gunshot. A closer inspection confirmed this, as the headrest of the seat also had a hole. Other than that, the robot looked completely functional, except the miners did not know whether it still had any power left. As carefully as they could they removed the corpse, and one miner decided to sit in it and try to activate it.

"OK, Roark, is that seat comfortable enough?" Laughed one of them as a thin man in a helmet sat on the seat.

"It reeks of piss and rot, but it's rather comfy." Roark said as he looked from the seat. Now he could see something that couldn't be noticed from outside - a display located above his head, but in such a manner that he needed not to move his head or eyes to read if anything was displayed on it. The pilot's limbs were to be put inside the machine's limbs, so it was definitely an exoskeleton that enhanced the capabilities of an ordinary human.

"Ok, I'm seated. Legs in that machine's, and my hands... Well, that thing has some kind of controller inside it's arms. Wonder if it will turn it on." Said Roark as he pressed a button on the controller. When he pressed it he felt a small vibration, then after a few seconds the monitor turned on.

"'Berserker-class RoadRunner exoskeleton activating'... Heh, such a quite nice name for such a murderous machine", said Roark as he relayed what was being displayed on the HUD.

"'Lock-in in ten seconds'... Wonder what that HEY WHOA!". And at that moment many metal bars closed in, making Roark unable to exit the machine, or move himself, as the lock secured him to the seat.

"'Servo motors on line'". And then a loud hum indicated that the machinery turned on completely.

"Hey, look, I can move it!" said Roark in an excited tone as the robot began to move on his will. The exoskeleton reacted smoothly to the Roark's will, so when he moved a leg, the machine's leg moved with it. Everybody in the room were looking at the RoadRunner with Roark as it's pilot.

"Ok, now it looks grand, but how I turn it off... Hey, wait a minute, what that means..."

"What means what?"

"Ummm... It's written there... 'No neuro-implants detected, external synchronization in ten seconds'..."
Then, in a blink of an eye, Roark's face expression turned to that of pure pain, and the rest of the miners could only watch in shock as Roark was now shouting "IT HURTS, STOP IT, IT HURTS!", although they could not see what was the cause of the pain. It wasn't visible at all, as that pain was all in Roark's mind as the machine was now attacking his brain in an attempt to create a direct mental connection. Then, after a few more seconds the miners could see the change, as Roark stopped shouting, and instead a wicked smile formed on his face as he looked at the miners. And the Gatling gun began to revv.

And all the miners saw before the Gatling gun shredded them all into nothingness was Roark, a madmans look on his face, as the machine made him into a berserk. They had not even a second to react, as it all happened too quickly.

Then, the robot with Roark as it's insane pilot ran into the corridor, aiming to get to the surface, where his now mad, insane mind told him there were some more people still on the surface of Oreburgh city.