Chapter Text
He awoke on the edge of a cliff.
The day was perfect. Bright sun tempered through a smattering of clouds. The sea, deep blue and calm, glittering as far as the horizon. The breeze was light, tugging on his hair but not dragging it into his face. There was a familiar lighthouse at his back, propping him up to stare out over the ocean.
Cyrus blinked, turned to his left, and almost didn’t believe his eyes as he caught sight of a sprawling, glittering city hugging the bay that swept out below him, the streets paved in solar panels and winding roads to the outskirts almost entirely unfamiliar to him after so long in Hisui.
And it was clear to him, here, now, this was not Hisui. This was not the small house he had fallen asleep in.
This was Sinnoh. Sunyshore. Arceus, he’d made it, he’d actually made it. He was home.
He glanced over himself, almost disbelieving. Like the world around him or the past few weeks of his life were a dream. But the grass was thick and soft beneath his hands, and the blue and red uniform of the Galaxy Team on his back was very, very real, the warm material heavy and comfortable.
He drew himself up, steadying himself as he approached the cliff’s edge, watching the ocean. Something familiar about the situation tugged on him as he watched over the edge, the sudden, steep drop leading to jagged boulders and rough, white water despite the mildness of the morning around it. Cyrus drew in a deep breath of ocean air, closing his eyes, before stepping back, turning around, and making for Sunyshore proper, following the path down from the lighthouse and into the city.
While the centre of the city was busy and new, developed by Volkner’s ambitious energy plans, the familiar outskirts which Cyrus had grown up in were messy, winding, and old, streets cobbled and houses smaller and terraced, and it was this part of the city he found himself in on his way down from the lighthouse. He didn’t know where he was going, but his feet followed well-tracked streets as he mulled it over. He knew he should stay away from anywhere too busy, Pokecentres especially. Perhaps he should check in on the HQ in Veilstone? He had hoped Team Galactic would disband in his absence, but… He really wasn’t sure why, but he had vague impressions of secret, reality defying plans in dimly lit rooms, and of faint, aching pains when he tried to think about them too hard. He sighed gently to himself. He should check in on his old colleagues. Who knows how they’d have taken his disappearance. At the very least, it may be a comfort for them to know he was back. And that was enough for him.
Cyrus realised that he’d stopped walking, having been lost in thought and inattentive, and he glanced around, slightly alarmed, but the streets around him were empty. This was not a well trafficked area of the city. There was little to see but people’s homes, and there were easier routes to and from the lighthouse, so he knew he had little to worry about in that respect but at the same time was incredibly aware of his…. Legal status. At best, a common criminal, at worst, a domestic terrorist, and he liked to avoid idealism when it came to this kind of thing, it was clear which category he fell into. He took another cautionary glance around, before allowing himself to focus on what was ahead of him.
A rusty gate with an old chain on it. Sinnoh, it was the old rubbish heap.
Cyrus hadn’t dwelled upon it in recent years, or at least had tried not to, but nothing could truly push this place out of his mind, that much was clear. And now he thought about it, as much as he had tried to convince himself otherwise, his old friend had always been at the back of his mind. The room in the Galactic Eterna Building, under the guise of research potentially useful to Team Galactic- ha! It was self-indulgent, and he’d always known that. And in Hisui… Every comment on his incomplete team, it had stung, and he knew why. He’d never meant for it to be this way.
He shouldn’t do this. It was a long shot, and he had far more important things to do.
But… A long shot had reunited him with his old friend back then, too, hadn’t it? When he’d gotten too mischievous and scared it away, it was here he found it.
His mind was made up. Cyrus reached for the rickety old fence and, with one last glance around to make sure he wasn’t being watched, he climbed up it, a little awkwardly, but the thing was chain-link and so not too difficult for even him to manage, even if, as he reached the top, he tumbled awkwardly down the other side and fell on his front with an unbecoming thud. Winded, he pulled himself up. This had better be worth the indignity.
The actual heap was a little ways away from the street, set back from the houses for obvious reasons, down a small, overgrown path. It was clear it had simply been abandoned, forgotten in favour of the more exciting or revolutionary developments at the city’s centre. Cyrus stood, brushing dirt from his trousers, before beginning to pick his way through brambles and tall grass. He fished around in his pack as he went, pushing aside assorted healing items Akari had gifted to him and his crafting kit until his fingers found the familiar roughly hewn surface that he knew would be there. He could hardly even look at it, hardly even allow himself the thought of perhaps, finally, finishing his team, going through with what he’d promised the pokemon so long ago as he slipped the hand-made pokeball from the pack and into his inside pocket, sitting there amongst the other five.
When he emerged from the path, he found the heap similarly overgrown, abandoned rubbish scattered around and engulfed in undergrowth, ranging from shards of plastic to old, rusted sheet metal to abandoned and broken down appliances- there was the husk of what was clearly once a washing machine amongst many more ambiguous shapes, smoothed over and obfuscated by a bed of ivy and a verge of tall grass.
Abandoned human refuse like this, before it would have made him angry, strengthened his resolve that humans were not worth the air they breathed, but now it just made him a little sad. And, now removed from the grip of his anger, it was clear to him that there were so many easier solutions to problems like this, if he had simply cared to look or to think, without pushing his already established biases and issues upon them. The area wasn’t too big. With a few people and a few pokemon, it wouldn’t be too hard to clean. He’d once known Volkner, back when he had trained to be an engineer. Perhaps he could talk to him again, make a suggestion.
Suddenly, a sharp, flittering movement caught in the corner of his vision, and Cyrus whipped around, searching for it, but was greeted by nothing but thin trees and rotting fences. He forced himself to breathe slow, to keep calm.
“H- Hello?” He tried, his voice sounding a little odd to him, a little strangled. He glanced around but there was nothing, no indication that anything was there at all. “Rotom.” He said, “I… I came. I’m… Sorry.” It felt so inadequate. He’d promised to come back for it after his journey so long ago now, and he never had, caught up in his anger and depression and fanaticism. He swallowed, unsure if he was nervous or trying to push back tears. “The fault is mine, old friend. Let us travel like I said we would.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew the handmade pokeball, his hand shaking a little. “I really mean it this time.”
There was a faint buzzing crackling noise at that, and then from the heap rose a little orange and blue figure, wings fluttering at its side. It regarded him, a little warily, and Cyrus raised the pokeball, offering it to it. All this time, the first Rotom recorded since the time of the Galaxy Team, and it had been resigned to living in a rubbish dump, waiting for him. He swallowed again, definitely pushing back tears this time. Of guilt, but also of joy, for seeing his old friend again, finally.
Rotom blinked up at him, approaching slowly, before all at once shooting towards him, ramming its little electrified body into his chest with a long, buzzing chirp. Cyrus raised his free hand to cup it, even as it crackled and stung his skin.
“I am so sorry for making you wait so long. I promise, it will not happen again. Don’t chastise yourself.” He withdrew his hand a little, tears pricking his eyes, and Rotom floated away a little, meeting his eyes and smiling up at him, before flicking its gaze to the pokeball. Cyrus flicked the latch open, but held the ball itself shut. “Yes?”
Rotom moved forwards, and nudged its face into the pokeball, and Cyrus allowed the ball to fall open, blue light erupting from it and engulfing Rotom, pulling it into the pokeball, the whole contraption clicking shut. It shook, just once, before the latch was pulled back into position and a small crackle of sparks shot out.
Cyrus held the ball in his hand for a moment, looking down at it, before releasing Rotom and letting it hover at his side as he turned and made for the streets of Sunyshore again, slipping the handmade pokeball of his 6th and final team member into his pocket.
His next stop was Veilstone. He climbed the fence once more, going down a little more carefully this time, and began to make for the very edge of the city. He didn’t want to draw any more attention to himself than he needed to right now, and while it would be faster to simply release Gyarados and fly off into the sunset, he was certain it would attract far too much attention. His team had to be in some kind of database by now, and a whole city’s worth of people catching a glimpse of his Gyarados was far too risky, almost asking to be caught. No, it would be far safer to take off from Route 222 and take a slightly awkward route to avoid flying over Lake Valour or following Route 214 too closely. A pain, but worth it to ensure he made it to his objective unimpeded. After that… Well, he wasn’t sure. He supposed he would find out when he got there.
Hopefully things hadn’t gone too badly for Team Galactic in his absence.
Where the smaller residential streets he had been following joined up with the more major thoroughfare of Sunyshore that led into Route 222, things got much busier, and Cyrus hung back for a moment, slipping into an alley to consider his options. He would have to get past these people if he wanted to get to the Route, but he was hardly discreet. His face was well known, and people were likely even more alert for him in the wake of him going missing, especially here, in his hometown. There were people who had known him before, and somehow the thought of running into them made him even more uncomfortable than the possibility of meeting law enforcement. He frowned, vaguely pulling at his scarf. Perhaps he could pull it over his head and face? No, too obvious. Just his face then? He was pretty sure that would be insufficient.
Arceus, he really hadn’t thought this through. Or maybe he’d thought about it too much? The two were often the same. Just flying over on a Gyarados would be so much easier than dodging a crowd! Flying by pokemon was so normal! So much more normal than wrapping a scarf around his face and making a run for it down a busy street!
“Rotom, if I put myself in a position like this again I need you to fatally electrocute me.”
It blinked at him, a little bemused, and he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, suddenly, somehow, even more disappointed in himself. That was something Rei would say.
Okay. Okay. He’d thought about it: New plan. He was just going to hop on Gyarados in this alleyway, and they would ascend quickly and get to Veilstone before he could suffer any more personal indignities.
Alright, perfect. He reached into his pocket, fishing around for Gyarados’ pokeball, when suddenly he heard a sharp gasp from behind him.
“C- Cyrus??”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
He took a deep breath and set his face, before turning, ready to try and intimidate or battle his way out of this, before his resolution crumbled because for one, terrifying moment, he was certain Akari was standing in front of him.
The logistics and potential reasonings for her being dragged into the future with him blasted through his mind before his senses caught up with him and he recognised the hat, and the modern clothes, and the slightly different facial proportions, and realised with a sigh of relief that it was Dawn, Professor Rowan’s assistant.
…
Sinnoh, it was Dawn, Professor Rowan’s assistant. Well, now he really was in trouble. She would tell Rowan, Rowan would tell the International Police and the Champion, and half of Sinnoh would be on his case by the end of the day.
Something of his several, rapidfire internal realisations must’ve played out on his face, because Dawn frowned, looking somehow more confused and very uncomfortable.
“Uhm. Are you… Okay?”
“...” Cyrus really wasn’t sure what to say to that. Personally, yes, this was probably the best he’d felt for several years. But that wasn’t really what she was asking and definitely not something to get into with a total stranger. “What do you think?” He opted for, dodging the question.
“Uh. Well, okay, fair enough. L- listen, I’m not going to turn you in, I was looking for you, but- but not like that! Not to arrest you!” She swallowed, and turned on her poketch, “My brother was looking for you, he said you’d be able to help us.”
“Your brother?” Cyrus frowned, before something clicked. “Oh. Rei. Is he alright?”
“...Yeah. I… think. Honestly I really… Don’t fully understand what’s going on. A lot has happened in the past…” She hesitated, eyes flickering over her Poketch, “Two hours? My brother who’s been missing for several weeks stumbles out of the woods grinning and talking incomprehensibly about time travel, apparently he’s now besties with Cyrus, from, like, Team Galactic, then my boss and mentor Professor Rowan shows up and tells me that Cynthia’s been fucking kidnapped and has been missing for several days and Lucas escaped informal house arrest to try and save her, now Rei is convinced you’ll call off the kidnapping, also Palmer and the Detective are up to something and honestly I really don’t have the first idea what to think of any of it!” Dawn managed the impressive task of relaying all of this while simultaneously typing a message on her Poketch, and Cyrus was relegated to staring at her in disbelief, really not entirely sure what part of that rant to hone in on.
“Cynthia was kidnapped?” He said, finally, confused. She was really not the kind of woman to be kidnapped.
“By Team Galactic, yeah.”
“BY TEAM-” He pinched his brow and muttered a series of expletives. Distortion’s sake, he got sucked into the past for TWO WEEKS (he was pretty sure? The time felt a bit fuzzy), and suddenly his commanders had gone off the rails and gotten into kidnapping? Not just that, but Cynthia of all people! What purpose could that possibly serve? At least when he did drastic things, he did it for a tangible, sensical reason! “Alright. Okay. I was going to head to Veilstone anyway. I’ll attempt to rein them in.” He sighed, “Do you know… why? They kidnapped Cynthia? Or how?”
Dawn shook her head, clicking the Poketch off.
“No idea. The professor might know, we didn’t really have much time to talk about it, since Rei rushed off after you. They’re on their way, I was letting them know where we are.”
“Good. Thank you.”
The two of them stood in incredibly awkward silence, neither really sure what to say. Dawn watched from the entrance to the alley, but would occasionally glance back at Cyrus, an unreadable look on her face.
“So…” Dawn began, after a few minutes, “How come you’re friends with my brother now?”
“Largely by accident.” Cyrus said, idly extending a hand for Rotom to land and rest on as he spoke, “We had to work together to resolve a… situation. It was easier to get along than to not.” A vast oversimplification, but it would do for now. Dawn seemed to consider this.
“Must’ve been dire times, for you two to work together.”
“Look at what you’re doing right now.”
“Hm. Touché.” Dawn said, with a hint of amusement in her voice. “He said you’d changed your tune on the whole ending the world thing. I wish you’d done that before blowing up the lakes.”
A vague anxiety and guilt prickled under his skin.
“Me too.” He said. “I intend to do what I can to make it up.” He said, a little impulsively. He had no idea how, but he was sure of it, the words becoming true as he said them. Dawn glanced him up and down, giving him another difficult to read look.
“I guess this is a start, then.” She said, “I’m taking Rei’s word on this. He seemed really sure, and, well, if Team Galactic will listen to anyone…”
“Indeed.” Cyrus paused, “I appreciate Rei’s confidence in me.”
“Well, here’s hoping it’s not misplaced.”
“Likewise.” He sighed, “My commanders have not been ones for insubordination before, so with any luck I will be able to properly reestablish the chain of command and release Cynthia.”
“And then?” Dawn asked, raising an eyebrow, and Cyrus went to respond when he was interrupted by Rei dashing into the alley.
“Cyrus!!! There you are!!! Did Dawn tell you what’s going on?? It’s fucking weird, isn’t it?? Do you have ANY idea why they did that?? Also I fucking knew you’d be in Sunyshore, Professor Rowan was like ‘well if you think he can help do you have any idea where he is?’ and I said ‘Nope! BUT-’ and I was RIGHT! Arceus it’s so good to be home, I missed it so much, I mean I’m going to miss Akari and Laventon and everyone else but honestly once we’ve sorted this I just want to have a fucking nap.” He drew in a deep breath, having clearly forgotten to breathe, and Cyrus found a half smile tugging at his mouth at Rei’s unwavering enthusiasm and confidence. “Hoo- Anyway. Hi.”
“Hello, Rei. Dawn has told me everything she knows, I have no idea why they would have done it but I intend to find out.”
“Good! Good. And, uh, well I’m glad you got back safe. I was a little worried that Arceus would’ve tried to drown you again or something. Although it didn’t drop me out of the sky so, hey, probably unfounded.” He paused, “It didn’t try and drown you, right?”
Cyrus snorted.
“No. Besides, it was Giratina that was tasked with taking me to Hisui.”
“Oh, yeah. Oops.”
Dawn was listening in to their conversation, visibly lost, but at that moment glanced behind Rei, her brow furrowing.
“Hey, Rei, where’s Rowan? You didn’t leave him behind, did you?”
“Oh, uh, well…” Rei gave Dawn an apologetic smile, “I told him where to go before running off, at least,”
Dawn let out a long suffering sigh which spoke of enduring 15 years of this kind of bullshit.
“He can navigate a city, Dawn! He’s an esteemed scientist!”
“I know that! But usually when you’re going somewhere with someone, you actually go with them!”
“Look, we’re in a rush, and it's not my fault that for me a rush looks like sprinting at full speed through a crowd yelling and for him it’s striding around purposefully at barely more than a brisk walk.”
“You’re a fucking nightmare.” Dawn said, moving to watch out of the alleyway more effectively and turning her back to the two of them.
“You don’t mean that! You love me really :)!”
“Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.” Dawn said, a hint of humour being betrayed in her voice, “Home for a few hours and already I have to cover for you. Honestly.”
“I could go missing again if you’d like more of a break.”
“No!” Dawn turned to look back at him, the humour of their prodding having faded entirely from her face, “I know you’re joking but.. Let’s not do that. Even as a joke. I thought you were dead.”
Rei seemed to shrink into himself a little.
“Sorry. Didn’t think before I said that.” He swallowed. “I’m glad I managed to make it back, if that helps. I missed you a lot.”
“I missed you too.” Dawn turned back to resume her Rowan watch. “Next time, ask god if it can find a different guy to do its earthly bidding.”
“I’ll put in a request.” Rei said with a grin. “Might take a few business days to get back to me, though. I hear it’s really busy inventing new variations of Charizard.”
Dawn laughed at this, and even Cyrus couldn’t help but snort.
“You know, no offence, Rei, but I do have to wonder, why you?” Dawn said after a moment, glancing back at him, and Rei shrugged.
“I mean… I did a good job.” He said, “Saved the world and stuff. I’m sure my unwavering charisma, incredible competence, and fantastic problem solving skills drew it to me in the first place.”
Behind him, Cyrus rolled his eyes, shaking his head at this blatantly untrue bluster, and Dawn, catching sight of this, couldn’t quite hide her amused smile.
“And why Cyrus, do you think?” Dawn asked, “It's good you changed your mind and stuff, don’t get me wrong, but wouldn’t trying to make a guy who tried to end the world save it be a huge risk?”
“I suspect it knew I would change my mind.” Cyrus said, drawing his arms behind his back, “Neutralising my ambition as well as preventing the destruction of Sinnoh in the past, I daresay it was attempting to kill two Starly with one stone. And, I must admit, it worked far more effectively than I would have ever guessed.”
“Yeah, you didn’t do too bad. I liked it when you sicced your murder-Weavile on things.” Rei said, patting Cyrus on the shoulder. “Honestly, all things considered, the whole ordeal could’ve gone much worse. Also could’ve gone much better and I’d have preferred, like, a few more divine texts to explain shit and maybe some warning about the immortality, but hey, you win some you lose some. I’m just glad I actually got to go home. Loved the people there to death, don’t get me wrong, didn’t love the giant red-eyed murderous pokemon trying to kill me every five seconds.”
“Warned you about the what??” Dawn said, fixing Rei with a wide-eyed stare.
“Oh fuuuck, uh-” Rei cast about for some kind of lifeline, and as if by divine providence, Professor Rowan chose that moment to step into the alleyway, looking incredibly unhurried, if slightly annoyed. “PROFESSOR ROWAN!” Rei said, grinning, “HIIII!! Dawn, we’ll talk about that later okay? Okay. Cool.”
Dawn looked like she wanted to say a lot of things at that, but she just sighed, clearly deciding they had slightly more immediate problems, and likely unwilling to get into an argument with her brother in front of her Mentor slash boss. Rowan, to his credit, simply fixed Rei with a cool look, which quickly made him back down with his faux-over friendliness. And then, he turned his gaze to Cyrus.
Professor Rowan was an incredibly intimidating man. An older, scientific gentleman, yes, but level, perfectly assured, and broad shouldered, with a strong personality and silhouette to match. The resemblance to Kamado was uncanny, but experience dealing with the far more explosive leader of the Galaxy Team helped Cyrus keep his cool when faced with Rowan’s analytical gaze. At least the professor wasn’t going to suplex him. After a moment, Rowan closed the distance between them and offered Cyrus a hand.
“Mr. Akagi.” He said, “I appreciate your willingness to step in and help diffuse this situation.”
Cyrus had expected something more, some kind of reprimand for what he’d done, some kind of assurance of retribution when they had concluded, but Rowan left it at that. He supposed it made sense. Why bite the hand that fed you? (Although, he was quick to acknowledge, that phrase may imply he played a larger, more important role than he did in this situation.)
Cyrus took Rowan’s hand, shaking it firmly and just as firmly assuring himself mentally that he wasn’t about to be tossed over the man’s shoulder.
“It’s no problem, Professor.” Cyrus said, releasing Rowan’s hand. “My own personal, adjusted convictions aside, I cannot fathom why my people are behaving in this way. It seems…” He searched for the right word. Once more, too much time around Rei seemed to be rubbing off on his vocabulary. He almost said ‘fucking stupid’. “Counterproductive. I do not see what there is to be achieved through this course of action.”
“Neither do I.” Rowan said, “And I hope we don’t find out. If you are all ready, we should proceed to Veilstone.” Rowan turned as he said this, directing it towards Rei and Dawn as well.
“Of course.” Cyrus said, holding up Gyarados’ pokeball and gesturing for Rotom to land on his shoulder, which it did.
“Yeah, I think we’re good?” Rei glanced at Dawn who, a little begrudgingly, nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah!” Rei repeated, reaching into his own pocket and pulling out a pokeball, releasing his Garchomp, which bobbed its massive head, seemingly intrigued by the sounds of the city. “Pretty cool, isn’t it Garchomp? I’ll show you around Sinnoh when we’re done, I think you’ll LOVE the Safari Zone. Ooh! We can do the gym challenge!! I’m sure that Gardenia and Roark will be happy to get a challenger they can use their more powerful teams against!” Garchomp let out a rumble, clearly not understanding a word of what Rei was saying but catching his excited tone.
“Mm. A fine plan, but I think you may be getting a little ahead of yourself, Rei.” Rowan said, and Rei laughed, nervously.
“Maybe you’re right, yeah. I’m just so excited to be home! Uhm, anyway, Who do you two want to ride with? Cyrus, I assume you’re gonna be taking Gyarados…?”
“Indeed.” Cyrus released Gyarados, which coiled up, a little awkwardly, in the narrow alley behind him. Its eyes flickered between Dawn, Professor Rowan, Rotom, and then out at the city at large, before turning and giving Cyrus an odd look.
The implication was clear: ‘What in Arceus’ name are we doing here?’
Cyrus reached up and patted its head as he made to get up on its back.
“We made it back to Sinnoh.” He said by way of explanation, before pulling himself up behind its head and looking out at his odd assortment of allies. “I do not mind who rides with me. Gyarados is more than capable of carrying anyone.” Gyarados shifted underneath him with a grumble, “Although it may decide to be picky.”
“Hey, at least it's letting you ride it again!” Rei said with a laugh, following Cyrus’ cue and hopping up onto Garchomp’s back, just forwards of its dorsal fin, leaving plenty of room behind for a passenger. “Dawn? Wanna ride with me?”
“Yeah, if it’s fine with you, professor?” Dawn said, glancing at Rowan, who nodded.
“Of course. I intended to ride with Cyrus regardless.”
Inwardly, Cyrus was sure that this was as much about keeping an eye on him as it was letting the siblings stay together, and from the wry look Rei snuck him as Dawn and Rowan both made for their respective rides, it was clear he’d had the same idea.
Garchomp let Dawn up with little fuss, insisting on giving her a good sniff and on receiving a few scratches, but it was clear that the initial novelty of meeting Rei’s sister had worn off before they’d come to find him. Gyarados was a little more hesitant about letting Rowan up, but with a little bit of coaxing and the promise of seeing the Galactic Commanders again sooner if it cooperated, he was allowed to take a spot behind Gyarados’ dorsal fin.
“Rei, this time, don’t leave anyone behind. Have Garchomp fly slower if needed. We need to handle this together.” Cyrus said, and Rei sighed.
“Fiiinneee, but only because you’re our resident terrorist wrangler.” Garchomp shifted underneath him, keen to get going, “I bet Gyarados couldn’t even hope to keep up with us anyway.” He said in a transparently goading tone of voice with a sly half-smile, and Gyarados let out an annoyed snort and whipped its tail, glaring down at him.
“Great. Now it has a point to prove.” Cyrus sighed.
“Exactly!” Rei said, “Keep up if you can!” And with that he nudged Gyarados’ sides like he was riding a Rapidash and it took to the sky with a running leap, soaring upwards at incredible speeds. Cyrus sighed, and glanced back at Professor Rowan.
“Make sure to hold on.”
Rowan nodded, taking ahold of the fin in front of him, and Gyarados rose, at a reasonable speed at first, before catching sight of Gyarados circling above them through the clouds and letting out a rumbling snort and shooting upwards towards them, almost vertical. Rei knew his pokemon far too well, Cyrus lamented internally as he grabbed ahold of Rotom, cupping it in one hand against his chest and holding onto Gyarados with the other. Gyarados had to know what he was doing as well, and somehow that made it even more infuriating that it took his bait.
As a result, the four of them streaked through the Sinnoh skies, and as they went Cyrus couldn’t help but stare down at the familiar but so very strange to see developed land below him. It was odd, almost, to think that the giant, sweeping, empty vistas of Hisui would soon be criss-crossed with roads and towns, that pre existing settlements would turn into cities. He glanced back behind him, at the retreating shape of Sunyshore, clinging to the bay and reaching out into the waters. That nothing but Iscan’s tent and the Lord Arcanine’s grave could become something so much larger… It was fairly incredible. And with Volkner’s innovations and humans and pokemon working together, the promise of a harmonious future, he found that he was content with the change.
Thankfully, Sunyshore and Veilstone weren’t too far even by foot, and by air the shape of the city and the looming visage of the Galactic HQ came into view within a half hour of flight. The thing was large, the same faux-futurist aesthetic the entire organisation had, and despite his guilt at what it represented he couldn’t really hate the building. He’d had a hand in designing it himself, and the result had been quite pleasing. Perhaps, after this, it had a future as something different. A laboratory, perhaps. They had all the infrastructure already.
As they drew closer and lower, it became clear that the building had seen some damage, but Cyrus didn’t really have the time to assess it as they landed a little ways away within the city, out of sight of the HQ. The streets were deserted, and the distant sounds of battle rang out. They had to get moving, and fast, before the situation worsened further.
As soon as they touched down, Rei leaped from Garchomp’s back, turning to them with a look of surprise.
“Okay I don’t know if you saw that but someone brought Regigigas to the pokemon battle.”
“Palmer.” Rowan said with just a hint of well-disguised disapproval. “He, Lucas, and Detective Looker will no doubt be trying to get in.”
“What else did you see of the fight out front?”
“Not much, Regigigas is pretty big, but it looks like your lot are putting up a pretty good fight, which is new for them.”
Dawn nodded.
“Yeah, I saw quite a lot of your Grunts in the back.” She added.
“We still have personnel? Sinnoh, they really didn’t do anything I wanted them to do in the case of my death.” Cyrus pinched the bridge of his nose, before dismounting and recalling Gyarados. “Let’s go, while there’s still subordinates left for me to talk sense into.”
The four of them began making their way towards the HQ, walking hastily through the streets. Occasionally, Cyrus would catch people staring out of windows at them, and once or twice someone caught sight of him and ducked into an alley, but he didn’t care. He had a job to do.
“What were your plans for Team Galactic post mortem, Mr. Akagi?” Rowan asked after a few minutes of walking in silence, and Cyrus glanced back at him.
“Disband and cease all activities immediately. Do not waste time attempting to look for me if my body could not be located. I trusted- trust- no one else with the leadership of Team Galactic other than myself, and it would appear I was right to. There is a reason my Commanders were my second in command.”
“And you told them this?”
Cyrus was silent for a moment. He certainly thought he had.
“I… Perhaps… Not as clearly as I should have.” He said after a while. “If they had known the chance of my death was anywhere near as likely as I believed it to be, I do not think they would have agreed to aid with my actions atop Mt. Coronet, so I had to misdirect them. That meant not issuing direct, specific orders for what to do in the event things went wrong, but still, I thought it would be obvious what I would have wanted. They knew me better than anyone.”
Rowan was silent for a moment, before carefully laying a hand on Cyrus’ shoulder.
“I can tell you from years of experience, Cyrus, that the reason we leave clear, written instructions after our passing is because grief clouds the minds and hearts of those closest to us. Perhaps if, before your apparent passing, if you asked your colleagues what they would do if it happened, they would answer as you would have pleased. But, when it actually happened, well. Often the chance at a second chance is too alluring to pass up, and rational thought too difficult through the haze of grief.”
Cyrus was silent.
“I think it is unlikely they are acting rationally. Yes, your position of authority over them is one reason why I was willing to follow Rei’s suggestion of obtaining your help, but perhaps more important than that, seeing you again may dispel their grief, and help them see clearly just what it is they have done. The bonds of friendship between you, rather than rank, file, and bureaucracy, that is what matters as far as I am concerned.”
“... I…” Cyrus sighed. “You are right. I was short sighted, I assumed my passing… would not be met with much sadness. I see now I was incorrect.”
Rowan dropped his hand from Cyrus’ shoulder, and nodded, mouth curling into the closest Cyrus had ever seen to a smile on his face.
“It would seem that the same applies to you, don’t you think? The light of our bonds illuminating the grief and despair that informed your irrational actions?”
Cyrus didn’t want to admit it, but… He nodded, slightly, conceding the point. That indeed seemed to be the case. He supposed that every nasty word directed at the actions of his Commanders…. They would apply to him too. What a shortsighted fool he was.
But he was changing, had changed. He was going to stop the reign of terror he had started. He was going to try and do better, now. And he had Rei, Akari, Laventon, Cyllene, and before then, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, to thank. For showing him friendship when he had neither wanted nor cared for it. He hoped only that now he could make them proud, even those who were not here to see it.
He knew that they’d say he already had. Could almost hear Laventon’s hearty chuckle, Akari bringing up what they’d done atop Mt. Coronet. He had already made them proud. And they had already seen it. He was glad he got the chance to share that with them.
The four of them continued on, and as they drew closer to the Galactic HQ, the sounds of battle became ever louder, echoing through the empty streets. Garchomp was getting visibly anxious, ready to battle, shifty and unsettled, and Cyrus couldn’t blame it. He, too, was starting to feel a creeping sense of uncertainty. He truly had no idea how this would go. His Commanders could be reasoned with, but what state would they be in? And Palmer, the Detective, Lucas, anyone else who would be there, how would they react? He could be in cuffs before he even got the chance to do what they intended too.
He sighed, inwardly to himself. He would simply have to place trust in his companions that they would facilitate the conversations he had to have. He glanced behind him, at Dawn, Rowan, and Rei, the latter of which was getting just as fidgety as his pokemon, and an idea struck him.
“When we intervene in this battle, I believe it may be a good idea for you to focus on the opposing side of the field to me- that is to say, Interpol, and those who may be aiding them. I will attack Team Galactic.”
Rei blinked, and frowned.
“I mean… sure. Why?”
“Look at it this way. If I was to attack Interpol, they would believe me here to aid Team Galactic. If you attacked Team Galactic, they would believe you here on behalf of Interpol and perhaps fight harder. If we attack our own sides, it makes it clear that our intentions are different, and that we intend to end the battle rather than prolong it.”
“Makes sense to me.” Dawn said, looking a little uncertain, “But it is risky. I mean… I don’t really want to get arrested or torn to shreds by the Tower Tycoon…”
“Which is why both you and Rei will take them on. I believe that Team Galactic will be easier to sway on my own as I do have a position of authority over all involved.”
“I have also known Palmer for many years,” Professor Rowan interjected, “And had multiple dealings with Interpol, Lucas, and your friend, Dawn, Barry. If it comes to the point that you may get in hot water from your actions today, I will intervene, and take responsibility if need be.”
“Really? You’d take the fall for us?” Rei said, wide-eyed.
“Yes.” Rowan said, his confidence unwavering and his manner composed. It was impressive just how sure he was, and Cyrus couldn’t help but be glad for it. At least someone here was confident, a mindset no doubt earned through years of experience. “Although having met the officer at the scene, I doubt that it will be necessary. He’s a good man, and procedure, for him, can take a back seat to what he believes is right.”
That last bit didn’t exactly fill Cyrus with confidence, given how subjective and changeable ‘the right thing’ could be, but he digressed.
“Then it is decided,” Cyrus said, nodding, “If anyone can hold their own in this situation, it is you.”
The sounds of battle were louder than ever, now, and the four of them drew to a stop just outside the open square where it was pitched, taking a moment to get themselves ready. Cyrus glanced out over the battlefield, trying to keep himself obscured.
Standing outside the Galactic HQ were his commanders, the three of them holding a line with their pokemon out front, fighting ferociously, and a line of Grunts behind them, clearly intending to serve as backup. The three of them looked, in a word, terrible. Deep bags under their eyes betrayed exhaustion, and while it wasn’t uncommon for Cyrus himself to work himself too hard and end up looking and feeling like death, to see all three of his own commanders in a similar state was… difficult. Even so, their pokemon snarled and leaped and launched attacks at their opponents, fighting as hard as they could to defend his empire.
Across from them, the scene was a little more hard to read. Palmer was standing out front, commanding Regigigas, as Rei had observed. Cyrus was more than a little surprised. He’d deemed the Regis as too much of a pain to be a viable route, assumed that whoever had ownership of them now was likely another terrorist, not a lone battle facility head. He knew they were committed to battle and growing stronger and pushing themselves, but this was absurd. In the back of his mind, a part of him coiled jealously. So when Palmer commanded a legendary, earth shaking pokemon it was fine and proof of his dedication to his craft, but when he, Cyrus, Boss of Team Galactic did it-
Beside him was the International Police Detective who had been working to take them down for the last few months. Not much was known about him, hardly even his name, but Cyrus did know that he was frustratingly illusive and capable of absurd feats of espionage, more than once managing to get his hands on information that, under no circumstances, an outsider should get, and facilitating the infiltration Lucas had attempted. He wasn’t, Cyrus could see now, particularly good at battling, just barely holding his own with a Crogunk, but he supposed you couldn’t be good at everything.
A little ways behind them, Cyrus could just about see Lucas and Barry, the two teens who had come to try and stop him atop Mt. Coronet. A Gardevoir was standing beside them- Lucas’, Cyrus was pretty sure- and it glanced towards the ongoing battle every now and then, a little anxiously, but ultimately stayed out of it. The reason why was immediately obvious, as Lucas and Barry seemed to be embroiled in a heated argument. There was a lot of gesticulating from Barry, who had his back to Cyrus from this angle, and Lucas was standing very still, arms crossed, occasionally interjecting but mostly just shaking his head. There was a shifting beside Cyrus, and he glanced over to see Dawn, following his gaze.
“Oh, yikes, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Lucas so pissed.” She said. Lucas’ expression was fairly neutral, the boy had never been particularly expressive, something Cyrus could sympathise with, but there was a clear anger in the tilt of his eyes.
“Any idea why?” Rei asked from behind them, fumbling with a Choice Scarf.
“I mean, I’m not sure, but apparently there was some kind of incident, around the same time Cynthia got kidnapped. Heard it landed Lucas in therapy and he’s not supposed to be out doing champion stuff right now, he’s supposed to be on break, so, probably something to do with that.”
“Cynthia isn’t the champion anymore?” Cyrus asked, at the same time Rei chimed in, a lot louder,
“CYNTHIA ISN’T CHAMPION????”
Dawn couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Yeah, Lucas beat her, like, the day after stopping Team Galactic. Pretty impressive but maybe he’s been going a bit too hard on all the trainer business recently.”
“Man…” Rei lamented, “Well, she’s still the coolest trainer in the world. Do you think she’ll let our Garchomps meet after we save her? FUCK, WAIT, THIS MEANS I’LL GET TO MEET CYNTHIA!!” Rei had practically begun to vibrate.
“Rei, priorities.” Rowan gently reprimanded him, and Rei tensed.
“Uh, yes, right, stop Team Galactic, save her first. Yes. Garchomp, hold STILL I need to get this thing on you-!” Rei returned to attempting to Choice Scarf his Garchomp, and Cyrus stepped back from the scene, reaching into his pocket to try and decide his pokemon choice for the upcoming battle.
Speed would probably be of the essence, and he mentally discarded Houndoom from his options. Weavile, too, would probably hurt someone, and he didn’t want to risk that, not when the opponents were his Commanders. Gyarados would be tired from the flight, and he needed his pokemon as fresh as could be. That left Honchkrow, Rotom, and Crobat. He reached up for the flittering little thing that still hovered at his shoulder, and glanced over it as it landed on his hand. No, the two of them hadn’t any time to coordinate. He didn’t even know its moveset. It would be a little while before he could use it in battle, and so he returned it to his shoulder.
Crobat was faster, less likely to do proper damage but very willing and enthusiastic to follow commands. Honchkrow could be aloof, nasty, and there was a small chance it would see who he was instructing it to fight and simply refuse. And so, Cyrus reached for Crobat’s pokeball, simply holding it in his hand, ready to fight.
He sucked in a deep breath, and let it hiss out through his teeth. This was it. This was their big moment. If things went the way he wanted it to, today would be the end of Team Galactic, and he knew, deep inside, that it would not be missed. Not by the world, and not by him.
“Aha!” Rei cried as he finally managed to wrangle the Choice Scarf around Garchomp’s neck, and it huffed, a little uppity, but seemed to have accepted defeat. “Well, I’m ready.” Rei said, glancing between them.
“I am too.” Cyrus said, idly tossing Crobat’s pokeball up and down.
“Yeah, I- I think I have this.” Dawn said, reaching into her coat and withdrawing a pokeball. “I’m a researcher first and foremost, but…”
“Your Torterra is cool as fuck, you’ll be fine.” Rei said, patting her on the shoulder.
“Also, if all goes to plan, we won’t have to do an awful lot of battling.” Cyrus said, glancing again out at the ongoing spat outside the HQ.
“Professor, what about you?” Dawn asked, and Professor Rowan shook his head.
“My battling days are over. I will help you with the talking, if you need it. I can’t pretend I don’t know that I command some degree of respect from most of this region’s professional battlers.”
“True.” Rei said. “Well then…?” He looked up at Cyrus, expectantly.
“Follow my lead. It will be obvious.”
Cyrus took another deep breath, not looking to hide it this time, letting it hiss out between his teeth, before sprinting from their little hiding spot and, once within reasonable sight of everyone on the battlefield, tossed Crobat’s pokeball, crying out as he did so,
“CROBAT, AIR SLASH!”
As Crobat streaked across the battlefield, gunning for his Commanders’ Purugly, Skuntank, and Toxicroak, Rei was hot on his heels with his Garchomp. The excitement was evident in his voice as he pointed at Regigigas and cried,
“DOUBLE EDGE!!”
Finally, Dawn sprinted out alongside her brother, tossing out her Torterra and gesturing at the field at large with a resounding cry of,
“EARTHQUAKE!”
Garchomp made it to its target first, courtesy of the Choice Scarf, and it slammed bodily into Palmer’s Regigigas with a loud smack, the sheer size of the alpha pokemon, while still much smaller than the legendary it was fighting, giving the lumbering giant cause to stumble, ever so slightly, as Garchomp itself leaped back, a little worse for wear and stunned by the recoil, but sharp and enthusiastic as ever.
Crobat landed its attack next, streaking by its three opponents and showering them with a spray of sharpened, condensed air, causing the three of them to screech and wail and stumble back, and as Crobat swung back around to approach Cyrus again, Torterra slammed its front feet into the ground and quite literally split the battlefield in two with a massive Earthquake, forcing every pokemon on the field to cry out and scramble to avoid the worst of the attack, and the Detective to grab ahold of his Croagunk and leap desperately away from the battle- slight overkill, perhaps, but it was clear that even seasoned battlers like Palmer were struggling to keep their footing in the wake of the attack.
The effect was immediate, and the battlefield stilled, all eyes on the three- now four, as Professor Rowan approached from behind- of them, shock and confusion gracing the faces of the combatants in equal measures. The Commanders seemed frozen in shock, pale-faced, and Mars clapped her hands over her mouth. Cyrus couldn’t tell, from the distance he was standing at, but she had already teared up.
This was his moment.
He drew himself up, despite Crobat coming in to land on his shoulders to excitedly greet Rotom, crossing his arms behind his back and fixing his face into his best cold, neutral expression, given the circumstances. He strode, more confidently than he felt, across the battlefield towards his commanders, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Garchomp growling and fanning out its bladed arms, raising up its tail in a threat display, lest Palmer, Lucas, or Barry try anything.
“C- Cyrus?” Mars’ voice was breathy and unbelieving. Cyrus stopped his approach a few steps away from her, “You’re alive?”
“Yes, I- Ugh-” Cyrus was cut off mid sentence by Mars sprinting and grabbing him, pulling him into a tight hug, before flinching and letting go of him, stepping away.
“I- I’m so sorry sir, I just- You’re- I thought you were dead, I watched you die-”
Her eyes were clouding with tears, and, after an awkward moment as Jupiter and Saturn carefully stepped closer, Cyrus closed the gap between the two of them once more and pulled Mars into an, admittedly slightly awkward, hug. Purugly, at their feet, rubbed its side against their legs and purred. Mars seemed surprised, but hugged him back tightly, trying and failing to mask the fact that she was crying into his shoulder.
He couldn’t blame her, and wouldn’t comment on it. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed the three of them. He was dangerously close to crying too.
After a few moments, he decided he couldn’t stand the contact and broke away, adjusting his uniform a little bit as an excuse to look away.
“Yes. I am alive. I apologise for any distress my disappearance may have caused you-”
“ANY DISTRESS?” Jupiter was suddenly angry, “YOU FUCKING DISSAPEARED, CYRUS. DID YOU KNOW THE RISKS? BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW WHICH IS WORSE, THAT YOU LIED ABOUT THEM OR THAT YOU WENT IN AND ASSUMED NOTHING WOULD GO WRONG.”
“...I did know the risks.” Cyrus admitted, glancing away, “I thought that you wouldn’t aid me if you knew that there was a significant chance I would die.”
“Of course.” Jupiter said, “We were there to help you change the world, not facilitate your suicide.”
“My suicide still was not my primary objective atop Mt. Coronet.”
“But it was an objective.” Saturn stated, bluntly.
“More of a backup plan.” Cyrus knew how calloused it sounded. And he had been calloused, he hadn’t a care about how it would have affected his Commanders, he simply assumed they wouldn’t care, the same way he didn’t care. “I understand now that this was… Selfish of me, I suppose. Keeping this from you, I should not have done it.” He swallowed. “But I lived. And I have come to a realisation.” He took a deep breath. “Firstly, I am sorry for leaving you. Giratina dragged me to the past, I didn’t have much say in the matter but I apologise for giving you little in the way of direction if things went wrong, nor suggestion that they even would.”
His three friends shared a glance, but as they turned back to him, Mars nodded.
“Secondly, I would like to know why you kidnapped Cynthia.” Nice moment and apologies aside, he was rather annoyed at this decision of theirs, and no matter how hard he tried to hide it, it was clear his annoyance came through in his tone.
“We…” Mars began, but she was cut off by a voice from the side.
“So you didn’t command this, Cyrus?” Palmer called, still, for all intents and purposes, stuck behind an impenetrable wall of growling, angry, Garchomp. Regigigas, in the absence of battle, had simply sat down. He guessed emotional resolution was probably below it.
“No,” he called, “I did not. I struggle to see how I could have, given the circumstances.”
Palmer did a slightly exaggerated shrug.
“I don’t know what kind of instructions you left them!”
Cyrus was getting slightly annoyed by the yelling.
“Rei, could you call off your Garchomp? Allow them over, have it only intervene if they try anything.”
“Sure.” Rei said, whistling, prompting Garchomp to jaunt over to his side, still eyeing Palmer. Palmer walked over to join the little huddle, and Jupiter visibly shuffled away from him. At a slight jog, the Detective came up next to him, looking between Cyrus and Rei with a difficult to read expression, before scribbling something down in a notepad he’d produced from his coat, Croagunk on his shoulder.
Lucas and Barry kept their distance, slightly, their argument clearly cut short. Barry had sidled up to Dawn, holding onto Lucas’ sleeve as if to make sure he didn’t run off, and Lucas simply stared at Cyrus, wide-eyed, as if he was seeing a ghost.
Cyrus tried to ignore it. It was a little offputting.
“Mars, please continue.” Cyrus prompted, and Mars nodded, having apparently gotten briefly distracted.
“We… Well… Sinnoh, this is kind of loaded. Do you, uhm, remember when we tried to bring you back?”
Cyrus blinked.
“What?”
“OH. Uh,” Mars glanced at Jupiter and Saturn for help.
“We figured out you had ended up in the past by finding you in some history books.” Saturn said, stepping in for her, “So we constructed a machine with the purpose of bringing you back, using plans we stole from some professor in Paldea somewhere. And it… went wrong. Pretty badly wrong. You ended up disappearing again, but while we were doing that Cynthia arrived, so Jupiter-” Jupiter gave him an annoyed shove at having the blame directed at them, “Ow- Jupiter said that perhaps Cynthia would be useful for doing more research so we could maybe try again.”
“We never intended to hurt her or anything, just, like, she knows history. She could trawl through some dusty old books better than any of our researchers could.” Jupiter said, shrugging.
Cyrus was still a little stuck on the literal fucking time machine.
“You constructed a time machine in my absence.” He stated.
“Uhm. Yes, we did.” Saturn awkwardly affirmed.
“And you kidnapped the ex-champion.”
“We also did that.”
Cyrus pinched the bridge of his nose.
“When you say it went wrong,”
Mars visibly cringed slightly, her expression clouding.
“We’ll… Now isn’t the time.” Saturn said, breaking eye contact, and Cyrus couldn’t help but be confused. All the parts were here for this, he felt, but he just wasn’t connecting him. Disturbing enough to rattle even his commanders, and Lucas too, apparently, if the ‘incident’ Dawn had mentioned was related to this. He examined the three of them, but was simply met with averted gazes. Then, his mind caught on something. That morning in his Galaxy Team accommodation, the blood, the pain, the horrid death-haze, the god in his mirror, the feather-soft fur against his cheek….
Arceus, what had they done?
He took a deep breath. Clearly they were upset. Upset enough to stage an incredibly ill-conceived kidnapping and weep into his shoulder upon reuniting with him. He would not press the issue, not yet, not here.
“Fine. What state is Cynthia in, then?”
“She’s fine, as I said. Probably in her cell reading or drawing or something.” Jupiter said, dismissively.
“Honestly, I think she’s enjoyed it.” Mars added, “She’s been a very polite hostage.”
“I can’t lie… If you just had her reading books for you in there, then she probably did.” Palmer said, shaking his head, a little in disbelief. “And here we were worried you were going to do something heinous to her.”
“When have we ever killed hostages?” Jupiter said, sounding a little offended.
“Well, you don’t usually take hostages, so maybe you were going to start! You don’t exactly have the cleanest record.”
“Regardless.” Cyrus cut them both off, “Release her, now. That’s an order.”
“Of course, sir.” Saturn said, opening up his poketch and stepping away to speak into it, quietly.
“I must ask, monsieur Akagi,” the Detective began, “Where is it you ended up?”
Cyrus hesitated for a moment, unsure as to whether he should engage with the Interpol officer at all.
“Why is it you need to know, Detective?” He asked, cautiously. “Not to be impolite, but last I was aware you were attempting to arrest me.”
“Ah, indeed, however, I do have a… secondary mission, one that often is more important, and it regards… Matters of space-time, and the general fabric of reality. You and Rei, there, have experienced something rather unique, and if the reports I have gotten in from Unova are anything to go by, three f- three people affected by certain phenomena surfacing on the same day cannot be coincidence. We are investigating, so any information you have would be incredibly useful.”
Unova? He supposed that explained the fate of one Pearl Clan Warden.
Cyrus considered again, before deciding that there was little harm the Detective could really do with this information.
“Ancient Sinnoh.” He said, “Although it was not a random or natural occurrence. It was the work of certain legendary or mythical pokemon.”
The detective nodded, scribbling down some notes.
“Ah, I see! Certainly unique in our experience then… Thank you kindly, we will be finding much use in this information, I am certain.”
At this, Saturn stepped back into the conversation.
“I’ve had some of our people collect her. She’ll be out in a moment.”
“Thank you, Saturn.” Cyrus said, nodding. “I’m glad we got here before things devolved further.”
“How’d you know to show up now, anyway?” Jupiter asked, “Fuck, how are you even here?”
“I, uh, I asked him to come.” Rei piped up, a little bit out of his depth in this conversation, “And I knew because Professor Rowan and Dawn told me about it. And we’re back in Sinnoh- I also ended up in the past by the way. Hi.- Because we finished up what we were sent there to do.”
“And what was that?” The Detective inquired, raising an eyebrow.
“Beating up some blonde guy, mostly.” Rei said with a sly grin, clearly amusing himself, “And saving the world, there were a lot of steps. It was super cool and dangerous, trust me.”
Rei’s tone was not really making this sound particularly believable.
“It was incredibly dangerous.” Cyrus affirmed.
“And cool?” Rei grinned up at him.
“...By some measures.” He conceded, not quite suppressing a smile as much as he would like to.
He couldn’t help but notice his commanders share a look.
“Cyrus, sir, are you, like, okay?” Mars ventured, looking a little confused. Cyrus snorted. He supposed they weren’t used to him being more lighthearted.
“Yes, I am. Better than I have been in a long time.”
A little ways off to their side, Barry had sidled over to Rei, speaking hushed, but not quite hushed enough to go unheard.
“You really went and saved the world as well?”
“Yeah!” Rei said, “It was cool. It sucked, sometimes, but it was cool.”
“That’s really how it is!!!!” Barry said, “You do something cool and it sucks a whole lot but it was still cool!!! There’s gotta be something in the water in Twinleaf, we’re alllll saving the world these days, maybe it has something to do with being next to Lake Verity? Making us Veritous?”
“I don’t think that’s a word but I do think you’re onto something! I met Mesprit there, maybe it, um… I don’t actually know how you could link emotion to what we’ve been doing.”
“Me neither, but Lucas also met Mesprit there! AND it's where me and him met professor Rowan and your sister RIGHT before things started getting bad with Team Galactic! I don’t think this is a coincidence!”
“You’re getting into conspiracy theory territory already, Barry.” Dawn had joined them, “About things YOU did! Leave that to the internet weirdos.”
“But I know waayyyy more about it than them!” Barry complained, “I can make WAY better conspiracies! I was there!!”
After a moment of visible, tense hesitation, Lucas stepped up to the group, and Barry’s expression shifted a little, neither clearly over whatever they’d been arguing about.
“Hhhey Lucas, uhm,” Barry swallowed, “Dawn’s little brother! Saved the world, like you! Who’d’ve thought!”
“Mmm.” Lucas hummed. “Rei, you, um. How was it?”
The question was reserved, but weighty, and it was clear Lucas meant his question a little different to how Barry had meant his own inquiries. No one outside the conversation was really hiding their blatant eavesdropping at this point.
“Well, you know…” Rei said, clearly just buying time while he tried to figure out how to answer. “Fought some people, made some mistakes, fought some gods, met Arceus, the works.” He laughed awkwardly, trying to brush the significance of his experiences off. Lucas’ eyes flickered over him, his expression flat as ever, but intense.
“You met Arceus?” This question, too, was weighty, but Cyrus couldn’t hope to place why. Lucas had met only Arceus’ progeny, right? Why would he be so concerned with their master? “Was it terrifying?”
Rei seemed taken aback by this question.
“I mean… Kinda? The first time it was mostly just confusing, I mean it gave me a phone and then dropped me from the sky, pretty weird. And then after that I never really saw it in person again, it mostly just texted me. Except…” He faltered a little, swallowing, “I mean… I did… There were some flashes, when I… got hurt, but, well-” He coughed, “Look, Lucas, I don’t know what you’re trying to get at here but, well, I know how Arceus can be. It’s pretty uh…. Heavy-handed, huh? Heavy hooved? Whatever you’d call those.”
Lucas was silent for another moment, before nodding.
“...Yes.” He swallowed, “You have this handled, don’t you?”
“I’d say we do, yeah!” Rei winked, raising and waggling one finger in a way that was a little too reminiscent of Volo for Cyrus’ liking, before seeming to catch the action and dropping his arm awkwardly, “You can count on me! And Cyrus. I guess.” It was clear this last bit was meant as a joke, and Cyrus shook his head good naturedly.
“Good.” Lucas turned his attention to Barry, “I’m sorry, Barry, for getting angry at you when you tried to stop me from intervening. I just… Felt I had to, I guess. I don’t like just doing nothing. But I shouldn’t have made a whole thing of it.”
Barry grinned.
“It’s okay! I just, y’know, you need a break, I didn’t want you hurting yourself. And dad is one of the coolest trainers EVER, I knew he had it covered. Even if he didn’t technically fix this situation, I bet it would’ve turned out okay anyway!”
A smile pulled at Lucas’ lips.
“I think… I want to go home.” Lucas said. “Everyone else… You have this covered. Palmer, please tell Cynthia I said hi.”
Palmer walked over and placed a hand on Lucas’ shoulder.
“Of course. You stay safe, okay? I know it’s hard to switch off, but we’re all trying to help you here.”
Lucas nodded.
“AND!” Barry jumped in, “I have some cool ideas for stuff we can do that DOESN’T involve trying to run around fixing people’s problems! Like, Dawn told me there’s apparently WILD TURTWIG around Twinleaf, I’ve never seen one outside of the Professor’s lab!! AND I bought a new game we could play- you don’t just have to sit around being sad!”
“I’d like that.” Lucas said.
“The rest of us will hold down the fort, Lucas. You two go on home.” Palmer said, patting Lucas’ shoulder, before stepping away, and Lucas nodded, before Barry grabbed ahold of him and started dragging him away, Lucas’ Gardevoir following along at a reserved pace.
“OH YEAH!” Barry called from a little ways across the square, “REI!! YOU’VE GOTTA COME OVER AND TELL US EVERYTHING AT SOME POINT!!”
“I WILL!” Rei called back.
“You will have to wait until after you’ve told the International Police for that, I’m afraid.” the Detective said, mostly to Rei, as Lucas and Barry were quickly disappearing into Veilstone. “Usually I would advise you don’t tell anyone, but who am I to deny the Champion this kind of information?” He added with a slight smirk, and Rei grinned, ever appreciative of a slight bending of the rules.
“Ugh. If I wanted this kind of talk I’d go to group therapy.” Jupiter rolled their eyes, and Mars elbowed them in the side, “Hey! It’s true!”
“You were kicked out of group therapy last time you went.” Saturn said, raising an eyebrow, “You wouldn’t last ten minutes.”
“Oh shut up. Where’s Cynthia so we have an excuse to talk about something else.”
“She’ll be here in just a minute, be patient.”
“Why aren’t you happier? Cyrus is back, we don’t need to do any of our risky plans or anything, and he lived at that!” Mars said, giving Jupiter a harsh look, “We were expecting to retrieve a corpse, remember?” She added with a hiss, and for her sake Cyrus pretended not to hear her.
“I am happy. About that, at least.” Jupiter crossed her arms, “I don’t know, those two just piss me off irrationally. I’m still not happy that the blonde one beat us in a battle.”
“It wasn’t just you, Jupiter. They dealt with our entire organisation.” Cyrus said, “It’s not worth holding grudges over it now, anyway. The situation has changed.”
“Yeah, well. You see, that just pisses me off more. But I’ll drop it. For now. Sir.”
“Hey, actually, while we’re waiting and you aren’t our mortal enemies, I did wanna ask,” Dawn began, “Why do all of you have space nicknames apart from Cyrus? I’ve always wondered.”
“What, you expect us to use our legal names while doing massive crimes?” Jupiter said, incredulous.
“Not really what I asked.” Dawn said.
“I didn’t want one.” Cyrus answered, honestly, “If it were up to me, I would not have even shown my face until the very last moment when we took our victory atop Mt. Coronet.”
“Also the three of us took all the good planet names.” Mars said, “And while Charon was happy with a dwarf planet, we figured that maybe our boss should have a more important celestial entity. There was a LOT of brainstorming, but in the end we never settled on one.”
“I never wanted one.” Cyrus reiterated, “This was something you all did because you felt like it.”
“How can you lead an organisation and not even get into the theming, Cyrus!?”
“I wore the uniform you designed.” Cyrus said, “Is that not ‘getting into the theming’?”
“I still liked the suggestion of Sol.” Saturn said, eyes trained on his Poketch. “Cynthia is here by the way.”
“Huh?-” Palmer began, before from behind them came a collection of footsteps, and the group turned to see Cynthia, looking cheery and well rested, being led out of the HQ by a pair of Galactic personnel. “Cynthia!!” He jogged over to her and pulled her into a hug, which she reciprocated. “I knew you’d be okay, but I was still worried. After hearing what happened- I had no idea what they’d do next!”
Cynthia patted Palmer on the back.
“Don’t worry, I was well taken care of. They just wanted me for research, and I am pretty good at that.” She pulled out of her cousin’s grip, looking out at the group at large. A few emotions cycled through her face at the assembly of people before her. “Oh! Cyrus!”
“Hello, Cynthia.” Cyrus said, ever so slightly awkwardly. “I would like to apologise for the actions of my Commanders. I never had any intention of having you kidnapped, they were acting out of desperation.”
“Don’t worry, I know.” Cynthia raised a hand. “What happened? I want to know everything. Where were you? What was Arceus’ involvement?” Cynthia was already striding up to the group, an inquisitive and all too familiar glint in her uncovered eye.
Just behind him, Cyrus could feel Rei practically vibrating with excitement at Cynthia being right there.
“I think it would be best for you to direct those questions to Rei. He was there as well.” This way, Rei would get to meet one of his battling idols, and Cyrus wouldn’t have to field awkward questions. Win-win. Rei couldn’t hold in a squeak as Cynthia turned her gaze to him.
“My apologies, Hello Rei, would you be happy to answer some questions?”
“Y- yes!!! Uh- Hi! Miss Cynthia!”
Cynthia laughed, good naturedly.
“Wait, wait, before any general question asking and answers, the International Police really needs to speak with the both of them.” The detective was looking increasingly anxious about how he was going to corral everyone into following his lead on this.
“Looker, don’t worry, how about I help you with your questioning? I know all about ancient Sinnoh, and have been holed up researching this very topic for the past few days.”
Looker perked up, a little relieved.
“That would be much appreciated, thank you.” He sighed, “This encounter has gone far from how I expected, but as far as hostage situations go, it could have been much worse.”
“How many times do we have to say we weren’t going to kill her!” Jupiter said, exasperated. “It was barely a hostage situation!”
“It literally was one.” Mars said, “We kidnapped her.”
“It was more of a combination hostage situation forced academic tenure type deal.” Saturn suggested, and both Mars and Jupiter shot him a look of annoyance.
“Regardless.” Professor Rowan held up a hand, speaking for the first time, “All is well. Everyone will get their answers, and both of our missing people are alive. I would call this a success. Now all we need to figure out is what comes next.”
“Yes. About that.” Cyrus could feel horrid, clinging nervousness clambering up his throat. “I have done some thinking during my time in the past. And, as is perhaps clear, my… ideals have changed.”
“We’ve got a new objective?” Mars asked, looking a little excited, “You know we’ll follow you anywhere, Cyrus.”
“Yes. And I appreciate that and each and every one of you, more than I have expressed in the past. And it is because of this that I ask that you follow me now,” He took a deep breath. “Team Galactic is officially disbanding. I have no use for it anymore. The world is not beyond salvage, and it was in fact my views that were rotten and twisted, something I have realised now. I would like to continue to know and work with the three of you, but not as members of an organisation, not as your leader and you as my subordinates, but… Well. As friends.”
There was a profound and awkward silence, and for a moment Cyrus truly wasn’t sure how they’d react. Would they walk away here? Would this be the last he saw of them?
The three of them shared a look he couldn’t read, and then Mars stepped forwards and pulled him into another hug, Saturn following her lead and Jupiter stepping up beside them and placing one arm around him, a little awkwardly. Cyrus let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding, and wrapped his arms around the three of them.
“I said we’d follow you anywhere, and it’s true.” Mars said into his shoulder. “What matters to us is that you’re here and that you’re okay, and you are, and that’s more than we could’ve hoped for.”
“What she said.” Jupiter said. “Besides, if using the Red Chain didn’t work I really don’t know how else we even could rewrite reality, so it’s probably good you’ve changed your mind on that.”
“Well, I did look into some alternate options regarding The Darkest Day over in Galar,” Saturn began, but from her spot hanging onto Cyrus Mars elbowed him, and he stopped.
“Thank you three.” Cyrus said, after a moment, “For staying with me. Even when I was… Not as nice to you as you deserved.”
“It’s alright.” Mars pulled away so she could look him in the face. “We’re here because we wanted to help you, right? And we still do, just with different things.”
“Even so. I appreciate it.” Cyrus said.
“If I may?” Looker said, and the four of them broke the hug up more to look at him. “I am genuinely very pleased to hear of this change of heart, yes, but it is worth mentioning that you are all still wanted. I should be arresting you right now.”
“But you haven’t.” Cyrus observed.
“Correct. I…” Looker sighed, and then smiled, a little awkwardly at them, “I saw what occurred when things went awry with the machine they built. I am happy for you that you survived, and that the four of you are reunited. I have a job to do but, well… I do not think anyone would be too displeased with me if I… put off enacting justice, for now. Besides, not only does questioning pertaining to your temporal displacement take precedence, I am privy to far too much classified information for them to fire me outright for this indiscretion.”
Those were the words of someone who’d already had a discussion with his higher-ups over operational mistakes, and had come out on top.
Cyrus inclined his head.
“I appreciate it, Detective. Although I would like to do what I can to try and mitigate the damage I have caused.”
“And I am sure we can arrange that.” Looker smiled, “All four of you, Cynthia, Rei, if you would like to come with me, I would like to ask about your time in ancient Sinnoh, and the relating happenstance.”
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn turned to Cyrus, waiting for an order.
“It is up to you, now.” Cyrus said. “I will not force you. But I am going. There is a lot to explain.”
“Then we’re going too.” Mars said, and Jupiter and Saturn nodded in agreement. Cyrus smiled, just a bit.
Looker gestured, and together they followed after him, Rei just barely holding in excited ramblings as he jogged alongside Cynthia, and Cyrus side by side with Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn. Not his commanders, not anymore, but still, and forever, his very best friends.