Sound of the Underground

Izzyaro

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to The Pokémon Company, Nintendo, Game Freak, and Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori. I own nothing.

Steven tugged another lump of rock loose and held it up.

"What do you think, Lairon?"

Lairon lumbered over and gave it a cautious sniff, then a low growl rumbled up through Steven's boots. Steven sighed. "That's what I thought too." He set the mud covered Hard Stone carefully in the basket. "I suppose someone will find it useful. And the other four…"

Lairon sighed heavily, and Steven had to smile. Their latest excursion had been well worth it overall, but every trip had its slow days.

"Let's try a little further down," he said. "This area can't be just Hard Stones."

He waited, but there was no reply. "Lairon?"

Steven looked round and blinked. The cave they were in was sufficiently lit by his head torch, but when he looked down the passageway they had arrived down he could make out a peculiar purple light, one that was growing steadily brighter.

Steven frowned, but then relaxed as the eerie glow shimmered and resolved into the swirling green and purple of a Spiritomb. Lairon growled again, and he rested a hand on his friend's back.

"It's all right, Lairon. He's a friend."

"You don't know that," came an amused voice. "There's more than one Spiritomb in Sinnoh, you know."

Steven smiled and sat back. "I liked my chances. I have to admit though, I didn't expect to see you down here, Cynthia."

Cynthia grimaced. "I will never understand what you find so fascinating about caves, Steven."

"This coming from the woman who spends hours studying old carvings?"

"That's completely different," she said with a wave of her hand. She crouched down next to him and gave Lairon a pat on the head. "Found anything interesting?"

Steven grinned at her. "You should know better than to ask that question."

"Trust me, I'm regretting it already."

Steven laughed and dug into his basket. "Well, we did find this." He handed it over for her inspection, and she held it up to Spiritomb's purple glow.

"In my expert opinion it's a rock," she said dryly. Then she giggled. "Your face."

Steven scowled good-naturedly. "It's not just any rock. Look closer."

She did so, and her eyes narrowed. "I still don't…wait." She brought it to within an inch of her nose and gasped. "Is this a Shiny Stone?"

"Finally," Steven murmured, but he couldn't help grinning.

Cynthia pulled a face at him, but her attention was fixed on the stone. "I've never seen one like this before."

Steven shrugged. "You can keep it if you like."

Cynthia stared at him. "But it's yours, and these are incredibly rare. Don't you need it?"

"None of my Pokémon can use it," Steven pointed out with a shrug. "And it's not like I need the money from selling it. Besides, you've got a Roselia, haven't you?"

"That's right, but still…" She shook her head. "All right. It's a lovely gift, thank you."

Steven smiled back, pleased by the reaction. They hadn't known each other long, but as the youngest members of their respective Elite Fours they had bonded quickly. Their love of history, and of peace and quiet, had only cemented the friendship.

"So you're not regretting letting me come down here?"

She rolled her eyes. "If I'd had doubts I'd never have considered it in the first place."

Steven nodded. Cynthia took her responsibilities as one of the guardians of Sinnoh's history very seriously, and the caves surrounding Celastic Town were a strong part of that history. He was very aware that he had been granted a rare privilege, and he had been doing his best to remain worthy of the trust.

Cynthia nudged him, and he blinked. "I'm sorry?"

She rolled her eyes, but her expression was amused. "You and caves, honestly… I was asking if you were planning on coming back any time soon?"

Steven glanced at his PokéNav and coughed. "Ah."

"Indeed," said Cynthia, and this time she didn't even try to hide her amusement. "This is going to happen a lot while you're visiting, isn't it?"

"I'd have come up eventually," Steven protested.

"Before midnight?"

Steven opened his mouth, noticed the look Lairon was giving him and closed it again. Cynthia chuckled. "Let's go. Grandma will be ready for us soon."

Lairon growled and butted Steven not quite as gently as she usually did, and he held his hands up. "All right, I'm coming." He shot his Pokémon a reproving look. "I was going to go back soon anyway."

Lairon did not look convinced. Cynthia chuckled, and the Steel-type leaned happily into her scratch.

"Traitor," Steven muttered.

Cynthia laughed, and rose to her feet in one graceful motion. Steven carefully packed his tools away, then stood and swung the basket of rocks over his shoulder. "We'll try a bit deeper in tomorrow," he decided. "There might be fewer Hard Stones down there."

"You're fairly far in already," Cynthia pointed out dryly. "It's going to take a good half an hour to get back to the surface."

Lairon sighed. Steven frowned, and dug into his bag for an Oran berry. "Sorry," he told them both. "I really did lose track of time."

Lairon swallowed the berry whole, and nudged Steven hard enough to both send him staggering and let him know he was forgiven.

"It's fine," said Cynthia with a smile. "I haven't actually been this far down before, so it's been an interesting experience."

Steven frowned slightly. Walking around caves alone wasn't exactly a good idea if you weren't familiar with them, but he could see Pokéballs on her belt and held his tongue. Cynthia was a more than competent trainer, and her Gabite would be quite at home in a cave. She wasn't stupid, and she certainly the type to take needless risks. He hefted the rocks, and smiled.

"Let's go, then."

Cynthia eyed him as they started walking. "Do you really need all of those?"

"I need to study them," Steven insisted. "There are some colourations I haven't seen before, and considering the depth we're at and the location-"

"All right, all right," said Cynthia, with a laugh. "I'm sorry. Bring all the rocks you want, just don't expect me to carry them."

Steven grinned. "That was what my Dad always used to say." He shrugged. "It's good exercise at least."

"It's your back," said Cynthia cheerfully.

The passage back was an easy one, and conversation flowed just as easily. The two of them had already agreed to keep in touch when Steven left for Hoenn, and time passed quickly as they compared their respective fellow Elites.

"Bertha's been there for years," Cynthia was saying, as they rounded a corner. "She could probably take the Champion position herself, but she says she doesn't want the publicity."

"That's the part I'm not looking forward to," Steven admitted. He'd had practice in his role as Devon's heir, but that didn't mean he liked it. He had no idea how Drake handled being the centre of attention. Cynthia grinned at him.

"You sound pretty confident you'll get there."

Steven raised an eyebrow. "And you're not?"

"Touché," she said with a grin. "Of course it's the goal. Maybe in a year or so, when Gabite evolves."

Steven opened his mouth to reply, then froze as every instinct he had screamed at him. Lairon's head whipped round at the same moment and she gave a low growl. Cynthia frowned at the two of them.

"Is everything-"

But Steven had caught the tremor that confirmed his intuition and there was no time for questions. "Metang, Psychic!"

He threw the Pokéball, and Metang materialised, glowing a brilliant blue, as the ground lurched and the cave ahead of them collapsed with a deafening roar. Steven grabbed Cynthia and pulled her back behind Metang as the Steel type exerted their considerable will power on the falling rock.

"Get down!" he yelled. Metang would do what they could, but at the rate of collapse… "Claydol, we need you too!"

Claydol appeared, eyes narrowed, and he too glowed blue.

For a long, terrifying minute, the two humans knelt in the chaos while the two Psychic Pokémon strained against the falling rock, but eventually the tremors stilled. Cynthia looked up and opened her mouth, but Steven shook his head. She obeyed, eyes pinched with concern, while Steven strained every sense he could.

After a moment, Lairon nudged him, and Steven let himself relax.

"That was close," he whispered. "Are you all right?"

Cynthia let out a long breath. "I. Hate. Caves."

Steven couldn't blame her. Metang and Claydol's abilities were the only keeping the rock from burying them. "We're safe for now," he murmured. "Just stay quiet."

She nodded. "How did you know?"

Steven shrugged. "You spend long enough in a cave, you start to notice those things." Lairon rumbled agreement, and he rubbed her back gently. "But it doesn't make sense."

Cythia frowned. "What do you mean? Caves collapse all the time."

"Not for no reason," Steven insisted. "And that passage was as secure as any I've ever seen when we passed by earlier. Something had to have happened to make it collapse like that."

Lairon rumbled something, and he nodded. "And it shouldn't have collapsed like that either. It was much too violent. As if…" he broke off, eyes narrowing.

"As if someone had forced it?" Cynthia finished. She kept her voice low, but there was no mistaking the steel in it. Steven nodded.

"I'd say so, though I'd need to examine the site to be sure. But who would do something like this?" The disruption to the local Pokémon would be huge. Cynthia pursed her lips.

"I have an idea. You ever heard of Team Galactic?"

Steven had to think for a moment. There were enough criminal organisations that keeping track was a mission in itself, but Galactic… "The ones with the truly absurd uniforms?"

Cynthia snorted. "That's them. Lance asked us to keep an eye on them. I guess I asked too many questions."

Lairon growled, and Steven nodded. "We'll investigate later. Lairon suggests we move."

Cynthia eyed the rock warily. "Can we move? I can send Spiritomb for help."

"That might help," Steven agreed, "but this area is still unstable. Besides, we're not far from the surface. Lairon can tunnel out, and Metang and Claydol can keep it open long enough for us to get to safety."

Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "You've done this before, I see."

"Now and then," Steven admitted. It was an unavoidable part of caving, when one did it as much as he did.

Cynthia looked round at their small sanctuary and nodded. "I'll bow to your expertise then." She tilted her head to one side. "Can Gabite help? She's not trained for excavations, but she does know Dig."

Steven glanced at Lairon, who nodded, and Cynthia tossed a Pokéball. Her dragon materialised, and Cynthia scratched her purple head. "Follow Lairon's lead, okay?"

Gabite growled an affirmative. Lairon sized her up for a moment, then launched herself into the rock wall. Gabite followed, and the two Pokémon vanished in a flurry of dirt. Metang hovered over to the tunnel and waited. Steven nodded.

"We'll give them a few minutes," he said. "Who else do you have with you?"

"Lucario, Glaceon and Milotic," she replied. "Roselia's at home helping Grandma. Milotic might have problems down here though. What about you?"

"Anorith, Cradily and Skarmory, but Skarmory will have similar issues." He grinned. "That should be more than enough to handle Team Galactic though."

Cynthia gave an equally vicious answering smile. "I think it just might be," she agreed. She sighed. "I don't suppose your home region is free from nutjobs like this?"

Steven grimaced. "Unfortunately not. We've got Team Aqua and Magma mainly. They're basically eco-warriors, Magma want to expand the land to make more room for humans, while Aqua want to more oceans for Pokémon." He made no effort to keep the exasperation from his voice. He'd had far too many dealings with those lunatics. Cynthia blinked several times.

"Do any of these morons understand what will happen if they actually accomplish their goals?"

"Everyone will be happy and peaceful and there will be unicorns dancing through the streets. At least of you ask them."

Cynthia let her head fall back against the wall with a thud. "Save me from the stupidity."

"Tell me about it," Steven muttered. "Thankfully they seem to be too busy fighting each other to make much progress towards their goals. I think there's some history between their leaders."

"That's something at least," said Cynthia with a sigh. "Galactic are depressingly united."

Steven glanced at the tunnel, but there was still no sign of either of their Pokémon. "What do they want again?"

Cynthia grimaced. "To replace this imperfect universe with a brand new one. Just for them of course."

"A new…universe."

"That was my reaction."

Steven pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do they even have a plan?"

"They seem to, which is rather alarming," Cynthia admitted. "We haven't been able to catch anyone high up enough in the organisation to have any idea of what it is, though."

"You will," said Steven. "And you'll stop them. You've got sanity and reason on your side after all."

Cynthia chuckled, but the laughter soon degenerated into a cough. Not really surprising, considering the dust that had been stirred up in the tunnel collapse, and Steven mentally scolded himself for not thinking of it sooner as he dug into his backpack.

"Here."

He handed her his water bottle, and she gave him a small smile. "You're well prepared."

"There are some things you don't go into a cave without," Steven pointed out. "Sorry there's not much left, I was planning on coming back soon."

"It's enough, thank you." She handed it back, and grimaced. "And I'll remember to bring my own next time, even if I am just coming to drag you out."

Steven's gut twisted. "I'm sorry for getting you stuck in here."

Cynthia blinked, then shook her head. "If it was me they were after, they'd have tried sooner or later anyway." She grinned suddenly. "I got lucky actually. They try to kill me the one time I go deep in a cave, where I happen to be meeting one of the most enthusiastic spelunkers in the country and one of the people who knows exactly how to survive such a thing."

Steven laughed. Put that way he could see her point. Cynthia's grin widened, then she looked round as a scuffling sound drew closer. "Is that Gabite and Lairon?"

"Wrong direction," Steven murmured. He glanced at Claydol, who nodded and drifted over to the other side of the cave.

"What's he doing?" Cynthia asked.

"Warning off any wild Pokémon," Steven told her. "And alerting them to the unstable area ahead." At her raised eyebrow he shrugged. "This will have disturbed a lot of Pokémon. They're likely to be restless for a while, but it's not their fault their homes were destroyed."

"No," said Cynthia softly. "I suppose you're right." Her grey eyes glittered in Spiritomb's purple light. "Another account to settle when we see them."

Steven spared a moment to be grateful he was not this woman's enemy, before relaxing as the scratching noises died away. "Agreed." He settled back against the wall and sighed. "They should be back soon."

Cynthia took a seat next to him. "Actually, I am starting to see why you like it down here," she said quietly. "It's quite peaceful."

Steven smiled and closed his eyes. "No one's staring at you in a cave. There's no cameras, no crowds. You don't need masks in the dark."

He felt Cynthia nod beside him. "I can understand that."

She didn't express surprise at the sentiment, for which Steven was grateful. Then again, her grandmother was one of the region's experts on Pokémon mythology. She might not have been in the spotlight quite as much as Devon Corporation's heir, but she had still grown up as the focus of more attention than any sane person would be comfortable with. No wonder she could see the beauty in the peace of the caves.

The two of them sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Steven's cave-attuned ears caught the sound of scratching coming from the tunnel.

"Looks like they're back," he murmured.

Cynthia stirred next to him. "Are you sure you're not part Zubat?"

Steven chuckled, and looked up in time to see amusement mingle with the exasperation on her face. He accepted her hand up and brushed off his khaki trousers. "I think I'd notice." He crossed to the tunnel and crouched down to find himself face to face with Lairon.

"Hey, girl," he said softly. "Did you make it out?"

Lairon nodded and climbed out into the cave. Gabite followed close behind, and Cynthia visibly relaxed at the sight of her most trusted Pokémon. "I'm glad you're all right," she said, as she gave the dragon a scratch." "So, how about we get out of here?"

"For once, I'm not complaining," said Steven. He peered down the tunnel to work out logistics. Lairon had done her best with the little time she'd had, but both humans were tall enough that they would have to crouch, and it was only wide enough to go one at a time. He glanced at Cynthia.

"Normally I'd say ladies first, but under the circumstances..."

"No arguments here," said Cynthia quickly. "This is your area of expertise."

Steven smiled. "Okay then. I'll send Lairon ahead, with Metang to keep the roof from collapsing." He glanced at Claydol and frowned. "You're a little big, I'm afraid."

Claydol hummed ruefully, and Steven looked round. The shifting rocks had stabilized somewhat, but there was no point in taking chances. "Are you all right to stay out until we're in there?"

Claydol sent him a positive thought, and he smiled. "Thank you. Good work here, and you too, Lairon and Metang."

"And you, Gabite," Cynthia added.

"Gabite too," Steven agreed. He studied the dragon. "That tunnel looks great. Are you sure you've never done this before?"

Gabite gave a satisfied grin and leaned in for a scratch, and Steven was only too happy to oblige her. Behind her, Cynthia rolled her eyes.

"Flatterer. Shall I keep her out?"

Steven considered. Metang could support the cave, and Lairon would be with them, so they didn't exactly need the Ground-type, but although she hid it well there was no denying the fact that Cynthia was more comfortable with her partner present. "Why not?" he said.

The smile that touched Cynthia's face validated the decision, even if she didn't look too enthralled by the idea of crawling through the little tunnel. He nodded, and bent to enter the passage, only to pause when Cynthia coughed. "What's the matter?"

Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "You're actually still going to carry a basket of rocks back with you?"

Steven saw the opportunity, and managed a hurt look. "I spent a long time digging these out," he protested. "I'm not going to just leave them behind."

She shook her head. "Crazy rich folk," she muttered.

"When you're rich it's eccentric," Steven corrected primly.

Cynthia snorted. "I see."

Steven pulled a face and followed Metang and Lairon into the tunnel. "We can argue semantics later."

"Sooner if you left the rocks," Cynthia muttered, but Steven heard her crawl into the tunnel behind him, and grinned to himself as he returned Claydol to his Pokéball.

"If I left all my rocks you wouldn't have a Shiny Stone," he pointed out.

There was a slight pause. "Point," Cynthia admitted. "Fine. I'll stop complaining about the rocks."

Steven twisted round and smiled at her. "Send me a picture of Roserade and we'll call it even."

Cynthia chuckled. "Deal." Spiritomb hummed, and she nodded. "Good point. Roselia probably wouldn't mind if you watched."

"I'd like that," Steven admitted. "Evolution is always an incredible process."

"You got that right." She sighed. "I wish Roselia was here. I know she doesn't like caves either, but I wouldn't mind some of her Aromatherapy round about now."

Steven frowned. That was the first sign of weakness he'd ever heard her admit to, but the tunnel was rather more claustrophobic than even their little cave had been. "Are you all right?"

There was another pause. "I'll make it. I just can't say I like this."

"Not many people do," Steven reminded her. "Only the freaks like me who are part Diglett and part Zubat."

"You're not a freak," Cynthia scolded him, but there was a giggle in her voice, which Steven decided to count as progress.

"If it makes you feel any better, you've handled it really well," he continued. "Most people panic the second anything even looks like it's going wrong down here."

"I'm not a fan of panicking," said Cynthia dryly. "It gives me a headache, and serves little practical purpose, so I reserve it for emergencies."

Steven raised an eyebrow. "A cave in doesn't qualify as an emergency?"

"A rampaging Legendary qualifies as an emergency," she explained, in the most reasonable tone Steven had ever heard. "Major or minor depending on the Legendary in question."

Steven had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. "I suppose that makes sense."

"Of course it does." There was a scuffle, and she grunted. "Though I will admit the fact that you knew what you were doing was quite helpful in staying calm."

"What would you have done if I hadn't been around?" Steven asked, genuinely curious. He had had underground survival drilled into him as long as he could remember, but he was aware that most parents didn't have his father's enthusiasm for more eccentric diversions.

Cynthia hummed. "Stuck to my original plan, I suppose. Keep still and sent Spiritomb for help."

Steven navigated a rather awkward turn with a grimace, and nodded. "Good. That's exactly what you should do. I only risked tunneling out because my Pokémon have experience with this sort of situation, and I knew we were already close to the surface."

"Yeah, about that," Cynthia gasped. "Shouldn't be out already? I swear I didn't go this far when I came to find you."

"You were walking down an easy, well-lit path then," Steven pointed out. He realised he'd gotten a little ahead, and paused to let her catch up. "And Lairon and Gabite couldn't head directly for the surface if they wanted to avoid any areas of instability." He sniffed the air and smiled. "I think the air's getting fresher though. We won't be in here much longer."

"Thank Arceus," Cynthia murmured.

Steven stepped up the pace a little. Cynthia wasn't the only one who could use some fresh air. Also, he'd never admit it, but the rocks were starting to make his back ache. Metang swiveled enough to give him an expressive look, and he shook his head. "Don't you start," he murmured.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," he called back. "Just checking on Metang."

The Steel-type rolled his eyes, and Steven felt Lairon's chuckle rumble through his boots. He patted Metang' back. "Seriously though, are you okay?"

A pulse of reassurance reached him and he nodded. "All right then. You can take a rest as soon as we get out of here."

Gratitude joined the reassurance and Metang turned back to follow Lairon.

"Everything all right?" Cynthia asked softly.

"They're fine," Steven assured her. "A little tired, but they'll get us out of here."

"I'm sure they will. Their trainer seems to know what he's doing."

Steven chuckled, then turned the corner and grinned. "Here we are. Just up a little bit and we're out."

"Finally."

He pulled himself out, and breathed in the fresh night air as he reached down to help Cynthia. His fellow Elite scrambled out and collapsed onto the grass. "Fresh air," she exclaimed. "I missed this."

Steven shot her an amused look. "You were underground for less than an hour."

Sitting down felt like a good idea though, and he dropped the rocks carefully on the ground with barely disguised relief. Cynthia sat up and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't take this the wrong way," she said, "but next time I think I'll let you go hungry."

Steven grinned at her. "Fair enough." He stretched, and smiled at Metang and Lairon. "You were both brilliant," he told them sincerely. "Now you both get a good rest."

He set the Pokéballs carefully on his belt, and watched Cynthia recall Gabite before speaking quietly to Spiritomb. The Ghost bobbed up and down in acknowledgement and drifted off into the sky. Steven raised an eyebrow at her, and she smiled.

"Just letting Grandma know we're on our way. She'll already be worrying about us." Affection mixed with exasperation coloured her words, and Steven smiled.

"My father's the same. I could become Champion tomorrow and he'd still worry."

"Sounds about right," Cynthia agreed. She was silent for a moment, then shook her head and pushed herself to her feet. "We should get going. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"Me too," Steven admitted. He stood up slowly, and hefted the rocks again. "It's that way, right?"

"More or less," said Cynthia with a smile. She turned him a few degrees to the left. "That way."

Steven ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. "I'm better underground."

"I noticed. Seriously, did you grow up in caves or something?"

Steven shrugged as they set off. "Kind of. Dad only ever took time off when he wanted to go caving." He pushed the old resentment away with the ease of long practice, but when he looked up Cynthia was frowning.

"He worked that much?"

"Well, he did have a company to run," Steven pointed out. "He did his best."

Cynthia shook her head. "I bet your mother loved that."

Steven just about suppressed his twitch. "I wouldn't know," he said quietly. Images rose unbidden in his mind, and he closed his eyes, to no avail. "She died when I was six."

Cynthia muttered something under her breath. "Right. I'm sorry, Steven."

"Don't worry about it."

"But-"

"It's fine," he insisted. "Just…can we please talk about something else?" He did not want to be thinking about the sight of his mother's body right now, and Metang's concern and comfort in the back of his mind wasn't helping as much as it normally did. "How much further is it?"

Cynthia eyed him, but answered easily enough. "Another fifteen minutes or so. You can sort of see Mount Coronet there, see?"

Steven squinted through the rapidly gathering gloom, and nodded. "Yeah, got it."

She smiled. "I was always trying to climb that mountain when I was little. It drove my parents mad, but there was something about it…" She trailed off with a shrug. "And that was where I found Gabite, as a Gible that is, a few days before I was due to start my journey so I think it all worked out."

Steven smiled. "I think so. I certainly can't see you with any other Starter." He snorted. "Your Gabite is going to be the stuff of challengers' nightmares one day."

"I hope so," Cynthia began, but she broke off with a hiss. "Wait!"

Steven froze immediately, trusting her knowledge of her hometown as she had his instincts in the cave. "What's wrong?"

She nodded to the edge of the neighbouring forest. Steven looked, and his jaw tightened. "Is that-"

"Team Galactic," Cynthia growled. "Guess we were right." She started right for them, leaving Steven hurrying to catch up.

"We're going after them now then," he murmured.

Cynthia glanced back at him, eyes flashing. "They tried to kill me. They could have killed you. Yes, we're going after them now."

Steven held up his hands. "No arguments here. How do you want to do this?"

Cynthia gripped a Pokéball tightly. "What's the rule? Make eye contact with a trainer, and it's time to battle." She set her jaw. "At least they'll have to look me in the eye instead of blowing up a cave this time."

Steven wanted to protest the importance of plans, but one of the Galactic grunts let out a sudden shout, and he sighed. So much for that. Truth be told, he was as angry as Cynthia was over the attempt on her life, and the disruption to the wild Pokémon, but he was very aware that three of his Pokémon were tired and Cynthia had sent Spiritomb ahead. There were several grunts assembling, and two people in such ridiculous outfits that they could only be more senior in the organization, and a battle on that scale might be tricky.

Steven gritted his teeth. They couldn't avoid a fight now, and he couldn't honestly say he wanted to. Three of his Pokémon were fine, Gabite probably was too, and Cynthia had three other Pokémon with her. It should be enough.

It had to be enough.

"Lairon, stay close to Anorith. Metang, Claydol, cover each other," he said to his Pokéballs. He knew better than to ask them to stay out of the fight, but he'd be damned if he let them fight solo after everything they'd done already. Cynthia nodded approvingly.

"You be careful too, Gabite," she said. The Pokéball in her hand rocked slightly, and she gave a grim smile. "Then let's do this."

There were no words exchanged. The Galactic operatives recognized Cynthia immediately, and they also recognized the look on her face. Steven looked at the bunch of materialising Skuntank, Purugly, Raticate, Mightyena and Golbat and sighed as he sent out his Pokémon. "Be careful everyone."

His partners met his gaze and nodded. Cynthia's Gabite snarled and Glaceon hissed, and Lucario and Milotic took their stances, all their attention fixed on their opponents. Cynthia met Steven's gaze and nodded. Skarmory screeched defiantly, and the two groups of Pokémon collided with a crash.

Steven's teeth clenched as he tried to keep track of the battle. The only illumination came from the faint starlight and the energy unleashed by their Pokémon, and it wasn't making the chaos any easier to decipher. He could see that his Pokémon were working well, shielding each other's weak points and attacking where they could do the most damage, but there were enough of the enemy to make the battle hard to predict.

"I hate this," he muttered.

"Me too," said Cynthia softly. "But it was our only option."

Steven couldn't argue with that. He continued to watch the battle, calling out the occasional instruction when he spotted something one of his Pokémon had missed in the confusion, but otherwise trusting in their instincts. The Galactic operatives were falling back under the assault, and he felt a flicker of hope.

"Hey," said a voice. "Stop this."

Steven spun and froze as he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Tell them to stop," the grunt gasped. "Or I'll shoot."

The words were enough to snap Steven out of his shock. "A gun?" Cynthia's head whipped round, and he felt Metang's alarm in his head, but he was too busy staring at the weapon. "Who brings a gun to a Pokémon battle?"

"Someone who's not stupid enough to challenge one of the Elite Four to a fair fight," the grunt shot back. Their voice was surprisingly even, but Steven could see the muzzle shaking. This was no cold-blooded killer. The weapon was still pointed straight at his chest though, so the knowledge wasn't as reassuring as it could have been.

"Think about what you're doing," said Cynthia quietly. "Attempted murder is bad, but carrying one out? That's on a whole other level."

"I don't want to kill anyone," the grunt insisted. "But if you don't let us go then I will! I swear I will!"

"I believe him," said Steven, and was quite pleased when his voice came out perfectly steady despite his thundering heart. Cynthia glanced at him, eyes wide, but Steven kept his attention on the grunt. "I also believe him when he says he doesn't want to do this."

"I don't," the grunt insisted. "Just let us go." His gaze flickered to Cynthia. "Let us go, or I swear I'll kill him."

Steven felt Cynthia's gaze on him, and his stomach twisted. This was the second time in as many hours he'd got her stuck in a nightmare. Fear, both his own and Metang's pulsed through him, and with it came the faintest flickers of an idea. He swallowed. "And if we do, what happens?" He ignored Cynthia hissing at him to shut up in favour of keeping his eyes on his would-be killer. "You try to kill her again?"

The grunt swallowed. "I don't want that either! I just want all this to stop."

Steven held his breath, and prayed that Cynthia would take the hint. If she did then they might just have a chance. He kept his attention on the grunt, but out the corner of his eye he saw Cynthia's expression abruptly smooth into one of sympathy.

"I know," she said soothingly. "And we'll make sure it does. There's no need for anyone to get hurt."

Any other time and Steven would have applauded. He waited, heart pounding against his ribcage. He could see indecision in the grunt's eyes.

"We know you don't want to hurt anyone," Cynthia continued. "None of us want that. We'll find a way to settle this peacefully."

Then it happened. The gun remained locked on Steven, but the grunt's eyes fixed on Cynthia's.

It was insane, but they didn't have any other options. Steven took a deep breath and flung the basket of rocks at the man with all his strength.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The rocks went flying. Most missed. One passed inches from Cynthia's head. And one landed with a sickening crack on the grunt's wrist.

For a moment the man just stared. Then he threw back his head and screamed. The gun fell unnoticed to the floor as the man cradled his broken wrist. "You…you…"

"Me," Steven panted.

Cynthia didn't bother with words. She stalked straight up the man, coat tails billowing, and punched him full in the face. He fell back with yet another scream as she glared down at him. "Don't ever threaten my friends," she hissed, and even Steven flinched from the menace in her voice. The man moaned, and she looked at Steven. "Are you all right?"

"I…I think so." He honestly couldn't tell for sure. Adrenaline was still flooding his body, and he couldn't decide whether to pass out or throw up. Cynthia was still staring at him. "What?"

She shook her head. "That was the most insanely reckless thing I've ever seen." She let out a breath. "But it was also kind of brilliant."

Steven managed a shaky smile, but the moment was broken by a giggle from their feet.

"Won't make a difference," the grunt mumbled.

Cynthia's eyes narrowed, and she grabbed his collar. "What are you talking about?" she snarled.

The grunt stared at her blankly, then giggled again. "Doesn't matter. The battle's over."

Steven's heart lurched, and he spun round. "No," he whispered.

Damn him for being such an idiot. Of course the fat that he was in danger would distract his Pokémon from their own battles. They were fighting well, of course they were, but he could see they had taken a lot of damage in their attempts to get to him, and Cynthia's Pokémon were in a similar state.

"Damn," Cynthia swore. "Not like this. You can do it!" she shouted. "I know you can."

Gabite roared and unleashed an Earthquake that sent three Skuntank scattering, but it wasn't enough.

"Come on, Metang," Steven yelled. "All of you… Fight!"

They tried, Steven saw them trying, but the Galactic Admins were still sending out more Pokémon, and they were slowly but surely being overwhelmed. Steven clenched his fists and tried to think. There had to be something he could do.

Then a Purugly bit deep into Gabite's neck and the dragon fell.

"No!" Cynthia screamed. "Gabite!"

She made to run forwards, but Steven caught her. "You'll be killed!"

"Let me go, Steven! I have to – Ah!" She pulled free from Steven's suddenly unresisting grip and glared at him. "What-"

Steven just pointed and her protests died away.

Gabite was glowing pure white.

"No way," Cynthia breathe. "I don't believe it."

The glow faded and Garchomp Roared.

It was as if someone had flicked a switch. The Galactic Pokémon's resistance crumbled, while Cynthia's Pokémon fought back with a vengeance. Steven's Pokémon too fought back with renewed strength, and Steven's heart swelled.

But it was Garchomp that led the charge. The giant purple dragon was unstoppable, throwing Pokémon of all types and species aside as if they were Rattata, and Steven's breath caught as he watched her.

"Magnificent," he whispered.

Cynthia said nothing, but her emotions were clearly written in her blazing eyes.

Before long it was over. Cradily dragged the hapless grunt to where Lucario was standing guard over the rest of the dazed operatives, then she joined the rest of Steven's Pokémon in checking up on him.

"I'm fine," he assured them, for what felt like the twentieth time, but he could hardly begrudge their concern after what had happened. Cynthia was getting the same treatment from Garchomp and Milotic. She caught his eye, and disentangled herself enough to walk over to him.

"Thank you for stopping me back there," she said. "I guess I lost it a little."

Steven shook his head. "I would have too. Don't worry about it."

She grimaced. "I lost control."

Steven snorted. "Yes, under circumstances that would break anyone you had a brief loss of control. You can't worry about it." He met her gaze. "Cynthia, you were brilliant. Garchomp and the rest of your Pokémon too, but with that grunt…" He shook his head. "It was incredible."

Cynthia smiled, and there was clear respect in her grey eyes. "I was about to say the same thing. You're pretty good at this not panicking business yourself, you know."

Steven smiled, but at her words something seemed to snap. Grey spots danced in the corners of his vision and he found himself swaying on his feet.

"Steven!"

The shout seemed to come from very far away, but the concern in it made Steven wrench himself under control enough to sit down hard. "I'm okay," he mumbled, but his teeth were chattering hard enough to make the words inaudible. Shame and embarrassment blazed through him, redoubling his nausea, and his heart was hammering hard enough to hurt.

"Steven, listen to me. Just breathe, all right?"

That was Cynthia. He should probably listen to Cynthia. Steven took a deep breath, and then another.

"That's it. Now do it again."

Steven did so, and as he did the nausea subsided enough for him to look up. Cynthia's face was pale and scared in the starlight, but she smiled. "Hey. You okay?"

Steven nodded slowly. He felt exhausted, as though he'd run a marathon, but that was nothing to the embarrassment that now engulfed him. "I'm so sorry," he managed. "I don't know what came over me."

Cynthia blinked, then sighed. "Steven, a lunatic just tried to kill you. I'd be more worried if you weren't panicking."

"I thought we only panicked for rampaging Legendaries," Steven muttered. "And they tried to kill you too."

"Not like that," said Cynthia quietly. "I didn't have to watch it." She closed her eyes, and let out a long breath before opening them again. "Lucario and Glaceon are keeping an eye on them. "You just stay put."

"You listen to her," said Metang fiercely in his head. "You scared us, Steven."

Steven swallowed. "Sorry," he whispered. "And thank you all. You were amazing."

Lairon bumped him, and Anorith and Claydol leaned against him on either side, and Cradily wrapped a strong tentacle around his ankle and Skarmory tried to groom his hair with his beak, and he had to smile. "Thanks," he repeated.

Cynthia watched them fondly. "You have amazing Pokémon."

"I know," said Steven honestly. "So do you." He studied her. "Are you all right?"

She gave a wry smile. "It'll probably hit me later, but for now I'm fine."

"Come and get me, if you want," Steven offered. "I need to repay the favour."

She sat down next to him and nodded. "I may just take you up on that."

They sat in silence for a moment while Steven let his friends ease both the fear of the attack and his remaining embarrassment. They heard the occasional grumble from the captured Galactic members, usually closely followed by muffled yelps as Glaceon expressed her disapproval with such nonsense, and Steven finally let himself relax. It as over.

And they really had one person to thank for that. He looked up and nodded to Garchomp. "Congratulations."

The dragon growled happily, and Cynthia smiled as she stroked the giant neck. "Thanks." The wonder still hadn't left her eyes. "Eight years…"

"I know the feeling," said Steven. Metang sighed, and he patted the cool steel. "But it's worth it."

Metang leaned into his touch, and Cynthia smiled. "Definitely. And I get the feeling Metang is as close as Gabite was."

Steven nodded. "I think so too. We're not in any rush."

Cynthia smiled, and they stood in silence for a minute. Then she shot him a sly glance. "And if you should happen to find a Garchompite on your digs…"

Steven laughed. "You'll be the first person I think of." That reminded him of his desperate assault on the Galactic grunt, and he sighed. Cynthia gave him a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry about your rocks."

Steven gave a rueful smile and shook his head. "It was necessary. It's just a shame to see them all disappear again."

Cynthia nudged him. "Not quite all of them."

Steven frowned, and she reached into a pocket and pulled out a familiar lump of rock. Steven stared at it, then had to laugh. "You kept hold of it? In all that?"

"But of course," said Cynthia. "It was a gift." She put the Shiny Stone carefully back in her pocket. "Besides, Roselia would have never let me hear the end of it."

Laughing seemed to make everything hurt, but Steven couldn't help himself. Cynthia stared at him, but laughter was evidently infectious and she was soon laughing as hard as he was. The very eloquent looks passing between Metang and Garchomp weren't helping in the slightest.

Cynthia wiped tears from her eyes long enough to grin at him.

"So I guess it worked out," she said. "But I meant what I said. Next time, you're going hungry."

Steven could only laugh harder.

I kept Metang, Gabite and Lairon unevolved because I like the idea that Steven and Cynthia are good enough to reach the Elite Four without having fully evolved Pokémon. Anyway, any feedback would be appreciated.