-Blessed by Divinity: Eternity-

Desperate Measures

The pokemon landed beside Saturn, another Team Galactic admin on its back. The jet pokemon was calm, even among the ensuing chaos. A short red haired woman climbed down from atop the pokemon, clearly furious with the man in front of her. Latias remained calm, ignoring the raging battle ahead.

"You of all people should know better! Do you want those others to think we're a joke?"

Saturn had given up on trying to regain control of the two genie pokemon. Both were fixed on Red and Articuno who were keeping the two at bay. Quickly, the blue haired man turned to his colleague, a serious look on his face.

"You think I had a choice? I mean, look what I'm up against!"

Mars turned her attention to the battle, her eyes falling on Red who was still in the midst of battle. She rolled her eyes before looking back to Saturn, shaking her head slowly.

"It doesn't matter, you know what the boss is like. And now with those others here, we aren't going to hear the end of this!"

Both the admins turned to the eon pokemon who had been waiting for them. I knew that I might not get another chance as good as this to deal with the two Galactic admins. With Red being preoccupied and Dawn not at full strength, I realised I had to do something.

"Primarina use sparkling aria to stop them from escaping!"

I called out the move with confidence, letting the spirit of battle take the reigns. The fairy pokemon leapt into the sky, firing a huge swarm of glistening bubbles toward the Galactic admins.

Before another second passed, there was a harsh screeching sound as a glowing reflective barrier appeared in front of the two admins. Primarina's attack crashed into the barrier, the protective move standing firm.

"Well what do we have here?"

The wall of light dissipated, Latias now hovering in front of the two Galactic admins. Mars stepped forward, a devilish grin on her face. From the look in her eyes I could tell that she recognised me even though this was the first time I was meeting her face to face.

"You're nothing like Aaron and yet, you're trying so hard. I don't know what he sees in you." Mars' lips were pulled into a smile and I could see she was enjoying herself. "I guess I'll have to show him what a real woman can do."

I gritted my teeth, my hands balling up into fists. I could feel anger slowly rising up within me as Mars kept spewing out nonsense. Quickly I parted my lips to make the next call but no words came out. Primarina noticed this as she turned her face partly, seeing me in her peripherals.

"Mars, whatever you've got going on, we don't have time for it. We're retreating."

Mars kissed her teeth, spitting out onto the road between us. "Hmph, you're lucky I don't just deal with you here."

Before I could respond, Latias had swooped up the two Galactic admins, taking off into the skies. I still felt my nails digging into my palms, pissed that I had let them escape so easily.

I turned around, seeing that the two genie pokemon were battling fiercely against Articuno and Moltress, who Red had called out alongside the legendary ice bird. The battle was still raging on but it was clear that Red was still in control.

"...!"

Articuno and Moltress moved in sync, firing off their most powerful moves. The icy gale blended with the scorching blast of fire, the attacks crashing into the genie pokemon. Their cries of pain could be heard through the thick smoke, the two pokemon turning tail from the battle. Without looking back, both pokemon took to the skies, escaping any further damage.

The two legendary birds turned to their trainer, ready to pursue the fleeing pokemon. Red paused for a moment, looking up to the skies. After a moment of deliberation, he shook his head, deciding against chasing after the genie pokemon.

I looked over to the Galactic building atop the hill, seeing that the police had successfully broken through the ranks of grunts. Many tried to escape but most were detained by the numerous officers who had set up a perimeter around the building.

Dawn was back to her feet, Empoleon by her side. The three of us reconvened in an alleyway, out of the public's sight. Our pokemon had returned to their pokeballs, leaving only the three of us to our thoughts. The blunette was unusually quiet and I could tell that a lot was on her mind. Red's gaze was lowered to the ground, no doubt fixed on the uncertain future ahead of us.

Even though we had dealt with Team Galactic here in Veilstone, the air was heavy around us. Without Aaron here, there was a huge hole in the group. In times like this, he would always know what to do and now he was nowhere to be found. Neither of the devices on their wrists connected to Aaron's, meaning he was completely off the radar.

Both Dawn and Red were used to this, having gone on their own solo adventures in the past. But since we had started this journey as a group, being incomplete threw us off.

"Aaron will find us, it's just what he does."

I spoke up, hoping to lift everyone's moods. Dawn looked up from her thoughts, a serious look on her face. She nodded in response, "Yeah, you're right. We should get going as soon as possible."

It was settled. The three of us couldn't afford to waste any more time here, leaving Veilstone for our next destination, Verity Lakefront.