8:36 P.M June 26, Friday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

Events: The Preliminaries for the Joint Kanto and Johto Indigo Summer League have concluded; 105 Trainers and their Pokemon have advanced from Bronze to Silver. The celebrations finish tomorrow when the Summer Round Robin Cup will begin, to crown the best of each Tier among those that advanced. Rhea started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 18 Days (17 Officially;18 since getting Maya and Nova).

Looking down at her daughter’s wet and puffy red face in the final sliver of light from the dying sun, a shiver ran through Lyra’s frame. The glass of her happy little family life was cracking before her eyes in the nightmare that flashed through her heart and mind.

Warmth spread from her daughter’s trembling shoulders to Lyra’s paralyzed fingers as Amira did her best to put on a brave face. “Y-Yeah … Mom, what are you going to do?”

The question stilled her frantic mind, Zelri and the rest of her Pokemon sharing their strength to cool the hot emotion electrifying her heart. She’d done her best to give her daughter space to grow into her own woman, and it had been the hardest thing in her life to not call or text or even see her precious, vulnerable redhead—she’d burn the world for her daughter.

A sweet mask came into place to mask the distorted reality threatening to close around Lyra’s neck as fire and ice collided with her spirit. “I’m going to end this Plasma stuff! What else, my little Mew … Hmm-hmm, someone tried to take you away from me.”

Forcing her hands away from Amira's hot skin, Lyra’s fingers folded tightly into the center of the palm of her hand, hidden by the long sleeves of the frumpy striped sweater she wore. Her thumbs closed over the middle phalanges before her arms crossed under her breast, creasing the fabric; it was as if parts of her body had instantly frostbitten. “Your father will be back in a moment.”

Zelri spun into a miniature cyclone and her frightened daughter’s soft face turned into the massive glass overview of Viridian Park from Rocket Tower; as could be expected, her father-in-law, mother-in-law, his secretary, and Silver were at their perch at this hour, overlooking the city.

Giovanni, Ariana, and Matori gave her confused looks; she’d never interrupted them in this manner.

“Honey?” Silver whispered in surprise, getting to his feet. “Is something—”

Unable to control herself any longer, a hard lump dropped down Lyra’s throat as a quiver shook her unsteady frame and she stumbled forward to press a hand against the glass, Zelri moving to support her side—Silver would have had he not been paralyzed by the sudden blizzard of negative aura expelling from her spirit.

Her illuminated brown eyes fixated on the bustling city below, she took one last shuddering breath to release the turbulence within her breast. “Silver…”

Cold beads of sweat were beginning to show on the four as Lyra turned to face them, the permafrost in her chest compressing the inferno. “Your daughter and her friends need your protection while I handle the problem; Zelri will take you to Rifure City. Make them feel safe.”

Collecting himself before his parents, Silver adapted to the situation at the mention of Amira. “No one will touch a hair on her head.”

Zelri and Silver vanished in vertical lines of prism colors, and Giovanni slowly folded his stiff fingers together, giving her unnatural smile a calculating look.

Ariana mechanically uncrossed her legs to get to her feet, folding her arms at the simulated arctic environment that passed through their perceptive minds at the unwithheld aura she released. “What’s happened to Amira, Lyra?”

Lyra’s bangs slipped out of place as she unfolded a trembling hand to press against the right side of her cheek, an unnatural smile on her lips. “We tried it your way … Now, we’re doing it mine. Send an emergency call to Jenny, the Elite 4, and Chase to meet you here in five minutes—Will can bring him. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Their focus darted to Zelri as she returned with the unconscious man that had attempted to kill her daughter; in the next second, they were standing in front of a beautiful black-haired woman, floating cross-legged in the air next to a large Mega Alakazam.

Sabrina unfolded her legs, black dress fluttering around her as she straightened, heels meeting the polished tile floor; her glowing, light-purple eyes creased, and a small frown touched her lips, gaze wandering to the man beside her—Lyra didn’t say a thing as the psychic read the future of their conversation.

If it wasn’t for her phenomenal mental and spiritual self-control while in the middle of training, the woman would have been just as helpless against the arctic aura radiating from her form. “I haven’t been a Rocket interrogator or extractor for quite some time, Lyra, and for you…”

She paused upon fixating on the shell casing hovering beside Zelri, “Ah … Given what I know is to come, it might as well be a governmental edict.”

Not saying a word, Lyra left the man in Sabrina’s care; large organizations were notorious for implanting kill switches in their members that carried out important missions in case of capture and the psychic was practically the authority on the protocols to counter such attempts.

Zelri took her to the Silph radio tower that was the closest to where Amira was attacked; the Porygon-Z swiftly fused with Lyra’s phone as she took it out of the back pocket of her fitted, black pants.

Brushing back her bangs and pulling around her low-bound ponytail to play with the end, Lyra stared at the large structure; a few workers were searching around for what was jamming the signal, but Zelri had already located it while sending out messages to the interested parties—she was barely holding it together.

She took the moment to breathe, each of her Pokemon around the two regions sending their love and support her way; Mikayla, her Wigglytuff, was teleporting northwest to bring everything together.

Messages sent, Lyra’s crazed, glowing, dead irises twitched while shifting to the device Zelri switched places with a rock, using Analytic’s advanced features to strengthen the Move to affect inanimate objects.

Infatuated by the floating piece in front of her, Lyra’s chest shook with silent laughter, lips rising as mirth filled her cold, burning bones; Zelri confirmed it, a Rocket device.

“Was that the game?” she whispered, feeling her aura converting into physical power to flood her veins as the pieces connected; muscle spasms in her jaw caused it to lock in place. “Heh-he-he-hmm…”

Is this what it’s worth, Ghetsis? Breaking my family apart to get your hands on a few Articuno eggs and setting me off … A clever plan, I’ll give you that, and to accomplish it without Giovanni even hearing about it in his own backyard is even more impressive…

It was about time to pull all the strings she’d sent out—Zelri teleported her around Kanto and Johto to collect their comrades.

Her Azumarill, Conny, was at home, gathering the food for the meeting. Mikayla was heading for the Winter Woods above Rota City and would be returning shortly. Dowo, her Sudowoodo, and Bailey, her Meganium, were waiting in the trees of Johto for them to pick her up. Riga, her Girafarig, sat in the Safari Zone, ready to go after visiting with old friends.

It didn’t take long to gather her Pokemon, and seven minutes after leaving Giovanni, she made her return, making one more stop to kidnap the last key player.

“Eh?! Yo!” Guzma balked as she appeared out of thin air, snatching the back of his coat, and Zelri took them to her father-in-law’s study.

Lusamine was still asleep after her emotion-filled day. Luckily, things were beginning to stabilize after her harsh breakdown and the secret meeting she had with an unexpected visitor. Most of the cast had gathered; her step-family had their way of doing war—Lyra had her own.

* * *

Chase ruffled his black hair in agitation upon getting an emergency message from Giovanni, his Pikachu giving him a sad pat on the head from his shoulder. “It never ends, Hajime,” he muttered, yawning.

In the next second, a quake ran through both Hajime and his bones—Lyra’s intense aura erupted across the region like a Legendary Pokemon, which was exactly why the Trainers reaching such heights were put into that category by the Master’s community.

“Pika-Pi!” Hajime muttered, asking what was happening; he’d never actually fought the Kanto and Johto’s legends beside mock battles, and this terrifying presence was unlike anything he’d felt from them.

Swiftly getting to his feet, he wasn’t even halfway to the door when Will appeared out of a flashing light with Karen, Koga, and Bruno making an appearance right after, Venomoth by their side.

“What’s got Lyra in a mess?” Karen asked, rubbing her left shoulder. “Aura like that … I haven’t sensed anything like that since the War.”

Koga hummed, hands held tightly behind his back. “Giovanni called for aid—I hope he doesn’t mean against Lyra because if that’s the case…”

Arms folded tightly across his chest, Will’s face tightened. “I can sense Sabrina’s unease … Lyra just left her. She’s teleporting all over the place … Why?”

Karen’s fingers pressed against her breast. “What if Lusamine’s parasitic Ultra Beast connection has taken hold of Lyra—Is there anything we can do?”

A low growl rumbled in Bruno’s throat while shifting to look at Mt. Silver. “Is that even a possibility? If so … Is Blue still in the region? One of that crew is usually always on Mt. Silver.”

Chase bit his lower lip. Should I call Elaine? Blue left weeks ago! Can we even touch Lyra if we’re working together and she’s serious? I don’t think we can … Useless…

Will’s head snapped to the left. “Lance is nearby! I’ll be back…”

He didn’t even finish speaking before vanishing.

Chase couldn’t help but feel the pressure of Champion weighing down on his shoulders. There weren’t that many people he felt inferior to, but the previous Champions of Kanto were like blazing quasars compared to him—untouchable. “We can’t wait; Koga, get us to Giovanni to understand what’s happening!”

Stomach swirling, Koga took them to the nearby city, barely within the man’s teleportation scope.

Once inside the lavish study overlooking Viridian Park, Chase turned to center on the solemn man. Ariana was by his right side, hand resting on his shoulder while Matori’s fingers skated across her tablet; the atmosphere was grim.

“What’s happening?” Chase demanded. “Why is Lyra … She’s gathering her Pokemon,” he realized, turning to follow her very clear and intimidating path across the region. “Why?”

“Who pissed her off?” Karen asked, arms held tightly against her bust. “What’s…” she trailed off, pulling out her phone to read a message.

Everything became clear once Giovanni took a deep breath, elbows resting against his knees while leaning forward, steepled fingers resting under his chin. “From what I gather, Plasma attempted to murder Amira and her team, likely as a means to drive Lyra into this very action, only against some other redirected target.”

His stone-cold eyes wandered to the brightening city as the sun fell. “Whoever is pulling the strings in Plasma right now doesn’t know Lyra well but knows her well enough to understand how she’d react if harm came to Amira—much less if she were to be killed and sought to direct that wrath. I don’t know what my granddaughter and her team’s conditions are, but you can imagine her response.”

The gears began turning in Chase’s mind while Giovanni explained the situation, gut tightening when Karen’s own rage-filled aura sparked beside him.

“They went after my daughter … Lyra sent them to Rifure City with Silver. Rhea’s brother figured out what was happening and saved them while his girlfriend went to have Keith contact Lyra for aid.”

Chase’s blood ran cold as the dominos started falling in his mind. Rhea, Amira, and Mallory … All of them are connected to extremely powerful families. How will Cynthia, Keith, Christie, Hilbert, Drake, and Glacia respond to this … The Hoenn, Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and Unova regions would all have a vested interest in this … It jeopardizes the International Cups at its core.

Lance and Will popped in beside them as Karen read off her text, staying silent to get the gist of the meeting.

Koga’s eyes slid from Karen to Chase. “If that’s the case, Lyra has decided to step into the ring, and it looks like she wants to take the reins.”

“I can understand that,” Chase hissed, rubbing the back of his head, Hajime’s cheeks sparking with agitation. “However, we’ve been building a society—rules so we can move past all the drama of the past.”

Karen’s bluish-silver eyes narrowed while shifting her position to glare at him. “They tried to murder my daughter, too, Chase. Whatever Lyra’s planning, I want to hear it.”

“Chase,” Bruno muttered, flexing his muscles and rolling around his neck. “I’ve been in the Elite 4 for a long time—I’ve seen a lot change because of the work you’ve put in, but we both know this is not as simple as we have laws now.”

Lance breathed in deeply and let it out, vision following Lyra’s teleports across the regions. “Unfortunately, you’re right, Bruno. Chase,” his yellow irises centered on him, showing the intensity the powerful retired Champion was known for, “Lyra isn’t the type of girl to back down, and she knew you’d be against her methods—which is why she’s gathered everyone that would be for or against her plan in one place. You’re far outnumbered.”

“Muk…” Chase cursed. “If I challenge her … She’s going to challenge me for the title.”

He was backed into a corner, and Lyra knew it; he’d tried to unite everyone and make the region prosper in peace.

The former Champions weren’t interested in governing; all they cared for was having fun, advancing their skills, and being free spirits, which left Lance to fill the spot until Chase was strong enough to take it on.

Teeth grinding together, Chase’s vision fell to the floor; there was nothing he could do at this point. There were no delusions in his mind—Lyra would rip him apart when playing around, much less when she had something to lose. Hajime agreed that if they fought against the mother, they’d lose, and it wouldn’t be clean judging by her mental state.

Giovanni pulled everyone’s gaze, his smooth baritone voice leaving the place in silence. “I warned you all when the Ultra War began and you involved Lyra, Chase … The woman is straightforward in mind and soul, but you will never tell her what to do.”

Ariana gave a weak chuckle. “Indeed. It’s not who gives Lyra permission that is ever the question … Who is going to stop her?”

After several seconds of deep thought, Matori cleared her throat. “Jenny has been teleported to the building, Master. She will be escorted in shortly.”

“Hmm…”

Chase was too centered on how to mitigate the disaster that Plasma had awoken. “How is she going to go about it? Use all of our resources to discover where Plasma is and dismantle them?”

A wry smile tilted Matori’s lips. “Heh, are you serious? Lyra is the definition of brute force; her ace is an Azumarill, for goodness sake.”

Lance smirked, shaking his head. “Brute force she may be, but that doesn’t mean she’s dumb. The best we can do is try to work with her to ease any damage that might occur; she is one of the most proficient sting operators I’ve known when combined with Zelri.”

Jenny entered, face red, yet her anger died instantly as she noticed the individuals in the room. “Gio—What happened?”

Giovanni stood up, walking around Lance and Will to stare down at his city as Jenny took a second look, gauging the situation. “You’re all underestimating Lyra.”

Chase hesitantly moved to his side, feeling the uneasiness of his Pokemon at the prospect of facing Lyra in the chance she went off the deep end. “How so? What is she going to do, Giovanni?”

Karen snatched his attention as she grabbed the wine bottle off the table and took a swig. “Not enough. Let’s just wait until she gets here—because I wanna kill some Plasma myself for taking a crack at my daughter—just thinking about my last visit with her could have been the last is setting me off.”

Opening another bottle as the Dark specialist took the one on the table, Ariana poured another glass before joining her husband by the window, whispering, “Not an exaggeration. I’ve never seen Lyra’s face look like … I’ve never seen that look in her eyes—murder is on her mind.”

“Her heart,” Giovanni corrected. “She has a bigger picture in mind that we’re about to see. Everyone’s here; it won’t be long until she shows her hand.”

A lump formed in Chase’s throat; the number of people on this planet that could put fear in him was pretty few, and he never actually expected the bubbly brown-haired giggly girl to make his chest hurt, but he didn’t even have to look for that terrifying aura—she wasn’t hiding; why would she need to?

The air in his lungs froze as Lyra appeared behind them, practically an enraged Lugia in the disguise of a cute girl, and it was at that moment he knew what Ariana meant.

Lyra’s sweet voice was easily heard in the room as she hugged herself, muscles tight and a frightening smile upon her lips that contrasted the unbridled odium in her glowing, reddish-brown eyes.

“Hello, everyone!” she chimed, dropping a struggling Guzma to the floor; he couldn’t get free from the woman’s death grip. “I’m glad you could make it. We’re almost ready to start.”

“Aye!” Guzma shouted, scrambling to his feet and glancing around as his Golisopod shot out of his pokeball, ready for action. “What is this? Y’all jumpin’?”

He stumbled back upon catching Lyra’s soft voice and crazed eyes. “Take a seat, Guzma. I’ll need you in a bit; heh, no need to worry about Lusamine. I’m keeping very close track of her … We can start when everyone gets here.”

Karen cleared her voice. “How’s Mallory?”

“Oh, she’s perfectly fine!” Lyra replied, and they all noticed the tiny twitches her fingers made against her cupped cheek. “Silver’s handling things on that end, but…”

A quiver ran down Chase’s spine as she turned her focus to him. “Chase, what Giovanni, Jenny, and you have been doing—it’s too slow. So, I decided I’m going to fix all of your little Plasma problems.”

“Say what?” Guzma’s focus shifted to the others, stirring uncomfortably in the tense atmosphere. “Okay—Okay, ya got beef with Plasma? Heh, okay, I’m game. Ya know I’d be on that meat—a mukin’ Kanto Legend, Huh? ‘Bout time yer finally started takin’ it seriously. What’d they do, huh? Who we jumpin’?”

Giovanni cut him off, half turning to face his step-daughter. “Who else is joining, Lyra?”

“Hmm?” Lyra grinned, voice beginning to quiver. “It’s a surprise, Gio! You see, I’m feeling … mhm-he-he, very, heh, unusual right now, and—and what did they do to me, Guzma?”

Her neck tilted to the side as a new figure teleported into the room, and an ulcer formed in Chase’s gut; he couldn’t even sense it. Leaf appeared a few feet away from Lyra with her large Blissey by her side.

The woman’s tight, drawn-in lips shifted to the side upon brushing back her thick hair; she wore an Alolan sleeveless belly shirt and tropical Sarong skirt. “I got your message, Lyra … What’s up—did you call my big sister, too?”

Not a soul breathed as Green appeared beside her with a 5’9” Clefable by her side; both wore a critical look, and the brown-haired woman wore a black tank top and blue short-shorts. “Yo, Leaf, Lyra, I felt your aura going crazy all the way inside Mt. Silver; what’s going on?”

Leaf shook her head. “I just came back to grab some of the things Blue left a few weeks ago. When I got here—really, Lyra, are you feeling okay? You don’t feel or look well,” she asked, stepping forward to check how hot her cheek was.

Lyra giggled at her touch, patiently waiting for them to finish or perhaps trying to compose herself. “Me? No … No, not really, Greeny, Leafy, umm—I’m not feeling well at all,” she said, giving a short, shaky chuckle. “Eh, one minute, Kris is almost here. Heh, she’s been following up on some Mew stuff up by Rota that Cynthia sent to her; you know how Kris is with researching stuff!”

Chase was long past thought. He’d rarely met with Leaf, Green, or Kris, of which all three were among the top ten female Trainers in the entire world; all Legendary-Tier and Lyra was bringing them together for a witch hunt.

Green had been stolen from her family as a child by some masked man, coming to call her sister a rival without even being aware of their relationship until tracing her lineage later.

They were practically twins, except for the fact Leaf was more curved and had slightly lighter hair than Green—at one point, the older sister had badgered him about becoming one of her Pokemon after hearing he’d met Mewtwo—she had an obsession with the Pokemon.

Lyra’s intense irises darted to him as the sisters turned to survey the still room with their Pokemon. “Speaking of Cynthia, I expect her to be giving me a call very soon, too … Ah, there she is!”

She held up her phone, activating video chat to present the room. “Hey, Cindy! So, you got my message?”

Kris popped into the room with Lyra’s angry Wigglytuff by her side; she seemed to know the gist of what was happening because upon seeing Lyra, she jumped forward and gave her a tight hug. “Lyra! Is Amira okay? She’s not hurt, right? What can we do to help?”

Lyra’s mask didn’t break as the woman embraced her, their bodies weaving back and forth. “He-he-he! No! No! Amira’s doing fine…”

Silence fell as Cynthia spoke. “Rhea? You said she was grazed by a bullet? What’s the situation, Lyra. Do I need to come down?”

All Chase could see were the titans looming up before him as Lyra swallowed and addressed the Sinnoh Champion. “Honestly, I’d love you to come and offer me help,” she said, and a tear fell down her smiling cheek, “and I know you’re worried about Rhea; I expect Christie and Keith to be jumping in at any moment, but … This is a Kanto and Johto problem, and we’ll handle it.”

Cynthia nodded slowly, narrowed eyes shifting between Green, Leaf, and Kris as their demeanor darkened at the news. “So … You called in the squad to keep you on track because no one else could … Smart girl. Although, given what you told me, who is going to keep them on track?”

Lyra giggled. “No need to fret—Yellow, Red, and Blue will be here soon. I can’t get ahold of Gold—a shame, really, he’s going to feel left out, but Yellow’s the best of us! She’ll keep us golden, he-he-he!”

Chase couldn’t believe the sleeping dragons rearing their heads in the room; Plasma had pulled a gambit that had roused several natural disasters.

Cynthia's face on the projected screen tightened, and Chase could see her debating if she wanted to make the trip; he was an ant in front of giants. “How did you get Blue to join?”

Leaf forced a chuckle, scratching her temple. “Eh, I guess that’s where I come in … Yeah, my husband will help. If Plasma’s taking shots at Lyra, they’re willing to go after any one of us, and even if Blue hates Giovanni…”

The room’s warmth was sucked out as the woman’s brown irises flashed and a threatening tsunami crashed over them, yet it was directed at the Mob Boss. “Blue has a soft spot for Rhea, and Red’s always willing to take down a criminal organization. Lyra’s right; we’ve got this.”

Lyra clapped her hands. “See! I mean, you might as well be here with Red showing up. Right? You two are so much alike!”

A pained smirk lifted the Legend’s lips. “You always said that … Hmm. If Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Leaf, Kris, and you will spearhead it … Hmm, I’ll hang back for now … I see Lance and Chase there, too. I expect it to be resolved by tomorrow.”

Letting the statement hang for a moment, Cynthia ended the call; Cynthia projected the same energy in the United Indigo conferences they’d shared between regions. She set expectations, and if they weren’t met, she’d follow up, except this time, she would come to insert herself in the investigation into the organization that attempted to assassinate her niece.

Lyra giggled while pocketing the phone, and the other Legends gave strained laughs themselves. “Well, that’s Cynthia for you—will it really take before lunch? Dinner, at most! Okay, now, Guzma, we need your platform to send a message … Kanto has become a No Plasma Zone—normal people are fine; Sabrina will root out our real targets … Whoever ordered Amira’s hit, though … I’m going to kill them.”

A shiver ran down Chase’s spine; it was a fact. “We … Shouldn’t we have a trial?” Chase nervously asked as he tried to stop his teeth from chattering from the malicious forces collapsing around them.

The four Legends' gaze turned to them, and Karen voiced their expression. “Why? Sabrina would have already confirmed their guilt.”

In the end, if he could finish this with only a single murder, it would be a miracle. Skull, Rocket, the Indigo League, and now almost every Kanto Legendary Trainer reached for their throat. He had to wonder if this would end with Lyra breaking into the International Police Force’s Maximum Security Prison and cutting the head off the snake.

Who would stop them? Certainly not Cynthia, Iris, or Unova. In fact, given the Legend’s reputation, this was bound to turn into a holy crusade, and he was left to damage control.

Who knew Plasma would be the spark to end the world, Chase muttered to his Pokemon, because how else could you describe this? In Kanto and Johto … Plasma’s doomed.