The moment Archie pressed the button, the ship's alarm lights changed once more.
A mechanical voice echoed: "Self-destruct system activated. Countdown: 30... 29..."
At that sound, every member of Team Aqua inside the vessel froze in shock. None of them had ever imagined that Archie would abandon them like this—choosing to self-destruct the ship and bury them along with Cain and Drake at the bottom of the ocean.
Cain and Drake also heard the alarm immediately.
However, they weren't together at that moment; they had split up to eliminate the minor enemies more efficiently.
Drake rushed toward where Cain was, but Cain's expression was quite different—there was a faint smile on his face.
He hadn't expected Archie to actually abandon the ship at this point.
Cain placed his hand on a small control panel on the wall, connected to the ship's central system.
"System, take control of the main computer and deactivate the self-destruct," he ordered mentally.
Tiny electric currents flowed from his skin into the panel.
In truth, from the moment Cain had entered the ship, he had already tried to let the system take over, but the Team Aqua base's firewall was too solid. After trying once, he had given up due to lack of time.
Fortunately, the system's stealth mode was excellent and had gone undetected.
But now Archie had activated the self-destruct... wasn't that the perfect opportunity?
When the protocol was triggered, the main computer's firewall automatically deactivated.
The system infiltrated with ease, cut off the self-destruct mechanism, and stopped the countdown at twenty seconds remaining.
Afterward, it seized full control of all the ship's systems.
A vessel in which Team Aqua had invested more than ten years and massive resources... now falling into Cain's hands so easily?
Archie never could have imagined it. If he knew, he would have rather faced Cain and Drake head-on.
All those years of effort... now turned into Cain's spoils of war.
That immense vessel was a maritime fortress. Although it couldn't go on land—limiting its power—its existence was the reason the League had never been able to locate Team Aqua's base.
Even Team Magma had been infiltrated once, but in Team Aqua's case, that had never happened.
Drake hurriedly arrived where Cain was, only to discover that the alarm had stopped. He was confused.
"What happened?" he asked.
Cain feigned ignorance and replied, "I'm not entirely sure—it seems there was a malfunction in the self-destruct system."
Drake frowned. "What kind of scrap heap did Archie build...?"
Cain added, "A moment ago, I saw through the window a small submarine capsule moving away. My psychic sense tells me it's getting farther. I suspect Archie escaped with his three Executives."
Hearing that, Drake thought for a moment. "It's not like him to run without fighting... unless..."
"Unless his goal is near," Cain finished. "He doesn't want to take risks; he plans to awaken Kyogre first. To him, we were probably meant to die here with this ship."
Drake nodded with a grim expression. "There are at least a thousand Team Aqua members aboard. Losing them along with the vessel is total sacrifice. Archie is betting everything on awakening Kyogre."
"In his mind, as long as he accomplishes that, everything else is expendable," Cain said calmly.
"Let's go. We won't give him the satisfaction of thinking we died with his base," Drake replied.
Cain nodded, recalled Tyranitar, and mounted Swampert to return to the vast sea.
Alongside Drake, he headed in the direction Archie had fled. The gigantic ship was left abandoned in the middle of the ocean.
However, not long after their departure, the vessel began to move on its own. Strangely, there was no one on the bridge—the ship was operating automatically.
It was Cain's system controlling the vessel, steering it away from the area.
A gift so grand... there was no reason to refuse it.
"Since you've given me such a luxurious gift, soon I'll let you witness the Kyogre of your dreams," Cain murmured coldly.
Archie no longer had much use.
As for the Team Aqua members still inside the ship, they were all unconscious.
The ship had several special systems—among them, one that released a hypnotic mist. Cain had activated it through the system, making everyone who tried to flee collapse asleep on the floor.
Now they were his prisoners.
It had to be admitted that Archie's submarine capsule was incredibly fast—even Swampert, swimming at full speed, couldn't catch up.
Inside the submarine, Archie frowned: more than thirty seconds had passed, but there had been no explosion.
"Damn it! Useless fools! They can't even make a self-destruct system work properly!" he roared, slamming his fist against the submarine's metal wall. The impact left a slight dent in the metal—something unthinkable.
Behind him, Shelly frowned even more deeply.
Although Archie had always been physically strong, that alloy was of special grade—designed to withstand the extreme pressure of the deep sea—so tough that not even a Pokémon could easily damage it. And yet, his punch had dented it, even if just a little.
The change in his body was becoming increasingly evident.
While Shelly was still astonished by that display of strength, the submarine capsule reached its destination: a hidden cavern deep beneath the sea.
The submarine went straight in.
Inside, the tunnel was drained of water, and the vessel surfaced.
Before them appeared a dark, damp cave.
Archie was the first to step out, his face showing fanatical excitement.
"The resting sanctuary of Kyogre!" he exclaimed.
"Let's go, inside!" he ordered.
Matt and Amber followed him with the same fervor, but on Shelly's face there was only astonishment.
It was exactly the same scene she had seen in her dream: a marine cavern, dark and humid.
(End of chapter)