"Archie?"

"Archie!"

"ARCHIE!"

"SNAP OUT OF IT!"

"WALLACE!"

Wallace jerked his head up when he heard his name, but visibly sighed in relief when he saw Maxie land in front of him. He returned his Crobat and made his way over to the two men. He froze a little when he saw Archie lying in front of him, looking into the distance.

"Archie, what happened?" Maxie asked. "Who did this to you?"

"A...A strange woman came out of nowhere and attacked me," Archie replied, struggling to sit up. "She stole my Key Stone, and muttered to herself that she was going after you next. I soon lost consciousness, but when I woke again, Wallace was here trying to get me to speak."

"The same thing happened to Arriete and Wally," Maxie muttered to himself. "What does this woman want with the Key Stones?"

Archie's eyes suddenly widened and he quickly stood up.

"Maxie! Look out!"

Maxie was suddenly pushed to the side by Archie, who was headbutted by a Salamance. Archie flew backwards into a tree, resulting in him losing consciousness again. 

"Wha-" Maxie stammered as both him Wallace ran over to Archie.

"Oh well, I guess I missed my target."

Maxie and Wallace turned to see a woman approach them, Salamance by her side.

"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Wallace asked, bracing himself for another attack.

"My name is Zinnia," the woman replied. "And I want your Key Stone, Former Team Magma Leader Maxie. I already have three, I just need yours and mine to finish what I started."

"So, you were the one behind the attacks in Littleroot and Petalburg," Maxie muttered, glaring. 

"Ah, you're right on the dot," Zinnia smirked. "That black haired girl and green haired boy didn't stand a chance against me. Now, that new Champion, the kid with the golden eyes, is something entirely different. Larance, was it? A much better Champion than that silver-haired man in my opinion."

Wallace snapped and launched himself at Zinnia, Maxie barely holding him back.

"Don't talk about Steven like that!" Wallace growled.

"Wallace, control yourself!" Maxie commanded, resulting in said person folding his arms and glaring at Zinnia.

"Ooo, seems like I struck a nerve," Zinnia chuckled. "But, back to business. Maxie. Give me your Key Stone or else you'll suffer the same fate as your friend did over there."

Maxie turned his head to face the unconscious Archie. He scowled before turning back to Zinnia.

"He is NOT my friend."

"Oh, he isn't?" Zinnia smirked. "Then why did he push you out of the way of my Salamance's attack? Why did you come to his side when you found him unconscious? Why did he warn you about me?"

Maxie's glare hardened as he clenched his fists.

"I don't know, but I feel as if I don't give you my Key Stone you'll go after other people," Maxie replied, taking off his glasses.

"Oh, you mean like your son?" Zinnia chuckled. "I told you before that I already ruled Larance out."

"How did-" Maxie flinched.

"I was a spy in your team," Zinnia merely replied. "I know everything. Now, your Key Stone."

"Maxie, don't-" Wallace began, but he stopped when he saw Maxie take out his Key Stone.

He was about to hand it over, but froze before opening his mouth.

"Before I do, tell me this," he demanded. "Why do you need five Key Stones?"

"That is none of your concern," Zinnia scowled, swiping the Key Stone away from him. "Keep your distance or else I'll think twice about not hurting your son."

With that, she climbed onto Salamance and took off.

"We should go after her," Wallace suggested.

"No," Maxie replied, turning his attention back to Archie. "Archie's injured, we have to get him to a hospital."

Wallace hesitantly nodded, and the two of them began to carry Archie towards Milotic.

***

"...No way..."

"Larance?" Arriete asked, looking over Everheart's head. "What's wrong?"

"The same woman who stole your and Wally's Key Stones just attacked Archie, Wallace, and my dad," Larance replied, turning off his Pokenav. "She took Archie and my dad's Key Stones, leaving Archie injured. Apparently, she also drove Matt out of Meteor Falls, and Archie doesn't know where he is. She said that her name is Zinnia and that she needs five Key Stones for something that she didn't tell them."

"So that's why she stole our Key Stones," Wally muttered to himself.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Bina asked, looking above Swellow's claws.

"She...she knows that Maxie is my dad," Larance replied. "She knows because she was a spy in Team Magma. She can use him against me or vice versa. However, she purposefully ruled me out as a target, and my dad doesn't know why."

"This just keeps getting stranger and stranger," Arriete mused. "However, we must focus on the task at hand. The asteroid heading for us."

"Don't remind me," Wally replied sadly. "I don't want to think about the end of Hoenn."

"Ah!" Bina suddenly exclaimed, pointing below. "Granite Cave!"

Their Pokémon soon landed, and the four of them walked into the cave.

"It seems...more scary than I remember," Wally muttered, sliding closer to Bina. "I don't know why though."

"Probably because of the impending doom," Arriete replied glumly.

"Will you knock that off!" Bina exclaimed, elbowing her friend in the ribs. "You're scaring Larance and Wally!"

Wally looked terrified while Larance just kept on walking ahead. Arriete chuckled a little before running ahead, while Bina huffed and joined Wally's side. Swallow put a protective wing around Wally, and they both followed after their friends. They soon reached the area where they met Steven, except, they were not alone.

"Well, seems like it's true."

Wally froze while Arriete clenched her fists.

"It's her," Arriete growled.

"Hm?" Zinnia turned and gave them a smile. "Oh! Black haired girl! Green haired boy! Fancy seeing you here! Oh, and it seems like you brought some friends! Perfect! See, I'm here to observe these cave paintings. They show-"

"SHUT UP!"

The three friends jumped in surprise at Larance's shout. His golden eyes were narrowed and his knuckles were turning white from the effort of clenching his fists. Latios stood by his trainer, seemingly fuming as well. Zinnia looked a little shocked, but a faint smile tugged at her lips. She stood there with folded arms as Larance approached her.

"I don't care what you have to say about these cave paintings!" Larance yelled. "You're the one who attacked my friends! You're the one who attacked my dad! You're the one who stole their Key Stones! You're nothing but a low-life criminal!"

Zinnia's eyes narrowed before turning her back on him.

"You know, I thought that you would be different than the old Champion, but I guess I was wrong," she sighed. "Unless...your friend with the blonde hair can understand what I'm about to say."

Larance huffed before nodding.

"Fine."

"My name is Bina," Bina introduced as she walked towards them. "And, while I don't appreciate what you did to Arriete and Wally, I'll listen to what you have to say."

Zinnia grinned.

"Alright, settle down you four."

They reluctantly complied, Arriete sitting near Larance while Wally sat near Bina. Zinnia nodded before beginning.

"The wall painting there," Zinnia began, pointing. "This one shows Primal Reversion... While that one shows Mega Evolution... I guess that proves it once and for all. Our great ancestors once lived here, too. The ancestors who passed down through me the knowledge of how to protect the world... How to avert the threat that will appear from space, as long was foretold... From a place higher even than the heavens..." She shook her head before turning back towards them. "That's all I'll tell you four for now. I suppose the reason you came here is for a meteorite shard, am I right?"

The four nodded at once as they stood.

"Well, today is your lucky day," Zinnia smiled. "Here, Bina, take it."

Zinnia shoved a meteorite shard into Bina's hand, before turning around to walk off.

"Tell me, the four of you," she muttered. "The actions that you're taking now... Are they based on the ideals you cling to? Or are they based on actual truths? And if they are... How much of the truth do you think you know?"

Bina and Wally looked at each other, while Arriete looked down and Larance folded his arms.

"We'll take that into account, Zinnia," Larance muttered, saying her name as if it was venom.

"My, what a temper you have," Zinnia smirked. "Your father was a lot calmer."

Larance was about to order Latios to attack, but was stopped by a Pokemon cry.

"Oh, my dear Aster!" Zinnia exclaimed as a Whismur ran up to her.

"I didn't even see it," Wally whispered to Bina.

"How could I forget about you," Zinnia whispered, picking it up. "Come on, we should leave. The Champion and his friends don't seem to like us very much."

"I wonder why," Arriete muttered under her breath.

Zinnia gave them one last glance before leaving. The four friends became silent, before the ring of Larance's Pokenav alerted them that someone was calling.

"Hello?" Larance asked, trying to calm down. 

"Everyone?" Steven's voice was soon heard. "Were you able to find the meteorite shard that we need? If you were able to secure it, could you hurry back to us at the Mossdeep Space Center? I'm afraid we don't seem to have much time left."

"We'll be there," Wally answered.

"Good. I'll see you all there."