The rain had finally stopped, replaced by what appeared to be pieces of glowing green light. Archie's eyes widened, and he reached out his hand towards it. With the calm sea and clear sky, the lights made the place seem like a scene from a fairy tale.

"Could it be?" Maxie asked. Archie turned towards him, locking eyes with the wide eyed red head. "Did she really manage to quell Kyogre's rage?"

It was as if Maxie was putting Archie's own thoughts to words.

Before Archie could reply, there was a loud cheer. "I knew she could do it! I just knew it!"

Both of the men turned. The boy, May's friend, was cheering. His white hat was lopsided, and in his childish glee, it fell to the ground, revealing his dark hair.

"She did it!"

Steven was grinning as well. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, pausing him. "Yes, she really did, Brendan. Now, why don't we save some of that excitement for when she actually leaves the Cave of Origin?"

The boy, Brendan, nodded, and then reached down and picked up his hat.

Archie's racing heart had finally slowed down and his body relaxed. It was just so hard to be stressed now.

The kid's done it, he thought. A wide grin spread across his face. Only days ago, he would have thought it ridiculous to be glad that someone would foil his plans. Now, he couldn't keep the joy away.

She exited the cave only a few minutes later. When she did, tired eyed and still wearing the blue suit that was a few sizes too big for her, Archie was still grinning. Maxie even had a small smile on his lips.

"May, you did it!" Brendan was the first to meet her. She seemed a bit shocked by his sudden hug, but grinned none the same. She returned it.

Once it ended, Steven turned to her. In a way, it was a bit of a relief having her attention turned to them. That gave Archie some time to compose himself, to think up some way to respond to her.

To apologize.

"May," Steven said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You don't know just how important you are now. What you did, even I couldn't be sure that I could do."

Archie bit his lip. Steven was right. May, a mere child, had stepped in with great courage and saved the world. Had he been her age, he would have just been playing with his Carvahna and swimming past dark.

For a moment, his eyes turned to the two around him. Maxie's regular frown had returned, emphasizing the wrinkles on his face. His hands were locked together and his back board straight. Shelley looked a bit happier. Maybe it was because the world hadn't ended and she'd lived to see another day, maybe it was because her suit had worked (because as much as Archie liked it, he hardly knew the science behind it), or maybe it was a little bit of both.

It was only when May turned to them that she removed the helmet of her suit. Underneath, her face was sweat stained and bandana lopsided. Still, there was a wide smile on her face. Her eyes didn't look the least bit angry.

If I were in her place, Archie thought, I would be raging.

It was strange, now that he thought about it, trying to put himself in her shoes. May was a hero, a quiet kid with heroic goals and a good deal of courage. Archie was just a man with a failed dream and a criminal past. Maxie was too, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

"You defeated Kyogre," Archie said. For a moment, the smile returned to his face.

May's face changed slightly. She wordlessly pulled off her suit and opened her green bag. Out of it, she pulled a single Ultra Ball and held it forward.

Archie's naturally dark skin paled considerably. His eyes widened. Archie and Shelley seemed just as surprised.

"You caught Kyogre?" Shelley was the one to ask. Her eyes were wide and she stepped closer. For a moment, she held her finger above the Ultra Ball, as if to touch it. However, her finger suddenly jerked away, as if she were afraid of what might happen if she touched it.

May nodded. Her own grin widened.

"You're one amazing kid, you know that?" Shelley stepped away, giving the kid some more room.

May would probably be getting a lot more compliments like those.

Archie's jaw nearly hit the bridge. Even he hadn't thought of capturing Kyogre. It had seemed too powerful, too free, to simply be held by a mere invention of humans. And to think, all that time he'd had a Master Ball of his own.

Archie sighed. No, it was far better this way. If he had owned Kyogre, there was no telling just what he would have done. If anyone could truly care for the legendary Pokemon and make sure that it wasn't used for evil again, then that person was May.

Maxie cleared his throat. Archie and Shelley regained their composures.

"I suppose," he said, pushing his glasses up further along his nose, "that some apologies are in order."

Archie bit his lip.

Just as he was about to try and begin his apology, however, Maxie continued on.

"We are adults and you are a mere child. You are the future of the world, as you have just shown us." Maxie paused.

Archie studied May's face for a moment. Her grin had vanished and her eyes had gone blank, her lips a firm and straight line.

"We should have shown you better. It should not be that children must clean up adults' messes." Maxie stepped away from her and looked to the water below him. "For that I, and surely we, are very sorry."

There was silence for a moment. Maxie's gaze returned on him, and the former sailor sighed. His joy from earlier was gone. Though the light still rained green sparks, the magic had left. There was nothing left to hide his failed dreams or the fact that he had helped to cause this mess.

"I'm so sorry, kid." Again, it was Shelley who spoke. "Even before I read those files at the meteorology place, I should have known that this would be a bad idea." For a moment, her voice cracked, and Archie almost thought that he saw tears in Shelley's eyes.

No, he thought. Shelley didn't cry.

Did she?

Before she could begin to sob, Archie spoke.

"As Maxie said," Archie continued, making a weak gesture towards the other man, "this is a mess that you shouldn't have had to clean up." His eyes no longer looked towards the water. All it would show was his own reflection. "And I'm sorry that you had to. This was my fault, and what I've done." He paused. "I don't think that I can ever make up. What I did was inexcusable." For a moment, he almost thought he felt tears at his eyes.

"Archie," Shelley said. She seemed to have calmed down, her eyes now dry and showing their usual spark. "It was my mistake too. And even after what you did, you're still my leader." A small smile crossed her face. "You're still my friend."

"This," Maxie added, "is not just your mess to clean up." His frown deepened. "Surely I would have done the same had I been able to get my hands on Groudon. We a all must make up for this."

Archie turned back to May. She looked slightly confused; though she had always helped to stop him, there were still many things that she didn't know about the two teams. "May," Archie said, "thank you." He pulled the blue orb from his pocket and handed it to her.

For a moment, she merely held it in her other hand. Her eyes were wide, and both hands were filled.

"If anyone can control Kyogre's primal reversion, then it's you." He shut his eyes. "Good luck, kid, though I don't really think that you'll need it."

The three turned wordlessly and walked away. May, Steven, and Brendan deserved their own moment.

"Well," Shelley said, once the three were on the other side of Sootopolis City, "what do we do now?"

"I need you to go back to Lillycove and close the base. There's nothing left there that I, or really anyone, needs." Archie frowned. "Team Aqua is over."

Shelley nodded. "Yes, sir."

He gave a faint smile. "You can just call me Archie now."

Shelley pulled a Pokeball from her bag and looked ready to fly away.

"Shelley!"

"Yes, si-" Shelley stopped mid sentence. "Yes, Archie?"

"Tell Matt that I'm sorry. You two be safe and don't get caught, okay?"

Shelley nodded. "Of course."

He pulled his blue walkie-talkie from his belt. "And hey, we'll always have this."

Shelley grinned, and pointed to her own on her belt. "Yeah, all of us will."

After that, she did fly away, leaving the two there. Archie was quiet for a moment, his eyes on Maxie. Why was he even still there?

"Well," Archie said, "I suppose that we should get going before the police come to get us. For all we know, a warrant is already on our heads."

"It probably is." Maxie sighed.

"Look, if you need help, getting away, I'll help you."

For a moment, Maxie didn't reply, just gave him a wide eyed stare. "But why?"

"You're in trouble and you need help. I may have nearly destroyed the world, but I'm not so bad as to not help someone in need." He grinned. "Besides, you said it yourself, this isn't just my mess to clean up."