Riley and Sabrina were frantically circling the now destroyed island, and the Moonheart did not even realise that tears were streaming down her cheeks.
She felt suffocated as she could not spot Aizen or find his Psychic Focus, and her Pokémon were helpless too.
"Relax, Master." She suddenly heard her Mega Gardevoir's voice in her head, who was sitting behind her on the Aerodactyl. "His Pokémon are not restless or in pain. He is alive."
At her reminder, she finally paid attention to the Mega Pidgeot and Mega Salamence, who were searching for Aizen in the distance, and only then did she take a deep breath and allow some oxygen back into her brain.
"Sabrina!!" She heard Riley's call before she saw the boy dive into the sea with his Noivern.
A few seconds later, she saw Aizen's Gyarados shoot out of the water.
She instinctively grabbed her fiancé's body with her Psychic Powers, and the Gyarados, of its own accord, entered the Promise Ball.
Riley and Noivern too shot out of the water, and then they rushed towards land as fast as possible.
They found a small island about half an hour away, and as soon as they landed, two Audino escaped the Promise Ball and worriedly started healing Aizen's body.
Seeing the pain and worry on their faces, Riley's heart jumped into his throat, and he quickly sent out his Blissey to aid them.
Sabrina, on the other hand, was relaxed now, and her expression was indifferent.
She silently watched the three Pokémon heal the Prince's body, confident that he would survive, and nodded her head when the expressions of the two Audino and the Blissey eased.
Riley fell back onto his rear and wiped his tears with his sleeve, before sprawling out and laughing.
"You will be the death of me, Aizen."
When the three Pokémon were done healing Aizen, Sabrina asked the Auror to get up, and then they climbed onto the backs of the Flying Pokémon again and rushed towards Ransei.
A few hours later, when they reached the Tree of Beginning, a gust of wind struck them, but the Auror clearly saw the invisible Shadow Lugia enter the Promise Ball on the Orayen Prince's neck.
Phoebe was in the Heart of the Tree, worriedly pacing around as the Pokémon helped their Action Team get rid of the Ghostly Energies in their bodies.
The Aura Stones they were resting on were crumbling one after the other, and little Iris, trembling in fear at the sight of unconscious Drayden and everyone else, was even too scared to ask what had happened to them.
When Riley and Sabrina entered the Heart, carrying Aizen's unconscious body, Iris paled and felt dizzy.
She subconsciously rushed towards the Prince when the Moonheart laid him down on a soft, giant stalk of the tree.
"He's fine."
Iris instantly relaxed when she heard Sabrina's words.
Riley called out his Blissey again, who started leading the team of wild Pokémon and guided them on exactly what they needed to do.
Thankfully, there were more than enough Fairy Pokémon in the Heart, and hours later, members of the Action Team started waking up.
All of them had tears in their eyes when they found their Pokémon absent, but then, to their shock and pleasant surprise, their companions escaped the Promise Balls and appeared by their sides.
Almost all of them were still fighting against the Ghostly Energies, but they seemed to be faring well, and there was no danger to their lives.
"Drayden, Diantha, Volkner, and Krane. The four of you should head to Nuvema Town. Professor Juniper, her father, and a team of doctors are waiting there for you and your Pokémon. Do not waste time," Joseph ordered, and all four of them complied with his command.
"Iris."
"I will stay with Aizen. He promised to take me on travels with him."
The Mayor of Opelucid City was worried that she would be a burden in this situation, but when Sabrina nodded and grabbed Iris' hand, he sighed and accepted her choice.
Joseph Stone curiously looked at the brown skinned girl, and then raised his brow at Riley, who whispered something in his ear.
Old Stone's eyes widened in surprise, and he nodded his head, not raising any questions about Iris' presence.
"I have contacted Queen Grisha. She is coming here to take us to the Hall of Mew, and we will be Vein Travelling directly to Blanc Island."
Iris was curious at their words, and questions popped up in her mind, which Sabrina read.
"Be quiet," she gently said, and the girl nodded her head, keeping her mouth shut.
Only fifteen minutes later, they saw the Orayen Queen coming out of one of the Aura Tunnels of the Tree, and then she teleported right to the side of her grandson, who was fast asleep.
Her brows furrowed as she saw how depleted his Aura and Psychic reserves were, and anyone else in his position, including her, would have long fallen into a coma.
However, even in this state, his mind was safe, and he was recovering, albeit very slowly.
She carefully used her Psychic Powers, then telekinetically lifted him before walking away. She did not bother greeting anyone, perhaps because she was angry at them, and they all silently followed her into an Aura Tunnel.
Iris' mouth dropped open when they arrived inside a beautiful hall where Aura Stones were blinking and shining, but then she froze when she saw the beautiful woman walk right into an Aura Stone, with Aizen's Pokémon following her straight into it.
One by one, everyone else disappeared into the Aura Stone as well, and her heart raced when Sabrina pulled her by the hand and entered the Aura Portal.
Having experienced Vein Travelling for the first time, the girl from the Village of Dragons was stunned, and then, when they arrived at a familiar hall, she frowned.
She cutely looked up at Sabrina, who glanced at her but did not answer her unspoken question, and she did not need to either.
Iris noticed that the Pokémon inside the Tree of Beginning had changed. They were not the same Pokémon, and most were species she was seeing for the first time in her life.
Then she fell into another trance when they came out of the Tree of Beginning from one of the topmost caves, and she stared at the Orayen Palace in the distance, whose towers touched the clouds.
She fell into an even deeper shock when several Corviknights arrived and landed in front of them, and then took off with them on their backs.
Everything that was happening was surreal to her, and she finally saw the famous Blanc Laboratory as well.
However, her curious eyes soon returned to the Palace, and when they landed on the floating platform between the two central towers, she saw the Queen of the Rota Kingdom, who was heavily pregnant, waiting there with a pair of Lucario and several maids.
She saw Ilene cry when she laid eyes on Aizen, but the Orayen Queen said something to her, and she followed the maids inside the Palace.
An old butler and an old maid then guided the rest of them to their rooms, but Sabrina took Iris to her own room, which was lavish beyond her wildest dreams.
"Do not be nervous," the Moonheart gently told her. "Take a bath. I will ask the maids to arrange clothes for you." She looked at the clock. "Dinner will be served at 9 p.m., and a maid will guide you to the dining hall. You can take a nap after your bath if you are tired. And you can let out your Pokémon in the room as long as they do not ruin it."
"Okay." Iris obediently nodded her head, and Sabrina then left the room to go and meet Grisha Orayen, who was inside Aizen's room.
As soon as she entered, the Orayen Queen smiled at her, then walked over and took her for a walk.
"Show me everything that happened."
At her request, Sabrina called out her Mega Gardevoir, who shared the memories of all their Psychic Pokémon during the battle with Grisha.
The Moonheart shared her own memories as well and remained indifferent when she saw the Queen's expression turn solemn and then clouded with anger.
"Why is he always so stubborn and reckless, Rina?" she painfully asked.
"He cares too much," Sabrina answered, and Grisha frowned at her words.
"But he should not be taking such risks now. Lyla is not by his side anymore," the Queen said after a while, and the Moonheart nodded her head.
"I will try to talk to him again."
"Please do," Grisha nearly begged her, then lovingly cupped her cheeks and planted a kiss on her forehead. "And thank you for always being by his side."
Sabrina smiled at her, and then listened to the things she had to share as they walked towards the Blanc Laboratory.
The Orayen Queen had the Promise Ball with her now, and she carefully called out every Shadow Pokémon and other Pokémon her grandson had saved from Citadark Isle.
A while later, two Nurse Joys arrived at the Laboratory, and with the help of their medical unit, and the Purify Chamber that Doctor Fennel had created in the last two weeks following Krane's blueprint, they started helping the infected Pokémon.
Sabrina noticed that Grisha was shocked at something she found inside the Promise Ball, but she did not call it out or take it out.
And neither did she tell her what it was that had her lost in thought for the rest of the night and the following day.
Was it Shadow Lugia?
Sabrina knew it was not, as Grisha was already aware of it, and neither could it be the Tesseract. The Orayen Queen already knew about that too.