The freezing wind roared past Alex's ears with such force that it drowned out every other sound. His clothes snapped violently in the air, and every breath felt like a knife cutting into his lungs. His body spun uncontrollably as the endless blue sky and the vast ocean below exchanged places again and again before his eyes.
For a brief moment...
His mind went completely blank.
Then instinct took over.
Stay calm...
Panicking won't save me...
Alex clenched his teeth and forced himself to keep his eyes open despite the fierce wind trying to shut them.
Far above him, the burning remains of the aircraft continued to fall apart.
Pieces of metal rained through the sky like shooting stars.
The rear half of the airplane tumbled helplessly before disappearing inside a massive ball of fire.
BOOOOM!!
The explosion echoed across the sky.
Alex's heart skipped a beat.
There was no time to think about the other passengers.
If he failed now...
...he would join them.
"Victini!"
His desperate shout was immediately swallowed by the roaring wind.
A tiny orange figure struggled through the violent currents before finally reaching him.
"Victiiiii!!"
Victini's face was filled with panic.
Without hesitation, it grabbed hold of Alex's shoulder with both tiny hands.
Alex immediately reached out and held onto the little Mythical Pokémon.
"I've got you!"
Victini nodded rapidly, its blue eyes glowing with determination despite the fear written all over its face.
Alex took a deep breath.
"I have to slow us down..."
He closed his eyes for only a split second.
Psychic energy erupted from his body.
The pale pink aura wrapped around him as invisible waves spread into the rushing air.
Instead of trying to stop himself directly, Alex manipulated the airflow around his body, creating gentle currents that pushed against his fall.
For a moment...
It worked.
His spinning gradually stopped.
The terrifying descent slowed ever so slightly.
But only slightly.
His body was still falling far too quickly.
Alex gritted his teeth harder.
"Come on..."
The veins around his temples bulged from the strain.
Every ounce of psychic power he possessed poured outward.
The invisible force surrounding him trembled violently.
His descent slowed again.
Then...
The psychic barrier shattered.
Alex coughed painfully as a sharp headache exploded inside his skull.
"Ngh..."
His vision blurred.
His body began accelerating once more.
"It... isn't enough..."
He had already reached his limit.
Victini looked at Alex's exhausted face.
Then...
Its tiny fists clenched.
"Victiiii!!"
Brilliant blue psychic energy burst from the little Pokémon.
The pressure was so overwhelming that even the surrounding clouds scattered away.
Victini floated directly above Alex, both tiny hands stretched forward as it poured every bit of psychic power it possessed into slowing their fall.
The effect was immediate.
Their descent became noticeably slower.
Not safe...
But survivable.
Alex forced himself to stay conscious.
"I'll... help too..."
His own psychic power joined Victini's.
The two psychic fields merged together.
Child and Mythical Pokémon.
Neither spoke another word.
Neither gave up.
Cloud after cloud rushed past them.
Finally...
The white mist beneath their feet disappeared.
Alex looked downward.
Nothing.
Only an endless ocean stretched in every direction.
No islands.
No ships.
No land.
Just water.
His face immediately turned pale.
...Holy shit.
Even if they survived the fall...
The ocean itself could still become their grave.
The surface rushed toward them faster and faster.
Alex and Victini pushed their psychic powers to the absolute limit.
Their descent slowed...
Slowed...
Then—
SPLASH!!
The ocean exploded upward.
The impact knocked every bit of air from Alex's lungs.
His vision instantly went black.
The last thing he felt was cold water swallowing him whole.
...
Darkness.
...
A faint warmth.
...
Somewhere beneath the surface...
Victini refused to let go.
The tiny Pokémon clung tightly to Alex's shirt, panting heavily as tears formed in its eyes.
"Victi..."
Its psychic power flickered weakly.
It had almost nothing left.
Yet...
It refused to stop.
Its blue eyes suddenly began shining once more.
Invisible psychic waves spread outward across the ocean.
The currents changed.
The waves themselves slowly carried Alex's unconscious body in a single direction.
Several Sharpedo appeared in the distance.
The moment they felt Victini's psychic aura...
They immediately turned around and fled.
A school of Mantine quietly changed course.
Even a massive Gyarados rising from beneath the sea paused before silently diving back into the depths.
No wild Pokémon dared approach.
Not while an awakened Mythical Pokémon guarded the child.
Time passed.
Minutes...
Then hours...
The tide continued carrying them across the endless sea.
...
Warm sunlight brushed against Alex's face.
The sound of gentle waves echoed in his ears.
A seabird cried somewhere above.
Alex frowned.
"...Mmm..."
Sand filled his mouth.
"Cough...!"
He pushed himself upright, immediately spitting out several mouthfuls of wet sand.
"...Bleh..."
He blinked several times before looking around.
Blue sky.
White beach.
Palm trees swaying gently in the sea breeze.
The endless ocean stretched behind him.
For several long seconds...
His brain refused to process what he was seeing.
Then—
His eyes widened.
"...I survived."
He looked at his own hands.
Touched his face.
Looked back toward the ocean.
"...I'm alive."
A grin slowly spread across his face.
Then another.
Suddenly—
"HAHAHAHA!"
He jumped to his feet.
"I'm alive!"
He raised both fists into the air before laughing uncontrollably.
"I ACTUALLY SURVIVED!"
He began dancing across the beach without caring how ridiculous he looked.
Victini slowly floated up from the sand nearby.
The little Pokémon tilted its head.
"...Victi?"
Its expression practically screamed...
"Did you hit your head?"
Alex stopped dancing just long enough to scoop Victini into his arms.
"We made it!"
He grabbed both of Victini's tiny hands.
"We're alive!"
Victini blinked once.
Then smiled brightly.
"Victii!"
The two of them began spinning around together on the empty beach, laughing under the warm afternoon sun.