For once in the Hall of Legends, no one dared to look at each other.
Every eye was widened; every breath was hitched in their owner's throat, denied liberation as the atmosphere thickened with regret, despondency, and hatred. The lights were dim; the air seemed foreign and deserted, lacking life despite that every Legendary in existence stood within its semblance, their frightened, disbelieving eyes glued to Arceus in the form of horrific stares – ones of shock, and misery that had yet to escape calloused confinement.
And, in the midst of the silence that drenched the tension between them all like a lingering phantom, only one wail of pure longing broke the said barrier. Only one pair of eyes released their suppressed tears - the tears the owner would never thought a tough, 'immortal' being like them would ever let go.
Suicune.
She sat in the corner, droplets of water falling from her scarlet eyes, both lids and teeth clenched tight in an attempt to hide it from the others – to avoid showing weakness when this very moment was one that required strength. But no, she couldn't do it, and her sadness sprawled across the imaginary cage around her, hiding her usual stubborn character behind a veil of depression. The others easily noticed it, though they said nothing, providing no words of comfort, because they too needed it as Arceus' unfortunate news finally settled into their minds, deciphering themselves and revealing the tragedy that had just occurred.
Some Legendaries broke down, crying as Suicune was doing, and others simply shook their heads, denying the truth they wished wasn't real, even stepping back as if wanting to run away from the surreal situation in front of them. Breaths were finally let out, making room for the cries of anguish that were destined to follow – the emotions of sadness and longing that had once thought to be oxymoronic for beings of strong imperturbableness. Counterparts, like Groudon and Kyogre, held each other for comfort, tears falling down one another's shoulders, claws patting on backs out of support.
But Suicune sat alone in the corner of the Hall of Legends' meeting room, none of her counterparts attempting to cheer her up, because she no longer had any.
"It's not true," spoke Darkrai as he floated forward from the crowd, hovering in front of Arceus as the said God Pokemon stood saddened on top of his pedestal, only meeting the nightmare phantom's damp eyes with his own dimmed orbs; he said no retort, as he also wished he was faking. Darkrai growled as tears slid down his black face, heavy sniffs emitting from him, eyes closing tight with anger, and he almost grew unable to continue with his accusation. He forced himself to glare at Arceus, as if mad at him, and jabbed a firm finger towards the sulking God Pokemon, then snarling with an edgy tone, "You're lying!" His face suddenly grew soft with anguish – an expression that didn't fit with the loner ghost. "Please tell me you're lying. Please," he pleaded, his voice barely above a whisper.
Arceus only met his eyes, slowly shaking his head.
He wasn't lying.
Darkrai pulled back, wanting to scream in both anger and depression, but instead buried his face in his claws, his body shaking with tearful gasps. "Kid…" he cried, his counterpart, Cresselia, coming to his side, her own metallic face glossy from tears. "No, kid…please…you can't be…you just can't…"
The other Legendaries could easily feel his pain, though they all knew how he had had a special friendship with Raikou, and therefore his sadness was amplified. Meanwhile, Entei also had a few allies among the council, which was why both Heatran and Moltres were letting bottled tears fall. None of them had experienced such a moment since Latios, the counterpart to Latias, had died, but even then, to them, this was a brand new tragedy all on its own.
"They died protecting Pokemon," Arceus announced, his proud and elegant voice dragging with sadness that not even he could hold back. It was hard keeping his tone loud, trying to assure everyone that these things happen; his own words could not even comfort him. "Team Rocket…they were just one step ahead…and sacrifice was the only option."
Everyone snarled at the sound of Team Rocket's name, though said nothing after that. It had been two members of Team Rocket who had taken Latios away, and now the entire cooperation, in the midst of stealing large amounts of Pokemon, had taken Entei and Raikou too.
"I'm going to kill them!" Darkrai roared, tears still falling from his eyes, clashing with the semblance of furiousness that radiated from his bulky posture. He seemed like a monster on the verge of rampaging through an innocent town; an expression of hatred that could rival a revengeful serial killer's. Again, no one said anything, because everyone knew that Darkrai would be unable to handle the entire organization on his own – and that doing such a suicidal act would not bring Raikou or Entei back. Then again, it was obvious he was speaking out of the spur of the moment.
Instead, Arceus stepped forward, forcing himself to stand tall, even when tears finally began to brim the edges of his own eyes. "Nothing can be done," he muttered, and the Legendaries had to lean forward to hear him; "this is just like Latios." He put on a feigned gaze of strength. "We must move on – that's the only thing we can do." Darkrai leered forward, as if about to retort, but Arceus cut him off with a quick sway of his head. "This meeting is adjourned. Everyone just…" He turned his head away, the powerful persona of the God Pokemon himself shattering into pieces like an impacted mirror. "…just return to your posts on Earth."
And before anyone could say another word, Arceus snapped around, stepped down from his pedestal, and disappeared into the back dormitories.
Not even the God Pokemon could handle it.
Darkrai floated back down, still heaving with tearful gasps, though he followed Cresselia when she began to usher him towards the doorway, expression filled with compassion. The others, knowing there was no purpose within lingering among the halls, eventually followed, walking out of the room; and every one of them shot a look of sympathy towards Suicune as they passed by her, her doglike body perched by the door as she continued to cry, the world around her melting away into a meaningless void. Each one held up their claw, as if to say something that would comfort her since she had been the one to suffer most from this bereavement, but only wound up closing their jaws when they could think of nothing to say, too busy shedding tears themselves to ponder for an assuring comment.
And therefore they all remained silent as they left the room.
However, one stayed behind.
Dialga lingered in the back of the departing group, his eyes falling onto Suicune, in which her saddened posture brought him to cease in movement, staring at her with tenderness. Her pain was as obvious as daylight, and the dragon of time could feel it hit him and surge through his veins like an imaginary virus on its way to destroying him from the inside. He had been good friends with the Johto trio that was Suicune, Entei, and Raikou, and though he didn't shed any tears when hearing of the said fire lion and thunder tiger's deaths, his expression reflected more hurt than the ones who had droplets of water pouring from their eyes like heavy rainfall.
It had always been Suicune, Entei, and Raikou. Those three were as close as counterparts could get, and he knew that his connection with his own opposite, Palkia, could not outmatch it. He remembered hearing Suicune mention countless of times in the past before this tragedy was deemed inevitable that, despite of Raikou's childishness and Entei's overprotective fatherlike character, they were the two entities that made every second of her hectic life as a Legendary worth living, because they cared for her deeply and always watched out for her.
But now that they were gone…
Dialga stepped forward, metallic claws clacking on the tiled flooring, though this didn't seem to alert Suicune of his presence, as she was too busy burying her snout into her folded paws to care about what happened around her. He had known since Latios' death that not even gods were immortal, but such a saying did not make the situation any more easier to cope with, as proven in the lingering depression that dwelled in the pit of his stomach like a peptic ulcer.
As with the fact that the council had never been the same with Latios' passing, things would change even more with Raikou and Entei's absence. Dialga had remembered seeing Latias wail like a hopeless soul when the aforementioned blue dragon had died, and this was a similar situation – with Suicune crying in front of him as if wanting to die then and there. Being the friend that he was, Dialga sighed through his nostrils, wondering how to help Suicune cope when he had never been the victim to such a bereavement, and therefore probably had no idea of what it felt like.
He could still try, though.
"Suicune?" he cooed, his eyes flickering with darkness as sympathy rolled over them again. Suicune sniffed, still crying, as if ignoring him, though she soon rose her head in a measly manner as if she was severely weakened. She looked at him with bloodshot eyes, but said nothing, not even acknowledging the unexpected fact that Dialga, of all Legendaries, had chosen to stay behind and attempt to comfort her. He could feel his soul dim under her gaze; not even Latias had been this desponded when Latios passed.
"They're both gone…" she choked out, turning her head away as fresh tears formed. Her voice was low, barely above a whisper, though Dialga heard her as if she had screamed it at the top of her lungs. "They're both gone…and they're not coming back…"
Dialga faltered, turning his head away as another sigh escaped his mouth. He didn't want to see Suicune – the water dog of the Legendaries; a powerful female toughened from years of existence and dedication to the Legendary council – break down as if life was no longer worth living. The problem was was that he didn't know what to say. Raikou and Entei's sudden death shocked and depressed him as well, and if he couldn't comfort himself, then what could he possibly do for the last remaining member of the Legendary Beast Trio? He returned his eyes to her, watching her as she continued to sob, feeling more hopeless by the second as her tears appeared never-ending – and he couldn't blame her if they were. He couldn't even imagine what it felt like to lose the beings you had been created beside and had been best friends with despite daily quarrels. He couldn't relate whatsoever.
Instead, not wanting to leave silence as the only presence between them, he decided to repeat what Arceus had said, hoping it would do some good: "These things happen. The only thing we can do is move on."
For some reason, sounding so calm made him feel so heartless.
Definitely since Suicune snapped her head towards him, tears coming to an abrupt stop as her eyes narrowed into offended slits, and he took a cautious step back, regretting his words. "How do you expect me to move on?" she snarled, her sadness still present in her coarse tone, her tough side resurrecting itself – and not in a good way. She stayed still in place, though her paws clenched and she got up on all fours, whiplike tails lying limp against the cold floor. "How do you expect me to forget?"
Dialga bit his lip, taking her words into mind. She had a point; there was no moving on from all this – a tragedy was a memory not easy to push away or omit. In fact, Latios' death had forever burned an image of sadness into the Legendaries' minds, and though Latias had grown to no longer spend every single second of her life mourning for Latios, she still thought of him on a daily basis. With this in mind, Dialga returned his eyes to Suicune, forcing himself to display seriousness regardless of the pained hate that radiated from the water dog like bellowing smoke. "We must move on," he repeated, his tone both firm and soft at the same time. "We can't linger in the past when the future needs us the most."
Suicune snarled again, his words providing no comfort, though she knew she couldn't take her anger towards the situation out on Dialga; he was only trying to help. Instead she only turned away, unable to keep up her façade of hatred any longer, and she burst into tears, posture slouching, shoulders shaking, the semblance around her shrinking back into the harsh turmoil of post-tragedy. She would never see Raikou again – never hear his corny jokes or see his goofy grin that always made her laugh at the end of the day. She would never see Entei again – never hear his philosophical advice that always made her look at life from a new perspective, and never feel the warmth of his fur against hers whenever he hugged her like a caring father.
Nostalgia poured over her like a bucket of cold water, and she shivered as she remembered it all. Raikou and Entei were gone – for good.
She cried louder.
And Dialga felt his heart plummet.
The dragon of time didn't want to see her like this – see her waste her life away mourning for a loss that would never correct itself no matter how many times she shed tears or pleaded for it to do so. He knew that time was far too precious to be spent doing that, as implied through Raikou and Entei's unfortunate passing, where their time on Earth had been cut short at a moment when no one had expected it would. That was just how life worked, Dialga figured, frowning, and therefore every second of existence counted, because one couldn't be sure when it all would be whisked away before their eyes.
"You can't waste away your life mourning," he suddenly commented, and without intention, as if his thoughts had overtaken his actions. Suicune turned her head, looking at him with glossy eyes instead of the glare she had used before, and, seeing this as a good sign, he continued. "Yes, Entei and Raikou are gone. But we have to move on; time is too precious to waste."
Now Suicune's eyes narrowed, her face radiating with a sort of disappointed hue, as if not surprised that Dialga, the dragon of time, was the one mentioning such a thing as the importance of temporality. His gaze dimmed, as if knowing she was thinking about the aforementioned, and he slightly blushed out of bashfulness, but hid it away with a serious frown, because even then his words needed to be considered – they were the truth. The water dog pulled back, turning her eyes away from his, her tears returning as her response finally coughed itself out from her dry throat: "That's easier said than done."
Dialga sighed. That was the truth also. He focused his eyes on her, remaining silent, trying to sort out his thoughts, despite that he already knew what to say, and emitted just that:
"Raikou and Entei wouldn't want this."
Everything seemed slowed after that, like the split second the lightning of a storm had to flash before the following thunder roared away and took home the glory. And, just like the aforementioned, the thunder fulminated when Suicune turned her head, eyeing Dialga, meeting his concerned gaze, her irises growing deep with thoughtfulness, despite that tears and scarred hopes for years to come still controlled her countenance like a plague.
"No one would want this for you," Dialga then added, as if trying to pry a finally-loosened hook from a wall. "Neither Entei or Raikou would want you spending the rest of your existence regretting being unable to save them…and none of the still-living Legendaries want to see you suffer from this. Not Darkrai…not Cresselia…" He turned his eyes away, thinking of another Legendary that would kill to see Suicune happy again, and he reverted his gaze back to the water dog, his next words coming out with softness.
"Not me."
And Suicune sniffed as she took in his words, glossy eyes scanning his face. His expression displayed compassion, and she was suddenly reminded of the warm gaze Raikou and Entei would give her when she was down – the look that made her feel at ease no matter what bothered her. She sniffed again, remembering the rest of his words, and she had to agree with them. Raikou and Entei would not want her to be depressed, no matter what happened, and no doubt were they glaring down at her with scowls on their faces – wherever their souls resided now. She wanted to laugh at the mental image, but held it in.
"The pain is always going to be there," Dialga continued, Suicune turning her eyes to him as he walked forward; "Latios' death has never left us. However, we have dealt with the passing and then moved on, and we'll do the same here." He put on a warm smile, despite the somber situation. "Time doesn't stop for anyone, and it's a gift – not just a figment of life. Without it, order can't function. I'm not trying to sound like Raikou and Entei should be forgotten, and I'm not trying to say that your bereavement is easy to push aside; but…it's not something worth throwing away one of the most important factors of life for." He frowned, though soon emitted a soft chuckle. "Time is precious. Trust me, I, of all people, would know."
Suicune allowed her eyes to flicker to the ground, taking in his words. He had a point, but even then she soon returned her gaze to him, a tone of sadness still present in her voice. "But what if you lost the very things that made time precious?" she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, as if still on the edge of a crumbling cliff, contemplating on jumping off. Dialga pulled back, knowing that she meant Raikou and Entei – the beings that made her life all the more exciting – and he frowned, unable to retort on that. However, as he gazed at her, he couldn't control himself as he stepped forward, laid down, and then, using his claws, gently pulled her into an embrace, his forelegs wrapping around her figure.
She felt the heat rush to her face as the warmth of his scales pulsated through her body, breaking away the black ice that had enshrouded her heart upon her counterparts' death. She soon sniffed again, though, still on the verge of shedding more tears, and therefore Dialga gently rested his head over her back, forming a protective hold all around her that made her feel at ease. "There is always Legendaries that will care about you," he softly whispered, his tone compassionate. "You can't forget about them, because they need you just as much as you needed Entei and Raikou." He could feel her relax against him, and thus he continued. "They are the beings that make time and life in general precious. You gotta keep going, Suicune; you can't give up. Do it for Raikou; do it for Entei. Think about the other Pokemon who are precious to you, and do it for them."
Suicune sniffed as his words ran laps through her mind. Dialga's hold loosened when she wiggled slightly, and he moved his head so that his face was only inches from hers, his scarlet eyes meeting her glossy ones of the same color. She reminded herself of his earlier statements – on how the passing of Raikou and Entei was indeed going to be hard like the time when Latios died. However, the words just spoken also surged through her mind; the fact that there was Legendaries on the council willing to support her like Entei and Raikou would've – like the Legendaries who supported Latias when her brother's time was up.
She stared into Dialga's eyes, and his recent words came back to fill her mind yet again – on all the Legendaries she knew that still made time precious for her.
It wasn't going to be easy moving on.
It wasn't going to be easy dealing with the loss of Raikou and Entei.
It wasn't going to be easy having to live with the pain on a daily basis.
Suicune gently placed her paw on Dialga's face, right above his metal-incased lip, and as he simpered, a faint smile grew along her own jaw, shining through the dimmed tears that still slid down her cheeks.
But, she was willing to try – for all the Legendaries that mattered to her.
For Raikou - for Entei.
For him.