WARNING! Major spoilers for the game in this chapter! You have been warned.
Chapter ten, here we go! I know it's longer than the others, but decided to put it all in one anyway. It's better this way. :3
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon/Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. *Sighs*
…~-CHAPTER TEN: The Whole Truth! Solay's Scream
After reassuring various Guildmembers that they were okay, it was finally dinner time. Shadow joined Treecko and Mudkip around the table Wigglytuff had set up, but Solay stayed away. She spent most of dinner meditation by the forest's edge, eyes closed, reflecting on things that had happened. She was playing scenario after scenario over in her head to fid a solution. Treecko felt a little guilty because of this. There was Solay losing dinner over helping him and Mudkip. It just didn't seem fair.
She didn't move at all until Shadow got fed up with her just sitting there and brought her an apple. She nibbled on it a little, but didn't eat much anyway. This struck a nerve with the Riolu and he went over to have a shouting match with her.
"You can't keep doing this to yourself!" he was yelling. "You have to eat too!"
"I can do whatever I feel is right!" she snapped back, fur bristling.
"But this isn't right!" he shouted.
"Well I don't need your help!" Solay nearly screamed. "You're not my mother!"
"And you aren't my daughter!" he fumed back at her.
By this time, the whole Guild had fallen silent, watching the two go at each other's throats.
"Well I'm leaving," Solay hissed.
The argument ended with a bout of "Fine!" from both sides and Solay storming off into the forest, ticked. Shadow stalked back towards them, looking quite foul. He walked right past the table and sat with his back to them, arms crossed sullenly over his chest. The apple perched, forgotten, on the ground with Solay's teeth marks in it.
No one dared go near Shadow until after dinner, when Bidoof approached hesitantly.
"Shadow, have you and Solay been at odds?" he asked.
"What do you think?" Shadow asked venomously, making Bidoof flinch.
Mudkip stepped in, glaring at Shadow. "Hey, that's not nice! You might be angry at Solay, but don't take it out on Bidoof!"
Shadow said nothing, so Mudkip went around to look him in the face. At once, her expression softened. "Shadow…"
He was crying, paws gripping at the ground. "I just…I don't know what to do… I feel so useless…"
Bidoof drew alongside, feeling rather sympathetic again. "It may be unclear right now, but it'll work out eventually, yup yup!"
Shadow wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Yeah…I guess. I wish I could help Solay. She's been so stressed out lately…"
"Just give her a little time to let her head cool," Mudkip assured him. "I'm sure she'll be fine."
Shadow nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll just…wait for her to come back."
Treecko didn't join in this conversation and was deep in thought. Solay can see the past or future of something she touches. Mudkip can drown. I can talk to trees. What the heck is wrong with the world? I must be going mad. It must've been a dream. After all, nobody else can talk to trees. He shook his head violently. This is stupid! None of it happened. That's right…nothing happened. It's too…weird!
"Treecko, are you all right?" asked a voice.
Treecko started, looking over to Mudkip. She was looking at him, concerned. Treecko had to think fast. He had to find an excuse.
"Yeah, just a little frazzled," he said. Well, it's not a complete lie.
She still looked doubtful, but nodded, letting the matter go. Shadow, however, didn't seem so ready to accept this.
"Come here, you two," he said, gesturing for them to sit with him. "I think…it's time I told you the whole truth about Solay. We can't continue unless we trust each other. She was planning on telling you anyway, but while she's cooling off, I might as well explain."
Treecko sat down, looking up at Shadow like a curious child. "The whole truth?"
He nodded. "Yes. The whole truth. I won't leave any details out."
As the moon crossed the sky, Shadow spoke.
"Solay isn't any ordinary Vulpix. She used to be…a human."
"H-human?" Mudkip exclaimed.
Shadow merely nodded. "Yes, a human, I know. It's a rather large story. After all, a human? Here? Impossible, right? But there she was. I met her on a beautiful night with the sunset dying the sea orange and pink and indigo."
…
The angle of the sun was just right where Shadow could look into it and not be blinded. It sat just above the edge of the waters, teasing the first streaks of night with its brilliance. The edges of the clouds were tinted orange. The bubbles the Krabby blew when it was nice out, like now, sparkled and reflected the sun's rays. It was…beautiful.
"All these bubbles reflecting the setting sun's rays…" a slightly younger version of Shadow sighed. "This always cheers me up."
Chancing a glance towards the nearest Dungeon, Beach Cave, he happened upon a rather odd rock lying on the shore. His interest piqued, he turned toward it, puzzled.
"What's that over there?" he wondered aloud, starting towards it. As he drew closer, alarm shot through him. That wasn't a rock! That was a Pokémon! He ran towards it.
"H-hey! Are you okay? Wake up!"
His insistent cries reached the figures ears. She groaned, eyes flickering open blearily. The first thing she saw was a dark shadow over her, regal and majestic. "Sha…dow…?" she asked softly. As she heaved herself into a sitting position, the voice spoke again.
"Thank goodness!" it said, relived. "You weren't moving at all! You scared me."
She looked closer at him. He…wasn't human. He was… "AHHHHH! TALKING POKÈMON!" She ran back and forth in distress.
"H-hey, w-wait," he said, looking rather flustered. "You're talking too, you know!"
She stopped and looked at him scornfully. "Well duh, I'm a human!"
He looked her up and down. "Human? But you look like a totally normal Vulpix to me."
Her heart stopped dead. A…Vulpix…? She looked down. Now that she realized it, she had been running on all fours. Twisting to look behind her, she had six tails. Padding to the ocean's edge, she peered over into the water, eyes squeezed shut. She was afraid to open them. But, still, her curiosity overpowered her fear, and she opened one eye.
She nearly fainted. Staring back in the water…wasn't her face. It was that of the fire-type fox Pokemon Vulpix.
"This is not how I went to bed last night," she declared, not quite knowing how she knew.
The Riolu snickered despite himself. "Well, do you know how you got zonked out here?"
She turned quickly to face him. "I was…zonked out?" That's weird… I…don't remember anything! She started to panic, but then calmed herself. Calm down, there's a good explanation for this… Yeah, and that's you're going insane!
The Riolu wore a dubious expression. "Are you pulling some kind of joke on me?"
She quickly shook her head. "No!"
He still looked doubtful. "Well…okay, I guess. Your name. What's your name?"
She was eternally grateful she remembered her own name. "I'm Solay," she said.
He nodded, smiling. "Hi, Solay! My name is Riolu. You have a nice name. Sorry I doubted you. More and more bad Pokemon have been cropping up lately, you see. But you seem okay." He smiled, offering a paw. "I hope we can be friends."
…
"That's how it all started," Shadow said. "I found her on the Beach. Well, actually, I'm starting to think that it was really her who found me."
Treecko was silent. Solay was…a human? He opened his mouth to interject, but Shadow quickly held up a hand.
"Just wait. It gets crazier."
…
Grovyle, a bandit from the future, was finally captured by Dusknoir, the honorable hero of the future. It had been Dusknoir's job to track down Grovyle and bring the notorious thief back to his own time. Everyone was sad to see him leave, but understood the gravity of the situation. The Sableye were just pushing a tied up and muzzled Grovyle into the Dimensional Hole when Dusknoir called two Pokemon up to him.
"Ah, wait, before I go…I need to see two Pokemon," he said. "Solay and Shadow."
Shadow turned to his partner with teary eyes. "That's us. Come on, let's go up."
They both came forward to look Dusknoir in the face.
"I guess this is goodbye," Shadow said.
"Oh, no, my friend," Dusknoir said. His expression turned from polite sorrow to smug and triumphant. His voice took on a totally new turn that almost sounded…right. "It's too early for goodbyes!" He reached out and grabbed the both of them. "You two…are coming with me!"
Shadow started screaming, but he was dragged into the Hole before he could make a sound. Before the others caught on, the Hole was closed, and Team Sky were gone.
…
"You've been to the future?" Mudkip squeaked out.
"It gets crazier," Shadow said heavily.
"How much crazier can it get?" Treecko scoffed.
"Much," was Shadow's short reply before continuing.
…
They were surrounded. Sableye on the left, Sableye on the right, Dusknoir in front, and Primal Dialga up on the cliff watching their every move. Things looked hopeless for Grovyle, Celebi, Shadow, and Solay. The Time Tunnel was only a few feet away, just behind Dusknoir. But they couldn't get to it! Their only escape was blocked.
Grovyle was ready to accept defeat. "Fine, then. Get rid of me if you want. But…there's another."
"Another?" Shadow asked, astonished.
Grovyle nodded. "Yes. My partner. We were traveling back to the past, but we got separated. But I know she's back there. She'll carry out the mission. She won't fail."
Dusknoir did a rather odd thing, then…he started laughing. It wasn't funny-joke laughter, it was all-of-my-dreams-have-come true laughter.
"And what, pray tell, is the name of your companion?" he asked once the chuckles had subsided.
Grovyle drew back slightly. "Why do you need to know?"
"Go on," Dusknoir encouraged. "Say the name."
Grovyle hesitated. "My partner's name…was Solay."
"Ahh!" Shadow cried. "But…Grovyle…" He turned to the Vulpix beside him and back again. "This is Solay right here!"
"W-what?" he said, turning quickly to look her in the face. "No, impossible. The Solay I knew…was human."
A…human? Solay thought, panicked. W-what?
"That's what I'm saying!" Shadow insisted. "This is Solay! She was a human!"
"I-impossible!" Grovyle hissed.
"Let me assure you, Grovyle," Dusknoir rumbled, "that the Pokémon behind you is indeed Solay. Her memory loss was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was so easy to manipulate them both. I questioned her. She had the ability, the Dimensional Scream. At first, I was skeptical. But then she said, low and behold, that she had memory of being a human! I asked her name. It was indeed Solay. At last, I could get you both with one blow! It's hopeless to resist."
Now Grovyle was in shock, he could only stare at the ground in the face of his failure. It was all going to be lost. Everything he'd worked for…everything…was going to go away.
Solay was in shock as well. She was Grovyle's partner…from the future? It was too much information. Her brain was too cramped with the impossible. All logic had shut down. She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe.
Shadow turned desperately from Grovyle to Solay. "Grovyle…Solay…come on, we have to do something! We can't just give up here! What about all your work?"
Grovyle didn't respond. Shadow ground his teeth. "Come on, Solay, help me think of a plan!" The Sableye were drawing closer with every word. She didn't reply either. His words barely registered as coherent.
Shadow turned away from them both, despair creeping into his heart. "We have to…do something…"
…
They were both speechless. Nothing they'd ever heard had been so far-fetched. Mudkip was the first one to recover, but it took her four tried before she could form words.
"So…so you're saying that Solay is a human from the future who was a bandit's partner who had her memory wiped and has a special ability called the Demensional Scream?"
He nodded. "Pretty much."
"Ahh…" The word came out as a more of squeak-thing than an actual "Ah."
Treecko was next to speak. "Just…out of curiosity… you said Solay was from the future."
Shadow nodded.
"All right, but you, Solay, and Grovyle changed the past. Wouldn't that change the future and erase her existence?"
Shadow hesitated, but nodded, looked down at the ground. "Yes, it's true. If Solay changed the past, she would never have existed. That day…was the worst day in my life."
…
Grovyle had left. He trusted Shadow and Solay enough to leave the job up to them. Yes, Shadow felt this was a great honor, but he was saddened by Grovyle's leaving. Solay was looking rather crushed too. She had, after all, been his partner, even if she didn't remember a single thing about the times they spent together.
Now, they moved forward. They had to. If they were to save everyone Solay had come to know and love, and those in the future from their horrible fate, they had to move on.
Shadow had no idea. He didn't know the future would vanish if they changed the past. Solay hadn't told him. She wasn't sure she could. It would be better…if he didn't know.
Dialga lay defeated at their paws. After a long and hard-fought battle, they had done it. The world was safe. Shadow put the Time Gears into place.
They had done it just in time.
Now they were walking down from Temporal Tower on their way back to the Rainbow Stoneship. The rocky path led the way. Solay was having a hard time keeping up with him.
My limbs…they're…so heavy… Is…the time approaching? She fell behind, and Shadow kept going. While he walked, she saw a little yellow light float up from the ground. No, not the ground.
Her own paw.
She knew. It was time to say their final goodbyes. Solay's time with Shadow was over. This world no longer needed her. She was fading from existence. To future generations…she would be nothing more than a fairy tale spoken by parents to soothe their children into sleep.
Shadow came back. "Solay, we're almost there. Let's go." He stopped, catching sight of the light as well. "S-Solay? You're glowing!"
"I'm sorry, Shadow," she said, speaking for the first time in quite a while. He'd almost forgotten how her voice sounded. "I kept this from you for a long time now."
"K-kept what?"
"Shadow, we changed the past, which means we changed the future. Grovyle, Celebi, Dusknoir, and I…we will all…disappear."
"W-w-what?" There were little crystal things in the corners of his eyes now. "B-but…you can't leave!"
"I don't have any choice," she said softly, lowering her gaze to the ground. "This is where I say goodbye."
"No, you don't understand!" he shouted. "Solay, I need you! Without you…I…I…"
"No, Shadow, you have to live!"
He looked up. He couldn't see her eyes, but there was a smile on her lips.
"You have to live for me," she said. "Go back to Treasure Town and tell everyone what happened so that nothing like this ever happens again." She looked up. The light was getting brighter…and so were her eyes. It was almost time. "Tell everyone you meet our story. Don't let anyone forget me, okay?"
He swallowed past the lump in his throat and nodded.
The light nearly engulfed her now. It was time.
"Shadow…even though I'm gone from here, I will never, ever, forget you," she whispered, smiling so her eyes were closed. A dingle tear slid down her cheek. "I never said this before now, and I guess it's just because I was too blind to see it… I love you, Shadow."
The tear dropped to the ground. At the exact moment it hit the rocks, the light grew to otherworldly blinding brilliance and she as gone.
She was gone before he could say those three words too.
…
Mudkip was practically in tears too. She buried her face in Treecko's arms. "Oh, that's so sad," she sobbed.
Shadow had closed his eyes, regaining control over himself, then nodded. "Yes, I believe so."
"But…how is she here now?" Treecko asked, recovering.
…
The sun sparkled on the waves, and the clouds were tinted orange. It had been such a long time since Shadow had seen this. The last time he'd seen it was…
Oh.
It was the first time he met Solay.
He turned slowly, looking at the spot where she had lain. He could almost see here there, crisp and sharp as the first day. It was like no time at all had passed.
He'd been true to his word. He told the story wherever and whenever possible to whomever crossed his path. The tale stretched far and wide to all corners of the country. Everyone knew about Solay who'd given the ultimate sacrifice to save people who weren't even from her own time.
Now, he remembered everything they'd done together. The cave behind the waterfall… the quicksand desert… confronting Drowsee… and defeating Dialga. Her final words, too…
He couldn't take it, and dropped to his knees, sobbing over the memory of his fallen comrade. That's how Bidoof found him moments later, doubled over in pain from a broken heart.
ELSEWHERE-
Dialga stood atop Temporal Tower. "SHADOW… I FELT YOUR SORROW ALL THE WAY UP TO THE PEAK OF MY TOWER THAT DAY. IF, TO THIS DAY, YOUR FEELINGS HAVE NOT CHANGED… VERY WELL. I WILL GRANT YOUR WISH." He tipped his head back and roared a roar that could have shattered the sky. "THIS IS MY THANKS!"
BACK THERE-
Shadow had his face buried in Bidoof's fur, and didn't see the yellow light behind him forming into a ball. Bidoof pointed it out to him, and he immediately turned around. There, slightly disoriented, stood a very familiar figure with six tails and honey-brown fur.
"SOLAY!" he cried, flinging himself at the Vulpix, sobbing uncontrollably. It took her a moment, but she recognized him too, and they both broke down, crying tears of joy at being reunited.
…
"And there you have it," Shadow said simply.
Treecko and Mudkip could do nothing but stare at him. It was quite a tale indeed. It was almost beyond Treecko's comprehension. But, after the events of the day, he was ready to believe almost anything. He just wanted to go to bed and wake up and find it had all been a bad dream, and he was back at the Guild with Mudkip waking up to run another errand. However he doubted it would happen.
And then they heard it. A piercing, terrified scream. They had never heard the Vulpix scream before, but had no doubt in their minds who it belonged to.
Shadow stood up and started running into the forest. "SOLAY!"
…
Yeah…sorry about the length. It was easier just to put it all in one. xD