Chapter twenty-one, how exciting…~! In other words, I've had practically no time to work on this…and I'm surprised anyone is still reading. :/ Oh well. On with the show, huh? Enjoy! Look for the special note at the bottom. ;D
…CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Trust Me
Treecko could hardly sleep. One, because he was alone, and two because Solay was off somewhere facing something he didn't understand to try and save the world…again. Treecko was reminded that Solay, though still in the prime of her life, wasn't as young as she was three years ago. And in her life, this would be the third time she'd saved the world.
But could she actually do it?
Of course she can, stop thinking like that, he said to himself. Everything's going to turn out fine. Solay's going to save us. She's gonna save me and Bidoof and Sunflora and Loudred…and Mudkip too. We're all going to be okay. I have to trust her.
Finally finding a semi-comforting thought, Treecko drifted off.
…The Next Morning
The sun rose just like any other day, and Loudred was just as loud as usual. Treecko tottered out of bed, grumbling. Why did he have to get up at this Arceus-forsaken hour, anyway? It wouldn't do any harm to sleep in for a couple minutes. But noooo…every day, on the dot, Loudred came in, bellowing, "WAKE UP! IT'S MORNING!" The only thing missing was Mudkip, but Treecko forced himself not to think about that. With a bit of luck, he could get through the day without thinking about her.
Once the morning briefing was finished, Treecko headed over to Chatot. No matter how much he wanted to avoid talking about Mudkip, he had a problem. Now he was only a one-man-team, and that was dangerous.
"Um, Chatot…I have a question…"
The musical bird cocked his head, squinting. "Ah, yes. But before we address that, Solay has returned. She's waiting on the beach for you. Shadow's with her, you should go."
Treecko was confused. Now what? "Wait, what are you talking about? The beach, what…"
Chatot flapped his wings. "Stop babbling!" Once Treecko clamped his jaw shut, he went on. "Last night, Solay went to meet with the Council of Legendary Pokémon atop Temporal Tower in the Hidden Land. It's useless to try to comprehend what it would be like to be surrounded by all the gods of our world, so I won't try to describe it. Anyway, she went to find way to get her memory back, and she's waiting for you."
Oh, that's right, Treecko realized as he headed for the ladders. So that's where she went last night… Wow. All of the legendary Pokémon… I'd better hurry. Solay's waiting for me.
He arrived (finally) and spotted Solay and Shadow instantly. Lapras was nowhere in sight. Solay was talking to her partner too softly to hear, and didn't seem to have noticed him yet. Treecko came closer, so he could hear.
"…least, that's what I think Lord Dialga was implying," she was saying. "I have this feeling…right here…" She raised a paw, resting it on her chest, over her heart. "…I just know that Grovyle and the others are okay somewhere in the future. I just know it."
Shadow nodded. "I know. I feel it too…perhaps not as strongly as you, but I do. Anyway, Treecko's here, or did you not notice?"
She turned, smiling. "Hey, there. Nice of you to come. I'm sorry to bring this up, but I need you to tell me something, Treecko. Has Mudkip ever said anything to you that seemed odd at the time? Anything at all?"
Treecko had to think. Everything he'd ever done with Mudkip… It was painful to see all these memories flashing through his mind, but he kept it together. If it would help bring her back, he could withstand anything. As he got closer and closer to the betrayal, he noticed something… One day, he'd walked in on Mudkip alone in their room, talking to seemingly no one. Her voice had been the same cold sneer that it had on the top of the Great Oak. When he entered the room…no one was there, and she quickly turned cheery again.
"Come to think of it, there was one time…" He recounted the situation to Solay, who was now deep in thought.
"So, talking to a shadow messenger, eh? Or something of the sort… I bet a ghost type could vanish like that." She made a face. "Did she say anything you can recall, Treecko?"
He thought harder, then nodded. "Yeah, um… 'Sorry this is taking so long, sire. I'm doing my best something something something and I'll try to bring him as soon as possible. The Vulpix might be catching on, we'll have to be careful.' Then something like 'he's here' and a name starting with M with 'Lord' in front of it… And that's it."
"'M,' huh…?" Solay closed her eyes. "A ghost-type starting with M…" It was like a bolt of lighting shot through her. "Of course…I know who she was talking to. At least, I'm seventy percent sure…I'll keep my suspicions to myself for my now." Determination settled across her face. "But I know where we need to go. Pack your bags, Treecko, we're heading for Eternal Depths."
Treecko just wore a dumbstruck look. "Eternal…Depths?"
Solay caught herself. "Oh, right, sorry. I forgot you haven't been there. Eternal Depths is in the most remote location on the…how to describe this…the continuous land. The whole big place we live on, not including the islands, okay? It's high up in a mountain, behind a hidden pass. It goes down the entire mountain and down into the earth, seemingly forever, until it empties into a huge cavern. It's really pretty, but our chief bandit types thrive there. Ghost-, psychic-, and dark-types all love it there. And…they're all strong. It would be the prefect place for an evil organization to hide out."
"Well, that sounds all fine and dandy, but what about my Guild work?" Treecko protested once she had finished. "Wigglytuff is gonna kill me if I come along with you."
"Shadow will take care of that," she dismissed. "You can come with me to repair. Shadow, we'll meet back at the Bluff once we're done. Good?"
"Good," he confirmed. "Have fun, you two." Without another word, he headed off with an easy, loping stride.
Solay gave Treecko a smile. "Hey, don't worry, okay? I promised that we would get Mudkip back, and we will. Let's go beat some bad guys. Walk with me."
He walked with her, but disturbing thoughts kept distracting him. "But what if she's too far gone to save?" he protested in a weak tone. "What if we can't defeat them? What if we lose?"
"Treecko, listen to me." She locked her gaze with his. "No one is too far gone to save. Everyone can return from the darkness. No matter how bad things seem to be, no matter how hopeless the situation, there's always one little spark to cling to. Shadow taught me that when we were trapped in the future…my real time. We were surrounded. Grovyle, Celebi, and I had all given up hope… But Shadow came through. He found the way out when I couldn't. Don't ever say someone can't be saved…because it's not true." She paused, letting that sink in. "Your other questions…they're based on 'what if'. Well, what if I was to die tomorrow? What then? It's a very real possibility that we could lose, but if we believe we can, then there's that much more of a chance that we can win." When she saw he wasn't quite convinced, she grinned again. "Trust me, okay? We'll be fine. Everything will go back to normal soon. I promise."
Treecko returned the smile with a faint one of his own. "Okay…I trust you. Don't break your promise."
"I won't."
They had nearly reached Treasure Town when Treecko remembered why Solay had gone to the Council the night before. "Any luck with your memories?"
She shook her head. "None," she replied with a bitter note. "They're working on it, but closing the portal while I was still inside had never been done before…" At his baffled face, she laughed. "Never mind the details. Let's just get ready to go. It'll take us forever to reach the entrance to Eternal Depths anyway."
Treecko had to agree. As they set about gathering the stuff they needed, Solay's words rang in his head with a sort of ominous echo…
Trust me.
…
End~ Okay, so, if you know (or think you know) who the villain is, DON'T SAY IT! :3 Send me a message or something if you want to guess, but I'm not telling.
Special Note: Okay, so I know this fanfic isn't exactly popular and I'm not promising anything, but I was curious if any of you would be interested in Black Hole Sun becoming an animated series. I've been thinking about it for a long time now, but before I commit to anything I wanted to know if you'd like it. So, drop me a line/review! Tell me what you'd think!