Here's chapter fifty – one! Thank you Zero1313, Blue-Eyed Cat, Kauris Azurai, Something dictionary related, Antex-The Legendary Zoroark, BlackRitual, dna6123, and jordanobx for reviewing last chapter!
Chapter Fifty – One: Plans
Lysandre slumped tiredly in his chair.
Someone knocked on his office door. "Sir? Dianthe was here a little while ago looking for you."
Lysandre covered his face. "What did she want?"
"To talk about Xerneas."
Lysandre stiffened. "I'd rather not."
"Sir—"
"Leave. Please."
Silence remained outside his door a moment; then footsteps signaled the grunt's retreat.
Lysandre leaned back. His office was the same as always; his chair, his desk, the couch to one side, dim lighting, a few vases strewn haphazardly around the room. But everything seemed darker, different.
Someone knocked again.
"I thought I asked you to leave?"
"Um, you did, but sir—there's someone else to see you."
Lysandre considered sending them away. Then he sighed and said, "Very well."
The door opened. A young man that seemed vaguely familiar stepped through, a chespin on his shoulder. "Hello, Mr. Lysandre. My name is Taylor. I don't know if you remember me or not."
"You were the boy who was with Eris in Geosenge, were you not?"
"Yes."
"What are you here for?"
Taylor suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Well, I-I'm actually here on orders from the Elite Four."
"Really." He didn't call the boy out on his lie. "And what did they wish to speak to me about?"
"Xerneas, Mr. Lysandre."
Lysandre's hands curled tightly around his chair's arms. He forced himself to be calm. "And what would they like to know about her?"
"Well, we're trying to find a way to awaken her—"
"I'd realized that. I was the one who suggested it, remember?" He rubbed his temples. "It might surprise you to know I already have a plan in the works."
"Oh. Really?"
"Yes. Sh—" He hesitated. Then he laughed, the sound echoing oddly around the room, dry, hoarse. "Well. I suppose I don't really know if it'll work, do I?" He gestured. "Very well. What do the Elite Four think we should do?"
"W-well, they think that, maybe, we could try treating Xerneas like a real tree. Like, watering her, and such."
"Except she's not a tree."
"No, but she's in a tree's form right now. Maybe if we treat her like one, she'll respond."
Lysandre allowed himself a moment to relax. He tried to focus on the idea, but he felt to worn to do so. "I suppose it is better than nothing. At the very least, we are not set back if we try."
Taylor nodded, looking extraordinarily relieved.
"We can send a team out to try it."
"Thank you, Lysandre." He started to leave, then hesitated. "Mr. Lysandre? I might be over-stepping my boundaries, but are you feeling alright?"
He quirked an eyebrow. "As fine as can be."
Taylor seemed skeptical, but nodded and left, escorted by a Team Flare.
Lysandre wondered what his next step should be. I suppose I should organize that team. He didn't want to; he wanted to go off by himself, somewhere familiar. He forced the thought aside and stood.
-Eris wondered what Yveltal would think about the fact that they hadn't been able to wake Xerneas up again. She sighed. He's probably going to be upset. She wondered why he seemed so odd earlier. Is it because of something I said? Because of something in his past?
The noivern carrying her screeched.
Eris turned her head. Yveltal's mountain loomed ahead of them.
The noivern back-winged, dropping Eris and Doublade into Yveltal's cave, then landing beside them, wings resting on the ground for support.
Eris eyed the tunnel. "Well, okay." She sighed. "I guess let's tell him." She felt tired but shook it off, walking down the tunnel.
She wasn't sure if it took an eternity or only a moment to reach the end of the tunnel, where the rocks glowed red. Anxiety pulsed through her veins, making her skin prickle.
When she stepped out of the tunnel, she realized no one was there.
"What?" Eris yelped.
The noivern screeched behind her. He hurried out of the tunnel and examined the rock pile. He shook himself, then hurried back up the tunnel.
Eris went to the rock pile herself. "What's going on? He shouldn't be gone! He's supposed to be too weak."
A soft voice whispered, "Bored? Or afraid?"
Eris jumped. "Who said that?"
"Who else?"
It took Eris a moment to register the obvious answer. "Doublade?"
"Yes."
"But—wait. How am I hearing you? Like, talking human-speech, or whatever. Does this mean I wasn't going crazy the last time I thought I heard you? Is it because you used to be human or something?"
Doublade laughed, the sound amused, but vaguely grating.
"You don't know either, do you?"
"No."
Eris took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay, then. I-I guess that's not really what I should be worrying about now, huh?" She cupped her chin. "So, what were you saying before? About Yveltal leaving because he was bored or scared."
"Still hurts."
"Wha—oh. Talking. Sorry." Eris ran a hand through her hair. "So, well, I guess it would be really easy to get bored in here, since there are just a lot of rocks and all. But it doesn't seem like Yveltal would leave for that. He's really into his duty and stuff." She paced. "But why scared? Scared, like, he's worried about Xerneas?"
"Maybe."
"But, he shouldn't be. I mean, he sent us to go try and wake her up, right? I mean, we didn't exactly do that, but—" But why couldn't he just trust us?
If Doublade had an answer, he didn't give it.
Eris took a deep breath and touched her Mark.
"Eris?"
"Whatever the reason he left, he's still not in good condition, right? So we have to find him." She closed her eyes and reached for the Mark's power. Come on. I just need to touch it. That's all. Touch it long enough to try and find Yveltal. For a long, agonizing moment, it seemed she would fail. She grimaced. Come on! I did this before, and it's always activating and causing problems. Can't it work now, when I need it?
Something pulsed at the edge of her consciousness.
She jumped. She screwed her eyes tighter and focused.
The feeling came again. Her Mark burned, very slightly.
Eris grinned, and nearly whooped, but held her concentration. Okay. Yveltal, where are you?
She caught brief glimpses; somewhere dark, with plants scattered randomly. Then the power seemed to creep up on her, and she pulled back.
Eris opened her eyes and laughed.
"Find him?"
"Yeah. Well, kind of. I got some images."
"Somewhere we know?"
"I don't know. I couldn't tell."
She thought Doublade's silence meant he was skeptical.
"B-but it's not all bad, right? It means I can still connect to him. So maybe—" She closed her eyes again, gingerly reaching for the power and touching her Mark.
Her arm burned. But her head was clear.
The pulse came again. No shapes or sounds appeared in her consciousness, but the pulse remained strong, a nagging that seemed to draw her to it. "That's it," she whispered, only half aware. "That's how we find him."
She broke her concentration. "We're going back out, Doublade!" She hurried up through the tunnel.
"Found him?"
"No, but I know how to." Upon arriving in the cave, she realized she had another problem; no noivern were around, and she wasn't sure how to call them. She moved to the cave entrance and peered skeptically over the edge. The sheer mountainside descended into the forest below. The height made her dizzy. She swallowed and pulled away.
"Alright?"
"Y-yeah. I guess." Eris took a few steadying breaths. Should I just wait around for the noivern? Since Yveltal probably really isn't in danger. She remembered how frail he looked, and about how he'd acted upon her return. She shook her head. No. I don't know how long that'll be, and I want to know what's going on with him. Even if he doesn't want to let me in. She went back to the edge. "Doublade," she said, her voice shaking, "if I fall, do you think you could, like, catch me or something?"
Doublade's tassels tightened around her.
"Right. I guess that was a dumb question." She turned and got on her knees, slowly edging herself down, hesitantly testing the ledges, making slow progress until she was stretched flat against the rock, her arms above her, still holding the cave mouth, her feet balanced precariously on niches in the rock. She shook, her arms aching, her breath wobbling. O-okay. Here we go. She moved one hand, finding another groove in the rock, then slowly moved her foot down.
One of Doublade's tassels released her, startling her and almost making her fall. She relaxed when the tassel gripped the rock closest to it, awkwardly, barely, but somehow comforting.
Eris continued to make her way down the mountainside, Doublade's tassel reaching continuously for new holds. Eris kept her gaze skyward for the most part; tingling shot up her back and arms whenever her foot slipped, and Doublade's free tassel would tighten around her. She forced herself to breath slowly. Don't think about what's ahead. Just think about what's going on now. Don't think. Don't think.
Her arms and legs hurt by the time leaves brushed her back. She turned and, seeing them, laughed shakily and rested her head against the rock. Sweat ran down her forehead and neck and stung her eyes. "W-we're getting there, huh, Doublade?"
Doublade said nothing, but moved his tassel lower.
She groaned. "R-right. Guess we have to keep going."
Knowing they were that much closer to the ground made the final stretch somehow seem less agonizing, and her feet touched solid ground again before she realized it. Her legs shook, and she fell, resting against the mountainside.
"Alright?"
Eris nodded, panting. "Y-yeah." She looked up the mountainside. The trees prevented her from seeing very far, but a sense of accomplishment, of pride, of strength flooded her. She smiled.
Then she remembered the reason she'd made the climb in the first place and she sobered. She stood, balancing on her shaky legs. "Are you ready to find Yveltal?"
Doublade wrapped his free tassel around her.
"Good." She touched her Mark and closed her eyes. The pulse came again, tugging her gently to her left. She half-opened her eyes, and, in an almost trance-like state, hurried through the forest.
That's the end of chapter fifty – one! Review responses:
Zero1313: Possibly~
Blue-Eyed Cat: Thanks, and that's alright. Yes, I'd imagine that would get on anyone's nerves. And she did indeed have to destroy him in the past.
Kauris Azurai: Haha, yes. That creates an absolutely beautiful picture in my head of Xerneas and Yveltal sitting at a small table eating waffles.
Something dictionary related: Sort of. Their relationship is…rather complicated, to say the least.
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Haha, you'll see.
BlackRitual: Yes, it was actually rather successful in some regards, even if Eris doesn't think so. As for Yveltal loving Xerneas, they're relationship is complicated, but the way it came off was most definitely intentional.
dna6123: Haha, that's a good way of putting it.
jordanobx: That's alright. Yep, Xerneas is female.
Anything you want to say about the chapter? Feel free to drop a review!
