"He's been through a lot."

"He just needs some time."

"It's his way of coping, and he'll get over it."

Eevee knew what they said behind his back. Conversations stopped when he approached. He was met with too wide smiles and too cheerful tones. It had been this way for weeks, ever since he returned from the Hidden Land as nothing more than a grieving bundle of tears.

"Sol's gone!" he had cried. Instead of the heartbreak he had expected from such news, they had looked at him with only confusion written on their faces.

"What do you mean your soul is gone?" Loudred had loudly asked.

Eevee had been stunned into silence. Was it some type of joke? No, not even Loudred would make light of something like that.

Eevee tried to tell them, his voice broken by hiccupping breaths from a fresh round of tears, but it was like they had never so much as heard of Sol before! Even Grovyle and Dusknoir seemed to have faded from their minds.

"But you went to the Hidden Land by yourself..." Chimecho had said, brow furrowing in confusion.

This can't be happening, Eevee had thought. It was one thing to lose a friend, but it was something else entirely to be then told that friend had never even existed.

So Eevee had been forced to go through all that pain alone. No one could understand. The worst part came the night he returned, when nearly the whole town had convened at Spinda's to celebrate the saving of the world, and not just because everyone was so happy while Eevee wanted no more than to curl up and cry.

"Don't you remember?" Loudred asked. "I set this up the night before we went to Brine Cave."

No, Eevee didn't remember that. What he remembered was Sol running over to the cafe while the others got supplies in the town, saying how she planned on having one Hell of a party when they got back.

Not only was Sol gone but everything she had ever done had been edited over. Her bed was gone from their room in the guild, all her gear and belongings vanished into thin air. It was like she had never existed.

But why did Eevee remember when no one else did? How did they explain events if Sol hadn't been there to cause them?

"This one saw you defeat the Groudon illusion," Jak said, her eyes narrowed suspiciously at Eevee. "Jak watched from the shadows and was impressed, so Jak asked to shadow you and see if Jak could learn more about the ways of the town

Pokémon."

"That's not how it happened!" Eevee cried. "Don't you remember Sol beating you in the Steam Cave? Or calling her your alpha?"

Jak hissed, small streams of smoke leaking out of her mouth. "This one has no alpha. This one has never found one worthy of being called such. You are a pack mate, as is the stupid Cubone, but none are Jak's alpha."

Then Eevee asked Ren.

"I saw two Pokémon braving the desert sands, unprepared for the harsh tests nature provides in the blistering realm."

"But what about Sol? The Riolu that was with us?" Eevee cried. "She... she was so annoyed with you... It was the first time we fought..."

Ren paused and considered his words carefully before he spoke.

"The mind is a wonderful, unexplainable thing that thinks up many ways to shield itself from harm. Your mind was threatened with the hardships encountered on the quest to the land in between time, and so it created a barrier against such woes. You have given the barrier the name of Sol."

Eevee's bottom lip trembled as he fought back tears of frustration. "Do not seek sunshine as it storms, for a sudden break in the clouds amidst the showers causes much confusion"

Ren tilted his head to the side and regarded Eevee curiously. "Are you saying that there is no point in looking for happiness when times are bad?"

"No," was all Eevee managed to whisper before he ran to find a quiet place to cry.

Not even Jak and Ren could remember Sol, and she had been their team leader! Everything Sol had ever done or said, they either remembered someone else having done it or it never being done at all.

To them, Sol was nothing more than a figment of Eevee's imagination. He had conjured her up to help him deal with the horrors of the Hidden Land. When Eevee refused to believe that, the other Pokémon began to treat him like a porcelain doll: handle with care or he'd shatter.

Then, with much patience and care, they tried to explain to him what really happened, and how his version of events was impossible.

"You never went to the future. Something like that is impossible! No, you traveled around, gathered as much information as possible, and figured out what would happen by yourself! No Passage of Time required! It was quite the accomplishment, you should be proud!"

"A Time Gear thief? No one would have been able to steal Time Gears from the three guardians! You had to go to each and convince them to give them to you. You presented your case so clearly..."

"A human turning into a Pokémon? Who has ever heard of such a thing! Team Wanderers didn't need some 'hero' from the future to do what needed to be done!"

And on they went, layering on the praise as if inflating his ego was the only way Eevee would rid himself of his delusions. Eevee would never forget Sol just so he could take all the credit! Eevee knew in his heart she was real and no one was going to change that.

But it was getting hard. No one believed him. Eevee got the same pitying smiles from everyone he passed. He tried to avoid going into town in order to avoid the stares, and instead spent most of his time on the beach. It was getting colder as winter approached, so it was usually empty.

He'd sit on the sand and stare out over the ocean waves. This place reminded him of Sol the most. She liked coming down here, even if she never went in the water. It was also where they had first met, seemingly a lifetime ago. If Eevee concentrated long enough, he could almost fool himself into believing she was right there beside him, and sometimes he'd even see a flash of blue and black fur in his peripheral. It brought him both comfort and sorrow.

During one such moment, Eevee heard the soft buzz in his sensitive ears that he associated with psychic energy. When he turned his head, he saw Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf floating down the beach towards him. Eevee frowned then locked back over off the water.

He didn't want to be interrupted, not here. This was the place he went to remember Sol. He didn't want to listen to another go on about how she didn't exist.

"We wished to give you our thanks for what you have done," Uxie said. "We are leaving today and will not have another chance to speak with you."

"You should be thanking Sol, not me," Eevee snapped. He was so sick with people placing all the praise on him while the real hero was left forgotten.

For a brief second, Azelf looked shocked. Mesprit gasped openly and stared at Eevee with wide eyes. Even the usually emotionless Uxie looked a little surprised, but quickly recovered.

"Do not dwell on what may have happened," he said. "Focus on what has."

Eevee stared at them for a moment.

"You know," he said. The trio said nothing and instead turned to leave.

"You know!" Eevee yelled and sprang to his feet, now dead certain that what he was saying was true. "You remember Sol!"

Mesprit looked back at him. She opened her mouth to say something, then glanced at Uxie before closing it without saying a word.

"Why won't you admit?!" Eevee screamed at them. "You know Sol is real! Why won't you tell the others I'm right?!"

Even after the three disappeared from sight, Eevee still screamed questions at the empty beach.

"Why can't anyone remember Sol?! Why?! She doesn't deserve to be forgotten! Why can I remember, but not Jak and Ren?! Why not anyone else?!"

Eevee slumped down and stared at the ground. His next words were barely more than a whisper.

"Why do I have to live with the pain alone?"

...

Eevee moved through life like a zombie. What did it matter when everyone thought he was crazy? What did it matter now that everyone's patient concern had turned to annoyance? What did it matter now that Team Wanderers was on the verge of splintering apart?

What did it matter with Sol gone?

It was just so hard. It was wearing on him, listening to the constant stream of judgements from those who tried to convince him Sol wasn't nor ever had been real. There were times when doubt made its way into his mind. Maybe they were right. Maybe he did just make Sol up.

He hated them for that. He hated them for making him doubt.

Eevee's last promise to Sol was that he would never forget her, yet here he was, doing exactly that. No longer could he remember what her voice sounded like. Her face was nothing more than a murky, faded image. Sometimes he would stare off into space, trying to recall what they had spoken to each other about.

But Sol was real! Eevee would keep on believing that, no matter what others say and no matter how many doubts he had.

The other apprentices were steadily losing hope with Eevee. Any friendships Eevee had with his guild mates were quickly unraveling. The situation was even worse with Jak and Dhiren. The strain was becoming too much for their loyalty to handle. Team Wanderers was quickly becoming nothing more than a memory. Eevee didn't know why he had expected anything different. It had been Sol who had brought them together and it was her who kept them working as a team.

But that was the price of keeping Sol alive in his mind. Eevee wouldn't break his promise, not this time.

...

Eevee spent most of his waking hours down on the beach. It was the only place he could clearly remember Sol, and, in the cold grip of winter, it was the only place he was free of the judgemental stares of other Pokémon.

Eevee's entire life was falling apart. He had lost his apprenticeship at the guild, Chatot saying that he was in no fit state to be an explorer, and it didn't seem that he would be getting better any time soon. No one in town would want to hire the delusional guild washout, so money was quickly becoming an issue. While now technically a freelance team, Eevee didn't expect Team Wanderers to last much longer. Jak was already talking about leaving.

Espeon was trying to convince Eevee to go back East with her, back to his hometown. But Eevee couldn't do that. This place was his last tie to Sol. He couldn't leave it behind.

Eevee heard the sound of feet disturbing the sand and Jak and Ren's arguing voices. So this was it. They were finally going to leave.

The two stopped right next to Eevee, but didn't say anything. Eevee looked over at them. Jak fidgeted and kicked at the sand while Ren stared out over the water at the setting sun.

"Yes?" Eevee said. He just wanted it over. At least then he couldn't possible lose anything more.

Jak glanced at Ren and nudged him with her elbow. He gestured at her then at Eevee. Jak sighed.

"This one... this one and the Cubone... We believe you."

Eevee blinked. "What?"

"We believe that you believe that Sol was, is, real," Jak said.

Eevee deflated a bit. "But you don't think she's real." For hope to be restored, only taken away so quickly...

Then Ren stepped in. "What is real? Genuine, existing, not artificial. But what does that truly mean? If something is real for one, then it must be real for us all. You believe Sol is real, and that is enough for us."

"There is much weakness in the pack, but for some reason Jak does not wish to abandon it. Jak has not made things better by disbelieving her pack mates. Jak will follow the Eevee, even if she does not understand some things."

Eevee's eyes began to water. They didn't remember Sol, but they were willing to support Eevee's beliefs. That was more than anyone else had done, and it meant the world to him.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Eevee cried and hugged them both. Suddenly, the future didn't look so bleak.

"There are no facts, only interpretations," Ren said. "I wish to hear the tale again, of how you remember the Time Gear crisis."

Eevee hugged them a little tighter before letting go. He nodded and the three took a seat in the sand, a team once again.

"Ok... Well, I suppose it started one day as I was trying to convince myself to join the guild. I had chickened out so many times before, but this time I brought my personal treasure with me..."

...

Dialga paused in his work. From his place at Temporal Tower, he could witness events almost anywhere in the Pokémon world, if he so wished. He had been keeping an eye on Eevee lately, and it was breaking his ancient heart.

But now, something different was happening. Where once there had only been a defeated sorrow, Dialga could sense a faint flair of hope from Eevee. Dialga listened in as Eevee told his story to Jak and Ren.

Throughout it all, however, the pain was present. Even after so long Dialga could see Eevee still felt the loss as fresh and sharp as when it had first happened. He had expected it to be hard, but Dialga had believed that it would eventually dull as time went on. But that was clearly not the case.

"I miss her so much..." Eevee said as he finished, his voice thick with grief.

Dialga's heart broke once again. This wasn't right. He had the power to end this, yet he allowed Eevee's pain to continue. To Hell with Palkia! Dialga was master of time, and he would not have any other dictate how he would use his power!

Dialga roared, a sound that echoed through time. Lightning flashed over the tower as he pulled at the threads of fate and destiny, ripped them asunder and wove them anew as he saw fit. Time was twisted and warped, past, present and future torn and shredded until Dialga was happy with the results.

Then, ever so carefully, he inserted the Riolu into the time line. He stitched and threaded time around her, painstakingly smoothing it over so no ripples or rifts would be formed. The end result wasn't pretty, forcing things back into existence rarely was, but it was stable.

Dialga looked over his work with a critical eye. There was a bulge left around Sol where time, and even a little bit of space, was warped. Palkia would be so pissed, but when wasn't he angry? Dialga could have sometimes sworn that Palkia lived just so he could be self righteously mad at things.

Dialga shook himself, suddenly very tired. Bringing Sol back had been draining, and it would take some time to recover. He wouldn't be able to watch over them for awhile, which was worrying. Who knew what Palkia would do when he found out?

Then again, what were the chances that he even would? Centuries passed in the blink of an eye for beings such as him. It was quite possible that Sol would have died of old age long before Palkia ever thought of checking in with the world.

...

"I miss her so much..." Eevee said. "I'll never forget her."

Ren nodded. "No one is expected to expect the impossible, and nor shall we."

"An interesting one this Sol is," Jak said. "I wouldn't have expected a human to act in such a way."

A sound like thunder split through the air, shattering the peaceful twilight.

"What was that?!" Eevee cried.

Jak looked at the cloudless sky. "There is no storm, yet there is thunder?"

The sound came again, even louder this time. Eevee clapped his hands over his ears and looked about fearfully. Jak growled and tensed, ready to fight. Ren just stood there lke a statue, staring up at the sky.

"A falling star... A miniature sun..." Ren said. Eevee looked up and saw that there was indeed a bright yellow light arcing through the sky towards them.

"A star, a sun... a shining sun... Sol!" Ren's eyes widened as he said the words.

Jak's head swiveled around, confusion written on her face. "... My... alpha?"

"You remember?!" Eevee cried.

His voice was all but drowned out as the thunder increased its volume. The blazing light burned brighter and brighter the closer it got. With a tremendous boom, it crashed in the sand not far from where they stood.

Eevee was blinded by the flash and his ears rang from the noise. It took several moments for his eyes to clear and see what had landed on the beach.

There, sprawled on a sand dune, was a familiar blue and black form.

"Sol!" Eevee screamed and ran towards her. The Riolu's eyes were closed and she was unresponsive. Eevee shook her by her shoulder. "Sol! Wake up!"

Her eyes snapped open.

"Danger! Danger!"

Whack.

Anyone want to read some more philosophical ramblings on what is real? Check out my profile page. It's really weird.