The archive was silent save for the sound of charcoal being drawn across a wooden slat. Thinking she was making excellent progress on copying a segment dealing with a specific form of meditation, the lucario was interrupted when she heard her name echo through the halls. "Reiga!? Reiga where are you?"

Being propped up in a corner with her selected book was hardly a place to have the discussion she was expecting, so Reiga finished the sentence she was on before answering. "I'll be there in a moment, Vanilla."

The eevee didn't wait. Following the sound of her voice, Vanilla found where Reiga had been hiding.

"Ah, so I take it you've been brought up to speed?" she asked of him.

"I don't know. With all the things I haven't been told I can't know…" Vanilla looked like he wanted to say more, but instead only found himself shuffling his feet on the floor.

"What's on your mind, Little One?"

"I-is there somewhere we can talk in private?" was all he asked.

Reiga simply checked the nearest halls and, once verifying that they were empty, returned to the archive entrance to close the door. Setting her book aside, she sat down in front of the eevee. "We should be alone now, Vanilla."

"You knew about all of this the whole time? Why didn't you tell me!?" Tears began welling up under his eyes as he continued. "I trusted you, and now I learn that, that… I don't even know what that stuff was about! What about Chocola! D-did she-"

"Chocola was unaware." Reiga cut him off. "Before we assess your feelings, there is still more that you should know…"

He wasn't sure she could trust what she said, having been kept in the dark for so long, but now? "I'm listening…" was all that he could say, his indignation clearly audible.

"Despite what Pumpkin may have told you, we do know the details of Exile's creation." Now she had his attention. "The two warring pokémon were called Dialga and Palkia. Each a legend in their own right, they controlled the ability to manipulate time and space, respectively. We suspect that their powers interfered with each other often enough to drive the two to combat, but other than that, the details are quite scarce. We do, however, know what Giratina did to them." Vanilla raised an eyebrow betraying his curiosity, and Reiga continued "After defeating the two, he broke them apart and sealed their energy inside of the Dimensional Pillars."

"But, how does that affect what happened to Chocola…?"

"Well, after contacting the stone, she became a vessel. Based on what Zaho's discoveries, we believe that she is now in possession of a piece of Dialga's soul."

"Can we remove it?" Vanilla asked, trying his best not to get his hopes up.

"Yes, it will eventually remove itself, but without the proper training," Reiga paused for a moment, "Chocola may not be able to recover."

"No! That can't be true!"

"I'm afraid it is, Little One. We know this because the same thing happened to her mother." Reiga finished solemnly.

Vanilla was starting to connect the dots. "Her family's curse…"

"Precisely. For reasons unknown to us, the Pillars call out to her family members, though we believe it used to occur at some sort of set interval. Before my arrival, the time between soul transfers allowed for the vessels to nearly lead a full life. In doing so, they were able to train themselves to handle the soul pieces safely."

"But since you've arrived?"

Reiga sighed. "Somehow, my coming to Exile has sped up the process. We're not entirely sure how. Maybe it was caused by a weakness appearing in the dimensional barrier, no matter how brief. Or, it is because there are so few pillars left, and it is nearly time for Palkia and Dialga to awaken. We do not know. All we do know is that when Zeri returned the soul to its proper resting place, her own soul went with it."

This news hit Vanilla particularly hard. He felt as though his own heart was being ripped from his chest and he hated himself for it. "Is there nothing we can do? Please, Reiga! We can't let Chocola die!"

"And we are doing all that we can. That is why we chose to reveal all of this to you, now." Riega answered.

"But why me?"

"Before I continue, I'd like to apologize on Zaho's behalf once more. We did use you. We did it because Zaho believed that we could use you instead of his daughter for a vessel. It was selfish and wrong and there's nothing we can do to make up for that." Reiga stated. Vanilla had never thought the lucario could look more defeated than she did right now. "But, if what you told us was true, then there just might be a chance we can still save her, Vanilla."

So he had been right. They had used him. But if it was to save Chocola, he'd do it all over again. "Please, I'll do anything!"

Reiga looked at the eevee. His eagerness to help his friend, despite everything they'd intended to do to him, very nearly broke her heart. Despite her suppressing the urge to give the fox a comforting hug, she still had a job to do. "It will be dangerous."

"That doesn't matter!"

"There's a very real chance that you will die…" Reiga declared, in all seriousness. "That you may share in Chocola's fate…"

"I. Don't. Care." Vanilla declared, resolute.

"As you wish." Reiga said as she rose to her feet. "Your training begins now."