Author's Note: Another chapter where not much is changed plot-wise, but, again, I'm reasonably pleased with how the Dialga fight came out. (Also, I highly recommend you kick up the fight theme for this battle when you get to that part of the chapter, since it sets the scene well and is one of my favorite PMD2 tracks.) Anyway, the ending should make more sense in a couple of chapters, hopefully, but until then I'll leave you with the actual writing.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Resolve
"…Claire, are you okay?"
Everything after their battle with Dusknoir had passed in a daze. Whatever Felix had done with the Rainbow Stoneship had clearly worked, since they were now in Temporal Tower (a few floors in, at that). The ride had barely registered on Claire, though, and she'd almost missed Felix's question.
…She couldn't answer that. Claire couldn't tell them what was bothering her. Suddenly, she understood why Leaf hadn't told her the truth sooner. It still hurt, but she understood.
"I'm fine," she mumbled. "Just a bit nervous, I guess."
Rin nodded. "Yeah…there's so much depending on us right now. But…we have to keep going."
"Yeah!" Iris agreed enthusiastically. "And we can't keep going without you, too, so come on!"
Felix still looked worried about her, but he smiled lightly anyway. "That's right. So…let's go? Just think—once we're done, I'm sure Leaf will be able to see it, too!"
No, he wouldn't. She wouldn't, either.
There was another deep sting in Claire's chest, but she couldn't say that. Instead, she simply nodded and swallowed. They had to go, and quickly at that. Who knew what would happen on the way up, but…they were almost out of time.
Finally, Claire sighed and said, "Yeah, let's get going."
They all grinned and quickly followed her as she rounded a corner. She wasn't lying to them if she just…didn't say anything, right? Neither option was great, really, but it was the only thing Claire could do right now. Would they want to go on if they knew the truth? Would they be willing to put the Time Gears at the summit? Claire wasn't sure, but she had no choice. If she held back know, the future would turn out just like the one they'd seen—and Claire couldn't let that happen.
She'd been fine with this before. Claire had been okay with…disappearing to save everyone. Was it just like dying, or would she not exist—never have existed? If that happened, would everyone still remember her? Why had she just assumed she'd be fine? Claire knew she was changing things, so—
"Claire, look out!" Felix shouted.
They'd entered another large room, and Claire almost hadn't noticed the Porygon swiftly approaching her. It crackled with electricity, preparing to fire off a Discharge. A Bonemerang from Rin cut it off, and Iris promptly finished the angular Pokémon with a Faint Attack.
Claire closed her eyes and shook her head as Porygon crumpled to the floor, paws tightening around the strap of her treasure bag. She needed to concentrate; now wasn't the time to space out. They'd just had this conversation…
"Are you sure you're okay?" Rin said softly.
"Yeah," Claire sighed. "Let's go."
And, without looking back, she headed towards the staircase on the far side of the room and went to the next floor.
They were approaching the top now, Claire could tell.
More and more of the tower's inhabitants—guardians?—had tried to fend them off the further they went. Tremors had started rocking Temporal Tower about halfway in, and they got worse the higher Claire and her team climbed. Now, it was hard to get a good footing for more than a few minutes.
But they were near the end now; they had to be.
Claire was breathing heavily by the time they reached the pinnacle. Everyone was worn out from all the fighting they'd done, but they couldn't let their guard down now. She scanned the area; Dialga had to be there somewhere. Maybe he wasn't Primal yet, though. Maybe they could just talk to him, and—
The area suddenly went dark, and Felix yelped as he grabbed Claire's arm. She looked around frantically. There was another strong rumble, and she almost lost her footing. Then, there was a bright flash of light, and a roar shook the air.
"Th-that's…" Felix was frozen, eyes wide, as he stared at something up ahead of them. "N-no, we're not too late, are we?"
Dialga was standing near an altar at the other side of the pinnacle, and he roared again as he took several rumbling steps towards them. Claire swallowed; he was the same purple and gold that he'd been in the future, not the natural blue and silver they'd seen in that mural down at the Old Ruins. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she'd expected. If time was starting to go wrong here, of course there'd be something wrong with Dialga, too. But…
"YOU!" he shouted. "YOU DARE TO COME HERE? TO VIOLATE THIS PLACE?! I CANNOT ALLOW THAT!"
"No, we're trying to help you!" Iris yelled. "If you'll just let us fix things—"
"YOU LIE! YOU CANNOT CHANGE THINGS NOW! I WON'T ALLOW IT!"
He'd lumbered closer as he spoke, and now he was towering over them. Claire stumbled backwards, trying to put some more space between her and Dialga. She'd never heard him speak when they were in the future. Granted, they'd only been in his presence for a few minutes, if that. But, still…
Maybe, somewhere deep inside him, that meant there was a chance he could still be reasoned with. Maybe it meant he had some rational thought left. They could hope; they had to try. But, as he raised a claw and rammed it into the ground, dangerously close to where she'd just been, it was clear they'd have to fight through him first.
"Everyone, get ready!" Claire called as she swerved to the side. "And be careful!"
With that, they fanned out and went on the attack.
Dialga roared, and Claire watched his massive claws swung through the air. Rin barely dodged, swinging back with a Bone Club. Iris darted in and out with Needle Arm and Faint Attack, occasionally shaking it up with Absorb. At first, it did little more than annoy the massive dragon, but it added up. And although she could really only get one leg at a time, Iris's swift hits did their job of throwing him off balance.
He swung around, striking with his tail—all four of them were easily swatted away, and Claire rolled backwards as she skidded across the floor. Broken floor tiles caused as many nicks and bruises as Dialga's strike did, and she was out of breath, wheezing and gasping for air. She staggered to her feet, vaguely aware of Felix frantically punctuating his Embers with Thunder Punches. Then a few more hits, and—
Another massive roar rent the air, and everything seemed to shatter around her. Claire froze, unable to move, her vision blurring as time stood still. And then Dialga was left still and panting, too spent from whatever he'd just done.
She staggered; Felix caught her, despite looking just as haggard, and Claire was able to fire off a Thunderbolt. Finally, she was able to do something. Given his size and resistance, it didn't do much damage, but maybe it would at least stun him—
The fight raged on, her teammates dancing around Dialga and doing what they could. Individually, it wasn't much, but maybe—maybe—it would add up. Felix rolled backwards from another return attack, eyes wide and unfocused; Claire tossed him a Reviver Seed. Iris had somehow gotten up on Dialga's back, firing off her usual enthusiastic strikes, and he roared and flailed around and tried to knock her off.
Despite the Cacnea getting sent flying, Rin and Claire had an opening. They looked at each other, nodded, and launched simultaneous Bonemerang and Water Pulse moves. And once Rin's club swung back around and hit Dialga the second time, he staggered forward with his eyes rolled back in his head.
Had they done it? Was he finished? Finally, Dialga crashed to the floor with a heavy thud, limbs twitching before he settled in an unconscious heap. Iris slowly sat up, rubbing her head and squinting at Dialga's prone form.
"Uh, he's out," she mumbled, voice slurred a bit from her semi-conscious state. "He's done, so, like…go…do the thing, or whatever."
Claire's heart pounded; Iris was right, but they had to go. Now. Before he got up again. Just in case—
The Time Gears were in her bag. She'd collected them after Leaf had scattered them for anyone to take. It was her job; she'd come back here to do this. She ran around Dialga, stumbling again when she reached the stairs to the altar.
Felix was there again, supporting her, and somehow she managed to take one of the gears from her bag. Claire reached up, set it into one of the spaces carved out perfectly for it, and it clicked in securely. She grabbed a second one, and it clattered to the ground. Felix picked it up and put it in, and between the two of them, they were able to put all five gears in place.
At first, there was silence. Then, a heavy tremor rocked the tower, and the two of them tumbled backwards, crashing into the floor behind them. There were a few loud crackling sounds that almost sounded like lightning, and Claire sat up woozily.
"Did it…did it work?"
Rin's voice was barely audible, but Claire heard her, and she hesitantly looked around. There were large cracks in the floor, and several pillars had crumbled and fallen over. But the Time Gears were still in the altar, glowing faintly. And behind them, there was the sound of Dialga stirring.
"It has," he said as he rose to his feet. "Temporal Tower has sustained heavy damage, but…things should go back to normal soon."
"So, um…you're okay now, too, right?" Iris said, wearing a slight frown. "You're got gonna attack us again?"
Dialga chuckled and shook his head. His darker coloration had slowly faded, and now it was back to normal. The light glinted off his blue and silver form, and there was an almost amused look in his eyes as he went on.
"No. I am fine now," he replied. "Here; let me show you something."
The gem on his chest plate glowed, and a beam of light charged out of it. A screen appeared in the sky in front of them, and they could see a forest, green and bright and rustling in the wind. Claire stepped forward for a closer look; the area looked so familiar, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it… Soon, it hit her.
"Oh! Is that Treeshroud Forest?" she said. "Last time we were there, it was so still and dark, but now…"
"Yes," Dialga confirmed. "Time should be back to normal there, as well as everywhere else it stopped. You…have done well here today. The four of you have saved us all, and I cannot express my gratitude enough."
Iris cheered, grabbing Rin and pulling her into a hug. The Cubone flailed around in surprise, and Claire giggled when Iris finally set her down. Felix smiled as he looked at them, and then he glanced back up at Dialga.
"It's too bad about the tower, but…"
"Do not worry; I should be able to repair it. It may take some time, but…I can do it."
"Oh…okay, then!" Felix nodded. "That's good. I guess we should get going, then."
"I will alert the tower's residents that you are on your way down." Dialga nodded as he spoke. "They will not attack you as you make your journey back. Again…I offer my thanks!"
The four of them smiled and waved as they turned back towards the stairs. For a moment, Claire almost thought things would be fine. She was still there with her teammates. Maybe she would have the chance to celebrate with them after all and enjoy the new world she'd helped create.
Then, there was a small flicker of light from her paw. Claire paused to look at it, but it had already stopped. Perhaps she'd just imagined it—but there it was again.
Iris called out to her from up ahead, and Claire scrambled after her team. She decided not to mention it as they made the trip down.
Somehow, Claire made it to Temporal Tower's base. She wasn't entirely sure how; her limbs had gotten heavier the further they went. And now, back at its entrance, she was so numb that she could barely move.
There was another flicker of light from her body. Claire swallowed, doing her best to ignore it. Everyone else had gotten ahead of her, and she needed to catch up. They were so close to the Rainbow Stoneship's dock now, but their voices were…so faint…
Claire staggered and collapsed, and Felix cried out in alarm as he spun around to look at her. Another small golden ball rose from her arm, and then a second one. Rin and Iris were watching her intently, eyes wide, but neither of them said anything.
"Claire?" Felix offered her a hand, but his voice was quivering. "What…what's going on?"
"I-I—" She swallowed again, frantically looking between her teammates. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, but…I can't…I can't stay here anymore."
Everyone jumped, and Iris demanded, "What? Why not?"
"If—if the future's gone, then w-we are too," she replied faintly. "I didn't realize until Dusknoir said it, but…since we changed things…we don't really exist anymore."
There were more golden shimmers of light now, and Claire was surprised she'd managed to say that much. Honestly, she was lucky she'd even made it back down the tower. She'd half expected to disappear immediately, but at least now she had the chance to say something.
"B-but that's not fair!" Iris sputtered. "Come on, that can't be right. Maybe he was just lying again!"
However, it was clearly true. Claire was getting more and more light-headed, and she was almost translucent now. She was fading, faster than ever, and she knew she didn't have much time.
"I know," she croaked. "And…I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about it. All of you were so good to me, and I can't—" Another shimmer, and her voice cracked again. "Iris, you were always there to cheer me up with whatever you were doing. And Rin…you were the reliable one who kept us all going."
The two of them were smiling, but it was obviously weak. Claire could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks, and her vision blurred as she looked over at Felix. He was shaking—so hard—and he was gripping her so tightly she could actually feel it.
"Claire, you can't go! Y-you can't leave us—"
"I-I have to," she choked. "Felix…you gave me something to do and somewhere to go. It's thanks to you that I could do all of this. I will always, always appreciate that—"
"Me, too!" he wailed. "Y-you have no idea how much I depend on you!"
She laughed hollowly, shaking her head as Felix buried his face in her shoulder.
"No, you're stronger now. I know you are. But…Bruce…" There was another lump in her throat, one that was harder to speak through. "I don't know what he'll do… I'm leaving him behind again…and I lied to him this time."
He'd been so sure they were coming back, and Claire could picture the Glameow's expectant smile one last time. Bruce was waiting for them back at the guild, just like all the other recruits were. And Claire didn't even get to say goodbye to him; at least her other teammates were getting that much.
"Tell him I'm sorry—"
There was one final shower of light from her body, and Claire couldn't feel Felix holding her anymore. Her vision went white, and then it slowly started to fade. She almost gone now.
For a few seconds, though, she could've sworn she saw something. There were Pokémon she recognized, cheering over the dawn of a new day, celebrating the rise of a sun they'd never had before. And she was there among them, for a few brief seconds.
Then, finally, everything went dark, and Claire's consciousness ceased to be.
She…was awake. Somehow, she was alive and almost conscious. Beneath her, Claire could feel the sand, and she could hear the soft motion of waves in the distance. And…voices? Claire heard…someone speaking, but it was faint, so faint.
But then it was closer, and she could tell that there were two people—or Pokémon—approaching her. They were familiar voices; she knew them. Slowly, painfully, she sat up. Her limbs still refused to work, and it took her eyes a while to focus.
Felix and…Bidoof. They were staring at her with wide, confused eyes, and they were on the beach. It was the very same beach she'd woken up on before. Claire blinked, slowly raising her paws to her face. Still a Meowth, but she was somehow alive and real, or at least she thought she was real—
And then Felix flung his arms around her and started sobbing, and Claire knew she was really back.