Chapter 5
The Altar of Sunne and Moone
Alola had become quiet, and the beasts that suddenly appeared from portals in the sky had disappeared just as fast. No one quite understood what happened that day. But now, three days had passed, and people were trying to get back to their regular lives. There was still the fear that the beasts could return at any moment.
Lilo stood at the altar. Salazzle was by her side. The duo had been there for hours. Since Kala had called her, she rushed over to Poni Island, but she wasn't fast enough. She could see the scars of the battle that had taken place, and from Kala's disappearance, she had an inkling that her best friend had gone to the other side. The only thing that remained was Salazzle, who was beaten severely by the battle.
For the past three days, she'd come to the altar with Salazzle and the two would wait. She refused to leave Poni Island until she got some kind of answer, but with each passing day, it was beginning to look more and more hopeless.
When Cyan went missing, it broke her heart. While Kala was her rival, she never liked battling with Lilo. However, Cyan challenged her, and she saw him as an equal.
Losing a best friend is a completely different story. Lilo had no idea how to feel. No matter how much sadness swelled up in her chest, she couldn't bring herself to cry. As soon as she cried, she'd be admitting that Kala wasn't coming back.
But then on the third day, something was different. Lilo stood still with her hands clasped together. She prayed to the guardians that Kala would come back. And now, the air shifted. She looked to the sky, and something started to form. Suddenly, there was an explosion of energy, and a portal ripped itself into existence. Lunala emerged, and it flew into the air with the four trainers on her back. It slowly descended towards the ground before stopping and allowing the trainers to get off. Kala and Logan were careful to hold Cyan up while Luna stayed behind them, the odd creature from before following closely.
"Oh my goodness!" Lilo cried out. She ran forward. "You're back. I'm so glad you're-" she paused. "Cyan?" Lilo wondered as she saw the famished boy in between Kala and Logan. "Cyan, is that you?"
Cyan looked up. He slowly winked. "Alola."
"Cyan…" Lilo said quietly as she walked forward. She met with the group and reached out, grabbing ahold of Cyan by the face. She paused before she pulled him into a tight hug. "I can't believe it…" Her body started to shake as tears flowed from her eyes and she held her old friend close. "I can't believe…"
Kala smiled weakly. "We did it."
Kala and Lilo held tightly onto Cyan, enjoying the reunion that they had waited so long for. Logan took a step back and smiled at Luna.
Then, Lunala let out a roar, catching everyone's attention. They turned to the Pokémon as it prepared to leave them be. The Pokémon built from the space dust cheered before it floated back to Lunala.
"Solga Jr." Cyan muttered. "Thank you."
"Solga Jr.?" Kala wondered. "Solgaleo?"
Without answering Kala's question, Lunala roared once more, and the smaller Pokémon got on top of it. The two were then off, disappearing into the portal.
Kala and Lilo exchanged looks before they focused back on Cyan.
"Welcome back."
Kala and Lilo always held out hope that Cyan would return, but they were never sure what to do if he ever did. It was two years since he had gone missing, and they constantly thought about what they would say when they finally saw him. They had a lot of questions, and Cyan, who appeared the same age as when they last saw him, raised even more. The only place where they felt they could get their questions answered was on Akala Island.
"Cyan, you're… you… you haven't aged," Professor Burnet said.
Cyan looked around the table. He had stuffed a few bites of french fries into his mouth, so he couldn't respond immediately. After a few silent moments of him trying to swallow, he finally spoke up. "A lot has happened, and I've been really hungry, so I guess I didn't notice, but everyone does look older. How long was I gone?"
"Two years," Kala said. "Two very long years."
Cyan weakly shook his head. "That's not right. That's way too long. I was only there for a week, maybe. If I was there for two years, I'd surely be… ya know… dead… I should be dead as it is."
Everyone sat back in disbelief. They exchanged looks, unsure of what to make of the situation.
"Cyan, so much has happened since you've been gone," Lilo said. "Kala is a gym leader. I'm part of the Elite Four. Alola has an official league."
"But I was only gone for a week."
Professor Burnet clicked her tongue. "It's very possible that you were gone for only a week, and at the same time, it's just as possible you were gone for two years. You traveled to a different dimension. Time could very well move at different speeds for different dimensions. We still don't understand all of the rules. This is fascinating though."
Cyan looked at Kala. His friend was now two years older than him. He wasn't sure how to feel. He had missed out on so much, and to him, this didn't feel like his reality.
And Kala looked at Cyan. He seemingly hadn't aged a day. He had lost a few pounds from the lack of food and drinkable water, but he hadn't grown at all. It was as though she lost no time with him, but at the same time, she had experienced so much and was a completely different person.
"How long were we gone?" Logan asked. "I mean, we were only in that dimension for thirty minutes, maybe an hour at most."
"Three days," Lilo said. "We believed you were gone too." Her eyes were starting to swell with tears, and she glanced at Kala before lowering her head. "I thought I lost both of you."
"If that's the case," Burnet said while dragging a notepad from the middle of the table. She started scribbling on it with a pen. "Every day here was roughly fifteen minutes there. But for all we know, it's not a constant."
"That's crazy," Luna mumbled.
Cyan's eyes sunk in. "And what about my mom?"
"I contacted my husband. He's on his way here with your mom."
Kala sat forward and grabbed his hand. "She didn't take your absence well at all. The first few months, she would barely speak. It took roughly a year before she could even laugh."
Logan and Luna looked at one another. "We should probably contact our families to reassure them we're okay," Luna said. She smiled. "My mom's probably freaking out right now."
Professor Burnet looked slightly embarrassed. "We-uh-actually… We didn't know that you both were with Kala when you disappeared. We're not sure if anyone knows that you went missing."
"Saves me a phone call, I guess," Logan said. He sighed and then laughed.
"So, mind updating me on everything?" Cyan said. "It sounds like I have a lot of catching up to do."
Kala and Lilo looked at each other, unsure of where to start. Lilo then started to laugh slightly before scratching the back of her head. "Well, a few months after you disappeared, there was a tournament to decide the first Champion of Alola."
Cyan perked up. "Who won?"
Lilo pointed at herself. "I did, baby!"
"But she declined the offer to become the champion, and instead, someone else was crowned," Kala said. She wasn't sure how to say the next part, and she nervously looked around. "Everyone agreed to give you that honor."
"Me?"
"Yeah!" Lilo said. "Congrats, champ!"
Cyan appeared uncomfortable. "I'm not sure how I feel about that, but thank you. Do I have to do anything? This is all coming at me so fast. Do I get benefits?" His hands started to shake, and he took in quick breaths.
The group could tell that Cyan was beginning to have a panic attack, and Kala and Lilo softly put their hands on his shoulders. He relaxed slightly and then looked towards the middle of the table, avoiding everyone's gaze.
"You don't have to do anything," Lilo said. "We have a champion right now, and she takes care of everything. It was our way of remembering what you did just in case you didn't come back."
Cyan appeared relieved. He closed his eyes and then sat back before asking his next question. "So, gym leader?"
Kala nodded. "Yeah. I train Dragon-types. My little Jangmo-o is now a fully evolved Kommo-o."
"Peek-a-boo is going to be intense."
Logan sat forward. "Kala is by far the strongest gym leader in all of Alola!"
"You two are challengers?" Cyan asked. They nodded. "What's it like?"
"We've traveled through Unova and now Alola, and it's been a blast," Luna answered. "When you get back into the swing of things, I definitely recommend battling the gyms!"
Cyan's legs shook, but he tried to remain cool. "I might be able to do that."
"This may sound crazy to you, but even Guzma became a gym leader!" Lilo exclaimed.
"This is definitely not my reality," Cyan said quietly. "Did I die?"
Before anyone could answer his question, the door to the lab opened up. Slowly, Cyan's mother, who's hair had now started to grey, walked through, and her arms fell to her side as she saw her boy. Kukui and Guzma stood behind her.
Cyan, without hesitation, stood up and ran to the other side of the lab. He grabbed ahold of his mother and squeezed her as tightly as he could, letting his tears flow. His mom hugged back tightly, and she couldn't help but cry. Everyone else was silent.
"I'm so sorry," Cyan said, his voice muffled by his mother's blouse. "I'm so sorry."
"You're an idiot," Mrs. Kokura said. "You're such an idiot. Okaeri."
All had calmed down throughout Alola. The mysterious beasts that had swarmed the islands were gone, and there was peace once again. Everyone was not at ease though, and the people of the islands all seemed nervous to leave their houses. But slowly, things started to turn back to normal.
Cyan got a full meal, and he returned to Melemele Island with his mother. The four Pokémon that he had left behind all went to the island to meet with him. He was blown away by Golem's new form, and while he was upset with Oranguru for dirtying his room with his fur, he was delighted to see his old Pokémon again. Salazzle embraced Primarina and Venusaur tightly. Lycanroc never left Cyan's side, and she took every opportunity that she could to cuddle against him. She never wanted to lose him again.
Mrs. Kokura put a plate with what appeared to be rice and an omelet laid out on top of it on the counter table. Cyan smiled before he happily began to dig in.
"It was a very long two years," she said. "But everyone seems to be happy that you're back. Kala and Lilo never gave up hope."
"I almost did," Cyan responded quietly while he stuck some rice in his mouth. "I don't know how to explain what I saw on the other side, but it sucked a lot out of me."
"You've done enough traveling for one lifetime, eh?" she asked.
Cyan was quiet. He looked down at his food.
"I'm not saying that you can't go on a journey," she exclaimed. "I thought about it a lot, and I really wanted you to come back. I thought that I was a bad mother for letting you leave. But then, I think I came to the realization that I was a bad mother for not letting you leave when you should have. I sucked away a year of your life, because I was terrified of what would have happened. But, I think that hindsight is 20-20. You should have had a normal adventure with your friends when it was time."
"Mom, I'm terrified," Cyan simply said. "I don't know. I don't think I can go on an adventure again. Those two trainers I met, they seemed to be happy to be on one, but I'm not sure if I can."
Mrs. Kokura sat forward on her elbows. "Take your time, Cyan. Get back into the swing of things here. Relax. Enjoy the beach. Play with your Pokémon. Go slow."
"I-I think I can do that," he said softly, his voice shaking.
"And then, you have a battle with a certain Island Kahuna on Poni Island you never finished."
Cyan took another bite of his egg and rice. "I hope it's not too late."
"You ready?" Logan asked.
Luna nodded. "You just watch. I'm gonna blast through this, and then we'll be back on the beach in no time."
"Sweet!"
"The following battle will be between Gym Leader, Kala Mahoe and the challenger, Luna Devons! It will be a three on three bout, and only the challenger will be allowed to make substitutions! Begin!" Lokelani yelled.
Kala lifted her Poké Ball and held it lightly. "Just because you helped me save Alola doesn't mean that I'm gonna go easy on you."
Luna grinned and then flashed her Poké Ball. "I don't want it any other way!"
"Go!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
And so concludes this story! As far as I'm concerned, Kala's story is finished. Besides her becoming the Island Kahuna eventually, there's not a lot that I can do with that character. I do see her moving back to Melemele Island to take over that position, because she no longer will need to keep a close eye on the altar anymore. As for Cyan, well, there's more to his story! I'll be posting something new in only a few days, and we'll continue his journey.
You can follow Logan's adventures in "Healing in Hoenn" and "Kickin' It In Kanto" if you enjoyed this.
REVIEWS:
pokemonking0924 - "Well we won't be seeing that mad man ever again, it was a close battle but the heroes are victorious. Cyan is alive but it looks like he almost starved to death. I do wonder how much time did pass for him in ultra space, but at least Kala, his mother, and everyone else in his life will be happy he's back. Looking forward to seeing the final chapter." - They all seemed quite relieved to have him back!
wisdom-jewel - "Kala finally got Cyan back. I'm sure after getting chewed out for his behavior they would update him on what's going on. Of course, he was a young boy and didn't have a lot of options on the battlefield. I'm glad that Enhalus is out of the picture for now. I doubt he'll escape but still, there's a chance if he gets one. But is there just one Necromza or are there more (peacefully) roaming around." - I believe there is only one Necrozma, and as far as Enhalus goes, I believe he's gone. I see no reason to bring him back ever.
CrescentApple - "Okay, that was a really good and intense battle. Once I even confused Logan for Cyan, but in a good way. Their team work was amazing, the Pokemon were tough, and I can see here why Logan used Crawbrawler against Dragonite: the little guy stands strong even against something as mighty as Ultra Necrozma. I've never finished the game, so I have no idea if the two time cops is part of the video game, or if it's a little thing you added here. But I was thrown off by their appearance. Even more so when they wanted to kill Necrozma. So that thing just goes around wiping out alternate planets? Dang... And Logan... I saw in your profile he's still 11? So time does move slower here... but I assumed he would be okay, not in this nearly death state. Jeez... but it all worked out in the end, so... yay?" - Because of the big time change for Cyan, he's now the same age as Logan. That was my overall intention with having time move at different speeds. And for the time cop people, they're loosely based off of characters introduced in Ultra Sun.
