Author's Note: Kind of a wrap-up chapter, but, hey, every fic needs a wrap-up chapter. Also, there's some acknowledgement here of how complicated everything was, so that's a thing. Anyway, this isn't quite the end, but we're getting there, so here's the chapter.

Chapter Sixteen: Mixed Feelings

To say it had been a strange day would be an understatement, Claire thought as she sat down at Sharpedo Bluff. It was the first way she could think to describe the whole thing, though. Maybe she was still processing everything.

Everyone else was quiet at first. They were probably tired from the trip—it was a long way to and from World Abyss, after all. Claire knew she was, and it was tempting to just sleep everything off before talking about it. However, Claire proceeded to blurt out her thoughts anyway.

"I still don't know what to think about everything."

Bruce blinked. "What do you mean, Claire?"

"Well, you know…" She bit her lip. "I can't help but wonder if, like…we could've done something differently, or whatever."

Felix sighed. "What could we have done differently? I mean…I wish we didn't have to trap Darkrai like that, since who knows what those places are like, but…"

Despite having said it, he seemed reluctant to finish his sentence. Felix cringed, and Claire couldn't blame him. It really was weird to think about. And she knew he was right, too; at least in that specific situation, they hadn't had a choice.

"Well, yeah, but…I don't know. I guess I just wonder if there was some way we could've…not made the whole thing happen in the first place. Does that make sense?"

Rin nodded and suppressed a yawn before she spoke. "Yes, but…"

She trailed off with a shrug, setting her bone down and idly scratching the back of her neck. For a moment, she looked deep in thought, but Rin eventually shook her head. Meanwhile, Iris folded her arms and looked around at everyone. Once she spoke up, she seemed more certain than Rin had.

"What could we have done about that, either?" she huffed. "It's not like we could've known—well, I guess maybe we could've known, now that I think about it. If we'd used the Dimensional Scream sooner, then maybe, but even then, we didn't have any reason to think about that. What were we supposed to do, have Claire check Darkrai literally every time we went out?"

Claire wished she'd had that idea sooner herself, honestly. Sure, the Dimensional Scream had disappointed her once, but it could've been helpful if she'd had another chance to use it. Still, despite how bluntly Iris had put it, Claire knew she had a point.

"Well, no, I guess not," Claire admitted. "It's just, you know…maybe we could've taken him out to places we already knew well. Then we'd know it was safe, and maybe he never would've opened up a Dimensional Hole in the first place."

Even without Giratina specifically, if Darkrai felt threatened enough, he may have done that elsewhere. It might have taken him longer to figure out exactly how Dimensional Holes worked, but the chance was still there. Only going to 'easier' dungeons may have prevented that from happening.

Then again…would he have felt like they were controlling him? Limiting his choices like that might not have helped—it could've just frustrated him more. And either way, Claire knew she'd get bored if she went to the same few places over and over again, so that might not have been the best idea anyway.

Felix sighed again. "I guess so, but I still don't know what else we were supposed to do. This whole thing was just so complicated…"

Bruce nodded. "I guess we could've explained things better, but who knows? We still can't predict how Darkrai would've reacted to everything."

Claire nodded as well. "Yeah…didn't you say you were worried he'd repeat himself if he had ideas, or something like that?"

Iris sighed, far more dramatically than Felix had. "Fat lot of good that did us. Darkrai still got into trouble even when we didn't tell him anything!"

"Yes, but for all we know…" Rin stifled another yawn. "…he may have done something even sooner."

Everyone was quiet again for a few minutes. The whole thing really was complex in so many ways, Claire thought. She supposed it was possible Darkrai could've become fully good eventually… The current situation wasn't the fault of any one Pokémon, either. It was just the way all of the many variables had connected.

Still, Claire couldn't help wishing that the whole thing hadn't happened. It was all hindsight, of course, but what if Darkrai just hadn't gone to World Abyss? Would that have helped things at all? Or would it have just delayed it?

"I guess everyone's right," Claire eventually said. "I mean…I didn't really like Darkrai, but, even then, I wonder if he could've turned out better. It's not like he remembered what he did, so he could've started over, right? I wish things could've been different."

"Oh, Claire, you're too nice for your own good." Iris shook her head. "Weren't you really upset when you first saw we had Darkrai with us? And here you are feeling bad for him!"

Rin shot her A Look indicating she thought Iris had gone too far. Once again, though, Claire knew she had a point. She had been upset when she'd first seen Darkrai. And regardless of whether or not he remembered it, he'd done some pretty terrible things.

"I can see where she's coming from, though," Bruce admitted. "I mean, isn't that what we were hoping, too? That we could at least try?"

"Yeah," Felix agreed. "Even though this went as well as it could have, I wish it had gone differently, too."

Claire sighed. "Yeah… I guess there's nothing we can do about it, though. And that probably is the best thing that could've happened in this situation… Dialga and Palkia said it should be almost impossible for Darkrai to come back, so I guess we don't have to worry about him either way."

There was kind of a horrible sinking feeling in Claire's stomach as she said that. It seemed harsh when she heard it aloud. Even knowing it was the 'best' outcome didn't dull the sensation. But, like Iris had said, what could they do about it now?

Bruce nodded again. "And if we're really worried about it, maybe we could check on Giratina sometimes? I know they said it'd be fine, but it might be a good idea anyway."

"I think that'd be nice," Felix replied. "I mean, I feel kind of bad for Giratina, so it might be nice to get to know him better, right?"

It was a nice sentiment, Claire thought. Sure, Giratina blamed himself for the incident, but he hadn't meant badly. It had just been a big accident from his end. Guarding the portal's remnants seemed terribly lonely as well, even if Giratina lived in a dungeon full of other Pokémon, so going down to talk to him could mitigate that.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Claire said, finally smiling again. "For now, I think we need a rest, though."

"I know I'm exhausted," Iris replied. "So let's stop thinking about all this stuff and get some rest already!"

With that, she flopped back onto her bed. Within seconds, she was snoring away, and Rin shook her head. Maybe Iris could stand to be more serious, but…yet again, she was right. Everyone was tired, and they needed to rest before doing anything else.

The rest of Team Shadow proceeded to make themselves comfortable, and Claire yawned as she laid down. She felt slightly better now that they'd talked it out. The whole thing was still weird, but…it was less weird.

And, all things considered, Claire would take that.