Chapter 52 – Arc 4 (Poni Island) Peace for Who?

Although she had agreed to help try to talk some sense into Makua if they came across him, Selene found it infuriating when they had found him. Well, a potent mix of infuriating and pitying, but mostly infuriating. He had been the one that had ultimately pointed it out to her in the past that Elio was too dangerous to keep around, he had been the one to plant that thought in her head, and although she regretted it to the bottom of her heart—agreeing with him, that was—she was absolutely dismayed to see how disheveled and ill Makua truly was. Even more so when it finally hit home for her that he was behaving as if there was nothing that could have been done for him. The irony in how similar his aggression was to Elio's before he… he went away, was not lost on Selene, and it made her so, so angry with him. That he would dare tell her that her brother 'had to go,' and then would turn around and put so many others in danger in exactly the same way…

They had found him at a single house amongst rubble and ruins fairly deep into Poni's hinterland. The lonesome abode was apparently owned by an elderly woman, who simply referred to herself as 'Gran,' but even though such a description might have painted a picture of a frail, elderly woman tending to herself in such a remote location, it was made very clear from the start Gran was no wilting daisy. They had come across her hilariously waving a flipflop, admonishing Makua for his failure to take care of himself, and demanding he come inside to let her help him as much as she could… Which, admittedly, Selene quickly realized wasn't much.

She had seen a glimpse, through Plumeria's memory, of what injury Makua had sustained. In the vision, it had been a mere bite wound—a bloody one spattered with venom, but a simple bite wound, nonetheless—but now, it… was too horrible to even look at. There was certainly no way he could walk on that leg, and explained why he was leaned, panting and heaving for breath, against one of Gran's fences. That was where the pity came from, recognizing he was in such dire straits. But the anger came flooding back when Makua bitingly refused to listen to Gran, waving her away and loudly snapping at her.

It wasn't long after that that Hapu arrived, and Selene, Hau, Gladion, and Lillie learned that this lonely little home was none other than hers and her grandmother's. At first, Hapu was understandably alarmed, coming home to an ornery, injured Skull member snarling at her grandmother, a dozen or so grunts scattered about the premises, not to mention a handful of strangers to boot, so she ignored them and ran straight to Gran's side.

"Hapu!" Lillie called, urging the group to follow her over. Plumeria, having realized Makua wasn't going to cooperate whether he saw her or not, made no attempts to hide herself as she followed them. Makua locked his eyes on her even though he said nothing.

"Huh?" Hapu looked over her shoulder, a Mudsdale trotting behind her. "What the heck is going on around here?" she frustratedly demanded, turning back to Gran. "Gran!"

Tapping Makua on the head with her flipflop, apparently having lost all patience with him, Gran whirled away from him and started toward the front door of her home. "This idiot wants to try and make it to the Altar on one leg, is what's going on! Well, really, he wants to talk to you about stuff related to the Altar and its myths, but the fool will die of that venom before he gets anywhere near it! Not that he listens!" she ranted in Alolan, disappearing inside with the door slamming behind her. Muffled, she still continued, "Fine, then!"

While Plumeria crossed her arms and stood in front of Makua, focusing on the dirt below her feet, as if she couldn't even bring herself to look at him, Selene found herself interested in what Hapu's grandmother had just said. Lillie and Gladion took an interest in supervising Plumeria and Makua's conversation, but Selene and Hau darted over to Hapu.

"The Altar?" Selene echoed. She remembered the vision she'd had with Mina. With the various Captains and Kahunas—at the Altar of the Sunne. "What's—what's the Altar?"

Hapu swiveled her head around almost comically, taking in the overwhelming scene. Stroking her elderly Mudsdale's neck calmingly, Selene wondered if that was for herself or the pokémon. "Listen, I don't know what the heck's going on right now, an' I got Skull guys crawlin' all over my Gran's house, can I get a minute to deal with that?"

Without waiting for a response, she strode past them, leaving Selene and Hau feeling awkward and a little guilty. "Right, fair point," Selene sighed.

"You said you were leaving," Makua was huffing at Plumeria when Selene and Hau drew closer. His voice was scratchy, deep, and broken, coming in fitful gasps with his breathing. A Bastiodon, who she knew to be his based on her earlier vision from Plumeria, sat near the fence, warily tracking everyone with just its eyes, never moving its head, even as Bowtie slunk close to Makua's leg to inspect the wound, which seemed to only be worsening by the minute.

Selene just clenched her jaw and wrenched her eyes away from him after a moment. It was so easy to be angry at him, but it had all been her fault, hadn't it? She had put the idea in Elio's head he had to be so aggressive. She had agreed to his leave. She had failed to grab Lusamine. So, what right did she have to be so angry at Makua? For Arceus' sake, his leg was rotting away as he sat in front of her! So, as much as it pained her, she took a deep breath, and tried to find it in herself to calm down. What good did it do to be so angry at him?

She closed her eyes and listened to them talk.

"I'm not here for you," Plumeria flatly told Makua. "I'm worried for these kids." Pausing, she hung her head. "Fuck it. Ya know that ain't true. You might be the biggest fuckin' asshole I know right now, but you're Skull, an' you're hurt, an' you're all those kids got. So, please, just let the lady—"

"She and the rest of you can stay the hell away from me!" Makua bellowed, a cough following his outburst. "Goddamn it! What's the fuckin' point, anyway?"

"Hope is not easy to maintain…"

Selene seized up at the familiar disembodied voice. She still had no idea who, or what, it was (and had avoided telling Hau and Gladion for fear of them being unreasonably worried for her), but her eyes flew open, and she looked around frantically. Even though she knew she wouldn't find the source nearby, it was pure instinct to look anyway. Disheartened, she stilled herself and took a deep breath. What do you mean?

Before the voice could answer her, Makua ranted some more about how it didn't matter whether he got help or not, not unless Hapu could tell him about the Altar. It was only when Hapu, still bewildered about the scene altogether, held up her hands and told him she would tell him everything he wanted to know about the Altar as long as he allowed her Gran to take a look at him and do what she could for his leg. She also hastily offered the scattered, frightened grunts some water, which seemed to finally ease the situation.

"Many humans, in my experience, misinterpret hope as something that's free, sweet, positive… Many incorrectly believe it is an easy thing to have and hold onto. Hopeful people are called naïve or airheaded, looked down upon by those who struggle to keep hope."

What're you getting at? Selene privately asked, staring at the dusty earth.

"Hope is painful. Hope is fiery. Hope is devastating. Hope is recognizing your low odds, your most dire of circumstances, and choosing to believe everything will work out for the best. Maintaining hope is a full-time, all-consuming job that ravages everything about you. It's almost like water… It can fit almost any container, but given time, can erode even canyons. Hold onto hope long enough without the payoff, and it will slice through you, no matter how firm you stand."

Fighting the urge to shake her head, Selene wanted to scornfully ask, Then what do you recommend? Nobody have hope? That sounds like a dark world…

"Of course not, I would never imply hope is useless. But don't take it for granted, and don't underestimate it, as it is something to be respected, much like the unpredictable waves of the ocean… and don't condemn those that cannot manage it."

Selene looked up, watching as Makua limped into the house with the help of Gladion and a couple of grunts, where Gran impatiently held the door open for him.

"Not everyone can withstand its force…" Selene whispered.

"Huh?" Hau glanced at her. Worriedly furrowing a brow, he sighed, "Ae, are you okay?"

"I…" Selene shook her head. "I think it's important we talk to Hapu about the Ruins of Hope…"

So, they waited for Hapu to settle down and be more open to the idea of talking to them.

"The Ruins o' Hope is Tapu Fini's den. Rumored to be, anyways. Nobody's seen her in years. But she is s'posed to be able to heal almost any wounds, cleanse any broken soul… If anythin' is poisonin' your Nebby, then Tapu Fini could take care of it… if she's there, though. Like I said. Nobody has any idea if she's even still there… My Gran would slap me if she heard me say that, honestly, but how can you blame people for waverin' on believin' somethin' is still there when it gave up on y—I mean, all of us?

"As for the Altar of the Sunne, it's a sacred place… a memorial, if you would. It's been forgotten by many from the other islands, but Gran told me how it used to be well-known… It's where Kahunas and Captains of Poni have always been officially named. It's at the deepest end of Vast Poni Canyon. There's a Dragon-type trial on the way that hasn't had a Captain in ages. A Totem Kommo-o handles it all on his own. It was a tradition once that Captains and Kahunas completed that trial on their way there, y'know.

"It's… hard to explain the Altar without explainin' a lot more. See, you don't hear about these others as much, but the Tapus aren't the only godlike pokémon we've… supposedly, had here in Alola. Back when Alola was new, there were two others… the Sun Beast and the Moon Beast. Gran always said the Sun Beast was playing a game with the Tapus and he chased them into Alola, but it wasn't like the world he came from, so he fell out of the sky and couldn't get back. The Moon Beast chased him, and she fell, too. They were always together, and they made friends with the Kahuna of Poni Island back then.

"Time went on for a while with no problems… then, something else came from the sky. The Beast Who Swallowed the Sun. First, it took the light from the skies, and the Tapus tried to fight it off. After it easily beat them all, the Sun Beast and Moon Beast attacked it. As you might'a guessed, the Sun Beast was swallowed, leaving the Moon Beast without her love.

"The Moon Beast stole the light back from The Beast Who Swallowed the Sun. She absorbed it all, until she herself looked like a shooting star, and she flew into his heart. The Beast Who Swallowed the Sun returned to the sky while the Moon Beast spread her wings. The Sun Beast's energy lit the world up again, while the Moon Beast became the stars scattered in the sky, and crystals from The Beast Who Swallowed the Sun rained down across Alola. Alola was safe, but the Sun and Moon Beasts sacrificed themselves to bring light back to our world…

"Some stories say there was an egg left behind, from the Moon Beast, and the Altar was built to honor her love… Although the Moon Beast died on top o' Mt. Lanakila, Poni was chosen because of how close the Beasts were to its first Kahuna. Gran says if someone ever manages to bring back a piece of them to the Altar, more Beasts may fall from the sky, but nobody knows what the others are like…

"O' course, those are all just stories," Hapu finished with a heaving sigh. They were all seated within her Gran's living room, though the elderly woman had turned in to bed for the evening an hour or so prior. Makua had finally accepted some help, at the promise of more information about the Altar, and so he was half-draped across a loveseat at the far end of the room. His Bastiodon took up a massive amount of space on the floor just in front of it but refused to move. At one point, Gladion's Null approached it, and if Selene hadn't known better, she'd have said Null had tried talking with the other. Yet, the Bastiodon rumbled a growl, and that was all it took to make Null defeatedly slink back over to Gladion's side.

Plumeria had left the room earlier as well, going to talk and tend to the dozen or more grunts that had accompanied Makua on his ill-fated venture, with water and camping supplies courtesy of Hapu and her Gran. So, she missed the explanation that Lillie had pried from Hapu, as she asked for more information about the Ruins of Hope. Even now, as they sat on chairs and cushions that had been gathered in the modest living room to provide some basic comforts, Lillie was leaned forward, elbows on her knees, hanging onto Hapu's ever word. But Selene was focused on something else.

She was noticing the way Hapu's words had a sad cadence to them. In some parts, she sounded almost scornful, or disbelieving. It dawned on her, about halfway through her explanation, that Hapu did not believe what she was saying. The bitterly scornful edge she caught onto suggested that at one point, she had, or that she trusted her Gran enough to ignore her own disbelief, but there was no denying it. Hapu did not believe the tale she spun for them. Although unsure of how old Hapu was, exactly, Selene figured she had to be in her mid-to-late teens—only a little younger than herself, if not the same age. That realization brought a grimace to her face, made her stroke Bowtie as he wedged himself between her arms and lap.

"You say…" Makua trailed off, his breathing coming in rapid gasps. Hapu's Gran had given him some herbal medicine and had done her best to treat his wound, but the Salazzle venom and saliva had already started its necrotizing work, and the wound was far too large for her to handle. In the end, bandaging him and her natural, antibiotic concoctions were all she could do. Just as he carried on speaking, Plumeria returned to the room, quietly clicking the front door shut behind herself. "You say that if a piece of… a piece o' the Sun and Moon Beasts are brought to this Altar, other Beasts can come out… does that mean others can go in?"

Surprised, Hapu blinked and looked back at him. "Go in? Go in where?"

"Go in… into the sky…" Makua panted.

Awkwardly shifting her weight and rubbing the back of her head, Hapu said, "I… don't know, to be honest."

"They didn't just fall out o' the sky like you said," Makua huffed, trying to sit up. He yelped and flopped right back down. Gritting his teeth, he added, "They… they c-couldn't have, they came… came from somewhere, like what Aether was messin' with…"

"Aether?" Hapu echoed. "Them Galarish folk, that island o' theirs that sank?"

Stiffly making her way to Lillie, Plumeria took a seat on a throw pillow and crossed her arms, refusing to look at Makua.

"Plumes…"

"What?" Plumeria practically spat the word.

"Please."

Bewildered, Plumeria finally glanced at him. "Please what?" she impatiently pressed.

"If… if you meant what ya said, if ya really didn't mean for all that to happen… Please… Need ya to find those… pieces o' the Sun and Moon Beasts, an' get Guz back…"

"Whoa, there," Hapu interjected, "like I said, they're just stories Gran told me, I don't even know—"

Standing up and cutting Hapu off, Plumeria stalked over to Makua. "After everythin' ya did, an' pushin' me away…." she faltered as her voice became taut with emotion. "Suddenly, ya trust me, 'cause you know your sorry ass can't do it? 'Cause you're hurt? I know ya hate me, but ya wanna use me, too?" His Bastiodon immediately rumbled a growl, stamping a foot warningly against the floor.

Planting both hands over his face, Makua groaned. "Plumes," he patiently said, sounding much different than he had earlier, snarling at anyone that came near him as he leaned against that fence, or as he had in the brief glimpses into Plumeria's memories Selene had gotten. "Don't be stupid. Did ya really think anyone would'a fuckin' helped me?"

To that, Plumeria faltered. "What… what are ya on about?"

"A Salazzle bit me. A Salazzle bit and spat Toxic at a leader o' the Skull Gang. Let that sink in for a second," he panted. "I was basically our medic because doctors wouldn't see members they figured were Skull. One look at my tattoos and listenin' to how I talk, an' they'd know. What good would limpin' my way back to Poni's docks, headin' to their doctor, just to get turned away do?" Shaking his head, he moved his hands and pleadingly looked up to her. "…An' yeah. I'm not gonna lie. I don't trust ya. For all I know, ya did have somethin' to do with it all. An' I won't lie about this, either: I know I ain't makin' it. So, if that Altar's a way to get to the world Lusamine went to, an' there is a chance that Guz is on the other side…"

Plumeria was already shaking her head. "Makua, she's telling you, I told you," she was tearing up, "they're stories, and that hole, it closed before…"

"Please… Please do what ya can to try an' bring him home."

Tearing up more, it seemed all Plumeria could say, as she clamped her arms to her sides, was, "Fuck you, Makua," which Selene couldn't figure out if she had intended it to be icy or endearing, through how choked she sounded.

"I can't say I trust ya… but I can apologize for it," Makua added huskily, his voice seeming to fade. "I'm sorry I can't be like Guz, or Kaua, or… or anyone else Skull needs… I may not trust ya, but they do…" He shakily raised a hand and gestured vaguely to the rest of the room, and out the door. "They do… an' I realized on my way here…" He trailed off, taking a deep, shuddery sigh. "I just realized…"

"…and don't condemn those that cannot manage it." Selene sharply looked away as she recalled that haunting statement the feminine voice had told her last time they had spoken. Closing her eyes, she hung onto that phrase, because part of her wanted to be furious with Makua, to lay into him for behaving as a victim after all that had happened… Yet, given his context, she struggled to find her right to do so. She could certainly put him down further, but if he recognized his own issues, if he recognized he would likely not even survive this very night, what good would it do, to berate a dying man during his last breaths? Did it even do any good for her, to be angry at him? No… that wouldn't make her feel better. The situation was sad all around and putting Makua down further would only add to her own anger and sadness surrounding him and her brother.

So, she took a long, deep breath. I forgive you, Selene told herself. I forgive you, and I hope you find the peace that you can't get here, soon…

"Plumeria," Lillie called, making Selene open her eyes and look up at her.

"Huh?" the other sniffled, half-looking at her over her shoulder.

Setting her jaw, Lillie put a hand over her heart, in that same gesture Hau often did. "I'm going to find Elio. And if Guzma is out there, him, too. We'll go to the Ruins of Hope to try and help Nebby, and then we'll pay a visit to this Altar of the Sunne."

Stunned by her determined declaration, Plumeria didn't seem to know what to say.

"What… are y'all talkin' about?" Hapu interrupted after a moment, then pushed through them, craning her neck to look at Makua. "Sorry, I need to check on—oh…" She grimaced, and said nothing as she turned around. "Look," she whispered, "they're just stories, stories Gran's told me since Gran'pa passed, about these really strong pokémon that don't live among us anymore. They're just pokémon. And I don't… who's this Elio, an'… why was Makua talking about Kaua? An' what's happened to Guzma?"

"'They're just pokémon…' what does it mean to be a pokémon?"

Selene irritably ignored the intrusive question, as she was far more interested in something else. And it was at that moment that she realized Hapu's way of speaking was remarkably similar to that of everyone from Skull she had met, not to mention, how fluent her Galarish was—much like the other Skull members. And then, a mention of her passing grandfather… In a whirlwind of thoughts, beginning with remembering the Mudsdale in Mina's memory galloping about the elderly, friendly Kaua (and how Hapu had an older Mudsdale she loved dearly, based on watching her interact with it earlier that same day), then how the book had claimed Kaua to be the Kahuna of Poni Island, and rapidly progressing until this very moment, she almost gawked at Hapu.

Kahuna Kaua was her grandfather, and the aftermath of his untimely demise at the hands of Tapu Bulu had left scars deeper on Poni Island than anyone had realized. The hopeless Tapu Fini, the faithless Hapu, the withering Mina, and the wasting Poni Island, which seemed to be bleeding residents given how few lived there and how vast its wilderness was. Poni was where lay the secret to understanding what Alola had been like before The Beast Who Swallowed the Sun's visit had terrified them, and even then, before Tapu Bulu had given them reason to be even more petrified.

…and maybe, maybe, if she dared to hope… Maybe it held the secrets to finding Elio, again, too… If hope was such a difficult and fiery thing to hold onto, then Selene was grateful Lillie had enough to spare. Her determination was contagious, and she appreciated it.

Bolstered by that, she hoped, then, that Lillie's fervorous conviction might spread to Hapu, and Hapu might help them to the Ruins of Hope and ultimately, the Altar of the Sunne, as it seemed was Lillie's new ultimate goal.

Suddenly, she understood why Mina had told them to find Hapu. Glancing back at Makua, she saw that he was still giving shallow, shallow pulls for air, but she could also see he was limp and fading fast. Although not entirely sure what the gesture Hau and now Lillie had performed meant, the placing of a hand over their heart, something felt… right, in that moment.

So, Selene made the small gesture to herself as she looked on Makua.

"I don't know what it means to be a pokémon, any more than humans understand why they are human. Perhaps they are not so different after all… Mind Jumper, find my den."

Suddenly, the voice made sense. Selene's hand dropped from her chest. We will, Tapu Fini.

This chapter took forever to write. I could not figure out how I wanted it to exactly flow, I could not figure out how much I wanted to show - it was just annoying, and I'm still not super happy with it. That being said, it had to be done, and I can finally move on! So even if this one wasn't that great, I feel the next ones will be much better.

I also think this was tough for me to write about because it deals with a lot of emotions I've been feeling irl myself, in the throes of quarantine still and having had a lot of other IRL issues going down. I've said it before and I'll say it again, while Black and Black 2 were more carefully crafted to be a good, well-written and easily readable story, Ultra Sun is more... free, in the sense it's more of a form of self-therapy for me. I have fun throwing together all my headcanons and giving extra detail on stuff I felt the games never expanded on, but I can also use these characters to explore feelings that are too complex for me to think about directly.

Anyway, if anyone's stuck with this story for this long still, I hope it is good enough, hahaha!