Chapter 53 – Arc 4 (Poni Island) Honest Hope

Have I explained all my whack ass Alolan mythology well enough? Probably not. is that gonna stop me from posting this chapter despite having only proofread it like twice? Absolutely not, because it's 2am and I wrote this in a fervor because I had the sudden inspiration, so it's now the Internet's problem. I'll probably reread it in a day or two and be mortified by some errors in it though xD

The Ruins of Hope were, surprisingly, located a distance away from the canyons Lillie had believed they were initially in. Sure, they had to pass through some winding channels within the rocky, craggy walls, but the den was just inland of the Poni Breaker Coast, the ancient, mossy pathway leading to the ornate entrance decorated by washed-up, colorful shells. The entrance to the cavern was marked by a gilded, golden doorframe, long rusted and warped by time.

Hapu had been brought up to speed on everything they had experienced, and although she had been baffled by their explanation (and it had taken some time for her to even fully believe them), she had agreed to at least take them to Tapu Fini's den to try and help Nebby—even if she clearly believed it to be a futile effort. Plumeria had even come with them, though she had opted to remain a distance outside of the cavern—it was understandable she was quite anxious about the idea of being anywhere near a Tapu, given Skull's checkered past with them. Makua, of course, had been left back at Gran's… Although he had still been alive when they left, he had been asleep, and still breathing shallowly. Privately, Selene doubted he would wake again, and part of her felt a guilty pang of relief for him in that respect.

Warily stepping into the cavern alongside Hau, Lillie, and Gladion, it looked at first that she might have been right. The internal of this cavern looked less like a cavern, and more like an abandoned home. Broken, crumbling stone floors gave way to moss and overgrown vines. More colorful shells were strewn about the wet, stony walls. Beyond the initial cobblestone path, warped, splintered wood fed into a deeper, square chamber.

"That doesn't look stable," Gladion warned her, grabbing her right arm, and causing her to pause. Selene nodded slowly, then, looking around, noted that those stone walls had ancient torches lining them. Despite their age and despite how wet they were, they were still there; for such an inactive place, one said to have been uninhabited in over a decade, she found it hard to believe that the torches on the wall would still be in one piece while the floor was too unstable to even walk on.

"Ae! Look, there's a path here!" Hau exclaimed in Alolan, picking his way to Selene's left, finding a bridge of relatively undamaged wood across the divide. He pressed into the deeper chamber easily, encouraging Selene to follow his footsteps, pulling her hand from Gladion's without a second thought. Had she glanced behind herself, she might have noticed him reach to grab her, then stop himself almost immediately.

"There ain't anyone here," Hapu sighed as Selene followed him. Bowtie ghosted along behind them, crossing the broken wood thanks to how weightless he was. Hau's Umbreon, still behind with Gladion and Lillie, whined and tried to follow him—only for his paw to catch in some of the splintered wood. He yelped and scrabbled, but ultimately slipped.

Before Hau had the chance to react verbally (though his eyes went wide as saucers and Selene had to snatch him by his shirt to stop him from running out onto the unstable ground), they heard a loud, warning caterwaul, and an Absol shot out from the murkiness below the cobblestone and wood flooring. The Umbreon was draped across its back as it bounded easily into the deeper chamber. Sharing a look, Gladion, Lillie, and Hapu hurried after Hau and Selene across the sturdier, narrower bridge, and watched as the Absol shook Hau's Umbreon off its shoulders in front of him.

Thanking the Absol breathlessly in Alolan, Hau hugged that Umbreon tight enough to squeeze it uncomfortably, making the pokémon squirm and paw at his shoulders in protest—not that Hau seemed to care. While he whispered his intentions to make sure nothing ever happened to the Umbreon ever again, the Absol bounded up old, withered stairs, and sat atop a makeshift throne at the furthest reach of the cavern. More torches lined the walls there and above the pokémon's head, a mural, etched in simple, black images, stretched well over twenty feet in diameter. The Absol dipped its head and narrowed those glinting, red eyes at them, flexing claws against the wilted wood. A low, warning howl escaped its throat, but Selene couldn't shake the idea this pokémon was looking straight at her.

Of course, she also immediately understood, based on everything the Tapus had shared with her at this point, that this was no ordinary Absol. And her believe was proven correct when the Absol lit up a brilliant, flashing white that washed the cavern with its brilliance, blinding them all. When it was over, a shelled creature was left in its wake—none other than Tapu Fini herself, teal eyes glinting in place of her previously red ones. They flashed white fleetingly, and in an instant, every torch on the wall lit up with blue flames, throwing dramatic shadows on the mural above her head.

Awestruck, Selene only remained standing there, looking her up and down. "It's you," she breathed.

"Tapu Fini," she heard Hau whisper behind her. "Selene… Selene, get back…"

"No… She's…" Hapu was sputtering for words.

"You found me," Selene heard that familiar voice. She glanced around, wondering if anyone else had noticed it, but based on the way nobody reacted, she supposed Tapu Fini's conversation was still a private affair. Giving a slight, audible purr that Selene was sure everyone else had to have heard, she added, "Thank you…"

"Tapu Fini," Lillie interjected, stepping forward boldly. Elio's Ninetales nervously followed at her heels, his breath coming in visible puffs of mist, as she held up a Nest Ball at the Tapu. "Tapu Fini… This is Nebby… I think—"

"Lillie!" Hau hissed warningly at her, alarmed. "What are you doing?"

"Asking her about Nebby!" Lillie retorted, as if that was the response he had been looking for.

Yet, during that, Tapu Fini slowly wafted down the left stairwell of her altar, and approached them all, far closer than any of them would have appreciated—except perhaps Selene. While she recognized the almost suffocating pressure of the pokémon's godlike presence, there was something keeping her rooted there, her heels digging into the wood, unable to move. While the others were focused on the Tapu moving closer and closer to them, Selene found herself focused on something else. The mural behind her head.

Dark, simplistic pictures painted for her a memory she had only just begun to imagine prior to then.

The cave around her melted away like watercolor paint dripping down a canvas until a star-studded sky, draped over a lonesome mountaintop, was all that remained. On that mountaintop, a young boy, perhaps no older than fifteen, sat cross-legged in the tickling grass beside her. Looking down at herself, Selene realized she was in Tapu Fini's body, the mystical pokémon her vessel for today's vision. Saying that to say, she recognized the boy: his name was Māui.

Māui spoke idly to her, in words she only half-understood, until he pointed at the sky with a handmade fishing rod. Tapu Fini understood this was something Māui kept with him at all times, proclaiming it his 'lucky charm.' Although she had never understood that, she found the trait endearing. Today, his lucky charm, poised toward the sky, was pointing out a shooting star. Normally, the neat sight would have simply crossed the sky and left them to wonder where it was headed to, but just as Māui was jokingly asking her what she would wish for, they realized this shooting star was not simply passing them by. Feeling a bolt of terror, Selene watched through Tapu Fini's eyes as she dove at Māui, enveloping him in her shell, and rolled out of the way, down the mountainside. She landed harshly a great distance away, but that didn't stop her from hearing the crashing boom of the shooting star landing on the earth.

When she finally dared to unfurl her shell, Tapu Fini and Māui made their way back to the peak of that mountain. That was when Selene realized it looked so familiar… the grassy mountainside overlooked a canyon filled to the brim with a rushing, beautiful freshwater river. Vast Poni Canyon… Yet, that thought was lost quickly as her vessel, Tapu Fini, and Māui approached the fallen star.

Amid the broken mountaintop lay a beast neither of them knew how to describe. A gleaming red eye burned through them, but so did two narrow, opulently blue eyes, all framed by a glitzy, golden mane that flowed into white-hot flames. Those eyes were amid a face made of stars. When the beast stood to full height, it looked like a sun, blazing and fiery, but standing just in front of them. Squinting harshly against the brilliance of the fallen sun, it was Māui who noticed something else. As the beast stood and protectively took a step ahead of something, he noticed a girl beneath its body. A girl with skin as blue as the sky, hair a vibrant orange, but sadly… as limp as a wilted daisy. A harness of sorts clung to her lifeless frame, as did a harness around the fallen sun.

Then, Tapu Fini and Māui both scrambled back as another beast materialized above the fallen sun—this one, they had not noticed until it appeared as if part of the night sky had descended upon them; pink, suspicious eyes opened amid a star-spangled face, framed by enormous wings of starshine.

"There was sadly nothing we could do for the girl that crashed to Alola with the Sun Beast… She is forgotten by most accounts of his story, lost along with the harness he arrived to Alola with. I could not speak the same language they did, but to my understanding, they were practicing jumping worlds with this girl, who they called an Ultrarian, I believe… They did not yet know how to do it on their own. They stayed in Alola and Māui, the first Kahuna of Poni Island, treated them as one of our own. But that's far from the end of their story… You know much of it, but there is another part of their story history forgets."

The imagery around her melted away, and at first, Selene thought she was back in the present, in the Ruins of Hope. However, she quickly realized that wasn't the case. The rest of her party was nowhere to be seen. At the throne, where Selene had seen modern Tapu Fini switch from her Absol body to her godly one, the Tapu was curled about an egg. Or… Selene somehow knew it was an egg, and that she was the Tapu, even though her body was currently that of an Absol. Her white, soft fur was coiled tightly around a galactical, star-spangled sphere, complete with golden rings circling the softer tissues of the egg.

"It was my job to guard this egg until someone worthy of carrying out its cycle were to come along, someone responsible enough… I thought I had found that someone in Kahuna Kaua… Although he had the heart, Kaua did not have the desire… This egg would have spurred his life into that of worlds beyond our own, and he wanted to help his own people. As much as he reminded me of Māui, as much as I liked Kaua, Kaua failed to understand that one way to assist Alola was to bring back the Sun and Moon Beasts… to help their progeny finally touch the light of day."

In her Absol body, she nosed the egg, then laid her head against the warped wood.

"Then, my brother killed Kaua. I had spent so long safeguarding this egg in hopes of one day coming across a human that could understand the mural, could understand the gravity behind this egg… and although Kaua was distracted, I had hope that one day he would understand. Yet, my own brother destroyed that, all because he was upset that my Kahuna was causing such shockwaves on 'his' island… At the end of the day, it was nothing more than a territorial dispute."

With a defeated sigh, Selene watched through the Absol Tapu Fini's eyes in abject shock as Aether Foundation employees cautiously filtered into the cavern. None other than Dr. Faba and Lusamine themselves strode up to the throne where she lay curled about the egg. Yet, instead of fending them off, instead of even growling, instead of putting up a fight at all, to Selene's horror, Tapu Fini…

Did nothing.

She closed her eyes and did nothing as Dr. Faba picked up the egg, and the Aether employees left, without altercation.

"I told you hope can ravage someone from the inside out, like water carving a canyon from stone… I had spent so many years trying to hold onto hope… I had nothing left to hold onto. I put up no fight. In essence, my brother and I are to blame for much of what is wrong with Alola now… and I am truly, deeply, sorry.

"And yet, your friend… she possesses the hatched egg. The evolved version, even. The product of the Moon Beast's love, she holds the Cosmic Child within that device…"

Coming back to the present, Selene only had a few seconds to realize that her powers were showcasing everything Tapu Fini had been showing—and telling her—to her friends, through the use of her almost holographic, memory displaying ability, and it was catching them up to speed. Before she had the chance to ask any questions, she felt a crushing, destructive cold rush through her body, starting at her feet and racing to her head, making her grit her teeth and yelp. Tapu Fini got in front of her, teal eyes boring into her own.

"Your Z-Power Ring. My brother, Koko, saved it for many, many years. It was a Z-Crystal that possessed energy from both the Sun Beast and the Moon Beast. His Kahuna divided it to turn it into Z-Power Rings for you and your brother, but together, they can evolve the Cosmic Child to resemble one of its fallen parents. The Sun Beast and the Moon Beast could both leap between worlds. The solution for your troubles and everyone else's does not lie in our world, not entirely. Our threat is not entirely homegrown. Although my brother, Bulu's, attack on Kaua shook the Alolans' beliefs to their core, the sickness that crept into them started long ago—when The Beast Who Swallowed the Sun showed them how insignificant they were. Mind Jumper, The Beast Who Swallowed the Sun still lives, and given the opportunity, he will destroy this world, the next, and every one beyond it, devouring sun after sun, killing moon after moon."

"What do you want me to do?" Selene managed to hiss through gritted teeth, that bitterly cold, frigid pain still coursing through her veins. She felt like her blood vessels might crystallize.

Grasping Selene's arm that possessed her Z-Power Ring, Tapu Fini turned Selene's wrist over, showing the sunny crystal was glowing with a pulsing mix of golden and blue. Clasping a hand over it, Selene finally got a brief reprieve from her frosting insides. "Stop The Beast Who Swallowed the Sun. Stop Alola from repeating the same mistakes history made. Only then, can Alola's sicknesses be healed…" Selene swore Tapu Fini issued her a small smile. "Only then can humans and pokémon here walk equal ground once more. Although I once hated humans the same as my brothers and sister, Māui taught me that what Unova once wanted was possible… That humans and pokémon can stand on equal ground, that Alola can still be what it was always meant to be."

Finally, Selene's powers quit displaying everything to her friends. She was relieved when her veins didn't begin to ice over again once Tapu Fini withdrew her hands. Trembling from the monumental task that had been laid before her, she shook her head. "I—Elio—his Z-Power Ring, he's—"

"It's right here."

Glancing over her shoulder, Selene blinked as Lillie held up her left wrist, a primarily navy-blue crystal glinting within the wristband. Closing her eyes, Lillie sighed. "He dropped everything he could think of down to me before he… before he fell in. Including Z-Crystals and this Z-Power Ring."

Hapu suddenly pushed through them all, rushing up to Tapu Fini. She stopped just short of the pokémon, shaking her head rigorously. "You—you did nothing?" she incredulously demanded. "Wh-when Aether was after that egg… I—I just—I can't believe this, you're—you're real, an' you're still here, but you did… You did nothin'! After he died 'cause o' you an' Bulu both!" With her rising voice, she raised a shaky, trembling fist, and then brought it down on Tapu Fini's chest.

Yet, despite the gasp of surprise the rest of them uttered, Tapu Fini hugged Hapu tightly, a low, apologetic purr escaping from her. Apparently shocked by that, Hapu froze, then melted into Tapu Fini's hold.

"I came here so long ago," Hapu whimpered, "an' you told me I wasn't worthy… then you just… let them come an' take that egg, when I was right here, the whole time…"

Tapu Fini's voice began to play in Selene's head, and she realized she had to translate. Speaking slowly and with clammy lips, Selene murmured, "She… she didn't want to, because she could tell you were upset about Kahuna Kaua… that you would have just gone to Ula'Ula Island, and… and ended the same way…" Grimacing, Selene looked down. "Hapu… She says she's sorry." Swallowing hard, Selene added, "She says she's sorry for not being able to hold out hope for longer…"

"I just… couldn't understand how one o' the pokémon that was s'posed to help us and guide us could be so… cruel," Hapu sniffled, starting to unravel herself from Tapu Fini. Then, stamping a foot in frustration, she waved an accusatory finger at Tapu Fini. "An' you're still part of it! Because before my Gran'pa, you still did the thing with takin' powers away from people by maimin' 'em!"

This time, it didn't seem Hapu needed Selene to translate. Tapu Fini backed away, reverted to her Absol form, and dipped her head sadly. Scuffing the ground, she gave a mournful noise.

"How can ya be sorry? For maimin' an' hurtin' people for so long, just lordin' over 'em?" Hapu demanded. "Not exactly somethin' ya do on accident. I bet, if ya hadn't, you know, gave up, ya would'a prob'ly blinded Mina by now, wouldn't ya? Like 'at poor Captain Ilima, who never did anythin' but help people, yet Koko fried his fuckin' eyes."

Tapu Fini looked up, staring Hapu in the eyes. "How do I tell her?" Tapu Fini seemed to ask Selene. "How do I tell her, that I was so angry at how people were behaving after the original incident with The Beast Who Swallowed the Sun, that for many years, I agreed with the way my brothers and sister were behaving…? On top of having admitted to her that I gave up?"

However, Selene never got a word out. Hapu's shoulders sagged, and she took a long, shuddery breath. Shaking her head, she stared at the ground. "You're a pokémon. You're no god. Why am I treatin' you like you should be the perfect picture of morals?" She paused. "I can tell you don't have an answer, anyway. Just as sick and twisted as the rest o' the islands, an' the people on 'em."

Hapu started to leave, soon followed by Gladion. Hau looked as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately decided against it. "Ae, wherever this goes," he told her just before he slipped out that entrance to the deeper chamber, "I'm with you." Looking between Lillie and Selene, he smiled, a big, goofy grin, so unlike the fake grimace he often wore. "Both of you. No matter what."

With that, he left, leaving Selene and Lillie there with the Tapu. Lillie was rolling that Nest Ball in her palm. "So, we have to take your Z-Power Ring, and Elio's, to the Altar of the Sunne… and possibly go to another world to solve this…" Lillie laughed, almost hysterically, in disbelief. "To face something called, 'The Beast Who Swallowed the Sun…'" She shook her head. "I wonder… if that's what Dulse and Zossie called 'the Blinding One?'" Bitterly, she scoffed. "If only Aether Paradise hadn't sank, along with all the information my mother had on those two."

"Lillie," Selene quietly said, still staring at Tapu Fini as the Absol picked her way back to her throne, "I'll be honest. I don't think everything she said has really set in yet. I don't know where you've gotten your determination from as of late… but I'm probably going to need it…" Laughing anxiously, Selene put a cold palm to her forehead. "I'm… I'm terrified."

"So am I," Lillie answered without skipping a beat, though she was staring at Elio's Z-Power Ring. "But we can't give up now. He's still out there. Nebby still needs help… Guzma might be out there, too… And if everything you just showed us is right, then we can't let this monster came back to Alola for a second round. This time, Selene, this time, we are going to be all together, and we're going to all do our part." She made it a point to tap Selene's shoulder. "Look at me."

Selene slowly looked her in her fiery, green eyes.

"We are not depending on you alone this time. That was unfair, back on Aether Paradise. You have all of us. Whatever happens, we're all going to be together, and we're going to stay together. No loose ends. We'll all do our part. I'm not the weakest link anymore." With that, she gave her a tentative smile. "So… are you with us?"

Inhaling sharply, Selene nodded. "Yes," she responded decisively. "Yes."

"I'll meet you at the Altar. I have something to make up to Hapu with."

With that, they exited the Ruins of Hope.