#5: Lightyears Away

(Lillie x Selene)

In the middle of a calm, quiet night in Alola, a tear in space-time opened above the aptly named Exeggutor Island, cracking the sky wide open for a brief moment.

And from it, a girl and her Pokemon fell to the lush grass down below.

The person groggily opened their eyes, gazing up at the night sky that they had seen so many times before, a small smile appearing on their face.

"Nebby… We made it…"

Looking to the side, Selene, the Alola Region's own Champion, gazed at the large lion-like Pokemon that lay beside her. The Pokemon opened its eyes and nodded a bit, obviously just as weary as she was.

For the past few months since becoming Champion and thwarting Lusamine's plans, Selene and Nebby had gone through the Ultra Wormholes almost nonstop. At first it was merely for the adventure of it, but they had soon found many dimensions that needed their help, and many dangerous Ultra Beasts lurking that were better off being stopped in their tracks now than later— But there was another reason to leave.

Lillie had left her. The person she wanted the most had decided to go to the Kanto region to find herself, and Selene was happy for her… Except she had wanted to go alone, and Selene had sort of… snapped at her over it.

Thus, Selene basically exiled herself to Ultra Space for months, not wanting to face reality.. But it was just too much. Her and Nebby were beyond tired, the Solgaleo's power growing weaker by the day. She ran a hand along its cold, steel snout.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "We're home now…"

After a while of resting, Selene walked about the tiny island, careful to avoid the sleeping Alolan Exeggutors as she took in the ocean breeze that rolled over her once more, the wind rustling her very tattered jacket that covered her just as beat-up shirt and shorts. It had been such a tough, hard time, but she felt like she deserved it for making Lillie feel bad.

Will I ever see her again…?

Shaking her head, Selene sat on the beach and waited til Nebby finished resting. She dozed off at some point, awakening when the large Pokemon nuzzled her face. Then, together, they headed across the sea towards the nearest city, her powerful Pokemon running along the surface of the water creating small Ultra Wormholes as platforms in its wake.

"Lillie? Uhhhh….."

Hau looked around, as if looking for an answer to Selene's question as he slowly chewed the large bite of Malasada he had just taken. Selene narrowed her eyes at him, knowing it was a bit rude to just show up out of nowhere and press him… But it was important.

"So, you know where she is, huh?" Selene poked his forehead.

Gulping down his food, Hau waves a hand at her. "Cmon, gimme a break! Why aren't ya happy to see me?"

Selene sighed and plopped down into a seat in front of Hau, out on the patio of the restaurant in Hau'oli where she had found him. She rubbed her temple, the bags under her eyes very telling as Hau looked her over.

"Sorry… It's been a tough few months," Selene said groggily.

"Looks like it. You need a few days of naps I think," he pointed out. "Then maybe you can worry about Lillie."

"Is she here?"

Hau looked reluctant again. "…Yeah."

Selene spread her hands out before herself. "Then… Where is she?"

"Did you not hear the suggestion about gettin' some rest?" Hau shook his head and resigned himself to eating his malasada.

"You're going to make me have a panic attack at this rate, did something happen to Lillie?!"

Nearly choking, Hau made a hand motion to calm her down, before swallowing and speaking. "No, calm down Selene! Sheesh. She's just.. A little different, I'd say."

Selene took a deep breath. "We all are, probably.. Times change."

"Yep." Hau gave a big grin. "You're the same though. Very strong-headed in one direction."

"Gee, thanks… I think you're right. Can you tell Lillie to come to my place in a few days then..?"

"Sure can." Hau nodded and leaned back in his chair. "I haven't seen her around much, but Gladion said she's been at Aether Paradise for a bit."

Selene thought about that. "I wonder why…"

"Like I said… She's a bit different. I'm not gonna tell you why, just… You'll see."

Not exactly reassured, Selene returned home to a very distraught Mother. After a tearful reunion, she finally collapsed onto her bed after explaining that she needed a while to recover. Images of Lillie filled her tired mind as she drifted off to sleep…

Unfortunately, her dreams were interrupted sooner than later when a knock sounded at her bedroom window, jolting her awake. She looked at the time, groaning at the meager few hours of sleep she had gotten.

Approaching the window, she saw Hau outside, waving his hands urgently. She opened it up, glaring at him.

"What's this all about now?"

"We gotta go," Hau said breathlessly. "Lillie.. She's fixin' to leave."

Selene's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"We gotta get to Aether Paradise right now." Hau looked down at her appearance, then spun right back around to look away. "And put some clothes on you lolo!"

Selene looked down, remembering she had been practically sleeping naked, but that wasn't important to her right now. Grabbing a jacket to throw on, she jumped out the window and tossed her Pokeball, Nebby appearing from it.

"Ah good thinking! We can get there right away," Hau said with a grin. "Hey Nebby!"

The large Pokemon dipped its head to Hau as he gently pet its mane. Selene did the same, looking seriously at her Pokemon.

"Can you take us to Aether Paradise? Lillie needs us."

Nebby nodded, and lowered its body. The two of them climbed onto its back, holding on as it turned and darted down the dirty path, before leaping up into the air and letting out a mighty roar that cracked open a wormhole in the sky. After passing through it, they descended and nearly instantly found themselves at a dock at Aether Paradise.

Skidding to a halt, Nebby collapsed, breathing heavily. Selene and Hau fell off, recovering quickly to see to the Pokemon.

"I know it was too soon… I'm sorry Nebby," Selene said worriedly, petting its face. "Are you okay?"

Nebby nodded, clearly worn out. Selene took out her Pokeball for it. "I promise I'll let you see Lillie, okay? Rest for now."

Returning the Pokemon to its ball, Lillie stood just as footsteps approached. She turned, seeing a few Aether Paradise workers coming in behind a familiar figure.

"Selene? And Hau? You absolutely scared the skin off of us," Wicke berated them. "You should know how we feel about random Ultra Wormholes appearing here."

"S-sorry Ms. Wicke, we needed to get here fast," Selene said, shaking her head. "Please, where's—"

The well-endowed woman lifted a hand to silence her, then gave her usual warm smile.

"Lillie insisted it was urgent to leave as soon as possible… But I can see it is just as urgent for you to see her. She's right over there."

Wicke turned, the others parted, and Selene finally saw her. Lillie was facing away from them, watching the small ship that was being prepared for their departure.

"Go on, I'll catch up," Hau told her with a reassuring smile.

Selene reached out and grasped Hau's hand, nodding to him before walking towards Lillie. She ran through a million things to say in her head, unsure of what to do.

"Lillie..?"

As the raspy words left her mouth, the pale girl before her seemed to freeze. Then, she slowly turned to Selene, and the girl's heart sank.

"Lillie!"

It was still the girl that Selene had remembered. Wearing a loose white shirt and a white skirt, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail that seemed messier than ever and needed a trim… But her pure skin had some blemishes. A visible bruise on her right arm, more on her slender legs, but most of all, a bandage over her left eye. Her green eyes gazed at Selene, but the usual gentle expression Lillie maintained was gone… Instead, Lillie looked very solemn and stern.

"Selene…" Lillie nodded to her.

Selene got closer, reaching out to touch Lillie's face, her eyes locked on the bandage, but Lillie moved back a bit, making Selene stop and retract her hand.

"S-sorry… What happened? Who did this?" Selene shook her head, unsure if rage or sorrow was making her tremble. "I… I…"

Lillie gave a very small smile. "It's nothing. I… didn't want to worry anyone."

"Nothing?" Selene clenched her fists at her side. "But—"

"I don't need you to protect me," Lillie said, looking away. "This is my problem."

"Lillie…" Selene did her best to calm herself. "Please tell me…"

After a moment, Lillie sighed. "There's a group in Kanto… They call themselves Team Rocket. I got caught up in stopping their schemes, that's all. They apparently have become much more ruthless since their leader abandoned them years ago." The girl seemed to instinctively touch the bruise on her arm.

Selene's mouth quivered as she asked, "Lillie.. did.. did those people—"

"No," Lillie looked away even more. "They just beat me up a bit, that's it."

"That's it?" Selene's voice cracked, and she fell to her knees. "I'm… so sorry."

Lillie sighed. "This is why I didn't want to see you… I knew you would want to do everything to make it right, but—"

Selene suddenly jumped forward on her knees, hugging Lillie's waist and sobbing into her stomach. Lillie looked down at the girl, her serious expression wavering slightly.

"Selene.. Stop it," she said, gently pushing at the girl's shoulder, but she had Lillie in a death hug.

"But I'm the worst," Selene sobbed. "I got mad at you.. and.. and I was so stupid to be mad."

"I said… stop," Lillie's voice cracked a bit.

"I missed you so much, and while you suffered I was just being dumb and childish… I'll understand if you hate me fore—"

"Selene!"

Finally, Selene looked up at the girl, blinking tears from her eyes. Lillie's expression had broken and her face was full of streaming tears as she glared down at Selene.

"It… hurts to cry… I didn't want to cry," Lillie said in a shaky voice.

"Ahh— I'm sorry!" Selene wiped tears away, panicking a bit and about to stand, but Lillie fell to her knees with her and pressed her forehead against hers.

"I'd never hate you," Lillie said in a slightly raspy voice. "I was stubborn… And now look at me."

Selene hesitantly reached a hand to wipe some of Lillie's tears away, before caressing her hair gently, gazing into her one exposed eye.

"You still look as beautiful as ever," Selene said softly. "My little Lillie."

"That's… embarrassing," Lillie said with a small chuckle, sniffling and shaking her head. "You can't show up and ruin me like this."

"I'm awful, I know," Selene said with a smile, "But I'm never leaving you again. I know that I'm overbearing, but.. I need to know you're safe."

Lillie sighed, wiping tears away before grabbing Selene's hands in her own.

"I came for help from Ms. Wicke, because of what Team Rocket is doing to the Pokemon of Kanto," Lillie explained. "I'm not trying to get revenge or anything. I won't let them hurt me again… Trust me, my brother is already angry enough, I can't stop him from doing things to them."

"But— I mean, I see," Selene said, nodding. "I know, I just… Please Lillie, I want to come with you."

Lillie looked away, so Selene gently moved her face to look at her again.

"If you say no, I won't be mad… I'll just be the most worried person in the entire world til you come back," Selene said with a sad grin.

"Selene…" Lillie teared up again, and Selene gasped.

"I'm sorry! Don't cry if it hurts—"

Hau and Wicke watched the scene, Hau scratching the back of his head.

"They're pretty dramatic," Hau commented.

"Lillie's like her mother that way," she said with a soft chuckle. "Hopelessly idealistic, but at least she has good friends by her side."

"Don't beat yourself up Ms. Wicke!"

"I know, I know," the woman said, getting lost in memories of working under Lusamine.

After Selene and Lillie finally stood, their hands locked together and they approached the two of them.

"I'm going with you all," Selene said confidently.

"Wonderful, it will be nice having the Alola Champion with us," Ms Wicke said, "Though, I am aware that Professor Kukui is quite displeased at your absensce, since nobody has been able to challenge you…"

Selene gasped. "Oh no, you're right!" She looked over to Hau. "I'm absolutely the worst…"

Hau grinned. "If you want, I can just be the champ for ya!"

"Sure! It's all yours!"

Hau blinked at her. "Er… huh?"

Selene giggled and ran off with Lillie in-tow. Hau looked to Ms Wicke, who shrugged and walked after them.

"Congratulations?"

Hau watched as the members of Aether and the two girls boarded the boat. He sighed and waved them farewell, turning away.

Poor Hau, always forgotten… Oh well, I wonder if the Professor will actually let me be the Champ? Hoo wee, that'd be awesome!…

Wait, how the heck do I get home? Dammit Selene—-!

As the boat took off along the open ocean, Selene and Lillie stood at the front, letting the gentle sprays overtake them, reminiscing about the times they had done the same on their adventures through Alola.

People change with time, but changing with them is the key— Wallowing in your own problems gets you nowhere. Selene and Lillie had things to work on, but they were stronger when facing their troubles together.

As they shared their first kiss in months, they took in all of the feelings of the world around them, and the warmth of each other's embrace, and felt at peace.. And as they did, Selene silently vowed to never let Lillie get hurt again.

She loved her, and would absolutely crush anyone who harmed her. This was what Lillie feared Selene would do, of course.. But she loved her as well, flaws and all—

So maybe a little revenge with your lover would be sweet after all?

End

Next Story: In the Gray

(Hilda x Rosa)