The Child Of Thorns

by Inyssa

Inyssa Dawn has dreamed all her life of embarking on her trainer journey, and when the opportunity falls into her lap she grasps it without hesitation, desperately hoping that her past struggles will be made worth it once she becomes the Champion. Yet dark clouds are slowly gathering over Sinnoh, and only Emotion, Valor and Wisdom might cast a light strong enough to guide its fate.

107. One Last Dance

A/N: I highly recommend reading this chapter on AO3 for all the bonus art and other stuff. Just look up "Child of Thorns AO3" on google.

---

One Last Dance

Night had finally fallen on Mt. Coronet, yet the crown of darkness that had appeared above it, raining nothingness upon Sinnoh, was no more. A sliver of moonlight could be seen filtering through the clouds above.

Cynthia looked up at the sky, then back down at the man kneeling before her, stabbing an ornate black sword into the ground, where the Griseous Orb previously was. Her chest tightened. Fury, panic and confusion burst inside her like flashes of lightning, but for once that storm was not reflected in her eyes. She felt so exhausted all of a sudden. So wrung out…

"W…why?" she asked, voice weak. "Why would you do this?"

Riley said nothing. He pushed against the sword's pommel, rising to his feet and tugging at the lapels of his suit, then glancing at Cynthia. Only one eye could be seen from under that long tuft of hair, and there was no malice reflected in it. It was dismaying.

Behind her, Candice was on her knees, grunting and crying out in pain, trying hopelessly to keep herself together. To keep the two opposite powers inside her from disappearing. Darkrai and Cresselia's voice were echoed in her own. Getting weaker with each passing second. And they were not the only ones.

Fantina let out a grunt as well, her whole body tensing up in pain. Panicked, she looked down at the gloves adorning her arms, and noticed small motes of black smoke tinting the pristine white. With a sharp inhale, she grabbed the fabric and quickly took them off. Those black and purple veins, those conduits of decay that had always adorned her hands ever since her communion with Giratina, were vanishing. Like smoke rising through water, the darkness was slowly being burned off her skin. It rose in curls of black, only to dissipate into the air not long after.

"I… I can't believe it."

Sanbica, who usually prided herself in keeping her composure around her mother, looked at those arms with a mix of awe and horror. She forced herself to swallow, then turned toward Riley, glaring daggers at him.

"Isn't that what you always wanted?" he said curtly. "You're welcome."

"This…" She almost choked on her words, spitting them out like poison. "This can't be what your orders were. He would never tell you to do this."

"Mhm, who can say?" shrugged Riley. "Boss changes his mind a lot, and I mean that in the most literal way possible. Who knows what he really wants? That's why I follow the plan, and not him. This outcome was desirable regardless… I'm sure you'll agree, once you calm down."

"D… desirable!?" Sanbica repeated, indignant. "How can you–!?"

"You said so yourself," Riley interrupted. "The lunar duo and the lake siblings are too much of a wildcard to be left to their own devices. And as for those three…" He looked up toward the sky, where the portal to nothingness had previously been. "…even if it's a ways off, you know what fate has in store for them. I'd hoped we could at least both agree that this is a kindness."

Sanbica unconsciously raised a hand to her chest, glowering. "My… predictions are not always correct."

Riley raised his arms slightly, smiling and shaking his head with a 'Well, that's that, then' expression on his face.

Cynthia made the most disgusted sound, face contorting into a mask of anger. "You… can't expect to get away after this."

"Hm? What do you mean?" he asked, feigning innocence. "I'm just a civil servant. A member of the Interpol who came to Sinnoh to resolve an international crisis when their own government could not… and I have done just that." He gave her a sly smile. "If you've got a complaint, you're more than welcome to leave it at Interpol HQ. I'm sure my secretary will get it to me in two weeks time at most."

"Y-you…!"

"I mean, it's not like you could do much more, now that you've been stripped of the title of Champion," he teased. "Maybe I should challenge the Elite Four and try out for your old job? I've got the eight badges, after all."

Cynthia's patience snapped. She threw her hand forward and, finding strength somewhere, yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Lorencia! Apprehend him!"

The Garchomp jumped forward, dust exploding around where her feet were a second ago. She streaked toward Riley like a bullet, eyes gleaming, furious.

But there was another blur. An azure shadow that emerged from behind the man to intercept Lorencia with almost equal speed and power. Sparks flew. A metallic clank resounded, like hammers hitting each other, and the two Pokemon were thrown back by the impact. Riley's Lucario wasted no time raising his paws once more, falling into a combative stance. Lorencia did the same, but there was a glint of concern in her eyes. Normally, beating a foe like this would be no trouble for her, but the battle against Nyss had weakened significantly.

Cynthia knew this, and judging by the smile Riley shot her just then, he knew too.

"I think it's about time I take my leave," he said. "But before that, you can have this back."

He took the golden ring off his finger, then flipped it like a coin toward Cynthia. Panicked, she reached and grabbed it before it could fall. And that single second was all the distraction Riley needed. When her eyes fell on him again, he was accompanied by another Pokemon, a tall and imposing creature of green and white; a Gallade.

The Pokemon began to glow, and the ground under all three of them glowed as well. The air shifted and compressed.

"No!" Cynthia shouted.

Behind her, Candice looked up at the man, spluttering and coughing and on her hands and knees. "Y-you piece of shit…!"

It was too late. With a 'pop' and a shimmer of light, Riley and his Pokemon vanished into thin air. Cynthia's eyes shot wide open. They moved from the spot where the man had previously stood to the lonely ebon sword, stabbed into the ground. It was starting to vanish as well, bleeding into smoke. Icy coldness gripped at her heart.

"AGH! F-FUCK…!"

She turned around, and saw Candice collapse in a heap on the ground, face contorted by pain, hands grabbing onto her temples like she wanted to stop the light and darkness inside her from vanishing. She looked up. Two near-transparent silhouettes hovered above the Gym leader, losing color and physicality with every second that passed.

"…So this is how it ends." Cresselia's bitter voice filled the air. "How… utterly expected."

Darkrai made a noise that almost sounded like a sigh. "At least the two of us will–"

"NO!"

Candice's scream was raw, so sharp it sounded as though it tore out the inside of her throat. One of her hands fell to the floor next to her head. Fingers curled strongly against the ancient stone, turning pale from the sheer strength of her grip.

"I'm not… letting you go!" she growled. "You d-don't deserve… this isn't… fair!"

The driest, most cynical laughter was heard from Cresselia. "I cannot fathom what you could have seen from this world to make you believe fairness exists."

"It is… alright, child." Darkrai didn't sound angry or bitter, just utterly exhausted. "If we can at least dance through the sky one last time, then at least we shall not fully d–"

"W-wait! I can…"

All eyes turned to her. Cynthia swallowed, a burst of adrenaline coursing through her body. She could fix this. She could fix everything, and then…

"I can bring Inyssa and the others back. And I can…" She took a quick inhale. "I c-can probably save the two of you as well."

Fantina turned to look at her, wide-eyed. "You can?"

"Yes! The Azure Flute…" She smiled. "With it, I'm sure I can…"

Candice, though unable to speak, glowered up at her in a way that seemed to say 'Then what are you waiting for!?'. Fantina simply stood expectant, holding her breath. Sanbica said nothing, her face expressionless, yet tense with anticipation.

"Here, I'll…"

Cynthia felt the weight of the flute in her pocket. With a quick inhale, she dug inside and reached for it, waiting for that pleasant warmth to meet her fingers.

But there was nothing. Her fingers closed around empty air, and that feeling of weight in her pocket disappeared as though it had never been there. Cynthia's heart froze in her chest. But no, that couldn't be, she must've missed it. She dug again, searching every inch of her pocket, yet came up empty once more.

"…Cynthia?" Fantina asked, fear in her voice.

Panic overtook her. Frantically, she dug her other hand into the opposite pocket, but there was nothing there either. Just empty space.

The flute was gone.

"W-wh-wh…" A low mumble left her lips, incomprehensible. "It was… I h-had it here in my pocket just now! What–!?"

A bright, piercing pain stabbed into Cynthia's head at that moment, like an arrow of sunlight digging into her temple. She screamed and keeled over, hand shooting up to her head. Her vision swam. The world around her disappeared, colors bleeding out like paint being splashed with water. And then, a vision. A blurry glimpse of someone standing amidst a piece of the sky, transparent pillars like glass rising all around her. It was her. Another Cynthia. She stood with her back to her, looking up at a breathtaking spectacle, a sky gleaming with long, billowing ribbons of multicolor light like Aurora Borealis. It was as though veins of luminescence were streaking through heaven.

"I was too late," the other Cynthia whispered, distraught. "Please, if there is a way to fix it…"

It blinked out, as fast as it had appeared. Cynthia returned to reality, colors and sound falling back into place, depicting the top of Mt. Coronet around her. She let go of the breath she'd been holding, and realized she was gripping both sides of her head so strongly it hurt.

"Cynthia!?" Fantina placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. "W-what is happening?"

She said nothing. Her gaze went down toward Candice, still shaking and squirming. Then it moved up and to the right, behind Fantina. The Gym leader probably hadn't noticed, but Sanbica was holding the side of her head too, face scrunched up in pain.

Their eyes met, and some sort of realization seemed to dawn on the young woman.

"It was you."

"What?" Cynthia whispered.

"Those three irregularities… those rifts in the flow of causality… that was you. They were your doing."

"I–!"

Another flare of pain, another vision. This time, it was a scene she'd lived through once before. Nyss stood before her, sword in hand.

"I know you're pressed for time and it might just turn out just like last time, but…"

"W-what's…?"

Sanbica kept talking. "You should know. The Azure Flute is the most powerful out of all the relics. It exists outside of time and space, just like the singularities. That means it can only exist once across all of reality. And it can only–"

"B-be used once," Cynthia finished the sentence, eyes shooting wide open. "That's…"

Another flash, another memory. Nyss' voice resounded in her head.

"I am aware that only a few thousand years have passed in the outside world, but this valley, this… depression in between the two realms, exists outside the confines of space and time. That is what allowed us to meet here, for the second time."

"T…that can't be…"

A shift. A blur of light and color as another similar memory flashed through her eyes. Her own voice this time, followed by Nyss'.

"What... do you mean by 'this time'? You've... said that before. Mentioned something about having met us before."

"Ha... worry not. You will find out soon enough, hopefully."

Cynthia was shaking, a terrible, icy cold biting at her veins. Realization slowly dawned on her, as Sanbica spoke once more.

"The Azure Flute disappeared the moment all three of those irregularities converged here," she said. "It's gone... because you have already used it, Cynthia. Its power was spent by you."

The pain flared once more, brighter and sharper than Cynthia could endure. She let out a jagged scream and fell to her knees clutching her head as the world changed around her. And just like that, she was no longer in Mt. Coronet. She was back within that heavenly chamber, that platform of clear crystal standing above the sky itself.

The Hall of Origin.

The other Cynthia before her looked up at the sky, and begged.

"Please… there has to be something I can do."

---

Metchi's leg faltered and she almost fell to her knees, but caught herself just in time and swung the blade of light with one hand, dispelling the darkness falling upon her.

"Metchi…" Azelf whispered.

To the left, then to the right. She stomped on the ground and threw all her weight and strength into every swing, but even then it was a struggle. Like cutting through wood with a butter knife. The darkness was thickening, coalescing. It lashed toward her from all directions, hungrily licking at the empty space between it and the intruders of its realm. It was getting harder to push it back each time. And yet Metchi did it. Without complaint, she raised her hands and brought the blade down again and again, keeping nothingness at bay for just a second longer.

"Metchi," Azelf called again. "You can't–"

"SHUT! UP!"

Each word was punctuated by a swing of her blade, the strength behind them seemingly greater than before, as though fueled by her anger alone.

"Would it kill you to believe in someone for once in your fucking life!?" she bellowed, furious. "What happened to reality bending to our Will!? Were those just fancy words!?"

And she threw herself at the endless darkness again, her body worn, exhausted, but her Spirit burning like a great bonfire.

"This… is not reality. It is what lies beyond," Azelf said, matter of factly. "I'm sorry, Metchi. I really am, but against a force such as this…"

Metchi looked up, and her heart seized in her throat at the sight of two enormous blood-red eyes staring down at her. The coiling darkness, those spiked red wings… Giratina could not control itself anymore. It was coming straight at them.

"…I'm afraid the human Will is powerless."

She reacted to those words in the same way she did every time she was told something was impossible. Planting her feet, taking a deep breath and readying herself to prove them wrong. Her grip tightened. The flowing spring of light between her hands glowed brighter, rushing like the blood in her veins.

"Metchi…"

"What's the harm in trying?" she asked, scowling. "If I'm right, I get to save them, and if I'm wrong… well, I'm gonna die regardless, aren't I? Why not take that bet?"

Giratina shot toward her in all its immensity and power, like an ocean's worth of water falling upon a small Caterpie. This had to be it. The nagging voice in her head she'd been trying to muffle told her so, and for a moment her muscles tensed up, her grip relaxing.

But then she kicked that voice in its ass and threw her hands up, holding the blade like a beacon, screaming at the top of her lungs. The darkness crashed against it, pushing with such unfathomable force she barely kept herself from dropping it. A loud hiss resounded through the air, light burning darkness, darkness swallowing light. Metchi clenched her teeth, strength leaving her body. She couldn't… she couldn't hold it, couldn't–

A gentle gust of wind brushed against her body, whispering so softly. Metchi blinked. She looked over her shoulder, and was immediately blinded.

A golden gale rose up from out of nowhere, spiraling around her body with the force of a hurricane. The pressure against her lifted. It ate away at the darkness, millions of tiny blades of glowing wind cutting at it one inch at a time, growing and expanding, keeping Giratina at bay.

"W-wh…?"

"How pathetic, Azelf," the ethereal voice of Mesprit said. "I never knew you to be one to give up so easily."

She heard steps behind her, and turned to see Barry standing there, one hand raised forward, face scrunched up and covered in sweat. The gold of his eyes flashed, and the golden wind grew fiercer. It became a tempest, a storm of swirling power that grew and grew, forming a protective dome around the platform they stood upon. Lighting up their small pocket of existence.

Metchi swallowed, breathless. "Barry…"

There were tears running down his cheeks. He looked panicked, terrified. It was the expression of a kid who did not want to die. Metchi looked over him, toward the collapsed bodies of Inyssa and her sister, still unmoving, small, vine-like tendrils of darkness trying to claim them.

"M-Metchi…" Barry sobbed, the storm of golden wind around him faltering, but not disappearing. "W-we have to save Niss, we have to d-do something…"

Her heart tightened inside her chest, and the blood in her veins boiled with an anger she could not describe. Perhaps that was exactly the incentive she needed. She stood up to her full height, weakness burning away in the rage that now consumed her, and stared at the flood of nothingness around them.

She raised her hands, grip tightening on the blade of light, and spoke with as reassuring a tone as she could produce.

"I already told you, didn't I? You two haven't annoyed me nearly enough with your lovebird routine, so I can't have you die yet." She smiled, though Barry could not see it. "I'm bringing you both back home, even if it's the last thing I do."

She wound the blade back, staring up at the endless darkness with an expression like death itself. The red of Giratina's eyes bore into her like burning suns, but she held its gaze, and bellowed with all the strength in her soul.

"GHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Her scream was raw, guttural. Her eyes flew wide open, filled with fury. "Come on! I'll tear every inch of you to fucking shreds before I let you have them!"

---

Cynthia stared speechless as the other her waited for a response, begging eyes staring up at the impossibly bright flame burning through the sky.

It finally answered, and the world shifted ever so slightly with the sound of its voice.

"Why have you come, child?"

It wasn't a booming, all-powerful voice like she'd been expecting, but a soft one. Soft in the way the dying wind is after a storm. Soft like feathers falling on snow. Despite the panic and fear she and the other Cynthia felt, that voice calmed them instantly, their Spirits reacting to it, craving its warmth.

"I… gathered all of the plates," the other Cynthia said, as if she didn't understand the question. "I wanted at first to give myself to… no, that doesn't matter anymore! Please, you have to help me… you have to help me save them! I made a terrible mistake…"

Cynthia had never heard herself so ragged, so afraid. It sent a chill down her spine.

"I know," spoke the voice, loving, understanding. "I have seen it. You have lost much to get this far."

The other Cynthia looked down and clutched at her chest. From where she was, she could see small droplets fall on the glass-like floor under the woman's feet. Tears.

"I thought they were ready," she pleaded. "I t-thought I could sacrifice anything if it meant… finding this place. Finding you. But now I… I just want them back." She looked up, lower lip shaking. "I killed them. I sent them against Nyss, I told them everything would be okay and… b-but they weren't strong enough! If only we'd had Azelf's hero…"

Behind her, the real Cynthia's eyes went wide as plates as she listened to her other self. She'd thought as much, but this was… insane. Metchi was Azelf's hero. Did this Cynthia not know that? Had she… never found her? Then that would mean she'd taken only Barry and Inyssa to challenge Nyss, and there… there, the two young trainers had…

She clutched at her chest, feeling terribly sick all of a sudden.

"Please, you are my last resort!" Cynthia yelled, demanding. "E-even if I were to follow my original plan… there's no longer anyone who can go into the Distorsion world and prevent Giratina's escape! B-but you! With your power, maybe there's something I can do!"

Her voice echoed through the heavenly halls, and what followed was the heaviest, emptiest silence she had ever felt. As though the realm around them existed only by the Will of the being burning through its sky. It was otherwise empty, devoid of all.

The light pondered, silent, for a few long seconds. Then it spoke, its tone regretful.

"You are one of my brightest flames," it said. "I find it sad that you would look at the large shadow you cast and ask it for help."

Cynthia stammered at that. "W-what?"

The white flames above expanded with a roar, enormous arc of luminescent ivory trailing through the sky like a burning aurora borealis. They were impossibly massive. As though the sun itself had bled out into the world. Cynthia gawked, amazed, the streaks of light reflecting like lightning on the stormy grey of her eyes.

"This," said the voice. "Is you."

"I… don't understand."

"When I fell, I divided myself alongside your kind. I am you. And you… are me. You are the flame, and I am the shadow. That is all."

The other Cynthia swallowed, shaking her head ever so slightly. She did not like the realization starting to dawn on her.

"N-no, but… you're here!" she said. "You are real! This is what remains of you!"

"Yes, much like a reflection exists on the other side of a mirror. As above–"

"So below," the real Cynthia whispered, looking from far away. So it was true. All of this… the light she'd spent all her life chasing…

"T-that can't be…" The other Cynthia balled her hands into fists and closed her eyes. "Then what was the point of this!? The plates, the flute… w-what am I supposed to do!? How can I save them!?"

"It is simple. Yet I imagine it is a solution you, in your blinding brightness, would have never thought of on your own."

There was a hint of sad laughter in its voice as it said that. The other Cynthia looked up, expectant, and was met with the most incomprehensible piece of advice she'd ever been given.

"Let someone else be the hero."

Both Cynthia were left speechless. They blinked in unison, as if not understanding what they'd just heard.

"…What?"

"It is so terribly hard, I know. In that, you and I are similar," it said. "You ask what is the point of the plates, and of the flute, yet that should be self-explanatory. They are keys for the Hall of Origin. A chamber outside of the bounds of reality. There below, you swat at the reflection of the moon on water in a vain attempt to fell it from the sky. Here above, the whole firmament is within your reach."

"I…"

The gleaming, flowing ivory of the sky was reflected on Cynthia's eyes as she looked, and the more she did, the more she realized they were indeed but shadows. Pale imitations of the light that burned below, down the other side of the mirror.

Her light. Her flame. Her Spirit.

For the first time she looked down, not up. At her spread out hands. At her flexing fingers, glowing ever so slightly with power that ran through her like blood. How hadn't she noticed it before?

"I can save them," she whispered, disbelieving. "From here, I can change things."

It was as though she were looking at the world with wider, all-knowing eyes. She was no longer someone kneeling before a monarch sitting on its throne, because she now realized the throne was hers. It would only be so for the shortest of instants, but even so...

That light from below started pooling inwards, attracted almost magnetically toward her body, and the luminous shadow above followed suit. Cynthia breathed it in, feeling the light fill her. It rushed through her veins and danced around her fingertips, eager, warm. A sun, living within her chest.

It was time she shared its warmth.

"If this is…" she stopped, thinking over her words. "If I am outside of space and time, then I can… change how it all went. I can save them."

The voice echoed once more. "It will not be easy. The flow of causality itself is stubborn, regardless power or intent. But a sudden change, an obstacle, no matter how small, may be able to divert its course ever so slightly."

"Small changes…" The other Cynthia whispered to herself. "That's as much as I can manage, but if I choose the right time and place…"

She looked down, her sight now vast, seeing outside her body, seeing the flow of reality unfolding beneath her. Fate. Cause and effect. A million billion lives, flowing into each other like droplets of water in an ocean. All she had to do was throw a stone at the right place, at the right time, and the ensuing splash would eventually become a tsunami.

"…I see it," she suddenly said, breathless. "The perfect moments…"

And at that exact moment, the real Cynthia saw three distinct scenes flash before her eyes, just as they had flashed through the eyes of the other her. They were hazy and bright, like a dream. At first glance, they were inconsequential moments. Inyssa walking the opposite direction from Sandgem's Pokemon Center as the sun went down behind her. A wounded Metchi making her way through a small mountain path on the side of Route 208. Barry walking through the streets of Veilstone, looking bored.

But then the scenes played again, although differently. A sudden chill stopped Inyssa in her tracks, making her realize she was going the wrong way. Metchi stepped on a pebble that hadn't been there before, sending her tumbling down the side of the mountain. An unexpected gust of wind hit Barry in the back of the head, distracting him for long enough for someone to call out to him.

The real Cynthia blinked, returning to reality. Then the other her inhaled deeply, and whispered.

"I can only hope this will be enough."

Arceus' shadow let out a soft laugh like sunlight, and replied. "Hope is all there is, once the rest of the box has been emptied. And yet…"

"We make do," smiled the other Cynthia. "Always."

"Always, my child."

And with those words, the illusion broke.

It felt like waking up from a dream, the sound of a bubble being popped echoing inside Cynthia's head as her mind returned to her body. She inhaled, sharply. Blinked a few times in rapid succession, the sudden lack of light confusing her brain.

She was back on Spear Pillar, back in the real world. Fantina's hand was on her shoulder, tensed, fearful.

"C-Cynthia?" she asked. "What…?"

"You saw it, didn't you?"

Cynthia swallowed, then nodded. Her eyes met Sanbica's, dark and knowing, and so impossibly deep.

"You were right. I already used the flute," she whispered. "I already…"

But she couldn't finish the sentence, not enough air filling her lungs. She felt drained, exhausted. What she'd seen…

"A-agh! Then… w-what do we do!?" Candice spat out, her voice tensed, pained. "How do we save Darkrai and Cresselia!?"

The two pale specters looked at the girl with sadness, and pity. Their corporeality was vanishing fast; they were but mirages now. Cynthia looked them in the eye, and through them said what her mouth couldn't. There was surprise. Sadness. Anger. And then…

"…I see." whispered Cresselia. "Perhaps that is for the better…"

"It is… better than the alternative," Darkrai offered, his voice flat, almost dead. "At least this way, we might..."

Candice stopped struggling for a moment, and looked hastily over her shoulder, confused. "What?"

"As I said… the flute was already used," said Cynthia, carefully picking her words. This would not be an easy subject to breach. "I did all that I could to nudge fate in the right direction." She felt Sanbica's sudden glare on her back as she said that. "Now all that's left is to trust in Barry, Metchi and Inyssa to find their way back. And for that…"

Sharpness. Candice's glare clashed against hers, and she couldn't get the last words out. Luckily, Darkrai and Cresselia finished the sentence for her.

"And for that," said the former, looking up at the thin sliver of moonlight above. "They will need a beacon to guide them home."

"One as bright as the full moon," said the latter. "Or as the souls of its guardians."

---

Inyssa couldn't remember for how long she'd been walking.

She shuffled aimlessly down the empty street, through paths familiar, yet unfamiliar, blurring and bleeding into each other like a wet painting. Like a dream. Black and white, and then yellow. Bright, yet dim. They formed an uniform row at her left and right, traveling through the length of the road. It was the only marker she could see, and so she followed the…

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, the colorless green behind them seeming to come alive. Lamp posts. Those were… lamp posts. And the bone-white specks falling through the dark sky could only be snow. They were cold to the touch. But if her whole body already felt cold as death, did that really mean anything?

Where… am I?

It was the first thought she'd had in who knows so long. Cold. She was… cold, but no, that wasn't a place, just a state of being. She blinked, twice, then thrice before the scene in front of her finally started making sense.

It was night. It was snowing. She walked down the empty streets of some suburban neighborhood, illuminated only by the fluorescent yellow of the lamp posts above. Their light fought valiantly against the darkness of a moonless night. Under them the snow looked golden, like droplets of sunlight falling from the sky.

Inyssa kept walking. This felt so… familiar. The cold biting into her bones through her clothes. The pain in her calves as she wedged through the inches of snow covering the streets. The way no exhalation felt like it gave her enough air. The blood inside her ran lethargically, making her feel on the verge of unconsciousness. Like her head was filled with hot helium.

Her gaze drifted from one side of the street from the other. This looked like Twinleaf but… also not. Some houses had completely incongruent architecture. Some were tall and made of brick like in Sandgem, others compact and made of that shiny black material, like in Celestic. Sights and sounds and smells from all over Sinnoh met her the more she pondered. Like all her memories had been mashed together, had bled into each other. And what remained was… this.

This cold, lonely path she'd walked once before. That's all it was. That's all she'd ever been, deep down. Just this place, this moment. It encapsulated the core of what made up Inyssa Dawn.

Apathy. Exhaustion. Pain.

Inyssa kept walking. Hopeful or desperate, she didn't know. She kept walking, looking for somewhere. For some place to…

She blinked. And she remembered. Ah, of course, this is what she was doing.

Inyssa was looking for a place to die.

Her steps became faster, her breathing more ragged. This was it, she'd promised herself, had promised her poor body. She just had to find someplace to lay her head down. Somewhere warm, far away from this biting blizzard.

She had a feeling that if she collapsed here, so she would remain for all of eternity. Cold and alone. She didn't want that.

That's why… just a little more…

Her body didn't protest, but that's because it couldn't. As much as she'd hated it before, it had only ever done its best, no matter how badly she'd treated it. It should have been the one to hate her. But it didn't matter anymore. They'd both be resting soon, and then there would be no more pain, no more anger.

Just sleep.

She could see it now. Entire cities and towns floated in pieces, broken, bleeding the white that fell from the sky as they rose up from the sides of the road she walked. A horizon of decay. Only what rested at the end of this path truly existed. Only there, she could…

Every lamp post around her went out at the same time, leaving her in almost complete darkness. A single source of light remained. It was there, not too far away, where the end of the street should've been. Warm and inviting, it called out to her through what looked like a window. She hurried toward it, wading through the snow desperately, her long red coat fluttering with the wind behind her.

As she approached, she heard voices coming from inside the house. She blinked, trying to make out details. Everything was blurry through the blizzard, but the place didn't… look like her house. A distant voice in her head told her this was the spot where Barry's house should've normally been, but it didn't look like her memory either. It was like she couldn't make out the shape of the house itself. Or more like… it wasn't important. Only the warmth inside mattered. It filtered through the cracks of the windows and the door, wafting toward her invitingly. This was it. The place she'd been looking for. Inside, she could…

Inyssa's hand was reaching for the doorknob when she heard a distant sob, and froze.

She looked over her shoulder, and saw nothing but darkness. The light within the house only illuminated halfway toward the other side of the street, and all beyond were cold shapes and lifeless buildings. Unimportant.

But I just heard…

There it was again. It was faint, barely hearable over the roar of the blizzard and the alluring pull of the warmth behind her, but she heard it. Someone… crying.

Her mind and body were so frayed, so exhausted that she didn't think it was possible, but she actually felt a pang of pain for whoever was making that noise. She took a step back from the house unconsciously, and every part of her being screamed at her in protest. She was so close. Only a door separated her from the rest she needed, she deserved. Who cared if someone was crying? It was none of her business.

And yet, finding strength from somewhere, Inyssa began to turn around.

But just as she did, the door swung open behind her. Inyssa snapped back in surprise, and the sudden warmth and brightness blinded her.

"A-ah…"

"…Niss?"

The voice froze her in place. As though by sheer desperation alone, her eyes adjusted quickly to the light coming from the other side of the door, and she made out the features of the person standing in front of her.

"S-S… Shadi?"

The young woman smiled, somewhat concernedly. It was such an odd expression on her pale face, yet it was so incredibly beautiful. She… didn't look much taller than her, and she wasn't wearing that black cloak, nor was her hair tied back in a ponytail. In fact, it only reached her shoulders. And looking down, she noticed she also had both of her arms.

Inyssa blinked. This Shadi was… young. Around nineteen years old? She couldn't be much older than her, but even so, there was none of the bitterness or exhaustion she associated with this version of her sister. Her eyes were loving, if worried. And when she spoke, her voice made Inyssa's shoulders feel as though they weighed nothing at all.

"You're finally back," she smiled. "I was getting worried. Look at you, there's snow all over you…"

Shadi reached with her hand toward her and gently swatted at the small clumps of white atop her head and shoulders, wiping her clean. Then she let that hand land on her shoulder, and squeezed playfully. When Inyssa didn't reply, frozen as she was, Shadi raised an eyebrow and hung her head slightly to look her in the eye.

"Niss?"

She tried to swallow, but her throat was dry as sandpaper, so she just shook her head.

"I… huh?"

The look on Shadi's face became more concerned. She studied her sister for a few seconds before showing her a kind smile and placing her other hand on Inyssa's left shoulder.

"You've been away for a long time," she whispered. "But I'm so happy you're back. You must be so tired…"

"Y… yeah."

Shadi nodded. "It's okay. You're back home, with us."

"…Us?"

Yes, there were voices inside. Muffled, far away, but she could almost pick them out. One was Johanna's, from… the kitchen? The other was rougher, more masculine, but who…?

The silhouette of a man walked into the main hall from the door leading to the kitchen. Inyssa had to squint through the brightness, but that green coat and wild mess of blonde hair were unmistakable. It was Palmer.

"What… are you…?"

"Ah! And the girl of the day finally makes it!" the man exclaimed, his tone bombastic as usual. "Was starting to get worried there for a second."

Palmer was wearing a pink cooking apron, and held in his hands a bunch of empty pots and utensils. It took her a second to realize he was probably bringing them to the table. But that still didn't make any sense.

"What's… this?" she asked again.

"Ah? You okay there, Inyssa?" Palmer frowned. "Don't tell me you forgot."

Shadi looked back at her, smiling. "We're making dinner. Our family and Barry's, remember?"

"D…dinner?"

"Yes, for your birthday," Shadi explained. "We couldn't celebrate it like this before, but everyone's schedules finally made it possible. We were just waiting on you," she said. "Palmer's helping mom with the cooking, and Barry's upstairs in your room, I think."

"Speaking of which!" Palmer exclaimed. "I better get all this on the table before I get yelled at."

And he stumbled his way through the packed foyer, trying his best to look over the pile of cutlery he was holding. Shadi looked over her shoulder and chuckled. Then she turned back to Inyssa and rolled her eyes like she was supposed to be in on the joke.

"I…" Inyssa swallowed. "I don't get it."

"What don't you get?" mused Shadi. "We were just waiting for you, and here you are. That's all there is to it. Aren't you going to come in?"

Inyssa looked from the inside of the house to Shadi, then back in. It looked so inviting. Her house had never looked this bright, had never felt this warmth, this… comfortable. Even just standing outside, she felt the cold and pain melt off her body. Inside it would be even better, she realized. All she had to do was take a step forward.

But…

"…Niss." Shadi seemed to sense her hesitation. She leaned forward slightly, so their eyes would be at the same level, and gently squeezed her shoulders. "You want to rest, don't you?"

Inyssa got lost in her eyes. All she could do was nod.

"I'm sure dinner won't be ready for at least an hour," she said. "We can lie down on the couch together, if you'd like. Just a little nap. Dozing off in front of the fireplace like we used to do… how's that sound like?"

Tempting. So, so tempting. Inyssa almost agreed before Shadi could finish the sentence, but the words wouldn't come out. She looked over her sister's shoulder, toward the large, comfy couch behind her. A memory came to her. Shadi, Barry and her lounging on the couch during a cold winter afternoon, the two younger kids cuddling with the older girl, slowly dozing off to the lull and warmth of the flames within the fireplace. Her head resting on Shadi's chest. Her sister's heartbeat enveloping her whole, keeping her safe, telling her it would all be okay…

It was one of the kindest, brightest memories she had. A shimmering pearl gleaming in a dark ocean.

"I…"

But none of this was right. On some level, Inyssa understood this. Palmer was dead. Shadi would never say these words, would never act so kind toward her again. Their families would never be as close as they once were. This warmth, this wonderful sleepiness, it was all fabricated. All so she could die someplace safe, someplace nice. If she accepted and laid down on that couch with Shadi, she would never wake up again.

But was that really a bad thing? Shadi had said it too. She was so terribly tired. And if it was a lie only she would ever know…

Her foot moved. Shifted across the snow building up in front of the door. She leaned forward, ready to take a step.

"Yeah, I–"

And then she heard it again. That sharp, distant sobbing. She had no idea how she managed to pick it up above the calm, warm silence that had started to envelop her. It was so faint. One last struggle. Desperate claws scratching at the back of her mind, warning her.

Begging for help.

Inyssa's foot froze in mid-air. She stood still for a few seconds, then hung her head and sighed.

"Niss?" Shadi asked, concerned. "Is everything–?

"Sorry."

The corners of her lips hurt as she smiled, and her arms even more so as she raised them and grabbed at Shadi's wrists, lifting the hands off her shoulders.

"I'll be right back, but…" she said. "…There's something I have to check."

She turned around, letting go of Shadi's hands, which disappeared back into the darkness like an anchor detaching from a ship. Everything else followed. The house, the warmth, the brightness, it all vanished into thin air as Inyssa willed the door to slam shut, and dragged herself away, one step at a time.

Into the storm, and the dark, and the pain of consciousness.

---

It didn't take her long to find the source of those sounds, mostly because Inyssa had a pretty good idea of who was causing them. She hurried as much as her worn out body allowed her, barely even able to lift her feet anymore, instead just quickly dragging them across the ground, one hand clutching at her heaving chest. When she finally got there, she had to blink to make sure. Her vision was blurry, the scene in front of her a mixture of incomprehensible shapes and colorful lights.

Then they all clicked together, and she stopped in her tracks. This wasn't exactly what she remembered.

"G-gh… hhha… s-sn…gh…"

Wet, ugly sobs came out of something small and pale, curled up shaking against the wall of what looked like a Pokemon Center. Inyssa's memory immediately flashed back to that day she encountered Shadi. But no, this was… different. The comparison was too obvious to ignore, but she was not looking at a Pokemon, but a person. A young girl, probably no older than fifteen.

She hugged her knees tightly, one side of her face obscured by the pile of dirt and snow that had formed under her. She wore a simple long-sleeved dress with pink tips on the skirt, and jeans underneath. Inyssa recognized the outfit. It wasn't nearly enough to protect against this kind of cold, and she silently wondered if the girl's shaking had something to do with that, or maybe with the sorrowful sobs wracking through her body.

It wasn't pity what finally made Inyssa move, but understanding. Her pained, dazed mind kept urging her to go back, to ignore this useless bleed-through of memory and just end things once and for all, but she ignored it.

Even if this other her was just a memory, even if it was the last cry of help from her slowly-dying soul, she couldn't ignore it. She could not ignore the cries of someone in pain.

"It's okay," she whispered, taking a step forward. "I'm–"

The shadows around them pulled inwards, shooting straight at Inyssa as countless spears of darkness. She seized up, but was not fast enough in her current state. A terrible sharpness shot through her incorporeal form as they ran her through, hungry and hateful.

Gritting her teeth, Inyssa glared through the glassy tears forming in her eyes, and saw the shape of her assailant. A small, child-like clump of shadows stood above the younger Inyssa, its body nothing but a deep, impenetrable darkness. The only visible part of the creature were its eyes, wide and hateful, a gleaming red.

Despite the unbelievable pain, Inyssa sneered. "I'm… not here for you."

The edge of its shadowy silhouette waved, shifted violently as though her words had angered it even more. It said nothing. A second later, the darkness jumped at her once more, dozens and dozens of hateful ebon spears rushing in all directions. Toward her chest, her neck, every one of her vitals.

And the younger Inyssa's too.

She moved, drawing energy from what should have been empty, and heard the darkness whistle over her head as they missed her by inches. And yet, she threw herself straight toward the other volley, uncaring. With speed she shouldn't have been capable of, Inyssa threw her body atop that of her younger self, and protected her.

The furious hissing of darkness piercing into flesh sounded like steam rising from a kettle. Inyssa grit her teeth as to not to scream. The pain was indescribable, but she refused to close her eyes, refused to budge even a single inch, even as countless spears of darkness were stabbed onto her body.

The Inyssa under her stopped crying, freezing in place as though from shock. The shadow behind her startled as well, its massive eyes growing even wider.

Inyssa sighed. They both deserved sympathy, in a way, but there was only so much she could do in her current state. Her mind screamed at her once more for wasting time. But as long as she could do this…

I can… at least come back to them feeling proud, I guess.

Even on her hands and knees, pierced all over by spears of pure hatred, Inyssa managed to raise one hand, which she shakily pointed toward the clump of shadows behind her, bearing her form. Those eyes, Mars'... no, Siffa's eyes, stared curiously at Inyssa's fingers as they approached. Then the two touched, and a burst of light flowed from one to the other. There was a bright flare, a piercing scream, and a sound like that of paper being burnt.

And then the two Inyssa were alone once more.

"…It's okay."

The smaller Inyssa, half her face still buried in snow and dirt, looked up toward her and said nothing, her lower lip shaking. Multiple trails of dried tears adorned her bruised, reddened cheeks. It was the look of a frightened, wounded Pokemon who was too wary of even the idea of hope. It was the same look Shadi the Kricketot had given her during their first meeting.

So this is what I looked like back then too, she smiled sadly. No wonder Barry felt compelled to help me.

Slowly, grunting through every movement, she pulled back from the position she was in, sitting back on her knees. Those spears of darkness were gone, but the pain was still very much real. Even so, she willed herself to endure it and leaned forward toward the small girl, helping her up to her knees as well. It took a while. She flinched and cried out in pain with every little touch and movement, but Inyssa made sure to take it slowly, gently.

"It's okay," she whispered again, a tiny smile on her lips. "It's okay…"

Carefully, she slid her hands under the girl's arms and pulled her closer, enveloping her in a tight embrace. The younger Inyssa flinched, but didn't move away. And after a few seconds of her chin resting on the older Inyssa's shoulder, her body started to relax. Her breathing became steadier, and her shaking became less extreme.

"T-this is all just a bad dream. None of it is real," Inyssa said, voice hoarse and vulnerable. "It's j-just a nightmare, so… so y-you don't have to fear going back. There's people waiting for you back home..."

The younger girl said nothing. Inyssa doubted she could even speak; it had taken a lot less than this in the past to render her non-verbal, even if it was never for more than a day. But that was okay. She didn't need to reply, she just had to listen. Listen and…

"T-they're all so worried about you…" Her own voice wavered, wetness forming in her eyes. "They all love you s-so much. You're not alone so… please, remember that, okay?"

But it wasn't like it was needed anymore. The shaking and sobbing against her had calmed down. Now it was her who was shivering, whose voice was breaking.

"…I'll… bring you back," she whispered, trying her best to gather the shards of her voice inside her throat. "I'll bring you back to them, so you don't have to worry. If you w-want to close your eyes and rest, it's… it's okay. I promise I'll bring you back home safely. And when you're t-there, you can eat and sleep a-and do whatever you want, and everyone's gonna take care of you, o-okay?"

No reply came, but it didn't need to. The sound that followed, a deep, shaky inhalation, told her that the younger girl had fallen asleep. She lay weightlessly against her, all strength gone from her tiny body.

Inyssa smiled, and figured that was response enough. Sniffling, she rubbed her teary eyes with the back of her sleeve and nodded to herself.

She threw the girl's arms over her shoulder, and with incredible effort grabbed onto the underside of her legs and lifted both of them up to her feet. The younger Inyssa remained asleep, clinging onto her like a peaceful Komala. The sight was just adorable enough to distract her from how unbearably painful carrying her was.

"It's… not far from here," she whispered, managing to smile nonetheless. "You'll be back home soon, I promise."

---

When the door opened again, and the warm golden light beyond enveloped her once more, it took every ounce of willpower she had not to lean forward and collapse onto Shadi's arms. It was bliss. The kind that was not wholly devoid of pain, but instead made that pain feel worthwhile. Significant. Barry had told her about it plenty of times before. About how he slept so much better after a day of working out, the soreness of his muscles feeling blissful once he finally laid down and closed his eyes.

Inyssa figured this must've been something similar, but unfortunately she was not allowed to rest. Not yet. The one who needed it most was…

"I… see now, why you chose to leave," Shadi whispered, looking at the young girl she was carrying. She smiled sadly. "You never could help yourself, could you?"

She could only give a weak nod, eyes hidden by the shadow of her hair. "C-can you…?"

"Of course. Here…"

It was like she could finally breathe again when the weight of the other Inyssa was lifted off her. Shadi held her, one hand under her knees and the other supporting her back. For a moment, the younger girl's eyelids fluttered as though she were to wake up, but then they closed again, and she rested her head against her sister's chest, hands unconsciously wrapping around her.

"Poor thing," Shadi whispered. "She must be so exhausted."

Inyssa could only twitch the corners of her lips in what could almost have been called a smile. She was supporting herself against the wall next to the door, shaking.

"You're… her, aren't you?" she whispered. Shadi perked up at that, confused, so she elaborated. "The Shadi I made up inside my mind. The one that… helped me face the truth, back in Snowpoint. That shadow… it was you, right?"

Shadi's lips formed a thin line, her eyes downcast.

"I'm sorry," she said. "It was just…"

"Necessary," Inyssa nodded. "Don't apologize. You were the best out of all of them."

A sour laugh left Shadi's lips. "For all the good that did you." She pursed her lips, looking down. "I know what happened between you two. It was very kind of you to... extend your hand toward hers again."

Inyssa stood silent for a bit. "I... don't know. I don't know what to say about her, or what to think or... even if we make it back, after w-what just happened, will she even...?" She raised a hand and grabbed her head, squinting as though in pain. "I'm not even sure about all those things I said to her, to convince her to go back with me. Even if she still believed me, I don't know if I... believe me? I..."

Words failed to come out, all clumped up together in her throat, so she just made a frustrated sound and shook her head. Shadi looked on, compassionate.

"It's okay," she said. "You can say it. I might be the only one you can safely say this to."

"I just... even if somehow things turn out alright, I don't know how I'll feel after. I talked all big before about figuring myself out and seeing through Shadi and acted all sure of myself but the truth is, I got no idea. I'm still riding on pure adrenaline and panic ever since I found out the truth. I haven't had the chance to... really sit down and think about just what the fuck all that was that happened back then. And not just with Shadi, but with mom and Sarah too. I have no idea how I'll feel once I... finish processing all of it. I promised them a lot but I don't know if I can go through with it, and now that..." Her voice trailed off, arm falling weakly to her side. "W-with what I did... Mars..."

"…Yeah," Shadi said again. "I'm sorry. I obviously don't know what it was all really like, but... I get it. How someone like me could... end up like that, if left to my own devices." She rested her chin atop the younger Inyssa's head, frowning sadly. "I'm sorry I couldn't be the real me."

"...I don't think that was ever possible," said Inyssa. "You could've been... better, but not as good as this. You're just an idealization."

Shadi chuckled, and threw her shoulders up in a 'Yeah, I suppose so' kinda gesture. "I'm what you think home is. Or... I was supposed to."

Inyssa said nothing for a while, expression unreadable. She raised her hand, reaching, and gently touched the smaller Inyssa's cheek with the back of her fingers. She scrunched up her nose in her sleep, but did not wake up.

"You can be that for her," she finally said.

"I could be that for you, too. You don't have to leave."

It was true. If Inyssa wanted to, if she really wanted to, she could stay here for however long this light shone against oblivion, and once it went out…

Rest, finally, from everything.

The idea had sounded so tempting only moments before, so why couldn't she accept the offer now?

She looked down at the other her, sleeping so peacefully in her sister's arms, and felt a pang of jealousy. Yet also… peace. Contentment. Like some grand, complicated puzzle had finally been solved inside her head. Somehow, she found herself smiling, and the answer came to her oddly easily.

"Thanks, but I have my own light to come back to," she said. "Let her have this one. She deserves it."

"…If you're sure."

She hadn't noticed, but she was lovingly caressing the other Inyssa's cheek with the back of her hand, like Shadi had done once or twice for her. A reassuring gesture, lulling her deeper into sleep.

"Even when I leave, this place will exist for as long as I remain alive," she said. "This… little pocket of light within Giratina's domain, it will be like a lighthouse. If any other unfortunate soul happens to land on this distant shore, looking for someplace to rest…"

"I will take care of them," Shadi acknowledged with a nod. "Just like I'll take care of her. I promise."

She returned the gesture with a smile, the green of the two sister's eyes meeting one last time. Something shook inside Inyssa. Her eyelids shook.

"Let her sleep as much as she wants," she said suddenly. "A-and make sure she eats a lot when she wakes up, and…" Inyssa swallowed, throat feeling dry, a familiar sting behind her eyes. "And… l-let her know if she does something good. Tell her you're proud. A-and that you love her. No matter how much she complains, k-keep telling her over and over until she believes it, and…"

"It's okay," Shadi whispered. "It's okay, Niss."

Only then did she realize what she'd been saying. Snifling, she raised her sleeve and wiped it against the wetness in her eyes, her shoulders shaking slightly.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, okay…" She inhaled deeply, taking a second to compose herself. "I'll… leave her to you, then."

And she took a step back, away from the wall and the door. Shadi's eyes followed her, and her lips became a thin, pale line.

"Not even a hug of goodbye?" she asked, hopeful.

She laughed weakly. "I'm sorry, but I don't know if I'll want to leave if I do that."

"…Fair enough, I suppose." There was a small pause. "You'll always be welcome here. I'll be waiting for you… no matter how long it takes."

A sad smile was all the response Inyssa could give. Avoiding her sister's eyes, she gave one last, quick nod and turned around, toward the street she'd come here from originally.

"By the way," Shadi called to her as she left, her voice sounding strangely distant. "Palmer asked me to tell you... to tell Barry that he's sorry."

Inyssa's face tightened for a second. "…Okay."

The door closed behind her, and she started to walk. Slowly at first, her muscles aching, her feet killing her. It would be a long road back toward consciousness. And it almost felt as though the street were on an upwards slope, making it even more difficult.

But there was no time to waste, so she silently apologized to her body and broke into a run, heading straight for that pale light in the distance.

---

A stunned silence reigned over the peak of Mt. Coronet for seconds that felt like minutes until, as though snapping out of a trance, Candice stomped her foot on the ground with enough force to startle everyone, and yelled.

"No! I am not… there's no way I'm letting you…!"

The three other women beside her, and the two legends hovering over her shoulder looked at her with pity. This was an inevitability. Most of them knew, and those who didn't could probably guess, based on Darkrai and Cresselia's words.

"There is no other choice," Cresselia said. "If we do nothing, we will die regardless. At least this way…"

"…hope remains that we may be reborn," Darkrai finished. "There is, as I'm sure you know, precedent for this."

Candice grit her teeth so strongly they almost creaked, hands balled into fists. Beside her, Fantina cleared her throat and spoke.

"I've heard of the tale. The myth of the Lunar Dance, I believe it's called. The day the two halves of the moon stopped relentlessly pursuing each other and… became one."

Cynthia nodded. "The reason varies depending on the version of the tale. In some, the two band together to combat some great calamity, while in others it is a simple desire for touch that leads them to… clash, after a long dance throughout the night sky. Regardless, the result is the same. Being so diametrically opposed, their bodies are torn apart, yet their spirits merge into a light powerful enough to rival even the dawn of creation. A light that pierces through heaven and heals all that it touches." She swallowed, taking a moment to breathe. "It is one of the oldest tales in possession of the clan of Lorekeepers, and also the origin of one of our most ancient sayings. May–"

"May the moon always guide you," both legends said in unison.

"A somewhat useless sentiment, if I must be honest," said Cresselia.

"Yet appreciated," said Dakrai. "Even if I'm not the one people usually think of when they speak those words."

Clutching her chest, Candice looked over her shoulder at the two beings sharing her soul, and felt her lower lip shake with rage and impotency. She was not ready to accept this.

"T-then you're just going to give up!?" she demanded. "There has to be another way!"

"So I wish that were the case," Darkrai mused. "However…"

"This is our best option," Cresselia finished. "You know what happens at the end of that tale, do you not?"

Candice didn't reply, closing her eyes tightly in a vain attempt to keep tears from forming. Her throat felt clogged up with something hard and icy.

"I-I…"

"When the two halves of the moon clashed and tore each other apart, small scraps of them survived," Darkrai explained. "Two crescent-shaped feathers, no larger than a petal."

"The wind carried them over the sea, until they finally came to rest upon a couple of nearby islands," said Cresselia. "These islands were shaped like the two opposite phases of the moon, and they were home to beautiful crimson flowers. Yet when the white feather touched upon the ground, its radiance was such that all color bled out from those flowers, and all who would ever grow there in the future. And the same happened with the black feather, the heaviness of its shadows tainting the soil forevermore."

"The two feathers remained there for a long, long time, yet they were not forgotten. With each of its cycles, the moon nourished them. Slowly returning what was once theirs."

"Until finally, the two who became one were born again, their bodies reforged by light of moon."

There was silence for a moment after they finished speaking, and it was Fantina who finally spoke, clearing her throat.

"T-then it's true…"

"Indeed," said Cresselia. "I do not remember our reasons, as our memories from back then have been lost, but there is no doubt we clashed, and destroyed each other in our folly."

"And we will do so again, if we must," said Darkrai. "Not only may the light of our union cross the barrier between worlds and serve as a beacon for Inyssa and the rest, but it may be our only salvation from death. Our bodies will be destroyed but, if fate wills it, there will be enough of us left to… one day be reborn, as we have in the past."

Cynthia could only glance down at the floor, ashamed at her own uselessness, while Fantina simply looked on with pity. Behind her, an enigmatic expression had formed on Sanbica's face. She whispered something under her breath.

"And in the end, two souls will…"

Her voice was quickly drowned out by Candice's.

"F…fuck that! There has to be some other…"

Candice's fists shook, tears now unceremoniously sliding down her face. The anger and bitterness in her expression was indescribable.

"W-why? Why… for them?" she asked, looking up at the two legends. "W-we'll find another way, so let them rot! Did you forget Shadi's with them!? Are you seriously going to give your lives in exchange for hers!? She's the reason this all happened!"

"Your company was pleasant, child, and far preferable to hers, but the two of you are not as different as you may think," Cresselia said, her tone brutally honest. "Be happy with what you were able to save, and do not let anger consume you."

"L-like hell I'm going to accept this!" Candice bellowed, eyes shooting wide with fury. "Your lives aren't just something you can give up on a whim! What about the people that cherish you!? What about me!? W-what do you think is gonna happen when… w-when you're gone and…!" She grit her teeth, focusing on her words instead of the way her voice shook. "I didn't do all this just so you two could die!"

"…I'm sorry. Truly," Darkrai whispered.

"Your compassion saved us, and I pray it will continue to save others still," was all Cresselia could say. "It was a pleasure knowing you, Candice."

Light and shadows started bleeding out of Candice, spiraling upwards like smoke and turning physical what were once the ethereal forms of the Lunar Duo. The girl gasped, looking down at her own body. Her eyes were slowly returning to their normal pink, and her hair bled out to its usual black, falling weightlessly atop her shoulders.

"W-wait!" she begged, raising a hand toward them. "Stop, d-don't...!"

But they didn't listen. Now fully corporeal, the two legends began flying in circles around each other, slowly rising through the night sky. Their eyes were locked. Their bodies moved in unison, what little remained of their power shining through them as they began their dance.

"STOP!" Candice let out a raw scream, from the bottom of her stomach. "DARKRAI! CRESSELIA!"

"Please, return what is left of us to Fullmoon and Newmoon island when this is all over," said Darkrai. "Thank you… and I'm sorry."

"Farewell, child."

Further screams rang through the sky above Mt. Coronet, but the two legends did not hear them. There was no longer a world around them, or between them. Only the two of them existed, like lone will o' wisps flickering below a moonless night. They flew, and danced around each other and the dark outline of the moon above like two opposite sides of a magnet slowly being forced together.

And it was a true spectacle. Below, onlookers all across the region would report seeing glittering trails of luminescent white and flowing black circling the moon like dancing ribbons. They were whisper thin, yet all saw it, and all heard as two voices as ancient as Sinnoh itself addressed each other with the charming embarrassment of a pair of young lovers first touching.

"…May I have this dance, then?"

"Of course. I would never deny you, my gentle darkness."

"Nor I, my burning light."

With each circle they danced around each other, they came closer and closer, until finally they stopped within the dark outline of the moon itself. Their bodies were but silhouettes for all looking from below. Yet the two legends saw each other clearly, eagerly holding onto every small detail about the other's being, as though this would be the last chance they'd ever get.

And when Darkrai's hand finally reached forward, pushing through the force repelling them and touching the side of Cresselia's face, those spots broke apart and a potent light burst from within. Pain exploded through their bodies, but they did not feel it. There was only happiness, and the satisfaction that comes from ending one's longing. He raised another hand, this time touching his beloved's wing, and the two once more burned against each other, releasing another burst of light.

Amidst the brightness and the sound of burning, another whisper was heard.

"Tell me… do you think a single moment can last forever?" asked Cresselia.

"Of course," Darkrai assured her. "That is what love is, no?"

Cresselia closed her eyes and smiled, as though she'd expected nothing but that response. She leaned forward, and her beloved did as well. Their foreheads touched, softly, lovingly, and even amidst the pain and brightness that ensued, their words were as clear as though they were whispering them to each other's ear.

"I see. In that case…"

"Yes. I am not letting go. Never again."

"Neither am I."

They embraced, smiling, dying, and spoke their last words in unison as their bodies became light.

"Let us be together for all eternity."

---

Inyssa opened her eyes, finding herself back within the World of Distortion, laying across the cold, wet rock of one of its many floating platforms. Her body was numb, muscles stiff like they were made of stone. She blinked, her vision slowly coming back into focus, and found herself face to face with Mars' dead body.

Her memories returned, all at once like a flood. The wetness under her body was undoubtedly Shadi's blood, and that knowledge alone was what finally urged her to move, an icy sharpness grasping at her heart. She rolled over, pushing herself to her knees with wavering arms. There Metchi and Barry were, glowing like two miniature suns. An endless stream of golden light poured out from their bodies, keeping the darkness around them at bay, if only for a moment longer.

No more than a minute had passed, yet deep within her mind it had felt like hours. These two were still fighting. They hadn't given up yet, not on themselves, and not on her either.

Weakly, almost reluctantly, Inyssa turned her head and looked down at her sister's body, laying limp and unconscious next to her, blood still pouring out of her fresh wound. She was still alive, but not for long.

"…I promised."

Something changed in Inyssa then. She lifted her chin, and though shadows like storm clouds still hung over her face, now something flashed behind her eyes. Once, then twice, then a hundred times. Her eyes burst ablaze, crawling veins of luminescent gold expanding through her body like vines, like golden bolts arching off a pillar of thunder.

Inyssa rose to her feet, stomping the ground with a sound like the crack of lightning. Then silence. The roaring golden flames, the rushing golden wind, even the endless hunger of the darkness around them came to a stop. A caesura.

Still with their backs to her, Barry and Metchi looked over their shoulder, and their mouths gaped. Inyssa stood behind them, wavering on weak legs. Her arms hung limply beside her, and her eyes were hidden by the shadows of her hair. At first, she said nothing. Then, taking in a quick breath, she lifted her chin high enough for the gold of her eyes to shine through the darkness falling over her face.

There was no smile. Her expression was pained, exhausted… but determined. It was the face of a wounded Pokemon about to throw itself at those hunting them.

A voice spoke then. Familiar and reassuring, it gave Inyssa another small boost of strength, so that she may stand up to her full height.

"…Inyssa. I am so glad you're back."

Her lips twitched ever so slightly at Uxie's words, but she did not reply, her throat dry like sandpaper. The pain and exhaustion she'd experienced during her delusions had felt real, but it was nothing like this. Nothing like the weight of reality bearing down on her shoulders.

She would not let it break her. Not until they made it back home.

Before her, Barry and Metchi blinked for the first time, and as though returning to reality both opened their mouths to say something.

Just then, an impossibly large shadow fell upon the small platform they were in. Barry looked up, eyes widening, terror twisting every muscle in his face. There was the sound of something impossibly large coiling around itself, and the feeling of eyes boring down on them. Inyssa simply glanced to the side, and caught a glimpse of Giratina as it dove straight toward her, maw wide open, eyes like burning coals.

"NISS!"

Inyssa moved unconsciously, as though on autopilot. She raised her right arm in front of her chest, and countless bolts of furious light exploded through the sleeve of her coat, sending stray scraps of red cloth flying in all directions. Her vine-like scars opened, lightning pouring through them instead of blood as she threw her arm to the side behind her, just as Giratina was about to reach her. The light grew, expanded upon touching the heart of nothingness, and…

The entire world disappeared, and for a moment there was only white, and silence.

Then a roar, a sound like a thousand thunderstorms blaring at once. An exploding pillar of white light cut upwards into the World of Distortion, dividing it in two. And within that light, Giratina itself shrieked in agony, its massive body nothing but a pale black outline within that world of stark white. It was driven back, pushed outwards like dust as wind is pressed upon the ground, the force expanding in great shockwaves.

Yet the light disappeared, just as fast as it had appeared. The white pillar broke apart into thousands of fluttering motes of light, which rained down upon the small platform like snow.

Barry and Metchi stood there, somehow unharmed, staring at Inyssa's raised hand. The entire sleeve of her coat had been burned away to nothing, and the pale silver scars that once adorned her arms were now glowing like veins of fire, steam rising off her fingers. The girl had her eyes closed, teeth clenched in pain.

"Niss!"

They rushed toward her in unison, and Barry was just in time as her knees failed and she keeled forward. He caught her between his arms and hugged her tightly, as though not wanting to let go.

"N-Niss, I…!"

But Inyssa placed a hand against his chest and pushed against him, supporting herself against his shoulder. The shadow over her face remained, souring her expression. Every ounce of her soul and body was focused on keeping her from falling unconscious, and so there was no time for sentimentality.

"W-we…" Getting words out was like pulling teeth. "We have to… go. I… b-back home…"

The meaning was clear. Barry and Metchi looked at each other, then the latter glanced up at Giratina's massive form, already starting to recover from Inyssa's assault. Her lips became a thin line.

"What about now?" Metchi asked the air around her. "We're all together. Could we…?"

"I am not sure," Uxie said, a frown in its voice. "However…"

"With the three of us gathered in one place…" Mesprit added.

"There… must be something we can do," Azelf finished. "If our combined might is capable of dragging Dialga and Palkia down from their homes, I'm… sure it can shine a way out of this place."

There was silence for a moment. Then, Mesprit let out a sour chuckle.

"…Who'd have thought I'd witness you being the optimist for once?"

Uxie tittered nervously. "I admit, I share the surprise."

"…Enough of both of you. There is work to be done," Azelf blew them off. Then, under its breath, it whispered. "It's time I started learning from my mistakes as well…"

Metchi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're all so fucking charming, now how the fuck do we do this!? Do we just…?"

She was cut off by a deep, roaring bellow that felt as though the world itself were rumbling with rage. All eyes shot up, and the three saw with horror as Giratina circled down toward them once more. The darkness that surrounded them began to bleed into the platform, crawling inwards, hungry.

"I-I suppose we simply…" Azelf thought for a moment. "Our light, combined…"

Mesprit made a sound as though it were clicking its tongue. "If only we had some kind of marker or a beacon of sorts…"

Uxie sighed. "I don't believe we count with that luxury, unfortunat–"

A shimmer of sound answered their prayers, echoing like bells behind them. It was a calm, ethereal sound, yet powerful enough to send violent shivers down their spines.

"Wh–!?"

The three of them turned around, and were blinded as a sphere of light appeared on the horizon, opposite to the black sun that had once been Giratina.

A light like that of the full moon.

---

Deep within the World of Distortion, yet oceans and continents away, a lone man sat on a broken piece of ground the size of a small island, his legs dangling off the edge down toward eternity. He was hunched down, hands resting on his thighs, eyes lost in the beauty of the nothingness around him. For a moment, the paleness of his eyes seemed to have regained some color.

Then, the light shone behind him, snapping him from his thoughts. He looked over his shoulder, a slightly bewildered look on his face.

"…I see."

The smallest smile formed on Cyrus' lips. A hint of emotion. A gleam of the light he had once lost, but was now finally reunited with.

And yet he did not move, nor gave the oddity much consideration.

"So you have found a way out of even the binds placed by entropy," he whispered. "Should I assume the voice calling for me is…?"

He pondered, then shook his head and looked away, simply letting that light bathe his back as he looked down once more. His expression was peaceful. Complete.

There was no regret. And even if there were, Cynthia would never again accept…

But no, those thoughts were not productive. There was no point in pondering what ifs.

"I have finally found my home," he whispered, sounding wistful. "I can only hope you will one day find yours, too."

And he closed his eyes, letting everything disappear around him.

---

Cynthia breathed in, and the silvery strands of light raining down from above filled her chest, spreading outwards through her veins like liquid ambrosia. It burned away her pain and calmed her nerves. What energy she had expended throughout the day was returned in full, and then more. Her blood, mind and body felt alive like never before.

She looked around, and found the others to be the same. Fantina and her daughter glanced down at their bodies as scrapes and cuts and bruises disappeared like they'd never been there. Candice remained on her knees, face hidden by shadows and tears streaming down her cheeks, but her breathing was less pained than before.

And Lorencia… her Garchomp looked at her own arms in amazement, every wound on her body closing in an instant. She breathed in deep and stood up to her full height, her scales gleaming under the bright light above.

Then, the light reached the two extra set of Pokeballs hanging off Cynthia's belt, and instantly they opened with a blinding flash. She jumped back, surprised, and raised a hand over her eyes on instinct. When she lowered it, she saw a multitude of Pokemon now standing amidst their group; Barry and Inyssa's team. They stared at themselves in awe, probably surprised as well by their strength returning.

The red, carapaced creature in the middle then looked up, and blinked in surprise, like she'd seen something no one else had. Her tiny eyes grew wide.

"B…belele!" she cried, raising her scythe-like arms toward the sky. "Bele-belele!"

At first, Cynthia didn't understand, but then she felt a shiver, and looked up one more time. There. From within that light, tiny specks of what almost looked like gold were trying to burn through to their side. Like the glow of a Volbeat's tail trying to outshine the sun.

"Beele!" The Kricketune yelled again, desperate, hopeful. "Belele!"

Soon, the Kricketune was joined by the Infernape beside her, then the Empoleon next to him, and then every single one of their companions, until all Pokemon were crying out in support, clamoring with all their might at something they felt from the other side of that sphere of light hanging from the sky.

Calling out for their trainers to return.

---

Barry squinted at the sphere of light, as though sensing something within that neither of the others could. It washed against him in waves. Warm chills, like a summer breeze in the middle of winter. He breathed in, letting it fill his chest with an all too familiar sensation.

Hope.

It exuded from him with each heartbeat, enveloping Metchi and Inyssa in gentle swirls of golden wind. They breathed in, and understood as well. It was as though their hearts were beating in sync. Mesprit's power, made manifest.

Above, Giratina roared so powerfully they feared the entire world would break in half, and once more it dove toward them, attempting to stop their escape. And once more, Inyssa rose to repel it. This time she didn't even need to move. She simply glanced upwards, eyes narrowing, the boundless light behind her exploding out of her body like a cluster of lightning bolts, covering the entire platform they were standing upon.

Light flowed freely from her scars like blood, dancing through the air as luminescent wisps of smoke, and then solidifying into what could only be called apparitions of solid light. In an instant, they were surrounded by an army. Dozens of blindingly white figures stood protectively around the three of them, their radiance forming a dome that pushed Giratina back, burning away its smoke-like tendrils.

Barry blinked. He recognized these figures. Enma, Shadi, Steven, her entire team… people and Pokemon, friends and foes, those she'd encountered and those she had vanquished, they now came to their aid and shielded them from oblivion. More and more figures emerged from within the light swallowing her whole, from within the large creature she had manifested around herself like an ethereal suit of armor.

Golurk, the first truly powerful foe she had vanished, and the first to have come to her aid.

Inyssa spoke from within that light, her voice strained, full of pain.

"G-grab Shadi! And… a-and Mars…!"

Metchi's face tightened for a moment, but she did as she was told without questioning. Phasing through the army of glowing figures around her, she knelt in front of the unconscious woman and prepared to lift her, when something odd caught her eye.

The wound on her stomach, it looked like it was… closing itself.

Metchi stole a glance back at the strange light burning in the distance, but decided not to give it more thought. There'd be time for questions later. She lifted Shadi up and handed her to Barry, who hoisted her over his shoulder with some difficulty. Then, she walked over toward Mars' corpse and… to her credit, she only hesitated for a second before snorting derisively and throwing her over her own shoulder, then returning to the other two.

"Are we ready now!?" she yelled over the furious crackling around her.

Inyssa, her body but a blurry shadow within that pillar of light, looked over her shoulder, and froze at the sight of Mars. The light seemed to dim for a second.

Metchi felt something constricting the inside of her chest. "It… wasn't your fault, half-pint."

Inyssa said nothing. She blinked, and spring of light disappeared, leaving only the small, exhausted girl behind. Her expression was unreadable. She stared at Metchi for a few long seconds, then whispered.

"You were right."

"What?"

"Caring is the only weapon I have left." A tiny smile formed on her lips. "But no one can take it away from me."

She seized up at that, not expecting her own words to be fed back to her. She snorted. The nerve of this fucking girl…

"…Let's get you two idiots back home," she said lovingly. "Alright?"

Inyssa nodded, then looked at Barry, shining her that same weak smile. In unison, they reached for each other and held hands, grasping so tightly it would take a miracle to separate them. Metchi rolled her eyes, but said nothing else.

"Ready, Azelf?"

"…Of course."

She looked up, and raised her hand toward that brilliant light hanging from the sky. A second later, Barry joined her, fingers grasping desperately toward salvation.

"Mesprit…!"

"Hmph, I was waiting on you, boy."

Inyssa said nothing, too weakened to utter another word, but with effort she raised her hand skyward as well. It was pale and shaking, looking so small next to the other two's, but the light radiating from her fingers was no lesser.

"Inyssa…"

Uxie's voice washed over her as the light emanating from them began to grow. It was more than the sum of their parts. Burning, crackling, whispering… just as flame, wind and lightning gave way to storms, an unfathomable tempest of glowing, concentrated humanity exploded around them, cutting through the heart of nothingness. It was a storm like no other. A wellspring of Spirit that bridged the two worlds and punctured straight through them. A new singularity, unlike any other in existence.

And as their bodies became weightless and their Spirits became one, Inyssa let Uxie's words touch her, for once letting all of her defenses down.

"…I will be by your side," it whispered. "No matter what."

Inyssa closed her eyes, and let herself be carried by the force of the tempest, everything disappearing around her.

---

Three people fell to their knees atop Spear Pillar, and two other bodies collapsed on the ground beside them, only one of them still breathing.

Time seemed to stop. Cynthia's mouth gaped. Fantina inhaled sharply and clutched at her chest, eyes growing wide. Sanbica said nothing, and Candice remained on her knees and hands, unaware of what happened around them.

Above, the sphere of light dimmed, then popped as though it were a bubble, a million luminescent wisps falling like rain around them. Yet even as it disappeared, its light remained within the celestial body above, illuminating what minutes before would have been Sinnoh's darkest night. A full moon. Darkrai and Cresselia were nowhere to be seen, only the two small feathers left behind, floating down toward them, but their parting gift shone for them nonetheless.

No one moved for a few breaths. Then, Metchi grunted and lifted her chin to look around, her face flushed and covered in sweat. She blinked rapidly, and the sight that met her made her laugh with relief.

"We… d-did it…"

That seemed to break the spell. As though suddenly woken from a dream, Cynthia and Fantina rushed toward them, worry and relief clear across their faces. They both spoke at the same time, urgently, so it was hard to make out what they were saying. Asking if they were okay. Reassuring them. Metchi and Barry could only kneel there, almost all strength gone from them, fighting to remain conscious.

Then, a sudden, sharp sound caught everyone's attention. A sob. Weak, brittle, a noise like broken glass retching up Inyssa's throat. All eyes turned toward her, and the first thing they all saw was red.

"N-Niss!?"

It wasn't coming from her coat. The scars running through the length of Inyssa's arms had opened due to the amount of power she'd cursed through them, and now it looked as though someone had carved dozens of thin, vine-like trails across her skin with a knife. Trickles of blood ran down her arms to the ground she was supporting herself against. It slid under her fingers and her hands slipped forward, landing her across the floor with a loud thump.

Screams rang out. Barry and Metchi and everyone shot up to their feet in a panic, saying words she could not understand and kneeling beside her, hands reaching for her.

But all Inyssa could focus on was the pain. The sharp, searing agony that licked at her skin like tongues of flame, and the crushing exhaustion that weighed down upon her soul. It was sharp like broken glass. It felt like drowning, like being crushed by the weight of a whole ocean's worth of water.

Inyssa curled into herself, hands shaking uncontrollably, and cried like she hadn't done in a long time. Loud, ugly sobs wracked through her spasming body. She closed her eyes, and there was no more warmth, no more light, only the vitriolic bitterness of the world she had chosen to come back to.

At the very least, it didn't last long. Her body had long since reached its limit, and her mind mercifully dragged her into unconsciousness after only a few moments.

---

A/N: Only the last chapter and the epilogue remain. I'll take a small break for the holidays then return after New Years. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!