Gamelover41592: Thanks!
Matt (Guest): I've been ripping on him all story. And as for possessed Lusamine...that goes into spoiler land.
IllusionSign (Guest): Yeah, poor girl went through a lot.
So, time to plan out what to do next and head to the last island of Emma and Kitty's challenge.
For several seconds, everyone stood in complete silence, trying to understand what they had just seen. Finally, Lillie spoke up.
"Mother!" She called out. "Why?!" She then walked towards the discarded crate on the ground. "Nebby...are you...alright?"
"Uh...what is that?" Emma asked as she pointed towards a strange dot floating above the crate. It looked somewhat like Nebby, but it had it's differences.
"Nebby…" Lillie trailed off.
"What is it?" Gladion asked.
"It changed forms...and it's not moving…" Lillie noted.
"Did...did Nebby evolve?" Emma asked.
"What do you mean?" Lillie asked. Emma grabbed her Rotom-Dex and scrolled until she found two entries-Metapod and Kakuna.
"These two Pokémon are known for being not so much a Pokémon as much as they are a cocoon. They barely move and are really only considered to be Pokémon because they cause the previous Pokémon to change...and have that weird evolution glow," Emma explained as simply as she could, doing her best to not go into a nerd-gasm at the sight of this strange new Pokémon in front of her. "Basically, what if this new form is kinda like Nebby's cocoon in a way?"
"Maybe…" Lillie replied. Gladion began to walk away.
"Come on." He ordered. "Let's get out of here. Nothing good can happen here."
"Actually, that's not completely true," Kitty revealed as she turned her phone around to reveal the display. "Apparently, the energy from the portal Lusamine opened opened several other portals! There are a bunch of Ultra Beasts running around right. The Kahunas and trial captains are fighting them as we speak!"
"I'd rather take my chance with one of them than with the main portal," Emma said. Kitty could hear the bitterness in her voice.
"...Alright, let's get moving," She conceded as everyone made a break for the teleporter. Upon arrival, they found Wicke waiting for them. All they could do was nod solemnly to her. She nodded back.
"You are all unharmed...oh, thank goddess," Wicke managed to say. It was a hollow victory.
"Yeah, maybe. But there's still a ton we have to do…" Gladion pointed out. "There's the president and Guzma, who both disappeared into the Ultra Wormhole...not to mention Cosmog and whether or not Emma's 'cocoon theory' is true or not. Even if she is...like that, Lusamine is still our mother. We can't just leave her in some unknown world on her own, even if it is to capture Necrozma. And if she doesn't come back…"
"What is this?" Everyone turned to see Zossie and Dulse walk towards them. "That Lusamine! She is not defeating Necrozma for our sake, but for her own satisfaction!?"
"Miss President...why would she do this…?" Zossie sadly asked.
"Join the club," Emma grumbled under her breath.
"The machine that the scientist Colress helped develop with our technology...the machine that would restrain Necrozma…" Dulse decided that these children were strong enough. They could know the truth. "We were going to send it back to our world safely with someone strong enough to safely use it, but...she is going to use it for herself?!"
"What was that you just said?!" Gladion exclaimed. "You said you were going to send someone back to your world? Do you know some other way to open an Ultra Wormhole?!"
Dulse nodded. "The altar on Poni...the Pokémon that appears there is called the beast that devours the sun."
"We rode on the back of a Pokémon like that! That's how we got to Alola!" Zossie revealed.
"Lusamine and Guzma…" Dusle trailed off. How could he have trusted them with the fate of his world? "Do they not understand how strong Necrozma truly is? Or do they go to fight it, even knowing that?"
"...All of you…" Zossie began. "If Necrozma awakens, it will come to steal all the light from Alola. You must protect your world's light! Alola is so brilliant and nice!"
"I have a difficult time with such brilliance, but the light of Alola...is a good thing," Dulse admitted. "The auras of your totems...and yes, even the light of your Z-Crystals. But now, if you'll excuse us…" With that, he left with Zossie.
"Miss Lillie...if you and your friends would like to get some rest, I have prepared a few beds in the staff's residential quarters," Wicke offered.
"We'll take you up on that," Gladion answered for everyone.
"Agreed," Emma replied. "I'm so drained from that."
"Yeah, I'm beat!" Hau agreed.
"I'll think...I'll stay here," Lillie admitted as he walked towards Lusamine's bed. "I want to spend some time trying to understand what my mother might have been thinking…"
"Very well," Wicke said as she led everyone else towards the staff chamber.
The next day...
"Those are the softest beds I have ever slept on!" Kitty gushed as she sat up with a stretch. The girls had texted their parents what had happened, keeping the details vague so that they didn't have to come back home. Besides, both girls had slept in motels at some point of their journey.
"Agreed," Emma agreed with a smile. "Come on, let's go find Lillie."
"Okay!" Kitty said as she jumped up, energetic as ever. However, when they arrived in Lusamine's room, the bed was empty.
"Girls?" The girls turned around to see Wicke walking towards them. "Miss Lillie is waiting outside if you're ready to meet her."
"Thank you," Emma said as she and Kitty headed towards the door. They found Lillie looking towards the sea, but her outfit was different. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing a white blouse, a skirt and sneakers, while her duffel bag was replaced by a pink bed.
"I picked these clothes up in Malie...do you think they suit me?" Lillie asked once she noticed the girls had come outside.
"You look great!" Kitty blurted out, a light blush on her face.
"They do suit you," Emma said.
Lillie chuckled. "Thank you." She walked towards the girls. "I feel like there's so much I have to do now to save Nebby...to save my mother. I...I want to be like you two. I want to be strong enough to face any trial. That's why I'm going to try my hardest! This is my Z-Powered Form!" Lillie then proceeded to do her own Z-Move dance. She knew that it didn't belong to any normal crystal, so she felt comfortable doing it. Emma gave a polite clap while Kitty just started blushing again for reasons she didn't really understand.
"So this is where you were," Gladion said as he walked towards the girls. He then handed Lillie a strange looking flute "I found this downstairs. It's the Sun Flute. It's apparently an artifact from Alola's past. They say it's to be played under the sun's light. The Sun Flute and the Moon Flute. When sounded together, it's said that they can call the Legendary Pokémon...that is, if you believe in old myths, anyway."
"Emma does," Kitty said as she nudged her sister. Emma just shoved her.
"It's like the members of the Ultra Recon Squad said, right?" Gladion asked. "If the Legendary Pokémon really does exist, we might be able to reach the other world where Necrozma is." He then walked over to Emma and Kitty. "Here, take this with you." He handed both girls a Master Ball.
"This...this is a Master Ball!" Emma exclaimed. She knew that they were rare and expensive. "Where did you get this?!"
"The Aether Foundation has its ways," Gladion replied. "I'm counting on you to save my family now. This is the least I can do."
"But...what are you going to do, Gladion?" Lillie asked.
"Deal with this mess. I've got to clean up Aether Paradise," Gladion responded as he turned away. "All I wanted was to be able to protect everyone, together with Null...Maybe I couldn't do that, but I'll make sure that this place at least stays safe. The foundation that our mother loved…"
"We understand," Emma replied. "And once I'm finished with this mess, call me if you never need any help."
Gladion smirked. "I'll let you know if anything opens up."
"Oh! And remember to fire Faba!" Kitty chimed in, causing everyone, Gladion included, to laugh.
"Hey guys!" Hau called out with a wave. "And...Lillie!? What happened to you?"
"I'm ready to use my full force!" Lillie replied.
"You're all...amazing!" Hau cheered. "That's it! I've decided!"
"What?' Gladion asked.
"I keep getting saved by Emma, Kitty or my partner Decidueye, right?" Hau began. "If I keep being like this and I don't change, then I'm gonna get left behind by you all! I really wanted to save Lillie and Cosmog. When my partner and I both felt the same way and we were in sync, we were so much stronger...that's how it felt to me at least. So...I'm gonna try and change that feeling down again, together with Decidueye and my team!"
"So our family drama ended up changing the kind of trainer you want to be…" Gladion trailed off. He still found Hau a little annoying, but he felt a little guilty about that. "Sorry for getting you dragged into our mess."
Hau just shook his head. "Sure, you might have been a part of it...but in the end, the only one who's gonna make me change is me. And besides, Miss Lusamine is out there trying to keep Alola safe, right? I knew she was a good person!" Everyone had to admit that he had a point.
"I guess…" Gladion grumbled. "She's always convinced that what she's doing is right, and she really is kind of selfish, but...but I think she just wanted to find our father, who disappeared into an Ultra Wormhole."
"Hau...thank you for your kind words. I'm really happy you feel that way," Lillie said.
"I can get you to the next island at least: Poni Island." Gladion said to the girls. "I wait for you at the docks."
"Come on girls!" Lillie declared. "Let's show the world what we can really do!"
Kitty smiled. "Let's go!"
Emma chuckled a little. "You said it!"
Shorter chapter this time. But next time, we head to the final island! See you then!