The drawing room of the Old Chateau remained much the same as it always had. Several cushioned chairs decorated the large room, with a tattered sofa among them, and a recently dusted table sat in the center of the room. A pair of lamps adorned each side of the room, but their bulbs had long since burned out, leaving the room in a constant atmosphere of dim or nonexistent lighting.

The usual darkness was abruptly penetrated by a brilliant flash of light, signaling the arrival of the distraught Kirlia and the severely injured Riolu. Without wasting a moment, Iris placed Force's limp body upon the dark blue upholstery of one of the chairs, her vision blurred by tears, and began rubbing her paws together, focusing as much of energy through them.

Choking back a rasping sob, Iris wiped her eyes with her arm and began to gently, but firmly, rub the Riolu's chest. A faint white glow surrounded her paws, and slowly, the enormous gash in her mate's chest began to close, but the healing was occurring too slowly for comfort. Blood was still spilling copiously from the wound, staining her paws crimson despite her efforts to close the wound.

It was a nasty injury, the likes of which she had never had to deal with previously. If not for the preliminary Heal Pulse she had provided back in the forest, she had no doubt that Force would already be dead. The thought alone sent a shock of agony through her own chest, as if her heart had taken the same blow that Force had received.

"Force...please, you can't die like this," Iris whispered, hot tears stinging her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. She didn't know what she would do without him. Without his kind, loving words, and the gentle affection he showed her every day. He was a ray of sunshine in what had otherwise been a very dull, unwelcoming world filled with fear and helplessness.

Already, she was feeling helpless again. What use was she if she couldn't mend her lover's wounds? Heal Pulse was a technique that gained strength from empathy, so to have one this weak, even towards the one she loved more than anyone else she had ever known...she really was fit for nothing, wasn't she?

The Kirlia sobbed, but clasped her paws together again, willing desperately for the healing energy within her body to strengthen, for Force's sake. He didn't deserve to die. It had all been Diablos' doing, and yet the Spiritomb had been just as shocked by the attack as she had been, and just as helpless to stop it.

Again, she pressed her paws to her lover's chest, gasping for air, as her stifled sobs had kept her from breathing properly. She felt like her crying was suffocating her, was squeezing air from her lungs, and yet she was unable to stop sobbing. Sparkling white energy surrounded the Riolu's wound, but even as the flesh began to reseal and regrow around her paws, blood continued to spill from him, and at this rate, she would finish mending the wound just in time for him to die from blood loss.

"No!" Iris whimpered, unsure if she had cried out aloud or only in her mind, and she threw herself down upon Force's body, not caring about the blood pooling on his chest, listening desperately for a heart beat. He couldn't die like this. She wouldn't let him!

"Hey! You're getting blood on the upholstery!" Plasma complained, the Rotom phasing through the ceiling, but he recoiled when Iris fixed him with a ferocious glare that she never would have expected herself capable of producing under normal circumstances, and whether her tears added to or detracted from the look, she didn't care.

"Do something to help me!" she pleaded, her eyes almost bulging. Plasma twitched uncertainly, his eyes darting from side to side before he reluctantly approached them. "His heartbeat's so faint!" Iris wailed, making one last desperate effort to seal the wound with her Heal Pulse, praying to Arceus, to Xerneas, and even to Mew, that it would be successful. If none of them came to her aid, then they didn't deserve to be known as life-givers.

"Maybe I can give him a little shock to jump start his heart?" Plasma suggested uncertainly, a far cry from his normal cheerful tone. "It works in some TV shows..."

"Anything!" Iris pleaded, pulling her paws away from Force's chest. The gash in Force's chest had finally healed over, but the Riolu was still immobile. The Rotom twitched at her desperate tone, and cautiously gave the Riolu a prod with one of his lightning bolt appendages. The reaction was instantaneous; Force's body gave a sudden jolt, and he coughed weakly. Slowly, his red eyes flickered open, and a small trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth.

"I...ris," Force murmured softly, his eyes unfocused, but it was clear that he knew she was there.

"I'm here," Iris answered immediately, leaning over the Riolu, her tears rolling down her face and falling upon the Riolu's face. He blinked, his eyes focusing on the Kirlia's face. "Please, don't die, Force, I need you," she begged.

Force gave a weak chuckle, and the faintest of smiles crossed his muzzle. "I love you, Iris," he murmured.

"F-force, I-" the Kirlia began, but Force reached up with his paw, an action requiring tremendous effort, and touched her cheek lovingly.

"Smile...for me," he murmured, almost inaudibly. Iris stared at him uncomprehendingly, tears rolling down her cheek more profusely than ever. "I want your...smile to be...my last sight..."

"Don't say things like that, Force!" Iris sobbed desperately, her eyes stinging so intensely she felt like they were on fire. "We said we'd settle down together someday, somewhere beautiful, and maybe have a kit or two and-" she broke off, too overwhelmed to finish speaking, as if something had become lodged in her throat, a lump so large that even her sobbing had been cut short.

"Heh...I'm sorry," Force murmured, his own eyes filling with tears. "I...couldn't fulfill...all my promises. But I...need you to smile. And for you to remember..."

The Riolu's voice was becoming fainter with each word, and the focus in his eyes was wavering. Even with the gash in his chest healed over, the blood loss was sapping what little remained of his strength. Iris could literally feel his life signs fading, and the mental activity of his brain shutting down.

"Remember what?" Iris prompted urgently, tears rolling down her face endlessly, and she clutched the Riolu's wrist, as if they were clasping hands in the human ceremony of marriage, holding one another to the very end.

"Remember..." Force's voice faltered, but his eyes managed to refocus upon hers. "The world...isn't all dark. Smile. And never forget that."

The infernal lump in Iris' throat prevented her from answering him, and tears dripped down from her chin onto the Riolu's neck. She could only nod shakily, and forced a smile onto her face, even though the expression went against everything she was feeling at that moment.

The Riolu smiled back, and his eyes glazed over again. The strength in his arm faded, and his outstretched arm fell away from her cheek, striking the chair's upholstery with a muffled thump. Pain coursed through Iris' heart, but she clutched the Riolu's other paw all the more tightly, for it remained the only indication that her lover was still alive.

There was a dull emptiness consuming Iris as she sat, every second feeling like it was drawn out to a hundred years, every miniscule beat of the Riolu's heart feeling like an electric current racing through her. The aura Pokemon's breath was weakening, his pulse fading, yet she could do nothing but sit here, praying with every ounce of soul she had that he would recover, that his heart would pump enough blood through his system for him to survive.

Her throat burned, the lump in her throat feeling so swollen she couldn't utter a sound, and her tears seemed to have halted, no matter how badly she still wanted to cry. She felt trapped, unable to express her grief and pain, yet unable to escape the feelings as they threatened to suffocate her.

"Should I prod him again?" Plasma wondered, but his voice sounded far away, as if he were talking to her across an enormous chasm, the lingering sounds echoing faintly, but none of them really reaching her. The paw she was clutching went limp, as if Force had fallen asleep, and his eyes were only slivers now, revealing only the faintest glimpse of the kind red eyes that she had fallen in love with.

Iris embraced the Riolu, her entire body shaking as she rested her head against his bloodied chest, not caring in the slightest that the crimson stains would mingle with her hair, nor that the white of her garment would face a similar fate. He had received his wish of her smile, and she would provide him the last traces of warmth and comfort she could muster, no matter what the cost to her.

"Love...you," Force murmured, so softly that she could barely hear the words at all. She could feel his affection for her, still burning within the aura Pokemon's heart, and his thoughts were focused on her, even as his consciousness waned. Their emotional bond was unbreakable to the very end, after all.

"Love you, too," Iris choked, not even knowing if the Riolu could still hear her. His heartbeat was fading, yet spiked for an infinitely small moment following her words. Tears welled up within her eyes, yet they refused to fall. She sniffled loudly, her voice cracking, "Always will."

Bright light consumed her vision, so intense in contrast to the room's darkness that she had to shield her eyes. Brighter and brighter the light grew, and it seemed to shine all around her, forcing her to recoil from Force's body in a vain struggle to protect her eyes from the agonizing glare.

Plasma gave a startled squeal, but Iris couldn't tell what he was reacting to, and even when she forced herself to peer through her paws, her eyes were so tear-streaked that everything was blurry.

Then the light was gone, as swiftly as it had occurred. Iris blinked in confusion, finally managing to wipe her eyes free of their tears, but as she looked down at Force, her mind was unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

Where the Riolu had been moments before, a different Pokemon now lay. It was so similar looking, but yet distinctly changed. Blue and black fur covered the majority of its body, and yellow fur now covered its torso, with a small spike placed at its chest. The blue fur below the waist vaguely resembled a pair of shorts, and black fur covered the bipedal Pokemon's legs down to its feet. It was taller and lankier, with a more developed bone-like spike at the back of each of its paws.

Its face still resembled a canine's, but with a sleeker, older look, and a more complete mask of black surrounding the eyes. Where the Riolu's ears had been drooping downwards, the new Pokemon's ears pointed upwards, and strange bangles of some kind hung just behind the head, much like the pre-evolved form's ears.

No trace of the chest wound remained, nor signs of any injury, as if changing form completely overwrote the flaws and damage that had previously been sustained. Most astonishing of all was that Iris could sense revitalized thoughts and emotions within the other Pokemon, consistent with a Pokemon that was in an early stage of sleep. Unable to believe what she was seeing and sensing, she placed her head against the Lucario's chest, breathing a giddy sigh of relief on hearing a consistent, healthy heartbeat.

Relief washed over the Kirlia, so intensely that her tears began falling anew, seeping into the freshly evolved aura Pokemon's chest fur. She didn't know whether to give her thanks to Arceus or Xerneas, so she silently lavished praises upon the two legendaries as she hugged the Lucario tightly, basking in the warmth of his body and the overflowing relief and joy and emotions that gripped her. She even went as far as to place joyful kisses upon her mate's chest and neck, so overwhelmed by her happiness that she could barely contain herself.

The Lucario abruptly twitched, and his eyelids fluttered tiredly, exposing red eyes of a mildly darker shade of crimson than they had been as a Riolu. "Muh?" Force mumbled incoherently, even his voice a deeper pitch than it had once been, but it was still his voice, still his eyes. Still him.

"Force...you're alive," Iris explained, wiping her tears on his chest fur and gazing into his eyes. "Y-you evolved, and now...you're alive. I was so s-scared I'd l-lose you that-"

The Lucario smiled weakly as she burst into hysterical sobs, burying her face in his fur to muffle the sound, and he stroked her hair with his paw, blinking at the appendage as if he didn't fully recognize it.

"I'm sorry to scare you, Iris," he murmured, paying no attention to the bit of blood streaking her green hair, or the crimson stains on her face and dress. His eyes were still unfocused and he was barely alert, yet this was evidently a matter of tiredness, as opposed to life signs flatlining.

"Never leave me again," Iris pleaded, and she threw her arms around him, hugging him more tightly than she ever had before, as if afraid that loosening her grip would cause him to slip away, like sand through one's fingers.

"I won't," Force promised, and he held her close to him, rocking her gently. "But uh, Iris?"

"Y-yes?" Iris whimpered, not even bothering to lift her head or release her grip.

"I'm really tired right now," the Lucario murmured, his eyes struggling to remain open. Iris giggled, and she adjusted her position, all but sitting in the Lucario's lap and cuddling close to his chest, maintaining the loving embrace throughout the movement.

"Go ahead and rest," Iris urged, and she smiled, allowing the Lucario to sink swiftly back into blissful unconsciousness. Plasma glanced around the room awkwardly, becoming more and more consciously aware that his input in any form would ruin the moment, but likely having something urgent on his mind.

"Uh...going to let you be, but give me a shout when your nap's done, okay?" the Rotom announced abruptly, nearly startling Iris out of her contented daze. The Kirlia gave a hasty nod, and the electric ghost immediately darted back towards the ceiling, phasing through the planks overhead and leaving the two alone.

The Rotom eventually emerged in the attic, a short distance away from the swirling mass of the Spiritomb. Diablos' yellow eyes were bulging unnervingly, his normally smug demeanor completely eradicated and replaced with an expression of disbelief and shock.

"Good news! Force had the real-life version of plot armor kick in, so he evolved right before he might have died," the Rotom chirped, immediately returning to his more cheerful tone now that he was no longer in the presence of an agitated Kirlia.

"Impossible..." the Spiritomb muttered.

"Uh, no, I saw it happen. He's totally alive," Plasma insisted.

"What?" the Spiritomb blinked and focused his yellow gaze upon the Rotom, looking perplexed and distracted. "No, not that. That part is...legitimately a relief. No, I'm...reflecting on other matters."

"Penny for your thoughts?" Plasma offered, waving his lightning bolt appendages hopefully.

"I need to have a word with Kaito as soon as possible," the Spiritomb stated quietly. "Not only does he need to be made aware of this nearly tragic matter, but I need him to be forthcoming with the information he has about my past. Something's wrong."

"What are you even talking about?" Plasma asked, but Diablos was in no state to appreciate the irony of the role reversal.

"One of my souls was destroyed. I knew such a risk existed, but something happened when it perished...something that makes me question my very existence," Diablos hissed, and his mouth curled into a deep scowl. "Kaito WILL give me answers. When Iris is stable, request that she notify Kaito of these events."

"Okay!" Plasma chirped, but then blinked. "How did Force get so badly hurt anyway?"

There was an awkward silence, one that extended far longer than it had any reasonable right to, but Plasma seemed oblivious to the lack of a social cue, all but requiring Diablos to acknowledge the question eventually.

"I...messed up," Diablos said in a defeated tone, his yellow eyes gazing around the attic, avoiding Plasma's curious gaze. "Forgive me, Plasma, but I have much to reflect on. Excuse me."

The Spiritomb's purple flames extinguished themselves, and the spiraling spheres of light withdrew into the Keystone's fissure. The abruptness of the Spiritomb's departure left a peculiar void in its wake, and Plasma was finally able to appreciate the hyperbolic meaning of a deafening silence.