You know how I said there was two more chapters left? Well I lied. Last chapter was supposed to cover more, and I was conflicted about if I should do Grovyle's or Dusknoir's POV, so I decided to split the chapter in two and do both.
Everyone stopped fighting to watch the Kabutops sail across the room. Grovyle's eyes turned to Sol to see the last wisps of yellow light dissipate as she fell to her knees. It was completely silent in the cavern until Sol looked up and stared hard at the Omastar.
"Leave. Now."
Grovyle could barely recognize Sol's voice. It was so cold, filled with a malice Grovyle had never associated with her. The Omastar didn't have to be told twice and scuttled over to their leader and dragged his still form away. The hardened carapace that covered the Kabutops' chest was blackened by the Focus Blast's impact, and as he was dragged away Grovyle couldn't tell if he was still breathing.
Not that Sol seemed to care. She got back to her feet and watched them go, her whole body tensed as if she was fighting back the urge to chase them down.
"Sol..." Grovyle said as he went to her.
Sol's eyes flicked over to regard him cooly. There was no warmth in her expression, nothing to remind him of his once human friend. No, that wasn't completely true. Sol had looked much the same at their first meeting when Grovyle was nothing more than a stranger making a claim on a berry bush.
"See to Chatot," Sol said in a voice devoid of all feeling.
Grovyle wanted to say something more, to find out what was wrong. But Chatot did desperately need help and Grovyle couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't just make things worse.
Chatot was unconscious, which was a small mercy. The bones of bird Pokémon were hollow to allow flight and this left them susceptible to physical attacks. Grovyle tried to do what he could, but his medical knowledge was limited. Celebi had always been the healer, not him.
Thankfully it was not long before more capable hands arrived. The rest of the guild members had been drawn by the sounds of fighting and ran into the room, accompanied by Eevee and surprisingly Wigglytuff as well.
The Guildmaster's ears dropped at the sight of Chatot and a look of guilt and sadness descended on his face. It was an odd thing to see such an expression on him. Chimecho hurried over and took charge of helping Chatot. Grovyle stepped back and let her do her work.
"What happened?" Loudred asked.
"We were attacked by a fierce pack that claimed this territory," Jak hissed through gritted teeth, clutching a wound at her side. "They fled when our alpha proved stronger than theirs. But... we were unprepared at first, and the Chatot took blows meant for us. A stupid move." Jak grimaced and shifted weight off her injured leg. Despite her words, Grovyle could tell she was grateful for what Chatot had done.
Sol, on the other hand, looked angered and frustrated. She hadn't turned to meet the others when they had arrived, instead continuing to stare off in the direction the fossil Pokémon had fled. She was tensed up, pissed off and set to tear the head off anyone who got to close.
Or at least that's what Grovyle thought. But Eevee slowly approached the Riolu with concern filled eyes.
"Sol?" he said. It was amazing how much could be conveyed through one single word.
She looked down at her partner and Eevee gave her a small, hesitant smile. Instead of lashing out as Grovyle expected, Sol seemed to deflate. Her shoulders slumped forwards and all her anger drained away to leave behind only weariness and despondence.
"I'm not cut out for this," Sol said and shook her head. "It's too much."
"We'll get through this."
Sol closed her eyes for a long moment.
"After all this is done, I want to go somewhere no one has ever heard of me, at least for a while. I don't want to be Sol the Riolu or Sol the human. Just Sol."
"When we get back from this, I think we'll be deserving of a vacation," Eevee laughed. Sol smiled back at him and shook off most her cloud of gloom.
Grovyle felt a rush of guilt. There would be no after, not for him and Sol. He hated himself for not having the courage to tell them. It wasn't right that he kept it from them. But what else was he to do?
"We will take Chatot back to the guild," Wigglytuff said. "But Team Wanderers, and you, Grovyle, must continue on to the Hidden Land."
"This one must stay behind as well," Jak said and hissed with annoyance. "Jak will only weaken the pack like this."
Sol hesitated, then nodded. Grovyle could tell she wasn't happy about leaving anyone behind, but Jak had received quite the beating and was in no state to go on such a journey.
"The strange pattern is up ahead," Wigglytuff said. "Now go, or Chatot shielding you will have been for nothing."
"We will succeed," Grovyle said and patted the bag hanging by his side. "You managed to collect the Time Gears and now it is up to us to get them to Temporal Tower."
With one last backwards glance, the four of them, Grovyle, Ren, Eevee and Sol, ventured deeper into the cave. The air smelled of salt and Grovyle felt a faint breeze pass by. Soon they saw daylight up ahead and reached a small room where the cave mouth opened up to the sea.
Sol stepped carefully around the water's edge. Her lip pulled back in disgust as she looked out over the ocean and her tail swished back and forth nervously.
"We really are going to end up having to cross the sea, aren't we?"
"Hey! Look at this!" Eevee called from the back of the room. "It's the same as the pattern on my Relic Fragment!"
Grovyle studied the design. Despite being exposed to the damp sea air, it looked as if it were freshly painted in bright white.
"Take out your Relic Fragment and place it at the base of the wall beneath the painting," Grovyle instructed. He had no idea what to do, but that was the only thing he could think of.
Eevee put down the relic, then jumped back as it began to glow blue. The light pulsed, then the pattern on the wall began to glow as well. Like synchronized heartbeats the two pulsed in tandem. The combined light grew until it blinded the Pokémon.
"Get back!" Sol cried and attempted to drag Eevee away, one arm thrown up to block against the radiance.
Then, the pulsing glow stopped. Grovyle looked around cautiously, then yelped and fell back as a beam of bright blue light shot out from the center of the wall pattern out the cave mouth and over the ocean.
"What the Hell was that?!" Sol exclaimed.
"No matter how long one lives there will always be more wonders to be discovered."
"What are we supposed to do now?" Eevee asked and collected his personal treasure.
"We wait," Grovyle said.
"For what?"
"I don't know."
"This is kind of anticlimactic. After all that, we just end up waiting for something to magically happen?"
"If you're waiting for magic I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed."
Grovyle whirled around to find the source of the voice. A Lapras swam in through the gap in the wall and regarded them curiously.
"So you are the ones tasked with saving the world..."
She studied them each in turn and her eyes widened when she saw Sol.
"Your eyes!"
"What? I'm a seer."
The Lapras looked confused. "I was told of the one with the Dimensional Scream, the one who lost their memory..."
"And that would be me. If you knew there was a seer, why would you be so surprised about my eyes?"
The Lapras stared at Sol for a moment, then began to laugh. "Of course! Now it makes sense! Even your team name, Wanderers! I can assure you, Sol, you're eyes are not like they are because of the Dimensional Scream!"
"What do you mean? And how do you know who I am?"
She chuckled then shook her head. "It is not for me to tell you who... what... you are. But I feel I should warn you on the off chance it happens, keep clear of Palkia. He detests your kind. As for how I know you, I am an old acquaintance of Wigglytuff's. He told me all about you. I am Lapras, and I will guide you to the Hidden Land."
Sol narrowed her eyes. "Why can't you just tell me what I want to know?"
"It's not for me to tell," Lapras snapped. "As a servant of Dialga, I am privy to knowledge not known to other nonlegendaries, and even most who are. I am forbidden to speak of such things."
Sol growled and Eevee stepped in before things could escalate. "You can get us to the Hidden Land?"
"Yes. The proof called me here and now I am to carry the bearers to the Hidden Land."
"Carry us?"
"Yes. The way takes us across the sea, so I must carry you on my back."
Sol looked as if she was going to be sick.
"Across the sea? Is there a back entrance or something? One that doesn't require sailing across water?"
"It is the only way."
"There is no way in Hell that's happening."
In the end, Grovyle and Ren had to physically pick Sol up and place her on Lapras. The frightened Riolu went down on all fours at the center of the Pokémon's back and as far away from the water as she could get. She was terrified, visibly shaking as Eevee and Grovyle took their places on either side of her. Grovyle felt bad for putting her through this but it was the only way to get to the Hidden Land. Eevee was trying to calm her down but wasn't making much progress.
"Get on, Ren," Grovyle said. "We need to go."
The Cubone shook his head. "When there is fighting to be done and space is scarce, it is the weakest link that must be left behind."
"Ren, if I'm getting put through this nightmare you are too," Sol growled.
Grovyle looked around and saw that there was indeed very little room left on Lapras' back. Even if she could bear the weight, there would be a big risk that someone would fall of the moment they hit a rough patch of water.
"You will survive, and come out stronger. I am proud to have helped you reach this point, but you do not need me to succeed."
Sol stared at Ren. She took a deep, calming breath and with slow, careful movements she repositioned herself so she was sitting cross-legged. "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"
Ren tilted his head in confusion.
"If this is the last time we see each other, I want to make sure I stump you with some philosophical thing at least once. You kind of deserve it with everything you spout off at us."
Ren smiled, then raised one hand. He quickly closed and opened his fingers so that they hit against his palm over and over, making a soft slapping noise.
"Damn it! Do you have any idea how long it took me to come up with that?"
Lapras snorted in amusement then started off out of the cave. Sol yelped and flattened herself out, clutching at the hard, grey shell that covered the water Pokémon's back.
"I think I'm going to be sick..." Sol groaned "If I throw up, I'm aiming for you, Grovyle."
"You just need something to take your mind of this," Eevee said. "Hey, Lapras, how do you know Wigglytuff?"
Sol groaned again and scrunched her eyes closed tight. Grovyle sighed and watched the entrance to Brine Cave grow smaller the further away they got. Right up until it vanished completely in the distance, Grovyle could see Ren watching them go, one arm raised as he clapped with a single hand.
...
Grovyle wasn't listening as Lapras told the story of her first meeting with Wigglytuff. He got the gist of it, of how Chatot and Wigglytuff encountered the same Pokémon they had, how Chatot had been injured and Lapras appeared to help in return for them promising to never speak of the pattern on the wall to anyone. But Grovyle's mind was elsewhere and didn't pick up any of the details.
They were so close. Only one more part of their journey remained. Then it would all be over.
Grovyle felt a lump form in his throat. He should tell them. This was his last chance. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.
He looked down at Sol. She was curled up tightly, whimpering with each bump and wave. No, he couldn't tell her now. She had enough to worry her. When they made it to the Hidden Land, then he would tell her.
Even as he thought that he knew it was a lie. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. So what then did he plan to do? Wait until they were already fading away?
Grovyle remembered back to when he wanted nothing more than to have Sol by his side as they made their way to Temporal Tower. They would disappear, but at least they wouldn't be alone. He had always felt sad when he thought about it, but now it made him feel sick.
If only she hadn't lost her memory. If only he didn't have to tell her. If only, if only.
Grovyle sighed. He remembered a song, from back in his own time in the future. Whenever he would drag himself in, beaten and bloody, Celebi would grab her medicine kit and stitch him back up, the song sung softly under her breath as she worked.
"The old man's been stealing
She's holding her grievance for a hundred-odd years
We all keep believing
That history repeats itself year after year
All I fear's that the future is worse
We have to give in to the hundred-year curse
Sweat in the sun like we're diggin' a grave
Dig deep enough and our fortune we'll save
'If only, if only,' the woodpecker sighs,
'The bark on the trees was as soft as the skies,'
As the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely
He cries to the moon, 'If only, if only.'
Chasin' the skirt of a beautiful wife
You make mistakes and it's my back that breaks
And forever my past steals my life
To submission I'm beat but there's hope beneath these feet
Blisters and blood and the sun makes you blind
You don't let it eat 'til it can't help but be kind
'Cause you know what's important with your back to the wall
You can break metal chains when your friends don't let you fall
'If only, if only,' the woodpecker sighs,
'The bark on the trees was as soft as the skies,'
As the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely
He cries to the moon, 'If only, if only.'"
As the last lyric drifted off, Grovyle noticed how quiet it was. Everyone else was silent and watching him. Grovyle hadn't realized the whispered words had been loud enough for them to hear.
"Where'd you hear that?" Eevee asked.
"Celebi used to sing it," Grovyle said self consciously.
"I liked it."
Sol groaned once again, in agreement or as a sign she was about to make good on her threat to throw up on him, Grovyle didn't know.
That song was "If Only" by Fiction Plane. Some might recognize it from the book "Holes". I've had that chorus stuck in my head for years after reading the book, so I've decided to inflict it on all of you. Mwah ha ha!
Mister L: Eevee's your favourite? Good to know. I was kind of worried I made him too generic.
DaShadowMon: Welcome, new reader! Glad this story captured your interest.
BHawksFan01: I might do his POV again some time in the future. Not sure yet.
Unnamed Generic Guest: Oh well. At least you can still read and enjoy. Must be annoying having to constantly have to check for updates instead of getting an email, though.
To Everyone else, hope you're enjoying this! Feel free to review with comments, things you would like to see in the future, suggestions, criticisms. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Anything I can improve upon? Send me your thoughts!