Sol carefully picked her way through the crumbling city. Bits of gravel and broken glass crunched under her boots and she placed a gloved hand against a destroyed stone wall to steady herself as she climbed over a pile of rubble.
She was heading towards some unknown goal, taking turns with absolute surety, but when she thought about it she had no idea where exactly she was going. That didn't seem odd to her.
Past destroyed buildings and through cratered streets she went. The city was completely devoid of life as far as Sol could tell, but sometimes, out of the corner of her eye, she would see flashes of colour against the grey stone that surrounded her. A flash of white, a line of red, a smudge of black, a bright speck of blue. Sol quickened her pace, nervously brushing back stray strands of hair back from her face.
Sounds echoed through the streets, the first she had heard amid the silent ruins. Sol froze. It sounded like fighting, battle cries, loud crashes, metal clanging, pained shouts, victorious yells. Sol broke into a run, vaulting over toppled pillars and dashing through homes and shops half leveled.
Finally she reached her destination. A large square filled with craters and uprooted cobblestones, now the site of a standoff. On one side Sol saw impossible creatures of all shapes and sizes. A pink feline with large blue eyes that floated in the air. A bird that looked like a mirage with feathers the colours of the rainbow. A twisted grey dragon that coated everything around it in a layer of frost. Many more stood, hovered and levitated among their ranks, and the sight of them all made Sol feel a twist of worry in her stomach.
The other side was much more familiar. Figures wearing black uniforms like Sol's stood amongst others wearing blue armor, all brandishing fierce looking weapons. They hollered and insulted the creatures, egging them on to restart the fight. The creatures hissed and snarled, but were slowly backing away. They had no wish to fight.
Sol took a step forwards to join her fellows and stand against the creatures, but a hand grabbed her arm, stopping her. She twisted her head back to see an old man in red robes, his wrinkled, almost skeletal hand holding her back.
He slowly shook his bald head once. His blue eyes, so much like hers, bore into her.
Damn those eyes, Sol thought. Even after this long dead he still manages to make me feel guilty.
"They're my people."
He say anything, just raised his eyes to look past her at those in the square. Sol looked back and felt fear spike in her chest.
The fight had started up again, but the creatures were gone. In their place stood Pokémon known to Sol, friends and enemies both united against the wave of attackers that horribly outnumbered them.
Dusknoir sprayed Shadow Balls in a wide arc while Grovyle parried a metal blade with his leaf one. Pinch scurried along the ground, burying his poisoned stingers in peoples' ankles. Celebi fluttered above the melee, accompanied by Twitch who zig zagged around on emerald wings. Sol could see more, lost in the crowd, but all of their efforts were in vain. There were simply too many to handle.
The grip on Sol's arm turned painfully tight. She twisted back around to see the wizened old man replaced by massive soldier in blue, expression holding no mercy as he brandished a sword in his other hand.
Sol's hand immediately went for the knife on her belt, but her hand touched nothing but short, coarse fur. The man pulled back his weapon to strike. Sol panicked and lashed out, barely registering that her gloved hand was now a Riolu paw, and claws slashed across the man's wrist.
And then Sol was falling.
...
Pain. Sudden and intense, a flash of agony that ripped Sol from her nightmare. Her eyes snapped open and she took a deep, shuddering breath that sent even more stabs of pain through her chest. And then, just as quickly as it had come, the pain immediately dulled to a background ache.
Despite the pain, she didn't make a sound. Sol stared up at the night sky above her, stars so bright and pretty, feeling detached from it all. She heard shouts in the distance. Someone screaming her name. It didn't even register in her mind. All she could think about was how thirsty she was. The bitter taste of a sleep seed still coated her tongue.
Sol laid in the snow, taking even, shallow breaths with her eyes half opened. The shouts increased in volume, more voices adding to the noise, but it seemed so far away.
You have to move.
The thought entered Sol's mind, but she ignored it. She couldn't find the motivation to do anything. She just wanted to lay there in the soft snow, calm and peaceful in the night.
You're in danger.
Sol saw movement. Though she didn't turn her head her eyes followed it. White on white, a hulking shape that would have been impossible to make out against the snow had it not been lumbering towards her.
Call out for help.
Sol's mouth opened slightly, but she couldn't find the will nor the reason to make a sound. The shape was closer now and Sol could make out two spots of black on the white.
You're going to die.
Sol still felt detached from it all and the thought held no meaning to her. The shape was only a few feet away, more details making themselves known. Powerful hind legs, a massive torso, wicked claws, hungry eyes.
I'm going to die.
That thought had some impact on Sol's addled mind. The faint stirrings of worry twisted in Sol's stomach. Breath frosted the air before the Beartic's face, bringing with it the odor of rancid meat.
Sol blinked dumbly up at the beast towering above her. She felt uneasy but was unable to conjure up a stronger emotion. The Beartic growled, sending another cloud of foul smelling breath Sol's way.
Do something.
But Sol still wasn't feeling much urgency. She was barely aware of what was going on. She watched, but she didn't see. It didn't truly register in her mind, so she felt no real fear as the Beartic went to tear out her throat. She also felt no relief when a screaming blue and black blur sailed through the air, landed hard on the Beartic's head, then pushed back and somersaulted away to land on the ground in a crouch.
The Beartic shook its head, surprised and annoyed but unhurt. Its ears flattened back against its head and it growled menacingly, revealing a set of sharp, yellowed teeth. Sol's saviour wasn't intimidated in the slightest. He raised a hand, blue light swirling around his palm. Three orbs of the light streaked out in rapid succession to strike the Beartic in the chest. The orbs exploded violently and the Beartic stumbled back and roared in anger and pain.
The Riolu didn't let up. He dashed forwards and landed a flurry of blows on the ice type, weaving and skipping to dodge around the attacks of his massive opponent. He slowly drove it back and away from the vulnerable Sol.
Huh.
"Cheynin, look at me."
Sol heard the words, then a thump as something was dropped on the ground beside her, but they were nothing but noise to her. She didn't move.
"Sol!" More noise know, this time more highly pitched and nearing hysterics. "You... you need to hang on! Please, Eliza, you have to help her!"
"Brace yourself, Cheynin."
Sol felt someone lift her arm up. She wasn't concerned, at least until it was twisted violently and the bone forced back into correct alignment.
HolyfuckingshitAhhhhhhh!
Sol screamed as she was pulled back into reality. She could see the ledge she had fallen from so high above, Eliza and the members of her team crowded around her. She could hear Riley shouting battle cries as he pummeled the Beartic. She could feel the cold snow against her back, wetting her fur and leaving her freezing. But that was nothing compared to the pain.
She screamed even louder and tried to sit up but strong hands held her down. The effects of her nightly sleep seed were completely gone and she could feel every gash, every snapped rib and each broken bone. The pain was all consuming. It was too much. Sol's scream turned into a sob.
"Hold her still," Eliza ordered. "I need to set her leg as well."
"No! Please, don't!" Sol begged. "I can't..."
Eliza ignored her words and braced Sol's twisted leg with one hand. Jak and Ren held Sol down as she struggled and pleaded for her to stop. With a snap her leg was twisted back in place. Sol screamed at the fresh wave of agony.
"It'll be ok, Sol," Eevee said, crying just as hard as Sol was. "Everything will be ok."
Sol didn't believe him. Not with the pain threatening to crush her completely.
"Cheynil, pack up the camp but leave anything that will slow us down," Eliza said as Riley returned. Blood stained the fur around his hand and the bottom of his arm but he seemed otherwise unharmed after his fight with the Beartic.
He didn't move to do as Eliza asked, however. His shoulders were hunched and he trembled slightly as he stared at Sol with empty eyes.
"Why?" Riley whispered, almost too low to be heard. He spoke up. "Why did you do it? I was right there, I could have-". His voice broke and he looked away.
"Cheynil!" Eliza snapped. Riley glanced at her, then quickly went to do as he had been told.
"Hold on, Cheynin. Muster your strength and your courage." Eliza put her hands on either side of Sol's head and made her look into her eyes. "You can get through this, but you must stay awake. If you sleep, you will never wake up.'
'You three, keep talking to her. Don't stop and don't let her close her eyes. I'll help Riley and Alistair gather our supplies then we'll head back down to the village straight away. I will not be long."
...
"And then I was thinking we could fix up the bluff, cover up all that bare stone, make it all a bit more inviting," Eevee babbled. "However you want it. Plenty of places would be willing to do it for us, especially now that they can say they did up the base of Team Wanderers. We're famous now, did you know?"
Sol wasn't looking at him, instead focusing on some point in the sky. Eevee thought she was listening, though. He had to make sure she stayed awake. So he kept talking, about anything and everything except what was going on right then. Anything but that.
"Or at least we are in Treasure Town. I don't know about other places. They must have heard about it, though. I mean, how couldn't they have? Maybe we could go and check out the other towns, see what they're like."
That was assuming that Sol would ever be able to do any traveling. Eevee cringed and tried to banish that thought, but it was persistent. Sol looked terrible and the snow around her was stained red. They had used up all the bandages then tore up Sol's scarf and used that, but blood was already seeping through. As for her broken arm and leg, Eliza had set the bone but there was nothing else they could do. There were no trees nearby, so no branches or anything else strong and straight to use for a splint.
Eevee could see the pain in her face. Her face was scrunched and her teeth were clenched as she struggled to stay in control, still staring at that far off point in the sky. But she was awake, and that was good. He would hold onto that until they got somewhere safe.
Each second felt like agony waiting for Eliza to return. At least the Lucario had had the presence of mind to grab the bag of medical supplies when they had awoken to Riley's screams, so full of horror that Eevee thought it was him who they'd find broken and beaten.
Eevee remembered seeing him on hands and knees at the edge of the alcove, screaming Sol's name over and over. Blood dripped from his hand. And then he had jumped up and ran back down the path they had walked earlier. Eevee hadn't known what was going on. He still didn't know. Why had Riley and Sol been up? Why had Sol fallen? Did they get in another fight?
Eevee felt a chill run through him. What if this was somehow Riley's doing? Did he push her off? If that were true, even if it was an accident, Eevee didn't know what he'd do. Revenge wasn't in his nature. But if Sol didn't make it...
No. He refused to think that. Sol would be fine. She had to be.
It felt like a lifetime before Eliza returned. Eevee kept talking the entire time, about small, inconsequential things, past adventures, what they would do in the future. His voice went high and strained when Eliza picked Sol up and he heard her whimper with pain. He never stopped, though, as they slowly walked back down the mountain path so as to not jostle her. The sun eventually rose, lightening the trail they followed, and Eevee still babbled on beside Eliza, periodically checking on Sol and ending each thought with the words "It'll be ok, Sol."
He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince.
Eevee looked up at Sol once again, carried by Eliza. He could only see part of her face, the other half turned away from him, but her tears were clearly visible.
"It'll be ok, Sol," he repeated.
"I miss him," Sol whispered in a pained voice, the first thing she had said in hours.
"Who?"
"Dusknoir."
Eevee froze for half a step. That was the last name he had expected Sol to say. He wanted to ask why, to know where this was coming from and where all her anger towards the ghost had gone, but this was not the time.
"Espeon will be in the village," Eevee said. "You'd like to see her again, wouldn't you? She can be annoying at times, but she means well."
Eevee continued to talk about everything and nothing. They'd get Sol back to the Shaymin village and everything would be fine.
"It'll be ok, Sol."
...
Sol wasn't sure if she was awake or not. She drifted in and out, reality blending together with fantasy. But she was never alone. Every time she opened her eyes someone was standing over her. Eevee was there frequently with a face filled with sadness that would be forced into a smile when he noticed her watching. Sometimes it would be Jak or Ren, a few times it was Espeon. She would see them for a few seconds, just long enough to draw some comfort from knowing there was someone close by, and then her eyes would close once more.
Once she woke up and there was no one there. She felt a rising surge of panic and fear, but then her eyes found a silent figure standing farther back and away as if afraid to come any closer. Sol immediately calmed.
Sol mumbled something, her words thick and unintelligible.
The figure shifted then stepped closer.
"Are you awake?" he asked.
"Stormcloud," Sol slurred and drifted off once more.
The next time Sol awoke, her head felt much clearer. For a long time she laid there with her eyes closed. Her memory was still a bit fuzzy, though. She remembered the mountain, the pain, though not the actual fall itself. The trek back down the trails was nothing more than a pain filled haze. She thought they made it back to the village. It wasn't very clear but from the soft feeling of a bed beneath her and the strong scent of Oran berries in the warm air, she guessed that they must have made it back.
Her body felt stiff and sore. Something was wrapped tightly around her chest and her arm and leg on her left side felt heavy and constrained. All in all, though, she felt rather ok considering the pain she had been in earlier. She could still remember that perfectly.
Eventually Sol opened her eyes. A wooden ceiling was above her. They were definitely back in the village, then. She turned her head to see the rest of the room. It was plain without much in the way of furnishings. The only thing that stood out was a painting on the wooden walls showing a forest of towering trees and mushroom covered logs. Sol stared at the painting for a long moment, more time than she had ever given any other piece of artwork.
"Sol?"
Sol tore her eyes away from the painting to see Eevee standing beside her bed, wide eyed and worried.
"Is that you?"
"What? Who else would it-" Sol stopped when she tried to move her unbroken arm to prop herself up and found that she couldn't. She looked up and was surprised to see her hand tied to the bedpost. "Why am I tied up?! What's going on?!"
Eevee bit his lip nervously. "I need to get Eliza. I'll be right back." He moved to leave, but stopped by the door and looked back at her. "Everything will be ok." Then he left.
"Eevee!" Sol called, then winced at the sharp pain she felt in her chest. She glared at the binding holding her in place, as if she could scare it into letting her go. Why had they tied her here? It wasn't like she was in any shape to go anywhere.
Her annoyance was short lived, though. Sol sighed, gave in to complacency and went back to staring at the painting.
ckrier.3000: Sol is stubborn, and that certainly interferes with how she gets along with people. We'll see what happens, but near death experiences can have a way of knocking some sense into people.
Mister L: Be afraid, be very afraid.
dna6123: If you spot anything that could be improved upon in the future, be sure to point it out. Glad you're liking Sol so much!
darkrai6543: Take as long as you need to reply.
Oh no! Three unnamed guests now! How to tell them apart? Well here's my replies in order of when the reviews came.
Earliest Guest: Keepin' them coming. Hoping to stay unpredictable too, otherwise everything just gets boring.
Next Guest: One guest tells me it's probably impossible, then one tells me to bring on the romance. No promises one way or the other, though considering I've never written anything vaguely romantic before I'd probably bungle it up pretty badly.
Latest Guest: Review what?