Her expression was neutral, blank, unreadable. Her blue eyes didn't waver as Sol stared long and hard at Eliza. Jak copied the stare, only with much more hostility and restrained aggression that Eliza had come to expect from the Charmander. Eevee shifted uncomfortably on the floor beside the bed while Dhiren waited patiently. Riley hovered in the doorway, out of Eliza's view but she could feel his nervous presence.

"Let me see if I understand," Sol finally said. "Something else made me walk off the cliff?"

"Something was latched on to your aura. Given what happened afterwards, it is clear what it was doing."

"Like a possession?" Eevee asked.

Eliza shook her head. "Not quite. True possession is complicated and difficult to do. While possible, only the strongest psychic or ghost types would even dare to try. It's incredibly dangerous, and if it had been possession, it's doubtful that we would be talking to you right now. You'd most likely be in a coma, or your mind would be fractured."

"Then what was it?" Sol demanded. "Because the way your explaining it makes it sound a whole lot like I was possessed."

"To be possessed means your mind has been taken under control. From what Riley saw, I would say that at most only your body was taken under control. More likely is that your perceptions were manipulated and you walked off of your own violation. I am surprised that you didn't wake up, however. If you had, your mind could have asserted control and you could have stopped yourself."

Sol's stare continued uninterrupted for several moments, then slid off her, almost as if she were embarrassed. Eliza had little doubt that her theory was correct, but she had to wonder who would go through all that trouble. It was such an elaborate attempt on Sol's life with so much room for error that Eliza wouldn't have believed anyone would have bothered. Up on that mountain, there were much simpler ways to make someone disappear.

"Could it happen again?" Sol asked, not looking at her.

"It could, and it most likely will. One would not go through all this trouble to give up after one attempt."

"Just perfect," Sol muttered darkly. "What the Hell am I supposed to do now? Stay tied up? Lock myself in a cage every night for the rest of my life?!" Her voice rose in pitch and volume, anger mixing with anxiety. She tugged sharply at the cord constraining her uninjured arm. "And would someone get this damn thing off of me!"

And she was being so calm before... Eliza thought with an inward sigh. Her vision shifted and the room glowed with auras. Sol's red diamonds were spiking and throbbing, becoming ragged at the edges. The blue darkened in colour until it was almost black. Even the purple was affected, going from lazy swirls to frantic spasms, like a cornered animal snapping at an approaching threat.

"Not necessarily," Eliza said, keeping a calm and level tone. This was risky, especially given her reaction, but better now than springing it on her later. But how to phrase this... "You are susceptible to pshycic and ghost attacks. That is the burden of fighting types. But Lucario, as manipulators of the aura, have ways to protect themselves. The aura can bolster our defenses, feed our will, and by using it we can gain a better understanding of how mental attacks work. If you learn the ways of the aura, you could protect yourself."

For a brief second Eliza thought Sol was going to be reasonable. She calmed considerably, considered the option and seemed agreeable to it. Then, in a sudden realization, her face darkened.

"No."

"You have no other-"

"Get out."

"Sol," Eevee interjected, "why-"

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM!" Sol yelled. "All of you!"

Eevee was stunned into a second of paralyzed silence. Then his ears drooped down and he sadly stood up. Eliza kept up herself, as always, outwardly calm, even giving Sol a polite nod, but all she felt was frustration was she left the room with the others. Sol refused to listen to reason even when her life was at stake.

"I don't understand," Eevee said out in the hallway. "Why did she get so angry?"

"To be taught one must have a teacher," Dhiren answered for Eliza. "And people fight against the inevitable all the more desperately."

"Learning how to properly control the aura takes time, especially for Riolu who cannot control the aura until they evolve. Sol would have to be taught in the clan."

Eevee's eyes widened. Riley stared at his own feet. Jak growled angrily and darted back into Sol's room.

"We must give her time to come to terms with what she must do," Eliza said and walked towards the stairs. She didn't know if she was doing the right thing. Sol lacked everything the clan instilled in its members. Discipline, patience, responsibility, putting the clan before the self. But the alternative was to abandon her to her fate. As a Theynin, the very thought appalled Eliza. She was supposed to instruct the Riolu, not leave them to die.

Eliza, Eevee and Dhiren found a table in the waiting room on the ground floor. Riley went back to his wooden soldiers, now spreading down to the floor as the yellow army conquered territory and forced the blue to lower ground.

"Couldn't you just teach Sol so she wouldn't have to go to the clan?" Eevee asked.

"No. Something like this cannot be rushed and I am not equipped to instruct someone with Sol's... background."

"Her background? Do you mean because Sol's a-" Eevee broke off suddenly and became flustered. "I mean, because she wasn't raised in the clan?"

What did he almost say? Eliza wondered. Then her thoughts turned to the paper in her bag. The article had called Sol a seer. Was that what Eevee meant to say? Was that supposed to be a secret?

"Yes. There are other Theynil who would be much more suitable. But, before I take her there, I must know more about Sol and what she has done with Team Wanderers." Eliza pulled out the paper and placed it on the table before Eevee.

First his eyes sparked with curiosity. He nodded along as he read at first, then his nose crinkled with confusion. This happened in the span of the few seconds it took Eevee to get through the first few paragraphs of the article. For the rest his expression was fixed in one of horror.

This was not the reaction Eliza had expected. It also didn't her much of a clue as to if the article was accurate or not. Was Eevee horrified at the lies within, or was his thoughts running more on the line of 'oh, no! How did they find out?'.

Eevee's ears drooped low. "Sol's going to be so mad. Madder even than she already is."

So he wasn't upset about the article itself, but of what Sol's reaction will be?

"Is it true?" Eliza asked, cutting to the point. She was getting nothing concrete by just watching.

"No! I mean, yes. Kind of. We thought it was true but he was tricking us, but not really because it actually happened but not for the reasons he said, so... Not lies but not truth, but then the not lies weren't straightened out to the full truth. Then it just falls into misinformed assumptions..."

Eliza was having trouble keeping up with all of this.

"Dusknoir was a great explorer, but that was just to gain people's trust. So he was a hero for the wrong reasons then turned out not to be a hero, though he did do a few heroic things. And Grovyle was a thief, but it turned out he was doing it for the right reasons. So he wasn't really a villain. But he did do a few villainous things... I mean, he did almost kill Sol that one time. Accidently-on-purpose. Sort of. And I'm not sure if the heroic things cancel out all the villainous things, or if the villainous things cancel out the heroic things, if not then I guess the article is sort of true."

"Eevee," Eliza interrupted. This was going in circles with no end in sight. "A simple answer is all I need. Is it true."

"Uh... True, but the perspective is false. And a lot of facts are left out. So there's some lies of omission. So... false, then? False with a bit of true. Or maybe it's truth made false?"

"A tangled web of deceit and trickery," Dhiren said, finishing the article for himself.

Finally, a clear answer.

"I would like you to give me the true story," Eliza said. Perhaps then she would have a better understanding of the chaotic rage that was Sol.

...

That damned Raichu had been telling the truth. And know Eliza was going to drag Sol off to some indoctrination camp and there was nothing she could do about it, not with half her body in a cast.

Maybe it had all been one big conspiracy. Eliza could have joined them up the mountain for the express purpose of throwing Sol off the top, the created an imaginary enemy only the clan could defend her against. Or maybe Eliza was taking advantage of a sudden onset of sleep walking.

Or she was telling the truth and was really trying to help, albeit in an aggravating and condescending way.

"All you outsiders are ignorant savages and only the clan has the knowledge you need."

Or maybe Eliza was actually trying to selflessly help her and Sol was the ass in this situation.

Naw.

Whatever the case, Sol saw two possible choice. Three if you included dying, but that wasn't really an choice. More of a refusal to make a choice. She could try locking herself up every night. No chance then of walking off cliffs. But what if no one let her out in the morning? Or there was a fire? Or she really needed to pee?

That left her with the option to go with Eliza to the clan. But how long would her training take? What if they never let her leave? What if, and the thought made Sol cringe, she became as stuck up and stuffy as Eliza? Oh, the horror!

But... it wasn't like she had any other plans. Sol didn't want to go back to Treasure Town. Not yet, anyways. And the clan was out east, near Eevee and Espeon's hometown. It would be interesting to see what that place was like.

Oh, and people not killing her through her dreams would be nice, too.

When Sol put away her dislike of all things clan, she saw that this was the only solution. At best every other option was a band-aid. And that was what Sol hated more than anything. The illusion of choice where there was none. She had to go to the clan. She had to learn to use the aura. When was the last time Sol really got to choose for herself? She was always caught between a rock and a hard place. And she was sick of it.

If she did go, she planned to complain and annoy that shit out of everyone. There was no reason that she had to be the only miserable one.