"You told her?!" Sol yelled. Eevee flinched. Perhaps that hadn't been the best opener. "What is wrong with you?!"

"She's going to help you, so she needs to know everything..." Eevee said quietly.

Sol was frothing with rage. "And so, without asking my, you decided to go and announce to the whole wide world that I used to be human?!"

There was a small gasp from the doorway. Eevee turned to see Riley standing just outside of the room, eyes wide with shock.

"Well isn't this just perfect," Sol spat. "Now everyone knows. Any comments or are you just going to stand there?"

Riley stood there for a long moment, shocked into silence, then quickly turned and ran.

"Just perfect," Sol said again.

"It's not that bad," Eevee said. He hated it when Sol got mad like this. "We need her help, so she needs to know everything."

"Do you remember what happened when we tried to tell the guild everything? They didn't believe us, told us we were crazy. And those were people we had lived and trained with. And don't even get me started on what happened when you told Dusknoir."

Sol's voiced turned from angry to bitter in that last sentence. Suddenly Eevee remembered something Sol had said after she had fallen, while she was being carried back to the village.

"... Sol, after you were hurt, you said that you missed Dusknoir. What did you mean?"

Sol's eyes narrowed. "I do not miss that bastard," she hissed.

"Then why'd you say it?"

"I don't know! Blinding pain has a way of making you say weird stuff." Eevee didn't say anything, and eventually Sol let out a frustrated breath. "It's not him I miss. It's the idea of him."

"I don't understand."

"We've been through a lot. The fate of the world depended on us, how strong we were, what we could do. That was terrifying, and it still is. And now this whole mess... I don't want to deal with this alone anymore. I want someone I can look up to, someone I can trust to get things done if I'm not strong enough."

"You're not alone, Sol. You have me."

"It's not the same."

Eevee tried not to show how much that hurt, but he mustn't have done a very good job. Sol's eyes widened when she realized what she had just said.

"Shit. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"No, it's ok," Eevee forced a smile while inside it felt like his heart was breaking. Sol was his best friend. He looked up to her. It hurt to learn she didn't depend on him the same way he depended on her.

...

Human. Human? HUMAN?!

Riley had retreated back down to the waiting room and lobby. He sat crosslegged on the ground, trying to calm himself down and failing miserably. None of the meditation techniques Eliza had taught him were working.

Sol was human. Humans could somehow turn into Pokémon. Was that common? It couldn't be common. Then again, how would he know?

Focus. What to do with this information. His first instinct was to tell Eliza as soon as she returned. But, for some reason, he felt hesitant the more he thought about it. Humans were not looked upon kindly in the clan. If anything could convince Eliza to leave Sol, this would be it.

That thought should have made Riley happy. Instead, it made him feel guilty and also slightly sick. Keeping secrets as big as this was more than simply frowned upon. But so was using the personal information of others to further yourself. And did Sol being human really effect anything?

He didn't know what to do. He had never had to make a decision like this before. Really, he wasn't used to making decisions of any kind. He followed the clan's lead, and always had.

Sol was... Sol was strange, aggressive, crazy, but she wasn't as bad as he had initially thought. Riley didn't believe she deserved to be abandoned.

With that, he came to a decision. It wasn't like he couldn't change his mind later and tell Eliza then. He was extremely uncomfortable with the idea of keeping secrets from his Theynin, but he couldn't think of a reason of how Sol being a human would actually hurt the clan. It wasn't like she would living there permanently.

Before he could lose his nerve, Riley went back upstairs and into Sol's room. She and Eevee abruptly stopped talking, eyeing him with cautious looks.

"You must not tell Eliza," Riley said, finding it difficult to actually voice such disobedience out loud.

Sol narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why not?"

"It is doubtful that she would bring a human back to the clan," he said, shifting uncomfortably, staring at the ground.

"I'd have thought you wouldn't want me anywhere near your precious clan."

"You need help."

They didn't say anything. Riley looked up briefly to see them both staring at him. He immediately looked back down.

"... I already told Eliza everything, but I'm not sure she picked up on everything," Eevee said. "There's a chance she didn't catch that part."

"'She used to be a human' is a helluva thing to miss," Sol said.

"We could wait and see if she brings it up."

"She expects you to tell her everything. We need to get our stories straight."

Riley felt ill. It was one thing to keep a secret from his Theynin, it was another to outright lie.

"How did she find out about any of this stuff in the first place?"

Eevee bit his lip nervously. "Well... news got out about everything that happened. There was an article in the paper about it."

"And the human bit wasn't newsworthy?"

"They got a lot of it wrong."

"... How wrong?"

"... You're not going to be happy..."

...

Eevee finished reading the article and put the paper down. He waited for Sol's response, inwardly cringing. Surprisingly, she simply laid in her bed, staring up at the ceiling and not looking nearly as angry as he had expected.

"So, Grovyle is still the nefarious villain, the future bit is completely cut out, I'm downgraded to the part of sidekick, you're not even mentioned, and everyone owes their lives to Dusknoir, the great hero."

"... Yes?"

Sol laughed. Really laughed. A full bodied shake that left her gasping for breath.

"Oh, that hurts," she gasped, holding her side with her good hand but continuing to laugh.

Eevee looked over at Riley. The Riolu was staring at Sol, just as confused as Eevee was, though perhaps not for the same reasons.

"You're not mad?" Eevee asked.

"There was no way people were going to start telling the real story," Sol said. "It was hard enough getting the guild to believe us. At most people might agree that perhaps Grovyle wasn't the villain, but nothing will ever convince them that Dusknoir wasn't a hero. I am kinda pissed that we were given next to no credit, but that's better than everyone knowing I'm human. I don't see people reacting well to that."

Eevee was surprised. Glad and relieved, but still surprised.

"What truly happened?" Riley asked.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," Sol said.

"I would still like to know."

Sol paused, then shrugged. "Fine. You can't be any worse at keeping a secret than Eevee."

Eevee frowned. "I'm sorry about that."

"Yet I can guarantee you'll do it again."

"I won't. I promise."

"We'll see," Sol said. She shifted in her bed to a more comfortable position. "Ok, where to start... well, I was having the most wonderful nap, and then somebody decided to wake me up."

"I found you passed out on the beach. I was worried."

"Yes, and that was the last moment of peace I had. From then on it was visions, lost memories, stench ridden baddies and dickish guild lieutenants."

"I think maybe we should elaborate..."

...

There was nothing Eliza could do. They refused to return with her, Jak and Dhiren both. In the end she had to return to Riley, leaving the two by themselves. The Cubone had given her a message to tell Sol, but there was little chance that the Riolu would take this well.

They couldn't afford this sort of delay. If Sol had been well enough to travel, Eliza would have insisted they have left by now. She wanted to be gone as soon as possible and that would be difficult if Sol insisted on waiting for her teammates. It didn't sound to Eliza like they planned on coming back. Jak was quite adamant about that and Dhiren seemed set on not leaving the Charmander's side.

Eliza would find a way to deal with that. It would be easiest to convince Eevee first, and perhaps he would be able to coax Sol into pressing forwards.

Some time later Eliza made her way back to the hospit. When she entered she found a shocked Espeon staring at the hole in the ground with wide eyes.

"What happened?!"

"A regrettable incidence with Jak," Eliza said.

"Was anyone hurt?"

Eliza shook her head. "I must speak with Sol and Eevee."

"... Ok... I guess... I'll just stay here then..."

Eliza left her and went up the stairs. She heard voices when she reached the hallway, Sol's, Eevee's and Riley's. They were talking. Civilly. She actually heard Sol laugh.

"-and I was like, 'Oh mister Sableye, I swear I saw I spider! How am I supposed to sleep knowing there's a spider lurking out there?' And then I swooned, whole hand pressed against my forehead and fluttery eyelashes and everything, which made things just awkward enough that they were willing to do just about anything to keep away from me."

"You deceived them?" Riley said aghast.

"Well, yeah. What else was I supposed to do? Challenge them to a duel? 'Cause I don't think that would've worked."

Eliza walked into the room and the conversation abruptly stopped. Eevee's smile froze in place, Riley looked almost guilty, and Sol's eyes narrowed.

"Where are they?" Sol demanded instantly.

"They refused to return with me. Dhiren told me to inform you that they would be fine, there were matters they needed to attend to and he believed you should go on without them."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Those of the clan do not deceive," Riley said quietly, eyes downcast.

"I am not leaving without them."

"Was there really nothing you could say to them?" Eevee said, looking pained.

Eliza shook her head. "No. They were set on their path. Or, at least Jak was set on her path and Dhiren was set on following her."

Sol's eyes burned with fury. "I am not leaving them."

"They are capable of defending themselves. You, however, are not. You must receive proper training against the one who tried to kill you. You cannot dictate what they choose to do but you can decide to be smart about this."

"I... I don't want to leave them, but I don't want to lose you either," Eevee said. "Someone is trying to kill you, Sol. We can't just ignore that. You need to learn how to defend yourself."

"They may very well be safer away from you," Eliza added. "Whoever wishes you ill, there is no telling how far they are willing to go."

Sol looked torn. Were they actually managing to get through to her?

"We can't just leave them!"

"We may have to," Eliza pressed. "You cannot afford to waste time, not with this threat hanging over you."

"I think we need to talk things over," Eevee said, ears drooping.

"Very well," Eliza said. She left the room, gesturing to Riley to follow.

...

Uneasiness gnawed at Sol. She sat in the back of a wagon pulled by a Tauros, watching the Shaymin village recede down the snowy path. It felt like she had been stuck, bedridden, in that hospit for an eternity, but it had only been a few weeks. Her leg and arm were held in splints but she was doing much better. It was amazing how fast Pokémon could heal.

They had received a letter from Ren not long after they had left, delivered by a Peliper. It didn't say much, only that he and Jak were ok and urging Sol to go to the clan. The letter did very little to ease Sol's mind. It felt just plain wrong to leave without them.

Eliza had gotten her explanation, though it wasn't strictly true. Eevee was right in that she hadn't been able to catch all the details of what he had said. They had stuck mainly to what really had happened, except the part about Sol being a human from the future and losing her memory. They had said that Dusknoir wanted Sol only because of her Dimensional Scream. They had also made up a story about a human they had met in the future, that she had been Grovyle's partner. Sol wasn't sure if Eliza believed them, but it was a pretty wild tale and the lies had nothing to do with that.

Eevee, Espeon and Eliza walked alongside the wagon, talking with each other and the Tauros Eliza had hired. Riley was in the wagon with Sol and all of their belongings, toy soldiers spread out and fighting imaginary battles. Blue was winning.

"She snuck into their stronghold," he had explained, holding up the figure with the splotched paint. "All their forces were away, chasing down the blue remnants."

As weird as ever, but at least he was quiet. Sol didn't feel much like talking. They had barely even set out and she already wanted to go back home.

Sorry about how long this took. Between finals and Dragon Age Inquisition's release, time to write has shrunk considerably.

And before anyone can freak out, Jak and Ren are not gone for good. They'll be off doing their own thing while Sol gets her training. They'd just be hanging out doing nothing otherwise, and we'll check in with them often enough to prove that they're not dead.

Charmanderfan: I do have a rough idea for evolution, but no plans for right now.

coaster3000: Jak is always right. Period. No one else seems to understand this, and that frustrates her to no end.

dna6123: Sol?! Maturing?! Perish the thought!

Mister L: Jak is far too amazingly awesome to disappear forever.

ZoruaInTheShadows: School has been taking up most of my time too. I don't think I'd survive the reprisal if Jak were to leave forever.

ckcooper16: I knew Riolu are only a male option in the game, but I didn't realize that Eevee partners were programmed to female. I probably wouldn't have changed anything if I had known, though. As for the Wormadom thing, I completely missed that fact. Thanks for pointing that out. I'll have to go back and fix that.

Team Platium: Thanks for all of those reviews! And sadly yes, poor Grovyle has been slandered. I've never heard of this Sol Invictus, though that is quite the coincidence. In truth, I got Sol's name while playing Mass Effect, went to the Sol system, our real life solar system, and thought 'hey, I like that name'. No big origin story for that, I'm afraid.