Chapter 17: Reunion with the Light

Riolu is still drifting into an empty dark world in his unconscious state. He is floating in the darkness on his back and his arms and legs stretched out. His eyes are closed and the wounds in his shoulders and chest are still visible.

Riolu thinks as he continues floating through the darkness, 'Am… am I still alive? Or am I just on my way out to die?'

Through the thick darkness, he hears a faint cry in the darkness. As Riolu begins to slowly open his eyes, he thinks in a confused tone, 'Wh-who's there… what are you trying to say?'

As the cry slowly gets louder, the darkness slowly fades away. The voice cries out through the fading darkness, "Riolu! Don't die on me!"

Riolu thinks as the darkness slowly turns to light, 'Her voice… I know her! But from where, though?'

When the darkness finally disappears in Riolu opens his eyes slowly, he sees Snivy looking down at him with tears of sadness rolling down her cheeks and her cheeks blushing with sadness.

Riolu opens his eyes all the way and he says weakly, "Where am… I?"

Snivy looks down at Riolu's face with a surprised expression in her tear filled eyes when she sees Riolu talking. Snivy says with a relieved smile on her face, "Riolu… thank goodness you're alive!"

When Riolu slowly sits straight back up, he looks at both of his shoulders and notices that the wounds have fully healed. But when he looks down at his chest, he sees a blood soaked cloth over it.

Riolu says weakly with a look of disappointment on his face, "Zorua… tried to kill me…"

Snivy nods her head with a look of concern on her face and she replies, "I'm sorry… Mitchell… I tried to get down to you as soon as I could, but I was too late to save you…"

Riolu looks directly into Snivy's eyes and he asks with a curious expression on his face, "How is it that you know my real name, Snivy?"

Snivy replies with a confused expression on her face, "What do you mean by that? We've known each other ever since I found you lying unconscious in the Mirage Island forest..."

Before Snivy could go any further, a voice replies, "Forget it, Snivy… he doesn't have any memory of that time."

Riolu's eyes widen with shock and he thinks after hearing the voice, 'I-is that…?'

When Riolu looked where he heard the voice, he has a shocked expression on his face when he sees Arceus standing on top of a hill with many different colored crystals surrounding the sides and the back of him like an opened gate.

Arceus is looking down at Riolu with a serious expression on his face and he replies, "Welcome back, Riolu. Or… should I say, Mitchell?"

Riolu has a confused expression on his face as he asks in a frustrated tone, "What is going on here? How do you all know my name?"

Snivy looks up at Arceus and she asks with a look of concern on her face, "What is wrong with him? Why doesn't he remember any of us?"

Before Arceus could say a word, Riolu asks first, "Arceus… is it true that my mission was to kill Zorua, not bring the Hell Spirit Blade back to you?"

Snivy has a surprised expression on her face as she thinks while looking directly at Riolu, 'Did Riolu truly forget what his true objectives were before I got to him?'

Arceus replies while closing his eyes, "That's right… I guess your mission ended up in failure…"

Before Riolu could ask any other questions, his eyes widen with shock when he sees his white aura flowing out of his body. When Riolu looks up at Arceus, he sees his white aura flowing into Arceus's body.

After most of Riolu's white aura flowed into Arceus's body, Arceus starts saying with a serious expression on his face, "I see… so Darkrai has tampered with Riolu's memories."

Riolu looks up at Arceus with a shocked expression on his face and he asks, "What are you talking about? You're saying that Darkrai erased me memories?"

Arceus nods his head and he replies, "Yes… Darkrai has erased the memories you once had when you first got here. He erased the memories of Snivy and everyone else here on Mirage Island. He even… erased your memory of your true role as a Pokemon."

Snivy looks right at Riolu with a worried expression on her face and she mutters softly, "Riolu… what have you been through on that mission?"

Riolu asks in frustration, "But… how can that be? The only thing I remember was being chased down by the demons in the Underworld, and…!"

Before he could finish his sentence, his frustration instantly turns into confusion and he asks softly, "But… how did I end up in the Underworld in the first place?"

Riolu starts to shiver with confusion and frustration after he puts his hands over his face. As Riolu hides his face in his hands, crying in his hands, Snivy goes up to Riolu and sits down next to him, patting him on the back softly.

Snivy looks up at Arceus with a worried expression in her eyes and she asks, "Arceus… is there any way to revive Riolu's erased memories?"

Arceus nods his head and he replies, "Yes… it will take a little while, but I'll be sure to revive all of his forgotten memories in his white aura."

Snivy nods her head and she says to Arceus, "Thank you…"

After Riolu manages to calm down, he says softly, "Snivy… I'm sorry…"

Snivy looks down at Riolu's head with a comforting grin on her face and she replies, "There's nothing to worry about, Riolu. As soon as Arceus recovers your lost memories, you'll understand everything."

Riolu moves his hands away from his face, looks up at Arceus and he asks, "Arceus… will it be okay if you don't erase the memories I made before and after meeting Zorua for the first time?"

Arceus replies after nodding his head, "I'll be sure to keep those memories intact as well."

Riolu grins calmly at Arceus and he replies, "Thank you… Arceus…"

Riolu closes his eyes and drifts into sleep, breathing calmly on the ground.

After he falls asleep, Snivy stands back up on her feet, looks up at Arceus and asks with a serious expression on her face, "Arceus… if Zorua is Darkrai's apprentice, then you sent Riolu down too early…"

Arceus has a look of guilt on his face as he replies, "You're right… according to Riolu's white aura… Darkrai hasn't even picked his apprentice yet. It was only after Darkrai erased Riolu's memories that Darkrai selected his apprentice…"

Snivy looks down at Riolu with a worried expression on her face and she replies, "So it wasn't Riolu's fault that the mission ended up in failure…"

Arceus nods his head and he replies, "It wasn't his fault… it was my own fault, of course…"

Arceus closes his eyes and he says, "I'm halfway through the restoration… once the white aura is back in Riolu's body, he'll automatically regain his memory, followed by the power he lost along the way."

Snivy looks down at Riolu with a look of concern on her face as she asks, "Did Darkrai disable some of Riolu's power as well?"

Arceus nods his head and he replies after opening his eyes, "Yeah… he disabled Riolu's ability to use his Heaven Gloves. So his true power was cut in half dramatically after Darkrai did what he did…"

Snivy looks down at her hands, looking right at her Heaven Gloves with a serious expression on her face. She looks directly at Riolu and she thinks with a curious expression on her face, 'Riolu… what kinds of power will you end up with once you regain your Heaven Gloves?'

Before Snivy could continue on with her thoughts, Arceus tells her with a serious expression on his face, "By the way… the ship that Riolu and Zorua came in before… still has two Pokemon inside it. Will it be okay if you can pick those two up for me?"

Snivy nods her head and she replies, "I'll do whatever I can!"

After she leaves the area and starts sliding down the side of the mountain in her cloak, Arceus looks down at Riolu with a serious expression on his face and he says, "The memory restoration is complete… once I transplant your white aura back into your body, you'll be seeing all of your restored memories in your sleep. I hope you're ready for this…"

While white aura forms out of body and starts flowing into Riolu's chest, Riolu begins to see visions in his dream.

Riolu starts dreaming of the time that he and Snivy first met on Mirage Island, going to the time when Snivy introduces Riolu to Arceus, going to the time when Snivy and Riolu trains nonstop together, and finally going to the time when Arceus is giving Riolu his mission to the Underworld.

Once Riolu reaches this point in his memory, large amounts of the white aura bursts out of his body like wildfire, causing the bandage to fly off of his chest, revealing a missing wound in his chest.

Arceus has a serious expression on his face as he thinks, 'Riolu… you're power is going to be far stronger than it was before you went to the Underworld for the first time.'

Riolu's eyes open widely as the white aura starts flowing out his eyes like fire. But he is still asleep, dreaming of that certain time entering the Underworld from the dock of Mirage Island.