Chapter Seventeen

Once Upon a Time

"Just keep applying warm water." Lark lifted a wet rag from the steaming pot beside her to demonstrate. Squeezing some of the water out, she laid the cloth gently over Eppie's forehead.

Lynn nodded as water began to pool at the ends of the rag, dripping periodically onto the small cot they'd set up for Eppie.

"She should be alright," Lark told Lynn as they watched Eppie's sleeping form. A frown creasing her forehead, the older girl placed a hand on Eppie's arm. "She's so cold," she said, a momentary shiver running through her body. "Silly kid. She should've known better than to stay up here when it got so windy."

With a shiver of her own, Lynn recalled how they'd found Eppie earlier that night: half-buried under the courtyard plants, skin an unearthly shade of blue. She'd been shell-shocked at the sight, without a clue in the world what to do.

Lark, on the other hand, had remained her usual calm self. While Lynn had stood there staring in horrified disbelief, Lark had been the one to set up the cot and get hot water. She'd taken Eppie's situation in stride, as if something as strange as this happened everyday.

"S-sorry I'm not much help," Lynn said timidly, bowing her head.

"It's okay." Leaning in, Lark tucked the blankets over Eppie's prone body up to her chin. "Did things work out with Himeka Madison?"

Slowly, Lynn nodded. "Himeka is…she will, um…" Embarrassed, Lynn bit off her words in mid-stumble and tried to reign in her jumbled thoughts. "She said I could sit with her at the Festival," she said quickly. "If I wanted to."

"That's great," Lark said vaguely, though her smile was as kind as ever. "It'll help, Lynn. You'll be a definite help."

For several long minutes, pendent, half-formed thoughts hung heavily in the air between the two girls. Gulping, Lynn chanced a glance at Lark's smooth, unperturbed face, lips pursed in a faint, absentminded hum of lullaby as she looked over Eppie.

The pit of Lynn's stomach filled with slow sickly dread. Himeka with her small nose covered in syrup, Himeka setting her jaw defiantly as she claimed she would show up everybody who has teased her, Himeka with childlike awe reflected in her eyes as cascades of light coruscated through the sky. The images swirled around Lynn now, making her feel guiltier than ever. Himeka didn't know that Lynn was only pretending, that she was merely going to be a pawn in some ominous game. And what of the game itself? What would happen once Cro and the other Ringed made their preemptive strike?

"Lark," Lynn at last heard her own voice venturing softly. "What are you…Cro and the other Ringed…going to do to…to Himeka…and the others?"

Lark broke off her hum and smiled again. "It will be fine, Lynn," she said reassuringly. "Everything will be fine. Once we shut down the security plant, Ringed and Masters will finally be on the same level. That's a good thing, isn't it?" She smiled again, a gesture that belied the sudden vitriolic hiss that followed. "It's a lot better than what we might've done."

Startled by this unguardedly venomous outburst, Lynn looked up as Lark reapplied a second cloth to Eppie's forehead. The older girl's eyes had taken on a misty, distant look. "You don't have to understand us. You're lucky you don't." Lark's lips twitched into a small, odder kind of smile.

Lynn lowered her head once more. "M-maybe," she mumbled, staring down at her fingers as she intertwined them over and over. "Now that I'm here, though…aren't I-I'm one of you, too? In a way. M-maybe." In the ensuing silence, the boldness of her previous remarks overcame her. She bit her lip and folded her clammy hands against her chest.

Lark laughed quietly at this. There was no real levity or even mockery in her tone – it was too halfhearted to hold much emotion at all. "You, Lynn?" she said in a low, tired tone so much unlike her clear, confident self. "You're just a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time." She laughed again, more forcefully this time.

"Then again, aren't we all? You, me. Poor Eppie, here." Her blue eyes glanced down at the peacefully sleeping girl by her side, whose skin was finally beginning to regain its normal flush. "Maybe Cro most of all," Lark said at last.

"Cro?" Lynn echoed in surprise. The image of strong, forceful, self-assured Cro clashed so stridently with that of a little lost child that, try as she might, there was no way to align the two in her mind.

"It's hard to understand now," Lark said with a wry smile. "You had to have been there when Himeka Madison first got Cro. Only me and Eppie were around back then."

"Eppie?" Lynn was more confused than ever. "But isn't Cro Eppie's big brother?"

"That's what Eppie says, I guess," Lark admitted. "But then…that's misleading. They're not related by blood, and there's a fair chance that Eppie's actually older than Cro. Back then, it was much more obvious. Cro was such a sorry sight when he first arrived; the scrawniest, dirtiest kid we'd ever laid eyes on. And so shy, so sullen. The only one he'd talk to was the malnourished little Pikachu that came with him."

"Sparkacus?" Lynn asked.

"Yep, though even Spark was more willing to open up than Cro," Lark affirmed with a nod. "No one thought Cro would ever amount to much; bratty little Himeka ranted for a week about how she'd got gypped into trading for him. Eppie, Epiphany she called herself back then, was the only one who really went out of her way to get through to him. She was one of the best battlers, yet she still went and showed Cro the ropes over at the Stadium. She acted as his battle coach when Himeka couldn't even be bothered. And now you see the results."

An image of Cro's lightning-quick sword flashing in her mind, Lynn nodded numbly. As hard as it was to imagine Cro as shy and scrawny, there was no way she could imagine Eppie as a battler, not to mention the best Ringed battler in the Stadium! Once glance at the serenely sleeping, fragile little girl made her mind reel at the impossibility.

"Most people don't believe that story, either," Lark said, reading Lynn's incredulous expression. "They don't know what Eppie was like as Epiphany, before the accident."

"Accident?"

"It was the Eighth Day of Festival that year," Lark continued, averting her eyes from Eppie's face. "I guess you could say the Stadium Master went a little crazy or something. Instead of having just a regular tournament, he decided that something a bit more intense would liven things up. The Stadium would pit their best Ringed battler against a whole horde of other Ringed. In a fight to the death. And guess who that lucky best battler was?"

"Poor Eppie," Lynn whispered.

"She didn't die, obviously," Lark said with a forced laugh. "Though she came very, very close. And when Epiphany recovered, she wasn't the same person. Her mind had been badly damaged." Lark made a circular motion above her ear and shrugged sadly. "It was as if a part of her really did die during that battle. Without that lost part, she became this. Not Epiphany, the amazing battler who looked over everybody else. Just Eppie, some helpless girl with the mentality of a little kid."

Her hand, Lynn noticed, had been wringing and rewringing the same cloth for last several minutes. "Cro was the hardest hit, I think," Lark said softly, over the soft drip of the rag. "In one night he'd lost Epiphany and wound up with this little girl who followed him around everywhere and called him 'big brother.' And so he changed, too. For her. For all of us."

Lark's voice surprised Lynn with its deep and sudden bitterness. "You see what the Masters have done to us, forest girl?" she asked. "You see why we fight? Heck, we've all got our reasons, but they're really all the same. What the Masters are doing is wrong, and we can't let any more people suffer because of it. No matter what, we can't afford to keep running or hiding anymore." Her eyes glittered for a moment, then refocused on Lynn's face. "What is it?"

Lynn shook her head hurriedly, just realizing the incredulous expression she'd been wearing only seconds before. "Nothing!" she cried. "It's just that…" Her words spilled clumsily out before she could stop them. "I never thought of people like you or Cro as people who'd run away." You're some of the bravest people I know.

Lark wasn't mad. She didn't even laugh away Lynn's awkward statement. "It's a strange person who doesn't run away from something," she replied instead, looking away from Lynn. Silvery strands of hair fell over her face as she re-examined Eppie's arm. "Believe me, I've run away from a lot more than I'd like to admit. So if you stay to fight…it better be for a good one."

"Why do you fight, Lark?" Lynn asked in a small whisper.

Licking her lips, Lark smiled that odd little smile. "I was actually born a Master," she said in an all-too detached voice, "but I was also a pathetic little nothing that none of the other Masters wanted anything to do with. This one Ringed, though, would always smile at me when I passed by. Every day I saw him, he'd still be smiling that same stupid smile. Even when the other Masters' kids kicked him around, even when his own Master beat him like an animal, not caring who was watching. I guess he never knew any better. Stupid."

Her eyes hardened, though her voice remained as monotonous as ever. "I never said anything against his Master when he was still alive," Lark went on softly. "I never said anything when he died and they called it an accident. When I got older…ha, I was always on the run. Got arrested for theft, arson, assault, running from the police over and over again…so many things I don't remember. But I always remembered that I never said anything."

Lynn watched the older girl's composed profile with horror – even with words like that coming out of her mouth, Lark allowed as little expression onto her face as she had that night in the courtyard. How she could remain so apathetic was beyond Lynn's ability to fathom. Taking a closer look, she realized the truth. Despite Lark's cold, impassive semblance of sang-froid, the older girl's hands were trembling.

"I became a Ringed as my final punishment," Lark went on. "Since then, I've been trying to turn my life around. Trying to change myself." The end of the sentence caught in her throat, and when she went on, it was no longer in that carefully controlled, far-too toneless voice, but, instead, a low, almost dangerous murmur. "I've found my voice now," Lark whispered, lips curling with each terse word. "I've found a reason to fight. For me, it ends here."

Lark was quiet after that. When she finally left a quarter of an hour later, with instructions for Lynn to keep taking care of Eppie, Lynn could only breathe a sigh of relief. Stripping off the dress she'd been forced to wear all day, Lynn shook out her hair and reached for her regular clothes. Something about the lightness of her shirt, however, made her examine the pockets more closely.

The Rainbow Wing was gone!

Heart racing in panic, Lynn scrambled desperately around the courtyard. She made quite a clamor as she skid across the stone steps and plowed through thick tangles of vegetation.

On the cot at the far end of the courtyard, Eppie's small body stirred in what might have been restless sleep. As the oncoming evening sent a chilly wind howling across the courtyard, one of Eppie's eyes shot open.

The pupil had contracted to no more than a pinprick, and the surrounding iris had enlarged to fill the entire eye. Its gentle amber had been replaced by a brilliant blood red.

Never once blinking, the red eye swerved downward. It rested briefly at the crook of Eppie's skinny arm, where a glint of metal could just be discerned, before snapping shut once more. Eppie slept on, though she tossed and moaned as if her dreams had suddenly grown troubled.

As the morning breeze rushed over the courtyard, a small figure dashed up the steps, throwing out its arms for balance.

From her perch atop the stone steps, Lynn allowed herself a half-smile. It had been only two days since her first escapade as a Master, and already she was used to this new morning routine. Wake up with sun's first rays, comb out her hair, put on her fancy clothes, and wander into town. And somehow, the too-large outfit no longer tripped her up…at least, not quite so much. The crowds in the city had seemed to magically grow smaller, the crisscrossed roads less crooked and easier to navigate. Thanks to her newfound confidence, she no longer felt so nervous about being a Master.

Tonight, at the Festival Tournament, Lynn was supposed to meet Himeka Madison again. Lynn didn't know what would happen then, if Himeka would decide that Lynn was no longer worthy of her attention, or if others would scorn her every attempt to fit in. But it was alright. Lynn had gotten this far – surely it wasn't such a daunting, impossible task to go a little farther.

In fact, if it hadn't been for the mysterious disappearance of the Rainbow Wing, Lynn could have grown quite accustomed to her new life. But no matter how used she grew to her once daunting surroundings, the dying words of Aeolus the Fearow still echoed in her mind.

Swear you will guard the Wing with your life. Under no circumstances must it fall into the hands of another!

She hadn't understood what to do with it. She barely understood what route her own life was taking. But despite all, Lynn could not ignore her own conscience. She had to find the Rainbow Wing before someone else did! Someone like the red-eyed demon, the godly Suicune, or even…

Sparkacus's voice sounded in Lynn's mind. Cro thinks that he is meant to be the last heir. To discover you, not himself, is the true wielder of the Rainbow Wing…I do not fancy the thought of what he might do.

Lynn shivered, the comb in her trembling hand nearly scraping into her scalp. But she forced her smile to widen at the person who had arrived earlier. "Good morning, Eppie," Lynn called as she lowered the comb.

The smaller girl skipped over, face flushed so healthily it was impossible to tell she'd nearly froze to death two days before. "Hi, Lynn," she chimed happily, seating herself only a step below Lynn. "I found a new flower yesterday! Over here…what's its name?"

This had become a common question of Eppie's over the last few days. The little girl was fascinated by the wild plants in the courtyard and never failed to find a new flower or vine to inquire about. Already, Lynn's surprise at Eppie's puerile enthusiasm had worn off. Despite all of Eppie's quirks, Lynn found herself beginning to enjoy her company. A couple of wildflowers were a strange sort of bond. But it was growing steadily, helped by Eppie's simple, unconditionally amiable nature.

Obligingly, Lynn bent to the curly stem in front of the lowest step and placed a finger on its pale blue buds. They were near full bloom, their black tips just starting to peel apart. "We always called them 'god tears,' " Lynn said, smiling fondly at the memory. "Look…" She pinched the bud gently open, revealing an indigo center not unlike an eye's pupil.

"God tears," Eppie repeated with relish, laying flat on her stomach to peer at the plant. Lynn sat back, shaking out her hair and reaching for the red ribbon in her lap. Eppie's inquisitive voice broke through her concentration a second later. "There's a story behind that name, isn't there?" she asked, bright amber eyes staring expectantly at Lynn.

How'd she know? Lynn thought almost amusedly. Indeed, if it had been anyone else besides Eppie, she might have been nervous, even wary. But Eppie's innocent, eager gaze dispelled any anxiety. Taking a deep breath, Lynn tried her best to compose herself. In her mind's eye, she could see old Mother Woodwort folding her withered hands, the first words of her story spilling out in a hushed whisper.

"You're right, Eppie," Lynn told her. "There is a story…"

Once upon a time, Pokémon Trainers and Pokémon lived together under the same sky. Some of these Pokémon were content, for the Trainers treated them with love and respect. Other Pokémon were not, for they were treated cruelly and carelessly. Other Humans who saw what was happening felt deep anger at the ways of the Trainers. Many wild Pokémon were also unhappy with how the Trainers had taken control of the world, snatching away their land and family at every whim. All slowly grew to despise the Trainers with all their hearts.

The day soon came when battle cries shattered the air and blood saturated the fields. Pokémon fought Trainer and Trainer fought Pokémon, until the dust was so high that neither side could tell whom they were fighting.

High above the bloodstained earth, the bird of the seven feathers and its godly fellows watched the slaughter. Many of the gods wanted to step in and force the fighting to stop. They filled the heavens with their impatient bickering, then torrents of heated arguments. As each of the gods sided with different sides of the war, the anger grew and grew. Underneath their mighty powers, volcanoes blew apart, lightning scoured the earth, and the raging ocean nearly drowned the land.

The bird of the seven feathers saw the catastrophic effects that ensued upon the Humans and Pokémon of the earth. Determined to end the gods' quarrel, the bird flew in front of the sun and wrapped its enormous wings around it. The earth fell into darkness for seven long days.

But, alas, the heat of the sun burned the brave bird's body into black ashes, which rained from the heavens for seven days.

Seeing these ashes fall from the sky, the gods were shocked by the bird of the seven feathers' noble sacrifice. Realizing their folly at long last, they made a pact.

From that time on, none of them would meddle with the earth below during the war's course. Though not all of the gods were satisfied with this resolution, they were forced to endure it for both their own sake and that of the inhabitants below.

It is true that some tried to resist. Several of the more stubborn gods continued fighting, while others furtively attempted to aid their favored sides. But such rebellious displays were harshly punished by their fellows. There are even tales of one soft-hearted god who, in trying to rescue a Human girl from an icy battlefield, was banished from the heavens for its supposed transgression. As a result, most of the gods eventually came to acknowledge the pact of inaction unchangeable.

One god, however, was less willing to accept this change than the rest. It could not stand to know the immensity of the suffering below, along with the fact that nothing could be done to stop it. For many days, this god shed its tears. These tears fell upon the earth and turned into flowers with petals as gauzy as clouds.

Throughout the land, these flowers acted as the god's eyes. The god saw many horrible things as the battle between the Trainers and the Pokémon progressed. And finally, these things convinced the god to act.

It could not go against the pact; it could not meddle with earthly affairs during the horrible war. But that did not stop it from acting before or after. Ever since, that determined god has been traveling through time, seeking to change events in both faraway past and future to alter the war's destructive course.

If you ever see the flower of the god tears bobbing nearby, you can rest assured that the god of past and future is watching over your own time. Someday, you may even catch a glimpse of said god, flitting through the trees or into the sun. Wherever you may be, look fast. For the god of past and future is always disappearing, into just that.

As Lynn awoke from her storyteller's trance, a clearing of the throat sounded above her head. "That's a good story. And you tell it well."

Lynn half-bolted, half-fell off her perch on the courtyard steps. "Cro?"

The shadow over her head shifted. As the tall boy stepped back, Lynn caught a glimpse of Sparkacus's lightning-bolt of a tail. "Go on," she thought she heard the Pikachu whisper, giving Cro a nudge with its nose.

"I know, Spark!" Cro hissed back, shooting his Pikachu companion a scowl. Straightening, he took a step forward and…to Lynn's complete surprise…sat down right next to her. "Hey," he said, folding his bronzed arms over his knees. For a minute or two, neither he nor Lynn chanced a word. Lynn could see Eppie and Sparkacus romping about in the distance; the girl laughing merrily as the Pikachu chased her through the wildflowers.

"This place looks nicer than when I was last here," Cro attempted at last, staring at the miniature forest before him. "You…" His words trailed off, leaving both of them in silence once more.

Eppie and Spark's happy shouts sounded in the distant background. "You're…n-not mad about what happened to the courtyard, then?" Lynn asked tentatively.

Cro's head jerked up with a start, and this time, he looked her straight in the face. "Why'd I be mad about something like that?"

When Lynn didn't answer, he sighed loudly and closed his jet black eyes. "Look, Lynn of Viridian…" He bit his tongue before going on. "Lynn. Lark's been telling me how well you've been doing lately, as a Master. Which I know is no easy task, especially since you just got here a couple days ago."

Cro, complimenting me? Lynn thought in disbelief. It was all she could do to keep herself from bolting up and backing away against the wall.

Cro didn't seem to notice Lynn's unease. Pushing a shock of dark hair from his forehead, he went on. Looking, if possible, even more nervous and less Cro-like than before. "What I'm trying to say is that, well…I'm sorry for yelling at you before. It didn't occur to me how brave you were to come here and stand up to me."

Lynn could not help but gawk. First Sparkacus, now Cro, had told her she was courageous. And what pained her most was that they could not be further from the truth. I'm scared of just about everything, Lynn reminded herself sadly. I ran away from my coming-of-age party. I ran away from Wreander in the forest. I even ran away from kind little Feldspar.

It's a strange person who doesn't run away from something, Lark's voice whispered in Lynn's head.

People who are brave don't run away from every little thing! Lynn cried in mental protest. I do!

"You stood up to me that day in the courtyard," Cro repeated, looking directly at Lynn. "You told us your story, even though me and Vixory must've scared you half to death. And you became a false Master, just to help us. You're not half bad, Lynn, and we're…I'm….glad to have you on our side."

His gaze turned to the sky, where lazy tufts of cloud were just beginning to gather. "Today's the eighth, the last, day of the Festival," he told Lynn. "Tonight's when it all comes together. I'll be honest; I didn't like Vixory's idea to use you, at first. Heck, I only went along with it because the others seemed to take to it much better than…well, you don't need to know."

He took a deep breath before going on. "But if you can pull this last ruse off, I'll forever be in your debt, Lynn of Viridian. As soon as me and the others are free, I know we can help the rest of the Ringed. And I have full faith you'll get us there."

The intensity, the earnestness, of Cro's gaze was too much to bear. As Lynn looked away, she could feel her face flushing uncomfortably hot. "Th-thank you," she forced out at last. "I-I…I'll try my best. B-but there's something…you don't know. And should…I-I guess. About the last heir, I…"

The clink of metal on stone broke through her words. Cro's head jerked around, Lynn's only a split-second behind.

Eppie stood knee-deep in a cluster of god tears, amber eyes wide. At her feet glimmered a piece of metal, just visible through the masses of green vine and sky-blue buds. Along with several snatches of rainbow plumage.

Lynn's heart skipped a beat, freezing her body in place.

"What the…?" Cro started, bolting to his feet. "Eppie, where the heck did you get that?"

Slowly, Eppie bent and retrieved the Rainbow Wing. "I don't know," she said, shaking her head frantically. "It just appeared in my pocket, just now!" The iridescent feathers dangled off her palm as she hastily took a step backwards.

Lynn didn't blame her. She'd seen Cro angry before, but this was something completely different. The boy's entire face had blanched, leaving it a sickly ashen color. Every part of his body had seemed to freeze in that single instant of discovery. His mouth was still slightly parted, his body still tilted slightly forward. The only movement came from the heaving of his chest, the only sound from his gasping, rapid breaths.

"I don't know where it came from!" With a startled yelp, Eppie tripped and fell into the flowers. "I'm sorry!" she gasped from where she knelt, body quivering. "Epiphany was…Epiphany said I…oh, big brother! I didn't mean to hurt you! I didn't mean to hurt anyone!"

"I-It's not her fault!"

In an instant, Cro had regained control of his limbs and swerved about. Lynn ignored his blazing eyes and stumbled on. "The Rainbow Wing, it's mine! A dying Fearow gave it to me. It told me to find the other feathers, to bring back the bird of the seven feathers! And make sure that the Wing was never taken away!"

Inhaling shakily, Lynn hung her head. "I failed," she whispered.

Through her forming tears, she could see Cro reaching down, and straightening with the Rainbow Wing in his hand. She could see his hand tightening and his arm tensing before her. Stifling her gasp, she shut her eyes.

"So it was your duty to bring back the bird of the seven feathers." Cro's voice was no more than a whisper. "You were the last heir, just like Eppie said."

She hated the calmness in his voice. "I'm not the last heir!"

A metallic clatter shattered the air. Lynn flinched. When she gathered enough courage to look up, Cro's retreating back was heading for the staircase. The Rainbow Wing lay at her feet with its feathers askew, hooks still rattling.

"Cro!" Sparkacus's voice rose in alarm. "No matter how upset you are, you can't allow this to change anything! The plan for tonight, the plan with Lynn…"

"Shut up, Spark!" Cro snarled, nearly bowling the Pikachu over in his attempt to get past. "Everything changes now, don't you see? It doesn't matter what the others think. We can't use her anymore! So shut up and get out of my way!"

"Big brother," Eppie whispered, amber eyes quivering. She extended a pleading hand as he approached. "I…"

"I am not your brother!" Cro roared, shoving past Eppie. Sparkacus dashed after him, squeezing through the door with only an inch to spare. The clang of the trapdoor reverberated in the courtyard a good while after Cro's footsteps stormed all the way down the passage.

"I…I'm sorry."

Lynn watched dully as Eppie murmured these last words. Without another sound, the small girl collapsed into the patch of god tears. Her body curled itself into a tight, unmoving ball, her face twisting about so that it was buried in the foliage. She did not move even as the wind rustled about her head, tugging fiercely at her scraggly tuft of a ponytail.

Lynn, too, lacked the will to rise. Even as the wind picked up and the stone steps grew cold beneath her. All she could do was maintain the cold Master's mask she had practiced so often over the last few days, biting her lip in order to not cry.

Another body flinched as Cro slammed the heavy trapdoor. But unlike the two girls, this individual did not curl up and freeze on the spot. In fact, every muscle in his body was trembling.

"So that's the Rainbow Wing," Null Allegard muttered from the Stadium rooftop. Hands still shaking, he slowly tucked a pair of binoculars back into his voluminous pockets.

"Knew ya lead me to it sooner or later, Cro," Null whispered to himself. "But I didn't know that."