Chapter 15
"Well, this is it." Siarnaq pointed to a rusted gate with a small flow of sluggish water dribbling out.
Pallene sniffed. "Smells nasty… and do you guys feel the evil coming off from within? Brr…"
Tsunami frowned, then gently held Lily's hand next to him. She looked at him gratefully, but she was clearly very nervous. He didn't blame her; she was responsible for leading all of them through this darkness and traps within. Siarnaq slashed open the grate with his scythe, and threw it on the ground.
Aero nodded at them before flying up into the sky. They had all agreed it would be best for him to meet them at the exit, since there may be traps in the air that Lily could miss.
Tsunami felt Lily's hand slip out of his as she slowly entered the dark cave. He followed closely behind her, and heard two pairs of footsteps follow behind them. "What do you see, Lily?"
He felt her stop. "Wait… I… there's a steep drop a little ways to our right… just wait here while I look for…" He heard her slowly walk a little bit ahead, then heard her approach again. The darkness seemed to be absorbing her voice a little. He felt her rest her hand on his shoulder. "Siarnaq, hold onto Tsunami's tail. Pallene, hold onto Siarnaq. I'll guide you… there is a path with a steep drop on either side."
He followed her pull, and felt Siarnaq's hands on his tail. As he took a step, he heard rocks clatter down. "That sounds deep," he said.
"Be careful," she said, her voice full of tension. "If you could- DUCK TSUNAMI!" She screamed loudly, and he barely had time to react. He did as she asked though, and heard a whizzing noise above his head.
"What was that?!" he asked, alarmed.
"An arrow… I don't know where it… hang on."
He felt her hand let go, and closed his eyes. His vision wouldn't do very much now. He was tempted to move in case another arrow came, but the last thing he wanted to do was fall off. Siarnaq had mentioned that some pits here would send you straight into Giratina's domain…
"Okay Tsunami, Pallene, Siarnaq…" He felt her hand again. "Yes?"
"Just follow me, please…" Her voice sounded strained.
"Is something wrong?"
"Oh no! Don't… don't worry about it…" But it was clear something was wrong…
Then they heard a loud hissing noise from a distance. "Quickly!"
They followed her lead, hearing rocks clattering around them.
From behind him, he heard Siarnaq speak up. "It's opening up, isn't it?"
She didn't respond; she simply pulled them along behind her quickly.
"What's opening?"
"A gate… this is one of the entrances to the underworld… it seems that it is opening right now…"
"Quiet!" she hissed. "I don't need the stress! I can see what's going on!"
She continued to lead them throughout the dank cave, but he felt the ground vibrating underneath his feet. "Umm… Lily? How much more time do we have?"
"I think we can make it… I see solid ground up ahead." They quickly moved ahead, trusting the Espeon to lead them along. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright… I think that we are good now. Next… I believe we have to go across this cave's real illusion. You should be able to see, but…"
"Don't trust your eyes," finished Siarnaq.
She nodded. "Already, I can see some lights up ahead. Be careful! It'll try to play tricks on you mind."
He opened his eyes, and slowly walked into the lit cavern ahead. "What the…" Within the cavern was a beautiful waterfall, and birds flew overhead. His breath was taken away. "Wow…"
It was clear both Siarnaq and Pallene were seeing the same thing he was. "It's beautiful…" said the Ninetales
Next to Tsunami, Lily said, "You are probably seeing some sort of beautiful paradise, but it's not. I'm telling you, those pools are acid, and you'll die a horrible death if you touch it. And those birds? They're Zubats. Don't get near them."
Tsunami shook his head. She was right. They couldn't trust their eyes. They had to believe her. "I know Lily," he said, doing his best to reassure her. She seemed rather unconfident. "We must be careful."
The three of them followed Lily through the cave, avoiding the seemingly inviting pools.
"If I remember correctly… the illusions aren't only barriers… they also will play mind games… with personal experiences…" said Siarnaq.
"How do you know all this?" grumbled Pallene.
They wandered the dank cavern for what seemed like a long time, occasionally backtracking. He heard Lily mumbling to herself occasionally. Are we lost…? No…
"I know you think we're lost," said Lily as they sat down for a break.
"I… well… what makes you think that?"
"You've been quiet," she said.
"Well… do you have an idea of where to go?"
She sighed. "I think I know."
He smiled at her. "Then I don't think we're lost."
"Thanks, Tsunami…" She leaned onto his shoulder, and he felt himself blush slightly.
"You two are so sweet," said Pallene from behind them. They turned around, both of their faces red.
"Reminds you of when we were lovers, doesn't it?" said Siarnaq.
"What? We're not lovers anymore?"
"No-"
Pallene laughed. "I know, Siarny… ready to start moving?"
Lily stood up. "Yeah… I think I've got a good idea of where to head next." They continued walking, and Lily seemed more confident. She walked them over seemingly impassable gaps, and told them to avoid water which she claimed was acid. Then he realized that he had gotten separated. All around, there was nothing but that fake paradise.
"Lily?" he called out, but there was no response. "Siarnaq? Pallene?" Still nothing. He called out some more, then finally relaxed as he heard her voice.
"Tsunami! Over here!" Her voice sounded faint, and he followed the sound. He continued walking to the sound of her voice. Then he heard a rumbling under his feet…
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"Okay guys, the exit is right…" She frowned as she turned around. "Have you two seen Tsunami?" Sunlight was shining from the doorway ahead of them.
"I… actually, I haven't seen him for awhile…" said Siarnaq. He hadn't even finished before Lily charged back into the cave.
"Tsunami! Where are you?!"
She whizzed through the cave. She knew how dangerous a place this was, and even with her vision, she had sensed the strong layer of magic separating reality.
She felt the ground shaking underneath her. Oh no… the ground is opening up again… Tsunami! She searched the cave desperately for her friend, and finally heard his voice. "Lily?" He sounded panicked; something she hadn't heard in his voice before.
"Tsunami!" Then she saw him. "Oh my…!" She peered over a ledge that seemed to stretch deep into the ground. About twenty feet down, hanging onto a tiny outcropping, was Tsunami. "Just wait! I'll get you ou-"
"Lily!" His voice was sharp. "I'm stuck down here, and I can't hold on for much longer! Think reasonably!" Fear filled his voice. "You must let me go!"
"What do you want me to do then?!" Fear made her angry. So quickly… am I going to lose him just like this…? "No! I can't let you go!"
He looked at her, and she realized the look on his face was… it was love… "Lily," he said gently. "Lily…" Tears were in his eyes.
She began weeping as she realized what would happen. "Tsunami… don't do this…" Her tears fell onto the sand, and some into the pit below.
"Lily… I'm going to make you a promise."
"No! Don't-"
"I will see you again."
She wiped her eyes. "How? You'll die! You're going to the underworld!"
His hand slipped slightly, and he was barely holding on now. His face was strained now. "I promise this to you! You four go on without me. But I promise you, I'll come back!"
She didn't understand what he was saying. "How?!"
"I promise Lily…" His eyes were solemn, and she barely heard him whisper, "I love you…" Then she watched as his hand slipped, and he slowly disappeared into the void.
"No!" she wailed. Why does this happen?! She screeched in agony at her loss and fell onto the hard, stone ground, tears dampening it.
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The walk to the exit of the cave was the longest walk she ever remembered. Thoughts raced through her head. I let him down. He saved me, and the one time he relies on me, I fail him… Her head drooped, and she felt too depressed to even cry. What is worse than finding the one for you, only for him to cruelly snatched away from you? It's my fault… he's dead, and he's not coming back…
She saw the light of day shining out of the tunnel. Just outside, Siarnaq and Pallene were waiting, while Aero flapped next to them.
"Lily! Where is…?"
"He's gone." She had no energy to even put emotion into her voice. "I failed him," she whispered.
"Tsunami? No…" The bird Pokemon stopped flapping, and fell to the ground. "It… it can't be!" He sounded disbelieving. "He's too strong! He can't…"
She felt Pallene's arms around her back. "I'm so sorry… he… he was really fond of you… that… that… that's an understatement."
"I know… he told me… right before he fell… that he loved me…"
Siarnaq, who had an expression of pure horror up until this point, spoke up. "Fall, you say?" Hope had appeared in his eyes.
"No… you don't think he could make it out of the underworld… do you?" said Pallene quietly.
Siarnaq was quiet for awhile, before saying, "I've heard of internal discord… the keeper of the underworld is Giratina, as you all know. And he is Palkia and Dialga's brother. I have heard that he is rather unhappy about the balance of souls that Palkia has generated."
Lily listened intently. "What do you mean by that?" She herself was beginning to let hope fill her. Maybe… just maybe…?
"The issue of the souls is more than just a disagreement between brothers… with Dialga imprisoned, Giratina has been very unhappy, especially with his brother's decision. If Tsunami can negotiate with Giratina… as difficult as it may be, I know that Tsunami is a good talker. I believe he has a chance."
Aero and Pallene murmured in agreement. "I may not have known him for long… but he is the most powerful Pokemon I know, and he'll do his best I know. We mustn't lose hope!"
"I agree… I know that Tsunami had very strong feelings for you, Lily. If not to save many, many lives, I know he'll do his best to return because he wants to see you again."
"He… he promised me…" she sniffled.
"I believe that he will keep that promise. While it is true that he must traverse a part of the underworld to reach Giratina, and nobody living knows how the underworld is. But he will keep that promise Lily. You watch. We haven't seen the last of him, I believe that truly."
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Azura, Zephyr, and Thrymr walked through the trees. The sound of birdsong filled the air. "So pretty sounding…" said Azura.
Zephyr smiled. "Yup… this is a very nice place over here."
Thrymr nodded. "We're relatively close to where I believe the fortress will be landing. There is a bare plain up ahead, and we can board it to put an end to Palkia's evils and killings. Of course, we must find my friends first…"
"So… you said that they would have to go across a mountain range?" said Zephyr.
"Yeah… probably the cave of illusions. Very dangerous place… I would have a hard time believing that they would make it through there alive, but I know how determined my friends all are. They'll find a way though…"
Azura was certainly looking forward to meeting Thrymr's friends. An Absol was pretty cool, and they were also rare. She thought that it might be scary meeting him, but he would be a valuable ally to their goal. And if he had a mate, a Ninetales, he couldn't be too scary, or she wouldn't like him. But she was curious to meet the Vaporeon. Thrymr mentioned him a lot, and, despite the Vaporeon's apparent type-weakness, Thrymr seemed to have a lot of respect for him. Zephyr was the most powerful eon she had met so far, but the level of power the Vaporeon had, if what Thrymr said was true, then he would be one of the most impressive Pokemon around really.
Then she heard rustling up ahead, and out of the trees stepped an Espeon. She had a crushed look on her face; she seemed so sad that Azura instantly felt pity for her. She didn't seem to notice Azura and the two electric types. "Excuse me!"
The Espeon turned around slowly. "Who are you, and what do you want?"
"I'm Azura, and this is Thrymr and Zephyr."
Then out of the bushes stepped a Ninetales and Absol. Both had wide eyes. "Th-Thrymr?!"
The Manectric grinned. "Long time no see, my friends."
Well well, I decided to have them meet up after all this chapter :P So what will happen with Tsunami? I guarantee you, he'll be coming back(Obviously. He's one of the main characters!) But how will he come back? Hehe… keep reading… a lot of shockers will be coming up!
