Chapter 16

The fall was something he couldn't really describe. It was as if he was falling quick, and then suddenly, ground was underneath him. It didn't hurt whatsoever. The thoughts racing through his mind hurt however. What if I don't see her again? What will she think of me for leaving her? Will she forgive me? He knew in that moment from the look on her face that she felt the same way. Could she truly feel love? But I haven't known her for that long even… no… I told her that rashly… I merely like her. Yet… Once he felt solid ground underneath him, he stood up, not sure what to expect.

Around him was one of the most unusual sights he had expected. The sky glowed an eerie gray, with a bright green color replacing the normal orange colors. In the distance, a ball of light, which he assumed was the sun, was green instead as well. He frowned. Aren't I underground? But then again, this was virtually a land for the dead… so there anything could be true really…

He half expected to see lava or perhaps acid maybe… but there was nothing of the sort. It looked almost like another world, but not necessarily a bad one…

Trees of unusual shapes grew around him, but were typically spaced apart. He had landed on a hilly landscape. Large gray mountains were in the far distance. He shivered. This was wasn't necessarily what he expected it to be, but something was very unnerving about this place. The lighting… the looming hills… it all felt like he was being watched…

Or was he…? A cold breeze blew around him, sweeping up some orange leaves.

He drew his sword. "Who's there?!"

"Who's there?" a sad sounding voice resonated around him.

He didn't speak, just prepared himself for an attack.

"Are you here to hurt me?"

"No. I don't want any trouble."

"That's what 'he' said before he raped and killed me."

"Excuse me?" He was interrupted by a blast of energy pounded him on the right. He skidded along the ground for awhile, and got up. He felt the skin on his side scraped.

"He told me I was weak. And that I couldn't do anything. I don't ever want to let somebody take advantage of me like that again."

A blinding light had surrounded him, and he realized that's why he was having a hard time seeing his adversary. "I'm not here to do any of that stuff," he told the voice, panting. "I'm not looking for trouble."

He sensed another attack coming straight at him, and narrowly avoided it by ducking. This bright light… I can't do anything with it! He surrounded himself with a barrier of water, an Aqua Ring. He could sense it dissipating the blinding light.

"Using water to eliminate my light… but you won't put me out like a fire type!"

Lily! I mustn't let her down! He felt the barrier of light strengthen, but grit his teeth and focused. He imagined Lily's face of desperation as he pushed the barrier larger. He continued this until he felt the light dissolve.

He looked up, and retracted the shield. In front of him stood another Eevelution; a Sylveon. He had thought of a Sylveon as delicate and bubbly with big blue eyes, but her eyes were icy, piercing him like daggers. She was glaring at him with a gaze that would make a Flareon shiver.

"Who are you?"

She glared at him, and said, "I'll ask the questions, Vaporeon."

"Excuse me?"

She sighed, the first time she sounded as if she didn't despise him for reasons he didn't understand. "I am Saphia. You are…?"

"Tsunami. I-" She narrowed her eyes at him, but he continued. "I need to find Giratina."

She continued to frown at him, before chuckling. "Looking for a way out, right? I thought the same thing too."

"Excuse me?" He didn't like the way she said that.

"Yeah. Trying to find Giratina… let me tell you something. He will only have an audience with those whom he deems… how should I put it… interesting."

He blinked. "Interesting? Like how?"

"First off, Giratina isn't how you would expect a legendary of death to be. He is… quirky."

"So you've met him?"

"Yes."

"So… where is he?"

She waved her arm. "He is here right now. He sees everything here. If you happen to do something quite drastic… he'll maybe, just maybe take notice."

"Eh? Like what?"

"Well… I once attracted his attention by offering a sacrifice…"

"Sacrifice?"

"I gave a finger." She held up a hand. Her middle finger was missing.

He gasped. "My… is there another way?"

"Give up your soul… give up your freedom… I don't know… and anyways, he's not going to let you return up. Once you're down here, you're down here. I've tried returning many times before as to try and avenge my death. It's impossible."

He blinked. "There must be a way!"

A flash of sympathy crossed her face so quickly he thought he almost imagined it. "I'm afraid there is no way to simply return to the land of the living… we are ghosts here, trapped…" She shook her head. "But say you offer your soul as sacrifice… say you have a great enough reason to return… he may grant it. But would it be worth it? And he won't just come… you'll have to go to the very edges of the underworld…"

"Like where?"

"The top… the bottom of the world… it spans eternally in all directions except vertically."

"Then I'll find a way to the top of this land."

"You're crazy! I had to fend off so many rogue Pokemon to get to the top of the underworld!"

"But you did it, right? And what happens if you're killed in the underworld anyways? Aren't we already dead?"

"Yeah. But there is something worse than death. You are erased; nobody above remembers you, you become a being that never existed. No mind to think, no body to control. Again, you never existed."

The sound of that horrified him. So if I "die", Lily will forget me? He didn't speak.

"I'll tell you, I was inches from being erased. It's awfully dangerous… but it is not as far as you'd expect from here." She stared at him, curiosity creeping into her eyes. "Tell me… why do you want to return?" She padded around him. "Is it love?"

He nodded. "Y-yeah."

Her tail rested on his shoulder. "What kind of girl was she? Another eon?"

"How did you know?"

She stepped away from him. "I once thought I was in love… he was much like you... strong looking, honest, strong willed." Her voice was wistful. "And a Vaporeon as well." But then her voice grew hard. "But he was also ambitious… evil… never one to wait. I didn't see through it until it happened."

"What happened?"

She turned away, and her voice became quieter. "He was kind to me for so long that I fell in love with him… sort of. It was dark and rainy one night, and he offered to let me stay with him. With my crush clouding my mind, I stayed with him. I didn't think he would ever try mate me. But I was wrong…"

He remembered Lily and how devastated and broken she had sounded talking about what her mentor had done to her. This Sylveon seemed very even tempered, despite the fact that it was clearly in her mind.

"He raped me, took advantage of me, whatever you want to put it. I was so humiliated, embarrassed, and, most of all, angry. I attacked him violently once he was done. He pulled out a dagger and slit my throat. His eyes were empty as he watched my life bleed away. Those indifferent eyes are the last thing I remember before passing on." She pulled out a dagger. "I fashioned this like his dagger. I vowed to kill him the same way he killed me. Humiliate him then slit his throat. If he has already died, then I'll erase him. I won't have to think about what he did to me anymore."

"So that's why you were so angry when you first saw me."

"I thought you were him at first. I quickly realized I was wrong, but you looked so similar to him I couldn't help but attack you. Not saying I regret it."

He nodded. "I thought you were just a cold-hearted Sylveon."

"I am. It's merely justified."

"I want to return to be with an Espeon. She… I promised her I'd return. I can't let her down," he said determinedly.

"I see… driven by love… You'd never betray her would you?"

"We're not mates… but I care for her more than she knows."

She nodded. "Well… you sound very motivated. Alright, I suppose I'll help you…"

"I didn't ask…"

"If you're as weak as you seem, then you need all my help. Why carry a sword if you can't use it?"

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She's a strange one… that Espeon.

"So what's her name?" asked Azura. She was walking alongside the Ninetales Pallene.

Pallene sighed. "She's Lily; Epime- No, Tsunami's close friend."

"Should I try speak to her?"

They had all talked about what had happened except for Lily. She had stayed to the side with a haunted look in her eyes, never speaking nor looking at anyone in the eye.

"Her love just fell to the underworld, and you want to talk to her? She doesn't even know-"

"She can speak to me," said a quiet voice from behind them. They both turned around.

"Oh, uh, Lily… I thought you-"

"Tsunami made me a promise," said the Espeon, her voice growing ever so slightly more confident. "I know he will work his hardest to see he holds it." She waved her tail, signaling for Pallene to leave. "I want to talk to… Azura, was it? Yeah, I want to talk to her alone. Maybe I'll be able to get my mind off Tsunami for awhile."

Pallene nodded, then stepped away through the trees.

The Espeon sat down on a log, and Azura sat down next to her. "I'm Lily, obviously."

Azura nodded. "Yeah, I know. Umm, listen. I'm really sorry about your mate-"

The Espeon shook her head. "No. He wasn't my mate. Were there feelings between us? I think so. But we aren't mates. And there is no need to be sorry…" The Espeon looked on the verge of breaking down. A few tears dribbled down her cheek, and her voice was hoarse

"How was he?" She gently held the slightly older eon's hand. "I heard great things about him from Thyrmr."

She smiled gently, eyes still teary. She seemed desperate to convince herself of something. "You'll meet him, I guarantee it. He'll be back. He's just with a good sense of right and wrong. And quite kindhearted at times."

She realized that this Espeon had found something very deep. The dreamy look on her face when she talked about him… she was obviously in love with him. And the way it seemed, he had returned it.

"He passed into the underworld… how can you be so sure he'll-"

"Azura?"

The two of them turned around. It was Zephyr. "Hey… I was just making sure you two were alright. The Absol… um… Siarnaq was just a little concerned for you…" He pointed at Lily. "Lily, right?"

She nodded. "Tell him I'm alright."

He nodded before walking back into the trees. Azura sighed. "But how do you know he'll be back? You sound so confident…"

"I know." And she left it at that. "The Jolteon… what's his name?"

"Zephyr."

"Zephyr, Zephyr. And the Manectric?"

"Thrymr."

"Yeah. That's right, he's Tsunami's friend."

Siarnaq, Pallene, and Thrymr had been quite happy to see each other. There was initially disbelief on Siarnaq and Pallene's part, but it had been a touching reunion. Aero the Staravia had stayed to the side, instead doing his best to comfort the anguished Lily.

She noticed the Espeon was looking downcast again, and decided to change the subject. "How old are you?"

"I'm 19. You?"

"15… Wow, I knew you were older, but I thought you were more along the lines of… 23 or something."

"Thanks…?"

She laughed, then said, "Be cheerful, Lily. If you trust Tsunami, then I believe that he'll be back too. If you're confident, why are you so sad?"

"Well…" She shook her head. "Let's move on."

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Standing on a ridge well above the sight of the travelling group below was a solitary figure. "So Tsunami… trapped in the underworld…" Suicune knew he shouldn't intervene, yet… Tsunami was his first son in many, many years. He knew that Tsunami could make a difference in returning order to the world.

He tapped his spear on the ground, and the Northern wind gently blew.

"You wanted to talk?" A large shadow was cast upon a tree nearby. Two red eyes peered out.

"Giratina. I've come here to settle our debt."

Despite the fact that it was merely an image, there was uneasiness coming off of him. "I'm not happy with what Palkia is doing. He's disturbing the rift between life and death, the balance. But he has ordered me to 'erase' Tsunami."

Suicune growled. "You can't do that. You owe me for-"

Giratina raised a hand. "I know. I have no intention of eliminating him."

"I need you to release him."

Giratina narrowed his eyes. "I can't just go around releasing souls like that. There is an order even I, a god of death, must follow."

Suicune didn't waver. "I know," he said stoically. "But hear him out. Don't make him give up something great. And if you understand how he could help Dialga…"

The shadow blinked. Suicune knew he had hit a sore spot.

"I won't make any promises. But I'll see what I can do. If your son can survive another day, I'll pay him a visit."

"Thank you, Giratina." He bowed gently.

"This isn't anything near a guarantee for his release from the underworld. And even Palkia has sensed it. It has been a few hours here, but much time has passed in my domain. Palkia might come down under to visit me, and if he finds your son, it's up to him to defend himself."

Suicune nodded. "So be it." The shadow melted back into the tree, and Suicune looked around. Is that…?

"Well well, Suicune! If it isn't my old friend?"

"Celebi." He turned around.

She smiled at him. "You look well… I was watching your conversation with Giratina. You're worried about your son, aren't you?"

Suicune noticed the young Leafeon next to her. "Yeah. A little. Who's this?"

"I-I'm Madison." She bowed, and Suicune shook his head.

"No need to bow. What's she doing with you, Celebi?"

"I'm returning her to her mate. You haven't seen an Umbreon, have you?"

He shook his head. He thought he had picked up some dark hair, but nothing more. "Sorry."

"Oh well… I feel it Maddie! We're close!"

Suicune smiled. Celebi has a way of making other legendary's moods better. "Well, good luck."

She frowned. "Where are you going, Suicune? Why don't you stick around for awhile?"

"I've got to meet my brothers." He looked into the distance. Palkia… you'll pay for what you did to my friend… and your brother.

Whew… this and the last chapter were a little rushed, but hopefully, it's okay. I tried making this a little longer too. But yeah, please read and review!

PS-I wasn't really sure how in-depth to go on Lily's emotions. If necessary, I'll revise it.