Wow, chapter eight already. :3 Thanks to all of my readers!

…~-CHAPTER EIGHT: Solay's Reflections

The light shot up and into the sky. Everyone in the vicinity of Hollow Forest saw it. Even a keen-eyed watchman from Treasure Town might have spotted it. But there it was, pointing straight up, glimmering ominously.

Fifty feet away, Gallade opened his eyes. "Hmmph. Little twerp. But my mission is done." He turned in the opposite direction. "I never meant to kill. My mission was to gather information. The job is done." With a few quick steps, the psychic-type was gone.

Wigglytuff, Bidoof, and Chatot were the closest to the source.

Chatot squawked. "W-what was that?"

"Yup yup, it looked eeriee," Bidoof added in a small voice.

"We should check it out," Wigglytuff said calmly. "I have a suspicion…" He didn't finish his sentence and simply started walking quickly for the site.

…

Bidoof and Chatot weren't prepared for the scene they saw. Mudkip lay closest to them, broken and battered. Shadow and Treecko were unconscious in a slightly smoking crater. Solay lay by the tree, unresponsive.

"W-w-w-wh…" Bidoof couldn't form any coherent words. "W-what…"

"S-s-squawk!" Chatot replied likewise. "What did they do, rip each other apart?"

"This doesn't look good at all," Wigglytuff said. "Come on, we need to get them back to the camp."

"R-right," both Bidoof and Chatot replied numbly.

…

Solay was the first to awaken. She groaned and opened one eye, being blinded by the light temporarily. Chimeco floated above her, watching everyone carefully. As she saw the Vulpix was awake, she turned her attention to focus upon her.

"Solay, you're awake!" she exclaimed in a rather hushed voice. "How do you feel?"

"Sore," she mumbled in reply, heaving herself into a sitting position. "Ughh…I don't even remember what really happened."

"Oh…" Chimeco's face fell. "We were hoping you could tell us. I guess you hit your head hard, huh?"

She gave a little shrug. "I guess so. I remember going to check on Shadow, 'cause he froze up, but that's about it. The rest is a fuzzy blank."

Chimeco sighed. "Oh well. We'll just have to wait for the others."

Solay looked over. Shadow, Treecko, and Mudkip were all out not far from her. Out of all of them, she thought Treecko looked the most beaten up.

She tried to remember what had happened. Shadow had stopped. She'd gone to check on him. Had he…attacked her? Maybe. But why?

She remembered her vision. The Dimensional Scream. She hadn't told Shadow yet. In fact, it had been three and a half plus years since it had been triggered. This peaked her curiosity. Why now, of all times, and why when she bumped into a new recruit? Surely this didn't go that deep? There was a new evil they'd have to take down, so what. Perhaps…Mudkip and Treecko had something to do with it.

At the thought of Treecko, a flood of memories swamped her mind. Solay could only watch as they played over and over again in her head.

…

"Go on," Dusknoir encouraged. "Say the name."

Grovyle hesitated. "My partner's name…was Solay."

"Ahh!" Shadow cried. "But…Grovyle…" He turned to the Vulpix beside him and back again. "This is Solay right here!"

"W-what?" he said, turning quickly to look her in the face. "No, impossible. The Solay I knew…was human."

A…human? Solay thought, panicked. W-what?

"That's what I'm saying!" Shadow insisted. "This is Solay! She was a human!"

"I-impossible!" Grovyle hissed.

"Let me assure you, Grovyle," Dusknoir rumbled, "that the Pokémon behind you is indeed Solay. Her memory loss was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was so easy to manipulate them both. I questioned her. She had the ability, the Dimensional Scream. At first, I was skeptical. But then she said, low and behold, that she had memory of being a human! I asked her name. It was indeed Solay. At last, I could get you both with one blow! It's hopeless to resist."

Solay was in a state of semi-shock that evening. After Grovyle had explained things…it did make a sort of sense. But was that really her life? Had it really been like that? It was so hard to believe. Her life with Shadow…it seemed so…right. And now he was being pulled into something that wasn't even his fault.

She put her paws over her head, tormented. It's all my fault, it's all my fault…

Those words finally put her into an uneasy sleep.

Dusknoir was waiting at the Ruins. Of course. They should have known. It was so obvious it was sickening. How could they have fallen for it? Solay was furious with herself. She could have said something! She could have warned them!

She wasn't about to lose the fight here. She would take them all down. With Grovyle and Shadow by her side, she could never lose!

Come at us, Dusknoir, she thought venomously, facing him straight on. We're ready for you.

"Shadow, put the Relic Fragment in the Rainbow Stoneship," Grovyle instructed.

"Right," he replied, heading up the steps.

Once he was out of earshot, Dusknoir stirred. Now all three Pokémon from the future were alone. Dusknoir lifted his head, staring at Solay.

"Is this really what you want?" he asked.

Dread seized her insides and turned them to ice. …W-what?

"If you change the past…the Pokémon from the future will disappear."

Alarm shot through her system. She looked at Grovyle, terrified. He didn't meet her eyes, and slowly nodded. "It's true, Solay," he said in a small voice. "But you saw what was there. A world of darkness…a world of hate. I don't want to live in a world like that. I'd give my life to ensure a better future. And so I came here with that pledge. You did too, Solay. We both came with that conviction. We knew that we would disappear…but we did it anyway."

No. Things were moving too fast. She'd come…with the conviction to change the past, even if it meant disappearing…forever? If they went through with this…she'd be…gone? What about Shadow? He'd be left all alone. And after the promises they'd made. She had promised…to never leave his side.

Had it all been…a lie?

She couldn't face up to this. It was too much. Her heart, her mind, they were both being torn into many small pieces. If she went through with it, she would know everyone had a lovely future, but Shadow would be alone. If she didn't…she could still be with him, but Grovyle and the others would suffer.

It's…such an impossible choice! What do I do?

He was pushing Dusknoir back. He was leaving. He was taking Dusknoir back so they could go on. No…they needed him here! Solay was crying, but not conscious of it. Shadow was protesting, saying he could never take Grovyle's place.

"Solay," he said.

She looked up into his face. Her partner for who-knows how many years…and she'd forgotten all about him. Now he looked at her like she hadn't. "Parting hurts, I know. But…you have to be strong."

She nodded slowly, trying to keep her emotions under control.

Grovyle turned his attention back to Dusknoir. "Okay, Dusknoir. I'm taking you with me! We're going back to the future!"

Just as he vanished, Solay thought she saw something crystal in the corner of his eye…

Shadow was picking up the Time gears Grovyle had left him. Solay wiped her eyes on her paw.

His…last words… she thought. They weren't about…leaving me… They were about…leaving Shadow… She looked at him. He'd grown so much… Oh, Shadow…

…

She buried her face in her paws again, trying not to cry at the thought of him. Even to this day…she missed him. She was sure, wherever he was, he missed her too.

Chimeco floated over her, anxious. "Solay? Solay, are you all right?"

She gave a small nod. "Yes, Chimeco," she whispered. "I may not be right now, but I will be soon…promise."

…~-

And there ends chapter eight.

As an off-topic note, I would like to dedicate this chapter for everyone involved in 9-11 who lost something that day, ten years ago. We honor you all.