Hello, everyone! It's Solay speaking. Foxxy's been extremely busy with problems in real life and she's very sorry she couldn't be here to explain. She asked me to tell you that she's working on getting everything straightened out so she can update more often… That was a large gap, but anyway! She doesn't own anything other than the plot and characters she made up. And away we go~

…CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Lapras and the Message

When Treecko woke up early the next morning, he was embarrassed to find himself curled up right next to Solay. She didn't wake as he slipped away, hurrying into the clearing with his face a furious red. He halted and blinked, nearly running into Wigglytuff.

"Oh, s-sorry, Guildmaster," he stammered.

"Oh, it's okay, Treecko," Wigglytuff replied cheerily, flashing a his trademark grin. "You were just distracted. Friendly friends~!" Wigglytuff danced off humming, leaving Treecko to, once again, doubt the Guildmaster's sanity. Instead he turned, looking over to a figure centering itself.

It was Shadow. The Riolu sat just at the borderline between the camp and the forest, legs crossed, eyes closed. The raindrop-like appendages were stuck straight out. Treecko was unsure if he should go over or not, but at that moment, Bidoof came up behind him.
"Yup yup, Shadow's still got that habit," he said.

Treecko jumped half a mile in the air, spinning and staring. "Oh, Bidoof! You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry," the elder apologized. "Just wanted to see how you were holding up. With, you know, Mudkip…and all that."

Treecko bit his tongue. There was the taboo subject again. He really didn't want to talk about it. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said instead, lying through his teeth.

Bidoof didn't look convinced. "I know you're not fine," he said, tone softening. "Mudkip was my friend too, yup yup. I know it's a real shocker at what she did. But we'll get her back. Yessiree, we will."

Treecko nodded. "Yeah."

"Still not a morning person," someone yawned to their right.

Both Bidoof and Treecko looked over. Solay had emerged, stretching like a Glameow. She yawned widely again, dark gaze obscured. She fluffed her tails and nodded in greeting.

"Morning," Treecko called.

"Morning," she replied sleepily. "Don't mind me, carry on." She shook her head back and forth furiously, as if this would help, but Treecko doubted it did. The Vulpix blinked like and owl, then a thought appeared to have occurred to her. Her jaw dropped and an 'I-should-have-thought-of-this-earlier' expression crossed her face. "Oh, wow, I am such a moron," she muttered, dashing off to Shadow. She had a few quick words with him, then strode quickly off towards Wigglytuff with a serious look and Shadow in tow.

"What's with her?" Treecko asked.

Bidoof gave a shrug. "Beats me," he replied. "But I have seen that look on her face. Solay has an idea."

Treecko couldn't hear what she said, but apparently, Wigglytuff agreed. She turned and looked him in the eye, raised her tails in farewell, and bounded away.

"Did she just…leave?" Treecko asked bluntly. "She left the expedition? Just like that?"

"Seems so," Bidoof chuckled. "She does have the right. Solay's not officially part of the Guild. She just tagged along because she wanted to. Technically, she can leave whenever she wants. 'Sides, we're heading back today too, remember?"

Treecko did. After the whole fiasco at the top of the tree, Wigglytuff had deemed the expedition a failure and they were supposed to go back. No treasure was found, and no real discovery had been made. This friendly trip had turned into something much more sinister. They'd learned that the Guild had been infiltrated since Team Treekip had joined, and who knew how much information Mu…the spy had leaked. Not to mention they wanted something that no one had been able to figure out yet. Treecko guessed it was one of those cliché destroy slash rule the world plots. All the bad guys had destroy slash rule the world plots.

But…could it be something more? A world-destruction plot really didn't need to have a trained spy keep an eye on a kid like him, did it? Treecko didn't pose a threat to anybody…did he? Treecko had to stop and think. What was it Solay had said about him? He was in tune with nature? Oh, yeah, he could talk to trees. That made him a really scary guy. Treecko snorted. It was such a dumb power…how could anyone feel threatened by him?

Then again…he beat Shadow with it. If he hadn't talked with the Weeping Elder Birch, he may never have been able to learn Solar Beam in time. Then what? Perhaps they all might've gotten killed. Treecko looked down at the ground. Maybe…he'd just gotten lucky?

No. It wasn't luck. That he was sure of. But then…what was he supposed to do? Beat the bad guys? That seemed too obvious. There was something…something more. He heaved a sigh. Thinking about it hurt his head. He resigned to ask Solay about what she had done three and a half years prior to save the world. From the snatches of conversation he'd caught for a while, it sounded rather complicated. Pokémon from the future, betrayal, saving the world, vanishing from existence… That was defiantly worth looking in to. Perhaps she had valuable experience he could borrow.

It's settled, he vowed silently. When we get back to Treasure Town, I'll ask her right away!

The return trip wasn't as fun as the trip to the forest. Instead of a race, it was slow-going. At least it gave Treecko more time to think about how he would approach Solay. It wouldn't be very polite to waltz up and bring back bad memories.

Treecko stopped.

Memories… That's what Solay didn't have. She still couldn't remember anything from her time in the future…from her real life. He wasn't exactly sure how old she was…but it was a long time living in the dark. At least three, maybe four years now…and she had never known who she really was. That had to be a horrible feeling that Treecko could only imagine.

Once back in Treasure Town, he explained everything to Wigglytuff and headed for Sharpedo Bluff. This is where she and Shadow lived, right? But where…? Before he could finish that thought, he caught sight of the steps going down. They didn't live on Sharpedo Bluff…they lived in it. Treecko couldn't help but grin. He strolled over and stuck his head down. "Hello?"

"Oh, hey, there," Shadow replied, appearing. "Nice to see you, Treecko. Can I help you?"

"Is Solay here? I have a few questions for her."

Shadow shook his head. "She's down on the beach. She goes there when she needs to think. Look there."

"Okay, thanks anyway."

"Anytime."

Treecko withdrew his head and set off to the beach at a swift walk. He replied when the townspeople said hello, but other than that, kept his mouth shut. In no time at all, he reached his destination. It didn't take a lot of looking to spot Solay.

She was sitting by a rock, talking to another Pokémon Treecko had never seen before. The newcomer resembled something like a cross between a turtle and the Lock Ness Monster with blue skin and a gray shell. Something about her was…unreal. Treecko wasn't sure if he should be afraid or not, so he kept his distance, getting just close enough to hear their conversation.

"I know it's been a long time, Lapras," Solay was saying, "but I was wondering if you could help me out again."

Lapras, huh? That's a nice name. Still, Treecko was curious. What was Solay up to?

"Of course, Solay," Lapras replied. "I'm here to help."

"I need you to take a message to Master Dialga for me. Tell him I urgently need to speak with him face-to-face. It's very important."

Treecko choked on the breath he was just taking. D-Dialga? Did she just say Dialga, as in the lord of all time? Solay…has met Dialga?

"Is this about your memories?" Lapras asked quietly.

Solay was silent. Finally, she gave a reply. "Yes and no. My memories may help my friends survive the coming battle. Experience is the best teacher, right? It's not because I want them back…it's because I think they can help the whole world. I really need to see if Master Dialga has figured out a way to unblock my mind."

"I understand. I'll take it right away, and hopefully I'll be back before midnight. Will you return here?"

"Sure." Solay looked down, and something like sadness was in her eyes. She gave a smirk, but that looked sad too. "It's just really depressing when I look up at the stars at night…and I don't know where I belong."

…

And that's it for this chapter. I'm really really really really really trying to figure things out here so I can update more often…