I Will Find You

"Ugh…" Zephyr mumbled unintelligibly as his brain slowly regained focus. Where was he, anyway? He was looking up at a green canopy of treetops, which meant that he was lying on his back. Huh, that was odd. You didn't usually find many trees in the meadow, right? And where was Rain? He remembered being with her. They'd been walking along and he'd been telling her the story of how they'd fallen in love. She always loved to hear him tell that story. They had been sitting under a tree in the meadow and everything had been perfect. Then Darkrai had showed up and-

In that instant all haze vanished from Zephyr's mind and was instead replaced by cold dread. Darkrai had come. Darkrai had attacked them. Darkrai had kidnapped Rain! What the hell was he doing lying on his back sleeping when his mate was in mortal peril?! He should be following them. He was supposed to save her!

Zephyr immediately snapped into an upright sitting position and was about to jump to his feet when he let out an involuntary cry of pain. He hissed as his hand flew to his chest, feeling the newly formed scabs on the wounds in his chest split open at his sudden movement. In the next moment a solid wall of pain crashed over his body like a tidal wave. He felt as though someone had hit every piece of his body with a sledgehammer. Zephyr turned to his left, leaned over the edge of the leaf bed that he had yet to realize that he was lying on, and threw up.

"Oh, for goodness' sake," said an exasperated voice as Zephyr felt a gentle but insistent telekinetic grip take hold of his shoulders. He didn't try to resist as he was forced to lie down again. Turning his head he saw a Gardevoir standing over him with an annoyed and yet relieved face. "I don't care how tough you may think you are, oh mighty Razorwind," she said. "You still need to heal like the rest of us."

"Sorry, Altrea," he replied with a weak chuckle. "No time for that." Her expression softened and she laughed.

"You have no idea how glad we are to see you awake again," she said, her tone warm. "The whole pack's been visiting you while you were unconscious. For a while we were afraid you weren't going to make it. You just stopped breathing and we couldn't feel a heartbeat."

"I guess Giratina couldn't handle me yet," Zephyr joked. Altrea looked at him blankly. "The lord of the dead," he explained. "Where am I anyway?"

"You're back at the nesting ground," she replied. "We brought you to the healer as fast as we could. Like I said, it was pretty bleak for a while, but once you started looking better she let us take you back here." The healer was a Blissey who happened to live in a patch of the forest very near to where the pack nested for the evenings. She was a very kind soul and gladly tended to any injuries the pack members might receive.

"Now," Altrea questioned, her tone losing its warmth and becoming serious, "What happened to my daughter? We couldn't find her anywhere no matter how hard we searched. We can't sense her either. It's like she just vanished."

"I'm afraid you won't find her," Zephyr murmured sadly. He then explained what had happened. As he spoke Altrea's face grew even more and more horrified.

"No," she whispered in horror when he had finished. Her tone made Zephyr's heart break. "Not my Rain. Why her? Why?" Her hand suddenly went to her cheek and she turned away, but not before Zephyr saw the tears she was holding back. The sight hurt worse than anything Darkrai could ever have done to him might have.

The first person Rain had introduced Zephyr to when she'd brought him to meet the pack had been her mother, Altrea. She had immediately taken to Zephyr and had treated him like a son of sorts, introducing him to the customs of the pack. She'd always been a maternal figure to him, and seeing her like this when it was his fault was sheer torture.

"I'm sorry," he said in a voice heavy with sadness. "I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't protect her even though I promised her I always would. It's my fault she's gone." He tried to get up again, tried to go to her side and comfort her. Instead he hissed in pain again as his chest wounds smarted harshly.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said, still looking away. "If Darkrai's half as powerful as you always said he was you're lucky to even be alive. You did the best you could. It isn't your fault." Even so, this still did little to relieve Zephyr's conscience.

He lay back again with a sigh. "I don't understand," he said. "Darkrai isn't the most cheerful character but this just isn't like him. At least, the legends never portrayed him like this. And then there's the Alamos incident. I told you about that, right? He risked his life and almost lost it fighting the deities of space and time to protect a town that hated him, just because one person had shown him some kindness years ago. Why would he suddenly go around kidnapping people?"

"I don't know," Altrea said. "How would I? But one thing I do know is that you're going to find out." At this she turned to look at him again. "I can tell. You aren't going to rest until you figure it out and bring Rain back home." She gave a smile. "And I know you can."

"But that's going to have to wait until you've finished healing," she went on in a brisk tone. "You're no good to anybody in the shape you're in. I will not let you out of my sight until I say that you're fit to go."

Zephyr leaned his head back with a sigh and a small laugh. "Yes, mother," he said playfully, causing her to laugh too. "I have one question though. How long was I out?"

"Well, just two days," she replied. "It's quite incredible really. When I saw the shape you were in I thought you'd be unconscious for a week at least. Now, enough talking. You may be healing quickly but you still need your rest."

-(000)-

Rain leaned against the bark of a tree from her perch high in its branches. It was evening on Newmoon Island, the only time she could get some sleep. If Darkrai didn't leave his island every night to spread his nightmares Rain was very sure that she would have been caught by now. Unlike him, she needed to sleep. She always took the chances when he was away at night and sometimes during the day to catch a few hours of hurried rest.

As she tried futilely to both get into a more comfortable position and put the bitter taste of her dinner out of her mind-Darkrai must've brought the Sitrus berries from somewhere else because all that grew on Newmoon Island were a few scraggly Aguav berry bushes- her thoughts wandered to Zephyr as they did every evening.

"Please Arceus," she whispered. "Please let him be okay." It is often said that wishes do not come true, but Rain hoped that Arceus would make an exception for her despite how far away she was. After all, her Wish wasn't for herself, but the one she loved.

-(000)-

It took Zephyr another three days to heal completely. Most of that time was spent asleep but he managed to regain consciousness a few times. Altrea was always there when he awoke and he strongly suspected that she stayed even when he was asleep. It was clear that she didn't blame Zephyr for what had happened to her daughter. Because of this, although he still felt understandably miserable about it, eventually he stopped feeling quite so guilty.

Instead, he developed a burning resolve and all his thoughts were focused on one goal. He would save Rain. He would make Darkrai suffer for what he had done. He didn't care how long it took or how hard it became. If he had to cross all of Sinnoh and beyond, then he would.

Finally Zephyr was fully healed. His chest was badly scarred but beyond that he looked as healthy as ever. Thankfully the preparations to leave were almost nonexistent, and he was ready to set out before the sun rose on the fourth day.

"Be careful," Altrea said softly as Zephyr stood at the edge of the woods with a small woven bag of food slung over his shoulder. The whole pack was there to see him off, and every face wore a sad expression. Such a scene would be touching under any circumstances, but for Zephyr it was so much more moving because he could feel the genuine sadness of each and every one of them as though it was his own. As the members of the Ralts evolutionary line grew and developed their power to sense emotions became stronger. For a fully matured Gallade it was like feeling the emotions himself. This much palpable sadness was almost overpowering.

"I will," he replied. "And I promise I'll bring her back home safely." She gave a grateful smile before kissing him softly on the cheek. Zephyr had shared most of his human knowledge with the pack by now, but that gesture was the first thing they had taken to.

"Goodbye, Mr. Zephyr," said one of the young Ralts. Zephyr smiled as he walked over to the little one and tousled his hair affectionately.

"See you around, Birch," he replied. "You stay out of trouble, okay?" The little one nodded.

Zephyr stood again and cast one last glance around at the people who had shown him a new, wonderful way of life. No, more than that. They had welcomed him into it with open arms. They had greeted him like a long lost brother and accepted him with warm smiles and friendly greetings. Never once had he felt unwanted or unwelcome. Looking around at these people Zephyr felt as though he was back home with his old pack, surrounded by the friends and family that he had lost. He opened his mouth to say something but the words died in his throat. So instead he turned, hefted his little leaf satchel higher on his shoulder, and set off. Various cries of "Good luck," and "We'll miss you," sounded behind him as he went.

'I promise you Rain,' Zephyr thought as he walked. 'I will do whatever it takes to bring you back.' His hand strayed to his neck where it closed around Zach's Poke ball, which he had fashioned into a necklace and was now wearing around his neck. 'I will find you.'