" Tamao! Tamao, wake up!"
The voice of a girl severed the flames burning wildly in Tamao's dreams. She made a long whine, not wanting to wake up. Her head started hurting, but the heat of the flames was already fading.
And as soon as she felt someone taking her hand, the image completely disappeared from her eyes, leasing only the darkness, with a slight light shining in from behind her closed eyes.
Tamao had no other choice. Slowly but surely, Tamao started opening her eyes. She realized she felt like her feet were hanging, and that she didn't feel any grass under her.
That was when her vision sharpened, and she realized, much to her shock and disgustment, that she was in Eusine's arms, being held up.
" Let me down!" she shouted, and Eusine started laughing.
" I'm afraid that is not yet possible. Upon just waking up, the lady would just fall down, and we don't want that, do we?" he told her strictly, with teasing playfulness in his voice though.
Tamao tried to get down herself, but his grip was harsh. She got a glance of Crystal as she did. The girl looked worried, and to Tamao's surprise, her hair and clothes were damp.
That was when she realized that Eusine's, and hers were too. Her back was, in fact, quite wet.
She looked up in surprise, just to notice that the sky was still pink from the sunrise. It was a new morning; she had been in this forest since yesterday. The pond was nowhere to be seen. The ground was wet of the morning dew, and she could hear a Pidgey sing somewhere, probably searching for food.
Tamao's eyes darkened.
" So it really happened," she muttered, and was somehow heard by Eusine.
" Sure was scary, wasn't it? I and lady Crystal were scared to find you gone when we woke up some time ago. For a moment we thought that tat black mist had done something worse to the lady," he said, sounding quite serious.
Crystal looked at Tamao too.
" You sure were far away from us! It took us one hour to find you, while we were checking the forest if you had just left or something," she said, and Tamao felt her eyes becoming one shade darker again.
" I… Didn't feel that bad for a while, so I… tried to find out where the mist came from. I guess this was as far as I got, then," she said, automatically lying. Telling the truth was not an option to her.
" Did you see it at all?" Crystal asked, buying Tamao's lie with no problem.
" No-no… I started feeling dizzy… And there were these… Awful thoughts flowing in," Tamao muttered, not really sure if she'd describe the reaction of the others right.
Eusine was convinced.
" Ah, it was terrible indeed! Not once in my life have I had such horrible dreams. And they all seemed so real too!" he gasped melodramatically, and as he tried to rise his hand, almost dropped Tamao, who made a disapproving shout.
" Let me down!" she shouted again, but Eusine shook his head, this time clearly teasing.
Crystal was the one who got annoyed faster.
" Let her down already! She's just fine!" she snapped, so suddenly Eusine nearly dropped Tamao (again) out of surprise. His face became red, and he did as told.
Tamao found her legs a little wobbly, but managed to hide it. As long as she didn't think about the events of yesterday (she was kind of hoping that they had been a nightmare caused by the mysterious mist), she would be fine. Once she'd get some time alone, she'd try recalling those thoughts and freak out if needed.
" Where are we?" she asked Crystal, with a balanced voice.
Crystal fingered her Pokenav thoughtfully, and then answered.
" It seems that we're way behind the Ruins of Alph. We'd reach them by walking for around an hour… That explains the pond though. There are lots of little ponds and rivers around here," she talked, continuing as the map in the pokenav gave her new information.
" I suggest that we fly back to Ecruteak… I'm way too tired to do anything after yesterday, especially walk for hours. And," she said as Eusine opened his mouth.
" We're not going to run after Suicune today. I told you I'm tired."
Surprisingly, Eusine didn't start arguing, but nodded slightly. He didn't look satisfied, but he didn't object.
Once again, Crystal called for her Dragonite and Noctowl, and soon enough they were gliding through the air, towards Ecruteak city. Tamao couldn't help but to hope that they wouldn't be zapped down this time. The legendary pokemon only seemed to care that she survived, not about how much she'd be hurt in the process of… this, whatever it was.
It was a sunny day, so the flying pokemon were leaving a dark shadow on the ground. Every time they would fly over people, they would lift their eyes to the sky, to see the two magnificent pokemon causing the shadows.
When the tip of the Tin Tower became visible, the fact that she had been out all night really hit Tamao. Her sisters were probably freaking out; she had left her bag there, so they couldn't think she had left. And even she wasn't that rude; she'd tell them when she was about to leave.
Soon enough, the Noctowl turned to a sharp landing, and Tamao had to hold on almost as harshly as when they had been chasing Suicune. Crystal didn't seem moved though; it was apparently a regular landing. The Noctowl probably liked speed and action.
Crystal hit her feet to the ground first. Eusine had landed safely with Dragonite too, and was standing quickly after Crystal, though he still seemed to be sulking. Tamao managed to get off the Noctowl without falling, but it didn't happen as smoothly as with the other two.
Eusine made a snide smile, and Crystal returned her pokemon calmly, thanking them like she should.
Tamao turned towards the two, who were just standing there, looking at her.
" Are you going to the gym?" she asked, knowing the answer already.
" Yeah, we don't have any excuse not to," Crystal answered anyway, and Eusine looked annoyed.
" I might come over later. I need to go apologise my sisters first, though," Tamao explained, and Crystal nodded.
" That's right, you were out whole night, they're probably worried," she realized.
" Could we go now?" Eusine muttered, and Crystal glared at him.
" Well, see you later then," Tamao said as she turned towards the Dance Theatre a few blocks away.
" Later!" Crystal waved her hand. So did Eusine, but with a little less excitement.
So, Tamao started walking towards the theatre. She took fast steps, already wondering what she was going to tell her sisters. It's not like she wasn't allowed to go around, but they probably wondered why she hadn't told them anything.
Slowly, Tamao entered the Theatre, just to notice there was a show going on. Her sisters were on stage, dancing, with their pokemon decorated with flowers. Sumomo in a light blue kimono, Sakura in a purple kimono, Koume in a deep red Kimono, and Satsuki in a yellow, fancy kimono, looking unnaturally gentle, just like it had always been. The only time she managed to look that gentle was when she danced.
The receptionist didn't ask Tamao to pay, because she recognized her. She did not greet her, however. Probably didn't know how to.
The theatre was quite empty, which was not a surprise, since it was the first show; people hardly came this early in the morning. The day and evening shows were probably full booked already.
The stage seemed to be bigger than in the old theatre, now that Tamao really looked at it. At least everything wasn't identical.
The show ended before Tamao managed to sit, so once her sisters had left the stage, she sneaked in from a 'staff only' door, and escaped the room that had quickly become empty.
As soon as she had entered the back room, she felt something bigger than her hit her. After a while of being dazed, she realized that she had been glomped by Sakura.
" Tama! You're alive and back!" she screamed, squeezing her little sister.
" S-Sakura! What are you…?" Tamao gasped, surprised that instead of scolding, she got a hug.
" We thought you were kidnapped! Or used as a bait for Suicune!" Sakura shouted, squeezing even harder.
Those words surprised Tamao, and she looked at her other sisters from over Sakura's shoulder.
Satsuki was brushing her hair, as coolly as ever, but Sumomo and Koume looked relieved while they gazed at her.
" Kidnapped? Bait?" Tamao asked, and Sakura let go slowly.
" It was terrible. All these horrible things kept going through our minds…" she mumbled with teary eyes. Tamao was used to her sister, even after all these years, so it didn't startle her.
Sumomo was the one to respond.
" We heard that someone had seen you talking to Eusine today, and the next thing we heard was that he had flown off somewhere. And since you didn't return, we started wondering whether he had taken you as a hostage or something."
Tamao blinked once, and felt confused. She had forgotten how much her sisters disliked Eusine. She had personally always thought he was annoying, but otherwise he didn't bother her that much. But her sisters, they really despised him. Tamao knew they had always respected the legends of Ecruteak a little more than she had (especially now that she was rather frustrated with them), so obviously a person desperately trying to catch one of them didn't exactly win them over. Adding in his annoying behaviour, and the kimono girls had dubbed Eusine as their sworn enemy. Which was pretty much why Eusine had always loved to play around with Tamao, the one who apparently didn't frighten him at all.
" So it wasn't you then? He didn't take you?" Koume interrupted her thoughts, looking worried.
" Ah! Yes. I mean no," Tamao babbled. A confused look grew on Sakura's, Koume's and Sumomo's face. Satsuki made one suspicious glance at Tamao, then continued to brush her hair.
" Uh… We're you with him or not?" Sumomo finally asked, after apparently having to think after what to say.
" I was with him, all right. But he didn't kidnap me or anything. I went voluntarily," Tamao answered, causing Koume to sigh heavily.
" So after all these years, he still takes the time to bother you? You don't need to go along with it, you know," she then said, sounding disappointed.
" I did have a reason, you know…" Tamao started, but Sumomo interrupted her.
" Yeah, we know. He'd bully you like crazy if you were to disagree. But seriously, he'll stop eventually."
" That's not why! I -!" Tamao started again, this time a little annoyed, and was interrupted by Sakura this time.
" You don't need to hide it. Were not scolding you or anything. We just wish you didn't need to spend time around people like that. We'd be happy to see our sister in better company, that's all."
" Like Morty…" Koume mumbled.
This lead into a dreamy look on each of the girls' face, except Tamao and Satsuki, who were both now staring at their three sisters.
" Yeah, Morty is so cool. He'd be great company to you!" Sakura squealed.
" And he's a gym leader, so you'd be safe around him!" Sumomo agreed, with a high-pitched voice.
" You used to be so close when you were small, why don't you keep any contact anymore?" Koume asked, her voice being high too.
Tamao saw her chance in front of her. She made a smile, as her three sisters were looking at her with starry, hopeful eyes.
" Actually, I was going to go visit him right after I've come to apologise to you. Is that okay with you?" she said sweetly.
The amount of squealing that caused in her sister was amazing, the three were overjoyed.
" Yes! Yes, please do!" Sakura cried out.
" You shouldn't make him wait!" Koume cried happily, and Sumomo kept nodding all of the time.
Satsuki sighed harshly, and got up, about to leave the room. She turned to her sisters.
" We have a show, you now," she said coolly.
Shocked shrieks filled the room, as the three girls quickly started brushing their hairs and correcting their make up. Soon, they were all hurrying to the stage, saying good-bye to Tamao (Koume asked her what she wanted to eat, too).
In the instant they were gone, Tamao walked over to the backdoor (in case the lobby would be full), and exited the building. She walked in the sunny block calmly, knowing where she was going by instinct.
Soon, she saw the roof of the gym. It glittered strangely in sunlight, and Tamao started wondering what it was made of (the roof had apparently been changed too in the remodelling).
While Tamao was walking towards the gym, she suddenly noticed Morty. He looked strange in the sunlight, since Tamao was used to seeing him in the dark gym, and he usually only went outside in the night.
This, and the serious and worried look he had on his eyes made Tamao confused, and they worried her.
Morty turned his eyes towards her, and started walking towards her. He stopped when they were standing right in front of each other, not far from the gym.
Tamao looked up to Morty, and realized how tired he looked.
" Are you okay?" she asked him, and he nodded slightly.
" I was given a message," he said quietly.
" By who?"
" Ho-oh."
Tamao's hands went cold, and she shivered a little.
" Ho-oh gave you a vision?" she asked. This was not usual.
" Yes. Regarding you," Morty answered, and looked her straight into her eyes.
Tamao wanted to turn her eyes away, but she didn't. She owed him that much, after all, he had no escape of the situation.
" What is it?" She asked weakly.
" You are to meet in the top of Tin tower. As soon as possible."
Tamao sighed. Morty looked sad, and raised his hands towards her. However, he quickly drew it back. He looked away.
" I'm sorry," he said.
Tamao was surprised.
" No, it's not your fault. Destiny is destiny, right? You just see things as they are," she told him.
" I guess…" he muttered, and turned his eyes carefully towards her.
" I'll be heading to Tin tower then. I'll come back as soon as possible. Don't worry," Tamao added
" I'll be just fine."
As Tamao turned to leave, she heard a voice from behind Morty.
" Wait."
Morty and Tamao both turned towards the gym, surprised, and saw Crystal standing there.
" Crystal, how long have you been standing there?!" Tamao gasped, as Morty looked at Tamao with a calming look in his eyes. Tamao thought of it as a sign that she hadn't heard much.
Crystal looked troubled, and got a little closer.
" I know it's a little rude to bump in like this, especially because I have no idea what you're talking about, but… You're going to the Tin Tower, correct?" she asked, looking at Tamao nervously.
" Correct," Tamao answered carefully.
Crystal walked up to her, and managed to smile a little.
" I have no idea what you want from there, but the sage probably won't let you through," she said.
Morty drew a sharp breath, and Tamao realized she was right. There indeed was a sage near the tower, who would not let anyone through. Tamao had once, when little, tried to sneak past him, and he had gone scary and talked something about curses.
" Oh…" Tamao mumbled, and looked at Morty, at loss of what to do. His face looked as confused as she felt.
Crystal smiled sadly. She then took Tamao's hand, and placed a small silver bell in it. Tamao stared at the item, and then looked at Crystal.
" It's a clear bell. The sage let me through once, because I had it," Crystal told her.
" Can I… Really…?" Tamao stumbled with her words.
" Oh, go ahead. I'm not going there anymore, so I have no need for it," Crystal told her gently, but for a while, a dark shadow visited her eyes.
Tamao couldn't help but to look down for a while, but she then managed to create a smile on her face.
" Thank you," she said.
" Don't mention it."
Without further ado, Tamao turned once again towards north, where the Tin tower was rising above them. She nodded at Crystal and Morty, then left the two standing in silence.
Without thinking much, Tamao headed for the Tin Tower. She had not gone this all through in her mind; she had not let herself get shocked yet. She hadn't expected the legendaries to take action so soon; she had been sure they'd at least let her go through it all in her mind first. But no. They sure were busy, for pokemon that had lived for thousands of years.
The tower seemed to grow taller and taller, and the sunlight kept getting stronger. Tamao managed to keep the shock and ultimate confusement away, but it came out as a feeling of sickness. She had to hold her breath so she wouldn't fall down. This was not a nice situation at all.
Keeping herself together, but just barely, Tamao entered the building that surrounded the yard of the Tin tower. There were some people there, but Tamao's eyes instantly caught on the sage standing in front of a staircase. She walked up to him with an amazing determinion, when thinking of how sick she felt.
The sage looked at her with a questioning face, but before Tamao managed to start explaining herself, a beautiful chime filled the room. Everyone in the room turned to look at Tamao, who took the glittering bell out of her pocket. It was playing a melody, a melody that seemed familiar, yet very distant to Tamao. No-one said a word; everyone just listened to the magnificent song the little bell was playing, on its own.
Tamao raised her gaze from the bell, meeting the eyes of the sage, who somehow seemed to be moved to tears of the song. He nodded once, and moved over, giving Tamao a free pass to the staircase. Tamao nodded as a thank you, and passed him. She could feel the eyes of the people on her back, but ignored it. If she'd stop now, she might turn around and run away.
Down the stairs she went. There was a door there, probably the only door in the whole city she had never stepped through. Somehow, the way the place didn't bring any memories to her mind made it easier for Tamao to go on. At least there was some relief in the whole crazy scene.
So, Tamao stepped through that door, for the fist time, and ended up outside. A small path lead to the tower. She walked the path, until she stood in front of the magnificent doors of the tower. They looked like they were locked.
But before Tamao managed to try the doors, something in her small bag started shining brightly. She hastily opened the bag, and a small, rainbow coloured feather flew out, shining on the doors. Soon, the doors seemed to bathe in the golden light. A long creek hit Tamao's ears, as the door started slowly opening themselves. Tamao shivered; it got more real every moment.
" Calm down," she told herself, and bit her lip. She wanted to know what was going on, she wanted to solve it and get it over with, more than she wanted to run away. Barely, but still. This was the only way to go.
The Rainbow Wing fell to Tamao's hand. Probably a sign that she might need it later. As coolly as she could, Tamao put the feather back to her bag, turned towards the door, and stepped in.
The Tin tower was as magnificent from the inside as it was from outside. The walls were full of carvings and picturing of Ho-oh, the legendary beats, and even Lugia. Tamao was awed, as she looked up. The ceiling was so far away it seemed like the roof was engulfed in shadows. If one floor was this tall, the climb to the tower top would be frustrating.
Then, Tamao heard gentle steps from in front of her. She looked, and saw none other but Entei.
For a while, the legendary pokemon and the girl just looked at each other. Then, Entei nodded, and turned to leave, still looking at Tamao. Tamao took of with shaky legs, following the pokemon.
Entei walked up to a beginning of a staircase rising up to the darkness of the ceiling, eventually breaking through it and entering a new floor. Tamao followed without a word. Entei started climbing the stairs. Tamao followed without a word. Entei passed the second and third floor, ignoring them completely. Tamao followed without a word.
Once the two entered the third floor, a familiar sizzling could be felt in the air. Tamao looked to her side, and saw Raikou standing there. The air around it was sizzling with electric rays, but the pokemon didn't look angry.
Entei walked to the Raikou, but passed it. Raikou started following the Entei, still sizzling with electric. Tamao followed without a word.
The three passed five more floors, quietly, with Tamao's heart pounding like crazy, and the back of her mind begging her to turn around, to run away. But she had made up her mind.
And once they reached the ninth floor, they were greeted by a low, calm growl. Suicune.
Now, lead by Suicune, the legendary beats and the confused girl headed to the top of the tower. They passed yet another floor identical to the others, when suddenly, light started filtering from above. Tamao looked up, and saw the light coming from small, small holes on the roof. No more stairs going up were at sight. They had reached the top floor.
The tower top seemed like a long hallway. And there, at the end of the hallway, was a magnificent legendary bird. Ho-oh was standing there calmly, gazing at Tamao while reflecting the colours of a rainbow to the walls around it.
The legendary beasts stopped. Tamao did too, but since they all looked at her expectantly, she passed them, and stopped again. The same look returned to their eyes, and Tamao understood she had to go all the way to Ho-oh. She gulped harshly, and started walking.
It was the longest walk of her life. For a time that felt like an eternity, Tamao walked closer to the legendary pokemon everyone in Ecruteak had been raised to admire the most of all. She was nervous, she was confused, afraid, frustrated and all that. But she walked with strong, falsely sure steps.
She stopped while just a little away from the bird. The magnificent pokemon was looking at her, and could have easily touched her, or swept her away, if it would have wanted.
Ho-oh seemed to smile, even though Tamao was assured that even legendary birds couldn't smile. The pokemon reached its legs, and spread its wings. Tamaos heart started beating faster, faster than it ever had. Fear gripped her whole body, making her completely unable to move, but an odd calmness, a feeling of safety, live din her mind.
As the feathers on Ho-ohs magnificent wings shook juts a little, the room was engulfed in a pure golden light. The three pokemon standing there seemed to gain power, no, energy, every minute they stood in this light. Tamao looked down, and saw that golden sparks had attached to her clothes. She raised her hand, and examined it. It too, was full of small, golden sparks.
The sparks seemed to be getting attracted to her, while the light reached the whole room, probably even the two floors below.
As Tamao gazed at her hand, the sparks suddenly started fading, breaking into a blast of the very golden light, only brighter. For a moment, Tamao was engulfed in a light even stronger than the one that Ho-oh had first let out. Her head felt less heavy, and her thoughts seemed to be getting in order. The feeling of sickness disappeared, and she felt like someone gentle would be healing her in all ways, physically and in her thoughts.
It took long of the light to fade away, but once the room had returned to its usual state, Tamao felt calmer, as if she would have just gone through all her thoughts, gotten over her shock and fear, and would now be completely sure of herself. Even though it did insult her a little that someone else had settled her head fro her, she didn't mind that much. At least she had been saved from some tears.
While standing there, amazed of how legendary pokemon really could do anything, she heard a gentle voice echoing inside her mind.
" Can you hear now?" the voice asked.
Tamao couldn't make out whether the voice belonged to a man or a woman. It was high, but low at the same time. It was friendly, yet full of ruthless power. If she tried to figure it out, she only ended up finding all kinds of opposites in it. A magnificent voice.
And somehow she knew this amazing voice belonged to Ho-oh. The golden light… It had probably been so that she would hear their voices. Arranging her head was maybe just a, necessary, but still, bonus.
Tamao was too awed to talk, so she just nodded. The bird in front of her looked pleased. It nodded at the three legendary beasts behind Tamao. The three came closer, passed her, and went to stand at Ho-ohs sides.
" Do you know why you are here?" the voice asked again, still sounding like a friendly neighbour.
Tamao hesitated, but nodded then, unsurely though.
A new voice, a rougher one, full of twisted notes, filled Tamaos mind.
" Oh come on! You saw it! You saw the Umbreon!" the voice snorted. As it did, Raikou started sizzling with electric, once again. Ho-oh didn't even turn its eyes away from Tamao as it responded.
" Silence."
Raikou looked down, looking more annoyed than ashamed.
Ho-oh spoke again.
" Do not startle the girl, her mind was already a mess, due to your rash actions. I told you not to hurt her, did I not?" Tamao could hear disapproval in the voice. She relaxed a little. So her well-being did matter, at least to one of the legendaries in the room.
Entei moved anxiously from leg to leg.
" Oh come on! We did not do anything wrong! There was no other way to get her there. Besides, the girl is fine; she has a few bruises from the fall, at the worst. There is nothing wrong with her!" It had a powerful, burning and passionate voice.
Ho-ohs eyes seemed to start burning, and now it actually looked at Entei.
" Physically, yes, but you seriously scared her life out of her! Human find it hard to trust the ones who have made them think they are going to die, which is, of course, a good instinct, but very unconvenient for now."
Tamao stood there, and couldn't believe what she was shearing.
There she stood, on the peek of Tin tower, hearing the voices of legendary pokemon in her head, and what did she hear; the legendaries were bickering, about her mind!
Suicune had probably noticed her expression, and turned to look at the three bickering beings.
" She is becoming more scared every moment, if you keep that up," a deep, pure voice with a hint if blueness filled Tamaos mind.
Raikou sizzled with electric, seeming startled, and Entei quickly looked at Tamao, with wide eyes. It looked kind of weird, Tamao had never seen the pokemon actually make an expression.
Ho-oh turned slowly back to Tamao, looking very calm.
" My apologies about that. Sometimes even we have disagreements. This situation is hard on us, too," the first voice filled Tamaos head. She nodded, feeling the shadow of worry returning to her, slowly but surely.
" We have called you here because you are the one best suited to… No, I believe you are the only one with a chance, to solve this issue that has caused several problems and battles fro the past years," the voice of Ho-oh said inside Tamaos head, sounding calm but worried.
" About Umbreon?" Tamao asked, with her voice sounding kind of weak, and amazed of the words she spoke. Her Umbreon was dead, after all.
" Yes, about him. More or less."
Tamao gulped. The legendary beats all seemed to be looking away, and Ho-oh looked troubled. Tamao felt her hands getting cold, and the old nervousness gripped her chest. It was turning into fear.
" Why was he… like that?" Tamao managed to ask, shivering when she thought about the black mist, the canine shaped creature with burning yellow eyes…
" It is complicated. Partly, it is because of me," Ho-oh answered. For the first time, the legendary pokemon seemed embarrassed.
Tamaos heart made an angry bounce.
" What?!" she asked, not yelling, but with unintended furiosity crawling into her voice.
" I did not intend for him to… End up like that. I merely wished to save him from that fire," Ho-oh answered, not seeming to be insulted of Tamaos anger.
Tamao looked, but couldn't say a thing.
" That day… When the theatre burned. I heard his desperate cries for help, not for himself, but a little girl he had gone to save from the fire. She I flew in. The chaos there was so deep that no-one would notice my presence. I landed to the flames, and saw him, struggling not to lose his last strength, still protecting the girl… you."
Tamao gulped. Images of the flames, of Umbreon's burned fur, of the magnificent wings in her dream… They all filled her head, and made her feel cold. Cold, distant, hurt.
" So… I did the same I did with the three next to me centuries ago. Only, something went wrong," Ho-oh seemed to be almost muttering.
Tamao looked up.
" What?" she asked.
"I took him to the burned tower, where I would change him. In order to give him a new form, I had to grant him the powers, so he could survive. This is a process that takes days; the power of a legendary pokemon is more than a human can understand.
However, once the powers had reached him, something unexpected happened. While the others had let me use that power to give them their form, he would take the control of the power – a shattered, weak, and barely lasting control – and escape from me, before gaining form.
We went after him for seven nights, as he ran through the whole region, searching. But no matter where he went, he continued searching. Eventually, he was doomed to realize that what he was searching was not here. So right then and there, we witnessed the pokemon fade away, in the very black mist that was his uncompleted form. We thought he was gone fro good," Ho-oh talked, in a distant, remembering voice.
" For three years, we would live peacefully, until one day, we were told of a black mist surrounding a city near the sea. And there we saw him again; he was not gone.
We tried to persuade him to let us rescue him, but he would not understand us. He would not let us understand us. He could not fully control the power he possessed; yet he would use them to break havoc in certain places.
We knew why he did what he did. He believed the girl he had gone to save had died in that fire. We knew where she, you, were, but stubbornly tried to calm him down. We told him the truth; that once the transformation would be done, he would lose all of his memories of those times, and thus the pain would leave him."
Tamao took a sharp breath. She wasn't very pleased with this. So they were going to rescue her Umbreon, but make him forget who he was? Who she was?
She gripped her hands harshly, and had to bite her tongue to keep down the anger. However, it did not escape the eyes of the legendary Ho-oh.
" I understand that it upsets you, but it is not something I can decide on; once one becomes a legendary, he is reborn," Ho-oh told her in a calm but strict tone.
Tamao was still angry, but somehow calmed down a little.
" It upset him a lot too. He soon turned out to be a threat to all those he had known before the fire; human and pokemon alike. We knew that it'd only be a matter of time before he wouldn't be able to control his anger, or powers, anymore, and something might happen. So, we understood that the only way to calm him for now was to give him what he was looking for."
Tamao gulped. She knew what they meant.
" Me."
" Yes. We located you in Sinnoh, and I left to get you. We were worried that you wouldn't come, but luckily, it seemed that you understood that there was something significant going on. Once you were here, we had to keep you safe, and make sure he would not find you. We did not know what he would do. We feared that he might accidentally hurt you. He does not control his power.
Eventually, we located him, and managed to bring you to him too. We had to show you, and him, how things were. It was the only way for you to understand. It is unfortunate, but he is dangerous, for himself, for you, and your family. Even for this town we are in, and everyone in it. His memories burn his mind, making him unable to choose between the two paths he has."
Tamao didn't understand, and didn't bother to hide it.
" He has to choose between letting go of his memories, or giving up his power. The feelings of guilt he harbours in his heart are the reason to the danger he is exposing to us,"
" Guilt?" Tamao asked, shocked.
" What guilt? He was never…" she muttered, and ho-oh actually looked away.
" It would be the same guilt… That made him rush into the flames, without looking back, to save you that day," the pokemon finally answered.
Everything seemed to go dark. If there had been any clear thoughts in Tamaos head, they all vanished now. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Guilt? Was that what it had been? Had her trusted friend saved her because of guilt?
" Guilt… Of what? Why did he feel…?" she fought to say those words, and Ho-oh looked at her with those burning eyes.
" That is what we do not know. I can calm ones' mind, but I cannot see to it. I can sense emotions, but not the thoughts behind them."
Tamao shivered. She felt like she was having a nightmare.
" His guilt is what keeps him in the state he is. The only way to free him from it is to help him to let goof his guilt. And we believe that you are the only one capable of doing so," the legendary bird continued.
" I didn't even know he had guilt in his heart! How on earth could I…?" Tamao screamed, feeling how desperate feelings grew in her heart.
" Because you are the one he rushed to save. You are the one who was always with him. Even if you cannot find the reason to his guilt, surely there is a way for you to relieve it, to help him let go of it, so he can choose his path," Ho-oh answered, in a magnificent tone. The rainbow light became stronger.
Tamao looked down, and felt that she was about to have a break down. Too much. That was what this was, way too much for her.
" So… If he lets go of his memories, he becomes a legendary, lives with you and so on?" she then asked bitterly.
" Yes."
" But if he refuses to forget, yet lets go of his guilt… He'll die, right?"
Ho-oh looked at her, with eyes overflowing with sadness.
" Yes." The answer echoed in Tamaos head.
" Which do you want him to choose?" she asked faintly.
" Which do you want him to choose?" Ho-oh asked gently.
Tamao wasn't sure. Of course, she didn't want Umbreon to die, again, but… If he'd completely forget about her, yet she'd have to live on, knowing his alive, but unable to see him… She didn't want that either. It had been five years, she had mourned his death long ago, but that didn't mean their bond had disappeared. Eventually, she found the best answer to go around the question.
" It doesn't matter. What I want, that is. He should do how he feels is for the best," she whispered.
Once again, Ho-oh seemed to smile.
" That is a good answer. Of course, we do not wish for his death, but we do wish for his best. And we know that you, human child, will definitely take actions that are for his best. But don't worry; we will by your side. We will assist you, protect you and guide you for the whole time, until you friend has chosen his path."
Tamao didn't now if she should say "Thank you" or not. She was confused, and didn't understand. How could she tell Umbreon he had to choose between dying or forgetting who he was? How could she ask him to forget a guilt, who knows how deep? How could she even confront him, after all these years, upon running away from the memories she had of him?
Tamao sighed. She tried to search for emotions in the legendary pokemon in front of her. They all seemed expressionless and somewhat cold. Still, Ho-oh was burning in a warm light, so she felt it was okay for her to ask.
" I'm not sure I fully understand all this…" she said faintly, trying to avoid the gazes of the legendary beasts.
Ho-oh filled the room with the gentle golden light, and for the while they all just stood there in peace. Tamao could feel her heart calming down, but no understanding, no calmness filled her mind.
Ho-oh looked at her gently.
" Well then… I shall tell you what you have heard several times before, only this time with the story where you play a part included too. I shall tell you the truth, I shall tell you the legend."