Chapter 27

Some Clarity

Silence filled the room as two bodies lay motionless. Hours had passed in the darkness of the dungeon. Eventually, the espeon began to stir consciously. Groggily, her eyes peeled open as her sight adjusted to the light. Starshine was greeted with a pounding headache as she pushed herself up off the ground, nearly losing her balance as she struggled to stand.

As she went to speak, she was forced into a coughing fit due to the dryness of her throat. She tried again. "Flint?"

There was no answer.

Her eyes scanned the area, the first point of interest being the crater in the center of the room. She was taken aback, her mind flooded with confusion on what transpired after she was knocked unconscious. As she continued scanning the room, she was met with a harrowing site on the opposite side of her.

"No..." She said in disbelief. "No!" She then screamed as she ran toward Flint's mangled corpse.

Tears burned through the corner of her eyes as she darted to his disfigured form, a horrid stench of burnt flesh and decay greeting her approach. She came to a halt as she stood over him, his lifeless eyes staring back into hers. Starshine fell to the ground, her head buried in the stone below her.

"This is all my fault..."

Her breaths quickened as her mind raced all over the place. She couldn't think straight, she was alone. Her teeth grit and her claws dug into the ground as she let out a scream into the bleak cave around her. As the air escaped her lungs she fell to her four knees. After catching her breath, another scream left her mouth, one with less force behind it, as she slowly curled into a ball and the scream trailed into more of a soft sob.

Silence followed after.

Starshine's ears flicked as the sound of flapping wings echoed through the room. She lifted her head to be greeted by the sight of a honchkrow wearing a blindfold. Confusion spread like an infection throughout her thoughts as she got back to her paws, hunching in a defensive position. The crow lifted his talon to remove the blindfold and reveal his milky-white eyes.

His head peaked down into the crater and his claw carefully reached toward a mysterious glass, orb-like object. "This was... unexpected, to say the least."

"How long have you been here? How did you get here?" Starshine said with a sharp tone yearning for answers.

"All will be answered," the honchkrow spoke calmly. "Please be patient."

"Patience isn't a luxury I have right now, so start talking. Last time I saw you was in Iron Frost, so what the hell are you doing here?"

"You're also in no position to make demands of me," he spoke as he took calculated steps towards Flint's body.

He stroked the burnt fur with the back of his talons, carefully inspecting the body with touch. The honchkrow began to ponder for a moment as he shuffled through his feathers, pulling out an amulet. Silver chains supported a shattered blue crystal, through its murky surface, the swirling cosmos could be seen within the gem. The "thumb" of his talon rubbed along the surface as he let out a long sigh.

"Decisions, decisions," he mused. "Suppose there's no way around this, I can spare some clarity for now, though I doubt you'll believe most of what I have to say."

"I'll suspend disbelief if it gets us any closer to you explaining yourself."

"Hmm, where to begin..." he started as he paced back and forth. "Due to the interest of time, I'll give you the abridged version. As you may know from the blindfold, I'm part of The Eyes of the World. We're emissaries of the legends, acting as their eyes and ears and, in some cases, can be the event without a cause, so to speak. How much do you know about them?"

"You've scratched what I know already, however far-fetched it may seem."

"Heh, right. Anyway, I'm an emissary of 'The River,' we're in charge of making sure certain events happen in certain ways to ensure a more favorable result further down 'The River.' My duties were assigned in this region due to the rising conflict between your nation and Zerith."

"and what exactly is this 'River' you keep referring to?"

The honchkrow shifted backward as he paced to the other side of the room. "Given my position, I have to be cautious with my wording, hopefully, you catch my drift. Let's just say the river only moves in one direction and some people meet the end of the stream before it actually reaches the ocean. Now that I've disclosed my role, you may understand a bit more as to why I've watched you from time to time."

"I've only met you one other time, it doesn't feel like you've been involved much with me."

"If only it were that simple," He said with a dry laugh. "That was the only time I met you without interfering with the flow of The River. We've talked many times before those changes, so let me quickly answer your frequent questions before I hear them yet again. I go by my assigned name Helius. We've met at least seven other times of which you do not remember. And don't ask questions relating to things that have not happened yet in The River. Lastly, by us speaking now, that means I haven't altered this current yet. Hopefully, this gives some credibility to what I've claimed so far."

Starshine was a little more frightened than anything else as Helius managed to answer the myriad of questions running through her mind right now. It was at this time too that she made the connection that The River was in relation to the flow of time. "So, if I understand correctly, and you're here now, then that means you're here to change an event?"

Helius stopped in his tracks and clicked his tongue. "That brain of yours is finally starting to shine. Everything has been flowing smoothly if you disregard the divine intervention, but as fate would have it, there are always small things we miscalculate."

"So why are you here this time? And why should I trust whatever end goal you and the rest of The Eyes have in store?"

"Hmm, that's a new one..." He mused to himself. "As for the latter, our interests are for a net positive, we seek to end this war in a just manner with as few casualties as possible. As for the first... Flint still has a more favorable role to play in this."

Starshine's defensive demeanor dropped a bit with hesitation. "Are... are you saying you have reason to bring him back?"

"Yes... but there is a cost, of course." Helius said while pulling out the amulet again. "In order to alter the flow of The River, we need the help of the one who controls its flow, and to use their gift has a cost on the mortal body. The River cannot exist without water, and water defines the boundary in which The River can flow. The Water and The River coexist and one can not exist without the other. This gem was a blessing from they who control The River but altering The River also alters The Water, and without the blessing of they who control The Water, we pay with our body. For me, it has been my sight and my taste, I fear touch or hearing could be the next to go."

Starshine's ears dropped, "So you may not be able to then? Bring back Flint, I mean."

"Pardon my rambling. I still can, I just fear that my body will continue to degrade from continuous use. Furthermore, the amulet is beginning to show signs of wear and tear, I know not how much more The River can be altered."

"So the more you use that, the more it takes away from your body?"

"I believe I had made that clear, no?"

"What I'm getting at is if it's bound to the one who uses it, why don't I use it?"

Helius stopped in his tracks and pondered for a moment. "No matter how many times we meet, you continue to surprise me from time to time. I'm not sure you would be up for the task, though. Are you sure you want to sacrifice parts of your body just to bring Flint back?"

"I don't care what it costs. I'd rather go back and save my entire fleet from being slaughtered by the barbaric Jagorii. If I can't go that far back, then I'll settle for at least saving one life."

"An intriguing outlook on the matter. I must warn you, though, that should you go through you can start to lose any of your senses, be it your sight, touch, hearing, taste, whatever. But, furthermore, unlike our previous encounters, you will remember all of this. On paper, it sounds like no big deal, but take it from the experience rather than the learned when I tell you that all of this knowledge will hang over you. The Flint you know wasn't meant to be alive, that is against what The River has decided, and every time you look at him, you will always remember watching him die."

The espeon's eyes shifted between the corpse and the amulet as she weighed the options. She took a deep breath and came to her conclusion. "I will still go through with this, regardless of the cost."

"I see, well not actually, but metaphorically. You know what I mean... If that's what you decide, then so be it. I will be needing this back, however" Helius said as he removed the amulet and blindly reached his talon out for Starshine to grab it.

She did so and put the amulet around her neck. "Before I do this, I have a couple more questions."

"By all means, just know, the longer we wait, the closer the window closes for how far upstream you will travel."

"How much do you know? In regards to the war and what other militaries could be planning?"

"Using me for some intel huh?" He chuckled, "I know Tenebris is after the gem that the golem had, I don't have the time to go over all of the details of what it does. Just be cautious of it. I'll meet you privately in Whiterun to get the amulet and tell you more about the gem. Oh! He's also found interest in that eevee, some information he caught wind of after Frostbite and Aurora had their little skirmish."

Starshine raised an eyebrow, "What do you know about Rose then?"

"Nothing you don't already know. But sorry to deflate the balloon a bit in saying that thinking you, Tenebris, and her are the only eevee still around is a futile belief; there's still another half of the world you've all yet to explore."

She wanted to dig in more into what he meant by that but knew her time was short. "I guess that's all for now."

"Perfect! Now, all you want to do is hold the amulet in your hand and breathe in slowly. Imagine swimming upstream as you breathe, and by the time you exhale, you'll see yourself somewhere before. And don't worry about me, I'll realize not having the amulet and will return to meet you in Whiterun at a later time."

With that, Helius turned and spread his wings to depart, which Starshine found a little odd since wherever he was going wouldn't matter in a second. She did as Helius instructed as she held the amulet in both of her paws. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, imagining herself swimming up a stream. An overwhelming feeling washed over her, she felt that her soul had left her body and was swimming in a cosmic ocean of ferocious currents. As she opened her eyes, she found herself in the previous room of the dungeon, sitting atop a vantage point.

The sound of barrels smashing echoed in one side of the room, grabbing her attention. A mankey was walking toward the currently downed growlithe. The fighting ape raised its fist, readying a killing blow. Starshine was still overcome by the experience and in disbelief from actually rewinding of time. She snapped to her senses and readied an attack. Something about the angle felt off, seemingly having a harder time telling how far away the mankey was. Nevertheless, she was quick to manifest a psychic arrow and launched it directly at the mankey.

Horror struck as she realized she miscalculated her shot and the arrow whizzed past the mankey, plunging itself straight into Flint's heart. The growlithe's eyes widened as the spectral arrow stuck out from his chest, slowly dissipating. He fell limp and the mankey turned to meet her gaze.

'My vision...' she thought to herself. She now knew that her toll was her sight, and it was starting by altering her depth perception.

The mankey charged at her as she reacted by rubbing the amulet once more, closing her eyes, and breathing in. She yet again bathed in the surreal feeling of rewinding time though when she opened her eyes, she noticed it was the exact spot she previously was in. Perhaps a temporal anchor to a fixed point in time, she wondered. Her sight was noticeably more impaired than last time, she had to make sure she did it correctly this time.

The mankey again raised its fist. Instead of taking the risk, Starshine leaped from her perch and landed on the mankey's back, her arms reaching over its shoulders and digging her claws into it. At point-blank range, she fired the arrow into the rampaging pokemon's back, killing it instantly.

"That would have been helpful much earlier," Flint said as he got up from the rubble.

Starshine hesitated as she looked at the growlithe. She was grateful to see him alive again, but she had seen his mangled corpse and had accidentally killed him just a moment ago. Something deep down felt wrong about altering time to bring him back. He was still the same growlithe but also different, she didn't know what to think of it. Flint gave her a worried look.

"You alright?"

She closed her eyes and shook away her thoughts. "I'm fine... just- just lost in thought. Are you alright?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle. His punches were a lot more powerful than regular ones, however, it might have something to do with his silver braces around his wrists."

Starshine eyed the mankey, still feeling weirded out experiencing a similar conversation they had last time she was here. "Right, it's best we move on, we've spent longer in this dungeon than I'd like."

"Perhaps we could use the braces. Aside from those, I found an apple and some strange purple ring."

"Leave them for now, no use carrying more than we'll need."

Flint seemed persistent. "They could be useful later on, you seem to already be taking your spoils of war," he said, motioning to the amulet she was wearing.

Starshine didn't want to argue and instead proceeded to the room she knew held the key to the locked room in the dungeon. "Do what you must then, leave the ring though, it's poisonous."

Flint stopped himself as he was reaching for the ring. Starshine quickly lifted a tile in the next room and retrieved the key to the room where the golem was. Flint followed close behind.

As they entered the large, open room, Starshine quickly pointed out the exit for the two. Flint seemed relieved while she kept her eyes on the ceiling. And there it was in plain sight, what they didn't notice before. The golem was attached to the ceiling, easily blending in with the rocky roof. She mentally beat herself up for overlooking it the last time.

Flint had already begun running toward the exit and Starshine saw the golem adjusting its gaze. Her claws dug into the ground as she charged up a psychic energy. This time she wouldn't miss. Energy formed just in front of her gem, swirling and growing in size as she let out a quiet growl. Her eyes clenched shut as she let her anger form into her beam. As the golem prepared to drop on Flint, the espeon thrust her head forward and let out a devastating, pink beam.

A brilliant light engulfed the room as the beam shot out with lightning speed. The psychic energy created a burning aura of psychic energy around the golem and Starshine could see it beginning to erode. The beam lasted for nearly ten seconds as the golem was soon reduced to ash. Flint stared at the ceiling awestruck as Starshine panted after exhausting so much energy in one attack. The red gem shortly fell thereafter, bouncing a few times as it gently rolled towards Flint's paws.

Weakly, the espeon walked toward the growlithe, who looked back at her with a worried look in his eyes. The deed was done but she still felt unfulfilled. She mentally cursed herself for how easy it all could have been and not cost Flint's life and now her eyesight.

"That was a little excessive," Flint commented.

Starshine let out a dry laugh, "I got startled."

"Hopefully that's the last of them. Come on, we're getting much closer now."

She nodded her head while Flint led the way to the exit. Before they left, Starshine stopped herself and looked down at the red gem, she carefully picked it up and hid it safely within her fur. Afterward, she followed Flint to the exit.

The calming sea breeze washed the air and the ocean scent greeted them as they emerged from the dark depths. The sun and the sound of waves were a welcoming change for both of them. A lump formed in Starshine's throat as she looked to the sea. She could see a mighty vessel, the great flags of Mardol waved in the sky as the ship came closer to the shore. Accompanying the ship were two, fairly smaller, vessels branding the Peace Guild flags. At last, they were safe.

Rykon emerged from the captain's quarters of the ship as he made a stride for the bow. On the horizon, he could see the grolithe and espeon sprinting toward the beach.

"Prepare to drop anchor, the Princess is within sight," he said to the crew. "Willow, send some rescue boats."

The gardevior nodded and began assigning crew to their positions. Rykon grinned to himself as he made his way back to his quarters. The room was poorly lit, on his desks were sever lines of a white substance. As he sat down, he meticulously inhaled one of the lines, leaning back as he waited for the drug to take effect. He lifted an hourglass on his desk and flipped it over, watching as the sand funneled to the other half. He patiently waited, mainly just wanting to get this mission over with.

Atop the mountains Flint and Starshine had exited, Helius blindly overlooked the ocean horizon. His talon brushed along where the amulet had once been. A content sigh escaped his beak before he reached for his other talon. A small bracelet wrapped around the leg with a fragment of a pink pearl. As he rubbed it, his body became incorporeal, as light struggled to shimmer from the transparent silhouette. Shortly after, he was gone.


Bit of a shorter chapter than usual, hope you all enjoyed.

A/N rant, nothing majorly important:

It's no mystery that this story has had a slow update process. In short, I've gotten older and don't have as much passion for working on this as I used to. However, I'm finally starting to get to parts of the story I've envisioned since writing my outline, which has given me a bit of a boost of incentive to work on it more frequently. I won't guarantee anything, but I'm aiming to get more chapters out rather than one a year. As for story progress, this concludes the second arc of the book and the first major act. Take that with a grain of salt, though, since everything that happened this far was intended to be a little over 10 chapters in my notes. Things change.

Moving forward: when I started planning this story, X and Y were the latest games. As we now know, a lot of new stuff has been added, most important being the ancient and future forms in Scarlette and Violet. That being said, this story will mainly only have base forms and no regional variants. Lastly, we're starting to get to the parts of the story where potential lemons will occur. I know I tried experimenting with a lemon scene earlier in this book, but in all honesty, it was mediocre. I don't feel comfortable having them in the story since it doesn't add much to the plot and a few other reasons, so when one does occur, it'll be implied or brushed over (the Aurora x Rykon scene and Angel x Nightfang, for example). What I'll instead be doing is having a lemon collection separate from this book where you can find cannon lemon scenes and maybe non-cannon lemons or random pairings. I'll be trying to make them tasteful and won't contain many vulgar or explicit details. My focus is currently on this story, so it's in the air if or when that will come out.

I've also learned a ton from writing this and am currently working on the early stages of a new story. I intend for this one to be shorter and have fewer moving parts than this one. Nothing in stone just yet but I'll work on that when I get writer's block on this.

Other than that, I hope you're all enjoying the story so far and I hope everyone has a great day. Until next time!