Chapter 42
Part 3
My name is Lily.
It's… a really long story of how I got here. Really long. To be honest, I really don't like telling it. Ask Legend if you really want to know. And if you're lucky, he might tell you. He doesn't like the story any more than I do. But let's just say that I've been through a lot, and I'm lucky to even be alive today.
When I came to Ambera twenty-five years ago… wow, has it really been that long?… I had no idea what I was getting into. I just felt like the wind was calling me. Like life was too short, so I wanted to be bold and make an adventure out of it, just like my aunt. So I sailed across the sea and came to this place I heard of once from a traveler. A place where there's no humans, only Pokémon, and a whole new world to explore. I felt like I wanted the danger and excitement of being a free spirit.
I guess I got what I came for. And some. There were the Watchers. And then there was the Master. And then... there was the Call. The crazy ability that made me second-guess so much of my life, that makes me wonder sometimes if I wasn't destined to come here, to Ambera. When I found out I had it, I didn't really comprehend what it meant. And then Prince's team found me, and I realized my hopes of living a free life apart from the resistance were gone.
Yeah, my life has been anything but normal. And it hasn't all been fun. It's been hard. But here I am, twenty-five years later, still alive and kicking. And I'm a Bayleef now, too. It was hard choosing whether or not to evolve. Prince kinda pressured me into it at the time, but I guess it's not all that bad. It grew on me. And he was right, it was for the best. I'm a lot stronger now, and I don't have trouble looking other Pokémon in the eye like I used to.
Still… I'm not really okay right now.
I just sprinted for about four days straight to catch up with Char's team. Char's friend Ray found me while I was sleeping, and before I knew it, Scythe was in my face demanding to know why I came this far just catch up with them.
It was hard for me to really answer that. I came for a lot of reasons… it's complicated. But I was tired, and I didn't want to have to explain myself to Scythe, especially since a lot of my reasons were between me and one Pokémon only. So I just said something I knew he couldn't disagree with: I told him that I have the Call, too, just like Char, so I deserve to come with him and meet Dialga. He looked at me weird, but he didn't have a comeback.
Scythe's... hard. I've noticed that. At times, even though I respect Scythe a lot, I really feel sorry for Char and his friends for having to be with him all the time. When you learn how to lead an army in a war, I think it really does something to your head. It starts to take away your ability to have close friends. Other Pokémon start to become just tools to you. I've seen that in Lucario, and a little bit of it in Prince, but I know Prince is trying really hard to resist that, maybe because of what happened to me. Probably because of what happened to me. But Scythe is one of the best leaders the resistance has, or so I hear. I can only imagine how hard he's been treating Char and his team.
That's… one of the reasons I came. It's like Lucario said, Char's being dragged around by the collar so we can use the Call to help the resistance. And I know what that's like. I figured he could use somebody who knows what he's going through. I know I could have.
To make matters worse, it doesn't look like Scythe is in a good mood right now. Normally I wouldn't have held it against him—almost getting killed by the Watchers can do that to you—but it seems like he wasn't happy to begin with.
In my nervousness, an odd thought occurred to me: maybe he doesn't want to be here either. Maybe he's being dragged around on a leash, too.
He gave me a glare that made me swallow hard. I could tell he was really not happy that I came. Though I should have expected that, really, considering how unhappy he was about Prince coming.
But he's not the one I came to see, so I looked away and tried not to let him bother me too much.
When I followed Scythe and Ray back further through the crossing and saw the light, I nearly froze, terrified. I thought Prince was still awake. I didn't know how I was going to explain myself to him. This was going to be so hard... for him and for me. Because the one big reason I came, before all others... what I came to tell him... would probably hurt him a lot, even if that's what I was trying not to do.
I had thought I had a few more days left before I would catch up to think of what I was going to say, and maybe then I could even hang back for a while if that still wasn't long enough. But either I must've been faster than I thought, or Scythe has some crazy ability or something, to have caught me early like this. I held my breath when I came around the corner, expecting to come face-to-face with Prince.
But it was just Char's tail. I felt a little relieved when I remembered that Charmander tails don't go out when they sleep. Charmander tails don't go out until they die.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw them, though. Char and Saura were curled up together, fast asleep. Char was shivering really bad and snuggling against Saura to stay warm. And Saura looked as content as could be to have him there. That's… courage. I mean, it makes me a little nervous being too close to Prince's flame. I mean, I trust him to not lose control or anything and burn me, but some part of me just instinctively doesn't trust fire. I don't think it would be easy for me to fall asleep in his arms, unless I was really scared or tired. But there was Saura right next to the fire, without a care in the world… And, wow. It's hard not to admire trust like that.
And you know, I had a weird feeling of déjà-vu when I saw them there. Here I was, barging in on their rest. Again. Just like I did on that night they stayed in our base. The night the Watchers attacked.
I'm the one who moved the map. Yeah, it was me. That was after Char told me that he and Scythe were planning to leave Prince behind. See, I… I went behind Prince's back that night. I was watching as Char retired to his room. Then… when I knew Prince wasn't watching, I went to go visit Char's team.
Why did I do it? Well, that's really complicated, too. It was a weird compulsion. I trust Prince with my life. I trust the judgments he makes. He was my guardian ever since the Call got me in big trouble for the first time and the Master started coming to get me. He's basically dedicated his life to protecting me. He promised me that he'd never abandon me. And he's kept that promise. Whenever I've needed him, he's been there; if it wasn't for Prince, I would not be alive today.
But that night… I was compelled to go… well, betray him, I guess. There isn't a nice way to put it, not even to myself. Especially now, now that I find out I was wrong. I moved the map for Char so he could leave without Prince knowing. I tried to make it so that Prince's plan wouldn't work. And I didn't even consider that doing so might condemn Char to death, so even the few noble reasons I had for doing it were worthless.
But, as for why I did it, I think I did it because… I look at Char, and I see me. And I imagine myself in his place. And I… I decided there were some things he deserved that Prince wasn't going to let him have. So I went to tell him all the things I thought he deserved to know, even though Prince told me to keep quiet. They were the things that I thought I would have deserved to know if I was in his position. Because I was there once. I didn't want the same thing to happen to him that happened to me. For Prince to risk me, that's one thing... My time is... pretty much past now. But for Char, to go on not knowing these things, for some reason, it just wasn't the same. Maybe I'm right, or maybe I'm just crazy... but that's how it felt.
When I came to them that night, he and his friends were surprised to see me. Why wouldn't they be? So far as they knew, I was just another member of Team Flamewheel. But then I stated to tell them my story. First, I told him about myself. I told him who I was, and what power I had. I told him that, from what I had heard, my Call wasn't even half as powerful as his, but it was still enough for me to be treated like some kind of legendary Pokémon by everyone, with everyone always trying to chase me around and capture me.
Long story short, he had a lot of questions to ask me, so I answered them. That was why I'd come, wasn't it?
I told him that everything that was happening to him had happened once in the past already. I told him about Prince, and how he let me be on his team and promised to protect me.
I told him about the Silver Resistance force: the three hundred Pokémon who had defied Lucario and chose to trust in the power of the Call—my Call—and what ended up happening to them. I told him how they all died, and how Prince and I and Team Flamewheel are some of the only survivors. And I told him how their deaths ended up saving the whole Emerald Division.
I told him that I was the whole reason the Silver Resistance existed in the first place. And I told him that since he had a Call that's more powerful than mine, he's the new reason.
I know not all of it was pleasant. The realities of the situation we were facing. Pokémon wanting to use us and manipulate us to serve their own ends. Never being able to live our own lives so long as the Master still existed. Knowing that Pokémon have been, are, and will be dying for us, and nothing we say can stop them. Maybe he got all that from what I told him... maybe not...
Like I said, it's a story I hate telling, but I wanted Char to know.
Oh, and then Scythe barged in and caught me talking to Char. I nearly sprouted a new leaf when that happened. I was so relieved to see that it wasn't Prince. It was just Scythe coming to go over the plans with Char's team one last time. That's when Char decided to trust me and told me what he was trying to do, leave without Prince. And Ray and Saura were going to distract Prince while they got away. Scythe asked me if I could go into Prince's closet and get the map for him, and that's how it happened.
…So, yeah. Everything that Lucario said to Char when we tried to barge in on his meeting, Char already knew. And so did Saura and Ray. Because I told them.
That's another reason I came. I felt just a little bit stupid for betraying everybody. I betrayed Prince because I did everything he told me not to do. I betrayed Char because the map I gave him wasn't right. So here I am, coming on the trip with them, because I just want to make it up to them and help them get to the right destination after all.
So now I'm standing in the middle of their rest stop, staring at Char and Saura and thinking about all this. At least neither of them have woken up and found me staring at them... That would be awkward, as if this whole thing isn't awkward enough already. It's just... They look so young and innocent, kinda how I wish I still was. Reminds me, just a little, of my friends back in the Evergreen Guild...
Ray comes up behind me. He asks me if I'm alright. I tell him I'm fine, and that I'm just going to go to sleep.
And so then I turn to see the Pokémon I really came to see in the first place.
He's curled up in the middle of the path, so he'd be the first one attacked if some Pokémon stumbled across us. That's so typical of him… he's always had such a protective nature. I remember how he always used to stay awake to keep me safe, especially back when he first rescued me and I was scared out of my mind after having been kidnapped and tied up to be taken who-knows-where, not to mention the Watchers. He asked me to trust him, and I did. Even though it looked like he was just trying to kidnap me too, I could tell Prince was different than them, so I decided to trust him. He hasn't changed much. Even in his sleep, and even while Scythe is standing guard for the night, he can't stop looking out for Char. It makes me feel even more foolish, to have not believed him.
My stomach turns in knots as I'm watching him sleep. There's so much I have to tell him, but… I don't know. None of the words are coming to me yet. And I'm afraid of what he's going to say when he sees me here, let alone when he finds out why I've come.
I decide to just get some rest. We can talk tomorrow morning. It's too late to be thinking about this. I just need one more night to sleep on it…
Except that as I'm thinking this, I hear a little crackle noise… His fire lights. He's stirring. His eyes blink open.
Prince is awake now. Yeah. Out of nowhere, he just woke up. And I'm just standing here, my mouth hanging open. I'm feeling my throat tighten.
He looks at me.
"…Lily?" he gasps. "What in the blazes are you doing here?"
"Y-you're awake," I stammer. I can't think of anything to say.
"Of course," he answers. "I can always tell when you're around."
I just blink.
"Your Call," he says. "It does something to the air, you know, even when you're not having an episode. We've been together for over twenty years. I learned to tell what it feels like when you're around."
Huh. Well, that explains a lot.
"Why'd you come?" he asks me.
He doesn't look too angry, just surprised. That's good. I don't like it when Prince gets angry. But it isn't helping the tingling in my stomach. It's time. I have to explain myself to him now.
So, I grit my teeth, and I… I decide to just… tell the truth. I don't know what else I could do at that point.
"I just wanted to talk to you," I say.
"What did you want to talk about?" he asks gently, sitting up and giving me his attention. He looks a little frustrated at me, at the apparent frivolity of my reasons for coming, but I think he knew there was no use arguing the point. He couldn't just send me back the way I came. Besides... if he really knew me, which he does, he would know I wouldn't come for a trivial pointless reason...
"What Lucario said," I respond, the name slightly bitter in my mouth. "Lucario wants to banish me. What are we going to do?"
Prince hums. I think he knew this question was coming. And if I knew him the way he knew me, then I knew he probably already had an answer in mind. I probably would already know it by now, too, if I hadn't ignored him when he tried to talk to me after the meeting.
"Legend is going to try to get Lucario to change his mind again," Prince told me. "You know how good he is at pulling Lucario's heart strings."
"Does Lucario even have heart strings anymore?" I grumbled at the ground.
I couldn't stand it. Just thinking of Lucario was making my blood boil. I mean, I can understand why he made the decision. This is the second time the Call nearly razed his whole division. The first time it did raze the whole place. So… I can imagine that his patience just ran out when he saw the Watchers attack like that.
But, for him to just… shove me out after all this time… after everything we've been through… after everything I've gone through... after I've lost so much already... for him to try to take away what I still have...?
It's… it's just… it's just not fair!
I didn't ASK to have the Call. I didn't ASK to have it activate when it did, and bring the entire Master's army down on our heads. I didn't ASK for any - or at least most - of my life after the Master started bothering the Evergreen Guild. But I got it anyway, and now I'm being punished for it?
Maybe it's not even Lucario I'm mad at. Maybe I'm just angry at the world for everything it's done to me. You know, things that you can't blame anyone for, really, except Arceus maybe. But since it feels kind of silly to hate something like the whole world, and sacrilegious to hate a god, I'm stuck with hating Lucario. Not that I mind that... Even if he didn't hate my guts, I still don't think I'd like him.
But I mean, when I became a Bayleef, it made my mind stronger. I learned that there were some ways I could help control the Call when it happened. Somehow I learned how to stifle it, make it quieter, so that it wouldn't cause another tragedy just by accident. It's not something I can really explain how to do. I'm not even sure HOW I do it, so I don't think I can teach Char or anything.... But it works for me at least, so I didn't have to worry about being a liability anymore.
And what does Lucario know about that? Even now, he doesn't care about me as an individual. I'm not Lily to him. I'm just "her" or "The Call," a backfiring weapon then, a scapegoat now. And then he just snaps like that after Char comes and his Call goes off for some reason… and he extends the blame to me, and tells me I should leave?
"What if Lucario's mind won't change again?" I asked Prince, bringing myself out of my long, dismal train of thought.
Prince hesitated to answer. His flame was staying small. I could tell that he was trying to keep himself calm.
"If Lucario will not listen to Legend, then it will leave us with only one option," Prince said simply. "We will leave."
"Are you sure that's what you want?" I asked. "I mean—"
"Lily." he said sternly to me, cutting off my words. "I made a promise to you. I'm not going to break that promise anymore. So if Lucario wants to expel you from his domain, I'm coming with you. And so the rest of my team will come with me. It's that simple."
See… I was starting to think it wasn't all that simple.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," I said. "Prince… what would you say if… if I… well… If I just left instead?"
I winced. I almost wished I could un-say the words. I had known beforehand that the suggestion would probably come as a blow, as much as I wished they wouldn't, but it was one thing to know, and another to see the reaction my words elicited. Prince looked confused, and hurt, like he just got stabbed in the stomach. He looked at me with wide eyes, and I kinda cowered in front of him.
"I—I haven't made up my mind yet! Honest!" I said quickly. "But I…I just wanted to talk about it."
Prince didn't say anything. I started to get worried. I think his stomach was getting tied up in worse knots than mine was. He started looking honestly worried. He said nothing, but his face told me what he was thinking: why?
"It's not because I don't trust you," I told him. "Because that's not true. That's not true at all. If I were to go home right now I don't think I'd even trust my family as much as I trust you..." It was hard to keep my voice from cracking. "But… I just thought… we've spent the last twenty years hiding the Call from the Master. So I thought… maybe… I could stop thinking about the Call - thinking about myself for once, and think of you."
"What do you mean?" Prince asked.
I sighed hard. "Sometimes, when I look at myself… especially after something like what just happened with the Watchers… sometimes I wonder if I'm a living curse, or something," I told him. "In a way, for these last twenty years… I've done nothing but ruin your life."
"Lily, no…" he said quietly.
"I mean… you've always been there for me," I rambled. "I've always been your responsibility. You've sacrificed so much for me. I can't stop thinking… Even what I did to the old Emerald Division... you took responsibility for that. Everything I do, even when I don't have total control over it… it always ends up on your shoulders. So I wonder… after everything you've done for me, maybe… maybe it would make you happy if you... if you could focus on what you need to, rather than just me?"
He went quiet again, for a bit. He was thinking. I went over the words I had said in my own head. Some things sound better in your head and sound stupid when you actually say them out loud. This, though… some of it had come out well, other bits of it not. Sometimes it was so hard to actually figure out what I really meant, even to myself. But at least this sounded mostly right to say.
"I never had any idea you felt this way," Prince said. "Lily, if anything, you've given my life more meaning than it could have ever had."
"I know, but… I just… I just think you belong here at the Emerald Division," I said. "You have a great resistance team, and you already do so much good up here. You shouldn't have to get dragged away from that just because of me. I think you've already done enough for me."
Prince was silent for a long time. "But where would you go?"
It kind of unnerved me, to realize how much I'd thought about this already, but I continued regardless, "I don't know. I could try visiting the Black Division. Gold Division probably already has enough on their hands with one Pokémon with the Call, let alone two." I laughed weakly. "Besides... I think... I might have friends down there... I've told you about Team Echo, right?"
"I believe so," Prince said thoughtfully, "Perhaps once or twice, a long time ago."
I nodded, "After they helped me at Great Crystal City... I don't know if they all survived, or if they'll welcome me or not... but... I guess I figured it would be worth a shot... If it gets to that point..."
I sighed, looking down miserably, trying to fight back tears. "I..." I whispered quietly, "I really don't want to go... but I really am beginning to wonder if it's best for everybody if I do..."
Prince sighed. "Lily… if that is what you decide to do, I'm not going to stop you," he said softly. "If you decide that that is really what you want to do, then… I will do all that I can to see to it that you reach the Black Division safely. But… we have a month to figure this out. If you haven't made up your mind yet, we can discuss this later when we get back from Temporal Tower, and see what the others have to say. But… whatever you decide, Lily, I've always been here to help you. I've never been here to stand in your way. Don't forget that."
"I know," I sighed. "I know…"
Then we were quiet for a long time. We just sat there, staring at one another.
"Well, now that you're here, I suppose you're coming with us, aren't you?" Prince said finally. "Temporal Tower is going to be hard. We'll need all the help we can get."
"Of course," I tell him. "This is finally my chance to get some answers about this crazy ability I've had all my life. I wouldn't miss this chance for anything!"
"Well, in that case, you'd better get some sleep," Prince told me. "We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"And that makes it different from any of the other days, how?" I muttered ironically,
I could have sworn I saw him smile.
When I finally curled up to sleep, I picked a spot right next to Prince, much closer than I would have normally. The proximity to his flame made some part of me uncomfortable, but at the same time, a much bigger part of me knew how much I would miss even that discomfort, if and when I lost it.
I know I'm probably going to leave. And I know this mission to Temporal Tower is going to be my very last mission with Prince. I might never see him again. Heck, in case we forget, if Temporal Tower is as bad as they say, we might even die on this mission.
But after all we've been through, I can't just walk away from him. I need to go on this last mission with him. Because I want to show him one last time that I trust him. Because I want to help him one more time. Because I know how much I'm going to miss him.
And that is the real reason I came.
Late that night, something really weird happened.
I was having a dream. I don't remember what the dream was about. I just remembered that, suddenly, it changed. It started being filled with a noise.
I heard something.
I popped out of unconsciousness, but I didn't open my eyes. I was cringing and holding my breath. I knew what this feeling was.
It was like some kind of an invisible god was singing a single note. "The Hum", I called it. I didn't always hear it, but when I did, I knew it by heart. And my heart started racing. Soon, it would wash away my consciousness like a giant waterfall.
The Call was happening. Again. And it wasn't me.
This one was loud. They weren't kidding. Char's Call was seriously potent. It was going to blow me away! I actually started to feel scared.
I usually couldn't hear the Call happening. But sometimes I could. Sometimes I could hear The Hum and prepare for it. It's weird. I don't know how it works. But I was hearing it now.
It began mounting, like it was taking a deep breath, about to scream really loud. It was about to explode. I braced myself.
But then… my heart changed, somehow. It was telling me to do something. It was a weird compulsion. I couldn't help it, so I did what I was compelled to do.
SOMEONE HELP ME!! The Call cried. SOMEONE! PLE—
Hey!
The Call stopped. I had interrupted it, somehow.
Hey! Can't you keep it down? I pleaded. You're going to wake everyone up!
Wait, what? Who…? Who is this?
It's me, Lily.
Lily?
Yeah. I'm actually right here with you! I'm coming to Temporal Tower with you.
What's going on?!
I… think we're using our Calls to talk to each other!
What? How… how is that possible?
I don't know, this is the first time I've ever done it! I have no idea how I'm doing this either. I'm just doing it by instinct.
Oh…
Char, listen. You don't want the world to come swarming to us while you're trying to sleep again, do you?
I hate when that happens!
Well, then you're going to have to learn how to stifle your Call.
Uh… how do I do that?
I don't know. Just… I don't know. Try it. Pretend we're speaking out loud and… like, bite your tongue or something. Or hold your breath. I don't know how to do it, but it's possible. I can do it whenever my Call starts to happen.
I can't figure it out!
Calm down. Just calm down. You're already whispering. It's alright. Just keep talking to me, and it'll be over soon.
Lily…
Yeah?
Lily, I'm… cold…
I know…
…
And then it ended.
My eyes blinked open. Wondering if it had all been just a dream.
Wondering what in the flying name of Shaymin had just happened.
I thought I kinda had the Call figured out, at least, as much as I could seeing as though I had it. But…
The Call can communicate?
So I look up, and yeah, everyone's awake. Everyone. Prince, Scythe, Char, Saura, and Ray… they're all standing around me, all with the absolute weirdest looks on their faces. Especially Scythe. He looked like he was ready to burst out laughing. Which is something I would have never expected him to look like.
"Uh… hi?" I said meekly.
Author's Note:
Special thanks to Gorsecloud for helping me write this chapter. More like writing half of it for me, actually. And also for bloating it up to twice its original size! I don't know about the readers, but I didn't mind…
In case you're wondering, this chapter 42 was originally supposed to be lumped together into the same document. Yeah, seriously. I was going to have it be the biggest chapter, ever. But then... I thought, hey, how about if I just post them separately? They kinda stand on their own.
So, yeah, hope you're enjoying the fast updates!
2 ½ Chapters Remain…