After Dusk Falls | Bulbagarden

I. At Dusk, Sunder (Part 1)

The lights flickered throughout the off-white hall. The underground facility had no windows to let in the moonlight, so when the lights went out again, the halls became totally dark.

"Figures," a gruff, female voice said. "That didn't last long."

"No," replied a raspy whisper. "I don't know why I even bothered."

In a moment, a soft glow begins to emanate from one of them, revealing the silhouette of a Malamar wearing a satchel. As the glow became gradually stronger, it illuminated a Mienshao carrying a pair of rocks. Despite their weight and awkward size, the Mienshao stood straight.

The two of them continued through the halls, with the Malamar in front and the Mienshao trailing close behind. Their footsteps echoed around blind turns and through yawning doorways. The Malamar would give a few of these unlit passages a glance, but he never slowed for any of them. His accomplice, on the other hand, was more concerned with stepping over the chunks of ceiling and the cracks in the concrete floor. Dropping one of these brittle rocks would be a disaster.

The Mienshao wished Eclipse, the Malamar, would find the so-called "Fossil Restoration Lab" soon. She was starting to get a little sore from hauling the rocks all day. And something about this place was giving her the chills.

Eclipse came to a stop in front of a closed door. He used one of his tentacle-arms to push the door open. After peering in, he walked through it. The Mienshao smiled a little; they found it.

The Malamar created a ball of light and suspended it in the middle of the square room. In the corner across from the door – the right-hand corner – a metal table and a few chairs were set up. A large device was pushed up against the left wall, running the length of the room. On the far end of the device, there was a large, metal box with a glass door. The rest of the machine was bristling with levers and buttons. A flat monitor was attached to the wall above the machine. As she looked over the strange machine, the Mienshao noticed a pale shape behind the machine's glass door.

"This one appears to be in good condition," Eclipse said as he rubbed his two dominate tentacles together. "Much better than the last one. I think this'll get the job done."

"Uh-huh," the Mienshao said. "But what's that thing, behind the glass?"

"Hm? Let's see." He moved over to it, unlatched it, and swung the door open. A bony arm flopped out and its hand dropped to the floor. It landed with a clatter, and its fingers flew apart, scattering across the floor.

Eclipse flinched at the sudden sound. The Mienshao's eyes widened. "What's a skeleton doing in there?" she asked.

"Good question, but not one we care about. Lang, get those bones out of there. I'll get the machine ready." He moved over to side of the machine opposite to the box. Eclipse produced a square battery from the satchel and put it on top of the machine.

While he searched for the machine's cord, Lang the Mienshao carefully set the rocks next to the table. Then she got to work, taking the bones, one by one, out of the chamber and into a pile.

As she groped around in the dark chamber, she found a large, round bone. This feels like a skull, she thought to herself. Once she pulled it out, she turned it to face her, hoping she might be able to figure out what this creature was. As she stared into the skull's hollow eyes, she let out a terrified gasp. "S-sir," she said with a quiver in her voice. "Look..."

The Malamar turned toward her, with a power cable in his grip. "Oh?! What an amazing find!"

"'Amazing'? Are you nuts?"

"Hmph, you're letting a skull bother you?"

"This isn't just a skull. This is a human skull!"

"Yes, I can tell."

"Haven't you heard the stories? 'He who disturbs the resting place of a human shall surely perish in the same hour,' or something like that."

"That's just a myth to keep children in check."

"No, it's more than... You know what? Fine. But you're cursed, too; it's your fault that its hand is on the floor."

"Quit complaining and get back to work." He turned back to the machine, picked up the battery, and plugged the cable into it. The machine's display immediately came to life, and a low hum began to fill the room. Messages came and went on the monitor faster than Eclipse could read them.

Lang turned looked back to the skull in her hands. She didn't want continue piling these bones on the floor. Maybe, if she put the bones in a better resting place, her punishment would be less harsh. Maybe she'd just lose an arm or something. She found a cardboard box sitting under the table and started placing the bones in the box. She worked more carefully now, not letting the bones drop. It was tedious, slow work.

"Alright, it's ready," Eclipse said. He looked over at Lang. "How are you not finished yet?"

"Sorry, sir. There's a lot of small bones in here."

"At the rate you're going, our battery won't hold out. Hurry it up!"

"Yessir," she said. She started scooping up bones by the handful laying them in the box. Her cold sweat felt even colder in the frigid air.

A minute later, and the grim deed was done. She wiped her paws on the box and carefully nudged it back under the table. Then she picked up one of the rocks and carefully laid it inside the machine's chamber. It crushed one of her fingers as she did so. She bit her lip as she yanked her hand free. Then she gently shut the glass door and closed the latch. She looked at Eclipse and nodded.

He turned back toward the console and began pecking at the keys with his tentacles. Several indicators appeared on the screen. Eclipse turned a few dials and watched as the indicators updated accordingly. One he was satisfied, he typed a little more on the keyboard, and then stepped back.

Lang felt a little left out; she didn't understand anything Eclipse was doing, as she could not read the ancient letters. At the same time, maybe she'd rather be stay oblivious. Resurrecting a fossilized Pokémon felt a little like black magic.

At first, nothing seemed to change. Lines of text kept scrolling by on the monitor, but their significance was lost on Lang. Then the low humming got louder, and the fossil chamber began to glow with a bluish light. Then, with a sudden flash, the fossil vanished.

"Wha-?" Lang said, as her vision recovered. "Where did it go?"

"This isn't normal," Eclipse said. He quickly moved to the controls of the machine. He was about to start typing on the keyboard, but something he saw on the screen made him stop. "It's… fine? The books never mentioned this."

A few moments later, a red light flooded out from the chamber. It was hard to notice at first, but something strange began to happen: the red light began to fold in on itself, taking a shape of its own. At first, its shape shifted and was an irregular mass. As the light grew brighter, the shape started to establish itself. A shape with a head, a pair of wings, and a pair of legs.

Then everything went dark. Totally dark. The machine's display was off. The red light was gone. The machine’s hum disappeared.

"The battery!" Eclipse shouted. "It's out of power!"

At that moment, a shriek pounded the room. A loud clang followed.

"What? Who's there?" Lang called out.

"Hang on," Eclipse said. He created another ball of light, since the previous one had fizzled out. What the light revealed surprised them both.

Within that chamber wasn't a dead fossil, but a living bird. The sudden light caused it to turn about and stare at its revivers.

"It lives!" Eclipse said ecstatically. "The Archen lives!"

The Archen let out another loud squawk. It tried walking out of the chamber, but it walked head-first into the glass door. It had a puzzled look on its face, and began to thump its head against the door, trying to break through.

Eclipse and Lang chuckled. Lang moved towards the creature. "I'll let it out."

"Wait, we should... no, never mind. Go ahead."

Lang nodded. As she reached for the handle, the Archen let out an even more ear-piercing squawk. Lang put her paws to her ears, and it immediately stopped. It went back to thumping its head against the door. As Lang reached out again, it shrieked again, and then stopped when she backed away.

"Hey, I'm trying to help you!"

Eclipse smirked. "It thinks it can break free of its egg. We'd better get it out before it damages the machine. Or itself, for that matter."

"I think you're right." As it started squawking again, its cry was replaced with a grating cough. It hacked up a large amount of blood.

The sight made Lang freeze. That was the last thing she was expecting. "Crap!" Eclipse shouted. He rushed over. "Open the door! Now!"

Lang did as she was told. The Archen tumbled out of the chamber, and Eclipse caught it within his tentacles. As he cradled the bird, it coughed up more blood, which got all over its feathers and Eclipse's chest. The Malamar didn't pay attention as he ran his one of his tentacles across its chest.

"Its vital organs are collapsing."

"What? Why?"

"When the power was cut, the machine hadn't fully formed the creature. See, it’s also missing some feathers and its toes are too short. But, more importantly, its lungs aren't working right." It coughed up more blood. "It doesn't have much time."

"Can't we help it somehow?"

"No."

"I... I'm sorry." She said, partly to Eclipse, but also to the Archen. "This is my fault. If I had been faster..."

Eclipse handed the dying bird to Lang. "Put it somewhere out of the way. We can still try the other fossil." He turned back to the machine.

Lang looked down at its frail body. It was shuddering and breathing irregularly. It tried to squawk again, but only more blood came up.

"Shh, take it easy," she said. "No more of that." She held it close, and it instinctively snuggled up against her body. Though it smeared its blood all over her fur, she didn't pay attention to that. Its frantic, irregular breathing slowed a little as it stared into her eyes.

"That's right. Don't worry, I won't leave you." Its breathing continued to steady. She wanted to hold it tighter, but she had to resist her instincts; she didn't want to crush it.

Eclipse sighed. "Part of the machine’s chamber broke when the Archen was trying to get free. I'll need to find a replacement. I'll be back." He moved for the door. As he left the room, his light faded and vanished.

The Archen started to make a sound, but Lang shushed it again. "Please, don't do that." The sound of her voice steadied it again.

Something glowing approached the door. "Did you find it already?" She said, looking at the door. But instead of a Malamar, a Sylveon was standing there, glowing faintly.

"Li!?" she said in disbelief. "Why are you here?"

Lioren said nothing, and instead bounded up in front of her. "What's wrong with it?" he asked, eyeing the Archen.

"It... Eclipse said something about a collapsed, err, lungs?"

"Let me see it." By this, he meant for Lang to bring it lower. Though Lang was a little short for a Mienshao, she was holding the Archen about level with Lioren's face.

She slowly got down onto her knees, not wishing to disturb the bird. He placed one of his ribbon-like feelers over its chest, and another on its head. He frowned. "Yeah, the guy's not doing so hot. I can only make him more comfortable." A soft light emanated from his ribbons, and the Archen was able to take a deep breath at last.

"What are you doing here?" Lang asked, turning her attention back toward Lioren. "How did you even find us?"

"Well... I knew something was up when you and Eclipse left with those fossils. So I followed you."

"You followed us? For two weeks?"

"Two weeks? Has it been that long?"

Lang took a closer look at Lioren. It was hard to be sure, considering how dark it was, but she noticed he was thinner than normal. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he said as he looked down at the Archen.

That response was so halfhearted that Lang knew something else was up. "Li," she said, "If you're hungry, I have-"

"No thanks."

"What? You look like you haven't eaten for days!"

"How am I supposed to!? I've been worried sick!" Tears filled his eyes. "I thought you wouldn't go this far. How can you agree to this?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"This!" he jerked his head towards the Archen in her arms. The bird stirred at the noise. Lang shushed it softly.

Lioren continued in a quiet, hurried tone. "This child was resting peacefully, and you've just woken him from his slumber so that… so that he can die again. How are you okay with this?"

"You think I wanted this to happen? If everything had gone right, he would alive and well! You got a problem with bringing someone back to life?"

"Yeah, if it means they'll be enslaved the whole time!"

"'Enslaved'? what are you talking about?!"

"You know exactly what Eclipse is planning! He wants to put these Archens in the coliseum. He wants to make them fight, just so those stupid spectators cough up more money!"

"That's not... Li, stop. It's not like that."

"Of course it is! If Eclipse has been working so hard to bring these Archens back, and I don't think he going to ask them what they want to do for the rest of their lives. After all the time and energy Eclipse put into this, is he really going to give them a say?"

"Do you really think we have a choice? A lot is riding on this! If we don't do something to bring those viewers back, there's not even going to be a coliseum!"

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing!"

The Archen wailed, but its cry was interrupted by more bloody coughing. Lioren put his ribbons back on the bird, but its coughing continued. After one particularly violent cough, it lay limp and still, eyes glazed over.

"It's life force..." Lioren said after some time. He removed his ribbons from the creature. "It's gone."

They sat in silence. Lang felt a sickening mix of anger and regret. She knew that the Archen should have been alive right now. It was her fault that it was dead. Or, maybe if she hadn't been fighting with Li, it might have been able to hang in there until they made it back to a full-fledged healer.

At the same time, she wanted to slap Lioren. How could he say such a thing? After all this time, how could he not know how important Eclipse's coliseum was to her?

"I... this is my fault." Lang looked up, surprised. She saw more tears in his eyes.

You bet it is! "No, Li, it isn't."

"I'm the one who shouted. And I'm the one who didn't confront you two before you got here. I..."

"Hold on," she said as she stood up. "We need to find a better place for him. We'll figure this out after that, alright?"

"Yeah," Lioren said. "Alright."

~~~

Though they wanted to bury the Archen outside of the facility, neither wanted to risk getting lost in the nearly identical hallways. So, for the time, they settled on placing the bird's remains in a box they found a few rooms down. An actual burial would come later.

They walked back to the Fossil Restoration Lab in silence. Lang crossed her arms to keep herself warm, but it only reminded her of the dried blood encrusted in her chest fur.

She had no idea Lioren would be so upset by all of this. And why did he follow them all this way? Did he knew something before they even got to the restoration lab? If not, then why did he follow them in the first place? Did he doubt... no, there wasn't any point in making wild guesses.

"You know we've tried everything else, right?" she asked as they approached the lab.

"Yes, but... is it worth that much? So much that we have to resort to this?"

"Li, please stop. This... I don't know what I would do with myself if the coliseum were to go under. I though you understood how much it means to me."

"But there's gotta be something else out there! Some other way you can show the world just how great a fighter you are. Like maybe-"

"I don't need to show the world anything!" she snapped. "Well, okay, maybe I do. But Li, I don't know what else would work."

"What if you became an arbiter?"

"Ugh, what? And teach children how to stop crying? No."

"What!? But I could handle the younger ones, and you'd take on the older ones. Come on, how bad could it be?"

"You? Ha! You'd give all the trainees a free pass, you softie." He turned a little red at this, but before she continued before he could respond. "Sorry, but I don't want to. I just don't, alright?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but, out of words, he simply sighed and lowered his head. Silence filled the room. Li's sadness was palpable. Was there something more behind this whole 'arbiter' idea that Lioren hadn't said?

Lang knelt in front of him and put her hand on his cheek. "I'm touched that you care so much. But I'm not ready to just leave everything behind. Not yet. Alright?"

Li sighed again. Lang pulled him in for a hug. He wrapped his ribbons around her, returning the hug. But she could sense that he was still gloomy.

She tried to think of something to say. Maybe something to do. She knew he was right. Eclipse wouldn't be kind to the other Archen. He'd force it into the ring. He'd take advantage of its novelty. He wouldn't let it leave his sight for a moment or give it an ounce of freedom.

"We could be there for it," she said, almost thinking aloud. Lioren pulled away, confusion on his face. "Maybe we could make sure the Archen feels like it's important. We could raise the little guy."

"Raise him? This is sounding… almost like you want to adopt him."

"Does that bother you?"

"Of course not! It's a great idea!" He hugged her again, this time with an energetic warmth coming off his ribbons. "I just didn't think you'd suggest something like that." After pulling away again, she could see that he was glowing, both figuratively and literally. "I can see it now. You can pass along all of the tricks you've come up with, and I'll help make sure it stays healthy and ready for anything."

He walked over to the fossil. "We can cheer through the highs and lows. We can be there when it needs help. And maybe, one day, we convince Eclipse to give it its freedom. It's almost like…" He paused, lost in thought. "…almost like a family of our own."

"Yeah," Lang said. As she rose to her feet, she could help but chuckle. Li's enthusiasm was a nice change. "I just hope they'll get along."

"'They'?" He turned toward Lang.

Lang put her hand on the back of her head. "I was planning on telling you when I got back, but I might as well tell you now."

Li tilted his head to the side.

"Let's just say that I-" No, no, she wanted to let him figure it out. "We'll have more than just an Archen to look after."

"'More than just...'" He trailed off, his brow furrowed. Then his eyes widened. "Wait, are you saying that we... that that..."

She smiled and nodded.

"S-so... I'll be a dad? As in, an actual dad?" She nodded again. He was silent, staring at her in a wordless amazement.

She smiled back. "We'll pick up the egg on the way back. Won't be much longer now before it hatches."

"I-I'm not sure what to say..." He was about to say something else, but his eyes were drawn to something behind Lang. He gasped and stumbled back.

Lang whirled around and saw a small, bipedal figure in the doorway. It wore a hooded cloak, and a candlelight danced behind the figure. However, the light was too dim and it was impossible to make out its features.

"Who the heck are you?" Lang asked as she shifted into a battle stance.

The candlelight held still and became brighter. The figure shifted their weight forward and down. Claws glistened in the dim light.

No one moved. Lang focused, ready for any quick movement. She considered striking now. Putting on pressure would prevent this opponent from doing whatever they planned. But that would be a risky move. No telling what this thing was... what it was capable of. What it was thinking.

Lioren stepped forward, bringing him alongside Lang. "What do you want from us?" he asked. "Can... you even understand us? Can you speak?"

"I am a blade for the bladeless," the figure responded. Her voice sounded small and young. "A shield for the shieldless."

Lang felt her body relax and her mouth sneer. "You? A hatchling like you makes a lousy shield."

"Lang!" Lioren hissed. "She's not alone."

Lang tensed up again. "Would you just tell us what you want?" She wasn't used to dealing with something like this. Was she a threat or not?

"Leave," the figure ordered. "And take your friends. Never come back. Never tell anyone about this place."

A thought struck Lang. "Are you trying to resurrect this fossil for yourself?"

"Of course not! I'm going to smash it!"

"S-smash it?" Lioren asked. "Why?"

"I won't let anyone disturb it. It's been dead for millions of years. Are you really going to wake it up? Are you really going to desecrate the dead?"

"We're giving it a second chance!" Lang shouted back.

"That's Eclipse's lie. You seriously believe him?"

"How did you-?"

"Be quiet!" The candlelight behind the figure grew brighter and sunk to the ground. "You won't back down? Then fine!" In a flash of steel, the figure drew a long sword. Its blade was wreathed in a light-consuming smog. "We'll stop you!"

"Reflect! Now!" Lang shouted. Her eye caught a glimmer of light as the figure leapt and swung the blade downward. Her hands moved to catch the blade, distributing the force across her hardened palms. Once the blade was adequately slowed, she channeled her internal strength, throwing the blade back with a sudden force from her palms.

The figure was launched back. She twisted away from the blade to avoid getting sliced, but this evasive maneuver left her unable to brace for impact, and she slammed into the wall at full speed. Both blade and body fell to the floor.

"Your hands!" Li said. Lang felt blood flowing through her fingers. Using Force Palm immediately after having her palms sliced was a definite risk, as it forced extra blood into her hands.

"Where's my reflect?!" Lang shouted as she threw herself at her downed opponent. As the small figure lifted herself to her hands and knees, Lang's eyes fixed on the figure's hood. Lang planted one foot in front of the figure, and then unleashed a savage kick with the other.

Her foot flew through the air, crashing into the figure's head with a skull-crushing force. The figure's body crashed through the wall, tearing through in a flurry of dust and blood.

Her foot flew through the air, sending Lang forward and causing her to stomp hard into the unbroken wall. "What the—" she gasped. What just happened? Where did that runt go?

She heard Li gasp. Pain shot through her right leg. She looked down to see that sword protruding through the leg. Before she could react, the blade removed itself and flew back into the figure's hand. The intense surge of pain forced a gasp out of Lang. She leapt away from the figure, but the maneuver hurt even worse.

"Lang!" Li shouted, even though he was right behind her. "Hold on!" Lang could feel Li's ribbons wrapping around her leg, taking the edge off the pain. At the same time, she felt his light envelop her body; this would reflect the brunt of most attacks, making her far more durable.

She expected the figure to be bearing down on them by now, but Lang realized the figure had problems of her own. Her hood was down, revealing the face of a young Charmander. Her free hand was clutching the back of her neck, and she tottered slightly, pain clearly visible on her face.

"What just happened?" Lang asked, her eyes trained on the blade-wielding child.

"She jumped away," Li said, "and then she threw her sword."

"N-no, she just sat still, and I..." Was her mind playing tricks on her? She really did kick the Charmander! Her mind replayed that kick… she didn't miss!

"Now do you see?" the Charmander said. She tried to lift her sword, but the motion further aggravated her neck. She groaned and staggered under the pain, her head tilted back towards the ceiling.

Lang blinked. "You shouldn't be standing. Not… not after that!"

The Charmander grinned through the pain, still with her head back. "Time is on my side. I can't lose. I can't die."

"But..." Lang glanced at the wall. "What just happened?"

"You've already lost," the Charmander continued. "I won't let you go through with-" she gasped as a new surge of pain hit her.

"No, you're the one who's lost!" Lang broke away from Li and charged again. She didn't care how many kicks it took. She didn't lose to anyone!

"Stop!" Li's ribbons wrapped around Lang's wrist. Lang skidded to a stop. What was he doing?

He rushed in between them. Before she could protest, he continued. "I'll admit I have no idea what you two are talking about. But listen to yourself!" He was looking at the Charmander. "You're in no condition to carry on!"

As he walked up to the Charmander, Lang noticed that Li had put a reflective layer on himself as well… at least he was keeping his guard up.

After the brief pause, he continued, "I'm touched that you care about this Archen. Really. But we'll take good care of it. We'll make sure everything works out."

"How can you be so certain? I thought… I thought you were opposed to bringing it back. I thought you'd agree with me, and--" She let out a pained gasp and tightened her grip on her neck.

"Let me fix that," Li asked as he placed one of his ribbons on her neck, soothing the pain. "And you're right, I don't really like it. I wish there was another way. But Lang really believes that this is the only way, and when she really believes in something, I want back her up. We'll make a way."

The Charmander stepped back and looked at the Li and Lang. Lang limped alongside Li and put her hand on his back. "Yeah, we've always been able to pull through. This won't be any different!" He squeezed her hand with one of his ribbons and nodded.

"Well," the Charmander looked down at the floor. "You better mean it! Because… abandoning a kid is bad! So…"

Lang thought this last statement was strange, but Li seemed to take interest and stepped towards the Charmander. Sylveons could sense emotions, after all.

"Hey kid, what's your name?" he asked.

"Dawn. But why are you--?"

"How old were you when you were abandoned, Dawn?"

"H-how did--?" she stammered. She fumbled her sword, allowing it to clatter to the ground. As she recovered from her initial surprise, her gaze fell to the floor.

As Li approached Dawn, Lang noticed that Li allowed his reflective layer to dissipate. He pressed her again with the same question: "How old were you?"

"I've… I don't know… what they looked like... or anything." Tears began to well up in her eyes.

Li wrapped his ribbons around her. "It must be hard."

She began to sob and hugged him back. "Yeah… I remember… being alone. It was so cold. I… just…" She buried her face in his shoulder and continued to cry.

Lang was amazed. Somehow, Li had turned a fight to the death into a therapy session. If there was one thing Li would always be better at, it was diplomacy. She realized, though, that Dawn's past could explain…

"That's why you attacked us, huh?" Lang asked, verbalizing her thoughts. "You didn't want to see someone else go through what you've been through."

Dawn looked up suddenly and stared at Lang. "No," she said, her voice sounding much more certain than it did moments ago. "I still… I can't let you!"

Li gasped. He dropped to the floor, with the sash of Dawn's sword wrapped around his neck.

Lang's blood froze. What just happened to Li? What just...

"Don't move. I don't want to hurt him," Dawn said. She held her blade against the Sylveon's throat. "Please. I don't want to hurt either of you." She wiped the tears out of her eyes so she could see Lang more clearly.

"Don't..." was the only thing she managed to say.

"Then listen to me," Dawn said. "You can never resurrect any fossils. You can't bring back the dead. No matter what happens."

Silence followed. A terrible, heavy silence. With Lioren at sword point, Lang could only imagine the potential finality of this moment. Though the choice was obvious, she had no idea why Dawn was so hostile to the idea of restoring fossils. She decided to risk asking. "But... why can't we?"

"Because then eventually, the—" Dawn stopped abruptly. "I, no, er..." she trailed off. She looked a little spaced out, though her eyes didn't leave Lang.

Lang's eyes darted between Dawn and the tip of her sword. The sudden silence was unnerving. She considered rushing in. If she could distract the Charmander for just a second, maybe she could kick her blade away, or tackle her, or… something.

"Look," Dawn said. "I know you all have worked hard for this. But I can't let you go through with it. Bringing someone back... just breaks the rules. Bad things will happen."

"Wh-what are you talking about? What things?"

"I can't tell you. You'll just have to trust me," she replied. "Can you do that?"

"You're not giving me a choice."

Dawn bit her lip. "Then… I will. I'll trust you. So please…" As she said this, she backed away from Lioren. Then she returned the sword into the sheath on her back.

Lang rushed over to Li and knelt beside him. He was unusually pale and cold, but still breathing. She shook him and called his name, but he wouldn't stir.

"He'll be alright," the Charmander said. "I think he'll be back up in a couple of hours."

"If he doesn't, I'll kick your face again."

"S-sorry." The Charmander looked away and clutched her arm. "I needed you to listen. I didn't know what else--"

"I don't care. I'd still kick you."

"Hey, I said I'm--!" She stopped, suddenly biting her lip. Moments later, she started to tear up. "I... understand. Threatening you two like that... was really wrong. I'm sorry."

"You'd better be sorry! What the heck is up with you? One moment, you're trying to kill us. The next, you're crying into his shoulder. And just when it seems like you're chilling, you go back to trying to kill us! You dare to threaten us after he protected you like that?"

"I..." She removed her cloak. "Show me your leg."

Lang wasn't sure what to make of this request, but she hesitantly shifted so that her injured leg was accessible. Though Li definitely reduced the pain, he didn't have enough time to stop the bleeding or the throbbing.

Dawn tightly wrapped the cloak around Lang's leg. "It's not much, but… hopefully it'll help while you wait for your friend to fix it."

"If you're trying to make me forgive you, forget it! Not after that stunt you pulled!"

"Ok, but... heroes care about everyone, even the Pokémon who hate them." As she said this, she looked away and clutched her wrist.

"What? Don't tell me you think you're a... some sort of hero?"

"No, I'm no hero. I was thought you would never listen to me, so I..." Her voice began to tremble. "I used your friend. And then I tried to tell you what to do. I'm sorry..." She turned and started to walk away.

"You think you can just leave? After all that?"

"No, not yet. I'm going to talk to the other guy."

"You mean Eclipse? Look, kid, I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, but Eclipse doesn't mess around."

"Great! Then I can get straight to the point."

"No kid, you don't know what you're up against. It's not going to end well for you."

"Don't worry, me 'n Dusk have been through worse."

"Who's Dusk? Your imaginary friend?"

"Oh," she laughed. "He's not imaginary. He's right here!" She pulled out her sword again.

"That's..." Lang wasn't sure what to make of this. This was a child who managed to get her claws on a sword and was able to somehow time travel, yet she also pretended to be a hero and gave her sword a name. How could this kid be so naive and yet so powerful?

"I'm really sorry for everything. But your friend is going to be alright, I promise." With this, she turned to leave.

But something made Dawn freeze in place. Terror was on her face, but she didn't move an inch. Some tall figure that glowed a soft red drifted through the doorway, heading toward Dawn.

It took a moment for Lang to realize that this newcomer was Eclipse. But she didn't say anything... the air in the room was heavy and stiff. She realized that Eclipse was exerting his psychic force on the Charmander. That would explain both the stillness of Dawn's body and the terror in her eyes.

Dawn sunk to her knees. She looked as though she was trying to fight back, but Lang knew that there was nothing that the little Charmander could do now. Now Eclipse was in control.

Eclipse's quiet voice sounded, breaching the silence: "She who lives by the sword..."

At first, nothing seemed to happen. Dawn sat there, staring unblinkingly at the Malamar, sword still in hand. Eclipse stood equally motionless. Lang watched with her arms around Li's neck, waiting for whatever would happen next. She waited a very long time before she finally heard it again...

She who lives by the sword...

Eclipse's words echoed in Lang's head. Though they were just a soft whisper, they bothered Lang. She tried to push that out of her head. But doing so made them come back, a little louder this time.

She who lives by the sword...

Dawn, still mesmerized by Eclipse's lights, began to lift her blade. Was she... pointing it at Eclipse? Something here wasn't making sense to Lang. Eclipse's words became a nagging riddle. Lang played them back in her head again, determined to figure out the meaning.

She who lives by the sword...

Dawn's other hand rose to take the sword, to reorient it. Now it faced backwards, towards its owner. The pieces were starting to come together.

She who lives by the sword...

Now the blade was in place, pointing and its owner's heart. Ah, now it made sense! Lang was convinced. There was only one possible solution to this riddle. The conclusion felt so natural that Lang muttered the words.

"...dies by the sword."

The tension vanished instantly. For a brief moment, Dawn sat motionless. Then, with a thud, she fell to her side. The flame on her tail sputtered and vanished.

ncG1vNJzZmiapaGvorPAq5uepl6jsrV706GpnpmUqHyistOeqWacpai4brLApaOsZmJshniDkWg%3D