They of the Sun
Chapter Thirty-Four: To Set Things Right

     During the night I tossed and turned, sleep escaping me each time I shut my eyes. Memories of Sinnoh came and went like fragmented dreams. Being lost in Eterna Forest, blurred faces of admins full of annoyance, the Trainer with the stone-grey eyes seeming appear out of nowhere, and the cold snip of Mt. Coronet. Cyrus as darkness swallowed him whole in the ruins of the Spear Pillar. They drifted in a never-ending loop, they kept me wondering...

     The aching throughout my body didn't help. Even the luxurious bed I had sunken into was not enough to comfort me. What had happened yesterday was beyond any of us; we were all way in over our heads. A bunch of kids against who knows what? The Legendary- Mewtwo- that Giovanni possessed was something else. Being able to hold the five of us against our will with no effort. It's eyes were so cold; it would have killed us all without hesitation if Giovanni had said so. Or maybe... It would have done so on its' own accord had it had the chance. There was zero doubt either way. 

     I hadn't slept a wink when Wicke knocked on the door, calling me out to join the rest of them for breakfast. Still dressed in my grimy Team Skull attire, I threw the blankets off and slid out of the warm bed. Hunger was the last thing on my mind. I was sure breakfast would come back up and I wouldn't be the only one pissed about it. It's not like I had had any time to say much to the others... After weeks of not seeing them. Then being dropped off by Tapu Koko out of the sky? What was there to say? I still hadn't figured out that much to set things right.

     And I'm out of time now. Fuck. 

    All eyes on me, I took a seat further away from the rest of them. Much closer than I would have been to them just a few months ago. Although, I was begrudgingly coming to terms... They couldn't expect me to do a complete one-eighty. That's not how this worked. I could feel their eyes lingering on me as I reached out to pour myself some orange juice, even though they were attempting to be inconspicuous about it. I hated the attention. 

     "So," I began, raising my eyes to meet all of theirs. Blue, green, grey. "What now?" 

     "We go after Lusamine," Gladion stated, clear and immediate while the others looked at one another. I'm sure they had decided their own answers for each of their own perceptions of the situation. "Better yet, we go after that Team Rainbow Rocket Scum, Giovanni." 

     "And how do we do that?" We weren't going to exert the last of Nebby's energy- if he had any. The new form he had taken on was quiet and unmoving; he was a cluster of stars. What options did we have left? 

     From the pocket of his torn hoodie, he produced a soft blue crystalline flute and placed it delicately on the marbled table. I recognized it almost immediately. The Z-Crystal from Lunala was sitting within my bag in the room. "Lusamine wanted this, before she got her hands on Nebby."

     There was a soft "You knew?" from Lillie. The shade of green in their eyes was the same; vibrant and willful. Gladion rolled his at the naivety of  his younger sister. "You'd be an idiot if you said you didn't know Mom was after Ultra Beast since Dad disappeared. I just didn't have a clue about the whole Giovanni conspiracy..."

     Lillie nodded in agreement, keeping her eyes unclouded from tears as she took another bite of food. A knock at the entrance of the dining area turned all of our heads to look at Dulse and Zossie standing there. When had they gotten there?

     "We apologize if we are intruding," Dulse said, taking steps towards us. "We may be of assistance." 

     Next to him Zossie held a stack of books with a timid smile dancing on her face. She set them on the table before beginning to search for a specific title. "I'm not sure if you remember but there might be a few clues to what you're asking about in the books we ... err borrowed from the Malie Library." 

     "We were looking into the Alolan Myths," Gladion was quickly fitting the two together while the rest of us sat there in silence without an actual lead to add to the conversation. I tried to remember the study to no avail; I had been uncomfortable in my thoughts and paranoia that day. I thought of what Acerola had said that day, glancing briefly to Lillie. Zossie pointed to highlighted text. 

     "They left heirs to inherit and protect Alola," she said, her eyes traveling to Nebby in his newfound state. "Which we have come to assume are Cosmog and... the Cosmoem you have there." 

     "Nebby," Lillie corrected, a hint of boldness to her tone. 

     "Nebby seems to be one of the heirs," Dulse flawlessly followed suit with a nod of acknowledgment to the nickname. "There were four in total that each Tapu had guarded... We're not quite sure what have happened to them all, but all four may no longer be present. Regardless, we need to find them before Lusamine and Giovanni set out to do the same." 

     "How can we trust you?" Gladion snarled, narrowing his eyes at the two. "You were working for Lusamine this entire time..." 

     "You can't." Dulse said bluntly, "but we, too, can be aware of our errors and how easily we were deceived. You do not have much time and we have the information you need. Ultra Wormholes have been opening up all over because of the ripple of inter-dimensional energy Cosm- Nebby had created. If we want to set things right, then you have to reach into the darkness of uncertainty."

     I looked down at my lap, mulling over Dulse's poetic sentiment. They had been gathering all these details for Lusamine to research and still they chose our side... Why? And he wasn't wrong. We didn't have time to wonder and argue. All this rationalization shit made me want to hit my head into a wall. I could storm into the other room... but what good has that done me in the past? Redirecting the ever-constant annoyance, I stood as I slammed my hands down on the table. I no longer could fight what Alola had mapped out for me... No matter how far I ran, I was going to end up where I was wanted. It was a tiring fight. 

     "Let's get to it!" I shouted, forcing an encouraging grin on to my face only to be met with looks of concern. It wasn't an expression they were used to. It didn't feel natural... I was only trying to get from point A to point B.  From my right Lillie's chair screeched as she stood, her eyes burning brighter than her brother's before a battle. Everyone looked at us with surprise for the initiative we wanting to take. The sooner I got it over with, the better... right?

     "What's the plan?"