I dash through the forest.
I'm almost there... 

I finally make it back to the battlefield, where everyone is cluttered around Tidal Wave and Siren.

I push past them and slowly make my way up to them.
Because Kapua's mother apparently never taught him how to listen, he ran off somewhere.

When I make it half way, I look up and see Tidal Wave flicking the blood off his paw.
 
If he's so disgusted by it then why is he sinking his claws into everything that bleeds?
  
I push past more Pokèmon and finally make my up to Tidal Wave, Maui and Isabelle.

My heart sinks.
Everything instantly vanishes around me.
The only thing bringing me back is Pua calling for me.

"Mom, I-" He stops and stares in horror, "Ew..."

Outlander flies over to us, "Siren..." he whispers.
   
"It was supposed to be me..." She sobs into his feathers.

Everyone sits in silence until someone in the crowd cries out, "But the prophecy!"

Tidal Wave's eyes widen, "Wait, I killed Isabelle?" He shrugs and licks his paw, "Shame. I actually liked her."
    
"She isn't dead yet!" Pua yells at him.

"She will be soon." He turns to Maui, "Chin up, Maui. You still have your other daughter."

"Why?" Maui finally says, looking up from Isabelle's body.

"Oh, I was hoping you would ask me that. One word, Maui. Revenge. Sweet, sweet revenge."

"Revenge for what?"
  
"For leaving me for that Primarina all those years ago." He snarls, "I told you she wasn't worth anything; she was just a pretty face."

"But that was so long ago."
    
"Nice to know that you've forgotten."
He stands and flicks his tail, "For years, I've been thinking of ways to hurt you like you hurt me. Opal died and you didn't care. So, I had to find someone else to kill."
    
"Why couldn't you have just let that go!?"
  
"Because you were my only friend in this world. But clearly, that didn't matter to you. No. I was just someone to talk to. Just like always."

"Its not my fault you had a-"

Tidal Wave scoffs, "Love makes you blind. It makes you stupid. For all the dumb things my mother said about you she was right about one thing. You never really did care about me, did you?"
     
"I did until you murdered my daughter!"
     
Tidal Wave bares his teeth and growls, "I hope it hurts just as bad as when you broke my heart."

The silence is soon filled with gasps.

I hear a weak cough followed by some laughter, "gayyyy..."

Siren pulls away from Outlander and smiles when she sees Isabelle isn't completely dead.

Tidal Wave rolls his eyes, "Says the dying Primarina."

He waves his tail for his Clan to head back home. 
Pixie Cloud is sure to growl at me before she leaves.

Hawk Flame and Fawn Petal stay behind though.
Tidal Wave gives them a quick look of disgust before turning his attention to me.

He smiles and lies down on the rock, crossing his front paws over each other, "How does it feel, Leafeon? I've killed the two Pokèmon that meant most to you. If you ask me, I'd say I did good."

"I still have Kapua." I growl.

Too bad I don't believe that.
And he knows I don't.
He always knows.

He laughs, "She'll never be Nightshade. You have nobody left. How does that make you feel? Father to daughter; you can be honest with me."
  
I look into his eyes...and I can't stop the tears, "I'm not your daughter and you're not my father. You've taken everything away from me. I want to die...because of you; my own father."

"But I'm still here." I hear Pua whisper.

"That's how you break someone, Kapua." He stands and stretches, "Not even you can save her. You're just her dead girlfriend's kid. That's all you'll ever be to her. You're not hers. And that makes all the difference."  
   
I look past my tears and stare at him, "I hate you, Tidal Wave."

He chuckles, "I've been waiting years for you to finally say that and it only took killing the ones you love." He jumps off the rock and vanishes into the forest.
  
I turn back to Isabelle.
This is my fault.
It's my fault Isabelle is lying on the ground bleeding to death.
It's all my fault...

I lie down next to her and press my face into her chest, "Please don't go."

"She's too far gone..." Fawn Petal whispers behind me.

"No." Siren protests, "We can still save her!"

Outlander shakes his head, "We're not miracle workers."

Siren turns to Maui, "We can help her! She...she....she can't die!"

Maui bows his head and the rest of the Tribe does the same.

Siren stares at them in shock, "Stop it! We can still do something! Why aren't you helping her!?"

Maui takes a deep breath and lifts his head up, "Because we're already too late. The wound is too deep, she's lost too much blood-"

"I'm not dead yet." Isa mutters.

"We still have time!" Siren cries desperately.

"So she can live for five more minutes." Outlander says.

"But she wasn't supposed to die!"

"And neither were you." Isa coughs, "Stop crying. I didn't die for you so you could snot all over my corpse."

Siren only cries harder, "That doesn't make me feel any better."

"It makes me feel better."

"How!?"

"'Cause I've only ever been a jerk to you."

"So you kill yourself to make it up to me!? That's reckless and stupid!"

"Oh, shush. "Isa scoffs, "I know what I was doing. I don't need you to lecture me." She smiles, "I'll be dead by then."

"But I don't lecture you..."

Isabelle sighs, "Whelp, we're gonna have to speed this up. It's very hard to breathe...I can see my dead ancestors welcoming me with flowers."
   
Siren lies down in front of her, "Is this really goodbye?" She whispers.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Siren closes her eyes as the tears roll down her face and splash onto the ground below.

"Hey." Isabelle whispers, "It's okay. I'm okay. Because you've got your weird bird boyfriend. Bam! They lived happily ever after and got married. And had fifty two kids that are all named Isabelle."

Siren laughs nervously, "I'm not going to name all of my kids Isabelle."
     
Isabelle coughs.
Only this time she coughs up blood.
She looks at it and frowns, "My friend is dead. I miss her. A lot."

She looks over at me and winks, "I'm gonna steal your wife, Leafeon! I'm just kidding."
   
I smile.
Even in death she's still cracking jokes. 
Sure, that joke wasn't funny.
At all.
But I'll let her have it.

Isa looks up at the cloudy sky and smiles, "But now, I'll get to see her again. And that makes dying not so bad."

She coughs again.
More blood.
So much more blood.

She lays her head back down and pants.
Her breaths are short and ragged.
This is Nightshade all over again.

Everything grows silent.
All that can be heard is Isa's breathing.

"Siren?" Isa finally says.

"What?"

"Can you sing me a song? I want that to be the last thing I hear."

Siren nods, "I-I'll sing for you. What song?"

Isabelle closes her eyes, "The one...the one Opal would sing to us..."

"Wait!" Kapua says running over to her.

He places a small purple flower on one of her flippers, "It's Hyacinth." He sniffles as tears begin to run down his face, "D-do you know what they stand for?"
 
She tries to keep her eyes open as she looks up at him, "What...?"

He smiles and wipes his eyes, "Forgiveness. I forgive you, Isabelle. Say hi to Mama for me."

Isabelle smiles weakly at him, "You're a sweet kid, Kapua."

Pua walks over and hugs me.
His tears quickly soaking my fur.

Siren clears her throat only to be cut off by Isa.

"I love you, little sister."

My heart shatters into a million pieces.
She sounds so fragile.
I know that Nightshade looked up to Isabelle. 
Because of this I did, too.
This journey has only made me appreciate her more.

But here, she sounds so vulnerable.
I can hear the pain in her voice.
She doesn't want to die, no matter how hard she tries to convince herself.

Maui waddles over to her and hugs her tightly, "In peace may you leave this shore. In love may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels until our final journey to the ground. May we meet again."
 
He sets her gently on the ground and goes to stand behind Siren.

Siren closes her eyes.
She takes a deep shaky breath.

"Deep in the meadow, under the willow. 
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow.
Lay down your head, and close your eyes.   
And when they open, the sun will rise. 
Here, it's safe.
Here, it's warm.
Here, the daisies guard you from every harm. 
Here your dreams are sweet.
And tomorrow brings them true.
Here is the place.
Where I love you."

She died with a smile on her face.
It's like she just feel asleep.

You never realize it until it finally happens. 
How badly someone's death can affect you.
I love Nightshade more than anyone in this world.
And when she died I had nothing.
But Isabelle stopped it all.
All of those terrible feelings...the darkness I felt.

Now she's gone.
Both of them.
Who will save me now?

Tidal Wave is right.
Kapua isn't mine.
I don't want anything to do with him.
What's the point of taking care of him?
He'll die just like Isa and Nightshade.
Because I love him; because I care about him.
Because I need him.
And Tidal Wave always takes that away. 

Siren gazes sadly at Isabelle's body.
She bends down and gently kisses her forehead before turning to Outlander, "I want to go home." She whispers.

"But..." Kapua pulls away from me, "We have to tell Miracle."

Ugh.
We do.
I'm sure the last thing that girl wanted was for her Pokémon to die.
Especially her starter.

"That's her Trainer..." Maui says.

Kapua nods and the Tribe lifts themselves in the air with Psychic, "The girl is on Melemele Island...on the beach in Hau'oli City." Maui states lifting Isabelle's limp body onto his back, "It's a long way there." He whispers.

A young male Popplio waddles over to us.
Pua climbs onto his back as he lifts us into the air.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time we reached the beach, night had fallen.
   
Miracle and her friends were having a party or something.
Lively music, dancing around a campfire, laughing, singing.
That girl that Nightshade said Miracle has a crush on is there; along with Grunt, August and West.
There's some weird bat thing just floating about them.

"You shoulda see his face when the cops came!" West exclaims, "He was all like "'No no! You have the wrong guy!'"

Miracle slaps him on the back, "That old bastard deserved it; him and Harper!" 
    
"Fuck 'em!" August howls, raising a glass of beer into the air.
  
West and him click their glasses together before the three yell triumphantly into the starry night sky.
   
Hau was the first to spot us landing.
He jumps up and down and points and yells to get everyone to stop celebrating.

Kukui removes his glasses and stares at the Primarina, Brionne and Popplio in awe, "There's so many..." He whispers, clearly trying to hold back his excitement.
   
Miracle stares at them confusion, "Where's Isabelle?" She asks, walking up to the large crowd.

Everyone bows their head as Maui, Siren, and Outlander walk up to her.

Issac and Hunter join Miracle, their smiles quickly fade when they see them.

"Where's Isabelle?" Hunter asks, walking around, "I have a really funny joke to tell her!" He stops walking and looks at Siren, "Oh no. Have you been crying?"

"She died in battle." Maui whispers setting Isa's body down at Miracle's feet.

While everybody is losing their minds over the fact that they can understand Maui, Miracle is trying her hardest not to cry.

"Nonononono." Miracle says quickly, "She's...she's just sleeping."

August raises his hand and everybody instantly shuts up.

For a while, everybody stands there just whispering and glancing at Miracle.

"Well, now we have two Pokémon to bury..." Grunt says nervously.

His attempts to lighten the mood only seem to make things worse.

"SHE ISN'T DEAD!" Miracle shouts at him before crumpling to the sand, sobbing.
She digs her fingers into the sand as sobs shake her body.

She looks up at Isabelle, her eyes red and puffy from tears, "I can't lose you, too..." She says as her voice cracks with emotion, "My first partner. We were supposed to finish this together."

Tiko along with Tula, Rudy and Peanut all make their way on the beach to her.

However, Peanut, Tiko and Tula stop in their tracks when they see Isa's body.

Rudy runs past them, his tail held high in excitement.

He cautiously walks over and tenderly sniffs Isabelle.
He softly nickers and nudges her.

Miracle shakes her head, "Stop it, Rudy..."

Rudy neighs in distress and begins pacing on the beach.
The three slowly creep up to stand next to Miracle.

Tiko removes his fedora and sets it on the ground while Tula holds him close.
Peanut watches Rudy go back and forth until Miracle finally grabs his reins.
He dips his head and nickers before he walks over to Peanut.

He sits down with his back turned to Miracle while the small Ghost Pokémon tries to calm him down by petting him.

Well, at least him and Peanut did get really close.
Too bad Isabelle never got to see it.

Lillie walks over to Miracle and sits down next to her.

"I can't....she-" Miracle chokes on her words as more and more tears stream down her face.

Lillie glances at her before hugging her tightly.
Soon, Hau joins in, then Kukui, then Grunt and Zinnia and August and West; even Gladion.

Usually, I would smile.
All I can feel is an empty hole in my chest.
One that Kapua can't fill.
Two of my best friends died in only a span of two weeks.
I was just barely getting over Nightshade's death then Isabelle has to go and play the redemption game.

It isn't fair!
I feel worse than I did when Nightshade died.
I feel like...like nothing!
I am nothing without Nightshade.
I'm nothing without Isabelle.
I am nothing.

The only one I have left is Kapua.
But I don't want him...
Why does he get to live and Nightshade has to die?
Why does Siren get to live and Isabelle has to die?
Why....why don't I get to die...

"Hello?"

I look down at Kapua, "I found this rock..." He says holding the lapis up, "It was floating in the water."

That's Isabelle's...
But I don't care.
She's dead, why would she need it?

I say nothing I simply stare out at the ocean.

Once Miracle and her friends are done crying, Maui and his Tribe head home....the funeral for Isa is scheduled the next day; same as Nightshade's.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kapua's P.O.V
The clouds have finally left the sky.
Now, I can see the stars.

Mom won't talk to me.
We've been sitting here in Malie Garden, where Isa and Nightshade are buried.
They're actually buried next to each other.
Under a pretty cherry blossom tree.

The funeral was nice...
Miracle said a bunch of sweet things.
Before she ran out crying.
Okay...maybe it wasn't that nice.

But it was nice for me.
I took a bunch of flowers and set them on their graves after they were buried. 
Then I talked to Mama.
For a very, very long time.

By the time I was done the only ones left were Hunter and Issac.
I think Hunter took it a lot better than Issac did.
He refused to even look at Isabelle's grave.

But even he took it better than Mom did.
For the time that we were there, she just stared blankly at their graves.
She didn't say one word to anyone.

We finally left with Hau and headed back to Iki Town when the sun had set.

She hadn't said one word to me the entire time back.
She didn't even look at me.
I think I did something wrong.
I think she blames all of this on me.
I would, too.
Nobody wants a mistake child.
Not even his own mother wants him

Because I didn't want to mess up even more, I decided to go down to Hau'oli Beach.
It's completely empty at night but the stars look so amazing.

Mama and I would look at the stars.
She told me that when we die, we become the stars.
That we're never really gone.
I never thought I would ever have to say goodbye to her.
I never thought I'd have to say goodbye twice.

I feel Jerry moving under my hat.
I sigh and lift it up so he can crawl onto my shoulder.

It's kinda sad the only thing I have left of my mother is a Joltik.
But, right now, Jerry is my only friend.
My only friend is a yellow electric spider.
A very cute electric spider.

I turn my face back up to the stars.
Mama would always tell me to look up there if I was sad.
She said that she was never that far away from me.
We had a song that we would sing about the stars.

Then again, she had songs for everything.
But I remember every word from that song.

"You taught me the courage of stars before you left. How light carries on endlessly even after death."
  
I turn my eyes up to the sky; who knows.   
Maybe she can hear me.

I glance over at Jerry, who is staring at me like I've lost my mind.
Well...at least...uhh...people talk- sing to the sky all the time.
  
"With shortness of breath you explained the infinite. How rare and beautiful it is to even exist." The sea soon grows still, so still that it reflects the stars up above. 
 
I clutch the Lapis and take a step forward, "I couldn't help but ask for you to say it all again. I tried to write it down but I could never find a pen. I'd give anything to hear you say it one more time, that the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes."
   
I sit back down.
I don't know how much my mother truly loved me but I do know she wanted me to grow up and be the best that I could be.  
She told me that there was a whole world out there for me to explore!
That all of it was for me!

I smile, oh, how I miss her.
Ever since I had say goodbye to her when I was younger, all I wanted was to see her again.
That's why I dealt with Lilo for so long. 
'Cause she knew where my mother was. 
And after she brought me back to her, everything would be okay.

I sigh and lie down in the sand.
I cover my head with my arms and close my eyes.
After a while, I decide it's time to head home.
But when I lift my head, all I see are stars...and- are those spirits?!
    
"With shortness of breath I'll explain the infinite."
   
I whip around.
Am I dead!?
Did I die!?
Is this a dream!?
If it is....this is the best dream I have ever had!

"How rare and beautiful it truly is that we exist." She smiles warmly at me.

Her body is surrounded by little stars.
But..I know it's her.
Who else would it be?

"Mama?" I whisper.

Her eyes fill with tears, "My flower..."

My eyes widen and I run over to her.
I jump into her arms and she hugs me.
Do you know how long its been since I've gotten a real hug?

"I've missed you so much." I say holding onto her tightly.

I don't want her to go.
She could vanish and I could never see her again.

She kisses the top of my head and then holds my chin up, "You're so beautiful, Kapua." She whispers.

I blink in surprise, "R-really?"

She nods and pulls away from me and walks over to a pond, "Of course I do. Flowers are the most beautiful thing."

"But I'm a mistake."

She turns to me, "No you're not."

"But my dad-"

She covers my mouth with her tail, "Don't talk about him. That doesn't make you a mistake, Kapua."

"So, what's wrong with me?"

Suddenly, the whole area is filled with bright flowers.
Some of the petals float by lazily in the air.
 
"Do you know what I see when I look at you?"
 
"A Salandit with a...rock? And a white head?"

She grabs a bunch of flowers and makes a flower crown.
She sets it on my head, "I see a king."
 
I puff my chest out and sit up straight, "Wait...king...how do you-"
 
"I can see you. Down there."

"You're not mad?"

She laughs.
I love her laugh.
When Lilo laughed at me it was always mockingly.

"Kapua." She says softly, "Do you know what else I can see?"

I look around, "Weird sparkly flowers."

She chuckles, "No. You think all of this is your fault."

"It is!"

"How?"

I take a deep breath, "You died so nobody would find out about me and Prince wouldn't get in trouble. Isabelle would've never died and and-"

"I would never get to see you again."

"But you would still be alive."

"I would die a million times if it meant you got to live."

"I...I don't understand."

"You think that nobody loves you, that I don't love you.  Do you know how much that hurts? To be stuck up here, having to listen to your child think that their own mother doesn't love them?" 

"That's what everybody tells me."

"They lied. I would know." The flower petals begin to swirl around her, "Come here. I want to tell you a secret."

I walk over to her and sit down, "Oh! Oh! Is it a song about flowers!?"

"No. Not really. But it's a song."

"Oh. Well, I like songs."

She smiles, "I know."

She looks at the flowers around her, "There's method in my madness, there's no logic in your sadness. You don't gain a single thing from misery. Take it from me."

She turns to me and smiles.
And I feel something I've never felt before.
Its warm and comforting.
I feel safe.
What is it?

"You've got it all. You lost your mind in the sound. There's so much more, you can reclaim your crown. You're in control; rid of the monsters inside your head." 
 

The flowers begins swirling faster.
And she begins fading.
My eyes widen and I wrap my arms around her, "Wait! Please don't go!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Put all your faults to bed.
You can be king again."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I blink and it's all gone.
I'm back on the beach only this time I have a splitting headache.
And Jerry is staring at me.
With his creepy eyes.

"Is she dead?" I hear a voice hoot.

It sounds like Issac and Hunter.

"He, Hunter." Issac reminds him, "No he isn't dead; for the millionth time."
 
Hunter sighs, "I remember when you and I and Is-"
 
"Don't talk about her." Issac growls, "Just don't."
 
"But...she was our friend. Why can't we talk about her?"
  
"Because she's dead. We don't talk about dead people."
 
I groan and Hunter pokes me with his talon, "Wakey Wakey!"

"I can't believe Nightshade had a kid." Issac grumbles.
 
"What happened to not talking about dead people? Or does that not apply here?"
 
Issac sighs as Hunter helps me up.
I rub my head and feel...the flower crown?
How'd this get here?

"Let's just take him to Leafeon." Issac says walking towards Iki Town, "I'm tired."

Hunter helped my to my feet and we slowly followed after him.

"You okay, kid?" He asks.

I look at the flower crown in my hands, "Yeah. I'm fine."

He smiles and flies after Issac.

I feel the Lapis swinging around my neck as I walk.
And the flowers petals gently tickle my head as a calm ocean breeze blows.
And then there's Jerry.

It's just him and me now.

I sigh and turn back to the stars.
I can see three, all lined up, that are shining the brightest tonight.

Isabelle's is probably the one the farthest away.
Wild Spark's has three smaller ones surrounding it.
And Nightshade's is in the middle and it's shining brighter than both of them.

Percy used to tell me that death isn't always the end.
Sometimes it can mean new beginnings.
That nobody is really dead if they left a legacy behind.
Dying in a fight is how you make a good legacy for yourself is what she would always say.
After Nightshade died she told me that her legacy would be toxic.

But I don't think that.
You can't change your fate.

You have no control over who lives, who dies, and who tells your story.

But, I'm going to make her story and her legacy a good one.

Because she's the only one who's ever believed in me.
The only one who's ever truly loved me. 
I have to make it up to her.
I'll be what she says I can be.

A King.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:,)

Im gonna miss this book.
I'm gonna miss Isabelle more than anything.

First things first, I'll be having trivia over this book in Spec Speculates.
Ask me some questions and I'll answer them over there.

Second, Do you hate me for ending the Salt Queen's reign?

Third, what'd you think of the book? Did this chap make you cry?
Do you like the ending?
Tell me everything!

Fourth, THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL! WOO!

There are four song references in this chapter.
Save me.