Wes woke up in the desert sands of Orre. There was the famous Outskirt Stand, a cafe built into the rusted old hull of a train. Wes took his glasses and put them over his eyes. There were traces of water on them, tiny tears as if someone had sobbed all over them. He wiped the water off and walked on, walked on to a figure he saw out in the distance.
There was a red-haired girl who Wes thought he should recognize. But her name was lost in the desert winds. It was as if it were a whisper of time that was being kept a secret. But she looked beautiful. She had a long, purple dress on. The color looked so familiar, but he just couldn't think of what it was.
"Who are you? Why are you in such a wasteland?" He asked.
She smiled. "Don't you remember? You died. I'm here to judge you, in a sense."
"Judge what?" He asked.
The girl laughed and rubbed a moon choker that hung upon her neck. "Whether you get to live or not. You finalized your bond, but while you were dying. It's kind of a grey zone kind of thing. It's your choice, but I am the one who must execute it."
"I could go back to life? But why?" Wes asked. "It's so much simpler here."
"Aw come on Wes," the girl in the beautiful dress said. He wondered if this was some kind of test of temptation. " Arceus can bring you back, like how Cynthia's stab wound was healed. Don't tell me you don't remember her either? You know, the woman that loves you. I'm so glad she ended up with you instead of Steven. Like for real, he was such an ungrateful little shit, breaking up with her after she called him such nice things. You can be her new dreamboat."
Wes tilted his head at the girl. For some reason the faint feeling of a blonde came through his mind. But just as quickly as it was there, it was gone. Swept away by the desert winds for the most part. There was a trace of something that bothered him.
"Why are we here?" Wes asked the girl.
She smiled, as if she were waiting to answer the question. "This, Wes, is the place in which your path was defined. This is the moment in which you decided to become who you are now."
"And who am I now?" Wes asked, and for a moment he thought he knew the name of the girl.
She looked at him. "You are who you decide to be. You decided your path to this moment in time, and now you have to decide where you go from here. Where will you go? To wherever you see fit."
He didn't know where he was going or why he was there. The only choice in front of him was the simple one. Live or die? He didn't know why he wanted to live. It all seemed simpler just to stay with this beautiful woman in the purple dress. But somehow, that seemed impossible, it seemed wrong. He didn't know why it felt wrong, but did. Was there some reason to go back?
"I don't know Rui," he said. "I'm afraid of going back."
Wes was shocked that all of a sudden he knew the name of the girl. She seemed to be so as well. He tried to think of why to go back. All he knew is that there was this woman, Cynthia, who was waiting for him. Did she deserve his return when he could just leave now and be alright?
No, something in him told him that love was important. Because he didn't love this girl in the purple dress, Rui, once? That didn't make sense to him though. If this was about love, then it was simple. Why couldn't he just make himself happy and stay with her? Things would be simple. He wanted to stay with Rui.
But part of him still fought back. The part of him that wanted good in the world. The part of him that began to take over. He needed to go back. The feeling was so much stronger than anything else. It said that he still had something left to do, something for himself and for nobody else. Something he didn't understand, but something nonetheless. The feeling took over him until the decision was clear.
"I have to go back, don't I?" asked Wes. "I don't know why, but I do."
The girl took him into a hug. "I'm proud of you Wes. Thank you for choosing the right choice. I don't know what I'd do if you'd stayed in the afterlife because of me."
"I have something to do back in life, don't I?" He said.
She nodded. "This won't mean much to you in this state, but when I return you to the world of the living I want you to know this. I'm proud of everything that you are. You may have been with Team Snagem once, but I've seen the world of good you did after I died. You are a good person Wes, and you have so many more good things to do in this world. Continue to do me proud."
Rui walked over and left a kiss on Wes's cheek. "Goodbye, I love you Wes."
"Thank you Rui," he said closing his eyes.
And then he returned.
<><><>
"Garchomp! Earthquake!"
The entirety of Mt. Coronet shook from the ferocity of Cynthia's rage. Wes was dead, and it was the fault of everyone here. She would not stop until every last person on this mountain was defeated. She would not stop until she got revenge. They killed him. They took him from her. And they would pay.
Cynthia delivered a high kick to Dawn, pushed Fein to the ground, and took Wes's Umbreon and Espeon. She would save them, make sure no harm came to them in his absence. Cynthia's aura began to flare with uncontrollable life. It was as if her body were licked permanently by blue flames. She would make sure that everything, and everyone here paid for what they did.
She stepped in front of Cyrus and his machine. In her anger, she commanded another earthquake out of Garchomp which broke the machine. Whatever plans he had, she would make sure they were over. She felt the dark pull of Darkrai somewhere in her mind, but Cynthia hushed it out.
She was going to make them pay. Debris began to kick up as the earthquakes got worse. Giratina threw up rocks from everywhere and Cynthia countered with a Dragon rush to hit the monster in front of her. She would defeat everyone in front of her. A sandstorm began to whirl and her Pokémon hid in the clouds. She didn't have to see to know that her Pokémon was using Giga Impact.
The screech of Giratina was worse as it fell to the ground.
Cynthia slid back, repelled by a wave of darkness. The sandstorm created by the fight swirled harder, doing minimal damage to the massive legendary Pokémon that she was fighting. Garchomp was Cynthia's last Pokémon. If she didn't win now, everything was over.
She wouldn't lose. Not this time, and not in this way.
Cyrus tried to near himself to her. But she wasn't having it. Her Garchomp let off another earthquake. She heard snow falling around her. Cynthia walked closer to the Giratina letting her arms out. The rage was too great, and somehow she found the strength to move in an earthquake.
"You want to take me too!" she screamed. "Do you want to stab me too? Was all this hard work for nothing?"
The creature screeched and Cynthia rolled out of the way of its attack. "Well too bad! You can't take me! I will fight for his life and you will pay for what you did, all of you! Garchomp! Dragon Rush!"
She expected her Pokémon to attack the beast, especially in the event of a direct command, but it did not. Instead, she saw it struggling against Darkrai. Cynthia, knowing what was coming next, and caring more about defeating Giratina and Cyrus, jumped in the way of her Pokémon. She felt the darkness stab at her, bearing into her skin as if it were trying to swallow her whole.
Until the blue flames of aura that surrounded her turned to rainbow. She felt something within in her lift. Until she knew what it was. It was Wes. Wes was back. The waves of shadow energy that Darkrai was shuttling out of its body were being repelled. Cynthia used her aura to charge her Garchomp.
"Dragon Rush!" She commanded.
The smaller Pokémon used the columns of Spear Pillar as leverage as it gained speed. With a great burst of blue-ish purple, the attack of the Garchomp hit Giratina and with the power of Arceus's divine protection, defeated the legendary. The legendary Pokémon fell and with a great crash destroyed the machine designed to turn people and Pokémon into shadows.
From behind her, Wes walked past the fallen Giratina up to Cyrus. Cynthia followed and watched as with a simple touch Wes burnt Cyrus with his aura. Wes took out a singular zip tie and Cyrus scowled in pain as Wes tight it as tight as humanly possible.
"You're back," she cried, overjoyed that she could feel his presence once more.
He took her in, and she could feel the relief within his system. "It's going to be alright Cynthia. It's all over now."
And that was when a flash of light in the sky signified that Cresselia had purified the citizens of Sinnoh.
It was truly over.